RTN Newspaper – Costa del Sol 22nd-28th December 2017 Issue 034

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Issue 34

22nd-28th December 2017

Reporting The News

Inside this week...

Lawyers suppOrt human rights

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Marbella

P6 Chenxi Shi of OFO and Mayor Muñoz announcing the new bicycles

Not just sweets

I want to ride my bicycle

by Michael Cano MARBELLA is to become only the third city in Spain to offer visitors and residents the chance to hire a bike for the day at a cost of just €5. Ángeles Muñoz, mayor of Marbella announced this news last Wednesday saying that “sustainable mobility is a priority and we thank OFO (suppliers of the bicycles) for cooperating with Marbella to develop an innovative project

that encourages the use of bicycles as an urban transport vehicle."

OFO is a Chinese based company which has a fleet of more than 10 million bicycles in 200 cities around the world and their concept is unusual in as much as they do not use docking stations such as those in London.

Instead, users download a special OFO App for either Android or iPhone which will allow them to locate the nearest ‘free’ bicycle digitally release

a padlock and ride off with the initial cost expected to be 35c per half hour or €5 for the day.

At the end of the trip, they can park in any area authorized for bicycles and manually lock the padlock at the end of the service.

A trial period will commence in January with 200 bikes available throughout the city which if successful will see the number of bicycles available to as many as 500.

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2

New hospital proposed

Zip line opening soon

Legislative Parliament in Andalusia considering options after receiving expert report

by Pippa Harris THE JUNTA DE ANDALUCIA is considering building a new hospital in Malaga City.

Officials from the Ministry of Health have now received an expert report on the proposal and will respond to it by late January or early February.

The 300 page report, led by former Minister of Health Jose Luis Garcia de Arboleya, considers the impact of building an 800 bed hospital on the land behind the Materno Infantil. Under the proposals the current Carlos Haya Hospital would become a 400 or 500 bed hospital for patients with chronic conditions. In turn, the

Hospital Civico would become a research and training hospital.

Around 300 people helped create the document, with sources saying, “we are confident that what we have proposed will go forward. The next step is for the Ministry of Health to give its opinion to the proposals we have made.”

Last week it was announced Malaga’s Carlos Haya Hospital is doubling its capacity to deal with stroke victims.

The move will mean fewer patients will be sent to Cordoba to be treated after the hospital’s stroke section increased from four to eight beds.

Patients requiring a thrombectomy to

remove a clot will now be able to be treated in Malaga in the evenings and weekends.

So far the procedure- which can only take place within six hours of a stroke- has only been carried out from Monday to Friday in the morning. Last year, 14 patients instead had to be treated in Cordoba owing to Carlos Haya’s limited treatment times. Two new doctors have now been hired at the hospital to add to the existing two specialists at the unit.

The expanded section will open in the second half of January, benefiting around between 450 and 500 patients a year. The €60,000 project will see the unit fitted with the latest technology to monitor patients.

THE long awaited zip line above the town of Casares will soon be opened once the last safety inspection report is received by the council.

Having received a verbal confirmation that the latest checks had come up positive it is hoped that the zip line will be in use at sometime between Christmas and the New Year.

Tickets for registered local residents will be €6 per journey and €12 for visitors and those who are not registered although there will be discounts for the young and for those with large families.

The attraction will be open for two and a half hours in the morning and another two and a half hours in the afternoon, although the schedule will vary depending on demand.

Testing the line Photo Credit: Ayuntamiento de Casares

3

Animal rights increase

by Richard Johnson

Dani Rovira was delighted to be made honrary president

AN ACTOR has been honoured for his commitment to animal rights.

Dani Rovira was made honorary president of the Law and Animal Welfare area of the Malaga Bar Association. He spoke about his “joy” at being offered the position following his “dedication to ensuring the rights of animals.”

The event at which he was inaugurated was also attended by Francisco Javier Lara, Dean of the association, Inmaculada Atencia, vice-dean, and the president of the department, Rosario Monter.

Rovira added it was important to educate people to treat animals better, as well as modifying and toughening laws. He took to Instagram to say, “we continue, little by little, reaching goals for 'the voiceless'," adding it will be "a pleasure to work side by side" with the association, ”because we are all inhabit-

ants of the same planet.”

Earlier this month a senior lawyer slammed a woman convicted of animal cruelty.

Fernando German Benitez, the Delegate for the Environment in the Malaga Prosecutor’s Office, has described to one publication the impact of working on the case of Carmen Marin, the former president of Parque Animal in Torremolinos.

The lawyer explained, “there are cases that particularly haunt you, and this is one of them not only because of the harshness of the images and testimonies, but because it is unimaginable that there are people who have that degree of dehumanisation. It is almost incredible that someone who promotes themselves publicly as a benefactor of animals has complete contempt for animal suffering and for purely economic reasons cruelly killed hundreds of animals.”

The news comes after Ms Marin asked

for her prison sentence to be suspended due to psychiatric problems.

A judge will now decide whether Ms Marin’s claims of depression, anxiety and health problems are enough to see her avoid jail after she was sentenced to almost four years for animal cruelty and fraud.

Ms Marin had been given five days to voluntarily present herself to prison, however her lawyers have now presented evidence of their client’s psychological issues, as well as her fibromyalgia, cataract and neurological disorder. Although they recognise none of these “represent an imminent risk to life.” Ms Marin’s defence instead claims her issues are “incompatible with prison life.”

Parque Animal was run from 1998 to 2010 by the accused, until she was convicted after Guardia Civil officers found the bodies of dozens of animals in rubbish bins and freezers.

Citizen security a priority Another international event THE NATIONAL POLICE has activated its annual ‘Comercio Seguro’ (Safe Trade) campaign to guarantee citizen security over the Christmas period.

The operation will remain active until Monday January 8, mainly in the places of greatest commercial activity in Malaga and the province.

Last year, the Comercio Seguro campaign was received favourably by the associations of traders and heads of department stores and shopping centres as officers stopped 61 crimes and arrested 67 criminals.

MARBELLA will host the celebration of the General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees - the most important meeting in the Olympic scope after the Games - on November 9 and 10, 2018.

The day before, on November 8, the meeting of the Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees will take place in

the city.

The appointment, approved unanimously during the last General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees, held on November 24 in Zagreb, Croatia was officially announced by the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), Alejandro Blanco, to Marbella Mayor Angeles Munoz earlier this week.

4

Equality promoted in nativity scene

by Jemima Roberts MALAGA’S nativity will have a black Balthazar for the first time.

Brahima Traore, a nationalised Spaniard who escaped the conflict of his native Ivory Coast, has spoken to one publication about being chosen to represent one of the Magi at this year’s festivities.

Chosen by the city’s Mayor, Francisco de la Torre, Traore will play Balthazar following pressure from group Malaga Ahora who pointed out the Magi is a black man and should therefore be represented by one. The group further pointed out previous representations using a white man in makeup were racist.

Brahima came to Spain via France in 2002 after fleeing political unrest in his home country. Married to a Malaga local, Inmaculada Perez Sanchez, he says, "I am not a Catholic, my family in Côte

New Magi for Malaga’s nativity d'Ivoire is Muslim, but I am not a practitioner, and I am happy to play a Magi to make children happy.”

The social activist who, alongside his

wife, campaigns for immigration, now has an eight-year-old son, Cristobal, who he hopes will accompany him on the procession.

Foreign Minister to meet mayors from the Campo THE Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis has summonsed a number of mayors from towns in the Campo de Gibraltar to Madrid to discuss Brexit.

Mayors from Algeciras, Castellar, Jimena, La Linea, Los Barrios, San Roque and Tarifa will attend the meeting as well as the Spanish government’s representative in Andalucia and the central administration of the Campo will all attend the meeting in January.

The minister wants to update delegates from the area - which depends so much on Gibraltar for

income with 10,000 regular Spanish workers on the Rock – on the latest Brexit situation following the decision to move to Phase 2 of the negotiations.

Whilst all of the mayors want to be updated on the situation, Juan Franco, mayor of La Linea believes that his town in particular needs to be considered separately as it has the highest number of Spanish workers crossing daily into Gibraltar but due to the fall of the pound against the euro, they are suffering more than any other local town.

6

Lawyers support human rights

BUSINESSES from around the world will meet in Malaga next year at a food summit.

Around 500 start-ups from across the world will take part in the Start-up Europe Smart Agrifood Summit at Malaga’s Palacio de Congressos in March, attracting around 5,000 people. The event, organised by the Malaga Provincial Council and European Foundation for Innovation, was announced by Jacobo Florido, Deputy for Economic and Productive Development.

by Pippa Harris THE MALAGA BAR ASSOCIATION has celebrated the International Day of Human Rights.

Attendees read out extracts of the 1948 Universal Declaration, the document written after the end of the Second World War to protect human rights, as well as discussing areas for growth.

Francisco Javier Lara, the association’s dean, explained all countries still had issues surrounding, "attention to immigrants and refugees and inequalities of all kinds, many of which are manifested with special cruelty when they affect women.” He added more than 1,900 people had risked “their lives at sea” to reach the province and confirmed the Malaga Bar Association was committed to defending their rights.

Meanwhile, last month a councillor urged the central government to make other arrangements for illegal immigrants. Mercedes Montero is asking the government to open a new, permanent prison for those who illegally reach Spain’s shores by boat after it was claimed Archidona’s Local Police headquarters are being used to hold around 500 immigrants.

The councillor explained she had spoken to the Security of State for Security and, “he has assured me that they will be held for a maximum of 40 days and that another jail will be opened in January as promised.”

The Malaga Bar Association also met in August to discuss rising immigration levels.

The group has appointed a panel of experts to analyse the situation and “make proposals to the relevant administrations, as the situation is increasingly worrying,” according to one lawyer, Francisco Javier Lara.

New business

Specialists attend to wildfire

Extracts of 1948 Universal Declaration were read out Mr Lara said the association will “from now on work to coordinate” with other towns which also attract immigrants, including Cadiz, Almeria and Granada. He explained he was also looking in to liaising with bodies in Italy and Morocco to create "a kind of congress of the Mediterranean" and address "this phenomenon, how the situation is and what it takes the means and legislation to make a proposal to administrations, including Europe.”

Since July, the Malaga Bar Association has

put emphasis on helping foreigners who arrive in Spain by boat, since many of them claim asylum. Around 300 lawyers have now received training in immigration law to deal with the influx of cases.

Mr Javier Lara has now written to the Junta de Andalucia demanding the premises be improved after the infestation and highlighting the problems posed by transferring detainees between three courts located in different buildings on Avenida Palma de Mallorca.

SPECIALIST forestry firefighters extinguished a wildfire that broke out on Tuesday morning at Benahavis. Nearly 100 ground operatives from INFOCA worked on the steeply-sloping terrain at Finca La Resina to contain the fire. They were joined by one helicopter, five fire engines as well as medical personnel and environmental experts. The fire was declared stabilised at 1.30pm and crews continued working to control and extinguish it throughout the afternoon.

7

EWN Media Group spokesman helps Belgian TV

by John Smith

Filming for Belgian TV at the EWN Media Group offices in Fuengirola

WHEN the most popular French language TV station in Belgium, RTL-TVI wanted to investigate a cult leader who had fled to Spain, it contacted EWN Media Group for comment.

Robert Spatz, spiritual head of the Ogyen Kunzang Choling (OKC) Buddhist community, was sentenced to a suspended sentence of four years in prison in absentia in 2016 having been found guilty of sexual abuse, child kidnapping and money laundering.

A one hour documentary about Spatz, uncovering his activities was to be produced and it included filming on the Costa del Sol as it was believed that he was secretly ensconced in a

More police officers THIRTY-SIX new Local Police officers have been sworn in in Malaga.

The city’s Mayor, Francisco de la Torre, accompanied by Mario Cortes, Councillor for Security, presided over the event, which coincided with the body’s 175th anniversary.

Meanwhile, last month, 3,000 police officers gathered in Malaga to demand equal pay with their regional counterparts.

The protest took place in Plaza de la Constitucion, with officers waving banners saying, “it’s now or never.” They claim the issue came to a head after police from all over Spain were drafted in to

Malaga gets 36 new Local Police officers

help out with the constitutional crisis in Catalonia, highlighting the disparity in pay between officers from different areas. One officer said, “the wage discrimination was there before, it is an old issue, but from that day it went from being a police problem to one for all of society.

That’s why it’s now or never. We will never have such social backing again.”

They claim police in the Guardia Civil are paid €1,350 a month, while their equivalents in Catalonia are paid around €2,000 on average a month. In addition, offices are claiming they are subject to overcrowding and “terrible” hygiene and food.

property in Estepona.

A reporter flew over to try to interview the former cult leader and with a cameraman visited the EWN Media Group head office in Fuengirola in order to discuss the number of ‘criminals’ who had sought sanctuary in Spain.

During the interview, it was explained that British criminals found Spain an attractive bolt hole in the past due to the fact that extradition back to the UK was invariably unlikely but as this loophole has been overturned, the current reason can be laid at the Schengen door.

There are a large number of foreign nationals extradited from Spain but thanks to Schengen, any EU passport holder from a

country that is part of Schengen can enjoy free passage into any other Schengen country.

Ironically, as Britain is not part of Schengen all passengers flying to Spain from the UK with British passports have to register their information online when booking their flights.

This newspaper was asked to keep the information about the investigation and the interview under wraps until the programme was broadcast on prime time Belgian TV. Now that the programme has been screened, it is possible to view the very interesting story on Youtube under the title Face cachée dans les griffes du gourou OKC RTL (In the clutches of the OKC guru).

8

New commercial park

by Jemima Roberts A PLANNED Torremolinos commercial park is moving forward.

Despite setbacks, the commitment is “more strongly confirmed” than before after the site’s promoter, Intu, was bought out by British company Hammerson.

The town’s First Deputy Mayor, Maribel Tocon, met with Intu’s Spanish representative, Salvador Arenere, amid fears the company might change the project’s original plans. The development will now instead of by the name Hammerson but continue to use the Intu brand. Intu owns 50 per cent of the shopping centres Xandu in Madrid, Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza, and Parque Principado in Asturias.

Meanwhile, the owners of Plaza Mayor have been told to build two more motorway lanes before opening their planned luxury outlet.

The Highway Development Unit has demanded the MA-20 be double in capacity in the direction of Torremolinos to avoid excessive queues reaching the new McArthurGlen Designer Outlet. Work on the almost €3 million road project could begin as soon as April and have been given a five month deadline.

Sonae Sierra and McArthurGlen, Plaza Mayor’s promoters, have also been told to build a new access road and roundabout to reduce congestion. Currently, queues are common-

place nearly every weekend, with drivers often taking to the hard shoulder to access the Plaza Mayor site, which also houses Ikea, Bricomart and McDonalds.

Two further lanes will now be added for 1.8 kilometres between the Guadalmar roundabout and Torremolinos. One lane will go directly to the outlet and another onto the roundabout, meaning drivers trying to reach Plaza Mayor do not have to give way.

It is anticipated the works will begin April and end in mid-October, when the new outlet is also due to open. Malaga Council has made it clear the outlet will not be allowed to open until the works are complete.

Shopping has also just got a little easier this Christmas thanks to a new scheme in Fuengirola. The town’s council has launched a campaign to support local businesses, entitled “this Christmas, your purchases in Fuengirola,” encouraging people to pop out to their local shop to buy gifts this year.

Ricardo Von Wichmann, Councillor for Commerce, explained, “we are hoping to promote responsible consumption this Christmas, which is achieved by making purchases at local shops, therefore supporting entrepreneurs and the self-employed in Fuengirola.

He added, “with the festivities just around the corner and the traditional gift lists and requests, it is more than likely that we think about shopping”.

Plans for new commercial parks are underway

Benched!

Trial of Xerez Football Club bosses postponed again THE trial of two ex-heads of the Xerez Club Deportivo football team believed to be involved in the 'Malaya' scandal was postponed for the third time because one of the lawyers had fallen ill.

Caught up in the controversy are businessman Jose Maria Gil Silgado, the former president of Xerez football club, and Luis Oliver Albesa, a majority shareholder.

The trial, which was originally supposed to take place October had already been postponed twice because the

defendants decided to change their lawyers, according to Spanish media sources.

The two men were allegedly implicated with the illicit activities of Juan Antonio Roca, the ex-Marbella town planning consultant who was the mastermind behind ‘Operation Malaya’.

It is believed Albesa expressed his intention to sell the club to Jesus Gil, the exmayor of Marbella who was jailed for the part he played in the scandal, who then plotted with Roca to pur-

chase the club with funds allegedly obtained from criminal activities.

The prosecutor has accused the men of being aware that Roca was involved in the purchase of the club and had agreed to help conceal the origin of the investment.

Roca, who was sentenced to ten years in prison himself and called as a witness in the trial, has so far admitted to buying shares in the club but denies that the money was of illicit origin.

10

Historic site chock-full

ANTEQUERA Council asks the local authorities to control tourist numbers to the Dolmens site.

Juan Rosas, the local World Heritage councillor, has requested that access to the attraction be regulated after more than 9000 people swarmed on the archaeological site in December.

Rosas pointed out that some visitors "had to wait more than two hours to see the dolmens and, when they entered, they only saw other people’s heads, since not everyone could fit inside".

The three 5000-year-old dolmens (prehistoric burial chambers) are both located just outside Antequera, and are some of the largest megalithic structures in Europe.

The dolmens were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016, and Rosas lamented how the declaration has not led to an increase staff at the location, only security "who are overwhelmed."

