A 55-year-old Dutchman was nabbed by the Motril-based Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera (coastguards) in the early hours of the 23rd with no less that 3.8 metric tonnes of hashish stowed away – not an inconsiderable amount, by a long way.

The police operation, named Carlos, began on the previous Sunday, when the headquarters of the SVA sent out an order to locate and shadow a yacht under the name of El Mago (The Magician), licensed under a Spanish flag. The craft was located near Mar Chica (just off Nador, Morocco) and tagged along its route via Alborán to Almuñécar. Most of the shadowing was carried out by a helicopter. Around two in the morning the police closed in on J.P.L, who reportedly has a criminal record of drug trafficking. The yacht had been hired in Palma de Mallorca. This is the second drug bust in the last two weeks.

The drug bust that resulted in the arrest of the Dutchman and the confiscation of the yacht, which is now berthed in the Marina del Este, was the latest in a string of anti-drug operations, both at sea and on land. For example, on the 4th of February, a boat was intercepted carrying six metric tonnes of hashish. It belongs to an international drug-trafficking organisation based in Melilla (Spanish North African enclave), Almería and Murcia. The Police intercepted the fishing boat, which was loaded with hashish and arrested its six crew (three Spaniards from Almería, two Rumanians and one Moroccan). The operation, code named ‘Frontón’, run by the Special Response Group against Organised Crime (GRECO), went into action at dawn, as 187 bundles of hashish from Morocco were being loaded into the hold of the boat. This was being done on the high sea: the drug was transported out to the waiting fishing boat by Zodiac dinghies. The fishing boat was then to return to San José harbour (Cabo de Gata, Almería)

Meanwhile, on the same day as the Dutchman was arrested, the Guardia Civil moved in to carry out two separate busts (one in Cartaya and the other in Mazagón, both in Huelva, western Andalucía), which brought in another five metric tonnes hashish, bringing the total figure for these three, almost simultaneous operations, up to nine metric tonnes!

The Cartaya incident was the result of the Guardia Civil staking out the Puerto Deportivo and noting suspicious activity near the Hotel Marina del El Rompido. They searched a suspicious craft, finding 2.5 tonnes of hashish, and arresting two locals from Isla Cristina of 27 and 37 years of age, as they tried to escape.

The second incident at Mazagón occurred at 03.30 in the morning when the provincial maritime service of the Guardia Civil received the warning that a suspicious craft was making its way to Huelva coast. They immediately began patrolling the nearest beaches and soon came across 82 bundles that had just been unloaded and abandoned, alerted to the presence of the police.

These raids, together with a campaign to provide a police presence outside schools to deter drug peddling at the gates, which came into effect about two months ago, are evidence of a more determined effort to crack down on drug running and its marketing on streets, especially around areas where adolescents are concerned.

The Guardia Civil has released figures for 2005 which reflect the following: 3,442 people were arrested in the province, many of whom – although not the majority - were minors. As for the types of drugs: 22.5 tonnes of hashish were confiscated, making it the most numerous substance, followed by cocaine, (seven kilos), followed by cannabis (six kilos) and finally heroin (three kilos), despite its falling popularity.

Before I start off on all the deeds and misdeeds that have occurred in Almuñécar last month, I can’t let the opportunity go without explaining about an impression that I perceived around mid-March. It had stopped raining at last one Sunday – it only rained on weekends for the last two months! – and Mary and I had decided to go out for a stroll. We cut in from the main street that leads down to the beach from Radiovision, along that gardened path that connects with the Majuelo Park. As we were strolling we took the time to look at some of the vegetation and were very pleasantly surprised with the richness of the flora there, all carefully planted by the Town Hall gardeners. There were at least half a dozen varieties of palm trees alone – it was beautiful. We moved on to the park and really took the time to look around the gardens and were even more impressed. The gift of the rain, of course, had brightened everything up, but that does not detract from the time, effort and expense that have gone into the Parque Majuelo. We continued down to the beach, and then along in front of the Paseo del Altillo, before cutting up Avenida Don Juan Carlo I to arrive home. With our newly ‘opened’ eyes we saw the place as most visitors do when they come here for the first time, and not with the eyes of somebody who has spent a great deal of his life here, watching the town change for the worse in many cases. The conclusion is that Almuñécar is still is a very beautiful seaside resort town with many places to visit, both natural and historical. My job as editor necessitates my looking into the murky side of the town; its politics, its scandals and urban explosion, and because of this, I rarely take the time to come up for air, but when I do – as on this occasion – I can understand why people flock here… We are very lucky to live here.

Right! Down to business! It was announced on the 13th March that the new secondary school on the P-4 now has an official name, at last: IES Puerta del Mar (‘Door to the Sea,’ which is also the name of the beach in front of the post office). There were two names being considered in the end: Puerta del Mar and Fuente Piedra (the name of an old spring which was situated very near where Las Gondolas now stands). Arriving at the name was no spontaneous decision, as parents, pupils and teachers were all consulted. The final choice fell, which was decided at the consejo escolar, in favour of Puerta del Mar as the alternative, Fuente Piedra has already been used for the name of a school in the province of Málaga and could have caused some confusion. Anyway, we all know that just about everybody will continue to refer to it as the P-4 School, but what the heck!

