Issuu

ISSUE NO. 1640

8 - 14 December 2016

COSTA DE ALMERÍA

YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION

Horse returns from the dead By Matthew Elliott Police are investigating a councillor in Almeria accused of throwing a horse down a twometre deep hole and leaving it there with the ditch covered by metal plates. Jose Sanchez Gonzalez, the Town Planning councillor for Rioja, claims he thought 23year-old Lucero was dead and has pledged to cooperate fully with the Guardia Civil in their investigation. Agents from Seprona, the animal protection wing of the Guardia, will determine whether Gonzalez acted maliciously, or if the incident is, as he claims, a terrible misunderstanding. On Sunday, police, firefighters and a vet received an anonymous call to investigate a hole on the councillor’s property. They found Lucero, still alive and healthy, but very dehydrated. Using a crane the firefighters rescued the horse which was able to trot without difficulty. Sanchez claims he found the horse motionless a few days before and assumed he was dead. He contacted a neighbour who dug the hole but admits that, after he pushed Lucero down, the horse began to kick and struggle. Sanchez claims that he desperately tried to call a vet but to no avail.

The councillor said he then threw a blanket over the horse and covered the hole as it was pouring with rain and went to seek help. He claims to have contacted the authorities himself. Determining who, if anyone, the councillor was in communication with will be crucial to the investigation. Sanchez said he is horrified by social media reports suggesting he was trying to kill the horse and said he condemns animal cruelty in all its forms. Lucero is in good health and it seems odd, though not impossible, that he may have been temporarily paralysed.

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Baby blues A BABY which the authorities believe was bought from her mother by a homosexual couple from Vicar remains with a foster family and a judge has requested a DNA test to determine whether one of the two men really is her father. The two men and the mother were arrested by the Guardia Civil and the young baby taken into the custody of the auSee page 4 thorities last month.

Shrinking beach VERAPLAYAZUL residents’ association has spoken out on the state of Vera’s nudist beach and warned that the first line homes are in danger due to erosion.

The beach has reduced in size by 60 per cent over the last 20 years and the situation has worsened following construction of a breakwater. See page 8

MC Mojacar MOJACAR is to be next year’s host for the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain and the national and international display for the tourism sector, the council has reported. The Most Beautiful Villages in Spain brand is a sign of quality, a prestigious sign of tourism and heritage conservation which has very important repercussions on See page 12 the sector.

Stationary situation AT an extraordinary plenary session at Albox Town Hall last week the council approved a move to request the provincial council takes over running the

fire brigade from the local fire station as quickly as possible. A letter outlined the need for new resources to guarantee an effiSee page 58 cient service.

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LOCAL NEWS

Local is best THE 1639 (December 1-7) issue of the Costa de Almeria Euro Weekly News contained no less than 41 local news items, demonstrating once again our dedication and commitment to delivering the news that matters most to you, our readers, in each of our six editions. Nobody does it better!

Women injured FOUR injured women were taken to La Inmaculada Hospital in Huercal-Overa last week after two cars collided on the A-334 motorway. Emergency services reported

that drivers alerted the authorities at 10.44pm and Guardia Civil officers, paramedics and road maintenance teams were quickly on the scene.

Violent ex jailed A JUDGE in Almeria has jailed a man for nine months for breaking a restraining order and locking his former girlfriend inside her home, where he beat her up and bit her. The accused was found guilty of entering his victim’s home while she was out and leaving her notes claiming to love her before accosting her.

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Five years in prison for lamebrained looter A MAN who attempted to commit an armed robbery at a Huercal de Almeria bank has been sentenced to five years, 10 months and 17 days in prison, after he attempted to gun down an off-duty policeman during his failed escape. The bungling bandit entered the office of a savings bank located on the Los Pinos de Huercal urbanisation clutching an unlicensed nine millimetre semi-automatic weapon loaded with five cartridges, the court heard. Once inside, he began to shout “this is a robbery” and forced employees to open the safe, before swiping some €65,000 in cash. As he sprinted out of the building, he bumped into an off-duty Guardia Civil officer who was on his way to the bank before attending a training day in Benahadux. The raider is said to have screamed “stay in your car or I’ll kill you,” before hightailing it as the officer gave chase. The robber fired several shots behind him as he ran, until he came across a

parked car with the driver sitting inside. He pulled open the door and pointed the gun at the occupant, instructing him to get out and allowing him to flee. It was at this point that the heist unravelled, since

BUNGLING BANDIT: Swiped €65,000 in cash.

the quick-thinking driver had removed the keys from the ignition before running away, and several police patrols were now on the scene having been alerted by the bank’s alarm.

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Featured News 3

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Baby remains in care as investigations continue By Eleanor Hawkins

Our View 6

Finance 29 - 34

Stocks 30

Leapy Lee 35

Letters 40

Daily TV 44

Time Out 46 - 47

Health & Beauty 49 - 51

Social Scene 53 - 56

Albox 57 - 62

Property 63

Homes & Gardens 64

Pets 65

Classifieds 66 - 67

Motoring 68 - 70

Sport 71 - 72

A BABY which the authorities believe was bought from her mother by a homosexual couple from Vicar remains with a foster family and a judge has requested a DNA test to determine whether one of the two men really is her father. The two men and the mother, who lives in Cadiz, were arrested by the Guardia Civil and the young baby taken into the custody of the authorities last month after a tip off that the couple had paid €10,000 for the baby. However, one of the two men told a judge last week that he and the mother had been friends and, due to his wishes to become a father, she had agreed to be artificially inseminated with his sperm. Lawyer Carlos Aranguez Sanchez explained that no money was given to the mother for the baby, that the father had simply covered the costs

YOUNG BABY: Was taken into custody and remains with a foster family. of the insemination, bought clothes for the mother and baby and paid medical expenses of around €6,000. The baby was registered as the child of the woman and one of the two men and at no time was she left unattended, Aranguez stressed.

The lawyer has requested that the baby is immediately returned to her parents and complained that, although the arrestees, who were released with charges, have been to Social Services every day to try and find out where their daughter is, they have been given no information.

Off with the asbestos THE Education Department has announced that work will be carried out over the Christmas holidays to remove fibrocement from 47 Almeria schools. The work is part of a progressive asbestos removal programme approved by the Government in July this year which has a budget of €60

million and will run until 2022. Asbestos is believed to be present in 220 prima ry a nd s e c onda ry schools, mostly in the roofs, and has led to concern within the educational community. Thus, the Junta de Andalucia regiona l gove rnme nt re porte d, the work aims to bring peace of mind

for parents, students and teachers. Inspections are still being carried out to detect the presence of the offending material and work will be prioritised f ol l owi ng t echni cal guidelines but wherever possible it will be carried out during the school holidays in order to avoid disruption.

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More Brexit drama By John Smith

IT was bound to happen. The political shenanigans of the campaign, the resulting internecine bloodletting and now the feeling that events are moving at a pace of their own. That must mean someone is writing a TV drama and it’s all about Brexit. Playwright James Graham told the BBC he felt moved to write about “the new mood we’re living in which is very different, a bit scary, very divisive, very angry, very confused.” He may have hit the nail on the head there. I n t h e r e a l w o r l d , i f t h a t ’s t h e r i g h t phrase here, Brexit czar David Davis said access to the single market might necessitate the UK having to pay for the privilege. That sparked a predictable outburst from one pro-Leave MP who said the British people would be “absolutely outraged” at

tance of the EU’s so-called ‘four freedoms’:services and goods, capital and of course, people. It was also a week in which former PMs, To n y B l a i r a n d S i r John Major, appeared to push for a second referendum. This would give the public a vote on the deal that is eventually secured by the PM in power at the time but will that still be Theresa May?

DUTCH FINANCE MINISTER Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

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the idea of paying up to £20bn a year to a club we’d just left. Boris Johnson’s personal views whether uttered in public or private while holding one of the four most important offices of state, continue to puzzle most observers. While appearing to say he backed the free movement of people, he clarified it by saying it had got out of control and “we needed to take back control.” His utterances have been described by the Dutch finance minister as “intellectually impossible and politically unavailable”. Some fear that across the Channel Europe’s stance on the impending Brexit talks could be hardening. Imposing curbs on immigration to the UK will not result in access to the single market, according to the incoming EU President, the Maltese PM, Joseph Muscat. Meanwhile an Italian minister said what was coming out of the UK “needs to be something that makes sense.” It has also been a week in which a photographer’s lens alighted on something the civil service may wish he hadn’t seen. Carried by one Tory aide the handwritten notes appeared to say: “What’s the model? Have cake and eat it.” And as already mentioned in this paper, the government faces a fresh legal challenge based on Article 127 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. This does mean though an accep-

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Good news for neighbours By Eleanor Hawkins RESIDENTS of Almeria City’s La Chanca neighbourhood are breathing sighs of relief after being informed by the city council that steps

will finally be taken to seal off or demolish an abandoned home on Calle Capitana taken over by squatters and drug addicts. The home, locals complained in a letter to the town

hall, has for years been accumulating rubbish and attracting rats and other animals, posing a health risk for the area. “The home is being illegally occupied by drug addicts

Either a demolition order will be released or the doors and windows will be bricked up to stop people getting in.” who leave it covered in rubbish. So much so that there was even a fire one night not long ago which could have put all our lives at risk,” the Pescaderia-La Chanca residents’ association said. The council has responded that it understands the situation and the problems caused by the building and has announced measures which locals hope will put an end to their problems. Either a demolition order will be released or the doors and windows bricked up to stop people getting in, Town Planning councillor Miguel Angel Castellon explained.

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OUR VIEW

Blessing and curse THERE is no question that Spain needed rain, but the last week has seen terrible devastation from the torrential rains which have hit most of the country and particularly in Malaga Province which witnessed scenes of flooding and devastation not seen since the 1980s. Our hearts go out to those who were evacuated from their homes due to the floods and indeed one of the saddest stories is of the young Romanian hostess who had come to Spain to make a better life but was drowned in the basement of the club she worked in. It’s easy to ignore the cost of insurance when finance is tight especially in the run up to Christmas and New Year but there’s no doubt when events like this occur, the cost of clearing up and re-

placing ruined furniture, let alone structural damage is potentially enormous. As usual, emergency services did all they could to assist those in distress with people being rescued by helicopter from the top of buildings and from stranded cars, with councils opening temporary accommodation for those who were forced out of their properties. The previous week saw water spouts and even tornados around Spain and the wet weather was in the process of heading north. along the coast of Valencia towards Catalonia. Hopefully the weather gods are going to settle down in order that those who have been hit by the terrible weather can recover and clean up. We hope all our readers and advertisers are safe.

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Night racers caught FOUR men from Vicar, all in their early 20s, have been reported for taking part in an illegal race on Almeria City’s Avenida del Mediterraneo in two cars which

hadn’t passed their MOTs. The gr oup wer e caught during part of the Local Police force’s special operation against street racing, which has been reported in various parts of the city, on the night of November 25. A patrol car spotted the two vehicles, obviously racing, at great speed on the avenue at 11.55pm and took chase, eventually managing t o st op t he car s near t he shoppi ng cent r e on Car retera Doctoral. Inspection of the two cars

r eveal ed t hat nei t her had been taken for ITV (MOT) i nspect i ons, one had no obl i gat or y i nsur ance and nine unauthorised changes had been made to the vehicles including modified exhaust pipes, tinted windows and special seats. The uni nsur ed vehi cl e was towed away and the four young men were informed of the legal consequences of their acts and the dangers for other vehicles and pedestrians of illegal street racing.

Firemen to move soon THE ball is rolling at last on the process to get Huercal-Overa’s new fire station up and running. Although construction was complete in mid-2013, locals still refer to the fire station as ‘new’ due to the fact that, more than three years on, firefighters have yet to take up their posts within the building. If the Levante Fire Extinguishing Consortium’s forecasts are correct, the station will begin to run next year. Posts for 16 new firefighters to man the station were announced in the Official Provincial Bulletin in October.

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Shrinking beach puts local homes in danger By Eleanor Hawkins VERAPLAYAZUL residents’ association has spoken out on the state of Vera’s nudist beach and warned that the first line homes are in danger due to erosion. The association estimated the beach has reduced in size by 60 per cent over the last 20 years and complained the situation worsened following construction of a breakwater to protect the local nudist hotel’s beach.

Photo Credit You Tube

VERA PLAYA: Homes are in danger due to erosion. That is the only part of a project approved by the EU some

years ago to protect seven kilometres of sand in Vera, the as-

sociation complained. Rather than improving the situation, it in fact worsened matters by putting more pressure on neighbouring beaches and causing more dirt to gather. Plus, Veraplayazul complained, cement remains which was put down for construction of the breakwater and the coast department also made the mistake of bringing in pebbles instead of sand. The Ministry of Agriculture, responsible for the Coastal department, Junta de Andalucia regional government and Vera Council all seem to be passing the hot potato around while the beaches continue to shrink, the association said. Veraplayazul intends to take the matter up with the EU in the hope that it can unblock the project approved in 2007 to build a large breakwater to protect the entire area. In the meantime, it is trying to persuade those in charge to create a reef off the coastline to provide some protection before houses are affected or tourists decide to head elsewhere to more enticing beaches.

