Revista
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Revista July/August 2013 Review of all Cancer Awareness Events 1 City + Guilds Joiner 25 yrs experience Doors, Windows, Persianas, Kitchen, Timber Flooring, Pools Painting etc. For free estimate Tel: 618515753 972250318 Email: samueljwillis@hotmail.com “All aspects of building work undertaken” 2 Dear Members, July and August are here again. It is nice to see the Costa Brava filling up gradually with tourists. We have had a fantastic result with our Cancer Awareness campaign. This issue of The Revista has numerous articles describing the various events. I would like to say a special thank you to everybody who helped organise the events and to John for pulling everything together. Don and I enjoyed putting on the wine and cheese tasting for the Queens Birthday. It was good to see everybody enjoying themselves and all the hard work was rewarded with us collecting over 900 Euros. After 9 years of service Andrea and Roy Speakman have decided to resign from the BSCE Committee. I would just like to thank them both for their time and commitment over those years. If anybody out there would like to join us in organising future events do please contact me you will be very welcome. The Costa Brava is broadly a very safe place to live and relax. But, it is at this time of year a timely reminder regarding your security is in order. • Don’t leave valuable items such as cameras and phones lying around when you are out, when in your car or when in your house/villa • Don’t carry too much cash with you and keep your cash in a secure place on your person. Zipped pockets and bags are best • Be aware that people who want to help you with your car in the supermarket car-park may not have your best interests at heart. • Finally just take that extra 5 seconds to check your cash is safely put away at the supermarket/restaurant, that you have not left any valuables on show in your car or that valuable items are in a safe place at home. BUT MOST OF ALL enjoy your summer Yours, Mary 3 Editorial This issue of The Revista is dedicated to the various events that took place in May/June to raise money for Cancer Awareness. There are lots of articles describing the various events and detailing how much was raised. I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank all the organisers attendees and sponsors for helping to make Cancer Awareness such a successful fund raising event. Due to the number of articles we have dropped some of our regular contributors. We have published the recipes from the cookery demonstration at the MARAM so we gave Jacqy Harding a rest from The Revista Recipe but she will be back in September with more herby recipes. You can view more pictures of all the event at: http://www.bsce.ch/cancer/slides We also had no room for Garden notes. So here are a few lines. My square foot vegetable plot is now full to overflowing. We have had lots of peas, french beans, beans and courgettes. The chilly May did cause some problems germinating seeds especially my cucumbers. But the warmer weather has now bought everything on. My tomatoes seem to be hell-bent on taking over the whole plot. The only issue now is keeping an eye on the courgettes so that they don’t turn into marrows also there is the daily watering grind. Whilst I hate to say it, it is probably time to start thinking about what to grow in the autumn. No doubt at the next committee meeting we will start planning the Christmas Dinner/Dance Brrrrrrr! We as a committee and I am sure you as members have had enough fund raising for now. On July 10th we will be going to Els Angels for a picnic or you can have a meal at the restaurant. We promise that there will be no fundraising just the opportunity for some good company and enjoyment of the fabulous views. We will be meeting at the Carrefour car-park in L’Escala at 11:00. Mary Clark is co-ordinating this event. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars and cameras. John Sienczak DISCLAIMER The British Society of Catalunya can not be held responsible for the legality, accuracy or quality of the services offered by the advertisers in the publicity of The Revista . Whoever engages any of the advertised services does so at their own cost and risk. British Society of Catalunya no se hace responsable de la legalidad, exactitud o cualidad de los servicios ofrecidos por los anunciantes en la publicidad de la Revista. Quienquiera que contrate alguno de los servicios anunciados 4 lo hace por su cuenta y riesgo. 