El Valle Newsletter Page 1

YOUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

ISSUE 09 October 2014

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ContentChairmansreport &SeptemberMeeting

2

HistoryofLakeVinuela

3

SeptemberWalk

4

What's On 5

ForthcomngEvents &Walks

6

Photo Club 7

WineTasting

8

Newsbites 9

Committee 10

11

12

Chairman’s report by Jane Harris

September meeting report by alice Venus

Hello Everybody

First of all I would like to welcome Chris Wishart, our new treasurer, to our team, it will be nice to haveanother man on the committee and I’m sure he will be a valuable addition to our team.At long last the weather seems to be cooling down and we can get out and about withoutmelting!!Although we shouldn’t complain, the weather, after all, was the reason most of us moved toSpain in the first place.On a more serious note, I’m sorry to report we have had to cancel our trip to the Granada SciencePark, this was due to insufficient numbers for us to be considered as a group. As you may recall, thetrip was originally scheduled for last March but was cancelled by the Park as they didn’t have anEnglish guide available, so we tried to re-schedule but evidently the new date didn’t suit the peoplewho had originally booked. It’s very difficult to find dates that suit everyone, so sorry to disappointthose who had re-booked, perhaps we can look at it again for next year.On a lighter note, do you realise there are only 85 days until Christmas!! So we have now released theEl Valle Christmas Meal for sale, as it was so successful last year, we have decided to repeat it againthis year, so come on, get booking it will sell out quickly as there are limited places.That’s all for this month, I look forward to seeing you at the meeting on Monday 6�� October or comeand see us at the Friday Market at Chiringuito Antonio between 11:00 am and 12:00

More than 70 heads werecounted at our Septembermeeting where the relativecool of the Camping Barprovided welcome relief fromthe ongoing heat and achance to see how low thelake had become after a hotsummer and dry winter! Forfacts and figures on the lakeand its current water levelplease read the History ofLake La Viñuela article in thisissue about the excellent talkgiven at the meeting by JohnMunns.Events - Jane reported thatthe trip to the Antequerafireworks on 15 August was ahuge success with even biggerand better fireworks than lastyear. Details of forthcoming

events can be found on theprintout given to members atthe meeting, at the back of hisnewsletter or on the websitewww.el-valle-asociacion.com.Most events get booked upvery quickly so to avoiddisappointment keepchecking the website to findout when you can reserveyour place.

Cash Box - Severalraffle ticket holders

had a stab at winning the€685 stash in the Cash Box.The first hopeful was Phil,who after failing to select themagic key, clearly chosenepotism as his alternativestrategy as the ticket he

picked for the next drawbelonged to his wife, Judy!Unfortunately fortune didn’tfavour the brave on thisoccasion and Judy’s key alsorefused to access the cash.After three more unsuccessfulattempts by Trevor, Cath andMargaret the Cash Boxremained locked until nexttime.Next meeting - Our nextmonthly meeting will be onMonday 6 October at 7:30when Martyn Higgins will behosting a numbers quiz. Noidea what this will be butknowing Martyn we can beassured of a highlyentertaining evening!

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At the September meeting John Munnsgave a very informative talk on our localreservoir that is one of the largest inMalaga province and a major landmarkin our region. I’m sure I’m not the onlyone who uses the lake as a referencepoint to try and catch a glimpse theirhouse when flying from Malaga back tothe UK!The plan to create a reservoir datesback to 1875. Work finally began in1982. Construction was completed in1993 and the lake finally filled in 1996,making it a 121 year project.Strangely, it was the risk of floodingrather than drought that promptedVélez Town Hall to create a reservoirfollowing severe periodic flooding in the19�� century. Several studies werecarried out during the early 20�� centuryto determine the best location,potential dam sites and how to storeand control the water. Plans wereshelved due to lack of funds andeconomic difficulties resulting from theSpanish Civil War.In 1963 the ‘Prensa de la Viñuela’project was conceived by the Francoregime. Geological surveys took placeand 120 fincas on the construction sitewere identified for demolition.Residents of the Los Quitos, Herrera,Barranquero and five other nowunderwater hamlets were evicted andcompensated. Many of thedispossessed owners were already livingelsewhere as the agricultural crisis ofthe 1950s had driven people to findwork abroad and in other parts of Spain.By 1977 eviction notices had beenserved.Construction and OperationDams were built on eight rivers andtunnels built to divert water into thelake. Trees and buildings were flattenedand four million cubic metres of clay,fine shale and large shale laid to createthe base. Horizontal beds of roundpebbles collected from local rivers werethen laid to assist drainage. A concretespillway was constructed to let waterout when the dam is full, together withthree other outlets below the high-water level. Sensors were installed tomeasure density and humidity, detectmovement and monitor the stability ofthe dam.

