Euro Weekly News - Costa Blanca North 19 - 25 August 2021 Issue 1885

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The people’s paper Issue No. 1885 19 - 25 August 2021

Second chance THE Generalitat’s Health department launched a regionwide campaign, contacting all those who ignored or missed phone calls or text messages for anti-Covid vaccinations. They have received a choice of dates to suit their personal arrangements.

COSTA BLANCA NORTH • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

PICTURE PERFECT

Work place AN Alicante-Orihuela diocese report revealed that more than 13 per cent of Alicante Province wage-earners registered with Social Security are from outside Spain. Roughly half are from Europe, with the UK at the head.

Power supply BENIDORM’S Camino del Llandero road has reopened to traffic after power cables were substituted in Els Tolls. These are now linked to the new Montebello substation in La Nucia, helping to decongest Benidorm’s transformer centres.

Photo credit: Paul Bruce

FAMOUS SKYLINE: Paul Bruce, Neil and the Benidorm mural.

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FREE • GRATIS

Puerto Blanco blackspot DOZENS of boats are currently using the officially closed Puerto Blanco marina in Calpe.

Despite the absence of security or vigilance, Calpe’s Cultural‐ Environmental Association (ACEC) complained in the Spanish media that up to 20 jet‐skis routinely enter each day.

The ACEC pointed out that boat‐owners, encouraged by the lack of fees, are now mooring there and using the old slipway to embark and disembark. It was also common, the association said, to see adolescents splashing around in the water.

The regional government closed Puerto Blanco in 2016, claim‐ ing that the marina’s former concessionary had not complied with the terms of its contract.

The Generalitat then gave the order to remove all boats moored there, on the grounds that their safety could no longer be guaranteed owing to lack of upkeep and “generalised deteri‐ oration.”

Meanwhile the boats have returned and, according to ACEC, the marina is filling up with rubbish and litter at the same time.

Last year, the regional Public Works department awarded a new concession to a company required to spend €5 million on rehabilitating the port before summer 2022.

Work has yet to begin and irritated residents are now calling for at least a stopgap solution.

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19 - 25 August 2021

Vibrant volleyball

THE 1am-6am curfew affecting 27 Alicante Province municipalities is getting results and will remain in place until September 6.

Although Callosa, Gata and Ondara’s Covid-incidence has allowed them to be removed, Altea, Campello, Finestrat and Javea were added to the list that already affected Alicante City, inland municipalities and several Marina Baja and Mari-

Jalon Valley Help Thanks EAC H year Jalon Valley Help (J V H) organises a ‘Thank You’ evening for all volunteers.

After 12 months of restrictions JVH decided to hold a bring-your-own picnic in the Los Arcos gardens in Pedreguer and asked The Entertainers to perform.

Elaine Horton, J V H president, explained that the evening had been organised to thank all volunteers, particularly those behind-the-scenes workers whose endeavours are sometimes overlooked,

Photo credit: Jalon Valley Help

LA CALA DE FINESTRAT recently hosted the 44th edition of Spain’s longest-established Beach Volleyball Tournament.

Some of the biggest names in the sport gave a vibrant demonstration lasting more than 13 hours on the La Cala beach despite playing on the hottest day of the summer.

Victory in the men’s finals went to the Voleyplaya Poniente team, captained by Olympic player Raul Mesa and Venezuela’s Igor Hernandez who also represented his country in the Games.

The women’s finals were won by the Volabola team with players from Benidorm, Elche and Esplugues.

ANGELO: Their youngest-ever volunteer. but never taken for granted. These are the people in the JVH storerooms, shifting furniture or moving

Curfew’s working na Alta holiday destinations.

Speaking at the end of last week, regional president Ximo Puig, who was accompanied by the region’s Health chief Ana Barcelo, declared that the restrictions are succeeding and the upward curve in the Valencian Community’s Covid cases has begun to flatten.

Covid outbreaks were 5.6 per cent lower than the previous week’s, Barcelo said, and 81 per cent were of social origin, principally within families.

“The Community will have reached an optimum health situation by the time the schools return,” Puig added.

He confirmed that there will

medical beds, the volunteers from the shops and those managing JVH’s affairs or organising fund-raisbe little change to the existing restrictions that have again been okayed by the region’s Upper Court of Justice.

Immunising the 12-19 age group began earlier this week and the Health department is also contacting all adults who were not vaccinated the first time round. “By October 9, Valencian Community Day, the region will be fully vaccinated,” Ximo Puig pledged.

ing events. Elaine specifically thanked one special helper, Angelo, who occasionally helps in the Orba shop.

At nine years of age, Angelo is their youngest-ever volunteer and, as Elaine said, “He could sell snow to the Eskimos.”

As he recently celebrated his birthday, Angelo received two gifts and happily shared his birthday cake with the other volunteers.

As usual, at the end of the evening The Entertainers were joined by the committee to sing the JVH anthem “You raise me up” before concluding the evening with a great Queen medley to send everybody home, happy after another great evening at Los Arcos.

For more information about JVH, including their fundraising events to support their endeavours, please check the www.jalonvalleyhelp.com website.

NEWS

Some very early inhabitants G R O U P S of 25 visitors were shown round at Alcoy’s El Salt archaeological site during last Sunday’s Open Day. El Salt, inhabited 60,000 years ago, is protected by a huge cliff of travertine rock that is of geological interest in itself, regardless of A lcoy’s earliest inhabitants, guides explained.

The groups learnt more about the environment in Alcoy’s valleys at that time and could see first-hand the finds from ongoing excavations that have provided valuable information about the hunter-gatherers who left behind well-preserved firepits and flint tools.

Decades of intense research at El Salt has also revealed that as the climate changed, these early humans began to leave E l S alt around 45,000 years ago and had disappeared entirely 2,000 years later.

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NIBS EXTRA Road closed

Ugly mugs THIRTY-ONE artists took part in Altea’s Return of the Gargoyles project. They are a modern take on gargoyles and have been on display on walls in the Old Town since June 2, remaining there until October. First prize of €600, awarded by a jury, went to Hans Som.

Two-year plan THE Confederacion Hidrografica del Jucar (CHJ), which controls the Jucar basin’s watercourses, approved 57 projects, principally from town halls, to clear vegetation and litter from streams and rivers over the next two years. These included submissions from Campello, Alfaz, Javea, El Verger and Rafol d’Almunia in Alicante Province.

Still there DENIA Town Hall discarded plans to cut down palms in Plaza Jaume 1 after the trees were affected during recent gales. Having lopped and inspected them, experts from the Parks and Gardens department finally concluded that the condition of the trees was not as bad as initially feared.

Pitch perfect REMODELLING the Albir football ground, which was much-deteriorated owing to the passing of time and constant use, is going ahead on schedule. The €366,486 project includes upgrading the pitch’s drainage system, providing the changing rooms and toilets with drinking water and making improvements to the main drainage network.

Easy choice DR JOSE LUIS FERRANDEZ hoisted the Blue Flag that was once again awarded to Villajoyosa’s Club Nautico. Dr Fernandez, who belongs to the yacht club, was chosen to draw attention to the work and dedication of health professionals during the pandemic, explained Club Nautico president Jose Antonio Chapa.

An escalating problem INAUGURATING the escalator in Calle Alcalde Vicente Pastor in Calpe’s steep Old Quarter was not without problems.

Scheduled for Friday August 6, this was delayed until the following Monday as the escalator could not be started up and the town hall had to contact the contractors.

It came to a halt the following morning, requiring another visit from the installers who managed to get it going, but left it running all night instead of programming it to stop at 11pm as they had done the previous day.

Photo credit: Calpe town hall

JAVEA Town Hall closes the CV7362 access road to Cabo San Antonio point each night to prevent gatherings and outdoor drinking that infringe anti-Covid regulations. The Alicante subdelegation had to authorise the measure, as the CV-7362 comes under the jurisdiction of the central government, not the town hall.

19 - 25 August 2021

MIXED FEELINGS: Not all Calle Alcalde Vicente Pastor residents have welcomed the new escalator.

This led to more complaints, as the escalator’s lighting shone into adjoining houses, obliging residents to close curtains, blinds and

No weight-watching here TWENTY‐SEVEN members of U3A Marina Baixa recently en‐ joyed a lovely meal in Albir.

The Social Events co‐ordina‐ tor, Hazel Layt, aims to book a different restaurant every month, trying new ones when‐ ever possible and always testing the menu with her husband, Tony, when a restaurant has not been used before.

The next Wine and Dine will be at Godoy’s in Albir, an old favourite with many of the members, on Friday September 17 at 1pm for 1.30pm.

Travel Co‐ordinators, Mar‐ garet and Malcolm Hamer, have several trips planned for the au‐

tumn including Valencia and Barcelona. For Christmas there is a five‐day stay in Peñíscola with a six‐day trip to Extremadura in March.

Many of the group activities are taking a break during August but most will be starting up again in September.

For further information on the activities and events organised

by U3A Marina Baixa, visit their www.u3amarinabaixa.com website.

Membership costs just €10 and the next General Meeting will be at the Casa de Cultura, Al‐ faz on Monday September 27 at 11am.

Don’t feed the boar!

ALL parties on Gandia Council backed a Partido Popular pro‐ posal asking for solutions to the wild boar problem.

It is usual to see boar inside the city and they no longer flee from humans, pointed out the Partido Popular spokesman.

City hall is now committed to stemming their increasing numbers, which will go hand‐ in‐hand with any procedures introduced by the Generalitat.

Local measures are likely to range from road signs warning drivers of their presence to a

ban on feeding them in resi‐ dential areas where the boar repeatedly return in the knowledge that they will find food.

Owners of undeveloped and waste land will be re‐ quired to fence their plots to prevent groups from invading and breeding there, municipal sources suggested.

The Confederacion Hidro‐ grafica del Jucar, responsible for the area’s waterways, will also be asked to clear under‐ growth from streambeds and rivers.

Help for those who help

Tragic statistics BENIDORM Town Hall held a minute’s silence in memory of the 63‐year‐old woman recently killed by her husband in Sevilla.

The Government Delegation against Gender Violence an‐ nounced that a police investigation had confirmed that her hus‐ band had shot her several times and she was a victim of gender vi‐ olence. Thirty‐one women have now lost their lives at the hands of partners or ex‐partners this year, bringing a total of 1,109 since 2003 when records of these deaths were first kept.

Angela Zaragozi, who heads Benidorm’s Equality department, reminded women in situations of risk that the town hall has spe‐ cialised personnel who can help them. The 016 number is also op‐ erative 24 hours a day, year round, providing attention in 52 lan‐ guages.

THE Generalitat restricted access to the Montgo and Sierra Helada national parks as high temperatures ramped up the fire risk.

Mireia Molla, the Consellera who heads the re‐ gional government’s Environment department, called for “maximum caution and co‐operation” to prevent fires in both areas.

This increased to 15 the number of Valencian na‐ tional parks that banned members of the public on foot, riding bicycles or driving any type of vehicle

balconies despite the high nighttime temperature.

Inaugurating the escalator Calpe’s mayor Ana Sala explained

that many Old Quarter residents were elderly with mobility problems.

“This will help them to move more easily on this street as well as others,” she said. “Without a doubt this will help to revitalise the Old Quarter, a treasure that we must make more accessible.”

Not all Calle Alcalde Vicente Pastor residents agreed with the mayor. Many felt that the impact of the escalator detracted from the street’s identity and maintained that it is now less accessible for those who need to use a wheelchair.

ALFAZ Town Hall has renewed its €20,000 collaboration agreement with the Social Volunteers’ Association.

The grant was recognition and support for Voluntariado Social’s ef‐ forts to help Alfaz residents who risk social exclusion, while working in coordination with the town hall’s Social Welfare, Cooperation and Volunteers’ departments.

The councillors responsible for these departments, together with Finance councillor Jose Plaza, thanked Voluntariado Social’s president Antonio Viso for the dedication, efforts and hard work of those who collaborate with the association. Also present were Joana Wilson, the association’s treasurer and volunteer Dolores Alvarez.

Voluntariado Social, which was created in 2013, expressed their thanks for the “constant support” they receive from members of pub‐ lic of all nationalities, the town hall and local groups as well as public and private institutions.

Taking no risks from using the parks’ paths and roads. Neither were they allowed to venture cross‐country.

Agricultural machinery was also vetoed and har‐ vesting suspended while the fire risk continued. All forestry work was put on hold in woodland areas, fire banished from all leisure pursuits or fiestas inside

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Cash machines for isolated villages CAIXABANK has won the €8 million Generali‐ tat contract to install 135 ATMs in the Valen‐ cian Community’s de‐ populated rural areas.

The tender to provide the cash machines was announced in 2016 but Spain’s banks showed a marked lack of enthusi‐ asm when tenders were invited just one week before the State of Alarm announcement last March.

The scheme finally got off the ground only because the Generalitat decided in July last year to cancel the initial pro‐ cess, modifying some requirements and elimi‐ nating others, including the stipulation that the ATMs should include a bankbook reader.

The initial contract’s specification requiring the physical presence of a bank employee for 50 hours each year has like‐ wise disappeared. At‐ tention will now be pro‐ vided online although 30 per cent of residents in depopulated areas are over 65 and not fa‐ miliar with digital tech‐ nology.

By May this year, the Generalitat had re‐ ceived six offers to in‐ stall ATMs in municipali‐ ties without a bank but of these, only the Caixa‐ Bank was actually a bank.

The remainder were not financial institutions although one, Eurocaja Rural, was a financial co‐ operative.

the parks, with a total ban on bonfires in wooded ar‐ eas or within 500 metres of them.

Sports activities, as well, although already pro‐ grammed, were suspended, together with camping on Generalitat‐authorised sites.

“Environment department personnel, forest rangers and guards will monitor all forest areas to prevent anything that could endanger our wood‐ land,” Molla warned when announcing the mea‐ sures.

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19 - 25 August 2021

Our readers are finding the weather too hot to handle SEVENTY‐TWO per cent of our readers said that the high temperatures we are having at the mo‐ ment in Spain are just too much!

According to the results from our online survey, 28 per cent say that they love the heat, adding that it was the reason they had moved to Spain.

Those who wish someone would bring back the cooler weather mainly say that it is the humidity more than the high temperatures that bother them and some even said that it’s not as hot as normal.

Some residents said that it’s part of the climate in Spain and only lasts for a couple of months, so if you live here, you need to adapt to it, do your jobs and shopping early in the morning when it’s cool‐ er. As for how to beat the heat, our readers sug‐ gest dipping in the pool, using the air‐conditioning in the house and in the car, and cold beers!

Others worried that while humans may be able

NEWS

Iconic skyline captured from Front page »

HOT AND HUMID: Keep your pets cool.

to beat the heat, it’s a lot harder on our pets, es‐ pecially dogs, and pointed out how important it is not to take them for walks in the heat of the day.

PAUL BRUCE contacted the Euro Weekly News recently, telling us about a mural he had just complet‐ ed.

Benidorm resident, Paul explained that he painted the mural for Beni‐ Spoons Sports and Karaoke Bar in the Rincon de Loix after he saw a Facebook request, asking if there was anyone around who could paint a mural.

Paul, now retired and living in the Benidorm’s Sierra Helada national park, studied art at college, he re‐ vealed: “But I only started painting again after we got locked down dur‐ ing the Covid crisis.”

His wife, whose hobby is needle‐ craft, bought him some paints to pass the time, he said.

“I mainly paint canvas art with acrylics. Sea and boats are my favourites although I paint anything but have to say that I cannot paint people!”

The Beni‐Spoons’ mural took 15 hours, spread over two days, and Paul admitted that he was glad it had turned out well.

“People walking by or in the bar were so complimentary but we al‐ ways have issues with our own art,” he confessed.

Paul also mentioned that Neil, Beni‐Spoon’s owner, who is also the Saturday and Sunday breakfast show DJ on Fresh FM, has agreed to dis‐ play a limited run of the canvas art‐ work he carried out for the mural.

“The proceeds from each sale will go to local Benidorm charities,” Paul said.

Former EWN reporter Jack Troughton has died aged 62 THE British community on the Costa Blanca are mourning the death of Jack Troughton, a resident of Javea and a well‐known guest on Radio sta‐ tions such as Bay Radio as well as a frequent contributor to British and Spanish newspapers in the area.

According to reports, Jack, who lived with his wife Tina in the port of Javea, suffered a possible heart fail‐ ure while he played a paddle tennis match with some friends on Arenal beach.

The Local Police, Red Cross rescuers and the health workers and doctors from Basic Life Support (BLS) together with a SAMU emergency worker had tried to revive him for an hour, but sadly, they were not been able to re‐ suscitate him.

Bay Radio, a station with which he was a contributor, announced the sad news as Levante‐EMV, a Spanish pub‐ lication where Jack worked, paid its respects to him also.

Jack also worked a short time for EWN in the Costa Blanca. On hearing the news, a colleague of his, Linda Hall, said: “Such sad news. He was a

JACK: A sad loss for the community.

good colleague and so easy and pleas‐ ant to work with.

Costa Blanca charities and theatre groups were often the recipients of Jack’s relentless fundraising and hard work and he will be sorely missed I’m sure.”

Jack was also a Campaigner for Cristina Research Information.

A message posted from the admin‐ istrator read: “Feeling devastated.

“Today is a very sad day for me and f o r m y N O LOT I L c a m p a i g n . J a c k Troughton, the brilliant journalist who had been publishing my work ev‐ er since I started my campaign in 2018 passed away today.

