Euro Weekly News - Costa de Almeria 28 January - 3 February 2021 Issue 1856

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The people’s paper ISSUE NO. 1856

28 Jan - 3 Feb 2021

COSTA DE ALMERIA • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

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ALL THAT JAZZ!

MOJACAR recently hosted the online debut of the Valparaiso Big Band, Spain’s first all­fe­ male jazz orchestra.

It was the result of a five­year collaboration project between Classijazz, the Indaliana Music and Artes Foundation, and the Fundacion Valparaiso which has given this new band its name.

The line­up of 17 leading lights in Spanish jazz included Ri­ ta Payes on trombone, Lucia Martinez from Berlin who is one of Europe’s best drummers, and Blanca Barranco on double bass.

Prior to their performance,

the band members shared five intense days of rehearsals at Mojacar’s Valparaiso Residence.

Here, they bonded to create a new album and video while contributing a valuable archive of new Spanish jazz to both Foundations’ existing collec­ tions.

Pablo Mazuecos, Clasijazz di­ rector, and Beatrice Beckett, the founder of Fundacion Val­

DEBUT: First performance for Spain’s first all-female jazz band.

Alcazaba obstacle course

A GROUP of youths videod themselves practising parkour on the walls of the Alcazaba in Almeria City.

For the uninitiated, parkour developed from military ob­ stacle course training and in­ volves getting from one point to another in a complex envi­ ronment.

On this occasion, the Alcaz­ aba’s walls and towers, built between the 11th and 12th centuries, supplied the right amount of complexity for the group. They subsequently up­ loaded their video to YouTube, warning of the

citadel’s dangers, its crum­ bling walls and hazardous hand and footholds that broke away without warning.

The video soon racked up more than 50,000 hits but as well as condemning the fool­ hardy exercise, both the cul­ tural division of the Ustea

union and the Amigos de la Alcazaba association drew attention to the group’s de­ scription of the fortress as “abandoned and super­dete­ riorated.”

The episode underlined the Alcazaba’s lack of even mini­ mal security measures had

made it possible for the young people to enter and carry out their parkour performance unhindered, both pointed out.

It also highlighted the threat they had posed to an officially protected monu­ ment, they added.

paraiso, stressed to the band the importance of leading the way for other young jazz players and encouraging them to forge a path in the world of profes­ sional music.

The band’s visit was able to take place despite the current difficulties and, as Mazuecos said, “May the music never stop and may it continue in a safe way.”

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28 January - 3 February 2021

Rude awakening LAST Saturday morning, in­ habitants of the Valle del Almanzora were awakened by a 3.4 earthquake.

According to the provin­ cial Spanish media many residents looking forward

to a weekend lie­in noticed ‘strong tremors’ that made ‘everything in the house shake’ in Arboleas, Albox, Zurgena and Cantoria.

Although relatively mild, the 3.4 earthquake, whose

epicentre was in Limaria (Arboleas), made itself felt as it was only five kilome­ tres beneath the surface, Spain’s National Geo­ graphic Institute ex­ plained.

NEWS

Rigorous cleaning

OWING to the sharp rise in coronavirus cases, Mojacar has stepped up cleaning and disin­ fecting heavily­transited areas.

The local government has focused on rigor­ ous cleaning throughout the pandemic but re­ cently decided to readopt the additional mea­ sures carried out during the previous lockdown period.

This could later involve assistance from the Levante fire brigade’s large­capacity vehicles, although at present the town hall is using a

2,500­litre cistern lorry to disinfect with sodi­ um hypochlorite. Harmless to people and an­ imals, this is an effective decontaminant.

The cistern is already at work in Mojacar areas like banks, supermarkets, pharmacies, bus­stops and the post­office which are much­visited by members of public.

The town hall will continue with these ex­ tra measures for as long as the State of Alarm lasts in its bid to prevent the spread of Covid­ 19, municipal sources said.

Sierra Nevada trip ADRA’S Youth Councillor Antonio Sanchez maintained that the town’s Sierra Nevada excursion for 45 people met all anti­Covid requirements.

Responding to criticism from opposition party PSOE, he main­ tained that the recent trip was made through a travel agency “under strict health and safety measures in accordance with reg­ ulations.”

The excursion was arranged last October and set out before Adra’s town boundaries were closed, the councillor continued, although he admitted it returned

on January 17 when the perime­ ter was closed.

Sanchez accused Teresa Pi­ queras, the PSOE spokeswoman in Adra, of using the Sierra Nevada trip to create alarm and blame the local government “in a despicable manner” for the municipality’s Covid situation.

“The coach that took the party to Granada at no time exceeded the permitted 50 per cent capaci­ ty, rooms were allocated accord­ ing to established ‘bubbles’ and all members of the party were per­ fectly aware of health and safety procedures,” Sanchez insisted.

Shop online VERA’S shops might be closed but they can still sell to the public.

The town hall’s Commerce councillor Ana Lourdes Ramirez explained that shops are still functioning via the Vera Online website.

“Owing to the present restrictions we are ensuring that all local shop­owners belonging to the scheme can promote, free of charge, as many products as they wish while businesses are closed,” Ramirez said.

Boy arrested for attacking teacher A BOY was arrested by National Police in Almeria accused of at­ tacking and threatening a teacher.

The police report that the at­ tack came after the teacher had reprimanded the boy for his bad behaviour. The youth, who has been involved in several con­ flicts at the high school since he started three years ago, shoved the teacher and threatened him repeatedly.

The National Police Family and Minors Unit in Almeria found he had been expelled several times for assault, threat­ ening behaviour, insulting teachers and damaging school property, but until now, he had­ n’t been reported to the police.

Since his arrest, he has ap­ peared before the Minors’ Court in Almeria and sent to a centre for juvenile delinquents.

The police said there are very few reports like this one, but they believe that similar attacks occur frequently, although most of the time, schools attempt to solve the problem internally.

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NIBS EXTRA Budget okayed PULPI Council has provisionally approved the town hall’s €14.485 million 2021 Budget.

Mayor Juan Pedro Garcia told the local media that he expects a return to normality after the summer but admitted that there could be modifications owing to the need to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hungry rats A COLONY of rats in Almeria City’s Plaza de Toros neighbourhood is affecting their electricity supply, residents complained.

They believe that rodents chewing at cables could be responsible for the drops in voltage and short circuits that have sporadically left them without electricity since the cold spell.

Cabs nabbed ROQUETAS Town Hall continues to crack down on the pirate taxis that operate inside the municipality. Proceedings for disloyal competition and other offences against cabbies operating without a licence have begun on more than 20 occasions since January 2020, resulting in fines and confiscation of vehicles.

Home again THE Guardia Civil confirmed that the 16-year-old girl who went missing in Vera has now been located. The SOS Desaparecidos association which collaborates in the search for missing persons by circulating their descriptions and asking for the public’s participation, also announced that the girl was found two days later.

Frost-bitten THE brusque change in the weather at the beginning of the month affected fruit and vegetables produced in Nijar greenhouses, where frost has damaged plants and interrupted the ripening process. Tomatoes are the most affected, with a possible reduction in supplies by March, growers warned.

Vital work DESPITE the pandemic, investigation continues at Torrecardenas University Hospital where researchers are currently working on 100 projects. Thirty of these, which involve eight different hospital departments, focus on Covid-19 while the remaining 70 studies are seeking ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating other medical conditions.

JOSE LOPEZ, who has been selling firewood for 27 years, can’t meet customers’ demands this winter.

Between the health crisis, Storm Filomena and the cold spell that followed, the demand for logs has shot up, Jose told the local Spanish media.

He explained that he first went into business in Abrucena but seven years ago moved to Viator, which was more central for deliveries and closer to residents wanting wood.

A s winter approaches each year, J ose makes a rough estimate of the amount of firewood that he is likely to need and always adds more kilos than he expects to sell, he said to the

28 January - 3 February 2021

Blazing away Photo credit: Pixabay

NEWS

WINTER: People stay indoors and want to be comfortable.

Voz de Almeria newspaper.

But by mid-January even this

safety margin was not enough: “The market has absorbed all

the available firewood because it has been so cold all over Spain,” Jose said.

“People were prepared to pay astronomical prices and now there are no dry logs left, neither cheap nor dear.”

Jose admitted that he predicted this winter would be bad for business because people would be out of work owing to the pandemic.

“Instead, it was the other way round. People are staying indoors and want to be comfortable,” he said.

Spotlight on equal opportunities RAQUEL BELMONTE, Mojacar’s Social Ser­ vices councillor, recently presented the town’s first Equal Opportunities Plan.

Social Services hopes to count on the in­ volvement and participation of all munici­ pal departments, political groups and asso­ ciations within the town, she said.

The long list of proposed objectives in­ cludes encouraging participation of associa­ tions and comprehensive action plans fo­

EL EJIDO’S mayor, Francisco Gongora, called on opposition parties to join the local govern­ ment in achieving El Ejido’s goals.

“We have been working for years to improve the municipality and watch it grow in a serious and rigorous manner, putting its accounts in order, optimising

cusing on those who are experiencing diffi­ culties.

Training and employment policies are a priority, as well as eradicating the obstacles that hinder the local promotion of women.

There will also be a strong focus on the fight against gender violence and balancing work, family, and personal life. The actions taken will have an impact throughout the areas of education, culture, sports, health,

employment, and training, Belmonte an­ nounced.

Mojacar’s Local Police already have an impressive track record in combating gen­ der violence and since 2007 has had a Vio­ gen unit which has worked continuously in monitoring cases.

It is also the only Andalucian town that fully manages the protection of all victims, the councillor pointed out.

Time to work together public services and administering assets efficiently,” Gongora said.

Responding to the “Recovery pact” suggested by the local PSOE party, the mayor offered to work together.

But, he added, this would need

Belltower within the law MIGUEL ROMERA, representing the diocese of Almeria, maintained that rehabilitation at the city cathedral complied with Heritage laws.

Fr Romera admitted that work on the bell tower, which was approved by the diocese, had been rejected by many members of the public ow­ ing to the need to drill holes in the masonry to attach scaffolding.

There was also opposition to the decision to install a lift although Fr Romera said that the €614,000 re­ habilitation project was within the law.

He went on to say that the lift was necessary because the central government, not the diocese, want­ ed it.

to be based on an exact and real diagnosis of the municipality, with­ out ideological prejudices, to achieve new goals.

“In other words, combining po­ litical wills and applying for invest­ ments to make good the short­

ages and shortfalls which, to a large extent are gradually being solved thanks to better dialogue with the Junta,” Gongora de­ clared.

It was time to leave aside “empty and biased criticism” and work constructively together to further El Ejido’s interests, he said.

Municipal Recycling Depot Blaze made easy THE fire started on Thursday afternoon January 21, and soon black smoke was seen by local residents. The source of the fire in Sector 20 of the Almeria poly­ gon was not known, but around 40 cars that had been stored in the Almeria City council depot were caught up in the blaze. The vehicles were at the depot in order to be scrapped at a later date.

The fire was attended by multiple ap­ pliances including two urban­light vehi­ cles of the Almeria Fire Department. The area was difficult to access as it was sur­ rounded by a double fence, but this did not stop the firefighters who were able to bring the blaze under control.

The Local Police also attended the scene of the fire.

HUERCAL­OVERA is making it easier for resi­ dents to recycle and dispose of unwanted items.

“We have increased cleaning schedules at the Punto Limpio, which has also been reor­ ganised to ensure that it is used correctly,” ex­ plained Services councillor David Siles.

The town’s rubbish disposal service also picks up unwieldy or hard to dispose of items on the 1st, 11th and 26th of each month, the councillor added.

These should be left beside the communal rubbish containers at night on the last day of the month as well as the 10th and 25th.

Siles also warned that anybody leaving fur­ niture, household appliances and other items anywhere else risks a fine of between €750 and €3,000.

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Cycle race postponed THE 67th edition of the Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucia has been postponed, the organisers announced.

The first stage of the race would have begun in Vera, following a 140.4­kilometre route to the Geoda de Pulpi.

The long­established race was due to run be­ tween February 17 and 21 but it would have proved impossible to hold the race owing to the new anti­Covid mea­ sures recently introduced by the Junta de Andalu­ cia.

The postponement was announced to the In­ ternational Cycling Union (UCI), said the organisers, who revealed that they have now applied for the Vuelta to be held be­ tween May 24 and 28.

Tax breaks all round ROQUETAS Town Hall an­ nounced huge reductions on building and works li­ cences to revitalise the construction sector.

Following revised regu­ lations, there will be size­ able rebates reaching 90 per cent via the regional government’s housing re­ habilitation programme, announced Roquetas’ Tax Administration councillor, Antonio Lopez Megias.

Fees for construction and installation work for business, commercial or industrial activity will be el­ igible for 50 per cent re­ ductions, the councillor said. Licences for building protected housing (VPO) are also to be reduced by 50 per cent.

There will be special rates for constructing greenhousing to assist economic activity in a sec­ tor like agriculture that was so important to the municipality, Lopez Megias announced.

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28 January - 3 February 2021

NEWS

Self-Employed Aid THE Spanish government has offered a glimmer of hope for self-employed people (autonomos in Spanish) by making two amendments to their Covid relief efforts for freelancers, sole traders and business owners.

