Euro Weekly News - Mallorca 24 - 30 October 2013 Issue 1477

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ISSUE NO. 1477

24 - 30 OCTOBER 2013

Halloween special

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CHECK out the bone-rattling 12 page spooky Halloween Special featuring all things wonderfully wicked from Pages 27 to 38.

Islands hotels leading the way in the tourism stakes BALEARIC hotels are leading Spain in occupancy levels thanks to the British, Germans and now the Russians. These three groups of tourists are by far the most important to the islands, helping hotels record an average occupancy level of 82.1 per cent in September. That was the best level seen in all of Spain’s Autonomous Communities. Across the country an average 61.8 per cent of beds were taken. And the islands were punching above their weight in the foreign tourist market. Last month 35.6 per cent of all overnight stays by international visitors to the country were in the Balearics.

The top five Spanish tourist hotspots in terms of occupancy were all in the Balearics. They were, according to the INE, National Statistics Office, Son

Servera (92.62 per cent), Santa Margaldia (91.96 per cent), Alcudia (91.75 per cent), Sant Josep (91.71 per cent) and Muro (89.78 per cent).

Mallorca as a whole had 83.68 per cent occupancy with PalmaCalvia registering 80.79 per cent levels. Of the international visitors, travellers from the UK (27.5 per cent) and Germans (25.9 per cent) were the most important The crew sailed into Palma’s Club for hotel stays. That was a rise on the de Mar on Monday to a huge welcome from sailing officials along with family previous September of 3.2 and 1.7 per cent and friends. respectively. Full story Page 40

‘Tall’ sailors make triumphant return IT was a triumphant return for Galaxie, the Joves Navegants’ yacht which was placed first in its category at this year’s Mediterranean Tall Ship Race and Regatta.

Having raced against 39 vessels to claim the top spot in Category C, the team of underprivileged children returned to their home island to tell all about their ‘unforgettable experience’.

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NEWS

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Court withdraws Matas bail order A COURT has withdrawn a €500,000 bail condition imposed on former Regional Government President Jaume Matas for his alleged implication in the Palma Arena corruption case. The court’s decision is based on the fact that the prosecution didn’t ask for the continuation of a deprivation of liberty request for Matas after the first phase of the case. As a consequence, the court has considered the bail - which was initially of €3 million and was later reduced - should be declared void. The former president, however, will still have his passport withdrawn to prevent him leaving the country. Matas is to face trial again on December 2 for the Palma Arena case.

THIS WEEK IN

EWN News 1 - 14

Finance 15 - 20

Letters 21

Leapy Lee 22

Daily TV 24

Time out 50 - 51 JAUME MATAS: Will face trial on December 2.

Classifieds

He’s been charged with bribery after his wife was reportedly illegally hired by a Palma hotel owner. The Palma Arena case began as an investigation

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into alleged irregularities in the Balearic Government. In 2005, Matas was believed to have embezzled €50 million for the building of Palma Arena velodrome.

Sport 64

NEWS Yacht intercepted A GUARDIA CIVIL Maritime Services patrol boat intercepted a German yacht that anchored only 20 metres off Illetes beach in Calvia. Its owners were fined for disturbing beachgoers. Drunk driver A 26-year-old man was arrested in s’Arenal after he nearly ran over a National Police officer trying to avoid a breath test. The man, who fled the scene driving at a high speed claimed he was “scared of being fined.”

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Magaluf starts all over again… MAGALUF’S Tourism Office is trying to re-market the image of the wellknown ‘party town’ by focusing on its winter sports and leisure opportunities. To counteract the preconceptions of the area, which has had a string of bad publicity over drunken antics by tourists and problems with

Film stars due to fly in to Almeria…

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XCITEMENT is mounting as filming of the latest Hollywood blockbuster to be shot in Spain was due to start this week. Sir Ridley Scott’s biblical epic Exodus is being shot in Almeria from now until mid-November. Several auditions have been held in the province to find thousands of people who will take part as extras. They will mainly be used for filming on the sets which have been built in Sierra Alhamilla and the Macael quarry, famous for its marble. A further 500 people have been hired in the province. Rumour has it that one of the stars of the show, Sigourney Weaver, will not be coming to Almeria, as the scenes she is in are going to be shot in London. Despite this, Almeria won’t miss out on seeing some famous faces including Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Aaron Paul, John Turturro and Ben Kingsley.

Almond thieves TWO men, aged 43 and 73, have been arrested for allegedly forcing an entrance onto a Manacor farm and stealing several plastic bags containing almonds.

watch

Times are changing DO not forget on Sunday at 3am clocks are turned back one hour.

Holiday ruined TWO people had to be taken to the Son Espases hospital by helicopter after they fell ill while holidaying on the Costa Fortuna cruise ship 65 miles off Mallorca.

Bather drowns

FILM SET: Becomes tourist attraction after filming. The film tells the story of Moses and the liberation of the Jewish people in search of the Promised Land. Residents in the area hope that once filming is over, the sets will remain as a tourist attraction. Many of the hotels have already seen a rise in the number of bookings over the period the film will be shot. Sir Ridley Scott is said to be enamoured with Almeria, and will be living there while filming continues. Actors will be staying in apartments and the crew will stay in hotels. The Andalucian Film Office has said the film will leave some €23 million in the province.

A BATHER, aged 50, drowned on the Trenc beach in the town of Campos. A doctor who was passing by saw the man drowning and tried to save his life, but to no avail.

Cancer cases AT LEAST 622 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed on the Balearic Islands every year, according to the Spanish Association Against Cancer. Five hundred of them are diagnosed in Mallorca.

GPS time EVERY car in the Sa Pobla Local Police pool now has an integrated global positioning system (GPS) device to improve the response time during emergencies.

Fruity fraud THE OWNER of a fruit shop in Palma has been charged with fraud after he reportedly set fire to his shop to claim the insurance money.

S_BUKLEY

/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

FEATUREFLASH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

STARS: Christian Bale, Sigourney Weaver and director Sir Ridley Scott.

Quote of the Week

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Not worth it A MAN has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for stealing three Euro coins from a van parked on a street in Palma. The court determined the man had committed a crime of robbery with violence.

media attention from the British press meaning the town hall gained thousands of euros free publicity. The Tourism Office recognised in order for the public to get to know the different side of Magaluf they would have to “start from scratch.”

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Thieves fled THREE teenage boys, aged 15 and 16, were arrested in Palma after they allegedly broke into two schools in Palma. Police believe they were trying to steal some laptops, but fled when the schools’ alarms went off.

violent crime, the town hall earlier this year launched a public relations campaign with communications agency KBC. Now it claims it has had an impact on 12.9 million readers in the UK, according to figures released by the Department of Tourism. The campaign attracted positive

Exodus arrives

Couple cleared A PALMA COUPLE have been acquitted of fraud and making a false report after they were accused of simulating a car crash in Son Gotleu. Abuser arrested A MANACOR man has been arrested for attacking his son with a knife when he stepped in to protect his mother during a family argument. Both the father and the son sustained minor injuries.

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NOT using the word ‘crisis’ from the beginning was a clear mistake’

Former Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, when asked about his government’s management of the financial crisis.

Number of the week

11,535

explosive devices, including fire-extinguishing bombs, ‘rain rockets,’ mortar bombs and artillery shells have been made safe by the Guardia Civil Bomb Disposal Unit so far this year. Of them, 440 came from the Spanish Civil War.

And finally... The winner of this month’s logo competition is Mrs Lilian Warbrick-Smith from Costa Blanca North, chosen at random by Marie from Premier Heating Costa Blanca. She takes home €100. How many EWN logos like this can YOU find in this week’s paper? Visit www.euroweeklynews.com to answer, for a chance to win €100 each month! All correct answers will also go into a Christmas draw for a gift voucher to spend in local businesses.

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NEWS EXTRA

Garden fires MALLORCA firefighters extinguished 10 garden fires in various area on the first day such fires were allowed in rural Mallorca after the summer.

Tourism talk PEDRO Homar Director of Foundation 365 tourism body will talk about the industry at the La Caixa building, Placa de Weyler 3, Palma, on Tuesday at 6.30pm.

NEWS

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Police prevent suicide bid A POLICE patrol rescued a 37-year-old man found trying to commit suicide in a car parked on the industrial estate in Levante. It was at around 4am when

the patrol noticed there was something odd about the parked car. The officers saw a tube leading from the exhaust into the boot and a man who seemed to be sleeping in the passenger

seat. Officers removed the tube and woke the man. Although he denied it at first, he later confirmed that he had been trying to commit suicide. The man’s family had reported

his disappearance two days previously. Officers called for an ambulance and the man was taken to Son Llatzer Hospital where he was kept under observation.

Ex-husband arrested for kidnapping and sexual abuse A MAN has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and abusing his ex-wife and threatening his son with a knife. The 26-year old man was arrested by Local Police in Palma after his ex-wife reported that he had broken into her home,

where he help her captive throughout the night and physically and sexually abused her several times, she said, as well as threatening their son. The man had already been issued with a restraining order for mistreating his former wife in March the terms of which meant he could not go within 500 metres of her. However, according to the 27-year-old woman, he entered her home, whilst she was putting out the rubbish, held her captive, beat and abused her. The man is also alleged to have raped his ex-wife and beat her when she tried to

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Police are investigating the allegations. escape and call for help. The woman managed to lock him out of the house the next day after convincing him they needed food shopping.

Following this, according to her statement, the man tried to run her and her new partner over with a motorbike and kidnap their son from nursery school.

Officers went to the suspect’s house, but he wasn’t there. Knowing they were looking for him, he handed himself in at Sant Ferran police station.

NEWS

Fewer noisy protests LOCAL POLICE in Palma received 2,179 complaints about noise between January 1 and September 30. The true number was almost certainly higher as several calls regarding the same source of noise are treated as one incident in police records. This year’s average of eight protests a day falls well below the 17 daily protests registered in 2008 and 2009. The quietest period was February with 124 calls to the police, followed by 143 in January. Noisy groups of young people, motorbikes, loud music, road works, pubs and discos triggered the most conflict. Complaints increased throughout the spring, reaching their highest point in July. This was Palma’s noisiest month, when the Local Police received 395 protesting calls.

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More for the money in Baleares RENTS in Baleares average €749 a month and are amongst Spain’s most expensive. Only Madrid and the Basque regions have higher rents at €923 and €873 a

month respectively. Although rents fell in Baleares were 0.73 per cent year lower last September than in 2012, this was the second-smallest reduction in any

Spanish autonomous region. Palma de Mallorca experienced Baleares’ biggest dip with a 0.98 per cent reduction on 2012. The average property rental in Baleares is 28.6 per cent more than the €582 Spanish average. But if rents are higher, properties are larger and an apartment in the Islands has an as the 1am high season closing time finishes average area of 108 at the end of this month. square metres. There is also the possibility that nearby This is 12.5 per cent residents will object, admitted councillor bigger than the Joan Pau Reus. Unlike the Rambla and Calles national average of 96 Born, Unio and Jaume II, they could claim square metres per that Plaza de Cort is not a principal tourist property. area and try to veto the move.

Longer terrace opening hours likely in the Plaza de Cort TERRACES in the Plaza de Cort could remain open for an hour longer during the high season. Palma City Hall is now considering extending their opening hours from midnight until 1am. If the council decides to go ahead this would not come into force until next season,

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NEWS

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Choral concert times changed DUE to unforeseen circumstances the times of two concerts by Leeds based chamber choir the St Peter’s Singers have had to be moved back one hour. The first concert at the Parish Church of St John the Baptist in Muro on Saturday is now at 8pm and Sunday’s concert at the Church of Sant Miquel, Campanet, starts at 7.30pm. This will be the choir’s fourth overseas tour, following trips to Romania in

November 2007, Mallorca in October 2009 and Brittany in May 2011. The choir will be directed by Alan Horsey and accompanied by organist David Houlder, who will also perform solos in each of the recitals. Each hour-long recital will comprise a panorama of sacred choral music from British and Continental traditions spanning over 500 years. Admission is free, with a retiring collection being taken.

A huge thank you Me time

A HUGE thank you has been sent from Cala Nova cancer charity shop to everybody who helped make its fashion show a success. Organisers said thanks to all those that donated prizes for the raffle and auction, to everybody who gave their time for free and most of all to everybody who supported

them so they could donate €15,000 to their cancer charities. The shop’s next event will be lunch at the Lindner Hotel in Bendinat on December 12, costing €30 per person. To book now, call Angela McGrath from the Cala Nova cancer charity on 609 848 622 or on shop number: 971 708 684.

MOOD Beach in Calvia is celebrating Indulgence Day tomorrow (Friday) from 10am offering a range of free health and beauty mini sessions. Entrance is €20. Book now by calling 971 676 456.

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NEWS EXTRA

Body found LOCAL Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found outside a camping shop in Secar de la Real, Palma. He had been dead for around six days.

Bird rescue FIREFIGHTERS had to save a macaw that escaped from its cage and settled on the balcony of an abandoned apartment in Berenguer de Tornamira.

Violent robber arrested at airport A MAN wanted for using ‘extreme violence’ on home owners during a series of robberies in Cataluña has been arrested at Son Sant airport. Guardia Civil Officers posted at the airport stopped the 43-year-old Dominican man at passport control. When they passed his passport through the scanner they found that he was wanted for several violent criminal offences in Cataluña. The Guardia Civil later linked the man to a recent robbery involving violence and intimidation in a home where the occupants were held against their will. In this case the man was said to have acted with extreme violence before making off with jewellery and €3,000 cash.

NEWS

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Mother pursued for drunk driving A WOMAN has been arrested for drunk driving with her six-year-old daughter in the car. A police patrol car initially reported a Volkswagen Golf in Can Pastilla, Palma, driving with a punctured tyre. The police officers signalled the car to stop, and when it didn’t, police pursued the vehicle. Eventually the car hit the curb and the engine stopped. Police breathalysed the 39-year-old woman driving and found her to be over the limit. A scared six-year-old girl travelling with her was crying. A taxi driver later arrived at the scene because the vehicle in question had crashed into him at a stop sign and didn’t pull over.

ARRESTED: Woman was over the limit. Then another police car appeared who had also been following the vehicle for travelling in the wrong direction. The car was reportedly badly damaged and

showing signs of having been driven through a garden area. Police called her partner who took charge of her daughter who was complaining of stomach pains.

