ON Friday, November 25, clients and well wishers came out in force to cele brate the 10th birthday of one of the expat communi ty’s most trusted brands, Specsavers Opticas in Mar bella at their store on Aveni da Ricardo Soriano.
Foreign Residents council lor from Marbella Town Hall, Remedios Bocanegra, also attended the event and congratulated the team for reaching this milestone.
Specsavers Ópticas Mar bella is a community opti cians, where supporting lo cal clubs and charities is an integral part of the store’s culture.
This Christmas they are taking part in the Red Cross Christmas Appeal, collecting presents in store until De cember 21 and the team from the Euro Weekly News donated a hamper of gifts during the event.
Nerea Galdos Little, Spec savers Opticas Marbella Di rector, told the Euro Weekly News: “What an awesome
10 years, being the ambas sadors of Specsavers in Mar bella.
“You can see expats are so happy to see Specsavers and it’s opened the Spanish community’s eyes to a new product in terms of technol ogy and different options.
“People are also always pleased we do so much for the community at the same time.”
Marketing director Georgina Shaw added: “I’m so happy to be here celebrat ing with Nerea and the team
from Specsavers Opticas Marbella.
“We helped them open the stores 10 years ago and time has really flown. We’re really proud to still be here today helping them with their community work and giving the community great eye tests.”
Specsavers Ópticas Mar bella is located on Avenida Ricardo Soriano 12, next to Massimo Dutti. Call 952 863 332 or visit www.spec savers.es to book an eye test or find out more.
THERE has been a focus on fitness in Estepona as the town prepares for 2023, ‘Year of the Bike’.
The new initiative has been designed by the lo cal council and health organisations to encour age people to get healthy and use a sus tainable means of trans port.
A whole host of poli cies are set to get locals on their bikes, including designing commute routes, organising recre ational bike rides, pro
fessional and amateur competitive events, and business events.
Council representa tive, Begoña Ortiz, explained “Cycling is valu able in multiple dimensions of society, including health, mobili ty, the environment, and our social lives.
“Cycling is beneficial not only for cyclists, but also for the rest of soci ety who benefit from there being less cars on the roads, reducing noise pollution and im
proving air quality.”
Recent infrastructure work also means locals can take advantage of great urban connections including a network of nearly 20 kilometres of coastal cycle paths.
The ‘Estepona, Jardín de la Costa del Sol’ pro ject during the past decade has also led to the pedestrianisation or traffic calming measures on 130 local streets, making the area much more pleasant for cy clists.
WITH Marbella being one of the most sought-after regions in Spain, the real estate market is experiencing an unprece dented boom, despite the in ternational situation and Euro pean instability.
This is one of the reasons En gel & Völkers real estate agency has announced the opening of another office in Marbella, making this a total of six offices in Marbella in strategic loca tions, a decision that is support ed by the latest data from the Registrars of the Property indi cating that the foreign demand for properties in Spain reached an all-time high in the third quarter of 2022 with the record figure 15.9 per cent market share. Engel & Völkers offers both private and institutional clients a wide variety of profes sional services, providing access to a wide range of potential in ternational buyers and with a proven track record of success for years.
Advice, sale and rent make up the key competencies of the people who are part of Engel & Völkers.
IT’S Mijas’ month as the town leads on regional tourism fig ures for the first half of Novem ber. Data released by tourism body, Aehcos on Monday November 21 revealed Mijas was the most in demand des tination for tourists in the re gion.
Councillor for Tourism, José Carlos Martín, welcomed the announcement and praised lo cals working in the tourism in dustry, “This is the result of constant hard work to fight against seasonality.”
The town’s strategy to re duce dependence on the sum mer season as a sole source of income has been paying off, hotels in the town saw an ex cellent occupancy rate of 73.13 per cent, during the first two weeks of November.
Martín highlighted local ef forts to encourage tourism all year round “Increasingly, tourists come at any time of the year, our beach and weather attractions are com plemented by many other at tractions.”
Due
National Holiday
8,
A STATE OF THE ART school in Estepona is set to become the first high school on the Costa del Sol offering an American curriculum. The At las American School held an inauguration event on Wednesday November 23 be fore opening up to students.
The Atlas American School will cater to all ages up to baccalaureate level. The school is the only one of its kind in the area. It will work on an Anglo French model, offering trilingual classes to students.
CANADA was crowned as the winner of the Davis Cup for the first time in the tourna ment’s championship in Malaga on Monday Novem ber 28. Canada beat Australia in an epic final after catching up with an unexpected win against Italy.
DESTINATIONS across Costa del Sol got into the Christmas spirit over the weekend with the annual Christmas lights switch on. Fuengirola and Malaga lit up over the week end with Marbella, Torremoli nos, Mijas, and Benalmadena set to follow this week.
MANILVA kicks off Decem ber this year with a food fes tival showcasing delicious lo cal produce and traditional recipes. The event from De cember 2 6 will feature con tests, performances, food and wine tastings as well as stalls offering traditional arti san and culinary products.
EMERGENCY services in Tor remolinos moved quickly to rescue a woman who slipped while hiking, suffering a sus pected broken leg. The 54 year old was airlifted from a mountain trail at Pico de Jabal cuza to Valle del Guadalhorce hospital on Sunday afternoon.
The school is located in Torrevigía, near to Selwo, on
IT’S time for Torremolinos to celebrate as it has been confirmed that 2022 has beaten the record number of travellers staying in ho tels in the last decade in Oc tober.
The town has registered 101,536 travellers and 474,552 overnight stays dur ing the month of October. The municipality account
the outskirts of Estepona. Af ter receiving planning per mission for the school in
2020, the Atlas group has in vested more than €12.5 mil lion in the creation of the
ed for 35 per cent of all trav ellers on the Costa del Sol in that month and 34.88 per cent of overnight stays.
Foreign tourists have in creased by 50.9 per cent compared to October 2021.
Very significant figures
THE La Cala Lions held their annual Christmas Fair and Fashion Show at the Cala Nova Golf restaurant on November 28.
There were plenty of stalls offering a variety of Christmas gift ideas with all visitors braving the very blustery but sunny day.
President Wynson Beswick welcomed everyone and there was a tapas lunch followed by the famous Fashion Show with lots of elegant ladies and fun loving men showing off some of the great bargains available in the Lions Charity Shop.
The Lions thanked all of the team for organising the fashion show as well as those who attended and helped raise nearly €2,000 for those in need. The event closed with a great rendition of Christmas songs from the Costa Soul Singers, who are always there to support the Lions and other charitable organisations.
We hope you never need it, but this Christmas the Euro Weekly News would like to remind all readers of Spain’s emergency services number for police, fire, ambulance and coastguard.
are being received as it is the record number of trav ellers received by the town in the month of October during the last decade, be ing the first time that the number of travellers staying in hotels has exceeded
school. The huge educational complex covers more than 20,000 square metres, in cluding a residence for inter national students.
Local mayor, José María García Urbano, praised the school for boosting the quali ty and variation of education in the local area, as well as the economic prospects, cre ating 115 jobs.
The Atlas group, founded in 2012, manages other schools in Spain, Aquinas American School which has three campuses in Madrid and the British School of Navarra in Pamplona.
100,000, up from 94,420 in October 2017 and 93,365 in October 2016.
The number of travellers also shows the recovery of the tourism sector after the pandemic, since in October there were 2,966 more trav ellers than in the same month of 2019, which rep resents a growth of 3 per cent.
A UNIQUE art installation de lighted an audience of art lovers last week in Fuengirola. Polish artist Krzysztof Kosows ki presented an exhibition of artwork, completed by paint ing with his mouth and feet.
Kosowski’s unusual work went on exhibition at the Casa de Cultura in Fuengirola, along with a painting demonstration by the artist himself.
Krzysztof Kosowski suffered severe burns after an electric accident in 1972, meaning both of his arms had to be am putated. This did not stand in his way though, teaching him self how to paint primarily with his foot, then with his mouth, before studying Art History from 1978 in Warsaw.
puts on community art events to celebrate his passion.
Councillor for Culture, Daniel Romero expressed his excitement, saying, “It is fan tastic to see how people over come all kinds of limitations and obstacles to pursue their passions.”
POPULAR television show ‘A Place on the Sun’ has re turned to filming on the Costa del Sol once again, proving the destination re mains as sought after as ev er. Show host, Jasmine Har man was spotted in Torremolinos and Benal madena on November 26.
The property programme host shared several snaps of herself in the coastal town of Benalmadena, looking ra diant as she soaked up the winter sun. She also posed with a statue of iconic painter, Pablo Picasso in the nearby town of Torremoli nos, posting a photo saying “My main man! #pablopi casso”.
The host is thought to have been filming an episode of the British Chan nel 4 television show which sees British house hunters seek their dream homes in sunny destinations. Jasmine also took to Facebook to showcase her outfits writing “Thank you to my amazing team and fantastic House Hunters! Love you guys!”
Commenters shared their delight to watch the new episodes of the show and their love for the Costa del Sol. Fans also shared their best wishes for former pre senter, Jonnie, who is no longer on the show after a diagnosis of cancer.
OFFICERS speak English, as well as many other European languages, and are your first port of call in an emergency.
He is fascinated by music, orientalism and religion, which is visible in his work which of ten features fantasy and mys tic motifs. The artist has lived in Spain since 2017 and regularly
AGE CONCERN Marbella & San Pedro celebrated the official opening of their Social and Activity Centre with members of Marbella and San Pedro Town Hall in attendance.
Remedios Bocanegra, the Marbella councillor for Foreign Residents and Javier García, deputy mayor of San Pedro, commended Age Concern on their commitment to supporting older English speaking residents living in the Marbella and San Pedro municipalities.
They listened with great interest as, Carol Woolnoth, President of Age Concern spoke about the positive impact the centre has had on the lo cal community.
The centre provides friendship, advice, and support for all English speaking residents. With an expanding pro
gramme of clubs and ac tivities, such as, exercise classes and practical help with paperwork and computers, bridge class es and the jigsaw puzzle club, members can make the most out of later life.
The charity was de lighted to receive confir mation from the town hall of the addition of a new handrail to make ac cess easier from Calle Cordoba and will contin ue to work closely to gether to grow this fan tastic resource in the heart of San Pedro.
We also have two groups of volunteers who visit two local residential care homes to share tea and biscuits, coffee and
friendly conversation with the English speaking residents to add some additional interest and caring to their lives. Too many otherwise rarely or never have visitors, with families living abroad or estranged and perhaps being the last one re maining in their social group.
Also, we have a pool of volunteers who will visit people at home, either to take them shopping or to a doctor’s appoint ment or just to have a chat and help to relieve the poverty of loneliness experienced by many older people living alone.
We are always in need of extra volunteers, as
we expand our activities, so if you would like to volunteer, please email: volunteers@ageconcern marbella.com
To see details of Age Concern Marbella San Pedro calendar of activi ties, please visit our web site: www.ageconcern marbella.com.
We also have a marvel lous Membership Dis
count Card Scheme whereby our members can enjoy a discount with a growing number of lo cal businesses who have signed up to be Age Con cern Partners to help our members cope with the increased cost of living.
You can also follow events and our Coffee mornings on our Face book page
https://www.facebook.c om/ageconcernmarbella
If you know of some one who needs help, please call our Helpline 689 355 198 or encour age them to call us.
With the season of goodwill approaching, please spare a thought for those living alone near you and let us all be kind at Christmas
IN a bid to raise funds for prostate tests that can de tect early prostate cancer, on March 11 next year a brave team of 10 people of different nationalities will swim 800 metres and then jog 5.5 kilometres.
If this isn’t enough they will finish off the event by cycling 8.5 kilometres. The starting point is Cocoa beach, Cabopino, finishing at the Castle in Fuengiro la.
The brains behind the event is Clive Marks who is now fortunately in re mission after a battle with prostate cancer. He was one of the lucky ones who had access to the test which formed the diagno sis.
Some kind hearted sponsors have come for ward, Dunnes, Driving with Nic and El Campa nario Medical Centre, but the search is still on for
help in supplying bikes. Can you help?
Clive is urging men over the age of 40 to have a PSA test. A simple blood test can save lives.
Prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, measures the level of PSA and may help detect early prostate can cer. “Women have routine
mammograms and cervi cal smear tests, a PSA test is just the same,” Clive confirmed.
WORK has begun in the area around Camino de Cam panales, in Las Lagunas and near Venta de la Morena to widen this important access road to the town. The works have a budget of more than €2.1 million and in half a year’s time the first projected section, which runs from Camino de Coin to the Talco factory, is expect ed to be completed.
The mayor of Mijas, Josele Gonzalez con firmed: “This work will improve the traffic and flooding problems in the area. The work has been talked about for many years, and there have been five differ ent mayors since in ception of this project, but now thanks to the commitment of this team and the affected neighbours it is now a reality.”
Clive Marks in remission.
INTERVIEW with aspiring comedian Lucy Amans who arrived on the Costa del Sol just six years ago.
Having decided that she needed a fresh start, Lucy was persuaded by a friend to spend Christmas and the New Year on the Costa del Sol and literally within a matter of days, she found herself a job in Gibraltar and a place to live.
When asked what made her decide that she wanted to become a comedian, Lucy ex plained that she had always been a bit of a joker at school and made people laugh but had some problems with self confidence so never saw herself getting up in front of an audience.
That all changed however when she at tended a one off comedy event in Torre molinos before the pandemic and started chatting to British comedian Nik Coppin who was also running a special course to help people become stand up comedians.
“The comedy course with Nik was abso lutely fantastic. In just two days I went from a quivering anxious on stage mess to a confi dent new stand up at the final showcase.
Some people even laughed!
“Nik and I became great friends and I sug gested to him that there was a definite hunger for regular English comedy here on the coast and if he could organise the come dians, I would find venues and cover front of house.”
“My comedy is based on my life, it’s rather self deprecating but not in a sad way and so far, it has been well received.”
Although Lucy won’t be performing in the December shows, she will be there on the door ready to meet and greet so visit https://www.facebook.com/standupcome dyspain/ for details of dates and venues.
AN enormous effort by kind hearted volunteers from the Red Cross has seen more than 25,000 meals prepared for the homeless in Marbella this year. Marbella City Council recognised their achievement on Wednesday November 23 to mark the European Day for the Homeless.
The Red Cross has also pro vided more than 5,000 hy giene packs for homeless peo ple in the area, and serves around 75 homeless people each day at two centres and with a walking action team.
The event at the city council aimed to give the public an in sight into the daily realities of homeless people. Local Red
Cross representative, Susana Radio highlighted the impor tance of raising public aware ness about homelessness, through council and public campaigns.
The councillor for Equality, Isabel Cintado, highlighted their hard work saying, “Thanks to the magnificent team at the Red Cross with the skills and abilities to reach users to provide them with crucial resources to cover their basic needs such as food, clothing, and hygiene.”
Cintado added “The Red Cross provides comprehen sive care for local homeless people including psychologi cal support, and employment guidance.”
MIJAS’ police vehicles are having a state of the art upgrade as the Local Police announced the purchase of four new 4x4 vehicles. Four hybrid electric Toyota RAV4 models are replacing the older cars to comply with sustainability objec tives.
Mijas mayor, Josele González announced the new vehicles on Novem ber 24, saying, “The Lo cal Police are following government action to be more respectful of the environment. The off road features of the cars mean it will be easier for police to get to hard to reach areas in Mijas and the surrounding areas.”
González added “They join a fleet of 12 vehicles which were renewed in July, meaning the police force have up to date re sources. We want our of ficers to have the best resources at their dispos al since they have a cru cial mission to protect Mijas families.”
THE IDILIQ Gr oup staff have come together to raise awareness and im portant funds to help in the fight against Breast Cancer.
The mayor of Mijas, Josele Gonzalez, witnessed IDILIQ handing a cheque for €12,000 to the Spanish Association Against Cancer of Malaga and Fuengirola-
ON Thursday, November 24, more than 100 business own ers, charity leaders, and local activists from across the Cos ta del Sol came out for the seventh annual United Na tionalities of Marbella Sum mit at The Harbour restau rant, hosted by Nicole King.
With the aim of bringing some of the area’s brightest talent together to solve vital local issues, this year’s United Nationalities of Marbella Summit focused on creating a communication framework so that locals know where to turn to for important infor mation.
Speaking at the event, Nicole said: “It’s so emotional to have you all here.
“Today’s event is about communication and how im
Mijas (AECC).
The cheque was a result of a wide range of fundraising activities car ried out during October and November, such as the
sale of IDILIQ Foundation t-shirts, AECC ribbons and bracelets, charity break fasts and lunches, raffles, raffles, tombolas, and much more.
The founder of IDILIQ Group, Roy Peires, paid tribute to the company’s workers, saying: “Thank you for all your effort, ded ication and the incredible
work you do throughout the year.”
The provincial manager of the AECC, Pedro Gonza lez, explained that all the proceeds will go to breast
the Canary Islands, Charmain Arbouin, told the Euro Week ly News: “For me, Marbella is one of those places that has so much talent and diversity and the summit gives people a chance to come together and see what they can each contribute to make Marbella a better place.”
portant it is to come together to help each other and pro vide support.”
Among the issues dis cussed was the importance of using local resources includ ing Marbella Town Hall, as well as initiatives designed to protect the local community, like the Zero Hero scheme to
offer free soft drinks to desig nated drivers in Marbella.
Nicole also announced the launch of a new journalism award for the body doing the most to highlight the most important issues facing the coast.
Former British consul to Andalucia, Ceuta, Melilla and
Triple A volunteer, Lily Van Tongeren, added: “It’s very important to have summits like this because Marbella is a city with around 140 nation alities and it’s great to come together to get to know peo ple from different countries and because they’re all in volved in different sectors.”
cancer research, as well as to psychological support and the economic vulnera bility of the patient.
The mayor of Mijas, highlighted the great soli darity of the IDILIQ Group team which, year after year, is committed to the municipality and causes as praiseworthy as the AECC’s.
THE inauguration of the Exhi bition Department of the Tourist Interpretation Centre of Torremolinos took place on Saturday, November 26.
“This magnificent space in the middle of the Cuesta del Tajo is now ready to host great cultural and tourist exhi bitions becoming an attrac tion for thousands of people who visit us yearly,” is how the mayor, Margarita del Cid, referred to the Centre.
On the first and second floors, the Association of
Friends of the Museum of Tourism has prepared an ex hibition that reflects the spe cial relationship between the
THE Costa del Sol’s business community came together again on Tuesday, November 29 for another fruitful evening of net working at the British of Chamber of Commerce in Spain’s monthly business event.
Sponsored by YourShortlist, the evening attracted around 40 representatives and owners of local businesses at the Marbella Golf and Country Club.
The British Chamber of Commerce in Spain was founded more than 100 years ago and is one of the largest British cham bers of commerce in the world aiming to bring businesses to gether and strengthening trade ties between the UK and Spain.
city and tourism.
According to the mayor, “I know that this is just a first step, an appetiser, towards a much bigger project that will see our town reclaimed as a space of the history of the main industry in our coun try.”
On the third floor, the town council has promoted the ex hibition The Picasso Group and its echoes, a collection of Joachim Roske, which is an exhibition that Del Cid be lieves will allow us to delve deeper into the artistic cur rent generated around the most famous painter of all time from Malaga.
TORREMOLINOS police have tracked down a thief who brazenly stole an electric scooter and a jacket while their owner was inside a local busi ness. Local Police used CCTV footage from the venue to identify and find the robber on Friday November 25.
The victim left her elec tric scooter parked out side a local business, with her jacket on top. On leaving, the victim found her belongings had been stolen, a total loss of more than €600.
The victim called the police, who quickly ap
peared on the scene.
Thanks to CCTV at the venue, the police were able to identify the thief immediately, as he was already known to them. Police officers went to the suspect’s home, where they found the thief with the stolen goods.
The robber said he had found the belongings ly ing on the floor, so took them to his home, for the time being. Police ar rested the suspect and informed the victim that her belongings had been found, and could be col lected.
FUENGIROLA Town Hall has begun work on the remodelling of the Parque Castano de Torreblanca as part of the Renovation Plan for Children’s Zones that the council has implemented during the cur rent term of office.
This work is in addition to the renovation of the Parques de Espana, Juan Pablo II, Fantasía, Los Ni nos, and also in the park of El Rosario, where work began a week ago.
Mayor, Ana Mula, explained: “Improving green spaces, parks and recreational areas throughout the town is one of the main goals of the current mandate. In a municipality like Fuengirola, renowned for its high levels of well being, it is es sential to have areas for outdoor enjoyment in all the town’s neighbourhoods, creating new parks and improving the 50 we already have.
