RTN Newspaper - Costa Blanca South 16 - 22 March 2018 Issue 960

FREE! COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

TWO men have been reported for poaching in the salt lakes of Santa Pola.

They were taken by surprise in the process of catching nine mullet and common carp using fishing rods, a homemade net and a piece of cork fishing tackle.

Even though both men were in possession of hunting and fishing licences issued by the Valencian authorities, it appears that they completely ignored the fishing ban that exists inside the Santa Pola natural park.

Issue 960

16th - 22nd March

by Darren Parmenter THREE dedicated helicopter take-off and landing points to be used for emergencies will be installed across the Vega Baja. They will be located within the municipalities of Pilar de la Horadada, Torrevieja and Orihuela.

T h e p l a n s w e re a n nounced by the representat i v e f ro m t h e A l i c a n t e provincial government res p o n s i b l e fo r t h e e m e r g e n c y s e r v i c e s , Ja u m e Lloret, during his visit to the Orihuela Fire Station to take part in a memorial service for a former station chief.

Lloret said that the aim of installing these emergency helipads is to enable greater access to areas currently unable to be reached by traditional means, along with faster response times.

The helipad at the Torrevieja Fire Station is at present having its surface repainted, and will shortly be fo l l o w e d b y t h e o t h e r s p l a n n e d fo r t h e re g i o n .

Once completed, these helipads can be used by all sections of the emergency s e r v i c e s a s a n d w h e n re quired.

Watch out for the whirlybirds Photo credit: @gruporescateba Twitter

Poached fish off the menu

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INSIDE THIS WEEK ...

NOT AN EMERGENCY...

ON THIS OCCASION

P3 STORY OF A YOUNG MUSICIAN

RESCUE: Helicopter landing sites almost ready for operations.

Ja u m e L l o re t a l s o s a i d that the number of staff on duty at all the fire stations in the Vega Baja will be increased. As from May, the maximum number on duty during one shift will be increased by one to a maximum of eight... and a minimum of five.

Finally, it was stated that work is underway to find a location to build the new Orihuela Fire Station that will replace the present HQ in the San Anton area that

has become too small for day-to-day operations. The cost of the new fire station - wherever it is to be constructed - is believed to be â‚Ź2 million.

P23 A YOUNG MAN WHO IS A DEVIL OF A DRIVER

P44

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16th - 22nd March

Torrevieja gets the Scandinavian touch Photo credit: Google Maps

by Steve Collins RESIDENTS and visitors to Torrevieja have begun to notice that their environment is just that little bit cleaner and tidier in recent weeks.

Much of this has been due to the hard work and dedication of a group of Scandinavian residents who get together ever y Monday to combine their weekly exercise activities with tidying up the area.

The initiative has been led

by Eva Wieselberg and is well promoted across social media not only to Scandinavian locals, but to all those that have shown an interest in collaborating in the scheme.

Speaking to Spanish media, another Torrevieja resident - Samira Cures who lived in Sweden for many years - explained that this kind of project is quite com-

A perfect road landing A LIGHT airplane was forced to make an emergency landing on the RM-19 motorway close to the Polaris World urbanisation in Torre Pacheco.

It landed on the hard shoulder just after 7pm when the aircraft began to suffer from engine difficulties on its way to Murcia-San Javier Airport at the time. Emergency services were called to the scene by a number of drivers who witnessed what many described as “a perfect landing.”

The pilot suffered no injuries and the aircraft was later removed from the side of the motorway by a large crane.

Dead-man’s parking space CLEANING UP: Avenida del Paris (pictured) is the weekly meeting point.

mon in the Nordic countries. In these cases, after the long winter the neighbours meet up for lunch, go for walks and remove all the rubbish that has accumulated in the neighbourhood during those months.

They now do the same in

Torrevieja by meeting in Avenida de Paris - one of the popular residential areas in the municipality - ever y Monday morning at 10am equipped with rubbish bags and adorned in their sportswear. They concentrate on areas where the municipal

vans can’t access such as unfenced plots of land and abandoned green areas.

At the start of January, a German resident spent several hours a day for two weeks cleaning up parts of the CV-95 close to the Torrevieja Hospital.

MURCIA’S Local Police have announced through their series of social media outlets that a driver has been reported for parking his car in an area reserved for disabled people.

Such occurrences and offences are not unusual, but in this case the man was using one of the ‘blue cards’ that belonged to a person who died 10 years ago.

The man was fined €1,500 and also had to pay for the removal of his car from the local car pound after it had been towed away by police.

16th - 22nd March

A SO-FAR unidentified man has been rescued from his car after an accident on the RM-F35 road in La Roda.

Three people were travelling in the car towards San Javier at the time of the incident that didn’t involve any other vehicles.

Five firefighters and two fire engines dispatched from the Mar Menor Fire Station attended the scene with other emergency vehicles, who assisted in releasing the trapped man f r o m h i s c a r. H e was subsequently taken to the Los Arcos General Hospital with multiple injuries; the other two passengers were also taken to the same hospital but were unharmed.

It has not been revealed if the man had been breathalysed after the crash.

Five go drifting FIVE people have been rescued after their boat began to drift off the island of Tabarca.

The incident happened on Sunday afternoon when the occupants anchored their boat offshore and had gone to the island for a short visit on a separate dinghy.

It was when they returned to come back that their base boat broke down and began drifting a kilometre away from land.

Photo credit: Iberdrola

Cause and injured crash driver unknown

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REPLACEMENT: Helicopters were used to renew old power lines (File image).

Not an emergency... on this occasion

by Darren Parmenter RESIDENTS in parts of Orihuela looked to skies more than once during one morning recently when a helicopter made a series of sorties around the Sierra de Orihuela.

At first, they were concerned that once again the helicopter rescue service had been called out to aid another trapped mountaineer, climber or walker which is a common sight. However, on this occasion it was for the benefit of

everyone that lives in the area and beyond; they were replacing a number of electric pylons that had rusted and deteriorated due to age.

Being such a steep area, it proved impossible for local electric company IBERDROLA to access the old medium voltage towers, and so carried out the work using a helicopter to transport the materials - that included the new structures themselves as well as the concrete to affix them - to the remote areas. Several workers from IBERDROL A were on

hand to guide the helicopter pilot in control of a long rope and harness to safely transport the equipment which is

an essential part of the longterm project to increase and improve the quality of the electricity supply.

The programme of works that is due to last over the next few years is expected to cost in the region of â‚Ź2 million.

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16th - 22nd March Photo credit: Salva Gomez Twitter

GENERATIONAL: Futurmoda exhibition held at the IFA in Alicante (File image).

Footwear industry takes steps to the future

by Ray Chadwick AFTER a number of years that at one point saw a severe threat to the local industry, employers in the footwear sector in Elche are setting up new initiatives to guarantee its future. Top of the list is a plan by the employers to get a foot into schools and to set up a form of direct line that allows students an easier transition between their

education and a career in the shoe industry. One of the schools involved will be the IES Sixto Marco in Elche - a major centre in Spain dealing with studies connected with the sector - and they will lead the training schemes with the aim of ensuring the current generation of workers have replacements readily available in the future.

The project has the support of three other European countries in which footwear is an important part of the

economy: Italy, Portugal and Poland.

These ideas were highlighted at the Alicante IFA Exhibition Centre where a ‘Futurmoda’ shoe fair took place yesterday (Thursday) that was aimed at young people. On hand were a number of professionals offering appropriate career advice alongside a selection of footwear products, practical demonstrations, and young people sharing their experiences of working in the industry already.

Lifeguard services announced for Easter VISITORS to the vast majority of beaches that form part of the Alicante Province will be safer and secure this Easter.

H o l y We e k b e g i n s i n S p a i n f r o m S u n d a y March 25, and with the expected influx of visitors that are also going to take some extra holid a y t h a n k s t o t h e S p a n i s h F a t h e r ’s D a y o n March 19; plans have been made for some time to ensure the beaches are fully protected by lifeguards and first-aid points.

Santa Pola’s beaches will have a lifeguard service on hand from March 23 to April 2 but with less people on duty compared to the main summer season. No decision has yet been made on those that will run the beach bars and sun beds as the tender process is yet to be launched for these particular services.

Councillor Ana Martinez - responsible for the beaches of Guardamar del Segura - confirms that Playa Centro and La Roqueta will have lifeguard patrols covering the March 19 National Fiesta for San Jose and also for Holy Week.

She also confirmed that a new playground is about to be installed and the access walkways to the sand have been lengthened.

So far, Alicante, Elche, Torrevieja and Orihuela haven’t formally published information on their respective beach arrangements for the Easter holiday period.

16th - 22nd March

Spy in the sky unveils illegal builds CENTRAL government in Madrid has for some time been cracking down on tax fraud and their fight has highlighted a number of issues closer to home.

The process of regularisation across the country as a whole suggests that there are 10,200 illegal constructions in Elche alone, which translates to a potential loss to the municipality of around €3 million.

The information that led to this conclusion comes after a survey of the area with the help of aerial photography that began last February and lasted until October. An exact total of 10,186 irregularities were discovered.

Many of the infringements were found in the Camp d’Elx area during the search. Swimming pools, walls, conservatories, barbecue areas and garages were all spotted on or connected to properties under the control of Elche and not registered.

The number uncovered is even more than the larger neighbouring city of Alicante where just over 7,000 illegal builds showed up.

Residents that have everything legal, fully declared and above board have nothing to worry about but might be affected in the long run. The value of the land in Elche has not been reviewed since the year 2000, and if it were to be uprated all the local taxes would need to increase across the board.

However, according to Councillor Ana Arabid speaking to Spanish media, such a decision would be rejected by the Elche City Council to stop taking any further money from the pockets of the local people.

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Dead birds found after ‘chemical spill’

by Glenn Scott OF F IC E R S f ro m t h e Guardia Civil based in Alicante are investigating a possible chemical spill that has been discovered in Orihuela.

I t ’s u n d e r s to o d t h at whatever the substance is, it was affecting a number of species of local wildlife and is believed to be the cause of the death of two birds. A local distributor of p hy to s a n i t a r y p ro d u c t s (connected with plants and herbicides) is being investigated for possible antienvironmental crimes.

T he substance was detected by members of SEPRONA - the environmental division of the Guardia Civil - in a section of an irrigation drain in Orihuela.

What they found was a whitish, viscous, and foulsmelling liquid. In addition, the inspectors uncov-

Photo credit: Guardia Civil

GLUE-LIKE: Samples of ‘foul-smelling’ liquid taken away for analysis.

ered two dead birds that were attached to the gluelike material.

SEPRONA immediately attempted to find the origin of the spillage as, being inside an irrigation chan-

n e l , t h e re w a s a r i s k o f contamination to the fields it supplied that are planted w i t h fo o d p ro d u c t s d e s tined for human consumption.

The company where it’s

alleged the residue came from has been located and samples have been taken and sent to the Agri-Food L aborator y of the Valencian Community for thorough testing.

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16th - 22nd March

Busy day for the fire brigade Photo credit: Fire Engine Photos

by Darren Parmenter

CHIPPED: Stolen German Shorthaired Pointer recovered.

Hunting dog is hunted down

by Ray Chadwick AN operation set up to track down a stolen hunting dog has been successful, with the animal being found on a farm in Totana, Murcia.

Specialist officers from the Guardia Civil found the missing dog on a local farm in Aguaderas in Lorca alongside several other dogs used for hunting.

Known as ‘Operation BRACO’ (the Spanish name for a German Shorthaired Pointer) the investigation began when the animal and environment branch of the Guardia Civil - SEPRONA - were alerted about the stolen dog.

They began a series of inspections in a number of areas known to have this

particular breed, which at first drew a blank.

However, they were eventually led to a farm in Totana, around 22 kilometres from where the dog was stolen, where the SEPRONA team found a kennel containing a number of animals fitting the breed. Thanks to the dog being microchipped, they were quickly able to find the missing German Pointer and return it to its grateful and relieved owner.

The Guardia Civil concluded that there was no way the dog could have travelled to Totana under its own steam, and so the investigations are ongoing to discover who stole the animal in the first place.

TWO incidents across the Vega Baja region in the space of a few hours needed the assistance of the Fire Brigade... many from the same headquarters.