“As it says on his article, ‘Metami‐ zol publicity is life saver’ and his arti‐ cles certainly did that, they saved lives and brought new cases to light, right to the very end. Two weeks ago, Jack published his last Nolotil article (little did we know).

“A new case came to light because of it and we were supposed to meet this week for a follow up of new cas‐ es, but he went, very unexpectedly and far too soon, and I feel that a big part of my Nolotil campaign will die with him as he will no longer be here to help me expose the problem in my area. I will miss you sorely, Jack. RIP “My deepest condolences to Tina and all their family.”

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Criticism for Sanchez PRESIDENT Pedro Sanchez faced criticism this week for not end‐ ing his holiday while chaos engulfs Afghanistan.

Angela Merkel, Boris Johnson and Em‐ manuel Macron sus‐ pended their August holidays to return to the business of gov‐ ernment as an interna‐ tional crisis unfolds in Afghanistan.

But Sanchez stayed on holiday in the opu‐ lent Palacio de La Mareta in Lanzarote.

His Interior Minister, Fernando Grande‐Mar‐ laska, was also criti‐ cised for claiming that the Hamid Karzai Inter‐ national Airport in Kabul was “secure” while Afghans and the international commu‐ nity alike struggled to leave the country amid disturbing scenes of stampedes and deaths.

Spain, the UK, Amer‐ ica and others issued a joint statement on de‐ velopments in Afghanistan on August 15. The statement came as Taliban over‐ ran the capital Kabul and Afghanistan’s leadership scrambled to escape the country.

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Shark shock on beach HOLIDAYMAKERS and locals on the Benidorm coast were shocked last week on the Poniente beach as a shark appeared to try and beach it‐ self.

The shark came very close to the shore and created much excitement among tourists and holidaymakers who were able to watch it. The event happened on the coast of Marina Baixa.

Beachgoers were soon ordered to be evacuat‐ ed and emergency services were called in to as‐ sess the situation and attempted to evaluate the state of the shark. They needed to see if the shark was well or injured and if it could be returned to the sea safely. The biodiversity of sharks in the Mediterranean Sea is quite rich and the most

SURPRISE: The shark reached shore.

common shark to be spotted is a blue shark.

These are small to medium‐sized sharks but can obviously be a shock to anyone who sees them.

When sharks head to the shore and become stranded it is normally because they are sick or in‐ jured.

Harry set to return PRINCE Harry is set to return to UK with a Netflix film crew and plans to visit the Queen.

The 36‐year‐old Royal will be heading to Nottingham later this year for the planning stage of next year’s Invictus games. The games are held for military veterans and sadly the last event was put on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

During the visit, it is expect‐ ed that Meghan along with Archie and baby Lilibet will stay at home in California in their £11 million mansion.

Prince Harry is not set to travel alone though and will be accompanied by a small film crew as he heads to Stanford Hall, which is the Army’s reha‐ bilitation centre.

The filming comes as part of

THE UK: Royal returns.

a Netflix deal which was agreed on last year with the Sussex’s Archewell Foundation. The deal is said to be worth a stag‐ gering £100 million.

TUI optimistic despite losses TUI has successfully resumed business activities and bookings in all European markets despite third quar‐ ter losses of €670 million, the company said.

TUI CEO Fritz Joussen said, “Our business model and the strong TUI brand remain a successful model and are the guarantee for the successful restart. Cus‐ tomer demand and booking momentum remain high as soon as state travel restrictions are withdrawn.

“Where the state gives back normal entrepreneuri‐ al freedom, we are very successful ‐ where states in‐ tervene and restrict entrepreneurial freedom, these interventions impact bookings. With one and a half million additional bookings since May and a total of more than four million bookings for the summer busi‐ ness, the figures are encouraging,” he added on Au‐ gust 16.

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Prank caller crashes lines A M A N from Elche in Ali‐ cante, has been arrested for collapsing the 091 sys‐ tem with ‘incessant un‐ justified calls’.

The man made nearly 600 calls to the emergen‐ cy services using different mobile phone numbers over the space of a week.

The calls were continuous and intentional and none of them were for an emergency, as he did not need any help.

The volume of the calls was so incessant during short periods that the computer application used by 091 actually col‐ lapsed.

This meant that real emergency calls could not be dealt with accord‐ ing to the National Po‐ lice.

The police began an op‐ eration to catch the man responsible and once he was arrested he was tak‐ en to the police head‐ quarters where he was charged with a crime of damage for intentionally collapsing the 091 Service of Alicante.

The man had a police record and was actually wanted in Alicante. The case has been handed over to the Elche Examin‐ ing Magistrate’s Court.

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New financial product THHE European Commission approved, with a dedicated budget of €1.4 billion, a new financial product to mobilise at least €13 billion of lending to small and medium‐size companies affected by the pandemic, including Spain.

“This is a significant con‐ tribution to the overall tar‐ get for the European Guar‐ antee Fund to mobilise up to €200 billion of additional fi‐ nancing in the 22 participat‐ ing Member States,” the EU said on August 16.

Executive Vice‐President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition poli‐ cy, added, “This new prod‐ uct will contribute signifi‐ cantly to the European Guarantee Fund's overall target to mobilise up to €200 billion for the European economy, by helping to orig‐ inate at least €13 billion of new lending by financial in‐ termediaries to SMEs, which have been severely hit by the coronavirus outbreak.”

Banksy staycation

MODEL VILLAGE: The video showed how some of the works were created.

BANKSY has confirmed that he is re‐ sponsible for a number of artworks that appeared in seaside towns around the UK that people suspected were made by the mysterious artist.

The anonymous street artist confirmed his involvement in a number of paintings that have gained public attention in the past few weeks in a post on Instagram.

They appear to have been named ‘A British Staycation.’

Another of Banksy’s works appeared in Great Yarmouth, with similar murals

found in the seaside towns of Brean, Gor‐ leston, Torquay and Lowestoft.

In a video posted on Instagram with the name ‘Banksy’ shows the mantra ‘Go hard or go home’ was written on a new house in a model village in Great Yarmouth.

The video shows how some of the works were created and reactions from people who spotted the art.

The reveal comes as there has been speculation that Banksy may finally re‐ veal his identity.

NEWS

Ryanair apologises BUDGET airline Ryanair has been forced to apologise for making an autis‐ tic boy take a Covid test before flying from Valencia to the UK, even though he was exempt.

Video footage shows the “petrified” boy in tears as staff discuss which nostril they should swab.

An employee, wearing a mask, asks him “do you prefer this one”, point‐ ing to his left nostril. Callum replied: “No, not when it goes all the way up”.

Callum, from Essex, cries as he shouts “no” and holds his head in his hands. The man recording the video can be heard saying: “A child with AD‐ HD and autism refused a Ryanair flight even with a GP letter stating exemp‐ tion. Not good enough Ryanair.”

Callum’s mother stated, “They said if you don’t have a Covid test you can’t go home, so we had no choice.”

People with specific medical conditions do not have to take a Covid test to return to Britain if a note is granted by their doctor.

A Ryanair spokesman apologised and said: “Ryanair regrets to hear of the stress caused to Ms Hollingsworth and her family.”

Ice cream at the zoo ANIMALS living at Barcelona zoo are also feeling the heat. The zoo is home to 300 different species and keepers are doing their utmost to make sure that their charges are kept hydrated and cool during the shockingly hot weather.

Keepers have taken to giving the animals frozen fruit yoghurts in the form of ice cream and popsicles. The frozen yoghurts are extremely popular with the lowland gorillas. “It’s not the main meal, it’s an enrichment that we give them in the form of frozen yoghurt or fruit popsicles with water and honey,” said Francisco Esteban, the primate manager. “To avoid conflict, we first have to give the ice cream to the dominant male, Xebo, until he has had enough.

Then he doesn’t mind us giving them to the others,” said Esteban.

The keepers hand out the treats by throwing them over security fences to the gorillas. Xebo gets his first followed by dominant female Marena.

Ngumbi, Akiba and Nbini finally get their turn and receive their treats too.

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Strong wind THE Valencia town of Gandia suffered strong gusts of wind re‐ cently, with sudden hot blowouts, caused by sudden thermal variations, one of which was so strong that at around 6.30pm, as reported by the Provincial Firefighters Consor‐ tium, it actually blew down a Ferris wheel that was part of the attractions at a beachside fair in‐ stalled on the Cami Vell de Va‐ lencia.

Fortunately at the time of the incident, nobody was riding the attraction, as it was not open, so there were no injuries reported, but a fire crew attended the scene, which they proceeded to cordon off, and close.

Pet adoption grows THE number of pets adopted in Alicante during 2021 reached 206 animals as of July.

Sadly though a total of 339 animals were abandoned and had to be taken in by the Department of Animal Pro‐ tection.

During the first seven months of the year 176 dogs and 31 cats were adopted from the Alicante Sociedad Protec‐ tora de Animales y Plantas.

This means that the number of animals adopted com‐ pared to the same period last year has grown. Last year from January to July a total of 203 animals were adopted.

The councillor for Health and Animal Protection, Julia Llopis has encouraged people in Alicante to be responsi‐ ble with their pets.

She said: “When we decide to share our lives with a pet we not only make a commitment to the animal itself but with society, that is what responsible ownership is all about, guaranteeing the rights of the animal and fulfilling the duties we have as part of this society.”

Escaped prisoner caught

PRISONER: Caught at last.

GUARDIA CIVIL officers have been able to arrest a man in Guardamar del Segura in Alicante.

The man had been on the run from Valencia’s Picassent prison since December 2020.

According to the security forces the man had failed to return to prison after being on leave.

The detainee had numerous arrest warrants for his imprison-

ment from courts in Spain and officers were able to arrest him thanks to the collaboration of locals, when they alerted them to a man who was said to be squatting in a property in the town.

He was stopped when driving and presented false identification. The ID he used was a driving licence from a person in Cuenca, this person had no criminal record but the ID was false.

19 - 25 August 2021

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Immigrant boats intercepted MARITIME RESCUE officials swung into action on Saturday, August 14, after three boats were inter‐ cepted in the waters of Alicante, Xabia and Santa Pola.

The first boat arrived at around 1pm at Cabo de las Huertas in the town of Alicante. Twelve people were discovered on board including one minor.

Luckily all of them are said to be in good health after

the perilous trip. One person was said to be of Pales‐ tinian origin and the rest were all of Algerian origin.

The humanitarian organisation quickly swung into action and they were taken to the port of Alicante.

Two further boats were intercepted in waters of Xabia and Santa Pola. Each of the two boats had around a dozen people on board according to the in‐ formation from the Red Cross.

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19 - 25 August 2021

B&Q has been named the cheapest place to buy DIY tools and equipment in the UK, according to snapshot Which? research, with its customers paying a quarter less than Amazon shoppers on average for a basket of popular items.

The consumer champion

NEWS

B&Q’s sister in Spain Glovo delivery protests found that B&Q was the cheapest DIY retailer, with the basket coming in at just £151.80, while Amazon was the priciest at £206.03. In total, those shopping at B&Q

paid £54.23 - or 26 per cent less than Amazon customers.

In Spain, Brico Depot is owned by the same group as B&Q and may be able to offer the same value for money.

DELIVERY drivers staged a fourth day of protests over what they say is Glovo’s dubious adaptation to the new law, saying the company is forcing them to compete more with each other and charge less.

Glovo denies this and alleges that it is simply due to a drop in demand.

On Monday, August 16, drivers for the company took to the streets in Barcelona for the fourth consecutive day, denouncing the new remuneration model of the multinational, in force since last Thursday.

PROTESTS: Riders gathered with bikes and motorbikes.

Those who gathered in front of the company offices with their bicycles and motorcycles denounced that the new system, devised by the company

TO help Tunisia cope with the impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic and the worrying health situ‐ ation within the country, the European Union, including Spain, continue to mobilise emergency aid via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Close to 1.3 million vaccine doses, and almost eight million face masks, along with antigen tests, ventilators, oxygen concentrators, nursing beds and other vital medical equipment have al‐ ready been delivered. More deliveries are ex‐

as a result of the entry into force of the new ‘Rider Law’, ends up favouring those riders who are willing to charge less for each order.

Help for Tunisia pected to arrive throughout the month.

Janez Lenarcic, Commissioner for Crisis Man‐ agement said, “I thank all the EU member states who promptly responded to Tunisia’s request for assistance and the European Civil Protection Mechanism that made this possible thanks to a swift coordination.”

It’s a decisive moment

THE first disbursement under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility plan is a decisive moment for Spain, said EU president Ursula von der Leyen. The European Commission on August 17 disbursed €9 billion to Spain in pre‐financing President Ursula von der Leyen said, “Today’s disbursement is a decisive moment for Spain and its people, kicking off the implementation of the recovery and resilience plan. This plan was ‘made

in Spain’ to emerge stronger from the crisis and invest in a sustainable and more digital recov‐ ery.”

The Commission will authorise further dis‐ bursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Spain’s re‐ covery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €69.5 billion in total, fully consisting of grants, over the lifetime of its plan.

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NEWS

Trafico declare ‘open war’

TRAFICO: There will be harsher penalties applied.

TRAFICO are waging an ‘open war’ on radar detectors and laser jammers, and anything else that assists drivers in detecting police presence that cannot be legally used, but that nobody can pre‐ vent them from carrying in their cars.

The DGT is willing to put a stop to these behaviours and will apply a harsher penalty on drivers who have any of these types of devices installed with fines of up to €500 and the withdrawal of three li‐ cence points in place as a deter‐ rent.

According to paragraph 6, Arti‐ cle 13, of the Traffic Law of the Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015, it is prohibited to install and use radar inhibitors and detectors, but there is no mention of the simple fact of having the device or devices in the vehicle and ready for use.

The DGT reform seeks to amend the law in this regard by clarifying that ‘It is forbidden to in‐ stall or carry in vehicles radar or speed inhibitors or any other in‐ struments aimed at evading or in‐ terfering with the proper function‐ ing of traffic surveillance systems,

as well as to issue or make signals for that purpose.’

It is also forbidden to carry in the vehicle radar or speed detec‐ tion. Excluded from this prohibi‐ tion are warning mechanisms that inform of the position of traffic surveillance systems like GPS sys‐ tems. However, the sanction will affect those drivers who drive just holding a mobile phone.

Using a jammer while driving amounts to a fine of up to €6,000 and the loss of six licence points. In addition, the garage that installed it can also be fined up to €30,000.

easyJet uniforms Women to be recycled filmmakers EASYJET are set to roll out new uniforms to all its cabin crew and pilots with a differ‐ ence, as they will be made from recycled plastic bottles.

The move is set to recycle more than half a million plas‐

tic bottles each year and the five‐year contract will see 2.7 million bottles saved from ending up in the trash or even in the oceans. easyJet teamed up with manufacturer Tailored Image, who are based in Northern Ireland and each uniform will use 45 bottles to make.

“Our role as a bespoke uni‐ form and corporate wear provider is to deliver innova‐ tive solutions for our clients, built around comfort and practicality for their wearers.

The additional challenge with the easyjet project was to meet their exceptionally high standards in reducing envi‐ ronmental impact,” said Bernard Birt, managing direc‐ tor of Tailored Image.

“We were excited from the outset to be involved in this project and are delighted that the success of the new easy‐ jet wardrobe demonstrates the result of our award‐win‐ ning customer‐focused ap‐ proach and our ability to meet even the most exacting briefs.”

denounce Donostia

ON Tuesday August 10, Spain’s leading group of women filmmak‐ ers hit back against the decision to award Depp with the Donostia award. They believe that it will give the San Sebastian film Festival a bad name.

The president of Spain’s Assn. of Female Filmmakers and Audio‐ visual Media, Cristina Andreu an‐ nounced that she was “very sur‐ prised” that Depp is set to receive the award. This will be the San Se‐ bastian festival’s 69th edition.

“This speaks very badly of the festival and its leadership, and transmits a terrible message to the public: ‘It doesn’t matter if you are an abuser as long as you are a good actor’,” Andreu said.

She also added that the associa‐ tion are “studying the next steps.”

The Donostia award is a life‐ time achievement award and honours ‘outstanding contribu‐ tions to the film world’ and is due to be awarded on September 22 at the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastian.

NEWS

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19 - 25 August 2021

Vodafone for equality Amputee creates camp EARLIER this year, Vodafone Spain broadcast their new heartwarming inclusive advert, showing a young girl using Vodafone’s house security system as a clever way to come out to her parents.

The advert received a lot of positive responses, but it was also met with some negative comments.

One person said, “Why should my eight‐year‐old daugh‐ ter or four‐year‐old son have to see something like this in a Vodafone advert?” Another asked, “Why does it have to be a lesbian? Why not a heterosexual kiss?”

The social media team at Vodafone took the opportuni‐ ty to stand up for equality and inclusion.

“Usually, global brands don’t get involved in controver‐ sial debates,” explains Roberto Tamayo, Social Media Manager at Vodafone Spain.

“But this time, we decided to say: ‘enough is enough’.”

Vodafone Spain also published a tweet to let their stance on discrimination be known: “Given the unfortunate comments received on our last announcement, we confirm that: yes, we have made this video and we are proud that our mission is to connect ALL people, regardless of their sexual, political or religious ori‐ entation.”

Vodafone’s competitor, Movistar, even showed their support stating, “There are times when competition does‐ n’t exist ‐ and this is one of those times. We join you in taking #OneStepForward.”

