Costa blanca leader edition 681

No 681 Monday 28th August - Sunday 3rd September, 2017 Tel: 637 227 385

Diputación slams Torrevieja for boycotting La Vuelta

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he mayor of Torrevieja, José Manuel Dolón, has said that following the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, a meeting was held by the City Council and the local police forces, to discuss the security for Stage 9 of la Vuelta de España, which started in Campoamor

and was to pass along the Torrevieja seafront on Sunday.

The discussions centred on the number of officers who would need to be committed to the race as the riders cycled through the town centre.

The mayor said that 23 agents had been appointed to cover the event, stating also that Chief of Police felt he needed

a minimum of 53 officers to provide adequate security at the many different crossroads and junctions, as the cyclists

raced out toward La Mata and Guardamar.

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As a result of the concerns, he took the decision to re-route the stage along the N-332 which he said enabled the police to carry on with their ordinary and essential services, of providing security for members of the public.

However the president of the Provincial Council, César Sánchez (PP) said that he was ‘outraged’ at the mayor, who he accused of boycotting the Vuelta stage saying that he has known of the Torrevieja commitment for almost 12 months. He said

that the decision was "exclusively political and made from hatred, malice and political sectarianism that is characteristic of José Manuel Dolón."

And to add even more kindling to the controversy, on Saturday, Torrevieja’s Local Police Chief, Óscar Cartón, said that, in his opinion, police could have given security guarantees to the race.

"From my point of view," said the Police Inspector, "I think there were enough policemen, who, with support from Civil Protection and La Vuelta organization themselves, could have managed quite well. However

the final decision was not a police matter."

The Provincial Deputy for Tourism, Eduardo Dolón, said that the mayor’s decision was a great opportunity lost for the city, from the point of view of its promotion, as Torrevieja would no longer be able to benefit from the aerial images provided by the television coverage which would have featured it’s wonderful beaches across the world, as well as the lagoon of Torrevieja, the International Auditorium, the Sports City, the Water park and the natural park of La Mata.

team meetings, when the day’s strategy was hashed out, most cyclists then took about 1.5 hours to get kitted up, head over to the sign on caravan, talk to some fans, and get themselves mentally prepared for the stage.

Going into the race, with stage 9 heading north to Cumbre del Sol, close to Benitachell, Chris Froome (Team Sky) had tightened his grip on the leaders red jersey, with a show of strength during Saturday’s stage eight, opening up a 28 second gap on his nearest rival, Columbia's Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott).

As he disembarked from the team coach, Froome took pleasure in chatting to some of the hundred or so fans that had gathered around the Team Sky nerve centre. But he was then quickly on his way down to the start point adjacent to Campoamor beach And then down to business as the teams headed off up an early incline behind the pace car with Froome at the front, no doubt

contemplating the 150km to Benitachell, prior to Monday’s very welcome rest day.

But the stage couldn’t have gone any better for the race leader as he attacked with 500m to go and held off Esteban Chaves (OricaScott), with a final kick at the 100m point, to win at La Cumbre del Sol! The stage win extends his lead over the Columbian, Chaves, the only rider within a minute of Froome, to 36 seconds, and was an ideal way to go into Monday’s rest day.

Following the day off, La Vuelta continues on Tuesday in the Murcia Province where stage 10 will take the cyclists from Caravaca to El Pozo.

Briton Chris Froome, who recently won the Tour de France for the third time, is trying to become the first rider to do the double of La Vuelta and the Tour de France in the same year, since Bernard Hinault back in 1973.

Team Sky boss Sir David Brailsford in confident mood prior to the start of Stage 9 in Campoamor

Meanwhile, despite the political fallout in Torrevieja, La Vuelta still rolled in to Campoamor on Saturday evening as organisers, teams and the media began to arrive with their caravans, workshops and mobile studios.

As could clearly be seen, the logistical effort of moving La Vuelta between stages is a really mammoth task, befitting of the race it hosts. For the eighth consecutive year it is being transported around the country by the Azkar DACHSER Group which is responsible for most of the infrastructure including commentary boxes, media offices, entertainment suites, timing offices, grandstands and ceremony platforms.

Setting all this up saw the work getting underway at 5:30am on Sunday morning, a task which is said by many to be as grueling as the race itself.

For the riders however the day got underway rather later with teams arriving at the start point by mid-morning. Following the The scene in Campoamor two hours prior to the start

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Why it all went wrong in Barcelona In Barcelona the instructions from the National police were ignored

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pendence. More than 10,000 Catalans from the sepahe day after the lethal truck attack at the By Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 ratist movement have converted to Islam in the last the Spanish National Police (based in Raymond Kearney decade. Catalonia has a population of 7.5 million Madrid) instructed all police departments in Spain to people of which Muslims make up over half a milplace physical security barriers in public areas where large numbers of lion. In some Catalan towns almost half the population is Muslim. people are likely to gather.

Following the explosion at the house in Alcanar the Catalan police The instructions clearly read “Municipalities should protect these pub- (Mossos d’Esquadra) refused help from the Madrid based bomb squad lic spaces by temporarily installing large planters or bollards at access saying that it was nothing to do with them and they could handle their points to hinder or prevent the entry of vehicles”. In Barcelona the own investigation. Maybe the bomb squad could have pieced the clues instructions from the National police were ignored and now there are together of imminent attacks faster if they had been allowed to enter over 100 people dead and injured. the explosion site?

Why were these instructions not followed? Was the reason lack of At the time of the explosion the jihadists had collected over 100 large funds, a manpower shortage or for aesthetic reasons? NO. The gas bottles presumably to be used in car bombs. How efficient is the Catalonian police and authorities did not want to “appear” to be doing Catalan police’s intelligence network if they did not notice the movewhat Madrid was instructing them to do. ment of over 100 large gas canisters to a house occupied by Muslims The newspaper “El Periodico De Catalunya” recently claimed that and a Muslim cleric known for his radicalizing activities? there is a “total absence of police collaboration between Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan Police)…and the national police and Guardia Civil which translates into huge security deficiencies. This bad relationship is influenced by the POLITICAL SITUATION, between the Catalan and Spanish police forces there is open war”.

Over the past 3 decades the Catalan independence movement unwisely encouraged mass immigration of Muslims into Catalonia in the hope that they would adopt Catalan rather than Spanish as their new language and they would swell the numbers favouring Catalan inde-

The Catalan police force accused the Madrid government of being alarmist and told Madrid that they had no authority to issue security instructions for Catalonia. Mossos boasted that they had the jihadist threat “under control” and that their police force were trained to “detect symptoms or radicalization” and that there were “no concrete threats”. Catalonia and the Catalan separatists have clearly put their own pride and their wild objective to become independent from Spain ahead of cooperation with their neighbours in the safety of their own people and visitors to north East Spain.

For further information: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10887/barcelona-attack

Seats available on RBL Trip to Bodegas Faelo, Elche

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he Royal British Legion has a dozen places still available on their trip to Bodegas Faelo in Elche on Tuesday 12 September.

This is a third generation, traditionally run family vineyard close to Elche, which produces organic wines. The cost of the visit which will include transport, wine tasting and a tapas lunch is just 15 euros per person.

Transport will pick up and drop off from Lo Monte hotel, Consum La Zenia, Punta Prima and Quesada.

The first pick up will be 10.30 am with the final drop off at approximately 3.30 pm. The duration of the tour, which will be in English, and lunch, will be about 2.5 hours.

For more information call Kevin on 660 228 616 or Jean on 630 280 899 or email: orihuelacosta.chairman@gmail.com

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Alicante, the Province with most drownings The province of Alicante has registered 31 deaths in the water this year, 40% more than the whole of 2016 - Experts point to one of the major causes being the winter storms, which have created new networks of currents along much of the coastline.

However the Red Cross points to the attitude of many bathers who disobey the warning flags and instructions from lifeguards.

"There is a lack of awareness. People don’t see the dangers when they are in the water. This causes complacency," said Hernandez Olivas, local head of the Red Cross, “in relation to bathers that go into the water when warning flags are flying. The most disobedient are the Russians and the Spaniards, although many of the other nationalities are not much better” The Red Cross coordinator in Guardamar, José Luis Hernández Olivas, said that the maritime storms that we say during the winter "destroyed beaches that have not yet recovered their usual state, changing much of the underwater terrain."

Monday 28th August - Sunday 3rd September, 2017

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Political dispute marks anniversary of 1938 Torrevieja bombing O

n the eve of the 79th anniversary of the Torrevieja bombing by the Italian Fascist Air-force, in which 19 dead people were killed, 45 seriously injured and 200 others also hurt, but to a lesser degree, the Sueña Torrevieja spokesman, Pablo Samper, asked the Government if they were going to commission a monument in honour of the victims.

They were told that the only commemoration planned was the act of placing a bouquet of flowers in the access area to the Torrevieja port, as has been the custom in recent years.

Samper said that he was extremely disappointed as he felt that the torrevejenses who lost their lives or were wounded in the cruel bombardment by The Italian air force during the Spanish Civil War should be better remembered.

He said that the current government promised a monument at the same act of remembrance two years ago as a symbol that would serve as a reminder and a sign of recognition of the pain and of solidarity with the families affected.

Relatives of those who died and were injured have also called for a

permanent monument to be erected to the fallen, and for as long as most can remember, those requests have been ignored or declined.

However the act of remembrance did take place as the mayor laid a bouquet of 19 white roses, one for each of the dead, of the attack which took place on 25 August 1938. He added that it still is the intention of the Government team to place a memorial, but that has not yet been erected for a number of different reasons.

Also present at the ceremony was Dolores Aniorte, who was 8 years old when the attack took place by an Italian squadron located in Mallorca. At that time her mother was queueing for food in the market although she was not injured. Dolores said that she remembered the day perfectly and that the sensation of fear troubled her for years every time she heard aircraft noise or sirens.

