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Issue 981 24th - 30th August

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Call for street trader action by Darren Parmenter

T’S becoming almost impossible to walk along the pavements in Cabo Roig on the Orihuela Costa without falling over a street seller. A problem that was always associated with nearby Torrevieja, this 700-metre stretch of narrow walkway is now the apparent new home of more than 80 ‘manteros’ (named after the sheet or blanket they lay on the ground to display their products) that dominate the area from 8pm onwards. I t ’s m o r e t h a n w e l l known that almost everything on sale is counterfeit, ranging from bags to t-shirts to sunglasses and watches, and they occupy a significant amount of public space. And it’s starting to annoy local people, residents associations and business owners who have demanded more control from the Local Police. According to a report in the Spanish media, Liam Kiley from the Federation of Associations of Orihuela Costa (FAOC) is among those calling for more police presence. “These illegal street sellers are seriously affecting the trade of those legally operating as well as the bar and restaurant trade as they’re restricting access,” he said.

SUMMER OFFER FLAT RATE FOR EASY LEGALS PROPERTY CONVEYANCING of only 800€ including: • Legal Advice during the purchase • Notarised power of attorney • 2 NIE numbers • Change of all service bills ANNOYING: Cabo Roig sees more than 80 illegal traders nightly.

He laments it seems as if neither the police nor the Orihuela Council do anything to address the growing problem. The FAOC are proposing that the police visit the Orihuela Costa more often and seize the illegal products on sale, on the basis that if the sellers see the authorities being more proactive, they won’t return. As well as the alleged illegal goods and the disruption they cause,

the ‘manteros’ pay no tax, no insurance and no rent for the land; significant expenses that have to be paid by the law-abiding traders in the same area.

Please contact us for more information 966 765 024 – info@easylegals.com C/Algarobo 2, CC Los Dolses, Local M-120, Villamartin

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24th - 30th August

‘Guardia Civil’ drug thieves arrested

Malaga Fair death

Baby freed from car A FRANTIC mother called the Guardia Civil for help when her baby daughter became locked in her car after she’d left the keys inside. Fortunately, there was a patrol car close by in the car park of a well-known shopping centre in Murcia and they quickly made their way to help the one-year-old baby out of the vehicle, who was sat in the child restraint and crying loudly.

Abusive coach ACCORDING to reports, a football coach has been arrested by the Guardia Civil after allegedly abusing a child in Murcia. The 26-year-old involved has been giving private football coaching to children at a school located in La Union An investigation has been launched.

by Darren Parmenter

Photo credit: Guardia Civil

A YOUNG resident of Santa Pola has died in one of the fairgrounds in Malaga. The 26-year-old had gone to the fair with a friend and according to reports, had previously been partying for a few hours, during which he could have consumed drugs which affected his mental state. The police have opened a full investigation to clarify the circumstances surrounding his death.

IGHT members of a criminal gang dedicated to stealing drugs while wearing Guardia Civil uniforms have been arrested by real members of the Murcia Region Guardia Civil. In addition to crimes of alleged drug trafficking, they have been charged with robbery with violence, illegal possession of arms and ammunition, and for impersonating the Guardia Civil. According to reports, five homes across the region were raided in the operation in Alguazas, Mazarron, El Esparragal, San Isidro de Albatera and Orihuela where a major haul was found. The investigating officers seized 5,000 ecstasy tablets, 100 cannabis plants, 17 kilos of marihuana, several doses of cocaine and hashish, three guns and associated ammunition, two

SEIZED: One of the biggest stashes of arms and drugs found in the Murcia Region. vehicles, €15,000 in cash and five of the distinctive Guardia Civil vests. The case was opened in April after an armed robbery took place at a house in El Esparragal. This led to the

arrest of a 29-year-old Romanian who was in possession of six kilos of marihuana, and when his car was searched found a hidden mechanism that allowed access to a semi-automatic

weapon and ammunition. This particular house of cards then collapsed piece by piece as one after another of the gang was arrested as the investigation widened.

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24th - 30th August

Photo credit: Phillip Capper Wikimedia

BUSY: Torrevieja’s beaches are often full before lifeguard cover starts.

Extra safety cover requested by Darren Parmenter

WIMMERS using the popular beaches in Torrevieja have asked for the lifeguards to spend more time on duty. Currently, the hours when the beaches are patrolled are between 11am and 7pm and will continue until the end of September. However, with the heatwave attracting even more people than usual to the sandy stretches the beaches are often full well

before 11am and until sunset, currently around 8.30pm. Such is the popularity this season that Torrevieja has started to fine people for putting up sunshades along the seashore to reserve their spaces, some as early as 7.30am. The requests for the extension of lifeguard hours has in some way been prompted by several incidents this summer that took place before they came on duty and before the red flag had been raised to indicate danger-

ous sea conditions. According to reports, Councillor Javier Manzanares, said that he would have liked to have seen an extra hour either side of the current cover but ‘that would’ve delayed the awarding of the contract.’ He also said that his department received many complaints from those using the beach about the build up of seaweed and the dangers posed by some of the rocks out to sea, but so far nothing formal about the lack of lifeguard cover.

Three vehicle collision THREE people were injured, one seriously, after two cars and a van collided on the N-340 in Orihuela. The accident occurred near to the tunnel and the traffic using the area was brought to a standstill for more than an hour. According to reports, initial investigations suggest that one of the vehicles crossed the continuous white line where no overtaking is allowed. The most seriously injured person needed to be freed by the fire brigade and later taken to the Vega Baja Hospital.

Murcia high on robbery data EVERY two hours there is a house being robbed in the Murcia Region. These are part of the figures contained in a report from the Spanish Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Entities (UNESPA), which shows that Murcia is ninth on the list of regions across Spain when it comes to the number of robberies carried out. However, the city of Murcia among those that have at least 250,000 inhabitants - is only behind Madrid as the place most likely for people to suffer at the hands of robbers. It is estimated that each incident costs the victim €1,506. By contrast, municipalities with be-

tween 100,000 and 250,000 people, are among the safest in Spain coming in at Nº23 on the list with a 5.4 per cent less chance of homes being robbed compared to the national average. The study also puts paid to the myth that most robberies are carried out at the weekend. Tuesday came out as the most ‘popular’ day of the week, with Monday and Sunday having the least recorded incidents. The incidence of robberies in Murcia reaches three times the average amount during the month of August, which then declines until the traditional Christmas ‘hot spot’.

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24th - 30th August

Photo credit: Flickr

SENTENCE: Guardamar Local Police in illegal parking crackdown.

Blue badge user in court A DRIVER has been taken to court for fraudulently using a blue disabled badge when parking their car in Guardamar del Segura. The case came after an extensive surveillance campaign in the municipality which ensured the correct use of the badges only by those entitled to them. Local Police in Guardamar carried out a thorough check of all the official permits issued and have also

now started to issue fines to those that openly flout the law and park in spots reserved for disabled drivers and passengers. In the first case heard on Monday, the fraudster who has not been identified - was given a four-month prison sentence and a fine of €720. However, the fact is if the guilty person doesn’t have a criminal record they won’t serve their sentence... but will now have their name placed on file.

Warning of animal slaughter rules HE mayor of Pilar de la Horadada took the opportunity to remind Muslims living in the municipality that it is forbidden to slaughter animals in their own homes. The announcement was made by Ignacio Ramos in advance of the celebrations of the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha t h a t b e g a n o n Tu e s d a y and lasts until tomorrow (Saturday). It’s estimated that there are around 2,500 people in Pilar that are Muslim. In addition to the practice of killing animals in other than officially designated slaughterhouses being prohibited, any offence is considered as serious and can potentially carry fines ranging from €600 to €6,000. Even then, the provisions of the Royal Decree 37/2014 regulates

Photo credit: Flickr

by Glenn Scott

PILGRIMAGE: Millions of Muslims celebrating Eid alAdha. all aspects of animal slaughter and emphasises that these religious traditions must be carried out based on the strict compliance with the animal and welfare standards that apply. Councillor Jose Francisco Albaladejo said that there had been no major problems in the past in connection with the Eid al-Adha celebrations, also known as The Festival of Sacrifice. In fact, and according to the president of the lo-

cal Islamic Association, Bilal Beno Rabah, many of the Muslim families return to their home countries, mainly Morocco, for the traditional feast. The slaughterhouse in Orihuela is the one most used in the Alicante Province for the Eid sacrifices, with the meat being consumed by hundreds of families across the Vega Baja region. Those based in Pilar de la Horadada tend to use similar facilities in Murcia.

Photo booth thief captured N AT I O N A L P O L I C E i n E l c h e have arrested a 50-year-old man for attempting to break into a photo booth with a rock... outside the National Police Station in Elche. The detained man was trying to access the cash box of the machine that is regularly used by people who visit the police

station to renew identity docum e n t s . I t ’s o n l y a f e w m e t r e s away from the entrance, and the alarm was raised by a concerned member of the public who saw the attempted robbery taking place and alerted the duty officer on the door who was able to catch the man without a struggle.

Does your Spanish investment bond have you tied up in knots??

By Sam Kelly, Managing Partner, Chorus Financial. here in Spain, it will also be fully tax compliant, meaning it is effectively taxed at source, and under most circumstances you won’t have to declare the bond itself on the Modelo 720, or indeed your annual gains or income. Within a bond you can hold a fully diversified portfolio, and if that portfolio is advised through Chorus you will also benefit from our promise that we only use FCA regulated funds, that guarantee no hidden fees or commissions. So, with all these advantages, where can a bond fail to provide what you’d expect as an investor?

I’m a big believer in investment bonds, and many of my clients here in Spain hold them, in particular Spanish compliant investment bonds created by companies including The Prudential, SEB and Old Mutual. Investment bonds offer great tax efficiency – as an example, a net return of 7% per annum would actually double your investment over 10 years thanks to the gross roll-up (compound growth) these bonds allow you to benefit from. (As always, returns aren’t guaranteed, and the figures given are for illustration purposes only). Alongside that, if your bond is appropriately advised and designed for you as a resident

Firstly, the annual charges. Did you know that you could be paying more for exactly the same bond depending on which firm you sign up through? I’ve seen people commit to annual charges of

over 1% a year for as long as 10 years on a bond. That’s an unnecessarily high charge, and if you’d taken that exact same plan through Chorus, you would be paying far less. Secondly, and probably worst of all, there are certain bonds offered here in Spain which not only commit clients to incredibly high charges for a very long period of time, but also have exclusive agreements in place with particular financial advisories. This means if you become dissatisfied with your financial advisor you could be effectively forced to stay with them or face heavy exit penalties. This really isn’t how the market should operate and would be illegal in the UK. Chorus only use investment bonds that are openly available to all licensed advisors (such as the 3 I mentioned previously), so this means that if we fail to provide the service we’ve

promised you, you can simply cancel our ongoing fee and appoint another advisor. For us this is the only fair way for the relationship between an advisor and their client to operate. The final element comes down to the investment funds your advisor uses within your bond. As I’ve been saying for many years here in Spain, the use of commission paying funds is prolific, and can mean your portfolio is loaded with low quality investments and high hidden fees that you may be unaware of for many, many years. A well put together Spanish investment bond can offer so many advantages and can be a fantastic long-term investment solution, but sadly many advisors here in Spain fail to put them together with their client’s needs at the forefront of the advice. Your long-term financial security is simply too important to risk not asking enough questions or signing paperwork until you’re 100% sure you’re getting the best possible deal and the best possible investment advice. Never be afraid to get a second opinion, whether it’s on a new application or an existing plan. If you’d like to discuss anything in this article, please call me direct on 664 398 702 or email s.kelly@chorusfinancial.es. All initial advice is free and without pressure or obligation.

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24th - 30th August

Heart attack revival

A yellow recycling future A C C O M PA N I E D by Councillor Fanny Serrano, the mayor of Torrevieja Jose Manuel Dolon has unveiled the first of the new ‘yellow’ rubbish containers that can now be used across the municipality. It’s been located at the IES Torrevigia and is one of a batch of 20. The increase in the bins especially for plastic waste products has been as a result of a series of meetings that will eventually see a total of 500 new containers installed over a period of time in Torrevieja by 2020. Councillor Serrano pointed out that the extra containers “will enable us to meet the requests we’ve received, especially from the schools in our mu-

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Torrevieja

AN 82-year-old woman has been transferred in serious condition to Vega Baja Hospital after suffering a heart attack when she was bathing in Acequión beach in Torrevieja. Fellow beachgoers raised the alarm at around noon yesterday (Thursday) when they noticed that the woman was unconscious. Members of the public gave her artificial respiration before lifeguards arrived and took over. They were soon joined by Local Police, and medics from the Los Naufragos emergency post who brought a defibrillator and oxygen. They succeeded in reviving the victim, who was then taken to hospital by an emergency ambulance.

RECYCLING: Jose Manuel Dolon and Fanny Serrano by the new containers. nicipality. “This will enable us to increase the recycling of this type of material and continue To r r e v i e j a ’s c o m m i t ment to recycling.” Local people will be-

g i n t o s e e t h e n e w, bright containers in El L i m o n a r, E l M o l i n o Blanco and Camposol, and on Calles San Luis, Patricio Zammit, San Pascual and Guardamar.

Stolen gear traced A MAN who smashed the glass in the rear door of a van made off w i t h € 11 , 0 0 0 w o r t h o f cycling gear belonging to the Valverde Team. Now National Police have detained a 20year-old Spaniard who they have accused of committing theft. The team lost 106 items including jerseys, shorts, helmets and many other bike-related items. Acting on eyewitness reports, police identified a suspect and investigat i o n s b e g a n . O ff i c e r s managed to trace the majority of the stolen items to three secondhand stores in Murcia and Cartagena. When they interviewed the suspect he handed over the rest of the items, which have now all been returned to the team.

