ISSUE NO. 1550
TRUST
our advertisers
WE DO!
19 - 25 MARCH 2015
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Hope for illegal home-owners THERE is a ray of hope for illegal property owners following a decision reached in the Spanish Senate. Parliamentary groups agreed to an amendment of the reform of the Penal Code to allow judges to delay demolition of illegal homes bought in good faith until compensation is guaranteed for the owners. The amendment was presented by the PSOE socialist party, which collaborated with the Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No (AUAN) group. Although expatriates affected by the problem had been losing faith due to the apparent lack of support for their cause, the amendment is good news, although it remains to be seen how
judges will interpret it. Some sections of the press are suggesting a banner-waving celebration worthy of a full scale party, but it is not quite as big a move as it first seems. Historically, although property owners were sometimes awarded compensation by the courts, their properties could still be
demolished before they received a cent, leaving people like the Priors seeing their life savings wiped out. Under the terms of the amendment, owners must now be guaranteed compensation before demolition. However, this does not mean the house is suddenly legal, which still leaves
the issue of properties that can’t be connected to the utilities or gain the correct paperwork. Simon Manley, British Ambassador to Spain, saw the move as an encouraging development. He said: “This is moving the legal system closer to providing fair and lasting solutions for British property owners
who find themselves facing the threat of demolition.” Maura Hillen, President of AUAN, responded cautiously. Whilst praising the vote, she pointed out that there was still a lot of work to be done and warned owners not to relax just yet. AUAN has vowed to continue the fight.
The organisation wants an amnesty to legalise properties bought in good faith. AUAN is also backing a British couple, who wish to remain anonymous, who are taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights. The couple own a property in Albox, which they bought in good faith in 2001. Anyone wishing to contact AUAN can do so via their new Facebook page at facebook.com/ AUANOrganization
2
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
INDEX News 1 - 32 Finance 35 - 40 Leapy Lee 41 Daily TV 48 Time Out 54 - 55 Letters 56 Health & Beauty 61 - 63 Food 65 - 68 Albox 70 - 74 Property 78 - 79 Homes & Gardens 80 Classifieds 81 - 83 Motoring 84 - 86 Sport 87 - 88
GOOD NEWS: Rafaela Abad announces Almeria’s payment terms achievement.
Steaming ahead in payment speed
ALMERIA CITY is the second Andalucian capital with the lowest average payment period for its suppliers in Andalucia (after Malaga). Councillor for Finance for the city, Rafaela Abad, stated: “The city of Almeria is solvent and rigorous, and we have a mayor who is a guarantee for the city.” Abad went on to explain that payment to suppliers is one of the priorities for the government team. She added: “It is unaccept-
able that companies or autonomies could run into trouble by a delay in payment and, with this in mind, we have reduced the time for payment to one of the shortest by public administrations in Spain.” According to a 2013 report by the Hacienda tax office, Almeria is the least indebted Andalucian capital and, in 2011, a report by the Chamber of Accounts noted that Almeria had the best indicators of immediate liquidity and short-term solvency.
NEWS
TRUST our advertisers
NEWS Gador run MORE than 400 runners participated in the 10 kilometre race around Gador, the fourth edition of the popular race. Mohamed Blal and Yamilka Gonzalez were the fastest male and female respectively. Vera workshops GUADALINFO in Vera is launching three workshops aimed at business. It aims to educate business owners on how best to use the internet to grow their business. Courses begin on March 23.
WE DO!
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
Arrested for assault and theft GUARDIA CIVIL officers have arrested two people on suspicion of illegal detention, assault and theft. The investigation began after learning about injuries sustained by an Albox man who had disturbed thieves. The victim, while at home, heard his dog barking. When he went outside to investigate he found one person trying to hit his dog while
the other attempted to force the bars of a window on his neighbour’s property. He shouted at the would-be thieves who fled. However, the following day things
turned nasty. The victim was walking through Rambla Meona when a vehicle matching that of the previous night approached him. The men leapt from the car and battered the man until he was unconscious. He was taken to hospital in Huercal-Overa for treatment. Police investigations led them to RV, 35 from Albox and ML, 40 from San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia.
‘
N
ews watch
Strike rubbish
ADIF is calling on the Ministry of Health to act before the ‘sanitary hygiene risk’ increases for rail users. Rubbish is now accumulating at the Intermodal Station in Almeria following a two-week strike by staff.
EL EJIDO will be celebrating on March 22 World Water Day with a range of activities. Most of the activities are aimed at school age children and include workshops and entertainment.
Metal thieves GUARDIA CIVIL officers have arrested two men on suspicion of stealing various metal items from a farm in Vicar. ASA, aged 48, and FLAA, aged 40, have been transferred to court.
Carpet challenge SENIOR citizens in Zapillo, Almeria City, have joined up to help create the world’s largest carpet, the Sierpinski. Currently 400 centres in 32 countries are creating the carpet which is designed using fractals.
Robber detained ‘ROUTE 69’ police operation continues to make arrests in Almeria to dismantle dangerous gangs. The latest arrest is that of a 32year-old man, suspected of two store robberies on one night, who wore a ski mask and carried a gun.
3
Water day
Almeria growth MINISTER of Employment and Social Security, Fatima Bañez, visited Pulpi and praised efforts of Almeria workers. She said Spain is on the path to employment recovery with 2,200 more people employed than in 2011.
Tabernas works WORK is now complete on the area surrounding Tabernas’ church and Plaza Jose Bellver. The surface has been repaired and replaced where necessary and the lighting is now fully functional.
EWN
No extradition
LAS FALLAS: The huge papier mache models cost tens of thousands of euros to build.
Celebrating with fire ONE of Spain’s most famous festivals has been in full swing around the province of Valencia. Las Fallas are a five day celebration - running until tonight (Thursday) marked across the province in honour of San José. The focus of the fiesta for many is the creation and destruction of the ‘niñots’ - which are huge papiermache models. They cost tens of thousands of euros to build and take many months to construct by the various clubs or peñas. The themes are varied and satirical and reminiscent of the 80’s British comedy Spitting Image, where many of the models are caricatures poking fun at Spanish politicians and celebrities. The climax of the week long celebration takes
Quote of the Week It’s not very nice, that’s for sure. You have to hunt out specific places, the nice places,” said Spanish singer Edurne Garcia and Eurovision competitor when asked whether Manchester, where her goalkeeper boyfriend plays, was ‘uglier than the back of a fridge.’
place tonight, known as ‘La Crema,’ or burning of the fallas. While the most famous are held in Valencia City, many expats will see the three separate fallas in Benidorm - in the Rincon de Loix at the end of the Levante beach, Plaza Triangular at the end of the Avd Mediterraneo and in the Old Town on Calle Tomás Ortuño. A grand float procession with all the participants takes place at 6pm. The children’s fallas are burnt first - starting at 11pm then the main adult ones are set alight one by one at midnight. The one in the Rincon goes up followed at 12:30am with the Plaza Triangular and lastly, the one in the Old Town.
Number of the week
6.5
million is the number of people called to vote this Sunday, March 22, in the Andalucian elections. Of the total number of people eligible to vote, 245,202 will be doing so for the first time having recently reached the age of 18.
THE paediatrician accused of sexually abusing children while serving at a Pulpi health centre will not be extradited to Spain until he’s served a sentence in Columbia for abusing a nine-year-old.
Beach work COSTACABANA beach will be receiving some much needed attention starting in April if all goes to plan according to a statement released by council representative Carlos Sanchez.
Caravan exodus AFTER an information campaign, illegally parked motor homes and caravans have started to leave the El Ejido coast. The campaign comes after years of leniency.
And finally... Hackers who managed to block more than 400,000 files belonging to Madrid’s Ifema Fair and Congress centre were left looking rather silly when their demands for payment to undo their work were ignored and the centre’s technicians managed to restore all the servers within a day.
4
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Dolphin fountain gets a facelift THE dolphin fountain in Nicolas Salmeron park in Almeria City has had a facelift. The dolphins have received a new coat of paint, replacing the sun
bleached muted colours with a more authentic effect. For the restoration work the city employed the services of artist Nico, who is particularly skilled in paint effects.
Councillor for the area, Esteban Rodriguez, explained: “What we have done is try to reproduce the original colour before it was corrupted by the sun. We have used a
combination of colours, among which green and black were prominent, to get the bronze tone. This has finally been achieved.” In addition to painting the dolphins in the struc-
ture, the glass was cleaned and a complete overhaul of the lighting was carried out, replacing any broken lamps as necessary. Rodriguez said that the
work done by the city council has made Almeria’s fountains some of its most outstanding ornamental features - especially those like the dolphin fountain.
Garrucha indoor gardener arrested GUARDIA CIVIL officers from Garrucha have arrested 49-year-old TJF, after raiding his home and discovering a small plantation of marihuana growing in one of the rooms. Officers discovered marihuana plants with cuttings weighing 860
grams and glass jars containing cannabis buds ready for use with a total weight of 355 grams. The officers also found a drying room and hydroponic equipment in an indoor greenhouse indicating extensive knowledge of marihuana cultivation.
The arrest and raid are part of activities in Almeria in the fight against the cultivation, processing and distribution of narcotics. The man, a resident of Garrucha, has been passed to Vera court for processing along with the investigation details.
Our View
Nowhere to run
F
OR decades, Spain has been renowned as the place to run away to and hide for most of Europe’s criminal fraternity. But not any more! For the law-abiding British expats in Spain (about five million) who have had to live with jibes and jokes about ‘The Costa del Crime,’ it has been a far from amusing experience. But last year saw a significant leap forward in British-SpanishEuropean co-operation and technology advances, which have quickly turned the whole game around. Successful initiatives like Operation Imperium, which cracked a Bulgarian mafia gang, arresting 31, Operation Captura, which is ongoing, the detection and arrest of numerous IS extremists this
month, as well as the news that the biggest gang of scammers on the south coast has been arrested, is evidence enough that the era of hiding in Spain has come to an end. What with mobile phones that know where people are, web connections that track origins, hi-tech cameras in the air, street CCTV running 24 hours, social media and international police operations, the world has become a very hard place in which to hide. Even more so in Spain. Here we have things like ID cards, road checkpoints, car park cameras and identification systems that even the UK doesn’t have. Some might say that the whole Big Brother feeling is a little intrusive. But the huge advantage is that Spain is now less desirable than the UK as a place for criminals to hide.
Have your say and leave your comments at www.euroweeklynews.com
NEWS EXTRA
Seven injured SEVEN people were injured in a collision between two vehicles on a roundabout in Viator. The injured were taken to Torrecardenas hospital for treatment after the crash at 10pm on March 14.
Apolo repairs ALMERIA’S Teatro Apolo is undergoing €170,000 worth of repairs. The theatre is expected to reopen in mid April with new green seats, LED lights and disabled access.
New bins ALMERIA City now has 1,000 more new bins, bringing the city’s total to 2,085. Altamira, Nicolas Salmeron park, Pescaderia and Quemadero will benefit.
NEWS
TRUST our advertisers
WE DO! NEWS EXTRA
APSA sale APSA charity shop on Avenida Lepanto in Albox now has its sale on with 50 per cent off all clothing and shoes. The shop is open from Monday to Saturday 10am until 2pm. TAKING AIM: Officers compete in the shooting championships.
Shooting for the top THE results are in after the recent Guardia Civil shooting championships and
Olympic trap competition in the town of Gador from March 10 to March 13.
Huercal Overa stories HUERCAL OVERA has published a book containing stories written by young people from the town in the third edition of a literary competition. The theme was elves and fantasy but with a connection to well known areas of the town including the castle, Cula Valera and the Adolfo Suarez municipal park. The books can be collected free of charge from the town library and the Teatro Villa.
Thirty officers performed solo and in teams for the titles while also having extra training sessions and spending time with officers from across Spain. The winning team was the Guardia Civil from Castilla-La Mancha while Extremadura Guardia Civil officer Juan de Mata Medina, who is now stationed in Toledo, scooped the top spot in the individual category.
Albox jobs APPROXIMATELY 300 jobs are to be created in Albox as part of various employment schemes. They will mainly benefit younger residents of the town.
Seafront link WORK has begun on extending Plaza Elena Mezzi in Almeria City by clearing an adjacent plot, and linking it to the seafront.
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de AlmerĂa
EWN
5
6
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
NEWS
Doghouse fundraiser
CHEERS!: Wine-tasting charity event at Hotel Tikar in Garrucha.
Wine and bowls THE Lodge of Unity held a charity wine tasting at Hotel Tikar in Garrucha. Approximately 40 people tried wine from a local bodega and raised €268 for the lodge’s charity fund. The lodge has also announced its charity bowls day at Almeria Bowling Club, Miraflores, Los Gallardos. It expects more than 60 bowlers and guests for a barbecue, entertainment from John Lodge,
a raffle and fundraising games. Events begin at 9.45am on Saturday May 9. The member cost is €15 which includes the game, hot dog, barbecue and a dessert. Non-bowling guest tickets cost €10. Everyone is welcome to attend and support the Masonic charities, whether bowling or not. Early booking is recommended via colin@c-mor solutions.co.uk terryjackson0132@gmail.com.
BAR CIELOS in La Alfoquia is holding a fundraising event on Sunday March 29 from 3pm until 8pm to raise funds for the Doghouse, which suffered terrible damage and animal deaths during recent storms. A number of bands will be performing and Olivia will be doing nails on the day for a donation to the Doghouse. Local businesses have donated prizes including fish and chip dinners, breakfasts, Betterware products, wash and blow-dries, bottles of wine, gift vouchers, phone credit, chocolates and much more. More prizes are always welcomed. There is also a free labour day planned, for people to head along to the Doghouse on April 12 and join the other volunteers to lend a hand to get the kennels up to scratch after the destruction caused by the storm. Peter Walker is sorting out some free beer for the volunteers and, at time of press, confirmation is pending for a buffet to be made available by a local eatery. The more volunteers the better, so if you can spare an hour or more, it would really help. To donate extra prizes, volunteer for the free labour day, or help in any way, contact Annie on 634 309 590.
TRUST our advertisers
NEWS
WE DO!
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
7
Food plan extension for Pechina PECHINA has added another year of food aid for the needy. Interested parties have until Friday March 20 to apply for help via an application form. The food plan is an initiative from the European Union developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture,
Travel expo at airport ALMERIA airport is hosting a collection of travel photographs until March 27. The collection focuses on the more scenic and unspoilt areas of Almeria Province. The exhibition can be seen in the cultural space in the departures terminal. The images cover flora, fauna, landscape and black and white, and encompass almost 50 images. All images were entries in the latest edition of a competition by La Fundacion Cajamar-Caja Rural and Onda Cero. The promoters of the exhibition describe it as ‘inviting’, and encourage visitors to enjoy an ecological glimpse of the province.
Child drowns at La Mojonera THE emergency services received a call during the evening on Sunday March 15, reporting that a child had fallen into an irrigation pond in the area of La Mojonera known as Sector 4 Puertas. The child was removed from the water but sadly not quickly enough and nothing could be done to save its life despite the best efforts of ambulance staff.
and the Spanish Agricultural Fund developed through Cruz Roja (Red Cross). The support consists of three deliveries of food staples per year, distributed by the council. The amount depends on the number of members in the house-
hold. In 2014, the council distributed help to more than 200 families consisting of more than 600 Pechina residents of various ages. The application must be completed and signed by the head of the household and should be accompanied by
numerous documents including identification and proof of a low income. Low income for this is considered €645.30 per month for one adult plus €150 for each additional person with a maximum of €1,245.30 for a family of five or more.
8
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
NEWS
‘Oil’ be there THE town of Oria has now installed its own brand new recycling containers specifically for used cooking oil. They are located at the petrol station and opposite the Club de la 3a Edad (Club of the Third Age). The containers can’t be missed, because their bright orange colour makes them stand out. Used cooking oil can be deposited in them rather than pouring it down the drains, which causes blockages and problems in the waste-water network.
RECYCLING BINS: For used oil.
Distance learning for Spanish architects ALMERIA College of Architects and the Didactia Institute are to offer e-learning. The announcement was made at a ceremony held at the college’s headquarters. E-learning will encompass postgraduate training in the field of architecture to cater for Spanish-speaking professionals in Almeria, the rest of
Spain and even Latin America. It is the second time the courses have been offered on the college’s virtual training platform and will benefit any student with access to the internet. Eleven courses will be covered with specialist areas for different disciplines of architecture. For further information, contact the College of Architects in Almeria.
10
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
AGM for Arboleas charity, FACE FACE (Fundraising in Arboleas, Caring for Everyone) will be holding its annual general meeting on Friday April 3. The meeting begins at 10.30am at Hostal Meson in Arboleas. Anyone who would like to find out more about the charitable fundraising activities that FACE carries out, via its small group of
dedicated volunteers, is welcome to attend. FACE is also pleased to announce that it will be holding a clothes sale at Los Llanos market on Saturday April 4. For more information you can contact FACE President Adele Wrigglesworth on 667 255 094 or visit the website at www.face-charity.com.
Cocaine dealer arrested GUARDIA CIVIL officers have arrested one person and seized approximately
500 grams of cocaine in Huercal de Almeria. Officers arrested THSV, a 43-year-old resident of Vicar, on suspicion of a crime against public health. The arrest came during the selective identification of people and vehicles on the A-7 in Huercal de Almeria. The officers spotted a Kia car attempting to leave a checkpoint. When
they stopped the car, the driver began acting suspiciously, prompting the officers to delve deeper. The drugs were found by Monty, a sniffer dog. Monty found them hidden between the spare wheel and the body of the car. The detainee, along with details of the case, have been passed to Almeria magistrates court.
You know when and where... TICKETS for the upcoming psychic craft fair featuring UK television star Colin Fry are selling fast. The Puerto de Mazarron in Murcia event is to support ACTIN Spain and is backed by Team Harmony. The event on April 10 and 11 is open from noon until 5pm both days with Sixth Sense star Colin Fry performing in the evenings. If you would like to have a stall, the cost is €15 per day or €20 for both including secure overnight storage. To book a stall, contact Team Harmony on 950 466 067 or teamharmony@icloud. com.
Well-finding in Mojacar MOJACAR is making good use of the Youth Employment Plan introduced by the Junta de Andalucia regional government, with funding from the European Union, by using the youngsters to geolocate disused wells, either on private or public property. The wells will have their co-ordinates recorded and assigned a unique GPS location. Warning signs are being erected where appropriate for public safety. Several years ago a young man fell into a well at La Alcantarilla. He was rescued seven days later by emergency services. These delays will be dramatically reduced with the new geolocation. So far, more than 50 wells have been found and recorded, although some
SAFETY: Hidden wells can be marked. areas are difficult to access so have not been surveyed yet. So far, Las Alparatas, Camino del Descargador, El Cantal, El Rio and La Mata have been covered. In addition to finding the wells, the surveyors are also geolocating water deposits, subterranean waterways, mine shafts and
waterwheels, whose existence was previously unknown. This has contributed to the census of water sources held by the PLAN INFOCA (wildfire fighting plan), which is useful in helping the emergency services to locate water sources quickly in the event of a fire.