Of the 19 deaths, only one person was over 60 years of age, five were in their 30s. Of the rest, 8 were children, one of which was just 2 months old. Apart from three soldiers, all the rest of those killed were civilians. There were some families that lost up to three members during the attack.

!Putting the Cart before the horse!

Firstly I must commend Alicante council for putting up beach signs for a nudist beach near El Altet to let people know that the beach is for “clothes optional” people, wouldn't it be a good idea to have these signs at all nudist beaches in the area, so as to advertise these to the people who wish to use or avoid these beaches, unfortunately this will not extend to our local nudist beach at Calla Mosca. As this might add fuel to support The Battle for Calla Mosca.

I have been informed that due to pressure Orihuela Council will be cleaning the Cabo roig strip with a campaign of deep cleaning every Monday and Friday until the end of the summer season.

A service we pay our taxes for and a service that gets Orihuela a grant, for every person on the Padron. So funds should be in the annual budget for Orihuela Costa for these basic services.

Unfortunately every single Councillor for Orihuela council approved a budget not to include Orihuela Costa sufficiently, with every Councillor outside of Orihuela City disagreeing with it.

I wonder if to fund this “extra” service that is why Orihuela City are putting up for Auction (as I tap my finger against my nose) Auction up to 32 plots of land on the Orihuela Costa with 5 plots of high value land to be sold with a value of of over 2 million euros, how many times can you clean the Cabo roig strip for 2 million?

Of course this money will not see its way to help the resident's of Orihuela Costa as the city has more pressing issues to spend our money on, Like a Fire/Ambulance/Police Station for us all or a cemetery, library or cultural centre which are lacking. These could be built on these plots of high value land on the Orihuela Costa Should we not be seeking self government yet, should we not have a political party for the coast that has some testosterone to stand up to the "Horse pulling the Cart", “Oh” we have Claro the party for the Coast If you agree with any of this contact Claro on clarospain@gmail.com and let them know that the resident's are still here? And wanting "self government"

T.J.Sawkins

Present at the ceremony was Dolores Aniorte, who was just 8 years old when the attack took place

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Suspect arrested for two armed robberies in Sax

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he Alicante Civil Guard has arrested a 38-year-old Spaniard in Sax in connection with two robberies, both committed at gunpoint. In a raid on his home the police seized 2 imitation pistols and clothing that is thought to have been used during the two crimes.

The first robbery occurred on August 9 at a local shop in the town of Aspe when the robber held a shopkeeper at gunpoint demanding the takings from the till. As he ran from the store he ran through a group of young children to a car parked outside.

After fleeing the scene at full speed, several witnesses told the investigators that the car registration plates were covered to prevent recognition.

A week later, the man carried out a second robbery, this time in a supermarket, using exactly the same modus operandi. He held a member of staff at gunpoint as he emptied the till of its takings.

Once again the amount stolen amounted to little over 300 euro.

With his face completely covered he then fled the scene, although this time it was in another make of vehicle.

The man is said to have stolen just 600 euro in 2 armed robberies

The Civil Guard of Sax, Aspe and the Judicial Police team of Novelda, all worked together in solving the crime and making the arrest within just 72 hours of the second robbery taking place.

recognised from the recordings of security cameras placed outside the supermarket.

The arrest was carried out on Monday when the robber was charged with theft with violence and intimidation at the two commercial premises in Sax.

Police said his addiction to drugs led him to commit the robberies in his desperation to obtain quick money to feed his narcotic habits.

The man, who has no previous history of criminal activity, was

Forest fires hit 5 year high Fires in Spain have destroyed 75,026 hectares of forest land this year, topping European charts for the loss of land to fires, EFEAgro reports.

As such Spain has marked a five-year high with 75,026 hectares of forest land lost to fires so far in 2017, according to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment and Food.

The data itself comes from the Spanish centre for forest fires, covering the period from 1 January until 13 August.

So far this year, there have been 9.632 fire incidents, including 5.816 arson attempts and 3.816 actual fires.

There were 15 large fires (affecting areas of 500 hectares or more), compared to ten in 2016, thirteen in 2015, and six in 2014. The fires in 2017 have destroyed 75,026 hectares, or 0,28% of the total Spanish land (compared to 0,6% in 2012 and 0,37% in 2009).

The northeast (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and Basque Countries) were the most affected areas.

This summer, fires have raged in Portugal, southern France, Greece, and now southern Italy, prompting calls for a European wide civil protection force.

According to French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot, during a recent visit to the Corsican town of Palneca, Europe needs a “civil security

force� to tackle wildfires, after 170 hectares of the island went up in smoke earlier this month.

Spain tops the ranking for loss of forest land to fires across EU member states, followed by Portugal, Italy, France and Greece.

It also sits in second place by the number of fires (11,928 in 2015), preceded only by Portugal (15,851 in the same year).

In the past five years, the number of fires has risen by 1.77% in Spain, a staggering 15% in France, 11,4% in Italy, and declined by 28% in Portugal and by 51.5% in Greece.

Forest fires cut off a village of 2,000 people in Portugal, as firefighters struggled on last week to control two major blazes in the centre of the country, local officials said.

According to a 2015 report by the European Commission, the vast majority of fires are caused by carelessness (68% in 2014) and arson (10%); Natural causes account for 3% of fires, and in 19% of cases, the causes remain unknown.

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Starbucks opens its second establishment in Murcia The Starbucks chain of coffee shops opened its second establishment in the city of Murcia at the weekend in la Calle Polo de Medina 3, on the corner of Plaza Cardenal de Belluga and by so doing the brand reinforces its presence in the capital of Murcia, where it already has an outlet in the Corte Ingles Gran Via Sculptor Francisco Salzillo.

This new Starbucks is located in Plaza Cardenal Belluga, right in the historic centre of Murcia in one of the most important urban areas of the city, frequented daily by thousands of visitors.

The shop covers an area of 150m2, it has 43 m2 of terrace and 86 seats. A clear and bright space, thanks to the two large windows that are located on either side of the main door.

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Two cocaine mules arrested at Alicante Airport

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licante’s Civil Guard has arrested two people, both of Brazilian nationality, a man aged 30 years and a woman of 25, for smuggling drugs. The arrests took place on Friday at Alicante-Elche airport where the officers seized 8,430 grams of liquid cocaine.

Officers said that they noticed a young woman, about 25 years old, behaving suspiciously so they decided to watch her discreetly. They noted that she was traveling with a young man aged about 30 and that each one was carrying a suitcase as they headed toward the

‘nothing to declare channel’.

The agents intercepted the pair finding that they came from Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, and decided to interview them separately to verify the reason for their visit, the duration of the trip and their itinerary.

After the declarations and the nervousness that both showed, the put both cases through an x-ray machine, observing suspicious packages inside each of the suitcases .

On opening the suitcases they discovered flexible coolers containing various cosmetic bottles, shampoos, creams

and mouthwashes, raising even more suspicions, as a result of which they took samples of each which subsequently tested positive for cocaine which was diluted in a liquid substance for transporting.

Cosmetic bottles contaning liquid cocaine

Once at their destination, the substances would have been separated for later sale. On the open market the haul was said to be worth approximately 450,000 USD The detainees were placed at the disposal of the Elche Courts where they will reamin until their court appearance early this week.

Municipal Park Abandoned Torrevieja’s PP spokesman, Eduardo Dolón, has publicly denounced the "absolute neglect and abandonment" of the Molino del Agua municipal park, which he says has local residents in absolute despair.

Dolón has criticised the "complete indifference of the government where it is reflected across many urbanisations and neighbourhoods."

On Friday Dolón was invited to walk around the Municipal Natural Park Molino del Agua which he says that he found “in a lamentable state of neglect."

He recalled that "Two years ago it was a wonderful place in which to relax, where we were able to take embracing walks through the dunes, the lakes and the pines ".

However, "today it is a walk through a space that has been forgotten by José Manuel Dolón and his team. It is just one of many areas that has been neglected and abandoned". He said that among the many concerns is the "risk of fire,” adding “those who claim to be ecologists and environmentalists are putting in serious danger one of the main conservation areas of Torrevieja.”

Drug ‘walking supermarket’ detained in San Javier The break-up of drug retailing networks remains one of the main targets of the Civil Guard as the San Javier detachment expressed delight with its third arrest in recent days in the vicinity of a recreational area of the town. The most recent arrest was of a dealer who had six different types of drugs in his possession, described by one officer as “a real walking supermarket.”

During a surveillance operation, on seeing that he was being watched, a man threw a purse toward the sea. “We challenged him while an officer recovered the purse to find it containing three methamphetamine (crystal) packages, ten keta-

mine packs and four speed packages.”

The detainee was a 40 year old Spaniard, resident of La Unión and has since been made available to the Court of Instruction number 5 of San Javier (Murcia).

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Local Muslims calling for peace T

he Islamic community in Dolores united with members of the Town Council on Tuesday to show their repulsion at the recent attacks in Catalonia and their solidarity with the victims. The attendants, accompanied by members of the government team including mayor, Joaquín Hernández, held a minute’s silence and read a statement in which they declared that "Islam does not represent terrorism".

Meanwhile the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Groups (Feeri), which claims to represent 63 of the nearly one hundred mosques and religious organisations in the local area, spoke out last Tuesday of the "criminalization" they regularly suffer and denounced

the inadequate involvement of the State in their organisation. "The government has not invested a single euro in our mosques, nor in the formation of our clubs and associations," said its president, Mounir Benjelloun.

"Although they criminalise us, the state gives us absolutely to help in running organised groups and clubs that could help to properly educate people in the local communities about our religion.”

Following the Barcelona attacks there are many within the Moroccan Community who are currently living in fear of a backlash.

This problem is troubling not only Moroccans but also Catalonian leaders who consider their region a place where immigrants and natives have long lived in harmony.

