Local touch December 2017 draft

Free Winter 2018 Issue 3

The Local Touch SPECIAL FESTIVE EDITION

Your Local Guide

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Local Events Games Puzzles Motoring Travel Sophia Loren Cary Grant Gardening Gastronomy Health and Wellness Positive Thinking Costa Lifestyle Expo Torrevieja II Festive Magic

Welcome to your Winter's Local Touch Velkommen til vinterens Local Touch The premier English Language monthly tabloid magazine with a Scandinavian touch Det fremste engelsksproglige månedlige tabloidmagasinet med en skandinavisk berøring

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HEALTH, LOVE AND HAPPINESS TO ONE AND ALL Festive greetings and welcome to our bumper winter edition of The Local Touch.

First of a all, a great big word of thanks to all our partners, supporters, sponsors and readers, for all your positive comments, and supporting one of our many events: Expo Torrevieja. See more about this on Pages 4 through 7.

This edition we have a look at some festive traditions, made all the more special because we all live in Spain, and their main event is not Christmas Day, but the arrive of the MagWHAT'S WHERE Page 4, 5, 6, 7 Expo Torrevieja Page 8 IFA Car Show Page 9 Lutefisk Page 10 Motoring Briefs Page 11 Classic Car Events Page 12 Holiday Allergies Page 13 Christmas Festivities Page 14 Spansk Julemat Page 18 Ohälsosamma Torrevieja Page 21 Eduardo Dolon Question Time Page 22 Cruise Touch Carnival Horizon Page 24 Foreign Embassies in Spain Page 25 December's Ace Cafe Page 26 Real Women Sophia Loren Page 28 Man's Man Cary Grant Page 30 Music Yesteryear January 1st Page 31 Music Yesteryear February 14th Page 34 NIE's, What, Why and How Page 36 Then and Now Dirty Dancing Page 38 Valentine's Teaser Page 39 Is Love Priceless The Local Touch www.TheLocalTouch.com Would you like to advertise?

Contact us Ønsker du å annonsere?

Ta kontakt på Kjetil Hamre email: info@TheLocalTouch.com Tel: (+34) 693 749 900

ic Kings, on January 5th and the giving of presents to enjoy on the 6th. Then it's back to work or school as usual.

We also give you a quick teaser to St. Valentines Day in February, the month

of love.

March and the beginning of Spring is just around the corner, and apart from St. Patrick's Day, San Jose Father's Day and Easter, the next biggest event in the local Calendar will be Expo Torrevieja III. As we went to press we were just about to conform the venue and dates, but all will be revealed as soon as we sign the confirmation. Watch this space, as the saying goes...

We wish all our readers a very merry festive season and very happy New Year to one and all.

Page 40 Bob Yareham Requiem To Catalonia Page 41 Valencia: Here be Dragons Page 42 The and Now: The Partridge Family Page 43 Christmas Fayre Aguas Neuvas Page 44 Nyttårsaften – "Noche Vieja" Page 45 Puzzles Page 46 Robert Landau Moving Forward Page 47 Puzzles Page 48: Song Facts: Happy Xmas (War Is Over) Page 49 Why some bands wish it could be Christmas Everyday Page 50 Song Facts: Do they know it's Christmas Page 51 Howard's way and a bit more Page 52 Motoring Filling an Accidents form Page 53 The Motoring Touch Jag F Pace Page 54 Festive Gardening Page 55 Interior Touches Page 56 Must Watch Festive Movies Page 57 The Day The Music Died: Buddy Holly Page 58 Festive Recipe Ideas Page 60 Festive Trivial Trivia Page 62 New Year's Resolutions Page 63 Are resolutions a waste of time

Publisher / Trykkeri Localprint S.L, Alicante Deadline for advertising and Submissions Noon, Tuesday November 28th, 2017 Many thanks to our local sources Stor takk til våre mange kilder: www.spain.info www.matprat.no www.Torrevieja.com

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EXPO TORREVIEJA II

More than 4,000 people enjoyed visiting Expo Torrevieja II in November. Once again, the beautiful facilities of Salones Bahia Costa played host to the event, where more than 50 exhibitors put their products and services on display. The organisers would like to thank all of those involved, from the owner of Bahia Costa, to all the exhibitors and visitors. Expo Torrevieja is in the planning stages for March 2018 with details available in the next edition of The Local Touch or online at: www.expotorrevieja. com and www.TheLocalTouch.com.

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VISITOR RECORDS AT THE IFA

The new and used car fair and the motorcycle fair saw more than 2,500 vehicles sold and a sales volume valued at more than 30 million euros.

The 41st edition of FIRAUTO, the New Automobile Fair and the 27th edition of EXPOCAR, the Used Car Show, held together with the 9th edition of SOBRE2RUEDAS, the Motorcycle Fair became the most successful ever as more than 33,000 people visited the fair.

Other feairs planned for 2018 at the IFA include: VIVERALIA 2018; January 30 and 31 and February 1, Ornamental Plants: CARAVANING 2018 takes place over two consecutive weekends: From 9 to February 11, 2018 and from February 16 to 18, 2018: LGTBI LIFE ALICANTE 2018 on February 24, 2018: JESAL EXTETIC 2018, From March 3 to 5; Aesthetics, Cosmetics, Beauty and Hairdressing Salon. National Congress of Aesthetics: FUTURMODA March 14 and 15;

International Salon of Skin, Components and Machinery for Footwear and Leather Goods: MEDSEA 2018, March 16, 17 and 18; International Aquatic Activities Show: SALON MANGA 2018; April 7 and 8, 2018; Fair of Manganime, videogames and Japanese culture of Alicante.: FIRAUTO AND S2R APRIL 2018; From April 20 to 22; New Automobile Fair, Used Motor Show and Motorcycle Fair: More info from: www. feria-alicante.com/ferias.

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WHAT IS LUTEFISK? ASK THE 'REAL MEN' OF TORREVIEJA'S ROYAL LUTEFISK CLUB

By Keith Nicol Once a month, or whenever it takes their fancy, between 30 and 50 Torrevieja residents and visitors of Scandinavian decent, make their way into the heart of downtown to enjoy a night of Lutefisk. This Scandinavian 'delicacy' is the centrepiece for the evening meal.

I was first introduced to lutefisk when I worked in the cruise business, with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line. The 'delicacy', is dried cod, softened by soaking it in lye, then well rinsed and boiled. Apparently, lutefisk is part of the traditional Christmas Eve dinner for Norwegians but now, many others are trying oit to see what all the fuss is about.

two days. The fish swells during this soaking, and its protein content decreases by more than 50 percent, producing a jelly-like consistency.

tant to clean the lutefisk and its residue off pans, plates, and utensils immediately. Lutefisk left overnight becomes nearly impossible to remove.

When this treatment is finished, the fish (saturated with lye) is caustic, with a pH of 11–12. To make the fish edible, a final treatment of yet another four to six days of soaking in cold water (also changed daily) is needed. Eventually, the lutefisk is ready to be cooked.

Sterling silver should never be used in the cooking, serving or eating of lutefisk, which will permanently ruin silver. Stainless steel utensils are recommended instead.

In Finland, the traditional reagent used is birch ash. It contains high amounts of potassium carbonate and bicarbonate, giving the fish a more

When I asked what it is that Norwegian's liked about the fairly unattractive looking dish, I was greeted with laughing and a quick: "Nothing.

Absolutely nothing, It's the company and beer and the Akvavit (Danish spirits). And at Christmas, the Glogg."

As part of their tradition, they all drink toasts to the King of Norway, the King of Sweden, and Queen of Denmark, the President of Iceland, King of Spain, Queen of England, President of Ireland, and almost anyone else they can think of. And after their meal, they share stories, jokes and enjoy the pleasure of each other's company.

Lutefisk is dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling and burbot are also used) treated with lye. The first step is soaking the fish in cold water for five to six days (with the water changed daily). The saturated fish is then soaked in an unchanged solution of cold water and lye for an additional

In Norway, Lutefisk is traditionally served with boiled potatoes, mashed green peas, melted butter, small pieces of fried bacon and sometimes melted geitost (brown goat cheese).

In Sweden and Finland lutefisk is a part of the Christmas tradition and is mostly eaten with boiled potatoes, green peas and white sauce.

Regional variations include a sprinkle of freshly ground allspice or black pepper and the addition of coarsely ground mustard in the white sauce (in Scania).

Lutefisk prepared from cod is somewhat notorious, even in Scandinavia, for its intensely offensive odour. Conversely, lutefisk prepared from pollock or haddock emits almost no odour.

mellow treatment than wood lye. It is important not to marinate the fish too long in the lye because saponification of the fish fats may occur.

The taste of well-prepared lutefisk is very mild, and often the white sauce is spiced with pepper or other strong tasting spices.

Lutefisk does not need additional water for the cooking; it is sufficient to place it in a pan, salt it, seal the lid tightly, and let it steam cook under a very low heat for 20–25 minutes. An alternative is to wrap in aluminium foil and bake at 225 °C (435 °F) for 40–50 minutes.

For those who have never tried it, Lutefisk falls into that Marmite category of either loving it or loathing it, but if you want to find out more, above and beyond checking out Google, head down to Smaskens Bistro & Bar, Torrevieja on the corner of Calle Caballero de Rodas and Calle Maria Parodi, 27, close to the Post Office. Phone: 965 71 95 04 and discover a new taste experience.

When cooking and eating lutefisk, it is impor-

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SPANISH TRAFFIC BRIEFS

By David Hudson - Club Torrevieja Clasicos Red

factors to road traffic collisions. Using your mobile means that the driver´s attention is distracted from the most important function, driving the car. Even the distraction for a second can be deadly, when the vehicle is moving at the same time.

There are 50 more high definition cameras been installed that can spot what you are eating or reading The target of the campaign is not wearing a seat belt, tyres, speeding, being inconsiderate to other road users including cyclists and using mobile phones while driving...

This is considered as dangerous driving and reckless drivers who are distracted from concentration such as eating, smoking, mobile phones, map reading will be fined on the spot and could face a time in prison as well if there is an accident. Don't risk answering the phone it is not that life threatening and belt up. Always use hands-free communication in your car, never use WhatsApp or a messenger service while driving, pre-plan your SatNav before setting off and drive safe.

The Guardia Civil Traffic Motorcyclists have been given a portable radar equipment. These motorcyclists really know their traffic rules and they do not take prisoners unlike their companions diving in their metal boxes. Remember. the Guardia Civil Motorcyclists are called “el gemelos” the twins. If you see one then there is another one around somewhere.

Our friends at Trafico through their N332 (www. n332.es) website say: Using Your Mobile Phone Whilst Driving: Using your mobile phone when driving also carries a fine, even if you are holding it on “speaker”, you are still holding and using your mobile. You are also not allowed to wear any kind of headphone or headset. Even the popular single-ear Bluetooth headsets are not permitted when you are driving. You cannot have any headphones or headsets which go into your ear. The police, and others besides, communicate by Bluetooth headsets when they are patrolling on their motorbikes, but the difference is that these headsets are built into the helmet and do not go into the ears. This sort of integral device is permitted, but no others.

Fine: 200€ and the loss of 3 points. Reason:Distractions are one of the main contributing

It was revealed that in Torrevieja 70% of the traffic cameras don't work or are not in operation. All cars entering and leaving the city are logged in, so if you are driving a Foreign Reg car for longer than six months a year, they can easily find out.

D.G.T. is to instal radar cameras on the N332 black spot 8 kms. on the Torrevieja by-pass to combat accidents. The 54 km. point on the N332 covers exits to the hospital to help the problem of the Ambulances, the Salt Factory exit and La Mata. The radar will be similar to the ones at Campoamar and the speed limit at Torrevieja will be reduced to 80 kph. This will cost 24,000€ to instal.

Two new speed cameras have been installed between Santa Pola and Gran Alicant, on the hill going down towards Gran Alicant. These are not yet on the DGT website, and possibly not in your Sat Nav database either... The warning signpost about these, is just a small orange sign, so watch out and drive safe. 80 km limit.

In the Alicante area, during 128 road checks, it was found that 9 out of 10 drivers tested were over the limit for alcohol and those tested 0.60 and over were fined 500€ and faced either 3 to 6 months prison or community service plus all Spanish residents lost 4 points on their licence.

Those that drive vans etc. have a lower rate than private vehicle drivers. Again in Alicante region, the police have been given a new detecting machine for drugs and in Operation Druid there was a high number of drivers who tested positive for various types of drugs.

Join me, David Hudson, in the next issue of The Local Touch to discover more about the Classic Car scene in Spain.

Drive Safe everyone, please don't drink and drive and have a wonderful and Happy New Year.

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SAY YES TO 'HO-HO-HO' AND NO TO HOLIDAY ALLERGIES Shouldn't this be the season for walks in the snow, or along the beach, gift-shopping, family gatherings, ho-ho-ho and mistletoe? So why are you still sneezing? Granted, certain times of year are more allergen-filled than others, but the truth is, allergy symptoms can hit you in any season - even the holiday season! What's more, the holidays bring unique triggers such as mould from evergreens inside your home, dust from long-stored decorations and food allergens in holiday foods.

"When you top off holiday allergens with the hectic pace and stress this time of year can bring, you have a recipe for a very sneeze-filled season," says Dr. Stephen Tilles, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). "No one wants to be a Scrooge during the holidays. With some planning and precautions, it's possible to reduce your exposure to allergens and have a more pleasant season."

The ACAAI offers these tips to help navigate the many seasonal triggers you may face during the holidays:

Avoid travel trip-ups Whether you're visiting distant relatives or sharing a holiday meal with nearby neighbours, traveling during the holidays can mean exposure to allergens. Your neighbour's beloved dog or cat may trigger pet allergies, no matter how well she cleans the house. The sheets on your hotel room bed may be washed in a detergent that causes itching, and the pillows may expose you to dust mites. Be sure to pack your allergy medication before traveling. If you're hosting, check with guests before they arrive to see what their allergy triggers are and get their guidance on what you can do to mitigate their exposure to allergens in your home.

Dodging decoration disaster Decorations are meant to make the holiday season bright, but holiday adornments can harbour allergens. Mould from Christmas trees can trigger sneezing and wheezing. Aromas from scented

can trigger symptoms for people with allergies and asthma. Instead, fill your home with natural aromas by baking holiday goodies or setting out a dish of unwrapped peppermints.

candles can cause congestion and affect breathing. Decorations stored in attics or garages from year to year can be a home for sneeze-inducing dust mites.

Artificial trees, wreaths and garlands can be an alternative to live decorations that host mold.

Remove dusty decorations from storage and clean them outside before bringing them indoors. At the end of the season, store them in sealed containers to keep out dust. Avoid using artificial scents like candles and room sprays that

Safer holiday feasting Seasonal foods are as much a part of the holiday season as tinsel and twinkling lights. However, dining as a guest in someone's home can be a problem for people with food allergies. If you have food allergies, alert your host ahead of time.

Offer to bring a dish or two that you know will be safe for you to eat. Carefully read labels on prepared foods to ensure they haven't been made with trigger ingredients or in a facility where they might have come in contact with allergens.

If you're hosting someone with food allergies, be sure to prepare some allergen-free dishes and clearly label those that have common trigger ingredients like shellfish, tree nuts and peanuts.

Finally, don't forget that it's also flu season and flu can trigger or make existing allergy and asthma worse. Get a flu shot, and be sure to wash your hands regularly throughout the holidays. If you do experience an allergy or asthma attack, see your board-certified allergist. You can get more information about allergies and asthma, from your doctor.

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LAKESIDE CHRISTMAS FUN DAY Genie? Will there be a love story or two?

The annual Lakeside Commercial Centre Christmas fun day was a great success, as hundreds of people visited Santa, took rides on the Christmas Train, enjoyed the music and mirth of Dennis Christian from TKO, and the Hospitality from Reflections Bar and the Christmas Shop.

