Euro Weekly News - Costa Blanca South 21 - 27 December 2017 Issue 1694

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Issue 948

22nd-28th December 2017

Reporting The News

Life saving mobile app developed

by Glenn Scott

RESCUE: Mobile phone app could cut the vital time needed to rescue the trapped and the missing

A PROFESSOR from the University of Alicante has developed a potential life-saving application that can locate missing people...even if there is no ‘phone coverage where they are.

José Ángel Berná Galiano – a professor at the Department of Physics and Systems Engineering and Signal Theory at the UA – is a mountaineering enthusiast and it was that which motivated him to develop a unique piece of technology that finds injured or missing people where the speed of rescue is essential to save lives.

The system could also be used in emergency situations such as earthquakes, floods, and forest fires where mobile telephone networks can be severely damaged.

Professor Galiano said: “We have designed an application that can be incorporated into any smartphone

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and, without having mobile coverage, emits a WiFi signal which acts as a distress beacon and can reach a distance of several kilometres.”

The signal sent out contains the location coordinates of the missing or injured person which can be detected by a lightweight portable device – also developed by the professor – that would be used by the rescue teams.

When an incident occurs, the holder of the mobile phone only has to activate the app that will periodically send out a distress beacon which could continue for hours or even days at a time. During tests of the app both on land and at sea, it was discovered that the signal was being received up to three kilometres away, with the possibility of increasing this coverage capacity as the app development continues.

Similar technology exists to trace people from mobile phone signals but not from Wi-Fi.

Inside this week...

flu outbreak

P6 post office delivery improvements

P11 rise and fall of birth, marriage and deaths

P15

2

Fancy a bit of winter snow?

A NUMBER of young people living in Murcia will be able to benefit from a selection of subsidised winter activity holidays. A total of 750 places are being offered by the community – 200 more than last time – to take part in ski holidays in the resorts of Sierra Nevada, Granada, and Formigal, in the Pyrenees.

The scheme – called Murcia Bajo Cero – is open to young Murcian people aged between 14 and 36-yearsold and will see 15 scheduled trips undertaken by people from 19 municipalities (Albudeite, Águilas, Abarán, Alcantarilla, Archena, Bullas, Cartagena, Cehegín, Jumilla, Lorca, Los Alcázares, Mazarrón, Molina de Segura, Mula , Murcia, Puerto Lumbreras, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar and Yecla).

Full details can be found at www.mundojoven.org

Home improvement scheme revealed ON THE TILES: Roofing improvements part of home subsidy plans

by Steve Collins THE Murcia region has announced a scheme to help around 1,000 families to improve the quality of their homes.

An amount up to €15,000 per family can be applied for to repair or upgrade properties in 11 municipalities in the region. The deadline for submitting applications is January 16, 2018 and all the projects must

be completed by October 31.

The areas included in the scheme are Cartagena, Alcantarilla, Totana, Mula, Santomera, Abarán, Ceutí, Fortuna, Blanca, Albudeite and Ojós from which the 1,000 families will be chosen, and was announced in the Official Bulletin for the Region of Murcia (BORM).

The maximum subsidy – exactly €14,850 per house – is planned to cover

around 50 per cent of the amount of the cost of the renovations and will cost over €3.5 million to implement.

Pedro Rivera from the Ministry of Development said that the aim is to “promote the revitalisation of the urban areas of the municipalities selected and convert them into more attractive environments and improve the energy efficiency at the same time.”

Roman theatre celebrates visitor numbers

VISITOR numbers to the Roman Theatre Museum in Cartagena have grown by 7 per cent, and the figures come at the same time as a planned three-year extension to the project has been announced.

Between January and the end of November, the museum received 211,131 visitors, which represents a new record for the period and takes the overall number of people who have visited since its opening in 2008 to more than 1.5 million.

Tourism minister Javier Celdrán said, on presenting the tourist numbers: “This museum consolidates itself as being the most visited in the Murcia region.”

During the next three years until 2021 and coinciding with the 2018 European

Year of Cultural Heritage, there will be an expansion of the attractions at the Roman Theatre that will see some new technologies allowing the visitors to experience a number of virtual reality projects. This will begin during spring 2018 which is the 10th anniversary of the Roman Theatre.

An initiative has also been introduced to enable those with visual disabilities to enjoy the experience. The system is an app that can be downloaded to a mobile phone to enable them to independently move through a series of markers laid down along the route that warn them of possible obstacles and how far it is to certain exhibits.

3

Garden of Reflection beats the vandals

by Lynn Whittaker WITHIN days of potentially having seven months of hard work ruined, a group of residents based on Urbanisation La Marina fought back and have seen the fruits of their labours justified.

The Garden of Reflection suffered a major blow at the start of the month when vandals daubed graffiti across the white painted wall about to be used to mount plaques to remember friends and loved ones, and the surrounding garden saw other elements damaged and deliberately vandalised.

But thanks to some wonderful support from a dedicated team and the generosity of some local builders, the damage was made

good and just six days after the remembrance plaques had been proudly placed on the wall for all to see, to reflect and to shed the smallest of tears.

The Garden of Reflection was the idea of local resident Debbie Alger who was inspired following the aftermath of the tragic bombing in Manchester this year. “We organised a vigil on the Urbanisation and during the emotional moments of silence, it got me thinking that there is nowhere locally for some of us to remember the friends and families we’ve lost,” said Debbie. “I realised that if I wanted to light a candle or place some flowers somewhere in memory of my lovely Dad, Wilf, on his birthday or Father’s Day, there was nowhere. I then had the idea of the

EMOTIONAL: A handful of relatives see their late family members honoured for the first time on ‘the wall’ Garden of Reflection.”

Debbie plans to have a formal opening of the Garden of Reflection soon and she also hopes to encourage other urbanisations and

communities to take up her idea to allow others of all nationalities to have this permanent tribute to their loved ones, especially if there’s no existing memorial in Spain.

A not so ‘Happy’ man!

LOCAL POLICE arrested a 26-year-old man in Orihuela after leaving a petrol station without paying the €10 for the fuel. The alarm was raised by the garage owner and the police gave chase to the

‘On yer bike’ with Poppy Golf

What a terrific amount was raised toward the Poppy Appeal by the raffle for the electric GTech bike that was donated by keen cyclist Sharron Mather and her husband Ken. The final amount which was announced last week by organiser Mick ‘the Grip’ Reeves, was 1890 euro. Thank you so much to all those who participated. The money really will be put to good use.

The winning ticket was drawn by Sharron at the Clubhouse Restaurant, Vistabella Golf, with proprietor Robin Parkes acting as the adjudicator. The winner of the bike was Doug House from Bar UK in Torre de la Horadada with the consolation prize, of four Vistabella green fees and buggies, won by Simon Lee from The Plaza Golf Society based at The Ale House in Villamartin Plaza. Once again, grateful thanks for all the money raised and to all who helped in making the final total so successful.

man around a number of local streets before the car lost control and crashed into a roundabout on Calle Nicolás de Bussy. During a routine search of the car and the driver, police found 104 grams

of cocaine concealed inside a McDonalds Happy Meal box with a street value of €7,000. It’s understood that the detained man has a previous record for drugs crimes and theft.

4

Lowest inflation rises for six successive months Photo credit YouTube

GRADUAL: Prices are rising...but not so fast

by Ray Chadwick ACCORDING to the latest data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in the Murcia region rose by 0.7 per cent in November compared to the previous month. The increase placed Murcia as the thirdhighest autonomous community just behind Cantabria and Navarra that registered 0.8 per cent, and equal with Asturias and Galicia.

However, the year-on-year inflation figure for Murcia that grew to 1.2 per cent was one of the lowest recorded across Spain. The national rate was 1.7 per cent, and has been blamed on the increases in fuel costs and home heating oil. The Valencia autonomous community also returned a 1.7 per cent annual inflation rise.

In sectors, those showing the highest price increases were clothing and footwear (6.2 per cent), transport, (1 per cent), housing (0.8 per cent), others (0.7

per cent), household goods, hotels, restaurants and cafes (0.2 per cent) and alcohol (0.1 per cent).

On hearing of the figures for November, the Murcia employers association (CROEM) noted that: “For the sixth consecutive month this year, the region has registered some of the lowest inflation rises. If these figures continue until the end of the year and in to the early part of 2018, it would aid the economic recovery we’re experiencing.”

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Local police unhurt in drink-drive crash horror A MAN found to be driving a car with double the permitted rate of alcohol in his system has crashed into a police car in Torrevieja.

The accident happened at the start of the month but details have only just been made public. The local police officers, who were on patrol on a call-out to a complaint about loud music in a nearby house, were left uninjured by the impact of the collision which totally destroyed the front of their car. According to reports, the offending car drove through a stop sign at the junction of Calle Almudena and Calle Maestro Francisco Casanova in Torrevieja at around 2.25am and hit the police car containing two officers. The car was a BMW 530 and driven by a man believed to be holding Slovakian nationality, and was driving so fast through the stop sign that the police were unable to react in time to avoid the crash. The man was tested positive for alcohol and arrested at the scene, and later stated that he didn’t see either the stop sign or the patrol car.

6

Early flu outbreak puts hospitals under pressure

The cash came out... but not the customers TWO groups of firefighters were deployed to a bank branch in Murcia to release two people who became locked in the foyer. The couple were inside the bank using the ATM cashpoint machine when the premises was closed on Díez de Revenga and then discovered that the outside security door wouldn’t open.

