RTN Newspaper - Costa Blanca South 18 - 24 August 2017 Issue 930

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Issue 930

18th-24th August 2017

Reporting The News

At least 10 killed in possible Spanish terror attack by Karl Smallman AT least 10 people have died and dozens of people have been injured, according to a local radio report, after being hit by a van in the centre of Barcelona in the popular and very busy Las Ramblas area. The incident, which is now being described by police as ‘terror related’ happened at the junction with Carrer Bonsuccés. Witnesses have reported seeing an armed man fleeing on foot. Police have evacuated the area, while several ambulances are tending to the injured. The security forces have asked the public to avoid the Plaza Cataluña area. There are also now unconfirmed reports of a shooting incident in a restaurant involving two armed men and another reporting of a gunshot in a nearby market. Police are advising people to stay indoors. See rtnnewspaper.com for latest updates

Described by police as ‘terror related’

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Reporting The News

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Local ‘Formula One’ race stopped by Glenn Scott POLICE in Murcia surprised the owners of a selection of luxury sports cars who were recording their latest race around the streets. A total of 15 cars, including several Ferraris, were about to take part in what the police described as their own ‘Formula One’ race in the city, the result of which was planned to be shared across social media as they’d

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done previously. The drivers took advantage of the quieter city centre streets because of the extended weekend that included Tuesday’s ‘Red Day’, but they didn’t know that police were waiting for them as the authorities had themselves seen previous races on YouTube which gave away who and where they were. The speed kings had set up cameras on some of the cars to film their exploits which has seen some of them

driving at speeds of 200kph through the Atalayas tunnel in an area where the official speed limit is 60kph. Trying to avoid being recognised, one of the car drivers in a Nissan GT-R valued at €120,000 covered up the number plates with white tape. He was intercepted by police before he had the chance to start racing. If any of the people detained are found guilty, they could be facing prison sentences of three to six months.

Skull mystery solved THE SKULL found in a rubbish container in the centre of Alicante has been traced to a medical student. Alarms were first raised when a man rummaging around the bins close to the Gran Via area of the city discovered a plastic bag containing the human remains. The area was cordoned off by police as they undertook a more detailed search of the container while awaiting the arrival of the funeral services that later transferred the skull for forensic analysis. When the student that was the owner of the skull realised the amount of fuss he had caused, he voluntarily went to the police to explain what had

happened. He has been on a medical course for five years and had asked his university for special access to skeletal remains in local cemeteries to be able to examine them and further his studies. He’d kept a skull to work on and he simply decided to get rid of it and dumped it into the bin. The student had all the necessary permissions that enabled him to keep the human skull and there is no indication whatsoever of any crime being committed in this case. Police added that because of the amount of time the person who the skull belonged to had been dead, the remains are no longer classed as being human.

WEATHER IN BRIEF

FRI Aug 18th

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SUN Aug 20th

MON Aug 21st

TUE Aug 22nd

WED Aug 23rd

THU Aug 24th

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Mostly sunny and very warm

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Brilliant sunshine and humid

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Plenty of sun

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A blend of sun and clouds

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Sunny and very warm

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Sunny and very warm

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Mostly Sunny

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Firework spectacular ends with fewer injuries by Glenn Scott THE famous Nit de l'Albà firework display that is the focal point of Elche’s fiestas passed off with fewer injuries than usual. Despite the 64,000 rockets and the special 390 palm tree pyrotechnics made up of 2,000 kilos of explosives that lit up the sky, only 43 injuries were reported. None were classed as serious. Among the 27 men and 16 women being admitted to two local hospitals, one was a 66-year-old man and one a twelve-month-old baby. All were released after treatment and nobody needed to be admitted. The trend of casualties has declined in recent years although the eye department of the Vinalopó and the Elche General Hospital

was among the busiest, treating patients with injuries caused by falling rocket sticks and other debris. The firefighters of Elche were kept busy throughout the evening and were on continuous call extinguishing fires in bushes and scrubland, caused by falling fireworks or from others letting off firecrackers near to flammable materials. None were classed as serious and quickly brought under control. Security was also tight with a total of 350 officers made up of local, national, regional police and the Guardia Civil, not forgetting the medical teams. Earlier in the afternoon, police were patrolling the area on horseback to deter people from setting off fireworks and bangers in the streets.

Plastic plotters found FIVE men believed to be behind a clever scheme to identify empty homes in the city of Murcia have been arrested. The five, all of Georgian nationality, were detained in different areas of the city; two of them were charged with attempted robbery with violence with one also being found to be an illegal immigrant. After evidence was found during a search of the men, they were immediately linked to a scheme that has been employed in Murcia whereby small strips of transparent plastic were placed over doors and gates of a number of homes. The men returned a day or two later, and if the strips hadn’t moved they knew the property was empty and would plan to break in.

Less injuries at this year’s event

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by Ray Chadwick A PARENT originally took responsibility for a car crash to cover for his son. Following an incident on Calle Bigastro in Elche, a man phoned the police on the 112 emergency number saying that he’d collided with a dividing line of plastic cones in the middle of the road that separates the bus lane from the rest of the traffic. However, a few hours earlier, a passer-by reported a similar incident but said the driver had fled the scene. Further investigations

Photo credit: Pixhere

Dad takes the blame by police led them to believe that the driver wasn’t the man that reported the incident but was the man’s son who, when eventually tested, was double the maximum alcohol limit. Both the father and the son eventually admitted that it was the young man who was driving the car when it crashed, and had later returned to the scene to make it look as if the father had been responsible. It was at this point that the alcohol tests took place and found the excessive levels in the son...and not the father.

COVERING: Breath test exposes father’s cover-up

Mayor calls for more police Noises

JOSÉ MANUEL Dolón, the mayor of Torrevieja has asked for an extra 40 police officers to increase the local force. Dolón said that according to accepted criteria for demographics across Spain and taking into account the density of populations in Torrevieja itself and the many surrounding urbanisations, the city should have a minimum of 200 police instead of the 160 they currently

have and puts the blame firmly at the feet of restrictions from central government that have blocked an increase. Back in April, the mayor wrote to the judicial council explaining that the shortage of police officers are severely affecting the ability of the local force to carry out an effective service for residents and tourists alike, and is affecting morale.

MEASUREMENTS of sound recently undertaken by Alicante council have found unacceptable levels during the day. In one test, 70 decibels were registered in the historical old town of Alicante at 7pm which is close to the highest permitted limit of 75 decibels and well above the 55 decibels allowed by law. The tests were carried out by a series of sound monitors after a flood of complaints from local residents aimed at the bars and outside restaurants that occupy the streets in the traditional centre of the city. According to recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) a noise level up to 45 decibels is considered an acceptable; a level of 55 is classed as annoying and anything over 85 is regarded as being harmful to health and well-being.

on in city centre

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Judge puts his foot down

AFTER five years of investigation, a judge in Alicante has taken charge of a trial of 57 people accused of money laundering connected with selling shoes from China. Those in the dock, made up of individuals and companies, are believed to have set up a network that has defrauded the tax authorities of an estimated €30m of IVA (VAT) over a period of four years between 2008 and 2012. The operation concerns footwear imported from China and sold across Spain

under the false company names that conceal the real buyers. The original documentation showed that the imports should have been sold in Portugal or in other European Union countries, but instead were sold in Spain. Any products sold intercommunity are exempt from IVA and thus a refund of related customs duties was requested and paid. The judge decreed that the amount of IVA declared was much less than the correct amount that should’ve been paid.

Beware the pet poisoners by Lynn Whittaker REPRESENTATIVES of local people and animal associations are issuing warnings as a result of the deaths of several dogs and seagulls caused by poison. ASPETGA (Association of Pet Owners of Santa Pola and Gran Alacant) have come out strongly against the premeditated poisoning of a number of animals in Santa Pola in less than a week. They are particularly concerned at the deaths of two dogs in the Pintor Sorolla area that ate something that had been poisoned; a

fact confirmed by the local vets who did their very best to save the animals but could do nothing for them. These latest incidents have pushed the residents of Santa Pola and ASPETGA into action by beginning a petition to the council to ask for a park to be made available so dogs can be walked and exercised in safety nearer than the existing park in Gran Alacant. The group are also warning against poisoning of the gull population that are a protected species and any such crime committed against them would attract the severest of penalties.

Self-employment changes prove attractive THE CENTRAL government plan introduced in 2013 to encourage more people to become autonomous (self-employed) has proved a success all-round. More than 53,200 people in Alicante have registered to take advantage of the new flat monthly rate of €50 for the newly self-employed; in the Valencian community as a whole, 138,000 have registered for the attractive measures. Until the Royal Decree, all autonomous workers were expected to pay the standard rate of around €270 per month; a figure that had to be paid whether they were working or otherwise if they wished to retain all the social security benefits. Such a high amount was impractical for many and encouraged the growth of the black economy. The flat rate of €50 lasts for the first six months from the date of application for new selfemployed workers although plans are underway in Madrid to extend this period to one year.

Another accident on N-332 black spot

ONE OF the most notorious black spots on the N-332 has seen another crash. On this occasion there have been no fatalities. Three people were injured on the stretch of road outside Santa Pola close to the abandoned Hotel Rocas Blancas at the top of the hill. The accident, that saw two cars collide as one turned from the main N-332 into Santa Pola, caused a tailback in both directions

of around four kilometres between El Altet and the village of La Marina. The three injured people – none of them with serious or life-threatening conditions - were taken by ambulance to Elche General Hospital. Since 2009, 27 serious accidents have taken place at this black spot killing or injuring 55 people and the residents of Santa Pola continue to wait for official solutions to the problem.

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Man arrested for false holiday rentals

Fire leads to building evacuation

A FIRE that broke out in the ground floor of a building in Torrevieja required a complete evacuation of the block. The alarm was raised around midnight on Tuesday evening when a fire was noticed in one of the premises on the ground floor of a building on Calle San Policarpo. Local firefighters, police and the Guardia Civil attended the scene and made an imme-

diate decision to evacuate people living in the floors above the blaze. It’s understood that nobody has been hurt either as a direct result of the fire or during the evacuation procedure. Earlier the same evening, emergency services were called to another fire on Avenida Don Juan de Austria where they found three parked vehicles alight. Police believe they were deliberately set on fire.

Cyclists ignoring their new lanes by Ray Chadwick OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil in Pilar de la Horadada have arrested a 27year-old man for renting out flats in the area that didn’t belong to him. The man, living in Pilar, and released on probation, also tried to sell a house that was owned by an 80year-old disabled woman. Police first became wary of a possible scam when a home was sold in nearby Torre de la Horadada and subsequent in-

vestigations confirmed their suspicions. The fake owner of the home falsified information on the register of property by putting it into his name and thus able to put it on the market. The house was registered to an 80-year-old German lady who was known to the local authorities as being disabled and monitored by them. Alarm bells began to ring. Further investigations showed the scammer had set up a property website under the name of Pablo Mar SL on which he offered homes for sale and

rent in the Torre de la Horadada area. It was the very low sale prices of the advertised properties not belonging to the man that raised some suspicion. However, by the time the scam had come to light, a total of €32,000 had been paid as a deposit by one buyer and a further €500 in advance rental payments from another unwary customer. Investigations continue to establish how many more people may have been caught out by this sophisticated con man.

DRIVERS using the newly upgraded southern access road to Alicante have added a further complaint to the ever growing list. They had to endure five months of road works that went over time while the new cycle lanes were installed, a result of which was a reduction in speed limits from 80kph to 50kph and a series of radars erected. Narrower lanes to make way for the cycle tracks had already seen a few close scrapes with buses and lorries. Now, a number of cyclists are ignoring the dedicated road way, preferring instead to stay within the main flow of traffic. Motorists are sharing their frustrations on social media stating that the narrower lanes on the main road mean that it’s almost impossible to give cyclists the required one and half metre space as they overtake them.

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Major drugs stash found

‘Tidy’ jewel thief caught GUARDIA CIVIL officers in Santa Pola have arrested a serial jewel thief. The 36-year-old is believed to be the perpetrator of nine robberies that stole jewellery to the value of €22,000. He then later sold the proceeds of his burglaries to local dealers and specialist gold shops. Police were alerted to the suspect after it was noticed that most of the break-ins were all in the same area and suggested that the culprit may live in the neighbourhood. One of the residents was also someone that had recently been released from prison after committing similar crimes in the past. He was called the ‘tidy’ thief as he removed jewellery from boxes so carefully that it was some time before anyone noticed some of their belongings has been stolen.

Detained woman suspected of child abandonment

by Steve Collins NATIONAL POLICE in Elche have found a large batch of different drugs in a raid on premises in Aspe. As part of an organised operation against drug trafficking in the area, police found a quarter of a kilo of co-

caine, a quantity of crystal meth, 34 boxes of Viagra, €8,000 in cash and a high-end car. During the raid, two women and one man – all Spanish and aged between 24 and 62-years-old – were detained as a result of the investigations that began two months ago

when police received a tip-off about people distributing cocaine and other substances. Anyone with any information or suspicions about people dealing in illegal substances should contact, in confidence, the National Police anti-drug unit at antidroga@policia.es

A 39-YEAR-OLD woman was arrested by the National Police for the alleged crime of abandoning her children. The offences came to light when a 15-year-old tried to run away after being routinely questioned by local police in the Murcia village of Casillas. The police identified the teenager before taking him home where they found two other children of 5 and 8-years-old home alone as the mother was allegedly at work. Further inquiries made showed the estranged father lives in Almeria and the mother has custody of the children. At first she couldn’t be contacted – although she was later found and detained by National Police - and the young ones were taken to the home of the paternal grandmother.

Nobody’s dying to use funeral parlour A TANATORIO that has been open for six months is about to close its doors as nobody has used the funeral service on offer. The San Roque Tanatorio located in the Murcia municipality of Blanca began trading on January 20 this year. In the intervening time, the owner has paid out almost €2,000 per month in rent and util-

ity bills to keep the business alive, added to the €200,000 original investment. The 48-year-old owner, Pedro Antonio Palazón Morales, and his wife, also 48, are at a loss to understand why not a single person has chosen to use the 300 square metres comprising of two rooms, a chapel, a body preparation area and a hall.

The couple, who had careers as a truck driver and care worker respectively, decided to open the tanatorio as there are no similar facilities in the Valle de Ricote where they live. Pedro even travelled to Valladolid to successfully study tanatoaesthetics, a specialist course on how to run and operate funeral services. Asked why he believed his business hasn’t

attracted a single customer, Pedro lays the blame at the funeral insurance companies who are allegedly not giving people a choice by law as to where the service for their loved ones can be held, and probably don’t know they exist. “At least twenty people have died in Blanca this year,” said Pedro, “and yet none of them have ended up at our funeral parlour.”

