RTN Newspaper - Costa Blanca South 13 - 19 April 2018 Issue 964

FREE! COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

Salt of the city COUNCILLOR Fanny Serrano has announced that subject to one outstanding process being completed, authorised visits to the famous salt flats of Las Salinas de To r r e v i e j a will take place. Following the green light being given from the Valencian governm e n t , i t ’s a n t i c i pated that the tours may well begin in time for the busy summer season. Serrano said that both local people and visitors to the area will be able to enj o y o n e o f To r r e vieja’s most iconic and traditional industries.

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Issue 964

13th - 19th April

Murcia whale died from gastric shock by Darren Parmenter REGIONAL government authorities in Murcia have said that the sperm whale washed up off the coast at the end of February died as a result of ingesting 29 kilos (64lbs) of plastic waste products. According to an autopsy, the young male was killed by gastric shock and the investigations revealed his stomach and intestines to contain rubbish such as plastic bags, raffia sacks, pieces of nets and ropes and even a plastic petrol can. The whale, which measured almost 10 metres (33 feet) in length and weighed more than six tons, was found dead on a beach in Cabo de Palos, Murcia, around six weeks ago. The shocking discovery of the mammal’s cause of death has prompted the region’s government to launch a campaign to fight against the dumping of plastic waste in the ocean. Consuelo Rosauro, the director-general for the natural environment in the Murcian gov-

INSIDE THIS WEEK ... PUB CRAWLERS ON THE RUN

Photo credit: Murcia Regional Government

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WASTE: Sperm whale on the Cabo de Palos had a stomach full of plastic. ernment, said that pollution from plastic waste had become one of the biggest threats to global marine life in the last decade. “Many animals get trapped in the rubbish or ingest great quantities of plastic which cause their death,” she said.

“The presence of plastics in seas and oceans is one of the greatest threats to the conservation of wildlife throughout the world, since many animals are trapped in the trash or ingest large amounts of plastics that end up causing their death.”

DROWNING IN PLASTIC

P6 BLUE SHARK CAUSES DOCK PANIC

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PIPN calls for action IN the days following the death of the nine-year-old boy, Kai, from the Orihuela Costa after a freak football accident on the beach, one of the local opposition parties

unconnected with that area has called for all municipalities to review their ambulance cover. This is in response to the 40 minutes it took for an

emergency vehicle to arrive at the scene. Samantha Hull, opposition councillor and president of the PIPN in San Fulgencio, has asked for all local coun-

cils to take a close look at the level and effectiveness of the ambulance cover they have. “We’ve had our own issues in San Fulgencio recently with the news that the local

ambulance has been withdrawn,” said Samantha. “And this tragic and heartbreaking news from further down the coast has really brought home the lack of emergency

Photo credit: RTN

NON-POLITICAL: Samantha Hull (inset) calls for municipal action to avoid future tragedy.

ambulance coverage. “Like many others,” she continued, “I was shocked to learn that there are apparently only three SAMU ambulances equipped to deal with the kind of emergencies that happened on the Orihuela Costa between Guardamar del Segura and Pilar de la Horadada. “This is completely unacceptable when you consider the size of the population in that area... and that’s before the influx of tourists.” Speaking exclusively to the RTN, Mrs Hull thinks that something has to come out of this tragic event. “The PIPN urge ALL municipalities in the area - whatever their size or political colour who don’t already have at least one ambulance at their disposal to look at the possibility of obtaining one.”

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Sporting great honoured by Darren Parmenter OVER the weekend that saw many people glued to the TV screens to watch the US Masters Golf from the USA, one of the sports true greats was being honoured a little closer to home... in Rojales. Spanish golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez has been a regular visitor to the area for over 25 years, and as well as Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Rojales spending his summer break in the locality he has also promoted his sport, setting up a ON COURSE: Miguel Angel Jimenez in action in Ciudad charity tournament at the La Quesada. Marquesa course. from the mayor of the mu- Am charity tournament Jimenez, famous for his nicipality Jimenez said that which now actively supports cigar smoking, had his best he accepted it “with pride.” three local associations. performance in the US MasMiguel Angel Jimenez is In the early days of his asters in 2014 when he fin- sociation with Rojales, one of Spain’s most successished in fourth place, and Jimenez simply used the lo- ful golfers, winning more took some time out from cal course to keep his eye in than 20 professional tournawatching his fellow profes- whenever he was on holiday. ments. He was one of the sionals to be given the award It was back in the year most recognisable members of an ‘Adopted Son’ of Ro- 2000 when he first suggested of the European Ryder Cup jales. the idea of the La Marquesa team for a number of years, On receiving the honour Golf Course hosting a Pro- winning on four occasions.

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Pub crawlers on the run Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Orihuela

by Ray Chadwick FOR the first time ever in Spain, Orihuela Costa will b e t h e l o c a t i o n fo r a n Irish pub crawl. Organised by the town hall, it recognises the contribution a large number of Irish citizens bring to the locality. The two-day event takes place this Saturd ay and Sunday. On both days, the crawl lasts from 12pm to midnight! Speaking to the Spanish m e d i a , l o c a l co u n c i l l o r Sofia Alvarez said: “Initiatives like this invite us to appreciate the density of t h e p o p u l at i o n o f O r i huela; a municipality w h i c h h a s a t h i rd o f i t s population living on the coast, with almost 30,000 residents and 101 nationalities, where one of the most important is the Irish community.” S h e a l s o s a i d t h at t h e number of Irish citizens enquiring about the history of Orihuela, and visit-

ON THE MAP: Councillor Sofia Alvarez (left) presents weekend of craic!

ing some of the famous buildings in the municipality, has been partly due to the town hall publishing more information in English. For the pub crawl, a total of 31 pubs in the area are taking part offering a h a l f p i n t a n d a t a p a fo r €2.50. Similar to the fa-

m o u s S p a n i s h ‘ Ta p a s Runs’, prizes are on offer for the best tapas and the best decorated venue. If people don’t fancy ‘walking the course’ there is a map showing where a l l t h e p u b s a re a n d a minibus ser vice that will stop at each one passing every 20 minutes.

Raymond Kearney, who represents Irish citizens on the Orihuela Costa, thanked Councillor Alvarez for her continued support of the Irish community, not only for her involvement in this weekend’s event but also the St Patrick’s Day celebrations last month.

It wasn’t a bird or a plane... A DASHBOARD camera in a car driving along the A-30 close to the University of Murcia recorded a huge fireball that streaked across the sky for a few seconds. The phenomenon, often as a result of the remains of an asteroid or - most likely - space debris entering the atmosphere, was witnessed only a few days after another similar sight was seen by many in the Murcia region; although the latter wasn’t recorded. It was estimated that the ball of fire was travelling at 83,000 kph which is classed as slow as they have been known to reach 260,000 kph.

Extension late for school EXTENSION work on the Manuel Riquelme School in the Orihuela district of Hurchillo has been delayed and won’t now be finished until June. The project, which should have been completed in April and began back in December, will provide two new classrooms for the primary school. The delay has been explained by the lack of available materials to enable the facade to be completed. The new classrooms will be fully operational when the next school year gets underway after the long summer break.

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Hear, hear for Pilar campsite A C A MP SI T E located in Pilar de la Horadada has ad apted its facilities so that they can be enjoyed by those with hearing difficulties. In accordance with the UN Convention on R i g h t s f o r Pe o p l e w i t h Disabilities, the camping site at Lo Monte can now fully welcome those that are so impaired. I t ’s e s t i m a t e d t h a t there are more than 300,000 people in Spain alone who have some form of hearing difficult i e s , a c c o u n t i n g fo r 1 8 per cent of those with a recognised disability. Adaptations made at Lo Monte include translating the website into sign language, employing people who are quali-

Lifeguard strength boosted Photo credit: Movidron A Javier YouTube

by Darren Parmenter

ADAPTED: Award-winning Lo Monte Campsite.

fied to attend to the needs of the deaf comm u n i t y, a n d i n s t a l l i n g alar ms and notification systems that feature

lights as well as sounds. This completes the policy that the Lo Monte Campsite has put into place since it opened in

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2011 to make it accessible to all; a venue that has since won a number of prizes at both national and European levels.

ORIHUELA City Council has given its approval to eight new lifeguards - complete with a hut - for their beaches during the busy summer season. At a cost of €199,408, Councillor Luisa Bone said that this would save the costs that had been previously incurred until now on renting prefabricated buildings, and that they would be replaced by the fully equipped huts designed by the council. The councillor said that this will enable us “to improve the image of our beaches and our staff can provide a better service.”

Neighbourhood Watch date announced DOUG ALLEN, the president of the San Luis / La Siesta Neighbourhood Watch and Residents group in Torrevieja - which also covers El Chaparral and El Limonar - has certainly rejuvenated the organisation since taking over the role. People attending the meetings have grown from 12 to close to 100 and the dedicated Facebook page now has 250 members. T he nex t meeting will be held on Monday April 30 at 4.30pm in Casa Ventura, San Luis, and the guest from the Guardia C ivil N-332 group will give a presentation.

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Drowning in plastic Credit: SAM

A QUIET drink in a seafront cafe in La Mata turned into a bid to help save the environment last Wednesday for two British expatriate families. It started when the wind whipped up outside the cafe and a whirlwind developed with plastic bags of all shapes, sizes and colours being hurtled into the air. When they got outside they discovered the nearby road, where a street market had been held earlier, was a sea of plastic bags and the ever-increasing wind was blowing it all across a boat park, the sand and into the sea. Eileen and Tony Mayes and Pete and Kate Goodger got busy grabbing hold of the wind-blown plastic, trying to stop at least some of it from getting into the sea. Three large bags full were collected, but it was only a drop in the ocean compared with all the plastics and other rubbish already in the sea and still along the market road. Tony Mayes said: “To leave a road after the market had gone with so much rubbish in it is ridiculous. Not one council employee or refuse lorry was to be seen. Market traders

A SEA OF PLASTIC: Created by the wind and market.

had left hundreds upon hundreds of plastic bags on the road, all destined to be blown into the sea. “We are hearing over and over on TV news programmes about the volume of plastic entering our seas and oceans and eaten by fish which are being killed by all the rubbish.

“Quite rightly there’s a massive campaign in Britain to deal with plastics but it is totally useless if other countries couldn’t care less about the environment. “The local council should be ashamed of itself not bothering to clean up after the weekly market. It

would be interesting to calculate how many tons of plastics have entered the Mediterranean from the L a Mata market alone, because traders couldn’t care less about the environment and are only interested in making money.” He added that the world needs to change its attitude to the environment quickly to avoid major problems. The world has an increasing population which will need feeding and allowing any rubbish, and particularly plastics to get into the oceans to kill fish food stocks is simply crazy.

13th - 19th April Photo credit: Guardia Civil

DETAINED: Twenty-one suspects arrested after ‘complex’ investigations.