The original coronavirus aid

package introduced by the government in March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, required the self-employed to show that they had suffered a 75 per cent loss in earnings compared with the same quarter the previous year. This was in direct contrast with those who were

employed on contracts, as they were entitled to a standard ERTE payment of 80 per cent of their gross pay initially.

Under new government regulations, however, the self-employed will only have to show a 50 per cent loss of income due to Covid restrictions.

Millionaire Jabs for private YouTuber doctors needed SPANISH entrepreneur and YouTuber, Ro­ muald Fons, recently made a whopping €1 million over a period of seven days by selling 1,500 subscriptions to his CreceTube course for €700 a pop. Fons specialises in digital mar­ keting, and his viral videos and courses teach others how to master the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and get more hits on the inter­ net.

His YouTube channel naturally appears at the top of a Google search, and he aims to show others just starting out the best ways to improve the content of their videos.

Fons currently employs 41 staff at his BIGSEO Agency and charges clients a whop­ ping €30,000 a year.

THE Board of Directors of the College of Physicians of Castellon (COMCAS) has called on the Ministry of Health to specify the date of the start of the vaccina­ tion of doctors who practise in private health, both on their own behalf and on behalf of others.

They argue this a ‘requirement’ due to the ‘lack of response and actions’ by the Administration.

As COMCAS has indicated in a statement, the re­ quirement is due to a situation of ‘uncertainty’ due to the ‘lack of information’ that doctors practising in the private sector receive.

Like them, the Board of Directors of COMCAS warns that with the accumulated delay “one of the priorities of the first phase of the vaccination plan that includes immunising front­line health personnel in the public and private sectors is not being fulfilled.”

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Ryanair To Withdraw ‘Jab and Go’ Adverts R Y A N A I R has agreed to withdraw its ‘jab and go’ campaign after hundreds of complaints were made to the advertising watchdog. The budget carrier is under investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority over the promotion which encouraged potential holidaymakers to ‘jab and go’ following last month’s rollout of the Covid vaccine.

The Boxing Day promotion reportedly attracted more than 1,500 complaints to the A S A , who are now examining the campaign to see if any rules were breached. The airline said in the ad: “Covid vaccines are coming so book your Easter and summer holidays today with R yanair.” I t added that with a number of destinations on offer, customers “could jab and go.”

The ASA in Ireland (ASAI) ruled last week that the ad should not run in its current format again. The ASAI received 59 complaints about the Ryanair advert which encouraged consumers to book Easter and summer holiday flights as “vaccines are coming.”

The ASA in the UK, however, has still yet to publish a ruling on the advertising but Ryanair appeared to pre-empt a decision by saying said it “respectfully disagrees” with a ruling by the watchdog, though describing the advert as both “factual and accurate.”

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “The A S A’s ruling flies in the face of the UK’s successful vaccine rollout, however, even though this ruling is baseless, Ryanair will comply with it and the Jab & Go adverts will not run again.”

28 January - 3 February 2021

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Sanchez asks for Unity PRESIDENT, Pedro Sanchez, has called for national and Eu­ ropean unity to overcome the pandemic while pledging to implement the EU’s recovery fund to save the Spanish econ­ omy.

Speaking at the ‘European Funds, the Key to Recovery’ fo­ rum in Madrid, Pedro Sanchez said that the continent would need to collaborate in order to successfully recover from the Covid­19 pandemic.

The President said that Spain was working to success­ fully implement the €140 bil­ lion recovery fund, which re­ quires the country to implement major reforms in its tax regime and employment legislation. “Spain is capable, not only with its companies but also with its highly quali­ fied public officials, to be able to manage the funds in an op­ timal way,” he asserted, as some critics have questioned the country’s ability to effec­ tively manage the EU’s money.

“Unity saves companies, unity saves jobs, and without a

doubt, it saves lives,” said Sanchez, who has spearhead­ ed Spain’s government since 2018 as leader of the centre­ left PSOE party.

The Madrid­native praised the EU for its assistance to the PEDRO SANCHEZ: Speaking at the forum in Madrid.

bloc’s economic and social re­ covery from the pandemic.

“What we could not accept was to have a single market in which we have first, second or third class countries,” he said, highlighting the “positive re­ sponse” that the EU and the Spanish government has im­ plemented.

Guardia Civil’s TikTok growing IN the three months since its launch, the Guardia Civil official TikTok account has got 237,000 followers.

The Guardia Civil said in a statement when the profile was launched that the aim was to reach out to younger generations, as TikTok is most popular with youths, and transmit messages to them using their own language and media to highlight the work done by the force and guide those who might want to join.

The account now has around 80 videos and 1,800 messages, of which 98 per cent are positive and deal with matters such as fraud, gender violence, road safety, racism, safety, confinement and the use of masks amongst other subjects.

The Guardia Civil believe that it is important to be on the social network to get tips

and information to young people about things that interest them and warn them in a fun way of the dangers that can be caused by an incorrect use of social media.

They say that the reactions to their content have been very positive, however there has been some controversy, especially one video shared in December where officers were seen dancing to the song Jerusalema.

This video was criticised, when the Professional Guardia Civil Officers Union issued a statement saying that they felt “ashamed” of it. They referred to the union being used to share videos which have “nothing to do with the work of the G uardia C ivil” and complained that it was done to “satisfy personal interests instead of portraying the force in a good light.”

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28 January - 3 February 2021

Mistaken Identity

TRUTH is stranger than fiction sometimes, and that could certainly be said about a bizarre case of mistaken identity in a Galicia nursing home that saw a funeral being held for the wrong person, a mistake that wasn’t noticed for nearly two weeks.

Eighty­five­year­old Rogelia Blanco and Concepcion Arias, both residents at the San Bartolome nursing home in Galicia, were transferred to hospital by ambulance on the same day after being diagnosed with coron­ avirus. Sadly, one of the ladies passed away

while being treated at the centre of Pereiro de Aguiar in Ourense.

Staff at the nursing home welcomed ‘Con­ cepcion’ home and posted an obituary and held a funeral for ‘Rogelia’. Imagine their sur­ prise when, some 10 days later, Rogelia, who lives at the nursing home with her husband Ramon, was spotted walking around the cen­ tre, very much alive.

The mortified staff then had to inform Concepcion’s family that she was the person who had sadly passed away and been buried.

Zara leaves the Paseo AMANCIO ORTEGA, one of the world’s richest men,

has sold the Zara premises in Almeria City’s Paseo.

Pontegadea, Ortega’s in­ vestment division closed the deal ­ said to be close to €6 million ­ towards the end of September last year, said sources close to the operation.

The three­storey building has been acquired by a Venezuelan investor, the same sources revealed, al­ though details of the new owner’s plans for the building have not yet emerged.

NEWS

Outrage over queues

THE Municipal Police in Madrid are still investigating a party at Barceló Theatre on Thursday, January 21, in which dozens of people gathered ‘dancing, jumping and singing’ without a mask or social distancing.

But just 24 hours after the party was shut down, pho­ tographs have appeared on so­ cial media of long queues of people waiting to get into the nightclub despite a continued upward curve in infections and a curfew.

Just after 7pm on Friday

night, January 22, several dozen people queued outside the well­known disco, and the im­ ages were shared through so­ cial networks, sparking outrage.

“After the scandal over the images of the Covid party at the Barceló Theatre, 24 hours later they are about to start a new party. Brainless people who on­ ly look at their navel and au­ thorities who look the other way,” wrote one furious tweet­ er.

In a statement on Friday, the Barceló Theatre said it regret­

ted the content of the images and explained that “immedi­ ately after” the images were shown, staff “expelled” the group of people from the premises “as quickly as possi­ ble... for breach of health regu­ lations.”

The club said the gathering was a “spontaneous reaction from the public” and took place in a "”very specific area,” while adding that it will “reinforce the necessary internal measures” to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Youth Detention Centre Outbreak DESPITE the small population in the town of Oria the incidence rate of the virus recently shot over the 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and has continued to grow. The ‘Tierras de Oria’ detention centre for minors reported that both staff and resi­ dents tested positive for Covid, when a minor showed Covid­19 symptoms after being trans­ ferred into the facility earlier in January.

The centre is around 65 per cent occupied at the current time and has over 220 staff, 50 of which fulfil security based roles. The outbreak in the cen­ tre is currently affecting 46 people. Of these, eight people have been in close contact with infected

VIRUS: Has hit the town of Oria hard. people so are having to be quarantined and 38 people have been confirmed as having Covid­19.

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28 January - 3 February 2021

NEWS

Giant Fireball Over Madrid Organ Donation Network

STUNNING: Streaking across the sky.

Counterfeit Rum THE Guardia Civil’s Operation HITSMO has dismantled a mas­ sive international criminal gang who specialise in smuggling counterfeit alcohol into Spain.

The operation began in Cadiz back in 2019 when officials spotted bottles of fake rum in a wholesalers, and an investiga­ tion by the laboratory of the Criminalistics Service of the Guardia Civil found that these same counterfeits were in re­ tail outlets throughout the country.

The operation led to the seizure of more than 225,000

bottles of counterfeit rum, val­ ued at €3.5 million, and the ar­ rests of 24 people charged with crimes against Industrial Prop­ erty. The investigation, con­ ducted in conjunction with the European Anti­Fraud Office (OLAF), discovered that the booze was produced in the Do­ minican Republic, bottled in Honduras and then shipped to Spain, complete with fake la­ bels from China.

The counterfeit plonk was then distributed to large wholesalers throughout the country.

EARLY in the morning on Thurs­ day January 21, an asteroid hit the Earth’s atmosphere, at the staggering speed of 120,600 km/h. This then created a sight that could be seen in many parts of Spain, a giant fireball flying through Madrid’s sky.

While a stunning sight, it was not entirely unusual as on Janu­ ary 13 another fireball was spot­ ted streaking across the sky over Andalucia and towards Moroc­ co. This ball of fire passed through the sky at a speed of 65,000 km/h, at a much more viewer friendly hour than the Madrid one. The Andalucian meteor was seen at just after 10pm.

Madrid’s ball of fire shot thought the sky at 3.56am and was detected by the La Hita me­ teor observation station in La Puebla de Almoradiel which is in Toledo. The SMART project which is part of the Andalucia Astrophysics Institute (IAA­CSIC) recorded the event. They aim to study how the Earth’s atmos­ phere is effected by objects in space and they use constant sky monitoring to accomplish this.

THE Covid­19 pandemic has had many negative effects in the health sector but one not on everyone’s radar is the delay of the integration of private health­ care into the Spanish network for organ donation. Organ dona­ tion cannot be overlooked as it saves many lives each year.

In 2019 the Spanish National Transplant Organisation (ONT) celebrated its 30th anniversary and in January 2019 the Minister for Health, Consumption and So­ cial Well­being, María Luisa Carce­ do said “The ONT is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2019 and do­

ing so by beating its own record once again after reaching a rate of 48 donors per million population and surpassing 5,300 organ trans­ plants, including all­time highs in kidney and lung transplantation.

“Donations from non­heart­ beating donors also increased by 10 per cent, consolidating their position as the main driving force behind the increase in organ do­ nations: one in three donors are now asystolic donors.”

The integration agreement was made in February 2019 and later approved in September, but the pandemic has delayed

the project.

On Monday Secretary of State for Health, Silvia Calzón said that she is working on the integration.

According to forecasts the inte­ gration would increase the num­ ber of organ donations by 10 per cent, which would result in an ad­ ditional 400 transplants each year. The pandemic has severely hit Spain and that has had a knock on effect on the number of trans­ plants carried out.

According to the ONT in 2020 over 1,000 fewer transplants oc­ curred than in 2019, and dona­ tions have fallen drastically.

Polish retail giant arrives BUDGET shoppers and job seekers alike will rejoice at the news that Polish retail giant Pepco is opening two new stores in Spain, one in Alicante and the other in Castellon, set to be up and running in the spring. The store, often called a Polish version of Primark, offers affordable clothes for men, women and children, as well as household items, toys and accessories.

Pepco opened its first store in 2004 and has since expanded all over Europe, with more than 2,100 outlets in Italy, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia and may more.

Pepco’s Director of Operations, Marcin Stanko, said that “Spanish consumers will have the opportunity to visit our stores and we are sure that our products will attract their interest and meet their expectations.”

The low-cost company currently employs around 20,000 people throughout central and northern Europe, and the immediate plans are to open 10 stores in Spain, creating more than 100 jobs. Pepco is currently looking for commercial premises in cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

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28 January - 3 February 2021

USEFUL NUMBERS Emergency Services National Police Local Police Guardia Civil Ambulance Fire Brigade

112 091 092 062 061 080

Covid Vaccine Scammers COVID vaccine scammers have targetted the elderly in Almeria.

The National Police in Almeria have warned of yet another vac­ cine scam targeting the elderly and vulnerable. Officials reported that two older people were visited in their home by a man wearing a white coat claiming to be a health worker there to offer them the Covid­19 Pfizer jab.

He then proceeded to question the pensioners about other people living on their urbanisation, seem­ ingly particularly interested on whether they lived alone. National Police have reiterated the caution that coronavirus vaccines are only administered by the Junta de An­ dalucía through official health cen­ tres, and that the jabs are never given out in private homes.