BACKLOG: Beds already seen in many hospital corridors

by Glenn Scott HOSPITALS in the Murcia region are already under a considerable strain due to flu outbreaks, and the increase in patients has put into question the effectiveness of the Accident and Emergency departments.

There has been a build up of beds in the corridors in the main hospitals at Arrixaca, Reina Sofía, Morales Meseguer and Santa Lucia and the Ministry of Health has announced a number of measures to attempt to reduce the pressure of care.

In one morning, the Arrixaca Hospital had 42 patients awaiting admission as well as another 23 in Cartagena, 16 at the Reina Sofía, nine in the Mar Menor and eight in the Hospital Morales Meseguer.

Each of these hospitals have seen reinforcements in the triage system and the number of discharges will be streamlined over the coming days, which will include a series of tests given to patients to ensure they are fit to leave and faster transfers back to their homes.

The increase in patients due to the extra flu cases and the arrival of the cold weather isn’t only affecting hospitals

but also the first ports of call, namely the doctor’s surgeries and the clinics.

They are being encouraged to reorganise their usual schedules to leave more gaps to deal with urgent cases and reduce the number of appointments attended by the doctors.

The Minister of Health explained that Spain is still at the pre-epidemic level of influenza, with less than 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and that in the Murcia region it is expected that the peak of flu cases will happen towards the end of January and early February.

Luckily, they had a mobile phone with them and called the police who in turn alerted the fire brigade from their base in Parque Espinardo who attended the scene. Their arrival did cause concern to some local residents as they heard the sirens deployed on the fire engines and believed there was a fire nearby.

Hospital makes prestigious short list MURCIA’S Santa Lucia University General Hospital has been included in the final list of health institutions vying for the prestigious prize.

The highly-rated hospital is the only centre in the Murcia region selected for the ‘Excellence in Nursing Care’ award for this year, and has been recognised for the level of its implementation of good practice guidelines.

The purpose of the award is to encourage a national network of medical centres committed to an excellence in care.

Motorway tolls to increase from January 1 FOR the first time in four years, tolls on motorways throughout Spain will be increased.

After both a price freeze and two slight reductions in the cost, prices will increase by around 2 per cent; the measure coinciding with recent data suggesting that more vehicles are using the country’s toll roads.

The three-year freeze was due to an agreement reached in 2002 between the Government and those given the concession to operate the roads, and was then linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The latter figure meant

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that the tolls had to be reduced by 0.4 and 0.6 per cent.

However, this now means that as from January 1, 2018 the tolls will need to be increased by 1.91 per cent.

The higher prices mean that the toll between Alicante and Valencia will increase by just 30 cents to €17.30. Drivers will see a 10 cent rise between Benidorm and Alicante and those on the A-7 stretch to Cartagena will see the price of the tolls needing to be paid at booths in Los Montesinos and La Zenia upped by between 5 and 10 cents.

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8

Thousands spent by council on chairs criticised ARE you sitting comfortably? If you’re not, then 24 members of the Almoradí council certainly are in their brand new chairs that have cost more than €10,000...not each!

The Almoradí City Council has spent €416 on each seat that is going to be used by the councillors and the mayoress, María Gómez and have been placed in the council chamber to be used during the official sessions.

The decision taken by the coalition governing group of the Partido Popular (PP) and the Ciudadano (C’s) has been heavily criticised by opposition party Izquierda Unida (IU) as a waste.

“Is this kind of expense what the people of the municipality want to see?”

The seats are wooden with a classical design with wheels and armrests and upholstered in red. The controversy doesn’t just end with the amount expended on them, as the IU are asking why a company outside of Almoradí were commissioned with supplying the chairs considering the municipality contains several local furniture stores.

Mayor María Quiles explained that as from after the 2019 municipal elections there will be an increase in councillors to 21 from the present 17 since

Photo credit Youtube

by Steve Collins

Broken ribs sustained in bike collision TWO people have been injured in an accident in Torrevieja that involved a car and a motorcycle.

The bike rider was hurt after being rammed by a Fiat car on the busy Avenida Purísima close to the Playa del Cura after it allegedly went through a stop sign.

The motorcyclist was left lying in the road and when the paramedics arrived he complained of severe pains in his lungs which are believed to have been caused by broken ribs.

A large amount of petrol had seeped from the crashed motorbike and local cleaning services were summoned to the scene to clean the stain from the road to avoid further accidents.

Bomb team called to suspicious bank package RESPONSIBLE: Mayor of Almoradí María Quiles said she did not choose the chairs that cost over €400 each the municipality has now broken the 20,000 inhabitants registered on the padrón. Add to that the numbers of extra officials that will be accompanying the councillors, the current chairs simply take up too much space and hence the need to buy lighter ones.

“I have not chosen the chairs,” said

Quiles. “I was only responsible for authorising the purchase. It’s a mid-range model and they are designed to last for many years.” She also added that the chairs had been bought from the company that won the tender as there is “currently no company in Almoradí that is dedicated to office furniture.”

NATIONAL POLICE officers in Cartagena were called to a branch of the Mare Nostrum Bank in Calle Juan Fernandez following reports of a suspicious package on the premises.

Two members of the specialist bomb disposal team were dispatched to the scene after employees discovered an abandoned bag containing a suspicious item that could have been a homemade explosive device.

The location of the bank - in front of the Santa Florentina market and being close to a school, especially at 2pm - caused a higher level of alarm than usual. When they arrived, the officers found that the bag only contained clothes and safely took the suspect package away.

10

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Judge releases nine Guardia Civil officers on bail

by Ray Chadwick AFTER being in prison for more than a month, a judge in Torrevieja has released, on bail, the nine members of the Guardia Civil sentenced for alleged drug trafficking and corruption, among other charges. Depending on what is believed to be the extent of their involvement in the case, they have each paid between €3,000 and €18,000.

The officers from Torrevieja and Pilar de la Horadada had been imprisoned for more than a month after being arrested by their own colleagues investigating drugs, corruption and bribery issues.

They are among at least 26 people that have been investigated in this case and four people apart from the Guardia Civil officers are still in custody.

Alongside the bonds that have been set, in addition to the money the judge has imposed a series of precautionary measures that mean the officers have to appear before the courts twice a month.

They also have to surrender their passports and are also prohibited

Hiker rescued while injured fisherman has to wait A 45-year-old woman hiker needed rescuing by a helicopter after suffering a fall.

She was part of a walking group that were on the way to the sea via the Cala del Bolete in Cartagena. The emergency 112 number was called but because of the terrain where the woman was and difficult for the normal emergency services to access, a special 4 x 4 vehicle from the Murcia Health Service (SMS) was called out to reach the scene.

On their arrival, and within 20 minutes of it being requested, a rescue helicopter was mobilised to continue with the operation and take the woman to the Santa Lucia Hospital in Cartagena.

However, a consequence of the rescue of the woman hiker was that a fisherman that has earlier fallen between rocks located on Playa del Lastre and had suffered minor injuries had to be left at his location a little longer.

from leaving Spain. Furthermore, and an extension to an order imposed immediately after their arrest, the nine officers are still prohibited from possessing any weapons that they have as part of their role as Guardia Civil officers.

Representing the officers, the

Unified Association of Guardia Civil Officers (AUGC) has released a statement asking for further clarification as to the origins of the original investigations and the subsequent judicial decision that has resulted in their members now being released on bail.

Drugs and alcohol found in ten percent of drivers DURING the week between December 11 and 17, alcohol and drugs tests carried out on a number of drivers return positive results.

In the course of the six days control – concentrated on the car park located by the port ‘El Hombre del Mar’ – a combined total of 93 tests (48 alcohol and 45 drugs) were carried out for four and five people testing positive respectively.

The overwhelming majority of these checks were carried out during the

evening of Friday December 15 by one of local police inspectors, Óscar Cartón González, and with the support of 10 officers.

A total of three control points were set up during the campaign, and those testing positive for drugs in their system were found to have taken cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines; some with a mixture of two or all three. Apart from the drink and drugs offenders, two cars were found to have an expired ITV (MOT) certificate.

11

Correas announces Correos delivery improvements

by Lynn Whittaker RESIDENTS and businesses living in a number of places in San Miguel de Salinas will shortly be receiving their mail closer to home.

Normal postal services operated by Correos cannot be delivered, legally, to addresses that are beyond a specified distance from an urban area. They can only deliver certificated letters to such locations. Affected residents in San Miguel de Salinas have been demanding a solution to this frustrating issue for some years which currently means they have

CORREOS: Coming to you soon

WhatsApp pest finally gets the message THE Provincial Court in Alicante has sentenced a man to 15 months imprisonment for the crime of gender violence.

The Orihuela man was found to have bullied his partner to the extent of

sending 469 messages via the mobile phone WhatsApp system in the space of a month.

On top of the prison sentence, the guilty man was also ordered to pay the victim – whom he

have lived with for 12 years and was the father to three children with her - €1,000 in compensation.

In addition, he has been ordered not to go anywhere near the woman or communicate with here

Choose presents wisely

ADDICTION: Picking the right present is essential PAEDIATRIC specialists at the Hospital QuirónSalud Torrevieja have taken the opportunity ahead of Christmas to emphasise that choosing the right presents for children is important and significant for their future development.