“The work consists of renovating the play areas to include a multi games area with a slide and climbing net, a basket seat swing, and a sensory play area.”
THOUSANDS of peo ple welcomed Christ mas on Friday, November 25 in Fuen girola, with the switching on of the artistic lighting, in an event which took place in the Plaza de la Espana.
Prior to this, the mayor, Ana Mula, al so inaugurated the Municipal Nativity Scene in the Plaza Reyes Catolicos and the exhibition ‘The Magic of Christmas’ in the Municipal Mu seum.
The Christmas Mar ket in the Plaza de la Constitucion also opened its doors on Friday.
At the event the mayor said: “Today Christmas begins in Fuengirola and in liv ing these festivities, we are an example for many. The Fuengirola brand is already recognisable every where as a symbol of quality of life, a thriv ing town, a prosper ous town, and always at the forefront.”
“All of this has made us a model that many people look up to. The town is a model and each and every one of you from Fuengirola is a model, my dear neighbours, you are the real protagonists and it is with your ef forts that our town is experiencing growth,” she added.
BUSINESSWOMAN, former Euro Weekly News colum nist, and Costa del Sol com munity member, Toni East wood OBE, has revealed she has been named Most Influential CEO in the UK by AI Global Media in the group’s awards.
Toni, who is best known for the amazing work she does for women in busi ness, will now accept her award at a glittering cere mony in the UK in Decem ber.
The Founder of Women on Purpose, which helps women ignite their pur pose in business and life, Toni has over 28 years of experience in leadership, research, skills, and talent development. Having launched Quantum Van tage Ltd in 2016, her talent programmes and award winning research have helped thousands of indi viduals and hundreds of or ganisations get into their chosen career and level the gender playing field in the work place.
Previously Director of Talent at a FTSE 30 compa ny, Toni’s ambition and tenacity are an inspiration for many.
Speaking exclusively to the Euro Weekly News , Toni said: “I am so hon oured to be receiving this award, it’s nice to get some recognition that you’re working hard and doing a good job.
“As a business owner, no one ever tells you that and you never believe it your self.”
Explaining more about her company, Toni said: “Women on Purpose is about the passion we have for our business.
“We work a lot with women in business. Our upcoming research spe cialises in women in the economy such as the gen der pay gap and gender awareness scale through out Europe.”
The businesswoman told the EWN how she got into the field. She explained: “I became an accidental re
searcher after working for an organisation that worked with small busi nesses. I then started fo cusing on inclusion and equality.
“There wasn’t a lot hap pening around this in the UK 20 years ago and so I went to America to see what companies were do ing there. I was then able to use this to work with various companies, later taking this to Europe and
getting a €24 million pro ject to put in place strate gies to get more women in higher positions in the East of England.”
Her hard work paid off and Toni has since helped tens of thousands of wom en into jobs they are pas sionate about.
She told the EWN : “My aim is to get one million women into a job they love. I feel that it is my purpose.”
ON Tuesday, November 29, the stars twinkled as guests entered the Green Label at Chaparral Golf Club, for a sparkling night dedicated to the Mijas reforestation project and the woman who has worked so tirelessly to raise money for it, Val Williams.
Now at an amazing €2,500, the reforestation fundraising project was the brainchild of the 83 year old Mijas resident who, through her group Simply Thriving, has spent months putting together a charity calendar to raise vital funds to restore Mijas’s wildlife following this summer’s shocking fires.
The Green Label event was a chance to celebrate the calendar, raise more funds and give Simply Thriving members an outing at one of their favourite venues.
But while Val was busy as ever selling raffle tickets and looking after guests, she didn’t know the Costa del Sol community had a surprise in store for her.
To mark her years of extraordinary fundraising, support and self less service to the community, Val was called up on stage by entertainer Alexandra Avery to be presented with an award from Euro Weekly News CEO Michel Euesden. Amid confetti cannons, poppers and huge applause, a tearful Val accepted the glass plaque paying tribute to her service to the community.
Also presented with a front page spread dedicated to her, flowers, and a hamper filled with goodies to ensure Val has an amazing Christ mas, the Euro Weekly News was honoured to present Val with such an award.
Followed by a mass rendition of hit song ‘Valerie,’ Val hugged the friends and fellow fundraisers who had joined together to celebrate this amazing lady.
Guests shared their well wishes for Val with the Euro Weekly News. Gillian and Bruce Anderson said: “Val is so wonderful, very approachable, I don’t know how she does it, she’s very good, a very good organiser and always thinking of others. Long may she reign!”
Shauna Rogers from IBEX added “From day one Val has been 100 per cent behind her community and friends and IBEX are so happy to support, we are so proud of everything she has achieved.”
A big thank you from the Euro Weekly News and Costa del Sol community to Val Williams for all her amazing fundraising and com munity work.
To support Simply Thriving’s reforestation fundraising, you can buy their charity calendar at Yorkshire Linen, Mapuchi Moda in La Cala, Tapas y Tai in Los Boliches, Age Concern in Los Boliches, Ibex, and Des perate Dan’s in Fuengirola.
BUSINESS brains united at the 22nd CIT Awards Cere mony in Marbella on Friday November 25, which saw lo cal entrepreneurs recog nised for their business achievements during the past year.
The awards ceremony was held at the Puente Ro mano Hotel in the city, with a full house of attendees cel ebrating local businesses. Awards were given out for a variety of achievements in cluding industry modernisa tion and improving tourist attractions.
President of the Marbella Business Association, Juan
José González, explained “This event shows the in credible business power our city has, at a regional and a national level.”
THERE will be festive fun for an excellent cause at Caritas’ an nual Christmas Bazaar. The latest edition of Caritas’ Christmas Solidarity Bazaar is set to be held from December 1 4 in Mar bella, giving shoppers plenty of opportunities to find the per fect Christmas gifts.
The Christmas fair will feature more than 80 stalls offering unique and artisan products. More than 200 dedicated volun teers will ensure the event runs smoothly and collect much needed funds for the charity which provides social services across the globe.
Councillor for Social Rights, Isabel Cintado highlighted the charity focus of the event, “Guests will be able to make their first festive purchases while enjoying a family orientated and charitable atmosphere, we are honoured to host this event.”
In addition to exciting shopping opportunities, delicious food stalls on offer throughout the day will give shoppers a chance to recharge their batteries. Activities for children will also keep the little ones entertained, while four book signings could give bookworms some gift buying inspiration.
The event will be held at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos ‘Adolfo Suárez’, in Marbella, tickets cost €1.50, with all pro ceeds going to the charity.
Marbella mayor, Ángeles Muñoz, also highlighted Marbella’s business excel lence, “This shows the de termination of our local
businesspeople. At the council and the Junta de An dalucia local government, we are delighted to develop further opportunities for businesspeople through the Tourism Plan with a huge in vestment of €10 million over the next four years.”
Several of the people re ceiving prizes at the ceremo ny were recognised for their hard work during the pan demic, including Cristóbal Parra, the local Fire Depart ment and the Senda Litoral project. The Local Police commissioner, Enrique Lamelas, was also awarded a prize for his leadership.
AMATEURS and profes sionals will join together at the Aloha Golf Club to take part in the Pro am Miguel Angel Jimenez on Satur day, December 3, and Sun day, December 4.
This Pro am, the oldest in Spain, was created for charity and has remained so over the years. The presence of Miguel Angel Jimenez has always influ enced the success of this tournament.
This year in the unique setting of Aloha Golf Club, they will also welcome the presence of Jose Maria Olazabal and Anders Hanssen, three elite players who will en hance this two day event.
A DAZZLING dining experience awaits guests this festive sea son at a Marbella restaurant. The Restaurante Casino Mar bella is offering guests delicious dishes on specially curated menus for the festive season.
With three different tiers of menu, the restaurant’s group menus are ideal for diners at Christmas get togethers over the season. The restaurant’s festive menus contain fresh sea sonal ingredients expertly paired together.
As well as tantalising Christmas treats, guests can also en joy a casino experience after their meal. The restaurant offers several packages for casino games alongside dinner including Blackjack, Poker and a comprehensive casino experience.
Miguel Angel Jimenez has won more than 20 titles on the European Tour, four Ryder Cups as a player and one as vice captain of Jose Maria Olazabal. He was also assis tant to Seve Ballesteros in the Ryder Cup at Valderrama in 1997. His best results in majors have been a second place at the US Open in 2000, third place at the 2001 British Open and fourth place at the 2014 Augusta Mas ters. In 2018 he won two majors on the senior circuit: Regions Tradition and the Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews.
THE Collective Calling Christmas Gift Appeal organised in con junction with La Sala Banus is now underway.
The restaurant is situated along an exclusive street in Mar bella, just a stone’s throw from the luxurious haven of Puerto Banus. All tastes are catered for.
To make a booking for the festive season, there is an on line form on the website: https://casinomarbella.com/es/ xmas#1667377832136f982c551ea8e. Alternatively, email: infocasinomarbella@cirsa.com or call +34 952 814 000.
Working on the concept that every child deserves a gift they ask that those who can afford to do so should wrap a gift (or more if possible), label it with information as to whether it is for a boy or a girl and add the ideal age range.
Then simply take your gift to La Sala Banus and possibly stop for a drink or bite to eat in one of the Costa del Sol’s top eateries so that you can experience two pleasures, as you enjoy the ambience knowing that your gift will make Christmas a very special time for those who are less fortunate.
WHO doesn’t enjoy being pampered and spoilt? Would you know where to start looking for premium products and services?
Malaga will host the first luxury congress Malaga Lux ury Summit which will bring together the main national and international brands specialising in luxury prod ucts and services.
The summit which is being organised by Elite Excellence in collaboration with Malaga City Council will take place in the heart of Malaga in March 2023.
Sandra Andujar, the Presi dent and Founder of Elite Ex cellence, confirmed: “Mala ga has the essential elements to become one of the meccas of luxury and premium experiences. This is
due to its cultural, touristic and gastronomic offer, its connectivity, climate, securi ty and good atmosphere, and these are just some of the main attractions for this sector.
“This congress aims to bring together and highlight its potential and promote
the Malaga brand as a pre mium destination of excel lence, making known all the opportunities it offers for high end and luxury compa nies, investors, high impact tourists and future residents. Malaga is one of the best cities to enjoy, live and work in,” Sandra added.
THE Torremolinos Half Marathon celebrates its 33rd edition on Sunday, February 8 next year, and a surprise runners fair event will be held the day before the competition.
In the car parks of the Pablo Ruiz Picasso Cultural Centre, the starting and fin ishing point of the 21,097 metre race, a large mar quee will be set up in which there will be stands of com panies that collaborate with and sponsor the Half Marathon.
In addition, the day will feature sports exhibitions and background music.
Another surprise on the day will be the five kilome tre race, a smaller competi tio n that will allow all ath letics enthusiasts, re
gardless of their physical condition, to take part in the event, with categories from youth upwards. Also, on Saturday, February 4, another race will be offered for younger runners.
The competition is now open for registration and those interested can regis ter for the event on the website pruebaspopu lares.pmdt.es/mediama
The Half Marathon will be limited to a maximum of 2,000 runners for the cate gories from junior to veter an, with a registration fee of €15. The deadline to take part in the event is February 1.
A FASCINATING research project will investigate seis micity in Marbella. A part nership between Marbella City Council and the Na tional Geographic Institute will look into the geograph ic composition of Marbella and the risk of earth quakes.
The National Geographic Institute has installed its second accelerometer in Marbella, in the Cantarras building which houses the
council’s Department of IT. The device will improve the capacity to investigate po tential earthquake damage and mitigate against it.
The Head of the Depart ment for Civil Protection, Jesús Eguía explained, “This new device is crucial for our preventative work which includes drawing out a seismicity map of Marbel la, by observing different cycles of seismic move ment.” The National Geographic Institute re
searched the best location for the accelerometer to obtain the most accurate results. María Galán, a technician from the De partment for Civil Protec tion added, “The ac celerometer needs to be installed in a place with di rect contact with the ground. Data is sent to a server in Madrid to collate all national data. The Civil Protection Unit can then create a seismic map from all the data collected.”
THE councillor for Beaches, Jose Carlos Mar tin, has visited the first piece of the new mu ral work that the local artist Benito Leal is de veloping on the walls along the coastline of Mijas which will form the ‘museum of the murals’ of the beaches of Mijas.
The councillor recalled that this “pioneer ing idea is going to be carried out in a total of five locations spread between La Cala, El Cha parral, El Faro and Calahonda” with the aim of “improving the aesthetics of these walls
There is also the option to participate in the cate gories for the disabled, wheelchair and handbike.
that support the A 7 motorway, while raising awareness of the need to protect our envi ronment, highlighting species of marine fau na and flora that are endangered.”
The councillor added that the project “will go ahead to give life and colour to the white walls that we have in front of our coastline” and “although there is no deadline for finish ing the work because you cannot hurry art, we believe that by the beginning of Easter 2023 several more works will be finished.”
TO celebrate 30 years of the Triple A animal rescue centre in Marbella, there will be a Gala Night held at the prestigious Puente Romano Hotel. It takes place in the Andalucia Room from 8pm on Saturday December 3 and guests will enjoy complimenta ry drinks during the event as well as a three course meal. There will be live entertainment on the theme of Cirque du Triple A, so expect some acrobatics, jugglers and much more as well as a swing band and DJ for those who love to dance. The dress code is red and black and don’t for get to bring money or card with you to take part in the fantastic auction.
Tickets cost €150 per person and can be obtained by emailing info@tripleamarbella.org.
Asociación de Amigos de Ani males Abandonados ‘Triple A’ is an officially registered, non profit ani mal charity dedicated to the care of abandoned and abused animals on the Costa del Sol in the Marbella to San Pedro area which ius supported by the Marbella Council.
Find out more by visiting https://www.tripleamarbella.org/.
THERE’S another return visit to the Costa del Sol of the Lion King Tribute which will take place at the Manilva Multiple Use Pavilion on Monday De cember 5, starting at 6pm.
Presented by Madrid’s Onbeat Company, this tribute to the Disney clas sic promises to be an excit ing afternoon with two emcees as presenters, four singers and four dancers, as well as a three metre giraffe.
The show boasts high quality live voices, meticu
lous detail to costumes and all the songs from The Lion King movies 1 and 2, as well as some from number 3 (also known as Lion King 1½).
Tickets which cost €10 for adults and €5 for chil dren may be obtained from the Multiple Use Building, Demaria’s Fotos, in Sabinillas or at Papelería Ingenio, in Manilva.
Part of the proceeds will be for the benefit of Aso ciación Luisana, a local charity which helps those with disabilities of all types.
THE 59 Sound is a group playing their own style of rock who will be appear ing free at the MVA Cul tural Centre in Malaga City on Saturday Decem ber 3 from 8.30pm.
Originally formed in Malaga Province, the five piece now consists of three local musicians to gether with a drummer from Madrid and a Dutch vocalist who create their own special mix of rock with songs performed in English.
They released their first album Miles Away in 2020, which shows them playing alternative hard rock to post grunge, and even Stoner or psychedelic inspired pas sages
Despite not having a recording contract they have maintained a high
number of monthly visits on Spotify from all over the world since their in ception, having accumu lated more than 10,000 listeners to some of their songs.
They are now promot ing their new five track CD Scars which has been recorded in Malaga and the Netherlands and has already obtained critical acclaim.
Tickets for the free con cert are available at https://www.malaga.es/ culturama/inscripcion/.
AFTER a gap of five years, Tor remolinos unveiled its Munici pal Belen (Nativity Scene) to day, Thursday December 1. Covering 28 square metres and with more than 100 fig ures, it is situated on the first floor of the town hall with free admission Monday to Fri day from 9am to 1.30pm and 5pm to 8pm.
The main part features 40 large figures that represent, among others, the biblical scenes of the ‘Annunciation’, the ‘Visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth’, the ‘Sta ble’ and the ‘Adoration of the Magi’.
There is also the ‘Hebrew Market’, the ‘Empadron amiento’, the ‘Presentation of the child to the Temple’, ‘Re questing a Posada’, Hebrew towns and Herod’s Castle dominating the heights.
The rear part is a Hebrew square where most of the fig ures are actually in motion, with 28 moving figures and there are even two genuine fountains.
THE Arts Society Benahavis is organising a special coach trip to visit the famous Malaga Lights on Friday, December 9 leaving Benahavis Town Hall at 4pm, with pick ups at the Repsol Garage and La Colonia in San Pedro with a return from Malaga at 10pm.
Tickets cost €15 per person for Society members and €18 per person for non members.
Reservations may be made by email ing events.benahavis@theartssociety. org.
THE Friends of Music Association will be hosting a Christmas Concert and Dinner on Saturday December 3, at the Gran Meliá Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella, from 8pm.
The concert will be performed by the Romantic Trio consisting of Gennady Dzyubenko, piano, Jesus Lira, violin and Josep Bassal, cello.
Romantic music is a stylistic move ment in Western Classical music, asso ciated with the period of the 19th cen tury commonly referred to as the
Romantic era.
The trio will be playing compositions by Beethoven, Glinka, Bach, Gounod, Bocherini, Sammartini, Rameau, Mozart, Faure, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and ticket price for the concert is €30 for non members of the Association.
This will be followed by the Friends Christmas Dinner in the Erre Restaurant of the same hotel and costs €85 per per son.
To book for the concert or dinner, call 619 133 192.
OPEN since 1972, Restaurante Playa Bella has become the best establish ment in Estepona according to the comments of customers at Restaurant Guru, as well as residents and visitors in the area!
With the motto ‘quality and service at a good price’ at the heart of every thing they do, owner Pepe and his son Javier have turned Restaurante Playa Bella into an international benchmark. With customers from all over the world, the prestige of this renowned restaurant continues to grow.
In April 2022, the owners and staff at Restaurante Playa Bella celebrated the incredible achievement of their 50 year anniversary since opening, with the restaurant going from strength to strength, even after half a decade of being in business.
At Restaurante Bella you can enjoy juicy meats including incredible suck ling pig, a wide variety of seafood dish
es including salmon fillet stuffed with spinach gratin and perfectly cooked seabass, decadent desserts and a huge list of drinks from the spectacular win ery.
If you are looking for something a little lighter, Restaurane Playa Bella’s appetiser menu is more than enough to fill a hole. Try their spinach crepe au
with baked onion soup or creamy as paragus soup.
Restaurante Playa Bella also caters for companies, business events and oc casions, offering a special three course menu with choices like home made pate to start and steak as your main. Finish with special home made desserts or ice cream, or try their house liquors and other delicacies.
With a relaxing open fire, Restau rante Playa Bella is the perfect place to come with friends and family no matter what the occa sion or the weather!
A special local and cosy atmosphere, exquisite service, and excellent food at a great price will greet you at Restaurante Playa Bella, where you will be welcomed by the warm and friendly staff.
THE Salon Varietés The atre in Fuengirola will for this year only be present ing not one, but two pan tomimes.
Obviously disrupted by the pandemic, it chose
not to run the fun packed Jack and the Beanstalk in December 2021, but of fered audiences a chance to enjoy this particularly British form of entertain ment from January 2 to
January 7 this year.
Now, with Spain having returned to normality it can revert to the tradi tional dates so that Cinderella will go to the Ball from Saturday 17 to Tuesday December 20 and then Monday 2 to Thursday January 5.
Performances are nightly at 7.30pm, ex cept Sunday starting at 7pm and there are 2pm matinees on December 18 and January 3 and 5 but no evening perfor mance on January 5.
On Wednesday Jan uary 4 there will be a bus coming from (and returning to) Estepona and another bus from Coin/Alhaurin.
If you would like to buy tickets with bus transport, please con tact Derek on 696 430 160. (do not buy tickets online for this perfor mance if you want transport).
THERE’S probably still time to make a book ing to join the annual Age Concern Marbella and San Pedro Christ mas Lunch which will be taking place at The Hogan Stand in San Pedro Alcantara on Thursday December 8 from 1pm.
Those attending will have a great choice from the three course menu which includes Roast Turkey as well as a selection suitable for vegetarians and the cost which in cludes water and a glass of house wine is just €30 per person.
As always there will
be musical entertain ment, this year featur ing the popular Del Sol Singers conducted by Karen Danzig, as well as Nathan Dean known for performing timeless classics from Jim Reeves to Harry Styles.
Reservations are a must so email lunch es@ageconcernmar bella.com to reserve your place.
