Costa Calida 4 – 10 May 2023 Issue 1974

CORRUPTION CLAIMS

AS part of its campaign for the upcoming local elections, the Ciudadanos Party in Murcia has taken a stance to denounce corruption in politics.

It had erected a poster in the Plaza de Las Flores in which images of the former presidents of the autonomous community Pedro Antonio Sánchez and Ramón Luis Valcárcel appeared behind bars, alongside the PSOE candidate Pepe Vélez.

To round things off there is also an image of the current head of the Murcian executive, Fernando López Miras, with the phrase ‘Calienta que entras’ (Warm up and come in).

Perhaps understandably, the opposition parties have not taken kindly to this form of campaigning and complained to the Electoral Board which in ­

structed Ciudadanos to remove the offending poster which they have done, but have appealed against the decision. A Ciudadanos spokesperson

THE civil protection and emergency services for Mazarrón announced that on Saturday, April 29 at 2.20pm there was a fire in the area of the Rambla de las Pinillas. CEIS firefighters and Local Police arrived at the scene along with the Forest Brigade of Mazzarón and Lorca. The Guardia Civil along with a team from Iberdrola also arrived as there was a worry that the fire would impact the power supply in the area.

The Local Police evacuated some homes as a precaution but by 5.40pm the fire was under control. The emergency services announced that they are on maximum alert for forest fires with the rise in temperatures and because of this as a preventative measure they will be closing all the public mountain trails on certain days.

The scattered showers and storms in the region will come as a relief, but reports show temperatures will rise again.

Turtle rescue

A LOGGERHEAD turtle was rescued in the port of Mazarron on Sunday, April 30. The young turtle was tangled in nets. The crew of the ‘Karyam’ freed him and then handed him over to the recovery centre. This was part of the ‘Territorio Tortuga’ (Turtle Territory) campaign organised by the Cetaceous y Navigation Association. This association also tries to protect the loggerhead turtles when they come to the beaches on the Murcian coast to lay their eggs. Unfortunately, they explain it is not uncommon to see the turtles tangled in the nets along the coast.

The Cetáceos + Nave ­

gación community also shared on their Facebook page images of dolphins, pilot whales, turtles, and sunfish in the waters of Mazarron on Sunday.

told radio station Onda Regional that “they regret that PSOE and PP are much faster and more combative when it comes to chasing a party that

tells the truth about corruption than when it comes to chasing corruption scandals that affect politicians from both parties.”

Forest fire

PLAZA DE LAS FLORES: The unveiling of the poster.

RAMBLA DE LAS PINILLAS: Some homes were evacuated.

Credit: Ciudadanos Murcia

Young loggerhead turtle was rescued.

Free gift Hide and seek

Royal audience

THANKS to the Cartagena Council, El Centro Comercial Abierto and the Spanish Confederation of Historic Centres, shoppers were able to obtain a free gift if they spent more than €25 in the shopping centre on Friday, April 28.

This was to celebrate the Day of the Historic Centres and having made they pur‐chases, large numbers of shoppers queued patiently at the prize stall set up in the Plaza del Icue.

The intention was to pro‐mote the local retail econo‐my as there is a fear that the area is seeing too many bars being opened and a to‐tal of 500 gifts, each valued at €20 were available for shoppers to claim on the day.

YOUNG student Miguel Zapata Jimenez who at‐tends the Centro Educa‐tivo San Pedro Apostol is proud to have been cho‐sen to meet King Felipe VI.

The scholar from the San Pedro del Pinatar school entered the 42nd contest What is a King to you? organised by the

Spanish Institutional Foundation (FIES) and the Orange Foundation and his image was judged the best across the Autonomous Com‐munity of Murcia so he will join other regional winners who will meet with His Majesty later in the year.

He will take with him

his artwork which de‐picts the king in his role as Captain General of the three branches of the armed forces and to do this, he used a cut‐out figure game of the king which can be ‘dressed’ in the appro‐priate uniforms of the Army, Air Force and Navy.

THE prawns of the Mar Menor are playing hide and seek com‐mented one fisher‐man. They are nick‐named Houdini among the fishermen of the Mar Menor who have had trouble this week catching them. The fishermen went on to say some‐

times there is an abun‐dance of prawns and they can catch over 300,000 kilos in one day and the following week there are none to be found. One fish‐erman said the moon affects the catch saying the prawns don’t like

CARTAGENA Town Hall is receiving criticism this week for the imple‐mentation of their ‘shadow plan’.

They have located canopies along Calle del Carmen, the main shop‐ping street in Cartagena that leads down to the port. The idea itself is not being criticised as they have been asking for this street to be shaded for years but the methods

THE Ramón Gaya Museum, on Plaza Santa Catalina in Murcia, launched a new exhibition on Fri‐day, April 28 that runs until October. This exhibition brings together works from renowned artists such as Manet, Matisse, Hockney, Kitaj, Valmier, Pascin, and Rembrandt. The collector Avelino Marín who began his collection at just 16 years

the light from the moon and others say it is due to the increase of algae in the Mar Menor again as prawns prefer a sandy seabed. Either way, the lack of prawns around may affect the price per kilo.

Shadow plan

used are being discussed negatively in all the bars and restaurants along the street. The sail‐like canopies stretching from side to side shading the pedestrianised street are se‐cured in place by large concrete stands and unsightly tubes connect‐ed to the sails holding them in place.

Art exhibition

of age purchased his first piece with his savings. The exhibition will also contain three paintings by Ramón Gaya, two which are unpublished. This exhibition highlights the work of Marín celebrating his passion for the conservation of art and his be‐lief that art belongs to everyone.

PROUD SCHOLAR: Miguel shows off his winning design.

Credit: San Pedro del Pinatar Council

Collecting their gift.

Credit: Felipe C Paga/Cartagena Council

Inside the Coronation

THIS first weekend in May will be full of royal celebrations as King Charles is set to be crowned alongside the Queen Consort at a grand ceremony in Westminster Abbey.

The long weekend will be filled with celebrations, from street parties to concerts, as King Charles becomes the oldest new monarch in history. Code­named Operation Golden Orb, plans for the much­anticipated event have been released over the past few months.

Starting on May 6 at 11am, the Coronation Service will kick off a weekend full of events following their Majesties’ crowning in the Abbey in London, in a service that will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The King’s Coronation will include many of the ceremonies that were seen in the late Queen’s service, such as anointing with consecrated oil, the delivery of the orb, the pledge to be “Defender of the Faith”, and the enthroning itself.

It is understood that the anointing will not be shown on television and is set to be hidden from the public, as it was for the late

Queen’s coronation in 1953.

During the ceremony, the King will be asked if he will govern the UK and the Commonwealth with law and justice, and if he will keep Christianity alive in the country.

He will sit in the Coronation Chair, also known as Edward’s Chair, holding the sovereign’s sceptre and rod to symbolise his power over the nation, as well as the sovereign’s orb to represent the Christian world.

After the Archbishop has anointed, blessed, and consecrated Charles, the crown of St Edward will be placed on his head, crowning him as King Charles III.

Countdown to Coronation

FOLLOWING the death of the Queen on September 8, 2022, King Charles became the king of the United Kingdom and the Com monwealth Realms. Born on November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace, he is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Charles attended several schools during his childhood, including Hill House School in London and Gordonstoun School in Scotland. He later

King’s Coronation:

Where to watch

KING CHARLES III and Camilla will be crowned on Saturday, May 6. Before and after the Coronation service at Westminster Abbey in London, there will be ceremonial processions which will be aired live on national television, radio, and online, as well as exhibited on giant screens at locations around the country.

If you are planning on tuning in to the King’s coronation on television, here are all the details you need about channels and timings so you don’t miss a moment of this major historical event!

On Sky News, Coronation day coverage will kick off at 6am on Saturday, May 6. Live coverage will also be available to view on BBC and BBC iPlayer throughout the day, with mirroring coverage also available on ITV.