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24th - 30th August

Wheelchair bound killer arrested by Darren Parmenter

WOMAN has been arrested in Alicante for allegedly killing her husband just two weeks after getting married. The 45-year-old woman (who is confined to a wheelchair) was detained along with her carer - a 58year-old man - after her husband was found stabbed to death by a screwdriver. According to reports, the woman - who was on her fourth marriage was arrested by an off-duty National Police officer who rushed to the scene after hearing screaming and shouting, and went not only to restrain the woman but to see if he could assist the victim. The victim had stab wounds to his neck and chest and died before help arrived. The crime occurred at 10pm on Monday in a car park in the Al-

Every saving helps... PILAR DE LA HORADADA Council is doing its bit to save energy... and save the local taxpayers money at the same time. They have launched a pioneering project by installing 150 solar panels from which the energy will be used for municipal buildings. The cost is â‚Ź200,000 and they have been located in the sports centre car park. The eventual aim is to have a total of 296 solar panels across Pilar de la Horadada and is a further sign of the commitment the council has to renewable energy and saving money.

Contact the council

CRIME SCENE: Killing happened in the Albufereta district of Alicante. bufereta area. Investigations continue as to the motive behind the killing, but itâ€™s understood the recent marriage was one of convenience as al-

legedly the dead man only received a meagre pension and lived in a rented apartment.

TORREVIEJA Council has launched its very own WhatsApp service. This will allow local people and visitors to send a message to those in charge with their ideas on how to make life better in the municipality. The number to message on the popular App is 640 034 507 and it will only be used for suggestions... any other subjects and voice calls to this number will be ignored. PSOE Councillor Javier Manzanares said that this initiative has been introduced to promote improved communication between the governing team and the people they represent.

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24th - 30th August

Island trips double in summer by Darren Parmenter THE island of Tabarca is the place to be these days. The number of daily trips leaving Santa Pola to the

island off the coast of Alicante has doubled during the summer, taking more than 2,000 visitors with them. Many of those making the journey now buy their tickets online, which has re-

duced the traditional queues, but it’s still part of a visit to Santa Pola to hear many of the boat operators shouting out, ‘Are you going to Tabarca?’ Tabarca is considered as being the only inhabited is-

land in the Valencian Community - albeit by only 50 people - and thus pays the price for that exclusivity with the pressure of tourism and the alleged continuous damage to the island’s marine life.

Photo credit: Jnordmark Wikimedia

POPULAR: Tabarca welcomes more than 2,000 visitors daily.

Whilst there are trips throughout the year, it’s the summer season that sees the service go into full throttle with five catamarans operating that each carry 70 people on routes which op-

erate between 9.30am and 8pm. During the peak times, there is a boat leaving for Tabarca every 30 minutes, with the average cost of €10 to €15 for a return ticket.

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24th - 30th August

Help for gypsy families TEN municipalities across the Murcia Region will be given grants totalling €350,720 to help the most vulnerable gypsy families. The areas are Aguilas, Alcantarilla, Cartagena, Cieza, Las Torres de Cotillas, Lorca, Murcia, Puerto Lumbreras, San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar. The gypsy community are considered as a group that are particularly susceptible to social exclusion and the financial aid will go some way to easing this situation for many.

‘Heart attack’ causes crash A 62-YEAR-OLD man was killed early on Wednesday morning after his vehicle left the A-7 motorway just outside Crevillente. The accident resulted in severe hold ups on that section during one of the busiest times of the day. Two women in the same car as the dead man were also slightly injured in the incident which, according to reports, could have been caused by the driver suffering a heart attack at the wheel.

Dog ban refused

OCAL residents have demanded the closure of two canine beaches in Cala del Moro, Torrevieja. But an Elche Court has dismissed their claims that dogs were damaging the shorelines. On June, 25, the mayor of Torrevieja, Jose Manuel Dolon, made the announcement that created the two canine beaches, in Punta Margalla and Cala del Mal Paso. Both were said by Dolon to be suitable as dog beaches under present legislation. Some locals were not happy with the decision, so launched an appeal against the declaration of three beaches as suitable for dogs, according to a statement issued by tourism councilor, Fanny Serrano. She added that many citizens were worried that dogs would be allowed to run free along the beaches and could gain access to neighbouring properties. Some were scared of animals running wild so close to a hu-

COURT VERDICT: Judge dismisses locals’ complaints. man leisure area. The judge replied in a statement saying that besides not hearing any evi-

dence suggested dogs were damaging the beaches in any way, the beaches matched the requirements of

the existing legislation and they should be allowed to stay designated for canine use.

Police heroes recognised THREE of Torrevieja’s Local Police officers belonging to the Operational Reinforcement Group (GRO) have been awarded the Cross of Police Merit with Blue Distinction. They have received the honours from the Valencian Community for the heroism they displayed during a bank robbery in October 2017. The trio - only identified as Inspector S-04 and Officers A-165 and I-085 - intervened when a man, allegedly armed with a pistol, held a bank manager at gunpoint.

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Life saving project launched IN association with MAPFRE, The Blue Flag Foundation has launched a campaign developed to prevent cases of drowning on Torrevieja’s beaches. Over last weekend, they set up a large marquee on the Playa Los Locos that featured a number of stands and workshops run by lifeguards and other specialists. The aim is to prevent the number of accidents in the water as well as teaching swimmers and beachgoers some guidelines to follow in cases of emergency. The Blue Flag Foundation plans to tour a number of municipalities across the Alicante Province with similar displays.

24th - 30th August

Put that cigarette out! by Glenn Scott

RIHUELA’S Department for Beaches has been distributing 2,000 mini ashtrays across the sandy stretches across the Orihuela Costa this week. Councillor Luisa Bone said: “The conical shape of the ashtrays enables them to be affixed in the sand. They are reusable

and can be used for collecting cigarette ends and other items such as chewing gum that don’t biodegrade and are difficult to remove from the sand.” It takes up to 10 years for such waste to disintegrate in the sea and even longer if they end up in the sand. The fact they’re so small and light often means they aren’t picked up by traditional cleaning methods.

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Orihuela

Concert fine disputed ORIHUELA Council is facing a fine of €3,000 for organising a concert without the appropriate licences. The alleged offence goes back to last November when the municipality ran the event featuring popular singer Loquillo held in the Feria Los Huertos. Since the change of law, it’s the Valencian Community that has to give their authority to such concerts provided all the documentation is in order. Previously, such authority wasn’t required. Orihuela Council plans to appeal against the fine which was originally set at €6,000.

NO BUTTS: Council hands out special beach ashtrays.

Whilst this particular campaign is aimed at a d u l t s , i t ’s a d d e d t o a number of initiatives l a u n c h e d i n d i ff e r e n t schools in the Orihuela Costa contained in the

‘Manual of Good Beach Practice.’ This is aimed to inform and educate the young people of the municipality on how they should behave on the beach.

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24th - 30th August

Women must not wear swim shorts! WOMAN has been barred from the municipal swimming pool in Pilar de la Horadada for not wearing the correct swimwear. According to reports, she has taken legal proceedings against the pool after they stopped her wearing a pair of shorts as well as a bikini top... which allegedly contravenes the dress code. The woman, Rakel Perez, who was accompanied by her 18-monthold daughter at the time, has told her story on Facebook to which she attached her formal

Photo credit: Facebook - Partido Popular Pilar de la Horadada

by Ray Chadwick

BANNED: The ‘shorts’ that women cannot wear in the Pilar pool.

complaint sheet she filled in at the time of the incident. ‘A man can wear swimming shorts, yet a woman can’t?’ she questions. ‘We have to wear a bikini bottom yet men can’t swim in their boxer shorts... why?’ The woman alleged that both the lifeguard and the security guard at the pool told her that what she was wearing failed to comply with current regulations because ‘the rules say women have to wear a swimsuit or a bikini.’ The story has gone viral on Facebook where it has already been shared more than 1,500 times.

Pet cemetery plans CARTAGENA Council has put their plans for a pet cemetery on public display. This comes after authorisation has been given to release an area of municipal land to build the project. The initiative, promoted by Daniel Fernandez Gimenez, is planned for the area known as Las Tortugas. Any individual or organisations having any comments or objections to the project have 20 days to make appropriate submissions to the Cartagena Council.

Rubbish build-up denounced PEOPLE living close to two beach areas in Cartagena have made formal complaints about the build-up of rubbish around a number of containers. In particular, the issues surround Plaza Bohemia in La Manga and Calle Los Valles in the coastal town of Isla Plana.

In the latter case, the residents blame poor road signage that allows cars to park on both sides of the road and block the dustcarts from accessing the bins. The result is that the containers have been moved elsewhere... but hasn’t stopped people dumping their rubbish on the streets.

Crevillente search for arsonist AUTHORITIES in Crevillente are on the lookout for a suspected arsonist believed to be responsible for setting alight six rubbish containers in the space of an hour during the middle of the night. The Local Police and the Guardia Civil have asked for local people to keep their eyes and ears open in an attempt to catch whoever is responsible for the fires on Calle Pintor Velaquez, Vial del Parc and Paseo Abrets. As well as damage to the bins, a nearby building suffered smoke damage.

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Short news Summer glass recycling campaign ALMOST 100 bars and restaurants on the Orihuela Costa have taken part in this summer’s campaign to recycle glass. This is as a result of co-operation between the Orihuela Council and Ecovidrio, the non-profit organisation responsible for the management and recycling of glass in Spain. All the businesses participating have been given specially adapted green bins to aid with their recycling projects and they have been publicly thanked by Councillor Damaso Aparicio for their interest and support of the project. To both encourage and motivate the owners to get involved in the campaign they are all included in a grand prize draw. In addition, the establishment with the highest recycling ranking from Ecividrio at the end of the scheme will receive a master class with chef Quique Dacosta... owner of a restaurant with three of the prestigious Michelin Stars. It’s important to involve the hospitality sector in glass recycling as they are responsible for generating around 50 per cent of such waste in the area. According to figures for 2017, citizens of Orihuela recycled a total of 2,200,580 kilos of glass. This equates to each person recycling an average of 28.9 kilos which compares favourably to the Valencian Community average of 16.9 kilos. Throughout the municipality of Orihuela, there are a total of 668 green recycling ‘igloos.’

24th - 30th August

Remembering 80 years ago

TOMORROW (Saturday) sees the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Torrevieja by Italian aircraft, and in honour of the event a special service is being held in the municipality. Even though Torrevieja remembers the 19 people who were killed, along with a large number of injured, every year

on August 25, it is 80 years since the attack in 1938 ordered by General Franco and a significant milestone in local and Spanish history. It was during the middle of the Spanish Civil War when around 60 bombs were dropped onto Torrevieja, destroying 25 homes

and causing serious damage to other buildings in the centre of town and in the port. Nineteen people were killed and among the 45 injured, 25 were civilians and 20 military personnel. Even though it’s an event in the history of the 20th century that is rarely referred to, it’s

never forgotten by the families and local people who were affected at the time and they religiously attend a service every year to reflect and remember. To m o r r o w a t m i d d a y, a memorial gathering will be taking place at the Hombre del Mar statue on the Paseo Maritimo Juan Aparicio.

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24th - 30th August

by Barry Duke

MY mother desperately wanted me to model myself on my Uncle Horace. Her brother was a highly successful dentist well on his way to making his first million and she had visions of me following in his footsteps. Trouble was, Horace was my least favourite person on the planet - an insufferable know-it-all who was constantly advising my parents on how to bring me up ‘proper’. He felt he had the right to do so because he’d appointed himself our family dentist, providing his services free of charge. His interference into our affairs went so far as to compel my mother to severely limit the Duke clan’s intake of sugar. And today I must grudgingly thank him for my healthy gnashers. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that every child should have someone close to curtail his or her sugar consumption. I reached this conclusion after I read a statistic that horrified me: The NHS, according to a January 2018 Sky News report, spent

Candy’s not dandy £36.2 million (€40.13 million) in the previous year on removing 42,911 sugar-decayed teeth from children and teenagers. The report added that, since 2012, the cost to the NHS of extractions had topped £165 million (€184.2 million) But this is mere chump-change compared to the cost of treating obesity. The UK today has the highest rate of obesity in Europe and, according to a Health Business report, by 2050 the cost to the NHS of overweight and obese patients is projected to double, to a staggering £9.7 billion (€10.82 billion). It’s clear from these figures that there are not nearly enough Uncle Horaces around to put pressure on families to halt their sugar addiction and I use the word ‘addiction’ advisedly, for there is an increasing body of research that tells us sugar could be as addictive as some street drugs, and has similar effects on the brain. The website Healthline, in a 2016 report, quoted one expert as saying: ‘Research shows that sugar can be even more addictive than cocaine. Sugar activates the opiate

ADVICE: Dentists know best. receptors in our brain and affects the reward centre, which leads to compulsive behaviour, despite the negative consequences like weight gain, headaches, hormone imbalances and more’. Enter the UK’s sugar tax. This came into force on April 6, 2018 and companies are now taxed according to the sugar content of their beverages. There are two levels of tax. One is for drinks with a total

sugar content of more than 5g per 100ml, while a second, higher levy is imposed on drinks with 8g per 100ml or more. A standard can of regular Coca Cola, for example, has gone up by around 8p for a 70p can and a 1.75ml bottle of Coke has increased from roughly £1.25 to £1.49. Will it work? Opinion is divided. I ran the question past several peo-

ple in my local watering hole last week, and found that around half said it was right for the government to intervene, while the rest insisted that this was a clear example of state nannyism and that it is the responsibility of families to regulate their children’s diets. In 2017, Cataluña introduced a 7 per cent tax on sugared drinks, but it’s not known at this stage whether there are any plans to extend it to the rest of the country. Also in 2017 the Spanish daily El Pais introduced its readers to a website called SinAzucar.org, created by photographer Rodríguez Estrada to show precisely how much sugar there is in Spanish products. Estrada said ‘SinAzúcar.org is trying to make the hidden sugar in these processed foods visible in a simple and graphic way that can be easily shared on the social networks’. It’s a brilliant, albeit scary site. For instance I was shocked to learn that a 150g jar of my favourite brand of peanut butter, Capitán Mani, contains the whopping equivalent of 15 cubes of white sugar. To those who will undoubtedly ask ‘well, why don't you read the bloody label?’ My retort will be; ‘how on earth can anyone read food labels without a magnifying glass?’

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24th - 30th August

vox pop

There are talks to call time on free alcohol at inclusive hotels in a bid to tackle anti-social drunken behaviour. But is a ban fair on holidaymakers or hoteliers?