5 FOR A GOOD CAUSE Some months ago John contacted me and asked if we would like to organize some activity to raise money for the Cancer Awareness. After a meeting with the teachers, we decided to offer what we are good at, language lessons. The experience has been very rewarding, although we thought more people would be interested in spending some time having a chat with some friends or making new ones. We ate scacciata siciliana in the Italian lessons and allioli and tortilla de patata in the Spanish lessons. We had English conversation lessons in a bar by the beach. The Catalan Class—Seated, Gail, Wendy and Gerry 6 Our Catalan Tutor — Helena The feedback has been really positive and we all want to repeat the experience next year, promoting more our conversation lessons amongst the people of L’Escala, trying to make them part of your good cause. Congratulations and thank you, BSCE, for having invited us to be part of it! Nuria Heras YES Language School http://yesidiomes.blogspot.com.es/ 7 Victor—A Russian who attended the advanced Spanish Course Nuria Heras taking the Spanish Beginners Group 8 Looking for insurance for your English or Spanish Car? ! Don’t look any further! Apart form insuring your Spanish vehicles, we can also insure cars from England, Holland & Denmark with their original number plates. We maintain your no claims bonus up to 65% with a certificate from your old insurance company. Policy’s can be printed out in English, so you have no problems understanding the small print. We look for the best price & cover within a big range of insurance company’s we work with. Tired of not being able to communicate with your actual insurance agent, broker, or company? So get insured with Sammy Thomas S.L.U Insurance Brokers. Sammy is originally from Doncaster, England based in Girona since 1990 and has a Master in General Insurance & Administration of Business. We also insure: Businesses, Home, Life, Civil & Public Liability, Health, Accidents, Boat, Savings policies, Community blocs, Cars, Bikes etc… CALL US ON 972-221639 AND ASK FOR SAMMY THOMAS Sammy Thomas S.L.U Plaza Marqués de Camps 9-10 Entlo 1ª, 17001 Girona Spain Fax: 972-204038 Email: sammy@sammythomas.com Sammy Thomas SLU Núm. registre DGPFA J387GC Col·legiat Núm. 68554 Concertada Pòlissa RC Professional segons l’article 27.1 e) i acreditada la capacitat financera segons l’article 27.1 f) (Llei 26/2006, de 17 de juliol, de mediació d’assegurances i reassegurances 9 The Spanish Beginners Class sampling some Aioli and Tortilla, The wine was very good as well! Nuria presenting the monies raised to John Sienczak 10 The Spanish Beginners Class Nuria organising the Spanish Advanced Class with Margaret Blakey looking on11 12 Home Insurance policies in English Home insurance is the type of policy one sometimes takes granted for, but your home is where you have placed all of your personal belongings and money over the years. Here in Spain everybody sells insurance! But does your house have the policy you deserve or really want o need? Our aim is to find for you the policy to cover every important detail possible. From Robbery, water damage, electrical induct, etc.. We guarantee to look for the best price & cover within a big range of insurance company’s we work with. Tired of not being able to communicate with your actual insurance agent, broker or company? Trust in us you won’t be disappointed. Sammy is from Doncaster, England based in Girona since 1990 and has a Master in Life & General Insurance. We also insure: Business, Life, Civil & Public Liability, Health Care, Accidents, Boat, Investment plans, Community blocs, Cars, Bikes etc… CALL US ON 972-221639 AND ASK FOR SAMMY THOMAS Sammy Thomas S.L.U Plaza Marqués de Camps 9-10 Entlo 1ª, 17001 Girona Spain Fax: 972-204038 Email: sammy@sammythomas.com Sammy Thomas SLU Núm. registre DGPFA J387GC Col·legiat Núm. 68554 Concertada Pòlissa RC Professional segons l’article 27.1 e) i acreditada la capacitat financera segons l’article 27.1 f) (Llei 26/2006, de 17 de juliol, de mediació d’assegurances i reassegurances 13 Albert Iglesias Sale and repair of personal computers ADSL, Virus, Upgrades We speak English Call 600 66 10 67 (l’Escala) or www.ALBERTIGLESIAS.com C/ MORENETA, 4 17130 L'ESCALA, 14 15 A rundown of all the Cancer Awareness Events and how much we raised This is a summary of the presentation I made at The Summer Ball In May we started with the golf tournament at Playa de Pals golf course sponsored by Spectrum IFA, This even was organised by Phil and Tina Hodgson. Not being a golfer myself I was truly bowled over by the beautiful surroundings. We were ably supported by Maite the golf courses commercial manager. She did a magnificent job of getting loads of donated golf fees from various golf clubs in Catalunya. These formed part of the prizes and some were auctioned off. We raised a magnificent 1460 