Although exact timings may change, the official ceremony is set to start at 11am at Westminster Abbey, with broadcasters’ promising live footage from multiple angles to give you a front­row seat, complete with a running live commentary.

Those outside of the UK can watch the events and coverage on CNN, NBC, Fox News and other major US stations, as well as YouTube live streams and live TV subscriptions such as Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV, Sling TV and FuboTV.

studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970 and a Master of Arts degree in 1975.

Charles has been involved in public life for many years and has taken an active interest in a wide range of issues, such as environmental sustainability, architecture, and education.

He has also served as the patron or president of numerous charitable organisations including The Prince’s Wool Project, START, and The Cambrian Mountain Initiative.

In 1981, Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, who became known as Princess Diana. They had sons William and Harry before their divorce in 1996 and she died in 1997. Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005, and she is now known as the Duchess of Cornwall.

Throughout his life, Charles has been known for his advocacy for environmental sustainability and for his interest in traditional architecture. He has written several books on these subjects, including ‘A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture’ and ‘Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World’.

As king, Charles is expected to continue his advocacy for these causes while carrying out his duties as head of state.

The Coronation Concert

THE day after the King’s Coronation, on Sunday, May 7, viewers can watch the Coronation Concert live on BBC and iPlayer. Taking place on the East Lawn of Windsor Castle, exact timings are yet to be announced but the concert is set to start at 8pm and coverage is likely to start earlier in the lead­up to the event.

The star­studded musical show will feature performances from Take That, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Italian opera star Andrea Bocelli and Welsh singer Sir Bryn Terfel, amongst others. There will also be a performance from the Coronation Choir ­ a group of amateur singers and community choirs made up of refugees and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

‘Paddington’ and ‘Downton Abbey’ star, Hugh Bonneville will host the gig.

King Charles set to be crowned.

TAKE THAT: Just one of many performers taking part.

Charles married Camilla in 2005.

Image –Official Take That Facebook page

Image –The Royal Family Facebook page

World Cup 2030

SPAIN, Portugal, Morocco, and Ukraine have presented a joint bid to host the World Cup 2030. Murcia will play an important role in the competition if the bid is successful. As part of the pro‐posal, Murcia will be one of the venues for the 2030 World Cup. Cartagena and San Pedro del Pinatar will take part as training bases during the competition while Lorca, San Javier, Yecla, or Aguilas could host friendly matches prior to the competition. A meeting was held in Murcia prior to the presentation of the bid, with a group of delegates along with some members of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

The meeting which was the first of its kind was also attended by the Director General of Sports, Francisco Sanchez stated that “the journey we started to host the World Cup is gaining much more strength.” He went on to discuss that if the bid is successful “it will be the most important event we will experience in Spain in the next decade.”

The bid gained strength with the edition of Morocco in March 2023 and the African Football Federation fully supports the bid.

PROVERB OF THE WEEK

Singing in the rain

AFTER weeks without rain in the region it finally ar ‐rived causing damage and the evacuation of 18,000 people attending the ‘Warm Up’ Festival in Murcia. The high temper ‐atures more typically ex ‐perienced during summer caused a tropical storm with intense rainfall and high winds. Within an hour the streets were flooded, trees collapsed, traffic had to be cut off and the highly anticipated ‘Warm ‐up’ festival had to be called off on Saturday,

April 28.

Even though the event was cancelled after just two performances by Maestro Espada and Na ‐talia Lacunza because of the bad weather, the ‘Murciano’ sense of hu ‐mour shone through.

Some chose to stay and take advantage of the crowd ‐ free bars, others

Top Port

flocked to a local laun ‐derette where the party continued while the par ‐tygoers dried their clothes! Many memes and images of people hiding from the rain in the most unusual places flooded social media, showing most attendees finding the funny side. The man ‐agement of the Estrella Levante ‘Warm Up’ festi ‐val assured everyone who had tickets for Saturday’s cancelled event will get a full refund.

The event continued on Sunday evening without any problems or interrup‐tions and the music fans could finally enjoy the music from British bands The Kooks and Hot Chip and many more.

THE Port of Cartagena is the third fastest‐growing European port in terms of the movement of goods. Barcelona and Bilbao are the only other Spanish ports named in the top 10 in Europe, they came in 7th and 8th place respectively mak‐ing Cartagena port the first in the Spanish port system. The vice presi‐dent of the port authori‐ty of Cartagena, Pedro Pablo Hernández said

“The Port of Cartagena has been able to over‐come the effects of the crisis caused by the pan‐demic, the war in Ukraine and inflation with a growth of 17 per cent and more than 36.6 million tonnes, consoli‐dating us as a driving force of the regional economy.” Hernández went on say the Port of Cartagena is breaking records in 2023 with an all‐time high seen in the movement of goods in the first quarter. They moved 9.5 million tonnes which was a growth of 8.84 per cent .

Sailing

THE best lateen and vin‐tage sailing boats from the region, Galicia, the Basque Country, the Ca‐nary Islands, and the Balearic Islands took to the sea in the port of Cartagena on Sunday, April 30. This event was arranged by Cartagena City Council and others.

53% of British tablet owners use an Apple iPad.

Totally washed out.

“A fool and his money are soon parted.”

Means that a foolish person spends money too quickly on unimportant things. The phrase was used by poet Thomas Tusser in a poem he wrote called Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry in 1557.

Photo credit: Warmed up Facebook

Fortress Route

THE Ruta del las Fortalezas can be translated to the Fortress Route or the Route of Strengths and both would be correct. This race that sets off from Cartagena Port takes the trail up into the mountains bordering the port, a difficult race that passes by many forts and historical monuments along the way. La Ruta de las Fortalezas took place on Satur‐day, April 22, and was the 12th anniversary of this popular race. The challenging 50‐kilo‐metre trail with an altitude of 1,500 metres was won by Juan Antonio Zamora Fernández from Cartagena who complet‐ed the race in three hours, 53

minutes, and 46 seconds.

Most of the 4,000 partici‐pants were from the region but there were also partici‐pants from Italy, England, Hol‐land, France, and Sweden. The event was organised by the

THE San Javier Town Council has donated €40,000 to the non‐profit association AIDE‐MAR. The association supports families that have children with disabilities in the Mar Menor area. They have day centres and res‐idential housing, transport facilities, and a sports club, they also arrange activities with the collaboration of other centres and facili‐ties. The money donated by the town coun‐cil is part of a yearly agreement between San Javier and AIDEMAR. The money will go

Historic recipes

SOME 71 older residents of Lorca have produced a cook‐book entitled Recipes of a gen‐eration ensuring that some of the gastronomic history of the town is remembered.

With 78 different recipes both savoury and sweet, the bulk of the cook book consists of typical dishes from Lorca and 120 copies will be avail‐able to collect free of charge from the headquarters of the Department of the Elderly.

Those involved come from the pensioners’ clubs and asso‐ciations for the elderly, the ‘En‐rédate’ programme of the Red Cross and the Alzheimer’s As‐sociation Lorca.

Mayor of Lorca Diego José Mateos thanked all of those who gave their recipes as well as students of the Computer Course taught through Cre‐ative Classrooms who de‐signed this guide showing the links between the elderly and the young.

A

Navy and Cartagena City Coun‐cil, 550 military personnel and more than 200 civilians were part of the security during the contest. The sporting event raises funds for many charita‐ble causes in the area.

AIDEMAR Support

towards early care services, medical rehabil‐itation, the occupational centre, and the ed‐ucation centre. The president of AIDEMAR, Francisco García, also announced that they are in the process of repurposing an old AIDEMAR residence in San Pedro del Pinatar. Once completed it will be dedicated exclusively for people with autism.

Battalion of oysters

THE Institute of Oceanogra‐phy has installed 30,000 oys‐ters in the Salt lakes of San Pedro del Pinatar to act as fil‐ters. The lead investigator for this project Marina Alben‐

tosa hopes the presence of the Bivalvia in the water will help to combat the prolifera‐tion of algae and the high nu‐trient load that pollutes the Mar Menor.

