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COSTA BLANCA NORTH

16th - 22nd March

Photo credit: Jorsape Wikimedia

End of the line for Gata’s bridge WITH the removal of the TRAM bridge that crossed the main road into Gata de Gorgos, over 100 years of history has passed. Large cranes made their way to the N-332 and took down the 30ton steel structure that had been in place since 1915. In the same operation, a replacement bridge was installed and is another piece in the jigsaw that is the renovation of the Line 9 between Benidorm and Denia. After three years of work, the line is due to reopen in January 2019. The old bridge has been left in Gata and there are calls for it to be preserved as an important piece of the town’s and the railway’s history.

Issue 960

INSIDE THIS WEEK ... LIFEGUARD SERVICES ANNOUNCED FOR EASTER

P11 SANDY: Playa Les Deveses during better times

Denia beach is going, going....almost gone By Darren Parmenter IT’S taken just four months for the Playa Les Deveses in Denia to disappear. Both the municipality and a number of experts predicted back in November 2017 that the regeneration of the beach that took place at that time would not make it through the winter. Those beliefs have proved correct... More than 8,000 cubic metres of sand

was dumped on the beach at that time by the Costas of the Alicante Province, and they were warned then that such effort to rejuvenate the sand was futile. As Councillor Josep Crespo said when those works took place, “The storms will come and the sand will be taken away again.” Mayor Vicent Grimalt backed up those comments. “We warned the Costas that if they regenerated the beach, the first major storm would destroy it and we would be back to square one.”

According to Councillor Crespo who was speaking to the Spanish press, it was accepted at the time that it was simply throwing money at the problem and nothing else. “Some of the waves have hit the houses along the front line recently, even though the storms haven’t been as strong as last year,” he said. One of the immediate concerns is that with the expected influx of tourists for the Easter period, there will hardly be any beach for them to enjoy some sunbathing.

CROCODILE CRAIG RETURNS TO BENIDORM

P33 A YOUNG MAN WHO IS A DEVIL OF A DRIVER

P35

16th - 22nd March

‘Illegal’ orange dumpers reported

Photo credit: Javea.com

MEMBERS of the Podemos political group in Javea have reported the increasing instances of alleged illegal dumping of oranges across a number of fields in the municipality. They have warned that the acidic discharge from this type of organic waste can pose a threat to other plants in the area, as well as spoiling the look of the rural areas. As well as asking for the dumped fruit to be removed, Podemos are also requesting the local fruit producers are warned of their responsibilities.

Council roof attracts dangerous games by Mark Rogers THE recently completed new municipal offices of Javea were built to house the d ay - to-d ay r unning o f t h e to w n . I n s te a d , a group of children have d e c i d e d t o u s e t h e ro o f on the Portal del Clot de Xàbia as an extension to the adjoining playground. A number of the child re n m a d e t h e i r w ay t o the roof of the building that has no railing or fencing to act as protection, and are playing games of dare to get as c l o s e a s p o s s i b l e to t h e edge. It appears that the daredevils managed to jump over a wall to get on to the roof that is a prohibited area and use the sloping design as somewhere to use their skate-

DESIGN: Architects didn’t foresee children using the municipal roof.

boards. W hen the architects came up with the original design that was finally built, they never for one moment considered that children would choose to

use the roof - with a drop of over fo ur metres - as one of their play areas. W hen completed, the square in front of the municipal buildings was intended for people to

walk across and enjoy the surroundings, but many children decided to take it over and use this as a skate park instead. Faced with this unforeseen use, the council de-

cided to install some extra ramps and a skateboard zone; but for some, that challenge isn’t enough and have set their ‘heights’ even higher.

Photo credit: Callosa town hall

WORK: Will shortly start on the Fonts d’Algar Bridge.

Bridge to be replaced at last DUR ING the major rain storms of late 2016, the wooden bridge at t h e F o n t s d ’A l g a r w a t e r f a l l w a s badly affected. Now the local council has announced that it has received a grant of €33,517 from the Genera l i t a t Va l e n c i a n a to a s s i s t i n re pairs to a number of structures damaged by the storms. O f this amount , the town hall’s Te c h n i c a l S e r v i c e s d e p a r t m e n t has allocated €10,800 in order to replace the bridge and railings alongside the Font d ’A lgar ’s natural pools and springs.

A s these pools continue to see inc reasing numbers of visitors it has been decided that the work will be completed before the start of the tourist season. A cco rd i n g to t h e co u n c i l l o r fo r To u r i s m A l fo n s o P u i g c e r v e r, t h e 344,862 visitors to the area in 2017 saw an increase of some 9 per cent over the previous year and in addition to the restoration wo r k , t h e co u n c i l h a s o b t a i n e d a 9,000 square metre plot nearby w h i c h w i l l s e r v e a s a p i c n i c a re a as well as an additional emergency exit.

16th - 22nd March Photo credit: Pixabay

HISTORY: Cabo de las Huertas becomes the centre of learning.

Secrets of Alicante unveiled by Carol Palmer THE popular Alicante beach area of the Cabo de las Huertas has unveiled its past to a number of local schoolchildren. Accompanied by 6 0 m o n i t o r s f ro m the University of Alicante (UA), more than 500 secondary-level stud e n t s f ro m 2 5 sc hools ac ro ss the province went into the p ro v e r b i a l time-machine to discover the histor y, e v o l u t i o n a n d secrets of this part of the coast. This is the seventh time such an event has taken place, organised by the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of t h e UA ; s u c h i s i t s popularity that another 500 students f ro m a f u r t h e r dozen schools took part y e s t e rd ay (Thursday). T h e g ro u p s p e n t their time on the Cabo de las Huertas and the southern p a r t o f P l aya S a n Juan, taking part in a combination of education and games to learn the geology of the area. They searched for fossils and different types of rocks, with one such mollusc, b e l i e v e d to b e o n e that still lives in the Caribbean Sea, and which probably confirms that Alicante had a more tropical climate over 10,000 years ago.

Bus lanes were a good idea all along by David Bennett SHARING the Avenida del Mediterraneo in Benidorm with buses, bic ycles and taxis is now being seen as a good idea after all. As part of a major urban plan in the tourist hotspot back in December last year, the dedicated lane for those three methods of getting around town disappeared from the busy road. B enidor m C ity Council decided to eliminate it at a stroke - previously defending its installation - after receiving a number of complaints from both local residents and road users. However, people seem to have changed their mind and the benefits of such a scheme are being appreciated after all. The special lane was

Photo Credit: Phillip Capper Wikimedia

RETURN: Avenida del Mediterraneo to get the bus lanes back? that formed part of a maoriginally installed among the Avenida del Mediterrajor plan that is looking at neo in September 2017 to the future of transport and associated issues in coincide with mobility Benidorm, itâ€™s been discovweek, following a proposal ered that when the lanes by three of the local politiwere operational, many cal groups. It was removed at the bus journey times in parend of the year following a ticular were significantly reduced, as well as the request from the Ciunumber of accidents and dadanos (Câ€™s). other incidents. Now, following a study

El Dia del Padre N E X T M o n d a y i s F a t h e r â€™s D a y i n S p a i n a n d some regions will be celebrating with local holidays. This date was chosen as it is the designated feast day of St Joseph and his day is also recognised as part of the Fallas festivals, one of the most famous being that held in Valencia. Tr a d i t i o n a l l y, c h i l d r e n c o o k t h e i r f a t h e r s breakfast or even give them small gifts, and because it falls in Lent it is theoretically a meatless day, although ironically there are a number of bullfights held in Valencia during the Fallas week. Those families who are particularly steeped in religious observance give symbols which include Jesus holding carpenter tools, the baby Jesus and even a staff bearing lilies.

16th - 22nd March

‘Kidnapper’ victim of social media rumours Photo credit: Concepcion Amat Wikimedia

by Mark Rogers GUARDIA CIVIL officers based in Alicante have located a man who sparked reports of an attempted kidnapping in El Campello. The original ‘incident’ happened when a man described as ‘Irish-looking’ approached a 13-year-old boy who was waiting for a tram at the station in Muchavista. He began to speak to the teenager and then, according to witness statements, offered to give the boy a lift home. Immediately, the suggestion that this was a kidnap attempt went viral across all sections of social media, causing a degree of alarm and concern in the locality. In fact, what happened according to a statement from the man himself - was that he was slightly drunk and when he saw the boy he

FALSE WARNING: A drunk man, reminded of his son, started a ‘kidnap’ scare in El Campello.

reminded him of his son. He also assumed that the couple standing next to him at the station were unknown to him and warned the boy not to talk to or trust strangers. It was at that point he offered to take

the boy home. All the statements taken including those from the boy and the witnesses - confirmed the facts as stated by the Irishman as did the backup CCTV images. The Guardia Civil con-

firmed that no charges would be made, and at the same time impressed upon people not to circulate such information and scaremongering before the official versions and facts are known.

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Alfas del Pi.

SUCCESS: A dozen more dogs find a home.

Adoption fair for dog lovers by Rob Murray MORE than a thousand people turned up to support the 4th Dog Adoption Festival held in Alfas del Pi. Last Sunday’s event at the Parque de los Eucaliptos, organised by the APPA Animal Protection group in collaboration with the Alfas del Pi Council, was a chance to once again help to provide new homes for dogs that currently live in a number of shelters. Around 20 different animal associations from across the Alicante Province took part, and the APPA President, Vanessa Pareja, took the opportunity to thank everyone for their solidarity and support on the day. As a result, around a dozen dogs - some of whom were left abandoned - have found a new and loving permanent home. In addition, the number of foster volunteers has increased.

16th - 22nd March

Photo credit: Joanbanjo Wikimedia.

BEACHSIDE: Playa Els Molins (pictured) is close to one of the planned new sites.

AFTER the past decade of the construction crisis that hit all parts of the Costa Blanca, optimism has returned and the proof is in the recent announcements of new building projects. This is especially the case in Denia where almost a dozen new developments of mainly holiday homes are at various points of the construction cycle. Locals have noticed the appearance of cranes on up to seven new developments underway in the Les Marines part of the municipality. Two projects have recently been completed and the location of the remaining three sites will be announced shortly. Among the new projects announced is ‘Tierra Marina’, a residential complex that is at an advanced stage of construction already at Carrer del Llac Toba, close to the Playa Els Molins. This has been described as ‘an exclusive project’ of 20 semi-detached, three-bedroom houses.

Benidorm’s bullring... not just for the bulls Photo credit: Google Maps

From boom to doom and back again

by David Bennett ONCE the Easter holidays are out of the way, Benidorm City Council will be reforming the bullring to enable it to host a number of different events... and not just bullfighting. The first spectacular that has already been announced is a concert starring veteran Spanish singer and actor Raphael on September 15, and is expected to be the first of many. Councillor Jesus Carrobles, whose responsibilities include the arena, confirmed that the municipality is already working on the second phase of a number of initiatives that will allow many different council-organised events to take place, especially with the summer season fast approaching. In the absence of one single company to run the activities at the bullring, Benidorm currently negotiates individually with each show promoter on the

terms and conditions of whatever event is staged. Local opposition politicians are calling for the future plans of the bullring to include having a roof built that will allow an even greater diversity of events to be held, but hope that bullfights will not be part of those plans.

DIVERSE: Wider variety of events planned for the rest of the year.

They are also calling for companies that use the municipal arena in the future to pay a fee for the privilege.

16th - 22nd March

Benidorm to become centre of deaf-blind issues Photo credit: FASOCIDE

MENTION the name Benidorm and it is immediately associated with sun and tourism. However, an unexpected but nevertheless extra string to the city ’s bow will shor tly be added as they will be the centre of the world of deaf-blind issues. From June 19 to 27, the iconic Gran Hotel Bali is the venue chosen to host two international meetings organised by the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB). They are the ‘Fifth General Assembly’ and the ‘11th Helen Keller World Conference’ and will feature representatives from more than 30 countries, who themselves represent the almost three million deaf-blind people across t h e wo r l d , a n d s h a re t h e i r e x p e r i ences. The WFDB - to which the Federation of Deaf-blind A ssoci ations of Spain (FASOCIDE) belong, is an international non-governmental organisation that began in 2001. It aims to improve the quality of life for people w i t h t h e co n d i t i o n a n d to a c h i e ve equality in society. An expected 200 deaf-blind people, accompanied by their guides/interp re te r s / co m p a n i o n s , w i l l b e i n Benidorm for the eight days, taking

WELCOME: Members of FASOCIDE meeting Queen Letizia (far right) earlier in the year when the Benidorm event was announced. par t in a series of seminars, excursions and dinners raising awareness of the condition that affects 6,000 people in Spain.

The well-known Spanish National Blind Organisation (ONCE) has already confirmed that it will take part in the inauguration events.

Farmers go nuts at almond tree cull by Mark Rogers GROUPS of farmers in Guadalest have stopped the workforce that were about to start cutting down a number of almond trees in the municipality. The trees had been affected by the Xylella fastidiosa bacteria, that is become widespread in the area. One of the symptoms is seeing the ends of the greenery turning brown before their eventual death. Farmers who are members of the association set up to raise awareness of the problems caused by the Xylella (AXFA), combined together to stop the cull of the trees by contractors TRAGSA by order of the authorities. And their efforts were successful, as they placed themselves in front of the machinery brought into the area. Guardia Civil were called to the dispute and managed to move the protesting farmers along, although having initially gathered at 7.30am they actually managed to stay until 1.30pm and delay the planned work. This is the second time that the plague has affected the area, with an estimated 153 plots in the Marina Baixa, Marina Alta and El Comtat. The farmers are hoping that alternative measures can be found to fight against this bacteria which is killing the almond trees, and the challenge has been accepted by the Ministry of Agriculture.