Photo credit Ayuntamiento de Benalmadena

Councillor Vole and representatives of Emabesa surrounded by 1,200 toys

Not just sweets

by Staff Reporter ALL of those attending the Three Kings parade in Benalmadena can look forward to something more than sweets as gifts from the floats.

The council has confirmed that once again, water company Emabesa will be

donating soft toys to be distributed to children by the Magi as they proceed along the coast and the town centre.

No less than 1,200 different cuddly toys have been given for the procession in a gesture of support during the festive season by the water company to the children through-out the town.

Local councillor Ana Vole when thanking the company for its kind gesture said "the magi will distribute these stuffed animals in their various encounters with children on the coast and the people during the day of the ride, which will be a day full of music, animation and gifts."

The Dolmens burial chambers in Antequera

11

Disaster preparation

by Richard Johnson MORE THAN 750 workers have taken part in a simulation to prepare for a major emergency.

The exercise, which took place the Maritime Station at the Port of Malaga, involved workers from the Junta de Andalucia and Malaga City Council.

People posed as victims in an effort to improve the responses of the emergency services to a disaster at a shopping centre. A representative emphasised the “importance” of the simulation, saying, "situations that could happen are rehearsed with great realism and the different agents involved can intervene.”

Meanwhile, prosecutors are demanding eight years in prison for a man accused of working with Jihadists.

Disaster staged at the Port of Malaga

Waste wars

POLITICIANS have finally reached an agreement over the future of Malaga’s cleaning services.

The city’s Mayor, Francisco de la Torre, has announced the political hot potato will be resolved by privatising street cleaning while allowing waste

collection services to remain publicly run. De la Torre had faced criticism from his own party, the Partido Popular (PP), as well as from opposing Ciudadanos over his plans to bring cleaning company Limasa under municipal control. Fellow PP politicians had

instead wanted the company to be privatised, leading to a mixed management model in place from April whereby the company had been 51 per cent privately owned. Giving way to his own party, the mayor will now allow street cleaning to be put out to tender.

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Malaga-based Elmedjeri is currently on trial for allegedly falsifying documents to help members of a terrorist cell travel to Mali, Syria and Lybia. He faces charges of collaborating with Jihadists alongside five others, who were arrested when their alleged terrorist cell was brought down by police in the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

The defendant, who is a resident of Malaga’s Las Delicias neighbourhood, is said to have kept precision instruments for falsifying documents at his home, including a stylus, ultraviolet lamp and sealants. Police claim the cell he was helping carried out “incessant work of facilitation” of jihadists between 2012 and March 2014.

Other defendants in the trial include the “promoter, director and coordinator” of the organisation.

Checking it out

THE INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION and the British and Spanish Tennis Federations visited Marbella this week to check out the city’s facilities ahead of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group in February.

The clash on February 2, 3 and 4 will be hosted in the Puente Romano Sports Complex and is Spain's first Davis Cup tie on home soil since 2013 when it

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welcomed Ukraine to Madrid's Caja Magica for a World Group play-off.

Alison Sowersby from the International Tennis Federation, Oliver Scadgell from the British federation and Miguel Angel Martin from the Spanish federation held various meetings at the complex, as well as with Marbella Mayor Angeles Munoz and other municipal officials.

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12

Sexual diversity

Beaten and bruised

A YOUNG MAN from Estepona is denouncing a nightclub in Granada after allegedly being beaten to a pulp by its bouncers. David Espinosa, who will turn 20 in January, was left with various injuries by 8-10 staff members at Mae West nightclub – he said the attack was unprovoked: “At one point, I did not feel the blows, everything went black and I had a ringing in my ears. I thought I was going to die.”

He was under the attention of medics for 10 hours. Mae West nightclub has given a different version of events and said that Espinosa was "was arguing and struggling with another group.”

by Richard Johnson TORREMOLINOS’ Picasso Centre has screened films promoting sexual diversity.

The second ever LGTB movie festival, organised by Andalucia Diversidad and Colega, was supported by the town’s council.

Antonio Ferre, president of the Andalucian Federation of LGBT Associations, explained, "It is about taking another year to citizens a sample of a diverse and quality cinema, with interesting films and different themes that show the sexual diversity existing in our days.”

The four-day event saw British, Clilean, Argentine and Spanish films played, offering"diverse and interesting arguments and different visions.” Santiago Rubio, president of Colega, explained, "With this second edition, as we did in the first, we want to highlight the importance of the collective in the cultural sphere, as in all areas of life. It is a sample of great quality that we are sure will captivate the public.”

Meanwhile, in October Torremolinos opened its first LGBTI information point. The council-run initiative, which has the support of the Andalucian Rainbow Federation, will offer information to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people. Advice will also be available for workers including teachers and police officers.

Open from Monday to Friday in the Department for Social Empowerment, the centre will be staffed by two people who were given training by the Andalucian Rainbow Federation. Councillor for Equality and So-

Robbers caught red-handed

cial Empowerment, Aida Blanes, explained, “the measure is part of our plan for equality and for training the council’s staff.”

Meanwhile, Mijas Council last month held its first diversity conference to support the LGTBI community.

The event, which aimed to “move forward in terms of diversity,” brought together groups from across the province and Andalucia to learn how public bodies should deal with LGTBI people.

Mari Carmen Carmona, Councillor for Equality, explained, “the main objective of the department is to draw attention to those people who suffer hate crimes because they have a different sexual orientation or because they were born

with a gender that does not belong to them.”

The same council also organised an event to teach local police about dealing with hate crimes. The course was designed to “improve the knowledge and treatment of people who suffer from these types of crimes and teach the state security forces how to deal with them,” according to the council.

The mayor for Equality, Mari Carmen Carmona explained the initiative, which is particularly aimed at crimes against the LGTBIQ community, was created in collaboration with the Andalucian Rainbow Federation, whose president, Gonzalo Serrano, was in charge of teaching the classes.

POLICE IN Marbella arrested two thieves guilty of a string of recent robberies. The 33-year-old man and 24-year-old woman, both of Romanian nationality, were caught red-handed as they tried to rob a pensioner of his watch in a shopping centre in San Pedro de Alcantara earlier this week. Upon investigation, officers found the pair to be the culprits of six robberies committed in the Marbella area since November. The thieves were sent straight to prison awaiting trial and police seized a car that they used as a getaway vehicle.

200 new jobs

A MALAGA-BASED company is set to employ 200 people by the end of 2018.

Ebury, a financial technology company dealing in international

payments and currency exchange, has showed Malaga is an important location for the company with the move. Based in 12 countries on two continents, Ebury

employs 600 across the world, and plans to increase its number of Malaga-based employees to a third of that number, according to its CEO, Duarte Libano Monteiro.

Accident injures seven

AN ACCIDENT between two vehicles on the A-7 in Estepona resulted in seven injuries.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 5.45pm last Thursday after two cars collided.

Seven people were transferred to Hospital Estepona - Cenyt Hospital.

14

Have your Say!

A popular post this week is “Prime

Minister Theresa May’s message to UK nationals living in Europe” which has reached over 4,500 people with over 80 reactions.

Ian Forest “Mrs May said from the offset that she would fight to protect the rights of British citizens living in the EU, maybe now all the scaremongering will come to an end”

@RTNNewspaper

Our most liked posts from this week RTN Recipe: Bread and butter panettone pudding tart RTN visit the APROP Animal Shelter in Pego Happy TRAM travellers despite strike action A Christmas message from APASA Careline Theatre exceeds €57,000 in donations

Fun and games at airport

by Pippa Harris MALAGA AIRPORT now boasts seven new playgrounds.

The facilities, which are aimed at children aged between two and eight, are positioned in different parts of terminals two and three at both Arrivals and Departures.

Operator Aena announced the development, explaining the move was designed to reinforce the airport’s reputation as a family area. In June, a facility was introduced to separate family travellers from others at security for the ease of both.

Last month complained a playground is becoming overrun with rubbish. Residents say plastics and paper are left scattered around the park in Puerta Blanca and are complaining about “increasingly worse conditions.”

According to media reports, one local claimed,

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"on Saturday I passed by and the situation was horrible. There were two rubbish bins with rubbish scattered throughout the park,” adding, “for a long time this park has been neglected and very dirty. I have never seen cleaning or maintenance personnel in the area and it is totally unhealthy for children.” The resident also complained, “the floor is artificial turf and is literally covered with bags ... etc. And around the park there is natural grass that is also full of garbage and dog poop.”

In August, alleged poor conditions at a playground in Torremolinos prompted outrage from locals after three people were injured when a swing collapsed in La Bateria Park.

Two girls and one woman were hurt in the

THE Spanish Tax Agency is to spend €474,000 to contract a private company to supply drones capable of transmitting videos in a bid to police tobacco smuggling.

One drone will be operated over the Catalan town of Seo de Urgel which borders Andorra and the other will be located in La Linea de la Concepcion at the border with Gibraltar.

Each drone will have a flight time of 30 minutes and can operate at a range

of one kilometre from the operator with all information received and held on a smart phone or tablet.

It is understood that each drone will be equipped with vehicle and face recognition programmes and will be able to follow targets once sighted with officers likely to be able to pursue suspects in unmarked vehicles.

As drones are illegal in Gibraltar and due to the close proximity to the

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incident, which left one of the girls in hospital with two leg injuries, while the other girl, aged 5, was treated for back pain. Her mother was hit on the arm as she tried to stop the structure falling on the children and is now unable to move three of her fingers.

The woman explained, "it was a good thing I had instinctively put my arm up because the bar went directly towards the girls' head.”

Police tape now seals off the swing-set while the girl’s mother says she is considering denouncing the town hall, claiming the set "was rotten inside", adding, "after it came down we could see the condition of it and it is a shame. If I had known before I would not have taken my daughter to the park.”

Piling up

Drones to be used to tackle smuggling into Spain

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Another playground at Malaga Airport

RESIDENTS of Malaga’s La Termica have complained the area is being allowed to fall to ruin.

Despite signs warning against illegal dumping, furniture and rubbish have been strewn in front of containers on the road. In addition, a manhole cover is missing in the road, risking accidents, and some street signage is falling down, according to one publication.

One resident, Rafael G, told the newspaper, “it is like this every day,” despite a poster warning fly-tippers, “Prohibted to empty debris. We are recording you. We will prosecute offenders.” airfield, customs and tax officers will have to be well-trained and ensure that they do not cause any danger to arriving or departing aircraft.

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16

Cat poison case reaches conclusion

by Jemima Roberts A COUPLE have been tried for allegedly poisoning their neighbour’s cats.

A criminal court has been urged by prosecutors to hand the pair nine-month prison sentences each, as well as two years’ disqualification from owning pets. They also face compensating their neighbour for the deceased pets and veterinary bills of his surviving cats.

The pair are on trial for killing five of their neighbour’s eight cats, allegedly putting poison in balls of meat. Prosecutors allege the couple “threw balls of raw poisoned meat” over the dividing wall of their neighbour’s home in March 2011 with the “intent to end”” the lives of his cats. His animals quickly ate the meat, with five dying. The other three were saved after their owner intervened.

Last month it was revealed around 50 residents had gathered in San Pedro to demand the council puts an end to the spate of pet poisonings.

Opposition politicians and several animal organisations also joined the protest after locals from Marbella and San Pedro became outraged after dogs and cats were killed by poison.

The problem has grown over the year with more than 10 dogs dying in Marbella

MARBELLA CITY COUNCIL has approved the partial demolition of the old Hotel Don Miguel, ready for its reconstruction and reopening by Magna Hotels and Resorts.

The reopening of the hotel forecasts an economic investment of around €70 million and provides for the creation of 300 jobs during the construction phase and a further 300 permanent jobs once the complex is in operation.

The partial demolition will begin in February ready for the construction phase to begin in April.

Look at that for energy saving

Poisoned meat thrown over wall was soon eaten by the cats in one a week in September. One dog was killed after eating poison in a playground in La Campana, forcing police to close the park. The play area on Avenida Miguel de Cervantes is used by residents with and without pets, as well as children.

A resident, Francisco Montijano, told a publication, “in addition to animals, it could affect some of the children who play there every day.” Other neighbours told media outlets the poison comes in a “barely perceptible” liquid form, and have speculated the poison may have been left in three locations.

Police have collected samples of the liq-

Knock it down

uid but residents remain concerned, telling one publication, “we are afraid to take our dogs out and have to walk them with our eyes peeled to stop them from going into the undergrowth and eating something which could kill them.” Mr Montijano added, “we are checking the area on a daily basis to make our walks safe we but are frightened someone will start spreading the poison further afield.”

In July it was revealed The Guardia Civil’s Nature Protection Service (Seprona) was also investigating the appearance of pesticides disguised as dog treats around Torremolinos.

ESTEPONA COUNCIL recently announced that it has saved €2.5 million in electricity in the last five years. Since the inauguration of the ‘Plan de Optimizacion Energetica’ (Energy Optimisation Plan) in 2012, the town has managed to reduce its electrical energy consumption by 47.26 per cent.

The saving has been achieved through various measures, including optimisation of public lighting and replacing a total of 160 analogue on-off clocks with astronomical clocks. The reduction in electrical energy consumption means the council has stopped emitting 1,856 tonnes of carbon per year into the atmosphere.

17

Prison for sister killer

by Jemima Roberts PROSECUTORS are asking for 21 years and 8 months in prison for a man accused of killing his sister.

A 48-year-old man may also be forced to pay €150,000 to each of the victim’s two children after she was found strangled using the cord of an iron in Torremolinos.

The woman was found dead by one of her children after the incident on October 23 last year. Police believe the accused killed her when he was staying with her on a visit from his native Morocco while he received treatment for diabetes in Spain.

Officers claim the pair did not have a good relationship, arguing about the man’s lifestyle in Morocco.

Lawyers claim the accused entered his victim’s bedroom in the early hours of the morning before hitting her on the head with an iron, “with the obvious intention of causing her death.” His 52-year-old sister is said to have

Four injured in accident

woken up, “screaming and trying to defend herself,” before he covered her mouth with his hand and strangled her with the iron’s cord. He then fled before later being arrested.

Meanwhile, an 18-year-old boy was last week detained after stabbing his mother, sister and grandmother whilst on hallucinogens.

The man has been arrested for ill-treatment of his family and could face charges for attempted murder after consuming a hallucinogenic plant in Churriana and attacking them and police.

Officers were called to the scene where they found his 36-year-old mother bleeding from the neck, as well as his 64-year-old grandmother who had lacerations on her right arm and face. The boy’s 14-year-old sister had also received a head wound.

Local Police officers entered the property to scenes of blood and disarray, identifying the boy and attempting to arrest him. According to police he was “greatly agitated and responded very aggressively to police ac-

FOUR PEOPLE have been injured after three cars collided on the A-357 in Malaga Pizarra.

The incident, which took place at around 7am, attracted members of the Guardia Civil, traffic police, Civil Protection services, highways organisation and the Public Company for Sanitary Emergencies.

Life behind bars for killing sister tion.” He allegedly elbowed one officer before pouncing on a second. Police finally overpowered the boy before arresting him.

In interview the man allegedly admitted taking a powder hallucinogenic named “San Pedro cactus” before beginning to behave in

a “very strange” way. The boy is also said to have been examined by medical services who agreed he was in psychosis and sedated him.

Police allegedly found the knife used to carry out the attack in a bin around 30 metres away from the scene of the crime.

Romanian sex trafficking ring bust AN INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION carried out by the Spanish and Romanian National Police has resulted in the dismantling of one of the biggest sex trafficking rings in Europe.

The inquiry was coordinated by

EUROPOL and EUROJUST and a total of 11 Romanian gang members have been arrested – three in Madrid, two in Marbella, two in Oviedo and four in Romania.

The alleged head of the ring, a Romanian man who goes by the

name of ‘Becu’ has been arrested in Romania.

The investigation has also resulted in the freeing of 13 victims and the seizure of proceeds of crime including thousands of euros in cash and various luxury vehicles.

18

Three arrested in heroin bust

by Jemima Roberts TWO MEN and a woman have been detained for dealing heroin in El Palo.

The group now face conviction after police found 63 grams of heroin, 80 of hashish and 23 of marijuana at a property in the Malaga neighbourhood.

The raid, carried out under “Operation Avipsa,” also saw police seize €1,513 in cash and three precision scales. The group, aged between 24 and 48, also face charges of belonging to a criminal organisation.

Police observed several people coming and going at the property and identified one man, aged 48. Officers also say they observed a man and a woman helping the man, with the woman allegedly keeping lookout for the group, as well as hiding and preparing the drugs.

Last month two men and two women were detained for selling drugs in Estepona. The group, aged between 42 and 79 years’ old, allegedly sold heroin, cocaine, marijuana and hashish from a home in the town where they also allowed buyers to take the narcotics.

Officers began investigating in September following reports of dealing in the area. On searching one property, National Police found 177.8 grams of marijuana, 720 grams of hashish, 0.5 grams of heroin, 62 wraps of cocaine 29 methadone pills. Officers also seized nine sets of scales for weighing the narcotics, one shotgun, two replica pistols, eight weapons, €201

Pablo Lopez will perform at Starlite PABLO LOPEZ, Spanish singer and musician from Malaga has announced he will debut his next album in a performance at Starlite Festival in August next year.

Starlite Festival is an international music festival that takes place inside the quarry of Nagueles, Marbella.

Starlite has become the cultural festival of reference in Europe with a daily programme that includes music, fashion, art, film and gastronomy opening

Heroin dealers detained in cash, 16 mobile phones, four televisions, six tablets and four laptops.

The same month a Spanish was detained in France for smuggling one ton of cannabis from Malaga.