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Family property fakers arrested

It’s a no to lighthouse plans RESIDENTS of Cabo de Palos near La Manga filled the streets to protest against the plans to redevelop their iconic lighthouse. More than 400 people filled the Las Dunas Commercial Centre to show their disapproval of a plan by the ruling Partido Popular (PP) to allow a private enterprise to turn the lighthouse into a hotel or casino. At the head of the demonstration, locals carried a large banner containing the words ‘No se vende’ (Not for sale), reflecting the wish of the residents that the landmark stays as municipality property. Among the 400 protestors were opposition members of the council representing, among others, the Socialist PSOE, Podemos, Ciudadanos (C’s) parties as well as those from ‘Save the Lighthouse’. Photo credit: Wikimedia

CAUGHT: Mother and daughter arrested over property scam

by Steve Collins TWO WOMEN, a mother and her daughter, have been arrested in Alicante for a property scam that netted them over €100,000. They posed as advisers with alleged connections to a series of estate agents that swindled more than 25 people from different European countries. The defendants allegedly devised a plan to defraud large amounts of money from their victims over a pe-

riod of several months, after accessing various internet search engines and finding properties up for private sale. After meeting the sellers, they obtained the keys to the homes and then showed prospective buyers around without the sellers knowing that they’d lowered the value by up to 50 per cent to attract the unwitting customers. The buyers were led into signing a contract which contained fake signatures of the sellers and required them to deposit an agreed amount into an

account belonging to the scammers. Payments of between €3,000 and €17,000 were made over time and with the transactions being carried out in a professional manner and the usual delays in buying and selling house, suspicions weren’t aroused. Once the money was in the account, the mother and daughter disappeared and all contact with them was lost by the ‘buyers’ who were mainly people from outside Spain who returned home without filing any formal complaints to the Spanish authorities.

New cruise ship in port THE PORT of Alicante has welcomed a new visitor to the growing cruise ship destination. With 800 passengers on board, the MS Sirenia belonging to Oceania Cruises arrived in port and allowed over 700 travellers to disembark

and spend the day in the city shopping and sightseeing. It was estimated that 70 per cent of those stayed within Alicante whereas the remainder took the opportunity to go on private or organised trips a little further afield.

The company that manages the comings and goings of the cruise ships in Alicante is forecasting 53 arrivals during 2017 bring with them 100,000 passengers. The next cruise ship is due in Alicante on Wednesday August 23.

Photo credit: Wikimedia

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Buy to rent is just as popular for boats by Glenn Scott THE PROVINCE of Alicante is now only second to the Balearic Islands in the amount of boats available for rent. Recently released figures show that the increase in one year for Alicante stands at 31 per cent taking the number available to 176. More and more people are buying boats of all types as an investment and putting them in the hands of marketing companies. Such activity suffered a slump of between 60 and 70 per cent when the crisis struck the luxury end of the market. Such is the interest in buy to rent in Alicante that it has surpassed Barcelona and is only behind the Balearic Islands that have 333 formally registered. In Spain, it’s believed

there is a total fleet of 1,200. Twelve specialist rental companies now operate out of the marina in Alicante; only three years ago, there were just two and more of this type of business is opening up and down the Costa Blanca with Denia among the ports where it’s multiplied. In the high season, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see a 12 metre sailboat rented out without a skipper for €550 a day. A 30-metre motor yacht aimed at the exclusive VIP and business market could command upwards of €9,500 a day complete with a full crew and a cook in the galley. Mooring costs for the summer range from €350 a month for an eight-metre boat increasing to €6,000 for a forty-metre luxury vessel.

All hands to the rescue

IN A further incident caused by the strong sea conditions, four swimmers had to be rescued with the help of fellow beachgoers. Beaches along the coast belonging to Murcia – especially the Amoladeras located next to the Hotel Entremares in La Manga – have suffered from the elements more than most. A group of swimmers got into difficulty as they attempted to return to the shore and the life-

guards were notified. However, the strength of the currents and the undertow made the rescue operation more difficult than expected, requiring both lifeguards and other bathers to form a human chain to be able to reach those struggling. Once they returned to the shore, two of the four were treated by the medical services at the scene but didn’t need to be taken to any hospital.

Alicante overtakes Barcelona in buy to rent boats

Emergency call data released

FOR the seven months until the end of July, the emergency call coordination centre covering the Murcia region received a total of more than 7,800 calls related to gender violence. In total, calls to the 112 emergency number recorded a 9.75 per cent increase compared to the same period as last year, not least in part due to the winter snows and strong winds in the first few months of 2017. Commenting on the calls received for gender violence, the director general of security and emergency services, José Ramón Carrasco said that the figure remains similar to that of previous years. Overall, 545,877 calls were made to the 112 service covering Murcia from January to July (inclusive) with 58 per cent relating to health emergencies.

24 feb - 2 march 2017

15

by Glenn Scott

Quirónsalud Torrevieja, explained that a bad diet with high levels of sugar and fat, along with tobacco abuse, alcohol and a lack of exercise in the hot weather can lead to blood pressure issues. Someone suffering from high blood pressure exposed to high temperatures and failing to drink enough fluids may then suffer from severe low blood pressure, leading to fainting and even a loss on consciousness. As Dr Florenciano explained: “One High of the medications used to treat high temperatures blood pressure are diuretics, which, can cause together with the high temperatures issues experienced in the summer, causes for those the patient to lose more fluids, which suffering with high blood is why It is vitally important to repressure place those liquids more than usual.”

MEDICAL EXPERTS are issuing a warning to the estimated 20 per cent of people who don’t follow their medication routine during the summer months. This is especially prevalent among people taking blood pressure tablets. Specialists at the Quirónsalud Hospitals in both Valencia and Torrevieja have expressed their concern that people ignoring doctor’s orders are putting themselves at a high risk of further complications such as angina, heart attacks, heart failure and even a stroke. The risk of kidney failure is also significantly increased. Rafael Florenciano, a specialist in the Cardiology Unit at Hospital

Happy birthday to the TRAM THE TRAM service that serves Alicante city and connects it to other areas of the northern Costa Blanca celebrated its 14th birthday on Tuesday. Since it first ran on August 15 2003, the TRAM has carried more than 80 million passengers and has travelled almost

Photo Credit: Wkimedia

Keep taking those tablets

30 million kilometres. The original route, part of which is now closed due to a lack of use, joined stations on the Puerta del Mar found along the beach in Alicante with El Campello. Since that time and with the expansion of the services – and more

planned for the future – precisely 69,508,098 people used the electrified TRAM service and a further 12,196,192 passengers travelled on the Benidorm to Denia section of the route (Line 9) that still uses diesel rolling stock until the current modernisation is completed.

Medical breakthrough by local paediatrician PATRICIA GARCÍA-MARCOS, a paediatrician based at the St Lucia Hospital in Cartagena has detected cases of undiagnosed asthma in children. She has spent the last 15 years conducting a study that shows that not only has there been an increase in the number of asthma cases in Cartagena, there are also several symptoms of the condition

that have not been previously diagnosed and as such children in particular are going on to develop the illness that they could’ve been saved from. The project has also detected that eating fruit can also be a guard against asthma because of being a natural antioxidant.

Lottery luck for two local areas

RESIDENTS of both Orihuela and Benidorm have recently enjoyed some lottery good fortune by winning some big prizes in the ONCE Eurojackpot draw. Orihuela’s winner correctly selected 5 numbers + 1 sun and won €2.73m One more number and the figure could’ve been the full €37m in the prize fund. The delighted seller of the ticket was Vicente Rodríguez. On the same day, another lucky citizen – but this time in Benidorm – picked 5 numbers and won the third level prize of €132,694. The ONCE Eurojackpot tickets are sold across Europe in Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Italy, Finland, Croatia, Slovenia, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and raise money for the internationally famous blind charity established in Spain.

Live longer and prosper

DATA from the Valencian Health Observatory shows some of the local areas are those with the longest life expectancy. Across the community, life expectancy has increased by 3.8 years for men and 2.6 years for women between 2000 and 2015, with Elche leading the way for men and Alicante for women. As for the capitals with the highest life expectancy at birth for men are Elche (76.98 years), Alicante (76.46), Castellón (76.09)

and Valencia (75.66). For women, the data showed the following: Alicante (83.04 years), Elche (82.73), Castellón (82.72) and Valencia (82.46). As a whole, Spain (83.3 years) is among the twelve countries whose people live longer than 82, joining Japan (83.7); Switzerland (83.4), Singapore (83.1), Australia (82.8), Italy (82.7), Iceland (82.7), Israel (82.5), France (82.4), South Korea (82.3) and Canada (82.2).

16

Big Ben bongs to be silenced

TWO STARS from ITV’s hit reality show, The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) have been photographed embracing this summer’s lace trend. Georgie Kousoulou, aged 26, and Chloe Sims, aged 34, were snapped strolling around Marbella, with Georgia opting for transparent black trousers and Chloe looking chic in a white see-through dress. Meanwhile, back in the UK, one of the reality show’s stars, Megan Mckenna, aged 24, has been spotted puckering up to boyfriend and co-star, Pete Wicks, aged 28, after returning from filming scenes for the programme in Marbella. The on-again-off-again couple are back together after breaking up on their five-day trip when Pete was accused of exchanging flirty texts with other women.

Photo credit: Wikimedia

by Lynn Whittaker THE FAMOUS bongs of Big Ben will fall quiet for up to four years as from Monday. Parliamentary authorities announced that the Great Bell, which has rang out across London almost without a break for the past 157 will sound for the last time at noon on Monday August 21. Renovation work on the Elizabeth Tower isn’t planned to be completed until 2021. Health and safety concerns have prompted this controversial move in some quarters, but spokesperson said: “The chimes are being stopped to provide a safe environment for the people working on the scaffolding. Constant proximity to the chimes would pose a serious risk to their hearing, and would prevent efficient working.” Mechanics who currently work on the clock get ear defenders but are only exposed to the bells ringing for short periods each week. The spokeswoman added: “People will be working on the scaffolding day-

TOWIE stars hit Marbs

Love Island stunner hits out

SILENCED: The iconic Big Ben will be quiet for four years in day-out throughout the works, and, while protective headgear could be provided, it is not desirable for individuals working at height to have their hearing obscured as there is concern the ability to hear each other and any alarms could be affected.”

Parliament’s specialist clock makers will however ensure Big Ben can still bong for important national events such as New Year’s Eve and Remembrance Sunday, and one working clock face will remain visible at all times throughout the works.

LOVE ISLAND beauty, Cally Jane Beech, has been criticised online for enjoying a three-day holiday on Ibiza without her three-month old daughter, Vienna. The twenty-five-year-old star took to Instagram to defend her trip, explaining her daughter was staying with her father, Luis Morrison and told critics to “get a life.” The brunette stunner is taking a break after breaking up with Luis last month after claims he had cheated on her. Cally Jane explained she was at a Miss Swimsuit UK event on Saturday when she saw the online criticism and had to be comforted by a friend. In her Instagram post, Miss Beech hit back, saying, 'You shouldn't judge other parents on how they're living their lives and what they're doing.”

Unforgettable sunbed journey A 19-YEAR-OLD Ukrainian suffered an unexpected awakening when he woke up on his sunbed. Working as a lifeguard on the Lazurne beach, Mykhailo Doroshenko decided to spend the night aboard an inflatable mattress, only to wake up the following morning floating in the middle of the Black Sea off the Crimea coast. It was three days before he was

finally rescued suffering from the effects of dehydration and sunstroke in temperatures of more than 40ºC. "The first day was fun, the second no so much," he explained to a Ukrainian-based newspaper. He was found by members of the Crimea military more than 60 kilometres away from where he set off.

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Steam back on the tube Photo credit: Wikimedia

Sickness claim thrown out of court

ALL ABOARD: Metropolitan Nº1 back on track for one day

by Ray Chadwick THE GOLDEN era of the steam train is to return to London in September...but only for one day. A selection of steam locomotives pulling 1950s ex-British Rail rolling stock will be running on the Metropolitan Line between Amersham and Harrow-on-the Hill on Sat-

urday September 16. The event, ‘Vintage Summer Steam’, has been organised by the London Transport Museum and train buffs will get the chance to ride on the Metropolitan Nº1 steam locomotive, Steam Locomotive Nº 9466, two class 20 diesel locomotives and the coaches resplendent in their red livery. The first train will depart from Harrow-on-

the-Hill to Amersham at 10.20am, while the last will leave Amersham at 3.27pm and arrive in Ruislip at 4.11pm. Tea and cakes will be served from vintage crockery to day-trippers during some of the journeys. London was the first city in the world to have an underground railway and the initial section built by the Metropolitan Railway ran between Paddington and Farringdon.

Look what the tide’s dragged in!

A BRITISH tourist who blamed poor hygiene in a hotel gave her diarrhoea has had her compensation claim thrown out by a judge. Her boasting about her trip on Facebook went against her previous claims that she’d suffered “nausea and diarrhoea” during an all-inclusive Thomas Cook holiday in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh. Marissa McLean, 27, alleged that "the way food was cooked and prepared" led to her suffering illness at the resort one minute supposedly back and forth to the toilet and yet the next was saying he was in “paradise.” She claimed the posts were to provoke an ex-boyfriend back in the UK to jealousy. In his damning conclusion, Judge Nadeem Khan said her evidence was "neither plausible nor credible" and he formally ruled her claim "fundamentally dishonest", allowing the tour operator to recover the money it had spent fighting her claim. Instead she was ordered to pay £2,812 within 21 days, and refused leave to appeal. After the hearing, a spokesman for Thomas Cook said: "We've been clear we won't hesitate to take action where we feel it's justified in order to protect the majority of honest holidaymakers. We're pleased that, for a second time, a judge has recognised the dishonesty in these cases, showing that the courts are increasingly aware of the levels of fraud we're seeing in holiday sickness claims." Photo credit: Geograph

BEACHCOMERS in East Anglia had the shock of their lives when they took a stroll along a Norfolk beach. Expecting to see the odd cuttlefish or chunks of seaweed along the shore, they were greeted by a number of gigantic plastic pipes that had been washed-up by Horsey and Sea Palling in Norfolk. The Norwegian-made bore pipes – normally around two metres in diameter and 100 metres long – broke free when they were being transported to Algeria in mid-July and a passing container ship crashed into them - but they had only just come ashore. Those discovered on the beach ranged from between 200 metres to 480 metres long. Authorities have said there was no danger from the pipes and that specialist companies Dutch Marine BV and Marine Towing Services were working on removing them.

Mountain rescue hoaxer slammed

Photo credit: Twitter

VOLUNTEERS responsible for mountain rescue in a part of Wales have described the maker of a hoax call as “irresponsible”. As a result of three alleged emergency calls made to North Wales Police, 16 members of the voluntary Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (OVMRO) were dispatched into Snowdonia to look for the ‘victim’. He was reported as being lost around Cwm Idwal, Devil’s Kitchen and Glyder Fawr at 7.30am. At the same time, another call came in from someone claiming to be lost on Tryfan. Chris Lloyd of OVMRO called the hoaxer “irresponsible”. He said: “There were 16 of us searching

the whole area from about 7.30am in wet and frankly atrocious weather. The police received another call after 9am saying they were lost on Tryfan. We asked them to check the voices of all the calls and they realised it was most likely to be a hoax. As a result, the search parties were recalled to base. “We had 16 very wet team members who were very upset,” said Mr Lloyd. “They have families and partners and there’s only so many times you can ask them to go out - it could affect them next time there’s a genuine emergency.” Mr Lloyd said it was fortunate another genuine call didn’t come in while they were deployed.