16th - 22nd March

‘Record’ airport tobacco smuggler Photo credit: Guardia Civil

by Darren Parmenter COOPERATION between the Spanish Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil has managed to confiscate the largestever stash of tobacco from a single passenger at the Alicante-Elche airport. The arrested man, a 27year-old Ukrainian, was found with 2,350 packets of cigarettes in his luggage. According to official reports, a specialist unit of the Guardia Civil, which concentrates on financial and customs issues (ODAIFI) at the airport, carried out a preplanned operation to prevent tobacco being smuggled. Officers knew that a passenger on a flight from Warsaw in Poland bound for Valencia - but subsequently diverted to Alicante-Elche intended to bring in a large amount of contraband tobacco. As a result, a search team was put in place to watch out for their suspect as soon as the flight landed.

FAG STASH: Intelligence led Guardia Civil to over 2,000 packets of cigarettes. After a discreet sur veillance, a man fitting the profile waiting for his luggage at the carousel caught their attention, particularly after he was joined by a woman and they began chatting. Once they’d both collected their suitcases, the Guardia Civil approached the suspects and asked for them to be opened up. The two suitcases belong-

ing to the man, were full to the brim of nothing other than different packets of cigarettes, with an estimated street value of €11,000. The man was arrested; the woman, once her luggage was checked, was released when it was established she had no connection with the man and had simply asked him a question in the baggage reclaim section.

16th - 22nd March

The lavender hill miracle PARTS of Javea and Benitachell which were destroyed by fire 18 months ago are now in full bloom once again. The Granadella, that overlooks the stunning bay that shares its name, used to be covered with wild gladioli until it was wiped out by the forest fires which affected 812 hectares. However, the miracle of nature has regenerated the area; not with gladioli but with the beautiful colour and aroma of lavender.

Three serial burglars caught following Guardia Civil operations Photo credit: Outisnn Wikimedia

by Darren Parmenter T WO Moro ccans and one Spaniard have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Javea in connection with as many as 29 burglaries. The Moroccans - aged 25 and 29 - have been charged w i t h 1 5 ro b b e r i e s f ro m commercial premises, and the 25-year-old Spanish national with 14 other burglaries in the Montgo area. T h o s e a r re s te d fo r t h e shop thefts are accused of causing damage amounting to €6,100, stealing €6,800 in cash and dr ink s wor th €400. In addition, the housebreaker is believed to h ave t a k e n m o re t h a n €7,000 of jeweller y and €12,000 in cash. Javea’s Guardia Civil beg a n t h e i r o p e rat i o n a month ago aimed at finding the culprits of the increasi n g n u m b e r o f ro b b e r i e s from shops in the town. I t a p p e a r s t h e t h i e ve s w a i te d fo r t h e s h o p s to

MONITORED: Guardia Civil one step ahead to catch housebreaker (File image). close before forcing doors, with their faces covered so as not to be picked up on CCTV cameras. If they never found enough money in t h e c a s h re g i s te r s , t h e y continued on their spre e until they got the amount they wanted. In the case of the house burglar, the arrested man always acted at night and w a i te d fo r o w n e r s o f t h e p ro p e r t i e s to g o o u t fo r dinner, although on one occasion the owners returned

earlier than expected and caught the robber leaving their home, which led to a struggle. The man was c a u g h t a f ter t h e G u a rdi a Civil monitored a number o f c l i n i c s a n d s p o t te d a man suffering from the exact same leg injuries that he suffered as he tr ied to escape the property. The two Moroccans have b e e n re l e a s e d o n b a i l whereas the Spaniard has already been sent to prison pending trial.

16th - 22nd March

Lifeguard services announced for Easter period VISITORS to the vast majority of beaches that form par t of the A licante Province will be safer and secure this Easter. Hol y We e k b e g i n s i n Spain from Sunday March 25, and with the expected influx of visitors that are also going to take some extra holiday thanks to the Spanish Fathers’ Day on March 19; plans have been made for some time to ensure the beaches are fully protected by lifeguards and first-aid points. Denia’s beaches will have a minimum lifeguard service alongside an ambulance and an emergenc y paramedic on hand. They’ve all been thoroughly cleaned and won’t feature any sunbeds or a beach bar until the summer season fully gets underway. Javea’s Arenal beach will

Photo credit: CTHOE Wikimedia

PATROLS: Javea’s Arenal Beach (pictured) will see a full complement of life savers. see three lifeguards of the Cruz Roja on duty with an ambulance and a rescue boat on March 24, 25, 29, 30 and 31, A pr il 1 and 2 and April 7 and 8. Teulada-Moraira’s councillor for Beaches, Nieves Rodriguez , said that “our beaches are in perfect condition and our lifeg uards will be providing their usual ser v ice. Unfor tunately, there won’t be any beach

umbrellas until the summer.” There will be no lifeguard ser vice in Benissa as they only operate dur ing the main season from June 15 to September 15; Calpe will have a life g uard in place from Palm Sund ay until E a ster Mond ay and Benidorm carries on as normal with full coverage as it only stops for one month of the year.

16th - 22nd March Photo credit: Biswarup Ganguly Wikimedia

CHALLENGE: Students taking part in an earlier WRO.

They, robots! by Rob Murray THE Marina Alta will be represented at this year’s World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) that takes place in Valencia at the end of April Diverbot, the educational centre dedicated to the study of robotics in Carrer Maria Ibars in Denia, will be sending some of their members to take part in the regional phase of this international competition. The WRO is an international robotics competition that sets different challenges every year. Each team must choose a subject they are most passionate about and build a robot that reflects that interest.

The Valencian stage of this year’s competition will be on Sunday April 29, with the children not only getting the opportunity to display their talents and ingenuity, but to share experiences with other participants and make new friends in the process... but not artificial ones. Successful entrants will then go on to the national stage of the WRO. The Diverbot academy offers everything a student needs to know about the subject such as how to build a variety of mechanisms, how to programme them and how to debug them... This year’s challenges can be found at www.wroboto.es.

Fighting back against nispero thieves Photo credit: YouTube

by Dave Bennett IN an attempt at preventing a series of thefts from orchards at this time of the year across the Marina Baixa, a number of measures are being put into place in advance of the annual harvest. The municipality of Callosa d’en Sarria is leading the fight back against those who traditionally disrupt the nispero harvest, which gets underway at the end of March and the beginning of April. The Guardia Civil will be deployed throughout the Marina Baixa and local people have been

PREVENTION: The fight back against stolen nisperos begins.

asked to keep their eyes and ears open for thefts in their areas, and to report any incidents immediately. A number of officials from the Alicante provincial government, representatives of the Guardia Civil, and sev-

eral municipalities Bolulla, Altea, Callosa, Polop, La Nucia, and Alfas del Pi - attended a recent meeting to discuss the threat not only of the thefts of fruit, but an amount of farm tools, machinery and copper cable.

16th - 22nd March

HAVE YOUR SAY

Starting gun fired for ‘sport city’ hotels Photo credit: La Nucia TV YouTube

by Darren Parmenter

Popular post on Facebook reaching 5,339 people with 205 reactions “Police find body of missing eight-yearold boy in Spain.”

BENIDORM’S close neighbouring municipality of La Nucia may soon be seen as a major threat to its thriving hotel business... but not just yet. The first hotels ever located in La Nucia are about to be constructed and are expected to generate around 400 jobs. The three buildings will contain more than 600 rooms and will be created especially to at-

Rosaleen White Everyone’s worst nightmare, rest in peace little man. Joanne Schoonen So very sad. How could anyone do that!! My daughter’s school had oneminute silence for the little one.

@RTNNewspaper Most liked posts from this week

• Benidorm to become centre of deafblind issues • Torrevieja hits record levels of rainfall and cold temperatures • Two men arrested in connection with Costa del Sol rape case • Two arrested in fake leisure centre drug bust

In Total 7,974 people reached 3,975 reactions

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News & Views from the North & South Costa Blanca & Costa de Sol

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• Rough sleeping figures in Costa Blanca ‘worrying’

NEW IN TOWN: Location of one of the new La Nucia hotels in the ‘sport city’. tract competitors and their supporters who take part in a growing number of sporting events which start in and around the town. Since the local sports centre was built in 2003, La Nucia has been recognised for its commitment to sport by national and European organisations. However, the teams and individual athletes are forced to stay in hotels across neighbouring towns due to the absence of beds... until now. It has been estimated that last year alone, events in La Nucia were responsible for 76,000 overnight stays, many of which were in Benidorm. The sports centre itself will be the location for one of the new hotels, with the foundation stone put in place this week. The four-star hotel will have 145 rooms and cost €10 million to build. The total investment for the three buildings is €35 million, with a 40-year contract awarded to build and operate the project. Part of the deal was municipal land being rented in exchange for an annual fee. If everything goes to plan, two of the three hotels will open in 2019.

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16th - 22nd March

PA S S E N G E R n u m bers for AlicanteElche Airport, that continued to break all records during 2017, show no signs of dropping this year if the figures for January and February are anything to go by. Once again, it’s the British tourist market that has lead the way and contributed to the 1.4 million people using the terminal over the first two months of the year. The numbers are 3.3 per cent up on the same period in 2017. The growth was expected but at a smaller level than last year given the spike experienced in that period.

Statistics released by airport operators AENA showed British travellers accounted for 280,294 of the 711,893 people passing through the terminal in February alone. Broken down into the origin of the passengers, after those arriving from the UK, tourists from the Netherlands totalled 52,870; Norway (41,840); Belgium (41,425) and Germany (40,522). Arrivals at AlicanteElche Airport from within Spain totalled 104,027. In terms of flights, there were 5,181 during February 2018, 1.2 per cent less than the same month last year.

Time to ‘get wet’ on the Costa Blanca Photo credit: PxHere

British tourists lead early year arrivals

by Mark Rogers THIS weekend sees the holding of the second edition of the International Aquatic Activities Show at the IFA exhibition centre. MEDSEA returns to the Alicante Province to put on show all that the Costa Blanca has to offer connected with leisure and sporting activities linked to the sea. Mo re t h a n 1 0 0 e x hibitors are expected to attend the four-day event that starts today and ends on Monday, a national fiesta day. T h e d e t a i l s w e re a n n o u n c e d b y E d u a rd o Dolon - Vice President of t h e A l i c a n te p ro v i n c i a l government responsible fo r to u r i s m - a n d t h e technical director of the project , Terencio Perez , under the heading of ‘Moj ate e n l a C o s t a B l a n c a '

DIVING: The giant pool will feature a number of demonstrations.

(Get wet on the Costa Blanca). The MEDSEA event will include stands and presentations on diving , snorkelling , under water fishing, surfing, windsurfing, kite surfing and kayaking, among many others.

O n e o f t h e m a j o r fe a tures of the show will be a 32 cubic metre, 3.5m deep pool to enable a number of specialised demonstrations to take place. Many of the municipalities across the Costa Blanca are taking part as well,

thanks to a €50,000 grant shared between Javea , Teulada-Moraira, Benissa, Calpe, Altea , Benidor m, Villajoyosa, El Campello, Alicante, Elche, Santa Pola, Guardamar del Segura , Torrevieja, Orihuela and Pilar de la Horadada.

16th - 22nd March Photo credit: Flickr

TIME TO GO: Will dogs have to make alternative ‘arrangements’?

Dog urine results in the removal of lamp posts NOT for the first time, a municipality along the Costa Blanca has suffered from the habits of their local dog population. San Juan de Alicante joins other councils in having to spend money - in this case €15,000 - to replace a number of lamp posts that have been corroded by dog urine. This follows an incident in Elche where a set of traffic lights collapsed caused by similar reasons. Part of the expense will be the €370 cost of a rust-prevention paint that will be applied to the new lamp posts, and those remaining that haven’t suffered from the actions of the dogs to the same extent.

The lamp posts affected are in the Rambla, Avenida de Benidorm and Calles Doctor Marañon and Creuetes. At the same time Councillor Eva Delgado, who has responsibility for maintenance in the municipality, said that they have replaced the wiring that was recently stolen by copper thieves in Calle Serra Aitana. Commenting on the cost of €4,000 to carry out the work, which required digging up much of the pavement area, Eva Delgado said: “This antisocial behaviour means that the council has to use public money to carry out such repairs which could be used for other improvements.”

When the wind blew Photo credit: Olaf Oliviero Riemer Wikimedia

by Darren Parmenter UNSETTLED would be the perfect word to use when describing the weather for the past fortnight. One day rain, one day snow, and the next there’s blazing sunshine and unseasonal high temperatures. Strong winds can now be added to the weather conditions experienced across the Marina Alta as gusts exceeding 100kph were registered. Along the coast, the maximum recorded was 106kph at the Puig Llorenca de Benitachell. This was followed by Javea with 81kph, Denia (73kph), Els Poblets (67kph) and Calpe (66kph). Even the inland areas suf-

GUSTS: More than 100kph recorded in the Marina Alta. fered, with both Pego and Pedreguer exceeding 65kph as the AEMET weather monitoring service issued yellow alerts for the area. Other strong gusts of wind were recorded in Parcent

(72kph), Benigembla (71kph), Ondara (63kph) and Vall de Gallinera (62kph). As a result, the Valencian government declared an ‘orange’ level of fire risk across the Marina Alta.