One resident of Barcelona, Masry, says that people now curse and shout at her to "go back to your country." She says she feels many

Policemen injured in Santiago de la Ribera car chase

Local police agents were able to recover a car that had been stolen in la calle Virgen de la Caridad in Santiago de la Ribera on Thursday, after a spectacular chase that began at about 5:30 am in the morning. The pursuit took in sections of the AP-7 motorway and ended up on the beach and at the Columbus paseo in Santiago de la Ribera.

In attempting to escape, a 32-year-old Ukrainian national, caused several traffic accidents, ran over an agent and scattered a group of young people walking along the promenade.

The events began at 5.15 am when the owner of the stolen vehicle reported the vehicle theft by calling 112 after he was awoken by his car alarm, a Toyota Land Cruiser. As he looked out of the window he saw his vehicle being driven away.

Moments later, a San Javier Police patrol saw the stolen vehicle and tried to intercept it, at which point the driver attempted to escape at high speed driving along the AP7, toward San Pedro del Pinatar.

The stolen vehicle was driven at maximum speed, carrying out a number of dangerous manoeuvres as he tried to shake off the pursuing police vehicles.

He took the motorway exit at Santiago de la Ribera and followed by three patrols, he drove along the pedestrian promenade on la calle Querubina Jimenez, continuing to drive at high speed to the Yacht Club where he was stopped by another police patrol car that blocked the way, at which point he drove onto la playa Barnuevo.

Chased by the police, and only narrowly avoiding a group of youngsters, he finally abandoned the vehicle on the promenade, at la calle Gascón and attempted to flee on foot.

He was finally cornered by several agents where, despite offering strong resistance, during which time 3 of the policemen suffered injuries, he was detained and handcuffed.

He now awaits an appearance in court where he will be charged with theft, assault dangerous driving and no doubt lots more.

people glare at her since the attack because she's Moroccan. It's something she says she never experienced here before, having arrived in Spain 14 years ago. And the backlash hasn't only been verbal. A mosque and a Moroccan consulate in the west of Barcelona were both defaced late last week with red paint and insults.

But activist Miriam Hatibi says that so far, these incidents have been rare. She credits Catalonia's success as a melting pot, where immigrants and locals live and work together in the same neighborhoods.

“That isn't always the case in other parts of Europe. Neither Catalonia nor the rest of Spain, for that matter, has produced the kind of hardline anti-Islam movements seen elsewhere. Nor has there been a groundswell of Muslim extremists here,” she said.

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Callosa residents at risk because of lack of police vehicles The only liveried vehicle currently available is an unreliable Mondeo

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64-year-old woman has been detained and charged with setting five of the eleven fires that destroyed vehicles parked on a public road in Mar Azul, Torrevieja, in recent weeks and which caused a great deal of distress amongst both residents and holidaymakers living in the area.

She is accused of five crimes of serious car damage, for the arson of vehicles that were burnt out on the Avda Juan de Austria, in the Mar Azul urbanization, and for throwing a corrosive substance on a number of other cars, which resulted in serious damage to the paintwork.

In making the arrest the Guardia were helped by images captured by the private video surveillance systems of several nearby homes in the area of La Veleta, just a few hundred meters from where the fires occurred.

The Callosa Police fleet

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fficials warn of "precariousness" because they cannot perform emergency services.

The Local Police force in Callosa de Segura has been without badged patrol vehicles for more than a month. Currently the mobile fleet doesn’t have any marked cars that are equipped with emergency lights and siren and for the last 4 weeks all patrols have been carried out by agents in three unmarked vehicles.

The agents have warned of the hazardous work they are being required to carry out and the vulnerability of citizens as a result of them not being able to respond to emergency situations using lights and sirens. So every time they travel in unmarked cars, they have to stop at the traffic lights and respect all traffic regulations, even if they are responding to an emergency.

Although they have not had to make any emergency responses in recent weeks they are finding their use of unmarked cars to be rather surreal.

On one occasion the agents, when responding to a warehouse robbery in an unmarked car, they were stopped by the Civil Guard and almost confused with the robbers as they were driving quickly to the scene of the crime.

More recently they were stopped by the Local Police in Cox and asked for identification, and on a number of occasions they have been reported by residents fearing that they were thieves as they drove slowly around commercial centres in their unmarked cars.

The only vehicle with signage and the necessary emergency equipment, for a population that numbers 20,000 residents, is a Ford Mondeo that is continuously breaking down because of its age. The car left the workshop just last week after a full overhaul and service but just 2 days later it was back in the garage having broken down.

Indeed the police are now refusing to use it because they say that a wheel can fall off, the brakes do not work, the gears are extremely stiff and there is a very loud noise coming from the engine.

A few days ago, one of the unmarked cars, a 20 year old SUV, had to be taken to the municipal pound after it too suffered a breakdown. That same afternoon it was repaired and returned to service, but according to one policemen it’s condition is "unacceptable for police work".

The Guardia found some of the material used by the arsonist to generate and spread the fires, propped up alongside a waste container in the area.

The incidents in which the detainee was allegedly involved took place on the mornings of the 10th, 20th and 21st August on the Avda Juan de Austria and in adjacent areas. In the incident last Monday the flames also spread to nearby trees

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and properties located next to the main entrance to the Amanecer School.

The Civil Guard investigation is still continuing, given that there are still a number of other intentional vehicle fires that still need to be resolved, particularly those that occurred in the proximity of the Molino del Agua public park in the Parquemar urbanisation, where four other vehicles have been destroyed in an arson attack.

Given the distance involved, 6 kilometres, between the two crime scenes, the Guardia suspect that the fires were caused by another source.

More than a hundred residents of the Mar Azul urbanisation held a meeting last Wednesday to address the security problem caused by the repeated arson attacks on the parked cars, and for the second consecutive night they formed a neighborhood surveillance patrol, consisting of groups of six people who walked the local streets In shifts of one hour, from midnight to the early hours of the morning.

At the meeting, one of the residents announced that the police had made an arrest resulting in the detention of the woman. However, despite the police intervention, the residents have said that they intend to keep the patrols going until the weekend whilst they enjoy the last few days of their annual holidays.

Woman arrested for Mar Azul vehicle fires

One further car has now been rented for use as a police vehicle, a new Renault Megane, which, according to our sources, cannot be used "except in urgent cases," by order of the Chief of Police.

During recent festivities, there were up to 10 agents in some shifts but only 2 unmarked vehicles were available to them, the SUV and a 15 year old Citroën C3 both of which were said to be in a deplorable state.

The mayor of Callosa de Segura, Fran Maciá (PSOE), did announce in the coming days the police will have a new patrol vehicle, a Dacia Duster, albeit the delivery date has been delayed.

Investigations still continue for the vehicle fires by the Molino del Agua public park, in the Parquemar urbanisation

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Plastic waste traps live turtle at Cala Bosque Tourists went to the rescue of a turtle in Thursday that had been trapped in a collection of marine litter.

It was wrapped up in an assortment of string and plastic bottles when it was found by the French visitors close to the shoreline of the Cala Bosque beach on the Orihuela Costa.

beach. They alerted the lifeguards who called 112 . Not being able to lift it into the boat, the company Recreativos Acuáticos Horadada, managed to move it to the beach on their jet ski’s.

The turtle will be transferred to the Arca del Mar del Oceanográfico in Valencia where its health will be assessed following its treatment for minor wounds suffered on its fins as a result of being caught in the debris.

The photo shows Ángel, the coordinator of the Orihuela Costa lifeguard service, moving the turtle of to Campoamor where it was examined by a marine biologist prior to its treatment. Apart from not having eaten for the last few days the turtle was said to be in excellent health.

About 75 centimeters in length, the turtle was been spotted by the tourists, who were on board a recreational boat just off the

The biologist said that subject to no health problems being found it will be released back into the sea during the coming days.

The turtle was wrapped up in an assortment of string and plastic bottles when it was found.

The group are meeting from 9.30pm onwards on 14th September

Joint the experts at Saturn Watch on Punta Prima Promenade The Vega Baja Astronomy Group invite you to an observation evening on 14th September 2017. We are meeting on the Punta Prima promenade, up from the Nautilus Restaurant, just after dark... from 9:30pm onwards.

Main focus of the evening will be to let you see Saturn, the famous ringed planet through our telescopes.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the most distant that can be seen with the naked eye. Saturn is best known for its fabulous ring system that was first observed in 1610 by the astronomer Galileo Galilei.

Saturn is huge. It is the second largest planet in our Solar System. Jupiter is the only planet that is bigger. You cannot stand on Saturn. It is not like Earth. Saturn is made mostly of gases. It has a lot of helium.

Its beautiful rings are not solid. They are made up of bits

of ice, dust and rock.

Some of these bits are as small as grains of sand. Some are much larger than tall buildings. Unlike Earth that only has 1 moon, Saturn has 62 . They range in size from smaller than a football stadium to larger than the planet Mercury, Saturn's ringed system makes the planet one of the most beautiful objects in the Solar System.

We look forward to seeing you. Fingers crossed for a clear sky! Keep looking up!

Vega Baja Astronomy Group meet at Casa Tom on Avenida Jaca, San Luis Torrevieja, second Wednesday of each month at 2.30. email us at: vegabaja.astronomygroup@gmail.com.

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D LY NEW RBISHE U REF

S

D L O

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Monday 28th August - Sunday 3rd September, 2017

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QUICKIE CROSSWORD

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS QUICK ACROSS: 3 Fragrance; 8 Race; 9 Frivolous; 10 Nipple; 11 Snort; 14 Price; 15 Ease; 16 Tress; 18 Slab; 20 Poker; 21 Ladle; 24 Hiatus; 25 Maladroit; 26 Ovum; 27 Stratagem.

DOWN: 1 Transpose; 2 Sceptical; 4 Rare; 5 Given; 6 Allure; 7 Clue; 9 Fleet; 11 Sieve; 12 Talkative; 13 Wearisome; 17 Split; 19 Banana; 22 Larva; 23 Fast; 24 Hire.

