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YOUR ENGLISH - SPANISH NEWSPAPER - FORMERLY
VALENCIA - ALICANTE - MURCIA
March 9 - March 15 2007
INSIDE
A EURO MP has vowed to fight to the bitter
end for the rights of land grab victims.
Michael Cashman was speaking after a
four-day visit to the Valencia and Murcia
regions to hear first hand of the misery
inflicted on homeowners, many of them
British, who have been affected by the
LRAU and LUV laws enacted by the Valencia regional government.
He said: “I will keep coming back until the
the Spanish authorities start to comply
with EU law because the LUV law which
replaced LRAU does not go far enough to
address the fears of property owners.”
Back in Brussels Mr Cashman’s EU delegation will draw up a list of recommendations to put before the European Parliament.
The delegation, including Martin Libicki,
president of the EU Petitions Commission, visited Parcent, Teulada, Benissa,
Tibi, San Miguel de Salinas, Catral, Albox,
Galapagar, Orihuela and Almería.
They met representatives from local, regional and national government as well as
residents protesting about the law.
They also visited Valencia, Alicante and
Madrid for governmental talks.
Mr Cashman said: “The new replacement
law, LUV, is frankly not good enough.
“It needs to be amended as it does not take
on board the European Parliament’s concerns.”
Land grab victims have lost homes, land
and thousands of euros as local authorities give planning permission for urbanisations on already occupied land.
In Parcent the Veïns de Parcent pressure
group has won a victory because three
planned urbanisations have been halted
after complaints were upheld by Síndica
de Greuges, the regional ombudsman, and
Defensor del Pueblo, the national ombudsman authority.
No 201
The CB Friday
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BATTLE OF
Full
MESTALLAstory
page 39
2007
WHAT A LITTLE CRACKER
Valencia football stars Fernando Morientes, centre,
and David Villa, right, with Valencia mayoress Rita
Barberá and the Chinese ambassador in Spain Qui
Xiaoqi have a birds’-eye view of the thunderous
mascletà fireworks on the town hall balcony.
The daily ceremony is part of the Comunitat
Valenciana’s impressive fallas fiesta, which sees
hundreds of papier-mâché statues burned on March 19 and attracts thousands of tourists.
See feature page 14 of the thinkSPAIN/today magazine
news P2 • letters P14 • travel P26 • finance P31• sports P36
NATIONAL NEWS
2
Gruesome
discovery
of bodies
in garden
SPANISH police discovered
the body of a German teenager and the chopped-up
remains of his parents in
their coastal villa in eastern Spain.
Initial investigations indicated the 19-year-old shot
himself, five days after the
death of his parents.
Police suspect the youth
killed his parents and then
took his own life.
The Guardia Civil went to
the house where the family
lived in Alcanar after workers at a compressor factory
that the father ran reported
he had not been seen for
several days, and that the
business had been shut
without explanation.
Police found the teenager’s
body in the house, as well as
pieces of the bodies of his
parents, who were aged 57
and 46, in the garden.
Gang busted
SPANISH police have broken a network for the sale
of stolen luxury cars on the
Internet.
Two Bulgarians and four
Spaniards were arrested
and charged with thefts of
cars, frauds and forgeries
of documents.
The operation was carried
out in Cantabria, Madrid
and Vizcaya.
SPAIN
March 9 - March 15 2007
Easiest target - claim
ISLAMIST radicals decided
to blow up commuter trains
in Madrid because Spain was
the easiest target of the three
main countries involved
in the invasion of Iraq, a
trial of suspects for the 2004
bombings has heard.
Former Spanish prime minister José María Aznar and
Britain’s Tony Blair met US
President George W Bush in
the Azores in March 2003 to
discuss ways to win UN support for a resolution to authorise the war in Iraq.
A witness told the Madrid
court trying 29 people accused of involvement in the
bombings: “Spain was chosen as the weakest link in
the Azores group.”
The witness said the bombing plans picked up pace in
October 2003, seven months
after the invasion of Iraq,
and that police had told
their superiors the risk of
an Islamist attack was quite
critical.
The witness, believed to be a
police chief, was not named
for security reasons and
gave his testimony from behind a curtain.
Bombs ripped through four
trains on March 11, 2004,
killing 191 people.
Two days later, a video was
found which claimed responsibility for the bombs
and said the attack was
revenge for Spain sending
troops to Afghanistan and
supporting the war in Iraq.
The following day, Aznar’s
pro-US Popular Party was
voted out of office and the
newly-elected Socialists fulfilled a pledge to pull troops
out of Iraq.
Seven other suspects blew
themselves up when the
police net was tightening
around them.
The trial is expected to last
until July.
Water to help
drought areas
DAMS at the top of the Tajo
river are already low on
water but will have to send
reserves to towns in the
parched south-east, which
are even worse off, ministers have ruled.
Two large reservoirs in central Spain will send 38 cubic
hectometres of water to
ease the drought that is still
afflicting the Segura water
basin in the Andalucía and
Murcia areas.
There has been steady rain
across much of Spain since
October and average reservoir levels are now just
WEATHER
AROUND THE COSTA BLANCA THIS WEEK
above 60 per cent of capacity.
But the top of the Tajo,
which flows west to Lisbon,
has missed out on the rain
and the reservoirs donating water are less than 14
per cent full, with 340 cubic
hectometres stored.
The Environment Ministry
said: “The system is facing
the third year of the worst
drought recorded in the
area.”
Spain’s autonomous regions are vying for control
of their water, but only the
central government can
rule on resources in rivers
that run through different
regions.
Separately the ministry has
approved a deal between
farmers in one area of the
Tajo, who will cede 31 cubic
hectometres of irrigation
water to farmers in Murcia
and Alicante, where much
of Spain’s fruit and vegetables are grown.
In February ministers approved a transfer of 22 cubic hectometres from the
Tajo to the south east, half
for urban use and half for
irrigation.
Death on holiday
A UNIVERSITY secretary
died in a holiday accident
after falling down stairs at
an apartment in Tenerife.
Emily Stewart, 56, of Carnoustie, suffered head injuries in Friday’s tragedy.
Police said there were no
suspicious circumstances.
Professor Bernard King, a
colleague and vice-chancellor at Abertay University,
Dundee, said: “She is irreplaceable.”
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CRUZ: To star in Allen film
Stars link up
SPANISH film stars Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem will
work together in Woody Allen’s next film.
Bardem, who was in Barcelona to present the movie Invisibles, which he produced, said that he and Cruz would be
filming with Allen in that city in July and August.
The 38-year-old actor said he had talked with Allen by phone
but had not yet read the script.
Details of Allen’s film, including its title, have not been released.
Bardem, an Oscar nominee in 2000 for his role in Before
Night Falls, starred with Cruz in Jamón Jamón in 1992,
which was directed by Bigas Luna.
Cruz, 32, received a best-actress nomination for Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver at this year’s Oscars.
Meanwhile a filmmaker in Spain has been given public
funds to make a series of erotic films.
The 10,000 euros grant was approved by authorities in
Cataluña as part of the efforts to promote the Catalan language.
The grant has resulted in a public uproar but Conrad Son,
who received it, insists the films are artistically erotic and
not what he would call pornographic.
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SPAIN
March 9 - March 15 2007
César Borja remembered
STING: Police star
Comeback
Barça gig
for Police
THE POLICE, who reformed recently to perform
at the Bafta awards in London, are to play one date in
Spain on their comeback
tour.
The tour will start in Cardiff and end in Stockholm
and also has single concerts
in the Czech Republic, Austria and France.
The Spain date will be at
Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium on September 27 but
no details have yet been
announced on ticket prices
and sales.
There are rumours that the
band’s leader, Sting, a former schoolteacher, is trying
to make money because of
his wife Trudi’s extravagant spending habits.
García
honour
A MARATHON reading of
Colombian writer Gabriel
García Márquez’s masterwork 100 Years of Solitude
was held in Madrid to celebrate the Noble Prize laureate’s 80th birthday.
Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, began the
public reading from the
steps of Madrid’s Casa de
América cultural centre,
and was followed by other
politicians and cultural figures.
It is the 40th anniversary of
the publication of the acclaimed novel, and the 25th
anniversary of García’s Nobel Prize award.
Eighty García Márquez
fans, including Spain’s Secretary of State for IberoAmerica affairs, Trinidad
Jiménez, read either for
15 minutes or seven pages
from the masterpiece over
16 hours.
García Márquez is expected
to receive an honour at the
fourth International Spanish Language Congress,
which runs from March 26
- 29 in Cartagena de las Indias, Colombia.
Aid for Seat
VOLKSWAGEN AG said it
plans to invest five billion
euros in its Spanish subsidiary Seat in the coming 10
years.
An annual investment of
around 480 million euros is
planned.
SPAIN will this weekend hold a commemorative service for César Borja,
the cruel and despotic offspring of
Pope Alexander VI, 500 years after his
death.
A requiem service will be held in the
church at Viana, where Borgia was
killed on March 11, 1507, in Navarra
to remember the man whose political yearning for power made him the
inspiration for philosopher Niccolo
Machiavelli’s The Prince.
Town hall authorities in Viana said
that the ceremony would honour Borja, but his remains would not be given
a church burial.
After he was killed in a siege at Viana his remains were first placed in
the Santa María church only to be removed years later on the orders of the
ecclesiastical authorities.
He was then buried under the town’s
main street, in order to be trampled by
passers-by.
César was one of four children of Valencian-born Spanish cardinal Rodrigo
Borja, who became pope in 1492.
The family became a by-word for ruthlessness.
Driven from Rome by Pope Jules II
following a number of misadventures
and killings linked to him, César was
killed, aged 31, as he tried to take Viana castle in the name of the kingdom
of Navarra.
His remains, discovered at the start of
the 19th century, were in 1953 placed in
a small sarcophagus and buried near
the entrance of the church.
A municipal spokeswoman said Sunday’s event was not a rehabilitation,
but a commemoration of his death.
Santa María’s priest, Father César
Gonzales Puroy, said the mass would
take place after Sunday’s regular service following a brief oration.
He said he would have no difficulty
praying for César.
PM wrong over
hunger striker
MOST Spaniards think Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero gave in to
the Basque separatist group
ETA when his government
decided to allow a hungerstriking Basque prisoner to
serve out a prison sentence
under house arrest, two polls said.
The survey by Sigma-2 published in Madrid’s daily
El Mundo said that 57.9 per
cent of Spaniards thought
the government was blackmailed by ETA and prisoner José Ignacio De Juana
Chaos, one of ETA’s most
notorious killers.
De Juana was allowed
home to the Basque region
and ended his 114-day hunger strike in response to the
government’s gesture.
Another survey by Metroscopia and published by the
conservative
newspaper
ABC said two out of every
three Spaniards rejected
his release and 55 per cent
of those quizzed said it was
blackmail which strengthened ETA.
Spanish authorities last
week moved De Juana
Chaos from a Madrid hospital to one in the Basque city
of San Sebastián as a first
step toward allowing him
to serve the remainder of
3
Strait
tunnel
backed
by PM
SPANISH Prime Minister
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has said that his government is committed to
building a high-speed train
line to North Africa in a
tunnel under the Strait of
Gibraltar.
Zapatero, who spoke to reporters after a meeting with
Moroccan Prime Minister
Driss Jettou in Morocco,
said a tunnel would help
speed development on the
African side of the Mediterranean.
He said: “The Spanish government has firmly decided
to work for the tunnel.”
However he did not say
when a decision could be
taken or when the tunnel
could be built.
The tunnel would link the
Moroccan city of Tangier to
the Spanish city of Tarifa.
Other issues discussed during the talks were immigration and economic cooperation.
Barcelona
bomb trial
postponed
UNDER FIRE: Prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
his sentence at home under
custody.
The government said that
the decision was taken on
humanitarian grounds to
avoid the death of seriously
ill De Juana Chaos.
Zapatero said: “It is not our
fear or our weakness which
saved him, it is our bravery
and our responsibility.”
He said his government
took the decision to stop
a man who had killed 25
people from dying, saying:
“We did it to prevent him
from dying, something that
he surely cannot understand.”
The prisoner’s move has
sparked protests by hundreds of people outside
government
buildings
throughout Spain since last
Thursday, while the opposition Popular Party has
intensified its criticism of
Zapatero.
It has accused the government of succumbing to
blackmail by convicted terrorists.
The Sigma-2 poll also said
that 62.4 per cent of Spaniards believe that the decision would hurt the ruling
Socialist Party in a future
election.
The Sigma-2 survey questioned 800 Spaniards on
March 1 and has a margin
of error of 3.53 per cent.
The Metroscopia poll which
quizzed 600 people was also
on March 1.
Call for protest at Zapatero decision
MADRID’S regional president Esperanza Aguirre has
laid flowers at a memorial
site for the victims of ETA
prisoner Iñaki de Juana
Chaos in Madrid.
And Spain’s conservative
opposition has called for a
demonstration
tomorrow
NATIONAL NEWS
to protest against the conditional release of De Juana
Chaos.
Mariano Rajoy, president
of the Popular Party, called
on Spaniards to join the
protest in Madrid on March
10 against the Socialist government’s decision to allow
the hunger-striker out of
jail.
He said: “Another policy
that is more decent, much
more moral and more dignified needed.”
Rajoy repeated an accusation that the government
had given into blackmail by
ETA, the group whose fourdecade armed campaign
for an independent Basque
homeland
in
northern
Spain and southern France,
has claimed more than 800
lives, including politicians,
police, service personnel
and innocent civilians.
Viagra boom hits Spain as sales rocket
A VIAGRA boom has hit Spain where
the male impotency pill, which costsabout 70 euros for a box of eight, has
become as popular with teenagers and
young as it is with the elderly.
Such is the increase in sales of the
drug that Dr Carlos San Martín, a sex
counsellor, said: “There has been a Viagra explosion in Spain.
“Some people are taking it for physi-
ological reasons, but Viagra is also becoming a social phenomenon.”
Women are demanding that their boyfriends get prescriptions.
Young partygoers are buying tablets
from dealers in discos for as much as
70 euros a pill, cutting them into pieces, even though doing so diminishes
the drug’s effectiveness.
Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, says Spain
has moved into the vanguard of a European Viagra trend in part because
economic prosperity has transformed
the country from a relaxed Mediterranean culture, where the siesta was
sacrosanct, into an Anglo-Saxon-style,
workaholic nation.
Pfizer says it sold nearly one million
boxes of Viagra in Spain last year.
LAWYERS for 11 Pakistanis accused of planning a
terror attack in Barcelona
successfully lobbied to have
the trial postponed.
The
defence
lawyers
claimed that they did not
have enough time with
their clients to prepare for
their trial.
The suspects were arrested
in 2004 and accused of planning bombing attacks on
two skyscrapers in Barcelona.
Three of the suspects are
considered ringleaders in
the bomb plot and face 32
years in prison, if convicted.
Bank fined
by Spanish
DEUTSCHE Bank yesterday was fined €1 million
and suspended from underwriting some equity offerings in Spain for leaking
information about a share
sale in 2004.
The Comisión Nacional del
Mercado de Valores, Spain’s
market regulator, penalised
the bank for its handling
of a stock offering by Ebro
Puleva.
Deutsche Bank’s conduct in
managing securities sales
also caught the attention
of regulators in France and
the UK.
The Paris-based Autorité
des Marchés Financiers
in January fined the bank
€300,000 for not abiding by
rules when sounding out investors before a securities
offering.
REGIONAL NEWS
4
COMUNITAT VALENCIANA
March 9 - March 15 2007
Why are there no regional
PSPV-PSOE and Esquerra Unida are
proposing the setting up of a regional
police force to reduce crime
N
Rising crime figures in the Comunitat Valenciana
Crimes per 1,000 residents
80
70
B.Chulvi&S.Walker
Since last November a special parliamentary commission has been discussing
the problem of safety in the
Community and has been
listening to mayors as well
as representatives of neighbourhood associations. A
plenary session of the Valencian Regional Assembly
will today discuss the conclusions reached by this
commission, in which the
different political groups
have not managed to reach
an agreement. The socialist PSPV-PSOE and Esquerra Unida are proposing the
creation of a regional police
force to support local police
forces, just like they have
in the Basque Country and
in Cataluña, two regions
with lower crime rates than
Valencia. The PP, however,
refuses to come out either
in favour of or against a regional police force, expressing doubts about efficiency.
It is clear that the commission’s success has been affected by the proximity of
the elections: the PP blames
central government for the
insecurity felt by so many
citizens in the Comunitat
Valenciana and the Socialists quote crime figures that
show how the situation has
improved since they took
power from the Conservatives. The proposal to create a regional police force
and separate forces to cover
tourist and rural areas has
reached an impasse.
Battle of the
statistics
While the Partido Popular claims that insecurity among citizens in the
N
Comunitat Valenciana is at
an all time high, the Socialists have provided members
of the press with crime figures dating back to 2000,
supplied by the Minister
of the Interior to the parliamentary
commission,
to demonstrate that claims
being made by the Regional
Government do not stack
up. According to the data
from the Interior Ministry,
the crime rate in the Comunitat Valenciana (crimes
per 1,000 inhabitants) currently stands at 67.5, i.e., 7.3
points below the 2002 rate.
The Socialists have chosen
2002 as their point of reference because at that time,
the current president of
the Regional Government,
Francisco Camps, was the
Government Delegate for
Valencia and Jose María
Aznar was president of the
central government.
The PP spokesperson on the
commission, Antonio Clemente, has for his part supplied different information
to demonstrate that contri-
This is the number of
robberies in the
Comunitat Valenciana
last year. It is 1,691
more than in 2005. Of
these, 13,909 involved
violence or intimidation,
1,204 fewer than
in 2005.
butions from central government to the Comunitat
Valenciana are insufficient:
The Comunitat Valenciana
has the dubious honour of
having the fourth highest
crime rate in Spain and the
region’s security forces are
inadequate: seven out of 10
Guardia Civil stations close
at night and there are 40
towns with fewer than 10
police officers. Some of the
towns in this situation are
Albaida, Bocairent and Vallada in Valencia and Pego,
Onil and Jalón in Alicante.
The PSPV-PSOE agrees that
it is imperative to increase
the number of police officers, but argues that Rodríguez Zapatero’s government has already taken a
major step in this direction:
According to official data,
the Guardia Civil used to
have 5,118 officers and now
has 5,625, an increase of
10%. The number of national police officers operating in the Comunitat Valenciana has also increased
from 3,957 to 5,088, some
28.6 per cent more. The PP
is demanding another 2,000
national police officers at
least, in order to reach a
ratio of 1.82 per 1,000 inhabitants, a ratio which comes
close to the 1.92 local police
officers per 1,000 inhabitants currently in the Comu-
83,095
robberies
nitat Valenciana. The PSPV
has, in turn, demanded that
the Regional Government
divert a greater budget to
local police forces. At the
moment, the Regional Government spends 30,000 euros on local police forces in
70,1
60
50
74,8
69,3
67,7
67,4
67,5
2003
2004
2005
2006
57,3
40
30
20
10
0
2000
2001
2002
SOURCE: MINISTERIO DEL INTERIOR
546 towns, a figure which
the PSPV- PSOE argues
should be raised to one million euros.
Something has
to be done
All
the
parliamentary
groups agree that more
needs to be done to increase safety within the
community and each has
its own proposals. The difference is, whereas the PP
is demanding a greater investment from Madrid, the
PSPV-PSOE and Esquerra
Unida want the Comunitat
Valenciana to have its own
regional police force and to
take responsibility for safety itself. There are currently only three police forces
looking after safety in the
Comunitat Valenciana: the
Guardia Civil, the local
police and the national police, none of which reports
directly to the Regional
Government. Only about
300 officers, known as the
Policía de la Generalitat are
directly answerable to the
regional government and
their main role is to police
public buildings.
In view of this situation,
N
Better or worse?
 Better than in the UK or Madrid
Crime figures for the Comunitat Valenciana are better
than the UK’s and better than the European average.
Whereas 67.5 crimes for every 1,000 inhabitants were
reported in the Comunitat Valenciana in 2006, the
average across Europe was 69 and 104.7 in the United
Kingdom. Compared with other autonomous regions
in Spain, the situation in Valencia is better than in the
Balearic Islands with 78.8 crimes per 1,000 inhabitants
and better also than Madrid which registered 70.8.
 Worse than in Murcia and
Catauña
The crime situation is worse in Valencia than in
Murcia, Cataluña, Andalucía and the Canary Islands.
Murcia registered 43.8 crimes per 1,000 inhabitants,
Andalucía 51.5 and Cataluña 65.3. In 2006, Valencia
had the third highest crime rate with only Madrid and
the Balearic Islands registering a higher rate.
the opposition groups’
proposal for the creation
of a regional police force
- like the ones in Cataluña
and the Basque Country
– would mean that the Regional Government would
have more direct control
over matters of safety and
the coordination of local
forces. Article 55 of the
Regional Statute discusses
this possibility, but the PP
will not make its view on it
public, or if it does, it shows
little support for the idea:
“In regions with their own
autonomous police forces,
the example has not been a
positive one,” claims a PP
What the politicians say: the different points of view
“We need more officers”
Antonio Clemente
(PP)
The appearance of security
forces organised by individual neighbourhoods in
towns like Teulada, Calpe,
Jalón and Pedreguer is
very worrying. We need
at least another 2,000 national police officers. The
Guardia Civil stations are
facing huge problems. The
PSOE has not fulfilled its
promise to create national
police stations in towns
with more than 30,000
inhabitants, specifically
in the cases of Torrevieja,
Villena and San Vicent
del Raspeig in Alicante.
There are more than 153
towns with more than 1,000
inhabitants that still have
no Guardia Civil station, 97
in the province of Valencia, 38 in Alicante and 18 in
Castellón. The Comunitat
Valenciana has the third
highest crime rate, but only
the ninth largest Guardia
Civil budget.
“PP is shirking its responsibilities”
Josefa Andrés
(PSPV-PSOE)
The Partido Popular needs
to explain to the citizens
why they refuse to create
a regional police force as
outlined in the Statute.
The two autonomous com-
munities that have their
own police forces have
a lower crime rate than
Valencia. We are here to
govern and, above all, to
take responsibility, but the
PP prefers to evade responsibility and play the role
of victim, blaming all the
current crime problems on
the Zapatero government.
If the Regional Government actually assumed its
responsibilities, citizens
would not have to be
creating their own security
forces as is currently the
case. Camps has to decide
what his government’s
priority is. To look after
its citizens or to attack the
Zapatero government?
“A national issue”
Joan Antoní Oltra
(EU)
Safety is an issue which
affects every citizen and
every government, whatever their political leanings,
and ought to be an issue
decided by the state and
not used as a weapon by
one party to attack another.
In this commission it has
been obvious from the very
start that the PP’s only
intention was to veto the
appearance in court of any
professional or neighbourhood group which might
obstruct their strategy: to
blame central government
for the situation in the
Comunitat Valenciana. It
is alarming to see how the
PP has used the issue of
personal safety as a way
of winning votes, ignoring
its responsibilities in the
regional government. We
want to know why they
continually reject the idea
of creating a regional
police force.
COMUNITAT VALENCIANA
March 9 - March 15 2007
police forces?
A British citizen tells the
committee of the fears
The members of parliament
making up the committee
also met Chris Poole, a British citizen, who is president
of Colaborando Orihuela
Costa which operates in
the 48 square kilometres of
coastline between Orihuela
and Pilar de la Horadada.
