April newsletter 2016

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Around the valle april 2016 Issue no. 4

Chairmans report by carol caldwell

Myself and Ben are just back from our vacation it was great to touch down in Malaga to sunshine it is forecasted to be a nice Easter here.

Easter holidays are upon us it is a very important celebration in Spain with processions in all towns and villages through the streets at night.

Floats called tronos are carried through the streets each float has incredible decorated figures representing part of the Easter story they are decorated with lots of fresh flowers These statues are carried from each brotherhood, Antonio Banderas returns to Malaga each year to be with his brotherhood to carry one of these statues.

It is an incredible sight to see, not to be missed I hope you all have a nice Easter and see you all soon at our monthly meeting on 4th April

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contents CHAIRMANS REPORT MARCH MEETING NEWS FROM SOHA

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MESSAGE FROM CHRISTINE GOREHAM, AND OTHER SAD NEWS

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FORTHCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS & WALK SCHEDULE

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QUAD REPORT

march meeting report by alan impey Monday the 7th March 2016 and an unpleasant evening weather wise with heavy cloud cover, rain, hail and gusting wind and also very cold. As I drove over the embalse heading to the Camping Bar for the monthly El-Valle meeting nature once again surprised me.

The clouds parted the sun shone through and a beautiful rainbow appeared seeming to reach down to the shore of the reservoir, (photo's attached)

Sue opened proceedings with a reminder that El Valle membership needed to be renewed as soon as possible and before the AGM scheduled for the April meeting. An overview of forthcoming events was also given before a short break was called to enable glasses to be recharged prior to the evening’s entertainment, a performance by the "Barbers Shop" choir.

which then opened the box netting him the €425.00, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

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7,8 &9

UPDATE FROM SAT.CO

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COMMITTEEE

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The next surprise of the evening was at the Camping Bar itself where 60 plus members had braved the elements to attend the meeting.

Not knowing exactly what to expect I was very pleasantly surprised by a 25 minute performance by the choir who, whilst professional, gave a relaxed performance of well known popular songs both traditional and modern.

At the conclusion Sue announced that the cash box stood at €425.00 and I was lucky enough to have one of my numbers drawn but not lucky enough to select the right key. A friend at my table, Terry, had his number drawn and as he made his way to choose a key his wife, Jane, said "Don't worry we never win anything" so imagine her surprise when Terry selected a key

Sue closed the meeting with thanks to the choir and membership for turning up on a dreadful night.

The next meeting in April is the AGM but please do not be put off. The official side takes only a short time and does let you see the past, present and future committee members all in one go and there will also be a quiz, slightly different to the norm and so open that anyone could win!!!! which will be presented by yours truly!!!

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Message from christine goreham

On behalf of David, Amanda and myself I would like to say thank you to all that attended the funeral of Peter, Pedro to many of his friends. Apparently, so many turned up to say farewell to Peter. I didn't realize. Thank you for all the condolence cards and the amazing sum of money we collected in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, and The Heart Foundation, here in Spain. It has been devastating for all at the sudden death of Peter. I have many

many good people and friends to turn to when I need them.

Lastly Thank you for the beautiful flowers from the friends and committee of the El Valley.

Peter will be so missed by us all, but will live on with memories that can never be erased and he will live in our hearts forever.

MALCOLM TRACEY On Wednesday 6th April there will be two simultaneous services to celebrate the life of our dear friend Malcolm.

Service in England St. Michael's Church, Emley, Yorkshire at 12 noon Service in Spain St. George's Anglian Church, Velez-Malaga (where Malcolm was Lay Reader since 2011) at 1 p.m.

St. Georges VM is in Calle Linares 7, which is opposite the Reyes Catolica School, Velez-Malaga or Rebecca Francis 629538142 Ring Rebecca Higgins 608063873 if you need more directions.

GERALD CROMPTON

It is with regret that I inform you of the death of Gerry Crompton, he was a founder member of the Asociacion and our first treasurer, a post which he held for many years before he decided to retire and he handed over the task to Terry Frost who took over the position.

Not long after he and his wife Judy returned to the UK. Our sympathies go out to Judy and his daughters.

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FORTHCOMING MEETINGS MARCH 7th

BARBER SHOP CHOIR

APRIL 4th

MYSTERY EVENING

MAY 9th

PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE DUE TO MAY BANK HOLIDAY. Music Quiz by David Lawrie

JUNE 6th

Talk by Adrian Woodward

April 19

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Petanc in torre del mar 10:30 am Followed by lunch at tanit Only 32 players allowed but others can join just for the lunch - the price is the same €10 members €13 non Our 4 day, 3 night trip to cadiz & jerez Is now full Please remember your final payment is now due.

Come and see us at meson sara on a Friday morning or a the club meeting on Monday please A reminder, please take out your own travel insurance as refunds cannot be given in the event of a cancellation

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June 16

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visit to parque la paloma Benalmadena with return to malaga port by ferry Leave mis tapitas at 11:30 Leave the park at 16:00 Free time in the marina until we catch the ferry for malaga at 18:00 The ferry journey takes approx. 1 hour which will then give us free time in malaga until 21:30 â‚Ź18 members

â‚Ź22.50 non members

July 20 2016 th

We are hoping to arrange another Picnic in the park Further details to follow

WALKS SCHEDULE

APRIL 14th

Led by Terry & Jane Frost in the village of Guaro car park, just beyond Periana.

