Euro Weekly News - Mallorca 13 - 19 November 2014 Issue 1532

ISSUE NO. 1532

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13 - 19 NOVEMBER 2014

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Help needed to chase a bike-racing dream

By Dilip Kuner A YOUNG Anglo-Spanish motorbike racer faces a financial mountain if he is to climb into the big time.

Javi Orellana Malloy, 17, is one of the most promising young riders in Europe, and has come off the back of a successful 2014 season in the European Junior Cup where he finished second in the championship – the entry level for World Superbikes.

His talent has not gone unnoticed with several offers on the table to move up to the Superstock 600 series for 15 to 22 year olds. But in order to do that he has to ‘buy’ his place, and with

the cheapest deal on the table costing €40,000, he may have to say goodbye to his dreams of competing in the World Superbike championships within a few years.

That €40,000 is an entry level fee, a ride in a competitive team can cost up to €120,000 for one season.

For the last three years he has raced in the European Junior Cup, finishing third in his first year, seventh in his second and an agonising second in the third.

Agonising because he went into the final race at Magny-Cours with a chance of winning the title.

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INDEX News 1 - 24 Finance 27 - 32 Letters 33 Leapy Lee 34 Daily TV 36 Time Out 38 - 39 Health & Beauty 40 - 41 Food 43 Homes & Gardens 46-47 Property 48 - 49 Classifieds 50 - 51 Boating 52 - 53 Motoring 54 Sport 56

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POSITIVE TREND: Tourism infrastruction in 2014.

A positive trend for infrastructure

INVESTMENT in tourism facilities and infrastructure in Mallorca (hotels, cafés, bars, restaurants and discos) has registered a positive trend throughout 2014.

Data from the Association of Balearic Construction Companies points to a 93.49 per cent increase in investment in Mallorca – and to a 95.32 per cent increase on all the islands – between January and September.

“This is a positive trend and it has increased activity in a sector that had been

going through a technical recession since late 2007. This change in the trend has brought about new employment creation since February,” said General Manager of the association, Manuel Gomez.

As many as 4,000 new jobs have been created in the last eight months, out of the 35,000 that were lost, said Gomez. “There still is not a job for everyone, but the objective is to create as many as possible,” he commented.

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Man jailed A MAN aged 23 was sentenced to three years in prison for trying to kill another man with a broken glass bottle in Inca. The incident happened in October of 2013.

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MOST islanders think too many immigrants live on the Balearic Islands.

As many as 78 per cent of islanders reject immigrants living in the archipelago, regardless of whether they legally or illegally live in Spain, and the percentage of people who share the same point of view has steadily increased in the last few years, according to

data from Fundacion Gadeso.

Seven out of 10 islanders have a negative opinion on immigrants who legally live in Spain because they believe ‘they take jobs away from Spaniards,’ while 30 per cent of them reject immigrants because ‘they saturate public services’ and 2 per cent criticise the fact ‘they do not want to integrate.’

The minority that does not have

a negative view on immigration says immigrants have the same rights Spaniards have and welcomes diversity and the fact immigrants take on jobs people born on the islands reject.

The opinion regarding illegal immigrants is worse, as shown by the fact they are associated with crime and delinquency. Most think they should be deported.

Bumpy road DAMAGE caused flooding on the Llevant motorway which caused several kilometres of tailbacks on Tuesday, November 11.

Bus accident AN accident between a car and a bus took place on November 8 in Platja (Palma), leaving four people with minor injuries.

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Making friends

TEN travel agents from Canada have participated in a trip to Mallorca to learn about touristic offers and take part in different activities aimed at attracting visitors from their home country.

Conference hall THE head of the Balearics Tourism Department has pledged that the Conference Hall works will be finished by September 2015. That is two months later than originally planned.

ONE hundred and eighty two new businesses were created in the Balearic Islands during September spending €26.5 million. That was 11.7 per cent more than in September 2013.

Wedding fair MOST TALENTED: The Madrid International Dance Festival.

Quote of the Week It is bizarre we are even contemplating paying this. Bullfighting is the last thing in the world we should be subsidising,’ said Labour MP Sir Alan Meale, who believes British taxpayers should not pay £13.5 million (€17 million) to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

© MINELLY KAM

improvisation to dance theatre.

Not only does the festival feature a huge array of dance performances almost nightly, there will be various workshops for professionals and amateurs to learn new techniques from the best dancers and choreographers the world has to offer.

Twenty-three dance companies from Canada, Belgium, Monaco, Germany, Holland, France and Morocco will join 15 Spanish companies for this explosion of dance in the capital. There is something for everyone to get their teeth into during the festival.

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ADRID will become the dance capital of the world for the month of November as it plays host to one of the most prestigious international dance festivals. The 29th Madrid International Dance Festival will see some of the world’s best dancers from the most talented dance companies globally, take to the stage at various venues around the Spanish capital.

One of the highlights of the annual dance calendar, the Madrid International Dance Festival features a wide range of diversity in dancing styles: from flamenco to contemporary and from contact-

EMURA

Let’s dance - Madrid hosting world’s best SARAH WILLIAM

Car overturns A CAR that overturned on the Inca motorway burst into flames on Sunday.

Guardia Civil said that one of the wheels exploded, causing the driver to lose control of his vehicle.

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New businesses

Humour festival THE theatrical improvisation company of Mallorca will perform at the Municipal Theatre Xesc Forteza in Palma on November 2014 at 7pm. Tickets will be €15 at the door.

Deficient supply RESIDENTS of Sant Marçal in Marratxi have voiced complaints about the deficient drinking water supply. According to the neighbours, the problem could be a faulty pipeline or its poor installation and maintenance.

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Too many immigrants

BORJA SUAREZ LAZARO ©BSLG

Santa Cecilia THE traditional municipal band Santa Cecilia concert will be held in Calvia on Sunday, November 16, at 8pm at Teatre Sa Societat.

Tickets can be collected at the Music School or the Culture Department office.

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CREDITlev radin / Shutterstock.com

Number of the week

80

per cent is the number of Catalans who voted for independence from Spain in a mock poll that was held over the weekend. More than 1.6 million people voted that the Catalonia region should separate from Spain.

PALMA ARENA hosts the XXI Wedding and Ceremonies fair, from tomorrow (Friday) until Sunday.

It will showcase dresses, venues, event organisers and other products and services essential for a perfect day.

Opera season THE opera season at Teatre Principal of Palma continues offering classical performances. Next on the agenda, a lyrical concert by Jorge de Leon tomorrow (Friday) at 8pm.

Sexual assault A MAN was arrested in Palma after allegedly sexually assaulting his partner. He then tried to commit suicide by swallowing painkillers.

And finally...

A Spanish television crew were the first to film people crossing from East to West Berlin on the night the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. The TVE crew were filming when an East German border guard opened a gate amidst confusion about orders. The Spanish crew captured the first images of East Berliners crossing to the West.

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The younger of the King’s sisters may still stand trial de Mallorca, 49, may stand trial with her husband Iñaki Urdangarin for her alleged cooperation in the commission of two tax offences.

The Court, however, dismissed the lawsuit filed against her for money laundering.

A writ served on June 25 by examining magistrate Jose Castro accused her of “actively cooperating” with her husband to defraud the tax collector and spend diverted public funds.

The Public Prosecutor Against Corruption Pedro Horrach always

Driver is saved by a miracle A DRIVER who crashed his car into a tree at the Avingudes in Palma on Wednesday ,November 5 cannot believe he lived to tell the tale.

“I still cannot believe I am alive. It is a miracle I did not hit anyone. I want to make it perfectly clear that my alcohol test came back negative. I guess everyone will think I was speeding down the

CRASHED CAR: Driver cannot believe he lived to tell the tale (not actual car involved in the crash). avenues and that I lost control of the car, but that

opposed the accusation against the younger of the King’s sisters and said examining magistrate Castro decided to bring the accusation against her without having assessed the evidence in a fair way.

The Infanta reportedly waited

for the news in her Switzerland home. Her lawyers - Miquel Roca and Jesus Silva - called the princess on the phone to tell her the news and discuss their next steps.

She was expectant but calm, said Silva.

A note from the Flickr by valkrye131

THE Infanta Cristina of Spain may stand trial for tax offences.

Following the ruling handed down by the Provincial Court of Palma on Friday, November 7 unanimously upholding the accusation against her in the Noos case, the Duchess of Palma

is not what happened. I had stopped at a red light and when I wanted to take the curve I lost control,” said Raul Cotes.

“I paid €2,200 for the car (a BMW) and thanks to the accident I had I am going to make some money selling it piece by piece.

“I was in the hospital and people kept messaging me through Facebook wanting to buy the bodywork and the tyres, etc.”

Editor

Honouring the Fallen on Remembrance Sunday

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T was moving to see the commemorations in London over the weekend to mark Remembrance Sunday and the centenary of the start of the First World War. The striking display of ceramic poppies spilling from the Tower of London in a sea of red was no better image to remind us of all those brave souls who shed blood and gave their lives in both World Wars.

A welcome decision has been made to leave part of the 800,000 poppies on display until the end of November so that people can pay their respects.

Falling poppies were projected on to Big Ben, illuminating the skyline in another moving tribute to those soldiers and civilians who fought.

Sometimes it can be difficult for expatriates living in Spain not to

be in the UK for special occasions, as last Sunday certainly was.

But with so many expatriates living in all areas of Spain, Remembrance Sunday did not pass unmarked here.

There were wreath-laying ceremonies and prayer services throughout the length and breadth of Spain, so that expatriates could pay their own homage to the men and women who gave their lives in the wars.

While we choose to live in sunny Spain and adopt new customs and ways of life from our Spanish friends, we will always retain our own customs and close links with home, especially on important days like Remembrance Sunday.

And on Sunday, as Britain honoured those who fought in two World Wars, so too did the proud British community in their home away from home.

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Disabled pupil at centre of teacher inquiry THE Federation of School Parents Associations (FAPA) has condemned the way an assistant educational technician (ATE) treated a child suffering from disabilities at a Santa Maria school.

The ATE still works at the Melcior Rossello School, complained FAPA, and the child’s mother decided to go public with the case to try to elicit a response from the Education Department.

Back in February, during an English class, the seven-year-old disabled child dropped a crayon and the ATE demanded that he pick it up, according to FAPA. He then approached the child to get him to stand up and the child tried to bite him. The ATE allegedly responded by giving him a slap on the head, said the federation.

In June, the Inspectorate of Education questioned the teacher as well as other members of the staff, and it was not until then that the mother learned what had happened.

After the inspectorate’s visit, the mother, the faculty board, witnesses and the parents association hoped the Education Department would intervene, but the truth is they are still waiting and the ATE purportedly still works at the school.

The Education Department said on Wednesday last week (November 5) that a disciplinary proceeding had been initiated.

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Seniors support whole families BETWEEN 7,400 and 9,000 Balearic households survive solely on the retirement pension of the eldest family members.

These figures show that given the current economic situation many senior citizens on the islands must provide for their families, said Ferran Lluch of the Balearic Statistics Service, quoting EPA data from 2013.

During a press conference, the authors of the Balearic Ageing Report addressed the situation facing senior citizens on the islands and the challenges they must rise to. “Not enough gratitude is expressed for the role they play in providing economic and social support, and it is

SENIOR CITIZENS: Playing an important role in providing economic and social support. not taken into account either,” said Lluch.

Around 15 per cent of Balearic residents are older than 65, compared to the 18 per cent registered on a national level.

However, the United Nations estimates that Spain will be the third country with the highest percentage of older population by the year 2050, after South Korea and Japan.

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Not-to-be-missed food festival to be An asteroid could collide held in early December in Palma with Earth PASEO SAGRERA in Palma is to host a not-to-be-missed food festival between December 5 and 8.

The Muestra Gastronomica is an annual event featuring typical products from all regions, as well as musical and cultural

performances from the largest islands of the archipelago (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Fomentera).

Better equipment for the firefighters STARTING next year Palma firefighters will be better equipped to do their job.

Palma Council will reportedly buy 250 fireproof uniforms early next year jackets, pants and harnesses - at €1,350 each, said diariomallorca.es.

The uniforms are made of a longlasting and heat-resistant synthetic fibre called aramid and their maintenance is not exactly cheap, since they have to be sent to the factory on a regular basis for them to be fixed, which would explain the expensive price tag.

Each firefighter has their own uniform and the new jackets and pants will have a built-in microchip with information

FIREFIGHTERS: They put their own lives at risk to save others. about the owner’s size, name and the alterations done to each uniform.

EARTH could face a globalscale disaster 171 years from now.

An asteroid discovered by the Costitx Observatory in Mallorca could collide with Earth on March 29 2185 and though there is only a 1-in-300 chance of that ever happening, the truth is it could cause a global-scale disaster if it did, according to Head of the Mallorca Astronomic Observatory (OAM) Salvador Sanchez.

The 2009 FD asteroid 470 metres in diameter was spotted by the OAM on March 16 2009, after it was studied by scientists around the world for five years, and is said to be “potentially very dangerous,” said ultimahora.es.

The announcement was made by OAM on Thursday November 6 during a visit of Head of the Mallorca Board Maria Salom.

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Economic boom expected in near future THE Mallorca Hotel Operators Federation (FEHM) foresees an economic boom and an increase in employment creation on the Balearic Islands in the near future.

“There has been a positive trend in the last two years

which will continue in the next two. It is important for it to continue. We ask political parties, whomever wins the next elections, to keep the current legal framework regarding tourism, the economy and taxes. It would

be a judgement error to change it after the elections next year,” said FEHM President Aurelio Vazquez.

After establishing contacts with British and German tour operators at the World Travel Market in London, the FEHM

estimates that the 2015 tourist season will begin and end around the same time this year, namely in mid November.

It will increase the number of jobs available, which, in turn, will contribute to decrease unemployment figures.

Underwater cable on way THE world’s longest submarine cable is on its way to the Balearics to link the islands with the mainland for an improved power supply.

The €90 million, 119 kilometre long cable will be used to create a new 100 megawatt power connection between Mallorca and Ibiza, in the latest phase of a project to link to mainland Spain. The intention is to supply the Balearics with a

more reliable, energy efficient and lower emission power supply.

According to the Modern Power Systems website, the Nexans - an expert cable company - the cable laying ship C/S Nexans Skagerrak has left Norway with the three-core submarine power cable and is on its way to the Med. Once installed, the cable will also be the deepest, at 800 metres.