Also on hand were the cast and crew from the Rojales Pantomime Group who will be performing Alibaba and the forty thieves, at the Escuela de Musica Los Montesinos, on January 11th, 12th and 13th. Meet the wicked Bombastardo who is plotting his next vile scheme to become the ruler of the world. Will he achieve his ambition?

Can Alibaba and his faithful friend Margarina save the day with the help of the

There will be lots of songs and dance numbers also slapstick, jokes and audience participation with hissing and booing definitely encouraged not to mention “he’s behind you” or “oh no he isn’t”, “oh yes he is “ The cast will include children from ‘Essence Dance and Fitness’ helping to make up the chorus. Tickets: 7.00€ and 5.00€ for children Visit the web site for details of outlets selling tickets near you www.rojalespantomimegroup or for Reservation & more info. Christine 678 212 034 or email. shimserv@gmail. com.

CINDER-HELLA: PUTTING THE SIN IN CINDERS

“Cinder-Hella”, a comedy play written and directed

by David Whitney will be performed on Fri/Sat/Sun 9th/10th/11th February at The Mad House. Tiro de Picho Pueblo Principe, Villa Costa. The show starts at 8pm and the 6 Euro Tickets are available from The Mad House, Reach Out Charity Torrevieja and also Cast Members.

Not to be confused with a traditional panto, this comedy play is more suitable for adult audiences.

David would describe it as “A comedy of Love, Hate, Greed, Jealousy. Laughter, Tears, Sex, Song and Dance.

In fact the ‘Pantomime’ we all call life”. If you are looking for an evening of laughter then “Cinder-Hella” could just be the tonic to brighten up a February evening.

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Spansk Julemat Det spanske kjøkken er forskjellig fra provins til provins.

Så hva man spiser til jul kan variere mye fra sted til sted.

Det viktigste for spanjoler er at flest mulig av familien er samlet i denne høytiden.

Madrid har utpekt Besugo som sin spesielle fisk. I Madrid tilbereder de Besugo i stekeovn, men først drysses det kavring og persille på, og dekkes så til med sitronskiver.

Det mest vanlige spanjolene spiser julaften er lammekjøtt. Det skal helst være ungt lam, ”Cordero Lechal”, og veie mellom 5 og 8 kilo. Det beste lammet sies å komme fra Castilla y Leon eller La Rioja. Kalkun er en annen rett det spises i mange hjem.

Spanjolene spiser skalldyr i alle varianter i jula; Langostinos (store reker) og ”Besugo” (havkaruss) er typiske juleretter. Innbyggerne i

I Galicia er torsk med blomkål typisk julemiddag. Den spanske julemat tradisjonen variere mye fra

hvilken landsdel man kommer fra.

Iberisk kjøkken, Katalansk, Basker, Keltisk og Arabisk påvirkning har gitt landet en rik matkultur.

Spanske julekaker Når det kommer til julen har hver region sine egne julespesialiteter. Søte kaker med mandler, honning og frukt. En sterk tradisjon er søtsaker i alle varianter, blant annet Turrón, Polvorones, Mazapán og Roscón de Reyes.

Her er det mye godt å velge i.

Den 6. Januar, ”Dia de los Reyes”, spiser alle den velkjente kringlen Roscón de Reyes. Den består av, kandisert frukt, som symboliserer diamantene og rubinene de hellige tre konger bar i sekkene sine. Roscón de Reyes byr også på en overras-

kelse, en liten figur og ei bønne er gjemt inni. Den som finner figuren får ta på seg en krone laget av papp, og blir kronet til konge eller dronning. Den som finner bønnen må betale for kringlen neste år.

Tradisjonen med å plassere en

figur (feks Jesusbarnet) i kaken er svært gammel. Jesusbarnet blir

Scandic Legal Service, S.L. er et juridisk servicekontor drevet av jurist Arne Herman Kilde Larsen med juridisk embetseksamen fra Universitetet i Oslo samt eksamener fra Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Han har flere års erfaring med å bistå skandinaver i Spania.

Kontoret har samarbeid med spansk advokat som kan bistå innen alle rettsområder.

Skatt - Skjøter - Arveoppgjør - Testamenter - Etc..

Calle Bautista Bertomeu Sober 1-3-5, local 46 - 3183 Torrevieja (Alicante) España Telefon: 0034 966 922 332, Mobil: 0034 691 441 356, Epost: post@scandiclegalservice.com Web: www.scandiclegalservice.com

Åpningstider: Mandag - Fredag 10.00-14.00.

Ring for timeavtale

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15 skjult i brødet som symbol på f lukten fra kong Herodes onde plan om å drepe alle babyer som kunne være den profeterte Messias.

Den som finner Jesusbarnet i kaken blir velsignet og må ta figuren til nærmeste kirke den 2. februar (Día de la Candelaria). Messen feires i hele Spania med parader og fester til ære for dagen Maria og Josef

ristede mandler, nøtter, honning og sukker. I følge historien satte den daværende spanske kongen så stor pris på den spesielle konfekten, at han advarte de som lagde den om å ikke være så rundhåndet.

I Alicante produseres fremragende Turrón dadler som selges over hele Spania. Den har bidratt til at Alicantes navn er viden kjent. Det sies at denne konfekten ble «oppfunnet» av araberne.

Den kan fremstilles på to forskjellige måter; ”Turron” som er hele mandler blandet med en hard masse av honning og sukker, og ”Jijona” som er knuste mandler.

tok Jesus til templet i Jerusalem, 40 dager etter hans fødsel.

Turrón er det stor tradisjon for å spise i jula. Turrón har sin opprinnelse 500 år tilbake i byen Jijona.

Turrón er en slags marsipan av

Andre ”turrones” som er bløte, med sjokolade, frukt eller kokos er av nyere matkultur, og har ingen forbindelse til tradisjonell Turrón enn navnet og formen.

De spiser også ”Polvorones”, en spansk versjon av vannbakkels som har blitt laget av samme oppskriften

i mange hundre år. En myk og luftig type kjeks laget av hvetemel, sukker og kanel.

Når det kommer til marsipan ligner Spania og Skandinavia på hverandre i juletiden.

I Spania finner vi tradisjonell marsipan i mange forskjellige former: gris, hjerte, løkke, runde etc.

Det sies det var mauritanierne som brakte marsipanen til Spania under kolonitiden på 800-tallet. De kalte dem “mautha-ban” eller “mahsaban”. Marsipanen fra Toledo har sin opprinnelse i arabisk kjøkken, og er laget av sukker og mandler.

I Barcelona, kan nevnes fersken i vin, eller frukt fra distriktet glassert eller overstrukket med sjokolade.

For ikke å glemme den nydelig lokale marsipanen ”Guirlache”.

Mest kjent er ”Crema Catalana”, en slags vaniljekrem dekket av et tynt lag med karamellsaus. De vanligste søtsakene er de som lages i forbindelse med de årlig høytider. Som den karakteristiske ”Pan Pesic”, eller bare ”Cocas”, en slags kokoskake. ”Mato” er en slags ostekake laget av råmelk, og spises sammen med honning.

Dessertene i Murcia har også

røtter fra arabisk innf lytelse.

Her finnes blant annet et brød de har gitt navnet ”Allahs brød” (Pan de Ala). I Murcia finner vi fikenbrød og nøttpletter, ”Tocino de Cielo” (himmelsk flesk), en slags karamellpudding.

Og vannbakkelsen ”Roscos de Vino”. Murcia er kjent for førsteklasses frukt, spesielt appelsiner, sitroner, ferskner og aprikoser.

I L a M a nc h a , f i n ne s d e t m a nge go d e d e s s er t er. ”Bizcocha Manchega” er en formkake dynket i en blanding av melk, sukker, vanilje og kanel. Så har vi ”Bizcocho Borracho” (beruset kjeks), som har blitt dyppet i likør.

Bien proveche Kilde. www.spain.info

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OHÄLSOSAMMA TORREVIEJA

Av Ulf Nordholm

och även få sin moped eller motorcykel beslagtagen. Men ingen tycks bry sig.

Torreviejas ohälsosamma miljö är en skam för de styrande i kommunen. Inget görs för att staden ska vara attraktiv för turismen. I centrum finns förfallna hus, skräp på gator och trottoarer, samt förskräckliga härvor av gamla elkablar på husfasaderna. Stillastående byggen vilka har stått som skelett i åratal utan att färdigställas finns överallt.

Å andra sidan får inga restauranger, pubar eller barer i centrum ha levande musik. Inte ens en trubadur. Det kan störa hyresgästerna. Vari ligger logiken?

På Torreviejas huvudgata, Caballero de Rodas är det hastighetsbegränsning (20 km/tim) men ingen håller den hastigheten. Det gäller även bilar.

Inga fartkontroller görs. De flesta kör mycket fort och det är ett under att inte fler olyckor inträffar.

Inte heller detta tycks beröra polisen som annars slår ner som hökar på felparkerade bilar och

Det värsta är nog oljudet från mopeder och motorcyklar. Det verkar som om alla har bytt ljuddämpare och vill att deras vespa eller moppe ska låta så mycket som möjligt. Öronbedövande och dessutom mycket ohälsosamt.

Jag har svårt att begripa att Torrevieja delvis styrs av Los Verdes (de gröna) med borgmästare José Manuel Dolón i spetsen. Det är obegripligt.

Finns det inget miljöråd eller ansvariga för hur staden ser ut eller hur den sköts? Torrevieja är ju en turiststad och då borde man värna om att göra staden lockande och tilltalande i stället för tvärtom.

Jag tycker synd om alla de som sitter på en uteservering och njuter av mat och dryck. De kan inte samtala när mopeder och motorcyklar gasar på så mycket det går bara någon meter ifrån. Till råga på allt elände är det dessutom förbjudet att byta avgassystem så att ljudnivån överstiger 91 dB. Motorcyklar, vespor och vissa mopeder ska även passera besiktningen (ITV) där bullernivån ska mätas.

Nu görs inga kontroller av polisen trots att det finns lagar och regler för buller och höga ljudnivåer där förare kan få böter från 200 till 600 euro

bogserar bort dem. Parkering är ett stort problem i centrum, men Torrevieja ligger årtionden efter andra städer i Spanien som har parkeingsautomater och fler gågator.

Jag har hört spanska invånare som tycker att Torrevieja är den skitigaste staden i Spanien. Nu stämmer det kanske inte riktigt, men titta hur snyggt och fint det är i storstäder som Madrid och Barcelona. Man kan emellertid vara lite positiv när det gäller Torreviejas badstränder och strandpromenaden. Där håller man hyggligt rent och snyggt. Men i stadens centrum ser det hemskt ut på sina ställen. Vi får hoppas det bättrar sig, mañana...

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EDUARDO DOLĂ“N: QUESTION TIME

Eduardo Dolon, Torrevieja's former Mayor and Vice President of the Alicante Provincial Government and Costa Blanca Tourist Board, presented his team last month for the 2019 election campaign. The PP remain the largest single party in the city and he hopes to return as Mayor in May 2019. Learning from the mistakes made in the last

election, the Partido Popular plan to involve the International community from the very start of the campaign process, and discover what's needed to return the city to its former glory. The first step is to offer readers of The Local Touch the opportunity to contact Eduardo directly with questions about their vision for the future of the City of Salt, your

concerns, worries and questions that you might have. If you have a question you'd like to ask to Eduardo Dolon, please send it by email to: torreviejaoari@gmail.com, with Local Touch Question in the subject line. A selection of questions and answers will be printed in future editons of The Local Touch.

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THE CRUISE TOUCH - CARNIVAL HORIZON

By Keith Nicol The World's largest Cruise Company, Carnival, will soon launch their newest cruise ship, the Horizon, and she will be cruising in Europe starting this April, 2018, followed by Caribbean Itineraries from New York and Miami.

Debuting in April 2018, Carnival Cruise Line has assembled a wide array of exciting and diverse itineraries featuring breathtaking destinations throughout the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy, Carnival Horizon will offer many of the hugely popular indoor and outdoor dining, bar, entertainment and activity options that debuted on Carnival Vista, currently the line’s newest ship.

Among those is a groundbreaking bike-ridein-the-sky attraction called SkyRide, an IMAX Theatre and a massive WaterWorks aqua park featuring a water tube slide called Kaleid-oslide. A wide range of accommodations will also be offered, including spa cabins offering exclusive privileges at the luxurious Cloud 9 Spa, extra-roomy staterooms in Family Harbor, and tropical-inspired Havana staterooms and suites with exclusive daytime access to a Cuban-themed bar and pool.

Carnival Horizon is scheduled to make its maiden voyage April 2, 2018, with a 13-day Mediterranean voyage operating round-trip from Barcelona and calling at Livorno, Rome (Civitavecchia), and Naples (Capri and Pompeii), Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Corfu, Greece; Messina (Sicily), Italy; Valletta, Malta; and Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy – the first of four round-trip departures from this Spanish port. Carnival Horizon will also operate two seven-day cruises departing April 15 and 22, 2018, and featuring Cagliari (Sardinia), Naples (Capri and Pompeii), Rome (Civitavecchia), Livorno, and Marseilles, and a 10-day voyage departing April 29, 2018, with stops at Livorno, Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples (Capri and Pompeii), Dubrovnik, Corfu and Messina (Sicily).

Carnival Horizon will reposition to the U.S. with a 14-day transatlantic crossing departing Barcelona May 9 and arriving in New York on May 23, 2018. Five stunning European and Canadian ports will be featured: Malaga, Spain; Gibraltar; Lisbon, Portugal; and Vigo, Spain – Carnival’s first visit to the centuries-old seaside town – along with a stop at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

After arriving in New York, Carnival Horizon will offer an exciting summer schedule

of eight-day Caribbean cruises operating round-trip from the Big Apple and featuring visits to Grand Turk; San Juan; and Amber Cove (Dominican Republic). Departure dates include May 28, June 5, 13 and 25, July 3, 11, 23 and 31, Aug. 8, 20 and 28, and Sept. 5, 2018. Additional departures from New York in summer 2018 are being planned and will be announced in the coming weeks.

Carnival Horizon will then shift to Miami and kick off a year-round schedule of six- and eight-day Caribbean cruises beginning Sept.

22, 2018. Prior to the start-up of this program, Carnival Horizon will offer a special two-day cruise to Nassau from Miami Sept. 20-22, 2018.

On its new Miami-based schedule, six-day cruises will depart Sundays, calling at Ocho Rios; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel. Two different eight-day itineraries will be offered with departures on Saturdays – one featuring Grand Turk; La Romana (Dominican Republic); Curacao; and Aruba; and the other visiting Grand Turk; San Juan; St. Kitts; and St. Maarten.

For additional information and reservations, contact any travel agent or visit www.carnival. com.

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FOREIGN EMBASSIES IN SPAIN

There are more than 400 Foreign Embassies and Consulates in Spain, along with special trade delegations and those with special standing, for emergency passports and information.

