RTN Newspaper - Costa Blanca North 22nd-28th December 2017 Issue 948

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Issue 948

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Inside this week...

Potries recognised as ‘cultural capital’

suspended sentence

P4

awaiting the final say

IN ALL ITS GLORY: The Santisimo Cristo Agonia church Photo credit begv.gva.es

by Rose Holmes POTRIES has been crowned ‘Valencian Cultural Capital’ (with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants) for year 2018/ 2019.

Situated inland between Oliva and Gandia, Potries has fewer than 1,000 inhabitants and received the award in recognition of its strong roots to Valencian customs – to the land and to the traditions, both cultural and re-

ligious.

The village is known outside the La Safor region for its famous Porrat de Sant Blai celebrations, together with the Sant Macia de Rotova festivities.

The house of potter Angel Dominguez, now a museum, attracts many visitors to Potries – with hundreds of ceramic pieces found in the town over the past 2,000 years.

Also popular is the Santisimo Cristo

Agonia church, from which visitors see the Vall de Bayren, and Santos Juanes church.

Sagunto, north of Valencia, has been recognised as the cultural capital with more than 5,000 inhabitants.

The Valencian Cultural Capital award aims to recognise municipalities that stand out for their commitment to culture, encouraging social cohesion and economic development.

P6

energy boosters myths and facts P40

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A new venture?

APPLICATIONS REMAIN OPEN for the seven plots currently vacant within Javea’s Municipal Mercat. The Department of Economic Development offers the plots to businesses for a term of 10 years, with prices ranging from €1,855.96 to €5,567.88. For more information, interested parties should visit the Department of Economic Development (Avda. Del Trenc d'Alba, 2) – open Monday to Friday between 9.00am and 2.00pm.

More information can also be found on the municipal website http://xabia.sedelectronica.es.

RIP Father Llorca Photo credit Facebook

by Rose Holmes

ALWAYS SMILING: Father Llorca

Fire fire

TWO FIRE ENGINES and brigades from both Benissa and Denia worked to put out a fire in El Verger earlier this week.

The emergency services

ONE OF the last four friars at the Purissima Concepcio Monastery in Benissa passed away last week, just three months after he led his last Mass.

Father Llorca was 77-yearsold when he passed away peacefully last Tuesday.

He was the parish priest of Senija for 17 years and led his last Mass in the municipality on September 3.

Father Llorca was muchloved in the community and his funeral at the Cocentaina Convent was packed to the rafters, as was the Mass held in his memory at the Santa Caterina Church in Senija.

The closure of the Purissima Concepcio Monastery – founded in 1613 - was announced in June by Benissa Town Council who confirmed that the remaining were called to a plot of palm trees in an industrial area near the AP-7 motorway at around 10.30am on Monday. The fire was extinguished just after 12.45pm

four friars could no longer maintain the building due to its size and their age.

Over 250 people attend what was supposed to be a ‘small’ leaving ceremony in August when the friars moved out.

The monastery –declared of Cultural Interest (BIC) – was offered to Caritas and to the Commission for Assistance to Refugees: meetings were held by the council to decide a future use for the space, linked to Benissa and its history but the high cost of restoring the building made the project unfeasible for the NGOs. It was later announced that the monastery will reopen as a hotel in 2018, although the church within it will remain fully functional for the Franciscans of Benissa to meet and worship once a month.

but not before it destroyed 500 square metres of trees.

Thanks to the speed at which the fire was controlled, it was not necessary to evict any neighbours in the area.

24 feb - 2 march 2017

Photo credit Guardia Civil

PREMEDITATED: The thieves knew exactly where to find the valuables

€2k reward for stolen watches

by Fabio Delucci A WATCH COLLECTOR is offering €2,000 for information leading to the return of 50 luxury and vintage watches that were stolen from his home in Javea.

Thieves broke in to the German man’s home on the Montgo on December 29, 2015.

They stole a collection of 50 luxury and vintage watches, including pieces by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Vach-

eron Constantin, Clycine, Ernest Borel, Eterna, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Chopard, Movado and Piaget.

The collector had amassed the impressive collection – valued at over €70,000 - over many years, the oldest model being a Brietling from 1943.

The watches were taken from a safe inside a wardrobe. It is thought that the thieves had been watching the house as they seemed to know exactly where to find the valuables.

The collector reported the incident to the police straight away and provided photographs and serial numbers for all the missing models.

However, he remains convinced that the watches are still in Javea as the thieves would expose themselves if they tried to sell them on.

If you or anyone you know has any information that could let to the recovery of the timepieces, get in touch with the Guardia Civil in Javea.

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24 feb - 2 march 2017

Builder wielding iron bar given suspended sentence

by Tahnee Wright A BUILDER who attacked a mechanic with an iron bar in Javea has been handed a two-year suspended sentence by Alicante Provincial Court.

The court heard how, in summer 2014, two brothers who run a mechanic’s workshop on Javea’s Avenida Colomer suspected a builder working on a nearby site had caused damage to one of their vehicles.

The mechanics approached the builder, one holding him whilst the other hit him across the face with a steel toe capped boot.

The two brothers did not cause any serious injury to the builder but incensed him to seek revenge.

He returned to the site he was working on, assembled a two-metre long iron bar with scaffolding materials and headed to the mechanic’s workshop.

There, he attacked one of the brothers with the iron bar, leaving him with several fractures.

The builder has been ordered to pay €24,302 in damages to the mechanic.

If he does not pay the compensation or commits another crime within two years, he will go straight to prison.

Disgraced former mayor due in court THREE NEW WITNESSES will testify in the court case against former Benidorm Mayor Agustin Navarro in the new year.

Navarro will go on trial on January 23, accused of corruption whilst he governed the city from 2009 – 2015.

Former Councillor Juan Ramon Martinez, the former Chief of Staff and the former Human Resources Coordinator will also face the jury.

Navarro, Martinez and

the former Chief of Staff are charged with alleged ongoing crimes of administrative corruption including irregular hiring, influencing and misappropriation of public funds, while the former Human Resources Coordinator is charged with alleged administrative prevarication.

The new witnesses who have come forward all work/ worked at Benidorm City Council with the disgraced former mayor.

Looking ahead

TO BAD USE: The builder assembled the weapon with scaffolding materials

A 34-year-old driver was left trapped in his car on the AP-7 between Ondara and Benissa after crashing into a truck.

The man, from Prat de Llobregat, in Barcelona, was driving along the motorway at around 6.45pm when he drove straight into the back of a truck.

Firefighters arrived at the scene with three vehicles to free the driver before an ambulance took him to Hospital Marina Salud de Denia.

The car was written off, the front of it completely destroyed.

6 Photo credit senija.es

Have your Say!

WILL THEY, WON’T THEY: Senija awaits the final say

A popular post this week is “Prime

Minister Theresa May’s message to UK nationals living in Europe” which has reached over 4,500 people with over 80 reactions.

Ian Forest

@RTNNewspaper

Our most liked posts from this week RTN Recipe: Bread and butter panettone pudding tart RTN visit the APROP Animal Shelter in Pego Happy TRAM travellers despite strike action A Christmas message from APASA Careline Theatre exceeds €57,000 in donations

by Rose Holmes SENIJA COUNCIL has announced that whilst it ran a public vote to decide whether to abolish the municipality’s annual ‘El Toro Embolado’ event, the decision will ultimately be down to the 2018 Fiesta Commission.

122 residents participated in the public vote, which cost €1,300 to run.

64 voted to keep the event and 58 voted to axe it.

The El Toro Embolado forms part of the village’s Mare de Deu dels Desemparats and Santa Caterina fiestas held at the beginning of May.

Stranded…60 metres up!

SEVEN PEOPLE were stranded 60 metres up in the air when an attraction at Valencia’s Christmas Fair broke down.

The ‘Gigant Maxx’ ride experienced a mechanical failure and riders were left suspended for over an hour and a half.

Police were on hand to calm users’ friends and family and firefighters assisted engineers to ensure riders were brought to safety as soon as possible.

The president of the Asociacion de Industriales Feriantes de Valencia Jose Esteban tried to put fairgoers minds at rest, stating that all attractions "pass very rigorous safety reviews" to guarantee safety.

"The thousands of people who visit the Christmas Fair can rest assured. Our attractions are reviewed before the fair opens and some pass up to four or five safety reviews each year in different provinces, as well as the mandatory annual review.”

Fairgoers experienced a similar experience last year on the ‘Gigant Maxx’ ride at the Yecla Fair.

In Total 8,524 People reached 2,874 Post engagements

rtnnewspaper.com Send us your comments on Facebook, Twitter and on our website. Or if you prefer you can email our editor directly:

admin.rtn@ ewnmediagroup.com See more on Page 32

The roots of El Toro Embolado are unknown, although it is thought to date back as far as the pre-Roman period.

The routine has evolved little over the centuries; a bull is tied to a post and organisers attach to its horns an iron contraption holding a pair of

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“Mrs May said from the offset that she would fight to protect the rights of British citizens living in the EU, maybe now all the scaremongering will come to an end”

Awaiting the final say…

flammable balls.

The balls are then set on fire, in the hope that the animal, once unleashed, thrashes around wildly to put out the fire, much like a bucking bronco.

Now, Senija must wait for the final say from the Fiesta Commission in the new year.

Bike ‘in bits’ after collision

A cyclist was left mourning his bike on Monday after a collision with a car on a roundabout in Moraira town centre. The incident occurred just before lunchtime outside the tourist office on the roundabout that links Carretera Moraira a Calpe and Avenida Madrid. The cyclist was riding in a team and an onlooker said his bike was “crushed to bits.” Emergency services attended the scene.

LONG WAY DOWN: A rider snapped her legs dangling mid-air

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24 feb - 2 march 2017

Kicked out of the country

by Fabio Delucci FILM DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER Ruben Hornillo returned to his hometown of Javea recently to promote his documentary ‘Espanoles en el exilio’ (Spaniards in exile).

The documentary focuses on how Spanish millennials are ‘exiled’ from their country – forced to find work abroad after college/ university.

On his website, 31-year-old Hornillo says: “I’d been living overseas since 2008, seeing how my friends from college back in Spain were doing one of three things after graduating: studying a Master’s Degree, being jobless, or emigrating.

It got to the point in 2011, when I was in Los Angeles doing a Master’s in Film and Television Producing, that practically every day someone on Facebook was leaving Spain.

It all came to a head on September 25, 2012 with the Rodea el Congreso (Surround Congress) protests and the brutal beatings that the riot police were giving the protestors. That’s when I realized that they were kicking us out of the country, with sound beatings if they had to.

I think that the rage I felt when I saw those images is what gave me the impulse to tell the story of my generation.”

The documentary has taken Hornillo five years to produce. Backed by three crowdfunding campaigns, it includes testimonies and opinions from experts in economy, emigration and politics.

‘Spaniards in exile’ was shown at the film and human rights festival in Madrid earlier this month and has also captured audiences in Gandia and Seville.

To check out the documentary, visit http://www.spanishexile.eu/en/.

Improving air access

A LACK OF helisurfaces across the Marina Alta has been highlighted as two out of three rescue operations require the Alpha 1 helicopter from the Alicante Fire Rescue Consortium. There is a helipad at Denia

fire station which is perfectly positioned within close proximity to the hospital, but it was recently announced that three new ones will be built – another in Denia, one in Calpe and one in Javea. The helisurface in

Photo credit Facebook

HERE’S ONE I MADE EARLIER: Ruben Hornillo presenting the documentary

Denia will be built in the Maritime Station, in Calpe in the Serra d'Olta, close to the Serra de Bernia i Ferrer and in Javea on a municipal plot in the Pou del Moro, next to the Trenc d'Alba school.

Keeping citizens safe

DENIA COUNCIL has spent nearly €22,000 surrounding the open area where the Monday markets and Friday rastros are held with large concrete blocks to prevent possible terrorist attacks. The Explanada de Torrecremada will be ringed with a total of 200 blocks, each measuring two metres long.

There will be three entrances and exits for traders – on Calle Germans Maristes, Calle Mestre Moncho Ferrer and Calle Castilla La Mancha. Reflective elements will be attached to the blocks to avoid accidents at night-time.

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Church of England Christmas Services The Church of England celebrates Christmas in traditional family services in all its churches, from El Campello to Gandia.

Visitors are just as welcome as regular members. And everyone is invited to join the congregations for this very special day. Services are

as follows: 24 Dec 2017 - 23:30 - Javea – Midnight Mass 25 Dec 2017 - Christmas Day worship On Christmas Day the Eucharist will be celebrated in all churches, at the usual Sunday service times Albir – 9.45am

Javea – 9.45am Calpe – 10.30am Denia – 11.45 am El Campello – 12.00 Gandia – 12.00 La Fustera – 12.00 (see http://costablancaanglicanchaplaincy.org/ churches-and-services-3/ for details).