Euros. We then had The Costa Brava Ladies Clothes sale at Roberts restaurant in L’Estartit organised by Mary Hepworth. Again we had a beautiful day raised 535 Euros. What a magnificent start. And we had not got to June yet! Nuria Heras from the YES language school really got behind the Cancer Awareness Programme and organised Catalan, Spanish and Italian classes, a cookery demonstration at the MARAM centre in L’Escala (This was truly excellent. Mary Clark and I agreed that we should seriously hold another event here next year) and some Qigong classes. All together these activities raised 430 Euros. The restaurant La Clota in L’Escala, along with Andrea Speakman, organises regular ladies lunches. On the 5th June they decided to hold a Ladies and Gentlemans lunch. This was very well attended and we had lots of donated raffle prizes and we managed to raise 400 Euros. 16 On the 9th of June Mary Clarke and Don Flett organised a wine and cheese tasting party to coincide with The Queens Birthday. I have to say Mary was concerned about the weather. The day before we had loads of rain and the forecast did not look good. Mary started talking about moving the furniture out of the house! Well the gods must have been smiling we had a lovely sunny afternoon with a tremendous atmosphere. Loads of silly games and a tombola. The event was scheduled to end about 4pm and right on cue the rain started at about 4:10. We raised 932 Euros. Organised by Elaine Kilvington, The Tuesday club organised a lunch in Play D’Aro. They donated all their raffle prize money raising 253 Euros. Our second golf tournament held on 13th June at Mas Pages. Again this event was sponsored by Spectrum IFA. Unfortunately I was unable to attend this event. I understand it was a very successful day despite the fact that our British Catalunya Society President Mary Clarke won the event!!! And we managed to raise 930 Euros Unfortunately we had little or no interest in the bicycle maintenance and the Yoga classes. But many thanks to Kevin Benson and Marta Callol for volunteering to organise these 2 events. The Summer Ball...…… Before I announce this result I just wanted to say how touched I have been by the enormous generosity of numerous people who came up to me or the organisers of specific events and just donated money. These donations varied from somebody who raised 225 Euros at her birthday party to envelopes with 10, 20 and 50 Euro notes. Many of these people just wanted to stay anonymous so I would like us to just put our hands together just to say thank you to all the donors the event organisers and participants THANK YOU. John Sienczak 17 The Summer Ball The 21st June arrived. The last event in The Cancer Awareness Programme. The week leading up to the ball was probably the most stressful since I retired from business. On the preceding Friday my car was broken into at Figueres hospital. This meant spending a couple of hours at Figueres police station while they looked for fingerprints and took a statement. I have to say I was quite impressed with their efficiency and the manner we were dealt with. Then I was producing all the table seating cards and plans for the ball. Right on cue my computer started playing up and what should have taken an hour or so ended up taking most of a day Grrrrrrrrrrr. Then our freezer packed up and to top it all off I broke a tooth. For some unknown reason I decided that I would do a bit of comedy as part of my presentation at the ball. What possessed me I don’t know but I wrote a script and had a practise session with Geoff Martin on the morning of the 21st. Probably not as much preparation as we needed. Geoff came up with some snatches of music and we were allegedly prepared Our taxi arrived and all 8 of us headed to Lo Mirador. Thank goodness the weather, whilst a bit chilly, did stay dry whilst we had drinks outside. Eventually all 134 of us were seated and we were off. The comedy bit was delivered and yes, I do not have a future as a comedian. The meal was served and just prior to dessert I had to do another presentation detailing all the activities associated with Cancer Awareness. As each event was described and the amount raised was announced there was spontaneous applause from the attendees. Mary Clark then presented our donations to Nuria Marti & Merce Mercada from AECC and Dr Carol Hopkins & Dr Josep Vila from ICO. The raffle was run by June Joyce and Liz Arndell. Gail and I managed to win a case of beer. Once coffee was over the dancing began. The dance floor was soon heaving to all the old favourite tunes and all too soon midnight came and it was time to take the taxi home. Overall it was an excellent night. There were some issues regarding the hotel and some of the service we received but they tried to make amends by donating two bottles of Cava per table. Nevertheless a good night to finish off the Cancer Awareness campaign. 