Start 11:00

MAY 12th

Led by Douglas and Jane Johnson. Start at the bottom of La Vinuela village at 11:00

JUNE 9th

Led by Martyn and Rebecca Higgins. Start TBA at 11:00

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quad report by Jackie and Roger Frewin I’ve taken the liberty of including a report on a quadding trip that no-one else in the group attended but know that many of our readers will enjoy hearing about this. As I mentioned last month Roger and I went on holiday in the middle of February and we got the opportunity to take a quad ride in the Arctic Circle, on Mageroya Island to be precise, close to the most northerly point of mainland Norway.

It was a bitterly cold day at -8°C but with a wind-chill factor making it feel like -13°C. Steve of Destinasjon 71° Nord, based in Honningsvag, greeted us, 6 other couples and two singles and set about kitting us all out with suitable protective gear - snowmobile all-in-ones, boots, mittens and helmets. Once we were suitably attired we were given a brief demonstration of how to drive the ATVs. All 10 were Polaris X2 550s. It was very difficult to get on the bikes as the boots were so heavy we couldn’t lift our feet. Along the entire route there was thick frozen snow and ice so 4x4 mode was selected throughout the trip. Steve led the group and his colleague, Daniel, remained at the back. The route took us across a narrow part of the island to the northern shore then up into the mountains, with picture postcard snow scenes throughout. The landscape was truly magnificent. As we approached the highest point of our climb the view from NATO Mountain (so called owing to the Military Base at its summit) incorporated the beautiful waters of the fjord on the eastern coastline below. After admiring the view here we began the descent back along the same route but, in reverse, there were views of beautiful lakes that we had not seen on the way up. As we approached Honningsvag, from the north, we turned to the west which took us away from the city and through a 4km tunnel which led to the open waters that separate Mageroya Island from the Norwegian mainland. Surprisingly it seemed colder in the tunnel than it had been up in the mountains. A short distance along this stretch we stopped for some very welcome hot refreshments before completing the final part of the trip, which took us back through the tunnel, east across the top of the fjord then south back towards the starting point. I can honestly say that the FXR Hardwear suit was so cosy I could hardly believe we were driving in sub-zero temperatures. The only part of me that got cold was my right hand because I’d had to remove the mitten to press the shutter on my camera. The whole trip was a truly exhilarating experience and the fact that I too had the opportunity to drive was extremely rewarding. Google Maps shows the 4km tunnel runs under the mountain range that we had visited earlier but, as you can see here, it doesn’t show the snow.

8 Back to the normal group report now! We’ve enjoyed some fairly lengthy trips this month with slight variations on some of our regular routes. More spring flowers have been evident on our travels, adding delightfully bright colours to many of the tracks and the sweet heady aroma of jasmine has been a welcome addition too. By the end of the month more of the group had returned to Spain so the number of those participating in our outings ranged from 3 to 7 quads. 2 of the group had gone back to the UK just before the others returned so we might have had 9 quads had things worked out slightly differently. I’m pleased to report that the month passed without any breakdowns or mishaps and all participating quads are functioning well.

A trip to Almayate, to partake in tapas, was devised one Sunday at Mis Tapitas. The 4 quads headed to the dam, then down to its base to follow the concrete track, way below the main road. The fact that there was a bit more water in each of the many fords we crossed made the journey just a tad more exciting. We crossed under the main road then travelled through the two old railway tunnels to emerge by Viveros Algarrobo and took the back road through Trapiche, continued on to Benamocarra and then to Iznate, where we stopped for refreshments. Taking the steep track up above Iznate we then continued along the ridge and down the other side to reach Almayate. Asador Pepe Molina appeared far more busy than usual so, rather than wait indefinitely to be served, we decided to go to a bar across the road that we’ve found to be rather good in the past. Faced with the delightful menu of home-cooked food and recognising the pros of not having to cook when we arrived back home that evening we decided to partake in rather more than just tapas. The home-made paella that several of us ate was absolutely delightful and Roger was thrilled with his huge plate of migas too. We made our way back via the river bed, where there was a bit more water in places than we’d encountered of late. However, we negotiated the water, mud and all other obstacles (goats, ducks, cane and oranges to name a few) without incident and left the river near Trapiche airfield, each making our own way home from there.