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Chinese warriors on show in Spain Photo credit: Flickr

ON GUARD: The Warriors of Xian soon to march into Alicante. ONE of Alicanteâ€™s principal museums is proud to announce a major scoop for a future exhibition. Representatives of the MARQ are planning to bring nine soldiers that make up the world-famous Terracotta Army. In addition, and for the first time ever, the Warriors

of Xian will be accompanied by one of the horses from the priceless collection. When the exhibition takes place, it will feature the largest-ever number of the life-size pieces allowed in Spain by the Chinese authorities. The announcement was made after a number of in-

tense negotiations with both political and technical authorities in China, and followed a visit to the country by a delegation from Alicante. All that remains before the project can be finally confirmed is for the museumâ€™s facilities and security to be evaluated before the green light is given by Beijing.

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SPOTLIGHT ON MORAIRA

Emergency volunteers praised for their work Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Teulada Moraira

FIGURES recently released show that the Teulada Moraira municipal ambulance service responded to more than 600 emergency calls in 2017. That equates to an average of two to three calls each day and with an average response time of 4.6 minutes. Teulada Moraira is the only municipality offering this kind of ambulance service, that is available free of charge to all residents in the case of an emergency. They are able to provide this as the service is run by a team of volunteers. Most of the calls received are as a result of traffic accidents and the ambulance service is summoned by the local Teulada police, the information and coordination centre for emergencies (CICU) and the Teulada Healthcentre. It was no surprise to see that the busiest month for the ambulance was August with more than 60 call-outs. November was the quietest with just over 20 incidents. Mayor of Teulada Moraira, Carlos Linares, accompanied by Councillor Nacim Benatsou, mentioned how important the 40 healthcare volunteers are to the day-to-day running of such an essential service to the municipality.

BUSY: August saw the local emergency ambulance called out more than 60 times.

Plans to attract â€˜religious tourismâ€™ AS a result of the recent visit from the Bishop of Vannes, Raymond Centene, as part of his pilgrimage to San Vicente Ferrer in the early part of the month, plans are being made to attract even more religious tourism to Teulada Moraira. The bishop announced that he was very impressed and much moved by the warm welcome he received in the municipality, where he visited the Centre dâ€™estudis Vicentins, which will be formally inaugurated on April 5. The centre will comprise a library and an exhibition hall containing around 300 sculptures of San Vicente Ferrer, which were donated as part of the 600th anniversary.

Annual community project subsidies available TEULADA MORAIRA Council is once again ready to receive applications for subsidies from a number of local organisations to help them carry out specific projects during this year. The scheme - with a closing date of April 7 - allows non-profit organisations already registered with the municipality that are working within the local community, to apply

for a subsidy, provided they meet laid-down criteria. In addition to the normal day-to-day activities of the associations, the new projects will be required to have links to welfare, culture, youth, sports, agriculture, fishing, and the participation of the residents at large. All the projects must also take place during this year.

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Food banks and clothes mountains in Alicante Photo credit: Christopher Elmini Wikimedia

INPAVI: Providing an invaluable service to disadvantaged people.

MORE than 250 families from Alicante suffering from extreme poverty or at the risk of social exclusion, have benefitted from the city’s food and clothes distribution centres. Valued at more than €31,000, over 20 tons of goods were handed out during the course of two days. This was the first quarterly distribution that took place at the headquarters of the organisation INPAVI in Alicante. Around 60 volunteers helped to hand out more than 800 garments - worth around €2,400 - which have been gratefully received by 750 people.

The project has the full support of the Alicante City Council, and the organisers from INPAVI publicly thanked the collaboration of the Alicante food bank, the Christian Life Centre Church in the city, the La Caixa bank and the many generous private donations that enabled so many to benefit. INPAVI operates to ‘lend a hand’ to the most disadvantaged people to get them back up on the ladder and out of poverty. It also attempts to bring their plight to a wider audience and encourage even more support, both with financial help and other donations.

SPOTLIGHT ON CALPE

16th - 22nd March

Renovation of Casa Nova complete Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Calpe

CASA NOVA , the famous for tified farmhouse in Calpe, has reopened its doors after a full programme of refurbishment work. Calpe acquired the proper ty back in 1996 and it has been slowly renovated in different phases which both respect the original structure of the building, while adding a new extension. This will feature a large auditorium, three classrooms, and a cafeteria, as well as a library, offices and an exhibition hall. The aim has been to turn Casa Nova into a training centre for entrepreneurs, innovators and the unemployed, to enhance both professional qualifications and to promote future work opportunities. To this end, a wide and varied range of pro-

NEW HOUSE: Reformation aims to keeps the old alongside the new.

grammes has been designed that includes courses, conferences and training exercises at a cost of €60,000.

At the official opening ceremony, Calpe’s mayor Cesar Sanchez said that “in recent years, unemployment has been reduced by

25 per cent. The main objective of my government team is to create employment, especially quality employment.

“The new Casa Nova was born with the aim of promoting the training of both those who are already in work and those seeking it.”

Calpe’s tourism trade to be monitored CALPE has announced that it will be spending €15,000 a year for a private company to monitor all aspects of the municipality’s tourism. The contract is worth €60,000 over a four-year period and the purpose of the company that secures the concession will be to continually assess the number of tourists that visit Calpe. The municipality is looking to eventually get a selection of data on the various characteristics of the tourist trade which will enable short, medium and long term plans to be made.

End of the works in sight RESIDENTS of Calpe will shortly see the benefits of the work being undertaken in the municipality to install new sewage pipes. The final phase is underway along Avenida Juan Carlos I and are now focused on Avenida Ejercitos Españoles. The work, which began at the end

of October 2017, is aimed at improving the drainage of wastewater from the area and has seen a number of disruptions to the local traffic as roads have been excavated to replace the existing network of pipes. The entire project is planned for completion at the end of April.

Sailors of the region honoured THE municipal auditorium of the Casa del Cultura in Calpe was the setting for a presentation to the 90 best sailors in the Valencian Community.

The regional event was attended by many important local officials including the Director General for S p o r t o f t h e Va l e n c i a n C o m m u n i t y, Josep

Miquel Moya, Councillor Ana Maria Sala, president of the Real C l u b Na u t i c o d e C a l p e , Pepe Mas, and the presi d e n t o f t h e F VC V Jo s e Martinez David.

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Feeding the Calpe hungry

Denia unveils new local app AS from this week, the municipality of Denia has launched its new official mobile application. ‘App Denia’ is an extra tool to enable better and more efficient communication between the town hall and its residents. In addition, it will improve re-

sponse times to any incident that can be reported directly by local people. Users can also find out more about the day-to-day running of and the decisions taken by the municipality, as well as opening times of chemists and useful telephone numbers.

PRESENTATION: Of the vouchers to the Cruz Roja. THE Charity Shop of Calpe donated €3,000 to the Cruz Roja, Caritas and the Food Bank in Calpe. Each organisation received €1,000 of vouchers to buy fresh food. T he shop will be closed this Saturday and the following Monday to allow for restocking and will re-

o p e n o n Tu e s d a y w i t h their new spring and summer clothing for ladies and gents. The shop will also be having its usual Easter raff le, with tickets now on sale in the shop which you can find halfway up Avenida Gabriel Miró, in the Galerías Mar Azul in Calpe.

Drugs raid gives wake-up call RESIDENTS of the usually quiet district of Thivers de Xabia were suddenly woken up by a deployment of the Guardia Civil as part of a pre-planned drugs operation. A number of vehicles arrived

in Carrer Juan Ramon Jimenez at 7.30am complete with shields and riot gear and proceeded to burst through the door of a third f loor f lat. It is understood that they

were af ter a middle-aged man suspected of selling drugs. Speaking to the Spanish media, neighbours also said that there was an abnormal amount of people v isiting the premises.

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by Barry Duke

Photo Credit: Vmenkov Wikimedia

AS it was such a spring-like day on February 24, I ventured out late in the afternoon wearing a light jacket over a tshirt. Half an hour later, after the sun had set, the temperature dramatically plummeted and I stood shivering at a bus shelter, wondering whether I should return home to get warmer gear, or continue my planned journey to La Marina shopping centre on the outskirts of Benidorm. Mercifully, just before hypothermia set in, a bus came along, and it dawned on me that a sure-fire way of staying warm for the rest of the evening was to head for the nearest Chinese outlet and buy a chunky hoodie. Why a ‘Chino’? Everyone who lives in Spain knows that whatever one needs from dog poo bags to paella pans, carpets to cup hooks, watch batteries to water jugs - are to be found on the shelves of ubiquitous Chinese stores. They are everywhere. And because the Chinese proprietors would sooner stick their heads up a d e a d b e a r ’s b u t t t h a n s h u t t e r t h e i r shops during siestas, you can get anything you need at silly prices at any

Chop chop I’m off to the Chinese shop

CHINESE STORES: Just one of many in Spain. hour of the day. Which explains why the Spanish have a saying to describe labouring oneself to a standstill: trabajando como un Chino (working like a Chinese.) Unfortunately the only hoodie I could find in my size on a sale rail was beyond hideous. Black with white and green speckles, it looked as if it had been hauled out of the rubble of a paint factory that had gone boom after being hit by a dynamite lorry.

Anglican Easter Services

Council looks forward to spending surplus Photo credit: Marcela Escandell Flickr

Maundy Thursday March 29 Denia Church 6pm, Eucharist of the Last Supper La Fustera Church 6pm, Passover Supper and Liturgy Good Friday March 30 Services at Albir 11am, Gandia, Denia, Calpe and La Fustera all at 12pm, Javea and El Campello 2pm Holy Saturday March 31 La Fustera, 8pm Service to mark the Passion of our Lord

What the heck, I thought, it’ll be invisib l e b e n e a t h m y j a c k e t , a n d i t ’s o n l y €14. It was only when I reached the checkout did I realise its ghastliness was doubly compounded by the fact that it came with a pair of matching jogging pants. When I got home and tried on the ensemble, I looked like a mutant frog with an unsightly rash. The incident set me wondering why so many Chinese shops - ranging from gloomy little corner outlets to vast em-

poria - exist in such huge numbers in Spain. The answer was easy to find. Others before asked themselves the very same question, and, reading various blogs and Wikipedia, I discovered that the first large wave of Chinese immigrants came to Spain in the 1920’s and 1930’s, working as itinerant peddlers. After the Second World War, they branched out into the restaurant industry, and later into textiles and trade. However, the vast majority of Chinese residents in Spain started arriving in the country around the 1980’s. According to Xu Songhua, President of the Association of Chinese in Spain (Asociación de Chinos en España), established in 1985, there are around 13,000 Chineseowned businesses in Spain, including 4,000 restaurants, 3,200 ‘euro shops’, 1,500 fruit and veg outlets, and 600 wholesale warehouses. Nowadays, Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands are home to Spain’s largest Chinese communities. One blogger revealed that a third of the 200,000 or so Chinese in Spain are officially sole traders. Their businesses are family-run and their motivation for working as hard as they do is tied in with family pride.

by Mark Rogers THANKS to what has been described as ‘serious and responsible’ management of finances, Benissa Council finished the fiscal year of 2017 well in the black. In fact, they ended up with more than €1.5 million in surplus and will thus allow the municipality to undertake a series of investments in the local people. One of the first areas to benefit will be to unblock the previous limitations on spending on the reorganisation of the local health centres. According to official figures released, Benissa finished with a budget surplus of €1,557,508 and in addition also managed to comply with measures established by the Ministry of Finance in respect of budget stability and spending rules. Councillor Fernando Lopez Corsi said: “These results show that the economic management of this new government is being serious and responsible.” He also said that the objective of the finance department of the council

BENEFIT: Benissa has benefited from ‘responsible’ management.

is to continue to give “stability and confidence to the municipality and enable us to offer more and better services.” Last February, Minister of Finance Cristobal Montoro made a public commitment that municipalities which ended up with a surplus in 2017 could

spend all of it in the following year rather than put it aside for the proverbial rainy day. In the case of Benissa, they have a total surplus of around €7.1 million, and Councillor Corsi is looking forward to reinvesting that money during this year.

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by Colin Bird

WE live in a ‘pass the buck’ society. Whenever a politician fouls up, which let’s face it is hardly a rare occurrence, it’s never their fault and is blamed on a predecessor or some unfortunate underling who is forced to fall on his sword. And of course that familiar old chestnut: offload the blame on the previous administration, is always a good standby. If a human error occurs in a hospital because of overwork and exhaustion, then it is inevitable that a doctor or nurse must be shot at dawn, and if someone is stupid enough to take a sip of hot coffee in a restaurant resulting in a burnt mouth, then of course the restaurant is negligent and damages are demanded. Whether we walk into a tree in the park because it is not looking where it is going, twist an ankle whilst legging it from the house we have just burgled, or are sacked by the boss for peeing in the coffee machine, then look out, it’s not our fault and someone has to pay, and usually

The blame game Photo Credit: Matt Biddulph flickr

The opinions published in Colin’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Where there’s blame there’s gain.

through the nose. The public has lost the ability to take responsibility for its own actions and indeed we are encouraged to shove the blame elsewhere, and predictably it all boils down to money.

The ambulance chasing lawyers advertise their dodgy dealings on TV and they rub their pudgy hands with glee as the loot rolls in and our society slides further down the greasy slope into self-centred mediocrity

and unaccountability. Time and again we hear from the present generation that it is us old ‘uns who are the architects of today’s problems, and that all of the ills of the 21st century - both real and imagined - are directly attributable to our actions and those of our predecessors. We stand accused for the failings of modern society. But they should get their noses stuck into the history books occasionally instead of playing games on their expensive smartphones and then ask themselves this: When was Britain at its strongest and when in its history was it the most respected country in the world with many of its institutions like justice, education and democracy adopted by others and still practised successfully across the world today? In fact, if the experience, sagacity and wisdom of the elderly were utilised today, then the morally corrupt and inept figures in politics and society generally, who think they know it all but possess not an ounce of common sense or real courage between them, might learn something.