Cocaine found hidden in coffee by Darren Parmenter COLLABORATION between the Guardia Civil and the Spanish Tax Agency has resulted in the arrest of 21 people across the Alicante Province who had cocaine sent to Torrevieja from Colombia disguised as coffee! Those detained - including one woman came from Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa and Campello after 11 houses were searched as part of ‘Operation Alicafe’. One of those involved is also believed to be behind a robbery of £200,000 cash from an armoured vehicle in the UK which was used to finance a consignment of drugs for the organisation. The raids seized more than 12 kilos of cocaine, 320 grams of amphetamines, and small amounts of marihuana and hashish. It is understood from the Spanish media that if the

stash recovered was to be sold on the market, it would be worth more than €1 million. ‘Operation Alicafe’ started almost a year ago when the Guardia Civil in Madrid found a shipment of cocaine at the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport bound for Torrevieja. They found it was of ‘high purity’ from Colombia and mixed with the country’s most famous export - coffee - to make it harder to detect at customs. The operation was described by investigators as ‘quite complex’ since the group used to communicate via encrypted methods and not via the telephone. Experts in this field were brought in by the National Police to assist with tracing the culprits. A wide range of nationalities were involved in the alleged crimes, made up of 12 Colombians, five Spaniards, and one each from the UK, Morocco, Serbia and Belgium.

Luxury car exporters arrested NATIONAL POLICE based in Alicante have dismantled an organisation dedicated to stealing top-of-the-range vehicles and exporting them across Europe. The stolen cars come complete with fake documents and registration plates. During the course of the investigations which led to the arrests of two suspects - although it’s believed there may be several more at large the officers became aware of an organised gang operating in the Alicante Province with the

same elaborate modus operandi. Before attempting any thefts, the group began searching for the models that most interested them and after locating the cars on urbanisations or in front of private properties, they worked out the safest way to steal them. Once removed, they were taken elsewhere where number plates were changed from those which had already been stolen. Their up-to-date equipment also enabled them to penetrate the vehicles’ electronics and they

were then able to make false sets of keys. After a period of time, they were moved to garages where they falsified all the documents ahead of successfully selling the vehicles to contacts in a number of eastern European countries. The National Police managed to discover the location of one of the clandestine garages where the cars were being kept, which led to the arrest of the two alleged suspects, one of whom was sent directly to prison.

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ORIHUELA’S Teatro Circo - so named because of its circular design - is now completely accessible for people with not only reduced mobility but those with visual impairments too. The Department of Culture has removed three seats on both sides of the stalls in the central area that will be reserved for people in wheelchairs and their companions. This stops the usual practice of disabled people being relegated to the back row as is common in many other public theatres. In addition, an area for people with

Photo Credit: Jeanbanjo Wikimedia

A nearsighted initiative TEATRO CIRCO: Has been brought up to date. sight issues has been reserved in the fourth row with four seats being kept

free until a week be fore any shows should they be especially requested.

Parents attacked by son NATIONAL POLICE in Elche have arrested a young man from the city for attacking his parents during a fight at home. According to police reports, they were assaulted following an argument allegedly about their son’s drug addiction. This fact was confirmed by the assailant himself when questioned after his detention.

This latest incident is the third such case of aggression by children toward their parents in the past month in Elche. In each case, the complaints have been filed by the parents and in Spain whether or not there are injuries caused by the aggressive behaviour - such acts are classed as a criminal offence.

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13th - 19th April

Early Easter helps airport figures Photo credit: @Fly_Alc Twitter

PASSENGERS keep on flying in to the Costa Blanca and Costa Calida, and show no signs of coming to a halt. While it must be taken into account that the week leading up to and including the earlier part of the Easter holidays were earlier this year, both Alicante-Elche and Murcia-San Javier airports registered a year-on-year increase in traveller numbers for March. In fact, for Alicante-Elche airport, the 957,000 passengers made it the busiest March since records began. Compared to 2017, there was a rise of 5.5 per cent and it’s still visitors from and to the UK that continue to make up a significant number. For March, they accounted for a third of the users. For the year to date - covering the first three months of 2018 the overall increase in passengers is 4.2 per cent when compared to the first quarter last year. That translates to 2.4 million people. Further down the coastline to Murcia-San Javier, a total of 61,000 passed through their facilities last month... an annual increase of just over 17 per cent and reflects the greater number of flights that now take off and land from there. For the first three months of this year, the growth is also 17 per cent, with passengers from the UK making up almost 80 per cent of the total.

GROWING: Alicante-Elche airport registers 4.2 per cent increase.

Passenger aircraft hits drone ONE of the main fears resulting from the increase in the use of drones came to reality at the weekend... one was hit by an aircraft close to the AlicanteElche airport. Local Police based in nearby Elche were called on Sunday to try to find the owners of the drone that appeared to be ‘piloted’ from a beach in the El Altet area. There were no reports of any damage caused neither to the commercial aircraft, nor to any of the dozens of passengers on board at the time of the incident. Because of the proximity of the very busy airport, there is a large no-fly zone in force relating to the use of drones, especially those that are used for recreational purposes.

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Phone threats lead to arrests Photo credit: Guardia Civil

EXPLICIT: One of the brothers led away by Guardia Civil officers. THANKS to an alert father who spotted something untoward on his daughter’s mobile phone, two men - brothers aged 24 - have been arrested by the Guardia Civil. The two were detained in Torrevieja and face three charges in connection with the corruption of young children. The girl’s father noticed that his 12-year-old daughter had been sent a number of threatening messages via one of the popular social media net-

works, and immediately reported the incident to the Guardia Civil. It was during the subsequent investigations that they discovered that two other girls - aged 10 and 12 - had been similarly bullied and threatened. The two men had threatened to post a selection of pictures of naked young people on her own social network account if she didn’t send them sexually explicit poses

involving her. She felt sufficiently threatened to agree and subsequently send the men a selection of ‘obscene’ selfies. During the raid on the home where the brothers lived in Torrevieja, two computers, three mobile telephones and a tablet were confiscated. The two men are still being held in custody after bail was refused by the courts due to the possibility of more children being victims.

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Britons involved in Easter violence FIGURES just released by the Local Police in Orihuela showed a busy 24-hour period over the Easter weekend.

Four people were arrested by the night patrol unit on the Orihuela Costa that included a 17-year-old British

teenager. He was the first of a night of violence when police were called after he threatened his mother and members of his family before attacking them. His two younger siblings are six and eight-years-old. When he was arrested, he was carrying a knife and according to Spanish media had been involved in similar incidents in the past. A 48-year-old Belgian man was then detained for ‘gender violence’ and assault after breaking a restraining order that had been placed

on him. He had arrived from Belgium to find his ex-girlfriend who was on the Orihuela Costa on holiday. In this case, he also threatened to kill her; at the same time attacked one of her male friends who stepped in to act as peacemaker and ended up needing medical treatment. Another British national this time a 23-year-old - hit another man over the head with a bottle during an altercation. Paramedics were called and the injured man was taken to Torrevieja Hos-

pital with a severe cut that bled profusely at the scene. The final arrest - albeit not violent - involved a French national aged 49 who had been implicated in a case of theft and using a fake identify, and subject to a court order to arrest him. The examples above were in addition to a very large number of other call-outs for the Local Police during the course of Holy Week when the local population increases significantly with tourists and holiday home owners.

Time to get off that sofa... DOZENS of people in Orihuela took part in a number of different sporting and fitness events last weekend with a view of promoting a less sedentary lifestyle among the local people. The Glorieta Gabriel Miro was the central location for more than 70 different sporting activities organised by Orihuela’s Department for Sport on the occasion of the World Day of Physical Activity. Speaking to the Spanish media, Councillor Victor Valverde said: “We want to raise aware-

ness among the population of all ages and encourage greater participation in some form of physical activity. “This can prevent the monotony of a sedentary lifestyle lived by many and make them aware of the health benefits.” He went on to say that in order to maintain a basic level of fitness, there is no need for any special training or skill or using expensive equipment. “Just jump on a bike or go out for walk around the city,” he said. There were more than 10 hours of events for all

ages, and among the 70 different activities held in the Gabriel Miro - divided up in separate areas for the day - were football, basketball, chess, taekwondo, rhythmic gymnastics, athletics, pilates, and zumba... which ended the day with a massive display of participants. On the same day along the Orihuela Costa a number of activities were also held, one of which was ‘gerontogimnasia,’ which literally means physical activity adapted for elderly people.

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It’s the bees knees again WITHIN days of a similar incident being reported in Los Montesinos, a swarm of bees - this time the size of a football - has been removed from a school playground in Almoradi. A specialist beekeeper accompanied a unit from the nearby fire station to carry out the now well-known process of placing a queen bee in a box with pheromones to attract the other bees. Purely as a prevention, around 200 schoolchildren were confined to their classrooms while the operation took place.

Ring a ring a Elche... but when? ELCHE City Council h a s o v e rc o m e t h e latest obstacle in finally seeing the southern ring road completed after the first stage was opened around three years ago. The Ministry of P u b l i c Wo r k s h a s g i v e n t h e g re e n light to open a public information file that allows for any objections to be placed within a certain timescale - and a draft construction plan. T his decision comes almost a decade since building originally got underway, and 10 months since the environmental impact of the second stage was approved. However, no form a l s t a r t d a t e fo r the work has been announced.

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Turn on the water AFTER 11 months of inaction, the Tajo- Segura aqueduct has o n ce a g a i n b e g u n to t ra n s fe r water to alleviate the drought amongst the crop fields in the

Alicante Province. T h e d e c i s i o n t o re o p e n t h e tap comes after the Ministry of Agriculture authorised the transfer of 60- cubic hectome-

tres of water between now and June. It moves at a rate of 9.83 cubic metres per second and takes a few days to reach the destina-

tion via the network of tubes. The water will be transported i n s m a l l q u a n t i t i e s u n t i l i t ’s 100 per cent certain that there are no faults in the system.

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Blue shark causes dock panic HAVE YOUR SAY

Popular post on Facebook reaching 10,326 with 104 reactions “Benidorm beaches equipped with free WiFi”

by Darren Parmenter A BLUE SHARK has been spotted swimming close to a dock in Torrevieja. It was first seen by a young couple whose screams rang out across the area when they realised the shadow they saw under the water wasn’t a human swimming... but a shark. Reports of the sighting, that was filmed on a mobile phone and accompanied by the worried couple’s exclamations of fear, spread like wildfire across Torrevieja thanks to social media. It came right in close to the budding filmmakers but appeared to be quote oblivi-

Photo credit: Mark Conlin Wikimedia

DISORIENTATED: Blue shark disappears after Torrevieja sighting.

Louis Kloeck If you want to protect your passwords and privacy, use it with utmost caution! Greatest gift to scammers!

ous of their presence as the shark continued to circle around. Speaking to the Spanish media, the municipal biologist Juan Antonio Pujol explained that the presence of blue sharks is very common in the Mediterranean, although it’s rare to see them so close to the coast. “It is

Paul Eldon Why, don't most people have phones with 4G or at the least 3G . Sounds like a waste of money.

possible that the shark became disorientated and was simply looking to get back out into the deeper waters,” said Pujol, who quickly added that that this species of shark is not dangerous despite their appearance. Since the incident, there have been no further sightings and it’s unknown what

has happened to the shark. Back in the summer of 2016, a swimmer was allegedly bitten on the hand by a blue shark off Arenales del Sol - close to Alicante - and a lifeguard patrolling the beach on La Mata thought he saw a similar creature, causing the shallow waters to be evacuated as a precaution.