Just before 4.30pm on Wednesday afternoon, two men were injured in a head-on collision in Orihuela which left a 20-year-old driver trapped in his car. The crash - due to so far unknown causes - happened on the CV-912 and at first it was believed that the drivers of both vehicles needed to be released by the firefighters. It transpired that only one required assistance, and after being cut free was taken to the Vega Baja Hospital.

The other driver was described as a 60-year-old man who needed medical attention at the scene. His injuries weren’t deemed serious enough to be taken to hospital for further treatment.

ON DUTY: Almoradi Fire Brigade on double call-out (File image).

Earlier in the morning, Vega Baja’s fire service were dispatched to a fire that was originally spotted somewhere between Almoradi, Algorfa and Benijofar. Fire had broken out on a farm and members of the Almoradi Fire Brigade were called out being the nearest to the scene.

According to reports, the

blaze started when people working on the farm managed to cause a spark which ignited the surrounding area very quickly. Within minutes, a thick column of black smoke could be seen for a few kilometres around, and it was the quick response of the firefighters that prevented the fire spreading even further.

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16th - 22nd March

British rapist finally caught in Spain Photo credit: National Crime Agency Flickr

by Glenn Scott A BRITISH man on the run from the UK after being found guilty of committing rape, has been arrested in Murcia.

The so-far unnamed man was detained in Baños de Fortuna after more than 30 years of being sought. He faces a life sentence for raping two people between 1980 and 1983, and was found following an extensive cross-border operation between the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK and Spain’s National Police.

His victims were a 15-year-old girl and a woman; the latter is said to have been raped four times by the arrested man and the teenager at least once.

Back in 2016, a European arrest warrant was issued by the British authorities.

Even then, it was understood that he might be living in this part of Spain, but it was believed that he was travelling around in a camper van and thus left no trace of his movements.

The fugitive was in his van when detained by the Spanish authorities, and subject to legal formalities, is expected to be extradited to the UK in the coming days.

Drug dealers caught with a ‘double coke’

FOUND: NCA in cooperation with National Police get their man.

NATIONAL POLICE officers based in Elche had ‘double’ their luck when finally able to dismantle a drugs operation.

After months of investigations, three men were arrested in both Alicante and Murcia and they were able to seize more than a kilo of narcotics.

The investigation was started almost a year ago when it was learned via ‘various channels of information and intelligence’ that there was an illegal gang of drug traffickers operating in both cities. As a result, a number of surveillance operations were established and focused on the homes and day-to-day activities of the suspects.

They quickly discovered a similar modus operandi being adopted by the gang. It appears they managed to acquire the drugs which they were able to move around from different locations throughout the Alicante Province. They then set up their own small laboratories and using different chemical processes were able to ‘cook’ the drug which doubled-up on its weight and was thus twice the street value.

The completed product was then distributed to other alleged traffickers who in turn resold the drugs.

Investigating officers described the activities of the gang as showing ‘professionalism’ as they, at first, were always one step ahead of them. They continually changed their cars and locations and made the investigation very difficult.

However, enough information was gathered on the gang to enable an interception to take place of several vehicles and the arrest of the alleged dealers.

16th - 22nd March

Refurbishment of bullring underway

A different kind of tourist TWELVE municipalities from across the Vega Baja have joined forces to promote a rather different kind of tourism to the region.

In an attempt to attract more people to the area at all times of the year, and perhaps a different kind of visitor that doesn’t simply want the traditional sun, sea and sangria holiday, they are devoting many of their efforts to agriculture, fishing and livestock.

The newly formed ‘Intermunicipal Association’ believes that the history of these often forgotten industries in the Vega Baja could be an important additional attraction for potential tourists.

On a visit to the area, the regional secretary of the Valencian Tourism Agency, Francesc Colomer, said that the new association had the full backing of

Photo credit: Joanbanjo Wikimedia

WORK has finally got underway on a major project to renovate the bullring in Orihuela.

The building, closed for the past 30 years and ending up in a poor state of repair, will be completely reformed into a multipurpose venue within seven months.

Once completed, there will be space for 2,800 spectators who will be treated to a wide range of shows, concerts and events; everything apart from a bullfight.

Mayor of Orihuela Emilio Bascuñana described the project as “historic,” and went on to say that Orihuela has been trying to solve the problem of this abandoned site for almost three decades which he believes has spoilt the image of the city. “I’m proud that it’s my own government team that is behind this initiative to give this area its best possible use.”

The programme of works - costing €399,529 should be finished in mid-October after demolition work began yesterday (Thursday). When the council lead by Emilio Bascuñana came to power, there were discussions to completely demolish the entire structure and start again. However, it was later decided to preserve the shell of the bullring and redevelop instead. Covering 7,500 square metres, the refurbished venue will include a large garden area, chairs and tables, children’s playground; elderly persons exercise area, and a cafeteria. As a nod to the history of the building, there will be space for a bullfighting museum.

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ALTERNATIVE: Vega Baja seeking a new approach to tourism. the regional government and confirmed that support with €70,000 of aid. The municipalities taking part in the scheme are also expected to receive their own injections of finance too. If everything goes to plan,

the new ‘countryside’ tourists to the Vega Baja could be seen in and around the farms and beyond within a maximum of three years.

Eight municipalities have already declared their interest in

the new group, which are Callosa de Segura, Dolores, Benferri, Rafal, San Isidro, Rojales, Catral and Pilar de la Horadada.

Decisions from Orihuela, Torrevieja, Almoradí and Guardamar del Segura are pending.

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16th - 22nd March

Town centre reforms

Time to learn more TORREVIEJA Town Hall will shortly be starting a series of free guided tours around the centre of the municipality.

Announced by Councillor Fanny Serrano, the tours are aimed at anyone who wants to discover the history and customs of this prominent part of the Costa Blanca. It will particularly empha-

sise the maritime and fishing history and the traditions of the salt industry.

The first of the tours will take place today (Friday) and will be held three times a week on Wednesdays and Fridays (10am to 12noon) and Saturdays (10.30am to 12.30pm). More details at www.turismodetorrevieja.com.

Photo credit: Guardia Civil

THE major programme of road works that has dominated Guardamar del Segura for a number of months has been completed.

The work was signed off earlier this week by Alicante Provincial Council VicePresident Eduardo Dolon and Mayor Jose Luis Saez, who announced that the two main roads are now more accessible and safer for both drivers and pedestrians.

Guardamar del Segura received a 65 per cent subsidy from Alicante which amounted to €258,400 which went towards widening and replacing pavements, and improving drainage and street lighting.

‘Record’ airport tobacco smuggler

by Darren Parmenter COOPERATION between the Spanish Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil has managed to confiscate the largestever stash of tobacco from a single passenger at the Alicante-Elche airport.

The arrested man, a 27year-old Ukrainian, was found with 2,350 packets of cigarettes in his luggage.

According to official reports, a specialist unit of the Guardia Civil, which concentrates on financial and customs issues (ODAIFI) at the airport, carried out a preplanned operation to prevent tobacco being smuggled.

Officers knew that a passenger on a flight from Warsaw in Poland bound for Valencia - but subsequently diverted to Alicante-Elche intended to bring in a large amount of contraband tobacco. As a result, a search team was put in place to watch out for their suspect as soon as the flight landed.

FAG STASH: Intelligence led Guardia Civil to over 2,000 packets of cigarettes.

After a discreet sur veillance, a man fitting the profile waiting for his luggage at the carousel caught their attention, particularly after he was joined by a woman and they began chatting.

Once they’d both collected their suitcases, the Guardia Civil approached the suspects and asked for them to be opened up.

The two suitcases belong-

ing to the man, were full to the brim of nothing other than different packets of cigarettes, with an estimated street value of €11,000.

The man was arrested; the woman, once her luggage was checked, was released when it was established she had no connection with the man and had simply asked him a question in the baggage reclaim section.

16th - 22nd March

Food banks and clothes mountains in Alicante Photo credit: Christopher Elmini Wikimedia

INPAVI: Providing an invaluable service to disadvantaged people.

MORE than 250 families from Alicante suffering from extreme poverty or at the risk of social exclusion, have benefitted from the city’s food and clothes distribution centres.

Valued at more than €31,000, over 20 tons of goods were handed out during the course of two days. This was the first quarterly distribution that took place at the headquarters of the organisation INPAVI in Alicante.

Around 60 volunteers helped to hand out more than 800 garments - worth around €2,400 - which have been gratefully received by 750 people.

The project has the full support of the Alicante City Council, and the organisers from INPAVI publicly thanked the collaboration of the Alicante food bank, the Christian Life Centre Church in the city, the La Caixa bank and the many generous private donations that enabled so many to benefit.

INPAVI operates to ‘lend a hand’ to the most disadvantaged people to get them back up on the ladder and out of poverty.

It also attempts to bring their plight to a wider audience and encourage even more support, both with financial help and other donations.

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16th - 22nd March

Bus and lorry drivers targeted... and fined OVER a period of seven days, fines were handed out to 239 lorry and bus drivers in the Murcia region.

The majority of the sanctions were as a result of driving for too many hours and carrying incorrect or expired documentation, although two drivers were tested positive for drugs and seven were caught without wearing a seat belt. During the campaign, 824 different vehicles were stopped on the region’s roads.

The high cost of cleaning AS the 2018 budget for the Cartagena municipality reveals that the cost for supplying the rubbish disposal and street cleaning contract amounts to €30 million, it’s also announced that it’s the area that generates the most complaints.

The cleaning contract is by far the most expensive in almost all municipalities and Cartagena is no different.

This news follows on from issues in San Fulgencio where a

Photo credit: PxHere

EXPENSIVE: Rubbish collection takes the most from local budgets.

controversial multi-million contract has been officially given the go-ahead in an area where locals continually raise concerns about the cleanliness of Urbanisation La Marina in particular.

Next on the list of expensive local services to provide are street lighting, local transport and garden/public space works.

Added to the cleaning, this totals €55 million in Cartagena.

Providing public lighting costs €7.9 million, of which 80 per cent goes on electricity and the rest on repairs and day-today maintenance.

Bus company ALSA receive €6.2 million to provide and maintain the bus service, although it’s understood that improvements in certain routes and the construction of additional stops are part of the deal.

To keep Cartagena’s gardens and parks clean, fresh and tidy it takes €6.3 million.

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16th - 22nd March

HAVE YOUR SAY

Popular post on Facebook reaching 5,339 people with 205 reactions “Police find body of missing eight-yearold boy in Spain”

Widows of region fight for their rights MORE than 400 women have taken par t in a special meeting aimed at the rights of widows.

The 26th General Assembly of the Federation of Widows Associations of M urc i a m e t i n S an Pe dro del Pinatar and was attended by the Minister for Family and Equal O pportunities, Violante Tomas.

The meeting was part of a number of different

SISTERHOOD: The annual gathering of Murcia widows coincided with International Women’s Day.

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Murcia

e ve n t s a c ro s s t h e re g i o n that showed solidarity for women which culminated in the International Women’s Day on Thursday March 8.

T h e 4 0 0 w i d o w s at t h e event came from 19 associations across the Murcia Region, and were encouraged by the minister “to continue with their magnificent work.”

Rosaleen White Everyone’s worst nightmare, rest in peace little man.

Joanne Schoonen So very sad. How could anyone do that !! My daughters school had oneminute silence for the little one.

They were also thanked for ever y thing they do in the empowerment of all women in the reg ion “for the achievement of real and effective equality between men and women in all aspects of society.”

These dedicated women work throughout the year arranging a number of different activities which include trips and visits;

@RTNNewspaper Most liked posts from this week

• Benidorm to become centre of deafblind issues • Torrevieja hits record levels of rainfall and cold temperatures • Two men arrested in connection with Costa del Sol rape case • Two arrested in fake leisure centre drug bust

In Total 7,974 people reached 3,975 reactions

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• Rough sleeping figures in Costa Blanca ‘worrying’

but most impor tant for those women who have lost a loved one, a place to meet and share their experiences and to get them back into as normal as possible way of life again.

One of the achievements that these organisations has achieved over recent years is the inc r e a s e i n w i d o w ’s p e n sions which now stands at 52 per cent of the late husband’s salary.