Consul: Ignacio María Campos Belda Consulado Real de Dinamarca Avda. Ramón y Cajal 3, 3 Izda, Alicante, 03001 +34 965 20 55 57 dkconsulatealc@ignaciocampos.es

Dutch Consulate in Alicante, Spain Consulate of Netherlands in Alicante, Spain Avda. Dr. Ramon y Cajal, 3-3-Izq., 03001 Alicante, Spain 34-96-5212175

Aust ra lia n Embassy in Spa in Torre Espacio, Paseo de la Castellana, 259D, Planta 24, Madrid 28046, Spain +34 91 353 6600 www.spain.embassy.gov.au/madr/home.html Madrid.embassy@dfat.gov.au

Embassy of Finland in Spain Embajada de Finlandia Paseo de la Castellana 15, Madrid, E-28046 +34-91 319 6172 http://www.finlandia.es sanomat.mad@formin.fi

Austrian Consulate in Spain Consulate General of Austria in Barcelona, Spain Maria Cubi, 7, 1 , 2a, 08006 Barcelona, Spain (+34) 93 368 60 03 barcelona@consuladodeaustria.com; info@ consuladodeaustria.com

Finnish Consulate in Pilar De La Horadada, Spain Honorary Consulate of Finland in Pilar de la Horadada, Spain Consulado honorario de Finlandia, Calle Mayor 23-3B, 03190, Pilar de la Horadada +34 96 676 6412 confinland@hotmail.com

Norwegian Embassy in Madrid, Spain Royal Norwegian Embassy in Madrid, Spain Paseo de la Castellana, 31 , (Edificio la Piramide, planta 9), Madrid, 28046 91 310 31 16 http://www.noruega.es/ emb.madrid@mfa.no

Austrian Consulate in Spain Consulate General of Austria in Valencia, Spain Convento Santa Clara, 10, 2-3 , 46002 Valencia , Spain (+34) 96 35 22 212 consuladoaustriaco@hernandez-marti.com

Icelandic Honorary Consulate General in Madrid, Spain Glorieta López de Hoyos, núm. 5, 1º derecha, Madrid, 28002 jpbustamante1@hotmail.com

Belgian Embassy in Spain Embassy of Belgium in Madrid, Spain Paseo de la Castellana, 18 (6°) , 28046 Madrid , Spain +34 91 577 63 00 www.diplomatie.be/madrid Madrid@diplobel.fed.be

Icelandic Honorary Consulate in Alicante, Spain c/ Gambo 3, Edificio Las Palmas, Esc. B 1°, Puerta 8, Benidorm, 03503 (+34) (96) 680 0387 jjcampus-direccion@euroblanca.es Mr Juan José Campus Blanquer, Honorary Consul

Belgian Consulate in Spain Consulate of Belgium in Alicante, Spain Explanada de España 1-5° , 03002 Alicante , Spain +34 965 929 148 http://www.diplomatie.be/alicante alicante@diplobel.fed.be

Irish Embassy in Madrid, Spain Embassy of Ireland in Madrid, Spain Ireland House, Paseo de la Castellana 46-4, Madrid, 28046 +34 91 436 4093 http://www.embassyofireland.es

Canadian Embassy in Madrid, Spain Embassy of Canada in Madrid, Spain Nuñez de Balboa, 35. 3º, 28001 Madrid - Spain (34) 91 423 3250 http://www.espana.gc.ca mdrid@international.gc.ca Danish Embassy in Madrid, Spain Royal Danish Embassy in Spain Serrano 26, 7th fl., E-28001 +34 914 318 445 http://www.ambmadrid.um.dk madamb@um.dk Danish Consulate in Alicante Alicante, Consulate

Irish Consulate in Alicante, Spain Honorary Consul of Ireland in Alicante, Spain Ctra. De Madrid Km 4, Mercalicante, Apartado de Correros 5146, Alicante, 03007 +34 965 107 485 http://www.eurobanan.com consulado@eurobanan.com Honorary Consul: Rory Byrne Dutch Embassy in Madrid, Spain Embassy of Netherlands in Madrid, Spain Paseo de la Castellana 259D, 28046 Madrid, Spain 91 353 75 00 http://www.embajadapaisesbajos.es/ mad-info@minbuza.nl

Noruega Consulate in Torrevieja Consul Tim Kindem Consular employee Eva Kristin Aglen Postal Address : Apartado 39, 03180 Torrevieja Address: Avenida Diego Ramírez 102 1º-3, 03181 Torrevieja Telephone: +34 966 704 501 Email: konsulat@consultingcb.com Open Monday-Friday 09: 30-14. Closed Saturday and Sunday.

Swedish Embassy in Madrid, Spain Embassy of Sweden in Madrid, Spain Calle Caracas, 25 ES-28010, Madrid Spain (+34) 91 702 2000 www.swedenabroad.com ambassaden.madrid@gov.se DETAILS Cecilia Julin – Ambassador Swedish Consulate in Torrevieja Honorary Consul: Björn Sandström Address: Calle Ramon Gallud, 39, 2, Torrevieja, 03181 +34 965 705 646 torrevieja@consuladosuecia.com British Embassy in Madrid, Spain Torre Espacio , Paseo de la Castellana 259D, 28046 Madrid, Spain +34 917 146 300 www.gov.uk/government/world/spain info.consulate@fco.gov.uk British Consulate in Alicante, Spain Edificio Espacio , Rambla Méndez Núñez 28-32 , 6ª planta 03002 Alicante Spain 902 109 356 spain.consulate@fco.gov.uk American Embassy in Madrid, Spain U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid, Spain 91-587-2200 https://es.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/ madrid/

The Local Touch

DECEMBER'S ACE CAFE

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There was another excellent turnout of cars, scooters, bikes and visitors at Decembers Ace Cafe. The show and shine event takes place on the first Sunday of each Month at La Torre Hotel in Los Montesinos, with the main activities taking place between 10.30 and noon. More information at http://phoenixcarclub.org.

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REAL WOMEN: SOPHIA LOREN

Sophia Loren was born as Sofia Scicolone in Rome, Italy, on September 20, 1934. Her father, Riccardo Scicolone, was married to another woman and refused to marry her mother, Romilda Villani, despite the fact that she was the mother of his two children.

She grew up in the slums of Pozzuoli during the second World War without any support from her father. Her life took an unexpected turn for the best when, at age 14, she entered into a beauty contest where she placed as one of the finalists. It was there that Sophia caught the attention of film producer Carlo Ponti, some 22 years her senior, whom she eventually married in 1966 once he finally obtained a divorce from his first wife. Under his guidance, Sophia was put under contract and appeared as an extra in ten films beginning in 1950, before working her way up to supporting roles.

By her late teens, Sophia was playing lead roles in many Italian features. In 1957, she embarked on a

successful acting career in the United States, starring in Boy on a Dolphin in 1957 and in the same year stared in Arenas de muerte and The Pride and the Passion. She had a short-lived but much-publicized fling with co-star Cary Grant, who was 31 years her senior. She was only 22 while he was 53, and she rejected a marriage proposal from him.

They were paired together a second time in the family-friendly romantic comedy Houseboat (1958). While under contract to Paramount Pictures, Sophia starred in Desire Under the Elms (1958), The Key (1958), The Black Orchid (1958), It Started in Naples (1960), Heller in Pink Tights (1960), Escรกndalo en la corte (1960), and The Millionairess (1960) before returning to Italy

to star in Two Women (1960). The film was a period piece about a woman living in war-torn Italy who is raped while trying to protect her young daughter.

Originally cast as the more glamorous child, Sophia fought against type and was re-cast as the mother, evidencing a lack of vanity and proving herself as a genuine actress. This performance received international acclaim and was honoured with an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Her American films included El Cid (1961), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Arabesque (1966), El hombre de La Mancha (1972), and The Cassandra Crossing (1976). She gained a wider respect with her Italian films, especially Marriage Italian Style (1964) and A Special Day (1977). During these years she received a second Oscar nomination and won five Golden Globe Awards.

The Local Touch

27 In 1991 Sophia received an Honorary Academy Award for her body of work, and was declared "one of world cinema's greatest treasures." Later that year, she experienced a great loss when her mother died of cancer. Her return to mainstream films in Prêtà-Porter (1994) ("Ready to Wear") was well-received, although the film as a whole was not. She followed this up with her biggest U.S. hit in years, the comedy Grumpier Old Men (1995) in which she played a sexy divorcée who seduces Walter Matthau.

competition, she earned the second place and was awarded "Miss Eleganza".

The Best Actress Oscar she won for Two Women (1960) was stolen by thieves from her Italian villa.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) later replaced it for a small fee.

Is one of five performers to win an Oscar playing a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language.

The other are Marion Cotillard, Robert De Niro, Roberto Benigni and Benicio Del Toro.

Sophia Loren Trivia

Turned down roles that went to Joan Collins on Dynasty (1981) and Gina Lollobrigida on Falcon Crest (1981).

She served an 18-day prison sentence in Italy in 1982 for tax evasion.

She may have been the voluptuous sex goddess as an adult. But, until age 14 she was a skinny child and considered an ugly duckling. Her nickname was "The Stick" and "Toothpick".

She performed two duets with Peter Sellers which were major hits in the UK pop chart. "Goodness Gracious Me" was released in 1960 and reached four and "Bangers and Mash" made it to the top 20 in 1961.

While filming Boy on a Dolphin (1957), Sophia was required to walk in a trench in order to give audiences the impression that her diminutive co-star, Alan Ladd, was taller than she.

Has one sister, Maria Scicolone (born 1938); and two half-brothers, Giuliano Scicolone (born 1943) and Giuseppe Scicolone (born 1946).

Suffered from stage fright and, therefore, never appeared in a theatrical production.

Won a Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for her work in "Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Beintus" along with former US President Bill Clinton and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Husband Carlo Ponti was two years older than Sophia's mother.

At times, male actors have been hesitant to appear with her, due to the fact that she stands nearly 5'9" and wears towering heels and tall hair that can make her look over 6 feet tall.

Her "Best Actress" Academy Award was the first Oscar ever given for a performance in a "foreign-language" film.

She and Marcello Mastroianni appeared in 11 movies together: The Miller's Wife (1955), La viuda indomable (1978), What a Woman! (1956), A Special Day (1977), Los girasoles (1970), Ayer, hoy y mañana (1963), Marriage Italian Style (1964), La mujer del cura (1970), La ladrona, su padre y el taxista (1955), Prêt-à-Porter (1994) and Pupa, Charlie y su gorila (1975).

Has appeared in the 2007 edition of the famous Pirelli Calendar at age 72, making her the oldest model in its history.

Being one of the contestants at the 1950 Miss Italia

Has played the love interest of a much older man in the majority of her films, the most illustrative example being It Started in Naples (1960) with Clark Gable when she was 25 and he was 59.

Turned down the title role in Barbarella (1968).

Despite being Italian, she was dubbed by Lydia Simoneschi and Rita Savagnone in the Italian versions of most of her films.

Sophia quotes: [2014, about a famous 1957 photo of her stink-eyeing Jayne Mansfield's cleavage] “Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I'm staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face, you can see the fear. I'm so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow--BOOM!--and spill all over the table.”

“Sex appeal is 50% what you've got and 50% what people think you've got.”xx

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MAN'S MAN: CARY GRANT a man-of-the-world persona and a style - "high comedy with polished words". In To Catch a Thief (1955), he and Grace Kelly were allowed to improvise some of the dialogue. They knew what the director, Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to do with a scene, they rehearsed it, put in some clever double entendres that got past the censors, and

This edition's man's Man is none other than one of the most debonair characters to ever grace the Silver Screen: Cary Grant. He was once told by an interviewer, "Everybody would like to be Cary Grant", and Grant is said to have replied, "So would I." And even today, many of us would.

Cary Grant was born Archibald Alexander Leach on January 18, 1904 in Horfield, Bristol, England, to Elsie Maria (Kingdon) and Elias James Leach, who worked in a factory. At age nine, he came home from school one day and was told his mother had gone off to a seaside resort. However, the real truth was that she had been placed in a mental institution, where she would remain for years. He was never told about this and would not see his mother again until he was in his late 20s.

North by Northwest (1959) and Charade (1963).

He was married five times and divorced four times and had one child: Barbara Harris (11 April 1981 - 29 November 1986) (his death): Dyan Cannon (22 July 1965 - 21 March 1968) (1 child): Betsy Drake (25 December 1949 - 13 August 1962): Barbara Hutton (8 July 1942 - 30 August 1945): Virginia Cherrill (9 February 1934 - 26 March 1935).

After Grant retired from the screen, he remained active. He accepted a position on the board of directors at Faberge. The position also permitted use of a private plane, which Grant could use to fly to see his daughter wherever her mother Dyan Cannon, was working. He later joined the boards of Hollywood Park, the Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle - Hollywood, California), Western Airlines (acquired by Delta Airlines in 1987) and MGM.

then the scene was filmed. His biggest box-office success was another Hitchcock 1950s film, North

by Northwest (1959) made with Eva Marie Saint since Kelly was by that time Princess of Monaco.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Grant the second male star of Golden Age of Hollywood cinema (after Humphrey Bogart).

Grant was known for comedic and dramatic

He left school at age 14, lying about his age and forging his father's signature on a letter to join Bob Pender's troupe of knockabout comedians.

In July 1920, he was one of the eight Pender boys selected to go to the United States. Their show on Broadway, "Good Times", ran for 456 performances, giving Grant time to acclimatize.

He would stay in America. Mae West wanted Grant for She Done Him Wrong (1933) because she saw his combination of virility, sexuality and the aura and bearing of a gentleman.

Grant stayed in good health until almost the end of his life, when he suffered a mild stroke in October 1984. In his last years, he undertook tours of the United States (and your editor cruised with him in 1982) in a one-man-show, "An Evening with Cary Grant", in which he would show clips from his films and answer audience questions. He suffered a major stroke prior to performing in his one-man show at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa on November 29, 1986. Passed away later that night at St. Luke's Hospital at 11:22pm.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, he had invented

roles; his best-known films include Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), His Girl Friday (1940), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Notorious (1946), An Affair to Remember (1957),

Cary Grant Trivia Became a father for the first time at age of 62 when his fourth wife Dyan Cannon gave birth to their daughter Jennifer Diane Grant (aka Jennifer

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29

Grant) on February 26, 1966.

later he starred with her in Charade (1963).

He gave his entire fee for The Philadelphia Story (1940) to the British war effort.

Thanks mainly to the strength and physical dexterity he gained as an acrobat when he was young, he did a majority of his own stunts during his film career (far more than people would think).

He once phoned hotel mogul Conrad Hilton in Istanbul, Turkey, to find out why his breakfast order at the Plaza Hotel, which called for muffins, came with only 1-1/2 English muffins instead of two. When Grant insisted that the explanation (a hotel efficiency report had found that most people ate only three of the four halves brought to them) still resulted in being cheated out of a half, the Plaza Hotel changed its policy and began serving two complete muffins with breakfast. From then on, Grant often spoke of forming an English Muffin-Lovers Society, members of which would be required to report any hotel or restaurant that listed muffins on the menu and then served fewer than two.

Douglas Fairbanks was his boyhood idol, with Fairbanks' "healthy" tan being the inspiration for Grant's constantly dark skin.

Paramount Pictures named him Cary Grant when he began his film career, because of the similarity of the name to Gary Cooper, their biggest male star, (C.G. being an inversion of G.C.) and possibly because Clark Gable had the same initials. Gable and Cooper were born with their

Turned down the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962), believing himself to be too old at age 58 to play the hero. The role went to Sean Connery instead.

He never said "Judy, Judy, Judy" in the movies, which he credits to Larry Storch, but he did say "Susan, Susan, Susan" in Bringing Up Baby (1938).

Was a great fan of Elvis Presley and attended his Las Vegas shows. He is seen discussing Elvis' performance with him backstage during the closing credits of Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970).

Turned down roles opposite Audrey Hepburn in both Roman Holiday (1953) and Sabrina (1954);

Initally accepted his role in Houseboat (1958) because he was dating Sophia Loren, whom he was madly in love with. After she went and married someone else, heartbroken, Cary wanted to back out. He could not, but the director made sure the production was a smooth one.

Initially refused Stanley Donen's offer to appear in Charade (1963), but-realizing that it was a great part-accepted it after a while. He made one stipulation: Audrey Hepburn had to chase him, not visa-versa.

Initially accepted his role in Houseboat (1958) because he was dating Sophia Loren, whom he was madly in love with.

After she went and married someone else, heartbroken, Cary wanted to back out. He could not, but the director made sure the production was a smooth one.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#22) (1995).

Donated his entire salary for Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) ($100,000) to the U.S. War Relief Fund.

