The Courier Edition 358 by TKO Media

THE WEATHER

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Edition 358

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Father Reveals Daddy

n 11-year old Bolivian girl has given birth to a boy after going for a check-up over stomach pains at Murcia's Virgen de La Arrixaca Hospital last Friday, and it’s emerged, subject to DNA tests, that the baby’s father is the girl’s 14-year-old brother. The pair´s father has told the National Police that the two children had a sexual relationship when the boy was aged 13. That means the boy could not face any charges, as he had not reached the age of 14 when he could appear before a juvenile court. The National Police are looking into whether the two children had a consenting relationship or whether the sister was abused by her brother. There is a possibili-

Friday 9th February 2018

6 Bedroom 3 Bathroom Detached Villa in San Luis, Torrevieja TY ER OP THE R P F O EEK W

ty that the parents could be charged with neglect for “failing to provide adequate supervision”. The child did not realise she was pregnant and doctors discovered that her pains were caused by her going into labour at the weekend. Despite the extreme risk involved in a girl so young being pregnant and giving birth, the process

went well and she did not need a Caesarian section or any other surgery. She had been taken to the hospital by her parents, who at the time said that they were surprised by what was actually wrong with her. It’s the second such case of an underage mother in a matter of months at the same Murcia City hospital, as back in November, a 12-

year-old girl, also from Latin America, gave birth at the facility. Spanish law says that anybody aged under 18 years is considered a child, and so investigations are carried out as a matter of course, including one involving a 16-year-old from Torre Pacheco giving birth in the bathroom of her home over the weekend.

Caterpillar Caution

ocal vets have issued warning about the danger to dogs caused by processionary caterpillars, which have started to appear earlier than normal this year, because of Spring-like temperatures last month. The hairs of the caterpillar larvae cause harmful reactions in young children, as well as in dogs, with the species wintering in nests in pine trees, and then they “process” out, protected by their hairs in search of food. They often strip down a tree and once they have cleared it out of needles, they then form a line in search of additional nourishment. Their peak season for making an appearance is

between February and April, with the mild winter producing more of them than normal. A young child who touches the caterpillars can end up with acute dermatitis, eye lesions, and strong allergic reactions. Dogs may pick up the caterpillar hairs on their paws and then lick them because of an irritation, leading to swelling which can cause the dog’s tongue to burn away, unless they are treated immediately. The quickest remedy if your dog does go up to sniff a crawling trail of caterpillars is to put bicarbonate of soda onto the affected area immediately, and then take

your pet to the vet. Caterpillars are regarded as the worst plague for pine trees in Spain, after forest fires. Their presence can be spotted by the white nests which look like huge spider’s webs hanging in the pine

trees. However, as these caterpillars turn into butterflies which are then the second most important propagator of plants after bees, they should be left alone to nest and so avoiding the area is the best advice.

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Friday 9th February 2018

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Gruesome Ending A Polish man, said be in his thirties, was decapitated by his own car after losing control of the vehicle when he was speeding down the Gran Vía de La Manga in the early hours of Sunday morning. San Javier local police said that the accident, close to the Eurovasa developments, happened shortly after 5.00 am, and that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt. The victim was thrown through the windscreen,

ending up in a wall, with his Mazda car then crashing down on him, with his head being “ripped off”, and his body said to be “unrecognisible”. Investigators said there was no sign of any tyre treads on the road to indicate that the motorist had tried to break his vehicle. Polish Embassy officials were contacted in Madrid to help with the man’s identification, as the Polish-registered vehicle had no documentation in it.

The National Police have broken up a nationwide paedophilia ring and arrested 40 suspects, five of whom live in Alicante Province. Teachers, engineers and civil servants were among those held, as were unemployed people and pensioners, police said in a statement. Those in the ring had

Campoamor Spend

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exchanged child pornography over the internet and used special software to make it hard for police to gain access. The arrests were made in 17 provinces, including Madrid, Barcelona and Cordoba, in addition to Alicante, after raids in dozens of houses and the seizure of laptops and more

than 100 hard drives, DVDs, photos and videos. The Alicante detentions included that of a man who harassed children to get sexual explicit images, which he then uploaded to the internet. Also arrested in the area were two brothers who possessed and shared a large number of explicit images involving children.

Medieval Success

Julia Tel. 618 898 034

Myra Tel. 618 583 765

Julie English and Spanish Tel. 616 332 178

Patrick English, Spanish, German, Dutch and French. Tel. 685 901 265

DEADLINES Advertising Monday 12:00 Editorial Tuesday 12:00 News Thursday 12:00

Orihuela council say that improvements to sewers and road surfaces on the Campoamor urbanisation have almost been completed at a cost of 176 thousand euro. Infrastructure councillor Juan Ignacio Lopez-Bas said that some of he pipes underneath roads like Calle Ana María Matute and Avenida Las Adelfas were over 40-years-old and were cracking and causing prob-

lems to the sewer network. Coastal councillor Luisa Boné (pictured on site), said the sewage work allowed the council to kill two birds with one stone, by resurfacing the roads that had been dug up for the sewage project. Orihuela council has been regularly criticised by local residents for not doing enough for the Campoamor area, and last August a protest was staged at the start of the Orihuela stage of

the La Vuelta cycle race at La Glea beach which called for the area to be moved into the adjoining Pilar de la Horadada municipality. The residents have demanded more investment for the Orihuela Costa, enabling an improvement in the cleaning and waste disposal service in the area as well as the asphalting and repairs to what they say are many damaged roads and pavements.

Heavy rain forced a delay to the official opening of last weekend's 20th Orihuela Medieval Market, with the morning deluge on Friday forcing organisers to postpone the traditional proclamation ceremony until the early evening. That did not dampen the spirits over the weekend as

many visitors took advantage of a dry Saturday and Sunday to check out the 300-plus stalls located in three different areas of Orihuela City, in addition to the variety of entertainment on offer. The Medieval Market closed with a grand parade on Sunday evening.

THE WEATHER FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Stop Press Thursday 18:00 Published by TKO Media & Entertainment S.L. Printed by Localprint S.L Depósito legal A - 188 - 2014 ISSN 2530-6146 The Courier (Torrevieja) The Courier, its publishers, members of staff and its agents do not accept responsibility for any readers letters or claims by advertisers nor can it be held responsible for any errors in advertisements which are reproduced from poor artwork, low quality electronic data or inadequate instructions for text or other layout features. Further no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage caused by an error, inaccuracy or nonappearance of any advertisement, although all advertisements produced are checked prior to insertion. We regret that we cannot accept responsibility for more than ONE incorrect insertion and that no re-publication will be granted in the case of typographical or minor changes which do not affect the value of the advertisement. E&OE. NO PART OF THIS NEWSPAPER MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PUBLISHERS.

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Segura Cleaning

35 volunteers from two environmental group took part in a Sunday clean up of the mouth of the river Segura in Guardamar. The Informacion newspaper reports that 750 kilos of rubbish was removed in just a couple of hours (picture

from Informacion) including bottles, plastic bags, fishing lines and pipes. The environmentalists criticised the Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura (CHS) for not doing the cleaning work itself, with nothing been done there

since 2015 as the CHS did not renew a cleaning contract saying that they could not afford it. Guardamar del Segura council supported the volunteers by providing a lorry to take away the bags of rubbish.

Police Protest

Law enforcement officers from across Spain, including the Murcia region and Alicante Province, joined a national demonstration in Sevilla on Saturday to demand that the Spanish government keep their pledge to invest one and a half billion euro to increase wages over three years. Guardia Civil and National Police officers

joined together to protest at what they say are lower salaries paid to them compared to local police forces. A union spokesman said that the government are only offering less than half the sum promised, adding that what was on the table was an "insult" and showed a "lack of respect".

Triple Collision

Three people were taken to Orihuela’s Vega Baja Hospital on Tuesday morning after three cars were involved in a collision on the CV-91 between Almoradi and Orihuela.

The incident happened in the La Campaneta area just before 7.00 am on Tuesday morning, and fire crews were brought in from Almoradi and Orihuela to three two of the drivers who

were trapped in their vehicles as a result of the accident. Two of the motorists suffered broken bones, but none of the injuries were lifethreatening.

Jacarilla Project A roundabout is to be built on the CV-95 Orihuela to Torrevieja road in the Jacarilla area. The aim is to improve the safety record at a notorious accident blackspot, namely the “Y” junction to Jacarilla next to the petrol station, known as the Camino de la Cuesta del Pelegrín. Last month’s meeting between Orihuela mayor Emilio Bascuñana and Valencian government representatives brought the news that a number of new roundabouts were to be con-

structed on the CV-95, but no specific details were

declared at the time. The project at Jacarilla will cost over half a million euro, with Valencia’s head of Public Works, Carlos Domingo (pictured) saying that the road gets especially busy during the summer, and a lack of “waiting lanes” has added to the problems faced there. A new layout is to be introduced at the junction, besides the roundabout, with changes in access including that to the petrol station, as well as reducing the speed limit.

Time To Reflect A memorial garden was inaugurated in Urb La Marina’s park on Calle Lisboa on Sunday, at the instigation of Debbie Alger who came up with the idea on the back of last year’s terrorist attack in Manchester. It was her dream of having a place for people to reflect about losing their loved ones in a quiet and shady area of the park, and despite an attack by vandals last autumn, the garden was officially opened at the weekend. Debbie asked for help in building a wall of remembrance, where plaques can be

placed, and received a huge response from local builders, gardeners, tilers and businesses who gave their time and services freely. Donations also came in from residents, whilst Age Concern Costa Blanca South gave a bench for people to sit on in peaceful contemplation and solace. The garden was blessed by San Fulgencio parish priest Father Ramón Belda Diez, and Sara Munsterhjelm, the British Vice Consul for Alicante Province was also present.

Watch The Birdie

Torrevieja council has put up 110 nesting boxes for sparrows around the parks and squares in the city. The boxes are made of wood that doesn't expand in heavy rain, and have special size holes for the sparrows, which are too small for other birds or animals like squirrels to get in. Parks and Gardens councillor Domingo Soler said that the aim was to save the sparrows which previously used to live of the top of buildings.

Soler also revealed that budgets for 2018 have seen three million euro allocated to the maintenance of environmental projects andgreen areas and that the first priority would be in the northern part of the city taking in places like La Siesta and land adjoining the Natural Park. The councillor made no mention of replacing palm trees within the budget, as many have had to be taken down for safety reasons because of disease, including those on Paseo Juan Aparicio.

Friday 9th February 2018

Voodoo Blackmail 16 Nigerian women, aged between 17 and 25 years, who were forced into prostitution by being threatened with a voodoo oath have been freed by the National Police in Zaragoza. The women were given a false promise that they enjoy a good life if they went to Europe with promises of jobs, but this was a front put on by a trafficking gang, who put the women to work as prostitutes “to pay off their debt”. “They were forced to practice prostitution until they paid off the debt and were bound by a voodoo-juju oath by which they pledged to pay the debt incurred and not to denounce their exploiters,” said a National Police statement.

The women were brought to Europe from Africa via the Libyan coast where they were loaded onto boats to make the difficult sea journey to Italy. From there they were taken across by land to Zaragoza in Spain’s northern Aragon region. According to police the group of girls had been subjected to witchcraft-based rituals threatening terrible consequences to them and

their families if they disobeyed the trafficking gang. Once in Zaragoza the women were forced onto the streets and had to hand over their earnings to a ‘madame’ who kept them in squalid conditions. Police arrested 11 people in Spain, Italy, Germany and Denmark who were involved in the people trafficking gang as part of a Europe wide investigation.

Cat Rescue A cat that had been trapped in some canal drainage in the Almoradi area was rescued by firefighters on Sunday afternoon. The animal had apparently been there for a number of days and had been unable to get out, but the fire crew got to the bottom of the channel by using a ladder in order to perform their rescue duties. Almoradi’s animal protection department is now look-

ing after the cat, which was understandably hungry,

ahead of trying to find its owner, or a new home for it.

Supreme Ruling

Spain’s Supreme Court has allowed both wives of a bigamous Moroccan soldier to claim a widows' pension, despite multiple marriage being against Spanish law. The first wife of the deceased soldier, who fought for the Spanish Armed Forces in the Sahara region and was in receipt of a Spanish ex-services pension, was automatically granted a widows' allowance, but the second wife was not. Both women were still married to the soldier at the time of his death and were aware of the fact, since

bigamy and polygamy is permitted in Morocco, even though it is not necessarily commonplace. The deceased's second wife went through the full appeal channel until she reached the highest contentious court in Spain, which has accepted her claim. According to the judge, as the women and man were legally married under Moroccan law, the wives are considered joint beneficiaries. Whilst the State law service was against both widows being granted a pension

since multiple marriage is 'against public order' in Spain, and did not agree with an exception being made because of all three being Moroccan nationals. A spokesperson said that 'the social situation in Spain' is 'very different today' from the time when the Social Security Treaty of 1979 was signed by both Spain and Morocco, which included a clause covering bigamous and polygamous marriages. “Nowadays, millions of people from predominantly Muslim countries live legally in Spain,” the State law service argues.

Seaside Workout

Unsteady Load A Valencia region driver with over 30 wooden pallets stacked one on top of the other on the roof of his car has been identified thanks to a video posted on social media. He was spotted in his van on the V-30 and the N-220 roads in Paterna close to an entrance for an industrial estate. His registration number was clocked after the Paterna Local Police saw the video on Facebook, and the driver now faces a fine of up a thousand euro for causing a hazard to other road-users.

There’s no excuse to just relax on the beach anymore, as you can have can have a claisthenics workout on some new fitness and exercise equipment that has been installed by the

Aguamarina promenade on the Orihuela Costa. The area is already popular for runners and walkers taking in the sea air, and the unit has been installed by Orihuela council

at a cost of over five thousand euro. Beaches and coastal councillor Luisa Boné said the authority had plans to erect other such units around the coast.

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Rajoy Announces

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy visited Alicante-Elche airport on Friday to belatedly celebrate the 50th anniversary of the facility, and to announce a raft of major new road projects for Alicante Province. Rajoy announced the official tendering for a feasibility study to add a third lane on

the A-7 Alicante-Murcia highway between Elche in the north and Alhama in the south. The cost of the fourstage project is set to be 588 million euro and will be financed by private companies. The Prime Minister also stated the commitment of his government to award a

30 million contract this spring to improve access to Alicante-Elche airport from the N-332. Valencian President, Ximo Puig, added that a feasibility study over a rail link between the airport and the cities of Alicante and Elche should be completed within three months.

Recovering Prices Spanish property prices are continuing to climb back, according to the official national index. Whilst 2007 saw home values shoot up by 9.8%, they dropped dramatically from 2008 – by 1.5%, then with a huge dip by 6.7% in 2009 and finally reaching a floor in 2012 after dropping 13.7%. Since then, they have gradually climbed and, by the end of 2017, had risen by 6.7%, over halfway back up between 2008 and 2007 values, which saw the start of the financial recession. The Home Price Index (índice de Precios de Vivienda, or IPV), part of the National Institute of Statistics (INE) says the greatest rises in residential property values have been seen in the Greater Madrid region where, along with the city of Barcelona, the region of the Balearic Islands and the Spanish-owned enclave of Ceuta on the northern Moroccan coast, they are well above average in terms of value increase. The national average increase since 2008 is 112.4% over 10 full years, rising to 123.9% in Madrid, 119.1% in Catalunya, 118% in the Balearics and 112.9% in Ceuta. Nowhere has the property price rise been lower than

100% - at the bottom is the central region of Castilla-La Mancha at 101.6%, followed by the land-locked western region of Extremadura at 102.3% - and several are only slightly below the national average: Ceuta's extra-continental neighbour Melilla, near the Algerian border (110.6%); the Basque Country (109.7%); the Canary Islands (107.9%); Cantabria, on the northern coast (107.7%), and Andalucía (106.9%). As well as Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura, however, bargain homes can still be found in the centre-northern region of Castilla y León, which has seen a rise of 102.4% over the last decade; Asturias (103.1%); locally Murcia together with La Rioja in the

far north (both 103.7%); Galicia in the far north-west (104.3%), and Navarra, inland near the Pyrénées (104.5%). Somewhere in the middle is the Valencia region including the Costa Blanca (105.7%) and Aragón, which stretches inland from the Pyrénées to about a third of the way down the mainland (105.1%). Although it is not expected prices will ever again reach the historic highs of 2007, when the property bubble was at its most inflated and on the brink of bursting spectacularly, continued interest in buying and selling second-hand homes – especially among foreigners seeking holiday accommodation or moving to Spain – show that the housing crisis is largely over.

Friday 9th February 2018

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Ryanair Pledges

Under-fire low cost air carrier Ryanair has announced plans for the fifth year of its ‘Always Getting Better’ programme, which includes a vow to become Europe's "greenest airline", with a recyclables pledge to be "plastic-free in the next five years." On the back of cancelled flights due to lack of staff; criticism of the way it handled scrapped services in the autumn due to French air traffic controllers strikes; and a new on-board luggage allocation, Ryanair has promised to keep its prices the lowest in the air market and pledged to refund consumers the difference in air fares. The carrier, who has an extensive schedule of serv-

ices using Alicante-Elche and San Javier airports, says that they will refund passengers the difference in air fares, and add five euros to their My Ryanair accounts, if they find a cheaper flight on the same route. There will be a dedicated claims team for EU261 cancellation claims and guaranteed processing of claims in 10 days. Punctuality is planned to be at least 90 per cent and money off credits will be available for hotel bookings. "While we continue to innovate, the one thing that won’t change will be our low fares – which we promise will not be beaten," said Kenny Jacobs, the airline's Chief Marketing Officer.

Corruption Index

The University of Valladolid has created a computer programme that predicts the probability of corruption in Spanish regions, but somewhat unsurprisingly the study says that the likelihood of corruption increases when the same party stays in government for an extended period of time. Other areas that lead to corruption include real estate tax, a housing price increase, bank openings and the creation of new

companies, according to the study. “As might be expected, our model confirms that an increase in the number of years of government by the same political party increases the chances of corruption,” commented study author Ivan Pastor. “Fortunately, for the next few years, this alert system predicts fewer indications of corruption in our country.” The study looked at all cases of corruption in Spain between 2000 and 2012.

Lactalis Scare

A second baby in Spain has become infected with salmonella through milk manufactured by the French firm Lactalis, but is said to be recovering well and has not needed to go to hospital. The infant, like the previous case, is based in the Basque Country, and was taken to the emergency department at Bilbao's Basurto University Hospital, but was not admitted. Spain's first case, in December, was of a baby in the same region who had become infected after consuming a sample of milk by the brand Damira given to his mother by the paediatrician.

Given that all Lactalis products known to have come from the factory at the same time as those which, in France, have caused a spate of salmonella cases, have been withdrawn from sale in Spain, national health authorities stress that the risk is almost non-existent and doctors have been told not to give out samples by affected brands. They include milk and baby food by Puleva Bebé, Damira and Sanutri, but products on sale in Spain with these labels now are safe since the Lactalis brands in question have already been take off the shelves.

Friday 9th February 2018

Harmonisers Give

The Torrevieja Barbershop Harmonisers (TBH) recently provided a welcome boost for two local groups, with the Alzheimer’s charity, AFA Torrevieja, and the cancer charity, AECC Torrevieja, each benefitting from an amazing donation of €2,350.

Pictured above is Lidia Navarro director of the AFA Centre getting a cheque from Bob Stein, the TBH treasurer. Pictured below is Bob making a presentation to AECC Torrevieja president Manoli Flores (pictured centre) and treasurer Chus.

The Harmonisers are always on the lookout for new members, and they rehearse every Friday from 10:00 am through to 12.30 pm at Casa Contenta, Rojales (formerly the SpiderMan Bar), where any new men will be made very welcome.

Alternative Panto

Campoverde Theatre Group’s latest supper show is to raise money for 23year-old La Marina resident Tasha Lynch, who needs over 200 thousand euro to get to America for specialist treatment for her rare mitochondrial disease. The Group are going to have some gentle and innocent fun at the expense of pantomimes in their show called Taking the P out of Panto! They will once again be performing at the Fiesta Plaza, Republica Dominica, Pueblo Principe, with tickets for the show and a onecourse meal coming in at 10 euro. The production features music, dancing and short sketches that all take an alternative view of many

popular pantomime themes. The meal starts at 7.30 pm and will be followed the show on three successive nights between Wednesday March 14th and Friday March 16th. Tickets are available from Help at Home, Costa Blanca

Safe And Sound

A malnourished donkey with severe facial injuries, which was found on the streets by Formentera del Segura police last week, is now safe in it´s new home, with friends, at the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre in Rojales. Co-founders Sue and Rod Weeding were called by officers to pick up the abandoned donkey as the police have no official facilities to house large seized and abandoned animals. The Weedings, who now have 110 rescued equines in their care, are providing the donkey with feed and muchneeded veterinary care.

They also face a problem, similar to other local charities, that revenue streams from local charity shops are poor at this time of the year on the back of the festive season during the quietest period of the year. “At the moment, the charity shops are just dead. It’s just like a ghost town, and we’ve never quite known January to be so quiet”, said Sue Weeding. “We’re running at under half of what we’d normally take in the charity shops – and we rely on this money to feed and care for our horses, which costs four and a half thousand euro a week.”

Poppy Awards

The annual Poppy Appeal run by the Royal British Legion Spain, District North, raised just under 170 thousand euros in the autumn, a rise of over two-and-a-half percent on the 2016 figures. The news was announced at the RBL’s annual conference that took place in

Benidorm, which saw the National Director of Membership, Emma Cannings, present awards to branches from the Hondón Valley (pictured above) and the Orihuela Costa. The Hondón Valley branch received the annual

Recruiting and Retention award, while the Branch Poppy Award went to the Orihuela Costa (pictured below). Alicante’s British ViceConsul, Sara Munsterhjelm told the conference that the RBL was vital in providing a link to the expat community.

shop at the Flamenca Beach Commercial Centre, in Playa Flamenca, and the Community Centre / Reading Point on Calle Cipres at Ramon de Campoamor on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. You can also call 626 772 256.

Successful Quiz

An excellent 487 euro was raised recently for the Costa Blanca branch of the Huntington's Disease Association at Benijofar’s Bar Catorce. 68 people put their brains to the test for the fun quiz organised by Martin and Christine Watkins, to

raise money for the local charity, which offers support to sufferers of HD and their families across the area. More fundraising events are planned for the year, details of which can be found on the website www.hda.org.es

AT YOUR SERVICE

We’d love details of your charity events, amateur dramatics, and choral concerts! The Courier would love to hear from you as we gear up for another busy autumn across the Costa Blanca and Mar Menor. Send you snippets and photographs to thecourier@tko media.

Burns Specialists

Staging a Burns Night supper is not the easiest of things, especially if you have never done one before, but the new owners of The Vestry in Algorfa, Barry and Helen Henderson, got just the help they needed recently when Gary and Lynn Routledge of Cyclogical in Quesada ran the whole evening for them! Gary and Lynn have run and organised many traditional Burns Suppers in Spain and in Scotland, and Gary used to put them

together in the Sergeant’s Mess whilst he served in the RAF. The evening’s entertainment started with Cyclogical cyclist Paul Cameron saying the Selkirk Grace, and then Torrevieja’s Donnie McDiarmid piped in the Haggis which was carried in by Barry Henderson. It was piped in through the front door right up to the top table where it was addressed, stabbed and toasted by MC, Gary Routledge, and a good night was had by all!

