Euro Weekly News - Mallorca 1 - 7 January 2015 Issue 1539

ISSUE NO. 1539

EWN FRONT EXTRA

Christmas baby ONE of Mallorca’s first Christmas babies was born at Son Espases Hospital on December 25 at 2.52am. The boy was named Lluc and weighed 3.875 kilos.

Strauss concert THE Strauss Festival Orchestra will hold a New Year’s concert at the Auditorium de Palma de Mallorca on Friday, January 2, at 9pm. Tickets are €42, €52 and €66.

More information can be found at: www.auditorium palma.com.

Found safe A 19-YEAR-OLD girl who was reported missing last Friday, December 26, in the Bunyola municipality near the Soller motorway has been found safe and sound by Guardia Civil officers and the emergency services.

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READERS AND ADVERTISERS A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Three Kings en route CHILDREN across the island are getting excited as preparations for Three Kings’ parades are reaching completion in almost every town and village.

In keeping with tradition, Gaspar, Balthasar and Melchior travel the streets in every town and city in Spain on the afternoon or evening of January 5 in a variety of ways, sometimes walking, sometimes riding horses or camels, but usually on floats pulled by tractors or cars.

Larger towns tend to have bigger parades with many floats depicting popular characters, and children and

adults riding on the floats throw sweets and gifts to the crowds.

Those who have not experienced the joys of the parade before may feel a little overwhelmed by the

crowds and wish for a crash helmet to avoid being concussed by flying boiled sweets. Yet the festive spirit and joy and excitement soon get everyone shouting to the floats for gifts to be thrown in their direction.

In Palma, this year’s parade will be held from 6pm until 7.45pm and the and caused serious damage to the route will take the Kings to vehicles.

Avinguda Antoni Maura, Two fallen trees blocked traffic on the Passeig del Born, Plaça del Serra de Tramuntana near the Sa Calobra Rei Joan Carles I, Carrer de intersection for almost an hour and a half. la Unio, Carrer Bari de Local Police in Palma removed large Binopar, Avinguda broken-off branches on Calle Manacor and Portugal, Passeig de a fallen tree on Calle Jacob Sureda. Similar Mallorca, Avinguda Jaume events were reported on Calle Pompeu III, Plaça Joan Carles I, Fabra, Niceto Alcala Zamora, as well as in Passeig del Born, Plaça de Pare Calders and Llucmajor. la Reina and Plaça Cort.

High winds wreak havoc THE strong winds that battered the island on Sunday, December 28, wreaked havoc in their wake and kept firefighters and police busy.

The winds broke branches off trees, blew trees down and caused damage to property, but nobody was reported injured.

Several bricks from a building undergoing construction work on Calle Bernat Visca in Es Molinar fell on two cars

E W N 1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

INDEX News 1 - 16 Finance 17 - 22 Letters 23 Leapy Lee 24 Daily TV 30 Time Out 32 - 33 Health & Beauty 35 Food 37 Homes & Gardens 39 Property 41 Classifieds 42 - 43 Boating 44 - 45 Motoring 46 Sport 48

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ON TRIAL: Cristina de Borbon, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca (second from left).

‘Royals should be stripped of title’

CRISTINA DE BORBON and Iñaki Urdangarin should be deprived of their titles of Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, according to Més per Palma.

The political coalition will reportedly submit a proposal to Palma Council to deprive the younger sister of King Felipe VI, and her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, of their

official Duchess and Duke of Palma titles as they will both be tried for alleged involvement in the Noos case.

“The fact that two people who will stand trial for corruption charges hold titles with the name of our city is an insult to the citizens of Palma,” said Més spokesman Antoni Verger in a statement, adding that

they will propose the Royal Household should repeal the Royal Decree that conferred the titles on the couple.

“It is an embarrassment that Palma’s name is still associated with a corruption case because of Urdangarin and Cristina de Borbon who stand accused of diverting public funds and tax offences,” he added.

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Population figures PALMA ranks eighth among the most heavily populated provincial capitals in Spain with close to 400,000 people, said the National Statistics Institute. Data shows that more than one third of people in Spain live in provincial capitals.

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A RAISE in pay would be the perfect Christmas gift for many Balearic workers, according to a new survey.

‘What would you ask your company for Christmas?’ was the question posed to Balearic workers by the eighth Adecco survey, with 26.7 per cent of them responding that they would love a raise in pay.

However, only half of respondents said they believed their wish would be fulfilled sometime next year. This stands in contrast to data from elsewhere in the country, where the majority said they do not think they will get a raise any time soon.

It appears not everyone wants more money, though, since 26.2

per cent of Balearic workers said they would like their company to offer training courses, 11.9 per cent said they would ask for a promotion, 11.4 per cent would opt for flexitime scheduling, while 10 per cent wished for salary in kind.

Figures showed that 28.6 per cent of Balearic respondents want a new job for 2015.

Major investment EMAYA, the municipal water and sewage company of Palma, has earmarked €8.6 million for investment projects, more than half of which will be allocated to the renovation of 12.8 kilometres of the drinking water network.

Nóos case THE Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands hopes to hold the Nóos case trial before the end of 2015. Up to 17 defendants and more than 300 witnesses will take the stand in the trial, which is expected to last several months.

Foreclosure figures FIGURES released by the National Statistics Institute show that as many as 308 home foreclosures were initiated on the islands during the third quarter of the year.

Fewer mortgages THE number of mortgages taken out on the islands in October dropped by 4.2 per cent year-on-year, totalling 499. Balearic banks lent prospective homebuyers an estimated €59.1 million, 2.7 per cent less than in September.

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Many want a Xmas raise

Photo: Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media

Police visit CHILDREN at Son Espases hospital got a surprise visit from police, Guardia Civil, Palma firefighters and members of the motorcycle association Guardian Angels.

The children had a blast riding police motorcycles and playing with police dogs.

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Woman detained A 34-YEAR-OLD woman involved in a car crash on the MA-15 motorway was detained by National Police in Manacor after they discovered she had been driving at four times the legal alcohol limit.

Going home MORE than 140 immigrants returned to their countries of origin in 2014 through a voluntary return programme, said the Balearic Regional Government. Most of them were from Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Man drowns A 62-YEAR-OLD man drowned in Platja de Muro. The Alcudia resident was fishing with a friend when their boat was hit by large waves and capsized.

Throwing stone TOWERING CHALLENGE: Tarragona’s spectacular human tower festival.

Tarragona’s castells is a top image of 2014

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OME of the most amazing images of the year have been chosen by press photography agency Barcroft Media, including one particular shot from a Spanish festival which generally has people wondering to themselves: “But what if they fall?”

The above image forms part of Barcroft Media’s Best Pictures from 2014 and was taken during the 25th Castells Competition held every October in Tarragona. A total of 30 ‘human tower’ groups gathered in a contest to build the most difficult human tower structure, an annual tradition in the Spanish city. The Castells competition is televised and news headlines usually focus on spectacular

Quote of the Week You are like Jesus on Christmas night.

There was no room for him either.’

Pope Francis during a surprise Christmas Eve telephone call to refugees in a camp near Irbil, in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region. ISIS fighters have forced tens of thousands of Christians to flee.

tower collapses, as well as showing those that are successful. Competitors need strength, coordination and a head for heights as they clamber up the human tower, and the falls can regularly be quite serious.

The castells have been awarded the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity designation, and the event is just one of a number of bizarre festivals that Spain is known for. Bizarre or not, the competition offers spectacular sights, thrills and spills, and was chosen by Barcroft Media’s celebration of the ‘amazing side of life’.

The selection of photos also focuses on major news events from the year.

CREDITlev radin / Shutterstock.com

Number of the week

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per cent is the amount that the Bank of Spain predicts the Spanish economy will grow by in 2015, a year that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has described will be the ‘year of an economic take-off’.

A ROMANIAN was held by National Police after he was caught red-handed throwing stones off the Son Cladera bridge on Christmas Eve. He is said to have an extensive criminal record.

Concert tomorrow THE Balearic Symphonic Orchestra Ciutat de Palma is giving a New Year’s Concert tomorrow at 8.30pm at Trui Teatre. Tickets are €40-€50.

Info at: www.truiteatre.es.

Moscow ballet THE Moscow Ballet returns to the island to perform Swan Lake and the Nutcracker at Auditorium de Palma on Saturday and Sunday respectively (January 3 and 4).

More information at: www.auditoriumpalma.com.

And finally...

THE Three Kings in Zaragoza were slapped with fines when they were caught riding motorcycles with no helmets on their way to an appearance at a local school. Police stopped the trio for wearing golden crowns instead of the legally required helmets. Pupils had to wait 45 minutes while the Three Kings were chastised and fined.

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RETROSPECTIVE

Four Balearic hotels in the top 50 listing

THE SUNDAY TIMES has January 30, Issue 1491. listed four Balearic hotels among its top choices of Mediterranean establishments.

Those to receive the recognition are the Barcelo Formentor (a A PROJECT to bring a repeat winner and second casino to Mallorca Balearic icon since is still on course.

1929), the Hotel The regional govern- Esplendido in Soller Port, ment has refused a the Hostal Salinas in petition asking for the Ibiza, and the Gecko project to be temporarily Beach Club in put on hold.

Formentera. Among the This means the 50 Mediterranean hotels developer that won the chosen, Spain laid claim public tender to build a to 12 of them.

The beach at casino in Palma’s Teatro Balear is able to resume Formentor, with its shoreline, the proceedings to do so. crescent The petition was turquoise waters, and launched by one of the secluded location nestled companies that lost the along the Mediterranean forest, was listed by The public tender process.

RY A U BR E F

February 13, Issue 1493.

Sir Bradley Wiggins gets ready

Casino to go ahead

FORMENTOR: The beach with its turquoise waters and secluded location was voted the best.

Sunday Times as the best of all the beaches in the Balearics.

Our View

Christmas messages to carry with us

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ECONCILIATION, religious violence and corruption were the subjects of the three major Christmas messages of interest to expats in Spain this year.

Queen Elizabeth’s speech – the traditional gather-around-the-telly-onChristmas Day event in so many UK households – touched on a number of subjects with the main theme being one of reconciliation. Pope Francis used his annual Christmas message to condemn religious violence worldwide, particularly in Iraq and Syria. And King Felipe VI used his very first Christmas address to the nation to condemn the corruption that has cast a dark shadow over Spain during 2014. His own sister’s questionable involvement in such kind of affairs was noticeably absent from his speech, though he did say that public figures don’t have a right to “profit or become rich”.

Christmas messages from world leaders often fall on deaf ears, but they

always bear a message that people should heed. The Queen of England urges reconciliation, and who wouldn’t agree with that? She said “peace and goodwill have lasting power.” And she’s absolutely right; peace and goodwill do have lasting power. The Pope calls for an end to religious violence and King Felipe VI condemns corruption; both opinions that the majority of people worldwide would share.

While a lot of people hear the speeches at Christmas time, many instantly forget what the message was and go back to grabbing another mince pie and glass of mulled wine. But to give a thought to the messages and take on board what people are saying can help initiate change. Christmas is a time of peace and goodwill, of reconciliation and of turning our backs on the world’s wrongs. To carry this message beyond Christmas and throughout the year is something that we should all try our best to do.

BRITISH superstar cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins is getting ready for the 23rd Iberostar Challenge cycling competition to start on Sunday in Mallorca.

The 2012 Tour de France cycling race winner, and multi Olympics gold medal winner, was spotted training on the Bay of Pollensa with the Sky Team, to which he has belonged since 2010.

The team has been making final preparations to the competition from their established base in Alcudia. The Iberostar Challenge marks the start of the European season for the team, which is now entering its fifth season on the road.

Also known as the ‘Vuelta a Mallorca,’ the cycling competition has been held in Mallorca for 22 years.

It consists of a series of one day bike races held in different towns in Mallorca, including Palma City, Deia or Ses Salines.

As riders are allowed not to participate on certain days, this competition is not classed as a multi-day race competition.

New app for Palma INFORMATION on more than 300 businesses and tourist sites in Palma’s old city will be available electronically to the public on their phones on a new app.

The app can be downloaded free from www.palmashoppingguide .com, a website designed to promote small business in the heart of the city.

RETROSPECTIVE CH R MA

March 20 Issue 1498

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Land for Nadal foundation THE Rafa Nadal Foundation has received permission from the city of Palma to use a municipal plot of land in Soledat for its educational activities.

The foundation is the sole beneficiary of the agreement, which will allow it the use of a third of the city-owned plot in Soledat’s Poligono de Llevant, a space which measures some 1,500 square metres.

Palma’s deputy mayor for urbanisation, Jesus Valls, explained that the agreement allowed use of the property for a period of 40 years, which is the maximum length allowed by law. The deputy celebrated the agreement, by saying it was “with the foundation of a person who shares the same values that we can pass on to the children and youth of our city.”

30% vehicle sales boost FEBRUARY’S figures for vehicle registration in the Balearic Islands shot up by more than 31 per cent with 1,788 cars and SUVs registered. This is up from 1,363 the year before.

February’s figures are in line with those of the combined months of January and February where this year’s registrations for those two months (3,282) was 29 per cent more (2,544).

Dealers attributed the rise to increased

promotion to consumers, particularly the latest round of the PIVE incentive programme, which gives a minimum trade in value for vehicles older than 10 years as long as they are scrapped when buying a new car.

Dealership association Faconauto spokesman said many new cars had been kept waiting in the wings until the fifth phase of the PIVE plan was approved, leading to heightened sales once it was passed.

LOSING HOME: Tennis star Boris Becker lost a court case involving unpaid bill.

Boris Becker’s villa to be confiscated

BORIS BECKER’S Spanish villa is being auctioned off for an estimated €7 million after the tennis star lost a court case involving an unpaid builder’s bill.

Now the holiday home, complete with nine bedrooms, is set to be confiscated and sold at auction after Becker failed to pay approximately

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€400,000 for carpentry, plumbing and work on a basketball court at the property.

The former tennis player, 46, purchased the Mallorca property 17 years ago and has been entangled in court cases over it ever since.

The hope that it would turn into a dream holiday retreat on the island came

to a crashing end in 2003 when a court ruled that it had been built in part illegally and ordered extra rooms to be demolished.

Lawyers for Becker argued that the estate agent who sold him the house, Matthias Kuhn, should foot the bills.

However, this argument was thrown out of court.

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RETROSPECTIVE

€3.6m investment to attract more tourists RIL P A FAMOUS LADY: Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Cruising in...

April 24 Issue 1503 THE Tourist Accommodation Consortium plans to invest €3.6 million to improve tourism infrastructure and beat seasonality in Mallorca.

Towns interested in carrying out projects have a month to present them and will have to pay 20 per cent of the budget.

Tourists stayed an average of 4.91 days on Mallorca in February this year, according to the National Institute of

PALMA: Longer stays than the Costa del Sol. Statistics (INE).

One of the areas where tourists stay the longest in Spain is the Palma-Calvia area, with an average of 4.75, beating destinations like Barcelona, the Costa Blanca, Costa Brava and Costa del Sol. The main market for the Balearics continues to be the Germans, accounting for almost 32 per cent of

the total, with an average stay of 8.5 days. Last year, 4.1 million German tourists visited, 7.6 per cent more than in 2012.