Name: Rosemary Newby Name: Phil Caswell On holiday: No On holiday: No Where from: Been here 30 years Where from: Been here 30 years LOOKING at it from a business I don’t think it should be banned, point of view, I don’t think the respon- but perhaps there should be bounds i b i l i t y s h o u l d b e a l e g a l o n e , i t aries. It is probably true that people drink more when the alcohol is free should be down to the management to take conand unlimited. Some people trol. This is taking can’t control themselves, and control too far. some people can. I’m sure There should a ban would have a bad be freedom impact on hotels. of choice, Name: William for holidayHegarty makers, Age: 60 too. I run a On holiday: Yes garage repair shop, Where from: Ireand I would land I can’t say I’ve seen not like to be any trouble myself with told exactly drunk people while on holiwhat to in my day, but that sort of thing hapown business. Phil Caswell.

pens everywhere, not just abroad. People should be able to make their own minds up about out how much they drink and what sort of holiday they want. It’s not very fair on the hotels either, I’m sure they will lose out. Name: Sheila Hegarty Age: 58 On holiday: Yes Where from: Ireland I don’t really see that it will make any difference to anti-social behaviour. If people really want to drink, they will do. Alcohol is generally cheaper abroad anyway. I don’t understand why only hotels offering all inclusive deals are being targeted.

Name: Greg Howell Age: 18 On holiday: No Where from: Staffordshire I went on an all-inclusive holiday with my family a few years ago. I couldn’t drink alcohol, but I don’t remember people being drunk all the time. That seems to happen in the bars where people are paying anyway. I don’t think it will make a difference, it might stop me booking with those hotels though.

Greg Howell.

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24th - 30th August

A RECENT report from the University of Alicante has highlighted the effects that climate change is having on temperatures across the province. Studies revealed that over the last 10 years, the increase

Spanish ID renewal chaos

SWEATING: Night time temperatures increasing over 38 years.

in both heat and humidity have shown that during the summer - especially at night has often recorded temperatures experienced in the Guadalquivir Valley... considered the hottest part of Spain. In city and town centres

such as Torrevieja, Elche, Alicante, Benidorm and Denia it has become an accepted way of life that during the socalled ‘tropical nights’ the temperatures rarely drop below 22ºC. The number of these nights has increased by around 300 per cent since 1980. It will come as no surprise to many to learn that during the first half of August, night time temperature levels have remained very high across the province. In many cases, the minimum didn’t drop below 25ºC, and with some reaching 30ºC unless you had air-conditioning installed it’s the level where sleep almost becomes impossible.

PANISH nationals looking to renew their national identity card (DNI) or applying for passports are experiencing significant delays; a situation that has longsince mainly been associated with foreigners. According to reports in the Spanish media, the offices can’t cope with the demand, with the busiest ones now not offering appointments until, on average, between September 21 and the middle of October. There are more than 250 offices across Spain that provide such a service and it’s estimated that over 100 are experiencing major issues. A statement by the union CCOO said that it’s a situation that can be prevented as ‘the same thing happens every year when staff take their annual leave (coinciding with the busiest times of the

Photo credit: Malcalde Wikimedia

Alicante among the hottest in Spain

DELAYS: It’s not just foreigners in Spain that have to wait for documents. year), but no extra staff are taken on.’ The most overloaded offices are those in Barcelona, the Valencia Community and Andalucia, with saturation levels also being reported in Galicia, Madrid, the Basque Country, Extramadur, Murcia, Navarra and Toledo. A spokesperson for the

CCOO said that “it is reasonable for waiting times to reach 15 to 20 days during the peak holiday period, but people are now looking at anything between 45 and 60.” They went on to say that there are 1,200 vacancies still to be filled which is exacerbating the problem.

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24th - 30th August

Alicante taking charge of hybrid cars Photo credit: Juan Vicente Wikimedia

by Darren Parmenter

HERE are more and more places across the Alicante Province where owners of electric and hybrid cars can charge their vehicles. This is in response to the increase of such cars being registered over the past 12 months where they have tripled. Figures for the first seven months of 2018 have already exceeded those for the entire year of 2017. According to data from the Spanish Directorate of Traffic (DGT) from January to July, there were 144 of this type of car registered in the province compared to just 57 last year. Throughout 2017, the overall total was 135. Jose Company, an Alicante representative of the Association of Users of Electric Vehicles (AUVE), said that although sales are on the rise, “they are not at levels as we would like.” He believes this is due to a lack of infrastructure as well as information

INCREASE: Almost 400 charging points across Alicante.

about the advantages of owning this type of car. Across the province, there are 398 recharge points with the cities of Alicante and Elche having 60 between them, although these are mainly in service stations as opposed to those dotted around the streets.

In Benidorm, there are four points with plans to increase that number to seven in due course. Orihuela plans an extra six points in both the city centre and on the Orihuela Costa; San Vicente has a number located on the University of Alicante campus.

Caught in car park A 32-YEAR-OLD Spaniard from Archena has been arrested for alleged drug trafficking offences in a car park in San Javier. He was detained as a result of a coordinated operation by the Guardia Civil in Murcia that monitors the sale and consumption of drugs in a number of popular leisure areas in the region. Seven doses of speed, seven ecstasy pills, €85 in cash and a mobile phone were seized.

www.rtnnewspaper.com

24th - 30th August

City alcohol controls enforced Photo credit: C Quesada Wikimedia

LICANTE’S mayor, Luis Barcala, is leading the fight back against the problems of alcohol consumption among the city’s young people. The issues are currently highlighted every Saturday night during this hot summer when hundreds of young people gather in the Plaza 25 de Mayo and illegally consume large amounts of alcohol... much of which is contained in plastic soft drink containers with the aim of hiding their true contents. The crackdown by the authorities comes in response to a number of complaints and threats of legal action if the current practice isn’t brought under control. Mayor Barcala said that the council, with the

CLAMPDOWN: Plaza 25 de Mayo, a popular area for young drinkers.

help of the Local Police, will carry out stricter controls as from September to ensure that by-laws in respect of drinking alcohol in the streets are observed. A number of measures

have been taken by governments of all colours in Alicante to stop this problem which exists close to the market square, but neighbours are still being disturbed by the revellers.

www.rtnnewspaper.com

24th - 30th August

Unprepared for earthquakes by Darren Parmenter ESPITE it being mandatory, there is a lack of emergency planning in place across 136 municipalities in the Alicante Province in the case of earthquakes. A law was established in 2011 to ensure that this was the case in an area which has been declared as being of ‘maximum seismic risk.’ The information has come to light following on from the largest earthquake felt in the area earlier this month when a 4.3 magnitude struck with its epicentre between Crevillente and Albatera. There were no injuries or damage as a result, but it did send a human shock wave amongst a large

Photo credit: Leggi il Firenzepost Wikimedia

AFTERMATH: Parts of Alicante are highly susceptible to earthquakes (File image).

share of the population. The recent quake followed six minor tremors in the Marina Alta between July 26 and August 2. According to reports in the Spanish media, not one single municipality in the Alicante Province has emergency plans in force... a similar situation exists in Valencia too. That’s a total of 327 across both regions, of

which 191 are in Valencia. There are five municipalities in Alicante (all in the Vega Baja) with a greater risk of earthquakes listed as, in order of likelihood, Torrevieja, Rojales, Los Montesinos, Benifofar and Formentera. They are followed by Orihuela, Elche and Crevillente and, with a less but significant chance, Alcoy, Alicante, Villena, Benidorm, Denia and Elda.

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24th - 30th August

Sex attack gang escorted from pool Credit: Wikimedia

N G RY b a t h e r s confronted the notorious ‘wolf pack’ group of young men convicted of sexual abuse in Spain at a pool in Sevilla. Vi s i t o r s t o t h e P a l o mares del Rio public baths recognised the men and apparently had them ushered out. The case involves five men allegedly sexually abusing an 18-year-old woman at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona in 2016. It became a national scandal with widespread protests, but the men have been provisionally released pending the outcome of an appeal. Local mayor Juana Caballero issued a

PUBLIC PROTEST: Demonstrations have taken place across Spain.

statement saying: “ We w i l l n o t a l l o w Palomares del Rio to become a refuge for rapists or criminals.” The men are nicknamed after their WhatsApp group ‘La Mana-

da’ (the wolf pack), in which they reportedly boasted about their actions and recorded the attack. They were acquitted of rape but sentenced for sexual abuse.

www.rtnnewspaper.com

24th - 30th August

Ministers to discuss exhumation of Franco’s body S PA N I S H g o v e r n m e n t ministers are due to discuss the exhumation of former dictator Francisco Franco’s remains from a controversial mausoleum tomorrow (Friday). The Council of Ministers will look into the administrative arrangements for moving the body from the Valley of the Fallen, which is near Madrid. It follows Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s announcement earlier this year that his left-leaning Partido Socialista (PSOE) government

CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons (inset) Shutterstock (main)

MOVE TALKS: Ministers are going to discuss Franco’s exhumation tomorrow (Friday). would undertake the move. Sanchez said he was willing to wait until all the

IGUBAPP/Facebook

DIRTY DRINKS: Police inspect a manhole stash.

necessary protocol had been taken care of. “ We h a v e w a i t e d 4 0 years so we can wait a

few more days or weeks,” he said. It follows measures approved by the Congress of Deputies in May of last year which called for the move to take place. The reason was in part due to the monument having been built with forced labour from Republican and other political prisoners. Sanchez said previously he wanted to transform the mausoleum into a monument commemorati n g t h e c o u n t r y ’s f i g h t against fascism. The Franco regime

Shaken and stirred COCKTAILS stored in dirty pavement drains are being sold by beach vendors to tourists, police have revealed. Pictures have emerged of officers in Barcelona lifting manhole covers to reveal bottles, glasses, ice, towels and straws stored in disgusting conditions. The drinks are currently being sold for around €5.60 (half price) each on beaches, but officers are clamping

down on the illegal trade. Tourists risk falling ill from the drinks, and police in Benidorm are also increasing patrols to stop the activity. While beachgoers think the cocktails, for example ‘sex on the beach’ and ‘pina colada’ are from nearby bars, they are actually put together in side streets, cars, and even public toilets.

said it built the Valley of the Fallen as a symbol of reconciliation following the Spanish Civil War. Contemporary supporters of Franco have voiced opposition to the plans and have accused the government of trying

t o u n d o e ff o r t s t o u n i f y S p a i n a f t e r F r a n c o ’s death in 1975. Franco’s family have also spoken out against the plans. Sanchez previously said symbols could no longer be allowed if they ‘divided’ Spanish people.

www.rtnnewspaper.com

24th - 30th August

HELP: Needed for our elderly.

Age Concern needs extra volunteers T

HEY say giving is better than receiving. Just giving three or four hours a week of your time volunteering for Age Concern, means many people can receive a little support, friendship and comfort. Many people are retired and soaking up the good life here in Spain, after working a lifetime, but many are also looking for something to occupy their extra spare time. Age Concern can give you that chance to make a difference to people who

arenâ€™t so fortunate to have a huge circle of friends to fill their lives. The charity is looking for drivers, preferably with a Spanish driving licence, but not absolutely necessary, to drive one of their two vehicles collecting people from their homes and bringing them to the centre in La Siesta for coffee mornings and then taking them back home. Recently, a vacancy has come up in the lending library at the centre. They need one or two book loving people to act as librari-

ans, assisting book borrowers and generally maintaining the shelves and stock. The library is only open every Tuesday from 10.30am to 12.30pm. The Age Concern charity shop in Calle Patricio Zammit in Torrevieja is extremely busy every day and would welcome several volunteers to deal with multinational customers. Serving and dealing with displays and stock rotation, this would suit anyone with retail experience. The shop is open Monday to Friday, 10.30am to 1.30pm and you can choose which day suits you best. If you speak another language, it would be an advantage but is not essential. The centre in La Siesta, the hub of Age Concern, offers people a host of activities almost on a daily basis and needs one or two additional morning volunteers to help from 10.00am to 1.30pm. To apply, call 966 786 887, Monday to Friday between 10.00am and 1.30pm to arrange a convenient day and time to pop in and see how you can help. Thereâ€™s something different going on every day, so thereâ€™s no chance of getting bored. All vacancies are open to both ladies and gentlemen.

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24th - 30th August

By Nicole King MANY Brits currently living in southern Spain moved here because the education and health care systems are seemingly comprehensible, it’s easy to come and go, we don’t need a visa to work, pensions are protected and the sun shines most of the time. At the moment this is still the case whilst the UK is part of the European Union. However the referendum in 2016 created much confusion as to the viability of remaining in Spain after ‘Brexit’; two years later and just months away from the cut off date things are not much clearer. Very little is well-defined except there are two firm dates to take into consideration. March 29, 2019 which is the date when the UK will stop being full members of the EU as triggered by article 50. As of this date the UK will no longer sit in or be privy to any of the discussions with the other European members.Then there will be a transition period until December 2020. Many people still do not know what to do. The main concerns are the uncertainty as to whether there is a future for them here and whether they should perhaps return to the UK sooner rather than later. Another common uncertainty is whether they will be able to meet the requirements to stay here or even be allowed to stay. For the older foreigners who may be very dependent on their pensions the concern is whether they will continue to receive it and if it will continue to rise in accordance with inflation and will they have access to the Spanish

The clock is ticking but are you

BREXIT: Get your legal status clear before the end of the year.

healthcare system. From the get-go the British Prime Minister and most other European Union member States seemed to agree that securing international citizens’ rights was a priority. Broad agreements have been in place since last year regarding this and although they do not contemplate all issues, they do

a d dress the most important concerns. It is courtesy of these initial agreements that we have continued to live and work here and use the healthcare system and receive pensions. However since those preliminary understandings were secured there have been changes

in the UK cabinet with a new Foreign Secretary and a change of Secretary of State for the European Union and a change of government in Spain, so everything will have to be re-negotiated. With so many members of other European state members also residing in the UK, one would think that it is in everyone’s interests to keep things as simple as possible, even after the break. But to ensure that you don’t get caught in the crossover it is very important, if you want to stay in Spain, to have all your paperwork in order and as quickly as possible. For anyone who is legally resident in the UK or in any of the

other 27 European member states at the date of the final withdrawal nothing should change. The key words here are ‘legally resident’ which means ensuring that you are registered as an EU citizen living in Spain, a legal requirement if you’ve been living here for more than three months. The only way of really proving this is by ensuring you have or get your certificate of inscription on the Central Register of Foreigners at the Police Stations in the department ‘“Extranjeria.’ This is the singularly most important document to have to ensure that you are legally resident at the time of the UK leaving the European Union and that nothing should change. If you do have all your paperwork in order at that time, in theory, the sun will continue to shine on the righteous.