In addition, previously when the husband died and hadn’t completed 22 years of contributions the widow received nothing.

This changed two years ago and is now based on the retirement age of the deceased par tner, ir respective of the amount of years worked.

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16th - 22nd March

Chinese warriors on show in Spain Photo credit: Flickr

ON GUARD: The Warriors of Xian soon to march into Alicante.

ONE of Alicante’s principal museums is proud to announce a major scoop for a future exhibition.

Representatives of the MARQ are planning to bring nine soldiers that make up the world-famous Terracotta Army.

In addition, and for the first time ever, the Warriors

of Xian will be accompanied by one of the horses from the priceless collection.

When the exhibition takes place, it will feature the largest-ever number of the life-size pieces allowed in Spain by the Chinese authorities.

The announcement was made after a number of in-

tense negotiations with both political and technical authorities in China, and followed a visit to the country by a delegation from Alicante.

All that remains before the project can be finally confirmed is for the museum’s facilities and security to be evaluated before the green light is given by Beijing.

16th - 22nd March

Trapped driver rescued in La Manga A DRIVER has been injured after being involved in a car accident in La Manga. It happened at the Los Belones exit of the RM-12 PK 10.

The man ended up trapped in his vehicle when it overturned after crossing from one carriageway to the other and blocked the La Manga-direction lanes, according to sources at the Emergency Co-ordination Centre and witnesses at the scene.

Disabled workers get green fingers THIRTEEN young people with disabilities have been taken on to work on the maintenance and improvement of a number of parks and gardens in Murcia City centre and surrounding districts.

Thanks to collaboration between the city council and the local association for the integration of people with disabilities (CEOM), the young people - always accompanied by a tutor are carrying out a number of important tasks such as watering the plants and planting different kinds of flowers.

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Three kilo drugs find at checkpoint NATIONAL POLICE officers have arrested a man in Elche after being detained at a police control point in possession of drugs.

The 36-year-old from Granada had more than nine kilos of marihuana in his vehicle, and the

stash was allegedly intended for sale in Elche The checkpoint was on the A-7 motorway and after pulling the car over; the driver became very nervous and alerted the suspicions of the police.

However, he admitted immediately that he was carrying an illegal substance and when the boot was opened three large black bags containing perfectly sealed packets of marihuana ready for distribution were discovered.

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16th - 22nd March

PA S S E N G E R n u m bers for AlicanteElche Airport, that continued to break all records during 2017, show no signs of dropping this year if the figures for January and February are anything to go by.

Once again, it’s the British tourist market that has lead the way and contributed to the 1.4 million people using the terminal over the first two months of the year.

The numbers are 3.3 per cent up on the same period in 2017.

The growth was expected but at a smaller level than last year given the spike experienced in that period.

Statistics released by airport operators AENA showed British travellers accounted for 280,294 of the 711,893 people passing through the terminal in February alone.

Broken down into the origin of the passengers, after those arriving from the UK, tourists from the Netherlands totalled 52,870; Norway (41,840); Belgium (41,425) and Germany (40,522).

Arrivals at AlicanteElche Airport from within Spain totalled 104,027.

In terms of flights, there were 5,181 during February 2018, 1.2 per cent less than the same month last year.

Time to ‘get wet’ on the Costa Blanca Photo credit: PxHere

British tourists lead early year arrivals

by Mark Rogers THIS weekend sees the holding of the second edition of the International Aquatic Activities Show at the IFA exhibition centre.

MEDSEA returns to the Alicante Province to put on show all that the Costa Blanca has to offer connected with leisure and sporting activities linked to the sea.

More than 100 exhibitors are expected to attend the four-day event that starts today and ends on Monday, a national fiesta day.

The details were announced by Eduardo Dolon - Vice President of the Alicante provincial government responsible for tourism - and the technical director of the project, Terencio Perez, under the heading of ‘Mojate en la Costa Blanca'

DIVING: The giant pool will feature a number of demonstrations.

(Get wet on the Costa Blanca).

The MEDSEA event will include stands and presentations on diving, snorkelling, underwater fishing, surfing, windsurfing, kite surfing and kayaking, among many others.

One of the major features of the show will be a 32 cubic metre, 3.5m deep pool to enable a number of specialised demonstrations to take place.

Many of the municipalities across the Costa Blanca are taking part as well,

thanks to a €50,000 grant shared between Javea, Teulada-Moraira, Benissa, Calpe, Altea, Benidorm, Villajoyosa, El Campello, Alicante, Elche, Santa Pola, Guardamar del Segura, Torrevieja, Orihuela and Pilar de la Horadada.

16th - 22nd March

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Raising funds to buy children a mattress Photo Credit: Stevie Spit Facebook

LOC AL enter tainer Stevie Spit, along with numerous collea g ues across the Costa Blanca, has raised many thousands of euros for many worthwhile causes.

L ast year, one of his g reat achievements was the Summer Shoe Appeal w h i c h , w i t h t h e s u p p o r t o f H E L P at Home Costa Blanca, allowed him to obtain 100 new pairs of shoes for the children at the Elche Children’s Home, and San Jose Obrero Orphanage, in Orihuela.

In Stevie’s latest appeal, which he is running with Eileen Gleave, the need has moved from shoes to mattresses whereby the local entertainer looks to donate a single mattress to each of the 100 children at both of the homes.

Stevie said “The two orphanages have some of the most vulnerable children that we care for - those who are abandoned, unwanted, and who have suffered rejection, so the very least we can do for them is to show them that we care.”

The pair are looking to raise €7,000 in order to allow them to purchase a new single mattress for every child.

Stevie commented “I appreciate that such a large amount will take us some

RAISING FUNDS: Stevie Spit presenting the shoes in 2017.

time to realise but with €2,800 already in the kitty we have got off to a very good start. This has allowed us to make an initi al purchase of 24 mattresses which need to be provided in advance of the

rest , and which will be presented at a fundraising event to be held in Villamartin Plaza on Sunday April 1.”

This Easter Sunday event is bound to be a blockbuster and assisted by both

Eileen and Casey Shaddock, along with the services of many of the Costa Blanca’s very best entertainers, a large port i o n o f t h e f u n d i n g i s s u re to b e achieved. For those who believe in this mission and would like to help the Costa Blanca’s most dedicated fundraiser with his Mattress Appeal you can do so either in Villamar tin on Easter Sunday or at any of his events where donation tins will be readily available.

You will also be able to find donation tins at the Emerald Isle, The Celtic Isle, Captain Morgan’s Bar, Yolo’s, The Quiet Man in La Zenia Village and The Avenue Bar at Lomas de Cabo Roig.

The entertainer with a heart of gold is also appearing with 12 artists and some mystery guests at a special tribute night on Friday March 30 at the Orihuela Costa Resort.

Tickets cost €15 and funds raised will be donated to the Tasha Lynch Appeal to try to help her to travel to the USA to receive treatment for the rare mitochondrial disease which has left her paralysed f ro m t h e w a i s t d o w n a n d u n a b l e to breathe without assistance.

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16th - 22nd March

Advertising Feature HELEN’S TRUCKS has been in business now for over 15 years and is based in Crevillente and they specialise in smaller loads and light removals, moving goods between the UK, Spain, France and Portugal.

They bring that personal touch to transporting your belongings from A to B. Helen and Robert who make up the team at Helen’s Trucks along with Henry and Peter, have said the market has changed significantly from the peak a few years ago when so many more people were moving to Spain from the UK. Now they find that most people are leaving the bulk of their furniture and white goods in their property when they sell and are looking to transport only the most precious of their belongings and heirlooms back with them when they return to the UK. With vehicles ideally sized not just for the loads they carry but to manoeuvre through narrow Spanish streets and access ways Helen’s Trucks are perfectly equipped for what they do.

At Helen’s Trucks it is a personal, friendly, quality service their

Helen’s Trucks

HELEN’S TRUCKS: It’s all about making moving easy and stress free. customers get. Helen and Robert both believe it is very important to meet their customers face to face even when giving those initial estimates.

“That way we can find out what the customer really wants and needs,” said Helen. That helps build up trust with their customers

that they can safely leave their treasured possessions in safe hands and an advantage with Helen’s Trucks is that their customers know as Robert puts it, ‘that Personal touch goes a thousand miles.’

If it is not possible to deliver it straight away or you need your

items stored then Helen’s Trucks have secure palletised and containerised storage available at very good rates for both short and long term. The warehouse is alarmed and insured also, for peace of mind.

Wrapping and packing can be undertaken by Helen’s Trucks but

if you prefer then they can supply all the necessary cartons, paper and tape for you to do the work yourself. All their removals are itemised and an inventory produced and the entire load is kept together and not split.

Communication with their customers is another key element to success at Helen’s Trucks. Understanding details like parking and offloading availability, access to properties and so on is vital to ensure a successful on time delivery and if there are unavoidable delays caused by weather conditions for example then Helen’s Trucks make sure their clients are kept abreast of the situation.

Helen’s Trucks offer you the flexibility of being able to pick up at short notice and a personal service bringing that human touch to meeting your needs. Helen summed up the Helen’s Trucks philosophy saying, “It’s all about making moving easy and stress free.”

You can contact Helen’s Trucks on 965 400 616 or 667 815 081 or UK 0843 207 9161 and email at helenstrucks1@yahoo.co.uk.

There is also a website at www.helenstrucks.com and on Facebook at Helens Trucks.

16th - 22nd March

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Story of a young musician Photo Credit: Barry Lewis flickr

by John Redfern

WHEN I was 13 years of age, a Glasgow musician started to arrive in sound on a simple transistor radio I owned.

His name was Lonnie Donegan and he had finally broken the back of music in Britain that was accepted as the norm. The music was called skiffle.

Skiffle was adapted from country blues groups in the pre-war American south with improvised instruments.

I was just 13 but knew I had to get into this music so made myself a tea chest bass.

Tea chests in the 50’s and 60’s were the most common way of transporting materials by sea or land and were lined inside with silver foil which was ripped out and given to various charities.

I got hold of a tea chest, painted it red, bought myself a sink plunger and replaced the small handle with a broom stale. Then I drilled a small hole at the top of the broom stale and inserted a

MUSIC TO THE EARS: All you need to start your own skiffle group.

length of heavy cord, tied a knot then drilled in the corner of the tea chest another hole, inserted the other end of the cord and secured it.

Got myself a tea chest bass...

Yippee.

My mate at the time owned a washboard, which his Mum used for washing clothes in the dolly tub. The washboard which was another tool that was used for washing at the end of the 20th century was made of galvanised steel in a wooden frame, but in the early 21st century manufacturers made them of ribbed glass with a rust resistant frame in brass.

Anther instrument was born to skiffle. Players of the washboard, with the aid of a thimble, used to skiffle up and down the board to make a percussion sound.

With the help of an acoustic guitar player who could play three chords we performed at church halls and community centres.

I was just a young lad who wanted to pursue my future in music, the tea chest bass never matched the root note of the chords of the guitarist, but for some reason the audience loved it!

I then formed my own folk group but that’s another story.

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16th - 22nd March

Basic Spanish for everyday needs

by Jane Cronin

THIS is the last of the articles about the ‘recent past’ or present perfect tense before we move on to pastures new. Here is a text written a while ago (and at a different time of year!) which exemplifies the use of the tense along with a few other bits and pieces. ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? ¿Qué habéis hecho desde la semana pasada?

Yo he descansado un poco, ¡por fin! Fui a la ciudad de Almería durante dos días, incluyendo Nochevieja. Es una ciudad pequeña y tranquila pero tiene sus cosas interesantes. Tiene un castillo enorme que se llama La Alcazaba y que domina la ciudad. También tiene un refugio subterráneo de la guerra civil que es único en España por su extensión. Como me gusta mucho la historia, era muy interesante para mí.

Present perfect negatives and questions Mi gata ha descansado mucho también.