MOUNTAIN TRAIL: Some 4,000 participants took part.

Cartagena town hall official Facebook account

LA ARRIXACA Hospital in the Region of Murcia broke records with seven trans‐plants in less than 24 hours. A medical team of approxi‐mately 60 assembled on Fri‐day, April 28 at around 3pm to implant four kidneys and three livers. They finished

Hospital records Battle of the beds

around 12pm on Saturday, saving the lives of all seven patients who were in serious or critical condition. One of the patients suffered acute liver failure on Friday due to

heat stroke while playing sports. The marathon of transplants came about due to the coincidence of several donations becoming avail‐able around the same time.

A READER from Costa Calida has written to Euro Weekly News on the matter of attacks by out‐of‐control dogs and his story is as follows:

“Too many of these inci‐dents are endangering the public recently, including my own encounter with a Pitbull to save my own dog’s life.

“My incident happened on March 28, 50 metres from my home whilst I was walking my 3.5kg Yorkshire Terrier. “Out of nowhere an unmuzzled, un‐tethered dog which I believe to be an American Pit‐bull bound‐ed towards me grabbing my dog in its jaws instantly break‐ing my dog’s jaw and inflicting terrible body injuries.

“I rushed my dog to our vets, where he immediately told me to drive to Murcia Ani‐

HOLIDAY HOMES are winning the battle of the beds in the Region of Murcia as of‐ficially registered Airbnb ‐ style holiday homes account for more beds than all the hotels. There are 4,680 ‘tourist apart ‐ments’ with 23,879 beds in the region ac‐cording to the data from the Minister of

Tourism and Culture. This type of accom‐modation has become more and more popular over the years and has continued to grow throughout the region during the pandemic. The majority of these apart ‐ments are located along the coast of Cos‐ta Cálida.

Heartbreaking

mal emergencies hospital as my dog’s injuries were so se‐vere and life threatening.

“My dog was in intensive care for six days and surgeons

there did not think he would make it. We went to the Guardia Civil, they did nothing, telling us to go to our town hall, who also told us they

could do nothing. “The out‐of‐control dog’s owners are Span‐ish squatters living illegally next door to me and we must walk past the squatter’s villa every day, no choice as its a cul de sac. “So far, my hospital bill for saving my dog’s life exceeds €2,500 without our vet’s bill. “We are fearful to leave our home on foot and our neigh‐bours are carrying protection when they walk their dogs. “I want justice, and I want it known if you own a home in Spain and your dog is brutally attacked, it’s all on you as the law will do nothing.”

YORKSHIRE TERRIER: Specialist treatment saved its life.

Hospital Veterinario Universidad de Murcia

90/180 Days

A CAMPAIGN called ‘180 Days in Spain’ has been launched with the aim of en‐suring that every British per‐son living in Spain (whether full‐year or part‐year) has their pre‐Brexit rights as an EU Citizen properly protected and ring‐fenced.

In addition, it hopes to im‐prove and equalise the rights of all British visitors to Spain so that they get the same ac‐cess after Brexit that Spanish people do in the UK today.

As explained to Euro Weekly News in a statement from Andrew Hesselden, the Campaign Director and founder, the organisers of ‘180 Days in Spain’ are asking for some very simple require‐ments. Firstly, they want Brits who were living in Spain before Brexit ‐ whether living in the country for all or part of the year ‐ to receive equal treatment. Secondly, they are asking for the equal treat‐ment of British visitors to Spain, in the same way that

A British first

Spanish visitors to the UK re‐ceive. There are lots of ways that politicians could achieve these outcomes said Mr Hes‐selden, who hopes that the conversations being generat‐ed by the campaign are prov‐ing beneficial to British and European citizens every‐where. The campaign al‐ready has over 6,000 mem‐bers and continues to grow. Its Campaign Director col‐laborates and coordinates with other similar campaigns in France, Italy, Greece, Ger‐many and Cyprus as well as running a similar Europe‐wide campaign. Together these all account for a further 6,000 members.

“We already know that certain regions of Spain and France want to eliminate the 90‐in‐180‐day problem that Brexit has exacerbated, Mr Hesselden ‐ who has a home in Mallorca ‐ explained. Visit https://www.face book.com/groups/180daysin spain to find out more.

RICHARD LEWINGTON, Chairman of the Madrid branch of Con ‐servatives Abroad ‐ the international wing of the British Conserva ‐tive Party, has been confirmed as a candi ‐date in the upcoming municipal elections in Oñati, Guipuzkoa in the Basque Country on Sunday, May 28.

This marks a historic moment as Lewington will be the first British citizen to run for office in Spain’s autonomous Basque Country.

The 41 ‐ year ‐ old, orig ‐inally from Southend on Sea, Essex, is a for ‐mer nurse who moved to Spain in 2007 where he lived in Oñati and worked as a freelance correspondent and En ‐glish teacher.

Lewington’s platform focuses on supporting rural businesses, en ‐hancing public services for young people, pro ‐

moting cross ‐ cultural understanding, and supporting the town’s candidacy for UNESCO world heritage status.

“I am extremely proud to be part of Ri ‐cardo Guisado Balanza ‐tegui’s list and to be running for office in Oñati as a candidate for the Partido Popu ‐lar.

As someone who has lived and worked in the town, I believe that Oñati has the potential to be a model for other towns in the region,” he said.

Richard Lewington outside Oñati Town Hall.

AUTHORITIES in Madrid went into uproar on Wednesday, April 27 after a Chilean artist placed a provocative sculpture in the capital’s iconic Puerta del Sol square.

Nicolás Miranda’s sculp‐ture depicted former Span‐ish King Juan Carlos aiming a rifle at a larger statue of a bear, which is a beloved em‐blem of Madrid. The art ‐work is a clear reference to the disgraced monarch’s love of hunting, which has sparked controversy in the past.

Juan Carlos, who abdicat‐ed in 2014, has been heavily

Fierce controversy

the square by artist Nicolás Miranda and remained in place for just 10 minutes be‐fore authorities removed it.

criticised for his hunting trips, including one in which he allegedly shot a bear which was tamed using vod‐ka.

The sculpture, made from polyurethane, was placed in

TOURISM returned to positive figures in March in the city of Madrid, as reflected in the data from the National Institute of Statistics published on April 24. Tourists increased by 21.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2022, reaching a total of 819,000 travellers, of whom more than half were foreigners. This represents an increase in international travellers of 43.3 per cent compared to 2022.

In the accumulated calculation of the 12 months, the total number of travellers in the city was 9.1 million last year, which means an interannual increase of 55.8 per cent. In this same period, the growth of travellers through‐

Betty Henderson

THE Spanish Organisa ‐tion of Consumers and Users (OCU) recently conducted a survey to find out which Spanish cities are the cleanest and dirtiest. The results of the survey were re ‐leased on Thursday, April 27, and some of them are surprising!

A total of 6,863 resi ‐dents participated in the survey which found that the worst offenders when it comes to dirty streets are Palma, Ali ‐cante, and Sevilla, all of which are popular tourist destinations. San Se ‐bastián de los Reyes, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Barcelona, and Madrid also made the list of the ‘worst’ cities.

But it’s not all bad news. Oviedo, Bilbao, and Vigo were praised by their residents for their clean streets. Pamplona and Albacete also re ‐ceived high ratings, with Albacete showing a sig ‐nificant improvement

However, it has caused a sensation on social media and in the Spanish press. Mi‐randa said that he studied CCTV footage of the square to choose the perfect mo‐ment to place the artwork.

The former king’s visit to Spain last week has also prompted renewed criti ‐cism, with prosecutors alleg‐ing that there are renewed issues with his finances.

Capital tourism

out Spain was 48.6 per cent.