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Sheena looking strong as TV contest reaches the quarter-finals MOJACAR fans were rewarded for tuning into the BBC1 television programme The Voice by seeing singer Sheena McHugh progress to the live quarterfinals of the competition. Twenty-six-year-old Sheena was chosen by Spectrum FM to sing their Mojacar song to promote the Costa Almeria but it was her choice of Bring Me To Life by Evanescence, for her song during the latest knockout, which saw her blast through. During rehearsals, Sheena told will.i.am: “I’ve got another little note to whack on top but I’m saving it. This isn’t it, Will, you wait.” The four judges sat wide-eyed as she belted out the tune but just after Sheena produced her final note, they rose as one to give her a standing ovation. Of the eight members of Team Will, only three could progress to the next stage of the competition. Will surprised nobody by selecting Sheena to go
SECOND FAVOURITE: Sheena McHugh. through. She joins team-mates Lucy O’Byrne and Vikesh Champaneri for the live shows when the power moves to the voting public. Sheena, from Coalville in Leicestershire, remains second favourite to win at the bookies with William Hill placing her at 4/1 after Stevie McCrorie at 2/1.
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
11
12
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
NEWS
Immigrants rescued at sea OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil have rescued 13 illegal immigrants from a boat just off the coast of San Juan de los Terreros. One of the passengers had hypothermia, according to a statement from Marine Rescue. The six-metre boat left Oran in Algeria on Thursday March 12 and was intercepted in the early hours of Friday morning after one of the passengers made a mobile phone call to 112 to explain their location and that they were cold. After searching Almeria waters without success in the darkness, a plane was despatched at dawn. It was eventually located at the border of Almeria and Murcia waters, three days after it had left Oran. Once the plane had located the boat, Marine Rescue were able to take off the passengers.
DIA DE LA VIEJA: Figures of old men and women mark the festival.
Effigies get their ‘just desserts’ ON March 12, people from towns and villages in Almeria, as well as Malaga, Valladolid, Catalonia and France, traipsed out into the countryside. They carried with them effigies of old men and women to celebrate the ‘Dia de la Vieja’. A pagan effigy is dressed with a headscarf and apron and decorated with tissue
paper and bags of sweet treats inside and out before being mounted on a wooden cross or cane. The old figures oversee the picnic but everything changes when dessert is served. Songs are sung and the effigies are stoned, much in the style of a piñata, scattering sweets on the ground beneath them.
Almeria takes the celebration very seriously, marking the day as an important leisure event in the calendar. The festival originates from the 17th century when the church strictly enforced Lent, fully observing the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus was in the desert, but providing a halfway point for a break.
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
More than 13,000 see treaty document MORE than 13,000 people have visited the exhibition ‘The Treaty of Almeria’ in the Archaeological
Museum since it opened in December last year. A scroll, which was found almost
by accident by a Professor of Medieval History, Rafael G. Peinado Santaella, is part of the binding of one of the documents preserved in the archives of the Royal Chancery of Granada and is a historic piece relating to the treaty of Almeria containing the conditions that were agreed between the Catholic Monarchs and El of the main tourist atZagal in the town of tractions in Europe. Baza. Delegate of EducaThe piece attracted tion, Culture and Sport 13,412 visitors to the of the Junta de Andalumuseum, including over cia regional govern1,000 school children. ment, Isabel Arevalo Now the exhibition is said the award “recogclosed it is yet to be denises the good work of cided what the immediate the managing of the future is of the treaty of museum open to the Almeria; if they return to whole society, which is the Archive of the Royal a great cultural landChancery of Granada or mark of the province.” continue for now in the province of Almeria.
Almeria museum is top spot for Asian tourists THE Museo de Almeria has been awarded the distinguished ‘Top Choice 2015’ award by a Chinese tourist guide. The Lianorg Guide each year selects the best restaurants, hotels, shops and tourist attractions worldwide for travellers from China, Japan and other Asian countries. This ‘network of tourist in-
formation’ is based in Beijing and is a community in which professionals and individual travellers rate the sites visited, post their reviews, give advice and establish a ranking of each category. The guidebook has distinguished the Museum of Almeria as ‘Top Choice 2015’ and has been recognised as one
EWN
13
14
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Seron launches mobile app SERON has launched a new mobile app to connect users with information about the town. Users can easily access tourist information,
gastronomy, useful telephone numbers and general information about the town by downloading the application to their smart phones. Councillor for Tourism,
Carmen Cuadrado, explained that the new tool will also function as a public utility tool for residents seeking extra information as well as providing local news, articles of
interest and a cultural agenda. She added: “We believe that this application is a useful and effective tool which allows the user to quickly find and immediately access basic
information around the town and even connect directly with the town council through the suggestion section, in addition to contacting the court, civil registry and
town hall.” To publicise the initiative, posters have been placed in key areas around the town which explain the download process in detail.
Cantoria book to celebrate the past ALMOST 800 photographs have been donated by residents of Cantoria for a new colour publication. Andres Carrillo, one of the promoters of ‘Cantoria the heart of Valle del Almanzora’, said: “All that we are today we owe to centuries of work. We take care to live in the moment. It seemed that in the past, in the fields and farmhouses, they followed the same idea. Inhabitants marked the passing of time through the horns of the trains, youngsters arriving home from school, tradesmen’s arrivals, or the passing of horsemen, or fellow farmers. Fiestas were anticipated with enthusiasm.” Another speaker, Santos Aguera, added: “We have a rich heritage. Cantoria is a land of castles and citadels, archaeological treasures and signs that reveal the passage of time for more than 5,000 years. We hope that this book will serve to create a feeling of home and to love our land more.”
FINANCE
EUROPEAN PRESS
www.euroweeklynews.com
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
15
Your Pension Options From April Deciding what to do with your pension savings after the changes on 6th April is likely to be one of the biggest financial decisions you ever make, because it affects your longterm financial security. With careful consideration and planning the new rules could open up attractive opportunities. Getting it wrong, however, could have serious and unexpected consequences in future. Specialist advice is essential more so because as an expatriate you need to consider the tax rules and implications in Spain. Defined contribution schemes The new rules apply to those aged 55 and over with defined contribution schemes. In summary, your options are • Take the whole fund out as cash in one go. • Make withdrawals of any amount as and when you want. The balance can remain invested. • Take regular income through income drawdown. You draw directly from the pension fund,
By Gary Cardwell, Partner, Blevins Franks which remains invested. • It should be possible to take the 25% tax free lump sum straightaway and take taxable income through income drawdown at a later date. The lump sum is only tax free in the UK; you need to look at the rules of your country of residence. • Take a secure regular income through buying an annuity. If you do choose to take all or much of your fund as cash, you
should first ensure you have a reliable plan for your long-term financial security. What about the 55% ‘death tax’? Currently, it is normally only possible to pass a pension on as a tax-free lump sum if you die before age 75 and you have not taken any tax-free cash or income. Otherwise, lump sums paid from the fund are subject to a 55% tax charge. From April 2015 this charge will be abolished. If you die before age 75, your beneficiaries can take the whole pension fund as a lump sum or draw an income tax free. If you die after age 75, if your beneficiaries take a regular income, it will be taxed at their marginal rate. If they take the whole fund as a lump sum it will be subject to 45% tax, though this may change from 2016. Annuities will be treated in the same way as drawdown pensions in respect of death benefits. However
final salary schemes are not. Defined benefit pensions If you have a defined benefit scheme (e.g. final salary), you could consider transferring to a defined contribution scheme. From April it will no longer be possible to transfer from unfunded public sector schemes. Note that you could lose very valuable benefits if you transfer out of a defined benefit pension; it is essential you understand all the consequences and make a carefully considered decision. The government has imposed a rule that anyone thinking of transferring out of a defined benefit scheme must receive advice from a pension transfer specialist regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. For peace of mind, you should apply this advice to all your pension decisions - i.e. speak to a regulated adviser. You want to ensure you receive a high level of trustworthy advice when
determining what to do with your pension. If this all sounds complicated, it is because it is. And you cannot afford to get it wrong. You need to weigh up all your options, including Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS), before you can determine what is best for you. You need advice from a firm that specialises in both pensions and taxation, and for both the UK and Spain. 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.
16
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
NEWS
Dames enjoy International Women’s Day in the sun THE Dames in Turre celebrated International Women’s Day in perfect sunny conditions and picturesque settings at the Hostal Rural Turre. The Dames enjoyed coffee, tapas, cava and cake which went down well with all in attendance. The next meeting for the Dames is on Monday, March 30 at the Hostal Rural, which is the brand new venue for all future
PERFECT WEATHER: The Dames in Turre celebrated in the picturesque settings.
Dames in Turre monthly meetings. These meetings are always held on
the last Monday of each month and everyone is welcome to go along and
Prison sought for two thieves THE prosecution is seeking a total of 18 months in prison for two people accused of stealing scrap material from a warehouse, valued at €2,341.68. Both men are charged with theft and attempted theft because they returned to the scene of the crime but were surprised by police.
The police report said that EJRP and ACF visited a warehouse and stole materials subsequently sold to a transport company and a scrap yard in El Ejido. The report said the men returned to the property later that day but were caught on the premises at the gate.
get involved in the fundraising activities that the Dames are very proud of. On March 30, Elaine Brown from Mojacar Against Cancer Support (MACS) will be speaking to give an update on how the donations they receive are used, and the importance of MACS in the local area. Bryan White will also be on hand to answer any insurance related questions. For more information contact Pam Smith, on 950 475 418 or the president, Lesley Barlow, on her new telephone number 950 095 980.
18
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
Dozens of families attend event to raise awareness of childhood cancer A DAY of events was held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ARGAR, an association for parents of
children with cancer. Representative from Almeria City Council and President of the National
Federation of Parents of Children with Cancer, Pilar Ortega, joined the events in the newly
opened Parque de las Familias and praised the work and dedication of ARGAR.
She said: “You have my personal commitment and that of the city for a group that works to make life easier for those we love most, our children.” Dozens of families attended the event, approaching the information stands where they were given pamphlets, calendars, crayons and sweets. Estefania Mendez, President of ARGAR said: “This type of activity is to raise public awareness of childhood cancer. It exists but it can be cured. Ultimately, we want to give a message of hope and we strive to normalise the lives of those affected and their families.” She added: “In Almeria alone there are 200 families with cancer patients under the age of 18.”
NEWS NEWS EXTRA
Church of England COMMUNION will be held in Aljambra, Albox, at 11am Thursday March 26. There are also Sunday services at 7pm and communion on Sundays at 11am in Llanos del Peral and in Mojacar.
Paws fair SCOTTY’S BAR in Mojacar is holding a spring fair for Paws Patas from 11am to 4pm on Thursday March 26.
Animal AGM SAN ANIMAL will be holding its AGM at Restaurante La Venta, San Juan de los Terreros at 7.30pm on Tuesday March 31. Everyone is welcome.
20
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
NEWS
Cycle lanes are the ‘future for Almeria’ ALMERIA wants to push forward with the Sustainable Mobility Plan to ensure more bicycle lanes are created in towns and villages. The Andalucian Parliamentary candidate for the Izquierda Unida (IU) party in Almeria, Rosalie Martin, praised the work of creating cycle lanes as she arrived by bicycle to launch the cycle path uniting the municipali-
ties of El Ejido, La Mojonera and Roquetas de Mar. Martin said the IU “saw the need to structure pathways in the zone of Poniente as it was necessary to end accidents on a road that many people were cycling down to access these municipalities.” The paths ensure safe cycling for workers and for those using them for
leisure activities. She said the IU plans to “continue with these policies with a larger project, because we will promote a sustainable mobility act, with a transportation plan for the province of Almeria. This will promote public transport and mobility measures and continue with the Bicycle Plan Andaluz so there are more bike lanes in our
villages.” The IU said the Bicycle Plan Andaluz will create more than 15,000 jobs by 2020. Eight thousand of these are related to the construction and maintenance of cycle paths, and the rest with the associated activity in the tourism sector, manufacturing and repairing bicycles, as well as trade and related services.
Zurgena working to improve council’s efficiency ZURGENA Council is working to improve its efficiency, functionality and service to citizens. The governing team has begun a process of study and analysis of the efficiency of the services provided by municipal employees in order to carry out a necessary restructuring to enable care received by citizens to be improved. The study will also help the town to look at existing
municipal jobs and to see if they fit into the real needs of the town. “Local authorities such as town halls, like any company, should be improving day by day the service to citizens and adapting to changing times. Labour and legal status of workers has been stagnant for the last decade... we think it’s time to also advance in the field,” said the mayor, Luis Diaz.
22
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Almeria is leader in export field ALMERIA Province exported a total of 2,397,516 tonnes of agricultural products and beverages worth over €2.39 million in 2014. Five hundred and fifty-four companies were exporting products, with the total amount accounting for 35.9 per cent of total exports, making Almeria Province a leader in the region for exports. The amount exported last year from
Almeria indicates an increase of 3.5 per cent over the same sales volume last year, when 532 Almeria firms traded abroad. Germany was the main destination for products from Almeria which concentrates 30.5 per cent of the total volume exported by the province. Sales to this country have increased by nearly 4 per cent in 2014 compared to 2013.
Standing up to drugs A NEW edition of the prevention programme ‘Huercal de Almeria before drugs’ has been launched. The programme has been jointly funded by the local council and the Ministry of Equality and Social Welfare of the Junta de Andalucia regional government and is particularly aimed at the local
youth with guidance designed for parents in helping them prevent and detect any risky situation or drug use by their child. A Facebook page has been set up with more information, help and advice. Enquiries or suggestions can be made by emailing prevencion@ huercaldealmeria.es or call 950 302 682.
MasterChef in Nijar THE winner of the first edition of the TV show MasterChef Spain, Juan Manuel Sanchez, is joining the new restaurant at Real Agua Amarga in Nijar. Manager of Real Agua Amarga, Isabel Cazorla, was delighted to welcome him on board. The new restaurant opens tomorrow (Friday).
24
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Birthday party for biker club VICAR Biker Club celebrates its fifth anniversary on March 29. The festivities will begin with a bike route that runs along the west and Almeria Alpujarra before returning to Vicar to celebrate with a large paella in Las Cabañuelas on the esplanade of the Palacio de Deportes. Last year, Biker Club Vicar brought together around 100 bikers and fans, and this year is expected to exceed that number. Currently the club has 20 partners
and as noted by its president, Jorge Archilla, it is growing “slowly but steadily, because our idea is that everyone who is part of the club will contribute their grain of sand.” Archilla said one of the objectives of the club was to demystify the figure of the biker. “Motorcycling is a sport and as such we must have respect for the bike and the road, and ensure responsible driving, because this is not a game or a circuit road,” he remarked.
Food subsidies for PSOE get on the those in need THERE are calls for subsidies to support the Solidarity Network and Food Guarantee Andalucia. The objective is to provide a more co-ordinated, effective and efficient way of meeting the basic food needs of families on low incomes. Currently, Almeria Province receives €525,770 in aid and grants.
campaign trail in Albox
AS part of their preelection campaign, the PSOE of Almeria have pledged their commitment to the implementation of measures to promote entrepreneurship and especially entrepreneurship for women. The head of the PSOE list of Almeria and Secretary General of the Almeria Socialists, Jose Luis Sanchez Teruel, has been on the campaign trail in Albox, highlighting their proposals to revive the economy of Almeria and to assist in employment creation.
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Legends, cuisine and charming corners LEGENDS, cuisine, charming corners and history are just some of the things waiting to be discovered in Almeria. The town hall has launched four new guided tours taking place this weekend for visitors and residents to get to know more about the area. Tickets, priced at €2, can be booked and purchased from the Tourist Office in the Old Town Square, open from 9am-3pm, Monday to Sunday. So what tours are on offer for visitors? • Almeria Legend Because not all the history of a city is in books, the Almeria legend tour includes tales, fables, legends and myths that have been passed down generation after generation and is a great way to discover some of the most fascinating hidden stories of Almeria. This route will take a tour, starting at 10am, around the historic centre of the capital, walking through corners, squares and emblematic buildings. • Gastronomic Almeria A unique way to discover the culinary tradition and typical products of the area with a visit to the Central Market, one of the hearts of the city where you can find the best products from every corner of the
HISTORIC TOURS: Discover more of Almeria this weekend with new tours on offer. province. The tour starts at midday. • View Almeria Sunday tours begin at 10am with a bird’s eye view through a route which can be observed from above famous landmarks such as the Plaza Vieja and the Convent of Las Claras. • Millennium Almeria On Sunday at midday the tour goes on a journey to know the roots and essence of the city through the old original nucleus of Almariyya: La Medina. For more information on the tours or to book call 950 210 538.
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
25
26
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
NEWS
OPERATION CAPTURA: Ten of the UK’s most wanted criminals believed to be in Spain.
Britain’s most wanted in Spain
THE British National Crime Agency has released details of 10 of Britain’s most wanted criminals, all thought to be hiding in Spain and on the Costas. In an operation known as ‘Captura,’ police are appealing to residents and travellers in Spain to give any information that may lead to these individuals. The 10 includes Shane Walford, who was convicted of the manslaughter of
a firefighter and father-oftwo at a bar in Coventry. Walford was released on licence in January 12, but having failed to attend appointments with a supervising officer, the licence was revoked and he has been recalled to prison. Many of the men, who have been accused or convicted of crimes ranging from manslaughter, rape, assault and drug smuggling, are still thought to
be a considerable danger to the public. British police, working with Spanish security services, want to find them as soon as possible. Detailed information and photos regarding each of the men is available on the UK Crimestoppers website. Tel+ +44 800 555 111 https://crimestoppersuk.org/get-involved/ourcampaigns/internationalcampaigns/operationcaptura/
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Coastal damage to be repaired SPAIN will be spending almost €10 million in a scheme to adapt to climatic change and repair coastal damage.
The Minister of Agriculture Isabel Garcia Tejerina has announced a new project which will be doing work as of April on Spanish coasts to repair damage and attempt to prevent it in the future. “Spain is very vulnerable to climatic change because it is a peninsula,” Garcia Tejerina said. Work will be done in JAVIER ESPINOSA, a Spanish journalist who was many coastal areas to captured and imprisoned by the Islamic State ‘Isis’ in regenerate beaches Aleppo, Syria, has revealed his experiences of affected by storms, restore dunes, marshes torture with more than 20 journalists and aid and wetlands, stabilise workers. He was guarded in what he described as a estuary mouths and high security prison. protect against erosion, In the facility, fake executions were staged in the Minister explained. order to intensify physiological torture inflicted on Funds will also be used the inmates. Javier was told he might well end up to improve investigation like these inmates, and many real executions also on climatic change with took place. A British photographer, John Cantlie, an aim to future damage who was held in the facility, but not released, may prevention. still be alive.
Former Spanish hostage describes Isis torture
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
27
NEWS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Almeria’s millennium marked with new book A NEW book on Almeria has been produced as educational material for students. The territorial delegate of Education, Culture and
Sport of the Junta de Andalucia regional government, Isabel Arevalo, launched the ‘Book of the Millennium Kingdom of Almeria’ with its authors,
Unique trees on display TO coincide with the celebration of World Forestry Day and International Day of Trees, Almeria is hosting an exhibition of 21 unique specimens of trees. The University’s Biological Studies department is hosting the ‘Singular Trees of the Province of Almeria’ a photographic exhibition which is the result of over 10 years of work showing trees which are considered unique for different reasons, from its longevity, size, proven resistance to lightning and droughts, spectacular morphology, their adaptation to harsh environments or symbiosis with the population. The university exhibition is on until March 27.