Poole pointed out that the
number of police officers in
the area had not increased
with the increase in housing. As was the case with
other representatives from
tourist areas, Poole also
cited the existence of organised gangs from Eastern Europe and North
Africa as one of the main
problems.
Emphasising
its independent nature, the
association, which is made
up of volunteers, said that
they worked with different
political groups: the PP in
Orihuela and the PSOE in
Pilar de la Horadada, and
that their work was to establish a good communication network that allowed
close collaboration between
residents and the security forces, a far cry from
the oft-televised image of
neighbourhood patrols.
It was not a case of residents taking the law into
their own hands, but rather
them getting to know their
area well and providing
the police with accurate
information in the case of
anything suspicious. The
PSOE mayor of Pedreguer
confirmed that his constituency had seen a 34 per cent
decline in crime since the
establishment of a resident
association along the lines
of Colaborando Orihuela
Costa.
Mr Poole suggested that
members of the regional
government visit the Unit-
ed Kingdom to see how residents collaborate with local
police under Home Office
guidelines. After hearing
what he had to say, representatives of both the Socialist party and Esquerra
Unida agreed that the connection between unchecked
urban development and an
increase in delinquency
was worth a closer look.
The parliamentary deputy
Josefa Pedrosa said that in
the Vega Baja areas where
safety was an issue, the
underlying problem was
a lack of town planning
and inadequate services,
brought about by excessive
urban development, the
only victims of which were
the residents.
Police officers who speak
foreign languages needed
One of the conclusions reached by the parliamentary
committee investigating safety is that tourist areas
need police officers who speak the most common
foreign languages. Without them, they are unable
to maintain order in areas where most people do
not speak Spanish. Socialist deputy, Josefa Andrés,
has included this point in her party’s proposals.
This need was made clear to the committee by Joan
Devesa, president of HOSBEC, the Benidorm association of hotel and catering professionals. The different groups on the committee support the idea of
creating a special police force for tourist areas, one
of the qualifications for which would be a knowledge
of languages.
Aggravated burglaries or robberies involving
violence by location
2000
2002
2004
2006
22
45
56
42
Other homes
170
229
219
263
Doorways of homes
200
209
152
154
Shops
778
1,340
897
754
Hotels and bars
225
341
285
327
Petrol stations
352
477
211
156
Detached houses or villas
The PSPV-PSOE’s Equality
Secretary and spokesperson
for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, Consuelo Català, has confirmed that the
number of cases of abuse
in the Comunitat Valenciana has seen a significant
rise in the past few years.
The number of cases reported has risen from 5,235
in 2002 (14 a day on average)
to 9,027 in 2006 (an average
of 25 a day).
According to the socialist
minister, this means that
on one hand women are
no longer scared to report
their aggressors, but on the
other hand, implies that the
Valencian Regional Government needs to divert more
resources towards protecting these women.
Resources according to Català are still markedly insufficient.
Consuelo Català confirmed
that Camps had not opened
a single 24-hour refuge since
1996 and there are no more
shelters or safe houses than
there were in 1999.
Teachers take to the streets
More than 3,000 teachers
from state schools across
the region have taken to the
streets in Valencia, Alicante
and Castellón to demand
salaries to match those in
Spain’s other autonomous
communities.
The demonstrations have been organised by STEPV-iv, the
trade union with majority
support among teachers in
the Comunitat Valenciana.
According to the trade union, the 55,000 teachers who
work in state schools across
the Comunitat Valenciana
earn on average 300 euros
less than those in Spain’s
other autonomous communities.
Camps in Berlin to boost tourism
The president of the Valencia regional government,
Francisco Camps, wants to
attract more German tourists to the region.
With this in mind, he has
just visited Berlin and one
of the world’s most important tourism fairs, the
Internationale Tousismus
Börse (ITB), which the
German capital hosts from
March 7 - 11.
CT (Cabanes): 96 646 01 66
-
CT (La Plaza): 96 579 00 00
We care about your health
www.ctonlineclinic.com
WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE TEAM
· Lynn, our specially trained Women’s Health nurse
· Judith, our Midwife and
· Alison, our Health Visitor, whose next children’s clinic will be in CT (Moraira)
on 14th March. Please telephone 96 579 41 79 for more information
FAMILY DOCTORS
DR. BERNARD WILLIS - ENGLISH
DR. DAVID TURNER - ENGLISH
DR. GUIDO CAMPMAN - DUTCH
-
CT (Moraira): 96 649 12 59
5
25 cases of abuse a day
SOURCE: MINISTERIO DEL INTERIOR
CLINICA TARRAULA
REGIONAL NEWS
Emergency telephone 608 666 098 (24 hrs)
The mayors of Oropesa,
Burriana, Benicàssim, Xàtiva, Teulada, Benidorm,
Calpe and Altea, among others, joined him on his visit.
Last year, Berlin’s ITB attracted 10,856 exhibitors
from 180 different countries
and 162,000 visitors.
In 2006, 556,000 German
tourists visited the Comunitat Valenciana.
6
REGIONAL NEWS
MURCIA
March 9 - March 15 2007
Salzillo tribute launched
King Juan
Carlos
inaugurated
the exhibition that will
remain open
until July 31
J.Andugar&G. Lennon
The exhibiton to commemorate the work of
Murcia sculptor is without
a doubt the cultural event
of the years in the region.
It marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Salzillo
(1707-1783).
King Juan Carlos inaugurated the huge ‘Salzillo,
witness to a century’ exhibition on March that will
remain open to the public
at the Salzillo museum
in Murcia’s Plaza de San
Agustín until the end of
July. On show are many examples of Salzillo’s work as
well as that of other artists
from the 18th century, also
known as the Century of
Light.
King Juan Carlos, who was
accompanied by culture
minister, Carmen Calvo,
and regional president,
Ramón Luis Valcárcel, unveiled a plaque erected to
commemorate the exhibition before sampling for
himself the beauty of the
master of religious sculpture, the force of his imagery, and his expressive use of
colour.
HUGE EXHIBITION: King Juan Carlos, Culture minister, Carmen Calvo and the regional president, Ramón Luis Valcárcel.
per, The Prayer in the Garden, The Arrest, The Kiss
of Judas, The Whipping,
Holy Mother Veronica, The
Fall, Our Father Jesus of
Nazareth, Saint John and
N
The Grieving Mother.
Apart from at the Salzillo
museum, the best time of
the year to appreciate these
treasures is on the morning
of Good Friday when the
procession of the bruised
(or of Our Father Jesus
of Nazareth) takes to the
streets. The exhibition also
shines a light on Salzillo
whose art has left an indel-
ible mark on the simple yet
profoundly religious design
of Nativity scenes with
which Catholic families
traditionally adorn their
homes at Christmas time.
62,000 have already booked tickets
One of the highlights of
the exhibition is the eight
pieces commissioned by the
Nuestro Padre Jesús Brotherhood, which are paraded
during Holy Week. They
depict scenes from the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which are
carried through the streets
of Murcia each spring on
the backs of men dressed
in the traditional garb of
‘Nazarenes’.
According to a statement by the organisers on the
www.salzillo2007.es website, around 62,000 people
have already booked tickets to visit the exhibition.
Of these, 7,000 have booked guided tours, 11,000
bookings have been made by schools and 45,000
are group bookings. Reservations must be made a
month in advance, so you had better get your skates on unless you want to miss out on this unique
opportunity to discover Salzillo.
Bookings can be made online at http://www.
salzillo2007.es/exposicion/reservas/index.htm, at
the museum itself, or at information and booking
offices in the Plaza del Cardenal Belluga, at the
Thader shopping centre or at the Santa Clara
museum.
This year, Holy Week processions will be held between March 30 and 19
April. Other icons depicting Easter stories paraded
through the streets each
year include The Last Sup-
N
Key facts:
 What: ‘Salzillo,
witness to a century’
exhibition. 18th century
religious scuplture.
 Who: Murcia-born
sculptor, Francisco
Salzillo Alcaraz (17071783).
 When: Until July
31. Tuesday-Saturday
from 9.30am-2pm and
5-8pm. Sundays from
11am-2pm.
 Where: Murcia’s
Salzillo museum (Plaza
de San Agustín, 3)
 How: Advance
bookings only. Online
information at www.
salzillo2007.es
Tel.: 968 29 18 63
Health and Beauty Tourism in Murcia Region
practice
www.turismurciasalud.com
Escapetherapy in Murcia region
MURCIA
March 9 - March 15 2007
Zapatero defends the
desalination solution
The president of the Spanish
government inaugurated
Murcia’s second
desalination plant
J.Andugar&G. Lennon
President Zapatero visited
the Murcian towns of San
Pedro del Pinatar and Lorca last Sunday when he presented a resolute case in defence of his government’s
plan to build desalination
plants as the best solution
to the region’s shortage of
water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use.
Mr Zapatero, who inaugurated San Pedro’s second
desalination plant - that
will supply 24 cubic hectometres annually- explained
the reasons why this is a
better solution than the previous government’s plan to
divert water from the Ebro
river basin in Aragón to
the Segura basin that supplies the Murcia and Valencia regions. He said that
desalination provides safe
water, at an ever-decreasing
cost, and does not depend
on anyone, adding that it
would give autonomy to the
Murcia and the Comunidad
Valenciana regions. One of
Mr Zapatero’s first initia-
tives after coming to power
after the last elections was
to cancel the Ebro diversion project, which still has
the backing of the PP party
that governs both regions.
Environment minister, Cristina Narbona, has indicated
that the Tajo-Segura diversion will be left untouched.
The regional government
of
Castilla-La
Mancha
wants this arrangement,
which for the past 25 years
has been responsible for diverting water away from the
reservoirs of its main river,
to end by 2015. Murcia’s
farmers, whose conference
Mr Zapatero was attending, said afterwards that
the president had promised
them that there will be no
further quota reductions,
and that the State will not
bow to pressure from the
Manchego government to
do so, but these promises
were not made in public.
This has led to criticism
from Murcia president,
Ramón Luis Valcárcel (PP),
who finds it difficult to believe that the region will be
self-sufficient within eight
years, given a current annual water deficit of 580 cubic
hectometres.
Valcárcel replies:
“Solution is sum of all”
Regional president, Ramón Luis Valcárcel (left), told the panel of international experts attending the International Water Saving Day: “The second
solution to the water shortage problem
is the sum of all of them. There should
be no one single dogma that dictates
only river diversion or only purification or desalination. The real issue is
a lack of political will. He also told
them that the real protagonist of all
this effort is the irrigation farmer, and
lamented that the region’s agricultural
sector is being penalised by the government’s uncohesive and politically motivated policies which seem designed
to destroy the aptly-named Garden of
Europe. Valcárcel reminded his audience that Murcia re-used 110.5 cubic
hectometres of water last year through
purification, and: “Murcia has the lowest per capita level of water consumption in Europe because Murcians bend
over backwards to save every last drop
of water.”
The regional government is
forecasting that passenger
numbers will soar to one
and a half million within
just four years as a result
of a huge and growing demand from northern European countries such as the
UK, Germany and Scandinavia.
The project has a total
budget of some €200 million
TRISAT
Corruption
Urban
corruption
charges filed
The
chief
prosecuting
magistrate on Murcia’s
Superior Justice Tribunal,
Manuel López Bernal, is
investigating allegations of
prevarication, deceit, bribery, and abuse of political
influence made against several of the region’s leading
political figures, including
the mayor of Águilas, relating to the construction
of a huge residential estate
and commercial centre in
La Zerrichera, on an area
protected by the European
Union.
Ecologists
expose
Cartagena
pollution
The Ecologistas en Acción movement has again
warned of increasing levels
of atmospheric contamination in Cartagena that is
caused by road traffic and
industrial activity. Sulphur
dioxide levels exceeded permitted levels during both
January and February and
the law permits a maximum
of three. The public was not
advised.
Property market
Promoters
say new
house prices
will rise
and the construction contracts will be awarded once
the regional government
reaches an agreement with
the development ministry
in Madrid. Bids have been
submitted by large companies such as Sacyr and Acciona, while airlines like
Air Europa, Spanair, Virgin, Ryanair and Easyjet
are apparently keen to sign
up.
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Environment
New international airport expecting to cater for
200,000 passengers within first year of operation
Murcia’s new international
airport, which will be built
in Corvera (about half way
between Murcia and Cartagena), will be inaugurated
in 2010 and is expected to
cater for 200,000 passengers
during the first year. The regional government has already received several bids
to build the facility, which
will operate in tandem with
San Javier airport, on the
banks of the Mar Menor,
close to the border with Alicante province.
REGIONAL NEWS
Murcia’s construction and
promotion companies have
rejected the Ley del Suelo
(Ground Law) approved
recently in the House of
Congress, and warn that
they will be forced to push
up new house prices even
further. The new law obliges construction companies
to reserve 30 per cent of
the land to be developed
for state-protected housing
(VPO), 20% more than they
are currently required to
under existing regional legislation.
Satellite Television
Suppliers and installers of SKY, Multisat and fixed
dish system in the Costa Blanca
TRISAT
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8
LOCAL NEWS
March 9 - March 15 2007
Boy accuses
police of
hitting him
Giving in to terror
NO-ONE should be surprised at the news that most Spaniards disapprove of the government’s decision to send
killer José Ignacio De Juana Chaos back to his home
region where he will serve the rest of his three years
sentence under house arrest.
The government says it did so because of fears for his
life after a 114-day hunger strike, initially in jail and
then in a Madrid hospital.
More likely it did not want the publicity that would
have been generated had the terrorist, responsible for
at least 25 killings, died.
Spaniards would probably have preferred José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to have adopted Margaret Thatcher’s
tactics when Bobby Sands and his fellow IRA convicts
elected to go on hunger strike over prisoner rights.
The British government did not give way and Sands and
some of his colleagues died.
It has to be admitted that the goverment faced a real dilemma.
Zapatero has shown a genuine desire to end the threat
posed by ETA, which for four decades has fought a bloody war of terrorism to back its demand for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and the Basque
region of France.
He had proposed negotiations but the Madrid bombings,
which killed two more to add to the list of more than 800
victims of the ETA fight, ended hopes of that.
He also had to weigh up the consequences of De Juana
Chaos death, had he died before gaining his freedom.
It would not have been unrealistic of him and his colleagues to have feared a violent backlash from ETA on
a country that has already suffered enough from its terrorism, and more recently, the Islamic radical-inspired
Madrid metro bombings.
He considered the humanitarian grounds outweighed
those of the people who demanded De Juana Chaos’s
incarceration until his death.
As De Juana Chaos had already served his sentences
for murder and was jailed again from making rambling
threats in a newspaper read by so few that they would
have had little impact, in this instance it seems fair to
give Zapatero the benefit of the doubt.
Nevertheless one must have sympathy with the relatives of the victims of De Juana Chaos and ETA see the
former escaping his desserts.
They fear that Zapatero has given in to terrorism and
this will only encourage ETA and like-minded groups
to make more demands, either by blackmail (De Juana
Chaos) or the threat of the gun (ETA) to achieve their
aims.
Nautical but nice
opera takes to stage
VALENCIA is putting on an
opera with a nautical theme
to celebrate the 32nd America’s Cup yacht race.
Verdi’s opera Simon Boccanegra will be on the Palau
de les Arts stage on March
9, 11, 14 and 16.
The international cast is
headed by the Spanish baritone Carlos Álvarez, who
plays Simon Boccanegra,
and the Chilean soprano
Cristina Gallardo-Domas,
as Amelia Grimaldi.
Leading the musical direction is Lorin Maazel, direc-
tor of the Region of Valencia Orchestra, with stage
direction by Lluís Pasqual.
The opera uses the sea as its
principal element through
the vital adventures of the
pirate Simon Boccanegra.
It complements the nearby
port hosting the prestigious
international 32nd America’s Cup this summer.
Valencia is pulling out all
the stops to ensure the race
is a resounding success.
Many musical acts have
been signed up during the
event.
CAPTURED: Police officers take away one of the suspects
Knifemen’s bid to rob bank
FRIGHTENED customers
have spoken of the moment
two knifemen tried to hold
up the bank.
A resident of Benijófar was
in the Banco Popular in Ciudad Quesada when the first
man burst in.
Brandishing a knife, he
threatened
the
cashier
and manageress yesterday,
Thursday March 8.
A second knifeman rushed
in to inform his accomplice
that the police were outside.
They ran from the bank,
dropping an empty Zara carrier bag. One police officer
shouted for passers-by to
stop the would-be robbers
who had split up.
Two men have been arrested in connection with an
attempted bank robbery.
City builds on
wealthy future
ALICANTE’S new international congress centre will
turn the province into a
centre of wealth, prosperity
and good employment prospects, says regional president Francisco Camps.
The centre, which has seating for 3,500 people and
costs 40 million euros, will
put Alicante on the world
map, Camps said this week.
He believes the centre will
soon earn back the money
invested in it and will turn
Alicante into a ‘futuristic,
forward-looking city full of
strength and confidence’.
Plans for the centre were
unveiled last week in the
regional parliament.
It is expected to generate a
lot of employment which,
according to the president
“will soon see a financial
return that exceeds the
Generalitat’s investment in
the project.”
The centre, which will host
Death threat
for mayoress
LOOKING FORWARD: Unveiling plans for Alicante
international
parliamentary conferences, is just one
feature of the government’s
plans to turn Alicante into
an up-and-coming city with
a buoyant economy.
Camps says the new highspeed train link to Valencia,
which was given the green
light last week, together
with the Ciudad de la Luz
cinema complex and the revamping of the port which
is the venue for next year’s
Volvo Ocean Race, will add
to the city’s prosperity.
He has been in talks with
architects concerning modernising the port and constructing a hotel complex,
a seafront promenade, and
new homes for rent.
Wine fair enjoys Spanish flavour
Region’s beauties bid for crowning glory
WINE aficionados will be
able to sample different
varieties from all over
the country during Moraira’s 6th Spanish wine
fair on March 15 – 16, in
BEAUTY
queens
across Spain are hoping to be crowned
Miss España 2007 on
Sunday.
The ceremony will
which 14 bodegas will be
taking part.
The fair, taking place in
the Solpark tennis club,
will be open from 14.00 20.00 hrs. Free entry.
A TEENAGE boy is claiming he was beaten unconscious by a Local Police
officer.
In a statement to Dénia
court, the 16-year-old teenager said he was allegedly
badly injured by Jávea police on March 1.
According to the statement,
he left home at 21.30 hours
to meet his friends.
He was stopped by the police and asked to show the
contents of his pockets.
The teenager refused and
replied that he preferred to
be taken to the police station rather than be stripped
on the street and left half
naked as it had happened
on other occasions.
He claims one of the policemen then hit him in the
stomach area, and pushed
him against a wall.
He said his arms were put
behind his back with such
force he thought that they
were going to break.
His statement said he lost
consciousness and woke up
being held down by a policeman in the patrol car. As he
was led to the police station
he was tripped up and fell
on his face.
It added that when the officers saw blood coming from
his face they took him to
hospital.
The medical report stated
that his noise and lips were
bleeding badly, he had a bad
lump on his forehead, and
scratch marks on his upper
body.
His mother complained to
the mayor who is said to
have told her that appropriate action must be taken.
take place in Oropesa in the province
of Castellón.
The 52 candidates
from the different
provinces in Spain
have already gathered in Toledo for a
week of entertainment and competition. Miss Alicante,
Miss Valencia and
Miss Castellón have
already arrived in
the city.
The ceremony will
be televised live
from Oropesa.
JIJONA’S mayoress says
she has received a deaththreat by letter.
The letter dated March 1
to Rosa María Verdú said:
“Your time is up; you will
be executed.”
It included a copy of a public hanging with the words
cut out individually and taped to the picture.
Next to the photo, Rosa’s
name was written in biro.
The man being executed
on the picture had his face
blanked out and the word
mamón written across it,
a strong insult in Spanish
which means ‘know-it-all’
or ‘idiot’.
Rosa said she did not know
who was responsible. She
said: “They are not going to
scare me.”
The Guardia Civil is investigating.
www. javea . com
LOCAL NEWS
March 9 - March 15 2007
Migrants
moving in
MORE than one in 10 people living in the Comunitat
Valenciana are immigrants
from non-European countries.
Statistics show that about
641,000 immigrants live
here, which equals 13.73 per
cent of the population.
If this trend continues,
in two years time another
200,000 people will have
moved, meaning non-Europeans make up 16.30 per
cent of the overall population.
Last year the Comunitat
Valenciana was the third
region after Cataluña and
Andalucía to attract foreigners. It attracted 114,000
people, which is three times
more than the number of
new immigrants registered
in the Comunidad de Madrid.
Over the past five years
450,000 new residents have
arrived in the Comunitat
Valenciana.
The councillor for Social Affairs in Valencia has developed a special integration
programme, that stresses
values like tolerance, mutual respect, respect and protection of other cultures,
traditions and values, as
well as the idea of a multicultural society.
It was pointed out that social stability and economic
development have to go
hand in hand. The Generalitat in Valencia has set aside
a budget of 4,000 million euros for this programme.
9
2,000 new
jobs on way
HOT SPOT: Tourist honeytraps are not geared up to compete with new East European resorts
Towns ‘fail to invest in holidaymakers’
TOURIST towns have been
accused of failing to invest
cash in one of their biggest
assets.
Danny Silva, of the Nueva
Jávea Independent Party,
said the traditional tourism season is due to start at
Easter bringing a welcome
economic injection.
Speaking at an official NJ
dinner, Silva said that al-
though tourism is a major
part of the Costa economy,
few local authorities have
invested in providing new
and better services to combat growing competition
from other resorts, including Eastern Europe.
Silva is intending to stand
for election as an NJ candidate in the May local elections.
Capital gains fast
train link to resort
TRAIN passengers will soon
be able to travel from Benidorm to Madrid in just over
two hours.
The new high-speed train,
which can travel at a maximum of 200km/hour, will
transform the journey for
thousands of passengers.
Until now they had to spend
hours travelling between
the two cities by bus or
change trains. The proposals, released by the regional
Valencia government, met
with approval by thousands
of people living in the region.
Regional head of transport,
Vicente Domine, said that
Benidorm was the only
large town in Spain without
a rail connection.
A planned link between El
Altet and Benidorm was
discussed, which will allow
passengers to arrive at the
airport in just 30 minutes.
It is hoped work on the project will begin within four
years.
Recently the development
ministry and Valencia regional government agreed to
a new railway line between
Alicante and Valencia.
Hospital runs out of rooms
TOO BUSY: Dénia’s hospital is unable to cope
The track will be laid next to
the AP7 motorway and will
have stations in Benidorm,
Dénia, Oliva and Gandia.
It will carry both local and
long-distance trains, with
expected speeds of up to 230
km/hour.
The first phase of the project
has a budget of 400 million
euros, which will increase
to 1.5 billion.
VALENCIAN supermarket
chain Mercadona is planning to open another 100
stores this year, bringing a
jobs boost of 2,000.
The firm has also announced a 32 per cent increase in
profits.
Last year it had a turnover
of 12,125 million euros, up
18 per cent on the previous
year, with a net profit of 242
million euros.
The company is aiming to
increase sales by 11 per cent
this year to achieve 13,500
million euros.
Company president Juan
Roig said increased productivity was partly due to an
indepth study of clients, to
find out their preferences
with regards to products as
well as when they shopped.
Credit card facilities were
improved, since 40 per cent
of all purchases are paid by
card.