CRYPTIC CRYPTIC ACROSS: 3 Speculate; 8 Okay; 9 Eavesdrop; 10 Sundry; 11 Utter; 14 Optic; 15 Rest; 16 Taboo; 18 Cede; 20 China; 21 Eaten; 24 Manila; 25 Statesman; 26 Acme; 27 Clergymen.

DOWN: 1 Hopscotch; 2 Magnitude; 4 Play; 5 Cleft; 6 Ledger; 7 Trot; 9 Erect; 11 Urban; 12 Reminisce; 13 Stratagem; 17 Ocean; 19 Easter; 22 Essay; 23 Et al; 24 Made.

ACROSS 3.

Heedlessly rash (9) 8.

Military force (4) 9.

Unequalled (9) 10. Paradise (6) 11. Show contempt for (5) 14. Merger (5) 15. Old form of you (4) 16. Teams (5) 18. Period before Easter (4) 20. Dried plum (5) 21. Vagrant (5) 24. Sibling (6) 25. Giving (9) 26. Peruvian Indian (4) 27. Leave office (5,4)

DOWN 1.

2.

4.

5.

6.

7.

9.

11.

12.

13.

17.

19.

22.

23.

24.

In a shy way (9) Easily irritated at delay (9) Gulf state (4) Regional (5) Using maximum effort (3-3) Record (4) Wherewithal (5) Annoyed (3,2) Forcing (9) Practice (9) Small shoot (5) Satellite of Neptune (6) Miaowed (5) Qualifying race (4) Wintry precipitation (4)

L EA D E R T R I V I A Q U I Z

SUDOKU CHALLENGE

Solution on Page 22 CAN YOU MASTER THE SUDOKU CHALLENGE? Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

QUIZ ANSWERS

Queens Park Rangers (1982), 11. Cats.

Figaro (Pinocchio) Arlene (Garfield) World War Two (Peanuts) Bastet (Eygptian cat goddess) Jonesy (Alien), 12. Thunderball, 13. a. The rain in Spain (My Fair Lady), b.

Jamaica Farewell (Harry Belefonte), c.

Back in the USSR (Beatles), d. Surfin USA (Beach Boys), e. Finland (Monty Python), f.

Don't cry for me Argentina (Evita), g. China Girl (Bowie), h. French kissing in the USA

DOWN 1. Being stoical, I'm not resisting (9) 2. Clairvoyant hit copper in disorder (9) 4. Produced a tidal wave (4) 5. Original piece of literature (5) 6. Aged bowler is out-of-date (3,3) 7. She reveals part of her married name (4) 9. Computer information gets out after this (5) 11. Belabour Toby's master (5) 12. Lack of balance could put pairs in a tidy mess (9) 13. Removing any inclination for flatfish! (9) 17. Seaweed dispersed by a gale (5) 19. The standard linked with an early invader (6) 22. It shows something is missing from a broken crate (5) 23. Instrument with an unpleasant sound? (4) 24. Squander money, feeling depressed (4)

13. The following words are from songs with a country in the song title. Can you name the song? a. In Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire ... hurricanes hardly happen. b. Down the way where the nights are gay. c. Miami Beach BOAC. d. You'd see them wearing their baggies, Huarache sandals too. e. You're so sadly neglected and often ignored, a poor second to Belgium when going abroad. f. And as for fortune and as for fame I never invited them in. g. I'll ruin everything you are, I'll give you television, I'll give you eyes of blue. h.

Take your lover by the hand, speak in tongues and understand 14. P&O Shipping. What do 'P' and 'O' stand for?

15. Which two present day NATO members have at one time withdrawn from the alliance?

16. Who was the only man to win a posthumous Academy Award for best actor? (not best supporting actor) 17. Name the six longest rivers in the world with a colour in their name. (Colours in the English language) 18. The five red crosses found on the flag of Georgia are said to have which religious significance?

19. The 'Impressionist' movement takes its name from the 1872 painting 'Impression, soleil levant' (Impression, Sunrise). Who painted it?

20. What is the opposite of the Lima syndrome?

1.

The Troggs, 2.

Pollyanna (Pollyannaism), 3. Mexico (111 million), Colombia (46 million) and the USA (45 million), 4. The Pink Panther Show. (DeuxDeux was the Inspectors sidekick), 5.

Charles Lindbergh, 6. Bob Marley, Barry Manilow and Bette Midler, 7. Ritz, 8. Tastes.

The others are sweet, sour, bitter and salty.

9. Philip Marlowe, 10. Cardiff City (2008), Millwall (2004), Sunderland (1992) and

ACROSS 3. Deserted, showing lack of self-control (9) 8 & 15Ac. Note the moment to move on the spot (4,4) 9. Making some stipulation when supplying stock (9) 10. Strive for inordinate praise (6) 11. Ask quietly to go in front (5) 14. Flock of geese hide round the top of the elm (5) 15. See 8 Ac. 16. Vehicle not returning to Georgia (5) 18. Conceited one in the forefront of battle (4) 20. Fall back in a bit of a flap, seemingly (5) 21. Kind of grass providing a comfortable place to lie (5) 24. The sort of organ through which a bullet passes (6) 25. A girl more confused by rambling account (9) 26. Almost a gimmick to cause stupefaction (4) 27. Remove any roughness from this arboreal feature (5-4)

1. Wet Wet Wet had a number one hit in the UK charts with 'Love is all around'. Which prehistoric band was the first to make the song a hit?

2. The word for "unreasonably or illogically optimistic" stems from a fictional girl who played 'The Glad Game' when faced with life's difficulties. What is her name?

3. In which three countries in the world would one find the most Spanish speaking people?

4. Deux-Deux was an able assistant in which popular TV show?

5. Which solo performer was Time Magazine's first 'Man of the Year' in 1927, and to this day, still the youngest winner?

6. Name the three people with the initials B. M. that have stars for excellance in recording (music) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

7. The name of which 19th century Swiss hotel owner became a synonym for luxury, elegance, style and 'taste'?

8. Umami is one of the five what?

9. Dick Powell, Humphrey Bogart, James Garner, Elliot Gould and Robert Mitchum have all played which hard drinking character in film?

10. Can you name the last four clubs from outside of the top level of English football to reach the F.A. Cup final?

11. Figaro, Arlene, World War Two, Bastet and Jonesy are all examples of what?

12. In which Bond film does Big Ben chime seven times at 6 pm, a signal that the British government has accepted SPECTRE's exorbitant ransom demands?

(Debby Harry), 14. Peninsular and Oriental, 15. France and Greece, 16. Peter Finch (Network), 17. Yellow River (5,464 km), Red River (2,188 km), Orange River (2,092 km), Blue Nile (1,600 km), Green River (1,175 km) and White River (1,102 km), 18. The five holy wounds of Christ, 19. Claude Monet, 20. Stockholm syndrome. (Lima syndrome: Hostage takers sympathise with the hostages)

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‘Letters from the Atlantic’ Barrie Mahoney was a head teacher and school inspector in the UK, as well as a reporter in Spain, before moving to the Canary Islands to launch and edit a new English language newspaper.

He enjoys life in the sun as a columnist and author, and continues to write a series of popular novels, books for expats, as well as designing mobile apps and websites to promote the Canary Islands.

Avoid Currency Exchange ‘Rip Offs’

I

know that many British expats living in Europe are feeling very anxious about the pound-euro exchange rate at the present time.

Although not unexpected, Brexit has started a period of considerable financial uncertainty for expats, which will take some time to resolve.

Many expats rely upon an income from the UK, be it a salary or a company or state pension, and even a small difference in the exchange rate will make a considerable difference to their standard of living. Gone are those heady days when one pound would buy 1.50 euro; even at that time many of us realised that the pound was grossly overvalued, and that a day of reckoning would happen in the future. Even so, it was nice whilst it lasted.

At the time of writing, commenting about exchange rates is always difficult, since this article may be read many weeks or months after it is written, and the pound appears to be heading for parity with the euro.

Some financial ‘experts’ are already claiming that the pound will shortly be worth less than the euro, whilst others are claiming that the pound will revert to its usual ‘high’ after a year or two, or when Brexit is finally settled. Frankly, it is all guess work and we may as well ask, “How long is a piece of string?” In reality, no one knows, so let us deal with issues that expats and holidaymakers are facing

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By Bar rie Mahoney

here and now, and let us make the most of the pounds that we have.

There are several others to consider, such as Monzo and Monese, that offer similar services

Holidaymakers and expats are already complaining that they are receiving only one euro for one pound at airport currency exchange desks.

My view is that if they are foolish enough to exchange their pounds at the airport just before they leave for their holiday, they deserve a poor exchange rate. Airport currency exchange rates have to include charges for their fancy booths and shops, trained staff and smart uniforms; one is paying for convenience and this is the penalty for leaving it so late.

The more astute travellers arrange their overseas currency long before they leave the UK, maybe through an online currency exchange dealer, their local bank or the Post Office. I suggest that travellers use none of these services, and that many more competitive services are now available that will leave more currency in their pockets.

Today, at the time of writing and after speaking to some holidaymakers who were complaining to me that they received less than parity at a currency booth in Gatwick Airport, I managed to get 1.12 euros for one pound by using an app on my mobile phone when I went shopping today, as well as drawing cash out of a local ATM. For transactions in Europe, I usually use a debit card provided by a ‘fintech’ company called Revolut for many of my currency transactions, or a debit card provided through a superb UK banking operation called Starling Bank.

There are several others to consider, such as Monzo and Monese that offer similar services that should be considered. All of these companies provide a mobile phone app and a prepaid debit card that you can use to pay for goods and services whilst on holiday or to draw cash out of overseas ATMs. Instead of paying a fancy commission to one of the airport currency exchange booths, holidaymakers and expats can obtain currency at wholesale rates through the use of

these services.