THERE’S a special Christmas sale at the Lux Mundi Centre Boutique, Calle Nue va No 7 in Fuengirola on Thursday 15 and Friday December 16 between 10am and 3pm, with some serious reductions to help you get last minute Christmas and Three Kings’ gifts. After visiting the boutique on December 16,
IF you are situated between Manilva and Sotogrande and want to enjoy some Christmas Carols this December then the Love to Sing International Choir is ready to oblige.
They have five events lined up which are as follows:
• Saturday December 3 from 1pm at Centre Mar Y Sol So togrande in aid of Los Barrios Dog Pound.
• Sunday December 11 from 3pm at Bellavista Campsite, Duquesa.
• Friday December 16 from 7.30pm at the Christmas Fayre by The Squirrel, Monte Duquesa Square.
• Saturday December 17 from 6pm at the Christmas Market, Or ange Square, Sabinillas.
• Saturday December 24 from 7.30pm under Arkwrights Arches, Duquesa Port.
you can take part in Taizé Prayer re membering the deceased at the Parish Church of San Jose from 6pm.
Two days later, on Sunday December 18 at the same church, all are invited to take part in an Ecumenical Christmas Carol Service from 5pm.
2023 is fast approaching; so make sure you have one of the hottest tables in town this coming New Year’s Eve, by reserving yours at Nobu Marbella. Celebrate the countdown to 2023 in sparkling Nobu style with our chef’s curated Omakase feast, including an exquisite welcome cocktail. This sensational eight-course tasting menu, with optional sommelier-selected Champagne and wine pairing, is a unique culinary celebration!
Begin your glamorous evening with Caviar with Blinis and handcrafted dishes of Akami tuna with Yuzu Miso, King Crab Avocado with creamy Tosazu, and Kohlrabi salad with a langoustine and truffle miso. Relish the legendary Chef Sushi selection, then savour Eel Foie with Apple and Palo Cortado Teriyaki, and the deeply flavourful Japanese A5 Wagyu with
Jerusalem Artichoke Purée, before the sophisticated delight of a Yuzu Champagne Cream Sphere.
Better still, book a room at Nobu Hotel Marbella and enjoy New Year’s Eve to the max. With no worries about transport home, after dinner you can join the party in La Plaza with live music and the best DJs as everyone waits for the countdown to the moment the clock strikes midnight and 2023 begins. You can dance the night away, or retreat to the tranquillity of your contemporary, zen-inspired room.
Make new memories on the night of 31st December 2022 by dining with us, and staying with us.
ARCH, the charity that looks after horses, will be holding its Christmas Open Day on Sunday December 4 from 11am to 4pm.
There will be a great deal to do during the day and the youngsters will have the chance to see the rescued horses and donkeys as well as visit Santa in his specially prepared grotto.
Volunteers have been making Christmas decora tions which will be for sales and their will be a raffle for a fantastic Christmas Hamper.
Enjoy a meal of home made soup and stews (with vegan options available) as well as cakes, mulled wine and other drinks whilst being entertained by the TAPAS choir and Jens Malling.
Entrance to the event which is being held at ARCH Horse Rescue Centre in Al haurin el Grande is free, al though all donations will be most welcome.
To find out more about the charity visit https://www.horserescue spain.org/.
ALTHOUGH the names Crackids and Devils in the Sky (DITS) may not appear the most inspiring, these two groups of young people from San Pedro Alcantara have hit the head lines over the last few years.
Both have been on TV and now they are appearing at the Cervantes Theatre in Mala ga City on Saturday December 17 at 6pm performing their own brands of metal, funk, rock, ska and punk.
The Crackids and DITS met at Rock Facto ry, their music school in San Pedro de Alcan tara and the Crackids reunited in 2021 to perform on the show Tierra de Talento, in which they reached the semi finals.
Some of the most important rock maga zines in Spain and in Latin America got be hind them and their video showing their in terpretation of a song by The Ramones went viral. DITS emerged in 2017 and in 2019 they won a band contest with their prize being a
trip the most famous studios in the world, Abbey Road in London, where they record ed the song Respect which was a cry to stop racism.
Although some members of the original band have now left, they are in great de mand to appear at festivals and play when ever they can.
Tickets for their hour and a quarter con cert which promises to raise the roof cost just €9 and are available online from the Cer vantes Theatre website.
THE second edition of A Pup py’s Tale by Rex is now avail able in support of Dogs of Malaga in Need Organisa tion (Domino).
Packed with pictures on every page, this educational children’s book describes the imaginary thoughts and feel ings of a rescued pup grow ing up in his loving forever home. Rex uses simple words and phrases to help children and adults learning English.
Domino will host a Charity Lunch on Saturday Decem ber 10 from 1.30pm at La Tabla Belga in Calahonda.
Guests will also receive de tails about Rex’s beautiful story, available as an e book or paperback on Amazon. www.amazon.es/dp/B08PC CX8CZ
MARBELLA will celebrate Christmas and raise funds for the Cudeca Foundation in Benal madena at the Parque Arroyo de la Represa from 11.30am on Saturday December 17.
It will take place by the Pueblo de Belen (Nativity Scene) and will be part of the Second Zambomba organised by the Flamenco
Dance Workshop and the Art and Culture Gui tar Workshop. At noon there will be live per formances featuring dance, guitar and poetry by students and at 1.30pm children will be ex cited by the arrival of the Three Kings.
• December 1, Spice Girls tribute act, The Cazbah Live Lounge, Mijas
• December 2, 8.15pm, Jingle Belles, Drag Show, Minnelli’s, Benalmadena
• December 3, 8.15pm, Jingle Belles, Drag Show, Minnelli’s, Benalmadena
• December 4, 8.15pm, Spice Juke Box Bingo, Drag Show, Minnelli’s, Benalmadena
• December 15, Ladies Christmas Night, The Cazbah Live Lounge, Las Lagunas de Mijas
• December 17, Mels Beach Band, Sala Premiere Marbella
• December 24, 10pm, Ed Sheeran Tribute and Xmas Show, Bonanza Bar Benalmadena
• December 25, 10pm, Soul Note and Xmas Show, Bonanza Bar Benalmadena
EVERY year the popular Film Symphony Orchestra (FSO) comes up with a new theme for its nationwide tour and this year is no dif ferent, although there is only one show in the Costa del Sol.
Krypton is an impressive musical show inspired by the heroes and super heroes of cinema history which will be coming to the Prince of Asturias Auditori um in Torremolinos on Fri day December 16.
Always inventive and slightly tongue in cheek, each performance shows off the skills of this excep tional orchestra guided by founder and conductor Constantino Martínez Orts who is a composer and ar ranger with a wealth of ex perience behind him.
Tickets for this single per formance cost from €38 to €54, but you need to visit the online site at https://filmsymphony.es/e n/tickets krypton/ as some seats may already be sold out.
A three course menu will be served at a cost of €30 per person and there’ll be a raf fle and second hand clothes stall and reservations may be made by calling Petra Brandenburger on 620 651 365.
Representing the author and schoolboy illustrator from the UK, Fuengirola edi tor Chris Dove made a dona tion to Domino from the first edition.
Petra said: “The dogs need help more and more every day. They will welcome any donation from the second edition.”
THE Gibraltar Botanic Gar dens are hosting a ‘Tis the Season’ event in the build up to Christmas.
Two shows will take place in the beautiful Alameda Open Air Theatre, on Satur day December 3 from 12pm to 2.30pm and 2.45pm to 5.15pm, weather permitting, so if it rains, it will be held on Saturday December 10 instead.
This promises to be a fun and festive, family oriented day out where children will meet Santa and receive a gift, be taken on a story telling journey and get cre ative with Christmas themed
arts and crafts, as well as a family dance workshop with a Yuletide spin.
There will also be carol singing with members of the Gibraltar Youth Club and ev eryone is encouraged to sing a long even though the Grinch may turn up.
Tickets are available from Buytickets.gi and are £11 per child. Parents/guardians go free! All children must be ac companied by an adult.
Food and refreshments will be available to buy on the day, including mulled wine and mince pies, hot chocolate, cookies, burgers, hot dogs and drinks.
HAVING hosted a local perfor mance of The Nutcracker in December, a different ver sion, performed by the Kyiv Ballet will take place at the Fe lipe VI Auditorium in Es tepona on Friday January 20 from 8.30pm.
This is one of the most pop ular of Tchaikovsky’s many ballets and tells the story of a fight between good and evil and the turning of dreams in to reality.
Tickets always sell quickly
for this ballet in particular and seats cost €31 plus booking fee (with discounts for the el derly and students) including a €1.5 donation to UNICEF to support their work in the Ukraine emergency.
Reservations may be ob tained online at https://tafes tepona.entradas. plus/.
Ballet lovers don’t forget that the TAF Auditorium wel comes the International Ballet Company on Friday Decem ber 9 as they perform Giselle.
THERE is nothing better than sit ting down after a long day of Christmas festivities, opening presents first thing in the morn ing then having your Christmas dinner. The ambiance is just right, with Christmas music play ing throughout the
and the shouting of “get out of the kitchen! That’s for dessert!” ringing throughout the houseChristmas Day can’t come soon enough.
The reason we have Christmas dinner is to celebrate the arrival of Christmastide and before that, it was believed to be a feast to cele brate the pagan midwinter sol
Throughout the years obviously, tastes have developed and changed, but from archaeological research it was discovered that the most popular meats served in
pagan times were pork and beef! With turkey still the main runner for most families’ Christmas din ners in the UK and America what do the rest of the world eat?
In Cuba, Christmas is a special time just like everywhere else in the world, on this special day they will eat a mixture of rice and beans and if lucky enough they will have fried plantains (ba nanas), a roasted pig and then rum cake with rice pudding for dessert.
In Italy the typical Christmas dinner for them is called ‘The Feast of the Seven Fishes’. This takes place on Christ mas Eve with the dinner in cluding lots of seafood and pasta dishes.
THE tradition of making and decorating ginger bread houses dates back to the 1800s in Germany and became increasingly popular after the fairytale of Hansel and Gretel was published in 1812.
In the story, Hansel and Gretel stumble upon a house made of sweet treats and candy. So, to mim ic this, bakers began to build houses like the one described in the fairy tale. Gingerbread was renowned for being a treat, with it already being used to make gingerbread men and women in the royal homes to a likeness of their guests as a wel come.
Gingerbread houses, however, are now as popu lar as ever and more readily available. Whether it be from making your own home-made gingerbread or picking up a ready-made and assembled house from the supermarket, this is a fun and creative ac tivity to do at this time of the year.
Either with yourself or with the whole family, start a competition and see who can create the most festive home.
Gingerbread house making has become so com petitive that there is now a National Gingerbread House Competition based in North Carolina, Amer ica offering up to over $40,000 in grand prizes. With over 219 people entering this year alone, the stakes are high when it comes to gingerbread.
Gingerbread is also not just scrumptiously good, but it is also known to have its benefits. Assisting to help aid some heartburns, and relieve nausea associated with motion sickness, menstrual cramps, morning sickness and indigestion.
EVERYONE has their own tradi tions throughout the festive pe riod, whether it be leaving stockings on your door for San ta to fill with goodies on Christ mas Eve and treating Santa to cookies and milk and even leav ing carrots out for his reindeer, here are some fun Christmas traditions that are celebrated all over the world.
Venezuela
In Venezuela, it is common for people in Caracas, to rollerblade to church on Christmas Eve! With the ser vice being first thing in the morning, the Venezuelan au thorities have even gone as far as to block off roads and paths and have them be roller-blade-only zones to en sure that everyone arrives safely to the Christmas Eve service.
Norway
In Norway, it is common for people to hide their brooms on Christmas Eve. This tradition dates back to when people be lieved that evil spirits and witches came out on Christmas Eve look
for brooms to ride on. Keep an eye on your broom this festive pe riod and let’s hope it doesn’t go missing!
In Iceland, it is common on the 13 days leading up to Christmas that 13 Yule Lads come down from the mountains to wreak mischief. In the 13 days leading up, chil dren are to leave their shoes on the win dowsill to see what the Yule Lads will leave them. Good chil dren are treated to sweets and those who have misbehaved will receive rot ten potatoes, with a new treat ev ery night there is time for the naughty children to turn nice!
SILENT night, holy night - you’re now singing one of the most well-known Christmas songs of the festive season! Originally the song was written and sung in German dating back to 1816, after the end of the Napoleonic Wars by Joesph Mohr, a young Austrian priest. The song was and is recognised as a song of hope in the midst of suffer ing, during this time Mohr’s town of Maria Pfarr in Austria was picking back up the pieces and hoping to return to normality after 12 years of war that completely decimated the coun try.
The song is sung today throughout the festive period to remind us of a calm and bright silent night, and the wonder of a tender and mild newborn child.
Silent Night has been sung throughout the world for centuries and is known to be the third best-sell ing single of all time thanks to Bing Crosby, recorded in 1935, selling 30 million copies!
Other famous composers and singers such as Frank Sinatra, Kelly Clarkson and Michael Bublé have also taken part in their own recordings of Silent Night.
Silent Night in the last 36 years has been rerecorded up to 733 times! Making its first appear ance on the big screen with The Legend of Silent Night (1968), a TV film directed by Daniel Mann and with its most recent appearance in the movie Silent Night 2021. Still, so famous and sung 200 years later, keep an ear out for it this Christmas.
The Yule Lads - Iceland
THE thrill and excitement of waking up on Christmas morning to see your stock ing full of precious gifts is an experience like no oth er.
The origin of the Christ mas stocking comes from a folklore tale at the time of St Nicholas, where a noble man had lost all his money due to the sudden passing of his wife. Now widowed with three young girls, how was he to survive and give the girls a life worth living. When St Nicholas heard of the nobleman’s troubles in passing, he knew that he would never accept any thing upfront, so instead slid down the chimney of his home to leave gold. However, when looking he noticed three socks were up beside the fire to dry, so instead of leaving the gold at the fireplace, he slid the gold coins into the girl’s socks, creating the first Christmas stockings.
THERE is no better way to spread festive cheer than to say Merry Christmas throughout this time of year and here are some new ways to say Merry Christ mas.
In Hawaii to say Merry Christmas, it is common for people to say ‘Mele Kalikimaka’ and if you are not sure how to best pronounce it, type in Mele le Kalikimaka, Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters on YouTube for not only a fun new way to say Merry Christmas, but for a new, catchy and favourite Christmas song to add to your playlist.
Another great and fun way to say Merry Christmas is shown in the Spanish saying of ‘Feliz Navidad’ translating to Merry Christmas in English, there is no greater song than Jose Feliciano’s ‘Feliz Navi dad’ to get you into the Christmas spirit and be sure to also add it to your Christmas playlist!
CHRISTMAS carols are one of the many ways that you know that the festive season is here but why do we sing Christ mas carols?
Christmas car ols are a way of telling the story of the nativity and the birth of Jesus. Explaining the lead-up to Je sus’ conception, birth and after. The use of the words and the way the carols are sung encapsulate the joy and devotion that one has towards Christianity and God, himself.
The origin of Christmas carols can date as far back as 129 AD! The oldest carol known to be written is believed to be ‘Angels Hymn’. Christianity-themed hymns started taking over the previous pagan songs celebrat ing the Winter Solstice. Christmas carols were used to keep people in high spirits, along with their modern-day plays and feasts. The actual word carol means dance or a song of praise and joy!
CHRISTMAS is the most wonderful time of the year, and it is the perfect season to get your favourite red jumper or sweater out of retire ment! However, why do we asso ciate red with Christmas?
It goes back to Jesus and the story of Christ as talked about in the origin of the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree and the green of the tree symbolises the eternal being of Jesus, while the colour of red throughout the festive period symbolises the blood shed by Jesus during the crucifixion.
Red also symbolises various other emotions and feelings that are shown throughout the festive period, such as love, courage and romance as shown in families coming together to celebrate the festive period, family or per sons making amends and the love received at the dinner table when celebrating with those closest and dearest to us at Christmas.
IT is that time of the year again when you’ll be going through the TV guide to soon see some of the best Christmas TV specials that ‘telly’ has to offer.
Growing up with the classics dating back to the 60s repeated at this time every year, like Dad’s Army, Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Tow ers and a plethora of other good old-school TV, there will be no sur prises as to which shows were most popu lar.
Starting off in 2001, ranking as number 1 for viewership we have On ly Fools and Horses, with 20.3 million view ers all tuning in to hear Del shout “Rodney!!!” as well as see him suit ed and ready for his first appearance on Who wants to be a Mil lionaire.
In second place, the 1999, Coronation Street Christmas spe cial, raining in more than 14.7 million viewers to
In third place, the East enders Christmas Spe cial of 2002, where Ian had a surprise for Laura which left her reeling. Phil and Sonia try to make peace with terri ble news. Part 1 leaving everyone on the edge of their seats, part 2 could n’t come on sooner.
In fourth place, we have Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death bringing 14.4 mil lion viewers in 2008 making us all chuckle on the sofa after our Christ mas dinner.
AS we welcome Christmas it is important to remember why certain traditions are here and why do those that do put up a Christmas tree every year do. Of course, the twinkling lights, shiny tinsel, and our Christmas ornaments and decora tions all have a special place in our hearts, but why do we do it?
In Christianity, the Christ mas tree is symbolic to the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The tree’s branches and shrubs are viewed as an em blem of immortality and are said to symbolise the crown of thorns worn by Christ on the cross. The modern Christmas tree originated and was commonly done for centuries throughout Germany, however only introduced to the UK in the 19th century.
Families would set their trees up on December 24 to com memorate the religious feast day of Adam and Eve. Hanging wafers throughout the tree to symbolise the eucharist, the Christian sign of redemption.
Christmas trees were first introduced to the UK by Queen Charlotte in 1800, with further emphasis being drawn to them by Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria in 1840. Commonly decorated with candles, apples, white candy canes and pas tries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers.
The first Christmas baubles were made in Lauscha, Ger many, all handmade of glass and each one blown individually creating a unique design and shape. Designed to help the candles to ‘twinkle’ more by reflecting from the glass baubles for a more magical Christmas tree.
THE first snowfall of the season has finally arrived. After a slow start to the winter season, snow fell in mountainous regions in the country in mid November, signalling re lief for meteorologists and environmentalists.
The first snowfall of the winter appeared in mountainous regions across the country includ ing the Pyrenees on the
northern border, where snow fell above 1,200 me tres. Snow also fell in na tional parks including the Sierra de Guadarrama, Puerto de Navacerrada, and Rascafría in Madrid and the Sierra Nevada in Granada.
The snowfall is due to a polar stream, bringing freezing temperatures to the highest altitudes in the country. The arrival of colder air from across the
Atlantic brought cooler temperatures and rainfall to much of the country, with mountainous re gions seeing the biggest drop in temperatures.
Throughout the last week, snow continued to fall in these locations, jump starting the winter ski season. The Pyrenees received the most intense snowfall, with up to half a metre of snow falling in some locations.
Peter McLaren Kennedy
NOW’S the time to go see Spain with some 42 long dis tance bus routes to provide free travel in 2023 after the government agreed to in crease the state concession from 50 to 100 per cent.
According to a national news site on Saturday, November 26 the legislation was to go through the Senate in the next few days after it was approved by the Congress of Deputies.
The original concession of 50 per cent came into force on September 1 as part of the government’s efforts to pro mote public transport in light of the energy crisis. That con cession will now rise to 100 per cent from January 1, 2023, on all state owned bus lines, of which there are 42 and which provide services to
THIS week we remember the bravery of Rosa Parks. On Thursday, December 1, 1955, the world changed forever. The then 42 year old Rosa Parks was commuting back home from work and refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus.
Rosa was an ordinary woman on her journey home from work, but little did she know that this would be a momentous moment in history that would then proceed to start what would be known as the Montgomery bus boycott.
Due to Rosa refusing to give up her seat she was fined $14 including court fees and was re leased on a $100 bond after being arrested.
From then the bus boycott began and came to the withdrawal of 40,000 black bus riders on public transport. Over 75 per cent of Mont gomery’s ridership was gone. Black carpools were organised by leaders at the time, such as
nearly 2,400 towns and vil lages. To benefit from the free service, you need to buy a 10, 20 or 30 trip ticket as well as pay a refundable deposit.
If you have completed the required number of trips then you will be repaid your de posit, however, the qualifying number of trips is yet to be announced.
Martin Luther King Jr, with African American taxi drivers offering their services for the same price as the bus fare 10 cents to those that were African American. After 386 days and ap proval of the Supreme Court, on December 20, 1956, Montgomery’s buses were then integrat ed on December 21, 1956.
AS a disabled traveller I hope these tips prove use ful:
For many Age Concern clients and others this is the time we plan to visit family in the UK.