According to officers, this man “is clearly an imposter” and his in­ tention was to gain access to peo­ ple’s homes with the express in­ tention of stealing valuables. The National Police have also warned of “false gas inspectors, false tech­ nicians from electricity supply companies and telephone compa­ nies, or door­to­door sellers of miraculous products.”

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FFP3 masks most effective protection THE Head of the Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Centre, Fernando Simon, has said this week that the most effective mask for self-protection against Covid-19 is the FFP3.

Simon, an epidemiologist, explained that the FFP3 mask is the most effective to protect oneself, while the FFP2 mask is slightly less effective.

The FFP3 mask is an Individual Protection System with a filter efficiency of 98 per cent to protect the person wearing it and those around them as long as it doesn’t have a valve.

Despite this, the traditional surgical mask is still slightly more effective in preventing people who have the virus from transmitting it to others, as they are designed to filter exhaled air.

Meanwhile, the FFP3, FFP2 (92 per cent efficient) and FFP1 (78 per cent efficient) are more effective at filter inhaled air.

He added that hygienic

FFP3: Most effective.

masks have a similar efficiency to the others.

FFP3 masks are designed for a single four to eight hours use, like the FFP2 and FFP1 masks.

They can be purchased in pharmacies, specialised shops and large shops, at a price of between €3 and €5. Meanwhile, a pack of 50 surgical masks generally costs around €10.

Microsoft Phone Scam POLICE in Alicante have arrested two men, aged 47 and 48, for posing as Microsoft technicians in order to swindle cash out of unsuspecting victims. The scammers phoned up their marks and told them there was a virus on their computer or phone and convinced them to download a program to fix it. This program then gave the fraudsters complete access to their victims’ devices, including their bank account.

The two men will be charged with a crime of fraud after swindling €27,000 with the scam.

The operation began after a woman reported that she had been contacted by a technician and was subsequently robbed. It was then picked up by the Alicante Judicial Police.

National Police have issued a warning about an increase in this type of scam throughout the country, and have advised potential victims that Microsoft never make unsolicited calls.

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NEWS

All residents of Spain are eligible to receive Covid-19 vaccine

VACCINATION against Coronavirus in Spain began on December 27, and at the time of writing, 1,103,301 people had re­ ceived the first dose and more than 49,000 have received the second dose.

If you are wondering whether you will have any problems getting the vaccine in Spain because you’re not Spanish, the an­ swer is no.

The Spanish Ministry of Health made it clear in the Vaccination Plan that there will be no distinction between Spanish citi­ zens and foreigners, and that they will give the jab to everyone living in the country regardless of their legal status.

This includes illegal immigrants, home­ less people and anyone not registered on the Spanish Social Security System and/or without a health card, although it is un­ clear how they will be alerted.

However, it is not likely to include tourists or owners of holiday homes in Spain.

The government has also made it very clear that the vaccine will be FREE, and there will not be priority for people with

private health insurance.

The government has stressed that peo­ ple should wait to be contacted by the Health Authorities of the region in which they reside.

It is as yet unclear how people will be alerted that their time has arrived to re­ ceive the vaccine and where they need to go to get it, but to make sure you are in the system, ensure that you are on the padron (the local population census at your town hall), that your documents are updated with your current address and that your local health centre has you on their register. You will also most likely be asked to provide proof of identity and resi­ dence when you are given the vaccine.

The only group that is unlikely to be vac­ cinated against Covid­19 in Spain are chil­ dren.

A register will be kept of people who are called to get the vaccine but do not wish to do so.

The regional health authorities will be updating information periodically and we will publish more details as we have them.

NEWS

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28 January - 3 February 2021

Merca-donations MERCADONA donated the equivalent of 283,000 trolleys of food to almost 300 soup kitchens and 60 food banks in 2020.

The supermarket giant doubled its donations of food to social entities projects compared to 2019, gifting 17,000 tonnes of products to soup kitchens, food banks and other charities across Spain and Portugal.

The company also made additional donations throughout the year, such as the deliveries made in March and April to the Field Hospital set up at the Ifema Fair in Madrid to cope with Covid demand.

“Part of Mercadona’s Social Responsibility policy is to return to society part of what it receives from it. Thanks to this commitment, different institu-

Germany bans use of fabric face masks GERMANY has banned the use of fabric masks and will insist upon the use of either surgical masks or FFP2 to access public transport, shops or any of the few administrative offices which remain open.

Following a meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and regional presidents, it was decided that only professional masks offer acceptable levels of protection. The French government has also recommended not using fabric masks.

Lockdown in Germany, affecting the catering sector, leisure, culture, sports and commerce except supermarkets and pharmacies, as well as schools and nurseries, will remain in place until at least February 14.

tions and social entities throughout the territory receive the support and collaboration of the company to help those who need it most,” said the supermarket chain in a statement.

In Spain, Mercadona collaborates with the Spanish Federation of Food Banks ( FESBAL) and the Banco de Productos Acompartir

VAT Cut N’ Snip

THE owners of beauty salons, hairdressers and barbers on Wednesday, January 20, sent a manifesto to the Subdelegation of the Government demanding a reduction in the VAT rate from 21 per cent to 10 per cent. Owners have appealed to the government to grant concessions that will allow them to keep their businesses open.

The beauty sector as a whole has planned a protest involving 77 Spanish cities on January 20 as a plea to the Executive to aid the ‘agonising situation’ they find themselves in.

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Murcia Health Councillor is forced to resign MURCIA Health Councillor, Manuel Villegas, has been forced to resign after it was revealed that he authorised Covid-19 vaccines for himself and other senior officials, breaching protocol.

The region’s President, Fernando Lopez-Miras, defended him, saying that his work up to now had been “exemplary.”

With him, Villegas apologised to the people of Murcia and pointed out that it was because of the fuss caused by the opposition that he had been forced to leave.

Just hours earlier, he had said that he would not be resigning, but in his latest appearance, he explained that he would be going back to cardiology.

The delay in Lopez-Miras and Villegas coming forward with the statement regarding

MANUEL VILLEGAS: Authorised vaccine for himself.

his resignation, meant that Murcia was not present in the Interterritorial Health Council at which it was decided that curfew would continue to be at 10pm.

Earlier in the day, Villegas had apologised to “anyone who felt offended” and explained that the fact that he and other members of the Murcia Regional Health

Council had received the vaccine when some of the groups at risk had not yet had it, was due to a misinterpretation of the Spanish Ministry of Health’s guidelines, which say that “other healthcare personnel” could receive the vaccine. He claimed that they had understood by this that the whole health care system should receive it.

NEWS

Elche Hospital Sues THE General University Hospital of Elche has rubbished claims made by Maria Angeles Medina, President of the Valencia Soci­ ety of Family Medicine (SVMFiC) and doctor at Vinalopo Hospi­ tal, that the over­crowded hospital has been forced to use its chapel as a morgue for people who have died from coron­ avirus. In an interview with La Sexta Noche on Saturday, Janu­ ary 23, the doctor said that the chapel “is being used as a morgue” and that it “is now a checkpoint for the coffins that have to be transferred to the funeral home because they are accumulating.”

The Ministry of Universal Health and Public Health has con­ firmed on Sunday, January 24, that it will take legal action against Ms Medina.

Hospital officials themselves reported on Saturday that eight beds had been moved into the chapel as part of the emergency contingency plans, but that these beds were to accommodate non­Covid patients.

Vinalopo Salud distanced themselves from the doctor’s com­ ments by writing on social media that “the personal state­ ments of this professional do not represent the centre.”

Subsidised Business Loans

THE Generalitat of Valencia has announced that loans will be available for businesses in Costa Blanca subsidised up to 30 per cent from Thursday, January 21.

The regional government has made available €50 million.

According to the Valencian In­ stitute of Finance (IVF), loans of

between €15,000 and €750,000 will be made available to those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, such as the hospitali­ ty industry, sport and leisure and travel agents.

The President of Valencia, Xi­ mo Puig, held a meeting on Wednesday, January 20, with

the Minister of Finance, Vicent Soler, the Regional Secretary for Tourism, Francesc Colomer and the director of the Valencian In­ stitute of Finance, Manuel Illue­ ca, to begin rolling out the aid; it is the largest aid effort for these sectors that any autonomous government has made.

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NEWS

Hotline for help THE Junta de Andalucia hotline for violence within the family has received 174 calls in its first three months.

It was presented on October 14, 2020, and began operating two days later, Mondays to Fridays, from 8.30am to 3pm, but not weekends or holidays.

According to the Council for Equality, in the 60 days it has been available, the free number, which is 900 300 003, has handled 174 calls, of which 91 were to notify of a possible situation of abuse. Sixty-five calls were requests for information and in 18, the reason was not clarified as the call was cut off. The calls, which are handled by the Andalucia Remote Assistance Service of the Social Services and Dependency Agency were made by mostly women (84). In 14 calls the gender of the caller could not be identified because the call got cut off.

Political party Vox, in Andalucia, has asked for €480,000 to be provided so that the hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.

The Junta de Andalucia has

several other free hotlines.

The one that received most calls was the Attention to Women’s number, managed by the Andalucia Women’s Institute (900 200 999) which dealt with 32,278 calls in 2019, around 88 per day, while between January and September last year, the number increased to approximately 111 calls per day, to-

talling 30,215.

The phone number to report possible cases of abuse of minors (900 851 818) received 5,696 calls in 2019, and the number for childrelated matters (900 921 111) received 1,299.

The hotline for the elderly managed by the Junta de Andalucia (900 858 351) received 2,257 calls.

SECOND Dose For 445 Residences THE Junta de Andalucía’s Ministry of Health and Families announced on Monday January 25 that their health authorities plan to vaccinate residents of 445 care homes and health centres in eight provinces this week with their second dose of the Covid19 vaccine.

With this process completed, they say that it will bring the total number of people in this priority group to be immunised, up to 25,000, throughout the region, joining the 25,509 specialist health care workers who have already received their second jab.

The Board state that there are already a total of 226,666 people who have received the vaccine, out of the 251,420 doses that were delivered to the region, and those supplies will be boosted this week by the arrival of another 79,560 new doses of the Pfizer vaccines, to add to the remaining 9,000 Moderna doses still in stock, in order to be able to continue with the steady progress.

Goya Awards Press Conference Postponed THE Film Academy has had to postpone the Goya Gala press conference that was due to take place on Tuesday January 26 in Malaga, due to Antonio Banderas having the flu.

Antonio was scheduled to appear, along with the Catalan journalist, María Casado and Mariano Barroso, the President of the Academy, but to give the BANDERAS: Currently has flu.

Malaga actor time to recover, the Academy has rescheduled the press conference for Tuesday, February 2.

The 35th edition of the prestigious Goya Awards will be staged in the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank in Malaga, on March 6, featuring Antonio Banderas and María Casado as the joint masters of ceremony, and they will also write and direct the event.

Just last week, Mariano Barroso announced that the Goya Awards will go ahead despite the pandemic, saying, “The Goya is going to be celebrated if nothing prevents it, but in an extremely restrained and extremely responsible manner,” with only the nominees and the awards presenters being invited to attend the event.

Barroso added, “We are going to minimise the risk, it is our obligation,” stating that all those attending the gala, nominees, and production team, will undergo a PCR test during the days before the event.

FEATURE

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4 things Brexit has changed for UK nationals in Spain What does the post-Brexit landscape look like for UK nationals who live or enjoy spending time in Spain? Here are 4 key things that changed on 1 January.

1. UK nationals are ‘third country’ nationals by default When the transition period ended, UK nationals lost the freedom to study, work and live in the EU. Fortunately, Britons who can prove they were legally settled in Spain in 2020 can maintain citizens’ rights protections under the Withdrawal Agreement.

This provides the right to come and go in Spain, with broadly the same access to benefits as citizens for as long as you remain resident here.

However, these rights will only apply to Spain. To unlock the freedom to live and work in any EU country, you need to become a full Spanish citizen (possible after ten years’ residence).

2. Non-EU residents can

By Gerald Turner, Partner, Blevins Franks

only stay for a limited time Coronavirus restrictions aside, UK nationals without Spanish residence or EU citizenship can still travel to Spain visa-free – but only for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

This covers the entire Schengen zone, which includes most EU countries plus some EEA states. So if, for example, you stay in a Spanish holiday home for June to August, you will use up your allowance in one go

and be unable to re-enter Spain – or any other Schengen state, for any period of time – until the end of November.

Calculating your allowance is not so simple. As the time is treated as a rolling period, you need to count 180 days backwards from arrival and track your stay to ensure you will not exceed 90 days at any point. When planning trips to Europe, you therefore need to take extra care to avoid illegally overstaying or being denied entry.

strate you have “sufficient” annual income to support yourself and any dependents without relying on the state.

While this has always been a condition of EU residence, it has not always been enforced.

The income thresholds for non-EU/EEA nationals are also generally higher than for EU citizens.

There are special visas and fast-track residence programmes – such as the ‘golden visa’ – that can make moving to Spain much easier, so explore your options.

3. Applying for Spanish residence is now less straightforward Pre-Brexit, Britons did not always face stringent rules to become EU resident and could apply ‘in country’.