@RTNNewspaper Most liked posts from this week • British boy dies after beach collision in Costa Blanca

• Council to spend more than €600,000 to remodel Fuengirola gardens • Benidorm beaches equipped with free Wifi • Aceiton killed in traffic accident

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13th - 19th April

Dear Editor JUDGING by the repetitive views espoused by Michael Walsh in your paper each week on behalf of Vladimir Putin and the Russian government, I believe he is in grave danger of presenting himself as a modern day King Canute. Apart from Jeremy Corbyn, Vladimir Putin and his cronies and Michael Walsh, there can’t be too many people on the planet who seriously believe that Russia is not involved in some way with the very serious events which took place in Salisbury recently. “Needless to say there wasn’t a shred of evidence to suggest Russian involvement” he writes! He accuses the media of peddling fake news “There isn’t enough evidence of Russian responsibility to reach a Magistrate’s Court”! - really! - how does he know? Does he seriously believe that the world’s leading security services would not have evidence which they are unlikely to share with him or the general public? Would so many of the world’s leading nations, headed by the United States, have been so eager to add their names to the condemnation of Russia without greater evidence of involvement than that published in the general media? I’ve noticed over the years that whenever there is criticism of Russia in general and Putin in particular Mr Walsh is the first to their defence, which causes me to wonder - without wishing to add to the subject of ‘Fake News’does Mr Walsh have connections in that regard? I am relieved to note your disclaimer at the bottom of the page, distancing yourselves from his views. Ken, San Fulgencio

Med temp rise FOLLOWING the study of the longest set of data ever produced, more is now known how possible climate change is affecting the Mediterranean Sea close to Spain. The Centre for Environmental Studies of the Mediterranean (CEAM) based in the Alicante Province has analysed information provided by satellite images from between 1982 and 2017, and has been able to quantify the areas where significant increases in sea temperatures have taken place. It might not sound much, but the water has warmed by 1.1ºC over the last 35 years, and even such a small level can dramatically affect the weather conditions. Experts believe that the area will experience more of the infamous ‘Gota Fria’ storms.

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City centre noise BUSINESS associations in Elche will be patrolling their own streets to control the noise in the city centre. This follows a degree of pressure put on them by the Local Police in an attempt to raise awareness to stop disturbing local neighbours. A number of owners with businesses in the bar and restaurant sector will hire staff to remind customers to keep the noise down.

NATIONAL

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Neanderthals were not dim-witted Photo credit: Public Domain Images

ARCHAEOLOGISTS working in northern Spain have discovered the oldest known tools used by Neanderthals on the mainland. The preserved wooden remains were first uncovered back in 2015, and it’s only now that tests and research has shown that the tools date back some 90,000 years. Among the tools discovered at the Aranbaltza site in the Basque Country were two ‘very well preserved’ instruments. The research team behind the discovery used luminescence dating to determine that the tools were used all those thousands of years ago and, therefore, created by Neanderthals. One of the tools came from the trunk of a yew tree that the Neanderthals halved. The researchers believe that one of the halves was whittled with a stone then treated with fire in order to harden the piece. Such tools believed to have been used by Neanderthals have only been found at four other sites across Europe before: Italy, England and two locations in Germany. Neanderthals were a close human ancestor that died out around 50,000 years ago. The species lived in Africa with early hu-

SOPHISTICATED: Spanish tool discovery questions long-held perceptions. mans before moving across to Europe believed to be dim-witted and made up of around 500,000 years ago. They were later thugs when compared to modern human joined by humans taking the same journey beings. sometime in the past 100,000 years. However, recent discoveries over the Neanderthals were the first fossilised past decade have shown that the Neanhumans discovered by scientists in the derthals were probably more multi-talentearly 19th century, and thought to be the ed and sophisticated than anyone previoriginal cavemen and women, traditionally ously believed.

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Airport bottled water capped AS reported in the RTN (Issue 962), it was announced that following a number of complaints from passengers about the ‘extortionate’ price of bottled water from vending machines at the airports, the price would be capped at €1.60. This decision has now been reviewed and, according to airport managers AENA, the price of a 300ml bottle of water will be no more than €1. This takes into account the international guidelines set out by the International Airports Council (ACI) which states that bottles should be a maximum of €1... or that, at least, “plenty of available sources of water no more expensive than this” should be on site both airside and in arrivals and departures. The situation has been exacerbated in recent years with security measures stopping passengers bringing their own water bottles on the flights with them. This has resulted in the economics of supply and demand at the excessively high prices that have been charged. AENA has announced that any new food and drink related premises and vending machines which open at the airports under their control, must not charge more than €1 for bottled water. They will also ensure that all the existing ones follow the new rules. When the original €1.60 bottle price cap was announced in mid-March, AENA also pledged to install more free drinking fountains in airport terminals. The cheaper price of water will also stop more people from taking empty plastic water bottles with them through security checks, only to fill them from taps in the airport toilets which isn’t always as drinkable as normal mains water in the home.

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The silence of the lambs keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com AT first glance it may seem an exaggeration to say that the West is today as authoritarian as it was in the Soviet Bloc. In Soviet occupied Europe one could lose one’s job and even one’s liberty for an unguarded comment. Who can deny that in modern (sic) Britain professionals careers are ruined and their pensions jeopardised for simply being politically ‘off message’. I have the courage to call a spade a spade, do you? We can’t say we didn’t see it coming. Back in 2000, when you weren’t embarrassed to be seen reading a copy of the Daily Mail, Simon Heffer came straight to the point. “This is, in theory, still a free country, but our politically correct,

consider ‘hate speech’. Comment critical of Islamisation or the government’s immigration policy identifies as ‘hate speech’. The same police force has fewer officers (848) attached to the Met’s Murder Unit. So far this year there have been over 50 murders in London. Victor Olisa, former Head of Policing and Diversity in Tottenham, warns that many citizens feel unsafe and adds ‘they think the police have lost control.’ I am no fan of Winston Churchill but I cannot fault his understanding of what Britain has become. “Nothing can be more abhorrent to democracy than to imprison a person or keep him in prison because he is unpopular. This is really the test of civilisation.” The former premier ’s views were once so commonplace few would find fault in such an overview. It is sobering to realise that Churchill and indeed Britain’s great philosophers, politicians, writers and journalists would be gaoled today for what they said yesterday if they were still alive.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

by Michael Walsh

censorious times are such that many of us tremble to give vent to perfectly acceptable views for fear of condemnation. Freedom of speech is thereby imperilled, big questions go undebated, and great lies become accepted, unequivocally as great truths.” Who can deny that the columnist was wrong? In fact, things have become far worse. In Prestatyn, a hapless Jason Wakefield-Jones awaits trial at Llandudno Magistrates Court. The alleged offence is that, according to a witness, he had displayed a gollywog child’s toy in the window of his home. Sadly and ominously this is not an anomaly but is commonplace. Many people in Britain, Germany and France are fined and imprisoned for posting online comments that in the 1970’s would have been perfectly acceptable to a university’s rag magazine. London’s Metropolitan Police has 900 highly paid police officers sat in bunkers monitoring social media. Their task is to identify for the records, caution or prosecution, online users whose comments the Westminster regime

STATUE OF CHURCHILL: Opposite the Houses of Parliament.

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

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13th - 19th April

From skiffle to folk Credit: www.bertweedon.com

by John Redfern

RUDDY NORA! A month has passed, bet you’re frothing at the mouth to read my continuation of skiffle. Did you read my last story of forming a skiffle trio when I was 13 years of age (1962) with my tea chest bass? With washboard and an acoustic guitarist that played three open major chords with the occasional Am and Dm playing at church halls, community centres and we once played in a Victorian bandstand in Leamington Spa. I knew from that gig I had to get serious with music! The Teddy boys (or Teds), a British subculture typified by young men, who copied the clothes of the dandies from the Edwardian period, were now sheets in the wind, The flick knives and knuckle dusters, like skiffle music, had become dinosaurs, things from the past. Folk music started to get very popular in the UK and folk clubs began to pop up in many pubs in the mid-1960’s. Artists like Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel came

on the scene. It was an explosion of a new type of acoustic music. That was poetry in motion, the lyrics became an expression of what young people understood and the amateur folk musician at these clubs started to become very popular. I started my own folk club at the Mercers Arms in Coventry at the age of 17 in 1966, folk music at that time became more popular than jazz. Jasper Carrott was just starting with a comedy and acoustic guitar combination

BERT WEEDON: Play in a Day.

and I used to pay him a quid for a 15minute slot. He used to run a folk club in Solihull called the Boggery which attracted all the best folk artists and poets of the time. His good friend was a chap called Jake Thackray, a poet and songwriter, who often played his guitar on a TV programme called Braden Beat between 1962 and 1967. I decided to learn the guitar and form a folk trio so bought a cheap guitar from a second-hand shop and practised every day

for many months, with the help of a book published by Bert Weedon called Play in a Day. I had one good friend at the time who was a brilliant finger picker on the guitar (Ray Barratt) and my great old pal (John Clarke) who played great chords and was a fantastic writer of lyrics. I was still not good enough to play guitar on stage so chose percussion, African congas, bongos, and the Jew’s harp. Still got my Jew’s harp, but now I have partial dentures! The Jew’s harp has been tossed into room 101. We called ourselves the Galloping Maggots. We played every weekend at various folk clubs in the Midlands and at last started to get paid a fee. A small fee but it covered our travelling expenses and a few pints of brown and mild. Because I didn’t understand music scores, I could only busk (play by ear) but at the end of the show Jasper Carrott used to give me his guitar and show me some chords, then left me to practise while he spent some time at the bar with his mates. Things were about to change. Folk music was going down the tubes. Bob Dylan at Newport Folk Festival played an electric guitar and was booed for moving away from political songwriting and performing with an electric band. I knew then that I had to move on as pop music was on the way.

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‘You’re barred!’ SO, there I was taking a fag break outside the Brighton gay sex shop where I once had a part-time job when this creature roughly the size of Gibraltar was suddenly in my face, coughing and fanning her nose with a hand stolen from an orangutan. “Ain’tcha heard of passive smoking?” she barked in a Bronx accent. Expelling twin plumes of smoke through my nostrils, I replied: “Sure, and I’m totally against it. People should buy their own damn tobacco!” Exuding aggression like a pit bull with piles, she retorted “Well, ain’tcha a wisenheimer; don’tcha know what those things will do to you?” “Probably kill me, like your lard will do to you,” I shot back. “Now just waddle off and annoy someone else.” The Jolly Green Giant’s grumpy fat sister was still coughing and fanning her face as she faded into the mist. The following day something similar happened when a jogger paused to criticise my addiction. This was a less aggressive encounter because I knew him quite well, and admired him for not only giving up cigarettes but for embarking on a fitness regime that knocked his weight down by about 20 kilos. A fortnight later he was dead, aged 42. His heart packed in when he ran up a flight of stairs in a hotel in Cape Town where he was holidaying. I was reminded of these two encounters last weekend when my friend Nigel, drinking at Company Bar in Benidorm, stepped

E-CIGARETTES: Can usually be smoked indoors in Spain.

by Barry Duke

outside to light a cigar. Moments later one client came out to complain about smoke polluting the bar. Nigel was nonplussed. And angry. That prompted me to tell him how I came to be barred from a London pub last autumn. Within seconds of me stepping outside to use my e-cigarette - I gave up tobacco about two years ago - a security guard burst out of the bar like a cockerel with its feathers on fire, and squawked “no smoking here, go stand 12ft away!” I growled “I’m vaping, not smoking. Don’t you know the difference, you moron?” and held my ground. That sent him into a frenzy, and he screamed “you’re barred. Leave now!” As I had my jacket inside, I said I wasn’t leaving until I’d retrieved it. He tried to stop me from re-entering the bar, but as he was such a sorry excuse for a guard, being short and dumpy and utterly out of shape, I simply shoved him aside, went indoors, downed my overpriced Scotch in a single gulp, snatched up my gear and left. But

not before blowing a Hiroshima-sized cloud of vapour in his face. This caused him to do the annoying coughing and face-fanning thing. Ridiculous, because all he got was a whiff of my flavoured vape juice. If I remember correctly, that night it was coffee and doughnuts. What’s not to like about that? The range of flavours is enormous and growing daily as more and more people get their nicotine hits via e-cigs. Visit any vape store and you’ll find a huge choice, ranging from rhubarb and custard (ugh!), aniseed (double ugh!) to blueberry, caramel and lemon pie. I stick to menthol, as it helps clear my sinuses. For the record The Royal Society for Public Health says that nicotine is non-car-

cinogenic and no more harmful than caffeine. E-cig vapour is significantly less dangerous than tobacco smoke which contains tar and other chemicals, including hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT, while the primary base ingredients of e-cig liquids are simply propylene glycol and glycerine. Another plus: in Spain, every bar I’ve visited allows one to vape indoors. My one regret is that in Benidorm vape shops are few and far between. This, to my mind, is because cigarettes here are WAY too cheap an average of about €4.30 for a pack of 20. In the UK the price is around €11.30, which would explain why vape outlets are increasing there almost as fast as the rate of homelessness and knife crime.