An article recently published on Vodafone’s website writes: “At Vodafone, we believe diversity makes us stronger, and we are passionate about technology’s ability to give everyone the ability to be their authentic selves ‐ just like the girl in our ad.”

BEN L O V E L L, a British above knee amputee who has been running a camp for adults who have lost a limb, is now fundraising to be able to offer the camp for free to children.

The first AmpCamp Kids is set to take place in Febru‐ ary 2022 and Ben is raising funds to pay for six children and their families to take part in the camp in Tener‐ ife.

Ben lost his leg in 2017 following a blood clot and has since worked to help other amputees.

His camp in Tenerife al‐ lows others who have lost a limb to speak to other am‐ putees, while receiving a personal chief, nutritionist, fitness programme and work on all the things they think they need to help them move forward with their new life.

After AmpCamp was formed Ben had a thought about focusing on children and their families coming to terms with their new way of

BEN LOVELL: Is fundraising to help the children. life and that’s how Amp‐ Camp Kids was born.

With the same concept as the adult camp, Ben will be sending six children who have all suffered amputation through meningitis, cancer and other serious health is‐ sues, with their families to the camp for free.

The camp is aimed at fun, giving them back a piece of childhood which lots of them missed out on due to having so many treatments and hospital visits, but also allowing siblings and par‐ ents to join.

Ben has personally been raising the funds himself to send children to the camp and is encouraging other amputees to take part in his fundraising challenges.

He currently has his first six families and he is on his way to reaching target, however he wants to con‐ tinue fundraising to help as many families and send them to the camp.

To donate to Ben’s fundraising drive, visit www.gogetfunding.com/ ampcamp‐kids

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Aid granted THE Junta de Andalucia has granted aid worth more than €1 million to 982 winegrowers in the province of Cordoba.

This was announced by the territorial delegate for Agricul‐ ture, Livestock and Fisheries in Cordoba, Juan Ramon Perez, that winegrowers in the province will receive aid. He adds that “the commitment is to pay these incentives before De‐ cember 31.”

The delegate pointed out that in the province of Cordoba there are 5,456 hectares of vineyards distributed mainly between the municipalities of Montilla and Aguilar, followed by Montemay‐ or, Moriles, Lucena, Monturque, Cabra, La Rambla, Puente Genil, Castro del Río and Santaella. The province of Cordoba represents around a fifth of the Andalucian vineyards.

Perez pointed out that the aid is “based on the decrease in the commercialisation of wines due to the prohibitions established in the celebration of events and in the containment measures that have been imposed during the pandemic in the field of ho‐ tels and restaurants.”

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THE Duke of York has denied all claims of having sexually assaulted Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

On Tuesday, August 10, a civil lawsuit was filed against Prince Andrew under the Child Victims Act, at a federal court in New York. Ms Giuffre claims that Epstein trafficked her to Prince Andrew when was only 17 years old.

Queen forced to act Joe Little, Managing editor of Majesty Magazine spoke out about the damage caused to the Royal family and how it is doubtful that Prince Andrew will return as a “working member of the family.”

“It’s damaging not only for Andrew but for the institution of the monarchy itself because all sorts of allegations have been thrown at the monarchy since all this came to light - and the perception is,

most likely incorrectly, they are not taking it seriously,” said Joe. “While the legality and situation itself haven’t really moved on at all, in terms of his working royal role that has shifted

NEWS

significantly and it’s hard to see how he can resume life as a working member of the Royal Family.

“I can’t think any kind of rehabilitation that will bring him back into the royal fold as a working member of the family.”

The Queen is now at Balmoral with Prince Andrew along with Sarah Ferguson his ex-wife. They are said to be discussing legal strategies with lawyers.

Young Brits offered vouchers IN a major rule change that came into force on Monday, August 16, fully vaccinated people will no longer need to self‐isolate after coming into contact with a person who has Covid. Young peo‐ ple are being encouraged to get double jabbed and firms such as last‐minute.com, National Express and even Asda have joined in and are offering incentives for young people to get their second dose.

In the UK over three quar‐ ters of adults have now

been fully vaccinated against the potentially deadly virus. But many peo‐ ple are worried that not enough young people are choosing to be vaccinated.

Self‐isolation rules have been dropped for close Covid contacts for under 18s and people who are fully vaccinated.

Asda are offering 18 to 30‐year‐olds £10 vouchers for their clothing brand who spend over £20 and last‐ minute.com are handing gift cards out as a reward too.

NEWS

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19 - 25 August 2021

Bumper season for olive oil THE total output of olive oil from mills amounted to 1,318,439 tons up to the month of July. So far this season, there has been an increase of three per cent com‐ pared to the last one. It is nine per cent above the average of the previous four de‐ spite the slowdown in the olive market in recent months.

The level of total stocks is 12 per cent lower than last season and stands at 640,483 tons, 355,645 of them in oil mills. The inventory da‐ ta reflects a decrease of eight per cent com‐

OLIVE OIL: Having a good year.

pared to the average of the last four seasons.

In Andalucia, where 87 per cent of the stocks are located, the province of Jaen stands out, where almost half of the total stock is ac‐ cumulated followed by Cordoba, with 19 per cent. In the case of table olives, stocks stand at 387,937 tons, three per cent below the last season.

The olive oil campaigns begin on October 1 and lasts until September 30 of the following year.

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Spain has issued 18 million certificates SPAIN has issued 18,177,202 Covid‐19 certificates, 17,361,058 for vac‐ cination, 400,522 for recovery and 415,622 for diagnostic tests.

The electronic format is the most popular. The autonomous Com‐ munities that have issued the most certificates in relation to their pop‐ ulation are the Canary Islands (57 per cent have an EU Digital Covid Certificate), Galicia (55 per cent) and Catalonia (52 per cent). The least are Murcia (21 per cent) Castilla‐La Mancha (20 per cent), and Madrid (16 per cent). On June 7, Spain became one of the first countries to start issuing and recognising the EU Digital Covid Certificate.

97,500 tons of watermelon IT has been estimated by the supermarket gi‐ ant that Mercadona will buy more than 97,500 tons of watermelon of Spanish origin this season, from the fields of Andalucia, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia, Castilla‐La Mancha, and the Canary Islands.

The chain is committed to purchasing local fruit and vegetables, which is why it buys its watermelon from 22 different suppliers, and in Valencia and Castellon it collaborates with Amifruit, Anecoop, and Ramafrut suppliers, Juan Roig’s company has reported.

Watermelon is a fruit with sweet, juicy flesh, containing many black pips, and is

known to be rich in vitamins A, B6, and C, as well as impor‐ tant minerals and fibre, plus antioxidants, and it can be purchased in the supermarkets whole, or in halves.

Mercadona supports the ‘Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables’ initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, and it de‐ fends fair commercial practices, for years it has adhered to the Code of Good Commer‐ cial Practices in Food Contracting.

This voluntary agreement, which repre‐ sents a new step in the promotion of fair

Sweet and juicy watermelon. commercial practices, is a part of the Law of Measures to Improve the Functioning of the Food Chain, and is promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) in collaboration with different associations of the entire national agri‐food chain, as report‐ ed in the national press.

• Diagnostic imaging and ultrasound Rx • Clinical tests and serological tests, internal medicine, parasitology • Soft Tissue Surgery and Traumatology • Ethology, behavioural disorders and animal behaviour • Physiotherapy, acupuncture, custom recovery and Healing touch • Ophthalmology • Dentistry and dental surgery & more • Import - Export

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FEATURE

Rent with option to buy in Spain. Legal advice.

Concept. Taxation. Advantages. Etc. Legal regulation As for the letting or rental con‐ tract, it is generally governed by the Urban Letting Law. In rela‐ tion to the purchase option, it will be governed mainly by the Spanish Civil Code. In general, each rent with option to buy is different, and it depends on what the parties have agreed to.

Exercise of the purchase op‐ tion.

It is the tenant who can de‐ cide to buy or not, it is who has that option.

It is important to clearly state the conditions for exercising this purchase option right: ‐ Term to execute the right. ‐ Purchase conditions. In case of exercising the right to buy, it should be stated the basic ele‐ ments of the sale. Such as: ob‐ ject, that is, the property to buy.

Price. Conditions of the pur‐ chase, etc.

Registration of the purchase option contract In addition, these types of contracts are inscribable in the

Definition: The rent with option to buy contract implies: ‐ On the one hand a normal letting contract. ‐ And on the other, the possibility (unilateral faculty of the tenant) to buy a property. According to the conditions that should have been agreed. property registry.

Therefore, if the parties agree to it, and the legal requirements are met, they can be registered.

This will give security to the ten‐ ant that the property will not be sold to third parties, etc.

2. And in case of exercising the purchase option. If the monthly rents are deducted from the price. These will be considered as a lower transmission value.

And in this sense, they will re‐ duce the capital gain.

Taxation of the rent with op‐ tion to buy In the event that the owner and lessor is a natural person (not a company), two main taxes will be generated: 1. Regarding the income (monthly rents) received from the rental contract. The corre‐ sponding income tax will be paid.

Like any rental.

Advantages of the rent with option to buy This type of contract can have advantages and be suitable on many occasions.

For example, it allows a buyer to somehow finance the pur‐ chase by making monthly pay‐ ments, which are discounted from the price. Also know the property, and how it would be

Carlos Baos (Lawyer) - White&Baos Tel: +34 966 426 185 info@white-baos.com White & Baos 2021 - All Rights Reserved.

living in it, before deciding to buy it, etc. On the other hand, it can also be advantageous for the owner and landlord. Well, it al‐ lows to rent the property and being for sale. Normally it allows the landlord to ask for a higher rent, etc.

Conclusion Rent with option to buy can be a very advantageous alterna‐ tive on some occasions. First, it is necessary to know its taxation and how it works to avoid prob‐ lems. Secondly, it is essential that the main aspects for the protec‐ tion of the interests of the par‐ ties are agreed upon. Finally, as there are many different op‐ tions, it is advisable to seek the advice of an expert lawyer.

If you want information about rent with option to buy, a pur‐ chase contract or a rental con‐ tract, in Spain, contact us on our website: www.white‐baos.com.

The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, it merely conveys in‐ formation related to legal issues.

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AS residents in Spain are be‐ ing hit by shocking prices of electricity the Spanish gov‐ ernment has now launched an enquiry after it was re‐ vealed that the second biggest energy producer in Spain, Iberdrola, drained two reservoirs.

The reservoirs have report‐ edly been drained during a drought in a bid to give stag‐

Reservoir enquiry launched gering profits to the company while consumers are being hit with record high prices for electricity, something which is made worse as the country struggles through a heatwave and many people have to re‐ sort to aircon just to be able

to cope with the heat Iberdrola has drained the Zamora and Caceres reser‐ voirs which are located in the west of Spain.

They have been drained over the period of a few weeks which meant the Com‐

pany has been able to pro‐ duce inexpensive hydroelec‐ tricity while charging con‐ sumers a premium.

The minister for ecological transition, Teresa Ribera has hit out at Iberdrola. She has labelled the actions as “scan‐

dalous”, but has explained that the actions are not in fact illegal. “This can’t be allowed to happen,” said Ribera. “Wa‐ ter is a scarce resource which is just as important for the wellbeing of families and the economy as it is for generat‐

NEWS

ing electricity.

“It’s legitimate but not rea‐ sonable, which is why we want to intervene as soon as possible.”

The actions are not consid‐ ered to be illegal as Iberdrola has a set amount of water that they are allowed to use during the year and they are permitted to use this water whenever they wish.

Royal cake auctioned AUCTION: The cake fetched a staggering £1,850.

A SLICE of Charles and Diana’s wedding cake has fetched a stag‐ gering £1,850 at auction some 40 years after the pair tied the knot.

The piece of wedding cake had been given to a member of the Queen Mother’s household, Moya Smith. She was gifted the cake at Clarence House and en‐ sured that it was well preserved.

She kept it in a floral cake tin, topped it with cling film and added a handmade label to the tin’s lid. The label read: ‘Handle with Care ‐ Prince Charles & Princess Diane’s (sic) Wedding Cake’.

It was dated 29/7/81 and she had signed it too. This is not the first time the slice of cake has been up for auction but this time it far exceeded the expected price. This time the sale coincided with what would have been Charles and Diana’s 40th wed‐ ding anniversary.

The auction was held at Do‐ minic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The cake had only been expected to fetch a maximum of £500 but bidding soon far exceeded this.

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NEWS

Extortion gang tracked down THE Guardia Civil, within the ‘Emere’ operation, has arrested three people belonging to a group who posed as pimps to extort money from clients who had tried to use their services. The de‐ tainees, who have numerous records for similar events, operat‐

ed throughout Spain.

The operation began in March, following a complaint filed by a citi‐ zen from San Juan (Alicante) in which he claimed to be a victim of the crime of extortion since a week before he had been in Murcia and had contacted a woman through a dating website.

The meeting between the two had not taken place, however, from that day on he had begun to receive messages on his phone in which a person was claiming the cost of the service for the arranged appointment in Murcia, and under threat that if he did not pay it, the claimant, accompanied by some partners, would go to his home to ‘settle the matter’.

Although the appointment had not taken place, the complainant paid the amount of €580 for the inconvenience caused. The next day, he received another message

ARRESTED: Three members of the gang.

demanding money so that he could remove him from the list and settle the matter. On this oc‐ casion, the amount they demand‐ ed was €950.

As a result, the officers found out that behind these threats there was an organised group us‐ ing different social networks to lo‐ cate possible victims, to whom they offered a date of a sexual na‐ ture. Subsequently, they collected the necessary information that they later used to successfully

complete the extortion.

As a result of this investigation, the officers located two members of the gang in Valencia, a 53‐year‐ old man and a 28‐year‐old woman and the leader of the group, a 44‐ year‐old man, was arrested in Murcia.

The group had been commit‐ ting crimes since January of this year throughout Spain, with com‐ plaints in La Coruña, Madrid, Va‐ lencia, Malaga, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Cosmetic animal testing USING animals to test ingredients which are on‐ ly used in cosmetics was banned over 20 years ago in the UK but, Cruelty Free International (CFI) believe that it could soon return due to the fact that the government has ‘reconsidered its policy.’

The government made the move to align it‐ self with a decision made by the appeals board of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) last year. This means that ingredients that are only used for cosmetics need to be safe, so some in‐ gredients will need to be tested on animals.

According to the Home Office the law in the UK on animal testing has not been altered, al‐

though animal rights campaigners believe that aligning with the ECHA’s ruling will see animal testing return on a much wider scale.

The CFI have hit back though claiming that the UK is set to blow ‘a hole in the UK’s long‐ standing leadership of no animal testing for cosmetics’.

The government has confirmed that: “Under UK regulations to protect the environment and the safety of workers, animal testing can be permitted, where required by UK regulators, on single or multiuse ingredients. However, such testing can only be conducted where there are no non‐animal alternatives.”

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19 - 25 August 2021

Brexit forces giveaway THE Plants Galore garden centres in UK are giving away £100,000 worth of plants on a first come first served basis.

Due to Brexit, they just

cannot get the staff to help them look after the plants, so they would rather give them away, than have to throw them.

Matt Pollard, team leader

Third product recall THE Spanish consumer organisation Facua has issued the third list of Nestlé ice creams whose manufacturer, Froneri, is urging establishments to remove them due to being contaminated with ‘carcinogenic’ (cancer‐causing) ethylene oxide.

According to the association, it was a ‘whistleblower’ worker from a Supercor Repsol petrol station and another from a small establishment in Zaragoza who provided the information, while the manufacturer still continues to refuse to give the complete list of affected products.

The list received contains details of 21 types of 14 vari‐ eties of Extreme Nata‐Fresa, Pirulo Mikolápiz; Milka Hazel‐ nut; Nuii Almendrado; Nuii Dark chocolate with almonds; Oreo bonbon; Sandwich Bokazas Nata; Toblerone choco‐ late; Smarties; Llra Cup Suprema Nougat; Great Cream La‐ dy; Cream Princess cake; Nestlé Tres Gustos Block and Nestlé Vanilla Block.

Facua is continuing to demand that Nestlé and Froneri act with transparency and make public the complete list of all the affected products.

said: “In any usual year we would return these plants to our nursery to cut them back and grow them on for future years.

“This year it is simply not an option as like many busi‐ nesses in our sector and the region we can’t find enough staff to work at our nurs‐ eries.

“With the advent of Brexit and the departure of many European staff from the UK, we are suffering the same problem as many other busi‐ nesses in finding suitable staff who want to work.

“We also need a sensible government scheme for hor‐ ticulture to employ Euro‐ pean staff on a seasonal or contract basis if UK workers don’t want this type of work,” said Matt.

“We hope the giveaway of these plants will allow our customers the opportunity to pick up some free plants.

There’s no catch ‐ simply turn up and load your car with as many plants as you can fit in.”

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NEWS

Murder or mercy A SMALL fishing village in Cadiz, was left in shock after Beatriz, a woman who was dying of can‐ cer, jumped to her death on the night of Sunday August 8 from a roof. Shortly before that she had

stabbed her husband and left him severely injured.

Ramon had been suffering for many years and was wheelchair‐ bound with a degenerative dis‐ ability and forced to wear nap‐

Endesa X install solar plant ENDESA X, which is electricity supplier Endesa’s energy services subsidiary, has announced its intention of starting up two self-consumption photovoltaic plants for Domca, a company that specialises in the development and commercialisation of natural ingredients and conservation solutions for the agri-food industry.