Replaced James Stewart as the hapless ad man Roger Thornhill in North by Northwest (1959).

Stewart very much wanted the role, but director Alfred Hitchcock decided not to cast him because of the box office failure of Vertigo (1958), which Hitchcock blamed on Stewart for looking "too old" and chose Grant instead, even though he was actually four years older.

last names, however, with Grant having been born Archibald Leach.

In His Girl Friday (1940), his character remarks, "Archie Leach said that", a reference to his real name.

Was hyperopic or "far-sighted". That is why in many publicity stills, he is seen holding a pair of glasses.

John Cleese's character in A Fish Called Wanda (1988) was named "Archie Leach" after Grant's real name.

Initially refused Stanley Donen's offer to appear in Charade (1963), but-realizing that it was a great part-accepted it after a while. He made one stipulation: Audrey Hepburn had to chase him, not visa-versa.

Always cited his To Catch a Thief (1955) co-star Grace Kelly as his favourite leading lady. He attended her state funeral in 1982 and wept throughout the televised service.

He once said: “My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.�xx

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MUSIC YESTERYEAR: JANUARY 1ST

1955, Elvis Presley appeared at The Eagles Hall in Houston Texas. Presley went on to play over 250 shows in 1955.

1956, Bill Haley's 'Rock Around the Clock' went to No.1 on the UK singles chart for the second time. The single is often cited as the biggest-selling vinyl rock and roll single of all time with sales over 25m.

1957, BBC Television aired its new rock & roll show 'Cool For Cats' for the first time. With a minuscule budget, the program was forced to rely on artists miming and the talents of a resident dance group (led by Douglas Squires). Ker Robertson, the first host, was succeeded after a few weeks by Kent Walton, later better known for his ITV wrestling commentaries 1959, Johnny Cash played a free concert for the inmates of San Quentin

Prison, California. One of the audience members was 19 year-old Merle Haggard, who was in the midst of a 15 year sentence (he served three years) for grand theft auto and armed robbery.

1962, The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records in West Hampstead, London.

A&R boss at Decca Dick Rowe turned them down in what is considered one of the biggest mistakes in music industry history, Decca decided to reject the band, selecting instead Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.

1964, The first edition of the BBC TV show Top Of The Pops was transmitted from an old church hall in Manchester, England. Acts miming to their latest releases included The Rolling Stones, (I Wanna Be Your Man), The Dave Clark Five, (Glad All Over), The Hollies, (Stay), and The Swinging Blue Jeans, (Hippy Hippy Shake). The first song played was Dusty Springfield's 'I Only Want To Be With You'. Also featured on disc and film, The Beatles (I Want to Hold Your Hand), Freddie & the Dreamers, Cliff Richard and the Shadows and Gene Pitney.

1966, Simon and Garfunkel started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles

chart with 'The Sounds Of Silence', a No.13 hit in the UK. 1976, Procol Harum, Status Quo, Thin Lizzy, John Miles, Barclay James Harvest, Baker Gurvitz Army, Bad Company, Pretty Things and Snafu all appeared at the Great British Music

Festival, London, which was held over three days. Tickets cost ÂŁ3.30.

2005, In most of Europe, copyright expired on a number of classic pop and rock-and-roll songs recorded in 1954 and earlier, including Bill Haley's 'Rock Around the Clock', and 'Only You' by The Platters.

2007, Queen beat The Beatles to be crowned greatest British band of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in the UK. They pipped the Fab Four in a live contest, trouncing other finalists The Rolling Stones, Oasis and

Take That. The bands were judged on song-writing, lyrics, live performances, originality and showmanship. More than 20,000 listeners voted by email, text and phone.

2013, Ultravox's 1981 hit 'Vienna' was voted the UK's favourite number two single. The song topped a poll by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts

Company to find the greatest track to miss out on the number one spot.

Vienna was held off by novelty track 'Shaddup You Face' by Joe Dolce. 'Fairytale of New York' by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl was voted into second place. Other songs to feature included The Beatles 'Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever', The Who's 'My Generation' and Don McLean's 'American Pie'.

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MUSIC YESTERYEAR: FEBRUARY 14TH 1955, Ruby Murray was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Softly, Softly'.

The Belfast-born recording and TV star of the mid 50s was the first act to score five simultaneous Top 20 hits.

1961, The Beatles performed at the Cassanova Club, Liverpool, and at Litherland Town Hall, Liverpool where they play a special Valentine's Day show. Paul McCartney

sang Elvis Presley's "Wooden Heart", wearing wooden heart pinned to his coat, covered with satin and embroidered with the names "John", "Paul", "George", and "Pete". The heart was raffled off, and the winner also won a kiss from Paul.

1968, Manfred Mann were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song 'The Mighty Quinn' which was also a No.10 hit in the US. Dylan recorded the song in 1967 during the Basement Tapes ses-

sions, but did not release a version for another three years.

1970, The Who appeared at Leeds University, England. The show was recorded for the bands forthcoming 'Live At Leeds' album. Since its initial reception, Live at Leeds has been cited by several music critics as the best live rock recording of all time. The University of Leeds refectory, has now been named a national landmark in the UK, commemorated with a blue plaque.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono started a week long run as co-hosts on 'Mike Douglas' US TV show.

1973, David Bowie collapsed on stage during a concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

1977, US singer songwriter Janis Ian received 461 Valentine's day cards after indicating in the lyrics of her song 'At

Seventeen', she had never received any.

1980, Lou Reed married Sylvia Morales at a ceremony in his New York apartment.

1984, Elton John married recording engineer Renate Blauer in Sydney, Australia. The couple divorced three years later.

1986, Frank Zappa appeared on an episode of the television series Miami Vice. Zappa portrayed a crime boss named 'Mr. Frankie.'

1987, Bon Jovi started a four week run

at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Livin' On A Prayer', the group's second US No.1, a No.4 hit in the UK. 1992, The film 'Waynes World', which featured appearances from Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper premiered in the US. The use of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in the film propelled the song to No.2 on the US singles charts nearly 20 years after its first release.

1998, Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' set a new recorded for the most radio plays in the US with 116 million plays in one week.

1999, Lenny Kravitz scored his first UK No.1 single with 'Fly Away' a No.12 hit in the US. The track had been used on a TV ad for cars.

1999, Elton John appeared as himself in a special episode of the animated series The Simpsons shown on US TV. 2002, Mick Tucker, drummer with glam rock band Sweet died of leukaemia. Had the 1973 UK No.1 single

'Blockbuster', plus 14 other UK Top 40 singles.

2003, Stolen reel-to-reel studio recordings by The Beatles were found in Australia. Police recovered the tapes of the bands 1968 The White Album and the Abbey Road album after they were advertised for sale in a Sydney newspaper. Australian police had been tipped off by British detectives from

Operation Acetone, an investigation into thefts of original Beatles music from Abbey Road studios in London in the 1960's.

2005, Kerrang! magazine announced the results of its readers’ poll for the best British rock albums ever. The Top

10 were: No.1, Black Sabbath’s Black Sabbath; No.2, Iron Maiden’s Number Of The Beast; No.3 Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The Bollock's, Here's The Sex Pistols; No. 4, Led Zeppelin IV; No.5, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid; No.6, Muse’s Absolution; No.7, The Clash's London Calling; No.8, Queen’s Sheer Heart Attack; No.9, Iron Maiden’s Iron Maiden and No.10, Manic Street Preachers’ The Holy Bible.

2016, Adele was at No.1 on the US album chart with her third studio album 25. The album was a massive commercial success, debuting at No.1 in more than 25 markets and broke first-week sales records in multiple countries, including the United Kingdom and United States; in the US, the album sold 3.38 million copies in its first week of release, marking the largest single-week sales for an album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking point-of-sale music purchases in 1991.

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NIE’S, WHAT, WHY AND HOW

By Ray Kearney

station and so residents there need to travel to a town or city nearby that has one.

A Spanish NIE number is an identification number for non-Spanish people who are more than just holidaymakers, who might visit Spain infrequently. In your home country you will probably have a social security number and a tax number, and this number generally does not change during your entire life. Likewise, bank account numbers remain the same unless you move bank. In contrast passport numbers change every time you renew your passport.

In the Playa Flamenca Town Hall, one officer does sit to process the paperwork for those in the area. This office can only handle about thirty applications each day. The paperwork is brought to Orihuela each evening and processed there. Most people find the Policia Nacional station on Calle Arquitecto Larramendi, 3, off Avenida de las Habaneras in Torrevieja, to be the fastest for getting appointments and for processing the NIE itself. Their phone number is 965 708 834 and their website is www. policia.es.

The NIE is a tax identification number in Spain, known in Spanish as the NIE, or more formally the Número de identidad de extranjero. The Spanish government have linked the NIE number to residence, where the NIE on the tarjeta de residencia (residence card), and to social security in Spain. The NIE number itself is issued on a standard A4 page, with the recipients full name (as written on the passport used during the application process), their place of birth, their nationality, and the number itself, along with a stamp and signature provided by the National Police.

Spanish nationals each have an identity number called a DNI and so the NIE is the non-Spanish national equivalent. An NIE (number) is for life and it is very important to keep the original in a safe, yet accessible place.

Normally, just stating your NIE is enough, and often a photocopy of your NIE is sufficient but for official use you will need your original and usually your passport, as the NIE does not have a photo accompanying it. The cost of an NIE is about 10€ and you must bring your original passport (with you with a photocopy in some places), you will also need to have a passport photo and fill out a form.

If you want to open a Spanish bank account you will need to bring your passport and NIE with you, without these two documents you cannot fully open a bank account. In some situations,

It is also possible to get an NIE in your local Spanish consulate or embassy. It is important that you make an appointment beforehand (do not just turn up). Here again, you will need your original passport (in date), a passport photo, about 10€ and fill out a form, generally you will not need a photocopy of your passport in an embassy or consulate.

a bank will allow you to open an account so as you can transfer money from your home bank account but you will not be able to withdraw or transfer that money back or to another without the full documentation.

The Spanish Government website with information for Foreigners (www.exteriores.gob.es) states: Foreigners who for their economic interests, Professional or social relations with Spain will be endowed, for the purpose of identification, with a personal, unique and exclusive number, of a sequential nature.

If you want to buy a Spanish property or even a car, your NIE will be one of the required documents. You will also need your NIE to register on the Padrón, to vote in local or European elections, to enrol children in school, to become a resident or a tax resident, to qualify for receiving free medical care and reduced cost prescriptions, to start a business or register for VAT (IVA).

NIE’s are vital for you to achieve anything official in Spain.

In the UK and Ireland there is just one police force. In Spain there are three: the Guardia Civil, the Policia Local and the Policia Nacional (National Police). Some autonomous regions like Cataluña, the Canaries, Navarra and the Basque Country also have other police forces. NIE’s are issued by the Policia Nacional only, however, areas like Orihuela Costa do not have a Policia Nacional

Consequently, foreigners who are related to Spain due to their economic, professional or social interests may personally apply for the NIE to the General Directorate of the Police, directly or through the Consular Offices of Spain abroad.

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THEN AND NOW: 'DIRTY DANCING'

It was 30 years ago, on August 21, 1997, that Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze did their classic latin moves in Dirty Dancing, becoming the sleeper of a spicy summer romance box office hit at the 'movies'.

nosed with prostate cancer in 1994, which he fought for 10 years, until his death at age 69 in 2004.

Kelly Bishop (Marjorie Houseman) Photo Courtesy of Vestron Pictures; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic Kelly Bishop had many television roles

The young lovers meet at Kellerman’s, an upscale summer resort where Johnny Castle (Swayze) works as a dance instructor and Baby Houseman (Grey) is visiting with her family. Baby ends up at a party for the staff and Johnny catches her eye. As she swoons over him during the hot summer days, he teaches her how to dance. The two find romance and perform together at the summer’s closing show, wowing audiences with their passion and skill, and of course, the lift.

post-Dirty Dancing, but perhaps none more beloved than her run as Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. She also re-teamed with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino for ABC Family's short-lived Sutton Foster starrer Bunheads. On the film side, some of her post-Dancing credits include Six Degrees of Separation, Private Parts (1997), Wonder Boys (2000) and Friends With Kids.

The film has has earned nearly $214 million at the box office and had a remake released in 2017.

Sadly, Patrick Swayze and Jerry Orbach died in 2009 and 2004, respectively.

But read on to see what Jennifer Grey, Kelly Bishop and others are up to now according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Jane Brucker (Lisa Houseman)

Partick Swayze (Johnny Castle) Photo Courtesy of Vestron Pictures; Getty images.

Following his leading role in Dirty Dancing, Swayze was a hot commodity, starring in movies like in Road House (1989), Ghost (1990) and Point Break (1991) along with many other films over the years. In January 2008, Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died from the disease in September 2009 at the age of 57.

Photo Courtesy of Vestron Pictures; Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images After her role as Baby Houseman, Jennifer Grey continued acting, with roles in numerous movies and TV shows. On the small screen, she appeared on Friends, starred in ABC's It's Like, You Know..., twirled again on Dancing With The Stars and, most recently, returned to the '80s via Amazon's comedy series Red Oaks. On the film side, she had roles in movies like Bounce and In Your Eyes.

Jerry Orbach (Jake Houseman)

Photo Courtesy of Vestron Pictures; Courtesy of Raul Vega After Dirty Dancing, Jane Brucker appeared in the movies Stealing Home, Bloodhounds of Broadway and Dishdogz. But in recent years, she's focused on her family with husband Raul Vega, whom she married in 2001 and with whom she has two daughters, Sally and Rachel.

Cynthia Rhodes (Penny Johnson) Photo Courtesy of Vestron Pictures Ltd./Photofest; Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Jennifer Grey (Baby Houseman)

Photo Courtesy of Vestron Pictures; Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic Best known for his 12-year-long run as Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order, Jerry Orbach was diag-

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Dirty Dancing came near the end of Cynthia Rhodes’ acting career, with her role as Penny Johnson only followed by her role of Vickie Phillips in Curse of the Crystal Eye (1991). She was married to Richard Marx from 1989 to 2014 and has three sons: Lucas, Jesse and Brandon.

Not A Lot Of People Know That The very famous scene where Johnny and Baby are practicing their dancing and they are crawling towards each other on the floor wasn't intended to be part of the film; they were just messing around and were warming up to do the real scene, but the director liked it so much he kept it in the film.

The crew had to make up Cynthia Rhodes to look worse during the agony scene, because she was too beautiful without makeup to look convincing.

Kelly Bishop is only 14 and 16 years older, respectively, than Jane Brucker and Jennifer Grey, who played her daughters.

When Johnny Castle is dancing with Penny, she is wearing a custom made red dress that crisscrossed in the back. Patrick Swayze kept getting his fingers stuck.

The tight schedule allowed only two weeks for rehearsal and 44 days for filming, as it was already the tail end of summer.

Jennifer Grey, at 27, was 10 years older than the character of Baby. During her audition, she had 5 minutes to prove she could play younger, and that she had the moves for the role.

Patrick Swayze and Cynthia Rhodes previously worked together in the music video for Toto's song "Rosanna"

Patrick Swayze was offered $6 million to reprise his role as Johnny for a sequel. Swayze wasn't a fan of sequels and turned it down.

Even though the movie is set in 1963 and several of the dance songs are from that period, the song "I've Had the Time of My Life" was written in 1987.

The song "She's Like The Wind" was co-written

by Patrick Swayze with Stacy Widelitz and sung

by Patrick Swayze.

During the scene where Baby and Johnny are dancing in the woods and later in the water -

since that part of the movie was shot in October at Mountain Lake Virginia, which is when all the leaves on the trees start changing colours - the trees all around the lake and for that scene were spray-painted green due to the fact that the time frame of the movie was set in the summer. If you look closely during that scene in the woods, you can see leaves falling off the trees - this doesn't happen in the summer.