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NEWS

Terrorist is freed by human rights court THE European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has revoked the so-called ‘Parot doctrine,’ which allowed the extension of prison sentences to terrorists. The ‘Parot doctrine’ said the time reduced off a prison sentence for good behaviour should be taken away from a prisoner’s total sentence, and not the 30-year limit stated by the Spanish law. The ECHR considers the doctrine, named after the first ETA terrorist

postponed nine years in application of the ‘Parot doctrine’ to June 2017. Now the Spanish Government has released Del Rio following the Strasbourg-based court’s ruling, which has also ordered her to be given €30,000 compensation. Members of the Spanish Government have claimed they respect the ECHR’s ruling, although they disagree with it. “It deeply hurt us,” said the Minister for Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, who added the Government made all possible efforts to keep the ‘Parot doctrine.’ Meanwhile, Spain’s He then reportedly passed it on to several people without her consent via the Terrorist Victims Association smartphone messaging application has asked the Government Whatsapp. The video quickly went viral and not to obey the ruling spread through different social networking claiming it will bring insecurity to Spanish websites. After a short investigation National Police citizens. It has been officers arrested the victim’s friend and warned this decision could three other people accused of spreading open the door to the release of many others. the video on the web.

prisoner it was applied to, Henry Parot, is a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court’s decision comes after ETA terrorist group member Ines del Rio Prada lodged an application in 2009 complaining about an extension on her prison sentence. Del Rio, who was serving a 3,800 year prison sentence linked to terrorist attacks carried out between 1982 and 1987, was due to be released in July 2008. However, her release was

Four arrested for web video FOUR people, including two minors, have been arrested in Valladolid for allegedly distributing the erotic video of a girl through the internet. It was the mother of the victim, aged 15, who alerted the National Police after she found out a compromising video of her daughter going round several websites. The girl had sent the video to a friend of the same age of her own free will.

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EUROPEAN PRESS

Stories making headlines in Europe

S CANDINAVIAN P RESS

BRITISH PRESS

SWEDEN - A pensioner, 75, killed a fox with her bare hands when the animal tried to attack her hens in her house in northern Sweden. “I wasn’t scared,” she told a local newspaper.

Mother in jail DENMARK - Four people have been sent to prison for kidnapping and torturing a boy, 16. One of the offenders is the mother of the victim’s ex-girlfriend, who accused him of raping her.

Teenage killer NORWAY - A teenager, 13, confessed to having killed a three-year old boy who was living with him and his family in foster care. The teenager will be handed over to social services as he cannot be prosecuted.

DENMARK - A paramedic from eastern Denmark has been charged with rape after he reportedly had sex with a drunk girl without her consent. The alleged rape took place in an ambulance while they were going to hospital.

Warmer sea

THE UK is asking European Commission permission to offer discounted fuel prices at remote rural garages. A five pence a litre discount on pump prices is being sought for three English and seven Scottish towns. It would be an extension of a scheme offering discounts to remote island communities.

Titanic auction A VIOLIN played by the master of the Titanic’s band, members of whom famously stayed at their posts as the ship sank, has been sold at a Wiltshire auction house for £1.185 million (€1.4million). It was found at sea with musician Wallace Hartley’s body a week after the Titanic went down.

Store closed

No charge

SINGER Robbie Williams has closed his clothing line, Farrell. The unexpected news comes just weeks after he opened a pop-up shop in Covent Garden, which is also closing.

SCOTLAND’S Finance Minister John Swinney has pledged that there will be no charge to use the new Forth road bridge. It is due to open in 2016.

Yours for a quid MILLIONAIRE pop star Britney Spears went shopping in a London branch of Poundland. She was buying novelty mini-matches.

Good spenders SCOTLAND attracted 2.2 million visitors from overseas last year. According to tourism body VisitScotland, that generated £1.4 billion (€1.65 billion) for the local economy.

RUSSIAN PRESS TWO suicide terrorists died after a bomb exploded at the gates of Dygulubgey village cemetery next to a mosque.

Rocky show A RETROSPECTIVE of paintings by American action film actor Sylvester Stallone will be STALLONE: on display in St Paintings to go Petersburg’s on display. Russian Museum from this Sunday until the middle of January.

Most educated S_BUKLEY

Hanging about FOUND AT SEA: Famous violin.

Deadly blast

Ambulance rape

NORWAY - The temperature at the Barents Sea in northern Norway is five degrees Celsius warmer this year, according to Norway’s Institute of Marine Research.

A CAMBRIDGESHIRE school has decided to teach children how to play conkers after finding out 95 per cent of pupils did not know how. John Cattermolehead of Littleport Primary, said parents were “very supportive” and the children loved it.

Cheap fuel

A REPORT by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has placed Russians as the most

PRESS No privacy A BLOGGER from Berlin is posting every detail of his life online as part of an experiment to prove that technological advancements have made every effort to protect private life pointless.

Totally conkers!

Brave pensioner

GERMAN

educated people in the world. They are followed by Canadians and Japanese.

Bamboo clothes RUSSIAN cosmonauts will wear garments made of bamboo from next year after the state rocket and space corporation reached an agreement with clothes manufacturer Faradei. Bamboo fibre is said to be light and durable.

HIV spread RUSSIAN scientists have raised the alarm over a new and more virulent form of the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Known as 02_AG/A, it is said to be spreading in Siberia, Chechnya, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Car spend THE government is to spend 12 billion rubles (€272 million) on limousines for high-ranking officials.

Dodgy matches FOOTBALL governing body FIFA will investigate 12 football matches that took place in Russia for alleged match-fixing.

SEVENTY-SIX passengers were trapped for hours in a cable car in the city of Wuppertal due to an electrical fault. No injuries were reported.

Animal accidents THE German Hunting Association reported 210,000 road accidents involving wild animals during the 2012-2013 hunting season. The damage caused by these accidents was worth €500 million, according to the association.

For richer for poorer... A MAN who won €500,000 in the lottery has been ordered to share his winnings with his ex-wife by a court. They had been separated for eight years when he won the money, but divorced two months after the win.

Crime of passion A WOMAN, 40, has been sentenced to six years in prison after she shot her love interest four times. The man had previously rejected her. He survived the incident.

Cyclist gored A GERMAN cyclist, 54, was gored to death by a bull in southern France. The bull escaped from its enclosure and attacked the man, who was on holiday in France with his wife. She was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

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NEWS

Don’t lose out on UK pension and benefit payments EXPATRIATES who draw UK pensions and benefits may soon be contacted by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to confirm their international bank details. From January 31, 2014, the DWP will need an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and Bank Identification Code (BIC) in order to make payments to expatriates’ accounts in Spain and other Eurozone countries. This change is due to new European Union regulations which aim to make payments between EU countries faster and more secure. The DWP already holds IBAN and BIC details for most of its customers. But expatriates whose details are not yet held by the DWP will soon receive a letter asking for them. If you receive a letter, you should complete the attached form and return it to the DWP as soon as possible, says the British Embassy in Madrid.

Failure to do so may mean your payments will be stopped because after January 31, banks in Eurozone countries will not accept any DWP direct payments without these details. You can get the IBAN and BIC details from your bank account statement or directly from your bank. Expatriates only need to provide additional bank details if they receive payments into a Eurozone account outside the United Kingdom and have received a letter from the DWP. Pensioners who have changed address should contact the International Pension Centre on 0044 191 218 7777 to make sure their details are up to date.

For more information about the change to European bank account numbers, visit the European Commission website at http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/ payments/sepa/index_en.htm

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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inance F A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COM

24 - 30 October 2013 / Mallorca

business & legal

Airport looking for budget airline THE government believes that a low-cost airline will lift Barajas out of the doldrums. There was a 22 per cent drop in passengers using the Madrid airport in August compared with 2012. September saw an 11.5 per cent reduction. Nationwide passenger traffic fell by 5 per cent since January, but this rose to 14 per cent at Madrid-Barajas.

Minister of Public Works Ana Pastor believes that a Barajas-based low-cost airline could help to reverse this trend. “We are putting the finishing touches to an agreement,” Pastor recently confirmed in a radio interview. Asked to name the company, she declined to give more details. “We shall wait until the agreement is signed,” she said.

No more hidden Swiss accounts NO undeclared Spanish bank accounts remain in Switzerland. All were regularised during the Spanish government’s fiscal amnesty last year, claimed the Swiss Private Bankers Association (SPBA). Practically every Spanish account-holder accepted the amnesty in order to pay less than the usual penalty for undeclared assets, an SPBA spokesman told Spanish journalists recently. The Spanish government announced that the amnesty brought approximately €40 billion to the surface. Tax authority Hacienda received €1.2 billion, although this was less than half of the expected €2.5 billion.

At one stage Madrid was interested in the Rubik system where, in exchange for anonymity, Switzerland levies a withholding tax at source to discharge an accountholder’s tax liability. This would then have been forwarded to Spain. Despite initial interest, nothing more was done and Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro denied in parliament last December that Spain contemplated taking the Rubik route. Although Italy and Greece are considering the system, only Austria and the UK have so far signed up to it. Vienna is said to be satisfied with the results although London is allegedly “disappointed.”

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usiness extra

New rules for jobless WITH Spanish unemployment forecast by the IMF to stay above 25 per cent for five more years Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is trying to push people off benefits. New rules planned for next year are aimed at making it harder for claimants to reject job offers and to clamp down on benefits fraud.

Debt rises DESPITE the Spanish government’s austerity drive public debt keeps going up. It will peak at 101.13 per cent of gross domestic product in 2015, claims the government in documents sent to European Commission.

Easy come easy go... YOUNG Spaniards spend €8 billion a year but have little grasp of basic finance. Eighty per cent in the 14 to 24 age group do not know the difference between a debit and a credit card and 70 per cent admit doing nothing to earn their allowance. Although they receive an average €40 a month they spend €150.

These were amongst findings from Keepunto, an internet site that aims to show young people how to appreciate the value of money and use it responsibly. Spending habits are formed between the ages of 14 and 24 and this age group is now notable for creating tendencies and defining families’ consumer habits.

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STAT OF WEEK MOVISTAR and Vodafone lost 147,687 and 58,642 lines respectively last year. Mobile Virtual Network operators gained 159,056 new contracts, followed by Orange (44,274) and Yoigo (8,535).

Iakov Filimonov / Shutterstock.com

Low-cost solution

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MADRID-BARAJAS: Losing trad e.

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

LONDON - FTSE 100 C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 2.40 0.58 3.00 0.25 17.00 1.17 13.00 1.18 13.50 0.88 11.00 1.22 7.00 0.69 2.00 0.10 13.86 0.44 -0.90 -0.20 17.64 1.46 7.70 1.73 -3.25 -1.17 -1.50 -0.12 17.50 0.94 0.05 0.01 -1.50 -0.05 -1.21 -0.20

NET VOLUME 106.92 28.80 34.64 216.31 194.67 66.53 68.18 51.75 112.98 202.48 48.56 291.91 2,008.99 118.75 505.27 957.25 120.58 212.48

CU RR EN CI ES

C LOSING P RICES O CTOBER 21

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 417.50 Admiral Group PLC 1211.50 Aggreko PLC 1471.00 AMEC PLC 1117.50 Anglo American PLC 1546.25 Antofagasta PLC 910.00 ARM Holdings PLC 1020.00 Associated British Foods 2063.00 AstraZeneca PLC 3164.25 Aviva PLC 440.75 Babcock International 1224.50 BAE Systems PLC 452.55 Barclays PLC 274.57 BG Group PLC 1231.50 BHP Billiton PLC 1878.50 BP PLC 447.53 British Amcn Tobacco 3321.25 British Land Co PLC 606.50

0.84531

Units per €

United States $......................................................1.36757 Japan Yen ¥ ...........................................................134.083 Switzerland Francs................................................1.23512 Denmark Kroner ....................................................7.45869 Norway Kroner.......................................................8.08557

C O M PA N Y

PRICE(P)

British Sky Broadcasting BT Group PLC Bunzl PLC Burberry Group PLC Capita PLC Carnival PLC Centrica PLC Coca-Cola HBC AG Compass Group PLC CRH PLC

935.00 365.95 1365.00 1539.00 967.00 2089.00 362.90 1757.50 887.00 1535.50

DOW JONES

NASDAQ

C LOSING P RICES O CTOBER 21

C LOSING P RICES O CTOBER 21

C O M PA N Y MMM 3M Co AXP American Express Co T AT&T Inc BA Boeing Co CAT Caterpillar Inc CVX Chevron Corp CSCO Cisco Systems Inc DD E. I. du Pont de Nemours and C... XOM Exxon Mobil Corp GE General Electric Co GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc HD Home Depot Inc INTC Intel Corp IBM International Business Machine... JNJ Johnson & Johnson JPM JPMorgan Chase and Co MCD McDonald's Corp MRK Merck & Co Inc MSFT Microsoft Corp NKE Nike Inc PFE Pfizer Inc PG Procter & Gamble Co KO The Coca-Cola Co TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies Corp UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc VZ Verizon Communications Inc V Visa Inc

PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 122.84 80.52 34.61 122.52 87.34 119.65 22.96 59.62 87.55 25.55 158.69 74.69 23.88 173.78 91.63 54.30 95.20 46.61 34.96 75.93 30.51 79.41 38.78 86.58 107.74 68.76 50.01 200.45

+0.22 +0.29 +0.17 +0.23 +1.49 +0.129 +0.18 -0.02 +0.07 +0.87 +0.37 -1.05 -0.045 -1.05 -0.34 +0.09 -0.27 -0.50 +0.04 +1.39 +0.25 -0.01 +0.23 +0.56 -0.28 -2.61 +1.11 +2.17

+0.18% +0.36% +0.49% +0.19% +1.74% +0.11% +0.79% -0.03% +0.08% +3.53% +0.23% -1.39% -0.19% -0.60% -0.37% +0.17% -0.28% -1.06% +0.11% +1.86% +0.83% -0.01% +0.60% +0.65% -0.26% -3.66% +2.27% +1.09%

2.6M 7.6M 30.5M 3.9M 6.8M 6.2M 44.5M 3.7M 12.4M 98.6M 5.0M 14.3M 29.6M 10.6M 9.1M 24.8M 7.3M 20.6M 41.8M 4.9M 43.6M 8.0M 18.9M 2.0M 2.7M 21.1M 22.2M 3.6M

1.18299

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G.