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Never too old to learn by Glenn Scott A 91-YEAR OLD woman in Thailand has earned a college degree after spending more than 10 years studying for it and has received her diploma from the country's king. Public television broadcaster Thai PBS says Kimlan Jinakul was granted the Bachelor of Arts degree in human and family development at the government-run Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University just outside Bangkok. "If we do not study, do not read, do not know, then we won't be able to speak and make sense," she said. Her diploma was handed to her by King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarang-

kun, who took the throne last year. Diplomas at Thailand's public universities are traditionally handed out by members of the royal family. "I am happy and honoured that the king has graciously shown such limitless mercy," Kimlan said, using a phrase meant to show utmost respect to Thai royalty. Kimlan traveled with her family from their home in Phayao province, 725 kilometers (450 miles) north of Bangkok, to attend the graduation ceremony. "Sometimes she felt weary because of her body," Kimlan's son, Mongkol Jinakul, told Thai PBS. "But we as her children tried to cheer her on and mom studied until the end and it was a success."

King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun

Cancer scammer charged with fraud A WOMAN from Orlando who pretended to have terminal cancer was finally arrested and charged with fraud, according to U.S. prosecutors. Vedoutie Hoobraj, 38, using the name Shivonie Deokaran accepted donations when she lived in Westchester County in New York during a period from October 2014 until at least March 2016. Hoobraj claimed to have seen doctors at cancer hospitals and had even posted pictures of her bald head

as a result of the treatment, but prosecutors said in court documents proved that she never actually underwent any. Over the time, she raised more than $50,000 from at least 300 people in Westchester County towns from a series of events, Hoobraj claimed she had 18 months to live and was suffering from both leukemia and cancer of the liver. Hoobraj faces a maximum of 20 years in prison after being charged one a count of financial fraud.

Sewbots are the new machinists

Trump isn’t the only Twitter chump PRINCE Laurent of Belgium has had his Twitter account deleted, and the speculation is that it’s been deactivated by his brother, King Philippe.

Photo credit: Twitter

The Prince, 53, has built up a reputation for being a firebrand and it’s understood that he’s had his account removed to stop him making further Twitter blunders. The action has been taken as a result of Prince Laurent tweeting a picture of himself in full military uniform to his 5,000 followers when he recently attended a celebration marking 90 years since the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army at Beijing’s Brussels based embassy. It was described by one Belgian newspaper as ‘a gaffe too far’. Prince Laurent has a history of contentious meetings with foreign governments and faces a 10 per cent fine from his €308,000 annual endowment allowance. His previous freelance diplomacy has included trips

to see President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who, after 16 years in power, refuses to stand down on the grounds that the country cannot afford elections! He also enjoyed frequent visits to Libya between 2008 and 2010, where he had been hoping to go into business with one of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s sons. The People’s Liberation Army event may have gone unnoticed but the wayward prince tweeted a picture of himself attending the ceremony at the Chinese embassy in Brussels, leaving the Belgian prime minister with little choice but to act. The Prince is due to give his side of the Chinese incident to the government in September but the conservative Flemish party, the N-VA, is insisting he face the consequences of his actions.

ROYAL GAFFE: Prince Laurent of Belgium tweeting on duty

ADIDAS are investing $20m (€25m) in new technology in a series of robotic arms to make their world-famous shirts. In raw numbers, 21 robot arms – known as Sewbots – will be able to produce 82,467 per day made up of 3,927 per arm and one shirt every 22 seconds! Designed and built by the American company SoftWear Automation, Adidas will replace the workforce in its factories in China and Thailand during 2018 to both increase productivity and reduce manufacturing costs. Each robot has a system of mechanical arms, needles and cameras that can cut and sew the fabric in four minutes. According to its creators, Sewbot is able to make a garment at a level of precision that not even the human eye can detect. Chairman of the company that produces the shirts for Adidas, Tang Xinhong of Tianyuan Garments, said that they will eventually have 10 times the amount of Sewbots producing a predicted total of 800,000 units per day in the medium term, al made in American factories. The idea is that not even the cheapest Chinese factory in the world could compete against the Sewbots.

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What’s in YOUR medicine cabinet? by

Barry Duke

“Oooh,” grouched the other half who’d spent the best part of the afternoon on the beach turning himself the colour of a Christmas Island crab on one of the hottest days of August, “I’ve got a thumping headache.” “Well, I’m hardly surprised,” I shot back, “but there are more painkillers in the medicine cabinet than you can shake a stick at. And while you’re at it I suggest you slather yourself with after-sun lotion.” I heard Marcus rummaging around in the cabinet, then came the plaintiff cry, “which ones are the painkillers?” Sigh. I broke away from a game of Scrabble I was winning (me v the computer) and peered at the mind-blowing array of pharmaceuticals the cabinet contained. “Er … these are some sort of paracetamol I said.” I handed him a bright red box of Dolorstop that I really

can’t remember buying. “How many do I take?” was the next question. I suggested two, the number of paracetamol I normally take for a headache. So down they went. An hour later Marcus complained of feeling ill, threw up and went to bed early. The next day he said he thought the tablets had made him ill. I believed it was sunstroke. But a quick Internet check revealed that over-the-counterin-Spain Dolorstop is almost FOUR times the strength of your bog-standard Boots’ paracetamol, and only one tablet is recommended. This little episode prompted me to do a thorough check of everything I had in the medicine cabinet, and, much to my astonishment, I realised that I hadn’t the foggiest notion of what around two-thirds of the phials and packages contained.

There was a box of Doctril with seven tablets missing. Doctril? What was that for? And a blister pack of CoCodamols (six tabs missing). The Naproxeno sodica cinfa packet of blue tablets was less of a mystery because I’d scribbled the word “knee” on it. That was handed to me in a pharmacy when my right knee came the size of an Ogen melon after I fell down a flight of stairs about two years ago. Six of those brought down the swelling. But what was Ilvico for? And Acoxxel? It was clear that I needed to open Google and run all these medications through it. Doctril, I discovered, was given to me for toothache. CoCodamol is a mixture of codeine and paracetamol and have no idea when I acquired it and what I used it for. Ilvico, I learned, was for sinusitis and Acoxxel was a gout remedy. Gout?

I’d forgotten about the pain that was caused to the big toe of my right foot a few years back, and I certainly didn’t appreciate being reminded that I was hobbling about for a week like a Victorian gourmand who’d overdone the rich food and port wine in London’s Army and Navy Club. “Oh my ears and whiskers,” I exclaimed as I gazed at the pile of boxes and blister packs surrounding my computer, “taken together, these suggest that I might disintegrate at any moment.” “Ah,” said Marcus, “you’ve still got the first aid box to trawl through. It contains about 20 different tubes of creams and lotions with funny names and no indication of what they are for.” “I don’t feel well,” I retorted. “Let’s leave that for another day.”

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French farce by

Michael Walsh

keyboardcosmetics@ gmail.com

One doesn’t need to be a conspiracy theorist to express concern at sharp electoral practice in some European Union nations. One can also draw conclusions from a voting system wide open to abuse on a massive scale. In this day and age it is a simple matter to provide a voting system that is 99% tamper proof. Why then use a paper system more suited to medieval Europe. The surprising spike in votes cast for French President Emmanuel Macron was likely the outcome of electoral fraud. It is now suggested that populist candidate Marine le Pen might have become France’s president had the system not been rigged. In France, people cast their votes on paper slips distributed by the state. Delivered by post, each voter receives slips each carrying the names of candidates. Choosing their preferred nominee their choice is then placed in the ballot box. Damaged ballot papers are rejected. Evidence is emerging that up to 60 per cent of the ballot slips bearing the name of Marine le Pen were damaged

before their being mailed to the electorate. There is no evidence that slips bearing Macron’s name were similarly damaged. The damage to a slip need only be slight but that is enough to disqualify the vote. How convenient if you want an electoral process that is far from tamper proof. The randomness of the rips in the Le Pen ballot slips suggests that destruction was carried out by hand with intent. Another oddity is that many electors in districts known to favour Macron received multiple ballot papers. Unnervingly, the French Election Commission confirmed that multiple votes would count. If there were complaints these would be investigated after the election. Sure! When evidence of electoral tampering was referred to the election watchdog the complaint was dismissed and media asked not to report the news story. Television corporate CNN conceded that ‘there had been irregularities’ in the French elections. The American broadcaster says ballot papers were

spoiled. The report went on to say, Emmanuel Macron’s ‘mandate may not be as overwhelming as it seems.’ There was a breaking of the ranks in media output. Agence France Press reported that ‘a staggering number of French voters cast votes which didn’t count.’ There is always allowance for blank or spoiled protest votes. However, it was reported that the number of spoiled ballots in the most recent French election was quadruple the usual number recorded. This anomaly was shrugged off as voters ‘declined to choose’ between the two candidates. The failed vote records were the worst in nearly half a century, abstention the highest since 1969. The fact is the European Union is corrupt from top to bottom.

Masculine and Feminine Part 2 Basic Spanish for everyday needs by

Jane Cronin

The idea of “gender” in the Spanish language is something most students have to come to terms with quite early on in their learning. The idea that a chair can be “female” and a car “male” usually gives rise to a few jovial remarks, followed by general incomprehension as to why such female related objects as “bolso” (handbag) and “vestido” (dress) should be masculine, although for some reason no one ever worries that “camisa” (shirt) and “corbata” (tie) are feminine. There is possibly some strange psychological reason why we question some words and not others, but I have no idea what it is. In any case I always insist on making sure that people use the terms “masculine” and “feminine” rather than “male” and “female”, and also explain that this gender distinction belongs to the words themselves, and not what they represent. Sometimes I wish they were called “apples” and “pears” or “giraffes” and “elephants”, but at some point in the development of the language the distinction was made in terms of “masculine” and “feminine”, and whilst this is meaningful when applied to male and female people and animals, it is really arbitrary when referring to anything else. Anyway, hopefully my present readers have overcome this initial difficulty. The next question that arises is whether there is any way of knowing whether a word is masculine or feminine. As usual the answer is not conclusive. There are certain characteristics

which can indicate which gender a word is, but there are exceptions, and also many words that give us no indication whatsoever. The best known indicator is the characteristic “o” ending for masculine and “a” ending for feminine words. There are some notable and very common exceptions, such as “la mano”, “la radio”, “el sofá” “el planeta” and so on. Then there are many words that have other endings which do not indicate gender in any way. Here are just two examples out of thousands: “reloj” (clock) and “pared” (internal wall). You cannot tell by looking which one is which! In fact the word “reloj” is masculine – “el reloj” (the clock) and “pared” is feminine “la pared” (the wall). We just have to learn these differences gradually, and not worry about getting them all mixed up at first. Having said that, there are some very common endings that are always feminine (I’m very wary of using the word “always”, but in this case I have never come across any exceptions). These are “– ción, -sión and –xión” (la estación, la televisión, la conexión), and also the “– dad” endings (la comunidad, la universidad, la felicidad). On the other side you have the “-ema” endings (el dilema, el problema, el tema) and a few other bits and pieces. Apart from that, you are more or less on your own. I’ve always found the gender issue a little strange when it comes to people. We have the usual clear

distinctions (el niño – the boy, la niña – the girl), but some people words are always feminine irrespective of the gender of who they refer to. Two common examples of this are “la víctima” and “la persona”. We can say things like: “Mi hermano Pedro es una persona muy simpática”, and “la víctima era un hombre de 55 años”. These sentences sound perfectly normal in Spanish, but take a bit of getting used to for us. When it comes to job words, there is a certain amount of argument and variation. This has a lot to do with the fact that for many years in Spain professional jobs where exclusively in the hands of men, so it was not necessary for them to have feminine forms. A good example is the word for “doctor” which would normally be “el médico”, but has evolved to “la médico”, and now “la médica”, although not everyone accepts this final form. Other cases where masculine job words have been adapted to the times are: “juez” (male judge) “jueza” female judge, “presidente” (male president) “presidenta” (female president). Some jobs do not alter their endings in any circumstances, for example: “el piloto, la piloto” (pilot) and more surprisingly “el modelo, la modelo” (model). Now here’s a thought to finish off with – is the word “agua” masculine or feminine? The answer and a riveting discussion on the matter to follow next week.

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High noon at the Town Hall by

Colin Bird

So I turn up at the office for the padron in the Ayuntamiento at 12pm. It was part of my cunning plan to avoid the long queue that I was convinced would be there if I arrived at the opening time of 9pm. I was wrong. A friend had advised me with an all knowing wink and nudge, that before 9pm was when everyone went in order to steal a march on everybody else, and the numbers would be of mob proportions. He supported this by relating his own experience a few weeks before, when he was able to march straight in at midday. This made sense, but I hadn’t reckoned on my friend also telling the same thing to the world and his brother and thus, like me, everyone had turned up later in the morning. I suffer from an extreme case of queuephobia and get very bad tempered, but I figured, hey, what the heck, the office closes at 1.30pm for the day and although there are perhaps fifteen or sixteen people in front of me, quite a few are probably couples, so try and relax. Because these thoughts were coursing through my mind I forgot the need to extract a numbered ticket from the machine on the wall, until a large lady

waiting on a bench indicated brusquely that I should do so. Having taken my ticket, the large lady exchanged a few words in French to a man standing in front of me and they laughed uproariously in my direction. What they didn’t realise is that I understood exactly what was said and my resultant glare at the large lady was met with a nervous grin. I say grin but it could have been wind. It’s just that I take great exception to the suggestion that I have an appendage other than my nose extending from my head. The clock ticked on in Spanish, meaning very quickly indeed, whilst the queue decreased in length also in Spanish, which is exceedingly slow. There was the usual banter between our gallant but dwindling band and eventually my turn arrived, although by now it was almost 2pm. But bless her, the lady dealing single handedly with the padrons and renewals, greeted me with a smile and attended to me quickly and efficiently. It’s not all bad news when dealing with officialdom. Just make sure you take along a packed lunch and your funeral plan details.

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RTN and EWN become Media Partners for Benidorm Pride 2017 Euro Weekly News and RTN - the two most popular newspapers on the Costa Blanca, are now the official media partners for Benidorm Pride 2017. Geoffrey Gartland, organiser of Benidorm Pride, said he is delighted by the media partners agreement. RTN and EWN, two brands within the expanding EWN Media Group, have been publishing newspapers for the expat community in on the Costas for more than two decades As media partners, the newspapers guarantee extensive coverage of this year´s popular Benidorm Pride event.

What’s on!

BENIDORM PRIDE 2017 Fun Friendly Flirty! The most famous resort in Spain has confirmed BENIDORM PRIDE 2017 will take place from September 4th to 10th with the BIG PARADE on Saturday the 9th. This is only the 7th big pride outing for the high octane resort and is set to be the biggest and most WOW FACTOR event on the Costa Blanca coast in 2017! With a week-long series of flamboyant events leading up to the Playa Levante big parade and main stage open air party, visitors can expect an exciting week in the resort that truly never sleeps. The main attraction for visitors is the old town which is where you will find the pumping heart of the gay village still very much local and Spanish where we visitors can blend in and mix with our lovely hosts. Enjoy up to 30 hugely friendly but small and intimate gay bars and eateries all just a hop and a skip from each other. And when the sun is up head for one of the three golden beaches which wrap themselves around the old town.