One of the plants will be installed in the factory that Domca has in Granada - with 114.4kWp of power and 260 solar panels - and another will be located in the headquarters of its technological entity that dedicated to R + D + I, again in Granada, in the DMC Research Centre, with 48.9kWp of power and 103 modules.

According to a statement from the company, with these two self-consumption solar plants it will be possible to cover almost 40 per cent, and 45 per cent respectively, of the energy that these two facilities need for their production processes, with clean and renewable energy.

pies. Beatriz had become his car‐ er, day and night.

Ramon was a renowned painter in Spain and even has his own entry in Wikipedia as an ab‐ stract impressionist painter. His work can be found throughout Spain and across the world in‐ cluding Germany, Japan, Argenti‐ na, the United States and Cuba according to Moron de la Fron‐ tera Council.

Beatriz had previously suf‐ fered from depression for many years and this had taken its toll but she had fought hard to look after her husband.

As reported, locals in the town of Barbate said that Beatriz “suf‐ fered from carer’s syndrome: a continuous psychological exhaus‐ tion, the result of watching over and caring for a dependent per‐ son relentlessly and alone, with no breaks and having been com‐ pletely unaware for several years of what it means to be cared for.”

Sadly, both Beatriz and Ramon died, with Ramon passing away the next day in hospital from his injuries.

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Mummy’s Boys IN 2020, across the EU, young people left their parental household on average at the age of 26.4 years. However, this average varies among the dif‐ ferent EU Member States, most Spanish will not leave home until they are almost 30 and Spanish men will wait even longer before moving out.

The oldest average ages, all at 30 years or higher, were recorded in Croatia (32.4), Slovakia (30.9), Mal‐ ta and Italy (both 30.2) and Portugal (30.0 years). By contrast, Denmark (21.2 years), Luxembourg (19.8) and Sweden (17.5) recorded the lowest average ages, all under 22 years old, according to EuroStat.

In most northern and western countries, young people left the parental home on average in their early to mid‐20s, while in southern and eastern countries the average age was in the late 20s or early 30s.

In the EU, on average, males left the parental

THE medicine agency in Spain has authorised the first round of clinical trials for the Covid vaccine that was developed by Spanish company Hipra.

The early stages of the clinical trial will see dozens of participants from hospitals in Spain to test the efficiency, immunogenicity, and tolera‐ bility of the drug, said the medicines agency.

Hipra has manufacturing bases in Spain and Brazil and said it could produce up to 400 million doses of the vaccine in 2022 and 1.2 billion in 2023.

IN 2020: The average age was 26.4 years. household at the age of 27.4 years, and females at 25.4 years. This trend was observed in all countries, ie young women moved out of the parental house‐ hold on average earlier than young men. The only slight exception was Sweden, where females left on average 0.1 years after males.

Green light to test Hipra is a pharmaceutical lab that mainly re‐ searches and manufactures veterinary vaccines and has been working on two Covid‐19 shots.

One of the shots is based on the same RNA messenger technology used in the Pfizer Moder‐ na dose, the second, which has just been ap‐ proved for trial, uses a recombinant protein like the American based drugmaker Novavax.

19 - 25 August 2021

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Bullfighting ban SPAIN has a long history of bull‐ fighting events and in some of these shows people with dwarfism can be seen fight‐ ing young or small cows.

Activists claim that this is “degrad‐ ing” but the ‘bullfighters’ have hit back and said “we do not want to live on sub‐ sidies, we want to fight. It’s our trade.”

Many had thought that the on‐ going coronavirus pandemic would see the end to bullfighting which was postponed when Spain is‐ sued its State of Alarm last March. Shows soon returned but the Social Rights Min‐ istry in Spain hopes to see the sport banned. According to reports the Ministry was recently told that the sport had to be banned to comply with a recent UN com‐ pliance review.

Many expats are torn over the sport.

One expat EWN reader said, “I don’t like the sport personally but I’m a foreigner living in Spain so is it really my call on whether it should be banned, or seen as a tradition.”

The issue came to the forefront again after the Ministry set out to cancel a show organised by comedy troupe Diversiones en el Ruedo. The show is home to bull‐ fighters with dwarfism.

Daniel Calderon, the manager of Diver‐

Spain has a long history of bullfighting events. siones en el Ruedo, has hit out against the proposals to ban what he considers to be a trade.

“I think these attacks show a lack of re‐ spect and freedom,” he said.

“Everyone should be able to work at what they want.

“We are all professionals; we are ac‐ credited with the Culture Ministry; we contribute to the Social Security system, and we do not want to live on subsidies, we want to fight. It’s our trade.

“I invite everyone to come and see if they are really laughing at them or laugh‐ ing with them. It’s a show like any other.

“Contrary to what’s being said, they are idols for the children.

“The kids go down to the bullring; they do some bullfighting; they have a good time with them, and being of the same stature, they feel like the real thing.”

NEWS

Irish gangster arrested IRISH gangster Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch was arrested in Fuengirola on August 12.

Hutch, 58, is wanted in Ireland in connection with the murder of David Byrne at the Re‐ gency Hotel in Dublin in February 2016. Byrne, a member of the rival Ki‐ nahan gang, was shot dead by armed men dressed as gardaí.

It is believed that the attack was ordered by Hutch in retaliation for the murder of Gary Hutch, the Monk’s nephew, in Spain in September of 2015.

“The Spanish put a lot of resources into this. A lot of time and effort, and so did the gardai.

The arrest of Gerard Hutch is a major result for the joint Garda‐ Spanish international operation and for the Serious and Organised Crime detectives,” a source said.

Una Stubbs dies BRITISH actress Una Stubbs, known for her roles in TV shows like Worzel Gummidge, Till Death Us Do Part, Sher‐ lock and EastEnders, has died aged of 84.

Una became famous in the 1960s and appeared on films such as Sir Cliff Richard’s Summer Holi‐ day, and has since re‐ mained one of the UK’s best‐loved actresses.

Her family have said that she died at her Edin‐ burgh home with her fam‐ ily around her, her agent told the BBC that she had been unwell for a few months.

NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

19 - 25 August 2021

Pay up to leave RESIDENTS of Masalfasar in Va‐ lencia have finally seen their nightmare come to an end after threatening squatters have final‐ ly left a property in the small town.

Squatters had been living in the house for many months and had made life impossible for peo‐ ple living in the small town, for nearly half a year. On August 11, they finally left the property after receiving a considerable amount of money from the bank which owns the property.

As the squatters left the prop‐

erty they stopped to speak to the press and were called out for what many consider to be extor‐ tion. According to reports the man and his partner only left af‐ ter making sure that money was given to them in exchange for leaving, something that the squatter has denied.

The squatter said: “I asked them that if they wanted to make a contribution they could do so, nothing more.”

It was put to him that he had extorted money but he reacted and said “No, that’s not exactly

the way it is. I asked them to pay if they wanted to so that we could leave earlier.”

According to reports, the bank paid around €3,500 to get the squatters to leave, something which is extremely unusual.

One neighbour spoke out with relief and said: “What justice has not been able to achieve, the me‐ dia and pressure from the people have achieved.

“Now at least we will be able to sleep a little more peacefully, although we will always have fear in our bodies.”

Soaring electricity prices AS each day sets a new record for the cost of electricity in Spain, the government has the power to lower it, if it wanted to, the EU commissioner for Energy has said.

In reply to a query from Partido Popular’s Dolors Montserrat, Commissioner Kadri Simson wrote that electricity companies “are free to set the price at which they supply electricity to customers” but she added, “Member States must guarantee effective competition” and “in paral-

lel, Member States can apply some safeguards, such as public interventions in setting prices for the supply of electricity to domestic customers in situations of energy poverty or vulnerability.

“EU state aid rules allow, under certain conditions, Member States to compensate large energy consumers for part of the financing costs of renewables and part of the indirect costs of carbon emissions,” added Commissioner Simson.

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NEWS

Fighter pilot speaks out SPANISH Air Force Captain Antonio Cifuentes has spoken about his work on a NATO Baltic Air Policing mission.

Deployed to Lithuania as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission in May 2020, the Spanish fighter pilot talks about the challenge and plea-

Cifuentes enjoys his work.

Amazon resell items

AMAZON looks set to allow its partners in Spain to resell re‐ turned items as used, as it launches two new programmes aimed at helping companies recoup money.

The two new programmes aim to make it easier for compa‐ nies that sell through the Amazon platform to handle goods returned by customers and excess inventory allowing partners to resell items that have been returned, giving a second life to more items.

Amazon already provides this programme in the UK and the US will see it arrive late in the year too. In 2022 it is expected to be made available in Spain, Germany, Italy and France.

“Our business partners will be responsible for selecting the inventory they wish to give a second life to through this ser‐ vice, and we will assess each selected item through a rigorous multi‐point inspection process, resulting in the assignment of one of the following conditions: used‐as‐new, used‐very good, used‐good and used‐acceptable. Afterwards, the item will be put back on sale on Amazon, at the price set by the seller,” said Amazon.

sure of flying.

Cifuentes said he enjoys seeing his work make a difference in the Spanish military and to society.

Across Europe, NATO fighter jets are on duty, ready to scramble in case of suspicious or unannounced flights near the airspace of their allies. NATO calls this activity Air Policing, which has been a part of NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence for 60 years.

There are approximately 35,000 daily air movements inside European airspace, and NATO’s Air Policing carries out around 400 interceptions each year.

NATO a Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) in Spain and its Air Policing covers 13 countries, with around 786,000 square kilometres of land covered by it.

There are currently around 60 NATO quick-response jets on duty across Europe, with 21 allies contributing fighters, air command and control centres, and air surveillance stations to NATO Air Policing missions.

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Hottest month ever JULY 2021 has earned the un‐ enviable distinction as the world’s hottest month ever recorded, according to new global data released by the US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra‐ tion’s (NOAA).

“In this case, first place is the worst place to be,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.

“July is typically the world’s warmest month of the year, but July 2021 out‐ did itself as the hottest July and month ever recorded.

This new record adds to the disturbing and disruptive path that climate change

TOPPING THE LIST: The worst place to be. has set for the globe.”

Around the globe, the com‐ bined land and ocean‐surface temperature was 1.67ºF (0.93ºC) above the 20th cen‐ tury average of 60.4ºF (15.8ºC), making it the

hottest July since records be‐ gan 142 years ago.

It was 0.02ºF (0.01ºC) high‐ er than the previous record set in July 2016, which was then tied at the same tem‐ perature in 2019 and 2020.

NEWS

Listeria alert

SPAIN’S Food Safety and Nutrition Agency (AESAN) has issued an alert for Listeria in several SALGOT sausage products.

The products affected by listeria are: Botifarra Negra, 250 grams, lots 211804 and 212019, expiration dates August 7 and August 23; Botifarra negra Tradiciona, 250 grams, lot 211804, expiration date August 24; and Bull de llengua, 1kg, lot 212017, expiration date August 16. The affected products were sold in the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Catalonia, Aragon and Madrid.

Cost of NHS travel tests to be reduced

UK holidaymakers and expats will benefit from cheaper travel testing packages, with the price of some tests expected to fall by a fifth from August 14.

The cost of NHS Test and Trace tests for international arrivals will now be reduced from £88 to £68 for green or fully vaccinated amber arrivals, and from £170 to £136 for two tests for amber arrivals who have not yet been fully vaccinated.

The Health Secretary has also announced there will be a rapid internal review of the pricing and service standards of all providers of day two and eight tests.

Any misleading pricing will be clamped down on swiftly and the government will urgently remove listings found to have misleading prices.

This is the second time pricing of NHS tests has been reduced, following a review in May which reduced the cost of a day two and eight package from £210 to £170.

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NEWS

Don’t assume it’s Covid THE charity Meningitis Now has issued the warning, ‘Don’t assume it’s Covid‐19’. They be‐ lieve that life‐threatening ill‐ nesses risk going undiagnosed if people, particularly young people, follow government advice to self‐isolate if they suspect they have Covid 19.

The charity has warned that people aged 15 to 24 years old need to carefully look at their

Signs can be mistaken.

Amazon TV

AMAZON has announced a decision to produce the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series in the UK from the second season on. Although the first season was filmed in New Zealand, as with Peter Jackson’s movies, Amazon now says pre‐production on season two will begin early next year in the UK. Oscar‐winning director Sir Peter Jackson used New Zealand’s rolling mountains, meadows and forests as a backdrop for his famed Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies.

The streaming giant said that season one post‐production will still continue in New Zealand.

Amazon has not revealed the location of where the series will be shot and is at the moment shipping the complex sets it built for the first season over to the UK and is also currently booking stages for them.

symptoms if they fall ill. If the illness is meningitis or septi‐ caemia rather than Covid, then action is vital and could save lives.

Dr Tom Nutt, Meningitis Now chief executive said: “Re‐ search has shown that up to a quarter of 15 to 24‐year‐olds carry the bacteria that cause meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia in the back of their throats compared to one in 10 of the general population.

“Whilst many young people will have been vaccinated against MenACWY, which pro‐ tects against four strains of meningococcal meningitis, at school, we estimate that up to half a million under‐25s may have missed this important vaccination.”

Many of the signs of menin‐ gitis could be mistaken for Covid or even a hangover ac‐ cording to the charity. Meningi‐ tis symptoms include fever, headache and drowsiness. The charity hopes that young peo‐ ple heading to university soon will make sure that they are aware of the symptoms.

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NEWS

Passport wallet app SPAIN has joined other EU countries supporting the Covid passport within the iPhone Wallet app, a digital certificate used for citizens to travel be‐ tween countries.

The Covid digital certificate

lets EU citizens that are travelling between countries easily prove that they have been vaccinated, have recovered from the virus or have had a negative test result.

Spain’s Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social

Wind power by 2030 THE European Commission has tabled the Fit‐for‐55 package, a se‐ ries of legislative proposals to deliver the EU’s increased climate tar‐ get of 55 per cent emissions reduction by 2030. The package in‐ cludes a higher renewables target and new rules to support the expansion of renewables as well as being in line with Spain’s green ambitions.

“The Fit‐for‐55 package sends a clear message to consumers and investors. The EU wants a major expansion in renewables by 2030, with nearly twice as much new wind power as we’re currently building. And the EU wants to accelerate the electrification of those sectors that have so far relied on fossil fuels. This is good for the cli‐ mate. And good for the economy. The Fit‐for‐55 package means major new investments. It’s a package for jobs and growth,” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.

The various legislative proposals that make up the ‘Fit‐for‐55 package’ now have to be negotiated and accepted by the 27 EU Member States and the European Parliament.

Welfare said if citizens “don’t have the EU digital Covid cer‐ tificate, they can travel but the process to allow them into an‐ other country is slower and ad‐ ditional measures, such as quarantine, can be requested.”

In July, it was announced that the Covid digital certificate is recognised by 31 countries, including Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, and in all EU mem‐ ber states.

Users in Spain can request the Covid digital certificate af‐ ter following a few steps and opting for the ‘Certificado Digi‐ tal’. They can choose to receive the certificate by text message in English or Spanish and then add it to the Apple Wallet.

Last month, England’s NHS app also added the Covid cer‐ tificate with Apple Wallet, however, the UK government said it can only be used at events and venues in the UK and not for international trav‐ el.

To read more stories like this go to www.euroweeklynews.com

NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

19 - 25 August 2021

15 minutes too early A M OT H E R and son spent the day at Luton airport af‐ ter easyJet would not let them take their flight to Split, Croatia due to their lat‐ eral flow test being out of date by just 15 minutes, with Croatia demanding the test be taken 48 hours be‐ fore departure, not arrival.

Staff turned the pair away, which meant they lost a day of their holiday, the money spent on the Covid tests and they also needed to pay for new flights and an overnight hotel before their flight the next day.

The mother and son, who did not want to be named, had travelled from Norfolk to Luton in the small hours of the morning to make their 6.40am flight to Split.

The pair took the test at 8.55am on the Monday morning, which was within 48 hours of departure. How‐ ever, their flight was arriving to Split at 9.10am, which ex‐ ceeded the window by 15 minutes.

A spokesperson for easyJet said: “We know that flying is currently different to how many of our customers are

used to travelling, which is why we are alerting cus‐ tomers to the importance of checking current local travel requirements ahead of their flight via email and on easy‐ Jet.com via our Covid help hub, where they can also find access to government web‐ site links and the most up‐to‐ date travel information.

“Unfortunately, as these passengers were unable to provide test results in line with the criteria required by the Croatian authorities, they were unable to travel on this occasion.”

Spanish pork overseas THE Spanish food and fisheries sector has consolidated the key role it plays in Span‐ ish foreign trade. The main contribution came from fruit, with an export value of €9.57 billion. In second place was meat, at €8.476 billion, which was the subsector with the highest growth, 17.8 per cent, driven by the demand for pork from China.

Vegetables constituted the third largest

export group at €6.89 billion.

The value of exports to third countries increased last year by 8.5 per cent (€20.088 billion overall) due to the signifi‐ cant boost in sales to China, which in‐ creased by 67.3 per cent. The sector now accounts for more than a fifth of the na‐ tional economy’s total exports, while im‐ ports represent 12.8 per cent.

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Madonna’s new agreement MADONNA and Warner Music Group have an‐ nounced a ‘milestone, ca‐ reer‐spanning global part‐ nership’ that includes a new agreement for her entire recorded music cat‐ alogue.