Now, those wanting to live in Spain have to meet the legal immigration requirements and provide the correct documentation to the relevant consulate/embassy in the UK before moving.

You also need to demon-

4. UK financial arrangements may not work as before Unless they have arrangements in place to work in the relevant EU country, UK banks, advisers and other financial providers may no longer be able to legally service EU residents. This is because Brexit dissolved automatic ‘passporting’ rights for UK financial services in the EU. So if you live in Spain and

have a UK-based adviser, check your position. Also, if you have UK bank accounts or other investments, you may be restricted from making changes, such as moving funds or applying for new services. And in some cases, you may find UK assets and investments attract a higher tax bill now they are nonEU/EEA assets.

In any case, you should regularly check your tax and financial planning remains suitable for your family’s circumstances. Talk to a locallybased, cross-border specialist who can help you take advantage of available opportunities and ensure you are you are suitably prepared for this post-Brexit world.

Blevins Franks accepts no liability for any loss resulting from any action or inaction or omission as a result of reading this article, which is general in nature and not specific to your circumstances.

You can find other financial advisory articles by visiting our website here www.blevinsfranks.com.

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EUROPEAN PRESS

EUROPEAN NIBS DENMARK

GERMANY

Unfair trade

Male chicks

TRADE bodies in Denmark are complaining to the government about what they see as unfair advantages given to supermarkets which are increasing their ranges of non-food goods to the financial detriment of small local shops which are tied up in red tape.

CHICKEN farms across the world slaughter male chicks after hatching as they are not suitable for eating but in 2022, Germany will be the first country to ban this practice and farmers will have to identify and destroy eggs bearing males.

NETHERLANDS

FRANCE

Heading home

High times

MANY were caught out by the sudden lockdown across the world and the Dutch Government has announced that during 2020, its diplomatic missions managed to assist 50,000 people to return back home after being stranded abroad compared to zero in 2019.

POLITICIANS from across the political spectrum are launching a public consultation to discover the general view of whether cannabis should be legalised and if, as they suspect, the response will be overwhelmingly in favour, they plan to lobby parliament for a change.

BELGIUM

NORWAY

Biden bonus

Skål

FOLLOWING the election of Donald Trump, the Café Zeezicht in Antwerp stopped the sale of all American products including Bourbon, Coca Cola and Tabasco, but has now announced that with Joe Biden elected as president the ban has finished.

FACING significant opposition in Parliament, the government has reversed its nationwide ban on the sale of alcohol in restaurants, although the ban will continue in bars which don’t serve food and a final decision may be made by local councils.

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Tons of meat confiscated

THE Guardia Civil, along with the collaboration of the ‘Vitanza operation’ have confiscated and de­ stroyed thousands of kilos of meat destined for Mala­ ga.

In total 122,000 kilos of meat were involved in the il­ legal operation. The accused were relabelling meat prod­ ucts and falsely redating the packages to suggest they were fresher.

The operation took place in three locations ­ Madrid , Toldeo and Malaga and it’s understood a group of meat companies involved in the distribution to stores across the provinces were in­ volved. In total 10 compa­

nies were found to be ex­ plicit in the mislabelling and handling of meat products and also altering the point of origin of the product.

Frozen chicken, beef, pork and rabbit were the main products affected by the il­

legal handling which the Madrid health body was in­ vestigating, and the Food Safety and Hygiene depart­ ment of Madrid and Andalu­ cia were jointly investigat­ ing, in this multi­million euro fraud.

Connecting patients THE Regional Hospital of Malaga has launched the ‘Massimo Colombi Programme’ and bought eight new tablets to connect Covid patients in isolation with relatives.

The initiative honours the recently deceased nurse who led the acquisition of online resources to promote communication between patients and their environment.

With this purchase, the hospital increases the devices within the Centre’s Humanisation Plan that are added to those donated by companies and institutions in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The devices have been made available to patients who do not have phones, who do not know how to use them or who, for reasons of admission, cannot do so due to health problems.

The hospital’s Director of Nursing, Carmen

Bustamante, explained that from the beginning of the pandemic they were aware of the need to connect patients with their families.

“It began to be done thanks to the generosity of our professionals, who gave up their tablets or managed to make the isolation of these patients less harsh.

“Later, thanks to the solidarity of the people of Malaga, we began to receive devices that facilitated this connection in a more orderly fashion and in more floors and units.

“We have no doubt that emotional well-being contributes to a patient’s recovery,” she added.

The management of the Regional University Hospital of Malaga has decided that the project be called ‘Massimo Colombi Programme,’ in tribute to the nurse and union delegate of UGT who recently died of Covid.

NEWS

Pharmacies carry out antigen tests THE Madrid Regional Government published an order on Thursday, January 21, so that pharmacies can begin antigen testing under the terms which were stipulated by the Ministry of Health, for screening in areas with a high rate of Covid-19 infections, if PCR tests are limited.

This is part of the regional Health Strategy, and the President of Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, said that the rapid tests would also be carried out in dental clinics.

The government has not authorised citizens to go to the pharmacy or dental clinic to get the test of their own accord, as Madrid regional government had proposed.

Diaz Ayuso said that the tests would be in pharmacies from February 1, and anyone who is authorised to have the test will have the information on their health card, as well as the test results. The health card will also be used to confirm which people have received the vaccine.

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FEATURE

GO LOCAL BUY LOCAL: By shopping locally, independent businesses can help support the local community.

THE EUROWEEKLY NEWS is urging its readers to support local businesses in the com­ munity by going local through the lockdown and for your all your shopping this year, instead of feeding online giants and super­ stores.

This lockdown and with Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day upcoming, we challenge you to rediscover your local high streets, markets, butch­ ers, greengrocers and all of

the wonderfully quirky inde­ pendent businesses in your area.

Due to the Covid­19 pan­ demic, you may have to sup­ port many local businesses by ordering online and making use of any click and collect services they can operate if you are unable to get out due to health reasons or lock­ down restrictions.

The joy of shopping local means that independent businesses can help support

the local community.

Although it may be a euro or two cheaper elsewhere or online, consider where your money is actually going. By shopping at an independent store you’re putting food on a local family’s table, and there is no better time than now to give back to your community by making a small gesture and shopping in this way.

Many local stores support local charities, support and sponsor local sports teams

and in many cases the small independent stores are actu­ ally much more than just a small high street shop, they’re a family’s legacy, of­ ten passed down through nu­ merous generations and sup­ port not just the current owner but the generation be­ fore.

For those stores which are new, that extra couple of eu­ ros spent there are support­ ing someone’s dream and ambition, and also the

28 January - 3 February 2021

SPENDING LOCALLY: Will make a difference to the local economy.

courage it took them to step out alone, which is no easy task. It takes quite a large chunk of money to set up an independent store and compete with the multinational and chains.

So be sure to pre­order your meat from a local butcher and get your spuds from a local greengrocer, let us revive that community spirit and get to know our neighbours again.

You could also consider purchasing gift vouchers from local businesses to help them over the coming weeks, thinking outside the box can often lead to some fantastic ideas. Why not buy a meal for two, an hour’s tat­ too time at a local studio, a hair cut at a local salon or an online study course for some­ one looking to change their career path.

As people are struggling with finances thinking about what friends and family may actually need is important too. Whilst it’s nice to give a glamourous gift perhaps pre­ paying a family member’s phone bill for the month would actually be a better gift. Helping people alleviate stress and worry , give the gift of peace of mind through these difficult times.

Choosing to spend your

money locally will really make a difference in the re­ covery of the local economy.

When we buy local, our money stays local, and it strengthens the local econo­ my in two ways. First, buying local keeps money circulat­ ing within the local economy.

Studies have shown that local businesses recirculate a greater share of every euro as they create locally owned supply chains and invest in their employees.

Data shows that local re­ tailers return 52 per cent of their revenue back into the local economy, compared to

just 14 per cent for national chain retailers.

Money circulating through the local economy benefits everyone who is a part of each transaction. For exam­ ple, let’s look at a local farmer growing produce.

First, they sell to a local restaurant, which in turn pre­ pares the fresh produce and sells it to local customers. The farmer pays its local employ­ ees and the restaurant uses revenue from sales to buy sup­ plies from a neighbourhood hardware store. This example illustrates how the recircula­ tion of money in the local economy leads to a stronger fi­

nancial foundation for our neighbours and communities.

Buying local also fuels new employment and job oppor­ tunities for people within our community. Studies show, lo­ cally owned businesses em­ ploy more people per unit of sales and retain more em­ ployees over time.

A fantastic example of how to support your local commu­ nity is with a Charity Gift cer­ tificate, why not donate to your loved one’s favourite cause.

Just remember to follow the latest government advice and any guidance businesses have to keep everyone safe.

EWN 23

FINANCE Closed down THE hospitality industry in the UK has taken a knock in 2020 with 9,930 pubs and restaurants closing but perhaps surprisingly, 3,995 new venues having opened and it appears likely that major companies such as Wetherspoons are ready to pick up cheap fitted premises.

American interest US investment group Fidelity which owns a lot of Spanish stock has revealed that it has, for the first time, purchased shares in Endesa and now controls 1 per cent of the energy giant’s stock with its holding valued at €230 million.

Double standards THE cancellation of this year’s Glastonbury Festival has raised the matter of why the UK Government has introduced Covid-19 indemnity for films but not for music festivals which are currently unable to obtain cancellation insurance.

GDP forecast ANALYSTS at Spanish bank BBVA have lowered their growth forecast for Spain’s 2021 GDP from 6 per cent to 5.5 per cent but believe that the fastest rises by autonomous communities will be seen in the Balearic and Canary Islands.

Pets at Home UK specialist retailer Pets at Home with more than 450 stores seems to be riding the Covid-19 storm as trading figures for the last quarter of 2020 have improved by 18 per cent.

Income for that period was £302 million (€332 million) and the group has adapted to the lockdown by giving customers greater choice and flexibility.

As a designated essential retailer, they have launched a one-hour Click and Collect service across all of their stores and a Deliver to Car service across more than 150 outlets.

STAT OF WEEK

www.euroweeklynews.com • 28 January - 3 February 2021

€300 million

is the amount raised for the MAPRE and Abante infrastructure fund, €100 million more than anticipated when first launched.

Competitive mortgage rates

Spain’s top tourist fair returns FOR many years, the FITUR international tourism fair has taken place in Madrid in January with partici­ pants from all over Spain as well as overseas.

Due to the Covid­19 pandemic the 2021 fair had to be postponed, but thanks to the fact that the national government has declared FITUR an Event of Exceptional Public Interest it will, subject to any last­ minute hitches, run from May 19 to 23 at the IFEMA

centre in Madrid.

So important is the tourist industry and this fair to the Spanish econo­ my that the declaration was included in Spain’s Na­ tional Budget and will be applicable for the next three years, although it can be extended.

This special legal status will enable FITUR to pro­ mote private sector partic­ ipation and will also help strengthen public­private cooperation links, bringing

LEGALLY SPEAKING

Can they reside nowhere?

My wife and I are British subjects. We have been travelling around Europe for the last three years, simply as tourists. We have no wish to register as resident anywhere, especially not where that will give us a taxation obligation. I as­ sume that British subjects can still visit as tourists to Spain?

We last arrived in Spain 4½ months ago and have been pretty much locked down since then. We now wish to travel to London to get Covid vaccinations, and then go from London to Dubai and back to Spain. Having been vaccinated, will we be allowed back into Spain before driving to Portugal? We will have spent less than 90 days from the beginning of the year in Spain. Will we have any problem enter­ ing Portugal? Thank you for any clarification.

S L (by email)

Your 90­day stay in Spain is not based YOU AND THE LAW on the calendar IN SPAIN year. It is 90 days in a 180­day period. You have already exceeded that limit. Further, this is an EU rule so you should not be al­ lowed to enter another EU country, like Portugal, until you have been absent from the entire EU for 90 days.

DAVID SEARL

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

THE total market value of all cryp­ tocurrencies went down by about €82 billion over a 48­hour period after the world’s top digital asset, bitcoin, slumped around 10 per cent last week.

Bitcoin was trading at €25,776.29 per token having lost nearly 10 per cent day to day, according to Coin­ marketcap.com. The world’s num­ ber­one cryptocurrency dropped al­

companies together to support recovery that has already produced such positive results in other ar­ eas of the economy.

IFEMA is working on the contents of FITUR Especial Recuperación Turismo (FI­ TUR Tourism Recovery Special Edition) and the fair will focus on the need to revitalise Spain’s lead­ ing industry to enhance its position as one of the foundations of the econo­ my.

The organisers say that it is important to empha­ sise how, over its 40­year history, FITUR has grown and consolidated its posi­ tion as one of the most ef­ fective tools for promot­ ing, developing, innovating and boosting the tourism industry in Spain.

Last year it attracted 11,040 companies from 165 countries and regions, 150,089 trade visitors and 111,089 visitors from the general public.

Raising living wages MULTINATIONAL brand Unilever has announced a wide­ranging set of commit­ ments and actions to help build a more equitable and in­ clusive society by raising living standards.

Unilever’s main commit­ ments include: Ensuring that everyone who directly provides goods and services to the company earns at least a living wage or income, by 2030.

Spending €2 billion annually with suppliers owned and managed by people from un­ der­represented groups, by 2025.