White Party Thursday 7th 8pm-1am

Black Party Friday 8th 8pm-1am

Parade Saturday 9th from 5pm

Main Stage Saturday 9th from 8.30pm

Kluster Party Saturday 9th

Les Party Saturday 9th from 11pm-5am

It is this that makes Benidorm Pride week a unique experience as the summer pride calendar comes to a close. From small beginnings of just a few thousand regulars who know and love Benidorm, the event has gained momentum with up to 10,000 happy revelers in 2016. Next pride is expected to grow to a 15,000+ crowd as more and more people discover Benidorm and the three F´s that make her the superstar place in the sun, lots of FUN very FRIENDLY & just a little bit FLIRTY! So much more than you imagine! Make some time to discover or re-discover Benidorm in your party calendar in 2017. For the latest news, to book flights, recommended hotels and cheap transfers visit the one stop Benidorm Pride website www.benidormpride.com

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financial news

ACCORDING to official statistics, the Eurozone is now out of its decade of financial crisis. Not only that, it’s growing at a rapid rate. With Greece showing its own major signs of recovery from its lowest ebb and Spain's economy growing again – albeit some aspects of the job market among the youth population still have some way to go – economic recovery in the 19 countries which use the euro, as a bloc, is showing positive signs at last. Figures from Eurostat show year-on-year growth at 2.1 per cent, with the economy increasing at 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 and 0.6 per cent in the second quarter. Unemployment figures in the 19 nations are said to be at their 'lowest-ever' since

the plunge back in 2009. Added to this, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already reported that Italy, Germany, France and Spain are doing better than they had originally believed. Spain, one of the weakest Eurozone economies during the crisis, grew 0.9% in the second quarter of 2017 as a result of higher consumer spending and increases in exports, making it one of the fastest-growing of the Eurozone countries. Current figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) suggest Spain's economy is now back to where it was prior to the crisis which began in 2008. Unemployment has gone from approximately 25 per cent to 17.2 per cent, although at present this is largely because of summer tourism work and jobless figures are likely to rise again in September.

Photo credit: Wikimedia

Eurozone enjoys rapid growth

ON THE UP: Spain leading the way among Eurozone countries

Check your change Photo Credit: RTN

TIME FOR CHANGE: Old £1 coin has two months left as legal tender. NOW IS time to check your purses, wallets and draws and dig out those old £1 coins. Perhaps you’ve been on a recent trip to the UK and came back with a pocket full of change? You have until October 15 to spend them or give them to people who are returning to the UK to spend them on your behalf. The point has now been reached where there are more of the new 12-sided £1 coins in circulation than the old round pounds. Speaking on reaching the changeover point between the old and new pound coins, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Jones MP said: “To have more new coins in circulation than

old at this point is great news. However, with less than 100 days to go, the clock is ticking. We are urging the public to spend, bank or donate their old pound coins and asking businesses that are yet to do so, to update their systems before the old coin ceases to be legal tender. CEO and Deputy Master of The Royal Mint, Adam Lawrence, said: “The Royal Mint is very proud to have delivered the new 12-sided £1 pound coin and ensuring a smooth transition is now our top priority. We hope our announcement about the changeover point will encourage those businesses who have not yet upgraded their

equipment to do so ahead of the October 15 deadline.” The new 12-sided £1 coin was brought in to tackle the rise of counterfeit coins, which cost businesses and the taxpayers across the UK millions of pounds every year. With less than two months to go before the round pound loses legal tender status, it is vital that the public continue to return their old pound coins. Businesses are also being encouraged to get ready. The government is reminding all those who are yet to prepare for the new 12-sided £1 coin to do so now by upgrading equipment and informing customers.

Prudential announce major tie-up Prudential plc has announced that it is to combine Prudential UK & Europe and its asset manager M&G, to form a leading savings and investments business that is ideally positioned to target growing customer demand for comprehensive financial solutions. The market for savings and investments is changing fast – and Prudential are changing with it. They believe they’ll be better placed to meet the changing needs of customers and financial advisers by combining the complementary strengths of Prudential UK & Europe and M&G. The two businesses already collaborate closely. M&G manages most of Prudential’s UK life assets, including two-thirds of the very successful PruFund. So the creation of the new business being announced is a logical step. Prudential UK & Europe is a leader in the provision of managed funds through PruFund, which offers smoothed returns to protect savers from the extremes of market volatility. They are also a leading player in the retirement income and pension savings markets.

M&G is recognised for its active fund management across the full range of major asset classes – from bonds and equities, to multi-asset, real estate and private debt. M&G also has an extensive institutional and wholesale distribution network. In this new combined business – which is called M&G Prudential – they will be able to invest more efficiently in the growth of the business, including the improvement of customer service through new digital channels. They will also have the larger scale to enable them to meet the evolving needs of customers and advisers more effectively. Their priority, of course, is to build this new business without any disruption to services to existing customers. There should be little change in the interactions that both customers and advisers have and they are keeping both brands – Prudential and M&G. They believe this is a powerful combination of businesses which will enable them to offer a wider choice of propositions and a better service to their customers and advisers.

legal

by

IGNACIO PELLICER MOLLÁ & PEDRO HEREDIA ORTIZ

LAWYERS

Healthcare in Spain for non-residents

Q A

Can an under age child or a pregnant woman be refused medical care in Spain if they are not resident and have no European health card? According to the Spanish Ministry of health, all people are guaranteed basic health care in Spain even if they do not meet the legal requirements to obtain a SIP card. If the patient is under 18, they will be entitled to the same attention as any Spanish citizen, assistance in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum is also fully guaranteed. If your local health centre or public hospital refuses to treat you, you can make a formal complaint in writing by asking for the “Hojas de Reclamaciones”. For further information contact us today.

If you have any further questions about this or any other legal matter, please do not hesitate to contact us; we have a team of experts standing by to assist you in any way we can. Call 965 480 737 or email info@pellicerheredia.com Videos at www.pellicerheredia.com

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home and garden

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

MORNING GLORY: First known in China for its medicinal uses, due to the laxative properties of its seeds

THROUGH THE ages and throughout the world, flowers and herbs have been used as medicine, gifts and treatments by virtue of their powers. Some of the most famous and well-loved varieties have hidden meanings that very few people are aware of. Here we open the hidden world behind the flowers we love:

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

The hidden world of flowers

ASTER The daisy look-a-like gets its name from the Greek word ‘astron,’ meaning star. With its wildflower appearance and multitude of colours, the aster is a perennial favorite but blooms best in the summer. Among its colour variety, purple asters are most common and generally symbolise wisdom and royalty. The flower overall suggests devotion, purity, and faith.

SUNFLOWERS: Especially well-known for their symmetry based on Fibonacci numbers

PEONY: Ancient Chinese texts mention the peony was used for flavouring food. PEONY One of the most popular wedding flowers, the peony is a symbol of good fortune, a happy marriage, and everlasting prosperity. Perhaps their happiness is why the flower comes in every colour except blue. Their blooming period is fleeting – late spring and early summer.

But don’t let this strongly scented, proud petaled flower fool you – the peony also represents bashfulness, according to one Greek myth. MORNING GLORY Morning glories are named so for their fleeting lifespan, blooming after sunrise and dying before nightfall that very evening. Because of their short time in the sun, these colourful flowers represent unrequited or restricted love – a warning to cherish the brief moments when love is in reach. There are numerous folktales about how the flower drew this meaning. It is said Victorians placed morning glories on the graves of lovers to signify a love forever unreturned. On the other hand, in one Chinese myth God banishes two lovers to separate sides of a river, allowing them to meet just once a year.

MARIGOLD Contrary to modern views, marigolds were not always considered a delightfully positive flower. Throughout many cultures, marigolds were thought of as a link between death and love. They represented grief or despair for the loss of a loved one–most notably shown in Mexican culture as the marigold is the spearhead for Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations. SHASTA DAISY There are many types of daisies–Ox-eye, Blue, Lazy, Prairie–but Shasta Daisies are commonly known for their summer appearances because they thrive in direct sunlight and don’t need much water. These simple flowers symbolise innocence and purity and have been graced with this reputation for centuries. For instance, in Victorian times when a child

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

SHASTA DAISY: Originated as a hybrid produced in 1890 by the American horticulturist Luther Burbank from a number of daisies

stumbled and fell, one would say ‘ups-a-daisy.’ Over time this phrase altered to ‘whoops-a-daisy’ or ‘oopsie-daisy’ as expressions uttered when someone makes an innocent mistake. SUNFLOWER This bright yellow flower is more than just a symbol of happiness and vitality. According to the Greek myth of Apollo and Clytie, it also represents unwavering adoration. The story tells of a water nymph named Clytie who in her rage from Sun God Apollo’s unrequited love, exposes his relationship with Leucothoe. In anger, Apollo denied her further and turned her into a flower. But despite this, she continued to gaze upon him as he rode his chariot across the sky – just as the sunflower loyally follows the sun’s path from East to West throughout the day. Sunflowers are typically gifted to couples for their third wedding anniversary. LAVENDER For centuries, lavender has been lauded for its healing properties. It was used as an insect repellent by the Romans, a perfume by the Greeks, and in healing concoctions by monks in the Middle Ages. But being the colour of royalty, lavender’s purple hue denotes refinement and luxury. The flowers from a lavender plant are symbolic, representing devotion or luck.

29

30

television

18th-24th August

friday

BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

E4

Sky1

7:00am Breakfast 10:15am Wanted Down Under 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Heir Hunters 12:45pm Close Calls: On Camera 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm BBC London News 2:45pm Red Rock 3:30pm Impossible 4:15pm Escape to the Continent 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm A Question of Sport 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Celebrity MasterChef 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Not Going Out 12:05am The Client

7:00am The World’s Most Photographed 7:30am Bargain Hunt 8:15am Heir Hunters 9:00am Gardeners’ World 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 2:00pm Two Tribes 2:30pm Natural World 3:30pm Grand Prix 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Royal Recipes 8:00pm Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Only Connect 10:00pm Gardeners’ World 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight 12:05am In Our Name

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:55pm ITV News London 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm Cash Trapped 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Teach My Pet to Do That 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Benidorm 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:30pm ITV News London 11:40pm Piers Morgan’s Life Stories 12:40am Tipping Point

7:00am Countdown 7:45am Will and Grace 8:10am Will and Grace 8:35am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Frasier 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 11:00am The Big Bang Theory 11:30am The Big Bang Theory 12:00pm The Simpsons 12:30pm The Simpsons 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Couples Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Posh Pawn 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm Cheap Cheap Cheap 5:00pm A Place in the Sun 6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Child Genius 10:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 11:00pm Naked Attraction 12:05am Rude Tube

7:00am Childrens TV

7:00am Hollyoaks 7:30am Coach Trip 7:55am Made in Chelsea 9:00am Melissa and Joey 10:00am Black-Ish 11:00am Baby Daddy 12:00pm How I Met Your Mother 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 2:30pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm Melissa and Joey 3:30pm Melissa and Joey 4:00pm Baby Daddy 4:30pm Baby Daddy 5:00pm Black-Ish 5:30pm Black-Ish 6:00pm The Goldbergs 6:30pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm Coach Trip 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm The Host 12:25am The Big Bang Theory

7:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 8:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 9:00am Monkey Life 9:30am Monkey Life 10:00am The Dog Whisperer 11:00am It’s Me or the Dog 11:30am It’s Me or the Dog 12:00pm Modern Family 12:30pm Modern Family 1:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00pm Hawaii Five-0 4:00pm MacGyver 5:00pm The Flash 6:00pm The Flash 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Modern Family 9:30pm Modern Family 10:00pm Zoo 11:00pm The Force: North East 12:00am Micky Flanagan Thinking Aloud 1:00am A League of Their Own

10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm The Yorkshire Vet 1:10pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:15pm Celebrity Big Brother 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:15pm NCIS 4:15pm Jesse Stone: Sea Change 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm 20 Moments

That Rocked the 80s

9:30pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Make or Break? 12:05am Celebrity Big Brother’s

Bit on the Side

SATURDAY CHANNEL 5

E4

Sky1

11:50pm The World is Not Enough

7:15am Motorsport 7:45am Triathlon 8:40am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:05am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Frasier 10:00am Frasier 10:30am The Big Bang Theory 11:00am The Big Bang Theory 11:25am The Big Bang Theory 11:55am The Simpsons 12:25pm The Simpsons 12:55pm Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA 1:50pm Four in a Bed 2:25pm Four in a Bed 2:55pm Four in a Bed 3:30pm Four in a Bed 4:00pm Four in a Bed 4:35pm A Place in the Sun 5:35pm Big House, Little House 6:35pm Kirstie and Phil’s Love it or List it 7:30pm Channel 4 News 8:00pm Britain at Low Tide 9:00pm Child Genius 10:00pm The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 12:50am X-Men

7:00am Childrens TV 11:50am Igor 1:25pm Disobediant Dogs Make You Laugh Out Loud 2:20pm Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun 3:20pm Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun 4:15pm Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords 5:15pm Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords 6:10pm The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 7:05pm The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 8:00pm Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away! 9:00pm Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away! 9:55pm 5 News Weekend 10:00pm Football on 5 11:00pm Football on 5 11:30pm Celebrity Big Brother 12:30am Lip Sync Battle UK

7:00am The Goldbergs 7:25am The Goldbergs 7:50am Coach Trip 8:25am Coach Trip 8:55am Coach Trip 9:30am Coach Trip 10:00am Coach Trip 10:30am Made in Chelsea 11:35am Escape From Planet Earth 1:15pm Rude(Ish) Tube Shorts 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Goldbergs 2:30pm The Goldbergs 3:00pm The Goldbergs 3:30pm The Goldbergs 4:00pm The Big Bang Theory 4:30pm The Big Bang Theory 5:00pm The Big Bang Theory 5:30pm The Big Bang Theory 6:00pm The Big Bang Theory 6:30pm Don’t Tell the Bride 7:30pm Beautiful Creatures 10:00pm I Give it a Year 12:00am Gogglebox

7:00am Ashley Banjo Street Crew 8:00am The Dog Whisperer 9:00am Duck Quacks Don’t Echo 9:30am Soccer Am Best Bits 10:00am Premier League Prediction Show 10:30am Premier League Preview Show 11:00am Soccer A.M. 12:30pm What’s Up 1:00pm David Attenborough’s Natural History History Museum Alive 2:00pm The Dog Whisperer 3:00pm The Dog Whisperer 4:00pm It’s Me or the Dog 4:30pm It’s Me or the Dog 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Modern Family 6:00pm Modern Family 6:30pm Modern Family 7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Funniest Moments 10:00pm Days of Thunder 12:05am Micky Flanagan Thinking Aloud