NEWS EXTRA

Migrants caught ELEVEN Algerian migrants were intercepted on a dinghy 33 miles south of Cabo de Gata on Thursday afternoon (December 1) after being spotted by a passing ship. Coastguards dispatched a helicopter and lifeboat, which collected the migrants at 4.30pm.

Violent reaction A MAN, 25, has been arrested by Almeria Local Police for smashing a glass in the face of an innocent bystander after being pushed from behind in a crowded pub. The victim needed 20 stitches.

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Police officers Jail request for private tutor save the day By Eleanor Hawkins GUARDIA CIVIL officers from Tijola and Purchena saved the day last week when they rescued a 61year-old woman from a house on fire in Urracal. The police force was alerted to the fire and patrols from each village were sent to the scene, where they found a house filled with smoke and flames coming from a fire believed to have started in the kitchen. The owner was nearby and told the officers that his wife was inside, stuck in a bathroom on the first floor. The woman, the concerned husband explained, was unable to get down the stairs to the front door due to the smoke and the bathroom window was fitted with security bars.

Helped by his colleagues, one of the officers managed to climb onto the porch roof and approach the window, where he began to try to calm the woman down and passed her a bottle of water and clothes to put over her face, as she was very nervous and had inhaled a lot of smoke. Meanwhile, the other officers searched for tools to use to rescue the trapped woman and eventually managed to pull the bars from the window using the patrol car’s jack and a large hammer. Once out of the window, the officers parked their car next to the porch to help the woman down to the ground and she was taken to Olula del Rio medical centre for treatment before being sent to La Inmaculada hospital in Huercal-Overa.

A PRIVATE tutor is facing a 32-year and three-month jail sentence for allegedly taking pornographic photos and videos of various pupils, all under age, some of whom he is also accused of sexually abusing. The Public Prosecutor’s office has requested the jail sentence along with re-

straining orders, a total of €31,000 in damages for five pupils aged between 13 and 17 and 10 years of sexual education for the defendant. The teacher is believed to have persuaded his pupils, some of whom he had been giving private maths and science lessons to

at his home in a Levante village for more than five years, to undress and have their pictures taken after showing them nude photos of other youngsters. The defendant was reported by a 15year-old girl who said he had started to ask her for “sexual favours.”

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Flooded school evacuated By Eleanor Hawkins HEAVY rain at the end of the week caused a variety of inc ide nts a c ros s the provinc e w ith a s c hool evacuation and the rescue of

four people from an overturne d c a r of pa rtic ula r note. The 112 Emergency Services Andalucia reported receiving alerts at 8.15am on Thursday (December 1) that a car had been overturned by water in Macenas Beach, Mojacar, and four people were trapped inside. Polic e pa trols , pa ra me dic s a nd Le va nte fire brigade were sent to the rescue and the passengers taken for medical treatment. A t 9.30a m, the s e rvic e was notified of flooding at Juan Goytisolo secondary school in Carboneras and Local Police, Guardia Civil, Civil Protection and Levante fire brigade teams were sent to the scene. Once there, Civil Protection reported that ground

WELL STUCK: Four people had to be rescued.

Ground floor classrooms were flooded with water.

f l oor cl assr oom s wer e flooded with water and the decision was made to evacuat e t he 530 st udent s. Council workers spent all morning bailing water out, the town hall reported.

Fined for false accusations AN Almeria City criminal court has found a man guilty of slander for having accused a secondary school teacher of being a paedophile. The defendant, the sentence declared, pretended to be the Albox chief of police on March 17, 2015 and telephoned his victim to attempt to bribe him over an incident dating back to 1989. During the conversation, the judge declared, with a clear aim to obtain financial ga in, the de fe nda nt fa ls el y accused t he teacher of encouraging students to take

drugs and of having had sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl, taking advantage of his position of authority. Upon failing to achieve his goal, the man sent letters to the teacher, other teachers at the school where he worked, the parents’ association and the Almeria education authorities repeating the accusations made over the telephone. Judge Luis Miguel Columna Herrera of the city’s number one criminal court sentenced the defendant to pay a fine of €5 per day for 10 months.

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Mojacar will be a most beautiful host MOJACAR HOST: For next year’s AGM.

By Eleanor Hawkins MOJACAR is to be next year’s host for the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain and the national and international display for the tourism sector, the council has reported. The Most Beautiful Villages in Spain brand is a sign of quality, a prestigious sign of tourism and heritage conservation which has very important reper-

cussions on the sector, the association has stated. Almost all members of the association were present at this year’s annual meeting in Tejera, where joint tourism strategies and social media growth were discussed along with the 20172018 calendar and inclusion of new members. It was agreed next year’s AGM will be held in Mojacar in November. Strategies debated upon include organisation of a ‘roman-

tic night’ to be held simultaneously in all member villages in Spain, Belgium and Italy. The association is part of the International Most Beautiful Villages of the World federation, therefore many of its tourism strategies are carried out jointly with other countries to achieve greater impact. Finally, members agreed to accept two new villages into the association: Capileira in Granada and Grazalema in Cadiz.

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Seagrass carefully checked upon OCEANIC MEADOWS: Are vital.

MEMBERS of Posimed Andalucia divers volunteer network have completed this year’s inspections of Almeria’s Posidonia oceanica meadows, the environmental department has reported. The inspections are carried out as part of the LIFE+Blue Natura Project, which aims to protect marine ecosystems in Andalucia and help reduce the effects of climat-

ic change. Posimed Andalucia carries out vital work to monitor the conditions and sizes of the meadows, found mostly off the coasts of Almeria, Granada and Malaga and vital due to the amount of oxygen they generate. Altogether there are 11 zones in Almeria waters which 66 volunteer divers are in charge of keeping an eye on, in Pozo del Espar-

to, Calon, Isleta del Moro, Aguamarga, Las Negras, Carnaje, Los Escullos, El Zapillo, El Palmer, Aguadulce and Bajos de Roquetas. Regional Environmental Delegate Antonio Martinez explained that Almeria has the best conditions in Spain for growth of the marine plants and said the efforts of the volunteers are key to the survival of the protected habitats.

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Beware of the missed call scam THE GUARDIA CIVIL have issued an announcement warning citizens not to call back if a call from a number with any of the following prefixes is received: 355 Albania, 225 Ivory Coast, 233 Ghana or 234 Nigeria. “The missed call scam is back and usually uses these prefixes,” read the official line. “If you find a call on your phone which starts with one of these numbers be careful and don’t call back!”

The scam is relatively simple; when a phone owner spots a missed call from an unknown number and returns it, he or she is connected to a ‘special tariff’ number, the proceeds from which are shared between the national and international operators plus the scammer(s). MISSED CALL: Don’t call back.

Repair works spending approved THE Provincial Council has approved works for a total of €1.1 million on roads, water systems and other provincial projects in the Almanzora, Filabres-Alhamilla, Levante and Poniente areas of the province. Projects to repair provincial roads in the North Zone of Almeria worth €100,000 are to

be put out to tender following approval at the latest meeting, the council reported. Meanwhile contracts have been awarded for five jobs to improve and repair provincial roads, municipal infrastructures and water systems in Los Gallardos, Uleila del Campo, Oria and Velez-Rubio for a total of €871,276.

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Post Office has a permanent home MOJACAR Town Council has unanimously approved a collaboration with the state company Correos y Telegrafos SA for the permanent transfer of the temporary post office to a municipal

building. A 10-year contract will now be drawn up, renewable on an annual basis. The village Post Office was located in the lower part of the Plaza Nueva, but work on the new town hall meant it

had to be moved to another, temporary, location. Thanks to the signing of this agreement, the post office is now guaranteed to remain in Mojacar village permanently, saving the

residents a journey down to the beach area to post letters and parcels. In the same plenary session, an agreement between the Junta de Andaluciaâ€™s Delegation of Territorial Devel-

opment and Housing and Mojacar Town Council for the installation of a bus shelter that will be located at the new Marina de la Torre bus stop was approved. The Council has already

carried out all the civil works necessary, and as soon as the agreement is signed the new bus stop will be installed, further improving the townâ€™s public transport service.

Migrant dinghies keep on coming RECENT bad weather did not put migrants off taking to sea in an attempt to reach Spain last week and the coastguard service intercepted two separate dinghies carrying a total of 29 Africans, 26 men and three women. The first of the dinghies was spotted by a merchant ship 18 nautical miles from Punta Encina at 4pm on December 1. The ship remained beside the dinghy until Polimnia lifeboat arrived to carry the 17 men and one woman on board to Almeria City Port, a coastguard service spokeswoman reported. Then on Saturday, December 3, another dinghy was spotted by a ship which radioed the lifeguards to report its presence 20 miles from Cabo de Gata but claimed to have lost sight of the craft. Helimer 219 search helicopter was sent out and spotted the dinghy, with nine men and two women on board, and alerted Denebola lifeboat. The migrants were eventually collected and arrived in port at about 4.15pm, where they were handed over to the authorities.

Your Belgian estate agent at the coast!

SOCIAL NEWS

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Final night in Vegas THIS is your final chance to see three of Europe’s top tribute acts come together to bring you ‘The Show That Never Was.’ Following the sell out and great success of the three previous concerts, Helping Hands are proud to present the fourth and final ‘One Night in Vegas’ fundraising concerts. The Hotel Puerto Juan Montiel, Aguilas, is the

venue for this event on Sunday December 11 at 8.30pm. Featuring Europe’s top tribute acts; Neil Diamond (JJ Jones), Tom Jones (Andy Wood) and Elvis (Simon Fitzpatrick), the concert has been completely sold out at previous venues so don’t delay and reserve one of the final few tickets remaining now. Close your eyes and you will believe that Tom Jones,

Elvis Presley and Neil Diamond are on stage. Open them and you will realise that there are no better tributes around. Each act has great stage presence and emulates rich and professional voices. The event, organised by Helping Hands registered charity which supports people and animals alike, promises great music, superb vocal ability and show-

Indalo Players annual pantomime ROBINSON CRUSOE, written by Jim Sperinck, with kind permission from Jasper Publishing and directed by Ruth Wood arrives at The Venue El Cine Teatro in Vera in January 2017. Here’s what to expect; Robinson Poor is in love with Rosie but her mother Baroness Bossalot Rich wants her to marry Cedric Rich. Robinson and Rosie decide to escape and run away on a ship leaving from Plymouth with Mrs Crusoe plus a very shady Captain and his mate. Their adventures see them shipwrecked into Queen Neptune’s ‘underwater world’ before finally arriving on an island. They then encounter

Man Friday, Warriors and a very suspect King Rumble Tum. Many twists and turns plus typical pantomime humour eventually lead to a grand finale of treasure and much true love. The performances will be Friday January 13 at 7.30pm, Saturday January 14 at 7.30pm and Sunday January 15 at 7.30pm. Tickets are €10 and available from Connextions in Turre, PC Playa and Gill’s Linen in Mojacar, Forget-Me-Not in Buganvillas and Los Gallardos Camping. Proceeds will support PAWS-PATAS Cats and the Vera Orphanage, while Stepping Stones will supply refreshments.

manship at a fabulous venue. Tickets can be obtained by contacting Linda Cook on 634 456 701 or by email at Linrog07@yahoo.co.uk Tickets cost €15.

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SOCIAL NEWS

Dames in Turre hold Christmas market

DAMES IN TURRE: Getting into the spirit of Christmas. ALTHOUGH it was overcast and rain was predicted for later, this did not discourage Dames in Turre from holding their Christmas market on Saturday December 3. Arriving at the crack of dawn, members began erecting their stalls and getting into the spirit of Christmas. Tables decorated with Christmas cloths and

fairy lights, stall holders dressed in Christmas outfits and the aroma of mulled wine drifted through the air giving that extra warm Christmas feeling. Soon the square was buzzing with eager supporters trying their luck on the Tombola, the Big Raffle and the Bottle Stall, purchasing items from the Jewellery Stall, Craft Stall, Bric-a-

Brac and enjoying a glass of mulled wine with a mince pie. At the end of the day Turre Dames would like to thank everyone who came along and supported the event and helped raise â‚Ź3,200 for local charities. A big big thank you to Soo Wallace for all her hard work organising the event, and all the helpers who managed a stall.

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SOCIAL NEWS

Brand new shop opens in Turre CASA CARMA, a shop, selling everything you need to furnish your home in style is staging its official opening in Turre on Saturday. Opposite the town’s supermarket, it has been put together by Carol and Marg, the latter is the wife of this paper’s sports columnist Tony Matthews. Casa Carma will feature an extensive selection of high-quality, made-to-measure curtains, cushions, throws, blinds and even doorstops, using top brands of material and fabrics. You’ll be able to buy some of the finest and certainly the best gifts and household furnishings in town. The two ladies are also offering alteration and re-

CASA CARMA: Furnish your home in style. covering services. For further information,

you can telephone 645 080 310.

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Costa de Almería

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OPEC is to cut oil production THE members of the cartel of oil producing countries, OPEC has announced that it will be cutting oil production (or in reality sales) with effect from January 2017 in an effort to help ease the price up above its current levels which are at an almost historic low. The reduction is quite signifi-

Quote of the Week

1.2 million barrels is the number of barrels per day that will be cut by the OPEC oil producing countries in order to force up prices.