If living in Europe, I recommend that British expats seriously consider opening an account with Revolut or Monese. If maintaining an address in the UK, go for Starling Bank or Monzo for the best currency exchange rates. Another app based bank, N62, which I also use, is based in Germany and offers full banking protection.

Although currently only offering a euro-based account, it is planning to offer a sterling account, as well as a euro account in the near future, and is certainly well worth keeping an eye on. All of these accounts can be opened through your iPhone or Android device.

They have certainly made my financial life overseas easier to manage, and I am no longer ripped off by the large currency exchange services. For further information about these services, please go to the Expat Survival website: http://expat.barriemahoney.com If you enjoyed this article, take a look at Barrie’s websites: http://barriemahoney.com and http://thecanaryislander.com or read his latest book, ‘Footsteps in the Sand’ (ISBN: 9780995602717).

Available in paperback, as well as Kindle editions. © Barrie Mahoney

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Easy Horse Care reaches target for boundary wall Horse rescue centre celebrates reaching fundraising target as work on secure boundary wall continues Generous supporters from around the world have donated €20,000 to rebuild and extend Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre’s crumbling perimeter wall to secure and protect the Spanish sanctuary’s 108 rescued equines.

Co-founders Sue and Rod Weeding began calling for donations in March, hoping to raise €7000 to extend the height of a planned boundary wall upgrade to provide better protection for the equines from the bitterly cold winter winds and blistering summer sun.

That followed a successful 2016 campaign to raise

€13,000 to fund the initial boundary upgrade, which was prompted by a string of break-ins at the centre and intimidatory behaviour relating to the rescue of Oscar, a horse that arrived starving and dehydrated.

All up, more than 200 donors contributed to the campaign, with donations coming from as far away as America, Canada, Thailand and Singapore. That included one very kind donor, who wished to remain anonymous, who this month donated the final €800 needed to hit the overall fundraising target.

“Never in our wildest dreams when we started the rescue centre did we ever imagine that so many people would support us and be so passionate about what we do,” said Sue.

Cat colony poisoned on Orihuela Costa The Civil Guard is investigating the poisoning of seven stray cats during the early hours of Monday morning in la calle Langosta, behind the Go Kart track on the Orihuela Costa.

It is thought that local people became angry at the activities of one lady resident who, in addition to her own cats, was feeding up to another 20 feral cats on a daily basis. Despite requests from local residents not to do so, she ignored their requests and continued to feed the stray animals.

One resident said that they caused a lot of prob-

lems particularly with the mess they made across the urbanisation, their scavenging and the noise.

The Local Police had recently become involved in the problem and were trying to have the cats moved to an animal sanctuary.

When they attended the scene on Monday morning they found that six of the cats were dead, lying on the road, and a seventh animal was dying. Many residents labelled the poisoning as a "savage" and warned the Ayuntamiento de Orihuela who fear that similar incidents could occur again.

Co founders Rod and Sue Weeding in front of their new and secure boundary wall

Jilly’s Bar Fundraiser for Pink Ladies A fun time was had by all at Jilly's Bar in Algorfa on Sunday 13th of August. The entertainment was supplied by Melissa Jade, Melissa Fanning, Al Joel, Debbie H, Gemma Bennett, Jo Jo, Rebecca Holt and Lady Jazz.

Every single one of them performed for free!

There was also a raffle and an auction, all helping to raise an amazing €1,347 for Maria and the Pink Ladies and Panthers!

Congratulations to all involved, special thanks to Karen Stewart for the donation of the raffle prize and lots of help behind the scenes.

Thank you Paula Thompson for donating the

jewellery for the auction, and Mark McLean for the donation of the signed photograph of Lionel Messi. Jilly would also like to say a thank you to her family for all their help.

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Former London based artist to open Exhibition of Colour and Space in Dolores

A

n EXHIBITION of paintings and artwork by Costa Blanca-based artist Ronen Zlotogoura will be taking place at the new Dolores cultural centre from September 9-19. The exhibition, which is titled Naturalism, will highlight the treatment of forms, colors and space as they appear in nature. Ronen specialises in Hyperrealism which are paintings that look like high resolution photographs but are actually hand painted.

Due to his background in the auto body repair industry his usual medium is airbrushing using automotive paints. He has applied his technique to canvas, metal panels, wall murals and vehicles such as cars, motorbikes and boats. Combining his passion of cars and fine art he has created a collection of paintings that showcase the elegant styles and designs of both classic and modern super cars.

Having moved from London to Alicante 14 years ago, Ronen has made a name for himself for producing very high quality artwork. As well as serving his private collectors he continues to personalise motorbikes on a regular basis for Harley Davidson Alicante, and teaches art classes every Monday and Thursday morning at his studio in Dolores At the exhibition you will also be able to see his beautiful water colour paintings of quaint Spanish lanes in the old part of Altea.

Admission is free and everybody is invited to the inauguration on Saturday the 9th of September at 20.00 when refreshments will be served.

The exhibition will continue from September 10-19th. Opening times will be 17.00-19.00, except for the 15th when it will be closed for the day.

The cultural centre is situated at Calle San Antonio, 2, 03150 Dolores, Alicante For more information contact him on 653 401 856, email: ronen@zlotogoura.com or visit www.zlotogoura.com

Artist Ronan at work Packard by the salt lake

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Local charity now fully legal Community Care Association proudly announce that the Valencian Authorities and the Orihuela Government have now legally recognised the Charity / Association set up by Norah Bond, founder of Help at Home Costa Blanca, and her dedicated team, Eva Johansson, Penny Brown and Jill Morris who are opening a Drop In Centre for Orihuela Costa.

Norah explained that the process took months to meet the strict guidelines required by the Authorities to register the Association following legal protocols which are necessary to run a Charity.

The Registration No of the Charity is CV- 01-057624-A. Hopefully this article should dispel any malicious rumours which are being spread, that Community Care Association is not legal.

Contrary to what is being said, the COMMUNITY CARE ASSOCIATION IS LEGAL!.

The new Drop In Centre being developed by Norah, her fantastic team, volunteers and Members is opening on 11th September for all Residents who wish to enjoy Creative Activities, Arts, Crafts and Music therapy sessions with friends.

There are currently 5 Charities registered in Orihuela Costa, two of which Norah developed, she is fully aware of the lack of Community Services for Residents and intends to ensure they are supported more by other Charities, encouraging them to open a branch on the coast and work together, ie Stroke Support, Cruz Roja and Alzheimer's association.

The Drop In Centre is located at Calle Cipres. Lomas De Cabo Roig. Campoamor. 03189. Orihuela Costa.

We also hold Games sessions every Tuesday at Alfonso's Restaurant by the Town Hall from 2 till 5pm. Everyone is welcome.

We aim to support those who want a little fun in the sun. We believe you matter because you do! If you would like to join, please contact by email oc.communitycare@gmail.com or pop in to the Drop In Centre to register from 11th September any Monday, Wednesday or Thursday between 12.30 and 4.30pm.

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Car and Vehicle Sales The Car of the Month at Automoviles Crespo is a 2016 Ford Mustang GT which is on Special Offer priced at just 45,900 euro. Come along to our showroom in Elche and see our vast range of used cars or call 96 666 22 60 for all our latest offers.

The biggest and best for price, choice and quality. (69148)

Social and Clubs The next meeting of the Orihuela Costa Branch of the Royal British Legion will be on 17 Aug at the Olympia Restaurant in Mil Palmeras starting at 7.30pm. The Torrevieja Branch meets at the Casa Ventura in San Luis at 7.30 pm on the 2nd Friday while the La Marina/Gran Alacant Branch meets on the 1st Monday at The London Bar, behind Dial Prix in Gran Alacant at 6pm. Everyone Welcome.

Age Concern Costa Blanca Sur is here to help you. Our aim is to assist with problem solving for the over 50’s and promote their well-being. We need volunteer Drivers and paople to join our

Residential Home Visiting Team.

You will visit people who live in a Residential Home, and take them out for a coffee either in a wheelchair or walking. If you think you can help Age Concern in this respect call into our centre at C/Paganini s/n, Urb. La Siesta 03184 Torrevieja or ring 966 786 887.

Or you can email: costablanca@ageconcern.org.es Please note that the Age Concern Centre will be closed for our Summer Break from 28 July to 4 September, although the phones will still be answered. Our shops in Torrevieja and Los Montesinos will be shut from the 28th July and reopen on the 28th August HAH CB need you to help us help those in need in their own homes in areas surrounding Quesada, San Luis, La Siesta Torrevieja, La Mata, Orihuela Costa, Villamartin to Campoverde, short or long term medical conditions of all ages and nationalities.

Contact our head office on 965 328 794 or email: charitycentre helpathomecb@gmail.com.

Girlguiding group for Orihuela

Monday 28th August - Sunday 3rd September, 2017

Costa. The Orihuela Costa Rainbows and Brownies. This is a brand new Girlguiding group for girls aged 5-11 years.

Rainbows 5-7 years, Brownies 711 years. We will meet every Wednesday at the Madhouse in El Galan. Parents can find our more on our Facebook page Orihuela Costa Brownies and Rainbows Curious about work of Samaritans in Spain? Interested in becoming a listener? Have a few hours a week to help with the charity shop, fundraising or admin? To find out more, come and join us for refreshments and a chat at our Centre in the Punta Marina Shopping Centre, by the Punta Prima roundabout, on the N332.

(Volunteer positions are unpaid but expenses can be claimed). www.samaritansinspain.com Email: janeatsams@outlook.com QUESADA LADIES CLUB The Annual General Meeting of the Quesada Ladies Club will be held at the Cooper’s Arms, Dona Pepa, Quesada, on Tuesday 12th September 2017. This is for members only, and they will be admitted at the usual time of 2.30pm.