BBC2

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

E4

Sky1

7:15am The Instant Gardener 8:00am Garden Rescue 8:45am Gardeners’ World 9:45am The Beechgrove Garden 10:15am Countryfile 11:15am Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 12:45pm Lorraine’s Fast, Fresh and Easy Food 1:15pm MOTD2 Extra 2:00pm The Hairy Bikers’ Pubs That Built Britain 2:30pm Athletics 3:50pm Flog It! 4:45pm Britain’s Ancient Capital : Secrets of Orkney 5:45pm Equestrian 7:50pm Tribes, Predators and Me 8:50pm Meet the New Dragons 9:00pm Dragons’ Den 10:00pm Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes? 11:00pm Ill Behaviour 12:00am The Hunter

7:00am CITV 9:25am ITV News 9:30am Weekend 10:25am Judge Rinder 11:20am Long Lost Family 12:20pm Love Your Garden 1:20pm ITV News and Weather 1:25pm James Martin’s French Adventure 2:00pm Rebound 2:55pm Tipping Point 3:55pm Bear Gryll’s Survival School 4:25pm Licence to Kill 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:10pm ITV News and Weather 7:30pm The Chase Celebrity Special 8:30pm Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:15pm Judge Rinder’s Crime Stories 12:15am Take Me Out

7:00am Last Man Standing 7:25am Last Man Standing 7:50am Last Man Standing 8:10am Everybody Loves Raymond 8:35am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:00am Frasier 9:30am Frasier 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Sunday Brunch 1:30pm George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces 2:35pm The Simpsons 3:05pm The Simpsons 3:35pm The Simpsons 4:05pm The Simpsons 4:35pm Toy Story Toons 5:05pm Toy Story That Time Forgot 5:30pm Tangled 7:30pm Channel 4 News 8:00pm Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year 9:00pm From Russia to Iran: Crossing the Wild Frontier 10:00pm The State 11:00pm The Gunman 1:10am Belle

7:00am Childrens TV

7:00am Kevin Can Wait 7:25am Couples Come Dine with Me 8:25am Couples Come Dine with Me 9:25am Hollyoaks Omnibus 12:00pm Made in Chelsea 1:00pm The Goldbergs 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 2:30pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:30pm The Big Bang Theory 4:00pm The Big Bang Theory 4:30pm The Big Bang Theory 5:00pm The Big Bang Theory 5:30pm The Big Bang Theory 6:00pm The Big Bang Theory 6:30pm The Big Bang Theory 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm The Crystal Maze 9:00pm Shallow Hal 11:15pm Don’t Tell the Bride 12:20am Tattoo Fixers on Holiday

7:00am The Hour of Power 8:00am Futurama 8:30am Futurama 9:00am Futurama 9:30am Futurama 10:00am Futurama 10:30am Duck Quacks Don’t Echo 11:00am WWE Raw 12:00pm MacGyver 1:00pm MacGyver 2:00pm MacGyver 3:00pm MacGyver 4:00pm MacGyver 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Modern Family 6:00pm Modern Family 6:30pm Modern Family 7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm David Attenborough’s Natural History History Museum Alive 10:00pm Ross Kemp Special 11:00pm The Force: North East 12:00am Zoo

BBC1

BBC2

7:00am Breakfast 11:00am Saturday Kitchen 12:30pm Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 1:00pm Football Focus 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather 2:15pm Bargain Hunt 3:15pm Money for Nothing 4:15pm Escape to the Country 5:00pm Final Score 6:15pm Toy Story 7:30pm BBC News 7:40pm Regional News 7:43pm Weather 7:45pm Len Goodman’s Partners in Rhyme 8:20pm Pointless 9:05pm Who Dares Wins 9:45pm Casualty 10:35pm Mrs. Brown’s Boys 11:05pm BBC News 11:20pm Weather 11:25pm Match of the Day 12:50am People Just Do Nothing

7:00am Coast 8:00am Return of the Bad Men 9:30am Great Day in the Morning 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Ulster Derby Highlights 1:00pm Nigel and Adam’s Farm Kitchen 2:00pm Wanted Down Under 2:45pm Forbidden Planet 4:20pm Mastermind 4:50pm University Challenge 5:20pm Only Connect 5:50pm Gardeners’ World 6:50pm The Big Family Cooking Showdown 7:50pm BBC Proms Extra 8:30pm Welcome to Edinburgh 9:00pm Iolo’s Great Welsh Parks 9:30pm Dad’s Army 10:00pm The Lady in the Van 11:40pm Being Alan Bennett 12:40am The History Boys

7:00am CITV

ITV1

BBC1 7:00am Breakfast 8:35am Match of the Day 10:00am BBC News 11:00am Sunday Morning Live 12:00pm Homes Under the Hammer 1:00pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather for the Week Ahead 2:15pm Money for Nothing 3:15pm Songs of Praise 3:50pm Athletics 6:10pm Celebrity Mastermind 6:40pm BBC News 6:55pm Regional News 7:00pm Weather 7:05pm Countryfile Summer Special 8:05pm Fake or Fortune? 9:05pm Far From the Madding Crowd 11:00pm BBC News 11:20pm Regional News 11:25pm Weather 11:30pm Match of the Day 2 12:30am Dream House

9:25am ITV News 9:30am Weekend 10:25am Judge Rinder 11:20am Gok’s Lunchbox 12:15pm 1000 Heartbeats 1:15pm ITV News and Weather 1:25pm The Chase 2:25pm Joanna Lumley’s Postcards 2:55pm Tipping Point 4:00pm Midsomer Murders 6:00pm Little Big Shots USA 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:05pm ITV News and Weather 7:20pm You’ve Been Framed! 8:15pm Catchphrase 9:00pm Amazing Spider-Man 11:35pm ITV News and Weather

CHANNEL 4

SUNDAY 11:40am Football on 5 12:30pm Football on 5 1:00pm Police Interceptors 2:00pm Police Interceptors 3:00pm Police Interceptors:

Deadly Pursuits

4:00pm Police Interceptors 4:55pm Police Interceptors 5:55pm 5 News Weekend 6:00pm Biggest Dog in the World 7:00pm The Secret Life of Puppies 7:45pm The Secret Life of Puppies 8:30pm The Ant and Dec Story 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:05pm Before They Were Stars 1:05am Cricket on 5

31

MONDAY BBC1

7:00am Breakfast 10:15am Wanted Down Under 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Heir Hunters 12:45pm Close Calls: On Camera 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Red Rock 3:30pm Impossible 4:15pm Escape to the Continent 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Land of the Giants 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Damilola, Our Loved Boy 11:00pm BBC News 11:30pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm Have I Got Old News for You 12:15am Have I Got a Bit More Old News for You

BBC2 7:00am The World’s Most Photographed 7:30am Heir Hunters 8:15am Bargain Hunt 9:00am Super Small Animals 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 2:00pm Two Tribes 2:30pm The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! 3:55pm The Hairy Bikers’ Pubs That Built Britain 4:25pm Coast Australia 5:15pm Planet Earth 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Royal Recipes 8:00pm Royal Cousins at War 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 10:00pm Dangerous Borders 11:00pm Normal for Norfolk 11:30pm Newsnight 12:10am Weather 12:15am Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes? 1:15am Billy Connolly: Portrait of a Lifetime

ITV1 7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Good Morning Britain 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm Cash Trapped 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Countrywise 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Easyjet: Inside the Cockpit 11:00pm ITV News 11:40pm Britain’s Busiest Motorway 12:10am Sugar Free Farm

CHANNEL 4 7:00am Countdown 7:45am Will and Grace 8:10am Will and Grace 8:35am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Frasier 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 11:00am The Big Bang Theory 11:30am The Big Bang Theory 12:00pm The Simpsons 12:30pm The Simpsons 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Couples Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Posh Pawn 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm Cheap Cheap Cheap 5:00pm A Place in the Sun 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm Streetmate 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Jamie’s Quick and Easy Food 9:30pm Superfoods: The Real Story 10:00pm The State 11:00pm How to Get a Council House 12:05am Naked Attraction

CHANNEL 5 7:00am Childrens TV 10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm The Yorkshire Vet 1:10pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:15pm Celebrity Big Brother 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:15pm NCIS 4:15pm Dark Desire 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Car Crash TV 9:00pm All New Traffic Cops 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Paul Burrell: In Therapy 12:05am Celebrity Big Brother’s

Bit on the Side

E4

Sky1

7:00am Hollyoaks 7:30am Coach Trip 8:00am Made in Chelsea 9:00am Melissa and Joey 10:00am Black-Ish 11:00am Baby Daddy 12:00pm How I Met Your Mother 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 2:30pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm Melissa and Joey 3:30pm Melissa and Joey 4:00pm Baby Daddy 4:30pm Baby Daddy 5:00pm Black-Ish 5:30pm Black-Ish 6:00pm The Goldbergs 6:30pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm Coach Trip 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Made in Chelsea 11:00pm How’d You Get So Rich? 11:55pm The Big Bang Theory 12:30am The Big Bang Theory

7:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 8:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 9:00am Monkey Life 9:30am Monkey Life 10:00am The Dog Whisperer 11:00am It’s Me or the Dog 11:30am It’s Me or the Dog 12:00pm Modern Family 12:30pm Modern Family 1:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00pm Hawaii Five-0 4:00pm MacGyver 5:00pm The Flash 6:00pm The Flash 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Simpsons 9:30pm The Simpsons 10:00pm A League of Their Own 11:00pm Micky Flanagan Thinking Aloud 12:00am Karl Pilkington: The Moaning of Life

Pick of the Week Carpool Karaoke James Corden takes Katy Perry and Jennifer Lopez for a musical spin in his minivan, and even performs an opening act of his own. He also shares highlights from his shows.

Thursday, 9pm, Sky 1 TUESDAY BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

E4

Sky1

7:00am Breakfast 10:15am Wanted Down Under 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Heir Hunters 12:45pm Close Calls: On Camera 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Red Rock 3:30pm Impossible 4:15pm Escape to the Continent 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm Trust Me 11:00pm BBC News 11:30pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm New Tricks 12:45am Land of the Giants

7:00am The World’s Most Photographed 7:30am Heir Hunters 8:15am Bargain Hunt 9:00am The Farmers’ Country Showdown 9:30am Great British Menu 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 2:00pm Super League Show 2:45pm The Odd Life of Timothy Green 4:25pm Coast Australia 5:15pm Planet Earth 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Royal Recipes 8:00pm Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm The Big Family Cooking Showdown 10:00pm India’s Partition: The Forgotten Story 11:00pm Quacks 11:30pm Newsnight 12:10am Weather 12:15am The Mash Report

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Good Morning Britain 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm Cash Trapped 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Britain as Seen on ITV 9:00pm Midsomer Murders 11:00pm ITV News 11:40pm Martin Clunes Islands of Australia 12:40am Play to the Whistle

7:00am Countdown 7:45am Will and Grace 8:10am Will and Grace 8:35am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Frasier 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 11:00am The Big Bang Theory 11:30am The Big Bang Theory 12:00pm The Simpsons 12:30pm The Simpsons 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Couples Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Posh Pawn 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm Cheap Cheap Cheap 5:00pm A Place in the Sun 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm Streetmate 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Food Unwrapped Special 10:00pm The State 11:00pm My Son the Jihadi 12:05am Delhi Cops

7:00am Childrens TV 10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm The Yorkshire Vet 1:10pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:15pm Celebrity Big Brother 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:15pm NCIS 4:15pm The Other Wife 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm FIA World Rally Championship 9:00pm The Dog Rescuers with Alan Davies 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm My Extreme Ocd Life 12:05am Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Side

7:00am Hollyoaks 7:30am Coach Trip 8:00am Made in Chelsea 9:00am Melissa and Joey 10:00am Black-Ish 11:00am Baby Daddy 12:00pm How I Met Your Mother 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm Melissa and Joey 3:30pm Melissa and Joey 4:00pm Baby Daddy 4:30pm Baby Daddy 5:00pm Black-Ish 5:30pm Black-Ish 6:00pm The Goldbergs 6:30pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm Coach Trip 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Tattoo Fixers on Holiday 11:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats 11:55pm The Big Bang Theory 12:25am The Big Bang Theory

7:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 8:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 9:00am Monkey Life 9:30am Monkey Life 10:00am The Dog Whisperer 11:00am It’s Me or the Dog 11:30am It’s Me or the Dog 12:00pm Modern Family 12:30pm Modern Family 1:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00pm Hawaii Five-0 4:00pm Supergirl 5:00pm The Flash 6:00pm The Flash 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Diana: A Tribute to the People’s Princess 10:00pm A Few Good Men 12:40am Modern Family

32

24 feb - 2 march 2017

wednesday CHANNEL 5

E4

Sky1

7:00am Countdown 7:45am Will and Grace 8:10am Will and Grace 8:35am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Frasier 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 11:00am The Big Bang Theory 11:30am The Big Bang Theory 12:00pm The Simpsons 12:30pm The Simpsons 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Couples Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Posh Pawn 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm Cheap Cheap Cheap 5:00pm A Place in the Sun 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm Streetmate 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Location, Location, Location 10:00pm The State 11:00pm Flights From Hell: Caught on Camera 12:00am Taxi of Mum and Dad

7:00am Children TV

7:00am Hollyoaks 7:30am Coach Trip 8:00am Made in Chelsea 9:00am Melissa and Joey 10:00am Black-Ish 11:00am Baby Daddy 12:00pm How I Met Your Mother 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 2:30pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm Melissa and Joey 3:30pm Melissa and Joey 4:00pm Baby Daddy 4:30pm Baby Daddy 5:00pm Black-Ish 5:30pm Black-Ish: Just Christmas, Baby 6:00pm The Goldbergs 6:30pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm Coach Trip 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Don’t Tell the Bride 11:00pm Made Over By 12:05am The Big Bang Theory

7:00am NCIS: Los Angeles

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

E4

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Good Morning Britain 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:00pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:20pm ITV News London 2:30pm ITV Racing Live 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm Cash Trapped 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Can Crooks Hack Your Home? Tonight 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm James Martin’s French Adventure 10:00pm The Brighton Police 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:30pm ITV News London 11:40pm Easyjet: Inside the Cockpit 12:40am Bear Grylls: Mission Survive

7:00am Countdown 7:45am Will and Grace 8:10am Will and Grace 8:35am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Frasier 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 11:00am The Big Bang Theory 11:30am The Big Bang Theory 12:00pm The Simpsons 12:30pm The Simpsons 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Couples Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Posh Pawn 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm Cheap Cheap Cheap 5:00pm A Place in the Sun 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm Streetmate 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Lego Masters 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm Wasting Away 12:00am Britain’s Benefit Tenants

7:00am Childrens TV

7:00am Hollyoaks 7:30am Coach Trip 8:00am Made in Chelsea 9:00am Melissa and Joey 10:00am Black-Ish 11:00am Baby Daddy 12:00pm How I Met Your Mother 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm Melissa and Joey 3:30pm Melissa and Joey 4:00pm Baby Daddy 4:30pm Baby Daddy 5:00pm Black-Ish 5:30pm Black-Ish 6:00pm The Goldbergs 6:30pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm Coach Trip 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm Kevin Can Wait 10:00pm Body Fixers 11:00pm The Inbetweeners 11:35pm The Inbetweeners 12:10am The Big Bang Theory

BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

7:00am Breakfast

7:00am The World’s Most Photographed 7:30am Heir Hunters 8:15am Bargain Hunt 9:00am The Bug Grub Couple 9:30am Great British Menu 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 2:00pm Coast 2:05pm Two Tribes 2:35pm Flushed Away 3:55pm The Hairy Bikers’ Pubs That Built Britain 4:25pm Coast Australia 5:15pm Planet Earth 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Royal Recipes 8:00pm Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Saving Lives at Sea 10:00pm No More Boys and Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? 11:00pm Detectorists 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am India’s Partition: The Forgotten Story

7:00am Good Morning Britain

BBC1

BBC2

7:00am Breakfast 10:15am Wanted Down Under 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Heir Hunters 12:45pm Close Calls: On Camera 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm BBC London News 2:45pm Red Rock 3:30pm Impossible 4:15pm Escape to the Continent 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Who Do You Think You Are? 10:00pm Ambulance 11:00pm BBC News 11:30pm BBC London News 11:45pm Deadliest Place to Deal 12:45am Killing at the Carwash

7:00am The World’s Most Photographed 7:30am Heir Hunters 8:15am Bargain Hunt 9:00am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 9:30am Great British Menu 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 2:00pm A to Z of TV Gardening 2:15pm Two Tribes 2:45pm Cars 2 4:25pm Coast Australia 5:15pm Planet Earth 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Royal Recipes 8:00pm Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm The Pacemakers 10:00pm Top of the Lake 11:00pm The Premier League Show 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am No More Boys and Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free?