Facts and Figures· Lake Viñuela currently supplies

drinking water to settlementsbetween Rincon and Nerja andirrigates 8,000 hectares ofagricultural land

· Around 60% of the water goesto farming

· In times of shortage theagriculture supply is restrictedfirst

· The lake contains 170 cubichectometres of water(170,000,000 cubic metres)when full

· The surface area measures 565hectares (5,650,000 squaremetres) when full

· It is 90 metres at the deepestpoint

· Length of the dam is 460metres

And finally….in answer to the questionon the current water level: In spite ofappearances to the contrary, on 1September the lake was 70% full andholding around 130 cubic hectometresof water.

Find out more about Lake Viñuela andhelp SOHAJohn has produced two printoutscontaining the full story of the lake’shistory, pictures of the flooded areas,diagrams of the rivers dammed tocreate it and a more comprehensiveoverview of the construction processthan given in this article.All he asks in return for both printouts isa €2 contribution to SOHA (Save OurHomes Axarquia), the local pressuregroup that continues to fight forresidents whose licenses have beenrevoked through no fault of their ownand potentially face seeing their homesdestroyed. More on SOHA can be foundat www.soha.esYou can catch John at our 6 Octobermeeting.

History of lake La Viñuela by alice venus

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El valle september walk by trevor huckwell

On September 11th at 11.00, tenmembers met at the entrance toBuenavista Urbanisation near Vinuelafor the start of the monthly walk.The 8 klm route had been organisedand would have been led by Alan andMaureen Impey. Unfortunately theywere unable to attend due to aconflicting hospital appointment andpassed the lead role to Neil Marland,who shouldered the heavy burden ofresponsibility with typical aplomb andconfidence.

Under a clear blue sky, the intrepidgroup - and one well-behaved dog(Josephine's Robin) commenced thewalk through the sun-soakedcountryside. Somehow, all level areasof ground had been removed,providing a terrain good for the cardio-

vascular system, though did little toreduce conversation.

The route took us through countrysideand scenes which constantly remindus of why we take part in these walksand one of the reasons we came tothis country in the first place.Towards the final part of the walk,with barely a kilometer to go, wearrived at a junction which our leaderdecided to ignore for another furtheron, which he considered would beeasier and as quick. Despite assertionsfrom some, that this was the junctionAlan intended using, Neil made theexecutive decision and the junctionwas passed.Several kilometers later, the groupstaggered to the end of this extended

'stroll', tired and hot, but in goodspirits.

Thirsts were quenched and hungersappeased at La Vina restaurant, whereNeil accepted the inevitable goodnatured banter for his 'extended' walk.A pleasant day was completed whenAlan and Maureen joined us after thehospital appointment ( which providedno problems) and accepted everyone'swishes for his birthday - a good dayindeed.

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FORTHCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS

OCTOBER 6�� - Numbers Quiz By Martyn Higgins

November 3�� - Fun Night

December 1�� - Carols, Mince Pies & Wine

January 12�� - Royal Protection Service & It’s Breaches! By Alan Briggs PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

February 2ⁿ� - Quiz by Ian Harris

GRANADA SCIENCE PARK

MEMBERS €18 NON MEMBERS €20

TO INCLUDE AN ENGLISH SPEAKING GUIDE

To include visit to the Museum & PlanetariumLunch not included but there are food facilitiesOr you can take a picnic

OCTOBER 16TH WALKING TREASURE HUNT By Stewart Common & PeterGoreham

Join Stewart & Peter for a walking Treasure Hunt Around Velez Malaga with a Mealafterwards in a Velez restaurant. Teams of 4

Members €10 Non members €12

Includes Menu del Dia

Meet in Velez at the bottom end of the park with the bigtrees - opposite Repsol to start at 11:00.