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24th - 30th August

money

Keep your pensions to yourself

Social care costs split opinions Photo credit: Public Domain Pictures

MANY British citizens of a certain age currently living in Spain may be considering returning to the UK for a number of reasons and may need to use social care services at some point in the future. The debate as to who funds such care has been fuelled following new research by Aegon, the multinational life insurance, pensions and asset management company. There is now widespread acceptance that costs should be shared between individuals and the state. Sixty-eight per cent supported the idea that the cost of care would be covered partly by the government and partly by themselves. Striking the right balance of the state/individual ‘deal’ will be one of the government’s greatest political challenges. With departmental budgets tight, it is widely accepted that the government will need to raise additional funds through higher taxes. Researchers explored what people would be willing to accept if they had to contribute towards government funds.

CHALLENGE: Important decisions as to the future of social care funding. Support was strongest for a wealth related tax, like an increase in council taxes for those with larger properties, with 66 per cent supporting the idea.The second most popular was the option of asking those who work beyond state pension age to continue paying NI from

which they are currently exempt. As growing numbers of older people work past state pension age, 54 per cent of people supported the idea. Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon said: “The government has already had its fingers burnt

over the funding of social care. It’s encouraging to see a growing realisation that the costs need to be shared between individuals and the government. And our findings show people have woken up to the fact that the government will need to raise taxes to pay its share.

THE Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) are urging the public to be vigilant when receiving unsolicited offers about their pensions and to check who they are dealing with. This comes after figures show that a total of 253 victims reported to Action Fraud that they had lost more than £23 million to pension scammers in 2017, which equates to an average loss of £91,000 per victim. Many people with access to UK TV in Spain have already seen the joint advertising campaign to raise awareness of pension scams and the most common tactics used by fraudsters. They show the contrast between the impact on the victims of pension scams and the lifestyles of the criminals, with a current one depicting a man ‘enjoying’ someone’s pension fund by spending his time on a jet-ski after taking a victim’s pension. Highly sophisticated scammers lure people into transferring their pensions into fraudulent schemes. Victims of pension scams can lose their life savings, and be left facing retirement with limited income. The FCA and TPR are calling the public’s attention to the tactics used by pensions scammers. One of the most common tactics is to offer a ‘free pension review’. If you think you’ve been a victim of a pension scam, report it to the police. ScamSmart is a website that helps victims and potential victims: www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart.

FRIDAY 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Wanted Down Under 12:45pm Thief Trackers 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News at One 2:30pm BBC London News 2:45pm Murder, Mystery and My Family 3:30pm Escape to the Country 4:30pm Royal Recipes 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Impossible 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm A Question of Sport 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Celebrity MasterChef 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Room 101

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8:20am 8:30am 8:40am 8:55am 9:25am 9:30am 10:25am

8:10am 8:35am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 10:30am 10:55am 11:25am 11:55am 1:25pm 1:55pm 4:45pm 5:45pm

11:00am Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:40am Make You Laugh Out Loud 12:00pm Police Interceptors 1:00pm Police Interceptors 2:00pm Police Interceptors 3:00pm Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords 4:00pm Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords 5:00pm Rich House, Poor House 6:00pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 7:00pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 7:55pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 8:55pm 5 News 9:00pm Before They Were Stars 10:00pm Gino's Win Your Wish List 11:00pm Celebrity Big Brother

7:00am Goodbye Christopher Robin 9:00am Top Ten Show, the 2018 9:20am The Jurassic Games 11:00am Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 12:40pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 2:45pm Star Wars: The Last Jedi 5:25pm Goodbye Christopher Robin 7:25pm Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 9:00pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 11:00pm Star Wars: The Last Jedi 1:40am Patti Cake$ 3:30am Don't Hang Up 5:00am The Jurassic Games

6:50am Great Ashes Catches Relive some of the finest moments in the history of The Ashes. 7:00am Sky Sports News 8:00am Good Morning Sports Fans 9:00am Live Rugby Championship 12:00pm Soccer Saturday PreMatch 12:30pm Football Wolves meet Manchester City at Molineux Stadium in the Premier League 4:15pm Gillette Soccer Saturday 6:15pm Football 9:00pm Rugby Union 11:30pm Live Caribbean Premier League T20 1:30am Live Caribbean Premier League T20

10:30am The Beechgrove Garden 11:00am Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 12:30pm Great British Menu 1:00pm Great British Menu 1:30pm Great British Menu 2:00pm The Hairy Bikers' Best of British 2:45pm Triathlon World 4:15pm Wastemen 5:10pm Saving Lives at Sea 6:10pm Tribes, Predators and Me 7:10pm Raiders of the Lost Ark 9:00pm Dragons' Den 10:00pm Eight Go Rallying: The Road to Saigon 11:00pm Romesh Ranganathan: Irrational Live 12:00am Man Like Mobeen

8:55am 9:25am 9:30am 10:25am 10:55am 11:55am 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:15pm 2:45pm

5:45am 6:10am 6:35am 7:00am 11:00am

5:00am The Jurassic Games 6:30am Top Ten Show, the 2018 6:45am Final Score: Behind the Scenes 7:00am The Truth About Lies 8:40am Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 10:15am Star Wars: The Last Jedi 12:55pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 3:00pm The Bachelors 4:45pm Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 6:20pm Star Wars: The Last Jedi 9:00pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 11:00pm The Bachelors 12:45am The Jurassic Games

1:30pm EFL Greatest Games 2:00pm Football 4:45pm Championship Season Review 5:45pm EFL Greatest Games 6:30pm EFL Greatest Games 6:45pm EFL Greatest Games 7:00pm EFL Greatest Games 7:15pm EFL Greatest Games 7:30pm EFL Greatest Games 7:45pm EFL Greatest Games 8:00pm Championship Season Review 2017/18 9:00pm EFL Goals: League One and League Two 9:30pm EFL Goals: Championship 10:30pm Best Championship Goals 2017/18 11:00pm EFL Goals: League One and League Two 11:30pm One2eleven

SATURDAY 7:00am Breakfast 11:00am Saturday Kitchen 12:30pm Nadiya's Family Favourites 1:00pm Football Focus 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather 2:15pm Bargain Hunt 3:00pm Rugby League Challenge Cup Final 6:30pm Shrek Forever After 7:55pm BBC News 8:05pm Regional News 8:10pm Weather 8:15pm Impossible Celebrities 9:05pm Pointless 9:50pm Casualty 10:40pm Mrs. Brown's Boys 11:10pm BBC News 11:25pm Weather 11:30pm Match of the Day 12:50am Reasonable Doubt

12:20pm 12:50pm 1:50pm 2:20pm 2:30pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:15pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 12:45am 1:05am 1:55am

Ninjago: Decoded Toonmarty Toonmarty Drop Dead Weird ITV News Zoe Ball on Saturday Saturday Morning with James Martin James Martin's American Adventure Love Your Garden Â£10k Holiday Home ITV Lunchtime News ITV Racing The Chase WOS Wrestling ITV Evening News Regional News and Weather Japandemonium Big Star's Little Star Info not available ITV News WOS Wrestling Jackpot247

6:15pm 7:10pm 8:05pm 8:35pm 11:00pm 1:30am 3:20am 5:30am

Mobil 1 the Grid Frasier Frasier Frasier The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Simpsons The Simpsons Formula 1 F1: Grand Prix Formula 1 Car S.O.S A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun The People's Vet Escape to the Chateau: DIY Channel 4 News Captain America: The First Avenger Pain and Gain Regression Hollyoaks Omnibus Village of the Year with Penelope Keith

SUNDAY 1:00pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather for the Week Ahead 2:15pm Still Open All Hours 2:45pm Hold the Sunset 3:15pm Money for Nothing 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:30pm Songs of Praise 5:05pm Fake or Fortune? 6:05pm Eat Well for Less 7:05pm The Deer Stalker Our Lives 7:35pm BBC News 7:50pm Regional News 7:55pm Weather 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Fake or Fortune? 10:00pm The Bodyguard 11:00pm BBC News

3:15pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:15pm 7:30pm 8:30pm 10:50pm 11:05pm

Drop Dead Weird ITV News Zoe Ball on Sunday Japandemonium Ninja Warrior UK WOS Wrestling Big Star's Little Star ITV Lunchtime News Info not available Paul O'grady's Little Heroes Catchphrase Tenable Tipping Point The Chase ITV Evening News Regional News and Weather The Chase: The Bloopers Info not abailable ITV News Info not available

9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Para Swimming: European Championships 10:30am Sunday Brunch 1:30pm Peng Life 2:00pm Formula 1 2:40pm Formula 1 5:30pm Formula 1 6:35pm Car S.O.S 7:30pm Channel 4 News 8:00pm Flying Across Britain with Arthur Williams 9:00pm Hidden Britain by Drone 10:00pm World War Z 12:15am 47 Ronin 2:30am The Crystal Maze 3:25am Mobil 1 the Grid 3:50am Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 4:45am French Collection

11:35am 11:55am 12:50pm 1:50pm 2:50pm 4:55pm 7:55pm 8:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 1:40am 3:10am

Wildlife SOS House Doctor HouseBusters Milkshake! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dogs Make You Laugh Out Loud Police Interceptors Police Interceptors Police Interceptors The Prince of Egypt Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 5 News Worst Celebrity Pop Songs Ever Celebrity Big Brother The Bodyguard Whitney Houston: A Tragic Love Super Casino

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 10:00am Countryfile Summer Diaries 10:45am Homes Under the Hammer 11:45am Wanted Down Under 12:30pm Thief Trackers 1:00pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:20pm Regional News 2:25pm Weather 2:30pm Murder, Mystery and My Family 3:15pm Escape to the Country 4:15pm Royal Recipes 5:00pm Money for Nothing 6:00pm Impossible 6:45pm Flog It! 7:15pm BBC News 7:45pm Regional News 8:00pm The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 9:00pm Would I Lie to You? 9:30pm EastEnders 10:00pm The Bodyguard 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News

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

Coast Daddy Long Legs The Cruel Sea Triathlon World Series: Montreal Highlights Ocean Giants Lost Land of the Jaguar Antiques Road Trip Celebrity Eggheads The Repair Shop Great British Menu Nadiya's Family Favourites University Challenge Drinkers Like Me Adrian Chiles Riz Ahmed: Road to Englistan The Reluctant Fundamentalist Searching for Mum Lost Boys? What's Going Wrong for Asian Men

7:40am Super 4 8:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:45pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:55pm Regional News and Weather 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase: Celebrity Special 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Griff's Great Britain 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Lewis 11:00pm ITV News

10:35am Frasier 11:05am Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 12:00pm The Simpsons 12:35pm The Simpsons 1:05pm Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Bang on Budget 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 5:00pm Sun, Sea and Selling Houses 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:30pm Food Unwrapped 9:00pm How to Get Rich Quick 9:30pm Jamie Cooks Italy 10:00pm Speed with Guy Martin 11:30pm Who is America? 12:05am 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

12:15pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 1:10pm 5 News 1:15pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:10pm Draining the Bermuda Triangle 4:10pm Major Dundee 6:25pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 30 Years of Home and Away: Endless Summer 8:25pm 5 News 8:30pm Criminals Caught on Camera 9:00pm Traffic Cops 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Meghan and Harry: 100 Days Married 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

4:15am

Mountains May Depart 6:30am Moana: Special 7:00am Anon: Special 7:30am Top Ten Show, the 2018 7:45am Final Score: Behind the Scenes 8:00am Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 9:45am The Competition 11:35am Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2:20pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 4:25pm Goodbye Christopher Robin 6:20pm Star Wars: The Last Jedi 9:00pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 11:00pm The Competition 12:50am The Bachelors 2:35am The Jurassic Games 4:05am Don't Hang Up

1:30pm EFL Goals: League One and League Two 2:00pm EFL Goals: Championship 3:00pm Championship Season Review 4:00pm Football's Greatest 4:30pm Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm One2eleven 5:45pm One2eleven 6:00pm Football Years 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm Soccer Am Best Bits 7:30pm EFL Greatest Games 8:00pm EFL Goals: League One and League Two 8:30pm EFL Goals: Championship 9:30pm Best Championship Goals 2017/18 10:00pm Efl Cup Highlights 10:30pm Efl Cup Highlights 11:00pm SPFL Round Up Show 11:15pm SPFL Greatest Games

Countryfile Summer Diaries Impossible Nadiya's Family Favourites The Farmers' Country Showdown Victoria Derbyshire BBC Newsroom Live Coast Odette Ocean Giants Lost Land of the Jaguar Antiques Road Trip Celebrity Eggheads The Repair Shop Great British Menu Saving Lives at Sea A Passage to Britain The Wedding Guru Newsnight Weather Dragons' Den

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 Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase: Celebrity Special 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Â£10k Holiday Home 9:00pm Love Your Garden 10:00pm Long Lost Family 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:30pm Regional News and Weather

10:00am Frasier 10:35am Frasier 11:05am Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 12:00pm The Simpsons 12:30pm The Simpsons 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Bang on Budget 3:10pm Countdown 4:00pm A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 5:00pm Sun, Sea and Selling Houses 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Great British Bake Off 10:15pm First Dates Hotel 11:20pm Naked Attraction 12:20am 24 Hours in A and E

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

5:35am Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 7:10am The Competition 8:55am Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 10:35am Waiting for You 12:15pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 2:20pm Don't Hang Up 3:50pm Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 5:25pm The Bachelors 7:10pm The Competition 9:00pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 11:10pm Waiting for You 12:50am Final Score: Behind the Scenes 1:10am The Jurassic Games 2:50am The Bachelors 4:40am The Truth About Lies

