Euro Weekly News - Costa de Almeria 3 - 9 April 2014 Issue 1500

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ISSUE NO. 1500

3 - 9 APRIL 2014

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EWN FRONT EXTRA

A facelift for Barrio Alto THE Barrio Alto area of Almeria City is to receive an investment of more than €600,000 to give the area a much-needed facelift.

Tourism drive OFFICIALS at Almeria’s airport have met with delegates from the Junta de Andalucia regional government to try to find more ways of attracting visitors to the area.

Tasty visit TWO visiting American chefs have complimented the area on its great array of tapas and commented on what a healthy way to eat the tradition of tapas is.

Flood defences MORE THAN €4 million will be spent on 11 dams to be built across the province in the hope of stopping the floods that affect the region almost every year.

Fire ravages the Sierra de Gador A FIRE that blazed for three days through the Sierra de Gador, Almeria, has been brought under control. More than 1,000 people and several mobile units worked to control the flames in difficult wind conditions. Among them were 500 agents from INFOCA (fire prevention and control), three

pumping trucks, members of the Civil Protection Unit, environmental technicians and 231 members of the Andalucia Military Emergency Unit. Although the fire is now out, INFOCA has continued to keep watch on the area to make sure there is no danger of it coming back to life. The operation also had

aerial support in the form of five helicopters, two amphibious planes and a spotter plane. The INFOCA Forest Department said the affected area was 3,169 hectares of which 3,038 was scrubland and 130 forest areas. INFOCA is still investigating the cause of the fire but it is likely to

have been an electrical cable that fell and contacted the ground. Three rescued: Page 2

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THIS WEEK IN

EWN News 1 - 32

Finance 33 - 38

Letters DANGER: The fire at Sierra de Gador threatened a remote farmhouse.

Three rescued from fire in Enix

AGENTS from SEPRONA (Department of the Guardia Civil for Nature Protection) have rescued three people in Enix, Almeria. Agents were dispatched to the area after a call came in informing them that there were still people in a remote farmhouse in the Enix area, the caller said that the house was in imminent danger of being engulfed in flames from the Sierra de Gador fire. Due to the virulence of the fire and the

heavy smoke cover the agents could not get to the house by car and had to proceed on foot with only oxygen masks to keep them from being overcome by the dense smoke. The agents arrived at the remote farm and found all three people in good health, they gave them oxygen masks and guided them to safety. On returning they were met by other agents, who were able to get a vehicle through the flames, and take everyone to safety.

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Daily TV 50

Leapy Lee 53

Time out 54 - 55

Classifieds 82 - 84

Sport 87 - 88

NEWS Councillor dies EX-COUNCILLOR for the PP in Roquetas de Mar, Ana Toro, has died after a long illness. The 62-year-old was councillor for Culture and Education. Burglar detained POLICE have detained a man, 30, in El Ejido for stealing bathroom fittings, worth more than €40,000, from a building. Algarrobico judges THE ecological association, Salvemos Mojacar, has asked for the judges in charge of the Algarrobico hotel case to be recused.

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New promenade nearly ready A NEW seafront promenade in Almeria City should be completed by April 15, just over a year after the works started. A total of 718 metres have been added and they will connect El Zapillo and El Palmeral through Nueva Almeria to the Paseo de Rivera. The PCD (Provincial Coasts Department) wants to finish the works before April 15 as this date marks the beginning of the holiday season and coincides with Easter which is from April 13 to 20 this year. According to reports from the PCD’s sub

delegation all that is left to complete is the installation of some urban furniture, including benches, the last touches on the gardens and the levelling of the bicycle lanes. This first phase has taken the sea walk from the roundabout at Nueva Almeria to the bend at Av. Cabo de Gata. The second phase, which does not yet have a starting date, will consist of the recovery of the eastern part of the Andarax River which will provide 160 parking places.

MOSQUITOES: They choose to bite humans rather than animals as their skin is thinner.

Burnt car A CAR caught fire on the AL209, near El Acebuche, when it ran off the road. The driver was unhurt. Text alert THE Junta de Andalucia regional government has initiated this year’s anti-allergy campaign in Almeria. The service sends text messages of pollen levels to sufferers.

Watch out for those little suckers

Missing man THE Guardia Civil in Nijar have intensified their search for a man, 39, who has been missing from his home for nearly two months. Getting physical MARIA LUISA RUIZ, from Almeria, has won a place in the National Physics Olympics after winning the regional competition. Waste not A NEW waste processing plant has been opened and will service 48 villages and benefit around 80,000 Almeria residents. Andarax delta WORK has finished on the environmental recovery of areas of Andarax Delta. The works cost over €2m and were co-financed by the government and local councils.

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ORLD HEALTH DAY is celebrated on April 7, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is held to mark WHO’s founding and seen as an opportunity to draw attention to a subject of major importance to global health. The goal of the World Health Day 2014 campaign is better protection from vector-borne diseases, transmitted by mosquitoes, sandflies, bugs, ticks and snails. Mosquitoes, for example, transmit malaria although there is no danger of this in Spain, where they are simply annoying. The last confirmed case of malaria caught in Spain was in 1961. In Spain, the two most prevalent species are the Ochlerotatus which bites during the day, and the Culex pipens, or common mosquito, which bites after nightfall. According to a study published in Nature magazine, mosquitoes are attracted by carbon

Quote of the Week “Who do these people from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe think they are to come to Spain and watch the police as if it was a banana republic?” Esperanza Aguirre, President of the conservative Partido Popular in Madrid.

dioxide (CO2) in the breath. With every breath, an adult human emits 100mg of CO2, and this happens about 13 times per minute. Mosquitoes detect a current of CO2 and realise that there is a human around with fresh blood to suck, according to Valencia University Professor Juan Rueda, from the Spanish Entomology Association. Levels of CO2 are normally higher in adults and vary depending on a person’s diet and the amount of exercise they get. The mosquitoes which ‘bite’ are females, with a life span of up to 60 days and need the proteins in blood for their eggs to mature. They choose humans over other mammals because their skin is thinner. To facilitate the extraction of blood, mosquito saliva contains a powerful anti-coagulant which enters the bloodstream. The body recognises the foreign substance and attacks it, causing inflammation and itchiness.

Number of the week per cent of hashish seized in the EU is found in Spain, as well as 27 per cent of cocaine, according to the Secretary of State for Security, Francisco Martinez, who also pointed out that Spain is the main entrance to Europe for cocaine shipments.

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Blood drive in Almeria

THE Almeria transfusion centre will make 27 collections in April through its mobile units which will visit over 20 municipalities with the aim of maintaining their blood reserves.

Some food for thought FOURTEEN companies from the area are exhibiting Almeria’s gastronomy at the International Food Expo 2014 in Barcelona. This is expected to have an economic benefit of €170 million to the area.

Basque families wealthier ACCORDING to data from the National Institute of Statistics, families in the Basque region have almost twice as much income as those in Andalucia.

Fishermen protest A NEW platform has been created in the La Chanca area for unemployed fishermen to fight for their rights; some have been unemployed for over five years.

System cuts ROSARIO SOTO, spokesperson for the Social Wellbeing Group of the Popular Parliament, has denounced the government for cutting the budget for children’s protection by more than €35 million.

And finally... SPANISH students under the age of 15 have more problems using an MP3 player, purchasing combined transport tickets or using a robot vacuum than the average in the 34 countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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NEWS EXTRA

Endangered mollusc THE Environmental Department has detected an endangered species of clam in the Bays of Malaga, Almeria and Granada.

Viator flag VIATOR Town Council has revealed its new municipal flag; this was a landmark occasion for the village which has never had its own flag before.

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Carboneras urges the Junta to open new kindergarten CARBONERAS Town Council is urging the Junta de Andalucia regional government to open a kindergarten which was built more than a year ago but, so far, has not yet opened its doors. Salvador Alarcon, Councillor for Urbanism, has asked the Junta’s Education Department to open the municipal kindergarten and make it available to the residents of Carboneras.

At the same time he has indicated to the Junta that if it does not intend to do so, then Carboneras Council should be allowed to proceed and be given the necessary funds with which to open the kindergarten. The construction of the building cost more than €1,200,000 and was financed half by the Junta and half by the town council; it has the capacity to hold 107 children in seven classrooms as well as, among other things, administrative offices, a teachers’ lounge, laundry

TOWN HALL: Wants kindergarten action. room, kitchen and a dining room with capacity for 200 diners. Salvador Hernandez,

Mayor of Carboneras, has pointed out that not only do the children of the village, up to three years

old, have the right to an education but the opening of the centre would create employment.

Sub-Saharan women exploited NATIONAL POLICE have broken up an organised gang, made up of mainly Nigerian immigrants, which was bringing pregnant sub-Saharan women into Spain illegally. The gang targeted heavily pregnant women, or women with very young babies, so that they wouldn’t be sent back to their country of origin, sometimes they even forced women to travel with children other than their own. The investigation started in 2013 when police came across a boat full of pregnant women who were later interviewed by special agents and suspected of being victims of the sex trade.

All the women left the immigrant centre early and this raised more suspicions that they were being used. Once in Spain and out of the centre, the women were taken to Barcelona or Almeria where they were forced into prostitution; some in illegal brothels where they were under lock and key in unhygienic conditions. The alleged head of the gang, who lives in Morocco, supervised the whole process from beginning to end; from the women being captured in Nigeria to their eventual placing in brothels in Almeria, claimed police. With this information, obtained in the immigrant centre, the police then

raided a brothel in Roquetas de Mar, Almeria, where the clientele was almost exclusively Nigerian, and which had no legal paperwork. The brothel was established as the primary residence of many of the women. All the doors to the bedrooms had locks on them. The search also produced several false birth certificates and travel documents, all from Nigeria. The investigation has produced 10 arrests, four Nigerians, two Moroccans, three Brazilians and one Malian. Six victims and their children have been freed.

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Med Motorway has long road ahead THE planned A-7 Mediterranean Motorway still has a long way to go before it is finished. According to the

Ministry of Development, four of the necessary stretches of road that need to be laid are 88 per cent complete but another is

only 24 per cent done. After the initial excitement caused by the inauguration, the Ministry of Development, led by Ana Pastor,

has detailed which stretches are still missing for the completion of the Mediterranean Motorway; among others there is a

NEWS EXTRA

Family conflict THE Junta de Andalucia has created a free service aimed at resolving conflicts between parents and their children.

Late payments

HAUL: Guardia Civil officers found drugs in lockers.

Cocaine haul at sports centre

THE Guardia Civil have arrested two men for being in possession of more than a kilo of cocaine. The two men, aged 21 and 19, from Huercal-Overa, Almeria, kept the drugs in a locker at the sports centre where they used the gym. During an investigation aimed at reducing drug dealing in the area, the police noticed the two men frequently coming and going from the sports centre at different times of the day. After

questioning one of them at his home, they accompanied him to the sports centre and an inspection of the lockers the pair used resulted in several bags of white powder being found. After analysis revealed that it was 1.33 kilos of cocaine, the police then set about searching for the other man whom they located at his home in HuercalOvera. The two men, now on remand, stand accused of crimes against public health.

Command performance at Kimrick! By Ric Polansky © IT wasn’t the Queen who asked for this show but all the people that saw it previously have insisted it returns so their friends can behold this supreme effort. It is something very special for Mojacar to have a production of this high standard performed right here in the village. Quartet is the best play in Mojacar for many years.

Everyone has acclaimed it as such; they all want their friends to have the opportunity to witness this high quality ‘West End of London’ theatre production. This is your chance to see something spectacular and make a contribution to our long suffering charity of PAWS. It’s held at the Kimrick and you can obtain tickets at PC Playa Mojacar;

Connexions in Turre, or simply ring Janet on 629 252 292 or buy them directly at the Kimrick as you book your theatre meals. The dates are Friday and Saturday April 11 and 12 at 5.30pm at Kimrick. Kimrick is offering special theatre meals afterwards so please make a booking, on 950475198. It’s a good chance to meet the stars afterwards.

THE Junta de Andalucia reportedly owes four months of expenses to partially statefunded schools all over Andalucia.

huge stretch between Almeria and Malaga yet to be built. This stretch is not considered a priority and, as yet, has no commpletion date.

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GP visits decrease THE system of electronic prescriptions launched by the Andalucian Health Department has reportedly cut the number of visits to the doctor by nine million in 10 years.

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Vintage posters THE Villa Theatre, in Huercal Overa, has hosted the inauguration of the ‘A Life on Film’ exposition which displays vintage film posters.

Water works incomplete ALMERIA will not be able to complete its water work plans by the deadline of 2015. Forty three per cent of the work has yet to be completed.

Foreigners up in Adra THE number of foreign residents in Adra has risen by 300 since last year. The majority of the newcomers are Romanian and Moroccan.

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€536,000 for workshops to train 24 jobless people TWENTY FOUR unemployed people have been trained at a cost to the taxpayer of €536,000. The Junta de Andalucia regional

government and the Association of Municipalities of the Almanzora Valley (AMAV) ran the course which has now officially finished.

Three men held for burglary THE Guardia Civil in El Ejido has detained three men for, allegedly, burgling in the area. During a routine traffic patrol the Guardia Civil agents noticed two cars stopped near a roundabout and proceeded, initially, to warn them they could not stop there. As they got closer they saw three men passing items from one car to another, among them a large amount of tobacco, and decided to inspect the interior of both vehicles and search the men. The search produced several bottles of alcohol, 205 packets of cigarettes, nearly €3,000 in cash, five packets of coffee, three walkie-talkies and a large number of tools. The men were then taken to the police station where they were questioned. They could not explain where the items had come from. On further investigation the police

RECOVERED: Items from the theft. discovered the items had been stolen from a hostelry company the weekend before. The police returned nearly all the stolen items.

Jose Manuel Ortiz Bono, delegate from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment, said that over the last year, the workshops had trained 12 men and 12 women. Certificates of completion of the course were handed out to the participants, who are hoping to find work with their new qualifications. They had received training in forest plantation, forestry and nursery planting as well as tourist activities and how to promote cultural and ethnic heritage. The workshops were financed by the AMAV and the Junta and had a budget of just over €536,000. Ortiz Bono pointed out that the main objective of the Junta was to end unemployment which, these days, is the population’s biggest worry. He went on to state that workshops like these were excellent tools with which to help the young and unemployed get into the job market. As well as entering the job market the graduates of this course are being encouraged to set up their own businesses with the tools they have learnt in the workshops.

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Court interpreters fear falling standards INTERPRETERS are up in arms over the Junta de Andalucia’s decision to assign court interpretation work to a company which offered ‘cheap’ services. For 12 years, interpretations in court were carried out by a Granada company which charged €24 per hour. Their interpreters have university degrees in translation

Burglary call goes to pot GUARDIA CIVIL called to a house to investigate a burglary arrested a man when they found a marihuana plantation at the property. The Guardia Civil in

and interpreting, as well as extensive knowledge of legal matters. However, the service was put out for public tender and has recently been assigned to a company which plans to charge less than €10 per hour, which is 46 per cent less than the maximum amount the Junta was prepared to pay.

Translators’ and interpreters’ associations have said that this will affect the quality of work carried out, which in legal matters is of utmost importance. They warn that trained and experienced interpreters will be put out of work. The head of Malaga University’s Department of Translation and Interpreting, Emilio Ortega, said that “more qualified interpreters will refuse to work at such prices, which will affect the quality of the service.” The associations also complain that the Rules of Criminal Procedure used nowadays were created in the 19th century and allow anyone with knowledge of languages to act as an interpreter. There have been faculties in Spain specialising in translation HAUL: Marihuana plants found by Guardia Civil. and interpreting for more Mojonera, Almeria, have glass container full of than 20 years which train in several detained the man for marihuana in one of the students supposed crimes against bedrooms, which made aspects of the profession, legal public health after the them suspicious, and so including 21-year-old was found in they continued the translation. EU law obliges possession of 23 search. marihuana plants, three After looking a little interpreters in court to be large halogen lights, six closer they noticed an trained and should have extractor fans and bottles extractor outlet leading been introduced in Spain of specialised fertiliser. out from the garage last year but this has not The agents were which was later revealed yet happened. originally called to the to contain the 23 plants house because it had which were being ‘fast been broken into. The grown’ as well as a diary burglars had taken a safe of their progress. full of money - the After identifying the amount of money stolen owner of the plantation has not been disclosed - they proceeded to arrest as well as personal him for possession of 23 documentation. plants weighing 510 A MAN has died after On arriving, officers grammes, two containers being trapped under made an inspection of of marihuana buds the arm of an the house and found that weighing 50 grammes excavator while he was one of the doors had and other paraphernalia, working in a ditch on been forced. Further including specialised the Cuerda de San investigation revealed a fertiliser. Leonardo road, Almeria Province.

NEWS EXTRA

Excavator death

Braved rain DESPITE the rain more than 500 people turned out for the Responsible Consumer Fair held in Plaza Vieja, Almeria City.

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Albox Council approves works for Easter ALBOX Town Council has approved a plan of works to spruce up the municipality for the Easter celebrations. Among the planned works are resurfacing roads and gardening in the more visible areas; these works are to be

implemented immediately as they must be finished in time for Easter. Mayor of Albox Rogelio Mena commented that Easter was the perfect time to do this as it is an opportunity to enjoy the local gastronomy accompanied by the

Oily teenagers TWO teenagers have been arrested in Albox for allegedly painting a teacher’s house with industrial grade oil. The Guardia Civil arrested the two 16-year-olds after a short investigation in February revealed that they had got into trouble with their teacher at the school where they both studied. The teacher had reprimanded them on many occasions for disruptive behaviour in the classroom and eventually expelled them. The pair allegedly went to his home and poured industrial grade oil all over the front of the house, causing damage that has been valued at ₏1,200.

magnificent processions and to wander around the municipality enjoying its views. The council team have been preparing the plan for more than two months and have been consulting with residents and associations as well as the maintenance services, including the gardening service, and the Local Police. Mena did not hesitate to point out that the works have been adjusted to the possibilities available in times of recession and that they are part of a continuous effort by the council to improve the municipality. The council will spend the next few days painting and gardening, all with the aim of creating a more beautiful Albox.

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Roquetas floods ROQUETAS has suffered flood damage to several garages, basements and other underground installations during the heavy rains over the weekend.

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Time for a clean up... By Tony Matthews WITH Easter not too far away it would be good if residents were to go out, in their respective areas, and pick up some of the

litter which unfortunately has started to accumulate once again. In various places like Turre and Mojacar, it is piling up, tossed away by inconsiderate people who

are simply too idle to use the public refuse bins! One especially bad area right now is on the right-hand side of the road stretching from Turre towards the new

Sky at night SCIENTISTS at the observatory in Calar Alto have reported that around 6,000 stars can be seen in the night sky from their installation.

Green classes IN a special class, given by volunteers to keep them occupied, children at the Torrecardenas hospital have been learning about the benefits of eating their vegetables.

FALLING: Price of peppers and other produce.

Almeria peppers go down in price PEPPERS grown in the province of Almeria have gone down in price by €0.50 per kilo. The price-watch department, within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, has reported a downswing in the price of tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and aubergines, as well as the peppers, when compared with prices this time last year.

roundabout which has been put in near the crematorium. Many people are doing what they can in trying to keep the area clean. One problem involves the folk who walk their dogs and don’t care one hoot where the mutt does its business; outside someone’s drive, by a garage or on the footpath. Please do your bit and keep the area litterfree. Right now Mojacar, with Vera, are two of the best places to live (and visit) in the whole world, according to The Telegraph newspaper. A band of rubbishcollectors some wearing yellow traffic jackets - will be around over this coming weekend... please do your bit and help tidy up the area before Easter.

NEWS

Changes on the buses CHANGES to the bus service were set to be introduced yesterday (Wednesday). At the Palaces stop on Wednesday, the line 1 Murcia-Baza bus will leave at 4.30pm and the line 2 Baza-Murcia at 7.40am. From Zurgena, between Monday and Saturday, the line 1 Murcia-Baza leaves at 4.25pm and the line 2 Baza-Murcia at 7.35am. Passengers are reminded that they can use these lines to go to Almeria or Pulpi if they make a change at Venta-Overa.