Meanwhile, up in the anarchistic badlands of Lentegí, a local campaign has made the repair of the village church possible. The church has been ‘under repairs’ for the last two years running, with money coming in to finance the work from funds raised during fiestas and other events. The village school for adult education, for example, banged out migas, followed by buñuelos and chocolate, on the Día de Andalucía (28th Feb.) whichwas the last such fund-raising function. Originally the much-needed repairs to the church had a budget of 151,000 euros, which fell short, owing to the fact that the more they uncovered, the more things they found to be repaired – isn’t that always the way!

The local conservative party has denounced the ‘insufferable traffic chaos’ around town, especially around Avda. Juan Carlos I, La Plaza de Madrid (Fisherman’s statue) and the P-4. Whoopee! A politician has finally noticed! “The chaos that makes the locals and visitors alike despair is provoked by the construction of two underground car parks (Juan Carlos and Paseo del Altillo),” pointed out the party spokesman. At peak traffic periods, the bedlam caused by three of the town’s main arteries being blocked by construction work is wreaking havoc with the delivery of goods to the town’s commercial areas. The also pointed out that the work on the Paseo del Altillo should have been finished before the end of 2004. “After that, first they said by Summer 2005, then by Christmas 2005 and now they’re saying this Easter… and that’s how it has been going on for nearly three years now,” added the spokesman. Finally, they pointed out that transit for Avda. Juan Carlos I was to be re-established for Easter, too, which the PP strongly doubts, because of the delays, and consider that it probably won’t be open to traffic until after summer. And although all this might be true, I cannot help but remark that the parking facilities under the Paseo del Altillo have been open and functioning for some time, but yet it has never filled up, standing empty most of the time, because of a prevalent reluctance to pay for parking, which in this case works out at 25 cents per 15 minutes. You would be lucky to find parking for around 15p/quarter of an hour in England, perhaps.

News on the non-operative hospital in the P-4! It will be ready and functioning within two months, say the regional health authorities, and, if you take into account that this announcement was made at the beginning of March, more or less, then we’re only talking about the end of this month/beginning of May… Yeah: Maybe this year; Maybe the next, right? Anyway, the Area Delegate, Sandra Gómez, pointed out that the radiology (X-rays etc.) department is what is holding things up, at the moment, but did not discount the idea that the medical centre could be opened up anyway, whilst they are waiting for the necessary approval from the Nuclear Security Council… Anybody would think that Iranian-Government bigwigs have their six-monthly medical check up here, by the sound of it! There is also the question of getting the telephone lines, water and electricity supplies connected up, which is the Town Hall’s responsibility. But, bearing all these things in mind, we should have the new damned medical centre operating before summer blasts us.

The workers union, the CCOO, announced that they would be delivering their report on the motorway bridge accident in Torrecuevas (yes, I know that it is not technically a ‘motorway;’ merely a ‘dual carriageway,’ but everybody calls it so – life’s a bitch). They gave a sneak preview of the conclusion reached in the investigative report, claiming that a power cut might well have caused the accident: “We have well established suspicions that a power failure was one of the principal causes of the accident,” adding, “furthermore, the worksite manager did not evacuate the rig, as he should have done in such an event.” In fact, they point out that there were many safety breaches on site, like, for example, having the cement lorries parked under the construction platform, not to mention the workers’ changing rooms (site cabins). The accident, the CCOO point out, could have been much more tragic, if the platform had plummeted at a time when the site workers would have been in there changing, to begin or end a shift.

Take cover! Now it’s not only the socialist councillor, Rocío Palacios – you know the Zorra y el Gallinero one – who’s thinks that the Mayor’s legal separation from his wife is just a tadge fishy… Now the Fiscalía del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía has taken an interest, and is looking into the possibility that Juan Carlos Benavides opted for this ‘separation’ as a way to save his ‘personal estate,’ should the Regional High Court confirm the court sentence that was handed down against him, in the Tropical Fruits Case. If the court sentence is confirmed, then he and the other administrators of Tropical Fruits are going to be looking round for a spare 500 million euros, which is the sum that they have been ordered to return to the municipal coffers. The Mayor seems unperturbed however, and wears his habitual smile and bonhomie with ease. Although he says that he does not want to speak about his personal life, he does point out that his legal separation from his wife dates back to 1992.

You might have wondered what is going on beside Hotel Almuñécar Playa (old Sol Meliá). No, they’re not laying down a runway – they’re just busily spending 270,826.91 euros on doing up the street. Hermanos García from Motril have three months to finish the job, which will affect an area of 14,000sq/mts. New curb stones (granite), re-tarmacked street surface and a new central garden area. So, if things go according to plan, the work will continue through Semana Santa (gulp!) and finish sometime around the beginning of June. Why didn’t they begin at Christmas or wait until September? Never mind!