Photo Credit: Elliott Brown flickr

RBS: Fared the worst amongst British banks. By Matthew Elliott STRESS tests conducted by the Bank of England have found that the Royal Bank of Scotland would fare the worst among Britain’s banks if a major economic catastrophe occurs. RBS failed the annual check-up and is now forced to embark on a £2 billion programme of cuts to ensure it can handle another crisis. Lloyds, HSBC, Santander UK, Barclays and Nationwide

cant as it represents 3 per cent on daily production of 32.5 million barrels, but it is clear that countries can increase their income whilst holding stocks and thus assisting their economies which have suffered over the past 12 months. Effectively this is good news for countries like Saudi Arabia whose finances are in something of a mess, but is so good for most of

There may be some circumstances where that is defensible, but it should be for the boards of companies and executives to justify that,” Business Secretary Greg Clark on enormous salaries paid to some company bosses.

Royal Bank fails stress tests

were also tested amid a financial climate the Bank of England has described as boasting an ‘elevated risk’ of crisis, as lending rates begin approaching 2008 levels in the aftermath of the Great Recession. The test analysed the readiness of the banks in the event of £44 billion being wiped off the value of the capital markets in two years. The BoE found that the British banking system would be able to withstand such a calamity, even if only by the skin of its teeth.

BUSINESS EXTRA

Pension pot AS the Spanish government refuses to agree to an increase in pension of 1.2 per cent requested by the opposition parties, it is estimated that it will need to find a further €7 billion to pay the current pension in 2017.

New trains DEVELOPMENT minister Íñigo de la Serna, has announced that rail operator RENFE will purchase 15 new trains from manufacturer Talgo at a cost of €786 million and will then have the ability within the contract to purchase 15 more.

Donald Trump PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump announced he is to divorce himself from his business interests to let him focus on the presidency and avoid conflicts of interest but he has given few details of who will take over.

Mark Carney sends warning IN a statement which is bound to find favour with some and attract opprobrium from others, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, has warned that European economies could be hit if their access to the City of London is impeded after

£40 billion (€46 billion) is the annual amount estimated to be lost by British business caused by workers’ sleep deprivation.

C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 5

By John Smith

EWN

Britain leaves the EU. He has made this statement as certain European politicians have suggested Britain should no longer be a major player in the euro market but suggests that more than half the equity and debt raised is raised by firms in the UK.

the airlines which have benefited in particular from the very low prices. It appears that in a deal which is proudly acceptable to non-OPEC oil producers as well, Iran will be allowed to continue to produce at pre-sanction levels in order to assist the rebuilding of its economy and the market has welcomed the news with prices immediately moving upwards.

IBEX 35

+0.60%

C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 5

Samsung split SAMSUNG Electronics, the South Korean industrial giant which is already increasing dividends has said that following investor pressure, it is considering dividing the company into two separate firms in order to help the value of its shares. The intention would be for it to devolve into a holding company and an operating company with the pressure having increased following the fiasco over the battery problems with its new Galaxy 700 model.

E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

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C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 5

PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) COMPANY 3i Group PLC 679.75 3.00 Admiral Group PLC 1839.00 -1.00 Anglo American PLC 1226.50 17.50 Antofagasta PLC 710.50 17.50 Ashtead Group PLC 1546.00 11.00 Associated British Foods PLC 2584.00 9.00 AstraZeneca PLC 4069.75 15.00 Aviva PLC 444.25 0.70 Babcock International Group 940.75 -9.00 BAE Systems PLC 600.25 6.00 Barclays PLC 213.28 0.30 Barratt Developments PLC 473.55 -1.50 BHP Billiton PLC 1330.50 27.00 BP PLC 467.17 0.40 British American Tobacco PLC 4359.50 13.00 British Land Co PLC 584.50 -2.50 BT Group PLC 355.07 -3.55 Bunzl PLC 2044.00 9.00 Burberry Group PLC 1435.00 23.00 Capita PLC 541.75 0.00 Carnival PLC 3926.00 17.00 Centrica PLC 207.15 -1.10 Coca-Cola HBC AG 1630.00 -2.00 Compass Group PLC 1348.50 7.00 CRH PLC 2601.50 28.00 Croda International PLC 3236.50 49.00 DCC PLC 6012.50 85.00 Diageo PLC 1973.50 16.00 Direct Line Insurance Group... 348.00 0.50 Dixons Carphone PLC 341.45 -4.70 easyJet PLC 970.00 -1.50 Experian PLC 1518.50 6.00 Fresnillo PLC 1185.00 -13.00 GKN PLC 304.30 0.80 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1474.50 7.50 Glencore PLC 282.60 4.60 Hammerson PLC 531.50 -3.50 Hargreaves Lansdown PLC 1179.00 -1.00 Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC 1674.50 9.00 HSBC Holdings PLC 622.65 -4.70 Imperial Brands PLC 3426.50 29.38 Informa PLC 648.00 6.00 InterContinental Hotels Gr 3256.00 35.00 International Consolidated 415.85 -0.30 Intertek Group PLC 3241.00 -9.00 Intu Properties PLC 260.65 -1.30 ITV PLC 166.80 -0.10 Johnson Matthey PLC 3102.50 19.00 Kingfisher PLC 350.05 -0.40 Land Securities Group PLC 950.50 -9.00

% CHG. 0.44 -0.05 1.45 2.52 0.72 0.35 0.37 0.16 -0.95 1.01 0.14 -0.32 2.07 0.09 0.30 -0.43 -0.99 0.44 1.63 0.00 0.44 -0.53 -0.12 0.52 1.09 1.54 1.43 0.82 0.14 -1.36 -0.15 0.40 -1.09 0.26 0.51 1.66 -0.65 -0.08 0.54 -0.75 0.87 0.93 1.09 -0.07 -0.28 -0.50 -0.06 0.62 -0.11 -0.94

NET VOL 51.66 13.77 319.67 87.11 67.92 22.60 108.61 324.41 59.44 163.24 2,655.01 128.48 494.15 941.17 153.31 76.19 1,122.77 7.90 155.08 144.35 5.97 406.56 15.84 112.23 88.83 14.58 6.80 148.66 63.19 96.11 41.42 96.13 56.10 102.54 257.58 1,852.54 75.74 18.40 14.26 1,609.29 105.79 98.60 9.91 393.19 14.00 71.39 328.43 14.35 297.19 54.09

COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) Legal & General Group PLC 241.45 -0.90 Lloyds Banking Group PLC 57.47 -0.10 London Stock Exchange Grp 2671.00 0.00 Marks & Spencer Group PLC 324.75 -2.30 Mediclinic International PLC 685.00 0.38 Merlin Entertainments PLC 434.55 2.50 Micro Focus International PLC 2059.50 -2.00 Mondi PLC 1591.00 4.00 Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets 217.75 1.21 National Grid PLC 905.35 2.70 Next PLC 4833.00 -31.00 Old Mutual PLC 184.75 -0.20 Paddy Power Betfair PLC 8330.00 25.00 Pearson PLC 785.50 -1.50 Persimmon PLC 1703.00 8.00 Polymetal International PLC 750.25 3.50 Provident Financial PLC 2843.50 -11.00 Prudential PLC 1569.00 6.00 Randgold Resources Ltd 5732.50 -90.00 Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC 6634.00 41.00 RELX PLC 1347.00 10.00 Rio Tinto PLC 3067.25 61.50 Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC 674.75 13.11 Royal Bank of Scotland Grou... 193.45 -0.20 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2162.25 10.00 Royal Mail PLC 463.20 -1.00 RSA Insurance Group PLC 530.50 1.00 Sage Group (The) PLC 644.50 5.00 Sainsbury (J) PLC 229.80 1.07 Schroders PLC 2764.50 -25.00 Severn Trent PLC 2129.00 3.00 Shire PLC 4649.50 60.00 Sky PLC 769.50 2.00 Smith & Nephew PLC 1120.00 3.00 Smiths Group PLC 1432.00 15.00 SSE PLC 1474.00 -5.00 Standard Chartered PLC 638.30 -6.90 Standard Life PLC 344.75 -0.90 St James's Place PLC 941.00 1.50 Taylor Wimpey PLC 150.65 0.00 Tesco PLC 208.38 1.50 Travis Perkins PLC 1357.00 -12.00 TUI AG 1039.00 5.00 Unilever PLC 3134.00 23.00 United Utilities Group PLC 882.25 -1.00 Vodafone Group PLC 192.22 0.82 Whitbread PLC 3398.50 -11.00 Wolseley PLC 4740.00 60.00 Worldpay Group PLC 261.75 1.90 WPP PLC 1677.00 7.00

% CHG. -0.37 -0.17 0.00 -0.70 0.06 0.58 -0.10 0.25 0.56 0.30 -0.64 -0.11 0.30 -0.19 0.47 0.47 -0.39 0.38 -1.55 0.62 0.75 2.05 1.98 -0.10 0.46 -0.22 0.19 0.78 0.47 -0.90 0.14 1.31 0.26 0.27 1.06 -0.34 -1.07 -0.26 0.16 0.00 0.73 -0.88 0.48 0.74 -0.11 0.43 -0.32 1.28 0.73 0.42

NET VOL 520.48 6,428.54 2.59 94.29 23.33 35.02 14.73 43.22 133.38 202.04 6.91 148.36 1.07 95.26 24.31 21.13 7.00 260.41 33.45 51.43 167.78 171.46 143.48 743.71 242.80 48.40 43.36 48.16 113.44 7.69 10.04 35.40 140.62 110.85 32.49 56.54 2,172.97 62.91 18.83 277.65 465.87 37.45 33.94 119.87 33.88 2,377.39 11.21 40.74 84.94 165.40

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US dollar....................................................................1.06516 Japan yen .................................................................121.482 Switzerland franc.................................................1.07859 Denmark kroner...................................................7.43868 Norway kroner .....................................................8.97423 currenciesdirect.com/moraira • Tel: +34 966 265 072

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 5

COMPANY MMM 3M AXP American Express AAPL Apple 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 172.43 -0.20 -0.12% 1.9M 71.86 -0.67 -0.92% 3.0M 109.90 +0.41 +0.37% 26.5M 152.25 -0.14 -0.09% 2.1M 95.14 -1.10 -1.14% 5.0M 113.00 -0.29 -0.26% 6.2M 29.25 -0.20 -0.68% 27.1M 40.36 +0.19 +0.47% 11.2M 98.50 -0.44 -0.44% 7.7M 73.13 -0.49 -0.67% 3.2M 87.04 -0.20 -0.23% 9.7M 31.34 -0.05 -0.16% 21.4M 223.36 -3.27 -1.44% 5.3M 129.87 +0.40 +0.31% 3.7M 160.02 +0.20 +0.13% 2.7M 35.44 +0.24 +0.68% 6.4M 114.13 +1.06 +0.94% 3.4M 78.83 -0.03 -0.04% 6.2M 120.66 +0.52 +0.43% 1.7M 62.21 +0.57 +0.92% 3.5M 60.53 +0.13 +0.22% 8.4M 51.52 +0.18 +0.35% 2.7M 31.69 +0.27 +0.86% 10.5M 83.46 +0.78 +0.94% 3.9M 113.45 +0.38 +0.34% 686.3K 108.78 +0.67 +0.62% 1.0M 152.81 -0.73 -0.48% 1.7M 50.67 +0.44 +0.88% 8.1M 80.13 +0.56 +0.70% 6.5M 71.23 +0.40 +0.56% 4.2M

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES

DECEMBER

COMPANY

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

Most Advanced Ascena Retail Group, Inc. Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. Cempra, Inc. Ixia Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc Information Services Group, Inc. Editas Medicine, Inc. Nexvet Biopharma plc Central Garden & Pet Company Liquidity Services, Inc.

$ 7.01 $ 4.60 $ 7.55 $ 15.55 $ 2.39 $ 5.88 $ 3.80 $ 15.54 $ 4.9399 $ 31.485 $ 9.65

1.18 ▲ 20.24% 0.70 ▲ 17.95% 1 ▲ 15.27% 2 ▲ 14.76% 0.29 ▲ 13.81% 0.63 ▲ 12% 0.38 ▲ 11.11% 1.55 ▲ 11.08% 0.4899 ▲ 11.01% 3.105 ▲ 10.94% 0.95 ▲ 10.92%

$ 21.10 $ 54.47 $ 8.32 $ 11.85 $ 11.45 $ 8.05 $ 2.05 $ 14.80 $ 3.75 $ 3.15 $ 5.15

2.88 ▼ 12.01% 6.92 ▼ 11.27% 1.03 ▼ 11.02% 1.15 ▼ 8.85% 1.10 ▼ 8.76% 0.71 ▼ 8.11% 0.175 ▼ 7.87% 1.25 ▼ 7.79% 0.30 ▼ 7.41% 0.25 ▼ 7.35% 0.40 ▼ 7.21%

Most Declined Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation Ambarella, Inc. Lonestar Resources US Inc. Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc. Health Insurance Innovations, Inc. Tuniu Corporation Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. MobileIron, Inc. CareDx, Inc. Kura Oncology, Inc.