18 19 GARAGING & STORAGE INSPECTION PIT FOR HIRE HOURLY, DAILY & LONG TERM RATES Office hours: 10.00hrs to 18.00hrs TEL: 972488749 & 972772746 MOB: 627014357 & 617918523 ray@kennaecodiving.net 20 21 Oops I almost forgot ………………………………….. We managed to raise 1521 Euros at the Summer Ball exceeding all our expectations. This means that we raised 6475.98 in total. The BSCE then topped up the amount to 7,200 and we gave 3,600 each to AECC and ICO. Many thanks to June Joyce and Barbara Hanson who worked so hard in getting the event together. 22 Cookery Demonstration at The MARAM Centre L’Escala Seventeen of us arrived at the port in L’Escala to attend The Cookery Demonstration. None of us had any idea what a wonderful resource The MARAM Centre is. There is a very large beautiful kitchen demonstration area. Two chefs from The Mas Concas Restaurant showed us how to : • prepare fresh anchovies • marinade and effectively cook fresh salmon • make delicious Chocolate Coulant 23 Barbara Hanson wrote whe following article and documented the recipes Cookery Demonstration at the Maram Centre As part of the Cancer Awareness month, a cookery demonstration was arranged by the YES Language School at the Maram Centre in L’Escala on 6th June 2013. The Chefs doing the demonstration were Francoise and Ben from Mas Concas at Cinc Claus. We were shown how to make marinated fresh anchovies, marinated salmon, foie de canard and chocolate coulant. Best of all was that we also got to taste everything. There were 17 people attending the demonstration raising another 170 Euros for cancer awareness It was an enjoyable morning and some of us agreed that it may be worthwhile repeating. We decided that we would share some of the recipes for those who were unable to attend. Marinated Fresh Anchovies Ingredients Fresh anchovies Wine vinegar – (sherry or apple vinegar can also be used) Sunflower oil Olive oil Salt Clean the anchovies in water, removing the heads and intestines Cover with the vinegar and place in the fridge for 2-3 hours Remove the spine of the anchovy leaving only the fillets. Place the fillets in a dish and cover with a mixture of sunflower and olive oil. (approximately 50% of each oil) Sprinkle with a little salt and serve 24 Marinated Salmon Ingredients Salmon Fillets Lemon Juice (1.5 lemons to each 500 grams of salmon) Olive Oil or sunflower oil (equal quantity to the amount of lemon juice used) Salt Chopped fresh parsley Slice the salmon fillets and cover with the oil. Sprinkle with salt (approximately 2-3 grams). Add the lemon juice and parsley and leave for 30 seconds. The salmon can now be served. If the salmon is left for half an hour, it will be fully cooked Foie de Canard Ingredients Duck liver Salt and Pepper Cut the liver in half and remove the membrane/nerve. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap each half separately in several layers of aluminium foil. They should be rolled tightly into a sausage shape to prevent water entering and movement. Place into hot water at a temperature of 90c for 15 minutes. Remove and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process. Place in the fridge for 4-5 hours. Other ingredients can be added to the livers before the cooking process, such as truffles, mushrooms, gambas and dried fruits. However any ingredients that are added must be cooked first. Continued Page 27 25 26 Foie de Canard Pictures Chocolate Coulant ( makes 10) Ingredients 160g butter 160g chocolate (normally 70% but no less than 54%) 5 eggs 125g sugar 90g flour Put the chocolate and butter in a microwaveable container. Heat in the microwave until melted. Mix the eggs, sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the chocolate and butter to the mixture. Mix well then place the mixture into moulds. Place in a preheated oven 160c for 10 minutes. Mary saying 27 thank you for a most informative and interesting demonstration Ladies and Gents Lunch at La Clota Lynne Stanbury On Wednesday June 5th my self and Husband John arrived at La Clota for the Ladies and gentlemen’s lunch. It was a beautiful sunny day which always bodes well and we were welcomed very warmly by Kathy and son John. All the tables were beautifully arranged outside with name places and menu choices very well designed by John Sienczak. We had a lovely 3 course lunch. I had a very nice leek quiche followed by salmon and finished with assorted fruit kebabs. The wine flowed and so did the conversation at our table. In fact by the time we had finished coffee and downed a glass of cava the lunch had extended into the late afternoon. We had a raffle with donated prizes and I even won one myself. The event managed to raise €400 toward Cancer Awareness. Thank you Andrea for making the lunch very successful. 