2:15pm SPFL Greatest Games 2:30pm MLS Round Up Show 3:00pm Championship Season Review 4:00pm Football's Greatest 4:30pm Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm One2eleven 5:15pm One2eleven 5:30pm One2eleven 5:45pm One2eleven 6:00pm Football Years 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm EFL Greatest Games 7:15pm EFL Greatest Games 7:30pm SPFL Round Up Show 7:45pm SPFL Greatest Games 8:00pm Phenoms - Dele Alli 8:30pm Live Carabao Cup Round 11:00pm The Debate - Live

TUESDAY 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Wanted Down Under 12:45pm Thief Trackers 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Murder, Mystery and My Family 3:30pm Escape to the Country 4:30pm Royal Recipes 5:15pm Flog It! 6:15pm Impossible 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm Age Before Beauty 11:00pm BBC News 11:30pm Regional News

7:30am 8:15am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 12:00pm 2:00pm 2:20pm 4:15pm 5:15pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:45pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:10am 12:15am

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

House Doctor HouseBusters Milkshake! The Wright Stuff Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! 5 News GPs: Behind Closed Doors Access Home and Away Neighbours NCIS Deadly B and B 5 News Neighbours Home and Away 5 News Moto GP Highlights The Yorkshire Vet Celebrity Big Brother Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

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.

www.rtnnewspaper.com

24th - 30th August

WEDNESDAY 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 11:40pm 11:45pm 12:15am 1:15am

BBC News Regional News The One Show Rip Off Britain Shop Well for Less Age Before Beauty BBC News Regional News Weather A Question of Sport The Lenny Henry Birthday Show Weather for the Week Ahead

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

Ocean Giants Lost Land of the Jaguar Antiques Road Trip Celebrity Eggheads The Repair Shop Great British Menu Great British Menu Upstart Crow Horizon Motherland Newsnight Weather Eight Go Rallying: The Road to Saigon Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls

Judge Rinder Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase: Celebrity Special 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Paul O'grady's Little Heroes 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Info not available 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

Antiques Road Trip Celebrity Eggheads The Repair Shop Great British Menu Gardeners' World Extraordinary Rituals Live at the Apollo Newsnight Romesh Ranganathan: Irrational Live Who Do You Think You Are? Bollywood: The World's Biggest Film Industry

6:00pm

3:00pm 4:00pm

1:05pm 2:05pm 3:10pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:35pm 12:35am

Come Dine with Me Bang on Budget Countdown A Place in the Sun Sun, Sea and Selling Houses Come Dine with Me The Simpsons The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Orangutan Jungle School 24 Hours in a and E Hang Ups First Dates Hotel Inside Alton Towers

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

NCIS A Wife's Suspicion 5 News Neighbours Home and Away 5 News Police Interceptors Gps Behind Closed Doors 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm The New Wife Moving in with the Ex. 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

10:20am Don't Hang Up 11:50am Waiting for You 1:30pm Final Score: Behind the Scenes 1:45pm Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 3:20pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 5:25pm The Competition 7:15pm The Bachelors 9:00pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 11:10pm Lost in Paris 12:40am Waiting for You 2:20am Final Score: Behind the Scenes

4:30pm

Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm EFL Cup Highlights 5:30pm One2eleven 5:45pm One2eleven 6:00pm Football Years 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm EFL Greatest Games 8:00pm EFL Cup Highlights 8:30pm Live Carabao Cup Round 11:00pm Phenoms - Dele Alli 11:30pm Football Countdowns 12:00am Championship Season Review

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

10:20am The Bachelors 12:05pm Don't Hang Up 1:40pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 3:45pm The Boy Downstairs 5:25pm Tall Tales From the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings 7:00pm Jackals 8:40pm Final Score: Behind the Scenes 9:00pm Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 11:10pm The Boy Downstairs 1:00am The Competition 2:50am The Bachelors

5:00pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 10:30pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm 12:00am 12:30am

THURSDAY 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm 12:45am

Impossible BBC News at Six BBC London News The One Show EastEnders Celebrity MasterChef Keeping Faith BBC News at Ten BBC London News New Tricks Miriam's Big American Adventure

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

The Chase: Celebrity Special 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Our Debt: The True Cost - Tonight 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Birds of a Feather 10:00pm Our Everest Challenge with Ben Fogle and Victoria Pendleton 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:30pm ITV News London

3:10pm 4:00pm 5:00pm

Countdown A Place in the Sun Sun, Sea and Selling Houses 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Location, Location, Location 10:00pm Flights From Hell: Caught on Camera 11:00pm Grayson Perry: Rites of Passage: Marriage

5 News at 5 Neighbours Home and Away 5 News Tonight Cricket on 5: England v India 9:00pm Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Secrets of Mcdonald's: 100 Billion Dollar Burger 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

Efl Cup Highlights Football Years Football Countdowns Efl Cup Highlights Efl Cup Highlights EFL Matters One2eleven One2eleven EFL Matters Efl Cup Highlights Efl Cup Highlights EFL Matters EFL Greatest Games EFL Greatest Games Efl Cup Highlights Efl Cup Highlights

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this week weather FRI

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Aug 24

Aug 25

Aug 26

Aug 27

Aug 28

Aug 29

Aug 30

38º/18ºC 39º/20ºC 40º/19ºC 39º/21ºC 35º/19ºC 35º/18ºC 34º/17ºC Partly sunny

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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.

www.rtnnewspaper.com

24th - 30th August

What’s On FRIDAY AUGUST 24 La Bamba’s Dance Group - Los Rosales Restaurant, Guardamar. Every Friday is New Beginners Class between 8pm and 9pm. Intermediate Class from 9pm until 10pm. Contact Andrea on 616 478 157 for more details. Cantabile Ladies Choir is a friendly group who take their music seriously but equally enjoy their regular social gettogethers as well. They rehearse every Friday at the La Siesta Church from 3pm to 5pm. Contact Valerie on 966 795 816 for more details. Los Alcazares - Fiesta de la Huerta y el Mar. Local associations open to visitors from 8.30pm offering traditional local tapas. 10.30pm - Closing ceremony featuring performances from all the folk groups, followed by dancing and fireworks in the Auditorium del Parque de las Penas Huertanas. Entry is free until full. Torrevieja - 16th International Band Festival in the Eras de la Sal 10pm start and tickets are free on a first come, first seated basis. Santiago de la Ribera Summer Discount Shopping Fair along the Explanada Barnuevo from 6.30pm to midnight. Camposol - International Fiesta. Train runs throughout the area from 6pm to midnight. 7pm - Entertainment in Sector B Lower Car Park.

SATURDAY AUGUST 25 Santiago de la Ribera Summer Discount Shopping Fair along the Explanada Barnuevo from 6.30pm to midnight. Camposol - International Fiesta. Train runs throughout the area from 6pm to midnight. Events running all day from 10am based in both Sector A and Sector B. 1pm - Free paella for the first 200 people in Sector B Lower Car Park. Entertainment at 7pm. Santa Pola - 10pm - Play ‘La Vinguda de la Mare de Dèu de Loreto’ in the Patio de Armas del Castillo. Formentera del Segura Annual fiesta in honour of San Roque and San Miguel. 1pm Firing of the rockets. 8.30pm –

DO NOT MISS

Nelson Mandela Stadium every Sunday between 8.30pm and 10pm. Call Javi on 603 727 179 for details.

La Vuelta de España

RUNNING from tomorrow (Saturday) to Sunday September 16, the Vuelta - the Spanish equivalent of the Tour de France - will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,254.7 kilometres. Stage 6 on Thursday August 30 sees the group leaving Huércal-Overa and travelling through Mazarron, Cartagena, Mar Menor and San Javier before finishing in Santiago de la Ribera. Parade of floats and marching bands. Redovan - Annual fiesta in honour of the Virgen de la Salud and San Miguel Arcangel. 10pm - Election and coronation of the Fiesta Queens and the Opening Speeches for the Fiesta in the Plaza de la Paz, followed by live music.

SUNDAY AUGUST 26 Baker Foundation Spiritual Centre - Playa Flamenca. Sunday service with clairvoyance from 11am to 12 noon. For info, contact Linda on 606 990 665. A New rugby club - Bettas Torrevieja RFC - trains at the Nelson Mandela Stadium every Sunday between 8.30pm and 10pm. Call Javi on 603 727 179 for details. Camposol - International Fiesta. Train runs throughout the area from 6pm to midnight. Entertainment all day from 10am, featuring a Tug-ofWar at midday in Sector A Car Park. 7pm to midnight - Entertainment in Sector B Lower Car Park. Formentera del Segura Annual fiesta in honour of San Roque and San Miguel. 8pm Parade of the Fiesta Queens. 9pm - Solemn procession of Patron Saints. 10.30pm - Firework display from the town hall. Redovan - Annual fiesta in honour of the Virgen de la Salud and San Miguel Arcangel. 11am - Water toboggan in the Plaza de Espana. 8pm Concert by the Union Musical in the Plaza de la Paz.

The first Vuelta de España was held in 1935 when a total of 50 riders took part. The bicycles were made of iron and riders carried their own tools and puncture repair kits… none of the supporting vehicles that make up the modern sport. The first winner was the Belgian Gustaaf Deloor but he was the only winner for six years as the Spanish Civil War prevented it being staged

MONDAY AUGUST 27 La Bamba’s Dance Group - Los Rosales Restaurant, Guardamar. Every Monday is Sequence Dancing Class (7pm to 8pm) followed by a Social Dance until 10.30pm. Contact Andrea on 616 478 157 for more details. Orihuela Costa Community Care - Ramon de Campoamor Civic Centre on Urbanisation Monteznia. Every Monday is Beginners Spanish (12.30pm to 2pm): Flower Arranging (12.30pm to 2.30pm): Crafts (2.30pm to 4.30pm). For information, email: oc.community care@gmail.com Walking Wanderers Walking Football Club - They meet every Monday afternoon between 4pm and 6pm at the Orihuela Costa Municipal Sports Centre. There is also a very active social aspect to the club too. For more details, contact Bob Gorrill via e-mail: bob byg2542@hotmail.com. Pilar de la Horadada Badminton Club meets every Monday at the sports centre between 10am and 12.30pm. Please contact John McGilvray on 868 700 235 or 634 658 506. E-mail: carole john_3@hotmail.com. For people over 50 who find themselves on their own, the Phoenix Solos Club meet every Monday from 11am to 1pm at the Marina Club in the International Marina in Torrevieja. Formentera del Segura Annual fiesta in honour of San Roque and San Miguel. Sardine Day from 11.30am to 2pm with a traditional lunch of

Santa Pola and Gran Alacant - Street Art at 8.30pm. They are free to watch, although payment/ tips are asked for following the show. Tonight on the Paseo González Vicen is ‘Niunpaloalarte’ ‘Escuela Billy Elliot.’ PELATON: Blink and you’ll miss La Vuelta passing through. again until 1941 when a majority of Spanish riders took part due to foreign competitors involved in the Second World War.

sardines, bread, wine and beer at the Parque El Molino. 5.30pm - Foam Party at the town hall.

TUESDAY AUGUST 28 English Folk Music Club Meet every Tuesday at the Madhouse, Urb Pueblo Principe from 8.30pm. It’s an opportunity for acoustic performers of all genres and it’s free entry too. There’s a raffle each week to raise funds to book visiting acts from the UK. For more details, contact Carol by e-mail: dive smith@hot mail.com. Baker Foundation Spiritual Centre - Playa Flamenca. Every Tuesday, an evening of psychic clairvoyance from 7.30pm to 8.45pm. For information, contact Linda on 606 990 665. Help At Home Costa Blanca (Orihuela Costa) - Every Tuesday at the Emerald Isle between 11am and 3.30pm. Funds are currently being raised for a special needs vehicle for disabled persons. Selection of stalls including clothes, shoes, art and crafts and jewellery among others. Pilar de la Horadada Badminton Club meets every Tuesday at the sports centre between 10am and 12.30pm. Please contact John McGilvray on 868 700 235 or 634 658 506. E-mail: carole john_3@hotmail.com. CF Rojales Walking Football - Open to men and women aged 50 and over, they meet at the football pitches on Calle Limonar every Tuesday from 11am to 12noon. You can just turn up on the day, or for more infor-

mation, call Pat Stephens on 654 049 388 or e-mail: pat.stephens08@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 29 Market held at the Emerald Isle (Orihuela Costa) from 11am to 4pm, raising funds for the 12 to 18-yearolds living at Association Elche Children’s Care Home Orihuela Costa Community Care - Ramon de Campoamor Civic Centre on Urbanisation Monteznia. Every Wednesday is Art, Sketching and Watercolour (2.30pm to 4.30pm): Spanish Beginners (2pm to 3.30pm). For information, e-mail: oc.communitycare@gmail.co m. Amigos Friendship Group - Meets at El Bar, El Raso every Wednesday at 3pm for a get-together and a fun quiz. They also arrange a number of activities such as day trips, meals and holidays. Just turn up on the day or call Ann (642 774 399) or Ken (642 703 488) for more information. Pilar de la Horadada Badminton Club meets every Wednesday at the sports centre between 10am and 12.30pm. Please contact John McGilvray on 868 700 235 or 634 658 506. E-mail: carolejohn_3@hot mail.com. Benimar Social Club meets every Wednesday at the Rojales Steakhouse for a variety of activities such as bridge, chess, fundraising quiz, short mat bowls etc. Contact Sue on 685 339 179 or Richard on 660 825 390. A New rugby club - Bettas Torrevieja RFC - trains at the

THURSDAY AUGUST 30 Spangles Ladies Harmony Chorus - Meets at the Las Claras Centre in Los Narejos every Thursday from 10am to 1pm. New members are always welcome and the group would love to hear from you. Call 968 334 527 or 968 432 525 or e-mail: info@span gleschorus.com for more details. Dragon Riders - Whether you live in the area or just visiting, this is your chance to ride with like-minded people. All makes and models more than welcome. Meet every Thursday at 10am at Waldamars Restaurant, La Florida. Contact is Rob on 671 826 201. Orihuela Costa Community Care - Ramon de Campoamor Civic Centre on Urbanisation Monteznia. Every Thursday is Card Making (1pm to 3.30pm): Sewing and Knitting (2pm to 4.30pm): Exercise to Music (12.45pm to 1.30pm): Drumming / Percussion Workshop (2pm to 4pm). For information, e-mail: oc.communitycare@gmail.co m. Baker Foundation Spiritual Centre - Playa Flamenca. Every Thursday morning, Spiritual healing from 10.30am to 12 noon. Development group from 2.30pm and open to everyone. Animal healing is also available for pets. For information, contact Linda on 606 990 665. Pilar de la Horadada Badminton Club meets every Thursday at the sports centre between 10am and 12.30pm. Please contact John McGilvray on 868 700 235 or 634 658 506. E-mail: carole john_3@hotmail.com. The Vivace Choir is a mixed group of around 50 voices from all across Europe. This friendly classical choir meets every Thursday from 7.15pm to 9.30pm at the Casa de Cultura, San Miguel.