Alfonso Ruiz and Alfredo Reyes. The publication of the material coincided with the celebration of the Millennium of the Kingdom of Almeria, as part of various activities being arranged. The edition of this educational material aims to easily date and explain the historical heritage of Hispanic-Muslim origin. The book has taken several months to be put together with the authors working to find a balance between the drawings and texts, the attractiveness of images and importance of texts, to make it interesting for school students. Around 700 copies have been printed and distributed to schools in the province and will be available to download in full online via the website www.mileniodealmeria.es.
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
29
30
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
Library brought closer to residents THE Huercal Overa municipal library, Gabriel Espinar, has undergone a number of repairs and improvements. Among the improvements were painting, LED lighting installation and renovations to the internal courtyard. The courtyard has also been decorated to reflect the 25th anniversary. The mayor of Huercal Overa, Domingo Fernandez, visited the library to see the improvements and was very pleased with the results. He enthused: “Users may now enjoy a more comfortable visit
with better equipped rooms, plus improvements have been made by installing new furniture in the reading room located in the courtyard. There are lights for those that come to read a newspaper, peruse a book or surf the internet. It has become an optimal environment for this. It has brought the library closer to Huercal Overa residents. We must not forget that thousands come to visit, including students who use it as a place of study.” The mayor reminded people that it is the 25th anniversary of the library.
NEWS
NEWS EXTRA
Horse play ALMERIA City’s Paseo de Almeria travelled back almost a century with an exhibition of horses and carriages. The display was dedicated to Francisco Martinez Artero.
4th edition HUERCAL DE ALMERIA has launched registration for the fourth edition of its painting contest. The theme is ‘My People on Canvas.’ Entries to be submitted to the Centro Cultural Cortijo Moreno.
Seron lighting ELECTROMUR SL has the contract for installing and enhancing the energy efficiency of street lighting in Seron.
32
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería COSTA BLANCA NORTH
Good taste IN a tasting experiment, Alicante University students all preferred water from inland natural springs. Benidorm’s tapwater was voted second but Alicante City’s desalinated water got the thumbsdown.
www.euroweeklynews.com
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 MALLORCA
Fire damaged A 56-YEAR-OLD man died last Monday (March 16) in a fire at his flat in Palma. The fire forced all residents of the eightfloor building to be evacuated as it burnt three homes completely and damaged another 10.
Still sturdy
Give it back
THE 12 ‘apostles’ or pillars supporting the Loreto church in Javea need repairs. Only deteriorated poured concrete will be replaced as the iron reinforcement inside the pillars is undamaged.
THE Development Ministry has requested 796 youths from the Balearic Islands to return the monthly €210 they received for 48 months to help pay their rents as they claim they were earning more than €22,000 per year.
Drone’s eye view A DRONE will be used in Gandia to detect and photograph the inaccessible breeding grounds of mosquitoes. This will be especially helpful in outlying rural areas, the town hall said.
Not so nutty ALICANTE Province’s almond plantations declined from 31,820 to 24,070 hectares since 2012. Despite the reduction, growers are returning to the crop as prices rise and demand increases, the Asaja agricultural union said.
File bandit A 22-YEAR-OLD Alicante male was arrested and charged with online piracy after uploading more than 3,000 films and television programmes. A 43-year-old associate was arrested in Vizcaya.
COSTA BLANCA SOUTH
Compensation order THE parents of three youngsters who caused the death of a car passenger in La Manga by throwing stones at the car from a bridge, have been ordered to pay compensation of more than €300,000 to the victim’s daughter and widow.
Anti-flood park ALICANTE is to open Spain’s first urban anti-flood park which will hold excess flood water but offer an environmentally sustainable natural area to maintain the ecosystem.
Popular tram ALICANTE’S trams saw 6.7 per cent more passengers use the services in February compared to the same month last year. Line 2 linking Luceros and San Vicente del Raspeig remains the most used with 291,590 passengers.
PORT OF CALL: Alicante hopes to double cruise passenger numbers this year.
Hopes high for more cruise ships CRUISE traffic in the Port of Alicante sank by 17.38 per cent last year, with the arrival of 34,583 passengers, according to data from State Ports. But the company Costa Blanca Port, which has managed the cruise terminal since January last year, said figures for this year will show a turnaround. CEO Carlos Almodovar said they have offered more commercial elements and 2015 promises to be a good year with more cruises already confirmed, bring-
Exotic sales TWENTY-FIVE exotic reptiles, mammals and birds have been confiscated from a house in Bullas, Murcia after being advertised for sale without any of the necessary veterinary documentation or certification.
Ladies golf TWO members of England’s senior ladies golf team, Amanda Mayne and Debbie Richards, are in La Manga next month, playing at the 2015 Spanish International Senior Ladies Amateur Championships.
AXARQUIA
Lucky numbers A LUCKY resident of Motril won €60,000 thanks to the Once raffle last Saturday. More than €9 million went to winners of Malaga from tickets sold by a single vendor called Alejandro Narvaez.
Best wine ONE of the most important wine critics worldwide, Robert Parker, considered an
ing around 87,500 tourists. P&O, one of the largest cruise companies in the world is due to start docking in Alicante next month with its first ship bringing 4,372 passengers. The port of Cartagena, the main competitor to Alicante, continues to grow year after year and in 2014 saw 138,000 tourists arrive by ship, 2.8 per cent more than in 2013. Nationally, last year 7,662,010 cruise passengers arrived at Spain’s state ports. Axarquia red wine, the Sedella, as the best of Andalucia in an article released by prestigious magazine ‘The Wine Advocate.’
Youths arrested TWO minors were arrested in La Cala del Moral last weekend after they allegedly hit a woman to steal her purse. After a short chase, officers were able to catch them and confiscate the €225 they had stolen.
Damages claim MOTRIL’S Andalucian-nationalist political party has raised complaints regarding the poor condition of the industrial site Las Algaidas. They claim it is being used for illegal car races and that vandals have been damaging the facilities.
Nordic music MORE than 200 Scandinavians visited Almuñecar last weekend as they did not want to miss the chance to enjoy the performance held by renowned Swedish performer Matias Enn, at the town’s Casa de la Cultura.
Large budget MALLORCA’S Provincial Council has spent almost €600 million in the different municipalities of the Islands since 2011. A great part of the investments went to road improvement projects.
Outraged fans THE cancellation of David Guetta’s concert scheduled for August 2, 2014 in Palma, caused 539 complaints out of the 6,685 total registered at the Consumption Office of the Balearic Islands during the last year.
Sexist violence campaign PALMA Council together with municipal transport company (EMT) will collaborate to raise awareness on gender-based violence. Stickers will be placed inside the town’s buses with the phrase ‘there is a way out’ and the emergency number 016.
COSTA DEL SOL
Investment plans AMERICAN investment company Blackstone continues preparations with a due diligence before purchase of 39.4 per cent of shares in Malaga Metro, valued at approximately €125 million.
Encouraging schemes COSTA DEL SOL towns will be receiving €12 million in aid for employment schemes this year, the Junta de Andalucia regional government has announced.
Local representative ANGEL VERGARA, a student from Fuengirola, will be representing Spain in El Salvador at the Latin-American Biology Olympics in September and is in with chances of bringing a medal home.
For more local news from our regions see www.euroweeklynews.com … EWN top for all the news from Spain.
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
www.euroweeklynews.com
inance F
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
business & legal Castellon airport alive AFTER four years in limbo, Castellon airport is stirring into life. Ryanair will become the first company to operate commercial flights from the white elephant airport. It opened in March 2011 and cost Valencia’s regional government €120 million to
build, plus €50 million in budget overruns, compensation and overheads. To date it has been used only by charters and private aircraft. Detecting a tourism potential similar to Alicante and Cataluña’s, the Irish budget airline will fly regularly
No bank debts for Mercadona MERCADONA is in a solid financial position. At the end of 2014 it possessed €2.883 billion in cash and owed nothing to the banks. Its cash position was a record for the company and more than doubled the 2008 figure of €1.287 billion. It was in 2008 that Mercadona had more than €1 billion in available cash for the first time and although it trailed a financial debt, this was not large. In 2006 it had short and long-term financial debts of €19.1 million, gradually reducing these until they finally disappeared from the company’s balance sheets in 2012.
Mercadona’s net cash has continued to grow, increasing by 11.6 per cent between 2013 and 2014 despite spending €655 million on 60 new supermarkets, renovating 30 more and building a logistics centre in Abrera (Barcelona). The supermarket chain’s only liabilities correspond to payments to suppliers, a constantly fluctuating sum that at the end of the financial year stood at €2.096 billion. The chain acquired products worth €14.9 billion in 2014 and on average paid suppliers within 51 days after delivery, compared with 53 days in 2013.
between Castellon, Britain, Germany and Sweden. Canadian multinational SNC-Lavalin is the company which now runs the airport and hopes to receive 250 flights and 35,000 passengers this year. They are also negotiating with other companies, sources said.
B
usiness extra
Looking ahead BFA, state-owned mother company of partnationalised Bankia, allocated €943 million for possible compensation to clients who were missold preference shares or lost savings in Bankia’s flawed 2011 flotation.
Big contract PUBLICLY-OWNED Navantia will build three oil tankers with an option for three more ‘at international prices’ for Basque company Ondimar Transportes Maritimos. The end client is probably Cepsa.
Taxmen pay surprise visits SANTIAGO MENENDEZ, director general of Hacienda’s tax agency AEAT, recently detailed last year’s achievements. These included tracking down undeclared house and apartment rentals by cross-checking unexplained electricity and water consumption in properties that their owners claimed were empty. Web-pages were scrutinised and Hacienda inspectors spoke to concier-
ges and residents of randomly chosen apartment buildings. They paid 7,410 visits to properties whose rentals they suspected were not declared. In tourist areas inspectors questioned parents waiting to pick up their children from school. This helped detect 145 cases of foreign residents who had informed their own tax authorities they lived in Spain, where they paid tax at the lower non-residents’ rate.
35
STAT OF WEEK IN 2014, 46 per cent of Spanish employers dismissed staff, compared to 56 per cent in 2013. Sixty-three per cent expect to take on staff this year, they said.
ROB WILSON / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COM
EWN
RYANAIR: Will be the first airline to operate from the airport.
36
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
LONDON - FTSE 100
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US
C LOSING P RICES M ARCH 16
C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) 3i Group 485.10 Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 457.85 Admiral Group 1,512.00 Aggreko 1,557.50 Anglo American 1,057.75 Antofagasta 699.50 ARM Holdings 1,194.50 Ashtead Group 1,108.50 Associated British Foods 3,004.00 AstraZeneca 4,507.75 Aviva 548.00 Babcock International 935.75 BAE Systems 534.25 Barclays 252.38 Barratt Developments 520.00 BG Group 814.60 BHP Billiton 1,399.00 BP 418.73
C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 4.10 0.85 6.55 1.45 9.00 0.60 5.50 0.35 2.75 0.26 1.00 0.14 8.50 0.72 1.50 0.14 20.00 0.67 -49.25 -1.08 5.00 0.92 2.25 0.24 1.75 0.33 2.38 0.95 2.50 0.48 2.00 0.25 9.50 0.68 0.48 0.11
NET VOLUME 4,675.48 6,069.50 4,138.54 3,995.45 15,070.08 6,905.93 16,318.06 5,602.22 23,686.89 56,579.56 16,205.33 4,705.58 16,871.20 41,993.25 5,163.14 28,632.16 30,318.79 77,678.49
See our advert on page 39
Units per €
US dollar ................................................................1.05305 Japan yen ...............................................................127.756 Switzerland franc ...............................................1.05891 Denmark kroner................................................7.46005 Norway kroner ....................................................8.65221
currenciesdirect.com/mojacar • Tel: +34 950 478 914 C O M PA N Y
PRICE(P)
British Amrcn Tobacco British Land Co BT Group Bunzl Burberry Group Capita Group (The) Carnival
3,641.75 831.50 451.85 1,847.50 1,868.00 1,174.50 3,157.50
DOW JONES
NASDAQ
C LOSING P RICES M ARCH 16
C LOSING P RICES M ARCH 16
C O M PA N Y MMM 3M AXP American Express T AT&T BA Boeing CAT Caterpillar CVX Chevron CSCO Cisco KO Coca-Cola DIS Disney DD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co XOM Exxon Mobil GE General Electric GS Goldman Sachs HD Home Depot IBM IBM INTC Intel JNJ Johnson & Johnson JPM JPMorgan Chase MCD McDonald's MRK Merck MSFT Microsoft NKE Nike PFE Pfizer PG Procter & Gamble TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies UNH UnitedHealth VZ Verizon V Visa WMT Wal-Mart
PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 162.74 80.60 32.76 151.57 79.23 101.62 27.94 39.91 106.44 80.50 83.87 25.04 189.34 114.82 154.28 30.93 99.21 61.00 96.35 56.20 41.38 95.81 34.00 81.83 106.72 118.74 115.25 48.84 265.03 81.90
-1.73 -0.96 -0.37 -0.47 -0.96 -0.80 -0.30 -0.66 -0.73 +0.10 -0.35 -0.36 -0.61 -1.28 -3.70 +0.13 -0.62 -0.37 +0.10 +0.03 +0.36 -1.23 0.00 -0.26 -1.11 -2.50 +0.37 +0.11 -4.55 0.00
-1.05% -1.18% -1.12% -0.31% -1.20% -0.78% -1.06% -1.63% -0.68% +0.12% -0.42% -1.42% -0.32% -1.10% -2.34% +0.42% -0.62% -0.60% +0.10% +0.05% +0.88% -1.27% 0.00% -0.32% -1.03% -2.06% +0.32% +0.23% -1.69% 0.00%
2.3M 6.9M 26.8M 3.6M 7.3M 8.3M 36.5M 17.4M 8.0M 8.9M 16.8M 45.3M 3.1M 4.6M 6.1M 48.0M 7.8M 16.5M 5.2M 13.1M 58.0M 3.7M 28.1M 7.5M 1.7M 7.4M 3.1M 20.7M 3.1M 4.8M
1.40363
0.71243
C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. -2.25 7.00 0.05 3.50 24.00 1.50 26.50
C O M PA N Y
-0.06 0.85 0.01 0.19 1.30 0.13 0.85
NET VOLUME 67,881.63 8,209.13 36,555.37 6,162.00 8,203.62 7,737.15 6,690.03
PRICE
CHANGE NET / %
$ 2.90 $ 31.31 $ 13.24 $ 24.87 $ 29.52 $ 55.66 $ 21.20 $ 95.66 $ 27.10 $ 4.80 $ 4.25
0.52 ▲ 21.85% 4.49 ▲ 16.74% 1.81 ▲ 15.84% 3.38 ▲ 15.73% 3.91 ▲ 15.27% 7.14 ▲ 14.72% 2.50 ▲ 13.37% 11.08 ▲ 13.10% 3.10 ▲ 12.92% 0.48 ▲ 11.11% 0.40 ▲ 10.39%
$ 5.90 $ 6.12 $ 4.25 $ 30.13 $ 9.26 $ 23.73 $ 23.02 $ 2.55 $ 2.41 $ 17.57 $ 4.37
1.86 ▼ 23.97% 1.08 ▼ 15% 0.64 ▼ 13.09% 4.33 ▼ 12.57% 1.15 ▼ 11.05% 2.70 ▼ 10.22% 2.43 ▼ 9.55% 0.2572 ▼ 9.16% 0.23 ▼ 8.71% 1.62 ▼ 8.44% 0.40 ▼ 8.39%
Most Advanced Amarin Corporation PLC Repligen Corporation Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. QAD Inc. Ebix, Inc. Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. QAD Inc. GW Pharmaceuticals Plc El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. China XD Plastics Company Limited BioScrip, Inc.