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Bail Granted

In The Clear

A British expat who was extradited back to the UK last year to face child rape charges has been cleared. Craig Shaw was arrested in Benidorm in December 2016 (pictured) and sent to Britain to stand trial for allegedly raping two young boys and sexually abusing another. Another two molestation charges were added to the trial when the 38-year-old arrived back in Swindon from Alicante Province. But after a three week trial at Swindon Crown Court the jury found him not guilty of 30 of the 31 charges he

faced. The jury could not reach a verdict on the final count leading prosecutors to say they would not seek a retrial. He served six months

behind bars on remand following his extradition, but was released on bail before Christmas after time limits ran out. Mr. Shaw is now free to return to Spain.

In The Pink A Torrevieja local police officer is out of jail after being remanded in custody at the end of October in an investigation concerning bribery and being involved with a criminal organisation. The officer was granted bail of 20 thousand euro, whilst a colleague of his still remains behind bars as a

Torrevieja judge continues to investigate whether they extorted up to 40 thousand euro from local bar and restaurant owners on the threat of closing down their premises if they failed to make the payments. Two other police officers have been questioned over the matter, in addition to a

Columbian man and a Serbian national (pictured during the arrest in October), who are alleged to have been go-betweens in the suspected racket. All four of the officers involved are still being paid their regular salaries, according to the Informacion newspaper.

Cancer awareness fundraisers, Maria and the Pink Ladies & Panthers staged their annual commemoration of World Cancer Day at the Zenia Boulevard shopping centre in Orihuela on Saturday.

The event raised nearly fourteen-hundred euros to be donated to the AECC Contra el Cancer group, with over 500 cactus plants given to Maria Wilson and her team by the Boulevard management to be sold to

visitors for a small donation. Local entertainers gave their time free of charge on the day, with nearly 370 thousand euros now raised in the fight against cancer since the Pink Ladies were formed eight years ago.

Daddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home

A year after paternity leave doubled in length in Spain from a fortnight to a month, an additional 20,164 men have applied for it, according to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Social Security department. A total of 244,468 fathers sought paid paternity leave in 2016, when they were allowed two weeks, and from January 2017 this was increased to four weeks. Last year, the number of fathers who applied totalled 264,632, or an increase of just over eight percent. Numbers of women seeking maternity leave were almost the same as dads who did so â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a total of 268,328 mums applied to

take paid time off to care for newborn babies. These figures do not include adoption or fostering leave, which is also available to new parents. Throughout the whole of

last year, the Social Security office paid out around just under two billion euro for maternity and parental leave, of which just under 400 million euro was for fathers.

4 am Bar and Disco in Torrevieja

Busy Bar/Café in La Marina

Ice Cream Cafeteria and Bar in Alicante

The opportunity to buy such a well-known busy bar in Torrevieja does not come around very often. This is a large, fantastic unit in the heart of where it all happens. No competition and with lots of foot traffic plus a 4 am license. Fully sound-proofed. Inside: 250 sq m and 350 sq m outide terrace. Close to the new location of the Friday market.

EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY to purchase the lease of a café/bar/restaurant located on a busy high street in the centre of a Spanish village just 300 metres from the blue flag white sandy beaches nearby. Huge expat clientele throughout the area. East-facing front terrace with outdoor dining and many more covers inside. Fully equipped.

Located in an eye-catching position near to the Alicante Port, this unit with glass-fronted shop window is ideally positioned to catch shoppers, tourists and local residents all year. The business itself, which is still in its infancy, has boasted a good summer’s trade, and could be expanded to sell other goodies such as smoothies etc.

Property ID: 1070 - 210,000€

Property ID: 1054 - 30,000€

Property ID: 1060 - 15,500€

Laundry and Dry Cleaning Business in San Fulgencio

Well-Known Local Golf Bar in Entre Naranjos

Fish and Chip Shop on the Orihuela Costa

This well-established commercial laundry business is up for sale after 20 years running. The whole premises are being offered freehold and consist of the launderette on the upper level and an additional premises on the lower level that is included too. The business is being sold fully furnished with two washers, two dryers and two ironing tables.

Great business opportunity in a golfing area full of European expats. Very busy and popular bar, with good turnover. This popular bar/cafe has a yearlong full programme of events, shows, bingo, quizzes, karaoke, darts, pool, dominoes, and even a skittle alley. The first bar on Entre Naranjos, so known by a lot of people over the years.

This leasehold property is located between two busy Irish bars and a popular shopping centre. It has 104 covers: 32 inside; 40 on the front terrace and 32 at the rear, with the facility to extend. The leasehold is for another three years and can be renewed. If you fancy setting up a good old fish and chip business, here’s your chance.

Property ID: 1048 - 195,000€

Property ID: 1055 - 60,000€

Property ID: 1053 - 39,000€

Family Run Bar/Restaurant in a Popular Tourist Area

American-Style Diner-Bar-Restaurant in Torrevieja

Successful Restaurant in La Zenia

This well-established, well-known family run is fortunate to have a continuous passing trade. The business has made its mark due to its warm friendly welcome and delicious homemade English food. Inside and out, 80 customers can be seated. The premises is fully licensed, plus has free wifi, sound system, BBQ area, covered patio and good parking.

This American-style diner is in a great location in Torrevieja and front line to the sea, bringing good passing trade on a daily basis. The terrace is just a stone’s throw away from the water’s edge giving amazing open views with a cool summer breeze. Recentley refurbished, all furniture and installations are new. Air conditioning and plasma screen.

Successful well-known restaurant located in the most popular area of La Zenia, in front of a large shopping centre. Internal seating for 66 customers and an outstanding terrace space seating 86 customers for al fresco dining. Fully fitted and ready to go. Total area: 207m2. This a great investment opportunity which makes this a must-view.

Property ID: 1022 - 49,500€

Property ID: 2597 - 45,000€

Property ID: 1046 - 125,000€

www.thecourier.es

Extended Leave

An Alicante Province hospital worker has been paid a full salary, despite not doing his job for 12 out of the last 15 years. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, receives a monthly salary of fifteen-hundred euros after being employed as a nursing assistant at the Doctor Esquerdo psychiatric hospital at Sant Joan de Alicante. His story came to light after it was revealed he had been on sick leave for over four thousand days between 2001 and 2006. Further to his extensive sick leave, the employee avoided more work by taking his legally contracted holiday. “Yes, it is legal, even if ethically and morally it may not seen so,” Alejandro Moral, a provincial official told the Informacion newspaper. "We’ve even tried everything from a legal standpoint – we

even started disciplinary proceedings against him.” However, the employee won every legal battle he’s faced, including a court case in which he managed to prove that Social Security did not properly notify him that he was due back at his post following a period of sick leave. On seven occasions, the employee took sick leave for a year, with three of these instances stretching to a year and a half, the maximum permitted by Spanish law. The workers condition cannot be revealed legally but his doctors have signed him off on all his sick leaves without issue. To attempt to resolve the situation his employers are now attempting to secure him permanent disability leave so he can be taken off their books once and for all.

Life's A Drag

Torrevieja's National Drag Queen Gala saw Rubén López from Cobatillas in the Murcia region crowned as the winner with his character Sirio Star being triumphant. The tenth staging of the event took place at the International Auditorium, with the victor receiving a thousand euros and a trophy from Torrevieja councillor Javier Manzanares (pictured in the suit if you are not certain!). Participants from

Cartagena and Torrevieja joined national contenders for the event, which also featured previous winners, and is part of the Torrevieja Carnival celebrations. The first carnival parade takes place this Sunday (February 11th), starting at 4.00 pm fro the Plaza de Maria Asuncion, passing through Calle Ramon Gallud and finishing up at Calle Orihuela. The night parade is a week on Saturday, beginning at 9.00 pm.

£587M PENSION DEFICIT AT CARILLION

RICHARD SAMUELS, FINANCIAL ADVISER, BLACKTOWER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (INTERNATIONAL) LTD News of the collapse of Carillion, the UK's second biggest construction firm, hit the headlines earlier last month. Now in liquidation, the government has said it will provide funding to maintain Carillion's work in the public sector to avoid a financial sinkhole of sorts. Despite reassurances, there are still plenty of questions lingering over its uncompleted projects, and what it would mean in terms of keeping jobs and pensions.

I can also help you track lost pensions, including personal pensions or occupational pensions and schemes used to “contract out”. If you have lost touch with a pension scheme since moving to Spain, we can contact them on your behalf to find out what your pension entitlement may be. WHY NOT MEET US FOR BREAKFAST? Forthcoming Expat Breakfast Briefings at:

The problems arose after the company collapsed under the weight of £1.5bn of debt, including a £587m pension shortfall. This gap left in the Carillion pension scheme, known as a pension deficit, echoes similar news from other companies. BMW, Royal Mail and Tata Steel’s pension schemes are in murky waters, with the latter facing a balloon in deficit of £2 billion and the possibility of insolvency unless something can be resolved. Another story to hit the news was the folding of Monarch Airlines – which caused the collapse of their pension fund, making deficit a pressing issue. BHS also hit the headlines last year in a similar way, where the collapse of the department store led to a loss of over 11,000 jobs and left a deficit of roughly £571 million. Of course, some companies do still exist with huge deficits, such as Royal Dutch Shell, which has a pension deficit of £6.7 billion. Companies can be vulnerable with these losses, with the deficits being the legacy of the expensive “final salary” pension schemes that were once popular but have now mostly been phased out and replaced with “defined contribution” schemes in the private sector. A pension deficit is defined as the gap between how much a pension is required to pay out opposed to how much money is actually available. Ie. Its liabilities are greater than its assets. Once the deficit is reported to The Pensions Regulator, the sponsoring employer will create a plan to close the deficit – although this will often be over a significant period. However, to fund deficit often means that the sponsoring employer is likely to have its growth affected, as it directs revenue and profit into closing the gap which could have an impact on employee’s salaries. It’s not impossible for a sponsoring employer to become

Olive Bar – Dona Pepa – 11am - Thursday 15th February insolvent. In this situation, the pension fund will be accepted under the Pension Protection Fund. In many cases this will not necessarily mean that your pension will be fully protected as the PPF is limited to paying 90% of your final salary pension and is cappeddepending on your age. As well as not receiving the full benefits that were promised, once in the PPF, you are unable to transfer out of it. The PPF is funded by a levy to all pension providers, however, the collapse of Carillion will eat a significant chunk of the PPF’s funds. If you are stillin a “final salary scheme”, and have not started taking benefits, you can request your own CASH EQUIVALENT TRANSFER VALUE in orderto secure your pension pot.You can transfer the Cash Value to a new UK SIPP (self-invested personal pension) or an Overseas Pension (QROPS). The crystallised funds are then available for flexible drawdown, including taking a lump sum from the age of 55. Unlike “Final Salary” schemes, unused funds are also available to beneficiaries. Final salary pension transfer values are unlikely to ever be this high again, as they have been artificially boosted by the eagerness of scheme owners to offload their members. Typically, someone being promised a pension in the region of say £5,000 per annum could quite easily be offered over £100,000 as a cash equivalent transfer value. Moreover, you won’t have to worry anymore about your pension fund’s continued solvency. A review of your financial position would be a sensible option in view of the above or if you would like advice on any of the issues you can contact me on richard.samuels@blacktowerfm.com.

Lemons and Limes –San Cayetano – 11am – Friday 16th February Hartley-Brownes – Torreta 2, Torrevieja – 11am Wednesday 21st February Expert advice for expats inc. Pensions, Residency, Brexit, Inheritance Tax, Savings & Investments, Wills, Funeral Plans Contact me for further details and to reserve a place. richard.samuels@blacktowerfm.com. Tel 692 352 156 COMPLIMENTARY BREAKFAST AND DRINK For further information contact: Richard Samuels, International Financial Adviser, Blacktower Financial Management (International) Ltd M: 692 352 156 or E: richard.samuels@blacktowerfm.com

The above information was correct at the time of preparation and does not constitute investment advice and you should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Blacktower Financial Management Ltd is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and is registered with both the DGS and CNMV. Blacktower Financial Management (Int) Ltd is licensed in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and is registered with both the DGS and CNMV in Spain.

Pets

Friday 9th February 2018

Adoption Corner

The Vegan Option

ATHOS Athos is a beautiful ginger and white young cat who is aged around two years, that is being looked after by the K9 charity. He has a brother, Aramis, who is all ginger as well. Both boys would make ideal outdoor cats as they are excellent hunters, and to learn more about both of them, then give K9 a call on 600 845 420 for more information.

HOPE Hope is around a year old and was found hanging around someone’s house a couple of weeks ago. She is now being cared for by Pets in Spain and is a terrier-type breed and weighs around nine kilos. Hope is sterilised, good with other dogs and loves to be around people. For more details, please call Pets in Spain on 645 469 253.www.petsinspain.com

NEMO Nemo is about two years old and is very laid back and has a lovely disposition. He gets on very well with the other dogs that he is with and he is fine with cats. Nemo is now ready to move on to a home of his own, and is very loving and easy to look after. He would fit into any home style. For more about Nemo, please phone PEPA on 650 304 746 or email p.e.p.a.animalcharity@gmail.com

SAMMY

xxx10-year-old Sammy has been at the SAT kennels for over a year, and is a very gentle boy with a great temperament who just loves lots of cuddles. Sammy walks well on the lead but doesn´t require long walks. If you are looking for a gentle dog to keep you company and give you lots of love, then Sammy is the boy for you. Please contact the SAT kennels in Dolores on 966 710 047 or email info@satanimalrescue.com

A growing number of people are advocating for vegan diets for their pets for ethical, environmental and health reasons, especially in the United States. “I live with two vegan dogs and a vegan cat. We like to feed our animals without exploiting other animals,” said Matt Johnson, a California-based vegan activist. In many cases, the decision to switch meat-loving pets to a vegan diet is made because of the owner’s ethical preferences. Most pet foods are made with by-products from factory farms, so switching to vegan alternatives is a way to avoid subsidising the industry. “If you run a vegan household it’s a bit like a kosher household,” said Myron Lyskanycz, the CEO of the Florida-based Halo Pets, which makes a brand of vegan dog food. “You don’t want to contaminate your house with meat-based products.” Lyskanycz has seen a surge of interest in Halo’s vegan range, which swaps meat for chickpeas, peas, oats and vegetables. “It’s our fastest growing product in the company,” he said. Lindsay Rubin from the San Francisco vegan dog food company V-Dog has seen similar growth, particularly in California, New York and Portland – American cities where there are large human vegan populations. “In the pet food industry, trends for pets follow trends for humans,” she said. “We want them to be healthy and contribute less to environmental degradation.” Other owners make the switch not for ethical reasons but for health reasons, such as allergies. “When you are food-allergic as a dog, it’s usually a protein

trigger,” said Jean Greek, a Santa Barbara-based veterinarian who feeds her two pit bulls a vegan diet. A way to alleviate the itchy skin caused by allergies is to identify a protein that the dog has had no previous exposure to. In some cases this means trading chicken or beef for duck or venison, but in others a vegan diet is the preferred option. But in spite of her enthusiasm for vegan dog food, Greek won’t advise owners to feed their cats a vegan diet. Dogs, like humans, are omnivores, meaning they can more easily adapt to a carefully planned plant-based diet. Cats, on the other hand, are obligate carnivores, which means their bodies are designed to run on meat. “The primary concern [of feeding a cat vegan food] is they would experience muscle wasting because they are missing some amino acids. One of the muscles that would get weakened is the heart, so potentially you could have a cardiac arrest,” said Greek. The question over whether cats can thrive on a vegan diet is hotly debated. While most veterinarians agree with Greek, some, like Armaiti May, believe that with careful supplementation and monitoring, cats can get all of the nutrients they need from plant-based foods. “They can do well but you need to make sure they have taurine [an amino acid that’s essential for vision] and monitor their urinary tract health,” said May. That hasn’t stopped thousands of people switching their cats to plant-based diets and swapping tips on Facebook groups such as Vegan Cats, which has almost 7,000 members and growing.

STANLEY Abandoned in a vegetable crate with his brothers and sisters when he was a few weeks old, Stanley is now eight-months-old and a lovely, playful and affectionate puppy. He loves hugs and playing, gets on well with all the dogs in the APAH kennels and is a good traveller. He is vaccinated, micro-chipped and is looking for a loving home. To meet Stanley, please call APAH on either 630 422 563 or 616 210 850.

LEO Leo is a four to five-year old playful dog who will quite happily sit on your lap, weighing in at around eight kilos. He gets his confidence from other dogs and will come up to you and say hello. Take the other dogs away and he is not sure at all. Leo will need time to settle in but once he has done that, you will have a friend for life. Please call PEPA on 650 304 746 or email p.e.p.a.animalcharity@gmail.com

www.thecourier.es

La Mata Move

The weekly Wednesday market in La Mata is to move in a "matter of weeks" after a new site was approved by the Torrevieja local police and council officers, and after consultation with the stall holders. The existing site close to the N-332 faces a risk of subsidence as previously reported by The Courier, but traders were concerned about the initial council proposals for a site on the main square (La Plaza de Encarnación Puchol) which they said would

Code Crackers

mean problems with access. The market traders also accused Markets councillor Javier Manzanares of not listening to their concerns, and he was forced into dumping his original plans last summer. Torrevieja council now appears to have changed their mind over their first proposal, and the market will now move to a site between Avenida de Francia and Avenida de Holandeses, something that the traders had suggested over six months ago.

Saturday Fires A 66-year -old Torrevieja woman has had to be treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in her flat on Saturday lunchtime. The blaze happened at Ronda Ricardo Lafuente Aguado de Torrevieja (pictured). with the woman taken to Torrevieja Hospital. On a busy Saturday for local firefighters, a Ukrainian mother and her baby also had to be treated for smoke inhalation after a fire at their home on Calle Albellón in Catral, which broke out at 2.15 pm. The incident was apparently caused by a curtain catching fire from a nearby heater.

A secret code used by King Ferdinand II of Aragon 500, some years ago has been cracked by Spain’s intelligence agency. The coding system contained over 200 special characters and was used by the king to communicate with his military commander, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. No one had been able to decipher the letters for centuries, as the substitution table the king used to create the code had not been preserved. However, when the Army Museum in Toledo displayed the letters in 2015, experts from the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) were asked for help to crack the code. The museum provided the CNI with two letters written in 1502 and 1506. At the foot of one letter de Córdoba, known as “The Great Captain”, had deciphered a few sentences, allowing the experts an insight into the code. Within the letters the CNI specialists found orders, threats and instructions for military engagements. The discovery was described by the ABC newspaper as “one of the great mysteries in the history of Spain”.

In total, 88 different symbols and 237 “combined letters” were used to create the ”Great Captain code”. Encrypted letters were a common system in Italy at the time Ferdinand II wrote his, but the experts who broke the code described this one as “very well thought out”. It is a precursor of the so-called “Vigenère cipher”, but an advanced form that was not widely used until the 17th century. Ferdinand II was the king behind the final defeat of the Moors in Spain in 1492, as well as the sponsor of Christopher Columbus on his discovery of the New World. The decoded letters dated from the time of the second French invasion of Naples, which the Spanish controlled at the time. They therefore represent a key moment in Spanish history, when Spain and France were fighting for dominance in the Mediterranean region. Historian José Enrique Ruiz-Domènec, a specialist in de Córdoba, told ABC this was a highly important finding that showed the Spanish king in a new light. With the knowledge garnered by the CNI, historians can now unravel the code used in the remaining letters written by Ferdinand II.

Friday 9th February 2018

www.thecourier.es

Ungodly Business Mechanic's Stance The National Police have raided a bogus branch of the Vatican Bank based on the Costa del Sol, following accusations that it was swindling huge profits from contracts signed with companies around the world. Footage released by the force shows the "bank" in the resort of Fuengirola near Marbella, with the Vatican shield seen emblazoned across the windows and chairs in the offices as well as on a luxury vehicle with Vatican symbols on it parked outside the property. The phoney bank purported to offer trade relations and advice to international companies. Catholic symbols and iconography such as statues of the Virgin Mary were placed around the office to complete the subterfuge.

The Vatican Bank does not have any other outlets outside of Vatican City. Officers arrested three Spaniards and a Colombian national in the operation. It’s claimed that a 30-yearold Spanish national presented himself as a member of the Vatican’s diplomatic corps. He also allegedly carried papers identifying him as a Cuban ambassador.

"As well as a lot of paperwork, agents seized a sailboat in the Fuengirola marina, several high-end cars, 64,000 euros in the main suspect's checking account, many luxury watches, technological supplies, silver ingots, point of purchase devices, a firearm with blanks and 5,000 euro in cash," said the National Police in a statement.

Unruly Classrooms Nine out of ten teachers say that violent incidents or even threats of violence are common place in Spanish schools, according to a survey carried out by the CSIF teaching union. Teachers say violence in their schools, such as fights, abuse or vandalism, leaves them helpless to do anything about it, with 75 percent of

those questioned believing that they have very little or no authority over students or influence with their families, with over a quarter of those surveyed saying that "life is not pleasant" in the classroom. The study is based on 2,000 questionnaires distributed to teachers in public primary and secondary schools across the country.

Head of education at the CSIF union, Mario Gutiérrez says that the cuts in teaching staff, the increase in the ratio of students per class and a shortfall of support staff are all compounding the problems of pupil behaviour. "Sometimes teachers do not have enough authority to stop these situations,” added Gutiérrez.

Car mechanic Jordi Perello has been denounced for refusing to repair a National Police officer's car in protest over the high-profile action on the streets during Catalunya's disputed independence referendum. Scenes of what appeared to be police violence went viral after the referendum, with officers carrying riot shields and bursting into polling stations. An officer called to book her car into the garage in Reus in Catalunya's

Tarragona Province and Perello said he would not provide her with the service due to his own 'personal convictions'. Her partner went to the police to file a formal report. The mechanic was summoned to give a statement last Friday, but refused to comment when doing so. Perello told a radio station that he considered his decision was legal and that he had chosen not to repair the woman's car because she was a member of the force involved in the incidents on

October 1st. The repairer then claimed the woman's husband took the phone, insulted him and told him he would 'smash his face in', before hanging up. Next, the husband allegedly went to the garage and accused the mechanic of 'racism' and 'incitement to hatred'. A row broke out until two cars from the Catalan equivalent of the Guardia Civil, the Mossos d'Esquadra turned up after they had been called by the National Police officer's husband.

6 Bedroom 3 Bathroom Detached Villa in San Luis, Torrevieja

Y RT E OP THE R P F O EEK W

Fantastic opportunity to purchase this detached villa in San Luis. The villa has 5/6 bedrooms, one at present is being used as an office, 3 bathrooms lounge/dining room, large kitchen, conservatory, large garden area, parking area, private pool and sun terrace. The property is situated in a quiet, peaceful location, with the nature reserve and salt lake accessible by foot. There are also good transport links to Torrevieja, as the bus stop is just around the corner. The lovely terrace leads on to a swimming pool and the garden is easy to maintain. Very close to the property, there are a number of nuclei containing local shops, bars and restaurants, all which are within walking distance. A larger supermarket, petrol station and main road leading to the nearby towns of Torrevieja and Quesada is just a few minutes away. Here you have the best of both worlds, as you have the hustle and bustle of the shops and bars alongside the tranquility of the salt lakes and numerous green spaces.