Patrick Swayze wore a girdle to look thinner and younger.

At 35 years old, Patrick Swayze was clearly way too old for the role of Johnny by 15 years, and was only 8 years younger than the actress playing Baby's mother.

In the last scene, on-screen Mom Kelly Bishop says of Baby's dancing, "I think she gets it from me." Not so fast, Mom! Bishop was a well-known Broadway singer and dancer, but on-screen dad Jerry Orbach began his career in Broadway musicals and the father of Jennifer Grey is Tony- and Oscar-winner Joel Grey. Their most famous Broadway musicals - 'A Chorus Line' for Bishop and 'Chicago' for Orbach - had a famous rivalry for box office receipts and awards when they opened within months of each other in 1975.

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THE STEYR SYNDROME: REQUIEM TO CATALONIA

By Bob Yareham Tell me what can a poor boy do when he is born in a small town in Austria with well below average height, a sickly disposition and persistent rumours of a Jewish grandfather?

Well, he can move to Germany and become more German than the Germans themselves, rewriting the family history so that he was no longer the son of an illegitimate father called Schicklgruber, who married his cousin for a start.

This deeply felt inferiority complex leading to a compulsive need to adopt a new personality and then take it to an extreme, often turning the mediocre into fire-breathing rabble-rousers, is known as the Steyr Syndrome, named after the town to which Hitler was sent in shame after failing miserably in his studies at his home town of Linz.

The Syndrome explains Hitler’s obsessive compensatory megalomania and may also explain what is happening in Catalonia today, where a once prosperous society has gone into a nose-dive spiral, at the head of which are a group of people who trumpet the cause of Catalan nationalism, despite, or because, they are barely Catalans themselves.

One of the loudest is Gabriel Rufian, who dropped the incriminating Spanish ‘Juan’ from his legal name, and is known for his explosive excesses in the Spanish parliament, a bit of a Norman Tebbit without the manners. This might have something to do with his grandfather, who had to be returned to his native Andalusia in a straitjacket after a nervous breakdown while on military service.

Yes, that's right, Andalusia, cradle of Catalan secessionism, where both of Rufian’s parents and all his ancestors were born.

Number one on the election list for the separatist candidacy was Raül Romeva i Rueda, who managed to overcome the indignity of being born and raised for the first humiliating nine years of his life in nefarious Madrid by becoming one of the most intransigent of those who are now turning their backs on Spain.

David Fernandez is another leader of CUP, whose parents immigrated to Catalonia, in this case from León and Zamora. Fernandez, like many of his cohorts wants to repay his parents’ sacrifices by depriving them of their Spanish nationality and pension.

Another well-known face is the Catalan MP Anna Gabriel, whose clenched fist in Parliament is one of her more subtle gestures and whose parents are from Huelva and Murcia. She is also one of the representatives of CUP, whose vote enabled Carles Puigdemont to become President.

The CUP is clearly anti-capitalist and anti-system, although their greatest contribution to parliamentary activity seems to be more a question of carefully crafted flea market fashion-sense than philosophy.

Puigdemont loves Catalonia so much that he married a Rumanian, who frequently seems even more committed to independence than her husband. Puigdemont had hoped for support from countries like France, however, the differences with President Macron are too great to overcome; Puigdemont is 15 years older than his wife, whereas Macron is twenty years younger than his.

What would they talk about?

It is Puigdemont who has decided to climb a mountain in search of a better tomorrow; unfortunately it is a mountain of rubble of what remains of the once prosperous Catalan economy, an economy based upon a strong private sector, from which practically none of the current Catalan leaders come.

The Catalan government has been quick to learn the lessons of controlling the media and has its own versions of Der Stürmer.

The publicly owned TV company TV3 plays the part of Goebbels to a tee, for example showing the Mel Gibson film ‘The Patriot’ the evening before the illegal referendum. Also, most newspapers carried the heart rending story of Marta Torrecillas, whose fingers were broken one by one by an evil Spanish policeman. When it later

turned out that she didn't in fact have a single broken finger, most serious papers carried that story too, except for the Catalan English language paper Catalonia Today, set up by the Catalan government to plead its case to foreigners, which maintains the original story prominently in its digital version. You may not be surprised to learn that the ‘newspaper’s’ editor is none other than Marcela Topor, who may have got the job because she isn’t a native speaker of English, or maybe because she is Puigdemont’s wife.

Like Hitler, the Catalan Nationalists, who are mostly both Nationalist and Socialists who have wished good riddance to the hundreds of private companies fleeing Catalonia, use familiar methods; mass rallies with a striking flag and the chanting of slogans; moving anthems, in this case Els Segadors (‘the reapers,’ with some disturbing lyrics about cutting down their enemies with sickles; although to be fair not a single hammer is mentioned), referring to an idyllic agricultural heritage which none of today’s leaders have any experience of whatsoever. Forcing shops to close and painting the buildings of their political enemies with threats and insults are also in vogue (one of their supporters even went so far as to hope on Facebook that the opposition leader Ines Arrimadas be gang raped. Apparently a single rape was not considered sufficient in the new Catalan utopia.)

To be fair, there are some pure Catalans among the secessionists. La Junquera is the last town before leaving Catalonia and entering France, and there to turn off the lights when the last company leaves is Oriol Junqueras, Vice President of the Catalan government. Junqueras is the first European politician since World War II to drag genetics into politics, explaining the Catalan desire to free itself from Spain in terms of genetic differences. Junqueras himself is a fine example of the Master Race; with his excessive kilos, balding pate and wonky eye he bears a remarkable resemblance to Herman Goering in all but the shabby uniform.

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VALENCIA: HERE BE DRAGONS Not only dragons but also Dracula, Dan Brown, Columbus, Churchill, Henry V, Andy Warhol, archangels, King Arthur, Real Madrid, David Niven, Charlton Heston, Stalin & Trotsky, Templars, Marco Polo, Moors, Tony Blair, The Beatles, Wagner, worms, mermaids, Leyton Orient, Goethe, land-locked admirals, Napoleon, saints and martyrs, Sheldon Cooper.

There isn’t a lot this book hasn’t got.

Author Bob Yareham and photographer Mark

There will also be a documentary; falsified non-fiction designed to attract unsuspecting tourists to Valencia on the pretext that they will see dragons leaping off every wall and a team of Dan Brown’s researchers being picked off one by one as they try to reveal the sinister secrets of this sunny city by the sea.

Valencia, a city better known for sun, sand, gastronomy and a thriving nightlife, is in fact full of dragons, and the book reveals why.

They can be found all over the city, although their lairs are focused on specific zones; the medieval district, the Ensanche (the central area developed after the city walls were demolished), and two neighbourhoods, Ruzafa and the port.

Sicon have combined to unleash a project upon an unsuspecting public, consisting of two books (English and Spanish), a video, a photographic exhibition and a walk-talk, (a guided tour of Valencia’s dragons for Spanish students of English).

The book reveals a conspiracy of far reaching consequences, much in the style of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Conspiracy, although far better written and researched.

Many little known facts are revealed about some of Valencia’s famous fore-fathers, and some mysteries exposed, such as the Dracula Connections with Valencia.

There are also historical and anthropological references just to give the book enough spurious seriousness to be considered credible.

As part of the project two walk-talks for students and tourists have been developed and tried out. The first walk covers the historic centre and has been designed specifically to avoid crossing (almost) any main roads. It lasts about an hour, depending on dragon attacks.

The second covers the Ensanche area around Colón Market with all its Art Nouveau architecture.

The photos, by Anglo-Spanish photographer Mark Sicon have already been exhibited in three locations, and will soon be touring schools with an English language activity.

The book is available on-line with free P&P anywhere in Spain for 15€.

Bob Yareham is also available for personalised tours of Valencia’s dragons if you cross his grasping palm with silver. Contact Bob at: bobyareham@gmail.com.

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THEN AND NOW: THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY

The Partridge Family was an American musical-sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring her real-life stepson, teen idol David Cassidy.

Jones played a widowed mother with Cassidy playing the oldest of her five children/ They formed the fictitious musical group The Partridge Family, and toured the USA in their Bus. It ran on ABC from September 25, 1970, until March 23, 1974.

DAVID CASSIDY

tion. Doctors were hoping to give him a liver transplant however he passed away just a few days later.

After 96 episodes of the Partridge Family, ABC finished production and Cassidy, after ten Partridge Family Albums, became a solo artist in his own right and continued to have hit records. He landed his own television drama, David Cassidy - Man Undercover, in 1978, but this only lasted for one season. After the series ended, Cassidy found work in theatre, performing in regional and touring productions and on Broadway. He then had a successful run in Las Vegas, beginning with the show EFX in 1996 and with his 1999 Vegas production, The Rat Pack Is Back!.

1976: Show Boat, 1994: The King & I, 2004: 42nd Street (Broadway, with Patrick Cassidy) and 2012: The Music Man (Sacramento Music Circus, with Patrick Cassidy) among many others, plus TV, Film and as a recording artist.

DANNY BONADUCE

SHIRLEY JONES

19-year old David Cassidy played lead singer Keith on the '70s show, as the son of Shirley Partridge. Shortly after production began, Cassidy convinced music producer Wes Farrell that his voice was good enough to sing on the show, and he was promoted to lead singer for the series' recordings, and all albums produced by the 'group'. Sadly, on November 21st, 2017 Cassidy died from liver failure.

His last TV performance was in a 2013 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Over the years he battled substance abuse issues, including a stint in rehab in 2014. Earlier this year Cassidy revealed that he had been diagnosed with dementia.

This November, he was hospitalized with liver and kidney failure and listed in critical condi-

Jones played the Partridge Family mom, taking on the role of widowed mother-of-five. Before working on the show Jones, now 83, won an Oscar for her Best Supporting Actress performance in Elmer Gantry and appeared in lead roles in such Hollywood musical productions as Oklahoma! (1955), Carousel (1956), April Love (1957), and The Music Man (1962).

She had a long and varied stage career including 1956: Oklahoma!, 1966: The Sound of Music,

Bonaduce played the part of the wisecracking middle child and bass guitarist, Danny. The actor, who was a preteen when cast on The Partridge Family, scored a few TV guest spots following the end of the series, as well as a starring role in 1978's Corvette Summer, opposite Mark Hamill.

Bonaduce also made guest appearances on several TV shows, including the television action drama ChiPs. His professional life included a stint as a radio DJ in Philadelphia and Detroit and from 2001 to 2003 he co-hosted “The Other Half,” TV show.

The bulked-up Bonaduce has also appeared on a handful of reality shows, including “I Know My Kid’s a Star,” “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” “Breaking Bonaduce” (where he got drunk on-camera and fell off a scooter) and “TruTV Presents: The World’s Dumbest.” He’s also been a professional wrestler. ’Say no more...

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SUSAN DEY At 17 years old, former model Dey took on the role of Laurie on the sitcom. Born on December 10, 1952, she was turning 65 as we went to press. Following the end of the hit sitcom, Dey, went on to star on L.A. Law from 1986 to 1992.

A three-time Emmy Award nominee and sixtime Golden Globe Award nominee, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for L.A. Law in 1988.

DAVE MADDEN Madden was best known for his role as The Partridge Family manager, Reuben Kincaid, Madden first made a name for himself as a comedian after performing on the Ed Sullivan Show. The actor kept busy with a slew of TV guest spots and a recurring role on the long-running TV series Alice. Madden died in 2014 at the age of 82 from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome. He was survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

Dey, who has one daughter from her previous marriage, has kept a low profile since appearing on two episodes of Third Watch in 2004. Dey was married to Leonard "Lenny" Hirshan from 1976 to 1981. They have one daughter, Sarah, who was born in 1978. Dey has been married to her second husband, television producer Bernard Sofronski, since 1988.

SUZANNE CROUGH With the exception of her turn as the youngest Partridge sibling, Tracy, Crough stayed away from Hollywood apart from the occasional TV movie. In 2015 at the age of 52, Crough died suddenly in her Nevada home after suffering from a rare form of cardiomyopathy.

BRIAN FORSTER Forster took on the role of pint-sized drummer Chris in The Partridge Family after the original actor, Jeremy Gelbwaks, exited the show in 1971.

Since the show's end in 1974, Forster dabbled in race-car driving in the early 2000s and occasionally acts.xx

ANOTHER FESTIVE CHRISTMAS FAYRE

The annual Christmas Fayre at Torreblanca Commercial Centre was a great success... as hundreds of people enjoyed another beautiful sunny December day. Organised by The Flower shop, fundraising activities also took place for Rock Against Cancer and the AECC.

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Nyttårsaften – "Noche Vieja" Noche Vieja starter som regel med at familien samles hjemme med masse god mat og huset pyntet til fest. For spanjolene er nyttårsaften den viktigste dagen å tilbringe sammen med familien.

Det blir ofte fest med stor ståhei, og moro til langt ut på morgenkvisten. Først spiser de forretter som reker drysset med salt, nydelig spansk spekeskinke, ulike oster, brød, vann og annen god drikke.

Når klokken nærmer seg 24.00 samles familien rundt TV med hver sine 12 druer i hendene. Klokkeslagene sendes direkte på TV over hele Spania. Da er det klart for klokkeslag og druer for å feire det nye året Å ta imot det nye året mens du spiser de lykkebringende druene en spansk tradisjon du ikke bør gå glipp av. Har du fremdeles ikke hørt om den? Å spise tolv druer, en etter en, til klokkeslagene som ringer inn det nye året er en fast tradisjon i Spania. Druene representerer månedene av året. For hver spiste drue vil det bringe en måned av lykke. Spising av druer er en lang tradisjon, og du vil se at supermarkedene er fylt med druer i dagene fram til nyttår.

Tradisjonen sier at den som klarer å spise druene fort nok vil få et år med hell og lykke. Du kan også oppleve denne spesielle tradisjonen på hoteller og restauranter som arrangerer nyttårsfest med spesialmeny, de tolv druene. Det vartes opp med både musikk og underholdning. Husk å bestille bord på forhånd.

Har du muligheten til å delta aktivt i den uhøytidelige seremonien med årets siste klokkeslag sammen med lokalbefolkningen bør du benytte sjansen. I mange byer og landsbyer samles folk på Plaza (sentrum) for å dele disse lykkelige minuttene. Besøk stedets turistkontor for nærmere informasjon, eller spør andre som har deltatt i denne tradisjonen.

Det er ett sted i Spania som mer enn noen andre er knyttet til denne tradisjonen: klokken på Puerta del Sol i Madrid. Tusenvis av mennesker samles der. De fleste av dem grupper av venner og unge. Utkledd med luer, fløyter, trompeter, masker og andre fest remedier, beve-

ger de seg hver nyttårsaften inn til sentrum av den spanske hovedstaden for å feire det nye året.

Etter drueritualet gir alle seg hen til moro og glede, ekte spansk alegría. Puerta del Sol blir til en eneste stor kollektiv fest der konfetti, serpentiner og musikken hersker. Bli med på folkefesten, sprett korken på en sprudlende Cava, og skål med vennene dine og folkene rundt deg.

Når druene er spist har nyttårsfeiringen så vidt begynt. Foran deg har du timevis med moro og glede. Barer, puber og diskoteker pleier å arrangere sine egne nyttårsfester der du kan danse til morgengry. Gatene er en eneste stor fest. Bilene tuter for å hilse det nye året velkommen. Høylydt latter, musikk og moro.

Grupper av feststemt ungdom fyller byen med liv.

Hvis kroppen og kreftene tillater det finnes det ikke noen bedre måte å avslutte natten på enn med en kopp varm sjokolade med smultstekte churros før du går til sengs.

Godt Nyttår!