Madonna said on Au‐ gust 16, “Since the very beginning, Warner Music Group has helped bring my music and vision to all my fans around the world with the utmost care and consideration. They have been amazing partners, and I am delighted to be embarking on this next chapter with them to cele‐ brate my catalogue from the last 40 years.”

With global sales of over 300 million records, Madonna is the best‐sell‐ ing female artist of all time, with countless acco‐ lades that include seven Grammy Awards, MTV, and World Music Awards.

She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

Well-earned retirement LEGENDARY crooner and Grammy award winner Tony Bennett is retiring from per‐ forming, according to his son Danny ‐ who is also his manager. Last week’s sold‐out show alongside Lady Gaga at Radio City Music Hall in New York was his last.

“There won’t be any additional concerts.

This was a hard decision for us to make, as he is a capable performer.

“This is however doctor’s orders. His con‐ tinued health is the most important part of this, and when Tony’s wife, Susan, heard the doctors she said, ‘Absolutely not’,” said Danny.

A 70‐year veteran of the stage, Bennett scored his first US number one with Because of You in 1951, go‐ ing on to record a number of pop and jazz classics.

The star has many Grammy Awards, in‐ cluding a Lifetime Achievement Award, pre‐ sented in 2001, to his name, as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Kennedy Centre Honors and more than 50 million records sold.

Earlier this year it was revealed that Ben‐ nett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. Even so, he has continued to perform live in the five years since.

The singer was expected to appear at a few more US dates later this year, however, these shows have now been cancelled.

NEWS

Lucky winners THE Euromillions draw held on Friday Au‐ gust 13, saw a jackpot of a staggering €113,156,128 for a first category winner with two stars and five correct numbers.

This ticket was sold in Spain to one ex‐ tremely lucky person. According to reports the winning jackpot ticket was sold at the at Lottery Administration No. 4 located in Vizcaya’s Leioa. The actual ticket was sold in the Artea shopping centre.

This is not the only lucky ticket for a per‐ son in Spain, as another millionaire has been made after winning the El Millon. Re‐ portedly this ticket was validated in the town of Madrigueras in Albacete.

Record-breaking STAGE VETERAN: After 70 years Bennett is now going to retire.

LAST year, a total of 55.3 million tons of potatoes were harvested in the European Union.

Most end up as crisps or frozen chips.

Germany was the largest producer and ac‐ counted for 21.2 per cent of EU production,

Hot potatoes followed by Poland (with 16.4 per cent), France (15.7 per cent), the Netherlands (12.7 per cent) and then Bel‐ gium ( with 7.2 per cent).

These five Member

States accounted for nearly 75 per cent of the total EU production of potatoes in the past year.

Spain is the seventh largest producer of potatoes in the Euro‐ pean Union with about 4 per cent.

THE Cordoba town of Montoro smashed the record for the highest temperature measured in Spain according to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). The town recorded a shocking 47.2 degrees Celsius shortly after 5pm on Saturday, August 14.

The previous record had come in at just under 47 degrees on July 13, 2017, and was set by Cordoba City. After the record tem‐ perature in Montoro, the next highest was recorded at Cordoba Airport with 46.9 de‐ grees at shortly before 6pm, followed by Ecija in Sevilla which reached a sweltering 46.6 degrees. Cordoba’s Aguilar de la Fron‐ tera also managed a more than respectable 46.5 degrees at just after 5pm.

EUROPEAN PRESS

www.euroweeklynews.com

EUROPEAN NIBS DENMARK

FRANCE

Porkie Pies

Net loss

THE world’s largest pork exporter, Danish Crown, is being taken to court for an alleged ‘greenwash’’ of its marketing claim that its bacon comes from ‘climatecontrolled pigs’ when the single report supporting this claim was funded by the company itself.

ONE of France’s top courts has banned a range of traditional techniques for hunting birds, which include trapping with glue as well as use of nets and cages, which has been welcomed by environmentalists but denounced by hunters, especially in the southwest of the country.

THE NETHERLANDS Covid pets

NORWAY

ACCORDING to animal welfare organisation Sophia Vereeniging, between one and 1.5 million people became pet owners in the Netherlands during the coronavirus pandemic, but sadly many animals have now either been abandoned or given to shelters as the country has begun to emerge from lockdown.

Where’s Wally?

BELGIUM

FINLAND

Jail break

No entry

NORMALLY prisoners try to break out of jail, but bizarrely a young man who was out on parole from the Turhout jail in Antwerp was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and trying to break into the jail as he was out after his 10pm curfew.

THE owners of Helsinki-based cocktail bar Chihuahua Julep have said that they will refuse entry for between three and 12 years to Prime Minister Sanna Marin, as well as five other officials who played a key role in imposing restrictions on Finland’s bars and restaurants during the pandemic.

GERMANY Bowled over WHEN you see the word Bundesliga you probably think of football, but there is another organisation with the same name which caters for German cricket clubs! The ever-growing numbers of settlers from the sub-continent, Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans are forming clubs.

WALLY the Walrus who has spent his summer holidays off the coast of Cornwall and the Scilly Isles causing mischief and delight, has now packed his bags and is returning home to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, with a stop in Waterford, Ireland.

SWEDEN Holy smoke A FIRE in a church in Jönköping was not caused by arson as initially suspected, but the roof was hit by lightning at night and within a matter of minutes had caught fire which spread to a nursery classroom in the same building.

19 - 25 August 2021

EWN 33

FINANCE BUSINESS EXTRA Messi deal AS Real Madrid decided that it couldn’t afford to pay Lionel Messi’s salary any longer and let him leave for Paris St Germain, the French club has come up with a solution which will see them using their specially created cryptocurrency to settle part of his wage bill.

Gatwick losses LONDON’S second largest airport Gatwick which is owned by investors from Abu Dhabi, Australia, South Korea and the USA has retuned a pre-tax loss of £204 million (€244 million) in the first half of 2021 and is asking lenders for some breathing space.

Pub culture ALTHOUGH there has been a steady decrease in the number of public houses in the UK, the former head of Greene King Rooney Anand, having raised around £200 million (€230 million) is confident enough to purchase 18 historic country pubs to go with 42 already owned.

34

STAT OF WEEK

Delivery riders WHILST the Spanish Government and the Supreme Court thought that they were doing a favour to drivers working for companies such as Glove and Deliveroo, the decision to make them employees has rebounded.

Deliveroo are shutting down in Spain whilst Glovo is employing many riders through agencies and has offered fixed contracts to around 2,000 riders only.

Many are unhappy because they have less control over their ability to work on a selfemployed basis for different companies and it appears that they will find it more difficult to hide their earnings from the tax authorities.

€13.5 million

was the 2020 turnover for Filmin Spanish online supplier of movies, up from €5.9m in 2019 thanks mainly to lockdown.

Breaking into Spain US delivery company Gopuff has signed an agreement to take over UK‐based Dija set up recently by former Deliv‐ eroo workers Alberto Menolascina and Yusuf Sa‐ ban.

Although UK‐based, Dija has a presence in France and Spain which was one of Gopuff’s target markets.

Dija was founded in 2020 and has grown rapidly, opening and operating dozens of micro‐fulfilment

centres across London, Paris, Madrid, Valencia, and other major cities.

There are many similari‐ ties between Gopuff and Di‐ ja as both businesses have a vertically‐integrated operat‐ ing model, sharing many core values and a passion for both innovation and de‐ livering for their customers.

With Gopuff’s earlier ac‐ quisition of the delivery plat‐ form Fancy in the UK, and now Dija, Gopuff will oper‐

LEGALLY SPEAKING

ate in three European coun‐ tries with plans for contin‐ ued rapid expansion, bring‐ ing even more consumers their everyday needs and further redefining the In‐ stant Needs category.

Gopuff plans to operate in those three European countries with some 40 mi‐ cro‐fulfilment centres and 200 employees in the re‐ gion, with further plans for continued rapid expansion.

Following the sale, Dija

will continue to operate un‐ der that name in the short term as the two companies develop an integration plan to enhance the customer ex‐ perience in Europe and the UK. Gopuff has recently raised $1 billion (€850 mil‐ lion) in new funding as in‐ vestors see the strength in quick home delivery which became particularly popular during the worldwide lock‐ down.

Eco-friendly plan

Troublesome neighbour I live in a small development of row houses. My neighbour has become very troublesome. He is verbally abusive when we meet and he slanders me by untrue comments on our internet and he even emails these comments to members of the community where I lived be‐ fore moving here. He also has what I must call a “very aggressive” fig tree planted next to our sep‐ aration wall. This tree drops figs and the rotting figs attract rats, which he refuses to deal with. I am a woman of more than 80 years old and I need advice on how to deal with this situation.

Bailing out FOR reasons not made public, a number of top officials involved in the economic sector of the Spanish Government have been leaving the service and moving into other jobs.

The latest is Carlos San Basilio, who is to join the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

www.euroweeklynews.com • 19 - 25 August 2021

To make defamato‐ YOU AND THE LAW ry comments by IN SPAIN email or Internet is an offence, set out in Article 205 of the Criminal Code. You can bring charges against your neighbour, but this will involve a lawyer, expenses and visits to court. He could even be punished by a prison sentence and a small fine. As to the fig tree, you are entitled to cut any part of it that overhangs your own garden. My own advice is to do your best to ignore him.

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.

YOU may wonder if you can have an eco‐ friendly funeral in Spain. The answer is yes, and they’re becoming increasingly popular, although they differ from the UK. As more people become aware of the impact we have on the environment, being more eco‐friendly in life and after death is more important. In Spain, RestGreen makes ecological coffins and caskets for cremation. Although there aren’t many ecological cemeteries, since 2007 the Roques Blanques Regional Cemetery has held ecological funerals in as much as they allow for biodegrad‐ able urns to be buried there. There are also green niches conceived as vertical gardens with Mediterranean aromatic herbs and wood‐ en plaques with the names of the deceased.

Other locations have created Gardens of Rest within cemeteries where the ashes of the deceased can be spread in a controlled manner.

Having an eco‐friendly funeral in Spain is something that you can include in your funeral plan with Golden Leaves. You’re guaranteed to get the funeral that you want, taking the decision‐making off your family’s shoulders.

www.goldenleavesinternational.com enquiries@goldenleaves.com Facebook: goldenleavesspain

Pay cut WITH reports across the UK of a general shortage of staff, it seems to be a very brave or possibly foolhardy decision by Pret a Manger to cut staff pay.

There were no major dis‐ agreements when it decided to implement temporary pay cuts during the pandemic and lockdown, but now it has told staff that this will become permanent as trading contin‐ ues to be at lower than pre‐ pandemic levels.

There are three options for its staff, accept the cut which means no payment for breaks, look for work else‐ where or go on strike and it appears that this third option is quite likely.

Double whammy ALTHOUGH much has been said and written about the im‐ pact of higher electricity prices on people’s homes which will be exacerbated with the use of air conditioning during the on and off heatwave, there is an‐ other problem waiting to emerge.

Most Spanish businesses which are not self‐sufficient in energy production will find that their bills could be as much as doubled, especially as they are, in the main, working during the most expensive times of day.

This means that if they are to retain their levels of profit, then they will no doubt have to pass the cost on to cus‐ tomers by increasing prices.

Hacker returns $600 million A HACKER who stole cryptocurrency worth $600 million (€510 million) has now re‐ turned most of it to US‐based Poly Net‐ work.

For some months the Bank of Spain, as well as many other Central Banks, has warned investors that whilst cryptocurren‐

cy may appear attractive, its very nature makes it difficult to trace and is therefore very risky.

It transpires that the hacker in question was more interested in showing how clever he was rather than wanting to make a large financial gain from his actions and

he is considered to be what is known as a White Hat, someone who points out flaws in company systems.

He or she did however make a few do‐ nations to strangers online but turned down a $500,000 (€425,000) reward and promise of immunity of prosecution and

confirmed via Twitter they had undertaken the hack for fun and to point out to Poly Network that its system was vulnerable.

Time will tell whether all of the money will be returned and whether the anonymous hacker will be identified, but it certainly gives investors something to think about.

36 EWN

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COMPANY PRICE(P) 3I Group 1.323,50 Abrdn 276,51 Admiral Group 3.645,0 Anglo American 3.333,5 Antofagasta 1.543,00 Ashtead Group 5.668,0 Associated British Foods 2.030,4 AstraZeneca 8.482,6 Auto Trader Group Plc 635,80 Avast 594,00 Aveva 4.048,0 Aviva 416,27 B&M European Value Retail 559,20 BAE Systems 576,80 Bank VTB DRC 1,402 Barclays 181,72 Barratt Developments 714,80 Berkeley 4.911,0 BHP Group 2.430,00 BP 298,65 British American Tobacco 2.690,0 British Land Company 526,20 BT Group 173,60 Bunzl 2.643,0 Burberry Group 2.081,0 Carnival 1.464,8 Centrica 50,08 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.720,0 Compass 1.473,00 CRH 3.782,0 Croda Intl 9.121,4 DCC 6.080,0 Diageo 3.617,0 DS Smith 437,90 EasyJet 795,34 Experian 3.149,0 Ferguson 10.320,0 Flutter Entertainment 13.925,0 Fresnillo 827,58 GlaxoSmithKline 1.498,40 Glencore 327,70 Halma 2.962,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.481,25 Hikma Pharma 2.540,00 HSBC 406,35 IAG 161,00 Imperial Brands 1.590,50 Informa 549,00 InterContinental 4.507,0 Intermediate Capital 2.179,00

CHANGE(P) 1.323,50 277,30 3.650,0 3.339,0 1.543,00 5.670,0 2.055,0 8.512,0 636,60 597,00 4.054,0 418,20 561,60 578,40 1,418 182,22 716,40 4.918,0 2.504,50 298,90 2.695,5 529,40 175,65 2.645,0 2.082,0 1.486,2 50,78 2.723,0 1.478,50 3.787,0 9.130,0 6.128,0 3.626,4 439,40 804,28 3.153,0 10.325,0 14.010,0 833,00 1.498,40 328,90 2.965,0 1.486,50 2.544,00 408,85 162,82 1.593,00 551,60 4.573,0 2.179,50

% CHG. 1.304,50 274,00 3.604,0 3.296,0 1.506,00 5.564,0 2.029,0 8.446,0 629,20 592,00 4.003,0 414,90 557,20 574,80 1,392 180,36 709,20 4.850,0 2.413,50 292,55 2.672,5 525,20 172,40 2.625,0 2.036,0 1.458,4 49,96 2.680,0 1.467,00 3.752,0 8.998,0 6.004,0 3.601,5 433,20 791,37 3.100,0 10.150,0 13.795,0 809,78 1.489,40 325,15 2.936,0 1.475,50 2.504,00 406,00 160,02 1.579,50 539,20 4.494,0 2.148,00

NET VOL 63,68K 914,07K 242,28K 512,79K 149,71K 64,81K 117,28K 939,62K 175,07K 620,94K 21,55K 1,38M 119,98K 537,49K 161,02K 5,80M 144,75K 20,89K 6,48M 5,58M 301,32K 148,75K 2,14M 35,67K 82,03K 117,02K 817,59K 53,29K 228,49K 25,50K 29,43K 21,15K 132,05K 265,97K 106,54K 86,88K 17,41K 34,25K 71,32K 589,14K 3,17M 46,75K 186,68K 41,17K 4,25M 6,23M 207,54K 264,56K 36,96K 4,42K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

Intertek ITV 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 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 Taylor Wimpey Tesco Tui Unilever United Utilities Vodafone Group PLC Whitbread WPP

5.198,0 119,14 297,10 2.990,0 720,60 266,70 44,88 8.034,0 816,00 171,50 2.062,72 956,60 215,00 7.928,0 33,63 1.806,02 2.911,0 660,60 1.442,50 5.578,0 2.165,00 566,40 697,09 5.543,0 109,94 7,54 1.430,20 1.430,4 1.417,4 719,60 1.566,50 18,14 3.718,0 1.338,09 1.267,00 2.884,0 1.373,00 1.448,50 15.740,0 1.621,00 1.631,00 451,40 176,20 243,60 313,90 4.108,0 1.084,00 119,52 3.021,0 991,80

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

5.206,0 119,65 297,80 3.005,9 728,80 270,30 45,29 8.034,0 817,20 171,75 2.064,00 957,20 215,70 7.940,0 33,63 1.827,50 2.918,0 671,00 1.447,50 5.623,0 2.170,00 568,00 697,40 5.542,0 110,29 7,61 1.431,61 1.431,4 1.418,4 719,80 1.571,00 18,18 3.724,0 1.339,28 1.268,00 2.890,0 1.380,00 1.457,00 15.755,0 1.621,50 1.633,50 454,20 176,70 244,95 320,10 4.125,0 1.085,50 119,70 3.066,0 993,20

5.168,0 117,85 295,30 2.981,5 719,00 265,80 44,78 7.948,0 812,00 169,20 2.040,00 951,90 213,70 7.814,0 33,12 1.790,00 2.869,0 660,20 1.429,00 5.553,0 2.154,00 558,40 686,80 5.469,0 107,90 7,54 1.414,25 1.412,4 1.397,6 712,60 1.565,00 17,83 3.694,0 1.319,00 1.257,50 2.866,0 1.365,50 1.435,50 15.580,0 1.603,00 1.612,00 451,10 174,50 239,00 312,50 4.099,0 1.077,50 118,82 3.007,0 980,60