So please don’t get caught out, as a friend did on a recent visit.
Do remember to check the size and weight of your luggage check your airline guide.
Are you taking a lot of medication with you most of us do!
Print off a copy of your medications from the list provided by your GP.
This saves any unneces sary explanations at Securi ty should you be ques tioned.
Do remember that you cannot take bottles of wa ter through Security.
You can however take an empty bottle and refill it when you are air side.
Or buy a bottle of water when you pass Security for just €1.
Are you disabled or have mobility issues?
Then you should consider Special Assistance. They are at the airport to help you.
Just make sure you com plete the necessary section when booking your ticket online.
Go to their designated area on arrival and leave the rest to them brilliant service.
Age Concern providing Help where Help is Needed.
Call us on 652 537 615 (24/7) or email info@age concernfym.com.
SPAIN’S Maritime Rescue Service has reported the rescue of three stow aways travelling on a ship’s rudder in the Ca nary Islands after its jour ney from Nigeria.
The oil and chemical tanker Althini II arrived in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria on Monday November 28 after an 11 day voy age from Lagos in Nigeria, according to MarineTraf fic, a website that tracks the journeys of ships.
The coastguard con
firmed their rescue and said that the migrants were taken into the port and attended to by health services.
It is not the first time stowaways have been found on the rudder of commercial ships to the Canary Islands.
In October 2020, an other four people were found by police at Las Palmas after stowing away on the rudder of an oil tanker from Lagos for 10 days.
THE third and final week in the ‘I’m A Celebrity’ jungle is always fast and furious, with one celeb leaving each night. Gogglebox star and comedian Babatunde left on Wednesday, November 23 after the public voted.
Former Radio One Breakfast Show host Chris Moyles had a good run, but his time was up on Thursday, November 24. Comedian Seann Walsh became the seventh to leave on Friday 25.
The moment every con testant dreams of tackling on the show is the iconic ‘Celebrity Cyclone’. Mike, Matt, Jill, and Owen, donned their individual coloured lycra pants for the legendary trial and off they marched to try and win those meals for camp.
Jill went first, followed by Matt, then Mike, with Owen taking the last stage. They overcame the crazy water cannons and
bouncing balls to win all four stars. England rugby star Mike Tindall was eventually evicted, nar rowly missing out on the final.
On Sunday, November 27, just three contestants remained in the jungle as the finalists on this year’s ‘I’m A Celebrity’. One out of politician Matt Hancock, soap star Owen Warner, or England Lioness Jill Scott, would end up wearing the iconic ‘jungle crown’.
Matt was the first of the three to be voted out,
leaving Jill and Owen as this year’s contenders. It was all down to the great British public now to choose the winner after watching three weeks of trials and tribulations in the Australian jungle.
Ana and Dec had the re sults on their card, with more than 12 million votes made. They announced that the winner, and new ‘Queen of the Jungle’ for 2022, was England football star, Jill Scott. Hollyoaks actor Owen was a very worthy runner up.
IN a world-shattering event, not only was the winner of the 10th Copenhagen Conker Championship (which always takes place at Charlie’s bar in Copenhagen) Swedish, but she was also a woman going by the name of Elin ‘nihilation’ Giese who outplayed everyone.
FOR the last 12 years, lobby group Foodwatch has run a competition to name the most misleading food product and this year is no exception. Front runners are an Iced Tea brand with misleading names, a potato salad and a Kellogg’s breakfast cereal.
BRUSSELS’ Irish pub Kitty O'Shea's wanted to take a stance against Qatar but still allow sports fans to enjoy the World Cup. It decided not to turn the TVs on until kick off and turn them off at half time so no-one sees the sponsored adverts.
THE German Football Association (DFB) is taking advice as to whether FIFA's threat to impose a yellow card or ban on any team captain wearing the One Love rainbow armband (supporting sexual diversity) at the Qatar World Cup Finals is legal or can be overturned.
THE Phyrgian red cap is a symbol of the French Revolution, but France’s Olympic Committee having chosen the cap as the Paris 2024 mascot have admitted that only 8 per cent of the souvenirs will be made in France and the rest will come from China.
IN this the 75th anniversary of the supply of a Norwegian Christmas tree to London and still smarting from criticism that last year’s was tatty, Oslo Council is going all out to ensure that this year’s tree which will be in Trafalgar Square in December is top notch.
MANY cars in Finland have two electric heaters, one to warm the engine and the other the interior because the weather is so cold. Electricity company Fingrid is asking drivers not to plug in the interior heater to ensure there are no morning power cuts.
AMAZON’S Alexa can speak English with British, American, Canadian, Australian and Indian accents, but until now she hasn’t kissed the Blarney Stone and hasn’t spoken with an Irish lilt. In theory, this has all changed but whilst some Echo units can manage brogue, older versions still can’t.
ON Wednesday December 7, the lights that make up the world's largest Christmas tree will be switched on to light up the slopes of Monte Ingino. Made up of 700 lights and a star, each bulb is dedicated by a local family to their loved ones.
AS Cristiano Ronaldo captain’s Portugal in what will be his last World Cup Finals and Portuguese councils decide not to put up giant screens due to cost, the Portuguese Parliament voted to allow President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to fly to Qatar for the team’s opening match.
ONE of Banksy’s seven murals painted on bomb damaged walls in Ukraine has been subject to changes by a local graffiti artist who has added an image of a Cossack and a condom. There has been a mixed reception to this addition with some Ukrainians calling it desecration.
WORRIED about the physical fitness and mental health of gamers, the city fathers of Helsingborg have opened FUZED, a facility of over 3,000 square metres where e-sports meets physical activity. Gamers can still play computer games, but can also play basketball or football and meet others.
SPANISH energy companies Naturgy and Equinor have signed an agreement with El Cluster Marítimo de Canarias (Canary Islands) to promote and develop actions that boost the competitiveness of the archipelago’s maritime sector and plan to participate in future offshore wind projects around the islands.
FORMER minister responsible for the Royal Mail Stephen By ers has told a public enquiry in to the prosecution of 700 sub postmasters for alleged theft that although he was not per sonally aware of the prosecu tions, he recognises that the contract for the software that accused them was “fatally flawed.”
THANKS to a deal done with Catalan Independence MPS, the Spanish parliament voted 187 to 156 to approve the pro posed 2023 budget which re flects the current Spanish gov ernment’s desire to assist those who are unable to cope with the mounting cost of living.
AFTER staff, HMRC, bankers and administrators are paid, un secured creditors of furniture company Made.com which went bust owing a reported £187 million will receive just 1.6p in the pound and this in cludes some 12,000 customers who had paid for but never re ceived their goods.
THERE is good news for 10,000 employees of Spanish insur ance company MAPFRE as after giving them a €350 bonus in Ju ly, it now plans to pay them a further €400 in time for Christ mas in order to help them cope with the extra costs of inflation.
THE West wants to set a price cap on the importation of Rus sian oil, but no one can agree on what that price should be.
The invasion of Ukraine has seen energy cost of all sorts soar but because Russia has such huge oil reserves and the West needs oil, it continues to export crude oil, currently at prices which are often lower than Brent.
The problem for the G7, EU and others such as the UK is that if they set the cap too high it won’t actually have any ma jor effect on the Russian econo my, but if set too low, then Russia could simply restrict production and force world prices up.
Russia still has friends around the world and could simply ex port its higher priced crude to them and benefit from the in creased price.
Whilst the proposed cap is somewhere between $60 and $70 a barrel, the current aver age price is $85 a barrel for Brent, but Russia is selling
cheaper than that and it is now reported that Putin is consider ing passing a new law whereby Russian oil exporters will be banned from supplying any country that signs up for the price cap!
To add to this, Russia is cur rently purchasing second hand tankers (reportedly 70 so far according to ship broker BRS) in order to get round any ban
on Western owned tankers from carrying Russian crude oil.
Effectively, whilst leaders dither, Russia continues in this area at least to ‘rule the roost’.
What is also sometimes over looked is that Russia is the world’s third largest producer of gold and with 2,300 tons in reserve, worth around $55 mil lion per ton, finance is possibly the least of Putin’s worries.
THE Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, met with mayors from the Cam po de Gibraltar on Friday November 25 and told them that Spain and the Eu ropean Commission have sent the United Kingdom a proposal to make this area a zone of shared prosperity.
Albares, who had con vened the meeting to re port on negotiations with the United Kingdom over Gibraltar, reviewed the ob jectives and interests that Spain has been defending in this negotiating process, particularly for the benefit of the residents and eco nomic operators in the Campo.
During the meeting, the minister reported that Spain, together with the Eu ropean Commission, has put on the table a global proposal, which aims to es tablish a new legal frame work that lays the founda tions for a stable relationship between Spain and the EU, on the one hand, and the territory of
Gibraltar, through the Unit ed Kingdom, on the other.
This requires that Spain control, on behalf of Schen gen, the external borders of Gibraltar and that, for this, it can exercise certain func tions and powers, necessary to protect the integrity and security of the Schengen area.
If accepted by Gibraltar
and the UK, this would lead to the removal of fences along the border and free passage for visitors and workers as well as goods al though tobacco would need to be monitored due to dif ferences in price.
Despite this, Spain still maintains its claim on sovereignty and jurisdiction in relation to Gibraltar.
BRITISH company HLP Klearfold has made the bold statement that plastic packaging can be more sus tainable than paper and card board.
They argue that if you consider the lifetime of packaging and recog nise that paper is difficult to recycle if contaminated with food or other waste, there is a lot to consider.
Cardboard production requires a high amount of water, generates emissions and can encourage de forestation if not sourced sustain ably so it should be accepted that it isn’t as environmentally friendly as one first thinks.
Plastic requires around 40 per cent less energy than cardboard while also producing less waste.
NETFLIX has expanded its studios in Madrid to become its largest in Europe.
The global streaming giant re cently unveiled its expanded stu dios, located in Ciudad de la Tele (Television City) in the municipality of Tres Cantos, which is located northeast of the Spanish capital.
With a total area of more than 22,000 m2 the studio boasts not only sets, but also offices for pro duction, make up, hairdressing, and costumes.
Netflix opened its first Spanish language studio in 2019, shortly af ter the Madrid filmed La Casa de Papel became its first global hit in a language other than English.
THE UK fishing industry will benefit from increased fishing opportuni ties worth nearly £5 million in 2023 after reaching an agreement with Norway to secure access to key fishing stocks for UK vessels.
The deal secures quota of valu able North Sea whitefish stocks worth nearly £3 million and in arc tic stocks worth nearly £2 million for 2023 and ensures UK vessels have access to Norwegian waters to fish their own approved quota.
Most significant is the extension of arrangements agreed last year on mutual access, with the UK fish ing industry having access to 30,000 tonnes of whitefish stocks such as cod, haddock and hake in the North Sea.
3I Group 1.347,00 1.364,50 1.344,50 135,44K
Abrdn 207,70 211,70 205,05 627,72K
Admiral Group 2.104,0 2.126,0 2.096,0 36,69K
Anglo American 3.174,5 3.179,0 3.138,5 173,40K
Antofagasta 1.332,00 1.336,50 1.322,00 77,11K
Ashtead Group 5.082,0 5.126,0 5.040,0 41,26K
Associated British Foods 1.579,0 1.588,5 1.568,5 84,40K
AstraZeneca 10.956,0 11.000,0 10.876,0 108,22K
Auto Trader Group Plc 574,40 578,60 570,60 204,19K
Aveva 3.189,0 3.193,0 3.185,0 506,05K
Aviva 454,00 456,60 450,00 385,70K
B&M European Value Retail SA406,30 413,40 405,60 199,19K
BAE Systems 806,80 809,80 801,00 857,80K
Barclays 160,28 160,40 157,88 3,53M
Barratt Developments 400,80 406,80 399,65 67,89K
Berkeley 3.798,0 3.841,0 3.783,0 19,58K
BHP Group Ltd 2.443,00 2.449,00 2.419,00 170,05K
BP 481,65 481,85 475,05 6,42M
British American Tobacco 3.327,0 3.329,5 3.261,5 449,26K
British Land Company 405,90 409,10 402,70 176,85K
BT Group 125,85 127,80 125,35 1,68M
Bunzl 3.090,0 3.116,0 3.077,0 34,24K
Burberry Group 2.113,0 2.115,0 2.077,0 119,35K
Carnival 716,4 730,2 714,6 55,69K
Centrica 95,26 95,26 92,70 2,85M
Coca Cola HBC AG 2.047,0 2.047,0 2.023,0 53,71K
Compass 1.844,50 1.845,00 1.829,50 209,18K
CRH 3.318,5 3.336,0 3.303,0 70,20K
Croda Intl 6.854,0 6.952,0 6.840,0 14,40K
DCC 4.408,0 4.435,0 4.395,0 36,11K
Diageo 3.760,0 3.775,5 3.739,0 187,48K
DS Smith 305,80 308,70 304,40 516,74K
EasyJet 399,70 410,57 398,70 207,94K
Experian 2.938,9 2.981,0 2.919,0 156,36K
Ferguson 9.790,0 9.876,0 9.782,0 63,01K
Flutter Entertainment 11.865,0 11.910,0 11.720,0 32,31K
Fresnillo 895,20 899,00 886,80 53,75K
Glencore 531,30 532,40 524,70 4,75M
GSK plc 1.390,40 1.399,80 1.384,40 375,68K
Halma 2.256,0 2.279,0 2.244,0 55,82K
Hargreaves Lansdown 858,60 863,80 853,00 92,54K
Hikma Pharma 1.508,00 1.518,00 1.496,00 35,32K
HSBC 487,60 487,60 481,20 2,46M
IAG 134,16 135,40 132,00 1,84M
Imperial Brands 2.114,00 2.114,00 2.080,00 349,26K
Informa 609,00 612,40 605,80 177,22K
InterContinental
Intermediate Capital 1.217,50 1.232,00 1.204,50 199,14K
Intertek 4.017,0 4.039,0 4.003,0 20,83K
ITV 77,74 78,46 77,14 1,00M
J Sainsbury 224,80 226,30 223,10 543,24K
Johnson Matthey 2.114,0 2.123,0 2.067,0 32,95K
Land Securities 625,60 638,00 624,80 107,08K
Legal & General 259,60 261,00 258,00 913,48K
Lloyds Banking 46,24 46,28 45,73 8,55M
London Stock Exchange 8.074,0 8.156,0 8.046,0 25,27K
Melrose Industries 133,65 134,65 132,85 357,66K
Mondi 1.559,50 1.564,00 1.551,50 55,75K
National Grid 1.018,11 1.023,50 1.014,00 554,81K
NatWest Group 255,60 255,80 253,20 996,89K
Next 5.722,4 5.760,0 5.644,0 35,40K
Norilskiy Nikel ADR 9,10 9,10 9,10 0
Ocado 641,91 659,40 634,00 335,98K
Persimmon 1.290,0 1.308,0 1.273,8 47,09K
Phoenix 606,60 609,80 603,60 183,16K
Prudential 938,60 942,80 920,20 469,83K
Reckitt Benckiser 5.928,0 5.946,0 5.854,0 128,03K
Relx 2.318,00 2.335,00 2.305,00 180,30K
Rentokil 543,40 548,40 541,00 373,69K
Rightmove 556,40 563,00 552,80 304,48K
Rio Tinto PLC 5.341,0 5.345,0 5.277,0 216,53K
Rolls-Royce Holdings 90,74 91,56 89,64 3,95M
Sage 811,04 816,80 806,80 63,56K
Samsung Electronics DRC 1.122,00 1.124,50 1.116,00 0,98K
Schroders 460,0 465,7 454,3 139,72K
Scottish Mortgage 757,59 764,80 753,80 295,28K
Segro 815,30 838,20 814,00 174,84K
Severn Trent 2.794,0 2.837,0 2.785,0 47,28K
Shell 2.338,5 2.339,5 2.291,0 1,35M
Smith & Nephew 1.085,50 1.093,00 1.077,00 584,09K
Smiths Group 1.616,50 1.620,00 1.605,00 39,96K
Spirax-Sarco Engineering 11.305,0 11.450,0 11.265,0 5,42K
SSE 1.719,15 1.733,00 1.712,00 159,52K
St. James’s Place 1.164,00 1.174,00 1.159,00 6,11K
Standard Chartered 587,00 587,20 577,60 438,16K
Taylor Wimpey 102,70 104,15 102,05 1,08M
Tesco 233,80 235,30 232,90 1,34M
Tui 146,85 149,35 146,15 301,03K
Unilever 4.118,5 4.126,0 4.100,5 251,33K
United Utilities 1.056,50 1.079,50 1.054,50 148,68K
3M 129,04 129,82 881,74K
American Express 154,15 154,47 153,17 665,77K
Amgen 283,74 285,57 281,41 1,22M
Apple 148,11 148,88 147,12 35,17M
Boeing 178,36 178,46 174,03 3,47M
Caterpillar 235,70 237,49 235,19 1,03M
Chevron 183,70 185,30 183,31 2,80M
Cisco 48,40 49,05 48,35 8,49M
Coca-Cola 62,69 62,81 62,38 5,17M
Dow 51,56 51,82 51,42 1,65M
Goldman Sachs 388,86 389,44 385,18 1,13M
Home Depot 326,38 329,08 321,90 3,39M
Honeywell 220,05 220,96 217,74 1,12M
IBM 148,37 149,49 148,10 2,08M
Intel 29,34 29,68 29,33 11,31M
J&J 177,24 178,12 176,86 3,06M
JPMorgan 136,74 137,14 136,05 3,22M
McDonald’s 275,00 275,32 272,86 1,60M
Merck&Co 107,50 107,50 106,56 3,16M
Microsoft 247,49 248,70 246,73 9,20M
Nike 105,96 107,18 105,56 3,43M
Procter&Gamble 146,72 147,20 146,40 2,41M
Salesforce Inc 153,35 154,04 151,38 3,02M
The Travelers 188,91 189,53 187,68 514,68K
UnitedHealth 537,62 540,85 532,52 1,42M
Verizon 39,02 39,36 38,97 7,72M
Visa A 213,79 214,00 211,38 1,99M
Walgreens Boots 41,66 41,97 41,42 2,23M
Walmart 153,07 153,09 151,86 2,93M
Walt Disney 98,87 99,81 98,08 6,66M
Vodafone Group PLC 92,95 93,33 92,49 8,71M Whitbread 2.622,0 2.652,0 2.604,0 24,81K WPP 876,20 879,80 871,80 128,86K Most
Fairfax
Telecom
Most Declined
Lufax
COSCO
Co., Ltd. -11.56% 100,000
Pilbara Minerals Limited -10.32% 381,581
Livent Corporation -8.81% 5.625M
Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. -8.20% 5.408M
Bilibili Inc. -7.15% 6.2M
Lithium Americas Corp. -7.05% 3.155M
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. -6.80% 2.448M
Luckin Coffee Inc. -6.74% 1.902M
Bank of Ireland Group plc -6.71% 34,151
Futu Holdings Limited -6.51% 1.413M
Peter Loveday
Euro
EUR/GBP: Down from £0.87 to £0.86
EUR/USD: Up from $0.98 to $1.03
The euro fluctuated over the last month, amid a mix of concerns over the war in Ukraine and bets for more aggressive interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank (ECB). At the end of October EUR exchange rates were buoyed by forecasts for a 75bps rate hike from the ECB. While the bank matched these expectations, its dovish forward guidance swiftly reversed these gains. The euro then found its feet again in the first half of November. The single currency’s neg ative correlation with the US dollar allowing it to rally as the latter weakened. However EUR’s as cent then ran out of steam amid fears Russia’s war with Ukraine might be spilling over into the rest of Europe, after a stray missile killed two in Poland. It seems safe to assume that the euro will remain sensitive to Ukraine developments over the coming month, with the ECB’s next in terest rate decision also likely to influence the di rection of the single currency.
GBP/EUR: Up from €1.14 to €1.15
GBP/USD: Up from $1.13 to $1.18
THE UK should use immigra tion to solve worker short ages and boost economic growth according to Tony Danker, CEO of the Confed eration of British Industry (CBI). He wants the govern ment to help companies re cruit qualified British staff.
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its forecast for 2022 Spanish GDP to 4.6 per cent but has warned that growth will be weak over coming months due to a slowdown in exter nal demand.
THE pandemic saw a signifi cant growth in UK business Pets at Home as customers flocked to obtain pets and although there has been a reduction in owners now, there is still a strong market despite rising costs.
