Expat magazine providing information and help for people living in Spain.
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FREE Spainbuddy Joins AA! for the locals...by the locals..! The very best for expat info! AVOID DELAYS SENDING & RECEIVING MAIL OFFICE: C/San Luis 2, 03187 Los Montesinos Alicante Tel. 966 720 959 Visit our website: www.easypost.es Email: [email protected]GOT AN ACCOUNT? • COST effective postal & courier services • NO language barrier - we speak your language • NO queueing • FULL worldwide postal & courier service • DISCOUNTS for bulk mail (50 letters or more) Try us! SAVE MONEY! All parcels delivered within 48 hours NO DELAYS! Tracking Service FINAL document check prior to sending DAILY service to the Passport office in Belfast. The No. 1 Choice for Expats! Renew your British passport www.allabroad.es January 2015 issue number 54 DUCK! Cover photo: Russ Pearce from www.anythingbutpaella.com www.currencies4you.es • Expert advice • Simple process Talk to our friendly team! FREE, NO OBLIGATION ESTIMATES! up to 15% DISCOUNT! www.toldospenalver.com C/Gaspasr Quiles Pascual, 24, ELCHE Tel. 965 43 23 50 www.toldospenalver.com SHOWROOM: C/Senija 8 Pol. Ind Carrus ELCHE 15% DISCOUNT
Transcript
FREE
SpainbuddyJoins AA!
for the locals...by the locals..!
The very best for expat info!
AVOID DELAYS SENDING & RECEIVING
MAIL
OFFICE: C/San Luis 2, 03187 Los Montesinos AlicanteTel. 966 720 959 Visit our website: www.easypost.es
Te l : 6 8 9 2 9 3 7 5 7CARABAS I C ENTRO COMERC I A L - GRAN A L ACANT
NEW BAR & RESTAURANT IN GRAN ALACANT!
SPECIAL SUNDAY DINNER
2Courses(Lamb,beef&
chickenavailable)
10.50€Reservationadvisable
ALEXANDRIA
Centro Rural De AlgorfaCentro Rural De AlgorfaFrom the Sunday Zoco Market on the way to La Finca,
Algorfa, is where you will find the reformed old rail-
way building, which is now open as a Rural Centro
with a Bar and Cafeteria.
A totally unique building, steeped in history and
a relaxing place to enjoy a coffee and watch the
world go by in
tranquil surroundings.
Serving delicious fresh food with
daily specials.
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Av d e l Ro m e r o , 2 A M o n t e b e l l o ( N e x t t o A P 7 )
Well we did it. On the 16th of December Mitch and I hit the chilly water again at Algorfa and completed our journey via the Rio Segura to Guardamar.
Along the way we had some fun, Mitch got wet after getting stuck and going down the Rojales weir sideways. With higher water levels than our previous trip the rapids and the weirs were all that bit bigger and faster and it was bril-liant fun. Not so much fun when we had to carry the two kayaks (approx. 65kg each) over a kilometre where there was just no water. But that’s what the chal-lenge was all about. We’re still suffering (send sympathy donations to me…) but we have some great memories of the day. But enough about us, we got there with the help of a fantastic team and gener-ous supporters and sponsors from Leon Bacchus who supplied the stickers to the Howells family who dropped off and picked up the kayaks both times.
Our media team of Sandra Piddock and Susan Reader really got the message out there and with superb photos by Kristoff Wright and Shaun Burns on the day. The two girls who kept everyone updated (and us well fed on the day), Raquel and Christel, and Rob our support car driver who kept us updated on the state of the river ahead and found us wherever we were on the river every time – Mitch and I were very grateful for his info.
Maureen who was a top fund raiser once again and Jason who put us through a
‘mini-hell’ showing us how he trained. Eda who gave us those much needed massages after the challenge and Russ Pearce from www.anythingbutpaella.com who took the magnificent cover photo and also warned us of hazards on the day. Jilly’s Bar and the Tropicana for seeing us off from Algorfa and The Vestry team for waiting for us on the 28th. Not forgetting Monty’s Bar who came along and met us at a good few stops.
Our thanks also go to Mary and the gang at Oceans Bar in GA and of course our friends at La Piedra for all their support and fund raising. Paul who came along on the day too and posted the shakiest video ever of Mitch getting a soaking (he was laughing too much!) Rai Woods for the generous lend of some useful kit – and especially for giving us the flares to let off at the end! We got told off but boy was it worth it!To all the people who were involved in some way we say thank you very much for helping us raise over 2,000 euros for the AECC and helping us to highlight the great work of the Samaritans in Spain.
Four months training and a stone and a half gained each and we have to thank Bea Cota who got us into the perfect condition for what we were attempting to do and now we can have a burger!
Thank you all, it was a great adventure all the way through…we’ll let you know about the next one…very soon!
ALL ABROADwww.allabroad.es
Take a break!Take a break!with
Weir(y) but thanks.
3
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4
Exploring new worlds means you’re never far from homeWe tell ourselves we need a break, to get away from it all. An escape. A change of scenery, depending on your particular preference a spot of sand and sun or there are even those who will enjoy that oxymoron of a vacation, the walking holiday.