28 29 The Beginning Of The End For Tax Havens By Brett Hanson, Partner, Blevins Franks Spurred on by the financial crisis, governments have become even more determined to attack offshore tax havens and evasion - and this is now escalating again. Hundreds of bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreements have been signed over recent years. Now there is a shift towards multilateral agreements which will see several countries all sharing information with each other. In due course, there is no reason to believe that this approach will not take place on a global basis. Recent G5 multilateral pilot agreement The British, French, Spanish, German and Italian governments signed an automatic information exchange agreement, to operate on a multinational basis, in a bid to crack down on tax evasion. A wide range of financial information will be automatically exchanged between the five countries. The G5 pilot is based on the model agreements they negotiated with the US to comply with its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). It provides that the information to be exchanged is: Name and address of account holder. Account number. Name of financial institution. Account balance. In the case of portfolio accounts: Total gross interest, dividends and other income paid or credited to the account; and Total gross proceeds from the sale or redemption of property paid or credited to the account. In the case of depository accounts, total gross amount of interest paid or credited. 30 Intention that the scheme is expanded to include more countries In a letter to the EU Commissioner for Taxation, the G5 countries outlined their wish that other EU Member States also commit to joining the pilot scheme, with a view to promoting a global system of automatic information exchange. They urged for progress on the implementation of article 8 of the Administrative Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Directive of 2011 which provides that: ‘’Each Member State shall, by automatic exchange, communicate to the competent authority of any other Member State, information regarding taxable periods as from 1st January 2014 on the following: income from employment; director’s fees; life insurance products not covered by other exchange of information or similar measures; pensions and ownership of and income from immovable property”. From January 2017 the list above is to be expanded to include dividends, capital gains and royalties. The reporting requirements under both these schemes will leave little room for tax evasion or concealed offshore funds going forward. More countries join the G5 scheme The UK’s offshore territories have agreed to join the pilot scheme, bilaterally with the UK and on a multilateral basis with the G5 countries. It seems that tax havens the world over are voluntarily joining up to these type of schemes, presumably to avoid blacklisting by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. There are legitimate tax planning arrangements available in Spain which can significantly lower your tax liabilities – there is no need to risk trying to hide assets offshore. Speak to a specialist firm like Blevins Franks for personalised advice on how to structure your affairs to pay the least amount of tax possible. To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com 31 Sweet Pea Group Roger Arndell Last year John Sienczak proposed a sweet pea growing competition, three of us have done our best to grow magnificent blooms, John himself, John Sturgeon and Roger Arndell. It took a long time to get them to germinate with the cool windy weather. I protected my young plants with 6 litre water bottles cut vertically, placed around the growing container and held in place by garden twine. This certainly protected the young tender plants. They were well watered and fed with Tomorite. We have had about ten or twelve vases of sweet peas over the last eight weeks, they certainly waft a beautiful sweet aroma around the house. They needed to be tied to the canes regularly, all tendrils removed and any side shoots pinched off. To keep the plants flowering any seed pods produced must be removed. The last flowers were picked about the 20th June. They are now finished and will be removed from the container soon. I have decided not to save any seed for next year but to buy new seed. 32 Chris Harvey sent us these photos of these magnificent sweet peas. These plants are 12 years old and get bigger