Trade in the pound has been choppy over the past four weeks. Sterling initially soared as Rishi Sunak was appointed as the UK’s new Prime Minister. GBP investors were optimistic his tenure will be less tumultuous than his predeces sor, Liz Truss.
However, these gains were reversed almost immediately as a result of some particularly bleak forecasts from the Bank of England (BoE). The BoE warned the UK is facing its longest re cession on record. An improving market mood helped Sterling to recoup some of these losses in the weeks that followed, although Sterling’s as cent did not come without its hurdles.
These came in the form of some mixed UK data as well as the government’s Autumn State ment. While Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s tax and spending plans helped to restore the UK’s finan cial credibility, his confirmation that the UK is in a recession spooked investors. Looking ahead, the pound may face some headwinds in the month to come if UK data continues to point to a slow down in domestic growth.
USD/GBP: Down from $0.88 to $0.83 USD/EUR: Down from €1.01 to €0.96
The US dollar has trended broadly lower over
THE UK Competition and Market Authority, the CMA, fears a merger could in crease UK oil and gas costs as with less competition production costs could rise.
Well intervention services are essential services used by oil and gas operators to manage well production, provide well diagnostics and modify a well’s state or con figuration.
Two of three of the largest companies, Baker Hughes and Altus supply various well intervention services in the UK, including to opera tors active on the UK conti nental shelf.
An investigation by the CMA has found that Baker Hughes and Altus are the two largest providers of both coiled tubing and pumping services in the UK and compete very closely in the supply of these services currently.
After any merger, Baker Hughes would face competi tion from only one other major supplier Halliburton
and a small number of other suppliers that are much weaker competitors in the UK.
The CMA is therefore con cerned that the loss of rival ry between the merging companies could lead to higher prices, reduced choice and lower quality ser vices for businesses in the UK that purchase coiled tub ing and pumping services.
Colin Raftery, Senior Di rector of Mergers at the CMA, said: “Our investiga
tion showed that Baker Hughes’ purchase of Altus would take out an impor tant supplier and few re maining competitors would be left in the market. We will move to an in depth in vestigation unless the com panies can address our con cerns.”
The two parties are now required to submit mitiga tion to the CMA explaining why the takeover should not be examined more thor oughly.
the past month. The sudden reversal in the ‘greenback’s fortunes being driven by USD in vestors scaling back their expectations for future Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
This repricing of expectations was primarily at tributed to signs that US inflation may have peaked. The US reported a larger-than-expected fall in its consumer price index and producer price index in October.
An improving market mood also weakened demand for the safe-haven currency through the first half of November. Although a subse quent souring of risk appetite in response to Ukraine concerns and a spike in Chinese Covid cases has offered some support to USD ex change rates.
The Fed’s December interest rate decision will no doubt be the highlight for USD investors in the coming month. If the US central bank sur prises by delivering another 75bps rate hike we could see the US dollar surge.
Currencies Direct have helped over 430,000 customers save on their currency transfers since 1996. Just pop into your local Currencies Direct branch or give us a call to find out more about how you can save money on your currency trans fers.
THERE is to be major change in the rules concerning re sponsibility for the obligations to fix unsafe residential buildings in Britain as the government intends for it to be come the responsibility of the builder rather than the leaseholder.
Proposals for how developers would pay to fix unsafe buildings have been set out by the government as it moves a step closer to imposing its new Building Safety Levy.
The government has now begun consulting developers and other interested parties on the plans, which will see an estimated £3 billion collected over the next 10 years.
Under the plan, developers of residential buildings, re gardless of their height, will have to pay the levy contri bution as part of the building control process.
THE Council of Ministers in Spain has adopted a package of measures aimed at the families most af fected by the rise in Euribor which influences vari able rate mortgages which has been caused by the war in Ukraine.
More than a million Spanish households will be able to benefit from this protection, approximately a third of those with variable rate mortgages, ac cording to Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño.
Whilst she suggested that the Euribor rate is still low compared to pre pandemic rates, she recog nised that many vulnerable families were worried about the additional cost of mortgages which is why the government will help them.
STRANGE to receive occasional letters accusing me of always supporting the Conservative Party; misconceived balderdash of course. Mind you, frankly I would rather support any party than the Labour movement.
Some of us really do have to declare opposition to the utter conspiracy, now being indoctrinated by the left support ing media and its offshoots of anti right activists. Even ‘Celebrity Get Me Out’ was crammed with supporters of the left. To vie Matt Hancock no doubt! The first voted out was Ms White, and she was probably the worst of all. She posi tively hates right wingers and even seems to consider them racist.
Labour, and its raggle taggle bunch of so called politicians, has frankly come up with nothing at all likely to solve the country’s problems. In their pathetic bumbling efforts to gain popularity, they just recently actually stood up in the house and stated that were they elected they would get rid of the House of Lords.
Wow, what a great idea to solve problems that are at this time strangling the country and its citizens. To be hon
est even I would like to see something take the place of the House of Lords, but not to even be contemplating changes in that direction at this mo ment, when every fibre in the UK politi cal bodies should be concentrating on emerging from the swamp of despair the country is drowning in.
This ludicrous party actually sat around a table and discussed announc ing this ridiculous scheme, during yet another time wasting meet of specious thinking. What an utter misconception and example of the ends this lot will in duce to receive votes. (Gees a job!)
Labour were also, under Blair, the ex ponents of mass immigration. To attain even more votes, Starmer is now en deavouring to attain more popularity by cutting the numbers down! You couldn’t make it up.
I do recall some years ago Qatar be gan advertising its airline on British TV. (Paying a fortune no doubt!) When it was learned that Qatar is actually pro nounced as rhyming with catarrh; the tongue twisted convulsions the media got into trying to pronounce it different ly was so ridiculous I do actually re
member mentioning it in a column. Well, now they’ve attained the World Cup, nothing’s changed. Only its citizens and Arabic fraternities announce it cor rectly, everyone else calls it Katah!
Another endeavour that has earned a money avalanche for some specific time consuming numbskull somewhere. May I repeat once again gees a job. I really would be quite good at it ya know.
Keep those letters coming; just be cause I only reply to the occasional in put, I do read and appreciate every one. Oh, and by the way. Thousands on so cial media objecting to ‘the World Cup knee!’ 100 per cent correct. Anyone lis tening? No chance.
Keep the faith. Love Leapy leapylee2002@hotmail.com expatradioscotland.com Mon and Fri. 1pm till 4.
WITH less than a month to Christmas, many charities are do ing their best to raise funds in order to be able to continue with their important work.
The problem of course is that with the continuing rise in the cost of living it becomes more important that those in need (two or four legged) are helped, but equally fewer peo ple can afford to spare money as they face their own Christ mas costs.
In some parts of Spain where expatriates are known for digging deep, there have been so many charity lunches and dinners planned that they are overlapping and more than one organisation has decided to postpone their Christmas event until February where there will be less competition.
Some charities are inviting people to gift wrap toys which will then be distributed to those families which are unable to afford to buy gifts for their children and as more youngsters expect something at Christmas and then a few days later Three Kings’ Day, the cost becomes even greater.
Many children have more toys than they can ever play with and in a lot of cases as they grow, they lose interest in them, so perhaps some enterprising charity could think of ap pealing to parents and children to donate good quality, no longer wanted toys and games for those in need as an old toy for one child is a new toy for another.
The world is coming round to the concept of the circular economy where all sorts of goods are either repurposed or recycled and this is a great opportunity to let children help other children and learn from their own example.
IT’S all happening: the final sprint before the elections campaigning starts in earnest. You can’t open a newspaper or browse on Social Media without the smiling faces of politicians beaming down on you and trying to con vince you how well they are doing.
But you know what, this old atheist is going to quote the Bible, “By their deeds you shall know them.”
In Mijas, we have had the same two parties in power for the last almost eight years, an uneasy arrangement which reluc tantly gave one party the power for the last three and a half years.
They already give the impres sion of an unhappy married cou ple who put on a face when they are under the public gaze, but re ally can’t stand the sight of each other in private. It was without a doubt a marriage of convenience which has resulted in financial dependence on both parts. No
‘local celebrity’. Frankly, I hate these photos. They are nothing more than a cynical attempt at nothing more than unsubtle self promotion, and a vague hope that it may sway the ignorant voting public to selecting the right list when next year’s elec tions finally come along.
one can afford to walk away from the marriage, but neither is really happy to remain in it.
The favourite manner to in vade our consciousness is the ‘Firing Squad’ photo. We politi cians apparently love them as they allow us to show off our
best side, show how much we care about those who are sur rounding us, and tell us absolute ly nothing about the efficacy of our work. It is really just a wa tered down version of celebrity worship where people love the idea of being posed alongside a
If these are really the de ciding factors which persuade a vote in one direction or the other, we are really up the creek without a paddle. Can that one little pho to make the participants forget that our Mijas government spent €30 million last year despite neg ative reports from the municipal auditor, basically unlawfully, if not illegal? Can this snap of the camera make people forget the votes against stabilising the beaches, finding a new ambience for the Mijas donkeys, accepting the urbanisations into the council care, neglecting our elderly by not moving forward a municipal elderly residence? Apparently, they think so.
There may have been a time when all a councillor needed to be was a nice guy (I say nice ‘guy’, as this was a time when mainly men went into politics. Thankfully, this has changed). But being ‘nice’ really isn’t enough: simply being popular is n’t enough; having a silver tongue isn’t enough; and being able to spout party political jar gon like a seven year old repeat ing a catechism isn’t enough. So, what about the ‘deeds’? Politicians are great believers in the poor memory of the people, and when you have been in pow er for eight years they are not wrong to do so. Most people can’t remember what happened last week, let alone seven years ago. They rely on people not re membering their cock ups, their questionable record in getting things done for the people, their squandering of the public purse.
There is always time for a pho to, but for many it stops there. Next time you see me in a firing squad photo, shoot me!
CHRISTMAS is just around the corner, and our greatest wish is to give our nearest and dearest something original, memorable and useful. We want to make our family and friends happy. With this in mind, here are sev eral ideas from rest experts MiColchon to get the perfect gift.
The million dollar question whenever we want to buy something for someone we care about is “what will be the perfect gift?” It is clear that the perfect gift depends on each person, so how do we get it right?
We are going to help you with this difficult choice with some aspects that we believe are fundamental to choosing the perfect present.
How the perfect gift should be
• Let’s not forget that it’s the intention that counts, the first goal we want to achieve is to touch the heartstrings of our loved one, we want our gift to be memorable and convey the affection we feel for this person.
• Let’s take into account, of course, the tastes and needs of our relative or friend and we are sure to find important clues.
• When considering gift options, we also
have to think about our budget.
The perfect gift should be original, memo rable, useful and at the best price... So how about giving the gift of wellness?
The perfect gift is healthy rest
A practical gift that can be enjoyed every day and allows us to take care of our health, give a memory foam pillow! If you want to be remembered, giving a quality pillow is giving the gift of wellness, comfort and health, so that our loved one wakes up recovered and renewed.
What are the options? Every type of cush ion you can think of can be found in MiCol chon® stores, where their Mattressologists will help you choose the best pillow for the person you love the most.
We recommend the viscoelastic pillows, which adapts to the contour of your body perfectly, keeping your back in the correct posture. Consider the variety and affordable price of the firm NordSwiss®, or ergonomic pillows from Tempur®, which also holds the original patent of viscoelastic material.
Following the line of a ‘healthy’ gift, the old er people of the family may appreciate an electric articulated bed to not only enjoy the best rest, but many other features and amenities too!
The perfect gift is also comfort and relax ation. Another way to show our affection is to gift the most important feature of any living room, the ‘throne’ that we all deserve to en joy hobbies, reading, television, football or family gatherings the armchair.
When looking for the perfect armchair, head to MiColchon in Malaga where you can enjoy the #SofáExperience by Nessen Interi ors®, offering sofas and armchairs of the high est quality, Spanish manufacturing, Italian de signs, the best stain resistant upholstery and the best leather.
Be the grandson or daughter of the year by giving a comfortable armchair with the fea tures you want, such as zero gravity system to improve blood circulation, motorised move ment of the headrest, feet and lumbar area, PowerLift mechanism so that the person can sit up effortlessly... The list is endless.
DURING the winter months, seasonal sickness es can strike and ruin your plans, but luckily there are ways to reduce your chances of catching any thing. Here we share three top tips from medical pro fessionals on how you can protect yourself against seasonal bugs.
1.
If you are able to get a flu vaccine, take the opportu nity. In Spain, a government campaign aims to vaccinate 75 per cent of over 65s and people with health condi tions, as well as through pri vate healthcare providers. Colds and flus are constant ly evolving, so doctors rec ommend taking the annual flu vaccine as it targets cur rent strains of sickness.
2.
If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s
that good hygiene is crucial. Wash your hands before and after eating and after sneezing or coughing, avoid touching your mouth and nose often, and avoid close contact with other people that are sick.
3. Boost your immune system
Try to eat a balanced diet
containing lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the winter months.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle by exercising fre quently and getting at least seven hours of sleep per night.
You can also consider tak ing vitamin supplements if you have any deficiencies.
WORLD Cup fever is officially here as the matches kicked off in Qatar. And if you want to feel even more involved with the tournament, keep read ing! Here we share some health tips and tricks that World Cup stars swear by!
• Enjoy your hobbies
England star Phil Foden loves to fish during his down time, while Harry Kane and Wales captain Gareth Bale en joy a game of golf. Nutritionist, Jess Hilliard agrees “They can combat stress and anxiety and improve concentration and patience.”
• Eat vitamin rich foods
Argentinian legend Lionel Messi and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo both love seaweed. Seaweed has the nutritional stamp of approval, as a vitamin, mineral, and pro tein rich food which also con tains vital antioxidants and io dine which maintains a
healthy metabolism.
• Keep your mind sharp
England defender, Trent Alexander Arnold swears by activities including advanced augmented reality games and chess to improve reactions, memory and depth percep tion. Talking about chess he said “It’s similar to football, all about strategy, tactics and dif
ferent ways of playing.”
• Take a power nap
England legend Eric Dier says that napping gives him an edge, “I love napping straight after training. It makes me feel better for the rest of the day.”
A quick power nap improves alertness, memory and perfor mance, for footballers and the rest of us!
HARRY KANE: The England captain loves a game of golf to disconnect and clear his mind.
IN life, there are sounds that deserve to be heard and nobody understands this better than independent Costa del Sol company Sontec. Originally an engineer, owner of Son tec, Alfonso, transitioned into audiology 20 years ago and quickly set up this successful UK company in Spain.
Covering the Costa del Sol all the way to Gibraltar, Sontec hearing centres are dedicat ed to providing you with the highest level of care possible in all aspects of hearing health. Having been based in Fuengirola for the past 21 years, Sontec have recently opened their new office in La Cala, where you can get the best possible level of care for your hearing health.
One issue that the team at Sontec deals with is ototoxicity, caused by strong medica tion. Certain medications can damage the ear, resulting in hearing loss, ringing in the ear, or balance disorders. This can happen when someone is on a high dose of a drug that treats cancer, infections, or other illness es.
The common symptoms to look out for with ototoxicity is ringing in the ears (tinni
tus). Over time, you may also develop hear ing loss. This hearing loss may go unnoticed until your ability to understand speech is af fected.
Balance problems can also occur because of ototoxic medications, causing you to lose balance and feel unsteady on your feet. This happens because ototoxic medications cause damage to the sensory cells used in hearing and balance these sensory cells are found in the inner ear. Sometimes, these problems are temporary be cause the hu man body
can learn to adapt to reduced balance con trol.
The effects of ototoxic medications can af fect your quality of life. Not being able to hear conversations or feeling a little dizzy may cause you to stop participating in usual activi ties and to stop socialising in certain places. As a leader in ear health, Sontec can help you with the effects and symptoms of ototoxicity so that you can carry on enjoying life to the fullest!
ing and balance systems before you begin taking these medicines, recording a baseline record of your hearing and balance and then monitoring this through your treatment to notice any changes.
For cases in which the drugs cannot be stopped or changed, Sontec can help you to take steps to manage the effects of the hear ing loss that results.
The highly qualified audiologists at Sontec speak Spanish, English, German, Afrikaans, Czech, Russian and Portuguese, meaning you will receive your care in a language that you can understand, allowing you to ask any questions and have the reassurance you need.
Offering you the best hearing solutions, Sontec will provide you with a free hearing consultation on your first visit, repair and maintenance of your hearing aids, technical aids to improve hearing and impartial advice on your ear health.
Improving your hearing quality will im prove the quality of your life. Visit the profes sional and friendly team at Sontec to take care of all your hearing health needs.
ON November 15, Spain
marked the International Day of No Alcohol with a whole host of events to raise aware ness about liver health and alcoholism.
Here we share some ad vice on how you can main tain a great relationship with alcohol, especially during the festive season.
• Drink in moderation
Website: www.sontec.es
Consider your relationship with alcohol and know your limits of when to say no and stop. Count your drinks at social events, drink lots of wa ter and you’ll also reduce
your chances of a hangover. If you plan to set goals, let your friends and family know so you don’t feel pressure to drink.
• Socialise in different ways
The holiday season can bring extra pressure to drink, which can sometimes feel overwhelming. Experts recommend mixing up your so cial schedule once in a while
to try activities without drink ing, such as a sporting event or a coffee morning and in dulging in hobbies to break up the social drinking.
• Consider an alcohol free
The alcohol free market in Spain is rapidly expanding, with more options for alco hol free drinks than ever be fore. As well as traditional soft drinks and mocktails, more and more brands are bringing out alcohol free drinks, so you can enjoy the taste of your favourite tipple while protecting your health.
THE brilliant goal scored by Salem Al Dawsari, provided Saudi Arabia with per haps the greatest upset in World Cup his tory. They beat Argentina, who were undefeated in their previous 36 matches and had conceded only two goals in their last 16 games.
The FIFA committee must have been rubbing their hands with delight. Here was the perfect excuse to welcome a bid by the Saudis to stage the tournament in 2030. Perhaps they could jump the queue for 2026! Money, money, money!
Saudi has many of the qualifications of Qatar sexual deviances are illegal, wom en’s rights are subdued, consumption of alcohol in public is forbidden and immi grant workers have been treated despica bly. And there is the added bonus that, un like Qatar, it is headed by a murdering tyrant.
Until 1990, with the exception of Mexi co, the World Cup was held exclusively in South America and Western Europe and
to this day every World Cup winner has been from one of these two regions.
Since 1990, the tournament has already been held in the USA, South Africa, Japan and South Korea, Russia and Qatar. None of these has ever looked like lifting the tro phy.
I would suggest that it should continue to be played in Western Europe or South America until an interloper lifts the trophy perhaps Nigeria, Egypt, Croatia or Mexi co.
But, what was once the beautiful game has long been dominated by money and corruption. It is also one of the great global entertainment spectacles and therefore has to be enjoyed by and be accessible to everybody. But should it not be hosted by a country more qualified than South Africa, Qatar or Canada?
It may yet be won by a team from what I have dismissed as a non footballing na tion. Saudi Arabia, perhaps? That would be another shock result for the Kingdom.
A LOT is said about how politics is a play ground for those born to privilege, as well as a hotbed for nepotism.
Certainly, there do seem to be a dispropor tionately high number of husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and others who are somehow related to each other in parliament.
Let’s take Boris Johnson MP and Lord Jo Johnson of Marylebone (brothers), Maria and Angela Eagle MP (sisters), and Ellie and Rachel Reeves MP (sisters).
Former MP Nicholas Soames, as well as be ing Winston Churchill’s grandson, was related to no fewer than five former MPs. Hilary Benn MP is related to three former politicos.
If you take into account school and universi ty alumni, (five of the last 15 prime ministers went to Eton and 12 of them to Oxford) the proportion increases even more dramatically.
Is this a case then of like minded people all being drawn to the same career or evidence of a self selecting carousel of elite all keeping each other in jobs?
The overwhelming majority would proba
bly say there is some truth in it being the latter.
Common sense would certainly say that a body of people put in place to represent soci ety should at the very least come close to rep resenting the various different sections of it. But how do you begin improving access to a broader cross section of the public?
It strikes me that one of the biggest barriers in encouraging more people to get involved in politics is that the inner working of politics seems to be, almost deliberately, opaque. For a lot of people, the thought of entering into the whole sphere seems to be too remote to even be worth considering.
Why, for example, don’t we have an educa tion system that teaches children the differ ence between what a local council does com pared to a local MP, and why any of it even matters? If knowledge really is power, how could this hurt?
It would almost certainly help too if parties instead of just contacting the public to collect their votes, also actually got in touch with them to encourage them to get involved in party level decisions.