Churches and Services La Siesta Evangelical Church hold services each Sunday and everyone is welcome. Our 11am Services are held every 2nd and 4th Sunday in the month (and on the 5th Sunday, if this applies.)

On the 1st and 3rd Sunday’s our

Services are at 9.30 am. Our choir sings at our 11 am Services and there is also a Sunday School, Stepping Stones, on these Sundays. We welcome residents, visitors and children. For information see our website www.lasiestaevangelicalchurch.org or phone Pastor Keith on 666 180 108.

Pets Delmonte Catotel Cartagena. The cattery that cares! Tel 968 168 711 or 616 276 379 (69083)

Personal Torrevieja. Shirley - the best massage. Tanned, young Brazilian beauty! Stunning figure, great breasts. I welcome you alone in sexy lingerie. By appointment please.655 677 738 MALE/FEMALE Viagra, cialis, kamagra available mail order viagra4you19@gmail.com 603255411

Items For Sale Why not use the power of the Leader to sell your unwanted goods or to advertise your business. Classified advertising is available on these pages from just 6 euro per entry. Email office@theleader.info

Property for Sale Country Finca in Redovan Comprising of 2 buildings on a good size plot, each with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Plot size 500 sq mtrs. The property is in excellent decorative order and is sold furnished. Beamed ceilings in lounge. Euro 170,500. Ref:

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000076. Tel 617 537 866 San Miguel de Salinas - A really nice first floor 3 bed apartment in a very well looked after community, just a short walk to supermarkets, restaurants, and bars.

Fitted wardrobes in all bedrooms, main bedroom having walk in wardrobe. Euro 79,995 Ref: 000075. Tel 617 537 866 Detached Villa Torremendo - A fantastic 2 bed countryside home on a 5000sqm plot. Constructed from wood and in perfect condition with countryside and lake views. All modern services, connected to electricity, water, mains sewerage. Also a separate selfcontained cabin. Euro 149,995 Ref: 000074. Tel 617 537 866 This three bedroom, two bathroom mid-terrace townhouse is within walking distance of the lively La Fuente Commercial Centre with its fabulous selection of bars and restaurants. It is also close to supermarkets and just a short drive to beautiful, award-winning Blue Flag sandy beaches.

Access to lovely communal gardens and a large communal swimming pool. Euro 79,995 Ref 000057. Tel 617 537 866 Redovan - Surrounded by lemon groves and fields of artichokes and broccoli, this lovely three bedroom, two bathroom detached villa is situated on a plot of 600m2. It has its own 10m x 5m private swimming pool and a separate garage with access to a rooftop solarium. The property is distributed on one level with a tiled patio area leads into the main living and dining areas. Private Pool, Fully

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Furnished, Stunning views, Private Garden. Euro 210,000 Ref 000058. Tel 617 537 866 Sierra de Orihuela - This fabulous detached property is on a plot of 1.900m2 and has breath-taking views of the Sierra de Orihuela mountain range. The total built area is 135m2 which is distributed across four double bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge / dining area, and a modern openplan kitchen. Covered car port, manicured gardens and a private swimming pool. Fully Furnished.

Private Garden. Kennels and a chicken coup. Euro 249,995 Ref 00059. Tel 617 537 866 San Miguel de Salinas - Modern 3 bedroom house in the sought after area of Balcon de la Costa.

South facing and in a quiet area.

The house has been refurbished to a very high standard and ready to move into. Large paved patio with high walls for your privacy, ideal for barbecuing or just relaxing in the sun. Fully Furnished.

Private balconies.

Stunning views. Air-Cond. Euro 79,500 Ref 000060. Tel 617 537 866 San Miguel de Salinas - A nice ground floor apartment in the heart of San Miguel de Salinas. It has 2 good size bedrooms with fitted wardrobes. The 2nd bedroom has an enclosed galeria for extra storage. Good size lounge / diner and open plan kitchen. The family bathroom comes with a 4 piece suite and shower enclosure.

Popular Spanish village. Fully furnished. Communal Pool.

Large Terrace. Euro 52,995 Ref 000061. Tel 617 537 866

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Spain wins ‘over 40’s T20 title’ for 2nd year For this years over 40’s tournament the Spanish cricket team travelled to Rotterdam where they were to compete against the hosts SGS, (Still Going Strong from Holland), Denmark (DANSK XL) and England (The English XL Club).

By The Twelfth Man

Last year the tournament was in Spain and as the home team they made use of home advantage and won the T20 competition, however they failed in their quest to impress in the 45 over event failing to win a single game.

The first game of the competition was a 45 over affair against the annual favourites, The English XL club. Unfortunately Spain lost key wickets at the wrong time and what had looked set to be a famous victory, finished with them 30 short of the winning total. In the days other match, the hosts, SGS proved too strong for the team from Denmark.

The next day was T20 competition day with two games to play. The Spanish side starting the defence of their trophy against the strong Dutch side. Fielding first George Wambeek continued with his good form with the ball picking up two wickets, he was well supported by Peter West 3-22-2 and the pick of the bowlers Sajid Ali taking 3 wickets from his 4 overs for 27 runs. They were set a target of 149 to win. All the batsman made good starts with Stuart Simkins 39 and Kevin Laundon 36 being the pick, but they all seemed to get out at the wrong time and with overs running and a target of 7 an over, the Dutch side were clearly on top. But then Mark Briggs, who couldn’t get bat to ball the day before, played a marvellous innings of 15 and bought the scores level. With three balls to go there were two dot balls and a scramble for a single off the last ball to win the match but John Braithwaite’s athletic figure failed to move from the nonstrikers end and Mark was run out with the scores level on 148!

However, in the case of a tie, the team losing the fewer wickets win.

SGS lost 8 wkts, Spain lost 7, Spain the winners, what a game.

Spain were once again fielding first in the afternoon fixture, this time playing their strong rivals the XL club who just got the better of them the day before in the 45 over match. The Spanish bowling was excellent, and the fielding was superb as the English team struggled to 132 for 5 of their 20 overs, with John Braithwaite the pick of the bowlers 4-22-1 and George Wambeek continuing from where he left off, 4-22-2.

The English team were not going to roll over but Stuart Simkins 70, Harmit Phull and Ben Fletcher guided the Spanish team to a welldeserved victory.

Wednesday saw the Spanish boys dismissed for a miserable 111 in 43 over against the Dutch who claimed victory by 160 runs.

So with two days of competition left there was plenty to prove, firstly a win against Denmark in the T20 would see them crowned back to back champions, and in the 45 overs also against Denmark, pride

was at state, couldn’t go home without once more winning a single 45 over match.

Deep Heat, freeze spray, and supports for all parts of the body kept these magnificent athletes together for the final two days, credit to them all for making it through this gruelling week, and they finished in style. Firstly was the victory on Thursday when a fiery spell from Harmit Phull 4-2-9-2 took out the top order and supported well by John Braithwaite and George Wambeek who also took 2 wickets each in their spell restricted Dansk to 82 for 8 in their 20 overs. In reply, that man again, Simkins 32 and Sajid Ali 39 gave Spain a racing start abut again unable to finish the job, left David Williams and Harmit Phull to complete a comprehensive victory, T20 Champions for the 2nd consecutive year!!!

On Friday the Danes did their best to spoil the Spanish party with a magnificent batting performance, setting the Spanish a daunting 194.

Chasing 195 to win and with the score at 21 for 2, the Spanish were in trouble and needed a decent partnership to get them back on track.

This time the Spanish batsman did not repeat the mistakes that had cost them in the earlier games, Stuart Simkins 106 not out supported

by David Williams 50 not out stayed there and finished the job,

Torrevieja Under 14’s finish 3rd in National Championships More success for the boys' team of the Torrevieja Tennis Club when, last Saturday they finished in third place in the team event for the Spanish Infantile Championship, the "Joan Compte Trophy" held at the Barcelona Tennis Club.

In the third/fourth place playoff they beat Club de Barcino tennis, playing on home soil, by 3-1 to claim third position.

The Salineros also eliminated CE Laieta of Barcelona, ??hosts Ct la Salud and CT Alboran of Madrid in the quarterfinals before losing in the semi-finals to second seeds CT Valencia by 3 - 1 who in turn were defeated in the final by the same score line by RCT Barcelona.

The salinero team was made up of Carlos Guerrero, Carlos Gimenez, Alejandro Manzanera, Alberto García, Eneko Ríos and Hugo Ballester.

Stuart Simkins ton added to his other scores over the 5 days of cricket rightly earned him the award of batsman of the tournament, take a bow that man!! What a fantastic way to finish the tournament for the Spanish team. The 45 over winners were the English XL club with an easy victory over the Dutch who had a bad day at the office.

Congratulations to the Spanish team, as always at these events, they made loads of friends and were the team that kept the others well entertained. At the awards evening the team were awarded the T20 cup and individual player souvenirs, Harmit Phull was given an award in appreciation of all his hard work at last year’s tournament at La Manga while George Wambeek was awarded the gentleman’s cup for all his hard work and effort not just during these tournaments but for all his work developing and supporting cricket in Spain.

Congratulations to all the Spanish squad comprising of players, umpires and scorers: Kevin Laundon, George Wambeek, John Braithwaite, David Riley, Ben Fletcher, Nisar Ranjah, Peter West, Jaggie Singh, Mark Briggs, Harmit Phull, Stuart Simkins, David Williams, Sajid Ali, Nigel Green.

San Miguel Walking Football

Due to a request from San Miguel council the Strollers are unable to play their games on a Wednesday now.

So as from September 5th they will be playing on Tuesday nights kick off 7 pm at the San Miguel Stadium San Miguel Strollers are a very social football team though at very slower pace for the over 55s and will always welcome new members so if you have ever played football or want to play contact.

Bill Whitehouse on smstrollers@gmail.com for more information.