The 35-year-old is being held after his truck was searched by officers in Montmarault near Lyon. Police say he was stopped due to collaboration between the Spanish and French authorities.

At the same time a man was arrested in Malaga for importing 65 kilos of cocaine. The accused has been handed over to a court in Alegciras and police have not ruled out further ar-

rests after they discovered the drugs at Algeciras port.

Officers from the Tax Agency and Guardia Civil seized the narcotics after becoming suspicious of a shipment.

Using a non-intrusive scanner, officers discovered the cocaine had been hidden in eight small metal cylinders covered in lead.

The scanner showed officers the shipment’s contents did not match their description and they began to examine the objects. Looking into the cylinders, they found pills which, when tested, where found to be cocaine.

its doors every day for a month with shows at the only club in the world inside a quarry.

Lopez started his musical career in the pop band Nino Raro with reggae, Latin and rock influences.

The band released the album Trentaytres but was soon dissolved and in 2008, Lopez became more famous after taking part in 2008 in ‘Operacion Triunfo’ the Spanish version of X Factor and finishing as runner-up.

Excited shoppers spill into new store SHOPPERS queued around the corner for the Grand Opening of Victoria’s Secret’s Malaga store on Wednesday. The 120-square metre shop - situated on Calle Larios - offered its first 100 customers a free gift and shoppers arrived in their droves to purchase premium lingerie, womenswear and beauty products. The arrival of the American designer comes after Spanish fashion firm Uterque pulled out of the deal they’d signed with the owners of the premises after they failed to convince the hotel above to sign over the first floor of the building.

20

Fraudster arrested

by Pippa Harris A MAN has been arrested in Malaga City for falsely reporting his wallet had been stolen.

The 33-year-old had told police he had been robbed at knife point after being asked for change. The accused claimed the crime occurred in the downtown area of Malaga. Police began investigating his complaint before finding it was false.

In November a woman was sentenced to a year in prison for filing a false complaint against a Nerja resident. Rosa A.G.D., as she has been named, has also been ordered to pay a €2,700 fine and €5,150 in damages after a court found her guilty of lying about a theft to collect the insurance money.

The convicted told police she had had her purse stolen from a shop in Torre del Mar in August 2012, and went as far as naming Juan Antonio Ortega, who happened to be in the store at the same time, as the culprit. A court in Malaga found the woman of guilty of lying about the crime, overturning an earlier acquittal, finding, “the accused was aware that the complaint she filed at the National Police station against her victim was false.”

The woman is unable to appeal the latest ruling after it was proven “the defendant carried out all the administrative procedures to collect compensa-

Social inclusion centre opens soon MARBELLA CITY COUNCIL announced that the Red Cross Centro de Atencion Inmediata para la Inclusion de las Personas sin Hogar (Immediate Attention Centre for the Inclusion of the Homeless) will open in January.

The centre will have an annual budget of €308,000 to finance activities, per-

sonnel, maintenance and management.

"The objective is the social inclusion of people who are struggling,” said Councillor Isabel Cintado, who added that the city has provided €60,000 euros to refurbish the facilities.

The centre will be open every day of the year from 9.00am – 9.00pm.

Netflix – for gamers False accusation leads to arrest tion from the insurance company.”

Her victim was arrested and spent hours in a Torre del Mar police cell after he was accused of aggravated theft.

It took until 2013 for Ortega to clear his name and he immediately denounced the woman for making a false accusation. He explained the woman made

his life hell, causing him to take 40 days’ psychological leave from work.

He commented, “I have gone through a real ordeal that I do not wish on anyone, that woman made our lives awful.”

The court found the woman had made four similar accusations between 2001 and 2005.

THE I HACKATHON CRYPTO MARBELLA was held last week and saw four teams battle it out to be crowned winner.

The winning team, a group of computer programmers, developed a platform much like Netflix, the world's leading subscription service for watching TV episodes and movies, but for videogames.

The platform allows users to choose from an extensive online catalogue of videogames and play as many as they like for a monthly flat rate.

The event brought more than 50 inventors, investors and IT geniuses to Marbella, which is quickly becoming home to one of the most active "blockchain" communities in Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona.

21

Rise in robberies angers residents

by Richard Johnson RESIDENTS are up in arms over a series of burglaries in Huelin.

Locals are asking police to increase their presence after a pharmacy, bakery, school and neighbourhood association were all hit in recent weeks.

The most recent break-in has seen the association cancel an event after thieves made off with €1,393 and caused damage to the property. One resident said, “we need our Local Police to patrol more here and in general in all neighbourhoods of the town, because they are barely seen.” He added it did not make sense for police to patrol industrial estates more than residential areas, saying, “National Police should be sent to the poligonos but Local Police are more appropriate for local neighbourhoods as they know the areas better and are more aware of municipal laws.”

Last month a woman was arrested after allegedly leaving her children at school to go on a crime spree.

The Guardia Civil identified the woman after four months of investigations under “Operation Reja 2017,” after becoming convinced a family was behind a spate of robberies in Malaga.

They said two men and a woman belonging to the same family “had been

Police are asked for help by locals

Going a bit fruity AN OPERATION coordinated by the National Police together with officials from the Spanish Tax Agency has resulted in the arrest of the largest cocaine trafficker in the north of the African continent.

Officers intercepted a tonne of coke and dismantled a family organisation dedicated to the drug trafficking in the Costa del Sol. The clan used their real estate and financial businesses to cover their proceeds of crime and divert police and customs controls.

The leader of the organisation was a father who used his four sons and two sons-in-law to transport cocaine from South America, hidden inside shipments of pineapples.

In one of the shipments from Costa Rica, officers found 33 kilograms of coke pressed in cylinders coated with yellow wax and hidden inside the fruits.

It was all a lie A 19-YEAR-OLD WOMAN who claimed to have been abused by a group of ten children after she left a nightclub in Pontevedra has admitted that she lied and the incident never happened.

The young woman will be summoned in the coming days to appear in court for filing a false police report and wasting police time.

committing these crimes since March,” concentrating in the west of the municipality. All three are now in prison awaiting trial.

Officers claimed the woman would carry out surveillance on the intended houses after leaving her children at school. Apparently she and her two relatives would then use hydraulic jacks to break bars on property windows and gain access. Police believe the family are behind a series of robberies in Fuengirola, Mijas and Benalmadena between March and August.

They explained a fourth person from Ghana was also arrested on suspicion of selling the goods stolen by the family on the black market. He has since been released pending further investigations.

On searching the family’s homes, officers allegedly found a pistol, cash, items stolen from the burgled houses, jewellery and 200 grams of marijuana.

Police say they may still uncover more robberies committed by the group and confirmed they have now returned any stolen items found to their rightful owners.

The three face trial for belonging to a crime group, illegal weapons’ possession, crimes against public health and armed robbery.

Accord agreed SCHOOLS across Malaga have come to an agreement to extend their sports schedules.

A planned demonstration was called off after the schools reached a compromise with the City Council over noise levels while children are playing basketball. The centres will now be allwed to use their sports facilities until 10pm.

Speaking about the basketball matches missed during the strike while the agreement was reached, Ricardo Bandres, delegate of the Andalucian Federation, explained, “there is no time to reschedule all the competitions that were suspended. The matches will be held over the next week.”

Last week, Mayor Francisco de la Torre said he hoped a resolution was imminent after the teachers’ board refused to agree its training schedule after two Malaga schools were handed €12,000 fines over noise made mainly while its students played basketball.

The politicians explained the council is speaking to the Junta de Andlaucia to “look for a solution to the sanctions,” and find a “fast” outcome. He believes the fines could be withdrawn before tomorrow, although he maintains they were right to be given. He added he wanted to work with the teachers’ board

to balance the rights of children to carry out sport in schools with residents not to be disrupted by noise pollution.

Last week it was reported the Board of Education had refused to extend its training schedule after receiving a fine from Malaga Council.

The body was due to sign an agreement over training until it was handed a €12,000 fine over noise levels at two schools. Patricia Alba, Delegate for Education, said, “in the current circumstances I cannot put my signature on the agreement.”

The furore began when the Lex Flavia Malacitana and Felix Revello de Toro schools were fined for exceeding legal

noise levels as children played sport. The Education board said the penalties represented “shameful and disgraceful disloyalty” on the part of the council.

Last month a union claimed lack of education personnel in Malaga is leaving gaps in schools. The Comisiones Obreras union said 76 vacancies in administrative positions are affecting leave cover as well as schools’ abilities to hire effectively.

The union said cleaners and kitchen staff are in short supply, leading to high competition for staff. While the most urgent positions began to be filled at the beginning of the school year in September, other positions remain unfilled.

22

News from around Europe RUSSIA

NETHERLANDS Word up THE NETHERLAND’S word of the year is ‘appongeluk’ - a traffic accident in which at least one of the involved parties were busy on their smartphones, Van Dale announced on Tuesday. Almost 70,000 votes were cast for the word of the year, appongeluk leading with 20 per cent of the votes.

Woke with a shock AN 81-YEAR-OLD WOMAN was hit by a stray bullet while sleeping in her bed on Japuradreef in the Utrecht neighborhood of Overvecht just after midnight on Monday. Police said the bullet was

fired “probably with automatic firearms” in a shooting that left two other men injured, one of them seriously.

Still waiting THE FAMILY of football legend Johan Cruijff regrets that that still no agreement has been reached about renaming the Amsterdam Arena to the ‘Johan Cruijff Arena’, Cruijff’s son Jordi told the Dutch press this week. Cruijff passed away in March last year and the matter of renaming the stadium in his honour was raised almost immediately.

Teacher faces jail A 40-YEAR-OLD TEACHER at a

trade school in Assen should be jailed for three years for the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old pupil, the public prosecution department said on Tuesday.

The man also persuaded the young girl to commit sex acts in front of a camera and had some 900 photos of her in his possession.

Enlisting help THE FAMILY of Dutch model Ivana Smit have hired a lawyer to help them find out exactly how their 18-year-old daughter died in Malaysia nearly two weeks ago. The family is struggling to get any information from the Malaysian authorities about the investigation.

FRANCE Stop right now The French data protection agency has ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with parent company Facebook or face sanctions. Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL) said on Monday that WhatsApp does not have a legal basis to share user data under French law for “business intelligence” purposes.

National treasure The French government has declared the original manuscript of the Marquis de Sade’s notorious novel ‘120 Days of Sodom’ a national treasure, saving it from auction and forbidding its removal from France.

World record French sailor Francois Gabart broke the record on Sunday for sailing around the world alone, circumnavigating the planet in just 42 days and 16 hours. That

is more than six days faster than the last record, set by fellow Frenchman Thomas Coville last year.

Fatal collision A school bus and a regional train collided in southern France last week, killing four children and critically injuring seven other people on the bus. The incident occurred on a railway crossing in the small village of Millas some 15 kilometres west of Perpignan, close to the border with Spain.

Super-expensive skeleton An ancient skeleton of a woolly mammoth has sold for €548,000 at auction in the French city of Lyon. The skeleton, which exceeded its estimated value, is thought to be the largest of its kind in private hands and is a rare example because 80 per cent of the skeleton is original bone.

ICELAND What’s in a name?

THE most popular names for babies in Iceland during 2016 are Emilía for girls and Alexander for boys, adding to the belief that there is an increasing trend for international names that are more pronounceable internationally than traditional Icelandic ones.

Guðrún for girls and Jón for boys still remains the most popular overall.

Justice after three months A YEMEN man has been now been charged with murdering Sanita Brauna from Latvia at her home in Hagamelur in West Reykjavik back in September. The charges

against the man were for hitting her repeatedly in the face and head with three glass bottles and a fire extinguisher weighing almost 10 kilos.

Medicinal use for cannabis MP’s from the Pirate Party have put forward a proposal to the Minister of Health to allow the use and production of cannabis for medicinal use in Iceland.

They propose that Iceland look to the experience of countries that have already legalised cannabis for this purpose.

Happy development A MAN has flown back

to Iceland to retrieve his camera equipment after it was stolen while he was travelling in the country with his wife.

The value of his property was just under $10,000 and was taken from their unlocked car outside their hotel.

Rudolph’s on the move DRIVERS in East Iceland are being warned to keep an eye out for reindeer that are being frequently spotted on the area’s roadways where they’re not normally seen. The warnings come from the Icelandic Road Administration and the East Iceland Nature Research Centre.

RT expands again Russian state broadcaster RT has launched a French-language channel despite being branded this year as a “propaganda” outlet for the Kremlin by officials in the United States, France, and other Western countries. RT, formerly known as Russia Today, already broadcasts in English, Spanish, and Arabic.

‘I’m out’ Russia is to withdraw its military officers from a joint Russia-Ukraine centre monitoring a fragile truce in the conflict-torn eastern Ukraine. Russia’s foreign ministry accused Ukraine of preventing the officers from carrying out their duties, saying they would leave on Tuesday.

Shocking sentence A Moscow court has sentenced a former Russian economy minister to eight years in a high-security prison for corruption.

Alexei Ulyukayev was also ordered to pay a $2.2m (€1.86m) fine as part of the

punishment for soliciting a $2m bribe from Igor Sechin, the chief executive of the state oil company Rosneft.

Caught on camera A video showing the moment Russian police burst in on a packed nightclub and began punching, kicking and electrocuting partygoers has emerged online. The CCTV footage shows officers rushing into the Karakum nightclub in Yelets in the Lipetsk Oblast region of Russia.

I spy…

Russia is holding a Norwegian man on suspicion of spying after he allegedly received classified documents from a Russian man who is also under arrest. The Russian press cited unnamed sources as saying that Frode Berg was caught receiving classified material about the Russian Navy that he allegedly planned to hand over to Norwegian and U.S. intelligence agencies.

SCANDINAVIA Accused rapist acquitted A COURT in Sweden has acquitted five men accused of raping a woman in the Stockholm district of Fittja in 2016, on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to convict them of the crimes. Three of the men were charged with aggravated rape and two with complicity.

Time to go home?

DENMARK’S Venstre Party spokesperson for immigration Marcus Knuth has said that all refugees granted asylum in the country should be returned to their home country once it is considered to be safe,

regardless of employment status. His statement comes despite a report saying refugees have helped fill job vacancies.

Expensive traffic jams Calculations from the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) says that traffic delays on the country’s roads currently cost the country an estimated 20 billion kroner annually, and they have called for more resources to be spent on better road networks and public transport.

Very high ho, ho, ho!

AN inflatable Santa Claus has been given pride of place at the top of

the Hornelen Mountain in Norway’s Nordfjord region. Considered Europe’s highest sea cliff, the 860 metre high Hornelen forms the eastern tip of the Bremangerlandet Island in in Sogn og Fordane County.

Not going anywhere...yet FINLAND’S Minister for Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini has revealed that he is re-considering his decision to leave politics at the end of the current electoral term in 2019. “I’m now promising to consider if I should after all go to the Parliament or to Europe in 2019. Give me time. I’ll be needing it,”.

GERMANY The woman not standing A 78-YEAR-old man was arrested after he tried to pressure a young woman on a train into giving up her seat by showing her a gun. After boarding the underground train on the U6 line in the north of the city, the man aggressively demanded that the woman give up her seat.

Immigrant numbers falling GERMAN’S Interior Minister Thomas de Maizi has announced that the number of new asylum seekers in the country has fallen for a second year in a row following the mass influx that peaked in 2015, and is predicting a total of fewer than 200,000 migrants.

Lauda getting lapped FORMER Austrian Formula One racing driver Niki Lauda has accused German airline Lufthansa of trying to “destroy” the Niki airline that he founded. Niki – formerly a

part of bankrupt Air Berlin and operated most recently by Lufthansa – was grounded after insolvency proceedings opened.

It could be wurst...

SAUSAGE makers in Germany have been in court to appeal against a record fine for alleged price fixing scandal. The Federal Cartel Office placed a €338m fine on a string of sausage producers in 2014, that included such big brand names as Herta and Böklunder.

Fewer deliveries DEUTSCHE POST is considering following the example of Denmark where the postman only comes twice a week. In Germany, the post is required to arrive every day of the working week. But in the last few months Deutsche Post has examined whether this practice is still necessary.

23

No need to paint with Andura GIVE your home the ultimate spring clean with Andura Abroad No Need To Paint system.

Every home owner on the Costas is aware of the continual struggle to upkeep and retain the fresh, clean appearance of the exterior of their Mediterranean home, but with Andura, this spring clean is one that will last for years.

Thanks to the Andura Abroad No Need To Paint system, repetitive house painting is a thing of the past, as this specialist exterior wall coating lasts up to 10 times longer than any ordinary paint.

The system has been in place since 1979 and has been on the Costa Blanca in Spain for 25 years, transforming the exterior appearance of thousands of homes.

Andura wall coatings offer numerous benefits over standard exterior paints. The coating is made from a flexible resin allowing it to expand and contract with the building, preventing cracks and blisters. It is 10 times thicker than paint offering an unrivalled coverage and resists strong sunlight and UV rays. The coating creates an impenetrable barrier which prevents any water getting into the fabric of the building, but also allows internal moisture to escape. It prevents mould and fungus and also acts as an insulator to the building. As well as vastly improving the appearance of your property it also adds value.

The coating comes in a standard range of 12 colours and the professional team will offer the best service possible working on your home until it is completed. The service begins with the walls being cleaned to remove dirt and loose paint and surface imperfections are carefully treated. Doors and windows are masked up and plants and lawns are fully protected by tarpaulins before the primer and coating is applied.

Andura Abroad No Need To Paint is so confident of the long lasting finish you will obtain, they offer a 15 year guarantee and an insurance backed guarantee is available.