each year!! Editors Note: My sweet peas were a bit of a disaster this year. But there is always next year. I think I will have to pop round to Chris Harvey and find out how it should be done!! Well done Chris. I am glad we did not have a formal competition as Chris would have won hands down. 33 Golf Day June Joyce The Estartit Sands Golf Club held an event for the “Cancer Awareness” on Thursday 13th June at Mas Pagés. The event was a huge success, over 60 golfers from various societies taking part. The overall winner of the event was the Lady Captain of the Sands, Mary Clark and her partner June Fisher. We raised 1115€ which was absolutely fantastic. Our thanks go to our sponsor Spectrum IFA and to all our members and friends who kindly donated prizes for both the winners of the golf and the raffle. A big thank you to everyone who supported the day and helped in any way and especially congratulations to the Lady Captain Mary Clark who organised the whole event. 34 35 SKY, FREEVIEW OR SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGE: INCLUDES 95CM-1 METER DISH RECEIVER BRACKETS AND INSTALLATION FROM 450.00€ NOW IN STOCK THE NEW GI MULTI SATELLITE RECEIVER FOR BOTH SKY & FREEVIEW WORKS WITH NEW WHITE SKY CARD AND VIEW ALL CHANNELS INCLUDING SPORTS & MOVIES WITH YOUR UK CARD. RECIEVE ALL SKY CHANNELS WITH THE ABOVE RECEIVER INCLUDING ESPN SPORTS &THE ADULT CHANNELS FOR JUST 140€ A YEAR INTERNET SKY PLUS HD WITH 500GBS HARD DISC OF MEMORY, ALL THE BONUSES AS SKY+, BUT IN HIGH-DEFINITION CALL FOR FURTHER INFO FREESAT HD NO SUBSCRIPTION WITH HARD DRIVE AND ALL RECORDING FACILITIES WE ALSO HAVE FLAT SCREEN HD TV’S AT VERY COMPETATIVE PRICES CALL US FOR A QUOTE FOR A QUICK RELIABLE AND FRIENDLY SERVICE TELEPHONE 616 757 336 0R 972 30 42 82 Or Email: andrewgoldcrown@skycostabrava.com www.skycostabrava.com 36 37 38 39 Through the Lens I want in this article to consider some of the file types available to you in the digital photography world. The most common is the file with the suffix .jpg. This stands for ‘Joint Picture Experts Group’. This is a body that decided how the file would be structured. The jpg file is a picture that has had quite a lot of processing in-camera. This processing may or may not give you the result you want or expect as the camera produces an average picture. This will very often be acceptable if it is a picture of Uncle Fred at the seaside but if it’s a picture of a glorious sunset you may not be too impressed with the result. The camera again tries for an average and so the bright vibrant colours that you saw have been muted and appear bland. An alternative is to shoot RAW if your camera gives you the option. Raw files are just what they say they are. The file consists of the data that was captured by the camera and it is unprocessed inside the camera. The camera will produce a quick jpg file for you to be able to view the picture that you have taken. You must then do post shot processing on the file. Your camera manufacturer may have provided you with software to be able to do that and if not then Adobe Elements or Photoshop are two examples of commercially available software for you to spend vast amounts of money on. There are other alternatives of course, from Serif and Corel to name two more. The format and suffix of your raw file will depend on your camera manufacturer and each has its own suffix and format. For example Nikon use NRW or NEF and Canon have used CR2 or CRW depending on the camera model. If you cannot see the files without using conversion and processing software what is the point of raw files? They simply give you far greater creative control and better colour depth than the equivalent jpg file. There is also no destructive compression of the file as there is in jpg. One disadvantage is that the file may be 2-8 times larger but with the comparative cheapness of memory cards that should not be too much of a problem. (Continued on page 41) 40 (Continued from page 40) The above is a screen shot of Adobe Camera Raw from Photoshop CS5. Many adjustments can be made from this program before sending it to Photoshop and there it can be converted to a jpg file and other post processing carried out. Another file format is DNG which has been produced by Adobe to try to lay down a standard for raw files. Most raw files can be converted from the camera native format to .dng by means of a free to download converter from Adobe (www.adobe.com).. If you have a comparatively old camera more up-to-date software may not recognise your file format or indeed the reverse may be true. Then all you need do is to convert to .dng and all should be ok. According to Adobe dng stands for ‘Digital NeGative’ and this is