For more information contact ALSA on 902 42 22 42

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4,500 fines in four months

NEWS EXTRA

Tax returns THE run-up to presenting taxes has begun again. The only difference this year is the elimination of the handwritten forms; now everything has to be presented electronically.

Bailey bridge THE Spanish Legion, training in the Almeria area, has been practising assembling Bailey bridges in readiness for a hypothetical disaster in the area.

Hard times THE recession is slowly reaching more and more sections of Spanish society, according to data recently released by the Andalucia Ombudsmen.

NEWS

ON TOP: Members of the Jaen Hash group.

Jaen hash weekend ONE member of Indalo Hash House Harriers goes to Jaen University, therefore could not attend many of the local hashes, so she organised one in Jaen.

The group checked into a youth hostel before going out on a cultural tour of the city and castle. Then it was back to the hostel to prepare for a night out.

A ‘treasure hunt’ had been organised where they were given a map of the old town, and clues. One by one, each clue led to a bar where the beers were small, but the tapas big, so no need for an evening meal. Like many ‘old towns’ it was a bit of a warren, with lots of friendly locals welcoming them and wanting to know about the group. They were even treated to a musical interlude by musicians outside one of the bars.

By 3am, they decided to go back to the hostel, as they had to be up, breakfasted and ready to hash by 10.30am! The hash was an A to B route, on a wooded hillside near the city. They seemed to go up and up and up, only stopping to tackle an ‘assault course’! When they eventually reached point B, they refreshed themselves and formed the ‘circle’. Some members were given ‘down-downs’ for various misdemeanours, and two members were given official ‘hash names’; then after a short ‘on-after’, they returned home.

If you want to know more about hashing, checkout the website: www.indaloh3.com or email indaloh3@gmail.com

FIXED and mobile speed radars have fined more than 4,500 vehicles in only four months in Almeria Province. The DGT (National Traffic Authority) has initiated a campaign to control speeding, the most frequent traffic violation committed by people in Almeria. According to data released by the DGT driving at the correct speed reduces the mortality rate by almost 25 per cent, while driving at only 5 per cent above the speed limit increases the chances of a crash by 10 per cent, and a fatal crash by 20 per cent. The DGT reminded the population that although many are aware of the dangers of speeding it still continues to be a problem in the area. This is made obvious by the amount of fines still being handed out, 4,500 so far this year. Since 2006, when the points system came into play in Spain, more than 22,000 people in Almeria have been fined for speeding; this is a collective loss of 57,530 points.

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Photo Landahlauts/Flickr.

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Generous Junta SINCE 2010, the Junta has invested more than €20 million to finance the nine metropolitan transport consortiums working throughout Andalucia.

Air Nostrum AIR NOSTRUM has confirmed it will bid for the Almeria to Sevilla route currently being serviced by Air Europa.

TRANSPORT WOES: Mine is looking for a viable solution.

Port’s no to iron transportation ALQUIFE MINES have been in talks with the councillor for urbanism in Almeria, Pablo Venzal, who reiterated the council’s refusal to transport the iron from the port of Almeria. Juan Ramon Garcia, head of transport for Alquife mines, commented that it would be ideal if there were to be a rail link between the port and the mine and hopes that one day it will be a reality. Garcia went on to comment that the mine is considering alternatives to the

rail link but that everything they have looked at is economically unviable at this time. For the moment the only financially viable route for the mine is to continue using the port in Carboneras. He complimented them on their installations but said that this was only a temporary solution as they cannot move sufficient volume through there. Both parties are hoping for a financial collaboration on the matter.

Germany can expel Spanish citizens who are unemployed THE German government has the authority to limit immigrant Spaniards’ access to social care, including health care. It can also restrict residence permits to those Europeans who

Promoting religion ENRIQUE MARIN, a member of one of Almeria’s brotherhoods, has praised the brotherhood system for promoting religion and making it more popular.

have been unemployed for six months. Vice-President of the EC, Joaquin Almunia, has confirmed the existence of an EU law, from 2004, which states that a country which has taken in an immigrant can send them back to their country of origin if they have not worked for some time and if they have no means of supporting themselves. For Almunia this reflects the necessity to reinforce a Europe-wide legal immigration policy. He explained that the ability to expel EU citizens is not in accordance with the free transit of workers

in the European zone. In Brussels, the spokesperson for Employment and Social Affairs, Jonathan Todd, has pointed out that the law states that people can travel freely throughout the zone but they do not have the absolute right to permanently stay in another country. He went on to state that after three months the immigrant must be able to demonstrate that they are actively looking for work or have the financial means of supporting themselves and will not turn out to be a burden on the state.

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Urgent call for regeneration MEMBERS of the PA (Andalucia Party) are to ask the CMAJ (Department of the Environment of the Junta) to set up an urgent regeneration plan for the burntout Sierra de Gador. In a statement to the media they pointed out that the damage most people can see from a fire is just the burnt area but, in fact, there is a lot of unseen damage. They went on to quantify the unseen damage as, among other things, the destruction caused to the mountains themselves in terms of erosion and the resulting landslides, as well as the harm done to the local wildlife.

They also underlined the fact that the Almeria area has a problem with the desertification of its land. They want an immediate plan to reforest the affected area - 3,169 hectares - so that it causes no long-term damage to the rest of the surrounding area. Although they expressed their sincere gratitude to all the agents and forces that helped extinguish the fire, they also pointed out that the preventive measures of INFOCA (fire fighting and prevention service) had not been sufficient on this occasion.

Well done Ric...

TORERO: An art form.

EURO WEEKLY NEWS contributor Ric Polansky’s book ‘OLE, capturing the passions’ has been selected as a finalist in two categories for the 2013 Fore Word Reviews, Book of the Year Award. Polansky contributed essays, lots of photographs and poetry. Other well-known writers include John Hemingway, grandson of Ernest, Jim Myers, biographer of Henry Higgins, and Alexander Fiske-Harrison, author of the recent best-seller ‘Into the Area’. And to make things even better, the book has cut its sales price in half.

You can buy it on Amazon.co.uk for less than half of its original price from when it was ranked at 243 for all books sold. This is your chance to learn more about Spain, its ancient culture and current pastimes. It will help you to understand why ‘torero’ is classified as an art form and how it came about. A recent email to Polansky, commenting on his book, read: “I’m a vegetarian, as you know, and don’t like bullfighting but your photographs and essays are delightful. I was going to give it to my dad for a gift but have decided to keep it myself.”

Helping women ‘in danger of social exclusion’ to find work THE Junta de Andalucia has completed the social care training of 12 women. Alfredo Valdivia, territorial delegate for the Department of Health and Social Politics, closed the workshops today and declared them a

success. The workshops had been set up with the help of a grant of €268,072 from the Junta. The workshops were aimed at women who were ‘in danger of social exclusion’, meaning they had been victims of domestic violence, were

over the age of 25 and had been in long-term unemployment. As well as completing the coursework the women also participated in a work experience programme, during which they received a salary, which will help them find work.

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Immigrants intercepted FIFTY ONE immigrants arrived in the port of Almeria in good health after being rescued from their boat near the island of Alboran. The boat had left Morocco several hours earlier.

Dear cherries MOROCCAN and Tunisian cherry tomatoes sell for almost double the price of Spanish ones in London.

Linking-up THE mayor of Almeria has asked the coastal authorities to link the sea walks. This would provide Almeria with almost 830 more metres of coastal routes.

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Junta to invest €2 million to make internet more accessible THE Junta de Andalucia regional government is to spend more than €2 million on the Guadalinfo network in Almeria in 2014. Adriana Valverde, Territorial Delegate for Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment, explained that all the Guadalinfo centres will have this investment divided among them to improve their service, which provides public access to the internet. On top of this the Department of Economy will invest €5.5 million to renovate the computers in centres all over Andalucia. Valverde went on to comment that the Guadalinfo project was important as it signified the provision of equal

opportunities in the Almeria area. She also pointed out that another 93 centres have been

planned within Guadalinfo network that these are of highest priority as

the and the they

help people find employment and are a social innovation. The Guadalinfo network

has been established for more than 10 years and is used by 33.16 per cent of the population.

Are you bothered? AGE SUPPORT ALMANZORA (previously Age Concern Almanzora) became a registered charity in June 2012 to provide support for older people living within the Almanzora Valley area. After a concerted period of fundraising, the organisation began providing services in March last year. “We opened our charity shop in Arboleas in June 2012, and have been thrilled by the support we’ve received,” said the charity’s president, Cathy Stott. “People have been so generous with their donations that we quickly gained a reputation for good quality and prices,” she added. “However, we’re now running a bit low on stock for the summer and would really appreciate some more donations.” The shop is staffed entirely by volunteers and is open from 10am to 1.30pm Monday to Saturday. Further fundraising events in

ALONE: Support the aged. and around Albox, together with the shop’s takings, enabled the charity to start offering Volunteer Befriender home visits, UK benefits advice and help with completing benefits applications. Recently, they have also set up a monthly Lunch Club where people who live alone can enjoy each other’s company supported by their own Volunteer Befrienders. In December 2013, the Executive Committee decided that the organisation should become an independent charity

so that the money being spent on being a member of the Age Concern España Federation could be spent on supporting local people. Steph Mitchell, Welfare Team Leader, commented that awareness of their work is important as they need more people to join their team and help support the aged. In the charity’s experience, there are an increasing number of people who, because of the loss of their loved one, are left trying to manage alone. Other people are struggling with increasing health problems and becoming worried about how to manage their normal day-to-day lives. If you know someone that you think may benefit from Age Support’s help or you feel that you can help in any way, you can get more information on the services offered, volunteering and the charity shop by telephoning 634 333 544 or emailing agesupportalmanzora@ live.com.

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NEWS EXTRA

On course A CASHIER and shelfstacking course is available to anyone with a mental disability in Almeria. So far 15 people have signed up for this government/ ONCE initiative.

Dog attack THE parents of a two-year-old girl have denounced the owner of the dog that bit her on the face. She is recovering in hospital.

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Residents add to council debt MOST of the debt owed by Almeria City Council to the water company is due to a small group of residents not paying their bills. According to the mayor of Almeria, Luis Rogelio Rodriguez, the

debt totals €3,150,000 but 86.5 per cent of that is held by a small group of residents in the poorest neighbourhoods of the town. After reiterating that nobody would be cut off if they didn’t have the

money to pay their bills and they had alerted the Social Services about the situation, Manuel Guzman, Councillor for Urban Services, stated that of the 86,546 users only 3,195 were cut off in 2013.

15 water cuts in one year THE neighbourhood of Costacabana, in Almeria, has suffered more than 15 water cuts in just one year. The council has

already taken action on a project to improve the supply in two of the affected streets but will have to take action in another six streets to improve their water supply. A total of €230,000 will be spent on the six streets. Another two projects will be necessary in order for the whole neighbourhood to have a constant supply of water. This is just one of the aspects of the Costacabana neigh-

bourhood that needs improving; they are also asking for action to be taken on their beach as it is affected by erosion and the strong waves. The company that has been contracted to undertake this work is also going to find a solution for the beach at El Toyo, as it is also affected by the same problems. Approximately €2.3 million is needed to complete all of these projects.

He also said that among the debtors are the university and the Junta de Andalucia regional government. They have not been cut off despite having the money to pay. At the moment, if a resident or entity cannot pay their water bill, the

council pays it for them as it feels nobody should be cut off from such a basic service. The opposition is contesting this protocol as they say some entities, including the university and the regional government, are taking advantage of the situation.

Girl beaten for not wearing veil A SENEGALESE man, 42, is due to stand trial in Palma de Mallorca for beating his 15-year-old daughter because she refused to wear a ‘hijab’ (veil). He reportedly cut her hair against her will in August 2013 after putting his knee on her neck, beating her with a belt and hitting her in the face and head because he would not accept her way of life and dressing. She attempted to commit suicide in September last year and was rushed to Son Llatzer Hospital. He is facing three years in prison and a ban from coming near her or communicating with her for eight years. Arresting officers found him praying and he admitted he had ‘slapped’ his daughter because she wouldn’t dress in the way he told her to.

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E W N 3 - 9 April 2014 / Costa de Almería

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NEWS

Money back on electricity bills SOME 400,000 families in Almeria will receive €17 back on their electricity bills. They are clients of Sevillana Endesa and will benefit from the refund which was announced by the Minister for Industry, Jose Manuel Soria. This is because the price which clients have been

charged for their electricity during the first three months of the year was well above the price which the company actually paid on the market. In fact, it cost €26 per megawatt per hour whereas the provisional price which had been set by the ministry was €48.4. This means that throughout

New guided tours ALMERIA City Hall has organised guided tours for the second three months of the year, including a tour of the Bay of Almeria by bike. There are 58 organised tours, as well as proposals unique to each of the nine collaborating companies, including kayak excursions, camel rides and night-time hikes. There will also be special tours for Easter and Cruces de Mayo. For more information, visit www.turismodealmeria.org or email oficinadeturismo@aytoalmeria.es

Spain, more than €300 million will have to be returned to clients, €6.8 million in Almeria alone, from now until August 30. The government has approved a new tariff system for electricity which is based on the market price. The price can be set per hour, if the client has an ‘intelligent’ meter, or with a daily average for those who don’t. For the average user, the only difference is that the bill will be based on the average market price over the term it is issued for, instead of the price set by auction. Although the new system came into effect this week, the companies have until July 1 to adapt to it.

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184 evictions took place every day in Spain during 2013 A REPORT released by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has revealed that there were 184 evictions every day in 2013. Cataluña was the hardest-hit region with 23.8 per cent of the total of evictions; Valencia had 14.6 per cent; Andalucia was next with 13.8 per cent and Madrid with 13 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of mortgages taken out on properties was 82,680, which is a

drop of 9.8 per cent compared with 2012. The number of

insolvencies declared was 10,949, which was 6.4 per cent more than

the year before and marks a new historic high.

Guardia Civil’s ‘most wanted’ THE Guardia Civil have released their list of top 10 most wanted criminals. The Guardia Civil has appealed for help, asking colleagues from around 20 countries for assistance in finding the dangerous individuals in question. This step has been a first for the law enforcement agency, which doesn’t usually issue international requests for help. Commander Oscar Esteban gave out the list which includes the mug shot, description and criminal history of each fugitive. He explained that the organisation was asking international police bodies and concerned citizens for their cooperation “because of the seriousness of the crimes and because of the difficulty in locating them.”

Esteban also held a short presentation for each of the 10 criminals, nine men and a woman. The Spaniards are Juan Monteagudo Marmol, who is wanted for sexually abusing his daughter and battering his wife, and Jorge Simarro Arbiza, wanted for drug trafficking. The other fugitives on the list are from Paraguay, Romania, Venezuela, Ukraine, Italy, France, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. They are wanted for crimes ranging from murder to mafia activity. Esteban said: “They are 10 of around 500 individuals with international arrest warrants against them in Spain.” He admitted that they could be “in any other country.”

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Baby receives seven organs A 10-MONTH-OLD baby in Valencia has successfully undergone a seven-organ transplant. The baby, Luna, received all the organs from one donor in an operation

carried out at Hospital de la Paz’s multitransplant unit in Madrid. She was only a few days old when her digestive system shut down so she was immediately put on the transplant list and had to be permanently connected to a machine which fed her artificially. During the operation she received a large intestine, small intestine, colon, liver, pancreas, spleen and stomach. She was released from hospital two weeks ago and is making a good TWO workers who found a bomb recovery and leading an almost while carrying out repairs to the roof normal life. According to NUPA, an of a building in central Madrid, took the explosive device to the police organisation which supports the families of children who are station. The appearance of two workers dependent on a machine to feed carrying a bomb provoked the them, there are more than 130 immediate evacuation of the police children who need this type of multistation, as well as neighbouring organ transplant. NUPA has begun a project to make buildings, for over an hour. Members of the TEDAX (bomb the general public aware that this disposal unit) were called and they sort of total digestive system shutdown exists. Journalist Alba took the bomb away with them. Initial analysis points to the bomb Santos has written a book for the being empty of explosive charges, campaign entitled ‘Inside There is a Secret for Heroes’. sources reported.

Two workers find Civil War bomb

3- 9 April 2014 / Costa de Almería

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E W N 3 - 9 April 2014 / Costa de Almería COSTA DEL SOL

Royal thanks ONE of the quays in Puerto Banus will be named after Prince Salman to thank the Saudi Arabian Royal Family for their support for Marbella over the years.

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News from our editions With six editions and read by more than half a million people, EWN is Spain’s largest free local English-language newspaper

NEWS DESK the mayor said, and the annual fiesta “has great potential.”

MALLORCA

Long-term residents SEVENTY-FIVE per cent of immigrants living in the Balearic Islands have been there for more than five years.

Mortgage triumph

Savage dog

A RESIDENT of Fuengirola has reportedly managed to get the bank to renegotiate the conditions of his mortgage after spending four months outside the office.

THE owner of a dog which has killed more than 20 chickens in Manacor has been charged for the third time.

Summer closure

Palace concerns

MIJAS Town Hall has repeated that it will not allow community pools which do not comply with current laws to open this summer.

THERE is reportedly concern amongst the German and British tourism market due to delays in carrying out the Congress Hall in Palma.

Marbella is happy

Religious minorities

MARBELLA’S promotional video to the song ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams has received almost 120,000 visits, many of them from the UK.

THERE are 187 minority religious groups in the Balearic Islands, according to the President of the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation, Fernando Arias.

Shark birth

Sexual abuse

GUARDIA CIVIL and Local Police helped a shark to give birth to 10 young sharks on Playa del Castillo in Fuengirola, before she returned to the water.

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

Burning body A MAN, aged 84, burnt to death in Rojales near the Cuevas del Rodeo, close to the local primary school with children witnessing him burning.

Illegal car A BRITISH man has been arrested in Fortuna, Murcia, after he could not produce a single paper corresponding to the car he was driving which was on false UK licence plates and not insured.

Castle disrepair GUARDAMAR Council has been criticised by the opposition parties for not repairing the wooden walkway that leads to the 12th century castle. They are calling for immediate action.

10,000 babies TEN THOUSAND babies have been born at Torrevieja Hospital since the maternity unit was opened in October 2006. The milestone birth came when baby Ramon Bermudez Fernandez was born.

Teenager injured A 19-YEAR-OLD was injured after being

MOMENT CAPTURED: Getting ready for the procession, Pego 2013.

Exhibition looks back to last Easter A PEGO exhibition is currently giving a foretaste of what Holy Week will bring later this month. Photographs taken in Pego by the Dutch photographer Hanneke Verloop during last year’s Semana Santa processions and religious ceremonies are on show at the Casa de Cultura in Calle Hospital 2 in the old part of town. The exhibition continues until April 19 and is open between 6pm and 8pm every day except Sunday. hit by a car on the CV-905 through Rojales. The young man was taken to Torrevieja hospital with a head injury.

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

Watchdogs NOVELDA police are increasing controls on dangerous dog breeds. Street patrols will check that pets are muzzled and owners have complied with national and local government regulations.

‘Bin and gone’ MUCHAMIEL’S new rubbish collection contractors will charge the town hall €500,000 less than their predecessors. Twelve urbanisations will see collections reduced to five times a week.

Safety first A PEDESTRIAN crossing on a blind curve at the Salesianos tram stop in Campello has been finally been re-sited. A woman who failed to see an approaching tram was killed there last year.

Off yer bike! LOCAL police in Gandia are patrolling the town centre’s Paseo Germanias to prevent cyclists from riding there. Persistent offenders will be fined, following residents’ complaints that they endanger pedestrians.

Grape news TEULADA town hall allocated €15,000 to boost the traditional Muscatel Fiesta. The local grapes are the best in the world,

A MAN, 76, has been sentenced to a year in prison for sexually abusing his partner’s granddaughter in Sineu in 2006.

AXARQUIA

Local hero RIOGORDO has paid homage to a priest that, in 1810, confronted the Napoleonic troops. The Cultural Association of Torrijos 1831 has recreated the scene, in which he rose up against the French, in the main square.

Beauty contest ALMUÑECAR is to hold a competition for the best looking patios, house fronts and hidden corners of the town. The competition is open to all residents.