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Sudoku (Medium)

Word Search

Kakuro

ADVENT CALENDAR ANGELS CANDLES CANDYCANES CHRISTMAS TREE ELVES FIGURINES GARLAND

HOLLY NATIVITY SET NUTCRACKER ORNAMENTS POINSETTIA REINDEER SANTA SNOWFLAKE

SNOWMAN STAR STOCKINGS TREE LIGHTS TREE SKIRT WINDOW ART WREATH

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Kakuro puzzles are like a cross between a crossword and a sudoku puzzle. Instead of letters, each block contains the digits 1 through 9. The same digit will never repeat within a word. If you add the digits in a word, the sum will be the number shown in the clue. Clues are shown on the left and right sides of "across" words, and on the top and bottom sides of "down" words.

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THE BEST WAY TO MOVE FORWARD ROBERT LANDAU

Why don't things always turn out the way we'd like them to?

That's a loaded question! While there are a number of ways to answer that question, here's one that you might resonate with; I believe that our path in life is never a straight shot. Rather, it's full of many twists and turns.

If life were as easy as a straight shot, we wouldn't be here. The trick is how you deal with the many curves that your life's journey tends to throw you from time to time.

When you want something to happen, how do you go about making your wish a reality?

Somewhere along the line you need to see and feel the end-result even though you haven't started to point yourself in that direction. Your mind is a powerful tool that you can use to great effect. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If things don't turn out the way you were expecting, here are some important things to remember; 1. Don't freak out!

Stuff happens but it's how you choose to deal with it that makes all the difference in the world. You

might not be able to change external events, but you can certainly make the choice as to how you want to react to what's happening 2. Acknowledge it Acknowledge that things didn't complete themselves in the best way possible and then let it go.

Letting it go allows you to take the next important step 3. Move on Leaving disappointment behind is one of the

healthiest things you can do.

It's when you choose to dwell on a negative that things can backfire. If you constantly keep thoughts of why things didn't work out the way you think they should have, you'll never move out of that space of disappointment. Remember that thoughts always turn into things. Moving on lets refresh the situation and allows you to set another goal that will have a better ending. If you're listening to an album of someone's songs and you don't like the first number, what do you do? You move on to the next.

And so it is in life. You make the choice if you want to dwell on hearing the same song over and over. You also have the power to make the choice to move to the next number on the album 4. Reset Now that you've left disappointment behind, create a better version of exactly what you want to happen. Before you even start to go along the path of claiming what it is you want to happen, make sure you totally believe that you'll receive what you're asking for and if you truly deserve and are worthy of it. So many prayers and meditations go unanswered simply because, deep down, there was a core belief that preventing the final manifestation from occurring Finally, always work at embracing life with open arms. If something doesn't work out, move on to the next adventure. You have more power than you think you do. Realize that you are here for a reason and know that life is never a straight shot.

Understanding that there will indeed be some twists and turns along the way keeps you firmly on the path you were always meant to travel.

General Words

Abler Abysmal Across Beetle Bunks Chide Chord Cottage Crabs Emerges Exhaling Fends Flows Goods Infrastructure Knees Lacked Martyrdom Masts Nooks Orchestrations

Overate Quests Rectums Roofs Round Seeds Shack Shake Sheds Sicks Sighed Smack Socket Starch Storming Trees Tuner Undoes Waive Zeros

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SONG FACTS: HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) BY JOHN LENNON

John Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote this in their New York City hotel room and recorded it during the evening of October 28 and into the morning of the 29th, 1971 at the Record Plant in New York. It was released in the US for Christmas, but didn't chart. The next year, it was released in the UK, where it did much better.

the Paul McCartney album Ram. Jim Keltner played drums and sleigh bells, Nicky Hopkins played chimes and glockenspiel. Keltner and Hopkins were part of Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, and a third member, Klaus Voorman, was supposed to play bass on this track, but got stuck on a flight from Germany. One of the guitarists brought in for the session cover the bass - which one nobody seems to remember.

John and Yoko spent a lot of time in the late '60s and early '70s working to promote peace.

In 1969, they put up billboard advertisements in major cities around the world that said, "War is over! (If you want it)." Two years later this slogan became the basis for this song when Lennon decided to make a Christmas record with an anti-war message.

John also claimed another inspiration for writing the song: he said he was "sick of 'White Christmas.'"

The children's voices are the Harlem Community Choir, who were brought in to sing on this track. They are credited on the single along with Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band. Lennon and Ono produced this with the help of Phil Spector. Spector had

Lennon was shot and killed less than three weeks before Christmas in 1980. The song was re-released in the UK on December 20th of that year.

This has been covered by The Alarm, The Cranes, The December People, and Melissa Etheridge (in a medley with "Give Peace a Chance"). The Australian artist Delta Goodrem also covered this in 2003. She received special permission from Yoko Ono to record the song. worked on some of the later Beatles songs and also produced Lennon's "Instant Karma."

It was not Spector's first foray into Christmas music: he and his famous session stars (including a 17-year-old Cher) spent 6 weeks in the summer of 1963 putting together A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, featuring artists like The Ronettes and Darlene Love. Unfortunately, the album was released on November 22, 1963, which was the same day US president John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the album sold poorly as America was focused on news of the killing. This was originally released on clear green vinyl with Yoko Ono's "Listen, The Snow Is Falling" as the B-side.

At the beginning of the song, two whispers can be heard. Yoko whispers: "Happy Christmas, Kyoko" (Kyoko Chan Cox is Yoko's daughter with Anthony Cox) and John whispers: "Happy Christmas, Julian" (John's son with Cynthia). This being a Phil Spector production, four guitarists were brought in to play acoustic guitars: Hugh McCracken, Chris Osbourne, Stu Scharf and Teddy Irwin. McCracken had recently played on

When Lennon first played his demo for Phil Spector, the producer remarked that the song's opening line, "So this is Christmas...", was rhythmically identical to the Paris Sisters' 1961 hit "I Love How You Love Me," which he produced. Though now a Christmas standard, Lennon originally penned this as a protest song about the Vietnam War, and the idea "that we're just as responsible as the man who pushes the button. As long as people imagine that somebody's doing it to them and that they have no control, then they have no control."

The Local Touch

49

WHY SOME BANDS WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY

by Keith Nicol

10: Stay Another Day, East 17: £97,000

Each Christmas, there are two records that Radio DJ's either love or hate to play, as they seem to have been around forever: Slade's 'Merry Xmas Everybody' and Wizzard's 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day'. Both records are major money spinners when it comes to royalty payments and they continue to reach the edges of the charts year by year. According to an article in the NME and research published in other UK newspapers, the royalties just keep rolling in for some of these artists.

Slade – ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ (1973) Noddy Holder’s handsome money-maker earns the Black Countryman a nice little Christmas

In 2013, Slade's track was top of the Christmas song list when it came to pulling in the royalties, with The Pogues in second place, earning an estimated £520,000 from ‘Fairytale Of New York’ and Mariah Carey in third, raking in £455,000 from ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. The cash comes from royalties, which stack up through radio, television, jukebox and shop plays as well as compilation album sales, reports Prezzybox. com. There are probably many veteran musicians who wish it could be Christmas every day, judging by the earnings decades-old songs can muster at this time of year.

While Wizzard didn't quite make the top 10 of bands with the highest royalties from their Christmas song last year, it remains a lucrative business for Slade, who beat Wizzard to the 1973 Christmas number one with Merry Xmas Everybody. The Daily Mail reports that songwriters Noddy Holder and Jim Lea will each be benefiting from the £500,000 estimated royalties the song is estimated to have earned this year. The Pogues are reported to make around £400,000 every year from their whiskey-soaked ballad The Fairytale of New York. Mariah Carey is thought to earn royalties of £376,000 every year from her hit All I Want For Christmas Is You, which was announced as the most-streamed Christmas song of all time this week.

The estimated annual royalty earners in full: 1: Merry Xmas Everybody, Slade: £500,000 2: Fairytale of New York, The Pogues: £400,000 3: All I Want For Christmas, Mariah Carey: £376,000 4: White Christmas, Bing Crosby: £328,000 5: Last Christmas, Wham!: £300,000 6: Wonderful Christmastime, Paul McCartney: £260,000 7: Mistletoe and Wine, Cliff Richard: £100,000 8: Stop the Cavalry, Jona Lewie: £120,000 9: 2000 Miles, The Pretenders: £102,000

Bonus every year. 2013 figures estimated that the single, which has sold over 1.2 million copies and is, according to the Performing Right Society, the most heard song in the world, earns Slade (including the much-forgotten songwriter Jim Lea, who wrote ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’’s chorus) £512,000 a year. A year! According to Daily Mail stats from 2015, meanwhile, that figure hasn’t dipped, sitting at £500,000.

Jona Lewie – ‘Stop The Cavalry’ (1980) An unlikely Christmas smash due to its anti-war theme – Lewie himself has expressed some bemusement with its festive appropriation – ‘Stop The Cavalry’ has gone on to become a staple sound of Christmas mor n i ng: t h i n k where we’d be seasonally without that triumphant brass section, or that wistful “wish I was at home for Christmas” line. According to the Mail, Lewie’s hit makes him just over £120,000 a year, which the 69-yearold rakes in all for himself, since he wrote the lyrics, melody and backing instrumentation.

Shakin’ Stevens – ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ (1985) Michael Barratt makes a tidy sum every December thanks to his chirpy seasonal hit ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’. Barratt, as you might have guessed, is the birth name of one Shakin’ Stevens, whose star might have fallen long ago were it not for this perennial song. Whilst the singer pockets the windfall from the song’s radio

plays (£5,000 to £10,000), much of the estimated £130,000-worth of royalties goes to the song’s writer, Bob Heatlie.

Wham! – ‘Last Christmas’ (1984) According to online gift retailer Prezzybox’s royalties calculator, George Michael has, at this precise moment in time, scooped £259,760 this year for his seasonal ‘80s smash, which the Official Charts Company (OCC) say it has sold over 1.78 million copies. The Mail last year estimated the annual haul for the song at £300,000. It’s fair to say that George probably doesn’t lose too much sleep over the fact that Wham! lost out in 1984 to Band Aid in the race for Christmas Number One, as those financial figures no doubt fund the expensive tog rating of his pillows.

The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl – ‘Fairytale Of New York’ (1987) Apparently this song came about as a result of a bet with Elvis Costello that The Pogues couldn’t write a Christmas song “that wouldn’t be slushy” – well, the Irish band only went and won that bet, creating one of the finest seasonal pop songs of modern times in the process.

Wizzard – 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day' "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a Christmas song by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973.

Despite the song's strong, long-lasting popularity, it has reached no higher than number four on the UK Singles Chart, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks from December 1973 to January 1974. As with most Wizzard songs, it was written and produced by Roy Wood — formerly of The Move and a founding member

of ELO. The song was famously beaten to the 1973 Christmas Number 1 spot by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" which remained at the top of the charts for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974.

The Local Touch

50

SONG FACTS: DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?

One of the most successful Christmas records ever was the Charity single, that started a slew of other fundraising recording, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid. The song was re-recorded three times: in 1989, 2004, and 2014, all the re-recordings were also charity records; the 1989 and 2004 versions also provide money for famine relief, while the 2014 version was used to raise funds for the Ebola crisis in West Africa.

All three of these versions also reached number one in the UK, and the 2004 version of the song was also a UK million seller, with 1.8 million copies sold.

The performers who sang verses were, in order: Paul Young, Boy George, George Michael, Simon Le Bon, and Bono. The chorus included David Bowie, Phil Collins, Paul McCartney, Geldof, Ure and many other artists who weren't given a verse but sang the "Feed The World" part and lent their images to the effort by appearing in the promotional photo.

In the UK, this became the best-selling single ever. Elton John's "Candle In The Wind '97" currently holds that record.

The single raised $14 million for famine relief in Africa. Geldof is Irish, so he cannot be knighted, but he did receive a KBE, which is equivalent and is popularly known as Sir or Saint Bob.

The charity single was penned by Bob Geldof, lead singer of The Boomtown Rats. He got the idea after watching a BBC documentary on famine in Ethiopia. Geldof wrote the lyrics and Midge Ure from the band Ultravox wrote the music and produced the track, Most of this song was recorded and mixed over a 24-hour period on Sunday, November 25, 1984.

Sting and Simon LeBon had recorded their parts ahead of time, but everyone else came that day.

None of the vocalists heard the song before they arrived, so they learned their parts by listening to a guide vocal producer Midge Ure created, then recorded them.

The video was directed by Nigel Dick, who had done some videos for The Boomtown Rats. He got the request to make the video on short notice, and had no idea what the song was going to be.

He didn't have a budget either, so he simply set up two cameras - one outside and one inside - to capture the action.

Boy George was nearly a no-show, asleep in New York the day of recording.

His band Culture Club was huge at the time and Bob Geldof was counting on him for a key vocal, so Geldof called him, woke him up, and told him to get on a Concorde. George f lew to London, got behind the microphone and delivered the vocal they were looking for.

Minogue, Jason Donovan, and Bros (Featuring Luke Goss on drums) re-recorded this as Band Aid II. The only artists left over from the original Band Aid were Bananarama.

In 2004, a new version recorded by a group of artists including Bono, Paul McCartney, Chris Martin and Dido was released as a single in the UK, with proceeds going to help victims of political and humanitarian crisis in Sudan. "Band Aid 20," as this collective was known, was produced by Nigel Godrich. Bono is the only artist on this version who was also on the original.

In 2014, a fourth permutation of Band Aid was assembled to once again record this song. Known as "Band Aid 30," this rendition was produced by Paul Epworth with proceeds going to Ebola relief.

Singers included One Direction, Sam Smith, and once again... Bono.

After this song generated about ÂŁ10 million for famine relief, Bob Geldof traveled to Ethiopia to oversee distribution of the aid. He took a very hands-on approach, meeting with relief agencies to determine where the money could do the most good. To acknowledge the artists and the folks who bought the album, he made sure that "Love from Band Aid" was emblazoned on many of the supplies, including vehicles.

Spin magazine later reported that the money Geldof brought to Ethiopia was used by the war-torn country's dictator to arm his forces and crush his enemies. According to the report, the Ethiopian famine was mostly caused by its government, which poisoned farms of its opponents.

John Taylor from Duran Duran played bass; Phil Collins played drums. The rest of the instrumentation was done by Midge Ure, who handed the programming and keyboards.

The cover of the single was designed by Peter Blake, who is famous for shooting the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

In 1989, a group of artists including Kylie

George Michael released "Last Christmas" around the same time. He gave all proceeds from the song to Geldof's relief effort.

The Local Touch

51

HOWARD'S WAY AND A BIT MORE

By Lee Howard Editor's Note: This month we introduce another new contributor to The Local Touch: Lee Howard. Lee is a former record company executive and one time 'nearly' pop star with three singles to his name, including the original recording of Leo Sayer’s “One Man Band”. Lee has played guitar in many recording studios and provided vocals for many famous bands and pop stars.

The boy that made good from Luton Bedfordshire, played football after school for the Vauxhall Motors factory and in his spare time, played in a few bands as a bass guitarist. The late seventies kicked off Paul’s musical career with a band called 'Streetband' and produced a song titled “Toast”, a novelty track and a one-off hit, which charted in the top 20.

You can hear Lee on loads of well know recordings and he is still involved in the music business and has many friends in the business: Lee was the lead guitarist in Martin Murray’s 21st Century Honeycombs Band until 2013.

Lee’s knowledge and background of music in the industry is amazing and he still gigs with a great show and loves working as a radio presenter at Big FM and More Music Radio, presenting two main-time radio shows at the weekends. Lee, it's over to you...

Ever y month I’m going to write a column titled "Howard's Way"; up close and personal for the fab "THE LOCAL TOUCH" magazine...

I've some great artists and friends I've worked with over the years in the music business comin' onboard... and we’re gonna kick off with my great mate Paul Young. I’ve know Paul and his lovely family for what seems like ages but what a guy! Fame has never gone to his head and he's a total loving, family person.