As for overnight stays in hotels, in March they grew by 15.2 per cent and totalled 1.6 mil‐lion.

In this case, 60 per cent of the total corre‐sponds to overnight stays by foreign travellers, whose increase was 30 per cent.

The recovery of overnight stays in Madrid is now just eight points from 2019 when historic figures for tourism were recorded in the city and in Spain as a whole.

Clean sweep

from the previous sur ‐vey.

However, the OCU warned that overall the results are mediocre, with one in three cities receiving a ‘poor’ rating. The main issues cited by residents were dog mess

on the streets, litter out‐side of bins, graffiti, and dirty suburbs.

The OCU has called on local authorities to in ‐crease street cleaning and to crack down on dog owners who don’t clean up their mess.

Photo credit: Lipasam Sevilla (via Facebook)

Photo credit: madridenacion (via Instagram)

Sevilla’s streets ranked low in terms of cleanliness.

Juan Carlos I in statue form fires a rifle at Madrid’s iconic bear.

PRESS EUROPEAN

DENMARK

Viking treasure

METAL detectorists discovered a hoard of Viking silver near the ruins of the Viking castle Fyrkat, in Hobro, North Denmark. Their find contained over 300 items which included Danish, German and Arab coins, dating back to the 900s, when King Harald ‘Bluetooth’ united Denmark and Norway.

THE NETHERLANDS

Flower quandary

THE Netherlands account for 80 per cent of the EU’s flower exports and 60 per cent of global flower production, including those sent to Russia. Dutch growers said that flowers were not affected by sanctions but admitted they were faced with the dilemma of whether to stop exports on moral grounds.

BELGIUM

Fizz fuss

BELGIAN Customs officers crushed 2,352 cans of Miller High Life bearing the ‘Champagne of Beers’ slogan. The US shipment en route to another country was intercepted and destroyed in Antwerp after the French authorities issued a formal complaint regarding the infringement of Champagne’s protected status.

GERMANY

Chips are down

GERMANY could limit the export of the chemicals that are used to manufacture semiconductors as the government attempts to reduce its economic exposure to China, Bloomber said. Chemical companies Merck and BASF, who would be affected if exports were curbed, declined to comment.

FRANCE

Porn rules

FRANCE’S audiovisual and digital communications regulator Arcom could receive new powers to block websites not complying with age verification regulations. Under modified rules, Arcom would not require judicial approval to force telecoms operators and search engines to block access to Pornhub or YouPorn

NORWAY

Oslo fight

ASYLUM-SEEKER Andrey Medvedev, a Wagner mercenary who crossed into Norway from Russia in January, pleaded guilty to fighting outside an Oslo bar and carrying an air gun in public. He felt very ashamed, Medvedev said, but denied assaulting police officers in the Norwegian capital.

FINLAND

Snakes alive

ADDERS, Finland’s only dangerous snakes, will become a protected species in June. In future, people will no longer be permitted to kill them without reasonable cause or disturb them in their natural habitats, although Turku Animal Protection Association’s president, Britt-Marie Juup, foresaw “heated discussions.”

IRELAND

Too good

IRELAND has one of the highest rates of overqualification in the EU, according to newly released Eurostat data. Just under 29 per cent of the country’s employees were working in occupations not requiring a third-level degree despite having one, making the country's workforce the EU’s most educated.

ITALY

Free pill

ITALY will make free contraception medication available to women of all ages, a move applauded by women’s rights activists nationwide but condemned by anti-abortion advocates. The Pricing and Reimbursement Committee of AIFA, the Italian Medicines Agency now awaits approval from the agency’s board of directors.

PORTUGAL

Stony broke

FORMER Banco Espirito Santo (BES) bank boss Ricardo Salgado, out on €3 million bail since 2014, owes more than €30,000 in court costs, which his defence team claims he cannot pay as his assets were impounded by the state. The costs mounted up in unsuccessful appeals to the Constitutional Court.

UKRAINE

Looking ahead

UKRAINE lost a third of its economic output in 2022 as eight million people fell into poverty, creating a 15-year setback in poverty reduction goals. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development pledged that when the time came for reconstruction “people will be there, human capital will be there.”

SWEDEN

New fashion

DRUG busts involving designer drug 3-CMC increased dramatically in Sweden after gaining a foothold during the pandemic, the country’s media said. Between 2019 and 2022 Swedish Customs and the police seized quantities ranging from four to 104 kilos, saying 3-CMC was now more common than cocaine.

FINANCE

STAT OF WEEK €1.164 billion

was the amount of telecom company Orange España’s turnover during the first three months of this year, a 2.8 per increase on the same period in 2021.

BUSINESS EXTRA Telefonica’s Virgin

Coffee break

PRET A MANGER is increasing the cost of its monthly subscription service by a fifth to £30 (€33.9) for a daily five coffees but will give a 10 per cent discount on food and snacks alongside free drinks. The sandwich chain warned that the “inflationary challenge” was ever­present.

Payback time

RENTING state­owned Sareb’s 50,000 properties at affordable prices will repay taxpayers’ money, Spain’s Economy Minister Nadia Calviño, said. She added that after taking control of Spain’s “bad bank” the government’s “good management” was returning to society its contribution to the 2011 bank bailout.

Takeover bid

MEDICA GROUP is the latest London­listed business targeted by private equity buyers following IK Partners’ £269 million (€303.7 million) bid for the teleradiology provider. Medica’s board advised shareholders to vote for the deal, saying this would allow investors to recognise the business’s growth potential.

New post

GERMAN­BORN Miguel Angel Lopez Borrego, who has Spanish nationality, replaces Martina Merz as CEO of the German group ThyssenKrupp on June 1. Lopez Borrego, who is 58, and currently interim CEO of Norma Group, is a former director of Siemens Spain and a member of the Siemens Gamesa board.

Desert song

UMAR KAMANI, former CEO of the PrettyLittleThing fastfashion chain, sold 30,000 square feet (2,787 square metres) of undeveloped sand in Dubai that cost him £6.42 million (€7.3 million) for more than £27 million (€30.5 million). Kamani’s buyer is believed to be a member of the Saudi royal family.

Lifeline needed for landline

Linda Hall

TALKTALK, Virgin Media and SSE have been accused of overcharging landlineonly customers by almost €219 million (approximately €247.3 million).

Almost 600,000 UK landline­only customers were charged ‘excessive’ prices since 2009, maintained Fideres, which specialises in providing industry expertise for financial markets’ disputes.

The consultancy, which also aims to identify corporate wrongdoing, found that TalkTalk ­ and the now­merged Virgin Media and SSE ­ have between them overcharged consumers when their prices were compared with those of their rivals. Fideres pointed out that as well as a pricing abuse that possibly breached competition rules, the three

companies were also infringing equality laws since two­thirds of customers with landline­only deals were aged 65 or older.

In 2017, Ofcom published research showing that landline customers were getting ‘poor value for money’.

Providers had increased line rental charges by 25 and 49 per cent since 2009 even though the underlying wholesale cost of providing a landline service had fallen by 26 per cent.

As a result, BT, which accounts for about 80 per cent of the UK’s 2.9 million landline­only clients, cut charges by around 37 per cent, reversing the increases by returning pricing to 2009 levels in real­terms.

Ofcom said in 2017 that it expected other providers to follow suit as did the Post Office, unlike Virgin Media and TalkTalk. If providers rolled back their prices to match the 2009 levels, TalkTalk’s customers would have saved £103 million (€116.3 million) and Virgin Media and SSE’s customers £48 million (€54.2 millon), Fideres calculated.

Airports group flies high

AENA reported a net profit of €133.6 million for the first quarter of 2023, compared with losses of €41.7 million during the same period in 2022.

The total number of passengers in Spain, Luton and airports in northeast Brazil recovered 100 per cent of their pre­pandemic levels, state­owned Aena announced on April 26.