E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

UK, US and Eurozone in the spotlight Ask the expert Peter Loveday Contact me at euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com

SINCE the announcement of Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the US, euro performance has been affected; GBPEUR moved back above 1.1750 and EURUSD down nearly seven cents to 1.06. With Mr Trump seemingly keener to tie down a more powerful relationship with the UK rather than the EU, it has sent a message out to the European Union that the Brexit situation has not exactly enhanced the single bloc’s position in the global market. With regards to Brexit, all the implications and legal battles are due to take place in the coming weeks, as migration and access to the Single Market are the key political issues. There are now rumours surfacing that triggering Article 50 will not necessarily mean the UK has to leave the EEA Membership, which in itself is Article 127. The confusion, rumours and constant meetings between political heads would suggest that Brexit is not going to be as smooth as some

EURO PERFORMANCE: Has been affected by Donald Trump’s surprise victory. would like, and let’s not forget that Parliament may seek to vote in guaranteeing that Article 50 is triggered before Theresa May’s expectant time frame of March 2017. Mario Draghi, Head of the European Central Bank, has also weighed in with his thoughts on the matter, stating that the EU shall not weaken

its position to cater for the UK’s decision to leave. Limiting the migration flow into the UK was seen as the main driver of the Brexit victory, but the EU has been stern in its concern that limiting the flow of people will not be tolerated if the UK wishes to carry on its free trade with the current members.

Theresa May herself has been hard at work meeting with her seniors, and the latest was the Polish Prime Minister, who visited Downing Street on the last week of November. The meeting was put in place to support entrepreneurs in both the UK and Poland. The Polish UK trade was worth approximately £15bn in 2015, a figure which has risen dramatically since 2006. Another point on the agenda was to make sure that up to 900,000 Polish workers guarantee their rights in the UK, which would have been pleasing for Beata Szydlo (Poland PM). The Eurozone itself comes into the spotlight this December, and not only because the US will almost certainly raise its current interest rates, which will have an effect on euro-paired currencies. The ECB will also need to make a decision on its current Quantitative Easing programme, which purchases Government bonds in the hope of raising inflation. Current inflation levels are miles off of the expected 2 per cent marker, and a continuing trend could see bonds completely dried up to buy in the future. The UK, US and Eurozone are all in the spotlight over the coming few months, and it appears the Trump win has been more positive than investors had predicted.

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Pound of flesh causes uproar JUST when the Bank of England had thought that it was doing so well with the launch of the new polymer five pound notes which have a much longer life and are much more robust than paper notes, someone has come along and burst their bubble! It started with a tweeted enquiry as to whether the new note (and its successors in higher denominations which are already planned) contained any animal fat and low and behold it does. There is apparently a small amount of tallow in the make-up of the polymer note and this has put a number of potential users in a spin. Tallow was used for centuries as a ‘poor man’s’ candle when wax was too expensive and was also a principal component of some soaps. Unfortunately, it is generally obtained f r o m a n i m a l - f at, main ly b ee f o r sheep but also from pigs and this has upset a number of people. Firstly some vegetarians and the majority of vegans are opposed to the use of any part of any animal in any product and in a very short period of time, 40,000 people signed a petition calling for the notes to be changed and there has been a great deal of negative comment on social media.

Photo Credit: Adrian Pingstone Wikimedia

By John Smith

BANK OF ENGLAND: Are keeping fairly quiet on the matter. One irate tweeter even commented on the irony that she donated her very first five pound note to a vegan charity! Following these complaints, Hindu reli-

gious leaders have also entered the debate as many devout Hindus will have nothing to do with any item derived from cows, shunning leather goods and they are now consid-

ering whether temples should refuse to handle the new notes. Jewish leaders have taken a more phlegmatic position as although their religion proscribes the eating of pork, they see no problem in handling the new five pound note as tallow is not a substance that they are prohibited from touching, although it would be unacceptable for anyone to try to eat the note. There have been no comments recorded from the Muslim community as yet as they have similar dietary restrictions to the Jewish faith, but there is some suggestion that the wearing of shoes made with pig skin soles is prohibited and one scholar says that Muslims should not buy any goods made from pig skin which certainly makes the note questionable. At the moment the Bank of England is keeping fairly quiet on the matter although it appears that the polymer pellets which ar e pur chased t o al l ow t he not es t o be made and contain tallow are from an outside sour ce t hat suppl i es t hem t o 24 ot her count r i es whi ch use t hem i n t hei r bank notes. Whilst there are many complaints about the notes, jokers are offering to relieve any of the aggrieved owners of their notes as a favour.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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Mourinho and Ronaldo accused of evading taxes

JOSE MOURINHO: Has allegedly transferred funds out of the UK and Spain. By John Smith AN international consortium of newspapers which includes The Sunday Times and El Mundo have reportedly joined together to obtain access to reports being held on the website ‘Football Leaks’ which were apparently obtained by hackers who targeted various sports agents around the world. It is alleged that Jose Mourinho arranged for large volumes of funds to be syphoned out of the UK and Spain whilst he was manager of Chelsea between 2004 and 2007 and Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013 and their eventual destination was the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The chairperson of the UK public accounts committee, labour MP Margaret (Meg) Hillier reportedly responded to a Sunday Times approach by confirming that the claims should be investigated and she will be speaking to the head of HM Customs and Revenue in committee shortly

Mourinho and Ronaldo are both compliant with all tax rules in both Spain and the UK.” when she will raise the matter for comment. In addition to Mourinho, it is claimed that Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who played for the current Manchester United manager has also used his position to send funds from Spain to a British Virgin Islands established company thus allegedly cheating the Spanish tax agency of funds. Both Portuguese born individuals are represented by agent Jorge Mendes and in a statement he has rejected all allegations of wrongdoing on their behalf and has stated that they are both compliant with all tax rules in both Spain and the UK. The sums involved in moving money via Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland and the

BVI are quite significant and may amount to as much as €75 million, with the lion’s share supposedly coming from Ronaldo. Considering that the Spanish authorities have been so determined recently to prosecute a string of Barcelona players including Messi and Neymar, it will be interesting to see whether this latest information will make them include Real Madrid in their review. In the meantime, as the BVI is a UK Overseas Territory with a British appointed governor and with an obligation to act in accordance with instructions received from Whitehall, then it should not be that difficult for the Foreign Office and Treasury to get to the bottom of its involvement (if any) in these alleged activities. Whatever the result of these accusations, it would appear that there are plenty of additional revelations to come about other sporting stars over the next few weeks.

8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

EWN

OPINION & COMMENT

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8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

EWN

Battling bureaucracy wears you out LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

TO save on space I have omitted the number of time wasting office visits that had to be endured regarding the subject of this week’s column. Those of you who have had to deal with Spanish ‘red tape’ will know exactly what I mean! All who are anticipating a retirement on Spanish state pension, can now read on and weep! According to Spanish law it is a requirement that, irrespective of how many years of contributions you have under your belt, it is obligatory to work the previous final two years up to claiming your pension. With this in mind, just under three years ago I decided to check how many further years I would need to qualify. I was duly investigated and informed that, if I became autonomous again, I needed to work and contribute up

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OTHERS THINK IT

JUMPING THROUGH HOOPS: Trying to claim for a Spanish state pension. to March of this year. (2016) I decided to regain my autonomy and subsequently, worked, paid my dues and duly turned up last

March to stake my claim The first hiccup was my residencia. This ridiculous tiny piece of paper had become so worn,

they couldn’t make out the NIF number. Couldn’t they just look me up on the computer? Don’t be silly! Appointment at residency

offices for duplicate? Six months! I subsequently supplied an old readable residencia containing all relevant information – rejected, out of date. I then supplied an even older undated form – rejected, no expiry date! On gestors advice I then obtained a list of my residency records stamped and verified by the Guardia Civil. Rejected, no reason given. After some four long months I managed, through a colleague, to get a slightly earlier appointment at the residencia offices and duly obtained a duplicate, which I then submitted to the authorities. To cut a very long story short, I have now been informed they have made an error and I am still 14 months short of qualification. I now owe them eight months autonomos since March. And have to go back to work! They have embargoed my bank account and left 55 cents. Be careful out there. They’ll shaft you if they can! Keep the faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com

E W N 1 - 7 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

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Don’t exaggerate! Mike Senker

In my opinion Views of a Grumpy Old Man I’VE told you a million times not to exaggerate! I like to watch sport on TV and I’m very good at it. I’ve never lost a frame of snooker or a race and never missed a penalty at a football match. But what I don’t understand are some of the things people say. My favourite, and not just to do with sport, but on shows where people are being tested they’re asked how they’re going to approach the task they say they’ll give it 110 per cent. Well you can’t, can you? You can only give 100 per cent. ‘Per cent’ means ‘parts of a hundred.’ Exaggeration like that is just annoying. There are loads of things people say but mean something completely different. For instance: Swift half? ... seven pints! Your parcel will be delivered between 7am and 9pm… your parcel will never be delivered! Pop round later if you like. Yeah might do... you have more chance of seeing Henry VIII and his six wives than me! How about indicating you want the last roast potato by offering it to everyone else first? Also, why is it as soon as the waiter

says ‘do not touch the plate it’s extremely hot’ you touch it? Why? Don’t we believe him? Do you think he just made it up? How about as you get older and you get introduced to someone for first time. ‘This is Adam’. Two things can happen. First, you are not paying attention because over his shoulder you can see someone you really want to talk to so you instantly forget his name. Or, you heard ‘This is Alan’ and you proceed to call him that for the rest of the evening. This happens to Mrs S all the time. Her name is Patti but she gets called Patsy, Hetty, Cathy, Hattie and what cracks me up is she never corrects anybody. She is so polite. On a slightly different note there is something that’s been giving me the hump for years. In our kitchen we have several electrical appliances that have an LED clock incorporated in them - the oven and microwave in particular - and I can never get them to be the same time on both. What is even worse is that they are directly next to each other. How can that be? I set them to identical times and when I look the next day they have changed! One is always a couple of minutes different to the other. It drives me nuts! Has anyone got any ideas how to fix that? I’ll be on Talk Radio Europe on Thurs 15th for my last grump before Christmas. Call in or email me at mikesenker@gmail.com.

E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

LETTERS

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YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION

Letters for Your Say should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments straight on our website: www.euroweeklynews.com

Why are they keen to stay in the EU? Photographs for possible publication should be sent by email with a full caption to: photonews@euroweeklynews.com david muscroft/Shutterstock.com

ANY dissenting opinions are quickly put down as the ramblings of ignorant racist ill-informed morons. All the time we are assailed by opinions of how much the UK will lose because of leaving black holes, billions lost etc, but no one has ever mentioned how much Britain leaving would cost the EU. How much the eastern bloc countries actually buy from the UK!? Why do we only hear the mutterings of Frau Merkel (has the cat got the tongues of the leaders of the other 20 odd countries)? Finally I feel that our own lilylivered spineless occupants of Parliament have relinquished their responsibility to the BRITISH people by hiding behind EU regulations instead of serving the electorate. R Casali

Tragic deaths

Deep trouble REGARDLESS of Brexit the EU is in deep trouble and may not survive, with elections coming in Germany, France, Netherlands and Austria and the rise of the popular vote in all of these countries, who knows what the EU will look like in two years’ time? Couple this with the sluggish economies of all of the EU block and its inability to tackle ever rising unemployment and its descent into de f l a t i o n , t h e r e is s erio u s doubt that the EU will be able to survive in its present form, while trying to stick to its founding principle of free movement, we can see borders are going up all over the EU. With all the negativity that is happening in the EU, I find it puzzling that your writers can concentrate on something so trivial as the Leave campaign lying; both sides stretched the truth, after all, David Cameron stated that if the UK voted leave, World War Three would break out in Europe In a democratic vote the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, that is the will of the people. Anon

Utter folly HIGH Intensity Training is a discredited training regime from the

night out. Now it is left for volunteers to clean this area which they do two to three times a week as they are so ashamed of visitors having to see this unsightly mess. What is our money being spent on? I woul d so m uch l i ke a TV crew from Spain or the UK to see what has becom e of t he once beautiful Cabo Roig. Maria, Orihuela

Nigel Farage: The saviour of GB? WE spend approximately five months of the year in Spain and the rest of our time in Prestbury Cheshire. I was born in 1940 and am terribly sad at the decline in GB since I was born. I spent 40 years of my life selling GB products to many parts of the world, very successfully in Europe in the days of EFTA.

1970s that is, quite frankly, dangerous. The BBC’s Andrew Marr nearly died from a serious stroke after rather foolishly pursuing the ‘fitness in 30 seconds’ that is described as achievable. Your article describes pushing yourself to the limit for 30 seconds! Utter folly! For the technically minded this is an anaerobic exercise being the kind of fast reaction training required by footballers and squash players. It develops what is known as Fast Twitch muscle as opposed to beneficial Slow Twitch developed by aerobic sports like jogging, rowing and such. Numerous Post Mortems car-

We welcome the election of Mr Trump and believe that we will be first in the queue for trade deals. We believe that Nigel Farage has saved GB and should be given a knighthood and an important position in our Brexit negotiations, also a statue of him should be erected in Trafalgar Square!

ried out on sports people who suffered premature death have shown an alarming presence of fast twitch muscle. I rest my case. Please stand well clear of HIT. Ken Bethell, Puerto de Mazarron

Not so nice R E is s ue 1635. H e a dline a nd ‘London Bound.’ I would be very interested to know if Councillor Sofia Alvarez promoted the Costa Grime (Cabo Roig) on her trip to London: the lovely esplanade on a Friday after market day.