www.rtnnewspaper.com by Colin Bird The opinions published in Colin’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors. IN the late ‘90’s, ladies from a village Women’s Institute in the Yorkshire Dales ranging in age from 45 to 65, made a decision to bare all for what they called an ‘alternative calendar’. The idea was the brainchild of Tricia Stewart and was agreed upon in order to raise funds for research into blood related cancers following the death, from nonHodgkins Lymphoma, of John Baker the husband of Tricia’s best friend and WI colleague, Angela. The calendar was launched in 1999 and nobody could have foreseen the repercussions. Tricia issued press releases to announce the launch and was inundated with phone calls that lasted for weeks. The media coverage was massive and the calendar sold 88,000 copies as a result. The story was in the national dailies for three whole weeks; the ladies appeared on Thames Television and were invited to model at the Savoy Hotel in London. They were voted Women of the Year and they personally took copies of the calendar to Buckingham Palace for the Queen and Queen Mother. They also received

24th - 30th August

The alternative calendar

FRIENDS: Tricia Stewart and Angela Baker. ALL SMILES: The original Calendar Girls on a visit to London.

the dubious title of: ‘Oldie Exposure of the Year’ from Oldie Magazine. These were ordinary ladies, living everyday lives who, through their love and respect for John Baker and a mission to raise money for research into blood cancers, became extraordinary ambassadors for a great and worthy cause. The whole thing became a worldwide phenomenon and in 2000, the calendar was published in America, selling a further 240,000 copies, following two promotional tours of the US. Then in 2001 Tricia’s book ‘Calendar

Girl’ was published and later ‘Calendar Girl’s Story’, which has been reprinted many times since. The original aim was to raise £5,000 for the then named; Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research charity and also to publish a calendar in John’s memory. The whole project was expected to last no more than three weeks, but 18 years on, almost £5 million has been raised in spin-offs as a direct result of that original calendar and donated to Blood Wise, the charity’s new title. It was this inspirational story that prompted ACTS, a drama group here in

the southern Costa Blanca, to choose the stage play as their autumn production and which I have the honour of directing. Tricia Stewart has generously offered to fly to Spain in order to help promote our production and we are holding several events in her honour. where she will recount the real story of the Calendar Girls and how it has affected their lives since. The details of these events are published elsewhere. The show will take place at San Fulgencio on Thursday, October 18 to Saturday October 20. Tickets can be obtained by calling: 699 982 726 or email: tickets.acts@gmail.com.

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by John Redfern

I AM now a bass player after my successful audition at the Wyken Working Men’s Club in Coventry for a slick Irish six-piece showband and was told that I was playing the following night at the Bedworth Liberal Club. Ruddy Nora! I had only played in a pop trio prior to my folk music days and when I arrived the following night I was that nervous I was glad that I had chosen to wear my brown corduroy trousers! The king pin of the band was a chap called Kevin Moore, the guitarist and lead vocalist (who became a life-long friend of mine up to this day)! He introduced me to each member of the band and gave me a large cardboard box saying: “You will need this tonight John!” We finally arrived and unloaded the gear from the band’s van. The cardboard box was worrying me. Back stage with an hour before kick off the

Did he stay or did he go? AUDITION: The Wyken Working Men’s Club in Coventry.

Credit: © Robin Stott Creative Commons

band members changed into their stage clothes. Blue suits, blue waistcoats, silk, sky-blue frilly shirts and large, black dicky bows which in a heavy wind, would have took you off your feet and sent you into outer space. I was wearing denim jeans and a threadbare jacket that matched!

I was that nervous I decided to leg it to the bar for a few jars of lager with a whisky chaser. Believe it or not I was back in the changing room 15 minutes later with a head on me like a zoo keeper’s boot. I slowly entered the dressing room and witnessed a sight for sore eyes - four grown men (excluding the drummer) practising dance

steps while holding their instruments. I was on the brink of doing a runner. Kevin Moore finally opened up the cardboard box saying: “A new suit, shirt and dicky bow, black shoes and socks. If they don’t fit just suffer and we can get them changed”. He added: “The steps are easy. Every four beats you

take two steps to the left then two to the right, swing your guitar upright, then take two s t eps bac k and lower y our guitar. Then two steps forward! ‘Always smile and never look at your watch’. I changed into my new gear, placed my microphone stand next to the drummer, clipped on my mike, tuned my bass and placed it on its stand. There were now seven minutes before the stage curtains opened, I was born with two left feet and didn’t know a crotchet from a crutchet because I could only play by ear. I peeped through the crack in the curtains and the audience was full to capacity. Two minutes to go (should I stay or should I go). The Clash were talking to my sixth sense and told me to stay! The curtains opened, my bass was strapped on, the audience was cheering and the opening song was Hey Las Vegas by Tony Christie. You must be waiting in anticipation to find out how the show went?

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Advertising Feature

Sevilla City is well worth a visit

sive tower dating back to Moorish times. Round the corner a queue of people patiently wait to visit the Alcazar, a protected retreat for kings, queens and rulers throughout the centuries. Or venture into the Triana district which was originally home to the gypsy popula-

Patio de las Doncellas in the Alcazar.

tion and the birth place of Flamenco and be serenaded by haunting guitar music while you sip a drink or take a bite to eat. Other places to see are the football grounds of Real Betis and Sevilla, the magnificent Maenstranza bull ring. The informative museums

Credit: Ingo Mehling Wikimedia

Parque Maria Luisa.

Credit: CAT Wikimedia

Credit: Manuel Ramallo Wikimedia

THE region of Andalucia exudes the very spirit of Spanish culture and Sevilla is the capital of this fabulous region. It has one of the wealthiest and largest cathedrals in the world. A privileged city which sits on the banks of the mighty river Guadalquivir a short distance from the point where the river empties into the Mediterranean. Your first impression of the city centre is, rather strangely, that of a green fertile oasis, with the majestic Parque Maria Luisa forming the centre of this illusion. Nearby in the impressive Plaza España, horses, donkeys, and mules strain as they pull carriages full of happy tourists round the sights of the city. A massive cathedral sits below the Giralda. A mas-

The Cathedral Sevilla.

of archaeology and of culture, the narrow character laden cobbled streets of the old Jewish district of Santa Cruz, you can even have a mini cruise on the river. What better way to discover all that Sevilla has to offer, than staying in the heart of the City. With everything just a

short walk away, explore the city’s history by day and its bars and restaurants by night. Staying in a 3* city hotel on a bed and breakfast basis, four days, three nights, September 26 to 29. This is brought to you at the incredible price of €219 with David’s Coachtrips SL.

To reserve your place today either visit their website www.coachtripsonline.com or call (0034) 966 785 910 to reserve your places.

Uses of ser and estar

Basic Spanish for everyday needs

by Jane Cronin

IT appears that I committed myself rather foolishly to writing about the uses of SER and ESTAR today. I would now quite like to change my mind but as I don’t want to disappoint the thousands of readers who have been waiting for today’s article with bated breath, I will do my duty. First of all, we need to look at their structure as both verbs are officially irregular in the present simple tense, which is why we are talking about them now. SER Soy Eres Es

Somos Sois Son

ESTAR Estoy Estás Está

Estamos Estáis Están

SER is clearly irregular as it is quite different from anything else at all. However, it might be more difficult for you to detect exactly why ESTAR is

considered to be irregular. Have a good look at it and I will tell you in the next sentence what the answer is. Well, the reason ESTAR is considered irregular is because of the accents, and therefore the rhythm with which the words are said. I have mentioned many times in the course of our present simple articles about how important it is to put the beat of the word on the roots in the first, second and third persons singular and third person plural. The significance of this is even more evident in the case of root-changing verbs, because it is the beat of the word which creates the change in the root. However, unlike any other verb ESTAR has the beat on the endings of all six forms. We should have been getting this right anyway from the time when we learnt to say ‘¿Dónde está?’ and ‘¿Cómo estás?’ when hopefully your Spanish teacher made you emphasise the final syllables. It makes all the differ-

ence to understanding when you speak. Now on the subject of usage, the first thing I want to do is disagree firmly and clearly with something that almost everyone seems to think about the use of SER and ESTAR (if you don’t think this, then just ignore the next bit) and that is that we use SER for ‘permanent’ and ESTAR for ‘temporary’. There are occasions when this rule of thumb may be useful but it can also be misleading if it is taken as the main difference between the two verbs. It fact it can create a lot of confusion which is a devil of a job to sort out once we start using both of these verbs in

past and future tenses. The problem is that the concepts of ‘permanent’ and ‘temporary’ are conceptuallytime-related. They make us conceive of the meaning of these two verbs solely in terms of the length of time they describe. However, the meanings of SER and ESTAR have no connection what-

soever with the concept of time. The difference between the two verbs is really to do with quality rather than quantity of time, but before we even get on to that, and if you need a rule of thumb to replace the one you’ve just lost, this is mine which you are welcome to try out for size: ESTAR refers to ‘how’ and ‘where’ SER refers to ‘who’ ‘what’ and ‘when’

Before I go into more details about finer differences, there is of course the major point that the verb ESTAR is used to refer to location. If you want to describe ‘where’ something is you will always use this verb. Going back to the distinction made earlier, this is equally true when talking about a temporary location. ‘El boli está encima de la mesa’ and permanent location. ‘Madrid está en el centro de España’. As I suspected, this subject is going to take me onto a second article, but I have now at least given you something to think about for the intervening week. Obviously, and as with most things, it isn’t all that simple, but I think this will give you a clearer starting point to move on from next week.

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Forgotten victims of gender violence QUIETLY eloquent, my friend told me of his suicide bid that had been foiled by the unforeseen appearance of passers-by. The near tragedy was consequence of his being subjected to months of monosyllabic conversation and silence by his then wife. It was not manic depression on her part; with friends and family she maintained bright and breezy chitchat. I had known my friend for years; a hardworking breadwinner, he never strayed and he adored his children. My friend however was a victim of domestic violence of a peculiarly female nature. Another friend had succeeded in taking his own life after the mother of his child had committed to a rival. My pal had flung himself off a bypass pedestrian bridge. When a marriage breaks down in the UK the husband becomes a

by Michael Walsh

keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com non-person. The mother of his children invariably has firm rights to the home he has worked his socks off to provide. Access to his children is subject to a magistrate’s whim. He is however obliged by law to provide for his wife and children. Another man may move into his home, sleep with his wife and become surrogate father to his children. Yet, as often as not the fault of failure is hers and not his. Does this go some way to ex-

plaining a taboo topic; why far more men take their own lives than do women? Male suicide is often called the ‘silent killer’. It is the single biggest cause of death for men under the age of 45 in the UK. The latest figures show that male suicide rates across the UK are three times higher than female suicide rates. Statistics reveal 84 men take their own life each week. A suicide statistics report by the Samaritans showed there were 6,639 suicides in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in 2015. Of that figure 4,997 were men, meaning 75 per cent of all suicides in 2015 in the UK and Ireland were committed by men. Self-harm now takes more men’s lives than war, murder, and natural disasters combined. Approximately 30,000 people commit

HIDDEN PROBLEM: Suicide rates amongst men getting worse. suicide each year in the US and 80 per cent were men. Overall, males kill themselves at rates that are four times higher than females. The suicide rate for those ages 20-24 is 5.4 times higher for males than for females of the same age. Nineteen published articles that included individual-level data were identified. Twelve reported a

greater risk of suicide in men following relationship breakdown whilst two indicated a greater risk in women. In 1981, 63 per cent of UK suicides were male, but in 2013 the figure was 78 per cent. The proportion of male to female deaths by suicide has increased steadily since 1981. Let us remember men too.

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

Advertising Feature

Cruising for families ONE of the most affordable ways in which to enjoy quality time with the whole family is to take a cruise. Not only do you get a change of scenery each day, but you can take advantage of some of the most modern forms of entertainment, at no extra costs to you. Prices are very affordable with a range of group and family discounts available. It’s a great way to explore new destinations, and possibly decide to visit them for a longer holiday at another date. Travelling is mostly done overnight, leaving you free to enjoy all the ship’s facilities at your leisure. Impromptu shows take place in the main halls, while mind-blowing bionic arms pour your drinks and the ever changing scenery is shown on virtual screens above you. It really is an experience that has to be lived to be believed. There is plenty going on to keep the whole family occupied on days at sea. Cookery displays, quizzes, activities by the pool, the gym and the water parks all offer ample entertainment.

There are clubs for all ages that can be a great place for children to meet and make new friends as well as a unique learning experience - from science experiments to participating on stage! For adolescents there is a wonderland of fun on ice rinks where you can skate and watch Ice Shows at night. This of course, is for when the teenagers get bored of zip-lining, surf boarding, rock wall climbing, sliding down some of the most amazing slides ever built (in between sports, dodgem cars, Formula 1 racing and many, many, other options). All cruises are full board and many companies offer all inclusive packages to take the sting out of the tail at the end of the holidays when you eye up the list of cocktails you’ve tried! Early bookings discounts are being applied now for 2019, including onboard credit, drinks packages, internet packages and speciality dining packages. There are also ongoing two for one offers for World Cruises in 2020 these are a great price right now! If you are stuck for ideas, drop into our offices at La Zenia or Benijofar and

TAKE A CRUISE: It’s a great way to explore new destinations.

chat to the staff about the offers available. Worldwide Horizons deal with all cruise companies, so even if you don’t see it featured in one of our adverts,

contact us to find out what special offers are on for your favourite company, and grab a bargain whilst you can! www.whtravel.es

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24th - 30th August

health

Worrying perception of obesity AS the number of those classed as obese is on the increase, perhaps even more worrying is the Spanish population’s perception of obesity. A survey presented by the Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity (Seedo) said that 82.2 per cent of those who are obese do not recognise they have a problem and up to 12 per cent of them think they have a ‘normal weight.’ President of Seedo, Francisco Tinahones, warned this is “tremendously worrying” with obesity now affecting more than 20 per cent of society, twice as much as 25 years ago. With obesity being linked to other diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and osteoarthritis, he pointed out the importance of “identifying the problem” so that measures can be taken to alleviate it. “It is important to change the perception, to see that this is a problem and address it as a disease,” said Tinahones. OVERWEIGHT: Many Spanish do not recognise they have a problem.