10:15am Wanted Down Under 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Heir Hunters 12:45pm Close Calls: On Camera 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm BBC London News 2:45pm Red Rock 3:30pm Impossible 4:15pm Escape to the Continent 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Fake Britain 9:00pm The Sheriffs are Coming 10:00pm Celebrity MasterChef 11:00pm BBC News 11:30pm BBC London News 11:45pm A Question of Sport 12:15am Live From the BBC

9:30am Good Morning Britain 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:00pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:20pm ITV News London 2:30pm ITV Racing Live 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm Cash Trapped 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Love Your Garden 10:00pm Long Lost Family 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:30pm ITV News London 11:40pm UEFA Champions

League Highlights

12:40am British Touring Car

Championship

CHANNEL 4

10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm The Yorkshire Vet 1:10pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:15pm Celebrity Big Brother 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:15pm NCIS 4:10pm The Other Wife 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Starting Up, Starting Over 9:00pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Football on 5 12:30am Police Interceptors

8:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 9:00am Monkey Life 9:30am Monkey Life 10:00am The Dog Whisperer 11:00am It’s Me or the Dog 11:30am It’s Me or the Dog 12:00pm Modern Family 12:30pm Modern Family 1:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00pm Hawaii Five-0 4:00pm Supergirl 5:00pm The Flash 6:00pm The Flash 7:00pm Road Wars 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Freddie Down Under 10:00pm Colony 11:00pm Ross Kemp Special 12:00am Air Ambulance

thursday 10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm The Yorkshire Vet 1:10pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:15pm Celebrity Big Brother 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:15pm NCIS 4:10pm A Wife’s Suspicion 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm All New Traffic Cops 9:00pm Named and Shamed 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Celeb Trolls:

We’re Coming to Get You

12:05am Celebrity Big Brother’s

Bit on the Side

Sky1 7:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 8:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 9:00am Monkey Life 9:30am Monkey Life 10:00am The Dog Whisperer 11:00am It’s Me or the Dog 11:30am It’s Me or the Dog 12:00pm Modern Family 12:30pm Modern Family 1:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00pm Hawaii Five-0 4:00pm Supergirl 5:00pm The Flash 6:00pm The Flash 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Carpool Karaoke 10:00pm Karl Pilkington: The Moaning of Life 11:00pm A League of Their Own 12:00am Freddie Fries 1:00am A League of Their Own

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33

Life

FAST need help... quickly!

The new recruits

FAST – First Aid Support Team – are a group of volunteers from Camposol near to Mazarron. They respond to medical emergencies on Camposol for residents and visitors alike. For the last few months FAST have not been able to provide the 24 hour cover that they had in the past, and because of this they are training seven new recruits at the moment led by President Barry (Baz) Hamilton, and extra people are always needed. All that’s needed is to be able to spare a few hours to help the good people of Camposol. It’s a very rewarding thing to do and at the same time get to meet some great people who meet up regularly for training and social events. No previous first aid experience is required as full training is given. People come from all backgrounds such as ex-

military, police, teachers, engineers and social workers. By attracting more new volunteers, than plan is to return to the 24/7 cover once again a.s.a.p. FAST are presently looking to replace their Nº2 vehicle as it’s now 10 years old, so they’ll be spending much of the money that has been donated by businesses, residents and visitor to Camposol. If you require medical emergency assistance on Camposol, you should first call 112 and ask for someone who can speak your language, and then explain the problem to them. Then call FAST on 968 970 626, giving your name address and a brief description of the emergency. If you would like to find out more about being involved with FAST, please email on; recruitment@fast2016.org or secretary@fast2016.org

34

Last Weeks Solutions on page 36

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 13 represents K and 14 represents B, so fill in K every time the figure 13 appears and B every time the figure 14 appears. Now using your knowledge of the English language work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

Code Breaker

Horoscopes and Puzzles

Kenny’s Mystical Postbag

Kenny, what are Cardinal Signs? How do they affect my horoscope? Solveig H.

There are four cardinal signs in the Zodiac. They each deal with activity and adaptability and are fixed and mutable signs, which means that they know how

to go with the flow! The Cardinal signs are Aries,

Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. People who are born

under these signs will act directly and decisively under most circumstances. They have very strong initiative, and are enterprising, realistic and organising. Able

to think on their feet, they are decisive and rapidly

grasp situations just as they can openly see potential coming their way!

If It’s Your Birthday This Week Guidance is the greatest gift the Cosmos can give

you, but you have to have sufficient faith! This year

will only be the same old, same old, if you wish it to be. Your belief in your many talents will see you taking a chance on something that finally will work...for

you!

Mars takes on Jupiter in sextile and Saturn in trine bringing you a mixed bag for the week ahead. Whilst something now needs the go ahead, you will be kept waiting; and something new falls into your lap just when you least expect it. Lucky Jupiter prevails to ensure that even behind the darkest cloud, up there is a silver lining!

Forever championing the cause you are openly perceptive this week as your psychic energies are released and you see a clear way ahead. You are being tested right now as a leader, and this may herald the spearheading of a number of poignant changes. The Sun moves on towards Virgo, and trines dramatically with Uranus midweek.

You can be so very stubborn if you want to be! The Venus square with Jupiter brings you a camouflage for your inner anger and bad temper right now. Time will resolve the actions that you feel are directed at you, but there are currently some things that you do not know and may find hard to understand. Value truly all that you have.

Sometimes love and friendship can get confused! It all depends on exactly how much of your personal freedom you wish to surrender in order to bring some stability back to a rocky relationship. A brief encounter really does put this into perspective as Venus squares with Uranus and your emotional energies are haywire this week.

There is much to achieve right now, and little time to do what you now know that you have to. The entry of the Sun towards the end of the week should be seen as a blessing in disguise, but you are taking the reins, and this boosts your own confidence to highly positive levels. The Sun has strong influences, and aspirations should be high!

Everything seems to be pointing towards your overpowering need to achieve. You are a good provider and a great organiser and you veer between favouring your ambitions, whilst protecting your security at the same time. Actions of Saturn see you on your toes this week, and ready and willing to take on now that which you have to!

Don’t let anybody interfere with your plans just now. Your creative and original thinking has brought you to a stage whereby you have to follow your own instincts and ignore what others have to say on the subject. As you visualise your way ahead, Ceres opposes Pluto, which brings you a solution right here and now, calling time!

Mars is in detriment because Libra is in opposition to Aries, which rules Mars with an iron glove! It is hardly surprising however, that Libra tones down the selfish and aggressive actions of Mars due to the social graces of leader, Venus. This week Saturn adheres to bring discipline and timbre, which are much needed to steer things along!

The Sun trines with Uranus and you are getting some flashes that are portents for the future. Something right now has happened for a reason and that reason though yet unknown, is the stimulus you need to move onwards and upwards. Stay cool, look around and then take on something that nobody else has even heard of.

The position of the Moon is strong right now, and you seem to be protecting your loved ones as there is a strong focus on the domestic front. Financial prospects are better than they were and without re-inventing yourself you are turning things around. Don’t stop the flow and be very unafraid to ask for the guidance that you need to get by!

Mars is afflicted in Scorpio, which can mean extreme anger and resentment over nothing! Such feelings are not forgotten very easily and can bring grudges and the nursing of anger. Try to find peaceful solutions that work for all those concerned, but if people do not want to listen to you then out comes a pressure cooker of deep anger!

Look towards your opposing sign of Virgo this week to see that you need to approach something from another direction entirely. You are a cardinal sign of leadership and though you need to see things happen on your terms so too are you free to share energies and balance your mystical powers for the true benefit of all!

Cryptic Crossword

35 ACROSS 1 Runner’s problem with mounted frame (6,2) 6 Watering place in cyberspace? (3) 9 Singular writer behind a tree (5) 10 I’m great novel detective (7) 11 Fish left in hat (7) 12 Wrath when fisherman loses heart (5) 13 A kid relaxed (2,4) 15 Council finally reduces rents (6) 19 See most of the soldiers retreating (5) 21 Come forward for a loan (7) 23 First nuts in glade (7) 24 Telling stories — some only in Greek (5) 25 You must get time to be still (3) 26 Delicate material found when sorting some rags (8) DOWN 2 First-class swimming in the pool (3-4) 3 Principle of having it both ways? (5) 4 Simpson’s pigeons? (6) 5 Trap I’ve set for soldier (7) 6 Kid taking part in news programmes (5) 7 Wine waiter finally on the move (5) 8 Essayist getting attorney to reveal Greek letter (6) 14 Declining environment? (7) 16 Nurse is working at break of day (7) 17 Transport needed by Santa - his leg is broken (6) 18 Witch is eating good food in Scotland (6) 19 Rush out suddenly to see a girl (5) 20 Allowance made for American general (5) 22 Home where criminal dropped in (5)

Quick Crossword ACROSS 1 Lacking flavour (7) 5 Accommodate (3,2) 8 At no time (5) 9 Mexican liquor (7) 10 Compensation (7) 11 Praise highly (5) 12 Severe shortage (6) 14 Stilton, for example (6) 18 Tartan cloth (5) 20 Around-the-clock (7) 22 Careful and sensible (7) 23 Tropical fruit (5) 24 Give way (5) 25 Brio, flair (7)

General Knowledge 1 Playboy Russia covergirl Maria Kozhevnikova, boxer Nikolai Valuyev, and tennis player Marat Safin shared what honour in December 2011? 2 What William S Burroughs 1961 book popularised the rock music term ‘heavy metal’, and provided the names for at least two rock bands of the 1970s? 3 What main religion celebrates festivals including Nuakhai, Yatra (or Zatra/Jatra), Pongal, Holi and Shigmo? 4 Which country experienced the Velvet Revolution in Nov-Dec 1989? 5 According to the UK General Teaching Council how many of the 28,000 newly qualified teachers in 2010 had a computer-related degree: 3; 30; 300 or 3,000? 6 Spell the word: Remanisence; Reminissense; Remeniscence; or Reminiscence? 7 What ancient Sanskrit word loosely meaning ‘region’ commonly now refers to people (and culture, products, etc) of Indian sub-continent origins? 8 Whom did Forbes Magazine list as the most powerful woman in the Southern Hemisphere in 2011? 9 Unrelated, what is a set of slats and a museum? 10 What ship, whose name means thunderbolt, was Nelson’s flagship 1799-1801, and later a training ship for boys?

DOWN 1 Disregarded (7) 2 Rescued (5) 3 Omen (7) 4 Hate intensely (6) 5 Resentment of a slight (5) 6 Scottish emblem (7) 7 Precious stone (5) 13 Generally (2,1,4) 15 Executioner (7) 16 Blow up (7) 17 Part of the foot (6) 18 Bright red flower (5) 19 Fear greatly (5) 21 Pick-me-up (5)

Word Wheel

There is 1x10 letter word and 203 others! Make as many 3 or more letter words as you can using any letter combination just once and you must use the central letter in every word!

Fill the grid so every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9

36

people

Four years of devoted care comes to an end

Finca San Miguel summer party

Lyn Baines, Billy Baines, Sue Thomason L to R WITH GREAT sadness, Cruz Azul Murcia announced the loss of their founder member and Vice President, Sue Thomason. Sue had known she had cancer for some months and knew she would not survive it. But she was a determined lady who worked stoically until her very last days, putting her all into saving the animals she loved. Sue joined Lyn Baines in July 2013 to form the charity Cruz Azul, whose aims were to help people on reduced or low incomes to care for their pets and to promote responsible pet ownership in the Murcia region. During those four years, Cruz Azul also developed their ‘trap, neuter and return’ programme

for feral cats. Sue was instrumental in helping local urbanizations reduce their feral cat colonies by giving not only her experience, but also providing the essential traps to supporters of this work. Sue single-handedly set up and managed the main fundraising Cruz Azul Donation Centre in San Javier. Sue gathered a network of volunteers to support her and, though not unexpected, they are devastated at the loss of their team manager and dear friend. They are determined to continue the work Sue started. “Though we knew it was coming, we are totally devastated now Sue has finally left us,” said Cruz Azul president, Lyn Baines. “We will ensure Cruz Azul

Last weeks puzzle answers (Issue 929) Cryptic Solution

Easy Solution

Soduku Solution

goes from strength to strength because that's exactly what Sue wanted. We intend to pursue her dream.” Sue wasn't one for fuss and she didn't want a funeral service. She wanted peace for herself and peaceful lives for the animals she cared about so much. If anyone wishes to make a donation, this can be done via PayPal to info@cruzazulmurcia.com If you or someone you know needs help, or you would like to volunteer or donate, please call 693 017 617 or visit their website: www.cruzazulmurcia.com “Rest in Peace, dear Sue. We continue the work you started”.

RAISING money for an incredible variety of animals, Finca San Miguel de Salinas is organising a Summer Party on Saturday August 26 from 6pm to 9.30pm. For just €11 you can enjoy a three-course meal including wine or Sangria and you’re advised to reserve your table via the contacts below to avoid disappointment. Apart from making it a special day for the animals, there’s music and dancing to be enjoyed, a raffle and an Ice Bucket Bikini Challenge undertaken by the very brave Mona and Sol. They can be sponsored in advance and on the day and the biggest sponsor has the pleasure of throwing the bucket over the ladies. Sponsor forms are available in Cheers Bar, Eagles Nest and Restaurant / Bar Wolfies in Blue Lagoon. Another fund raising initiative on the day is courtesy of Bernd Mann who has offered a lucky winner a ‘trike trip’ around the Torremendo lake for all those that sponsor the Ice Bucket Challenge to the tune of €50. Finca San Miguel de Salinas (FSMS) are hoping for a successful day to match the last one at the end of July which, despite the heat, many people came along to support the animals. FSMS – with the support of Happy Animals in Orihuela – raise money to care for eight horses, four ponies, six goats, 13 geese, two ducks, chickens, two dogs, feral cats and, four pigs. It’s a non-profit charity, so every donation helps. People coming to any of the open days are encouraged to bring carrots, apples, lettuce, dog and cat food, dog and cat biscuits or just give a small donation. Everything raised goes towards hay, food, water, medication, vet bills, blacksmith bills, repairs and rent. For more information about and directions to the FSMS, check out the Facebook group on fincasanmigueldesalinas or call Mona on 616 792 355 or e-mail Solnicosolm@ hotmail.com Date for the diary: Friday September 15 from 10am to 2pm – Flea Market and Raffle at Cheers Bar, Eagles Nest.