The band disbanded in 1979. Steetband reformed with Paul and his mates from North London decided to call the band “The Q Tips”. There were many ups and downs in that band also, which included a few personnel changes. The band carried on gigging and attracted a multitude of record label attention, recorded two albums and seven singles but not much happened and the band disbanded in 1982. Following the “Q Tips” Paul signed for Columbia Records as a solo performer.

Paul’s new backing band “The Royal Family” included the amazing Italian fretless bass player Pino Palladino and the first two singles, "Iron Out the Rough Spots" and a cover of "Love of the Common People" didn’t have any success, but the third, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s song "Wherever I Lay My Hat", reached No. 1 in the UK singles chart and was there for three weeks in the summer of 1983; the first of 14 British Top 40 singles.

Paul then had major success in Europe and followed up from “Wherever I lay My Hat” with “Come Back And Stay”, which reached No 2 in the UK charts. He then re-released “Love Of The

Common People”, which also charted at No 2.

Paul then recorded his debut album titled “No Parlez” in 1983, which went straight into the No 1 slot in the UK album charts, went triple platinum and stayed in the top 100 for 119 weeks, with sales of just under one million.

1984 was a difficult year for Paul as he badly strained his Vocal chords while on tour in America. His first time back in the studio was on November 25th 1984 as he sang the opening lines to 'Do They Know It's Christmas', which you find out more about on Page 50.

If you would like to listen to the interview I did with Paul at his home, just copy the link to your browser: www.mixcloud.com/lee-howard3/ my-interview-with-my-amazing-friend-paul-young-recorded-at-his-home-inc-some-of-his-great-tracks/ Next month’s article I’m gonna pick up Paul's story again and bring you up top date with his recording career and new album releases...

Lee Howard Contact Details: Tel (UK) +44 7932 013912: Tel (Spain) +34 602 440 65 Email: leehowardmusic@outlook.com : Facebook: Lee Howard

The Local Touch

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The Local Touch

THE MOTORING TOUCH

53

JOSÉ MOURINHO BECOMES THE 100,000TH JAGUAR F-PACE CUSTOMER

José Mourinho made a surprise visit to Jaguar Land Rover’s factory in Solihull, to watch employees build his new car, the 100,000th F-PACE. Mourinho said: “It was an amazing experience to visit Jaguar’s factory and see all the cars, technology and hard work that goes into developing such a beautiful car. Jaguar is a brand that I have been involved with for many years. Back in 2014, I was the first UK customer to receive the F-TYPE Coupe and now to become the 100,000th Jaguar F-PACE customer is something that is very special.”

Upon arrival at the factory, José gave a team talk to the employees, motivating them and talking about having pride and passion in your work, and the products they deliver. The F-PACE is the fastest selling Jaguar vehicle ever and is currently the fastest Jaguar vehicle to reach the 100K sales mark.

Fast Facts The all-new Jaguar F-PACE: a performance crossover for those who love driving, with unrivalled dynamics and everyday usability The F-PACE is the fastest-selling Jaguar ever - the fastest a Jaguar has ever reached the 100K mark Models include Prestige, R-Sport, Portfolio, S and First Edition F-TYPE-inspired form that delivers on the promise of Jaguar's breakthrough C-X17 concept, with a spacious, luxurious cabin and large 650litre luggage compartment Strong and stiff Lightweight Aluminium Architecture delivers agility, refinement and efficiency All-Wheel Drive (AWD) delivers reassuring levels of grip for all-weather confidence, further enhanced with segment-leading traction techn-

ologies including Adaptive Surface Response F-PACE is the current World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year collecting the awards at the 2017 World Car Awards - the first time Jaguar has collected the top award and only the second brand to collect both awards in the same year It is Jaguar’s most searched car online ever with 3.6 million unique page views of F-PACE content in the first six months after its reveal More than 578,261 online configurations were completed for F-PACE in its first six months on sale Contribution to UK Manufacturing The F-PACE is designed and developed in the UK and built at Solihull

The Local Touch

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FESTIVE GARDENING Hälsningar, Greetings Marie Lindqvist

Garden designer: Silander&Holst: www.silanderholst.com Soon it's the 1st advent and outside, it feels like our Scandinavian spring. It feels a little odd, but is quite OK for my part. One must make Christmas feeling as good as possible. Good…….oranges are amazingly good and ready for Christmas.

My orange tree is full of fruit this year. My work with it gave great results. What have I been doing with that you wonder? I started by replacing some of the old earth around the tree with new fine soil.

are done with the bloom and next Christmas you will not have to buy one, as you are guaranteed a beautiful flowering Poinsettia.

With a Poinsettia on your terrace, a pair of colourful hyacinths and the wonderfully fragrant oranges, then this my friends gives makes it feel like Christmas, even here on the Costa Blanca.

A small English-Spanish dictionary for your help: A bag of soil = una bolsa de tierra Orange = naranja Citrus fertilizer = abono para citricos Clove = clavo Poinsettia = Flor de Pascua Hyacinth = Jacinto JULEN NÄRMAR SIG! Snart är det 1:a advent och ute känns det som skandinavisk vår. Det känns lite märkligt, men är helt ok för min del. En får ordna julkänslor så gott det går. Gott ja, apelsiner är fantastiskt gott och färdiga lagom till jul!

Never leave old fruit to rot on the tree: it takes a lot of energy to clean up in the Spring. When the unripe fruit starts to appear, continuous irrigation is important. If the tree is left without water for a long time and you start to water it, then the oranges often burst. They simply grow too fast.

The fact is, watering with special citrus nutrition brings success.

I look forward to putting my teeth in my own home-grown oranges, not to mention a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. For Christmas, a pair of oranges should be decorated with red ribbons and a whole clove: this 'is' the scent of Christmas.

Something that also belongs to Christmas is the beautiful red Poinsettia. Here in Spain you can also plant them in the garden or re-plant them in a larger pot when they

Mitt apelsinträd dignar av frukt i år. Mitt arbete med den gav resultat! Vad har jag då gjort med det undrar ni kanske? Jag började med att byta ut lite av den gamla jorden runt trädet mot ny fin jord.

hyacinter och de underbart doftande apelsinerna, då mina vänner känns det som jul, även här på Costa Blanca!

Lämna heller aldrig gammal frukt att ruttna på trädet, det tar mycket energi av den kommande vårblomningen/fruktbildningen. När karten börjar dyka upp är det viktigt med kontinuerlig bevattning. Om trädet står utan vatten under lång tid och du sen börjar vattna det så spricker ofta apelsinerna. De växer helt enkelt för fort.

En liten svensk-spansk ordlista till er hjälp: En påse jord = una bolsa de tierra Apelsin = naranja Citrus gödning = abono para citricos Nejlika = clavo Julstjärna = Flor de Pascua Hyacint = Jacinto

Vattna sedan med speciell citrusnäring och succén är ett faktum.

Jag ser så fram emot att få sätta tänderna i mina egenodlade apelsiner, för att inte tala om alla glas med nypressad apelsinjuice. Ett par av apelsinerna ska pyntas med röda band och hela nejlikor, doften som sprids ÄR jul.

Något som också hör ihop med julen är den härligt röda Julstjärnan. Här i Spanien kan du dessutom plantera ut dem i trädgården eller plantera om dem i en större kruka när de blommat klart och nästa jul behöver du inte köpa en, du har garanterat en vackert blommande julstjärna.

Med en Julstjärna på din terrass, ett par färgglada

The Local Touch

INTERIOR TOUCHES

By Mariana Ramselius Interior Architect

55

www.silanderholst.com / info@silanderholst.com One of the most often asked questions of designers is: “how do I arrange my decor?” When it comes to your coffee table, creating a pleasing arrangement seems like an important task; after all, it is the most central display piece of furniture in the room. Here is a foolproof formula for arranging a coffee table, and inspiring photos to help you get it right.

blir svårt att se över arrangemanget, eller att det tar blir för stort I förhållande till bordet du skall dekorera. Kanske en vacker vas? Eller ett par ljusstakar?

3 Använd något levande, eller från naturen.

Ingenting gör sig bättre än något från naturen. färska blommor, en krukväxt eller kanske en snäcka?

1. Use something square. This grounds your arrangement. I love to use a small stack of books.

Use an odd number and try to choose books with attractive jackets.

4 Använd något med annan form, något runt, oregelbundet, ovalt.. detta fångar blick och uppmärksamhet till dekorationen. Eller välj något som är väldigt mycket “du”, något med personlighet.

2. Use something tall(ish). Give your arrangement some height but not so much height that it’s difficult to see across the room, or that it looks out of scale with the size of the table. Candlesticks! A pretty vase!

3. Use something living or from nature. Nothing is more interesting close up than items from nature. Use fresh flowers, a potted fern, or a pretty shell.

4. Use something with a different shape. Something round, or irregular in shape grabs the attention.

That’s it: four steps. Here are two final hints…

You don’t necessarily have to have four things on

the table… remember, something could be both tall and have life or both square and tall! Lastly for a coffee table, one, three or four items, or groups of items looks best. Feel free to use trays to organize your choices on the table.

Att fixa till kvällens “snackis” Nu är det höst, och vi börjar kanske att vara lite mera inomhus och vill ha det lite mysigt och trevligt omkring oss.

En fråga jag ofta får, är hur kan jag dekorera hemma för att det skall se trevligt ut, och inte bara rörigt??

Hur skall jag dekorera ett soffbord??

Det finns några enkla tips: I fyra steg Här kommer fyra idiotsäkra tips och några inspriationsbilder.

1 använd något kvadratiskt, detta är grunden till ditt arrangemang. Själv föredrar jag att använda mig av några böcker. Använd alltid ett udda antal och välj gärna böcker med trevliga bilder på omslaget.

2 använd något högt (högre). Ge ditt arrangemang lite höjd, men inte så mycket höjd att det

Detta kan göra hela dekorationen på ett soffbord till något helt annorlunda och spännande.

Allt I fyra steg! Här kommer ytterligare två tips…

Du behöver nödvändigtvis inte ha fyra saker på bordet. Tänk på att något kan vara båe högt och levande, t.ex en vas med blommor, eller både högt och kantigt/kvadratiskt.

Att arrangera dekorationen på en snygg bricka kan också vara trevligt.

The Local Touch

56

TEN MUST WATCH FESTIVE MOVIES TO SHARE WITH YOUR FAMILY

The Festive Season is upon us and it's time to sit back and have a great time with the family.

The warmth in your home, the smell of all the roasting, pies and custards, your life seems like as if taken from a movie plot. And talking about a movie or a film, this long holiday is the perfect time to watch movies together with your family.

Here is the list of 10 must watch all time favourite Christmas movies that you can share with your family.

10. A Charlie Brown Christmas Because it’s the first of the Peanuts cartoons, Charlie Brown Christmas also deserves “short film” recognition. Even if religion doesn’t factor into your Christmas, Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy and the rest of the gang’s realization of the over-commercialization of the holiday serves as a timeless lesson melodically enhance by the Vince Guardaldi Trio. As an important adult once put it, “WAH WAH WAH WAH WAMP WAH.”

9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Christmas is filled with joy and it’s filled with nightmares. The third sequel to Vacation explores the latter. It’s pitch perfect. The uproarious sewer explosion is something we all now wish on our most annoying family members. “Merry Christmas, the shitter’s full!”

8. A Christmas Story

Don’t hate this movie because it's on every year and some some stations insist on playing the movie for 24 hours straight. The cavalcade of familial horrors — that leg lamp, man — are still as punchy as ever. Being a kid sucks. A Christmas Story makes remembering that fact all OK. 7. Holiday Inn Before Irving Berlin repurposed “White Christmas” for the movie of the same name, it debuted in Holiday Inn, a musical romp that hits all its major beats on Christmas. The stars aligned for Holiday Inn, with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire showing off their skills in full force.

6. Home Alone Is it wrong that I still want to live a weekend by myself, Home Alone-style? Macaulay Culkin got his Christmas wish, eating ice cream and watching gangster movies while his parents lost their minds trying to get home over the holiday.

It became our fantasy. Though the climax is what sells the movie — the epic Rube Goldberg death match between Kevin and the Wet Bandits — but every moment entertains. Kevin’s preparation for the showdown set to “Carol of the Bells” is iconic.

5. Babes in Toyland (1934) Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy’s adventure through the fantasy world of Toyland may be one of the most uproarious movies of all time, Christmas-themed or not.

You could plop the duo in a Judd Apatow movie today and their comedy wou ld c l ic k — they’re that universal. Surrounding them is pure imagination, with costumes and sets ranging from horrifying to goofy. Laurel and Hardy at the top of their game.

4. It’s a Wonderful Life Many will say the Frank Capra classic is too far down on the list, even at #4. The truth is, the redemptive story of George Bailey (James Stewart) is a great movie, not a brilliant movie. It takes it’s merry ol’ time getting to the juicy stuff, but when Bailey meets Clarence the Angel, the whirlwind of feelings begins.

3. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Though Rudolph’s nose squeak is among the most heinous noises ever committed to film, the Rankin & Bass stop-motion cartoon is heartwarming, cheerful, and downright bizarre.

I don’t know what recreational substances helped someone throw a dentist elf, misfit toys, and Burl Ives into one movie, but they did it and we’re grateful.

2. The Muppet Christmas Carol The holidays are all about dropping cynicism to relish in the mushier spectrum of human emotion. The Muppets were born from those feelings.

Pitting them against Michael Caine’s Scrooge, who never misses a cue when talking down to his felt costars, reinvents the time-honoured classic.

The music by Paul Williams and the framework of Gonzo as Dickens is pure magic. Despite being lauded by Christmas movie fanatics, Muppet Christmas Carol is still under-appreciated.

1. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) There’s nothing like the original. The ’47 Miracle has the court room gravitas of 12 Angry Men, the otherworldliness of It’s a Wonderful Life, and manages to turn Santa into a humanistic star. It’s Christmas on trial and the holiday spirit prevails — could there be a better message?

The Local Touch

57

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED February 3rd, 1959 will forever be remembered for all the wrong reasons in the world of music. Three up and coming rock 'n' roll stars were killed when a single-engined Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in poor weather, shortly after take-off from Clear Lake, Iowa at 0100am. The three were Buddy Holly - 22, Jiles P (JP) Richardson - known as the Big Bopper - 28, and Ritchie Valens, 17. The pilot of the plane was also killed.

Running behind the tour schedule, Buddy Holly hired the plane after heating problems developed on his tourbus. Holly had set up the gruelling schedule of concerts - covering 24 cities in three weeks - to make money after the break-up of his band, The Crickets, in 1958.

At the time, Holly and his band, consisting of Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch, were playing on the "Winter Dance Party" tour across the United States Midwest. Rising artists Valens and Richardson had joined the tour, as well. After stopping at Clear Lake to perform, and frustrated by such conditions, Holly chose to charter a plane to reach their next venue in Moorhead, Minnesota. Richardson, who had the flu, swapped places with Jennings, taking his seat on the plane, while Allsup lost his seat to Valens on a coin toss.

Holly's pregnant wife, María Elena, learned of his death from the reports on television. A widow after only six months of marriage, she suffered a miscarriage shortly after, reportedly due to "psychological trauma". The "Winter Dance Party" tour did not stop; Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup continued performing for two more weeks, with Jennings taking Holly's place as lead singer. Meanwhile, the funerals of the victims were being held individually; Holly and Richardson were buried in Texas, Valens in California, and pilot Peterson in Iowa.

During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 13 in its list of "100 Greatest Artists".