The end of summer hair EVER noticed you lose more hair towards the end of the summer? If so, don’t worry, it is natural. According to experts during the summer more hair is needed to help protect the scalp against sunburn, but as the weather begins to cool the hair sheds naturally in larger amounts than normal as it is no longer needed. So what can you do to help prevent it? Ve r y l i t t l e i t s e e m s and unless you regularly lose more than 100 hairs a day there is nothing to worry about. Also, carry on brushing and washing hair as normal as to avoid it means that when you do, it will all come out at once, that can be even more alarming. Most people lose anywhere from 50 to 100

HAIR LOSS: Nothing to worry about.

strands of hair daily according to the American Academy of Dermatology, but hair loss can also occur for a number of other reasons such as medication. Certain medications can trigger hair loss such as those prescribed for

acne. Iron deficiencies are the most common cause of hair loss in premenopausal women, followed by polycystic ovarian syndrome, leading to excessive amounts of testosterone. Crash dieting and stress can also increase hair loss.

Stay active on holiday

HOLIDAY TIME: Important to be physically active. IT’S not the news those of us who look forward to having two weeks off doing nothing, wanted to hear, but a study claims that a two-week holiday can increase the risk of chronic diseases and even premature death. Whilst it has long been thought that two weeks of relaxing on the beach in the sunshine is good for our well-being, releasing stress and anxiety, a new study by the University of Liverpool

claims that this time lounging around affects muscle mass and produces metabolic changes that drastically affect your heart health. Their study included 28 healthy, physically active people with an average age of 25. They wore an armband to measure their physical activity and completed a dietary journal with assessments at the start of the study and after a 14-day ‘holiday’ where participants

reduced normal activity by around 80 per cent, equating to a drop in exercising from 161 minutes a day to just 36 minutes, with time sitting around doing nothing increasing. Even in this relatively short space of time, after the 14-day period of inactivity the researchers observed noticeable changes in body composition including loss of skeletal muscle mass and increases in body fat.

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

Puzzles Page

DARK 1 2 3 4

Cryptic

Down 1 Changes Pat's ad about (6) 2 More uncommon rubles are registered (5) 3 Agile secret agent creeping round the ringleader (4) 5 Modify, for example, ring for a confidant (5,3) 6 One's position is not changed at the inside (7) 7 Metal pin crook finally found in waste pipe (6) 8 Keep out of French watering hole (5) 13 State risk accepting European jurisprudence (8) 15 After a time, the pamphlet will entice (7) 17 Remains in taxicab I'd escaped in (6) 18 Squander, say, part of the body (5) 19 Mother, doctor and a Sikh leader are all from Chennai (6) 22 Continue performing in part of West London (5) 23 Cabbage is an ingredient of cock-a-leekie soup (4)

ROAD Weekly Stars

Across 1 Stop translating Sartre (6) 4 Prepared sauces for the campaigns (6) 9 First class rider takes a tumble in Scotland (7) 10 Swap jazz key (5) 11 Rotate tea boiler (4) 12 Fine head start with British Airways, perhaps (8) 14 Harbour with own pole (5) 16 It’s torture putting silver on Yankee (5) 20 Risk money, a pound, after some light shopping? (8) 21 Funny ditch (2-2) 24 Play doctor and a graduate (5) 25 Crush the star characters (7) 26 Something glossy for a teen's dance (6) 27 Love means nothing for such players (6)

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

recent hard work is about to be rewarded. With Pluto getting down to the nitty gritty and Mercury more than capable of spreading the good word, you have the backing to take things up to the next level, if this is what you want right now. Priorities are more than just a give-on, but you are home free!

Libra. Looking to recent actions in your sibling planet of Taurus, all is very fair in both love and war. Any battles that you have to make now are liable to be with yourself; as that stubborn streak has raised its ugly face once more. Stop making a mountain out of a molehill, and use your intelligence to see what’s on the new menu.

Taurus. It is a practical Pluto that helps you to face facts this week. After a square with Venus midweek, you may have already changed your mind about something that no longer seems to matter very much to you. Use you’re abundant energies and your psychic senses to make the best deal that you can. You’ve started so you must finish!.

Scorpio. Having to bite your tongue is a better alternative to saying something that you will later regret for a variety of reasons. What is needed now is a clear head, and the impetus to fight for that which you deserve. The Sun trines Saturn, and it is the infinite wisdom of the unknown that keeps you safe and sound and keen, right now.

Gemini. Hard working Mercury is right by your side when it comes to making the most of a situation. In hindsight it is only too easy to see that things could not continue as they were, and any alternative will be a step in the right direction for you. Keep your friends close by you, and just to make sure, keep those who oppose you now, even closer.

Sagitarius. Saturn prescribes a new route for you. Feeling very much at the crossroads you have to know that going backwards is not an option for you right now. Take time to examine your alternatives, and stall if you have to, until such time when you are in a better place, and what comes next seems a real possibility for a brighter future.

Cancer. Somebody needs your help, tender love, and care, but is not really going about it in the right way. It is true that you have been out of touch recently with many people who are normally there for you when they are needed. The Venus square this week sees you finding the right things to say, but actions speak louder than words ever could.

Capricorn. You have been burning the candle at both ends, and something has got to give; though it shouldn’t have to be you this time around. What is needed is to see things from a distance, since you are to close for comfort, and are on top of things, rather than shaping what’s next for you. You should move on, but do not confuse this as running away.

Leo. The Sun encounters Uranus, planet of innovation, change and commerce early this week. Forewarned is forearmed, and it is time to stop resting on your laurels and to use your significant skills to manoeuvre a situation to your advantage. A loophole not only works on your behalf, but will open doors to just what you deserve!

Aquarius. Under the influences of Uranus, do not be afraid to put your best foot forward. Sometimes you lack confidence in yourself, mistrusting the true actions of those who want to be supportive of you. Right now look within to follow the instincts that keep popping up, but which often serve to hold you back from what should be the main event.

Virgo. Triple actions of Mercury act as a wake up call, and give evidence that your recent suspicions are founded! The highlight of the currently explosive Cosmic energy shift travels through Jupiter, which takes on Mercury at the end of a busy, but inspiring week. You never know what you can do until you try, but you are about to find out!

Pisces. True love comes from within, and somebody has managed to connect with you through both heart and soul. These are trying and testing times, but your energy inspires others, and attracts them to you for all the right reasons. Accept the gift of love as it comes to you on many levels this week, as Venus squares and you get a surprise!

Aries. Mercury faces Pluto, and all your

Code Breaker

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 1 represents R and 23 represents B, so fill in R every time the figure 1 appears and B every time the figure 23 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.

www.rtnnewspaper.com Across 1 Come or go back (6) 4 Prison (4) 8 Variety of peach with a smooth skin (9) 9 Gemstone (4) 10 Rely on (6) 13 Stable units (6) 15 Capital of Norway (4) 18 Sweets on sticks (9) 19 Nesting insect (4) 20 Have an ambitious plan or a lofty goal (6)

Quick

Down 1 Unpleasantly loud and harsh (7) 2 Friendly Islands (5) 3 Wealthy (4) 5 Nimble or active (5) 6/18 Hide out (3,3) 7 Ship of the desert (5) 11 Bishop's jurisdiction (7) 12 Ordinary (5) 14 Collection of maps in book form (5) 16 Japanese food (5) 17 Chief or leader (4) 18 See 6

Across 1 Desafortunado (7) 5 Toads (5) 8 Gaviota (7) 9 Parrots (5) 10 Thirteen (5) 11 To obtain (7) 12 Cubo (balde) (6) 14 Geese (domestic) (6) 17 Reign (7) 19 Arches (5) 22 January (5) 23 Pendiente (joya) (7) 24 Sheep (5) 25 Cantantes (7)

Down 1 Alterado (5) 2 Key (door) (5) 3 Dummy (for baby) (7) 4 Amarillo (6) 5 Hendidura (corte) (5) 6 Padres (7) 7 Tailors (7) 12 Barber (7) 13 Chino (7) 15 Scorpion (7) 16 Toallas (6) 18 Now (at this time, immediately) (5) 20 Delito (5) 21 Señales (indicaciones) (5)

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

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.

24th - 30th August

Sudoku

Funagram Unscramble the name of a famous English actor and producer: ROAD MYTH Unscramble the name of a London Underground station on the Central Line (two words): BEN THE ANGLER

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

Kenny’s Postbag Kenny, I find it hard to ask Spirit for anything, even if I need it. I have read what you have said about deserving, but I feel very selfish asking for help when others are more needy than myself. Kirsty H. Hi Kirsty! Asking can be for others too. If there is something that you need then why not combine your request with a wish that others are rewarded as well? Staying silent and letting things get worse is not an option, especially since you obviously have the very best of intentions. Asking for others isn’t a compromise, and your request could help them to face times of need; which would reward you, also.

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

ANSWERS: - TOM HARDY - BETHNAL GREEN

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24th - 30th August

ARCHITECTS

BATHROOMS BATHROOM & KITCHEN conversions. Costa Blanca, contact 698 320 434 (260873)

BOILERS

BALLROOM CLASSES Dancing – Ballroom, Latin, Sequence & Argentine Tango Wednesday Classes – Ballroom Latin & Argentine Tango Restart – Wednesday 5th September 2018 New Beginners Class 11am – 12pm Intermediate Class 12pm – 1pm Friday Classes – Restart – Friday 7th September 2018 Sequence Dance Class 7pm – 7:45pm. Social Dance – Ballroom, Latin & Sequence 8pm – 10:30pm. All are held at El Paraiso Restaurant, Urb. Jardin del Mar III 1a, Torrevieja, (near McDonalds & Carrefour). Contact Andrea + 34 616 478 157 (276627)

BLINDS

CHARITIES CHARITY BOOK STALL PEGO THURSDAY MARKET. Selection of over 500 books, all proceeds given to the elderly/disabled of Pego and local Animal Rescue. More stock always required please contact Chrissie 965 977 228/617 647 395 (95460)

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, La Fustera. For more info: contact Frank Bentley on 966 495 188. (95461) LA SIESTA EVANGELICAL CHURCH on Urbanisation La Siesta, Torrevieja is a friendly, English speaking church. We hold services each Sunday and everyone is welcome. Our 11.15am Services are held every 2nd and 4th Sunday in the month (and 11.15 am on the 5th Sunday, if this applies.) On the 1st and 3rd Sunday’s our Services are at 9.30am. Our choir sings at our 11.15am Services and there is also a Sunday school, called Stepping Stones, on these Sundays. We welcome residents, visitors and children. For more information see our website HYPERLINK "http://www.lasiestaevangelicalchurch.org/"www.la siestaevangelicalchurch.org or telephone Pastor Keith on 666 180 108.

ROUNDABOUT CHARITY SHOP. We are now into summer and very soon we will be feeling the heat! It is time therefore for another visit to the shop where you might find a bargain or two. Choose from the clothing selection, jewellery, household goods, books or bric-abrac. There is usually something there for everyone - but not always. Charitable donations have recently been made to The Alzheimers Centre, Cancer Research and The Amigos Ambulance Service. We still need your help with donations etc. Please keep them coming in! We are situated on Avenida Del Furs close to the Fountain Roundabout and immediate left by Don Colchon bed shop. (93325)

ELECTRICIAN MR. FIXIT. For all your electrical, plumbing, general & appliance & boiler repairs. No call out charge. 698 320 434.(260205)

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

MISCELLANEOUS THE ROYAL NAVAL ASSCIATION, Torrevieja Branch, meet at 17.00 on the first Wednesday of each month at the Restaurante El Paraiso, Urb. Jardin del Mar 3 (behind Carrefour), Torrevieja. Contact Paul Edwards, Chairman 618 644 934 or Margaret Forshaw, Secretary 966 921 996.

SITUATIONS VACANT

GRILLS

WRITING SERVICES

POOLS

HOUSE CLEARANCES

REMOVALS & STORAGE

INTERNET GET YOUR business noticed online! Make sure that expats in Spain can find your product, service, restaurant, bar or shop. Contact Spain’s newest and brightest online directory TODAY. Call 951 386 161 or e-mail mark.w@euroweeklynews. com for more details.

LOCKSMITH

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MEETING POINT

A.A.

P.E.P.A. VOLUNTEERS & FOSTER HOMES URGENTLY NEEDED. By fostering an abandoned dog or spending a few hours each week on our telephone helpline, you could help save the lives of many animals. Please call: 650 304 746. For more information browse our website: www.pepaspain.com EURO WEEKLY NEWS CLASSIFAX AGENT

EASYHORSE CARE RESCUE CENTRE. We aim to rescue HORSES. If you would like to DONATE please call 965 967 033 or sales@easyhorsecare.net www.easyhorsecare.net or call Sue 652 021 980 (95706)

PLUMBING

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).