But... any type of ‘get-away’ is not really a break is it? Because the first time we can get that Wonka’s golden ticket of the day – a Wi-Fi connection we are back to where we were before we jumped on the plane and ‘escaped’. You see I realised the other day while in Rome that as soon as I was back in the hotel room and connected to the three W’s I might as well have been sitting back in my house in Spain and not a thousand kilometres away in one of the world’s great cities.
What happened to those crackly phone calls back home from the back of beyond, or Corn-
wall as it’s also known, to worried parents to assure them we have arrived safely. Nowadays they know the instant we land and hook in to the airport’s Wi-Fi network, oh and by the way here’s a couple of selfies of us on arrival!
I’m not knocking it. I’m the first to tune my device into Match of the Day if I’m away somewhere and technology allows us to show the sights live to our friends and family back home if we want to. We no longer have the week back home after the holiday waiting to collect our snaps from the local developers, and always, always we’ve chopped the mother-in-law’s head off in at least one of them. Now we
just delete it and ask her to cuddle the tiger again for what could be a great memory...But there’s no surprises any more is there when you get back home? Nothing’s changed, no one has anything new to say, we’ve seen what’s happening on our social media or been told
via WhatsApp, and the holiday is already yesterday’s news because all our folks have followed our adven-
ture on FaceTweet or some other form of social media.
We don’t really get away from anything do we? Sure when we’re abroad,
and we’ve turned off data roaming because its about as expensive
as hiring James Patterson to write letters home for you, and perhaps climbing a mountain or spending the day on a beach then we are effectively ‘having a break’. But... and we all do it, as soon as we see that magic mushroom telling us we are back to ‘civilisation’ we start that new walk that we all do; head down phone at 60 degrees and a finger scrolling to what you will look at first. No longer does dad have to hope the plane will be on time as he heads to
the nearest airport to pick you up. Oh no, nowadays
even my dad at eighty years old will use an app on his phone to
EXPLORING NEW WORLDSBy Dave Bull
5
track the whole flight. If he can do that, why are we even bother-ing to worry about the authorities being allowed to track our on-line activities; they can do that whenever they want. My dad will help them set up the App.
But...we no longer have to carry around a map (one that was never designed to be refolded) or a guide book, we can just use Trip Advisor to see where the best places to eat, drink and be entertained are and at what coordinates. Does that take away the
‘adventure’ side of going on holiday? Of finding out for yourself what a place is like without having
read all the reviews somewhere online? Or where that famous back street eaterie
is? Now we lock on like an Exocet missile and home in with pinpoint accuracy knowing, because Trip Advisor has told us, that the own-er is called Francisco and how long exactly he has had the bar. Handily, because you’ve checked, they speak English there too. Not quite exploring new ter-ritories for yourself is it though?
No stumbling through sentences learnt rapidly on the plane with your Collin’s Phrase Book which always had on the first page the essential questions like, ‘Where can I buy a stamp?’ or ‘Excuse me sir, but my mother-in-law is in need of an ambulance’ when clearly shouting and pointing would get the message over far more quickly for the latter. These days we can speak into our translator and show the recipient our Google Translator results, which is usually fine unless you make the putting-an-A-on-the-end-‘Chicken’ error with Spanish.
When was the last time you wrote a post card when on holiday? What’s the point really as your InstaBook photos will be there way before them, and for free, and you haven’t got to sit and write the same message several times to the allocated recipients of your chosen photo of Torquay.What about those often humorous times fumbling your way through back streets trying to work out where you are. Not long ago I ended up in a street in Barcelona lined either side by wom-en (I think they all were; either by birth or by surgeon) offering their services which (as my Spanish at the time was poor) sound-ed neither honourable, legal or often even possible... but with a SatNav in our pocket we can miss all that (other experiences are possible).
The Selfie Stick is an interesting phenomenon. Where people take pics of themselves, usually pulling a face or kissing their partner, at some point of interest and then send it off to whoever they think will be interested. My recent trip to Rome showed just how popular it is with Japanese tourists lined up with the Coliseum be-hind them and what looked like a mobile phone paparazzi held
out in front of them.
The beauty and sheer impressiveness of the ancient colossus surely only enhanced by two goofy smiles dominating the image in the foreground.Everyone is different of course and whether we use modern technology to ‘enhance’ our break is liter- ally in
the hands of the beholder...
We can even use it to pay the bill in the restaurant, check in at the air-port, order a cab or theatre tickets or even book that paragliding trip for the mother-in-law. We can keep all our contacts in one handy place and call up any information that we desire to help us enjoy our break. It’s all there in one small package in our pocket.But we’re buggered if we lose it
No mother in laws were harmed in the writing of this piece. ;).
means... ...you’re never far from home
6
Abrimos todos los dias a partir de 18.ooh & los Sabados y Domingos tambien a
medio diaWe are open every day from 6.00pm
and from 12.00pm at weekends
@pizzeriacocoa
/pizzeriacocoa
Summer HoursFrom 1pm every day
7
It’s a brand new, shiny year that’s hardly
been touched, and maybe you want to make
a new start of some description? Well, Al-
gorfa is the place to do it, whether you want
to make new friends, learn new skills, or find
a new you in terms of fitness, weight loss or
anything else. Whatever changes you want
to make in 2016, the lovely people of Al-
gorfa will be only too pleased to help.