These comments have been made

by Doctor María Mínguez from the acclaimed hospital in Torrevieja who said that at this time of the year, it’s more important than usual for parents to make sure they choose appropriate gifts. “Toys should be fun and play a big role in the development of a child’s physical and mental health,” she said.

Doctor Mínguez warns of the excessive use of technology in games and toys that can also affect the mental health of a child, but also due to the

complexity of some of the games they can develop important hand-eye coordination reflexes. However, as she said, “their uncontrolled use can create addictions that can sometimes intensify the risk of social isolation.”

In addition to the fun element of toys and games and the interaction between adults and children in a family environment – the positive side that educates and enhances a child’s creativity – there is a downside. Excessive dedication to videogames can lead to a sedentary lifestyle at an early age that can lead to the development of obesity and related conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure and cholesterol.

The recommendation from Dr Mínguez is for games to be chosen that don’t prejudice a child’s future well-being.

to have their own post office box in the main office based in the municipality and have to travel to their to collect them.

This is now going to change as San Miguel council has brought in a by-law to ensure a daily delivery to some of these outlying urbanisations although it comes with a small charge. For a fee of €120 for a period of 15 years, 50 multi-address mailboxes will be installed by the municipality.

As explained by Councillor Sergio Correas, there aren’t many municipalities that have put such initiatives into place even though there are a number

for three years.

According to the legal reports, the man “exercised an obsessive control over her which seriously disturbed her and prevented her from living a normal life.” The

WhatsApp messages from the man asked her incessantly where she was, when she was coming home and demanded her return as soon as possible.

The man had also been accused of sexual assault,

of examples of urbanisations that are isolated from their nearest urban centre, although there are a handful in the north of the Alicante province.

It’s understood that around 15 outlying residential areas will come under the scheme, and benefit from the first 50 groups of mailboxes. Councillor Correas believes that it will encourage other communities to participate in the project to ensure that their mail arrives in a timely fashion – especially with more parcels being sent these days – and save the current yearly fee of €70 paid to Correos.

abuse and other injuries for which the prosecution council had been asking for a total of 53 years in prison. However, the court acquitted him of those charges as they were not proved during the trial.

100 arrested this year for fake insurance claims

by Glenn Scott SO FAR this year, officers of the National Police in Alicante have arrested around 100 people for the reporting of fake crimes.

The vast majority of those detained have made denuncias for events that never happened in the first place or that they greatly exaggerated the facts.

During investigations, a number of people had reported they had been the victims of robbery with violence and intimidation, with the sole objective of defrauding their insurance companies for the ‘theft’ of their personal property.

Making false complaints is a criminal offence and of the almost 100 arrests this year a majority has been concerned with the alleged theft of mobile phones, when those reporting the crimes have in fact only lost them.

Of course, reporting fake crime only forms a minority of the claims made each year, and those that are caught lead to police and criminal records that stay with the claimants throughout their lives and lead to a number of repercussions in the future.

MOBILES: Most fake insurance claims are for ‘stolen’ phones Photo credit: Pixabay

12 Photo credit Policia de Murcia

Almost half of school transport had deficiencies

RESISTANCE: Erratic driver stopped before causing more damage

“Crazy and reckless” dangerous driver arrested

by Ray Chadwick LOCAL POLICE in Murcia have arrested a man for driving in what they describe as a “crazy and reckless” manner in the city centre.

The 36-year-old Moroccan man who lives in Murcia was detained after he apparently jumped a red light, hit a number of bollards and ended up driving on the wrong side of the road. In addition, he crashed into both parked and moving cars, signposts and fences, causing varying degrees of damage in the process in

different parts of the city.

The whole incident lasted close to two hours when the driver began his dangerous journey around 12 noon on the Gran Via Alfonso X el Sabio. Police ended up blocking the exit at the Jesús María School around 2pm and were spotted by the reckless driver in his Audi A-4. At this point the offending car jumped a red light, putting pedestrians and several children at risk as they were crossing the road at the time.

Police officers had already noticed the erratic way the man was driving and also saw the front number plate

was missing, so they ran after the car that by now had been caught up in traffic and tried to get the man out of the car. He then tried to move off, once again putting at risk pedestrians but the on-foot police again caught up with him and tried to remove him from his vehicle. He responded with a serious of kicks and punches before being restrained with the help of three other members of the National Police who were close by and off-duty at the time.

The man was tested positive for both alcohol and cocaine.

A CAMPAIGN initiated by the Spanish Traffic Department (DGT) at the end of November focused on many aspects of school transport.

The results have now been announced by Government delegate to the Valencian Community, Juan Carlos Moragues, after a review of 329 vehicles in the Alicante province...which found themselves in second place in terms of complaints and issues.

During the campaign, 146 vehicles were found to have defaults ranging from incorrect documentation, lack of appropriate insurance cover, and deficiencies in the doors that included emergency exits.

Moragues said: “The safe transportation of school children is one of the priorities of the DGT and these campaigns are carried out to reinforce awareness of the subject. Even though there were no fatalities related to school transport during last year, it doesn’t mean out guard can be lowered and we need to maintain high standards.”

13

Guardia Civil help with Brazilian ‘phone scam’

by Lynn Whittaker

ON LINE: Guardamar man hears kidnap scam unfolding

OFFICERS from the Torrevieja Guardia Civil have intervened to stop an extortion scam in Brazil. The money was being demanded in order to release a friend of a resident of Guardamar del Segura – a 60-year-old man - who raised the alarm.

According to reports, the man received a video call from a 72-year-old woman friend of his from Brazil, during which she received a telephone call on her mobile phone from an unknown source that claimed they had kidnapped members of her family – her daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren – and were asking for a ransom of around 7,000 Reales (approx €2,000).

The alleged kidnappers kept the woman on the phone for 11 hours, during which they managed to get her bank details after threatening her family with harm. They convinced her that all of her phones were being moni-

tored to stop her from raising the alarm and at one point, one of the scammers pretended to be one of her own relatives, putting her at an even greater unease.

The man in Guardamar – listening to all of this taking place from thousands of miles away – attempted to mediate in the situation but the woman was told to cut the line. Instead, she kept him on line but turned off the sound and it was at this point he called the Guardia Civil.

Once they arrived on the scene, and after using a series of notes to communicate with the woman via the video link, they contacted the Spanish Embassy in Brazil who managed to find the supposed hostages – all safe and well – and let them continue with the investigation.

It appears to be a common scam in Brazil and if people always ask for less than 10,00 Reales to be taken the bank is never alerted to the possible crime.

Millions awarded for motorway improvements CENTRAL Government in Madrid has given the green light for a total investment of €74.4 million for a programme of works on roads that connect to the coast. The Murcia

region will benefit from a substantial amount of that budget, with €14.4 million coming their way to improve three major roads in the area.

Specifically, maintenance and conservation work will be carried out on the RM-1 (Zeneta-San Javier), RM-19 (San Javier) and RM-12 (La Manga) which see an average

of 55,000 vehicles a day using the roads; a figure that increases to 100,00 during the busy month of August.

The investment will be distrib-

uted over a period of four years – between 2018 and 2021 – with the first two totalling €2,863,276 and €4,341,125 in the subsequent two years.

24 feb - 2 march 2017

Rise and fall of births, marriages and deaths

ABOVE AVERAGE: Murcia bucks the Spanish national trend

by Steve Collins IN a series of figures released by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) it’s the mothers of Murcia that have the highest birth rate.

The data also shows that the people of Madrid have the longest life expectancy and those on the Canary Islands that marry later in life.

The numbers show that for the year 2016, the crude birth rate for the Murcia region was 10.57 (the rate per 1,000 of the population at the mid-point of the year) which was above the 8.80 national figure. Murcia were also second in the list where there

was a positive increase in the population with 1,327 (births minus deaths), coming behind Madrid with 5,163.

The Murcia region has a fluctuation of population related figures. They may be high in the numbers of birth rates and a positive population increase but they have one of the lowest drops in the numbers of marriages – down 15 per cent and the highest on the Spanish mainland. The average age of first time mothers is 31.22 and for getting married (32.76) with both ages among the youngest in the country.

Madrid is the community with the longest life expectancy, up to 84.54 years on average, ahead of Navarra (83.83) and Castilla y León (83.82).

‘Helpless’ boat owner watches sinking A 9 METRE long fishing boat has sunk in the port in Torrevieja. The vessel was docked at the fishing pier and only the bow of the boat remained visible.

The owner of the Susana was seen quite helpless on the dock watching his prized possession going down, and according to

reports there was nothing he could do after being warned that his boat was slowly sinking.

A crane was needed to pull the vessel from the bottom of the port and the only remains of the incident was a fuel spill that was clearly visible on the water.

Pre-Christmas police campaign completed DURING pre-Christmas campaign, the local police in Cartagena stopped a total of 1,435 vehicles looking for drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

480 tests were carried out, during which 12 drivers tested positive for alcohol and four for cannabis...just 3 per cent of the total. According to a report from the municipality of Cartagena, 34 people were also stopped for speeding and a further 42 for not having an up-to-date ITV (MOT) certificate.

15

16

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.

18

Supermarket generosity SUPERMARKET chain DIA has donated over 3,800,000 kilos of food to the country’s food banks during this year, with 35,000 kilos of that total finding its way to the Murcia region. That figure represents an increase of 6.1 per cent compared to the previous year. The company specified that the overall figure includes deliveries from its warehouses (more than 800,000 kilos) and donations from customers as part of the ‘Great Food Collection’ accounting for 2,800,000 kilos.