PET CHARITIES GATAMI ORGANISATION, to help kittens and cats, looking for good homes, also spaying wild cats in the community. Kittens require adoption, fully vaccinated, de-wormed, de-fleed. We also need volunteers to help Car boot sale in Polop on Sundays Tel Anna: 966 806 976 / 654 729 977 (95709)

SPAMA GANDIA SHELTER. Dog and cat rescue registered charity, La Safor area. 500 animals awaiting re-homing. Shelter open 7 days a week 12noon 2.00pm & 3.30pm 7.00pm. (Spanish speaking staff) or phone Gail 962 896 118. Visit our website for directions. www.spama.org and view our new blog at www.spamasafor.blog.com.es PLEASE HELP US TO HELP THEM (95707)

MR. FIXIT. For all your electrical, plumbing, general & appliance & boiler repairs. No call out charge. 698 320 434. (257948)

SITUATIONS VACANT

24th - 30th August POOLS POOL MAINTENANCE Repairs, Spares and Leak Testing. Call 965 725 565 / 676 945 360 www.pooltechspain.com (259394)

REMOVALS/STORAGE

LOCKSMITHS

UK-SPAIN-IRELAND. Removals with the personal touch. Pets carried with care 965 696 750 / 0044 (0) 7447 918 589 e-mail chrisyounge73979 @aol.com

REMOVALS/STORAGE SEWING QUALIFIED SEAMSTRESS 40 years’ experience, turnups to tailoring patterns taken from your favourite cloths, reasonable prices. Torrevieja, Sandra: 966 799 188 / 680 486 336 (257074) MAN AND VAN UK Spain. 2 vans travelling twice a month, Murcia – North / South UK. Storage in Spain Tel 610 846 260 or 0044 751 918 6355 email van.man@hotmail.co.uk (250809)

PLUMBERS

SITUATIONS VACANT FIELD SALES positions available. Must have own transport, English and Spanish preferred, but not essential, must have local knowledge of the area and be smart and presentable. Applications by email with full CV should be sent to recruitment@euroweekly news.com

PETS

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24th - 30th August

TELECOMS FED UP PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR MOBILE PHONE CALLS? THEN CONTACT TELITEC TODAY. CALLS TO SPAIN 7C PER MINUTE INCLUDING MOBILES. CALLS TO UK 5.3C PER MINUTE. NO MONTHLY FEES, NO CONTRACT. WWW.TELITEC.COM teL: 902 889 070 (0)

WANTED WANTED Quad Bike and Jet Ski. Call 650 722 905 (260885)

CASA ANGELA TORREVIEJA Luxury Private Chalet, parking. Drinks invitation. Feeling alone? Just want some company? Exotic girls from SPANISH lady – classic. Playa Flamenca, private house, 35 years, attractive. All erotic services, massage, sexy lingerie. From €40. Ana 657 603 495 (280961)

REMOVALS & STORAGE

SPANISH lady – classic. Playa Flamenca, private house, 35 years, attractive. All erotic services, massage, sexy lingerie. From €40. Ana 657 603 495

RECORDS & CDs WANTED. Pop, Rock, Jazz, Blues. Top cash paid. Henry 630 665 363 (260051)

XXX RELAX Please note that in Spain there is NO legislation banning adverts in this section. Neither regional nor national governments are able to pass such a law due to rules governing freedom of publication and printing.

SPANISH COURSES

Readers of a sensitive disposition may find some of the advertisements in this section offensive.

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English-Spanish

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• Deadlines: Adverts: copy changes, classifieds and editorial Copy: Tuesday 5pm for following Friday’s edition.

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

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Edita : RTN Publishing and Media SL Deposito Legal : South A-853-1999 • North: A-134-2004 • Costa del Sol MA-630-2017

All adverts must be prepaid whether they are placed at our offices, by email or fax, or via our sales team. The advertisers full name, address and ID number must be supplied (not for publication). RTN does not accept any responsibility for claims made by advertisers, either in advertisements or advertorials, nor can it be held responsible for any inaccuracies, errors, or the non-appearance of advertisements or advertorials. This publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors as a result of poor quality artwork or logos supplied by advertisers and no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage caused by any error or inaccuracy or nonappearance of an advertisement or advertorial. Every effort will be made to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of articles and advertisements in this publication, however the publisher does not accept responsibility for claims or opinions in the same. The publisher does not accept responsibility for opinions expressed by readers in the ‘Mailbox’ section of this newspaper. Reproduction of any part of this newspaper without the consent of the publishers is prohibited.E:&O.E. All rights reserved/Todos los derechos reservados

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pets

24th - 30th August

• sponsored by

Socialisation of dogs

SOCIALISATION: Makes caring for your dogs easier. SOCIALISING dogs can help prepare them for new encounters. Pet sitters can find themselves caring for dogs who are not prepared to meet new dogs or go out in public. It can be a challenge. Last week David the Dogman discussed a method of early ‘socialisation’ of dogs as a good preparation for their behaviour when meeting new dogs. As regular dog sitters will tell you, it can make all the difference if a dog is prepared through socialisation for new canine encounters. As a dog owner ‘socialisation’ of your dog can help make your dog easier to look after and more importantly it makes them more comfortable and relaxed in public places.

It is also easier for the dog and the owner if they understand the process of befriending other dogs. If you have dogs to care for while you are away on holiday, please get in touch with us. We can find you experienced pet sitters to help. How we work? All new members register to join our online HouseSitMatch network. On registration we ID check every new member to ensure we know who you are and in addition sitters are police checked by us. We charge for membership to ensure that there is a commitment from both parties and that we can afford to manage our network online professionally. How do you benefit as a home and pet owner?

Our membership offers you a secure network to help you find suitable sitters. You simply post an advertisement ahead of your travel dates which we publish and housesitters can then apply. You can view their profiles and chat with them before you accept your choice of applicant. If you join as a Premium member, we help you at each stage of the process to get you started and to manage your account. How you do join? Please register online via our website: www.housesitmatch.com. Choose a membership plan. Standard (Do it Yourself option): £49 pa. Premium: (with support at each step): £79 pa

Do you need a house- or pet-sitter? Get in touch. House-sitting can be a winwin for both parties, free house- and pet-sitting, plus the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation! Register as either house-sitter or homeowner with a 20 per cent discount using coupon code P2020 – an exclusive offer for readers. To find a house- or pet-sitter go to www.HouseSitMatch.com call Lamia on 00 44 (0) 777 214 2742 or email admin@housesitmatch.com.

Applying for ‘furternity’ leave! A MINNEAPOLIS marketing company recently made tweaks to its employee benefits this summer. It gave workers ‘furternity leave,’ or the ability to work from home for a week to welcome new dogs or cats. “This is kind of a nobrainer,” said Allison McMenimen, vice president of the company, Nina Hale, who helped devise the new policy. In recent decades, many companies in the United States have overhauled their perks in an effort to retain employees and entice new recruits. But, when it comes to pets, few companies ap-

PET TIME: Official leave to welcome new animals into homes.

pear to have gone far beyond ‘Take Your Dog to Work Day’. An Italian company allowed a woman last year to take paid time off when her dog became sick. And employees at mParti-

cle, a data company in New York, are offered ‘paw-ternity leave’, two weeks of paid time off for those who adopt a rescue dog or get an exotic pet, such as an iguana.

Cats ‘N’ Dogs www.catsndogsaid.com Cats ‘N’ Dogs Aid Association BASED in Rojales, the Cats ‘N’ Dogs Aid Association is a non-profit making organisation with the aim of aiding feral cats and caring for abandoned or abused dogs. To maintain healthy cat colonies and provide the best possible life for them, the association carries out a ‘trap-neuter-release’ programme, which has proved to be the most successful way of controlling the feral cat colonies TOGETHERNESS: Working and caring in the local with the least possible excommunity. pense from the public purse. and medical attention to maintain their When it comes to dogs, the Cats ‘N’ well-being until something more permaDogs Aid Association will try to ensure nent is found for them. that any abandoned or abused dogs Perhaps you’d like to foster a dog inare rescued, well treated and cared for stead? The Cats ‘N’ Dogs Aid Associaand will also do their very best to find tion would be delighted to hear from suitable new homes for them to contin- you and advise you on what you need ue to live their lives with the love and to do. affection that ‘man’s best friend’ deserves. For more information, call 616 655 When animals come into their care, 789 or look on the website www.cats they provide temporary shelter, food ndogsaid.com.

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24th - 30th August

motoring

The road to Japan has begun AN intrepid duo has t a k e n a n a g e d To y o t a Ya r i s o n a m a r a t h o n fundraising drive, to

cover 12,500 miles from Cambridgeshire to Japan. Dan Handley and

Dave Brooks will be travelling on inhospitable roads and gruelling terrain, passing through 20 different countries to reach their destination in Tokyo. They hope their spirit of adventure and one-off feat will help raise bumper sums for the BBC Children in Need appeal. Dan and Dave are both car enthusiasts and work together at Toyota specialists Fensport Performance in Chatteris. Their cross-continent drive has been a longheld ambition, made possible thanks to backing of the project, by winning the 2017 MotorVision Awards. T h e y c h o s e t h e Ya r i s as a car they knew well, and which would be easily repairable should they encounter any problems. They have sourced a 16-year-old

five-door model, powered by a punchy 1.5litre petrol engine and costing just over €1,000, purchased with a donation from a local r e t a i l e r. I t h a s b e e n modified to help it withstand the rigours of the journey and to provide Dan and Dave with a home on wheels. The majority of the nights will be spent camping, preparing meals on a small stove, with an occasional stay in local hostels. Dan and Dave will cross Europe towards Turkey. They are allowing themselves eight weeks to reach the port of Vladivostok in eastern Russia, from where they will take a ferry to Japan, via South Korea. If all goes according to plan, they will arrive in Tokyo on October 5, and spend a week there before returning by air to the UK.

Volkswagen’s new TCross under wraps IT is Volkswagen’s smallest SUV and yet it has what it takes to become a great one: The new T-Cross, it is still under wraps, but the development to series production is running at full speed. The world première will take place this autumn and the launch will follow in spring 2019. Until then, Volkswagen will give more and more details about the new small but great SUV. ‘I am more’ is the slogan for the introduction of the T-Cross. This slogan reflects the philosophy behind the SUV: To offer more than others, but without costing more. The slogan is clustered in four characteristic areas of the T-Cross: ‘I am practical’ - more space and variability; ‘I am cool’ - masculine design and maximum individuality; ‘I am intuitive’ - digital and connected; ‘I am safe’ - one of the safest cars in its class. The modular transverse matrix, or MQB for short,, is one of the reasons for this. This is the technical basis of the T-Cross. The front axle moves far to the front, thereby lengthening the wheelbase, creating more space in the interior and increasing the available stowage space. The latter is also variable: De pending on the situation, the rear seat bench can be adjusted lengthwise as standard. This will allow for either more legroom, or more space in the luggage compartment (385 to 455 litres). The back of the rear seat can also be divided (60:40) or completely folded down. The high seating position in the T-Cross is typical for an SUV: 597 mm at the front and 652 mm at the three seats at the rear; the elevated view from the TCross is realised via higher ground clearance and the seat system.

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24th - 30th August

sport Have your say... Benidorm hotel association says British holidaymaker numbers in ‘free fall’

8,392 People Reached 150 Reactions

My Spanish holiday is £500 dearer than last time for exact same holiday. If I booked today it would be £1,000+ more than I paid last year for two of us. That’s not Brexit that’s greed!! Geoff Tucker

@RTNNewspaper Most liked posts from this week • WATCH: Heavy rain causes flood chaos on the Costa Blanca • French boy drowns in holiday tragedy • ‘Women must not wear swim shorts!’ row on the Costa Blanca • The day the rains came to the Costa Blanca

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FOLLOWING a complete restructure of its management and organisation system, CD Torrevieja can now announce that Daniel Plaza Montero will join the club as its new chief executive. The Catalan athlete, who made Torrevieja his home many years ago, began his extensive sporting career by becoming the Spanish champion in every walking category that he entered. He participated in four World Championships, three European Championships and in three Summer Olympic Games, excelling in his chosen discipline and becoming a role model for his country after achieving numerous medals during his career. It was precisely in Barcelona in 1992

DOUBLE the number of golfers from the previous week (a grand total of 41) turned up at Vistabella for another round of the Eclectic competition. The extra players confirm that those who hibernated back to the UK have begun to trickle back, and it was also a pleasure to welcome a number of overseas members who were in the area on holiday. Vistabella is now well established as one of the best tracks in the area. The new holes have bedded in well and added positively to the original character and challenge of the course. It was in very good condition and much enjoyed by all on the day but particularly by the winners. Gold: 1st - Robin Eastman (38 points on countback); 2nd - John Osborne (38) and 3rd - Darren Hancock (37). Best score of the day was achieved by Ken Flaherty with an excellent 42 points,

that he achieved the highest accolade possible; Olympic Champion in the 20km walk. Dani Plaza thus became the first ever Spaniard to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games

not only in this discipline but in athletics. Dani Plaza was elected Councillor for Sport and Education by the former government of Torrevieja, and during his time in office, he worked hard i n

PEDIGREE: CD Torrevieja delighted to welcome Daniel Plaza.

c r e a t i n g t h e c i t y ’s m u n i c i p a l sports centre and making it what it is today. Partly thanks to him, Torrevieja now has seven tennis courts, six padel courts, a new municipal gym, three football pitches with artificial grass and a semiOlympic outdoor swimming pool. Not only this, but he also introduced the grants that are awarded to various sports clubs and elite athletes within the municipality. But his merits don’t end there, as he also founded the city’s Municipal Sports Council. Without a doubt, CD Torrevieja has bagged a spectacular sporting manager, which is evident from his experience, commitment, values and passion for sport.

San Miguel Golf Society followed by Hugh Reilly (38) and Kevin Albright (36) completed the silver podium. The bronze category was won by Norman McBride on countback with 39 points, just pipping Kyrre Skarsmoen at the post. Norman Padmore finished close behind them on 38 points. Nearest the Pins went to Eva Pettersson, Bob McKeegan and Joost Boelhouwer with Noel Stewart and Rod Wilcox taking first and second place guest honours. Ralph Tilbrook was the recipient of the Abacus prize this week, a lesson - perhaps the first of many - with Vistabella pro, Adrian Rudge, kindly donated by Adrian himself. As always, a vote of thanks went to the staff at Vistabella for a very enPhoto credit: San Miguel Golf Society

people reached 13,490 reactions

Olympic hero joins CD Torrevieja

GOLD WINNERS: John Osbourne, Robin Eastman and Darren Hancock

joyable day. Keep up to date with all

SMGS matters by logging on to their website

www.smgs.org or simply give Tony Smale a call on 628 227 687. The next three games will be at Lo Romero, Hacienda Riquelme and La Finca.