Making new friends Algorfa is a very friendly place, both online and offline. There are several Algorfa- based chat groups on Facebook, including We Love Algorfa and What’s On in Algorfa. You can find out about what’s happening in the vil-lage, chat to people, meet up privately or attend one of the get togethers that are arranged periodically. There’s also a great website – Algorfa.co.uk – run by John and Jennifer Massey which has a very friendly forum.
If face-to-face meeting is more your thing, Algorfa has two well established social groups you can go to. The Algorfa Ladies Group meets at Bar La Vista, La Finca, on the first Wednesday of each month at 2.00 pm for a chat and optional lunch. There are no subscriptions, and it’s up to you how much – or how little – you spend. The ladies also go to a local restaurant for lunch on the third Wednesday of each month, and there are various events and outings through the year.
The Lo Crispin Residents Cultural Association was set up in 2010 to raise money for the urbanisation and local charities. Membership is open to any residents of Algorfa, and the group meets informally at the Tavern Bar, Lo Crispin each Friday from 12.30 – 2.00 pm. The group also organises coach trips, weekends away and various social events, including the renowned summer fete and carol concert. For the first time in 2015, the carol concert was followed by a Christmas party, where over 100 locals enjoyed a hot buffet, party games and live entertainment. New members are always welcome – Tony and I had a great night at the carol concert and party, so check the group out soon. Both the Algorfa Ladies Group and the Lo Crispin Residents Cultural Association have lively Facebook pages – or you can just turn up at one of their meetings. You will be made very welcome.
New Year, New You!Maybe you’ve decided this year is when you definitely lose those extra few pounds and get fit? Well, Algorfa can help with that too. Head for the Zumba classes at the Centro Rural de Algorfa every Friday from 10.00 – 11.00 am. It’s zumba with a difference, because you’ll strut yourself on the terrace, with stunning views over the campo. Then the ladies get together for a drink and a chat, so again it’s a very social occasion, as well as being good for you. And from mid January, there will be Pilates on a Monday too.
Sasha Lee runs Fit N Fun at the Algorfa Ho-tel, Montemar, every Tuesday and Thurs-
day morning from 10 – 11.00 am. It’s a bit of a fitness mixed bag, which Sasha calls ‘Aerobafit,’ and it’s suitable for all ages and levels of fitness, so why not give it a go? Check out the Centro Rural de Algorfa and Fit N Fun Facebook pages for more details, or just turn up on the day.
Learn the lingo!If you really want to integrate with your Spanish neighbours, you should learn the language – and you can, for just €20 a month. New classes for beginners and in-termediates start in the social centre in the Plaza Espana mid January. See Jose at the Ayuntamiento to register your interest.
Socialise!Algorfa has its fair share of bars, and there’s often something going on in the evenings, so why not get out and meet some new peo-ple and catch up with old friends? If you like a game of Bingo, Jilly’s Bar is the place to go, at 8.30 on Thursday evenings. Maybe you like to exercise your brain cells? Well, there are plenty of quiz nights in the area. On Sundays, you can choose from Lo Crispin Tavern Bar or Jilly’s Bar in Algorfa. Tuesdays there’s a quiz at the Algorfa Hotel. Wednes-day s sees a new quiz night at Bar Tropicana, and on Thursdays, head for El Lugar on La Finca. All quizzes start at 9.00 pm.
So, whatever changes you want to make in 2016, the people of Algorfa can help you with them, whether you want to make new friends, live a healthier lifestyle, learn Span-ish or just get out and about more. For a little town, it has a hell of a lot going on!
Sandra in Spainwww.sandrainspain.com
Around AlgorfaNew year, new beginnings!
male and female both had their Christmas rides followed by Christmas dinner in the Minigolf then things quietened down.
Boxing Day was a nice cycle with the cou-ples group to La Marina and a coffee on the beach then it was Hogmanay. Over and above all of that we also had to fit in all of our kids and their partners , parents, brothers, sisters and friends for their an-nual holidays but it was all great and we look forward to doing it all again this year. We are really looking forward to a few days off at the start of the year and a nice gen-tle quiet January and February before it all starts again.
Lynn and I would like to thank you all for your support and wish you all good health and happiness, all the best for 2016. Get on yer bike and keep those wheels turning.
Gary and LynnAll of our routes are now available from our website on www.cyclogical-costablanca.com
Remember Gary and Lynn are availa-ble at “Cyclogical” in Quesada, Monday to Friday from 9.30am till 5.30pm and from 10.00am till 2.00pm on a Sat-urday to assist and advice you on all your cycling requirements including route maps.