Young poets TO mark World Book Day Almuñecar is hosting a poetry and short-story competition for all 14 to 16-year-olds in the area.

School works WORKS to improve the Pablo Picasso public school, in Almargen, will cost €1.8 million and will benefit the 229 students who attend the school.

Motril aged THE mayor of Motril has inaugurated a new day centre for the elderly which has air conditioning, a cafeteria and even a space for hairdressing.

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E W N 3 - 9 April 2014 / Costa de Almería

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NEWS

Innocent man dies in jail WRONGLY JAILED: Mistaken identity.

THE Supreme Court has pardoned a man who died in prison serving a sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. The man was sentenced by the Sevilla courts in 2011 for a violent robbery in which the thief was injured and left blood at the scene. The blood

has now allowed investigators to identify the real culprit. But the DNA tests were carried out only after the man had been found guilty. He had been wrongly identified as the culprit by the victim, and the judge hearing the initial case decided not to wait for the result of blood tests, which

eventually took a year and five months to complete. The judge considered there was enough evidence to send the man to prison for stealing a woman’s handbag. He supposedly broke the window of her car and struggled with her to take the bag. The close physical resemblance between the actual thief and the innocent man was thought to be the reason why he was found guilty.

Sex fiend arrested A BRITON, 45, wanted in the UK for raping a girl, five, has been arrested in a café in Palma de Mallorca city centre. National Police report he had been living in Mallorca using a false identity and is accused of sexual attacks against the child between 2001 and 2005, although they were not reported until 2011.

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A note from the

NEWS

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Editor

Violence is never justified A

BRITISH man has been jailed for the death of a young father in Mallorca. A German man faces up to four years in jail over the same incident. Briton Matthew Blue, 32, who had two young children and another on the way, was enjoying a night out with friends in the popular party area of Port d’Alcudia, just as many thousands of others do every year, mostly without incident. But a comment from one of his friends was enough to draw the attention of another group of young men. That was to be fatal for Matthew. He was knocked to the ground and kicked in the head. He later died. A family was left without a father, three young children left without a chance to have the normal ONE of Spain’s most famous bank robbers has been jailed for five years and three months, despite his defence that he was only stealing from thieves. He was found guilty of robbing a bank in Madrid in February 2007 when he

upbringing many of us take for granted. There will be no dad to take them to the park, no father to help bring them up. No cherished memories of a care-free upbringing. Three young lives blighted. Leaving aside the sentences (is 15 months enough punishment for the death of a man, even if it was not intended?) it was, and remains, a tragedy. It should be a lesson to everyone, young men in particular, that violence is never justified. Too many young men seem to think a punch-up is just part of the night’s entertainment. This tragedy is a lesson that drink-fuelled aggression can kill and leave young children with a life sentence to endure. Fun? Not for Matthew Blue and his three young children.

Robbing the banks got away with €16,510. The prosecution had asked for a sentence of 15 years, but as he already

had a sentence for possessing illegal arms, this was reduced to five. Jaime Jimenez Arbe, AKA El Solitario, claimed he was simply applying a ‘revolutionary tax’ on them because they were also thieves.

TWIST ON TRADITION: Simon Manley (left) and David Muñoz.

Look who’s cooking...

WHAT do the British Ambassador to Spain and the Mohican-hairstyled Spanish chef of the moment have in common? Not much, it might appear, but Simon Manley, 46, and David Muñoz, 33, share several passions. Running, food and the United Kingdom are three of them, and the pair have just been filmed cooking the classic British dish of roast beef

with Yorkshire pudding, with a distinctive, modern Spanish twist. In a new video on YouTube, David explains why he will soon be opening his first international restaurant in Britain. “I love it,” he says. “I lived in London for six years, and learnt almost everything there. London’s huge gastronomic diversity can be found nowhere else.” Simon Manley added: “David’s decision to expand into the UK shows what a great place London is to start a new business or expand an existing one. What’s more, he’ll add even further to the incredible quality and variety of food which visitors to London can enjoy.” David recently received his third Michelin star, making him the youngest Spaniard to win the top Michelin ranking and the only holder of three stars in Madrid. His new restaurant, StreetXo London, will open this summer in Mayfair, bringing with it the culinary style that has made a table at his tiny DiverXO restaurant

among the most desirable - and near unobtainable - in Spain. The video shows the two in Union Jack aprons producing a dish of roast beef with Yorkshire pudding at the ambassador’s official residence, with the addition of horseradish, papaya and a herb that grows beside Spanish rivers. One of the top Foreign Office priorities for its ambassadors - including Simon Manley at the British Embassy in Madrid - is to explain the benefits of investing in Britain, which is recognised as the easiest country in Europe in which to start a new business. Meanwhile, the ‘Britain is GREAT’ campaign, which has a special emphasis on food, is also helping more British suppliers to sell their products to overseas markets. Photos of British Ambassador Simon Manley with threeMichelin-starred Chef David Muñoz are available for download from the British Embassy Madrid photo gallery.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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

business & legal

the public and the main political parties, but the gesture will not come cheap. Aena, Spain’s airports’ operator, immediately announced the name change on its web page. It is now developing a programme for the name change, including some airport signs, announced Jose Manuel Vargas, president of state-run Aena. Other modifications will be carried out gradually, he added, without offering specific dates.

Chicken farmers halt abuses SPAIN’S poultry farmers threatened to sue DIA supermarkets for selling chicken as a loss leader. The small farmers’ and growers’ union UPA claimed that the DIA chain sold whole birds at €2.15 a kilo, despite production costs of €2.73 a kilo. As UPA members announced protests outside DIA supermarkets, the chain backed down ‘for the moment.’ “We cannot allow the big corporations to fool around with us,” warned UPA, which claimed that the sector lost €5 million during every week of the DIA offer. Retail chains Leclerc and Vegalsa are also

accused of selling cheap chicken as a loss leader by the UPA producers, although the practice is not allowed under Spanish law. Supermarkets use cheap chicken to persuade customers that they are patronising cheap establishments when this is not always the case, complained UPA’s Roman Santalla. The union was satisfied that its rapid reaction and the loss leader accusation were sufficient to halt abuses, he observed. The union would nevertheless be on the lookout to stem the loss leader practice on the part of any retailer, Santalla warned.

B

usiness extra

Bumpy ride on toll roads THE government will create a state-owned company for lossmaking toll roads. A 30year, €2.3 billion bond will cover their debts with a 50 per cent haircut for creditor banks, sources revealed.

Branches lopped TWENTY THOUSAND bank employees were dismissed last year and 4,451 offices closed. A total of 12,352 branches have shut in the last five years, 26.7 per cent of the pre2008 count.

Black gets blacker NO MORE than 5 per cent of Spaniards admit to working without paying tax or Social Security. Only 8 per cent of the population confessed to the European Commission’s Eurobarometer to having bought something or paid for a service knowing it would not

be declared to the taxman. Both answers failed to tally with the 33 per cent of Spaniards personally acquainted with someone working ‘on the black.’ The number of people who knew a clandestine worker grew by 6 percentage points in the period between 2007 and 2013.

33

STAT OF WEEK SPANISH car factories produced 223,060 vehicles in February, a 9.02 per cent increase on the same period last year.

New name for Barajas BARAJAS airport is to be named after Adolfo Suarez, former president of the Spanish government. The Ministry of Public Works’ decision was announced immediately after his recent death. “Neither was the decision prompted by the current online campaign as the Partido Popular suggested honouring Suarez in this way in 2009,” sources added. The decision met with the approval of

EWN

BARAJAS AIRPORT: To be renamed after Adolfo Suarez.

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C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 387.60 Admiral Group PLC 1438.00 Aggreko PLC 1507.00 Anglo American PLC 1536.25 Antofagasta PLC 840.50 ARM Holdings PLC 1019.50 Ashtead Group PLC 959.50 Associated British Foods 2778.00 AstraZeneca PLC 3897.75 Aviva PLC 484.95 Babcock International 1365.50 BAE Systems PLC 414.25 Barclays PLC 235.07 Barratt Developments 414.45 BG Group PLC 1117.50 BHP Billiton PLC 1877.25 BP PLC 480.70 British Amcn Tobacco 3317.00

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. -3.00 -0.77 11.00 0.77 7.00 0.47 9.50 0.62 5.00 0.60 21.50 2.15 8.00 0.84 -3.00 -0.11 21.50 0.55 8.10 1.70 20.00 1.48 0.00 0.00 1.70 0.73 2.00 0.48 0.00 0.00 33.00 1.79 0.75 0.16 -18.00 -0.54

NET VOLUME 483.82 11.34 23.10 211.75 36.59 677.25 42.07 23.56 161.26 746.44 97.48 233.30 3,848.26 60.46 301.55 765.77 907.96 113.85

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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 Co 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 WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc DIS Walt Disney Co

PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 135.66 90.03 35.07 125.49 99.37 118.91 22.42 67.10 97.68 25.89 163.85 79.13 25.81 192.49 98.23 60.71 98.03 56.77 40.99 73.86 32.12 80.60 38.66 85.10 116.84 81.99 47.57 215.86 76.43 80.07

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

C O M PA N Y Centrica PLC Coca-Cola HBC AG Compass Group PLC CRH PLC Diageo PLC easyJet PLC Experian PLC Fresnillo PLC G4S PLC GKN PLC GlaxoSmithKline PLC Glencore Xstrata PLC Hammerson PLC Hargreaves Lansdown HSBC Holdings PLC IMI PLC Imperial Tobacco Group InterContinental Hotels International Consldtd Intertek Group PLC ITV PLC Johnson Matthey PLC Kingfisher PLC Land Securities Group Legal & General Group Lloyds Banking Group London Stock Exchange Marks & Spencer Group Meggitt PLC Melrose Industries PLC Mondi PLC National Grid PLC Next PLC Old Mutual PLC Pearson PLC Persimmon PLC Petrofac Ltd Prudential PLC Randgold Resources Ltd Reckitt Benckiser Group Reed Elsevier PLC Resolution Ltd REXAM PLC Rio Tinto PLC Rolls-Royce Holdings Royal Bank of Scotland Royal Dutch Shell PLC Royal Mail PLC RSA Insurance Group SABMiller PLC Sage Group (The) PLC Sainsbury (J) PLC Schroders PLC Severn Trent PLC Shire PLC Smith & Nephew PLC Smiths Group PLC Sports Direct Intrntnl... SSE PLC Standard Chartered PLC Standard Life PLC St. James's Place PLC Tesco PLC Travis Perkins PLC TUI Travel PLC Tullow Oil PLC Unilever PLC United Utilities Group Vodafone Group PLC Weir Group PLC Whitbread PLC William Hill PLC Wm Morrison Sprmrkts Wolseley PLC WPP PLC

PRICE(P) 328.90 1489.00 915.50 1685.50 1848.75 1727.50 1086.50 844.25 242.60 394.40 1599.00 310.30 558.00 1466.00 607.55 1463.50 2427.00 1930.50 418.15 3081.50 191.55 3281.00 421.70 1023.50 206.50 74.78 1981.00 452.55 480.40 297.55 1049.50 821.25 6660.00 201.60 1043.50 1345.50 1440.00 1275.50 4513.00 4869.50 919.00 299.60 487.15 3368.50 1083.50 312.35 2337.00 565.00 89.12 2982.25 418.40 312.65 2610.00 1826.50 2965.00 914.50 1277.00 856.50 1469.00 1251.75 378.05 834.25 292.73 1887.00 439.70 747.25 2541.50 788.75 221.05 2486.00 4173.50 342.20 212.50 3424.00 1245.00

CHANGE -0.80 -4.10 1.00 9.00 -12.20 12.92 6.00 1.00 1.10 4.00 8.00 1.55 4.00 7.00 0.10 6.00 4.00 4.00 1.00 9.00 0.10 9.30 0.20 3.00 1.70 0.13 10.00 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.00 -1.00 60.00 0.50 -19.00 0.00 2.78 7.00 12.00 -17.00 3.14 1.10 0.17 31.50 9.50 1.42 -3.50 2.00 -0.45 -12.50 0.50 -3.48 11.00 5.00 21.00 5.50 5.00 4.50 0.00 -1.50 0.79 9.50 -2.70 2.00 1.50 -1.50 -20.00 1.00 0.75 -50.00 13.00 1.10 -0.50 11.00 8.00

% C H G. -0.24 -0.27 0.11 0.54 -0.66 0.75 0.56 0.12 0.46 1.02 0.50 0.50 0.72 0.48 0.02 0.41 0.17 0.21 0.24 0.29 0.05 0.28 0.05 0.29 0.83 0.17 0.51 0.22 0.17 0.20 0.00 -0.12 0.91 0.25 -1.79 0.00 0.19 0.55 0.27 -0.35 0.34 0.37 0.03 0.94 0.88 0.46 -0.15 0.36 -0.50 -0.42 0.12 -1.10 0.42 0.27 0.71 0.61 0.39 0.53 0.00 -0.12 0.21 1.15 -0.91 0.11 0.34 -0.20 -0.78 0.13 0.34 -1.97 0.31 0.32 -0.23 0.32 0.65

VOLUME 472.67 7.07 190.62 70.28 320.24 40.82 96.87 18.73 117.77 93.45 366.34 1,302.23 39.96 12.70 2,102.04 25.48 138.07 11.04 294.24 13.40 342.33 14.17 255.14 32.34 769.00 9,261.09 8.77 289.42 20.58 52.54 32.80 170.00 14.70 186.42 279.86 20.82 33.00 205.28 15.39 45.87 51.27 476.30 42.00 357.99 209.93 548.44 217.81 45.88 2,280.54 181.84 75.99 455.77 6.45 11.09 105.91 86.86 43.74 16.87 117.15 269.01 117.34 62.35 2,068.82 24.04 11.98 88.13 174.19 83.81 2,070.79 279.30 14.17 105.37 825.91 12.60 420.43

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Eurozone inflation provides a little cheer THE global economy shows signs of expanding gradually in most advanced economies, on the back of firming domestic and external demand coupled with an extremely accommodative monetary policy. However, growth numbers are fairly uneven across the globe, as emerging markets have taken a hit as the US Federal Reserve winds down its stimulus measures. Janet Yellen, in a hawkish stance, has also indicated to the markets that the Federal Reserve will wind down stimulus by the latter half of 2014 with a possibility of an interest rate hike as early as spring 2015. European stock markets finished February in positive territory, after a fairly volatile period owing to the uncertainty from the Italian elections. In terms of economic data, Eurozone inflation numbers came

Ask the expert Peter Loveday Contact me at euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com

in slightly better than expected prompting intermittent strength in the Euro, dispelling deflationary risks to the economy. This has also buoyed up the currency and gives the European Central Bank (ECB) some breathing space in terms of interest rates and Mario Draghi’s Long Term Refinancing Option scheme, which are both put on hold for the moment. Despite inflation coming in well below the ECB’s target of 2.0 per cent, Mario Draghi reassured markets in a statement saying, “we are clearly not in deflation, which is defined as a selfreinforcing fall in prices that is broad-based across items and

MIXED DATA: But expect the Euro to remain fairly weak. across countries.” With such divergent policies from Central Banks coupled with the crisis in Ukraine, it could bring further weakness to the Euro in the near term. Compared to Sterling, the Euro looks to be fairly stable closer to the 1.20 mark despite the barrage of positive economic data from the UK that has been fairly

consistent over the last three quarters. The UK economy is due to move forward as the fastest among the advanced economies, so intermittent Euro weakness is set to persist over the month if data from the UK is continually optimistic. Meanwhile, German IFO Business climate numbers as well as the ZEW Economic sentiment

continued to help the Euro maintain its strength, as markets are fairly confident of the recovery as Germany has also been upgraded to ‘stable’ from a ‘negative’ rating by Moody’s. As far as Southern Europe goes, France disappointed in terms of services as well as manufacturing data, GDP estimates for Spain were revised downwards marginally and Italian GDP numbers revealed contraction in the region. With such mixed economic data coming out of the Eurozone, markets are fairly circumspect on the recovery, which, although gaining traction slowly is not out of the woods just yet. With such caution and trepidation in the markets, expect the Euro to remain fairly weak over the coming month and to regain levels of 1.20 against Sterling, at best, as the UK economy is nicely set up for a surge forward.

Visit us at our Spanish offices in Costa del Sol, Costa Almeria, North Costa Blanca and South Costa Blanca. Telephone: UK +44 (0) 207 847 9400 SPAIN +34 950 478 914 Email: euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com • www.currenciesdirect.com

Spanish homes remain uninsured THE Spanish are cutting down on insurance. Car owners increasingly downgrade from comprehensive cover to third party insurance, according to the Kelisto.es website. Property owners are giving house insurance a complete miss, and Kelisto’s Celia Duran calculates there are now 8.5 million houses and apartments - 30 per cent of the total - without any kind of cover. This is a slight improvement on 2010, however, when there were a total of 9 million uninsured homes. In the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, 78.3 per cent of properties are uninsured, followed by the Canary Islands (55.7 per cent), Castilla-La Mancha (52.7 per cent) and Extremadura (50.6 per cent).

A bigger stadium BARCELONA football club’s stadium, inaugurated in 1957, is no longer adequate for its needs. Paid-up members will decide in a referendum whether or not €600 million should be spent on remodelling Camp Nou. The stadium’s capacity would increase from 99,000 to 105,000 with a roof for the existing structure.

Getting your advertising right WHY do you think the bookies have six paying-in tills but only one that pays out? For me, gambling is a mug’s game. Then, during a moment’s reflection I had to admit that I have gambled all of my life. Every time I started a new job or business venture I speculated. Each time I pull my plastic out and advertise I gamble on it being a success. We all have to advertise including those manufacturing household name brands. If you don’t yell you don’t sell but how do you make your advertisement work for you? There are no guarantees but you can increase the chances of it doing so. Never blame the messenger. The newspaper or radio sells space so use it to sell your business. Advertising departments will help you but the obligation to sell is yours. Every salesman has heard the term, KISS. It is an acronym of ‘Keep it simple, stupid.’

Talking shop Mike Walsh Mike Walsh was for 20 years Regional Assessment Manager for the Guild of Master Craftsmen, Britain’s biggest quality assurance body for businesses.

www.michaelwalsh.es 966 786 932

In reading time you have about five seconds to grab the reader’s attention and interest him enough to act: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action (AIDA).

ADVERTISING: Important to get the reader interested. An A5 flier should never have more than 50 words in it; a newspaper advert fewer words. Keep to the point and include your full contact details including web link and email. The advert is your shop window. Get the reader interested enough to step inside and you have the opportunity to sell them what they want. Readers’ needs may not coincide with your advert’s

offer. When they need your service they will refer back to it. For this reason a regular advert is more cost effective than the occasional half page. Advertise how your business can help readers. A special offer and discounts always attract interest. Try selling something different. Having attracted new clients treat them right and you will discover the best advertisement is word of mouth.

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL BUSINESS EXTRA

Barefaced fundraising has succeeded THERE are some things in this world that are very close to a woman’s chest and breast cancer just happens to be one of those things. Most women know or know of someone that has been affected by the disease making it a very real ‘reality’ for many girls. Currently on the world’s number one social media site, you may have noticed a barrage of ‘selfie’ photos depicting women with no make-up on. The photos are said to be in support of those suffering from breast cancer and to raise awareness of the disease. The trend has divided internet users, with some people loving the idea while others dislike it. It does appear odd that

Loose change A look at finance for females

Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

not wearing make-up is being used to highlight cancer, as they don’t seem related and there is nothing terribly brave about not wearing make-up either. While, implying that not wearing make-up is a fitting tribute to those affected by the disease is a bit like going without your midmorning snack for poverty and hunger. But regardless whether women are uploading photos with good intentions

to join the fight against cancer or just to feed their ‘like’ ego, the fact remains that this spontaneous campaign has raised lots of money. So any sort of smugness has been outweighed by the amount of cash that’s flown in. Over £8 million (€9.67 million) has been raised for Cancer Research UK from text and online donations. Apparently this is enough money to fund 10 new clinical trials testing new treatments for cancer and analysing tumour samples from patients. No matter what your opinion about ‘no make-up selfies,’ surely anything that raises lots of money for research and gets people talking is a positive thing. Remember, people do marathons, wear funny outfits, shave beards - do all sorts of things to raise

Internet robbery SPAIN’S broadband is the EU’s second-dearest after Cyprus, costing €38.70 a month for the cheapest medium-speed connection. Prices are lowest in Lithuania, where the same speed costs €10.30 a month.