Property ID: 501 - 365,000â&#x201A;Ź

FREE EPC CERTIFICATE All domestic and commercial buildings available to buy or rent must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). List your property for sale on EasyBuyProperties.com and we can arrange a FREE EPC Certificate assessment, saving you money straight away and increasing your chance of selling. Terms and conditions apply, but contact us today to find out more

Properties wanted, all areas. We have clients waiting. 4 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Townhouse in Playa Flamenca

3 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Townhouse in Cabo Roig AIN

AIN

A great opportunity to purchase this 3 double bedroom town house, located on the famous Cabo Roig strip with bars, supermarkets, bus stop and near a health centre. The house set in a secure gated complex and has the benefit of a communal swimming pool. The beautiful beach and sea are only a five minutes away on foot.

This lovely townhouse is situated in a pretty private urbanisation with large, green areas and a communal pool. It is very close to the Zenia Boulevard shopping centre. The 4 bedrooms have fitted wardrobes, while one bathroom has a bathtub and the other a shower. There is a nice sun terrace where you can totally relax and soak up the good weather.

Property ID: 124 - 129,000€

Property ID: 018836 - 139,995€

2 Bedroom 1 Bathroom Apartment in Punta Prima

2 Bedroom 1 Bathroom Apartment in Orihuela D

AIN

Extremely well-presented top-floor apartment with large solarium and spacious terrace with open views to the sea. Set in a great central location, just a short stroll to a full range of local amenities and the coast, this well presented apartment includes A/C throughout, electric radiators and glass curtains providing an extra living room or large open terrace.

This is a beautifully presented upper-floor south-facing apartment, comprising: 2 double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, a family bathroom, bright lounge/dining area and a modern fitted kitchen with pantry area, in addition to a large 60m2 roof-top solarium, complete with garden furniture and gazebo, south-facing open front terrace.

Property ID: 0464948 - 84,000€

Property ID: 063388 - 49,950€

2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Apartment in La Tercia Golf Resort

2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Apartment in Campoamor

NIN

Luxury 2nd-floor corner apartment in La Tercia Golf. This 2 bedroom 2 bathroom property comes fully furnished, also with white goods & air-con. The property comprises a large living area with a sunny terrace. The property is finished to a very high standard with marble flooring & work tops. Great rental property or holiday apartment at a great price.

This ground-floor apartment with garden and terrace is situated just 600 metres from the beach in Campoamor. It is located in a quiet, residential urbanisation opposite a protected area of dunes and forest. The property is furnished and very well kept, and has 2 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a semiindependant kitchen and a spacious living room.

Property ID: 062881 - 45,000€

Property ID: 0164210 - 109,000€

Health

Friday 9th February 2018

Vaping may raise cancer and heart disease risk, study suggests Vaping may raise the risk of certain cancers and heart disease, according to a team of scientists who studied the effects of e-cigarette smoke on healthy mice and human cells. Researchers found evidence that nicotine inhaled from e-cigarettes could be converted into chemicals that damage DNA in the heart, lungs and bladder, and dampen down the body’s genetic repair mechanisms. Moon-shong Tang, professor of environmental medicine at New York University, said the DNA changes were similar to those linked to secondhand smoke, but added that more work was needed to see whether vaping really did increase cancer rates. The researchers have now launched long-term experiments to look at the development of tumours in mice exposed to vapour from e-

cigarettes, but Tang does not expect to have answers any time soon. “The results may take years to come in because cancer is such a slow process,” he said. While some researchers said the work was important, others all but dismissed it as irrelevant to humans. The mice were exposed to high levels of e-cigarette smoke and the effects may be very different in people who inhale nicotine from vaping, critics caution. “This study shows nothing at all about the dangers of vaping,” said Peter Hajek, director of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London. “It doesn’t show that vaping causes cancer.” “This is one in a long line of false alarms which may be putting people off the switch from smoking to vaping which would undoubtedly be of great benefit to them,” he added. “The best current

estimate is that vaping poses, at worst, some 5% of risks of smoking.” Tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals and at least 70 are known either to cause or drive cancer in the body. The vapour from e-cigarettes contains far fewer toxic chemicals, with most of the smoke containing only nicotine, the addictive substance that gives

users their hit. Tang exposed mice to e-cigarette smoke for three hours a day, five days a week for three months. The amount of nicotine in the vapour was 10 milligrams per millilitre, making it as concentrated as the e-cigarette smoke that humans inhale. This amounted to what Hajek called “extremely large doses of nicotine.”

At the end of the three months, Tang found DNA damage in the hearts, lungs and bladders of mice exposed to the vapours that was not evident in a control group of animals that breathed filtered air. Natural DNA repair mechanisms were also suppressed in the mice exposed to the smoke. Tang went on to look at human lung and bladder cells and found that exposing the cells to nicotine and its breakdown products made the cells turn into tumour tissue more easily. Details of the study are reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Last week a major US report into the health effects of ecigarettes found that vaping might be useful to help people quit smoking. The report found vaping was likely to be less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Jasmine Just at Cancer

Research UK said: “The evidence so far shows that ecigarettes are far less harmful than smoking. Research like this is important, but this lab study only looked at the effects of e-cigarette smoke on cells and on mice, which means it’s not possible to draw any conclusions from this about how e-cigarettes might affect people in real life. “Up to two-thirds of long term smokers will die because of their addiction, but e-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco. Instead they contain nicotine, which is what keeps people addicted, but is not responsible for the major health harms from smoking. “Research in people has shown that those who make a complete switch from smoking tobacco to e-cigarettes can significantly reduce their exposure to key harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke.”

Why Stress Makes You fat We all know what makes us fat: eating more in calories than we burn off in energy. But though this is true, it doesn't answer the more interesting question - why do we overeat in the first place? Why do I sometimes feel compelled to eat that bit of cake or bar of chocolate although I know I am going to regret it a few minutes later? Is it just greed - or is something else going on? Although self-control is important, there is mounting evidence that stress plays a significant part in weight gain. Chronic stress disrupts our sleep and our blood sugar levels. This leads to increased hunger and comfort eating. And that then leads to further disrupted sleep, even higher levels of stress and even more disrupted blood

sugars. In time, this can lead not only to unhealthy levels of body fat, but also to type2 diabetes. To see what can happen, Dr Giles Yeo, a member of the Trust Me, I'm a Doctor team, decided, with the help of scientists from Leeds University, to put himself through a particularly stressful day. The Leeds scientists started by asking Giles to do something called the Maastricht Stress Test. They put him in front of a computer and made him rapidly subtract a number, 17, from another number, 2,043. He kept making mistakes, which for someone like Giles is particularly stressful. Then they got him to put his hand in a bath of ice-cold water and hold it there. Before and after these tests, the Leeds team measured Giles's blood sugar levels.

Our blood sugar levels rise when we eat and, in a healthy person like Giles, they quickly return to normal. But what the Leeds team found was that on the day when Giles was being deliberately stressed, his blood sugar levels took three hours to return to normal some six times longer than on a previous, stress-free day. The reason this happens is

that when you are stressed, your body goes into "fight or flight" mode. Your body thinks it is under attack and releases glucose into your blood to provide energy for your muscles. But if you don't need that energy to run away from danger, then your pancreas will pump out insulin to bring those blood sugar levels back down again. These rising levels of insulin and falling blood sugars will

make you hungry - which is why you crave sugary carbs when you are stressed. The same sort of thing happens when you have a bad night's sleep. A recent study carried out by researchers at King's College, London found that if you sleep-deprived people they would consume, on average, an extra 385kcal per day, which is equivalent to the calories in a large muffin. Children also get the munchies when they haven't had enough sleep. In another recent study, researchers took a small group of three- and fouryear-olds (all regular afternoon nappers) and not only deprived them of their afternoon nap, but also kept them up for about two hours past their normal bedtime. The following day, the children ate 20% more calories than usual, particularly more

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sugar and carbohydrates. They were then allowed to sleep as much as they wanted. The day after that, they still consumed 14% more calories than normal. So how can you reduce daily stress? Here's a breathing technique, recommended by NHS Choices, which I find effective. You will get the most benefit if you make it part of your daily routine. You can do it standing, sitting or lying - whatever is the most relaxing. Start by breathing in as deeply as you can, through your nose, without forcing it, to a count of five Then, gently exhale, through your mouth, to a count of five Keep breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth - steadily Keep doing this for three to five minutes

Health

www.thecourier.es

IS YOUR MOBILE PHONE DISRUPTING YOUR SLEEP? An inability to fall asleep is a common complaint amongst the population, but what is causing this? The answer may be found in your pocket. Yes, I am talking about your mobile phone. Mobile phones allow us to communicate with each other and, in more recent times, provide us with access to the internet. To carry out this function, mobile phones emit electromagnetic frequencies. These are invisible rays that carry the information transmitted. When mobile phones were first introduced, they were only able to transmit the sound of voices. This simplistic function needed a lot less electromagnetic energy for transmission to happen. Today however, mobile phones are used not only for transmitting sound,

but also for transmitting video signals. The electromagnetic energies required for such transmission is more powerful than it has ever been; the transmission network of mobile data has already advanced from 4G to 5G. The electromagnetic energies that transmit data

from mobile phones are powerful enough to disrupt the activities of the human cells. The radio waves used to transmit mobile phones belong to the same band of frequencies called electromagnetic frequencies. This includes X-rays and Gamma radiation. Many studies show that these radio fre-

quencies are powerful enough to pass through human cells and cause disruption. The energy of these radio frequencies is always increasing in power because service providers are constantly trying to quicken the speed and capacity of data transmission. And while we had 4G

yesterday, tomorrow, we will have 5G and this means more power of the frequencies. In 2011, the WHO published a report reclassifying mobile radiation as a possible cause of cancer in the same bracket as chloroform, lead and DDT. In 2013 the Italian supreme court ruled that the cause of a business man’s cancer is his use of the mobile phone six hours a day for twelve years. To date there are 200 studies that link mobile phones to diseases such as brain tumours, cancers, chronic fatigue, insomnia, irritability, cardiovascular diseases anaemia etc. Our world is too heavily reliant on technology to stop using mobile phones, but we can do a lot to reduce our exposure and therefore risk of contracting disease due to mobile phone radiation.

One of the most important steps to take is to avoid sleeping with the phone next to your bed because this cause insomnia and headaches. The radiation from the phone will penetrate the brain and increase the risk of disease. It is likely that you will not want to be disturbed during the night, so why not leave your mobile phone in another room altogether. Other steps that you can take include monitoring the amount of time you spend on your mobile phone. Try to cut down on unnecessary internet browsing – this type of mindless scrolling is just a bad habit.

For A Whole-body diagnostic scan call MedB Clinic – 965 071 745, 999 189 074 or visit www.medb.es for more information.

Western Societies Will ‘Give Up Alcohol’ Within A Generation, Scientists Claim by Gaynor Tilsley

Western societies could give up alcohol within a generation in favour of hangover-free synthetic alcohol, a leading drugs scientist has claimed.

College, said “alcosynth” will mimic the popular effects of alcohol – without the sickness and throbbing headache commonly experienced the following day.

Professor David Nutt, a former government drugs advisor teaching at Imperial

Professor Nutt also said he believed tobacco and cigarettes will be replaced by

electronic cigarettes within a decade. “In another 10 or 20 years, Western societies won’t drink alcohol except on rare occasions,” he told IBTimes UK. “Alcosynth will become the

preferred drink, in the same way that I can see – almost within a decade now in the Western world – tobacco and cigarettes will disappear as they’re replaced by electronic cigarettes.” Between 2014-15, an estimated 1.1 million people were admitted to hospital for issues related to alcohol consumption, according to Alcohol Concern, and harms related to the drug are estimated to cost the NHS around £3.5bn a year.

them.” “It could well change culture,” Professor Nutt said. “If there’s less intoxication then there will be less violence on the street, less vomiting and less unpleasantness in our city centres. “There are some people that want to get intoxicated so they can just fight or be ‘out of it’, but most people want to drink alcohol to enjoy the experience, though inevitably alcohol harms

He added: ”Alcohol kills more than malaria, meningitis, tuberculosis and dengue fever put together. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could replace alcohol with something that led to almost no deaths? “That would be one of the greatest public health developments in the history of the world.”

Food & Drink

Friday 9th February 2018

Loaded Baked Potatoes With Slaw

Ingredients 4 baking potatoes (about 700g) 1 tbsp olive oil 30g butter 150g plain 0% fat yogurt, plus extra to serve 6 small spring onions, washed, outer layer removed and finely sliced 200g can no added sugar sweetcorn, drained 150g reduced-fat strong cheddar, grated small bunch chives, finely chopped For the healthy coleslaw 125g plain 0% fat yogurt ½ tsp wholegrain mustard ½ small white cabbage, about 400g 2 medium carrots, about 150g 1 small red onion Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Wash and pierce the skins of the potatoes a few times with a sharp knife. Rub the skin with a little olive oil and bake for 1 hr 30 mins until soft inside and crisp on the outside. Meanwhile, make the coleslaw. Mix the yogurt and mustard together in a bowl. Then, use a grating attachment on a food processor, or a box grater, to grate the cabbage and carrots. Either grate the onion or chop as finely as you can. Tip all of the vegetables into the bowl and stir through the yogurt and mustard. Once the potatoes are crisp on the outside and soft inside, remove from the oven and cut in half.

Scoop out the flesh and mash with the butter and yogurt, stir in the spring onion and sweetcorn and most of the cheese, reserving a little of the cheese for topping. Season if needed. Turn the oven up to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Load the filling back into the crisp potato skins, top with the remaining cheese and put them back in the oven on a baking sheet for about 10-15 mins, or until the cheese is melted and the edges are browning. To serve, sprinkle with chives and serve alongside the coleslaw with a dollop of natural yogurt. Prep: 20 Mins Cook 1 Hours 45 Mins Serves: 4

Lamb Biryani

Ingredients 400g lamb neck, cut into small cubes 4 garlic cloves, grated 1 tbsp finely grated ginger 1 tbsp sunflower oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 tbsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp nigella seeds 1 tbsp Madras spice paste 200g basmati rice, rinsed well 8 curry leaves 400ml good-quality lamb or chicken stock 100g paneer, chopped 200g spinach, cooked and water squeezed out To serve chopped coriander

sliced green chillies plain yogurt Method Toss the lamb in a bowl with the garlic, ginger and a large pinch of salt. Marinate in the fridge overnight or for at least a couple of hours. Heat the oil in a casserole. Fry the lamb for 5-10 mins until starting to brown. Add the onion, cumin seeds and nigella seeds, and cook for 5 mins until starting to soften. Stir in the curry paste, then cook for 1 min more. Scatter in the rice and curry leaves, then

pour over the stock and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Stir in the paneer, spinach and some seasoning. Cover the dish with a tight lid of foil, then put the lid on to ensure it’s well sealed. Cook in the oven for 20 mins, then leave to stand, covered, for 10 mins. Bring the dish to the table, remove the lid and foil, scatter with the coriander and chillies and serve with yogurt on the side. Prep: 10 Mins Cook: 50 Mins Serves: 6

Herb Omelette With Fried Tomatoes

Ingredients 1 tsp rapeseed oil 3 tomatoes, halved 4 large eggs 1 tbsp chopped parsley 1 tbsp chopped basil Method Heat the oil in a small nonstick frying pan, then cook the tomatoes cut-side down until starting to soft-

en and colour. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the herbs and plenty of freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl. Scoop the tomatoes from the pan and put them on two serving plates. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir gently with a wooden spoon so the egg

that sets on the base of the pan moves to enable uncooked egg to flow into the space. Stop stirring when it’s nearly cooked to allow it to set into an omelette. Cut into four and serve with the tomatoes. Prep: 5 Mins Cook: 5 Mins Serves: 2

Paella in the oven

Ingredients 400g can chopped tomatoes 600ml chicken stock 1 tsp smoked paprika good pinch of saffron 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil 300g paella rice 4 chicken thighs (skin on or boneless), cut in half 200g chorizo, sliced 150g raw king prawns, leave the shell on a few if you prefer good handful of frozen peas 1 lemon, quartered

(optional) Method Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 8. Put the chopped tomatoes (including their juice), stock, paprika and saffron in a large heatproof jug or bowl and microwave for about 5 mins on high until steaming hot. Tip the onion and garlic into a generous roasting tin or ovenproof dish, drizzle over the oil and mix to coat. Cook in the oven for 20 mins until beginning to brown. Stir in the rice, chicken, chorizo and hot stock mix-

ture, season well and return to the oven for 20 mins (don’t cover). Stir in the peeled prawns and peas, dot any shell-on prawns on top, and return to the oven for 5-10 mins until the rice, chicken and prawns are cooked through. If serving with lemon, a nice touch is to pop the lemon slices on top of the paella for the last 5 mins of cooking, to make them hot and juicy. Check the seasoning and serve at once. Prep: 20 Mins Cooks 45 Mins Makes: 4

Food & Drink

www.thecourier.es

Food

Friday 9th February 2018

Duck Ragu With Pappardelle & Swede Substituting half your pasta for swede ribbons and the breast of the duck rather than the leg makes this a leaner, but equally delicious, ragu. Ingredients For the ragu 2 tbsp olive oil 2 duck breasts, skin removed 1 onion, finely chopped 1 tsp fennel seeds 2 garlic cloves 1 bay leaf ½ small pack parsley, leaves picked and stalks finely chopped 8 thyme sprigs, leaves picked 150ml red wine 1 tbsp tomato purée 400g can plum tomatoes 200ml stock 1 tsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp raisins toasted pine nuts and parmesan, to serve For the pasta fresh pappardelle 750g swede (1 large or 2 small) peeled, then cut into thick ribbons using a vegetable peeler Method Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and fry the duck breasts for 2 mins on either side until well browned, then set aside. Tip the fat from the pan into a saucepan, and turn the heat down to medium, then add the rest

of the olive oil. Tip the onion and fennel seeds into the saucepan, add a large pinch of salt and cook for 5 mins until the onion is starting to soften. Crush in the garlic cloves, then add the bay leaf, parsley stalks and thyme leaves. Stir well and cook for 2 mins more. Turn the heat up, then pour in the red wine and cook for 2 mins until it has reduced a little. Spoon in the tomato purée and tip in the can of tomatoes along with the stock, stir and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and return the duck breasts to the pan, cover and simmer very gently for 40-45 mins or until the meat is tender. Remove the duck breasts with a slotted spoon, put in a bowl, turn the heat up and reduce the tomato sauce for 10 mins until thick enough to coat your pasta. Use two forks to shred the duck, then tip the meat back into the sauce. Add the red wine vinegar and raisins, then season to taste. Set aside. When ready to serve, cook your pasta. Heat a large pan

of well salted water, add the pappardelle and cook following pack instructions. For the final minute of cooking

time, drop in the swede. Drain, reserving a ladleful of the pasta water to add to the sauce. Toss the pasta and

swede through the sauce. Divide between bowls and top with the toasted pine nuts, parmesan and a scat-

tering of parsley. Prep: 30 Mins Cook: 1 hours 20 Mins Serves: 4

Salted Caramel Biscuit Bars Ingredients For the biscuit base 80g porridge oats 20g ground almonds 50ml maple syrup 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted For the caramel filling 125g medjool dates, pitted 1 ½ tbsp smooth peanut butter or almond butter 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted ½ tbsp almond milk generous pinch of salt For the topping 150g dairy-free dark chocolate Method Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a large baking tray with baking parchment. For the base, blitz the oats in a food processor until flour-like. Add the remaining ingredients and whizz until the mixture starts to clump together. Scrape into a bowl, then roll and cut into 18 equal-sized rectangular bars, about 9 x 2cm. Place on the prepared tray and use a small palette knife to neaten the tops and sides of each biscuit. Bake for about 10 mins until lightly golden at the edges, then leave to cool. Meanwhile, put all the caramel ingredients in the food processor (no need to

rinse it first) and blitz until it forms smooth, shiny clumps. Using a spatula, push the mixture together, then roll into 18 even-sized balls using your hands. Once the biscuits are cool, squash the caramel onto them. Use your fingers to press it into shape and smooth out any bumps, especially around the edges (as they will show underneath the chocolate coating). Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water – make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl (otherwise, it might seize and go grainy). Carefully dip one of the

caramel-coated biscuits in the chocolate, turning it gently with a small palette knife (use this to lift it out as well). Use a spoon to drizzle over more chocolate to coat it fully. Let the excess chocolate drip into the bowl, then carefully put the biscuit back on the lined tray. Repeat with the remaining biscuits, then chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins or until the chocolate has set. Put the biscuits in an airtight container and store in the fridge. Will keep for five days. Prep: 45 Mins Cook: 15 Mins Makes: 18

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.com Flavour and tradition in the 25th Muestra de Embutido Artesano de Requena (Requena Artisan Cold Cut Sampler)

The best artisan cold cut in the province of Valencia awaits us the second weekend of February, thatÂ´s this weekend, at the 25th Requena Artisan Cold Cut Sampler.

We're going to a fair, and not just any fair! The 25th Requena Quality and Artisan Cold Cut Sampler is here. In addition to enjoying the artisan products at the Cold Cut Fair, the Town Hall of Requena is organising entertainment activities for all kinds of audiences: workshops for kids, fair attractions, a small Artisan product market, folkloric performances, etc. Information to bear in mind: This year, the tasting ticket at the Requena Cold Cut Sampler will cost 8 euro on Friday, and 10 euro during the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday. This ticket includes four cold cut tastings, two glasses of wine, tasting a typical dish prepared by the Housewives Association, bread, a bottle of water and a ticket to visit the museum or monument. Additionally, people who place their reservation early or who go to the Sampler in train or AVE will receive free entry to three of the museums or monuments available in Requena with the purchase of their ticket. They will also receive a 10% discount on purchases made at the Sampler's butcheries. Bon Appetit! Requena is in the westernmost part of the Region of Valencia. One of the largest in Spain, its municipality spans 814 km2, and is 692 metres above sea level, on average. This fortified border city, where Castileâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s border customs were established, made Requena a strategic enclave, with a remarkable uptick in trade throughout the Middle Ages.