Quiz solutions Wordwheel Solution an en na ne ane awn ens ern nae nap naw nee new

pan pen pnp ran san sen wan wen anes anew awns earn erne

erns esne nape naps neap near neep news pane pans pawn pean peen

Codebreaker Solution

pens pern sane sawn seen sene sewn snap snaw span swan wane wans

warn wean ween wens wren arene arpen aspen earns ernes napes nappe nares

1 Constantinople 2 Cinema 3 Apricot 4 Rodent 5 Beef neaps nears neeps newer panes pawns peans peens penes prawn preen ranee renew

rewan saner sewan snare sneap sneer spawn spean wanes warns weans weens wrens

6 Three 7 Beer 8 Seaweed 9 Cheese 10 Orange answer arenes arpens enwrap napper nappes parpen pawnee pawner peasen prawns preens ranees

rappen renews resawn resewn swanee weaner enwraps nappers pawnees pawners snapper spawner weaners newspaper

37

health

Maintaining a healthy liver LIVING IN Spain can, in some cases, put temptations our way that may be fun at the time but can create a long lasting effect on our bodies and our health. One of the key organs of the body, the liver, can suffer from the relaxed lifestyle that most of us enjoy across the Mediterranean, with tapas combined with a glass of wine or two or three on a daily basis causing our livers to struggle processing the alcohol. The liver is the largest gland in our body and without it a person cannot survive. It has a number of functions the key ones being: • Detoxifying the blood to rid it of harmful substances (such as toxins, drugs, alcohol and more) • Converts stored sugar to usable sugar when the body’s sugar levels fall below normal • Produces bile, a substance needed to

digest fats • Breaks down haemoglobin as well as insulin and other hormones • Destroys old red blood cells

Performing so many vital functions the liver is very prone to disease. It isn’t all doom and gloom though as you can detoxify your liver with certain super foods, here are just a few: 1. Beets and Carrots: Carrots are rich in Glutathione, a protein that helps detoxify the liver. Both are extremely high in plantflavonoids and beta-carotene. Eating beets and carrots can help stimulate and improve overall liver function. 2. Tomatoes: They have abundant amounts of Glutathione which again, are a great detoxifier for the liver. As a side effect,

Lycopene in tomatoes will protect against breast, skin, and lung cancer. 3. Grapefruit: Another source of the liver cleansing glutathione. It’s also high in vitamin C and antioxidants, which boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes and increase the natural cleansing process of the liver. 4. Spinach: Raw spinach is also a major source of glutathione, triggering the toxin cleansing enzymes of the liver. 5. Citrus Fruits: Lemons and limes contain very high amounts of vitamin C, which helps stimulate the liver and aids the synthesizing of toxic materials into substances that can be absorbed by water. 6. Turmeric: Turmeric is the liver’s favorite spice and helps boost liver detox. It does this by assisting enzymes that actively flush out dietary carcinogens.

Psoriasis – symptoms and causes

PSORIASIS IS a common skin condition that causes skin cells to grow too quickly and build up, leaving thick, red, silvery, or scaly patches (plaques) on the surface of the skin. Psoriasis is not contagious so you can’t get it from touching someone who has it. It’s an accepted fact, but not proven, that men are more prone to suffering from psoriasis than women. Symptoms Skin patches with raised edges that are red with silvery-white scales (called plaques), rashes on genitals, scalp, or in skin folds (such as the folds you have on your

Photo credit: Pixabay KEEP IT CLEAN: Psoriasis sufferers tend to be men more than women.

knees and elbows), itching, pain, dry, cracked skin that may bleed, thickened, pitted, or discoloured nails, swollen, painful joints (psoriatic arthritis). For most people, psoriasis patches vary in size. They can range from small spots with dandruff-like flakes to wide patches that cover large areas of skin. Mild psoriasis can be annoying, but severe cases can be disfiguring, painful, and sometimes disabling. Flares (when psoriasis gets worse) occur in cycles, with symptoms that last for weeks to months and may then lessen for some time before coming back. Causes Medical researchers believe that psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin disease; however, it has also been linked to genetic and environmental factors. There are certain things that can trigger a psoriasis flareup (when the psoriasis becomes worse). Such as: Certain infections (such as strep throat), certain medicines (for high blood pressure), stress, smoking, cold, dry weather, alcohol and injury to skin (insect bites/cuts/ burns, etc.) There isn’t a cure for psoriasis, but there are many good ways to keep the symptoms under control with the most important being general cleanliness of the skin.

7. Apples: They are high in pectin and other chemicals essential to cleansing and releasing toxins from the digestive tract. Apples make it easier for the liver to handle the toxic load during the cleansing process. 8. Garlic: Garlic is loaded with sulphur, which activates liver enzymes that help your body flush out toxins. Garlic also holds high amounts of allicin and selenium, two natural compounds that also aid in liver cleansing. 9. Leafy Green Vegetables: Green veggies are extremely high in plant chlorophylls that absorb environmental toxins, increase bile production, and neutralize heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides, which lowers the burden on the liver. 10. Green Tea: Green tea is full of plant antioxidants known as catechins, a compound known to assist liver function.

kim clark

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38

24 feb - 2 march 2017

health

Are we nuts to be nuts about nuts? Many of us would happily drink a pina colada laced with cocunut spirit, or knock back an almond based ameretto liqueur and then later pronounce, “I don’t like nuts!” However, the truth is, nuts have amazing health benefits, when consumed in a more natural form, even though they lend themselves to so many sinful delights ….. Honey pistachio ice cream anyone? Not only are they a far better alternative to biscuits when you get your mid-morning hunger pangs, but they also work wonders for the body. Here are six scientifically-backed benefits to eating them regularly. They could help you live longer Eating a handful of nuts a day keeps the doctor away - and might help you live longer, according to two long-running Harvard studies. “We found that people who ate nuts every day lived longer, healthier lives than people who didn’t eat nuts,” said study co-author Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. The report showed that daily nut-eaters were less likely to die of cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease. Overall, the daily nut-eaters were 20% less likely to have died during the course of the study than those who avoided nuts. (Peanuts, which are actually legumes, counted as nuts in this study). They could positively impact cholesterol Initial findings from the Walnuts and Healthy Aging (WAHA) study indicate that daily walnut consumption positively impacts blood cholesterol levels without making people gain weight. “Given walnuts are a high-energy food, a

prevailing concern has been that their long term consumption might be associated with weight gain,” said Dr Emilio Ros, director of the Lipid Clinic, Endocrinology & Nutrition Service at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. “The preliminary results of the WAHA study demonstrate that daily consumption of walnuts for one year by a sizeable cohort of ageing free-living persons has no adverse effects on body weight. “They also show that the well-known cholesterol-lowering effect of walnut diets works equally well in the elderly and is maintained in the long term. “Acquiring the good fats and other nutrients from walnuts while keeping adiposity at bay and reducing blood cholesterol levels are important to overall nutritional well-being of ageing adults. It’s encouraging to see that eating walnuts may benefit this particular population.” They’re full of nutrients In terms of dietary composition, nuts have a good nutritional profile, are high in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). They are also good sources of vegetable protein. Nuts also contain substantial amounts of dietary fibre, minerals such as magnesium and potassium, vitamins including folate and vitamin E, and other beneficial bioactive compounds such as phytosterols, tocopherols, and polyphenols.

“The results of this study suggest that incorporating nuts into diets does not lead to greater weight gain and may help weight control,” researchers said. They could help prevent pancreatic cancer Eating nuts regularly may ward off pancreatic cancer, according to researchers from Harvard School of Public Health. Researchers sampled data of more than 75,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study - a long-running investigation into the health of thousands of female nurses in the US - and analysed the link between pancreatic cancer and nut consumption. The findings revealed that women who ate a handful of nuts two or more times per week had a 35% lower pancreatic cancer risk, compared to those who did not eat them.

They could help you lose weight A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating nuts regularly was associated with a lower risk of weight gain and obesity. The aim of the research was to determine the relationship between nut consumption and long-term weight change.

Nut-eaters are less likely to die of cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease

Banana and Egg Hair Treatment Looking for a little more shine in your hair? Simply mix one egg and a mashed up banana. Apply it as a thick paste to your hair and leave it on for 10 – 30 minutes. Wash it our doing your usual hair washing ritual (if you usually use a store-bought conditioner you’ll probably only need to condition the ends). And voila! Super simple, and all natural, beauty tip.

Beauty tips

Simple Honey Face Mask

Raw honey is naturally anti-bacterial and a super quick way to get soft, beautiful skin. Once a week use a tablespoon or so of raw honey (not the processed stuff parading as honey) and gently warm it by rubbing your fingertips together. Spread on your face. Leave on for 5 – 10 minutes and then use warm water to gently rinse it off and pat dry. Then bask in the glow of your honey-awesomeness. This raw honey is awesome, by the way.

24 feb - 2 march 2017

food & drink

39

Jungle Juice, Mister …? by Simon Roberts

On an all-inclusive holiday, staying in a small two star hotel on the island of Mauritius a few years ago, I discovered a new drink. Or, to be exact, it discovered me, as every time I walked past the bar the waiter would shout loudly …… ”Jungle Juice Mister? “ Not wanting to be rude, of course I accepted the barman’s kind offer and spent the whole two weeks in a jungle juice induced semicoma. The delicious but ever so slightly lethal drink was actually their version of rum punch, basically, rum mixed with tropical fruit flavours to give it a bit of a kick. Here are three variants on the Jungle Juice theme, from around the tropical world straight to a large jug full of ice close to you.

Jungle Juice Ingredients:

Caribbean Rum Punch There is an old saying in Barbados, that goes, “One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak.” Hey presto, a perfect (if rather lethal) punch. The ratio works for just about any punch. Serves one.

Ingredients: 1 shot fresh lime juice 2 shots sugar syrup 3 shots rum 4 shots water 1 dash Angostura bitters Nutmeg, to garnish

Jungle Juice with rum, pineapple juice, passionfruit juice and lime juice, is absolutely perfect for a hot summer night.

Dark rum (1,5 part) • Pineapple juice (1 part) Passionfruit juice (1 part) • Lime (juice of half a lime) Syrup (2 drops) • Garnish: pineapple or passionfruit 1 part = 30 ml

Method:

Use a shaker and a tumbler glass filled with crushed ice. Take the shaker with ice cubes and pour in the rum, pineapple juice, passionfruit juice and fresh juice of half a lemon. Give it a good shake for about 5 to 8

Mississippi Planters Punch The Planter´s Punch is an old rum drink and the origin is unknown to me. The most common recipe is 1/3 Rum, 1/3 Orange Juice, 1/3 Pineapple Juice and a dash of Grenadine. The only thing known is that the recipe has been evolving through the decades and the name changed Ingredients: 1 tblsp sugar (or simple syrup) Juice of 1 lemon 1/2 jigger rum (1.5 oz) 1/2 jigger (0.75 oz) Bourbon whiskey 1 jigger ( 1.5 oz) cognac brandy

Method:

Stir the lime, syrup, rum and water in a large glass or jug, and pour into a glass over lots of crushed ice. Add a few drops of bitters and a grating of nutmeg, and serve.

from Jamaican Rum Punch (In Modern American Drinks (1895)) to the Planter`s Cocktail #2 (Savoy Cocktail Book 1930) and in Trader Vic`s Bartender’s Guide (1948) there are no less than four variations, switching the lemon to mostly lime, and three of the recipes call for grenadine.

Method: Dissolve the sugar with a little water in a mixing glass. (or use simple syrup) Add the lemon juice, bourbon and brandy. Fill with fine ice and shake thoroughly, strain into a tall glass. Garnish with fruit and serve with straw.

seconds. Pour out the cocktail into the glass with a strainer and fill it up till te top of the glass. Now add the 2 drops of grenadine syrup. This gives the cocktail a special look and feel. Garnish the cocktail with a piece of pineapple of fresh passion fruit.

Tip: This cocktail is also perfect to make in a big punch bowl if you have a lot of friends coming over for a BBQ this summer.

40

food & drink Chicken with almonds and apricots This aromatic chicken stew with a thick apricot and almond sauce makes a tasty, low-fat midweek meal that’s easy to prepare

INGREDIENTS

Substitute the apricots for dried prunes, if you prefer. • 1tbsp sunflower oil • 2 onions, sliced • 1tsp ground turmeric • 1tsp ground cinnamon • 1tsp ground ginger • 500g chicken, cubed • 500g pot of chicken stock • 250g pack dried Apricots, halved • 25g organic shelled almonds, chopped or sliced

METHOD

1. Heat the oil in a medium pan and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the spices and chicken; stir to coat evenly. Pour in the stock. 2. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the apricots and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Remove the lid, stir well and continue to cook for 10 minutes more, until the chicken and apricots are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly. 3. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the almonds. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander, and serve with couscous, flavoured with a little fresh lemon juice. Artien is created and illustrated by Jan Gamm

Stir fried chicken with broccoli and asparagus A STIR fry is a great way of using up left over ingredients and this one works very well. other ingredients could be used if you wish and the principal of cooking in a wok is always the same – use a very high heat and start with the ingredients that require the most cooking.

1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp sweet chilli sauce 1 tsp five spice powder A little water

2 small, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced 1 tbsp soy sauce A small head of broccoli, cut into florets 6 spears of asparagus cut into 5cm pieces Half a red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips A slice of fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into chunks (optional) A small onion, peeled and roughly sliced Vegetable oil for frying

1. Combine the sliced chicken with the soy sauce and chopped ginger and set aside to marinate. 2. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside. 3. When ready to cook, add a little oil to a wok and heat until smoking. Stir-fry the chicken with the marinade, onion and pepper for 3-4 minutes. Add the broccoli and asparagus and stir fry for 4-5 minutes before adding the pineapple. 4. Pour in the sauce and heat until bubbling. Add a little more water if the sauce is too thick. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat. Cook for a further 2 minutes. Serve immediately with plain boiled rice.

For the sauce 2 tbls tomato ketchup 1 tbls honey

Serves 2 Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 10-12 minutes.