Also trusting relationships
were established with most
suppliers who have life time
contracts with Mercadona.
To ensure it continuously improves products, the
Sorolla premium is given
to the best invention every
year. This year a new opening mechanism for tuna
tins won the prize.
Over the course of the coming year it is planned to
open 100 new supermarket
and to refurbish 60 existing
ones. This will create 2,000
jobs.
The firm is planning to go
international in 2010.
100,000 €
TEMPORARY cabins that
ease pressure at a major hospital are themselves at breaking point, unions claim.
They said the extra rooms are
unable to cope with the pressure at the Marina Alta hospital in La Pedrera, Dénia.
Since 1986, the population of
the Marina Alta has soared
from 102,000 to 182,000 in
2006, therefore increasing the
number of hospital patients.
It was decided that 20 prefabs
would be put in the hospital
grounds to free up space in
the main building. However,
now they are being used as
specialist consultant rooms.
A second hospital is being
built near the N-332 in Dénia.
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10
LOCAL NEWS
Expats learn
to integrate
ENGLISH-SPEAKING expatriates living in Santa
Pola are being encouraged
to learn valenciano.
The councillor for culture,
together with the promotions office have started
a campaign called 100
Paraules en valencià (100
words in valenciano) which
is aimed at native Englishspeakers in the town.
They are distributing brochures teaching basic vocabulary such as greetings,
days of the week, numbers,
food, clothes and jobs.
The brochures, of which
2,000 have been published,
are laminated and have the
English vocabulary and the
equivalent in the regional
language on one side and
the translation in castellano on the other.
Every Thursday, those interested in learning more
can collect a new vocabulary leaflet from one of the
municipal libraries.
Each one has a different
theme, says culture councillor Tomás Martínez.
Head of the Valenciano
promotions office, Mari
Àngels Sempere, said: “We
don’t expect a foreign resident to end up learning valenciano from these leaflets
but it is a start and a way
of teaching them about our
culture.”
In Santa Pola, 90 per cent
of inhabitants understand
and habitually use the language.
13 arrested
POLICE believe they have
smashed one of the largest
cocaine smuggling networks in Elche and Alicante.
They have arrested 13
people and seized 1.5 kg of
cocaine along with jewellery, three sports cars and
thousands of euros.
They have accused the suspects, including 12 Colombians, of setting up a small
laboratory where they cut
the drug and mixed the cocaine.
Further north two suspected drug bosses have been
arrested in Benitachell
and Moraira. Officers held
two Moroccan men, an Algerian and a German man
for allegedly smuggling
hashish into Murcia and
Valencia from Morocco.
March 9 - March 15 2007
High winds wreak
chaos for travellers
WINDS of up to 103 km/h
sweeping across Spain have
caused chaos on the roads
and led to numerous flights
being cancelled.
In the Comunitat Valenciana, an industrial building
fell down in Alicante, a fire
broke out in a garden centre
in Castellón while numerous trees have fallen down
throughout the region.
In Valencia, a palm tree fell
on a moving car, injuring
a 17-year-old boy and a 48year-old man.
One of the fallas statues in
the city also fell down, forc-
ing the fire brigade to take
action.
The strongest winds in the
region were in the north of
the Alicante province.
On Wednesday, a Dénia
woman reported cones flying about on the road while
two women driving from
Jalón were forced to brake
sharply and swerve when
they encountered a wheelie-bin in the middle of the
road.
All over the country, more
than 20 flights were cancelled because of the wind.
El Altet airport in Alicante
was forced to divert six
flights.
Two women were injured in
Segovia and Asturias, the
ski station at Sierra Nevada
and Madrid’s Parque del Retiro were closed.
Eight autonomous communities are on red alert,
mainly those on the coast.
A 68-year-old woman in El
Espinar (Segovia) has been
kept in hospital with a broken hip after a metal barrier
sealing off building works
fell on her.
Another woman in Avilés
(Asturias)
was
injured
when parts of a wall around
a football pitch blew away
and hit her.
The roof of a primary
school was ripped off in
Ferrol (La Coruña) and the
emergency services in Castilla y León received 40 calls
on Wednesday.
Overhead cables on the
high-speed AVE train from
Madrid to Sevilla were damaged, causing delays of up
to a quarter of an hour.
Experts recommend extreme caution when driving
and only essential journeys
should be made.
Quail-catapulting
causing outrage
THE so-called Valencian
sport of quail-catapulting,
in which live birds are flung
into the air and shot down,
has come under attack from
animal lovers.
Germany’s animal welfare
organisation has protested
against the practice, where
baby quails are fired into
the air and then shot down
for fun.
Thousands of quails are being killed in this way in the
Comunitat Valenciana, said
the German Animal Protection Federation, which has
700,000 members.
“Spain tends to defend behaviour that is cruel to
animals by arguing that it
is part of its tradition and
cultural heritage,” said
Thomas Schröder, director
of the federation.
He noted that Spain was a
top destination for German
tourists, some of whom
have come back with shock-
ing accounts of the birds being mistreated in this way.
The federation issued a
statement
complaining
about quail catapulting two
years ago. Schröder said it
also sent letters to the Spanish embassy in Berlin and
to Spain’s Queen Sofía, but
had received no response.
UNDER FIRE: Quails are catapulted into the air and shot
cover refuse collection and
sewage, and business taxes
are due for collection in the
province of Alicante, for two
months from this date.
Each town in the region
A NEW shopping centre
and cinema complex is on
the cards for Crevillente, reveals mayor César Asencio.
The town, which is famous
for its top-quality rugs,
will soon be the venue for a
large, modern centre with
well-known national and
local brands selling their
wares.
The complex has been re-designed several times and its
creation delayed by nearly
four years.
Promoters Urdisar S.L. say
this has been unavoidable
since shopping complexes
are constantly changing.
A spokesman for the group,
Enrique Pérez, says that
with a city the size of Elche
nearby, which has numerous commercial centres, the
complex in Crevillente has
to be carefully designed to
attract visitors who would
otherwise travel to Elche.
Top brands of clothing will
be on sale, and the mayor
and promoters are considering the viability of
including a multi-screen
cinema.
Once approval has been
granted by the regional government, works on the centre will finally commence.
The centre will also have to
compete with top shops in
Torrevieja and Alicante.
Baby could
save sister
Residents have two months to pay their local taxes
VOLUNTARY payments of
local taxes or SUMA became
due on March 1.
Foreign residents should be
aware that vehicle tax and
other municipal taxes that
Shops set to
open doors
has a SUMA office where to
make enquiries.
SUMA payments can be
made via the bank with
a receipt. For further
information SUMA also
has a phone line open for
English, French or German
residents
on
Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays,
from 09hrs to 12hrs. The
number is 96 514 85 61.
AN Alicante couple are
hoping to be able to have a
baby by genetic screening,
who could then become a
donor for their seriously-ill
daughter.
The young girl suffers from
Hurlers Syndrome, a genetic disorder which prevents
sufferers from developing
both mentally and physically.
Patients usually stop developing between the ages of
two and four, followed by
progressive mental decline
and loss of physical skills.
They rarely survive beyond
the age of 10.
The parents need permission from the National
Commission for Assisted
Reproduction. It is usually
granted when it is seen as
the only way to save the life
of a brother or sister.
www.ellis.com.es
We take care 24/7
LOCAL NEWS
March 9 - March 15 2007
11
Johnny’s back
in Benidorm
BRITISH television comedy
Benidorm, starring Johnny
Vegas, has landed a second
series.
ITV bosses decided to continue with the show, in
which Vegas plays a pub
quiz champion.
ITV’s director of entertainment and comedy, Paul
Jackson, said: ‘The decision was made to recommission the sitcom after the
fourth episode as it became
apparent that the series
maintained healthy ratings
against some tough competition.”
COMING BACK: Johnny Vegas is set to make a second series about holidaymakers in Benidorm
Employers count cost
SMOKING is costing
businesses in Alicante
more than 385 million
euros per year in lost
revenues, according to
a report out this week.
The findings, released
by business problemsolving group Inology,
reveals that one in three
employees in Alicante
province smokes.
They spend, on average,
25 minutes a day smoking, time which is not
made up in the office.
Given that labour costs
in Alicante province
average 14.86 euros per
hour, 25 minutes lost
per day equals 6.20 euros in lost earnings.
When this figure is
multiplied by the to-
tal number of working
days per year, as well
as the 260,000 smokers in the province, the
costs increase to nearly
400,000,000 million euros.
Scientists cut
cigarette toxin
ALICANTE University scientists have developed a
technique which drastically
cuts the toxins a cigarette
smoker inhales.
The catalyser reduces the
amount of nicotine and other toxins reaching a smoker’s lungs by two-thirds.
It is believed the device
could revolutionise the tobacco industry.
Head of the study, professor Antonio Marcilla, said
a tobacco distribution firm
is already interested in the
patent and it is likely to be-
come commercially available.
Marcilla said the product
was made of a non-organic,
non-toxic material, which
was similar to clay.
He said it would cost very
little to produce and the
extra expense could be absorbed in the price of the
cigarette.
It would not alter the taste
either.
Marcilla said: “A person
who smokes a packet of
cigarettes would inhale the
equivalent toxins of only
five or six cigarettes with
the catalyser.”
Smoke inhaled by passive
smokers would also reduce.
However, the scientists
stressed that individuals
would only avoid the risks
of smoking if they gave up
completely.
Scientists came across the
anti-toxin device by chance
two years ago.
The catalyser was being
used in other experiments
when researchers decided
to carry out a one-off test
on cigarettes.
Town hosts
culture trip
EXPATRIATES are being invited on a cultural day trip
around the Marina Alta.
Teulada’s two adult education centres, FPA and EPA,
have organised the trip for
Friday March 23.
Participants will learn
about the traditional culture of the region.
The visit has been set up
to help foreigner residents
integrate into the Marina
Alta society.
The trip starts from Teulada town hall at 08.30hrs and
includes tours of the PegoOliva marjal as well as the
Gallinera, Alcalá and Ebo
valleys.
Anyone interested in taking part needs to register at
Teulada Caja Rural before
March 21.
12
LOCAL NEWS
City links
to airport
CITY dwellers will soon be
able to take the metro all the
way to Valencia airport.
By the end of next month
the metro’s line 5 in Valencia will be extended to the
airport.
It will take 20 minutes to get
from Mislata in the centre
to the departure gate.
The factory Vossloh has
worked on the design and
construction of the train
for the past two years. The
project cost more than 250
million euros.
The train can carry up to
588 passengers.
Special day
for women
PEDREGUER’S Casa de
Cultura will be putting on
a special music, dance and
poetry evening today, Friday March 9, for International Women’s Day.
Teulada town council has
announced that in addition,
special ‘laughter therapy’
workshops will take place
on March 12 and 14 in Teulada’s Salón de Actos and
Moraira’s public Cap d’Or
Public College.
Cristina del Valle, president
of the platform of women
artists against domestic violence, will also host a conference entitled ‘Domestic
violence: types, structure
and cycles.’
For more information, contact Teulada town council.
March 9 - March 15 2007
Future’s orange
for ‘green’ cars
SPANISH cars could soon
be running on fuel made
from Valencia’s oranges.
New technology shows that
orange peel could be turned
into biofuel to cut pollution
while using a readily available source of energy.
The Ford car factory in Almussafes, near Valencia,
adds to the potential for the
region.
Valencia regional government’s head of planning
Esteban González, said:
“We have a car plant and we
have the oranges.”
Many of the province’s annual crop of four million
oranges is squeeezed into
juice.
However the leftover peel
could be turned into bioethanol.
Each tonne of pulp could
produce 80 litres of fuel.
A distribution network
around the Comunitat Valencia would sell the fuel
to residents, at about 40 per
cent less than they pay for
petrol.
Government officials believe the initiative could
PUMP IT UP: Drivers may soon be filling up on fuel made from oranges
create 2,500 jobs and revitalise the struggling orange
industry.
Valencia’s orange juice fuel
would account for one per
cent of the country’s total
Biofuel - the advantages
Builders unearth old tombs
BUILDERS have unearthed
a 16th century burial site
during restoration work in
Pego’s old town.
Architects have found 27
Christian tombs belonging to children and adults,
which are markedly different to tombs found 18
months ago below the
town’s C/ Mayor.
The first tombs dated to the
Muslim era in Spain and all
faced east, whereas the most
recent find shows tombs facing in a westerly direction, a
feature of Christian tombs.
In addition, a second architectural dig in the EcceHomo plaza has revealed
foundations of the town’s
main entrance gate, dating
to the 13th or 14th century.
This was knocked down in
the 20th century to improve
access to the town.
Sahara trip
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TELÉFONO 965 732 625
FAX 966 435 157
WWW.GRUPOASV.COM
This could be turned into 37
million litres of bioethanol.
The idea is also being considered in Florida, another
large orange-growing region.
BIOFUEL is any fuel that comes from living organisms or their byproducts, such as manure from
cows. It is a renewable energy source, unlike other
natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels.
One advantage of biofuel over most other fuel
types is that it is biodegradable, and so relatively
harmless to the environment if spilled.
It can be derived from many sources including
corn, rapeseed, sugar cane, straw, and food leftovers such as orange peel.
Shop wins
top award
A 20-YEAR-OLD Benidorm
business has become the
first small tobacconist’s in
Spain to be awarded a top
prize for the quality of its
products and services.
The shop in tourist spot El
Rincón won the prize after
passing a series of stringent tests, which included
courtesy, professionalism
and competence of staff.
A team of inspectors paid
anonymous visits to the
shop to observe how staff
dealt with customers.
The shop is as popular
among residents as it is for
tourists in search of a tobacco souvenir.
transport fuel consumption. A new juicing plant is
also being built in the region, which would raise the
amount of wasted peel to
500,000 tonnes.
HIGH school students in
Elche are looking forward
to a trip to the Sahara
where they will stay in a
refugee camp.
The expedition to Tinduf
(Algeria) will take place between April 8 and 20.
Nineteen pupils from high
schools Pere Ibarra, La
Asunción and Cayetano
Sempere will travel to Africa to see how Saharans
live.
They will take educational
material and pharmaceutical drugs with them.
All the schools have been
running cultural exchanges with Saharan people for
four years. However this is
the first time a trip has been
organised.
Auction
offers top
kitchen
AN auction is being held
for a luxury 64,000-euro
kitchen.
Centro de Cocinas S.L. is
celebrating its anniversary in Teulada on Friday
March 8 at 18.00 hrs with a
fund-raising event.
Money raised will go to the
message for Megan campaign, part of Ronald McDonald’s charities.
The main event of the
evening will be the auctioning of one of its exclusive
Zeyko showroom kitchens valued at 64,000 euros,
which will start at a reserve
price of 16,500 euros
A live band will provide the
entertainment while guests
can enjoy Spanish cava and
canopies.
For further information
contact Centro de cocinas
at Calle Els Gremis, 9, Teulada, phone 96 574 15 10,
e-mail ruben@kitchens.cc
or visit the website www.
kitchens.cc.
Taking shape
THE future shape of Teulada is being discussed at a
special meeting on Tuesday
March 27. English-speaking residents are invited to
hear the mayor José Císcar
Bolufer talk about projects
being undertaken or starting in the next few months.
The meeting is being held
in the Salón de Banquetes
Canor, just off the N-332.
Businessmen jailed
for poisoning staff
TWO businessmen have
been jailed after 10 employees were seriously ill from
inhaling toxic materials in
their factory.
The workers fell ill in a Villena shoe firm in 1998 after
inhaling toxic materials.
The bosses were charged
with gross negligence after
failing to ensure the safety
and hygiene of their workers.
The men operated without
a licence and did not carry
out a risk assessment of
their activity, as demanded
by law.
The 10 employees started to
develop the illness known
as ‘shoe paralysis’ after inhaling toxic glue.
The victims were off work
for between two months and
two years.
The judge sentenced the accused to 4.5 months each in
prison and ordered them to
pay 177,000 euros in damages to the victims.
Torture claimant on trial
THE Guatemalan national
who accused Torrevieja’s
Local Police of torture has
appeared in court.
He is accused of attempting
to burgle an officer’s house,
but put in a counter-claim
of torture against him and
his wife by the town’s police
force.
A court order on February 1
meant investigating officers
searched his house.
The incident reportedly
occurred last June 23 and
Guardia Civil officers claim
to have taped evidence of
talks between a local police
officer and a doctor who is
also implicated in the case.
The accused officer was
suspended from duties and
seven officers were also
questioned.
The plaintiff was said to
be found in a policeman’s
home trying to steal valuable goods while his wife
kept watch outside.
He claims the same officer
approached the couple in
the street where he was attacked by him.
The trial continues.
STAR: Mike Oldfield
Top stars
jetting in
TOP British musicians
Mike Oldfield and The Human League are among
the stars taking part in the
Night of the Proms in Valencia this month.
Other artistes include Ana
Torroja, Chico and The
Gypsies and the tenor Tony
Henry.
The concert takes place in
the city’s Velódromo Luis
Puig on March 30 before
heading for Madrid the following night.
Oldfield is famous for his
Tubular Bells album in
1973.
Tickets are available by
phoning 902 150 025 (Spanish speakers) or 934 450 660
(non-Spanish) or online
from www.ticktackticket.
com.
LOCAL NEWS
March 9 - March 15 2007
Doctors shun
offer of work
MURCIA’S health service is
struggling to find doctors to
fill all the vacancies in the
region, even by employing
medics from abroad.
There are 98 jobs available
but only 30 have attracted
candidates.
Between now and 2018, the
health ministry calculates
it will need 2,323 new doctors.
Although 2,000 doctor’s jobs
will be advertised this year,
most will be filled by existing medics moving ahead
with their career.
Annually, the health service
needs 230 specialists but
usually only finds 130.
The regional government
has attempted to fill the positions with Polish doctors,
a move that has been successful in the Comunitat
Valenciana.
However, not one medic
from Poland has applied.
A spokesman for the health
service’s personnel department says the language
barrier is a problem, and
emigrating Poles with medical qualifications tend to go
Germany, which is closer.
There are several Polish
Boost for
job hunters
HUNDREDS of disabled
people in the Mazarrón area
are set to be given a helping
hand to find jobs.
Mazarrón’s disabled association ADIMA has set up
a database with situations
vacant and people seeking
work.
The group will advise jobseekers of suitable positions as they arise.
Those who are interesting
should provide a copy of
their NIE and passport, DNI
or residence card, together
with a certificate proving
their disability and a passport-sized photograph.
ADIMA’s office at Plaza de
Salitre, 5, is open from Monday to Wednesday, 18.0020.00 hrs. Call 687 545 024 for
further details.
specialists in Torrevieja’s
hospital, where bilingual
staff are an asset due to
the high number of foreign
residents.
The 98 vacancies have been
advertised in 29 European
countries, but only 30 applications have been received.
Most of these are from doctors in Italy, and a few from
Slovenia, Romania and the
Czech Republic.
Specialists in radiology, paediatrics, general surgery,
traumatology and gynaecology are the most difficult to
find.
Strays found
Join IT age Suspect, 25, accused of
FAMILIES are being ofrunning ‘Fagin’s kitchen’
fered a grant to help them
join the computer age.
Murcia regional government is launching its ‘internet in the house’ scheme
for the third time, which is
designed to encourage families to invest in computer
equipment and internet access.
For the first time families
will be able to apply for a
limited number of 200-euro
grants. If they are ineligible
or unable to get a grant they
may still be able to apply for
a subsidised bank loan.
A 25-YEAR-OLD man from
Alcantarilla, Murcia Region, is suspected of being
the ringleader of a gang behind numerous burglaries
in the Orihuela area.
National Police officers arrested five young people last
week in connection with
the crimewave. One of the
detainees is a minor.
They are said to have gained
entry to the properties by
pretending to sell raffle
tickets.
Where the properties were
empty, the arrested parties
allegedly forced the locks
and stole jewellery, money
and on occasions, vehicles
to enable them to make a
getaway.
Police have been investigating the crimes since
November, which may be
linked to cases in Arneva,
Desamparados, El Arenal,
La Media Legua, the Camino de Beniel, El Mojón and
Hurchillo.
13
Melendi rocks in for fiesta
TOP chart acts are on the
cards for the Fiestas de
Mayo in Alcantarilla.
The live music programme
starts with pop-rocker Melendi, pictured, on May 12,
followed by nationally-acclaimed singer-songwriter
Miguel Bosé on May 17, pop
duo Andy y Lucas on May 18
and Brazilian artist Carlinhos Brown on May 19.
Entry to each of the concerts is free.
They will take place in the
Entrevías festival ground to
celebrate the town’s patron
saint fiesta.
HEARTLESS owners abandoned 107 pets in Murcia
last year, the highest number on record. Alhama de
Murcia council said they
found 98 dogs and nine cats
who had been left to fend
for themselves.
The council said the number of abandoned pets increased by 42 per cent between 2005 and 2006. More
are found wandering the
streets in February than
any other time of the year.
This could be due to pets
being given as Christmas
presents who prove to be
too much hard work.
Please call our local helpline for more infor mation 966 799 070
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14
LETTERS
March 9 - March 15 2007
Letters
Dear editor
Why is the government
wasting its health service resources on keeping
De Juana Chaos alive? If
the ETA prisoner chooses
to starve himself they
should let him get on with
it.
José Ignacio de Juana
Chaos intended to commit a terrorist attack. In
effect, he is potentially a
murderer and who knows
whether he has been responsible for carrying out
previous bombings in the
name of Basque separatism. The lives claimed
by the terrorist cell are
gone forever, and yet doc-
Get in touch with
by email: editor@thinkspain.com or by post to Letters to the
editor; Centro Comercial La Teulera 12-14, Avda. Rey Juan Carlos I, 61-63, 03727, Jalón/Xaló, Alicante
tors seem intent on saving a man serving a jail
sentence because of his
involvement in ETA.
The government should
not give in to blackmail.
Would they release every
prisoner, irrespective of
his or her crime, simply because they went
on a hunger strike? And
shouldn’t the doctors who
are feeding De Juana Chaos by tube stick to treating
ordinary citizens, patients
who are really in need? It
seems madness that they
are giving up valuable
working hours on a man
in prison for terrorist-related activities when law-
abiding members of the
public have to put up with
ridiculously long waiting
lists.
My sympathies are fully
with the Asociación de
Víctimas del Terrorismo
and I can understand
their backlash when the
president spoke of ‘negotiating’ with ETA – it is
easy to see why those who
have lost friends and family members would want
to see these killers rot in
jail.
However, Zapatero genuinely thought he was
taking the most logical
path, given that threats
of prison seemed to pro-
voke even more violence.
Unfortunately, he made
a big mistake and was
completely duped, but the
Barajas bombing would
probably have happened
however Zapatero decided
to handle the issue.
ETA must be stopped,
period. These murderers have ruined too many
lives already and whatever it takes – negotiation,
prison, blackmail, bribery,
anything – they cannot be
allowed to get away with
another three decades of
killing and maiming.
Dear editor
I am really enjoying the
continued presence of
interesting health and
food-related articles in
your newspaper. There
has been a lot of recent research linking a healthy
diet using natural produce
free from processed intervention to help prevent
and treat cancers and other illnesses. Recently you
printed an article about
how fruit and vegetables
can actually prevent cancer, with explanations
backed by scientific evi-
dence, which was interesting and informative.