Andrew and Lucie Murray

With all the rubbish that is left behind, especially the dozens of plastic bags which are left to blow into the sea which is a catastrophe in itself. The overflowing bins surrounde d by m or e r ubbi sh and overrun with rats feeding from the rubbish. The pavements on both sides of ‘The Strip’ in front of the bars restaurants and cafes is filthy and littered with more rubbish and broken bottles. We used t o have l adi es t hat c a me a r ound ever y m or ni ng t o clean the streets especially at the entrance to Cabo Roig where a lot of broken bottles and glasses are left by people going home after a

I HAVE just seen the news on the internet that a couple have died in their home because of the poisonous fumes emitted by a faulty boiler. This is an absolute tragedy. Peopl e have t o be awar e t hat carbon monoxide is a killer. You can’t see it or taste it. If your boiler is faulty then get it fixed by someone with the right skills to do the job. If not, you’re taking a risk with your lives. It’s a needless loss of life but a CO detector doesn’t cost that much and will at least make you aware if there is any gas in your property. Chris, Fuengirola

Football grieves I AM old enough to remember the deaths of the Busby Babes on the tarmac at Munich. That was a terrible day for British football and my city in part i cul ar. Those m em or i es cam e flooding back when I heard about the poor young Brazilians who perished when their plane crashed. A football club is always at the heart of a community and this is terrible news. I am told that FIFA want a m i nut e’s si l ence at al l matches in memory of this disaster. I think black armbands should be worn too. Alec Marbella

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

www.euroweeklynews.com

The 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.

E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

OPINION & COMMENT

Paying workers - a task I couldn’t handle! 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.

WHEN I first arrived to work in Spain I got the job of supervising and paying the workers. This was really a cover-up for making sure they showed up for work and continued there all day. Worse yet, on payday Friday, if you did pay them all they were owed they wouldn’t come back for 10 days, or until their money ran out. In the meantime you were left occupied pandering to their complaining wives who had no money to eat and feed their children. When I became depressed enough I would drive to other villages and look for the lost boys and threaten to tell their wives where they were. That didn’t do much good as since they had spent all the money they knew they were gonna’ get beaten to death or something worse. The most itinerant offenders came from the ‘gypsy village of Turre.’ My brother returned some years ago to continue taking ‘oral histories’ of

MISSING IN ACTION: If a circus came to town Paco and Jose would be missing from work. those characters only to discover that the same folk he had known 40 years earlier were no longer proud gypsies but just ordinary Spanish peasants. It wasn’t a heritage that they were arrogant about any longer. I suppose they all had become visiting Catalans from the far distant past. On my work listings I had noted

the two most frequent culprits constantly MIA (missing in Action) were a Paco and Jose. To make sure they completed a full shift I had noted down their names and family names. That was of little use as no matter how I entered them in the ledger they always became; Santiago Santiago Santiago. Both nice guys that loved singing

and shared an identical wicked streak of constant and perpetual wandering. If a circus came to town they’d be automatically missing from work but could easily be found amongst the scantily clad girls under the big top or riding the elephants. Those two characters I decided to award them the additional moniker

of ‘feo’ (ugly) and ‘muy feo’ to make sure when they were paid one didn’t get the other’s pay. The elder of the lot was a very good brickie and earned much more than the common day labourer. My system worked well until another circus showed up in distant Vera wherein I had to plan the time for a quick journey there. Friday came and went and on early Sunday morning their wives had made the journey to my house and were outside throwing stones at my dog and having a picnic on the terrace. Loud enough, of course to alert me to their plight. They needed money and quickly, for bread and nappies and weren’t leaving EVER until they got something. Therein I had the delicate task of trying to discern from them whose partner was the uglier. Delicate questions were asked and finally I gave in to the mujer that swore the most and made the most threats. Both were paid but I got it wrong. And until this day, judging from the continued gossip of the Turre fair the wife of the day labourer has not returned the overpayment to the other.

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E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de AlmerÃa

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BBC News at Six BBC London News The One Show EastEnders Holby City Rillington Place BBC News at Ten BBC London News The Apprentice Six Wives with Lucy Worsley

5:40pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm

Flog It! Pointless BBC News at Six BBC London News The One Show Watchdog Six Wives with Lucy Worsley BBC News at Ten BBC London News Match of the Day Film 2016

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm 1:25am

9:00pm

8:00pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:05am

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7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:15am 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:15am 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:15am

MasterChef: The Professionals Close to the Enemy The Apprentice: You're Fired! Newsnight The Big Life Fix with Simon Reeve One Night in 2012 An Imagine Special Black is the New Black

8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm

Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Mastermind Coastal Path Rick Stein's Long Weekends QI Newsnight Close to the Enemy

8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm

Nativity! Operation Snow Tiger Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands Dad's Army Walt Disney Robert Rauschenberg Pop Art Pioneer Andy Parsons Slacktivist In the Dark Half Quantrill's Raiders Dial M for Murder Athletics Heir Hunters Flog It! The Toys That Made Christmas The Lone Ranger QI XL Black is the New Black Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Celebrity Antiques Road Trip University Challenge Only Connect Muslims Like Us Two Doors Down Newsnight Black is the New Black

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:40pm 12:55am

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:40pm 1:40am 5:35pm 6:35pm 6:45pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 11:05pm 12:10am

7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 11:05pm 11:25pm 12:25am

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12:40am 1:35am

Eggheads Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Celebrity Antiques Road Trip MasterChef: The Professionals Muslims Like Us Live at the Apollo Newsnight NFL

8:30pm

Eggheads Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Celebrity Antiques Road Trip MasterChef: The Professionals The Big Life Fix with Simon Reeve Mock the Week Newsnight Muslims Like Us

8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm

11:05pm 11:35pm 11:50pm 12:50am 1:35am 4:00am

11:30pm 11:40pm 12:45am 1:35am 4:00am

A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun Four in a Bed Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News The Secret Life of the Zoo Grand Designs 60 Days in Jail 24 Hours in A and E

6:00pm 6:30pm 7:30pm 9:00pm

6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 12:05am 12:55am

Four in a Bed Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Alan Carr's Happy Hour Gogglebox The Last Leg 8 Out of 10 Cats Friday Night Supper Club

6:00pm 6:30pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

5:30pm

Location, Location, Location A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun Channel 4 News Jutland: WWI's Greatest Sea Battle Pearl Harbour It Was Alright in the 1970's Paul Kingpin

6:25pm

Tonight Emmerdale Coronation Street Extraordinary Weddings ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV News London UEFA Europa League Highlights The Chase

5:00pm

Emmerdale Coronation Street Countrywise Coronation Street Ball and Boe: One Night Only ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV News London Junior Jackpot247 The Chase ITV News London ITV News and Weather Tipping Point Go for It The X Factor The Jonathan Ross Show ITV News and Weather

6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 12:00am

6:35pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 1:05am

Off Their Rockers The Next Great Magician The X Factor Results Show ITV News and Weather Ball and Boe: One Night Only The Jeremy Kyle Show USA

1:25pm 2:20pm 3:35pm 5:00pm 6:45pm 7:15pm 9:00pm

Coronation Street When Phillip Met Prince Philip ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV News London Hillsborough: Smears, Survivors and the Search for Truth Fierce Jackpot247

6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:55pm 9:00pm

The Royal Variety Performance 2016 ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV News London Judge Rinder's Crime Stories The Jeremy Kyle Show USA Jackpot247 Loose Women

6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:55pm 9:00pm

Emmerdale Coronation Street This Time Next Year In Plain Sight ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV News London When Phillip Met Prince Philip The Chase Jackpot247 ITV Nightscreen

6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:55pm 9:00pm

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10:00pm 11:00pm 12:05am

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10:00pm 11:00pm 12:05am

10:00pm 11:00pm 1:50am

7:25pm 7:30pm 8:10pm 9:55pm 10:00pm 11:30pm 12:30am

6:20pm 7:20pm 7:25pm 8:10pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:05pm 12:25am 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm

1:05am 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 12:05am

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5 News at 5 Police Interceptors 5 News Tonight Can't Pay: Christmas Special The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door Benefits Christmas with Britain's Biggest Family 5 News at 5 Police Interceptors 5 News Tonight The Gadget Show Secrets of Great British Castles Building the World's Most Luxurious Ship The Best of Bad TV Super Casino

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Finding Father Christmas 5 News Weekend Finding Father Christmas NCIS 5 News Weekend Football on 5 That's So 1989 Impractical Jokers UK

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EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREA

Word Ladder

MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

Weather

for next 7 days

Alicante

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

TINS

TIME

www.euroweeklynews.com

TODAY:

Madrid

CLOUDY MAX 18C, MIN 11C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX MIN

Mon - 19 10 Cl Tues - 18 10 C Wed - 17 10 C

18 11 C 18 11 C 19 10 C

Fri Sat Sun -

Almeria TODAY:

MAX 19C, MIN 12C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 18 12 S Tues - 18 12 C Wed - 18 11 Cl

18 11 C 18 12 C 19 11 C

Solution TINS TINT TENT RENT (TEST) REST RUST

YOUR STARS

‘ONE OF US SHOULD SAY SOMETHING, LAST WEEK SHE WAS ONLY ON THE BOTTLE!’

this is a lovely week when old friendships are strengthened and new acquaintances prove to be relaxing. It is another mellow week but one in which you seriously consider making a major change.

SAGITTARIUS ( November 23 - December 21) There is still a strong accent on family matters and getting things sorted out. The way ahead is clear. If you are able to persuade someone that an idea was theirs and not yours, so much the better. Being in a practical mood serves you well because it is possible to get a lot done in the next few days. The weekend, however, is another matter. It seems you are much in demand and jobs you thought would be done and dusted just aren't.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Your mind is still sharp this week and there are many questions that you would like answered. Doing a bit of research proves fruitful and also quite amusing. A recent contact may not come up with the proposition hoped for, but realise that it is still early days. Sometimes, you feel that being far from perfect spoils your chances. We can all do with improvement. Ask your long-term friends what they like most about you and strengthen that area.

this cannot be rushed. However, there is a need to look after your health and get out in the fresh air. Any thought of joining a walking club or health group should be pursued. It will also serve as light relief and take your mind from less happy notions

into it to get the best results. GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Make a point of putting on a happy face and your mood will stay high. There is still some more to be done to improve your social life and a recent offer of charity work may be just the thing. Avoid restricting the sort of folk who you are willing to mix with. Cultural differences apart, it is quite an eyeopener to find out how others live and think. Never assume that you know everything, there is so much out there to explore.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) A pleasant surprise makes you a little more optimistic midweek. It is possible for you to take on negativity too quickly. The next time something does not go according to plan, hold fire. It is amazing what a little time and distance will solve. Because you are in a practical frame of mind, use this to make a check on everyday routines. More could be achieved with forward planning.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) A meeting midweek could mean a change to your finances for the better. In the short term, it may be necessary for you to rearrange money and appointments but try not to be too put out. Change is perhaps something that we become less tolerant of after a situation has gone on for a time. In this case, however, the basic problem is still there. Instead of worrying, do your best and then get on with something else

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) It is clear that you really love your hearth and home but, every now and again, there is a small voice calling. The good things in life appeal and, to have these, an effort is involved. Do not underestimate the amount of pleasure that you will enjoy when putting in that extra effort. It does, after all, involve other people. Some of those people prove to be quite fascinating.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) Being considerably more relaxed about those things which cannot be changed has taken a weight from your shoulders. It is also easier to understand why others have taken this approach in the past. There is, however, a balance to be found. Don't be put off by people who have become sloppy in their approach because this is not going to affect you.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Although last week was not run at the pace anticipated, now the pace certainly picks up. Finances are still firmly on the agenda, but this time you will be able to deal on a more relaxed basis. A contact made recently gives you the opportunity not only to make some money but also to enlarge your circle of friends. When taking up an educational course, throw yourself wholeheartedly

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) There is so much that has come to light in the past few weeks. It is no wonder that your mind is reeling. All will become clear in the weeks ahead and

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Be your charming self this week without pushing too much. A natural approach when you are seeking a response is the best course of action. Simply being in the right place and under someone’s gaze is all that is required. Are you getting itchy because an offer is not forthcoming? Well, if you absolutely must, then get a little bird to whisper in their ear.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Having put in extra effort to bring a zing to this year it is important that you keep the impetus going. This is not only good for your health and wealth, but also your mind. Although trying something new brings a few odd remarks your way, try not to be sidetracked. Bringing together various friends and family proves fun and really bolsters your mood.