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Rotten wood PALMA Council is to remove a wooden walkway located in Can Pastilla between Calles Virgili and Calle Cesar in the next few days because of its marked deterioration.

Called off THE Nurses’ Union (SATSE) and the Doctors’ Union decided to call off protests on Friday November 7 after reaching agreement with the Health Department.

Warm month DATA from the National Meteorological Agency shows that temperatures on the islands breached 30ºC (86ºF) during October and the average temperature was 3.3ºC higher than the norm.

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Free public transport for children under 12 STARTING in January next year children under 12 holding the new ‘tarjeta intermodal’ will get to use the interurban public transport network in Mallorca for free.

The announcement was

made by Agriculture, Environment and Territory councillor Gabriel Company on Wednesday last week (November 6). The longterm unemployed will benefit from a 50 per cent discount.

Used cars cost less on islands USED cars are cheaper on the islands than elsewhere in Spain.

The average second-hand car on the Balearic Islands is €1,700 cheaper than in the rest of the country (€11,797) after prices dropped by 2.6 per cent in October compared to 2013 and now average €10,007.

Some of the most common car brands to be found on the market include Volkswagen Golf (2.7 per cent), Renault Megane (2.4 per cent), Citroën C4 (2.3 per cent), while the most popular vehicles are BMW 3 Series (7.9 per cent), Volkswagen Golf (4.7 per cent) and Seat Ibiza (4.3 per cent).

“These social measures have been taken to make it easier for families and the unemployed to have access to public transport,” said Company. Furthermore, the tarjeta intermodal’s validity is to be extended from four months to one year.

Diesel trains for France MALLORCA RAILWAY SERVICES (SFM) is to sell six diesel trains to Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur in France for €3.1 million.

The trains, which cost the equivalent of €6.6m back in 1995, have sat idle since the Balearic Regional Government equipped the Palma-Inca rail line for the use of electric power two years ago.

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Danger of landslides DAILY landslides are registered every day on the Serra de Tramuntana carriageway.

Contracts increased THE number of indefinite term contracts signed in Palma, especially in the construction and hotel industry sectors, increased by 28.6 per cent, said Economy, Tax and Innovation Deputy Mayor Julio Martinez on November 5.

In Palma, the unemployment rate has been decreasing for 25 months in a row, said a spokesman for the local Government Board, adding that it decreased by 8.8 per cent in October compared to last year.

The fire that scorched part of Serra de Tramuntana in July 2013 has resulted in soil erosion, which, in turn, triggers small landslides every day that affect the carriageway, especially the Andratx and Estellencs section.

The fallen rocks, pine trees and soil have sometimes blocked some areas

of the carriageway and slowed down traffic. “We need to be patient, but this carriageway can be very dangerous, especially for motorcyclists and cyclists. We want to thank the workers of the Mallorca Board, firefighters, Civil Protection and the police for their good work,� said some of the drivers.

Sa Pobla Choir THE Mallorca Board paid tribute to the sa Pobla Choir on its 25th anniversary.

The directors were presented with a diploma at an official ceremony held on Thursday last week (November 6), which they accepted on behalf of the 60 men and women of the choir.

The ceremony was attended by Mallorca Board Head Maria Salom; Culture, Heritage and Sports Vice-President Joan Rotger; Sa Pobla Mayor Biel Serra and representatives of the choir.

Over the years it has performed in a number of charity festivals, schools and homes for senior citizens, said the Board in a statement. Some of its conductors have included Josep Torrens, Marti Saez, Jacint Soberat and Josep Alarcon.

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Tackling the problems affecting Manacor schools THE Manacor school community met Education, Culture and Universities councillor Nuria Riera on Friday, November 7.

During the meeting - which lasted nearly three hours - the representatives of the school communities talked to Riera about the need for new school infrastructures, the problems facing school facilities, the lack of human resources and about how difficult it is to talk to someone at the Department.

Furthermore, they addressed the fact that in most classrooms there are between 28 and 32 school children, and called upon Riera to organise a technical team with decision-making power which works out a plan with the Manacor school community to solve the problems facing local schools.

The meeting was attended by Mayor Antoni Pastor, Councillors Catalina Riera and Roberto Flores, representatives from parent associations, members of the school boards and of the Municipal School Board.

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Winner of the tablet FOLLOWING months of enthusiastic readers entering our Win a Tablet competition, we finally reached the finishing line on Friday, October 31.

As the competition was sponsored by Spanish Property Choice, we thought it only fair that the owner, Sharon Garner, be the one to choose the lucky winner. With a great fanfare, she selected the winner of the tablet - many, many congratulations to Lorraine Cochrane from Murcia!

A delighted Lorraine said: “I never win anything! I have entered loads of competitions, but this is the first time I have actually won anything. Thank you so much!�

Thank you to all of our readers, and there were hundreds of you, for

Lorraine Cochrane. entering and sorry we only had one tablet to give away.

However, avid readers may already have spotted that we have another competition to win an iPad starting this week, so good luck to you all - again!

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Racing to the top From Front Page Despite a second win of the season after one at Donington Park, he was pipped to top spot by Augusto Fernandez. With the title came a coveted free spot in the Superstock 600 series. Second position gained nothing.

As Javi said: “There is no way my mum and dad can pay €100,000. I just hope I can find the sponsorship I need.”

Javi, who lives in Marratxi, is a level-headed young man who has not let his schoolwork slip. On that he had no choice.

He said: “I am in the second year of sixth form and have always passed everything. Mum made it clear that if I ever failed anything that would be the end of my motorbike racing.”

“With all the scrimping, saving and sacrifices we have made, it is the least he could do in return!”

SPEEDY: Javi in track action. chipped in his mother, Hayley Malloy, originally from Walton in Lancashire.

Javi first rode a motorbike aged nine when Alfonso bought him a ‘minimoto’. The bug bit and he has never looked back.

Javi said: “Every year I went up. First Mallorca, then Spain, then Europe. I do not want to stop now.”

His years in the European Junior Cup were not cheap either, coming in at €20,000 a year, not including travelling expenses. Hayley explained

that family and friends all chipped in to help out and there had been some sponsors. Hayley and Alfonso, who work for Europ Foods, well-known around Spain, can only help so far.

“We need sponsors for Javi. Any little bit helps, but a minimum price of €40,000 plus travelling and other expenses is beyond us,” Hayley said.

If you can sponsor Javi call Hayley on 647 346 931/ 971 796 689. Javi’s website is www.javiorellana.com.

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€1.3bn budget NEXT year’s budget of the Health Department will be more than €1.3 billion.

The announcement was made by councillor Marti Sansaloni while addressing the Balearic Regional Parliament.

“Neither a right- nor a left-wing Balearic Regional Government has ever presented the Parliament such a strong and wellbalanced budget,” said Sansaloni, and encouraged all political parties “to work together to offer a quality health care system.”

Starting January 1 and until the end of the year, the Health Department will

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HEALTH DEPARTMENT: To continue offering a quality health care system. carefully manage all financial resources at its disposal, adapting to the specific circumstances of

each month, he said.

He guaranteed a health care system with the highest quality parameters.

Rubbish and rubble condemned MES PER PALMA condemned the accumulation of rubbish and rubble in Son Banya.

During a press conference, MES councillor Neus Truyol showed pictures recently taken in Son Banya depicting the accumulated rubbish and rubble.

“They represent the consequences of

the policies of the PP,” she said.

In addition, she condemned the fact the Council had halted the relocations programme, adding no family had left the town in three years. Truyol called upon Emaya to clean the town and to take measures to make sure no such rubbish accumulation happens again.

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25 businesses declare insolvency AS many as 25 Balearic businesses declared insolvency during the third quarter of the year, said the National Statistics Institute (INE).

On a national level their number totalled 1,270, which represents a 29.5 per cent decrease compared to the same three-month period in 2013 and a 24.2 per cent drop quarter-overquarter.

According to the INE, 1,401 debtors declared insolvency in the third quarter of 2014, 30 of which were from the Balearic Islands and 90.6 per cent were companies (41.2 per cent from the construction and trade sector and 16.1 per cent from the industry and energy sector).

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New footpaths THE road repair and paving works of Carrer de Sant Jeroni in Manacor have already started.

Paid for by the local council, the works are designed to solve the problem of footpaths. These are so narrow - less than 30 centimetres - that pedestrians were often forced to walk on the roads. With a budget of €134,996, the works are expected to be finished in three months.

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Low cost petrol may cause unemployment PETROL station associations predict a loss of 1,200 jobs due to new rules from

Madrid allowing staff-free stations in industrial and commercial areas.

Jesus Salas, president of the Baleares Service Station Association (AESBA) harshly criticised the Spanish government’s plan to facilitate creation of new attendant-free petrol stations on industrial estates and at shopping centres during a meeting of consumer group ConsubalFacua held on Tuesday November 11 to debate traditional and automatic

petrol stations.

Miguel Bauza and Juan Frances - representatives of companies that wish to open low-cost automatic stations - argued the law allows them to open the stations, which will offer cheaper prices for the same products. Salas complained traditional petrol stations have very low profits and that many stations will end up having to convert.

NEWS EXTRA

Art exhibits

Family favour

ON November 27 and until December 31 a painting exhibition by artists of the Escola Joan Vich will be displayed at the exposition hall of Calvia Town Hall.

GREAT controversy was sparked off last week when Inca Mayor Rafael Torres, made public the hiring of his own cousin as a new council worker.

She will earn €20,978 pa.

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Lorna needs you!

T

HE Euro Weekly News has recently promoted Lorna Eade to the new position of Editorial Controller.

So, Lorna, congratulations, well done, you deserve it! Now you need to let our readers know something about yourself; after all, you will be in charge of what everyone will be reading.

How long have you been in the publishing arena?

“I have been involved in newspapers for longer than I care to remember, or admit. I have been lucky enough to work at the Daily and Sunday Express papers in London as well as the biggest picture agency in the UK, the Press Association. I always say that I have ink running through my veins, not blood!”

When did you leave the UK? “I left the UK 13 years ago to live in Tenerife. I wanted a better quality of life and realised that one day I was going to wake up and my life would have disappeared without me realising it. I

ended up editing a weekly publication there called Tenerife Weekly. However, I moved over to mainland Spain due to family commitments, and I love it.”

How do you feel about your new position?

“I am looking forward to the challenge that I have been given, but I am going to need some help if I am to take our papers up to the next level.”

What are the future plans for the paper as EWN is already the biggest and strongest print media?

“We are growing all the time and are now looking to expand even further to

encompass the most diverse and interesting topics of interest to those living in Spain. We are currently seeking and recruiting talented and creative writers across every aspect of the paper in order to bring the highest quality and most interesting publication that we can to our loyal readers and advertisers.

“The paper has become an institution, a part of expatriate way of life. The EWN footprint is from Gandia to Gibraltar, which is a huge amount of readers to please every Thursday, 52 weeks of the year.

Lorna needs your help to take EWN to the next level.

“I would love to hear from any writers living in Spain who wish to work in our diverse, multicultural, friendly office. If you think you have what I am looking for then send me your CV with a covering letter telling me why you would be perfect for the job, together with a recent photograph, to recruitment@euroweekly news.com Don’t mean to be rude, but you will have to excuse me as I have 600 pages to fill. Please get those CVs emailed – don’t delay as these front pages have to go to press.

Ciao for now!!

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13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

EWN

25

Advertising Feature

US dollar is the top performer Commentary by Moneycorp

EUR It was more of the same for the euro a reasonable start to the week and an unhappy end. The single currency lost two US cents and fell by three-quarters of a cent against sterling.

The Euroland economic data were broadly disappointing. A notable exception was German international trade; exports and imports both rebounded in September.

The real damage to the euro was done

by European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi. He said the ECB Governing Council was ready to do whatever necessary to avoid a prolonged period of too-low inflation. It was not a firm commitment to money-printing stimulus but it did put that possibility back on the table.

USD The USD was the top performer among the major currencies, strengthening by a

cent-and-a-half against sterling and by two cents against the struggling euro.

Its biggest gain was against the Japanese yen, which continued to suffer as the Bank of Japan said it would increase its money-printing stimulus by a fifth. A mass exodus from the yen meant a large inflow to the dollar. The dollar gained on Thursday after the European Central Bank president said its Governing Council was ready to bring in more unconventional measures if necessary to lift Euroland inflation back to more normal levels.

CAD All of the commodity-related currencies lost ground over the week. The Loonie suffered less than most, helped by its close relationship with the USD, which was the week’s top performer. It lost two US cents and was down by two cents against sterling. The Loonie received a little help from the Canadian ecostats.

Clarisse Musselwhite is Moneycorp’s Account Manager for Mallorca

She can be contacted on Tel: +34 902 887 243 Mobile: +34 687 932 472 Email:mallorca@moneycorp.com

902887243 mallorca@moneycorp.com RBC’s purchasing managers’ index showed manufacturers’ business expanding more quickly but the Ivey PMI, which looks more broadly at private sector activity, slumped by seven-and-ahalf cents to 51.2.

AUD The Aussie suffered more than most as it lost two-and-a-half US cents and was down by three-and-a-half cents against sterling.

China was partly to blame.

Purchasing managers’ index there showed private sector business activity growing more slowly in October. The Australian ecostats were not desperately helpful either. Manufacturing and services sector firms both reported a continuing slowdown in business. The 24k increase in employment did not go down too well, even though it was bigger than the expected 10k increase.

NZD The Kiwi lost one-and-a-half US cents and fell by two-and-a-half cents against sterling. Although Chinese purchasing managers’ index affected the Kiwi, the domestic NZ ecostats were mostly helpful. The quarterly employment data were all as good as or better than expected. Unemployment was down to 5.4%, its lowest level in five years. That was enough to shield the Kiwi from some of the damage suffered by its peers.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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inance F A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COM

13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

business & legal

EWN

27

STAT OF WEEK SPAIN’S consumer confidence index fell 3.52 per cent to 74.2 points last month. Family finances, employment prospects and the general economic situation were to blame, said the Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas.

BIMBO has been synonymous with cut bread , not an attractive and compliant airhead, since 1964.

Sales plummeted by almost half after 2008 when the crisis changed spending habits. “The fall in disposable income meant that people ate less and ate differently,” said Ana Varela, Marketing lecturer at the ESADE

BREAD: Suffered during crisis.