Most Declined Ignite Restaurant Group, Inc. Escalera Resources Co. Aemetis, Inc FTD Companies, Inc. Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Citi Trends, Inc. Epizyme, Inc. UTStarcom Holdings Corp Atlanticus Holdings Corporation Theravance, Inc. TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Corporation
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) CHANGE Centrica 237.80 -0.10 Coca-Cola HBC 1,112.00 -8.00 Compass Group 1,185.50 18.50 CRH 1,759.50 -51.50 Diageo 1,855.75 -8.25 Direct Line Insurance 320.35 0.85 Dixons Carphone 427.80 1.10 easyJet 1,728.00 -3.00 Experian 1,125.50 -4.50 Fresnillo 646.50 0.00 Friends Life Group 416.85 3.15 G4S 293.25 0.85 GKN 371.35 2.65 GlaxoSmithKline 1,565.00 5.00 Glencore 276.38 -0.97 Hammerson 660.25 4.75 Hargreaves Lansdown 1,135.50 15.50 HSBC Holdings 563.50 2.20 Imperial Tobacco Group 3,099.00 3.00 InterContinental Hotels 2,669.00 30.00 International Consoldtd 578.25 2.75 Intertek Group 2,561.00 12.00 Intu Properties 345.25 3.25 ITV 252.35 1.55 Johnson Matthey 3,318.00 68.00 Kingfisher 356.60 1.90 Land Securities Group 1,226.00 6.00 Legal & General Group 287.90 2.10 Lloyds Banking Group ORD 79.04 0.04 London Stock Exchange 2,514.50 24.50 Marks & Spencer Group 498.75 5.15 Meggitt 583.25 8.25 Mondi 1,350.50 10.50 Morrison (Wm) Sprmrkts 201.55 -2.45 National Grid 851.40 0.70 Next 7,440.00 90.00 Old Mutual 224.10 1.70 Pearson 1,466.50 12.50 Persimmon 1,742.00 1.00 Prudential 1,689.25 19.25 Randgold Resources 4,654.00 85.00 Reckitt Benckiser Group 5,867.50 27.50 Reed Elsevier 1,138.00 13.00 Rio Tinto 2,832.25 22.75 Rolls-Royce Group 969.25 -0.25 Royal Bank of Scotland 354.70 -1.50 Royal Dutch Shell 1,921.75 0.25 Royal Dutch Shell 2,012.50 7.00 Royal Mail 431.60 1.60 RSA Insurance Group 421.45 0.95 SABMiller 3,638.25 0.75 Sage Group (The) 474.85 2.15 Sainsbury (J) 257.80 -1.30 Schroders 3,245.50 37.50 Severn Trent 1,946.50 -0.50 Shire 5,475.00 -50.00 Sky 1,000.25 4.25 Smith & Nephew 1,136.50 3.50 Smiths Group 1,167.00 4.00 Sports Direct Internatnl 661.75 4.75 SSE 1,465.00 3.00 St James's Place 942.50 8.50 Standard Chartered 960.95 5.75 Standard Life 467.00 11.00 Taylor Wimpey 149.25 0.65 Tesco 233.75 0.90 Travis Perkins 1,944.50 4.50 TUI AG 1,174.50 6.50 Tullow Oil 298.95 0.65 Unilever 2,855.00 10.00 United Utilities Group 891.75 -2.25 Vodafone Group 221.00 2.05 Weir Group 1,762.50 -25.50 Whitbread 5,380.00 45.00 Wolseley 4,132.50 31.50 WPP Group 1,574.50 10.50
% C H G. -0.04 -0.71 1.59 -2.84 -0.44 0.27 0.26 -0.17 -0.40 0.00 0.76 0.29 0.72 0.32 -0.35 0.72 1.38 0.39 0.10 1.14 0.48 0.47 0.95 0.62 2.09 0.54 0.49 0.73 0.05 0.98 1.04 1.43 0.78 -1.20 0.08 1.22 0.76 0.86 0.06 1.15 1.86 0.47 1.16 0.81 -0.03 -0.42 0.01 0.35 0.37 0.23 0.02 0.45 -0.50 1.17 -0.03 -0.90 0.43 0.31 0.34 0.72 0.21 0.91 0.60 2.41 0.44 0.39 0.23 0.56 0.22 0.35 -0.25 0.94 -1.43 0.84 0.77 0.67
VOLUME 11,994.93 4,040.91 19,294.70 14,723.65 47,339.79 4,815.00 4,947.98 6,879.65 11,304.45 4,815.60 5,908.16 4,507.38 6,011.12 75,315.65 37,414.52 5,094.00 5,298.14 107,668.97 29,526.25 6,266.55 11,621.72 4,098.59 4,456.18 10,035.42 6,719.25 8,295.90 9,470.57 16,952.73 56,528.00 8,639.22 8,079.79 4,475.69 4,884.30 4,847.63 32,168.87 11,305.00 10,971.09 11,871.91 5,326.28 42,625.15 4,257.81 40,978.07 12,729.95 40,402.16 18,167.02 22,929.96 76,401.83 50,101.63 4,258.00 4,256.92 58,620.87 5,134.12 5,047.78 7,221.42 4,713.58 32,186.56 17,035.46 10,200.13 4,602.84 3,916.95 14,725.47 4,921.76 24,207.65 10,978.20 4,831.39 19,149.95 4,891.99 N/A 2,806.66 36,180.72 6,154.04 57,499.15 3,898.47 9,545.66 10,534.59 20,364.59
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
www.euroweeklynews.com
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
37
Recession. What recession? WHEN businesses fail it is easy to blame the recession. In all but a few cases that argument doesn’t stack up. Failure is more often due to complacency and hapless management. Obliged to occasionally visit a splendidly situated restaurant, I hated the place as the service was excruciatingly bad. The owner, due to poor business, closed for the winter. Is he under the illusion that a little sunshine is enough to compensate for offhand foot-dragging staff? Other restaurants lacking such beautiful surroundings thrive. It is service, not location, that puts bums on seats. Having moved home I no longer
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
shopped at Ferreteria La Florida near Torrevieja. Then, stuck for an item, I recalled how helpful the hardware store had been in the past. On this occasion I hardly recognised it. The business was bigger and busier.
Complimenting the owner, Juan, I remarked on the evident success of his business. He explained that he had since opened another branch in Quesada. I knew why he had succeeded during the most difficult years of the downturn but I asked him anyway what he owed to his success. “Service,” Juan explained and then confirmed everything I had assumed. His business mission is to offer a service that cannot be faulted. Unfortunately, well run businesses are few and far between, ineptitude being the No 1 business killer. It was a pleasing surprise during the same week to make the acquaintance of Oscar and
David, owners of a computer repair business. Having really messed up my mobile phone I was fed up to say the least. Before I even reached the counter, a cheery customer greeted me and smiled, “You have come to the right place.” Although my problem was minor in business terms I was given five star business service. As a new customer I was introduced to the staff, given a tour and my problem was fixed whilst I enjoyed a coffee. Oscar and David will grow their business, because there is still desperate need for competence and recognition that the customer is king.
38
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
How much to make you happy? Loose change A look at finance for females
Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com
YOUR local hairdresser hasn’t got a salary anything like a top executive, but they are just as happy with life, a new study suggests. Average salaries of over 200 different occupations were compared with workers’ reported levels of happiness, and while the study found that in general the higher the salary the happier workers reported to be, not all jobs fitted the trend. Fitness instructors in the UK, for example, take home an average of €14,000 a year, but are actually happier than lawyers who earn an average
HAIRDRESSERS: Perhaps not top earners, but they are just as happy with life. of €90,000. Meanwhile dental nurses, who earn an average of €20,000 were found to be happier than dentists who make an average of €65,000.
The study says that there is definitely a correlation between income and happiness, but that money actually buys less happiness than people
assume. And in some ways, it buys happiness only up to a certain point. Workers earning over €100,000 and upwards annually are not any happier
Change for UK Civil Service pensions Q. My UK Air Force pension, along with my old-age pension, is taxed at source in the UK. When I made my first tax declaration as a Spanish resident last year, I declared these pensions to my Spanish tax consultant. She charged me a further tax of 7 per
cent, saying the UK tax charged was 20 per cent and in Spain it is 27 per cent. Is this correct? I have read that, with the UK-Spain dual tax agreement, armed forces pensions are not subject to tax in Spain. M G (by email)
You and the Law in Spain By David Searl
A. First, your tax consultant is right about the difference between UK and Spanish tax. Your normal old-age pension is indeed subject to Spanish income tax. Because you were already taxed in the UK, she is right to assess you the difference of 7 per cent now that you are resident in Spain. However, she was not right to assess you the full amount of 27 per cent on your Air Force or other Civil Service pension. These pensions have been, as you have read, not subject to Spanish income tax. If you wish to make a claim for overpayment, you can return to your consultant and check to see if she charged you
for the full amount. Perhaps she only charged you for the old-age pension dif-
ference. Remember, if you declared last year, 2014, this was for tax year 2013. You want to be sure when you declare for last year’s tax, 2014, you are not charged for your Air Force pension. As a result of a revised new tax agreement between Spain and the UK, Civil Service and other government pensions must now be declared. Article 18 of the new treaty, in Paragraphs 1 and 2, says the amount of a Civil Service pension will now be added to any other income, in order to determine the tax rate charged. Then the Civil Service income will be subtracted from the total. The remaining amount will then be taxed at the new, and probably higher, rate. This complicated operation allows the Spanish Tax Agency to collect some more tax while maintaining the principle that Civil Service pensions are not taxable.
Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.
than those earning a good salary below €100,000. Happiness levels don’t keep rising the more money one has! It turns out, what you do with your money seems to matter just as much to your happiness as how much you make. And the advice is to spend on experiences and not stuff. Material goods may last longer, but studies shows that life experiences - like trips, fancy dinners, and spa treatments - provide a person with much more satisfaction in the long run. For example, if you are a fan of the theatre, then go buy tickets to a play. That will make you happy. However, don’t waste your money on experiences that are not your thing, as this type of spending is likely to leave us feeling just as empty as spending money on possessions that lose their novelty minutes after we buy them.
BUSINESS EXTRA
Oil from afar SPAIN imported 4.6 million tons of oil from 32 countries in January, 8.3 per cent below January 2014. Principal suppliers were Nigeria with 22 per cent of the total, followed by Angola (14 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (14 per cent) while imports from the US, Russia and Mexico all fell.
Gap widens WITH the exception of Asturias, northern regions outperformed those in the south, said Fitch Ratings. Best results came from Navarra whose GDP declined by 3.86 per cent between 2008-2013 compared with 5.96 per cent nationally. Asturias’s GDP fell by 9 per cent followed by Murcia, Valencia and Extremadura’s 8 per cent.
Service record TRAFFIC increased on motorways last year, said toll road operator Abertis although there has been an accumulated 34 per cent reduction since 2007. With takings at service areas falling proportionately, the company is remodelling those on the AP-7, AP-2 and AP-68 to attract more custom, announced director general Antoni Español.
OPINION & COMMENT
www.euroweeklynews.com
19 - 25 March 2015/ Costa de Almería
EWN
41
OTHERS THINK IT
W
E’VE all done it, haven’t we? Finally ensconced in your ‘avion’ seat and ready to fly, your heart lifts slightly as you notice the two seats beside you are still empty. Glancing up, you also observe there are only a few unseated passengers still left in the aisles. With what appears to be all the travellers now on board, you tentatively allow yourself to consider that maybe, just maybe, you are the only occupant of your row of three - with all the freedom of movement and luxurious ‘spreading’ this unexpected flying bonus can provide. Wrong. Suddenly there is a bustle of activity and move-
PIO3
LEAPY LEE SAYS IT
ment at the door. With much huffing, puffing and considerable disruption, the whole plane is subsequently confronted by two of the largest people it is possible to imagine. An enormous man and woman, clutching baggage and bags about their persons, have entered the cabin and begun to make their laborious journey down the centre of the plane. Frantically you glance around. Are there any other empty seats in the vicinity they could be heading for? Of course there aren’t. Puffing and panting they pause and peer happily at the numbers above your seat. You and your unexpected luxury have just disintegrated into an uncomfortable nightmare. As they noisily and disruptively begin to place their baggage in the overhead compartments, you reluctantly unbuckle your, somewhat optimistically, fastened seat belt.
/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
The trials of flying ‘coach’
DASHED: Hopes of vacant seats beside you turn into a nightmare. Rising from your aisle seat (chosen for maximum freedom), you step aside and allow the couple to squeeze and wheeze their way into the seats that should really have contained your newspapers, magazines and repasts for the ensuing flight. (Dream on, Leapy!) The female vibrates down into her window seat and the
male (by far the largest) squashes down beside you. One enormous arm forces yours to the rear of the armrest, and there is now enough of your upper torso hanging in the aisle to make contact with most of the people who pass by, and especially the carts. And those, my dear esteemed readers, are the cir-
cumstances I am now enduring as I attempt to scribble this week’s blurb. I have complained, once, and was duly informed, in a guttural German accent (what else!), that he was ‘not interferink viz me’. Ah well, he’s too unpleasant to argue with. Goodbye the illusion of first-class silver service travel and hello the crunched-up reality of plastic forks, large rubbish bags, and the horrible discomfort of modern-day ‘coach’. “To the older amongst us who remember him, Leapy Lee (Little Arrows) died at the beginning of March this year.” So announced my obituary published this month in a local community journal. Still here, I’m afraid, folks. You don’t get rid of me that easily!
Keep the faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com Web: Leapylee.co.uk
48
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de AlmerĂa
Thursday BBC ONE 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 The Truth About Sugar 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:45pm Question Time 12:45am This Week
BBC TWO 5:15pm Three Up, Two Down 5:45pm Hi-De-Hi! 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Two Tribes 7:30pm Eggheads 8:00pm Britain's Got the Builders In 9:00pm Stargazing Live 10:00pm Banished 11:00pm Stargazing Live 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Quelle Catastrophe! France with Robert Peston
ITV 5:00pm 1000 Heartbeats 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Tonight: The Food We Eat 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Double Decker Driving School 10:00pm The Triplets are Coming! 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm The Great War: The People's Story 12:40am River Monsters
CH4 5:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Supervet 10:00pm Things We Won't Say About Race That are True 11:25pm Britain's Benefit Tenants 12:30am Raised by Wolves
CH5 3:15pm NCIS 4:15pm Escape From Polygamy 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Classic Car Show 9:00pm Britain's Worst Crimes 10:00pm Holiday Love Rats Exposed 11:00pm The Mentalist 11:55pm Mummy's Little Murderer 12:55am Access
SKY1 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Arrow 10:00pm Forever 11:00pm Flintoff: Lord of the Fries 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles
Friday BBC ONE 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 A Question of Sport 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm MasterChef 10:00pm The Musketeers 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Graham Norton Show 12:25am Would I Lie to You?
BBC TWO 4:40pm Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em 5:15pm Three Up, Two Down 5:45pm Hi-De-Hi! 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Two Tribes 7:30pm Eggheads 8:00pm Britain's Got the Builders In 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Gardeners' World 10:00pm Stargazing Live 11:00pm Stargazing Live 11:30pm Newsnight 12:00am Artsnight
ITV 5:00pm 1000 Heartbeats 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Barging Round Britain with John Sergeant 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Bear Grylls: Mission Survive 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm State of Play 1:55am Jackpot247
CH4 5:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Million Pound Drop 10:00pm Gogglebox 11:00pm Alan Carr: Chatty Man 12:05am Troy
CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Gadget Show 9:00pm World's Scariest Animal Attacks 10:00pm NCIS: New Orleans 11:00pm NCIS 12:00am Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
SKY1 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Flintoff: Lord of the Fries 10:00pm Stella 11:00pm Quiz Nights 12:00am Wild Things
Saturday BBC ONE 5:30pm Six Nations Rugby Union 8:00pm BBC News 8:10pm Regional News 8:13pm Weather 8:15pm The Voice UK 10:15pm The National Lottery Live 10:25pm The Voice UK 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Weather 11:20pm Match of the Day 12:45am The Football League Show
BBC TWO 5:00pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Final Score 6:15pm Flog It! 7:15pm Gardeners World 7:45pm Kew on a Plate 8:45pm Dad's Army 9:15pm Murder on the Victorian Railway 10:15pm Now is Good 11:50pm Girl with a Pearl Earring 1:25am Michael Collins
ITV 6:30pm Local News and Weather 6:45pm ITV News and Weather 7:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:00pm Saturday Night Takeaway 9:25pm You're Back in the Room 10:25pm The Jonathan Ross Show 11:30pm ITV News and Weather 11:45pm Burn after Reading 1:30am Jackpot 247
CH4 5:10pm Come Dine with Me 5:40pm Come Dine with Me 6:10pm Come Dine with Me 6:45pm Come Dine with Me 7:10pm The Simpsons 7:40pm Channel 4 News 8:05pm Selling Off Britain 9:00pm The World's Weirdest Weather 10:00pm Richard III: The Princes in the Tower 11:00pm Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 1:05am Alan Carr: Chatty Man
CH5 4:25pm The Woman with 40 Cats... And Other Pet Hoarders 5:25pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 6:25pm The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 7:20pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 8:10pm Police Interceptors 9:00pm 5 News 9:05pm NCIS 10:00pm NCIS 11:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 11:55pm Law and Order: Special Victims Unit 12:50am True Crimes: The First 72 Hours
SKY1 3:00pm Harrow: A Very British School 4:00pm Inside RAF Brize Norton 5:00pm The Holidaymakers 6:00pm Wild Things 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 9:00pm Hawaii Five-0 10:00pm Lethal Weapon 3 12:20am Karl Pilkington: The Moaning of Life
TV LISTING
www.euroweeklynews.com
Sunday BBC ONE 6:30pm BBC News 6:50pm Regional News 6:55pm Weather 7:00pm The Big Painting Challenge 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Antiques Roadshow 10:00pm Poldark 11:00pm BBC News 11:20pm Regional News 11:25pm Weather 11:30pm Match of the Day 2 12:40am Football League Trophy Highlights
BBC TWO 3:50pm Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em 4:30pm Three Up, Two Down 5:00pm Hi-De-Hi! 5:35pm The Hairy Bikers and Lorraine Pascale 6:35pm Operation Stonehenge: What Lies Beneath 7:35pm Pompidou 8:00pm Six Nations Greatest Moments 9:00pm Caribbean with Simon Reeve 10:00pm Louis Theroux 11:00pm Bluestone 42 11:30pm Red Tails 1:25am Donkeys
ITV 4:30pm River Monsters 5:00pm Twister Film,1989 7:05pm Local News and Weather 7:15pm ITV News and Weather 7:30pm The Chase: Celebrity Special 8:30pm Off Their Rockers 9:00pm All Star Family Fortunes 10:00pm Mr Selfridge 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:15pm Bear Grylls: Mission Survive 12:20am LV Cup Rugby Highlights
CH4 3:00pm The Simpsons 3:30pm The Simpsons 4:00pm The Spy Next Door 5:50pm Channel 4 News 6:10pm Richard III: The Return of the King 9:00pm Great Canal Journeys 10:00pm Indian Summers 11:00pm Gogglebox 12:00am Breaking Dawn: Part 1
CH5 4:20pm The Borrowers 6:00pm A Cinderella Story 7:50pm 5 News 7:55pm Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life 10:00pm Alex Cross 12:05am Scream 4
SKY1 3:30pm The Real A&E 4:00pm Modern Family 4:30pm Modern Family 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Modern Family 6:00pm Moone Boy 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm About a Boy 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm Wild Things 9:00pm The Simpsons 9:30pm The Simpsons 10:00pm Hawaii Five-0 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles
Monday BBC ONE 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Inside Out 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Panorama 10:00pm New Tricks 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm Have I Got a Bit More Old News for You 12:30am The Graham Norton Show
BBC TWO 5:45pm Hi-De-Hi! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Portillo's State Secrets 8:00pm Racing Legends 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Only Connect 10:00pm Kew on a Plate 11:00pm House of Fools 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am Weather
ITV 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm More Tales From Northumberland with Robson Green 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm The Mafia with Trevor Mcdonald 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm The Jonathan Ross Show 12:45am A Great Welsh Adventure with Griff Rhys Jones
CH4 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Dispatches 10:00pm Britain's Benefit Tenants 11:00pm Raised by Wolves 11:30pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 12:35am 24 Hours in A and E
CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Gadget Show 9:00pm Police Interceptors 10:00pm Gotham 11:00pm Person of Interest 11:55pm Tears of the Sun 2:00am Super Casino
SKY1 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Modern Family 9:30pm Modern Family 10:00pm Moone Boy 10:30pm Arrow 11:30pm Critical 12:30am NCIS: Los Angeles
Tuesday BBC ONE 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 Ordinary Lies 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm Call Security 12:35am A Serious Man
BBC TWO 5:15pm Three Up, Two Down 5:45pm Hi-De-Hi! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Portillo's State Secrets 8:00pm The Great British Bake Off 9:00pm Back in Time for Dinner 10:00pm Dara and Ed's Big Adventure 11:00pm Nurse 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am Weather
ITV 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm 1000 Heartbeats 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm River Monsters 9:00pm Midsomer Murders 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm On Assignment 12:10am ICC Cricket World Cup Highlights
CH4 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm Deal or No Deal 5:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm From Burger Bar to Gourmet Star 10:00pm One Born Every Minute 11:00pm Teens 12:00am First Dates
CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Police Interceptors 9:00pm Costa Del Casualty: Benidorm ER 10:00pm Breaking the Law 11:00pm Aidan: The Rarest Boy in the World 12:00am The Vow
SKY1 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Flash 10:00pm Critical 11:00pm Forever 12:00am Hawaii Five-0 3:15pm The Edge
Wednesday BBC ONE 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm MasterChef 10:00pm The Billion Dollar Chicken Shop 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm A Question of Sport 12:15am The Devil's Double
BBC TWO 5:15pm Three Up, Two Down 5:45pm Hi-De-Hi! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Portillo's State Secrets 8:00pm Britain's Got the Builders In 9:00pm Ladykillers 10:00pm Hilary Clinton - The Power of Women 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am Weather
ITV 5:00pm 1000 Heartbeats 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Regional 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 DCI Banks 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Pop Gold 12:40am A Night in with Olly Murs
CH4 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm Deal or No Deal 5:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Three in a Bed 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm First Dates 12:00am One Born Every Minute
CH5 3:15pm NCIS: New Orleans 4:15pm Too Late to Say Goodbye 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Trauma Doctors 9:00pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 10:00pm OAPs Behaving Badly 11:00pm Slaughtered at the Murder Hotel 12:00am Born to Kill?