Promotional homes are currently wanted across the Costa Blanca. For nearly 20 years the company has successfully used the open house/open day promotional homes concept to promote the products and services they offer as the home owner enjoys substantial discounts on the normal cost of the Andura coating.

So for more information or to arrange a free on site survey and assessment, contact the team today.

No Need To Paint

Calle Cristo del Mar 29 Javea Port, Calle de la Goleta 6. Denia Grupo San Roque Los Dolores, Callosa de Segura Alhaurin Business Centre, Avda Constitucion 11 Alhaurin el Grande, 29120 Malaga Tel: 659 692 540 Visit: www.noneedtopaint.com Email: contact@noneedtopaint.com

24

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In some cases such as driving, it is simply illegal not to be insured whilst in other cases the lack of insurance means that you could stand to lose a fortune.

Sammy Thomas Insurance Brokers have been in business for 27 years and for the last 10 of those years the company has concentrated on the expatriate market, so totally understand the needs of long-term residents as well as those who have a holiday home in Spain.

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It can often be difficult to decide which insurance policies are best but that is why brokers such as Sammy Thomas exist as their experienced staff can help you work out exactly what you need, be it on a personal or business level.

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25

Bought and souled Michael Walsh

keyboardcosmetics@ gmail.com The opinions published in Mike´s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

As many go about their daily routine censorship they little realise that censorship and, political correctness is snuffing out the candles of free expression.

Let Robbie Burns explain: “He’s bought and sold, for Yankee gold, such a parcel of rogues in a nation.”

His words immediately bring to mind what is happening in Europe today. According to a recent finding, Hungarian multi-billionaire George Soros funds more than one third of the EU 751 politicians. Add others of influence who make up the governing elite and you realise that it is not the ballot box that decides the fate of Europe but shadowy cult in the pay of one of the world’s richest and most powerful oligarchs.

“It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out, said George Soros, 1993.

The Soros list identifies 226 Members of the European Parliament (MEP) from all sides of political spectrum. These include former President of the European parliament Martin Schulz, former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt, seven vicepresidents, and a number of committee heads, coordinators, and civil servants.

People scratch their heads and wonder why government governs contrary to the wishes of their electorate. It is because Soros has his globalist agenda

headed by his desire to disperse millions of non-Europeans throughout Europe.

George Soros, founder and owner of Open Society Foundations NGO, was able to meet with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker with “no transparent agenda for their closed-door meeting”.

The speculator believes that the EU should receive millions of non-Europeans and provide each incomer with an annual €15,000 plus a Pandora’s Box of benefits denied to each country’s taxpayers.

The European Commission of Migration and Home Affairs are pushing a new bill to make migrants quotas obligatory. At least 30 Soros supporters work for the commission.

The Soros list sheds light on what makes the EU leadership implement policies, which run counter to the interests of Europeans. The answer is corruption.

The much-vaunted European democracy is a façade to hide the activities of a power structure close to feudal system with Lord George Soros calling the tune. The publication of the sinister Soros list provides an understanding as to who actually rules the EU and who instigates anti-Russia sentiments in Europe. Nigel Farage (MEP) on November delivered a speech at the European Parliament. The popular MEP pointed out

George Soros

by

that George Soros’ Open Society Foundation (OSF) has far more influence on elections across the Europe than does

Russia. He says, “If investigators are looking for evidence of foreign influence, they should start there.”

26

The Spirit of Christmas Past by

Colin Bird The opinions published in Colin’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

Christmas Eve. The one night of the year when climbing the stairs to bed was accomplished with enthusiasm and without the need of encouragement from parents. Yet here I was tucked up securely, bursting with excited anticipation but still with not a hint of tiredness.

I could just make out the time on the big old fashioned alarm clock sitting on the bedside table, nine o’clock, an hour when all young children should be fast asleep otherwise we were told “Father Christmas might pass us by”.

I lay there wide awake waiting for weariness to overtake my eager body, squeezing my eyelids tight shut and trying to force the images of the events from the magical day ahead from my over active mind.

But try as I might, the pictures that filled my head were of the stocking full of traditional fruit, nuts and sweets, and the bulging pillow case which soon would both appear before dawn as if by magic at the end of my bed.

Muffled voices from my parents in the tiny living room below drifted up to me, and the faint but distinct smell of hot cocoa wafted tantalisingly through my bedroom and only served to emphasise the late hour and the desperate need for sleep to take me.

The feel of soft clean sheets around me, snug and safe under layer upon layer of course heavy blankets - no duvets to keep

us snug then – and my mother’s coat spread out on top for good measure.

The added comfort of a rubber hot water bottle at my back and a stone one at my feet, and knowing from experience to be ever so careful not to stub my toe in my tossing and turning efforts to find sleep.

Secure under the heavy blankets and warm and snug except for my nose peeking through the bed covers, and blushing pink in the chill air of the room.

Central heating to us then was the

open coal fire in the living room, and the black paraffin stove on the landing between the two small bedrooms.

Where was sleep? Where was tiredness? Was I the only child in the whole world who was still awake?

The glass in the metal framed window was blurred with a filigree pattern of frost inside and out, but strangely in the centre of one pane a round unfrozen aperture, formed as if the Christmas angel had breathed gently on the glass until the thin layer of ice had retreated momentarily.

And through this peep hole perfectly framed, the full Christmas moon shining brilliantly down on the world from a clear star filled sky as surely it should on this special night. And in my childish imagination how it must surely have been on that very first Christmas Eve two thousand years before, over a small town in a far away land.

As I gazed in childish wonder and these thoughts passed in procession through my young head, I promised myself that I would remember always this perfect moment, through every Christmas and every year of my life yet to come.

Then by stealth, somehow sleep finally came to take me as it always had in years gone by and I fell into a dreamless slumber, unconsciously awaiting the faint sound of tinkling reindeer bells somewhere above the eaves of the roof and the soft tread of fur boots on floor boards.

And so it has been, with the memory of that magical childhood Christmas Eve more than six decades ago, remaining with me undimmed down the years.

Now another Christmas is upon us and the recollection of that night returns to me with untarnished clarity; the enchantment undiminished by the passage of time and my childhood pledge to always remember it fulfilled.

May your Christmas be as full of magic and may you always remember your own special night with joy and hope and love, holding dear the true spirit of Christmas.

Plonker of the year... by

Barry Duke The opinions published in Barry’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

Choosing Plonker of Year is no easy task. In Benidorm’s Company Bar last week the conversation turned to the subject of people who collect stuff. “Do you know,” asked one clever clogs, “what people who collect postcards are called?”

“Pathetic old gits?” I sarcastically replied.

“Nope. Deltiologists,” he said smugly. “And people who collect banknotes?” I rolled my eyes. “Merchant bankers?”

“Wrong again. The correct term is notaphilists.” I instantly did a Google check. Of course he was right. While I was at it I checked out other terms for collectors ranging from those addicted to teddy bears (arctophiles) to beer mats (tegestologists) but could not find a word for my specialist hobby: collecting idiots, klutzes, dunderheads, fools, nincompoops, dullards, drongos and half-wits.

My hobby began in the late sixties when I was a cub reporter on a local weekly newspaper, and I decided that the most stupid man I’d ever encountered was the town’s mayor, a Mr Terblanche. The first speech I heard him give was at an award ceremony for a local bigwig. In praising the business activities of the fellow, Terreblanche said: “He is involved in so many enterprises that I can proudly say that he has had a finger in every tart in town”.

The mayor looked genuinely puzzled when the recipient of the award turned beetroot red and the whole town hall audience fell about laughing.

This prompted me to begin compiling a list – purely for my own amusement – of names of every knucklehead my job brought me into contact with. At the end of each year I would examine these names, and

the crazy things they said, and nominate my Plonker of the Year.

Compiling the lists became an obsession. I then decided to share them in a satirical column for an underground South African magazine called Time Out. Sadly, the publication was banned, mainly because I called the head of the censorship board, one Jannie Kruger, a moron on no fewer than three occasions.

I never found another magazine courageous enough to publish my lists, but, out of habit, I continued compiling them, and this week, dear readers I would like to offer the names of a few people I reckon could easily qualify for Plonker of the Year 2017. (I’ve deliberately omitted the most obvious: Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson, and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s “supreme leader”, etc.)

Instead, in no particular order, I offer you the names of four people you may never have heard of: Yonatan Razel, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish singer who performed at a concert for women-only in Jerusalem a few weeks back.

He did something quite grotesque when members of the audience began dancing.

He covered his eyes with black masking tape, because he was apparently offended by the sight of undulating female bodies. A career change is called for, methinks.

Queensland Independent Member of Parliament Bob Katter, who worked himself into a frenzy in November over the fact that his country was debating whether or not to legalise gay marriage. He insisted they should be far more concerned by an “epidemic” of crocodile attacks on humans. In reality, there have only been 11 fatal crocodile attacks in Queensland since 1985, according to data

provided by the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. Oh, and despite the killer crocs, Australia legalised same-sex marriage earlier this month.

Rania Mahmoud Yassin, an Egyptian TV presenter who told viewers of her Al -Assema television programme that her country, to its shame, has 866 atheists. I’ve yet to discover how Yassin arrived at this figure.

Ezekiel Mutua, the head of the Kenya Film Classification Board. When shown a photo of two male lions canoodling, he instantly blamed gays whom he suggested might have “influenced” the beasts.

He said: “These animals need counselling, because probably they have been influenced by gays who have gone to the national parks and behaved badly ... they must have copied it somewhere … because these animals do not watch movies.”

Step forward, Mr Mutua. You’re definitely my choice of Plonker of the Year.

And Barry’s award goes to Mr Mutua

28

The way I see it A Christmas Story? by

Harvey Mann The opinions published in Harvey’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

As Christmas approaches, the image of a stable in Bethlehem comes to mind, with a baby, its mother Mary, and the father Joseph.

They are receiving gifts from three men, said to be Kings. The gifts are a tribute to the birth of the new baby named, Jesus.

Since that time the baby has been proclaimed by millions of people around the world, as the son of God. Thousands of churches every year around the world celebrate the momentous occasion, a period of joy and merriment. As Christmas is said be a time of goodwill to each other, as millions of Christians believe the birth of Jesuswas their saviour.

A brilliant uplifting story to captivate just about everyone, a story of hope and faith, that the son of God had come to earth to help people and guide them through their lives, and hopefully rid them of their sins.

My belief is completely different, and I hope it does not upset to many people, so let me explain my side of the story and the evidence that I have spent many years researching.

There is no evidence of the existence of Jesus in any authenticated earliest writings that came from within one hundred years of the birth of a man that had grown into a man called Jesus, who had supposedly performed miracles, in the midst of hundreds of eyewitnesses.

Yes, there have been one or two mentions of a man called Jesus, but these were added to early writings at a later time, in manuscripts held by the church.

These are my findings: The name that crops several times is Yahushua, which appears many times in the Old Testament, especially in reference to Messianic prophecies. i.e. ‘Zechariah 6:11-13 “Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Yahushua [translated as Joshua] son of Jehozadak. Tell him this is what Yahuwah Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of Yahuwah. It is he who will build the temple of Yahuwah, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’

This the description of a man called Yahushua, (Joseph) Jesus does not appear in the old Testament. OK, you could argue the Christian religion does not necessarily recognise, the Old Testament. But let’s continue.

The Hebrew word translated from Yahushua as salvation and deliverance in English versions is phonetically the same sound as Yahushua. i.e. Psalm

119:174 quotes “I long for your salvation [Yahushua], O Yahuwah, and your Torah is my delight.” We can see here how the Torah revealed God’s salvation to David, even going as far as showing David the Name of the Saviour, that of Yahushua.

Slightly confused, many early writers in the first few years of the rumoured birth of Jesus, believe that Jesus name was said to be reasonably common, had he been mistaken for Yahushua (Salvation).

A well-known historical researcher, Michael Paulkovich, has claimed that the so-called Jesus of Nazareth was a ‘mythical character’ and never existed.

His controversial discovery was apparently made after he found no verifiable mention of Christ from 126 ancient written documents.

This simple truth had been widely admitted by many early Christian scholars, is that the Jesus story was developed to help spread the name of Christianity at a time when Christians were defying their Roman leaders.

One case in point is my first example: Josephus Flavius, a famous historian, wrote ‘There are two alleged mentions of Jesus in the histories. The first of them, the more extensive and the more famous one, is no longer quoted by Christian scholars. That is because they know it was a blatant Christian forgery.

The second passage is still in use’.

“Josephus, the renowned Jewish historian, was a native of Judea. He was born in 37 A. D., and was a contemporary of the Apostles. He was, for a time, Governor of Galilee, the province in which the so-called Christ lived and taught. He

traversed every part of this province and visited the places where but a generation before Christ had performed his prodigies (miracles), he resided in Cana, the very city in which Christ is said to have created his first miracle. Josephus mentions every noted personage of Palestine and describes every important event which occurred there during the first seventy years that covers the period that Jesus lived, and had hordes of followers, whilst also performing some of things he was said done, but a man called Jesus or Christ was of too little consequence and his deeds too trivial to merit a line from any of these early historian’s pen.

Here is something to keep in mind as you read this article. Ask yourself this question. Could historic passages have been forged? Could the volumes of the historians have been tampered with? The answer is: yes, they could have. Where were these historic volumes stored? In the local public library? In individuals’ private homes? No. They were in the possession of the Church, who studied from them and made copies of them. In what form did these writings take? On a typeset page, bound like a modern book? No. The printing press was not invented for a further 1300 years. The fact that the Church could write, means that the forgeries could have been made. The Church had the opportunity, the means, and the motive to forge historical documents to further the belief in Christianity.

Nothing has ever been found in any of the earliest writings or tangible evidence from those days. The story that is explained in old Hebrew text is as follows: Mary was a Jewish woman, unmarried, as marriage was extremely uncommon in those days, living with Joseph, a poor carpenter, they lived in sparse conditions, and when pregnant, they moved to Bethlehem living in a manager that was shared with animals.

From an early age Jesus used to listen to Rabbis, preaching inside and outside their synagogue’s.

Jesus’s knowledge we can believe came from these learned men, and as he grew up, he started to challenge some of their views, as any young person may do at school these days.

As Jesus grew up he gathered followers, as he had become a very good ora-

tor, people that time had nothing, so his reasonably intelligent mind he stood out to become a leader? Like many other leaders through our history.

His miracle’s that it was said he performed, raising people from the dead, healing people that were lame, feeding of thousands with just a few fishes and loaves. As time moved on these followers broadened his abilities’, as to get more followers that could help them ward off the Roman judiciary.

So, the most important question is how did Jesus born in such conditions to a Jewish family become the leader of the Christian world and his un married mother a virgin become the great symbol of faith to the Roman Catholic religion, especially after the Romans were guilty of crucifying her son.

Yes, others appear in this tableau of stories, fishermen, characters of a deniable nature and robbers.

Crucifixions was a common event in Roman times, particularly of the weaker group that were not thrown to the lions, so like any political party wanting to launch themselves against the might of Rome, they used a man hanging from a cross, and called him Jesus, and developed stories of his birth and his past, and of course most of all he had delivered a Faith.

Next his virgin mother clutching her baby, was adopted by a group of Romans that had fallen foul of the Roman Senate, and like the Christians launched a following of Roman Christianity, using the image of Mary and Jesus.

I’m sorry to pour cold water on people’s religious beliefs, as a belief give people faith, and I suppose that is the object of the exercise.

Jesus was Jewish that was virtually the only religion at that time in Cana, he became a thorn in the sides of Rabbis as he argued and interfered with their sermons like teenagers of today.

But he was never a king or the son of God, he became a prophet and a teller of stories. Jews have never really denied him; however, they like me remain extremely sceptical of his ever being born the son of God or the Messiah.

So to conclude I wish you all a very happy holiday, no matter what religion you follow, and may the faith be with you.

29

Gerunds imported into Spanish

Well, I haven’t forgotten your homework, and here are the answers.

Basic Spanish for everyday needs by

Jane Cronin

What are you doing? ¿Qué estás haciendo?

I am measuring the wall.

Estoy midiendo la pared.

You are telling the truth.

Estás diciendo la verdad.

My husband is washing the dishes.

Mi marido está lavando los platos.

We are spending a lot of money.

Estamos gastando mucho dinero.

My children are cleaning the house.

Mis hijos están limpiando la casa.

I’ve just noticed that almost every one of these sentences expresses something that is highly unlikely to happen in my lifetime. However, as their main purpose is to practice the language and not worry about what they actually say, I will concentrate on the job at hand. As always with translations there are a few details that could be written differently, for example instead of “los platos” you might have written “la vajilla”, also it depends whether a wall is interior (pared) or exterior (muro) to know exactly which word is appropriate. The main point though is the construction of the verb which hopefully is now clear.

irregular gerunds

I thought a small digression would be jolly now, as it is still something to do with the connection between English and Spanish languages and cultures. I have mentioned already that the gerund is used in a far greater variety of ways in English than in Spanish, to the point where, for a foreigner our language appears to be full of these –ing words. I suffer from the fact that my surname ends in“–in”. There isn’t a Spaniard in Spain who doesn’t spell my surname “Croning” the first time they come across it!

There is a phenomenon that occurs in languages which is the incorporation of words from other languages. It is because of this, and from the fusions of people over the centuries that new languages are born. English is a dominant language in the world for a number of reasons, and the result is that it is “invading” the Spanish language, particularly in the form of gerunds. Here are some examples of what I mean.