They spent more than €3.73 billion last year on the islands, which could increase by at least 10 per cent this summer.

Reservations are up by between 5 and 10 per cent compared to last year.

CUNARD LINE’S Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) arrived in the port of Y Palma this week.

MA The world-famous cruise liner was built in 2010 and this is the third time the vessel has docked in Palma.

The ship’s arrival is being seen as a good sign that Palma is firmly May 15 Issue 1506 on the cruising map, bringing their highwith cruise companies spending customers to

the city. It is a welcome boost to the economy of the whole island.

So far this year there have already been 108 stop-overs by cruise liners, up more than 10 per cent on the previous year.

In March alone, 29,730 cruise-ship passengers visited Palma, 10,000 more than in March 2013.

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RETROSPECTIVE

The King of Spain abdicates THE King of Spain has abdicated.

Juan Carlos has decided to NE step aside after 39 years on U J the throne, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced.

Rajoy addressed the nation to say that there would be an amendment to the country’s constitution to allow the king’s eldest son Prince Felipe, 45, to take over.

June 5 Issue 1509 The new Crown Act, which will regulate the abdication younger and succession process was generation being pushed through the deserves to step law-making stages on forward.

Tuesday.

“I want the best for In his official speech, King Spain, to which I have Juan Carlos, 76 who has dedicated my whole life. I reigned since 1975, said: “We have decided to abdicate my have felt the need for crown to give way to a new renewal, and to open up a generation embodied by my better future. Today a son Felipe, heir to the throne.”

STEPPING ASIDE: King Juan Carlos.

Best airport figures yet!

FOR the third month in a row, Palma airport has achieved an historic record for the largest amount of passengers.

This June a total of 3,043,931 passengers went through its gates; this is 3 per cent more than last June, according to data released by AENA (Spanish airports authority).

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July 31 Issue 1517

Of this total, 462,658 were national passengers, which is 7 per cent more than last year, and 2,579,079 were international passengers, making this June more than 2 per cent better than in 2013.

There were 21,379 landings and take-offs, which is nearly 4 per cent more than in June 2013.

There were 21,269 commercial flights, of which 16,617 were regular and 4,458 were charter.

The biggest rise in passenger numbers by nationality was the Germans with a 3.5 per cent increase on last year; the UK came in second with a 2 per cent increase.

Busy day THE streets of Palma were packed to capacity when there was a cloudy day and all the tourists invaded the centre to do some shopping; there were tailbacks of 11 kilometres along the Levant motorway.

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RETROSPECTIVE

Royal welcome MALLORCA is playing host to the King of Spain and his family.

King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and their daughters Leonor and Sofia posed together for photographs of

August 21, Issue 1520.

NUDIST HOTEL: Has doubled

their first family summer holiday together on the steps of Marivent Palace.

The King commented on how happy he was to be able to spend some quality time “in this piece of heaven on earth.”

The royals put aside the usual formal protocols and seemed happy to oblige photographers and reporters.

The scene on the steps of the Marivent Palace was remarkably reminiscent of previous photographs its clientele this summer. taken on exactly the same spot, of former King Don Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.

However, the new success due to its privileged location, near Sa Canova de royals’ manner was tangibly softer and Arta, and for its tranquillity.

Alvaro Segura, director of more approachable the hotel, commented that the than their predecesaverage stay is of two weeks sors. on half board at a price of The couple chose to between €1,200 and €1,600. meet with a group of The average guests are 250 people from usually couples in their 50s.

Balearic society.

Nudism gaining popularity THE Balearic’s only nudist hotel has doubled its clientele this summer. It opened in 2013 and this year has tourists from as far away as Australia and South Korea.

The hotel, Naturplaya, is part of the INF (Spanish and International Federation of Nudism) and has had great

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On the up!

MALLORCA welcomed more than passengers, it is no R E 3.7 million passengers through surprise that hotel B M Son Sant Joan airport last month. capacity has also TE P The record number of experienced a rise.

SE passengers is a 5.5 per cent In the last five years, increase compared to August Palma hotels have seen 2013, with 5.6 per cent more occupation levels operations carried out; a total of increase by 42 per cent.

25,592 flights.

“Since 2009, there The domestic market has been a drastic change in this area,” continued its recovery with a growth of 11.1 per cent over the September 11, Issue 1523. said President of the past month, adding more than half a Hotel Association of Palma and Cala million passengers, whilst the Mayor, Javier Vich.

He pointed out the proliferation of small international market also grew by 4.5 per cent, with over 3.2 million passengers luxury establishments, and said that using the airport in the same period. improvements and investments in trade With the increase in the number of and supply had brought more visitors.

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RETROSPECTIVE

EWN is a press awards winner R BE O T OC

October 2 Issue 1526 THE Euro Weekly News (EWN) Media Group has picked up a prestigious award from the Spanish newspaper industry.

It was nominated in the AEEPP (Asociaciòn Española de Publicaciones Periòdicas) ninth annual awards ceremony in Madrid. Members of the EWN team travelled to Madrid where they were joined by other media publications from across Spain.

President of the Community of Madrid,

WINNING LINE-UP: Recipients of AEEPP awards.

Ignacio Gonzalez, presented the award to the EWN team. It was made for the dedicated deliverance for more than 15 years of its free weekly publication

to the English expatriate and English-speaking community in Spain and the wider digital audience.

The award was accepted on behalf of the entire EWN group by Operations Manager, Nicki Burgess (pictured above right with Ignacio Gonzalez).

Forty awards were presented to media publications, EWN being the only English-language publication to receive one.

Nicki Burgess said: “We are honoured to receive the award and privileged to be

here with our Spanish colleagues from other media groups.”

Gonzalez asked who EWN targeted and Nicki explained it was the largest English-language publication keeping expatriates in Spain informed of news across its six editions. He was impressed with the

coverage and wondered when EWN would be available in Madrid, asking if it would be when Madrid had a beach.

EWN owners Michel and Steven Euesden were unable to attend the ceremony but Michel said: “This award is for no one person, it is for all at EWN.

We do not work as individuals, we work as a team. We pull together to ensure that each week we deliver to the English-speaking community a newspaper giving local, national and international news.

“We also deliver 24/7 breaking news digitally to our readers and clients.

Without the commitment and dedication of the whole team we would be hardpressed to meet our own expectations.”

Michel added: “Steven and I are proud of where Euro Weekly News fits into the community, and we are equally proud of the team.

We are thankful to the AEEPP for their recognition and award.

“A big thank you to everyone and importantly to our readers for their loyalty, and our clients for their continued advertising. We lead in being Spain’s largest free newspaper in English.”

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RETROSPECTIVE

The Queen of Good Causes

CONTROVERSIAL: Bullfighting.

Bullfight battle on as Palma rejects ban WHILE people-power ER has seen 14 Mallorcan B M councils ban bullVE fighting, Palma is O N bucking the trend by refusing to outlaw the traditional Spanish sport.

Animal rights’ groups have been calling for an islandwide ban. But the capital’s city council November 13 Issue 1532

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turned down a proposal to declare Palma an antibullfighting city.

The proposal, which had been tabled by the municipal opposition, was rejected because the council said it could not legislate on an issue which should be a matter of each individual’s personal conscience.

earlier this year.

QUEEN LETIZIA of Spain R During the conference, was given a royal welcome E B Queen Letizia, who is when she visited Mallorca EM taking English lessons, on a solo tour.

C DE made a short speech in She was making an German and then spoke official visit, as opposed to briefly to the audience in one of her regular family English. holidays to the island, for She was joined on stage the State Volunteering

by President of the Congress in Palma where Balearics, Juan Ramon she presented a series of Parliamentary awards.

December 11 Issue 1536 Bauza, President, Margarita Duran, The visit was intended to highlight the need for volunteers and and the mayor of Palma, Mateu Isern.

Charitable causes are close to Queen raise awareness for the charity.

The Queen is well known for her work Letizia’s heart; she has spoken on with charities, and this was just one behalf of various charities since her aspect of that. marriage to Felipe in 2004, and has It was the second visit for Queen done voluntary work, mainly with Letizia to the congress aimed at children, particularly for causes relating encouraging more people to volunteer to poverty and disability. their help for good causes across Spain.

The royal couple are regular visitors It is a busy time for the monarch; she to Mallorca, where they spend their met Pope Francis last week and this summer holidays with their two was one of only a few solo daughters Leonor and Sofia, staying at engagements she has undertaken since the royal residence, the Marivent her husband, Felipe, was made King Palace.

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Stories making headlines in Europe

S CANDINAVIAN P RESS

GERMAN PRESS Euro glory confidence

BRITISH PRESS Rail bomb scare

Mass cancelled in many parishes

DENMARK – For the second year running a bomb threat at Odense Station shut down rail traffic affecting all of Denmark on the busiest travel day of the year. The incident occurred on the Friday before Christmas.

MIDNIGHT MASS on Christmas Eve in the UK is under threat from drunks disrupting services.

Several parishes cancelled the late-night mass this year, abandoning what has been a British tradition for more than 1,500 years.

DENMARK – New measurements of the Danish coastline show that it is nearly 20 per cent longer than previously thought.

Ace English SWEDEN – One in two Swedes regards his or her English language abilities as above average and only one in 10 considers his or her English below average.

THE BBC has said that it is struggling to compete with streaming service Netflix and that it has to adjust to the “hybrid world” of live and online viewing if it wants to keep viewers.

NORWAY – The Scandinavian airline SAS are to slash costs following a sharp fall in net profits in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The company posted a net loss of €32.2 million from August to October.

Royal bump SWEDEN – The Royal Court announced just before Christmas that Princess Madeleine is pregnant with her second child with her financier husband Chris O’Neill.

The baby is due in the summer.

SHOPS in the UK benefit to the tune of around £300 million each year from gift cards that are bought but never used. Gift cards and vouchers are popular Christmas presents but often go unused and expire.

Breeze Ju

GIFT VOUCHERS: Often go unused and expire.

TWO-THIRDS of British schools are struggling to recruit maths teachers because of heavy workloads, and one in 10 schools is also finding it difficult to fill geography and language roles.

More autonomy THE Orthodox Church in Belarus has announced plans to seek greater autonomy from Moscow as the Belarussian government expressed concern over Russia’s political actions and worries about its currency.

Rebel wedding FORMER rebel commander Igor Strelkov has reportedly married his assistant after having recently settled down in Moscow to protect President Putin from traitors.

The excommander of pro-Russian separatists in ROYAL BABY: Sweden’s Princess Madeleine.

GERMANY starts 2015 at the top of the FIFA world rankings and boss Joachim Low is claiming his side can go on to win the Euro 2016 competition in order to confirm the team’s World Cup success.

Park makeover BERLIN’S Spreepark may be in line for a serious makeover following an application from city authorities to the EU for help to clean up the site.

The abandoned theme park is a tourist attraction and has been used for movie shoots and for holding raves.

Human museum

the Ukraine married Miroslava Reginskaya before Christmas.

A BERLIN court has said that the infamous human taxidermist Gunther von Hagens can open a museum featuring preserved human corpses, despite objections from local officials. Von Hagens plans to exhibit 20 human bodies and around 200 human body parts.

Charities struggling

Bomb disarmed

THE falling rouble has hit charities in Russia hard, with a major drop in donations from institutions leaving vital medical equipment under threat.

TEN thousand people were evacuated in central Potsdam following the discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb on a building site. The weapon was disarmed by bomb disposal experts.

RUSSIAN PRESS

Photo: Bengt Nyman

SAS troubles

Gifting shops

Teacher problem

Gaza medic NORWAY – Tabloid newspaper Verdens Gang has named outspoken doctor Mads Gilbert as Norway’s person of the year for his work to treat Palestinians wounded in the Gaza conflict.

A BACKLOG of more than 390,000 immigration cases has been built up by the Home Office and MPs have described the British immigration system as being in “intensive care.”

Funding stopped

Photo: Homini

Longer coast

Netflix v BBC

Immigrant backlog

OPPOSITION-MINDED artists have been told that although Russia embraces the freedom of artistic expression, those who speak out against the administration should not expect state funding.

Strength to strength

Long plunge A TOURIST in Thailand – believed to be Russian – has been taken to hospital after the car he was travelling in fell from a 250-metre height into the sea near a resort in Phuket.

RUSSIAN ROUBLE: Falling in value.

GERMAN business confidence rose in December on the back of falling oil prices and a weak Euro, the lfo economic institute has said, and the prospects for 2015 look good. The business climate index rose to 105.5 points in December.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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business & legal Tourism heads for the record books SPAIN welcomed 61.7 million foreign visitors between January and November 2014.

This is 7.2 per cent more than during the same period in 2013 and the addition of December will make 2014 a recordbreaking year.

November’s figures were also encouraging, as the 3.4 million

foreign tourists who entered Spain in that month were 2.9 per cent up on 2013. As usual, they came from the ever-faithful source markets of the UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia and Italy.

The UK remained at the top of list with 14.3 million tourists during the first 11 months of the

Smart to make do and mend SPAIN now repairs more items than before the economic crisis.

This is especially true of smartphones and the two million repaired throughout 2014 doubled those of 2012.

There are now 51 million mobile lines in Spain.

There are approximately 70 million handsets and 80 per cent of all new mobiles are smartphones, a Telefonica Foundation report has revealed.

The expense of a new terminal prompts most owners to opt for repairs because although a repair costs the phone company around €116, users pay approximately €40, as the phones are usually covered by guarantee.

For Movistar, Vodafone, Orange and Yoigo what was a minor subsidiary service has become an important segment of their business and another commercial ploy in the battle to keep clients happy.

Some repairs take only an hour at a provider’s outlet while others can require eight days to complete.

Screen replacements are the most frequent request, with more phones taken in on a Tuesday than any other day of the week.

July and September are the busiest months for repairs, Vodafone said, as most mishaps occur on the beach or at swimming pools while on holiday.

year, a 4.9 per cent increase on 2013 and 23.3 per cent of the total number.

The majority of foreign visitors headed for Cataluña, which received 15.9 million tourists, 25.8 per cent of the total. The Canaries were the second favourite destination, followed by the Balearics and Andalucia.

B

usiness extra

Pension paradox SPANISH pensions are practically frozen but gained purchasing power in 2014 for the second consecutive year. This was due to falls in the retail price index and oil prices.

Risky shares A MADRID judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a Madrid couple claiming that Bankia mis-sold them shares.

However uninformed they might be ‘everyone knows’ that buying shares is risky and not a deposit, he commented.

Mastering management THE IESE Business School in Madrid is now 50 years old.

It was the first centre to offer an MBA (Master’s Degree in Business Administration) in Europe and it did so with the co-operation of Harvard.

Since then, more than 7,200 people from 102 countries have studied there.

Although the economic crisis has prompted international questions

regarding the practical value of an MBA, the school’s director-general Jordi Canals dismissed claims that management cannot be taught but is acquired through experience.

“Management is the most complex profession that anyone can tackle,” Canals remarked, adding: “An MBA is not the ultimate solution, but it does help to make great professional strides.”