C O M PA N Y

7.50 0.90 6.00 12.50 6.50 -2.00 0.23 -3.44 0.50 5.00

0.81 0.25 0.44 0.82 0.68 -0.10 0.06 -0.20 0.06 0.33

PRICE

NET VOLUME 123.96 488.92 13.27 118.23 26.74 17.27 701.01 13.47 144.35 51.68

CHANGE NET / %

Most Advanced Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Align Technology, Inc. athenahealth, Inc. Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Gaiam, Inc. USA Truck, Inc. Google Inc. KiOR, Inc. SolarCity Corporation CoBiz Financial Inc. Sify Technologies Limited

$ 13.83 3.06 / +28.41% $ 57.98 12.05 / +26.24% $ 130.832 25.367 / +24.05% $ 13.20 2.05 / +18.39% $ 6.49 0.89 / +15.89% $ 11.03 1.36 / +14.06% $ 1,011.408 122.614 / +13.80% $ 2.60 0.30 / +13.04% $ 59.46 5.37 / +9.93% $ 10.78 0.96 / +9.78% $ 2.26 0.19 / +9.18%

Most Declined ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. pSivida Corp. Acacia Research Corporation Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. Knightsbridge Tankers Limited Bridgford Foods Corporation Immunomedics, Inc. First Financial Service Corporation Alico, Inc. Alimera Sciences, Inc. Kaiser Aluminum Corporation

$ 2.67 $ 2.87 $ 15.48 $ 7.83 $ 8.61 $ 10.51 $ 4.48 $ 5.17 $ 38.43 $ 2.48 $ 67.37

1.83 / -40.67% 0.93 / -24.47% 4.14 / -21.10% 1.67 / -17.58% 1.79 / -17.21% 1.88 / -15.17% 0.58 / -11.46% 0.63 / -10.86% 4.57 / -10.63% 0.23 / -8.49% 5.66 / -7.75%

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) Croda International PLC 2532.50 Diageo PLC 1995.00 easyJet PLC 1360.00 Experian PLC 1210.00 Fresnillo PLC 983.00 G4S PLC 248.90 GKN PLC 369.80 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1579.50 Glencore Xstrata PLC 337.23 Hammerson PLC 526.00 Hargreaves Lansdown 1132.00 HSBC Holdings PLC 678.60 IMI PLC 1532.50 Imperial Tobacco Group 2272.50 InterContinental Hotels 1863.50 International Consldtd ... 360.75 Intertek Group PLC 3252.50 ITV PLC 195.45 Johnson Matthey PLC 2965.50 Kingfisher PLC 378.10 Land Securities Grp PLC 979.00 Legal & General Grp PLC 206.65 Lloyds Banking Grp PLC 76.50 London Stock Exchange 1646.50 Marks & Spencer Group 489.70 Meggitt PLC 550.25 Melrose Industries PLC 308.05 Mondi PLC 1094.00 National Grid PLC 764.00 Next PLC 5182.50 Old Mutual PLC 199.35 Pearson PLC 1343.00 Persimmon PLC 1233.50 Petrofac Ltd 1416.50 Prudential PLC 1254.00 Randgold Resources Ltd 4491.00 Reckitt Benckiser Group 4501.00 Reed Elsevier PLC 863.25 Resolution Ltd 346.05 REXAM PLC 496.20 Rio Tinto PLC 3240.00 Rolls-Royce Holdings 1099.50 Royal Bank of Scotland 360.35 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2167.50 RSA Insurance Group 120.90 SABMiller PLC 3132.25 Sage Group (The) PLC 330.85 Sainsbury (J) PLC 398.30 Schroders PLC 2610.00 Severn Trent PLC 1834.00 Shire PLC 2530.50 Smith & Nephew PLC 791.50 Smiths Group PLC 1413.50 Sports Direct Intrntnal... 712.25 SSE PLC 1454.00 Standard Chartered PLC 1491.50 Standard Life PLC 360.25 Tate & Lyle PLC 776.25 Tesco PLC 370.43 Travis Perkins PLC 1804.50 TUI Travel PLC 379.40 Tullow Oil PLC 989.00 Unilever PLC 2458.50 United Utilities Group 710.00 Vedanta Resources PLC 1052.50 Vodafone Group PLC 227.65 Weir Group PLC 2320.00 Whitbread PLC 3369.50 William Hill PLC 404.35 Wm Morrison Sprmarkets 279.20 Wolseley PLC 3282.50 WPP PLC 1292.00

CHANGE -4.50 5.50 -1.00 10.00 -5.50 6.90 -0.90 0.75 2.40 0.00 -4.00 -0.45 -5.00 -7.00 8.00 1.00 21.00 0.43 -8.00 -7.20 0.50 -0.65 0.06 -3.00 -5.30 4.50 1.70 -1.00 3.65 22.00 -1.20 7.00 3.00 1.00 -10.18 27.00 -1.00 10.00 -0.50 4.00 20.47 7.00 -12.40 3.00 -0.13 -24.50 1.70 3.20 -4.00 7.37 -7.12 3.50 12.00 -0.50 3.00 1.00 0.80 4.96 1.25 14.00 0.50 0.00 -7.18 0.45 14.00 -0.05 26.00 20.50 0.80 -3.28 20.00 6.00

% C H G. -0.18 0.28 -0.07 0.83 -0.56 2.85 -0.24 0.05 0.72 0.00 -0.35 -0.07 -0.33 -0.31 0.43 0.28 0.65 0.22 -0.27 -1.87 0.05 -0.31 0.08 -0.18 -1.07 0.82 0.55 -0.09 0.48 0.43 -0.60 0.52 0.24 0.07 -0.81 0.60 -0.02 1.17 -0.14 0.81 0.64 0.64 -3.33 0.14 -0.11 -0.78 0.52 0.81 -0.15 0.40 -0.28 0.44 0.86 -0.07 0.21 0.07 0.22 0.64 0.34 0.78 0.13 0.00 -0.29 0.06 1.35 -0.02 1.13 0.61 0.20 -1.16 0.61 0.47

VOLUME 15.82 264.50 63.68 99.38 118.11 1,083.22 255.79 416.14 681.83 61.83 28.73 1,502.39 110.66 182.44 29.08 314.58 14.25 340.49 20.06 723.15 30.60 306.49 7,067.66 3.96 263.51 43.24 38.22 48.98 479.87 10.17 358.93 56.69 56.50 24.73 224.13 21.85 135.14 342.02 84.38 153.48 192.93 148.38 2,638.04 245.57 200.92 146.94 307.91 248.67 8.67 19.87 63.96 40.18 23.34 58.32 94.16 230.21 116.83 71.31 658.00 41.70 116.44 44.96 165.97 73.77 173.86 3,694.40 21.80 37.09 248.20 1,079.02 34.82 58.33

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL BUSINESS EXTRA

More car jobs NISSAN will increase production at its Barcelona plant by 80,000 when its new eNV200 is launched next year. It will create 1,000 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs.

Trains contract KAZAKHSTAN’S state railway service placed a €400 million order with Talgo to design, build and market ‘competitive and innovative’ suburban trains

Lost property YEAR-ON-YEAR property sales fell by 15 per cent in August for the fourth consecutive month. This was blamed on unemployment and few bank loans.

Refinery shifted REPSOL will spend more than €120 million to move its crude oil, coke and sulphur operations from La Coruña’s Inner port to its new Outer port.

EUROPEAN PRESS

www.euroweeklynews.com

24 - 30 October 2013 / Mallorca

EWN

17

As my friends can prove, every cent certainly counts Loose change A look at finance for females Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

SOMETIMES it’s the little things that do count. The other day a friend of mine, who has just moved into a new apartment with her husband, mentioned they have already kitted out their new pad with a sofa, dining room table, chairs and a brand new bed. All paid by cash. My jaw dropped. These days our lovely friends at the bank aren’t in the habit of giving out extra money on top of mortgages to help furnish a new house - so how did she manage to buy all these lovely new things?

KEEP SAVING: Put away loose change. Well, my pal began the process of purchasing this particular apartment off plan a couple of years ago, and, in what ended up being three years of waiting for the place to be built and finished,

herself and her husband managed to put away a tidy sum of savings in a piggy bank nonetheless. Every evening when the pair came home from work they

would empty any small change from their wallets into a piggy bank. Between the two of them on a daily basis they might have tipped in up to €8, but even at an average of €4 per day into a piggy bank, in one year that amounts to almost €1,500. So you can imagine that after three years they had saved up quite a lot of money. The best part of the whole thing, she told me, is that they never felt like they were saving. It wasn’t as painful as trying to put €100 away in one go. By putting a few loose coins into a savings jar each night, saving was easy. I think it’s a great idea - and while I don’t own a piggy bank, I have instead cut a coin slot into a used five-litre water bottle, which now serves as a savings device. It’s only day four of saving so far, but in 361 days from now I too hope to buy some fancy new furnishings for my home!

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BBVA sells stake in China bank SPANISH bank BBVA is strengthening its capital reserves and meeting new banking rules by selling a 5.1 per cent stake in China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited. Its partner CITIC Group has agreed to pay €944 million. The deal, carried out at market price, will free up capital and increase reserves by €2.4 billion. It retains a 9.9 per cent holding in the Chinese state owned bank, which brings it under the 10 per cent limit for stakes in other banks recently agreed.

www.euroweeklynews.com

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

Shopping mall sold for €144.5m A BRITISH company has sold its stake in Spain’s biggest shopping mall for €144.5 million.

British Land announced it has sold its 50 per cent interest in Puerto Venecia Shopping

Centre and Retail Park in Zaragoza, to Orion European Real Estate III C.V. (a fund managed by

Short hours

JOB HUNTING: No time.

JUST 23 per cent of unemployed people spend a minimum of three hours a day looking for work. Madrid is the autonomous community where the jobless spend the most time looking for work - but even there just 27 per cent of people spend more than three hours a day on the job hunt.

Electrical appliances in trouble FAGOR, the Spanish electrical appliance maker has filed for bankruptcy. The company, which has 6,000 employees estimates sales have plunged 37 per cent

since 2007. The company, which says it is the fifth largest appliance maker in Europe now has four months to reach an agreement with creditors.

Human resources company Manpower interviewed 7,000 work seekers. By age, those between 35 and 44 spent the most hours looking for jobs, (29 per cent over three hours) whilst of those aged 16 to 24, just 84 per cent spent less than three hours a day seeking work.

Orion Capital Managers). The centre was previously owned in a joint venture partnership with them. Puerto Venecia is an 82,600m2 retail park which opened in 2008 plus a 130,000m2 fashion and leisure phase which opened in October 2012. Charles Maudsley, Head of Retail for British Land, said: “I am pleased with the sale of Puerto Venecia which is in line with valuation. We have worked well with Orion to successfully complete and let the scheme and the disposal

is in line with our strategy of exiting our European business. It halves our European exposure to 1 per cent.” The deal comes hot on the heels of news that British mall owner Intu Properties is looking to expand in Spain. Earlier this month it bought a shopping centre in Oviedo, northern Spain, in partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. British Land is one of Europe’s largest Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with total assets, owned or managed, of £16.9 billion (€20 billion).

Surveillance cameras: who sees the images? Q. Readers have brought up more questions regarding surveillance cameras in Spain after our earlier piece. In particular, they want to know who sees the images, and how this works.

You and the Law in Spain By David Searl

A. When you apply to the Agencia de Protección de Datos, the APD, for a permit to install a video camera, you must identify the department or person who will administrate the recorded images. When you are granted a permit, you

will also receive an ‘official’ warning sign for the public to know that cameras are present. You have probably seen these small yellow notices in various establishments, such as your bank. If you approach the sign, you can read the small print, which identifies the person in charge of the images. If you have a complaint, you have the right, under the Law of Data Protection, to have your images erased from the data bank. These images can generally be kept for only one month. No use can be made of them except for security purposes. If there are break-ins in the community parking garage, the recorded video of that night will be carefully studied. Otherwise, as various users of security cameras have told me, it is quite likely that no one will ever look at them before they are thrown away. If, by unfortunate chance, the video cameras have caught Mr. Smith and Mrs. Jones in a compromising situation, and this later comes to light, the registered administrator of the images will be in serious trouble indeed, facing high fines and even possible criminal charges. These rules are the public’s protection against illegal use of the videos.

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952-667090

OPINION & COMMENT

Unjust law for innocent homeowners REGARDING the homes demolished in Cantoria (Reduced to rubble, Issue 1476). These poor people, the judge agreed, had bought their homes in good faith, yet he ordered the demolition of their properties before they received a penny in compensation. Surely the most just outcome would have been to order the developer of the illegal homes to buy back the houses and then put a demolition order on them. As it is, the only people punished are the innocent house buyers who have lost their homes and money. The builders still have the cash, and the town council has washed its hands of the affair. But then the courts are about the law, not justice. Samantha Weston (By email) Editor’s note: the EWN reported how two illegal homes in Almeria Province were demolished on a judge’s orders, despite the owners having bought them in good faith.

Scrooge-like I DO not think I have ever read a more revolting letter than D Blanchette’s (Issue 1476). Was it not Ebenezer Scrooge who expressed the hope that paupers would go off and die right away, so as to reduce the surplus population? What right has your correspondent to decide that he has a better right to go on living, than children who are suffering privations which it is hard for us even to imagine? No one denies that population cannot grow indefinitely, but experience has shown that when medical and general living standards are good, birth rates fall, as has happened in Western Europe. Mind you, Mr Blanchette’s views look well in a paper which continues to indulge Leapy Lee’s paranoias. Now he tells us that because some taxi firms are staffed by immigrants, this proves that they practise racism. What evidence has he for such a wild

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Letters YOURSAY@EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Letters for Your Say should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com, posted to Euro Weekly News, C/Moscatel 10, P-62, Polígono Industrial, Arroyo de la Miel, 29631 Benalmadena, Málaga, Spain or faxed to 0034 952 440 887

Photographs for possible publication should be sent by email with a full caption to: photonews@euroweeklynews.com

On my travels around Carboneras, I saw these cacti taking over the rubble of an abandoned farm. By Robyn Boutilier, Turre (Almeria)

statement? Has he tried to get a job with such a firm and failed? Does he know anyone else who has? And his ranting about the burka is getting to be paranoiac, too. Is it really anyone’s business how other people dress? Leapy concludes that ‘The list goes on’. No, Leapy, it’s your paranoia that goes on, and we’re sick of it. Bill Campbell (By email)

WHEN YOU WRITE All letters, whether by email or post, should carry the writer’s postal address, NIE and contact number though only the name and town will be published. Letters may also be edited. Readers who have missed earlier correspondence can see all letters posted on:

www.euroweeklynews.com

Editor’s note: D Blanchette stated that charities should concentrate only on sex education and contraception in Third World countries. Children saved now will otherwise have more children and perpetuate the problem of overpopulation.

Cover up I AM happy to see Palma Council (Cover up or be fined, Mallorca Issue 1476) is going to make it an offence to walk around the city semi-naked, punishable with €200 fines. I really do not understand why people, many of them obese, think it remotely appropriate to wander around town in just

bikinis or swimming costumes. What is OK on the seafront is most certainly not OK in shopping streets. It is not difficult to put a shirt on and spare the rest of us the sight of your bright red, sunburned rolls of flab. DB, Palma (Mallorca)

Feria rip-off MY visiting daughter and I went to the Nerja feria on Saturday, October 12. On the way home, we stopped for tapas at a bar called Sevillano. We had a glass of wine, a beer, two nice tapas, and the bill was just over €4. The following day, we decided

to go to another bar, which I praised, telling my daughter how much she’d like it. We had one glass of wine, one lemonade, two beers and four tapas. This should have amounted to under €10. Instead, my 22-year-old daughter was presented with a bill for €29.50. When we queried this, we were told “It’s the feria.” I was absolutely furious, and needless to say, will never go there again on principle! Others, beware! Kate Lee-Renwick, Nerja, (Malaga)

Open doors WHEN will the powers-that-be finally allow Sunday trading? I work hard through the week, and it is galling not to be able to do my shopping on a Sunday, the only day I have free. Living in a ‘tourism area’ the shops CAN stay open, but only in the summer months. But now they are back to being shut again. Surely the simple measure of Sunday opening would create more employment in these difficult times. And it would mean I would not have to do a late

EWN

21

night supermarket dash before they shut! Justin Hunter, Mijas Costa (Malaga)

Seats please AIRPORTS never seem to have enough places to sit. It does not matter where you are in the world, if there are any delays many passengers must stand. The problem is worse late at night when people stretch out to sleep across three or four seats, never mind that it means three other people then have to stand. Sheer selfishness! Flying back to London, I encountered just this problem at Stansted Airport. I had four hours to wait for the first London train, and spent them on my feet whilst others happily slept. AB, Estepona (Malaga)

Paws for thought THE English language is rich in collective nouns to distinguish between different groups of animals: a herd of horses, cows or elephants; a school of fish, etc. Less known, even for many natives of Shakespeare’s language, are: an ‘exaltation’ of doves, and supposedly because they’re so wise, a ‘parliament’ of owls. However, until recently, I never knew the anthropomorphic term for a group of baboons. I knew that they are the noisiest, most stubborn, least intelligent and most dangerous of all the primates. And what is the collective noun in English for this group? Exactly! A ‘congress’ of baboons is what we Americans now have representing us in Washington DC! Richard M McBride, Benidorm (Alicante) PS: My deepest apologies to our less harmful and hairier ape cousins.