Foreign fans FASHION exports grew by 47 per cent since 2008 although domestic sales slumped. Inditex and Camper now see €8 of every €10 of their turnover originating outside Spain. NO MAKE-UP: Posting selfies to raise funds. money for charity. The fact that social media is involved has been fantastic in helping to raise a load of money that the charity might have struggled to raise otherwise. If even 10 per cent of the people who post the ‘selfies’

donate money to Cancer Research, then it has been a success for the charity, and it doesn’t really matter if the other 90 per cent were posting pictures purely for compliments they would probably be doing that anyway!

Growing again SPAIN’S Central Bank says the economy will grow 1.2 per cent in 2014. The following year it expects the growth to accelerate to 1.7 per cent thanks to more domestic demand.

Who owns it, community or owner? Two friends of mine have purchased a townhouse at the end of the terrace. You and the When talking to them, we mentioned that the land at the side of their house is Law in Spain community property with access to all By David Searl the residents. They replied that the seller had included the land in their title deed, the ‘escritura,’ and that the land now belongs to them. Now they are concerned about the situation as to the legality of the ‘escritura’ and the land. Can you advise? T.S. (Costa del Sol) A. This situation is similar to the terraces of an apartment building or the bits of garden behind many townhouses. It is your terrace and your bit of garden, as shown on your title deed. However, you are limited in what you can do with it, as we saw in a recent column. Spanish courts have ruled that anything outside the enclosing walls of the building or block is finally controlled by the Community of Property Owners. Each homeowner has the ‘exclusive use’ of these areas, but the community has a say in what they can do with them. Properly, the terraces of an apartment building may not be enclosed, although they often are glassed in. Your community might allow the end townhouse to enclose the land, or it might insist the space remain open. Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

SPANISH OIL: Would create many jobs.

On track for fracking SPAIN’S offshore oil currently occupies the headlines, but there is inland oil too. It was discovered in landlocked La Lora (Burgos) in 1963 and extraction started a year later. Production peaked in the late 60s and early 70s before dwindling. Industry experts calculated that despite reserves of up to 100 million barrels, the Ayaluengo oilfield’s wells were too scattered to be profitable. Oil prices have risen since then and plans to increase production could be resumed. The British Leni Gas and Oil (LGO) whose subsidiary Compañia Petrolifera de Sedano exploits the wells has ceded a 65 per cent stake in the latter to Italian company, Pansoinco. In return Pansoinco will finance the cost of developing the Ayoluengo field between

now and 2017 in a deal that should be signed by April 30. Meanwhile Repsol subsidiary Ripsa has extracted offshore oil since 1981 off the Ebra Delta in Cataluña. It produces 8,000 barrels of crude oil from three separate wells. Further prospection plans off the Gulf of Valencia, the Balearics and the Canary Islands are meeting bitter opposition from environmentalists and the tourism and fisheries industries. Oil and gas exploration and subsequent production in Spain would create 260,000 direct and indirect jobs, revealed a study by Deloitte for ACIEP, an association of Spanish companies specialising in hydrocarbon investigation, exploration and production.

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Mountains of taxpayer-funded waste! 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

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EMEMBER reading about all those EU butter mountains and milk lakes decades ago? Seems as though not much has changed in the UK either, as far as waste’s concerned. According to a recent report, MPs have travelled all over the globe including to Los Angeles, Australia and Brazil, all at taxpayers’ expense - £1.7 million (€2.06 million) since 2010. Six went on a £5,000 (€6,000) trip to Paris last year to investigate ‘cafés, gift shops and broadcasting rights in the French Parliament.’ Result? They’re considering increasing the range of children’s products in Westminster gift shops. Nine MPs missed the last Budget because of a £50,000

PARIS: MPs on ‘fact finding’ trip. (€60,000) trip to the South American region of Patagonia to visit a Welsh-speaking colony. Yes, it’s got Welsh speakers. They emigrated in the 1800s. Fascinating of course, but there’s no earthly reason why British politicians need to travel there. Why not communicate on Skype or visit a Welsh valley instead? Great to see austerity hasn’t yet

reached the Houses of Parliament, then! Seems as if it hasn’t reached many other taxpayer-supported institutions either. The programme-cutting BBC is again wasting licence fees on an EastEnders-themed makeover in its new £1 billion (€1.2 billion) London HQ - to make it more ‘inspiring.’ And a snapshot of waste by

local authorities is always illuminating. Stoke-on-Trent’s spending £10,000 (€12,100) on texts to the obese reminding them to diet. As for the Met, they’re spending £100 (€121) to change a light bulb - maybe not such a bright idea when budgets are being cut (police officer numbers are currently at their lowest in over a

decade) and up to 65 police stations across London face closure. And the NHS? £5 billion (€6.06 billion) annually is lost to fraud - another form of preventable waste - that could pay for nearly 250,000 new nurses. Finally, to return to MPs, whilst they’ll continue travelling abroad and spending taxpayers’ money, you have to wonder, don’t you, how many foreign politicians visit Westminster and spend as much on hotels, transport, meals and entertainment, thus bolstering the UK economy? After all, Westminster’s parliamentary traditions have served as a model for democracies all over the world. Basically, we’ve no reason to mock African politicians’ corrupt practices. Most international visits are simply taxpayer-funded jollies for MPs. But don’t let’s ever forget that we’re all in this together. What a waste! Nora Johnson’s thrillers ‘Retribution’ and ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.norajohnson.com) available from Amazon. Profits to Cudeca.

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How drama was removed from Spanish politics Cassandra Nash

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

ON Franco’s death in November 1975, his then prime minister Carlos Arias Navarro took charge of the government. He lasted seven months because he did not see eye to eye with King Juan Carlos. The King, wanting a prime minister who was open to change and receptive to democracy, chose Adolfo Suarez whom he had known since 1968. Women were immediately taken with

Suarez’s good looks which did not necessarily endear him to male critics, who said he resembled a store assistant. His immediate past endeared him still less to those with families on the losing side in the Civil War. Suarez was by then the Minister and secretary general for the Movimiento, Spain’s one and only legal political party during the dictatorship, but Juan Carlos chose well. Suarez, still Movimiento secretary general at the time, revealed what was to King Juan Carlos (left) and Adolfo Suarez.

come when he addressed parliament on June 9, 1976 in the preliminaries to allowing political parties. “We are simply going to remove the drama from our politics. We are going to raise political normality to the category of what is simply normal at street level. We are going to lay foundations of lasting understanding beneath rule of law.” In 1977 Suarez and the UCD won the first democratic general elections since before the Civil War, rapidly dismantling the dictatorship within a framework of legitimacy and consensus. Political parties and outlawed trade unions were legalised, the Communist Party was allowed into the fold and the Constitution was passed in 1978. At the beginning of his reign Juan Carlos said he wanted to be King of all Spaniards. Adolfo Suarez made it possible.

OPINION & COMMENT

Three brave men ADOLFO SUAREZ’S party Union del Centro Democratico was seriously disunited from the outset. By January 1981 the increasingly beleaguered president, isolated and undermined within his own party, resigned and MPs met to vote in his successor Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo on February 23. This was the time and place chosen for a military coup which King Juan Carlos and the fledgling democracy were strong enough to dismantle. But as MPs and ministers cowered on the floor of the invaded parliament chamber beneath the muzzles of the conspirators’ guns, Adolfo Suarez remained defiantly upright. So did Emilio Gutierrez Mellado, a general now staunchly committed to democracy but once a military spy for Franco. So did Santiago Carrillo, leader of Spain’s Communist Party. The three vastly different men are now dead, but 35 years ago they were clear proof that the ‘two Spains’ were finally reconciled and military coups were past history.

The last word “No se puede adelantar por la derecha” (you don’t overtake on the right), Adolfo Suarez, during a 1995 interview.

The real Spanish driving rules... 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

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IKE most of my friends at the time, I couldn’t wait to take my driving test and began lessons with an instructor as well as my mother, who nearly had a coronary the first time she handed over the car keys. Still, after many lessons and some hard graft, I got my UK licence and have pretty much remembered all the rules of the road ever since. Fast forward a couple of decades, I am now spending a fair bit of time behind the steering wheel in Spain and I have had plenty of time to consider their psychology of driving. It is an entirely different cup of tea. Never having been to a driving school

SCARY: Driving can be a daunting business. here, I have taken a wild stab as to their Highway Code, judging by many (though, admittedly, not all) the drivers out there… Parallel parking: Seek out a spot which looks roughly big enough, then pull in at speed, enlarging the space using the bumpers until sufficient for the size of your car. Always fold in wing mirrors, since other

people are typically bad drivers. Speed limit: The numbers indicated on the little signs are suggestions only or a recommended minimum. Shave off two minutes of your journey time at all cost. Sign up for our other popular course: Learning to avoid radar speeding fines. Motorway driving: Choose a lane and stay there, drivers needing to pass should do so by

zig zagging into pole position. Don’t be afraid of hogging the fast lane even if you drive an articulated lorry. When you need to exit, do so at the very last minute by cutting across all lanes of traffic at an acute angle. If in doubt, watch re-runs of Formula 1 for inspiration. Roundabouts: Annoying hurdles. Make them more interesting by launching car into the traffic when you like rather than when traffic allows unless the Guardia Civil happens to be there. Overtaking: As often as possible - add a touch of exhilarating danger by narrowly avoiding oncoming cars in the other lane. Insurance: An optional extra a bit like the driving licence come to think of it. In case of accidentally damaging another car, drive away at great speed. Admit nothing. Choice of car: Only foreigners are silly enough to drive prestige cars. Anything old,

worn with big bumpers is advisable. Indicators: A strange addition to car manufacturing, purpose uncertain. Use sparingly if at all. Inter-driver communication: Flash headlights to signal ‘get out of my way,’ apply hazard lights when parking in the middle of a busy street - in fact hazard lights are a ‘get out of jail free’ for all slightly tricky scenarios, the horn can be readily used to vent your anger at any annoyance such as parents dropping off children at school and taking more than one second to do so, or should you take an ad hoc dislike to another driver. Equally shouting obscenities or waving a clutched fist are useful. If you have any personal ideas of what must be in the Spanish manual or there are any particularly hair raising driving incidents to divulge, do feel free to write to me at ulrica@euroweeklynews.com. Until next time, drive safe!

FINANCE The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne delivered his Budget to Parliament on 19th March. By far the biggest surprise was the announcement of a complete overhaul to the pension regime. Here is a summary of the issues that may affect British expatriates. I will cover more issues in my next article. Personal tax Personal allowances increase £10,000 for the 2014/15 tax year, and again to £10,500 for 2015/16. The higher rate threshold also increases to £41,865 from 6th April 2014, and by a further 1% a year later. The Government will consult on whether to withdraw the personal allowance from non-UK residents, except those with ‘strong economic connections in the UK.’ As previously announced, married couples and civil partners will be able to transfer up to 10% of their personal allowance to their partner. This may apply to expatriate couples if one of you has UK source income. Savings On 1st July 2014, cash and shares ISAs will merge into a “New ISA” or “NISA”, with an annual limit of £15,000. Expatriates will still be liable to tax in their country of residence on interest, dividends and gains arising within ISA wrappers.

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The UK Budget – How Does It Affect You? Part 1

By Neil Jenkins, Senior Partner, Blevins Franks The amounts that can be invested in premium bonds will increase to £40,000 in 2014/2015 and £50,000 from 2015/2016. There will be more £1 million prizes. Winners resident outside the UK may be liable to tax in their country of residence. Pension reform Several measures were introduced in one of the largest reforms of the

defined contribution pension system since 1921. Pension holders are now being granted a far wider range of access to their funds after retirement. These changes came into effect on 27th March 2014: • A reduction in the minimum income requirement for accessing flexible drawdown to £12,000. • An increase in the capped drawdown limit to 150% of equivalent annuity. • The total pension wealth people can have before they are no longer entitled to receive lump sums under trivial commutation rules increases to £30,000. • An increase to the small pension pots lump sum limit to £10,000, and the number of pots that can be taken as a lump sum increased to three. From 6th April 2015 members of defined contribution schemes will have much more flexibility in how

they deal with their pension on retirement. The requirement to buy an annuity has already been removed and the 25% tax free lump sum continues to be available, but from April 2015 retirees will have three choices for the balance of their pension: 1) Withdraw their entire pension fund on retirement, with the withdrawal taxed at their marginal income tax rates, rather than 55% as currently the case. 2) Purchase an annuity. 3) Flexible drawdown benefits over time. Remember, you need to consider local tax in your country of residence. A consultation has been launched regarding transferring out of Defined Benefit Schemes into Defined Contributions Schemes. Consideration will be given to allowing individuals aged 75 and over to claim tax relief on pension

contributions. The Government will consult on increasing the minimum pension age so it remains ten years below state pension age. HM Revenue & Customs has been given new powers to help prevent pension liberation schemes being registered, and to make it easier to de-register them. This measure is designed to catch schemes which allow members to access their pension fund before reaching retirement, which HMRC views as fraud. My next article will look at capital gains tax, property tax and inheritance tax. Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual is advised to seek personalised advice. To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com.

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OPINION & COMMENT

Strong and silent or chatty man? Relationship experts believe male silent types are considered more attractive because their fewer words are considered

more manly and appealing. Our question to women out there: Are you more attracted to the

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rugged, quiet type or do you prefer a more gregarious ‘metro’ with lots to say? What attracted you to your mate?

them, particularly my husband. It took PPOSITES attract for me two weeks of ‘accidentally’ bumping entrepreneur Anna into him to even get a ‘hello’ from him.” Plaster, 34, from Algorfa Pamela Roderick runs a greenhouse (Alicante). She said she has nursery outside Mijas pueblo (Malaga). previously been drawn to the She agrees that men who keep to more rugged, themselves are more appealing. She was gregarious think they are the material for long- attracted to her husband specifically for types who lasting relationships. “I think most that reason: “He didn’t say much when were suited to women would admit they are we first met, but I knew that when he her bubbly tual MIKE and JULIE EVERT: Mu initially attracted to a manly spoke, he was sincere. I think that kind of personality. “I t quiet. attraction because he’s no exterior and the loud guy at the simplicity is masculine and attractive. I used to go out usually bar, but deep down we all want don’t with outgoing, with her husband Mike. that sensitive soul. There’s more staying see that in a eccentric types super She’s not sure that silent power in the silent types,” she believed. who were a bit Retired civil servant Sharon Cole- chatty types are more attractive, wild, but that ly true changed when I saying: “I’m very quiet. I Williams, on the Costa Blanca for the guy.” ltimate U : A more a met my husband was attracted to Mike winter, was always attracted to the silent in ANN nd as fou who is the complete because he is expressive types. She said: “There is definitely love w pe. ty t n opposite and is quiet and outgoing. If he was a something attractive about them, maybe e sil and patient. I think we silent type, I doubt he’d ever be able to a bit of mystery. When I was younger and complement each draw me out, and that’s one of the things looking for relationships, I was drawn to other’s personalities,” she said. I love about him.” Julie Evert is a schoolteacher from Student Karolina Byron, aged 21, is PAMELA RODERICK: Thinks quiet means honest, Bristol, on holiday in Fuengirola (Malaga) attracted to ‘men’s men’ but doesn’t which is attractive.

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HAT would you try if you had no fear? This is an important question to ask yourself, so listen carefully to the first thought which comes to you. Did you know that 97 per cent of our fears never manifest? This month it is time to let go of fear and follow your heart! April is the first month of spring, and there is a lot to be excited about! The birds are singing, the buds are blooming and the Spanish sun is beginning to blaze. The air is full of promise, so what are you going to begin this spring? On March 30, the astrological new year begins. You will now feel you have the energy to move forward with your plans, the confidence to connect to new people, and the energy to cement your goals. Make the most of this energy during the first two weeks of April. On April 15 the full moon is ruled by the sign of Libra. This airy sign brings the focus to your relationships. The full moon will be eclipsed, so this could bring an abrupt ending, or surprising new beginning in the arena of love and partnership. The month ends with a solar eclipse on the day of the new moon in Taurus.

STREET TALK

Have no fear, spring is here

By Sally Trotman www.sallytrotman.com Based in Mallorca, Sally Trotman is a qualified Counsellor who works with Astrology, Numerology and the Tarot. Each month she will deliver the forecast as an intuitive tool to aid increased self awareness.

SPRING: Start of a new astrological year. So consider at the end of this month, the foundations of your life, and where you need to make changes. April is the fourth month of the year, and this is a great time to ground your ideas, so begin

planting new seeds for the year ahead and make a plan. On April 20 we move into the practical sign of Taurus. The bull is a powerful and patient animal, and the influence of this animal will give you the strength and focus

you need to lay solid foundations for the year ahead. This month the universe is conspiring to help you! It may at times feel as if it’s a bumpy ride, with sudden changes, a twist in the road or even a whole new

direction opening up to you, but know that any unplanned change will benefit you. During this month you are being asked to take action. It is time to fearlessly move forward with your plans. Know that you have all the tools to succeed now, so believe in your success and it will surely come. Sally Trotman can help you in a unique way to fulfil your potential, making 2014 your best year yet. A trained Counsellor, Yoga and Meditation Teacher, Numerologist and Reiki Master, Sally works in a unique way, combining her natural intuition with a number of powerful, transformative tools which will enable you to begin living the life you desire and deserve. Sally lives in Palma, Mallorca where she offers individual and group sessions. Sessions are also available via Skype. Please visit her website www.sallytrotman.com for more information, and to listen to her 10 minute spring meditation, to help you relax into the new beginnings awaiting you.

OPINION & COMMENT

Ever-changing landscape is a constant delight I AM amazed by the way the landscape changes in Spain. Its harshness and unforgiving presence would lend you to think that nothing would survive, yet it does. The land is actually very fertile and arable. On many walks I have seen areas of emptiness turn into vast areas of green one month, then empty the next. Several crops a year of lettuce, green beans and celery and polytunnels that make the area look like lakes from a distance change the landscape almost before your eyes. Workers toil relentlessly, shredding and discarding the waste and packing the good produce into boxes. As the workers make their way through the field in the searing heat it is like watching an insect eating a leaf as the green gradually disappears. A couple of days later the field is scattered with debris, the irrigation hoses removed and rolled up at the side of the field. The tractors then come in and cultivate the area, ploughing the crop debris back into the land. The irrigation hoses are replaced and the whole process starts all over again. I love my walks, not just for the exercise but also for the experience of seeing the landscape change, and knowing why. Primus Lambert (by email)

Caveat emptor? I WAS in despair when I read your recent headline ‘British lead the way.’ Do people realise the vipers’ nest they are walking into when they buy in Spain, especially in this area? The prevalence of corruption and control are enough to deter anyone. The British press have warned many times what can and does happen here all too frequently. These people must be masochists, but ignorance is bliss. Buyers beware! S. Torgerson, Estepona (Malaga)

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Letters

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47

hotels and apartments in the area it might be expected that the water quality would suffer unless there was an efficient treatment plant. Can anyone cast any light on this matter? Paul Bennett (by email)

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

No soft touch READING your newspaper I noticed the letter from T Freeman. I would like to say that just this morning I had a phone call from someone pretending to be ringing on behalf of Microsoft as they thought I had a problem with my computer. Obviously I didn’t! The caller sounded Asian and the number was 0019. Needless to say I told him: “I don’t have a problem, all is fine, goodbye,” and hung up. They are still trying, so readers beware. Wendy Howard (by email) Editor’s note: Two readers, Yvonne Thomas and T Freeman, warned readers about a telephone scam currently doing the rounds.