Zara millionaire still top of the heap AMANCIO ORTEGA is still Spain’s richest man.

The founder of Inditex and the Zara fashion label sits atop a €46 billion fortune according to the Spanish edition of Forbes magazine.

Rafael del Pino and his brothers, majority shareholders in construction multinational Ferrovial take second position on the Spanish list with €6.4 billion. In 2013 the Del Pino brothers were ranked third after Juan Roig, but this year the positions are reversed, with the Mercadona president and his €6 billion fortune slipping a notch.

The magazine’s calculations are based on declared business assets alone

without taking personal assets into account, explained Forbes editor Andres Rodriguez.

The Spanish list is dominated by businessmen and there are no sporting figures or scientists amongst the top 100.

Although former heartthrob Julio Iglesias was ranked 47th, his presence was due to real estate investments, not his singing career.

Between them, the 100 richest Spaniards are worth €164.42 billion, the equivalent of 15.6 per cent of Spain’s GDP. While not untouched by the economic crisis, few have much to grumble about as their fortunes increased by 9.2 per cent over the last year.

B

usiness extra

Set for the rush COURIER service SEUR will engage another 1,300 workers over Christmas.

The company handles an average 200,000 items a day but expects this to rise to 500,000 on key dates like December 17.

Fine for sharing THE Uber car-share venture in Barcelona must pay 56 fines of €4,000 for operating without a licence.

Twenty-eight were imposed on the company and 28 on the drivers themselves.

Outlook still brightish for 2015 THE European Commission (EC) adjusted its 2014 growth predictions for Spain by one-tenth to 1.2 per cent.

Expectations for next year were reduced from 2.1 per cent to 1.7 per cent prompted in part by ‘domestic problems,’ but also by the eurozone slowdown although Spain’s GDP growth is still set to accelerate.

This would be supported by employment growth and easier financing conditions, said Pierre Moscovici, the EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs.

Brussels foresaw weak growth for the eurozone and the EU overall, with a GDP increase of 1.3 per cent for this year and 0.8 per cent in 2015.

NACHO FLICKR

Bimbo is determined not to be toast business school.

Consumers also turned to the supermarkets’ own-label products, a tendency that ate into the profits of all food manufacturers but whose impact was even more pronounced for the industrial bakers. Bread and confectionery could be produced more cheaply in plants that were more modern than Bimbo’s and

at lower costs, Varela explained.

Unsurprisingly, supermarket own-labels now account for 65 per cent of industrial bakery.

Bimbo’s Mexico-based mother company Grupo Bimbo intends to redress the balance with a new €70 million plant in Guadalajara Province. This will cut costs and restore its market share, sources revealed.

28

E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

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LONDON - FTSE 100

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US

C LOSING P RICES N OVEMBER 10

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) 3i Group PLC 404.00 Aberdeen Asset PLC 447.35 Admiral Group PLC 1198.50 Aggreko PLC 1540.00 Anglo American PLC 1374.25 Antofagasta PLC 718.75 ARM Holdings PLC 871.00 Ashtead Group PLC 1055.50 Associated British F PLC 2959.00 AstraZeneca PLC 4619.50 Aviva PLC 525.25 Babcock International G...1073.00 BAE Systems PLC 459.80 Barclays PLC 233.90 BG Group PLC 1067.25 BHP Billiton PLC 1696.25 BP PLC 442.22 British American To PLC 3601.00

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 4.00 1.00 4.47 1.01 -16.21 -1.33 10.00 0.65 10.00 0.73 15.09 2.14 -0.50 -0.06 12.84 1.23 2.00 0.07 21.50 0.47 0.00 0.00 -2.78 -0.26 3.10 0.68 -0.25 -0.11 18.00 1.72 20.50 1.22 0.90 0.20 21.50 0.60

NET VOLUME 427.59 612.21 273.45 214.37 1,629.82 729.13 598.74 579.86 141.18 463.50 1,303.61 606.15 1,135.87 7,693.55 1,841.48 2,522.58 9,043.31 422.73

See our advert on page 31

1.27333

0.78533

Units per €

US dollar.................................................................1.24874 Japan yen ..............................................................142.558 Switzerland franc..............................................1.20309 Denmark kroner..................................................7.43814 Norway kroner ..................................................8.43057

currenciesdirect.com/mallorca • Tel: +34 687 906 226 C O M PA N Y

PRICE(P)

British Land Co PLC British Sky Br Gr...

BT Group PLC Bunzl PLC Burberry Group PLC Capita PLC Carnival PLC

719.75 886.75 372.30 1700.00 1511.00 1095.50 2500.00

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. -7.50 -1.50 -1.40 -10.00 -8.00 -8.00 2.00

DOW JONES

NASDAQ

C LOSING P RICES N OVEMBER 10

C LOSING P RICES N OVEMBER 10

C O M PA N Y MMM 3M Co AXP American Express Co T AT&T Inc BA Boeing Co CAT Caterpillar Inc CVX Chevron Corp CSCO Cisco Systems Inc DD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co XOM Exxon Mobil Corp GE General Electric Co GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc HD Home Depot Inc INTC Intel Corp IBM International Business M...

JNJ Johnson & Johnson JPM JPMorgan Chase and Co MCD McDonald's Corp MRK Merck & Co Inc MSFT Microsoft Corp NKE Nike Inc PFE Pfizer Inc PG Procter & Gamble Co KO The Coca-Cola Co TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies Corp UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc VZ Verizon Communications Inc V Visa Inc WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc DIS Walt Disney Co

PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 156.55 92.26 34.91 124.45 101.76 118.80 25.33 70.41 96.59 26.41 190.71 97.65 33.58 162.07 108.20 61.47 95.10 59.34 48.68 93.78 29.92 89.13 42.32 102.37 109.08 93.61 50.86 252.43 78.77 90.00

+0.50 +0.68 +0.19 -0.13 +0.85 +0.27 +0.07 +0.29 +0.33 +0.05 -0.29 +0.36 -0.24 +0.61 -0.81 +0.24 +0.44 +0.08 -0.02 -0.82 -0.12 +0.23 +0.03 +0.46 +0.50 -2.60 +0.58 +2.34 +0.96 -2.00

+0.32% +0.74% +0.55% -0.10% +0.84% +0.23% +0.28% +0.41% +0.34% +0.19% -0.15% +0.37% -0.71% +0.38% -0.74% +0.39% +0.46% +0.13% -0.04% -0.87% -0.40% +0.26% +0.07% +0.45% +0.46% -2.70% +1.15% +0.94% +1.23% -2.17%

1.9M 3.7M 18.0M 2.4M 2.7M 7.4M 34.0M 4.1M 13.2M 26.4M 2.0M 3.4M 27.6M 3.5M 6.7M 12.4M 4.7M 10.6M 28.0M 2.5M 17.3M 6.0M 11.8M 1.4M 3.3M 6.2M 14.0M 2.4M 9.5M 16.2M

C O M PA N Y

-1.03 -0.17 -0.37 -0.59 -0.53 -0.73 0.08

NET VOLUME 1,036.84 1,280.94 3,485.57 114.14 391.59 754.14 89.69

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

$ 42.81 $ 10.73 $ 26.20 $ 5.19 $ 15.10 $ 21.95 $ 5.37 $ 28.75 $ 5.15 $ 35.24 $ 3.63

10.14 ▲ 31.04% 1.88 ▲ 21.24% 4.52 ▲ 20.85% 0.87 ▲ 20.14% 2.49 ▲ 19.75% 3.15 ▲ 16.76% 0.76 ▲ 16.49% 3.95 ▲ 15.93% 0.70 ▲ 15.73% 4.77 ▲ 15.65% 0.49 ▲ 15.61%

Most Advanced Sears Holdings Corporation Approach Resources Inc. Applied Genetic Technologies Corp Silver Standard Resources Inc. Coherus BioSciences, Inc. Varonis Systems, Inc. Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. Five9, Inc. American Public Education, Inc. Solazyme, Inc.

Most Declined Roka Bioscience, Inc. Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PCM, Inc. Financial Engines, Inc. SAExploration Holdings, Inc. Performant Financial Corporation MISONIX, Inc. Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. Lakes Entertainment, Inc.

$3 $ 91.47 $ 172.59 $ 7.45 $ 31.39 $ 4.921 $ 7.04 $ 11.80 $ 28.78 $ 6.91

5.34 ▼ 64.03% 47.08 ▼ 33.98% 74.39 ▼ 30.12% 3.15 ▼ 29.72% 9.43 ▼ 23.10% 1.269 ▼ 20.50% 1.61 ▼ 18.61% 2.44 ▼ 17.13% 5.84 ▼ 16.87% 1.229 ▼ 15.10%

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) CHANGE Centrica PLC 300.05 -2.10 Coca-Cola HBC AG 1348.00 -12.00 Compass Group PLC 1008.50 3.00 CRH PLC 1390.50 -11.00 Diageo PLC 1844.25 20.00 Direct Line Insurance G.. 271.10 -0.10 Dixons Carphone PLC 399.80 -3.48 easyJet PLC 1527.00 -8.00 Experian PLC 1021.50 0.19 Fresnillo PLC 755.75 21.66 Friends Life Group Ltd 322.00 0.50 G4S PLC 262.30 -2.20 GKN PLC 321.95 1.10 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1417.50 0.50 Glencore PLC 327.68 2.40 Hammerson PLC 598.25 -8.00 Hargreaves L PLC 1035.00 -7.90 HSBC Holdings PLC 632.05 2.00 IMI PLC 1241.50 14.00 Imperial To Group PLC 2800.00 20.00 InterContinental H Gro... 2417.00 12.00 International Co ...

406.95 4.30 Intertek Group PLC 2748.50 -8.00 Intu Properties PLC 340.85 -0.80 ITV PLC 203.10 -0.20 Johnson Matthey PLC 3053.00 35.00 Kingfisher PLC 290.70 -0.30 Land Securities G PLC 1098.50 -5.00 Legal & G Group PLC 236.00 0.03 Lloyds Banking Group PLC 76.09 -0.19 London Stock Ex Group... 2040.50 -5.00 Marks & Spencer G PLC 474.30 8.00 Meggitt PLC 483.95 7.70 Mondi PLC 1060.50 2.00 Morrison (Wm) Supe PLC 171.95 3.60

% C H G. -0.69 -0.88 0.30 -0.79 1.10 -0.04 -0.86 -0.52 0.02 2.95 0.16 -0.83 0.34 0.04 0.74 -1.32 -0.76 0.32 1.14 0.72 0.50 1.07 -0.29 -0.23 -0.10 1.16 -0.10 -0.45 0.01 -0.25 -0.24 1.72 1.62 0.19 2.14

VOLUME 3,150.80 107.86 511.82 902.16 1,425.82 742.13 380.31 564.28 612.91 550.39 868.52 2,066.09 749.01 1,617.99 6,346.69 649.56 328.20 5,778.89 191.53 460.42 121.33 3,506.66 98.64 446.95 1,412.35 134.16 2,308.24 463.52 3,222.71 28,198.33 145.20 2,764.82 809.55 293.20 3,622.25

National Grid PLC 923.75 Next PLC 6450.00 Old Mutual PLC 195.05 Pearson PLC 1184.00 Persimmon PLC 1419.00 Petrofac Ltd 1146.50 Prudential PLC 1437.50 Randgold Res Ltd 4188.50 Reckitt Benckiser G PLC 5227.50 Reed Elsevier PLC 1036.50 Rio Tinto PLC 3060.25 Rolls-Royce H PLC 873.25 Royal Bank of Sco Grou... 375.90 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2351.00 Royal Mail PLC 457.80 RSA Insurance Group PLC 449.60 SABMiller PLC 3526.50 Sage Group (The) PLC 374.05 Sainsbury (J) PLC 258.45 Schroders PLC 2520.00 Severn Trent PLC 1959.50 Shire PLC 4248.50 Smith & Nephew PLC 1045.50 Smiths Group PLC 1224.50 Sports Direct I...

651.00 SSE PLC 1559.50 Standard Chartered PLC 945.50 Standard Life PLC 399.30 St James's Place PLC 741.75 Tesco PLC 189.67 Travis Perkins PLC 1664.00 TUI Travel PLC 399.95

4.80 -15.00 2.40 5.00 9.30 29.00 -0.38 58.00 70.00 5.33 21.00 6.00 0.90 25.00 -4.99 3.56 23.25 -1.40 -3.24 13.51 -0.28 76.00 1.00 7.05 -2.00 -9.95 -0.30 1.50 5.00 5.25 14.00 0.10

0.52 -0.23 1.25 0.42 0.66 2.59 -0.03 1.40 1.36 0.52 0.69 0.69 0.24 1.07 -1.08 0.80 0.66 -0.37 -1.24 0.54 -0.01 1.82 0.10 0.58 -0.31 -0.63 -0.03 0.38 0.68 2.85 0.85 0.03

1,816.35 170.16 3,982.15 279.29 189.33 654.69 612.53 269.76 337.82 513.14 986.38 1,322.87 2,063.43 1,068.28 1,049.86 835.45 279.28 786.61 6,044.61 131.64 80.60 632.76 401.23 180.24 213.80 870.76 2,541.96 1,488.14 394.31 18,388.70 111.33 420.96

Tullow Oil PLC Unilever PLC United Utilities G PLC

513.25 2531.00 857.25

6.58 19.00 2.00

1.30 0.76 0.23

984.57 1,195.71 301.03

Vodafone Group PLC

205.83

-1.14

-0.55

23,378.49

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13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

EWN

29

It’s too soon to panic over sanctions THE new European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, on November 5, loftily declares that Western imposed sanctions imposed on Russia are likely to remain at the same level.

Brace! Brace! The 28 nations making up the European Union are set to lose €50 billion in trade with Russia during 2015. Even if sanctions are lifted most cannot be recovered. The Russians have many alternative sources, whilst EU Bloc traders have few options.

Some struggling economies will suffer more than will others. Nevertheless, as a noted American economist points out, “One more sanction and the European Union is back in recession.”

How will businesses tackle this self-

Talking shop Mike Walsh Mike Walsh was for 20 years Regional Assessment Manager for the Guild of Master Craftsmen, Britain’s biggest quality assurance body for businesses.

www.michaelwalsh.es • 966 786 932

strangulation? Many will tighten their belts and hope to survive whilst others will look for alternative markets. I propose the latter as being the best course. Why? Businesses have become either complacent or mulishly refuse to move

with the times. I was reminded of this when browsing one of Latvia’s biggest country fairs.