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Tea Time on Tour - The Update Tea Time on TKO Radio is on tour at the moment. At the start of this week we began our journey in the Catalan capital, Barcelona. Broadcasting from (mostly) outside in the wind and rain, Mark Nolan took us on a trip to some of the most popular tourist attractions, and shared top tips on such things as getting around and where to stay. Right now, the Tea Time team are in Prague in the Czech Republic, where TKO is being broadcast from until Tuesday, when the third destination on the tour will be revealed. Join Mark and the team on 91.9fm and tko.fm for Tea Time on Tour, and feel free to share your experiences with everybody by emailing radio@tko.media

Local Markets Friday Albatera, Almoines, Banyeres, Benejuzar, Beniarres, Benidoleig, Crevillente, Daimus, Denia (Rastro), El Verger, Finestrat, Gata de Gorgos, Granja de Rocamora, L’ Alfas del Pi, Monforte del Cid, Monstesinos, Moraira, Muro de Alcoi, Oliva, Onil, Petrer, Pilar de la Horadada, Playa de Daimus (summer evenings), Rafol d’ Almunia, Sella, Tibi, Torrevieja, Villalonga. Saturday Alcoi, Alicante, Almoradi, Alqueria, Banyeres, Bellreguard, Benifairo, Benissa, Callosa d’En Sarria, Calpe, Castalla, Castell de Castells, Catral, Elche, Elda , La Font d’En Carros, La Romana, Gaianes, Hondon de las Nieves, Novelda, Ondara, Pedreguer, Tavernes de la Valdigna (summer evenings), San Vicente del Raspeig, Salinas, Relleu, Santa Pola, Xalo (Jalon) Rastro Sunday Benidorm, Elche, La Nucia, Campoverde, Algorfa, La Marina, Zoco, Almoradí street market, Lemon Tree Road, Mil Palmeras. Monday Agres, Callosa d’En Sarria, Cox, Denia, Elche, Formentera, Granja de Rocamora, Ibi, La Nucia, Llocnou de Sant Jeroni, Parcent, Petrer, Penaguila, Playa de Miramar (summer evenings), Monover, Real de Gandia, San Pedro del Pinatar, Santa Pola, Sax, Torremendo, Xeraco Tuesday Alicante (Rastro), Aspe, Altea, Barx, Bellreguard, Benijofar, Campo de Mirra, Castalla, Elda, Orihuela, Palma de Gandia, Piles, Playa de Piles (summer evenings), Rafelcofer, Relleu, San Fulgencio, Sella, Tibi, Villalonga, Xalo(Jalon), Xeresa Wednesday Ador, Albatera, Alcoi, Alqueries, Almoines, Banyeres, Barx, Benjema, Beniaries, Benidorm, Benilloba, Benitatxell, Biar, Callosa de Segura, Calpe (Rastro), El Campello, Elda, Guardamar del Segura, La Font d’en Carros, La Mata, Muchamiel, Monforte del Cid, Novelda, Orba, Ondara, Petrer, Polop, Potries, Rotova, San Miguel de Salinas, Sella, Teulada Thursday Agost, Agres, Albatera, Alguena, Alicante, Aspe, Benidoleig, Campoamor near Cabo Roig medical centre, Cocentaina, Hondon de los Frailes, Llocnou de Sant Jeroni, Pego, Playe de Bellreguard (summer evenings), Rafelcofer, Rojales, Tavernes de Valldigna, Villajoyosa, Xabia (Javia), Xixona (Jijona)

Official Sponsors of Whats on Guide! Silverstones the first motorsport themed bar and bistro on the Costa Blanca opening on 01 MARCH and offering a fine-dining experience with quality food, fine wines and excellant service. The Bar and Bistro we have all been waiting for you will find Silverstones Bar and Bistro in Montebello, just off Junction 745 on the AP7. Contact them now on 965 729 140 or email:silverstonesbarbistro.com or find them on facebook. An experience not to be missed! Until Sunday 11 February, 2018 Torrevieja Charity Art Exhibition at the Virgen del Carmen Centre - Living in Africa Alicante Michael Jackson’s - live concert to the King of Pop at the Teatro Principal Torrevieja "Cazuelica & Wine (The Small Pan and the Wine)" - hot tapas and wine for 3,50€ at participating restaurants

Until Sunday 25 February, 2018 Rojales Art exhibition by Ana Carillo at the Caves - Sala Mengolero Torrevieja Art Exhibition by Jaume Marzal called Glances and People. Virgen del Carmen Saturday 10 February Orihuela Costa Carnival Party in the Civic Centre, Playa Flamenca 1pm Guardamar Carnival Parade from 19.30h - from C/ Norte to Plaza Jaime II Sunday 11 February, 2018 Aguilas First Great Carnival Parade from 18h Torrevieja Carnival Parade from 4 pm San Miguel Charity Dog Walk 11 am - 2 pm Orihuela XX Half Marathon in Orihuela Monday 12 February, 2018 Rojales Open Meeting on Brexit Negotiations 12 pm at the Teatro Cívico by British Consul for Alicante Province Aguilas Night Carnival - Plaza de España at midnight Guardamar Children’s Carnival Parade from 17.00h - leaving from Plaza Jaime II Tuesday 13 February, 2018 Aguilas Second Great Carnival Parade at 18h Wednesday 14 February, 2018 Santa Pola Free guided tour in English around the salt museum and surroundings 11 am -1 pm Or guided tour (3 euro) around the fishing port, fish market, aquarium. Places must be booked at least one day in advance with the tourist info office. Friday 16 February to Sunday 11 March, 2018 Santa Pola IX Santa Pola Tapas Route (12pm-4pm and 7pm-11pm) Friday 16 February, 2018 Aguilas XXIII National Foreign Carnival Groups Parade 18h Rojales Winter Concert by the Orihuela City Orchestra, Capitol Theatre 8.30 pm Saturday 17 February, 2018 Aguilas Third Great Carnival Parade 18h Burning of Don Carnal and Firework Display - midnight La Colonia Beach Torrevieja Night-time Carnival Parade from 21h

CLASSIFIE SITUATIONS VACANT Solar Power - Sunlife Solar Solutions have vacancies for both a Solar Installation Engineer and a Solar Thermal Engineer (or plumber with pool heating experience). Call 965 271 717 or send your CV to info@sunlifesolarsolutions.c om RADIO SALES - Come and join the team at TKO. Email your cv to admin@tko.media, full training is given so donÂ´t be shy, email us today. Field and telesales reps wanted, full training given, experience desired, call The Courier 966 921 003. Radio Sales - RADIO COSTA MEDIA needs selfemployed salesperson for Torrevieja & surrounding areas. Call 685 901 265 or please email info@radiocosta.eu Realtor vacancy - Proven track record, experience, local knowledge all essential. Car essential, multi-lingual desired. Send CV to: office@easybuyproperties.com CHURCH SERVICES Torrevieja Christian Fellowship at Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas 68, Torrevieja 03183, all welcome to their friendly and lively 10.30 am. Service each Sunday morning. Tele: 966700391 or visit our website on www.tcfspain.org. International Christian Assembly, Calle Pilar de Horadada 5, Torrevieja. Evangelical non-denomina-

tional church. Sunday services 11am. Children's church 11am.. For more information lease Telephone today: 966 799 273 or 660 127 276. QUIZ MASTER Experienced quiz-master /question setter with personality. If you would like a quiz master that is entertaining, and is available to host quiz nights in local bars. Tel: 664 838 581. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES VENDING ROUTE Good monthly cash income. Financing available. 697 834 934 FOR SALE DUE TO RETIREMENT New and Used Furniture Business, well known, repeat business from regular clientele. Trading for over 10 years. Only serious applicants need apply. For more information Tel: 620 582 063 SERVICES STRUCTURAL SURVEYS Mark Paddon BSC Hons Building Surveying MCIOB. CAAT. Buyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and defect reports. Tele. 653 733 066 www.surveryorspain.com

der Remin re. tise he Adver 03 921 0 6 6 9 l Cal

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TRELI ON THE TELLY Lightning Strikes

WITH ALEX TRELINSKI

Another US superhero from the DC stable has appeared and it’s very different. Welcome to Black Lightning which is streaming on Netflix UK and Spain, and is light years away from the likes of Supergirl, Arrow, and The Flash. Jefferson Pierce (played by Cress Williams), who retired from his superhero persona Black Lightning nine years ago after seeing the effects it had on his family, is forced to become a vigilante again when the rise of the local gang called “The 100” leads to increased crime and corruption in his community of Freeland. Black Lightning is not all action- far from it. Pierce is the principal of a high school in a black neighbourhood, and so his job is to protect those youngsters and their families from some nasty people. One of his acquaintances is a police detective, who of course doesn’t know that he is Black Lightning. The show is also about family and Pierce gets back together with his ex-wife, as well as focussing on his relationship with Peter

Gambi (played by James Remus) who is Pierce’s oldest friend, who became a father figure and mentor to him, and works as his "tailor", but in effect runs Black Lighting (Back story on that, I’m sure to come). Besides Peter Gambi, we have an all-black cast in a show with attitude and humour, along with morality and a modern twist. Black

Lightning is really impressive, and if you are not a natural viewer of such “hero” shows, this could well draw you in. Another DC product is of course Gotham, and I’m still wondering why Channel Five dumped it, though I’ve never read any official statement saying that they did so, presumably because of poor ratings. Good news

though for Netflix UK who picked up on last year’s best-ever third season which was crammed full of good stuff, though season four so far has been hit and miss. Still worth watching for, especially for a playful new villain who sings opera and showtunes in the current run! At least Channel Five

have got round to screening The X Files, admittedly four weeks behind the US, and I can tell you that you will not be diasppointed and there are some good laughs to be had along with the usual sheer X Files bafflement. Back to delayed US shows in the UK, and you’ll know, if you are a regular reader, that I think for sheer heart, This Is Us is one of

the best things since sliced bread. Channel Four got wretched audience figures (why?) for season one, but I hope they do show the second season(theys till have the rights), as over in the States this week, there were two episodes in just three days and a heck of a lot was revealed by the end of it all, with yours truly needing some medication to calm me down with my emotions! Good to see the character of Serena Campbell (Catherine Russell) back on Holby City (BBC 1), but don’t worry over the very best of the lot:- Henrik Hanssen (Guy Henry). The tall Swede will return later in the year, and likely to be just a surgeon, which could be entertaining. Can great writers lose it? Kay Mellors’ Girlfriends finished on ITV on Wednesday and despite a great cast, it was a dud. That’s the same what happened to Love, Lies and Records on BBC 1 before Christmas. Come on Kay, get back to your great stuff like The Syndicate, Fat Friends, Band of Gold, and Playing the Field!

he will come with her and ask Imran to look after the business whilst he is away.

cerned.

Friday Debbie grows paranoid after recent events. Meanwhile, Gabby continues with her blackmail of Daz. Elsewhere, Harriet becomes suspicious of Laurel and Bob’s relationship, but will Laurel confess?

Monday Harriet confronts Laurel about her and Bob, but Laurel says that she wants to pretend it didn’t happen. However, when Harriet pushes for more details, Laurel confesses everything, including how she still has feelings for Bob. Later, Harriet advises Bob to come clean with Brenda and to decide what he wants. But can Bob work up the courage? Meanwhile, Cain tells Debbie that she needs to go and visit Ross, but Graham suddenly barges in and tells them that he knows they were behind the attack. Will their denials be believed by Graham?

Tuesday Bob decides it’s time to be honest, telling Laurel that he doesn’t want Brenda and wants her instead. Bob tells Laurel that he knows she feels the same way, but how will she react? Meanwhile, Aaron agrees to look after Seb for Robert and lies to Alex that he’s busy when he wants to spend the day with him. Alex is later hurt to realise what Aaron has done. Elsewhere, Pete is con-

SOAPS

Friday 9th February 2018

Wednesday Aaron and Robert get close again when Robert helps Aaron to prepare the Valentine’s Day meal that he’s cooking for Alex. Aaron and Robert share a moment, holding each other’s gaze and they almost kiss. But with Aaron still dating Alex, will anything happen with the pair? Meanwhile, Liv asks Jacob to meet her and Gabby at the pavilion. Jacob doesn’t realise that she’s asking on Gabby’s behalf and is chuffed to think that Liv likes him. Later at the pavilion, Gabby and Liv wait for Jacob, giving Liv the chance to try telling Gabby about her asexuality. Although Gabby thinks Liv might just be picky, Liv is heartened to have Gabby’s support nonetheless. But will Liv get the wrong end of the stick? Elsewhere, Sandy is having the time of his life sharing time with Maisie.

Friday Eva is caught out when both Adam and Leanne want to spoil her for her birthday. Leanne presents her with a new dress, while Adam wants to take her to the new sushi restaurant in town. Worried, Eva tells Toyah that she can’t eat sushi. Toyah confides there is worse to come, as Leanne wants to throw her a boozy party. Meanwhile, Faye is shocked to find a prescription for Seb in Gary’s pocket and Phelan overhears her booking a cab to take her to Nicola’s flat.

Nicola manages to hide Seb in the bedroom, so Faye pretends she has come for Nicola’s advice on a bully at school. Desperate to get Phelan out of the flat, Nicola pretends she is having problems with the baby and he rushes her to the hospital. Phelan asks Nicola to move into Number 11 with him, but will she accept? Meanwhile, Eva tries to get out of the meal and party by saying she has food poisoning, but Adam sees through her ruse and says Thursday Cain tells she must go to Leanne’s Debbie that he’s going to party. take care of Simon, and he looks like he means business. Meanwhile, Maisie tells Sandy that she’s leaving tomorrow and he does his best to hide his disappointment. Maisie hands Sandy an envelope with tickets to Australia, leaving Sandy emotional as he wonders what to do. Elsewhere, Aaron faces a decision over his future. Monday Jess attends a disturbance at the lap Also, Tracy is concerned. dancing club and is annoyed to realise that Craig is the culprit. Jess tells Craig that she has no choice but to report Bethany for underage lap dancing. Meanwhile, Eva tells Adam she is going to America on a beauty course for four months, but is thwarted when he says

Cain is on edge. Meanwhile, Tracy is sheepish. Elsewhere, Robert is hopeful – but should he be?

Adam is devastated when Eva says that she doesn’t want him to go to America with her. Finding Eva in tears, Peter tells her to make things right with Adam, much to Toyah’s dismay. Dashing round to Adam’s flat, Eva is shocked by what she finds. Meanwhile, Bethany is devastated when she is sacked from the club and blames Craig, assuming he blew the whistle. Wednesday Summer’s school work is starting to suffer as she tries to cope with the household chores, but she is putting on a brave face. Billy is devastated when he realises she has accidentally put the tablets he took from Izzy in the washing machine, so he sets about trying to get some more from Adam. Later, as the street is busy with the charity run, Eileen and Eva are concerned when they can’t raise Billy. When Summer gets a call from them, she fears the worst and risks getting a lift from a stranger in a car.

Eileen and Eva are shocked to find a comatose Billy in the flat. Having found a bottle of dodgylooking painkillers, Eva immediately suspects Adam. Billy breaks down and tells Eva and Eileen that the painkillers are the only thing keeping him going and they promise to help him get better. Meanwhile, Bethany gives Sarah a makeover and tells her she has arranged for her to go on a date with Aidan. Sarah agrees on one condition… Bethany has to make up with Craig. Elsewhere, Robert drops to one knee and proposes to Michelle.

panic is obvious. Max eventually discovers that Lauren is lying to him – the funeral hasn’t happened yet, but she doesn’t want him there when it does. Friday With tensions still running so high between the Fowlers, Michelle is concerned when she sees Stacey getting into a cab with the kids. When Michelle tips off Martin, he discovers that she’s taking the children to Brighton. As Martin and Stacey have a big showdown in the Square, can they ever get past their issues? Monday Max is confused by the delay to Abi’s funeral, but Jay tells him that he hasn’t received the paperwork yet. When Max discovers that Abi’s body is now at the funeral parlour, he rushes over – but Lauren soon arrives and tells him that the funeral has already happened without him. Meanwhile, as Aidan is getting impatient, Vincent asks the estate agent to find a quicker buyer for The Albert instead. Although Vincent fills in Aidan on what’s going on, Aidan still isn’t happy and demands a down payment in the meantime. With the reality of his situation hitting home, Vincent drops the bombshell to Kim that they’re broke.

Tuesday Max is devastated by Lauren’s claims over Abi’s funeral and demands to know where his daughter is buried, but Lauren refuses to give any details away. As Max continues to ask more questions about the ceremony, Lauren’s

Thursday Lauren refuses to tell Max when Abi’s funeral is, explaining that Tanya won’t attend if he’s there. She also warns that he’ll lose her too if he keeps hassling her. Later on, how will Jay react when he spots a disheveled Max out in the cold street? Meanwhile, Kim reveals her plan to Vincent over how she intends to solve their financial problems. Will Vincent be impressed?

Roxanna has been living at the hospital in her relentless effort to aid Oliver’s recovery.

The bullet is starting to leak poison into Olivia’s brain and must be removed. Can Roxanna convince him to go under the knife again and risk more damage to his mind and body? Meanwhile, Fletch’s security measures inadvertently puts a bike courier in a Darwin bed. Jac finds a replacement for the lost vinyl from Raf’s collection and lectures Fletch on the perils of snooping on Evie’s phone messages. Nicky, Meena and reluctantly Frieda compare their respective Valentine’s card haul.

Week Days 08:00 Breakfast to Brunch with Dennis Christian 12:00 Tim´s Lunchbox with Tim Bridge 14:00 Afternoons with Alex Trelinski - Alex in the Afternoon. 17:00 Drivetime (AKA Tea Time) with Mark Nolan

Weekends Saturday 09:00 Breakfast Medley 12:00 Saturday Afternoons with Paul Norman 15:00 Saturday Sports with Alex Trelinski 18:00 Entertainment Power 20:00 Northern Soul

Sunday 09:00 Breakfast with Tim Bridge 12:00 Soul & Mowtown 14:00 Gary Jackson 16:00 The Retro Chart 18:00 Classic Country

Email: radio@tko.media Facebook: tkospain Phone: 965 50 55 10 Text: 671 33 76 75

Friday TV 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Countryfile Winter Diaries 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 11:30 Live: Winter Olympic Games 14:30 News 15:15 Doctors 15:45 Moving On 16:30 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 Would I Lie to You? Joining Rob , Lee and David are Jack Dee, Romesh Ranganathan, Gaby Roslin and Tinchy Stryder. 21:00 EastEnders Tension mounts between Stacey and Martin. 21:30 Room 101 Vicky McClure, Sandi Toksvig and Josh Widdicombe compete to have their pet hates and peeves consigned to Room 101. 22:00 Requiem Matilda tries to convince PC Graves that toddler Carys Howell must have been kept in the basement of Dean House. Graves is dismissive, but later wonders whether there's something to the suggestion. Dean House grows increasingly unsettling, with mysterious occurrences and symbols appearing and a sinister presence that draws Matilda towards a room with a blue door. 23:00 News 23:35 Graham Norton 00:25 The Young Offenders 00:55 Witless 01:20 Live: Winter Olympic Games

07:00 My Life in Books 07:30 Wanted Down Under Revisited 08:15 Countryfile Winter Diaries 09:00 MasterChef: The Professionals 10:00 Victoria Derbyshire 12:00 News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 This Wild Life 14:30 Monty Halls’ Great Hebridean Escape 16:30 A Place to Call Home 17:15 New Zealand: Earth’s Mythical Islands 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Great American Railroad Journeys 20:00 Winter Olympic Games Clare Balding presents highlights of the Opening Ceremony of the XXIII Winter Olympics from PyeongChang, South Korea. 21:00 Mastermind Quiz. 21:30 A Vicar’s Life With the dark days of winter drawing in the clergy of Hereford Diocese are working hard to bring light into people’s lives. 22:00 Nigel Slater’s Middle East Nigel Slater visits Turkey, home to one of the world’s grandest cuisines. Travelling from the bustling mega city of Istanbul, to the rural heartlands of Central Anatolia, and through the mountains of the Black Sea, Nigel discovers a vast and varied landscape, rich with tradition and local flavour. 23:00 QI 23:30 Newsnight 00:05 Film - Looper (14) 01:55 Panorama 02:25 Animals with Cameras 03:25 Weather 03:30 News

The Forensic Investigators: A new three-part documentary

For this revealing new threepart documentary series for BBC Two, Blast! Films have secured in-depth access to the forensics team at Northumbria Police. Capturing the twists and turns of major crime investigations as they happen, the series will follow serious criminal cases and show the vital work of police forensic services in building evidence and solving crimes. Police work that relies on hard factual evidence is more vital than ever and convictions today can rest on tiny margins. The path of a bullet through a pane of glass; the chemical make-up of a petrol bomb at the scene of a fire; the drop of saliva left on a victim’s clothes. As criminals have become more sophisticated in recent years, forensic science has made huge

advances and the role of Crime Scene Investigators has become more and more vital. Northumbria Police is one of Britain’s largest forces, covering an area of over 2,000 square miles and a population of more than 1.5m people. The patch encompasses the urban sprawl of Newcastle as well as tiny former mining villages; from the Scottish border down to County Durham, and from the Pennines across to the North East coast. Different episodes will follow individual crimes from the moment of call-out across this vast area, showing how CSIs gather and assess evidence from DNA to blood spatter, digital forensics to footprints - and how they work closely with CID detectives driving individual investigations.

www.thecourier.es

07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 Jeremy Kyle 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 News 15:00 Judge Rinder 16:00 Dickinson’s Real Deal 17:00 Tipping Point 18:00 The Chase 19:00 News 20:00 Emmerdale Debbie grows paranoid. 20:30 Coronation Street A pregnant Eva struggles to celebrate her birthday. 21:00 River Monsters Jeremy Wade takes on the biggest investigation of his career, hoping to unravel the exact fate of ocean liner RMS Laconia, which after being converted into an armed merchant cruiser was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the midAtlantic in 1942. At the time of the attack the vessel was carrying a mixture of British soldiers, Polish soldiers, Italian prisoners of war and civilians, 1,500 of whom died. 21:30 Coronation Street Nicola acts swiftly to throw Phelan off the scent. 22:00 Lethal Weapon Murtaugh and Riggs investigate a death that occurs moments before the victim’s bet wins a horse race, but when Leo Getz insists that it’s a homicide, he proceeds to help the investigation along. 23:00 News 00:45 Take Me Out 01:45 Jackpot247 04:00 Alphabetical 04:50 ITV Nightscreen

07:00 Countdown 07:45 3rd Rock From the Sun 08:35 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:30 Frasier 11:05 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA 12:00 Undercover Boss USA 13:00 News 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Posh Pawnbrokers 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Village of the Year with Penelope Keith 17:00 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 18:00 Four in a Bed 18:30 Extreme Cake Makers 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 News 21:00 Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast Hollywood star Josh Hartnett heads to Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty's cafe on Southend Pier, where Jamie shows the star of Pearl Harbor and Penny Dreadful how to cook his favourite ramen dish. Jamie also whips up a curry made from game and aubergine, and together with his co-host takes a look at a method of farming that could be the future in crowded cities - aquaponics. 22:00 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Jimmy Carr hosts the panel show as Johnny Vegas and Rhod Gilbert take on Joe Wilkinson and Roisin Conaty. Tom Allen is in Dictionary Corner. 23:00 The Last Leg 00:05 First Dates Hotel 01:10 Film - Safe House (14) 03:10 Born to Kill 04:10 The Supervet 05:05 Four Rooms with Sarah Beeny

Formula1 returns to C4 for 2018 FIA Formula One

Channel 4 have confirmed the ten Formula 1® Grands Prix it will broadcast live in 2018 which will include the 2018 Formula 1 British Grand Prix On 8th July and the 2018 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix on 27th May. As part of its deal with Formula One World Championship Limited, Channel 4 will broadcast live coverage of ten Grands Prix, including practice sessions, qualifying and in depth race analysis. Channel 4 will also broadcast extensive highlights of all other Formula 1® races in the 2018 season, with all live races and highlights programmes available to watch live (simulcast) and on demand on All 4. All live races will be broadcast without advertising breaks.

Tens of millions of viewers tuned in to Channel 4’s live coverage and extensive highlights programmes across 2017 as Lewis Hamilton took his fourth FIA Formula One World Championship™. Channel 4’s award-winning coverage, produced by Whisper Films, was frequently the most watched programme over its time slot. Channel 4’s 2018 coverage opens on 25 March with build up to, and comprehensive highlights coverage of the 2018 FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX weekend. Channel 4’s first live race will be the 2018 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX broadcast over the weekend of 7th April.