LEO (July 24 - August 23) Are you still patting yourself on the back for that recent achievement? Socially,

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

IRISH LOTTO

Saturday December 3

Tuesday November 29

BONUS BALL

EURO MILLIONS

26 28

27 38

LUCKY STARS

Friday December 2

11 31

23 32

LUCKY STARS

LA PRIMITIVA

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA

Saturday December 3

Sunday December 4

REINTEGRO

10 43

27 52

REINTEGRO

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 34 23 C Tues - 33 22 C Wed - 34 22 C

MAX 19C, MIN 8C MAX MIN

19 8 C 19 10 S 19 9 C

Mon - 18 8 C Tues - 19 9 C Wed - 19 9 Sh

Murcia

CLOUDY MAX 17C, MIN 11C MAX MIN

S Sun,

MAX 18C, MIN 9C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 18 11 C Tues - 18 11 C Wed - 18 10 Sh

18 11 C 19 11 C 19 11 C

CLOUDY

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Cl Clear,

Sh Showers,

F Fog, Sn Snow,

MAX MIN

18 9 C 18 9 C 19 8 C

Mon - 18 8 S Tues - 17 8 Cl Wed - 17 8 Sh

C Cloudy, 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 H) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed. TARGET: • Average: 5 • Good: 7 • Very good: 11 • Excellent: 14

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION ceil clef clue cult dele deli duel feel felt file fled flee flit flue fuel idle left lice lied lief lieu life lift lite lute tile cleft clued delft elect elide elite elude elute field filed filet fleet fluid flute lucid telic tilde tiled utile ceiled decile defile delict dilute dulcet felted fluted fueled futile leftie lifted deflect ductile DECEITFUL

Sudoku

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

LOTTERY

Mon - 18 10 S Tues - 18 10 C Wed - 18 9 Cl

MAX MIN

32 24 Th 32 23 Sh 34 23 Sh

SUNNY

TODAY:

Benidorm TODAY: Fri Sat Sun -

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

RUST BACK

MAX MIN

17 11 C 17 11 C 18 10 C

Mallorca

THUNDER MAX 32C, MIN 23C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 13 3 Cl Tues - 12 4 Cl Wed - 12 3 C

CLEAR MAX 18C, MIN 12C

TODAY:

Barcelona TODAY:

MAX MIN

12 2 C 12 4 C 13 4 C

Malaga

CLEAR MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

CLOUDY MAX 12C, MIN 4C

TODAY:

OUT

8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

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AK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE

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Enjoy filling in the following puzzles and check the answers in next week’s edition

Code Breaker

Quick Across 1 Enforce (6) 4 Object used in throwing events (6) 9 Absence of sound (7) 10 Looks at with amorous intentions (5) 11 No longer fresh (5) 12 Lacking in energy or will (7) 13 Needless (11) 18 Jumped over (7) 20 Walk leisurely (5) 22 Approximately, especially of a date (5) 23 Chemical-free (7) 24 More elevated (6) 25 Facially attractive (6) Down 7 Female sibling (6) 1 Be demanding (6) 8 Having great beauty and 2 Bohemian dance (5) splendour (11) 3 Open and genuine (7) 14 Impartial (7) 5 False gods (5) 15 First course (7) 6 Coal miner (7) 16 Shore bird (6)

English - Spanish

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 2 represents X and 11 represents M, so fill in X every time the figure 2 appears and M every time the figure 11 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 Assisted, 5 Wall, 9 Leech, 10 Starred, 11 Rancour, 12 Plate, 13 Desist, 15 Appeal, 19 Scour, 21 A la mode, 23 Errands, 24 India, 25 None, 26 Brigands. Down: 1 Allured, 2 Sheen, 3 Schools, 4 Ensure, 6 Airfare, 7 Ladle, 8 Wasp, 14 Sporran, 16 Praying, 17 Leeways, 18 Hawser, 19 Stern, 20 Rent, 22 Olden.

QUICK Across: 1 Cargo, 4 Surpass, 8 Deprive, 9 Spoon, 10 Evenings, 11 Mere, 13 Mislay, 14 Gamble, 17 Sped, 19 Barbaric, 22 Alter, 23 Pending, 24 Amateur, 25 Stray.

17 Reproduce a recording on a recorder (6) 19 Barely detectable amount (5) 21 Basque headgear (5)

Down: 1 Cadge, 2 Repress, 3 Original, 4 Sledge, 5 Rose, 6 Alone, 7 Sincere, 12 Sawbones, 13 Mascara, 15 Barrier, 16 Tamper, 18 Extra, 20 Cagey, 21 Urge.

The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English.

Across 1 Loro (6) 3 Ácido (4) 7 Plumilla (de pluma) (3) 9 To chat (7) 10 Too much (9) 13 Drill (tool) (7) 14 To give (3) 15 Último (final) (4) 16 Panaderos (6)

ENGLISH-SPANISH

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Across: 1 Cobardes, 8 Traer, 9 Nunca, 10 End, 11 Eagle, 12 Entre, 13 Mal, 14 Clave, 15 Irons, 16 Entonces. Down: 2 Orangeade, 3 Agreement, 4 Dandelion, 5 Sunstroke, 6 Stretch, 7 Gaseosa.

Down 1 Rosa (4) 2 Huertos (8) 4 Quality (7) 5 Oscuro (sin luz) (4) 6 Butterfly (8) 8 Escarabajos (insectos) (7) 11 Useful (information, advice, tool) (4) 12 Grey (in colour) (4)

Hexagram

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Cryptic 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 (KETTLE) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

ALLEGE BORATE DARKLE DELETE DEPEND ERRATA GYRATE KETTLE (10) LATENT MARBLE

REGENT SCREEN SEEING SENIOR SODDEN STRAND SUNDRY TANGLE TRIUNE

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 1 Resume 2 Redial 3 Bureau 4 Madcap 5 Maraud 6 Regent 7 Podium 8 Retain 9 Corpse 10 Mangle 11 German 12 Carpet 13 Regime 14 Parley 15 Tattle 16 Pliers 17 Arctic 18 Strict 19 Fiasco.

Across 7 Claret is drunk in lobby (6) 8 Pushes steamship around East Sussex resort (6) 9 North is French retreat (4) 10 Is a huge fan of dual seat contraption (8) 11 Followed cart back to the middle of Dukedom (7) 13 Knock the beer back like a king (5) 15 Hypnotise a church member (5) 17 Money that is right for the till operator (7) 20 Worker gets part of liberal (8) 21 Included in the Royal Society (4) 23 Get away from test centre with carbon copy (6) 24 Some nudism album photos are depressing (6) Down 1 Running Bear display (4) 2 Still hiding in attics? (6) 3 A hundred and one departing by chopper (7) 4 Question children (5) 5 Present Spanish gentleman with

brewed tea (6) 6 Burmese leader always has time for a brew (8) 12 Go over soldiers' vehicle (8) 14 The first of the state borders (7)

16 Warder is back to sketch again (6) 18 Sounds like an equine or husky (6) 19 Springfield's Greek poet? (5) 22 Employee's wage packet contains stolen goods (4)

HEALTH BEAUTY

Costa de Almería

8 - 14 December 2016

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EWN

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Diabetes: Injections, tablets or weight loss! Which would you choose?? NOVEMBER 14 was World Diabetes Day and according to the World Diabetes Federation, in 2014 there were 387 million people in the world living with diabetes. This figure is set to reach 0.6 billion by 2035. Diabetics represent the third biggest population in the world after China and India - yes that’s right, there are more diabetics in the world than the whole of the population of the USA!! The development of type 2 diabetes is manifested by rising fasting blood sugars (pre-diabetes) which, if left unchecked, advance to diabetes which is treated with tablets and possibly insulin injections. Advanced diabetes affects the blood microcirculation, which in turn may cause kidney failure, vascular problems and eye disease. Excess body fat accounts for over 80 per cent of the risk of developing type 2

diabetes, especially if the fat is carried in the abdomen. Other risk factors include gestational diabetes, family history, being over 45 years old, and an inactive lifestyle. Whilst the relationship between obesity and diabetes is not fully understood, studies suggest that inflammation inducing chemicals, which interfere with the body’s ability to respond to insulin, are released from fat cells. In 2015 a medical report showed that pre-diabetics, who maintained a weight loss of as little as 4.3 per cent, eliminated their risk of developing diabetes at three years. Indeed the interim results of the independent preview study presented in Berlin in 2015 showed that by using Cambridge Weight Plan’s 800 kcal Meal Replacement Diet, body weight was reduced by over 10 per cent in eight weeks, thus significantly reducing the risk of obese pre-diabetics developing

type 2 diabetes. CWP’s unique ‘buddy’ programme in now available in Spain and ensures safe, predictable weight loss which reduces the risk of developing diabetes. No other weight loss product has been scientifically shown to do this! CWP Spain has many trained Consultants between Gibraltar and Javea on the Costa Blanca, as well as Palma, Majorca. If you are interested in losing weight look for your nearest Accredited Independent Consultant at www.cambridgeweight plan.es or call 952 475 954. We are also keen to hear from dynamic individuals, interested in helping people improve their health and lifestyles, by becoming Accredited CWP Independent Consultants. For information call 952 475 954; find us at www.cambridgeweightplan.es; or on Facebook (Cambridge Weight Plan Spain).

WEIGHT LOSS: Reduces risk of developing diabetes.

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

New plans to get student nurses training on the job STAFF shortages are well documented within the UK’s National Health Service but would you trust a teenager to care for you? In a policy shift, the UK government is announcing plans for a new nursing apprenticeship scheme that will see an expected 1,000 young people a year combine on the job training with studying for a degree. Officials expect many 18-year-olds to apply for the scheme straight out of school. The trainee nurses will be offered a series of placements in hospitals and sees a move back to the era when nurses primarily trained on the wards and a move away from

the current system that requires a degree qualification before being able to practise nursing. Trainees however will still need to complete and earn their degree to fully qualify. Those for the scheme

hope it will help those put off by the high costs of going to university as they can study and earn money at the same time and become more compassionate in the profession, something cannot be

taught in the classroom. However, critics warn that students must have a certain level of knowledge before entering wards. The first students are expected to start on the five year course in September 2017.

STUDENT NURSES: Can now train on the ward.

App will help to track seizures A NEW app has been developed to help track and record seizures suffered by epileptic children. ‘Track it!’ has been released by Apple to be used on the Apple Watch. It allows a seizure to be recorded and logged giving patients and parents the ability to understand the extent of seizures. The app allows you to time and record seizures as they happen, add additional information to seizure entries and store the information. The information will be confidential

but will also be stored on a database on SeizureTracker.com which is expected to have logged more than 1.5 million by the end of the year. As well as parents being able to help their own children and manage their epilepsy, they are also helping others by participating in the shared database. The details will then able to be accessed by researchers studying the condition as the number of seizures suffered by patients are often underestimated.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Ask The Doctor

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8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

BLOOD TEST: Could show abnormalities.

More than just cold fingers

SPECIALIST: Doctor Luis Perez Belmonte. THIS week, the Dr answers our questions on Raynaud’s Phenomenon. • What is Raynaud’s Phenomenon? Raynaud’s Phenomenon is a condition whereby cold temperatures or strong emotional reactions lead to vascular spasms which block blood flow temporarily. If when you are out in the cold or at emotional times find that your fingers, toes, ears or nose turn white, then blue, then red over a period of a few minutes or up to a few hours, you may have Raynaud’s. • When does it happen and what is the cause? This phenomenon is usually caused by low temperatures and stress. There are two types: primary Raynaud’s, where the cause is unknown and most patients have few symptoms, and secondary Raynaud’s, which is associated with autoimmune diseases, artery problems, certain medications, infections and heavy smoking among others. • Can I beat it without having to take drugs? These steps can help keep Raynaud’s under control: keep your body warm, avoid exposure to the cold in any form, use gloves

when outside or touching ice or frozen food, avoid catching cold after active sports, stop smoking as this causes blood vessels to narrow, avoid caffeine and medicines which cause blood vessels to spasm. If these measures are not enough to control the problem, you should see a Specialist in Internal Medicine for evaluation who may prescribe medication if necessary. It is important to treat the cause of the phenomenon. • Who does it usually affect and why? When does it appear? Primary Raynaud’s usually appears in women under the age of 30. Secondary Raynaud’s is association with other conditions and generally appears in the over 30s. • Can it cause other health problems? Primary Raynaud’s Phenomenon is usually related to other illnesses and only appears due to cold or stress. Secondary Raynaud’s however is associated to other conditions. In any case, patients suffering symptoms of Raynaud’s should see a specialist in Internal Medicine for evaluation.

If you have any questions for Dr Perez Belmonte, please send them to: jefemedico@helicopterossanitarios.com

Can a blood test say if you’ll die within 5 years? SCIENTISTS say they may be able to predict if you will die in the next five years from a simple blood test. The claim comes after scientists say they have found a marker in the blood that detects an abnormality that can hint at a range of serious conditions such as cancer and chronic heart disease and can predict a risk of early death. A team of international researchers collected data on over 6,000 men aged between 45 and 69 from 19971999. They were then followed until 2015 to see if they had passed away and the markers in the blood more closely analysed. Known as IL-6, the marker proved to be a more accurate measurement than previous methods and was the strongest predictor of death within five years. The researches claim studies on biomarkers is progressing quickly and is crucial for future treatment targets and to shape future research. It is hoped if abnormalities in blood can be detected early, preventive treatment can be carried out.

EWN

SCENE

OCIAL

8 - 14 December 2016

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Cuevas getting ready for Xmas CUEVAS DEL ALMANZORA Council has announced its agenda of events and activities for the run-up to Christmas and the holiday period with particular emphasis on the younger members of the family. Two competitions have been organised for local schoolchildren, both of which are open until December 16. First to third year primary pupils are invited to take part in a Christmas with Love drawing competition, while fourth to sixth year pupils can compete with letters to the Three Kings. Prizes will be handed out to the winners at an event on January 5 at Huerto Garci Alix at 6pm. For the older members of the family there is a half marathon in aid of AECC cancer charity leaving Hostal Overa at 10.30am.