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CARAVANS FOR SALE WE BUY, sell & transport all makes of static caravans 630 055 418 Elsyd7@hotmail.com CHARITIES/CHURCHES LA SIESTA EVANGELICAL CHURCH on Urbanisation La Siesta, Torrevieja is a friendly, English speaking Church. We hold services each Sunday and everyone is welcome. Our 11.00 am Services are held every 2nd and 4th Sunday in the month (and 11.00 am on the 5th Sunday, if this applies.) On the 1st and 3rd Sunday’s our Services are at 9.30 am. Our choir sings at our 11.00 am Services and there is also a Sunday School, called Stepping Stones, on these Sundays. We welcome residents, visitors and children. For more information see our website www. lasiestaevangelicalchurch.org or telephone Pastor Keith on 666 180 108.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS IS ALCOHOL COSTING YOU MORE THAN MONEY? Drinking to excess not only affects your health it can spill over into every other aspect of your life – damaging everything that is important to you. Englishspeaking AA meetings are held throughout the Costa Blanca from Valencia City to Murcia. Anyone wishing to attend a meeting or discuss a possible drinking problem contact Costa Blanca North: *648 169 045* or Costa Blanca South: *625 912 078* or Costa Calida *679 385 105*. All calls are treated in the strictest confidence. AA in German: 645 456 075; Spanish: 679 212 535; Flemish: 635 047 053; and Scandinavian: 659 779 222. www.aa-costablanca.org (93323) ROUNDABOUT CHARITY SHOP. We are now into summer and very soon we will be feeling the heat! It is time therefore for another visit to the shop where you might find a bargain or two. Choose from the clothing selection, jewellery, household goods, books or bric a brac. There is usually something there for everyone --- but not always. Charitable donations have recently been made to The Alzheimers Centre, Cancer Research and The Amigos Ambulance Service. We still need your help with donations etc. Please keep them coming in! We are situated on Avenida Del Furs close to the Fountain Roundabout and immediate left by Don Colchon bed shop. THE ROYAL NAVAL ASSOCIATION, Torrevieja Branch, meet at 17.00 on the first Wednesday of each month at the Restaurante El Paraiso, Urb. Jardin del Mar 3 (behind Carrefour), Torrevieja. Contact Paul Edwards, Chairman 618 644 934 or Margaret Forshaw, Secretary 966 921 996. THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Orihuela Costa - covering from Punta Prima to San Javier. The branch meets at Olympia restaurant, Mil Palmeras on 3rd Thursday of each month at 19.00 - 19.30pm. More info can be found on branch website www. orihuelacostarbl.co.uk.

(TCF) is an English speaking lively church located at Avenida de las Valencianas 68, Torrevieja 03183. Residents and holidaymakers are welcome to attend our services with communion and ‘kids church’ each Sunday at 10.30am. We have a Fellowship Meeting (Bible Study) each Wednesday at 6.00pm. For further information see our website www.tcf-Spain. org or tel 966 700 391. TORREVIEJA STROKE SUPPORT GROUP meets each Friday 2.45pm to 5pm in The Annex, (behind Age Concern Centre), Calle Paganini, Urb. La Siesta. Our aim is to support stroke survivors and their carers by a range of facilities from speech therapy, rehabilitation exercise, group discussion etc. For info: Louie 966 718 964 or 965 071 920, e-mail: strokesupportgroup@ hotmail.com Donations and further voluntary helpers are needed and guest speakers with relevant knowledge or experience are very welcome. THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Gran Alacant & La Marina Branch meets First Monday of the month 18:00 at “La Taberna next to Monte & Mar Restaurant & Bowls Club, Plaza Mayor (MASA Square) Gran Alacant. granalacant.secretary@gmail. com CHIMNEY SWEEP PROFESSIONAL CHIMNEY SWEEP. Family Business established over 60 years. 660 478 881 computers

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42

24 feb - 2 march 2017

ELECTRICIAN

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removal services

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43

259519

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44

motoring

FORD PERFORMANCE have revealed a new limited edition 1967 Heritage themed GT40. Following on the highly successful 1966

Heritage edition released in 2017, this new car is a tribute to the Mark IV GT40 race car driven to victory by the all-American team of Dan Photo credit: Ford

The original GT40 MK I, MK II and MK III were designed and built in England Gurney and A.J.Fiyt at Le Mans in 1967. Continuing to celebrate the time when Ford beat Ferrari at Le Mans for four years in a row, this latest Heritage edition is again a loud and brash reminder of past glory. This stunning edition features a gloss Race Red exterior with exposed carbon fibre details and Frozen White bonnet and door graphics. The wheels are 20 inch, one-piece forged aluminium with a silver satin clearcoat finished with black wheel nuts and red brake callipers behind. The interior is just as discrete with exposed carbon fibre elements alongside leather trimmed carbon

fibre racing seats with red stitching and red seat belts. Matching leather steering wheel with anodized grey paddle shifters and dark satin stainless steel details on the instrument panel, doors and cross brace. Each of the 1967 Heritage edition cars will come with an unique serialised identification plate. “The first Heritage edition car was a huge success, honouring our Ford V8 history with a modern engines interpretation of the were Le Mans winner,” said used to compete Garen Nicoghosian, exterior design manager with the Ferrari for the car. “Continuing V12´s

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with a 2018 Ford GT based on the winning GT40 Mark IV race car was simply something we needed to do.” Whilst only limited numbers of this edition are to be made and 1967 was the only time a GT40 won Le Mans with an all-American team, the GT40 also claimed victory in 1968 and 1969, so there may well be two more heritage editions to come. Photo credit: Ford

The name GT40 is a combination of Grand Touring and the original cars height of 40 inches

Photo credit: Ford

Ford celebrates beating Ferrari at Le Mans

45

motoring

Westfield SEWi with a 4 cylinder Ford engine.

Growth in specialist sports car sales THE UK new car market declined -9.3 per cent in July, according to figures published by the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the fourth consecutive monthly fall. 161,997 new cars were registered in the month as the market continues to fall amidst growing

Credits: Wikimedia

Mercedes AMG GT With a M156 6.3 V8 engine

uncertainty over Brexit and in line with forecasts. Demand was down across business, fleet and private buyers – with corresponding falls of -23.8 per cent, -10.1 per cent and -6.8 per cent. Elsewhere, in the month more buyers opted for dual purpose and specialist sports cars – the only two vehicle segments to

enjoy growth of 7.3 per cent and 10.3 per cent respectively. The demand for alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) soared 64.9 per cent as consumers continue to invest in the latest low-emission fuel technology. AFVs took a new record 5.5 per cent market share in July, as 8,871 new units were driven off forecourts. Nearly 70,000 new AFVs have joined UK roads this year.

Meanwhile registrations for new petrol and diesel cars declined by -3.0 per cent and -20.1 per cent respectively. Months of speculation about government policies on diesels has inevitably led to a softening of demand and slowed the market shift to the latest cleaner Euro 6 diesels which are valued by consumers for their fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. Despite the disappointing July sales figures, so far the year-todate overall performance remains at a high level thanks to a strong first quarter – with more than 1.5 million new cars registered on UK roads since January. Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “The fall in consumer and business confidence is having a knock on

effect on demand in the new car market and government must act quickly to provide concrete plans regarding Brexit. While it’s encouraging to see record achievements for alternatively fuelled vehicles, consumers considering other fuel types will have undoubtedly been affected by the uncertainty surrounding the government’s clean air plans.”

46

sport

HISTORY WAS made in England yesterday (Thursday) when the first ever day-night Test Match held in the country started at Edgbaston. Joe Root’s side take on the West Indies in a three-match series that ends at Lord’s in September and the home XI are strong favourites having only last week beaten South Africa 3-1 in a four-match series. The day-night Test is the fifth of its kind across the world after three held in Australia and one in Dubai. Play gets underway at 2pm (UK time) with ‘lunch’ at 4pm and ‘tea’ taken at 6.40pm and cricket due to finish at 9pm. It’s a trip into the unknown for many and hard practice with the pink ball took place leading up to the game.

Photo credit: Twitter

England in the pink England fast bowler Stuart Broad had never bowled with the pink ball before which has been proved to be easier to pick up under lights without clashing with white clothing. The 31-year-old admitted: “It’s stepping into the unknown completely. I’ve bowled one ball with the pink ball – I got it relatively straight! I just don’t know what to expect. We are just going to have to be so adaptable on the day, and figure out what’s going on. “It’s an exciting concept. I watched the day-night match in Adelaide and enjoyed it. The exciting thing as a player is we are going in with a clear mind and learning on the job almost. The team which will come out successful this week will be the team which reacts quicker.”

CLEARER: Pink cricket balls easier to see under floodlights.

AS THE eyes of the world were focused on getting glimpses of world superstar athletes Sir Mo Farah and Usain Bolt – whose farewell performances ended in disappointment – a Spanish athlete was left in floods of tears for different reasons. Veteran Olympic high-jumper Ruth Beitia, now 38, was seen by millions of viewers in her emotional state after crashing out of the World Athletic Championships but the smile quickly returned when it was announced that she would be receiving a

Photo credit: Twitter

special award. She was presented with the IAAF’s International Fair Play Award for ‘outstanding sportsmanship’ by Lord Coe for the way she consoled a rival Italian athlete, Alessia Trost, for some time after she was eliminated and ended up sobbing on the sidelines. Ruth said: “I’ve spent 32 years practising this sport [since she was six years old] and I owe all that I am to athletics. I don’t know whether what I did was a beautiful or an ugly gesture or what – for me, it was just a human gesture and I’ve always been like that around my fellow competitors.” Ruth has said she will be 41-years-old come the time of the next Olympics in Tokyo 2020 and the Rio 2016 gold medallist is uncertain of her future. However, she seemed more concerned about the COMFORT: fellow high-jumper Spanish she helped. athletics “[Alessia] has gone hero Ruth through a rough Beitia

ride this year – only two weeks ago, her lifelong trainer died, and she was distraught when she arrived here in London. We get on really well. The day after [Alessia’s elimination], she sent me a really affectionate message to say it had been a ‘lovely gesture’ on my part and congratulating me on having reached the final,” s a i d Ruth.

Beitia first broke the Spanish record in 1998

Photo credit: Wikimedia

Special award for Spanish athlete

sport

Bridging the gap with dementia

T.M.G.S. 5th anniversary celebrations THE WEATHER forecast didn’t look too promising for the monthly visit to La Marquesa for the society’s 5th anniversary. Despite the dark clouds, there was no chance it was going to rain but even if it had, nothing was going to dampen the spirit of the day. Everyone simply wanted to play their best and get their name on the Anniversary Trophy. Winners on the day were: Merethe Mhyrvold, Jim Davidson, Olga Haubner, Robbie Rea, Helge Rong, Derek Sullivan, John Hettrick, Lee Williamson, Phil Boyling, Brian McMenamin, Carsten Landaas,

47

24 feb - 2 march 2017

Chris Gray, Kenny Winton and Kjell Aasebø. The full competition results: Gold category: 3rd - T. Norris 37 pts; 2nd - J. Eyre (37); 1st - R. Malmgren (37). Handicap system decided the overall winner. Silver category: 3rd - R. Nilsen (32); 2nd - A. Rickers (32); 1st M. Kennedy (32), decided again on lower handicap. Bronze category: 3rd - C. Bellman (30); 2nd - A. Goslan (34); 1st J. Hillier (40). N.T.P: Hole 5 - S. Williams, hole 11 - R. Nilsen, hole 15 - M. Kennedy, hole 17 - J. Hillier. The 2’s pot was shared between M. Kennedy and C.

Landaas taking €15 each. Podium places for the Anniversary Trophy were 3rd - J. Eyre, 2nd - R. Malmgren and the winner J. Hillier. All members were invited to enjoy their lunch in the excellent clubhouse restaurant afterwards with the meals and prizes sponsored by the Society. For further information about the Society please visit www.tmgs.org or follow us @TMGSGOLF or visit our Facebook page TMGSGOLF. The secretary will still take your call on 661 524 101.

The University of East Anglia has been carrying out a study on people in the Eastern area of the UK. The research involved 3,547 men and women. It is alleged that if people play at least 3 hours of the card game Bridge a week, on Mondays, then dementia can be delayed by 17 minutes a year. If they play twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays, the delay can be as much as 43 minutes. To be able to benefit from this analysis, come along to the Mazarrón Bay Bridge club (MMBC) at the Playa Grande Hotel, Puerto de Mazarrón on the road between the Puerto and Bolnuevo. Duplicate Bridge is played

on Mondays and Thursdays at 9.30am. Partners can be arranged for Mondays, but no partners are needed for Thursdays when more Duplicate Bridge is played, and with a more relaxed atmosphere including a discussion on how to improve one’s game. A mixture of nationalities take part including Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Norwegian and there is even a Welshman! For more information, check out the website at www.bridgewebs. com/mazarrnbay for more details, or call Phil Carter (President), 602 539 830 or email mazarronbaybridgeclub@ hotmail.com

TMGS members celebrate the club’s 5th Anniversary

San Miguel Golf Society

THE WELCOME drop in recent temperatures, although still pretty hot and humid, helped the 26 members and three guests who turned out to play at Roda. Unfortunately, the course didn’t play as well as it did the day before when some of the members had played there privately with some recently spiked greens. Despite this, some excellent scores were posted with Barry Roehrig and Theo Boelhouwer both carding 40 points. The results were: Bronze Category: 3rd - Chris Hamblett 28 points; 2nd - Brian Butler (31), and 1st Phil Birtwistle, (31). Silver Category: 3rd - Ken Flaherty (34); 2nd - Colin Rust (36), and 1st – Theo Boelhouwer (40). Gold Category: 3rd - Darren Hancock (35);

2nd - Jamie Rorison (37), and 1st -Barry Roehrig (40). NTPs on the par 3’s (open to all) went to John Osborne (hole 2), Eva Pettersson (7 and 13), and Kyree Skarsmoen (11). The Abacus was won by Norman Padmore, but as he wasn’t there to collect it was awarded to Marg Birtwistle. Best Guest prizes went to winner Peter Devlin (36) who pipped runner-up Jim Starbuck on countback. An enjoyable day was had by all and grateful thanks were passed on to all the staff at the Roda. You can keep up to date with all SMGS events and news by logging on to their website www.smgs.org or simply give Theo Boelhouwer a call on 694 494 824.

San Javier Golf Society

DUE TO the extremely hot and humid weather, the latest individual Stableford Qualifier held at La Serena Golf, only included one division. However, the conditions didn’t prevent some very high scoring especially from Chris Taylor, who came in with 45 points. The winners on the day were: First - Chris Taylor with 45 points; Second - Giovanni Butto (41); Third - David Archer (38), and Fourth Shaun Devine (37). Nearest the pins were won by Chris Taylor, Jeff Belt and Ian Lawley. The gross 2 (for €50) was shared by Chris Taylor and Ty Williams. Recipient of the dreaded “Monkey” was Daz Hancock. The next event will be another individual Stableford Qualifier at La Serena, teeing off at 9.20am on Monday September 4. Full details will be emailed to all members. Payday will be on Saturday September 2, between 11am and 12noon in the bar area at La

Serena Golf Clubhouse, Los Alcázares. For further information on the San Javier Golf Society, to play as a guest, or to join. Phone Barry Beale

on 649 245 889.

Look at our website at www.sanjaviergolfsociety. co.uk and Facebook page at sanjaviergolfsociety

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