14,24K 700,40K 1,02M 3,67K 79,02K 1,61M 18,47M 45,23K 486,77K 513,72K 70,76K 331,65K 4,20M 10,69K 183,95K 168,00K 109,92K 554,32K 486,67K 160,54K 264,77K 214,51K 338,15K 792,46K 1,84M 310,54K 327,42K 333,66K 795,77K 228,96K 7,15K 610,78K 10,19K 307,77K 105,12K 39,15K 215,31K 38,12K 4,32K 125,04K 154,28K 3,26M 847,69K 2,97M 596,43K 292,85K 116,96K 6,09M 78,59K 304,23K

1.17281

0.85275

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ......................................1.17725 Japan yen (JPY)......................................128.684 Switzerland franc (CHF) .........................1.07275 Denmark kroner (DKK) ...........................7.43665 Norway kroner (NOK) .............................10.4135

currenciesdirect.com/moraira • Tel: +34 966 265 072 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES A UGUST 16

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 202,32 2.778,3 3.298,99 231,07 151,12 229,06 217,71 100,92 56,28 57,48 366,56 408,35 335,05 233,74 143,59 53,47 177,84 158,93 240,97 77,93 294,60 172,36 144,64 249,20 686,17 417,21 55,98 235,36 150,75 179,09

CHANGE CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 202,77 200,38 1,61M 2.779,8 2.723,3 842,89K 3.300,00 3.211,13 3,31M 231,29 227,92 2,40M 151,19 146,47 99,92M 232,03 227,14 7,60M 218,00 214,34 3,13M 101,20 99,91 9,46M 56,43 55,93 13,24M 57,49 57,03 7,95M 366,95 357,38 11,15M 408,99 402,15 1,59M 335,63 327,97 3,48M 233,80 230,17 1,73M 143,74 142,23 2,73M 53,49 53,00 17,39M 177,89 175,95 4,77M 159,03 156,78 8,70M 241,05 238,56 2,11M 78,01 76,64 9,32M 294,82 290,02 22,38M 172,40 169,66 3,44M 144,69 143,38 5,55M 251,00 244,47 4,03M 709,50 676,40 22,64M 417,42 407,33 2,35M 56,07 55,58 12,88M 235,48 230,20 7,56M 151,73 149,04 15,84M 180,59 176,51 8,70M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES A UGUST 16

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

Most Advanced Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A Mettler-Toledo International Inc. AutoZone Inc. Cable One Inc. EPAM Systems Inc. Danaher Corp. 4.75% Mandatory Conv.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Paycom Software Inc. Dillard's Inc. Anthem Inc. Inspire Medical Systems Inc.

0.52% 1.39% 1.27% 0.94% 1.83% 0.50% 1.80% 2.09% 4.59% 2.42% 4.45%

1.27K 65.61K 140.98K 47.2K 237.63K 7.5K 1.14M 412.59K 424.15K 826.69K 213.47K

Most Declined Texas Pacific Land Corp.

-2.31% Twilio Inc. Cl A -5.02% Sea Ltd. ADR -5.29% Wayfair Inc. Cl A -3.88% Biglari Holdings Inc. Cl A -1.33% HubSpot Inc. -1.62% Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. -0.55% Snowflake Inc. -3.21% Albemarle Corp.

-3.96% Shopify Inc. Cl A -0.60% MicroSectors U.S. Big Oil Index 3X Leveraged ETN-7.11%

20.27K 2.33M 3.72M 1.32M 218 396.54K 144.31K 3.11M 2.15M 1.28M 321.62K

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

Credit: Morrisons Media Centre

Morrisons’ takeover news

David Potts, CEO of Morrisons.

THE Morrisons’ takeover in the UK becomes more complicated as bids increase with a further £400 million (€460 million) on the table.

Apparent front runners Fortress upped the value of their takeover bid following rumbles of discontent by large sharehold‐ ers and this was approved by Morrisons Board who recom‐ mended that it should be ac‐ cepted.

However there was a new twist to the tail as previous bid‐ der US investment group Clay‐ ton, Dubilier & Rice asked for the deadline to submit a new bid to be extended and after Morrisons tacitly expressed their agreement, the UK regula‐ tor has extended the deadline until August 20.

Morrisons had delayed the planned shareholder meeting whereby a vote on the Fortress

offer was due and because of this, the extension could be granted although if a new bid from a third party was present‐ ed then the extension would be cancelled.

There have been rumours of other interested parties lurking in the background plus the on‐ going thought that the Amazon group which uses Morrisons for grocery deliveries in the UK might step in and make its own bid.

In the meantime, Clayton, Du‐ bilier & Rice has time to raise more funds from investors whilst Fortress may feel that it has gone to the limit with its lat‐ est offer.

Under UK takeover rules there is a possibility that the company could be put up for auction by the regulator, al‐ though that would be likely to attract legal appeals from some

Fuelling inflation A REPORT by the Bank of Spain suggests that the increase in electricity prices has been responsible for fuelling inflation in 2021.

It estimates that in the first half of the year, soaring electric costs represent 0.8 per cent of the 2.9 per cent growth in consumer pricing.

Not all of this is necessarily the fault of the electric companies as they have been affected by rising gas and CO2 costs, but wholesale electricity prices have almost doubled in the first half of the year and this has been passed on to the consumer.

A reduction in IVA (VAT) has helped to soften the blow slightly, but prices are still up by over 20 per cent.

of the larger shareholders who oppose the sale as they believe that the company has underval‐ ued many of its assets.

BUSINESS EXTRA Led by Donkeys ANTI-Brexit campaigners Led

by Donkeys claim that their campaign against Sainsbury’s advertising on GB News was successful after Nigel Forage said that the RNLI was “a taxi service for migrants.” The supermarket chain denies being influenced, simply confirming that its short campaign was finished.

Pigging out THE Port of Valencia has announced that every year thousands of containers filled with pork leave there and are shipped to around 75 countries to be consumed in North America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and South America, with this being an important activity which generates significant income for Spain.

Merry Xmas IT will be more than turkey for Christmas for 2,000 workers across the UK as ALDI has revealed that it is continuing to expand and will be opening a number of new stores during the second half of 2021 which will need staffing.

19 - 25 August 2021

EWN 37

38 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

19 - 25 August 2021

The US lost this war

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT

Photo by: Jono Photography / Shutterstock.com

THE recent decisions of the Americans in Afghanistan are almost beyond belief. If they truly were naïve enough to believe that diplomatic and peaceful negotiations with the Taliban would prevail with the withdrawal of American troops, then the whole world should be in in very real fear that the USA, our strongest and most powerful ally, is now under the control of a bunch of completely inept idiots.

At the time of writing, White House spokespeople (while arranging for their own staff to flee the country) are actually announcing that the Afghan diplomats in Kabul are still hoping to negotiate with the enemy when they take over the city. You really couldn’t make it up. The two facts that emerge from statements of this ilk are that either the American hierarchy is naïve beyond belief or they think everyone else is! No, the truth of the matter is that the Americans have lost this war and hung the Afghan people out to dry.

US and UK troops have been in the country 20 years. A whole generation has grown up under their protection. Most of their economy has been dominated by the American investment and military

DUMPED: A whole generation has grown up in Afghanistan under UK and US protection. infrastructure. And they have now been unceremoniously dumped. Yet another American president has become the toast of the Taliban Chai houses. Obama was the first.

I always questioned his motives for withdrawing vast numbers of troops under the guise of ‘bringing our boys

home,’ which the gullible American public lapped up and quite brilliantly enabled him to retain his popularity with both his Muslim supporters and his home crowd.

Trump then condoned the plans by promising the troops would be out by 2021, and bungling Biden, who probably has no more than another six months or so

of presidential power left before Kamala Harris takes over (as per plan!), has now finished it off.

They have even left the enemy millions of dollars’ worth of equipment to fight with. The mind truly does boggle. All of this is of course not helped by the hundreds of thousands of fighting age young men who

FEATURE

have fled the country and been allowed sanctuary in the West. If these cowards had been sent back and made to fight for their homeland they may have been in with half a chance.

Well, I hope the woke brigade are truly proud of themselves. Allowing these people to infiltrate the West in droves has left the indigenous people of Afghanistan with an impossibly depleted army and devastatingly vulnerable to all the atrocities which will now undoubtedly ensue. I hope the leftie do‐gooders sleep peacefully in their beds when, under their misguided insistence, the men who should be defending the women and children of Afghanistan are lounging in their hotel beds and complaining about the food, while the terrified women and children they have abandoned and thrown to the wolves are suffering the almost unspeakable brutalities and barbarisms we know their new ‘government’ is capable of. Global Jihad also now has a firm base to operate from.

A more dangerous scenario is difficult to imagine. Heaven help us all.

Keep the Faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

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

Time to declutter

ROBERT SHALLIS MANY of us at one time or another reach that stage where we decide it is time to finally let go of that overcrowded wardrobe bursting with old clothes we no longer wear, most of which you’ve even forgotten you had. For years the same thoughts go through our minds, “I’ll keep those jeans as they were rather expensive at the time’ or “I’ll lose a little weight and get back into that dress one day”. The excuses can be endless, although certainly justifiable in your mind at the time allowing them to hang there for yet another year before you go through the same thought pattern again resulting in the same outcome.

Every now and then we finally have the urge to clear out that excess baggage that just isn’t serving us at all. That cathartic feeling of taking it to the charity shop and letting go gives a sense of relief and achievement.

Decluttering your wardrobe is one thing but in order to really lighten the

SPRING CLEANING: It’s time to clean your mind and reduce chaos. heavy load that life can bestow upon us is to understand how to declutter ‘yourself’, spring clean your mind and reduce unwanted chaos that can lead to that old enemy knocking on the

door ‐ stress.

So much of what we do in our everyday lives is automatic, we don’t think about it, we just get on and do it, however, we become overloaded

as more and more is demanded of us.

This is when it is time to take a step back and look at that cluttered up life that you are living and decide what you can throw out in order to be able to breathe and spend some downtime with the most important person in your life, you.

The problem we sometimes encounter is that many of us find it difficult to say no, we are often busy helping others by fulfilling their needs, for martyrdom or not the result will be detrimental to our own well‐being and the situation will inevitably implode. It is one thing being efficient and helping others in need but it is never effective if you are overloading yourself. It is vital to know and understand that when we care for ourselves, we are more able to take care of those around us.

Life can be all too consuming if we allow it to be, so how do you take that step back, declutter and release the shackles holding us back from living an easier more relaxed but productive life?

Firstly, rather than taking on every burden, never be afraid to ask others for help, you will find most people are more than willing to do so especially as they will be aiding a person that aides others in return. Learning to delegate and let go of the obligations you feel are only yours to undertake will create more time for yourself.

Take a walk, switch off your electronic device and really stop, look and feel. Feel what is actually around you, feel the sun on your skin, hear the ocean, breathe in your environment, actually feel the earth beneath your feet so you are truly grounded. All this will allow you to not only think differently but also feel differently. Calm will ensue by altering your way of being.

If you can find just a little ‘me time’ each day you will slowly begin to declutter creating a steady gradual change for the better. So, make the choice to take time for your precious wonderful you and improve the quality of your life.

Rob Shallis www.robshallis.com To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

Robert Shallis’ opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

19 - 25 August 2021

EWN 39

Advertising Feature

Villa Paradiso Group opens first Eco Rehab THE renowned Villa Paradiso Group, awarded best addiction treatment centre in Europe 2020, is opening a brand‐new, 100 per cent ecological re‐ hab concept in Malaga.

Welcome to the first Eco Rehab in the world.

Spain’s Hacienda Paradiso is set to become the world’s very first eco‐re‐ hab. Situated in Malaga on the Costa del Sol, Hacienda Paradiso works with clients to end the cycle of addiction and behavioural problems in a com‐ pletely eco‐friendly atmosphere.

The five‐star rehab facility is nothing like traditional rehabs, and is an experi‐ ence like never before. Guests spend their time recovering in an affordable, natural retreat allowing them to recov‐ er in complete relaxation.

Addiction and mental health recov‐ ery can be exceptionally challenging, but Hacienda Paradiso does everything to provide guests with the most com‐ fortable stay imaginable.

Award‐winning treatments Hacienda Paradiso provides guests with a bespoke 28‐day treatment.

The package includes an individual

HACIENDA PARADISO: Works in an eco-friendly atmosphere. treatment programme and an addi‐ tional 12‐month aftercare pro‐ gramme. Guests are treated from the moment they walk in the doors with a psychiatrist evaluation upon arrival.

A blood test is also administered to discover if there are any underlying health problems.

Clients attend group therapy ses‐ sions seven times per week during

their stay. On‐site chefs provide excep‐ tional, healthy meals for clients during.

Daily exercise and weekly excursions are also part of the plan.

Jasmine’s Eco Farm Two healthy, nutritional meals are provided by the rehab, but there is more in store for clients of Hacienda Paradiso. Clients will enjoy a healthy, on‐ site eco‐market where they can shop for

fresh fruit and vegetables from local suppliers, all in one place. Or perhaps or‐ der a fresh smoothy after the daily workout routine in the open air.

Jasmine’s Eco Farm shop also pro‐ vides breakfast products such as differ‐ ent kinds of cereals, eggs and fresh croissants or different eco friendly products.

“Allow nature’s peace to flow into you as sunshine flows into trees” Nature dominates life at Hacienda Paradiso Rehab: Magnificent views stretch across high Spanish plains, sun‐ light dances across the Caminito del Rey, and white Andalucian villages melt into the landscape. Clients synch

+34 647 968 967 • haciendaparadiso.com

completely with nature, including open‐air workouts, outdoor excursions (e‐bike tours) and cultivating the on‐ site ecological garden.

(Eco)nomical treatments for pa‐ tients all over the world With treatment costing between €10,000 and €12,500 per month, Ha‐ cienda Paradiso has been awarded Best Affordable Rehab in Europe

by World’s Best Rehab, beating over 30 other treatment clinics in the UK, Ire‐ land, Scandinavia and Spain to the cov‐ eted award.

Hacienda Paradiso is part of the award‐winning Villa Paradiso Group, consisting of: • Villa Paradiso Spain ‐ Individual treatment clinic in Marbella, Andalucia.

• Villa Paradiso Tunisia ‐ Individual wellness rehab in Gammarth, Les Côtes de Carthage.

• Hacienda Paradiso Spain ‐ World’s first Eco Rehab in Malaga, Andalucia.

In 2020, the Villa Paradiso group was rewarded for their unique approach and named ‘Best Treatment Centre in Europe 2020’ by the renowned World’s Best Rehab Magazine.

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EW YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: www.euroweeklynews.com Views expressed and opinions given are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements.

PARALYMPIC GAMES

From our Facebook

OLYMPIANS: The Paralympics deserve to be on regular TV, not relegated to Channel 4.

Hi Leapy It amazes me how much sport is on TV. But more than that, how come the ‘normal’ Olympics were on BBC1 and BBC2 but the Paralympics are relegated to Channel 4? These gallant Olympians deserve better than that!

For the record I’m not a sports fan, but I plan to watch the Paralympics every chance I get!

I read your column every week.

Regards.

Christine Shepherd

Strong views Good to see you back in the groove this week Leapy, voicing strong views on an important subject and one which you know something about! The nation will vacillate at its peril!

FULL OF HOT AIR AFTER all of the trials and tribulations of the past 18 months, you would think that it was time for a bit of respite, but that’s not the case.

Almost as if by design, no sooner has the cost of domestic and commercial electricity been increased quite dramatically at peak times, Spain is hit by some of the hottest weather it has ever known.

The temperature rose to an astonishing 50°C (122°F) in Granada last Saturday and much of the country has endured higher temperatures than previously, so peo-

CORRECTIONS

PRINCE ANDREW: Should he lose his royal title?

Kind regards.

Ken Turner

Pesky roadworks Normally it will take you less then five minutes to go from Villa Martin to La Zenia. Now, in mid August, the roundabout at AP7 and Blvd. La Zenia is being repaired.

Is there a good reason for doing this right in the middle of most busy month of the year?

Today it took more than 30 minutes with detours through various living quarters.

Is it the way Orihuela City Hall wants to thank the tax payers in Orihuela Costa?

Kr Peter

Sandy Sandra He obviously knew her by the look of that photo of him with her. If it’s been doctored then why isn’t he countersuing for defamation??????? No mention of that strategy.

Stephen Chatt Milne Well I’m a staunch Royalist, but I think nothing should be done in Her Majesty’s lifetime,as she has devoted her entire life to us and should be given as little pressure as possible before the curtain falls, let’s face it, sadly it will only be a few more years, then I’m certain that King Charles will sort his brother out... till then of course the show must go on... cheers.

Teresa Whaley

OUR VIEW

ple are trying to keep cool and it can be expensive.

The logical thing, if you have it is to turn on the air conditioning but many are having to run it much longer than they would normally do which means higher costs, especially as it will often be running in the peak times.

Offices and shops are running the air conditioning for staff or customers which means that they will see the results in higher than forecast bills and these costs will inevitably be passed on to the consumer.

Another problem which some

people ignore, is the fact that pavements heat up considerably during the day and whilst humans have the advantage of wearing shoes to protect their feet, our four-legged friends can easily find the paws being burned and as cats and dogs don’t sweat, they have to be allowed access to plenty of water so that they don’t become dehydrated.