That evening there will also be a classical Spanish guitar concert at Teatro Echegaray at 8pm. The rhythmic gymnastics team will be putting on a display at Palomares sports centre at 6.30pm on December 22 and for Spanish theatre enthusiasts, the Benavente theatre company from Madrid will be performing every evening at 8.30pm from December 26 to 30. Father Christmas arrives in town on December 24, when he will be at Glorieta Sotomayor from 11am to 1pm. After a couple of busy days he will be back on the 28th to Plaza Mayor Guazamara at 6pm and the 29th to the Nave Polivalente from 5-8pm, so those who don’t get what they wanted can ask him to put in a good word with the Three Kings.

Costa de Almería

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Honouring sweet things By Eleanor Hawkins HUERCAL-OVERA Council has announced its latest foodie route, which honours Christmas and all things sweet. The first local Navidad Dulce (sweet Christmas) route runs from December 16 to January 6 and will see 11 local bakeries and cafes offering traditional festive sweets, pastries and churros plus a hot drink for just €1.50. Mayor Domingo Fernandez, accompanied by Commerce councillor Monica Navarro and bakery owner

ALL THINGS SWEET: Announcing the foodie route. Antonia Gomez, presented the route at El Horno and explained: “the route aims to

maintain traditions and allow locals and visitors alike the chance to indulge their sweet

tooth at local establishments.” As usual, passports will be available from municipal buildings and participating cafes and bakeries. Once stamps have been obtained from at least seven different places, these can be dropped into boxes at any of the 11 establishments before January 6 to enter into a prize draw. The winning passport will be exchanged for a night for two at a hotel, while second prize will be three months’ free membership to H2O sports centre and third prize a €30 petrol voucher from Oil Barol.

Classic jazz and more to appeal to all CMS TRIO, formed by bass player Javier Colina, drummer Marc Miralta and saxophonist Erico Sambeat, will be performing at Clasijazz on Almeria City’s Calle Maestro Serrano at 10.30pm on December 9. The trio has launched a new record, its

third, which combines classic jazz with flamenco, Latin and African touches to bring music which will appeal to audiences of all ages and have them up dancing. The concert is organised by the Andajazz Andalucian Jazz Federation and promises

to be a great night out for all jazz lovers. Tickets are priced at €10 for Clasijazz club members or €20 for non-members. For more information see www.face book.com/clasijazz or email clasijazz@hot mail.com.

E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

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SOCIAL SCENE

A cruise with a musical difference By John Smith THERE has been a huge growth in cruise holidays around the world and the concept of themed cruises is becoming ever-more popular. For the first time, Chris King who promotes the everpopular Festival of Legends (which E u ro

Weekly News is delighted to support) arranged a Festival of Legends cruise which welcomed no less than 230 dedicated music fans on board the Zenith for an eight-day journ e y a r o u n d t h e M e d i t e rranean. The vessel left Malaga en route to

Alicante, Rome, Livorno, Monaco and back with a large number of incredibly popular and versatile tribute acts including (in no particular order), Elton John, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Fredd i e M e r c u r y, E l v i s P r e s l e y, Michael Bublé, Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart. M u s i c a n d t h e M e d i t e rranean make fine partners but it wasn’t just about the cruise, there was plenty of sightseeing and as can be seen from the pictures, w h i l s t i t w a s n ’t possible for EWN to be present, we were certainly there in spirit and it is fair to say that Euro Weekly News is THE newspaper that reaches areas no other paper can reach! On the return to Malaga, Chris King said “We have had a

Some of the cruise passenge rs visit Rome

spectacular cruise Festival of Legends and already 40 rooms have been booked for our next cruise!” So successful was this first cruise that three more are being planned for 2017, with one honouring the Beatles as it is the 50th anniversary of S g t P e p p e r ’s L o n e l y Hearts Club Band, one celebrating Elvis on the 40th anniversary of his death and a third which will bring together another group of Legends of all types on a journey that leaves from Malaga and heads for Italy with some new ports of call. Further details will be announced on http://www.thefestival oflegends.com/ but once again, EWN will be supporting not just the cruises but all of the concerts which are planned on dry land for the coming year.

C ru is in g a lo n g to P is a

SOCIAL SCENE

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8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

Taking the trial and error out of a labour of love WHEN you come up with an idea for a new restaurant or even a new concept for an eatery, there’s always a chance you’ll have had a spark of divine inspiration. But how do you translate that idea into reality and how do you get the all-important paying customers through the door, and keep them coming back? What’s more, how do you do that in one of the most competitive business spheres in the world? You could dive headlong into it hoping your labour of love will just work out, picking it up as you go along and learning by trial and error. But that could mean a lot of trial and a lot of error. Or there’s another approach: using the services of a hospitality consultant. One man who has been in that industry for more than 25 years is Garry Waite. He aims to inject sound management skills and that all-important creativity into any individual or company contemplating a hospitality-based operation, whether that’s a new restaurant, a hotel or even a franchise that may be running out of ideas. “I love projects that I can take from start to opening. There is a tremendous satisfaction in seeing a plan come togeth-

er from conception to launch: the design and furnishing of the operation to the style of food and presentation, right up to choosing the right team to run it.” Garry has been responsible for opening and running some of the Coast’s best known operations from The Golf Club Marbella in the 90’s, to the Oceano Hotel and Beach Club, Tikitano, Lonestar Brasserie and El Rincon de Guadalpin. As a hospitality consultant Garry is sometimes brought in to help even successful operations revitalise themselves. “I like the challenges that come with trying to help clients get out of a sticky position. That normally just takes a fresh pair of professional eyes that can see the wood from the trees!” Having just finished a contract with one of the Coast’s most successful companies, the La Sala Group, Garry is available to help others achieve their full potential. Now his wealth of experience, wisdom

GARRY WAITE: Can help clients achieve their full potential.

and involvement in the hospitality sphere is going to come to the aid of readers of Euro Weekly. Garry is to write a weekly column outlining his do’s and don’ts when it comes to a love of food, food service and hospitality. Don’t miss it…

EWN

ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

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Missing mail at Albox town hall By Eleanor Hawkins POLITICAL turmoil never seems to end at Albox Town Hall, with missing letters being the latest in a long list of controversial matters. The PP opposition has demanded that the Municipal Secretary provides an explanation as to what may have happened to two letters reportedly sent by certified post and received at the town hall from CILUS, Mayor Francisco Torrecillas’ political group, officially throwing him out of the party. CILUS has once again announced its dissociation from the town’s recently appointed mayor and therefore stated that it should no longer exist as a municipal group within Albox Council. However, Torrecillas continues to act in the name of the party and the group, as approved by former PSOE and

now independent councillors at a plenary session, continues to pocket €1,500 per month from the municipal coffers. The political party’s legal services sent a letter on the decision to Albox Town Hall by certified post in August, which the post office confirmed had been correctly received, and urged the Municipal Secretary to take steps to remove CILUS from the council. Yet no response was forthcoming, lead-

ing the party to once again notify on September 20 and request confirmation that Torrecillas was not using the party’s name and the party no longer existed as a Municipal Group within the council. The opposition has complained not only does this mean the situation is a seriously irregular one but has also pointed out that something must be going wrong with the way post is dealt with at the town hall.

8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

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E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

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ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

Fire station closure still a possibility By Eleanor Hawkins AT an extraordinary plenary session at Albox Town Hall last week the council approved a move to request the provincial council takes over running the fire brigade from the local fire station as quickly as possible. Mayor Francisco Torrecillas read a letter from police chief Pedro Garcia, outlining the need for new vehicles and equipment and extra staff to

guarantee an efficient service. This, the mayor said, backs up his argument that the local council simply cannot afford to run the service any longer. “We have six firemen and five labourers, we would have to take on at least 10 more people and spend more than one million euros to provide a decent service,” Torrecillas explained. Almeria Provincial Council, the mayor continued, must take over the service as it is obliged

to do. “If they haven’t accepted my proposals by January 15, I will just close the fire station down, I have found positions for the workers and our plans must continue forward,” Torrecillas said. The move was approved with votes in favour from the mayor and the independent councillors while the Partido Popular opposition voted against. PP spokesman Juan Pedro Perez said no report had been provided to show the cost of the service and argued the town will lose €150,000 from the provincial council and have to pay for firefighting services plus the salaries of the municipal employees who are not taken on by the provincial council. “We voted no because we don’t want this decision to result in extra spending and we don’t want the fire station to close.”

E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

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ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

Choir’s new carol CD now on sale By Eleanor Hawkins ALBOX’S Misas de Gozo Choir has presented a new CD of traditional local Christmas carols which have been sung at Christmas masses in the area since the 18th century. Nine Misas de Gozo (literally masses of rejoicing) are held in the run up to Christmas to symbolise the nine months of pregnancy of the

Virgin Mary, and carols sung at the masses have been handed down from genera-

Proceeds from sale will go to worthy charities. tion to generation with newer ones being added into the repertory along the way.

With help from local businesses and following a busy period of work and rehearsals, the choir has now recorded all these carols on a record which is now on sale at local businesses and comes with song sheets. Proceeds from sales of CDs will go to worthy charities, the choir announced at the presentation of the CD at La Concepcion parish church on Friday (December 2).

E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de AlmerÃa

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63 V I S I T O U R W E B S I T E W W W . E U R O W E E K LY N E W S . C O M Costa de Almería

Demand for a dream home SPANISH construction is in rude health if the abundance of new property ventures, both residential and commercial, is anything to go by.

More foreign nationals than ever before are considering buying second homes in Spain.” The real estate market in Madrid is now on fire with foreign investment increasing dramatically since the first signs of recovery in 2013.

Indeed the commercial real estate boom is one of the chief reasons the Spanish GDP is predicted to grow by 3.2 per cent this year, one of the fastest rates in the EU. One recent example is the € 2 b illio n in v es tme nt planned by American conglomerate Cordish who are p la n n in g to b u ild a h u ge leisure centre in Madrid that will create 56,000 jobs and attract five million visitors a year. This commercial boom is working hand-in-hand with exciting residential real estate developments that are not confined to the capital but are evident right along the Spanish coastline.

Survey after survey shows that more foreign nationals than ever before are considering buying second homes in Spain, with Germans in particularly getting excited over the prospect. The good ne w s is tha t, with the construction sector in full swing with new comme rc ia l c ontra c ts , the fi-

CONSTRUCTION SECTOR: Is in full swing with new commercial contracts. na nc e a nd w illpow e r is there to invest in the residential market and fulfill the ever increasing foreign demand for a dream Spanish home.

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E W N 8 - 14 December 2016 / Costa de Almería

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Bright, cheerful houseplants By Eleanor Hawkins THERE are more than 100 different types of trees and bushes classed as Polyscia which can be used to bring some green into our lives. These evergreens of the Araliaceae family come in all shapes and sizes and are great as decorations. As houseplants they need very little in the way of special care. Light surroundings (not in direct sunlight to avoid burning the leaves) and moderate regular watering are all that is needed to keep them happy and healthy. Avoid watering until all previous water has been absorbed, prune lightly to keep their shape and avoid drastic temperature changes.

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The best pool heater, the best service ‘What does it look like? How big is it? How is it installed?’ THESE are very relevant questions Poolworx receives from customers already convinced that a heat pump is the best pool heating solution. These customers want to make sure they are choosing the right partner to heat up their pool life. In previous articles, Poolworx elaborated on how-does-it-work and whatdoes-it-cost? More information can be found on their website www.poolworx.eu You claim to sell happiness, by installing a heat pump? Davey from Poolworx: “Swimming whenever you want, whatever the season, even around Christmas time! That’s what our customers are looking for and that’s what we deliver.” For Poolworx, secondto-none service starts when people start exploring their options and need more information related to pool heating. Whether they need a cost comparison, detailed specs, an installation manual …To us it’s all equally important. Customer happiness from start to finish comes first.” An installation manual? Does that mean the Duratech pool heaters are a DIY product? Davey: “Though this might be feasible for the experienced DIY fanatic, we don’t

advise that. We have a hand-picked list of preferred installers in multiple regions, who have a proven track record of perfect, timely installations. The many pictures on our Facebook page prove that they all deliver superior customer-service. “In addition, our second line support staff are trained by factory experts and are ready to assist before, during and after.” Installer Bob, owner at M&B Construction, confirms. Bob: “A lot of customers want an affordable, comprehensive and fail-safe solution to heat their pool. Especially second-home owners are very sensitive to this. This means traditional heating solutions are simply not an option. “A heat pump though, ticks all those boxes! It’s the best value for money and

comes with a near-zero-risk of leaks or recurring technical problems. On top of that, no extra pump is needed, the installation is straightforward and can be done in one day. The unit can easily be placed out of sight if required! “Poolworx offers competitive prices with a highly dependable sales and technical support structure. This brings real peace-of-mind for a first line installer. “What impressed me the most, is that in case of problems, Poolworx promises to swap a faulty heat pump, in order to guarantee an uninterrupted pool experience for my customers! “That’s how they make the difference.”