Once people feel the whole process is a little less smoke and mirrors, you never know, we might end up with fewer Eton school mates. That really would be democracy at work.
REMEMBER the recent health warn ings about high temperatures in the UK? One day I planned a 10k run at 2pm in a fancy dress bear suit, with battery powered hair dryers inside for added warmth, while drinking gallons of hot coffee. Thank goodness the ‘authorities’ advised otherwise. Phew, who’d have thought it’d be hot in July of all months...
Which reminded me of this similar conun drum:
There was a daddy camel and a baby camel who asks, “Daddy, why have I got such large eye lashes?” Daddy camel replies, “Well, son, in desert sand storms they stop the sand being blown in your eyes.” Baby camel
frowns. “Daddy, why have I got such big feet?” “Well,” replies daddy, “in the desert after sandstorms, they stop you sinking into the soft sand.” Baby camel frowns again. “Daddy, why have I got such a big hump on my back?” “Well, son, it lets you go for days in the desert without stop ping for water.” Baby camel frowns again. “Daddy, I’ve got just one more ques tion... Why am I in Blackpool Zoo?”
How to tackle conun drums like these?
Nurse, the screens please! That’s better, now we’re back on the meds. And bring that big syringe!
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DECADES ago you still saw young girls riding a Vespa sidesaddle.
My neighbour Presentacion, a com fortably off widow, proudly bought her daughter, Presentacion II, a Vespa when she started work, to a combina tion of admiration, criticism and envy.
Naturally, she was instructed to ride sidesaddle, which looked ladylike and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday al though the principle was not elegance but remaining chastely intact.
What Presentacion didn’t realise but everyone else knew, was that once Pre sentacion II was safely out of sight she sat astride the gleaming Vespa with as far as she and her boyfriend were con cerned no untoward consequences.
Presentacion madre also went through a phase of encouraging Pre sentacion hija and the younger girl, Asuncion, to greet family members and friends with the words, ‘Ave Maria Purisima’.
This, amongst the devout, prompted the response, ‘Sin pecado concebida’, but reciting the opening lines of the
Hail Mary merely labelled the girls as rather too devout.
As a rule they were met with an old fashioned look, silence or, if the duo were really unlucky, a guffaw. To general relief, Presentacion eventually dropped her ostentatious piety, and I wasn’t surprised. As a lapsed and reso lutely non churchgoing Catholic even I was shocked at the overt anticlerical ism I encountered more than 50 years ago.
No one that I knew not necessarily representative of polite Spanish soci ety, I admit went to Mass. Funnily enough, they were still married in church, had their children christened in church and then, the high spot of every childhood, saw that they made their first Communion.
Little boys enjoyed the event, but were usually dressed in a sailor suit or, worse still, a monk’s habit, which was nowhere as near as exciting as dressing up as a mini bride as girls could. Fortu nately the religious ceremony was dis posed of by mid morning, allowing the adults to get down to the serious busi ness of eating, drinking, making merry and slagging off the clergy. As they still do, incidentally.
THE new Ley de Libertad Sexual is popu larly known as the ‘Only yes means yes’ law.
It states that a woman’s silence or pas sivity cannot be interpreted as consent ing to sex. The absurdity of this premise was made clear in 2016 when five men gang raped an 18 year old girl.
A tribunal initially convicted them of sexual abuse, with nine year sentences because their lordships and one lady ship saw via a 96 second video that the girl was immobile, with closed eyes, sug gesting she was okay with the situation. The sentences were revised, but the law wasn’t modified until six years later.
Unfortunately, the Ley de Libertad Sexual is benefiting abusers, attackers and rapists, as Spanish jurisprudence al lows a new law to be retroactively ap plied if this benefits the defendant.
Because it redefines sexual offences and their sentences, some offenders have successfully applied for reductions and Equality minister Irene Montero’s critics are revelling in her discomfort.
They cited with glee a Murcia man whose prison term for attempted sexual aggression was cut and two others who walked free in Baleares.
Meanwhile, they forget that La Rioja High Court rejected 54 applications for reductions.
Irene Montero is the former partner of the Podemos party’s principal founder, Pablo Iglesias who left active politics in May 2021 and resigned as vice president of the Spanish government.
He was replaced by Yolanda Diaz, who represents Izquierda Unida in the uneasy Unidas Podemos alliance and is minister of Labour.
Asked to break her silence regarding Montero’s law, she recommended “pru dence” and avoiding “social alarm.”
Still lurking in the political background, Iglesias never turns down a chance to snipe at Diaz. “Not only is it mean spirit ed and cowardly to turn aside when a colleague is crushed, but it is also politi cally stupid,” he declared.
He did not name Diaz, nor did he need to, because what Iglesias cannot digest, and what sticks in his throat, is that she is more popular than he ever was.
I WAS so looking forward to writing about my United Na tionalities of Marbella Sum mit #UNMS2022 in this week’s column. It was so re warding to welcome over
100 people of 17 dif ferent nationalities from local businesses, associations, schools, charities and mem bers of the general public, all genuinely interested in creat ing community. This has
been the seventh annual event and although the is sues being addressed remain the same, we are clearly making headway.
However, before I can talk about the success of the event, I feel I must apologise to you all for myself having become a source of possible misinformation. I personally have been very affected in business by Brexit and have been surprised as to the ram ifications, far exceeding what it used to be like before the UK joined the EU. The difficul ties arising are such that one can but surmise that the Brits are perhaps being punished for ‘our’ decision? I didn’t see the advantage of Brexit, par ticularly as I live in Spain.
Curiously for me many other people in the same cir cumstances did actually vote to leave. Regardless, none of us anticipated how the con sequences would trickle into
AS a lawyer here in Spain it’s easy for me to take my two dogs on holiday within the EU but after Brexit it’s a lot harder for nationals of a third country like the United Kingdom and the United States to move to Spain with their dog or cat.
If you want to bring your pet to Spain, you need to comply with some conditions. First of all, the number of animals transported should not be more than five and their age should be more than 12 weeks, this is due to mandatory rabies vaccination.
No later than 26 days before their entry in to Spain, the animal must be chipped and vaccinated, as well as have an international veterinary passport. This document contains basic information about the owner, the ani mal, his availability of mandatory vaccina tions, the date of chipping and the individual microchip number.
The microchip must meet international quality standards ISO 11784/11785. The chip must have then data of all the animals being
transferred passed to the International Ani mal ID database.
The next step, 21 days after the rabies vac cination and no later than five days before expected entry into Spain, is to obtain a vet erinary certificate No.1. This document is is sued only at state animal disease control sta tions with print and signature. It is impossible to obtain this document in private veterinary clinics. The document contains the same in formation as in the vet passport, but further indicates the region where the animal lives and the well being of the region regarding particularly dangerous animal diseases.
This document is then changed to the European Animal Health Certificate, which is issued at veterinary control points prior to departure. To do this, at the veterinary checkpoint, you must bring the Form No 1, a pet for clinical examination and an inter national vet passport and pay the duty. The certificate will be completed in English and the language of the destination coun try, in this case Spanish. The validity of the European Certificate is 10 days, during which it is necessary to cross the EU border with your pet. This way, your pet can al ways be with you.
Marisa Moreno Castillo Consul for Denmark and Senior Lawyer at Just Law Solicitors. www.justlawsolicitors.com • contact@justlawsolicitors.com
every aspect of our day to day and turn many lives up side down.
Every day I’m hearing of more developments. In this instance it’s thanks to feed back from a reader of South well in Nottingham, who read my recent column on the benefits of signing on the ‘Padron’.
Due to spellcheck the title came out wrong as ‘I beg your pardon’, which I thought a shame as I was try ing to be funny. How ironic indeed; as it turns out the col umn has the right title.
Although it is the responsi bility for residents to be on the Padron, obtaining many benefits, it turns out he is right to be concerned as the police in some areas are in creasingly linking ‘empadron amiento’ with residence.
This therefore is a genuine worry for holiday home own ers and others only spending
part of the year in Spain. From what I’ve been told by the relevant authorities since following up from his email, some people are being very heavily fined and even hav ing their cars impounded.
I haven’t heard of any of this happening in Marbella, but I certainly don’t want to steer anyone in the wrong di rection. I’m grateful to him for bringing this up so I can set the record ‘straighter’.
It would seem that at the moment the advice for this category of people specifical ly would be not to sign on,
THERE are an estimated 30,000 homeless people living rough in Spain.
At least half of those accord ing to the official government figures are foreigners of which British nationals represent a significant and increasing part.
The British Benevolent Fund works closely with the UK con sular network to find local so lutions or in many cases help in repatriation to the UK.
Some live in cars, others in street doorways, underground passages, and even caves.
Some have been in Spain for years. They survive from day to day by the coins given by passers by, food banks and lo cal charities, some of whom provide temporary accommo dation for cold nights, a hot shower and a meal.
Many suffer from mental is sues, depression, and despair.
One such man was in his mid 70s when we were alert ed to his case. Neighbours in a rural area in northern Spain had reported a man seen at night time. The Guardia Civil followed through and discov ered that he was a British na
tional and had been living in a cave some distance from a local village. To their very great credit the villagers collected money for him for food and a sleeping bag. Someone who spoke English drove him to the nearest large town where there was a homeless charity who gave him addition al items and called the con sulate to report the case.
It turned out that the man had been living in England and had been recently widowed he had come to Spain to find their estranged son whom he believed lived in Spain.
He had run out of money al most on arrival, lost his phone and passport and been living rough for over a month. By the time a UK consular officer was able to contact him he was in considerable distress.
The British Benevolent Fund was able to fund emergency accommodation in a local hostal while the consulate was able to establish his identity and contact his local authority in England. They discovered
until the authorities agree with how they are to pro ceed.
Correct communication was actually the topic of #UNMS2022 and when Anne Hernandez MBE of Brexpats Spain spoke at the event, she warned that the effects from Brexit are far from over.
In conclusion, as predicat ed at my event, please only rely on the recognised, official sources for your information and accept my apologies for being ‘Miss Leading’; in fu ture I will be certainly cross checking my sources.
the man was known to social services in his area and through the consulate we were able to pay for the emer gency travel document and his repatriation back home. Some months later we received a hand written letter it was from the son.
He was writing to say thank you and to say that he was now reconciled with his father and was in regular contact. He went on to say that his father had little recollection of the time he was found living rough in Spain and just wanted to say thank you for the kindness of strangers and to the BBF for getting him home.
The BBF works tirelessly be hind the scenes to provide the financial help for people in dire financial situations.
We can only help with your generosity.
www.britishbenevolent fund.org
Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: 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.
I’M so angry to read that Britain’s MPs can now also claim expens es for the cost of food, should they wish to hold any Christmas celebrations.
What a selfish, greedy, parlia ment we have! This ‘allowance’ is a blatant smack in the face for the workers on low incomes; for those who have to go through hoops to receive benefits; for those who have to take strike ac tion to receive salary increases, and for the thousands of pen sioners who, having paid tax all of their working lives, now have to exist on a totally inadequate, well below minimum wage pen sion.
The greedy MPs should hold their heads in shame. They should open their eyes to the real world and stop thinking of them selves.
They should be made to live, for at least one month, on a basic pension, from which every single household bill has to be paid. Without access to their no doubt healthy bank accounts, they wouldn’t last a week!
They clearly have no idea of the struggle low income families have, day to day. They are content to enjoy their privileged lives, with out a thought for the people who have to make a choice; whether to eat or to heat?
When will someone in the po sition to do so, take responsibili ty, and put in the effort to give EVERYONE a decent standard of living?
Maureen Gallifant
Thought I would mention yet another example of the BBC be ing out of touch with the public.
In spite of all the hours they have devoted to Party Gate on TV, radio news and especially the Today Programme, Matt Han cock has reached the final of I’m a Celebrity... on ITV.
This was the result of daily public voting.
Party Gate was bad of course but this highlights again BBC bias. I wonder if the same number of hours would be spent if there was a Labour government.
Never miss your column in EWN, thanks.
I have read the stories in the newspaper over the last couple of weeks about the protesters defacing works of art and statues and quite frankly I think that these people have too much time on their hands to plan out these attacks. You have had your 15minutes of fame, get a job or volunteer at a charity shop.
Arthur Mancs
Am I the only one to think that putting your Christmas decora tions up in November is just way too early. Sorry to be the Grinch of Christmas, but tradition is that you put your tree up 12 days be fore and take it down 12 days af ter. If nothing else you might save some pennies on your electricity bill.
Ethel Daniels
My mother used to say to me if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. Why can’t we be more like that now, these social media groups with the bitchy and nasty com ments, no one is forcing you to comment, so if you don’t like the posts please feel free to scroll past.
Please be kind.
ZOPARDI set up Citizens Advice in Spain nine years ago. Born in Gibraltar to a military family, she be came an expat from the age of seven, travelling the world with her family.
Citizens Advice Spain has over 80,000 members following on Social Media and also those who fol low the website.
Having settled in Spain in around 1994, she be came involved in the ex pat community when she stepped into the political world and she decided that in order to secure their vote, troubleshoot ing the problems facing them would create the link.
Myra is a registered paralegal, but dealing with the volume of queries can be very de manding, even with some assistance. Spain can be challenging in terms of the variety of arrange
ments in place in differ ent parts of the country, resulting in a ‘maybe, should, could’ reply rather than a solid single answer to complex ques tions.
Citizens Advice doesn’t just deal with Brexit and post Brexit issues, but al so with the problems aris ing from ‘getting things wrong’ within a system which can be very differ ent from what we are used to in the UK. She touches on the issues of embargoes on bank ac counts, negotiating back payments on local taxes and the need to accept
the fact that Spain is dif ferent.
Put on the spot, Myra agreed that problems of ten arise because of naivety, not doing our homework, or sometimes out a sense of ‘entitle ment’. She recommended a sign at UK airports stat ing that “You are now leaving the UK and wher ever you are heading to, it is not the UK, and things may be done dif ferently.” Also, we have her take on Gibraltar. For the full interview go to YouTube.
https://youtu.be/mpLA
MANY animal lovers go for a rabbit as a pet. Their calm but playful nature, low mess lifestyle and cud dly features make them an excellent pet choice. But how easy is it to keep a pet rabbit? Here we share some advice from vets on how you can have the hap piest rabbit possible!
•
Vets in Spain recom mend researching rabbit breeds before purchasing one, but advise choosing either the Mini Lop rabbit or the Dutch rabbit breeds.
Mini Lops are small, weigh ing less than 1.5 kilograms, so are a good choice for owners with less space. Dutch rabbits adjust well to being domestic pets,
but males are recommend ed for their calmer nature.
•
Both breeds of rabbit al so require daily exercise and some time out of their cage, so be prepared to ex ercise your rabbit for opti mal happiness. Rabbits al so enjoy independence sometimes, cuddling them too much can be over whelming. Rabbits live for an average of eight years,
so it is important to also consider whether you can
commit to looking after it.
• Rabbit health
Rabbits thrive on a diet of grass and hay with two cups of vegetables such as leafy greens per day. Keep your rabbit in a warm, dry enclosure for a great quali ty of life.
AIR CONDITIONING by Cool and Cosy. The family compa ny that cares. Installation and repairs. Quality ma chines. Ecosense movement sensors supplied and fitted from 100 Euros. For other en ergy-saving products visit www.coolandcosy.es. 952 935 513. We are Junta de An dalucia authorised installers as the new law states (real decreto 115/2017). On the Costa del Sol since 1993 (294591)
QUALITY Air Conditioning In stallations. Economical to use, & silent in operation. 26 Years installation history in Spain. EnviroCare. All Areas Covered. 952 663 141/670 409 759 info@envirocare spain.com www.envirocare spain.com (301178)
MR COOL - Air Conditioning, Re frigeration, Heating Systems, Sales & Service - Call Christian +34 629 527 587 or Nick +34 618 678 853 – www.mrcool.es (302027)
ONE bedroom apartment wanted to rent long term in Benalmadena for young professional living alone. Have full time work con tract. Call 0034 605 182 811.
SOLAR BLINDS ES Ideal for large glazed areas to reflect heat / glare and stop furniture fading and still keep the view. SAVE HEAT IN THE WINTER to improve your living environ ment. ian@solarshadetinting. com Tel Ian 958 496 571 / 644 546 176 (292919)
JIM’S HOME IMPROVEMENTS. Bathrooms/kitchen reforms, repairs, plumbing, carpentry, painting, tiling, maintenance. Give us a call no job too small. 692 207 799 / 645 559 423 (302457)
NEW REJAS, GATES, Carports & Fencing, repairs & alterations. Work Guaranteed. Reliable. 19yrs on Coast. Steve the Welder. Call/WhatsApp 655 040 648 (302410)
ACE OF SHADES – All colours available. Urbanisations catered for, electric and man ual operation; also recovery service available, largest se lection of colours and designs on the coast. Tel: 951 273 254 / 671 732 204 / info@aceof shades.design T1(101730)
SUNSHINE AWNINGS/BLINDS Awnings, Persiana, Shutter & Re jas Specialist. New & Repairs. 25yrs on the coast. 680 323 969 / 952 199 640 (302055)
ACE OF SHADES - Vertical, Venetian, Roman, Roller, Wooden blinds, various colours available, also blackout blinds. Tel: 951 273 254 / 671 732 204 / info@aceof shades.design (101730)
BLINDS, awnings, mosquito screens, curtains, vast choice. All areas covered. Coast and inland. 655 825 931 (294242)
MOSQUITO screens, sliding, pull down, pleated, colours call Mosquito Nick 647 072 861 www.mosquitonick.ws (301311)
www.handymanservices.es Electrician, plumbing, con struction, painting. Innova tion. ROT deduction for Swedish, Sotogrande to Mar bella 648 712 530 (302411)
GENERAL BUILDER, Tiling, plas tering, painting, electrician, plumber, carpentry. Reasonable prices. 635 913 885 (References available) (302414)
SWINGLES CASAS SL . For all your building needs. Visit www.swinglescasas.com for more details or call 635 999 765 / 666 960 262 (295953)
PLUMBING & GENERAL BUILDING All your plumbing needs. Bathroom, kitchens, tiling & painting. Benalmadena based, travel no problem. Glen 669 073 773 or Paul 642 098 115 (301145)
HAWKS S.L. Complete, Re modelling, Reform, Refurbish. Kitchen, Bathroom Flooring. Wall & floor waterproofing. Counter top & Floor STONE COAT EPOXY DYE. AMERICAN, GERMAN Technology. RAMIN +34 635 204 123.