Ahora estamos todos en casa otra vez para empezar lo que los españoles llaman ‘a cuesta de enero’ Apart from the abundant use of the recent past tense there are a few other things to comment on. Firstly the final expression: ‘la cuesta de enero’. This means something like ‘the uphill struggle of January’. ‘Cuesta’ normally means a slope, but ‘la cuesta de enero’ is a particular kind of difficult upward slope

which those of you who work will identify with and those who have retired can perhaps vaguely remember. As well as the psychologist effects of returning to work in the middle of winter, it also refers to the economic problems left by overspending over the Christmas period. My cat finds January particularly arduous with people coming in and out of the house at all different times of day.

Finally, I would like to link back to things we looked at some time ago, namely for the for-

mation of negatives and questions. We saw that to form negative sentences all we need to do is place the word ‘no’ before the verb. The same principle applies to all verb tenses, including this one. For example: ‘No he hecho los deberes’. (I haven’t done my homework) When we name the subject, the word ‘no’ stays in front of the verb. ‘Mi hermano no ha vendido su casa’ (My brother hasn’t sold his house).

Similarly when we are forming closed questions, that is questions that require ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as an answer, we simply make statements sound like questions with our voice, without any change in word order. ‘Tu hermano ha vendido su casa’ (Your brother has sold his house) ‘¿Tu hermano ha vendido su casa?’ (Has your brother sold his house?).

Mis hijas han descansado también.

Una ha ido con un grupo de amigos a un pueblo cerca de Albacete. Dice que es una zona muy bonita. Mi otra hija ha visitado a sus amigas en Asturias. Ha viajado desde Alicante a Gijón en tren y ha visto mucha nieve a lo largo del camino.

PRESENT PERFECT: Final lesson.

In the next article we will look at the text translation first and then I think it’s time we learnt about ‘open questions’ as opposed to ‘closed’ ones. ¡Hasta la semana que viene!

16th - 22nd March

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money Three million Madrid citizens due to receive tax cuts REGIONAL President of Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes, has announced a number of tax cuts for residents in and around the Spanish capital.

These include reductions on school expenses for the underfours.

The income tax rate on the amount that goes to the regional government will fall to 9 per cent, and discounts will be offered on inheritance tax rates when the beneficiaries are siblings, aunts and uncles or nieces and nephews.

It is estimated that around three million people living in Madrid and the surrounding districts will benefit from the new measures, and will save around €125 million per year.

Cifuentes said that these new tax announcements have

been possible thanks to what she described as the region’s ‘healthy economy’.

Giving more details on the measures, she said that the 9 per cent rate is now the lowest in any of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions and those workers on the lowest incomes will see the greatest benefit.

Further tax reductions and tax breaks are in the pipeline for Madrid, such as relief for people that have elderly relatives with certain disabilities living with them where no rent is charged. It’s planned for their tax allowance to increase to €1,500 a year rather than the present €900.

Among other measures announced is the reduction in tax paid when buying a main residence up to €250,000.

Photo credit: PxHere

SCAM: Guardia Civil warns of enhancement to a well-known scam.

Keep out of the cashpoint ‘loop’

BENEFITS: Cristina Cifuentes announces a major programme of tax reductions.

THE Guardia Civil has issued a statement warning of the latest scam that is affecting users of bank cashpoints.

The scam is known as the ‘Lebanese loop’ which sees thieves putting a thin, clear, rigid plastic ‘sleeve’ into the ATM card slot. When the card is inserted, the machine can’t read the strip, so it keeps asking for the PIN number to be entered.

Meanwhile, someone behind watches as the number is being tapped in. Eventually the customer gives up, thinking the machine has swallowed the card and they walk away. The thieves then remove the plastic sleeve, complete with card, and take the money away.

This ‘trick’ has now been enhanced to trap the banknotes that stay rolled up in the machine. The ATM records the transaction as being successful but the customer thinks there’s been an error and leaves. The thieves then approach the ATM to remove their piece of kit and take out the cash.

16th - 22nd March

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legal

Q A

I bought a property off plan in 2014 and lost thousands? I have heard that I can now claim all my money back PLUS interest ..HOW?

Buyers who received a Bank Guarantee to cover payments made towards their property (or even those who never had this because the developer or bank failed to comply with the Law) could benefit from a Supreme Court of Spain Judgment, which has

recently ordered that these entities return all the money invested, from the time payments were made, to the buyers of off plan properties, plus interest.

whether you received the compulsory individual bank guarantee or not, you might be interested to learn more about your rights.

Thursday 22nd March

If you bought a property off plan, paid a deposit or even made stage payments,

10.30am - CIUDAD QUESADA Finance & Tax Forum Seminar La Laguna Hotel Reservation necessary

At Pellicer & Heredia we can help you with all the legal aspects of building your own home, and if you’re not in Spain we can do all the paperwork on your behalf. For more information on this or any other legal matter please contact us by email info@pellicerheredia.com or by telephone 965 480 737

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16th - 22nd March

Fake news

by Michael Walsh

keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com COBRA, the UK government’s emergency response committee recently met at Downing Street.

The purpose was to discuss updates on the poisoning of Sergei Skripal.

The British spy was sentenced by a Russian court to 13 years for espionage. Based in Spain he passed the Russian Military Intelligence phonebook to MI6 and much else.

Needless to say there wasn’t a shred of evidence to suggest Russian involvement. But, media dutifully presented speculation as 100 per cent proven facts and it was ignored that the victim was found only a few miles from the MOD exotic weaponry laboratories at Porton Down.

Slipstream media had the scoundrels bang to rights; everything printed or broadcast about this story was 100 per cent fake.

The Sun headlined screeched, ‘Our lads beating Vlad’. This was reference to DS Nick Bailey, a

Photo Credit: The Kremlin

WHO’S KIDDING WHO?: May and Putin. great name for a London policeman, making a good recovery.

It might be just a coincidence that the same redtop warned of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction and told readers they were ‘45 minutes from doom’.

We can’t be certain how the ‘if it

bleeds it leads’ tabloid established that Vladimir Putin had a hand in the affair. Call the Met’ off; Murdoch’s media menagerie has the villains. The Times headline, read by the people who run the country, declared, ‘Traitors are not safe on British soil, says Russia.’

Problem, Russia said no such

thing. The comment was made by a solitary TV presenter speaking on one of Russia’s hundreds of broadcasting channels. The anchorman’s inference did not imply Russian responsibility.

It is claimed that western media is independent. How odd that throughout this affair orchestrat-

ed media sung to the same song sheet.

Cui bono or who benefits: A false flag, anyone? The headlines followed: ‘Theresa May could send more troops and jets to Russia’s border’. The blood-soaked arms industry and its vampire political shareholders can now throw the funeral wake of the century.

Good timing too; the convenient incident occurred three weeks before the Russian presidential election. Boris Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary, raised the prospect of some form of boycott of this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

Tom Secker, an analyst on espionage, says state apparatus has the means to assassinate in ways that are untraceable. This suggests a prepared hullaballoo with opportunity to damage Russia at a critical period without Russia benefiting from the incident.

Secker adds that there were many victims of the British agent who had a motive for his attempted murder. Skripal betrayed many people, not just in terms of agents but criminal organisations too.

The analyst reminds us that Israeli Mossad agents assassinated a Hamas politician whilst travelling on British passports. The British government speedily dropped the matter, which suggests complicity and culpability.

Mike Walsh’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of the publishers advertisers or sponsors.

A huge thank you from Age Concern ON Saturday March 3 Maureen Payne, President of Age Concern Costa Blanca Sur, attended a meeting of the ADAPT Association in Lo Pagan.

This Association has two simple aims, the well-being of English speaking members and the integration of members, through the Association, into the wider Spanish community.

Maureen gratefully accepted a cheque for €500 from Reme Ruiz, President of ADAPT. Maureen said afterwards that this generous donation to A ge Concer n will go a long way to maintaining all services the charity provides for the support and welfare requirements of people of over 50 years old.

ADAPT raised the money through raff les and donations at their monthly social meetings and Reme congrat-

Every euro helps to keep Age Concern in touch. ulated A ge Concer n on reaching their 20th anniversary this year and reinforced the need for charities and associations to continue their good work having the answers, services and assistance for people when necessary.

El Dia del Padre NEXT Monday March 19 is Father’s Day in Spain and some regions will be celebrating with local holidays.

This date was chosen as it is the designated feast day of St Joseph and his day is also recognised as part of the Fallas festivals, one of the most famous being that held in Valencia.

Traditionally, children cook their fathers breakfast or even give them small gifts and because it falls in Lent it is theoretically a meatless day although ironically there are a number of bullfights held in Valencia during the Fallas week.

Those families who are particularly steeped in religious observance give symbols which include Jesus holding carpenter tools, the baby Jesus and even a staff bearing lilies.

16th - 22nd March

by Barry Duke

Chop chop I’m off to the Chinese shop Photo Credit: Vmenkov Wikimedia

AS it was such a spring-like day on February 24, I ventured out late in the afternoon wearing a light jacket over a tshirt.

Half an hour later, after the sun had set, the temperature dramatically plummeted and I stood shivering at a bus shelter, wondering whether I should return home to get warmer gear, or continue my planned journey to La Marina shopping centre on the outskirts of Benidorm.

Mercifully, just before hypothermia set in, a bus came along, and it dawned on me that a sure-fire way of staying warm for the rest of the evening was to head for the nearest Chinese outlet and buy a chunky hoodie.

Why a ‘Chino’? Everyone who lives in Spain knows that whatever one needs from dog poo bags to paella pans, carpets to cup hooks, watch batteries to water jugs - are to be found on the shelves of ubiquitous Chinese stores.

They are everywhere.

And because the Chinese proprietors would sooner stick their heads up a d e a d b e a r ’s b u t t t h a n s h u t t e r t h e i r shops during siestas, you can get anything you need at silly prices at any

29

CHINESE STORES: Just one of many in Spain. hour of the day.

Which explains why the Spanish have a saying to describe labouring oneself to a standstill: trabajando como un Chino (working like a Chinese.)

Unfortunately the only hoodie I could find in my size on a sale rail was beyond hideous. Black with white and green speckles, it looked as if it had been hauled out of the rubble of a paint factory that had gone boom after being hit by a dynamite lorry.

What the heck, I thought, it’ll be invisib l e b e n e a t h m y j a c k e t , a n d i t ’s o n l y €14. It was only when I reached the checkout did I realise its ghastliness was doubly compounded by the fact that it came with a pair of matching jogging pants. When I got home and tried on the ensemble, I looked like a mutant frog with an unsightly rash.

The incident set me wondering why so many Chinese shops - ranging from gloomy little corner outlets to vast em-

poria - exist in such huge numbers in Spain. The answer was easy to find.

Others before asked themselves the very same question, and, reading various blogs and Wikipedia, I discovered that the first large wave of Chinese immigrants came to Spain in the 1920’s and 1930’s, working as itinerant peddlers. After the Second World War, they branched out into the restaurant industry, and later into textiles and trade.

However, the vast majority of Chinese residents in Spain started arriving in the country around the 1980’s. According to Xu Songhua, President of the Association of Chinese in Spain (Asociación de Chinos en España), established in 1985, there are around 13,000 Chineseowned businesses in Spain, including 4,000 restaurants, 3,200 ‘euro shops’, 1,500 fruit and veg outlets, and 600 wholesale warehouses.

Nowadays, Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands are home to Spain’s largest Chinese communities.

One blogger revealed that a third of the 200,000 or so Chinese in Spain are officially sole traders. Their businesses are family-run and their motivation for working as hard as they do is tied in with family pride.