I am not normally one
who believes that the public should be dictated to
regarding food. It is, after all, a matter of choice
what we eat, but now
there is more and more
evidence that a natural
diet can prevent such diseases and conditions such
as Alzheimer’s and types
of cancers. The links are
now being scientifically
proven, and if people are
encouraged and informed
about eating healthily
Catherine Archer
Ontinyent
Dear Editor
We have just come over to
Benidorm to spend a couple of months in our holiday flat and what a change!
The CB Friday has become
thinkSPAIN|today
(who
chose that name?), the brilliant Molly has gone again,
and it now costs 1.90 euros
per issue.
Your saving grace is that
you still employ some gifted feature writers such as
Alex Elgar and Samantha
Kett. Keep them busy as we
love their articles. We even
save the issues we buy over
here and take them back to
our home town of Norwich
and give out at our local
weekly pensioners’ club
where we go each week to
see our friends and have a
game of bingo.
Now a bit of help, please,
from your readers. A lovely
cabaret singer from the
Norwich area has recently
moved to the Costa Blanca
and we understand she is
singing in the area somewhere. She sings under
the name of Just Jill and
we would love to catch her
singing here, as she has a
lovely voice. So if anyone
can point us in the right
direction we would be very
grateful.
Vera and George Grubbins
Benidorm
PS. Think of we poor pensioners next time you want
to put the price of your paper up!
then hospital admissions
would significantly be
reduced, people would
be less reliant on pharmaceutical drugs and an
ageing population would
enjoy better health.
Also, last week I really
enjoyed the feature about
‘Slow Food’ by Dick and
Clodagh
Handscombe,
and how to make the
most of regional produce.
Spain, in particular the
Valencian region, could
benefit from an association that defends and promote its rich culinary tra-
ditions, which are healthy
and natural, with fresh
produce able to be grown
right around us.
I hope that you continue
to feature food and healthrelated stories, as I truly
believe that scientists
are on the brink of many
wonderful
discoveries
about the underestimated
benefits of the fruits of
nature.
Hazel Jinks
Orihuela
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
March 9 - March 15 2007
15
Live the dream
Brit group
still missing
THE mystery deepens
over the British embassy
group and their guides
missing in Ethiopia.
Earlier this week it
emerged that they were
not in their cars when the
vehicles were riddled with
bullets, according to a foreign office spokesperson.
The group went missing
in the Afar region in the
nort-heast of the country
last Thursday.
The British and Ethiopian
governments have refused
to be drawn on allegations
from a released captive
and an Ethiopian official
that troops from neighbouring Eritrea abducted
the group - a claim Eritrea
has denied.
Wall Street
recognised
THE economic hub of
America has been granted
a place in history.
Home to the city’s early
Dutch settlers, Wall Street
and its surroundings in
lower Manhattan have
proved to be an economic
engine for the country.
Now the area is undergoing transformation as
its austere buildings are
transformed into swank
condominiums.
The 36-block area of the
Wall Street Historic District has now been listed
on the National Register
of Historic Places.
ALL CHANGE: Life peers will no longer have a place in Parliament
MPs vote for
elected Lords
AN elected House of Lords
is on the cards in Britain.
After nearly a century MPs
have, at last, managed to
break the deadlock.
People will no longer automatically have a seat in
the upper chamber because
they have a title or because
of their parentage.
This week the majority for
a 100 per cent elected House
was 113, compared with 38
for an 80 per cent elected
chamber.
However the second option
is still on the table as both
Conservative and Labour
leaders have previously
favoured the inclusion of
some appointed crossbench,
expert peers.
However there are still
many issues to be resolved,
including the electoral system to be used. There is also
the question of what happens to current life peers.
The vote is being hailed as
an historic victory for British democracy.
The irony now is that the
Lords will have the chance
to veto the vote or delay it at
the very least.
If such a Bill runs into serious opposition in the Lords
– possibly in the run-up to
Inquiry set
up into fatal
plane crash
Basques
invaded UK
BASQUE
and
fellow
northern Spanish inhabitants are the principal
ancestors of today’s British and Irish populations,
research shows.
Stephen
Oppenheimer,
a medical geneticist at
the University of Oxford,
claims the principal ancestors of today’s British
and Irish populations arrived from Spain about
16,000 years ago, speaking a language related to
Basque.
His findings have been revealed in a new book The
Origins of the British: A
Genetic Detective Story.
Inman dies, 71
BRITISH comedy actor
John Inman has died at
the age of 71.
Inman, who was best
known for his role as Mr
Humphreys in 1970s TV
series Are You Being Served?, died in a London
hospital at 04.00hrs on
Thursday March 8 after a
long battle with hepatitis
A. The infection forced
Inman to stop working in
December 2004.
the next general election
– allies of Gordon Brown
suggest he will then include
a detailed pledge for a predominantly elected second
chamber in the next Labour
manifesto.
The Conservatives would
probably make a similar
commitment. By convention, the Lords could not
then obstruct such a manifesto Bill.
On Tuesday March 13 the
House of Lords will vote on
its future composition.
The government will then
consider the results of votes
in both Houses.
FLOOR SHOW: Naomi goes from riches to rags
Naomi sweeps up
BRITISH supermodel Naomi Campbell has been ordered to do five days of community service by a New
York court.
She has been ordered to
clean floors in a municipal
warehouse as punishment
for throwing a mobile phone
at her housekeeper.
She pleaded guilty to reckless assault in a plea bar-
gain with prosecutors at
Manhattan Criminal Court
last month.
As well as community service, the 36-year-old was also
ordered to attend an anger
management course.
Her spokesman said she
was ready to report and
complete her community
service no matter what or
where it was.
AN inquiry has begun into
the Indonesian jet crash in
which 22 people died.
The plane burst into flames
on landing at Yogyakarta
airport in Java.
The state-owned Garuda
airline, which operated the
Boeing 737-400, confirmed
that 118 people had survived.
Indonesia’s president immediately announced an investigation into the crash.
Its safety record has been in
the spotlight recently after
a series of accidents.
Survivors say a large number of passengers escaped
through emergency doors
before the plane burst into
flames.
The jet reportedly started
shaking violently before
landing.
The aircraft came to rest in
the middle of a rice field.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said
there were nine Australians
on board, four of whom
were missing.
Prime
minister
John
Howard said the country
should be prepared for bad
news as there could well be
Australian fatalities.
But he said he had not received any information suggesting either sabotage or
terrorism.
There have been a number
of terrorist attacks in Indonesia recently.
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NEWS FEATURE
16
March 9 - March 15 2007
Third time lucky for the ME
Cashman pledges continued
fight
MEPs believe changes are
beginning
Rachael Loxston
T
here are not many who are unaware that a delegation of MEPs visited the Comunitat Valenciana
last week, on yet another fact-finding mission to
investigate the numerous petitions the European Parlimentary Petitions Committee have received since its
last visit in November. These very important visitors
returned to the region for the third time, and heading the delegation were the two most senior members
of the European Parliamentary Petitions Committee,
President Marcin Libicki and Vice-President, Michael
Cashman. Both repeated their commitment to the
cause of thousands of victims and opponents of Valencia’s vigorous and vicious land laws.
These petitions, which
are constantly growing
in number, describe aggressive and often illegal
and unsustainable developments in areas of
natural beauty and of environmental importance.
Plans for urbanisations,
golf courses, wind farms,
illegal water supplies and
new roads that will irreversibly rip apart the
countryside are passed
through, not in the name
of inevitable progress but
are ill-conceived plans
borne out of corruption
and are often illegal. The
fall-out of uncontrolled
and unwanted overdevelopment of rustic land
also means that people’s
land is often confiscated
N
and their houses demolished in exchange for a
paltry amount of compensation, if they are lucky.
Otherwise hapless homeowners have to pay developers thousands of euros
to pay for the costs of the
urbanisation. Unfair? Absolutely. Corrupt? Almost
invariably. Not that MEPs
can fight alleged cases of
corruption, as that is up
to the Spanish authorities, but they can investigate how these public
procurements of urbanisations are achieved,
which invariably infringe
on the human rights of
European citizens according to European law.
So here the MEPs were
again, to throw what political weight they can at
Spanish authorities in a
three-pronged attack at local, regional and national
governments. It may not
be the last time. Michael
Cashman vowed on his
visit last week that he
was ‘determined to come
back’ and ‘determined to
work with politicians in
this country’ to change
the hated law.
That is not an easy task
when faced with a barrage of hostility from
some Spanish politicians,
whose
negative
comments are reflected in the
local Spanish press, with
quotes such as ‘inopportune’ or ‘unwelcome’, or
as alluding to some kind
of socialist plot to subvert
the Valencian economy
by encouraging foreigners to buy houses in other
countries. Señor Esteban
González Pons who is the
Consellor of Territory in
Valencia, was cited in a
Sunday newspaper interview as saying: “The visit
smacks of electioneering.
The European socialists
want to interfere with the
electoral process of the
Partido Popular and meddle with local politics.”
Unfortunately, the true
story and balance of facts
have for too long been ignored by local, regional
and national authorities,
hence the necessity of
yet another EU fact finding mission, a breathless
whistle-stop tour which
somehow puts pay to the
myth of MEPs living in
ivory towers in a far away
town called Brussels. In
just four days, the official
itinerary took in dozens
of meetings with petitioners and town and government representatives in
Madrid, Galapagar, Almería, Albox, Orihuela, Alicante, Torrevieja, Rojales,
San Miguel de Salinas, Catral, Tibi, Parcent, Benissa, Benicàssim, Oropesa
and, finally Valencia.
I attended a public meeting in Benissa, last Thursday night. About 250 people packed out the small
auditorium and all nationalities from the local community were represented
there. There were Spanish,
who dominated the proceedings with articulate
and heartfelt pleas to the
MEPs, about horrific cases of land grab, town hall
indifference and in some
cases, threats of violence
and intimidation. There
were English residents
speaking with calm and
collected indignation and
Germans, efficient and
galvanised, with their collective skill of effortlessly
switching from their native tongues to fluent
Spanish and perfect grammatically correct English.
There were accounts of
land expropriations and
ill-conceived plans, a water supply in Tormos that
had its certificate passed
through by an unqualified
engineer, a Spanish lady
from Altea who was distraught at having to hand
over money for an urbanisation she didn’t want. As
the evening wore on, my
ears were literally ringing with such stories. The
town council of Monóvar
had that morning, we
heard,
passed through
an approval of plans to
build 9,000 new houses,
three golf courses and an
aerodrome. The current
population of the town?
Just 4,500. And with a current water supply that has
been estimated to only
have another ten years’
life span. These were just
Michael Cashman, inundated with petitions.
a few of the stories that
the delegation, that was
chaired by Charles Svoboda, president of Abusos
Urbanísticos NO, listened
to. Along the auditorium
steps formed a long queue
of people who listed their
grievances and dropped
their case studies on the
desk for the MEPs to
take home and divulge,
so they can make yet an-
other report and further
recommendations.
One
commented that although
their visit was welcome, it
shouldn’t have happened,
that things should have
been resolved by now, but
the sad fact is that there
is a long way to go. But
starts have been made...
What the Veïns de Parcent want?
■ The annulment of the
Council Meeting at which
the PAIs were approved.
The annulment of the PAIs
and for the existing studies
on sustainable growth to
be properly examined. Or
at least for a referendum to
be held on the matter. The
creation of a General Plan
that will allow all developments to be handled logically. That any money paid
to the Town Hall by the
promoters be frozen so that
it may be repaid to them
when the PAIs are rejected,
so that Parcent is not left
in debt.
How many members?
■ 500 members from the
local community.
Encouragingly, there have
been some welcome devel-
The Town of Parcent-a case study
The Veïns de Parcent.
Who are they?
■ VEÏNS DE PARCENT,
which is Valenciano for
‘Villagers of Parcent’
came into being because
of growing concern about
the aggressive development
plans (PAIs) that had been
provisionally passed by the
ruling party in the Town
Hall against the wishes of
the majority of the people
of Parcent. President of
the organisation is Jacqui
Cotterill, who has lived
in the village for 14 years.
They are a non-political
alliance of local organisations that are against the
consequences of the deci-
sions a council meeting
held on January 30 2006.
What decisions?
■ 1,800 homes being built
around the village in three
huge developments. The
village currently has about
50 homes and a population
of approximately 1,000.
The new urbanisations
could see that figure leap
to around 5,000 and a new
general plan for Parcent
allows for a population of
more than 10,000 – more
than the populations of either Ondara or Pedreguer
according to latest census
figures.
What have they have
achieved so far?
■ The group, through a
vigorous campaign funded
by private donations have
petitioned the European
Parliament and secured
the delegations visit to
the town last week. The
suspension of the PAI for
El Replà, a ruling made by
the Superior Tribunal of
Justice in Valencia.
Find out more...Log on
to www.veinsdeparcent.
info
NEWS FEATURE
March 9 - March 15 2007
17
Ps visiting the Comunitat?
opments. In the town of
Parcent, (see case study),
where the delegation had
spent time at an earlier
meeting that day, there
have been signs of encouraging victories due
to prolonged campaigning
of a strong united front
of locals. It is rumoured
a very flustered Parcent Mayoress bounced
Michael Cashman’s question to an accompanying
property developer, when
he asked her exactly how
many houses were being
built on the highly contentious town plan. Mayoress
Mari Carmen López, has
been strongly resistant to
the local residents’ alliance that are against an
unbelievable three plans
for building houses for a
population ten times the
size of the current one.
Unsurprisingly, the town
councillor in charge of
planning is related to the
agent for the promoter
for one of the proposed
plans.
But despite such resistance and corruption,
progress is being made
and in summing up the
evening, Mr. Cashman
N
What is ‘land grab’ law?
In 1994 the Valencian Autonomous Government
passed a controversial law, Ley Reguladora
de la Activdad Urbanística, (LRAU) to ensure
developments were built with sufficient public
services and facilities including sanitation,
green spaces, roads etc. Despite its initial good
intentions, the law has allowed subsequent abuses
by unscrupulous property developers and local
town councils, which have resulted in people’s land
being expropriated without warning and adequate
compensation or receiving huge bills for the
‘urbanisation’ of their land.
Last year it was replaced by the Ley Urbanística
Valenciana (LUV).
Michael Cashman, the Vice-President of the
European Petitions Committee said the law ‘was not
useful.’ The reality is that the land grab abuses still
exist, mainly due to the fact that the following three
parties stand to benefit from developing on rustic
land.
The MEP delegation headed by Marcin Libicki and Michael Cashman
said that the fight against
land grab had to be politically determined but realistically acknowledged
that Brussels cannot impose a political view on
a country. He continued
that the solution was to
work with politicians
in Spain to bring about
change, and to do that it
would take a lot of political determination.
Well, he is certainly doing
everything he can, within
a legal framework and
with each visit he makes,
he exerts political pressure for genuine reform.
Representing the many
people who want him and
his associates there, it was
little wonder that he finished his speech to tumultous rounds of applause
and hopes for a solution,
albeit pragmatic.
Local town halls. The issuing of building licenses
ultimately mean that town halls will receive more
revenues, as larger populations bring in more
taxes and more money from central government. A
number of municipalities in Valencia are in debt.
The Generalitat of Valencia benefits from building
taxes and for sales taxes on properties.
The developer makes huge profits. The more they
can charge landowners for urbanising land the
bigger the profit. The least amount of payment for
rustic land means that they can set aside prime
development land to later sell on, the bigger the
profit.
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NEWS FEATURE
March 9 - March 15 2007
Down with love
Right-wing
activists and
politicians
may threaten
the future
of gay marriage after
last week’s
conference in
parliament...
I
n some countries, love
is a crime punishable
by death. In the progressive West, it is legal, but if
you are guilty of loving the
wrong person, you can find
yourself ostracised and
feared.
Spain is far more forwardthinking, however. Like
Holland,
Belgium
and
Canada, if two people are
in love, they can marry, irrespective of the gender of
either partner. They can
even adopt children.
Yet there are many who
still do not approve. The antiquated views that certain
influential bodies continue
to hold about two women
or two men who care deeply
for each other and wish to
spend their lives by each
others’ side threaten to
undo the good work of president José Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero.
Spain’s premier approved
gay marriage and adoption
in 2005, much to the disgust
of the Foro Español de la
Familia who continue to
stress that a family should
comprise a man, a woman
and children. Yet same-sex
couples all over the country raised a toast when the
news broke – at last, they
had the same rights as heterosexual couples.
They could officially seal
their union with a splendid
ceremony surrounded by
friends and family. They no
longer had to worry about
legal issues such as inheritance, decisions made by
next of kin, and of course,
there are tax advantages
especially where one of the
couple is not working.
Gay men who had always
wanted children but recognised the impossibility of
their desire now saw their
dream within reach – they
could adopt instead. Gay
women no longer had to
find a donor or worry about
access rights to the father
where they chose to ‘borrow’ a male friend for the
purpose.
Conservative
right-wing
political party, the Partido
Popular (PP) reacted in horror at Zapatero’s decision.
However, the president remained firm.
“I dare you, the PP, to look
IS LOVE WRONG? The PP and the Foro Español de la Familia seem to think so
I don’t believe
any couple
should be denied
happiness
a gay person in the face and
tell him or her that they are
a second-class citizen,” declared Zapatero.
“A person does not cease
to be Spanish [referring
to residents as well as citizens] just because of their
sexual orientation.”
Zapatero was fully backed
by the vice president of the
government, María Teresa
Fernández de la Vega.
“I cannot see a problem
with this new law. It is not a
law that obliges anybody to
do anything,” Fernández de
la Vega stressed.
“It simply gives gay people
the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.”
The Catholic Church also has
strong views on the subject.
Pope Benedict XVI slammed
the Spanish government’s
move, calling it ‘iniquitous’.
“A law as profoundly iniquitous as this one is not an
obligation, it cannot be an
obligation,” said Cardinal
Alfonso López Trujillo, a
spokesman for the Vatican,
who believes that councillors who are Catholic should
refuse to perform wedding
ceremonies.
“They should exercise the
same conscientious objection asked of doctors and
nurses against a crime such
as abortion,” continued the
Cardinal.
As things stand, same-sex
couples still cannot marry
in church, a factor that has
upset Christian lesbians
and gay men. Whilst the
Bible preaches love, tolerance and acceptance, gay
churchgoers continue to
have a hard time.
Lynn, 19, who is bisexual,
was ostracised by members
of her youth church group
and eventually forced to
leave - even though she had
a boyfriend at the time.
Furthermore, although 80
per cent of Spanish people identify themselves as
Catholic, half of these ignore the doctrines of the
church.
“I’m Catholic. I married in
a Catholic church and my
daughter was baptised, but
some of the obligations imposed by our religion are
really out of date,” states
Encarni, 32.
“I’m on the pill, even though
the Church forbids it – how
can I not be?”
As for gay marriage, she
says, “I’m so happy, being
with my husband, and I
don’t believe any couple
should be denied that same
happiness.”
The PP, the Foro Español de
la Familia and the Vatican
harshly condemn the legislation allowing same-sex
couples to adopt children,
believing the kids will have
a troubled upbringing and
end up with longstanding
psychological issues. They
are also, say these organisations, more likely to become gay as adults because
of their childhood role
models.
“Rubbish,” storms Sharleen, 42. “I’ve known I was
gay since I was a teenager
and have always had re-
lationships with women.
The father of my children,
whom I was engaged to and
left when the youngest was
a baby, is also gay.”
Sharleen continues to have
a good relationship with
her children’s father, and
both of them were fully involved in their upbringing,
even when Sharleen was
living with women.
“My children are both heterosexual. My daughter
lives with a man and my
son lives with his girlfriend.
Neither of them have had a
relationship with anyone
of the same sex – but so
what if they did? What’s
wrong with being gay?” she
demands.
Nobody can deny that it
is beneficial for children,
as they grow up, to have
plenty of contact and close
relationships with people
of both sexes and all ages.
Yet in today’s society, all
over the world, children
are brought up by single
parents, either because of
separation or death of one
of the couple. If a child liv-
N
ing with two women feels
the lack of a father figure,
so would a child growing
up with a mother who is
separated from the father.
There is nothing to suggest,
though, in either case, that
the child would suffer psychologically provided he or
she receives the sufficient
love and care that all kids
should have from their parents or guardians.
Additionally, it is contradictory to suggest that a
child living with gay parents could also become gay.
Most people who identify
themselves as homosexual
grew up with heterosexual
parents.
Legal it may be, but gay
marriage will never be accepted by everyone. Last
year, Dénia judge Laura Alabau refused to marry two
women, considering their
union
‘unconstitutional’
– an appeal that was later
thrown out by the court,
and shortly after this declined to perform nuptials
for two couples of British
men, on the grounds that it
was not legal in their country of origin.
The British community in
the Marina Alta, both homosexual and heterosexual, hit
out at her actions, calling it
a ‘double discrimination’
– they said such a decision
was not only homophobic,
but also racist.
Now, between the PP and
the Foro Español de la
Familia, a campaign has
arisen to scrap the law allowing homosexual couples
to marry and to reform the
Civil Code to reflect this.
The Spanish Family Forum
even organised a demonstration on the steps of the
political congress centre in
support of the PP’s move.
The party held a debate
last Tuesday in which they
proposed to change the
Civil Code to read ‘man and
woman have the right to
contract marriage with one
another’ and ‘besides the
adoption by a husband and
wife, nobody can be adopted
by more than one person’.
In fact, between 2004 and
2005, a petition raised to
this effect by the Spanish
Family Forum has gathered
1.5 million signatures.
Secretary General of the
PP at the conference, Jorge
Fernández Díaz, declared
that he has always been
against gay and lesbian
weddings and the Foro Español de la Familia’s campaign has his full backing.
PP members María Pía
Sánchez and Celia Villalobos voted against the
party’s proposed reform,
and could be sanctioned
as a result – sanctioned for
supporting the view that
most of modern day society
holds.
In this day and age, discrimination against gay people
is dying off, even though
the ‘not in my back yard’
culture continues to exist
amongst those with a more
right-wing attitude.
Yet the only difference
between gay and straight
couples is the gender of the
parties involved.
And although the PP, the
Foro Español de la Familia
and the Church seem to
disagree, love can never be
a sin – it is, in fact, what
makes the world go round.
Love will conquer all - legal or not
■ Despite politicians’ and pro-family associations’ efforts, though, gay couples will
continue to marry whether it is legally-recognised or not.
Kerry, 22, from the Isle of Wight, married
her girlfriend in a banquet hall in spite
of her mother’s and father’s disapproval.
Yet the parental bond was too strong in
the end – both turned up at the ceremony,
unexpectedly, at the last minute.
Kelly and Alexandra, both in their thirties,
married in a disused church in Norfolk
in 2002. The service was conducted by a
retired vicar and followed the same format
as any heterosexual couple’s wedding.
Margaret, now 81, attended the ceremony
and arranged the church flowers as a wed-
ding present.
“It was a lovely service, the girls looked
great,” says Margaret, whose granddaughter is also gay. She has met her
granddaughter’s partner on a number of
occasions and treats them the same as
she would any other couple.
On the first night the girls stayed in her
home, Margaret commented, “I gather you
two share a room, because you live in a
one-bedroomed flat and I can’t imagine
either of you wanting to sleep on that
ruddy sofa bed.”
Margaret is living proof that these days,
people of all ages and both sexes see no
harm in same-sex couples marrying and
having children.