SKY1 4:00pm Harrow: A Very British School 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Wild Things 10:00pm Lethal Weapon 3 12:20am Stella
OPINION & COMMENT
www.euroweeklynews.com
Bridge articles by
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
JAVEA BRIDGE CLUB
EWN
49
♠♥ ♦♣
Avenida de Paris, 2, Javea, Alicante. www.javeabridgeclub.com or Tel: 96 646 3671
Transfers and Related Bridge Terms THIS article is intended to give precise definitions of four closely related bridge terms that are frequently misused: transfer, relay, puppet and marionette. Transfer: (1) a bid that shows length in a different suit; or (2) a call that asks partner to make a certain call regardless of his holding. Note that the referenced suit is not necessarily the suit above. For that reason, when a transfer bid is alerted and an explanation sought, the answer must specify the referenced suit and not merely be the word ‘transfer’. Example: 1NT-2♦ and 1NT-2♥ are common transfers to the suit above. Some partnerships employ four-suit transfers where the referenced suit is two steps above: 1NT-2♠ shows clubs; 1NT-2NT shows diamonds. Relay: an artificial call, very often the cheapest bid, possibly
non-descriptive or at most partially descriptive, that asks or allows partner to offer a description. The usual purpose of a relay is to allow partner to clarify his hand at a conveniently low level. Note that a relay does not have to be the cheapest bid. Example: 1NT-2♣. A Stayman response that guarantees a four-card major is a partially descriptive relay. It is possible to play this 2♣ bid as non-promissory Stayman where it does not promise a four-card major. 2♣ then becomes a non-descriptive relay.
Example: 2♣-2♦.Some partnerships require responder to make an automatic 2♦ response to a gameforcing 2♣ opening that says nothing about clubs. In this case, 2♣ is a puppet to 2♦. There is a convention called Puppet Stayman, used when an opening 1NT or 2NT bid may contain a fivecard major, but the name is a misnomer as no puppet bid is involved. Readers who use this convention m ay b e i n t e r e s t e d t o k n o w t h a t there is a significantly superior variation called Muppet Stayman, which ensures that the strong NT hand is declarer in all major suit contracts.
Puppet: a call that asks partner to make a certain call regardless of his holding. A transfer with meaning (2) above is properly called a puppet. If a partnership were to agree that opener would never break a 1NT-2♦ or 1NT2 ♥ t ra n s fe r, t h e n 2 ♦ a n d 2 ♥ respectively are called puppet bids.
Marionette: a transfer (meaning 2), after which partner will usually make the cheapest bid but is permitted to bid higher with special hands. When a game-forcing 2♣ opening usually expects a 2♦ relay, but responder is permitted to bypass 2♦ to show a good suit headed by top
We play duplicate four days a week, starting at 3pm (arrive by 2.45pm please): Monday – no fear, Tuesday & Friday – open, Wednesday – host system, so you will be assured of a partner. On Thursday – lessons.
We’d like our articles to be interactive so if you have bridge-related comments, problems, etc, send them to: questions@javea bridgeclub.com and we’ll do our best to answer. honours, then 2♣ is called a marionette.
50
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
OPINION & COMMENT
Time for changing partners A weekly look - and not entirely impartial reaction to the Spanish political scene
THE Partido Popular is in a cleft stick over Ciudadanos. The government knows that it owed its vast 2011 overall majority to voters who were not natural PP voters. To prevent their desertion in this year’s elections, Rajoy has constantly condemned Podemos for its radical domestic and international policies, citing his own party as a safe haven for the Centre. Then along came a genuine Centre party, Ciudadanos, which is attracting the many non-PP voters who put Rajoy in power. Now the PP is flailing around for a valid argument to undercut this potential vote-stealer. Rajoy’s big problem is not keeping the hardcore Right electorate happy but wooing
the uncommitted. He did it in 2011 but he won’t do it twice: not with Ciudadanos and Podemos around.
Ancient history WHATEVER boils and seethes behind the Partido Popular scenes the party strives to present an image of calm. Only Madrid’s new mayoral candidate Esperanza Aguirre happily makes waves on the deceptively calm millpond. She has shrugged off critics’ accusations that she is “very conservative” by citing the PP’s candidate for the presidency of the Madrid autonomous region, Cristina Cifuentes. She entered politics from the youth movement of PP’s ultra-conservative forerunner Alianza Popular, retorted a waspish Aguirre. Not the best of arguments, Espe. A background in the
Watch your back
neo-fascist Movimiento did not stop Adolfo Suarez from transforming into Spain’s first - and still best-loved - president during the Transition to democracy.
Run for cover PP MADRID.
Cassandra Nash
ESPERANZA AGUIRRE: Abhorred and adored. ESPERANZA AGUIRRE will, as she hoped, run as Madrid mayor. A former minister with Aznar and ex-president of the Madrid autonomous region Aguirre is as abhorred as she is adored and victory is no longer assured in a four-horse PP, PSOE, Podemos and Ciudadanos race. Rajoy can never forget that Aguirre tried to topple him in 2008 after he lost the general elections for the second time running. If she makes it to city hall he can at least heed the old warning attributed to both Machiavelli and Michael Corleone: “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
UNDER Spain’s legal system judge Pablo Ruz now moves from the National High Court he presides in Madrid. The instructing judge on the high-profile Gurtel and Barcenas corruption cases was offered the option of remaining to tie up loose ends on other investigations involving Cataluña’s expresident Jordi Pujol and Barcelona football club’s former president, Sandro Rosell. Ruz preferred not to, sources said, and his successor Jose de la Mata can take them over. Wise man: de la Mata will take the flak, too.
52
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
OPINION & COMMENT
M
Y father believed that everyone possessed a talent of some description and regardless of background or education; each is born with a skill that sets them apart from the crowd. Being of average academic ability, with neither an artistic nor practical bent, I doubted that statement, because skill and talent to me were synonymous with success and making money. Much later on I realised that the true meaning of success goes much deeper. Dad worked in a factory all his life, but in his spare time he would retire to his shed and knock up a piece of furniture or model aeroplane. And occasionally he would produce a watercolour painting of some rural landscape. He was no Hepplewhite or Rembrandt, but he had a certain talent for these things and more to the point, it gave him pleasure. At the Orihuela Medieval Market, I was fascinated by a bloke who entertained the crowds by sticking flaming sticks into his mouth and
FIRE EATING: An interesting way of spending one’s life.
It’s an ill wind Colin Bird Each week, Colin brings his slightly off-the-wall view of the world to the pages of EWN in his own irreverent style.
blowing out long plumes of liquid fire. I spent an interesting hour
in the bar with him, trying to understand why anyone would choose fire eating as a way of life - although I kept a respectable distance between us, in case he decided to light up a ciggie. As bizarre as it all sounded, he is good at what he does and he travels to other loca-
tions in Spain and Europe throughout the year to take part in similar festivals. He admitted it is a hard life, but he is thoroughly content with his lot, and by definition therefore is successful. The king of them all though, was surely Joseph Pujol, a Frenchman who
went under the stage name of Le Pétomane. His act was quite unique and he became something of a celebrity in his day as a renowned flatulist. In other words he fluffed on stage for money. He was a baker by trade, and he would often entertain his customers by imitating musical instruments as they waited for their French sticks. Personally, I would never be able to look a custard slice in the face again if my baker insisted on trumping his way through Frère Jacques as he was serving me. Some of his specialities included sound effects of cannon fire and thunderstorms. He was able to blow a candle out at 10 paces, and at his peak, he appeared regularly at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. He died in 1945 at the age of 88 and was buried and not cremated, presumably on the basis that this would have been far too risky. My dad was right though. We all possess a talent of some sort, as off the wall as it might be.
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
CROSSWORDS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Time Out
TRUS
our a
dvert
WE D
O!
EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREAK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE
Costa de Almería weather
NEW ON DVD
for next 7 days
MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The last part of Peter Jackson’s epic, special effects laden version of J.R.R Tolkien’s book becomes available in a special edition this week. Lots of epic scale battles echo the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the film features some good performances from Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen. This film also sees the death of the dragon Smaug the magnificent and offers an interesting introduction to the Lord of the Rings saga. Directed by: Peter Jackson and starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace. Rated PG, Runtime: 2h, 24 minutes.
TODAY
VELEZ RUBIO
TOMORROW HUERCAL OVERA
ALBOX
VELEZ RUBIO GARRUCHA ALBOX MOJACAR
ALMERIA
HUERCAL OVERA
RETAMAR GARRUCHA
ADRA
ROQUETAS
MOJACAR
RETAMAR
ALMERIA
ROQUETAS
ADRA
Visit the stars, for details on our expanded range of services
TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Although you are feeling more confident in many ways, there is also a secret insecurity. There is a strange emotional atmosphere this week, which perplexes you.
Almeria
SHOWERS MAX 17C, MIN 13C MAX MIN
Fri Sat Sun -
www.fiduciarywealth.eu
18 13 C 16 9 Sh 15 9 Cl
Mon - 15 9 Sh Tues - 16 9 Sh Wed - 18 10 Sh
CANCER (June 22 - July 23) If you are James Bond, I see no surprises in the week ahead. If you are not, then I certainly do. Something quite shocking crosses your path, so be cautious in your approach to new situations. Keep your eyes and ears open and be prepared to seek advice.
tars
LEO (July 24 - August 23) At last it is clear that the future holds something quite exciting. Looking back during the past few years there has been a build-up to this moment. Treading a new path is half the story.
9-Star Quiz
SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Be sure not to put up with tedious comments. Someone is trying to rile you. Who are they to think this way? It is foolish and impossible to please this person. SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Who wants you to go where and who wants you to do what? Each day seems to be spoken for before it arrives. Spending your life like this means running out of credit on your health.
Sudoku
CAPRICORN (December 22 January 20) There are plenty of people who will tell you that what you seek does not exist. They will also tell you that what you feel is unsustainable.
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) The last time that you sat down and thought about your finances it was confusing. Things are a lot simpler now. Keep emotions and the needs of others out of the equation.
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
PISCES (February 20 March 20) Something comes to your attention that makes you feel both anger and injustice. As you are urged to speak out and put your cards on the table, you hesitate.
UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
UK THUNDERBALL
IRISH LOTTO
EURO MILLIONS
Saturday March 14
Saturday March 14
Saturday March 14
Friday March 13
17
24
29
33
36
2
5 19
17 37
2
6
8
34
36
40
BONUS BALL
THUNDERBALL
BONUS BALL
45
11
35
4
5 22
23
3
LA PRIMITIVA
EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA
Fri Sat Sun -
16 11 Sh 18 11 Sh 17 10 C
MAX MIN
MAX MIN
Mon - 16 9 Sh Tues - 17 9 Sh Wed - 17 10 C
Fri Sat Sun -
MAX 17C, MIN 12C
TODAY: Fri Sat Sun -
S Sun,
17 7 Sh 17 4 Sh 14 3 C
MAX MIN
Mon - 14 3 C Tues - 17 3 C Wed - 18 6 Cl
Murcia
CLOUDY MAX 19C, MIN 11C 18 10 C 16 8 Sh 15 7 C
MAX MIN
Mon - 17 10 Sh Tues - 17 9 Sh Wed - 19 11 Sh
SHOWERS MAX 13C, MIN 9C MAX MIN
MAX MIN
Mon - 17 9 Sh Tues - 19 10 C Wed - 19 11 Sh
MAX MIN
Fri Sat Sun -
19 12 C 18 9 Sh 18 9 Cl
Madrid
Mallorca TODAY:
TODAY:
MAX MIN
Mon - 16 7 Sh Tues - 16 7 Sh Wed - 17 7 C Cl Clear,
SHOWERS MAX 19C, MIN 13C MAX MIN
Fri Sat Sun Fog,
Sn Snow,
20 12 Sh 19 10 Sh 19 9 Sh C Cloud,
MAX MIN
Mon - 18 9 Sh Tues - 19 7 Sh Wed - 22 10 C 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 D) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.
TARGET:
Average: 6
Very good: 12
Good: 8
Excellent: 14
dale, dare, dart, date, deal, dear, deer, dele, doer, dole, dolt, dote, drat, lade, lard, lead, load, lode, lord, read, redo, reed, retd, road, rode, teed, toad, toed, told, trad, trod, adore, alder, dater, dealt, delta, deter, doter, eared, elder, erode, lated, oared, older, rated, tared, toted, trade, tread, treed, dealer, derate, dottle, elated, leader, loader, lotted, orated, ordeal, ratted, reload, retold, rotted, teredo, tetrad, alerted, altered, ladette, leotard, rattled, related, rotated, tetrode, totalled, treadle, treated, dotterel, TOLERATED
8
9
32
34
39
47
REINTEGRO 35
7
STEP
Sunday March 15
Saturday March 14
18
LUCKY STARS 1
SHOWERS
SHOWERS MAX 18C, MIN 13C
TODAY:
Malaga TODAY:
MAX MIN
Mon - 16 10 Sh Tues - 16 11 C Wed - 18 11 C
Word Ladder
LOTTERY 6
19 12 C 17 10 Sh 15 9 Sh
16 12 Sh 16 12 Sh 16 10 C
Benidorm
MAX MIN
VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Your heart is saying 'Let’s get out and have some fun'. Your head is saying 'Okay, but let's leave it until later'. Which is right? Well, one thing is for sure, emphasis on finances is restraining. You are, however, building on something strong for the future.
Fri Sat Sun -
CLOUDY MAX 18C, MIN 13C
Fri Sat Sun -
SHOWERS MAX 16C, MIN 13C MAX MIN
Barcelona TODAY:
LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) What others see as our way ahead is not always the path which we want to tread. It would be easy to be cosy and not take a chance. Is that what you really want?
Y S our
TODAY:
MAX MIN
MAX MIN
GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Waiting for just the right time to do and say things this week can produce miracles. Spontaneity may be your watchword but forward planning is where real progress is at the moment. I
BEAR WITH ME
Alicante TODAY:
4
7 27
Move from the start word (STEP) to the end word (DOWN) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder. You must only change one letter at a time.
18 45
REINTEGRO 2
DOWN
SOWN DOWN
ARIES (March 21 - April 20) There is a strong urge to be up and doing something to further your artistic needs. Be sure that you know what is important. Keep it simple and aim straight for it. There may be other options to be explored, but do not go off at a tangent.
1. Actor Antonio Fargas played the ‘jive-talking’ informant Huggy Bear in the 1970s television series Starsky and Hutch, but which American rapper played the same character in the 2004 film version? 2. At which film festival is the Golden Bear awarded for best film? 3. From which country did Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear originally come? 4. In which country is the Great Bear Lake located? 5. Soldier Field is the home venue of which American football team? 6. What is the chief diet of the giant panda? 7. What is the Latin name of the constellation known as the Great Bear? 8. Which cartoon character was said to be ‘smarter than the av-er-age bear’? 9. Which mint sweets have been sold with the Peppy the polar bear icon on its packets since 1922?
T
isers
STEP SEEP SEEN SEWN
54
1. SNOOP DOGGY DOGG also known as SNOOP DOGG (real name Calvin Broadus), 2. BERLIN, 3. Deepest, darkest PERU, 4. CANADA (Northwest Territories), 5. CHICAGO BEARS, 6. BAMBOO shoots, 7. URSA MAJOR, 8. YOGI BEAR, 9. FOX’S GLACIER MINTS
www.euroweeklynews.com
CROSSWORDS
Crosswords
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
55
SPONSORED BY
For more information about the sponsor go to www.lineadirecta.com
Cryptic
Quick
Across 1 Repeats Cup details by mistake (10) 7 Beg for change in net rate (7) 8 Sides heard rains (5) 10 Ruing a broken weapon (6) 11 Picture device arrived with artist (6) 13 Issue a novel for an antipodean (6) 15 Disturb child’s toy (6) 16 Student leader gets ice creams and cakes (6) 17 Mark, good man, one good with mum (6) 20 High jinks strictly for the birds (5) 22 Woman with others on a mountain (7) 23 Famous rebel acted poorly (10) Down 1 Prevent Ted returning to meet the queen (5) 2 Dislike price Jude arranged (9) 3 I turn to a trifle (4) 4 Creation from Middle Earth (3)
Across 5 Sandy shore (5) 8 Prior (8) 9 Not shut (4) 10 Passageway (8) 11 Fundamental (5) 14/18 Uncompetitive race (3,3) 16 Lively Afro-Cuban dance (5) 17 Become one (5) 18 See 14 20 Cooking herb (5) 24 Wealth stored up (8) 25 Wild mountain goat (4) 26 Well acquainted (8) 27 Oneness (5)
5 Basic part of a ukulele mentioned here (7) 6 Encountered a sailor, and another lacking T-bone (10) 9 As trappers find reserve supply (5,5) 12 A tenant initially receives so-
me people in the rooms (9) 14 Misfortune of company in a rush (7) 18 Overeating from meagre edible beans (5) 19 Generate support (4) 21 Look at the bishop’s seat! (3)
Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 5 represents Z and 14 represents Q, so fill in Z every time the figure 5 appears and Q every time the figure 14 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 Rations, 4 Blast, 7 Skate, 9 Curtain, 10 Arrange, 11 Tense, 12 Askew, 14 Lager, 19 Rooms, 21 Austria, 23 Adamant, 24 Avert, 25 Scone, 26 Sterner. Down: 1 Rascal, 2 Ocean, 3 Sacred, 4 Biretta, 5 Again, 6 Tender, 8 Arras, 13 Ensnare, 15 Eyrie, 16 Treats, 17 Tastes, 18 Master, 20 Otago, 22 Shake. QUICK Across: 1 Situated, 5/24 Jail bird, 9 Thrones, 10 Allow, 11 Story, 12 Riposte, 13 Dollar, 15 Versus, 18 Support, 20 Sorts, 22 Unite, 23 Fragile, 25 Reverend. Down: 1 Sites, 2 Turmoil, 3 Annoy, 4 Ensure, 6 Atlas, 7 Lawless, 8 Magpie, 13 Disturb, 14 Avocet, 16 Sardine, 17 Stifle, 19 Prior, 20 Scare, 21 Steed.
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Libraries, 6 Age, 7 Channel, 9 Pozo, 10 Boca, 14 Girasol, 16 Sea, 17 Demasiado. Down: 1 Lead, 2 Brezo, 3 Anchors, 4 Son, 5 Bell, 8 Arboles, 11 Cesta, 12 Eggs, 13 Caro, 15 Red.