On sale were Baltic State manufactured products restricted to home markets, yet would find eager buyers outside their own country. Given added novelty effect and the fact that many larger nations like the UK, Germany, France and the Low Countries have more disposable income, the opportunities for Baltic product sales abroad are phenomenal.

When pointing this out I was dismissed as naïve. Really? I asked the owners of two switched on businesses that were successfully exporting their products, how they were doing. Both were

manufacturing Baltic related goods and explained that half their produce was being sold abroad; mostly Germany and the United States. They conceded that their businesses would be unlikely to survive without sales abroad. They owed their success to their internet marketing.

A Swedish business friend of mine who runs a business networking association in Riga agreed. Businesses are mired in inertia. Is it any different in Spain? Many Spanish-made products, again because of their exotic value, would find eager buyers in the rest of Europe.

A pipe dream? Hardly. Many Spanish entrepreneurs have grown super rich by looking for streets paved with gold. Why not you too?

30

E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

The least all business owners can do is make their customers feel special Loose change A look at finance for females

Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

HOW many times have you have walked into a café or shop only to be greeted by a sour grin and an obviously irritated expel of air asking what you want?

This deplorable kind of customer service is a pet hate of mine. I have worked in a café. I have worked in a shop too, and I know that it is not that difficult a job. The least an employee - or owner for that matter - can do, is be polite and welcoming.

So often, obviously untrained staff completely ignore customers, while they chat and

laugh with colleagues. It’s an infuriating situation when you are waiting at the till, with your hard-earned money in hand, ready to buy something from their business.

Failing to make a customer feel welcome and worthy is a fundamental fault of any business that leads to massive losses, yet so many businesses still continue to put themselves above their customers.

Proper training of staff is key to success, be it a dog walker or a nursery school or a supermarket chain.

Receiving good service is a delight. So it’s essential to employ staff who are enthusiastic and who

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Proper staff training is the key. actually know what they’re talking about.

This will put a smile on a customer’s face and make them WANT to come back and spend more money.

Modern customers are smart - if they’re not

happy they will pop off to a competitor quicker than you can say, ‘where are you going?’

Remember the businesses that boast great success often have one thing in common great customer service.

A tried and tested method of keeping customers happy is rewarding them for their loyalty. Make customers feel special and give them a reason to come back by offering a voucher, a loyalty discount card or special pricing.

People love a discount.

For any businesses or small business owners out there… please train staff to know what they are there for and actually attend to customers.

While for all you customers, if businesses continue to treat you like dirt, then please… take your money elsewhere.

SIP Card no good in Tenerife?

Q. Having just read your article ‘Worried Over Medical Bills,’ I question the You and the statement that the medical card is valid Law in Spain in all of Spain.

By David Searl My wife and I have held a SIP card for five years and every year we spend five or six months in Tenerife. Each time we try to use the SIP card there we are told they do not accept it. Could you clarify?

K.A. (Costa Blanca) A. Tenerife rejects your SIP card because it is not a Spanish Social Security card. In the Valencian region your health services are provided by the Valencian health service and in Andalucia, they are delivered by the Servicio Andaluz de Salud. They are all part of the national system but they are individually administered, often with some differences.

The SIP card is one of these differences. The SIP stands for Sistema de Información Poblacional, (System of Information regarding the Population). Every resident of the Valencian region is supposed to have one. Even a newborn baby gets a SIP. Basically, it is a census. The SIP card

BUSINESS EXTRA

Good showing SANTANDER’S 2014 third-quarter profits increased by more than 50 per cent to €1.6 billion, its best for three years. Profits for the first nine months of the year grew by 32 per cent to €4.36 billion thanks to improving revenue, falling costs and less need for write-downs, said Santander president Ana Botin.

Jobs assured

entitles holders to health care, but only in the Valencia region.

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

FIFTY-SEVEN per cent of Spain’s big employers expected their current number of workers to remain unchanged in 2015, found a survey during the Family Firms annual conference in Alicante. Thirty-two per cent intended to engage more staff, compared with 27 per cent who had planned to do so in 2013.

OPINION & COMMENT

Different address NORA JOHNSON wrote about ‘Millionaire’s row,’ The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead.

I had my first baby there in October 1953, in what had been Gracie Fields house, ‘Towers.’

Shirley Bassey also gave birth to her first baby there in October 1954, before she became famous.

The rich residents of The Bishops Avenue (among them Lord Sainsbury) didn’t like this ‘common mill girl’ living there and made it known. So when Gracie left, she gave the house to the Government with the proviso it was used as a maternity hospital: “See how they like ambulances going up and down in the night!”

The house was just as Gracie left it, with ballerina wallpaper, a piano in the corner, a central staircase and a balcony all round the first floor. The bathroom was huge, black-tiled and the bath stood on a dais in the middle of the room.

On the third day after giving birth we were moved three doors along by ambulance to another mansion, ‘Green Trees.’ The owner had tried three times to burn it down for insurance but the insurance company realised, so he lost the house and the money!

It had a tennis court and swimming pool (not that we were allowed to use them, of course).

It is sad to read about the Avenue now.

Jenny Hollowell, Arroyo De La Miel (Malaga)

Flight fright WHY can I not get a flight to or from Majorca in November?

I looked at easyJet, who I flew with last November and the year before, and also Ryanair.

No flights for November!

Daniel Duff (by email)

Time for a change YOUR columnists Nora Johnson and Mike Walsh raised some excellent issues about our UK politicians.

I remember my grandfather telling me how proud he was to vote for the newly-formed Labour party, the party for working people. Alas things are no longer that simple!

The New Labour Party appears to have forgotten completely who

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33

Not golden JUDGING from his reaction to noise, Michael Hill has clearly not resided in Spain for long.

Otherwise he would have understood by now that the Spanish concept of silence differs radically from that of the British.

The Brits associate silence with peace and tranquillity but to the Spanish it represents death and sadness, hence the love of noise and life! They say you can attend a fiesta somewhere in Spain every day of the year and the Spanish appetite in general for having a noisy time can be difficult to comprehend particularly when you are trying to make yourself understood in a restaurant!

As a former bar-owner myself I can assure you that it’s never the Spanish who make the complaints about noise: it is almost invariably the Brits.

Ken Bethell, Puerto de Mazarron (Murcia)

Taxing matter MONSTER mantis darkens the skies above La Cala (taken through my windscreen)!

Geoff Stansfield (by email)

they are supposed to represent and all MPs are there purely for their own self-glory. They promise us everything tomorrow.

Now a grandparent myself, I feel this is my chance to change our political system once again and perhaps give my own working-class grandchildren a chance to have a party that may, hopefully, stand up and represent their views in the future.

Yes I know Nigel Farage isn’t working class, but he does appear to answer a direct question and certainly appears to know a little more about living in the real world.

Just think about the mayhem they could cause when his party wins a few more seats: no more boring politics for us! They certainly couldn’t do any worse than the current lot.

Ann Paterson, San Fulgencio (Alicante)

Do something now IF the British conservative party wins the general election in 2015

WHEN YOU WRITE All letters, whether by email or post, should carry the writer’s postal address, NIE and contact number though only the name and town will be published.

Letters may also be edited.

Readers who have missed earlier correspondence can see all letters posted on:

www.euroweeklynews.com

the proposed EU referendum will no doubt go ahead in 2017, if not earlier.

The merits of giving such a vote to the British public are in themselves debatable and of some concern. The issue is highly complex, beyond the knowledge of the average ‘Joe Public,’ and most commentary about the EU is to be found in the British tabloid press, known to be profoundly anti-EU and xenophobic.

Any vote given to the public on this issue would unfortunately be a vote bound by ignorance rather than informed commentary of the workings of the EU.

If the referendum goes ahead, it will be a miracle if the British public votes ‘yes’ to continued EU membership, especially in the face of David Cameron’s current rhetoric and paranoid fear of losing votes to the upstart and ultra-rightwing UKIP. To the best of my knowledge the government has not indicated what it will do to protect the 1.4m or so registered British residents in other EU states. Other EU citizens working and living in the UK must have similar concerns.

If no lobbying is done now, waiting for the vote to take place could be too late and we could see our rights eroded overnight.

I have already written to the British prime minister and to the other two mainstream British political party headquarters expressing my concerns.

Everyone who cares about their future residence should do likewise. Let the politicians really know of your concerns.

Complacency and doing nothing achieve nothing.

Jeremy Cordon Newby, Perin (Murcia)

I OWN an apartment in a complex in Benalmadena and was outraged to learn because it’s not my main residence I have to pay a lot more money for collections of bins and other services.

Surely this is not right? Or was the information I received wrong?

If true, is this in accordance with EU law?

Andrew James, Hengoed (South Wales)

Job done I WAS charmed not long ago when I saw a young man stop in the street and greet a very old lady. A little unsteady on her feet and with a wheeled walking aid, she was out with someone who looked as though she must be her carer. This very good-looking young man kissed her on both cheeks. He was probably a relative, as all the Spanish residents in our small town turn out to be related to each other.

The elderly woman asked him how he was and he replied he had found work. “Work!” she exclaimed. “That’s wonderful!”

“I know,” he replied. “My parents are over the moon.”

And so, at a distance, was I. But what a sign of the times!

Rosemary Cochrane (by email)

The views expressed and opinions given in Letters are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. They accept no responsibility for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements, and reject claims arising out of any action that a company or individual may take on the basis of information contained therein.

34

E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

www.euroweeklynews.com

OPINION & COMMENT

Back in the old country...

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT

I

HAVE just paid £8 for four coffees! Yep, back in the old Motherland for a couple of weeks.

That was the price in the café at Blackpool train station.

The mind boggles.

With these sorts of prices one thing is becoming perfectly clear (as our politicians are so fond of spouting) I’m gonna have to put up my fees!

Been a pretty eventful week so far. I’m delighted to say my prostate biopsy result came through as clear. Had to wait more than a month for the results. To say it was a long month is something of an understatement. It’s an odd sort of limbo-land when the future is unknown and certainly undecided. Thankfully I was one of the lucky

MINI TOUR: Blackpool is one of Leapy’s destinations back in UK. ones. My heart goes out to those whose results are not so favourable.

Another event this week was my daughter Charlene’s announcement that she was finally going to tie the knot with her handsome Mallorcan partner, Miguel. Not before time. Mucha suerte to you both. It’s all done differently

these days. They've bought the house, had a beautiful baby boy, saved their money and now they’re getting married. I dunno, in my day that procedure was reversed.

That’s progress, I suppose.

All that has been rounded off by coming over to the auld country for a mini tour. Last night I had the pleasure of

working with Amen Corner.

Now there’s a blast from the past! I am now on a train back to Blackpool, as I missed the Preston stop on the way down.

Duh! One thing that does become apparent over here is the politeness of those who serve the public. Rail staff, hotel staff, etc, are all most obliging and helpful. A trait

that is somewhat lacking in some public servants in good old España where the dreaded shoulder shrug is prominent in most problem situations. Ah well, at least it’s warmer. It’s freezing over here.

Just been informed that I needn’t have got the train back to Preston and could have caught my connection at Manchester. Gawd! Am now on my way back to Manchester Piccadilly and feel it may be wiser to discontinue this missive and concentrate on where I’m supposed to be going!

Just as a matter of interest, waiting for my train, which incidentally goes on to Huddersfield, there were only three white faces out of some 50 or 60 waiting passengers.

Just an observation, that’s all.

Have a good week. Try and do a favour or two. And, whatever ya do, always keep the faith.

Love Leapy Leapylee2002@ gmail.com

What is something that people spend a large amount on, but don’t need to?

G

here

it

RAHAM SALT from Pest Control, Costa del Sol says alcohol, because nobody in England would drink Anis at seven in the morning, but is

Total Entertainment.

STREET TALK normal!

Trinidad Sanchez Fuentes from the Clinica Mejorate Physiotherapy and Osteopathy Centre which has centres in Altea, Los Montesinos and Torrevieja believes men and women spend money they don’t need to on two different things: “Women spend too much on shoes and men spend too much on televisions and technology, TVs always have to be the biggest and best and women always need a new pair of shoes!”

Cesar Ripanu from TRINI: Women spend too much money on shoes.

Gold Rush in Zenia Boulevard, La Zenia, Torrevieja and Quesada, believes people spend lots of money on self confidence: “When people don’t have any, they think they can buy it as if they are saying ‘I don’t like the way I look, so I will buy a Rolex or a Ferrari’ and you don’t need to buy that sort of status and confidence.”

Claire McCann of Total Entertainment, Albox and Arboleas said: “I might have to be a bit controversial, as one of those horrible, preachy non-smokers my answer would be cigarettes.

Especially at UK prices! I always justify my huge Avon bills by saying it’s still less than my boyfriend spends on smoking.”

Donna from Little Britain in Mallorca says shoes; she always spends thousands of pounds on shoes,

CESAR: People spend money on material things to buy self confidence.

when she doesn’t really need them.

Sammi Clueit from Splash Pools, Costa del Sol says handbags. People spend ridiculous amounts of money on expensive handbags.

36

E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

Thursday BBC ONE 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Watchdog 10:00pm Life Story 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Question Time 12:35am Looking After Mum - A Children in Need Special

BBC TWO 6:00pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm The Great Interior Design Challenge 9:00pm MasterChef: The Professionals 10:00pm The Fall 11:00pm Russell Howard's Good News 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am The Mekong River with Sue Perkins

ITV 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Tonight 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Paul O'Grady: For The Love of Dogs 10:00pm Neil Diamond: For One Night Only 11:15pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:55pm Wilderness Walks with Ray Mears 12:25am The Chase

CH4 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm Rory Peck Awards 9:00pm George Clarke's Amazing Spaces 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm Babylon 12:05am 8 Out of 10 Cats

CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Gadget Show 9:00pm Underground Britain 10:00pm Streets of Rage: Caught on Camera Documentary.