Well that was a pretty hectic year. It start-ed in January when my daughter and her boyfriend came over and we took a week off and went skiing to the Sierra Nevada, February was really quiet as it was quite cold and windy, March started with 15 members of team Cyclogical participating in the Valley of the grapes Sportif in Mon-forte Del Cid with 5 of the riders (including 75 year old Mickey) doing their first ever Sportif.
Our last 3 team riders ended up cycling in torrential rain for an hour but everyone fin-ished and we won the Team event a lovely serrano ham. Next Lynn and I decided to take on an assistant Josh to train up as a cycle technician and generally assist us in the shop, he is still with us and is fitting in well, and we wonder how we managed without him. April we had 12 riders again entered into the Sportif at San Vincente this was a lot tougher with more climb-ing but again everyone finished with good times. As the summer approached we all had our own agendas with family and friends interfering with our normal rou-tines but Hey! Ho! It’s great to see them all just sometimes difficult to fit them in especially when you try to fit your work in too. Tony took part in La Sufrida (the suffering) which is a really tough Sportif in the mountains in and around the Almeria Area.
Martyn went to Ireland to take his son in law on his first Sportif and took part in the Wicklow 200 (Garden of Eden) which is one of Irelands Premier Sportifs and is a tough 200kms around the beautiful Irish coun-tryside. Owen and Torry went to the Pyre-nees to take part in Quebrantahuesos (the bone crusher) which is one of the toughest 200kms Sportifs in Europe. In May Lynn and I went back to Elgin, Scotland via Nor-
way to surprise my best mate at his 60th birthday bash (it rained for 4 days) but we enjoyed the break. Every Saturday for our Saturday afternoon hybrid ride we would get more and more people turning up to join us and we met some great people and had some super rides with them.
Chico by this time was getting bigger and heavier but not too much, he now has a big basket on the rear of my bike and still comes with us every Saturday and Mon-day and if we can’t find him he’s in the garage trying to get into his basket and is just one of the guys now. He still comes to work with us every day and has many girlfriends who come in just to see him and Pauline still comes in to walk him every day at 11am and he really looks forward to her visits. July was really warm with tem-peratures in the high 40s but we all still went cycling as there is always a breeze. My daughter’s boyfriend and his mate cy-cled across from Elgin, Scotland to Quesa-da in 21 days (2000kms) and still wanted to cycle up to Hondon de las Frailes with us on the Sunday.
The Tour de France was on and again team Sky had a fantastic 3 weeks cycling with Chris Froome winning again. August we had the La Vuelta right on our doorstep with thousands of people lining the route in our area a spectacle not to be missed and hopefully we will see more local routes this coming year. We also had a record amount of buckets of beer (15) after our Thursday night training ride. September: we started a beginner’s road bike group with 11 peo-ple turning up to try road bikes, the object was to encourage people to try a road bike or if they already had one to learn how to cycle in a group, teaching hand signals and safety, building up their confidence. This proved very successful and we now have a
couple of new guys joining our main group.
Lynn went to the doctors with a minor problem and ended up in Alicante hospital having tests, an mri scan and eventually an operation so she was out of action for a few weeks but thank goodness is now back to normal. We also managed to get spon-sor money for our gents hybrid group and got them all really smart team kit so the guys now look more professional and are all chuffed to bits. We then had a night cy-cle with a difference it was Owens birthday and he had booked the Bicibar for 20 of us ( the beer wagon that you cycle round whilst drinking beer ) that was a great night but really hard work for the ones that put the effort in. October: My parents arrived for a month which was great as they looked after Chico while Lynn was out of action we also had the builders in and they kept an eye on them.
My mate Willie flew across to take part in his very first Sportif and not just an easy one but 126kms around Calpe I just took my time and cycled round with him, he did really well and we still won the team tro-phy. Alan led a 6 man team at the 6 man time trials in Murcia and they finished in a creditable 4th place. Peter and his girl-friend moved back to the UK after 6 years here in Spain so we will all miss him as he has been a great buddy. November things got Quieter so Lynn and I took a few days off and went to Alicante and just chilled out, it’s a lovely place and right on our doorstep but you never think of going there. December started with our Couples Hybrid groups Christmas dinner in the Minigolf which was fantastic, then the next day we had our Road bike group Christ-mas dinner at Ronald’s restaurant followed by drinks at Shananigans bar which again was a brilliant night, the Hybrid groups
CYCLING tips advice routes
by Gary Routledgewww.cyclogicalcostablanca.com
“Get on yer bike!”“Get on yer bike!”2015 A Hectic Year.
Open Mon-Fri 09.30-17.30 Sat: 10.00-14.00Call Gary or Lynn: 637 487 377www.cyclogicalcostablanca.com
Calle Los Arcos, 7 QUESADA
Sales, Repairs, Hires, Accessories & Clothing
8
male and female both had their Christmas rides followed by Christmas dinner in the Minigolf then things quietened down.
Boxing Day was a nice cycle with the cou-ples group to La Marina and a coffee on the beach then it was Hogmanay. Over and above all of that we also had to fit in all of our kids and their partners , parents, brothers, sisters and friends for their an-nual holidays but it was all great and we look forward to doing it all again this year. We are really looking forward to a few days off at the start of the year and a nice gen-tle quiet January and February before it all starts again.