07:00 Milkshake 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:15 GPs: Behind Closed Doors 13:10 News 13:15 Cowboy Builders 14:10 Access 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Film Kidnapping Lizzie: Nightmare Visions 18:00 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 News 20:00 The Wine Show In the Camargue, James and Mathew become cowboys for a day, Joe visits a vineyard in Bosnia, then lunches with Amelia and winemaker Sacha in St Tropez before hosting a VIP wine dinner on a cruise ship. Matthew looks at wine gadgets in London. 21:00 Celebrity 5 Go Barging After the gang visit two British artists who have devoted their lives to painting the River Lot, Tom Conti and Tony Christie view some prehistoric art in a sprawling cave system. Diarmuid Gavin gets stuck into some tasty snails. 22:00 Cruising with Jane McDonald Jane heads to the Golden State, boarding a 3,000 berth cruise liner in LA which plots a course for San Francisco. 23:00 Will & Grace 23:35 Julie Walters: By Her Friends 00:30 Lip Sync Battle UK 01:00 SuperCasino 04:10 Film A Day Late and a Dollar Short (14) 05:45 House Doctor 06:10 Great Artists 06:35 Housebusters

07:00 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 07:55 Dress to Impress 08:45 Emmerdale 09:50 You’ve Been Framed! 10:25 Ellen DeGeneres 11:10 Who’s Doing the Dishes 12:10 Dress to Impress 13:10 Emmerdale 14:15 You’ve Been Framed! 14:45 Ellen DeGeneres 15:40 Jeremy Kyle 19:00 Take Me Out 20:00 You’ve Been Framed! 21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Superstore 22:00 Film - 22 Jump Street (14) 00:15 Family Guy 01:15 American Dad! 02:15 Two and a Half Men ITV 3 07:00 Classic Coronation Street 07:55 Heartbeat 09:00 The Royal 10:05 Judge Judy 11:25 Griff’s Great Britain 12:30 Love Your Garden 13:35 The Royal 14:35 Heartbeat 15:40 Classic Coronation Street 16:45 On the Buses 17:50 Rising Damp 18:20 George and Mildred 18:55 Heartbeat 20:00 Murder, She Wrote 21:00 Rosemary and Thyme 23:00 The Good Karma Hospital 00:00 The Murder of Sadie Hartley 01:40 The Constant Gardener (14) ITV 4 07:00 The Chase 08:35 Ironside 09:35 Quincy, M.E. 10:35 Minder 11:35 The Sweeney 12:45 Live: Shoot-Out Snooker 18:30 Counting Cars 19:20 Hattrick Heroes II 19:45 Live: Shoot-Out Snooker 00:00 Film - Source Code (PG) 01:55 Fifth Gear

Britain’s Best Cook: Judges revealed

BBC One reveals a first look at the full judging line-up for Britain’s Best Cook, announcing that Mary Berry will be joined by Dan Doherty and Chris Bavin. Together they will judge the brand new cookery competition celebrating truly exceptional home cooks, presented by Claudia Winkleman and due to air later this year. One of London’s most prominent and creative chefs, Dan Doherty is currently Chef Director at one of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, Duck and Waffle. Having started his career as a graduate of The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, Dan is known for his innovative, playful and indulgent cooking style, with a number of awards and accolades now under his belt. He recently released his second book focused on the recipes he cooks at

home for family and friends. In his role as judge, Dan is on the hunt for inventive home cooks with hidden kitchen talents. Former market trader Chris Bavin has worked in importing, wholesaling, retailing, food service and catering. Chris co-founded his retail business The Naked Grocer and has since gone on to TV success fronting a range of shows including Eat Well for Less,Tomorrow’s Food, Food: Truth or Scare and The Truth about Meat. First announced with Mary and Claudia last year, Britain’s Best Cook is a brand new competition that will see 10 passionate, skilled home cooks from across the country face a comprehensive range of culinary challenges from fabulous feasts to the nation's favourite dishes, and all things in between.

Friday 9th February 2018

Winter Olympics - Today at the Games Saturday - BBCTwo Clare Balding presents highlights of the opening day's action from the 23rd staging of the Games, which takes place in PyeongChang, South Korea. The first medals of the Games were awarded in the women's cross-country skiing and men's short track speed skating, while British snowboarding stars Jamie Nicholls and Billy Morgan began their own medal bids in slopestyle qualification. Among the other events to take place today were the team event of the figure skating, which featured the

South Korea: Earth's Hidden Wilderness

Sunday - BBCTwo

Documentary exploring the wildlife, traditions and landscape in the country's rural areas. The programme features footage of dolphins swimming alongside conch divers in the volcanic islands of Jeju, a falconer flying a goshawk in the country's mountainous forests, and raccoon dogs hunting for cicadas that only emerge from underground once every five years. men's single short programme and pairs short programme, while the mixed

McMafia

doubles curling competition continued with more roundrobin matches.

Hard Sun Saturday - BBCOne Grace Morrigan is apprehended by the police and brought in for questioning. Determined to keep themselves and their loved ones from harm's way, Hicks and Renko come up with a scheme that will turn Morrigan's government colleagues against her, but the veteran spook refuses to let herself be outmanoeuvred so easily. Meanwhile, a woman's car is found abandoned near a meadow, with what appears to be a suicide note left on the dashboard. However, no body is found at the scene, prompting DS Mooney to suspect another

Sunday - BBCOne

serial killer is on the loose. But is his use of a illicit suicide forum simply a result of his deep-cover work? Or

In this weekÂ´s final episode, Alex travels to Moscow, has the mild-mannered ready to do business, but he detective got a more person- remains dreadfully unaware al stake in this case? Last in of the devastation that Dmitri's recent actions have the series.

caused - or the danger he is unwittingly rushing into. As the full horror of the situation finally catches up with him, Alex is forced to play the one card he has left in his hand to stand a chance of saving himself - before

heading off to face a final showdown with Vadim and Ilya. Conclusion of the crime drama, starring James Norton, Juliet Rylance and Merab Ninidze. Last in the series.

Saturday TV 07:00 Live: Winter Olympic Games 11:00 Saturday Kitchen Live 12:30 Mary Berry Everyday 13:00 Live: Winter Olympic Games 14:15 Hairy Bikers’ Mediterranean Adventure 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 Italy’s Invisible Cities 17:00 Nigel 20:15 All Together Now Slater’s Middle East 18:00 Rob Beckett hosts as more Dragons’ Den 19:00 Hugh’s singers step on-stage for a Wild West chance to win a £50,000 cash prize, performing hits 20:00 Winter Olympic as varied as Sia's Games Clare Balding presChandelier, Oasis's Don't ents highlights of the openLook Back in Anger, and ing day's action from the Whitney Houston's I Wanna 23rd staging of the Games, Dance with Somebody. The which takes place in South judging panel takes the PyeongChang, form of `The 100', a large Korea. collective of music experts and performers from all 21:00 Dad’s Army The plaover the UK. However, in toon is chosen for special this talent show, the key to duties during the testing of success is encouraging the a secret weapon, a huge rolling catherine wheel judges to sing along too packed with explosives. 21:20 Casualty Elle finds herself looking after the boy 21:30 Grand Tours of he assaulted. Are his new Scotland’s Lochs Paul injuries related? explores some lochs close Meanwhile, Bea’s one-night to Scotland’s densely popustand leads to her finding lated central belt, starting on the banks of the Lake of out Rash’s secret Menteith . 22:10 News 22:00 Charles I’s 22:30 Hard Sun An internet Treasures Reunited When killer is targeting people Charles I was executed, who believe they wish to die Parliament sold off his art and Mooney thinks he collection. Now, for the first knows how to trap him, time in 370 years, a huge Renko and Hicks change number of art-works owned tactic and bring the fight to by Charles are being reunited for a unique exhibition. Grace’s door.

07:00 Breakfast 11:00 Live: Winter Olympic Games 13:00 Football Focus 14:00 News 14:15 Live: Winter Olympic Games 17:30 Final Score 18:25 News 18:45 And They’re Off! For Sport Relief 19:25 Pointless Celebrities

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07:00 CITV 10:25 News 10:30 James Martin’s Saturday Morning 12:20 Dancing on Ice 14:15 News 14:30 6 Nations Live: Ireland v Italy 17:20 6 Nations Live: England v Wales 20:00 Take Me Out Braving the love lift tonight are Josh, a fitness fanatic from Woking, Dan, a volcanologist from Bristol, Martin, a HR manager from Sunderland, and Tai, an NHS worker from Birmingham. 21:15 The Voice UK Emma Willis ushers more wouldbe stars onto the stage, as the penultimate round of Blind Auditions arrives. Once again, the singers will be asked to perform in front of coaches Will.i.am, Olly Murs, Jennifer Hudson and Tom Jones, who all must appraise their skills with their backs to the performer. Only once they have decided to pledge their support are the coaches permitted to spin their chair around greet the singer in question.

07:20 3rd Rock From the Sun 08:10 The King of Queens 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:30 The Big Bang The Theory 13:00 Simpsons 14:30 Come Dine with Me 15:30 Coast vs Country 16:30 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 17:30 The Secret Life of the Zoo 18:35 The Supervet 19:30 News 20:00 Great Canal Journeys Timothy West and Prunella Scales return to Wales to explore a canal that has eluded them for more than half a century. The Monmouthshire and Brecon canal is cut off from the rest of Britain's network of waterways by the Black Mountains, and meanders its way through the tranquil Usk valley. Along the way they visit the old ironworks at Blaenavon, where children worked. 21:00 Village of the Year with Penelope Keith It’s the grand finale. Across 19 heats, 76 villages have been whittled down, and only four remain. Who will be crowned the winner?

22:45 Through the Keyhole This week’s starstudded panel are comedian Jimmy Carr, TV presenter Eamonn Holmes and former Queen of the Jungle, Scarlett Moffatt.

22:00 Film - Die Hard 4.0 Assigned to bring in a computer hacker, NYPD detective McClane finds himself caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a set of cyber terrorists led by 23:35 News 23:50 Film - Thomas Gabriel. (14) Lethal Weapon 2 (15) 23:30 Match of the Day 00:40 Film - Love Is All You 01:45 Jackpot247 04:00 00:35 Film - Ted (18) 02:25 00:50 Live: Winter Olympic Need (14) 02:30 Weather Babushka 04:50 ITV The Last Leg 03:20 Games Hollyoaks Omnibus 02:35 News Nightscreen

07:00 Milkshake 11:05 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:40 Pets Make You Laugh Out Loud 12:05 Police Interceptors 14:00 The A-Team 16:00 Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away!8+ 18:00 Rich House, Poor House 19:00 The Wonderful World of Puppies 20:00 Cruising with Jane McDonald Sailing with the masses on the MSC Divina is a novelty for Jane, but the ship’s Caribbean calling points bring back fond memories. She seeks solace in the oldest Baptist Church on the Bahamas, and swims with sharks off the island of St Martin. 21:00 Building the World’s Most Luxurious Ship With the deadline looming, can the engineers deliver the £360m superliner in time for the first cruise? 21:55 News 22:00 Football Colin Murray introduces highlights from the weekend's games, including Wo l v e r h a m p t o n Wanderers v Queens Park Rangers, Barnsley v Sheffield Wednesdayl, Sheffield United v Leeds United and Middlesbrough v Reading . 23:30 Film - The Silence of the Lambs (15) 01:40 SuperCasino 04:10 Cowboy Builders

07:00 Emmerdale Omnibus 10:00 Coronation Street Omnibus 12:55 Take Me Out 14:10 Mr Bean 14:45 Film - Beethoven 16:30 Film - Valentine’s Day (PG) 18:55 Film - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (PG) 22:00 Film The Hangover Part II (18) 00:05 Family Guy 01:05 American Dad! 02:00 Release the Hounds 03:00 The Ibiza Weekender ITV 3 07:00 Judge Judy 07:20 Murder, She Wrote 08:10 Murder, She Wrote 09:10 Murder, She Wrote 10:10 Lewis 12:15 A Touch of Frost 14:25 Columbo 16:00 Agatha Christie’s Marple 18:00 Midsomer Murders 20:00 The Durrells 21:00 The Durrells 22:00 Midsomer Murders 00:00 Lewis 02:00 The Good Karma Hospital ITV 4 07:00 The Protectors 07:25 The Professionals 08:25 The Professionals 09:25 The Professionals 10:30 ITV Racing 11:30 The Sweeney 12:35 Fishing Impossible 13:35 Pawn Stars 14:00 Pawn Stars 14:30 ITV Racing: Live from Newbury 17:00 Film Lonely Are the Brave (PG) 19:15 Storage Wars 19:45 Live: Shoot-Out Snooker 00:00 Film - Green Zone (14) 02:15 Minder 03:20 The Car Chasers 03:40 ITV4 Nightscreen

Sunday TV 07:00 Breakfast 08:35 Match of the Day 10:00 The Andrew Marr Show 11:00 The Big Questions 12:00 Sunday Politics 13:15 News 13:30 Live: Winter Olympic Games 15:30 Live: 6 Nations Rugby - Scotland v France 18:00 Songs of Praise 18:35 Celebrity Mastermind 19:05 News 19:30 Countryfile Ellie and Matt are in Cambridgeshire where Matt is looking at a huge project to turn a quarry into the UK’s biggest reed bed. 20:30 Still Open All Hours A trip to Scarborough presents Granville with an opportunity to combine business with pleasure as Mavis invites him for lunch in a seaside hotel.

07:00 Live: Winter Olympic Games 13:30 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 15:00 Food & Drink 15:30 Back in Time for Tea 16:30 The Crane Gang 17:30 Live: Winter Olympic Games 19:00 New York: America’s Busiest City 20:00 Winter Olympic Games Clare Balding presents highlights of the day’s action from day two of the 2018 Winter Olympics from Pyeongchang, South Korea. 21:00 South Korea: Earth’s Hidden Wilderness Once a mountain kingdom of ancient palaces and emperors, Korea in the twenty-first century is largely known for its modern cities and decades of conflict. Tensions between North and South may be what define it to outsiders but beyond the battle scars there is another side.

21:00 Call the Midwife Sister Julienne is drawn into the heart of a different culture when she is called upon to help a Pakistani family, whilst Sister Monica Joan fears losing her inde- 22:00 Dragons’ Den A pendence. baby faced entrepreneur takes Peter Jones by sur22:00 McMafia Alex flies to prise with his business Moscow unaware of his which offers advertising father’s actions, and Vadim space on the move but will and Ilya are lying in wait for the surprise lead to an him. investment? 23:00 News 23:30 Match of the Day 2 00:35 The Women’s Football Show 01:10 Live: Winter Olympic Games

23:00 The Mash Report 23:30 Live at the Apollo 00:15 Cleverman 01:10 Women’s 6 Nations Rugby 01:40 Film - The Deep (14)

07:00 CITV 10:25 News 10:30 River Monsters 11:00 Peston on Sunday 12:00 The Martin Lewis Money Show 12:25 The Voice UK 13:55 News 14:00 Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury 14:30 What Would Your Kid Do? 15:30 The Cruise: Return to the Mediterranean 16:00 Britain’s Brightest Family 16:30 Tipping Point 17:30 News 18:00 The Chase: Celebrity Special 19:00 Dancing on Ice Love Week arrives at the rink, just in time for St Valentine's Day. Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Jason Gardiner and Ashley Banjo once more take their places on the judging panel, as Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield welcome the eight remaining celebrities and their proskater partners back out onto the ice.

07:15 The King of Queens 08:05 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:00 Frasier 10:30 Sunday Brunch 13:30 Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast 14:35 The Simpsons 15:35 Film The School of Rock (PG) 17:45 Film - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (PG) 19:30 News

07:00 Milkshake 10:50 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:25 Football 12:45 Police Interceptors 13:45 Film - Over Her Dead Body (PG) 15:30 Film - What to Expect When You’re Expecting (PG) 17:25 News 17:30 Film - Sleepless in Seattle (PG)

20:00 Posh Pawn An aspiring fitness guru takes James on a ride around London in an eye-catching supercar. Plus, a helmet that belonged to land speed record breaker Donald Campbell, and more.

19:30 Film - Along Came Polly An uptight insurance salesman with a distinct aversion to risk is thrown into turmoil on honeymoon when he discovers his wife has already been unfaithful. As luck would have it, he soon encounters a woman for whom he had a liking when much younger and he rekindles his friendship with her, but where will his loyalties lie when it comes to the crunch? (PG)

21:00 Lost Cities of the Maya: Revealed Cameras gain exclusive access to a massive research project that’s revealing an ancient hidden civilisation in Central America and changing what we thought we knew about the Maya.

21:00 Endeavour A mysterious death casts a cloud over a veteran film star’s visit to a local cinema. Meanwhile, a family visit sees Thursday’s hospitality tested.

22:00 Film - Spy When her partner falls off the grid and another top agent is compromised, a desk-bound CIA analyst volunteers to go deep under cover as the world’s newest and unlikeliest secret weapon. (14)

23:00 News 23:10 Peston on Sunday 00:05 6 Nations Rugby 01:00 Next of Kin 01:50 Next of Kin 02:35 Jackpot247 04:00 Take on the Twisters 04:50 ITV Nightscreen

00:25 Film - Friends With Benefits (14) 02:25 The World’s Most Expensive Food 03:20 The Supervet 04:15 Four Rooms with Sarah Beeny

21:00 Brides Make You Laugh Out Loud A collection of comic clips featuring wedding-based antics that have taken the internet by storm. 22:00 Britain’s Favourite Countdown Rom-Com show serenading the most romantic memorable comedies ever made. 00:55 Film - There’s Something About Mary (15) 03:10 SuperCasino 05:00 Get Your Tatts Out: Kavos Ink

07:00 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 07:10 Emmerdale Omnibus 10:10 Coronation Street Omnibus 13:00 Take Me Out 14:20 The Voice UK 15:50 Film - Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore 17:35 Film Despicable Me 2 19:40 Film - Jurassic World (PG) 22:00 Survival of the Fittest 23:30 Family Guy ITV 3 07:00 Murder, She Wrote 07:45 Murder, She Wrote 08:55 Heartbeat 09:55 Heartbeat 10:55 Film - The Railway Children 13:15 Columbo 14:40 A Touch of Frost 16:50 The Durrells 19:00 Midsomer Murders 21:00 Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs 22:00 Tonight at the London Palladium 23:00 Birds of a Feather 23:30 Birds of a Feather ITV 4 07:00 Football’s Greatest 07:20 The Sweeney 08:05 The Sweeney 09:05 The Car Chasers 11:10 Storage Wars 11:40 SnowQuake Motorcycle Racing 12:45 Live: ShootOut Snooker 17:00 Pawn Stars 17:25 Pawn Stars 17:55 Pawn Stars 18:45 Live: Shoot-Out Snooker 23:00 Film - Executive Decision (15)

32 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Live: Winter Olympic Games 14:00 News 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Coroner 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 Get Away for Winter 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 Inside Out 21:00 EastEnders Max makes an upsetting discovery. 21:30 Panorama Bitcoin is moving into the mainstream and being openly marketed as an investment opportunity. A look at what Bitcoin is and what it means. 22:00 Julius Caesar Revealed Mary Beard sets out on a quest to uncover the real Julius Caesar, challenging the received popular view of the Roman emperor. The classicist looks at how he become the autocratic ruler of Rome, the tactics of his military campaigns, his use of spin and PR on his way to the top, and the reasons behind his assassination on the Ides of March in 44 BC. The scholar also examines his surprising legacy right up to the present day 23:00 News 23:45 Have I Got News for You 00:15 The Graham Norton Show 01:05 Live: Winter Olympic Games

Friday 9th February 2018

07:00 Live: Winter Olympic Games 10:15 Animal Park 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Wanted Down Under 12:45 Heir Hunters 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 Live: Winter Olympic Games 19:00 Eggheads

19:30 Great American Railroad Journeys Michael’s thousand mile rail journey through California continues toward Santa Clara in the heart of Silicon Valley and ends in the surf of Santa Cruz. In a high tech bar, he traces the origins of modern day search engines and social media to an institution founded by a railroad baron.

20:00 Emmerdale Harriet demands answers.

20:00 Winter Olympic Games Clare Balding presents highlights of the day’s action. 21:00 Only Connect The return of the Wanderers and the Vikings.

20:30 Coronation Street Craig’s obsession with protecting Bethany affects his work. 21:00 The Martin Lewis Money Show With parents, grandparents and students all being concerned about a being saddled with a lifetime of debt, Martin present a “Student Loan Special”. 21:30 Coronation Street Adam takes Eva’s rejection badly.

22:00 Collateral DI Kip Glaspie leads the investigation into the unexplained shooting of Abdullah Asif, a pizza delivery driver and Syrian refugee.

22:00 Trauma After a bad day at work, Dan arrives home drunk to discover that his son Alex has not come home and no one knows where he is. Meanwhile, Trauma surgeon Jon Allerton is at home celebrating his birthday, despite being off duty. However, he is then called into work.

23:00 Two Doors Down 23:30 Newsnight 00:15 Odyssey 01:40 Countryfile 02:35 Food: Truth or Scare 03:20 Hugh’s Wild West

23:00 News 23:45 James Bulger: A Mother’s Story 00:45 Caught on Camera 01:35 Jackpot247 04:00 Jeremy Kyle

21:30 University Challenge Quiz

Monday TV 08:10 Dress to Impress 08:55 Emmerdale 09:20 Coronation Street 10:25 Ellen DeGeneres 11:10 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 11:20 Film Spy Kids (PG) 13:10 Emmerdale 13:45 Coronation Street 14:45 Ellen DeGeneres 15:35 Jeremy Kyle 18:50 Take Me Out 20:00 You’ve Been Framed! 21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Superstore 22:00 Survival of the Fittest 23:00 Family Guy

07:00 Milkshake 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:15 GPs: Behind Closed Doors 13:10 News 13:15 Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away! 14:10 Access 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:20 NCIS 16:20 Film - The Deadly Twin 18:00 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 News

21:00 Dispatches Morland Sanders goes undercover as an agency housekeeper at a Premier Inn.