Traffic volume at Aena’s Spanish airports reached 53.6 million in the first three months of the year, a 41.6

Barça deal

FC BARCELONA finally secured funds for the Espai Barça project which includes renovating the Camp Nou stadium.

The club has now signed a €1.45 billion agreement with 20 investors, although this is €50 million less than it originally hoped for.

It has taken the club almost two months to obtain sufficient financial backing to start work at the Camp Nou ground. Setbacks that coincided with club president Joan Laporta’s funding mission included the scandal over Barça’s payments to football referee José María Enríquez Negreira and the hike in interest rates, followed the Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse banking crises.

per cent increase on the same period last year and 1.6 per cent higher than during the first quarter of 2019.

Commercial sales showed a 12 per cent improvement on their pre­pandemic lev­

els,. Total consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2023 increased to €1.03 billion, 34.3 per cent up on the first quarter of 2022.

Aeronautical revenue of €523 million was 26 per cent

Salmon tax

THE price of Norway’s farmed salmon could rise by up to 10 per cent, industry insiders warned.

Norway produces more than 1.5 million tons of salmon each year and the Oslo government now intends to slap a 35 per cent tax on their profits.

As a result, consumer prices are expected to rise by as much as 10 per cent or even more.

“We all know it is coming,” said Lance Forman, owner of London­based H Forman and Sons, which supplies leading restaurants and Harrods.

After fossil fuels, salmon farming is the country’s largest source of national income. It is also very lucrative, with operating profit margins of around 45 per cent.

Despite the salmon farmers’ efforts, the Norwegian parliament is expected to approve the measure in the coming weeks.

TELEFONICA has strengthened its position in the UK with a partnership between its strategic digital business subsidiary, Tech&I, and Virgin Media 02 Business.

Virgin’s customers can now be supported by Telefonica Tech’s cloud team of professional and managed services. Based in the UK this company currently employs more than 1,000 technology professionals following its takeover of CancomUK&I and Incremental.

This will enable Virgin Media O2 Business to offer enhanced services to medium and large organisations. These will range from local authorities wanting to unify data and processes, healthcare providers migrating sensitive data to the cloud and retailers looking to evolve e­commerce opportunities in the cloud.

higher than in 2022 while commercial revenue ­ again surpassing 2019 levelsreached €337.9 million, 40.1 per cent more than during the first three months of 2022. “The performance of commercial activity in the first quarter of the year is noteworthy, where pre­pandemic activity levels improved markedly,” Aena said. Aena’s gross operating result between January and March of this year rose to €368.6 million, representing growth of 153.2 per cent.

Light fantastic

NATIONAL POWER, owner of the Drax power station in Selby (Yorkshire), reported its highest ever annual profits.

Shareholders in the FTSE 250 company can look forward to a £150 million (€169 million) windfall, thanks to record electricity prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This had helped to increase the group’s annual profits for 2022 to £731 million (€824.7 million), up from £398 million (€499 million) in 2021.

Drax also announced that in the meantime it was putting on hold its much ­ debated £50 million (€56.4 million) carbon capture project, as it awaited details from the government regarding a possible subsidy.

Turned off

NETFLIX lost more than one million Spanish viewers in the first quarter of this year, consultancy company Kantar found.

Vetoing shared accounts was responsible for the plunge and the future looks even bleaker now that 10 per cent of current subscribers plan to leave Netflix within the next three months.

“Losing some users was to be expected,” said Mayte Gonzalez, from Kantar’s Worldpanel division. “But losing more than one million in so little time has major consequences for Netflix and will influence its decision to continue with this measure worldwide.”

Loud and clear

MARSHALL GROUP is more likely to increase its commitment to Britain than leave, its new owners said.

The family­owned amplifiers firm was bought by Swedish company, Zound Industries, which makes Bluetooth speakers, in a deal that valued the combined group at £325 million (€367 million).

All Marshall brands were acquired by Zound, for an undisclosed amount.

“We will preserve and probably enhance our UK presence even more, because it is so important to who we are,” said Jeremy de Maillard, who heads the new business.

LANDLINES: Users tend to be over 65.

AENA HEADQUARTERS: Spain’s airports group makes a profit.

Photo credit: Pexels/Rodnae Productions

Photo credit: CC/Gemmarz

DOW JONES

Family affair

SPAIN’S National High Court in Madrid is investigating Santiago Alarco, the former brother­in­law of ex­Cabinet minister Rodrigo Rato, for hiding money abroad. Alarco has been summonsed to give evidence on May 24 to answer charges of money laundering and creating a financial network to keep cash out of the reach of Spain’s tax authorities.

Deaf ears

HSBC’s biggest shareholder said that it was “extremely disappointed” in the bank’s refusal to consider splitting up and separating its Asia business, criticising its inflexibility towards restructuring proposals. Ping An Asset Management, which has an 8 per cent holding in the banking giant, would prefer to see a separate Honglisted business headquartered in Asia.

PM’S own goal

GERRY MURPHY, chairman of luxury retailer Burberry described axing VAT ­ free shopping for foreign visitors as a “spectacular” own goal.

“It makes the UK the least attractive shopping destination in Europe,” Murphy added.

The criticism came after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visit to a Business Connect meeting in London when he was quizzed about the measure introduced while he was Chancellor.

The Burberry boss told

the prime minister that it appeared “somewhat perverse” that the VAT refund

for tourists was removed on the day the UK left the single market.

Powering up profits

IBERDROLA made a €1.48 billion net profit in the first quarter of 2023.

This was more than 40 per cent up on the same period last year, which coincided with the start of the Ukraine war.

Thanks to improvements in Spain and the UK, the group reported a marked increase in results despite the new 1.2 per cent windfall tax applied to energy com­

panies’ net turnover. This increased the group’s total tax bill by €200 million this quarter compared with the first three months of 2021. It has also been paid in full, announced Iberdrola, although payments have increased by 102.2 per cent to €1.18 billion this quarter, compared to €583 million in 2021.

Ocado relocates

“Leaving the EU has had a significant effect on trade,” Murphy said, claiming that the UK was experiencing “by far” the weakest recovery from the pandemic compared with other major economies.

A group of business leaders has now called for the reintroduction of tax­free shopping for overseas tourists.

In a letter to the UK’s Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, retail, hospitality and tourism chiefs maintained that reinstating the VAT concession would benefit both businesses and the taxpayer.

Tax­free shopping would bring a multi­billion­pound boost to the economy, they argued.

“The cost of 20 per cent VAT refunds would be outweighed by the enormous benefits of encouraging more visitors to Britain,” they said.

IN a move that will affect approximately 2,300 employees, Ocado plans to close its oldest distribution centre in Hatfield (Hertfordshire) later this year.

This centre accounts for a fifth of the online grocer’s weekly customer orders each week, but sources explained that Ocado now intends to shift towards robotic warehouses, transferring to a new state ­ of ­ the ­ art warehouse in Luton.

Logo no-go

LIDL won its legal standoff against Tesco.

A High Court judge found in favour of the German­owned chain which accused Tesco of “riding on its coat tails” by promoting its Clubcard deals with a similar blue and yellow logo.

Mrs Justice Joanna Smith made the ruling late last month after an earlier hearing between the two supermarket giants.

BURBERRY: Chairman Gerry Murphy lamented end of taxfree shopping for tourists.

Euro

EUR/GBP: Unchanged at £0.88

EUR/USD: Up from $1.07 to $1.09

Easing concerns over Europe’s banking sector initially helped the euro to firm at end of March, before these gains were swiftly eased by a weaker-than-expected Eurozone inflation print.

Hawkish comments from a European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker, put a spring back in the single currency’s step at the start of April, before rally sputtered out in the face of fresh tensions between Russia and Europe as Finland formally joined NATO.

The euro continued to waver into mid-April as a disappointing Eurozone retail sales reading was offset and the single currency’s negative correlation with the US dollar infused volatility into EUR exchange rates.