I managed to capture this shot of the magnificent Alhambra in Granada on a recent visit. Janice Overby (by email)

Smart question IT’S just a thought: do you own a mobile telephone or does a mobile telephone own you? Think about it. James the Sage, Motril (Granada)

Sign mystery WE live in Mojacar Playa and in common with many, have an apartment to sell as we have recently moved. We placed the apartment with one of the local agents but as there was no response we chose a different agent. A ‘Se Vende’ sign was attached to the terrace railings and soon after it went missing. On searching around we found it in the garden and replaced it on the railings. Within days it had gone again and on investigation we found the plastic ties on the terrace. A neighbour found the sign at the bottom of the road and once again we attached it securely to the railings.

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

The same thing happened a few days later but this time the sign had gone! We purchased and placed a personal ‘Se Vende’ notice with our private telephone number on the railings, which was pulled off after several days. Not to be beaten we have since replaced this and to date it is still in place four days on. I would point out our terrace railings cannot be reached from the road. Is this a common occurrence around here and who’s responsible for it? What’s going on? Mick Rawles (by email)

Recognition due I NOTED from the Euro Weekly News that Mijas Town Council erected a plaque in honour of Japanese tourists. Then I read elsewhere that British people are among the main buyers of property in the Costa del Sol and that the British market maintains its hegemony despite an increase in other foreign buyers. Why then do the British not get similarly honoured, especially when you consider how long and faithfully we have contributed to the economy of Costa del Sol? Ann Grogans (by email)

Pure praise I’VE been visiting Garrucha for several years and have been impressed with the quality of the sea water particularly at the beach close to the harbour. One would imagine this mightn’t be the case, being so close to all the activity in the port. Is there a sewage treatment plant in the area? With all the

Mean trick YESTERDAY while shopping in Vera I was asked by a small greyhaired man to reach some sweets for him from a top shelf When I got to the till my wallet, which contained my debit and credit cards, driving licence, medical card and a new Residencia card, was gone. The staff, though sympathetic, did not appear surprised as if it was a regular occurrence and did not even take my name and address. I am over 70 and this has made me feel very vulnerable for the first time in my life. Lindsay Baker (by email)

Time wasted MAY I warn readers that prepaid envelopes from outside Spain are NOT acceptable and postage must be paid? I found out the hard way, having spent three hours filling up a benefits form and copying relevant documents. I now have to start all over again with loss of disability benefits in the meantime Paul Knight, Los Gallardos (Almeria)

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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NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

When America watched Almeria dance! FLAMENCO LEGEND: Carmen Dauset Moreno wowed New Yorkers.

Ric Polansky Ric Polansky moved to Mojacar in 1969 as a pioneer developer. He reads extensively and has travelled in South America panning gold and looking for El Dorado.

HER name was Carmen Dauset Moreno and she was born in the cavepocked hills of Almeria. She wasn’t just any flamenco dancer, she was the best, and the first to bring the art form to American notoriety and the silver screen. Everywhere she went people wanted to see more of her. Her fame took her to Paris, where she instantly became the talk of the town. Wooed by bankers, painters and politicians, the excitement she generated was of the hysterical type. Everyone that was anyone had to see her dance. Her shows were a constant sell-out. Performing one night she was ‘rediscovered’ by a theatrical agent and whisked off to America. Here she

started in the theatres well off Broadway. No one had ever heard of flamenco, so her initial task was educate New Yorkers and introduce the new world an evolving form flamenco, not yet established back

Spain. Slowly her credibility built and before long she was packing them in. They even reconstructed the famed Madison Square Garden to fit in a massive 5,000 adoring spectators. She startled her spectators and became a revolution unto herself, creating a following that bridged the seas. She choreographed her own shows and played much upon her folkloric homespun traditions. Embarrassingly, she claimed Sevilla as her place of origin, obviously getting G IN LOOK IN tired of explaining where the hell BACK AR C A J Almeria was. But, O M she is on the birth records here, as were the marriages of her sisters. to Tiny Carmen, from Almeria, was the to first to take her troupe and evolving of art form of flamenco to the masses. in She was a sensation in New York.

Poets wrote about her, painters like the famed John Singer Sargent, amongst America’s best, did portraits that acknowledged Carmencita’s qualities. In fact, she performed in front of the first ever moving pictures recorded by none other than Thomas Edison. Imagine, the first movement in film ever recorded, was a flamenco dance routine of a little girl from Almeria. You can still view an ultra short rendition on Google. She became the muse of New York with Balls presented in her honour by her followers. She attended charity events and gave dancing lessons to the rich and intellectuals of the city. Soon, she also travelled to the west coast and enlightened the masses there. But, at long last, following a hectic tour of 81 weeks of constant performing she gave it up to return home. At that time she was the most famous Spaniard in the world, at least to the Americans, and she came from Almeria; wherein no one today knows of her - except you.

Advertising Feature

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INFORD@TOX: In Longo’s Square.

NEED ADVICE? Raquel is here to help.

deal directly with Raquel as the owner. From how to configure your new tablet to how to get your device properly connected online, to installing new ink cartridges, INFORD@TOX places utmost priority on making sure clients get what they need in terms of service

And if you are like other clients who always ask: “What smells so good in here?” the answer is their new air fresheners! You’ll find a great range of scented diffusers and air fresheners on sale for your home or car. For more information call 950 633 223 or find the shop on

and helpful information. For repairs, sales and technical service, INFORD@TOX has it all, and with truly personalised service. Deals on printers, tablets, laptops are always being run so have a look at what’s on offer.

Facebook. Infordatox is open Monday to Friday, 9am-2pm and 4-7.30pm as well as Saturday 10am-2pm. Inford@tox Crta Lorca-Baza, km 73 04800 Albox 950 633 223 www.infordatox.com

NEWS

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The Voice UK has been renewed for two more series after top form return Richard Shanley

DISHING THE DIRT OF EUROPA DIGITAL

THE VOICE UK is returning for another two series, the BBC has confirmed. The channel has renewed the singing show for two more years after receiving average viewing figures of 8.9 million for the current run. Charlotte Moore, controller of BBC One, said of the news: “It’s been fantastic to see The Voice return in top form to kick start BBC One’s brilliant year so far, the new line-up has really connected with audiences and I look forward to it returning to the channel next year.” Controller, Entertainment Commissioning Mark Linsey added: “The Voice has really cemented itself as hugely popular on BBC One Saturday nights and I am delighted that we will be dusting down the iconic red chairs for another airing next year.”

THE VOICE: A return for the iconic red chairs next year. Hosts and coaches for the next two series will be confirmed at a later date. ITV has recommissioned Through the Keyhole for a second series. Keith Lemon will return for eight hour-long episodes of the comedy entertainment show, in which a panel of guests attempts to guess which celebrity “habitates in a house like this”. Last year’s first series attracted a peak

audience of 6.1 million on Saturdays in the autumn. Celebrities including Louis Walsh, Mary Berry, Daryl Hannah and John Prescott opened up their homes, while the panel included the likes of Jonathan Ross, Terry Wogan and Cilla Black. Europa Digital invite you to an Open Day on Saturday April 5 from 11am till 3pm at Pueblo Laguna Bar and

Restaurant. Come and enjoy a complimentary drink and tapa whilst the latest developments in the world of satellite TV are demonstrated. Every option will be on show that does not require a dish the size of Jodrell Bank. Come and see Sky+ HD On Demand, UK terrestrial channels back via a one metre dish in standard and HD, Humax Freesat HD recordable on demand and the full sky package. Our technical team from the UK will also be in attendance to explain the amazing new UKIP wifi routers and an alternative of how to connect your devices by wifi-ing your ring main as opposed to cabling the property. All your TV questions answered at the Europa Digital Open Day to be held at Pueblo Laguna Bar and Restaurant, Saturday April 5 from 11am till 3pm. If you would like me to answer any questions you may have on satellite TV or to expand on anything I have written about please call me on 678 332 815 or email richard@europadigital.com I look forward to your comments and questions.

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Thursday

Friday

SATELLITE CHANNELS - SkyMoviesDrama//

BBC1/

BBC1/

4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm More Creatures Great and Small 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm MasterChef 10:00pm Spring's Supermarket Secrets 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Question Time

4:45pm More Creatures Great and Small 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Gay, Married and Legal 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm MasterChef 10:00pm Have I Got News for You 10:30pm Outnumbered 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Graham Norton Show

BBC2/ 4:15pm Planet Earth 5:15pm The Great British Bake Off 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Egghead 7:30pm The Voice: Louder on Two 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Nature's Weirdest Events 10:00pm Kim Philby - His Most Intimate Betrayal 11:00pm Mock the Week 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/ 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 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 Ade at Sea 10:00pm It'll be Alright on the Night 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Edge of Heaven

CH4/ 5:30pm Four in a Bed 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Hoarder Next Door 10:00pm 15,000 Kids and Counting 11:00pm Jockey School

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm Tricked 11:00pm Celebrity Juice 11:50pm 4:00pm Escape to the Country

BBC2/ 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Egghead 7:30pm The Voice: Louder on Two 8:30pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Gardeners' World 10:00pm A Very British Renaissance 11:00pm The Trip to Italy 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/ 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 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 Student Nurses: Bedpans and Bandages 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Martin Clunes and a Lion Called Mugie 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm National Lampoon's Animal House

CH4/ 5:30pm Four in a Bed 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:30pm A Very British Mission 9:00pm Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 10:00pm Gogglebox 11:00pm Alan Carr: Chatty Man

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 9:30pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm The Butterfly Effect

TV LISTING

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9:00pm Sunday

•Sigourney Weaver •Bryan Brown •Julie Harris •John Omirah Miluwi

Saturday BBC1/

Gorillas in the Mist (Film, 1988) Sigourney Weaver stars as Dian Fossey in this dramatic true account about Fossey's study of gorillas, and her efforts to stop the decimation of the endangered apes. Dian travelled to Rwanda, Africa to enable her to research the affects poaching had on two rare breeds of mountain gorilla. Whilst studying these gorillas her interest turned from plain research to passion and finally obsession.

Sunday BBC1/

5:30pm Final Score 6:15pm Shrek 2 7:40pm BBC News 7:50pm Regional News 7:55pm Weather 8:00pm The Voice UK 10:05pm The National Lottery Live 10:15pm Casualty 11:05pm BBC News 11:20pm Weather 11:25pm Match of the Day

4:55pm Songs of Praise 5:30pm The Boat Race 7:35pm BBC News 7:50pm Regional News 7:55pm Weather 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Antiques Roadshow 10:00pm The Crimson Field 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Regional News 11:20pm Weather 11:25pm Match of the Day 2

BBC2/

BBC2/

4:00pm The Glass Bottom Boat 5:45pm Mountain Gorilla 6:45pm Collectaholics 7:45pm Flog It! 8:30pm Dad's Army 9:00pm The Plantagenets 10:00pm F1 the Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying Highlights 11:15pm Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle 11:45pm QI XL

ITV/ 6:30pm Local News and Weather 6:40pm ITV News and Weather 7:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:00pm Saturday Night Takeaway 9:25pm The Cube 10:25pm Law and Order: UK 11:25pm The Americans

CH4/ 6:15pm Fifteen to One 7:15pm Channel 4 News 7:35pm Lent Diaries 7:40pm Gadget Man 8:10pm Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 9:05pm Hostages 10:00pm Colombiana

ITV2/ 5:00pm FYI Daily 5:05pm Kangaroo Jack 5:45pm Britain's Got More Talent 6:50pm Two Weeks Notice 7:50pm FYI Daily 7:55pm Two Weeks Notice 8:50pm The Incredible Hulk 9:50pm FYI Daily 9:55pm The Incredible Hulk 11:00pm Celebrity Juice 11:50pm Crazy Beaches

5:30pm Tennis 6:30pm Flog It! 7:30pm The Olympic Journey: Inspire 8:00pm Great Barrier Reef 9:00pm Border Country - The Story of Britain's Lost Middleland 10:00pm Louis Theroux's LA Stories 11:00pm F1 the Bahrain Grand Prix Highlights

ITV/ 5:00pm For Your Eyes Only 7:20pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 7:45pm Catchphrase 8:30pm Off Their Rockers 9:00pm Endeavour 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:15pm Piers Morgan's Life Stories

CH4/ 4:25pm Hairspray 6:40pm Deal or No Deal 7:35pm Channel 4 News 7:55pm Lent Diaries 8:00pm Iceman Murder Mystery 9:00pm Secret History 10:00pm The Grey

ITV2/ 4:35pm Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 6:00pm Cats and Dogs 7:00pm FYI Daily 7:05pm Cats and Dogs 7:55pm Year One 8:55pm FYI Daily 9:00pm Year One 10:00pm Fast and Furious 11:00pm FYI Daily 11:05pm Fast and Furious

Monday

Tuesday BBC1/ 4:00pm Escape to the Country 5:00pm More Creatures Great and Small 5:30pm Flog It! 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 Shetland 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Have I Got a Bit More News for You

BBC1/

BBC2/

6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Bang Goes the Theory 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Don't Take My Car: Bailiffs Undercover Panorama 10:00pm Treasure Hunters 11:00pm BBC News

4:15pm Planet Earth 5:15pm The Great British Bake Off 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Escape to the Continent 8:30pm Great British Menu 9:00pm The Great British Sewing Bee 10:00pm Battle of Britain's Breakfast 11:00pm The Sarah Millican Television Programme

BBC2/ 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Escape to the Continent 8:30pm Great British Menu 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Mary Berry Cooks 10:00pm The Money Programme Special 11:00pm Rev

ITV/ 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 I Never Knew That About Britain 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Undeniable 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

CH4/ 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm Lent Diaries 9:00pm Dispatches 9:30pm Shop Secrets: Tricks of the Trade 10:00pm One Born Every Minute 11:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats

ITV2/ 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 9:30pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm Mom 10:30pm Mom 11:00pm American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile

ITV/ 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 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 UEFA Champions League 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm UEFA Champions League

CH4/ 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Fifteen to One 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm Lent Diaries 9:00pm Kirstie's Best of Both Worlds 10:00pm New Worlds 11:15pm True Stories

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm Britain's Got More Talent 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 9:30pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm The Vampire Diaries 11:00pm Celebrity Juice 11:50pm The Faculty4:00pm Escape to the Country

Wednesday BBC1/ 5:00pm More Creatures Great and Small 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm MasterChef 10:00pm Monkey Planet 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Marine A: Criminal or Casualty of War?

BBC2/ 4:15pm Planet Earth 5:15pm The Great British Bake Off 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Escape to the Continent 8:30pm Great British Menu 9:00pm Under Offer: Estate Agents on the Job 10:00pm Ian Hislop's Olden Days 11:00pm W1A 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/ 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 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 Big Star's Little Star 10:00pm Law and Order 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans

CH4/ 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Fifteen to One 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm Lent Diaries 9:00pm Secret Eaters 10:00pm Dead Famous DNA 11:00pm Sci-Fi Pets: Give a Dog a Clone

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm Britain's Got More Talent 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 9:30pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm Through the Keyhole 11:00pm Couples Retreat

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RS E IS R T E R RNE V A D CO

’

THE long-awaited finals of the Amigos Club de Bowling ATP Tenpin bowling tournament, held at Amigos Bowling Centre and sponsored by IBEX Insurance, was played over the weekend of March 22 and 23 and there were plenty of surprise results on the first day. The tournament was for the top 16 bowlers who had qualified from all the previous rounds played during 2013, who would play a knockout competition on a seeded basis from positions one to 16. Eight matches were played and four of the eight higher seeded players were knocked out straight away! The best performance of the day came from Betty Hill who bowled a superb series score of 655 (hcap 32). The eight winning bowlers played in the quarter finals on Saturday afternoon with the four winners making the semi-finals to be played on Sunday; they were Betty Hill, Mick Gardiner, Rob Mudge and John Mills. On Sunday the semi-finals took place - Mick Gardiner vs Betty Hill (hcap 30) and Rob Mudge (hcap 5) vs John Mills (hcap 38). Mick and Rob came out on top and met in the final on Sunday evening. Mick played very well in the final, bowling a fine scratch series of 667 to win and so

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SPOTLIGHT

Advertising Feature

IBEX Insurance Amigos Club de Bowling ATP Tournament

IBEX’s Berni Campbell presents Mick Gardiner with trophy. become the first Amigos Club de Bowling ATP IBEX Champion. A Plate competition was also bowled for all those that had entered four or more of the tournaments played during the year and after a knockout round between 14 bowlers on Saturday the top eight qualifiers bowled their final on Sunday afternoon. After an exciting three-match

Paul Bourke owner of Amigos Bowling Centre with Ian Stewart.

series the winner was Ian Stewart who won with a great score of 625; second was Sue Walsh with a score 597. It was a great weekend of bowling and Amigos Club de Bowling would like to thank IBEX Insurance for their sponsorship of this event and for the events to be held during 2014. Anyone wanting to join the Amigos

Club de Bowling is more than welcome. Join a league and benefit from meeting new friends in a friendly environment. Come along to Amigos Bowling Centre any Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening from 7pm or Friday at midday. The next Amigos Bowling Club de Bowling IBEX sponsored tournament is scheduled to be played on Sunday May 11.

Advertising Feature

Gladrags Spring/Summer Collection Launch IT seems hard to believe that Jenni has already been the new owner of Gladrags for six months; where has the time gone? But she can honestly say that she is enjoying every single minute of it! It has been a busy six months, especially since the beginning of the year with all the preparations for this Sunday’s Fashion Show, which she is so pleased to announce is a sell-out. All those who have tickets for the show are going to enjoy a fantastic afternoon’s entertainment and will be the first to preview Gladrags’ new Spring/Summer collections. Jenni has 45 different outfits for you to view and purchase, all modelled by 12 amazing ladies (herself included!). Don’t forget, this is no ordinary fashion show as it is all choreographed, so this gives you not just entertainment but also shows you the movement and flow of the clothes. All the hard work – a few sleepless nights! – will be more than worth it to see Gladrags’ first Fashion Show take place.

ON SHOW: New labels and accessories including summer hats and scarves. For any that are unable to make the fashion show, Jenni would love to see you on Tuesday, April 8, for Cava & Cookies to launch the full Spring/Summer range, as well as the

labels you are all familiar with at Gladrags, including the UK High Street. Jenni is pleased to announce she has two new French labels, for which

she is an exclusive stockist in this area. This range offers a quirky sense of style. A new range of accessories including summer hats and scarves will also be available. You will find something to suit every age, style, size and budget. Jenni offers a big thank you to all her customers old and new for their continued support to herself and to Gladrags. Long may it continue!

Gladrags, Jenni Rock c/Malaga (one street from Mercadona) 04800 Albox

OPINION & COMMENT

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3 - 9 April 2014 / Costa de Almería

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53

It’s a dog, not a little human...

HEN are people going to realise that animals are animals and not human beings? When are they going to realise that treating our felines and darling doggies like Homo sapiens is not only dangerous but in the world of pooch pampering and odd haircuts, bordering on near unacceptable cruelty? Frankly, allowing dogs and cats to actually lick faces and mouths can often make me feel physically sick. They’ve just been licking their nether regions, for heaven’s sake! How much muck gets transferred to your mouth when you allow them to slobber over you and the children? I also thought the recent photo of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and baby George gave out the wrong message. I don’t care how docile their pet is. In the picture their dog’s mouth is about two inches from

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT

DISCONCERTING: In the recently-published official photograph, the dog’s mouth is just inches away from baby George’s face.

little George’s face. What if the dog suddenly got a sharp toothache or other unexpected pain? What if it was harbouring some form of jealousy? It could have ripped the little tot’s face in the blink of an eye. Now we find our cats are spreading TB. Isn’t it time we all took a step back and tried to inject some common sense in the treatment of our pets?

REUTERS/Jason Bell/Poo

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Please don’t get me wrong, I am a pet lover. The difference is I’ve always treated my animals like animals and believe me they are much happier for it. I’ll give you an example. Many years ago, I managed a singing trio. These three girls had a miniature poodle which they absolutely doted on and treated like a baby. The thing was shampooed two or three times a

week, carried everywhere and generally ruined. Consequently it was an overweight, snappy, badtempered little tyke and I hated it. One day they were offered a tour of South Africa and naturally couldn’t take the dog. With great reluctance they had no choice but to leave it with me. Right, I thought, things are going to change. The first thing

I did was give it water to drink instead of milk! Instead of carrying the thing around I began taking it on long runs in Hyde Park. Shampooing was of course completely out of the window. The transformation was nothing short of miraculous. Within a couple of weeks, its little body had taken on a whole new shape and become toned. Its curly coat was tight and firm and its whole demeanour had changed to a happy, lovable, healthy little DOG. Which was as nature intended. On the girls’ return I expected them to be pleasantly surprised at the remarkable change in their little ‘oochy coo’. Not so, within two or three weeks of their usual treatment, it reverted to the miserable, pampered, snappy little cur it had always been. I rest my case. Keep the faith Love Leapy Leapylee2002@gmail.com

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

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Spring is in the air!

