Around the valle decemBER 2018 Issue no. 11
Chairmans report by sue Jones First of all I would like to wish you a Very Happy Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2019.
mittee has been working very hard on your behalf and we hope you are able to come and enjoy them.
I do hope you can come to the Christmas meeting on Monday, you will not want to miss it! We have changed the format this year but there will still be a glass of wine and a mince pie for all.
Beginning with the ever popular supper night and film in January, Menu del Dia on Valentines Day, Petanc and a Wine Tasting in March and a trip to the Granada Science Park in April! Phew, that should keep us busy for a while!
We have many events planned already for the New Year, your com-
We are very pleased to announce a trip to Los Patios in Cordoba in May with an overnight stay and a guided visit to the Patios which are so beautiful. We do hope you are able to come and enjoy this spectacular event. Enjoy you Christmas Festivities wherever you will be spending them this year.
contents CHAIRMANS REPORT NOVEMBER MEETING
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FORTHCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS & WALK SCHEDULE TRIP TO CORDOBA NOVEMBER WALK & MEMBERSHIP REMINDER MEMBERS THOUGH TS
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BREWERY TRIP
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PADRON &CHANGES TO ROAD FINES BREXIT INFO
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COMMITTEEE
november meeting by alan impey
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El-Valle Monday 5th November 2018 November’s El Valle meeting was to include the much awaited address by the British Consul to Malaga, Charmaine Arbouin and obviously the main topic of this visit was for her to give whatever information/updates she could regarding BREXIT. Due to this visit naturally being important the El-Valle meeting was declared a closed one, i.e. only members could attend and in excess of 60 turned up to listen to Charmaine. Charmaine had visited us before early in 2017 but as this was early in the leave process it was good that she was talking to us again as the process is “drawing to a close”. Prior to Charmaine’s talk Sue opened the meeting and welcomed new members and then gave us a preview to what the committee had in store for the coming year. They had obviously been working very hard and had plans for trips/events through to and including Christmas 2019. !!!!!! At 8pm, after a short break, it was time for Charmaine to advise us of any progress she
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was aware of in the Brexit process and she went on to give us any advice she could
in the event of a “no deal” scenario and a “signed deal” scenario.
Aspects such as Pensions, Health Care, Freedom of Movement, Education, Passports, Rights to Live in Spain or any EU country were covered and the overwhelming consensus was that if you were legally resident now you were in a stronger position than if you were not. Her advice was to legalise/regularise your status if you intended to remain in Spain and this also applied to such things as driving licences.
It was felt, although nothing is signed, that anyone legally in position here in Spain should not experience too much upheaval/change but she did stress that this was NOT as yet agreed and even in the event of Teresa May and the EU reaching agreement any such deal would have to be ratified by the UK
parliament and this was by no means a given!!!!!!! Charmaine was very clear and concise in her reasoning’s and was upbeat that in her opinion and I stress it was in her opinion only, that a deal for leaving remained likely BUT as she also said she never believed a referendum vote to leave would happen!!!!!
Charmaine closed at 9pm with a promise to return in the future to give further information/advice as and when deals were made/not made or further transition periods agreed. Many thanks go to Charmaine for agreeing to visit us, and keep us as informed as she could. Time for the BOX which stood at €214 but there was no lucky key found tonight and the value rolls over to next months’ meeting in December when Sue promised a surprise for everyone attending, this was in excess of the traditional mince pie and glass of wine!!!! See you all in December.
FORTHCOMING MEETINGS December 3rd
Our usual December meeting with a twist!! But with our usual mince pies and a glass of wine.
January 14th
Quiz by Chris
February 4th
Musical evening with Alan & Lorraine
December 14
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Come join us for our usual pre-christmas bash! Dance the night away to reality Venta la vina 7:30 for 8 â‚Ź18 for members (full menu on our website)
January 18 2019 th
Supper night with free film In the church room below maroma estates Kingsman 2 - the golden circle In Kingsman: The Golden Circle, our heroes face a new challenge when their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage. Their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman,
Doors open no earlier than 7 pm â‚Ź5 members
Thursday 14 february 2019 th
Menu del dia Pippo’s, algarrobo 14:00 Price €10 members If you are on the el valle walk that day, the lunch will follow and will need to be booked in advance
Tuesday, 23 april 2019 rd
Trip to granada science park Leave mis tapitas 08:30
Cost €20.00 to include entrance to the museum and planetarium
WALKS SCHEDULE NOVEMBER 8th
Led by Ian and Barbaran Taylor. We will meet in the large car park on the approach road to Almachar Description: 2hrs, 5km, long uphill section, most good tracks. Starts 11:00
DECEMBER 13th
Led by Alan Clay. Torrox area. Start at the old football ground in Torrox. Turn off the motorway towards the coast, round the roundabout and drive back up to Torrox on the old road. Keep going and you will see the old football ground. Afterwards, somewhere in Torrox. (2 hrs. 5-6 kms) Start 11:00
JANUARY 10Tth
Led by Douglas and Jane Johnston.