A stronger-than-expected Eurozone services PMI then lent support to the euro toward the end of April.

While the ECB’s next interest rate

BUSINESS EXTRA

Scot-free

P&O Ferries believe that the possibility of a fine arising from the 2022 mass sacking of 786 employees was “remote.”

The Dubai ­ owned ferry operator’s annual report maintained that sacking its entire UK­based crew without the prior consultation required by UK law was a “solution to gaining essential operational flexibility.

Good result

BARCELONA­BASED construction company FCC, controlled by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, earned €97 million in the first three months of this year, 14 per cent more than 2021’s first quarter. Revenue increased by 21.2 per cent to €2.03 billion thanks to increased activity and double­digit growth in most business areas.

Currency outlook: US dollar slumps amid fading Fed rate hike bets, Euro underpinned by ECB interest rate speculation

decision will undoubtedly be the main focus for EUR investors over the coming month, the potential start of Ukraine’s long-rumoured spring offensive could also inject some volatility into the euro.

Pound

GBP/EUR: Unchanged at €1.13

GBP/USD: Up from $1.22 to $1.24

The pound wavered over the past month as mixed UK economic data and a fluctuating market mood left the currency to trade without a strong directional bias.

At the end of March Sterling zigzagged in response to hawkish comments from Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey and a cautious market mood.

Thin trading conditions due to the long Easter weekend then left the pound trapped in a narrow range at the start of April. Before GBP exchange rates stumbled after UK growth was revised lower in the first quarter.

The pound then spiked on the back of the UK’s latest consumer

sale of Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty to Microsoft.

The CMA halted the $69 billion (€63.2 billion) deal - the biggest deal ever in gaming - on the grounds this would hinder competition in cloud gaming.

The regulator said on April 26 that Microsoft’s pledge to allow leading cloud gaming platforms to access Activision’s multibillion-dollar Call of Duty franchise had not allayed its concerns.

The company remained fully committed to the acquisition and would appeal the decision, Microsoft president Brad Smith announced in a statement. Activision in turn said it would “work aggressively” with Microsoft to reverse the CMA’s decision.

“This was not the news we wanted,” Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick told staff, “but it is far from the final word on this deal,” he added.

“We will reassess our growth plans for the UK,” the company said in a separate statement. “Global innovators large and small will take note that, despite all its rhetoric, the UK is clearly closed for business.”

price index after reporting domestic inflation remained in double digits in March.

The hotter-than-expected inflation print cement expectations for a May rate hike from the BoE, while also prompting some analysts to speculate rates could rise as high as 5 per cent by the end of 2023.

Looking ahead, the BoE’s May policy meeting could trigger a sharp appreciation in the pound if the bank signals it needs to take more action to bring inflation under control.

US Dollar

USD/GBP: Down from $0.81 to $0.80

USD/EUR: Down from €0.92 to €0.91

The US dollar trended broadly lower over the past month as an improving market mood sapped the appeal of the safe-haven currency. USD was supressed as we entered April, as USD investors were split on whether the Federal Reserve would pursue another rate hike in May.

The US dollar continued to be

CMA won’t play

To date this was the biggest deal between technology companies that the CMA has blocked and its stance was interpreted by insiders as proof

that the UK watchdog was ready to take on Big Tech.

It is now up to Brussels to reach a decision by May 22 on the Activision deal.

Tax breaks for all

ALL religions in Spain can now enjoy the same tax breaks.

The government has reached an agreement with the Orthodox Church, the Buddhist Union, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who between them account for 1.3 million followers. Of these, one million belong to the Orthodox Church, half of whom are Romanian.

They will be exempt from paying IBI rates on properties that are used for worship and will no longer be liable for Corporation Tax. This will put them on an equal footing with the Catholic Church, the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities, the Federation of Jewish Communities and the Islamic Commission.

pressured through the first couple of weeks in April, as some upbeat US data releases helped to reinforce the cheery market mood. While a weaker-than-expected core PCE price index saw the odds of a May rate hike fall as low as 40 per cent.

USD exchange rates then struck new multi-month lows in mid-April after a dramatic cooling of US inflation and dovish minutes from the Fed’s last policy meeting further undermined rate hike bets.

However, the US dollar was quick to rebound from its worst levels after a worrying decline in US retail sales spooked markets and revived safehaven demand. While increased confidence in a May rate hike also supported USD.

Looking ahead, the direction of the US dollar over the next month will largely depend on the Fed’s forward ward guidance following its next rate decision. If the US central bank signals it might be done with its current hiking cycle, USD exchange rates may plunge.

Out of pocket

ASSOCIATIONS representing recruitment firms called for changes to existing legislation. The lower end of the supply chain of temporary workers faced unfair financial pressure, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo UK) and APSCo OutSource maintained.

Payment was often required between seven and 28 days of timesheet submissions, while end clients enjoyed payment terms of between 30 and 60 days, they pointed out. This meant the middle-supplier was out of pocket for an increasing length of time which was unsustainable in the current climate, causing undue financial strain on small and medium-sized businesses. They routinely footed the initial bill for large numbers of contractors without rapid reimbursement, Melanie Forbes, APSCo OutSource’s managing director explained.

They are now asking for an extension of Payment Practices and Performance regulations to reduce financial pressures.

Mercadona nears its target

MERCADONA continues to modify its growth strategy inside Spain.

The supermarket chain, with 1,637 stores here, is slowing down acquisition of premises and land for new branches. Instead it is switching to renting.

By the close of the 2022 financial year, it had allocated €76 million - almost 40 per cent less than in 2021 - for new stores, according to Mercadona’s annual accounts submitted to Spain’s Mercantile Registry.

The chain has tripled the number of its supermarkets since 2000, although Mercadona’s president and principal shareholder Juan Roig said when presenting the 2022 results last March, that the company planned to stop at 1,700 inside Spain.

APRIL: Stronger-than expected Eurozone services PMI lent support to the euro.

THE UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked the

ACTIVISION-MICROSOFT: Deal could hinder cloud gaming, CMA said.

Photo credit: Pexels-jeshoots

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

OTHERS THINK IT

ONE of the real problems with the social media is that it allows the woke snowflakes and utter ec ‐centrics to seek each other out. Whereas, at one time someone with totally off the wall ideas would hardly come across any like‐minded individuals, they can now contact each other at the touch of a button. It stands to reason if you can air your views to millions, you are go ‐ing to find more supporters than standing on a street corner handing out leaflets.

Although there seems to be a pos‐itive glut of gaggle heads these days, there are in fact no more than they ever were, they are just a bit more linked up that’s all. Solo indi‐viduals have now been turned into ‘minority groups’, a part of the flavour that seems to get all the preferential treatment these days!

These latest ensembles are a glar‐ing example. Drunk with the power of getting national media coverage, they are now advocating that not only wolf whistling, but ANY praise by a male of the species, including

One-track

reference to articles of dress or at ‐tire be classed as a misogynistic hate crime. I suppose praise from a female is ok? We’ll be a bit careful lady, the woman admiring your hat at Ascot could be a gender bender; another load of codswallop dreamed up by these people.

To be honest I’m surprised most of ‘em even have the courage to walk out of their own front doors. They seem to have totally one‐track minds and, because they all appear to share complexes of utter inade ‐quacy, are completely unable to ac‐cept, or even listen to any other points of view.

One example is their ongoing in ‐sistence that babies, and young chil‐dren who show a tendency to play with toys or enjoy dressing up and indulging in the games of their op ‐posite sex, should be immediately and relentlessly encouraged to grow up in that sexual gender.

This was actually shot down by one eminent psychiatrist who, on examination of a young boy who had displayed a great deal of inter‐

FLYING HIGH OUR VIEW

est in feminine toys etc, discovered he had in fact a younger sister, who suffered a debilitating illness. This had led to the parents showing her more attention.