11:00pm House of Horrors 12:00am Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

SKY1 5:00pm Inside Gatwick 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Arrow 10:00pm Forever 11:00pm The Last Ship 12:00am The Last Ship

Friday BBC ONE 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Glorious Gardens From Above 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Children in Need 2014 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Children in Need 2014

BBC TWO 6:00pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm The Home That Two Built 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Tom Kerridge's Best Ever Dishes 10:00pm The Fish Market: Inside Billingsgate 11:00pm Children in Need 11:35pm Newsnight 12:10am Never Mind the Buzzcocks

ITV 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Secrets From the Sky 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Lewis 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm GoldenEye

CH4 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:35pm Unreported World 9:00pm Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 10:00pm Gogglebox 11:00pm Alan Carr: Chatty Man 12:10am Toast of London

CH5 4:10pm Rosamunde Pilcher: The Unknown Heart 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm World War II in Colour 9:00pm Rome: The World's First Superpower 10:00pm Alex Polizzi's Secret Italy 11:00pm Body of Proof 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles

SKY1 4:00pm Obese: A Year to Save My Life USA 5:00pm Inside Gatwick 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 10:00pm Football's Funniest Moments 11:00pm Micky Flanagan's Detour De France 12:00am Britcam: Emergency on Our Streets

Saturday BBC ONE 3:00pm Rugby Union 5:30pm Children in Need 6:50pm BBC News 7:00pm BBC London News 7:10pm Pointless 8:00pm Strictly Come Dancing 9:30pm Atlantis 10:15pm Casualty 11:05pm The National Lottery Live 11:15pm BBC News 11:35pm Mrs. Brown's Boys 12:05am Jack Whitehall Live 1:05am EastEnders Omnibus 2:35am Weather for the Week Ahead 2:40am BBC News

BBC TWO 3:00pm Tennis 6:00pm Rugby Union 8:30pm Flog it! Trade Secrets 9:00pm Perry and Croft: Made in Britain 9:30pm Dad's Army 10:00pm QI XL 10:45pm War of Words: SoldierPoets of the Somme 12:15am TOTP 2 1:15am Down Terrace 2:45am Undertow 4:20am This is BBC Two

ITV 3:00pm Doc Martin 4:05pm Keep it in the Family 5:05pm ITV News London 5:15pm ITV News and Weather 5:30pm Euro 2016 Qualifier Live 8:15pm The Chase: Celebrity Special 9:15pm The X Factor 10:55pm The Jonathan Ross Show 11:55pm ITV News and Weather 12:10am Euro 2016 Qualifier Highlights 1:10am Jackpot247 4:00am The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 4:45am ITV Nightscreen

CH4 5:00pm Come Dine with Me 5:30pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:35pm Come Dine with Me 7:05pm Come Dine with Me 7:35pm Channel 4 News 8:05pm Speed with Guy Martin 9:00pm Walking Through History 10:00pm It Was Alright in the 1970's 11:00pm Chronicle 12:40am Max Payne 2:30am Shell 4:05am Hollyoaks Omnibus

CH5 4:20pm Christmas Mail 6:10pm A Grandpa for Christmas 7:55pm 5 News Weekend 8:00pm The Battle of Britain 10:35pm The Wild Geese 1:15am Gotham 2:10am Super Casino

SKY1 3:00pm The Middle 3:30pm The Middle 4:00pm All Aboard: East Coast Trains 5:00pm All Aboard: East Coast Trains 6:00pm Portrait Artist of the Year 2014 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 9:00pm Hawaii Five-0 10:00pm X2 12:40am Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?!

TV LISTING

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Sunday BBC ONE 3:45pm Gareth's All Star Choir 4:45pm Points of View 5:00pm Lifeline 5:10pm Songs of Praise 5:45pm Life Story 6:45pm BBC News 7:05pm BBC London News 7:15pm Countryfile 8:15pm Strictly Come Dancing 9:00pm War Horse 11:15pm BBC News 11:35pm BBC London News 11:45pm Michael Mcintyre's Showtime 12:45am The Apprentice 1:45am Repo Chick

BBC TWO 3:25pm Up Periscope 5:15pm Glorious Gardens From Above 6:00pm Flog It! 7:00pm Tennis 8:00pm Human Universe 9:00pm The Mekong River with Sue Perkins 10:00pm World's Greatest Food Markets 11:00pm Russell Howard's Good News 11:30pm The Wrong Mans 12:00am The Wrong Mans 12:30am Regeneration

ITV 3:10pm The Unforgettable...

3:50pm The X Factor 5:25pm Downton Abbey 7:00pm You've Been Framed!

7:30pm ITV News London 7:45pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Keep it in the Family 9:00pm The X Factor Results Show 10:00pm I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!

11:40pm ITV News and Weather 11:55pm Broadmoor 12:55am Rugby Highlights 1:50am The Store

CH4 4:40pm 17 Again 6:45pm Mirror Mirror 8:40pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Speed with Guy Martin 10:00pm Homeland 11:00pm Micky Flanagan: Back in the Game 12:40am Alan Carr: Chatty Man

CH5 4:40pm Farewell Mr. Kringle 6:25pm Dumb and Dumber 8:30pm 5 News Weekend 8:40pm Superman 2 11:00pm Conan the Barbarian 1:15am Chaos 3:05am Super Casino

SKY1 3:00pm All Aboard: East Coast Trains 4:00pm All Aboard: East Coast Trains 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm The Simpsons 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Futurama 8:00pm The Flash 9:00pm Modern Family 9:30pm Trollied 10:00pm Hawaii Five-0 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am Trollied 12:30am The Cafe

Monday BBC ONE 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Fake Britain 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Room 101 10:00pm New Tricks 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Panorama 12:20am Jamie Baulch: Looking for My Birth Mum

BBC TWO 6:20pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm Tom Kerridge's Best Ever Dishes 8:30pm Children's Hospital 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Only Connect 10:00pm Intruders 10:45pm Some Irish People with Jokes 11:00pm Never Mind the Buzzcocks 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Great Continental Railway Journeys

ITV 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Countrywise 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!

11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm The Agenda 12:20am The Jonathan Ross Show

CH4 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm The Political Slot 9:00pm Dispatches 9:30pm Sarah Beeny's How to Sell Your Home 10:00pm 24 Hours in Police Custody 11:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats 11:50pm Toast of London 12:20am The IT Crowd

CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Gadget Show 9:00pm Jack the Ripper: The Missing Evidence 10:00pm Gotham 11:00pm Under the Dome 11:55pm Set Up 1:35am World's Scariest Flights

SKY1 5:00pm Inside Gatwick 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Modern Family 9:30pm Trollied 10:00pm Micky Flanagan's Detour De France 11:00pm Arrow 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles

Tuesday BBC ONE 4:45pm Glorious Gardens From Above 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm The Missing 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Imagine...

12:50am The Painted Veil

BBC TWO 4:45pm The Rockford Files 5:35pm Cagney and Lacey 6:20pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm The Great Interior Design Challenge 9:00pm MasterChef: The Professionals 10:00pm Secrets of the Castle with Ruth, Peter and Tom 11:00pm The Walshes 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am World's Greatest Food Markets

ITV 4:00pm Secret Dealers 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm International Football 11:15pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:55pm Hot Tub Britain 1:00am The Cube 1:50am Jackpot247

CH4 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm The Political Slot 9:00pm Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners 10:00pm You Can't Get the Staff 11:00pm Gogglebox 12:00am 24 Hours in A and E

CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Madeleine Mccann: A Global Obsession 9:00pm There's a Rhino in My Bed! 10:00pm Miracle Babies 11:00pm NCIS 12:00am NCIS

SKY1 4:00pm Obese: A Year to Save My Life USA 5:00pm Inside Gatwick 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Flash 10:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 11:00pm Britcam: Emergency on Our Streets 12:00am Legends

Wednesday BBC ONE 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm Waterloo Road 10:00pm The Apprentice 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Live at the Apollo 12:05am Film 2014

BBC TWO 6:20pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm The Great Interior Design Challenge 9:00pm MasterChef: The Professionals 10:00pm Great Continental Railway Journeys 11:00pm The Apprentice: You're Fired!

11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Russia's Lost Princesses

ITV 3:00pm Peter Andre's 60 Minute Makeover 4:00pm Secret Dealers 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Surprise Surprise 10:00pm I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!

11:30pm ITV News and Weather 12:15am The Chase

CH4 4:00pm Fifteen to One 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm Coach Trip 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm The Political Slot 9:00pm Posh Pawn 10:00pm Liberty of London 11:00pm Confessions of a Copper 12:00am It Was Alright in the 1970's

CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Police Interceptors 9:00pm Gibraltar: Britain in the Sun 10:00pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

11:00pm Wentworth 12:00am The Jersey Slayer

SKY1 4:00pm Obese: A Year to Save My Life USA 5:00pm Greggs: More Than Meats the Pie 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm X2 11:40pm Legends 12:40am Forever

OPINION & COMMENT

TRUST our advertisers

WE DO!

13 - 19 November 2014 /Mallorca

EWN

37

Honesty pays in the media Mike Walsh Mike, based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.

I

T would be a knee-jerk comment to describe the Euro Weekly News success story as being down to the hard work and dedication of its staff. Successful or not, newspaper hubs are no place for the faint-hearted; the answer has to lie elsewhere.

Could it be that mainstream media has lost touch with their readership?

Newspapers and broadcasters that once commanded enormous respect have lost public confidence. Today, mainstream media are megaphones for political and corporate interests.

A career in journalism once carried a kudos similar to that enjoyed by healthcare professionals and the Civil Service. Now, even household name columnists are regarded as little more than hacks.

In truth there has never been a truly free media: A. J. Liebling, a highly respected journalist for the New Yorker, remarked, ‘Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.’

Newspaper proprietors set the rules and we scribblers abide by them. Here in Spain I am privileged to be encouraged to challenge orthodoxy. I do so. However, many articles by truly great columnists will never be printed in mainstream media.

In the U.S. 77 per cent of the population distrust corporate TV news. More Americans get their news from online sources rather than from conventional media.

European mistrust is likely to be higher.

It wasn’t always like that. Until a few decades ago queues formed at newsstands eagerly awaiting the WHISTLE-BLOWERS: Like Julian Assange seek sanctuary abroad or take refuge in foreign embassies.

days hot off the press news. Great newspapers, like the Chicago Herald, Daily Express, and Paris Soir published uncut articles by the then German leader, Adolph Hitler, Italy’s Benito Mussolini, Spain’s General Franco and other controversial figures.

Would mainstream media today allow space to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Presidents of Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia or leaders of Novorussia or Belarus?

Interestingly, those who express the most outrage at today’s media spin and control are insider journalists.

Outraged at restrictions placed on them, they express themselves eloquently,

not in mainstream media but in freer media.

Whatever spin media puts on it there should be outrage that whistle-blowers like Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and other dissidents seek sanctuary abroad or take refuge in foreign embassies; in cases like that of ex-serviceman Chelsea Manning jailed for years.

Whatever happened to the Voltaire principle: “I disapprove of what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.” Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and Wall Street Journal editor describes journalists as ‘presstitutes.’

Former CIA Director William Colby; “The CIA owns everyone of any significance in the major media.”

Western mainstream media readership collapses as its cynical readership evaporates. In Britain, 52 corporate interest publications collapsed in 2009 alone.

Despite this gloomy outlook, truly independent more trusted localised media adds to its readership and advertising revenue. Newspapers can survive and thrive but will do so only when once again independent of political and corporate interests.

Advertising feature

Edward William Insurance Services expand their horizons

By Pete Woodall EDWARD WILLIAM INSURANCE SERVICES have done rather well for themselves over the last 15 years. Their policy ‘any boat, any waters, any use, anywhere’ combined with good customer service has built them a steadily increasing customer base in marine insurance both here in Spain and overseas. So much so they have recently expanded into general insurance cover.

The key to Edward William Insurance Services’s popularity is that the team are native English speakers, most fluent in Spanish, providing the best of both worlds. Insurance in English for the customer and competent to deal with any paperwork in Spanish.

It’s sensible to say when you are paying for an insurance service it’s nice to understand

GENERAL COVER: Services now include travel insurance, long or short term. what you’re getting or even not getting. The policies come in English with Spanish translations. No more (not quite sure if this is a free-phone number or not) calls to who knows where,

never to speak with the same person even twice.

It’s personal service, just one telephone number to the same office, to speak to the same team. The firm is proud of their

supposedly old fashioned ways and should you have to make a claim, they see it as part of their job to ensure everyone gets a fair deal and the payout is appropriate and prompt.

So what’s on offer? Obviously to be this successful, premiums have to be competitive, which they are, but also appropriate.

This is so important, the right insurance for the right situation.

As well as the successful boat insurance already mentioned, Edward William Insurance Services now provide first class motor vehicle, travel, pet, business and household insurance. You get to choose and discuss what is right for you, third party only or fully comprehensive, long or short term travel insurance and of course good cover for your pets.

Whatever your insurance needs are on land or at sea, at home or abroad feel free to call Edward William Insurance Services on 952 476 090, quotes are usually immediate and it costs very little to ask.

38

E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

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TODAY TODAY

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Visit the stars, for details on our expanded range of services

All the following people are, or have been, members of the high IQ society Mensa International: 1. The films The Jerk (1979), The Man with Two Brains (1983), Roxanne (1983) and The Pink Panther (2006), all starred which award-winning American comedian, actor, musician, author, screenwriter, film producer and voice over artist?

2. What is the name of the American actress who starred in the films The Fly (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), Thelma and Louise (1991), A League of Their Own, Stuart Little (1999) and The Accidental Tourist (1988), for which she won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress?

3. What is the name of the American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, producer and actor who began his career as an independent filmmaker with the release of Reservoir Dogs in 1992?

4. What is the name of the English entrepreneur and inventor, whose creations have included the ZX80, ZX81 and ZX Spectrum home computers?

Mon - 21 12 Cl Tues - 21 12 S Wed - 21 13 S

20 13 Sh 22 12 Cl 21 14 C

tars

TODAY:

Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every 3X3 box contains the digits 1-9. There’s no maths involved. You solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) By showing confidence in your own way of doing things, you inspire others. This is chiefly because you are at last finding a balance between work and home life.

In the past you may have felt stressed and equated that with working - not so now.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Because you are intent on pleasing others, you may be cramping your own style. This is something that you have in abundance and it should be used. You may be feeling that a business idea does not stand a chance.