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Fake news

by Michael Walsh

keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com COBRA, the UK government’s emergency response committee recently met at Downing Street. The purpose was to discuss updates on the poisoning of Sergei Skripal. The British spy was sentenced by a Russian court to 13 years for espionage. Based in Spain he passed the Russian Military Intelligence phonebook to MI6 and much else. Needless to say there wasn’t a shred of evidence to suggest Russian involvement. But, media dutifully presented speculation as 100 per cent proven facts and it was ignored that the victim was found only a few miles from the MOD exotic weaponry laboratories at Porton Down. Slipstream media had the scoundrels bang to rights; everything printed or broadcast about this story was 100 per cent fake. The Sun headlined screeched, ‘Our lads beating Vlad’. This was reference to DS Nick Bailey, a

Photo Credit: The Kremlin

WHO’S KIDDING WHO?: May and Putin. great name for a London policeman, making a good recovery. It might be just a coincidence that the same redtop warned of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction and told readers they were ‘45 minutes from doom’. We can’t be certain how the ‘if it

bleeds it leads’ tabloid established that Vladimir Putin had a hand in the affair. Call the Met’ off; Murdoch’s media menagerie has the villains. The Times headline, read by the people who run the country, declared, ‘Traitors are not safe on British soil, says Russia.’ Problem, Russia said no such

thing. The comment was made by a solitary TV presenter speaking on one of Russia’s hundreds of broadcasting channels. The anchorman’s inference did not imply Russian responsibility. It is claimed that western media is independent. How odd that throughout this affair orchestrat-

ed media sung to the same song sheet. Cui bono or who benefits: A false flag, anyone? The headlines followed: ‘Theresa May could send more troops and jets to Russia’s border’. The blood-soaked arms industry and its vampire political shareholders can now throw the funeral wake of the century. Good timing too; the convenient incident occurred three weeks before the Russian presidential election. Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary, raised the prospect of some form of boycott of this summer’s World Cup in Russia. Tom Secker, an analyst on espionage, says state apparatus has the means to assassinate in ways that are untraceable. This suggests a prepared hullaballoo with opportunity to damage Russia at a critical period without Russia benefiting from the incident. Secker adds that there were many victims of the British agent who had a motive for his attempted murder. Skripal betrayed many people, not just in terms of agents but criminal organisations too. The analyst reminds us that Israeli Mossad agents assassinated a Hamas politician whilst travelling on British passports. The British government speedily dropped the matter, which suggests complicity and culpability.

Mike Walsh’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of the publishers advertisers or sponsors.

Advertising Feature

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THE ACE BAND: Always ready to perform. are not always available. A brief run-down of band members follows; Dave Marriott - singer- is considered to be one of the best voices in the Costa Blanca. His voice is superb and he is a great frontman man who performs exceptionally in all styles. Paco Moncholi - drummer- has

a wide experience as the former drummer of Calpe Rock, and former guitarist of the Perla Negra Band. In this band, he takes charge of the sticks but on occasion plays guitar and piano during a gig. Paco Corona - keyboard player - another experienced musician as well, who was the former key-

board player of the Perla Negra Band and he will also play drums when needed. Paco Mulet - A very talented guitarist, able to play different styles, adding the magic touch of his guitar to every performance. Felipe Cortijo - recognised as a first class bassist and great musician, who used to play with Calpe

Rock and the Perla Negra Band. Donato Asensio - second bassist. Very young talented musician, able to play all styles. When friends play together, they gain an understanding of each other’s moods and ideas and although they play a huge range of music from the 70’s and 80’s with a number of more recent hits, they don’t just copy the originals. The band is available to perform at private parties as well as small and large venues both indoor and outdoor and have full equipment, including sound and lights. The Ace band is currently recording a number of video clips which will be available on their Facebook page and a CD will be available after the summer. The band's fee depends on the equipment required and distance to travel but they always intend to give great value for money.

For information and bookings e-mail pacopiloto1@gmail.com or call 652 963 767 and there is every chance that the person who answers will speak your language.

16th - 22nd March

Story of a young musician Photo Credit: Barry Lewis flickr

by John Redfern

WHEN I was 13 years of age, a Glasgow musician started to arrive in sound on a simple transistor radio I owned. His name was Lonnie Donegan and he had finally broken the back of music in Britain that was accepted as the norm. The music was called skiffle. Skiffle was adapted from country blues groups in the pre-war American south with improvised instruments. I was just 13 but knew I had to get into this music so made myself a tea chest bass. Tea chests in the 50’s and 60’s were the most common way of transporting materials by sea or land and were lined inside with silver foil which was ripped out and given to various charities. I got hold of a tea chest, painted it red, bought myself a sink plunger and replaced the small handle with a broom stale. Then I drilled a small hole at the top of the broom stale and inserted a Basic Spanish for everyday needs

by Jane Cronin

THIS is the last of the articles about the ‘recent past’ or present perfect tense before we move on to pastures new. Here is a text written a while ago (and at a different time of year!) which exemplifies the use of the tense along with a few other bits and pieces. ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? ¿Qué habéis hecho desde la semana pasada? Yo he descansado un poco, ¡por fin! Fui a la ciudad de Almería durante dos días, incluyendo Nochevieja. Es una ciudad pequeña y tranquila pero tiene sus cosas interesantes. Tiene un castillo enorme que se llama La Alcazaba y que domina la ciudad. También tiene un refugio subterráneo de la guerra civil que es único en España por su extensión. Como me gusta mucho la historia, era muy interesante para mí.

MUSIC TO THE EARS: All you need to start your own skiffle group.

length of heavy cord, tied a knot then drilled in the corner of the tea chest another hole, inserted the other end of the cord and secured it. Got myself a tea chest bass... Yippee. My mate at the time owned a washboard, which his Mum used for washing clothes in the dolly tub. The washboard which was another tool that was used for washing at the end of the 20th century was made of galvanised steel in a wooden frame, but in the early 21st century manufacturers made them of ribbed glass with a rust resistant frame in brass. Anther instrument was born to skiffle. Players of the washboard, with the aid of a thimble, used to skiffle up and down the board to make a percussion sound. With the help of an acoustic guitar player who could play three chords we performed at church halls and community centres. I was just a young lad who wanted to pursue my future in music, the tea chest bass never matched the root note of the chords of the guitarist, but for some reason the audience loved it! I then formed my own folk group but that’s another story.

Present perfect negatives and questions Mi gata ha descansado mucho también. Ahora estamos todos en casa otra vez para empezar lo que los españoles llaman ‘a cuesta de enero’ Apart from the abundant use of the recent past tense there are a few other things to comment on. Firstly the final expression: ‘la cuesta de enero’. This means something like ‘the uphill struggle of January’. ‘Cuesta’ normally means a slope, but ‘la cuesta de enero’ is a particular kind of difficult upward slope

which those of you who work will identify with and those who have retired can perhaps vaguely remember. As well as the psychologist effects of returning to work in the middle of winter, it also refers to the economic problems left by overspending over the Christmas period. My cat finds January particularly arduous with people coming in and out of the house at all different times of day. Finally, I would like to link back to things we looked at some time ago, namely for the for-

mation of negatives and questions. We saw that to form negative sentences all we need to do is place the word ‘no’ before the verb. The same principle applies to all verb tenses, including this one. For example: ‘No he hecho los deberes’. (I haven’t done my homework) When we name the subject, the word ‘no’ stays in front of the verb. ‘Mi hermano no ha vendido su casa’ (My brother hasn’t sold his house). Similarly when we are forming closed questions, that is questions that require ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as an answer, we simply make statements sound like questions with our voice, without any change in word order. ‘Tu hermano ha vendido su casa’ (Your brother has sold his house) ‘¿Tu hermano ha vendido su casa?’ (Has your brother sold his house?).

Mis hijas han descansado también. Una ha ido con un grupo de amigos a un pueblo cerca de Albacete. Dice que es una zona muy bonita. Mi otra hija ha visitado a sus amigas en Asturias. Ha viajado desde Alicante a Gijón en tren y ha visto mucha nieve a lo largo del camino. PRESENT PERFECT: Final lesson.

In the next article we will look at the text translation first and then I think it’s time we learnt about ‘open questions’ as opposed to ‘closed’ ones. ¡Hasta la semana que viene!

16th - 22nd March

legal

Q A

I bought a property off plan in 2014 and lost thousands? I have heard that I can now claim all my money back PLUS interest ..HOW?

Buyers who received aÂ Bank Guarantee to cover payments made towards their property (or even those who never had this because the developer or bank failed to comply with the Law) could benefit from a Supreme

Court of Spain Judgment, which has recently ordered that these entities return all the money invested, from the time payments were made, to the buyers of off plan properties, plus interest.

If you bought a property off plan, paid a deposit or even made stage payments, whether you received the compulsory individual bank guarantee or not, you might be interested to learn more about your rights.

At Pellicer & Heredia we can help you with all the legal aspects of building your own home, and if youâ€™re not in Spain we can do all the paperwork on your behalf. For more information on this or any other legal matter please contact us by email info@pellicerheredia.com or by telephone 965 480 737

16th - 22nd March

money Three million Madrid citizens due to receive tax cuts REGIONAL President of Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes, has announced a number of tax cuts for residents in and around the Spanish capital. These include reductions on school expenses for the underfours. The income tax rate on the amount that goes to the regional government will fall to 9 per cent, and discounts will be offered on inheritance tax rates when the beneficiaries are siblings, aunts and uncles or nieces and nephews. It is estimated that around three million people living in Madrid and the surrounding districts will benefit from the new measures, and will save around €125 million per year. Cifuentes said that these new tax announcements have

been possible thanks to what she described as the region’s ‘healthy economy’. Giving more details on the measures, she said that the 9 per cent rate is now the lowest in any of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions and those workers on the lowest incomes will see the greatest benefit. Further tax reductions and tax breaks are in the pipeline for Madrid, such as relief for people that have elderly relatives with certain disabilities living with them where no rent is charged. It’s planned for their tax allowance to increase to €1,500 a year rather than the present €900. Among other measures announced is the reduction in tax paid when buying a main residence up to €250,000.

Photo credit: PxHere

SCAM: Guardia Civil warns of enhancement to a well-known scam.

Keep out of the cashpoint ‘loop’

BENEFITS: Cristina Cifuentes announces a major programme of tax reductions.

THE Guardia Civil has issued a statement warning of the latest scam that is affecting users of bank cashpoints. The scam is known as the ‘Lebanese loop’ which sees thieves putting a thin, clear, rigid plastic ‘sleeve’ into the ATM card slot. When the card is inserted, the machine can’t read the strip, so it keeps asking for the PIN number to be entered. Meanwhile, someone behind watches as the number is being tapped in. Eventually the customer gives up, thinking the machine has swallowed the card and they walk away. The thieves then remove the plastic sleeve, complete with card, and take the money away. This ‘trick’ has now been enhanced to trap the banknotes that stay rolled up in the machine. The ATM records the transaction as being successful but the customer thinks there’s been an error and leaves. The thieves then approach the ATM to remove their piece of kit and take out the cash.

FRIDAY 12:00pm The Sheriffs are Coming 12:45pm Caught Red Handed 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News at One 2:30pm BBC London News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm A Place to Call Home 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Coast and Country Auctions 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm MasterChef 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Room 101 10:00pm Requiem 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Young Offenders

7:30am Holding Back the Years 8:15am The Sheriffs are Coming 9:00am Back in Time for Tea 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 1:00pm The Daily Politics 2:00pm Two Tribes 2:30pm Yes Chef 3:15pm Your Home in Their Hands 4:15pm Planet Earth 5:15pm Into the Wild with Gordon Buchanan 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm The Repair Shop 8:00pm Saving Lives at Sea 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Gardeners' World 10:00pm Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago 11:00pm QI

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 1:55pm ITV News London 2:00pm Cheltenham Festival 5:30pm Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Love Your Garden 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Lethal Weapon 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:30pm ITV News London 11:45pm The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 1:45am Jackpot247

10:00am Melissa and Joey 10:30am Melissa and Joey 11:00am How I Met Your Mother 11:30am How I Met Your Mother 12:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 12:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1:00pm The Goldbergs 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 2:30pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 3:30pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 4:30pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 5:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 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 My Hotter Half

9:20am Digby Dragon 9:35am Rusty Rivets 9:55am Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:05am Mofy 10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 1:10pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:15pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 2:10pm Access 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:20pm NCIS 4:15pm Locked Away 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Gadget Show 9:00pm The Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard 10:00pm Jane Mcdonald and Friends 11:00pm Will and Grace

7:00am 9:00am

Wheeler Monster Family: Special 9:30am Wonder Woman 12:00pm Top Ten Show, the 2018 12:15pm Transformers: The Last Knight 3:00pm Snatched 4:35pm City of Tiny Lights 6:30pm Wonder Woman 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight Blockbuster sci-fi action about an inventor tasked with saving humanity from impending doom. 11:40pm Snatched 1:15am Cult of Chucky 3:00am Numb 4:45am Scribe

12:30pm SPFL Greatest Games 12:45pm SPFL Greatest Games 1:00pm La Liga Show 1:30pm EFL Matters 2:00pm La Liga Icons 2:45pm La Liga Icons: Falcao 3:00pm La Liga Show 3:30pm EFL Matters 4:00pm Football's Greatest 4:30pm Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 5:45pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm La Liga Preview 7:00pm SPFL Matters 7:30pm EFL Matters 8:00pm Magical Messi 8:55pm Football 11:00pm 20 Years of El Clasico

8:30am Dengineers 9:00am Absolute Genius: Monster Builds 9:30am Beyond Bionic 10:00am Robot Wars 11:00am Gorilla Family and Me 12:00pm Homes Under the Hammer 12:35pm Cats v Dogs: Which is Best? 1:35pm Orson Welles Talking Pictures 2:20pm Waterloo 4:30pm Me and My Dog 5:30pm Final Score 6:30pm The Repair Shop 7:00pm Hugh's Wild West 8:00pm Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby 9:00pm David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities 9:30pm Dad's Army 10:00pm Suite Francaise

10:25am Saturday Morning with James Martin 12:20pm Britain's Brightest Family 12:50pm ITV News and Weather 1:00pm Six Nations Live Italy v Scotland. 3:25pm Six Nations Live England v Ireland. 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News and Weather 7:15pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm You've Been Framed! 8:00pm Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 9:30pm The Voice UK 11:30pm ITV News and Weather 11:45pm Fast and Furious 1:45am Play to the Whistle

10:25am Made in Chelsea 11:30am Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World 1:15pm Rude(Ish) Tube Shorts 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 2:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 3:00pm Young Sheldon 3:30pm The Big Bang Theory 4:00pm The Big Bang Theory 4:30pm The Big Bang Theory 5:00pm The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer 6:15pm Extreme Cake Makers 6:45pm Extreme Cake Makers 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm The Big Bang Theory 8:30pm The Big Bang Theory 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory

11:05am Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:35am The Gadget Show 12:35pm Police Interceptors 1:35pm Police Interceptors 2:30pm Police Interceptors 3:30pm The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 4:30pm The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 5:30pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 6:25pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 7:25pm 5 News 7:30pm FIA Formula E Live Uruguay. 9:10pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 10:00pm Football on 5 The Championship. 11:00pm Football on 5 Goal Rush.