Pioneering new employ­ ment models for our em­ ployees, and equipping 10 million young people with essential skills to prepare them for job opportunities, by 2030.

Alan Jope, Unilever CEO, ex­ plained, “The two biggest threats that the world current­ ly faces are climate change and social inequality.

“The past year has un­ doubtedly widened the social divide, and decisive and collec­ tive action is needed to build a

Credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown flickr

BUSINESS EXTRA

26

Alan Jope Unilever CEO committed to change. society that helps to improve livelihoods, embraces diversi­ ty, nurtures talent, and offers opportunities for everyone.

“We believe the actions we are committing to will make Unilever a better, stronger business; ready for the huge societal changes we are expe­ riencing today ­ changes that will only accelerate. Without a healthy society, there cannot be a healthy business.”

This is the first major com­ pany to make this commit­ ment and the announcement was welcomed by Oxfam who are now dedicated to work alongside Unilever to assist in the implementation of the new programme.

WITH 1.4 million cus­ tomers, Openbank, the on­ line bank which is owned

by Grupo Santander is look­ ing to increase its share of the Spanish mortgage mar­ ket.

Its latest offers, sees a se­ ries of different fixed rates depending on the size of the loan against the value of the property.

The offers include an in­ terest rate from 1.45 per cent for those who finance up to 50 per cent of the val­ ue of the property for a max­ imum term of 10 years, then from 1.6 per cent for those borrowing between 51 and 70 per cent and interest of 1.7 per cent for those who wish to finance up to 80 per cent of the value.

John Lewis Partnership THE John Lewis Partnership has announced the early re­ payment of the £300 million (€330 million) HM Treasury and Bank of England Covid Corporate Financing Facility which was due for repay­ ment on March 15.

Despite the problems of the last year when John Lewis stores were closed for several months, the Partner­ ship believes it has sufficient liquidity going forward.

Trading during the peak months which included Black Friday and the Christ­ mas period, held up better than anticipated and as a re­ sult, they expect full­year profits to be ahead of expec­ tation.

Cryptocurrencies down most 18 per cent over the week.

Bitcoin has seen a wild rally in re­ cent weeks, briefly hitting $41,940 (€ 34,447.63) earlier in January be­ fore its recent sharp drop and the second most expensive cryptocur­ rency by market value, ether, was

also down around 10 per cent dur­ ing the same period.

Despite the latest drop, bitcoin has still seen rises over 150 per cent in the past three months.

Experts tied its rally to a number of factors, including growing inter­

est from large institutional in­ vestors.

Bitcoin’s recent price surge was also boosted by massive investor outflow from gold, which is com­ monly the preferred inflation hedge for traders.

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C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 25

PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) COMPANY 3I Group 1.153,50 1.153,50 Admiral Group 2.959,0 2.959,0 Anglo American 2.633,7 2.650,0 Antofagasta 1.515,50 1.519,00 Ashtead Group 3.846,0 3.853,0 Associated British Foods 2.264,3 2.264,3 AstraZeneca 7.860,0 7.853,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 581,60 584,00 Avast 528,50 528,50 Aveva 3.851,0 3.852,0 Aviva 350,60 352,50 B&M European Value Retail SA523,40 523,40 BAE Systems 477,89 481,94 Bank VTB DRC 0,957 0,957 Barclays 143,47 145,25 Barratt Developments 693,35 698,00 Berkeley 4.460,0 4.478,0 BHP Group 2.115,50 2.129,00 BP 289,33 291,30 British American Tobacco 2.753,0 2.755,0 British Land Company 438,00 443,20 BT Group 135,20 135,25 Bunzl 2.426,2 2.445,2 Burberry Group 1.748,0 1.764,0 Carnival 1.254,6 1.275,0 Centrica 50,12 50,68 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.275,0 2.282,0 Compass 1.378,50 1.395,50 CRH 3.230,0 3.233,0 Croda Intl 6.510,0 6.548,0 DCC 5.840,0 5.858,0 Diageo 2.915,7 2.918,2 DS Smith 385,50 388,00 EasyJet 741,38 770,61 Experian 2.627,2 2.647,0 Ferguson 9.152,0 9.182,0 Flutter Entertainment 14.390,0 14.455,0 Fresnillo 1.100,38 1.101,59 GlaxoSmithKline 1.395,39 1.397,40 Glencore 273,50 274,85 Halma 2.591,0 2.591,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.668,50 1.681,00 Hikma Pharma 2.519,74 2.519,74 HSBC 403,80 404,05 IAG 144,49 149,20 Imperial Brands 1.661,00 1.661,00 Informa 512,20 516,40 InterContinental 4.694,0 4.739,0 Intermediate Capital 1.743,79 1.746,57 Intertek 5.610,0 5.610,0 ITV 105,94 106,75

% CHG. 1.143,50 2.945,0 2.633,5 1.507,50 3.839,0 2.245,0 7.803,4 576,60 527,00 3.833,0 349,85 521,00 477,40 0,957 143,30 693,35 4.451,0 2.112,50 289,30 2.735,0 438,00 134,45 2.420,3 1.746,5 1.254,6 50,10 2.269,0 1.378,50 3.200,0 6.474,0 5.832,0 2.905,9 383,30 735,80 2.627,2 9.128,0 14.355,0 1.094,50 1.385,60 273,50 2.569,0 1.649,00 2.481,00 403,45 143,82 1.650,91 512,20 4.694,0 1.742,41 5.600,0 105,94

NET VOL 26,30K 2,51K 3,51K 5,73K 8,78K 0,07K 4,31K 93,55K 0,13K 2,87K 43,09K 24,30K 4,74K 0,11K 138,21K 3,39K 0,51K 112,76K 132,99K 46,11K 24,42K 545,95K 0,55K 7,50K 5,75K 145,65K 5,07K 0,62K 13,12K 4,01K 1,59K 3,13K 9,83K 124,20K 0,35K 2,78K 18,82K 1,37K 22,55K 47,47K 6,10K 11,07K 0,38K 28,84K 1,22M 3,91K 0,73K 9,03K 0,59K 0,95K 24,85K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

J Sainsbury Johnson Matthey Land Securities Legal & General Lloyds Banking London Stock Exchange Meggitt Melrose Industries Mondi National Grid NatWest Group Next Norilskiy Nikel ADR Ocado Persimmon Phoenix Prudential Reckitt Benckiser Relx Rentokil Rightmove Rio Tinto PLC Rolls-Royce Holdings Rosneft DRC Royal Dutch Shell A Royal Dutch Shell A Royal Dutch Shell B RSA Insurance Sage Samsung Electronics DRC Sberbank Schroders Scottish Mortgage Segro Severn Trent Smith & Nephew Smiths Group Spirax-Sarco Engineering SSE St. James’s Place Standard Chartered Standard Life Aberdeen Taylor Wimpey Tesco Tui Unilever United Utilities Vodafone Group PLC Whitbread WPP

249,10 3.020,2 630,80 266,10 34,95 9.152,0 422,10 175,14 1.828,50 881,00 156,05 7.892,0 35,16 2.702,61 2.713,0 702,60 1.394,50 6.282,0 1.859,50 531,40 631,80 5.913,0 101,50 6,60 1.412,81 1.412,0 1.351,4 678,00 620,21 2.022,00 14,44 3.497,0 1.298,84 978,20 2.352,0 1.661,50 1.504,00 11.755,0 1.552,32 1.193,00 466,00 309,80 158,01 243,64 343,75 4.392,0 935,00 128,54 3.085,9 793,00

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

249,46 3.020,2 636,20 267,25 35,27 9.152,0 424,50 177,30 1.832,50 881,20 156,85 7.910,0 35,28 2.704,00 2.720,0 702,60 1.399,00 6.294,0 1.862,00 531,40 632,80 5.926,0 103,90 6,62 1.418,11 1.421,6 1.363,0 679,00 625,00 2.024,00 14,57 3.508,0 1.298,84 978,40 2.352,0 1.661,50 1.508,00 11.755,0 1.559,50 1.198,50 468,90 310,80 159,84 244,20 372,82 4.395,0 935,60 129,10 3.137,0 800,00

248,17 3.005,0 630,80 265,80 34,89 9.092,0 417,60 175,14 1.828,50 872,20 155,75 7.874,0 35,09 2.691,00 2.705,0 698,60 1.391,00 6.276,0 1.855,00 528,60 628,60 5.903,0 101,43 6,56 1.405,51 1.406,0 1.350,0 677,80 617,77 2.018,00 14,41 3.486,0 1.289,00 975,00 2.341,0 1.651,00 1.502,42 11.700,0 1.551,70 1.186,50 466,00 307,90 158,01 242,34 342,38 4.365,0 931,80 128,28 3.080,0 792,60

34,07K 2,92K 20,02K 82,45K 2,83M 3,92K 2,07K 35,40K 0,06K 208,82K 77,74K 0,12K 7,38K 4,16K 5,84K 7,39K 7,67K 13,94K 62,78K 34,39K 11,85K 2,31K 569,59K 219,50K 45,70K 139,59K 7,34K 7,29K 47,78K 2,06K 326,44K 2,33K 157,28K 10,18K 2,23K 12,30K 0,49K 0,86K 3,86K 9,21K 4,35K 47,53K 22,73K 105,57K 227,00K 86,07K 8,49K 641,65K 2,77K 62,98K

0.88812

1.12297 Units per €

US dollar (USD) ......................................1.21771 Japan yen (JPY)......................................126.317 Switzerland franc (CHF) .........................1.07796 Denmark kroner (DKK) ...........................7.43972 Norway kroner (NOK) .............................10.2961

currenciesdirect.com/mojacar • Tel: +34 950 478 914 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 25

COMPANY 3M Alphabet C Amazon.com Amgen Apple Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Cisco Coca-Cola Facebook Goldman Sachs Home Depot Honeywell IBM Intel J&J JPMorgan McDonald’s Merck&Co Microsoft Nike Procter&Gamble Salesforce.com Tesla UnitedHealth Verizon Visa A Walmart Walt Disney

PRICE 169,04 1.901,05 3.292,23 253,50 139,07 205,84 191,94 91,73 44,77 48,49 274,50 289,39 284,00 202,25 118,61 56,66 163,55 133,79 213,38 80,98 225,95 139,35 130,00 225,77 846,64 347,55 57,47 202,02 146,33 172,78

CHANGE CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 170,20 167,24 2,35M 1.910,95 1.881,76 1,27M 3.321,91 3.283,16 2,82M 255,23 250,56 1,87M 139,85 135,02 114,46M 206,70 204,27 7,51M 192,82 189,31 2,03M 92,03 89,83 7,81M 44,89 44,23 14,64M 48,94 48,49 15,40M 278,47 272,00 21,95M 290,59 285,50 2,57M 285,08 277,87 4,50M 204,46 201,39 3,50M 120,70 117,36 38,06M 59,62 56,65 85,73M 165,16 161,87 8,14M 134,40 132,20 12,93M 214,14 211,17 2,20M 81,43 80,76 9,00M 230,07 225,80 30,17M 141,88 139,31 4,15M 131,47 129,99 7,20M 227,79 223,75 10,19M 848,00 828,62 20,07M 354,62 347,54 2,59M 57,69 56,76 16,36M 205,33 201,80 7,32M 147,34 145,12 6,41M 175,25 171,89 9,52M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 25

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

+10.87% +5.40% +1.28% +5.39% +11.08% +5.67% +4.90% +6.92% +18.07% +10.08% +3.51%

1.13M 7,688 515,839 710,669 1.75M 2,818 292,828 1.25M 7.10M 4.34M 214,047

-6.84% -2.07% -5.98% -1.74% -0.45% -2.53% -2.91% -1.79% -2.99% -6.12% -2.38%

1.77M 356,695 186,113 296,521 2.82M 7.55M 495,373 690,685 290,243 171,956 2.59M

Most Advanced MicroStrategy Inc. Atrion Corp.

MercadoLibre Inc. SVB Financial Group Appian Corp. Cl A Daily Journal Corp.

BeiGene Ltd. ADR Quidel Corp.

Stitch Fix Inc. Cl A Affirm Holdings Inc. Cl A Amedisys Inc.

Most Declined Intuitive Surgical Inc. Booking Holdings Inc. Credit Acceptance Corp.

CoStar Group Inc. Amazon.com Inc. Netflix Inc. O'Reilly Automotive Inc. Align Technology Inc. Universal Display Corp.

World Acceptance Corp.

Autodesk Inc.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

Credit: Sint-Sixtus abbey

Trappist beer available

Trappist Westvleteren ready for shipping.

FOR years, beers brewed by Trappist Monks of the Bene­ dictine order have been con­ sidered some of the best in the world, but sales have been hit by the pandemic.

The monks of the Sint­Six­ tus abbey in Westvleteren in Belgium are to start deliver­ ing their beer although it is rationed to a crate of 24 bot­ tles for any one order.

It is only 18 months ago that they went online but still required customers to regis­ ter, place an order and collect their beer by car at appointed times having first confirmed their car registration number.

Then because of the lock­ down, the monks, who have the motto ‘brew to live, not live to brew’ had to suspend sales for several months.

Now they are back brewing sufficient to cover the needs

of the monastery and are also allowing collection again on the same terms although those who come to the monastery grounds, will be allowed 48 bottles.