Start in the bottom car park of Viñuela village.
TRIP TO LOS PATIOS CORDOBA
13th MAY 2019 DEPARTURE AT 7:00 AM FROM PUENTE DON MANUEL, TO THE HOTEL EUROSTARS CONQUISTADOR IN CORDOBA. ARRIVAL AT HOTEL, AND FREE TIME FOR LUNCH. AFTERNOON TO VISIT CORDOBA, AND GUIDED VISIT TO THE FESTIVAL OF THE CORDOBA PATIOS, AS EVERY YEAR THE CORDOBIANS PREPARE AND OPEN THEIR PATIOS TO THE PUBLIC TO ENTER IN A CONCOURSE WHERE BEAUTY AND DECORATION ARE VALUED. FREE TIME FOR DINNER, ACCOMMODATION AT THE HOTEL.
2nd DAY BREAKFAST AT THE HOTEL. IN THE MORNING, FREE TIME TO CONTINUE VISITING THE CITY OF CORDOBA. AFTER LUNCH, DEPARTURE TO THE POINT OF ORIGIN, COST PER PERSON INCLUDING BED & BREAKFAST IN THE HOTEL, GUIDED TOUR OF THE PATIOS IN ENGLISH AND COACH TRIP THERE AND BACK
€102.50 PP FOR MEMBERS inc. Tip for driver CONTACT SUE ON 680407894 OR EMAIL newslettereditor2012@gmail.com
november walk by alan impey Thursday 8th November and time for the El-Valle monthly walk. This months walk was in the Almachar area and routed by Ian with the usual meet up time of 11a.m. Once everyone had gathered at the large car park on the edge of Almachar car sharing was sorted out for the short trip to the actual walk start.
Twenty walkers were taking part but for the meal after there were twenty seven takers!!!!! As we left the back of Almachar pueblo we had an immediate choice to make!!! Continue on the concrete road or branch right on an old mule track.
Hi all. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous 2019 new year. At this time I also would like bring to your attention and remind you that our 2019 membership year starts from JANUARY 1st, therefore it is soon time for you all to renew you membership to the El-Valle Asociacion. You will be able to do this either on a Friday at Meson Sara Restaurant,
Both routes took us to a track near to three radio masts.
Fourteen of us opted for the mule track and six for the road. The weather could not have been better, clear and sunny but not too hot although we all decided after some steady prolonged climbing that it was in fact quite warm!!!!!!! We had started the walk at an altitude of 200 mtrs and by the time we had reached the highest point of our walk we had attained some 500mtrs and the views were very good, over to Canillas, Alcaucin, Periana, Velez Malaga and the coast.