INFO@HAWKSMBD.COM (302493)
WELL-established and thriving pet transport business for sale For more info, please contact rsim7445@yahoo.es (302505)
HOUSE CLEARANCE SPECIAL ISTS, FULL OR PART CLEARANCE. ALL FURNITURE WANTED, WE PAY MORE. TEL 634 324 914 OR EMAIL houseclearanceman@hot mail.com (301282)
PRIVATE collector will buy your Gold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel - 678 716 693
ALHAURIN FURNITURE EMPO RIUM Buyers & Sellers of quality furniture. Top prices paid. Also buy cars, camper vans, boats & bikes. 697 511 071 (301381)
WANTED FOR CASH, TOOLS, BRIC-A-BRAC, KITCHENALIA, ETC - CALL 622 647 602 ANYTIME RAICHLE Men’s Ski Boots €50. SALOMON Ladies Ski Boots €50. 602 574 899 (302507)
LIMPIEZA PREMIUM – Façade Cleaning. General cleaning and window washing. Polishing marble. 604 305 160 / 677 562 267
CHIMNEY SWEEP. Clean reliable professional. All types, special price for more than one. Chris 608 337 497 (296265)
APEX CHIMNEY SERVICES , professional chimney sweeping and smoke testing. NACS Quali fied. Clean and efficient Tel: Bob 696 320 202 (301300)
BENALMADENA Elim Family Fel lowship. Elimfamilyfellowship.com or call 951 912 525 or 952 446 627. (10011)
CALAHONDA: Encounter Church (Elim), Family church with kids’ ac tivities, Iglesia San Miguel, Sun days 4.30pm, Rev. David Hodgson, 695 115 496 (10012)
RAINBOW Pinturas . English Painters & decorators. All aspects. Interior/exterior, private residen tial, commercial & communities. Spraying: door, kitchens & furni ture. Light construction. Call/WhatsApp: Daniel: 628 066 308 www.rainbowpinturas.com
ATD DECOR. British Painter. 30 Years’ Experience. Punctual. Great Rates. Call for free quote. 603 132 783 Facebook: @ATDDecorMalaga
CLEARFLOW– Unblocking, CCTV inspection, repair and installation. Tel: 630 200 600 / 952 885 661. www.desatorosclearflow Face book: DesatorosClearflow (301154)
LIT ELECTRICIANS for all your Electrical & maintenance needs, no job too small for a FREE Quote. Call Craig on 604 106 414 or Ben 711 004 350 (301214)
ELECTRICAL TYPES of work undertaken Malaga to Marbel la & Inland Frank Tel. or Whatsapp 650 561 629 (302309)
IRIS-IRRIGATION and land scapes. TRENCHLESS NO DIG Irrigation installation, Cables, Fibre Optic, Electric & Lighting Cables. New Installations & problem-solving. Turf (supply and laying). Garden construc tions. Tree surgeon. Clearing. Astro Turf (Free Quotation) 676 747 521 (301097)
BE PROACTIVE: Electric/Gas fires, Wood Burning Stoves. Quality guaranteed. Enviro Care. All areas covered. 952 663 141/670 409 759. info@envirocarespain.com www.envirocarespain.com (301178)
ELECTRIC GATE/GARAGE DOOR automation repaired. Free, no obligation quotation. Call Colin - 636 394 641
VINYL
CAR HIRE: Fiat 500c, starting from €20 per day. Marbella/Puerto Banus. Contact Ben 631 225 318
CARS , Vans, Bikes wanted. Any Reg, Anything Considered Call or WhatsApp 687 049 592 (301400)
THE Ark Christian Church. We meet at The Ark Christian School, Calle Río Darro 2 y Plaza Juncal, 29651, Mijas Costa (the road be hind the Mijas Aquapark) on Sun days at 11.00am. Pastor, Andrew Seale Tlf 682 713 491 www.theark spain.com (293850)
SIGNS all type of 3D letters and light boxes, full CNC cutting ser vices, large and small format print ing like posters, roller banners , business card and flyers, we cre ate your corporate identity, logos, real estate boards, decoration items for homes and offices. We cover the Coast and delivery. 951 310 395 / 665 804 321 info@eye print.es (295065)
MARBLE FLOOR (2.50€/m2) WHY PAY MORE. WE CLEAN, CRYSTALLISE, SEAL THEN POLISH YOUR MARBLE TO HIGH GLOSS, NON-SLIP. PRO FESSIONAL GUARANTEED, FAST SERVICE. 25 YEARS EX PERIENCE. ALSO REPAIRS DAMAGES TO MARBLE, CLEAN AND SEAL TERRACOTTA TER RACES, COVERS ALL COSTA DEL SOL. TEL: 671 244 683 (295522)
ELECTRIC GATES/Garage Doors. Intercoms/access control systems and replacement remotes. New in stalls and repairs. For all your elec tric gate and garage door require ments call us on 605 356 469/952 786 178. The Garage Door Co & 2 Way Gates. tgdc@hotmail.co.uk www.2waygates.com (294202)
PLACE WHEN YOU CAN RENO VATE? Modern adhesive vinyl cov erings in hundreds of styles and designs can renovate a tired kitchen, bathroom, wall panels, bedroom wardrobes, fridge doors. Turn a tired looking wood de signed kitchen into a modern solid colour or metallic look without painting or replacing. Work carried out on site with 10 year warranties Contact Ian 644 546 176 for de sign brochure and samples. (293467)
COLLECTIVE CALLING are ur gently requesting donations of clothing, homeware & furniture, so if you are having a House Clear ance, Please call us for FREE COL LECTION. We sell good quality items, which then supports low-in come families and the homeless in the community. These items can be dropped directly to our charity shop Tienda Solidaria: Av. Pablo Ruiz Picasso, 4, San Pedro de Al cantara, alternatively, call us to ar range collection on +34 711 006 961 (295137)
CONEJO CLEANING & Proper ty Management. Est. over 25 years. Rentals management, one-off cleans. New Property set up service. Wendy 635 630 370 / 952 964 407 www.conejocleaning.com (302025)
STARLIGHT Cleaning Ser vices . All types of cleaning. Any size of property. All Areas. Resi dential & Holiday Lets. Deep Clean for Bars & Restaurants. We also do a professional Chimney Sweeping service. 682 636 451 www.starlight-spain.com (301262)
DOMESTIC Appliance repairswashing machines, fridges, cook ers, ovens, water heaters, gas / electric, professionally repaired. Christian 608 337 497 (296265)
WASHING MACHINES , Ovens, Boilers etc. All work guaranteed by ex Zanussi technician. Reliable rapid service. Joe 609 345 096
MARBLE FLOORS polished high shine non-slip. Fast Service Reli able, family-run business. TERRA COTTA CLEANED and sealed. No job too small. Cleansol 10am –10pm 7 days all areas. 952 930 861 / 607 610 578 Discount code: EWN 1 CLEAN (206437)
EXPERIENCED CAPABLE YOUNG MAN available for labouring work, heavy lifting & support with re movals. Can supply trade contacts. Native English speaking and also flu ent in Spanish. Please call or Whats App me at +44 7707 557342
HOT TUBS new used, bought, sold, hired. Also move & repairs. Used good Hot Tubs for sale. 691 973 131 / +44 7836 379122 (295835)
BLOCKED DRAINS? Leak detec tion, CCTV survey, root removal, Tel 952 568 414 / 661 910 772 / drainspain.com (292976)
MARBLE POLISHING, CRYS TALLISING, LASTING, HIGH SHINE. REGRINDING, RESTORATION OF SALTY, DEAD FLOORS. 27YRS EXPE RIENCE. RELIABLE. REFS AVAILABLE. CYRIL. 645 840 199 (301160)
GLASS CURTAIN repairs, spe cialist in replacement of dis coloured plastic strips that act as a seal between the glass panels. Call Julian 655 825 931
ALHAURIN FURNITURE EMPO RIUM furniture wanted, same day collection, also house clearance and removals. Also buy cars, campervans, boats & bikes. 697 511 071 (301381)
HOUSE CLEARANCE. After Clear ance Cleaning, 24/7 Costa del Sol. Whatsapp: 624 370 721 (302307)
ARTICLES WANTED SIDE BOARD SCANDINAVIAN STYLE, 50s 60s OR EVEN MODERN CALL ANTHONY 609 529 633 (296440)
ANTHONY’S ANTIQUES JEW ELLERS AND PAWNBROKERS IS NOW BUYING ALL TYPES OF WATCHES AND JEWELLERY IN ANY CONDITION, ALSO, SILVER, ANTIQUES AND THE UNUSUAL. WE BUY, WE PAY MORE, WE PAY CASH. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL ANTHONY ON +34 609 529 633 (296440)
WANTED Gold, Silver, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel - 678 716 693 (288662)
GUTTERING: Protect your property from rain damage. Quality guaranteed. 26 years installation history in Spain. Envirocare. All areas cov ered 952 663 141/670 409 759 info@envirocarespain. com www.envirocarespain.com
HANDYMAN: General Masonry work, painting, wall/roof water proofing & other jobs. Call Michael 622 755 666 (302455)
MOTOR INSURANCE . For the most competitive quotes in English call Linea Directa on 952 147 834, you could save as much as 30% and you can transfer your existing no claims bonus. Call Linea Directa on 952 147 834 for motor insur ance with a human voice in En glish from Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and save money now! (200726)
STAY SAFE! Abbeygate Insurance Call 971 277 455 For your security www.abbeygateinsure.com (291234)
LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE Mon, Wed, Fri : 17:30
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun: 12:00, 15:30
STRANGE WORLD Mon, Wed, Fri: 17:15, 19:15
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun: 12:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00
THE MENU
Mon, Tues, Wed and the weekend:19:15
Mon, Wed, Fri: 17:15
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun: 15:15
THE WOMAN KING Everyday: 21:15
VIOLENT NIGHT Everyday: 19:10
FURNITURE wanted, same day collection, also house clear ance and removals. Also buy cars, campervans, boats & bikes. 697 511 071 (301381)
FUENGIROLA, Myofascial Re lease. J Schaegen, specialised in treating neck, back & ex tremity disorders, 30 years in practice. 652 291 224 www.bodywork.es (301414)
LOCKSMITH emergency / ap pointment. Doors opened without damage, locks changed, patio doors and windows secured, 24 hour honest, fast and reliable ser vice. Call Paul 657 466 803 (288129)
PROFESSIONAL garden ser vices from Fuengirola to Es tepona. All aspects of garden ing and full maintenance and landscaping, free quotes, com petitive prices. Contact An drew 600 259 981 Andrew@garden-profession als.com (295350)
ENGLISH LOCKSMITHS, SE CURITY & SHADE EXPERTS. FREE HOME SECURITY SUR VEY. 636 770 865 / 952 660 233 WWW.SECURITYOF SPAIN.COM CONTACT DAREN (294126)
SAN PEDRO. Sandra. Profession al relaxing, tantric massage. Young, slim, work alone, unforget table moments. Nueva Andalucia. 641 346 278
MATURE elegant lady. Offers tantric and other massage. Per sonal home visits. 687 387 680 (286295)tp3
RELAXING Massage for Men & Couples. Feel free from ten sion & stress. Call Dany 603 202 758 (302483)
PURE RELAXATION in Nueva Andalucia with attractive indepen dent masseuse. Tantric and other special massages in private apart ment. For gentlemen and couples, with no rush attention to your needs 656 350 401
ENGLISH ELEGANT passionate lady in late 40s, gives a sensu al massage in private apart ment. Satisfaction guaran teed. Call 680 177 569
ASIAN masseur mature, sweet, independent. Marbella. 602 415 351 (MI 543)
ASIAN masseur, affectionate unique, complete massage. Elviria. 604 143 788 (MI 542)
CASSIE. Mature English lady. Dis creet and clean. 667 914 732 (FU 02794)
MASSAGE ! Outcalls everywhere in Costa del Sol! Gentlemen, ladies, couples are welcome! 604 256 336 (FU 2781)
PHILIPINA, Thai, indulge relax ing massage. Private Elviria 679 126 231 (MI 541)
ORIENTAL masseur tantric, mas sage relieving service, villa. Elviria, Marbella. 604 428 812 (MI 545)
ASIAN authentic therapist relieves pain stress, satisfaction guaran teed. Villa luxury atmophere. Elviria. 633 705 558 (MI 544)
MARBELLA Experienced mobile Masseuse. Therapeutic & Relaxing massage for your body and mind. Call Monik 686 740 661 (302461)
IT’S TIME to try something differ ent and very relaxed. Sara, ele gant masseuse, I offer massage, tantric, sensitive, prostatic, au thentic relaxation that will leave you floating on the cloud. . believe me spectacular! Very clean. I give and demand total hygiene! Let yourself go and you will discover the most hidden pleasures. Only by appointment. 650237145
RIVIERA DEL SOL. Treat your self to an Excellent Massage! Irina, Cuban masseuse, fun and sponta neous. Only when a massage is something more than a massage, and becomes a unique experience, with a mixture of smells, sounds, sensations, only then is when you enjoy the perfection of the exclu sive massage. Ask for more infor mation without obligation 951274723, 650237145 (302347)
TANTRIC masseuse in Calahon da. Cristal, expert in the art of se duction and tantric massage. Au thentic masseuse who manages to transmit the physical and emotion al pleasure with the 5 senses. Sen sual tantric massage or body to body to perfection. Make an ap pointment. 650 237 145 (302347)
BUTTERFLY - Massage, is a space designed for people with high sensitivity, with a taste for body to body interaction, who en joy the sensuality and magical trantric, to feel the warm hands of an attractive masseuse running through your body. Our masseuses have been chosen not only for their physical attractiveness, but also for their sensuality and mas sage skills. Only by appointment 951274723, 650237145 (302347)
CALA DE MIJAS . Excellent pro fessional masseuse with exclusive attention for people who want to change their routine and want to relax and live a relaxing experi ence. If you are looking for discre tion and good treatment, here I am. I’m Noa and I hope you make your appointment as soon as pos sible because I am very requested. 650 237 145 (302347)
MY HANDS can transmit a very important message and make us feel connected. I will create a suit able atmosphere for relaxation and sensuality without noise, candle light, soft music, nothing should disturb that moment. Before we start, all you have to do is relax, breathe slowly to free your body and mind... I’ll take care of the rest. Irina, qualified masseuse with many years of experience. Book your appointment. 650 237 145 (302347)
RIVIERA DEL SOL . I am Noa a simple and natural girl who hides among her shy appearance the best kept secrets of relaxing, de scontracturante and stimulating massage. I am a specialist in elimi nating your worries, muscular ten sion thanks to a depurative mas sage technique that I combine with a sensory capacity out of the ordinary. I massage both men and couples. 650 237 145. by appoint ment only (302347)
CALAHONDA . I am your ideal masseuse if you want to enjoy a massage, relaxing and sensual and want to try the sensations that this generates. I will use my hands and body with techniques of relaxation and mu tual connection. Carla - 650 237 145 (302347)
THE BEST RELAXING MAS SAGE CLOSE TO ELVIRIA Tantric massages. Come and enjoy today with us. Latin masseuses for men. Come and relax. Outcall, too 650237145 (302347)
NEAR ELVIRIA . Masseuse, ele gant with a high dose of implica tion. Very special tantric sensory massages. I will make you feel very relaxed with a good mas sage. 951274723, 650237145 (302347)
MARBELLA CENTRE - the ideal place for relaxing massage in the city centre. Available 24h and prices from €50. For reservations and information call 620 366 817. (295192)
PROFESSIONAL MALE muscled masseur. Full-body relaxing, deep tissue and therapeutic massage. In/outcalls. WhatsApp me 607 595 906 (301288)
FUENGIROLA - Johanna Brazilian Mature Masseur. Relaxing Mas sages. Best relax guaranteed. Tel: 617.818.615 (302421)
ASIAN MASSEUR Massage relax ing & therapeutic, to release ten sion and stress. Fuengirola. Call 634 103 607 (301171)
LOS BOLICHES - Carolina Pretty Masseur, Relaxing Massage, Guar anteed relax - 634.703.111 (302421)
BENALMADENA lovely lady, of fering you a very relaxing body massage. Call for an appointment 634 209 427 (301476)
FUENGIROLA. Japanese Shiat su & Zen Ki relaxing and ther apeutic massage. Excellent service guaranteed. Home Vis its. WhatsApp for appointment 693 988 340 (302511)
FUENGIROLA . Mia Just arrived Fuengirola, beautiful young masseuse. 603 366 841 ( FU 2823)
WWW.LAILALYNCH1.COM Heated pool, Jacuzzi and private bar. Inland private retreat with a full massage service. 662 913 428 (FU 2810)
FUENGIROLA. Amazing full body massage by spectacular blonde la dy. 657 697 397 (FU 2776)
ESTEPONA . Susana, Latin Girl sculptural body, trained for deep relaxing massage. 697 705 304 (FU 2786)
FUENGIROLA. Amazing full body massage by spectacular blonde la dy. 657 697 397 (FU 2790)
BENALMADENA Costa by the windmill roundabout. Massage if you feel low, massage to make you feel young and strong. Call for info at 658 336 295 Sabrina. 50% off Seniors. Done in a heated room and professional massage table (FU 2820)
OLGA, Mature Masseure relaxing & sensitive. Outcalls & incalls. 24 hrs. Marbella - Tel: 632 467 580 (302530)
FUENGIROLA . Centre Private place, 5 young beautiful masseuses. 603 366 841 ( FU 2823)
SAN PEDRO BEACH. RELAXING AND SENSITIVE MASSEUSES WEL COME YOU IN A PRIVATE AND DISCREET PLACE. YOUNG AND PLEASANT. WITH APPOINTMENT. EASY, PRIVATE PARKING. TEL. 674 679 757 - 666 194 079 (302345)
ASIAN wellness massage Nice area west Marbella. Guaran teed results. 623 554 233 or 623 594 698 (301500)
JESSICA 28, Estepona. Full tantric massage. High class ser vice. Private apartment. 711 030 670 (302323)
NEW FUENGIROLA. Isabela 19 years, beautiful masseuse. 603 366 841 ( FU 2823)
MARBELLA – Alexia professional and oriental masseur. Stress re lease with good hands – Tel 613 804 322 (302536)
THAI Benalmadena Costa. Bodybody full massages. Hotels. Visits. Whatsapp 689 387 448 (MI 546)
MARBELLA CENTRE – Carmen mature masseure. Street Fragua, Edif La Marina 1 – Tel 642 867 799 (302536)
ESTEPONA next to Cancelada, Kannika, Asian masseuse, com plete relaxation, makes you con tented and more. 602 427 095 (FU 2824)
VANESSA Benalmadena excel lent massage services. Relaxing & theraputic. Home premises. Call me 624 811 098 (302489)
LAURA , RELAXING, TANTRIC, MASSAGE, PROFESSIONAL, 30, WORKS ALONE, DISCREET. SAN PEDRO - NUEVA ANDALUCIA. 641 346 278 (303005)
SAN PEDRO , TANTRIC MASSEUSES. DISCREET, PRIVATE VILLA, 24HRS AVAILABILITY 635 024 765 (303006)
PROFESSIONAL UK TANTRIC MASSAGE specialist. Easy access & parking Mijas Open Mon-Fri 9am7pm Call for appointment 711 063 797 (302490)
ESTEPONA . Laura majestic masseuse, very friendly, Deep body massage and stress relieve. 600 213 967 (FU 2825)
FUENGIROLA Paula 30 years old beautiful, soft sensitive massages, deep body relaxation techniques 641 244 707 (FU 2908)
FUENGIROLA. Relaxing massage made by alternative gender masseuse. Violeta Chiropractor. 660 867 374 (FU 2821)
BENALMADENA. FRIENDLY at tractive masseuse, relieve muscle tension. From 50€. 612 503 055 (FU 2822)
BEAUTIFUL Ukrainian, slim, tall pasionate sensual massage luxury. Elviria. Marbella. 618 229 769 (MI 547)
NATURIST male gives relaxing massage. For men and women. Private premises in Jávea, What sApp Rob on 613 831 380 (302512)
ORIENTAL attractive relaxing massues tantric, balines, Thai, hilot. Villa Elviria. 679 126 231 (MI 548)
ATTRACTIVE LADY enjoying healthy lifestyle seeks unattached retired gentleman with lively personality for perma nent relationship 711 099 449 (301472)
GOLD & SILVER Bought & Sold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel - 678 716 693 (288662)
ACE OF SHADES - Don’t let the bugs get you! Available in en rollable, slider and pleated. Large choice of colours includ ing wood effect. Tel: 951 273 254 / 671 732 204 / info@aceofshades.design (101730)
MOSQUITO Screens for win dows, doors and a high-quali ty sliding patio door screen. All finishes available. Quick service. All areas covered. Call Julian 655 825 931 (301104)
MOSQUITO screens, sliding, pulldown, pleated, colours, call Mosquito Nick 647 072 861 www.mosquitonick.ws (295855)
ROBERTSON CARS ...would like to thank all of my past, present & future clients for their continued support over the last 35 years here in Spain. Stay safe and out drive everyone. If contacting Samantha in the afternoons, please only Whatsapp on 608 658 785 or Email therobertson clan@gmail.com as I am driving mostly & unable to take your calls.