Bikers celebrate in style Bikers Andy and Alison Fenwick

Biker Dennis Hankey with wife Sue

IN ACTION: Nigel, Peter, Andy and Amanda wowed the crowds

by Tahnee Wright FREE SPIRITS HD enjoyed their final event of the year last weekend as they celebrated Christmas in style at El Cid Bar, Restaurant & Bowls in Benidoleig.

Members tucked in to a delicious traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, with excellent service provided by the El Cid staff.

Entertainment from the OK Band brought movers and shakers to the dancefloor before guests were treated to a ‘special surprise’ as usually burly bikers Nigel Webb and Peter Emmett emerged in cabaret costumes, taking to the stage with a jaw-dropping performance supported by Andy and Amanda Lowe.

A grand charity raffle was held in aid of

Free Spirit HD’s chosen charity for year 2017/ 2018 – Cancer Care Javea.

The club expresses its greatest thanks to all who donated prizes to the raffle, which included a salon voucher from Elements Beauty Spa and a Christmas cake to feed 5,000 from Bakerella.

Together with proceeds from ticket sales, a total of €1,208 was raised for Cancer Care Javea, bringing the total raised since August to an astonishing €2,438.

Free Spirits HD is an English-speaking Harley Davidson enthusiast club of over 50 members based across the Marina Alta.

The club is always ready to welcome new members, for more information get in touch with Director Barry Haylor - 629 728 375 / freespiritshd@gmail.com.

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24 feb - 2 march 2017

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Come by, pig

by Rose Holmes CAGES have been placed in Javea’s Saladar to try to catch the Vietnamese pigs.

The people of Javea have been asked by the council to refrain from feeding the animals and fencing now surrounds the around the area where the 50-something pigs are, to prevent access.

This is the third plague of pigs.

The first arrived almost a year ago and grew exponentially as many people were feeding them.

Some of the pigs were even deformed, caused by interbreeding.

Rachael Macdonald and her daughter Hannah worked tirelessly to rehome the first lot of 24 pigs, which proved no mean feat. 14 were rehomed by Dusty’s Home Stead Animal Rescue in Benidorm.

Dusty’s relies on donations to help care for its animals – for more information or to get in touch, check out ‘Dusty's Home Stead,farm Animal Rescue’ on Facebook.

Not so fast

WORKERS at the quarry on the way into Gata caught two thieves red-handed as they tried to make off with materials and tools.

The thieves – both Spaniards – crept into the quarry and loaded their bags before trying to make a speedy exit in a waiting van.

But workers clocked them and blocked access to the main road with two bulldozers.

They held the thieves until the police arrived and arrested them.

Officers are investigating whether the pair are behind a number of similar robberies committed at nearby construction sites in recent months.

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News from around Europe RUSSIA

NETHERLANDS Word up THE NETHERLAND’S word of the year is ‘appongeluk’ - a traffic accident in which at least one of the involved parties were busy on their smartphones, Van Dale announced on Tuesday. Almost 70,000 votes were cast for the word of the year, appongeluk leading with 20 per cent of the votes.

Woke with a shock AN 81-YEAR-OLD WOMAN was hit by a stray bullet while sleeping in her bed on Japuradreef in the Utrecht neighborhood of Overvecht just after midnight on Monday. Police said the bullet was

fired “probably with automatic firearms” in a shooting that left two other men injured, one of them seriously.

Still waiting THE FAMILY of football legend Johan Cruijff regrets that that still no agreement has been reached about renaming the Amsterdam Arena to the ‘Johan Cruijff Arena’, Cruijff’s son Jordi told the Dutch press this week. Cruijff passed away in March last year and the matter of renaming the stadium in his honour was raised almost immediately.

Teacher faces jail A 40-YEAR-OLD TEACHER at a

trade school in Assen should be jailed for three years for the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old pupil, the public prosecution department said on Tuesday.

The man also persuaded the young girl to commit sex acts in front of a camera and had some 900 photos of her in his possession.

Enlisting help THE FAMILY of Dutch model Ivana Smit have hired a lawyer to help them find out exactly how their 18-year-old daughter died in Malaysia nearly two weeks ago. The family is struggling to get any information from the Malaysian authorities about the investigation.

FRANCE Stop right now The French data protection agency has ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with parent company Facebook or face sanctions. Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL) said on Monday that WhatsApp does not have a legal basis to share user data under French law for “business intelligence” purposes.

National treasure The French government has declared the original manuscript of the Marquis de Sade’s notorious novel ‘120 Days of Sodom’ a national treasure, saving it from auction and forbidding its removal from France.

World record French sailor Francois Gabart broke the record on Sunday for sailing around the world alone, circumnavigating the planet in just 42 days and 16 hours. That

is more than six days faster than the last record, set by fellow Frenchman Thomas Coville last year.

Fatal collision A school bus and a regional train collided in southern France last week, killing four children and critically injuring seven other people on the bus. The incident occurred on a railway crossing in the small village of Millas some 15 kilometres west of Perpignan, close to the border with Spain.

Super-expensive skeleton An ancient skeleton of a woolly mammoth has sold for €548,000 at auction in the French city of Lyon. The skeleton, which exceeded its estimated value, is thought to be the largest of its kind in private hands and is a rare example because 80 per cent of the skeleton is original bone.

ICELAND What’s in a name?

THE most popular names for babies in Iceland during 2016 are Emilía for girls and Alexander for boys, adding to the belief that there is an increasing trend for international names that are more pronounceable internationally than traditional Icelandic ones.

Guðrún for girls and Jón for boys still remains the most popular overall.

Justice after three months A YEMEN man has been now been charged with murdering Sanita Brauna from Latvia at her home in Hagamelur in West Reykjavik back in September. The charges

against the man were for hitting her repeatedly in the face and head with three glass bottles and a fire extinguisher weighing almost 10 kilos.

Medicinal use for cannabis MP’s from the Pirate Party have put forward a proposal to the Minister of Health to allow the use and production of cannabis for medicinal use in Iceland.

They propose that Iceland look to the experience of countries that have already legalised cannabis for this purpose.

Happy development A MAN has flown back

to Iceland to retrieve his camera equipment after it was stolen while he was travelling in the country with his wife.

The value of his property was just under $10,000 and was taken from their unlocked car outside their hotel.

Rudolph’s on the move DRIVERS in East Iceland are being warned to keep an eye out for reindeer that are being frequently spotted on the area’s roadways where they’re not normally seen. The warnings come from the Icelandic Road Administration and the East Iceland Nature Research Centre.

RT expands again Russian state broadcaster RT has launched a French-language channel despite being branded this year as a “propaganda” outlet for the Kremlin by officials in the United States, France, and other Western countries. RT, formerly known as Russia Today, already broadcasts in English, Spanish, and Arabic.

‘I’m out’ Russia is to withdraw its military officers from a joint Russia-Ukraine centre monitoring a fragile truce in the conflict-torn eastern Ukraine. Russia’s foreign ministry accused Ukraine of preventing the officers from carrying out their duties, saying they would leave on Tuesday.

Shocking sentence A Moscow court has sentenced a former Russian economy minister to eight years in a high-security prison for corruption.

Alexei Ulyukayev was also ordered to pay a $2.2m (€1.86m) fine as part of the

punishment for soliciting a $2m bribe from Igor Sechin, the chief executive of the state oil company Rosneft.

Caught on camera A video showing the moment Russian police burst in on a packed nightclub and began punching, kicking and electrocuting partygoers has emerged online. The CCTV footage shows officers rushing into the Karakum nightclub in Yelets in the Lipetsk Oblast region of Russia.

I spy…

Russia is holding a Norwegian man on suspicion of spying after he allegedly received classified documents from a Russian man who is also under arrest. The Russian press cited unnamed sources as saying that Frode Berg was caught receiving classified material about the Russian Navy that he allegedly planned to hand over to Norwegian and U.S. intelligence agencies.

SCANDINAVIA Accused rapist acquitted A COURT in Sweden has acquitted five men accused of raping a woman in the Stockholm district of Fittja in 2016, on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to convict them of the crimes. Three of the men were charged with aggravated rape and two with complicity.

Time to go home?

DENMARK’S Venstre Party spokesperson for immigration Marcus Knuth has said that all refugees granted asylum in the country should be returned to their home country once it is considered to be safe,

regardless of employment status. His statement comes despite a report saying refugees have helped fill job vacancies.

Expensive traffic jams Calculations from the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) says that traffic delays on the country’s roads currently cost the country an estimated 20 billion kroner annually, and they have called for more resources to be spent on better road networks and public transport.

Very high ho, ho, ho!

AN inflatable Santa Claus has been given pride of place at the top of

the Hornelen Mountain in Norway’s Nordfjord region. Considered Europe’s highest sea cliff, the 860 metre high Hornelen forms the eastern tip of the Bremangerlandet Island in in Sogn og Fordane County.

Not going anywhere...yet FINLAND’S Minister for Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini has revealed that he is re-considering his decision to leave politics at the end of the current electoral term in 2019. “I’m now promising to consider if I should after all go to the Parliament or to Europe in 2019. Give me time. I’ll be needing it,”.

GERMANY The woman not standing A 78-YEAR-old man was arrested after he tried to pressure a young woman on a train into giving up her seat by showing her a gun. After boarding the underground train on the U6 line in the north of the city, the man aggressively demanded that the woman give up her seat.

Immigrant numbers falling GERMAN’S Interior Minister Thomas de Maizi has announced that the number of new asylum seekers in the country has fallen for a second year in a row following the mass influx that peaked in 2015, and is predicting a total of fewer than 200,000 migrants.

Lauda getting lapped FORMER Austrian Formula One racing driver Niki Lauda has accused German airline Lufthansa of trying to “destroy” the Niki airline that he founded. Niki – formerly a

part of bankrupt Air Berlin and operated most recently by Lufthansa – was grounded after insolvency proceedings opened.

It could be wurst...

SAUSAGE makers in Germany have been in court to appeal against a record fine for alleged price fixing scandal. The Federal Cartel Office placed a €338m fine on a string of sausage producers in 2014, that included such big brand names as Herta and Böklunder.

Fewer deliveries DEUTSCHE POST is considering following the example of Denmark where the postman only comes twice a week. In Germany, the post is required to arrive every day of the working week. But in the last few months Deutsche Post has examined whether this practice is still necessary.

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A very merry Christmas for animal rescue centre

APROP volunteers including Sue and Derek Lundgren, RTN’s Tahnee Wright, Santa Claus (aka Nigel Webb) and 11-year-old Chloe Broad who drew the winning tickets

by Tahnee Wright APROP Animal Rescue in Pego is certain to have a very merry Christmas thanks to the generosity of the Marina Alta public who purchased 2,500 raffle tickets printed and sold at €1 each.

Last Saturday saw the official draw to determine the winners of the four superb prizes on offer. Winners details as follows: First prize: Stephen Levy (ticket number 0846) Second prize: Lisa Fox (ticket number 0066) Third Prize: Moira Levy (ticket number 0871) Fourth prize: RTN’s very own Tahnee Wright (ticket number 0289) Moira very kindly donated her prize, a meal for two, to APROP superstars Sue and Derek Lundgren who can be found at the shleter every day come rain or shine.

Raffle organisers Nigel Webb and Peter Emmett expressed their greatest thanks to those sponsors who made the raffle possible: SMC

Spain, Telitec, Casa Del Vino, Restaurante Vall de Cavall, Restaurante Masena and SR Print.

APROP was previously LAPS and was taken over last March by a group of multi-national volunteers committed to the welfare of impoverished and abandoned animals. At the shelter, neglected cats and dogs are taken in, provided with any veterinary care they might need and given hope for a better day.

APROP was devastated by the storms that spread across the Marina Alta earlier this year and volunteers have worked day-in, day-out to erect stronger structures that can withstand the elements and keep the animals safe.

But there is still more to be done.

The shelter is appealing to residents across the Marina Alta to help in any way they can, be it donating funds, time (with the animals or laboring on site) or resources such as unwanted building supplies.

If you can help, please get in touch with Sue – 606 910 308 / suederek@live.co.uk.

Multi-taskers deserve distinction CALPE COUNCIL has requested that the Generalitat Valenciana grants a distinction to the two police officers who delivered a baby whilst on the job earlier this year.

The officers were sent to a home on Avenida Gabriel Miro, Calpe just after 2.30am one morning in late July after the expectant mother made a call to 112. They found her alone and in the bath – she was in a lot of pain and very nervous. The officers called

for an ambulance but were forced to deliver the baby – a girl - before the ambulance arrived, even cutting the umbilical cord. The ambulance arrived soon afterwards and took the mother and baby to hospital. Both were in good health. The council has asked the Generalitat to recognise the officers with a ‘Cruz al Merito Policial con Distintivo Azul’ (Police Merit Cross with Blue Distinction) for their quick thinking.

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18

Bought and souled Michael Walsh

keyboardcosmetics@ gmail.com The opinions published in Mike´s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

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headed by his desire to disperse millions of non-Europeans throughout Europe.

George Soros, founder and owner of Open Society Foundations NGO, was able to meet with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker with “no transparent agenda for their closed-door meeting”.