There are just 14 monaster­ ies allowed to brew and sell Trappist beers, six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands and one each in Austria, Italy, the UK, France, Spain and the United States.

Although not as well­ known as the Chimay monastery which brews beer and sells cheese, the Trappist Westvleteren brew has achieved an aura of quality around its three different styles of beer, one blonde and two dark.

With relatively small pro­ duction, the monks will only sell their beer to private indi­ viduals in order to ensure

Foreign investment SPAIN’S Trade Secretary, Xiana Méndez, took part in the Eleventh Spain Investors Day (SID) economic forum in which she encouraged foreign companies to invest in Spain.

A new website has been set up encouraging investors to discover more about the way in which the Spanish economy is finding its feet again following a difficult 2020.

According to website eurasia.com, the minister said “In terms of Spanish international trade, the downward trend of our exports is moderating. In October 2020 (latest monthly figures available), exports grew by 8.74 per cent on the previous month.”

that as many as possible can enjoy their product at reason­ able prices.

BUSINESS EXTRA Back in business BANK OF ENGLAND Governor, Andrew Bailey speaking online said he expects that Britain’s economy will recover strongly as the country rolls out the vaccination programme at gathering speed suggesting that Britain will therefore be back in business quickly.

Solar power SPANISH energy supplier Iberdrola has struck a 10-year deal to supply solar powered electricity to French food manufacturer Danone’s 29 locations in Spain at a sum estimated at several million euros from a new facility currently being built.

Falkland Islands ONE result of Brexit is that as the UK Overseas Territories were not included in the Withdrawal Agreement, the Falkland Islands will see an immediate cut in EU subsidies and it is likely to encourage Argentina to renew its sovereignty claims.

28 January - 3 February 2021

EWN 29

30 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

28 January - 3 February 2021

BOOHOO To Purchase Debenhams store ONLINE fashion retailer Boohoo are lining up the purchase of troubled department store chain Debenhams, for a reputed cut­price £50 million, according to reports.

Administrators for Debenhams, the FRP Advisory, had a few days ago allegedly said they were talking with ‘third parties re­ garding the sale of all or parts of the business,’ but apparently, neither company would comment on that.

The flagship 242­year­old Debenhams store on London’s Ox­ ford Street started the liquidation process back in December 2020 after a potential take­over rescue deal fell through, al­ though Debenhams itself had been in administration since April of last year, allegedly having already been in financial dif­ ficulty long before the pandemic.

Home Covid Tests GERMANY’S Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn wants to change the rules and lift the so­called ‘doctor’s reserva­ tion’ for the tests so that consumers can buy the Covid tests in the pharmacy themselves and take them at home.

According to Jens Spahn: “Tests for self­application [at home] will play a decisive role in containing the pandemic in the future.”

The North­Rhine Pharmacists’ Association welcomes Spahn’s plans: “Studies show that [laypeople] also achieve good test results,” said association boss Thomas Preis.

The test is expected to come as a spit and gargle test, “this makes handling easier than swabbing the throat with a cotton swab.”

FEATURE

Feel free to speak freely LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT QUITE frankly, I believe the new Netflix series of Bridgerton is a long way from the lighthearted ‘bit of fun’ the makers and actors would have us believe. This grossly inaccurate ‘historical’ piece, sets yet another precedent of dangerous appeasement which now seems to have no bounds in its relentless erosion of British history and its heritage.

In this series, set in the Regency period, many of the main characters are depicted as black aristocracy. Even the Queen Charlotte is portrayed by black actress Golda Rosheuvel.

To me the whole presentation is misleading and offensive. With the exception perhaps of Dido Elizabeth Bell, who was the daughter of a British naval officer and a Caribbean slave, (and is herself the subject of a new historically correct movie to be released later this year) there were no black members of British aristocracy at that time, or even any other historical period, unless you

count the occasional Moor in the Tudor era. It’s all very well for those responsible to shrug it off as ‘a bit of fun’ or ‘we were all simply having a laugh,’ they fail to take into account that to many of today’s youngsters, movies and presentations of this ilk are the nearest they get to learning anything at all about the culture and heritage of the country they live in.

You simply cannot trust the woke and left wing influenced teachers that abound in the British education system, to teach its ever increasing ethnic pupil base the true historical past of the UK. They are too busy being ‘ashamed’ and trying to erase or airbrush the more dubious actions of our ancestors, instead of proudly teaching of the magnificent achievements and constructive input they have given to the world. Don’t take my word for it.

Leicester University has just announced they are planning to decolonise their English language studies by shelving works of English literature that they consider ‘too white’! Chaucer and his important works of Canterbury Tales and Beowulf are among the first to

go. You really do wonder where it is all going to end. Briefly returning to the casting of the farcical Bridgerton, can you imagine the furor and protests that would have ensued should they have cast a white woman in the role of Whitney Houston? Or Benedict Cumberbatch as Mandela? Ludicrous?

No more than casting a black woman as the Queen of England! Once again, I’m fully prepared for the accusations of racism I am bound to receive for this piece.

The irony is that I am so utterly against racism, I cannot help but speak out when I see it, this evil doctrine constantly practised under the guise of the so­called diversity and equality which is utterly destroying the heritage of a once great country; and in doing so not only biting the hand that feeds it, but positively gnawing on it.

Thanks for all your comments. Feel free to speak freely. And whatever you do always ­ Keep the faith.

Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com.

Expatradioscotland.com Mon. Wed. Fri.

Leapy Lee’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

Your Belgian estate agent at the coast!

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34 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

28 January - 3 February 2021

Expat Military Permission BREXIT is set to cause yet more complications for British expats in certain areas of Costa Blanca as a pre-constitutional law known as the Francoist law will require property buyers to apply for special approval from the military.

The Provincial Association of Promoters (Provia) warned on Wednesday, January 20, that non-EU citizens wanting to purchase properties in areas of military interest will require a special permit issued by the Ministry of Defence, which could delay the sale of some 800 homes per year. According to Provia, most of these properties are located in Torrevieja, Orihuela, Pilar de la Horadada and San Miguel de Salinas.

Portable Chapel Lost THE Granada town of Montefrio is mourning the loss of its rather unique, centurylong tradition.

For more than 100 years, a ‘portable chapel’ of patron saint of the municipality Virgin de los Remedios, travels from home to home, spending two hours in each house before being passed on to a neighbour. Sadly, during the coronavirus lockdown in

March, the Virgin went missing, and locals fear she may be forgotten in a house of someone who passed away from Covid.

Local women, Concepción Pérez and Pilar Carralcasar, both aged 75, have launched a Facebook campaign to locate the effigy so that she can once again visit homes in the municipality and offer comfort to those who are unwell.

FEATURE

THE JANUARY BLUES - (ALMOST) OVER FOR ANOTHER YEAR NORA JOHNSON BREAKING VIEWS Nora is the author of popular psychological suspense and crime thrillers and a freelance journalist.

To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/nora-johnson

JANUARY’S got a lot to answer for, hasn’t it? Christmas is over, it’s cold and dark outside (at least in the UK) and we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic. With New Year resolutions already foundering, we’re then hit by Blue Monday, reckoned to be the most depressing day of the year, and it’s a long time till spring!

To this list, add self­help books. I gave up on these years ago when I found they all said the same thing. A waste of money. Most people can work it all out for themselves.

One fact that can’t be ignored, though, is that levels of stress, de­ pression and anxiety among parents, carers and many others have in­

creased with the pressures of the lockdowns. Issues like difficulty re­ laxing, feeling hopeless and angry.

Many parents, especially those of secondary­age students, say they’re worried about their children’s fu­ ture, blaming contributory factors like prolonged screen time, disrup­ tion to daily routine, lack of exercise, stress of exams and frequent argu­ ments.

A few tips? If you find yourself in an argument, the chances are your opponent isn’t actually angry with you personally. You are just collater­ al damage. And in that moment you are the embodiment of their elderly parent’s missing second Covid jab or another three months of home­ schooling.

You are their outstanding rent, their disappearing career, their dwindling savings, while in America a person formerly in charge of nu­ clear codes is no longer deemed sta­ ble enough to have social media. (‘Putin just outplayed’ him, admitted a high­level administration official

recently ­ comparing the Russian leader to a chess grandmaster and Trump to an occasional player of draughts. Which basically says it all, doesn’t it?)

Readers regularly write to my website saying how much they’ve enjoyed following my column over the past 11 years ­ and how its regu­ lar appearance every single week provides, especially now, a kind of ‘normality’ in these uncertain times.

They like the sly humour as well as the occasional digs at slebs and politicians.

To all those readers, thank you ­ much appreciated.

Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Be­ trayal’, ‘The Girl in the Woods’, ‘The Girl in the Red Dress’, ‘No Way Back’, ‘Landscape of Lies’, ‘Retribu­ tion’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Cleram­ bault Code’ (www.nora­johnson. net) available online as eBook (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, paper­ back and audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity.

Advertising Feature FUNERALS are mostly sad, dark and depressing but it really doesn’t need to be that way. They can be warm-hearted, wonderful, quirky, and most importantly personal, personalisation is a great way to turn a funeral into a celebration of life. Golden Leaves can help you preplan a funeral that is unique to you.

ONE of the most common requests from peo­ ple who talk about their funeral plans is ‘no black.’ While some will just ask for people to wear their favourite colour or their favourite sports team’s kit, many have more specific re­ quests, such as Hawaiian shirts or even multi­ coloured wellies. One Glastonbury fan had the unique request everyone who attended their funeral wore wellies in honour of a shared love of the festival, one lady request­ ed the funeral service be decorated with fruits and vegetables instead of flowers and why not... It’s your day after all.

Arrive in style Unconventional transport is a popular re­ quest. Why have a hearse when you can arrive in an old fire engine, an old fashioned milk float or a horse drawn carriage?

The Ashes What to do with the ashes is a question

Be Bold most people look to have sentimental mean­ ing, people’s ashes being made into jewellery has become a very popular trend and with new technology it’s now possible that from your ashes can grow a beautiful diamond, or sometimes they’re put into a firework to ‘go off with a bang!’

Make it personal Most of us don’t like talking about death, and it is a conversation we’ll avoid, often until it’s too late. But, if you want a funeral personal to you, now is the time to make your plans, and the Golden Leaves team of experts are waiting to help you, they are also offering €150 off all pre­paid funeral plans through the month of December making it even more af­ fordable. The team at Golden Leaves have over 30 years’ experience, so no matter your requests we are sure they will be able to help you.

Create a memory table One of the essentials of any personalised fu­

neral service is a memory table. We love memory tables because you can do so much with them. You could even make multiple memory tables that are set­up like ‘stations’ to repre­ sent different chapters or passions in your life. The possibilities truly are endless here.

Sow seeds of love In many cultures and traditions, planting a tree is a way of symbolising important occa­ sions, including birth, marriage, and death.

Embrace the tradition by either packaging seeds for a particular plant that service guests can bring home to plant their memorial tree or flower, or gathering attendees together for a joint planting in someplace special.

Create ‘Fun Fact’ Cards A funeral service is a once in a lifetime chance to celebrate the life you’ve lived, tell your story, and share all of the unique details that made you who you were. But sometimes this is hard to do in just an hour­long funeral

service. Fun fact cards are an in­ teresting way to spice up your fu­ neral programme, all you have to do is simply print them out and easily incorporate into your funeral service, or give them away at the wake afterwards to encourage positive conversations and memories.

When you leave behind your loved ones, having a funeral plan in place provides not only peace of mind knowing they avoid the finan­ cial burden, but it allows them time to grieve and support one another without the stress of organising a funeral and trying to guess how you would like things. Whilst planning your fu­ neral may appear to be a morbid thing to do, it can actually remove a huge weight from your shoulders in knowing you have taken care of your family through what will be a very diffi­ cult time for them.

www.goldenleavesinternational.com • info@goldenleavesinternational.com • Facebook: goldenleavesspain

37

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YOUR STARS FOR NEXT 7 DAYS AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) This is a time to consider finances and keep your options open.

Someone who tries to get a fast decision out of you by pushing you into a corner is doing you no favours. You will decide what (if anything) needs to be done when you are good and ready.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Keep things simple. Getting involved in other people's problems is not for you at the moment. It may be necessary to delay a decision to give yourself time to think. Could you manage a few days away somewhere?

Maybe you could stay with a friend or relative. You need some peace and quiet on your own.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Although things are going pretty well, there are some things that could be just a little better organised. The time and money that this saves could be small, but it's the ongoing positive attitude that counts. There have been times recently when you have wondered if your progress on a certain matter would ever start up again.

TAURUS (April 21 - May21) It is better if you don't get involved in any high profile, high risk business deals. Success is not assured. This is a time for financial consolidation.

Count your pennies and see the pounds collecting in the future. On a cold winter’s night it can give a pleasant glow to realise your action during the summer is keeping you warm.

GEMINI (May 22 - Juny 21) Partnerships see you leap ahead on something that was a bit stuck in the mud. A leap in your bank balance follows. Some quick decisions may be called for so it is better to share responsibilities, whatever the outcome. You have a chance to show just how clever you can be, but do it because it gives you personal satisfaction rather than to impress.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) After a hectic start to the week, things seem to have slowed down.