6:30am 7:00am 8:50am 10:25am 12:50pm

7:30am 7:45am 8:00am 8:30am 10:35am 11:00am 12:30pm 1:00pm 4:00pm

9:20am Countryfile 10:15am Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 11:45am Spring Kitchen with Tom Kerridge 12:30pm Lorraine Pascale: How to be a Better Cook 1:00pm Escape to the Country 1:45pm The Ladykillers: Pest Detectives 2:45pm Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago 3:45pm Money for Nothing 4:45pm World's Most Extraordinary Homes 5:45pm Back in Time for Tea 6:45pm Catch Me If You Can 9:00pm Top Gear 10:00pm Famously Unfit for Sports Relief 11:00pm The Mash Report

11:00am Peston on Sunday 11:55am The Voice UK 1:55pm ITV News and Weather 2:00pm Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 3:30pm What Would Your Kid Do? 4:30pm The Harbour 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Paul O'grady: For the Love of Dogs 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 7:45pm Local News and Weather 8:00pm Celebrity Catchphrase 9:00pm The Durrells 10:00pm The Good Karma Hospital

9:15am 10:20am 11:20am 1:00pm

9:30am Nella the Princess Knight 9:45am Noddy: Toyland Detective 10:00am Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15am Shimmer and Shine 10:30am Digby Dragon 10:45am Peppa Pig 10:50am Peppa Pig 11:00am Football on 5 11:55am Football on 5 12:25pm Getting Even with Dad 2:30pm Richie Rich 4:15pm My Girl 5:15pm 5 News 5:20pm My Girl 6:20pm Junior 8:20pm Jumper 9:55pm 5 News Weekend 10:00pm The Equalizer 11:00pm 5 News

4:30am City of Tiny Lights 6:30am Monster Family: Special 7:00am Wheeler 8:50am Custody 10:40am Snatched 12:15pm Transformers: The Last Knight 2:55pm Inconceivable 4:45pm It Comes at Night 6:25pm Snatched 8:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight Blockbuster sci-fi action about an inventor tasked with saving humanity from impending doom. 10:40pm Inconceivable 12:30am It Comes at Night 2:15am Numb 4:00am Custody

SATURDAY 11:00am Saturday Kitchen Live 12:30pm Classic Mary Berry 1:00pm Football Focus 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather 2:15pm MasterChef 3:15pm MasterChef 4:15pm MasterChef 4:45pm Wanted Down Under Revisited 5:30pm Six Nations Rugby Union 8:00pm BBC News 8:10pm Regional News 8:15pm Weather 8:20pm Pointless 9:10pm Casualty 10:00pm Troy: Fall of a City 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Weather 11:20pm Match of the Day 12:20am Match of the Day: FA Cup Highlights

3:25pm 5:00pm

6:35pm 9:00pm 11:40pm 1:20am 2:55am 4:30am

Moana: Special Custody Snatched Wonder Woman Transformers: The Last Knight It Comes at Night Snatched Fish-out-of-water comedy about a hapless motherdaughter duo kidnapped while holidaying in Ecuador. Wonder Woman Transformers: The Last Knight It Comes at Night Numb Cult of Chucky City of Tiny Lights

4:15pm 6:15pm 8:40pm 10:45pm 11:15pm 11:45pm 12:30am 12:35am 2:45am 3:00am

SPFL Greatest Games SPFL Greatest Games Football Years Football SPFL Matters Soccer A.M. SPFL Matters Football Gillette Soccer Saturday Gillette Soccer Saturday Football Football EFL Goals: Championship Ronaldo: A Sensational Seaon 20 Years of El Clasico MLS Greatest Games Football EFL Greatest Games EFL Goals: Championship

SUNDAY 10:00am The Andrew Marr Show 11:00am The Big Questions 12:00pm Sunday Politics 1:15pm Lifeline 1:25pm Songs of Praise 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather for the Week Ahead 2:15pm Match of the Day Live 4:35pm A Question of Sport 5:05pm Match of the Day Live 7:35pm BBC News 7:50pm Regional News 7:55pm Weather 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Hold the Sunset 9:30pm Brooklyn 11:10pm BBC News 11:30pm Regional News

1:20pm 1:50pm 2:20pm 2:50pm 3:20pm 3:50pm 4:20pm 4:50pm 5:20pm 5:50pm 6:20pm 6:50pm 7:20pm 7:50pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 1:10am

Made in Chelsea Don't Tell the Bride Dragonball Evolution Rude(Ish) Tube Shorts The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Goldbergs Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brooklyn Nine-Nine Young Sheldon The Big Bang Theory School of Rock Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2 Guns The Big Bang Theory

8:30am EFL Goals: League One and League Two 9:00am Football's Greatest 9:30am EFL Goals: Championship 10:00am EFL Goals: League One and League Two 10:30am Sunday Supplement 12:00pm EFL Goals: Championship 12:30pm Football 3:15pm Football 5:45pm SPFL Greatest Games 6:00pm La Liga Icons: Falcao 6:15pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:25pm Football 8:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 8:40pm Football 10:45pm Football 12:05am La Liga Highlights: Barcelona

The schedules for the television programme pages are provided by an external company: we regret that any changes or errors are not the responsibility of RTN.

16th - 22nd March

RTN Life

Get moving to help Parkinson’s LOCAL teachers, Tessa Harrington-Smith (ReallyFly Yoga Experiences), and Lorraine Young (UK Pilates Academy Spain) are raising awareness of Parkinson’s disease organising a ‘Get Moving Initiative’ in Costa Blanca. The ‘Get Moving Initiative’ is collaborating with ‘HELP - The Parkinson’s Support Group’ to provide healthy activities for Parkinson’s disease suffers. All activities offered by the ‘Get Moving Initiative’ are free for people living with PD, their care partners and families. A small event fee will apply to other guests, with all funds going to Denia’s Parkinson’s support group. The first ‘Get Moving Day’ event will start at 11am on Wednesday March 28. This costal guided yoga walk from Cala Blanca, will have three grades, easy, moderate and challenging. They will regroup to finish with some gentle yoga (using specifically helpful movements for PD) and meditation. The monthly ‘Get Moving Day’ incorporates various free activities, such as walking, Parkinson’s specific strength and stretch classes, yoga and group discounts to ad-hoc fundraising events. Why ‘Get Moving Initiative’? Exercise is good for you and it’s especially good for you if you have Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s disease (PD)

GET MOVING: To help Parkinson’s disease.

is the most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. Exercise can play an important role in coping with the disease and research has shown that just two and a half hours of exercise a week can slow the progression of Parkinson’s symptoms by reducing stiffness; improving mobility; posture; balance and gait. There isn’t a one-size-fitsall approach and the best exercise to do will depend on the way Parkinson’s affects you. But the message is the same for everyone, go for it! Studies have demonstrated that specific exercises can significantly slow and even reverse the hallmarks of the disease. Exercise can be as important as your

medication to help take control and manage symptoms. Pilates or Yoga? For over a decade, people have claimed that pilates can help reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s. Pilates and Parkinson’s are a natural fit. According to the American Parkinson Disease Association (ADPA), yoga therapy has also been shown to visibly reduce tremors and improve the steadiness of an individual’s gait. Yoga and pilates are both beneficial complementary therapies for Parkinson’s disease (PD), helping to increase flexibility; improve posture; loosen tight, painful muscles; build (or rebuild) confidence; and, through these benefits, en-

ARC raises €700 THE ARC charity welcomed 99 supporters for a night of entertainment at Los Amigos restaurant. After a meal of fish or chicken and chips, expertly served by Andy, his team friend of ARC Faye entertained those there with her amusing stories of life experiences put to verse. Following this, the ever-popular Matt Mason took to the stage with several songs to which everyone could dance and sing along. The raffle came next and ARC thanked everyone who donated prizes.

The assembled supporters then had their minds blown by Chill Factor who belted out many favourite rock songs such as Money for Nothing and Another Brick in the Wall. This successful evening raised €707 which will go a long way towards food and veterinary care for ARC’s dogs and cats. Their next fundraiser calls for two days of bag packing at Iceland, Benissa, so please do your pre-Easter shopping on Tuesday March 27 or Thursday March 29.

hance quality of life. Yoga practice, whether at home or in a class, starts with the breath. One area we can still control in our dopamine-challenged lives lies in our breathing. According to the Parkinson’s Research Foundation (PRF), ‘Controlling your breath (Pranayama)… helps in moments of panic such as feet sticking to the floor when walking.’ Get Involved All proceeds from the Raffle at the ‘Reset & Reconnect’ - Pilates and Yoga Event, on Sunday March 25, will be given to ‘HELP The Parkinson’s Support Group.’ Buy your tickets at ‘Help de Denia’, Charity Shop, Av de la Mar, 34, 03709, La Xara, Alacant, (Tel: 966 422 988). Help of Denia & Marina Alta is a charity started in 1984 and is manned entirely by volunteers, providing:

advice, assistance and support to those in need; neighbourly assistance to people who are ill, disabled or housebound; a range of medical and home nursing equipment for short-term use; and lastly a helpdesk and interpreters at Denia hospital. The support group also visits English-speaking patients in the Denia hospitals and supports individual carers of family members, by providing

them with some respite. Find out more by calling 634 301 677 or visiting www.helpofdenia.com/pag es/denia/parkinsons.php. To register yourself and your care partner for this or any ‘Get Moving Day’, contact tessa@reallyfly experiences.com. Book your ticket for ‘Reset & Reconnect’, to take part in the charity raffle, in La Xara ‘Help’ store.

MONDAY 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm The Sheriffs are Coming 12:45pm Caught Red Handed 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm A Place to Call Home 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Money for Nothing 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Panorama 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Classic Mary Berry 10:00pm MasterChef 11:00pm BBC News

8:15am The Sheriffs are Coming 9:00am Hugh's Wild West 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 12:30pm The Week in Parliament 1:00pm The Daily Politics 2:00pm Women's Six Nations Highlights 2:30pm Yes Chef 3:15pm Your Home in Their Hands 4:15pm Planet Earth I 5:15pm Spy in the Wild 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm The Repair Shop 8:00pm Top Gear 9:00pm Only Connect 9:30pm University Challenge 10:00pm The Funeral Murders 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight 12:10am Weather

9:30am Lorraine 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 Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm The Kyle Files 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Marcella 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:50pm 100 Years Younger in 21 Days 12:45am The Kyle Files 1:15am Jackpot247 4:00am The Jeremy Kyle

8:00am Rules of Engagement 8:30am Rules of Engagement 9:00am How I Met Your Mother 9:30am How I Met Your Mother 10:00am New Girl 11:00am 2 Broke Girls 12:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 12:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1:00pm The Goldbergs 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6:00pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm My Hotter Half 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm Young Sheldon 10:00pm Made in Chelsea

7:00am Milkshake! 10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 1:10pm 5 News 1:15pm The Gadget Show 2:10pm Access 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:20pm NCIS 4:20pm A Deadly Affair 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Anglo Welsh Cup Highlights 9:00pm Extreme Winter Road Rescue 10:00pm Terror in the Air: Flights Out of Control 11:00pm Armed and Deadly: Police UK 12:00am The X Files 1:00am Traffic Cops

6:00am

Monster Family: Special 6:30am Black Panther: Special 7:00am Wheeler 8:45am Numb 10:30am Transformers: The Last Knight 1:10pm Jasper Jones 3:10pm It Comes at Night 5:00pm Inconceivable 7:00pm Jasper Jones 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight Blockbuster sci-fi action about an inventor tasked with saving humanity from impending doom. 11:40pm It Comes at Night 1:15am Inconceivable 3:05am Numb 4:40am Custody

10:00am La Liga Highlights: Barcelona 10:15am La Liga Highlights: Real Madrid 10:30am La Liga Greatest Games 10:45am La Liga Greatest Games 11:00am Football 3:10pm Football 5:15pm La Liga Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm La Liga Highlights: Barcelona 6:15pm La Liga Highlights: Real Madrid 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm La Liga Files 7:45pm La Liga Icons 8:00pm Soccer A.M. 8:30pm Football 11:00pm The Debate - Live 12:00am SPFL Round Up 2017/18