NEW ON DVD MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

for next 7 days

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Directed by Peter Jackson this is the second instalment of his adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein’s 1937 novel. Ian McKellen stars as Gandalf who is investigating an evil at Dol Guldur. Martin Freeman has a starring role as Bilbo Baggins who is continuing his quest with the 13 dwarves to reclaim the Lonely Mountain.

TODAY

VELEZ RUBIO

TOMORROW

VELEZ RUBIO GARRUCHA ALBOX MOJACAR

ALMERIA

HUERCAL OVERA

RETAMAR GARRUCHA

ADRA

Run time is 161 minutes and it has a certificate of PG 13.

HUERCAL OVERA

ALBOX

ROQUETAS

MOJACAR

‘DARLING - THIS SEX DRIVE ALL YOU MEN ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE - DID YOU HAVE TO PASS A TEST?’

ALMERIA RETAMAR ADRA

again. Although there are adjustments to be made, you are now more at ease. Whichever way you go now will be a lucky improvement in your sphere.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) The buzz in your head is not a mysterious thing. It is the sound of something quite different. Clearly, it is time to act on an idea held for a long time. The buzz will not go away until you are satisfied. Get with the yoga and plan your approach.

LEO (July 24 - August 23) A branch is dangling in the wind. You feel that, if you grasp it, finances will improve. Your hesitation is felt as weakness but it is good to check. See this branch from all angles. The last thing that you want is to tug on it and find that it is too much to hold.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) An emotional journey which you made last year comes to mind

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Are you hoping that a recent acquaintance will provide the

6-Star Quiz CHOCOHOLICS 1. In Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, what was the name of the eccentric chocolatier who owned the factory? 2. In the UK, the Isle of Man and Ireland, the chocolate bar Snickers was sold under what brand name until 1990? 3. In which 1994 film does the title character philosophise: ‘Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get’? 4. The operetta The Chocolate Soldier, composed by Oscar Straus, was based on the play Arms and the Man, written by which dramatist? 5. What is the name of the model village on the south side of Birmingham, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate? 6. What is the name of the Yorkshire-born author of the 1999 novel Chocolat, which tells the story of Vianne Rocher, a young mother, whose confections change the lives of the townspeople?

FLICKR BY ELHORMIGUERO

Your Stars

April 6: Miguel Angel Silvestre. Spanish Actor. Born in Castellon de la Plana and best known for his role in the popular TV series ‘Sin Tetas no hay Paraiso.’ He originally wanted to be a professional tennis player but after an injury his aunt introduced him to theatre and he got hooked. As well as TV he also made a film with director Pedro Almodovar.

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answer to a question? Your friends have given their opinions but you are still not convinced. Here is a situation where expert advice is needed, not a random opinion.

let in. As you are currently seeing things so clearly, make some choices. Your quality of both life and work will change for the better. You are not being selfish. You know there is such a thing as necessary self-preservation.

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) There is a lot to take on board this week. At times, you may feel that it is too much to cope with. You, however, are made of stronger stuff. Are you telling me that Fred down the road is better than you? No, of course not.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Sometimes you feel that you are on a stage. Attention is on you, lights shining bright, people waiting. There is no problem with doing what is expected, but maybe an uneasy feeling about where you are.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Yours is a big heart, but be more selective about what and who you

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) There is a difficulty with someone not standing on their own two feet. It's someone close, but it's certainly not you. It is not possible to stand by and see bad mistakes happen. On the other hand, there needs to be a balance so as not to enforce dependency.

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.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) Working in the dark is not your favourite thing. Blazing lights on everything is more your style. Why, then, do you not have control of the facts? Maybe hiding in the shadows and avoiding something has put you where you are.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Throwing money at a problem will not make it go away, it will merely be a delaying tactic. Life is not always so simple that it brings you comfort. Coming to terms and dealing with something is necessary for your peace of mind.

LOTTERY UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

Saturday March 29

Saturday March 29

Saturday March 29

Friday March 28

14

16

21

47

49

5

13 22

16 31

5

12

19

21

29

45

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

29

11

8

Almeria

CLOUDY MAX 19C, MIN 12C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

22 13 C 24 14 Cl 22 14 Cl

3

4 28

LUCKY STARS 3

7

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA

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

6

14

30

41

43

49

REINTEGRO 36

6

11

15 23

Fri Sat Sun -

Fri Sat Sun -

19 12 C 18 13 S 19 13 C

SHOWERS

Fri Sat Sun -

19 12 C 22 14 Cl 22 14 C

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX 18C, MIN 11C

TODAY: Fri Sat Sun -

17 8 C 21 8 C 23 9 C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 19 12 Cl Tues - 19 12 Cl Wed - 19 12 Cl Cl Clear,

CLOUDY MAX 22C, MIN 12C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun Fog,

Sn Snow,

MAX MIN

24 13 C 27 14 Cl 27 14 C

Mon - 27 13 S Tues - 27 14 S Wed - 26 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 M) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

TARGET:

Average: 19

Very good:34

Good: 24

Excellent: 42

abed, bade, bake, band, bane, bank, bard, bare, bark, barn, bawd, bead, beak, bean, bear, bend, bide, bier, bike, bind, bird, brad, brae, bran, braw, bred, brew, drab, drib, kerb, abide, bairn, baked, baker, bared, beard, biked, biker, braid, brain, brake, brand, brawn, bread, break, bride, brine, brink, debar, rabid, rebid, banked, banker, barked, binder, braked, brined, debark, inbred, rebind, riband, bandier, bawdier, brained, webinar, WINDBREAK

Word Ladder NEWS

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

18 40

REINTEGRO 3

MAX MIN

Mon - 24 11 C Tues - 24 11 Cl Wed - 23 9 C

Murcia

MAX MIN

S Sun,

MAX MIN

Mon - 19 16 C Tues - 19 16 S Wed - 19 15 Cl

SHOWERS MAX 14C, MIN 5C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

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

SHOWERS MAX 16C, MIN 11C 18 11 C 20 12 S 20 12 C

20 15 C 21 16 Cl 19 16 Cl

Madrid

Mallorca Fri Sat Sun -

CLOUDY MAX 18C, MIN 13C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 19 13 Cl Tues - 18 13 Cl Wed - 18 12 Sh

MAX MIN

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 23 15 S Tues - 24 16 S Wed - 23 15 C

Benidorm

Malaga TODAY:

22 14 C 23 15 C 23 16 Cl

TODAY:

SHOWERS MAX 16C, MIN 12C

Sunday March 30

Saturday March 29

19 43

LA PRIMITIVA

MAX MIN

Barcelona TODAY:

CLOUDY MAX 19C, MIN 12C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Sudoku

8

Alicante TODAY:

ITEM

STEM ITEM

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Starting on a new hobby or job has opened your eyes to much that is round you. You ask yourself why it was not so clear to you before. This does not matter. This is where you are and where you need to be at the moment.

IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK: You will see shadows if you look over your shoulder too much. Decide to live in the light in the months to come. Be yourself and let others accept it.

NEWS SEWS SEES SEEM

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) There is something comfortable about your life at the moment. Even though there seems to be a good reason to change it, you hesitate. A situation seems to have become outdated and no longer works well.

ROQUETAS

1. WILLY WONKA, 2. MARATHON, 3. FORREST GUMP, 4. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, 5. BOURNVILLE, 6. JOANNE HARRIS

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CROSSWORDS

Crosswords

3 - 9 April 2014 / Costa de Almería

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55

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

Cryptic

Quick

Across 7 The rest of the afternoon (6) 8 First person in business gives a long, angry speech (6) 10 Not off to go without holiday in the services (2,5) 11 Move the golf shot (5) 12 The Yugoslav people in general (4) 13 Beer off, left to start a riot (5) 17 Zulu seen by river formerly an African river (5) 18 Sweet smell, it’s said, of money (4) 22 Aircraft seen in tree? (5) 23 Boil rocks in wood scrap (7) 24 I am at present visiting Rhode Island coastal resort! (6) 25 Grumble about Ben catching a flightless bird (6) Down 1 Bodyguards for the lawless sectors (7) 2 Agent prevaricated but answered (7) 3 Way to strike or flog (5) 4 Messes around with violins (7) 5 VAT I’d worked out for the ship’s crane (5) 6 The Sussex town in a little western

Across 7 Give to a charity (6) 8 Head (6) 9 Light-coloured (4) 10 Catch up with and pass (8) 11 Artist (7) 13 Discourage (5) 15 Talk (5) 17 Competition (7) 20 Shares (8) 21 Great anger (4) 23 Containing salt (6) 24 Ecstatic (6)

part (5) 9 Broadcast share in genuine show trial (9) 14 Beauty display from leaf insect (7) 15 Left former idol to find dictionary (7)

16 Really wanting to make thin cig (7) 19 A character in different places (5) 20 Second class fighting force, it’s daft (5) 21 Went on horseback round cowboy show (5)

Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 17 represents T and 16 represents Q, so fill in T every time the figure 17 appears and Q every time the figure 16 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.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS CRYPTIC Across: 1 Restrain, 4 Lime, 7 Sling, 9 Rigid, 11 Theme, 12 Seize, 13 Dearer, 15 Spurns, 19 Diets, 21 Tiara, 23 Ad-lib, 24 Elgin, 25 Sore, 26 Reappear. Down: 1 Resided, 2 Saint, 3 Israel, 5 Evoke, 6 Ages, 8 Geese, 10 Drier, 14 Arena, 16 Peace, 17 Seminar, 18 Stable, 19 Danes, 20 Sold, 22 Angle. QUICK Across: 1 Peach, 3 Bless, 7 Stamina, 9 Ruler, 10 Extra, 11 Darling, 12 Sadden, 14 Shorts, 18 Insects, 20 Learn, 22 Amuse, 23 Elevate, 24 Bonus, 25 Dense. Down: 1 Possess, 2 Apart, 3 Brandy, 4 Error, 5 Soldier, 6 Shrug, 8 Irate, 13 Disturb, 15 Halve, 16 Sincere, 17 Assets, 18 Italy, 19 Clean, 21 Again. ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Coser, 4 Siglo, 7 All, 8 Aliento, 9 Sash, 10 Screws, 14 Perhaps, 16 Ajo, 17 Abeja, 18 Stars.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Down: 1 Crabs, 2 Sales, 3 Real, 4 Suitcases, 5 Gun, 6 Oro, 11 Etapa, 12 Shoes, 13 Casa, 14 Pea, 15 Rie.

English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English. Across 1 Interruptor (eléctrico) (6) 4 Soup (thick) (4) 8 Silla (asiento) (5) 9 Owner (of land, property, company) (5) 10 Medusa (9) 13 Dose (of medicine) (5) 15 Climate (5) 16 Ganar (sueldo) (4) 17 Caballos (animales) (6) Down 1 Enfermo (4) 2 Imagen (5) 3 Descuidado (persona) (8) 5 Deber (dinero, explicación, respeto) (3) 6 Garlic (3) 7 Building (house, office etc) (8) 11 Cielos (5) 12 Abanicos (para darse aire) (4) 13 Tinte (producto) (3) 14 Southern (side, part) (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 (SERVES) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues. AGREES

RATTLE

AWARDS

REARED

BREAST

RESTED

DARTED

SEARED

HAULED

SEATED

LEADER

SERVES (10)

LEERED

TESTED

PLEDGE

TRIBAL

PRICES

VEERED

QUOTED

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Funagram Unscramble the name of a US state and its capital: SEVENTEEN SANE HILLS FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: NICHOLAS PARSONS. TENNESSEE, NASHVILLE

Unscramble the name of an English radio and television presenter and actor: SON SPOILS AN ARCH

Down 1 Settee (4) 2 Grotto (6) 3 Get better (7) 4 Change (5) 5 Conflict (6) 6 Feebleness (8) 12 Acceptance as satisfactory (8) 14 Gangster (7) 16 Acquire (6) 18 Menace (6) 19 Heavenly body (5) 22 Became larger (4)

1 Enters, 2 Meters, 3 Panted, 4 Houses, 5 Resent, Seared, 7 Waters, 8 Earned, 9 Tramps, 10 Weakly, 11 Beards, 12 Prayer, 13 Weaker, 14 Papers, 15 Elapse, 16 Awards, 17 Adhere, 18 Repeat, 19 Crease

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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

Stress can double women’s risk of infertility STRESS can double the risk of infertility for women. That’s the conclusion by scientists who carried out a study of 501 women, following them for a year, which is the clinical cut-off to define infertility. They found that women suffering from stress are half as likely to conceive after 12 months of trying compared to those with lower levels of stress hormones. Women aged between 18 to 40 without known fertility problems and who had just started trying to conceive were followed and a saliva test was used to determine stress levels. The researchers say they don’t want women to blame themselves for not getting pregnant, but suggest light exercise or yoga to lower stress levels and improve the chances of falling pregnant.

Blood test could detect if a child is going to be obese A BLOOD test for children may be able to detect if they will become obese by the time they are teenagers. Researchers at the Universities of Southampton, Exeter and Plymouth have

developed the test and claim that checking for specific DNA changes at the age of five can predict how much body fat a child will have at the age of 14. The test will assess the level of changes in the PGC1a gene, which regulates fat storage in the body. They hope it will be used to identify children at risk of being overweight and provides further evidence that obesity in childhood is not just due to lifestyle, but may also involve important basic processes that control genes.

PGC1a GENE: Regulates fat storage in the body.

TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Smoking is the cause of 20% of TB cases in Spain SMOKING causes 20 per cent of tuberculosis (TB) cases in Spain. This is the claim by the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Surgery Thoracic (Separ). The society warned that 20 per cent of TB cases are attributable to smoking and, although in 2012 there were more than 5,700 cases, the disease is decreasing compared to previous

SMOKING-RELATED: 20 per cent of TB cases in Spain.

years. Coinciding with the commemoration of

World TB Day, Separ, which has its headquarters in Barcelona, reported that in 2012 there were 4,516 cases of respiratory tuberculosis, 89 of tuberculous meningitis and a further 1,109 cases related to TB. “The decrease in respiratory tuberculosis in Spain means that the

incidence of tuberculosis maintains a downward trend,” said the president of Separ, Pilar Lucas. “Disease control, especially in children and young adults, is a key to further improve these figures,” Lucas added. According to data provided by Separ, Catalonia is the region which has declared more cases of respiratory tuberculosis (886 cases), followed by Andalucia with 660 cases, Madrid 578, Valencia 434 and Galicia with 422 cases.

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FOOD & DRINK

& DRINK

ood F

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Costa de Almeria’s best guide to local sport

Almería’s best guide to local restaurants

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Valencia is the home of all international rice dishes VALENCIA isn’t only famous for burning effigies - it is also the place of origin of Spain’s most emblematic and international dish: the paella. Some rice dish connoisseurs believe that the best local dish is not paella but rather ‘Alubias y Nabos,’ a rice dish made with beans and parsnips in which the meat component can be either a lamb chop or bacon. Another local Valencian delicacy is the ‘Fideua,’ this is very similar to the paella as far as colouring and taste, but it is made with very fine noodles instead of rice. As in a paella - the cook decides what to put in - there are no rules, just so long as you remember the saffron.

PAELLA: Don’t forget the saffron.

FOOD & DRINK

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Snail caviar for gourmets FIFTEEN years ago Blas Hervias, director and founder of Blanc Gastronomy, came up with the idea of dedicating himself to the commercialisation of snail eggs as ‘white caviar.’ From the company’s offices in Puerto Real, in Cadiz, Hervias said he first became interested when he read about medicinal properties of snail eggs. He signed agreements with the Universities of Cordoba and Cadiz to investigate the properties of these commodities about which there was nearly no information at the time. After investigation he began to commercialise the product but said the main retail area is outside Spain in the more adventurous markets of Dubai and Singapore, among others. Blanc Gastronomy has been going for five years and produces around 300 kilos of white caviar.

BENEFICIAL HOBBY: Home-made bread has become more popular.

Home-made bread fever IT can be bought in internet forums, it is passed around colleagues at work, some people make it themselves from yeast and bacteria; the buying and selling of ‘mother dough’ is on the rise in Spain. Home-made bread doesn’t just make economic sense, it is also an absorbing hobby. Iban Yarza, pioneer in the home-made bread

community and participant in the TV programme ‘Robin Food,’ comments that four years ago people would look dumbfounded if you said you made your own bread but now it has become increasingly popular. With the descent in quality of the bread on sale in supermarkets many people are fed up with the ‘plastic’ texture and are yearning for more quality and variety.

Evidence of this is the soaring sales of cookbooks dedicated to this art including one written by Yarza himself: ‘Pan Casero’ (homemade bread). Part of the fun, comments Yarza, is you are working with something organic, something alive that expands and changes while you manipulate it. The benefits are obvious: it’s fun and you can eat it.

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FOOD & DRINK

OPINION & COMMENT

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Suarez was an excellent negotiator and communicator and his good looks, charismatic personality and charm appealed to the people.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: CORDON PRESS

The man who brought democracy to Spain

EWN

MILITARY ESCORT: The horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin passes through Madrid.

Peter Fieldman London-born journalist and author, Peter spends his time between Paris and Madrid. His novel ‘1066 The Conquest’ available on Amazon or www.1066TheConquest.com

www.pfieldman.blogspot.com

T

HE legacy of Adolfo Suarez who passed away last week in Madrid, is the Spanish Constitution, which brought to an end 40 years of dictatorship. As the horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin draped with the national flag, left the Congress building to pass slowly through the centre of the city with a military escort, the thousands of mourners, of all generations, who lined the streets, came not just to pay their last respects, but also to express their gratitude to the man who brought democracy to Spain. Francisco Franco had groomed the young king, Juan Carlos, to take his place. But after Franco died in 1975, the king faced opposition from political and military leaders as well as a population demanding reforms. His first decision was to remove the prime minister appointed by Franco, Carlos Arias, and in July 1976 he chose 44-year-old Adolfo Suarez as the new prime minister. It was a new era. Suarez was of a similar age to the king and had worked for many years for the Franco regime in the Falange movement and Opus Dei as well as a spell as director of Spanish Television. The media was important, youth was important and together,

Adolfo Suarez’s death on March 23 in a Madrid hospital, was peaceful, with his family by his side. His coffin was taken to the Congress where it lay in state for 24 hours during which time more than 30,000 people filed past after spending up to four hours forming an endless, silent queue in the adjacent streets. After the funeral procession in Madrid, the cortege made its way to Avila, close to the village of his birth, where with much of the population braving the cold wind to pay their respects in the walled city, Adolfo Suarez was finally laid to rest next to his wife in a special tomb in Avila Cathedral. The thousands who lined the streets came to give a last farewell to a man of integrity, a statesman devoted to his country, democracy and the well-being of the people. As a final gesture, the Government announced the renaming of Madrid’s airport as Adolfo Suarez Madrid Barajas. Adolfo Suarez and the king began the transformation of Spain. Suarez was an excellent negotiator and communicator and his good looks, charismatic personality and charm appealed to the people. He was Spain’s JFK. Within 12 months he had formed a new political party, the UCD (Union de Centro Democratico) to unite the rightwing parties. He called for a referendum to reform the nation’s political structure; all Spaniards over 21 would be granted the right to vote, there would be two houses - the congress and the senate whose representatives would be elected by the people, and political parties would be legalised. The result of the referendum was a resounding success and on June 15, 1977, the first free elections since 1936 took place, preparing the way for Spain to become a Constitutional Monarchy.