FOOD AND DRINK
March 9 - March 15 2007
5 Indian Spices With
Curative Properties
Chilli crab
Ingredients
450 gm lobster or crabs
6 fresh red chillies
5 cloves garlic
2 stalks spring onions
1 bunch coriander
3 tbs vegetable oil
Ingredients for Sauce
3 tbs tomato ketchup
Sugar to taste
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pounded salted brown
soya bean paste
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp rice or malt vinegar
of freshly squeezed lime
juice
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
Like it or loathe it, Indian cuisine is not only simple, it could
boost your health. Indian food consists mainly of five key spices—
cumin seeds, coriander seeds, ground turmeric, mustard seeds,
and ground red chilli.
Each of these essential spices has its own personality:
Cumin brings a toasty-warm flavor and is believed to aid digestion.
Coriander is citrusy and adds texture to sauces.
Turmeric has a slight bitterness and characteristic yellow colour.
Mustard seeds add a pungent flavor and a crunch to match.
Red chilli provides heat.
Together, these spices create the flavor harmony and texture contrast that define
traditional Indian curries. Best of all, some of them have been linked to health
benefits.
Researchers have suggested that turmeric could play a role in slowing down the
progression of Alzheimer’s disease, while cumin has been praised not only as an
iron source, but also for its potential, like mustard seeds, to prevent cancer and
aid in digestion.
Coriander has been used in India for its anti-inflammatory properties and studied
in the United States for its possible connection to cholesterol reduction; the spice
already is considered a good source of dietary fibre, iron, and magnesium. And
chili has been associated with everything from pain relief, reduced congestion, and
stomach ulcer prevention to weight loss and increased cardiovascular health.
This is a spicy take on the traditional
Mediterranean staple of seafood
Method:
1. Peel garlic and chillies and grind in food processor
2. Wash spring onions, discard roots, cut into finger lengths
3. Cut coriander into one-inch lengths
4. Mix sauce ingredients except for the vinegar or lime juice
5. Heat wok, add oil and when hot, add the garlic, stir fry for one
minute, add chillies, stir fry for another minute and add crab or
lobster pieces
6. Stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes till shells turn slightly red
7. Stir sauce, add to the crabs or lobster and stir well for 2
minutes
8. Cover with a lid and let simmer
over high heat for 5 to 7 minutes till
shells turn red
9. Remove cover, squeeze the lime
juice over or add the vinegar, stir
well and add spring onions.
10. Turn heat off, stir well and serve,
garnish with coriander leaves
Dish may be served with hot crusty
bread.
Baths - Spa - Pool
Villa de Catral - Hotel & Spa
A brand new concept in rest and
relaxation. Spa facilities include:
- Recreational pool
- Finnish sauna
- Turkish bath
- Scottish shower and Aromatherapy
- Jacuzzi
- Gym
- Massage cabins for facial and body
treatments
SPECIAL OFFER
1 DAY: € 12
1 MONTH: € 60
Special prices for families
and season tickets
La Mesa Bar and
Restaurant...
...situated in a tranquil
setting, close to Moraira
town centre. La Mesa is a
restaurant with charm and
style where you can relax
and enjoy the flavours of the
Mediterranean which
influence and inspire
our menus.
19
Chicken Tikka
Ingredients:
1 (2kg) chicken
1 1/2 cups
yogurt
1 tbsp paprika
4 garlic cloves,
pressed
1/8 tsp chili
peppers
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp
cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground
cumin
1/8 tsp ground cloves
A spritzer of the type used
to mist plants or dampen
clothes for ironing for the
barbecue flare ups.
This barbecued style dish is a big
favourite, with its succulent flavours
that are cooked into the
chicken with its aromatic
marinade.
How to make Indian barbecue
chicken:
1. Wash the chicken and cut it up.
2. Cut off and discard as much of the fat
as possible from under the skin, because
the fat catches fire while cooking and
causes the chicken to burn.
3. Dry the pieces.
4. For the marinade, combine all the
remaining ingredients.
5. Mix the marinade and the chicken and
leave it all day in the fridge, turning once or twice.
To barbecue, either a wood or a charcoal fire will do.
6. Turn the chicken often so that it doesn’t burn, and
when the fire does flare up, extinguish the blaze by
spraying it with water from your spritzer.
It takes about 30 minutes to cook the chicken tikka.
Villa de Catral - Hotel & Spa
We offer a new concept in food, drink
and accommodation thought to meet
everybody’s needs. Enjoy our daily
selected menus from €15
(including drinks).
Live music on Saturdays, the
ideal atmosphere to have fun with your
friends and family.
SPECIAL WEEKEND OFFER
UNTIL 31-03-07
Double room (1 night): € 50
2 nights: € 90 (incl. breakfast)
Includes full use of Spa facilities
For reservations please call 96 678 78 76 Fax: 96 678 78 92
e-mail: reservas@hotelvilladecatral.es • www.hotelvilladecatral.es
C/ Villa de Catral, s/n - Polígono de Poniente • 03158 Catral (Alicante)
· Special Lunchtime Menu, Menu del día or Full Evening
à la Carte
· Specially designed Children’s healthy option menu with
yummy desserts
· Lounge Bar, Coffees, Wines, Cocktails or Stronger
· Great Meeting Location, Relaxing Atmosphere
· Live Music, Theme Nights, Free Wine nights, Special
Cocktails evenings and much more... call or email
for details
· Excellent Traditional Sunday Lunch
· Special Event Screenings
· Weddings and Conferences
· Ample Parking
· Courtesy Minibus
C/ Mar Sargazos, 4.
03740 Moraira, Alicante
Email: info@lamesarestaurant.es
Call 96 649 11 77
FOOD AND DRINK
Creative Mediterrean Cuisine
The new restaurant in Dénia
March 9 - March 15 2007
Menu
37 € + V.A.T.
(7 courses)
Authentic regional
cuisine
Rtaurante
A new concept of brewery bar and restaurant in
Xàtiva, offering a large variety of tapas (from
Valencia and Andalucía). Our specialities include
ox tail, minced meat and lean pork fillet.
Extensive beer list.
Help yourself directly from the pump
Restaurant Casa Imbernón in
San Javier offers the best
produce in the Region of
Murcia. Traditional dishes
cooked by Javier Imbernón
Opening Hours
1.30 - 3.30 p.m.
and 7.30 -11 p.m.
Carrer la Mar 7 - DÉNIA
Tel. 96 578 16 29
Daily menu: 7.50 euros (including dessert and coffee)
Breakfast and brunch: 2.80 and 3.50 euros
Enjoy our authentic “gazpacho de Navalón” every Saturday
Concesionario
Volkswagen
Avda. Atlántico, 6 (opposite Volkswagen)
San Javier (Murcia). Tel. 686 101 744
We are open every day from 07.00 h.
Smoking allowed
To Los Alcázares
➡
20
CC
Hispania
To SanJavier ➡
Plaça del Mercat, 10
Tel. 96 227 63 54
46800 Xàtiva
Hostal-Restaurante Cristina
3
MENU FROM ONLY € 9
COURSE MENU INCL. GLASS OF WINE OR BEER
Tel. 96 642 31 58 for RESERVATIONS or info. Find us just below Dénia Castle in Hostal Cristina
Avda. del Cid, 5 - 03700 DÉNIA ∙ info@hostal-cristina.com www.hostal-cristina.com
Encantados de Conocerle...
...Pleased to meet you
★ HOTEL ★ RICE DISHES ★ SWIMMING POOL ★ JACUZZI
★ RESTAURANT ★ CAFETERÍA ★ TURKISH BATH
★ GYM
Urbanización Marisol Park, 1-A, 03710 Calpe (Alicante) - ESPAÑA
Tel. 96 587 57 00 - Fax: 96 583 85 44 - info@marisolpark.com
www.marisolpark.com
HOTEL
FOOD AND DRINK
March 9 - March 15 2007
21
GURKHA PALACE
NEPALI-INDIAN RESTAURANT
RESTAURANTE
Avda. Rey Jaime I, nº 8 - Jávea Port
Our specialities: beef entrecôte and
cod with prawns and garlic
Extensive wine list, wines from Valencia and Rioja.
Lunch at very good prices, terrace,
horchatería, parking.
Daily lunch menu
BUÑOL
YÁTOVA
Take-away service available
CONSUM
Monday closed
Opening hours: 12:45 to 15:30 and 19 to 22:30
Ptda. La Solana (Ctra. Alcalalí-Pedreguer)
03728 ALCALALÍ (Alicante) - Tel. 96 648 24 56
ALBORACHE
For reservations call 96 579 33 31
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 8.30 to 19 h. Saturdays from 8.30 to 01 h.
Closed on Mondays. Staff holidays in September.
Avda. de Valencia, 35 · 46369 ALBORACHE (Valencia)
Tel. 96 250 83 78
OPEN 7 DAYS!
Tuesday at lunchtime closed
À la carte New Spring Menu
In addition to our normal à la carte menu we also serve fresh
Sirloin of Beef with walnut stuffing, Yorkshire pudding, fresh
vegetables and sauté potatoes as well as a Roast of the day.
Open 1.30pm-9.30pm. Live music from 2.00pm-5.00pm
From�€8.95 + IVA
Reservations 96 574 71 34
Don’t forget Mother’s Day - 18th March
Comfort
and
Gastronomy
HOTEL L’ESTACIÓ
BOCAIRENT
Parc de L’Estació, s/n • 46880 Bocairent • Valencia - Spain
Where History meets Nature
Tel. +34 96 235 00 00 • Fax +34 96 235 00 30
www.hotelestacio.com • e-mail reservas@hotelestacio.com
Daniya Dénia
Food and drink conferences
Saturdays,
March 24th and 31st 2007
Set menus for celebrations 2007
MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE
ISO 9001:2000 Certificate
Member of Eurotoques
European Cuisine Association
ART EXHIBITION
EASY PARKING
Tel. 96 285 61 52
(Next to Yacht Marina)
OLIVA BEACH
Starters
Ham and cheese platter
Cod Carpaccio with guacamole
Melon soup with ham shavings
Pea soup with mussels and curry
Goat cheese salad with walnuts and pine nuts
Salmon or “rape” (monkfish) carpaccio in soy sauce
Sorbet (choose your flavour)
Main course
Veal in Oporto wine
or
Pork sirloin in soy sauce
(with mustard or curry)
or
Veal entrecôte with vegetables
Desserts
Puff pastry with cream
Valencian ice cream
Pineapple slices
with lemon meringue ice cream
Drinks
Wine list
Cava and coffee
Set menu price: € 40 + 7% IVA
Reservations: Tel. 902 364 041
If you stay in our hotel, we have special offers with breakfast
and well-being programme included.
Offer subject to availability.
People under 16 may not use the Spa area.
Boarding and breakfast can be buffet or menu, depending on availability.
Special prices for children aged 2 – 10 years
22
FOOD AND DRINK
March 9 - March 15 2007
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Restaurante
Wolk Oriental
By Samantha
Kett
All you can eat, cooked
how you want, with all
your favourite ingredients
How often have you gone
out for a Chinese meal
and afterwards thought,
everything tastes exactly
the same? Or ordered a
dish that sounded tempting
and decided that it would
have been quite nice except
for the fact you don’t like
carrots, peppers or onions?
And how many times have
you combed every square
inch of the Comunidad
Valenciana for a sushi bar
and realised that they are
not only thin on the ground,
but generally their wares
taste nothing like Japanese
food as you know it?
If any of this sounds
familiar, head to Wolk in
Bellreguard where you will
find the solution. You can
pick and choose your own
ingredients, have them
cooked in the sauce of your
choice, then go back for
seconds before raiding the
sushi table – without paying any extra.
Fancy an extra helping of
prawns but not as many
bean sprouts? No problem
– you can create your own
combination and choose
the sauce – and if you cannot decide which one to opt
for, simply come back and
choose another when you
have cleared your plate. As
it is an open buffet for just
8.95 euros, there is no limit
on how much you can eat.
Service with a smile is
guaranteed, and the cooked
dishes are brought directly
to your table so you do not
have to wait around whilst
they are prepared. You can
fetch a plateful of prawn
crackers or some pre-cooked
spring rolls and prawn balls
to nibble on while you are
waiting, though.
Keeping to traditions
More than 300 pintxos
at your fingertips
MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE
Kitchen open from 9 to 24 h.
Open from 9 h. to 24 h.
On a recent trip to Wolk,
after piling our plates
high with everything from
squid kebabs to shrimps,
beansprouts to bamboo
shoots, water chestnuts to
wild mushrooms, chicken
satay skewers to chop suey,
we had a dilemma on our
hands – which of the delicious-sounding
sauces
should we try? Black lentil,
Gom Bao, oyster and the
house special, Salsa Wolk,
all sounded tempting, but
we plumped for our old
favourites, sweet ‘n’ sour
and Chinese curry.
My companion declared the
Chinese curry was the most
authentic she had ever tasted, even having tried the
real thing in the Chinese
districts of Malaysia and
relatively-authentic restaurants in the UK. The
sweet ‘n’ sour was also very
enjoyable, especially with
large scoops of Singapore
rice, and the prawns were
plump, juicy and full of flavour.
Given that there was no
limit on how much we
could eat, our own appetites
permitting, we decided to
push the boat out and followed our very large platefuls with a Chinese pizza.
Totally unique to Wolk, you
will not find it in any other
Chinese restaurant in the
area, and it is worth taking a trip to Bellreguard
just to give it a try. Made
with warm Chinese bread
– which has the spongey
consistency and slightly
sweet taste of a doughnut,
and stuffed with mashed
turnip and young garlic, it
was tremendously filling
and full of flavour.
Next came the sushi.
Colourful, attractive and
imaginatively designed, it
seemed a shame to delve
into it – each piece carefully moulded into the shape
of hearts, stars, flowers and
petals and in all the colours
of the rainbow, the homemade Japanese rice and
seaweed rolls were highly
pleasing to the eye.
It should have come as no
surprise, then, that they
were also the most delicious and authentic I have
ever tried in Spain. The
full flavour of the seaweed,
fish, Japanese vegetables,
sweet rice covered in sesame seeds combined with
wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger made it hard to
resist going back for another helping. However, it was
all surprisingly filling, and
we were keen to leave room
for dessert.
Unlike the usual limited
choice of ice-cream, flan or
coffee that comes with setprice Chinese meals, there
was a wide selection of desserts ranging from natillas
(homemade cold custard);
chocolate, strawberry or
lemon mousse; flan; cheesecake; pears in syrup and
mini hand-made cakes
– various types of filled
spongecake, some coated
in chocolate. Naturally, we
tried a bit of everything, an
it all got the thumbs-up.
Drinks are extra, but the
house wine starts at just 4.50
euros – or treat yourself to
a bottle of the highly-superior, top-quality Faustino I
red at 27 euros. In between,
there are plenty of local
and national varieties to
try, together with a long list
of spirits and liqueurs, coffees and soft drinks.
If you bring the kids along,
they can dive into the buffet for just 5.95 euros and,
if they are picky eaters or
not used to oriental food,
there are chicken nuggets,
croquettes, Russian salad
and chips plus plenty of
salad that they can fill their
plates with instead.
Although maybe a couple
of euros more than the
average three-course meal
at a Chinese restaurant, the
difference with Wolk is that
you can eat twice as much if
you are able, opt for a different variety and choose the
ingredients you like best.
Additionally, you can see it
cooked right in front of you
and, upstairs, the kitchen
is wide open. No need to
worry that the ingredients
are not fresh, or that there
are any hidden surprises
you would rather not know
about. You can see the chefs
are highly professional and
their methods thorough
and hygienic, as the whole
process is transparent to
instil greater confidence in
the diner.
And with the friendly
service where nothing is
too much trouble and customers are welcomed like
family, the relaxed atmosphere and beautifully-decorated tables with candles
and colourful silk flowers,
you could not ask for more
pleasant surroundings in
which to stuff your face
with great food.
We will definitely be back
at Wolk before long – and
hope to see you there, too.
Restaurante Wolk is on Avenida de la Safor, Bellreguard, a short distance north
of Oliva and just off the N-332. Heading in the direction of Gandia, turn right
opposite Bar Poma and just before the petrol station, where you will see Wolk
signposted. Generally there is no need to book, but for further information or
directions call 96 281 57 39.
The only wok-type oriental restaurant in La Safor, Wolk is open from noon to
16.00 hrs and 20.00 hrs to midnight, seven days a week.
FOOD AND DRINK
March 9 - March 15 2007
23
How to grow your own healthy vegetables in Spain
By Clodagh and Dick Handscombe
Why grow your own?
Starting to grow vegetables on a small scale
There are nine main reasons why you should consider growing your own vegetables and becoming
self-sufficient:
1. You can harvest them daily 365 days a year in the quantities you need.
2. If you do have gluts of asparagus, peas or tomatoes, for
instance, they can be frozen for non-seasonal use.
3. It is easy to avoid using any chemical fertilisers, insecticides or fungicides, so you do not need to worry about
residues.
4. The ease of growing a wider range of vegetables, including heritage varieties, which are no longer available
commercially.
Sprouting seeds
In our book we have a special section explaining what can be grown
in less than one square metre as illustrated in the photographs.
5. By growing them naturally the maximum taste is
achieved. No longer will you be tempted by water-swollen
giants that maximise the yields of commercial growers
but often lack taste.
6. For the satisfaction of being self-sufficient and not
having to rush down to the supermarket for fresh salad
vegetables.
7. The fact that you can grow them even in your kitchen
or garage and in a small space on an apartment terrace.
8. Almost daily, we are being told by health and fitness
experts, including those who write in thinkSPAIN|today
that it would be beneficial for us to eat five to nine portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day. These provide a
natural source of the vitamins, minerals and fibres essential for good health.
9. Where can you obtain fresh vegetables daily if you do
not grow your own? The farmers’ markets that exist are
weekly; supermarket packs can be on the shelves for a
week, and organic produce delivered to health shops often looks very sorry within a few days.
So, why not have a go? It can take little space and
require little time and energy
Window boxes
Sprouting seeds could be started today and be ready for eating within a
few days.
An impregnated mushroom sack could be harvested in the garage, underbuild or kitchen within a couple of weeks.
‘Cut and come again’ salad leaves could be eaten within a month, and by
the summer you could be eating more than fifteen varieties of vegetables
from a collection of containers taking up only one square metre of space
as we did last year in the tubs.
When summer crops had finished we planted some late-started tomato and
pepper plants in two of the tubs, covered with sheets of plastic draped over
canes, and held on with clothes’ pegs. We harvested tomatoes until Christmas, and at the end of January
we still have a few slowly-ripening peppers.
When we cleared out the tomato plants after the New Year we
harvested a dozen very respectable sweet potatoes that had been
growing below the level of the
roots of carrots, onions, lettuces,
radishes and so on. The green
growth of the sweet potatoes had
been draped down the side of the
tub to disguise them!
Wild mushrooms
The many
possibilities for
growing more
Greenhouses in Almería
A cottage garden
Today’s allotment
A neighbour’s terrace
Clodagh and Dick Handscombe are the authors of the following trilogy of books
published by Santana Books. Your garden in Spain (ISBN 84-89954-42-9); Growing
healthy vegetables in Spain (ISBN 84-89954-53-4), and Growing healthy fruit in
Spain (ISBN84-89954-62-3). They are fully described on www.gardeninginspain.
com and can be obtained from bookshops and conveniently from the publishers by
mail order on the above site or info@santanabooks.com. Tel. 952 485 838 or fax
952 485 367.
Clodagh and Dick will be giving a talk entitled ‘Enjoy the real tastes of Spain by
growing your own’ at a ‘Taste of Spain’ luncheon on Thursday, March 15. Contact
652 584 272 for details and bookings.
In our book, Growing healthy vegetables in
Spain, we describe how to grow in raised beds, a
group of ten large tree-tubs, on mountainsides,
in cottage gardens, in strip-beds between the
rows of fruit-trees in orchards and so on. Indeed, there is nowhere where it is impossible. If
you have poor soil or none at all, composts are
now available inexpensively from the La Xara
and Benissa’s ecoparques and sacks of nutrientrich worm compost and dried animal manures
are readily available in garden centres and local
agricultural co-operatives, and from a steadily
increasing number of stables.
Vegetables can be grown in any type of
garden on a larger scale. When our present house was first purchased, freshlyharvested locally-grown partially-organic vegetables were available from the
village stores and the barrows and vans
of the local growers. However, we did
immediately construct three one-metresquare raised beds to grow a few speciality vegetables while starting to lay out
the rest of the garden.
Eventually this expanded to a 20-square metre plot. Then, with the reduction
in number of flocks of sheep and goats
from 20 to one, the growers around the
village started to use vast amounts of
chemical fertilisers and sprays instead
of traditional, natural fertilisers and
companion plants. Also, the number of
growers reduced dramatically as they
became too old to continue, and the new
generation had no interest. As a result,
the village stores no longer sold freshlyharvested local vegetables, but crops
from further afield - including Almería.
We therefore took on a 400-metre allotment, now expanded to 800 metres of
fruit and vegetables, in order to be selfsufficient. However, at the house we still
carried out a host of mini-growing experiments for inclusion in our book.
The photographs illustrate the difference between fresh vegetables from Almería, in greenhouses and under plastic
sheets, and those grown in the fresh air.
Unless there is a dramatic return to local agriculture, our borrowed allotment will inevitably
disappear under concrete within ten years.
Hence for the future we are in the middle of
constructing 30 square metres of raised beds in
the garden, which will be convenient and easier
to look after when we are in our seventies and
eighties.
If we stop growing crops such as squashes and
pumpkins, which need a lot of room, the raised
beds with a few containers will be sufficient
for our needs when we stop tramping the local
mountains and eat less.
24
March 9 - March 15 2007
PETS
THIS WEEK’S PETS FROM APASA
ALDEA FELINA CAT OF THE WEEK
TIGRESA
FERGUSO
Ferguso is a beautiful but shy cat who
wants lots of fuss - he is just not sure how
to go about it. He needs an owner who is
prepared to spend some time with him
and make him realise that he need not be
so scared of humans. If you would like
to give Ferguso a home, or would like to
adopt any of our other cats/kittens, please
call Lynda on 628 498 813. Aldea Felina,
Dénia Cat Protection League, cares for
and re-homes abandoned cats/kittens in
the Dénia area. If you would like to help
the charity in any way call Lucy on 650
214 909. Why not visit our charity shop in
Els Poblets, next to the vets, open daily 10
‘til 2.
P.E.P.A. - The helping hands
During the last month the
dog rehoming team has
increased. Four new volunteers in the TorreviejaOrihuela area have been
added to the team. They
are Linda Buckby who lives
near Torrevieja, Wendy
Jung from Orihuela and
Pat and Mike Berridge from
Playa Flamenca. They are
in addition to Kate Knight
and June Hawkins.
This new organisation will
relieve some of the pressure answering phone calls,
preparing foster homes for
animals and keeping track
of what we have done and
how it was supported.
There have also been six
additions to the foster car-
BRACAMONTE
BOARDING
KENNELS IN ONIL
(Between Onil and Castalla)
New modern clean kennels, Air conditioning, Heating, Vets Clinic, Quarantine.
Playtimes (Not mixed), Walks · Short or long terms (Discounts available)
Collection - Delivery - Grooming - Visits welcome.
Tel. 96 655 77 60 for more details
ers in the last few months,
but we have lost two. The
current total is 20 foster
carers distributed from
Torrevieja to Valencia.
During January there were
21 new cases for dog support, 14 of these required
foster carer support and
one of those fourteen gave
birth to nine live pups after
we acquired her. So this
portion of our tasks is running at a rate considerably
above a year ago.