8:15am

9:30am Lorraine 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 Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm 100 Year Old Driving School 9:00pm The World's Ugliest Pets 10:00pm 100 Years Younger in 21 Days 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:45pm The Cruise: Voyage to Alaska

8:30am Rules of Engagement 9:00am How I Met Your Mother 9:30am How I Met Your Mother 10:00am New Girl 11:00am 2 Broke Girls 12:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6:00pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm My Hotter Half 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Tattoo Fixers 11:00pm Five Star Hotel

7:00am Milkshake! 10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 1:10pm 5 News 1:15pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 2:10pm Access 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:20pm NCIS 4:20pm Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Elizabeth: Our Queen 9:00pm Secrets of the National Trust with Alan Titchmarsh 10:00pm Wild Britain 11:00pm The Expendables 3

6:30am Monster Family: Special 7:00am Inconceivable 9:00am Jasper Jones 10:50am It Comes at Night 12:30pm Transformers: The Last Knight 3:10pm Eat Locals 5:00pm Jasper Jones Australian comingof-age tale starring Levi Miller (Pan) as a bookish teen who finds himself investigating the death of a local girl. 7:00pm Inconceivable 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight 11:40pm Eat Locals 1:20am It Comes at Night 3:00am Custody 4:50am Numb

3:30pm Soccer A.M. - The Best Bits 4:00pm Football's Greatest 4:30pm Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:15pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm MLS Round Up Show 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm SPFL Round Up 2017/18 7:15pm SPFL Greatest Games 7:30pm Soccer A.M. - The Best Bits 8:00pm MLS Round Up Show 8:30pm Football Countdowns 9:00pm Eredivisie 10:00pm Playoff Final Highlights

TUESDAY 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm The Sheriffs are Coming 12:45pm Caught Red Handed 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm A Place to Call Home 4:05pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Money for Nothing 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm Shetland

9:00am 10:00am 12:00pm 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:45pm 3:30pm 4:15pm 5:15pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm

The Sheriffs are Coming Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Victoria Derbyshire BBC Newsroom Live The Daily Politics The Super League Show Coast Yes Chef Planet Earth I Spy in the Wild Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Eggheads The Repair Shop Saving Lives at Sea Great Indian Railway Journeys Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby Mum

The schedules for the television programme pages are provided by an external company: we regret that any changes or errors are not the responsibility of RTN.

16th - 22nd March

RTN Life EXCLUSIVE by John Smith

Photo Credit: DWF Hallett

BACK in 2015, Craig Hamilton was badly injured when he was bitten by a baby crocodile at London Zoo. At that time he and his partner Susie travelled to Benidorm whilst he was in the process of recovering as he couldn’t keep up his work as a w i n d o w c l e a n e r, a s well as being an aspiring boxer. Time has passed however and the pair returned to Benidorm last week but a lot has happened since then. Speaking exclusively to RTN, Craig explained that he was unable to take any action against the zoo as it was his word against the handlers concerning the reason for the bite, so he had to think long and hard about his future. The answer came

Crocodile Craig returns to Benidorm

when he saw an advert on one of his Facebook pages looking for people to take part in a lowbudget gangster movie

and he applied and got the job. Since then, Craig John Hamilton as he is now known has been obtain-

Centenary of the RAF tion, extending its comradeship and welfare services in the area between Alicante and Valencia, has arranged for an evening of celebrations at the Canor Restaurant in Teulada, commencing at 7pm with a cava reception, followed by a splendid multi-course dinner and accompanied by wines of choice. A sextet from the Rommy Baker band has been booked to provide appropriate music during the evening. Members of the Royal Air Force stationed in Spain will be attending as will members of local associations in support of the Royal Air Forces Association. Anyone with a background with the RAF, those with an interest in aviation or just happy to support the ‘junior service’ celebrate their 100th, are welcome to attend. Bookings, or for further information, should be made by email to roberthunt@hotmail.com or by calling Bob Hunt on 659 092 198.

ing an increasing number of roles and has just been cast in the lead role of a new film, A Homeless Crime in London. In this movie, Craig plays an ex-serviceman who loses everything and suffers from mental health problems which leaves him homeless and on the streets of London. Based on real life situations, the film does have a positive theme, as he meets up with a tramp and a local priest and all three discover a bond of love and loyalty amongst friends. This is a positive view of a negative part of London street life and is a major step for Craig, who has mainly been playing gangster parts as he has started to build his acting career. He told RTN “In one of my first films (Little B******s) me and a group

IN BENIDORM : Craig, in cap, with friend Chris Boylan, former co-presenter of 60 Minute Makeover.

My dream now is to become a recognised professional actor.

“

of fellow actors were resting after filming a scene where we were armed with replica guns, when suddenly we were surrounded by a group of Armed Response Police who thought that we were a real gang! “Happily we weren’t arrested but it was a frightening few minutes.” Craig is still with partner Sue, who is very supportive of his new career path and does get

some work as an extra in some of his films, which she is enjoying. He is not a one-dimensional character by any means, he still works as a window cleaner in between acting, but also writes poetry and has just released a single, Wake Up Call, which he has written and sings on and is a warning about the dangers of drugs, aimed at young people. Having lived for a while in Tenerife and for a shorter period of time in Benidorm, Craig simply loves Spain so much that he is learning the language and wants to spend more time in the country as he possibly can. His final words were “My dream now is to become a recognised professional actor and my absolute wish and ambition is to be cast in the Benidorm TV series.” Photo Credit: DWF Hallett

THIS year marks 100 years of the Royal Air Force (RAF), the world’s first - and most famous - independent air force. Our brand is recognised throughout the world, the roundel synonymous with courage, adaptability and innovation. A key objective for the campaign is to inspire future generations. To achieve this, the RAF is hoping to attract the brightest and best to join and to help shape the future. More importantly, the RAF wishes to highlight the importance of science and engineering skills against the background of a serious skills shortage at national level. In Spain, the three branches of the RAF Association (Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca and Costa Blanca North) will be organising their own commemorative events. Please support these whenever you can. The north Costa Blanca Branch of the RAF Associa-

FILM CAST: Craig in centre with boxer Matt Legg, who lost to Anthony Joshua at Wembley, and actor George Newton in This is England.

16th - 22nd March

WEDNESDAY 2:45pm 3:15pm

Doctors A Place to Call Home 4:10pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Money for Nothing 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm MasterChef 10:00pm Zoe Ball's Hardest Road Home 11:00pm BBC News 11:30pm Regional News

2:30pm 3:15pm 4:15pm 5:15pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm

10:55pm 11:30pm 12:10am

Yes Chef Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape Planet Earth I Spy in the Wild Put Your Money Eggheads The Repair Shop Saving Lives at Sea The Secret Helpers The Assassination of Gianni Versace American Crime Story Live at the Apollo Newsnight Weather

4:00pm

Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Britain's Brightest Family 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Benidorm 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:45pm Easyjet: Inside the Cockpit

12:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6:00pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm My Hotter Half 9:00pm The Goldbergs 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Don't Tell the Bride

3:15pm 4:15pm

NCIS McBride: The Chameleon Murder 6:00pm 5 News The latest news coverage. 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News The latest news coverage. 8:00pm Moto GP Highlights Qatar. 9:00pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 10:00pm A Walk Among the Tombstones

7:00am 8:55am

Jasper Jones Monster Family: Special 9:25am Eat Locals 11:15am My Feral Heart 12:45pm Transformers: The Last Knight 3:25pm Jasper Jones 5:25pm Inconceivable 7:25pm My Feral Heart 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight 11:40pm Eat Locals 1:20am It Comes at Night 3:00am Numb 4:40am Inconceivable

Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm Football Years 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm Revista de la Liga 7:30pm La Liga World 8:00pm Football Years 8:30pm Football Countdowns 9:00pm Revista de la Liga 9:30pm La Liga World 10:00pm Eredivisie

Planet Earth Spy in the Wild Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Eggheads The Repair Shop Saving Lives at Sea Big Cats Civilisations Match of the Day Newsnight Top Gear MasterChef Imagine... This is BBC Two

6:00pm 7:00pm

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

RTN welcomes Readers’ views for publication in its Letters to the Editor section. All letters by email or post should carry the writer’́s address, and contact number, though only the name and town will be published.

Email letters to admin@rtnnewspaper.com with your full name and address

this week weather FRI

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THU

March 16 March 17 March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 March 22

15º/6ºC 14º/10ºC 16º/4ºC 17º/3ºC 17º/4ºC 16º/3ºC 19º/8ºC Cloudy and a little rain

Some rain

Clouds and sun

Partly sunny

Cloudy and a little rain

Brilliant sunshine

Partly sunny

16th - 22nd March

RTN Life FAST AND FURIOUS: Go-karts come in all shapes and forms.

A young man who is a devil of a driver EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW by John Smith THERE is a young man who was born in Villajoyosa in 2007 who is making a name for himself as a go-karting champion. Cruz Wilkes, whose parents moved to Spain from the UK in 2006, lives and works in the area with his father Kevin, a carpenter and his mother Suzanne, a teacher at the bilingual school Newton College in Elche. Cruz attends the same school and is fluent in three languages, English, Spanish and the regional dialect Valenciano. Since the age of five, the young man has been in a gokart and he trains four times a week and was so excited when he entered a competition for drivers under

seven and came in second. Since then he has been entering numerous competitions where he showed real talent, gaining numerous podium finishes in his category. In 2015 Cruz participated in his first full championship, the Valencian Championship, as the youngest competitor in his category, ending the season in third place. In 2106 Cruz participated in the Rotax Championship where he had to learn all about a completely different engine which he had never driven before, but still managed to finish in the top 10. Last year ’s season ended with Cruz securing second in the regional championship and his parents are proud of his achievements, especially as he has been up against drivers of big teams with the best equipment, mechanics and engines. He and his father are a team on a budget which makes it clear that his success is thanks to his driving ability. Cruz gained an interest in karting because his dad was subchampion in the regional

FEARLESS RACER: A champion in the making.

Lewis Hamilton made it to Formula One so one day I want to be just like him.

“

championship in Spain in 1998/99, so when Cruz was very small he would go into the garage and sit in his dad’s go-kart and say when he was big he wanted one. When Cruz first got behind the wheel of his go-kart, he showed no fear; he would drive behind the bigger more experienced drivers to learn the skill. He has had a couple of big accidents and he just gets up, brushes himself off and gets back into it. Thanks to his fearless racing style he has been nicknamed ‘El Diablo’ and sometimes he chooses to race with the ‘Number of the Beast’ 666. When he isn’t feeling devilish, he chooses number 44 which is his hero Lewis Hamilton’s number and it is no coincidence that Hamilton started racing go-karts at a similar age and look

CRUZ WILKES: ‘El Diablo’.

where he ended up! Although he is a young man who still has to complete his education, Cruz is very focused and in an exclusive Spanish interview with RTN newspaper he explained his aims and aspirations, but these are coloured by a realism about how much time, dedication and cash will be involved. “I am reading Lewis Hamilton’s story now, he was just like me growing up, his dad had to work very, very hard to provide him with what he did, just like my mum and dad, but Lewis Hamilton made it to Formula One so one day I want to be just like him, “This is why I use the number 44. I also use 666 because I’m known on the track as ‘el Diablo’ which in Spanish means ‘the devil’ because everyone says I’m a little devil on the track. “My other racing heroes are Max Verstappen, because he was the youngest Formula One driver and Daniel Riccardo, because he is always happy with whatever result he has.” Cruz continued “I can’t wait for the weekend to come, when I can be at the race circuit. I love everything about racing, I love to learn about

the mechanics of the kart and not just the racing, I like helping my dad do things to the kart. “I enjoy being out on the track racing other drivers and just love to go fast and win!” He has his future mapped out saying “First I want to finish in go-karting when I am old enough, then I want go to the Formula 3, GP3, GP2 and then hopefully to F1.” In the meantime however this demon driver has his eyes firmly set on the Spanish Championship and believes that this could be his year. Sponsorship is important as to run a kart is costly, and although as a family hobby it is manageable, with the talent and skill shown by Cruz it is a natural progression for him to compete further and develop as a racing driver. The maintenance of the kart, tyres, the engine, training, travel costs and general consumables become a recurrent cost as he starts to compete more, so sponsorship enables Cruz to continue to participate in karting and continue to follow his dream. If you would like to find out more about Cruz and his bid to progress further in motor racing, visit his Facebook page Touchwood Racing.

16th - 22nd March

Puzzles Code Breaker

Play on Words MAIL MALE

Kenny Corris I For Readings, Consultations and Castings email: kennycorris@hotmailcom / www.kennycorris.net Mobile: 686 361 594 / Tel: 965 878 424

CIRCUI

Answers: Postman. Short circuit.

You may very well have to put your hand in your pocket this week, but it is for all the right reasons that you do so. Rewards will come back to you this week in what is a highly charged situation, which will not only serve to boost income, but point you to a future source of income that will relieve current economic uncertainty.

Word Wheel The goal of a word wheel puzzle is to create as many words possible with the letters in the word wheel. You can only use each letter once and every word must have the letter in the centre of the wheel. Can you find the 9 letter word?