LOTTERY UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

Saturday November 8

Saturday November 8

Saturday November 8

Friday November 7

6

7

22

27

35

42

3

21 38

34 39

1

7

17

28

34

36

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

1

12

41

13

25 38

SUNNY 22 14 Sh 19 13 C 20 13 Cl

LUCKY STARS 1

10

4

17

32

33

35

37

REINTEGRO 29

2

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA 2

4 33

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 18 12 Sh Tues - 19 12 S Wed - 19 13 S

MAX MIN

14 7 Sh 13 8 C 14 7 Sh

Mon - 14 5 Cl Tues - 14 7 C Wed - 16 8 Cl

Murcia MAX 20C, MIN 13C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 19 12 Sh Tues - 19 12 Cl Wed - 21 13 S Cl Clear,

CLEAR

MAX 22C, MIN 12C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun Fog,

21 10 Sh 22 11 Cl 21 12 C C Cloud,

MAX MIN

Mon - 22 10 Cl Tues - 21 11 Cl Wed - 21 12 S Sh Showers,

Th Thunder

Nonagram How many English words of four letters or more can you make from the nine letters in our Nonagram puzzle? Each letter may be used only once (unless the letter appears twice). Each word MUST CONTAIN THE CENTRE LETTER (in this case G) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

TARGET:

Average: 21

Very good: 39

Good: 27

Excellent: 48

alba, bald, balk, bard, bark, bawl, blow, boar, bola, bold, bowl, brad, braw, brow, drab, board, brawl, broad, labor, lobar, aboard, aboral, abroad, bradawl, BOARDWALK

Word Ladder SEED

Move from the start word (SEED) to the end word (CAKE) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder. You must only change one letter at a time.

10 46

REINTEGRO 6

Mon - 21 13 C Tues - 21 14 S Wed - 21 14 S

SHOWERS MAX 14C, MIN 11C

TODAY:

Sn Snow,

Sunday November 9

Saturday November 8

32 46

LA PRIMITIVA

MAX MIN

21 14 Sh 21 15 Cl 21 14 C

Madrid

18 11 Sh 19 12 Cl 19 14 Sh

S Sun,

LEO (July 24 - August 23) You work hard for your money. Make it worthwhile by trying to hold on to as much of it as possible. Someone who is charming and plausible may try to get you involved in a fast-track money making scheme.

Sudoku

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX 21C, MIN 13C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 20 13 C Tues - 20 13 Cl Wed - 21 14 S

SUNNY MAX 23C, MIN 15C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 20 13 C Tues - 20 13 Cl Wed - 21 14 S

Mallorca TODAY:

MAX MIN

19 14 Sh 19 15 Cl 20 14 C

TODAY:

MAX 20C, MIN 16C

19 14 Sh 19 15 Cl 20 14 C

CLEAR

MAX 20C, MIN 16C

Benidorm

CLEAR

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) The moment that you have been waiting for has arrived. A colleague has made a decision that is long overdue.

Perhaps you are a little shocked and speechless because there has been such a time lag, but this will pass.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) During your social encounters this

Fri Sat Sun -

Malaga

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Some exciting suggestions make you think twice about a current business matter. However, it may not be necessary to change anything but to consider the new suggestion as a sort of 'add on' to a current project.

backing. Take advice from a professional or someone with successful experience in these matters. Remember that any idea has to grow, so consider what you need to see happen in five years' time.

Fri Sat Sun -

CLEAR MAX MIN

Barcelona TODAY:

week you meet someone who offers to help. That is great, but do ask yourself if you would be prepared to give anything in return.

Y S our

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) An exciting project is bubbling away in your mind but may need financial

4-Star Quiz CLEVER CLOGS

Fri Sat Sun -

TODAY:

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

the rescue when your situation changes. Well, they will, won't they? Have Plan B ready just in case. In continuing to think in the short term you do yourself no favours.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Someone will most certainly come to

MAX MIN

www.fiduciarywealth.eu

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Letting life get too tame will eventually irritate you no end. Your social life needs a boost which, in turn, helps romance blossom. It is easy to be a bit lazy when things are going smoothly but we all need constant stretching.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) A chance remark alluding to your past brings a flashback. This helps you to see a current situation more clearly. We all make mistakes and follow the same old patterns, but this time you are being forewarned.

Almeria

SUNNY MAX 23C, MIN 13C

CAKE

CANE (SAKE) CAKE

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) The rather more serious side of your nature needs to take over this week. Someone in a higher position is keeping an eye on you.

This maybe because they are considering you for promotion, so be on your best behaviour.

Alicante TODAY:

SEED SEND SAND SANE

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) A juicy bit of gossip comes your way this week and it is hard to keep it quiet. You must do so, however, because there is a lot riding on it.

When people trust you, they are saying much about the relationship.

1. Steve MARTIN, 2. Geena DAVIS, 3.

Quentin TARANTINO, 4. Sir Clive SINCLAIR

www.euroweeklynews.com

CROSSWORDS

Crosswords

13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

EWN

39

SPONSORED BY

For more information about the sponsor go to www.lineadirecta.com

Cryptic

Quick

Across 1 Female hiding in the cowshed (3) 3 Sensational people running the company? Right! (9) 8 Polish lady has a nurse (5) 9 Rewrite a sermon for rowers (7) 10 Nat return as Browning (3) 11 Redundant minor actor (5) 12 Encourage in tower (7) 13 Nervous school head showed compassion (6) 15 Hound fool involved in speculation (6) 19 Attribute to a writer (7) 21 A sect could be a social class (5) 23 Leguminous plant from Chesapeake Bay (3) 24 Squaddie against pirate at sea (7) 25 Rides around and dehydrates (5) 26 Compromise mad son in census (9) 27 One move is an eternity (3) Down 1 Nuns’ close relations (7) 2 Choose the Spanish city’s temperature (5) 3 Ant is in safe place in New Mexico (5,2)

Across 1 Catastrophe (8) 5 Take or grasp suddenly (4) 9 Attendant (7) 10 Grades (5) 11 Frighten (5) 12 Not accepted (7) 13 Bonbons (6) 15 Emergency (6) 18 Set aside (7) 20 Bizarre (5) 22 Make fun of (5) 23 Gloomiest (7) 24 Master of ceremonies (4) 25 Stress (8)

4 Rocky said: “No”, being a handsome youth (6) 5 Ban Kansas sailing ships (5) 6 Imparts damaged axillae (7) 7 Bonehead taken up by Aztec nude dancers (5) 14 A cut I arranged to get on the sale (7)

16 A saint cared about galleries (7) 17 Turkish leader has a motive for lese majesty (7) 18 Deters rebel lepers (6) 19 Delia’s pickle contains jelly (5) 20 I am on time for the picture (5) 22 Grab hold of the Bishops’ seats, so to speak (5)

Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 3 represents L and 13 represents X, so fill in L every time the figure 3 appears and X every time the figure 13 appears. 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.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS CRYPTIC Across: 1 Ankh, 3 Trespass, 9 Surpass, 10 At sea, 11 State, 12 Esteem, 14 Elapse, 16 Delete, 19 Cinema, 21 Plane, 24 Aroma, 25 Dislike, 26 Elements, 27 Deny.

Down: 1 Assisted, 2 Korea, 4 Rushes, 5 Scant, 6 Austere, 7 Span, 8 Caters, 13 Cemetery, 15 Adipose, 17 El Paso, 18 Bandit, 20 Elate, 22 Alike, 23 Dame.

QUICK Across: 7 Palace, 8 Erased, 9 Mess, 10 Careless, 11 Measles, 13 Grabs, 15 Bunch, 17 Desires, 20 Familiar, 21 Said, 23 Decide, 24 Tangle.

Down: 1 Cage, 2 Causes, 3 Reached, 4 Beard, 5 Sailor, 6 Sensible, 12 Educated, 14 Secrets, 16 Crisis, 18 Insane, 19 Fixed, 22 Idle.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Admit, 4 Peaje, 7 Sobrino, 8 Tia, 10 Rio, 11 Tan, 12 Patient, 14 Seeds, 15 Stage.

Down: 1 Aceitunas, 2 Más, 3 Taburetes, 4 Prisoners, 5 About, 6 Expensive, 9 Apple, 13 Tea.

17 Infrequently (6)

20 Having a specified value (5)

19 Continues or remains in a

21 Meetings arranged in

place or state (5)

advance (5)

English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English.

Across 1 Arches (5) 4 Lighthouses (5) 7 Jamón (de cerdo) (3) 8 Monzón (7) 9 Lento (ritmo, movimiento, caída) (4) 10 To dance (6) 14 Tattoo (7) 16 Monja (3) 17 Tuberías (5) 18 Western (side, part) (5) Down 1 Cenizas (5) 2 Countryside (5) 3 Mismo (igual) (4) 4 Plumber (9) 5 River (3) 6 Hijo (3) 11 Monday (5) 12 Enjuagar (5) 13 Sierras (herramientas) (4) 14 Punta (de dedo, lengua, pincel) (3) 15 Grifo (de agua) (3)

Hexagram The purpose of the Hexagram puzzle is to place the 19 six-letter words into the 19 cells. The letters at the edges of interlocking cells MUST BE THE SAME. The letters in the words must be written CLOCKWISE. The word in cell 10 (PARKED) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

ALTERS

PEERED

ANGERS

PERKED

COILED

PORTER

DEARLY

RECEDE

DESIRE

SCENES

HEDGES

SHEETS

HELPED

STAYED

MISERY

STEEDS

NORMAL

TESTED

PARKED (10)

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Funagram Unscramble the name of an ice cream-based dessert (two words): BLAST IN A PAN FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: FRANK LAMPARD, BANANA SPLIT

Unscramble the name of a famous English professional footballer: PARK FARMLAND

Down 1 Office furniture (5) 2 Exterior boundary (7) 3 Have in common (5) 4 Complete (6) 6 Circles (5) 7 In addition to (7) 8 Like better (6) 13 Draw out (7) 14 Reference point to shoot at (6) 16 Eight-legged predatory arachnids (7)

1 Scream, 2 Agrees, 3 States, 4 Scones, 5 Centre, 6 Thanks, 7 Saucer, 8 Months, 9 Course, 10 Stormy, 11 Lasted, 12 Astray, 13 Normal, 14 Stench, 15 Amount, 16 Galley, 17 Rested, 18 Unable, 19 Scenes

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E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

ealth & beauty H TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EWNLIFESTYLE.COM

TRUS

dvert T isers

our a

WE D

O!

Bad news and facing up to fears Erica Russell Watson: My journey – and I’m driving

2nd

OCTOBER: The phone rang, it was my surgeon’s secretary. I was expecting a call as the tumour committee, a delightful name I know, had met the day before to discuss my case but just not a call the following day. Invariably when you are contacted quickly it means there is urgent news and generally not positive. I was asked to come in the following morning for my results.

My surgeon cut to the chase and said she was sorry to have to tell me that the news was not good. I had grade three cancer and that my breast was proliferated with micro tumours, all malignant, which had not been detected by the mammogram. The upshot was that they were going to have to get me back in for another operation; a mastectomy. This was going to be the only way to ensure the cancer didn’t spread to other parts of my body.

Just starting to feel better again and back onto the operating table. Oh well, I thought, what can you do? I felt that my breast was unhealthy and so although I was not looking forward to another operation I knew it was necessary, and the sooner the better. I focused on my main objective, eradicate the cancer. So plan B, a deep breath, and wait for a surgery date.

I didn’t have too much time to dwell as I had an appointment the same day to take my stitches out and the staples under my arm, which were becoming decidedly uncomfortable. The staples

Readers’ response Dear Erica, The article you wrote about your hospital procedure sounded almost like a happy holiday spa you went to... where all the staff were absolute caring professionals from the nurses to the surgeons. In fact you did compare it with hospitals in films. Certainly a lot more attractive than I have heard from the Murcian area of Spain. For whatever reason... you failed to mention the hospital you spoke of so fluently and I must admit to being curious... possibly because I am contemplating taking out Residencia. I would like you please to answer just one question... was your procedure with the Spanish National Health or did you go PRIVATE? Eva Taylor (Mrs) Dear Eva Many thanks for your email. In response to your question my treatment is with the Spanish National Health System. I am a resident and self-employed and therefore am entitled to use the public health system. To be able to use the system, naturally you need to pay taxes. British nationals who draw a pension are also entitled to use the system.

do not hurt when they are removed at all but the stitches are a little trickier as they are just like fishing line so cutting them is difficult. Once done, I came home. I was feeling tired and jaded. Thank goodness my good friend Bertie was coming to visit me… her timing could not have been better!

As the day went on my son noticed that the scar under my arm was starting to open.

It seemed fine when the staples had been taken out in the morning but it was looking pretty bad now and I suspected that if it were left it would become infected. In the end my son insisted I went to Urgencias or A&E.

The hospital where I had my operations and screening is called Hospital Comarcal de la Axarquía in Vélez-Málaga.

When I start chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment I will be moved to Carlos Haya in Málaga, another very well known public hospital.

I hope that answers your questions.

Kind regards Erica What an inspiration this woman is... and so brave. Good for you, dear. Hope everything went well for you - with those wonderful people looking after you.

God Bless.

Ena Amengual Mallorca

By Email Dear Ena Thank you so much for taking the time to put pen to paper and for your good wishes. I am a very lucky lady to have so much support. Thank you once again.

Warmest wishes Erica

It was late at night and my friend was about to arrive but I had no choice, I couldn’t risk an infection. So off I went and had it dealt with. Dosed up with antibiotics and patched up, I came home.

I felt quite weak the following day and was told to rest. Just as well Bertie was with me or I would have tried to cook, wash up, sweep and a host of other things. She strong armed me onto the sofa and did absolutely everything around the house!

She even gave my children a yoga class and a relaxation session for me, along with anti-inflammatory exercises.

Bertie is not to be argued with and I love her for it.

The next day I bounced back and we managed a lunch out, which lifted my spirits no end. I can’t emphasise enough the importance of having the support of friends and loved ones. You have to get used to accepting help if you want a quick recovery.

While I waited for my operation date I couldn’t help worrying about the possibility that my left breast might also have tumours. If the mammogram hadn’t detected some of the tumours in the right breast, what guarantee did I have that the same scenario wasn’t the case for the other side?

So instead of fretting I rang the doctor’s secretary and

asked if I could see my surgeon to talk to her about my concerns. She tracked her down and was back on the phone within 10 minutes with an appointment for the following day to coincide with my meeting with the anesthetist.