SPAIN’S Economy Minister Luis de Guindos foresaw that growth in the last three months of 2014 would ‘at least’ equal the third quarter’s when the GDP rose by 0.5 per cent.

INBOUND: 61.7m visitors so far this year.

Credit IR Stone Shutterstockcom

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

STAT OF WEEK

18

E W N 1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

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LONDON - FTSE 100

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US

C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 29

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) 3i Group PLC 451.05 Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 438.30 Admiral Group PLC 1334.00 Aggreko PLC 1533.00 Anglo American PLC 1203.25 Antofagasta PLC 757.25 ARM Holdings PLC 996.25 Ashtead Group PLC 1189.50 Associated Brit Foods 3227.00 AstraZeneca PLC 4524.25 Aviva PLC 495.85 Babcock International ... 1067.50 BAE Systems PLC 474.80 Barclays PLC 244.07 Barratt Developments 463.50 BG Group PLC 890.55 BHP Billiton PLC 1401.50 BP PLC 417.23

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 2.90 0.65 3.00 0.69 -1.00 -0.07 1.00 0.07 21.50 1.82 11.50 1.54 1.50 0.15 22.00 1.88 0.00 0.00 -29.94 -0.66 1.20 0.24 -3.00 -0.28 0.80 0.17 0.87 0.36 3.70 0.80 8.40 0.95 32.25 2.36 0.30 0.07

NET VOLUME 47.53 149.20 74.60 12.44 304.57 85.03 95.01 175.33 16.02 109.95 180.62 14.76 213.54 1,347.86 148.67 407.63 677.04 647.17

See our advert on page 21

1.27760

0.78271

Units per €

US dollar..................................................................1.21839 Japan yen..............................................................146.659 Switzerland franc..............................................1.20304 Denmark kroner ................................................7.43944 Norway kroner ....................................................9.12423

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

PRICE(P)

British Amercn Tobacco British Land Co PLC BT Group PLC Bunzl PLC Burberry Group PLC Capita PLC Carnival PLC

3539.25 786.25 412.25 1800.00 1637.00 1089.00 2889.00

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 7.00 5.00 -4.30 11.00 -17.00 0.00 29.00

DOW JONES

NASDAQ

C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 29

C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 29

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 KO The Coca-Cola Co DIS Walt Disney Co 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 IBM International Business Machine...

INTC Intel Corp 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 TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies Corp UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc VZ Verizon Communications Inc V Visa Inc WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc

PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 166.26 94.29 34.17 131.63 94.23 113.25 28.35 42.96 95.03 75.13 93.21 25.78 195.45 103.75 162.34 37.55 105.06 62.55 94.78 57.78 47.88 96.83 31.65 93.46 106.70 117.24 102.55 47.86 266.62 86.91

-0.70 +0.21 +0.21 +0.39 +0.51 -0.22 +0.05 +0.02 +0.61 +0.34 -0.57 -0.05 -0.44 +0.19 +0.52 +0.11 +0.47 +0.07 +0.95 +0.32 -0.26 +0.54 +0.23 +0.32 -0.02 +0.33 -0.13 +0.19 -1.01 +0.48

-0.42% +0.22% +0.62% +0.30% +0.54% -0.19% +0.18% +0.05% +0.65% +0.45% -0.61% -0.19% -0.22% +0.18% +0.32% +0.29% +0.45% +0.11% +1.01% +0.56% -0.54% +0.56% +0.73% +0.34% -0.02% +0.28% -0.13% +0.40% -0.38% +0.56%

1.6M 1.4M 11.5M 2.2M 3.1M 4.4M 9.7M 6.5M 3.1M 1.8M 10.6M 15.0M 1.0M 2.6M 1.9M 14.0M 3.0M 6.1M 3.9M 4.7M 13.2M 1.6M 8.6M 3.1M 779.2K 1.6M 2.0M 7.0M 1.2M 3.2M

C O M PA N Y

0.20 0.64 -1.03 0.61 -1.03 0.00 1.01

NET VOLUME 123.42 132.35 743.99 22.95 33.82 18.69 22.10

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

$ 2.06 $ 48.73 $ 2.49 $ 17.97 $ 8.18 $ 5.60 $ 9.27 $ 10.34 $ 21.31 $ 17.045 $ 12.98

0.38 ▲ 22.62% 8.74 ▲ 21.86% 0.39 ▲ 18.57% 2.65 ▲ 17.30% 1.14 ▲ 16.19% 0.65 ▲ 13.13% 1.03 ▲ 12.50% 1.12 ▲ 12.15% 2.01 ▲ 10.41% 1.595 ▲ 10.32% 1.20 ▲ 10.19%

$ 4.70 $ 21.57 $ 2.30 $ 2.56 $ 2.90 $ 69.6536 $ 75.15 $ 9.82 $ 18.57 $ 40.14 $ 2.29

0.50 ▼ 9.62% 2.05 ▼ 8.68% 0.18 ▼ 7.26% 0.17 ▼ 6.23% 0.19 ▼ 6.15% 4.3464 ▼ 5.87% 4.49 ▼ 5.64% 0.58 ▼ 5.58% 1.08 ▼ 5.50% 2.31 ▼ 5.44% 0.13 ▼ 5.37%

Most Advanced Synacor, Inc. Juno Therapeutics, Inc. Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. The ExOne Company Planar Systems, Inc. Fate Therapeutics, Inc. Veracyte, Inc. Upland Software, Inc. Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. MISONIX, Inc.

Most Declined Marchex, Inc. TubeMogul, Inc. bebe stores, inc.

Targacept, Inc. MediciNova, Inc. VelocityShares 3x Inverse Silver ETN 3X Inverse Gold ETN Velocityshares Proteon Therapeutics, Inc. Dermira, Inc. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. CafePress Inc.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) CHANGE Centrica PLC 283.60 -1.00 Coca-Cola HBC AG 1249.00 4.00 Compass Group PLC 1115.50 -1.77 CRH PLC 1567.00 10.00 Diageo PLC 1865.25 0.59 Direct Line Insurance 293.40 1.50 Dixons Carphone PLC 466.15 1.21 easyJet PLC 1682.00 3.00 Experian PLC 1100.00 6.00 Fresnillo PLC 748.00 15.51 Friends Life Group Ltd 374.00 2.64 G4S PLC 277.95 -0.70 GKN PLC 347.80 -0.40 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1404.25 19.50 Glencore PLC 302.33 1.95 Hammerson PLC 617.50 1.50 Hargreaves Lansdown 1016.50 2.00 HSBC Holdings PLC 618.35 3.90 Imperial Tobacco Group 2874.00 -4.00 Indivior PLC 141.20 -3.90 InterContinental Hotels 2638.00 7.00 International Consolidtd 479.00 3.86 Intertek Group PLC 2380.50 -5.00 Intu Properties PLC 339.60 3.60 ITV PLC 216.20 0.00 Johnson Matthey PLC 3398.50 1.00 Kingfisher PLC 334.25 1.30 Land Securities Group 1180.50 -4.00 Legal & General Group 248.85 0.40 Lloyds Banking Group 76.67 -0.16 London Stock Exchange 2258.00 20.00 Marks & Spencer Group 485.10 1.30 Meggitt PLC 517.00 1.00 Mondi PLC 1074.50 13.00 Morrison (Wm) Sprmrkts 182.00 0.40 National Grid PLC 925.25 6.30 Next PLC 6562.50 5.00 Old Mutual PLC 192.05 1.90 Pearson PLC 1189.50 10.00 Persimmon PLC 1571.50 6.00 Prudential PLC 1521.75 6.50 Randgold Resources Ltd 4253.50 95.00 Reckitt Benckiser 5222.50 0.00 Reed Elsevier PLC 1102.50 3.00 Rio Tinto PLC 2938.75 50.72 Rolls-Royce Holdings 876.25 1.00 Royal Bank of Scotland 395.55 0.70 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2278.75 -1.50 Royal Mail PLC 425.55 2.30 RSA Insurance Group 444.55 -4.00 SABMiller PLC 3402.75 4.50 Sage Group (The) PLC 472.00 8.00 Sainsbury (J) PLC 244.45 -0.20 Schroders PLC 2696.00 6.00 Severn Trent PLC 2043.50 5.00 Shire PLC 4531.50 65.00 Sky PLC 902.75 4.00 Smith & Nephew PLC 1198.00 26.00 Smiths Group PLC 1112.00 12.00 Sports Direct Internatnl... 712.50 4.00 SSE PLC 1637.00 8.00 Standard Chartered PLC 959.35 1.08 Standard Life PLC 408.20 -0.53 St James's Place PLC 814.50 4.50 Taylor Wimpey PLC 135.60 0.60 Tesco PLC 187.38 1.40 Travis Perkins PLC 1851.00 1.00 TUI AG 1108.50 20.00 Tullow Oil PLC 422.80 0.50 Unilever PLC 2663.00 -6.00 United Utilities Group 933.50 2.50 Vodafone Group PLC 224.28 -0.65 Weir Group PLC 1934.50 8.00 Whitbread PLC 4763.00 12.00 Wolseley PLC 3706.50 7.00

% C H G. -0.35 0.32 -0.16 0.64 0.03 0.51 0.26 0.18 0.55 2.12 0.71 -0.25 -0.11 1.41 0.65 0.24 0.20 0.63 -0.14 -2.69 0.27 0.81 -0.21 1.07 0.00 0.03 0.39 -0.34 0.16 -0.21 0.89 0.27 0.19 1.22 0.22 0.69 0.08 1.00 0.85 0.38 0.43 2.29 0.00 0.27 1.76 0.11 0.18 -0.07 0.54 -0.89 0.13 1.72 -0.08 0.22 0.25 1.45 0.44 2.22 1.09 0.56 0.49 0.11 -0.13 0.56 0.44 0.75 0.05 1.84 0.12 -0.22 0.27 -0.29 0.42 0.25 0.19

VOLUME 422.70 26.15 90.14 129.16 136.93 103.26 55.05 27.93 55.27 76.27 46.88 157.31 91.43 454.47 1,152.60 13.36 16.78 1,656.51 68.00 6,980.37 20.41 385.82 19.70 52.21 163.88 10.91 190.61 79.69 438.22 3,030.28 18.43 271.49 39.10 41.43 302.73 629.51 12.17 607.79 87.60 34.49 162.77 24.49 60.02 84.75 275.09 121.85 366.22 332.96 147.05 101.07 48.72 207.13 423.71 7.51 14.02 61.46 119.58 350.53 39.77 41.52 85.59 278.80 62.51 13.81 424.49 1,173.34 6.94 223.04 190.58 120.80 76.76 1,629.52 27.46 5.59 9.52

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Business is a family affair MANY small businesses would struggle if it were not for the help of family members.

In their own way each member of the family has an interest in its wellbeing. This has negative economic consequences on the greater community.

The unpaid better half and children helping out is work that could otherwise be carried out by fully paid cards-in employees.

There is a downside when it comes to employing or being dependent on input from a family member.

It isn’t easy to discipline, let alone confront and sack a malingering wife,

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

husband or sibling. There is the added likelihood of causing a family rift if you do so. If you find an employee with their fingers in the till or not pulling their weight you can fire them. It is not so easily done when it is a family member.

There will also be the likelihood of ‘employees’ taking advantage of their family position. They will, not to put too fine a point on it, swing the lead.

They may not be as hard-working or as focused as they would be if working in a conventional job.

A family business has to work to business principles. These must be inspired and mutually agreed upon by all involved. Running any business has to be a team effort.

An important point is to remind every team member that they are not working for you; they are working for the business.

The boss is also an employee.

Everyone, the boss included, plays by the same rules.

A common mistake made by employees, including family members, is to consider each day’s takings as profit. It is not of course.

A family member who worked for me glowed when he showed me the day’s takings. Bless him. I might have rained on his parade by reminding him that I was lucky to see 10 per cent of what was in the till. For some, such as newsagents, the margins are much lower.

Is there an answer? Yes, grin and bear it.

Happy New Year.

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

Take a few sensible financial steps to ensure a happy ever after Loose change A look at finance for females

Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

A NEW YEAR brings with it an eagerness for new beginnings. In January we think about changing old habits and starting out afresh.

For a friend of mine, the new project for 2015 is moving in with her long-term boyfriend. And while they have a fabulous relationship and are very excited to live together, research shows that couples argue more about financial matters than any other topic.

So rather than concentrating on postcodes and styles of furniture it’s vital to get money matters discussed in detail first and foremost. A poorly planned move-in can put

JOINT FINANCES: Couples should have an agreed plan. tremendous stress on a relationship, so it’s best to smooth out the details ahead of time to avoid disagreements and hard feelings later.

Get full disclosure Before moving in together, or mingling assets, couples should fully disclose their finances as

part of a joint financial planning process. Leaving any nasty financial skeletons in the closet will certainly end in even harder conversations further down the line.

Split living expenses fairly Develop a plan for paying bills together and divide household

expenses evenly or proportionate to each partner’s income. Who’ll pay for the internet, TV, electricity, water or groceries? Work out a system to divvy up bills so it’s always organised and fair.

Who paid for what?

When it comes to big purchases

in your new abode, for example a fridge, bed, sofa or washing machine, keep an account of who paid for what. Start a file, where you simply put in the receipts for major purchases with the name of who bought what scribbled on the receipt.

This way, no one bears the full weight of furnishing the home, and you’ll avoid arguments over ownership later if things don’t work.

Stay independent Many modern couples, especially if both are employed, prefer to hold separate credit cards and bank accounts. Of course spilt all joint bills, but keeping your ‘own money’ to spend on things you want for yourself is definitely a sensible option.

Unless enjoyed by both, why should one half share the cost of another’s compulsive shopping habit or gourmet taste in food?

Can he protest noisy bar?

Q. I bought a second-floor apartment over an unused community swimming pool which was You and the cemented over. Beneath us was a small restaurant. For years the community voted Law in Spain against allowing it to expand. Now the

By David Searl community has voted to allow the new tenant of the restaurant to expand onto the open terrace below us. We can no longer use our own terrace due to noise, chairs being dragged about, cigarette smoke and, at times, some rude, drunk clients.

Is Article 18 of the Horizontal Law, which protects individual owners from majority decisions, applicable in the Balearics? What steps can we take against the restaurant owner or to convince the community to reverse the vote and prevent the restaurant from operating under our terrace? What costs would I incur to get to a point where a judge would listen to the case?

J M (Mallorca) A. Article 18 does apply in the Balearics. It provides that one owner, who feels his interests are prejudiced by a community decision, can apply to the court to rule on the matter. In your case, I would ask my neighbours who are also affected to form a group to complain about the noise. First, make your complaint in writing to the president. If

you instruct a lawyer to bring your case, it will cost about €1,000. You could also call the police when the bar is noisy.

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

BUSINESS EXTRA

More jobs for 2015 DESPITE little economic growth, the government generated employment in 2014 for the first time in six years thanks to political stability, said Labour Minister Fatima Bañez. Unemployment fell by 300,000 with the creation of 400,000 jobs between November 2013 and November 2014 and this rhythm will accelerate in 2015, she predicted.