07:55 Heartbeat 09:00 The Royal 10:00 Judge Judy 11:25 Barging Round 21:00 Police Interceptors Britain With John Sergeant Liam and police dog Titan 12:25 Love Your Garden are tracking suspects in a 13:30 The Royal 14:35 full-scale manhunt. Paul Heartbeat 15:40 Classic takes drug dealers by sur- Coronation Street 16:50 prise, and a man needs to On the Buses 17:50 Rising be rescued from the River. Damp 18:20 George and Mildred 18:55 Heartbeat 22:00 The X-Files Mulder 20:00 Murder, She Wrote and Scully are contacted 21:00 Morecambe and by the virtual conscious- Wise Forever 23:00 The ness of Richard Langly, Widower 00:00 The Guilty which is part of an NSA 01:05 Inspector Morse simulation designed to come into action when par- ITV 4 ticipants die. He asks his friends to shut down the programme because the 09:35 Quincy, M.E. 10:40 entities there have become Minder 11:50 The Sweeney digital slaves and their 12:50 The Professionals Ironside 14:55 ideas are being harvested. 13:55 Quincy, M.E. 16:00 Minder 23:00 Neighbours 00:05 17:00 The Sweeney 18:05 Traffic Cops 01:05 When The Professionals 19:05 Kids Kill 02:00 Counting Cars 20:00 Pawn SuperCasino 04:10 GPs: Stars 20:55 River Monsters 23:00 Film - Blade (18) Behind Closed Doors

21:30 Food Unwrapped Jimmy Doherty gets off to the USA to find out how those big chunks in American ice cream stay so crispy. Kate investigates a rise in olive oil prices. 22:00 The World’s Most Luxurious Airline A look behind the scenes as Singapore Airlines bid to create a whole new level of opulence and luxury for their first class travellers proving that the sky really isn’t the limit at all. 23:00 First Dates Hotel 00:05 Derry Girls 00:40 Hunted 01:40 World of Weird 02:35 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA 03:25 Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners

20:00 Aviva Premiership Rugby Rugby union action from Exeter v Worcester, Bath v Northampton, Gloucester v Leicester, London Irish v Sale, Harlequins v Wasps and Saracens v Newcastle.

ITV 3

Tuesday TV 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Live: Winter Olympic Games 14:00 News 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Coroner 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 Get Away for Winter 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 EastEnders Max is left in pieces following Lauren’s latest revelation. 21:00 Holby City A leaking bullet is poisoning Oliver’s brain and must be removed, but can Roxanna convince him to risk another surgery? Fletch and his obsession with hospital security turns a supposed intruder into a patient. 22:00 Shetland Return of the detective drama set on the Scottish archipelago. When Shetlander Thomas Malone has his murder conviction overturned after 23 years, which he's spent behind bars, Perez has to reopen an investigation into the 1994 death of local teenager Lizzie Kilmuir. Later, Perez gets a text from Cassie saying she is unexpectedly flying back to Shetland, so he and Duncan meet her at the airport. 23:00 News 23:45 Sex, Drugs and Murder: A Year in the Red Light Zone 00:30 Drugs Map of Britain 01:05 Live: Winter Olympic Games

20:30 Save Money: Good Food Susanna and Matt join the Puri family in Kent. Stuck in a rut of cooking the same things week in 21:00 Back in Time for week out, this family need Tea The post war years see some inspiration in the the Ellis family on rations kitchen. without a fridge, hot water or an electric cooker. Thrifty 21:00 What Would Your fodder includes the region- Kid Do? Jason Manford al favourites cow heel pie hosts and asks how well and Yorkshire pudding we really know our kids by made with dried eggs and challenging parents to while the cost of food is guess what their children low, family spirits are high. will do in a variety of entertaining situations. 22:00 Flatpack Empire A look at what it takes to get 22:00 Trauma Dan is disnew products from initial missed from his job at the design to stores around the hospital coffee shop after world. One of IKEA’s Jon submits multiple comnewest designers Hanna plaints. Meanwhile, Dan Kaarina Heikkilä wants to and Susie’s relationship is challenge mass production on the rocks as he by creating an “imperfect becomes obsessed with vase” that has the finger- Jon and finding out exactly what happened the night marks of the creator. his son died. 23:00 Inside No. 9 23:30 News 23:45 Newsnight 00:15 Mum 23:00 01:45 The Super League Girlfriends 00:45 Sunday Show 02:30 Charles I’s Night at the Palladium Treasures Reunited 03:30 01:35 Jackpot247 04:00 Monty Don’s Paradise Loose Women 04:50 ITV Nightscreen Gardens

07:00 Countdown 07:45 3rd Rock From the Sun 08:35 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:30 Frasier 11:05 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA 12:00 Undercover Boss USA 13:00 News 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Posh Pawnbrokers 15:10 Countdown 16:00 A Place in the Sun: Summer Sun 17:00 A New Life in the Sun 18:00 Four in a Bed 18:30 Extreme Cake Makers 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 News 21:00 Joe Wicks: The Body Coach Joe brings his body confidence revolution to the nation, inviting couch potatoes to jump in and take part, with mini work outs and super-fast tasty recipes. 22:00 24 Hours in A&E Evadney walks into A&E after badly burning her arm when an aerosol exploded in a bonfire that she was standing close to, leading to badly blistered skin and seeping. Sufia is rushed to St George's by ambulance, suffering with head and scalp injuries after she was dragged under a car. 23:00 The Sex Robots Are Coming 00:05 Before We Die 01:20 My Millionaire Migrant Boss 02:15 Kitchen Ramsay’s Nightmares 03:05 The Supervet 04:00 Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners

07:00 Milkshake 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:15 GPs: Behind Closed Doors 13:10 News 13:15 Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away! 14:10 Access 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Film - Fatal Fiancé (14) 18:00 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 News 20:00 Secrets Of The National Trust with Alan Titchmarsh Alan reveals the secrets of the Cistercian monks who lived at Fountain’s Abbey over 800 years ago, and visits its neighbour - the spectacular Studley Royal Water Garden. Anneka Rice is at Mottisfont in Hampshire. 21:00 The QE2 To keep the QE2 afloat financially, its owners came up with a way to keep passengers spending, by installing shops and a casino. 22:00 Elizabeth: Our Queen As she learned the ropes of monarchy, Elizabeth faced many tough decisions, including how to modernise the British Empire, manage a critically ill prime minister, and balance her royal duties with her family. 23:00 Ben Fogle: Return to the Wild 00:05 Paddington Station 24/7 01:05 Extreme Railway Journeys 02:00 SuperCasino

08:10 Dress to Impress 08:55 Emmerdale 09:20 Coronation Street 10:25 Ellen DeGeneres 11:15 Film - Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams 13:10 Emmerdale 13:45 Coronation Street 14:45 Ellen DeGeneres 15:35 Jeremy Kyle 18:50 Take Me Out 20:00 You’ve Been Framed! 21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Superstore 22:00 Survival of the Fittest 23:00 Celebrity Juice 23:50 Family Guy ITV 3 08:55 The Royal 10:00 Judge Judy 11:25 Barging Round Britain With John Sergeant 12:25 Love Your Garden 13:30 The Royal 14:35 Heartbeat 15:40 Classic Coronation Street 16:45 On the Buses 17:50 Rising Damp 18:20 George and Mildred 18:55 Heartbeat 20:00 Murder, She Wrote 21:00 Tommy Cooper Forever 23:00 The Widower ITV 4 09:30 Quincy, M.E. 10:35 Minder 11:40 The Sweeney 12:50 The Professionals 13:50 Ironside 14:55 Quincy, M.E. 15:55 Minder 17:00 The Sweeney 18:05 The Professionals 19:05 Counting Cars 19:35 Counting Cars 20:00 Pawn Stars 21:00 The Chase: Celebrity Special 22:00 Britain’s Busiest Airport

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Friday 9th February 2018

COME AND JOIN US! It’s the perfect time to consider joining Find A Spanish Property as a property associate, as property prices are on the rise, and the market is blossoming. 2016 was a positive year for the real estate market with prices having bottomed out the year before with modest price rises. Things have really kicked in during 2017, in strong contrast to the recession period that kicked in during 2008 and 2009. Official government figures confirm that prices are rising this year, and outside the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, Alicante Province which features the Costa Blanca, and the Murcia region with the Costa Calida tourist area, are two of the biggest areas on mainland Spain which are seeing substantial rises in demand along with price increases. The cranes are back with new homes being built by the coast, and the re-sale market continues to rise, fuelled by low interest rates in Spain. Statistics show that demand for homes from British buyers is still high, despite pessimistic fears last year over the Brexit factor, coupled with purchasers from across Europe, and even further afield. Recent surveys show that the majority of British people living in Spain are aged 65 and over, and website statistics confirm that older British nationals with no mortgage on their UK property are still very much looking at Spain as their area of choice to buy a holiday home, or even somewhere to retire to. It’s a great time to get involved in becoming a seller of real-estate in Spain, especially since most of the cowboys disappeared thanks to the recession nearly a decade ago. We like to think that we’ve played our own small part in helping to seeing them off, by offering an honest business that people are proud to recommend and that we now want to substantially expand.

Getting Started We will remove the pain and hassle of starting up your own estate agency by setting the all-important website that will market your business. The costs are cut, and you don’t need any experience of running an agency or experience of sales. We can do that for you, but you will need to promote your website and of course to generate new opportunities.

What You Get:• • • • • • • • •

Your Own Domain Name A Find A Spanish Property Dynamic and Responsive Website with YOUR Contact Details, Ready to Go. 100´s of Properties, Growing Daily, Including New Builds, Resales, Renovation Projects and Deals. Automatic Targeted News Stories and Articles for YOUR Website Free Social Media Content For YOUR Use Business Promotion Pack - Business Cards, Flyers, etc Discount Newspaper and Radio Advertising Full Training and Support Package Plus MANY Other Optional Extras

What happens next? With our support you can advertise YOUR website anywhere you wish in local and social media, newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, it´s up to you. Once an enquiry is made it comes to YOU and your account manager, the decision is made by YOU as to how to proceed. You can get involved in the whole process as much or as little as YOU wish. Full legal documentation and support is provided by our independent legal team. Upon sale we will provide accounting documentation which details your commission. Throughout the entire process we will liaise with you and have full agreement on every aspect, including such things as picking up clients from the airport; property tours; taking them to solicitors; and signing those final papers. That’s our job, whilst as an Find A Spanish Property Associate you can get involved in as much or as little as you like.

What Have You Got To Lose? This is really the best time in a decade to get involved with the Spanish property market and to earn our generous commissions. Get in touch with us now to learn more.

Wednesday TV 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Live: Winter Olympic Games 14:00 News 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Coroner 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 Get Away for Winter 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 News 20:00 The One Show 21:00 The Sheriffs Are Coming Lawrence and Kev are on the hunt at a stables for the manager who owes money, but apart from the horses, the place appears deserted, so will they find the debtor? Meanwhile, Tommy and Craig decide to remove not one but two vehicles from a debtor’s driveway, but it’s not going to be easy, and Sheriff Ken won’t take no for an answer when he arrives with a High Court writ at a hotel. 22:00 Earth’s Natural Wonders In the high Himalaya, join yak-herder Thokmay Lowa and his small group as he steers his herd through one of the region’s extreme mountain passes. In the Canadian Arctic, 63-year-old Minnie Nappaaluk and her granddaughter Eva embark on one of the most hazardous expeditions for food: the mussel harvest. In the blistering Australian outback, the only way to efficiently round up cattle herds on vast farms is through the use of helicopter cowboys.

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07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 Jeremy Kyle 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 News 15:00 James Martin’s American Adventure 16:00 Tenable 17:00 Tipping Point 18:00 The Chase 19:00 News 20:00 Emmerdale Robert makes amends. 20:30 Coronation Street Summer feels the strain of caring for Billy. 21:00 Britain’s Brightest Family The sixth heat of the quiz competition sees the Goodman family from Nottinghamshire pit their wits against the Ali clan from Manchester in an attempt to win a place in the quarterfinals. 21:30 Coronation Street Eva is shocked by the state of Billy.

22:00 Generation Gifted Documentary following children from low income families over three critical years, exploring the challenges they face as they progress from ages 13 to 16.

22:00 Trauma Dan, believing that he has failed his son, goes to extremes to get Jon to tell him what really happened when Alex died. Faced with losing everything he holds most dear, his family and his professional reputation, Jon is confronted with a man so grief-stricken and enraged about the injustice of being silenced that he might not stop before he’s extracted the ultimate revenge.

23:00 Mock the Week 23:00 News 23:45 A 23:30 Newsnight 00:15 Question of Sport 00:15 Flatpack Empire 01:15 Live at the Apollo 01:00 House of Saud: A Family at War 02:15 Surgeons: At Winter Olympic Games the Edge of Life

23:00 News 23:45 UEFA Champions League Football 00:45 Car Crash Britain: Caught on Camera 01:35 Jackpot247 04:00 Tenable

07:00 Countdown 07:45 3rd Rock From the Sun 08:35 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:35 Frasier 11:05 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA 12:00 Undercover Boss USA 13:00 News 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Posh Pawnbrokers 15:10 Countdown 16:00 A Place in the Sun: Summer Sun 17:00 A New Life in the Sun 18:00 Four in a Bed 18:30 Extreme Cake Makers 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 News 21:00 Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer visit the rural outskirts of Leeds, where Karl loves the idyllic location, but Paul finds their home too isolated and wants to move. 22:00 The £1 Houses: Britain’s Cheapest Street Following the work of buyers in Liverpool transforming derelict houses bought for just £1, as they gamble their savings to try and step onto the property ladder. The first episode follows childhood sweethearts Mel and Rob, who are desperate to give their children a home through sheer hard graft and a tiny budget, but a local shooting makes them question their decision. 23:00 Damned 23:35 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 00:35 24 Hours in A&E 01:30 European Tour Poker 02:25 Film - Water for Elephants (PG) 04:25 Dispatches

07:00 Milkshake 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:15 GPs: Behind Closed Doors 13:10 News 13:15 Cowboy Builders 14:10 Access 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Film - Deadly Attraction 18:00 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 News 20:00 Police Interceptors Liam and police dog Titan are tracking suspects in a full-scale manhunt. Paul takes two drug dealers by surprise, and a man needs to be rescued from the River Wear. In Darlington, Damo finds a man unconscious after a punch-up. 21:00 GPs: Behind Closed Doors Cases include a nasty burn caused by a pet cat knocking a hot iron onto its owner, an uplifting story of thyroid cancer survival, an illness contracted in Dubai and a young girl unable to breathe through her nose. 22:00 Peyton and Polizzi’s Restaurant Rescue Leicester’s Lilu was opened in honour of owner Pratik’s late mother, with whom he had hoped to run it. After two tough years, can Alex and Oliver help Pratik to find an a la carte approach that fits his ambitions? 23:00 Film - Sleepless in Seattle (PG) 01:05 Julie Walters: By Her Friends 02:05 SuperCasino 04:10 Secrets Of The National Trust with Alan Titchmarsh 05:00 The Railways

07:00 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 07:20 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 08:10 Dress to Impress 08:55 Emmerdale 09:20 The Cube 10:25 Ellen DeGeneres 11:15 Film Honey (PG) 13:10 Emmerdale 13:40 You’ve Been Framed! 14:45 Ellen DeGeneres 15:40 Jeremy Kyle 19:00 You’ve Been Framed! 19:25 Film Valentine’s Day (PG) 22:00 Survival of the Fittest 23:00 Celebrity Juice 23:50 Family Guy ITV 3 07:00 Classic Coronation Street 07:55 Heartbeat 08:55 The Royal 10:00 Judge Judy 11:25 Barging Round Britain With John Sergeant 12:25 Love Your Garden 13:30 The Royal 14:35 Heartbeat 15:40 Classic Coronation Street 16:45 On the Buses 17:50 Rising Damp 18:20 George and Mildred 18:55 Heartbeat 19:55 Murder, She Wrote 21:00 Les Dawson Forever 23:00 The Widower ITV 4 07:00 Sporting Funnies 07:10 The Chase 07:55 Pawn Stars 08:40 Ironside 09:40 Quincy, M.E. 10:40 Minder 11:50 The Sweeney 12:55 The Professionals 13:55 Ironside 15:00 Quincy, M.E. 16:00 Minder 17:00 The Sweeney 18:05 The Professionals 19:05 Counting Cars 20:00 Pawn Stars 20:55 River Monsters 22:00 Film - The Specialist

36 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Live: Winter Olympic Games 14:00 News 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Coroner 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 Get Away for Winter 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 EastEnders Max is given a stern warning that leaves him feeling hopeless. 21:00 Animals with Cameras Gordon Buchanan and a team of scientists learn more about various species through the use of animal bodycams. In the Atlantic, they reveal why a large number of devil rays gather near the Azores archipelago every summer. Footage of brown bears in north-east Turkey uncovers a fight between two males and a touching courtship scene, while in southern France, night-vision cameras are used to prove whether guardian dogs are an effective way of protecting sheep from wolf attacks. Last in the series. 22:00 Death in Paradise Another mystery for Irish detective Jack Mooney. Someone from his past is caught red-handed at a murder scene, raking up old memories for the young officer. But can the DI unravel the complex mystery to get at the truth? 23:00 News 23:45 Question Time 00:45 Drugs Map of Britain 01:10 Winter Olympic Games

Friday 9th February 2018

07:00 Live: Winter Olympic Games 10:15 Animal Park 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Wanted Down Under 12:45 Heir Hunters 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 Live: Winter Olympic Games 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Great American Railroad Journeys 20:00 Winter Olympic Games Clare Balding presents highlights of the day’s action at the 2018 Winter Olympics. 21:00 Sea Cities Documentary series going behind the scenes at various ports around the United Kingdom, beginning with Sunderland. The shipbuilding and coal exports that brought Sunderland’s original wealth have disappeared - and now the city is looking to a new future, one that might see it hailed as the UK’s Silicon Valley. 22:00 Generation Gifted Kian is a bright aspiring mathematician, and keeps being told he has “potential”, which is causing him to worry about his future and feels pressure both at school and at home. Liam is on track to gain top science grades at GCSE, but his teachers worry the pressure he puts himself under at home may prevent him from fulfilling his aspirations. 23:00 The Mash Report 23:30 Newsnight 00:15 Dragons’ Den 01:15 In Search of the Lost Girl 02:15 Food: Truth or Scare 03:00 MasterChef

07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 Jeremy Kyle 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 News 15:00 James Martin’s American Adventure 16:00 Tenable 17:00 Tipping Point 18:00 The Chase 19:00 News 20:00 Emmerdale Tracy is concerned. 20:30 Tonight Plastic waste is polluting the oceans, and there are concerns that it has now reached our food chain. The UK government has announced a plan to crackdown on it and improve the environment, but this will take 25 years. 21:00 Emmerdale Cain is on edge. 21:30 The Cruise: Return to the Mediterranean As the Mediterranean summer season draws to a close, the familiar faces of the crew of Royal Princess face one final big challenge: two weddings on one day. With a UK wedding now costing a whopping £34,000 on average, couples are opting to tie the knot on board a cruise ship, where wedding packages can be a fraction of the cost. 22:00 Children Who Kill Susanna Reid meets America’s child killers. 23:00 News 23:45 UEFA Europa League Football 00:45 Lethal Weapon 01:30 Jackpot247 04:00 Tonight 04:25 ITV Nightscreen

More twisted tales are surely due Inside No.9 returns to BBC Two

A fifth series of the awardwinning Inside No.9 will come to BBC Two next year, promising more fantastically twisted, comic tales from the brilliant minds of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. The announcement follows a very successful fourth series, which kicked off with the highest launch and consolidated rating the show has seen (1.8m). This year, Inside No.9 scooped the Writers’ Guild Award for the Best TV Situation Comedy and was crowned Comedy Of The Year and Best TV Comedy Drama 2017 in the Comedy.co.uk Awards, adding to an impressive list of accolades that also

includes the Rose d’Or Television Comedy Award (2016), the RTS Programme Award for Comedy Performance (2015), and two major prizes at the Banff World Media Festival (2014). Series four, which airs its final episode tonight, has continued to achieve widespread critical acclaim, hailed as “its most successful series ever” by The Observer and described as “a selection box you have lost the little paper menu for… full of surprises” (The Guardian, G2) with “no room for improvement” (Daily Mirror). The fifth series will stay true to the show’s anthology format, with each episode

bringing an original story, a raft of new characters and surprising twists in the most unexpected of places. Combining horror, thriller, drama and comedy, Inside No.9 never fails to amaze, delight, unnerve and amuse in equal measures, with series four treating audiences to an episode written entirely in iambic pentameter and a murder mystery told in reverse chronological order. As ever, a stellar cast is guaranteed, with previous series starring the likes of Rory Kinnear, Monica Dolan, Nicola Walker, Noel Clarke, Sheridan Smith, David Warner, Jack Whitehall, Alison Steadman and Gemma Arterton.

07:00 Countdown 07:45 3rd Rock From the Sun 08:35 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:30 Frasier 11:05 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA 12:00 Undercover Boss USA 13:00 News 13:05 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Posh Pawnbrokers 15:10 Countdown 16:00 A Place in the Sun: Summer Sun 17:00 A New Life in the Sun 18:00 Four in a Bed 18:30 Extreme Cake Makers 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 News 21:00 George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces A world class surfer builds a unique extension to his campervan, while a couple turn an Olympic artefact into an extra-terrestrial glamping pod. 22:00 Married at First Sight Return of the romantic reality experiment in which experts select compatible couples from a list of applicants, then invite them to marry on their first meeting. First of all, the singles need to persuade their friends and family that marrying a stranger is not a completely crazy idea. Then comes the ultimate test - how will they react when their wedding day arrives, and they first set eyes on one another? 23:00 The Job Interview 00:00 First Dates Hotel 01:00 One Born Every Minute 02:00 Joe Wicks: The Body Coach 02:55 Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners 03:50 Four Rooms with Sarah Beeny

Thursday TV 07:00 Milkshake 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:15 GPs: Behind Closed Doors 13:10 News 13:15 Cowboy Builders 14:10 Access 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Film - A Husband’s Confession 18:00 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 News 20:00 The Wonderful World of Puppies Pups have an innate ability to learn through their key senses of smell, touch, sight and hearing. A focus on litters of golden retrievers and bull mastiffs reveals how experiencing new items and places is essential to their brain growth. 21:00 Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun Dave opens a restaurant with Tony. Lisa and Tia take on a bar situated up in the hills and try to drum up trade. Dog rescuer Linda is worried about sick pup, and Phil and Jackie from Sheffield scour the charity shops looking for bargains. 22:00 Dale Winton’s Florida Fly Drive Dale checks out the beautiful people at Miami’s Muscle Beach, before heading to Little Havana where he is instructed in the art of cigar making and introduced to the joys of Cuban coffee. 23:00 Critical Surgery: Changing Lives 00:05 Elizabeth: Our Queen 01:00 SuperCasino 04:10 The X-Files 05:00 The Railways That Built Britain

07:20 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 08:10 Dress to Impress 08:55 Emmerdale 09:20 Coronation Street 10:25 Ellen DeGeneres 11:10 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 11:20 Film Planet 51 13:10 Emmerdale 13:45 Coronation Street 14:45 Ellen DeGeneres 15:35 Jeremy Kyle 18:50 Take Me Out 20:00 You’ve Been Framed! 21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Superstore 22:00 Survival of the Fittest 23:00 CelebAbility ITV 3 07:00 Classic Coronation Street 07:55 Heartbeat 08:55 The Royal 10:00 Judge Judy 11:25 Barging Round Britain With John Sergeant 12:25 Love Your Garden 13:30 The Royal 14:35 Heartbeat 15:40 Classic Coronation Street 16:50 On the Buses 17:50 You’re Only Young Twice 18:25 George and Mildred 18:55 Heartbeat 20:00 Murder, She Wrote 21:00 Midsomer Murders 23:00 Joe Maddison’s War ITV 4 07:55 Pawn Stars 08:45 Ironside 09:45 Quincy, M.E. 10:50 Minder 11:50 The Sweeney 12:55 The Professionals 13:55 Ironside 15:00 Quincy, M.E. 16:00 Minder 17:00 The Sweeney 18:05 The Professionals 19:05 Counting Cars 20:00 Pawn Stars 21:00 Film - Casino Royale (PG) 23:40 Live: World Super Series Boxing

Corrie films Pat Phelan 'exit scenes' as he clashes angrily with Eileen on holiday

Coronation Street stars Connor McIntyre and Sue Cleaver have officially started filming Pat Phelan's rumoured final scenes. Last week, it leaked out that Phelan will suffer a deadly fall from a cliff while on holi-

day with Eileen in a few weeks' time. While Corrie has yet to confirm or deny the shock storyline rumours, these brand new paparazzi pictures are certainly adding fuel to the fire.