In the little boy’s mind he inter ‐preted this as favouritism toward girls. The lad thought that if he act‐ed more like a girl, he would attract the same attention as his sister. It had nothing to do with his gender whatsoever! This example also ex ‐poses some of the dangers present‐ed to children of same sex parents. Another ‘offspring impression ‐able’ situation I was actually wit ‐nessing as far back as the 60s. Not ‐ting Hill where I spent my youth experienced many progressions, in‐cluding a multitude of gay influence and of course the first of the Win ‐drush immigrants. I actually caught a lot of it many moons ago. And frankly have never been too happy to see how it’s all panned out. Keep the faith.

Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com expatradioscotland.com Mon. Fri.

LAST weekend, we reported on our website, news of a massive fight onboard a plane travelling from Norway to Alicante in Spain. It appears that the fight was fuelled by the drunken behaviour of a number of passengers and when it arrived in Spain, no fewer than 15 people, all said to be Norwegian were arrested.

There was an unprecedented number of views of the stories and almost 100 readers felt that it would be help‐ful to make comments, for which we are grateful.

As often happens, some people simply read the title without taking in the content and rushed to blame boozy Brits abroad but on this occasion, they were completely wrong. It rather looks as if these idiots who are used to paying high prices for alcohol in their home country might have been taking advantage of cheaper in‐flight booze and overdid it!

No excuse and probably 50 per cent of the comments are calling for a ban on alcohol sales on all flights, 25 per cent want to see tougher checks before passengers are allowed on board or automatic travel bans if they are convicted of misbehaving on a flight. Roughly a quarter feel that it’s unfair to stop those who drink in modera‐tion from being allowed a beer or glass of wine to help them relax after the flight takes off but all want to see flight attendants try to refuse sales to drunks.

That may be easier said than done as the attendants themselves could leave themselves open to verbal abuse or physical attack, but it is clear that something needs to be done to ensure that the majority of trav‐ellers can enjoy (subject to leg room) their flight in peace.

LeapyLee’sopinionsarehisownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

ECOCORP SOLAR SL, a family‐run busi‐ness, have been trading since 2007. Covering the whole of Almeria Province and beyond, they are experi ‐enced in the design and configuration of bespoke solar power systems, tai ‐lored to meet their clients individual needs.

Many of the bigger solar energy com panies throughout Spain use sub ‐contractors for their installations. Not Ecocorp. Their team are all from the local community, both En‐glish and Spanish and all are fully trained to the Ecocorp standard.

Currently Ecocorp Solar SL em ‐ploys 13 full time team members in ‐cluding the family, Vic, Samantha, Daniel and Holly. They have two instal lation teams and two part ‐ time team members.

All of the friendly team are very knowledgeable in their fields. They take pride in their professionalism. It is often noted on their customer feed back forms that the installation crew are very efficient in their installations, which are done in a timely fashion and always left tidy.

ECOCORP SOLAR

recommend them to others.

Using cloud based technology Ecocorp solar offer their virtual battery service to those customers who are tied to the grid, en ‐abling the customer to feed back excess energy. This en‐ergy is stored in their virtual battery and drawn down when the sun isn’t shining. Thus the client has the opportunity to use 100 per cent of their solar energy production and to reduce the price of their electricity bill significantly.

2pm on Saturday May 20.

They would be delighted to see you there. The roadshow sponsors are a collaboration between Mazarrón En ‐tertainments SL and the Coast2Coast lifestyle magazine.

Ecocorp Solar offer a FREE no obliga‐tion home assessment and quotation service.

They deal with all the necessary technical and administrative paper ‐work on your behalf.

mount for Eco ‐corp Solar ‐ in a recent customer satisfaction survey 100 per cent of their customers said that they would

Ecocorp will be attending the Living in Spain roadshow in the Grand Salon at La Nueva Taberna, Mazzarón Country Club, which will be open to the public between 10am and

Furthermore, all systems are linked to your computer, mobile or tablet so that you can monitor your consump ‐tion AND your savings on the App. Well done to Ecocorp Solar, a great family business built from the ground up.

Almeria’s Nº 1 family run solar installation company is now covering Camposol and Mazarrón

Insurance help LETTERS

May I suggest that Gwendeline Ott ‐ley contact Staysure Insurance as they have no upper age limit. We have used them for many years and many trips around the World and find them excellent.

Regards

Same problem

Terry and Shirley

In reply to your correspondent Gwen ‐doline Ottley in edition April 27 to May 3, re lack of travel insurance for older expats, can I say that we have the same problem. My partner is almost 90 and is probably fitter than most 60 ‐ year ‐ olds in that there is nothing whatsoever wrong with him. Like Gwendoline, we like to travel, but contact insurance companies and they don’t ask anything about health, just your age. This is not fair, I wish some of them would realise this.

Last Christmas and New Year, we went on a Caribbean cruise, the only way to do this was that we booked through a British travel agent (but their office is in La Zenia) and because there is nothing wrong with us, we were able to take advantage of their insurance for €139 each (+€35 for Covid cover). This compared with the £1,400 wanted by another company. We have never claimed in 50 years of use.

We want to take a Danube cruise next spring, which was cancelled twice due to Covid, but it will depend on whether or not we can get insurance. Companies are missing a trick here.

So no help to the lady, but she has a lot of sympathy. We would like to know if she does eventually manage to get covered.

Kind regards,

Diana Wiltshire and Patrice Satur

Hello Leapy

We look forward to your candid com ‐ments in your column in EWN each week. We mostly tend to be in accord with you, although occasionally not so, but then that makes for good discus ‐sion between ourselves and friends.

Whilst trawling through family photo‐graphic archives and memorabilia this week ‐ end, my wife (Su) came across an amusing, relevant item. In a faded copy of the mag Fabulous’208, dated 21st December 1968 that she had unearthed from the piles of stored stuff, she was featured as a model in an article titled ‘Right Gear for a Rave Up!’. (During the late 60s and 70s she was a DJ on P&O liners and had modelling and promo ‐tion work.)

But, over the page in FabTalk, there was a piece about you ‐ ¡Leapy banked on it¡. Attached is a scanned copy ‐even though it mentions your damaged Cadillac, I thought you might like to see it.

Please keep up your comments and views in your articles ‐ someone’s got to voice it before the wokes take over the world!!

Kind regards ‐ David M‐S

Bull dies

I read about the fighting bull that plunged to its death from a bridge dur ‐ing the Bou de les Penyes festivities in Ontinyent, Valencia. This is extreme an‐imal cruelty. These people are of no benefit to this planet. They’re relics of a medieval mindset. Pure evil at work here. They bring shame on their coun ‐try. It needs to stop.

Deborah Hall

Housing market

Spain has more space and a diverse landscape, however, one point to high ‐light is if the 90 ‐ day rule is not ad ‐dressed, this will have a significant im ‐pact on tourism and potential home ownership with properties tied to ser ‐vice charges. Time will tell… Mark

Stars in Barcelona

After seeing that the Obamas, and Steven Spielberg and his wife were spotted in Barcelona, does Spain want these Warmongers in the country? Is Spain a bit white for the Obamas? Just saying, because of Michelle complain ‐ing. Have we forgiven Obama for forc ‐ing USA nuke ships in our harbours? Obama go home.

Michael Fisher

PETS

Dogsitter will mind your pets

A DOG-SITTER is a compan‐ion as well as a pet minder to your pets. It is good to find someone who will play with your pets, as well as look after them. Housesitmatch can help you find such a dog‐sitter and companion at very little cost.

If you’re planning a trip reg‐ister now to find pet‐sitters in time.

Whether your trip is short or long, you’ll know that sometimes you must leave pets at home.

Young and senior pets in particular benefit from staying at home, so they can follow their routines undisturbed.

Join our pet and house‐sitting network, and the sitters come for free!