Around 2,000 of the DIA supermarkets took part in the campaign across the country, and since the campaign began in 2012 their donations have totalled more than 14.5 million kilos.

Permanent jobs on the increase FIGURES included in a report by ADECCO, the Murcia region is leading the way in the creation of salaried jobs.

One in three workers in the region is temporary but with a rate of 35.6 per cent – exceeding the national average by 8.2 per cent – it far and away tops the list for the eventual movement into full-time salaried work.

For the third quarter of 2017, the growth in salaried employment has reached 4.3 per cent for Murcia and is the second highest of all the autonomous communities, only exceeded by the Canary Islands with 4.8 per cent.

Overall in Spain, the number of employed people has increased by 521,700 people in the last year – a 2.8 per cent increase on 2016 – while the number of self-employed as fallen by 30,700 (1.5 per cent)

A listening ear for Christmas

by Staff Reporter Last weekend Costa Blanca Samaritans were kindly invited by Iceland, Torrevieja to come and do some bag packing for its customers.

It’s a busy time and Samaritans appreciated the opportunity to raise some funds and most importantly, also raise awareness of what they do and how easy it is to speak with them – 24/7, on anything that’s a worry. €540 was approximately raised over the two days and Iceland’s customers certainly appreciated the help.

Samaritans in Spain offers a completely confidential and non-judgmental emotional support service around the clock, every day of the year.

This listening service is for any English speaker, old or young, male or female. More than 45% of men who responded to an online survey last year by Samaritans UK said they felt more worried at Christmas than any other time of the year.

The Samaritans charity always encourages anyone to seek help by calling them to offload if things are getting to them - especially over the festive period when there is huge pressure on us all to celebrate. Unfortunately, some may simply feel too anxious, fearful or depressed.

This time of year can be challenging for those recently bereaved, or in financial difficulty, dealing with relationship issues, or any other situation causing them distress. Christmas is a particularly tough period too for people living alone, which is why volunteers will be available round the clock, for anyone who is struggling to cope, including on Christmas day.

These inspirational people keep a vital service running every single day of the year when many others are closed. For more information about the work of Samaritans In Spain please go to www.samaritansinspain.com and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Email pat@samaritansinspain.com or call FREE on 900 525 100.

Raising much needed money at Iceland’s Torrevieja

19

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Demands for mandatory driver drugs testing SECRETARY General of the Regional Federation of Transport Business Organisations of Murcia (FROET), Manuel Pérezcarro, has led the call for companies to be able to demand drugs tests from drivers before they recruit them.

The proposed tests will also include those on the liver to determine if they have related diseases such as cirrhosis and thus related to potential alcohol abuse.

Pérezcarro said that even though there are only a relatively small number of cases reported, the fact there are some is a case for concern. FROET had been demanding the inclusion of such checks in mandatory medical examinations for some years.

Two injured in poolside fall drama

TWO Swedish women – a mother and her daughter aged 70 and 40 – were injured after falling over four metres into an empty swimming pool that was being built in their property in Calle Costa de la Luz on Ciudad Quesada.

According to reports, the pair were leaning on a balustrade overlooking the pool under construction when it collapsed, causing them to fall into the hole below which contained a number of metal reinforcement polls.

The 70-year-old mother had to be rescued by the fire service and taken to Torrevieja Hospital suffering from severe bruising after her daughter was able to climb out of the hole and raise the alarm.

Life insurance, travel insurance, personal accident insurance, all of these options are also available to you from Sammy Thomas Insurance Brokers who have links with all of the main insurers in Spain, so personalised quotes are just a phone call away on 677 535 614 or 972 221 639, by email quote@sammythomas.com

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20

The Spirit of Christmas Past 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

by

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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21

The way I see it A Christmas Story? 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 prodigies (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 ora-

tor, 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.

22

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.

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

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

ec D 9th 2 rts a t eS l a S e v i ss Ma

e

er b m

George Soros

by

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

Russia. He says, “If investigators are looking for evidence of foreign influence, they should start there.”

23

Advertising Feature

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The company started with a small shop in Ciudad Quesada and has continued to grow from strength to strength and we now have four superstores along the Costa Blanca in Los Montesinos, Cabo Roig, San Javier and Gata De Gorgos, together with a very successful website www.siestagroup.com where you can peruse our products in the comfort of your own home.

What makes us stand out above the crowd is that we are actively involved in designing our garden furniture directly with the factories so we know we have an exclusive range and can also be competitive on price and be one step ahead of the market.

Our products are carefully handpicked by our buying team to ensure we offer unique value for money items which will enhance your garden and patio areas.

The distribution team has increased considerably in size to cope with demand and we offer free delivery together with assembly of all items, either on site or beforehand where practical, saving you time and stress.

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You can enjoy discounts of 50 per cent and a guaranteed 15 per cent off everything in store so why not treat yourself ready for the spring and be confident in the knowledge that you are buying from a reputable company who always puts the customer first.

Our stores can be found at Avda Del Mar, Los Montesinos and on the N332 at Cabo Roig, San Javier and Gata De Gorgos. The majority of our products can also be viewed at www.siestagroup.com or telephone 966 726 891 with any questions.

Our dedicated team looks forward to meeting old and new clients.

GARDEN FURNITURE: All our products are carefully handpicked.

24

Gerunds imported into Spanish Well, I haven’t forgotten your homework, and here are the answers.

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.

Basic Spanish for everyday needs by

Jane Cronin

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

irregular gerunds

of the verb which hopefully is now clear.

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 Vengo diciendo que...

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 legal-

ised 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.”

Step forward, Mr Mutua.

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

And Barry’s award goes to Mr Mutua

26

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

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

5:30pm 6:35pm

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

12:00am

31

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

this weeks weather FRI Dec 22

sat Dec 23

sun Dec 24

mon Dec 25

tue Dec 26

wed Dec 27

thu Dec 28

16º 7ºC

16º 6ºC

16º 6ºC

17º 5ºC

16º 7ºC

18º 11ºC

17º 9ºC

Some sun

Sunshine and patchy clouds

Partly sunny

Plenty of sunshine

Sunny

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with thanks Thank you so much for the super editorial before the last fair and for all your help during 2017.

Suzanne Horey Many thanks for all your help with this Sam and thank you very much for all the help you and RTN have given both me and APAH throughout the year. Best wishes for a great Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year. Margaret APAH Dog Rehoming

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Sunny to partly Sun and clouds cloudy

32

24 feb - 2 march 2017

community news Age Concern spreads Christmas cheer

Essential items for the needy of Rojales

Further Masonic donation from Caledonia Lodge The Brethren of Caledonia lodge continued to play a vital part in the local community by donating in the region of €1000 worth of food and other essential items to Rojales Town Hall Social Services department for distribution to local families in food poverty.

The Rojales Town Hall Social Services director asked W. Bro Ian Gibson

and Bro Ian Bullock, shown here presenting the donation, to inform the Worshipful Master and all the Brethren of Caledonia Lodge Number 68, that they were very grateful for this much needed food and other essential items, as the demand for their services was increasing all the time. It is always much busier in the winter and especially near to Christmas when the lack of food is

even more noticeable.

If you could help these charities they are always in need of food and clothing and many other things. Please free to contact social services directly who will be extremely grateful for any items you may care to donate.

If you would like to learn more about Freemasonry in general please contact prensa@glpvalencia.com

Volunteers from Age Concern spent an hour or two with the English and Spanish residents of Residencia 3 Edad Mediterraneo Care Home in Rojales recently for their annual Carol Concert. Over two dozen residents sat in the garden and joined in with Christmas carols sung in both English and Spanish by the popular Rascals choir.

The Rascals, avid supporters of Age Concern and everything they do, distributed tambourines and handbells to the residents, which everyone had fun playing. Santa Claus made an appearance and handed a Christmas gift of chocolates to all the residents followed by staff of the Care Home coming out with trays upon trays of delicious biscuits, cakes and a Christmas tipple for all. The afternoon was rounded off with many residents, Rascals and staff dancing. It was an emotional afternoon seeing so many people, some mentally and physically handicapped, taking part in the festivities with relish.

This Care Home is very close to the heart of Age Concern as every Friday many volunteers give their time, willingly, taking residents out of the Home either on foot or in their wheelchairs, for a stroll around Rojales sometimes stopping for a coffee, but mainly to just simply have a conversation. Two or three more volunteers, especially any Spanish speakers, could boost our volunteer team giving pleasure to people not as fortunate as us, and as the saying goes, ‘There but for the grace of God go I’.

If you could give a couple of hours on a Friday (there is a rota system) and would be willing to bring a little bit of happiness into the lives of Care Home residents, please telephone the Age Concern Centre on 966 786 887.

‘Reach Out’ Mingle Bells event success

Weaving in and out of danger HUSBAND and wife Niamh and Ruairidh Macfarlane co-own Ranish Tweed: a Hebridean company that weaves its own special variety of Harris cloth, which has become a sought-after brand in the world of high fashion. But when Niamh learns of Ruairidh’s affair with Russian designer Irina Vetrov, then witnesses the pair killed by a car bomb in Paris, her life is left in ruins.

Along with her husband’s remains, she returns home to the Isle of Lewis, bereft.

The Paris police have ruled out terrorism, and ruled in murder - making Niamh the prime suspect, along with Irina’s miss-

ing husband, Georgy. And so French Detective Sylvie Braque is sent to the island to look into Niamh’s past, unaware of the dangers that await her.