The speculator believes that the EU should receive millions of non-Europeans and provide each incomer with an annual €15,000 plus a Pandora’s Box of benefits denied to each country’s taxpayers.

The European Commission of Migration and Home Affairs are pushing a new bill to make migrants quotas obligatory. At least 30 Soros supporters work for the commission.

The Soros list sheds light on what makes the EU leadership implement policies, which run counter to the interests of Europeans. The answer is corruption.

The much-vaunted European democracy is a façade to hide the activities of a power structure close to feudal system with Lord George Soros calling the tune. The publication of the sinister Soros list provides an understanding as to who actually rules the EU and who instigates anti-Russia sentiments in Europe. Nigel Farage (MEP) on November delivered a speech at the European Parliament. The popular MEP pointed out

George Soros

As many go about their daily routine censorship they little realise that censorship and, political correctness is snuffing out the candles of free expression.

Let Robbie Burns explain: “He’s bought and sold, for Yankee gold, such a parcel of rogues in a nation.”

His words immediately bring to mind what is happening in Europe today. According to a recent finding, Hungarian multi-billionaire George Soros funds more than one third of the EU 751 politicians. Add others of influence who make up the governing elite and you realise that it is not the ballot box that decides the fate of Europe but shadowy cult in the pay of one of the world’s richest and most powerful oligarchs.

“It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out, said George Soros, 1993.

The Soros list identifies 226 Members of the European Parliament (MEP) from all sides of political spectrum. These include former President of the European parliament Martin Schulz, former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt, seven vicepresidents, and a number of committee heads, coordinators, and civil servants.

People scratch their heads and wonder why government governs contrary to the wishes of their electorate. It is because Soros has his globalist agenda

by

that George Soros’ Open Society Foundation (OSF) has far more influence on elections across the Europe than does

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20

Plonker of the year... by

Barry Duke The opinions published in Barry’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

Choosing Plonker of Year is no easy task. In Benidorm’s Company Bar last week the conversation turned to the subject of people who collect stuff. “Do you know,” asked one clever clogs, “what people who collect postcards are called?”

“Pathetic old gits?” I sarcastically replied.

“Nope. Deltiologists,” he said smugly. “And people who collect banknotes?” I rolled my eyes. “Merchant bankers?”

“Wrong again. The correct term is notaphilists.” I instantly did a Google check.

Of course he was right. While I was at it I checked out other terms for collectors ranging from those addicted to teddy bears (arctophiles) to beer mats (tegestologists) but could not find a word for my specialist hobby: collecting idiots, klutzes, dunderheads, fools, nincompoops, dullards, drongos and half-wits.

My hobby began in the late sixties when I was a cub reporter on a local weekly newspaper, and I decided that the most stupid man I’d ever encountered was the town’s mayor, a Mr Terblanche. The first speech I heard him give was at an award ceremony for a local bigwig. In praising the business activities of the fellow, Terreblanche said: “He is involved in so many enterprises that I can proudly say that he has had a finger in every tart in town”.

The mayor looked genuinely puzzled when the recipient of the award turned beetroot red and the whole town hall audience fell about laughing.

This prompted me to begin compiling a list – purely for my own amusement – of names of every knucklehead my job brought me into contact with. At the end of each year I would examine these names,

and the crazy things they said, and nominate my Plonker of the Year.

Compiling the lists became an obsession. I then decided to share them in a satirical column for an underground South African magazine called Time Out. Sadly, the publication was banned, mainly because I called the head of the censorship board, one Jannie Kruger, a moron on no fewer than three occasions.

I never found another magazine courageous enough to publish my lists, but, out of habit, I continued compiling them, and this week, dear readers I would like to offer the names of a few people I reckon could easily qualify for Plonker of the Year 2017. (I’ve deliberately omitted the most obvious: Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson, and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s “supreme leader”, etc.)

Instead, in no particular order, I offer you the names of four people you may never have heard of: Yonatan Razel, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish singer who performed at a concert for women-only in Jerusalem a few weeks back. He did something quite grotesque when members of the audience began dancing. He covered his eyes with black masking tape, because he was apparently offended by the sight of undulating female bodies. A career change is called for, methinks.

Queensland Independent Member of Parliament Bob Katter, who worked himself into a frenzy in November over the fact that his country was debating whether or not to legalise gay marriage. He insisted they should be far more concerned by an “epidemic” of crocodile attacks on humans. In reality, there have only been 11 fatal crocodile attacks in Queensland since 1985, according to data

provided by the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. Oh, and despite the killer crocs, Australia legalised same-sex marriage earlier this month.

Rania Mahmoud Yassin, an Egyptian TV presenter who told viewers of her Al -Assema television programme that her country, to its shame, has 866 atheists. I’ve yet to discover how Yassin arrived at this figure.

Ezekiel Mutua, the head of the Kenya Film Classification Board. When shown a photo of two male lions canoodling, he instantly blamed gays whom he suggested might have “influenced” the beasts.

He said: “These animals need counselling, because probably they have been influenced by gays who have gone to the national parks and behaved badly ... they must have copied it somewhere … because these animals do not watch movies.”

S t e p forward, Mr Mutua.

You’re definitely my choice of Plonker of the Year.

And Barry’s award goes to Mr Mutua

Help Christmas party On December 8 CHUMS and HELP got together for their Christmas Party at The Peppermill, Benidorm. They had a superb Christmas lunch and they spent the afternoon with Zodiac who soon had them singing and dancing. Later in the afternoon they had a wonderful Raffle and all went home at 5-30pm and they were all worn out.

Why not come along and enjoy HELP every Thursday at 10-30 for 11 am at Centro Social Jose Llorca, c/ Goya, Benidorm or ring the President on 607 387 040 and CHUMS (friends of charity) ring Marilyn on 965 864 394

A busy festive season for U3A Oliva

The run up to Christmas has been particularly busy for the members of the U3A in Oliva. It all started with the 10th Anniversary celebration in November, since then the choir has sung at a Carol Service in the Church of the Borgia Palace in Gandia and a number of choristers have also sang in local bars.

There was a fantastic Christmas party for underprivileged local children, where each child got a present from Santa, all generously donated by a large number of members.

The event of the season, was undoubtedly the Christmas Glitter Ball, held at the wonderful Moli Canyar Restaurant in Potries. A great meal and entertainment from Disco ‘Elegant’ was topped by a surprise visit from Santa together with Mrs Claus, who presented the raffle prizes. The raffle raised over 400€ for a nominated charity.

The choir will also be singing for the old folks in a local home, just before Christmas.

Christmas day and as an alternative to sit-

ting around putting on the pounds, a number of members are going on a walk in the countryside surrounding Aielo de Rugat and top that off with a picnic lunch.

The normal groups resume the week after Kings’ Day and in January they will be hoping to start some new groups, so anyone interested in zumba, walking football, wine tasting or photography, please do not hesitate to contact via their website www.u3aoliva.wildapricot.org or via our facebook group.

22

The way I see it by

Harvey Mann The opinions published in Harvey’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

As Christmas approaches, the image of a stable in Bethlehem comes to mind, with a baby, its mother Mary, and the father Joseph.

They are receiving gifts from three men, said to be Kings. The gifts are a tribute to the birth of the new baby named, Jesus.

Since that time the baby has been proclaimed by millions of people around the world, as the son of God. Thousands of churches every year around the world celebrate the momentous occasion, a period of joy and merriment. As Christmas is said be a time of goodwill to each other, as millions of Christians believe the birth of Jesuswas their saviour.

A brilliant uplifting story to captivate just about everyone, a story of hope and faith, that the son of God had come to earth to help people and guide them through their lives, and hopefully rid them of their sins.

My belief is completely different, and I hope it does not upset to many people, so let me explain my side of the story and the evidence that I have spent many years researching.

There is no evidence of the existence of Jesus in any authenticated earliest writings that came from within one hundred years of the birth of a man that had grown into a man called Jesus, who had supposedly performed miracles, in the midst of hundreds of eyewitnesses.

Yes, there have been one or two mentions of a man called Jesus, but these were added to early writings at a later time, in manuscripts held by the church.

These are my findings: The name that crops several times is Yahushua, which appears many times in the Old Testament, especially in reference to Messianic prophecies. i.e. ‘Zechariah 6:11-13 “Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Yahushua [translated as Joshua] son of Jehozadak. Tell him this is what Yahuwah Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of Yahuwah. It is he who will build the temple of Yahuwah, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a

priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’

This the description of a man called Yahushua, (Joseph) Jesus does not appear in the old Testament. OK, you could argue the Christian religion does not necessarily recognise, the Old Testament. But let’s continue.

The Hebrew word translated from Yahushua as salvation and deliverance in English versions is phonetically the same sound as Yahushua. i.e. Psalm 119:174 quotes “I long for your salvation [Yahushua], O Yahuwah, and your Torah is my delight.” We can see here how the Torah revealed God’s salvation to David, even going as far as showing David the Name of the Saviour, that of Yahushua.

Slightly confused, many early writers in the first few years of the rumoured birth of Jesus, believe that Jesus name was said to be reasonably common, had he been mistaken for Yahushua (Salvation).

A well-known historical researcher, Michael Paulkovich, has claimed that the so-called Jesus of Nazareth was a ‘mythical character’ and never existed.

His controversial discovery was apparently made after he found no verifiable mention of Christ from 126 ancient written documents.

This simple truth had been widely admitted by many early Christian scholars, is that the Jesus story was developed to help spread the name of Christianity at a time when Christians were defying their Roman leaders.

One case in point is my first example: Josephus Flavius, a famous historian, wrote ‘There are two alleged mentions of Jesus in the histories. The first of them, the more extensive and the more famous one, is no longer quoted by Christian scholars. That is because they know it was a blatant Christian forgery.

The second passage is still in use’.

“Josephus, the renowned Jewish historian, was a native of Judea. He was born in 37 A. D., and was a contemporary of the Apostles. He was, for a time, Governor of Galilee, the province in which the so-called Christ lived and taught. He traversed every part of this province and visited the places where but a generation before Christ had performed his prodi-

A Christmas Story?

gies (miracles), he resided in Cana, the very city in which Christ is said to have created his first miracle. Josephus mentions every noted personage of Palestine and describes every important event which occurred there during the first seventy years that covers the period that Jesus lived, and had hordes of followers, whilst also performing some of things he was said done, but a man called Jesus or Christ was of too little consequence and his deeds too trivial to merit a line from any of these early historian’s pen.

Here is something to keep in mind as you read this article. Ask yourself this question. Could historic passages have been forged? Could the volumes of the historians have been tampered with? The answer is: yes, they could have. Where were these historic volumes stored? In the local public library? In individuals’ private homes? No. They were in the possession of the Church, who studied from them and made copies of them. In what form did these writings take? On a typeset page, bound like a modern book?

No. The printing press was not invented for a further 1300 years. The fact that the Church could write, means that the forgeries could have been made. The Church had the opportunity, the means, and the motive to forge historical documents to further the belief in Christianity.

Nothing has ever been found in any of the earliest writings or tangible evidence from those days. The story that is explained in old Hebrew text is as follows: Mary was a Jewish woman, unmarried, as marriage was extremely uncommon in those days, living with Joseph, a poor carpenter, they lived in sparse conditions, and when pregnant, they moved to Bethlehem living in a manager that was shared with animals.

From an early age Jesus used to listen to Rabbis, preaching inside and outside their synagogue’s. Jesus’s knowledge we can believe came from these learned men, and as he grew up, he started to challenge some of their views, as any young person may do at school these days.

As Jesus grew up he gathered followers, as he had become a very good orator, people that time had nothing, so his reasonably intelligent mind he stood

out to become a leader? Like many other leaders through our history.

His miracle’s that it was said he performed, raising people from the dead, healing people that were lame, feeding of thousands with just a few fishes and loaves. As time moved on these followers broadened his abilities’, as to get more followers that could help them ward off the Roman judiciary.

So, the most important question is how did Jesus born in such conditions to a Jewish family become the leader of the Christian world and his un married mother a virgin become the great symbol of faith to the Roman Catholic religion, especially after the Romans were guilty of crucifying her son.

Yes, others appear in this tableau of stories, fishermen, characters of a deniable nature and robbers.

Crucifixions was a common event in Roman times, particularly of the weaker group that were not thrown to the lions, so like any political party wanting to launch themselves against the might of Rome, they used a man hanging from a cross, and called him Jesus, and developed stories of his birth and his past, and of course most of all he had delivered a Faith.

Next his virgin mother clutching her baby, was adopted by a group of Romans that had fallen foul of the Roman Senate, and like the Christians launched a following of Roman Christianity, using the image of Mary and Jesus.

I’m sorry to pour cold water on people’s religious beliefs, as a belief give people faith, and I suppose that is the object of the exercise.

Jesus was Jewish that was virtually the only religion at that time in Cana, he became a thorn in the sides of Rabbis as he argued and interfered with their sermons like teenagers of today.

But he was never a king or the son of God, he became a prophet and a teller of stories. Jews have never really denied him; however, they like me remain extremely sceptical of his ever being born the son of God or the Messiah.