really what a raw file is...the equivalent of the film negative. If you have software available and can shoot in raw give it a go. Your camera will probably give you the option to create raw and jpg files at the same time so you don’t have much to lose. David Brown 41 YET ANOTHER SCAM Hole under DoorlLock The following article was sent in by Judy Sherriff. Whilst it is based on an American incident I don't' suppose it will be long before it happens here. Wednesday, I approached my car from the passenger side to place my computer bag in the front passenger seat. As I reached to open the door I noticed there was a hole right under my door handle. My first thought was, "someone has shot the car !" I began to think about it and inspect it a little closer and the "light" slowly began to dawn. I phoned a friend who owns a body shop and asked if he had any vehicles with damage to the doors that looked like a bullet hole. "Yes, I see it all the time. Thieves have a punch and place it right under the door handle, knock a hole through, reach in and unlock it, just as if they have a key. No alarms, broken glass, or anything." I then placed a call to my insurance agent and explained it to him. I was puzzled that they left my GPS and all other belongings. Here is where it gets scary ! "Oh no, he said, they want the break-in to be so subtle that you don't even realise it. They look at your GPS to see where "home" is. Or check your address from Insurance and Registration documents in your glove box. Now they know what you drive, go to your home, and if your vehicle isn't there they assume you aren't, and break into your home." He said they will even leave a purse or wallet and only take one or two credit cards. By the time you realise there has been a theft, they may have already had a couple of days or more to use them. (I didn't realize my situation for two full days!) They even give you the courtesy of re-locking your doors for you. Periodically, walk around your car, especially after you park in a shopping centre or other large parking area. Report thefts immediately, your bank with any missing check numbers, your credit card agencies, police, and insurance companies, etc. 42 Below is picture of what the hole looks like. Hole Under Door Lock One would have to look pretty darn close to notice a hole like that. If the hole was on the passenger side I would never see. 43 Health Insurance policies in ENGLISH HEALTH insurance is probably the most important policy a family can have. You may have money & belongings, but if you don’t have a good health what use are they to us. Get your health policy from as little as 35,41€ per month. We’ll find you the best healthcare plan that adapts to you from a wide range of insurance companies we work with. So get insured with Sammy Thomas S.L.U Insurance Brokers. Sammy is originally from Doncaster, England based in Girona since 1990 and has a Master in General Insurance & Administration of Business. We also insure: Home, Business, Life, Civil & Public Liability, Accidents, Boat, Investment plans, Community blocs, English & Spanish Cars, Motor Bikes etc… CALL US ON 972-221639 AND ASK FOR SAMMY THOMAS Sammy Thomas S.L.U Plaza Marqués de Camps 9-10 Entlo 1ª, 17001 Girona Spain Fax: 972-204038 / Email: sammy@sammythomas.com Sammy Thomas SLU Núm. registre DGPFA J387GC Col·legiat Núm. 68554 Concertada Pòlissa RC Professional segons l’article 27.1 e) i acreditada la capacitat financera segons l’article 27.1 f) (Llei 26/2006, de 17 de juliol, de mediació d’assegurances i reassegurances 44 info@villaservice.info www.villaservice.info Tel. (+34) 972 77 02 62 Fax (+34) 972 77 26 51 NIF: B-17343609 B.P. 40 Av. Montgo,10 17139 L’ESCALA (Girona) Spain V.S CAR HIRE S.L. EMPRESSA DE SERVEIS IMMOBILIARIS Established in L’Escala since 1986 Holiday rentals of quality Villas & Apartments with full back up from experienced staff Supply of sheets, towels, cot, high chairs and anything required for a successful holiday. Car rentals, modern air conditioned Fords, Pick up at airport, L’Escala, bus and train stations. Villa & Apartment Sales Villa & Apartment management for owners, regular security checks on your properties. 