As Braque digs deeper into the couple’s history, Niamh herself replays her life with Ruiairidh, searching her memory for those whose grievances might have led to murder. And with each layer revealed, and every unexpected twist uncovered, the two women find themselves drawn inexorably closer to a killer who will not turn back.

UK release date: January 11, 2018

Sponsored by Bookworld Puerto Banus info@bookworldpuertobanus.com

www@bookworldpuertobanus.com | 952 816 084

The recent "Mingle Bells" event for "Reach Out" raised a handsome €366.60.

The venue was the Marina Bar in Calle de Las Rosas Torrevieja and the superb Christmas lunch complimented what was to become a very fun filled afternoon including quiz, raffle, tombola amongst other surprises. The festive theme continued with songs from The Rascals who gave up their time to support the charity and even Santa popped in to hand out mince pies.

David and Lorraine Whitney, once again organized this unique event and together with their dedicated volunteers made sure that the afternoon was a success. Thanks must go also to Iceland Supermarket for their generous donations of mince pies for this event and also for their ongoing collection of food for the charity.

Thanks too to everybody who donated to this fun afternoon, your generosity is very much appreciated.

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33

community news

Big Cats roar in for Christmas The Jaguar Enthusiast Club chose Hotel La Laguna in Guardamar to hold their Christmas meeting. Most members only stayed one night as the party went on well into the early hours, but a many decided to make it a weekend at the wonderful Spa and Golf Hotel where they were well looked after by the pleasant and helpful staff.

After all the members had arrived and the much loved jags were safely lined up in the secure Hotel car park as it

was now time for their owners to prepare themselves for a night to remember.

The evening started with pre-dinner drinks in the bar lounge before lining up for a photo shoot in the foyer with members all dressed in there finery ,and this enabled the new ( director gerente ) Mike Brook to say a few words concerning the formation of the Full Jaguar enthusiasts club where he let it be known that Dennis Wilson and Brenda Pike will

Crescendo Choir fund raiser

be working alongside of him.

The meal was an enjoyable affair as the conversation and banter bounced from table to table, then the night went on as members returned to the bar lounge where Brenda Pike and her husband Mike were thanked by appreciative fellow members for all of their time spent on organizing this special event.

If you would like to join them on future events email mikebikejec@gmail.com or call Mike on 640 866 711.

Crescendo International Choir raises money for community with Christmas Concert The Crescendo International Choir performed a wellattended concert in December featuring a wide-variety of music at the Parroquia de Santiago in Benijofar.

Almost €350 was raised by attendees to the concert to support the Benijofar community.

Music was sung in both Spanish and English and included the Spanish pieces Amapola, El Vito, Fum, Fum, Fum Campana Sobre Campana and Feliz Navidad. Some of the English songs were Imagine, Angels We Have Heard on High and an original song called Christmas Time is Here, with lyrics by Margot Gay and music composed by Antonio Guillen, the choir’s accompanist.

In addition, the choir sang White Christmas in both English and Spanish. Crescendo Choir singers are from many European countries. The choir’s conductor is Irene Oliva, a Spanish native, who also works as a music teacher. She is accompanied by Antonio (Toni) Guillen on

Not just fish & chips

Quesada Fish & Chips Restaurant hosted another fund raising evening, with the money raised going to buy Christmas food and treats for the needy in Rojales.

A total of €840 was raised, and was spent on Christmas food boxes, which were handed over to Lourdes Lopez Tajes, Councillor for Social

Services, for distribution to families and elderly folk who are struggling over the Festive period.

Diners were entertained by the very talented and versatile Johnny Scott, who not only played for a reduced fee, but having won €100 on the football scratch card, donated his winnings to the night’s funds.

Next month’s Charity night will be on Wednesday, 24th January, with Woody, who is always a sell-out.

Tickets are available from the Restaurant; Post Room Benijofar; Card Place in Benimar and REDZ cafe bar in Quesada. Price is just 10 euros for great food and excellent entertainment.

the keyboard. He also teaches piano and music theory.

The money raised by the concert was given to the Benijofar town council social services agency. A large basket of chocolate and sweet treats was also donated by the choir for Christmas hampers for needy families.

Crescendo Choir gives several concerts a year, raising funds for a variety of causes. In November, for example, the choir performed a well-attended concert at Campoamor Golf Hotel. A total of €2700 was raised and donated to Pink ladies and AECC, the Spanish Association against Cancer.

Crescendo Choir, made up of Soprano, Mezzo, Alto, Tenor and Bass, sings a wide variety of songs ranging from musicals to spirituals, from pop to classical and all types in between. The choir practices Fridays from 9:30am to 12pm at the Bar El Paraiso, Urb. Jardin del Mar (close to Carrefour), in Torrevieja. Rehearsals begin January 12, 2018. For more information, see the web site www.crescendo-choir.com.

Photo: L to R – Johnny Scott, Marlene Brown, Joan Rampton, Lourdes Lopez Tajes, and Councillor for Integration of Residents, Derek Monks

34

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 booster 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 variety of foods, rather than concentrate on one food in the hope it will work miracles. Eat a balanced diet

35

health

myths and facts 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 balanced diet instead. That will give you all the energy you need, as well as being good for your overall health.

How to cover a cold sore

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 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.

Going green to treat psychosis AN INGREDIENT in cannabis called cannabidiol or CBD has shown promise in a clinical trial as a potential new treatment for psychosis, scientists said recently.

Scientists conducted a small trial of people with psychosis and found patients treated with CBD had lower levels of psychotic symptoms than those who received a placebo. Psychosis is characterised by paranoia and hallucinations.

The study found that they were also more likely to be rated as “improved” by their psychiatrist and there were signs of better cognitive performance and functioning.

Scientists at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience conducted a placebo-controlled trial of CBD in patients with psychosis and published their findings in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

In the trial, 88 patients with psychosis received either CBD or placebo for six weeks, alongside their existing antipsychotic medication. Beforehand and afterwards, the scientists assessed symptoms, functioning and cognitive performance, and the patients’ psychiatrists rated their overall condition overall.

“The study indicated that CBD may be effective in psychosis: patients treated with CBD showed a significant reduction in symptoms and their treating psychiatrists rated them as having improved overall,” said Philip McGuire, who co-led the trial.

He noted that trial patients also reported few adverse side effects and added: “Although it is still unclear exactly how CBD works, it acts in a different way to antipsychotic medication, and could represent a new class of treatment.”

36

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)

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.

37

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 42

38

24 feb - 2 march 2017

food & drink

A traditional Victorian Christmas dinner...and how to make it RAW OYSTERS Halve blue-point oysters; serve upon the half shell, the shells being laid upon oyster plates filled with cracked ice; six oysters and a thick slice of lemon being served upon each plate.

BOUILLON Put into a pot three pounds of shin beef, one pound of knuckle of veal, and three quarts of water, and simmer gently. As soon as the scum begins to rise, skim carefully until it ceases to appear. Then add salt, two carrots, the same of onions, turnips, and a little celery.

Simmer gently four hours, strain, and serve in bouillon cups to each guest.

POTATOES A la MAITRE d'HOTEL Wash eight potatoes, and boil them in cold water with a pinch of salt. When thoroughly done, peel them, cut them in thin round slices; put them--with three ounces of butter, a pinch of salt, pepper and a nutmeg, the juice of a lemon, and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley - saucepan on the fire, and, when very hot, serve.

SWEETBREAD PATES Boil four sweetbreads, and let them become cold; then chop them very fine. Add about ten mushrooms, also chopped fine. Mix with this a quarter pound of butter, half a pint of milk, a little flour, pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg. Put upon the fire, stir until it begins to thicken, then put in puff-paste that has been prepared, and bake until light brown.

ROAST TURKEY Clean and prepare a medium sized turkey for roasting. Cut two onions in pieces, and put them in a saucepan with two ounces of butter, and colour them slightly. Grate a

pound of bread into fine crumbs, add the bread to your onions, the turkey's heart and liver chopped very fine, quarter of a pound of butter, salt, pepper, a pinch of thyme, and mix all well together. Stuff the turkey with this mixture, sew up the opening through which you have introduced the stuffing, and put it to roast, with a little butter on top and a wineglassful of water; roast an hour and a half; strain your liquor in the pan, pour over your turkey, and serve.

Nesselrode pudding

CRANBERRY SAUCE Take one quart of cranberries, pick and wash carefully, put upon the fire with half a teacupful of water, let them stew until thoroughly broken up, then strain and add one pound and a quarter of sugar; put into a mould and turn out when cold.

RICE CROQUETTES Take one cupful of rice, wash and boil it, and let it get thoroughly cold. Beat up with it one egg, a teaspoonful of sugar and the same of melted butter, salt and a little nutmeg. Work this mixture into the rice, stirring until all is well mixed and the lumps worked out. Make, with floured hands, into oblong rolls about three inches in length, and half an inch in diameter. Coat these thickly with flour, and set them in a cold place until needed. Fry a few at a time in hot lard, rolling them over as they begin to brown to preserve their shape.

As each is taken from the fire, put into a colander to drain and dry.