Some of his best known hits include: Everyday, It Doesn't Matter Anymore, It's So Easy, Maybe Baby, Not Fade Away, Oh Boy!, Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue Got Married, Rave On, That'll Be The Day and True Love Ways Buddy Facts By the time he hit high school, Buddy Holly was playing guitar; by 1953, when he was only 17, he was playing regularly on radio in the country-and-western duo Buddy and Bob (Bob was Bob Montgomery, a friend from elementary school). On February 13, 1955, at the Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, Buddy and Bob opened for Elvis, with Holly borrowing Presley’s Martin guitar for the occasion. The pair would open for Presley twice more that year.

A movie about his life, The Buddy Holly Story, was released in 1978 starring Gary Busey, who sang Holly's songs himself for the film. Keith Moon of The Who died of an overdose the day after seeing this movie.

can to break into mainstream music, after being discovered by record producer Bob Keane, who changed his name to Ritchie Valens. He had made three albums and achieved a number two chart position in the US with his composition Donna - about his girlfriend - in 1958. His rock 'n' roll re-working of the traditional Mexican song La Bamba is on the B-side of Donna Mexican American group Los Lobos achieved a hit with La Bamba when they collaborated on the 1987 film of the same name, a biography of Ritchie Valens.

The Big Bopper had been a record-breaking radio DJ - with a 122-hour marathon stint - and reached number six in the American charts with his record Chantilly Lace.

Don McLean immortalised the tragedy with his 1972 hit American Pie. At 8 minutes 32 seconds, this is the longest song in length to hit No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was split in two parts because the 45 did not have enough room for the whole song on one side. The A-side ran 4:11 and the B-side was 4:31 - you had to flip the record in the middle to hear all of it. Disc jockeys usually played the album version at full length, which was to their benefit because it gave them time for a snack, a cigarette or a bathroom break.

If Buddy Holly was still alive, he’d be 80 years old. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, on Sep-

Paul McCartney owns the publishing rights to Holly's songs.

In 1980, Holly's famous horn-rimmed glasses were discovered in a police file in Iowa, where they had been since his death.

The Crickets' 1957 debut album, The "Chirping" Crickets was the only LP to feature Buddy Holly that was released during his lifetime.

Richard Valenzuela was the first Mexican Ameri-

tember 7, 1936 with a slightly different name: Charles Hardin Holley. On his first record contract, his name was misspelled as “Holly,” and he liked it that way. When Holly died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, he was only 22 years old, but he has had a lasting impact on music history.

It’s hard to imagine, because so many Buddy Holly singles are classics, but only one topped the U.S. charts: “That’ll Be The Day,” in 1957.

It also hit the top spot in England, and not long after, The Quarrymen (before they became the Beatles) covered it, in their first recording. You can hear it on The Beatles Anthology.

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FESTIVE RECIPE IDEAS

Gordon Ramsay's roast turkey with lemon, parsley and garlic Serves: 8-10 Prep time: 30 mins Cooking time: 2 hrs 30 mins (calculating at 30 minutes per kg) Total time: 3 hrs Skill level: Bit of effort Costs: Mid-price Gordon Ramsay's roast turkey recipe is a Christmas favourite. This delicious, easy to make turkey is flavoured with lemon, parsley and garlic. Gordon says: 'This is my favourite way to roast turkey – with a savoury butter under the skin to keep the breast meat moist and flavourful. To ensure both the turkey and pork stuffing are cooked properly, I bake the stuffing separately.

Another of my secrets is to rest the turkey for a couple of hours or more. As it relaxes, the juices are re-absorbed, making the meat succulent, tender and easier to carve. It may seem like a long time, but the texture will be improved the longer you leave the turkey to rest. Piping hot gravy will restore the heat.' This recipe takes 3hrs to prepare and cook and serves between 8-10 people. Any leftovers would make a delicious curry the next day!

Ingredients 1 free-range turkey, about 5–5.5kg sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 onions, peeled and halved 1 lemon, halved 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally 6 bay leaves olive oil, to drizzle 8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon

Stuff half the butter mix into the opened spaces under the skin. From the outside of the skin, gently massage the butter around the breasts so that the meat is evenly covered. Finally, insert the rest of the bay leaves under the skin of the breasts.

Place the bird in a large roasting tray, breast side up. Spread the rest of the butter all over the skin.

Season well with salt and pepper, then drizzle with a little olive oil. (If preparing a day ahead, cover the turkey with foil and refrigerate at this stage.)

Lemon, parsley and garlic butter: 375g butter, at room temperature 1 tbsp olive oil finely grated zest and juice of 2 small lemons 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed small bunch of flat leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped

Roast the turkey in the hot oven for 10–15 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven, baste the bird with the pan juices and lay the bacon rashers over the breast to keep it moist. Baste again.

Lower the setting to 180°C/Gas 4 and cook for about 2½ hours (calculating at 30 minutes per kg), basting occasionally.

To test whether your turkey is cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg and check that the juices are running clear, rather than pink. As oven temperatures and turkey shapes

Give this turkey a seasonal twist by swapping the lemon for orange instead. It'll give your turkey a new lease of life.

Method Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7.

Meanwhile, prepare the herb butter.

Put the butter into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and mix well. Add the lemon zest and juice, crushed garlic and chopped parsley. Mix well to combine.

Remove the giblets from the turkey cavity.

Season the cavity well with salt and pepper, then stuff with the onions, lemon, garlic halves and 2 bay leaves.

With your hands, loosen the skin on the breast from both ends of the bird so that you will be able to stuff the flavoured butter underneath it, making sure you keep the skin intact. Repeat with the skin on the legs – from the lower side of the breast feel your way under the skin and out towards the leg, loosening the gap.

and sizes vary, it is crucial to check your turkey about 30 minutes before the calculated roasting time. If the juices are pink, roast for another 15 minutes and check again. Repeat as necessary until the turkey is cooked.

Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter and remove the parson’s nose, wings and tips of the drumsticks; reserve these for the gravy. Leave the turkey to rest in a warm place for at least 45 minutes; make the gravy in the meantime.

Remove the bay leaves from under the skin before carving. Serve the turkey with the piping hot gravy, stuffing and accompaniments.

Extracted from ‘Christmas with Gordon’ by Gordon Ramsay, published by Quadrille (£15, hardback), only available at Tesco. Photography © Chris Terry

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Christmas Chocolate Swiss roll Mint chocolate Swiss roll Serves: 4 Prep time: 40 mins Cooking time: 10 mins Total time: 50 mins Skill level: Bit of effort Costs: Cheap as chips Our easy chocolate Swiss roll recipe is a classic!

A Swiss roll is a very impressive cake and looks quite difficult to make which is why people often shy away from baking them. A homemade Swiss roll is so much nicer than shop bought and they are much easier to make than you might think.

This chocolate Swiss roll has an unusual mint buttercream filling which is full of flavour. The mint and chocolate work extremely well together.

This cake could be served as a delicious dessert recipe topped with lashings of cream. This recipes takes 50 mins to make and bake and serves 4 people. This chocolate Swiss roll recipe is perfect if you want to bake something a little different, it's great for sharing with a cuppa or can be smothered in custard or served with ice cream for dessert.

Ingredients For the sponge: 3 large eggs 100g caster sugar plus a little extra for sprinkling 75g plain flour 25g cocoa powder 15ml hot water For the filling: 75g butter or margarine, softened 175g icing sugar

A little milk Add chopped fresh mint to whipped double cream or half whipped cream and natural yoghurt for a less sweet alternative.

Method Preheat oven to 220?C/425?F/Fan 200?C/Gas Mark 7. Line a 33.6cm x 22.5cm Swiss roll tin.

Put the eggs and the 100g of sugar into a bowl and whisk until very light and creamy. The mixture should be stiff enough to retain the impression of the whisk for a few seconds. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder.

Gently fold half the flour into the whisked mixture using a metal spoon.

Fold in the remaining flour, making sure it has all been incorporated and there are no lumps.

Stir in the hot water.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing it over evenly and gently. Bake in the oven for 7 – 9 minutes until well risen, golden brown and spongy.

Meanwhile, have ready a sheet of greaseproof or baking parchment and sprinkle on some caster sugar. To make the sponge pliable you can place the paper over a damp tea towel.

Turn out the cake quickly onto the paper and trim away the edges.

Place a second sheet of paper on top of the sponge and roll it up loosely using the sugared paper underneath as a guide. Leave to cool completely on a cooling rack, covered in the paper.

To make the filling: Put the butter or margarine into a bowl, sift the icing sugar and add it gradually with a little milk creaming everything together well until very smooth.

When the sponge is completely cold gently unroll it and remove the paper. Carefully spread the sponge with the cream filling, then re-roll.

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FESTIVE TRIVIAL TRIVIA

Happy Holidays everyone…

weight gained from emotional overeating. Literally, grief bacon.

Non-dairy creamer is flammable.

The sum of all the numbers on a roulette wheel is 666.

The airplane Buddy Holly died in was NOT the “American Pie” as in the name of the Don McLean song.

magne, and Diamonds – Julius Caesar.

Only one McDonald’s in the world has turquoise arches. Government officials in Sedona, Arizona, thought the yellow would look bad with the natural red rock of the city.

Texas is also the only state that is allowed to fly its state flag at the same height as the U.S. Flag.

The names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru: See no evil, Mikazaru: Hear no evil, and Mazaru: Speak no evil.

When opossums are playing ‘possum, they are not “playing.” They actually pass out from sheer terror.

The Main Library at Indiana University sinks

The Lebowski-inspired Church of the Latter-Day Dude says it has ordained over 100,000 Dudeist priests.

“Silver Bells” was called “Tinkle Bells” until co-composer Jay Livingston’s wife told him “tinkle” had another meaning.

Michael Jackson’s 1988 autobiography Moonwalk was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

The Vatican Bank is the world’s only bank that allows ATM users to perform transactions in Latin.

At the 2010 Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift won more Grammys (4) than Elvis did his entire career (3).

When Coca-Cola announced the return of Coke’s original formula in 1985, ABC News interrupted General Hospital to break the story.

The giant inflatable rat that shows up at union protests has a name—Scabby.

When the computer mouse was invented, it was called the “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System.”

The Procrastinators’ Club of America newsletter is called Last Month’s Newsletter.

A milliHelen is the quantity of beauty required to launch just one ship.

The German word kummerspeck means excess

over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades – King David, Clubs – Alexander the Great, Hearts – Charle-

New Year’s Day Trivial Trivia According to the records as found with the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the number of vehicles stolen on the New Year’s Day is much higher than that registered on any other national holiday.

The Local Touch

61 People across different parts of the world widely believe in the concept of first footing. The first visitors one sees or the one who first person to step into the house after the clock strikes midnight is considered to bring either good luck or bad fortune. The first visitor is also expected to carry a gift that signifies wealth and prosperity.

ons became the reason for not lowering the New Year’s Eve ball in 1942 and 1943.

also be able to bury the haunting and painful experiences of the past.

The first month of the year in the Gregorian

People in countries like Mexico, Bolivia and Italy also follow a New Year tradition of wearing red underwear on the eve of the New Year. It is said to bring good luck for the entire year, while yellow underwear is also worn on the New Year’s Day as it symbolizes money.

New Year’s strange traditions also feature embracing of anything that comes in round or

Some of the countries also follow the ritual of

calendar- January has been named after God Janus, who holds two faces. One face of the God look backwards, while the other one look towards the future and represents the ‘spirit of the opening’. ring shape as such a shape is said to symbolize ‘completion of a full circle.” There is a popular belief in several cultures that shape of a ring brings in good fortune. Therefore, people prefer to consume cakes in round shape or donuts to attract wealth.

Fireworks were banned and thus came into

An interesting trivia about the New Year is the wishes being written and collected from visitors to Times Square in New York City. Pieces of confetti strewn across the Times Square are picked up and used by visitors to the site for conveying their greetings and wishes for the New Year. The wishes are gathered and added to the ton of the confetti, which is eventually being showered on the crowd gathered in Times Square for celebrations marked to ring in the New Year.

eating some lucky foods for the New Year. Spain has the ritual of eating twelve grapes-each for a month to bring about good fortune in the upcoming year. In Philippines, people prefer to eat food items in round shape to secure happiness and invite economic prosperity all round the year.

The common belief behind lighting up fireworks in some countries on New Year’s Day

There is long-lived New Year tradition of bur-

existence the Time Square New Year’s Eve Ball that became highly famous for its illumination on New Year’s Day. It was in 1907 that the first ball was lighted up, made of wood and iron and weighing around 700-pounds. The first ball was decorated with over a hundred 25-watts light bulbs. Time Square New Year’s Eve Ball of today has come to weigh around 11,875-pounds and is 12 feet in diameter. The ball is designed

by Waterford Crystal and adorned with nearly 2,668 Waterford crystals. The wartime restricti-

ning effigies and dolls in several parts of the world on the eve of the New Year Day. Dolls are burnt to get rid of the evil spirits of the past and to wash away the bad memories. People in Puerto Rico, Colombia and Cuba ring in the New Year by putting on fire a life-size doll with the belief that by burning it they would

is that it not only illuminates the sky but also dispels bad spirits and unpleasant memories of the past.

Chinese New Year is celebrated the second full moon after the winter solstice.

In ancient Rome the new year began on March 1.

The traditional New Year’s song, “Auld Lang Syne,” means, “times gone by.”

The top 10 resolutions are usually to lose weight, eat more healthily, exercise more, stop smoking, stick to a budget, save money, get more organized, be more patient, find a better job and to just be a better person over all.XX

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The Local Touch

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ARE NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS A WASTE OF TIME?

By Ray Kearney .

With “New Year” resolutions you unconsciously condition yourself to set goals for improvement only at New Year. A positive side of setting a such a date is that you can prepare yourself for weeks beforehand to stop smoking, join a gym etc. Once you decide to make a positive change, it can be very worthwhile to build yourself up, emotionally and mentally, for what will be involved, and you can also muster up support from those close to you.

The problem with New Year’s Resolutions is that if you fail to achieve a goal, you can say “I tried; maybe next year”. The actual term “New Year’s Resolutions” stands between you and self-improvement. Maybe you should stop using that term altogether and instead, regularly “Set Goals”.

Just decide what you want to achieve, set your goals and start. Don’t let a few failures deter you, never give up on your goals. You will succeed in the end.

I’ve learned far more over the years from my failures than from my successes. Don’t be afraid to or ashamed of failure. I decided in April 1981 to give up smoking. I did - nearly 400 times. Every day I tried, sometimes I was smoking by 11.00am

and other times I lasted until tea-time. I became very frustrated and felt useless.

One of the problems with smoking though is that cutting down doesn’t work; if fact it is torture. After three weeks clean, the craving lessens and after three months you feel as though you are starting to be in control. Eventually in June 1982 I stopped completely. During that very difficult year, I kept reminding myself that I really wanted to break this addiction; I wanted to be a non-smoker.

The term “Goal Setting” can put some people off, it sounds a bit plastic but the term is a good one as it clearly defines that you are aiming at a particular goal and when you score, you win.

What sort of goals should you set for yourself?

The answer to that question depends on what type of person you are and what you want to achieve.

Do you want to be healthier, fitter, a non-smoker, more financially self-reliance, better educated or advance in your career? What is really interesting is that you don’t just have to pick one goal in one area. You can be working on many goals in many diverse areas of your life. One of the benefits of setting multiple goals is that although you may fail at some you will definitely succeed at others.

Another very effective way to set goals is to define your roles in life, parent, wife, grandparent, brother, friend, employee etc. Make a list of eight important roles that you have now.

Write down three goals in relation to each of those roles. Put

this list somewhere you will see and read it twice a day. Start today. Do something with each of these goals every week.

In 1985 my parents moved a three-hour journey away. I made a goal to phone them at least every weekend. When my mother died, 32-years later, I had no regrets. I had kept in touch. I am so glad that I made that decision back then. Setting goals and working to achieve them, turn us into the person we really want to be. Set goals often, write them down, read them every day, clear a little time, then just do it.

For further information or help to get started email me at: coast.clr@gmail.com.