Small world LOGROÑO-BASED firm Avanzare produces 11 per cent of the world’s thinnest known compound, graphene. Used in medical, chemical and industrial processes, it is also produced by five other firms in Alicante, Madrid and San Sebastian, placing Spain amongst the world’s largest producers.

OPINION & COMMENT

Grateful thanks AFA says a big thank you!

At this time of year Torrevieja’s Alzheimer’s Association (AFA) is especially grateful to those organisations who remember us when they have their pantomime or carol service or even a Christmas party.

We have had some really wonderful donations ranging from a magnificent pantomime donation of €3,000 to a truly lovely raffle donation of €125 with carol service collections in between.

We can assure everyone that all of this money will be put to very good use, benefiting our ‘abuelos’ (we no longer use the term patients) and their families who need help more than ever at this time of year.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Matilde Sanchez, AFA President, Torrevieja (Alicante)

Look again IN response to ‘Puzzled’ of Campello, come on!

You have only to venture about two miles inland up the bed of the Rio Seco where we are inundated with magpies.

We see up to 40 at a time on our telephone wires.

EJ Bellamy, Muchamiel (Alicante)

Fast work MY electricity bill with Endesa showed that I was paying a penalty of some €40 every two months for not having an ICB box, of which I knew nothing.

How long I’ve been without one, I don’t know.

I recently had this so-called box fitted and in turn informed Endesa who said an engineer would come out and check it.

The next day an engineer arrived at 7pm. He looked at the box, flicked the switches to see if the lights worked and was there for a total of five minutes.

For this he charged me €290 and asked me to pick up a certificate the next day.

Is this a standard fee or was I ripped off?

R J Hackett, Benalmadena (Malaga)

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EU setup until one member walks away. When that happens the elite will suddenly wake up too late. Once one goes, others will do the same.

Perhaps it’s a pipedream but then, just maybe, we can set up a proper Common Market, with full accountability and proper control of our destiny.

Balanced accounts? Utopia!

Chris Thomas, Puerto Vera (Almeria)

Exit strategy

EVEN ‘cool’ kids like our grandson wasn’t above saddling up and riding off into the night on a merry-go-round steed last summer!

Peter Swift-Thomson (by email)

Wrong number I AM 70 years old and have had ME for the last seven years.

I was burgled at 5am in my home and they entered via a locked window. My small dog barked and I tried to listen, but could not hear a sound.

Then a light shone in my face and I knew somebody was there.

I got out of bed screaming in my native language, something like: “Get out of here you son-ofa-b---h. Then a young man ran out screaming at me: “F--k you, f—k you,” before leaping into the next patio.

I saw my laptop, money, bag and keys had gone. I called the police on 112 but only got an answering machine so I called a Spanish neighbour. He came over and tried to call the police but he couldn’t.

A few days later I went to the town hall to complain about not being able to call the police at night. The lady there told me not to use the emergency 112, but 092. How on earth should anybody know that?

A day or two later a nice English couple came to my gate,

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.

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with all the little cards, my bag, including my driving licence. I was very happy to get them back. Thank you very much, English people.

Else Tue Andersen, Torrevieja (Alicante)

Same old story CONGRATULATIONS to Nora Johnson for hitting the nail on the head in her article ‘Cabgate and our smug governing elite’.

The true attitude of our politicians towards the voters cannot better be shown than by Gordon Brown’s unfortunate (for him) episode with Gillian Duffy in

the run-up to the 2010 election.

She, a lifelong party supporter, explained her concerns about debt and immigration. His reaction?

She was a bigot! However, we should also remember that although the politicians set policy, the Administration remains the same, no matter which political group is in power.

To quote Sir Humphrey Appleby in ‘Yes, Minister,’ after serving 11 governments in 30 years he would have ended up a raving schizophrenic if he had believed in all their policies. Thus little changes, regardless of the decisions of the electorate.

This explains why voters have become increasingly disillusioned with, and detached from, politicians. And this is not confined to the UK: it applies across Europe.

Each EU member has its own unelected Civil Service but in the EU we also have an unelected elite which sits in Brussels. There is no doubt in my mind that they look complacently and contemptuously at the voting populace in Europe. Nothing is going to change in the current

WE retired abroad to a then nonEU country some years ago and, unlike many of the people we met, we gave up our entitlement to NHS care back in the UK by informing the appropriate authority. We come to Spain for a few weeks in the winter to enjoy the sunshine.

We now live back in the UK and being a UK citizen I am concerned for the country in which we live and in my opinion the best way forward is for the UK to leave the European Union. We need to trade freely with the rest of the world and not be constrained by the rules and regulations of Brussels.

When we joined the EU back in the 70s we traded heavily with countries like Australia and New Zealand, which we had to drop like a hot brick, giving us and them two years to make the necessary adjustments. Now Europe is stagnating and we need to look outside.

Because of mass immigration, our services are at breaking point. You can’t get doctors’ appointments and the waiting lists for operations are horrendous.

We are the most populated country in Europe with more people arriving daily. Mr Frost mentions the poor people of Spain seeking work in the UK, doing jobs that the British will not do but immigrants doing poorly paid work in the UK are subsidised by the taxpayer.

Wouldn’t it be better for our own people to do the work and reappraise the benefit system which is so attractive to everyone?

Finally, I suggest that Mr Frost returns to the UK to live if he wants to voice how he thinks it should be run.

Elizabeth Covington, Mazarron (Murcia)

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.

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OPINION & COMMENT

No future without love LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT

W

ITH the news of yet more toerag psychopaths screaming Allah Akbar while taking the lives of innocent human beings, I wonder what more atrocities lay in store for all of us in the year 2015. More misery that’s fer sure.

How can these people possibly believe that the violent, merciless, murdering message from their God will ever be accepted by peace loving normal people?

Of course it won’t, and never will be.

History is full of warring races who have tried to take over this planet through violent means. None have prevailed for long. There is no future at all for a human race without love. Love is the superglue of the spirit, both in its ethereal and manifested state, without it we are all empty shells. I have never heard one of these psychopathic toerags tell anyone they love their God or He loves them.

A

EU DIRECTIVE: It has been suggested obesity be considered a disablement.

We should really feel sorry for these misguided souls, who are deprived by their religion of the one thing that truly binds us all together. Not me I’m afraid, I’d like to see them all ‘martyred.’ every last one of them. Can you imagine their God having to supply about a trillion virgins? The mind boggles.

To my mind one of the most ridiculous suggestions to surface this week was the

EU directive that obesity should be considered a disablement. Did you ever hear anything as ludicrous as that!? How long would it be till the likes of the odious ‘White Dee’ or whole families are stuffing themselves with as much as they can get into their benefit gobbling mouths, merely to reach the weight necessary for yet another pillage of the public purse?

Give us a break. Unless it’s some genuine

metabolism disorder, most of them are fat and greedy, pure and simple.

Many of them gorge vast quantities of fattening products, dozens of eggs for breakfast, a half dozen hamburgers for lunch, along with chocolates, ice cream, and Lord knows what else they can stuff down. Disability benefits? I’d reduce the benefits most of them are already on, so they can’t afford to gorge themselves into obesity. If they can genuinely prove they have lost weight through discipline and dieting, they should be rewarded by receiving free time at health farms or spas. Rather the tax payer footed the bill for these type of operations than making these people not only blameless for their situation, but putting them on a par with genuinely disabled people who are in no way responsible for their unfortunate positions. Makes my blood boil it does but you probably gathered that!

Oh well. Happy New Year all. Especially to John the electrician who got me out of a whole heap of trouble recently and restored my faith in human nature.

Cheers John.

Keep that faith. Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com

Will you be making a New Year’s resolution? If so, what will it be?

NTJE BRUSKE of Nova Vita Restaurant, Bar and Lounge in Puerto de Andratx, Mallorca, said: “I don’t particularly have any New Year’s resolutions for myself as such, but I think that maybe I am feeling like many others at this time of year, and the greatest thing of all would be world peace.”

Lynda ‘LouLou’ Barnes from LouLou’s Hair Design in Velez Rubio, Almeria, replied: “I am determined to lose weight in 2015. I was 60 on December 21 and am determined to prove that a lady can be of a certain age yet still look and feel amazing. I know everyone says they want to lose weight at New Year but I know I will do it.”

We think she can do it, too, and

development of my hairdressing business, working hard and getting ready for the busy, busy summer period which is coming. I am planning on increasing my range and styles of human hair extensions and creating even more wigs on a personal wish you well, Lynda! order basis so that I can help my Joyce from Curiocity customers fulfil their own 2015 resolutions Hairdressers in of having great looking, fuller or longer Fuengirola, Costa del looking hair.”

Sol, told EWN: ”I am Fuengirola Iceland worker Kelly Young not really interested in said: “We went on a family holiday to Gran personal resolutions Canaria in November and so want to save but my plans for 2015 money to be able to go on holiday again will definitely be the this year.”

Nick Cannidge, owner of The Computer Company NICK (far left): To further in Urbanisation La Marina, expand his company.

Costa Blanca, joked that his resolution will be the same as every year: JOYCE (middle): To “Smoke less, eat less, drink develop her hairdressing less and exercise more, business. which normally lasts a day!” He added: “But we KELLY: To save for are also resolving to further another family improve and expand the holiday. business during 2015.”

STREET TALK

E W N 1 - 7 January 2015/ Mallorca

26

www.euroweeklynews.com

OPINION & COMMENT

Get in there Darcy and hurry up Colin Bird Each week, Colin brings his slightly off-the-wall view of the world to the pages of EWN in his own irreverent style.

I

HAVE just been made to sit through yet another Jane Austen movie on the

television.

This particular one was ‘Emma,’ but quite honestly it could have been ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ ‘Mansfield Park,’ ‘Persuasion’ or just about any one of her six completed novels as far as I am concerned. Let’s face it, they are all as near as damn it, the same story but with different characters.

Well alright, not exactly the same story, but certainly identical themes and you pretty much know after the first half hour, how it’s all going to end - Yawn.

I should be biased in favour of the lady, because she briefly spent some time with her sister attending a boarding school in my

Vicki Mcleod

Family Matters

COLIN FIRTH: As Mr Darcy, sends women into raptures of delight.

home town of Reading, but I guess it’s a bloke thing, because I just cannot get into the heaving bosoms; fainting away with the vapours; well bred young gels attending endless balls thing.

Well heaving bosoms are okay I suppose, but you take my point.

If Jane’s books (I feel that she wouldn’t mind me calling her Jane) are a true representation of those Regency times, then what utterly boring and tiresome (a good Austen word) the people were.

And how the heck did they manage to breed? I mean, when any of her male characters fancies the pants off the likes of Miss Elizabeth Bennet or Miss Catherine Morland, instead of just telling the wenches exactly what’s-what in no uncertain terms, these less than red blooded men go all the way to Moscow just to get to Benidorm.

They are lucky not to be drawing their old age pensions before they finally pluck up the nerve to express their feelings.

Or heaven forbid, deliver a peck on the cheek.

Yes, yes, I know that the sight of Mr Darcy aka Colin Firth, striding toward Pemberley in his wet kecks is enough to send any modern day woman into raptures of delight. But from a man’s point of view, I spent the whole six episodes shouting at the TV to “get in there my son and stop pratting around”. I ask you!

There’s Lizzy Bennet giving off mating signals that could be seen from space, and all that our immensely wealthy, sophisticated man about town Fitzwilliam Darcy can do, is look aloof and walk around in damp M&S underwear.

But I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that for a man who seems to dislike the works of Jane Austen so much, I am remarkably well informed on the subject.

It’s a trade off with my Princess you see. If I sit through this stuff with her, then I am allowed to watch a Grand Prix occasionally.

Simples!

Alaro resolutions

I

LOVE this time of year, when I can legitimately not answer the phone or emails for a few days.

It’s also the time of year when I feel like my brain is going to explode with new ideas and projects, as I am the sort of person who can find something to do in an empty room.

I enjoy the classical end of the year beginning of a new one as a perfect time to make resolutions and maybe challenge myself to achieve new things too.

I find the winter season in Mallorca very inspiring: it’s lovely to get outside and go for a walk in the sunshine where there is only the slightest hint of a chill in the air. We are definitely going up the hill to the Castell of Alaro which is where we are going to spend some time

ROCKY OUTCROP: Castell of Alaro.

over New Year and it is a beautiful spot for thinking and relaxing.

The town of Alaro is one of the last outposts of the flat lands north of Palma, the island’s capital city. It sits directly before the Tramuntana mountains which rise abruptly from

the central plain. The landscape is dominated by a twin pair of rocky outcrops: bare vertical cliffs more than 800 metres high that stand as Tolkienesque sentinels guarding the lush valley that leads through Orient to Bunyola. Perched atop

the southern outcrop is the mountain fortress of the Castell of Alaro. Reaching the top of this peak is a popular Sunday jaunt that combines a challenging, but not epic walk, a bit of history, and quite possibly the best Sunday lunch you are ever going to taste.

Once you get to the top of the hill the views back towards Palma begin to open up and on a clear day, you can see across the bay of Palma towards Andratx, and towards the islands of Cabrera over to the East. On the summit views extend to the North

allowing a bird’s eye vista down into the Orient valley, and the highest peak on Mallorca Puig Mayor, easy to spot with its radar station on the summit. We’re going to take some time to visit the small chapel of Mare de Déu, and have a glass of wine and a pa amboli, a traditional snack of bread, tomato, cheese and ham, from the recently restored cafe and overnight hostel.

The renovations were completed in 2012 after more than a decade of work transferring building materials via helicopter and donkey. It sleeps 30 people and is reasonably priced. It forms one of the many overnight refuges in the Tramuntana range.

It’s an amazing place and a wonderful reminder of how fortunate we are to live in an area of such natural beauty. One of our family resolutions for 2015 is to spend a night in each of the hostels around the island, I can’t wait to start. familymattersmallorca.com

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

EWN

27

Calvia’s Monday market EWN’s Trisha Berger-Black has been taking a look at a popular island tradition AS most residents on the beautiful island of Mallorca are well aware, several villages are host to their own individual market day.

Monday just happens to be the day when market comes to town in Calvia village.

Home to the ayuntamiento of the Calvia area, most of you who live in the area may only venture here on the occasional visit to the town hall, or to pay your road tax or water bill.

But Calvia takes on a whole different persona on a Monday morning.

Most of the stallholders arrive early to set up their pitches, in order to make the most of the morning’s trade.

The atmosphere on the main street is bustling and

packed with locals and tourists alike.

Whether you came for just a leisurely stroll, or with an intention to buy, it’s almost certain that you will not leave empty-handed.

The summer season may be over, but that is not in evidence with the vast array of produce on offer.

From the many varied fruits on sale, the most obvious ones are the ubiquitous summer fruits, strawberries and cherries, both provoking sweet memories of a not so distant balmy past.

But following closely on from the hot summer, is Mallorca’s very own monsoon-type season.

One particular product from this weather combination, is

the wild forest mushroom.

Several stallholders give pride of place to these sought-after delicacies.

Wild mushroom picking season can be any time from the end of October and carries on into November.