FRIDAY 12:00pm The Sheriffs are Coming 12:45pm Caught Red Handed 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News at One 2:30pm BBC London News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm A Place to Call Home 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Coast and Country Auctions 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm MasterChef 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Room 101 10:00pm Requiem 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Young Offenders

7:30am Holding Back the Years 8:15am The Sheriffs are Coming 9:00am Back in Time for Tea 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 1:00pm The Daily Politics 2:00pm Two Tribes 2:30pm Yes Chef 3:15pm Your Home in Their Hands 4:15pm Planet Earth 5:15pm Into the Wild with Gordon Buchanan 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm The Repair Shop 8:00pm Saving Lives at Sea 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Gardeners' World 10:00pm Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago 11:00pm QI

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 1:55pm ITV News London 2:00pm Cheltenham Festival 5:30pm Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Love Your Garden 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Lethal Weapon 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:30pm ITV News London 11:45pm The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 1:45am Jackpot247

10:00am Melissa and Joey 10:30am Melissa and Joey 11:00am How I Met Your Mother 11:30am How I Met Your Mother 12:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 12:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1:00pm The Goldbergs 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 2:30pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 3:30pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 4:30pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 5:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6:00pm The Goldbergs 6:30pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm My Hotter Half

9:20am Digby Dragon 9:35am Rusty Rivets 9:55am Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:05am Mofy 10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

1:10pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:15pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 2:10pm Access 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:20pm NCIS 4:15pm Locked Away 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Gadget Show 9:00pm The Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard 10:00pm Jane Mcdonald and Friends 11:00pm Will and Grace

7:00am 9:00am

Wheeler Monster Family: Special 9:30am Wonder Woman 12:00pm Top Ten Show, the 2018 12:15pm Transformers: The Last Knight 3:00pm Snatched 4:35pm City of Tiny Lights 6:30pm Wonder Woman 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight Blockbuster sci-fi action about an inventor tasked with saving humanity from impending doom.

11:40pm Snatched 1:15am Cult of Chucky 3:00am Numb 4:45am Scribe

12:30pm SPFL Greatest Games 12:45pm SPFL Greatest Games 1:00pm La Liga Show 1:30pm EFL Matters 2:00pm La Liga Icons 2:45pm La Liga Icons: Falcao 3:00pm La Liga Show 3:30pm EFL Matters 4:00pm Football's Greatest 4:30pm Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 5:45pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm La Liga Preview 7:00pm SPFL Matters 7:30pm EFL Matters 8:00pm Magical Messi 8:55pm Football 11:00pm 20 Years of El Clasico

8:30am Dengineers 9:00am Absolute Genius: Monster Builds 9:30am Beyond Bionic 10:00am Robot Wars 11:00am Gorilla Family and Me 12:00pm Homes Under the Hammer 12:35pm Cats v Dogs: Which is Best?

1:35pm Orson Welles Talking Pictures 2:20pm Waterloo 4:30pm Me and My Dog 5:30pm Final Score 6:30pm The Repair Shop 7:00pm Hugh's Wild West 8:00pm Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby 9:00pm David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities 9:30pm Dad's Army 10:00pm Suite Francaise

10:25am Saturday Morning with James Martin 12:20pm Britain's Brightest Family 12:50pm ITV News and Weather 1:00pm Six Nations Live Italy v Scotland.

3:25pm Six Nations Live England v Ireland.

6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News and Weather 7:15pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm You've Been Framed!

8:00pm Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 9:30pm The Voice UK 11:30pm ITV News and Weather 11:45pm Fast and Furious 1:45am Play to the Whistle

10:25am Made in Chelsea 11:30am Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World 1:15pm Rude(Ish) Tube Shorts 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 2:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 3:00pm Young Sheldon 3:30pm The Big Bang Theory 4:00pm The Big Bang Theory 4:30pm The Big Bang Theory 5:00pm The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer 6:15pm Extreme Cake Makers 6:45pm Extreme Cake Makers 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm The Big Bang Theory 8:30pm The Big Bang Theory 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory

11:05am Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:35am The Gadget Show 12:35pm Police Interceptors 1:35pm Police Interceptors 2:30pm Police Interceptors 3:30pm The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 4:30pm The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 5:30pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

6:25pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

7:25pm 5 News 7:30pm FIA Formula E Live Uruguay.

9:10pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

10:00pm Football on 5 The Championship.

11:00pm Football on 5 Goal Rush.

6:30am 7:00am 8:50am 10:25am 12:50pm

7:30am 7:45am 8:00am 8:30am 10:35am 11:00am 12:30pm 1:00pm 4:00pm

9:20am Countryfile 10:15am Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 11:45am Spring Kitchen with Tom Kerridge 12:30pm Lorraine Pascale: How to be a Better Cook 1:00pm Escape to the Country 1:45pm The Ladykillers: Pest Detectives 2:45pm Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago 3:45pm Money for Nothing 4:45pm World's Most Extraordinary Homes 5:45pm Back in Time for Tea 6:45pm Catch Me If You Can 9:00pm Top Gear 10:00pm Famously Unfit for Sports Relief 11:00pm The Mash Report

11:00am Peston on Sunday 11:55am The Voice UK 1:55pm ITV News and Weather 2:00pm Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 3:30pm What Would Your Kid Do? 4:30pm The Harbour 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Paul O'grady: For the Love of Dogs 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 7:45pm Local News and Weather 8:00pm Celebrity Catchphrase 9:00pm The Durrells 10:00pm The Good Karma Hospital

9:15am 10:20am 11:20am 1:00pm

9:30am Nella the Princess Knight 9:45am Noddy: Toyland Detective 10:00am Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15am Shimmer and Shine 10:30am Digby Dragon 10:45am Peppa Pig 10:50am Peppa Pig 11:00am Football on 5 11:55am Football on 5 12:25pm Getting Even with Dad 2:30pm Richie Rich 4:15pm My Girl 5:15pm 5 News 5:20pm My Girl 6:20pm Junior 8:20pm Jumper 9:55pm 5 News Weekend 10:00pm The Equalizer 11:00pm 5 News

4:30am City of Tiny Lights 6:30am Monster Family: Special 7:00am Wheeler 8:50am Custody 10:40am Snatched 12:15pm Transformers: The Last Knight 2:55pm Inconceivable 4:45pm It Comes at Night 6:25pm Snatched 8:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight Blockbuster sci-fi action about an inventor tasked with saving humanity from impending doom.

10:40pm Inconceivable 12:30am It Comes at Night 2:15am Numb 4:00am Custody

SATURDAY 11:00am Saturday Kitchen Live 12:30pm Classic Mary Berry 1:00pm Football Focus 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather 2:15pm MasterChef 3:15pm MasterChef 4:15pm MasterChef 4:45pm Wanted Down Under Revisited 5:30pm Six Nations Rugby Union 8:00pm BBC News 8:10pm Regional News 8:15pm Weather 8:20pm Pointless 9:10pm Casualty 10:00pm Troy: Fall of a City 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Weather 11:20pm Match of the Day 12:20am Match of the Day: FA Cup Highlights

3:25pm 5:00pm

6:35pm 9:00pm 11:40pm 1:20am 2:55am 4:30am

Moana: Special Custody Snatched Wonder Woman Transformers: The Last Knight It Comes at Night Snatched Fish-out-of-water comedy about a hapless motherdaughter duo kidnapped while holidaying in Ecuador.

Wonder Woman Transformers: The Last Knight It Comes at Night Numb Cult of Chucky City of Tiny Lights

4:15pm 6:15pm 8:40pm 10:45pm 11:15pm 11:45pm 12:30am 12:35am 2:45am 3:00am

SPFL Greatest Games SPFL Greatest Games Football Years Football SPFL Matters Soccer A.M. SPFL Matters Football Gillette Soccer Saturday Gillette Soccer Saturday Football Football EFL Goals: Championship Ronaldo: A Sensational Seaon 20 Years of El Clasico MLS Greatest Games Football EFL Greatest Games EFL Goals: Championship

SUNDAY 10:00am The Andrew Marr Show 11:00am The Big Questions 12:00pm Sunday Politics 1:15pm Lifeline 1:25pm Songs of Praise 2:00pm BBC News 2:10pm Weather for the Week Ahead 2:15pm Match of the Day Live 4:35pm A Question of Sport 5:05pm Match of the Day Live 7:35pm BBC News 7:50pm Regional News 7:55pm Weather 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Hold the Sunset 9:30pm Brooklyn 11:10pm BBC News 11:30pm Regional News

1:20pm 1:50pm 2:20pm 2:50pm 3:20pm 3:50pm 4:20pm 4:50pm 5:20pm 5:50pm 6:20pm 6:50pm 7:20pm 7:50pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 1:10am

Made in Chelsea Don't Tell the Bride Dragonball Evolution Rude(Ish) Tube Shorts The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Goldbergs Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brooklyn Nine-Nine Young Sheldon The Big Bang Theory School of Rock Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2 Guns The Big Bang Theory

8:30am EFL Goals: League One and League Two 9:00am Football's Greatest 9:30am EFL Goals: Championship 10:00am EFL Goals: League One and League Two 10:30am Sunday Supplement 12:00pm EFL Goals: Championship 12:30pm Football 3:15pm Football 5:45pm SPFL Greatest Games 6:00pm La Liga Icons: Falcao 6:15pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:25pm Football 8:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 8:40pm Football 10:45pm Football 12:05am La Liga Highlights: Barcelona

The schedules for the television programme pages are provided by an external company: we regret that any changes or errors are not the responsibility of RTN.

MONDAY 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm The Sheriffs are Coming 12:45pm Caught Red Handed 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm A Place to Call Home 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Money for Nothing 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Panorama 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Classic Mary Berry 10:00pm MasterChef 11:00pm BBC News

8:15am The Sheriffs are Coming 9:00am Hugh's Wild West 10:00am Victoria Derbyshire 12:00pm BBC Newsroom Live 12:30pm The Week in Parliament 1:00pm The Daily Politics 2:00pm Women's Six Nations Highlights 2:30pm Yes Chef 3:15pm Your Home in Their Hands 4:15pm Planet Earth I 5:15pm Spy in the Wild 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm The Repair Shop 8:00pm Top Gear 9:00pm Only Connect 9:30pm University Challenge 10:00pm The Funeral Murders 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight 12:10am Weather

9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm The Kyle Files 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Marcella 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:50pm 100 Years Younger in 21 Days 12:45am The Kyle Files 1:15am Jackpot247 4:00am The Jeremy Kyle

8:00am Rules of Engagement 8:30am Rules of Engagement 9:00am How I Met Your Mother 9:30am How I Met Your Mother 10:00am New Girl 11:00am 2 Broke Girls 12:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 12:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1:00pm The Goldbergs 1:30pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6:00pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm My Hotter Half 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm Young Sheldon 10:00pm Made in Chelsea

7:00am Milkshake!

10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

1:10pm 5 News 1:15pm The Gadget Show 2:10pm Access 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:20pm NCIS 4:20pm A Deadly Affair 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Anglo Welsh Cup Highlights 9:00pm Extreme Winter Road Rescue 10:00pm Terror in the Air: Flights Out of Control 11:00pm Armed and Deadly: Police UK 12:00am The X Files 1:00am Traffic Cops

6:00am

Monster Family: Special 6:30am Black Panther: Special 7:00am Wheeler 8:45am Numb 10:30am Transformers: The Last Knight 1:10pm Jasper Jones 3:10pm It Comes at Night 5:00pm Inconceivable 7:00pm Jasper Jones 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight Blockbuster sci-fi action about an inventor tasked with saving humanity from impending doom.

11:40pm It Comes at Night 1:15am Inconceivable 3:05am Numb 4:40am Custody

10:00am La Liga Highlights: Barcelona 10:15am La Liga Highlights: Real Madrid 10:30am La Liga Greatest Games 10:45am La Liga Greatest Games 11:00am Football 3:10pm Football 5:15pm La Liga Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm La Liga Highlights: Barcelona 6:15pm La Liga Highlights: Real Madrid 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm La Liga Files 7:45pm La Liga Icons 8:00pm Soccer A.M. 8:30pm Football 11:00pm The Debate - Live 12:00am SPFL Round Up 2017/18

8:15am

9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV Lunchtime News 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm 100 Year Old Driving School 9:00pm The World's Ugliest Pets 10:00pm 100 Years Younger in 21 Days 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:45pm The Cruise: Voyage to Alaska

8:30am Rules of Engagement 9:00am How I Met Your Mother 9:30am How I Met Your Mother 10:00am New Girl 11:00am 2 Broke Girls 12:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6:00pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 7:30pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm My Hotter Half 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Tattoo Fixers 11:00pm Five Star Hotel

7:00am Milkshake!

10:15am The Wright Stuff 12:15pm Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away!

