No 937 Monday 19th - Sunday 25th September 2022
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Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - 2022). Hers was a life of service that will echo through the ages. We will be forever grateful.
espite the initial reticence of the Orihuela Ayuntamiento to make anything beyond a simple Facebook gesture of regret at the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, as last week unfolded it soon became apparent that the PSOE government, led by Carolina Gracia, was completely out of touch with the wishes of a large segment of its population.
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While we saw outpourings of support and gestures of goodwill to their British residents from many neighbouring municipalities, despite having the largest British population by far there was nothing but intransigence coming out of the doors of Orihuela.
O U R F I N A L FA R E W E L L
A letter to the mayor from the Chairman of the local branch of the Royal British Legion went unanswered, but as messages of discontent began to circulate both on social media pages and in the local press, by the middle of last week it seemed increasingly likely that the mayor and her team were having a ‘change of heart’. Whilst there were no offers of a church service or a book of condolence, contact was eventually made with the RBL last Wednesday, with a proposal to hold a short ceremony outside the Orihuela Costa town hall, followed by a period of silence. Unfortunately it then took until mid afternoon on Thursday, less than 24 hours before the planned event, before the public relations department was able to distribute a press release, leaving precious little time for details of the memorial to be passed around. However, although the venue was then changed to Playa Flamenca Esplanade, the short ceremony was able to go ahead in front of a healthy crowd approaching 200 people, on Friday lunchtime. Attended by the mayor, Carolina Gracia, the councillor for International Residents, María García, and a number of representatives of the Partido Popular, Ciudadanos, Claro and PIOC, the observance was directed by members of the Orihuela Costa and District Branch of the Royal British Legion.
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