The shortness of the season dictates the price.

The most common to be found are Ceps and Chanterelles. Another variety, the Saffron Milk cap, is used in many local Mallorcan dishes, often fried with garlic and finished with local herbs.

One of the most-sought after varieties is the Escalatasangs, which is found on higher ground, fitting for a variety that can even boast its own festival.

I definitely recommend that

you buy them from the market, unless you really know your mushrooms.

There are stalls with many varieties of olives. For those that think they come only in two colours, black and green, think again! There are so many different types here on the island that they deserve an article dedicated solely to them.

You’ll find an amazing array of breads to accompany your carefully chosen olives, Serrano ham and a variety of sobrasadas and cheeses. Add some great local red wines, and you’re all set for a local feast in your own home.

But this market is not only about fruit and veg.

There are other things on offer as well, from cooking

utensils, plants and herbs for your patio, to Moroccan leather goods and several stalls with fashion goods.

I know many of you will be thinking that each village market is the same, but it’s the locals and visitors that make each market different.

Take time out and visit a different one each week; you’ll be surprised at how different the atmosphere can be.

The Calvia market is a typical, traditional market, but a sign of the times, in that all things are available, at all times!

If you’re not in the mood to buy, sit at a local café and watch the world stroll by.

See you on Monday morning !

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E W N 1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

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OPINION & COMMENT

Advertising Feature

New kitchen? No, just Miracle Doors WHY throw away your current kitchen, when you can have an impressive, regenerated new-looking one? All done by simply changing the doors and drawer fronts!

This is the premise of Miracle Doors Mallorca, who offer clients a competitive facelift alternative. They specialise in giving kitchens a quality facelift, with three main aims: saving time, money and disruption.

Michael and Karen Dunn, owners of Miracle Doors Mallorca, set up the company via successful franchisee Dream Doors in the UK six years ago.

“Since moving back to Mallorca, we saw the need for our service for costconscious people. We purely change the appearance of kitchens rather than installing a new one at a fraction of the cost. Why throw money away?”

Their services are very attractive, clients can save up to 60 per cent of the cost of a new kitchen. Michael said: “Replacing old-fashioned, worn kitchen doors, drawers and worktops with new, good quality materials in a different style, colour and handles, is all that kitchens need sometimes to become a client’s dream.”

The benefits that Miracle Doors offer

SLEEK NEW LOOK: Kitchen transformed with new door and drawer fronts. are greater than just a makeover.

Work can be carried out in one day in most cases, or as Michael says: “It’s breakfast in the old and dinner in the new.” Zero disruption and all guaranteed. A free estimate, with only a 60 per cent deposit required in advance, with the remainder payable upon completion.

The service is not only limited to doors and drawer fronts. They also supply and install a vast range of quality worktops and breakfast bars in

a variety of materials and finishes. The supply of replacement ovens, hobs, sinks, taps and extractors is also part of their comprehensive service.

In addition to this, and bearing in mind space restrictions in many homes, they are now suppliers of quality sliding bedroom wardrobe doors. As with all doors, they are made to measure specifically for your property.

For more information and free brochures please call Michael Dunn on 628 490 464 any day of the week or email michael@miracledoorsmallorca.com www.miracledoorsmallorca.com www.facebook.com/miracledoors mallorca2014?sk=info

Android ahoy - modern travel Mike, based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.

I

WAS a 16-year-old rookie sailor when joining my first ship, RMS Britannic, the last of the White Star liners. Not much had changed for passengers since the RMS Titanic of the same company met its tragic end. Progress was unhurried back then.

The Britannic ended its Atlantic crossings with several weeks’ cruising Mediterranean ports. Many of our populous Costa townships would have been fishing villages back then.

Progress in cruising since has been nothing short of astonishing. To be honest, I prefer the old ways, but I can’t stop progress. When passengers embarked on those ocean greyhounds there was a long, drawn-out wearying process of registration and embarkation to

CRUISE LINER: Up-to-date Quantum of the Seas.

Photo Credit Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com

Mike Walsh

complete long before one was shown one’s cabin.

Let us then book a cruise on Royal Caribbean International’s latest cruise liner, the Quantum of the Seas. What comparisons can be drawn between the two periods?

The RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Britannic was a little over 700 feet in length and weighed a little over 27,000 tons. RCCL

Quantum Class liners are twice the length and at 168,000 tonnes, an incredible seven times the weight of the White Star liner.

Best not think of the many hours it took to finally recover baggage and reach one’s cabin on the super liners of yesterday.

Today, RCCL promise their 4,000 boarding passengers that their luggage will be stowed and

they will be in their cabins within 10 minutes of arrival. Airports take note.

There’ll be no piping you on board. You check in online. No queues to join and nor will you wait in a long line to have your ID checked, fill out paperwork and collect your stateroom keys.

You take a selfie, load it onto the online check-in website, fill out your passport details and print out your boarding pass.

Show this to security and proceed to your stateroom.

Yours is a hotel type card key but you also receive a WOWband wristband. It covers all your needs including purchases on-board. It is waterproof so wear it when

splashing about in any of the liner’s many pools and hot tubs.

No escape from the office or Facebook. The liner uses a new type of near-earth satellite.

Internet access is assured wherever you are on the ship; there are no dead spots.

Ship’s staff are equipped with tablets, not the kind you get from the chemist for aches and pains, but hand-held computers that take care of every need.

A Royal iQ app and Android devices allows you to plan, change schedules like spa appointments, dinner reservations, shore excursions, etc. Cabins have USB charging ports.

There are 45 iQ stations that interact with your WOWband.

These access everything and everyone, including your onboard friends. The liners also have two robotic bartenders.

Use your tablet to order cocktails; these are mixed and delivered by robots. All of a sudden a voyage on the RMS Titanic looks quite appealing.

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E W N 1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

Thursday BBC ONE 3:10pm Mary Poppins 5:25pm The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn 7:05pm BBC News at Six 7:20pm BBC London News 7:30pm Roald Dahl's Esio Trot 9:00pm Miranda 9:30pm EastEnders 10:35pm Mrs. Brown's Boys 11:10pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Match of the Day 1:10am Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live!

BBC TWO 3:50pm Galaxy Quest 5:25pm The Archbishop of Canterbury's New Year Message 5:30pm Final Score 6:30pm Force 10 from Navarone Action-packed sequel to The Guns of Navarone.

8:30pm Tigers About the House: What Happened Next 9:30pm University Challenge 10:00pm Quartet 11:30pm Julie Walters: A Life on Screen 12:30am Mock the Week 1:05am Frenzy Hitchcock thriller. 2:55am Stick It Teen comedy drama. 4:35am This is BBC Two Highlights of programmes on BBC Two.

ITV 3:35pm You've Been Framed!

4:05pm Thunderball 6:45pm Rita and Me 7:45pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm You've Been Framed!

8:30pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Birds of a Feather 10:00pm The Dark Knight 12:55am ITV News and Weather

CH4 4:30pm Guy Martin's Passion for Life 5:00pm Channel 4 News 5:10pm The Wizard of Oz 7:10pm Sister Act 9:00pm Snow White and the Huntsman 11:30pm Rude Tube 1:35am The Godfather

CH5 4:30pm Ben-Hur 8:30pm Hercules the Human Bear 9:30pm World's Strongest Man 2014 10:35pm White Dee: What's All the Fuss About?

11:35pm Celebrity Big Brother 1:35am Jim Davidson: At Least I'm Not Boring

SKY1 3:00pm David Attenborough's Galapagos 4:00pm David Attenborough's Galapagos 5:00pm The Bachelor King 6:30pm David Attenborough's Natural History History Museum Alive 8:00pm David Attenborough Conquest of the Skies 9:00pm Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death 11:00pm Predator 2 1:05am Road Wars 2:05am Road Wars 3:05am Hawaii Five-0 4:00am Night Cops

Friday BBC ONE 5:30pm Up 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm Celebrity Mastermind 8:30pm A Question of Sport 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Room 101 10:00pm The Musketeers 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Live at the Apollo 12:05am Cuckoo

BBC TWO 5:30pm Big Dreams Small Spaces 6:30pm Flog It! 7:30pm Nature's Weirdest Events 8:30pm University Challenge 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Food and Drink 10:00pm The Big Allotment Challenge 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule 12:30am Mock the Week

ITV 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm You've Been Framed!

7:30pm ITV News London 7:45pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm The Martin Lewis Money Show 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Benidorm 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:15pm Darcy Oake: Edge of Reality 12:10am The Chase

CH4 3:10pm Black Knight 5:10pm Alvin and the Chipmunks 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News Includes sport and weather.

9:00pm Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast 10:00pm The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz 12:05am The Last Leg of the Year 1:10am The Godfather Part II 4:40am Secret Eaters

CH5 3:20pm Fantastic Voyage 5:15pm Columbo Cries Wolf 7:10pm Columbo Goes to College 9:00pm Ice Road Truckers 10:00pm Forrest Gump 12:50am Access

SKY1 3:00pm Football's Funniest Moments 4:00pm Night at the Museum 3 Special 4:30pm Modern Family 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Modern Family 7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Show Me Your Garden 10:00pm Karl Pilkington: The Moaning of Life 11:00pm An Idiot Abroad 12:00am Britcam: Emergency on Our Streets 1:00am King Arthur

TV LISTING

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Saturday BBC ONE 3:00pm Escape to the Continent 3:30pm Darts 5:30pm Final Score 6:20pm BBC News 6:30pm BBC London News 6:35pm Mastermind Celebrity Special 7:05pm Pointless 8:00pm Frank Sinatra: Our Way 9:15pm The National Lottery 10:05pm Casualty 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Mrs. Brown's Boys 11:50pm Match of the Day 1:00am Lesbian Vampire Killers

BBC TWO 4:00pm Big Dreams Small Spaces 5:00pm Restoring England's Heritage 5:30pm Darts 6:30pm Tigers About the House: What Happened Next 7:30pm Sacred Wonders of Britain 8:30pm Dad's Army 9:00pm Rubens: An Extra Large Story 10:00pm Albert Nobbs 11:45pm Charlie Brooker's 2014 Wipe 12:45am Darts 1:35am Darts

ITV 3:55pm Who's Doing the Dishes?

4:55pm Tipping Point 5:55pm Big Star's Little Star 6:55pm ITV News London Regional news update for the capital and the South East, plus local weather.

7:05pm ITV News and Weather 7:20pm Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang 9:30pm Take Me Out 10:30pm The Hangover 12:30am ITV News and Weather 12:45am Dog Day Afternoon

CH4 5:00pm Alvin and the Chipmunks 6:45pm The Simpsons 7:10pm The Simpsons 7:35pm The Simpsons 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:30pm Britain's Wildest Weather 2014 10:00pm Taken 11:50pm Bill Bailey Qualmpeddler 12:50am The Godfather Part III 3:55am Hollyoaks Omnibus

CH5 4:55pm The Searchers 7:20pm Zulu 9:55pm 5 News 10:00pm Most Shocking Celebrity Moments 2014 12:55am Access

SKY1 3:00pm Futurama 3:30pm Exodus: Gods and Kings Special 4:00pm Last Man Standing 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Modern Family 6:00pm Portrait Artist of the Year 7:00pm Show Me Your Garden 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm David Attenborough Conquest of the Skies 10:00pm King Arthur 12:25am A League of Their Own 1:25am Hawaii Five-0 2:25am NCIS: Los Angeles

Sunday BBC ONE 3:50pm FA Cup Final Score 6:00pm BBC News 6:10pm BBC London News 6:20pm Match of the Day Live 8:30pm Still Open All Hours 9:00pm Countryfile 10:00pm Last Tango in Halifax 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm BBC London News 11:30pm Match of the Day - FA Cup Highlights 12:50am The Celebrity Apprentice USA

BBC TWO 5:45pm Ski Sunday 6:30pm Coast 7:00pm Tigers About the House: What Happened Next 8:00pm Top Gear 9:00pm Kate Humble: Into the Volcano 10:00pm Reinventing the Royals 11:00pm QI XL 11:45pm Racing Legends 12:45am Darts 1:35am Darts 3:35am Countryfile 4:35am Holby City 5:35am This is BBC Two

ITV 4:55pm On Her Majesty's Secret Service 7:35pm ITV News London 7:45pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Diversity Live 9:00pm Foyle's War 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:15pm Hot Fuzz 1:25am Rugby Highlights 2:20am The Store 3:55am The Jeremy Kyle Show USA Jeremy Kyle hosts the American version of his popular daytime show. 4:40am ITV Nightscreen

CH4 4:50pm Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6:40pm Channel 4 News 7:05pm A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 8:00pm Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 9:00pm The Hotel 10:00pm Walking the Nile 11:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 12:05am Rude Tube

CH5 4:50pm Snow White 6:35pm Bambi 7:55pm 5 News 8:05pm Rush Hour 10:00pm House at the End of the Street 11:55pm Final Destination 1:50am Super Casino

SKY1 3:00pm Middle-Earth: There and Back Again 4:00pm Last Man Standing 4:30pm Last Man Standing 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Futurama 8:00pm Modern Family 8:30pm Modern Family 9:00pm A League of Their Own 10:00pm Karl Pilkington: The Moaning of Life 11:00pm Show Me Your Garden 12:00am 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy

Monday BBC ONE 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Match of the Day Live 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London.

11:35pm Waterloo Road 12:35am The Graham Norton Show

BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Top Gear 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Only Connect 10:00pm Rich, Russian and Living in London 11:00pm Backchat 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Darts 1:10am Darts

ITV 5:00pm Fat Pets - Slimmer of the Year 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Richard Wilson on the Road 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Broadchurch 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm A Funny Old Year 2014 12:40am A Great Welsh Adventure with Griff Rhys Jones

CH4 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Food Unwrapped 10:00pm The Undateables 11:00pm Bodyshockers 12:00am The Last Leg of the Year

CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

9:00pm 70-Stone Man: The Last Days 10:00pm Benefits: Too Fat to Work 11:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 12:55am White Dee: What's All the Fuss About?

SKY1 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Modern Family 9:30pm Modern Family 10:00pm Cop Squad 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am Hawaii Five-0

Tuesday BBC ONE 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 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 Silent Witness 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Count Arthur Strong 12:05am Have I Got a Bit More News for You

BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Great British Garden Revival 9:00pm Six Puppies and Us 10:00pm Billionaire's Paradise: Inside Necker Island 11:00pm W1A 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Darts 1:10am Darts

ITV 5:00pm Fat Pets - Slimmer of the Year 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm River Monsters 9:00pm Britain's Best Back Gardens 10:00pm The Wonder of Britain 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm The Mighty Mississippi 12:40am Secrets From the Sky

CH4 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Weighing Up the Enemy 10:00pm 24 Hours in Police Custody 11:00pm Ramsay's Hotel Hell 11:55pm The Undateables 12:55am Pokerstars.Com and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final

CH5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The World's Deadliest Storms 9:00pm World's Scariest Weather 10:00pm Worst Weather Ever?

11:00pm Britain's Best Loved Double Acts 1:00am White Dee: What's All the Fuss About?