13th - 19th April

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money FROM Brixton to Bristol and from Totnes to Lewis, a number of cities, towns and villages of varying sizes in the UK have introduced their own ‘local currency’ in a bid to boost business. Such an initiative has found its way to Spain with Barcelona about to launch its own currency next month. Called the REC - literally translated as Recurso Económico Ciudadano, or ‘Citizens Economic Resource’ - it will be piloted in the Besos area of the city. The aim is for the REC to be spent in 10 neighbourhoods at first, with plans to increase the scheme across the metropolitan area and, in the same way as the UK, promote local trade and allow local people to spend their own ‘resident money’ in their favourite bars and shops. However, in this case there will be no actual coins or notes in the transactions. The REC will be entirely digital with ‘spending’ taking place using an app or a QR

‘Rec’ the change in your pocket code and the ‘payments’ going straight to the retailer’s mobile phone. As for the exchange rate, it will maintain parity with the euro The system will be managed by NOVACT - responsible for many modern-day innovations in Barcelona - and it’s expected that close to 100 shops, local business and even some indoor market stalls will sign up to the scheme. The pilot scheme will be operational until October 2019, at which point it will be decided if it will carry on thereafter if it’s been a success. CASH FREE: New local currency coming into force on May 25.

Tax office in app warning TECHNOLOGY experts based with the Spanish tax office have issued a warning about using the mobile phone app designed for completing the annual ‘RENTA’ declarations. They have discovered a ‘fault’ that doesn’t remind those using the service to check in-depth the details on their draft return. This means - according to the independent in-house technical advisers GESTHA - that there is a possibility that people could miss out on welcome tax deductions if they are eligible and aren’t included in the online submission via the app. However, GESTHA were quick to point out that the app is only really suitable for the most basic annual tax declarations where nothing is likely to be altered year-on-year. Some of the potential problems concern many of the expenditure items that can be claimed against tax that may be forgotten. These include mortgage repayments, personal pension contributions, personal loan repayments, charity donations and a host of other elements can reduce both individuals’ and the self-employed income tax bills. This year’s period to make the annual tax return opened on April 4 and operates until July 2.

13th - 19th April

Q

legal I have always dreamed of building my own home, can I buy some land and build my own house?

A

Yes, but please check the following Is the land classed as building land? Are there local building Let’s inform you seminar: Are you prepared for Brexit? Stan & Ollies, El Raso Friday 13th April 11.30

regulations and restrictions in place? Who owns the land? Does the plot have electricity and water supplies? Do not make any payment without your lawyer doing all the due diligences for your own peace of mind.

At Pellicer & Heredia we can help you with all the legal aspects of building your own home, and if you’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.

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Jam and Jerusalem time SUNFLOWER PLANTS: Play an important role in Calendar Girls.

by Colin Bird The opinions published in Colin’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors. THE drama group ACTS will shortly be holding read-throughs for the autumn production of Calendar Girls and it occurred to me that perhaps the Women’s Institute had branches in Spain and it would be worth circulating them with details of the play. But with such a large expatriate population, it quite surprised me to learn that there are no branches of the WI here. In the Suffolk village where we lived, there was a thriving and active WI. Each year a different member took on the task of organising the ladies Christmas dinner and entertainment, and it was a matter of some pride that the incumbent come up with something original and quirky. And so it was, that during my final Christmas in the UK, 12 of us blokes had been approached to do a one-off performance of Calendar Boys after the turkey and Christmas pud had been dispatched

at the WI dinner. It was very hush-hush, with all of us sworn to secrecy so that only Angela, the organiser of this little treat, knew what she had in store for her fellow institute members. “No going over the top” she lectured us, and stipulated that we all wore DJs but with only a bow tie beneath, and in addition wore, or carried with us, something to denote our occupations. She didn’t want some of her more genteel

ladies shocked or offended. Two of us were active members of the drama society and I’m sorry, but we simply did not subscribe to: ‘no going over the top’. Consequently I purloined a short skirt and fishnet tights from the Princess along with a large pair of stilettos from an Amazonian neighbour; with my partner in crime Jeff, purchasing a red leather man-pouch from Ann Summers, and just to round off the ensemble, a

CALENDAR GIRLS READ-THROUGH: This Monday and Monday April 23 at 6pm at Benijofar Cultural Centre. Open auditions: Monday April 30. We also need back stage and technical crew for this important production to be staged in October/November. Come along and meet the members of this very friendly and socially active group. All welcome.

fireman’s helmet and axe. My only ‘prop’ was a pair of furry handcuffs dangling from one wrist. On the appointed day, Messrs January through October paraded to the polite applause of the wine-mellowed all female audience. Then when November and December made an entrance, the place erupted with cat calls and general pandemonium. We managed to escape more or less intact, but not before much fumbling and personally, being goosed by a certain lady-of-the-manor. Everyone agreed that it was a memorable evening with the bonus that Jeff and I were given honorary membership of the WI.

RTN Life

A blooming good idea TO R R E V I E J A’ S U 3 A opened a new group concentrating on the art of flower arranging. Under the expert eye of Marjorie - a full time florist in the UK for many years before coming to Spain - it’s hoped that the group will grow and bloom and flourish over the months and years ahead. The group meets in the San Miguel Sports Centre in the afternoon of the first Wednesday of each

Speaking the language of flowers.

month. Anyone wishing to join this group, or indeed to find out more

a b o u t t h e To r r e v i e j a U3A, please go to the website at www.torre viejau3a.org.

Red Cross course in English THE Cruz Roja (Red Cross) has announced a course that is aimed at the English-speaking residents. The first of its kind, it will take place at the Casa de Cultura in Benijofar on Thursday and Friday April 26 and 27 from 9am to 2pm. Those wishing to take part are ad-

vised to wear ‘comfortable clothing’ that will make it easier to be involved in some of the practical demonstrations. The Cruz Roja will supply pens and paper. Please call 678 501 586 for more information and to reserve a place.

FRIDAY 10:15am Commonwealth Games 2018 2:00pm BBC News at One 2:30pm BBC London News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm 800 Words 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Money for Nothing 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 Sounds Like Friday Night 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm MasterChef 10:30pm Have I Got News for You 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Graham Norton Show 12:25am Wannabe

7:00am Commonwealth Games 2018 10:15am Oxford Street Revealed 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Britain's Home Truths 12:45pm Dom on the Spot 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm Commonwealth Games 2018 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Today at the Games 9:00pm Gardeners' World 10:00pm The City and the City 11:00pm Episodes 11:30pm Newsnight 12:05am Front Row Late 12:35am The Assassination of Gianni Versace American Crime Story

4:25am ITV Nightscreen 6:05am The Jeremy Kyle Show 7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:55pm ITV News London 3:00pm ITV Racing 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 Invictus 2:15am Jackpot247

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

2 Broke Girls Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Goldbergs The Goldbergs The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Mother New Girl New Girl Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Goldbergs The Goldbergs The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory Hollyoaks Extreme Cake Makers The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory G.I. Joe: Retaliation The Big Bang Theory

9:55am 10:05am 10:15am 12:15pm 1:10pm 1:15pm 2:15pm 2:45pm 3:20pm 4:20pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:05am

Rusty Rivets Mofy The Wright Stuff Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 5 News Lunchtime GPs: Behind Closed Doors Home and Away Neighbours NCIS Special: Game of Shadows Patient Killer 5 News at 5 Neighbours Home and Away 5 News Tonight The Gadget Show Springtime on the Farm Jane Mcdonald: My Life Story Will and Grace Will and Grace Greatest Celebrity Wind-Ups Ever!

4:25am 6:15am

Double Date Top Ten Show, the 2018 6:30am Special 7:00am Rough Stuff 9:15am The Emoji Movie 11:00am The Hurricane Heist 12:55pm Alien: Covenant 3:05pm Rough Stuff 5:15pm Maudie 7:20pm The Emoji Movie 9:00pm Alien: Covenant 11:10pm The Hurricane Heist 1:00am Wilson Woody Harrelson stars as a lonely misanthrope who reconnects with his ex-wife and learns that he has a daughter 2:40am Shin Godzilla 4:45am The Free World

1:00pm 1:30pm

La Liga Show Scottish Cup Greatest Games 2:00pm EFL Midweek Goals: Championship 2:30pm La Liga Icons 3:00pm La Liga Show 3:30pm EFL Midweek Goals: Championship 4:00pm Football's Greatest 4:30pm Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm La Liga Preview 7:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 7:30pm EFL Midweek Goals: Championship 8:00pm Football 11:15pm The Debate - Live 12:15am La Liga Icons 12:30am La Liga Icons 1:00am Football

SATURDAY 7:00am 11:00am 12:30pm 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:10pm 2:15pm 5:30pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:15pm 7:45pm 7:55pm 8:00pm 8:05pm 8:55pm 9:35pm 10:30pm 11:00pm 11:15pm 11:20pm 12:45am

Breakfast Saturday Kitchen Classic Mary Berry Football Focus BBC News Weather Commonwealth Games 2018 Final Score A Question of Sport Doodlebugs Ready or Not BBC News Regional News Weather Pointless Who Dares Wins Casualty Mrs. Brown's Boys BBC News Weather Match of the Day Commonwealth Games 2018

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8:30am 8:45am 9:00am 9:25am 9:30am 10:25am

Teen Titans Go! Adventure Time Thunderbirds are Go ITV News Info not available Saturday Morning with James Martin Who's Doing the Dishes? ITV Lunchtime News Change Your Tune Britain's Brightest Family ITV Racing ITV Evening News Regional News and Weather Ninja Warrior UK Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule Britain's Got Talent The Keith and Paddy Picture Show ITV News Legally Blonde