Any answer? HAS anyone successfully claimed Attendance Allowance while living in Spain? I don’t mean if you have had the benefit exported, just that you have claimed and got the benefit since you went to live in Spain. I would be grateful for any info melaniecastle1@aol.co.uk. Melanie Castle (By email)

The views expressed and opinions given in Letters are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. They accept no responsibility for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements, and reject claims arising out of any action that a company or individual may take on the basis of information contained therein.

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E W N 24 - 30 October 2013 / Mallorca

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OPINION & COMMENT

Listen to your elders... LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT

I

grandad was 99 when I went to visit him, on what was sadly the last occasion. He lay in his hospital bed, looking extremely frail, but still bearing a wonderful head of hair. He was a very successful butcher and always maintained that greasy hands rubbed through his hair on a daily basis was responsible. (Gawd!) Mind you, that’s all Brylcreem was, scented grease!

T IS not only a national scandal, but also an almost inexplicable waste the way the British treat their elderly citizens. Cast aside like bundles of old, no longer fashionable, clothes, they are stuck out of sight by younger generations, who have no respect or time for them and often regard them as an embarrassment. All that wealth of experience with WISER: Ignore positively treasure troves of knowledge, completely discarded to the advice of the make way for new generations, older generation bristling with inexperience and for at your peril! the most part arrogant enough to believe they will not only make better life decisions, but will also stay young forever. Ha! Give us a break! This blatant disregard of human experience is slowing the progress of the West at an alarming rate. I don’t know of any life situation or business that has prospered by starting completely afresh every few years. I still vividly remember a wonderful example of elderly acumen when, despite an inability to keep up with modern technology, back in the mid-sixties I received truly sound advice from the voice of real experience. My dear old

He greeted me with a wide, beaming face and told me he had heard me singing on the ‘wireless’ that morning. “Bloody warz!” he exclaimed. “I heard you singing on the wireless at 6.30 this morning. I can remember the time you couldn’t even get out of bed till half past ten!” Lovely. Just before I left he gestured me to come closer. I bent down. Putting his mouth right next to my ear he then uttered words that, had I truly taken his advice, would have undoubtedly stood me in extremely good future stead. “Put yer money in bricks and mortar,” he whispered conspiratorially. Ah, Grandad, 99 years of experience and I didn’t take it. Take fair warning, all you youngsters; ignore the knowledge of those who manifested long before you at your peril. The successful Asian races don’t. Could you all do everyone a favour and give nothing at all to these East European beggars, who are multiplying like fleas on our streets and thoroughfares? They are a blight on the landscape, a filthy disgrace and a professionally organised racket. Personally, I find it extremely disconcerting to find the same grubby hand recently shoved out for coppers, later holding to a filthy ear, a mobile phone I couldn’t even afford myself! Keep the faith Love Leapy Leapylee2002@gmail.com

LETTERS TO LEAPY

Glasshouses LEAPY said of UK immigrants: “Far from integrating with their generous hosts, they have gone out of their way to recreate their own societies, even to forming segregated areas where they endeavour to reproduce the culture and customs of the countries they have actually run away from!” That’s the best description I’ve read of foreigners here in Spain. After 13 years on the Costa, I’m the only foreigner I know who has bothered to learn Spanish and integrate with the locals. Nuff said. Q. What does Leapy have in common with Sean Connery? A. They both left their native countries decades ago, but are great admirers from afar. Mike Casey, Benalmadena (Malaga)

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E W N 24 - 30 October 2013 / Mallorca

Thursday BBC1/ 4:15pm Perfection 5:00pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Waterloo Road 10:00pm Truckers 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Question Time

BBC2/ 4:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:15pm Cagney and Lacey 6:00pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm Nigellissima 8:30pm Nigellissima 9:00pm Trust Me, I'm a Doctor 10:00pm No Sex Please, We're Japanese 11:00pm Mock the Week...Again 11:30pm Newsnight

Friday

SATELLITE CHANNELS - SkyMoviesAction/

BBC1/ 4:15pm Perfection 5:00pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Ronnie's Animal Crackers 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Room 101 10:00pm Have I Got News for You 10:30pm Citizen Khan 11:00pm BBC News at Ten

BBC2/ 4:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:20pm Cagney and Lacey 6:05pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm Nigellissima 8:30pm Nigellissima 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Gardeners' World 10:00pm Natural World 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/

ITV/

4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Tonight 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Britain's Secret Treasures 10:00pm Breathless 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm The Jonathan Ross Show

4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Gino's Italian Escape 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Piers Morgan's Life Stories 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

CH4/ 4:10pm Countdown 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm 4thought.tv 9:00pm George Clarke's Amazing Spaces 10:00pm Educating Yorkshire 11:00pm Up All Night

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of Orange County 6:05pm Big Rich Texas 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm The X Factor USA 10:00pm Tricked 11:00pm Celebrity Juice 11:50pm The Magaluf Weekender

CH4/ 4:10pm Countdown 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:30pm Unreported World 8:55pm 4thought.tv 9:00pm Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 10:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats 10:30pm Man Down 11:00pm Alan Carr: Chatty Man

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of Orange County 6:05pm Big Rich Texas 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm You've Been Framed! 10:00pm The Bourne Supremacy

TV LISTING

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9:00am Thursday

•Jeremy Irvine •Peter Mullan

Saturday BBC1/ 5:30pm Final Score 6:20pm BBC News 6:30pm Regional News 6:35pm Weather 6:40pm Pointless 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing 9:15pm Atlantis 10:00pm The National Lottery Live 10:10pm Casualty 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Weather 11:20pm Match of the Day

BBC2/ 4:30pm The House That £100k Built 5:30pm Rugby League World Cup 8:00pm Flog It! 8:30pm Killer Whales 9:30pm Dad's Army 10:00pm The 70s 11:00pm The Sarah Millican Slightly Longer Television Programme 11:40pm An Education

ITV/ 4:00pm Star Wars: Attack of the Clones 6:40pm Local News and Weather 6:50pm ITV News and Weather 7:00pm You've Been Framed! 7:30pm Fool Britannia 8:00pm The Chase: Celebrity Special 9:00pm The X Factor 11:00pm The Jonathan Ross Show

CH4/ 5:10pm Come Dine with Me 5:40pm Come Dine with Me 6:10pm Come Dine with Me 6:40pm Come Dine with Me 7:15pm Come Dine with Me 7:45pm Channel 4 News 8:05pm Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 9:00pm Grand Designs 10:00pm Die Hard 2

ITV2/ 4:25pm You've Been Framed! 4:55pm Honey 6:55pm The Flintstones 8:45pm Twister 11:00pm The Xtra Factor

BBC1/

War Horse (Film, 2011) Devon, 1914. The Great War looms and for simple farm boy Albert (Jeremy Irvine) its biggest wrench will be that his closest companion, a beautiful thoroughbred horse named Joey, is set to be sold to the army. Since his father purchased the stallion to spite his landlord, Albert has trained and reared him, reluctantly sending him to plough and joyously riding him across picturesque English fields.

Sunday BBC1/ 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Waterloo Road 10:00pm Truckers 11:00pm BBC News at Ten

BBC2/ 5:15pm Cagney and Lacey 6:00pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm Nigellissima 8:30pm Nigellissima 9:00pm Trust Me, I'm a Doctor 10:00pm No Sex Please, We're Japanese 11:00pm Mock the Week...Again

ITV/ 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Tonight 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Britain's Secret Treasures 10:00pm Breathless 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

CH4/ 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm 4thought.tv 9:00pm George Clarke's Amazing Spaces 10:00pm Educating Yorkshire 11:00pm Up All Night

ITV2/ 6:05pm Big Rich Texas 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm The X Factor USA

Tuesday

Monday BBC1/ 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Inside Out 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Panorama 10:00pm Ripper Street 11:00pm BBC News

BBC2/ 5:20pm Cagney and Lacey 6:10pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm The Great British Bake Off 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food 10:00pm Iceland Foods: Life in the Freezer Cabinet 11:00pm Never Mind the Buzzcocks

ITV/ 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Tales From 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm OCD Ward 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

CH4/ 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm 4thought.tv

ITV2/ 5:10pm The Real Housewives of Orange County 6:05pm Big Rich Texas 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed!

4:15pm Perfection 5:00pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm Escape Artist 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Imagine...

BBC2/ 4:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:20pm Cagney and Lacey 6:05pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm The Great British Bake Off Masterclass 9:00pm Autumnwatch 10:00pm The Wrong Mans 10:30pm The Sarah Millican Television Programme 11:00pm Later Live... with Jools Holland 11:30pm Newsnight

Wednesday BBC1/ 4:15pm Perfection 5:00pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm Watchdog 10:00pm Autumn's Supermarket Secrets 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather

BBC2/ 4:15pm Are You Being Served? 4:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:20pm Cagney and Lacey 6:05pm Flog It! 6:55pm Party Political Broadcast by the Labour Party 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm The Great British Bake Off Masterclass 9:00pm Autumnwatch 10:00pm Ambassadors 11:00pm The Culture Show

ITV/

ITV/

4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Aussie Animal Island 9:00pm Looking for Love: A Tonight Special 10:00pm On the Run 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Words of Everest

4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Agatha Christie's Poirot 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

CH4/

4:10pm Countdown 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm 4thought.tv 9:00pm Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners 10:00pm Masters of Sex 11:10pm London Irish 11:40pm 8 Out of 10 Cats

4:10pm Countdown 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm 4thought.tv 9:00pm River Cottage to the Core 10:00pm Grand Designs 11:00pm Barclaycard Mercury Prize Live Winner Announcement 11:05pm Gogglebox

ITV2/

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4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of Orange County 6:05pm Big Rich Texas 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Peter Andre: My Life 10:00pm The Vampire Diaries 11:00pm Celebrity Juice 11:50pm Tricked

4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of Orange County 6:05pm Big Rich Texas 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm You've Been Framed and Famous! 10:00pm Freshers 11:00pm The Only Way is Essex

CH4/

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OPINION & COMMENT

A question of faith Few Spaniards actually attend church Cassandra Nash

A weekly look and not entirely impartial reaction - to the Spanish political scene

T

HE Spanish regard themselves as Catholic but few go to church. Unless, that is, it involves dressing up for weddings, christenings and first communions, weeping at funerals and turning out for processions requiring little religious commitment. No-one denies the Church its right to honour the 522 priests, monks and nuns who died for their faith or the right to describe them as martyrs. But it should try not to politicise their path towards sainthood. Decades after the Constitution set it out in black and white, the Spanish hierarchy is still reluctant to accept that Spain no longer has a state

religion. And it is still reluctant to pay much heed to its silence regarding the thousands of Republicans who died after the war, persecuted for their own type of faith.

have hit every wage band and profession except the politicians. “We’re all in it together” is what voters hear. But they are in over their heads while their leaders splash happily in the shallows.

Come on in!

Keeping abreast

SPAIN’S president Mariano Rajoy told an Austrian interviewer that the sacrifices asked of the population have been “fairly distributed.” For a certain type of politician and non-Keynesian economists this could be true. Possibly Rajoy is correct in saying that these sacrifices have served to restore confidence in the Spanish economy. The public see these sacrifices from a different perspective. Five years of crisis and austerity

THREE members of the global women’s movement Femen interrupted the Spanish parliament as Justice minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon addressed the chamber. They ripped off their tops, chanting “Abortion is sacred” in protest against Ruiz-Gallardon’s plans to restrict abortion. “Clear the public gallery with care,” ordered the Speaker, Jesus Posada. The bare-breasted girls put up a fight, clinging to columns and

FIRST COMMUNION: Reason to go to church.

balustrades, but were removed from the chamber and taken to the police station. They were released immediately, unlike Femen members in Arab countries where real courage is required and severe punishment awaits them. Ruiz-Gallardon shrugged off the episode as “lack of respect for public sovereignty” which is not

entirely accurate. When Spain voted overwhelmingly for Mariano Rajoy in 2011 they wanted economic recovery, not limitation of abortion. Instead they failed to get the first and will be saddled with the second. Some sovereignty.

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Pumpkins, trick-or-treat, apple bobbing - it’s Halloween time! What’s in a name? The word Halloween or Hallowe’en dates to about 1745. It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows’ Even, contracted to e’en or een. Over time, it evolved into Halloween. History Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which have pagan roots, and others rooted in Celtic Christianity. Historian Nicholas Rogers notes that while “some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the

HALLOWEEN is celebrated on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows (or All Saints). According to many scholars, All Hallows’ Eve is a Christianised feast initially influenced by Western European harvest festivals, and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots. Typical Halloween activities include trickfestival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain,” which comes from the Old Irish for ‘summer’s end’. Samhain was most important of the four quarter days in the medieval Gaelic calendar and was cele-brated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man on or around October 31. Similar festivals were held at the same time of year by the Brittonic Celts in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. The names Samhain and Calan Gaeaf are still the Gaelic and Welsh names for Halloween. They marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the ‘darker half’ of the year, seen as a time when the spirits could more easily come into our world.

The souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes, and feasts were held, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. However, the spirits or fairies could also cause harm, and needed to be warded off with bonfires, which were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers. More recent times In modern Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man and Wales, Halloween was celebrated by mumming and guising, the latter of which goes back at least as far as the 18th century. This involved people going from house to house in costume reciting songs in exchange for food. In parts of Wales, men went about dressed as fearsome beings called ‘gwrachod’.

or-treating, attending fancy dress parties, decorating and carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories and watching horror films. In Spain, it has only caught on in recent years, mainly through the influence of US and UK films, but it has become very popular. In parts of Southern Ireland, a man dressed as a ‘Láir Bhán’ (white mare) would lead youths house-to-house collecting food; by giving them food, the household could expect good fortune. They commonly played pranks in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, and this practice spread to England in the 20th century. The traditional illumination was provided by turnips, hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces to represent spirits or goblins. In the 20th century they spread to England and became generally known as jacko’-lanterns. Christian influence Today’s Halloween customs are also thought to have been influenced by Christian dogma. Halloween falls on the evening before the Christian holy days of All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. These days are collectively referred to as Hallowmas and are a time for honouring saints and praying for recently

departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven. ‘Souling’, the custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls, has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating. Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door, collecting soul cakes. The custom was found in parts of England and dates back at least as far as the 15th century. Some Christians feel concerned about the modern celebration of Halloween because they feel it trivialises - or celebrates - paganism, the

occult, or other practices and cultural phenomena deemed incompatible with their beliefs. Spread to North America North American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was celebrated there, as the Puritans of New England maintained strong opposition to Halloween. It was not until the mass Irish and Scottish immigration during the 19th century that it was brought to North America. It was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was celebrated by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds.

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Mysteries in the Balearic Islands

A haunted hospital T

HE Verge del Toro hospital in Mao, Menorca, is said to be haunted. A Guardia Civil officer went on national TV claiming that he and seven colleagues witnessed hair-raising scenes at the hospital in November 2007 when it had been closed for months. Dressed in uniform, he told viewers they had seen flashing lights, heard whispers and strange noises, witnessed furniture appearing in different locations and noticed a presence. At around 2am, the Guardia Civil arrived at the old hospital because a security guard had claimed to have heard strange noises. Thinking there were intruders in the hospital, they went to investigate. On the fifth floor, the officer said, lights

Hair-raising scenes were witnessed at the hospital in Mao, Menorca were flashing on and off, but when they got there, no-one could be seen. However, they suddenly heard laughter and whispers. Thinking people were hiding, they called for back-up and combed the building, but still saw nothing. They noticed some of the heavy furniture had been moved and wardrobes which had been closed were now open. Just 10 minutes had passed and it was

VERGE DEL TORO: There have been strange going s-on. impossible for someone to have moved the items without being heard. A bed, which had been in one of the rooms, was now in a corridor. They decided to bring in a sniffer dog and took it up to the fifth floor in the lift. When the doors opened, the German Shepherd refused to get out, disobeying its handler, something it had never done before. Suddenly, the lights in the corridor came on, and the officers saw a very tall, thin woman wearing a white nightgown at the

end of the corridor. They told her to identify herself but she didn’t react. They asked her to approach, still no reaction. Then she suddenly disappeared. The fifth floor is where the psychiatric ward was located, so the windows and doors all have safety devices, but the woman vanished without a trace. The Guardia Civil will not confirm that this ever happened. Residents in the area also claim to have seen flashing lights and shadows at the windows.

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A warm welcome at Bar Rosita’s BAR ROSITA’S will be running their very own Halloween themed party on Saturday in Calvia Village. Owned by Tony Roig and Ann Collins, it is a family-run bar-restaurant where everyone is welcomed with open arms, by native Spaniard Tony, who speaks fluent English, and his partner Ann. They have many years experience in bars and restaurants in Mallorca and in the UK, and cater for regulars who visit again and again from Calvia, Magaluf, Santa Ponsa and Palma Nova, as well as many who come to the bar especially when they are in Mallorca on holiday. So anyone going along for the Halloween party will be assured of a warm welcome and a fun-filled night. As well as a fancy dress competition there will be a Scary Buffet featuring Lucifer’s Ribs and Dracula Chilli, and much more.

Tony and Ann SCARY BUFFET: Lucifer’s Ribs and Dracula Chilli on the menu! The bar is always happy to welcome new and returning clients. All the food is home-cooked and prepared on the premises, so customers are guaranteed a fresh and tasty meal every

time. It is also a great venue for private parties. Bar Rosita’s do home-cooked Sunday Roast and there is a Fish and Chip night on a Friday. All freshly made – no packets and no ready-made gravy!

Open Monday–Saturday (except Wednesday) from 9am to 3pm and from 6pm till late, and on Sunday from midday until 7pm. They currently have special offers including ‘Two for One

Tuesdays’, and can offer parties with free buffets. To find out more about this, call 662 204 859, see their Facebook page www.facebook. com/rositas.calvia or follow them on Twitter, BarRosita’sCalvia@BarRosita Calvia

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Creepy Halloween stories from around Spain Malaga (Cortijo Jurado) ON the outskirts of Campanillas, there looms a two-storey 19th century mansion. Its history is full of mysterious legends and although it has been abandoned and in ruins for many years it still draws the attention of passers-by. It has 365 windows, a watchtower, a chapel, stables, garages and simulates an English Gothic style. It belonged to Manuel Agustin Heredia, a member of the bourgeoisie, businessman and one of Malaga’s most prominent figures. When he died, his heirs inherited the property and many strange events are believed to have taken place there. It is said they may have belonged to a sect that performed satanic rituals and perverse sexual acts in the house, even human sacrifices. This legend is tied to the disappearance of

ABANDONED: Cortijo Jurado. young women aged between 18 and 21 in the area. Several girls who disappeared for three days and turned up dead on the banks of the Guadalhorce River, close to the house, are on

police records but cannot be definitely tied to the Heredia family. There are believed to be secret tunnels under the house which lead directly to where the bodies were found, and rooms said to contain apparatus used for torture. In 1925, the family lost its money and was forced to give the property to another noble family to whom they were related, the Larios family. The building was bought by Promociones Pantie, and was in a state of disrepair since the structure was exposed to air and damp after work began. The shell of the four-star hotel, which planned to open in 2006, still stands empty and work has seemingly halted. Many other legends surround the house and strange sounds, flashing lights and an inexplicable mist are said to occur at night.

The Bogeyman lived in Almeria

I

IN Spain, for years parents have threatened their children with ‘El hombre del Saco’ (The Sack Man), similar to the ‘bogeyman’, to scare them into behaving. Few may know that a real ‘Hombre del Saco’ existed in the Almeria town of Gador. At the beginning of the 20th century, a witch-doctor named Francisco Leona, aged 74, lived in the town, and was known for his violent character. A local man called Francisco Ortega went to him for a cure for his respiratory problems and tuberculosis. He was told to drink the warm blood of a child and rub its fat on his chest. The witch- doctor offered to do this for 3,000 reales and asked local families whether they would sell him their children. As he found

none, he decided to kidnap one and enlisted the help of a young man called Julio Hernandez, known as the ‘town idiot’. With the help of Julio’s mother, Agustina, known as ‘the witch’, they kidnapped seven-yearold Bernardo Parra on June 28, 1910, when he was on his way home from playing with his friends. It was Julio who took the child, apparently offering him raisins, and using chloroform, stuffed him into a sack and took him to Agustina’s house. The boy was tied down on a table and a cut was made under his armpit from which blood flowed. Agustina put it in a saucepan and mixed it with sugar before giving it to Ortega. They later killed the child, hitting his head with a blunt object and made a cut in

his abdomen from which they extracted the fat which was supposed to cure Ortega. Leona and Julio mutilated the boy’s body, put it in a sack, taking it to a secluded area where they buried it 30 metres underground, and covered it with stones and branches. Leona was later arrested, as was Julio. Agustina, her son Jose and his wife Elena were also arrested. Leona fell ill in prison before the case came to trial, and died there. Ortega, Agustina and Julio were sentenced to die by means of the ‘garrote vil’ (garrotte). Agustina’s other son was sentenced to 17 years in prison, while his wife was acquitted. Julio was pardoned by King Alfonso XIII in 1913, due to his alleged ‘mental limitations’.

Adaptation and translation by Jennifer M. Leighfield, from Alberto Cerezuela, Enigmas y Leyendas de Almeria, Ed. Circulo Rojo, 6th edition, May 2009. www.editorialcirculorojo.com.

Alhaurin de la Torre: IN the late 19th century, two local children went for a walk in the outskirts of the town and got lost. Their parents gathered local people to search for them and although they continued to look into the early hours of the morning they could not find them. The next morning the children appeared safe and sound and told everyone a beautiful lady had wrapped them in her cloak and looked after them throughout the night, fed them bread rings and took them back to the town at first light. The parents decided to hold a mass in honour of the lady. In the church, the children suddenly started to shout, saying they had found the lady - the children were pointing at an image of the Virgin.

Palacio de Congresos in Torremolinos

Torremolinos MANY night-watchmen have spoken of strange experiences, including the vision of a small boy wandering around the grounds who suddenly disappears. They also speak of thumping noises, voices and other sounds which can be heard at night when the building is closed. The majority of these strange sounds and even screams appear to come from the toilets where it is said that a small child died suddenly.

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Mysteries in the Balearic Islands

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HE Bellver Castle is located three kilometres from Palma de Mallorca and was built in the 14th century by King Jaime II of Mallorca. Sat on a hill 112 metres above sea level and surrounded by woods, it is one of the few circular castles in Europe and the oldest of its kind. It is open to the public, but legend has it, it is not only visited by curious tourists. Those who descend the spiral staircase into the darkness below, where an ominous cold wind can be felt, say that the echoes of the chains of prisoners locked in the dungeons hundreds of years ago can still be heard. Others speak of the moans and laments of some poor unknown soul who may have perished there still resounding through the kilometres of underground passages below. Some are said to lead to secret exits, and even to the Almudaina Palace, next to Palma Cathedral, one of the

The phantoms of Bellver Castle await your visit... current residences of the Royal Family. During a visit several years ago, a young couple recorded screams on their holiday video. A Spanish TV channel investigated and could find no explanation. Erected as a monument to commemorate the victory of Christianity over the Arab domination, it was used and inhabited by the royal family of the time and became a refuge during times of epidemics and a fortress against popular uprisings in the 15th and 16th centuries, before becoming a prison. If its walls could talk, they would tell of torture, suffering and death. At times, it had several hundred prisoners; for example, during the

Some heard screams enough to make your hair stand on end Napoleonic Wars, and many carved messages into the walls while they heard the sound of the sea on the other side of the walls. The bottom of the Homage Tower was used as a dungeon into which prisoners were flung to die of the heat in summer or cold in winter. Many people who have worked at the castle have claimed to hear footsteps, or the cold touch of a hand on their shoulder, and say they always felt they were being watched. They even claim to have seen the figure of

Spanish statesman and author, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, who was imprisoned there between 1802 and 1808, walking the corridors and disappearing into his cell. Some of the cleaners say the screams they heard at times were enough to make their hair stand on end. But the legends of phantoms are not recent. King Jaime II was convinced the ghosts of his ancestors and the Moors he had killed were haunting him The archaeologists who entered the underground caves prior to the restoration of the castle for its opening to the public claim to have heard footsteps approaching them from behind when there was

BELLVER CASTLE: One of the few circular castles in Europe. no-one there, the laughter of women and the sound of a burning log fire. As legend has it, in a nearby cave, there lived a witch called Na Joana, who lured passersby to her with poisoned figs. She reportedly cured a hunchback who danced and sang with her and later put his hump on a man who had been rude to her. A visit to the castle is wellworth the trip, but don’t stay after dark, you never know what you might encounter in the shadows.

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Unearthly experiences

The mysterious lights of Alcolea IN the Spring of 1987, a 22-year-old farmer was watering his land in Alcolea, Almeria, when he saw a strange red light. He initially thought it to be a car, but finding the road empty, he decided to investigate further. He next thought was that his friends were playing a trick on him, but he found no-one behind the small, red, eggshaped light which hung still in the air before him, pulsating like a human heart but making no sound. He attempted to speak to it and it approached to a distance of just 10 metres before disappearing completely. After waiting unsuccessfully for several subsequent nights for the light to appear again, he took his cousin to the site, and that night, the light appeared again above the farmhouse, first appearing the size of a fist but growing slowly before disappearing suddenly once again.

A local UFO specialist described the light as a ‘magnetic synchronizer’ The following night, the two men and another friend waiting for it once again, but it wasn’t until they were on their way home by car that it appeared, the size of a football, but growing smaller as one of them approached. When word got round, hundreds of people from nearby villages came to see the light, most of them without success. The local press descended upon the area for more information. However, when the numbers started to dwindle, it appeared again, causing some people anxiety attacks and hysteria. A local specialist in UFOs, Manuel Navas, described it as a ‘magnetic

The small village of Alcolea is in Almeria .

synchronizer’ used by extraterrestrial science to investigate an area. The authorities still believed it could be a practical joke, and several more prestigious ufologists declined an invitation to look into the strange appearance of the light. When author Alberto Cerezuela began to research the event, he found it impossible to find any witnesses, despite it occurring just 20 years earlier in a town of less than 1,000 inhabitants. However, once the first edition of the book was published, he was put in touch with a man who had seen the light back in 1953 when he was spending the night in the area with his sheep. In the early hours of the morning, he saw the light, but in this case, he

Zezinho72

claimed, there was a tall being completely dressed in black which ‘looked like a ghost’ behind it. Decades later, he went looking for it, encouraged by talk of treasure being found in the area, but found nothing. Another local resident claims the ‘light’ was hostile towards him and kept appearing in his home until he had a priest carry out a blessing. Some relate the appearance to a murder in the area during the Civil War, others to the death of a man who lived alone where the lights were seen. The case was never solved, and there are no recent reports of lights appearing, but maybe a night camping out in the area would reveal what is behind the strange phenomenon.

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Unexplained mysteries

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n August 23, 1971, the owner of the house in Belmez de la Moraleda, Maria Gomez, claimed that while she was cooking, the clear form of a human face appeared on the cement floor of her kitchen. Five days later, it was pick-axed and covered with plaster, but within days, the face of a man with a long moustache allegedly appeared once again in the same place. Over the next few days, more ‘faces’ appeared on the kitchen floor and the corridor, which sometimes disappeared, moved or changed into different images. Famous figures from the world of parapsychology began to visit the site and classed it as a mystery, and people came, and still do, from near and far, to see the ‘faces.’ Maria would accept money from them, and charge film crews, reporters and writers to take photos. Meanwhile, some local publications claimed they had tested the site and found the ‘faces’ were painted with nitrate and silver chloride.

The house of many faces

‘FACES’: Seen on floor of the kitchen. Further tests by the Spanish National Research Council, however, showed that these substances had not been found. Maria

Gomez died in 2004, and the Spanish Society for Parapsychologic Research visited her home in search of more ‘faces.’

It was then that less clear ‘faces’ were allegedly seen. The media accused the town hall of having fabricated the ‘faces’ after being unable to obtain the house where the first images had appeared to run as a tourist attraction. However, the town hall has always refuted the paranormal origin of the ‘faces.’ Although Maria’s relatives claimed they were not seeking money, in 2005, a member of her family registered ‘Las Caras de Belmez’ as a trademark. In 2007, a book was published which intended to show once and for all that the ‘faces’ had been created artificially, but on the other hand, those who support that they are authentic, believe the origin is a Muslim cemetery from the 13th century which may be located under the house. Excavations did reveal human remains underneath the kitchen, but not in large amounts. Others believe there is an underground water source in the area.