The UCD obtained 34 per cent of the vote and the socialist party PSOE around 30 per cent. Suarez had become Spain’s first and youngest democratically elected prime minister. However, without an overall majority the Government was obliged to seek consensus with the opposition parties and the military to ensure that the ‘Transicion’ could proceed smoothly and peacefully. Suarez legalised the Communist Party in April 1977 and in October the same year opened discussions with the PSOE and Communist Party in order to guarantee stability and put into effect the necessary economic and social reforms. It became known as the Moncloa Pact. By 1980 Suarez faced several setbacks including a censure motion orchestrated by the PSOE, which failed. Although he won a vote of confidence in the autumn, in January 1981 Suarez resigned as

Prime Minister, although he remained in Parliament. On February 23, a group of armed Guardia Civil officers led by Colonel Antonio Tejero burst into the chamber. Despite shots in the air and warnings to all those present to lie down, Suarez remained seated, staring unflinchingly at the soldiers facing him. It was an example of his courage and strong personality. The attempted coup d’etat failed and in 1982 the PSOE party swept to victory and 38-year-old Felipe Gonzales became in turn the country’s youngest ever prime minister. After the election defeat Adolfo Suarez left the UCD to form his own party the CDS (Centro Democratico y Social). But in 1991 after a series of poor results, he abandoned both the party and national politics. Although he received titles and honours he disappeared from public life.

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NEWS

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W

HEN professional footballer David Beckham purchased a £600,000 Damien Hirst ‘Daddy’s Girl’ daubing for his daughter there was a predictable response from the more level-headed public. Beckham has ‘more money than sense’ was the top readers’ response. Hundreds of other correspondents agreed. I imagine many of us will have read Hans Christian Andersen’s, The Emperor’s New Clothes. The amusing tale tells of how an emperor and his toadying subjects were taken for fools by a couple of smoothtalking con men posing as tailors. Having convinced the ruler that the clothes they made for him were so finely woven you could see through them, the conceited ruler, as naked as the day he bathed, appeared in front of the townspeople. The subjects applauded their ruler’s ‘fine raiment’ whilst fully aware that the scammed emperor was in truth naked. Many people today are as gullible and as foolishly influenced by fashion. History is marked by periods such as the Georgian or Victorian age, the Classical or Romantic periods, the Age of Enlightenment and The Renaissance. In terms of culture could our epoch be described as the ‘You Can’t Fix Stupid

Allan Bregg / Shutterstock.com

The ‘you can’t fix stupid’ age.... Mike Walsh Mike Walsh. Based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.

Period?’ There are excellent artists today whose works are on a par with any found in art galleries. Writers as compelling as Jack London, unknown composers whose minuets and etudes match those of John Field. Unrecognised, they remain outcasts, pushed aside by frauds and the chattering class. I recall a mixed bunch of town dignitaries standing in awe of a ‘monument’. It appeared to be a slightly curved metal telegraph pole and was said to symbolise ‘reach and change’. What it did symbolise was a four-letter word that the editor of this family newspaper won’t allow me to use. I would put money on it that every one of those town worthies, as soon as the press had disappeared, mouthed the

forbidden word. Are they any different from the flatterers who applauded the emperor’s supposedly new robes? If Beethoven or Brahms, James Conrad, Wilfred Owen or Oscar Wilde were to approach publishers today their living-room walls would be papered with rejection slips. Modern art and culture are fraudulent because their value is equally artificial. It is based on a make believe currency that would be devalued overnight if fools who shell out an emperor’s ransom for it saw it for the rubbish it is. “The refined, the rich, the professional do-nothings desire only the peculiar, and sensational, the eccentric, the scandalous in today’s art. I have fed these fellows what they wanted and satisfied these critics with all the ridiculous ideas that have passed through my head. “Today I am celebrated but when I am alone, I do not have the effrontery to consider myself an artist at all, not in the grand meaning of the word... I am only a public clown, a mountebank.” These are the words of Spain’s celebrated Pablo Picasso. GIFT: David Beckham with daughter Harper.

The History of the FIFA World Cup By Tony Matthews SIXTEEN nations including the holders England and the hosts Mexico competed in the ninth FIFA World Cup which ran from the May 31 to June 21, 1970. It was the first to be staged outside Europe and South America. Initially 75 entries took part in the qualifying rounds which began in May 1968. And once agreed, the 16 countries were placed into four groups of four with the top two progressing into the quarter-finals. Russia (top) and Mexico qualified from Group 1, Italy and Uruguay from Group 2, Brazil and England from Group 3 and West Germany and Peru from Group 4. In the last eight, Brazil beat Peru 4-2, Italy defeated Mexico 4-1, Uruguay pipped Russia 1-0 and West Germany knocked England out 3-2 after extra-

PA NEWS

The 1970 Tournament in Mexico

LEGENDS: Brazil’s 1970 team. time. In fact, England led 2-0 at one stage and sadly Gordon banks’ replacement in goal, Peter Bonetti, blamed himself for two of Germany’s three

goals. The two semi-finals matches saw a seven-goal thriller end Italy 4 West Germany 3, while Brazil beat Uruguay 3-1 in the all-South

American clash. After Germany had claimed third spot by defeating Uruguay, Brazil then eclipsed Italy 4-1 in the final, in front of 107,412 fans in the

Azteca Stadium, thereby winning the right to permanently keep the Jules Rimet Trophy. Led by Carlos Alberto and featuring Pelé, Gérson, Jairzinho, Rivelino and Tostão, this Brazil team is often cited as the greatest-ever to lift the World Cup. They achieved a perfect record of wins in all six games in Mexico, as well as winning all their qualifying fixtures. Gerd Muller (Germany) topped the scoring charts with 10 goals and the average attendance at each of the 35 games was 52,312 (aggregate 1,673,975). Despite the issues of altitude and high temperature, the finals produced on average three goals per game, a record which still stands today. * Next week: West Germany win the World Cup on home soil in 1974.

ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

Looking for compensation THE State Department for Agricultural Insurance (ENESA) is to look into compensation cases for the loss of pasture lands in Almeria. Stockbreeders in the area have bemoaned the lack of suitable land for their herds and as such they are getting smaller. Jose Maria Garcia, delegate for ENESA, has been in talks with Andres Garcia Lorca of the Almeria Government about compensation for these losses in Almeria.

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Fourth Provincial Tennis Circuit serves up in Albox MORE than 700 participants will take part in the fourth Provincial Tennis Circuit which will bring together the best players in the area. The circuit is composed of eight heats and a Masters final. The categories for the tournaments will be benjamin, novice, infant and cadet and are open to both male and female players. Juan Jose Salvador, Provincial Director General for Sports, has commented that this circuit has become a classic for local Almeria players and is a good introduction point for any players wanting to start out on the competitive circuit.

Cantoria receives more than €201,000 PFEA investment THE PFEA, Agrarian Employment and Development, is to invest more than €201,000 for improvements in the Cantoria area. Guillermo Casquet, PFEA delegate, has visited the area to see the works on the ‘Pavimentos 2013’ plan

including improvement of the road leading to the cemetery, remodelling of the pavements on Juan Carlos 1 Street, concreting of the esplanade next to the sports centre and resurfacing and relaying the pavements in the Cantoria area.

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Pool grant is ‘justified’ THE Junta de Andalucia regional government has considered a grant to build Albox swimming pool to be justified. Junta Secretary General for Sport, Ignacio Rodriguez, has said that the grant to build a swimming pool in Albox

Gymnasts get good results The Municipal School of Rhythmic Gymnastics in Cuevas de Almanzora took part in the rhythmic gym competition held in Vera, organised by the Provincial Delegation for Gymnastics. The teams from Almanzora were successful in the ‘New Fish’ category, in which they came third, the seniors came second in their heats.

is completely justified and he would be happy to explain the reasons to members of the opposition and residents. He went on to comment that the pool is being built where it is most needed, by residents and the sporting community.

Tribute paid to dead wife THE citizens of Albox held five minutes of silence to express their repulsion at the alleged murder of one of their neighbours Albox Town Hall and many residents were silent for five minutes in memory of Maria CT, 42, who was allegedly murdered by her husband. Family members explained that after he allegedly attacked his wife with a bladed weapon he immediately

called his sister-in-law and confessed that he had “done something crazy”. The family went to the couple’s house where they found the alleged killer sitting on the floor of the bedroom next to the dead body of his wife. While all this was taking place a cousin of the victim called the Guardia Civil who came immediately to the house and placed the husband, 49, under arrest.

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ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

Still getting org using outlook.c CONTINUING from last week’s article in which I started to talk about calendars and personal information managers, this week I want to take you a little further into OUTLOOK.COM. For the many who have a hotmail (outlook) email account, we already have access to the OUTLOOK.COM calendar/organiser. To start: log into your hotmail/outlook account as normal. In the top right-hand corner there is the word ‘outlook.com’ with an arrow next to it, click on the arrow! One of the options is calendar, click on it. A standard looking calendar will be

Trevor Spencer Computers displayed. Select a date that you need to be reminded about (birthday, anniversary, item on list of things to do, etc) by left clicking on the date box. A floating box will appear wanting a name for the item, a start time for the task and a duration of the task. Put the appropriate time and duration into the boxes and click on the ‘save’ button.

ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

ganised... com Here is a worked example: In the name box type ‘Wash pots’; in the time box click on the down arrow and select a time – say 18:00; in the box marked ‘how long’ click on the down arrow and select 30 minutes (should be enough time to do a few dishes!!!) and finally click on ‘save’. Repeat this process with every single item on your list of things to be done. Now you have a working list of what wants doing and when it needs to be done by! Providing you have the desire to work your way through the list you will find that your life is more organised.

More information: Telephone 689 892 745 or email canducomputing@ hotmail.co.uk.

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Council denounces whole family ALBOX Council is to denounce an entire family who have allegedly been terrorising neighbours in the area for some time. In a special plenary session the council unanimously approved presenting the formal complaint with the support of the local Justice Office and the Government Subdelegation. As well as the formal complaint the council is also asking for a ban on members of the family entering any of the town’s establishments and prohibiting them from living in the municipality. While the complaint is being processed cautionary measures will be taken by adding extra security to the area.

ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

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ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

Fun for Bowls C IT was a busy week for Amigos Bowls members. On Tuesday the results were: Pin-Splitters 10, Strikers 6; North & South 12, Pin-Pals 4; X Factor 12, Him & Her 4; Three Amigos 9, Scatterpins 7. In the Wednesday League results were: Los Amigos 6, Anglocelts 10; Oooh Unlucky 11, The Bow Boys 5; The Cowboys 6, Double D’s 10; The

Council to organis violence and digita ALBOX Council is to organise talks on the subject of gender violence and digital bullying in high schools in the area. Rogelio Mena, the mayor of Albox, has explained the necessity of explaining these matters

ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

Amigos Club Westies One, 13.5, The Newbies 2.5; The Newbies 18, Anglocelts 0, and Anglocelts 15, Double D’s 1. Thursday league winners were Phil and Ali with runnersup Barrie and Sharron. Friday results were: North & South 12.5, X Factor 3.5; Limarians 13, Triple X 3; Cowboys 3, Spitfires 13; Strikers against Double Trouble PP.

e talks on gender al bullying to the young in order to, educate them and, hopefully, prevent any future incidents. He went on to compliment the Guardia Civil and Local Police for the “excellent” work they are doing in these fields.

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FEATURE

Age support Almanzora THERE will be a theatrical production to raise funds for Age Support Almanzora on June 20, 21, and 22. The play was written and published by Charles Stott, one of more than 20 that have been published, and will be performed in the Arboleas Theatre. All proceeds will go to Age Support Almanzora, the publishers, Comedy Plays.co.uk have waived their fees for this performance. Doors open at 7pm on June 20 and 21 and 2.30pm on June 22. Tickets cost €5 and are available from Girasol in Albox, The One Stop Pool Shop, Longo’s and Essentials in Arboleas.

FEATURE

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History in a relaxing environment ARBOLEAS with its 5,000 inhabitants has been one of the fastest growing inland towns of the Almeria Province in the last 10 years. Local Businesses together with the Town Hall have created a community where tradition, nature, art and quality are combined. From state of the art gymnasiums to traditional restaurants and bars,

looking out over stunning mountain views, there is a way for everyone to relax in Arboleas. If you prefer some retail therapy then pay a visit to the bustling town market held on a Saturday morning. The market has a wide range of stalls including clothing, fresh fruit and vegetables, books, garden plants and much more. For more information on Arboleas including

HISTORIC: Church of Santiago, Arboleas. dates for events and fiestas held throughout the year please visit www.arboleas.org.

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www.euroweeklynews.com • Bar Toni… BAR TONI is a second generation family business run currently by Toni and wife Puri, assisted as always by daughters Laura and Marie Dollores. Bar Toni is a regular meeting place on a Tuesday situated near the entrance to the market, It is also a popular venue for traditional Spanish fare on a Friday and Saturday night well into the early hours, serving tapas and food from the hotplate. • Bar Anna A traditional Romanian bar with a menu inspired by Romanian mixed plates of meat and vegetables. Pizzas are available all day. The bar is staffed by mum and son team Ana and Antonio, who provide first-class service and are never short of a smile for their customers.

BAR TO BAR

Something for ever in the area for lunchtime trade the tapas are always freshly prepared. The husband and wife team cope with a constant influx of Spanish and expat trade. Situated opposite and frequented by all the staff from Mercadona, • Taberna el Saliente Triana is highly Cosy little Taberna el Saliente is situated close by recommended the Guardia Civil Cuartel in Albox. Opening at 8am for quality and daily, a Spanish style breakfast is served all day. value for money, The bar also provides an excellent takeaway menu with a warm during the day at only €3 per plate. The Menu del welcome from yet Dia is not to be missed at only €9 per head. another family-run business.

• Bar Cervantes Bar Cervantes is a Spanish tapas bar located to the rear of the church in Plaza del Pueblo. You can sample typical village tapas with

locals in attendance. Popular with the local student fraternity on a Friday night. • Bar Pizzeria Triana One of the busiest bars

• Venta Torrecillas Opening at 6am till midnight and situated on the main Baza Road directly opposite the BP petrol station, this is an excellent venue for breakfast and lunch. ‘Carne al brassa’ is served during the day, and churros and hot chocolate a

BAR TO BAR

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ryone.... • La Parrilla In the heart of the old village, La Parrilla is a typical tapas bar with lots of selections available, as well as a large function room to the rear available for weddings, etc. It also caters for accommodation for local businesses and tourists alike. Enjoy an early morning coffee and watch the world go by. • Bar Wassy Bar Wassy is well known by the local British community as a friendly, family-run bar. Situated close to the Nursery Infants and Junior schools, it is constantly occupied by the mums, dads and grandparents dropping off and picking up children during mornings and afternoons, but it also provides a pleasurable venue for groups just looking to take in the afternoon and evening sun. Tuesday is Paella Day, and homemade meals at only €3.50 are available daily. A new addition to the menu are Domingo’s Jacket Potatoes.

speciality of the house. Menu del Dia is priced at €9

per person and is highly recommended.

• Travellers Inn The long-established Travellers Inn has been a mainstay of both expats and Spanish local life for the past 20 years. Built as a family business in the mid-1990s, it started as a guest house but soon became a bar and restaurant, and has continued to provide varied fare through the years. Situated on the Taberno road out of Albox, it has a large summer terrace, its own off-road parking and a 60seat restaurant with musical events throughout the summer months.

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omes&gardens

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HOMES & GARDENS

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

April is the month for planting annuals ALTHOUGH some towns have had displays of annuals for some weeks and garden centres have been stocking up for a month, safe plantings really start in April. However, with Easter being late this year splendid displays can be developed by then if you are still into the English garden idea that annuals and especially any new colour is a must. A bed of antirrhinums in front of flowering bougainvillaea can be an eye-catcher as can petunias cascading down from a first-floor balcony. But recognise that such displays require good soils, regular feeding and daily watering. If you are not acquainted with the range of annuals available in Spain we have included descriptions and photographs of 25 in the book ‘Your garden in Spain From planning to planting and main-

Dick Handscombe

Gardening Corner By Dick Handscombe Spain’s best known expat gardening author about to start his 26th winter cut back.

GOOD ADVICE: Annuals provide instant colour, learn how to grow from seed. tenance’. They range from marigolds to candytuft, sweetpeas to

tobacco plants and lowgrowing nasturtiums to three-metre-high sunflowers. With such a spectrum of sizes annuals can be found for window boxes, large pots, hanging baskets, and flowerbeds. The benefits of annuals include instant colour; by careful sequencing year-round colour can be achieved, long flowering seasons

and that many can be raised from seeds. If you have not grown flowering plants from seed before there is a chapter in the aforementioned book to help beginners achieve successes from day one. The greatest problems with annuals are as follows: 1. Having shallow roots they are thirsty. 2. Regular dead-

ANNUALS: Shade is required during the summer. heading is often required to stimulate continuous flowering. 3. Shade is required during the hottest months. 4. Many can be flattened by heavy rains and winds. 5. Most are not frost hardy. 6. Maintaining constant temperature conditions when growing from seed. 7. The difficulty of locating good seed composts in Spain. 8. Soils and composts need to be very fertile, rich in humus, water retaining but welldraining. Fortunately, if you don’t want the bother of annuals, garden centres are also now full of flowering perennial

plants and shrubs which will give you pleasure for many years with little maintenance. ‘An Easter garden without annuals’ As it a good time of year to buy plants for containers as well as the garden consider whether you would benefit from closing the gap between the garden and the house, which in combination are your home. Recognise that the garden, if appropriately designed, can be where you spend most hours of the week from Easter to the autumn, even if you never do an hour of gardening.

© Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com April 2014

HOMES & GARDENS

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Advertising feature

NEATER HEATER introduces a new range of value-for-money heaters FOR the last five years Neater Heater has been providing its customers with the best, and smartest, electric convector heaters in Spain. The BEHA heaters from Norway are elegant, efficient and economical to run. With the recession still biting hard for most people, Richard and Tony decided to try and offer their customers greater choice by offering them a similar quality heater for less money. Now they do! Neater Heater is delighted to announce that it is now the sole direct importer to Spain of the Norwegian ADAX range of electric heaters. “It is a very exciting time for us,” said Richard Winter. “The

STYLISH & COLOURFUL: A range to complement your home. ADAX standard panel heaters offer the customer a cheaper option to the stylish BEHA heaters, without compromising on the running efficiency and reliability that we have come to

associate with Norwegian systems.” Neater Heater can also offer the stylish Neo range for people with a more colourful outlook on life.

At the moment, the customer can choose to have their Neo heaters in one of six colours: white; black; silver; red; pink and light blue. However, plans are afoot to introduce a far greater selection to choose from. “By offering the ADAX range as well as the BEHA range, we believe that we have all bases covered when it comes to electric convector heating,” explained Tony. “Customers can now browse our website or visit one of our distributors and select a heater that totally suits their circumstances, whether it is a stylish BEHA or Neo heater or a more utilitarian, but cheaper, ADAX standard panel heater.” If you choose to Heat Electric, choose Neater Heater: Norway’s Answer to Heating Your Home in Spain.

Neater Heater Distributors in Almeria: • Sierra Golf (Balsicas/San Javier): 968 018 257. • DFS Spain (San Javier): 968 334 194. • La Red Solutions/Mapfre (Mazarron Camposol B): 968 199 025. • Lifestyle Enclosures (Antas): 950 459 060. • Almeria Relocations (Roquetas de Mar): 950 335 340. Heaters also available for purchase at our online shop with free home delivery. www.neaterheater.es or 634 312 171.

Flower arranging: where did it all begin? THE earliest known flower arranging is believed to date back to Ancient Egypt. Egyptians were decorating with flowers as early as 2,500 BC, using them for burials, processions and table decorations with flowers chosen for their symbolic meaning. The Ancient Greeks also used flowers and herbs for adornment, often focusing on garlands and wreaths rather than vases. The most popular foliage used by the Greeks and the Romans were acorns, oak leaves, laurel, ivy, bay and parsley. The garland wreath was a Greek symbol of power, honour and dedication and was often awarded to athletes, poets, leaders and soldiers. The Chinese were also flower arranging as far back as 207 BC to 220 AD, in the Han era. They used flowers as a component of religious teaching and medicine. Flower arranging arrived

DECORATION: The Ancient Greeks used flowers for adornment, focusing on garlands and wreaths rather than vases.