Look carefully at what has happened, but remember that there is no point in worrying over something that you cannot change.

Sitting tight and waiting for this period to pass could be the best solution.

Certainly, it will prove less stressful than fighting a losing corner.

LEO (July 24 - August 23) Money is good and this can make you over-confident. Beware bank managers offering loans in large amounts. Nothing is for free and you need to look carefully at interest rates right now. Another, more personal, investment also needs looking at right now. Are things going exactly the way you want them to?

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Aim a bit higher than usual and you may be surprised at your success. When seeing the bigger picture, you realise that it is not so daunting after all. If one person can do it, then so can another. It is a matter of how you approach it.

What you have to ask yourself this week is why you should accept the minimum when the maximum is so close by.

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 (DOCTOR) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

ARDENT DOCTOR (10) ECHOES FERRIC HECTOR HORROR METEOR MOROSE RASTER RETORT SCANTY SPEEDY SPOTTY STANCH STEREO TEETHE TERROR TETHER THIRST

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) With so much going on, you are in danger of burning yourself to a frazzle. You won’t realise until you have done it, so make a point of getting some peace and quiet, preferably both of them at the same time. Relax and don't even think about things that are unchangeable.

Time will sort out most things for you.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Although things seem fine, this is not a time to overstretch your finances. Spending a lot this week without thought is problematic later. This is a week of shifting and changing and that certainly means your finances. The other area is your social circle, where people come and go, sometimes without warning.

SAGITARIUS (November 23 - December 21) This is not a particularly lucky week for you, so I would certainly advise caution. Gambling is not recommended. Being clever with money is as much about not spending it as about how you spend it. .

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Look at the long-term picture when considering money matters. What seems like a good deal now may not be so a few years down the line. Someone who appears to be telling a lie may simply have either misunderstood or have the wrong information.

TIME OUT

LOTTERY UK NATIONAL LOTTERY Sat 23 January

1-6-25 45-49-52

BONUS BALL

56

IRISH LOTTO Sat 23 January

5-11-15 19-33-40

BONUS BALL

8

EURO MILLIONS Tue 19 January

BONUS BALL

5

25-27-31 35-43

6

Fri 22 January

BONUS BALL

08-16-42 44-47

6 7

EL MILLON: JXW44709 LA PRIMITIVA Thurs 21 January

BONUS BALL

08-14-31 42-43-44

20 4

JOKER: 8514098 Sat 23 January

BONUS BALL

5-11-22 28-30-42

26

JOKER: 7747157

7

TIME OUT

38

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CODE BREAKER

ENGLISH-SPANISH

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

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 1 represents J and 20 represents W, so fill in J every time the figure 1 appears and W every time the figure 20 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.

Across 1 Food (things to eat) (6) 3 Dormido (6) 8 Links (7) 10 Seaweed (plural) (5) 11 Meadow (5) 12 Refugiado (7) 13 Used (stamp, syringe) (5) 15 Command (5) 20 Octubre (7) 22 Chupete (de niño) (5) 24 Bit (piece) (5) 25 Lamb (7) 26 Currency (6) 27 Garganta (6)

Down 1 Body (of person, animal) (6) 2 Fine (legal) (5) 4 Personal (personas) (5) 5 Ocupado (7) 6 Cartel (6) 7 Usuarios (5) 9 Nube (de humo, insectos, polvo) (5) 14 Sentarse (3,4) 16 To burn (5) 17 Fondo (de mar) (6) 18 Ladrillo (5) 19 En barco (2,4) 21 Ancho (5) 23 Fear (5)

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION • LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION • LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION QUICK Across: 1 Swamp, 4 Bible, 7 Abandoned, 8 Song, 9 Helped, 12 Settee, 13 Toes, 16 Immediate, 18 Enter, 19 Sorts.

Down: 1 Shoes, 2 Against, 3 Peak, 4 Badger, 5/17 Bon mot, 6 Ended, 10 Pioneer, 11 Leader, 12 Spine, 14 Shuts, 15 Cats.

BOGGLED

ENGLISH-SPANISH

onion noon ninth nice neve nebs neep neeps vino vine vice venin vein vees veep veeps beige beiges bees beep beeps beef begin beget beet been befit seven seen seep once incite icon evict eves evince even peen peeve peeves petit none nine cone coin confit conte cine cite give given gives genic gees gift feet fees thief teen tees tepee titi ethic

Across: 1 Parecido, 4 Crow, 8 Acera, 10 Seagull, 11 Cremosa, 12 Moho, 14 Apoyar, 16 Lluvia, 19 Foam, 21 Equator, 24 Oriente, 25 Farol, 26 Ears, 27 Montañas.

Down: 1 Planchar, 2 Clavo, 3 Desear, 5 Rough, 6/23 Well done, 7 Marmol, 9 Enero, 13 Barriles, 15 Almond, 17 Voter, 18 Cerezo, 20 Odiar, 22 Unfit.

NONAGRAM

CRYPTIC

Across: 1 Slap, 3 Sanction, 9 Enforce, 10 Rapid, 11 Aglow, 12 Tripod, 14 On call, 16 Sleeps, 19 Leeway, 21 Three, 24 Loafs, 25 Ringlet, 26 Disperse, 27 Dyed.

Down: 1 Sheraton, 2 Awful, 4 Averts, 5 Corgi, 6 Improve, 7 Nods, 8 Trowel, 13 Assented, 15 Cretans, 17 Litany, 18 Cyprus, 20 Waste, 22 Rally, 23 Fled.

CODE BREAKER

FUTOSHIKI

acne aeon ante aunt cane cant cent cone corn cran earn etna narc near neat note once rant rent roan rune runt tarn tern tone torn tuna tune turn unco unto acorn antre atone caner canoe canto cento conte cornu count crane crone enact nacre narco noter oaten ocean ounce recon reran rerun tenor toner tuner canter cantor carton contra cornea corner cornet craton errant nature nectar octane ornate outran rancor ranter recant return toucan trance turner centaur counter courant currant current enactor rancour recount trounce uncrate courante RACONTEUR

HEXAGRAM

WORD LADDER

1 CONVEY 2 BICKER 3 GEYSER 4 FORMAL 5 SPARKY 6 KAISER 7 MERCER 8 SWAMPY 9 CARROT 10 CAMERA 11 TWINGE 12 BUREAU 13 IDEATE 14 FOURTH 15 ABSURD 16 SLEEPY 17 SUPERB 18 DERAIL 19 HUBRIS

WOOD WORD WARD CARD CARE CAGE or

KAKURO

SUDOKU

WOOD WORD WORE WARE WAGE CAGE

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Almería TODAY VELEZ RUBIO ALBOX

HUERCAL OVERA GARRUCHA

WEATHER

MOJACAR ALMERIA RETAMAR ROQUETAS

ADRA

TOMORROW VELEZ RUBIO ALBOX

HUERCAL OVERA GARRUCHA MOJACAR

ALMERIA RETAMAR ROQUETAS

ADRA

SATURDAY VELEZ RUBIO ALBOX

HUERCAL OVERA GARRUCHA MOJACAR

ALMERIA RETAMAR ADRA

S: Sun

C: Cloudy

Th: Thunder

ROQUETAS

Cl: Clear

Sh: Showers

Sn: Snow

Malaga TODAY: MAX 19 MIN 8 Fri 16 8 Sat 17 9 Sun 18 9 Mon 19 10 Tues - 17 10 Wed 17 11

Alicante TODAY: MAX 19, MIN 9 Fri 16 8 Sat 16 8 Sun 17 8 Mon 17 9 Tues - 19 9 Wed 19 9

Almeria TODAY: MAX 20, MIN 9 Fri 19 9 Sat 19 10 Sun 19 10 Mon 20 11 Tues - 19 11 Wed 19 13

Benidorm TODAY: MAX 19, MIN 9 Fri 19 9 Sat 18 9 Sun 17 8 Mon 19 8 Tues - 17 10 Wed 17 8 Mallorca TODAY: MAX 19, MIN 7 Fri 16 7 Sat 17 8 Sun 17 8 Mon 19 9 Tues 19 7 Wed 19 8

Bilbao TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 5 Fri 16 9 Sat 16 9 Sun 14 8 Mon 14 8 Tues 14 9 Wed 14 8 Madrid TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 8 Fri 14 8 Sat 14 7 Sun 15 7 Mon 15 8 Tues 16 9 Wed 16 10

39

TIME OUT

FUTOSHIKI

BOGGLED

Fill in the squares so that each digit from 1 to 6 occurs exactly once in each row and column. Greater-than and less-than signs indicate the relationship of the two adjacent squares. There is only one solution, and you can find it without guessing.

How many English words can you find in the Boggled grid, according to the following rules?

• The letters must be adjoining in a ‘chain’. They can be adjacent horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

• Words must contain at least four letters and may include singular and plural or other derived forms.

• No letter may be used more than once within a single word, unless it appears twice.

• No vulgarities or proper nouns are permitted.

2 6

Barcelona TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 9 Fri 15 9 Sat 15 9 Sun 17 11 Mon 17 11 Tues 17 9 Wed 17 10

Euro Weekly News strives for accuracy, but cannot be held responsible for any errors in published forecasts

TARGET:

SCORING:

Average: 15 Good: 21 Very good: 30 Excellent: 39

4 letters: 1 point 5 letters: 2 points 6 letters: 3 points 7 letters: 5 points 8 or more letters: 11 points

KAKURO Fill all the empty squares using the numbers 1 to 9, so that the sum of each horizontal block equals the ‘clue’ on its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the clue on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once.

CRYPTIC Across 1 Interwove bits of wasp, lice, dragonflies (7) 5 Sun comes back behind motorway takeaway (5) 8 Poison found in additive? No matter (5) 9 Noticed it's blemished (7) 10 Taking a chance, hide in oil platform (7) 11 Former international the French deport (5) 12 Weary Judge's dead weird (5) 14 Grim extract from a Boris Pasternak novel (5) 19 Defamatory statement in journal, I believe (5) 21 Former lover sat for a photo uncovered (7) 23 American university found a revised version in a solid condition (7) 24 An agreement to let easel out (5) 25 Catches wriggling sprat (5) 26 A thousand flowers for teachers (7) Down 1 Cut-off by northern river (6) 2 Joins the golf club (5) 3 Get together for the harvest (7) 4 Possibly signed drawing (6) 5 Some worried about round animal (5) 6 Navy attire designed to be more dapper (7) 7 Wet patch of turf on animal's lair (6) 13 Bishop's warning about a prairie province (7) 15 Drinks spilt, EP ruined (7) 16 Out-of-date pork-pie perhaps (3,3) 17 Rarely sold me mince (6) 18 Vipers' counting machines (6) 20 Lends cash to build salon (5) 22 Georgia, for example, in poor taste (5)

TIME OUT

40

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SUDOKU

QUICK

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.

Across 1 Despise (5) 4 Bowl for washing (5) 7 Cease (9) 8 Twilight (4) 10 Rebukes (6) 12 Poem of 14 lines (6) 13 Dull and dreary (4) 16 British army rank (9) 18 Fixed (5) 19 Assistants (5)

Down 1 Steer clear of (5) 2/17 Souped-up car (3,3) 3 Uncommon (4) 4 Intelligent (6) 5 Defamation (7) 6 Requirements (5) 9 Carrying a tune (7) 11 Honour (6) 12 Not drunk (5) 14 Additional payment (5) 15 Prima donna (4) 17 See 2

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

HALT

QUIZ BACK KITE

SHARK ATTACK 1. ‘Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear and it shows them pearly white’ are the first lines of which Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht song, a 1959 UK number one hit single for Bobby Darin?

2. What name is given to a young shark: calf, kit or pup?

3. Which 1957 Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage New York street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds?

4. Which 1980s British television game show hosted by Bruce Forsyth was based on, and played similarly to, the American show Card Sharks?

5. Which Australian golfer was nicknamed the Great White Shark?

6. Which award-winning Italian-American actor voiced the character Don Lino in the 2004 Dream Works computer-animated comedy film Shark Tale?

7. Which slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark is the largest known extant fish species?

8. Who was the author of the 1974 novel Jaws, which tells the story of a great white shark that preys upon a small resort town and the voyage of three men trying to kill it?

9. With which professional sport would you principally associate Sale Sharks?

10. What was the title of Feargal Sharkey’s only UK number one hit single, which reached the top spot in November 1985?

Not a lot of people know that… the gnathodynamometer, invented by J N Snodgrass, is an instrument for measuring the force exerted in closing the mouth. Sharks are baited into biting hard plastic sheets, which are brought to the laboratory. The depth of the indentations shows the force of the bite

NONAGRAM

RACHEL AND FRIENDS

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

TARGET:

audreyquinton99@gmail.com

Average: 15 Good: 21 Very good: 30 Excellent: 38

Answers 1. MACK THE KNIFE, 2. PUP, 3. WEST SIDE STORY, 4. PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT, 5. GREG NORMAN, 6. ROBERT DE NIRO, 7. WHALE SHARK, 8. PETER BENCHLEY, 9. RUGBY UNION, 10. A GOOD HEART

42 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

28 January - 3 February 2021

Museo El Prado

T H E world-famous Prado Museum in Madrid has planned an enormous overhaul in 2021 which will see more works by women displayed in order to create a “more inclusive” Prado, according to the museum’s director, Miguel Falomir.