NESSELRODE PUDDING Remove the shells from two dozen French chestnuts, and put in a saucepan with a little water. Next peel off the skin, and put the chestnuts in a saucepan on the fire with a pint of water and one pound of sugar. Boil

them until very soft, then press them through a sieve; then put them in a saucepan with one pint of cream, in which you mix the yolks of four eggs. Just before boiling put your mixture through a sieve, add an ounce of stoned raisins, an ounce of currants, two sherry glasses of sherry wine, and freeze it like ice-cream. When frozen, cut four candied apricots, four candied green gages, half an ounce of citron in small pieces, three ounces of candied cherries; mix them thoroughly into the pudding. Put mixture into a mould, with a thick piece of paper on top, and the cover securely shut down upon it. Put some cracked ice, mixed with two handfuls of rock salt, into a bowl, in the middle of which put your mould, covering it entirely with ice and salt. Let it remain two hours, then turn it out of the mould, first dipping it into warm water.

Blue Point oysters

Sticky port gravy

This full-flavoured, festive gravy can be made in advance - the soy sauce and dried mushrooms add a deep hit of 'umami', or savouriness, to complement a roast.

Ingredients neck and giblets from your turkey 4 chicken wings, chopped into pieces (or 8 chicken wings if you don’t have the turkey neck and giblets) 2 onions, unpeeled and quartered 1 carrot, unpeeled and roughly chopped 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped 1 garlic bulb, halved 1 tbsp sunflower oil 1 tbsp clear honey 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp tomato purée 50g plain flour

small handful dried mushrooms (optional – but nice) 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or Sherry vinegar 150ml port, Sherry or red wine 1.2l chicken stock 3 bay leaves small bunch thyme Method Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.

Tip the turkey bits and/or chicken wings into a sturdy roasting tin with the onions, carrot, celery and garlic. Toss in the oil and spread out into a single layer. Place in the oven for 40 mins undisturbed – you want them the right side of just burnt, as this will give you lots

of flavour.

Remove the tin from the oven and mix in the honey, soy sauce and tomato purée. Toss everything together until all the bits are completely coated, then return to the oven for 10 mins until sticky and caramelised. Remove the tin from the oven again, sprinkle over the flour and dried mushrooms (if using) and return to the oven for a final 10 mins.

If your roasting tin is flameproof, put it on a low flame, add the vinegar and sizzle for a moment.

Pour in the Port and cook until you have a thick, glutinous paste mixed in with all the ingredients – it will look quite messy! Add the stock and

herbs, bring to the boil and cook for 10 mins. (If your tin isn’t flameproof, add the vinegar, stir to loosen all the burnt bits from the tin, then tip into a saucepan to continue.)

Turn off the heat and use a potato masher to mash everything to extract as much flavour out of it as you can. Carefully pass the contents through a sieve over another saucepan, pushing down on the contents of the sieve.

Simmer the gravy until thick and glossy, then leave to cool. Can be chilled for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat the gravy and serve as it is, or add to the turkey roasting juices for even more flavour.

24 feb - 2 march 2017

39

food & drink

Christmas tree garlic bread

Each piece of this pull-apart bread has a melted mozzarella centre. Brushed with garlic butter and served with a tomato dipping sauce, this will be a hit at any Christmas party buffet table.

Ingredients 500g strong white bread flour 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast 2 tsp golden caster sugar 100g butter, melted (buy a 250g pack and use the rest in the garlic butter) drizzle of oil, for greasing 2 tbsp fine polenta or cornmeal 150g pack mozzarella (about 20 balls) For the tomato dipping sauce small knob of butter 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 2 tsp golden caster sugar For the garlic butter 140g butter 4 garlic cloves, crushed small bunch parsley, finely chopped (leave a little leftover to garnish, if you like) Method Tip the flour into a large bowl or the bowl of a freestanding mixer. Add the yeast and sugar to one side of the bowl and 1 tsp fine salt to the other. Mix together, then add the melted butter and 275ml warm water. Mix to a dough, then knead for 10 mins by hand (or 5 mins in a

freestanding mixer) until the dough feels stretchy and soft.

Clean out the bowl, then lightly grease with a little oil. Turn the dough over in the oiled bowl until it’s well coated.

Cover with cling film or a tea towel and set aside somewhere warm until the dough has doubled in size.

Alternatively, put the dough in the fridge and leave to rise slowly for 2 days (bring it to room temperature before continuing to step 2).

Line your largest baking sheet with parchment, and dust with polenta or cornmeal. Drain the mozzarella and dry the balls on some kitchen paper. Tip the dough onto your work surface and punch out the air bubbles. To make a Christmas tree shape, you’ll need 23 balls. Tear off lumps of dough, ensuring each one is roughly the same size (if you want to be exact, weigh the dough, divide the weight by 23, then weigh each ball of dough as you break them off).

Shape each piece of dough into a disc and place a ball of mozzarella in the middle. Pull up the sides of the dough to encase the cheese, pinching the dough together to seal.

Roll into a ball and place on the baking sheet, sealed-side down, in a tree shape. Leave a little space between each ball, as they will grow when proving. You’re likely to have 2 or 3 balls without mozzarella, so use these pieces of dough for the trunk – for anyone who doesn’t like cheese. Cover the tray with a sheet of oiled cling film and set aside for 30 mins until almost doubled in size.

While the dough proves, make the tomato dipping sauce.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the garlic and sizzle for 30 secs until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, oregano, vinegar, sugar and some seasoning. Bubble for 30 mins until the sauce is thick. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

When the dough is ready, uncover the baking sheet and bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown. Meanwhile, make the garlic butter. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the garlic and sizzle for 1-2 mins until the garlic is a

Xmas Punch A delightful, fruity alternative for Christmas day jollies!

Ingredients 2 cups chilled unsweetened pomegranate juice 1 cup chilled cranberry juice 1 cup (8 ounces) vodka 1 cup (8 ounces) Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur 1 cup chilled club soda 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons) 1/2 cup Simple Syrup for Mixed Drinks Cranberries frozen in ice cubes Directions Combine pomegranate and cranberry juice, vodka, Cointreau, club soda, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a punch bowl. Fill glasses with cranberries frozen in ice cubes, and serve.

shade darker (but not brown). When the bread is cooked, transfer it to a platter. Stir most of the parsley into the garlic butter and use a pastry brush to brush it all over the bread. Leave it to soak in, then brush on more.

Sprinkle over a little extra parsley to garnish, if you like.

Reheat the tomato sauce and serve it alongside the bread with any remaining garlic butter.

40

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

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.

Creating extra space If you’re dreading having people round to yours during Christmas due to the lack of space, it’s best to get prepared. Check out these tips and learn how to create extra space at Christmas.

Space for a suitcase: If guests are staying for a night or two, it might be worth investing in a folding suitcase rack, so they can leave it open without leaving clutter or a trip hazard on the floor.

Declutter your furniture: Get rid of any furniture you don’t need whilst your guests are staying. This could mean temporarily moving extra pieces like large ornaments, lamps and side tables to another room to make more space for seating or mingling.

Feeding the masses: Use Tupperware boxes or add racks and undershelf baskets to your fridge and kitchen cupboards to create functional space so you can stack rather than pile up the food.

Sell stuff, raise cash: Make the most of your clear out by selling unwanted items. If your home is overrun by toys, you can get the kids involved by sorting through and selling or passing on their wanted toys. They could even keep the cents from the sale to get new presents!

Decorate your walls and ceilings: If your floor space is lacking and a Christmas tree likely to take up lots of room, hang decorations including simple Christmas tree lights from the walls and ceiling to create the desired party ambience.

Blow up beds: For guests who are staying over, camp beds or air mattresses are great for a short stay without taking up much room when not in use. If your guests must sleep in the living room, invest in a folding screen for privacy especially if you need to walk by in the morning.

Create a buffet station: Rather than serving a meal sitting down at the dinner table, create a buffet style area for food where people can serve themselves and then find a space to sit down – they could even use the stairs!

Use a Lazy Susan: Free up space on a table by using a turntable to hold a few sauces and condiments where they'll still be easy to grab by everyone.

Enlarge your table: Make your dining table bigger by layering it with a large sheet of plywood (place a pad or cloth underneath for protection and don’t forget to tell guests to press down with care!).

Sitting pretty: Instead of playing musical chairs due to lack of seating, invest in some affordable folding chairs. You could even decorate these or add some upholstered pads to fit your Christmas theme.

41

builders

architect 251843

254863

structural

surveys

Mark Paddon BSc Hons. MCIOB. CAAT.

Property buyer’s surveys and expert defects diagnosis

962 807 247 653 733 066 www.surveyorscostablanca.com electrical repairs

ALARMS

ALARMS & CCTV: All types, quality systems, very reasonable, guaranteed.

Tel: 966 797 370 / 662 243 099 bathrooms

Bathroom Conversions Costa Blanca, contact 698 320 434 (260101) locksmith

Boating

Yacht share for sale.

7m day sailing boat with cabin. Moored in marina on Mar Menor. Well established group that will crew and help you gain experience. €2,200 Email: peter.ewers@outlook.com Text: 0044 789 900 7646 (240992) BUILDING SERVICES

motoring

J & J PAINTERS. Inside outside - clean - fast - low cost. Torrevieja - Orihuela Costa and surrounding areas. Tel: 650 363 159 ALL types of construction services, reforms, reconstruction: kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, tiling, floors, plasterboard, bricklaying, plumbing & facades. Reasonable Prices.