1:10pm 5 News 1:15pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 2:10pm Access 2:15pm Home and Away 2:45pm Neighbours 3:20pm NCIS 4:20pm Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Elizabeth: Our Queen 9:00pm Secrets of the National Trust with Alan Titchmarsh 10:00pm Wild Britain 11:00pm The Expendables 3

6:30am Monster Family: Special 7:00am Inconceivable 9:00am Jasper Jones 10:50am It Comes at Night 12:30pm Transformers: The Last Knight 3:10pm Eat Locals 5:00pm Jasper Jones Australian comingof-age tale starring Levi Miller (Pan) as a bookish teen who finds himself investigating the death of a local girl.

7:00pm Inconceivable 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight 11:40pm Eat Locals 1:20am It Comes at Night 3:00am Custody 4:50am Numb

3:30pm Soccer A.M. - The Best Bits 4:00pm Football's Greatest 4:30pm Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:15pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm MLS Round Up Show 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm SPFL Round Up 2017/18 7:15pm SPFL Greatest Games 7:30pm Soccer A.M. - The Best Bits 8:00pm MLS Round Up Show 8:30pm Football Countdowns 9:00pm Eredivisie 10:00pm Playoff Final Highlights

TUESDAY 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm The Sheriffs are Coming 12:45pm Caught Red Handed 1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm A Place to Call Home 4:05pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Money for Nothing 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm Shetland

9:00am 10:00am 12:00pm 1:00pm 2:00pm 2:45pm 3:30pm 4:15pm 5:15pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm

The Sheriffs are Coming Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Victoria Derbyshire BBC Newsroom Live The Daily Politics The Super League Show Coast Yes Chef Planet Earth I Spy in the Wild Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Eggheads The Repair Shop Saving Lives at Sea Great Indian Railway Journeys Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby Mum

The schedules for the television programme pages are provided by an external company: we regret that any changes or errors are not the responsibility of RTN.

16th - 22nd March

33

WEDNESDAY 2:45pm 3:15pm

Doctors A Place to Call Home 4:10pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Money for Nothing 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm MasterChef 10:00pm Zoe Ball's Hardest Road Home 11:00pm BBC News 11:30pm Regional News

2:30pm 3:15pm 4:15pm 5:15pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm

10:55pm 11:30pm 12:10am

Yes Chef Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape Planet Earth I Spy in the Wild Put Your Money Eggheads The Repair Shop Saving Lives at Sea The Secret Helpers The Assassination of Gianni Versace American Crime Story Live at the Apollo Newsnight Weather

4:00pm

Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV Evening News 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Britain's Brightest Family 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Benidorm 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:45pm Easyjet: Inside the Cockpit

12:30pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1:00pm The Goldbergs 2:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6:00pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm My Hotter Half 9:00pm The Goldbergs 9:30pm The Big Bang Theory 10:00pm Don't Tell the Bride

3:15pm 4:15pm

NCIS McBride: The Chameleon Murder 6:00pm 5 News The latest news coverage.

6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News The latest news coverage.

8:00pm Moto GP Highlights Qatar.

9:00pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 10:00pm A Walk Among the Tombstones

7:00am 8:55am

Jasper Jones Monster Family: Special 9:25am Eat Locals 11:15am My Feral Heart 12:45pm Transformers: The Last Knight 3:25pm Jasper Jones 5:25pm Inconceivable 7:25pm My Feral Heart 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight 11:40pm Eat Locals 1:20am It Comes at Night 3:00am Numb 4:40am Inconceivable

Football's Greatest Teams 5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm Football Years 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm Revista de la Liga 7:30pm La Liga World 8:00pm Football Years 8:30pm Football Countdowns 9:00pm Revista de la Liga 9:30pm La Liga World 10:00pm Eredivisie

Planet Earth Spy in the Wild Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Eggheads The Repair Shop Saving Lives at Sea Big Cats Civilisations Match of the Day Newsnight Top Gear MasterChef Imagine...

This is BBC Two

6:00pm 7:00pm

3:00pm How I Met Your Mother 4:00pm New Girl 5:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6:00pm The Goldbergs 7:00pm The Big Bang Theory 8:00pm Hollyoaks 8:30pm My Hotter Half 9:00pm The Big Bang Theory 9:30pm Young Sheldon 10:00pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine 10:30pm Derry Girls 11:00pm Five Star Hotel 12:05am The Big Bang Theory 12:35am The Big Bang Theory 1:00am First Dates

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

7:30am Eat Locals 9:20am Transformers: The Last Knight 12:00pm The Land 2:00pm It Comes at Night 3:50pm Jasper Jones 5:40pm My Feral Heart 7:10pm Inconceivable 9:00pm Transformers: The Last Knight 11:40pm The Land 1:35am Eat Locals 3:15am It Comes at Night 4:55am Numb

5:00pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:15pm Scottish Cup Greatest Games 5:30pm La Liga Greatest Games 5:45pm La Liga Greatest Games 6:00pm Football Years 6:30pm Football Countdowns 7:00pm Eredivisie 8:00pm EFL Matters 8:30pm The Best La Liga Goals 2016/17 9:30pm EFL Matters 10:00pm La Liga Show

4:30pm

THURSDAY 4:45pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 10:30pm 11:00pm 11:30pm

Money for Nothing Flog It! Pointless BBC News at Six BBC London News The One Show EastEnders MasterChef Not Going Out EastEnders Still Game BBC News at Ten BBC London News

4:15pm 5:15pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:15am 1:15am 1:45am 3:00am

7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 11:45pm

The Chase Regional News and Weather ITV Evening News Emmerdale Pets Emmerdale Coronation Street Martin Luther King

by Trevor Mcdonald ITV News at Ten and Weather Regional News and Weather The World's Ugliest Pets

9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 12:05am 12:10am 1:10am

Secrets in the Attic 5 News at 5 Neighbours Home and Away 5 News Tonight The Yorkshire Vet Casebook Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun Do the Right Thing with Eamonn and Ruth Under Siege 5 News Under Siege Super Casino

this week weather FRI

SAT

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

March 16 March 17 March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 March 22

15º/6ºC 14º/10ºC 16º/4ºC 17º/3ºC 17º/4ºC 16º/3ºC 19º/8ºC Cloudy and a little rain

Some rain

Clouds and sun

Partly sunny

Cloudy and a little rain

Brilliant sunshine

Partly sunny

34

16th - 22nd March

Puzzles Code Breaker

Play on Words MAIL MALE

Kenny Corris I For Readings, Consultations and Castings email: kennycorris@hotmailcom / www.kennycorris.net Mobile: 686 361 594 / Tel: 965 878 424

CIRCUI

Answers: Postman. Short circuit.

You may very well have to put your hand in your pocket this week, but it is for all the right reasons that you do so.

Rewards will come back to you this week in what is a highly charged situation, which will not only serve to boost income, but point you to a future source of income that will relieve current economic uncertainty.

Word Wheel The goal of a word wheel puzzle is to create as many words possible with the letters in the word wheel. You can only use each letter once and every word must have the letter in the centre of the wheel.

Can you find the 9 letter word?

Step by step, and in your inspired energies things are coming together as alternatives now seem to be the best bet for you.

With the occlusion of Mercury, channels of communication appear to be open, but whatever you have to say right now may very well fall on deaf ears. They will not be anything you could ever regret!

Paused and ready, you are yet again awaiting instructions when it is clear that you should be taking the bull by the horns right now. If your own wishes, hopes and desires appear to be being ignored then it could be that you are losing faith in yourself. Trust that what comes next should be your right, and absolutely yours alone.

If somebody has bitten off more than they can chew then, of course, you could help them to shoulder the burden.

However, nobody has the right to put upon you. You are right not to respond to a recent request because you can see what is behind it, and the complications it will involve. Don’t walk on eggshells and speak your mind this week!

If somebody has to be left to sulk to get over their own induced traumas then you have more important things to do right now. Aspects of the Sun in absolute with the third house bode caution and tact this week, and you should extricate yourself from an event you well know you are secretly dreading. There is more to life than this!

As you generally love what you do it will show, and your creativity comes into play this week as you take time for some much needed rest and relaxation. With no immediate agenda, allow yourself to relax and tune into that inner you.

You may even like what you find. Saturn bears great influence on a matter currently on hold.

Try to balance things in your favour this week as the negative aspects of a current situation have been examined and appear to be working against you. Have your say, but you have already made your decision, and, since it is the right one you have to be strong and carry through all of your very best intentions, come what may.

Current Astrological pressures see you remaining static for a period of time. This gives you the chance to get your act together whilst sending a strong message out that you are not to be messed with! Somebody is coming around to your viewpoint, but just remember to tell them that you will do things your way and when it’s right.

Focus on your immediate needs, there will be time to work with others once you are more settled, and less angry! Do nothing right now because you are not to give in to pressure; especially since you know that the somebody has negative views and is putting pressure onto the situation. In hindsight you would never have got involved.

Needing guidance right now leave no stone unturned in finding out who is the real culprit right now. Even though what you have feared is no longer any threat to you, it is hard to come to terms with what comes next. It is your key focus to ensure that those who seek to control the situation know that you know what you do!

As you continue to be sorely tested, know that however dim, it is the light at the end of the tunnel that is your true motivation right now. You have developed an inner strength that will not allow anyone in, unless they are a part of your destiny; and your journey is about to get a lot easier, through your consistent beliefs and faith.

Take control and take on power. This inspiration takes you upwards to where you should be. Your trusty Neptune is well charged with Sun action from earlier this month, and now you truly are good to go, and ready to look at any alternative that bears in mind that truly it is you who calls the shots, in the meantime of now.

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 10 represents T and 18 represents W, so fill in T every time the figure 10 appears and W every time the figure 18 appears. 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, I am noticing disturbances in my house and I can sense that something is wrong. My husband says that I am crazy, but my dog no longer goes into the spare bedroom!

Claire P. Dogs sense Spirit presences, especially in

their own territory…. maybe they are better than husbands at it! When people use the word disturbance it can be something unbearably scary. I do not feel this with you but I think that you should ask whoever it is to go. Be kind but be firm. If this doesn’t work, or if things change then call me to arrange an appointment to sort things out!

Kenny Corris Don't forget to email or message me with your Postbag Questions!. Check out my new website: www.kennycorris.net

For Birthday Celebrants Change caution into freedom as a respect to yourself in this Astrological year ahead. Make waves and strive for what you instinctively know is right for you, and remember, anyone who really loves you, will never hold you back from your dreams.

The 9 letter word is:

Kakuro Fill all the empty squares using the numbers 1 to 9, so that the sum of each horizontal block equals the ‘clue’ on its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the clue on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once.

16th - 22nd March

35

More Puzzles Cryptic

Across 1 Famous Shakespearian actor, one seen in musical (7) 5 Some echo relieves boring task (5) 8 Get to share a cheap piece (5) 9 Many very angry at being duped (7) 10 Plague cures go wrong (7) 11 She's caught in the beam (5) 12 Go round capital (5) 14 Squander, say, part of the body (5) 19 Spreads out nurses after operation (5) 21 To clarify matters was once simple (7) 23 Smoothing things out at the end of the day (7) 24 Cheer up a source of inspiration (5) 25 Trials for important matches (5) 26 Streets confused the examiners (7)

English - Spanish

Futoshiki

Down 1 Some progressive woman who's monstrous (6) 2 I did have a gardening implement, by the sound of it, in a state (5) 3 Get left in scratchin' her itch? (7) 4 Chair for a biker (6) 5 Board game commences with children holding every single square (5) 6 Gets in boats at sea (7) 7 Did see exotic whirlpools (6) 13 Pathetic plea to be more economical (7) 15 Seems dad has turned against fruit (7) 16 Humble fashions start trend (6) 17 Importance of delay, we hear (6) 18 If not the United Nations has a smaller amount (6) 20 Mistakes made on the cricket field (5)

Fill in the squares so that each digit from 1 to 6 occurs exactly once in each row and column. Greater-than and less-than signs indicate the relationship of the two adjacent squares. There is only one solution, and you can find it without guessing.

The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English.