10:00am Made in Chelsea 11:00am Don't Tell the Bride Ireland 12:00pm New Girl 12:30pm New Girl 1:00pm The Goldbergs 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Goldbergs 2:30pm The Goldbergs 3:00pm The Goldbergs 3:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 4:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 4:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 5:00pm Young Sheldon 5:30pm The Big Bang Theory 6:00pm The Big Bang Theory 6:30pm The Big Bang Theory 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm The Big Bang Theory 8:30pm The Big Bang Theory 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Alien: Resurrection 12:05am Gogglebox

7:00am Milkshake! 10:55am Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:30am The Gadget Show 12:30pm Traffic Cops 1:30pm Traffic Cops 2:30pm Traffic Cops 3:30pm Live Aviva Premiership 6:00pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 7:00pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 8:00pm The Secret Life of Owls 9:00pm Qe2: The Worlds Greatest Cruise Ship 9:58pm 5 News 10:00pm Football on 5 11:00pm Football on 5 11:30pm 20 Moments That Rocked the 00s 1:00am Super Casino 4:10am Murder on the Internet

4:45am The Free World 6:30am Ready Player One: Special 7:00am Maudie 9:00am The Emoji Movie 10:30am The Hurricane Heist 12:30pm The Hurricane Heist: The Eye of the Storm 1:00pm The House 2:45pm Alien: Covenant 5:00pm The Emoji Movie 6:40pm Top Ten Show, the 2018 7:00pm The Hurricane Heist 9:00pm The House Two straight-laced suburbanites set up an illegal casino when their daughter's scholarship falls through. 10:35pm Alien: Covenant 12:40am Shin Godzilla 2:45am Wilson

10:15am 10:30am 10:45am 11:00am 1:00pm 3:45pm

7:00am Commonwealth Games 2018 10:15am Commonwealth Games 2018 4:00pm Women's FA Cup Semi Final: Chelsea v Manchester City 6:30pm Flog It! 7:30pm Today at the Games 9:00pm Britain's Biggest War Ship 10:00pm My Year with the Tribe 11:00pm Famalam 11:20pm The Homesman 1:15am The Hunters 3:05am Question Time 4:05am Holby City 5:05am This is BBC Two Highlights of programmes on BBC Two.

8:45am Adventure Time 9:00am The Haunted Hathaways 9:30am Info not available 10:25am Love Your Garden 11:00am Peston on Sunday 12:00pm Info not available 1:25pm Info not available 2:25pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:30pm Info not available 3:30pm Info not available 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase: Celebrity Special 7:00pm To be Announced 7:30pm ITV Evening News 7:45pm Regional News and Weather 8:00pm Change Your Tune 9:00pm The Durrells 10:00pm The Good Karma Hospital

10:25am Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back 12:00pm The Goldbergs 12:30pm The Goldbergs 1:00pm The Goldbergs 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Goldbergs 2:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 3:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:30pm The Big Bang Theory 4:00pm The Big Bang Theory 4:30pm The Big Bang Theory 5:00pm The Big Bang Theory 5:30pm The Big Bang Theory 6:00pm The Big Bang Theory 6:25pm The Big Bang Theory 6:50pm Young Sheldon 7:15pm The Big Bang Theory 7:45pm The Net 10:00pm Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 11:00pm The Inbetweeners 11:35pm The Inbetweeners

6:10am 6:35am 7:00am 11:00am

9:10am The Emoji Movie 10:40am The Hurricane Heist Full-throttle thriller about a team of hackers using a devastating hurricane as cover to steal millions 12:30pm The House 2:15pm Alien: Covenant 4:20pm Batman: The Killing Joke 5:45pm The Emoji Movie 7:25pm The House 9:00pm Alien: Covenant 11:10pm Batman: The Killing Joke 12:35am The Hurricane Heist 2:25am Wilson 4:15am The Free World

8:00am

12:25pm 1:20pm 1:30pm 2:30pm 3:00pm 7:15pm 7:25pm 7:30pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:25pm 10:55pm 11:10pm

6:15pm 8:40pm 10:45pm 11:55pm 12:00am 12:30am 12:45am 1:00am 1:15am

3:40am 4:00am 4:30am 5:00am

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SUNDAY 11:00am The Big Questions 12:00pm Homes Under the Hammer 1:00pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather for the Week Ahead 2:15pm MasterChef 3:15pm MasterChef 4:15pm Escape to the Country 5:00pm Lifeline 5:10pm Songs of Praise 5:45pm Pointless 6:35pm BBC News 6:50pm Regional News 6:55pm Weather 7:00pm The Big Painting Challenge 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Antiques Roadshow 10:00pm Ordeal by Innocence

11:35am 12:20pm 12:50pm 1:50pm 2:45pm 3:45pm 5:40pm 7:55pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 12:45am

Divine Designs Wildlife SOS Milkshake! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Football on 5 Football on 5 FIA Formula E Highlights Traffic Cops Traffic Cops A Royal Night Out The Hundred-Foot Journey 5 News The Royals Meghan Markle: The First 100 Days Meghan and Harry The Dater's Handbook Kensington Palace: Fit for a Princess

8:30am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 10:30am 12:00pm 12:30pm 3:15pm 6:25pm 8:30pm 8:40pm 10:45pm 12:05am

EFL Goals: Championship EFL Goals: League One and League Two Football's Greatest EFL Goals: Championship EFL Goals: League One and League Two Sunday Supplement EFL Goals: League One and League Two Football Football Info not available La Liga Greatest Games Info not available Football MLS Greatest Games

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.

MONDAY 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Heir Hunters 12:45pm Dom on the Spot 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm 800 Words 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Flipping Profit 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Nightmare Pets SOS 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Panorama 10:00pm DIY SOS the Big Build 11:00pm BBC News 11:30pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather

8:15am 9:00am 10:00am 12:00pm 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:45pm

Flog It! Hugh's Wild West Victoria Derbyshire BBC Newsroom Live The Daily Politics Perfection Home Away From Home 3:30pm Going Back, Giving Back 4:15pm Trust Me, I'm a Doctor 5:15pm Tigers About the House 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm The Repair Shop 8:00pm The Secret Helpers 9:00pm Only Connect 9:30pm University Challenge 10:00pm Secret Agent Selection : Ww2 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:55pm Regional News and Weather 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Give it a Year 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm The Queen's Green Planet 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:30pm ITV News London

9:30am

10:00am 12:00pm 1:00pm 2:00pm

9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:55pm Regional News and Weather 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:25pm Party Election Broadcast 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm 100 Year Old Driving School 9:00pm This Time Next Year 10:00pm Last Laugh in Vegas 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

10:00am 10:30am 11:00am 11:30am 12:00pm 12:30pm 1:00pm 1:30pm 2:00pm 2:30pm 3:00pm

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

How I Met Your Mother New Girl 2 Broke Girls Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Goldbergs The Goldbergs The Big Bang Theory How I Met Your Mother New Girl Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Goldbergs The Goldbergs The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory Hollyoaks Extreme Cake Makers The Big Bang Theory Young Sheldon Made in Chelsea

6:35am 7:00am 10:15am 12:15pm 1:10pm 1:15pm 2:10pm 2:15pm 2:45pm 3:20pm 4:20pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm

Wildlife SOS Milkshake! The Wright Stuff Traffic Cops 5 News The Gadget Show Access Home and Away Neighbours NCIS Deadly Duplicate 5 News Neighbours Home and Away 5 News The Yorkshire Vet Casebook 9:00pm Police Interceptors 10:00pm Paddington Station 24/7 11:00pm Waco Inferno: The Untold Story 12:05am Criminals Caught on Camera 1:05am America's Toughest Prisons

6:15am

New Girl New Girl 2 Broke Girls 2 Broke Girls Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Goldbergs The Goldbergs The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Mother New Girl New Girl Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Goldbergs The Big Bang Theory Hollyoaks Extreme Cake Makers The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory

6:10am 6:35am 7:00am 10:15am 12:15pm 1:10pm 1:15pm

6:30am Moana: Special 7:00am Top Ten Show, the 2018 7:20am Wilson 9:10am The House 10:55am Growing Up Smith 12:55pm Alien: Covenant 3:05pm Batman: The Killing Joke 4:35pm Just Charlie 6:30pm Ready Player One: Special 7:00pm Growing Up Smith 9:00pm The House 10:35pm Alien: Covenant 12:40am Batman: The Killing Joke 2:10am Wilson 4:00am Maudie

6:30am 7:00am 8:45am 9:00am 10:40am 12:30pm 2:35pm 4:00pm 5:45pm 7:15pm 9:00pm 11:10pm 12:45am

Top Ten Show, the 2018 Ready Player One: Special FilmThe Emoji Movie Top Ten Show, the 2018 The House FilmJust Charlie FilmAlien: Covenant FilmBatman: The Killing Joke FilmWilson FilmThe Emoji Movie Just Charlie Alien: Covenant The House FilmBatman: The Killing Joke

8:30am Football Countdowns 9:00am Football's Greatest 9:30am Football's Greatest Teams 10:00am Scottish Cup Greatest Games 10:30am La Liga Greatest Games 10:45am La Liga Greatest Games 11:00am Info not available 1:05pm Info not available 3:10pm Info not available 5:15pm Eredivisie 7:25pm MLS Greatest Games 7:30pm Info not available 7:45pm Info not available 8:00pm Soccer A.M. 8:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 8:40pm La Liga Icons 8:55pm Info not available 11:00pm Football's Greatest 11:30pm MLS Round Up Show 12:00am Soccer A.M. - The Best Bits

TUESDAY 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Heir Hunters 12:45pm Dom on the Spot 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm 800 Words 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Flipping Profit 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 Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation 11:00pm BBC News

Victoria Derbyshire BBC Newsroom Live The Daily Politics The Super League Show 2:45pm Home Away From Home 3:30pm Going Back, Giving Back 4:15pm Trust Me, I'm a Doctor 5:15pm Tigers About the House 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm The Repair Shop 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Top of the Shop with Tom Kerridge 10:00pm Hospital 11:00pm Cunk on Britain 11:30pm Newsnight

3:30pm 4:00pm 4:30pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm

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

Divine Designs Wildlife SOS Milkshake! The Wright Stuff Traffic Cops 5 News GPs: Behind Closed Doors Access Home and Away Neighbours NCIS Deadly Delusion 5 News Neighbours Home and Away 5 News The Yorkshire Vet Casebook The Yorkshire Vet Made in Yorkshire Becky Watts: Killed for Kicks Serial Killers

11:30am Soccer A.M. 12:00pm One2eleven 12:30pm SPFL Greatest Games 12:45pm SPFL Greatest Games 1:00pm Revista de la Liga 1:30pm MLS Round Up Show 2:00pm La Liga Icons 3:00pm Eredivisie 4:00pm Football's Greatest 4:30pm 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 MLS Round Up Show 8:00pm Eredivisie 9:00pm Revista de la Liga 9:30pm MLS Round Up Show

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.