“Body-building”, “camping”, “casting”, “catering”, “doping”, “feeling”, “footing”, “happening”, “lifting”, “mailing”, “marketing”, “overbooking”, “parking”, “peeling”, “piercing”, “rafting”, “shopping”, “surfing”, “travelling”, “windsurfing”, “zapping”.

This is actually a small selection of the gerund “loan words” than now appear frequently in Spanish speech and writing (notice – writing). The curi-

seguir Voy aprendiendo

vas leyendo muriendo Voy entendiendo poco a poco Advertising feature

ous thing is that quite a few of them slightly modify the original meaning (notice – meaning) of the word, which creates some strange problems when translating (notice – translating).

For example - “camping” means “camp site”; “casting” means “audition”; “footing” means “jogging”; “mailing” mean “mail shot” (or whatever the real word for that is in English), “parking” means “car park”; “peeling” refers only to beauty treatments and never to potatoes; “piercing” refers specifically the adornment of the human anatomy and “travelling” has something to do with camera movements on film sets. The potential for confusion between English and Spanish speakers with these words is amazing.

(Hmmm – amazing!)

I shouldn’t really admit to this but a few months ago over the summer I watched the “castings” for “Factor X” on the television; that was in between sending out “mailings” from my website. One day someone offered me a “peeling” but I thought that was a bit decadent, especially as I would not allow my daughter to have a “piercing”. I keep thinking that I should go back to “footing” but I’m too lazy, driving to a “parking” is more my scene these days, whilst on the home front, I’m more like to spend my time “zapping” than organizing a “happening”.

Now you’ve got something else to fill your time – gerund hunting!

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Friday 22nd December - Thursday 28th December

Pick of the Day

FRIDAY 7:00am 10:15am

11:00am 12:00pm 12:45pm 1:15pm 2:00pm 2:30pm 2:45pm

4:40pm 6:00pm

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

10:30pm

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:40pm 12:30am

Breakfast Let’s Get a Good Thing Going Homes Under the Hammer Street Auction Fake Britain Bargain Hunt BBC News BBC London News Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Puss in Boots Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos Pointless BBC News BBC London News The One Show A Question of Sport EastEnders Miranda Have I Got 2017 News for You Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special 2014 BBC News BBC London News The Graham Norton Show Would I Lie to You?

7:05am

8:05am 8:35am 10:00am

11:00am

1:05pm

1:35pm 2:20pm 3:50pm

5:15pm

6:15pm

8:00pm

9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm

11:10pm 12:10am

MasterChef: The Professionals An Island Parish Holiday Affair The Big Family Cooking Showdown Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines Tom Kerridge Cooks Christmas Best Christmas Bakes Ever An Ideal Husband The Toys That Made Christmas Back in Time for Christmas Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!

Inside the Christmas Factory Mastermind Only Connect Saturday Night Fever The Ultimate Disco Movie The Joy of the Bee Gees Boogie Fever: A TOTP2 Disco Special

7:00am 9:30am 10:25am 11:30am 1:30pm 2:30pm 2:55pm 3:00pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:40pm

Good Morning Britain Lorraine The Jeremy Kyle Show This Morning Loose Women ITV Lunchtime News ITV News London Judge Rinder Dickinson’s Real Deal Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street You’ve Been Framed!

Coronation Street Al Murray’s Make Christmas Great Again ITV News and Weather ITV News London Bridget Jones’s Diary

7:45am 8:10am 8:40am 9:05am 9:35am 10:05am 10:35am 11:05am 11:35am 12:00pm

1:00pm 1:05pm

1:15pm 1:25pm 3:10pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 5:30pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

10:00pm

11:00pm 1:00am

3rd Rock from the Sun Everybody Loves Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond Frasier Frasier Frasier The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA Channel 4 News Jamie’s Cracking Christmas Jamie’s Comfort Food Carry on Spying Countdown Lost and Found A Place in the Sun Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast The Last Leg Christmas Special The Inbetweeners 2 Kick-Ass 2

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:05am

Abominable Christmas

10:55am

Saving Santa

12:30pm

Cats and Dogs

2:10pm

A Puppy for Christmas

3:55pm

Mariah Carey’s

a Christmas Melody

4:55pm

5 News

5:00pm

Mariah Carey’s

a Christmas Melody

5:45pm

Mrs. Miracle

7:30pm

The Gadget Show

8:30pm

Christmas with the

Dog Rescuers

9:30pm

Celebrity 5 Go in

Search of Santa

11:00pm

In His Own Words

An Island Parish The Bishop’s Wife The Big Family Cooking Showdown The Muppets Natural World Mary Berry’s Absolute Christmas Favourites Nigella’s Christmas Table The Millionaire’s Gift Guide Talking Pictures Mildred Pierce Natural World Bill Lenny Henry: A Life on Screen Dad’s Army Feud: Bette and Joan Feud: Bette and Joan What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

7:00am 10:25am 10:30am

12:25pm

12:55pm 1:25pm 1:35pm 2:35pm

5:30pm 7:30pm 7:40pm 8:00pm 8:30pm

9:00pm

11:35pm 11:55pm

Childrens TV ITV News Saturday Morning with James Martin at Christmas Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape Countrywise ITV News Tipping Point Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Despicable Me ITV News London ITV News You’ve Been Framed!

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ITV News Miranda: Morecambe and Wise and Me

7:15am 7:40am 8:30am 10:00am 11:55am

12:20pm 12:55pm 1:20pm 1:50pm

2:20pm 2:55pm 3:25pm 4:00pm

5:00pm

6:00pm 6:10pm

7:10pm 9:00pm

10:00pm 12:20am

Frasier Olive, the Other Reindeer Rugrats the Movie The Boxtrolls Toy Story That Time Forgot Toy Story Toons Toy Story of Terror Father Christmas Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The World’s Most Expensive Christmas Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas Channel 4 News Gogglesprogs Christmas Special Crocodile Dundee The World’s Best Christmas Lights: From Liverpool to Bethlehem The Wolverine Gladiator

7:00am

Childrens TV

11:15am

The Gadget Show

12:05pm

A Christmas Story

1:55pm

A Heavenly Christmas

3:40pm

Scrooge

4:40pm

5 News

4:45pm

Scrooge

6:00pm

Elf: The Musical

9:00pm

Blind Date

10:00pm

Christmas Cruising

with Jane McDonald

11:00pm

Jane and Friends

at Christmas

11:50pm

Chas and Dave’s

Christmas Knees-Up

12:50am

Football on 5

7:00am 10:25am

10:55am 12:50pm 1:45pm 1:55pm

5:00pm

6:00pm 6:30pm 6:35pm 6:50pm

7:40pm 9:30pm 11:25pm 11:45pm

12:45am

Childrens TV Save Money: Good Food Jack Frost Catchphrase ITV News Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Cannonball Christmas Special You’ve Been Framed!

ITV News London ITV News A Christmas Chase: Celebrity Special All Star Musicals Maigret in Montmartre ITV News A Night for the Emergency Services Christmas Carols on ITV

6:40am

8:00am

9:15am 9:40am 10:05am

10:40am 1:40pm 2:10pm

3:10pm 3:40pm 4:05pm 4:35pm 6:20pm 6:55pm

7:20pm 7:30pm

9:00pm

10:00pm 12:05am

The Little Penguin Pororo’s Racing Adventure Rugrats in Paris: The Movie The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory Jamie’s Quick and Easy Food Christmas Brunch Paul Hollywood Jamie’s Italian Christmas The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Borrowers The Snowman The Snowman and the Snowdog Channel 4 News The Muppet Christmas Carol Child Genius v Celebrities Christmas Special Gogglebox 2017 The Inbetweeners

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:20am

Gone with the Wind

2:35pm

Oklahoma!

5:15pm

Scrooge

7:00pm

Agatha Christie’s

Crooked House

9:00pm

The Yorkshire Vet

10:00pm

Andre Rieu:

My Life in Music

11:20pm

Andre Rieu in London

12:30am

An Audience with

Donny and Marie

7:00am 7:30am 8:00am 8:30am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 10:30am 11:00am 11:30am 12:00pm

1:00pm 3:00pm 5:00pm 5:30pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm

11:30pm

Futurama Futurama Futurama The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family Big Cats: An Amazing Animal Family Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett Modern Family Modern Family The Simpsons Futurama The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Michael Bublé Hugh Jackman: Movie Musical Greats 2012

7:00am

8:00am 8:30am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 10:30am 11:00am 12:30pm

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

11:00pm

1:15am

Yonderland Christmas Day 2016 The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Soccer A.M. Live Real Madrid v Barcelona Gillette Soccer Saturday Gillette Soccer Saturday Gillette Soccer Saturday The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons It’s Christmas Live From the Royal Albert Hall Take That Live: Wonderland Michael Bublé

7:00am 8:00am 8:30am 9:00am 12:00pm 1:00pm 3:00pm 5:00pm

5:30pm

6:00pm

6:30pm 7:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm

10:30pm 11:30pm

12:30am

The Hour of Power Futurama Futurama The Simpsons WWE Raw Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons Ratburger The Simpsons The Simpsons A League of Their Own Christmas Special Trollied The Best of the Late Late Show A League of Their Own Christmas Special

Christmas with the Dog Rescuers, 8.30pm, Channel 5

Saturday 7:00am 10:30am 12:00pm

1:00pm 2:00pm 2:15pm 3:50pm 5:20pm 6:30pm

7:00pm 7:10pm 7:15pm

8:10pm

9:05pm 9:55pm 10:30pm

11:10pm 11:30pm 1:10am

Breakfast Saturday Kitchen Mary Berry’s Christmas Party Football Focus BBC News Cool Runnings Frozen Final Score Len Goodman’s Partners in Rhyme Christmas Special BBC News BBC London News Pointless Celebrities Christmas Special Even Better Than the Real Thing - Christmas Special Casualty Miranda Our Friend Victoria at Christmas BBC News Match of the Day The NFL Show

7:15am 7:45am 9:30am

10:30am 12:10pm 1:10pm

1:40pm 2:40pm

3:40pm 4:10pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 8:30pm

9:30pm 10:00pm 10:50pm 11:35pm

It's Christmas Live from the Royal Albert Hall, 9pm, Sky1

CHRISTMAS EVE 7:00am 8:25am 10:05am 11:30am 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:15pm 2:45pm 3:15pm

3:20pm 4:55pm 5:10pm 6:35pm 6:50pm 7:00pm 8:00pm

9:00pm 9:30pm

10:35pm 11:15pm 11:30pm 12:15am

Breakfast Match of the Day Planes The Santa Clause Life in the Snow BBC News Songs of Praise The Farmer’s Llamas Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure Monsters University Doodlebugs Home BBC News BBC London News Countryfile Mary, Mel and Sue’s Big Christmas Thank You EastEnders Michael Mcintyre’s Big Christmas Show Not Going Out BBC News The Vicar of Dibley The Two Ronnies Sketchbook

7:15am 8:00am 8:30am 10:15am

11:15am

12:45pm

1:20pm

2:20pm

3:20pm 4:20pm 6:45pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

9:30pm 10:30pm 12:55am

Nature’s Weirdest Events An Island Parish The Prince and Me The Big Family Cooking Showdown Saturday Kitchen Best Bites Mary Berry’s Absolute Christmas Favourites The Hairy Bikers Home for Christmas Alex Polizzi’s Christmas Fix Natural World Guys and Dolls Carols from King’s Dad’s Army Christmas University Challenge 2017 Winter’s Weirdest Events The Great Gatsby Christmas TOTP2 Special

Maigret in Montmartre, 9.30pm, ITV1

31

Pick of the Day

CHRISTMAS DAY 7:00am 10:00am

10:45am 11:00am

12:00pm

12:10pm

1:10pm 1:20pm 2:20pm 4:00pm

4:10pm 5:45pm 6:15pm 6:30pm 7:30pm 8:40pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:35pm

12:25am 12:40am

Breakfast Cbeebies’ the Snow Queen Go Jetters Christmas Morning From All Saints Fulham The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper Snow Chick: A Penguin’s Tale BBC News Top of the Pops Toy Story 3 The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast Cinderella The Highway Rat BBC News Doctor Who Strictly Come Dancing Call the Midwife EastEnders Mrs. Brown’s Boys 300 Years of French and Saunders BBC News On Christmas Night

7:10am

8:10am 8:40am 10:00am

11:00am

12:00pm 1:15pm

2:40pm 5:30pm

6:30pm

6:35pm

7:45pm 8:45pm 9:25pm 10:00pm

11:00pm

12:05am

The Hairy Bikers Home for Christmas An Island Parish Bee Movie The Big Family Cooking Showdown Harry Potter: A History of Magic Carols from King’s The Importance of Being Earnest BBC Proms 2017 Dame Vera Lynn: Happy 100th Birthday The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show 1977 Winter’s Weirdest Events Dad’s Army Upstart Crow Tom Jones and Beverley Knight’s Gospel Christmas Judi Dench: All the World’s Her Stage Mrs. Henderson Presents

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:25am

National Lampoon’s

Christmas Vacation

12:10pm

Mr Bean’s Holiday

1:50pm

Santa Claus

4:00pm

HM the Queen

4:10pm

Harry Potter and the

Prisoner of Azkaban

6:50pm

Emmerdale

7:50pm

ITV Evening News

8:00pm

Paul O’Grady:

For The Love of Dogs

9:00pm

Coronation Street

10:00pm

Victoria

12:00am

ITV News

12:15am

The Holiday

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip An Island Parish Chimpanzee The Big Family Cooking Showdown Nadiya’s British Food Adventure Nadiya’s British Food Adventure The Sweet Makers: A Tudor Treat A Hard Day’s Night The Eagle Has Landed The Repair Shop at Christmas Final Score Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella Christmas University Challenge 2017 Reindeer Family and Me Dragons’ Den QI Two Doors Down Christmas Special Joanna and Jennifer: Absolutely Champers

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:25am

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

12:25pm

Cats and Dogs: The

Revenge of Kitty Galore

2:00pm

ITV Racing:

Live from Kempton

4:30pm

E.T.

The Extra-Terrestrial

6:50pm

ITV Evening News

7:10pm

Emmerdale

7:40pm

Jurassic World

10:00pm

Coronation Street

11:00pm

ITV News

11:15pm

Birds of a Feather

12:15am

The Keith and Paddy

Picture Show

12:45am

Al Murray’s Make

Christmas Great Again

7:00am 8:20am 8:45am 9:10am 9:40am

10:05am 10:35am 11:05am 11:35am 12:05pm 1:45pm 2:20pm

2:55pm 3:25pm 3:30pm

3:35pm 5:30pm 6:50pm 8:40pm

10:00pm 11:00pm

1:00am

Rugrats Go Wild The Bear Prep and Landing Prep and Landing Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Dr. Seuss’ the Lorax The Snowman The Snowman and the Snowdog Father Christmas Channel 4 News The Alternative Christmas Message Scrooged Dumbo Home Alone The Great Christmas Bake Off First Dates at Christmas Alan Carr’s Christmas Chatty Man George Michael

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:20am

Scrooge

12:05pm

Seven Brides for

Seven Brothers

2:05pm

Singin’ in the Rain

4:10pm

Oliver!

7:00pm

Elf: The Musical

10:00pm

The Morecambe and

Wise Story:

Look Back in Laughter

11:55pm

Britain’s Best Loved

Double Acts

12:55am

Steptoe and Son

7:40am 9:25am 11:25am 11:50am 12:15pm 12:40pm 1:10pm

2:55pm 3:00pm

4:05pm

5:20pm 7:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 12:10am

Song of the Sea Short Circuit The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Alvin and the Chipmunks Channel 4 News Child Genius v Celebrities Christmas Special The Great Christmas Bake Off The Little Mermaid Back to the Future Travel Man Big Fat Quiz of the Year Four Weddings and a Funeral

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:15am

Access

10:25am

Pets Make You

Laugh Out Loud

11:00am

Titanic

12:50pm

Chariots of Fire

3:10pm

Balmoral:

A Hidden History

5:10pm

Sandringham:

The Queen at Christmas

6:15pm

A Royal Night Out

8:00pm

The Strictly Story: Fake

Tan, Tangos and a

Ten From Len

9:30pm

Dirty Dancing:

Making Movie Magic

11:00pm

Dirty Dancing

1:00am

Football on 5

7:00am 7:30am 8:00am 8:30am

9:00am

9:30am

10:00am

12:00pm 2:00pm 2:30pm 4:00pm 4:15pm

6:15pm 6:45pm 7:15pm 7:45pm

8:10pm

8:35pm

9:00pm 10:00pm

11:00pm

The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas Football’s Funniest Ever Moments Kylie Christmas The Simpsons Ratburger The Queen It’s Christmas Live From the Royal Albert Hall The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas Carpool Karaoke Special A League of Their Own Christmas Special The Rock

Call The Midwife, 8.40pm, BBC1

7:00am 7:30am 8:00am 8:30am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 10:30am 11:00am

12:30pm 2:30pm

4:00pm 6:15pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 10:00pm 12:45am

Futurama Futurama Futurama The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Attenborough’s Natural History Live The Last Dragon Slayer Attenborough’s Bachelor King Gillette Soccer Saturday Gillette Soccer Saturday The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Ratburger Minority Report A League of Their Own

Jurassic World, 7.40pm, ITV1

BOXING DAY 7:00am 10:00am

11:10am 12:25pm

1:25pm 1:35pm 1:45pm

2:45pm 3:10pm

4:30pm 4:45pm 7:00pm 7:20pm 7:30pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm 1:15am

Breakfast Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast Planes: Fire and Rescue Mary, Mel and Sue’s Big Christmas Thank You BBC News BBC London News Judi Dench: My Passion for Trees Stick Man Shaun the Sheep Movie Doodlebugs Mary Poppins BBC News BBC London News Snow Bears EastEnders Little Women The Miniaturist BBC News Match of the Day Stacey Dooley in the USA

7:15am

8:15am 8:45am 9:55am

10:55am

11:25am

11:55am

12:55pm 2:20pm 4:30pm

5:30pm 6:35pm

8:30pm

9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm

12:00am

32

Pick of the Day

WEDNESDAY 7:00am 8:45am 10:15am 11:45am 1:15pm 2:15pm 2:25pm 2:35pm 3:20pm 4:45pm 5:10pm 6:45pm 7:30pm 7:50pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:20pm 11:30pm 12:00am

Breakfast Match of the Day Turbo The Princess and the Frog Snow Bears BBC News BBC London News Father Brown Shrek 2 The Gruffalo Big Hero 6 Pointless BBC News BBC London News Celebrity Mastermind A Question of Sport Little Women The Miniaturist BBC News BBC London News Mrs. Brown’s Boys Not Going Out

7:25am Mary Berry’s

Country House Secrets 8:25am An Island Parish 8:55am Bears 10:10am The Big Family Cooking

Showdown 11:10am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 11:40am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 12:10pm The Sweet Makers:

A Georgian Treat 1:10pm The Red Shoes 3:20pm World’s Most

Extraordinary Homes 4:20pm Inside the Factory 5:20pm The Man Who Never Was 7:00pm Thailand:

Earth’s Tropical Paradise 8:00pm Dad’s Army 8:30pm Christmas University

Challenge 2017 9:00pm Six Robots and Us 10:00pm Alan Partridge: Why, When,

Where, How and Whom?