Across 1 Strike (of workers) (6) 4 Flower (4) 8 Mouse (5) 9 Blonde (5) 10 Flag (of country) (7) 14 Young girl (5)

15 Muñeca (anatomía) (5) 16 Eight (4) 17 Poetry (6) Down 1 Daño (4) 2 Establecer (9) 3 Ginebra (3)

5 Bibliotecas (9) 6 Tejado (4) 7 Verdadero (4) 11 Cerca (indicando proximidad) (4) 12 Eco (sonido) (4) 13 Other (f) (4) 15 Quién (3)

Quick

Across 1 Drops (5) 4 Selects (7) 8 Check closely (7) 9 Crustaceans (5) 10 Came before (8) 11 Subdivision of a particular kind of thing (4) 13 Rubbish (6) 14 Assisted (6) 17 Nothing (4) 19 Brings to a destination (8) 22 Pass along (5) 23 Reflecting light (7) 24 Decreases in size, range or extent (7) 25 Conjecture (5) Down 1 Having a sharp inclination (5) 2 Closest (7) 3 Shook in the cold (8) 4 Mentally quick and resourceful (6) 5 On one occasion (4) 6 Provoking fear or terror (5) 7 Hang (7) 12 Determining (8) 13 Scaly reptiles (7) 15 Exact (7) 16 Animals (6) 18 Measuring device (5) 20 Indications (5) 21 Sacred song (4)

Sudoku

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

36

16th - 22nd March

RTN Life EXCLUSIVE

by John Smith

Photo Credit: DWF Hallett

BACK in 2015, Craig Hamilton was badly injured when he was bitten by a baby crocodile at London Zoo. At that time he and his partner Susie travelled to Benidorm whilst he was in the process of recovering as he couldn’t keep up his work as a window cleaner, as well as being an aspiring boxer.

Time has passed however and the pair returned to Benidorm last week but a lot has happened since then.

Speaking exclusively to RTN, Craig explained that he was unable to take any action against the zoo as it was his word against the handlers concerning the reason for the bite, so he had to think long and hard about his future.

Crocodile Craig returns to Benidorm

The answer came when he saw an advert on one of his Facebook pages looking for people to take part in a low-

budget gangster movie and he applied and got the job.

Since then, Craig John Hamilton as he is now

FILM CAST: Craig in centre with boxer Matt Legg, who lost to Anthony Joshua at Wembley, and actor George Newton in This is England.

IN BENIDORM : Craig, in cap, with friend Chris Boylan, former co-presenter of 60 Minute Makeover.

“

of fellow actors were resting after filming a scene where we were armed with replica guns, when suddenly we were surrounded by a group of Armed Response Police who thought that we were a real gang!

“Happily we weren’t arrested but it was a frightening few minutes.”

Craig is still with partner Sue, who is very supportive of his new career path and does get some

work as an extra in some of his films, which she is enjoying.

He is not a one-dimensional character by any means, he still works as a window cleaner in between acting, but also writes poetry and has just released a single, Wake Up Call, which he has written and sings on and is a warning about the dangers of drugs, aimed at young people.

Having lived for a while in Tenerife and for a shorter period of time in Benidorm, Craig simply loves Spain so much that he is learning the language and wants to spend more time in the country as he possibly can.

His final words were “My dream now is to become a recognised professional actor and my absolute wish and ambition is to be cast in the Benidorm TV series.”

Photo Credit: DWF Hallett

known has been obtaining an increasing number of roles and has just been cast in the lead role of a new film, A Homeless Crime in London.

In this movie, Craig plays an ex-serviceman who loses everything and suffers from mental health problems which leaves him homeless and on the streets of London.

Based on real life situations, the film does have a positive theme, as he meets up with a tramp and a local priest and all three discover a bond of love and loyalty amongst friends.

This is a positive view of a negative part of London street life and is a major step for Craig, who has mainly been playing gangster parts as he has started to build his acting career.

He told RTN “In one of my first films (Little B******s) me and a group

My dream now is to become a recognised professional actor.

38

16th - 22nd March

Advertising Feature

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Ian studied dentistry at Liverpool University for five years while Alison is a qualified oral health educator, radiographer and dental nurse. The couple owned a large family practice in Manchester for 10 years before moving to Spain in 2004 where they set up Carredent, which is opposite Carrefour in Torrevieja.

Since then they have dedicated themselves to serving an international client base offering the latest equipment and services in the dental world at affordable prices, with a professional and friendly team.

Their family-run dental clinic focuses on being just that; a family practice where you are treated as a member of the family and where focus is given on creating a welcoming atmosphere and professional, gentle, one-to-one care.

Carredent has a fully professional

and highly qualified team and have recently welcomed dentist Jonathon to the team.

The practice is fully legal and registered with the Valencian Health Authority and Sanidad and their prices follow the guidelines set out in the association of Alicante dentists, so patients can rest assured they are not being overcharged.

The practice specialises in cosmetic dentistry such as crowns, dentures, white fillings, bridges, porcelain veneers and bleaching. People seek cosmetic dentistry for a variety of reasons.

The truth is most people would like their teeth to be straighter, whiter, and pleasing to the eye when they smile and by fixing and repairing what they dislike they can boost their self-esteem.

Recognising that not everyone is comfortable with a trip to the dentist, Ian is renowned for his careful and gentle treatment of nervous patients. Contrary to popular belief root canals and most procedures are

painless and there is nothing to fear as you are in the hands of caring and certified professionals, but recognising not everyone is comfortable with a trip to the dentist, the team put every patient at ease from the moment they walk through the door.

Practice manager Alison said: “We pride ourselves on our excellent standards of pain-free work and we have glasses where patients can watch a DVD during longer treatment sessions so they can feel more comfortable.�

They use a state of the art dental chair fully equipped with a digital Xray monitor and only the most modern and effective techniques and procedures.

Same day emergency appointments are available and a same day service is offered for denture repairs and now they a r e a b l e t o o ff e r s o m e h o m e visits for the elderly or infirm.

To book an appointment call 965 711 797 or 638 608 532.

JUST a brief, brisk walk, can add years to your life.

Experts say that 15 minutes of daily exercise is enough for older adults to see big benefits to their health, with this activity being linked to a 22 per cent lower risk of an early death.

Researchers carried out a study on two groups of people to see if lower levels of exercise could be as beneficial as the recommended 150 minutes each week.

O n e g r o u p o f 1 , 0 11 French people aged 65 in 2001, were followed over a period of 12 years while the second, an international group, of 122,417 people aged 60, was followed over 10 years.

Participants’ activity was measured in Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) minutes each week, assessing the amount of calories used per minute of physical activity.

The recommended levels of exercise equate to between 500 and 1,000 MET minutes every week.

Researchers found that

CARREDENT: Your expert family dentist.

Carredent is open Monday, Tu e s d a y a n d T h u r s d a y f r o m 8.30am to12.45pm and 1.30pm t o 5 p m a n d We d n e s d a y a n d Friday from 8.30am to12.30pm.

Carredent Urbanisation Jardin del Mar, 21 Torrevieja Next to Carrefour www.british-dentist-spain.com.

Go for a walk to lengthen your life

GET WALKING: Just 15 minutes can be beneficial. the risk of death fell as the level of exercise increased, and compared to those people who were inactive, older

adults with low, medium and high activity levels had a 22 per cent, 28 and 35 per cent lower risk of death, respective-

l y, s h o w i n g t h a t e v e n smaller amounts of exercise can boost life expectancy and improve health.

16th - 22nd March

39

Advertising Feature

Success with permanent weight loss

SLIMFORLIFE.ES has been awarded an authorised Exante distributorship in Spain and is proud to announce that Exante meal replacement products - the UK’s leading weight reduction/slimming products are now available here.

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This also includes ‘Personal Weight Loss Coaching’, which is the secret to successful weight loss.

Due to the success of the first year since opening in San Luis, Slim4Life.es Exante Diet have various new branches.

San Luis, Quesdada, Torrevieja south and Los Montesinos were the first venues and are all operating successfully with hundreds of successful slimmers.

However, to enable them to accept more appointments they are delighted that they can now offer venues in the following areas: Algorfa - La Tabernita Benimar - Route 66 Cabo Roig Catral Daya Neuva La Marina - La Cavernita Villa Martin Vista Bella Golf It’s so easy!

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The benefits of a good night’s sleep ON average humans sleep for about one-third of their lives and it may seem obvious that sleep is valuable, but all we know is when we’ve slept well we are ready to take on the world, as opposed to sleepless nights when we want to hide under a rock.

Scientists have spent decades going to great lengths to fully understand the benefits of sleep.

Studies on humans and animals alike have disclosed that sleep is important in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning and other functions.

Our minds are surprisingly busy when we sleep.

Memories can be strengthened, and learnt skills cemented in place, a process called consolidation.

Sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and has multiple benefits to the heart, weight and mind.

Here are some benefits 1. S l e e p i m p r o v e s t h e c a p a c i t y f o r l e a r n i n g .

Whether it’s a language or a new board game, sleep re-enforces memories and learning patterns.

2. C r e a t i v i t y i s b o o s t e d a f t e r a g o o d s l e e p . I t s t r e n g t h e n s e m o t i o n a l c o m p o n e n t s i n m e m o r y, linked to improved creativity.

3. Sharpens attention, especially in children. A lack of sleep can be detrimental to learning and the

school environment.

4. Sleep can help with weight loss. Research has shown that dieters who are well-rested lose more fat.

Well slept dieters felt less hungry than tired dieters.

So if you’re starting a diet, consider an earlier bedtime.

5. A good night’s sleep can lower blood pressure.

Stress and sleep are powerfully connected and both have a bearing on cardiovascular health.

SWEET DREAMS: Sleeping well is good for your health.

40

16th - 22nd March

home & garden

by Graeme Tyrrell FINDING plants that will look good, require minimal care to tolerate the long dry Spanish summer, are long lived, easily propagated and provide alluring flowers is a great way to have a bright healthy garden.

Plants that come from Mediterranean regions and around the world provide a good starting point, as they are adapted to survive naturally and usually just need help to get established.

Mediterranean type climates exist in California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, in parts of Australia around Perth and Adelaide, in southwestern South Africa, including Cape Town, sections of western and central Asia, and in central Chile. This gives us a greater variety of plants to choose that will be easy to grow in Spain.

A wonderfully attractive, green, stripy-leaved plant with spectacularly large, either blue, mauve, pink or white flowers that makes a great understorey plant for tree gardens or shaded balconies and terraces is the Agapanthus.

The name is derived

from the Greek agape, meaning love, and anthos, meaning flower. So it can be interpreted as the lovely flower or love flower. It is also known as the African lily or the blue lily.

There are many varieties available that have different leaf variations and flower colours that have been cultivated by growers, which may need additional care with watering in summer, but the original plants are very hardy.

Agapanthus make a great, less than metre high border or background hedging. Flowering in late spring until autumn, its showy cluster, or umbel, of bell shaped flowers can be appreciated in summer when flowers are scarcer but more able to be appreciated.

Originating from South Africa in areas of wet winters and long, hot, dry summers it has adapted, with its fleshy rhizomatous root system, to store water and to need minimal care once established.

Its main enemies are slugs and snails which can be minimised with a container of stale beer for them to drown happily in, or by trapping with a tile placed near the plants

and checked regularly to remove the slugs and snails as they shelter underneath during the day.

Removing the expired browning leaves will keep them looking good and reduce the harbouring of insects.

They are easily propagated by division every few years. Dividing does

Photo Credit: James53145 Shutterstock

Agapanthus the flower of love

A border of African

reduce the production of flowers of the clump so it is best done after flowering has finished for the season in autumn, but it can also be done in late spring. When dug up carefully, it is easy to separate the plants.

Plant in soil with plenty of compost or add a good water retentive potting mix to the natural soil before planting. They tolerate acid and alkaline soil and don’t need a lot of additional nutrients as they may provide

only a lot of green leaves and not many flowers.

They should also have periods of full sun and a bright position to encourage flowering but do well naturally in the shade under the canopy of trees.

Effective watering ideas for the garden LUSH green gardens and thriving pot plants do not need to have copious amounts of water to keep them that way.

Conserving water is important for everyone to have enough without wasting resources or having unnecessarily high water bills.

Plants need moisture to survive but application of water can be done in numerous ways. Selecting the best method for your garden can make a big difference to the amount of water you need and the time spent providing it for your plants.