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HALLOWEEN

SPECIAL

Halloween customs THE custom of wearing costumes has been linked to Hallowmas by Prince Sorie Conteh, who wrote: “It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints’ Day, and All Hallows’ Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies. In order to avoid being recognised by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their

identities.” The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in stores in the 1930s. Halloween costumes are traditionally modelled on supernatural figures like monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Over time, in the United States the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities and generic archetypes such as ninjas, pirates and princesses.

Trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating is customary for children on Halloween. They go in costume from house to house, asking for treats like sweets or sometimes money, with the question, “Trick or treat?” The word ‘trick’ refers to ‘threat’ to perform mischief on the home-owners or their property if no treat is given. The earliest known use in print of the term ‘trick-or-treat’ appears in 1927, from Blackie, Alberta, Canada.

shells. When the shell was warmed, the milk would turn brown therefore the writing would appear on what looked like blank paper. The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series and Halloween-themed specials are commonly aired on or before Halloween, while new horror films are often released over the period to take advantage of the atmosphere.

Games and other activities There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween parties. One common game is dunking or apple bobbing, in which apples float in a large basin of water and the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. The practice is thought by some to have derived from the Roman practices in celebration of Pomona. Another common game involves hanging doughnuts or other cakes by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, leading to a very sticky face.

Food

ALL DRESSED UP: Halloween party fun. Some games traditionally played at Halloween are forms of divination. A traditional Scottish form of divining one’s future spouse is to peel an apple in one long strip, then toss the peel over one’s shoulder. The peel is believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse’s name.

Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear. Another game that was enjoyed in the early 1900s involved writing fortunes in milk on white paper. After drying, the paper was folded and placed in walnut

Because Halloween comes in the wake of the apple harvest, toffee apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup. One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or purchase) of a ‘barmbrack’ which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms are placed before baking. It is said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year. Other foods eaten at Halloween are novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, and other symbols, pumpkin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and roasted pumpkin seeds.

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BOAT FEATURE

Dog lovers, jugglers and skateboarders beware! Nora Johnson

Breaking Views A Costa del Sol resident for a number of years, Nora is the author of psychological suspense and crime thrillers. To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/nora-johnson

P

LAYING bingo, snacking while sitting on a monument, feeding pigeons - all seem innocent enough to you? These, though, are just some of the reasons why many Brits find themselves faced with whopping fines or in some instances arrested or detained abroad. Every year Brits are caught out by local laws and customs commonplace in the UK but which carry serious consequences elsewhere. Well, you can now add Madrid to the list with its own planned anti-social by-laws. In probably the greatest

clampdown on anti-social behaviour in decades, these include fines for juggling, skateboarding, littering, begging, soliciting prostitutes, carpet-beating / dog-feeding in public and using a park bench for - don’t ask! ‘something other than sitting.’ Hypocritically, though, despite unveiling these new, wide-ranging laws, Madrid’s government is desperately trying to overturn another established one: Spain’s antismoking legislation. Specifically so that gamblers can smoke inside Eurovegas, Madrid’s planned and eagerly-awaited megacasino resort. (Notwithstanding chucking a cigarette butt on the pavement outside could still incur a fine up to €750.) I find this truly alarming. If Madrid’s rightwing People’s Party government manages to

overturn the anti-smoking legislation - the most sensible legislation passed here in my not-impartial opinion - what’s the betting it won’t be extended nationwide by cigarsmoking President Mariano Rajoy and his national PP government? And we’ll all end up inhaling other peoples’ smoke once more? Now, non-smokers shouldn’t be forced to do this in public places, although smokers should feel free to slowly kill themselves in the comfort of their own homes. They smell like ashtrays anyway, have prematurely wrinkly skin and look like they’ve been shipwrecked for months on a desert island with Gordon Brown. Alcohol surely kills at least as many innocent victims in road traffic accidents and random drunken assaults as tobacco does with passive

FEEDING PIGEONS: Banned in some countries. smoking. That’s why drinkdriving is illegal - and so is assault, alcohol-boosted or not. The tobacco industry has spent millions trying to disprove the effects of passive smoking and convince smokers they’re a put upon lot. It targets the poorest and most vulnerable in society, not only in the West but globally, encouraging them to become hooked as young as

possible on a drug that’s extremely addictive, kills them slowly but surely, but is only mildly euphoric. A pretty bad trade-off, eh? Nora Johnson’s thrillers ‘Retribution’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora-johnson.com) available from Amazon in paperback/eBook (€0.89;£0.77) and iBookstore. Profits to Cudeca.

Galaxie’s triumphant return JOVES NAVEGANTS’ yacht Galaxie made a triumphant return to Palma’s Club de Mar on Monday following its win in the Tall Ships Race. That gave an

opportunity for the charity to demonstrate how it had transformed the lives of some local disadvantaged young people during its 20 year history. Victor Manuel Torres Gonzalez returned to the island to congratulate Galaxie’s crew. He had travelled from the Carribbean-based superyacht Germania Nova on which he has worked for the past three years. “I, like you, was given a chance by Joves Navegants,” he explained. “They enabled me to crew aboard the Russian square-rigger, Mir, in an earlier Tall Ships Race. I cleaned beaches and learned navigation in their Mar de Joves programme, and then they helped me get qualified, learn English and find work.” All the young people who went on this year’s Tall Ships Race talked

Galaxie’s crew with Ports Director, David Gomez at Palma’s Club de Mar. about their “unforgettable experience,” of “never thinking they would participate in something so incredible,” of the feeling of “companionship” with all the other crews, of every nationality, who took part. Veteran supporter of the charity, Patrick Griffith, spoke of how “racing at sea is not the most important part of

Tall Ships. It is the Friendship Trophy that is the most coveted prize. All the Captains vote in a secret ballot for the ship that has done most during the regatta for international friendship and cooperation,” he explained. Galaxie’s captain, Joan Dicenta Aguirre, agreed. “The sailing is an excuse for the real thing, which is

for young people to gain confidence, experience of different cultures and to participate in a great spirit of togetherness.” Joan was quick to point out that next year’s Tall Ships Race is in the Black Sea so the charity will need some serious sponsorship if Galaxie is to voyage so far and try to duplicate her 2013 glory.

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OPINION & COMMENT

An entertaining thought Many artistes entertain us simply because they enjoy doing so. Mike Walsh Mike Walsh. Based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.

T

HROUGHOUT the Costas live some of the era’s greatest entertainers. Such artistes visit Mediterranean Spain whilst others chose to drop anchor in our safe haven harbours. Entertainers work tirelessly during the hours when the rest of us are taking a break. Most are paid far less than their true worth and the younger ones have tiring day jobs. I am reminded of a true story. As a social experiment, a newspaper invited Joshua Bell, one of the 20th Century’s great violinists to perform as a busker in a Washington DC railway station. Few passers-by took notice as he played pieces that had earlier played to sell-out audiences. Many artistes entertain us simply because they enjoy doing so. It certainly isn’t for the pittance many receive. A bungling lawyer wouldn’t pick up the

ENTERTAINERS: Used to lure clients to tables. phone for that. Many think entertainers are free of charge, like the climate. We do not clap the sun either. As I browse the Costa communities’ media, I see advertised entertainers who have rocked the world. Some were cruise liner entertainers or once backed world famous bands. Many were household name stars who once saw their names in lights. Fans paid over the odds for tickets to see

idols who went on world tours and entertained the world’s elite. Time took its toll on these entertainers as it took its toll on us. No, stop right there. Not all are quite as equal as at first it appears. Practice makes perfect, like the best of wines many artistes improve with age. They became better at doing what they do best. Furthermore, without fanfares most perform free of charge for charities, many of which are very profitable

concerns. Where does the fault lie? Like Joshua Bell, these outstanding artistes play not to sell-out audiences but to a table or two populated by family, friends and passersby looking for a diversion. Such artistes have already proved their worth. Could the fault lie with local media? No. One cannot turn a page without seeing a galaxy of stars. Does the blame lie with venue managers? Many venues are good at using quality entertainers to lure clients to their dining tables. It is a rewarding experience. I know restaurants where even off season booking a table is a necessity. It is not because they are cheap or in the right location as many are virtually inaccessible. It is because they give value for money and outstanding entertainment is on the menu too. That is their art. If you experience a truly talented artiste or ensemble playing to empty tables the chances are it is due to sloppy or complacent management. Perhaps we too could shake off inertia. My wife and I are often tired but when we make the effort we are rarely disappointed. I will clap to that.

OPINION & COMMENT

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A losing diet battle Ulrica Marshall

Expat Strife Swedish-born Ulrica is a freelance journalist living in Mallorca with her family. Her debut novel $Expat Wives is available on Amazon and iBooks. To comment on any of the issues raised in Ulrica’s column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/ulrica-marshall

ulrica@euroweeklynews.com

C

HRISTMAS is coming, and the goose is getting fat, the nursery rhyme goes. Sadly, it is not alone: With the threat of imminent bikini exposure receding, my waistband seems to be expanding in equal measure and with it being generally balmy here in Spain an extra layer of insulating winter fat is not strictly necessary. But having once been able to recite the calorie content of every single food item known to man, ‘diet’ is not a foreign word to me. Most diets, along the years, have proven to be short-lived fads. Remember the stewardess breakfast of half a grapefruit, a hard-boiled egg and lashings of strong coffee? Or the cabbage soup diet, which ended when your family

begged you to stop for the sake of fresh air? Personally, I loved the Champagne diet - it all passed in a bit of a haze though, and always failed when the alcohol-induced munchies set in. Then there were those protein shakes which may well work if you can just survive the culinary boredom. The 90’s were ruled by the phenomena of the Atkins diet, which proved efficient in losing weight by tucking into copious amounts of meat, fish and little else. Carbohydrates such as bread and pasta were public enemy number one, though unwelcome side effects of the high protein diet included bad breath, headache, fatigue and nausea. Not being much of a meat eater this one was clearly not for me. Lately, a new programme is on the radar - it’s called the 5/2 diet and everyone who is anyone seems to be singing its praises - including my mother. You can eat normally for five days of the week but for the other two (not consecutive) you are limited to 500 calories. How hard could it be?

For the sake of science and that widening waistline, I gave it a whirl. Day 1: Lean pickings on this day, though it started well, with plenty of resolve and optimism. Alas, by midmorning the idea of a croissant had taken up permanent residency in my mind and by lunchtime I was feeling a little weak, not really appreciating the minimal offering of a small fruit salad. The best thing that can be said for the day was that it finally ended, albeit quite late since sleeping on a rumbling stomach is not easy. Day 2: Aha! A normal day although the 5/2 inventors’ idea of a normal day is 2,000 calories (there are 420 calories in a Starbucks Cinnamon roll alone) so you can’t exactly feast, as may be the tendency - to stockpile for the lean days. And since I have the willpower of a flea, I threw in the proverbial towel at this stage. Seeking redemption from the internet, I was pleased to find that my best solution may actually be

DIETS: Can be shortlived fads.

found right under my nose. Earlier this year an extensive survey in Spain, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the Mediterranean diet is more efficient than a low fat diet in improving health and lowering pesky ailments such as heart disease. I am not sure it will do a lot for the muffin top, but the next bikini season is months away, so in the meantime I shall opt for a combination of age-old procrastination and that lauded Mediterranean diet. Accompanied by a glass of Mallorca’s finest vino tinto, of course.

FAVOURITE: Champagne diet.

OPINION & COMMENT

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Spotting the signs of cancer CANCER is a disease that touches the lives of one in three people whether they suffer from it or know someone who has been affected by it. October has been Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. But do you think enough is being done to make people aware of all forms of cancer?

RETIRED Jenni Blair-Hipkin, aged 65, from Torrevieja, does believe there is enough publicity and awareness about breast cancer

Chris Greswold

STREET TALK these days: “I’ve had breast cancer and got so much support from the hospital. They were all marvellous. I was given a lot of information.” She adds: “I think the information is out there but some people hide away from it and don’t want to listen, but the best thing to do is get checked out if you have any concerns, it is nothing to be scared of.” Lottie Williams, an 18 year-old student from Torrevieja agrees: “I think there is plenty of information out there. It is not something I am particularly worried about at my age, but I am aware of breast cancer and know what to look for. I don’t think there is any woman out

SURVIVOR: Jenni Blair-Hipkin

there that couldn’t say they don’t know some of the warnings signs of breast cancer.” Chris Greswold, who lives in Antas, Manageress of new Paws Shop in Las Buganvillas: “Yes I do, but whether people listen and follow it up by going to the doctors is another matter. “People need to make the effort to visit the doctor.” John Leyland, lives in Pueblo Laguna, retired: “I think it is more active in England than in Spain. I don’t think it is publicised as much as it should be. You never see collectors in the streets in Spain, like you do in the UK! John Leyland

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

ealth & beauty H TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EWNLIFESTYLE.COM

€7.3 million Fantasy Bra

WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

EVERY year the Victoria’s Secret fashion show features a showstopping garment, often shockingly expensive, known as the Fantasy Bra. This year’s Fantasy Bra is no different. The newest bra is reportedly worth more than €7 million, and will be worn by the Victoria’s Secret Angel, Candice Swanepoel. Swanepoel follows successful models Alessandra Ambrosio, Gisele Bundchen, and Heidi Klum as the bearer of the Fantasy Bra. The majestic undergarment comes with a matching belt and

features 4,200 precious gems, including several rubies, diamonds and yellow sapphires. The framework consists of an 18carat gold setting and from where the eye is drawn to a 52carat pear-shaped ruby that hangs from the centre of the bra. In a recent interview, Swanepoel told the press they had made a mould of her body in order to design the intricate piece. Due to the sheer value of the one-of-a-kind bra it also comes with not one, but two bodyguards.

BRA BEARER: Candice Swanepoel.

CBT help for hypochondriacs COGNITIVE behavioural therapy (CBT) is a more suitable treatment than standard care for people

suffering from hypochondria or health anxiety, according to a research study published

in The Lancet. CBT uses techniques which aim to change thought patterns and behaviour and has already proven to be an effective treatment for other anxiety disorders. It is estimated that between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of hospital patients are thought to worry obsessively about their health. The UK study saw 219 people with health anxiety receive an average of six sessions of CBT while 225 received reassurance and support, which is standard practice in most countries. The study found that 14 per cent of patients who received CBT regained normal levels of anxiety, against 7 per cent who received the standard care of basic reassurance.

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CROSSWORDS

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Time Out EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREAK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE

NEW ON DVD MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

for next 7 days

Epic Mary Katherine has come to live with her dad in a ramshackle house in the middle of nowhere. Obsessed with proving the existence of a society of tiny guardians of the forest called Leafmen, Mary’s dad has little time for a daughter or realities of life. Mary lands right in the middle of the Leafmen's society, where she quickly develops an appreciation for her father's eccentricities. Starring Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Beyonce Knowles and Colin Farrell. Directed by Chris Wedge. Runtime 102 minutes. Rated U.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) The need to plan ahead is frustrating when you know exactly what ought to be going on. Patience is something that you need to cultivate, or you risk upsetting someone close.