Torrevieja & surrounding areas. Call 672 929 913 any time CARAVANS FOR SALE

WE BUY, sell & transport all makes of static caravans 630 055 418 Elsyd7@hotmail.com CHARITIES/CHURCHES

LA SIESTA EVANGELICAL CHURCH on Urbanisation La Siesta, Torrevieja is a friendly, English speaking Church. We hold services each Sunday and everyone is welcome. Our 11.00 am Services are held every 2nd and 4th Sunday in the month (and 11.00 am on the 5th Sunday, if this applies.) On the 1st and

3rd Sunday’s our Services are at 9.30 am. Our choir sings at our 11.00 am Services and there is also a Sunday School, called Stepping Stones, on these Sundays.

We welcome residents, visitors and children.

For more information see our website www. lasiestaevangelicalchurch. org or telephone Pastor Keith on 666 180 108.

usually something there for everyone --- but not always.

Charitable donations have recently been made to The Alzheimers Centre, Cancer Research and The Amigos Ambulance Service. We still need your help with donations etc. Please keep them coming in! We are situated on Avenida Del Furs close to the Fountain Roundabout and immediate left by Don Colchon bed shop.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS IS ALCOHOL COSTING YOU MORE THAN MONEY? Drinking to excess not only affects your health it can spill over into every other aspect of your life – damaging everything that is important to you. English-speaking AA meetings are held throughout the Costa Blanca from Valencia City to Murcia. Anyone wishing to attend a meeting or discuss a possible drinking problem contact Costa Blanca North: *648 169 045* or Costa Blanca South: *625 912 078* or Costa Calida *679 385 105*. All calls are treated in the strictest confidence. AA in German: 645 456 075; Spanish: 679 212 535; Flemish: 635 047 053; and Scandinavian: 659 779 222. www.aa-costablanca.org (93323)

THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Orihuela Costa - covering from Punta Prima to San Javier. The branch meets at Olympia restaurant, Mil Palmeras on 3rd Thursday of each month at 19.00 19.30pm. More info can be found on branch website www.orihuelacostarbl.co.uk.

Alcoholics anonymous Our meetings currently are held on Wednesday evenings in Cañada de Gallego, near Mazarrón.

From next week (w/c 3rd September) they will be moving to Thursday evenings. So the first Thursday meeting will be on 7th September at 5.30pm.

Meetings are one hour. Your readers (visitors or others who think they may have a problem with alcohol) can obtain details by calling our helpline on 646 290 420.

ROUNDABOUT CHARITY SHOP. We are now into summer and very soon we will be feeling the heat! It is time therefore for another visit to the shop where you might find a bargain or two. Choose from the clothing selection, jewellery, household goods, books or bric a brac. There is

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, La Fustera. For more info: contact Frank Bentley on 966 495 188 CANCER SUPPORT GROUP (MABS) MURCIA/MAR MENOR Help and support is just a phone call away, Avda Rio Nalón, Tel: Sylvia 633 306 035 TORREVIEJA Christian Fellowship (TCF) is an English speaking lively church located at Avenida de las Valencianas 68, Torrevieja 03183. Residents and holidaymakers are welcome to attend our services with communion and ‘kids church’ each Sunday at 10.30am.

We have a Fellowship Meeting (Bible Study) each Wednesday at 6.00pm. For further information see our website www.tcf-Spain.org or tel 966 700 391. stroke Association Spain formally torrevieja stroke support.

Meets each Wednesday and Friday 14.30 till 17.00.

Casa de cultura Benijofar.

Our aim is to support and rehabilitate stroke survivors and their carers. Speech Therapy and physiotherapy.

Carers meetings etc more info please contact Suzanne 654 801 260. strokesupportgroup@ hotmail.com Donations for our car boot

appreciated.

THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Gran Alacant & La Marina Branch meets First Monday of the month 18:00 at “La Taberna next to Monte & Mar Restaurant & Bowls Club, Plaza Mayor (MASA Square) Gran Alacant. granalacant.secretary@ gmail.com CHIMNEY SWEEP

PROFESSIONAL CHIMNEY SWEEP. Family Business established over 60 years.

660 478 881 DAMP

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MR FIXIT. For all your electrical, plumbing, general & appliance & boiler repairs. No call out charge. 698 320 434 (260205) INSURANCE & iNVESTMENTS

BENEFICAL INSURANCE SERVICES. Car, Home, Business, Travel, Life, Funeral, all insurances available. Policies in English.

BEST rates, covers & service.

Immediate quotes. Tel 961 129 215 / 622 275 561, (whatsapp) info@ beneficialinsuranceinspain. com or visit www. beneficialinsuranceinspain. com for online quote.

(257880)

42 work carried out. For a free quote call 639 487 503 www.eriksmetalwork.com.

ALL METAL WORK UNDERTAKEN. Costa Calida. stan@eriksmetalwork.com.

636 050 008.

MOTORING

SOS www.sosinsuranceinspain. com Insurance in Spain. Best prices available. CALL US FIRST for all your insurance needs, including best deals on Funeral plans. Buildings and contents cover from just 82 euros per year and cars from 120 euros. Tel 966 787 123 / 622 275 561 / 686 116 297 / email info@sosinsuranceinspain. com INTERNET

GET YOUR business noticed online! Make sure that expats in Spain can find your product, service, restaurant, bar or shop.

Contact Spain’s newest and brightest online directory TODAY. Call 952 561 245 or email mark.w@ euroweeklynews.com for more details.

WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance. Since we started out in 1995, our philosophy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market.

For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 902 123 309.

UK MOT. All legal and on line. Arrangements made for collection and delivery £400. Email carsinspain@hotmail.com Tel. 0044 7553367285 (246860) PERGOLA COVERS

MOBILE Metal Work Any welding or plasma cutting

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EASYHORSE CARE RESCUE CENTRE. We aim to rescue HORSES. If you would like to DONATE please call 965 967 033 or sales@easyhorsecare.net www.easyhorsecare.net or call Sue 652 021 980 PLUMBING

situations vacant

REMOVALS AND STORAGE

CIUDAD QUESEDA Villa 500m2 plot, 4 double bedrooms, large bathroom and shower room. Large Balcony, Cloakroom, lounge dinner, large kitchen (white goods included). Oil central heating though out. Double glazed conservatory, car port. 10x8 solar heated pool. Screened BBQ area, plus much more seeing is believing. 340,000€.

Contact 688 486 752 private sale

MAN AND VAN UK - Spain.

2 vans travelling twice a month, Murcia - North / South UK. Storage in Spain.

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Quiz solutions 1 Sailors 2 Stock market index 3 Softer 4 Horse 5 15 6 Three 7 The Moon 8 Pacific 9 Sushi 10 Basin

43 FIELD SALES positions available. Must have own transport, English and Spanish preferred, but not

Services removals & storage

essential, must have local knowledge of the area and be smart and presentable.

Applications by email with full CV should be sent to recruitment@uroweeklynews. com.

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Boris Boris was rescued off the street with a horrendous facial injury. He was restored to good health by APAH, who are now hoping to find a loving home for him. A real

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Marta Marta - D.O.B.APPROX OCTOBER 2010 Marta is a beautiful black and tan German Shepherd cross, medium sized.

She is a very gentle and affectionate dog and would be very loyal to her owners. he is good with other dogs and very shy towards people to start with.

Polly

Polly is an 13 week old kitten and would love to find a forever home before Christmas. She has been in a foster home since she was 5 weeks old, Polly is a confident kitten who loves cuddles and is very playful.

44

motoring Driving over the limit the morning after common practice AROUND five million drivers believe they have got behind the wheel while over the limit at least once in the past year, according to research carried out by the RAC. In total 16 per cent of the 1,727 motorists questioned say they think they have been guilty of drink-driving, either immediately after consuming alcohol or the morning after a late night drinking session.

Five per cent of motorists surveyed felt sure they were over the limit shortly after having a drink while 3 per cent think they may have

been over. Worryingly, a larger proportion – 10 per cent admits to believing they have driven when over the limit the morning after drinking heavily the night before.

The study also found that men are more likely to risk drink-driving than women, both straight after drinking and the morning after.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: “Anyone who has been out celebrating during the festive period should be very mindful of not being over the limit when they go to drive the next day.

Anyone who thinks they are likely to have sobered up enough to drive just because they went to bed for a few hours may just be about to ruin someone else’s Christmas as well as their own.

“It is vital that everyone who has been drinking leaves sufficient time for their body to process the alcohol they have consumed. The trouble is everyone metabolises alco-

Millions in

getaway on

AFTERMATH: Worrying numbers of people admitting they’ve driven shortly after drinking

hol at different rates so the message has to be to err on the side of caution by leaving extra time before deciding to drive, or better still to use an alternative form of transport such as bus, taxi or train, or get a lift from a friend or colleague.

The research also revealed

there is extensive general public support for a UK-wide reduction in the legal bloodalcohol limit to 50 milligrams per 100ml – as enforced in Scotland – or even to 20 milligrams, with six in 10 (59%) British motorists saying they are in favour of 50mg or less becoming law.