POPULAR: Flower arranging.

in Europe around 1000 AD, and was popular in churches and monasteries where flowers and plants were used for food as well as for decoration. But it wasn’t until the Renaissance period that flower design and arrangements as we now know them became popular.

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PROPERTY

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roperty P TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

e ur at fe

VOSS HOMES is a British, family-run estate agency with its office in the thriving market town of HuercalOvera. This still traditionally Spanish area is famous for its award winning hospital, Monday and Thursday markets, many public events, numerous shops, restaurants, sporting and leisure facilities. Other benefits are its quick access to the safe and sandy beaches at San Juan de Los Terreros and the A7 and AP7 motorways. The Voss Homes office is just 1km off exit 553 of the A7 motorway, 100m past the Lidl supermarket. They focus on selling and renting properties in the Huércal-Overa, Taberno, Zurgena, La Alfoquia and San Juan de Los Terreros areas and have recently

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Adele OFFICE: A focus on selling and renting properties.

TEAM: Andy, Jess and Anna give a focused service.

expanded the team with local lady Adele who will be looking after the rental side of the business allowing Andy, Anna and Jess to concentrate on selling properties. Voss Homes prefer a more “honesty is the best policy,” straight-forward, no gimmicks, professional and friendly style of selling and pride themselves in their

buyers and sellers. Andy, Jess, Anna and Adele speak Spanish so have many Spanish owned properties and clients. They also have colleagues who speak Dutch, Flemish, French, German and Russian. As well as extensive newspaper and magazine advertising they have their own website and advertise

after sales service. Andy and Anna Voss and their daughter Jess have lived in the area for nine years. Anna and Jess joined the company two years ago to help expand into the neighbouring Taberno, Zurgena and San Juan de Los Terreros areas. By focusing on a smaller area they can give a more focused service to their

on the major portal websites such as Right Move and Kyero to attract more buyers from all over the world. They also work with a number of other trusted estates to make sure their properties get maximum exposure. Sellers: Voss Homes offer very competitive commission rates, free property

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paperwork checks, no upfront charges, no sole agency lock-ins and give viewing feedback, market updates and advice on how to get their properties sold. Buyers: To arrange an appointment to discuss your property requirements and to see why so many people are buying properties with Voss Homes please contact them now. Voss Homes 155a Carretera Estacion Huercal-Overa 04600 Almeria Office: 950 616 827 Mobile: 678 002 006, 667 891 741 www.vosshomesspain.com info@vosshomesspain.com

Rental market goes up by nearly 50 per cent in one year

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RENTING is beating buying by a long shot in the Spanish market, especially in the larger cities. Last year 195,264 occupation contracts were signed; of these 77 per cent were for rentals and only 22 per cent for purchases, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). This ratio is the complete opposite of the pre-crisis situation when only 17 per cent of contracts were for rentals. As demand for rentals has gone up, prices have come down. In Barcelona

the average price of a rental property, of 70 square metres, is €681,6 this is 5.4 per cent less than in 2013. For the second year in a row no Spanish city has an average rental price of over €1,000. The rental situation in the Catalan capital proves that the housing market is responding to the demands made on it and that prices can go down as well as up. This rise in rentals is attributed to the banking restrictions on mortgages

and the difficulty that owners are having in selling their properties.

RENTING: Market is improving.

PETS

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A new owner is sought for the King of Spain’s yacht Fortuna THE yacht ‘Fortuna’, used by the Spanish Royal Family for more than 13 years, has been renamed ‘Foners’ and is in Port Adriano, Calvia, Mallorca, waiting for a new owner. It was repaired in Porto Pi, Palma de Mallorca, following the king’s decision to give it up last May as a show of austerity due to its high maintenance costs. It had been given to him in 2000 by businesses and institutions which were part of the Balearic Islands Tourism and Cultural Foundation (Fundatur). The National Heritage Department returned it to them and they decided to sell it. The 41-metre-long yacht was specially equipped for

the king and originally cost €18 million. It was built in 1997 in Cadiz, and replaced the former ‘Fortuna’, a name which can only be used for the king’s yacht, which was donated in 1979 by Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd. With a weight of 35.4 tonnes it can reach speeds of up to 130kph and was last used by the king in August 2012. It has a living room, dining room, kitchen and four cabins for eight passengers, as well as three other rooms for the crew of up to eight people. The money from its sale will reportedly be used by Fundatur for the cultural and tourist promotion of the islands.

You are what you eat WHEN it comes to diet for dogs, as a behaviourist I try to give out an opinion that is logical and makes sense. We are what we eat. Food affects behaviour; for example, many children who are hyperactive change their diet and, hey ho, they are different. Many studies have been carried out to verify that a balanced diet like dried food is far healthier for dogs than raw food. If anyone adds anything to the dried diet then the balance of the food intake is totally different and can affect not only behaviour, but also trigger allergies. To be direct; a dog on dried food will show a healthy coat and does not break wind. Usually foods with ‘tasty bits’ of food, that is meat, satisfy the human’s emotional needs more than the dog’s nutritional needs and are often the cause of obesity (a common killer of dogs). The idea of this approach

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is that raw food is closer to what a dog would eat in the wild. A good example is a dog with a skin problem. Food allergy is a very common component of itchy skin in dogs. Chicken, beef, lamb, corn, soy, wheat, egg and dairy products are common ingredients which induce these allergies, but, whether they are raw or cooked, the immune system looks at them the same. With the wealth of foods

that are available to help many different conditions, the lack of evidence that raw food provides any advantages, and the potential risks of raw food, I can’t recommend that it is a good choice at this time. As research is done, we may one day find that there are advantages, but, for now, high-quality commercial food is the better choice.

For your local radio frequency log onto www.talkradioeurope.com

DRY DIET: For now the best option for dogs.

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AQUAEROBICS.... Its back! Monday, Wednesday, Friday at Oasis Tropical Hotel at 10am, Call Alison on 666 273 168 for info (93402) ZUMBA in Mojacar with Alison … Tuesday 9.30am at The New Kimrick and Thursday 9.30am at Jovasport gym… For more info call Alison 666 273 168 (93402)

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Price per word: 0,42€ + IVA minimum 15 words - Discount: Book 10 weeks, get 2 weeks free - Deadline: 4pm Mondays Contact: Phone (0034) 950 472 109 • Fax (0034) 950 478 789 • email mojacar@euroweeklynews.com • www.euroweeklynews.es

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MOBILE HOMES

PARKING

WE BUY, Sell, remove all types of mobile homes. We pay CASH and cover all of Spain. More details call Suzi Caley 616 250 727 / 951 063 059 or email suzicaley@gmail.com

PERSONAL WIDOWER, 76, seeks partner of similar age, live in long term, dog lover, non smoker, tall, text preferred. 608 253 774 (222506)

PETS

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INTERNET

PET-COURIERS.COM – If you love your pet try us first – we are the best. Door to door service throughout Europe. Specialised vehicles – bespoke service. Full legal service including documentation if required for further information call or email us: Tel: (0034) 651 033 670 or (0034) 637 066 227. Email: info@pet-couriers.com or www.pet-couriers.com (206497) ELITE DOG GROOMING. All dogs clipped, bathed & beautifully groomed. Tel 617 313 587

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PERSONAL

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PLUMBING SERVICES

PROPERTY

KNOWLES PLUMBING. No 1 for plumbing! Central heating, solar hot water and water deposits. Tel: 950 137 197or 606 807 797 (223395)

MOTORING

WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance. Since we started out in 1995, our philosophy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 902 123 309. (200726)

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CARLOS SALIENTE PLUMBING & HEATING SERVICES offer machined boiler decals for gas water heaters ROM just 65€ Aguafuerte is not the answer! Call 950 930 900 or 968 969 962. Email carlos.saliente@gmail.com (223307)

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REMOVALS/STORAGE

EUROPEAN removals and transport with scheduled UK routes. UK Company, fully legal, taking loads from 5kg to 24,000kg. Lowest prices and the best service. 952 816 582 or www.fo cus-transport.com (221351) SPAIN - UK/UK - SPAIN. Deliveries. Best prices. Best service. Indalo Transport. 634 336 468 / www.indalotransport.com. Find us on Facebook & Twitter. CAR TRANSPORTER. Call for excellent rates, fully insured, professional service. 951 319 320, email move@freinternational. com / www.focus-transport.com

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PROPERTY FOR RENT

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REMOVALS AND STORAGE

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TRANSLATION INTERPRETER/TRANSLATOR. Hospital, Health Centres, Police, Guardia Civil, Town Hall, Notary, Huercal Overa, Vera & Surrounds. Good Rates. Call Monica on 652 123 607 (221016)

VETS

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CENTRO Veterinario ABC La Alfoquia. Traditional veterinary medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, open Mon-Fri 10-2, plus emergency cover Tel 617 516 115 / 950 449 064 (219403)

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40 HGV Class 1 European drivers required. 4 days on, 4 days off. 11GBP per hour, 27GBP night out. Call 0044 7846 624312 or email camb scontractors@live.com

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SIGNS & DESIGNS

XXX RELAXATION Readers of a sensitive disposition may find some of the advertisements in this section offensive.

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

A

LPINE’S successful return to motor racing in 2013 harvested one race win and three podium finishes which confirmed the legendary marque meant business. The priority for its second season of the modern era is the Le Mans 24 Hours. “A new chapter in the brand’s extraordinary history began last season,” notes Bernard Ollivier. “We were aware that it was an ambitious programme when we announced it, yet the talent of everyone involved with the team and the hard work they all put in helped us to claim our first successes of the modern era. That was just the beginning. “Alpine’s roots are steeped in motorsport, human adventure, a taste for technical challenges and

ALPINE’S ROOTS: Steeped in motorsport and adventure. to motor racing and the different trophies we have won since have sparked off

an incredible energy, and our second season promises to be even more

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Alpine sets it sights on Le Mans 24 Hours

exciting production car projects. We also have an international calling and we are delighted to announce we will have a British driver in our 2014 line-up.” “Winning the Teams’ and Drivers’ titles in 2013 was a tremendous reward for everybody’s efforts,” adds Signatech-Alpine’s Team Principal, Philippe Sinault. “The human adventure which started at the beginning of 2013, the popularity of Alpine’s return

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captivating! Everyone in the team is ready for the year’s challenge and the focus of their motivation is very much on the Le Mans 24 Hours.” In terms of its drivers, SignatechAlpine was an allFrench operation in 2013, but this year has seen it take on a more international dimension with the arrival of the upand-coming British youngster Oliver Webb. The 22-year-old is poised

to start his first season of endurance racing after a strong early career in single-seaters. Like his new team-mates, he intends to use his experience to win with Signatech-Alpine, while his integration in the squad has been facilitated by his ties with France through his French mother. “This will be a new adventure for me,” he underlines. “I like the spirit you find in endurance racing and I am also drawn by the idea of team racing. Driving for SignatechAlpine is the ideal way for me to cut my teeth in the discipline.” The Alpine A450 was due to make its first public appearance of the year this week at the European Le Mans Series’ official preseason test at Le Castellet, France.

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SEAT will have a compact SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) in its product line-up after working on its design and development for almost two years. Marketing will begin in 2016. “This is an excellent piece of news, as it takes SEAT into a new territory, in one of the largest, fastest growing segments in the world,” declared SEAT Chairman Jürgen Stackmann.

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MOTORING

SEAT enter the compact SUV market He added “the SUV is an important pillar in the future corporate strategy and is a major step forward on the road to reaching sustainable profitability for the company.” The SUV decision is a clear sign of the Volkswagen Group’s commit-

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ment to the Spanish brand. The new model means achieving a foothold in a growing segment that represents close to one million cars per year in Europe alone, one that has increased more than 40 per cent over the past five years, and will continue to grow

in the future. Moreover, its future marketing implies the further broadening of SEAT’s product range, enabling the brand to maintain its current growth momentum, following the successful launch of the Leon family.

SPORT

Albox & District Darts League HIGHLIGHTS: Derek Waller from El Cordobes, 180; Cliff Meason from Bar Flora, 180. Week 25 results Division 1: Cafe-Bar Oasis 5, Pablos 3. Corner Bar 5, El Cordobes 3. La Cinta I 5, Catalan 3. Bar Corrillo 4, Bar Flora 4. Division 2: Jacks 4, Why Not Bar 4 Poli Bar 8, TC’s 0 Unique Beer Bar 4, Maloans 4 El Local 4, Heavan 4 El Rinconcillo 0, Annie’s Bar 8 Divions 1 Positions: 1 El Corner Bar (41pts), 2 El Cordobes (28pts), 3 CafeBar Oasis (27pts), 4 La Cinta I (20pts), 5 Catalan (18pts), 6 Bar Flora (17pts), 7 Pablos (14pts), 8 Bar Corrillo (11pts), 9 Bar El Frax (10pts). Division 2 Positions: 1 Annie’s Bar (43pts), 2 Heavan (42pts), 3 Unique Beer Bar (39pts), 4 Poli Bar (26pts), 5 El Local (22pts), 6 Maloans (20pts), 7 Why Not Bar (17pts), 8 Jacks (12), 9 El Rinconcillo (6pts), 10 TC’s (4pts). For online results, go to www.alboxinfo.com/albox -darts.php Albox & District Darts League: 652 580 695.

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One ‘L’ of a time for Liverpool, Lewis and Laura Massaro! Tony Matthews

International Sports A former football player and the world’s most prolific author of football books (more than 100 published), Tony is also the sports reporter for Spectrum Radio and lives in the Cabrera mountains.

Costa de Almeria

THIS WEEK’S ACTION... On Tuesday in the Champions League quarter-finals, it was Manchester United v Bayern Munich and Barcelona v. Atletico Madrid, while last night Chelsea visited PSG and Real Madrid played Borussia Dortmund. This evening eight teams compete in the Europa League. Tomorrow, GB start their vital Davis Cup tennis match against Italy in Naples; on Saturday, it’s the Cambridge-Oxford Varsity boat race, the Grand National from Aintree (my each-way tips: Monbeg Dude and Lion Na Bearnai), plus important PL games featuring Cardiff-Crystal Palace, Chelsea-Stoke, Manchester CitySouthampton and NorwichWBA ... And on Sunday, it’s Everton-Arsenal and West Ham-Liverpool, Rangers v Raith Rovers in the Ramsden SL Cup final, the third F1 Grand Prix of 2014 in Bahrain and the County Cricket season starts!

Squash champion Congratulations to Preston-born Laura Massaro who became the first Brit for 15 years and the first English woman ever, to win the World squash championship. RECENT SOCCER ROUND-UP In the Premiership, battling Crystal Palace stunned Chelsea 1-0. This allowed Liverpool (eight wins on the bounce) to take over top spot hammering Spurs 4-0 after Arsenal (4th) had drawn 11 with Manchester City (3rd). WBA and Cardiff scored in the 94th and 95th minutes in a 3-3 six-point relegation battle at The Hawthorns... Swansea eased their worries with a 3-0 win over Norwich... inform Everton won 3-1 at Fulham... Southampton

battered poor Newcastle 40... Manchester United got back on track by beating Aston Villa 4-1... Stoke edged out Hull 1-0... And Sunderland met West Ham on Monday Championship leaders Leicester won 2-0 at second-placed Burnley, leaving QPR, Derby, Wigan and Reading in the play-off places... Wolves (1-0 winners at MK Dons) and Brentford are clear in FL1... Rochdale, Scunthorpe and Chesterfield stand 1-2-3 in FL2... north of the border, Celtic, who clinched their 45th SL title eight days ago, are on course to win the PL

A close call in first division CORTIJO Grande’s match on Wednesday, March 26 was a close call in the first division but a massive score in the second division to win. Mike Picken was First Division winner on a multiple countback with 36 points. In second was John Wardley, also with 36 points, while Frank McGovern took third with another 36 points! Martin Oliver took the

Second Division with a score of 42 points. Janet Kay placed second with 38 points and Bobbie Vindenis was third with 36 points. There was an eagle on the 12th by Cathal Higgins and a two on the 5th by John Park. The match on Sunday, March 30 saw good close finishes in both divisions. First Division winner was Leif Myhre with 36 points.

John Geaves took second with 35 points, followed by David Hardy in third with 34. Carol Hardy led the Second Division with 38 points. Second with 36 points was Mary Higgins, and third with 33 points was Angel Gijon. Ball sweep winners were Carol Hardy and Frank McGovern. Visitors and guests welcome to join Cortijo Grande.

by a record margin, likewise their rivals Rangers, who have won all 15 away games this season, are 32 points clear of Dunfermline in SL1. Atletico Madrid (2-1 winners v Athletic Bilbao), Barcelona (1-0 v Espanyol, courtesy of another Lionel Messi penalty) and Real Madrid (5-0 v Rayo Vallecano) are 1-2-3 in La Liga with 76, 75 and 73 points respectively. Meanwhile Juventus are racing away in Italy’s Serie A. FORMULA 1 Lewis Hamilton ‘comfortably’ won the Malaysian GP last Sunday - his 23rd race victory overall. Team-mate Nico Rosberg was second with Sebastian Vettel third. This was the first Mercedes one-two since 1955 when Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling were driving. Only 15 cars completed the distance in Kuala Lumpur the fewest since Monza in 2011 CRICKET England (193-7) bowed out of the Twenty20 World Cup at the hands of South Africa (196-5). This was bitter disappointment, having beaten favourites Sri Lanka when Alex Hales (116) became the first

DID YOU KNOW?

West Bromwich Albion fielded an all-English team when winning the 1888 and 1931 FA Cup finals… and England bowler Sidney Barnes took a record 49 wickets in four Test Matches against Australia in 1913-14. Englishman to score a century in the competition. Meanwhile, England’s women reached the semifinals of their 20/20 cricket World Cup. SNIPPETS • Unbeaten Bayern Munich have clinched their 24th Bundesliga title. • Five Manchester United stars - Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, the Neville brothers, Gary and Phil and Paul Scholes, have applied to the FA to buy Salford City.... all have links with the nonLeague club. • Of the five West Midlands football clubs, only WBA made a profit in 2013. Villa, Birmingham, Walsall and Wolves, lost £87.5m between them.

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SPORT

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Sport Costa de Almería’s best guide to local sport

Lewis Hamilton Won the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday. Turn to Page 87 TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

19th Hole report 19TH HOLE had four teams of eager golfers out on Thursday at Aguilon to play the Best Two from Four Stableford competition. Average scores were recorded individually, but the winning team scored 79 points with two other teams recording 74. The winning team, comprised of Nick Pogson, Harry Ells, Ron Curtis and Graham Newton had a good day, taking not only 1st place in the team event but also in the lesser awards.

Graham scored a Two on the 17th and Nick secured 2nd place in the individual stableford event and a Nearest the Pin on the 4th. Sean Curtis had two Nearest the Pins (12th and 17th) and 3rd place overall and led his team into 2nd place. Nigel Greenwood took 1st place in the Individual Stableford. Their home course, played fortnightly, is Aguilon. Call 610 340 653 or email gs19thhole@hotmail.co.uk.

INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD: Some of the winners.

PAIRS TROPHY: An annual event.

Annual pairs at Marina THE main event this week at Marina Phoenix was the annual Pairs Trophy. Betterball stableford scoring saw Glennys Oliver, who splits her time between the UK and Spain, do the business along with her partner Jim Budd to win with 46 points. Second place went to John Lally and Frank Varey with 44 points, followed by Jack McGowan and Dave

Easton taking third with 43 points. Nearest the Pin prizes went to Isobel Jones (14th) and Steve Dimmock (17th). Monday’s individual stableford witnessed John Lally returning from an accident which sliced three fingers of his right hand, but still managed to get his hands on first prize with a score of 36 points. Jim Budd was

second (35 points) followed by Dave Youngs in third (34 points). The ladies division was a success for Isobel Jones (34 points) followed by Margaret Budd (32 points) with Rosalie Fardon in third (30 points). Marina Phoenix plays Mondays (individual) and Thursdays (team). To join for a €25 green fee, ring Jim on 950 162 727 / 600 353 670.