21 Hut (5) 22 Moist (5) 23 Facial growth (5)
14 Remote, distant (3) 15 Religious woman (3) 19 Loud outcry (6)
English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English. Across 1 Sonido (5) 3 Tipos (5) 7 Dessert (6) 9 Merluza (4) 10 Viajero (9) 13 To roast (4) 14 August (6) 16 Fir tree (5) 17 Balloon (5) Down 1 Soup (thick) (4) 2 Nuez (3) 4 Oraciones (7) 5 Semilla (4) 6 Prescriptions (7) 8 Apellido (7) 11 Berry (4) 12 Monkey (4) 15 Búho (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 (FIERCE) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues. BURDEN
LEADER
CHEERY
LEARNT
CHINKS
LECTOR
DEACON
METRES
EVENTS
MILLET
FIERCE (10)
MUTTER
FLARES
PORTAL
GANDER
REELED
HEARTS
STREAK
ISLAND
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
Funagram Unscramble the name of a musical instrument (one word): PINK COLLEGES FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: WOODY ALLEN, GLOCKENSPIEL
Unscramble the name of a famous American actor, writer, director, comedian, musician and playwright: ONE LOW LADY
Down 1 Small spot (5) 2 Gain knowledge (5) 3 Extremity (5) 4 Number puzzle (6) 6 Stress (8) 7 Think about (8) 12 The world, the universe (8) 13 About to occur (8)
1 Ceased, 2 Dozens, 3 Seduce, 4 Cinder, 5 Thence, 6 Phased, 7 Secure, 8 Sheets, 9 Artrows, 10 Checks, 11 Afresh, 12 Blouse, 13 Pieces, 14 Growls, 15 Reeked, 16 Specks, 17 Beards, 18 Discus, 19 Spears
56
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
Unfair trial by media - it’s no coincidence I COMPLETELY agree with Norah Johnson’s article about Cliff Richard. Thanks to the disgusting conduct of the BBC and the South Yorkshire police this man, who happens to be very famous, has been subjected to trial by media. It is no coincidence that the raid on Sir Cliff ’s home, with its legally-dubious search warrant and the BBC leading the chorus, was just prior to the Jay Report which reported on South Yorkshire police’s failure to investigate the abuse of at least 1,400 girls. Sir Cliff Richard had not been interviewed and knew nothing of the allegations against him when the raid was broadcast on live television last summer, but that didn’t stop the police or the media blasting his name and reputation to hell. Naming anyone merely accused of an unproven, unsubstantiated alleged offence is wrong. It leads to the idiotic and flawed argument of ‘no smoke without fire,’ the fallback position of people who have no idea what they are talking about. In this case the man was named and what he is accused of was mentioned numerous times, clearly enabling anyone else who wanted to come forward to know what they should accuse him of too. I have met Sir Cliff Richard. He is an honourable, decent man who would never hurt anyone, let alone a child. The fact that certain people cannot accept that someone would live a decent life says more about them than it does about him. I hope God will forgive these people, because I never will. Teejay (via the Euro Weekly News website)
Struck dumb AS my wife and I were leaving Villamartin Plaza (Alicante) we were approached by a man who gestured that he was unable to hear or speak. He thrust a grubby piece of paper towards us, which
www.euroweeklynews.com
Letters YOURSAY@EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
OPINION & COMMENT
TRUS
dvert T isers
our a
WE D
O!
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
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:
Outlook unsure I HAVE asked the UK political parties and emailed 10 Downing St regarding healthcare for UK pensioners living in the EU should the UK vote to leave. At present pensioners receive care under the reciprocal arrangement, but I presume this is linked to EU membership. We would therefore lose the right to treatment, leaving the options of private health care, moving back to the UK or paying into the Spanish system. Many could not afford private healthcare and I have been unable to find any that would cover the existing conditions which most pensioners have. Many no longer have family or links in the UK and their houses in Spain have been their homes for many years.
LIKE many expats, I am no longer allowed to vote in the UK. However, as I have dual nationality I can vote in Switzerland, where we vote on various issues during the year. This year they introduced e-voting. It took me all of three minutes to register my vote and saved me €1.20 postage. Rose Marie Hughes, France
From the far side
www.euroweeklynews.com
claimed that he was collecting on behalf of a charity for the deaf. Being the hard-bitten cynic that I am, I told him to get lost. He eventually got the message that I was not going to give him any money and walked angrily away. As he did so, his mobile phone rang. He answered it and then carried out a conversation. Behold! The miracle of instant healing by mobile phone! Perhaps it was a call from above. Ian Sutton, Orihuela Costa (Alicante)
Easy does it
I MUST be getting old because the participants in the Fallas fiestas seem to get younger each year! Tom Dix, Valencia.
I was unable to obtain any information about paying into the Spanish system because the conditions do not as yet exist. I have received no replies, probably because no one gives a damn. B McDonnell, Javea (Alicante)
Card-sharp EHICs are not only for British tourists travelling in Europe and are for everyone living in Europe. For people who live in Spain they are available for emergency treatment in any EU country except Spain. State pensioners apply for it directly from the DWP in the UK. Employees in Spain get it via a Spanish Social Security office. After being resident in Spain for one year, non-working people under state retirement age can pay into the Convenio Especial state system for €60 a month each, giving them access to state healthcare. For those over 65 but not receiving the state pension this is €157 each.
As they are paying into the system, surely they will be eligible for an EHIC via the social security? It is worth asking! Marion Woods, Mazarron (Murcia)
Out of town I FIND it almost impossible to believe that Denia wishes to close the railway station located in the town. The proposed PGE plan states that the station will be relocated to La Pedrera some two kilometres out of town, only to be served by buses and taxis. Are they mad? The railway line to Denia goes around the town, so how is this a bad thing for the residents? As buses no longer accept luggage it means that you would no longer be able to take the train from Denia to Alicante and the airport without a taxi to La Pedrera. These decisions are a mystery. M Mansfield, Denia (Alicante)
I SHOULD like to thank all the correspondents who sought to correct my view on their plights here in Spain. I am sorry if you are offended, but I am only speaking as I see it. Many of you have problems with exchange rates, unsaleable properties, poor health, failing economies. But do you ever consider the plight of your fellow patriots, who didn’t sell out to the dream? All those who stayed behind and contracted negative equity? All those who stayed behind and got bedroom tax? All those who stayed behind and saw inflation eat away all their savings? Who stayed and saw the power companies rip them off? No, you really only worry about the heating allowance or the loss of your franchise. If all of you who have been here for 15 years or more think that your vote should count, I humbly point out that you should not have the right to vote in an election for an MP who represents you, as opposed to the millions who stayed at home. The MP who seeks your vote on a policy that keeps your heating allowance which is paid for by the cancellation of a UK pensioner’s free bus pass, is not really worthy of consideration. If you wish to change the system, vote in the European elections. Michael Warren, Vera Playa (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.
58
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
OPINION & COMMENT
The first ‘crab style’ car in all Spain 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.
(YES, still whining and moaning about my stolen car) The car was finally located in Cortijo Grande on one of the back lonesome winding roads. It had journeyed a mere 1,200kms according to the mileage clock before it had been flipped and rolled into an unrecognisable pattern of steel and crushed glass. Nothing I had known in the history of my life or education could aid in the disentanglement of the present legal morass. But as the days crept by solutions had to be generated to solve basic living problems, another car had to be obtained. Insurance people phoned and pleaded with to inspect the damages and rush to obtain another new car. A local friendly garage rented me an old banger good for travel locally. But, the insurance people would not even consider getting me a new car especially
they must have shipped it to some faraway place that had never seen an automobile before, shown them pictures of what their repair job should look like and within a mere nine months the evil memory was brought back into my life. It had been given that new car spray to freshen it up, but before I could drive or inspect it, I had papers to sign, stacks of them. I had been worn down and just wanted to get on with it so I signed, jumped into the car, it started and off I drove towards home taking the back roads so as to not be cheered or ridiculed by every man or beast living here at the time. All was quiet for about two days until I mustered up enough nerve to waltz into a LOOKING favourite watering hole IN whereupon everyone turned UNRECOGNISABLE: Found on a lonesome winding road. K BAC and applauded. “There he is MOJACAR ladies and gentlemen, owner since the crashed and crumbled one if you want it of the only “coche congrejo” “could easily be fixed!” “That’s repaired. in all of Spain. My brain couldn’t impossible,” I screamed! “The chassis Story over, I was bent like a pretzel and in parts the signed and rushed to the nearest bar to translate the insult so I had to ask. “Your car goes diagonally down the wash the previous evil action from my roof was lower than the floor.” But, I was to learn another law about countenance. A man must retain some road when you drive it. From us, as an how things worked here, in that, those form of dignity, even if doing so he falls oncoming car we can see and count your four tyres. Your car motors at us “crab that pay call the tune. Their analysis was from his perch (bar stool). I was promised the car back “pronto.” style.” News to me, but I did go through a certain “could easily be fixed.” And, it was their way or the highway. Sign here But, as near as I can recalculate it now, a set of new tyres every 90 days.
Advertising feature
Discover the benefits of Neater Heater and the introduction of the new Neo SINCE discovering the benefits of Norwegian designed convector heaters seven years ago Richard and Tony have been striving to give their customers more choice by adding variety to their range of Neater Heaters. “The choice we can now offer through our website’s online shop is quite staggering” says Richard. “We can offer the cheaper basic Adax VP range, glass fronted heaters in a variety of colours, our original Beha panel heater, the quirky Glamox heater and the contempory Neo Heater with digital controls. They all function using the same Norwegian technology, but they offer a variety of style choices and can, in the case of the Neo, offer a whole lot more. “We have had Neos for a year now and they have proved to be very popular,” Tony in-
NEATER HEATER DISTRIBUTORS: ALMERIA SAN JAVIER: DFS Spain Tel. 968 334 194 MAZARRON Camposol B. La Red Solutions. (Mapfre). Tel. 968 199 025 ANTAS: Lifestyle Enclosures. Tel. 950 459 060 ROQUETAS DE MAR: Almeria Relocations. Tel 950 335 340 Heaters also available for purchase at our online shop with free home delivery WWW.NEATERHEATER.ES or Tel. 634 312 171 COLOUR CHOICE: In red, black, white or silver.
forms us. “First of all, they come with a choice of colours: white, silver, black, or red. They have a stylish contemporary modern look to them with a small digital LED display next to hidden, but easy-to-use, control buttons. “Using these, you can pre-set the Neo heaters to turn on at certain times to your desired comfort temperature, and to
turn down to a set temperature when you expect to be asleep, or out of the house. This reduced temperature, the cutback temperature, could be a reduction to keep the chill off at night in a child’s bedroom, or you could reduce it to a temperature that effectively turns the heater off if you are out at work all day.
“The choices are yours. However, if the programmed temperature is not what you want, you can either temporarily override it for that specific period, or reprogramme it, if you want a permanent change. “All Neater Heaters can now be made free-standing using factory-made floor stands, or as we like to call them: ‘Neat Feet!’ This gives the customer a choice between wall mounted or free-standing. Neo, however have also introduced a Neo2 which allows you to have the
heater bracket, which is hinged at the top, fastened to the wall with clips. “When you want to remove the heater from the wall, you unclip the bracket from the wall and it becomes a lean-to stand for the heater. “Obviously with such a range, we are no longer able to stock all models so we urge customers to plan ahead and order theirs in advance, so we can add them to our regular orders and keep delivery costs down.”
60
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
OPINION & COMMENT
Big switch-off for climate change A total of 125 Spanish towns and cities have pledged to turn off the lights on emblematic buildings at the end of March to raise awareness about climate change, organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Will you be spending an hour in the dark? ERIC LANCEE from Haco Muebles said the act of raising awareness was more important than the actual turn-off, and believed more should be done to combat environmental issues. “Our showroom has 2,000 square metres of solar panels so we are already eco-friendly, but more should be done and they need to look at targeting big industries and cars and planes,” he commented. Martin Eastgate from Laurel and Hardy’s restaurant in Quesada would support such a switch-off and is soon to re-
MARTIN: Supports town halls leading by example.
STREET TALK place all light bulbs in the restaurant with LED lights to reduce cost and waste and to be more environmentally efficient. He said: “It is good that town halls are taking the initiative and leading by example; they have to practise what they preach.” Paul Ross of Paul Ross Fitness in Huercal Overa,
PAUL: ‘We do what we can to look after the planet.’
Almeria, said: “This is the first I have heard about it, to be honest, so I hadn’t planned to sit in the dark. However, if these cities and other places get involved, especially if they all light candles like they did recently in Mojacar, then it could have a massive positive impact. We do what we can to look after the planet. We recycle all our water for watering outside and call it ‘watering the desert’.” Michelle Johnstone of Ace of Shades had not heard of the event either. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve heard about it. The WWF could be doing more to publicise the event but, yes, I will switch off my lights to reduce my carbon footprint.” MICHELLE: ‘More should be done to publicise the event.’
ERIC: ‘Important to raise awareness.’
HEALTH & BEAUTY
www.euroweeklynews.com
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
ealth & beauty H TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EWNLIFESTYLE.COM
61
EWN
TRUS
our a
dvert
WE D
T
isers
O!
We continue to pull together towards a happier destination Erica Russell Watson: My journey – and I’m driving
11th March TREATMENT number six and this was the first time I felt a little concerned. I had quite a rough time after the last chemotherapy session but it wasn’t feeling bad that worried me, more the fact that my immune system wouldn’t be up to scratch. So with trepidation I went to the hospital for my blood tests. When you have had as many tests as me you notice different techniques. Well the
lady this time just told me to totally relax and she took the sample without me having to ‘make a fist.’ I have to say it was excellent, I hardly noticed a thing. I had my usual breakfast and went up to the eighth floor to wait to see my oncologist. There was a very funny elderly lady complaining about her doctor and asking everyone in the waiting room which doctor they had. She was not impressed with her oncologist and said that he had better be prepared because she was on form today and wasn’t taking any nonsense from him! I have to say that despite the hours you have to spend waiting, the Spanish are so entertaining that time seems to pass by quickly. The mood is generally upbeat. People don’t tend to
speak about their treatment too much but more about current affairs, family, the weather or in the case of this week, politics as local elections are coming up.
I was amazed to find my tests were good Finally I was called and it was the moment of truth. I was amazed to find out that my tests were good and I could go ahead with my treatment. So many times I have heard other people being sent home as they just aren’t in good enough shape to take a chemo treatment. I find myself becoming more impatient as I near the
finishing line. My seventh treatment is on April 1. Interesting date! I will have to call the radiotherapy department at Carlos Haya Hospital to let them know that I am nearing the end of my chemotherapy so that they can book a full CAT scan and also book me in for my radiotherapy sessions. I don’t know much about that yet as it depends on the scan results and my surgeon and oncologist’s assessment. I am not feeling as wobbly as I did last time but I do have lots of muscular pain. I am, however, more prepared for it. Just have to get through it. I had a great day after my treatment, a lovely walk by the sea and lunch out. You have to enjoy the good moments when you feel up to it. The weekend will be spent resting when I need to and do-
ing things with the children. For me the biggest test lately has been steering them through the last few weeks. They are very sad and find it hard to reconcile to the fact that they will never see their father again. I know that time will heal. They always say they wish they could talk to their Dad. So instead of bursting into tears which I can assure you I feel like doing, I ask them what they would say to him. It seems to help. Every time they feel low I just tell them to have a little chat with him and to tell him about their day and the funny things that have happened. Little steps are best, otherwise the enormity of recent events and the uncertainty of the future could capsize us and we need to stay afloat. So we continue to pull together, paddling in our boat to a happier destination.
Samaritans in Spain want to support desperate youngsters A RECENT BBC news item reported that filmmaker Andrew Jenkins, 52, from Blaenau Gwent, says he has lost 19 friends to suicide over three decades. He has spoken out so that other people might think twice about killing themselves. He now plans to make an educational film about the issue. The piece also quoted Stephen Habgood, Chairman of charity Papyrus which is concerned with young people’s suicides, who said 75 per cent of people who took their own lives
were young men and he expected to see an increase in suicides among middleaged men because of the effects of the recession. Psychiatrists say mental health problems are increasing in Spain and the suicide rate is up since the financial crisis began. Certain factors are known to be associated with increased risk of suicide including unemployment, poverty, family breakdown, bullying and social isolation. The young fear that they have no future
in their own country and either have to move abroad or depend on family members who are themselves in difficulty. According to RTVE television, suicide was second to cancer (15 per cent of deaths) in the overall 25-34 age group and the leading cause of death in young men (17.8 per cent). One in three young people who take their lives are intoxicated at the time of death. Among the young, 80 per cent of suicides are male, who feel possibly that they should be the stronger
sex and men usually find it much more difficult to open up and talk about their problems. If you, or someone you know, is feeling desperate and in need of emotional support contact Samaritans in Spain now. Please call our 24-hour confidential line on 902 88 35 35/email pat@samaritansin spain.com. For more information visit our website www.samaritansinspain.com and connect on Facebook.
62
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de AlmerĂa
www.euroweeklynews.com
HEALTH & BEAUTY
Phobias affect 6 per cent of Spanish population PHOBIAS affect around 6 per cent of the Spanish population. Although Vice President of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry, Julio Bobes, said the number is an estimate as many patients do not admit to or address their fear or problem. Bobes said there were three types of phobia: specific, social and agoraphobia. The first is characterised by intense fear or anxiety of a specific object or situation, such as planes, heights, animals, injections or dentists. Social phobia is an intense fear or anxiety in one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to be evaluated by others, like having a conversation, meeting strangers, eating in public or performing in front of others. Agoraphobia was originally the intense fear of open spaces although now the concept has
FEAR: Phobias are characterised by three different types. expanded to include the use of public transport, closed sites, being in a queue, a crowd or away
from home. Bobes assured that phobias can be cured and what is important is
to detect and recognise a phobia and seek assistance as soon as possible to help conquer it.
Can sexual relations later in life keep the brain active? HAVING sexual relations later in life could boost your brainpower. A study found that people in their 60s and 70s who were happy and satisfied with their love life had a sharper mind and better memory, leading scientists to believe that an active sex life can help keep the brain young.
The latest study involved quizzing more than 1,700 Dutch men and women over the age of 58 about their sex life and their need for intimacy. The volunteers were also put through a series of mental tests, designed to assess everything from memory to the ability to think ab-
stractly. Those who were happy with their sex lives did better in the tests. The finding follows a recent British study which revealed that age is no barrier to an active love life. A study by Manchester University found that more than half of men and almost a third of women over 70 were still sexually active.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
www.euroweeklynews.com
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
63
The sugar Fasting and skipping meals could in fact be good for us debate rages on AS the debate surrounding the potential dangers of sugar and how to tackle this issue continues to rage, new research finds a significant 46 per cent of Brits have taken at least one course of action to monitor or reduce their sugar intake in the last year. Indeed, over the last year, more than a quarter (27 per cent) of Brits said they have checked food labels for sugar content more often than they did 12 months previously. Meanwhile, 26 per cent said they have limited the amount of sugar in their diet and 25 per cent that they have cooked from scratch to control sugar intake more often over the same period. In terms of why people are limiting their sugar intake, weight management stands out as the most common reason cited by people who limit their sugar intake (56 per cent), followed by future health concerns (42 per cent). Furthermore, a sizeable 43 per cent of the population have noticed an increase in media coverage on ‘how sugar affects your health’, with these consumers (62 per cent ) notably more likely to have taken action to cut down on how much sugar they eat, highlighting a direct link between this and consumer behaviour. Emma Clifford, Senior Food and Drink Analyst at maket research company Mintel, said: “Consumers’ attention to sugar has undoubtedly been heightened by the highprofile sugar debate during 2014, which has acted to demonise this
ingredient to a certain extent. The fact that media coverage on sugar looks to have had a tangible impact on many consumers’ dietary habits is significant. It indicates the importance for companies or products to avoid being ‘named and shamed’ in the media for their high sugar content and the potential damage this could do. “It also suggests that being shown in a positive light in the media, for example for leading the way with reformulations using natural sweeteners, could help to boost positive perceptions and sales.”