So to conclude I wish you all a very happy holiday, no matter what religion you follow, and may the faith be with you.

24

The Spirit of Christmas Past by

Colin Bird The opinions published in Colin’s weekly column are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or newspaper sponsors.

Christmas Eve. The one night of the year when climbing the stairs to bed was accomplished with enthusiasm and without the need of encouragement from parents. Yet here I was tucked up securely, bursting with excited anticipation but still with not a hint of tiredness.

I could just make out the time on the big old fashioned alarm clock sitting on the bedside table, nine o’clock, an hour when all young children should be fast asleep otherwise we were told “Father Christmas might pass us by”.

I lay there wide awake waiting for weariness to overtake my eager body, squeezing my eyelids tight shut and trying to force the images of the events from the magical day ahead from my over active mind.

But try as I might, the pictures that filled my head were of the stocking full of traditional fruit, nuts and sweets, and the bulging pillow case which soon would both appear before dawn as if by magic at the end of my bed.

Muffled voices from my parents in the tiny living room below drifted up to me, and the faint but distinct smell of hot cocoa wafted tantalisingly through my bedroom and only served to emphasise the late hour and the desperate need for sleep to take me.

The feel of soft clean sheets around me, snug and safe under layer upon layer of course heavy blankets - no duvets to keep

us snug then – and my mother’s coat spread out on top for good measure.

The added comfort of a rubber hot water bottle at my back and a stone one at my feet, and knowing from experience to be ever so careful not to stub my toe in my tossing and turning efforts to find sleep.

Secure under the heavy blankets and warm and snug except for my nose peeking through the bed covers, and blushing pink in the chill air of the room.

Central heating to us then was the

open coal fire in the living room, and the black paraffin stove on the landing between the two small bedrooms.

Where was sleep? Where was tiredness? Was I the only child in the whole world who was still awake?

The glass in the metal framed window was blurred with a filigree pattern of frost inside and out, but strangely in the centre of one pane a round unfrozen aperture, formed as if the Christmas angel had breathed gently on the glass until the thin layer of ice had retreated momentarily.

And through this peep hole perfectly framed, the full Christmas moon shining brilliantly down on the world from a clear star filled sky as surely it should on this special night. And in my childish imagination how it must surely have been on that very first Christmas Eve two thousand years before, over a small town in a far away land.

As I gazed in childish wonder and these thoughts passed in procession through my young head, I promised myself that I would remember always this perfect moment, through every Christmas and every year of my life yet to come.

Then by stealth, somehow sleep finally came to take me as it always had in years gone by and I fell into a dreamless slumber, unconsciously awaiting the faint sound of tinkling reindeer bells somewhere above the eaves of the roof and the soft tread of fur boots on floor boards.

And so it has been, with the memory of that magical childhood Christmas Eve more than six decades ago, remaining with me undimmed down the years.

Now another Christmas is upon us and the recollection of that night returns to me with untarnished clarity; the enchantment undiminished by the passage of time and my childhood pledge to always remember it fulfilled.

May your Christmas be as full of magic and may you always remember your own special night with joy and hope and love, holding dear the true spirit of Christmas.

25

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26

Gerunds imported into Spanish

Well, I haven’t forgotten your homework, and here are the answers.

Basic Spanish for everyday needs by

Jane Cronin

What are you doing? ¿Qué estás haciendo?

I am measuring the wall.

Estoy midiendo la pared.

You are telling the truth.

Estás diciendo la verdad.

My husband is washing the dishes.

Mi marido está lavando los platos.

We are spending a lot of money.

Estamos gastando mucho dinero.

My children are cleaning the house.

Mis hijos están limpiando la casa.

I’ve just noticed that almost every one of these sentences expresses something that is highly unlikely to happen in my lifetime. However, as their main purpose is to practice the language and not worry about what they actually say, I will concentrate on the job at hand. As always with translations there are a few details that could be written differently, for example instead of “los platos” you might have written “la vajilla”, also it depends whether a wall is interior (pared) or exterior (muro) to know exactly which word is appropriate. The main point though is the construction of the verb which hopefully is now clear.

irregular gerunds

I thought a small digression would be jolly now, as it is still something to do with the connection between English and Spanish languages and cultures. I have mentioned already that the gerund is used in a far greater variety of ways in English than in Spanish, to the point where, for a foreigner our language appears to be full of these –ing words. I suffer from the fact that my surname ends in“–in”. There isn’t a Spaniard in Spain who doesn’t spell my surname “Croning” the first time they come across it!

There is a phenomenon that occurs in languages which is the incorporation of words from other languages. It is because of this, and from the fusions of people over the centuries that new languages are born. English is a dominant language in the world for a number of reasons, and the result is that it is “invading” the Spanish language, particularly in the form of gerunds. Here are some examples of what I mean.

“Body-building”, “camping”, “casting”, “catering”, “doping”, “feeling”, “footing”, “happening”, “lifting”, “mailing”, “marketing”, “overbooking”, “parking”, “peeling”, “piercing”, “rafting”, “shopping”, “surfing”, “travelling”, “windsurfing”, “zapping”.

This is actually a small selection of the gerund “loan words” than now appear frequently in Spanish speech and writing (notice – writing). The curi-

ous thing is that quite a few of them slightly modify the original meaning (notice – meaning) of the word, which creates some strange problems when translating (notice – translating).

For example - “camping” means “camp site”; “casting” means “audition”; “footing” means “jogging”; “mailing” mean “mail shot” (or whatever the real word for that is in English), “parking” means “car park”; “peeling” refers only to beauty treatments and never to potatoes; “piercing” refers specifically the adornment of the human anatomy and “travelling” has something to do with camera movements on film sets. The potential for confusion between English and Spanish speakers with these words is amazing.

(Hmmm – amazing!)

I shouldn’t really admit to this but a few months ago over the summer I watched the “castings” for “Factor X” on the television; that was in between sending out “mailings” from my website. One day someone offered me a “peeling” but I thought that was a bit decadent, especially as I would not allow my daughter to have a “piercing”. I keep thinking that I should go back to “footing” but I’m too lazy, driving to a “parking” is more my scene these days, whilst on the home front, I’m more like to spend my time “zapping” than organizing a “happening”.

Now you’ve got something else to fill your time – gerund hunting!

seguir Voy aprendiendo

vas leyendo muriendo Voy entendiendo poco a poco

Vengo diciendo que...

28

by

Kevin Wright Account Manager

Moneycorp

currency Currency questions answered by Moneycorp

The cost savings of using a specialist currency company are attractive but I have been put off as I understand there could be extra work involved. I also have concerns regarding the safety of my money - am I being over cautious?

Specialist currency providers are becoming popular choices for British ex-pats living in Spain or, indeed, those returning to the UK. Opening a trading facility is much easier and quicker than you may think but is necessary to comply with European KYC anti-money laundering legislation. moneycorp offers the option for customers to apply for registration on-line, via our website, which is a short and straight forward process. Alternatively, customers can simply complete a paper registration form. Additional documentation such as proof of identity and proof of address may be required in some cases. For the small amount of effort to apply for an account, there are many potential benefits available. These include potential cost savings and the advantage of having a range of currency services that are not always offered by traditional financial institutions, such as high street banks. Trading is also straightforward and is normally conducted over the telephone. Put simply, you can have access to great rates along with ‘real time’ information on the market which can help you to trade your currency at an advantageous time. Using a specialist currency company means you can arrange to have the rate monitored on your behalf, to help you make the most of market movements and potentially avoid trading when the market is not favourable for you. Purchasing a Forward Contract, means that you can fix the prevailing rate of exchange to buy currency now, to be settled at a determined date in the future, thus avoiding any potential impact from subsequent market fluctuations. A deposit of 10% of the total amount is required for this service.

The question of security is completely understandable and one that any client needs to be comfortable with. There are certain questions that will allow you to choose a currency provider with confidence and should be addressed if you have any doubts: How long have you been in business?

How many staff do you have?

What is your turnover?

How many clients do you deal with each year?

Do you have any other divisions as part of the company?

Do you speculate with the funds?

How do you handle client funds?

Do you have audited accounts at Companies House?

Where are your offices?

Are you Financial Conduct Authority Regulated?

This is how moneycorp answer:

How long have you been in business?

Moneycorp has been dealing in foreign exchange since 1979.

How many staff do you have?

Over 760 last year.

What is your turnover?

The last financial year saw Moneycorp trade over £25.6 billlion worth of currencies.

How many clients do you deal with each year?

We executed over 7 million client transactions in 2016.

Do you have any other divisions as part of the company?

Yes. Retail, wholesale, commercial including an awardwinning online trading platform.

Do you speculate with the funds?

Absolutely not! Moneycorp does not take trading positions and all foreign exchange positions are exactly matched with our panel of liquidity providers.

How do you handle client funds?

All client funds are safeguarded in segregated client bank accounts.

Do you have audited accounts at Companies House?

Yes, we do. PricewaterhouseCoopers have been our auditors since 1987.

Where are your offices?

Moneycorp has its HO in central London and has other offices outside the UK. Details of locations are on our web site.

Are you regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority?

Yes. Moneycorp is the trading name of TTT Moneycorp Ltd. which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the provision of payment services.

For further information about how Moneycorp can help with your particular currency requirement, contact us on +34 902 887 243 or email kevin.wright@moneycorp.com

Moneycorp is a trading name of TTT Moneycorp Ltd. which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the provision of payment services.

TTT Moneycorp Limites, Sucursal en España is registered with the banco de España under the code number 6875 and with the Mercantile Registry of Málaga under volume 5461, book 4638, sheet 7, page MA-131271, inscription number 1. Its registered office address is Centro Comercial Cala Sol, Local 108, La Cala de Mijas, 29649 Málaga and its Spanish tax identification number is W8266051E.

If you have any further questions about this or any other legal matter, please do not hesitate to contact us; we have a team of experts standing by to assist you in any way we can. Call 965 480 737 or email info@pellicerheredia.com Videos at www.pellicerheredia.com

Friday 22nd December - Thursday 28th December

Pick of the Day

FRIDAY 7:00am 10:15am

11:00am 12:00pm 12:45pm 1:15pm 2:00pm 2:30pm 2:45pm

4:40pm 6:00pm

6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm

10:30pm

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:40pm 12:30am

Breakfast Let’s Get a Good Thing Going Homes Under the Hammer Street Auction Fake Britain Bargain Hunt BBC News BBC London News Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Puss in Boots Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos Pointless BBC News BBC London News The One Show A Question of Sport EastEnders Miranda Have I Got 2017 News for You Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special 2014 BBC News BBC London News The Graham Norton Show Would I Lie to You?

7:05am

8:05am 8:35am 10:00am

11:00am

1:05pm

1:35pm 2:20pm 3:50pm

5:15pm

6:15pm

8:00pm

9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm

11:10pm 12:10am

MasterChef: The Professionals An Island Parish Holiday Affair The Big Family Cooking Showdown Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines Tom Kerridge Cooks Christmas Best Christmas Bakes Ever An Ideal Husband The Toys That Made Christmas Back in Time for Christmas Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!

Inside the Christmas Factory Mastermind Only Connect Saturday Night Fever The Ultimate Disco Movie The Joy of the Bee Gees Boogie Fever: A TOTP2 Disco Special

7:00am 9:30am 10:25am 11:30am 1:30pm 2:30pm 2:55pm 3:00pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm

11:00pm 11:30pm 11:40pm

Good Morning Britain Lorraine The Jeremy Kyle Show This Morning Loose Women ITV Lunchtime News ITV News London Judge Rinder Dickinson’s Real Deal Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street You’ve Been Framed!

Coronation Street Al Murray’s Make Christmas Great Again ITV News and Weather ITV News London Bridget Jones’s Diary

7:45am 8:10am 8:40am 9:05am 9:35am 10:05am 10:35am 11:05am 11:35am 12:00pm

1:00pm 1:05pm

1:15pm 1:25pm 3:10pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 5:30pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

10:00pm

11:00pm 1:00am

3rd Rock from the Sun Everybody Loves Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond Frasier Frasier Frasier The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA Channel 4 News Jamie’s Cracking Christmas Jamie’s Comfort Food Carry on Spying Countdown Lost and Found A Place in the Sun Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast The Last Leg Christmas Special The Inbetweeners 2 Kick-Ass 2

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:05am

Abominable Christmas

10:55am

Saving Santa

12:30pm

Cats and Dogs

2:10pm

A Puppy for Christmas

3:55pm

Mariah Carey’s

a Christmas Melody

4:55pm

5 News

5:00pm

Mariah Carey’s

a Christmas Melody

5:45pm

Mrs. Miracle

7:30pm

The Gadget Show

8:30pm

Christmas with the

Dog Rescuers

9:30pm

Celebrity 5 Go in

Search of Santa

11:00pm

In His Own Words

An Island Parish The Bishop’s Wife The Big Family Cooking Showdown The Muppets Natural World Mary Berry’s Absolute Christmas Favourites Nigella’s Christmas Table The Millionaire’s Gift Guide Talking Pictures Mildred Pierce Natural World Bill Lenny Henry: A Life on Screen Dad’s Army Feud: Bette and Joan Feud: Bette and Joan What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

7:00am 10:25am 10:30am

12:25pm

12:55pm 1:25pm 1:35pm 2:35pm

5:30pm 7:30pm 7:40pm 8:00pm 8:30pm

9:00pm

11:35pm 11:55pm

Childrens TV ITV News Saturday Morning with James Martin at Christmas Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape Countrywise ITV News Tipping Point Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Despicable Me ITV News London ITV News You’ve Been Framed!