SKY1 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Modern Family 9:30pm Modern Family 10:00pm Air Ambulance ER 11:00pm Britcam: Emergency on Our Streets 12:00am Hawaii Five-0

Wednesday BBC ONE 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:50pm Miranda 9:30pm EastEnders 10:00pm Silent Witness 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm A Question of Sport 12:05am Little Fockers

BBC TWO 5:15pm The Great British Winter 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Great British Garden Revival 9:00pm Six Puppies and Us 10:00pm Super Cars v Used Cars: The Trade Off 11:00pm W1A 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Darts 1:10am Darts

ITV 5:00pm Fat Pets - Slimmer of the Year 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Midsomer Murders 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Sports Life Stories 12:40am I Never Knew That About Britain

CH4 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Restoration Man 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz 1:00am Launched at Red Bull Studios

CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Winter Road Rescue 9:00pm Benefits: Too Fat to Work 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

SKY1 4:00pm Harrow: A Very British School 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Fanatics 10:00pm 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy 11:00pm Karl Pilkington: The Moaning of Life 12:00am Hawaii Five-0

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for next 7 days

MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

The Skeleton Twins When estranged twins at the end of their tether - Milo and Maggie discover that they have both unsuccessfully attempted suicide during a chance reunion, the pair are forced to confront where and why both their lives went so wrong. As they reconnect after being apart for so long, Milo and Maggie begin to realise that the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship. The Skeleton Twins was met with critical acclaim upon its release and garners an 87 per cent rating on the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by Craig Johnson and starring Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Luke Wilson. Run time 91 minutes. Rated 15.

TODAY TODAY

ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATX

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

TOMORROW CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATX

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

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

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 19 9 S Tues - 18 8 Cl Wed - 18 8 S

17 7 S 18 9 S 19 9 S

tars

getting tongue-tied or dogmatic on Tuesday and Friday. Promising potentials appear, especially if you spruce up your competitive streak.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Stand by for a week of whoosh and whirl. More importantly, try to avoid

whatever else you decide, refuse to discard your hopes and wishes. As a Gemini, you like to have two strings to your bow of life.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Even if the opposite to what you want happens, it could prove useful. One clue to this week's planetary crossword puzzle is ‘What word could also mean success?’

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) A vivid star pattern portends a frantic personal and social diary. Ensure that

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Throughout this fortunate week,

6-Star Quiz

LEO (July 24 - August 23) Pave the way for any ambitious schemes you may have, rather than actually starting them. With your ruler the Sun eclipsing your kindred fire sign, you are now more likely to get the support and affection you need.

Sudoku

LIBRA (September 24 October 23) The solar eclipse in your opposite sign of Aries intensifies your willpower. Before you say 'go', find out where you stand. It might pay you to leave things be for a little longer to see if anything begins to change.

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.

SCORPIO (October 24 November 22) The planets mobilise your streak of Scorpio daring, but don't stretch your limits. Your most effective weapon against personal and workrelated pitfalls is your ability to be objective.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 December 21) The main gist of the solar eclipse in fiery Aries and the link between plucky Mars and your ruler friendly Jupiter will stir surprises.

Whether you create the right atmosphere all round depends on how you interpret other people's views.

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

Saturday December 27

Saturday December 27

Saturday December 27

Friday December 26

23

28

30

32

46

22

23 28

25 36

6

8

24

27

38

40

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

49

6

23

17

26 45

49

3

LA PRIMITIVA Saturday December 27

27

LUCKY STARS 2

Fri Sat Sun -

Fri Sat Sun -

17 8 S 18 10 S 19 10 S

Fri Sat Sun -

S Sun,

12 2 S 14 3 S 14 4 S

MAX 11C, MIN 1C MAX MIN

Mon - 13 3 S Tues - 11 3 S Wed - 12 3 Cl

Murcia

CLOUDY MAX 14C, MIN 7C 16 7 S 17 9 S 16 9 Cl

SUNNY MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 19 9 S Tues - 18 9 C Wed - 17 10 Cl

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX MIN

Mon - 20 9 S Tues - 19 9 C Wed - 18 9 S

Madrid

Mallorca TODAY:

18 9 S 19 11 S 19 11 S

TODAY:

MAX 16C, MIN 8C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

SUNNY MAX 17C, MIN 8C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 16 9 S Tues - 15 9 Cl Wed - 15 9 C

15 8 S 17 9 S 16 9 S

SUNNY

MAX MIN

Mon - 20 11 S Tues - 19 11 Cl Wed - 17 11 Cl

Benidorm TODAY:

CLOUDY MAX 12C, MIN 6C

Malaga TODAY:

16 9 S 18 9 S 20 11 S

MAX 16C, MIN 8C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 18 9 S Tues - 17 9 Cl Wed - 16 9 C Cl Clear,

SUNNY MAX 16C, MIN 4C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun Fog,

Sn Snow,

MAX MIN

18 6 S 19 8 S 21 8 S

Mon - 20 8 S Tues - 19 8 S Wed - 18 8 S

C Cloud,

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 T) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

TARGET:

Average: 9

Very good: 17

Good: 12

Excellent: 21

cart, cert, cite, curt, cute, fact, fate, feat, feta, fiat, frat, fret, frit, kart, kite, raft, rate, reft, rift, rite, tack, take, tare, teak, tear, tick, tier, tike, tire, tref, trek, true, tuck, tufa, turf, acute, after, caret, carte, cater, citer, craft, crate, cruet, cuter, cutie, eruct, facet, fruit, irate, kraft, krait, react, recta, recti, refit, taker, trace, track, trice, trick, trike, truce, truck, uteri, acuter, curate, faucet, racket, tacker, ticker, tucker, tackier, truckie, FRUITCAKE

Word Ladder

LOTTERY 11

Fri Sat Sun -

SUNNY MAX MIN

Barcelona TODAY:

any tight planning is carefully handled, especially if you hope to fit in everything you would like to say.

Y S our

TODAY:

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Education, media, creative and social connections are given star merit. The solar eclipse in your own sign bursts with vitality and success, more so for an array of bold moves.

1. Blondie, Talking Heads, Duran Duran and Elvis Costello were all associated with which style of rock music popular in the late 1970s? It was derived from punk but generally more poppy in sound and less aggressive in performance.

2. Built in 1903–6 on the site of Newgate Prison, by what other name is the Central Criminal Court in London better known?

3, The ‘Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’ is the nickname of what?

4. ‘There’s talk on the street; it sounds so familiar. Great expectations, everybody’s watching you’ are the first lines of which 1977 UK Top 20 hit by the Eagles?

5. What nickname was applied to the veterans of the British Expeditionary Force sent to France in the First World War (1914)?

6. Which city is the capital of India and seat of the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of the Government of India?

MAX MIN

www.fiduciarywealth.eu

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) One thing is certain, when you come through this week's restless planetary antics, you won't be totally the same Piscean who walked in.

RING OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW

Almeria

SUNNY MAX 15C, MIN 4C

1

10

21

23

33

47

REINTEGRO 18

8

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA

BOYS

Sunday December 28

5

6 34

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

15 53

REINTEGRO 1

SHOP

COOP CHOP SHOP

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) Eager Mars meets affluent Jupiter and enriches your financial forecast. It might show a foretaste of money to come, or on-stream benefits.

Alicante TODAY:

BOYS BOOS COOS

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Hard-working, enterprising and selfsacrificing are just some of the words that describe your zodiac sign. It will be these qualities that count.

1. NEW WAVE, 2. OLD BAILEY, 3, BANK OF ENGLAND, 4. NEW KID IN TOWN, 5. OLD CONTEMPTIBLES, 6.

NEW DELHI

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CROSSWORDS

Crosswords

1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

EWN

33

SPONSORED BY

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

Cryptic

Quick

Across 1 March off for appeal (5) 3 Look at manuscript, it appears (5) 7 Manila’s odd beasts (7) 9 Side with gal in trouble (5) 10 She and the Queen are fine (5) 11 Authorise nurse championship (7) 12 Somehow chews a nut (6) 14 Dreads becoming more unhappy (6) 18 Stroll after a bee to the blackberry bush (7) 20 Corset’s remains (5) 22 Society finish off craft (5) 23 Attacks a fool but suffers afterwards (7) 24 Is backing First Lady to sort things out (5) 25 Game in a coaches’ school (5) Down 1 Group of students in charge of work of art (7) 2 A soldier and the French mobile (5) 3 She’s as strange as parts of a window (6) 4 Correct late law (5) 5 Fish Ted concealed and moved

(7) 6 Begin to arrange a spree (5) 8 Eager, though wrong, to correspond (5) 13 Black leg that is endless infection (7) 15 Fools in some silly class escapade (5)

16 Is caught by props but puts up a fight (7) 17 Argument about bad tee (6) 18 Get placed in position and attacked on all sides (5) 19 Stick out bent bugle (5) 21 Albert and I have become animated (5)

Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 17 represents H and 25 represents Z, so fill in H every time the figure 17 appears and Z every time the figure 25 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 Lost for words, 7 Gala, 8 Antidote, 9 Rattle, 10 Reason, 11 Net, 12 Rebel, 14 Ashen, 16 Sin, 18 Garret, 20 Astute, 22 Vigilant, 23 Away, 24 Heartstrings.

Down: 1 Leakage, 2 Smart, 3 Flaxen, 4 Retort, 5 Ordeals, 6 Ditto, 13 Earlier, 15 Entraps, 16 Steals, 17 Natter, 19 Abide, 21 Train.

QUICK Across: 1 Glass, 4 Parent, 9 Arrange, 10 Briar, 11 Ewer, 12 Outside, 13 Pun, 14 Plea, 16 Oven, 18 Win, 20 Examine, 21 Fake, 24 Alibi, 25 Replace, 26 Tigers, 27 Dwell.

Down: 1 Goatee, 2 Agree, 3 Sent, 5 Ambition, 6 Edifice, 7 Turkey, 8 Melon, 13 Pacifier, 15 Leading, 17 Depart, 18 Weary, 19 Reveal, 22 Amaze, 23 Spud.

ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 3 Doll, 4 Fun, 6 Eggnog, 7 Plates, 11 Asar, 12 Elf, 13 Toy, 15 Comet, 16 Camellos, 18 Opened, 19 Bells, 21 Barba.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Down: 1 Pudín de pasas, 2 Holly, 4 Fireplace, 5 Food, 8 Sled, 9 Gift, 10 Stove, 14 Oro, 17 Antlers, 19 Baby, 20 Star.

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

Across 1 Puro (5) 3 Novia (en boda) (5) 7 Above (6) 9 Water (4) 10 Resto (9) 13 Tía (4) 14 Navy (6) 16 April (5) 17 Beach (5) Down 1 Masticar (4) 2 Like that (3) 4 Englishwoman (7) 5 Age (of person, animal, building) (4) 6 To walk (7) 8 Limpiadora (persona) (7) 11 Berry (4) 12 Each (4) 15 Thousand (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 (BUTLER) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

ALTERS

MODELS

ARROWS

PIERCE

BANKER

REGARD

BREACH

RESENT

BUTLER (10)

RESTED

DEALER

SALUTE

HEALER

SINGLE

HURLED

TALLER

KINDER

THENCE

MELLOW

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Funagram Unscramble the name of a popular drink: CHANGE MAP FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: FATHER TIME, CHAMPAGNE

Unscramble the name of a famous character associated with this time of year (two words): ATHIEF TERM

Across 1 Spade-like tool (6) 4 Inspects (6) 9 Brings into existence (7) 10 Grades (5) 11 Rub out (5) 12 Accomplish (7) 13 Possessing sound knowledge (11) 18 Reaches a destination (7) 20 Shoulder firearm with a long barrel (5) 22 Make a mess of (5) 23 Question (7) 24 Sprinted (6) 25 Large animals (6) Down 1 Holy (6) 2 Drama set to music (5) 3 Outermost (7) 5 Severe (5) 6 Worry (7) 7 Method (6) 8 Fixed (11) 14 Apprehensive (7) 15 Trash (7) 16 Hesitated (6) 17 Flattens (6) 19 Worth (5) 21 Goes wrong (5)

1 Scenes, 2 Hearts, 3 Render, 4 Mutter, 5 Inland, 6 Hedges, 7 Larder, 8 Ginger, 9 Orders, 10 Angels, 11 Cursed, 12 Elders, 13 Asters, 14 Dealer, 15 Tinsel, 16 Beards, 17 Novels, 18 Noises, 19 Cannot

34

E W N 1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

Looking back

S

PORTS lovers everywhere often look back, read about, watch (via various sources) and listen to what is said about things that happened years ago, and this week I am checking out 1965... and believe you me there were some great teams and personalities around half-a-century ago.

Here are my findings, listed in no specific order and I’m certain you will remember a lot of them - good or bad!

• The Wisconsin-based Green Bay Packers won the American NFL Championship for the first time.

They went on to complete a hat-trick of triumphs by winning the prize in 1966 and 1967.

• FA Cup holders West Ham United (with Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst in their ranks) defeated German side TSV 1860 Munich 2-0 in the European Cupwinner’s Cup final at Wembley in front of almost 98,000 spectators.

• FC Ferencvaros (Hungary) pipped Juventus 1-0 in the final of the Fairs Cup before a crowd of 25,000 in Turin.

• Matt Busby’s Manchester United won the League championship (for first time since 1957); Newcastle (second), Carlisle (third) and Brighton & Hove Albion (fourth) were other Divisional champions, while Kilmarnock (not Celtic or Rangers) won the Scottish League crown.

• Bill Shankly’s Liverpool (2-1 over Don Revie’s Leeds United after extra time), Tommy Docherty’s Chelsea (3-2 on aggregate v Leicester City) and Celtic (for the double) triumphed in the FA Cup, League Cup and Scottish Cup finals respectively.

• Los Angeles Dodgers won the USA Baseball World Series for the third time in six years.

FIFTY

FEATURE

years

TO 1965

With Tony Matthews

• Inter Milan retained the European Cup by beating Benfica 10 in front of 89,078 fans in the San Siro Stadium in Italy.

www.euroweeklynews.com

• Felice Gimondi (Italy) was crowned Tour de France winner and in some style too.

and with it his fourth successive Formula 1 driver’s title, driving his Lotus-Climax.

• The big horse races went to Sea Bird II (Derby), Long Look (Oaks), Niksar (2,000 guineas), Night Off (1,000 guineas), Provoke (St Leger), Jay Trump (Grand National), the great Arkle (Gold Cup) and Kirriemuir (the Champion Hurdle).

• Wigan lifted Rugby League’s Challenge Cup and Wales won Union’s Five Nations tournament.

• Top flat and National Hunt jockeys were Lester Piggott (166 winners) and Terry Biddlecombe (114 winners) respectively.

Larry Bird from Boston Celtics • The NBA (USA Basketball) champions were Boston Celtics.

• In boxing, Muhammad Ali (heavyweight), José Torres (light-heavy), Dick Tiger (middle), Emile Griffith (welter), Carlos Ortiz (light), Vicente Salvador (feather), Fighting Harada (bantam) and Salvador Barruni (fly) were the other world Muhammad Ali title holders, while the British heavyweight champion was the late Henry • GB’s Mike Hailwood Cooper. won the 500cc World Motor cycling • Worcestershire retained cricket’s championship for County Championship crown while the fourth Yorkshire won the limited overs successive year, NatWest Trophy. chased all the way by Italian • Cricket’s leading batsman in Giacomo Agostini.