There is an irony that many expatriates came to Spain to enjoy the hot weather, but it is now so hot (hopefully for just a short period of time) that the decision may have rebounded on them.

First off, what about innocent until proven guilty. Second, what about all the others who should be held to account because of Epstein? Why aren’t we hearing about them? Also, is this woman suing everyone who was responsible?

Claire Nina Spinks I don’t think ‘options’ come into it yet. This is a lawsuit, and it needs to run its course before anything else.

Caz Webb Yes most definitely, he’s abused his position, thinks he’s a law above himself because of it, what an embarrassment he is to the Royal family.

Sylvia Saunders Feel so sorry for the Queen’s eldest son, a self confessed adulterer and now younger son accused of paedophilia must be heartbreaking.

At the EWN, we pride ourselves that reports are accurate and fair. If we do slip up, we promise to set the record straight in a clear, no-nonsense manner. To ask for an inaccuracy to be corrected. Email: editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK GO TO WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM FOR THIS WEEK’S ANSWERS

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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19 - 25 August 2021

EWN 47

By Clinica Britannia

By Clinica Britannia

Benefits of BHRT Weight problem YOUR body’s hormones are the internal communication system between the cells in your body, coordinating everything from your appetite, digestion, im‐ mune function, libido, and mood. When these hormones become even a fraction out of balance, it can directly impact your health and well‐being.

Hormone replacement ther‐ apies are prescribed to rebal‐ ance the body’s hormones. One such, natural therapy is Bioiden‐ tical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT).

These Bioidentical hormones are derived from plant oestro‐ gens and are chemically identi‐ cal to those produced by the hu‐ man body. Oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are those most replicated and can be administered in various

ways. Personalised gels and creams manufactured at spe‐ cialised pharmacies are especial‐ ly effective as are tailored specif‐ ically for the individual patient.

BHRT can be used to treat men and women but is mostly used to ease symptoms of peri‐ menopause and menopause.

Common symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, sleep problems, con‐

centration issues, mood swings and lack of libido can be success‐ fully treated. It is also used to ease symptoms of cancer treat‐ ment and to treat adrenal, in‐ sulin, thyroid disorders, osteo‐ porosis, and fibromyalgia.

Contact your Doctor as addi‐ tional clinical information and several tests must be taken to decide if the benefits of BHRT outweigh the risks.

Appointments Landline: 965 837 553 / 965 837 851 • 24H/365D Emergency Number: (+34) 607 255 755 • Opening Times: Mon - Fri: 9:00am / 5:00pm

Clinica Britannia Calpe Av. Ejercitos Españoles 16 BIS, 1st Floor, Calpe

I AM extremely overweight and suffer with high blood pressure, my last blood test showed my cholesterol and sugar levels being elevated as well.

I have tried many times to eat a healthy diet and take exercise, but each time I fall back into bad habits. What can I do as I need to act now before it is too late?

Regular exercise is good, but it is also particularly important to seek profession‐ al advice from a Nutritionist who can monitor and support you, giving advice on healthy diet plans and lifestyle changes suitable for you, enabling you to be successful in your new healthy lifestyle.

There are certain medicines and injec‐ tions that can help kick start your weight loss, these must be prescribed by a Doc‐ tor and can be used in conjunction with the support of a Nutritionist.

In extreme cases and again with advice of a Specialist, a minimally invasive surgi‐ cal procedure can be performed. This can

Seek advice from a Nutritionist. help you lose weight thus lowering your risk of medical problems associated with obesity such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Aftercare support of a Nutririonist is of utmost im‐ portance to allow for the best results Contact your GP to give you advice on what step you need to take next to tackle your weight problems with success.

If you have a question, you want answered e-mail Dr Mera personally on 545152@gmail.com.

48 EWN

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19 - 25 August 2021

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Mental health illnesses are on the rise ALMOST two in five work‐ ers are suffering from stress and anxiety.

According to a survey conducted by Behaviour and Attitudes, mental health issues are now the most common illness in the workplace.

In fact, it suggests that these health conditions have pushed cancer and back pain into second and third place for illnesses among staff.

Some 38 per cent of em‐ ployees say they are under stress, according to the sur‐ vey which was commis‐ sioned by Friends First and conducted by B&A. It found cancer in second place with 33 per cent of workers citing

it, followed by chronic back pain, which is suffered by 32 per cent of workers.

Almost half of under‐35s say they have taken extend‐ ed sick leave of a week or more due to stress or anxi‐ ety.

While four out of 10 surveyed say

they have taken extended sick leave due to an acci‐ dent or illness.

The average sick leave period was 14 weeks.

However, a quarter of employees say they would not be paid for a period of sick leave, even for one month or

less, adding more stress to an existing problem.

Friends First said that in general most of the workers surveyed described them‐ selves as being ‘reasonably healthy’ or ‘very healthy,’ with just 10 per cent claim‐ ing they are less healthy than they would like to be.

Karen Gallagher, protec‐ tion director of Friends First, said the research showed mental health is‐ sues had the potential to af‐ fect us all and the effects of stress and anxiety knew no boundaries when it came to age, gender or profession.

ON THE INCREASE: Workers cite stress and anxiety as major issues.

Face workout YOUR face has over 50 different muscles and they are rarely used, un‐ like other muscles in the body.

By exercising face muscles blood circula‐ tion activates in differ‐ ent areas of the face, replenishing the oxygen supply in skin and mus‐ cles. This helps to achieve a bright and healthy glow.

Exercising the face will keep facial muscles fit for the long term. Facial muscle exercises im‐ prove blood flow and supplies skin with nutri‐ ents and prevents wrin‐ kles.

In order to achieve re‐ sults quickly, it is rec‐ ommended to exercise the face three to five times a week for around 20 minutes. Results should be visible within two months.

Reducing appearance of wrinkles naturally DELAYING wrinkles for as long as possible can simply be a matter of good habits.

The basic recommendations include using appropriate pro‐ tection from the sun, not smoking, not drinking too much and never sleeping with

make‐up on.

Following these basic rules certainly will help prevent dry skin and wrinkling, but it is probably not enough.

It is also important to mois‐ turise, hydrate and, claim some health professionals, feed the

skin with antioxidants.

But one thing that should never be forgotten is that sleep plays a huge role towards the appearance of skin. Results show that those getting enough sleep had an average score of 2.2 and the poor sleepers had an average score of 4.4, with the higher score meaning the skin looked older.

After five nights of poor sleep, participants had up to double the amount of fine lines and wrinkles and a lot more brown spots than those getting a good night’s rest.

Sleeping face down or face‐ side in the pillow over a long

period of time can also cause the skin to wrinkle. It is recom‐ mended to sleep on your back.

Getting more vitamin C may help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. A previous study carried out of 4,000 women found that those who had higher intakes of vitamin C had lower levels of wrinkles and dryness.

Another major source of skin problems is thought to be stress.

In 2015, researchers exam‐ ined skin in 5,000 participants.

Those experiencing high levels of stress had more itchy, scaly skin and rashes.

FOREVER YOUNG: Reduce appearance of wrinkles at home.

50 EWN

19 - 25 August 2021

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Get Qi-going for rapid results A NEW health and fitness craze looks set to cause a stir, and not because it’s difficult to pronounce.

Qigong, pronounced chee‐gong, is the 5,000 year old Chinese practice of keeping mind and body sane and well.

This is through various means, in‐ cluding postures, meditations, guided imagery and importantly, breathing techniques.

Qi means ‘breath’ or ‘air’ and is considered the vital‐life‐force or life‐ force energy.

Practitioners believe that this force penetrates and permeates every‐ thing in the universe.

According to one teacher of 12 years, Sifu Anthony Korahais, Qigong is easier than yoga and accessible to everyone.

He claims to have taught extreme athletes, dedicated couch potatoes, people aged from 20 to 80, disabled veterans and marathoners.

A simple exercise Sifu uses to illus‐ trate the lack of boundaries, is the ‘pushing mountains,’ which involves gently moving your palms back and forth in a flowing manner, and coordi‐ nating your breath with the move‐

PRACTICE: Techniques are simple and can be practised anywhere.

ment.

He says ‘anyone can do this exer‐ cise, it can be done in a wheelchair, and can even be done with one arm.’

With Qigong, you don’t need to memorise long, complex routines, or worry about the martial aspects of the art.

Apparently you can dive immedi‐ ately into the meditative and energet‐

ic aspects, which is also what apparently brings you quick results.

But while some Qigong exercises are physically easy, others are chal‐ lenging.

But because there are so many dif‐ ferent techniques, it’s easy to raise the difficulty level for those who are ready.

Similarly, there are movements ap‐ propriate for those who are ill or out of shape, and even techniques that an Olympic athlete would struggle with.

Sifu points out that Qigong is also a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, along with acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine.

He said: “In China you can find

Qigong in the hospitals. In fact, in some there are entire Qigong wings.”

Over the years, Sifu has collaborat‐ ed with acupuncturists, massage ther‐ apists, chiropractors, psychologists, reiki healers, osteopaths and nutri‐ tionists.

“I have seen with my own eyes how Qigong can greatly complement other forms of healing.”

And while yoga is ‘empowering,’ Si‐ fu says the difference with Qigong is that it doesn’t require physical strength or flexibility.

In fact physical strength can be a hindrance. Body builders for example, often struggle to relax the muscles and let go of deeper layers of tension.

Sifu added that an art that doesn’t need brawn for success is empower‐ ing for women, the physically unfit, the disabled, children and smaller sized men like himself.

As well as being fun, Qigong is ac‐ cessible in that you don´’ need much training to start getting results.

“I can train a fresh beginner to start getting amazing results in just three hours,” said Sifu.

There are numerous sites online you can visit to find out more.

The answers could be at your fingertips GEL fillers and shellac tech‐ niques have become huge money spinners within the female beauty industry, but your nails are more than just an aesthetic tool.

They can say a lot about your health, and can tip you off to any irregularities, ac‐ cording to the Berkeley Uni‐ versity of California, Well‐ ness.

Here are a few examples of how the nail can indicate problems in other parts of the body.

Nails normally curve at a slight upward angle from ac‐ tual bed. But nails that arc downward may indicate dis‐ ease of the lung, liver, inflam‐ matory bowel or cardiovas‐ cular, as well as HIV infection.

White bands, Muehrcke’s nails, is a condition charac‐ terised by a pair of horizontal white lines running parallel to the nail base. These may

PROBLEMS: Injury or health problems can result in changes to the nail plate. arise after chemotherapy, but are also associated with liver and kidney disease.

Beau’s lines are horizontal indentations that may be a sign of injury to the nail and again can occur as a result of chemotherapy or as a result of a high fever.

But they can also suggest a zinc deficiency, diabetes or peripheral vascular disease.

Spoon nails, or koilony‐ chias, may be abnormally thin and flat, or even concave

enough to hold a drop of wa‐ ter. This is apparently associ‐ ated with anaemia or repeat‐ ed exposure to chemicals or trauma.

Terry’s nails are white plates with a dark band at the tip. Common in people with liver disease, the condi‐ tion may also occur as part of normal ageing. However, re‐ search shows that they are also associated with dia‐ betes, congestive heart fail‐ ure and HIV infection.

SOCIAL SCENE THE U3A Marina Baixa has held a trip to Valencia to visit an exhibition by Gustav Klimpt.

At the end of July, 23 U3A Marina Baixa members went to Valencia to experience the first Spanish produced immer‐ sive exhibition which featured the paintings of Gustav Klimt.

Klimt was born in Vienna and his life coincided with the nouveau period at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. This exhibi‐ tion, titled ‘El oro de Klimt’ (Klimt’s Gold), featured sever‐ al works by the artist, who used gold in many of his paint‐ ings of women.

The exhibition is described as, “being fully immersive, captivating, and dynamic,

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19 - 25 August 2021

Klimt exhibition in Valencia moving from life‐size to larger than life, augmented and more technological than real.”

Music accompanies the show which has thousands of moving images related to Klimt’s paintings on a large scale where walls, floor and architectural features come to life.

In a room next to the exhibi‐ tion there is all the informa‐ tion about Klimt’s life and his

paintings by him.

The U3A Marina Baixa said that after visiting the exhibi‐ tion they explored Valencia.

The association now has further trips planned over the next six months, including a a five day holiday in Peñiscola and six day holiday in Ex‐ tremadura in March with daily excursions.

More details can be seen on the U3A Marina Baixa website

EXHIBITION: U3A members enjoyed the immersive exhibition of Klimt’s works.

at www.u3amari nabaixa.com.

EWN 51

52 EWN

19 - 25 August 2021

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SOCIAL SCENE

Gandia summer festival GANDIA’S summer festival is underway with a series of poetry and music per‐ formances.

The councillor for Her‐ itage, Alicia Izquierdo, ac‐ companied by the dele‐ gate mayor of the Municipal Institute of Archives and Libraries, Liduvina Gil, and the poet, director and artistic coor‐ dinator of the festival, Joan Deusa, presented the programming for this free poetry festival.

The festival, which was organised by the Depart‐ ment of Heritage and the area of Culture, led by Nahuel Gonzalez, in col‐ laboration with the IMAB and the association Ca Saforaui, will merge poet‐ ry and music in heritage areas in Gandia, including in the Torre dels Pares and the Morabit.

Councillor Izquierdo said: “The idea of this proposal is to make all the citizens of Gandia and the region aware of these em‐

FREE FESTIVAL: The programme was presented recently. blematic spaces and to enjoy a very original pro‐ gramme of culture, poetry and heritage, coordinated with musical perfor‐ mances.”

It is a programme that will feature the presence of renowned figures from the world of our literature and also young emerging poets who are positioning themselves on the poetic scene.

On Friday, August 20 at the Torre dels Pares at 8pm there will be poetry

by Laia Maldonado, Carla Fajardo and Joan Deusa, as well as a musical con‐ cert by Nu Drama and Sa Pena.

On Sunday, August 29 at the Morabit at 8pm there will be a performance by Josep Piera and Ximo Vi‐ dal, with music by Petter Conolly and Omar Mestre.

SOCIAL SCENE

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19 - 25 August 2021

Joaquin Vazquez Afternoon tea with the Albir Anglicans Boronat’s collection THE Albir Anglicans have announced they will be hosting an afternoon tea in a bid to boost their numbers.

The afternoon tea will take place at 4pm on Monday, September 13.

The organisation said: “There will also be more than tea and chatter. You don’t have to be a member of the church or any church to come along and join us. A lot of people are finding it hard to get out and mix at the moment.

“The Norwegian premises we are privileged to use are legally registered as a cafe.”

It said: “A Strawberry Tea that we put on in 2019 which was hugely popular with over 50 people.”

A service of Holy Communion is also held in Albir every Sunday at 9.30am at the Norwegian Church on Carrer Mart, while a regular weekday service is held every Thursday at 11am at the Forum Mare Nostrum, Alfaz del Pi. Their Sunday services start

THE Palau Altea is hosting an exhibition by Josep Sou. The show, ‘Attrezzo,’ will show works by artist Josep Sou until September 30.

Councillor for Culture, Auro‐ ra Serrat, has encouraged locals and visitors to enjoy the show.

Church service. at 9.30am.

For further information, please call local church wardens, Elaine Mitchell on 636 164 467 or Paul Winter on 602 218 483.

Albir is one of seven churches in the Costa Blanca Anglican Chaplaincy, from Gandia to El Campello.

For service times, locations and contacts, visit website www.costablancaanglicanchaplaincy.org.

Tickets for the afternoon tea are €10 and can be bought by calling Elaine Mitchell.

THE Calpe Museo del Colec‐ cionismo is exhibiting a collec‐ tion by Joaquin Vazquez Boronat.

The exhibition will show the ‘History of Postal Mail in Calpe,’ including a series of objects which were either used by Correos officials in the different post offices in Calpe, or are rele‐ vant because they are no longer in use.

Joaquin Vazquez Boronat is an award‐winning collector and an enthusiast of the history of Calpe, and part of his collection is now on display at the muse‐ um.

Ensemble Ifach perform THE Ensemble Ifach is performing at the Casa de Cultura in Calpe on August 29.

The ensemble is a product of the musical association ‘Escola Calpina de Corda,’ created to expand the horizons of string instruments through music and the commission of new composers.

Entrance to the concert, which will take place from 9pm at the Teatro Odeon at the Casa de Cultura in Calpe, will be free. Tickets are limited and places can be reserved on 965 839 123.

Calpe’s Casa de Cultura is on Avenida Masnou 1 in Calpe. Its office is open from 8.30am to 2pm Monday to Friday.

For more information, contact infocultura@ajcalp.es.

Josep Sou exhibition She said: “We have the firm commitment to bring the visual arts closer to the residents and visitors of the municipality of Altea; keeping the exhibition halls open so that the paintings

STARTERS Soup of the day Mousse of trout, cucumber and raspberry dressing Oriental salad with duck Beef carpaccio with pine nuts, bacon, capers, rocket salad, Parmesan and pesto Pear with Serrano ham, Gorgonzola, rocket and honey dressing Tuna carpaccio, bacon, capers, rocket, Parmesan and tomato (+€3.00)

The exhibition is also display‐ ing ‘Calpe inventions,’ that have never been shown before and that many do not know were in‐ vented in Calpe in the mid‐20th century, including two typewrit‐ ers and jewellery made in Calpe.