32

13th - 19th April

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

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:40pm 11:45pm 12:15am

Flog It! Pointless BBC News Regional News The One Show Watchdog Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation BBC News Regional News Weather A Question of Sport Nightmare Pets SOS

Tigers About the House Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Eggheads The Repair Shop Antiques Road Trip Top of the Shop with Tom Kerridge The Assassination of Gianni Versace American Crime Story Live at the Apollo Newsnight Weather

6:00pm 7:00pm

Trust Me, I'm a Doctor 5:15pm Tigers About the House: What Happened Next 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Britain in Bloom 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Nature's Biggest Beasts 10:00pm Civilisations 11:00pm Match of the Day 11:30pm Newsnight

7:00pm 7:25pm

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

11:00pm 11:30pm 12:10am

7:25pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm

The Chase Regional News and Weather Party Election Broadcast ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street Britain's Brightest Family Coronation Street Benidorm ITV News at Ten and Weather Regional News and Weather Info not available

5:30pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm

Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Goldbergs The Goldbergs The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm Extreme Cake Makers 9:00pm The Goldbergs 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Timeless 11:00pm Naked Attraction 12:05am The Big Bang Theory

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

5 News Neighbours Home and Away 5 News The Yorkshire Vet Casebook 9:00pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 10:00pm Housing Yorkshire: Somewhere to Call Home 11:00pm Violent Child, Desperate Parents 12:05am Meghan and Harry In Their Own Words. 1:05am Meghan Markle: The First 100 Days

6:10am

Top Ten Show, the 2018 6:30am Ready Player One: Special 7:00am Just Charlie 9:00am Batman: The Killing Joke 10:30am Wilson 12:10pm The House 1:55pm Alien: Covenant 4:05pm Growing Up Smith 6:00pm Batman: The Killing Joke 7:25pm The House 9:00pm Alien: Covenant 11:10pm Spacewalker 1:30am Just Charlie

Football's Greatest Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:15pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 5:45pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:20pm Football 8:35pm Football 10:45pm La Liga Greatest Games

4:15pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm

5:05am 7:00am 8:45am 10:25am 12:15pm 2:20pm 3:55pm

3:00pm La Liga: The Las Palmas Story 4:15pm La Liga Icons 4:30pm 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 Eredivisie 8:00pm EFL Rivalries 8:30pm Football 11:00pm The Debate - Live 12:00am La Liga Show

4:00pm 4:30pm

THURSDAY 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm

BBC News at Six BBC London News The One Show EastEnders Would I Lie to You? Not Going Out Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation BBC News at Ten BBC London News Question Time

4:15pm

7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm 12:15am

ITV News London Party Election Broadcast ITV Evening News Emmerdale Tonight Emmerdale The Cruise: Sailing the Caribbean The Investigator: A British Crime Story ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV News London The Late Debate Lethal Weapon

4:30pm 5:00pm 5:30pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 10:30pm 11:00pm 11:35pm

New Girl Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Goldbergs The Goldbergs The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory Hollyoaks Extreme Cake Makers The Big Bang Theory Young Sheldon Brooklyn Nine-Nine Derry Girls The Inbetweeners The Windsors

At Risk 5 News at 5 Neighbours Home and Away 5 News Tonight The Yorkshire Vet Casebook 9:00pm Bad Tenants, Rogue Landlords 10:00pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 11:00pm Undercover: Nailing the Fraudsters 12:05am The Body in the Freezer: Countdown to Murder

5:20pm 7:10pm 9:00pm 11:10pm 12:45am 2:10am 4:30am

Growing Up Smith Just Charlie Wilson Sky Alien: Covenant The House Batman: The Killing Joke Growing Up Smith Sky Alien: Covenant The House Batman: The Killing Joke Spacewalker Just Charlie

this week weather FRI

SAT

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

April 13

April 14

April 15

April 16

April 17

April 18

April 19

15º/10ºC 19º/10ºC 24º/9ºC 23º/10ºC 25º/12ºC 24º/11ºC 24º/10ºC Cloudy and Cooler and a little rain a little rain

Some rain

Clouds and sun

Partly sunny

Brilliant sunshine

Clouds and sun

13th - 19th April

33

Summary of tense forms Basic Spanish for everyday needs

by Jane Cronin

TO start off today’s article here is the translation into English of last week’s little bit of Spanish. Today has been a normal working day for me, with my classes in Torrevieja. I have a lot of students now, especially in the second group of the day. After the final class I have to gather all my things and drive towards my home in San Pedro. Today I have called into the supermarket to buy oranges and bread, and also to the photocopy shop. I have found my two daughters at home, one watching the TV and the other one studying for an exam. This isn’t the most usual situation. Many times they are out doing sport or walking with their friends. Well, it’s quite late now and I am still working. In a minute I’m going to switch off this cursed computer and relax a little before going to sleep. What a life I lead!

Before we move onto a new topic, we are going to summarise the three verb forms we have been studying over a period of months. If you remember, right back at the beginning we looked at a way of referring to our future intentions by using ‘voy a’ (I’m going to), which changes to ‘vas a’ (you’re going to), ‘va a’ (he or she is going to), ‘vamos a’ (we’re going to) ‘vais a’ (you’re going to - plural form) and ‘van a’ (they’re going to). We saw that after these we put the main verb of the sentence into the infinitive form - giving us, for example ‘Voy a comer’ (I’m going to eat) or ‘Vas a aprender’ (you are going to learn). Then later we looked at the ‘present action’ tense which expresses activities taking place at the present moment. This is made up by using the verb ‘estar’ in the appropriate form and the main verb in what we call the ‘gerund’ or ‘present participle’. That gives us, for example ‘Estoy comiendo (I am eating), ‘estás aprendiendo’ (you are learning). Finally, we have been looking at the ‘recent past’ tense which expresses something in the past which is still connected in some way to the present. This is formed with the verb ‘haber’ plus the ‘past participle’. ‘He comido’ (I have eaten), ‘Has aprendido’ (you have learnt).

We can therefore put these ideas together to form a ‘timeline’ as follows. Voy a comer. Estoy comiendo. He comido. (I’m going to eat) (I’m eating) (I have eaten) Vas a aprender. Estás aprendiendo. Has aprendido. (You’re going to learn) (You are learning) (You have learnt)

You can now have hours of fun doing the same thing with as many verbs as you wish, and changing the person to he, she, we, they etc. I think it is an effective way of revising what we have learnt, reminding ourselves which form is which and how it is made up, and also the time sequencing of past, present and future. Voy a terminar este artículo. Estoy terminando este artículo. He terminado este artículo. Hasta luego.

34

13th - 19th April

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

Play on Words

Answers: Life begins at forty. Win hands down.

The Sun conjuncts Uranus and this may shed a little light on a temporary delay that’s both irksome and shaky. Uranus is able to work along with invention and stability aspects whilst the Sun energy combines to iron out any possible cracks or flaws. Timing is of the essence whilst you establish a suitable time frame and remain persistent.

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?

Kora connects with the Sun and serves to compensate for the misunderstanding that has seen you pull apart from a project that you truly love. In hindsight maybe you would never have got involved if you knew what you would be up against. The apple does seem to have fallen far from the tree this time around, ask yourself why? Something appears to have been blown out of all proportion, but you have your reason to be cautious since it’s a matter of once bitten and twice shy! It wasn’t you who moved the goalposts but if you need to apportion blame then see what’s really behind all this, and focus on how you walk away, with your head held high and your pride intact. The opposition to Jupiter sees Venus hard put to explain the recent actions that have you stumped just now. As someone who shies away from confrontation you have found yourself somewhat in the deep end and needing a rescue. Beware of what is really behind a recent request, which sounds as if it is too good to be true. I wonder why? Putting two and two together you would be right in thinking that this is a good time to show others what you can do, when left to your own devices. Above all see to it that your creative phase doesn’t go unnoticed. You are truly more than you think that you are; and you are about to find out what is your true motivation and just go for it. Hard though it may be, it’s now up to you what happens next in the current scheme of things. Whilst it is understandable that you are playing things by ear at the moment, much has to be taken into consideration. Mars sextiles Neptune so have a clear direction by all means, but also do have a suitable escape route planned too! Venus is spreading love energy all across the Cosmos this week. Both the midweek trine with Pluto and the subsequent opposition with Jupiter may be seen as you stubbornly following that same old same old routine. Put renewed energy back into your life, because it is time, and because for sure, you have bigger fish to fry! Those who fear your sting may be disappointed this week, since your intuition and wisdom is called upon to bring solution and to set the record straight. If somebody is stirring things up then at least you can give them a good run for their money. After that you can be sure that a reward is just around the corner, and you well deserve it! The Mars sextile with Neptune sets the cat amongst the pigeons, but it also helps to show you who is really on your side. Right now you need somebody to watch over you, but they are not there to interfere with all the good work you have already done; just to enhance the process that helps you discover the vast difference that you can make. What happened, happened because it could. The reasoning now is to have your cake and eat it too! As Venus opposes Jupiter there has to be some recompense, and someone has to be made to eat humble pie into the bargain. Since you do not know what the truth is behind a recent action, take it as you should, with a pinch of salt. Dream away by any means, but what you chiefly desire most right now is nothing more than you deserve to have and need to get your teeth into. Any compromises of the past should be well and truly gone and not out there to haunt you. The dual actions of Jupiter, in sextile with Pluto and in trine with Venus are grounding and secure. Mars sextiles Neptune releasing a warning on a financial level. Time to not only tighten your belt, but to also look at ways of economising all along the way. Your money needs to work for you and not you for it, but recently expenditure has hit hard and somebody isn’t paying their way, and quite honestly they should be!

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 2 represents G and 5 represents N, so fill in G every time the figure 2 appears and N every time the figure 5 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, My husband does not believe in Spirit, but I very much do, and the feeling for me is getting stronger. What can I do to convince my husband? Jenni F. Jenni I am delighted that you are opening to Spirit and I send you a personal blessing with this mail. If I can be of further help to you let me know; you have work to do and whilst you strengthen that belief you will be rewarded. If your husband has decided not to believe then that is his personal choice. I hope he can go and believe in something! As for spending time trying to enforce your beliefs to your husband….. good luck on that one. Maybe one day he will find out for himself!

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 Expansion across the Universe opens a new frontier which will seem to be working on your behalf. Time to reflect on just what you need and to be rewarded by fate, if you allow it.

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.