So, please tell your friends
and neighbours that if they
are thinking about adopting a cat, or if they would
like to foster, they should
call Joan at 96 280 71 59.
Telephone:
(0034) 96 280 83 32
Email:
pepaspain@yahoo.co.uk
website:
www.pepaspain.com
Tigresa is a Stafford-cross bitch and was
born approximately February 2003. She
has been at the Pound since February 10
2007.
She needs a family who has experience
with dogs. She is now slowly getting used
to trust people. After being adopted she
was passed from one owner to another
and finally was left in our outside ken-
WITO
Wito is a male cat and has been at APASA
since 27.11.2006. He is a European shorthaired cat who was born aprox. 15.08.2006,
Wito, Wanko and their sisters Wilma and
Wanda were found in a deserted garden
without food or shelter. From day to day
Lezsonja’s
BOARDING KENNELS IN SAX / SALINAS.
FOR ALL YOUR PETS NEEDS
“FULLY LICENCED AND LEGAL”
All new/modern facilities/high spec vets 24/7 Clinic/surgery. Quarantine, walks, playtimes,
long or short term. Alicante airport, 35 min.
English owned
CALL SONIA NOW 677 343 653
All natural AFFORDABLE Dog food
See... Burns Pet Health
Smell...
Appreciate...
Made by
the difference in the
health of your pet!
15% off your first order.
Delivered free - Ring now for details.
For a happier healthier dog call Louise on
690 071 333 or 96 573 34 96
www.healthypets-spain.com
nel. Would you like to know more about
Tigresa? Please write to: info@apasajavea.com or call: +34 96 579 68 54. All dogs
from APASA are vaccinated, blood-tested,
have Microchip and European passport.
For any information about any of our
dogs – please call Nicole 618 754 635 – best
come and see us at Jávea dog pound – open
365 days a year. Camí Les Sorts, Jávea.
they are getting more affectionate. All Cats
from APASA are vaccinated, have a microchip and European passport.
If you would like to know more about
this cat please call 96 579 68 54 or write to
info@apasa-javea.com.
Canisax
Boarding Kennels and Cattery
Complete pet shop
Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Yorkshire Terrier,
Maltese Bichon, Mini-Dachshound, Shih-Tzu, Pomerain
Avda. de Alicante 27 - 03700 DÉNIA · Tel. 96 578 83 71
Centre
Veterinari
Benissa
VETERINARY CLINIC
Internal Medicine and Surgery • Traumatology
Radiology and Ultrasound • Odontology
Oftalmology • Homoeopathy and Analysis Clinic
Hospitalisation • Hairdresser
Animal food and Accessories • Home visits
Dog Training
Benissa
HOSPITAL VETERINARIO
Avda. Pais Valencià,
28 esq. Ausiàs March
Tel. 96 573 19 55
09.30-13.30 & 17.00-21.00hrs
Jalón
CLÍNICA
La Virgen, 74
Tel. 96 648 04 94
10.00-13.30 &
17.00-20.30 hrs
Costa de Benissa
CLÍNICA
Ctra. Moraira-Calpe
C.C. Cap Blanc
(opposite Pepe la Sal)
Tel. 96 574 84 58
Mon to Fri 10.00-13.30 hrs
Veterinary Practice
Specialising in dogs & cats
Consultations · Emergencies 24h.
Surgery - Hospital · Home visits
Passport & Microchip.
New Surgery: Avda. Rey Don Jaime I, 15 C/ Doctor Fleming, 1 - 03630 SAX (Alicante)
Tel. 96 547 53 42 · Emergencies 636 473 909
www.canisax.com
Ladyhaye International
Pet Travel Agents Ltd
Everything
you need for
your pet
Since 1997
Licence: A-167
Residencial “La Plaza”, local 15
Ctra. Cabo la Nao • JÁVEA
Tel/fax 96 579 45 34
Looking for Pet
Insurance?
CHECK OUR COVER!!
* UK Pet Passport Travel
for your pet
* World Wide Pet Travel
* Sale or Hire of Approved
IATA Pet
Travel Containers
* Direct to London
Gatwick
* Direct to Manchester
PETS
* Direct to Dublin
Veterinary Fees
*New Route
Daily Direct to Doncaster (Robin Hood)
Client must be on same flight.
(Starting July ‘05)
European & International
Cover
For further information contact Karen
Tel. 00 44191 456 51 84 Fax 00 44191 456 58 07
e-mail karen@ladyhaye.co.uk
or visit our web site www.ladyhaye.co.uk
Boarding Kennel Fees
Lost or Stolen
Premiums Fixed for Life
Accidental Death
Any Breed or Age Accepted
Immediate Cover
www.protectapet.eu
CHILDREN
March 9 - March 15 2007
25
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Stage Door
On the door step to the world of the arts
Walk into a traditional
townhouse in Benitachell
and find yourself in a large
rehearsal hall where 20 children and teenagers practice their singing, dancing
and drama skills – this is
not something you would
expect in this peaceful little
village, but Mike and Ann
Martin make it possible.
Two months ago they took
over the drama school
Stage Door and have big
plans for it. At present they
have about 65 students, but
intend to increase this to at
least 100.
This year´s stage production
Apart from regular workshops which are separated
according to age group and
topic they are preparing
a wonderful new play for
children of all ages: The
Ragged Child. This play is
not only musical, it is a
play where all 40 participating children can develop
their acting skills in all disciplines, gain confidence
on the stage and grow further from. The youngest
ones are only 10, the oldest
19 years of age.
The Ragged Child was written by Jeremy James Taylor
and Frank Whatley, and
was originally a production
for the National Youth and
Music Theatre. It first performed at the Edinburgh
Festival in 1986 and won all
awards. Unlike most plays
it encourages the participants to think about life,
and the value of money and
education.
The main characters Jo and
Annie Cooper are followed
through lodging houses in
XIC
XÀBIA INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
· A quality Education from
Nursery to University
· English Curriculum
· Spanish Programme
For more information: Tel. 96 647 17 85
info@xabia-international-college.com
www.xabia-international-college.com
THE LADY ELIZABETH SCHOOL
est.1987
AN INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION IN A MODERN EUROPE
A wide range of AS and A level programmes. Spanish Curriculum
Preparatory School, Jávea
Tel/fax 96 579 02 52
e-mail:
preparatory@theladyelizabethschool.com
Senior School, Llíber
Tel. 96 573 19 60
Fax 96 573 25 77
e-mail:
info@theladyelizabethschool.com
www.theladyelizabethschool.com
London, where they encounter many vices and diseases. A movement is instigated by the ragged school
union to take children off
the street and put them into
school to give them an education in reading, writing
and Christianity, and then
afterwards to put them in
less dangerous jobs like
shoe cleaning. This story
is based on historical facts
as the Shaftesbury Society
was started like this and
later developed into the
Barnardo’s Society. The
play compares the life of
the rich and the poor and
is full of emotional details
and a fast paced story that
has a dramatic turn of
events in the end.
Where it all started
Mike
and
Ann
Martin
have along history in the
theatre world. Between the
two of them they share a
wealth of experience. Ann
is a professional make-up
artist trained by Glauca
Rossi. Mike is a long time
actor on London stages.
He was trained at Italia
Conti, worked at the Royal
Shakespeare
Company,
the National Theatre and
was fortunate enough to
be trained by Rona Laurie
and Andrew Jack, two
renowned voice coaches,
the latter trained all the
actors in the Lord of the
Ring films. He played leading roles in the West End
and was involved in corporate video making and
writing.
However, his love for children led him to the New
Stages at the Bop Hope theatre in Eltham in South East
London, where he worked
for seven years. Afterwards
he opened his own company, Eltham Theatrics
which was supported by
Greenwich Council, where
‘THE FIRS’
Educational
PRIMARY SCHOOL
JÁVEA
Rainbow Nursery
Offering:
• 3 months - 5 years •
National Curriculum
(Nursery to Y6)
Small Classes
High Standards
LOCATED IN JÁVEA
647
233
647 057
057 233
Or visit our website:
rainbownursery.net
he produced many shows
over the years.
Now they are ready to bring
their experience and ideas
to the children here on the
Costa Blanca.
DENTAL
CLINIC
Dr. Carolyn CARBASSE B.D.S
(GUY’S) LONDON
GENERAL AND COSMETIC DENTISTRY
Castell d’Olimbroi, 30 • Tel. 96 642 54 85
03700 DÉNIA - Alicante
www.clinicadentalzen.com
Structured Teaching
Attention to Individual
Needs
Good Discipline
Excellent Facilities
96 647 29 29
La Guardia 125 · Costa Nova, Jávea
www.firsprimary.com
mail@firsprimary.com
We have a fully equipped dance studio
& a very large hall available for hire
suitable for dance & fitness classes, slimming clubs ...
available weekends for childrens’ parties
for details and to arrange a visit, call
Ann on 666 969 948/680 673 871
26
TRAVEL
March 9 - March 15 2007
In search of the
secrets of Córdoba
Andalucía as you always imagined it
Alex Elgar
W
hen most foreigners think of Spain, they picture the typical sights of Andalucía, a land of
pretty white-washed villages full of colourful
flowers, dimly-lit flamenco bars where gypsies wearing typical polka-dot red dresses with flowing black
hair clap and stamp in time to guitars, bars selling
sangría and sherry, and southerners as hot-tempered
as the burning sun. Eager to see if that was really true,
I set off for Córdoba, deep in the heart of Andalucía in
search of the answer.
Córdoba is a stunning city lying in central Andalucía
and manages to be provincial and sophisticated at the
same time. Surrounded by fields of sand, its whitewashed houses overflow with vibrantly-coloured
flowers. A maze of twisting, narrow streets dominates
the old town, and restaurants sell refreshing gazpacho to wash down with jerez or sherry. I realised
quickly that my predictions had been pretty accurate
and was eager to learn as much as I could about this
breathtaking city.
History of
Córdoba
More than 2,000 years of
rich and colourful history
are contained within the
city's walls, with different cultures leaving their
definite marks.
In Roman times, Córdoba
became an important port
city used for shipping
Spanish olive oil, wine
and wheat back to Ancient
Rome. The Romans built
the mighty bridge crossing the river, now called
El Puente Romano. Córdoba's hour of greatest
glory was when it became
the capital of the Moorish kingdom of Al-Andalus, and this was when
work began on the Great
Córdoba’s Mezquita, the largest mosque in the Islamic world
Mosque, or Mezquita,
which – after several centuries of additions and enlargements – became one
of the largest in all of the
Islamic world. When the
city was re-conquered by
the Christians in 1236, the
new rulers were so awed
by its beauty that they left
it standing, building their
cathedral in the midst of
its rows of arches and
columns, and creating the
extraordinary
churchmosque we see today.
Sights in
Córdoba
The Mezquita has some
truly beautiful features,
among them stunning
rows of two-tier arches in
red and white stone.
Other treasures in Córdoba include the Alcázar,
or Fortress, built by the
Christians in 1328; the Calahorra Fort, and the ancient Jewish Synagogue,
now a museum. Córdo-
ba's mediaeval quarter,
once the home of the Jewish community, is called
La Judería (The Jewry), a
labyrinth of winding, narrow streets, shady flowerfilled courtyards and picturesque squares such as
La Plaza del Potro.
Patios
Patios provide a haven
of peace, quiet and shade
during the searing summer. In the first half of
Hotel
Vernisa
In the heart of
Monumental Xàtiva.
Restaurant
All rooms with en-suite bathroom,
air conditioning, Satellite T.V
C/ Académico Maravall, 1 - 46800 Xàtiva
Tel. 96 227 10 11 - Fax 96 228 13 65
e-mail hvernisa@servidex.com
Visit our website
www. hotelvernisa.com
Every May, homeowners proudly festoon their patios
TRAVEL
March 9 - March 15 2007
Summer 2007
DISCOUNT
IF YOU BRING THIS
ADVERTISEMENT WHEN
BOOKING YOUR HOLIDAYS
at the same
prices as 2006
Also you can get up to an
discount
with your Visa Halcón card
Book your holidays before March 31 2007, and travel
anytime between May 1 and October 31 2007.
9% discount if you pay cash and 11% discount with your
Visa Halcón card. Discounts valid with 5% offer.
Ask for our brochure for this SUMMER.
Limited offer.
For more information about these offers visit any of our
1,300 offices
Now, with your Visa Halcón card,
6-month
interest-free
payment
Name and Surname:
Address:
Town:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Province:
Postal Code:
We also
refund you,
of your card expenses
Send us your e-mail address to
incentivosalc@halcon-viajes.
es and you will get information
about our special offers.
27
28
TRAVEL
March 9 - March 15 2007
A view of Córdoba - a multicultural city with thousands of years of colourful history contained within its walls
N
Shopping
Different
cultures left their
definitive mark
on Córdoba
Córdoba specialises
in embossed leather, silver jewellery (especially
filigree) and pottery. The
best place to find leather
is Taller Meryam on Calleja de las Flores.
■
Entertainment
May, you’ll notice patio
signs in the streets and
alleys. This is the time
when homeowners proudly festoon their patios
with flowers to compete
for the city's ‘most beautiful courtyard’ contest and
you are able to view what
is for the rest of the year
closed by heavy wooden
doors or wrought-iron
gates. About 400m west
of the Mezquita are some
of the best courtyards.
During the competitions,
patios are generally open
from 5pm to midnight
weekdays and noon to
midnight weekends.
Flamenco in
Córdoba
It’s not possible to go to
Andalucía without hearing the lamentable cries
of
flamenco cantaores
(singers) in some hidden bar, the spontaneous
chords of the guitarists,
the impassioned clapping
of hands and stamping of
feet. Flamenco was born
At a glance
■ Bodega Guzmán (C/ de
los Judíos, 7) is an atmospheric bar full of wines
from the barrel.
■ The Gran Teatro de Córdoba (Avenida del Gran
Capitán, 3) has a busy
programme of concerts,
theatre, dance, theatre
and film.
Accommodation
■ The friendly Hostal Rey
Flamenco - the mournful lament of the exiled
out of the poverty-stricken, isolated pockets of rural Andalucía, grown from
the colourful and turbulent history that affected
the Peninsula for centuries: the Moors had been
present in Spain for 700
years, but they finally lost
their last stronghold of
Granada and surrendered
to the Spanish inquisition. Just prior to this, the
Gypsies arrived in Spain
in their centuries-old peregrination from India and
bringing with them Egyptian and Byzantine influences. Through a smaller
component of the ethniccleansing efforts of the
day, the gypsies were sent
off to the hills along with
the Moors and the Jews. A
lament of the persecuted,
flamenco evolved to incorporate the different elements of the ostracised
cultures. Without question, the wail of the singer represents the mournful lament of the exiled
Sephardic Jews. The improvisatory style of the
performers, and how they
can respond to each other
spontaneously is mesmerising. In Córdoba, there’s
a good flamenco show most
nights at Tablao Cardenal
(c/Torrijos 10).
Heredia (95 747 41 82) has
a plant-filled patio and
singles/doubles for 10-20
euros.
■ Posada Real (C/ Real 14
95 754 19 10) is more upmarket with doubles at 42
euros. When owner Juan
restored this old house,
he wanted to make it as
authentically andaluz as
possible. The four bedrooms contain antiques,
sumptuous fabrics and
engravings.
Transport
■ Córdoba is well con-
nected by bus and train to
other Andalucian cities.
When to go
■ Córdoba is one of the
hottest places in Spain so
best avoided during the
stifling summer months.
April, May, September
and October are probably
the best months to visit.
Special events:
■ May Competition and
Festival of Patios
■ May/June Feria de
Mayo: 10 days of parties
and celebrations. Held in
the last week of May and
first few days of June
■ June/July International
Guitar Festival: Twoweek-long festival in celebration of guitar music.
International artists play
a mixture of flamenco,
rock, blues and jazz in the
Alcázar gardens.
The city is full of intricate Moorish architecture
29
March 9 - March 15 2007
Would you like to
advertise here?
Call our offices on
96 648 08 14
or email:
advertising@thinkspain.com
THE
AL
GIN
ORI
ALICANTE Airport PARKING
CONSTRUCTION
Tel. or Fax:
Short and Long Term Parking
96 578 42 50
WE OFFER A COMPLETE
RANGE OF ALL BUILDING
SERVICES
®
“ROBERTO BOUWELS” S.L.
C/ BACAROT, 101
C.P. 03114
BACAROT - ALICANTE
parking_roberto@hotmail.com
www.parking-roberto.com
OPEN 24 HOURS
PHONE NOW FOR A
FREE QUOTATION
Tel. 96 511 62 31
Fax 96 511 27 20
(Night) Mobile: 609 614 297
i
SWIMMING POOLS
TERRACES
REFORMS
NEW HOUSES
Tel. 96 286 59 04
C/ Magistrat Català, 31
Gandia
climagan@hotmail.com
JÁVEA · MORAIRA · DÉNIA ·
ORBA · PEGO
& ALL COASTAL AREAS
FROM BENIDORM TO
GANDIA
Air Conditioning · Solar energy
Heating · Industrial cold
·
·
levels.
Courses for all ages and
info@ociodenia.com
discount
on your bill
·
Tel. 678 351 323
discount
on your bill
Price with
Orange contract
menu choice
with FREE 3G
services
Price with
Orange contract
menu choice
with FREE 3G
services
A mobile for €0 with an Orange contract: Valid from March, 1 2007 in Próxima shops for private clients registering in Orange from another company in Spain. Orange contract
must be a Flat Rate or an over €30/month contract with a minimum commitment of 6 months. Price valid in Mainland Spain and Balearics, subject to Orange conditions.
“Huerto de Yvancos” is a large mansion built at the beginning of the 19th
century. It is located in one of the oldest fincas in Énova, in Valencia province, only 50 km to Valencia and 8 km to Xàtiva, Alzira or Carcaixent.
Énova’s valley is full of orange groves. In 2006, an art and leisure resort
was opened there with more than 100,000 m2 landscaped gardens and a
children’s play area. At the moment, a relaxation area is under construction with spa, jacuzzi, hydromassage bathtubs, sauna, Turkish bath and
UVA rays; it will be open very soon. Other services available are:
Where your dreams come true
· Organisation of outdoors events
· Golf green
· Chapel for weddings, christenings and
other celebrations
· Stable and horse riding school
· 2 function rooms with a capacity of
400 and 50 seats respectively
· Restaurant specialised in high-quality
Valencian cuisine
· 7 wooden huts for accommodation
Creative Mediterranean signature cuisine
Private function rooms
Camino de Frans s/n
Tel. 96 226 83 35 · 96 228 13 91. 46669 ÉNOVA (Valencia)
www.huertodeyvancos.es
Valencia - Albacete free motorway, Exit 861
(Alzira - La Pobla Llarga)
·
SPORT’S CLASSES
mini-tennis
tennis
paddle
ACTIVE TOURISM
hiking
barranquismo
canyoning
rock climbing
SPORT’S PROGRAMS FOR URBANISATIONS
paddle
tennis
30
March 9 - March 15 2007
Would you like to advertise here?
SOLICITORS IN VALENCIA
Call our offices on
www.lapiedraandco.com
96 648 08 14
· Property conveyancing · Wills and Inheritances
· Civil and Criminal Law Litigation · Family Law
or email:
advertising@thinkspain.com
C/ Doctor Romagosa, 11- 4º. Valencia 46002
Tel. 34 96 3509090 Fax. 34 96 3529696
e-mail: info@lapiedraandco.com
COSTA BLANCA SOLICITORS, S.L.
ABOGADOS - LAWYERS - RECHTSANWÄLTE
DÉNIA - JÁVEA - VALENCIA
Foster Consulting
Insurance Agency
• Business Creation (S.L. & S.A.)
• Rental and purchase contracts
• Legal Problems?
We will find a solution!
Free first consultation!
What language do we speak?
.....yours of course
civil law - penal - mercantile - litigation - fiscal...
Legal representation in the whole of Spain
For clarity on all aspects of insurance
ALEXANDER RODENKIRCHEN &
ALBERTO PLA & JORGE MIQUEL
German & Spanish & English & French
Avda. Gabriel Miró, 18 - Calpe
Edif. Dextella, Entlo 2.
Next to Barclays
AVD. JUAN CHABAS, 2 ESC. 2B - 3º PTA. 12
DÉNIA. TEL. 649 462 223 / FAX 96 643 15 08
cbs@iurismeDía.com
WHITE & BAOS
A S O C I A D O S
ABOGADOS & ENGLISH SOLICITORS
96 583 83 84 / 96 583 30 52
Independent
lawyers
Pla Carretero
Law Firm
Property Law
Conveyancing
Commercial
Law
Crime
Personal
Injury
Family Law
Wills, Trust &
Probate
Debts
Recovery
C/ Sertorio, 2 - Esc. A - Pta. 3
Edificio Adumar 2
03730 Jávea (Alicante)
Litigation
Tel. 96 579 68 02
Fax 96 579 67 96
Mobile 620 261 314
www.Jávea-solicitors.com
albertopla@iurismedia.com
Conveyancing
Tax Advice and Representation
Wills and Probate / Inheritance
Company Formations
Tenancy Agreements
Legal Translations
Divorce
C/ Díana, 16, 1º - 03700 Dénia
(Alicante) Spain
Tel (+34) 96 642 61 85
Mob (+34) 677 204 355
Fax (+34) 96 578 44 71
E-mail: info@white-baos.com
www.white-baos.com
RAYMUNDO - HOPMAN - VILLAMOR
ENGLISH-SPANISH SOLICITORS
- Property Conveyancing.
Today’s advice
- Land Laws and Zoning
Problems.
Are you thinking of buying a home in Spain? This can be easy and
involve low risk as long as you remember that not all charges are
shown in the Property Registries. Please beware about the
implications of actual/future Development Plans, penalties
for building infringements or development charges. Ask your
independent Lawyer to include these aspects in the pre-purchase
“legal checking”.
- Wills, Inheritance, Probate.
- State/Local Government
Litigation.
- Civil and Criminal
Litigation.
If any doubt please, fax your query and we will reply at no cost.
- NIE, Residencia, Fiscal
Insurance, etc.
Connie Raymundo
Solicitor
Alicante – C/ Navas, 19, 4th floor - 03001
Tel. (00 34) 96 520 77 19 – Fax (00 34) 96 521 87 94. e-mail Connie_sp@ono.com
VIVES.PONS&ASOCIADOS
ABOGADOS · SOLICITORS
ECONOMISTAS · ACCOUNTANTS
ARQUITECTOS · ARCHITECTS
C/ Pare Pere, 9 - bajo - 03700 Dénia - Alicante
Tel.: 96 643 26 24 • Fax: 96 642 71 69
salvador@vivespons.com
www.vivespons.com
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FINANCE
March 9 - March 15 2007
With us, you have no costs for choosing the loan that suits you best, in fact
you have a lawyer at your service consulting you till the end of the process, for free.
“First consulting FREE legal advice”
TRUST IN OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES...
Avda. Gabriel Miró, 18
Edif. Dextella – entlo 2
03710 Calpe
Tel. 96 583 83 84
96 583 30 52
Fax 96 583 49 20
Property Sales & Purchases
Contracts
Mortgages
Accounting & Taxation
explain the policies in the
client’s language. Apart
from English and Spanish, they speak French,
Dutch and German.
Mark offers a broad range
of insurances by Asssa
and Liberty. However, he
specialises in home and
People who like travelling
find good offers at Foster
Consulting.