Selection of plants that require minimal watering for the climate is fundamental for low-maintenance gardens, but as we love to grow a variety of plants for their interesting characteristic and culinary uses we need to take care of them.

The most important step to water conservation is to ensure that your soil has water retentive properties to keep the water around your plants where it is needed. Incorporating plenty of organic matter into the soil will greatly improve the soils water holding capacity.

For container plants, having a water retaining tray under the container to capture excess water and prolong the period between watering is very beneficial.

Reducing evaporation of the moisture from the soil is important. Keeping the soil covered with a mulch greatly reduces evaporation by reducing soil temperature. It insulates the soil surface and it provides a barrier from the drying effects of direct summer sun.

Evaporation can also be reduced by using a drip

watering system that allows water to enter the soil at a point near the plants and spread out underground rather than spraying water on the surface where it can evaporate more easily.

Using a hose can be very effective at just putting water where it is needed and gives a time to review how the garden is progressing, but it is time consuming. Using sprinklers is usually wasteful as evaporation is high and coverage may mean water zones that do not have equal need of the water being applied.

Watering during the cooler periods of the day, ie early morning and evening, will, to a greater degree, allow the water to soak into the soil before it can evaporate.

Placing plants in positions where they have shade during the middle of the day when the sun is hottest will also reduce evaporation and overheating of the plants, and the soil for plants not well adapted to the Mediterranean summer.

Having a windbreak by planting a hedge or erecting a fence or wall around your garden will greatly reduce evaporation in summer, as the wind dries out the garden very quickly. Container plants can be placed in sheltered positions.

Shade trees that are deciduous to allow winter sun into the garden is ideal in the Mediterranean climate.

The shade of the trees in summer reduces the temperature of the garden, making a more pleasant environment for the garden and the gardener, allowing a more productive and healthy place to enjoy the wonderful summer months.

16th - 22nd March ARCHITECTS

ELECTRICIAN MR. FIXIT. For all your electrical, plumbing, general & appliance & boiler repairs.

No call out charge. 698 320 434. (260205)

INSURANCE

BATHROOMS BATHROOMS CONVERSIONS COSTA BLANCA, CONTACT 698 320 434.

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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 951 386 161 or e-mail mark.w@euroweeklynews. com for more details.

UK-SPAIN-IRELAND. Removals with the personal touch. Pets carried with care 965 696 750 / 0044 (0) 7447 918 589 e-mail chrisyounge 73979@aol.com (255093)

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MOTORING WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of firect 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 (200726).

UK MOT. All legal and on line. Arrangements made for collection and delivery £400.

Email carsinspain@hotmail. com Tel. 0044 7553367285 (246860)

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41

MR. FIXIT. For all your electrical, plumbing, general & appliance & boiler repairs.

No call out charge. 698 320 434. (260205)

POOLS POOL MAINTENANCE Repairs, Spares and Leak Testing. Call 965 725 565 / 676 945 360 www.pooltechspain. com (256710)

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42

16th - 22nd March

REMOVALS & STORAGE

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16th - 22nd March PETS

Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Puzzle answers Wordwheel aa ad ae ai al an ar la na aal ada aid

ail ain air ala ale ana and ane ani ara are dal

Cryptic

Codebreaker dan ear era lad lar lea nae nan rad rai ran ria

aide airn alae alan alar anal anil anna area aria arid aril

dale dane dare darn deal dean dear dial earl earn elan idea

ilea iran lade laid lain lair land lane lard lari larn lead

lean lear liar lira naan nada nail nala nana nard near raia

Quick

raid rail rain rale rand rani read real rial aider ailed aired

aland alane alder alien aline anear anile annal areal arena arian ariel

deair denar diana dinar drail drain elain eland ideal inane irade laari

laden lader ladin laird lanai learn liana liane liard lidar nadir naiad

naira naled nidal ranid redan redia renal aerial alanin aldine aldrin alined

aliner andean anneal ariled daniel darnel delian denari denial derail dialer inaner

inland laired lander lanner larine linear nailed nailer narial narine radial radian

railed rained randan realia redial relaid reland renail adrenal airland alanine annelid

araneid ireland laniard lindane nadiral nardine radiale adlerian inlander adrenalin

Kakuro

Word Ladder LIVE LIFE LIFT LIST LAST FAST or

Sudoku

English-Spanish

Futoshiki

LIVE LICE LACE FACE FACT FAST

44

16th - 22nd March

motoring FAST AND FURIOUS: Go-karts come in all shapes and forms.

A young man who is a devil of a driver EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

by John Smith THERE is a young man who was born in Villajoyosa in 2007 who is making a name for himself as a go-karting champion.

Cruz Wilkes, whose parents moved to Spain from the UK in 2006, lives and works in the area with his father Kevin, a carpenter and his mother Suzanne, a teacher at the bilingual school Newton College in Elche.

Cruz attends the same school and is fluent in three languages, English, Spanish and the regional dialect Valenciano.

Since the age of five, the young man has been in a gokart and he trains four times a week and was so excited when he entered a competition for drivers under seven and came in second.

Since then he has been entering numerous competitions where he showed real talent, gaining numerous podium finishes in his category.

In 2015 Cruz participated in his first full championship, the Valencian Championship, as the youngest competitor in his category, ending the season in third place.

In 2106 Cruz participated in the Rotax Championship where he had to learn all about a completely different engine which he had never driven before, but still managed to finish in the top 10.

Last year’s season ended with Cruz securing second in the regional championship and his parents are proud of his achievements, especially as he has been up against drivers of big teams with the best equipment, mechanics and engines. He and his father are a team on a budget which makes it clear that his success is thanks to his driving ability.

Cruz gained an interest in karting because his dad was subchampion in the regional championship in Spain in 1998/99, so

FEARLESS RACER: A champion in the making.

Lewis Hamilton made it to Formula One so one day I want to be just like him.

“

when Cruz was very small he would go into the garage and sit in his dad’s go-kart and say when he was big he wanted one.

When Cruz first got behind the wheel of his go-kart, he showed no fear; he would drive behind the bigger more experienced drivers to learn the skill. He has had a couple of big accidents and he just gets up, brushes himself off and gets back into it.

Thanks to his fearless racing style he has been nicknamed ‘El Diablo’ and sometimes he chooses to race with the ‘Number of the Beast’ 666.

When he isn’t feeling devilish, he chooses

number 44 which is his hero Lewis Hamilton’s number and it is no coincidence that Hamilton started racing go-karts at a similar age and look where he ended up!

Although he is a young man who still has to complete his education, Cruz is very focused and in an exclusive Spanish interview with RTN newspaper he explained his aims and aspirations, but these are coloured by a realism about how much time, dedication and cash will be involved.

“I am reading Lewis Hamilton’s story now, he was just like me growing up, his dad had to work very, very hard to provide him with what he did, just like my mum and dad, but Lewis Hamilton made it to Formula One so one day I want to be just like him, “This is why I use the number 44. I also use 666 because I’m known on the track as ‘el Diablo’ which in Spanish means ‘the devil’ because everyone says I’m a little devil on the track.

“My other racing heroes are Max Verstappen, because he was the youngest Formula One driver and Daniel Riccardo, because he is always happy with whatever result he has.”

Cruz continued “I can’t wait for the weekend to

CRUZ WILKES: ‘El Diablo’.

come, when I can be at the race circuit. I love everything about racing, I love to learn about the mechanics of the kart and not just the racing, I like helping my dad do things to the kart.

“I enjoy being out on the track racing other drivers and just love to go fast and win!”

He has his future mapped out saying “First I want to finish in go-karting when I am old enough, then I want go to the Formula 3, GP3, GP2 and then hopefully to F1.”

In the meantime however this demon driver has his eyes firmly set on the Spanish Championship and believes that this could be his year.

Sponsorship is important as to run a kart is costly, and although as a family hobby it is manageable, with the talent and skill shown by Cruz it is a natural progression for him to compete further and develop as a racing driver.

The maintenance of the kart, tyres, the engine, training, travel costs and general consumables become a recurrent cost as he starts to compete more, so sponsorship enables Cruz to continue to participate in karting and continue to follow his dream.

If you would like to find out more about Cruz and his bid to progress further in motor racing, visit his Facebook page Touchwood Racing.

16th - 22nd March

45

motoring THE Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo is aimed at the active in society, those who spend their free time travelling, playing sport and enjoying other outdoor activities.

In fact given this model’s all-wheel drive, every ski slope is easy to reach, while the flexible interior creates space for all kinds of sports and outdoor equipment.

This four-seater boasts a stylish design with striking off-road features, as well as an innovative touchscreen display and eye-tracking control.

The 800-volt electric concept vehicle is sophisticated proof that Porsche is modernising with the times.

It can be charged by induction, at a charging station or by using the Porsche home energy storage system.

With its low-cut bonnet between heavily curved wings, the front of the Mission E Cross Turismo re-

Credit: BMW Group

Porsche electrifies its range with Mission E Cross Credit: Porsche AG

RIDING HIGH: Members of BMW Motorrad celebrate their awards.

ELECTRIFYING STYLE: The Mission E Cross is a symbol of innovation. minds one of the iconic Porsche 911 at first glance.

Distinctive design features include vertical air inlets and the matrix LED headlights.

The pioneering vehicle also has high-performance full beams with Porsche X-Sight technology.

There is also robust wheel arch protection and door sills, a striking front spoiler and increased ground clearance.

The broad wings and three-dimensional side-panels, with air outlets behind the front wheels reinforce

the sporty crossover character of the concept car.

During charging, the E in the Porsche logo pulsates, and the circuit board is brought to life by pulses of light.

A large panoramic glass roof extending from the windscreen to the boot lid conveys a generous sense of space.

Given its impressive versatility, the Mission E Cross Turismo is a versatile companion that is equally at home in the city or in the countryside.

BMW Motorrad cruises to victory BMW Motorrad won two awards and was nominated nine times at the MOTORRAD magazine’s annual ‘Motorcycle of the Year’ awards ceremony in Stuttgart.

The event is regarded as the most prestigious in the European motorcycle calendar and Timo Resch, Head of Sales and Marketing at BMW Motorrad, said: “This result once again demonstrates that BMW Motorrad has adopted the right strategy with its broad product range.

“I would like to sincerely thank the readers of MOTORRAD for their wonderful support, which will be an enormous incentive for us to work hard to defend our leading position in the motorcycle market.”

The company won in the Sports Touring

Bike category and in the Crossover category, along with five, second places and two, third places.

It was a voting competition that involved a total of 51,497 readers in Germany choosing from 206 motorcycle models.

After a succession of victories in recent years, the BMW R 1200 RS came out on top again in the ‘Sports Touring Bike’ category.

It was praised for its all-round qualities of riding dynamics, touring suitability and sporty flair, winning 22.4 per cent of the vote.

The BMW S 1000 XR dominated the ‘Crossover’ category, commanding 24.3 per cent of the vote.

46

16th - 22nd March

motoring

Rally Comunidad Valencia 2018 THE 2018 Valencian Rally season kicks off in April with Rally Jalon 2018, which is the opening round of the Tarmac Championship of the Comunidad of Valencia.

Car Broker Spain, along with CBS Motorsport EspaĂąa, has announced that rally co-driver Amanda Stephenson will be competing in at least six rounds of the Valencia Tarmac Championship and co-driving alongside Belgian rally expert Yves Cools in his mark I Ford Escort, and rally newcomer Andy Stephenson in his Subaru WRX. Starting with Rally Jalon (Jalon Valley) preparations are underway for making pace notes, the directions which the co-driver calls out to the driver well in advance, to help him to navigate at top speed.

Following Rally Jalon, Amanda will co-drive for Yves Cools in Rally Costa Azahar in May, Rally Ceramica in June and Rally Valencia in December. Amanda will also co-drive alongside Andy in Rally Xixona in September and Rally La Nucia in November.

Rallying in Spain is a well-supported sport with many females participating, and Amanda and Andy have met many world-renowned rally drivers such as Hayden Paddon, Dani Sordo, Mads Ă˜stberg, and even legends such as Tomi Makkinen and Ari Vatanen.

If anyone would like to see the Subaru or know more about rally events in Spain, call into Car Broker Spain in Benijofar.

AMANDA STEPHENSON: And a selection of rally cars.