1965 was Colin Cowdrey (Kent) with an average of 63.42; the top bowler • On four was Harold Rhodes (Derbyshire) wheels, who conceded only 11.05 runs per Scotsman Jim wicket; and the England-Australia Clark won the Tests Series was drawn.

British Grand Prix

• John Pulman was in the middle of five successive World Snooker titles. He took over the mantle from Fred Davis in 1957 and relinquished it to John Spencer in 1969.

• Sweden’s Bjorn Knutson became World Speedway champion, taking over from New Zealander Barry Briggs who had won the title three times in eight years.

• And finally in tennis, Australian Roy Emerson won two Grand Slam tiles - on home soil and at Wimbledon.

Manuel Santana triumphed in the USA and Fred Stolle in France. Emerson’s Aussie colleague Margaret Smith lifted the women’s plate at Wimbledon.

And for those interested, when all this sporting activity was going on, The Beatles, Supremes, Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, The Byrds and the Dave Clark Five topped the UK/US pop charts; American planes bombed North Vietnam; Edward Heath became UK Prime Minister; Cat Ballou, Dr Zhivago, Help and The Sound of Music were the big films and sadly Malcolm X, Nat King Cole and Stan Laurel (film star) all left us.

Giacomo Agostini

HEALTH & BEAUTY

www.euroweeklynews.com

1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

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

A fruity after Christmas remedy for overindulgence FEELING guilty about overindulging over the festive period? Then eat bilberries.

The bilberry is native to Europe and looks similar to the blueberry, being its wilder and more acidic version. It is believed that eating a handful of the fruit each day could help reduce the impact of a high-fat diet.

Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland found that the beneficial health effects of bilberries are due to high levels of polyphenols, a disease-fighting chemical component significantly higher in bilberries than in commerciallycultivated blueberries.

As part of the study, mice were fed a high-fat diet for a period of three months. Some of the mice were also fed either 5 per cent or 10 per cent of

freeze-dried bilberries in the diet and found that the bilberries diminished the inflammatory effects of the highfat diet, which can lead to diseases

like heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Bilberries also reduced high blood pressure levels associated with fatty diets.

35

TRUS

dvert T isers

our a

WE D

O!

Fighting sickness but cheered by family visitors 22nd December

DISEASE-FIGHTING: Bilberries have beneficial health effects.

EWN

Erica Russell Watson:

WELL, my last treatment was on 17th December and My journey – and I’m driving despite my festive cheer and Santa hat I warmed by the could not keep the prospect of the sickness at bay! imminent arrival of So not wanting to my family. dwell on the sideWhoever you are effects of chemo I and wherever you are, would rather wish you I wish you festive all a Merry Christmas cheer and above all and all things good for health and happiness.

2015.

Warmest wishes, I am starting to feel Erica better today and am

How to avoid weight gain at festive parties DURING the holidays, eating habits tend to be altered.

Overeating and indulgence can cause us to increase in weight, putting on average up to four kilos.

Nutritionist at the Obesity Unit at Chiron Hospital Torrevieja and Murcia, Carolina Perez, gives some guidelines to prevent the festivities taking their toll on our

Rogue gene find could lead to antiageing solution SCIENTISTS are hoping to create a new cream which could combat wrinkles after accidentally discovering a rogue gene that ages skin.

In a 20-week tanning experiment, they found that mice who lacked the enzyme Granzyme-B had aged significantly less than those who had it and they also had noticeably smoother skin and their collagen was more intact.

The discovery was made by accident as the researchers at the University of British Colombia in Canada were looking into the role of Granzyme-B in atherosclerosis and heart attacks.

Scientists now hope they can use their findings to block the rogue enzyme and offer a definitive solution to ageing.

bodies and digestive health.

She said binge eating is the worst cause with many people holding out for that big dinner or party buffet which causes people to then overeat and fill up the stomach with too much too quickly: “Eat slowly and chew food well,” she recommends to aid digestion.

Doctor Perez advises a number of guidelines: Plan celebrations and make menus. If having heavy starters, balance with a lighter main like fish. Whenever possible, grill or bake food and avoid frying and high-fat foods.

Swap chicken for the lower fat option of turkey. Serve a fruit platter for dessert before the Christmas sweets.

36

E W N 1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

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PETS

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Cat returns home after long trip A CAT that went missing at the start of 2013 has miraculously found its way back home after a 1,200 kilometre trek across France.

Dan Bouchery, the owner of Cookie the cat, was on holiday in Grasse - near Marseille in March 2013 when Cookie disappeared.

When she found out her beloved pet had gone missing, she put up posters around the town and adverts in the local newspaper.

However, the time had come for her to go back home and she left Grasse thinking maybe Cookie had been stolen.

A year and a half after Cookie’s disappearance, Bouchery received an unexpected call.

A vet from Orbec assured her that her long-lost pet was with him as a neighbour had found him in the area.

The cat was skinny and dirty due to the long journey, but its microchip implant did not leave any doubts that the cat was in fact, Cookie.

Canine resolutions for a better life in the New Year

IT’S that time when we look forward to the New Year and think how can we make life better. It is the time for our New Year resolutions, and I see no reason why our canine friends should be left out.

Here is my lighthearted list of the pledges our dogs should make…

• I do not need to suddenly stand straight up when I’m lying under the coffee table.

• I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.

• I must shake the rainwater out of my fur BEFORE entering the house.

• I will not eat the cats’ food, before, or after, they eat it.

• I will stop trying to find the few remaining pieces of carpet in the house when I am about to throw up.

• I will not throw

David THE Dogman

Listen to David on TRE every Saturday 10 thru 11.

Costa del Sol (Gibraltar/Sotogrande) 98.7fm (San Roque to Calahonda) 91.9fm (Calahonda to Motril) 88.9, Costa Calida 92.7fm Costa Blanca (Torrevieja to Elche) 105.1fm (Elche to Calpe) 88.2fm, (Calpe to Gandia & Ibiza) 104.6fm, (Denia to Valencia) 95.3fm Mallorca 103.9fm

up in the car.

• I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc.

• I will not chew my human’s toothbrush and not tell them.

• I will not chew crayons or pens, especially not the red ones, or my people will think that I am haemorrhaging.

• When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it’s

raining outside.

• I will not drop soggy tennis balls in the underwear of someone who is sitting on the toilet.

• We do not have a doorbell. Therefore, I will not bark each time I hear one on the television.

• I will not steal my Mum’s underwear and dance all over the garden with them.

• The sofa is not a face towel. Neither are Mum and Dad’s laps.

• My head does not belong in the refrigerator.

• I will not bite the officer’s hand when he reaches in for Mum’s driver’s licence and car registration.

DOGGY PLEDGE: I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.

Meet Nat and Jodie house and pet sitters

By Lamia Walker of HousesitMatch NAT is a former Australian police detective and Jodie a holiday company estates manager.

About three years ago after moving to Dubai to explore new horizons, Nat and Jodie

found themselves once again drawn to what they know best namely security and property management.

In the last three years they have completed several long term housesits where they were required to look after large properties, sometimes with hotel

accommodation offseason. There were always dogs, cats and other pets to care for.

When asked why they enjoy being house/pet sitters, they say: 1. We love animals and will always work with animals.

2. We understand home security and

estate management, and housesitting enables us to do what we are good at.

Download your Free Easy Guide to Housesitting www.bit.ly /eurown001 Visit www.HousesitMatch. com or call Lamia on +44 (0)1865 521508.

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ood F

WE DO!

1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

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WE DO!

& DRINK

TR US

T

FOOD & DRINK

Mallorca’s best guide to local restaurants

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

Advertising Feature

A truly international taste at Delfino’s DELFINO’S, (the old crazy dolphin) is a restaurant providing truly international fare.

They serve a delicious selection of meals from mouth watering steaks imported from Ireland, to nasi goreng, one of their Asian fusion specialities and not forgetting their very successful Sunday carvery (from 1pm to 8pm every Sunday all year round).

This winter they are also having carvery Saturdays from 7pm until 10pm.

Situated on the roundabout at Costa den Blanes, Portals Nous, Calvia the Delfino’s restaurant has been established since 1985.

The restaurant is open all year round, for menu del dia, daily specials and an a la carte menu.

Don’t forget that the Sunday carvery is so popular that bookings are essential.

Delfino’s founder was a Dutch man called Hank, whom many of the present customers

DELFINO’S: With two sunny terraces, it is in the perfect location and has something for everyone.

the best fish and chips in Mallorca. Served from 12.30 till 10.30pm, eat in or take away.

There is a comfortable traditional bar area, separated from the restaurant where customers can sit and enjoy a beer or two and maybe watch a bit of sport, with bar snacks always available, or maybe sip a cocktail or two.

In fact Delfino’s has something for everyone.

The restaurant has two sunny terraces, one for al fresco dining, and the other for chilling out with a coffee, or a couple of cold beers. Surrounded by three car parks and only a five minute walk from the famous marina at Puerto Portal, lovely beaches and Marineland, it is a perfect location.

remember with great affection.

Hank created the very popular house special dish (Pepper Steak Crazy Dolphin).

The current head chef is the daughter of the original cook, so all the Indonesian recipes

For reservations, tel 971 676 449 or 639 601 410.

Functions catered for up to 60 persons.

Delfino’s restaurant. Calle Andratx - Palma, Costa den Blanes, Calvia.

have remained in the family.

Incredibly the house special in its unique pepper sauce accounts for 70 per cent of the sales. It’s a must try on your first visit.

And now their fresh fish and

chips is at the same high quality as the rest of the menu.

Using market fresh lomo and bacalao (cod) and crispy beer batter with our home-made mushy peas and steak house chips, we are serving probably

Do you have news for our readers?

AT EWN we have our clients’ best interests at heart. Getting your news out to the public can sometimes be a struggle, but we here at EWN want to help. Have you changed your menu, recently renovated or won an award?

Do you have an upcoming charity event you’d like to publicise? Do you have a new member of staff?

Maybe you’d like to take part in our ‘Restaurant’ experience?

Your establishment provides a meal for two which we will review and publish - with pictures in your local edition. If you have any news of interest that you would like to get out to local readers, then please let us know. We cannot promise to publish everything, but we will do our best.

Please send your news and photos to whatson@euroweeklynews.com

38

E W N 1 - 7 January 2015/ Mallorca

OPINION & COMMENT

www.euroweeklynews.com

Choose good thoughts and create an abundant New Year AS the New Year begins, Sally Trotman Based in Mallorca, Sally practice gratitude and Trotman is a qualified positive expectation for the Counsellor who works with Astrology, Numerology and year ahead. For a the Tarot. Each month she will deliver the forecast as moment, recall a situation an intuitive tool to aid or event which brought increased self awareness. you great joy last year. As www.sallytrotman.com you remember this time, feel your spirit lift. You NEW YEAR: Begins full of may even find yourself promise, so set yourself smiling now!

From this place of achievable goals. expansion and peace, set In the tarot deck this the intention to expect many more blissful number corresponds to moments like this one to the card of Strength. This manifest in 2015. You is the year to recognise create your reality with your strengths and your thoughts. Choose develop strength on all good thoughts and create levels, mentally, emotionan abundant New Year. ally, spiritually and The year 2015 adds up physically. to the number eight. This A great way to develop is deemed an auspicious more strength is to create number in Chinese culture. more balance. You may

Bridge articles by

wish to consider, for example, how you can balance your own needs with the needs of other.

January begins with the full moon in Cancer on January 5. Comfortable in this sign, Cancer is bringing the opportunity to

a cork board or paste pictures onto your computer of what you would like to bring into your life over the coming year.

The New Year begins full of promise, so set achievable goals and

JAVEA BRIDGE CLUB

Morton’s Fork CARDINAL Morton was Chancellor to Henry II. Morton claimed that a man who lived ostentatiously could obviously afford to pay the King’s taxes, while a man who lived frugally must be saving his wealth and could still afford to pay the taxes.

The Morton’s Fork principle in bridge occurs when a player is faced with two unpleasant losing alternatives: West, fearing that declarer held ♥AQ, decides to lead the ‘safe’ ♠Q instead. This knocks out dummy’s ♠K entry, but gives declarer a problem on how to establish and run the ♦ suit. He realises that he needs to catch a defender, almost certainly West on the bidding, with ♦A singleton or doubleton. If he leads a low ♦ to the Q, West simply withholds his Ace. Leading the ♦K is no better. The ♦A wins and East’s ♦T will still stop the suit.

Is the contract now hopeless? No – cross to the ♣A, then lead the ♦Q and West is caught in the Fork. If he takes the Ace, the ♦ are established. If he ducks, the ♦K overtakes and a low ♦ is returned to the now singleton Ace, setting up the suit.

nurture yourself more, honour your sensitivity, release the past and connect to your true feelings. The new moon on January 20 ruled by the far seeing sign of Aquarius, is the perfect time to create a vision board. Find

West ♠QJT8 ♥KJT94 ♦A9 ♣Q4

North ♠K ♥63 ♦KJ65432 ♣K93

W

N S

South ♠A432 ♥A875 ♦Q ♣A765

East ♠9765 ♥Q2 ♦T87 ♣JT82

E

S

W 1♥ 3NT No

N 3♥ No

E No No

remain open to receiving unexpected gifts. Planning and yet remaining flexible is key here. The number eight turned on its side resembles the infinity symbol. This is reminding you that you are eternal, that there is no rush.

As you flow from one year to the next, everything is happening in divine timing. Embrace inner and outer change this year. Relax into the natural rhythm of life.

Sally Trotman teaches Personal Development Workshops and offers one to one sessions in Palma, Watford UK, and via Skype. www.sally Visit trotman.com or sally. trotman@btinternet.com.

♠♥ ♦♣ We play duplicate four days a week, starting at 3pm (arrive by 2.45pm please). Monday – no fear, Tuesday & Friday – open, Wednesday – host system, so you will be assured of a partner. On Thursday – lessons.

We’d like our articles to be interactive so if you have bridge-related comments, problems, etc, send them to: questions@javea bridgeclub.com and we’ll do our best to answer.

HOMES & GARDEN

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omes&gardens

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H How passionate is your SPONSORED BY

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPONSOR GO TO WWW.LINEADIRECTA.COM

dedication to gardening and al fresco eating in Spain?

GARDENING probably remains the number one retirement pastime for those living in Spain all year round.

Some retirees do nothing but garden, while for others it might be just an hour or two potter each week, or just monitoring and giving instructions to gardeners.

The main motivation for those that care and garden with passion is to have a garden they are proud of. In the best cases a spot of Spain that enables the genuine achievement of that popular expression ‘We came for the weather’ rather than in reality, ‘We look out at and drive in good weather, but we live in an air conditioned environment’.

In the 70’s and 80’s inexpensive air conditioning was not available, so one purchased a property in a situation with natural shade from mature trees and natural seasonal breezes and one organised working time and siesta time, as the Spaniards did, around the pattern of the hottest and coolest hours.