11:00pm Oasis 12:55am NFL

7:00am Childrens TV 8:25am K-9 10:25am Twins 12:25pm Cannonball Christmas

Special 1:25pm You’ve Been Framed!

1:55pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:00pm Midsomer Murders 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Paul O’Grady:

For The Love of Dogs 7:30pm ITV News London 7:45pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Harry Potter and the

Goblet of Fire 11:50pm ITV News 12:05am Tina and Bobby

7:40am Short Circuit 2 9:40am Lego Masters 10:40am The Simpsons 11:10am The Simpsons 11:35am The Simpsons 12:05pm Small Soldiers 2:15pm Sunshine on Leith 4:10pm Four Rooms with

Sarah Beeny 5:15pm Channel 4 News 5:30pm Back to the Future Part II 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm The Supervet at Christmas 9:00pm Supershoppers Sales Special 10:00pm Miranda Does Christmas 11:00pm First Dates at Christmas 12:05am East is East

7:00am Childrens TV

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am Babe 12:05pm Black Beauty 1:45pm ITV Lunchtime News 1:55pm ITV News London 2:00pm Midsomer Murders 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Paul O’Grady:

For The Love of Dogs 7:30pm ITV News London 7:45pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 9:00pm Harry Potter and the

Order of the Phoenix 11:35pm ITV News 11:55pm Tina and Bobby 12:55am Stuck on You:

The Football Sticker Story

6:40am Holiday Inn 8:20am The SpongeBob SquarePants

Movie 9:55am Lego Masters 11:00am The Simpsons 11:30am The Simpsons 12:00pm Spy Kids 4:

All the Time in the World 1:45pm The Net 4:00pm Four Rooms

with Sarah Beeny 5:00pm Channel 4 News 5:20pm Back to the Future Part III 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm We’re Going on a Bear Hunt 8:30pm The Secret Life of the Zoo

at Christmas 9:30pm The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds

on Holiday 10:00pm What Britain Bought in 2017 11:00pm The Undateables

at Christmas 12:05am About a Boy

1:00am Blind Date

7:00am Futurama 8:30am The Simpsons 10:30am Modern Family 11:00am Modern Family 11:30am Modern Family 12:00pm David Attenborough’s

Galapagos 1:00pm Hawaii Five-0 2:00pm Moonfleet 3:00pm Moonfleet 4:00pm Modern Family 4:30pm Modern Family 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm Futurama 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm A League of Their Own 10:00pm The Best of the Late,

Late Show 11:00pm Football’s Funniest Best Bits 1:00am A League of Their Own

Miranda Does Christmas, 10pm, Channel 4

7:00am Childrens TV 10:15am Cruising with

Jane McDonald 10:30am The Gadget Show 11:25am The Seventh Voyage

of Sinbad 1:15pm The Vikings 3:30pm Jason and the Argonauts 5:30pm Andre Rieu: My Life in Music 7:00pm Andre Rieu:

Christmas in London 8:00pm Alaska: A Year in the Wild 9:00pm World’s Strongest Man 2017 10:00pm Flight 11:05pm 5 News 11:10pm Flight 12:45am The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

7:00am Futurama 8:30am The Simpsons 10:30am Modern Family 11:00am Modern Family 11:30am Modern Family 12:00pm David Attenborough’s

Galapagos 1:00pm Hawaii Five-0 2:00pm Fungus the Bogeyman 3:30pm The Simpsons 4:00pm The Simpsons 4:30pm Modern Family 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm Futurama 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Carpool Karaoke Special 10:00pm xXx2: The Next Level 12:00am A League of Their Own

xXx2: The Next Level, 10pm, Sky1

10:15am Cruising with

Jane McDonald

10:30am World’s Strongest Man 2017 11:30am North Sea Hijack 1:25pm Operation Crossbow 3:40pm Operation Daybreak 5:55pm The Guns of Navarone 9:00pm World’s Strongest Man 2017 10:00pm Most Shocking

thursday 7:00am Breakfast 10:00am The Pirates! In an Adventure

with Scientists!

11:20am Kung Fu Panda 12:45pm Bargain Hunt 1:45pm BBC News 2:00pm BBC London News 2:05pm Father Brown 2:50pm Revolting Rhymes 3:20pm Shrek The Third 4:45pm The Gruffalo’s Child 5:10pm How to Train Your Dragon 2 6:45pm Pointless 7:30pm BBC News 7:45pm BBC London News 8:00pm Celebrity Mastermind 8:30pm Still Open All Hours 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Little Women 10:30pm EastEnders 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm BBC London News 11:25pm Bruno Mars 12:10am U2 at the BBC:

Special Edition

7:45am MasterChef:

The Professionals 8:45am Ray Harryhausen:

Special Effects Titan 10:15am The Big Family Cooking

Showdown 11:15am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 11:45am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 12:15pm The Sweet Makers:

A Victorian Treat 1:15pm Love is a Many-Splendored Thing 2:55pm Natural World 3:55pm World’s Most

Extraordinary Homes 4:55pm Inside the Factory 5:55pm The Heroes of Telemark 8:00pm Thailand:

Earth’s Tropical Paradise 9:00pm Christmas University

Challenge 2017 9:30pm Six Robots and Us 10:30pm Natural World 11:30pm Romesh Ranganathan:

Irrational Live 12:30am Alpha Papa

talk to us

Letters to the Editor

RTN welcomes Readers views for publication in its Letters to the Editor section. All letters by email or post should carry the writer´s address, and contact number, though only the name and town will be published.

Email letters to admin.rtn@ewnmediagroup.com with your full name and address

Weaving in and out of danger HUSBAND and wife Niamh and Ruairidh Macfarlane co-own Ranish Tweed: a Hebridean company that weaves its own special variety of Harris cloth, which has become a sought-after brand in the world of high fashion. But when Niamh learns of Ruairidh’s affair with Russian designer Irina Vetrov, then witnesses the pair killed by a car bomb in Paris, her life is left in ruins.

Along with her husband’s remains, she returns home to the Isle of Lewis, bereft.

The Paris police have ruled out terrorism, and ruled in murder - making Niamh the prime suspect, along with Irina’s miss-

ing husband, Georgy. And so French Detective Sylvie Braque is sent to the island to look into Niamh’s past, unaware of the dangers that await her.

As Braque digs deeper into the couple’s history, Niamh herself replays her life with Ruiairidh, searching her memory for those whose grievances might have led to murder. And with each layer revealed, and every unexpected twist uncovered, the two women find themselves drawn inexorably closer to a killer who will not turn back.

thanks

this week’s weather FRI Dec 22

sat Dec 23

sun Dec 24

mon Dec 25

tue Dec 26

wed Dec 27

thu Dec 28

15º 6ºC

16º 7ºC

15º 6ºC

14º 5ºC

14º 6ºC

14º 8ºC

17º 8ºC

Sunshine and patchy clouds

Sunny to partly cloudy

times of clouds and sun

Mostly sunny

Increasing cloudiness

Partly sunny

Mostly cloudy

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

UK release date: January 11, 2018

Sponsored by Bookworld Puerto Banus info@bookworldpuertobanus.com

with

Many thanks for publishing previous press releases about our walking football team. We have experienced a tenfold increase in players for our walking football team since we launched in May 2017.

Adam Chandler Founder, Walking Football Spain Marbella, Spain walkingfootballspain.com

www@bookworldpuertobanus.com | 952 816 084

33

Life

€2,000 raised Photo credit Cudeca

The team raised loads

THE FINAL count is in and it the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning raised more than €2,000 for the Cudeca hospice.

The event, which took place in Competa on Friday, September 29 at Bar Lorena, supported both the Benalmadena-based charity and MacMillan Cancer Support UK. This was Competa’s sixth annual event

I’m Dreaming of a White Chocolate Christmas P35

and was “even bigger and better,” according to organisers. There was also a “terrific” tombola stall, raffle stall, and other fundraising games sponsored by local shop Sugar & Spice, inlcuding Guess the Beans in the Jar and many more surprises which made for a “funny and delightful morning.”

Energy booster myths and facts P39

All funds raised at the event are to be shared equally between MacMillan Cancer Support and the Cudea Hospice, with more than €2.000 going to the hospice.

Cudeca would like to pass on its thanks to Cindy Jones and her wonderful volunteer team for their support in organising this successful event every year.

Creating extra space P40

34

community news

A glorious concert

Light night

A standing ovation Always one of the most anticipated ‘musical highlights of the year’ on the Costa Del Sol is the Biannual concerts given by Collegium Musicum. The performances held at the Hotel IPV Palace and Spa Beatriz in Fuengirola and the magnificent Iglesia de la Encarnacion in Marbella, were received by a ‘standing room only’ audience with ovations to every one of the 14 pieces played.

The eclectic Christmas programme, with works written over a period of four centuries by composers from many countries including George Frideric Handle whose Harp concerto was to be the major work of the evening.

Telemann’s Ein Fest Burg was chosen to open the programme in memory of the 250 anniversary. There were also pieces

from Humperdinck whose Weihnachten was performed acapella with only harp accompaniment, even works from the Ukraine, Mexico and France were included.

The amazing professionalism that both Choir and Orchestra peform to, and the musical arrangements that Delyth Bressington achieves belies the fact that they have little control over the mix of instrumentalist that form the Orchestra. Charlotte Nyborg was the solo Harpist whose faultless performance with this most gentle of instruments was made the more difficult for the sheer volume of the Church that she had to fill. As for the ever-ebullient Annemarie Philipps, Musical Director of the Collegium Musicum, one can hear the

Nativity raises over €6k THE LIFE-SIZE NATIVITY SCENE put on by the Hermanas Maldonado Pomares dance academy managed to raise a total of €6,198 for the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC)’s palliative care unit.

The nativity welcomed the participation of 150 actors at the Parque de la Alameda in Marbella - both children and parents of the school.

The dance academy expressed its greatest thanks to all who donated prizes to and bought tickets for the grand charity raffle, which helped to raise such an outstanding amount for AECC.

TWO busloads of members and supporters from the Royal British Legion Mollina Branch set off in the pouring rain to visit the festive lights in Malaga.

However, by the time they reached Malaga the temperature was 20 degrees. After sitting outdoors eating and drinking alfresco, most congregated under the palisade of lights for the musical light show.

As an added bonus the event kick started next year’s poppy appeal with over €100 raised. Lesley Taylor next year’s appeal organiser said “despite the difficult financial position, the Mollina branch just seems to keep on increasing the amount raised to support Legion beneficiaries in Spain.”

A new social committee under the stewardship of Mike Greenwood, the Social Secretary, is planning a programme of activities to continue this success so if you want to become involved, come along to Parque la Vina in Mollina on the second or fourth Tuesday of each month, or contact Mike on 665 456 007 or Tom on 634 303 098.

enthusiasm that she displays and the sound that instrumentalists and choir achieve through the many hours of her mentoring. And finally to the audience, it is quite wonderful to be part of a band of people that get joy out of watching and listening to other people making music, and what better way to show this than by closing the programme with the whole of the audience ‘enthusiastically ‘ giving voice to ten of the most popular carols and a very well deserved standing ovation.

Collegium Musicum are always looking for new voices and instrumentalist. So if you have the qualities to join this exceptional group – contact Diekje secretaria@colmus.org or by phone 696 620 872.

Put your fashionable foot forwards

FASHION DESIGNER and president of the Asociacion de Creadores de Moda de Espana (Association of Fashion Designers of Spain) Modesto Lomba opened an exhibition at the Museo del Grabado Espanol Contemporaneo this week, showcasing the new ‘Malaga DE MODA’ brand. The brand has been promoted by Malaga Provincial Council to support the Malaga fashion industry. Marbella is the first municipality in the province in which the new ‘Malaga DE MODA’ brand has been exhibited and Councillor of Commerce Jose Eduardo Diaz said: “We want Marbella to become a meeting point not only for visual arts but also for other types of art, such as fashion.”

35

food & drink

I´m Dreaming of a White Chocolate Christmas!

This week Master and Celebrity Chef Steven Saunders, proprietor of The Little Steven Saunders FMCGB The Little Geranium La Cala De Mijas www.thelittlegeranium.com

Geranium Restaurant in La Cala and star of BBC TV´s Ready Steady Cook tells us why cooking with white chocolate makes the best Christmas dessert.

ALL year around I try my bestest to look after the calories I eat and I avoid too much chocolate although I love it!

This Christmas I have created a white chocolate Christmas cheesecake after spending hours of playing around with white chocolate to create the best results. This is the best result believe me, its amazing! To die for.

How on earth did it appear? Well we were messing around with the ideas that a white Christmas (which we will never see in La Cala or Marbella) should have fab white Christmas dessert recipes and the obvious thing was to experiment with anything white and create white puddings, we used dried ice and white fondant icing and crème pat and everything but this cheesecake recipe has it all!

Now to say this recipe is great is an understatement, this is the best cheesecake you will ever eat and when you make the recipe you will take full credit for it yourself, saying, well I played around with white chocolate and this is what I came up with “Bloody genius!!”

Anyway so here it is, don’t lose it and don’t tell everyone it is yours cos it isn’t!

Do have a very Happy and lovely Christmas and I will be here on line if you need me. I mean that. Happy Christmas everyone!

Festive White Chocolate Christmas cheesecake

of a metal spoon.

2. Pop it in the fridge to keep cool while you make the topping.

3. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over some gently simmering water being careful not to overheat it otherwise it will be useless.

4. Beat the cream and Philadelphia cheese in a bowl until smooth 5. Heat a little cream (one tablespoon) and add the three leaves of gelatine (softened in cold water first). Now pass that through a sieve into the melted white chocolate and whisk in.

6. Stir the melted white choc mix into the creamy, cheese mix.

7. Scatter dried cranberries, glace cherries, apricots cranberries into the mix 8. Add the choc pieces and stir in well with a spatula 9. Pour into the spring form tin which is lined with digestive biscuit base 10. Chill for at least six hours or preferably overnight before cutting You can email Steven your queries and questions on steven@thelittlegeranium.com Steven Saunders FMCGB The Little Geranium La Cala De Mijas Behind the Town Hall in central La Cala www.thelittlegeranium.com

• 200 grams digestive biscuits • 75 grams butter (melted) • 300 grams white chocolate • 284 millilitres double cream • 500 grams soft cheese (full-fat, such as Philadelphia) • 300 grams of mixed dried fruits (cranberries, apricots, glace cherries) • 100g of dark choc broken into small pieces • 100g of white chocolate pieces • 2 tablespoons of icing sugar • 3 leaves of gelatine softened in a little cold water METHOD 1. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and tip mixture into a lined 20cm spring form cake tin and smooth down with the back

Steven Saunders FMCGB, The Little Geranium www.thelittlegeranium.com steven@thelittlegeranium.com

36

Puzzles Code Breaker

This is not just another Christmas this year, it is a whole new concept in which you are happy to take the reins.

Your positive attitude right now has brought all kinds of benefits around you, and you will move on from here to find where you are happiest. Venus enters into Capricorn and love is the challenge that you can share!

Word Pyramid

10

With all the significant planetary shifts this month, above all you are to benefit greatly from the Jupiter trine with Neptune. Set to guide you until next Summer, it will work on varying intensities. Enjoy contact and communication with others, whilst pursuing relationship levels to share all the benefits of new diverse opportunity.

Venus conjuncts with Saturn whilst entering the endeavouring energies of a hungry Capricorn. Aim high and have fun seeing things just falling into place right now; you have worked hard to enable this and have been patient in awaiting your rewards. Enjoy this Holiday season and know that soon doors will open and you have to move on!

The Sun is currently illuminating the sector of your chart which rules cash and spending, whilst Saturn in Capricorn is what really gets you going right now. Be concise in what you ask for and Saturn, planet of fear and restriction, won’t make things difficult for you! It’s very important to get all pending paperwork done and dusted.

Another fresh start looms, brought about by the New Moon in your very sign! Time to create and to go all out for what your true priorities are. You work best when you have a goal to work towards and though self reflection looms high on the list right now, then so does regeneration and promotion bringing you new beginnings.