Meal at approx. 14:00

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EL VALLE MONTHLY WALKS

OCTOBER 9�� Led by Barbarann & Ian Taylor. Start 11:00 a.m , meet at Almachar at the large car park at the bottom of the village

NOVEMBER 13�� Led by Peter & Christine Goreham. Start 11:00 a.m. TBA

DECEMBER 11�� Led by Martyn & Rebecca Higgins. Start 11:00 a.m. TBA

JANUARY 8�� Led by Alan Clay. Start 11:00 am TBA

SUPPER WITH A MOVIE

NOVEMBER 21�� 7 pm in Church room under La Maroma estate agents

Film is RED 2

Members €5 Non members €7

Christmas meal at

venta la vina

Friday 12th december

19:30 - 20:00

2 course meal

With music by the zimmers

Members €13:50 Non members €17:50

Book early to avoid disappointment

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LAKE VINUELA PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUB By Doug Popplett

The August challenge of “Marine Craft” waswell supported with 25 images, 2 of whichwere open category entries including a shot ofthe recent La Vuelta Peloton as it passedthrough Puente don Manuel. All entries can beviewed via the club’s websitewww.lvphotoclub.com under the heading ofchallenges.The challenge for September was “In the styleof Jackie Ranken” a photographer based inNew Zealand. Her portfolio of photographscould be considered from wacky to brilliant.Let’s see who’s brave enough to tackle a“wacky” shot.Interested in photography? Why not come and

join us, we are a friendly group of people of differing abilities from novice to the more proficient, it’s allabout enjoying photography.We meet on the first Thursday of the month (10.30am), currently at restaurante La Era in Puente DonManuel. If you are interested, contact us at lakevinuelaphotoclub@gmail.com leaving your contact de-tails.

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Another successful wine tasting tookplace at La Vinuela Cultural Centreand hosted by our dear friends fromVinomar, Torre Del Mar. Thirty fourmembers attended the evening andhad the pleasure of tasting fourwines, one sparkling, one white andtwo reds.

The first, an Espumante called“Marina Espumante Brut”. This wineis made from selected grapes and dif-ferent from those used to make cava.The grapes used to make the Espu-mante are Merseguera, a whiteSpanish grape grown mainly in Ali-cante, Jumilla and Valencia regions.Macabeo, also called Viura, a whitevariety of grape used on either sideof the Pyrenees and Chardonnay, agreen skinned grape variety, origi-nally grown in Burgundy but is nowgrown in most wine growing regions.

The second, a white wine called “Castelo de Medina”. This wine ismade from 100% Sauvignon BlancgrapeThe third, a red Crianza wine called“Montesierra Crianza”. This wine ismade from 50% Merlot and 50%Tempranillo grapes.Finally, the fourth wine a red called“Pago Ayles” which is made up offour types of grape. 35% Merlot;

35% Tempranillo; 15% Garnacheand 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.Our hosts, Vinomar kindly introducedus to Alberto, a professional winespecialist from Malaga who pleasant-ly furnished us with his knowledge ofthe wines we tasted. At each tastinggenerous measures were poured tothe delight of us all!! I remember, be-lieve it or not, a specific tip given tous by Alberto re the senses weshould discover on our tongueswhilst tasting the specific wines.a) Cheeks – acidityb) Side – saltinessc) Middle – soyad) Front –sweetnessE) back - bitternessTo all you wine buffs; I sincerely hopethis information given is correct. Per-sonally, I just taste the wine!!Everyone has their own likes and dis-likes and opinions about the winethey taste. The comments below be-long to me and other members whoattended. (See sheets distributed fora professional opinion)1) Marine Espumante – a pleasantsparkling wine, nice aroma and re-freshing at €6.50 a bottle2) Castillo de Medina – a clearsmooth wine with a hint of elder-flower at €5.30 a bottle3) Montesierra Crianza – This was thefirst of the two reds, light in colourand smooth to the taste at €4.50 abottle4) Pago Ayles – the dearest wine ofall at €7.50 a bottle. A dark red with aviolet hue. This was a ‘joven’ (young)wine but to me, personally, left ametallic aftertaste. I admit I am notan expert! It was suggested if thewine was at room temperature andaerated, it would improve the taste.Different opinions were received onthis wine.

To end the evening, apart from awonderful night and raised decibelsafter each tasting, wonderful tapas(thank you Committee) we were alldelighted to be entertained by thelocal Verdiales group fromLa Vinuela who were enjoying theirlocal fiesta celebrating the raisin.

They kindly performed three folksongs for us. Thank you Stuart for or-ganizing this and surprising us all. Theevening ended with a street proces-sion with the effigy and blessings andright outside the door.A great night, enhanced by the mu-sic, food and wine.