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ITV News Miranda: Morecambe and Wise and Me

7:15am 7:40am 8:30am 10:00am 11:55am

12:20pm 12:55pm 1:20pm 1:50pm

2:20pm 2:55pm 3:25pm 4:00pm

5:00pm

6:00pm 6:10pm

7:10pm 9:00pm

10:00pm 12:20am

Frasier Olive, the Other Reindeer Rugrats the Movie The Boxtrolls Toy Story That Time Forgot Toy Story Toons Toy Story of Terror Father Christmas Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The World’s Most Expensive Christmas Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas Channel 4 News Gogglesprogs Christmas Special Crocodile Dundee The World’s Best Christmas Lights: From Liverpool to Bethlehem The Wolverine Gladiator

7:00am

Childrens TV

11:15am

The Gadget Show

12:05pm

A Christmas Story

1:55pm

A Heavenly Christmas

3:40pm

Scrooge

4:40pm

5 News

4:45pm

Scrooge

6:00pm

Elf: The Musical

9:00pm

Blind Date

10:00pm

Christmas Cruising

with Jane McDonald

11:00pm

Jane and Friends

at Christmas

11:50pm

Chas and Dave’s

Christmas Knees-Up

12:50am

Football on 5

7:00am 10:25am

10:55am 12:50pm 1:45pm 1:55pm

5:00pm

6:00pm 6:30pm 6:35pm 6:50pm

7:40pm 9:30pm 11:25pm 11:45pm

12:45am

Childrens TV Save Money: Good Food Jack Frost Catchphrase ITV News Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Cannonball Christmas Special You’ve Been Framed!

ITV News London ITV News A Christmas Chase: Celebrity Special All Star Musicals Maigret in Montmartre ITV News A Night for the Emergency Services Christmas Carols on ITV

6:40am

8:00am

9:15am 9:40am 10:05am

10:40am 1:40pm 2:10pm

3:10pm 3:40pm 4:05pm 4:35pm 6:20pm 6:55pm

7:20pm 7:30pm

9:00pm

10:00pm 12:05am

The Little Penguin Pororo’s Racing Adventure Rugrats in Paris: The Movie The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory Jamie’s Quick and Easy Food Christmas Brunch Paul Hollywood Jamie’s Italian Christmas The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Borrowers The Snowman The Snowman and the Snowdog Channel 4 News The Muppet Christmas Carol Child Genius v Celebrities Christmas Special Gogglebox 2017 The Inbetweeners

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:20am

Gone with the Wind

2:35pm

Oklahoma!

5:15pm

Scrooge

7:00pm

Agatha Christie’s

Crooked House

9:00pm

The Yorkshire Vet

10:00pm

Andre Rieu:

My Life in Music

11:20pm

Andre Rieu in London

12:30am

An Audience with

Donny and Marie

7:00am 7:30am 8:00am 8:30am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 10:30am 11:00am 11:30am 12:00pm

1:00pm 3:00pm 5:00pm 5:30pm 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm

11:30pm

Futurama Futurama Futurama The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family Big Cats: An Amazing Animal Family Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett Modern Family Modern Family The Simpsons Futurama The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Michael Bublé Hugh Jackman: Movie Musical Greats 2012

7:00am

8:00am 8:30am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 10:30am 11:00am 12:30pm

3:30pm 4:15pm 6:15pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm

11:00pm

1:15am

Yonderland Christmas Day 2016 The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Soccer A.M. Live Real Madrid v Barcelona Gillette Soccer Saturday Gillette Soccer Saturday Gillette Soccer Saturday The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons It’s Christmas Live From the Royal Albert Hall Take That Live: Wonderland Michael Bublé

7:00am 8:00am 8:30am 9:00am 12:00pm 1:00pm 3:00pm 5:00pm

5:30pm

6:00pm

6:30pm 7:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm

10:30pm 11:30pm

12:30am

The Hour of Power Futurama Futurama The Simpsons WWE Raw Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons Ratburger The Simpsons The Simpsons A League of Their Own Christmas Special Trollied The Best of the Late Late Show A League of Their Own Christmas Special

Christmas with the Dog Rescuers, 8.30pm, Channel 5

Saturday 7:00am 10:30am 12:00pm

1:00pm 2:00pm 2:15pm 3:50pm 5:20pm 6:30pm

7:00pm 7:10pm 7:15pm

8:10pm

9:05pm 9:55pm 10:30pm

11:10pm 11:30pm 1:10am

Breakfast Saturday Kitchen Mary Berry’s Christmas Party Football Focus BBC News Cool Runnings Frozen Final Score Len Goodman’s Partners in Rhyme Christmas Special BBC News BBC London News Pointless Celebrities Christmas Special Even Better Than the Real Thing - Christmas Special Casualty Miranda Our Friend Victoria at Christmas BBC News Match of the Day The NFL Show

7:15am 7:45am 9:30am

10:30am 12:10pm 1:10pm

1:40pm 2:40pm

3:40pm 4:10pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 8:30pm

9:30pm 10:00pm 10:50pm 11:35pm

It's Christmas Live from the Royal Albert Hall, 9pm, Sky1

CHRISTMAS EVE 7:00am 8:25am 10:05am 11:30am 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:15pm 2:45pm 3:15pm

3:20pm 4:55pm 5:10pm 6:35pm 6:50pm 7:00pm 8:00pm

9:00pm 9:30pm

10:35pm 11:15pm 11:30pm 12:15am

Breakfast Match of the Day Planes The Santa Clause Life in the Snow BBC News Songs of Praise The Farmer’s Llamas Hammy’s Boomerang Adventure Monsters University Doodlebugs Home BBC News BBC London News Countryfile Mary, Mel and Sue’s Big Christmas Thank You EastEnders Michael Mcintyre’s Big Christmas Show Not Going Out BBC News The Vicar of Dibley The Two Ronnies Sketchbook

7:15am 8:00am 8:30am 10:15am

11:15am

12:45pm

1:20pm

2:20pm

3:20pm 4:20pm 6:45pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

9:30pm 10:30pm 12:55am

Nature’s Weirdest Events An Island Parish The Prince and Me The Big Family Cooking Showdown Saturday Kitchen Best Bites Mary Berry’s Absolute Christmas Favourites The Hairy Bikers Home for Christmas Alex Polizzi’s Christmas Fix Natural World Guys and Dolls Carols from King’s Dad’s Army Christmas University Challenge 2017 Winter’s Weirdest Events The Great Gatsby Christmas TOTP2 Special

Maigret in Montmartre, 9.30pm, ITV1

Pick of the Day

CHRISTMAS DAY 7:00am 10:00am

10:45am 11:00am

12:00pm

12:10pm

1:10pm 1:20pm 2:20pm 4:00pm

4:10pm 5:45pm 6:15pm 6:30pm 7:30pm 8:40pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:35pm

12:25am 12:40am

Breakfast Cbeebies’ the Snow Queen Go Jetters Christmas Morning From All Saints Fulham The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper Snow Chick: A Penguin’s Tale BBC News Top of the Pops Toy Story 3 The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast Cinderella The Highway Rat BBC News Doctor Who Strictly Come Dancing Call the Midwife EastEnders Mrs. Brown’s Boys 300 Years of French and Saunders BBC News On Christmas Night

7:10am

8:10am 8:40am 10:00am

11:00am

12:00pm 1:15pm

2:40pm 5:30pm

6:30pm

6:35pm

7:45pm 8:45pm 9:25pm 10:00pm

11:00pm

12:05am

The Hairy Bikers Home for Christmas An Island Parish Bee Movie The Big Family Cooking Showdown Harry Potter: A History of Magic Carols from King’s The Importance of Being Earnest BBC Proms 2017 Dame Vera Lynn: Happy 100th Birthday The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show 1977 Winter’s Weirdest Events Dad’s Army Upstart Crow Tom Jones and Beverley Knight’s Gospel Christmas Judi Dench: All the World’s Her Stage Mrs. Henderson Presents

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:25am

National Lampoon’s

Christmas Vacation

12:10pm

Mr Bean’s Holiday

1:50pm

Santa Claus

4:00pm

HM the Queen

4:10pm

Harry Potter and the

Prisoner of Azkaban

6:50pm

Emmerdale

7:50pm

ITV Evening News

8:00pm

Paul O’Grady:

For The Love of Dogs

9:00pm

Coronation Street

10:00pm

Victoria

12:00am

ITV News

12:15am

The Holiday

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip An Island Parish Chimpanzee The Big Family Cooking Showdown Nadiya’s British Food Adventure Nadiya’s British Food Adventure The Sweet Makers: A Tudor Treat A Hard Day’s Night The Eagle Has Landed The Repair Shop at Christmas Final Score Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella Christmas University Challenge 2017 Reindeer Family and Me Dragons’ Den QI Two Doors Down Christmas Special Joanna and Jennifer: Absolutely Champers

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:25am

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

12:25pm

Cats and Dogs: The

Revenge of Kitty Galore

2:00pm

ITV Racing:

Live from Kempton

4:30pm

E.T.

The Extra-Terrestrial

6:50pm

ITV Evening News

7:10pm

Emmerdale

7:40pm

Jurassic World

10:00pm

Coronation Street

11:00pm

ITV News

11:15pm

Birds of a Feather

12:15am

The Keith and Paddy

Picture Show

12:45am

Al Murray’s Make

Christmas Great Again

7:00am 8:20am 8:45am 9:10am 9:40am

10:05am 10:35am 11:05am 11:35am 12:05pm 1:45pm 2:20pm

2:55pm 3:25pm 3:30pm

3:35pm 5:30pm 6:50pm 8:40pm

10:00pm 11:00pm

1:00am

Rugrats Go Wild The Bear Prep and Landing Prep and Landing Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Dr. Seuss’ the Lorax The Snowman The Snowman and the Snowdog Father Christmas Channel 4 News The Alternative Christmas Message Scrooged Dumbo Home Alone The Great Christmas Bake Off First Dates at Christmas Alan Carr’s Christmas Chatty Man George Michael

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:20am

Scrooge

12:05pm

Seven Brides for

Seven Brothers

2:05pm

Singin’ in the Rain

4:10pm

Oliver!

7:00pm

Elf: The Musical

10:00pm

The Morecambe and

Wise Story:

Look Back in Laughter

11:55pm

Britain’s Best Loved

Double Acts

12:55am

Steptoe and Son

7:40am 9:25am 11:25am 11:50am 12:15pm 12:40pm 1:10pm

2:55pm 3:00pm

4:05pm

5:20pm 7:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 12:10am

Song of the Sea Short Circuit The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Alvin and the Chipmunks Channel 4 News Child Genius v Celebrities Christmas Special The Great Christmas Bake Off The Little Mermaid Back to the Future Travel Man Big Fat Quiz of the Year Four Weddings and a Funeral

7:00am

Childrens TV

10:15am

Access

10:25am

Pets Make You

Laugh Out Loud

11:00am

Titanic

12:50pm

Chariots of Fire

3:10pm

Balmoral:

A Hidden History

5:10pm

Sandringham:

The Queen at Christmas

6:15pm

A Royal Night Out

8:00pm

The Strictly Story: Fake

Tan, Tangos and a

Ten From Len

9:30pm

Dirty Dancing:

Making Movie Magic

11:00pm

Dirty Dancing

1:00am

Football on 5

7:00am 7:30am 8:00am 8:30am

9:00am

9:30am

10:00am

12:00pm 2:00pm 2:30pm 4:00pm 4:15pm

6:15pm 6:45pm 7:15pm 7:45pm

8:10pm

8:35pm

9:00pm 10:00pm

11:00pm

The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas Football’s Funniest Ever Moments Kylie Christmas The Simpsons Ratburger The Queen It’s Christmas Live From the Royal Albert Hall The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas The Simpsons at Christmas Carpool Karaoke Special A League of Their Own Christmas Special The Rock

Call The Midwife, 8.40pm, BBC1

7:00am 7:30am 8:00am 8:30am 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 10:30am 11:00am

12:30pm 2:30pm

4:00pm 6:15pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 10:00pm 12:45am

Futurama Futurama Futurama The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Attenborough’s Natural History Live The Last Dragon Slayer Attenborough’s Bachelor King Gillette Soccer Saturday Gillette Soccer Saturday The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Ratburger Minority Report A League of Their Own