Choose Housesitmatch. com for affordable travel, home and pet care. These are the steps to take:

1. Register as a homeowner on HouseSitMatch. com

2. Choose a Premium ac‐count (£89 per year) to ensure you can help online when needed

3. Create a profile with pho‐tos of your pet and the house

4. Post an advert for the dates when you want to go

away. Sitters apply and you choose.

How does it work?

HouseSitMatch can help you find suitable sitters. Join our network for a small annu‐al fee. You get ID checked for safety and then build your ad‐vert saying when you are go‐ing on holiday. House‐sitters see your advert, they respond and you choose the sitter who’ll care for your pets.

Trustpilot Testimonials – 4.9 / 5 Excellent 10 out of 10 for housesit match.com

I have had nothing but good and helpful service from the people who run this site, and my experience has been ex‐cellent. Tristram Cosgrave ‐Dog and cat owner, Malaga How do you join?

Please register online via our website www.Housesit match.com.

Need a pet or house-sitter? Get in touch. House-sitting can be a win-win for both parties, free house and petsitting, and the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation! Register as either house-sitter or homeowner with a 20% discount using coupon code 20EWN – Reader exclusive offer. To find a house pet-sitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com

Pet-friendly

TRAVELLING with pets can be difficult but so many ferry companies now have pet‐friendly cabins.

At the moment, the fol‐lowing companies in Spain offer well‐equipped pet ‐ friendly cabins: Baleària, Naviera Armas, Trasmediterránea, Grandi Navi Veloci, and FRS.

These cabins are thor‐oughly cleaned to ensure maximum safety for pas‐sengers and pets and are usually equipped with linoleum floors, anti ‐odour mats, pet pillows, and drinking troughs and can usually accommodate up to two small animals.

On board some vessels there are outdoor walking areas and designated play areas. Trasmediterránea and some other ferry companies are equipped

ACCORDING to a recent study of 2,066 adults from Generation Z (adults aged between 18 and 26 years old) prioritise their pets over their partners and children when buying a home.

This study showed that Gen Z pet owners would consider moving if their home no longer worked for their pets even if this did not suit their partners.

The study also showed that 60 per cent of Gen Z house hunters are prioritis‐ing fenced ‐ in outdoor space for their pets where‐as before an office or a chil‐dren’s playroom would have been top of the list.

Fifty‐five per cent of Gen Z pet owners said a pet ‐friendly home was more important than a child ‐friendly home. Gen Z adults are putting off parenthood choosing to start a family later in life but not pet par‐enthood. Thirteen per cent even admitted they would prefer to share the master bedroom with their pet in‐stead of their partners!

Real Estate agencies have stated they have already

with first aid kits for pets and they also provide a 24/7 vet hotline.

Some of these ferry companies offer some useful tips on how to trav‐el with your pet. They rec‐ommend you bring famil‐iar items to help keep your pets calm on board.

It is essential to bring your own disposable bags, gloves, and cleaning prod‐ucts to clean after your

pet. You will also need to bring your own dog food and treats. Depending on the breed and behaviour of your pet they may be required to wear a muzzle on board. They also rec‐ommend checking out the EU guidelines for travel‐ling with pets to find out about what documents are needed and more in‐formation about border crossing with pets.

GEN Z Pets

begun to see these deci ‐sions impacting the market with pet‐friendly properties more in demand.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Ferries with pet-friendly cabins.

Photo credit: Shutterstock/ Javier Brosch

A dogsitter is also a companion to your pets.

Gen Z prioritise pets.

Photo credit: Flickr Natasha G

BOATS

FOR SALE Hurricane Catamaran, 5,9Mtr, complete with specialist trailer & launching trolley. €750 ono. Call +353 871 931654. San Juan de Los Terreros (303344)

to Murcia. Anyone wishing to attend a meeting or discuss a possible drinking problem contact Costa Blanca North: 648 169 045 or Costa Blanca South: 625 912 078 or Costa Calida

679 385 105 All calls are treated in the strictest confidence.

MOTORING

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Help and support is just a phone call away, Avda Rio Nalón, Tel: 693 275 779 (95462)

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Pedro Acosta Moto2

PEDRO ACOSTA, the young motorbike racer from Mazarrón in Murcia, finished second behind the British rider Sam Lowes on Sunday, April 30. It was a tight race between the two with Pedro Acosta taking the lead early on but unable to keep it and once he went behind the British driver he was unable to overtake him.

Even though he didn’t win that race great things are ex ‐pected of him and what he can achieve as he has won so much already at such a young age. Pedro Acosta was the champion of the Red Bull Mo‐toGP Rookies Cup in 2020 and Moto3 World Champion in 2021 making him the youngest Spanish rider ever to win a motorbike racing world title (17 years and 166 days).

He is compared often to the greats like Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez as Acosta is fol‐lowing in their footsteps. The Moto2 leader is tipped to make it to the top of MotoGP.

Mar Menor FC

MAR MENOR FC got back to winning ways on Sunday, April 30 beating Federación Fútbol Castilla La Mancha at home in the Estadio Pitín in San Javier. The only goal of the match came from a penalty conceded by the Mancha midfielder Mauro Cabello in the 63rd minute. He also received a sec‐ond yellow card for taking down Pipo Ramos in the area. Raul Gonzalez scored the penalty.

Mar Menor FC are still in eighth place and will face UCAM Mur‐cia on Sunday, May 7 in a local derby.

Meanwhile, UCAM Murcia suffered their first defeat in the league this year when they travelled the short distance to the Cartagonova stadium to face the Cartagena B team. In their last meeting, UCAM beat Cartagena B 6‐1.

Cartagena B made sure to get the win in front of their fans with the only goal of the match from Jeriel De Santis in the 67th minute. UCAM dropped down to fifth position but are still in the playoff positions for now.

Dramatic clash

Real Murcia defeat

REAL MURCIA played at home in the Nueva Condomina stadium on Sunday April 30. They played CF InterCity from Alicante.

Pol Roige Rodriguez got a goal in the 41st minute for the away team and Real

Murcia could not find the goal.

The match finished 0‐1 with Real Mur‐cia in fifth, still hanging on to the playoff position.

They face Amorebieta away from home on Saturday, May 6.

Madrid Open 2023

CARLOS ALCARAZ, from El Palmar in Murcia, the world’s no.2 in the ATP ranking eased past Bul‐garian player Grigor Dim‐itrov 6‐2 7‐5 on Sunday, April 30 to set up a last‐16 showdown with Zverev who demolished Frenchman Hugo Gre ‐nier 6‐1 6‐0.

The ‘Murciano’ tennis star says he is relishing the chance to play Zverev again. He said “I really want to play that match.

“We played a few times, head to head he is up. I really want to show my great level here in front of my home crowd. I have great memories from last year in the final but obviously, I have to be really focused in that match.”

All of Spain not only Murcia will be cheering Carlitos on when he faces the German Zverev in the next round. Alcaraz

CARTAGENA FC travelled to the Estadio Carlos Belmonte in Albacete on Saturday, April 27 facing Albacete Balom‐pie in a dramatic clash. The atmosphere was electric with more than 16,000 fans in attendance. Daniel Es‐criche scored after 17 minutes for Albacete but it was disallowed when VAR ruled the tackle leading up to the goal was dangerous. Mohamed Djetei was shown a straight red for the tackle. In the 25th minute defender, Flavian Boyomo scored for Albacete but in the 55th minute, Dario Poveda got the equalizer for Cartagena. Cartagena now sit two points behind Albacete and those precious playoff positions.

UCAM Basketball

THE UCAM University Basketball Club played in the Palacio de Deportes de Murcia on Saturday, April 29. They faced bottom‐of‐the‐league Fuen‐labrada in the ACB round 30. UCAM was victori ‐ous winning the game 83 ‐ 64. They are now in 10th position but still eight points off the play‐off positions. They play fourth place Tenerife this weekend.

eased past Dimitrov on Sunday.

Acosta is often compared to Rossi.

Cartagena equalised in the 55th minute

UCAM won 83-64 to now be in 10th position.