THERE is more conflicting information about dieting and eating meals with a new expert claiming that the long-followed advice of eating three square meals a day may not be the best thing for us. Historian Abigal Carroll has written a book ‘Three Square: The Invention of the American Meal’ which suggests there is no evidence that eating three meals a day is healthier than eating in other forms and that these meals are cultural constructions European settlers enforced on Native Americans. The author said the settlers ate meals at regimented times and considered this more ‘civilised’ than the natives whose eating patterns varied with the seasons. She also claims that breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day largely due to advertising campaigns by cereal companies. This may be backed up by a 2014 study by the University of Bath (UK) which found whether or
BREAKFAST: May not be the most important meal of the day. not a person ate breakfast had no effect on the overall calories they consumed in a day. Those who ate breakfast did burn more calories than those who skipped it, but they burned off the extra calories later in the day, meaning the net calorie consumption was the same. A study by US researchers also claims that fasting could also be good for your health. Experts at
the University of Southern California found that fasting for two days or more can help to kick-start the immune system, especially if it has been damaged by ageing or cancer treatment, as it encourages the body to replace old and damaged cells. Fasting for two to four days every six months forced the body into survival mode, using up stores of fat and sugar and breaking down old cells.
64
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
OPINION & COMMENT
The poignancy of old letters “M
Y Dearest Kathleen, This is a last letter before I cross over the border into Spain. I will post it in the border town and then I will be on Spanish territory. This is a terrible long journey we are on now - about 15-hours.” There is a poignancy about letters written during times we can scarcely identify with. The letter was written to my mother, then my father’s fiancé, before a clandestine mountain crossing into Spain where Civil War raged. Father and his companions had hitch-hiked from England to Spain as members of the International Brigade to fight Fascism. Later, letters were written during lulls in furious hand-to-hand fighting between Nationalists and Republicans at the Jarama
Mike Walsh Mike, based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.
River near Madrid. A Nationalist force of 40,000 men, including men from the Army of Africa, had crossed the Jarama River on February, 11, 1937. On February 12, at what became known as Suicide Hill, the Republicans suffered heavy casualties. Tom Winteringham, the British commander, was forced to order a retreat back to the next ridge. The Nationalists advanced up Suicide Hill to be routed by Republican machine-gun fire. Coming under heavy fire, the British down to 160 men out of the original 600, established defensive positions along a sunken road. The attrition rate was worse than that at Ypres.
IN THE TRENCHES: Where notes were scribbled.
WOUNDED IN ACTION: The consequences of war.
On February 23, led by Robert Merriman, 373 members of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion moved into the trenches. When they were ordered over the top they were backed by a pair of tanks from the Soviet Union. On the first day 20 men were killed and nearly 60 wounded. February 27: “Of the 263 men who went into action that day only 150 survived. One soldier
Fred Copeman was wounded but survived. He later wrote about meeting Kit Conway at the hospital at Jarma: “Kit was obviously dying, in terrible agony, but his one concern was that he may have been responsible for the slaughter that had taken place. Of 630 men that had entered the line, not more than 80 were left unwounded, and the percentage killed was very high. It was hard to
remarked afterwards: “The battalion was named after Abraham Lincoln because he too was assassinated.” Edwin Rolfe survived but wrote: “When we were pulled out of the lines I felt very tired and lonely and guilty. Lonely because half of the battalion had been badly shot up. “And guilty because I felt I didn’t deserve to be alive now, with Arnold and Nick and Paul dead.”
convince him that our fighting had taken place in the toughest, bloodiest battle of the whole Spanish campaign, in defence of the Madrid-Valencia road.” My father’s notes, scribbled in those trenches, tell their story. And for what did they give their lives? Today, young men flock to Ukraine; The only thing men never learn from history is they don’t learn from history.
www.euroweeklynews.com
our advertisers
ood F
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
65
WE DO!
& DRINK
TR US
T
FOOD & DRINK
Costa de Almeria’s best guide to local restaurants
TO READ MORE VISIT: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM/FEATURES/RESTAURANTS
Are you a bar or restaurant that advertises with EWN? AT EWN we have our clients’ best interests at heart. Getting your news out to the public can sometimes be a struggle, but we here at EWN want to help. Have you changed your menu, recently renovated or won an award? Do you have an upcoming charity event you’d like to
publicise? Do you have a new member of staff? Maybe you’d like to take part in our ‘Restaurant’ experience? Your establishment provides a meal for two which we will review and publish - with pictures - in your local edition. If you have any news of interest that you would like to get out to local readers, then please let us know. We cannot promise to publish everything, but we will do our best.
Please send your news and photos to whatson@eurowee klynews.com
www.euroweeklynews.com
66
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de AlmerĂa
FOOD & DRINK
www.euroweeklynews.com
Restaurant Esperanza Villaricos - a place full of endless possibilities VILLARICOS is a small fishing village in Almeria with centuries of history behind it, a very pleasant and peaceful place to be where you can taste the essence of Andalucia at the enchanting Restaurant Esperanza. Antonio welcomes all to try some of the most exotic dishes taken from the beautiful sea you can look out on to. Because you can sit on the edge
of the Mediterranean while you dine, the smell of the sea entangles with the aromatic smells that linger from the kitchen. On a hot day it is a pleasure to sit and look out to sea with a cool breeze flowing in from every corner. The speciality dishes are seafood and fish with rice, with a large variety of others including lobster, octopus, or cuttlefish, all of
A pleasant and peaceful place. which are freshly caught. Traditional Andalucian variations of pure virgin olive oil combine with crunchy green salads and vegetables bring together the light and warmth of different flavours. By night there is more to choose from on the extensive menu including traditional Gazpacho soup, Salmorejo, Paella and more for
starters. Main courses have a wide range to choose from including Seabass, Emperor, Hake, Chicken breast and Shrimp cakes. There are some very creative special dishes such as Cuajadera Octopus, Seafood Zarzuela, and best of the house Paellas. Such a feast of the sea, lovingly
Enjoy the sea view as you dine.
put t o gether makes the food a privilege to taste. The desserts are a dream to try and with the bottle of wine and coffee included, the three courses are a steal at only â‚Ź15.00 per person. The view of the Mediterranean is for free, which combined together creates an unfor-
gettable experience. Antonio and his staff are eager to serve you as he prides himself on being known for the excellent food he continues to serve day in day out. This is one of the most amazing places on the coast of Almeria with its intoxicating charm and beauty. You can also stay in the Hostel Esperanza and take in some of the delightful surroundings and if you like the more relaxed pace of life, this is the perfect venue to unwind and recharge your batteries. You can find Restaurant Esperanza Villaricos opposite the Marina on Calle Esperanza in Villaricos, Almeria. Tel 625 737 025.
68
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de AlmerĂa
www.euroweeklynews.com
FOOD & DRINK
70
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS
Athletes celebrate a late Christmas bash YOUNG athletes from Sophia Wellness Centre, Arboleas, took over Amigos Bowling Centre with a vengeance recently to celebrate a late Christmas party. The youngsters were bouncing with excitement and thrilled with the new equipment. Three special gymnasts were given VIP treatment at the party. Ellie Bentley, Lucia Nuños Baldz and Callam Shaw were all rewarded for their hard work and named Top Athletes for February 2015. Euro Weekly News spoke to Ellie before she learned of her win. She was to receive special praise from Stacey Smith, the athletes’ coach, for the work she had put in and especially her backwards walkovers. When
TOP ATHLETES: From left to right, Ellie Bentley, Lucia Nuños Baldz and Callam Shaw. asked whether she had won the title of Top Athlete yet, Ellie gave a shy smile and shook her head in response.
The Almeria reporter for Euro Weekly News made Ellie laugh, though, when she told her to “work harder!”
ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS
TRUST our advertisers
WE DO!
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
71
72
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS
‘Angel’ amazes Almeria ALBOX born Angel Capel returned to his beloved Almeria for a o n e - o ff c o n c e r t a t Maestra Padilla. T h e 2 8 -ye a r- o l d Angel was very proud t o p e r fo r m i n h i s favo u r i t e p r ov i n c e . After the sell-out concert he commente d : “A d r e a m fu l f i l l e d . T h a n k yo u , Almeria.” Angel used the concert as an opportunity to promote his latest album, Invinceble ( I nv i n c i b l e ) , which hit the number t w o s l o t o n i Tu n e s during its first day of release in February, only pipped to the top slot by the s o u n d t ra c k t o t h e movie, Fifty Shades of Grey.
EXPANDING: Albox’s sports complex.
New sports facilities on course for Albox IN April, Albox will have the use of four new municipal padel tennis courts. Construction at the sports centre has already begun for the tennis courts and will soon be followed by an outdoor exercise park for adults, a playground for the younger residents and a skate park for practising those kickflips
and McTwists. The mayor of Albox, Rogelio Mena, added his support to the project and enthused: “Without doubt, the residents of Albox have one of the best sports complexes in the province, which they can be proud of, promoting sport, health and quality of life.”
ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS
TRUST our advertisers
WE DO!
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
73
74
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS
Racing in Arboleas ARBOLEAS has held its third MTB marathon and s e c o n d t ra i l r u n n i n g competition in the town. The event, organised by the Cycling Club of Arboleas, attracted people of all ages for a day of running and cycling ove r a strenuous course. The weather
wa s i n fu l l s u p p o r t o f the races, which began at 10am in the town hall square with a number of categories and prizes available. M ayo r o f A r b o l e a s , Cristobal Garcia Granados, welcomed the racers to the town in an e ve n t w h i c h h e d e scribed as an important one in Arboleas’s sporting calendar. All Bike All Run, from Albox, made their prese n c e fe l t a t t h e 4 0 k m MTB course on the day, a g r u e l l i n g a n d ve r y technical course. Jose I b a ñ e z wa s t h e b e s t club rider, finishing second on the day. Pedro Perez came 11th in the category 40 while Mark Saunders steamed into the master 50 category in sixth place.
76
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
ets P
PETS
SPONSORED BY
TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Do not be negative
David THE Dogman
Listen to David on TRE every Saturday 10 thru 11. Costa del Sol (Gibraltar/Sotogrande) 98.7fm (San Roque to Calahonda) 91.9fm (Calahonda to Motril) 88.9, Costa Calida 92.7fm Costa Blanca (Torrevieja to Elche) 105.1fm (Elche to Calpe) 88.2fm, (Calpe to Gandia & Ibiza) 104.6fm, (Denia to Valencia) 95.3fm Mallorca 103.9fm
NEGATIVITY is never good. Used with people or animals it can have a disastrous effect. When teaching an exercise of ‘Sit’ you pull up on the check chain, hand on your dog’s rump and tell him to ‘Sit.’ No reward is given. Is that good for the dog? Yes he will automatically sit in time when you stop walking. He has learnt the exercise with the repetition of the action being used. This goes for all exercises you train him in, but something is lacking. He’s learnt of course, but where is the joy and the outgoing exuberance. Remember you do have to train to the stage where just a quick ‘Good Dog’ is sufficient.
www.euroweeklynews.com
TRAINING TO SIT: Your dog will learn the repetition of the action being used. He needs to work every time not just sometimes. Punishment of a dog should never be used. However, correction of a dog should be done when it is necessary. I am not talking about if it makes a mistake in training. That’s usually your fault. You may not have taught it properly. You only have about four seconds to make any correction. Sometimes if the reason for the correction is sufficient you may need to physically grab the
dog either side of the neck and even lift it off the ground using a firm grip and an even firmer voice. You would use something like this if a dog snarls at you, goes to bite you or some other action which is more than a misdemeanour. Remember you only have about four seconds after the event to make the corrections. After that is too late. Think about two dogs mixing it up. They don’t hesitate to retaliate if challenged. They are instant creatures.
Important here is that after you have to correct the dog, whether it just be with ah. ah. or you have to handle the dog, you must give it a command it can achieve quickly like the ‘sit:’ and then reward immediately. You have corrected (not punished) for the misdemeanour and you are immediately rewarding for the command of SIT which it has done well. It’s now all over. My best tip is for you to enrol at your local training club.
PETS
www.euroweeklynews.com
Dogs home boss faces up to four years in jail ANIMAL charities, rescue groups, and dog lovers across Spain were sickened to their stomachs when news broke of 2,200 animals that were inhumanely killed by the owner of the Protectora de Animales in Torremolinos, Malaga, Carmen Marin. Marin was arrested in 2010 and now faces up to four years in jail for killing over twice as many animals than is legally allowed in a 20-month period. She has been found guilty of using incorrect drugs and minimal doses, causing unnecessary cruelty just to save money, along with falsifying documents and unauthorised practice. On top of that, the court needs an explanation for the payments she
made to the mayor’s brother, Jose Fernandez, totalling some €50,000. Although the verdict was welcomed by the hundreds of real animal carers on the Costa del Sol, they feel the sentence should be more severe. Sandy Tash, president of the SOS animal charity told us, “the whole episode turns my guts over. I think four years is much too light a sentence. This must never be allowed to happen again!” Suzie Griggs, who has nearly 20 rescued dogs, said, “I think it’s disgraceful, when so many people are trying so hard to save animals, and now knowing these horrific acts were going on is just heart-breaking.”
The Conlon cat family meet their match online By Lamia Walker of HouseSitMatch IT hadn’t occurred to Edith that when she and her husband moved to Almeria they would end up with a seven cat family. That hadn’t been part of the plan at all. They had planned to enjoy an early retirement, in good health, making new friends, seeing new places and soaking up the rich culture in southern Spain. No sooner had they settled in a new house only a 10 minute walk from the beach, Edith found she was heartbroken almost on a weekly basis seeing the abandoned, starving cats in the street. It wasn’t a long journey between feeding the occasional cat, and eventually finding they had seven who were regular residents with them in their new home. However, to ensure the cats don’t get in the way of their long planned easy going lifestyle, where she and Richard would take off to visit a new part of the coast for a week or so when they wanted, she
planned ahead and found catsitters through an online network. Some sitters are local and can be booked close to the time, and others come from abroad. For these trips she plans ahead, gets to know the sitters first, and checks references. So they have found several good matches. Where
they are located so close to the sea, in a lovely part of the coast, people are happy to come and stay. Download your Free Easy Guide to Housesitting from here www.bit.ly/eurown001
To find a petsitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com or call Lamia on +44 (0)1865 521508.
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
77
Bullfights come back under the spotlight BULLFIGHTS, which were banned by Cataluña’s parliament more than two years ago, may be coming back thanks to a new law the Spanish Senate will be debating. The Cultural Commission at the Congress has given the green light to a text aimed to save immaterial cultural heritage which was put forward by the PP conservative party. PP delegate Juan de Dios Ruano said the future law will be “a law by everyone for everyone,” an idea he backed up by saying its aim is to “save a way of being, feeling and living in a particular way which is distinguished and recognised across the world as a Spanish characteristic.” Meanwhile Catalan del-
BULLFIGHTING: Banned in Cataluña two years ago. egate Joan Tarda claimed that Education, Culture and Sports minister Jose Ignacio Wert aims to make the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) declare bullfights as immaterial heritage and reintroduce them in Cataluña. “I think they’re too late, the people of Cataluña
decided at their parliament that there is no going back and in fact we thank them for this law as it has put us on alert: what we had thought was happening has come to light,” Tarda said. The Catalan parliament decided to ban bullfights in July 2010 and the rule came into effect on January 1, 2012.
78
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de AlmerĂa
www.euroweeklynews.com
roperty P
PROPERTY
TRUS
our a
dvert
WE D
T
isers
O!
TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Villaricos Ref: A1210
e ur at fe
THIS lovely, furnished, apartment is situated in the high quality, secure, development of Harbour Lights Fase III, which is next to the small marina to the north of the village. The centre of this historic fishing village is only a short walk away with a variety of shops, cafe bars and restaurants. There are beaches too with some amazing areas for snorkelling and scuba diving as well as simply sunbathing. Every Sunday there is a fabulous market with a huge diversity of goods available. The accommodation comprises: living/dining room with ceiling fans, two large arched windows and doors to a covered terrace overlooking one of the many lovely community courtyards with trees and fountain, two bedrooms with built-in mirror-fronted wardrobes and ceiling fans, spacious shower room, and a fully fitted kitchen. There are several beautiful community garden/courtyard areas, Jacuzzi, and a superb swimming pool garden terrace. This property also has its own
of Pro pe Br ou th gh rty e tt oy W ou ee by Pr k ic ng isi rt ve Ad
An attractive apartment in a stunning development
eB
ro
Price: 90,000 â‚Ź
SECURE: In the Harbour Lights Fase III development. numbered underground parking bay. Contact us to make an appointment to view this property, or to look at our extensive portfolio call into our office on the Paseo del Mediterraneo 171. If you are looking to sell your property call us now for a free, no obligation, valuation. We look forward to hearing from you. www.pricebrown.com sales@pricebrown.com Tel: 950 478 915
wn
COURTYARD: Apartment overlooks this lovely area.
FURNISHED: The living/dining room has a ceiling fan and arched doors to the external terrace.
80
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
omes&gardens
H
HOMES & GARDENS
SPONSORED BY
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPONSOR GO TO WWW.LINEADIRECTA.COM
Breakfasting from the contents of your garden Dick Handscombe
Gardening Corner By Spain’s best known expatriate gardening author living in Spain for 25 years.
F www.euroweeklynews.com
OR most Spaniards and many expatriates breakfast is an important meal designed to set one up for the day and especially for Spaniards as a daily social and trading occasion. Wander into a Spanish bar between 9.30am and 11am and you will find that
MIXED LEAVES: Perfect for a fresh garden salad. breakfast menus vary widely in the ingredients of plate assortments and bocadillo (long/French loaf sandwich) fillings, but the tables are normally set with mixed salads and portions of healthy peanuts, olives and sliced onions. Popular beverages are a beer or glass of wine, often summer wine diluted with lemonade, even during the winter months with a coffee or mint infusion at the end of the feast. The salads often contain more ingredients than a non-Spanish restaurant but not as many as from a garden, even from a mini allotment grown in a group of builder’s buckets. I have just enjoyed a home breakfast which I do five days a week. I rarely eat bread at breakfast, preferring an omelette
made with fresh eggs from the hens in the garden and an assortment of healthy fillings plus a healthy tasty salad and flavoursome and perfumed infusion. During the past week omelette fillings have been home grown onions and garlic, chicory and dandelion leaves cooked with pine kernels and raisins, Swiss chard and rocket, broccoli which is now abundant in the garden, wild asparagus and oyster mushrooms growing in a sack in the garage. Growing salad leaves is easy except in July and August when they need to be nursed and sheltered from the sun. Today my just harvested salad included: - leaves of carrot, coriander, beetroot, lambs lettuce, lettuce, chive, marjoram, purslane, parsley,
rocket, young garlic and onion plants - chopped broccoli, radish, onion and garlic - plus borage, lemon, nasturtium, rocket, rosemary, thyme and hibiscus flowers. Many of the ingredients were harvested from my experimental builders bucket salad bar garden. Also of course since the leaves were eaten within half an hour of harvesting they did not need to be treated to improve their keeping properties in transport, in storage warehouses, on supermarket shelves and in home fridges. For the past 20 years such breakfasts have been part of my Mediteranan Diet health regime used instead of chemo and radio therapy to prevent a recurrence of cancer. It’s why I still have a head of hair to protect me from the sun. More about my health oriented gardening will be found in the book ‘Living well from our garden Mediterranean style’ available from Amazon Books or at the end of talks. Happy breakfasting from your gardens!
© Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com March 2015.
www.euroweeklynews.com
CLASSIFIEDS
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
lassifieds C
EWN
81
FOR RESULTS EVERY WEEK
BOATS / CARS / JOBS / SERVICES / PETS / BIKES / FURNITURE / PROPERTY / MOTORING / FOR SALE
AIR CONDITIONING
ALARMS
ANDALUCIAN BUILDING COMPANY, see our advert on page 4. (230089)
CARPENTERS
COMPUTER SERVICES
FOR SALE
Inford@Tox Computer Services, call Raquel on 950 633 223 (228454)
BOATS
DRAINS
AUTHORS
CARS WANTED CARS bought for cash. Anything considered, LHD or RHD. 952 551 433 / 665 145 856 (221495)
COLLECTABLES
HAIR DRESSERS BUILDING SERVICES ECU REMAPPING
COMPUTERS ALARMS BOUNCY CASTLES BOUNCY CASTLES for all types of events. 629 294 917 (230071)
HEALTH & BEAUTY CAR VALETING
BUILDERS
ELECTRICAL
www.euroweeklynews.com AUCTIONS
BUSINESS FOR SALE
CARPENTRY
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
82
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
HEATING CARLOS SALIENTE PLUMBING & HEATING SERVICES. If it involves water we can help! www.carlossaliente.com Tel.950 930 900 or 968 969 962 (228425)
HOUSE CLEARANCE HOUSE CLEARANCE, garage clearance & scrap metal. 699 483 438 (230116)
INSURANCE
MOTOR INSURANCE. For the most competitive quotes in English call Linea Directa on 902 123 309, you could save as much as 30% and you can transfer your existing no claims bonus. Call Linea Directa on 902 123 309 for motor insurance with a human voice in English from Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and save money now! (200726)
www.euroweeklynews.com PAINTERS
PLUMBERS
CLASSIFIEDS
REMOVALS/STORAGE
INTERNET GET YOUR business noticed online! Make sure that expats in Spain can find your product, service, restaurant, bar or shop. Contact Spain’s newest and brightest online directory TODAY. Call 952 561 245 or email serena@euroweeklynews.com for more details.
For daily news visit www.euroweeklynews.com PERSONAL
MOBILE HOMES WE BUY, Sell, Store, 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 (228718)
MOTORING PLUMBERS
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)
PROPERTY FOR RENT
INSURANCE PROPERTY
LOGS FOR SALE
www.euroweeklynews.com
CLASSIFIEDS PETS 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 e-mail us: Tel: (0034) 651 033 670 or (0034) 637 066 227. Email: info@petcouriers.com or www.petcouriers.com (231443)
www.euroweeklynews.com PROPERTY WANTED WANTED. Unfurnished, 2 bed apartment for long let. 950 472 551 (232248)
REMOVALS/STORAGE
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 (228425)
POOLS CERTIFIED Pool Cleaner/Handyman/Gardener/House Sitter, cheap rates. Phone Neil 642 764 741, email totalpools@outlook.com
PROPERTY TO LET RENT/SELL 3 bed villa, 2 bath and lovely views. Seron 1.5 from airport, 50 mins from beach. €300 monthly. 678 527 602 (233650)
SPAIN - UK/UK - SPAIN. Deliveries. Best prices. Best service. Indalo Transport. 634 336 468 / www.indalotrans port.com. Find us on Facebook & Twitter. (230761) CAR TRANSPORTER. Call for excellent rates, fully insured, professional service. 952 816 582, email move@freinterna tional.com / www.car-trans port-spain.com (215605) UK - SPAIN - Anywhere Europe! Masses of experience. New clean vehicles. Insured with Royal Sun Alliance. Genuinely CARING service. FULL and part moves. ONLINE QUOTES!! www.bmceuropean.com UK 08456 443 784 / ES 634 344 787 FIND US ON FACEBOOK!(220152)
2ND HAND FURNITURE
PROPERTY FOR SALE EL MARGEN close to Oria. 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, large kitchen/diner. South facing garden + patio. 100m2 plot of land. 70,000€. 642 785 780 / semcoteakcare@yahoo.co.uk (232249) 5 BED village house. Lovely views, terrace, 45 mins from Almería. €38,000 URGENT SALE. Tel: 678 527 602 (233719)
SIGNS
TV & SATELLITE
www.euroweeklynews.com
VOLUNTEERS
LOWEST PRICES IN SPAIN. www.solarmegas tore.es (232103) SOLAR WIND POWER SOLUTIONS. Over 15 years installation experience. Established 12 years in Spain. Call Phil for competitive prices on 636 261 240 or email info@suner gyalmeria.com (230097) CARLOS SALIENTE PLUMBING & HEATING SERVICES for solar pool heating, solar hot water installations and repairs, call 950 930 900 or 968 969 962, email carlos.saliente @gmail.com (228425)
PLUMBING SERVICES KNOWLES PLUMBING. No 1 for plumbing! Central heating, solar hot water and water deposits. Tel: 950 137 197or 606 807 797 (230836)
SOLAR ENERGY
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
SWIMMING POOLS GENECO Pool construction. Tel 950 478 086 for no obligation quote (93401)
TILING FLOOR AND WALL TILING SPECIALIST Not a jack of all trades, just a master of one! Call Steve Holman on 697 678 708 (228474)
TV, AUDIO ETC REPAIRS REPAIR, TV, electronic equipment www.zeta-services.tv / 950 634 477 (230044)
TV / SATELLITE
XXX RELAXATION ¨Readers of a sensitive disposition may find some of the advertisements in this section offensive.¨
EWN
83
84
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
otoring M TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
IT would appear that everybody will soon be convinced into buying an electric car. But what will be the underlying push for change? Will it be for ‘green’ eco reasons? Or because of the huge greenbacks that will be up for grabs? On today’s roads, we drive a car managed by a mini computer that can access the web. It knows when something is too close behind, and can emergency brake to avoid the obstacle in front. It can park itself, and talk to GPS satellites. It can talk to your phone, and is only too keen to let you know when you don’t have your seatbelt on. In fact, we are very close to the point where the only thing in the car that is not needed… is you, the driver! With trials and tests of the new ground-breaking British led transport system going on in some of Britain’s major
MOTORING
www.euroweeklynews.com
SPONSORED BY For best rates in motor insurance call: 952 89 33 80
Green or Green
cities at the moment, the figures involved when Busiworld and his dog are looking ness Secretary Vince Cable on in anticipation at the proto- said in The Guardian: “The tritype driverless shuttle system als, backed by £19 million and wondering, how long will worth of funding from the it be before this is available governin my town? Thinking is, that it will be a lot quicker than most peoELECTRIC ple would have CAR: Will thought. The fantastic you soon be new Meridian Shuttle system is being hailed driving one? as the start of an environmentally-friendly transport solution that could eventually replace taxies, buses, coaches, and even trains. m e n t , “Great!” come the cries from would keep the eco-warriors, “We have the UK at the cutting edge of changed industry’s way of automotive technology. The thinking.” Well maybe, and projects we are now funding in maybe not. If we look at the Greenwich, Bristol, Milton
MERIDIAN SHUTTLE: The new system is being hailed as the start of an environmentally-friendly transport solution.
Keynes and Coventry will help to ensure we are worldleaders in this field and able to benefit from what is expected
to be a £900-billion industry by 2025.” It makes you ponder as to the primary motivation to ‘Go Green’. However, Green is Green, and when everyone is a winner, it has to be good news.
MOTORING
TRUST our advertisers
WE DO!
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
85
RE-PLATE MATE Don’t take a chance! Don’t break the law! Take the hassle out of re-registering your vehicle onto Spanish plates We endeavour to better any genuine quotation 490 Euro + Road Tax + CO2 emission tax if applicable
GOOD NEWS: The luxury electric car manufacturer Tesla has just announced a programme of installing charging stations nationwide.
Is Spain ready for electric? WHILE it would appear that the British public are starting to warm to the idea of electric vehicles, self-parking cars, and driverless taxis, will Spanish roads soon see a change towards ‘The Green’? A recent survey by GFK questioned the Spanish public on their opinions, and willingness to buy electric cars. They discovered that Spanish consumers show a deep and clear divide between their knowledge about electric vehicles and their willingness to buy one. The survey showed that more than half of Spanish car buyers are willing to select an electric vehicle, but only 15
per cent believe they know them well. For example; nine out of 10 people believed the only benefit to owning an electric car was the ‘low emissions factor’. The survey did point out, however, the most likely sector to benefit primarily will be the luxury end of the market. It would appear the drivers of large sedans would be more willing to pay up to 10 per cent extra for a new electric equivalent of their car. Good news indeed for Tesla, the luxury electric car manufacturer, which currently has big plans for Spain and France, and has just announced a programme of charging station installations nationwide.
Alan 662 249 159 www.replatematecostablanca.com
86
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
Camera-loving reckless driver tracked down A MAN who filmed himself speeding on a Spanish motorway with his young child standing beside him has been tracked down and charged by the police. After internet users reported to the Guardia Civil police force that a video was being spread on social media sites, police investigators started work to discover the make of the car and track down the driver. The video began by focusing on the car’s speedometer and showing how it quickly reached a speed of almost 190 kilometres per hour before moving to show the sides
of the A15 motorway towards Almazan, Soria, and other vehicles it quickly left behind. The camera then turned to show the driver’s face and his four-year-old son standing up and grinning between the two front seats. Police officers identified and charged a 25year-old man from El Burgo de Osma (Soria) for crimes against road safety. “He drove a motor vehicle recklessly, endangering lives including that of his son, who was not even in a car seat,” the police force statement declared.
www.euroweeklynews.com
MOTORING
Geneva highlights AS the 2015 Geneva Motor Show drew to a close, Euro Weekly News took a look back at the stars of the week. All eyes were on the Palexpo centre in Geneva this year in anticipation of the world’s biggest and shiniest car show. Mouths watered and palms were sweating as the doors opened, and the general public were invited in by the global motoring industry. This year’s offerings from the plethora of famous, and not so famous, car manufacturers didn’t disappoint the waiting HEFTY PRICE TAG: The Koenigsegg Regera was one of the main highlights of the show at 1.8 million US dollars.
public. On view were incredible machines including the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6, Audi R8, Kia Sport space, and the Ferrari 488GTB. One of the most popular surprises was the new Aston Martin DBX Crossover concept, which would tell us that the famous sports-car builder is looking to break into the 4x4 market. The Koenigsegg Regera had to be one of
the main highlights of the show, It featured the traditional 5.0 litre V8 coupled to three electronic motors for a total figure of 1,500hp. Even with its hefty price tag, apparently four have been sold already with a further 80 up for grabs as part of a production run. Want one? The price is 1.8 million US dollars!
SPORT
TRUST our advertisers
WE DO!
19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
Chelsea still in control as Lewis reigns supreme down under 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
PREVIEW - This weekend, in football’s Premiership, it’s Aston VillaSwansea, Hull-Chelsea, Liverpool-Manchester United (Sunday), Manchester City-WBA, NewcastleArsenal, QPR-Everton, Southampton-Burnley, Spurs-Leicester, StokeCrystal Palace and West Ham-Sunderland. The top games in the Championship are Bournemouth-Middlesbrough, Norwich-Nottingham Forest, WatfordIpswich and Wolves-Derby; FL1 leaders Bristol City visit bottom club Yeovil and it’s lowly Tranmere v high-flying Burton Albion in FL2. There’s a League Cup final and Scottish Cup semifinal repeat when Celtic play Dundee United and earlier this week we’ve had Champions League action with Manchester City (trailing 1-2) playing Barcelona here in Spain and Arsenal (1-3 down) away in Monaco. This evening Everton (21 up) are playing against Dynamo Kiev in the second leg of their Europa League quarter final tie in Ukraine. Cricket’s World Cup quarter finals are: South Africa-Sri Lanka (yesterday), India-Bangladesh (today), Australia-Pakistan (tomorrow) and New
Zealand-West Indies (Friday). The semi-finals are on March 24 and 26 with the final on the 29th. Football - After losing 1-0 at Burnley, Manchester City (with Frank Lampard making his 600th PL appearance) are now six points behind Chelsea, held 1-1 by Southampton, in the title race… and Jose Mourinho’s men have a game in hand. Arsenal, 3-0 victors over West Ham are third and Manchester United, after easing past Spurs 3-0, lie 4th. At the bottom, Aston Villa scored four goals in the first-half in their emphatic win at struggling Sunderland (the Midlanders had netted only 15 in their previous 28 PL games); Leicester and Hull drew 00, while QPR lost 3-1 at Crystal Palace despite Matty Phillips’ 43-yard bullet (possibly goal of the season, even of the decade). Elsewhere, Everton beat Newcastle 3-0 and WBA made it four home wins on the bounce with their first ever PL triumph over the Potters (1-0). Baggies’ boss Tony Pulis was named February’s ‘Manager of the Month.’ In the Championship, the top three Bournemouth, Watford and Middlesbrough - all won by scoring four goals and Derby (4th) drew at Norwich (5th) but Brentford (6th) lost. Celtic, who beat 10-man Dundee United 2-0 in Sunday’s League Cup final, head the SPL and Hearts are 17 points clear of Edin-
Annual prize-giving VALLE DEL ESTE held their annual prize-giving ceremony with John Want from Costa Coches presenting Paul Sedge with the Costa Coches order of merit shield. Winners on the day were: First George Bennett with 37 points, second Dave Ross with 37 points and third Malcolm Nicholls with 34 points.
DID YOU KNOW?
LEO MESSI: On right celebrates.
Several times in 1991, Glasgow Rangers’ starting line-up did not include a single Scotsman. The players used were England internationals including Chris Woods, Gary Stevens, Mark Walters and Terry Butcher.
Barcelona in lead After last week’s wins - Barcelona 2-0 at Eibar and Real Madrid 2-0 over Levante - the former lead La Liga by a point from Real. Leo Messi scored both goals for Barca, taking his tally to an incredible 444 in 562 appearances for club and country. burgh neighbours Hibernian in the Championship. And for the record, Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by PSG. Formula 1 - It was a great day for Mercedes last Sunday, as Lewis Hamilton won the Australian Grand Prix ahead of his team-
mate Nico Rosberg. This was Mercedes 30th F1 victory and it was Hamilton’s seventh win in eight starts. Sebastian Vettel came third for Ferrari who managed only two podium finishes in 2014. Only 11 of the 17 starters finished the race, the other eight being Massa 4th, Nasr 5th, Ricciardo
6th, Hulkenberg 7th, Ericsson 8th, Sainz 9th, Perez 10th and Button 11th. Those out were Raikkonen (botched pit stop), Maldonado (first lap crash) and Verstappen, Grosjean, Magnussen and Kvyat (all retired). Bottas didn’t make the grid (back injury). The next race is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on March 29. Six Nations Rugby After latest wins for England (25-13 over Scotland), Wales (23-16 v Ireland) and France (29-0 in Italy), the last three matches take place this weekend: England-France, Italy-Wales and Scotland-Ireland.
EWN
87
A good field at Aguilon A VERY large field in excess of 50 golfers contested a Team Bowmaker competition in Forum Golf Society’s latest outing, which took place at Aguilon on Friday March 13. Even the cold weather and date combined couldn’t deter the winning team of Dave Keymer, Adrian Foster, Dave Ashcroft and Ron Wileman, with their score of 80 points seeing them home to a comfortable win, four points clear of Bob Cowan, John Smith, Ian Postles and Wendy Greaves. Dave Vickers, Brian Gyer, John Mills and Dave Greaves were third with 75 points, one better than the 74 achieved by fourth placed Richard Swaine, Malcolm Sibbons, Dave White and Peter Tinsley. More information: contact Phil Elam on 666 847 840 / philj elam@yahoo.co.uk, or see www.forumgolf society.webs.com.
88
E W N 19 - 25 March 2015 / Costa de Almería
Sport Costa de Almería’s best guide to local sport
Heather Watson GB’s Heather Watson has knocked World number 8 Agnieska Radwanska out of the Indian Wells Tennis Open in the USA. TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Boxers at Alhama
Mojacar Bowls contest
MOJACAR Bowls Club held their 1st Anniversary Competition under clear blue skies with competitors from Mojacar, Almeria and Indalo Bowls Clubs taking part. Mayor Rosa Marie Cano who provided the facility was in attendance and watched the competition. After two rounds the eventual winners of the Servi Group Anniversary Trophy were Colin Wright, Viv Sykes and Ken Sykes from Almeria Bowls Club, runners up were Alan De Boer, Mo De Boer and Roy Burns from Indalo Bowls Club.
Left to right: Janet Jackson and Ian Jackson.
Left to right: Brendan Cullen and Brian Firth.
CABRERA Lawn Bowling Club hosted the Bob Wright Cup which was played over several weeks culminating in the final being played on Friday March 13 between Janet and Ian Jackson. Janet took an early lead and was ahead 7 - 1 after four ends. Ian then
The Ted Barrett Yardstick competition was also played over several weeks, the final being played between Brian Firth and Brendan Cullen on Saturday March 14. The aim of the competition is to get the bowl within a yard of the jack to score a point.
Bob Wright Cup final got into his stride and after 11 ends the score was level at 9 - 9. The score changed on nearly every end after that and on the 20th end Ian was leading 16 - 15. Sadly for Janet she did not win another end after that and Ian went onto win the match 21 - 15.
SPORT
www.euroweeklynews.com
The final was pretty evenly matched and after 22 ends the score was 9 8 to Brian. Brian however was playing more consistently and maintained his lead throughout the match, finally getting to the magical 21 points after 34 ends winning 2111.
BOXERS Golf Soceity took to the signature course of the Polaris world resorts Alhama Golf. There was a good turn out of 26 players and the weather was bright and sunny with the course playing very fast. Winning Division One was Colin Waters (37 points) with Dean Grayston (35) second and Andy Venn (30) third. In Division Two first was Martin Allen (39) with Gordon Batchelor (33) second and Maxine Mayhew (31) third. For more information contact Tony Hammond info@boxersgolfsociety.eu/ http://www.boxersgolfsoci ety.eu/