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www.rtnnewspaper.com
9th - 15th November
Poppy collector honoured ALDONA has been a Poppy Collector for the Royal British Legion (RBL) here in Spain for over 25 years, and is very proud of her achievements on behalf of the RBL, being a member of the Gandia branch near Valencia. She recently became unwell and was worried she would miss this year’s event but despite still recuperating, she has managed to deliver all of her boxes and is very proud of this. Branch Community Supporters from the Gandia Branch went to visit her this week to check she was doing OK, and were pleasantly surprised at just how well and how motivated she still is to deliver on her promise to collect for the Poppy Appeal this year. She has a record of all the amounts she has raised for every year she has collected, and they are very proud of her achievements. While they were visiting, they took the opportunity to present her with her long overdue 25-year achievement award. She received a certificate from the RBL and her 25-
PROUD: Branch Poppy Appeal organiser Lyn Cubbon (left) with Aldona. year pin which she wears with great pride. It is an honour to have such a dedicated lady in the branch. Aldona is Polish, and met her husband who served in the British Army during the war when she went to work in a hospital in Kent many years ago, and they were married in
Poland before returning to the UK. They moved to Spain over 30 years ago and were living the dream. Sadly, Aldona lost her husband 17 years ago but continues to live the life they wanted in Spain. She is already planning what she will do next year for the Poppy Appeal and is an
inspiration to everyone. Everyone at the RBL wishes her a speedy recovery and can’t wait to welcome her back to their monthly meetings, held on the first Wednesday of every month at Bar Pelut, Oliva. For more information, please contact Mark on 961 175 990.
Christmas comes early S U N D AY, N o v e m b e r 1 8 i s when all the volunteers from Jalon Valley HELP will be at the Pensionista, supporting their annual Christmas Bazaar. There will be lots of stalls offering gifts, plants, cakes, decoration, hot food, jewellery and much, much more. Throughout the day, entertainment will be provided by the Elderly Brothers, U3A Vall del Pop Singers, and a performance by Fitstop. A Christmas Fashion Show will give everyone a chance to buy some lovely clothes for their Christmas celebrations, and the famous Jalon Valley HELP raffle will take place with masses of prizes, many donated by local businesses and shops. The bazaar opens from 10am until 2pm, and is the perfect chance to start your Christmas shopping early. For more information please contact Jalon Valley HELP Events on evertsjvh@gmail.com or call 634 337 668.
President attends London tourist fair CREDIT: Ayuntamiento de Altea
IMPORTANT: Ximo Puig (fifth from left) heads a delegation at the London Fair. THE Costa Blanca has begun to fight back to get the British tourists to return to the area, in the face of the increasing threat from other destinations such as Turkey. To this end, the Valencian Community Tourist Department has been in London under the umbrella of ‘Turespaña’ with the aim of strengthening its presence and promoting areas such as Benidorm. The importance of the London exhibition is confirmed with the arrival of the president of the Valencian Community, Ximo Puig,
who led a delegation of politicians and businesspeople to the World Travel Market Fair. The event is regarded, along with the ITB in Berlin and the FITUR in Madrid, as one of the biggest tourist showcases in the world. Figures released for January to September this year show a 1.4 per cent fall in British tourism to the Valencian Community, compared to a 14.6 per cent increase for 2017. In the case of Benidorm, 2018 to date has seen 420,000 overnight stays less than the same period 12 months ago.