For us, during the hottest summer and winter hours a deep covered terrace outside the kitchen and winter dining room was important to comfortable family and

Dick Handscombe

Gardening Corner

By Spain’s best known expatriate gardening author living in Spain for 25 years.

PAELLA BOOK: Now selling in the USA. invited guest entertainment.

The large photo shows us enjoying tapas with Spanish friends on our covered terrace.

In the early years we also often entertained smaller groups in the shade of a maturing carob tree and under a large umbrella.

But umbrellas don’t last forever and don’t really last long if left out in all weathers, especially if unexpected gales blow up.

Also none of these situations were ideal when cooking paellas on a gas ring, as few days have no wind. So temperature control was not ideal.

The answer was to construct a dedicated shaded facility to celebrate the publication of my book ‘Authentic Valencian Paellas’, which for some

TAPAS: With friends. reason has suddenly started to sell more copies in the USA than in Spain.

The paella kitchen restaurant is shown in the smaller photograph.

At the time of the photograph, the paella pans were indoors to protect them from rain.

The kitchen has proved excellent for paellas of all sizes and also North African tagines and griddled fish and meats.

Naturally the siting of such facilities is important within the colourful structure of plants, shrubs and trees.

The choice of plants varies from gardener to gardener and many have been through that tempting stage of let’s have one of everything with insufficent regard to

their natural source and moisture shade and frost

protection needs. But more about that next week.

© Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com January 2015.

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OPINION & COMMENT

Rants, gripes and bugbears - a message for hoteliers in 2015!

Nora Johnson

Breaking Views A Costa del Sol resident for a number of years, Nora is the author of psychological suspense and crime thrillers.

To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/nora-johnson

IT always mystifies me how I can pay a small fortune for a minuscule room in a trendy hotel in London or any big city and feel less at home than in my own home!

Over-complex controls are a major bugbear. Some shower controls, for instance, require mega experimentation before you suss out how to work the damned thing - without scalding or freezing yourself to death.

Hoteliers, please provide simple controls, a steady water pressure and a thermostatic temperature control! Likewise, the room phone

should be simple enough to use without requiring a PhD in electrical engineering and/or telecommunications. A few speed dial buttons clearly labelled to contact the front desk and room service are quite enough.

Another gripe is the lighting.

Invariably I have to pull the damned plugs out of the sockets to switch off standard lamps. And I like my room to be dark when I am sleeping. I don’t want to be lying under or next to a control console with more flickering lights than Regent Street at Christmas!

Also, more easily accessible power points, please! I’m going to use the power supply, so make it easy for me to access it - not have to crawl around or under the desk and unplug other appliances. And speaking of the desk, can you remove all the clutter?

A desk should only have a lamp and a telephone disturbing the

pillows, are there? But nor do I want 15 cushions piled on the bed, a daft towel ‘swan sculpture’ or that equally daft bit of fabric draped across the end which does nothing but needs to be removed before I can get in, and be plonked ... where?

On top of all those cushions piled in the corner, of course.

These are just a few practical issues I’d be really grateful if any hoteliers amongst you out there could consider in 2015. And, for all you readers too, any gripes I’ve missed out? Okay, rant over!

Happy New Year!

SHOWER CONTROLS: Please make them simple to use! vast wilderness of empty simulated wood-grain. The room service menu, advertising for all the other hotels in the group and

directory of services should be stowed away in a drawer. The desk is for my own personal stuff!

Finally, there are never enough

Nora Johnson’s thrillers ‘Landscape of Lies,’ ‘Retribution,’ ‘Soul Stealer,’ ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.norajohnson.com) available from Amazon in paperback/eBook (€0.89;£0.79) and iBookstore.

Profits to Cudeca.

The fourth way could account for smiles Cassandra Nash

A weekly look - and not entirely impartial reaction to the Spanish political scene

P

ABLO IGLESIAS, secretary general of Podemos, has a solution for the Catalans.

The party born of political disenchantment and the 11-M movement before the 2011 elections offers a perfect answer for Cataluña. Neither outright independence, nor subject to the constraints of Madrid, but still happily within the fold in a Spain governed by Podemos.

“Do I want Cataluña to go? I don’t,” Iglesias said during a recent visit to the region. “But I know that the Spanish caste has insulted the Catalans.”

He steered oratory away from independence and concentrated on the issues that currently beset the country’s population, swiping at the PP, the PSOE and also CiU. The party that governs Cataluña is also part of the caste, according to Iglesias.

PABLO IGLESIAS: Offering a fourth way for Cataluña.

A poll by the regional government’s opinion studies’ centre CEO showed the ‘No’ faction overtaking ‘Yes’ vote on independence. There has been talk of a third way for Cataluña, but Iglesias is offering a fourth, which could account for smiles that were even wider than usual.

So wide, indeed, that Bugs Bunny after orthodontics

came to mind.

Gunpowder plot ON hearing that 37-year-old unemployed Daniel Perez Berlanga had driven a car bomb into the PP party’s headquarters in Madrid, more than one Spaniard could understand why.

All politicians are the same, said financially ruined Perez, echoing the views of many. In fact he had wanted to leave his car loaded with two butane canisters and home-made explosives at the parliament building, but Perez who lives in a Teruel village was unsure of its location. Instead he settled for PP headquarters although he could just have easily chosen the PSOE’s.

Nevertheless there was relief, and not only amongst politicians, to learn that Perez has mental health issues and has had problems with drugs.

Relief because blowing up politicians is no answer to the country’s problems. Violence only breeds more violence - and it doesn’t get anyone back in work, either.

Shall we dance?

SPAIN’S Attorney General Eduardo Torres-Dulce resigned “for personal reasons.” Decoded, this meant that because

he could not be sacked, the government made life difficult enough to push him into resigning. He refused to jump through the government hoop too many times, but above all he had not been forgiven for one huge transgression. He backed the decision to remand the PP’s ex-treasurer Luis Barcenas and let the public peer into a murky world of bribery and corruption.

It takes two to tango and voters have seen that it takes two for corruption to take hold.

Calling card SPAIN welcomed the normalisation of relations between the US and Cuba, as “very hopeful,” according to Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo.

Tangentially he should benefit too: Raul Castro fobbed him off with the regime’s second-incommand Miguel Diaz Canel when he visited Cuba last November. Next time round he might get the boss-man himself.

www.euroweeklynews.com

PROPERTY

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

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HOUSING REFORMS: Households can be awarded up to €2,000 for conservation works.

PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS SEPTEMBER

Government awards funds for renovations THE Spanish government is to provide grants for housing reforms.

Through a housing plan approved in July, the Spanish government is to allocate €2 million to promote rental housing, restoration and energy efficiency.

According to the Ministry of Development, restoration work creates three times as many jobs as the construction of new buildings.

Therefore, in an effort to support this activity and fight unemployment,

Madrid has decided to award a series of subsidies, grants and loans to people who wish to renovate their homes.

To gain access to the funds, homeowners must fulfil a number of conditions, according to idealista.com. The building cannot have been built after 1981 and at least 70 per cent of its total area must be designated for residential use only.

In the case of housing, the grants are to only be awarded to applicants

PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS JUNE

Foreign buyers boost sales FOREIGN buyers boosted property sales by nearly 9 per cent in June.

According to the latest figures released by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE), residential property sales increased by 8.8 per cent compared to June 2013.

This is the fourth consecutive monthly increase after those registered in March, April and May, when sales grew by 22 per cent, 5 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively.

The trend also puts an end to as many as 10 months of year-onyear decreases and the positive increase can be attributed to sales of existing homes. On the other hand, sales of new residential properties dropped by 3 per cent compared to 2013.

The largest number of residential sales was in Valencia, closely followed by the Canary Islands and the Balearics.

wishing to restore their home addresses.

The government also requires the funds be used to improve the gas, electricity, ventilation, and insulation facilities or to build extensions which cannot exceed 120 square metres.

The grants can also be invested to reinforce the structure of the building.

Some restrictions do apply, however. For instance, the monthly family income of individuals wishing to apply for state-funded aid cannot exceed €2,289 and if a whole community wants to be awarded one of the grants, it is essential the monthly household income of at least 60 per cent of the residents be lower than €3,598.

Overall, households can be awarded up to €2,000 for conservation works, an additional €1,000 if the works are related to improving energy efficiency and an extra €1,000 if the work is to make the home more accessible.

Communities are to be awarded between €2,000 and €5,000 for works aimed at improving the quality and sustainability of the buildings and an extra €4,000 for improving accessibility.

The amounts awarded depend on which region the applicants live in.

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BOATING

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WINNING TEAM: The Bolganys team celebrate.

Bolganys win 13th Presidents Trophy THE Bolganys team took the title as winners of the 13th President’s Trophy organised by the Real Club Mediter-ranean in Malaga.

The competition

brought together more than 150 rowers from the club in four separate races, and optimum weather conditions made for a successful day.

Four teams took to the seas in the President’s Trophy Bolganys, Canucas, Willys and Numas with Bolganys coming out eventual winners.

SPANISH team MAPFRE are to have a new skipper for leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race as Olympics commitments mean that Iker Martinez cannot continue at the current time.

Martinez is leaving Abu Dhabi - where the teams are resting up before the start of the third leg from Abu Dhabi to Sanya, China - and his best friend and long-time sailing partner Xabi Fernandez will take the helm of the Spanish boat.

Both Martinez and Fernandez are silver Olympic medallists as well as joint ISAF Sailors of the Year in 2011.

“I have to go and focus on this (Olympic) project now,” said Martinez. “When we started the Volvo Ocean Race, we knew I already had another commitment with the Olympic campaign. That’s why I won’t be able to be onboard for the next leg from Abu Dhabi to Sanya, China.”

Martinez is to travel to Miami where he will train and compete in Nacra 17 with Marina Lopez, his partner on the Olympic class catamaran. Another Olympic silver medallist, Rafael Trujillo, will make up the numbers to sail with MAPFRE for the third leg.

Xabi Fernandez said he is confident that the team can make up for a poor first leg, where they finished seventh in the journey from Alicante to Cape Town.

Both photos by Francois Nel/Volvo Ocean Race

New look Map

OLYMPIC DUTIES: Skipper Iker Martinez will “We won’t face the next leg like we faced the other ones because the truth is Iker was the one making the final call,” said Fernandez.

“That will change. But I believe we have a group that will help me in this new role.”

BOATING

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pfre for 2015 Love is in the air for Ainslie

l not take part in leg three.

Martinez added: “We’ve organised this transition together. We used the second leg to tackle this in the best possible way. I’m sure Xabi will do very well.” The third leg gets under way on January 3.

THE most successful sailor in Olympic history is set to tie the knot with his beloved.

Sir Ben Ainslie revealed his wedding plans just before Christmas and will be marrying television presenter Georgie Thomson over the holidays.

The couple have been together for nearly two years and Ainslie proposed in October, according to the Daily Telegraph.

“What a 12 months it has been,” wrote Ainslie in a column for the newspaper.

“To top it all off I got engaged to Georgie a couple of months ago and we will be getting married over the festive period. Truly, this has been a remarkable year.”

Speaking about his year, Ainslie added: “I was not sure that much could top the experience of the Americas Cup last autumn but the thrill of setting up a new team, virtually from scratch, working with such a talented group of people to reach the position we find ourselves in now, has been incredible. I could not be more excited about the future of Ben Ainslie Racing heading into 2015. We will return with renewed vigour in the New Year. I’ve just got a small date to keep first. And yes, there may be a boat involved on the honeymoon!”

Ainslie won medals at five different Olympic Games in sailing, the third person to win five Olympic medals in the sport (as well as Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt). The 37-year-old from Macclesfield has competed in the Olympic Games since 1996 and in December 2013 he set up Ben Ainslie Racing for the purpose of entering a British team in the Americas Cup.

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MOTORING

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Maserati and Heidi Klum

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MASERATI, continued to celebrate its 100 years of history with a sevenpage pictorial featuring super-model Heidi Klum called ‘Beyond the Swimsuit’ in the introduction of iconic American magazine

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 50th Anniversary issue.

“We started our next 100 years of craftsmanship by kicking off 2014 with the launch of one of the best received Super Bowl commercials ‘Strike’ featuring the all new Maserati Ghibli, and extending the brand to another massive cultural icon, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 50th Anniversary issue,” said

Harald Wester, CEO of Maserati.

“I had a great time driving the new Maseratis for their campaign shot by Francesco Carrozzini,” said Klum.

Shot by Italian Master Photographer, Francesco Carrozzini, the sevenpage pictorial piece

SUPERMODEL: Heidi Klum with the Maseratis.

‘Beyond the Swimsuit’ brought together ‘day in the life’ scenes that befit one of the world’s most

BEYOND THE SWIMSUIT: Brought together ‘day in the life scenes.’

famous women, Heidi Klum, the Hollywood star with the glamorous Quattroporte Ermenegildo Zegna Limited Edition, the businesswoman with the Ghibli S Q4, and the thrillseeker with the GranTurismo MC Trofeo Race Car. This is also a nod to a brand with proven tradition and one of the highest standards of quality in the industry, which has been hard at work engineering automobiles that will usher them into the next 100 years vehicles with their own power and personality capable of striking against the status quo.

E W N 1 - 7 January 2015 / Mallorca

Tennis aces...

CO

Three stars shone brightly in 2014

Tony Matthews

International Sports A former football player and the world’s most prolific author of football books (more than 100 published), Tony is also the sports reporter for Spectrum Radio and lives in the Cabrera mountains.

Costa de Almeria

SO much happened in the world of sport in 2014 that I could easily have filled this entire newspaper covering all the feats, successes and triumphs achieved by individual stars and teams over the last 12 months.

Here are my top three sports stars of 2014: Lionel Messi footballer In October 2014, Barcelona’s Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, age 27, became the youngest player to score 250 goals in La Liga. The very next month, he bagged a hattrick against Sevilla to become the all-time top scorer in La Liga with 253 goals. And later in the month, he netted his 74th Champions League/ European Cup goal to become the all-time leading marksman in this 60-yearold competition.

Lewis Hamilton - F1 champion The 2014 Grand Prix World champion Lewis Hamilton competed in all 19 F1 races this year, winning 11, finishing on the podium 16 times and LEWIS HAMILTON: Hopes starting in pole position on for seven occasions.

He amassed 384 points to clinch his second driver’s title of his career, ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Lewis’s victories came in Malaysia, Bahrain, China, Spain, Britain, Italy, Singapore, Japan,

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

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Stanislav Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic who won eight tournaments between them, the latter the Wimbledon men’s singles title.

DON

Sport Mallorca’s best guide to local sport

SPORT

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Dhabi.

Marc Marquez MotoGP star Spain’s ‘Masterclass on two wheels’ Marc Marquez, ‘MM’ to his colleagues, achieved a hat-trick of World MotoGP championship victories - his fourth triumph in five years.

He competed in all 18 races, gaining 13 wins, 14 podium finishes while accumulating a total of 362 points. He won the title with three races remaining.

PROLIFIC: Barcelona’s superstar Lionel Messi became the youngest player to score 250 goals in La Liga.