13th - 19th April

35

More Puzzles Cryptic

Across 7 Shell motor at full speed (8) 8 Behind Defense Attorney's disclosure (4) 9 Fellow the French say is kind (6) 10 Ageism in motion pictures (6) 11 Agree about Earnest (5) 12 Surrenders and somehow enters mid-Wales (7) 15 It tends to confuse one involved in oral examination (7) 17 North American swine's home is revolting (5) 20 Show about meat (6) 22 Set a stage for The Stones (6) 23 Family doctor's first to be sympathetic (4) 24 Example of epic men's make-up (8)

English - Spanish

Futoshiki

Down 1 Hack reveals palace rates of pay (8) 2 Upset baby's plaything (6) 3 Right cards for sporting events? (5) 4 Resolute British detectives in action (7) 5 See about taking cover in flight (6) 6 Weak beginning left a muddled ending (4) 13 Carrying mammal, Edward moved unsteadily (8) 14 Vain female tennis player in America? (7) 16 Finish in an attempt to be hip (6) 18 Some para mistaken for a Musketeer (6) 19 Supply for Tom Queen (5) 21 Eat up, Miss Blyton (4)

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 2 Veneno (6) 5 Eyebrow (4) 6 To lose (6) 7 Mismo (4) 8 Tapa (de caja) (3) 11 Envidia (4) 13 Almendra (6) 14 Hatred (4) 15 Tornillos (6)

Down 1 Candle (4) 2 Papern (material) (5) 3 Silk (4) 4 Noruega (6) 7 Ensaladas (6) 9 Fingers (of hand, glove) (5) 10 To love (4) 12 Vena (4)

Quick

Across 1 Final (4) 3 Authorised (8) 9 Housebreaker (7) 10 Take pleasure in (5) 11 Mislays (5) 12 Money that is paid regularly for doing work (6) 14 Blunders or mistakes (6) 16 Jail (6) 19 Scratch repeatedly (6) 21 Student (5) 24 Further or added (5) 25 Sculptures representing humans or animals (7) 26 Cellar (8) 27 Show the way by going first (4) Down 1 Tagged (8) 2 Arranges (5) 4 Woodland (6) 5 Perfection (5) 6 Harms (7) 7 Ballads (4) 8 Nearer (6) 13 Shut in (8) 15 Repeats aloud from memory (7) 17 Revoke (6) 18 Cause (6) 20 State of sudden fear (5) 22 Intermission (5) 23 Part of speech (4)

Sudoku

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

36

13th - 19th April

More Puzzles Irregular Soduku Wordsearch:

Saved by the bell

1. TIN PAN ALLEY, 2. MANSION HOUSE,

Not a lot of people know that… the exact centre of London is marked by a plaque in the Church of St Martin's-in-the-Fields overlooking Trafalgar Square

3. OLD BAILEY, 4. THREE (1908, 1948

6. On a map of the London Underground, what colour is the Jubilee Line?

10. With which sport would you principally associate the London Broncos?

and 2012), 5. HIGHGATE, 6. SILVER,

5. In which London cemetery is Karl Marx buried?

9. Which singer-songwriter reached number two in the UK singles charts in 1974 with The Streets of London?

Quiz

7. GEORGE ORWELL, 8. THE SHARD

4. How many times has London staged the Summer Olympic Games?

8. Which 95-storey London skyscraper is the tallest building in the UK?

LONDON CALLING

also referred to as the SHARD OF

3. Built on the site of Newgate Prison between 1903 and 1906, how is the Central Criminal Court in London better known?

London was the first full-length work by which English author?

GLASS, SHARD LONDON BRIDGE and

2. Built between 1739 and 1752, which building is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London?

DOWN 1. 7 across reversed 2. Its digits total fifteen 3. 5 across squared 6. 5 across reversed

formerly LONDON BRIDGE TOWER, 9.

1. Because of its large number of music shops, what is the three word nickname of London’s Denmark Street?

ACROSS 1. 1 down plus 2 down plus ten 4. The two digits are the same 5. 4 across minus ten 7. 4 across times 5 across

RALPH McTELL, 10. RUGBY LEAGUE

Cross Figure

SAVED BELL BAYSIDE ZACK MORRIS KELLY KAPOWSKI LISA TURTLE SCREECH JESSIE A.C. SLATER MARIO LOPEZ STACEY THE MAX

Answers

7. Published in 1933, Down and Out in Paris and

13th - 19th April

More Puzzles Giant Crossword ACROSS 1 Belgradians, e.g. 6 Head hair hides them 12 Aped 20 Irked a lot 21 Was released 22 In a mannerly manner 23 Start of a riddle 26 Myrna of "The Thin Man" 27 Seasons' first games 28 Cried feebly 29 Gives in (to) 33 PIN point 34 TV reporter Burnett 36 Marian 37 Riddle, part 2 45 Currently airing 47 Like straight lines, for short 48 Recycling receptacles 49 Notable years 50 Riddle, part 3 55 Singer Levine 56 Fridays (restaurant) 57 Dalai 58 Freeze Away targets 60 Youth org. 63 Bitten at persistently 67 Penalized monetarily 70 Taunt 72 Riddle, part 4 76 Nero or Livy 77 Actress Eva 78 Actress Eva 79 Ar follower 80 Plane parts 82 Korbut of gymnastics 84 Fleurde 86 Tick's cousin 87 Riddle, part 5

96 Stage decor 97 Champ's cry 98 Novelist Seton 99 "Ask I might know the answer" 100 End of the riddle 106 Sword type 107 See 9Down 108 Basketballer Ming 109 Gift from above 111 Test pilot's garb 114 Least dry 118 Surg. sites 119 Riddle's answer 126 More ready to hit the hay 127 Mexican or Guatemalan 128 Wall painting 129 Steed riders 130 Revises, as text 131 Messy types DOWN 1 Toothed tool 2 King James Bible suffix 3 San Luis , California 4 Really scolded 5 Rose to one's feet 6 Police rank: Abbr. 7 "It's Impossible" singer Perry 8 Over 9 With 107Across, give in to despair 10 "The 25th Annual County Spelling Bee" 11 Tampa Bay city, for short 12 Stock mkt. debuts 13 Floor cleaner 14 In bad health 15 Neckwear clasps 16 Make harmonious 17 Blue hue

18 Sommer of "The Oscar" 19 Like much blond hair 24 No, to Dmitri 25 Writer Bombeck 29 Love, to Nero or Livy 30 Walking stick 31 French "five" 32 Loafer, e.g. 34 Revise 35 Revive 38 With 113Down, product's ultimate consumer 39 Vietnamese celebration 40 Hero type 41 Nets' org. 42 Formfilling 43 Millet, fescue and sorghum 44 Tuber often candied 46 Going gaga, with "out" 51 Wedding band 52 Lieutenant Geordi on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" 53 Exclude 54 Zone 55 Zone 59 Disbeliever in God 60 Exclude 61 Like a worse blizzard 62 Confess 64 Birth mo. for many Leos 65 Jobcreating FDR agcy. 66 Big shot 68 LAX stat 69 Cannes' Palme 71 Mag heads 73 Hamlet, e.g. 74 Ballot site 75 Takei's "Star Trek" role 81 Close with stitches

83 Way out 85 Full of tension 86 Soup flavor enhancer, for short 88 Over 89 Not Rep. or Dem. 90 Party card game 91 Lower Manhattan sch. 92 Turf toughs 93 Ballyhoo 94 "Preach it!" 95 Really mad, with "off" 97 Krypton86, for one 101 Cries feebly 102 Gazing sort 103 Baby's toy 104 New York City moniker 105 Way out 110 Instruments with sticks 111 Lillian of silent films 112 French battle site of '44 113 See 38Down 114 Threadbare 115 Suffix with sermon 116 Where the tibia is 117 Minister (to) 120 Tiny 121 Tiny 122 Set (brief fights) 123 Swing to and 124 Test center 125 Lofty rails

37

Boggled How many English words can you find in the Boggled grid, according to the following rules? • The letters must be adjoining in a ‘chain’. They can be adjacent horizontally, vertically or diagonally. • Words must contain at least four letters and may include singular and plural or other derived forms. • No letter may be used more than once within a single word, unless it appears twice. • No vulgarities or proper nouns are permitted.

TARGET • Average: 14 • Good: 19 • Very good: 28 • Excellent: 36 SCORING 4 letters: 1 point 5 letters: 2 points 6 letters: 3 points 7 letters: 5 points 8 or more letters: 11 points

Nonagram How many English words of four letters or more can you make from the nine letters in our Nonagram puzzle? Each letter may be used only once (unless the letter appears twice). Each word MUST CONTAIN THE CENTRE LETTER (in this case C) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

• Average: 9 • Good: 13 • Very good: 19 • Excellent: 24

38

13th - 19th April

health

Best foods for skin

ALTHOUGH a healthy diet is immeasurably important to your skin’s appearance there are some foods which you can use externally to sharpen up your beauty regime. For instance ground-up seaweed is chock full of amino-acids, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. Olive oil has stood the test of time with its healthy fats and moisturising combination of vitamin E and A. Believe it or not natural yoghurt can make an excellent exfoliator and also combats spots due to its anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Coconut oil is terrific for nourishing and hydrating your hair and even protecting it from harmful UV rays. Pumpkin is packed full of antioxidants and is a

OLIVE OIL: An ageless beauty classic.

perfect antidote for dry skin. Finally you can even pre-

pare a ‘wine facial’ with three teaspoons of wine, one of honey, and a quarter of a cup

of plain yoghurt to recover blood flow and get your glow back.

Babies are hard work A NEW report has revealed that 35 per cent of UK parents were not prepared in the slightest for how hard having a baby would be. Almost half, 49 per cent, said they felt shocked as they adjusted to their new lifestyle. The research was commissioned by toy company ‘Little Tikes,’ and quizzed 1,500 UK parents in their first year of parenting. The poll found the hardest part of being a parent is the constant tidying up (25 per cent), closely followed by bedtime issues, including the sleepless nights (22 per cent), and the battle to get the baby to sleep (14 per cent). Over a third admitted they only enjoyed being a parent ‘some of the time.’ However, on the flip side, the survey found the smallest things the most rewarding, with 38 per cent of respondents saying that seeing their little one smile was the most fulfilling feeling, giving it a happiness rating of 8.5 out of 10. Parents also said they spent around 2,263 hours holding their baby in the first year, which equates to over six hours a day. Almost three quarters (73 per cent) said that during the first year with a new baby they feel pressure from friends and family to be a ‘perfect’ parent, and 66 per cent of parents said they regularly get annoyed with others on social media who portray a perfect family.

More spots, less wrinkles SUFFERING from acne can be pretty miserable, especially during those difficult adolescent years, but sufferers can take heart that come middle age they may be the envy of their peers. British research has revealed that acne sufferers’ cells have built-in protection against ageing that is likely to keep them looking younger later in life. A team from King’s College London, studied tiny structures called telomeres, caps on the ends of chromosones that protect the DNA from damage. Thought of as tiny biological clocks, telomeres

get shorter during the ageing process and eventually become so short that cells die. Studies have found men and women with long telomeres tend to be biologically younger than those of the same age but

with shorter ones, and these telomeres were significantly longer in those who had a spotty adolescence. The King’s College study measured the telomeres in the white blood cells of more than

ACNE SUFFERERS: Have built-in protection against ageing.

1,200 twins, a quarter of whom had suffered from acne. The team hope that by learning more about the genetic process it could help in the development of acne drugs, as well as anti-ageing treatments.

13th - 19th April

health

Ride a roller coaster to pass kidney stones RIDING a roller coaster could be the most pain-free and cost-efficient way to pass kidney stones. That’s according to a team at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, who rode Disney World’s top rides 60 times to test their theory. They rode three roller coasters 60 times in a row with a model kidney and three different sized kidney stones to see if it helped to stimulate passing kidney stones. By the end, they concluded it did. Independent of kidney stone volume and location, findings by the researchers showed sitting in the back of the roller coaster resulted in a passage rate of 63.89 per cent, compared to a passage rate of 16.67 when sat in the front seat of rides. The urologist behind the study said that the study supports the anecdotal evidence that a ride on

a moderate-intensity roller coaster could benefit some patients with small kidney stones. Passing a kidney stone before it reaches an obstructive size can prevent surgeries and emergency room visits.

THRILLING TREATMENT: Take a ride to get rid of kidney stones.