Young families with small
children will find a special understanding in his
office, since Mark will become a father in August.
Accidents
Legal Separations
Companies
Inheritance
Traffic Accidents
All my policies
are in three
languages. So
my clients understand exactly
what they sign
household
insurances,
where he can offer very
competitive rates, that often have better rates and
more cover than most
Spanish banks.
He is one of the few brokers who insures motor
vehicles, and also offers
policies for classic cars
and fully comprehensive
policies for motor bikes.
For the later years in life,
there are funeral plans,
private pension plans or
various options for a life
insurance.
 Civil Action
C. Administrative
Labour Proceedings
Criminal Procedure
Breach of Duty
Mark Foster and his team
have recently opened a
new office in Calpe on the
Avenida Gabriel Miró and
are going to open a second
office in Jalón later this
month, however, the business was first established
in 1987.
Although born and bred
in Calpe, Mark obtained
his title as insurance broker at the Colegio de Mediadores de Seguros in Madrid. Only afterwards did
he take over the business
from his father. He is highly qualified and knowledgeable and has specialised in the non-Spanish
market. Therefore, his
policies are printed in
three languages. His staff
are multilingual and can
www.afiservices.com
Calpe office opens
ahead of new one
planned for Jalón
Tel. (+34) 96 646 24 60 / 96 646 24 61 Mobile (+34) 627 596 439 · Ctra. Cabo La Nao, C.C Arenal, first floor, Local 17 · 03730 JÁVEA - ALICANTE
Mark Foster and his Team
31
32
BUSINESS AND MARKETS
March 9 - March 15 2007
FINANCE
March 9 - March 15 2007
33
Leeds Building Society
announces record results
By Graydon &
Associates
Costa Blanca S.L.
Leeds Building Society,
which won the title of
‘Best Building Society’ in
Mortgage Magazine’s 2006
awards, recently announced
record results for last year.
Chief Executive, Ian Ward,
said: “We are delighted
with our record-breaking
results in 2006. Our business is growing strongly
with assets now over £8bn
[11.88bn€], more than treble the level of a decade ago
and a 15 per cent increase
on 2005.
“Profits have also increased substantially during recent years with the
2006 figure being a record
£57.2m[84.89m€], up 14 per
cent on 2005.
“This means we now have a
13-year unbroken trend in
year-on-year profit growth.
“One of the key achievements of the year was the
successful completion of
our merger with Mercantile
Building Society on August
1. The Mercantile had been
based in the north-east of
England for over 100 years
and as part of the merger
we now have a further 13
well-established branches
in this area of the UK.
“The former Head Office
of Mercantile in Wallsend
has been developed as an
administration centre for
the combined Society. This
has provided much-needed
additional capacity for our
rapidly-expanding business.
“We attach great importance to our superior efficiency, as demonstrated by
our very favourable cost
ratios. This is essential
in maintaining our keen
product pricing in the competitive market in which we
operate. Our cost-income
ratio improved to 41 per
cent from 44 per cent a year
ago. At that time, independent analysis from KPMG
showed that this was the
best performance of any
building society and the
2006 result is superior to
those of the societies that
have, so far, announced
theirs.
“We achieved a significant
uplift in both mortgages
and savings during 2006
with our products featuring
regularly in newspaper best
buy tables. We advanced
a record £2bn (2.97bn€) of
new mortgage loans, which
was 17 per cent above the
previous best-ever performance in 2005.
“Leeds Building Society is
the only UK building society to lend in euros and
in 2006 we successfully extended our lending to all of
Spain and Ireland. “Pleasingly, redemptions of existing mortgages were below
the industry average and
this helped to contribute to
very strong net lending of
£695m [1,033.4m€], a 28 per
cent increase on the previous year.
“Our success has been
achieved by selling mortgages through a variety
of different channels combined with diversification
of our product range and
lending criteria.
“Savings balances rose by
more than £730m [1,085m€]
to an all-time high of £5.3bn
[7.87bn€]. Our net receipts
performance was £150m
[223m€] better than our
building society market
share.
“The Society won the title
of Best Building Society in
Mortgage Magazine’s 2006
awards, which take into account long-term value, customer service and how easy
products are to understand.
We also received the Gold
award in the Lending Excellence Awards from Lending
Strategy Magazine, in relation to an independent national consumer survey of
7,800 customers who have
recently taken out a mortgage.
N
2006 Highlights
 15 per cent rise in assets
to a new record level of
£8.1bn (12.02bn€)
 Pre-tax profits up by 14
per cent to a record £57.2m
(84.89m€)
 Mortgage-lending increase of 17 per cent to
highest-ever level of £2bn
(2.97bn€)
 Savings balances rise by
an all-time high of £734m
“I believe these results
clearly demonstrate that
a mutual building society
can compete very effectively in a highly-competitive
market. After growing our
assets to £5.3bn [7.87bn€]
in 2003, we have achieved
a milestone figure in each
successive year with £6.1bn
[9.07bn€] in 2004, £7.1bn
[10.56bn€] in 2005 and now
£8.1bn [12.05bn€] and I
firmly believe that we have
all the essentials in place to
ensure that Leeds Building
to £5.3bn (1,089.6m€ to
7.87bn€)
 Cost-income ratio improved even further to 41 per
cent from 44 per cent, one
of the best in the industry
 Increase in reserves to a
record £407m (604bn€).
 Asset quality remains
high with arrears ratio
over 50 per cent better
than CML average
Society continues this dynamic growth.”
For further comment on
the results please contact Ian Ward (Chief
Executive) on (0034) 113
225 7501 (direct line) or
David Pickersgill (Deputy Chief Executive & Finance Director) on (0034)
113 225 7502 (direct line).
www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk
Equity Release Specialist & Financial Consultants
Marqués de Campo, 27, Edificio Bilbao, 03700, Dénia (Alicante)
CIF: B53937405
RELEASE the EQUITY tied up in your home.
Use it to make improvements, travel or put away for a rainy day.
We are proud to present the ULTIMATE Equity Release scheme on the Costa
Blanca, underwritten by Swiss Life, one of Europe’s leading providers of pension
and life insurance products.
Main features include:
Title to the property retained by owner(s)
Up to 100% release on full market value of the property
Available on properties valued over €300,000
Up to 25% of the loan can be taken as cash
No age limit and totally non status
Asset remains secure for heirs and successors
Funding and Investment Management provided by leading Swiss Private Banks
For a brochure, please contact us:
Office Telephone: 96 642 74 76
Fax: 96 578 36 38
Email: info@graydonassociates-cb.com
Website: www.graydonassociates-cb.com
LEGAL AND MONEY
34
March 9 - March 15 2007
ASK THE EXPERT...
If you have a problem concerning a legal matter, pensions, investments or general finance then write to one of our experts here at advice@thinkspain.com
Stephen
Ward
pensions expert
Q
. I have a UK personal
pension
invested in a
with-profits fund which
is valued at £32,000
(47,055€).
I do not
plan to retire and take
my pension for at least
20 years. I left the UK
three years ago and do
not intend to return.
What do I need to do to
maximise the value of
this fund when I retire?
A
. If you leave
things as they are
you can be sure of
a poor outcome. Typical
with-profits funds have
been generating woeful
returns over the last few
years - less than you would
get with cash on deposit.
A change is therefore vital. Over 20 years you need
more direct exposure to
stockmarkets,
perhaps
through investing instead
in a managed equity fund.
Your current pension
company may allow you
to switch into such a fund,
but another option is to
move your fund to a different pension provider
that has a managed equity fund with a good track
record.
If you transfer to another
provider there may appear to be a cost to do so if
the ‘transfer value’ is less
than the ‘fund value’.
The former is the amount
you can transfer to another provider - the latter
is the value available on
death at the current time.
The transfer value may
include a market value adjustment if stock markets
are under pressure, and
the transfer value may
take account of the charges that your pension company is missing out on if
you remove the fund.
However, these apparent
costs are usually insignificant over the longer
term. They are designed
as a deterrent to transferring your fund - but the
potential long term benefit of doing so may well
outweigh the short-term
cost of taking remedial
action.
Once you have a pension
fund of any size that is
to be invested over such
a long period it is the investment
performance
that matters above all if
you are to enjoy a decent
income from the fund
when it is needed. Above
all, do take professional
advice on this important
matter.
Stephen Ward can be
contacted personally at
Premier Financial Solutions (UK) Ltd. See advert in this section for
details.
Premier
Financial Solutions
UK PENSIONS LAW IS CHANGING
RADICALLY – DO YOU NEED TO REVIEW
YOUR ARRANGEMENTS?
We specialise in re-engineering UK pension
arrangements to maximise the benefits
of the impending changes.
To find out about us and Stephen Ward, a
leading UK pensions expert, visit
www.premierfinancialsolutions.co.uk
Arrange a consultation with us to see how these
changes affect you - and what we can do to help
you take best advantage of them.
Contact Stephen Ward at :
Centro Comercial Kristal Mar, Locale 22C
03724 - Moraira
Telephone: 659 579 265.
Or e-mail us at sward@premierfinancialsolutions.co.uk
Premier Financial Solutions (UK) Ltd is authorised and regulated by
the Financial Services Authority. Registered in England No 4163485,
at 44 North Street, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 3AF
The information contained within this advertisement is subject to the UK regulatory regime.
Marc
White
legal expert
Q
. I am considering buying a new
yacht from the
UK, and am being told
that the VAT can be reduced to virtually nil.
Have you heard of such
schemes in the past?
A
. The VAT payable in the UK in
connection with
the purchase of a yacht
is something that the
UK Revenue & Customs
(hereafter the Revenue)
has been looking into for
some time.
I have heard of such
schemes being in operation and have always
viewed them with suspicion. Basically the Revenue hardly ever loses out,
and their ability to discover the reality is eased
by advances in technology. Admittedly, this will
not affect all readers, but
it is an issue which could
affect one unlucky purchaser quite hard.
On February 7, 2007 the
Revenue issued a brief to
raise its concerns about
the validity of the VAT
treatment that is being
claimed through schemes
by which the user acquires
a new vessel which, pur-
portedly, has ‘VAT paid’
status while, in reality,
paying no VAT or a minimal amount.
Essentially, the schemes
being offered fall broadly
into two categories. The
first is known as ‘Artificial Chartering’ and
the second is known as
‘Cross-Border Leasing’.
In both cases the vessel is
often purchased through
a company or some other
entity set up specifically
for this purpose which is
itself owned or controlled
by the individual ‘owner’.
This company then claims
that the vessel is used in
a chartering or leasing
business which, in turn,
means that there is no
charge to VAT where the
company is incorporated
outside the EU, or other-
wise any VAT charged on
the supply is recovered as
input tax.
If the Revenue considers
that a yacht has been purchased in either of these
two ways, then it has
stated in its brief that it
will carry out a full investigation. This generally
means that it is looking
to recover money on the
basis that the chartering
or leasing arrangement is
in fact artificial, and that
the yacht is in fact owned
almost exclusively for the
enjoyment of an individual.
I hope the above is useful and please feel free to
give either myself or Carlos Baos a call on 96 642
61 85, or send an email to
info@white-baos.com if
you wish to discuss the
above or any other issue.
Marc White LL.B. (English solicitor). See advert in this section for
further contact details.
© White & Baos 2007
– All rights reserved.
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previous edition of
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as thinkSPAIN/today
constitutes financial,
investment, legal or
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All of Think Press SL,
that is the company’s
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parties
contracted by Think
Press SL assume no
responsibility whatsoever for any information contained in
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respect of such information. Think Press
SL is not responsible
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March 9 - March 15 2007
LEGAL AND MONEY
35
36
SPORT
March 9 - March 15 2007
SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT
Sweet taste of success, thanks to Spain
FRUIT BOOST: Spanish oranges
Improving
Oliva Nova
ANOTHER Marina Alta full
house went to the fast-improving Oliva Nova which
is showing signs of becoming a good quality course
and now only needs time to
become one of the best in
Valencia.
Twos were won by Trevor
Howard and Bob Foyle.
Nearest the Pins were Sean
Rainey and Penny Woodcock.
Division A Alan Tissington
and Dave Reynolds score 37
points, the best of the day,
with Alan taking first prize
on the lower handicap rule.
Division B saw unusually
low scoring with Barry Salt
taking first prize with 31
points. Second place went
to captain, Mike Yaffe on
the lower handicap rule.
The balance for the hotel accommodation for our away
trip in two weeks’ time
must be paid to Vicky at Viajes Tabaira in Moraira on
96 649 90 08.
Those who call in to see
Vicky will be given several
maps of the area to make
life easier to get around the
Cartagena area while we
are there.
Her office is in the Pepe la
Sal supermarket building
on the Calpe to Moraira
road.
Next week the society visits
Real de Faula, for a start
time of 10.45 hrs.
Players must pay their
green fee at least 30 minutes
before our first tee-time to
the treasurer, who has to
pay the club before we are
allowed on the course.
Those who have not yet entered their names to play
can do so by contacting
Noel Eastwell on 96 587 40
17 or 639 730 891.
The draw for playing partners will return to Bar Lagonda this Saturday at 13.00
hrs and all are welcome to
attend.
MOST Charlton fans would
argue that the club’s recent
upturn in form has been
sparked by new manager
Alan Pardew - but new evidence has come to light that
a change of eating habits is
also bearing fruit.
For Emilio Teresa, managing director of the Addicks’ club sponsor, Valencia
development company Llanera, is convinced the fruity
gifts he has sent to the players during the last month
has made all the difference.
Fresh from a rejuvenating
trip to Spain in mid-February, the players were
presented with a fresh consignment of Spanish oranges before they kicked West
Ham United into touch with
a 4 - 0 win at The Valley.
And a week later Pardew’s
men recovered from a 2 - 0
half-time deficit to draw
2 - 2 with fellow strugglers
Watford as Charlton’s bid
to secure its Premiership
future continued to gather
momentum.
Teresa, whose family are
fruit growers, said: “The
West Ham victory was a
fantastic one for Charlton,
while the team showed
great character to battle
back against Watford, and
I look forward to watching
the remaining matches of
the season.
“Of course, skill, talent
and good management has
played a huge part in the
team’s success, but I am
sure the oranges have given
everyone an extra boost!”
Llanera is working proactively with Charlton to help
raise the developer’s profile
in the UK and it is certainly
bearing fruit.
Emilio added: “We have recently run a highly successful campaign with the club,
leading to significant sales
at our flagship lifestyle resort, Nature Caravaca de la
Cruz, in Murcia.”
Brian picking up
the Valley prizes
JALÓN Valley Golf Society played a three-ball team
competition that was won
by Alan Barwick, Ken Oliver and Noel Reeve.
Ken was also the highest
individual scorer on the
day with 39 points.
The second team was Mal
Brewer, George King and
Stuart Taylor.
On Wednesday two competitions were played.
The first two ties in the
Jalón Villa Rentals Singles
strokeplay were completed
with George King and Brian West progressing to the
semi-finals.
They had wins over Noel
Reeve and Stuart Taylor.
The rest of the society
played a four-ball, yellowball that was won by Alan
Barwick, Paul Darragh,
Ken Oliver, and Dave Moore
with 137 points.
In second place with 126
points were Dave Monk,
Jim Gillies, Ray Stevens
and Rob Lintern.
The highest scorer was Brian West with 39 points.
The society held a dinner
and Quiz Night at Restaurante Awraba, Orba.
The worthy winners were
the Shankers team of Brian and Margaret West, Jim
Gillies and a guest, Clive
Kay.
In second place was a guest
team from Sanet and third
were Coffee House team of
Peter and Sheila Whitelaw
and their guests Geoff and
Eileen Whittington.
Jalón Valley left home with
slight trepidation on February 19 hoping that overnight rain that continued
into the morning would
not be enough to close the
course.
Fears were quickly allayed
as the weather changed for
the better.
While Don Cayo was a little
soggy in parts we enjoyed a
good day’s golf.
The society played a TwoBall, Yellow Ball that was
narrowly won after a great
fight-back by Alan Barwick
and Ray Stevens from Dave
Moore and Brian West.
Dave Moore took the prize
for the highest individual scorer with a fine 40
points.
February 21 saw some very
interesting results in the
first round of the Jalón
Villa Rentals Stroke Play
Singles Competition.
There were victories for
Mal Brewer, Stuart Taylor,
Dave Moore Paul Darragh,
Jim Gillies, Noel Reeve,
Brian West and George
King.
They beat (respectively)
Rob Lintern, Alan Barwick, Ray Stevens, Dave
Monk, Clive Elmer, Graham Haslem, Ken Oliver
and Alan Dembina.
Noel Reeve also took the
prize as the highest scorer
on the day on countback
from Stuart Taylor.
Both players returned a net
77.
Pego winners at La Sella
Slick and good
PEGO Golf Society took 45 players to La Sella, and next
week 46 have booked for Real de Faula but as they can only
provide 40 places six will be disappointed.
As usual La Sella course was in excellent condition, with
slick greens and good fairways. This suited the higher
handicappers as the results for the Terry Leary Trophy
show.
First was Bruce Clench with 38 off 18, second Gordon
Weston 38 off 20.9, third Norman Cunliffe 35 points off 25.1
and fourth Steve Patton with 33 off 16.
Twos were won by Graham Bush, John Guest, Mike
Haggerty, John Chessher, and Terry Leary. The nearest the
pins were won by Mike Haggerty and Alan Craig and the
lowest score on the front nine won by Brian West with nil.
Get used to sand and desert Some of the best
SAN Javier were at La Torre with 80 members and a guest and the early starters managed
to get around without any hold-ups. It was evident the course had been shortened up.
Tee placements were blue rather than yellow and all the par threes were easily reachable,
including for our high handicappers.
This was obvious from the number of names on the Nearest the Pin competition.
With forward tees the par fives became reachable in two for the longer hitters so some good
scores were recorded.
A number of players found the areas of sand alongside the fairways difficult to get out of,
even after the local ruling that you could have preferred lies there.
This is a new feature of golf courses that players are going to have to get used to.
Sand and areas of desert do not require water so maintenance costs are reduced.
This does not detract from the enjoyment as it encourages players to be more accurate off
the tee.
Bob Gallard again won Category One with 36 points from Alan Master, 32, and Dave Docker
28. Category Two: 1 Barry Beale, 39, 2 Roy Herbert 37, 3 Ken Beever 33. Category Three: 1
Mark Watts, 2 Atholl Robb 33 on countback, Bill Walkenhorst 33.
The Nearest the Pin prizes went to Alex McLennan, Alan Masters, and Paul Richards (2).
THE Jávea Escuela de Golf
played a Par 3 competition
at Oliva Nova Golf and had
some of the best short game
scores recorded so far.
Alex Thame took the
Intermediate title with the
round of the day, net seven
under par.
George Pay and Luke Curtis
in the Advanced category
battled it out with George
taking the trophy. Siân in
the Beginners category took
the gold medal.
Gillian Wright took the
ladies title by four shots
with a fantastic round that
included seven pars.
Results:
Advanced:
1
George Pay, 2 Luke Curtis.,
Intermediate: 1 Alex Thame,
Michael Brackett, Beginners:
1 Siân Gwyther, 2 Abbie
Jones, Ladies: 1 Gillian
Wright, 2 Jackie Coyne.
Daisy Kendrick took the
Nearest the Pin prize and
Harriet Rogers won the
Personal
Achievement
Award having just taken up
golf.
Tom’s hole-in-one was highlight of the week
HIGHLIGHT of the week at Las
Ramblas was a hole-in-one at the
sixth by Tom Hardie while playing with Barbara Hitchings, Brian
Dent and I, writes Doug Wright.
It was a superb nine iron which
sailed over the trees to the left of
the green towards the pin which
was tucked into the left.
Unfortunately, because of the pin
position, we were unable to see
the ball go in the hole, so Tom had
a very pleasant surprise when I
looked in the hole to find his ball.
It was his first hole-in-one.
I was four feet from the pin and
knocked my putt in for a two, but
nothing because the hole-in-one
scoops the kitty.
I pipped him for first place in Cate-
gory One of the Stableford. Results:
Category One: 1 Doug Wright 41, 2
Tom Hardie 40 (on count back), 3
Dave Pulling 40.
Category Two: 1 Tony Whyatt 38
pts, 2. Tony Brooks 36, 3 Reg Akehurst 35.
The 6x6x6 was won with 94 points
by Dave Pulling, Tony Whyatt,
Lindsay Forbes and Mr. X.
On Friday with eight went to Campoamor for the A Team Vega Baja
League match against San Javier.
San Javier were in second place in
the league 15 points ahead of us.
A difficult match was anticipated
and in a tightly-contested, if lowscoring, set of four matches we
triumphed by 3 - 1 to pick up 12
points.
This has really tightened up the
battle for second place and we are
in for an exciting final two matches in April and May.
At Las Ramblas the competition
was a four-ball Texas Scramble
and the winners with a score of
56.8 were Barry Shearman, Nick
Campbell, Olga Haubner and Barry Holtham.
SPORT
March 9 - March 15 2007
37
SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT
Rashness and injuries cost Elche La Vila too good
MORE than 100 supporters watched Elche take on
fourth-placed RC Ponent
from Mallorca in the last
game of a tumultuous season.
If Ponent had thought that
Elche were there to make
up the numbers, they were
soon made to think again.
From the off Mallorca
found themselves pinned
deep within their own territory quickly giving away
several penalties within
kicking distance.
Elche kicked each time for
position and looked to rack
up points but they lost their
lineouts and the chances
were squandered.
After 15 minutes of soaking
up pressure Mallorca broke
out of defence to score but,
even with two more tries
against, Elche were still
creating chances and very
much still in touch at 17 - 0
down.
As has so often happened
Elche lost two key players
to injury.
Mallorca took full advantage and scored a handful
of quick tries.
The home side battled on
and were rewarded when
scrum half Gregorio José
Gómez playing his last
game forced a penalty try
after a chip and run.
Too little too late and bringing on fresh legs Mallorca
finished off in style running in some late tries to
somewhat flatter the scoreline.
Next stop Division Four but
join us and our new personnel this summer either as
a supporter or a player for
friendlies with local sides
and touring UK teams.
With the new friendly
league starting off in a couple of weeks’ time, Elche
will play Cartagena at home
on March 17.
On March 18 Elche Vets will
play a touring team from
Halifax, Old Brodleians, in
a round robin tournament
with Dénia RFC, thanks to
the efforts of Dénia’s Eddie
D’Arcy.
LA VILA were far too strong
for Alicante University and
ran out 62 - 0 winners.
The University defence was
well organised until the 20th
minute when Gary Cohen
scored La Vila’s first try.
This was followed by tries
from Frederic González
(2), Pablo Previtera, Pablo
Pereyra, Aldo Guidi, Lucas
Merino and Fernando Cabanillas.
La Vila kicker Agustín
Gómez landed six conversions.
This was the last game of the
regular league programme
and now the club faces the
play-offs for a place in Division Honor B of the Spanish
Rugby Union’s Level 2.
If they qualify it will mean
playing in all parts of
Spain.
The first play-off home
game will be on March 25,
kick off 12.00 hrs.
The club’s under-16 team
beat Tatami 34 - 20 in the
first leg of the Valencia region semi-finals.
Now they have to beat them
away on Saturday to reach
the final.
The bus leaves La Vila train
station at 08.00 hrs.
The first day for the Schools
League Tag Rugby was on
Saturday in La Vila Joiosa
and more than 60 boys and
girls in the Under 14, Under
12 and Under 10 took part,
including a group from
Finestrat and Lope de Vega
school.