Jurassic World, 7.40pm, ITV1

BOXING DAY 7:00am 10:00am

11:10am 12:25pm

1:25pm 1:35pm 1:45pm

2:45pm 3:10pm

4:30pm 4:45pm 7:00pm 7:20pm 7:30pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm 1:15am

Breakfast Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast Planes: Fire and Rescue Mary, Mel and Sue’s Big Christmas Thank You BBC News BBC London News Judi Dench: My Passion for Trees Stick Man Shaun the Sheep Movie Doodlebugs Mary Poppins BBC News BBC London News Snow Bears EastEnders Little Women The Miniaturist BBC News Match of the Day Stacey Dooley in the USA

7:15am

8:15am 8:45am 9:55am

10:55am

11:25am

11:55am

12:55pm 2:20pm 4:30pm

5:30pm 6:35pm

8:30pm

9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm

12:00am

32

Pick of the Day

WEDNESDAY 7:00am 8:45am 10:15am 11:45am 1:15pm 2:15pm 2:25pm 2:35pm 3:20pm 4:45pm 5:10pm 6:45pm 7:30pm 7:50pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:20pm 11:30pm 12:00am

Breakfast Match of the Day Turbo The Princess and the Frog Snow Bears BBC News BBC London News Father Brown Shrek 2 The Gruffalo Big Hero 6 Pointless BBC News BBC London News Celebrity Mastermind A Question of Sport Little Women The Miniaturist BBC News BBC London News Mrs. Brown’s Boys Not Going Out

7:25am Mary Berry’s

Country House Secrets 8:25am An Island Parish 8:55am Bears 10:10am The Big Family Cooking

Showdown 11:10am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 11:40am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 12:10pm The Sweet Makers:

A Georgian Treat 1:10pm The Red Shoes 3:20pm World’s Most

Extraordinary Homes 4:20pm Inside the Factory 5:20pm The Man Who Never Was 7:00pm Thailand:

Earth’s Tropical Paradise 8:00pm Dad’s Army 8:30pm Christmas University

Challenge 2017 9:00pm Six Robots and Us 10:00pm Alan Partridge: Why, When,

Where, How and Whom?

11:00pm Oasis 12:55am NFL

7:00am Childrens TV 8:25am K-9 10:25am Twins 12:25pm Cannonball Christmas

Special 1:25pm You’ve Been Framed!

1:55pm ITV Lunchtime News 2:00pm Midsomer Murders 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Paul O’Grady:

For The Love of Dogs 7:30pm ITV News London 7:45pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Harry Potter and the

Goblet of Fire 11:50pm ITV News 12:05am Tina and Bobby

7:40am Short Circuit 2 9:40am Lego Masters 10:40am The Simpsons 11:10am The Simpsons 11:35am The Simpsons 12:05pm Small Soldiers 2:15pm Sunshine on Leith 4:10pm Four Rooms with

Sarah Beeny 5:15pm Channel 4 News 5:30pm Back to the Future Part II 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm The Supervet at Christmas 9:00pm Supershoppers Sales Special 10:00pm Miranda Does Christmas 11:00pm First Dates at Christmas 12:05am East is East

7:00am Childrens TV

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am Babe 12:05pm Black Beauty 1:45pm ITV Lunchtime News 1:55pm ITV News London 2:00pm Midsomer Murders 4:00pm Tenable 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Paul O’Grady:

For The Love of Dogs 7:30pm ITV News London 7:45pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 9:00pm Harry Potter and the

Order of the Phoenix 11:35pm ITV News 11:55pm Tina and Bobby 12:55am Stuck on You:

The Football Sticker Story

6:40am Holiday Inn 8:20am The SpongeBob SquarePants

Movie 9:55am Lego Masters 11:00am The Simpsons 11:30am The Simpsons 12:00pm Spy Kids 4:

All the Time in the World 1:45pm The Net 4:00pm Four Rooms

with Sarah Beeny 5:00pm Channel 4 News 5:20pm Back to the Future Part III 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm We’re Going on a Bear Hunt 8:30pm The Secret Life of the Zoo

at Christmas 9:30pm The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds

on Holiday 10:00pm What Britain Bought in 2017 11:00pm The Undateables

at Christmas 12:05am About a Boy

1:00am Blind Date

7:00am Futurama 8:30am The Simpsons 10:30am Modern Family 11:00am Modern Family 11:30am Modern Family 12:00pm David Attenborough’s

Galapagos 1:00pm Hawaii Five-0 2:00pm Moonfleet 3:00pm Moonfleet 4:00pm Modern Family 4:30pm Modern Family 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm Futurama 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm A League of Their Own 10:00pm The Best of the Late,

Late Show 11:00pm Football’s Funniest Best Bits 1:00am A League of Their Own

Miranda Does Christmas, 10pm, Channel 4

7:00am Childrens TV 10:15am Cruising with

Jane McDonald 10:30am The Gadget Show 11:25am The Seventh Voyage

of Sinbad 1:15pm The Vikings 3:30pm Jason and the Argonauts 5:30pm Andre Rieu: My Life in Music 7:00pm Andre Rieu:

Christmas in London 8:00pm Alaska: A Year in the Wild 9:00pm World’s Strongest Man 2017 10:00pm Flight 11:05pm 5 News 11:10pm Flight 12:45am The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

7:00am Futurama 8:30am The Simpsons 10:30am Modern Family 11:00am Modern Family 11:30am Modern Family 12:00pm David Attenborough’s

Galapagos 1:00pm Hawaii Five-0 2:00pm Fungus the Bogeyman 3:30pm The Simpsons 4:00pm The Simpsons 4:30pm Modern Family 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm Futurama 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Carpool Karaoke Special 10:00pm xXx2: The Next Level 12:00am A League of Their Own

xXx2: The Next Level, 10pm, Sky1

10:15am Cruising with

Jane McDonald

10:30am World’s Strongest Man 2017 11:30am North Sea Hijack 1:25pm Operation Crossbow 3:40pm Operation Daybreak 5:55pm The Guns of Navarone 9:00pm World’s Strongest Man 2017 10:00pm Most Shocking

thursday 7:00am Breakfast 10:00am The Pirates! In an Adventure

with Scientists!

11:20am Kung Fu Panda 12:45pm Bargain Hunt 1:45pm BBC News 2:00pm BBC London News 2:05pm Father Brown 2:50pm Revolting Rhymes 3:20pm Shrek The Third 4:45pm The Gruffalo’s Child 5:10pm How to Train Your Dragon 2 6:45pm Pointless 7:30pm BBC News 7:45pm BBC London News 8:00pm Celebrity Mastermind 8:30pm Still Open All Hours 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Little Women 10:30pm EastEnders 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm BBC London News 11:25pm Bruno Mars 12:10am U2 at the BBC:

Special Edition

7:45am MasterChef:

The Professionals 8:45am Ray Harryhausen:

Special Effects Titan 10:15am The Big Family Cooking

Showdown 11:15am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 11:45am Nadiya’s British Food Adventure 12:15pm The Sweet Makers:

A Victorian Treat 1:15pm Love is a Many-Splendored Thing 2:55pm Natural World 3:55pm World’s Most

Extraordinary Homes 4:55pm Inside the Factory 5:55pm The Heroes of Telemark 8:00pm Thailand:

Earth’s Tropical Paradise 9:00pm Christmas University

Challenge 2017 9:30pm Six Robots and Us 10:30pm Natural World 11:30pm Romesh Ranganathan:

Irrational Live 12:30am Alpha Papa

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Thank you so much for the lovely article you put in The RTN. It as such a lovely piece and the title was brilliant. We wish you all at the RTN a very merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year Warmest regards, Marilyn Rogers at CHUMS Finestr President

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this weeks weather FRI Dec 22

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thu Dec 28

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34

Puzzles Code Breaker

This is not just another Christmas this year, it is a whole new concept in which you are happy to take the reins.

Your positive attitude right now has brought all kinds of benefits around you, and you will move on from here to find where you are happiest. Venus enters into Capricorn and love is the challenge that you can share!

Word Pyramid

10

With all the significant planetary shifts this month, above all you are to benefit greatly from the Jupiter trine with Neptune. Set to guide you until next Summer, it will work on varying intensities. Enjoy contact and communication with others, whilst pursuing relationship levels to share all the benefits of new diverse opportunity.

Venus conjuncts with Saturn whilst entering the endeavouring energies of a hungry Capricorn. Aim high and have fun seeing things just falling into place right now; you have worked hard to enable this and have been patient in awaiting your rewards. Enjoy this Holiday season and know that soon doors will open and you have to move on!

The Sun is currently illuminating the sector of your chart which rules cash and spending, whilst Saturn in Capricorn is what really gets you going right now. Be concise in what you ask for and Saturn, planet of fear and restriction, won’t make things difficult for you! It’s very important to get all pending paperwork done and dusted.

Another fresh start looms, brought about by the New Moon in your very sign! Time to create and to go all out for what your true priorities are. You work best when you have a goal to work towards and though self reflection looms high on the list right now, then so does regeneration and promotion bringing you new beginnings.

In this predominately Sagittarius time of the year, it is also a time for you to unwind and to tune into your own chemistry. Explore your innermost energies right now, and eliminate stress. Feeling the fall out from the recent Mercury retrograde you will be in a far more focussed state of mind, but check out the inner you, too!

Venus enters into Capricorn on Christmas Day, allowing you to deal with themes that are pressing, such as money and love. The presence of Saturn doesn’t give you the very best vibe, but it is time to revise commitments and boundaries and to adapt them to bring you just what you deserve right now, which is love, respect and full reward.

The start of the Capricorn season finds you networking socially and professionally, amidst getting involved in community matters that are close to your heart right now. You are a dreamer, Pisces, so get ready to manifest the visions that you have for yourself, for a change. Mars connects with Neptune to seal a deal!

R

T E

H

Word Wheel There is 1x11 letter word and 148 others! Make as many 3 or more letter words as you can using any letter combination just once and you must use the central letter in every word!

Preparations for the Holiday Season are about to be treasured by those who love you the most. As you look around this Christmas you look back at a year that certainly had its twists and turns, but which has rewarded you too, in many ways. Next year brings the zenith of your innermost plans, and it is peppered liberally with success.

The New Moon will illuminate and spark true love, just at the start of the Holiday season. Conjuncting with Saturn, responsibility is the name of the game as this Moon gently guides and protects you. Saturn has been testing your resolve and now it is full on for relationship issues which must take centre stage amid the celebrations

A

Start at a letter and spell out a 10-letter word by moving to adjacent letters. Each letter will be used at least once, but no letter will be used twice in a row.

As Venus conjuncts Saturn there is the wisdom that comes from the deep nostalgia of the past. Whereas fear back then was your motivation, now let a little loving do a far better job! Have some time to recharge because you seem to have been burning the candle from both ends.

This is a fresh page, and you have a whole book to read.

The month began with a New Moon which brought about a hectic month, now you are craving a well deserved rest; coupled with recuperations on all levels. Whilst Neptune assumes a responsibility right now, Mercury has been retrograde; and the New Moon in Sagittarius on December 22nd will boost energy levels!

F

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 11 represents Z and 25 represents M. Now using your knowledge of the English language work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

Kenny’s Postbag Kenny what was your favourite

WORD fit

Using just logic, can you make all the words fit correctly into the grid?

Christmas Present, ever?

Bruno (age 10) I love the gifts that come naturally and that nobody has to buy. I think my best gift was to see a friend's child take his very first step under the Christmas Tree on Christmas Day. Everybody was asleep after lunch and nobody believed what I had seen. The little devil waited until almost midnight to give his next performance, but I witnessed his first step! Like all happy memories they are a nostalgia we can enjoy forever, as we look back on this, our spiritual life!

Happy Christmas to you All!

For Birthday Celebrants Looking out across the Cosmos there is magic out there if you can perceive it. So much relies now on your innate abilities and a skilful journey ahead in this very special astrological year of enterprise.

5 letter words CALLS ERROR LAYER LINER RANCH ROYAL RULES SIDES SPILL STEEL TAXES VEINS

6 letter words ASYLUM LIKELY METRIC SCRIPT TYPIST URGENT

7 letter words ARRIVAL EMOTION ENDORSE ENHANCE PADLOCK PARENTS REVOLVE RIDDLES SALIENT THEOREM

More Puzzles

Cryptic

ACROSS 1 Composer returning part for unmarried man (8) 6 Noise made by weasel’s father (3) 9 Turn away from state capital in Tennessee (5) 10 Everyone plants seeds outside, producing trees (7) 11 Tureen I transported in train (7) 13 Island in a secret estuary (5) 14 Old kings and queens from Stroud (6) 15 Hard missile in public school (6) 19 Keep tabs on timepiece (5) 21 This may be quite an old thing (7) 22 Sibyl is confused about article for North Africans (7) 23 Something used by dentist or doctor badly (5) 24 Speak, for example (3) 25 Young swimmers playing old tapes (8) DOWN 2 Warned about treadle (7) 3 Some photos may be spicy (3) 4 Girls left with fools (6) 5 Unwilling cattle run wild (9) 6 Writing about ropes (5) 7 Beat with stick (5) 8 Root cause of vehicle decay? (6) 12 Bearing on the arts broadcast (5-4) 16 Want about 25 sheets of paper (7) 17 Revolvers waved initially by cads? (6) 18 Invalid pleads for a change (6) 19 Plaintive cries are heard in the principality (5) 20 Cat upset by bat (5) 23 Couple of heads of department under observation (3)

Word Ladder

Can you by changing 1 letter at a time, get from the first word to the last word in the given number of moves?