The sneaky shots show Phelan and Eileen arguing on what was supposed to be a romantic break for the two of them. Sinister Phelan is then seen reaching for a length of rope, but does this mean that he's about to go on the attack once again? Last week, tabloid reports claimed that Phelan's story is building towards a huge clifftop showdown between him and Eileen. On-set sources claim that the bodies of Phelan's victims will finally be found during his time away, which prompts Liz McDonald to call Eileen to warn her. When Eileen confronts her killer husband, it's thought that Phelan will finally come off worse (at last!) – falling to his death from a cliff. Although we'll have to stay tuned to Corrie to find out whether the rumours are true, show boss Kate Oates has confirmed that Phelan will definitely face his comeuppance later this year, with some huge stunts planned too. Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8.30pm and 9.30pm on ITV.

Home Computing

www.thecourier.es

RICHARD CAVENDER

BlueMoon Solutions www.bluemoonsolutions.es

BlueMoon Solutions is the computer and IT services company on the Costa Blanca. BlueMoon Solutions comes to you at home or at work. Their personal service covers from Alicante to Pilar de la Horadada.

Richard moved to Spain ten years ago having left his management background behind in the UK and decided to use his IT skills to help home users and small businesses with their PC problems. Now a relaxed 'computer man' he is out and about in the Spanish sun every day, making house and shop calls and using his vast experience and qualifications to sort out the problem there and then. Computers are his hobby as well as his work so don’t be surprised to get an answer to your email in the early hours!

ADVICE: James wanted to know if he could move from his ADVICE: Mike wanted to know whether it was possible to get free wireless Internet. Windows computer to an Apple equivalent without issues.

Hi. I have an Acer laptop running win10, I am getting fed up with the many things that go wrong with it. If I buy an Apple laptop can all the files I currently have on my win 10 be transferred to the Apple.Yours James

Hi James, well the easy answer is “yes”, but of course to give you a detailed answer I would need to know what “files” you are referring to.

Pictures for example (.jpg files generally) will move over without a problem, document files (.doc, .xls etc. if you use Microsoft Office) will also transfer but you will need to purchase a new copy of Microsoft Office (if you don’t already have a subscription to Office 365.

Hi, I would like to know if it is possible to get wireless internet without having to pay for it via an internet provider. Many thanks, Mike

Hi Mike, like most things in life and unlike the best things in life, yes you have to pay for Internet. Alternatives include using it from somewhere like a café, bar or friendly neighbour who is willing to let you use their paid for Internet for free.

It might be better to have an expert look at your current computer and help you work through the problems rather than just jumping ship to another operating system that you may be less familiar with.

Email: office@bluemoonsolutions.es Mobile: 655 044 970

Website:www.bluemoonsolutions.es NEW: Tel: 965 987 032

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bluemoonsolutionsspain/ Alternatively, why don’t you sign up for my newsletter. You can do this by going to:www.bluemoonsolutions.es/newsletter.

FILL IT IN

CODE CRACKER

Fit the words into the boxes.

Code Cracker is a crossword puzzle with no clues; instead, every letter of the alphabet has been replaced by a number, the same number representing the same letter throughout the puzzle. All you have to do is decide which letter is represented by which number.

DOUBLE CROSS-WORD Solve the Double Cross-Word puzzle using either the standard or cryptic clues, the answers are exactly the same.

2 letter words Ma We 3 letter words Asp Eve Ire Mat Nod Sad Sag Sum 4 letter words Amid Area Aria Aura Aver

Bate Bust Cads Caps Cars Cats Cola Dare Hart Hose Idle Isle Lime Oral Pill Pole Ring Robe

Cryptic Across 1 Pawn German white wine (4) 3 Reassure about eliminations (8) 9 Restore some wasteland to usefulness? It’s a wayward miracle (7) 10 Cold quarters at the Inspector General’s convenience (5) 11 Remove the outer cover from the missile (5) 12 Listen out, but there is nothing to hear (6) 14 Prisoner’s popular partner (6) 16 Brags about seeing snakes on the way back (6) 19 Spirit label beginning to yellow (6) 21 Bear’s unusual weapon (5) 24 Speak without preparation in the Baghdad Liberal Democrats’ conference (2,3) 25 Bright team leader Adrian is badly beaten up (7) 26 Puts the cat out by its extremities and hangs for it (8)

Rose Sane Sans Sill Sofa Star Teen Topi Writ 5 letter words Amass Aphid Bandy Cards Carer Casts Cater Copse

Crime Elate Emote Fives Foray Mufti Omits Phase Prove Sable Salad Sales Sands Screw Share Start Surly Tally

Tares Toner 6 letter words Astute Baleen Mantis Modest Sprite Taster Tattle Whaler 8 letter words Destined Sundress 9 letter words Sostenuto Tenderise

Standard Clues Clues 27 Lesley held new refract- Across 1 Pawn (4) ing device (4) 3 Deletions (8) 9 Recover (7) Down 10 Eskimo hut (5) 1 Difficult craft is the 11 Covering (5) cause of suffering (8) 12 Noiseless (6) 2 Bike round (5) 14 Prisoner (6) 4 About a young lady 16 Brags (6) delinquent (6) 19 Strong alcoholic drink (6) 5 Kills hidden talent (5) 21 Cavalry sword (5) 6 Gives in and falsely 24 Extempore (2,3) enters Luxembourg (7) 7 Some Bolsheviks come 25 Glowing (7) 26 Hangs (8) back as lazybones (4) 8 Role a bad actor is per- 27 Eye part (4) mitted? (6) 13 Just as the finest ordinary seaman, it resists fire (8) 15 Have you lost your wits playing that childish game? (7) 17 By mistake it is done within the prescribed play area (6) 18 Cross some lengthy bridge (6) 20 Nobel is a rebellious aristocrat (5) 22 Two prepare to take the strain (5) 23 Crazy night fliers (4)

Down 1 Misfortune (8) 2 Group of related songs (5) 4 Negligent (6) 5 Expertness (5) 6 Gives in (7) 7 Slovenly person (4) 8 Small village (6) 13 Fireproof material (8) 15 Children’s game (7) 17 Not offside (6) 18 Crossbreed (6) 20 Aristocrat (5) 22 Pair (5) 23 Heavy sticks (4

Quiz Word

Across 9 Which typically large marine fish of the ray family has a cartilaginous skeleton and a flattened diamond-shaped body? (5) 10 In architecture, what name is given to a row of columns supporting a roof, an entablature or arches? (9) 11 Cool For Cats, Up The Junction and Labelled With Love were all British top 10 hits for which group? (7) 12 What was the maiden name of Diana, Princess of Wales? (7) 13/25 Which former world number one woman tennis player from the US won 18 grand slam singles titles, including a record seven at the French Open? (5,5) 15 In psychoanalysis, what name is given to the conscious mind? (3) 16 Which statesman was chairman of the Communist party of the Chinese People’s Republic from 1949 to 1976 and head of state from 1949 to 1959? (3) 17 What is the US slang for the ring of metal attached to the top of a canned drink and pulled to open the can or a restaurant bill? (3) 19 Which adverb means before now? (7) 20 Which powerful small boat is designed to pull or push larger ships? (3) 23 By what nickname was Thomas Philip O’Neill Jr, the longest-serving (1977-86) speaker of the US House of Representatives, usually known? (3) 24 Trygve who was the Norwegian diplomat who was the first Secretary General of the United Nations? (3) 25 See 13

27 What name is often applied to a dispenser that forces a liquid out as a fine spray when a button is pressed? (7) 29 With which London-based ska-rooted band would you principally associate the ‘nutty sound’? (7) 32 Which city is the state capital of Iowa? (3,6) 33 Which river of northern France flows through the cities of Troyes and Paris to the English Channel near Le Havre? (5) Down 1 What was the name of the Egyptian goddess of fertility, the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, who was worshipped as the archetypal wife and mother? (4) 2 Which large heavily built cat that has a yellowish-brown coat with black spots, is found mainly in the dense forests of Central and South America? (6) 3 In biology, which unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring? (4) 4 Which unit of area is equal to 4,840 square yards? (4) 5 Which US automobile manufacturer, founded in 1897, produced 35.2 million cars, including the Toronado, Starfire, Firenza and Silhouette models? (10) 6/7 Which American actress was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Mrs Robinson the the 1967 film The Graduate? (4,8) 8 What is the nickname of Heart of Midlothian FC? (6)

QUICKIE Across 1 Fake (6) 4 Punctual (6) 9 Shackle (7) 10 Start (5) 11 Mistake (5) 12 Capital of Costa Rica (3,4) 13 Dispute (11) 18 Sea captain (7) 20 Slow down (5) 22 Pass out (5) 23 Poster (7) 24 Lacking companions (6) 25 Justification (6)

SPANISH-ENGLISH CROSSWORD

Fill It In

Sudoku

SUDOKU

Down 1 Coddle (6) 2 Possessor (5) 3 Extract (7) 5 Small Old World songbird (5) 6 Fly larvae (7) 7 Christmas tree decoration (6) 8 Earthquake measuring instrument (11) 14 Personal belief (7) 15 Hug (7) 16 Helpful (6) 17 Sinew (6) 19 Flower part (5) 21 Collect or gather (5)

Improve your Spanish - Clues in Spanish, answer in English or vice versa. Across 1 Blando (madera, droga, agua) (4) 3 Passenger (traveller) (8) 9 Trapecio (7) 10 Fat (plump) (5) 11 Wheel (5) 12 Tener miedo (6) 14 Aparecer (presentarse) (6) 16 Cuarto (6) 19 To tire (out) (6) 21 Others (5) 24 Verde (5) 25 Especial (7) 26 To hold (belief, opinion, note) (8) 27 Abanicos (4)

13 The adjective ‘feline’ means relating to or affecting which family of animals? (3) 14 The name of which ruminant mammal is often applied to a docile and vulnerable person who would rather follow than make an independent decision? (5) 15 My Wicked, Wicked Ways was the title of the autobiography of which motion-picture actor who, on stage and off, was known as a romantic adventurer? (5,5) 16 What is the surname of the Oxfordbased DCI played on television by actor John Thaw, based on the novels of Colin Dexter? (5) 18 What name is given to a projecting support of stone or brick built against a wall? (8) 21 Which fibre made from the intestines of animals is often used for violin or racket strings or for surgical use? (3) 22 What was the surname of the German statesman who was chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974? (6) 26 Blepharitis is a condition causing an inflammation of which part of the face? (6) 28 What is the name of the small bluishblack fruit of the blackthorn? (4) 29 Which strong-smelling reddish-brown substance often used in perfumery is secreted by certain male deer for scentmarking? (4) 30 What name is given to the time of day immediately following sunset? (4) 31 Which vehicle mounted on runners and pulled by horses or dogs is used for transportation over snow? (4)

Down 1 Sábado (8) 2 Llama (de fuego) (5) 4 Bees (6) 5 Ira (de persona) (5) 6 Más temprano (7) 7 Bears (animals) (4) 8 Sale (reduction) (6) 13 Silbidos (con los labios) (8) 15 Oraciones (7) 17 To oppose (6) 18 Sad (6) 20 Desde entonces (5) 22 Queen (5) 23 Huevos (4)

Last Week’s Solutions Quizword Across: 1/5 Arthur Miller, 10 Pontoon, 11 Recital, 12 Isomer, 15 Aegean, 16 Reprise, 17 Sink, 18/19 Pete Sampras, 20 Arch, 22 Wren, 25 Algebra, 27 Dumont, 28 Eleven, 31 Moliere, 32 Bon Jovi, 33 Tabard, 34 Exotic. Down: 2 Rangoon, 3 Hoover, 4 Rand, 5 Mare, 6 Lychee, 7 Extreme, 8 Splits, 9 Flange, 13 Renault, 14 Prophet, 15 Astaire, 20 Addams, 21 Camilla, 23 Ravioli, 24 Nuncio, 25 Angela, 26 Alonso, 29 Deed, 30 Oboe. Double Crossword Across: 1 Parcels, 5 Pesos, 8 Rider, 9 Arsenic, 10 Spectacle, 12 Ewe, 13 Scarce, 14 Caress, 17 Eli, 18 Goalposts, 20 Trailed, 21 Annul, 23 Chews, 24 Nosegay. Down: 1 Ports, 2 Rod, 3 Erratic, 4 Seance, 5 Paste, 6 Senseless, 7 Sachets, 11 Eradicate, 13 Sceptic, 15 Appears, 16 Pardon, 18 Gales, 19 Sulky, 22 Nag. Quickie Across: 1 Shaman, 4 Unique, 9 Another, 10 Cease, 11 Shame, 12 Theatre, 13 Undergrowth, 18 Abstain, 20 Stale, 22 Torso, 23 Sterile, 24 Relief, 25 Deceit.

Span - Eng

Down: 1 Sparse, 2 Aroma, 3 Achieve, 5 Niche, 6 Quartet, 7 Eleven, 8 Protagonist, 14 Nostril, 15 Obscene, 16 Barter, 17 Defect, 19 Above, 21 Abide.

Code Cracker

Friday 9th February 2018

HORSE POWER BEATS FLOWER POWER THIS VALENTINE’S You could be behind the wheel of a Ferrari for the same price as a bunch of flowers

Three quarters of men will buy flowers this Valentine’s Day but for the same price as a bouquet they could treat their partner to an unforgettable blast around a race track in some of the most desirable cars on the planet. The advice comes from gift experience specialists TrackDays.co.uk who are urging the men of Great Britain to turn their backs on the boring and traditional and surprise their partner with a Valentine’s Day gift they might actually want (and remember)! Indeed, figures show that men spend almost twice as much on average compared to women for Valentine’s Day, but the traditional and predictable gifts of jewellery, flowers and a night out consistently remain among the most popular items. Dan Jones, operations manager at TrackDays, said: “It’s often said that men love their cars more than their partners but the evidence for Valentine’s Day would suggest otherwise. “Men far outspend women on Valentines gifts, some evidence suggesting £40 compared

to £24 spent by women. “However, men seem to be stuck in a rut when buying a Valentine’s Day present. We believe the thrill of a supercar driving experience around a race circuit will live longer in the memory than the same old bunch of flowers, jewellery or dinner out.” Among the supercars available to drive with TrackDays are models from McLaren, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche and they are available to drive at over 40 circuits across the UK. And for those couples who can’t bear to spend a second apart, then TrackDays even has a range of supercar passenger rides for two so you can spend Valentine’s Day together at 100mph, including at the world-famous Rockingham race track. Dan added: “Our evidence also shows that more women than men book driving experiences for their partners with TrackDays over the year, so Valentine’s Day is also a chance for men to turn the tables and buy a gift with some imagination.”

FORMER DRAGONS’ DEN CAR TAKES TO AUCTION ‘GRID’

A 1959 Austin A35 HRDC spec race car owned by former Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis is being offered for sale by Silverstone Auctions at its Race Retro Competition Car Sale on 23rd February. The historic A35 road car was fully built to the required HRDC Regulations in 2016 for the famous businessman who required the very best and most solid Austin available. Since the HRDC build the car has competed successfully in the ‘Academy’ series, a new class of historic saloon car racing for A35 models. It has also appeared at the Goodwood Revival in 2016 when Theo was teamed up with Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen, and also appeared at the Silverstone Classic in 2017. Jonny Shears, classic car specialist at Silverstone Auctions, said: “Many

spectators consider the Academy series to be the most enthralling championship series and the car being offered is ready to race. “Aside from being great fun, this 1959 model is a solid investment opportunity and is well-worth a ‘cash investment’ when it comes to auction at our Race Retro Competition Car Sale. I’m sure Theo would agree!” Work carried out on the car has included the fitment of fibreglass panels, racing safety equipment and a fresh sealed 1275cc sealed engine. This is the same engine capacity as all other entries in the Academy which ensures equality across the grid and tight action-packed racing. Jonny added: “This is the ultimate Austin A35 and provides a great chance to go racing for a very reasonable price.”

ŠKODA VISION X: URBAN CROSSOVER STUDY CELEBRATES WORLD PREMIERE AT GENEVA SHOW

The Czech car manufacturer is presenting an outlook on the further development of their model range with the hybrid study ŠKODA VISION X. The concept of the urban crossover transfers the characteristic features of ŠKODA’s successful SUV models to another vehicle segment. The ŠKODA VISION X is celebrating its world premiere at the International Motor Show 2018 in Geneva. With its compact proportions, the ŠKODA VISION X is presented as the ideal companion for an active, urban lifestyle. Precise lines and clear surface contours characterise the exterior and highlight the dynamic character of the FlexGreen-painted hybrid study. A roof in contrasting Anthracite sets sporty accents. In addition, distinctive bumpers, dominant side sills, a large panoramic glass roof and 20-inch alloy wheels create a powerful look. The sharp design was inspired by traditional

Czech glasswork. The interior of the ŠKODA VISION X defines a fundamentally new design language. The wide, ergonomically contoured dashboard with freestanding colour display dominates the visual impression in the interior. The infotainment and connectivity services can be accessed quickly and intuitively via the screen. Illuminated elements made of cut crystal glass in conjunction with the colour display create atmospheric lighting effects. The ŠKODA VISION X is the Czech automobile manufacturer’s vision of a modern crossover. Expanding the range of models with a focus on the fast-growing SUV segment is a cornerstone of ŠKODA’s Strategy 2025. By 2025, ŠKODA AUTO will have brought out plug-in hybrid vehicles in addition to all-electric cars. Then, every fourth vehicle the brand delivers worldwide will have a plug-in hybrid or purely electric powertrain.

MAZDA VISION COUPE WINS MOST BEAUTIFUL CONCEPT AWARD The Mazda VISION COUPE has won “Most Beautiful Concept Car of the Year” at the 33rd Festival Automobile International. Ikuo Maeda, Mazda’s global design director, accepted the prize at a ceremony yesterday evening in Paris together with his team of designers. The jury, which included automobile and motor sport experts as well as renowned architects and fashion designers, chose the VISION COUPE, which was unveiled in October in Tokyo, over nine other models nominated for the coveted honour this year: the Audi Aicon, BMW i Vision Dynamics, Kia Proceed Concept, Lamborghini Terzo Millennio, Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Concept, Mercedes-AMG Project One, Vision Mercedes Maybach 6 Cabriolet, Nissan Vmotion and Peugeot Instinct. Mazda captured the same award two years ago for its stunning RX-VISION concept. As the name suggests, the VISION COUPE, like the RX-VISION, embodies Mazda’s next-generation design vision. The proportions of the flowing four-door, with the cabin positioned toward the rear, are characteristic of a classic coupé design while conveying the powerful forward momentum of a high-performance sports car. “The VISION COUPE uses reflections to express a sense of vitality, the next step for KODO design,” said Ikuo Maeda, whose full title is managing executive officer in charge of design and brand style. “This car embodies a delicate Japanese aesthetic, and to be recognized here in the ‘City of Art’ two years after the RX-VISION was awarded the same honour is very gratifying. We want to retain our identity as a Japanese brand as we continue making cars with global appeal.” The exterior’s simple “one-motion” form expresses a formidable sense of speed. The interior, meanwhile, borrows a concept from traditional Japanese architecture to create a degree of three-dimensional depth conducive to a relaxed space. Finally, the name pays homage to the company’s 50-plus year tradition of elegant coupés like the Mazda Luce Rotary, also known as the Mazda R130.

RENAULT UNVEIL LATEST UK FLEET OFFERS Headline offer of the award-winning B-segment crossover - Captur TCE 90 Dynamique Nav from just £150 per month

Renault has announced its latest fleet offers. With new contract hire offers, improved driving school terms and new Renault Pro+ Commercial Vehicle offers there is even more reasons to buy a Renault. The award-winning Renault Captur headlines the new Fleet Rate+ offers. The B-segment crossover is available from just £150 for the Dynamique Nav TCe 90. With features including Satellite Navigation, Bluetooth including audio streaming, cruise control, automatic headlights, automatic wipers and climate control the Captur Dynamique Nav comes with duty of care as standard. The diesel equivalent, Captur dCi 90 Dynamique Nav is just £175 a month. These contract hire offers are for three years with a six-month deposit and 10,000 miles a year mileage allowance. Other highlights include the Clio Dynamique Nav 1.2 16V 75 from just £138 a month and the Clio Dynamique Nav dCi 90 from £160 a month. The multi award-winning, allelectric, ZOE i (including battery) Z.E.40 Dynamique Nav is just £296 a month. Renault has also enhanced its Driving School offers. With significant monthly payment reductions equating to savings of up £550 across the term of the finance agreement. The Twingo Play starts at £183 per month – the equivalent of £42 per week, Clio Dynamique Nav 1.2 16V 75 at £191 or £44 per week and finally the Captur Dynamique Nav 1.5 dCi 90 at £249 or £58 per week. All prices include free metallic paint and HeMan dual controls, prices are over 36 months (24 month profiles also available) with six months advance payment and 20,000 miles a year mileage allowance. New offers have also been released for the Renault Pro+ Commercial Vehicle range that are designed to support customers to be ready for business. All Renault Panel Vans receive free ply-lining if ordered in February and registered by the end of March. There is also a new headline offer on the Trafic Sport dCi 120, now available for just seven pounds per month more than the Trafic Business dCi 120. With key features like Satellite Navigation, leather steering wheel, metallic paint and 17” alloy wheels included as standard the Trafic Sport offers great value for money.

Friday 9th February 2018

Sport

Rojales Adopted Son

Golfer Miguel Ángel Jiménez is to become an “adopted son” of the Rojales municipality in recognition of his connections and relationship with the area for 25 years. Rojales council agreed to give Ángel Jiménez (pictured with La Marquesa Golf Club director Pascual Jiminez) the honour in recognition for his contributution in spreading the word about Rojales. Sports councillor Pedro Llopis proposed the move at a plenary meeting of Rojales council which was backed by the ruling PSOE group and supported by the main opposition party, the Partido Popular, though it was opposed by the Independent Pader party. Llopis said that Ángel Jiménez fully met the criteria to receive the award both for his professional career and for his long connection to Rojales, and specifically the La Marquesa course at Quesada. "For more than 25 years we have seen this world-renowned professional player be selflessly involved in promoting the development and knowledge of golf, and also to spread the name of Rojales that is linked to him, " added Llopis. The councillor listed all the tournaments that the international star had been involved with at La Marquesa, adding that since 2000, Ángel Jiménez came up with the idea that

Playas Youngsters

The latest set of matches for the Escuela Racing Playas De Orihuela saw the Benjamin side (pictured) roll over Oriol, eight-one, whilst the cadet team recorded an excellent fournil win over Santa Pola. That result came despite the set-back of bad knee injury for defender Abdelilah, but two goals from Anderson, and contributions from Isma and Joel wrapped up the victory. In an excellent weekend of results, the Prebenjamin team beat Callosa, four-one; the Alevins beat Almoradi, two-one; the Juvenils were victorious at Formentera, five-three; and the Infantil federado team drew two-all with Castrum. There were two defeats with the Infantil Brave team going down four-three at Almoradi, whilst the Feminino Infantilecadets side lost five-three at home to Villajoyosa.

the course should host a Pro-Am tournament. “The course is synonymus with him, and when mentioned around Spain and Europe, his name always crops up”, said Llopis. The tournament, at Ángel Jiménez’s request became a charity event in 2016 raising for local causes, and he has been a regular visitor to La Marquesa, and not just for the event. Last year’s charity Pro-Am raised money for the DEBRA Butterfly Children charity; Cáritas Rojales, and the Rojales council social concerns department, with the popular golfer making ad-hoc donations to the charity pot during his round. The 54-year-old has won 21 times on the European Tour and has been a member of two victorious Ryder Cup teams. Ángel Jiménez is known as "The Mechanic" for his preference for driving, rather than repairing, high-performance vehicles, especially his red Ferrari. After the winner's press conference following the 2014 Open de España, he was asked about the secret of his longevity. He stated, "There is no secret. Good food, good wine, good cigars and some exercise!”