45 The Queens Birthday Wine and Cheese Tasting It was the 8th of June the weather had been awful lots of rain and wind. I got an email from Mary. “We need to borrow your tables bring them around about 11AM and we will decide whether to hold the event inside the house”. The morning of the 9th arrived. We had sunshine but the forecast was bad. I arrived with the tables to be met with a hive of activity. The marquee was up ready to have the tables the tombola stand was well under way as was the “bounce the tennis ball game” . The White Elephant stall was soon put together.. As treasurer I manned the gate and collected the 8.50 per person entrance money. Good job I bought some change. Many people had the right money but quite a few needed change from 50 Euros! Eventually everybody was counted in and I could enjoy the party. What a wonderful range of cheeses and some differing wines to taste. The “golf ball in the bucket” was well underway and quite a few people were having a go at the tennis ball game. A steady stream of people were going to the Tombola stand and Yvonne Wray was doing a wonderful job going round the attendees with items for sale. All afternoon there was a great atmosphere and buzz. That morning Don Flett and I had a conversation about the event and the weather and Don said he was looking forward to 4PM when the event was due to finish. Right on cue the rain started at 4:15. People left and it was left to the hardy few to put away the tables, chairs and marquee. Again another successful Cancer Awareness Event and we raised 932 Euros. Many thanks to everybody who helped out and who contributed to the day and a special thank you to Mary and Don for organising things and the use of their house and garden 46 47 Your professionals for the purchase and sale of property −We speak your language −We have been in L'Escala for 14 years −We have more than 100 properties for sale We have experience with everything concerning your property −Purchase and sale at the best price −Free valuation when you use our services −Planning and control of your renovation or your new construction We are an agent of one of the largest banks We can offer you −New mortgages or re-mortgages −Property insurance etc. Visit us in our office Passeig del Mar 19 Telephone 972 77 35 97 or 666 760 227 48 Your Committee Chairperson Mary Clark 972 77 05 17 marylescala@yahoo.co.uk Vice chairperson & Event Organiser Pat Sturgeon 972 77 23 24 traveller16444@telefonica.net Treasurer John Sienczak 972 77 46 26 john@virtual-friday.com Secretary Roger Arndell 972 77 01 30 rogerdenromi@yahoo.co.uk Membership Secretary Barbara Hanson 972 77 16 79 barbaraandroger@talktalk.net Revista Layout/production and ad- John Sienczak 972 77 46 26 john@virtual-friday.com vertising Event Organiser Alice Debbage 972 77 33 72 mdebbage@google-mail.com Event Organiser June Joyce 972 77 25 85 gerryandjune100@hotmail.co.uk Event Organiser Lynn Taylor 972 77 68 89 casalollipop@hotmail.com BSCE Web Site Des Sherriff 972 62 35 25 janddsherriff@gmail.com Cancer Awareness Organiser Maggie Watson maggie.watson@live.co.uk Welfare Organiser Norma Trueman 972 77 49 03 Thanks to all our contributors Thanks also to DIGITAL Copisteria, Torroella, who take great care to ensure that your copy of The Revista is crisp and clear 49 British Society of Catalunya Empordà Branch MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM to December 2013 Name ---------------------------------------- First name(s) NIE/NIF/Passport No. ---------------------------------------—————————————-- Name of spouse/partner ---------------------------------------Address: Street ---------------------------------------- Town Province/County ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Postcode ---------------------------------------- Telephone/Fax ---------------------------------------- E-Mail ---------------------------------------- Any other relevant details -------------------------------------(Next of kin in case of ---------------------------------------Emergencies?) ---------------------------------------Currently membership always runs from 1st January—31st December Cheques, in Euros, drawn on a Spanish bank please, payable to British Society of Catalunya or transfer the money from your bank directly to Bank Sabadell l’Escala account British Society of Catalunya ES74 0081 0237 6800 0111 2415 The cost of membership with The Revista delivered electronically is €15. The cost of membership with The Revista delivered by post to either UK or Spain is €20. If you would like a printed copy of The Revista delivered to UK or Spain please tick the box. 50 Nik is a skilled tree surgeon College trained in England. Being a tree specialist, his work consists of pruning, dismantling and giving advice on trees. The pruning of the trees is done always respecting the biology and architecture of the tree. He has a “Stump grinder” that is the only one in Catalunya and there is only another one like it in the whole of Spain. It has the advantage that can take stumps out of the most difficult places where other bigger machinery cannot get to. If you want to contact Nik call 616 400 184 or 616 400 173. 51 52
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