In all, collections from 18th century Europe, the Goya collection and paintings from the 19th century will be subject to a complete revamp.

The increase in more

works by women will be confined to the 19th century section and it’s understood that many will be new acquisitions, although officials haven’t released specific information yet.

Over the years the museum has made a big effort to display more work by women, including its current exhibition, Guests; however, many feminist groups have criticised the Prado for not going far enough to celebrate female artists.

BBC Line Up Jason Manford JASON MANFORD has morphed from a very funny standup comedian, into an all-round entertainer, with acting roles in TV sitcoms ‘Scarborough’ and ‘Benidorm’, through to theatre stage work in ‘Sweeney Todd’ and ‘The Producers’, onto a daytime quiz, ‘First And Last’ on BBC1.

Now Manford has been lined up by the BBC to host its brand new daytime quiz show ‘Unbeatable’, due to be screened later this year, where four contestants have to compete to give the best answer to a series of questions, according to The Sun. Jason admitted to being a lover of daytime TV quizzes, saying, “I know how important daytime quizzes are for a lot of people. I used to sit with my Nana Manford and mum watching them.”

FEATURE

VANITY PLATES

DAVID WORBOYS IN the late 90s I saw a Bentley Continental with Swiss plates parked right in front of the entrance to the prestigious Negresco Hotel in Nice. The registration number sent out as much of a statement as the location and the automobile itself: GE 1.

This scene encapsulated everything to do with wealth, privilege and status. But was the owner entitled to park in this cov­ eted spot or just flaunting his or her im­ age? Was he or she a person of consider­ able means and influence or a high­ ranking official in Geneva? And had such status or wealth been acquired ethically or to the detriment of others?

The issue of ‘personalised’ number plates is particularly interesting in the UK. Today motorists pay obscene sums for the unashamed flaunting of ‘success.’ The genuinely successful Richard Fauntleroy­ Clavering may feel in need of an extra ego­ boost and therefore pay over £100,000 for RFC 1, possibly unaware that this tribute to himself could feed a needy family of four for several years. Or it could buy an Aston Martin for a less successful but loyal friend.

There was a time when the objective seemed to be inspired by humour. As the

PERSONALISED PLATES: If find them a distasteful waste of money. figure 1 was virtually indistinguishable from the letter I, those able to afford it would buy registration numbers such as HOP 1N, COM 1C, NAT 10N and SOD 1T. It may be acceptable to substitute I with 1 and O with 0 but these are surely the only reasonable interchanges.

What is truly pitiable is the public ad­ mission of failure by those unable to af­ ford the real thing. The recently advertised asking price for COL 7N was £55,000. It seems obvious that the 7 is meant to rep­ resent the letter I in Colin. But the price for COL 1N would probably be unaffordable to Colin. Similarly, Allan, who cannot stretch to ALLAN, will have to make do with ALL 4N, hoping that his peers will in­ terpret the 4 as an A. Likewise S is substi­ tuted by 5, G by 6, Z by 2 and H by 8. LA66

ARD is a desperate attempt at the word ‘laggard.’ GL45 SES means ‘glasses’ and it’s yours for £3,495.

The statement sent out is ‘I’ve fallen behind. I’d like to have a meaningful vani­ ty plate that spells an actual word or name but I can’t afford a proper one. This is the best I can do.’ Even assuming any friend or neighbour to be impressed by this, what is the point? There is, of course, nothing wrong in owning an expensive car ­ or any other quality possession ­ so long as it is honestly earned and not flaunted.

The sole purpose of a costly number plate is self enhancement and, given our growing awareness of the billions of des­ perately underprivileged fellow beings worldwide, I find this particular waste of money distasteful.

A Lesson to be learnt here MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION Views of a Grumpy Old Man HERE’S a horror story! My daughter want­ ed to spend Christmas with us. She booked flights which got moved from Gatwick to Heathrow. She got her nega­ tive Covid test and decided to come a day early and only had a few hours to sort out travel arrangements to the airport.

She decided to drive and park for 10 days using a meet and greet service. Top of Google was Nationwide Airport Parking Ltd which said that all cars were kept in a secure compound. When she arrived at the terminal the meet and greet desk in­ side didn’t have any record of her booking and said she should look outside for a dif­ ferent company. She had a red light mo­ ment but then thought she hadn’t read the ad properly but was desperate to come home so found the guy who took her car. She finished up staying for a month and kept extending the parking.

Trip over she flew home and a driver turned up with her car but didn’t get her to sign anything and left sharply. I got a call saying she thought her door was dented but couldn’t see properly and

would check when she got home. She called again, in bits, as she had received a letter from Slough police saying her car was reported being left in the street and had all four tyres slashed, every door pan­ el kicked in, a window smashed and a wing mirror hanging off and sent photos.

Nationwide had put four tyres on, re­ paired the window and glued the mirror and never told her! She ‘phoned the com­ pany straightaway who just said send an email. Since then there has been no re­ sponse from Nationwide.

Fortunately she is insured. Police, insur­ ance company and trading standards are all going after Nationwide and I’ve sent details to BBC Watchdog. Had she looked at Trustpilot she would have seen terrible reviews bar four or five from Pakistan where selling reviews is a big business. I spoke to Trustpilot about bogus reviews and Google about removing their ad.

Google would not give me any informa­ tion as ‘it breached data protection.’

I love how these scum are protected but the public isn’t! She also got in touch with her credit card company and looks like they will refund her and take away Nationwide’s credit card account. Lesson to be learnt here ­ before you book any­ thing online do your research first.

Email:mikesenker@gmail.com

28 January - 3 February 2021

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Rancid tasting chocolate?

IT is a common known fact that American chocolate is not the best in the world.

Tasting distinctively differ­ ent from the mostly favoured British or Swiss chocolate, most chocolate lovers say the sweet stuff from across the pond does not taste too great, but why is that? Well some experts claim it is because some brands of American chocolate contains a chemical that is also found in parmesan cheese, rancid butter and vomit.

This is a result of putting the milk through a process called controlled lipolysis. This breaks down the fatty acids in the milk and produces butyric acid which is the chemical that gives vomit its distinctive smell.

American chocolate also often contains fewer cocoa solids than British chocolate.

In the UK it must contain at least 20 per cent cocoa to qualify as chocolate, but in the USA this can be as low as 10 per cent.

AMERICAN CHOCOLATE: Tastes distinctively different from the British version.

PETS

44

www.euroweeklynews.com • 28 January - 3 February 2021

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Leaving your pet at home?

SOME pets don’t like change of any kind. They feel secure in their own space, near familiar smells and their bed. Even tak­ ing them to the vets can be a challenge. These pets are better off at home when you go away for a holiday, with a checked sit­ ter to look after them.

Take a moment to plan ahead for pet and house­sitters if you have trips planned this year, to see family and friends or just to get away. Now is the time to get ready. We will help you as much as we can. Our philosophy is that we are all in this together. These are the steps to take: 1. Register as a homeowner on HouseSitMatch.com 2. Choose a Premium ac­ count (£89 per year) to ensure you can help online when need­ ed 3. Create a profile with pho­ tos of your pet and the house 4. Post a house­sit advert stating your plans for this year’s holiday Covid permitting Do you need a pet sitter in 2021? Then get started right now.

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HouseSitMatch can help you

FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS: Show them you care. find suitable sitters. Join our net­ work for a small annual fee. You get ID checked for safety and then build your advert saying when you are going on holiday.

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Here’s what members have said about us ­ HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house­sitter…

HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house­sitter while we were away in Canada and we were delighted with the care and attention that HouseSitMatch took in helping us find the right person.

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Please register online via our website www.Housesitmatch. com ­ Choose a membership plan ­ Please note prices go up soon so sign up now on subscrip­ tion to secure these prices: • Standard (DIY option) = £69 pa • Premium (with support at each step) = £89 pa

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Fighting that cat smell!

YOU may not realise, but if you own a cat then your home prob­ ably smells like it. Unfortunately it can be difficult for us to dis­ cern smells when we live in the same environment. When it comes to life with a cat, it can be smelly, but it doesn’t have to be!

Here are some tips to reduce cat odour in your home. You can begin by making sure you are using a litter which specialises in de­ odorising. Generally, the best for this is a litter which clumps to­ gether. Not only is this better at absorbing those smells, it is also easier to clean up when your little furball pays a visit to the tray. You should keep the tray in a large, open and well ven­ tilated area, and always in the same place, as cats loathe change and may rebel and choose not to use it.

I know it’s not fun, but it is necessary to scoop their litter daily, ensuring the smells have less time to linger. Finally, embrace the power of baking soda! It is a safe and natural de­ odoriser which can make a big differ­ ence in the smell. Sprinkle some in the litter box and it will really help!

LITTER TRAY: Keep it clean.

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Hyundai i30 N Fastback BEING in the fortunate position of regularly driving many differ­ ent cars means you can often tell what a car will be like even be­ fore you get behind the wheel.

How it will perform, is it for car lovers or those who merely need transport? Occasionally though you get a car that fools you.

A variant of a standard model normally so geared to being mere transport that you find yourself genuinely amazed at a standard car transformed into something truly great. The fact I’m talking about a Hyundai might well surprise many, but trust me this one’s a gem!

Manufacturers of Hyundai’s stature normally satisfy them­ selves with a few styling changes and splashes of vivid colour to grace a new sporting version of a standard model.

Well the Korean company went big with their ‘N’ line up and recruited an expert to their ranks, in the form of previous BMW M Sport chief, Albert Bier­ mann. You have to drive the i30N less than a mile to know the gam­ ble has paid off handsomely.

In Fastback form the i30N

shuns everything about its very competent, but rather ordinary standard stablemates for a car that offers more fun per miles than anything I’ve driven in sometime. Power comes from a 2.0­litre turbocharged petrol en­ gine that develops just over 270 hp, drives the front wheels through a six­speed manual gear­ box, has launch control, electron­ ic limited slip differential, rev matching and five drive modes. It ably demonstrates that the i30N means business.

The benchmark 62 mph is reached in a whisker over six sec­ onds and a top speed of 155mph is available, but it’s not outright performance, terrific though it is, that makes this car such fun. You can quite literally throw it into corners and its grip inspires confi­ dence, lift off and any unwanted wiggles can soon be brought back under control. It also sounds wonderful without being overly intrusive and having people check your baseball cap isn’t on the wrong way.

It’s very practical with space for four and their luggage, thanks to those drive modes it rides

comfortably enough to take your Mum out on a Sunday as well as being able to take to the track, and has lots of toys to make it in­ teresting. It might not be up there with the premium badge brigade, and at €34,069 (£30,310) it isn’t cheap, but it’s so worth it!

MOTORING

SPORT

48

28 January - 3 February 2021

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Spurs Leave it Late Bilbao Trash Getafe SPURS left it late to overcome Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup Fourth Round.

It took until the 86th­minute for Tottenham to secure a rather comfortable looking 4­1 victory over a Wycombe side who sit rock­bottom of the Champi­ onship.

The sides went in level at the break after Gareth Bale, who was handed a rare start by Jose Mourinho, cancelled out Fred Onyedinma’s opener.

The Welshman squandered a golden opportunity inside five minutes when he headed Lucas Moura’s corner wide when the goal was at his mercy and this seemed to spur the Chairboys on.

Onyedinma latched onto a poorly cleared cross halfway through the first half to make a wasteful Spurs side suffer, however, it was Gareth Bale that finally drew the sides level after he converted Moura’s floated cross from close range

GARETH BALE: Drew the sides level at half time. to level the tie.

As the game looked certain to be heading for extra­time, Tot­ tenham managed three goals in the last five minutes to register a rather flattering scoreline.

Harry Winks scored his first FA Cup goal and then a late double from Tanguy Ndombele crushed Wycombe’s spirited display as

they now turn their attentions back to a Championship relega­ tion battle.

The win for Spurs means they will now face Everton in the FA Cup fifth round, although before that, they must focus on a big clash with struggling Liverpool in the Premier League on Thursday, January 28.

SPANISH Super Cup winners Athletic Bilbao thrashed Getafe in La Liga.

Upon lifting the Super Cup on January 18 after a thrilling game with Barcelona, Bilbao are now climbing up the La Liga table, moving up to ninth under new boss Marcelino following this latest victory on Monday, Janu­ ary 25.

The game started quickly and it was Getafe that shocked the Super Cup champs with a goal within the first 19 seconds thanks to Marc Cucurella’s headed finish from a Carles Ale­ na cross.

This spurred Athletic Bilbao into action and after mounting pressure, Raúl García volleyed ATHLETIC BILBAO: Their biggest win of the season. home a cross from the left that At 3­1, the game was all but done, however, was beautifully supplied by Iker Muniain. the midfield pair of Alex Berenguer and Oscar The teams entered the break level, however, De Marcos added further goals in the closing Bilbao changed gears and took the lead when stages.

Yeray Alvarez’s powered home Muniain’s free­ The 5­1 result was Bilbao’s biggest win of the kick. season and condemned Getafe to a humiliating Garcia got on the scoresheet again, heading defeat after such a quick and promising start. home his second of the game on 60 minutes.