Orihuela Marathon

This Sunday’s Orihuela Half-Marathon is expected to see around 400 athletes racing around Orihuela City in the 20th staging of the event, which has been organised by the Club Atletismo Tragamillas. At least a thousand people are expected to take part in the third staging of an eight kilometre novice race for new runners or for people who don’t fancy the stretch

of a half-marathon. Numbers could well be boosted for the races because of the postponement of the Torrevieja HalfMarathon, forcing competitors to look elsewhere. The record for the men’s half-marathon was set back in 2005, of one hour, two minutes, and 44 seconds for. All of the different races start at 10.30 am from the Glorieta Gabriel Miró.

Local Showdown

The Mar Menor Squalos go away to ITV Orihuela Vega Baja for their local Murcia Federation FERRMUR league clash this weekend. The Squalos are just a point behind ITV Orihuela Vega Baja in the table but their last meeting at the Universidad Miguel Hernández stadium in Orihuela saw the home side run out as 20-5 victors back in October (match pictured). Orihuela lost by 35 points to 5 to XV Murcia in their last league match played in January, and tomorrow’s clash with the Squalos kicks-off at 5.30 pm.

Sport

www.thecourier.es

Red Card Double

Invincible Thader

CD TORREVIEJA 1 ORIHUELA B 2 Tables and results don’t lie and the grim fact for Torrevieja is that they have been unable to win a league match since mid-November, and are now in the bottom half of Preferente Group Four. It’s prime relegation form down to the Regional Primera but for the fact that all the points they build up early in the season will rescue them. A mitigating factor might be the fact that the Torry players have had problems with their payments (not for the first time) since the autumn, which is hardly conducive to giving a hundred percent under any circumstances. One or two like Patri have left and preferred

to go to a lower division and do well (see right for CD Montesinos report). With a group of businessmen waiting in the wings to take over the club from President Vicente Boix and a complete lack of any information about what is going on, short of pre-match propaganda via the club’s website and Facebook page, one can only reflect on what is happening on the field, and it’s not good. Sunday’s match had to be switched from the Vicente Garcia stadium next door to the Nelson Mandela stadium due to flooding, and Torry started really well as Beltrán scored in the fourth minute. Torry should have scored

more but the turning point came in the 35th minute when Pablo Coria was harshly red-carded for a foul, and then coach Pedreño joined him for protesting the decision. Then before half-time Walid headed into his own net to put the visitors on level terms, and despite Torry pressure in the second half, they were undone by a great long-range strike by Víctor Bravo that Manu Vidal could do nothing about. So a tale of misfortune for Torry, but that’s what happens when things go from bad to worse, and they play this Saturday away to to UD Ilicitana (5.00 pm kick-off) who are a point above them.

CD THADER 4 PINOSO CF 0 It’s six straight wins now for Thader in Preferente Group Four, and though all of the goals came in the second half against relegationthreatened Pinoso, the Rojales-based side dominated throughout the whole of

last Sunday’s encounter. May (50 mins), Rubén Sanz (58 mins), Villa (80 mins), and Antonio Gitano (90 mins) were the men on second-half target, and the margin of victory could have been greater as Thader had

a good Sunday at the office. They remain fourth in the table, a point off the play-off zone and their old rivals Villajoyosa. Thader’s next match is this Sunday morning (11.30 am) away to eigth-placed FB Redovan.

FIVE STAR MONTE Another Defeat

HONDON NIEVES 0 CD MONTESINOS 5 BENFERRI CF 1 CD ALMORADI 0 This was a poor result for Almoradi in Preferente Group Four at struggling thirdbottom Benferri, with Almoradi facing a battle to avoid being dragged into the relegation area. This local derby was deservedly won by Benferri much to the dismay of the visitors who would have been favourites to win, despite their trials and tribulations so far in this campaign. Benferri captain Dani Meseguer scored on the hour mark with a long range free kick that

surprised everybody, including his own players. The home defence held firm against frantic attempts by Almoradi to grab a point, and though Benferri defender Javi Meseguer was sent off for a second yellow card in the 88th minute, it was not to be for the visitors, who are 14th in the table, with 22 points to their name. Another derby beckons on Sunday as Almoradi entertain Callosa, with a later kickoff time of 4.30 pm.

You certainly would have found it hard to beat Hondon’s ground for the views last Saturday, and the temperatures were bitterly cold to match, as Monte handed out a thrashing, watched by just 85 people, 50 of which were the travelling supporters. Hondon were positive, but suffered an early blow after 10 minutes when Manu headed the visitors into the lead. Monte’s defence held up to a lot of examination in the first half, with Dani forced into a string of excellent saves, but their advantage was double thanks to Fran. Playing against the wind, Hondon found life harder in the second half, with Vaz making it three-nil in the 65th minute after he

picked up the pieces on the back of a Maccan shot being saved. Vaz was injured and replaced by ex-CD Torrevieja player Patri who scored a classy individual goal to make it four-nil, and he then wrapped up matters with a tight-angled strike right at the death. A potentially tricky match for Montesinos was helped by one of their best defensive performances of the season, which now places them sixth in the Primera Regional Group Eight table, with 30 points on the board. A local clash comes Sunday afternoon at the Municipal Stadium in Montesinos, with the visit of CF Rafal. The match kicks-off at 5.00 pm.

Friday 9th February 2018

Saviour Pique

Hard To Explain

Sport

Unconvincing Elche

LEVANTE 2 REAL MADRID 2 ESPANYOL 1 BARCELONA 1 Gerard Pique scored a late equaliser for Barcelona to salvage a draw against Espanyol and extend his side's unbeaten La Liga record. Gerard Moreno met Sergio Garcia's cross (66 mins) to give the hosts the lead in torrential conditions at the RCDE Stadium after a first half in which Philippe Coutinho struck the crossbar. Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde brought Lionel Messi off the substitutes' bench and his free-kick was headed in by Pique with eight minutes remaining. Barca's lead at the top of La Liga remains at nine points after second-placed Atletico Madrid defeated Valencia 1-0 later on Sunday. Barcelona’s next La Liga match is at home to Getafe this Sunday afternoon.

Coach Zinedine Zidane was at a loss to explain how Real Madrid threw away a winning position against relegationbattlers Levante to draw last Saturday night. Veteran Italian forward Giampaolo Pazzini came off the bench to net a dramatic late equaliser, not long after Isco had seemingly set Los Blancos on course for a third straight La Liga win. Zidane's men must now regroup for the visit of Real Sociedad tomorrow evening, which will be swiftly followed at the Bernabeu by a Champions League encounter against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. "We controlled the game, especially the first half, but then after we scored the second goal, which was the most difficult, we were not able to avoid an equaliser," Zidane said at a post-match press conference.

ELCHE 2 PENA DEPORTIVA 0 Elche’s victory over a struggling side was far from convincing and the supporters let the team and management know exactly that when they trooped off after a goaless first half which was devoid of any ambition or entertainment value. The Ilicitanos toiled throughout in trying to break down their opponents, but got a stroke of luck in the second half, as they were gifted a penalty by the referee in the 66th minute, which Benja duly converted(pictured above celebrating). Sory Kaba (pictured below) doubled the lead six minutes later, and the three points were sealed, but it was another Elche performance that left a lot to be desired. Coach Josico’s tactics left spectators scratching their heads against a team second from bottom in Segunda division B, and his media conference afterwards saw him call for the supporters to back his players. On the bright side of things, Elche remain third in the table, four points behind Villarreal B and have their fourth-successive match against a relegation zone team, when they go to Atletico Baleares on Sunday with a noon kick-off. Elche were busy in the winter transfer window as the club levelled its record of the largest number of movemenets. Leaving Elche were Diego Benito, Peris, Golobart and Adrián Jiménez. Joining the club are Jony Ñíguez, Josan, Ivan Zotko, Manu and their final signing, Colombian centre-back Neyder Yessy Lozano from San Sebastián de los Reyes

Bob’s The Job

Coutinho’s Reasons

Philippe Coutinho has said that the chance to “win big titles” and learn from the likes of Lionel Messi were two of the many reasons he signed for Barcelona last month. The Brazilian completed a 150 million euro transfer from Liverpool to the Nou Camp at the start of January after failing last summer to force through a move. With Barcelona top of La Liga and in the Copa del Rey, Coutinho could end the season with two titles to his name after years of disappointment at Liverpool. "Everyone knows that I wanted to come to Barcelona," he told Spanish media. "It wasn't possible in the summer, but we worked so that it could be done in winter. I really want to win big titles, it was one of the reasons that made me sign for the club.” "I want to win as many as I can, I don't have preferences." Coutinho was also full of praise for his new teammates and admitted that he is looking to “take advantage” of his playing time alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta. "Andres [Iniesta] is a genius, and anyone who plays with him will make them better.” "It seems incredible, but every day Messi gets better, and as a teammate I can only take advantage of my moments with him.”

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski believes he could join Real Madrid this summer, according to reports in Spain. The Spanish champions could overhaul their squad at the end of the season after a poor campaign under Zinedine Zidane. Karim Benzema is one of the key players linked with a move away this summer and Madrid could be in the market for a new leading striker. According to Marca, Lewandowski believes the time has come to leave Bayern Munich and feels there could be an opening for him to make the move to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer. The report also claims that Bayern would not rule out of prospect of selling Lewandowski if he makes it clear that he wants to join Madrid. The Polish striker’s agent Cezary Kucharski is also familiar with Madrid and has held several meeting’s with members of the club’s hierarchy. Lewandowski is currently leading the way in the Bundesliga with 18 goals in in 20 appearances for Bayern. The 29-year-old current deal with Bayern expires in 2021. Meanwhile, Real Madrid keeper Keylor Navas has told teammate Cristiano Ronaldo that he wants a move Liverpool. The Reds' current first choice goalkeeper Loris Karius is under pressure after his performance in his side's controversial 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday, further highlighting the belief that the club are desperate for a new number one. According to Spanish media outlet, one potential solution could be current Real Madrid keeper Keylor Navas, after he reportedly told teammate Ronaldo: "I'm going to the Premier (League)." The Costa Rican stopper has been forced to share goalkeeping responsibilities with Kiko Casilla this season, but Navas has reportedly told Real club President Florentino Perez that he is happy to stay at the Bernabeu, even if he is not the club's number one.

Third Division News

Orihuela suffered a rare hiccup at the weekend as they lost one-nil away to mid-table Novelda in the Valencia regional third division. Ferran scored for Novelda in the 32nd minute after the ball spun around in the Orihuela penalty area like it was in a pinball machine. Orihuela dominated large portions of the game and deserved at least a draw, but the result saw them go down to third in the table, as they were overhauled by Castellon, who beat Crevillente three-nil. One point separates the top three teams and next for Orihuela is a perfect chance to bounce back this Sunday as bottom club Borriol come to the Los Arcos stadium (kick-off, 4.30 pm). After their defeat at play-off chasing Castellon, Crevillente have another tough task in front of them as they could Orihuela a favour by taking points off leaders Levante this weekend. Elche Ilicitano are just above the relegation zone on the back of losing two-nil at Silla, and now entertain sixth-placed Olimpic this weekend.

Course Approval

La Manga Club and Las Colinas Club at San Miguel de Salinas have once again been included in the Top 100 Golf Courses rankings produced by Golf World magazine, a point of reference for many amateur and professional players. What's more, each of the three courses at the Mar Menor complex were individually ranked in the top forty golf courses. The Las Colinas Golf & Country Club at San Miguel has climbed 23 positions in the rankings from 78th to 55th position Prepared by a panel of experts composed of golf writers, course designers, players and tour operators, the rankings are a list of the 100 most select European fields that stand out worldwide for the characteristics of their facilities. '' In June of last year I visited Las Colinas and was impressed with the Golf & Country Club. The quality of its course, combined with its immaculate presentation and the variety of its holes was perhaps the most remarkable, "said Chris Bertram, editor Golf World. Sean Corte-Real (pictured above), operations director at Las Colinas said:- “We are delighted to continue climbing in the Top 100 ranking, which is the result of all the hard work done by everybody committed to Las Colinas.” “Our goal is to offer an experience that is a world apart, and we just hope to continue improving that experience for golfers of all ages and levels for years to come.” La Manga Club’s West Course was located in 18th place in the latest rankings, six ahead of the South Course, a five-time host of the Spanish Open, in 24th place, while the North Course took 34th position after moving up 5 places. Eduardo Ruiz(pictured below), director of golf at La Manga Club, said: 'Spain has a great number of fantastic golf courses so for all three courses to be ranked inside the top 40 of the new list is wonderful news for the resort.” On top of this feat that puts La Manga Club's three golf courses amongst the best in Spain, the West Course was included in the Top 100 Golf Courses in Europe only several weeks ago, as well as being voted as the best golf complex in Spain by the readers of Today's Golfer, for the seventh consecutive year. The World Golf Awards recognised La Manga Club as the Best Golf Venue in Europe at the gala celebrated last November on the resort.

www.thecourier.es

Valverde Victory

Murcia’s Alejandro Valverde riding for the Movistar team capped off his triumphant return from serious injury by winning the 2018 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana on Sunday. The veteran Spaniard finished safely in the bunch on a rain soaked day on the fifth and final stage between Paterna to Valencia as Belgian Jürgen Roelandts sprinted to stage honours. Valverde, 37, suffered a serious knee injury after crashing in the first stage of the 2017 Tour de France, but has returned to competition with an emphatic overall victory in Valencia that saw him claim two stage wins along the way. Astana’s Luis Leon Sanchez and Jakob Fuglsang take second and third spots overall respectively after they both safely finished in the main bunch with Valverde. The fourth stage of the race started in Orihuela (pictured below) on Saturday, and went into the hills of the Valencia region, finishing at Cocentaina, a stage won by Valverde.

Froome’s Return

La Veulta winner Chris Froome will begin his 2018 cycling season In Spain next week, despite being under investigation for the use of his asthma medication last year. Team Sky have confirmed the 32-year-old will be part of the line-up for the Ruta del Sol (otherwise known as the Vuelta a Andalucia), which starts on Wednesday. He will compete at the five-day race, two years after taking the overall victory and a stage win. Froome returned an "adverse" drugs test at the Vuelta a Espana in September, but denies any wrongdoing. The four-time Tour de France winner, who says he has been training hard through January, added: "It's been good to be out on my bike and to get the miles under my belt."

FIXTURES Friday 9 February English Football League - Championship 20:45 Millwall V. Cardiff City English Football League - League Two 20:45 Cambridge United V. Lincoln City Saturday 10 February English Premier League 13:30 Tottenham Hotspur V. Arsenal 16:00 Everton V. Crystal Palace 16:00 Stoke City V. Brighton and Hove Albion 16:00 Swansea City V. Burnley 16:00 West Ham United V. Watford 18:30 Manchester City V. Leicester City Scottish FA Cup 13:15 Celtic V. Partick Thistle 16:00 Cove Rangers V. Falkirk 16:00 Dundee V. Motherwell 16:00 Heart of Midlothian V. St. Johnstone 16:00 Kilmarnock V. Brora Rangers 16:00 Morton V. Dumbarton English Football League - Championship 13:15 Barnsley V. Sheffield Wednesday 13:30 Sheffield United V. Leeds United 16:00 Bolton Wanderers V. Fulham 16:00 Brentford V. Preston North End 16:00 Bristol City V. Sunderland 16:00 Derby County V. Norwich City 16:00 Ipswich Town V. Burton Albion 16:00 Middlesbrough V. Reading 16:00 Nottingham Forest V. Hull City 16:00 Wolverhmptn Wanderers V. Queens Park Rangers English Football League - League One 16:00 AFC Wimbledon V. Northampton Town 16:00 Blackburn Rovers V. Oldham Athletic 16:00 Blackpool V. Walsall 16:00 Bradford City V. Bury 16:00 Doncaster Rovers V. Charlton Athletic 16:00 Gillingham V. Peterborough United 16:00 MK Dons V. Portsmouth 16:00 Oxford United V. Bristol Rovers 16:00 Rochdale V. Fleetwood Town 16:00 Scunthorpe United V. Rotherham United 16:00 Shrewsbury Town V. Plymouth Argyle 16:00 Southend United V. Wigan Athletic English Football League - League Two 16:00 Barnet V. Notts County 16:00 Carlisle United V. Colchester United 16:00 Cheltenham Town V. Port Vale 16:00 Coventry City V. Accrington Stanley 16:00 Crawley Town V. Grimsby Town 16:00 Crewe Alexandra V. Yeovil Town 16:00 Exeter City V. Wycombe Wanderers 16:00 Morecambe V. Chesterfield 16:00 Newport County V. Forest Green Rovers 16:00 Stevenage V. Luton Town 16:00 Swindon Town V. Mansfield Town Scottish Championship 16:00 Livingston V. Dunfermline Athletic Scottish League One 16:00 Alloa Athletic V. Forfar Athletic 16:00 East Fife V. Queen's Park 16:00 Raith Rovers V. Airdrieonians 16:00 Stranraer V. Arbroath Scottish League Two 16:00 Berwick Rangers V. Clyde 16:00 Cowdenbeath V. Stirling Albion 16:00 Edinburgh City V. Peterhead 16:00 Elgin City V. Annan Athletic 16:00 Montrose V. Stenhousemuir English National League 16:00 Barrow V. Hartlepool United 16:00 Bromley V. Maidstone United 16:00 Dover Athletic V. Sutton United 16:00 Eastleigh V. Boreham Wood 16:00 Ebbsfleet United V. Solihull Moors 16:00 Gateshead V. AFC Fylde 16:00 Leyton Orient V. Tranmere Rovers 16:00 Macclesfield Town V. Guiseley 16:00 Maidenhead United V. Torquay United 16:00 Woking V. Chester FC 16:00 Wrexham V. FC Halifax Town 18:30 Dagenham and Redbridge V. Aldershot Town Sunday 11 February English Premier League 13:00 Huddersfield Town V. Bournemouth 15:15 Newcastle United V. Manchester United 17:30 Southampton V. Liverpool Scottish FA Cup 15:30 Ayr United V. Rangers 17:30 Aberdeen V. Dundee United English Football League - Championship 13:00 Aston Villa V. Birmingham City Monday 12 February English Premier League 21:00 Chelsea V. West Bromwich Albion

Information correct at time of publication but subject to change at short notice.

Sport

LIZZY’S HONOUR

TWICKENHAM SHOWDOWN Defending skeleton champion Lizzy Yarnold will carry the Great Britain flag at today’s opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea (11.30 am, live on BBC 1). The 29-year-old was selected by her GB team-mates. She said: "It's really exciting and the opening ceremony is the start of something that I know from Sochi will be the biggest two weeks of my life." Yarnold is aiming to become the first Briton to defend a Winter Olympic title when she competes at the Alpensia Sliding Centre at the end of next week.

It could be an early decider for the Six Nations championship as centre Jonathan Joseph returns to the England starting XV for tomorrow’s clash against Wales at Twickenham(5.45 pm, live on ITV) in one of two changes from the side that beat Italy. Bath's Joseph replaces Ben Te'o, who drops to the bench, and will partner Owen Farrell in England's midfield. Scrum-half Danny Care starts in place of the injured Ben Youngs, with Richard Wigglesworth among the replacements. "We'll be well prepared and ready to go out there and beat Wales on Saturday," said head coach Eddie Jones (pictured above right with Welsh opposite number, Warren Gatland). Care becomes England's most capped scrum-half, winning his 78th cap to overtake World Cup winner Matt Dawson. "Danny Care very much deserves the honour of being the most capped England scrum-half and I am sure he'll make the most of his opportunity on Saturday," added Jones. Wales coach Warren Gatland has named an unchanged team on the back of his side’s 34-7 win over Scotland, resisting the temptation to select fit-again wing George North who is on the bench. North takes the place of Ospreys centre Owen Watkin among the replacements in the only change to the match squad. Worcester wing Josh Adams retains his place to win a second cap. After last weekend’s dramatic victory over France in Paris, Ireland have the perfect chance to record a second win as they entertain Italy in Dublin tomorrow (kick-off 3.15 pm, live on ITV). Meanwhile, Scotland will not change their style of play despite losing 34-7 to Wales, forwards coach Dan McFarland says. France visit Murrayfield (kick-off, 3.30 pm, live on BBC 1) on Sunday and McFarland believes the Scots must stick to their principles. "It's no good being conservative; conservative teams don't win great championships," McFarland said.

SHORT FUSE

NORTH LONDON BATTLE Two-time world darts champion Adrian Lewis has been fined £3,000 and been given a suspended three-month ban after confronting an opponent. The 33-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent clashed with Spaniard Jose Justicia during a UK Open Qualifier quarter-final in Wigan last week. Lewis remonstrated with and pushed Justicia during their match, which Lewis won, and was later suspended by the Darts Regulation Authority.

Tottenham and Arsenal face off tomorrow lunchtime in what could prove to be one of their most important meetings in years, as they take the north London derby on the road to Wembley on the road (kick-off at 1.30 pm, live on BT Sport 1). Spurs beat Arsenal 2-0 in the last ever north London derby to be held at White Hart Lane back in April, and need a similar result this time around at their temporary home of Wembley Stadium. The London rivals sit fifth and sixth in the Premier League table heading into Saturday's early kick-off, and defeat for either side could leave their top-four hopes in dire straits. But both teams head to Wembley in confident mood, with Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs taking four points off of Manchester United and Liverpool (plus no banana skins against Newport in the FA Cup on Wednesday) while Arsene Wenger's new-look Gunners blew away Everton 5-1 at the weekend. 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League, Manchester City have the Saturday evening clash at home to Leicester City, whilst second-placed Manchester United go to Newcastle on Sunday, and third in the table Liverpool also have a Sunday date as they go down to Southampton. Bottom club West Brom have to wait until Monday for a trip to Chelsea, and a defeat for Conte’s Blues might see the Italian given his marching orders in spite of the dreaded “vote of confidence” mutterings from owner Russian Roman. Above West Brom, just three points separate eight teams as the relegation battle is far more interesting than what’s happening at the other end of the table. Early season surprise package Huddersfield are second-bottom, and entertain climbing Bournemouth (9th), with third-bottom Stoke entertaining Brighton, and the FA Cup slaughterers of Notts County, Swansea, at home to Burnley.