Lynn and I would like to thank you all for your support and wish you all good health and happiness, all the best for 2016. Get on yer bike and keep those wheels turning.
Gary and LynnAll of our routes are now available from our website on www.cyclogical-costablanca.com
Remember Gary and Lynn are availa-ble at “Cyclogical” in Quesada, Monday to Friday from 9.30am till 5.30pm and from 10.00am till 2.00pm on a Sat-urday to assist and advice you on all your cycling requirements including route maps.
Well that was a pretty hectic year. It start-ed in January when my daughter and her boyfriend came over and we took a week off and went skiing to the Sierra Nevada, February was really quiet as it was quite cold and windy, March started with 15 members of team Cyclogical participating in the Valley of the grapes Sportif in Mon-forte Del Cid with 5 of the riders (including 75 year old Mickey) doing their first ever Sportif.
Our last 3 team riders ended up cycling in torrential rain for an hour but everyone fin-ished and we won the Team event a lovely serrano ham. Next Lynn and I decided to take on an assistant Josh to train up as a cycle technician and generally assist us in the shop, he is still with us and is fitting in well, and we wonder how we managed without him. April we had 12 riders again entered into the Sportif at San Vincente this was a lot tougher with more climb-ing but again everyone finished with good times. As the summer approached we all had our own agendas with family and friends interfering with our normal rou-tines but Hey! Ho! It’s great to see them all just sometimes difficult to fit them in especially when you try to fit your work in too. Tony took part in La Sufrida (the suffering) which is a really tough Sportif in the mountains in and around the Almeria Area.
Martyn went to Ireland to take his son in law on his first Sportif and took part in the Wicklow 200 (Garden of Eden) which is one of Irelands Premier Sportifs and is a tough 200kms around the beautiful Irish coun-tryside. Owen and Torry went to the Pyre-nees to take part in Quebrantahuesos (the bone crusher) which is one of the toughest 200kms Sportifs in Europe. In May Lynn and I went back to Elgin, Scotland via Nor-
way to surprise my best mate at his 60th birthday bash (it rained for 4 days) but we enjoyed the break. Every Saturday for our Saturday afternoon hybrid ride we would get more and more people turning up to join us and we met some great people and had some super rides with them.
Chico by this time was getting bigger and heavier but not too much, he now has a big basket on the rear of my bike and still comes with us every Saturday and Mon-day and if we can’t find him he’s in the garage trying to get into his basket and is just one of the guys now. He still comes to work with us every day and has many girlfriends who come in just to see him and Pauline still comes in to walk him every day at 11am and he really looks forward to her visits. July was really warm with tem-peratures in the high 40s but we all still went cycling as there is always a breeze. My daughter’s boyfriend and his mate cy-cled across from Elgin, Scotland to Quesa-da in 21 days (2000kms) and still wanted to cycle up to Hondon de las Frailes with us on the Sunday.
The Tour de France was on and again team Sky had a fantastic 3 weeks cycling with Chris Froome winning again. August we had the La Vuelta right on our doorstep with thousands of people lining the route in our area a spectacle not to be missed and hopefully we will see more local routes this coming year. We also had a record amount of buckets of beer (15) after our Thursday night training ride. September: we started a beginner’s road bike group with 11 peo-ple turning up to try road bikes, the object was to encourage people to try a road bike or if they already had one to learn how to cycle in a group, teaching hand signals and safety, building up their confidence. This proved very successful and we now have a
couple of new guys joining our main group.
Lynn went to the doctors with a minor problem and ended up in Alicante hospital having tests, an mri scan and eventually an operation so she was out of action for a few weeks but thank goodness is now back to normal. We also managed to get spon-sor money for our gents hybrid group and got them all really smart team kit so the guys now look more professional and are all chuffed to bits. We then had a night cy-cle with a difference it was Owens birthday and he had booked the Bicibar for 20 of us ( the beer wagon that you cycle round whilst drinking beer ) that was a great night but really hard work for the ones that put the effort in. October: My parents arrived for a month which was great as they looked after Chico while Lynn was out of action we also had the builders in and they kept an eye on them.
My mate Willie flew across to take part in his very first Sportif and not just an easy one but 126kms around Calpe I just took my time and cycled round with him, he did really well and we still won the team tro-phy. Alan led a 6 man team at the 6 man time trials in Murcia and they finished in a creditable 4th place. Peter and his girl-friend moved back to the UK after 6 years here in Spain so we will all miss him as he has been a great buddy. November things got Quieter so Lynn and I took a few days off and went to Alicante and just chilled out, it’s a lovely place and right on our doorstep but you never think of going there. December started with our Couples Hybrid groups Christmas dinner in the Minigolf which was fantastic, then the next day we had our Road bike group Christ-mas dinner at Ronald’s restaurant followed by drinks at Shananigans bar which again was a brilliant night, the Hybrid groups
CYCLING tips advice routes
by Gary Routledgewww.cyclogicalcostablanca.com
“Get on yer bike!”“Get on yer bike!”2015 A Hectic Year.