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ROCKETS GS AUGUST AWAY DAY Down the AP 7 to RODA GOLF for our away game in August, and did’nt they do well in the Gold Category.

Coming in with a massive 39 points to take victory in the Gold Category was Efin Arfer Williams. Well played Arfer, Rodney has his knife sharpened for you!! In Second place with 36 points was Peter Daggatt and Ron Swift took Third with 34 points.

Andy Billings scored 33 points to take victory in the Silver Category with Paul Mutter coming in with 27 points to take second place and in Third place with 26 points was Graham Knight Only 3 Nearest the Pins Mike Davies, Ron Swift. And Andy Billings Rodney Smith had the Longest Drive and Alan Brooker was the Best Guest.

Back to our base at Bar Patrica in Torreta 111 for lovely sarnies and Presentation. Thanks to Chris and his Staff.

Due to the Calender this year our Home game is in 3 Weeks time Tuesday 12th September at Vistabella first tee 08.15am Please be there for 07.45 and have the correct money for the Green Fee. Anyone who would like to join our Society or would like a game when on holiday give Ron a ring on 678 849 142 or email sanmigron@gmail.com

637 227 385

San Miguel Bowls Club The Wednesday early morning roll up has proved very popular, 0830 for 9am start, finishes about 10.30 before it starts to get hot. All members welcome. See Ken Hope for details.

The draw has been made for the Valencian Championships, keep your eye on the board for schedules.

There are no more places available for the Fun Day and Hog Roast on the 7th October, if you wish to be considered as a reserve, please contact Paul Thomas.

The sheet is up for the Annual San Miguel Ladies v Emerald Isle Ladies on Friday 6th October, this year it is at San Miguel, get your names down ladies, lets keep our name on the trophy!

For further info on the Club, please contact the President, Rosamond Stockell, telephone 965 32 9778 or Secretary Pat McEwan, telephone 966 71 4257

Monday 28th August - Sunday 3rd September, 2017

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Well established private gated path/garden areas; fully tiled/balustrades, separate door entrance to fully-glazed tiled terrace, with 3 sliding tinted windows, electric/water points fitted.

Entrance to property: Security grills fitted to door/windows, large lounge, under stairs cupboard, fitted electric heater/cooler system, separate kitchen, leading to covered security grilled fitted UPVC Galleria/window.

Two large bedrooms, security grills fitted;

21

El Plantio 2 Greensome and On Tour

Tuesday 22nd August saw twelve El Plantio members return to their home nine hole course to play a 2 team green some. Each pairing use their best tee shot and then play alternate shots with a minimum of seven tee shots taken by each player. Due to good pairings by Captain Rod Loveday, the final outcome was tremendously close with 0.24 shots separating the first three finishers and a total of 10 birdies were shared by five pairings. The sixth pairing shall remain nameless - sob.

Nearest the Pins, Hole 2 - Graham Blakeway, Hole 4 - John Wilby.

3rd Place, Lawrence Wanty, Rod Loveday, Average Handicap 9.42 49.58 shots. 2nd Place, Keith Smith, Graham Blakeway, Average Handicap 8.60 - 49.40 shots.1st Place, Ray Housley, Mike Davies, Average Handicap 9.66 - 49.34 shots.

If anyone would like to join our Society, we play at El Plantio Golf Club on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. We use both courses - the Par 3 nine hole course and the main 18 hole course, so we cater for all abilities. The membership rates are very competitive, so call for more details.

PROPERTY FOR SALE - LOS MONTESINOS Offers in the region of 69,995 euros

os Montesinos, Alicante, just 40 minutes drive from both Alicante-Elche and San Javier airports, close to the beaches at Guardamar, Torrevieja, La Mata, Cabo Roig, Salinas; and towns: Quesada, San Miguel, Rojales and Benijofar, is this 2 bedroomed, 1 bathroom, south facing, ground floor apartment-bungalow.

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separate bathroom/wc/shower/bidet. Habitacion certificate.

Exclusive Community pool area; Los Montesinos Municipal Piscina/tennis courts/skateboard/football areas close by.

Situated in the Vega Baja, Los Montesinos town has a picturesque modern square, situated in the centre of a popular area with a plethora of bars and restaurants, overlooked by the Church and Bell Tower. Town Hall/Police station.

Facilities include Banks, Pharmacies, petrol station/Commercial businesses.

FOR SALE, due to purchasing another property in Los Montesinos.

Please contact the owners direct for further details on: +34 7702 340 744 or email: lancashiremedia@gmail.com

AWAY DAY - El Plantio GS on Tour As El Plantio Golf Course was still out of commission due to Staff Holidays and necessary maintenance, 12 members decamped to play the scenic par 63 Poniente Golf Course near Benidorm. Despite having the longest hole of just over 300 yards, the course was really testing with accuracy off the tee needed to avoid lost golf balls and nil Stableford returns. Avoiding these pitfalls was Lyn Young, with a magnificent round of golf.

Nearest the Pins, Hole 12 - Graham Blakeway, Hole 4 - John Wilby(nearly hole-in-one). 3rd Place, John Wilby - 37 points. 2nd Place, David Swann - 37 pts(on C/B). 1st Place, Lyn Young - 44 pts.

If anyone would like to join our Society, we play at El Plantio Golf Club on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. We use both courses - the Par 3 nine hole course and the main 18 hole course, so we cater for all abilities. The membership rates are very competitive, so call for more details.

Anyone who wishes to play in the Society as a guest or join as a new member, contact Ian Henderson on 966 716 616 or 636 116 230.

Las Ramblas Social Club By Mike Mahony Monday we played The “Yellow Peril” but with 3 man teams only the Yellow Ball and one other to count on each hole. The winners, on a count back, with a score of 99 pts. were Olga Douglas, Rod Doel and Pete Dunn.

Runners up, also with 99 pts, were Mike Chapman, John Shervell and Rachel Leckey.

On Wednesday we played on the beach! Well it felt like it as the greens had been treated and heavly sanded and coupled with having to play the back 9 twice it turned out a very frustrating day. However, one person who mastered the conditions, coming in with a great score of 43 pts.

was Rod Doel. Well done Rod. 2nd was Lindsay Forbes 37 pts. And 3rd was John Shervell 36 pts. but to make his life easier, (he is getting on a bit), he decided to play off the Blue Tee´s!

There were no 2´s this week due to the conditions.

On Friday, the greens had improved a touch, we played best 2 from 4 all count on the par 3´s. The winning team with 94 pts. were Donna Campbell, Nick Campbell, Reg Akehurst and Peter Reffell. A close second were Liz Robertson, Ken Robertson, Yvonne Phipps and Mike Mahony with 90 pts.

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Monday 28th August - Sunday 3rd September, 2017

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San Miguel Golf Society at Las Colinas

Thirty-one members and 4 guests made their way to Las Colinas to play a stableford competition. The course was in good condition throughout, having improved from the last two visits. Set up was mid-distance, long enough that those lower handicappers playing in Gold Category returned, as is often the case here, better overall scores than their counterparts in the other two divisions. Only Tony Sims broke par, with Steve Davis the only other member playing to their handicap or better. However, Steve’s score, and with it the winning of the Silver division, proved well short of that required to defeat Steve Higgins, his adversary, in the 2nd semi-final in this year’s singles matchplay competition. Although garnering one less point, Steve H came through with a resounding 4&3 win and progresses to the final to face Jamie Rorison.

The day’s SMGS stableford competition results, by category and in reverse order, were the following: Bronze Category: 4th Norman Padmore (32 on CB), 3rd Bella Philips (32 on CB), 2nd Keith Stevenson (33 on CB), and 1st Brian

Butler with the same score of 33 points.

Silver Category: 4th Gordon Wilson 31, 3rd Hugh Reilly (32 on CB), 2nd Alan McDonald (32 on CB), and 1st Steve Davis with 36 points Gold Category: 4th Mick Cook (33), 3rd Tony Smale (35 on CB), 2nd Steve Higgins (35 on CB), and 1st Tony Sims with 37 points.

Nearest the pins on the par 3’s (open to all) went to Mick Cook (holes 5 and 14), Tony Smale (7), Bella Philips (10) and Robin Eastman (17).

The Abacus was won by Peter Hudson The Best Guest prize went to Gerry Conneybear (31) Our thanks go to the staff at Las Colinas golf course for their contribution to an enjoyable day.

Keep up to date with all SMGS matters by logging on to our website www.smgs.org or simply give Captain Theo Boelhouwer a call on 694494824 to find out more about the society and its weekly golf get-togethers. Next week we will be at El Valle.

MIKE PROBERT TALKS GOLF Here on the Costa’s golf is one of the biggest leisure time activities for both tourists and resident alike and with this in mind we have secured the services of Mike Probert of Costa Blanca Green Fee Services to provide a weekly round up of local golfing events and topics and in conjunction with us at THE LEADER will provide discounted golf prices to all of our readers and run our golf competitions.

Hollow Tining of Greens - WHY? We just entering that period of the year when the courses hollow tine the greens causing a disruption to golf and producing a poor putting surface for a few weeks but just why do they have to do this to us?

The surface of a green, colour, density and speed is a combination of the maintenance of the surface but also, about the maintenance of the root-zone.

A healthy grass starts from healthy roots. Soil compaction can be a severe problem resulting in restricted root growth, lack of water infiltration into the soil, loss of resilience, weed invasion, disease problems and decline in turf quality.

Hollow Tining is used to prevent damage from an excessive soil compaction. It is also very important to provide the needed drainage, for water infiltration and aeration at the root-zone and is done during the warm season when temperatures favour rapid shoot growth and coverage of the turf openings.

The use of sand on greens is essential because it helps to digest the organic matter, enhancing the aeration of the root-zone, speed on greens and better recovery from pitch marks. In order to minimize the disruption to golfers, hollow tinning is usually carried out in 2 consecutive journeys so that the 18 greens are aerated in the same week.