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home & garden

How to grow Aloevera flowers Photo Credit: Tang Yan Song Shutterstock

HAVING an attractively sculptured flowering cactus-type plant whi c h i s e a s y t o g r o w, with minimal watering and care makes the Aloe vera a perfect add i t i o n t o a n y b a l c o n y, terrace or garden. Aloes grow very well in pots, containers and planter boxes indoors or outdoors and in any well-drained areas of the garden with shade. It doesn’t grow very big when restricted to a smaller container and it will not become invasive in the garden. The difficult thing however is to obtain its flowers. The yellow tubular flowers of Aloe vera, borne on an up to 90 centimetre branched panicle or stem, are striking but there is an art to encouraging it to form flowers. The plants usually need to be more than four years old to f l o w e r. A l o e s m u s t b e kept healthy by not exposing to cold in winter or sunburn in summer. They need plenty of light but not direct summer sun for very long in the day as the leaves will become burnt and, as they are

BEAUTIFUL: Flowering Aloe vera.

long-lasting leaves, it can take a long time to recuperate with new leaves. They should, however, have maximum ex-

posure to bright indirect or filtered sunlight. The flower buds form in late winter for blooming in spring so

this is the time to allow the maximum exposure to sunlight with periods of direct sunlight from some milder winter sun. In the garden un-

der a deciduous tree is perfect for this to occur naturally. This will encourage the flowers to form. They require minimal

Strawberries on a tree, seems unlikely but... ONE of the fascinating things about gardening is the variety of plants that are available from various regions around the

world. Here in the Mediterranean there are a number of lesser known plants that make great ornaments, produce swe-

et smelling flowers and provide fruit. One favourite is the Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo). Yo u c a n s e e t h e t r e e growing wild in its native habitats in oak forests in zones below 800 metres in Spain. It has also become domesticated and can be seen in gardens as a feature tree due to its cinnamon-coloured bark and deep green foliage. It is most attractive and highlighted in autumn with bunches of scented

white waxy vase-shaped flowers in clusters, and dangling fruits that ripen individually from green to yellow and finally red when mature over a long period of time. The fruit resembles a strawberry hanging from the tree but the similarities end there. It does not taste at all like a strawberry. It requires an acquired taste to appreciate it and is not a fruit that you usually would eat many of. It is a delight to sample a few on occasions

as an alternative to the more common fruits available, if only to try something different. If you have a tree or can source the fruit it makes wonderful jams with a unique tinge to the taste. The fruit needs to be fresh as it deteriorates quickly once off the tree. Only the soft red fruit is fully ripe and the fruit ripens gradually at different times on the tree, making it difficult to collect significant numbers at one time.

fertiliser if you use a good quality soil mix and repot with new mixture every couple of years. An annual weak liquid fertiliser in early spring will help inspire the flowers and healthy growth. Aloe vera has been grown for thousands of years as a medicinal herb, particularly for the skin for sunburn and as a moisturiser in many parts of the world. It has been in cultivation so long and has hybridised, so that its origins from naturally growing species in the Sahara and Middle East was only determined through DNA testing. Extracts from its colourless gel-like inner tissue are extremely popular for use in cosmetics and for a wide range of herbalist applications. Ironically, the skin of the plant has elements which can be a harmful irritant to sensitive people. To g r o w A l o e s u c cessfully it must have good drainage from the soil mix that it grows in. It is best watered after the soil has become dry as it doesn’t tolerate wet feet for long. Incorporating plenty of composted potting mix, sand and fine gravel will assist with drainage. Propagation is very e a s y a s o ff s e t s h o o t s appear around the mature parent plant. The plant can be lifted and the offsets removed and placed in a position to grow the new plants. As they transplant easily the parent plant can be returned to its place and will continue t o g r o w h a p p i l y. R e moving the offsets will help encourage the plant to flower.

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

MOTORING

UK MOT. All legal and on line. Arrangements made for collection and delivery £400. Email carsinspain@hot mail.com Tel. 0044 7553367285 (246860)

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SPANISH COURSES

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POOLS

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13th - 19th April

REMOVALS & STORAGE

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13th - 19th April PETS

Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Wordwheel aa ad ae af ar at aw fa ta ada aft ara

Cryptic

are arf art ate awa awe daw ear eat era eta fad

Codebreaker far fat fra rad rat raw tad tae tar taw tea twa

wad wae waf war wat afar area awed daft dare dart data

date dawt deaf dear drat draw fade fard fare fart fate fear

Quick

feat feta frae frat raft rare rate read rear tara tare tear

trad twae waaf wade wafd waft ward ware wart wear after award

aware darer dater defat derat dewar draft drear dwarf fader farad fared

farer fated fatwa frate radar rared rated rater rawer reata tared tarre

tawed tawer terra trade tread trefa wader wafer wared water afeard dafter

darter dartre drawer errata farted frater rafted rafter redraw retard reward tarred

trader wafted wafter warder warred warted awarder drafter dwarfer redraft warfare afterward

Kakuro

Word Ladder DUST MUST MOST MOSS MOPS COPS

Sudoku

English-Spanish

Futoshiki

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13th - 19th April

motoring

New chapter for Dickens with SPV Racing

SWEDISH former racing driver Stanley Dickens, who won the Le Mans 24-hours in 1989, has joined SPV Racing as their team manager. At the moment SPV Racing are entered in the Michelin Le Mans Cup with a single Ligier JS P3 LMP3 car, but will soon be rolling out a second Ligier. An LMP2 test programme is due to start in the second half of this year, with a chance of some races before the end of the year. Alongside this, SPV are

involved in GT4 racing in Spain and are preparing to join the new FIA Electric GT Series with a pair of Tesla Model S P100DLs. Stanley Dickens enjoyed a successful racing career which saw him win a European Championship, a Japanese Championship and ultimately the 1989 Le Mans 24-Hours with Sauber Mercedes. Moving into team management upon retiring from the track, Dickens guided his Sports Racing Team Sweden to the FIA Sportscar Championship SR2 title

in 2001 with Larry Oberto and Thed Bjork. “I have had the opportunity now to work with the SPV team at a number of tests in Spain and Portugal, getting to know the mechanics, engineers and drivers. We have podium ambi-

Credit: SPV Racing

tions in the Michelin Le Mans Cup 2018 but the long-term goal is to establish a platform for years to come.” SPV Racing CEO Raul Garcia is delighted with the recruitment of Dickens and said: “We are very glad to have

Stanley joining the team as the manager of the LMP programme. “His experience as a driver and team manager will be very valuable as we continue to expand.”

NEED FOR SPEED: SPV Racing are hoping to make a mark on the Le Mans Cup (inset) Stanley Dickens.

13th - 19th April

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motoring by David Hudson

SINCE 2014 there have been a number of Traffic law changes that have cleared up the grey areas of classics. A number of readers who have come up against the police recently havecontacted me. One reader contacted me having been told by the Almeria Local Police that he had a month to sort it otherwise his classic would be impounded. Readers may find this explanation of the existing classic rules which cover motorised two and more wheeled vehicles helpful. Let’s start with the basics. If you have a Spanish residencia you should have a Spanish driving licence and you cannot own a foreign registered vehicle. You have one month to get it on Spanish plates or two months if you use a solicitor. If you are a non-resident with a foreign registered vehicle you can only use it in Spain for 183 days in any 12 months. You can get in on Spanish plates but you have to pay import tax unlike a resident who pays nothing because it is part of their property.

Classics in Spain Because Spain now recognises ITV (MOT) from other countries you can use it while getting it changed onto Spanish plates. Just because you are on Spanish historic plates doesn’t exempt you from paying annual vehicle local tax. It relies on the council having opted into the culture law to exempt historic vehicles, and this is only based on the registered age of the vehicle, nothing else. The new ITV changes which come into effect on May 20 include changes to classi cs. Now the classic vehicle must be at least 30 years old. It must be either as the original or

the principle components should be the original type of engine, brakes, steering, the suspension or bodywork. The vehicle must be ITV checked in the province that the owner is resident in. The repeat ITV (MOT) for historic (classic) vehicles 30 to 40 years is every two years, 40 to 45

years is every three years and over 45 years is every four years. At the moment classic vehicles are 25 years and over and if they are on historic plates they are tested every four years. If the vehicle fails an ITV test then you cannot drive it on the road and would have to have it transported by a grua. From May 20 you can choose which ITV station to retest at and you can have the ITV test up to one month in advance. A n y

Credit: David Hudson

A CLASSIC: At the ITV station.

modification to the vehicle must be registered with Trafico and checked with an ITV. The modifications include tow bar, tyres and wheels, suspension, seats and changing them after it has passed the ITV is illegal. To help with the improved emission controls, and if the classic has only travelled short distances, add Forte specialist injection cleaner to the petrol and drive approximately 50 kilometres to clean out the system. Change the engine oil, oil and air filters just before the test and replace old plugs and leads. All Spanish registered vehicles must carry all the documents or a copia compulsada (legal copy) and the required legal safety equipment. Unlike the UK you are not allowed to take the documents to a police station. Also if the classic vehicle cannot maintain 60 kph then they are not allowed on dual carriageways or motorways. If the vehicle cannot maintain 80 kph they can be prohibited to travel on certain dates and routes. These are only the main differences between UK and Spanish classic laws and they have been simplified for easy information.

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motoring A scootering success for Yamaha which has been Europe’s most popular scooter since its 2001 launch. Yamaha says that the models’ popularity is down to their ‘fun ride’, ‘sporty styling’ and ‘riding comfort’. “The TMAX DX boasts ‘motorcycle-type handling’, and a high-spec, making it fit for both daily commuting and fun weekend riding,” said the Japanese manufacturer. Alongside its die-cast aluminum chassis, the deluxe model’s luxuries include cruise control, a Smart Key and an electronically-adjustable screen. It also sports a handy phone charging socket and space to store two large helmets. The XMAX 300 takes over from the XMAX 250 in the middle of Yamaha’s MAX series. Yamaha said: “The XMAX 300 offers even higher levels of comfort and

functionality, while delivering high quality styling and agile performance.” The model’s features make the well-loved scooter an “ideal partner for city travel

and commuting”, said the company. Yamaha hopes that the XMAX 300 will consolidate the model’s position as one of Europe’s best-loved scooters. Image Credits: Yamaha

TWO Yamaha scooters have won this year’s famed Red Dot design award. The TMAX DX and XMAX 300 scooters received the award for their outstanding product design. It marks the seventh consecutive Red Dot award for Yamaha. The awarding body - Germany’s Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen - is widely recognised as among the most prestigious design institutions in the world. And the news adds to the scooters’ international design award collection which also includes the Good Design Award 2017 and the IF Design Award 2018. The award brings continued success for the TMAX

RED RECOGNITION: Yamaha scooters win prestigious award.

If it pollutes... it’s off ‘ yer bike AS from December this year, Barcelona Council has announced that the motorbikes, mopeds and scooters that cause the highest levels of pollution will see them banned from the city centre. The new regulation - which will be enforced on working days only between 7am and 8pm - follows closely after the recent rules on emissions that codes motorcycles according to their carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide levels. This has been introduced by Spain’s traffic department (DGT) and has been called the ‘sticker scheme’. The stickers can be bought from post offices at a cost of €5 each and are categorised as ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘Eco’ and ‘Zero Emissions’. Even though these stickers aren’t compulsory to have, they would certainly identify the least-polluting bikes and thus allow them into central Barcelona now it has been designated a ‘Low Emissions Zone’. It’s recommended that those who do have the stickers place them on a prominent part of the bike so they can be easily seen by traffic police without having to pull them up. According to the DGT, approximately 40 per cent of motorcycles registered in Barcelona fall into the ‘green’ sticker category C, whilst 19 per cent are a B and 1 per cent are classed as Zero Emissions. The remaining 40 per cent won’t be eligible for stickers since they are considered too polluting, and they’re the ones that will be denied access to the city centre.