2015 SEAT IBIZA 1.2i ADVANCE 5-door one owner from New 56,000kms metallic blue AUX plug in etc 10,995€ 2015 FORD FIESTA 1.25 TREND PLUS 5-door Silver paint USB Climate control Multi function steering wheel 34,000kms 9,500€ 2015 FIAT 500 1.2 LOUNGE air-con, CD/radio with USB, city steering, 65,000kms. Like New with Sport interior 8,995€ 2015 MITSUBISHI SPACESTAR 1.0 Bluedrive with cd radio 5-door Aircon finished in red metallic perfect holiday home Car 7,995€ 2015 TOYOTA YARIS 1.0i VVTi CONNECT plus 40,000 KMS full of extras including USB plug in like new and very economical 2014 CITROEN DS4 STYLE PLUS 1.6i with Park assist, Auto lights/wipers Climate Cruise ONLY 3000kms. NEW PRICE 23.449€ 2013 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE 2.0 AUTOMATIC in Cherry red paintwork 28,000kms like new condition A/C 6 CD 10,500€ 2013 FIAT PANDA 1.2 LOUNGE 5-door Beige paintwork 62,000kms electric windows Aircon great little holiday home cars 6,800€.

2011 CITROEN NC4 1.6i VTi 120hp COLLECTION Black paintwork One owner full history Auto lights/wipers 46,000kms Alloys etc 8,995€.

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2011 PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO 4.8 Twin Turbo full Porsche options Service history 63,000kms 8-speed Automatic. 59,995€ 2010 NISSAN QASHQAI TEKNA 1.5DCi 110bhp 6-speed gearbox unmarked gunmetal paintwork 104,000KMS easy to get into 9,995€.

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DRIVERS will be making 11.5m separate festive getaway trips before Christmas Day this year which has led today, Friday, to be dubbed ‘Frantic Friday’ – the day when the last of the year’s commuter traffic clashes with people desperately trying to get to see family and friends.

New research by Traffic Watch shows pre-Christmas leisure traffic will peak on Christmas Eve when 1.87m separate getaway car journeys will be taken, but in reality today (Friday) is likely to be the most congested on the roads as commuter traffic mixes with an expected 1.25m leisure trips.

With the bank holidays falling on weekdays and schools breaking up for Christmas at different times across the UK, there should be an even spread of traffic in the runup to the big day, averaging about 1.4m journeys per day.

Leisure traffic is anticipated to then build to 1.56m journeys tomorrow, Saturday, rising to 1.87m journeys on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself.

The total pre-Christmas getaway traffic will, however, be eclipsed this year by the 17.5m leisure trips that will be taken between December 25 and New Year’s Day as drivers crisscross the UK to visit friends and family this festive season.

Congestion on some parts of the network is therefore inevitable, but with little commuter and commercial traffic the roads will generally be quieter.

The busiest day for leisure trips to see family and friends –

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45

motoring

Christmas

‘Frantic Friday’ and of course trips to the post-Christmas sales – is expected to be Boxing Day according to this year’s study of drivers’ plans, with 5.3m separate journeys planned.

Highways England’s customer service director Melanie Clarke said: “We’re doing everything we can to make journeys as smooth as possible this Christmas and that’s why we’re keeping 99% of the road network we manage free from roadworks.

Over the past two years we’ve already added 190 lane miles of much-needed capacity and that will make life easier for those travelling around this month, as the festive countdown begins.”

Met Office senior press officer Grahame Madge added: “The secret to a successful and stress-free Christmas is planning and preparation. Just as you wouldn’t want to buy your presents in a Christmas Eve panic, it’s never sensible to leave planning your travel arrangements until the last minute either. Take time out to plan any trip, download the Met Office weather app

Spain leads EU car registrations

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

PREPARATION: Planning Christmas travelling is the secret

or check our website and give your vehicle the once over. That way you’ll be setting off on a more relaxing journey, knowing that your car is safe and knowing what weather you can expect on your journey.

Just don’t forget the presents!”

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.

46

motoring

Ford Fiesta active – an incredible driving experience TECHNOLOGY should always have a purpose. And when you start your All-New Ford Fiesta, you bring to life a whole range of intelligent features and systems. For example, Active Park Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Aid, Traffic Sign Recognition… Get ready to experience technologies so smart and so useful you’ll wonder how you ever did without them.

With Adaptive Cruise Control technology, you choose the speed you want to drive at and the system will maintain it. If the built-in RADAR sensor detects a vehicle ahead, it will slow your vehicle to maintain a pre-set distance. Once the road in front is clear, the system will accelerate to your chosen speed.

Parking can be a real hassle. But not in the new Fiesta. That’s because Active Park Assist uses a combination of different technologies to do more than steer you into parking spots.

With Park Out Assist it helps you pull out of them, too.

The Parallel and Perpendicular Parking system can sense if there’s space for your car to fit, then reverse you in. And Side Parking Aid also warns you if there are any lateral obstructions.

A Blind Spot Information System uses RADAR sensors to scan the blind spots on either side of your Fiesta. And if they detect a vehicle you can’t see, an orange light that’s clearly displayed in the corresponding side door mirror illuminates to warn you. If you’re reversing out of a space, and have limited visibility of the traffic situation, Cross Traffic Alert can detect oncoming vehicles and sound a warning. The technology also illuminates a light in the wing mirror: left or right depending on the direction of oncoming traffic.

A Lane Keeping System uses a forward-looking camera to detect if you’re unintentionally drifting out of lane. Lane Keeping Alert then warns you by vibrating the steering wheel and displaying a visual warning. If you’re slow to react or don’t respond, Lane Keeping Aid can provide steering torque assistance to help guide you safely back into the right lane. The technology is designed for multi-lane roads (like motorways), so will automatically deactivate at speeds below 43mph (65 km/h) or can be turned off manually.

Whether the signs are at the side of the road or above it, permanent or temporary, Traffic Sign Recognition can identify them. An icon of that speed or a no-overtaking sign appears on the instrument cluster and changes every time you enter a new limit.

A useful night-driving aid, Auto High Beam temporarily dips your headlights when it detects oncoming traffic or a vehicle ahead, stopping you dazzling other drivers. It then automatically reverts back to high beam, giving you maximum visibility.

AUTOMATIC: Ford Fiesta Active takes the driving strain to new levels

24 feb - 2 march 2017

sport

SAMM Autumn Race Series winners announced The SAMM Autumn Series of handicap races was a great success. With no days lost due to the weather or other events held at CTD causing cancellations, the 8 days of the handicap series saw 16 races completed between September and November, all well supported by the competitors.

The results are determined using the “low points” system with each boat able to drop the scores of their 6 worst races leaving 10 scores to count for the series.

The clear winner with 8.75 points was the Topaz Duo sailed by Julian Singleton with the scores for 9 firsts and 1 second place counting.

Second was the Laser 2000, Shoestring Tres with 17.5 points with 2 firsts and 8 second places counting. She was sailed by Tug Wilson alone for 6 of the races but he was joined by Jack Moss for 2 and John Down for 2.

Third was the Gamba, Shoestring Uno with 21 points, with 4 firsts, 2 seconds, 2 thirds and 2 forth places counting. Uno was skippered by Dianne Hardwick for most of the

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!

Julian and Dianne Autumn 2017 Series Winners races but her crew varied from race to race, depending on who else from the Shoestring Group was able to compete each day.

The trophies were presented at the SAMM meeting on December 13. This is the first time an individual, in his own boat, has won a SAMM

series, well done Julian. With more members sailing their own boats this could be a future trend. Unfortunately Tug Wilson had returned to the UK for Christmas so could not collect his trophy.

The Spring 2018 Series is scheduled to commence on March 11 2018.

Cadena Sunrise 10 pin league Bowling Results 13 DECEMBER 2017 (WEEK 10) RESULT ALLEY CATS 999s S***T HAPPENS SUNRISE COLEGAS PIN PUSHERS THE PHANTOMS

2 2 0 4 8 0

-

6 6 8 4 0 8

GILL STEVENS GILL STEVENS GILL STEVENS GILL STEVENS

Pos TEAM 1 GI GI’S HOOKERS 2 SUNRISE COLEGAS 3 S***T HAPPENS 4 PIN PALS 5 PIN PUSHERS 6 SOL AMIGOS 7 STRIKE FORCE 8 999s 9 THE BANDITS 10 ALLEY GATORS 11 ALLEY CATS 12 THE PHANTOMS

212 251 493 610

27 0 23 0 23 0 23 0 23 0 23 0 22 0 22 0 21 0 17 0 16 0 0 0

13 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 19 23 24 40

20880 21104 20734 20520 20387 20369 20676 20008 20578 20490 20218 15600

696 703 691 684 679 678 689 666 685 683 673 520

822 785 799 815 831 770 772 728 827 766 731 520

2193 2259 2208 2241 2234 2187 2228 2053 2245 2164 2130 1560

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 Arsenal-Liverpool, Burnley-Spurs, Everton-Chelsea, Leicester-Manchester United and Manchester City-Bournemouth before Christmas, followed on Boxing Day by Chelsea-Brighton, Crystal PalaceArsenal, 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 Rangers-Motherwell in the SPL.

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.

MARCEL VILBOIS 204 EDWARD HOPKINS 222 EDWARD HOPKINS 520 EDWARD HOPKINS 604

30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30

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.

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

PLD W D L TOTAL GMS AVE. HI-G HI-S PTS 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30

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.

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 BANDITS PIN PALS GI GI’S HOOKERS ALLEY GATORS STRIKE FORCE SOL AMIGOS

THIS WEEK´S TOP PERFORMERS HI/GAME HI/GAME+H/CAP HI/SERIES HI/SERIES+H/CAP

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 quiz-organiser and fund–raiser, for various charities.

54 46 46 46 46 46 44 44 42 34 32 0

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.

47