The surface smoothness restoration process includes top dressing, drag matting and rolling and greens are normally puttable after 3 days with rolling putting surface within 10 days.

However in reality depending on a number of factors such as day and night time temperatures and watering it usually take greens 15 to 20 days to return to a perfect condition.

The Med Bar Golf Font de Llop Individual stapleford Competition Up the road to font de llop for our fortnightly outing and stapleford competition, some decided to carry on up the motorway to the airport instead using the turn off for the course!

As usual at this course, everything was set up and ready for us to enjoy the days golf with one member, Andy Trefry, cleaning up with four prizes, and many members scoring over the magic mark of 30 points Results for this outing: Winner on the day – Andrew Drinkall with 39 points 2nd Andy Trefry with 37 points 3rd Alan Snape with 35 points on count-back Nearest the pins on par 3`s: Andy Trefry, Ray Muttock, Andrew Drinkall, Ray Batey & John Goulder Nearest pin in 2 on par 4: Andy Trefry Nearest the pin in 3 on par 5: Andy Trefry 2`s pot, John Goulder and Andrew Drinkall Football card winners: John Goulder and Ray Muttock We all returned to the Med Bar & Bistro in El Raso where we were joined by family and friends and all had a good time and enjoyed the buffet provided by Steve and his staff Thanks to Steve and his staff at the med bar and bistro, our next outing is at Altorreal Golf Course on 29/8/17 Anyone wishing to join our society is welcome and we can either be contacted by email at: medbargolf2016@gmail.com or pop into the bar where all details can be left and we will get in touch with you

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T.M.G.S. at Alenda Golf With many of our members taking a summer break back in the UK or Scandinavia just 24 players made their way to Alenda. The course was presented in great condition as some of the winning scores will show. It was noticed that yet again Alenda are making improvements, this time to many of the cart paths by re-routing them so as not to interfere with play.

With so few players the day was made shorter this was to the delight of some who MUST get home to the “better half” ASAP! All in all a very enjoyable day’s golf on a very enjoyable course.

Results; N.T.P.’s Hole 3 new member Mike Saunders, hole 5 Joe Dean, hole 13 our resident school teacher, now retired Derek Sullivan, hole 16 Nada. Derek along with Mike also managed to birdie their par 3’s to share the €21 contained in the 2’s pot. Silver category results; 3rd J. Hillier 33 pts. 2nd S. Twentyman 34 pts. 1st Merethe Mhyrvold 35 pts. Gold category results; 3rd G. Smith 33 pts. 2nd L. Jernberg 36 pts. 1st O. Rong 38 pts.

Photo: Gold category winners.

For further information about our forward looking Society please visit www.tmgs.org or follow us @TMGSGOLF or visit our Facebook page TMGSGOLF. The secretary will still take your call on 661 524 101

GREENLANDS BOWLS CLUB (Sponsored by Costa Blanca Green Fee Svcs).

There you have it…so when you next question the parentage of the green keepers you will understand the reasons just a little more.

We at THE LEADER are committed to providing to our golfing readers affordable golf without the need to join a club or apply for a card but simply contact the number below to have instant access to discounted golf prices, many of which are exclusive to us.

The deals shown in the table are some of the best currently available to you.

Golf Course Alenda Alicante Altorreal Bonalba Don Cayo (Altea) El Plantio Font Del Llop La Finca La Marquesa La Serena Las Colinas Las Ramblas Lo Romero New Sierra Golf Roda Villamartin Villaitana Levante Vistabella

Price €104 €82 €86 €90 €94 €112 €80 €110 €38 €92 €136 €94 €176 €70 €85 €102 €96 €62

Comments 2 Players and Buggy 2 Green Fees and Buggy (after 12pm) 2 Players and Buggy 2 Players and Buggy 2 Players and Buggy 2 Players and Buggy (after 12pm) 2 Players and Buggy 2 Players and Buggy Single Green Fee 2 Players and Buggy 2 Players and Buggy 2 Players and Buggy 4 Players and 2 Buggies 2 Green Fees and Buggy 2 Players and Buggy (after 1pm) 2 Players and Buggy 2 Green Fees and Buggy 2 Players and Buggy (weekends)

For Bookings and info Mike at info@costa-blanca-greenfees.com quoting the reference LEADER or on 966 704 752 or 661 345 931 Quotation of the Week “There are 450 members in every golf club that think they know better than the greenkeeper” - Ray Probert (Dad)

Greenlands bowls club has vacancies for members. If you are looking to play in the Winter Leagues, (Winter league, SABA and Southern) then consider joining this friendly club with arguably the best carpet on the Costa.

We are looking to consolidate our squads, don't listen to rumours. Contact Hayley at the club or give Chris (President) a ring on 698 418 987 for details, and get it from the horse’s mouth.

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Monday 28th August - Sunday 3rd September, 2017

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23

Undefeated Torry end pre season with silverware UD Horadada ................ 0

offering plenty of action for the men between the sticks.

CD Torrevieja ................ 1

Recent signings Juanpe and Tenza (both ex Hercules ´B´) certainly look the part, especially Juanpe who oozes loads of pace all over the park.

Manager Pedreno was deprived of the services of long serving full back Vicente, who had a reasonable excuse in that his sister was getting married (sensible lady, exchanging vows out of season!).

Early doors, Beltran´s shot from distance looked goal bound, before it was deflected over the bar, then midway through the 1st half, Manu Amores watched as his stunning drive was punched to safety.

Another deflection robbed Torry of an opening goal, when Zaragoza´s fierce free kick eluded the

T

he Ikomar Stadium was the venue for Torry´s ultimate pre season friendly last Saturday, although at times, friendly was hardly the operative word. Hosts Horadada of 1st regional div, certainly gave their higher ranked visitors a stern test, which at times got a little bit nasty!

A number of off the ball incidents were in evidence, as tensions rose in both camps, culminating in Torry´s Tenza and Zaragoza, plus opposition Matias, picking up silly yellow cards.

Having said that, this was an entertaining friendly,

BY STEVE HIBBERD

target, then Eric had a glorious chance but when faced with a one on one, he shot hopelessly wide.

It wasn´t all one way traffic, Mauro in Torry´s goal was called upon more than once to keep a clean sheet. Beltran had the final say of the half, his 30 yard belter shook the post before bouncing to safety, as Torry steadily grew in confidence.

Torry highlights of the 2nd half included a Walid header from a corner punched to safety, then from the rebound a Verdu shot was well saved. On the hour mark, the hugely impressive Juanpe embarked on yet another foray down the left wing to the dead ball line.

Horadada’s Ros saves at the feet of the dangerous Juanpe

His pull back was inadvertently knocked into his own net by the unfortunate Ruben Pastor.

Net cast far and wide by Montesinos CD Montesinos pre-season friendlies have taken in games against San Fulgencio, Torrevieja and Algorfa as the Los Montesinos based side prepare for life in the 1st Regional following promotion last season.

"I was very unhappy with the players attitude in the defeat against San Fulcencio", said coach Carlos Perez speaking exclusively to The Leader.

"I made that very clear to them. After that talk I was happy to see the players had taken it on board and in the game against Torrevieja I was happy with the performance in getting a draw," said Carlos.

"The players stepped up a gear", added Carlos.

CD Montesinos are amongst a plethora of clubs in the Alicante region that play amateur 'grass roots' football - the lower echelon side of the professional game - that is taking an even bigger step away from the multi millions of teams in both Spain and Britain.

With Neymar's record £200m crazy transfer from Barcelona to PSG this summer, the question beggars 'where's it all going to end?'.

CD Montesinos are looking for sponsor ships one being to pay for the costs of coach travel to away games.

On the other side of the coin Liverpool have announced a £25m deal for a shirt sleeve logo sponsorship.

Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are just a pick other other clubs with major multi million pound shirt sponsorship deals.

CD Montesinos will have to find 70,000 euros this season to cover first team, B team, youth and

junior sides during the 2017-18 campaign.

The Alicante based outfit have a loyal fan base underlined by the Full Monte Supporters Club, but behind the scenes activities are continuously ongoing to get cash into the pot.

Under the leadership of President Felipe Paradez, a successful businessman, and first team coach Carlos the Vega Baja minnows are little fry against the big boys of both the higher echelons of both amatuer and the professional game, but the enthusiasm over the last decade has seen the club realise the promotion aim that was gained last term.

Admission to watch CD Montesinos is as little as 1 euro upwards at home fixtures at the Los Montesinos Municipal Stadium.

A drink and a pie - atun - pasty - can be had for 1 euro. Who needs prawn sandwiches?

The net has been cast far and wide - but the team to land the biggest catch - both on a professional and amateur basis, will leave the rest with that losers sinking feeling come the end of the 201718 season.

As for the minnows? They'll keep trawling along with the hope that one day they will be amongst the big fish, in their respective waters.

The big question remains is that in years ahead will the 'tide' turn - leaving the once big hitters splashing about - as the sponsorship deals dry up.

A drought waiting to happen?

Meanwhile teams as grass roots level within the Vega Baja region will continue to bait up, happy with the sponsor deals cast their way.

Torry were delighted to end their pre season undefeated and with the added bonus of silverware

Moments later, Tenza struck the post, before Torry sub Kana forced a good save. Another bullet header by Zaragoza was superbly saved, as Torry pressed for a 2nd goal which never materialized.

This narrow 1-0 victory earned Torry a post match presentation of the Jose Villaescusa trophy.

Rewind 3 days to when Torry faced local 1st Regional Div side Torrevieja CF at Nelson Mandela Stadium, which also resulted in another Torry victory. Following a goal less 1st half, goals

by Eric, Mani and Santos, secured a 3-0 scoreline.

At long last, following a long hard summer, competitive football arrives at Nelson Mandela again.

Next Sun 3 Sep, ko 7pm, Torry host fellow relegation side Almoradi, for the first Preferente div match of a new season.

24

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