This is not very common in the National Health System.

Normally you would have to go via your GP or Médico de Cabecera to get appointments but I had somehow managed to fast track everything, which was very fortunate because I believe every second counts.

I discussed my concerns with my surgeon and she agreed that we could not take any chances with my “unpredictable breasts”. She sent me for an MRI scan the following day, to be on the safe side. If it was bad news then I would have a double mastectomy.

It was an uncomfortable process. I had the line put in my arm through which they inject a dye to provide a contrast in order to show up any abnormalities more clearly. I had to lie face down and found it hard to breath with the most difficult thing being that I was unable to move at all.

I was still smarting from the embarrassment of having slapped the male nurse administering the scan in the face with my unruly right boob! Anyway it was over and I went for breakfast with my lovely friend Conchi, whom I regard as my adopted aunt!

Just two days after the MRI scan, my surgeon called me at home. She spoke in Spanish: “Hi darling, good news, the left breast is clear! So have a good weekend and I will see you on the operating table on October 22.”

Great news! Now I had to prepare for the operation the following week.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

Advertising feature

European Dental Practice DR NIGEL OSCROFT was in private practice until 2012 when he took over The European Dental Practice in Calvia, Mallorca.

He has an enviable reputation, and a team working with him at Centro Comercial Mercadona who pride themselves on customer service.

The practice specialises in all aspects of dentistry and works closely with The Dental Workshop in the UK, providing all the benefits of a modern laboratory in Mallorca.

The following treatments are available: Preventative dentistry Used on both children and adults, fissure sealants can be employed to coat and protect the biting surface, or fluoride treatments can be applied to teeth to make them more resistant to decay and fractures.

Dental hygiene Improved dental hygiene, tooth scaling and polishing are effective ways to reduce the causes of infection that in turn can create gingivitis and periodontitis.

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THE EUROPEAN DENTAL PRACTICE: Enviable reputation. a filling is not enough, The European Dental Practice use the latest technology zirconium crowns, which are extremely strong, metal free and translucent.

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Night-shift-mares!

DOING long-term shift work affects the brain’s memory and thinking skills. Researchers found that working shifts for a decade or more leads to a loss of memory and an impaired ability to think.

By stopping shift work, the brain can recover,

but it can take up to five years.

The University of Toulouse in France said the disruption of the body clock and natural day and night cycles may cause the negative effect on the brain’s ability to function.

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E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

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FEATURE

Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em

By Iain Dempsey IT’S a sight that isn’t particularly commonplace, given its solitary nature, but it is one that routinely occurs in hundreds of thousands of homes across Spain, and forms a multi-billion euro industry.

Each night, bathed in the white luminous glow of computer screens and tablets, Spanish gamblers roll the virtual dice, fold or raise on the virtual felt, and win or lose ‘virtual’ money.

But despite the dangerous lies that a gambler’s mind tells itself, the money isn’t virtual. It is real. And most gamblers are losing theirs. If the house always wins in the long run, to use the Vegas parlance, then Spanish players are paying handover-fist to the virtual house.

The online gaming industry in Spain generates more than €5.5 billion each year and attracts around 300,000 regular players. It’s a lot of money for a country with nearly a quarter of the population out of work.

According to the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU), the average Spanish online gambler is male, is aged between 25 and 34, and spends €1,765 a month on sports betting, online gambling or on poker sites. To put that into context, this amount is slightly above the average Spanish monthly wage of €1,615.

Gambling on the internet is now the second biggest form of gambling addiction in Spain behind fruit machines, but takes less time to develop: two years instead of six or seven for more traditional forms of gambling.

Of course not everybody who has an account on an online poker site is a gambling addict. Many players enjoy the thrill of the game while not really expecting to win. They do it for a few hours’ recreation.

However there are others who consistently break the golden rule of gambling, ‘never chase your losses’, and find themselves loading more money into an account that rarely seems to grow in size.

So what is it about online

ONLINE GAMBLING: Addiction can develop faster than in traditional gambling that means it only takes two years to develop a gambling addiction, as opposed to six if you frequent the traditional ‘brick and mortar’ establishments like casinos or bookies?

It comes down to perception. Like using a credit card (which the gambler actually needs to finance their online account), the user tells themselves that the money isn’t real. If you can’t see it and can’t touch it, it’s just a number on a screen that can go up or down.

Access to your bank account is just a simple click away and, who

depletes and they need to deposit more in order to keep playing.

A quick search around internet forums throws up a sizeable amount of people complaining that when they first joined an online gambling site or poker site, they found themselves winning regularly and seeing their initial deposit grow in size, only for that ‘lucky streak’ to come to an abrupt end shortly afterwards. But by then it’s too late, they’re hooked and chasing the highs of that winning streak.

A regulated industry, like it is in Spain, at least ensures that licensed gambling sites are above board and playing by the rules (there have been high profile cases in other countries where some sites weren’t).

And the carrots that they dangle to get you in the virtual door and start spending money are just that: juicy enticements. You don’t have to take the bait, but many people do.

The small percentage of gamblers – particularly in online poker – who do win on a regular basis, rely on the fact that most people will lose.

They hone their game, memorise the necessary statistics, and use best judgement at the table to keep their accounts ticking upwards. The online gambling world is full of experts Gambling sites and sharks employ any number only too willing to of lures to reel you in. forms. take money Poker sites regularly from the match your deposit knows, you recreational with their own may pick or bad money, purely to up that pair players. of winning It’s a world get you to deposit aces on the not to get into money. next hand. too lightly, and Online gambling one that must be sites also employ any treated with caution. If number of lures to reel you in. you can afford it, are having Poker sites regularly match your fun, and are not all-consumed by it, deposit with their own money, then by all means, enjoy. But if you purely to get you to deposit money. consistently lose and find yourself “Deposit €100 and we’ll give you pumping more money into that another €100” they frequently online account while you chase your advertise. Most players find, losses, it might be time to stop or however, that their €200 slowly seek help.

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ood F

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WE DO!

& DRINK

TR US

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FOOD & DRINK

Mallorca’s best guide to local restaurants

TO READ MORE VISIT: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM/FEATURES/RESTAURANTS

Advertising feature

The tempting Aroma is the only place to be this winter

WHOEVER thought Mallorca was a quiet place during the winter months, has obviously never been to Restaurant Aroma in Calvià.

The vibrant restaurant, owned by Mark Scott, prides itself not only on the fabulous Italian cuisine; Argentinian steaks and weekly Friday night fresh fish and chips, but transforms into Calvià’s liveliest music spot.

Three times a week, musicians travel from all over Mallorca to gather together and entertain the diners and faithful followers of the best music around. Regular guests on the live music nights include Joe Cocker’s sax player, the bass player from The Smiths and musical director Ronnie B. The 130 cover, renowned restaurant is even being filmed by Channel 5 for an exciting new series, entitled ‘OAP’s Behaving Euro Badly,’ when Weekly News columnist Leapy Lee will be followed round by a crew on December 13 singing his 60s hit ‘Little Arrows.’

Mark, who spent more than €500,000 redecorating the restaurant, which celebrated its fourth birthday recently, is

ROARING TRADE: Book now if you don’t want to miss out on Christmas and New Year events.

definitely front-of-house material.

His enthusiasm and magnetism wins over every heart and soul on the island.

His explanation of the varied menu and passion for good food and quality meat shines through as soon as you are greeted by the friendly and outgoing host.

Tables for Christmas lunch are already mostly sold out, and no wonder, when the traditional roast turkey lunch is reasonably priced at only €49.95 per head.

New Year’s Eve will definitely go off with a bang in Aroma, starting at around 8pm and continuing well into the dawn hours.

The

restaurant is offering a buffet, live music with ‘The Hats’ and Radio 1 DJ Matt Harris, along with loads of fun and games.

The buffet comprising Aroma’s famous meat dishes, fish dishes and of course a vegetarian selection, will only cost €35 per head.

The restaurant is already half full, so beware; book quickly if

you want to grap a place for the best night of the year, with some

remarkable food, a fantastic atmosphere and great entertainment.

AROMA RESTAURANT - THERE’S ONLY ONE PLACE TO BE THIS WINTER! Opening Hours: 9am until late Closed Mondays El Toro - Port Adriano - Calvià, Mallorca www.aromaeltoro.com Tel. (+34) 971 232 842 Facebook: aromaeltoro

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E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

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OPINION & COMMENT

Normal service will be resumed REGULAR readers of this column will have noticed that I have been anything but regular recently with my column, and for that I apologise. I’ve been getting to know the Spanish health system. Now it’s nothing to worry about, I’m not about to announce a terminal disease or a pregnancy, but I have been coping with a new and unexpected development. I’ve become one of those people who has back problems, despite my indignant denial of the situation.

Which is how I found myself in Son Espases Hospital at 9.30am a couple of Sundays ago waiting for an MRI. There is a little known skill that a Britisher has to develop once they have moved to Spain: the ability to recognise their surname when a Spanish person pronounces it in a waiting

with me in order to be understood, much to the amusement of the nurses.

At least now I can use the Google Translate App on my phone, (if you haven’t got it, get it, it’s free and very handy for tricky vocabulary. I didn’t know the Catalan word ‘imant’ meant ‘magnet’ for example).

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have an MRI. Although I’d seen plenty of them on Casualty, I still turned to my Facebook mates in the group ‘I have a question’ to find out what advice they had for me. “You have to stay still but don’t panic,” “make sure you go for a big wee beforehand,” “it’s quite noisy but it’s okay they give you earplugs,” and “I played an alphabet game in my head to distract me,” were the four most key pieces of advice that played

Vicki Mcleod

Family Matters room. You don’t want to jump up and cry “Ese soy yo!” and be embarrassed to realise they have in fact just called Senora Mendoza, crivens no, that wouldn’t do at all to draw attention to oneself would it?

On top of that there is the immense translation task which is the medical questionnaire, in Catalan.

Back in 2004 when my husband and I moved to Mallorca we very quickly had to use what was then Son Dureta Hospital for a mystery illness (which turned out to be a very nasty bout of reactive arthritis). I had to cart around an enormous Spanish English dictionary

MEDICAL QUESTIONS: Use a translation app.

through my head (wishing I’d remembered the advice about the wee), as I lay down on the trolley and slowly slid into the tube. I fought off the temptation to have a panic attack when I realised that I was in an expensive coffin-like structure and started to write this column in my head.

My friends were right, it is noisy, but the sounds are very much like what you would expect to hear coming from a teenager’s bedroom: a repetitive twanging guitar sound, one note only, a stuck record (vinyl, remember them, even older than my dictionary) and a jack hammer. Well, depends on the type of teenagers you know I suppose.

I’ll be back next week.

(See what I did there?). www.familymatters mallorca.com

Advertising Feature

Pit Stop Tyres - drive safely this winter with all your lights working

A

S the winter months draw in and the nights get darker, travelling to work and back in the dark cold rainy days and nights is not always easy.

You need to know your lights are working correctly so you can see those slippery roads and more importantly, make sure you are seen by other cars.

At Pit Stop Tyres we check all the lights of your car for safety and vision.

Make sure you don’t get fined this winter or be unfortunate to have an accident without the protection of your two high visibility vests and triangles that are a necessity by law in Spain.

At Pit Stop Tyres we check your car has all the items that are needed by law in Spain.

As the roads get wetter, it’s important that your tyres are not worn down and the pressure is correct, otherwise your stopping

Contact Colin at Pit Stop Tyres, Calle Illetas Canarias 33, San Bugadelles, Mallorca.

Tel: 971 690 023 Mobile: 638 721 177 Email: pitstopmallorca@gmail.com

PIT STOP: Will check your car has all the items needed by law in Spain. distance is affected, which affects the handling of your car.

At Pit Stop Tyres we offer a

free service to check your tyres and brakes to make sure everything is working correctly

for you.

Remember it’s better to be safe than sorry. You wouldn’t go

on a dicey fairground ride in case you got hurt, so don’t get into your car knowing it’s dangerous!

Pit Stop Tyres is just a stone’s throw away, come and see us, we will check your car whilst you wait and make sure danger is on the other side of the road.

In bad conditions, don’t drive too close to the car in front or drive too fast as both can result in causing accidents. It doesn’t cost anything to be nice to other road users and everybody gets to their destination safely.

Pit Stop Tyres, remember the name, remember the motto, DRIVE SAFELY this winter.

PETS

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13 - 19 November 2014 /Mallorca

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SPONSORED BY

TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Gay bull Benjy faces slaughter BENJY, a bull who currently resides at a farm in County Mayo in Ireland, hasn’t lived up to expectations recently and may be sent to the slaughterhouse as he is reluctant to go anywhere near any of the females on his farm.

Although bought as a breeding bull, the pedigree Charolais, whose purpose is to impregnate the fertile female cows, takes more of a liking to the other male bulls.

After realisation that

none of his cows were pregnant, the farmer was forced to replace Benjy with another bull and now more of his cows are thought to be pregnant.

The anonymous farmer told the Irish Daily Mail: “The bull is now too old to castrate and turn into a bullock so I will keep him for the factory.” At first the farmer admitted he couldn’t take the situation seriously although he had heard of it happening to others.

Fire-starting hamster PEBBLES, a restless hamster has made its two owners, Tracey Hill and her son Kae, homeless after it started a blaze in their home. His constant running caused his cage to move the buttons on the hob of an electric cooker, which then caught fire.

The fire caused £20,000 (€25,500) of damage to the home, as well as claiming the lives of both Pebbles and three of Tracey’s other pets - two dogs, Poppy and Twiggy, and a pet chinchilla. Fortunately Tracey and Kae managed to flee to safety.

Aggressive behaviour in cats

LAST week with the help of Celia Haddon I made some points on aggressive behaviour in cats, here I continue the theme…

Some cats are aggressive only in specific situations that frighten them.

They are friendly much of the time but lash out, for instance, when being picked up. Or they are aggressive if they feel they are cornered and cannot escape human handling. Soon they learn that being aggressive keeps humans at a safe distance.

If this happens, they begin to be aggressive quicker because they learn that this tactic works. A pet behaviour counsellor can help you work out exactly what triggers your cat’s aggressive reaction and how to avoid it.

Frustration aggression may be more common in hand reared kittens, as these were not weaned in a natural way. Kittens learn to tolerate frustration when their mother starts pushing

David THE Dogman

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them away from the teats. As the bottle is never withheld by a human, they are never frustrated. Hand reared cats have no emotional control as they were not put through this process.