Puente Don Manuel crossroads, between 11.30 and 12.30am. There will be a committee member sitting at the in the area, or at any of the monthly club meetings at the Camping Bar on the side of the Lake ViĂąuela. You can also renew your membership at our December club meeting on Monday December 3rd or at the January meeting which is on Mon-
day January 7th a little later after the Spanish New Year celebrations. For the 2019 club year, your committee have kept the membership
From the high point it was a continuous, and at times, steep descent back to our starting point and a drive to Trapiche for a welcome menu del dia at the Trapiche bar/restaurant. As usual this was a very good value meal enjoyed by all twenty six diners. Walk Details. Distance 6.2 kms. Total Time 2hrs. 4mins. Stopped Time 23mins. Moving Average 3.6kms per hour Start height 200mtrs Maximum Height 500 mtrs
fee again at â‚Ź10.00 and your annual membership will run from Jan 1st to Dec 31st 2019. If you have any queries, please speak to a committee member or contact me on 647076177. I Look forward to seeing you all again for the 2019 membership year. Regards Stewart Common Secretary and Membership Secretary
Members thoughts about the monthly meeting by chris morton With the provision that we are in Spain and that here you can ask two people the same question and receive diametrically opposed answers I will give you my summary on what we were told about Brexit at the El Valle meeting on 5th November. A lovely lady from the UK Malaga Consulate accompanied by a Spanish assistant (don't know their names) gave us an update on Brexit. Frankly, no one knows the details but she indicated that in the case of a 'deal' all British with 'residencia permanente' had nothing to worry about because they would have exactly the same rights as before Brexit e.g. health, pensions, etc. One proof of having 'residencia permanente' is a green card (green A4, ???) issued by the appropriate Spanish authority (like the Police at Torre del Mar) and being a Spanish resident you must also be paying your taxes in Spain. I'm not saying this card is the only way but it was highly, highly recommended you have one. Incidentally, permanent
residents must have a Spanish driving licence and currently there is a 3 month delay to get one! Historically, everyone took a lax view of the rules of the EU because we all belonged to the EU, most of us just ignored them. Not every authority in Spain enforced the rules and not every Brit adhered to them. After Brexit, there is likely to be a clampdown on making sure that the rules defined by the 'deal' are adhered to, so you need to make sure that you have the correct status before the exit date next year. After that exit date there will be very different rules. After that date there will be Spanish residents, EU residents and the rest of the world. The consulate gave out a leaflet which makes this desired status clearer but it was emphasised that the best way is to have this green card (I'm not resident so I've never seen one and never needed one!). There was little that could be said in the case of a 'no deal' except that it was in no one’s interest!
As a non-resident Brit who owns property and a car in Spain, I was surprised when she said that this registration also applied to me. Apparently, if you live more than 3 consecutive months in Spain you also need to register at the appropriate Spanish authority (Torre del Mar Police) so that you are on the 'register'. I suspect this means I can have green card which will not be 'permanente' and the consulate lady wants me to give her feedback if and when I decide to ask for this status at Torre police station. I haven’t decided yet, sometimes putting your head above the parapet gets it blown off! That's about it for now. FYI Useful emails taken from the leaflet distributed by the Consulate for UK Nationals in Spain:Registering as a Resident & Padron : www.gov/uk/guidance/living-inspain Accessing Healthcare: www.healthcareinspain.eu
Article written by a club member following the clubs November 5th 2019 meeting with Charmaine Arbouin, The British Consulate, Malaga We've all heard so much Brexit, Brexit, and Brexit. How refreshing to hear Charmaine talking about issues connected with Brexit that were directly going to affect us all. She spoke to us all,
but I felt that she was talking specifically to me. We were all gripped, enlightened and entertained by her casual, but informative style of delivery. A potentially boring subject
brought to life by a really good enthusiastic speaker. Jeanette Mogg. 6th November 2019
Victoria brewery trip by alan impey As a change from an El-Valle popular trip to the San Miguel Brewery in Malaga it had been arranged to visit the Victoria Brewery also in Malaga. The coach was due to leave from outside Mis Tapitas, (Billy’s Bar) at 9.15 am and it was only a few minutes late departing with 28 members/guests on board. The first stop was at the Repsol garage close to the A7 motorway to pick up 10 more passengers including one of the El-Valle committee organisers, Stewart, another of our “chaperones” , Barbara, was already on board from the start. The weather was poor from the outset with steady rain but all the forecasts provided by Stewart and Pauline promised that the rain would stop eventually although the timings given were wildly different, Stewart saying 11am and Pauline 1pm. As it turned out Pauline was the nearer of the two. We pulled up in the car park of the brewery at 10:15 am and our visit was pre-booked for 10:30 am and we actually started our tour at 10:20 am. Our guide for the visit was Pedro who spoke very good English despite his frequent apologies for his “poor” English!!!!
Pedro informed us that the current Victoria Brewery in Malaga had only been open since September 2017 and that the main brewery was in Murcia. This was despite the first Victoria Brewery having first opened in Malaga in 1928 with temporary closures during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War and
then a longer closure when production was moved to Murcia. At present only small bottles and barrels are produced at Malaga with the larger bottles and cans being produced in Murcia. The output from Malaga stands at 1.5 million litres a year but it is planned that within 5 years production will increase to 12 million litres.
Pedro then gave lessons in the correct way to pull a perfect beer from the beer pumps and invited anyone who wanted to have a go at pulling the “perfect” pint and there were plenty of volunteers!! We were free to keep sampling the beers until 12 noon and in fact we went beyond this!!!!!!