Open Mon-Fri 09.30-17.30 Sat: 10.00-14.00Call Gary or Lynn: 637 487 377www.cyclogicalcostablanca.com
Calle Los Arcos, 7 QUESADA
Sales, Repairs, Hires, Accessories & Clothing
9
10
LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT……………….
That’s the way Spain has gone in the years since Franco turned up his toes. A nation divided, it seems, with the bulk of Andalucía socialist-inclined, Cataluña and the Basque country likewise (when they’re able to set aside their daft ideas of independence, that Franco crushed under his fascist jackboots). The rural heartlands are largely quite conservative, when they can be bothered to vote, and Madrid and Valencia are divided pretty sharply.
All of the above tends to render Spain virtually un-governable, under the exist-ing, two-party system, with wild swings from left to right and back again every four or eight years, depending upon just how rotten and corrupt the reigning party has been. So what is the an-swer? Sanity would decree a coalition of the best brains in Congress, trying to work together to achieve some sort of national unity, pre-ferrably under the auspices of a strong, internationally acceptable leader – not, dare I say, one who speaks no other language than Spanish, and has a charisma by-pass, like the guy who has been in charge most recently, and that is not a political comment. But is this ever going to happen? Doubtful, I’d say.Malcolm Palmer
LINGUISTIC PITFALLS
Language teachers won’t always prepare you for some of the more embarrassing errors you can make when taking your earliest steps in a foreign language.These can often be occasioned by double entendres, double meanings, as frequent in English, I suppose, as in any tongue. Take, for a simple instance, the implications of the various uses of the word ‘prick’ or ........well, you can doubtless think of plenty of other words that can be misunderstood.
So, of course, in Spanish. A few examples:-Huevos – eggs, but coloquially, ‘testicles.’Paja – straw, but used to mean ‘masturbate’Polvo – dust, but can also refer, rather oddly, to sexual intercourse (hence ‘hecho polvo’ – knackered).Chochin – wren, Conejo – rabbit, Concha – shell, but all may refer to female genitalia. The practically universal ¡coño! However, has
just about ceased to have any meaning, and raises no eyebrows when used in all but the most poilte conversations, as an excla-mation, even though its English equivalent is still regarded as most unparliamentary, and causes something of a shock when heard on the telly. There is even a famous balcony in Andalucía called the Balcon de Coño, because that’s what you say when you get up to the railing and look down the beetling vertical cliff. It all depends, of course, upon context, but pronunciation can also
cause a few problems. Be sure you get ‘pollo’ right, because substitute the last letter with an ‘a’ and you won’t get a female chicken – it means quite something else.Another thing to be avoided is the literal translation. If you get your computer to translate, ‘Maria tiene mala leche’ it will probably tell you, ‘Mary has bad milk.’ What the phrase really means is that Maria can be a right bitch.And if the crowd at a football match starts to chant, ‘¡Que echan los huevos!’ they don’t want the players to start chucking eggs, they’d like them to get stuck in.I could go on. There is an infinite variety of idiomatic Spanish, that only time and conversation will teach you.
THE DUCHESS OF ALBA
The recent and much-mourned death of the Duchess of Alba, at the age of 88, may have left some of our readers a little puzzled as to her actual identity, as her name sounds British, to at least some extent, Cayetana Fitz-James-Stuart. And she would, indeed, have had a realistic claim to the throne had Scotland voted for independence.I am no royalist, but had a great respect for the Bohemian Duch-ess, who would be seen wearing a bikini well into her eighties, always supported by her third husband, Alfonso Diez, 27 years her junior.In terms of noble protocol, she outranked the Queen of England, having some 47 titles, and incalculable riches, including 9 castles, palaces all over Spain, works of art by Rembrandt, Goya, Picasso and Titian, original manuscripts by Columbus, you name it. But her lifestyle was hectic. A lover of football, bullfighting, skiing, flamenco, she gave huge amounts of cash to charity, and was particularly loved by the gypsy community of Sevilla. She spoke five languages, called the Queen of England ‘Lizzy’ and was one of the most popular figures in Spain, always dressing in the bright-est colours, and holidaying in the most far-off places. She leaves six grown-up children, all by her first marriage. The eldest now becomes the Duke of Alba.
Spain divided according to the Treaty of Cordoba 1821
SPAINa wry look at life by Malcolm Palmer
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Full English and La Marina
Dear Editor,Full English and La MarinaI sat with a couple of friends and neighbours having breakfast the other day and invariably the issue of La Marina and comments/letters in The Leader newspaper arose. We were in complete agreement that there is work desperately needed to be carried out on the urbanisation. One has taken his grievance to PIPN. Like myself, neither understood why anyone would not want to improve upon what we have. Again, neither could justify nor defend the apparent apathy of the council. I feel this is worth mentioning as this is typical of the response given by neighbours I speak with on my local community, those I meet on the urbanisation and indeed those who visit the urbanisation from different areas. I hope this helps readers understand that I am not on a one man crusade.