Tomorrow there will be another meeting for the Schools
Tag Rugby League. at 16.00
hrs at La Vila Joiosa.
The Under 18 team travels
to Tavernes tomorrow and
the bus leaves La Vila train
station at 09.00 hrs.
The Under 14, Under 12,
Under 10 teams also go to
Valencia to take part in the
Valencia tournament.
Their bus leaves at 08.00
hrs.
BBC keep end up
WINNERS: The Benitachell Saturday Rinks winners
Depressing reading
for SABA Triples as
La Siesta romp in
THE Greenlands SABA
Trippers were away at La
Siesta and the numbers
make depressing reading.
They were La Siesta 100
shots and Greenlands 41
shots.
La Siesta took three of
the four rinks and drew
the other for a 9 - 1 win.
The Winter Leaguers had
a very good win at home
against El Cid.
Greenlands took three of
the four rinks and made
just enough shots to win
overall shots by 71 - 70.
Greenlands remains very
much in the running with
another eight points.
The long awaited return
match between the Yellows and the Oranges was
on Friday, and proved to
be a close contest with
the Yellows running out
the winners by 4 - 2 and
95 - 87.
Yellows ended up 10 - 4.
In Premier 20 Competition Greenlands played
the semi-final against Albir.
The away 10 won the single, pairs and rinks while
the home 10 were also
on form and narrowly
missed the single by one
shot, won the pairs and
drew the triples.
Greenlands
took
the
match by 9 - 7.
The final is on March 28
against Benitachell, at
10.00 hrs for 10.30 hrs.
The Greenlands Open
Triples tournament will
run for three days from
March 23 - 25.
Teams may be single or
mixed sex, entries by
phone to Dave O’Sullivan
on 96 679 74 89.
In the Over-65s Competition final Beryl Norris
beat Albert Jackson.
BENITACHELL Bowls Club
Winter League team entertained Finca Guila and
scored an eight-points win.
This gives them 101 points
and keeps them in fourth
place in the league.
There were three Winter
League matches and El Cid
Sabres came to BBC hoping
to inflict a defeat but were
disappointed because in a
very tight match BBC won
by two shots to claim a 7 - 3
win.
There were not such good
results for the other two
teams.
Calpe Flamingos came to
play the Tigers and gained
an eight-points win but Tigers are still third in the
league with 101 points.
Lions went to Jávea Green
to play JG Quartz but came
back without a point but are
still in sixth place with 109
points.
The entry lists for the
President v Captain teams
match, the Smith Flitch and
the Solos events are on the
noticeboard.
The Sam Flitch is for couples who have been married a year and a day while
the Solos event is for unattached men and women.
On the social scene the club
is going ten-pin bowling,
holding a St Patrick’s Night
party and bingo sessions.
The shopping trip to Gandia
has been postponed to a date
to be fixed. Jávea Green,
please note.
Finca help Spain to third
in Euro championships
SPECIAL mention goes this
week to Finca Guila’s Spain
Internationals in the sixth
European Bowls Championship in Cyprus.
It was a great result to finish third ahead of the likes
of Wales, Ireland and Israel
with only England and Scotland doing better.
It was just about the perfect
day on Wednesday as our
Winter League team arrived
at Benitachell BC.
The sun shone and our hosts
made us very welcome but
the downside was that we
were a tad too generous on
the rinks and came away
with just two points to the
home team’s eight.
There are three games and
30 points to play for so a respectable final position is
still very possible.
It was much the same for
the Northern League team
at El Cid BC as they were
out-bowled on the rink and
went 2 - 8 down on points
and 41 - 78 on shots.
The secret of a really successful season is precious
points away from home and
we have not mastered that
skill well enough yet.
Friday was taken up playing for the Alan Bates Commemorative Chalice and the
in-house Australian Pairs
competition will be played
to a conclusion today.
Not a good week for Jávea
JÁVEA Green’s Winter
League team did not have a
good week but Quartz continue their winning ways
and stay top of the table.
The Benitachell Lions were
well and truly tamed with
David Sackman’s team taking all 10 points with a shot
difference of 55.
The team all performed well
but a special mention goes
to Trevor Neale, Sue Kent
and Joan Fewell who won
their game 38 points to 4.
Opal were away to the Albir
Pandas and picked up eight
points to keep them in the
mix near the top of the
table.
Onyx also had a good week
taking eight points off El
Cid’s Scimitars.
The Club Championship
finals are today and tomorrow.
The Easter Draw board is
up in the clubhouse and
costs €1 per entry.
Unfortunately I have to
report that Ernie Smith
died this week after battling
against cancer.
Our thoughts and sympathies are with Anne and
their family.
The club annual meeting is
on April 21.
Proposals and nominations have to be in the secretary’s box by 12 noon on
Saturday.
This is a final invitation
for non-bowlers to join the
nest beginners’ class.
It will be run by the club
and national coach, Iain
Donaldson.
There will be four sessions,
each of two hours.
People taking part will be
expected to attend all four
sessions.
They are on Thursday,
March 15; Friday, March 23
and Tuesday, March 27.
All will start at 13.30 hrs.
For details phone Iain on
96 649 37 30.
Torry fight
night gala
BOXING has found a new
lease of life in the past few
years in Torrevieja and the
main driving force has been
the Torrevieja Boxing Club,
led by local boxer Emiliano
Casal. Boxing has a big following locally among the
British community and the
show tonight at the main
sports centre in Torrevieja
will be an international
affair with a ‘Spain vs
Britain’ flavour.
There are seven bouts in
all, professional and four
amateur.
There will also be a kickboxing bout.
The British fighters all
come from the same stable
as the Tottenham fighter,
Michael Grant who is a firm
favourite in Torrevieja.
They are Daryl Bayley (81
kilos), Ashley Sexton (54
kilos), Ervis Jegeni (heavyweight), Silence Saheed
(super lightweight), Eric
Ochieng (69 kilos) and
Richard Ross (64 kilos).
More boxing - page 36
38
SPORT
March 9 - March 15 2007
SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT
Woeful Torry fading
FC Torrevieja 2 Elche B 2
SAVIOUR: Torry keeper Iván Vidal saves the day again
Jávea goal drought
Almoradí 1 Jávea 0
CD JÁVEA were unlucky
not to take a point but as has
been the case this season,
they lack a confident and
prolific striker.
Fifteen goals from 24 matches is poor and remains the
major problem.
Once Almoradí went ahead
most fans knew that there
was an uphill struggle to get
back into the game.
Without a scorer they are
going to continue to wallow.
Jávea played some nice
football at times but pretty
passing counts for nothing
if there are no goals.
The first half was very even
and new signing Pedro went
closest for Jávea with a
chance just over the bar.
The second-half brought
little respite but Almoradí
came out with renewed
drive and put Jávea on the
backfoot and the inevitable
arrived just before the hour
when Uge smashed home
from close range.
With Javi limping off with a
knee injury there was little
hope of a comeback.
Jávea fought to try to find
a way back and substitute
Salva was unlucky not to
score when his effort slipped
wide of the post.
WE were lucky as other
results went for us and we
still have a four point-gap
on our relegation rivals,
writes Mark Catlin.
Once again we looked solid
(apart from an error for the
goal) and for long periods
dominated the midfield,
created a decent amount
of opportunities, but never
looked like scoring.
Now our search for a striker
looks even more an emergency.
A striker is a role in the
team much like a goalkeep-
er. A natural keeper knows
the correct positioning.
Defenders can play in midfield, midfielders can play
in defence, but the two positions of goalkeeper and
striker are specialists.
All the supporters who
travelled down to Almoradí
were impressed by the
reception from the local
Almoradí Amigos.
The banter and friendliness
created a great atmosphere
and I know that I speak
for many of us when I say
thank you to them.
THIS game produced the
worse display of the season
by the officials, the manager
and the Torry team, writes
Andrés Hermida.
The officials were appalling,
a linesman in particular for
in two instances he gave Corcoles and Polanco off-side in
their own half and he left the
pitch with a police escort.
The referee awarded a penalty in the 90 minutes when
an Elche player went down in
the box during a corner, when
on this occasion the linesman
never flagged for any offence.
But to blame the officials for
their incompetence does not
shield responsibility from the
manager.
Yet again he was ultra cautious fielding a 4-4-1-1 formation at home with a solitary
forward, Corcoles.
This was against a young and
talented but inexperienced
side lying 13th in the table who
were there for the taking.
Torry were undeservedly 2 0 ahead and cruising with 12
minutes left and continued to
defend the lead instead of attacking and taking the pressure off the defence.
Torry lacked imagination,
failed to control midfield and
kept giving the ball away.
It was pitiful and agonising to
watch.
The last few games have
shown the deficiencies in the
team.
Elche played with a lot of
courage and attacked Torry
from the start but Torry took
the lead in the 37th minute
when Borja Pando scored.
In the second half, Elche
mounted even more pressure
Altea grab the
points in derby
Benidorm B 1 UD Altea 2
WITH Altea missing several key players they entered
this crucial local derby on
the back of one win in the
last eight games.
A back to basics policy
meant that three points
headed safely north up the
N-332.
Altea dominated from the
first minute with Miramar
and Parra combining well
on the right flank to carve
open the home team’s left
side at will on several occasions.
Chances were though, few
and far between, although
the 4-2-3-1 may have conditioned this.
Pepe Such ran himself into
the ground for 75 minutes
after 10 minutes he created
an opening from which he
shot just over the bar from
25 yards.
Jorge Salero was unfortunate not to be awarded
a penalty (38 mins) but
GOAL: An Altea shot hits the net
just before the break Benidorm’s left winger was
shown the red card.
Benidorm were pushed
further and further back
under a barrage of Altean
pressure and from a third
successive corner Jorge
Salero swept the ball home
(0 - 1, 52 mins).
The second goal duly came
(58 mins) when Mario swung
over a corner for Pepe Such
to bullet in a header before
he was replaced by Ángel,
who created havoc in his 15
minute on the field.
Seemingly the only way to
stop him was to foul him
and Benidorm were reduced to nine players when
the right back’s frustration
got the better of him.
The only cloud was the last
minute red card for Nene
ruling him out of the game
at home to Torrellano on
Sunday, kick off 16.30 hrs.
on the Torry rearguard and
four consecutive shots at goal
by the visitors brought saves
from Iván Vidal.
Torry had now lost all co-ordination but a high lob by Meijide in in the 78th minute was
miskicked by the keeper and
Corcoles headed home.
Dani pulled one back for Elche
in the 84th minute and disaster struck for Torry in the 90th
minute when Petu scored from
the spot to level the scores
leaving the referee and his
linesmen to be escorted off the
pitch by the Guardia Civil.
Torry coach Rojo does not
take criticism well but more
displays like this and he had
better start getting used to it.
On Sunday Torry are away to
local rivals Pilar de la Horadada for a 17.00 hrs kick-off and
needing victory.
Migue’s
hat-trick
DÉNIA stretched their lead
at the top of Third Division
Group VI to six points with
a comprehensive 4 - 1 victory over Pego.
Surprisingly Pego took a
fourth minute lead through
Tomaca but Fuentes equalised in the 10th minute.
Then came a first half hattrick by leading scorer
Migue with goals in the
14th, 16th and 43rd minutes
to put the game beyond Pego’s reach.
Second-placed Torrevieja
were held to a 2 - 2 draw at
home to Elche and Villarreal, in third, were held 2 - 2
by Jove Español.
Burjassot lost ground by
drawing 0 - 0 at Alone but
Ontinyent kept up the chase
by beating Horadada 3 - 1.
At the bottom Requena
drew 2 - 2 at Catarroja, Alicante were beaten 1 - 0 by
Onda but Oliva battled to a
0 - 0 draw at Sueca to keep
out of the drop zone.
Puzol
and
Castellón
achieved the same scoreline while Dolores lost 0 - 1
to Alzira to stay hovering
near danger.
WWW.PERETOESTATES.COM
www.portzgen-dowen.es
SPORT
March 9 - March 15 2007
39
SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT
Valencia fighting
leads to charges
UEFA has charged both
teams and five players for
the brawl that marred Valencia’s Champions League
match with Inter Milan.
Carlos Marchena and David
Navarro of Valencia, and
Inter’s Nicolas Burdisso,
Iván Córdoba and Maicon
have all been charged with
gross unsporting conduct.
UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body will deal with
the case on March 14.
Navarro sparked a free-forall after breaking Burdisso’s nose, with players
from both teams becoming
involved.
The fracas continued in the
tunnel with Inter players
trying to confront Navarro
in Valencia’s dressingroom.
A goalless draw at the
Mestalla took Valencia
through to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule
following the 2 - 2 draw in
Milan.
Navarro said: “I have never
behaved in this fashion before and I will never do it
again.
“I am very sorry and
ashamed”.
The result was overshadowed by events on the final
whistle.
Navarro appeared to punch
Argentine Burdisso in the
face after rushing off the
bench at the end of the
game to join in during the
free-for-all.
Valencia midfielder Carlos
Marchena also appeared to
kick out at Burdisso after
exchanging words.
The incident set off the
brawl.
FREE-FOR-ALL: Players clash at the Mestalla
Valverde clincher Good starts give confidence Betis ban
SPAIN’S Alejandro Valverde proved he is in good
form for the 2007 season by clinching the Tour
of Valencia after Saturday’s fifth and final stage
around the city.
The Caisse D’Epargne team leader from Murcia,
runner-up in last year’s Tour of Spain, finished
fourth on Saturday to top the overall standings
ahead of Tadej Valjavec.
Elsewhere, Italian Filippo Pozzato put in a late
burst of speed to win the Het Volk single-day race
in Belgium.
He outsprinted Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha and
local favourite Tom Boonen.
The Liquigas rider completed the 212km course
between Gent and Lokeren in five hours, four minutes, 38 seconds, broke clear 500m from the line and
held on for victory.
ENGLAND’S
cricketers
warmed up for the World Cup
with a comprehensive victory
over Bermuda, the wooden
spoon favourites.
But it was not as easy as it
looked as England lost the early wickets of skipper Michael
Vaughan Ed Joyce.
Ian Bell and Kevin Petersen
steadied the ship with a stand
of 71 before both fell in the 40s.
Andrew Flintoff and James
Dalrymple came to the rescue and England eventually
reached 288 for eight.
The Bermuda batsmen had no
answer to the varied England
attack and were all out for 45,
all the England bowlers chipping in with wickets.
Scotland skipper Craig Wright
backed his side to emerge
stronger from the experience
of losing to Sri Lanka in their
opening World Cup warm-up
game.
The Scots lost by 159 runs after
being bowled out for just 135.
Wright said: “You can’t go out
there and play against Muralitharan or Vaas and expect to
succeed if you haven’t faced
them before.
“Next time some of the guys
come up against them, they
may have formulated some
plans to be able to cope.”
Ireland captain Trent Johnston was hugely encouraged
by his side’s display in their 35run defeat to South Africa in a
World Cup warm-up fixture.
Ireland had South Africa in
trouble at 91-8 but the world’s
top one-day side recovered to
set a total of 192.
He said: “My major goal for
my team at this World Cup is
to be competitive and we have
shown that we are.”
REAL Betis will play its
next three home games
away as punishment for Sevilla coach Juande Ramos
being knocked unconscious
by a bottle thrown by fans.
The Spanish federation
ruled that Betis will have
to play Zaragoza, Villarreal
and Real Sociedad at other
stadiums.
Ramos was hit in the head
during the Copa del Rey
quarter-final second leg at
Betis’s Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium causing the
match to be abandoned.
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SPORT
March 9 - March 15 2007
SPORT SPORT SPORT SPORT sport@thinkspain.com
SPORTS Jumping showpiece starts Zimbabwe on tour
SHORTS
ZIMBABWE Warriors, the
nation’s football team, are
preparing for the African
Cup of Nations in Valencia.
They are guests of the thirdplaced La Liga outfit for a
10-days training camp.
The trip has been set up by
the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority as part of an initiative to improve the country’s
image, particularly as the
Top jock
is jailed
Catt is back
VETERAN Mike Catt has
been recalled to the England side for the Six Nations clash with France
on Sunday.
Catt, 35, is back because
of injuries to Jonny
Wilkinson and Andy Farrell, in a much-changed
England side and has also
be named as captain.
It will be a tough examination for the London
Irish centre.
In the other games Scotland face Ireland at Murrayfield and Italy take on
Wales in what could be a
battle to decide the wooden spoon.
Fresh start
THE MotoGP season starts
tomorrow in Qatar and
Spain’s Dani Pedrosa, Repsol teammate of champion
Nicky Hayden, will be making a strong bid for the title.
Valentino Rossi will also be
bidding to regain his crown
and Loris Capiroosi will
also be in the running.
But the change to 900cc engines means a new experience for teams and riders.
DOWN
AND
OUT
Barça, Arsenal and Celtic fail
VALENCIA have been left
to carry the flag for Spain
in the European Champions
League as Barcelona went
out to Liverpool and Real
Madrid fell to Bayern Munich.
The Anfield team join England’s other representative,
Manchester United and
Chelsea as Arsenal failed to
join them, going out to PSV
Eindhoven thanks to an
equaliser by Alex, who had
earlier given the Gunners
hope by levelling the scores
with an own goal.
This means that all that is
left for Arsenal this season
is the fight for a place in next
year’s Champions League.
Although Barcelona made
a valiant bid to retain their
title at Anfield, winning
1 - 0 through Eidur Gudjohnsen’s 75th minute goal
to level the scores, Liverpool
went through on the away
goals rule.
Manchester United defeated
Lille 1 - 0 (2 - 0 on aggregate)
as Henrik Larsson said
Goodbye to Old Trafford
with the winner on Wednesday.
Robben and Ballack saw
Chelsea through against
Jose Mourinho’s old club,
FC Porto after Quaresmo
had raised Portuguese hopes
of a shock by giving his side
a 15th minute lead.
Real Madrid suffered the
shock of the fastest goal
ever scored in the competition when Roy Makaay
scored in 10 seconds.
Lucio then added to the to-
tal before a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty levelled the
aggregate at 4 - 4.
To Real’s dismay they could
not snatch another and Bayern went through on the
away goals rule.
Celtic went out in Milan
when a goal in the third
minute of injury time by
Kaka saw AC through to the
quarter finals.
Also through are AS Roma
who beat Lyons 2 - 0 in
France.
Valencia’s 0 - 0 draw at the
Mestalla was enough to see
them through against Inter
Milan after the 2 - 2 draw in
Italy but the club now faces
UEFA charges following the
fracas at the end of the game
(see story page 39).
The draw for the next stage
will be made at lunchtime
today and Valencia will
have high hopes of further
progress, no matter who
they draw.
Beating Inter, who with Barcelona were favourites to
lift the trophy means that
Quique’s squad will have
few fears about who they
meet.
A clash with one of the English teams will whet the appetite of football fans on the
Costas and would make the
demand for tickets at the
Mestalla leg impossible to
meet.
If Valencia are to lift the trophy after two failed attempts
in recent years it is inevitable that at some stage they
will face an English club.
Bring it on.
Bigger and better sport
FROM next week thinkSPAIN/today will be offering a bigger and better sports section.
As well as the usual round up of the activities of
the local clubs and societies and the best of the
Valencia and Murcia regions’ sport there will be
more pages offering sports features and profiles
as well as a comprehensive look at The Premiership and La Liga.
The pages will also offer a round-up of the best
of international, Spanish and UK sport.
There will be more space for news and pictures
and correspondents are reminded that the deadline remains noon on Wednesday each week.
If you want your club or society’s activities reported contact sports@thinkspain.com or call
Bill Beckett on 96 648 08 14.
AUSTRALIAN champion
jockey Chris Munce was
sentenced to 30 months in
prison in Hong Kong after
being found guilty of trading tips.
Munce, who won the Melbourne Cup in 1998 withJezabeel, agreed to swap
tips on horses he was riding in exchange for bets being placed on his behalf by
a businessman.
Hong Kong rules of racing
stipulate that no rider may
gamble or trade inside information.
Judge Kevin Browne said:
“He has tarnished his reputation and the reputation of
his fellow jockeys.
“He entered into an arrangement with the racing authorities and was in breach
of that contract - that is
where the criminality lies.
“For an offence of this kind,
an immediate custodial sentence is inevitable.”
Munce was arrested last
July with $32,000 in his
pockets, along with a piece
of paper allegedly relating to bets on races he had
tipped.
Wembley
handover
THE keys to the new Wembley Stadium could be
handed over to the Football
Association as early as today.
Building work is almost
complete and the FA Cup
final is almost certain to be
held there on May 19.
The project has been beset
by disputes and delays and
at 757 million pounds, more
than 1,000 million euros,
has cost far more than originally estimated.
The stadium will need a
safety certificate and the
first test event is planned
to be a community day for
60,000 people on March 17.
The handover of the keys is
more than a year late, having originally been scheduled for January 2006.
The second test event will be
an England Under 21 match
a week later and unless
there are unforeseen problems, a safety certificate will
be awarded in time for the
FA Cup final to take place.
The troubled project was
reminiscent of the Millennium Dome saga that also
ran hundreds of millions
over budget.
Issue No: 201
Roger wins
ROGER
Federer
beat
Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-3 to
win his fourth Dubai Open
title in five years.
It was the world number
one’s 41st consecutive victory stretching back to the
beginning of the US Open
in August.
Youzhny, who upset Spain’s
defending champion Rafael
Nadal in the quarter-finals,
was seeking his second title
in two weeks after winning
in Rotterdam.
Federer, who won his seventh straight title, was not to
be denied and equals Bjorn
Borg’s run of 41 victories.
2010 World Cup is to be staged in South Africa.
Zimbabwe are the only team
in their Cup of Nations
qualifying group without a
point after going down to a
shock 0 - 1 defeat by Malawi
in October.
To have any chance of qualifying for the final stages
Zimbabwe must beat Morocco on March 25 at Rufaro.
Valid only with a purchased newspaper
HOTEL Los Caballos at
Els Poblets, near Dénia,
is to stage a mens’ tennis
tournament from March
26 to March 30.
It is planned to have 16
players and each will play
six matches in three days,
one in the morning and
one in the afternoon.
Each match will be of
one long set, the winner
being the first to win
nine games with a twopoint margin.
The tournament will be
held on the hotel sand
courts and on the final
evening after the tournament there will be a presentation ceremony and a
barbecue.
Registration for players
is 15 euros and includes
tennis balls. To register
and for further information contact Burkhard at
Los Caballos 96 647 51
77.
leads the betting after coming back from injury.
The World Hurdle on Thursday sees Jonjo
O’Neill making the short trip to the course
with the favourite, Black Jack Ketchum.
The field for the big one, the Gold Cup on
Friday is headed by Kauto Star, trained at
Ditcheat, Somerset, by champion trainer
Paul Nicholls, with two other West of England horses, O’Neill’s Exotic Dancer and
Robert Alner’s The Listener next in the betting.
Client Token
Top tennis
at hotel
THE Cheltenham Festival, showpiece of the
National Hunt season, starts on Tuesday
when the main race is the Champion Hurdle.
West Country trainers train the favourites
in each of the big races of the festival.
Philip Hobbs, from near Minehead, trains
Champion Hurdle favourite Detroit City but
will face tough challenges from former Irish
winners Brave Inca and Hardy Eustace.
While on Wednesday Well Chief, trained by
David Pipe at Nicholashayne near Taunton,