SLEDS 1 2 3 4 5 6

GIFTS Soduku

Quick

Futoshiki

The purpose of the game is to discover the digits hidden inside the board’s cells; each cell is filled with a digit between 1 and 6. On each row and column each digit appears exactly once; therefore, when revealed, the digits of the board form a so-called Latin square. The board may also contain some inequalities between the board cells; these inequalities must be respected and can be used as clues in order to discover the remaining hidden digits. ie > is greater than and < is less than.

35

Fill the grid so every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9

Quiz 1 The adrenal glands are situated above which organs in the human body?

2 In the sport of fencing, what is the name of a bladework manoeuvre intended to deflect or block an incoming attack?

3 What was the first name of British Prime Minister Gladstone?

4 Which British coastal town is known as ‘The Pearl of Dorset’?

5 Mawrth is Welsh for which month of the year?

6 Who was the only British Chancellor of the Exchequer not to deliver a budget?

7 The Dogger Bank earthquake of June 1931, the strongest ever in the UK, reportedly caused the wax head of which infamous murderer to fall off in London’s Madame Tussaud’s?

8 The 2010 autobiography ‘Full Circle’ is by which British sportswoman/sailor?

9 Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was said to have been sealed

by King John, is in which English county?

10 Eosophobia is the irrational fear of which part of the day?

ACROSS 1 Junkies (7) 5 Soft or heavy with moisture (5) 8 Lament (5) 9 The Emerald Isle (7) 10 Watch (7) 11 Training exercise (5) 12 Vessel for boiling water (6) 14 Be present (6) 18 Rapidity (5) 20 Bible story (7) 22 Entourage (7) 23 Worth (5) 24 Conjecture (5) 25 Pudding or sweet course (7)

DOWN 1 Wrestling hold (7) 2 Percussion instruments (5) 3 Restraint (7) 4 Cornish resort (2,4) 5 Riding horse (5) 6 Tearing (anag.) (7) 7 Sing in Tyrolean fashion (5) 13 Playhouse (7) 15 Flourishes (7) 16 Most profound (7) 17 Extend (6) 18 Small shoot or twig (5) 19 People of Denmark (5) 21 Swelling (5)

Last Weeks Solutions on page 45

36

whats on

Are there more of you?

DO YOU remember Tim Hardy who performed ‘The Trials of Galileo’ a few years ago for Javea Players?

Now his talented wife, Alison, is coming to the Studio for a week.

In her own one-woman comedy drama Alison Skilbeck, who has appeared in ‘The Archers’, ‘Sherlock Holmes’, ‘Miss Marple’ and ‘Doctor Who’, tells the linked tales of four women reaching out in the dark, revealing what lies behind the brave faces of Claire, Sophia, Sara and Sam. There’s flesh and blood, anger, resignation and retaliation. It’s scary and hilarious by turn as the different characters search for love and happiness, with only a SW postcode in common.

Words alone do not adequately describe this entertaining play, but it’s basically four monologues about four losers who become winners. There’s the diplomat’s wife with post-divorce depression, an Italian with an annoying mother, a spirit weaver who can unravel a psychological problem with the motion of her hands and a regional manager with a drink problem. SW11 will never be the same again!

This theatrical tour de force is perfect in a small theatre and afterwards Alison will chat with the audience and answer questions.

“Brilliantly observed, richly comic characters, all played in painful perfection” - Alan Ayckbourn.

BOOK NOW ‘Are There More of You?’ will be performed by Alison from Monday January 22 – Saturday January 27 at 8.00pm each evening at Javea Players’ Studio Theatre.

Tickets cost €12 and can be purchased via www.javeplayers.com.

For more information or assistance, get in touch – 620 412 384 / boxoffice@javeplayers.com.

La Cocina Javea will open specially to offer a pre-theatre dinner from 6.00pm each night. Two-course menu for 16€ or three-course menu for 19€, both with ½ bottle of wine per person.

Check out www.lacocinajavea.com and call 965 795 140 to book.

SITTING PRETTY: Alison Skilbeck

Musical Christmas Divine Service

The New Apostolic Church in Denia is celebrating a special musical Christmas Divine Service this year on Monday, 25th December. The service begins at 10am and will be musically adorned by Vicente Giner on the organ and the Argentinian pan flute player, Roberto. There will also be solo performances and the mixed choir will be presenting specially prepared songs.

Find them at Camí d’ Alt de Dénia a Xàbia 8 (near the Hotel Port Denia) or visit www.nac-denia.com for further information.

Benidorm food & drink BRUNCH: 12.30 - 4.00pm DINNER: 6.30pm - 11.00pm

The Nosh Team wish all their customers old and new a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Old Town Benidorm Calle la Palma 7

Last March, Nosh became Benidorm’s latest dining experience. Located just off the walking street, in the Old Town’s main dining destination, calle la Palma.

In addition to our delicious seasonal menu, we have weekly specials offering mouth watering specialties with influence from world cuisine, right here in Benidorm.

Our carefully selected wines change regularly to You can book online via the link on Facebook, email us on complement our menus.

Alongside these we provide reservations@noshrestaurant.es cheese boards, with an or call us on ES +34 965 02 02 71 average of 40 different or from the UK on cheeses to choose from… +44 (0)20 3695 2440 including some great We are looking forward to your vintage choices too!

visit!

The Loft “2” opens Paul and his team have now opened with larger premises with a 24 seater indoor heated and air conditioned restaurant and a 40 seater terrace right in the heart of the old town. Offering the same high quality menu with milk shakes, cakes, breakfasts, main meals, light snacks etc and still doing our amazing afternoon teas for birthdays, hen parties and all other special occasions. The loft 1 is still open but will be moving fully in the new year to our new larger restaurant. Some spaces still available for booking on Christmas Day. With both bars open on News Years Eve and New Year’s Day. Also why not follow us on Facebook @ the loft Benidorm

Now open the loft 2 on Calle Pintor Lozano 6. Right by the Rich Bitch, Kafee Klee and Pig and Whistle. Free tea or coffee with every advert shown.

37

38

Charity News

We’re granting wishes this Christmas The Grant a Wish boutique in Plaza de la Constitution, Javea old town has helped to raised thousands of Euros to support local groups and individuals since it opened in January this year. This autumn we implemented our riding for the disabled programme in La Xara, and tomorrow we host a Christmas party for the children from the orphanage we support in El Verger. Meanwhile, we continue our weekly delivery of supplies – including your very welcome donations of fruit and veg - for the men’s shelter in Ondara.

Our boutique, which is staffed entirely by volunteers, sells a wide range of gifts, jewellery, new and second-hand clothing, greeting cards, books and more. We’d like to thank everyone who’s generously donated items for sale and each and every customer who’s bought from us.

It’s now time for our Christmas break. We will be open on Friday 22nd December from 5-7pm. then closed until we reopen in the new year on Monday 8th January at 9.30am. We look forward to seeing all our friends, old and new. Until then we wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year.

Committee members, from left, Roy Brown, Eric Atkins, Karen White, Guy Marriott and U3A member Mallory Glover in Hungarian Cinderella Photo credit: Sally Rush

Festive fun for the U3A

Javea U3A members had a treat at their last monthly meeting of the year at the Parador Hotel.

The general meeting business was replaced by another spectacular Christmas show – the annual Extravaganza.

A performance by the Costa Blanca Male Voice Choir started off the fun and was followed by a series of sketches and musical groups by U3A members.

The committee was unrecognisable in the shortened version of Hungarian Cinderella.

Members Lyndsey and Gary Johnson were hilarious in their respective sketches as an aerobics instructor and “father of the bride”.

There were then performances by the U3A Guitar Group, led by Phil Shepherd, and the Out of the Blue band, who got the audience into the Christmas spirit with some hearty carolling.

Linda Coughlin and Val Dromgoole finished the show as “stripping cleaners”!

The show was masterminded and compered by the U3A’s Events Co-ordinator Shirley King.

After the finale and an appreciative round of applause from the audience, there was the usual tradition of sherry and mince pies …. consumed in vast quantities by the 300 or so members who attended.

40

health New heart disease risk...down below A COMMON condition in men enlarged veins in the scrotum - may raise the risk for heart disease and diabetes, a new study suggests.

The problem is known medically as varicoceles. It affects about 15 per cent of men and can cause pain and infertility.

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers wanted to find out if varicoceles increase the risk for other health problems.

"Varicoceles are associated with low testosterone, and low testosterone in turn is associated with metabolic risks and heart disease," study lead author Dr. Nancy Wang said in a university news release.

Wang, a urology resident, and her colleagues analyzed the medical insurance records of 4,400 men with varicoceles and thousands of men without the condition.

Overall, the researchers found that men with varicoceles seemed to have a higher risk of heart disease. They also appeared more likely to have metabolic disease such as diabetes and high levels of fat in the blood (hyperlipidemia).

But further investigation showed that only varicoceles patients with

symptoms, especially scrotal pain and fertility problems, were at increased risk for these diseases.

More research is needed, however, before any recommendations can be made, the study authors said.

They acknowledged that the study found a strong correlation between varicoceles and heart disease, but further research is needed to determine if there's a cause and effect.

"While these results make a strong case that varicoceles are associated with higher risks of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, we do not yet know if we will need to change our present management for the estimated 17 million U.S. men with varicoceles," said Dr. Keith Jarvi, head of urology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

"The big question is, is a varicocele just a marker of men's health or could repair of the varicocele actually improve men's health in the long term?" said Jarvi, who wasn't involved in the study.

Energy boo Many people believe that detoxing can boost their energy and that superfoods will help in the fight against fatigue. But is there scientific evidence to back this up?

Detox doesn't boost energy Detox diets are often touted as energy boosters, but there’s no scientific evidence to support this claim. If you’re eating well, there’s no need to use these diets.

Detox supporters claim that our bodies are overloaded with "toxins" from pollution, smoking, food additives and so on. Detoxing is done through a range of methods, including massage, fasting followed by a strict diet of raw vegetables, fruit and fruit juices, and water; colonic irrigation, and supplements, usually taken over seven to 10 days. Supporters of detox claim this is a way to get rid of the toxins.

But there’s no scientific evidence to show that our bodies need help to get rid of waste products – this is what our kidneys do – and there's no proof that detox diets work.

The British Dietetic Association has said that detox diets are "marketing myths rather than nutritional reality".

So what does work?

Some people say they feel more focused and energetic after a detox diet. But this could be because they believe they’re doing something good for their bodies.

For the vast majority of people, a healthy, balanced diet based on starchy carbohydrates (wholegrain where possible), with lots of fruit and vegetables, plus some milk, dairy, meat or other source of lean sources of protein, is a better way to protect your health.

'Superfoods' are a myth Newspapers, magazines and the internet are full of stories about miracle superfoods. Celery, broccoli, beetroot juice, jam, popcorn, cereals and even the great British cuppa, to name just a few, have all been hyped as superfoods in the past two years.

There is no official definition of a superfood. The EU has banned the use of the word on product packaging, unless the claim is backed up by convincing research.

These claims are almost always exaggerated. It’s actually incredibly difficult to prove that one particular food is better for our health than all the others we eat. Studies on so-called superfoods tend not to do this.

So what does work?

When it comes to keeping healthy, it’s important to eat a

How to a cold Use a highly concentrated concealer These have a thick, creamy consistency and provide better coverage. A little goes a long way so you only need a small amount.

Choose a colour to neutralise the redness Using a yellow or green based concealer can help camouflage the redness. Then blend the area with a dab of a concealer that matches your skin tone.

Finish up with a dusting of finishing powder

41

health

ster myths and facts variety of foods, rather than concentrate on one food in the hope it will work miracles. Eat a balanced diet containing a range of foods to ensure you get the nutrients your body needs. Limit your intake of alcohol and high-fat, high-sugar and salty foods.

Energy drinks have mixed benefits Many people turn to energy drinks such as Red Bull and Lucozade Energy for a quick boost.

Energy drinks are loaded with sugar and caffeine (sometimes more than twice the caffeine that's in a can of cola) so they’ll certainly give you a temporary energy jolt. However, the boost is short-lived and may be accompanied by other problems.

The caffeine in energy drinks can make you feel irritable and restless. It can increase your blood pressure, while the sugar can contribute to weight gain, especially if you don’t exercise regularly.

So what does work?

Plain water is a better choice than an energy drink.

For a quick surge of energy, snack on fruit.

Vitamin supplements aren't as good as eating well Think taking a multivitamin each day will make you feel less tired? Think again.