I found it interesting that one reader of my article in the newspa-per needed to draw comparisons between our urbanisation and an unnamed urbanisations (with untold problems it seems) to make La Marina appear acceptable. I won’t comment further on any issue raised in any correspondence that appears to oppose my views or motives, this has been very well taken care of from other readers who have been motivated in writing letters in a number of papers and indeed on social media sites, notably Face Book. So my personal thanks to them for their support and backing.I should restate that my primary concern is to getting better services and improvements for the urbanisation. It is sad to report that after the council replaced the bottle bank/bin at Phase 4 the new bin and those around it have been destroyed by fire, an accident?It would be interesting to get a breakdown of the spend on the urban-isation and that on the town of San Fulgencio against the respective incomes raised form our SUMA contributions. I will try and retrieve this information from the council when I next visit them as I must as there are still outstanding issues from my last meeting that need to be followed up on.
The blue bollards that have caused a fair stirring with some now just total 2; I know the council aim to replace the missing ones once they can get them. My personal view is something more robust needs to be put there un-less like one reader (Dave Moore) suggests the council can grab some land from Elche to smooth out the bend at that part of the road (seems like the best idea).There is so much I could cover but I must leave it to others to make their feelings known either to the papers or better still the council. I would however like to finish by inviting reporters and council officials to take the short walk from my house to the town hall where all I have written about in the past is encapsulated in that 5 minute journey, their eyes will not deceive them and there cannot be any denying that the problems do exist.Any takers?”Len Allen
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In Syria;• 3 children flee their homes every minute• 83 children drop out of education every hour• 12 children die every dayWar Child is providing counselling, educa-tion, books and toys and what they describe as ‘safe spaces’ for refugee children from Syria currently in Jordan and Lebanon. The charity was founded in 1993 by film-makers David Wilson and Bill Leeson following an as-signment in the former Yugoslavia. They’ve been actively working with children in war zones ever since, and you can find out more about their work all over the world on their website - www.warchild.org.uk.
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Spain Buddy was established in 2012 by Alan and Elle, long term residents of Spain. The busy website in-cludes a host of general articles with everything from local news and charity updates to recipes and celeb-rity features with a sprinkling of expat interviews, Spanish puzzles and Alan’s rants along the way. Spain Buddy also includes an events calendar and business directory, in which businesses and organisations can add their details for free. There is also a holiday rentals directory where you can add your villa or apart-ment for just €20 per year. You can visit the website at www.spainbuddy.com and contact them via email at [email protected] Spain Buddy is everything you need to know about Spain, without the clichés.
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The news that José Mourinho is willing to take a 16 million pound CUT to join Manchester United just points – for me at least – to the ridiculous level at which clubs place the salaries of managers. After all, football management can’t be that difficult.
A year’s course can get you a ticket to coach the game, and an ex-player should know all about the needs of his charges anyway, as evidence somebody like Pep Guardiola or ‘Cholo’ Simeone, to mention two successful managers. So what do these two guys possess that a whole lot of unsuc-cessful managers don’t? Enthusiasm, that’s what. Unai Emery is another who has it, and so does Luis Enrique. You have only to watch them when their side scores a goal –
leaping up and down, waving their arms in the air, getting really involved.
Okay, so there are other styles, and Carlo Ancelotti, Guardiola to some extent, Fergu-son and Wenger, all are calmer personali-ties, but their enthusiasm for the game is undoubted, and they all share an abbility to transmit this to the players. So what of Mourinho? He, I think, tries to emulate the late, great Brian Clough, with a fierce attitude to his own players and opposition alike. He’s had a deal of success in the past, but always comes into conflict even-tually with those close to him.
It is a measure of the inflated values which are part and parcel of today’s game that he is reckoned to be worth more in a season than most of us will see in a lifetime. And who was the best of the best?
Why, Cloughy, of course – to take a club like Forest to such heights, he had to be the greatest, though some would, of course, vote for Shankly, Revie or Busby – even Alf Ramsey. None of them got paid what this current lot get to spend!
Malcolm Palmer
The Managers’ Roundabout
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The sports centre is now enclosed with oudoor sports areasand the market and car park are now buit (on green area centre of pic)
GRAN ALACANT 10 YEARS ON...A look at how the area has changed since we took these aerial shots in April 2006
Above:Los arenales del Sol with no walkways and no apartments
Right: Starting to build the doomed Life Resort
The GA Centre with just the main building and not a lot else
Photos: All Abroad Magazine
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BAYA BAIXA beautifully restored Spanish country home. 250m² with 4 bed, 2 bath on 7,300+m² of land with pool, orchard. Close to beach and airport, more. €360,000. AA6240
GRAN ALACANT new construction townhouses with modern high end finish-es. 2 beds, 2 baths with mezzanine and 25 m2 of garden. €95,000. AA7480 Other layouts available.