In this predominately Sagittarius time of the year, it is also a time for you to unwind and to tune into your own chemistry. Explore your innermost energies right now, and eliminate stress. Feeling the fall out from the recent Mercury retrograde you will be in a far more focussed state of mind, but check out the inner you, too!

Venus enters into Capricorn on Christmas Day, allowing you to deal with themes that are pressing, such as money and love. The presence of Saturn doesn’t give you the very best vibe, but it is time to revise commitments and boundaries and to adapt them to bring you just what you deserve right now, which is love, respect and full reward.

The start of the Capricorn season finds you networking socially and professionally, amidst getting involved in community matters that are close to your heart right now. You are a dreamer, Pisces, so get ready to manifest the visions that you have for yourself, for a change. Mars connects with Neptune to seal a deal!

R

T E

H

Word Wheel There is 1x11 letter word and 148 others! Make as many 3 or more letter words as you can using any letter combination just once and you must use the central letter in every word!

Preparations for the Holiday Season are about to be treasured by those who love you the most. As you look around this Christmas you look back at a year that certainly had its twists and turns, but which has rewarded you too, in many ways. Next year brings the zenith of your innermost plans, and it is peppered liberally with success.

The New Moon will illuminate and spark true love, just at the start of the Holiday season. Conjuncting with Saturn, responsibility is the name of the game as this Moon gently guides and protects you. Saturn has been testing your resolve and now it is full on for relationship issues which must take centre stage amid the celebrations

A

Start at a letter and spell out a 10-letter word by moving to adjacent letters. Each letter will be used at least once, but no letter will be used twice in a row.

As Venus conjuncts Saturn there is the wisdom that comes from the deep nostalgia of the past. Whereas fear back then was your motivation, now let a little loving do a far better job! Have some time to recharge because you seem to have been burning the candle from both ends.

This is a fresh page, and you have a whole book to read.

The month began with a New Moon which brought about a hectic month, now you are craving a well deserved rest; coupled with recuperations on all levels. Whilst Neptune assumes a responsibility right now, Mercury has been retrograde; and the New Moon in Sagittarius on December 22nd will boost energy levels!

F

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 11 represents Z and 25 represents M. 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.

Kenny’s Postbag Kenny what was your favourite

WORD fit

Using just logic, can you make all the words fit correctly into the grid?

Christmas Present, ever?

Bruno (age 10) I love the gifts that come naturally and that nobody has to buy. I think my best gift was to see a friend's child take his very first step under the Christmas Tree on Christmas Day. Everybody was asleep after lunch and nobody believed what I had seen. The little devil waited until almost midnight to give his next performance, but I witnessed his first step! Like all happy memories they are a nostalgia we can enjoy forever, as we look back on this, our spiritual life!

Happy Christmas to you All!

For Birthday Celebrants Looking out across the Cosmos there is magic out there if you can perceive it. So much relies now on your innate abilities and a skilful journey ahead in this very special astrological year of enterprise.

5 letter words CALLS ERROR LAYER LINER RANCH ROYAL RULES SIDES SPILL STEEL TAXES VEINS

6 letter words ASYLUM LIKELY METRIC SCRIPT TYPIST URGENT

7 letter words ARRIVAL EMOTION ENDORSE ENHANCE PADLOCK PARENTS REVOLVE RIDDLES SALIENT THEOREM

More Puzzles

Cryptic

ACROSS 1 Composer returning part for unmarried man (8) 6 Noise made by weasel’s father (3) 9 Turn away from state capital in Tennessee (5) 10 Everyone plants seeds outside, producing trees (7) 11 Tureen I transported in train (7) 13 Island in a secret estuary (5) 14 Old kings and queens from Stroud (6) 15 Hard missile in public school (6) 19 Keep tabs on timepiece (5) 21 This may be quite an old thing (7) 22 Sibyl is confused about article for North Africans (7) 23 Something used by dentist or doctor badly (5) 24 Speak, for example (3) 25 Young swimmers playing old tapes (8) DOWN 2 Warned about treadle (7) 3 Some photos may be spicy (3) 4 Girls left with fools (6) 5 Unwilling cattle run wild (9) 6 Writing about ropes (5) 7 Beat with stick (5) 8 Root cause of vehicle decay? (6) 12 Bearing on the arts broadcast (5-4) 16 Want about 25 sheets of paper (7) 17 Revolvers waved initially by cads? (6) 18 Invalid pleads for a change (6) 19 Plaintive cries are heard in the principality (5) 20 Cat upset by bat (5) 23 Couple of heads of department under observation (3)

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?

SLEDS 1 2 3 4 5 6

GIFTS Soduku

Quick

Futoshiki

The purpose of the game is to discover the digits hidden inside the board’s cells; each cell is filled with a digit between 1 and 6. On each row and column each digit appears exactly once; therefore, when revealed, the digits of the board form a so-called Latin square. The board may also contain some inequalities between the board cells; these inequalities must be respected and can be used as clues in order to discover the remaining hidden digits. ie > is greater than and < is less than.

37

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

Quiz 1 The adrenal glands are situated above which organs in the human body?

2 In the sport of fencing, what is the name of a bladework manoeuvre intended to deflect or block an incoming attack?

3 What was the first name of British Prime Minister Gladstone?

4 Which British coastal town is known as ‘The Pearl of Dorset’?

5 Mawrth is Welsh for which month of the year?

6 Who was the only British Chancellor of the Exchequer not to deliver a budget?

7 The Dogger Bank earthquake of June 1931, the strongest ever in the UK, reportedly caused the wax head of which infamous murderer to fall off in London’s Madame Tussaud’s?

8 The 2010 autobiography ‘Full Circle’ is by which British sportswoman/sailor?

9 Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was said to have been sealed

by King John, is in which English county?

10 Eosophobia is the irrational fear of which part of the day?

ACROSS 1 Junkies (7) 5 Soft or heavy with moisture (5) 8 Lament (5) 9 The Emerald Isle (7) 10 Watch (7) 11 Training exercise (5) 12 Vessel for boiling water (6) 14 Be present (6) 18 Rapidity (5) 20 Bible story (7) 22 Entourage (7) 23 Worth (5) 24 Conjecture (5) 25 Pudding or sweet course (7)

DOWN 1 Wrestling hold (7) 2 Percussion instruments (5) 3 Restraint (7) 4 Cornish resort (2,4) 5 Riding horse (5) 6 Tearing (anag.) (7) 7 Sing in Tyrolean fashion (5) 13 Playhouse (7) 15 Flourishes (7) 16 Most profound (7) 17 Extend (6) 18 Small shoot or twig (5) 19 People of Denmark (5) 21 Swelling (5)

Last Weeks Solutions on page 43

38

health

Energy boo

New heart disease risk...down below A COMMON condition in men enlarged veins in the scrotum - may raise the risk for heart disease and diabetes, a new study suggests.

The problem is known medically as varicoceles. It affects about 15 per cent of men and can cause pain and infertility.

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers wanted to find out if varicoceles increase the risk for other health problems.

"Varicoceles are associated with low testosterone, and low testosterone in turn is associated with metabolic risks and heart disease," study lead author Dr. Nancy Wang said in a university news release.

Wang, a urology resident, and her colleagues analyzed the medical insurance records of 4,400 men with varicoceles and thousands of men without the condition.

Overall, the researchers found that men with varicoceles seemed to have a higher risk of heart disease. They also appeared more likely to have metabolic disease such as diabetes and high levels of fat in the blood (hyperlipidemia).

But further investigation showed that only varicoceles patients with

Many people believe that detoxing can boost their energy and that superfoods will help in the fight against fatigue. But is there scientific evidence to back this up?

symptoms, especially scrotal pain and fertility problems, were at increased risk for these diseases.

More research is needed, however, before any recommendations can be made, the study authors said.

They acknowledged that the study found a strong correlation between varicoceles and heart disease, but further research is needed to determine if there's a cause and effect.

"While these results make a strong case that varicoceles are associated with higher risks of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, we do not yet know if we will need to change our present management for the estimated 17 million U.S. men with varicoceles," said Dr. Keith Jarvi, head of urology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

"The big question is, is a varicocele just a marker of men's health or could repair of the varicocele actually improve men's health in the long term?" said Jarvi, who wasn't involved in the study.

Detox doesn't boost energy Detox diets are often touted as energy boosters, but there’s no scientific evidence to support this claim. If you’re eating well, there’s no need to use these diets.

Detox supporters claim that our bodies are overloaded with "toxins" from pollution, smoking, food additives and so on. Detoxing is done through a range of methods, including massage, fasting followed by a strict diet of raw vegetables, fruit and fruit juices, and water; colonic irrigation, and supplements, usually taken over seven to 10 days. Supporters of detox claim this is a way to get rid of the toxins.

But there’s no scientific evidence to show that our bodies need help to get rid of waste products – this is what our kidneys do – and there's no proof that detox diets work.

The British Dietetic Association has said that detox diets are "marketing myths rather than nutritional reality".

So what does work?

Some people say they feel more focused and energetic after a detox diet. But this could be because they believe they’re doing something good for their bodies.

For the vast majority of people, a healthy, balanced diet based on starchy carbohydrates (wholegrain where possible), with lots of fruit and vegetables, plus some milk, dairy, meat or other source of lean sources of protein, is a better way to protect your health.

Homemade sugar scrub With just a few minutes of time and two simple ingredients, it's easy to make homemade sugar scrub.

Mixing in a few drops of essential oils can enhance the sensory experience, and each kind provides different benefits for the skin. Try lavender oil for a relaxing effect or

tea tree oil to combat acne.

Ingredients 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup organic virgin coconut oil Optional: drops of your favourite essential oil Method Mix sugar and oil in a bowl—if you

need to melt the coconut oil to a liquid state, make sure it isn't too warm or it will dissolve the sugar.

Then, add more sugar if you desire a coarser scrub. Once you reach the desired consistency, add 10 to 20 drops of your favourite essential oil.

The scrub can be used on your body 2 to 3 times per week.

'Superfoods' are a myth Newspapers, magazines and the internet are full of stories about miracle superfoods. Celery, broccoli, beetroot juice, jam, popcorn, cereals and even the great British cuppa, to name just a few, have all been hyped as superfoods in the past two years.

There is no official definition of a superfood. The EU has banned the use of the word on product packaging, unless the claim is backed up by convincing research.

These claims are almost always exaggerated. It’s actually incredibly difficult to prove that one particular food is better for our health than all the others we eat. Studies on so-called superfoods tend not to do this.

So what does work?

When it comes to keeping healthy, it’s important to eat a

Going green to treat psychosis AN INGREDIENT in cannabis called cannabidiol or CBD has shown promise in a clinical trial as a potential new treatment for psychosis, scientists said recently.

Scientists conducted a small trial of people with psychosis and found patients treated with CBD had lower levels of psychotic symptoms than those who received a placebo.

Psychosis is characterised by paranoia and hallucinations.

The study found that they were also more likely to be rated as “improved” by their psychiatrist and there were signs of better cognitive performance and functioning.

Scientists at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience conducted a placebocontrolled trial of CBD in patients with psychosis and published their findings in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

In the trial, 88 patients with psychosis received either CBD or placebo for six weeks, alongside their existing antipsychotic medication. Beforehand and afterwards, the scientists assessed symptoms, functioning and cognitive performance, and the patients’ psychiatrists rated their overall condition overall.

“The study indicated that CBD may be effective in psychosis: patients treated with CBD showed a significant reduction in symptoms and their treating psychiatrists rated them as having improved overall,” said Philip McGuire, who co-led the trial.

He noted that trial patients also reported few adverse side effects and added: “Although it is still unclear exactly how CBD works, it acts in a different way to antipsychotic medication, and could represent a new class of treatment.”

39

health

ster myths and facts variety of foods, rather than concentrate on one food in the hope it will work miracles. Eat a balanced diet containing a range of foods to ensure you get the nutrients your body needs. Limit your intake of alcohol and high-fat, high-sugar and salty foods.

Energy drinks have mixed benefits Many people turn to energy drinks such as Red Bull and Lucozade Energy for a quick boost.

Energy drinks are loaded with sugar and caffeine (sometimes more than twice the caffeine that's in a can of cola) so they’ll certainly give you a temporary energy jolt. However, the boost is short-lived and may be accompanied by other problems.

The caffeine in energy drinks can make you feel irritable and restless. It can increase your blood pressure, while the sugar can contribute to weight gain, especially if you don’t exercise regularly.

balanced diet instead.

That will give you all the energy you need, as well as being good for your overall health.

So what does work?

Plain water is a better choice than an energy drink.

For a quick surge of energy, snack on fruit.

Vitamin supplements aren't as good as eating well Think taking a multivitamin each day will make you feel less tired? Think again.

Most people don’t need to take vitamin supplements, because they can get all the nutrients that they need from a healthy, balanced diet. Popping pills doesn't offer you the same benefits as eating well.

The Department of Health recommends certain supplements for some groups of people. As a general rule, it's better to get your vitamins from food rather than tablets.

Evidence suggests that fruit and vegetables are good for us, not just because of the individual vitamins and minerals they contain, but because of their combination of different nutrients and fibre. Increasing the amount of fruit and veg you eat will benefit your health more than taking supplements will.

Make your own cuticle cream Dry, peeling cuticles can be quite painful and look unsightly. Luckily, this is one problem you can solve without too much time or effort - you just need to be prepared to give your hands a little TLC. In the microwave, warm up a bowl of 1/3 cup hand cream, a few glugs of olive oil (or grape seed oil, if you have it), and 3-4 drops of lavender oil (found in the health food store) to a temperature that is warm but not too hot to touch.

Apply a generous amount to each fingernail and gently massage into the nail, cuticle and surrounding skin, spending a minute or two on each. The cream is extremely good for your hands (and feet!) and will keep your cuticles soft.

You can keep and re-warm this homemade cream for up to 3 days in your fridge if you store it in a dark glass bottle.

So what does work?

Forget the multivitamin packs. Eat a healthy

Get a white smile in time for Christmas James Buchanon from White Glo gives his advice and the five simple routines to take up in the run-up to Christmas.

1. Brush after eating and drinking: James says “It still surprises me how over a third (36 per cent) don’t brush their teeth twice a day. For faster whitening results I’d recommend carrying a toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste, so you can brush after drinking coffee and eating foods like berries, to avoid staining your teeth.”

2. Try a natural whitening method: James continues, “Strawberries may seem like a tasty way to get whiter teeth and their malic acid does have some ability to temporarily dissolve stains. However, for faster results, I’d recommend opting for a charcoal toothpaste to really soak up stains and kill bad bacteria. Oil pulling works in a similar way, but should not replace a good toothpaste.”

3. Use floss and mouthwash every day: James points out, “While it may seem obvious, our research shows only 10% are incorporating these simple steps into their morning routine. Diligence is key when it comes to flossing. You want to floss below the gum line, but ensure you aren’t scrubbing

the enamel away. When the enamel thins, the yellow hue underneath becomes more visible.”

4. Switch to a whitening toothpaste: James advises, “Simply switching your regular toothpaste for one with whitening properties is going to give you results

by Christmas. For maximum results, I’d recommend opting for a low abrasion formula with added fluoride.

5. Eat cheese: Finally, James recommends, “To offset stains caused by certain foods and drinks, you can try adding a little cheese. The calcium will create a film over your teeth to offer some protection to dark colours and acids.”

40

home & garden

Christmas recycling tips Along with the fun and festivities of Christmas comes a huge increase in household waste.

Enjoy this special time with a clear conscience by following RTN’s handy tips.

6. Take unwanted gifts to a charity shop Unfortunately, sometimes those we love don’t buy us presents we love! One man’s trash is another’s treasure though, so give those unwanted gifts to a charity shop and hopefully they will do some good for someone in need.

1. Recycle used cardboard and wrapping paper Toy packaging, Christmas wrapping paper, selection boxes, even Christmas crackers; remember to recycle all waste cardboard and paper this year. Flatten them down as much as possible and remove any plastic inserts, which may not be recyclable. Try to keep the paper and cardboard dry. If you don’t have a recycling bin or if it’s overflowing, you can use your local ecoparque.

2. Get creative and reuse Save your Christmas cards each year so you can cut the fronts into gift tags. This is a clever way of saving money, reducing waste and it gives you a unique and creative accent to your wrapping. Used wrapping paper, gift tags and cards can all also be upcycled into Christmas decorations like hanging tree ornaments or garlands. Being environmentally

7. Recycle glass Over the holidays, our consumption of food and drink rises, so it’s a good idea to think responsibly about all those extra jars and bottles left in the aftermath. Rinse out glass bottles or jars to get rid of any leftovers, then take the glass to your nearest bottle bank, putting each item into the correct bank for its colour. Metal lids should be removed and recycled separately with drink cans.

A total of 78% of all paper consumed in Spain was recycled in 2015

friendly can also mean being thrifty and having some fun.

3. Power through waste batteries All that playing over Christmas with battery powered toys may mean you are left with a mound of old batteries, which should be recycled.

4. Compost waste food It’s the most excessive time of year, when we eat and drink the most and we’re bound to leave some after us too. Dispose of any suitable leftovers in a compost bin to create a free and nutritious compost to help make your

Creating extra space If you’re dreading having people round to yours during Christmas due to the lack of space, it’s best to get prepared. Check out these tips and learn how to create extra space at Christmas.

Space for a suitcase: If guests are staying for a night or two, it might be worth investing in a folding suitcase rack, so they can leave it open without leaving clutter or a trip hazard on the floor.