Step by step, and in your inspired energies things are coming together as alternatives now seem to be the best bet for you. With the occlusion of Mercury, channels of communication appear to be open, but whatever you have to say right now may very well fall on deaf ears. They will not be anything you could ever regret! Paused and ready, you are yet again awaiting instructions when it is clear that you should be taking the bull by the horns right now. If your own wishes, hopes and desires appear to be being ignored then it could be that you are losing faith in yourself. Trust that what comes next should be your right, and absolutely yours alone. If somebody has bitten off more than they can chew then, of course, you could help them to shoulder the burden. However, nobody has the right to put upon you. You are right not to respond to a recent request because you can see what is behind it, and the complications it will involve. Don’t walk on eggshells and speak your mind this week! If somebody has to be left to sulk to get over their own induced traumas then you have more important things to do right now. Aspects of the Sun in absolute with the third house bode caution and tact this week, and you should extricate yourself from an event you well know you are secretly dreading. There is more to life than this! As you generally love what you do it will show, and your creativity comes into play this week as you take time for some much needed rest and relaxation. With no immediate agenda, allow yourself to relax and tune into that inner you. You may even like what you find. Saturn bears great influence on a matter currently on hold. Try to balance things in your favour this week as the negative aspects of a current situation have been examined and appear to be working against you. Have your say, but you have already made your decision, and, since it is the right one you have to be strong and carry through all of your very best intentions, come what may. Current Astrological pressures see you remaining static for a period of time. This gives you the chance to get your act together whilst sending a strong message out that you are not to be messed with! Somebody is coming around to your viewpoint, but just remember to tell them that you will do things your way and when it’s right. Focus on your immediate needs, there will be time to work with others once you are more settled, and less angry! Do nothing right now because you are not to give in to pressure; especially since you know that the somebody has negative views and is putting pressure onto the situation. In hindsight you would never have got involved. Needing guidance right now leave no stone unturned in finding out who is the real culprit right now. Even though what you have feared is no longer any threat to you, it is hard to come to terms with what comes next. It is your key focus to ensure that those who seek to control the situation know that you know what you do! As you continue to be sorely tested, know that however dim, it is the light at the end of the tunnel that is your true motivation right now. You have developed an inner strength that will not allow anyone in, unless they are a part of your destiny; and your journey is about to get a lot easier, through your consistent beliefs and faith. Take control and take on power. This inspiration takes you upwards to where you should be. Your trusty Neptune is well charged with Sun action from earlier this month, and now you truly are good to go, and ready to look at any alternative that bears in mind that truly it is you who calls the shots, in the meantime of now.

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 10 represents T and 18 represents W, so fill in T every time the figure 10 appears and W every time the figure 18 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.

Kenny’s Postbag Kenny, I am noticing disturbances in my house and I can sense that something is wrong. My husband says that I am crazy, but my dog no longer goes into the spare bedroom! Claire P. Dogs sense Spirit presences, especially in

their own territory…. maybe they are better than husbands at it! When people use the word disturbance it can be something unbearably scary. I do not feel this with you but I think that you should ask whoever it is to go. Be kind but be firm. If this doesn’t work, or if things change then call me to arrange an appointment to sort things out!

Kenny Corris Don't forget to email or message me with your Postbag Questions!. Check out my new website: www.kennycorris.net

For Birthday Celebrants Change caution into freedom as a respect to yourself in this Astrological year ahead. Make waves and strive for what you instinctively know is right for you, and remember, anyone who really loves you, will never hold you back from your dreams.

The 9 letter word is:

Kakuro Fill all the empty squares using the numbers 1 to 9, so that the sum of each horizontal block equals the ‘clue’ on its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the clue on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once.

16th - 22nd March

More Puzzles Cryptic

Across 1 Famous Shakespearian actor, one seen in musical (7) 5 Some echo relieves boring task (5) 8 Get to share a cheap piece (5) 9 Many very angry at being duped (7) 10 Plague cures go wrong (7) 11 She's caught in the beam (5) 12 Go round capital (5) 14 Squander, say, part of the body (5) 19 Spreads out nurses after operation (5) 21 To clarify matters was once simple (7) 23 Smoothing things out at the end of the day (7) 24 Cheer up a source of inspiration (5) 25 Trials for important matches (5) 26 Streets confused the examiners (7)

English - Spanish

Futoshiki

Down 1 Some progressive woman who's monstrous (6) 2 I did have a gardening implement, by the sound of it, in a state (5) 3 Get left in scratchin' her itch? (7) 4 Chair for a biker (6) 5 Board game commences with children holding every single square (5) 6 Gets in boats at sea (7) 7 Did see exotic whirlpools (6) 13 Pathetic plea to be more economical (7) 15 Seems dad has turned against fruit (7) 16 Humble fashions start trend (6) 17 Importance of delay, we hear (6) 18 If not the United Nations has a smaller amount (6) 20 Mistakes made on the cricket field (5)

Fill in the squares so that each digit from 1 to 6 occurs exactly once in each row and column. Greater-than and less-than signs indicate the relationship of the two adjacent squares. There is only one solution, and you can find it without guessing.

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

Across 1 Strike (of workers) (6) 4 Flower (4) 8 Mouse (5) 9 Blonde (5) 10 Flag (of country) (7) 14 Young girl (5)

15 Muñeca (anatomía) (5) 16 Eight (4) 17 Poetry (6) Down 1 Daño (4) 2 Establecer (9) 3 Ginebra (3)

5 Bibliotecas (9) 6 Tejado (4) 7 Verdadero (4) 11 Cerca (indicando proximidad) (4) 12 Eco (sonido) (4) 13 Other (f) (4) 15 Quién (3)

Quick

Across 1 Drops (5) 4 Selects (7) 8 Check closely (7) 9 Crustaceans (5) 10 Came before (8) 11 Subdivision of a particular kind of thing (4) 13 Rubbish (6) 14 Assisted (6) 17 Nothing (4) 19 Brings to a destination (8) 22 Pass along (5) 23 Reflecting light (7) 24 Decreases in size, range or extent (7) 25 Conjecture (5) Down 1 Having a sharp inclination (5) 2 Closest (7) 3 Shook in the cold (8) 4 Mentally quick and resourceful (6) 5 On one occasion (4) 6 Provoking fear or terror (5) 7 Hang (7) 12 Determining (8) 13 Scaly reptiles (7) 15 Exact (7) 16 Animals (6) 18 Measuring device (5) 20 Indications (5) 21 Sacred song (4)

Word Ladder Can you by changing 1 letter at a time, get from the first word to the last word in the given number of moves?

HOME 1 2 3 4

PARK

Sudoku

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

16th - 22nd March

health

Prepare your skin for the Easter holidays IF you only have time to book in for one treatment this spring, but want to see huge results, which one would be the best we recommend and why? If you want an anti-wrinkle treatment, the hyaluronic filler will give you instant results. The treatment lasts for only 20-30 minutes, and the results are amazing! The product is natural, and integrates with the skin. The result lasts for almost a year, and the best of all, it will not change the expression of your face. A lot of our customers also put a little Botox in the front of the head, to make the muscles relax, and in itself, this is an anti-wrinkle treatment for the forehead, and lines next to the eyes. The result shows in five days, and the face looks relaxed, and energised. If your skin feels grey and you need to get back the energy to the cells, peeling would be an excellent treatment. A chemical pealing will gently and effectively take away dead skin cells, and speed up the process of producing new and healthy cells. This will give the skin a fresh start, and your skin will look illuminated and healthy. To make a plan for your personal beauty skin preparation for Easter, don’t wait until the last minute, but contact us now, and we will help you to make a plan to make you a BEAUTIFUL holiday. Derma Clinic Spain are located at Camino del Pincho 2,1, 03580, L’Alfaz del Pi, Alicante. For more information call 674 255 579 or email info@dermaclinicspain.com . Alternatively see their Facebook page facebook.com/DermaClinicSpain.

Is your skin revealing a healthy glow? W H AT d o e s y o u r f a c e say about your health? From rosy cheeks to patches under the eyes, experts say your complexion can reveal a lot about your lifestyle. Facial colouration seems to be the most important in determining how healthy someone looks. Research has identified that faces with lighter, redder, or yellower skin were seen as the healthiest and there are some biological processes associated with these colours.

Lighter skin is associated with the ability to absorb more vitamin D. Greater redness may indicate more efficient circulation and blood supply to the skin, and people with yellower skin tend to have healthier diets, rich in fruit and vegetables. Tanning also increases skin yellowness and makes faces appear healthier, but the yellowness brought about from a healthy diet is obviously preferred to tanning.

Go for a This month in walk to Clinica Britannia lengthen we are promoting your life tooth whitening JUST a brief, brisk walk, can add years to your life. Experts say that 15 minutes of daily exercise is enough for older adults to see big benefits to their health, with this activity being linked to a 22 per cent lower risk of an early death. Researchers carried out a study on two groups of people to see if lower levels of exercise could be as beneficial as the recommended 150 minutes each week. One group of 1,011 French people aged 65 in 2001, were followed over a period of 12 years while the second, an international group, of 122,417 people aged 60, was followed over 10 years. Participants’ activity was measured in Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) minutes each week, assessing the amount of calories used per minute of physical activity. The recommended levels of exercise equate to between 500 and 1,000 MET minutes every week. Researchers found that the risk of death fell as the level of exercise increased, and compared to those people who were inactive, older adults with low, medium and high activity levels had a 22 per cent, 28 and 35 per cent lower risk of death, respectively, showing that even smaller amounts of exercise can boost life expectancy and improve health.

E V E RY B O D Y l i k e s t o s m i l e a n d i t should be something you can do with pride. We will be offering tooth whitening at a promotional price of €177 (a saving of €158). For this price you will get an initial session of professional tooth cleaning and you leave with a take home whitening kit which ensures long lasting results. At your appointment we will also offer you a dental exam free of charge and let you know of any other treatment that you may require.

We will also be able to let you know if you are a good candidate for whitening to ensure your expectations are met. Our staff are very hospitable and we offer a multilinguistic service in case English is not your chosen one. This is a limited time offer so don’t delay in taking advantage and getting those pearly whites in time for summer... Tooth Whitening Promotion €177 with this article

Email them on britannia.calpe@gmail.com, call 965 837 553 or visit Avenida Ejercitos Españoles 16 BIS, 1st Floor, (Not Ground Floor) Piso 1D, E-03710 Calpe (Alicante).

16th - 22nd March

food & drink This week Celebrity Chef from TV’s Ready Steady Cook & Master Chef Steven Saunders, proprietor of The Little Geranium in La Cala prepares to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17

Food fit for 007

SAINT PATRICK was a fifth century British Christian bishop in southern Ireland. Known as the ‘Apostle of Ireland’, he was the primary patron Saint of Ireland. The dates of Saint Patrick’s life cannot be fixed with certainty, but there is broad agreement that he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the fifth century. Early medieval tradition credits him with being the first bishop of Armagh and they regard him as the founder of Christianity in Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, the supposed date of his death. It is celebrated inside and outside Ireland as a religious and cultural holiday. It is like a celebration of Ireland itself. We have a lot of Irish clients, we love them as they are generally foodies, they love my creative cuisine and they love to drink! We have a lot of stock so they are always welcome! So this week in preparation for the special celebration we will be dressing the restaurant with a little green, which has become associated with Catholics in Ireland, and we will also have some classic Irish dishes on the menu. So what do you eat on Saint Patrick’s Day? Irish stew, corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, champ potatoes and colcannon. I recall cooking for Pierce

Steven Saunders FMCGB The Little Geranium La Cala de Mijas & Marbella

www.thelittlegeranium.com Brosnan at The Pink Geranium around 1991. His hometown was Navan in Ireland although he has lived in the US for many years. He was with his adorable wife Cassandra and she announced to me that night that he was going to be the next James Bond 007, “but don’t say a word” she said! I always felt privileged that I knew about him becoming James Bond years before it actually happened. He didn’t get the role of 007 until 1994. His wife (who sadly died a short time later) told me that he was destined for 007 and it was her dying ambition. It hadn’t occurred to me then that she was being quite literal. So what does 007 like to eat? Well with Saint Patrick’s Day looming Pierce said …. “any chance of colcannon?”

You can email Steven your questions or enquiries to: steven@thelittlegeranium.com • Steven Saunders FMCGB - The Little Geranium La Cala de Mijas & Marbella • www.thelittlegeranium.com.

“Yep sure!” I said having no clue what colcannon actually was. I went into the kitchen and I called a friend who is a well-known Irish chef, Richard Corrigan. I couldn’t get hold of him but I spoke to one of his chefs who knew the dish and explained it to me. A little embarrassing but as an English chef I had not come across it before and in 1991 we had no Google!! So I prepared some colcannon and served it up with his beef fillet and then went out to see him. He was holding his wife’s hand. He looked up and said … “Hey that colcannon was the best I’ve had.” “My pleasure” I said acting as though I had cooked it many times before! A few years later I was at an event in London and George Best was there. He was Northern Irish but the Catholics celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland as well. I was with some other well-known chefs and we were all in awe of George. He came over to our table and said, “hey chef… I like to go missing a lot... Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World.” We laughed out loud and I raised a glass to him. Later we met at the bar and he said … “You know in 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life!” With happy memories like this it’s hardly surprising that I love the Irish! Enjoy St Patrick’s Day!