The exhibition is organised in conjunction with the Depart‐ ment of Culture of Calpe, and is on display at the Calpe Museo del Coleccionismo at the Torreo de la Peca in Plaza de la Villa, Calpe.

It is open Wednesday to Sun‐ day from 10am to 1pm and 6.30pm to 10pm until August 30.

that adorn its walls feed our souls; tell us what they have been created for and move us for a moment to anywhere in the world.”

She added: “To put our pur‐

pose into practice we need the help of artists and creators and it is a pleasure to have in Palau Altea the exhibition Attrezzo.”

The exhibition can be visited for free on Tuesdays and Thurs‐ days from 4.30pm to 6.30pm in Altea.

MAIN Fish stew with salmon, hake, shrimps, mussels and mashed potatoes Cod fillet 'Tandoori style' raita cucumber Pasta with chicken, bacon, tomato and mustard sauce Dutch steak with mustard or peppercorn sauce Pork schnitzel with onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and au gratin with blue cheese Beef tournedos stock with sauce of your choice (+€12.00) Sirloin steak with sauce of your choice (+€8.00)

DESSERT Key lime pie Mango sorbet ice White chocolate mousse Coffee icee cream with cof coffee liquor fee liqu uor uor Cheese plate Port (+€7.00) late with red Por rrtt (+€7 .00) 00) Coffee orr tea

EWN 53

54 EWN

19 - 25 August 2021

www.euroweeklynews.com

FEATURE

READERS TURNING TO CRIME (ERR, CRIME NOVELS!) FOR COMFORT 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

AS the culture wars rage on, alongside move‐ ments like #MeToo, #ExtinctionRebellion and #BlackLivesMatter, an increasing and equally im‐ portant fringe has started to emerge in… wait for it… crime fiction writing!

In ‘The Sentinel’, the latest in my own psycho‐ logical crime thriller series, DI Barbara Forster (or ‘DI Barbara’ as my audiobook reviewers call her) is praised for her success in an earlier case, but is suddenly accused of having tampered with evi‐ dence in it. An accusation that threatens to derail her entire career. As the man who was wrongfully convicted 10 years earlier goes free, a young woman goes missing. Meanwhile, Barbara is sus‐

pended and the media smell blood.

And again, narrated by my good friend, the ac‐ tor Rayner Bourton (listen to the free audio sam‐ ples on Amazon!) who created the role of ‘Rocky’ in the original London production of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’.

Frankly, I’m always amazed how some readers turn to ‘true crime’ for entertainment. Why waste precious hours of your life immersing yourself in unsolved mysteries? They’re so frustrating! The joy of crime fiction is providing an answer to a rid‐ dle, seeing the good guys win and loose ends tied up (in a story with seemingly more loose ends than a bowl of spaghetti) and an orderly dénoue‐ ment. Precisely why we love crosswords, jigsaw puzzles and quiz shows! We are consoled by bringing order to chaos.

Though chaos can sometimes rear its head in unexpected ways...

I’ve already described how, in an early novel, I had to make a late change to a character’s name, using ‘find and replace’ to change all Joans to Beryls (don’t ask!) which worked well until a key

character visited Paris and discovered in the Place des Pyramides the magnificent gilded bronze equestrian statue of... Beryl of Arc. In an even earlier story, I had to use ‘find and replace’ to change all Lisas to Muriels. Worked a treat until readers got to the point when some‐ one talked about visiting the Louvre and seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting of... Mona Muriel.

Oops!

Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘The Sentinel’, ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Betrayal’, ‘The Girl in the Woods’, ‘The Girl in the Red Dress’, ‘No Way Back’, ‘Landscape of Lies’, ‘Retribution’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora‐johnson.net) available online as eBook (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, paperback and audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cude‐ ca cancer charity.

To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

Nora Johnson’s opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

www.euroweeklynews.com

FEATURE

19 - 25 August 2021

EWN 55

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

DAVID WORBOYS THE Nanny State must have evolved on the assumption (right or wrong) that society today is a weak‐kneed shadow of its recent ancestors. Is it really so sensitive?

Are we so easily hurt and offend‐ ed that the measures imposed and the restrictions in force today are justified?

I heard recently of a proposal to make wolf‐whistling a criminal of‐ fence in the UK. There seems to be a move to eliminate the cele‐ bration of the fact that we had two opposite sexes which attract each other, adding colour and pleasure to life. The romances, the infatuations, the love‐making and the heartbreak were all part of life’s deepest emotional experi‐ ences. There was joy, humour and innocent fun in openly expressing appreciation of the physical beau‐ ty of film stars, work colleagues or the girl in the street. A certain amount of cheek and teasing was tolerated.

Boris Becker was reprimanded

Boris Becker - a healthy appreciation of Hungarian women. for commenting on television that the fiancee of tennis player Fucso‐ vics was very pretty. And that Hungary has beautiful women.

What kind of people would take offence at such an appreciative comment?

Well, one of them was his co‐ commentator, John Inverdale, who reacted with a disapproving put‐down. This is a man who claimed that Marion Bartoli was “never going to be a looker, so

you have to compensate for that.”

That was a far from flattering (and totally inaccurate) comment.

Television films, documentaries and even interviews are often preceded by a warning. “Some viewers may find this distressing” or “this episode includes some medical procedures (or scenes of dead bodies).” And soap operas may be followed up with “if you have been affected by any of the issues in this programme, please

call this number …”

It’s not only in the West, either.

The Director of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, Ken‐ taro Kobayashi, was sacked the day before the opening because of a joke in bad taste he made in the 90s, when he was 25 years old.

It is true that some humour in the past was over the line, none more so than the notorious Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s ‘Derek

and Clive Live’ album. From Max Wall to Bob Monkhouse many co‐ medians have been controversial, but they were very funny and only the most sensitive would have got hurt. It will soon be impossible to relax, laugh and have fun for fear of getting into serious trouble.

Having said that, there has nev‐ er been anything funny about some of the sick mockery of Jesus Christ, the disabled (for example spastics) and the holocaust.

When we look at comedy and the comedians of the golden era compared with today’s bland at‐ tempts at it, we see how political correctness has robbed us of so much harmless enjoyment in life.

Whether it’s satire, innuendo, risqué, slapstick, sketch, parody or the pun, it’s not the same today.

To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

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

THE EUROWEEKLY NEWS urged its readers to support local busi‐ nesses in the community by go‐ ing local through the lockdown and for your all your shopping this year, instead of feeding on‐ line giants and superstores.

During lockdown, we chal‐ lenged you to rediscover your lo‐ cal high streets, markets, butch‐ ers, greengrocers and all of the wonderfully quirky independent businesses in your area.

Due to the Covid‐19 pandem‐ ic, you may have to support many local businesses by order‐ ing 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 lockdown restrictions.

The joy of shopping local means that independent busi‐ nesses can help support the local community.

Although it may be a euro or two cheaper elsewhere or on‐ line, consider where your money is actually going.

By shopping at an indepen‐ dent 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 mak‐ ing a small gesture and shopping in this way.

Many local stores support lo‐

GO LOCAL

cal charities, support and sponsor local sports teams and in many cases the small independent stores are actually much more than just a small high street shop, they’re a family’s legacy, often passed down through numerous generations and support not just the current owner but the gener‐ ation before.

For those stores which are new, that extra couple of euros spent there are supporting someone’s dream and ambition, and also the 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 in‐ dependent store and compete with the multinational and chains.

So be sure to pre‐order 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 pur‐ chasing 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 tattoo time at a local studio, a hair cut at a local salon or an online study course for someone 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 dif‐ ficult times. Choosing to spend your money locally will really make a difference in the recovery of the local economy. When we buy local, our money stays lo‐ cal, and it strengthens the local economy in two ways. First, buy‐ ing local keeps money circulating within the local economy. Stud‐

ies have shown that local busi‐ nesses recirculate a greater share of every euro as they create lo‐ cally owned supply chains and in‐ vest in their employees.

Data shows that local retailers return 52 per cent of their rev‐ enue back into the local econo‐ my, 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 example, let’s look at a local farmer growing produce. First, they sell to a local restaurant, which in turn prepares the fresh produce and sells it to local cus‐ tomers. The farmer pays its local employees and the restaurant uses revenue from sales to buy supplies from a neighbourhood hardware store.

This example illustrates how the recirculation of money in the local economy leads to a stronger financial foundation for our neighbours and communi‐ ties. Buying local also fuels new

employment and job opportuni‐ ties for people within our com‐ munity.

Studies show, locally owned

businesses employ more people per unit of sales and retain more employees over time. A fantastic example of how to support your local community is with a Charity Gift certificate, 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.

56 EWN

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19 - 25 August 2021

FEATURE

Travel

Seeing is believing in gorgeous Guadalest

WE recently ventured inland from Benidorm to the Algar Waterfalls. This week, we travelled just a few minutes further to the delightful village of El Castell de Guadalest, usually known simply as Guadalest.

This picturesque village was a strategic military stronghold and has a long history dating back to the period of Moorish occupation in Spain.

The village grew around the castle’s fortress with the population originally living within the castle walls. It retains its small population of just hundreds of people living there, but it attracts over a million visitors each year and is reportedly one of the most visited municipalities in Spain with the Castell de Guadalest, perched upon its rock and the turquoise waters of the reservoir amongst the most visited and photographed.

Whilst clearly targeting tourists with its array of souvenir shops and cafés, its whitewashed ancient streets are still a delight to meander through as you head towards the castle gates.

Guadalest is now also known for its eclectic mix of museums including the micro-miniatures museum where you can see some of the best micro artwork in the world including the Statue

of Liberty inside the eye of a needle.

There is the Belen and Dolls House museum and the Casa Orduña Municipal Museum which was built after the great earthquake of 1644.

Perhaps something a little more unusual is the salt and pepper museum which has more than 20,000 original pieces from all over the world. It is reported the museum in Guadalest is only the second such museum with the other salt and pepper museum being in Tennessee in the USA. For those with a more morbid fascination for torture, head to the Medieval Historical Museum, home to more than 70 pieces of torture instruments and capital punishment.

For those wanting to get round them all, visitors will be pleased to know that most are open all day in the summer and do not close for siesta.

If you are wanting to explore the area a little further, take in its natural, breathtaking beauty and go for hikes and bicycle rides, there are a number of small guest houses in the heart of the village and just outside, and of course bustling Benidorm is just a half hour’s drive away. www.guadalest.es

19 - 25 August 2021 • www.euroweeklynews.com

Advertising Feature

The benefits of Canine physiotherapy PHYSIOTHERAPY can help a variety of problems including spine and other neurologic problems, arthritis, strains and sprains and post‐operative re‐ habilitation.

The life expectancy of animals is increasing a lot, which mainly leads to more osteoarthritis and joint and mobility problems. Os‐ teoarthritis is the most frequent cause of lameness in dogs, esti‐ mating that 20 per cent of dogs older than one year are affected.

Physiotherapy, included in a multidisciplinary programme, is where it can bring us the great‐ est benefit.

A variety of soft tissue tech‐ niques (eg massage), Joint tech‐ niques (eg mobilisations and stretching), and electrotherapy treatments (eg TENS) , laserther‐ apy, Ultrasound, hydrotherapy and Shockwaves are incorporat‐

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57

PETS

How to find a great pet-sitter IF you are planning a trip later this year you still need to plan early for pet and house‐sitters. Perhaps you are already making plans for a staycation get away. Even if you are planning just a short trip, you’ll know that you simply can’t travel with some pets. Young pets in par‐ ticular may benefit from staying behind so they can follow their routines at home. So, plan ahead.

Take a moment to plan ahead for pet and house‐sitters, if you have trips planned later this year.

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 account (£89 per year) to ensure you can help online when needed 3. Create a profile with photos of

your pet and the house 4. Post a house‐sit advert stating your plans for your next holiday, Covid permitting Do you need a pet‐sitter in 2021? Then get started right now.

How does it work?

HouseSitMatch can help you 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. House‐sitters see your advert, they respond and you choose the sitter who’ll care for your pets.

Trustpilot Testimonials ‐ 4.8 / 5 Excellent rating (New Trustpilot rating scale) Here’s what members have said about us ‐ HouseSitMatch found us a per‐ fect house‐sitter while we were away in Canada and we were de‐ lighted with the care and attention

Do you need a housesitter? Get in touch. House-sitting can be a win-win for both parties, free house and petsitting, and the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation!

Register as either housesitter or homeowner with a 50% discount using coupon code SUPER50 – an exclusive offer for readers. To find a house pet-sitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com

that HouseSitMatch took in helping us find the right person.

Ros Morris ‐ Dog owner How do you join?

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: o Standard (DIY option) = £69 pa o Premium (with support at each step) = £89 pa

58 EWN

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19 - 25 August 2021

AIR CONDITIONING

PLUMBERS

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SERVICES

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PLUMBERS

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TV & SATELLITE

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EWN 59

60 EWN

19 - 25 August 2021

REMOVALS & STORAGE

INSURANCE

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SERVICES

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61

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19 - 25 August 2021

Lowest fatality rate on the roads A RECENT report by the Euro‐ pean Transport Safety Council has revealed that Spain is the country in the European Union with the lowest rate of traffic accident deaths, which will be music to the ears of

the Directorate‐General for Traffic (DGT), as they strive to keep the roads of Spain as safe a place to drive as possi‐ ble.

With the sudden return of traffic to the roads after lock‐

downs disappeared, this sum‐ mer alone, an estimated 50 million trips are expected to take place across the country, with the DGT running various campaigns to control drivers who might try to abuse the al‐ cohol or drugs laws.

Spain heads the list, along with Latvia, and Lithuania, as the countries in the EU with the fewest road deaths in the period from 2001 to 2020, re‐ ducing fatalities by 75 per cent, although as far as Spain is concerned, if you only take the last decade, then the country is fourth on the list, showing a 45 per cent de‐ crease in road fatalities, but, a plus factor is that between 2019 and 2020, deaths de‐ creased by 22 per cent on Spanish roads.

Some voices ‐ including the Spanish Association of Roads (AEC) ‐ have been raised at times about the state of re‐ pair of the Spanish road net‐ work, with the country lag‐ ging behind the investment of other EU countries such as

Germany, France, or Italy, with road conservation bud‐ gets reportedly having dropped from €1,300 million in 2009, to €760 million cur‐ rently.

However, that initial invest‐ ment seems to be one of the key factors in the last decade behind the 45 per cent de‐ crease in deaths on the roads in Spain, with fatalities drop‐ ping from 2,478, to 1,366, placing Spain fourth, behind Norway, Greece, and Portu‐ gal.

If that initial investment in roads played its part, then probably so did Spain’s pio‐ neering implementation of anti‐drug controls on its roads, combined with an ad‐ justment to speed limits, along with restrictions derived from the Covid‐19 pandemic, although the report does point to the need for more specific safety measures for motorcyclists, one of the most vulnerable groups on the roads, according to the latest accident data from the DGT.

ROAD TEST

by Mark Slack MANY people think that un‐ less you have owned an Alfa Romeo you are a not a true petrol head, you can kind of see their point. While classic Alfas probably still deserve their reputation for being temperamental, newer mod‐ els have long left that aspect of ownership behind.

The trouble is reputations can take a long time to disap‐ pear and that’s a shame be‐ cause it prevents many peo‐ ple from enjoying some cracking cars, and they don’t come anymore cracking than the Giulia.

The ‘standard’ Giu‐ lia range is by no means backward in accelerating for‐ ward, with even the least athletic engine producing 200hp and the most powerful 510 hp. The lead‐ in Sprint has an en‐ viable standard equipment list that includes active cruise control, dual

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Model: Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged, pe Gears: 8-speed automatic Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 5 Economy: 8.6 l/100km (32.8 mpg) c Emissions: 195 g/km - NEDC Model tested was UK-specification

MOTORING

www.euroweeklynews.com

19 - 25 August 2021

Romeo Giulia Veloce

zone climate, navigation, Bi‐ Xenon headlights and all the other niceties one might expect etrol developing 280 hp at this level.

My mid‐range Veloce out‐ 5.7 seconds/Maximum Speed 239 kph (149 mph) sprints the lead‐in model with a combined driving - NEDC 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) time of 5.7 seconds and then on to a n and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

239 kph (149 mph) maximum.

The 280hp developed by the 2.0‐ litre turbocharged petrol engine is quite a feat and when you think this isn’t the top of the range model, it shows how good the Giulia range is on the perfor‐ mance front. One would ex‐ pect no less from Alfa Romeo!

At €50,261 (£42,595) the Alfa is up against some very stiff competi‐ tion from ar‐ guably much more premium badges. Howev‐ er, the Alfa not only has history and heritage but an excellent stan‐ On the road this car has a dual personality. dard equipment

package, looks that turn heads for all the right reasons and re‐ mains commendably practical.

This is a four‐door saloon where you can carry four adults in space and comfort.

On the road the Giulia has a bit of a dual personality. It is quite happy to potter through urban streets, but show it a more open road and its inner performance demon is revealed.

It’s not just acceleration and speed, but all round perfor‐ mance.

From the way it puts power down to the handling and steer‐ ing. It is superbly accomplished.

Gear changes through the eight‐ speed automatic box can be en‐ couraged manually via some lovely aluminium paddles.

This is a well‐honed, well‐ crafted and hugely entertaining car. It manages to combine so many positive attributes and is a delight to drive. Here in the UK many premium badge buyers will stay loyal to their usual fare, but the few who venture to Italy will not be disappointed.

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