CAR…..ISMAS IS COMING ROBERTSON CARS RANGE ROVER SPORT 4X4 DIESEL /AUTOMATIC 2011. Looks right in White, only 130,000 kms (ap prox 80,000miles) Private Lady Owner, parking sensors, reverse camera, sat nav, ITV till June 2023. turns heads good looks and quality. A gift at 18,995€... Saman tha. See photos on my web page – robertsoncars-spain.com text or whats app. 608 658 785. email therobertsonclan@gmail.com
CAR…..ISMAS IS COMING
ROBERTSON CARS AUTOMAT IC / DIESEL MERCEDES B200 2015. My Golfing Girlfriends car, Rich Wine Red, 5 door, always garaged and low kilometres, ev erything you want. Outdrive ev eryone in this beauty. Low KMS. Low Price .. Ask Santa €17,995. See photos on my web page –www.robertsoncars-spain,com or whats app me 608 658 785 email. therobertsonclan@gmail.com
ROBERTSON CARS
IC / CABRIO MERCEDES SLK
2006 Stunning Silver only used as holiday car with 55,000KMS (Approx 35,000 miles) 2 Seater Convertible have fun in the sun. New ITV. Just Passed July till 2023, Electric Roof folds into boot. Selling Under Book Price. Classy Great Shape Mercedes Cracker of a Cabrio 11,500€ See photos on my web page – www.robertsoncar s-spain,com or text me whatsapp 608 658 785 Email: therobertson clan@gmail.com
ROBERTSON CARS CABRIO FORD FOCUS 2007 ONLY 32,000kms approx 20,000miles. Manual, great 4 Seater convert ible, striking sea blue, air-condi tion, CD player, electric hood folds into the boot. Private gentleman owner returning to UK. Excellent condition The ideal Christmas Gift...7,995€. See photos on my web page – www.robertsoncar s-spain,com or text me whatsapp 608 658 785 Email: therobertson clan@gmail.com
CHILDS Suzuki Quad €200. 602 574 899 (302507)
WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance. Since we started out in 1995, our philoso phy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 952 147 834. (200726)
MOBILE MECHANIC will come to your home or work. Servicing, repairs, ITVs & diagnostics. Call Mick on 617 553 072 (301275)
ENGLISH bodyshop, fully equipped, Mijas Costa. No Job Too Small. 952 667 074 (296043)
ALL CARS / Commercials wanted, runners or non-runners. Cash. Buyer collects. Transfer included. 605 109 796 (301158)
WANTED, wanted, wanted!! All cars, all years, all models… from exotic to classic. Spanish, En glish, Dutch plated. Call us on 951 977 329 or 606 647 597. (301127)
PROFESSIONAL picture framing. Original Christmas gift is a collage of your family photos with titles, Whatsapp photos to us, we do therest. Contact us to see sam ples: 606 561 581. All proceeds support our charity, People in Need Gambia (301477)
more information and directions see our website www.horserescue spain.org, our Facebook page Cen tro Andalusi de Rescate de Cabal los or tel. 610 845 491 or 656 935 613 (93322)
tographs bravoelezovic@gmail. com Owner: 34 637 439222
MALE/Female Viagra, cialis, ka magra jelly all areas. Mixed trial packs available. Delivery or mail order available 604 385 476. viagra4you19@gmail.com
COCKROACHES , ANTS, insects, fleas, mice, rats, wasps, termite specialists. Fumigations, bars, restaurants, houses, etc. Sanitary department officially registered certificates. Serving the coast since 1985. Only legal English owned pest control company on the coast. If you want the best then phone N.P.S. Paul 676 700 370 (1296213)
SEPE the horse and donkey chari ty is open to the public at week ends from 10.00 to 5.00. Volun teers are much needed in all departments and are welcome at any time. For our riding for the disabled classes, we are also in need of extra helpers. We are na tionally registered by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior (164640) but only with your support can we give the equine a voice. If you can just commit to 2 or 3 euros a month it will really help make a difference. You can find us at Lau ro Golf Equestrian Centre, Alque ria, Alhaurin de la Torre. Tel. 608 258 950 info@sepeonline.net www.sepeonline.net (93321)
WELL-established and thriving pet transport business for sale For more info, please contact rsim7445@yahoo.es (302308)
CAT & DOG World Kennels and Cattery. 952 112 978 / 630 197 435. www.catanddogworld.com
ACE CHARITY ‘El Refugio’ in La Cala de Mijas is a registered chari ty. We have on average 275 dogs in our care and we receive no help from the town hall or the Andalu cian government. We desperately need foster homes and adoptants for our many dogs, especially the small ones and puppies who do not do well in a big shelter. We are grateful for any help offered, in cluding donations of food and blankets. Visiting times are from 13.00 to 15.00 and you can always turn up or make an appointment by calling Denise on 669 018 736. Our website is www.ace-cha rity.org where you can view all the dogs in our care. (93320)
ADANA THE ANIMAL SHELTER IN ESTEPONA. We always need volunteers to walk and socialise with our dogs and help with clean ing. We also need good homes for our animals that you can see on www.adana.es. Kennels open ev ery day 10-1.30, Camino de Casares, near Parque de los Pe dregales, Estepona. (5 minutes from the Poligono) For more infor mation call 952 113 467, available from 10.00am until 2.00pm.
ANIMEX Foundation offers free will upgrading when leaving some thing for abandoned animals. Con tact animexfoundation@gmail.com or call 692 166 434 now for this absolutely free service (288287)
SOS ANIMAL REFUGE we have dogs, young and old looking for homes. Some of our dogs have been with us for some time and would love to find a cosy spot to curl up in and a knee on which to rest their heads. If you have room in your heart and home we would love to hear from you. We do not put our dogs to sleep - no matter how old, they are safe with us. For day to day needs and to pay for veterinary care, we much appreci ate the support we receive. We des perately need items to sell on our market stall to help raise funds and are happy to come and collect. So, if you are having a clear-out, please contact us on 605 227 155. If you would like to know more about re homing, please call 653 257 875. Visit our website www.sos-ani mals.org or please phone Sandy on 952 385 923 or 666 814 056 if you would like to make a donation or help in any way.
THINKING of selling your property or interested in a current valuation? We have clients actively looking for properties from Torremolinos to Calahonda. List with us and let us sell your property. Call Joe 626 864 683 (301427)
WWW.INTERMARBELLA.COM
Costa del Sol Property Sales & Long term rentals wanted. All ar eas / All budgets / All types. Spain +34 951 708 422. UK +44 208 144 5008. Email info@intermarbe lla.com (295509)
15 CUBIC metre van returning to the UK 23rd December 2022. Space available each way. Tel. 639 928 090 (295249)
MAN & VAN , 20€ ph. Removals, Rubbish & House Clearances. Paul 634 112 677 (291430)
2 MEN, Van €30 p hour. House Clearances & Storage. 651 081 610 (301134)
moveit-storeit.com Tel David 696 810 618 (293101)
STORAGE, Storage, Storage. Man & Van Services. Call/Whatsapp 690 155 340 (302418)
PROFESSIONAL LOCAL RE MOVALS AT AFFORDABLE RATES. 1/2 DAY FROM €90. FULL DAY FROM €175. WE AL SO PROVIDE A FORTNIGHTLY DOOR TO DOOR SERVICE TO UK AND EUROPE (INCL SCOT LAND). WORLDWIDE SHIP PING TO USA, AUSTRALIA, ETC AND FULL STORAGE FA CILITIES. TEL (0034) 952 578 507 OR (0034) 637 892 278 / EMAIL garymoveit@yahoo. co.uk (301295)
JDS EURO TRANSPORT & RE MOVALS - Regular trips throughout Europe. Call or WhatsApp Julian 0044 7884 908 929. See Facebook Page for recommendations (301271)
SOLAR BLINDS ES Ideal for Large Glazed Areas to Reflect Heat / Glare And Stop Furniture Fading And Still Keep The View. Save Heat in The Winter to Improve Your Living Environment. ian@so larshadetinting.com Tel Ian 958 496 571 / 644 546 176 (292919)
WWW.INMOANDALUZ.COM. Bargain inland properties for all budgets, fincas, village homes, apartments and villas. Legal building plots. 952 491 609 / 685 514 835 (295954)
WWW.INTERMARBELLA.COM Costa del Sol Property for sale. All areas / all budgets / all types. Spain +34 951 708 422. UK +44 208 144 5008 Email info@inter marbella.com (295509)
moveit-storeit.com Tel David 696 810 618 (293101)
STORAGE moveit-storeit.com Tel David 696 810 618 (293101)
PAINTERS / Decorators - Mar bella, Estepona, Coin Area. Please call Albert 663 681 012 (302057)
SOLUCIONES RAPIDAS - We will Paint your apartment in maxi mum 2 days. 640 350 479 (301298)
UK & IRISH Passport renewals including photos. Complete Ser vice. Cath’s Cards. 952 885 759. www.cathscards.es (295683)
ARCH - The Andalucian Rescue Centre for Horses, registered char ity 8448, the Centre is open to vis itors every Sunday from 9am until 2pm. Working closely with the Spanish authorities, we rescue, re habilitate and rehome abused and abandoned horses and donkeys. Come and meet our current res cues, learn about our work and how you may be able to help. Run solely by a small team of dedicat ed volunteers, the Centre is locat ed between Alhaurin el Grande and Coin in Comm. de Viña Bor rego behind Venta Miralmonte. For
PLUMBING . Leak detection & blocked drains. Tel 952 568 414 / 661 910 772 / drainspain.com
STARLIGHT PROPERTY. All Ar eas. Residential & Holiday Lets. 689 819 592 www.starlight -spain.com (301262)
ACE OF SHADES - PERSIANA (security shutter) electric and manual, various colours avail able including wood effect, we also offer a repair service. Make your home more secure! Tel: 951 273 254 / 671 732 204 / info@aceofshades.design
LONG TERM RENTALS AVAIL ABLE and also wanted. Super prices. Apartments, townhous es, villas, fincas, shops, offices, bars, restaurants. Coast & in land. Tlf 679 111 522
WWW.INTERMARBELLA.COM Costa del Sol Property Long Term Rentals All areas / All budgets / All types. Spain +34 951 708 422 UK +44 208 144 5008. Email info@intermarbella.com (295509)
FUENGIROLA CENTRE APART MENT for 1 person, 1 bedroom beautifully furnished long-term for senior citizen or a very responsible retired pensioner - min 1 year con tract - 550€ per month - Tel. 667 655 648 or 608 337 300
BANUS 145sqm 3 bedroom apartments by Marina. 70sqm Pri vate Garden. 4 pools tennis, Garage. Long term. 2.400€ Pho
ROLLER shutter repairs, 7 days a week, conversion from manual to motorised, new in stallations. All areas covered. Coast and inland. 655 825 931
FRENCH POLISHING RE PAIRS , restoration etc. restore your valuable furniture to its for mer glory. Tel 647 579 519 / 952 499 944 (285318)
SOLAR Hot Water heating: FREE HOT WATER. 26 years installation history in Spain. Envirocare. All areas covered. Quality guaranteed. 952 663 141/ 670 409 759 info@envi rocarespain.com www.enviro carespain.com (301178)
CURTAINS, blinds, cushions and much more. Free estimates and home visits. Tel 657 369 343 or rosannacarmella8@gmail.com (301301)
POOL MAINTENANCE , & Re pairs, including heaters & re grouts. Friendly & reliable ser vice. Malaga to Estepona & inland areas. 678 791 495 / 951 536 389 www.sparklenripple.net (291440)
SWIMMING Pool Heating Pumps, Pool Covers, Rollers, Filtration Systems. 26 years installation history in Spain. Envirocare. All areas cov ered. Quality Guaran teed. 952 663 141/ 670 409 759 info@envirocarespain. com www.envirocarespain. com (301178)
OFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS All Languages. 952 789 204 Mobile 654 613 094 sanpedrotransla tions@gmail.com (301426)
WANTED 2nd Hand Sky Box. 602 574 899 (302507)
CARPETS AND SOFAS cleaned. Reliable, fast service. Family run. Cleansol 952 930 861 / 607 610 578. 10am - 10pm 7 days, all ar eas Discount Code: EWN 1 CLEAN (206437)
Electric & Gas Water Heaters. Quality Installations. 26 years installation history in Spain. EnviroCare. All Areas Cov ered. 952 663 141/670 409 759 info@envirocarespain. com www.envirocarespain. com (301178)
DREAM Windows & Building Services UPVC windows & doors. High quality at great prices 15yrs on the coast. All work guaranteed. Also offer Aluminium windows, Mosquito screens, Persianas, Glass replacements, shower screens & much more. Call us on 619 604 562 dreamwindow1@outlook.com (301215)
MOBILE SERVICE. ITV Legal. Solar Reflective tint for glass cur tains, balconies, yachts. Stop fad ing, heat & glare. 958 496 571644 546 176 ian@solarshadetint ing.com (292919)
IT’S rare these days to have a completely new marque launch, let alone one that isn’t part of an existing car company. Not too long ago we saw In eos and their Grenadier and now we have ORA, or to be more precise the ORA Funky Cat First Edition. I know! Move on from the name though and this Chinese built all elec tric car might be about to make inroads into the EV market in the UK. It’s not a price sharpened budget conscious model either, it’s very much aimed at those looking for some thing a cut above and competes with the likes of VW’s ID3 and Hyundai’s Kona EV.
ORA are not new to the car game, being part of Great Wall Motors that used to sell pick up trucks in the UK, having five
It is very tech orientat ed, some of it too much when the navigation sys tem gives you about eight direc tions just to negotiate a round about. Howev er, engi
were still tweaking the systems on the press
Model: ORA Funky Cat First Edition
Engine: 171 PS EV powertrain with 48kwh battery Gears: automatic
Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 8.3 seconds/Maxi mum Speed 159kph (99 mph)
Economy: 310 km/193 miles Combined driving (WLTP)
Emissions: 0 g/km (WLTP) Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.
brands under their corpo rate umbrella. Apart from the ORA Cat, the company is already showing con cepts for its second car, the Next Cat, which looks very sophisticated with Al fa echoes in the frontal styling and panamarian rear flanks.
The First Edition model is, as the name suggests, the first of a planned line of models and prices for the launch car start from €37,215/£31,995 which in cludes a profusion of stan dard equipment and a dis tinctly premium feel throughout the interior.
The drive is smooth and quiet with a decent amount of power when required, although the one foot driving/regenera tion doesn’t offer quite as much braking as one might have thought, so two foot driving is some times needed. Rough roads don’t phase the Cat and although the steering
is a little lifeless, there’s enough to safely quicken the pace on cross country roads.
Based on 15 per cent to 80 per cent, a 6.6kW home charge will take five to six hours. This time reduces when moving up to 11kW charging to around three to four hours. Additional ly, 80kW rapid charging will take around 40 min
utes. The Cat First Edition has a range of 193 miles. Although subjective, the Cat looks different without being odd, has a premium feel, lots of standard equipment and, despite a small boot, is a bigger car than you might think.
Good value for its admit tedly not cheap price, it nonetheless makes a most impressive start.
Betty Henderson STRUGGLING to choose your next car? A new re port could make that deci sion much easier. The brand new report from a used car marketplace has revealed the cars that lose the least value over the years. Here we share the fascinating results of the research.
• Cars losing the least value
The Jeep Wrangler leads the list of cars losing the least value over five years in Spain, with its value de preciating four times slow er than the average rate.
The Wrangler is closely followed by several sports car models including the Porsche 911, Chevrolet Ca maro, Ford Mustang, and Subaru BRZ, which all saw demand increase during the pandemic.
Other conventionally popular cars including the Honda Civic, the Nissan Versa, and Toyota Corolla
also retained significant value over a five year peri od, largely due to their reputations as reliable cars, efficient fuel con sumption, and compact styles.
• Cars losing the most value
At the other end of the scale, the report found that the BMW 7 Series has
the highest value deprecia tion rate in Spain. Luxury and large models suffered faster depreciation rates due to higher fuel con sumption rates.
The report also noted that poorer treatment of luxury cars premium fea tures also harmed their value retention five years after being bought.
NEWS that the Spanish second hand car market is reaching new heights is encouraging many car owners to sell cars that they don’t want anymore. If you want to sell your car quickly for the best deal, we have some tried and tested tips to prepare your car for the market for you.
• Invest time in research
Before listing your car online for the price you want for it, do some market research. Check the prices of the same model on online marketplaces. This way you can also decide whether making any necessary improvements are worth your time and money. It is also worth speaking to your local garage when you are considering sell
ing your car.
• Prepare your car
Though serious improvements to your car might not be possible on your timeframe and budget, or be worth it, you can make some simple improve ments. Ensure the interior and exteri or of your car are squeaky clean and tidy before taking photographs.
• Create an appealing advert
When building an online advert for your car, make sure to take high quali ty, focused photographs. It is crucial that a buyer feels persuaded when seeing your car for the first time. Take photographs of your car after you have made any improvements, on a sunny day.
NEW legislation to tackle cli mate change in Europe is set to transform the future of driving in the continent, and Spain is no exception. In fact, from next year, new legisla tion from the Spanish Driving Authority, the DGT, will ban the most polluting vehicles from urban areas in the coun try.
What is the new law?
The Climate Change and Energy Transition Law obliges Spanish cities with more than 50,000 residents to take ac tion to improve air quality through Low Emission Zones, known as ZBE’.
How many places will be af fected?
A total of 149 large towns and cities in Spain will be re quired to comply with the Low Emission Zone policy.
Similar rules have previously affected the biggest cities in the country including Madrid and Barcelona, but this is the first time a sweeping measure will be applied.
Which vehicles will be af fected?
Up to 30 per cent of vehi cles on the roads could be re
stricted in their urban move ments. Vehicles have been classified into a colour code by the DGT for which they will re ceive a coloured sticker. Most vehicles will still be allowed in urban areas, but some diesel and petrol fuelled cars will not be allowed or may enter but are not permitted to park.
THE entire board of direc tors resigned from Italian giants Juventus, including the club’s president of 17 years, Andrea Agnelli.
In an incredible turn of events in Italy on Monday morning, November 28, the entire board of direc tors of Serie A football club Juventus resigned, accord ing to a local news site. Af ter 17 years at the helm of the Italian giants, Andrea Agnelli quit as president, and Pavel Nedved stepped down as vice chairman.
Total chaos now sur rounds the future
of the club with Maurizio Arrivabene also resigning as managing director of the Turin side. It is believed that the remaining board members will leave as well.
These would reportedly include, Massimo Della Ra gione, Francesco Roncaglio, Suzanne Heywood, Giorgio Tacchia, Laurence Debroux, and Daniela Marilungo.
In the 2121 22 season, the Turin giants recorded
losses of £220 million in 2021 22.
The 36 times Serie A win ners are in disarray after being knocked out of this season’s Champions League competition in the group stages. They current ly sit third in the table after a poor start to the cam paign.
Juventus now faces the daunting task of appointing a completely new board of directors. Last Wednesday, a scheduled shareholders’ meeting was postponed and moved to December 27.
LIONEL MESSI is believed to be on the verge of signing for David Beckham’s MLS side Inter Miami according to a report in a national news outlet on Sunday, November 27. His con tract with PSG expires next summer, at which point the 35 year old will be a free agent.
Messi regularly goes on holiday to Miami with his family, where he owns a luxurious £5 million apartment. The report reckons he is lining up a big money move to become the highest paid player in MLS history.
ENGLAND won the ‘Battle of Britain’ clash against Wales in their final Group B match in the 2022 Qatar World Cup on Tuesday Novem ber 29.
It started with anoth er pretty lethargic dis play from England which saw the teams
head goalless at half time with the Wales team cancelling England out totally for the first 45 minutes.
The second half was five minutes in when Wales conceded a free kick outside their box. Marcus Rashford stepped up and curled a sublime free kick beyond the stranded Ward to put England ahead.
Phil Foden was on hand for a sec ond goal and smashed the ball into
the Welsh net to increase his side’s lead. Marcus Rashford then went on to double his tally after 68 minutes.
With a 3 0 win, England has quali fied for the next stage and will play Senegal on Sunday, December 4, in the Al Bayt Stadium. Unfortunately, this win means that Wales has been knocked out of the competition and will be returning home.
Due to England’s win, the USA also qualify for the next round after a 1 0 win over Iran and will face Holland on Saturday December 3.
Messi is currently in Qatar as captain of his national team. David Beckham is also attending the tournament in his ca pacity as an ambassador. That gives the 47 year to speak with the Qatari owners of Paris St Germain about a move for their player.
PSG would not want to lose their star, but a decision on his future could only finally come from Messi him self. He cur rently earns a staggering £1.2m a week in Paris, so Beckham knows he probably has to up the ante if he wants to lure the little genius to Miami.
Messi currently earns a staggering £1.2 million-aweek in Paris.
AC BENAHAVIS are cele brating this week. They finally ended their hoodoo by beating Malaga (50) in a league game after many at tempts. Malaga lead 4 2 with five minutes re maining, but in a superb come back AC managed to pip last year’s league winners 5 4 with a sub lime finish by Rob Fitz. This leaves Benahavis in a superb position in the league along with the Walking Dead, and Malaga floundering af ter a poor start to the
season by their high standards. The match was notable for the number of Hispanic players involved with 10 being on the pitch at one time. In the over 60 game Malaga came back from being two nil down, to draw with AC 2 2. Mark Sargent scor ing two goals from de fence.
The games between the Walking Dead and Nerja Utd were post poned due to an illness in the Nerja camp.
On Sunday December 4 Torrox Tornedoes host Nerja in a BAHA Cup game, this should be an interesting game be tween two close neigh bours.
The new four strikes penalty rule seems to have added an interest ing dimension to the games and adds to the excitement too, with most games reporting at least one offence and therefore at least one penalty.
Many thanks to the Euro Weekly News . Sup porters of Walking Foot ball. For all walking football news visit walk ingfooty.com on Face