LAS BAYAS lovely 3 bed, 2 bath country house minutes from Elche, beach-es and airport. Set among beautifully landscaped gardens with pool, more. €265,000. AA6135
GRAN ALACANT 3 bed 2 bath house in Novamar. BEACHFRONT Stunning views of the Med. Garage parking, inverter aircon, security bars and more. €249,950. AA5950
GRAN ALACANT luxury 3 bed villa with garage and private swimming pool. Ex-clusive Isla de Izaro gated community. Fully furnished with many extras. €360,000 €325,000. AA6118
GRAN ALACANT 3 bed, 2 bath house on popular gat-ed community of Med III with 2 pools, children’s play area, tennis court and private covered allocated parking. €176,500. AA5923
ALICANTE Exceptional 5 bed, 4 bath villa on Playa Albufereta in Alicante. Amazing sea views. 250 m2 house on 2000 m2 of gar-den with private pool. €3,250,000. AA7124
GRAN ALACANT 2 bed, 1.5 bath townhouse (82 m2)walking distance to the beach and amenities. Com-munal pool and gardens. KEY READY. Price includes a car. €92,000. AA7492
GRAN ALACANT walk to the beach! 3 bed, 2 bath house in gated community of Costa Hispania III. Communal pool, gardens, allocated parking, more. €141,000. AA5657
MONTECID spacious 5 bed, 4 bath villa with large pool and bar perfect for entertaining. Move in ready! Fully furnished with security bars, aircon, many extras. €285,000. AA1105
GRAN ALACANT jaw dropping views of the Med from this bright and airy 2 bed, 2 bath house. Guest apartment in basement. Private pool, garage, much more. €395,000. AA6499
GRAN ALACANT 3 bed townhouse in Altomar I. Communal pool and gar-dens. Close to post office, cafes, more. Views of can-yon and sea views from solarium €139,950. AA7459
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One of the most important rituals for my work as a Reiki Master and Clairvoyant Me-dium is Grounding and Psychic Protection. In brief, it is a vital way of protecting our physical body whilst endeavouring to live a spiritual life. In my line of work it is impera-tive that I ground and put a psychic shield around myself so I am not drained by nega-tive energies from either the spirit world, or certain people on the earth plane. Ground-ing and psychic protection is not only good practice for Mediums or healers. It is some-thing that everyone should get used to do-ing as a way of keeping their feet firmly on the ground and protecting their personal aura. I am passionate about helping those who need some spiritual guidance but it amazes me how many people have never heard of grounding and psychic protection.
Clients will approach me as they need to know why they are feeling ‘unbalanced’ and/or lethargic not to mention dealing with emotional trauma. A lot of the stories are the same – they feel as if they are going around in circles, their head is full of clutter and they feel totally disconnected, as if they are not in control of their own lives. Once I teach them how to use such a simple spir-itual tool, they start to feel centred and fo-cused so they can enjoy inner harmony and make positive decisions about their lives. Feelings of being ungrounded: -• Drained/tired – as if ‘your get up and go’, has ‘got up and gone’• Emotional for no particular reason • Depressed• Feelings of anger towards yourself or oth-ers• Anxiousness & worry• Feeling nauseas• Feeling spaced out• Holding onto the past• A feeling of ‘Not belonging’• Cluttered in mind and surroundings• Feeling generally unhealthy/unwellFeelings of being grounded: -• Energised• A sense of wellbeing inside and out• Strength and self-acceptance
• Belief in your abilities• Love for oneself and others• Spiritually aware• Focused in body and mind• The attainment of a spiritual way of life• A feeling of a natural state of balance
How to perform grounding and psychic protectionThe best time to perform your grounding ritual is first thing in the morning. That way, you will be protected for the rest of the day. As a spiritual worker I will often carry out the ritual again at night as it helps to promote a good night’s sleep. A great crystal to hold whilst doing this is a Black Tourmaline which is a powerful grounding stone. It protects against negativity and fear, and cleanses one’s auric field helping to balance the chakras and promote a posi-tive mindset.First of all, make sure you are in a quiet peaceful place. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing.
Grounding - If you are holding onto any negative ener-gies or worry bring it down through your body from your crown chakra (top of your head) and out through the soles of your feet and into the earth. Once you have done this, you are ready to ground, by con-necting yourself to the core of the earth. In order to do this, simply imagine growing thick and sturdy tree roots from the soles of your
feet and send them right down until they link with mother earth. You may feel a slight ‘pull’ or ‘tug’ which will confirm that you are anchored. Protection – Imagine a ball of energy over the top of your head which opens and sends a beautiful ethereal white light down through your body. Then bring that white light up again and around the outside of your body so you are totally cocooned in a protective bubble of light.Cloak – Sometimes I feel the need for ‘dou-ble protection’ especially when doing spirit rescue work so over the white light that I have already put around myself, I will visu-alise wearing a large purple (spiritual fulfil-ment) cloak which reaches the ground. It has long sleeves and a large hood which I pull up so I am covered from head to toe in my protective shield.
GROUNDING AND
PSYCHIC PROTECTION
Follow me on Twitter @Rescuemediumalithequirkymedium.blogspot.co.ukdiscovertheangels.comIf you’d like to book a reading call me on
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