The brewery at Malaga cost €6 million to set up and is run by a small staff of six people who handle the brewing and bottling of Victoria beer. Two beers are produced at Malaga the light or blonde and also the dark or black beer. Despite a successful trial run of the black beer in 10 Malaga outlets it is not yet possible to purchase this beer although it is brewed and stored in the Malaga brewery and we were privileged to sample it later in the visit. From pouring the hops to bottling the beer takes 17 days. On to the tasting!!!!!!
We were shown into the entrance hallway where tables were set up with both the light beer and black beer along with charts for us to pass on our opinions on various points of the beers such as taste, colour, body, acidity and potency.
All in all it was a great trip and we still had the afternoon to enjoy Malaga Centre from 1pm to our pickup time of 6pm. Everyone was on time for our departure and we had a great day out with a dry afternoon. Stewart left the coach at the Repsol Garage and one of our number, Neil, proposed a vote of thanks to him and Barbara for their efforts to make the trip a success. Neil was also instrumental in some of the photographs so thanks to him as well.
A reminder about voting in spain Notwithstanding the Andalusian elections being held on the 2 December, we need to consider the coming local elections in the New Year and whatever the Brexit deal brings us we need to ensure that we are in a position to vote in the local elections should we be in a position to do so. To do this you MUST be registered on your Town Hall to-
gether with your intention to vote. I know that you have received information on this subject before, but there are still a lot of ‘extranjeros’ in the towns who are still not registered for whatever reason. You have, I believe, until the end of the year to register, if you have not already done so.
It is important to clarify that you do not need to be resident to register on the Padrón, only that you have property here. Registration means that your Town Hall receives money from government to help pay for local services that we all enjoy. It does not mean that you have "put your head above the parapets"!
Changes to road fines Next year will see some changes to the highway code involving speed limits and fines, for example, in order to cut down on road accidents.
1) B-roads will have the maximum speed reduced to 90 kph. That’s for cars and motorbikes but lorries will be restricted to 80 kph. At present the speed limit on B-roads varies between 90 and 110 kph, depending on the existence and breadth of the hard shoulder.
2) Fines and point deductions will be increased. If you go over a speed limit by 20 kph it’s two points off your licence and a 300-euro fine. So, if you’re doing 111 kph on a B-road, that’s 21 kph over the new speed limit so it’s bye-bye to two points.
3) The use of a mobile at the wheel is firmly in the sights of the new laws. At the moment you lose three points but it will double to six points if you are caught with a mobile in your hands whilst driving.
4) In the cases of failing to wear a seatbelt or crash helmet, instead of losing three points, it will be four.
5) The ‘rehabilitation’ courses for drivers who have lost all their points will now enable them to regain eight points instead of just six, as long as they have completed and passed the driver’s ‘recycling’ course.
Information for uk nationals in spain - provided by the british consulate, malaga
Registering as a resident: ● If you plan to stay in Spain more than 3 months, under Spanish law you are required to register as a resident. ● To do so, you will need to make an appointment online and then attend the Oficina de Extranjeros (immigration office) or designated police station in your local area. ● Once registered, you will be given a green card or certificate with your NIE number on it ● You must also register on the padrón, which is the local register at your town hall.
For more information on registering as a resident and on the padrón, visit: www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain
Accessing healthcare: To find out how to access healthcare in Spain, or to check that you are accessing healthcare in the correct way, please visit: www.healthcareinspain.eu
Concerned about Brexit? Knowing where to get up to date information can be confusing and overwhelming. If you would like to know more about how the UK’s exit from the EU could affect you, we recommend you: ● Type ‘UK nationals in the EU: essential information’ in the search box on www.gov.uk. This page explains the progress of negotiations on citizens’ rights and what the Withdrawal Agreement might mean to you. ● Look at the Living in Spain guide on gov.uk and sign up for email alerts to be the first to know when information on this page, or related to Brexit, is updated. ● Follow Brits in Spain on Facebook, where we provide updates and advertise outreach events across Spain.
Asociacion el valle del embalse Committee 2017/2018
Chair & Newsletter Editor Sue Jones Tel: 680407894
Treasurer: Chris Wishart Tel: 609952926
Almoner: Christine Goreham Tel: 635361233
Secretary: Stewart Common Tel: 647076177
Joint Vice Chair
Barbara Jenkinson Tel: 616264067
Joint Vice Chair Dorothy Girvan Tel: 676320615
MEMBERS
Elaine Edwards Tel: 647076177
Peter Girvan Tel: 676320615
Anne Dibden Tel: 605826358
Bethune McCarroll Tel: 634404169
Louis Pollitt Tel: 0044746367618
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 EXCEPT IN AUGUST