Declutter your furniture: Get rid of any furniture you don’t need whilst your guests are staying. This could mean temporarily moving extra pieces like large ornaments, lamps and side tables to another room to make more space for seating or mingling.

Feeding the masses: Use Tupperware boxes or add racks and undershelf baskets to your fridge and kitchen cupboards to create functional space so you can stack rather than pile up the food.

Sell stuff, raise cash: Make the most of your clear out by selling unwanted items. If your home is overrun by toys, you can get the kids involved by sorting through and selling or passing on their wanted toys. They could even keep the cents from the sale to get new presents!

Decorate your walls and ceilings: If your floor space is lacking and a Christmas tree likely to take up lots of room, hang decorations including simple Christmas tree lights from the walls and ceiling to create the desired party ambience.

Blow up beds: For guests who are staying over, camp beds or air mattresses are great for a short stay without taking up much room when not in use. If your guests must sleep in the living room, invest in a folding screen for privacy especially if you need to walk by in the morning.

Create a buffet station: Rather than serving a meal sitting down at the dinner table, create a buffet style area for food where people can serve themselves and then find a space to sit down – they could even use the stairs!

Use a Lazy Susan: Free up space on a table by using a turntable to hold a few sauces and condiments where they'll still be easy to grab by everyone.

Enlarge your table: Make your dining table bigger by layering it with a large sheet of plywood (place a pad or cloth underneath for protection and don’t forget to tell guests to press down with care!).

Sitting pretty: Instead of playing musical chairs due to lack of seating, invest in some affordable folding chairs. You could even decorate these or add some upholstered pads to fit your Christmas theme.

garden bloom come spring time.

5. Recycle old electrical items You may receive a great Christmas present that replaces an old electrical appliance or gadget.

Recycle old or broken electrical items at your local ecoparque.

8. Recycle plastic Check the bottom of plastic containers for a recycling symbol, usually a triangle with the number 1 or 2 inside, to see if you can recycle it. Rinse out any leftovers and then squash them to save space before recycling.

41

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animals/PETS

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domestic

storage & REMOVALS

AIR CONDITIONING by Cool and Cosy. The family company that cares.

Installation and repairs.

Quality machines. EsoSense movement sensor supplied and fitted for 80 euros. Coin meters supplied and fitted from 260 euros. For other energysaving products, visit www.coolandcosy.es.

Tel 952 935 513

builders INLAND CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE building services. Fully Legal and Insured. We cover all areas from Marbella to Granada. Call 695 903 825 today for a free estimate (257111)

antiques WANTED! All types of antiques, paintings, jewellery, watches, silver etc.

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charities ACE CHARITY “El Refugio” in La Cala de Mijas is a registered charity. We have on average 275 dogs in our care and we receive no help from the Town Hall or the Andalucian government. We desperately need foster homes and adoptants for our many dogs, especially the small ones and puppies who do not do well in a big shelter. We are grateful for any help offered, including donations of food and blankets. Visit-

ing times are from 13.00 to 15.00 and you can always turn up or make an appointment by calling Denise on 669 018 736. Our website is www.ace-charity.org where you can view all the dogs in our care ADANA THE ANIMAL SHELTER IN ESTEPONA. We always need volunteers to walk and socialise with our dogs and help with cleaning. We also need good homes for our animals that you can see on www.adana.es. Kennels open every day 10-1.30, Camino de Casares, near Parque de los Pedregales, Estepona. (5 minutes from the Poligono) For more information call 952 113 467, available from 10.00am until 14.00pm SEPE the horse and donkey charity is open to the public week-ends from 10.00 to 5.00. Volunteers are much needed in all departments and are welcome at anytime. For our riding for the disabled classes, we are also in need of extra helpers. We are nationally registered by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior (164640) but only with your support can we give the equine a voice. If you can just commit to 2 or 3 euros a month it will really help make a difference. You can find us at Lauro Golf Equestrian Centre, Alqueria, Alhaurin de la Torre.

Tel. 608 258 950 info@sepeonline.net www.sepeonline.net

cleaning services

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concrete

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computers

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Kindle, iPad & Android help. One-to-one training. Experienced, reliable service.

Paul 630 652 338 / 952 493 859

computers

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952 591 071

obituaries

42 decorators

RAINBOW PINTURAS. English professional, reliable painting & decorating company. Furniture spraying. Building service available. Free quotations. Daniel 628 066 308 www.rainbowpinturas.com

dentist NHS REGISTERED DENTIST in Fuengirola. Specializing in Zircon crowns, bridges etc. Free check up! drvisky@hotmail.com 689 887 019

electrician MARBELLA BASED ELECTRICIAN call richard on 687 352 358 or email richi@europe.com all installations & maintenance. Surge protection, garden lights, upgrades, boletins.

(260566) BS ELECTRICAL, All electrical work, rewires, Boletins, Endesa helpline, professional genuine service, www.bselectrical.eu. Call Sean 952 961 108, 669 070 011 CSW ELECTRICAL & MAINTENANCE for all your Electrical & Maintenance needs. No Job too Small.

Call Craig for a FREE QUOTE on 604 106 414

floor polishing marble floor (2.50€/ M2) why pay more .We clean, crystallise, seal then polish your marble to high gloss, non slip. Professional guaranteed, fast service. 25 Years experience. Also repairs damages to marble, clean and seal terracotta terraces, covers all costa del sol.

Tel: 671 244 683

furniture The Warehouse – We Buy A Single Item To A FUll House Clearance – 602 610 103 Furniture Wanted, Same Day Collection, Also House Clearance And Removals.

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motoring Millions in Christmas getaway on ‘Frantic Friday’ DRIVERS will be making 11.5m separate festive getaway trips before Christmas Day this year which has led today, Friday, to be dubbed ‘Frantic Friday’ – the day when the last of the year’s commuter traffic clashes with people desperately trying to get to see family and friends. New research

by Traffic Watch shows pre-Christmas leisure traffic will peak on Christmas Eve when 1.87m separate getaway car journeys will be taken, but in reality today (Friday) is likely to be the most congested on the roads as commuter traffic mixes with an expected 1.25m leisure trips. With the bank holidays falling on weekdays and schools breaking up for Christmas at different times across the UK, there should be

an even spread of traffic in the runup to the big day, averaging about 1.4m journeys per day. Leisure traffic is anticipated to then build to 1.56m journeys tomorrow, Saturday, rising to 1.87m journeys on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself. The total pre-Christmas getaway traffic will, however, be eclipsed this year by the 17.5m leisure trips that will be taken between December 25 and New Year’s Day as drivers criss-cross the UK to visit friends and family this festive season. Congestion on some parts of the network is therefore inevitable, but with little commuter and commercial traffic the roads will generally be quieter. The busiest day for leisure trips to see family and friends –

PREPARATION: Planning Christmas travelling is the secret

Spain leads EU car registrations

POSITIVE: Spain among the best in the EU. UK in negative territory Photo credit: Twitter

IN NOVEMBER 2017, registrations of new passenger cars in the EU totalled 1,216,702 units.

Demand increased by 5.9 per cent compared to the same month last year, mostly driven by the fact that there was one extra working day this November. Nearly all major EU markets performed well: Spain (+12.4 per cent) and France (+10.3 per cent) posted double-digit growth, followed by Germany (+9.4 per cent) and Italy (+6.8 per cent). The UK car market, however, contracted for the eighth consecutive month, with registrations falling by 11.2 per cent in November.

Eleven months into the year, the European car market continued its positive momentum (+4.1 per cent), counting more than 14 million new passenger cars registered. Among the five big markets, Italy (+8.7 per cent) and Spain (+7.8 per cent) recorded the strongest gains, followed

by France (+5.3 per cent) and Germany (+3.0 per cent). By contrast, car demand in the United Kingdom has decreased by 5.0 per cent so far in 2017.

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motoring

Ford Fiesta active – an incredible driving experience TECHNOLOGY should always have a purpose. And when you start your All-New Ford Fiesta, you bring to life a whole range of intelligent features and systems. For example, Active Park Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Aid, Traffic Sign Recognition… Get ready to experience technologies so smart and so useful you’ll wonder how you ever did without them.

With Adaptive Cruise Control technology, you choose the speed you want to drive at and the system will maintain it. If the built-in RADAR sensor detects a vehicle ahead, it will slow your vehicle to maintain a pre-set distance. Once the road in front is clear, the system will accelerate to your chosen speed.

Parking can be a real hassle. But not in the new Fiesta. That’s because Active Park Assist uses a combination of different technologies to do more than steer you into parking spots.

With Park Out Assist it helps you pull out of them, too.

The Parallel and Perpendicular Parking system can sense if there’s space for your car to fit, then reverse you in. And Side Parking Aid also warns you if there are any lateral obstructions.

A Blind Spot Information System uses RADAR sensors to scan the blind spots on either side of your Fiesta. And if they detect a vehicle you can’t see, an orange light that’s clearly displayed in the corresponding side door mirror illuminates to warn you. If you’re reversing out of a space, and have limited visibility of the traffic situation, Cross Traffic Alert can detect oncoming vehicles and sound a warning. The technology also illuminates a light in the wing mirror: left or right depending on the direction of oncoming traffic.

A Lane Keeping System uses a forward-looking camera to detect if you’re unintentionally drifting out of lane. Lane Keeping Alert then warns you by vibrating the steering wheel and displaying a visual warning. If you’re slow to react or don’t respond, Lane Keeping Aid can provide steering torque assistance to help guide you safely back into the right lane. The technology is designed for multi-lane roads (like motorways), so will automatically deactivate at speeds below 43mph (65 km/h) or can be turned off manually.

Whether the signs are at the side of the road or above it, permanent or temporary, Traffic Sign Recognition can identify them. An icon of that speed or a no-overtaking sign appears on the instrument cluster and changes every time you enter a new limit.

A useful night-driving aid, Auto High Beam temporarily dips your headlights when it detects oncoming traffic or a vehicle ahead, stopping you dazzling other drivers. It then automatically reverts back to high beam, giving you maximum visibility.

AUTOMATIC: Ford Fiesta Active takes the driving strain to new levels

Driving over the limit the morning after common practice AROUND five million drivers believe they have got behind the wheel while over the limit at least once in the past year, according to research carried out by the RAC. In total 16 per cent of the 1,727 motorists questioned say they think they have been guilty of drink-driving, either immediately after consuming alcohol or the morning after a late night drinking session.

Five per cent of motorists surveyed felt sure they were over the limit shortly after having a drink while 3 per cent think they may have been over. Worryingly, a larger proportion – 10 per cent - admits to believing they have driven when over the

limit the morning after drinking heavily the night before.

The study also found that men are more likely to risk drink-driving than women, both straight after drinking and the morning after.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: “Anyone who has been out celebrating during the festive period should be very mindful of not being over the limit when they go to drive the next day.

Anyone who thinks they are likely to have sobered up enough to drive just because they went to bed for a few hours may just be about to ruin someone else’s Christmas as well as their own.

“It is vital that everyone who has been

drinking leaves sufficient time for their body to process the alcohol they have consumed. The trouble is everyone metabolises alcohol at different rates so the message has to be to err on the side of caution by leaving extra time before deciding to drive, or better still to use an alternative form of transport such as bus, taxi or train, or get a lift from a friend or colleague. The research also revealed there is extensive general public support for a UK-wide reduction in the legal blood-alcohol limit to 50 milligrams per 100ml – as enforced in Scotland – or even to 20 milligrams, with six in 10 (59%) British motorists saying they are in favour of 50mg or less becoming law.

AFTERMATH: Worrying numbers of people admitting they’ve driven shortly after drinking

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sport Walking Football Spain finish 2017 with tenfold increase in players!

Walking Football Spain started life on May 18th 2017 with just 5 players, playing every Thursday morning in Elviria, Marbella. They are now finishing 2017 with almost 50 registered players! They have also expanded their sessions to Benalmadena on Monday nights and to San Pedro on Tuesday nights, as well as their usual Thursday mornings in Elviria.

They also now have two competitive teams ready to play tournaments, as they have just signed a kit sponsor for the San Pedro team.

Fluent Finance Abroad, who are based in San Pedro and who specialise in mortgages and all types of property finance, have agreed a 2 year deal with Walking Football Spain to sponsor the San Pedro team.

The sponsorship for the San Pedro team means that they now have two competitive teams, as they already have a Marbella team sponsored by Bodyworks Health Clinic.

Marc Elliot de Lama, who is a Spanish mortgage consultant and the owner of Fluent Finance Abroad, said, ”I already sponsor a regular football team in the UK and love my football, so when Walking Football Spain approached me for sponsorship, I was thrilled to get involved. Walking Football is something interesting and unusual and really gives older people the chance to play football again, when they

A former player, Tony Matthews is now the world’s most prolific author of football books with 150 published since 1975. He has also been a PE teacher, policeman, radio correspondent and is now a quiz-organiser and fund–raiser, for various charities.

Start with cricket and the Ashes are back in Australian hands after England were smashed by an innings and 41 runs in the third Test Match in Perth.

Dismissed for 403 in their first innings, Joe Root’s team saw the Aussies pile up 662-9 declared with Steve Smith scoring a majestic 239 while Mitchell Marsh hit 181. Then, second time round, Root’s men collapsed to 218 all out.

England’s ‘Barmy Army’ of supporters hope they don’t witness another five-nil whitewash!

Onto football, and this weekend sees the 175th La Liga and the 270th El Clasico meeting overall between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeau with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi opposing each other once again. In fact, the two imperious marksmen have netted over 1,225 goals between them in almost 1,600 club and international matches since 2002.

Marc Elliot de Lama & Ainara Anacabe with members of Walking Football Spain

thought they never would.

“I may even bring my old football boots out of retirement and start playing again!”

Adam Chandler, founder of Walking Football Spain, added, “Walking Football is a great way for men and women to get back into football, to meet new friends, to have a laugh and some banter and to keep fit and healthy.

“There are also more and more tournaments being arranged and so this sponsorship from Fluent Finance Abroad will mean that we can enter a second team and give more of our players the opportunity to play Walking Football at a more competitive level. The tournaments are also great fun and provide the chance to meet other Walking Football players across both Spain and Portugal.

“I want to thank Marc Elliot de Lama for his support as I know that all of my players really

appreciate having a proper football kit and the chance to play in tournaments.”

Walking Football is football played without running and with minimal contact, making it ideal for men and women to play well into their senior years. There are over 1,000 clubs in the UK alone and Walking Football is now played in 25 different countries, making it one of the fastest growing sports in the World.

Walking Football Spain organise weekly Walking Football sessions along the Costa del Sol. They play every Monday from 7.30pm at the El Retamar pitch by the Butterfly Park in Benalmadena, every Tuesday from 8pm on the 5-a-side pitches at the San Pedro Football Stadium and every Thursday from 10.30am at the Estadio Santa Maria in Elviria.

Marc Elliot de Lama & Adam Chandler

Recent action in the Premiership saw record-breaking Manchester City make it 16 straight wins and remain 11 points clear at the top, with a 4-1 victory over Tottenham…. Arsenal edged past Newcastle 1-0…. Chelsea also pipped Southampton 1-0 … Crystal Palace scored their first away goals of the season in winning 3-0 at Leicester… West Ham won 3-0 at Stoke… Huddersfield clipped Watford 4-1… Liverpool eased to a 4-0 victory at Bournemouth… and Manchester United defeated lowly West Brom 2-1.

Wolves lead the Championship by four points after their latest win at Sheffield Wednesday while in Scotland, Celtic’s 69 domestic ended in devastating fashion when they were smashed 4-0 by Hearts at Tynecastle last Sunday.

Earlier this week the four quarter-final League Cup-ties featured Arsenal-West Ham and Leicester-Manchester City on Tuesday and Chelsea-Southampton and Bristol City-Manchester United on Wednesday.

The top PL matches coming up include Arsenal-Liverpool, Burnley-Spurs, Everton-Chelsea, Leicester-Manchester United and Manchester City-Bournemouth before Christmas, followed on Boxing Day by Chelsea-Brighton, Crystal PalaceArsenal, Liverpool-Swansea, Manchester United-Burnley, Newcastle-Manchester City, Spurs-Southampton and WBA-Everton.

In the Championship over the festive season we have Aston Villa-Sheffield United, Bristol City-Reading, Cardiff-Fulham, Millwall-Wolves and SunderlandBirmingham; it’s Wigan-Shrewsbury and Luton-Grimsby in Leagues 1 & 2 and Celtic-Aberdeen and Rangers-Motherwell in the SPL. And these teams will seemingly end 2017 leading their respective Premier Leagues: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain, Porto, Sturm Graz and Young Boys (Berne).

The World Darts Championship continues at London’s Ally Pally where Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor is taking part for the last time before retirement.

There’s action in Rugby Union’s European Champions Cup, European Challenge Cup and British & Irish Cup with Bath, Leinster, Munster, Ospreys and Wasps hoping to repeat recent results.

As usual there are several horse race meetings taking place with Boxing Day’s King George VI Chase at Kempton Park the main event.

It’s been confirmed that Alpha Romeo will have a car competing in F1 next year – teaming up with Sauber and Ferrari. The last time Alpha Romeo started on the grid was in 1985.

And finally the BBC TV Sports Personality of the Year for 2017 is Sir Mo Farah who was presented with his award in Liverpool last Sunday. England’s women cricketers won the Team of the Year prize; Jessica Ennis Hill received a Lifetime Achievement Award and Manchester City footballer Phil Foden was named as the Young Sportsman of the Year.

For more information, visit www.walkingfootballspain.com or email adam@walkingfootballspain.com. https://www.fluentfinanceabroad.com/ http://walkingfootballspain.com