16th - 22nd March

home & garden Advertising Feature DESPITE the current unsettled weather, one sure thing about Spain is that the sun is going to shine for a lot of the time and there is nothing worse than being blinded in your own home. This is where Corona Awnings, a company based in Alfaz del Pi, which has been operating for more than 25 years, will be invaluable. Awnings, which can be manual or remote controlled will be made to measure and come with a five-year warranty against sun fade. The company also stock and sell a vast range of blinds, including vertical, Venetian, pleated, roller and Roman blinds with an unrivalled selection of colours and fabrics to choose from. Included in the range are their high quality mosquito blinds, which are available in a range of colours and made-to-measure, they help to keep living spaces free from pests and they can be custom-fitted to doors and windows throughout your property. Although sun is a major part of the way of life here in Spain, when it rains, it rains with a vengeance and with climate change it appears that there will be spells of almost monsoon rains punctuated by long, dry periods. Guttering is an area that is often overlooked which can result in damage being caused to properties through excessive water not being channelled away from the building correctly. It is becoming increasingly obvious that

One-stop for awnings, carpets and guttering

CORONA: Big enough to do the job, small enough to care. guttering is an essential part of any property and Corona can supply and fit PVC guttering, available in various colours, to all types of property. Not everyone wants to live with marble or stone floors and Corona is also an important supplier of carpets in the area. When things do turn cold then a nice carpet is becoming more attractive to some people, especially expatriates who are bothered

by the cold. The range of carpets available from Corona is great, not just because of warmth, but they are versatile insulators which protect unfinished floors. Vinyl flooring is another popular choice; helping to reduce noise and it is a durable option that is stain and moisture resistant. So often used in healthcare premises because of its benefits and it is available in wood, slate

or tile effect finishes which are slip resistant. The company custom fits awnings and canopies to your balcony, terrace or any outdoor area where shade is needed and are experts at finding solutions to ensure that the clientâ€™s expectations and needs are met. Corona prides itself on providing high-end products backed by a professional and efficient installation and a reliable, friendly aftersales service for individual customers or commercial enterprises. Situated at Le Estrada 79, Alfaz del Pi they welcome visitors as they are open Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 1pm and can be telephoned on 966 865 753. To get an idea of the wide range of product available visit the company Facebook page.

16th - 22nd March

pets

Do you look like your dog? AS you stroll down the promenade, have you ever noticed how sometimes dogs actually end up resembling their owners? If not, go to any park, and you will see the strange phenomenon of the canine mini-me. Maybe it’s a bearded hipster, accompanied by a bearded collie with the same trendy cut, or a pugnacious thug carrying a bulldog. Or perhaps it’s an athletic jogger and her Afghan hound, their glossy locks blowing effortlessly in the wind. It reveals a narcissistic tendency within us all, a trait that may also be shaping other aspects of life. Why do people choose the dog that looks most like themselves? Far from being skin-deep, the answer may give you a new appreciation of the intense bonds humans have forged with their four-legged friends. Indeed, there are some strange and unexpected parallels with the way we choose our other, twolegged life partners. Evidence from scientific research has even proven there is more to it than mere aesthetics or coincidence. Maybe this is all due to the allure of familiarity. A dog may seem more

comforting if it resembles the other members of our family who we know and love. Yet some psychologists believe it might be a spillover from the way we evolved to find mates. Dating someone that looks like us may ensure their genes are generally compatible with our own. Importantly, our narcissism isn’t just skin deep, we don’t just go for people who look like us, we also tend to orbit people who share our personalities too. Since dogs first became domesticated 30,000 years ago through hunting, things have changed a lot, and now they are even looking like us and acting like us. In many ways they are the better reflections of our own true natures. It’s little wonder we now consider them man’s best friend.

Getting to grips with your brand new dwarf rabbit A LT H O U G H m o s t d w a r f r a b b i t owners are pretty well informed on the basics, such as where to keep the cage and what to feed them, there are often doubts in particular when it comes to handling and getting them used to the home. The first thing owners of a new rabbit need to remember i s that they require calm, careful handling and a lot of patience. In general rabbits are very docile creatures, yet if frightened there is always a chance of the odd nip or scratch. They must be handled with care, as if they get nervous d w a r f r a b b i t s , i n p a r t i c u l a r, a r e prone to struggle to escape and can even injure themselves in the process. Always support the rabbit with both hands under the body and

HANDLING: Always hold rabbits close to your body.

keep it as low down and as close to your body as possible to avoid falls. NEVER lift a rabbit by its ears. Dwarf rabbits are nervous creatures. They should be allowed to grow accustomed to being picked up gradually, giving them time to get used to the handler ’s presence first. Avoid shouting or rough petting, they do not appreciate either. After arriving at a new home, rabbits should be left in peace for an hour or two before being approached calmly and quietly. During the first day or two, food should only be placed in the feeding dish, after that it can be fed from the hand.

16th - 22nd March

AIRPORT PARKING

ELECTRICIANS www.dragonreforms.com Tel 966 807 098. Free quotes given. (256718)

INSURANCE

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MOTORING

TV & SATELLITE

PLUMBING

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WATCH REPAIRS

BUILDING SERVICES www.dragonreforms.com Tel 966 807 098. Free quotes given. (256718)

CARPENTRY www.dragonreforms.com Tel 966 807 098. Free quotes given. (256718)

DAMP www.dragonreforms.com Tel 966 807 098. Free quotes given. (246718)

COLUMNIST

WATCH 24 â€“ Watch & Clock repair. 12 month warranty. Free Service & Estimates. Home Collection. 602 457 316 (259355)

BENEFICIAL INSURANCE SERVICES. Car, Home, Business, Travel, Life, Funeral, all insurances available. Policies in English. BEST rates, covers & service. Immediate quotes. Tel 961 129 215 / 622 275 561, (whatsapp) info@benefi cialinsuranceinspain.com or visit www.beneficialin suranceinspain.com for online quote. (259023)

METAL WORKS

XXX RELAXATION

POOLS

ALBIR BEACH NEAR BENIDORM. 57 YEAR BLONDE LADY WAITING FOR YOU. MASSAGE WITH HAPPY END. ENGLISH SPOKEN. 689820132 (260758)

BUILDERS

MOBILE WELDING SERVICE Gates, rejas, railings etx. Made to measure or repaired. Free quotes. No job too small. Calpe. Made to measure or repaired onsite. Call Dave 965 834 869 or 616 173 699 (257061)

HOME & GARDEN

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16th - 22nd March SPANISH COURSES

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Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Wordwheel aa ad ae ai al an ar la na aal ada aid

ail ain air ala ale ana and ane ani ara are dal

Cryptic

Codebreaker dan ear era lad lar lea nae nan rad rai ran ria

aide airn alae alan alar anal anil anna area aria arid aril

dale dane dare darn deal dean dear dial earl earn elan idea

ilea iran lade laid lain lair land lane lard lari larn lead

lean lear liar lira naan nada nail nala nana nard near raia

Quick

raid rail rain rale rand rani read real rial aider ailed aired

aland alane alder alien aline anear anile annal areal arena arian ariel

deair denar diana dinar drail drain elain eland ideal inane irade laari

laden lader ladin laird lanai learn liana liane liard lidar nadir naiad

naira naled nidal ranid redan redia renal aerial alanin aldine aldrin alined

aliner andean anneal ariled daniel darnel delian denari denial derail dialer inaner

inland laired lander lanner larine linear nailed nailer narial narine radial radian

railed rained randan realia redial relaid reland renail adrenal airland alanine annelid

araneid ireland laniard lindane nadiral nardine radiale adlerian inlander adrenalin

Kakuro

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16th - 22nd March

motoring

Rally Comunidad Valencia 2018 THE 2018 Valencian Rally season kicks off in April with Rally Jalon 2018, which is the opening round of the Tarmac Championship of the Comunidad of Valencia. Car Broker Spain, along with CBS Motorsport EspaĂąa, has announced that rally co-driver Amanda Stephenson will be competing in at least six rounds of the Valencia Tarmac Championship and co-driving alongside Belgian rally expert Yves Cools in his mark I Ford Escort, and rally newcomer Andy Stephenson in his Subaru WRX. Starting with Rally Jalon (Jalon Valley) preparations are underway for making pace notes, the directions which the co-driver calls out to the driver well in advance, to help him to navigate at top speed. Following Rally Jalon, Amanda will co-drive for Yves Cools in Rally Costa Azahar in May, Rally Ceramica in June and Rally Valencia in December. Amanda will also co-drive alongside Andy in Rally Xixona in September and Rally La Nucia in November. Rallying in Spain is a well-supported sport with many females participating, and Amanda and Andy have met many world-renowned rally drivers such as Hayden Paddon, Dani Sordo, Mads Ă˜stberg, and even legends such as Tomi Makkinen and Ari Vatanen. If anyone would like to see the Subaru or know more about rally events in Spain, call into Car Broker Spain in Benijofar. AMANDA STEPHENSON: And a selection of rally cars.

16th - 22nd March

sport

Valencia CF to coach children in Denia THE Valencia CF and Nitidia Sport have organised a training camp in Denia for youngsters aged from five to 16. It will run from April 3 to April 6 for children and teens in the Marina Alta district and the clinic will be held in the facilities of El Rodat and the Diego Mena field, from 9am to 1.30pm. The number of places has been limited to 150 to guarantee the quality of the coaching, which will be undertaken by trainers from the Valencia CF school supported by coaches from the municipal school in Dianense.

CADENA SUNRISE 10 PIN BOWLING LEAGUE 14th MARCH 2018 (WEEK 20) RESULTS THE PHANTOMS GI GI'S HOOKERS THE BANDITS STRIKE FORCE PIN PUSHERS PIN PALS

0 8 4 6 6 2

8 0 4 2 2 6

999s SOL AMIGOS ALLEY GATORS SUNRISE COLEGAS ALLEY CATS S***T HAPPENS

THIS WEEK´S TOP PERFORMERS LADIES HI/GAME EUNICE LETTS SUE ALLEN HI/GAME+H/CAP EUNICE LETTS HI/SERIES LYNNE AILSBY HI/SERIES+H/CAP EUNICE LETTS

186 186 210 520 571

GENTS TERRY CAPON

216

TIM HOLT TERRY CAPON TIM HOLT

234 569 605

Pos TEAM PLD W D L TOTAL GMS AVE. HI-G HI-S PTS 1 GI GI'S HOOKERS 60 51 1 28 41854 60 697 822 2359 103 2 PIN PUSHERS 60 51 1 28 40966 60 682 831 2234 103 3 SOL AMIGOS 60 50 0 30 41664 60 694 829 2319 100 4 STRIKE FORCE 60 48 1 31 41844 60 697 824 2269 97 5 PIN PALS 60 45 0 35 41374 60 689 846 2337 90 6 S***T HAPPENS 60 44 0 36 42209 60 703 851 2418 88 7 SUNRISE COLEGAS 60 41 0 39 41964 60 699 785 2259 82 8 999s 60 40 0 40 40421 60 673 778 2142 80 9 ALLEY GATORS 60 38 1 41 41175 60 686 790 2173 77 10 ALLEY CATS 60 35 0 45 41008 60 683 778 2178 70 11 THE BANDITS 60 35 0 45 40820 60 680 827 2245 70 12 THE PHANTOMS 60 0 0 80 31230 60 520 550 1590 0 The Easter Egg Shoot, sponsored by Gary The Painter, will continue next week, 21st March, with the draw for the Easter Eggs taking place immediately after bowling. Good Luck to all.

Valldigna Golf Society

Monthly Stableford at La Galiana campo de golf

PAIRS COMPETITION: Some happy winners.

Pego Golf Society A GREAT DAY: Some happy golfers at the end of the match. ON arrival, the course looked to be back into impeccable condition and the society was treated to a great day of golf. The overall scores were a little lower than of late but still very impressive, considering it was a little blustery. This in no way seemed to affect anyone’s game, with some having their best game in weeks and someone else having the drive of their life with surprisingly not too many balls lost either. Hopefully the competitors enjoyed the new Nearest the Pins Markers and they seemed to work a treat, none went missing and all arrived

safely back into the club house before the last group finished playing. These will continue to be used for the rest of the season. This month’s winners were in first place with 36 points off 21 Sture Rydstrum, in second place with 29 points off 24 was Keith White and third on count back was Derek Ashton with 27 points off 18. Visitors this month put up a good show with Lawrence Stephenson in first place scoring 30 points off 14 and in second place with 27 points off 22 was Alan Littlewood. The Nearest the Pins winners were: Hans Benzler on Holes

3 and 14, Ralph Borthwick on Hole 5, Peter Nunn on Hole 15, Colin Grant on Hole 16 and Sture Rydstrum on Hole 17. The Longest Drive in two on Hole 11 went to Ralph Borthwick and The Longest Drive on Hole 12 went to Tigger Osbourne. The next home game at La Galiana is on Tuesday April 17 and if you want to join in, they welcome guests and new members. For more information or to put your name down please email valldignagolfsoc@hot mail.com or telephone either Don on 600 681 715 or Peter on 642 460 415.

IN their latest outing the format was a Combined Pairs Competition, a true test of comradeship and patience. Thirty-two players started off in light rain, with the weather later changing into a warm sunny day. The results for the competition were as follows: Winning pair Barry Carter and Michel Grin with 64 points Second pair Tricia Chapman and Peter Jackson with 63 points Third pair Malcolm Wise (showing great patience) and Patrick Lynch with 60 points. Nearest the pin second shot on Hole 5 was Peter Jackson with an amazing eagle and on Hole 16 Derek Lindley with 4.99m. Only one two and that was Peter Jackson with a great eagle.

Balls in the Water was won by a card draw by a grateful Patrick Lynch, nobody scoring the correct 77, although Brian Barden was only one out. The society also had four results in our Match Play Knockout: Colin Foster beat Penny Barden 2 up Donna Green beat John Nicol 5 and 3 Brian Barden beat Dave Phillips 1 up Steve Patton beat Mick Connolly 1 up Finally, Peter Brown deserves a mention for his imitation of a Dagon, the deity that was half fish and half man. On Hole 10, after putting his ball in the water, he walked straight in, shoes and socks on and hit the ball out of the water. Full marks for effort! Next week they have a Singles Stableford. Any guests wishing to play, subject to handicap should contact Penny Barden at pegohandicapsec@gmail.com.