Holly meets and greets her new housesitter

By Lamia Walker of HousesitMatch IT is never easy leaving an elderly pet when you need to travel. Some owners find it the hardest decision to make. Do I leave the pet in a good kennels or just stay at home..?

Sometimes you are called away and you have to prepare your pet to cope with a new carer.

This is the difficult decision Holly’s family faced when they had to return to Scotland to visit an ailing relative. After talking to friends, David and Janet decided that finding a housesitter would be the solution for them.

Holly, a Cocker Spaniel, is 12-years-old and suffers with rheumatism in her legs and canker in her ears.

They decided moving her

to a kennels for three to four weeks might not be a good move.

They went online and met a number of possible candidates through HouseSitMatch.com.

Within a week they met Jean a sitter from Malaga.

She was available to come and meet Holly before they travelled.

They spent an afternoon getting to know each

other and Jean learned about Holly’s routine medication. Holly seemed comfortable in her company.

Download your Free Easy Guide to Housesitting from here www.bit.ly/ eurown001.

To find a petsitter go to www.HousesitMatch. com or call Lamia on +44 (0)1865 521508.

Cats that have no coping strategy for frustration just lash out. They may try to control their owners by this.

Their aggression is encouraged because the owner will back away showing the cat it can control its human. Turn round the relationship by clicker training or reward training the cat. Get help from a cat behaviour counsellor for this.

Occasionally an otherwise docile cat will attack its owner, because it is aroused by something else. For instance, if it is watching another cat through the window, and feels threatened by it. If there is a threatening cat on the block, or cats in the same household are fighting, your cat may take out its aggression on you. You will also get bitten severely if you interrupt a cat fight.

As this is an important subject I will return to it next week.

Scared cats can be aggressive.

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PROPERTY

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Home price gap widens A SURVEY has shown that the difference in price for Spain’s most expensive and cheapest addresses is a staggering €10,600 a square metre.

The cheapest address in Spain is in Castellón (Valencia region) where prices are a rock bottom €300 a square metre. That is more than 36 times cheaper than the €10,900 a square metre demanded in Madrid’s swanky Calle Serrano, which saw a 4 per cent rise in prices over the last year.

Calle Serrano is home to a collection of luxury shops including Gucci and Prada, clearly signalling where the money is.

For the second most expensive street in Spain

PRESTIGE HOMES: Calle Serrano in Madrid. you need to head over to Barcelona, according to estate agents TecniTasa.

Property in the city’s Passeig de Gracia commands €8,450 per square metre.

There is a big drop to next on the list, but it still costs an eyewatering €6,400 per square metre to buy in Calle Hernani in San Sebastian, just off the famous La Concha beach.

For those looking for a bargain basement price, the second cheapest addresses are in the El Pilar and La Estación neighbourhoods of Talavera de la Reina (Castilla-La Mancha) where prices are €320 per square metre.

Most expensive in Spain: 1. Calle Serrano, Madrid (€10,900) 2. Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona (€8,450) 3. Area around Calle Hernani (Hernani Kalea), San Sebastian (€6,400) 4.

El Sardinero neighbourhood, Santander (€6,350) 5.

Abandoibarra Etorbidea/Plaza de Eusaki, Bilbao (€5,500)

U-turn on capital gains tax

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THE Spanish government has bowed to public pressure and backtracked on a new capital gains law that could have seen huge increases in tax payable on second homes bought before 1994.

Under the original proposals, someone who bought their property more than 20 years ago who sold after January 1 next year (providing they were under 65 and it was not classed as their primary residence) would have seen a huge rise in their capital gains bill.

For example, a house bought in 1976 at two million pesetas (€12,020), sold now at €222,000, would pay €10,869 tax (IRPF) under the current legislation.

The modification of the act would have seen a dramatic increase in liability from the beginning of January next year, to €43,995.

The reason for that is because the government is getting rid of the adjustment co-efficient which limited capital gains liability from the 80s, and the monetary correction indices which took into account inflation.

HEADQUARTERS: The Ministry of Finance in Madrid.

Now, after protests from politicians, housing associations and the public saying it would be another blow to the property market, the government has decided to soften the blow.

An amendment to the bill, backed by the Ministry of Finance, will keep the reduced rate for capital gains ‘until the cumulative sum of the transmission value of the property

exceeds €400,000.’

The converse aspect of the law is that it would have reduced capital gains liabilities on property bought since 1994. It is unclear whether the new amendment will affect that aspect of the bill.

Property owners considering selling should talk to a property professional for advice on the full ramifications of the law.

PROPERTY

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13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

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DUBLIN: Fell behind Madrid in the third quarter of this year.

Autumn sees luxury property prices in Spanish capital climb faster than anywhere else in Europe MADRID overtook London and Dublin for third quarter price rises for prime residential property.

According to figures from Knight Frank estate agents, the Spanish capital saw a 2 per cent increase in prices on luxury property compared to 1.4 per cent for Dublin and 1

per cent for London.

Over the 12 months since September 2013 Dublin is highest ranked in Europe with rises of 12.7 per cent on the global luxury home index for price growth.

Madrid is third in Europe behind London, with a rise of 6.5 per cent compared to

London’s 7.4 per cent.

The figures put Dublin in fourth spot worldwide, with London 10th and Madrid 12th in the index of luxury home price rises for major cities.

Leading the way were Jakarta in Indonesia with a 27.3 per cent rise, Los Angeles (16.3 per cent) and Tel Aviv

(14 per cent.) Worldwide luxury prices continue to outperform their mainstream counterparts.

The average price of a luxury home on Knight Frank’s index is 36 per cent higher than it was at the index’s lowest point in the second quarter of 2009, while the average price of a

mainstream property has risen by 14 per cent over the same period.

Madrid, Dublin and London have bucked the European trend with the average rise in prime residential property prices across European cities in the year to September being just 1 per cent.

E W N 13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

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Volvo Ocean Race first leg has been completed in Cape Town ABU DHABI OCEAN RACING has won the first leg of the prestigious roundthe-world Volvo Ocean Race.

The nine-man crew of the Azzam Arabic for ‘determination’ - sailed into Cape Town, South Africa as the first

boat across the line, 25 days and three hours after leaving Alicante, Spain. The next leg of the race will take the seven competing teams from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi, namesake of the team currently out in front.

The Azzam suffered no serious problems as it navigated the nearly 6,500 nautical miles from Alicante to Cape Town, and finished 12 minutes ahead of nearest challenger Dongfeng Race Team. Team Brunel came in third place, more than four hours behind Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

The teams will have a break before starting out on the next leg of the race on November 19.

In all, the 38,000 nautical mile race will take nine months to complete, in what is September almost described as one of the exactly matched last toughest sailing events in year’s figure following six the world. This edition of months of falling figures, the Volvo Ocean Race will and operators are finish in Gothenburg, confident the ninth month Sweden, in June 2015. of the year will be the Spain has one team turnaround point. competing this year - the The Gran Canaria port Mapfre team - hoping to of Las Palmas has had a claim the very first victory particularly good year so in the Volvo Ocean Race far, registering a massive for the country.

49 per cent increase.

Good year expected for cruise ship ports SPANISH cruise ship ports are confident of 2014 being a record-breaking year in terms of passenger numbers.

Spain’s most important cruise ports of the Balearics, Barcelona, Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife account for over three-quarters of all cruise ship visitors to Spain, and hopes are high nationally

that by end of December, the total number of passengers for the year will break eight million.

Last year saw 7.66 million passengers pass through Spanish cruise ship ports and though this year has seen a slight decline, it is felt the last three months of the year will push the figure up past the record mark.

BOATING

Best yach you decide A TOTAL of 17 talented Spanish photographers are among 120 entrants in this year’s prestigious Mirabaud Yacht Racing Image 2014.

An international jury of yachting and photography experts have chosen an incredible selection of images from yacht photographers around the world, and the public have until December 1 to choose their favourite one.

“The collection of images submitted by the 120 photographers is very interesting and it has been a real challenge to vote,” said Antonio Palma, CEO of Mirabaud, the banking and financial group. “Each picture has its merit and it is fascinating to see how different photographers

perceive and interpret the yacht racing environment through their art.”

The yearly contest - that seeks to recognise the best yacht racing image taken during the year - awards two prizes: one chosen by a panel of specialists and another chosen by the public and delegates from the World Yacht Racing Forum.

The winners of the competition will be awarded a stunning Zenith El Primero Chronomaster 1969 watch - as well as the prestige attached to winning the award - at the World Yacht Racing Forum in Barcelona on December 11.

“This extraordinary collection of images is the

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BOATING

13 - 19 November 2014 / Mallorca

Kurt Arrigo/Rolex

© ACEA / PHOTO ABNER KINGMAN

hting image of the year e which is your favourite

WINNER 2012: A different interpretation. those are values that are dear to us.”

WINNER 2013: Last year’s top photo. visual expression of what happened in the world of yacht racing this year, all over the

planet,” said Aldo Magada, CEO of Zenith. “It shows a mixture of authenticity, pleasure and

tenacity and proves that the yacht racing world is very dynamic, diverse and beautiful;

To view the stunning collection of images and to vote for your favourite, go to www.yachtracingimage.com.

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Ventura del Mar comes in first THE 14th annual ‘Route of the Sun Fuengirola - Ceuta’ race on the Costa del Sol saw Javier Contreras’ ‘Ventura del Mar’ come in first place.

In a time of just over nine hours, Ventura del Mar finished the Fuengirola to Ceuta crossing 30 minutes ahead of its nearest competitor.

Eighteen boats from a variety of different ports in the area took part in the race that featured windy conditions throughout, with only 10 boats completing the course.

Organised by the Yacht Club of Fuengirola and Hercules Marina in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta, Ventura del Mar was followed in second by ‘Ojamrack’ and in third place came ‘Fearless.’

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MOTORING

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Love design, love Maserati FOR those who love Italian style, Maserati has come up with a treat.

The Maserati Ghibli S Q4, designed in collaboration with Ermenegildo Zegna, offers a new, exclusive product style interpretation.

With its dynamic, contemporary look, it targets a luxury bracket of precious detail lovers and has been created with a renewed product range in mind for the future. The bodywork has a tri-coated paint finish in a new colour shade and the 20” wheels also come in a specially developed colour.

And the interior is first rate. It has been designed as the ultimate expression

GHIBLI S Q4: An Italian style treat.

of style and exclusivity, with a contrasting colour scheme created by combining the finest leather and valuable Zegna yarns, says Maserati.

The car stands out from

the rest of the current Ghibli range thanks to its special colour finishes, materials and trims.

Intended to be a first milestone towards the manufacturer’s renewed,

future product line-up, this special trim developed for the concept car enhances its character and aesthetic value, making it even more exclusive and creating the ultimate contemporary look, says Maserati.

The exterior has a new exclusive Azzurro Astro colour; the production technology is based on a triple layer of pigment, adding to the depth, shine and iridescence of the finish, enhanced by changing shades of blue at the brightest points, and toned down to ash grey in the darker areas.

The aluminium pigments used for this special colour magnify the design lines and bring out the muscular profile of the bodywork; the car’s sculpted outline is forcefully enhanced by the colour used, while the transparent top coat adds depth and a glossy shine.

Other immediately apparent exterior features are the 20” Urano wheels with their distinctive colour specially developed for this concept car; this finish, named Liquid Metal, emphasises sports style, high technology and luxury positioning of the design.

SEAT Leon ST is Towcar of the Year SEAT’S Leon is celebrating its first - and second - towing titles, awarded at the UK’s Royal Automobile Club.

Fending off 11 challengers, the SEAT Leon ST took the crown in the £20,000 (€25,500) to £25,000 (€32,000) category; the judges concluding: “The load-lugging Leon ST 2.0 TDI 184PS kept its torquey feel and produced punch whenever and wherever it was required.”

Such was the Leon ST’s performance, the car was also crowned Caravan Club Towcar of the Year 2015.

Aiding its ability to sip fuel at a rate of just 65.7 miles per gallon, at 1,415 kilos, the Leon ST is one of the lightest estates in its class.

The triumphant SEAT which was put through its paces by the ninestrong judging panel, a Leon ST 2.0 TDI 184PS in the sporty FR guise, romped to victory and was named Towcar of the Year 2015. In FR guise with the two-litre 184 PS engine, and a hefty 380Nm torque, it’s capable of towing loads up to 1.6 tonnes.

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Sport Mallorca’s best guide to local sport

By Lynda Demangeat

MOST of the rugby players involved in the island’s clubs saw action over the weekend in the various leagues and Rugby Days that were organised.

A determined EL Toro RC team pushed hard from the initial whistle and never let up in their Baleares Senior League match against Shamrock RC. The hosts scored a try within the first five minutes to start the scoreboard rolling. Shamrock RC kept up the pressure and spent

SPORT

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Super Marc MotoGP - Spain’s superstar Marc Marquez claimed his 13th victory of the year on his home track in Valencia last Sunday and therefore broke the previous record of 12 wins set by Australian Michael Doohan in 1997.

TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Perfect weekend for rugby

plenty of time in El Toro RC half but were unable to break through the strong home team defences.

In a fast moving game, with plenty of breakaway runs in an effort to create scoring opportunities, El Toro RC finished with seven tries. The final score of 41 points to 0 was not indicative of the quality of the game and Shamrock RC was very unlucky not to score.

Bahia RC continued their winning streak in their visit to Manacor to play Dimonis RC. The hosts held on until the end, scoring a try in the last few minutes, but unfortunately this wasn’t enough to beat the strong scrum and fast footwork of

LINEOUT: Bahia continued their winning streak.

GOOD CROWD: El Toro RC girls v Corsaris.

Bahia RC who remained the superior team. Final score was 12 points to 49.

The other teams in action were Corsaris RFC who played RC Ponent A in a tough match. Both teams

towards the end and RC Ponent finished ahead with 62 points to seven scored

by Corsaris.

A good crowd turned out as dusk fell in Sa Roca to support the five teams

were equal in winning their respective line-outs, but Ponent dominated the scrums which gave them the advantage.

Although the hosts kept up the pressure they tired

taking part in the Senior Girls 7’s Series. As in previous weeks El Toro RC and RC Ponent were the teams to beat, but Corsaris RFC and Bahia RC worked very hard to score.