No 941 Monday 17th - Sunday 23rdOctober 2022
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Keeping people safe and informed for over 18 years - The Costa Blanca’s oldest ‘FREE’ English language newspaper
P R I D E A N D PA S S I O N A S B E N I D O R M M AY O R L A U N C H E S R B L P O P P Y A P P E A L
long with representatives of the Royal British Legon and the British Embassy in UK and Spain, Toni Pérez, the mayor of Benidorm, while speaking of how proud he was to be involved in the fundraising campaign, has launched the 2022 RBL Poppy Appeal.
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The event took place last Saturday afternoon in front of an enthusiastic crowd, adjacent to Levante Beach. Hundreds of Veterans had travelled from across Spain to be at the ceremony, which has been held at the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca since 2013. The mayor spoke of the constant growth in the Poppy Appeal which he said, “is testimony to the hard work of all the volunteers who collect the funds and the extraordinary generosity of those that live in and visit the Country. This is a town that maintains the best ties of friendship with the people from the UK and we regard our involvement in this launch to be very much an honour for our city”. He told of the common memory that the city of Benidorm shares with the RBL, “as we remember all those who have given their lives for their country”. In bright sunshine, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees, the launch began rather differently this year, with a debut performance by long-time supporter Stevie Spit BEM, who gave a moving rendition of ‘Lest we Forget’. He was followed by the Chairman of the RBL in Spain District North, Jack Kemp, who welcomed all of the guests, before thanking the mayor for his ongoing support and the privilege of parading along the Benidorm seafront. He also welcomed members of the group that are currently working toward the opening of a new RBL Branch that will soon be established in Valencia. Captain Stephen McGlory, defence Attaché at the British Embassy, spoke of what Remembrance means to him as a serving officer, and how difficult he found it to talk about Remembrance without mentioning the late Queen, ever present at the Cenotaph in London and the UK’s most famous Veteran.
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