5-Star Quiz All the answers are people/events named in Billy Joel’s famous 1989 UK top 10 hit single. 1. Following the Algerian Crisis, who was elected the first president of the French Fifth Republic in 1958? 2. Launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, what was the name of the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth? Its name literally means fellow traveller? 3. Located in Gyeonggi Province, what is the name of the abandoned village on the de facto border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that paused the Korean War was signed? 4. What 11-letter word that originated during the 1960s, was used to describe the intense fan frenzy directed toward the Beatles during the early years of their success? 5. What papal name did Cardinal Giovanni Montini take when he was elected to the papacy in June 1963?

ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATAX

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

TOMORROW CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATAX

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

Y our S tars

IF ITʼS YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK: Social life is important because friendships will be made that last a long time. Your popularity should not be taken for granted, but built on. As you need other people, they also need you.

October 24: 49. Rosana is a singer-songwriter from Lanzarote who has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. She started singing at an early age and wrote her first song when she was only eight years old. Rosana made her musical debut in 1996 with Lunas Rotas, which sold 1 million copies in Spain and gained her international recognition. So far she has released seven albums and a book of poems.

49

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) A rather slow start to the week leads you to feel bored but be assured that the weekend will be far from dull. A recent conversation or correspondence with an old friend leads to unexpected contact.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) When discussing a holiday with others, be aware that agreement is not always easily met. Although you are not inclined to compromise, it is necessary to go with the majority decision.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Who is trying to push you into a corner? Maybe it is being done so subtly that you have not even noticed. Who wants a decision from you?

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Everything on the home front is emphasised and there will be a flurry of activity. Work in the garden or painting is much more enjoyable and half the work if you enlist the help of someone you get on well with.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) After the 2nd it is much easier to see the path ahead. This is particularly true of a financial situation, so there's no sense in fussing until you understand what needs to be done. LEO (July 24 - August 23) Your attention is needed on more than one front, and some decisions are at odds with your personal thoughts and attitudes.

Sudoku Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every 3X3 box contains the digits 1-9. There’s no maths involved. You solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic.

VIRGO (August 24 September 23) Are you willing to take a risk on someone who has let you down before? Looking into their recent past is likely to tip the balance.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

LIBRA (September 24 October 23) A disagreement with a friend upsets you but is short-lived. To avoid such a situation in the future, look at how you should have dealt with it. There is always something to know that guides us to a better position.

LOTTERY UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

Saturday October 19

Saturday October 19

Saturday October 19

Friday October 18

12

19

21

29

31

11

21 33

27 38

3

6

7

12

14

38

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

15

6

35

Almeria

CLOUDY MAX 27C, MIN 18C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

27 18 S 26 17 Cl 25 17 C

5

25 46

LUCKY STARS 2

Saturday October 19

36 47

6

LA PRIMITIVA

20

22

29

32

45

48

REINTEGRO 37

8

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA 33 38

Fri Sat Sun -

23 17 Cl 24 16 Cl 22 15 Cl

Mon - 25 17 Cl Tues - 26 16 S Wed - 24 16 Cl

Fri Sat Sun -

CLOUDY MAX 28C, MIN 18C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 22 15 Cl Tues - 22 14 S Wed - 21 14 Cl

28 18 S 27 17 Cl 26 17 Cl

MAX MIN

Mon - 26 17 Cl Tues - 26 16 S Wed - 25 16 Cl

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 23 14 S Tues - 24 14 S Wed - 22 14 C

MAX MIN

S Sun,

18 11 Sh 20 9 Sh 21 9 Cl

MAX MIN

Mon - 21 8 S Tues - 21 9 Cl Wed - 20 8 Cl

Murcia

CLOUDY MAX 26C, MIN 15C 28 14 Cl 28 14 S 26 14 Cl

SHOWERS MAX 21C, MIN 12C

TODAY:

MAX 23C, MIN 17C

Mallorca Fri Sat Sun -

MAX MIN

Mon - 23 17 C Tues - 23 16 S Wed - 23 16 C

Madrid

CLOUDY 23 16 Cl 22 15 C 22 15 C

TODAY:

24 18 S 24 17 Cl 24 17 C

Benidorm

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

CLOUDY MAX 24C, MIN 17C MAX MIN

Malaga TODAY:

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Cl Clear,

CLOUDY MAX 26C, MIN 15C MAX MIN

Mon - 25 14 C Tues - 25 13 Cl Wed - 25 13 Cl

Fri Sat Sun Fog,

Sn Snow,

MAX MIN

24 15 S 23 14 Cl 23 14 C

Mon - 23 13 C Tues - 23 13 S Wed - 22 13 C

C Cloud,

Sh Showers,

Th Thunder

Nonagram How many English words of four letters or more can you make from the nine letters in our Nonagram puzzle? Each letter may be used only once (unless the letter appears twice). Each word MUST CONTAIN THE CENTRE LETTER (in this case C) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

TARGET:

Average: 6

Very good: 10

Good: 7

Excellent: 13

vbeer, bevy, bode, body, bore, bred, byre, obey, robe, verb, beery, bored, brede, breed, breve, derby, orbed, robed, obeyed, obeyer, EVERYBODY

Word Ladder JURY

34 52

REINTEGRO 6

MAX MIN

CLOUDY MAX 24C, MIN 17C

Sunday October 20

22

TODAY:

Barcelona TODAY:

MAX MIN

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) It is difficult to avoid repeating mistakes made in the past. Your approach to certain situations has not changed and therein lies the problem.

3

Alicante TODAY:

MAST

Move from the start word (JURY) to the end word (MAST) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder. You must only change one letter at a time.

BUST MUST MAST

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Travel arrangements may have to be changed at the last minute. Do not fret, however, because success is more likely later in the month. During a dream, or when reading a book, an idea comes to you.

TODAY

JURY BURY BUSY

SCORPIO (October 24 November 22) A great feeling of joy comes over you more than once in the week ahead. Your inner child has been set free, and this is likely to be because of recent restrictions, which are now lifted.

WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE (PART ONE)

Mallorca weather

Moomins arrive in Benalmadena

1. CHARLES DE GAULLE, 2. SPUTNIK, 3. PANMUNJOM, 4. BEATLEMANIA, 5. PAUL VI

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CROSSWORDS

Crosswords

24 - 30 October 2013 / Mallorca

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51

SPONSORED BY

For more information about the sponsor go to www.lineadirecta.com

Cryptic

Quick

Across 7 Territory governed by the same chief (6) 8 In June Venetian weather is erratic (6) 9 Cain wounded Peruvian Indian (4) 10 Redesigning headgear made Pat a hero (5,3) 11 Compared to Barbieʼs partner in German song (7) 13 Prophetic but victorious leader at 99 (5) 15 Loud curl on woolly animals (5) 17 Relents frequently aboard ship (7) 20 Aimless Milo came for the plant (8) 21 Woman of American nationality (4) 23 Wish to reside in style (6) 24 Titaniaʼs husband developed Borneo (6) Down 1 Depressed plumage (4) 2 Taste dish containing asparagus head (6) 3 Person wandering round inside whoʼs nosy (7) 4 Copper-coloured - like kippers? (5) 5 State limits of New Hampshire, Virginia and Dakota (6) 6 Connection with someone in the

Across 1 Large marine mammal (6) 5 Exact (6) 8 Chief (4) 9 Habitually lazy (8) 10 Horse-drawn carriage with folding top (6) 11 Dreadful (6) 12 Persistent dull pain (4) 14 Each and every (3) 15 Look for (4) 16 Feel about blindly (6) 18 Menace (6) 20 Capital of Syria (8) 22 Tidily organised (4) 23 Improve (6) 24 Long pin for holding meat (6)

family (8) 12 Turned tail and fled, being doomed (3-5) 14 Tedium in the redesigned bedroom? (7) 16 Composerʼs phonic variation (6)

Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 15 represents B and 3 represents Z, so fill in B every time the figure 15 appears and Z every time the figure 3 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

18 Possibly the tan is from somewhere in Kent (6) 19 Nasty rash obtained from national archives (5) 22 A chimney corner needs no approval (4)

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS CRYPTIC Across: 7 Donate, 8 Uproar, 9 Hers, 10 In camera, 11 Printed, 13 Habit, 15 Units, 17 Tipples, 20 Delegate, 21 Ohio, 23 Aussie, 24 Agents. Down: 1 Rote, 2 Raisin, 3 Merited, 4 Quack, 5 Crimea, 6 Hairline, 12 Runner-up, 14 Fireman, 16 Tsetse, 18 Phoney, 19 Cadet, 22 Iota. QUICK Across: 1 Melodic, 5 Bored, 8 Cruiser, 9 Sends, 10 Waste, 11 Sincere, 12 Scanty, 14 Biased, 17 Forward, 19 Niche, 22 Renal, 23 Betting, 24 Needs, 25 Ensnare. Down: 1 Macaw, 2 Lauds, 3 Dessert, 4 Caress, 5 Bison, 6 Runners, 7 Descend, 12 Saffron, 13 Arrange, 15 Ignites, 16 Edible, 18 Atlas, 20 China, 21 Eagle. ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Sepia, 4 Apple, 7 Temporada, 8 Mushrooms, 12 Edificios, 14 Tools, 15 Enero.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Funagram

Down: 1 Shed, 2 Pet, 3 Armchairs, 4 Apologise, 5 Psalm, 6 Edad, 9 Unico, 10 Meat, 11 Apio, 13 See.

Play on Words

English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English. Across 1 Weak (person, limb, sun, signal, voice, smile, government) (5) 3 Boina (5) 7 Esfera (6) 9 Escribir a máquina (4) 10 Rake (tool) (9) 13 Useful (information, advice, tool) (4) 14 To support (6) 16 Jarabe (liquido) (5) 17 Dressing gowns (5) Down 1 Polvo (en el aire) (4) 2 Hielo (3) 4 Realeza (7) 5 Árbol (4) 6 Theories (7) 8 Más pesado (7) 11 Pistolas (armas) (4) 12 Grey (in colour) (4) 15 Goose (domestic) (3)

Hexagram The purpose of the Hexagram puzzle is to place the 19 six-letter words into the 19 cells. The letters at the edges of interlocking cells MUST BE THE SAME. The letters in the words must be written CLOCKWISE. The word in cell 10 (DUGOUT) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues. ABRUPT

FORGOT

AROUND

INDEED

ASSORT

PETREL

BIRDIE

RENDER

DEBTOR

SLOUCH

DEMEAN

STROBE

DETEST

USABLE

DITHER

VERIFY

DUGOUT (10)

YEASTY

FETTER

Unscramble the name of a famous English television presenter: BONN FRITTER

Answers: A bit of fun, Back to school

Unscramble the name of a type of chocolate cake: ORCHESTRATE

Down 2 Fragrance (5) 3 Remainder (7) 4 Arouse (9) 5 Unhappy (3) 6 Monarch (5) 7 Brief but informative (7) 11 Bad breath (9) 13 Bravery (7) 15 Bizarre (7) 17 Show off (5) 19 Informed (5) 21 Inferior dog (3)

LOOHCS LOOHCS

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 1 Server, 2 Tweeds, 3 Desire, 4 Retain, 5 Advise, 6 Header, 7 Arenas, 8 Shells, 9 Singer, 10 Relief, 11 Cinder, 12 Fringe, 13 Detail, 14 Awaken, 15 Reason, 16 Chosen, 17 Remain, 18 Beasts, 19 Roared

FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: FERN BRITTON, SACHERTORTE

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& DRINKS

ood F

FOOD & DRINK

Costa de Almeria’s best guide to local sport

TO READ MORE VISIT: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM/FEATURES/RESTAURANTS

So just what does Spain taste like? GASTRONOMY is part of the Spanish way of life and now a new campaign aims to promote it online. Association Saborea España (Tasting Spain) and the Spanish Institute

for Tourism have joined forces to promote Spanish gastronomy. They have invited people to take a picture or make a video telling what they think Spain tastes like. These testimonials will be uploaded to the different Saborea España social networking websites. Weekend trips to several culinary destinations in Spain will be given to the best responses. The starting point of this campaign is a series of testimonials by Spanish chefs including Pedro

SPAIN: What does it taste like? Subijana, Juan Mari Arzak and Pedro Larumbe. They all say what, in their opinion, Spain tastes like and invite people to

do the same. The aim of this campaign is to promote the Spanish gastronomy on both national and

international levels. But it also aims at improving the economic situation of catering businesses, deeply affected by the financial crisis and a decrease in internal tourism. During the presentation of the campaign, Marta Blanco, general manager of the Spanish Institute for Tourism pointed out the Spanish gastronomy is essential to the touristic experience in Spain. Blanco said: “Gastronomy is one of the best valued aspects by visitors in satisfaction surveys.”

OPINION& COMMENT

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Taking time out for yourself yoga class actually in my office printing off posters for tomorrow’s (Friday) Indulgence Day which I am organising at Mood. The irony did not escape me that whilst I was supposed to be going to the yoga class I was actually spending my time doing something for everyone else. The day itself is going to be great, there are almost 30 different therapists, make-up artists, hair stylists, yoga teachers, nutritionists, healers, chiropractors and many others all gathering at Mood Beach in Costa D’en Blanes to offer free mini sessions. It’s going to be fantastic, but you must book! Send an email to info@moodbeach.com if you want to go. Finally, after I’d got the posters organised I managed to get myself to Palma and joined in the class. As I sat on my yoga mat alongside some of my yoga class pals and our fabulous teacher Kevin McDonnell, I suddenly had a blast of complete and utter happiness. It was wonderful to be there. And I felt quite pleased with myself that I had (albeit late) turned up to participate. I DID feel better. Now what I need is for someone else to organise an Indulgence Day where I can be a punter rather than an organiser! I’m hoping to get some time to speak to Suzanne Garaty who is a nutritionist who will be exhibiting there and who hopefully will set me on the right path to rediscovering my energy levels. I have a feeling a prescription which will include porridge may be involved.

Vicki Mcleod Family Matters

L

ATELY I have been feeling tired, pooped, burnt out, nay completely and utterly exhausted. I’ve even been to the doctor to see if there was something wrong with me. According to the blood tests I am A-Okay, which I am sure you will be very glad to hear. But that didn’t resolve how I was feeling. “Take some time for yourself” I was advised (not by the doctor who, once he had established there wasn’t anything physically wrong me, had shown me the door pretty sharpish). Right then, I shall try that, thought I. So last week I planned that on Saturday morning I would go to the Palma Goes Yoga event in town. It is a free outdoor yoga class organised by several of the island’s yoga groups and last year I had kicked myself that I missed it. I was looking forward to going, what a novelty to do yoga outside with loads of people, and if that wasn’t ‘taking time for me’ doing something I enjoy which is definitely good for me, well I didn’t know what could be. Saturday dawned and of course on the way to Palma I had managed to give myself several other jobs to do which meant I spent the first 40 minutes of the outdoor PALMA GOES YOGA: Outdoor classes.