Contact Poolworx or refer your preferred installer for a no obligation ‘pool specific’ price quote, by calling Spain 643 363 179 or Belgium (+32) 497 408 800, email albert@poolworx.es or visit their websites in English at www.poolworx.eu, Spanish at www.poolworx.es or Dutch at www.poolworx.be

Christmas ready kitchen CHRISTMAS is coming which for many means kitchen chaos! Follow these tips to get everything in order before the madness begins this year. Firstly, start making space by going through your crockery. Get rid of anything you don’t use and take pride in using the good stuff regularly rather than saving it for special occasions. Next on the list for the ruthless de-clutter are

LA SUPERTIENDA LARGE SELECTION OF XMAS GIFTS, DECORATIONS & PERSONALISED ALMERIA CARDS S & MUCH MORE

950 478 149 AS WELL AS ALL YOUR FAVOURITES S AT THE PRICES IN MOJACAR

kitchen gadgets. Look at your worktop and if you don’t use it, donate or recycle it and if you only use it rarely, store it away in a cupboard. Learn to plan meals and shop for what you will need once or twice a week. For an organised kitchen, store similar items together. Keep ingredients you use regularly close together and near to where they will be needed. find us in the PARQUE COMMERCIAL

PETS PAGE www.euroweeklynews.com

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8 - 14 December 2016

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HouseSitMatch Blogging Competition 2016 House-sitting can be a win-win for both parties, free house and pet-sitting and the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation! To find a pet-sitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com or call Lamia on 00 44 (0) 777 214 2742.

WHAT is your favourite thing about petsitting and housesitting..? It is time once again for the annual HouseSitMatch Blogging Competition and we invite all Euro Weekly readers, whether you are members or non-members of the HouseSitMatch network to enter our annual Blogging Competition. The guidelines for entry are as follows: 1. Open to: all housesitters and homeowners who are active in housesitting. You don’t have to be a member of our network! 2. Deadline: 31 December - send all email submissions to admin@housesitmatch.com 3. Content:

– Length 400-1,200 words – Theme ‘My favourite thing about housesitting is…’ – Images - a mininum of two images must be offered with your submission (taken by yourself) Prize: Free membership of HouseSitMatch for one year and £50 in prize money paid by PAYPAL Please head your submission email with 2016 BLOGGING COMPETITION If you are shortlisted: All three shortlisted blogs will be posted on the HouseSit Match blog. The Winner will be emailed by midnight UK time on Saturday December 31, 2016. Do you need a sitter? Get in touch. Housesitting can be a win-win for both parties, free house and petsitting, and the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation! Register as either housesitter or homeowner now with a 20 per cent off introductory offer using coupon code PERFECT20.

Swiss obligatory dog classes to be abolished By Eleanor Hawkins SWITZERLAND, which in 2008 brought in a law forcing dog owners to take obligatory training courses following a series of violent attacks by dogs, has decided to abolish the laws as it failed to prove effective. The decision, made by Parliament in September, has now been confirmed by the Federal Council. Pusher of the motion and representative of the Liberal Radical Party Ruedi Noser said: “the courses were too expensive, caused administrative overload and their impact has not been proved.” The number of incidents such as dog bites has not reduced and there has been no difference noted between dog owners who took the

DOG COURSES: Have been abolished.

courses and those who didn’t. Those who defend the courses, however, argued during debates that there has been a drastic drop in ‘dramatic violence’ caused by

dogs over the last few years. “It’s true there are no statistics but we can see there is a link,” said Socialist Party member of the Federal Council Alain Berset. Optional courses will be held for first-time dog owners. to continue to be held as many owners welcomed them, as did all vets.

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Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you.” Some might say...

Wild horses in Europe By Matt Ford FORD unveiled two special edition Mustangs aimed at the European market at their recent ‘Go Further’ event in Cologne. The Mustang Black Shadow will be available to order from January 2017 with either a sixspeed manual or sixspeed automatic transmission, plus a 5.0 litre V8 engine beneath the bonnet. Key differences from the standard model include black body detailing, 19-inch alloy wheels and a redesigned pony emblem. The car will be available in Platinum White, Triple Yellow, Race Red and Grabber Blue.

The Mustang Blue Edition evokes the spirit of the classic Mustangs from the

20th century, with its head-turning Grabber Blue paintwork, black racing stripes,

and 19-inch black alloy wheels. It is available with either the same 5.0 litre V8 as the Black Shadow, or a 2.3 litre four-cylinder Ecoboost unit, and is already on the market. Both special models come equipped with an upgraded Sync3 multimedia system with premium audio plus heated and cooled front seats and a black leather interior.

MUSTANG: Grabber Blue Edition.

Motoring shorts

Car tariffs fear dismay industry A FAILURE by the UK government to retain continued access to the single market could push up the cost of an imported new car by £1,500, it is claimed. A tariff of 10 per cent imposed could add more than £2.5 billion to imports and nearly £2 billion to exports. That could mean paying an extra £1,500 on average. The figures come from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders whose president Gareth Jones said, “the industry wanted the ability to travel abroad free from barriers and red tape.” The industry’s recent success could be jeopardised if the car giants choose to invest in countries outside the UK. The SMMT had supported the campaign to remain in the EU and is now lobbying hard to stay in the single market.

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Alfa’s eye-catching style injects fun by Nick Fletcher ALFA ROMEO’S Giulietta competes in the hard-fought hatchback sector dominated by the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and VW Golf, but the pretty and charismatic Alfa has plenty of aces to play when it comes to winning new buyers. This visually-arresting model has strong appeal to those in the sector who value the image statement of eyecatching styling and the stand-out driving dynamics that puts more fun into hatchback motoring. After Rolls Royce, Alfa has arguably the most recognisable front grille, a shield-shaped icon which dominates the car and gives it immediate presence and a distinctive persona.

Add crouched ready-for action body styling and the appeal of the Giulietta becomes quite compelling. Priced from £18,700 (21,058 euros) there are petrol and diesel engines available with outputs spanning 120hp - 240 hp and one of the most popular is the 1.6 litre diesel fitted to my recent test model, the Giulietta Business Edition, priced at £19,080 (21,487 euros). Offering 120 hp, a 0-60 mph time of 10 seconds and a top speed of 121 mph, this model delivers decent performance with low running costs. The fuel figure is 74.3 mpg combined and emissions are a tax-free 99g/km, making it attractive to business users, especially as standard kit also includes Bluetooth with voice recognition, Uconnect touchscreen infotainment

centre with sat-nav, audio streaming, USB and SD reader. You also get cruise control, dualzone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, 16-inch alloys and electric lumbar support on the driver’s seat. Another feature is the Alfa DNA switch. You can alter driving modes to Dynamic (more sporty), Natural (economy) and All-weather (more grippy). Even in Natural, the Giulietta feels quick and responsive and you immediately notice it has better composure on the corners than its rivals and while the suspension setting is firmer it still delivers acceptable ride comfort. The interior styling is smart, the dashboard dominated by big twin di-

als. Oddment stowage around the cabin is sparse and the door bins are ultra slim, but the glove box is much larger than most. Seating is more supportive in this latest model and while the swooping roofline slightly reduces rear headroom, it is still adequate. The 350 litre boot

ALFA ROMEO Giulietta.

is a tad larger than that of a Focus, and the split-fold rear seats boost the space though the seats don’t drop fully flat. Though it has a few cabin shortfalls, the Giulietta wins you over with its sheer visual kudos and its credentials as a sporty driver’s car.

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Rosberg’s shock resignation RACING drivers seem to have far more sense than boxers. Though he might be tempted back out of retirement, Nico Rosberg’s dramatic exit from the sport looks to be a permanent one. After securing his place in the pantheon of history with his first world championship, the 31-year-old German talent announced he would walk away from Formula One, with his health intact and finances doubtlessly robust. With the decision, criticised in some quarters for betraying a lack of passion, Rosberg equals the legacy of his father Keke, who won his only world championship in 1982, during far more dangerous days for drivers. Rosberg has a young family and more than a decade’s experience at the very top of his sport, even if arch nemesis Lewis Hamilton enjoyed more success. Rosberg won 23 of the 206 Grand Prix races he started and, while he won’t go down as a Senna or Schumacher, certainly left his

mark on the modern game, chiefly through the enduring rivalry with Hamilton. He has a deep appreciation of the engineering side of Formula One and, as a multilingual, well-respected champion with his life ahead of him will surely contribute even more to the motoring world in the future. Having gotten over the initial shock, Formula One now turns to the question of who will replace Rosberg at Mercedes. Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso have all been mooted as targets but all are also tied down with contracts until next year. Whatever happens filling the void left by Rosberg will usher in exciting times for the sport, and for Hamilton, who will need a new rival to tangle with.

NICO ROSBERG: Has announced his retirement.

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SPORT Rosberg retires, Chelsea on a high 8 - 14 December 2016

CHAPECOENSE have been crowned winners of the Copa Sudamericana a week after the Brazilian club’s plane crashed en route to the final.

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Costa de Almería’s best guide to local sport

Tony Matthews International Sports A former player and now the world’s most prolific author of football books with almost 150 published since 1975, Tony is also the sports correspondent for Spectrum Radio and lives on La Pilica in the Sierra Cabrera Mountains overlooking Turre. Costa de Almeria

ONCE again we have seen some terrific sporting action involving the round ball, the oval ball and several small hard balls… and there is plenty more to come. FOOTBALL Chelsea still lead the PL after last weekend’s excellent 3-1 away win at Manchester City (their eighth on the trot). City finished with nine men! Alexis Sanchez scored a hattrick in Arsenal 5-1 win over West Ham; Crystal Palace won at last, beating Southampton 30; Liverpool lost 4-3 in a thriller at Bournemouth; Tottenham whipped hapless Swansea 5-0 (the Welsh club never had a shot on goal, Spurs had 26); Stoke beat Burnley 2-0; Sun-

derland defeated champions and now relegation-threatened Leicester 2-1; Manchester United drew 1-1 at Everton and WBA knocked over 10-man Watford 3-1. Middlesbrough played Hull on Monday. In last Friday’s Championship game, Nottingham Forest missed two penalties and Newcastle had two players sent-off as the East Midland club won 2-1. Twenty-four hours later there were wins for Barnsley (3-0 at Birmingham), Bristol City (2-0 v Ipswich), Burton Albion (2-1 v bottom club Rotherham), Derby (1-0 at Wigan), Fulham (5-0 over Reading), Leeds (2-0 v Aston Villa), Norwich (5-0 v Brentford) and Sheffield Wednesday (2-1 v Preston). In the second round of the FA Cup, non-League sides Barrow and Sutton United k’od Bristol Rovers and Cheltenham respectively; Luton came back from 2-0 down to beat Solihull Moors 6-2 and Macclesfield held Oxford;

Last night and tonight there has been Champions League action involving Arsenal, Barcelona, Celtic, Leicester, Manchester City and Real Madrid (and others) while this evening Manchester United and Southampton play in the Europa League. It was Barcelona 1 Real Madrid 1 in last Saturday’s El Clasico. Real are now six points clear of Barca (3428) at the top of La Liga with Sevilla (beaten by Granada) third. Top PL games coming up: ArsenalStoke and LeicesterManchester City (Saturday) followed by Chelsea-WBA, Liverpool-West Ham and Manchester United-

Spurs (Sunday). The FA has said that ‘No club will be immune from punishment in the child abuse scandal.’ So far around 400 players have come forward stating they were ‘abused’ as youngsters, and now 18 UK police forces are carrying out their investigations. Gareth Southgate is officially England’s new head coach… appointed on a four-year contract worth £6 million. NICO ROSBERG: Has retired from motor racing.

Robbie Neilson is MK Dons’ new manager while Martin Allen has quit Barnet to take over at Eastleigh. Crystal Palace defender Pape Souare (26) fears his career may be over after fracturing his jaw and thigh bone in a car crash. CRICKET The fourth Test between India and England is underway in Mumbai. Keaton Jennings, who recently scored 101 not out for England Lions in Dubai, is making his Test debut. The hosts currently lead the fivematch series 2-0 with one game drawn. RUGBY UNION Last Saturday, Eddie Jones’s in-form England team (with Ben Youngs ‘Man of the Match’) whipped Australia 3721 to stretch their winning run to 14 matches… thus equalling the record set when they won the World Cup with Martin Johnson and Jonny Wilkinson etc in 2003. Saracens are still top of the Aviva Premiership, with Bath,

Wasps, Leicester and Exeter chasing them hard. ROUND-UP 2016 World F1 champion Nico Rosberg (31) has surprisingly retired from motor racing. So who will be Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes partner next year? Usain Bolt has been voted the IAFF World athlete of the year for a record sixth time. Cristiano Ronaldo has donated €3m into the fund for the Brazilian footballers and other passengers involved in the fatal air crash in Colombia. World number tennis star Andy Murray is 1-7 favourite to win this year’s ‘BBC Sports Personality of the Year’ award. Gymnast Max Whitlock is 661. Sir Bradley Wiggins could ride again next year after being named in GB’s Cycle Track Team for 2017. World number one Mark Selby defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-7 in last Sunday’s UK Snooker Championship final at York’s Barbican.