Most people don’t need to take vitamin supplements, because they can get all the nutrients that they need from a healthy, balanced diet. Popping pills doesn't offer you the same benefits as eating well.

The Department of Health recommends certain supplements for some groups of people. As a general rule, it's better to get your vitamins from food rather than tablets.

Evidence suggests that fruit and vegetables are good for us, not just because of the individual vitamins and minerals they contain, but because of their combination of different nutrients and fibre. Increasing the amount of fruit and veg you eat will benefit your health more than taking supplements will.

So what does work?

Forget the multivitamin packs. Eat a healthy

cover sore This will help everything set. Remember, cold sores are contagious so use a disposable applicator like a cotton swab or a sponge that can be thrown away. Be sure to never double dip and wash your hands after.

Use a lip lacquer to provide protection It’s harder to lick off and it can help keep the area moist.

If you prefer to use lipstick, consider using a coffee stirrer to shave off a portion of it so you don’t contaminate your makeup.

balanced diet instead.

That will give you all the energy you need, as well as being good for your overall health.

When you feel good, you look good Which is why having glowing and radiant skin for any big occasion is a good start. If you don’t have a daily skincare routine, your skin might look grey and it needs energy. Just as Rome not was built in a day, it normally would take some time to make a change to the skin. But don’t worry - we have the solution for you. What is like magic to the skin is vitamins, antioxidants and hydration. Your skin will look illuminated and healthy after just one intensive professional treatment.

Now before Christmas most people wants to look extra good for the holidays, as families are getting together, and parties with friends are going on.

As Christmas preparations are stressful for many people, the skin can also suffer from this. Our best recommendation for the preparation of the skin for Christmas, would be a hydrating treatment with vitamins, a relaxing massage topped up with a glass of cava. Your skin will be illuminated and filled with new energy, shoulders relaxed, and as you enjoy the cava, hopefully you will see the new energy in the skin, and feel good!

50% discount on all medical peeling

Derma Clinic Spain are located at Camino del Pincho 2, 1, 03580, L´Alfaz del Pi, Alicante.

For more information call 674 255 579 or email info@dermaclinicspain.com. Alternatively see their Facebook page facebook.com/DermaClinicSpain

42

home & garden

Christmas recycling tips Along with the fun and festivities of Christmas comes a huge increase in household waste.

Enjoy this special time with a clear conscience by following RTN’s handy tips.

6. Take unwanted gifts to a charity shop Unfortunately, sometimes those we love don’t buy us presents we love! One man’s trash is another’s treasure though, so give those unwanted gifts to a charity shop and hopefully they will do some good for someone in need.

1. Recycle used cardboard and wrapping paper Toy packaging, Christmas wrapping paper, selection boxes, even Christmas crackers; remember to recycle all waste cardboard and paper this year. Flatten them down as much as possible and remove any plastic inserts, which may not be recyclable. Try to keep the paper and cardboard dry. If you don’t have a recycling bin or if it’s overflowing, you can use your local ecoparque.

2. Get creative and reuse Save your Christmas cards each year so you can cut the fronts into gift tags. This is a clever way of saving money, reducing waste and it gives you a unique and creative accent to your wrapping. Used wrapping paper, gift tags and cards can all also be upcycled into Christmas decorations like hanging tree ornaments or garlands. Being environmentally

7. Recycle glass Over the holidays, our consumption of food and drink rises, so it’s a good idea to think responsibly about all those extra jars and bottles left in the aftermath. Rinse out glass bottles or jars to get rid of any leftovers, then take the glass to your nearest bottle bank, putting each item into the correct bank for its colour. Metal lids should be removed and recycled separately with drink cans.

A total of 78% of all paper consumed in Spain was recycled in 2015

friendly can also mean being thrifty and having some fun.

3. Power through waste batteries All that playing over Christmas with battery powered toys may mean you are left with a mound of old batteries, which should be recycled.

4. Compost waste food It’s the most excessive time of year, when we eat and drink the most and we’re bound to leave some after us too. Dispose of any suitable leftovers in a compost bin to create a free and nutritious compost to help make your

ays ristmas Holid h C r fo d e s lo C 7-1-2018 24-12-2017 to

garden bloom come spring time.

5. Recycle old electrical items You may receive a great Christmas present that replaces an old electrical appliance or gadget.

Recycle old or broken electrical items at your local ecoparque.

8. Recycle plastic Check the bottom of plastic containers for a recycling symbol, usually a triangle with the number 1 or 2 inside, to see if you can recycle it. Rinse out any leftovers and then squash them to save space before recycling.

43

pets

Tips for keeping your pets safe at Christmas

• Choose Christmas decorations that are labelled non-toxic • Keep cables from Christmas tree lights out of reach or get a cable guard they can’t chew through, because rabbits, cats and dogs will try!

• Vacuum regularly to reduce the risk of real or fake pine needles being ingested by your pet • Don’t give your pets chocolate, it contains theobromine which is toxic to dogs and other pets • Don’t use edible decorations on your tree, they will be sniffed out and pulled down • If a gift contains food or chocolate don’t leave it under the tree. Your pet might open it before you get the chance and eat something that’s dangerous to them • Christmas plants may look pretty but poinsettias, mistletoe, holly, amaryllis, ferns and pine sap are poisonous to cats and dogs • If you’re having guests, make sure children are supervised when they are near your pet

to avoid injury to either party • Create a safe space for your pet – perhaps a spare bedroom or utility room – where they can escape the commotion. Put food, water, toys and a bed in there • Make sure all visitors know to close any doors, windows or gates to stop a panicked pet making an accidental escape • Don’t give your pet turkey or chicken bones – they can splinter and cause serious issues for your pet • Keep up your pets regular feeding and exercise routines to minimise upheaval • Long walks will tire out your dog and stop them getting bored or disruptive • Don’t choose the festive period to try your pet on a new diet. Stick to their usual routine as much as possible to minimise stress at this busy time • Rather than feeding them potentially harmful festive foods, why not involve your pet in the fun by treating them to a toy, collar or new bowl

Wanda

Blac kie

WANDA A female German Shepherd in need of a loving home.

She is seven years old.

Microchipped and has a full pet passport.

And y

BLACK & WHITE KITTEN arrived at ARC on 16TH December. He is 10 weeks old and a very sweet little cat. ARC also has many other dogs and cats needing homes. NO ADOPTION FEE ALTHOUGH A DONATION IS APPRECIATED.

ANDY This young boy has a stunning personality, medium sized, he is a good walker on lead, good with children, and is very laid back. He has the most amazing hazel eyes. Come along to Akira Shelter and gaze into his eyes, you´ll be smitten !

44 situations vacant

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bathrooms

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Hi, we are a dutch family of 5 looking for a holiday home (not apartment) in Albir, Altea or Alfaz (the lower areas below the Autopista.) Preferred areas are El planet, Jardin d’alfaz and Albir. We are searching for a house with a min of 3 bedrooms.

A seperate guesthouse and private pool are also on our wishlist. We are not afraid of some work are interested in houses between 200.000 and 350.000€. We are in town for Christmas holidays so we would be able to make appointments very soon.

Kind regards, Mathijs, Kim and the boys. Email: vogelstokje@hotmail.com or tlf: 0031-6 53 21 21 38 (256137)

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45

REMOVALS & STORAGE

Wordwheel Solution

Last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s puzzle answers (Issue 947)

en

fon

son

fens

ions

ones

cones icons

noses scorn

coiner noesis rosins sonsie incross

in

ins

cine

fern

iron

rein

corns

infer

oncer senor

ne

ion

cion

fine

neif

rins

crone

infos

orcin

serin

confer noises scions censors orceins conies nosier scones cession oscines

ni

nef

coin

fino

ness

sine

eosin

irone

ornis

seron

nor

cone

fins

nice

sins

ferns

irons

recon

since

cosine orcein scorns coiners

nos

coni

firn

noes

sion

finer

neifs

reins

sines

one

cons

foin

noir

sone

fines

nicer

resin

siren

corn

fons

nori

sons

finos

noirs

rinse

snore

eon

ons

sorn

firns

noise

risen

ern

rin

eons

icon

nose

cines

foins

noris

rosin

conifers serins conifer recoin essoin forensic sones cosines recons sirens icones fornices sonic

fen

sen

erin

info

once

cions

freon

norse

scion

sorns

fin

sin

erns

inro

oner

coins

frons

noser

scone censor irones rinses sonics frisson forensics

no on con ens

crones orcins senior coinfer enosis oscine senors confers eosins ossein sensor confess

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46

motoring

Spain leads EU car registrations

POSITIVE: Spain among the best in the EU. UK in negative territory Photo credit: Twitter

IN NOVEMBER 2017, registrations of new passenger cars in the EU totalled 1,216,702 units.

Demand increased by 5.9 per cent compared to the same month last year, mostly driven by the fact that there was one extra working day this November. Nearly all major EU markets performed well: Spain (+12.4 per cent) and France (+10.3 per cent) posted double-digit growth, followed by Germany (+9.4 per cent) and Italy (+6.8 per cent). The UK car market, however, contracted for the eighth consecutive month, with registrations falling by 11.2 per cent in November.

Eleven months into the year, the European car market continued its positive momentum (+4.1 per cent), counting more than 14 million new passenger cars registered. Among the five big markets, Italy (+8.7 per cent) and Spain (+7.8 per cent) recorded the strongest gains, followed

by France (+5.3 per cent) and Germany (+3.0 per cent). By contrast, car demand in the United Kingdom has decreased by 5.0 per cent so far in 2017.

47

sport A former player, Tony Matthews is now the world’s most prolific author of football books with 150 published since 1975. He has also been a PE teacher, policeman, radio correspondent and is now a quizorganiser and fund–raiser, for various charities.

Start with cricket and the Ashes are back in Australian hands after England were smashed by an innings and 41 runs in the third Test Match in Perth.

Dismissed for 403 in their first innings, Joe Root’s team saw the Aussies pile up 662-9 declared with Steve Smith scoring a majestic 239 while Mitchell Marsh hit 181. Then, second time round, Root’s men collapsed to 218 all out.

England’s ‘Barmy Army’ of supporters hope they don’t witness another five-nil whitewash!

Onto football, and this weekend sees the 175th La Liga and the 270th El Clasico meeting overall between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeau with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi opposing each other once again. In fact, the two imperious marksmen have netted over 1,225 goals between them in almost 1,600 club and international matches since 2002.

Recent action in the Premiership saw record-breaking Manchester City make it 16 straight wins and remain 11 points clear at the top, with a 4-1 victory over Tottenham…. Arsenal edged past Newcastle 1-0…. Chelsea also pipped Southampton 1-0 … Crystal Palace scored their first away goals of the season in winning 3-0 at Leicester… West Ham won 3-0 at Stoke… Huddersfield clipped Watford 4-1… Liverpool eased to a 4-0 victory at Bournemouth… and Manchester United defeated lowly West Brom 2-1.

Wolves lead the Championship by four points after their latest win at Sheffield Wednesday while in Scotland, Celtic’s 69 domestic ended in devastating fashion when they were smashed 4-0 by Hearts at Tynecastle last Sunday.

Earlier this week the four quarter-final League Cup-ties featured Arsenal-West Ham and Leicester-Manchester City on Tuesday and Chelsea-Southampton and Bristol City-Manchester United on Wednesday.

The top PL matches coming up include ArsenalLiverpool, Burnley-Spurs, Everton-Chelsea, LeicesterManchester United and Manchester City-Bournemouth before Christmas, followed on Boxing Day by ChelseaBrighton, Crystal Palace-Arsenal, Liverpool-Swansea, Manchester United-Burnley, Newcastle-Manchester City, Spurs-Southampton and WBA-Everton.

In the Championship over the festive season we have Aston Villa-Sheffield United, Bristol City-Reading, Cardiff-Fulham, Millwall-Wolves and SunderlandBirmingham; it’s Wigan-Shrewsbury and Luton-Grimsby in Leagues 1 & 2 and Celtic-Aberdeen and RangersMotherwell in the SPL. And these teams will seemingly end 2017 leading their respective Premier Leagues: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain, Porto, Sturm Graz and Young Boys (Berne).

The World Darts Championship continues at London’s Ally Pally where Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor is taking part for the last time before retirement.

There’s action in Rugby Union’s European Champions Cup, European Challenge Cup and British & Irish Cup with Bath, Leinster, Munster, Ospreys and Wasps hoping to repeat recent results.

As usual there are several horse race meetings taking place with Boxing Day’s King George VI Chase at Kempton Park the main event.

It’s been confirmed that Alpha Romeo will have a car competing in F1 next year – teaming up with Sauber and Ferrari. The last time Alpha Romeo started on the grid was in 1985.

And finally the BBC TV Sports Personality of the Year for 2017 is Sir Mo Farah who was presented with his award in Liverpool last Sunday. England’s women cricketers won the Team of the Year prize; Jessica Ennis Hill received a Lifetime Achievement Award and Manchester City footballer Phil Foden was named as the Young Sportsman of the Year.