Of course no month is complete without a trip to our favourite venue, Alfarnatejo. This trip has it all – spectacular scenery, an ideal mix of roads and tracks with a degree of difficulty, in the rugged terrain through the gorge, and to top all that really good food at an amazingly cheap price. It was a cold day so we’d wrapped up warm for the higher altitudes. Our route differed slightly from the norm in that we’d started from Trops and went through Trapiche to the airfield and took the track to the right from there to go up past the Stupa and the Torre de Atalaya. We continued on towards Los Romanes with beautiful views of the lake way down below the track. After passing Los Romanes we joined our usual route to Bar Ortega where we stopped for refreshments. From there we continued along our normal route, through Rio Gordo then across the main road to join the tracks that meander their way across the deep green meadow and the gorge, all the time surrounded by the dramatic backdrop of rugged rocks and mountains. Today that view was enhanced by the appearance of some incredible lenticular clouds. We were treated once again to a delightful menu del dia at Restaurante Los Pirineos and took one of the more direct routes home, descending steeply from the 850m high pueblo and weaving through the magnificent pale grey mountains to Periana and finally down to about 240m at Puente de don Manuel.

Having only arrived back in Spain a week before our final trip, Angelika and Klaus announced they had already carried out a recce and found an interesting new route. With the largest turnout this month, Klaus proceeded to lead the 7 quads on a new mystery tour that took us from Mis Tapitas, along the main road to and across the dam and continued to follow the main road past the Camping Bar until we reached the track for Bar Ortega. After following that route for quite some time we eventually turned right onto a narrow dirt track, with an initial steep downward slope making it almost invisible from our regular route. The track was quite muddy, due to there being a lot of rain the previous day, but on the whole the mud was quite dry causing a constant volley of orange mud pellets, of varying sizes, to fly in all directions from the tyres of the quads. Although we were all bombarded with these pellets they were neither too hard nor too messy so it wasn’t an unpleasant experience.

The track passed through a series of olive groves and we stopped to photograph and admire a collection of spectacular older trees and to stretch our legs for a while. Continuing on we eventually arrived back at the A356, further west than we normally

9 travel, and straight across was yet another new track to us that in time brought us to the top end of Los Marines. As we drove down through the village we realised that we had interrupted their local feria. It was lovely to see the excited children having a whale of a time on the colourful bouncy castle and the proud caballeros guiding their well-groomed horses along the narrow streets. With so many of us there it was difficult to be discreet or inconspicuous so we just had to keep heading for the lower end of the village to continue on our way. That took us down steeply to the yellow bridge where we crossed the Rio Guaro then turned immediate left and then right to take us on another narrow dirt track that climbed steeply up towards Periana. It had started to rain just before we stopped for some refreshments at Periana and we’d hoped that the rain might have moved on before we came out. Regrettably, it was raining even harder then so the de-brief at Puente de don Manuel was cancelled and we each made our own way back from there. Unfortunately our group, led by Roger, took another muddy track, rather than sticking to the main roads, and we and our quads were splattered all over with very wet orangey mud. Not quite such a pleasant experience as the rest of the day. We didn’t get a chance to thank Klaus personally for the wonderful ride so I’ll do that here and now, publicly. It was a brilliant day out. Thank you so much Klaus.

Are you interested in joining our friendly group? It’s a really fun way to explore and appreciate the area. You’ll find more information and contact details on the El Valle web page at http://www.el-valle-asociacion.com/the-quaddies/.

Update from sat.co

by dick atterbury

For all of you who enjoy some live Premiership Football there is some good news. For a small addition of some hardware on your current dish and some Software upgrade you can see a lot of the live games. If you have one of the Technomate series of boxes its even easier. Call us and talk about it. No addition to your monthly charges.

ed to your TV carry out a retune if not give us a call and we will help you. It really helps with your language skills to watch the programmes with the sub titles up.

Quite a few new channels have been added to the Spanish television services in the last month.

Many can be changed to the English language. If you already have Spanish digital TV connect-

We are always being asked about the options on the Technomate series of boxes. We believe they are future proof because they can look at lots of differing satellites just by adjusting the software. If you are a Sat.Co customer and you have paid for the initial Software all upgrades are FREE.

We at Sat.Co realise the potential of our customers. We listen to what they want and try to offer lots of options. We also try to offer as much TV free as far as we can. If you are planning something give us a call. Or better still for the last 8 years every Saturday afternoon at 2PM we give a presentation of the latest in TV technology. We offer you a no obligation free visit to our demonstration to talk to us so we can learn from you to.

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Asociacion el valle del embalse Committee 2015/2016

Chair : Tel: Carol Caldwell 635291532

Treasurer: Chris Wishart Tel: 609952926

Secretary: Stewart Common Tel: 647076177

Newsletter Editor Sue Jones Tel: 680407894

Almoner: Christine Goreham Tel: 635361233 MEMBERS

Elaine Edwards Tel: 647076177

Judy Maycock Tel: 673847608

Pauline Ward Tel: 665886471

Peter Girvan Tel: 676320615

Jane Harris Tel: 633615154

Barbara Jenkinson Tel: 616264067

Dorothy Girvan Tel: 676320615

David Evans Tel: 622690581

INFORMATION NEWSLETTER EDITOR newslettereditor2012@gmail.com WEBSITE - www.el-valle-asociacion.com A REPRESENTTIVE OF THE COMMITTEE WILL BE ON DUTY EVERY FRIDAY BETWEEN 11:30 AND 12:30 AT MESON SARA