Carol Taylor Johnson – with theassistance of David Lawrie andfriends.

Photographs kindly donated byJan Toase

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Extinction within our lifetime - saysBirdlife International. They havelaunched a Global campaign to 'StopVulture Poisoning Now'.This is one of the most appalling thingsI have read recently …….. Europe andAfrica may be set to follow unless weact now. Vultures are important andessential for our health; as IvánRamírez, Head of Conservation forBirdLife International in Europe andCentral Asia, said: "Vultures play afundamental role that no other birdsdo: they clean our landscapes." Yet theyare facing new and massive threatsacross Europe and Africa. A veterinarydrug that is lethally toxic to vultures hasbeen discovered to be commerciallyavailable in at least two Europeancountries (Spain and Italy). Used to treatinflammation in livestock, this is thesame drug (diclofenac) that has wipedout 99% of vultures in India, Pakistanand Nepal. At the same time, vulturesin Africa are facing increasing threatsfrom poisoning (deliberate andaccidental), persecution for body partsto be used in traditional medicine,habitat loss, collision with power-lines,and more. Kariuki Ndanganga, BirdLifeAfrica's Species Programme Manager,commented: "Three of every four old-world vulture species are alreadyglobally threatened with extinction orNear Threatened according the IUCNRed List of Threatened Species. Unlessthreats are identified and tackled

quickly and effectively, vultures in Africaand Europe could face extinction withinour lifetime."Birdlife International, in partnershipwith over 100 independentorganisations worldwide has the abilityto save vultures, but urgently need£20,000 to identify and tackle thethreats to these most beautiful andimportant of birds. Jim Lawrence,BirdLife's Preventing ExtinctionsProgramme Manager, explained: "Weknow what we need to do in Europe —ban veterinary diclofenac. We alsoknow what we need to do for Africa —quickly review the fast-changing threatsso we can act quickly, withpriority…………. Please support theurgent work needed to save them……extracted from “BirdGuides” onWednesday 10 September 2014.One of the great sites in Spain is to visitTarifa – or stand on local terraces – andsee the migratory birds flock overhead.Locally it may be in the tens but in Tarifait is in the hundreds or thousands andyou can meet people there who spendtheir holidays each year revisiting thespectacle and joining SEO – the Spanishequivalent of BTO (British Trust forOrnithology), in their tedious/excitingjob. We have a Belgian friend whocomes twice a year to see “her HoneyBuzzards”. Any birds that are carrionmay be affected, because of the verynature of their eating habits. There arespecific sites in the country wherecarcasses are taken for vultures to clear

them – at least two that I know of in ourarea.If any of you would like furtherinformation from the complete article,contact Bob at: rcnwright@gmail.com.I am not ‘into birds ‘in the same waythat Bob is but hate to think that wildlifeis deliberately being affected in thisway. One of the things I really loveabout living ‘above the clouds’ at timesis to see birds soaring below, aroundand above us, although the past threeyears has seen a definite decline withthe change of landscape and farmingbeing carried out. It has affected thenatural wildlife because of lack ofhabitat or food to survive on what isnow cleaned land with mango trees, orhousing over the past decade, insteadof the grapes, pasture, or almondorchards on what is c/was consideredto be ‘dry land’.It is good to have some rain at last butpossibly too late to revive many of mytrees or shrubs. I think it will have to bemajor replanting when my Brother ishere next time! Many of our visitingfriends now appreciate what a valuablecommodity water is and perhaps bynext year our house will be connectedto a town water supply, but in themeantime I have been filling containersfrom the water butt ready for it to refillwith the next lot of promised rain!Have a great month enjoying the beautyof our lovely area!

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ASOCIACIÓN EL VALLE DELEMBALSE COMMITTEE

2014-15

Chair: Jane Harris : - 633615154

Treasurer: Chris Wishart - 609952926

Secretary: Stewart Common - 647076177

MEMBERS

Elaine Edwards: - 647076177

Anne Dibden : - 605826358

Merryll Mitchell : - 664224062

Judy Maycock:- 673847608

Carol Caldwell : - 635291532

Editor: Susan Jones - 680407894

Almoner: Christine Goreham – 635361233

INFORMATION.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR newslettereditor2012@gmail.comWEBSITE - www.el-valle-asociacion.com

A representative of the committee is usually on duty between 11:30 am – 12:30 pm at Friday Market - Chiringuito Antonio

COME AND FIND US - WE HAVE MOVED FROM Billie's Bar