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omes&gardens

H

HOMES & GARDEN

SPONSORED BY

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPONSOR GO TO WWW.LINEADIRECTA.COM

Dick Handscombe

Gardening Corner By Spain’s best known expatriate gardening author living in Spain for 25 years.

DAILY we read advertisements and articles persuading us to buy manufactured vitamin tablets to supplement vitamin deficient diets. But how much better to eat the vitamins as nature intended them by growing and eating fruit and vegetables that are known to contain the main vitamins we apparently need for continuous good health or for recovery if ill. Interestingly the labels on some bottles of vitamin pills include the note ‘Not intended as a substitute for

Ensure you grow your own healthy garden vitamins a balanced diet.’ Further, health authorities worldwide now recommend that we eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day for their vitamin and mineral contents, others emphasise that these are best if fresh and grown ecologically/ organically without the use of chemical fertilisers, insecticides and fungicides and the Slow Food movement recommends that we should try and eat local produce to sustain the local economy. So let’s do it by growing

BUDDHA’S HAND: A lemon tree with a difference. our own in containers on apartment terraces, in raised beds in small gardens, in the garden or if convenient an allotment/ orchard. The great advantages are that you can focus on growing those fruits and vegetables with the greatest beneficial vitamin and mineral contents and harvest each day what is required for each meal or day. To help you understand

which vitamins minerals etc are of benefit to your wellness and which vegetables and fruits include them we include descriptive tables in our book ‘Living well from our garden - Mediterranean style’ which is available exclusively from Amazon Books or if you require autographed copies from handscombe2@hotmail. com. Whatever you select to grow, ensure you include

anti-oxidant and antiinflamatory vitamin/mineral rich foods. We ensure we grow and eat plenty of dark green acelga (chard) and spinach leaves, sprouting broccoli, tomatoes, nasturtium flowers and leaves, garlic, onions, tomatoes, radishes, beetroots and carrots. As for fruit we can harvest something on every day of the year to give seasonal diversity ranging from vitamin C packed mandarins and oranges from now to May and red raspberries from May to November. Having planted a perpetually flowering and fruiting Lunar lemon tree, lemons can be harvested 365 days a year. After waiting six years we finally had a good harvest of vitamin packed kiwinos which are like mini kiwis, but growing in small bunches a little like grapes

and yesterday ate the first of this year’s crop of goji berries. By the way the plants were grown from a few berries taken from a bag of dried berries purchased in a local market. And remember that working in the garden, on the vegetable plot or in the orchard under the winter sun means that the sun stimulates natural vitamin D when we most need it during the shorter winter days. As a novelty plant a Citrus medica var.sarcodactylis lemon tree. The common name is Buddha’s hand as it resembles a half open fist - there is little if any juicy centre but the thick skins are excellent for grating

© Dick Handscombe www.garden spain.com October 2013.

SPOTLIGHT RS E IS T R E R NE V R A D CO

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Advertising feature

An ‘offline’ dating agency with the personal touch

MEET MY MATCH MALLORCA is more than just a dating agency. The company is passionate about helping people find their true match. The agency aims to bring single people together by broadening their social circles in offering walks, music themed nights, dances, lunches and more. They help introduce similar people to new, interesting individuals looking for companionship. Meet My Match Mallorca was launched by Jemma and Nicky, two enthusiastic, understanding women, who between them have experienced happy relationships, divorce, single parenting and found love, marriage and started families.

CARING AND HARD-WORKING: Jemma and Nicky. “Our aim is to get people together whatever their age, interest or goals in life. Together we are both caring, hard-working and keen to help you find what you are looking for in a relationship/companion,” they said.

“We make our members feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible; by meeting each member personally to gain a true understanding of them. By spending as little as an hour with us and allowing us to

get to know you we hope to be able to find you exactly what you’re looking for.” Meet My Match Mallorca is an offline dating service so it offers a human touch, unlike computer services. Many people in Mallorca have lost love or partners and then lost the confidence to get back into a different circle of friends, and that requires a personal touch. That’s where Meet My Match Mallorca wants to help. Jemma and Nicky are working to make Meet My Match Mallorca an exclusive

Advertising feature

What The Good Care Group can offer you W

E know that many British expatriates who live in Spain are finding it hard to be able to financially support themselves and build a future due to the local economic climate which has seen the decline of job opportunities. However, many would still like to retain their lifestyle in Spain but need some additional income to support their dream of living abroad. The Good Care Group knows that many expatriates living in Spain have either a professional background in care or have cared for a loved one. These individuals would like to combine their passion to care with an opportunity to work back in the UK to allow them to continue to live in a country that they now call home. This has proved successful for many carers in the home care market. What we offer at The Good Care Group We offer a rota pattern of two weeks on and two weeks off, which works perfectly for those living abroad. As we employ our carers, recruit to meet our business needs and efficiently manage our client placements, they are able to plan ahead to ensure best deals on flights back to the UK. We passionately believe that finding quality, professional careers with a real desire to care for

others drives the success of our business. Our approach to recruiting and training PERFECT only the best carers and truly COMBINATION: understanding their skills, experience, Caring in the UK capabilities, personalities, culture and and continuing to values ensures we are able to best match them to our clients’ needs, live in Spain. which ultimately provides continuity of care. We place great emphasis on getting the match right from the start – carers are able to create wonderful bonds with their clients and often become part of their family. The perfect combination Many people who are living in Spain feel that being able to have two weeks in a country they love and then two weeks caring for their client makes for a perfect work/life balance – something we actively promote at The Good Care Group. They are well rested, very motivated and able to put all of their attention into providing their clients with the highest quality care.

For more information please contact Anne on 965 713 746 or 628 343 240 or email anne.greatrex@thegoodcaregroup.com

members club, so even if you are not on a date, you are still out and enjoying the company of others. And they keep you regularly updated about all their events by sending out personal invites. “We at Meet My Match Mallorca know that it’s daunting to be the singleton but all our members are in the same circle. “Just think one phone call or email could be that new beginning for you! “So liven up your social calendar and meet some lovely new people because life’s too short to be on your own!” Jemma (626 501 027) and Nicky (681 107 709) at Meet My Match Mallorca Email mmmmallorca@yahoo.co.uk

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PROPERTY

y ropert P TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Flat-pack housing fills gap IMAGINE the convenience of finding the perfect location for your home, and being able to move in immediately without the wait and hassle of building. In recent years many organisations around the world, including Spain, have seen the gap in the market for flat-pack housing.

One of the latest designs comes from Abaton design and architecture studio in Madrid. The business designs modest 27square-metre houses with a maximum height of 3.5 metres, which can be installed ‘almost anywhere’, according to the company. These houses are constructed from a wooden

frame and come fully equipped with fridge, gas stove, a functional bathroom and can even be delivered fully furnished. The reason they are ever growing in popularity, is that they are practical and moveable, and thus owners can take their homes wherever they choose to settle.

PRACTICAL AND MOVEABLE: Flat-pack houses.

Foreign buyers boost the property market COULD international buyers be the ones lifting Spain out of the property recession and into a new era of a property market fast regaining strength and stability? According to recent figures this could very well be the case. Foreign property investment in Spain rose to €2.83 billion in the first six months of 2013, which is reportedly the largest amount in the last nine years, However, Spanish investment in property outside the country was just €199 million, the lowest in the last 10 years, according to the Central Bank of Spain (BE). According to the latest figures released by BE, the direct investments from foreign buyers in Spain has increased by 16 per cent in the first six months of the year in relation to the same period last year.

NINE-YEAR HIGH: Foreign property investment in Spain. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the amount of foreign investment is the largest since the start of the economic crisis, the expenditure

remains far from the figure reached in 2003, which in the first half of the year exceeded €3.5 billion, 20 per cent more than now. Unlike the rise in foreign investment in Spain, Spanish investment elsewhere in the world has fallen considerably since Wood started house-hunting in the burst of the property Catalunya in March 2013, with his bubble when it stood at property advisor Marie Harrison and also €1.8 billion in the first half looked at properties in Sitges and the of 2007. Costa Brava. Spain’s continued The property is currently being gutted attractiveness to and will be renovated by renowned international investors is Barcelona interior designer Jaime evident in the estimate that Beristain, whose brief includes a further €14 billion is designing an artist’s studio for Wood expected to be invested in who is rapidly becoming as famous for its property sector in 2014, his art as for his music. according to predictions made by Knight Frank.

Rolling into Barcelona ROLLING STONES’ guitarist Ronnie Wood has chosen the Catalan capital Barcelona to buy a holiday home. The musician has bought the entire floor of a listed building in the city centre. The 66-year-old attended a party marking the opening of the Lucas Fox Property Lounge at its central Barcelona head-quarters, along with his wife, 34-year-old theatre producer Sally Humphreys, and his manager, Sherry Daly.

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BRENDA PEARSON sadly passed away on 25th September 2013. Mass to be held on Saturday 26th October 2013.No flowers. All friends welcome at Eastenders afterwards. Service to be held at the church of Magalluf, next to pirates.

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PROPERTY FOR SALE COTTAGE in Calvia village. Renovated 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms. South facing patio garden. Total 156msq 295,000€. Direct owner. Tel 971 670 169/669 800 216 (216794)

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MOTORING

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otoring M TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Craftsmanship defines 2015 Cadillac Escalade AMERICAN manufacturer Cadillac introduced the all-new 2015 Escalade, a sport utility vehicle that brings craftsmanship and technology together. Production for the 2015 Escalade begins next spring in Texas, with the release in European markets scheduled for the end of 2014. Offered with 2WD and 4WD drivetrains, Escalade features a new 6.2 litre V-8 engine that is more powerful and more efficient than previous models. Cadillac’s Magnetic Ride Control, a reacting suspension system unique to the manufacturer, is now standard, delivering precisely controlled driving performance. The exterior features new sharp, complex surfaces accented by lightemitting diode (LED) lighting. The fourth-generation Escalade

ESCALADE: Hits the European market in 2014. interior features leather that is hand cut, sewn and wrapped, with wood trim options. The new interior is also quieter, thanks to a stronger new body structure and Bose Active Noise Cancellation technology. CUE, Cadillac’s system for connectivity and control, is standard featuring

voice recognition with touch controls common with the world’s most popular tablets and mobile devices. A standard 12.3inch digital gauge cluster can be reconfigured with four themes and a head-up display projects information onto the windshield. An available Blu-Ray DVD rear entertainment system includes a nine-inch, roofmounted screen. Escalade’s technologies also include safety features to help protect occupants before, during and after a collision. These include front and rear automatic braking, which relies on short-range radar technology and ultrasonic sensors to help the driver prevent front and rear low-speed collisions via a progression of alerts that extend to complete braking.

PIVE Plan gets an extension THE SPANISH Government has announced it will extend the PIVE incentive programme to buy new cars. The announcement came after the third phase of the plan came to an end. The fourth phase of the PIVE programme will have an estimated budget

of €70 million. The PIVE plan was designed by the Spanish government to boost car sales. Buyers receive a €2,000 discount when buying a new car - the price of which should not exceed €25,000 - in exchange for presenting a car at least 10 years old. Although the discount is

€2,000, the Government only grants €1,000 whereas the remaining €1,000 is provided by car dealers. So far 220,000 people have benefited from the PIVE programme in its three phases. The Minister for Finance Cristobal Montoro has stated this plan is part of the Government’s action

to stimulate business competitiveness. Montoro pointed out the motor industry is key to the economic recovery. According to the Spanish Car and Lorry Manufacturers Association (Anfac), the whole of the programme’s phases have created an economic activity worth €3.4 billion.

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Another new Volkswagen up! member

VOLKSWAGEN has presented the new member of the up! family, the cross up! The up! family includes the CrossPolo, CrossGolf and CrossTouran models. The cross up! Is a compact four-door car with the customised styling of a small sport utility vehicle (SUV). The sporty and rugged appearance of the 3.56 metre long cross up! is marked by exterior elements. External features include bumpers in a sporty design with silver-coloured inserts, black styling add-ons to the wheel arches and sills, door mirrors painted in metallic and the anodised silver roof rails. The appearance of the cross up! finishes with a 15mm higher ride height and exclusive 16-inch alloy wheels. With a starting price of €13,950, the new cross up! is available in five body colours - white, red, dark blue metallic, light silver metallic and black pearl. A three-cylinder petrol engine with 999 cc displacement and 55 kW / 75 PS at 6200 rpm specially developed for the up! series guarantees fuel economy, the German manufacturer claims. To make everyday driving safe and comfortable, Volkswagen offers various optional equipment and trim packs for the cross up! These include ‘drive pack plus’ with City Emergency Braking - a lidar-based emergency braking system designed to help a driver avoid a low-speed crash, ‘cool & sound pack’ with air conditioner and audio system and ‘maps & more pack’ with a multi-coloured 5-inch TFT touchscreen.

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SPORT

VLA

Sport

988

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Mallorca’s best guide to local sport

Liverpool (now 3rd, with Steven Gerrard’s 100th top-flight goal) drew at Newcastle TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

By Lynda Demangeat THE first game in the Balearic Islands Seven’s series for the everincreasing number of rugby playing girls on the island was played. The pitch in Manacor was the venue where the newly formed El Toro Rugby Club girls’ team tasted their first victory against RC Ponent, winning by 24 points to19.

The Dimonis were unable to present a team due to lack of players so those that were there joined in a friendly match after the serious business. The girls commented afterwards that although these are now serious games, they still have great fun playing. The FBR begin training sessions this week for the Baleares Girls Regional Team in preparation for the Spanish Provincial Championships which will be played in Galicia in January. RC Ponent started off their ninth season in the Spanish National League with an emphatic win at home against Quimics RC

PABLO MATEU ZELARAYAN, EL TORO RC.

El Toro Rugby Club girls’ victory

WITH THE BALL: Toni Mora for El Toro RC against RC Ponent. of Barcelona beating them by 39 to 19. Although there were more errors than good points the home team kicked their first penalty followed by a try within the

first five minutes of the match. Quimics RC fought back and closed the gap through a lapse in the home team’s defence. At the break after a close first half the score was 22 -

19. Even though RC Ponent suffered injuries and yellow cards during the second half, they were still able to maintain the upper-hand and finish with 39 points on the board. Next week they

head to the mainland to meet AR Poble Nou. Two clubs participated in the U16 matches with both home team El Toro RC and RC Ponent able to present two teams. These matches were closely contested. The coming weekend sees the first matches in the Senior Balearic Tournament with RC Ponent at home in Principes de España against El Toro RC. Kick-off is at 5pm. Bahia RC is at home to Corsaris RFC, Pollença RC travel to meet Ibiza RC and Truc Menorca will play Dimonis in Manacor. The first matches in the Mallorca Rugby XV League for the U14 teams kick off on Sunday.