And now for the beaches! At the end of March the mighty apparatus of the Titan Town Hall groaned into action and shuffled off down to the beach for a siesta. Here, in this heroic photo, is displayed the full potent form of the Beach Boys, headed by the Councillor for Beaches, Jesús García Alabarce. “The tasks will be carried out by two tractors (each containing startled Town Hall workers) and their respective mechanised trailers,” intoned ‘The Man’, adding, “The beaches will be cleaned between 08.00h and 12.00h (beware foreign bathers that look suspiciously like large stones or left litter – you will be whisked away), so that the fewest bathers possible will be inconvenienced.” The Councillor hopes that with this impressive arsenal of mechanical ‘meanery’ and battle-hardened cleaning operatives, the beaches will be fit for snoozing, oozing and losing cremated skin layers by the 7th April. The Town Hall is spending 400,000 euros on keeping the beaches clean this season – well done, Men!

Although Salsa hairdressers in Almuñécar have been open for a while already, Christina will holding an afternoon inauguration party for established and prospective customers on Thursday 6th. Go along as have a celebratory drink with Chris!

The whole team at Taberna Flamenca in Almuñécar will be away in England for a flamenco show, and therefore will not be available to open this very popular bar, on the 8th. Don’t worry because they will be straight back to entertain you with their fascinating and very personal demonstratrion of this epitome of Spanishness.

The exhibition of José Montalvo, in possibly Almuñécar’s most beautiful pub, is one that should not be missed, under any circumstances. The combination of José Montalvo’s collection of inviting woodland sceneries and the atmosphere offered by the Pub El Convento - which in itself is an elegant picture frame, owing to its age, Olde World architecture and soothing décor – is an elixir of pleasure. I could have talked with Pepe, as he is known to most, for hours, because this mild man possesses a marriage between the eye and hand that spreads before the viewer images of benevolent tranquillity and eye-catching mystery, in the demanding technique of water colours. What you see there on the canvas is what he envisages in his mind, so it is all the more impressive that he can express these images and embed them there for two-dimensional perusal. He explained to me that painting in watercolour is like working with a negative film – any white that you may wish to appear must be left as virgin canvas, whilst the other colours flow around it. With oils you can add a touch of white where and when you wish it. I found that fascinating and mind-boggling. Pepe Montalvo is a retired draughtsman – although, he points out, he is much busy now than when he was working at a full-time job. There, perhaps lies his secret with detail. He is fascinated by light and shadow, which in woodland scenes is rampant, explosive, yet at the same time so subtle. Although Pepe has lived here most of his life – enough to consider himself Almuñequero – his reputation has reached abroad, with successful exhibitions in Switzerland, for example. Finally, this sentence sprang to mind as I gazed at one particular haunting landscape: Como si la luz se casara con lo que alumbra (As if the light wed that which it illuminated). It sounds a lot better in Spanish, by the way.

You can view this collection of 14 paintings from 22.00h – 03.00 Monday to Thursday, and until 04.00 on weekend nights. El Convento is down the street, on the opposite side of the road to El Faro and Video Club, El Stilo. (Right next to Hostal Victoria.)

We all gathered in tourist office at El Palacete La Najarra, which is also the offices of the Patronato de Turismo Municipal (Town Tourist Board) to witness the official presentation of the ONCE lottery ticket that will depict Almuñécar on the 6th April ticket. The Provincial Chairman for ONCE (Organización Nacional de Ciegos de España) Rafael Jiménez had some interesting facts at hand: ONCE has over 22,000 sales points all over Spain, which, as you can imagine, will prove an important publicity boast for Almuñécar on the 6th, when these five million tickets are distributed. Furthermore, in the province of Granada, ONCE gives employment to 800 people, 600 of whom have some form of disability. Finally, ONCE will be sending 20 groups of elders that have disability problems to spend their holidays in Almuñécar, financed, principally, thanks to the lottery ticket sales.

Easter Week is almost upon us and the locals have been gearing up for this much loved part of the festive calendar. This year Sheila Hogge, a local artist and photographer, won the poster photograph competition of the ‘Piedad,’ one of the Good Friday processions. The presentation took place in the ‘José Martín Recuerda’ Auditorium in the Casa de la Culture on 5th March.

Sheila has had paintings on the front cover of the Easter Week Programme and is delighted her photo was chosen this year for the poster. Sheila told the Gazette, “I love the atmosphere in the town during Easter Week. It’s wonderful. Many northern Europeans comment that the hooded figures in the processions look rather sinister but I think they should forget this preconceived idea, get out there, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy this cultural tradition!”

A solo exhibition of her paintings can be seen in the Galería de Arte CocoLoco on the Paseo Cotobro in Almuñécar, entitled ‘Colour and Passion - Easter Week in Almuñécar,’ opening on 1st April and running through until the 30th.

The gallery is open everyday from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and 7.00 to 10.00 p.m. (During Easter Week gallery hours will be from 11.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.)

I missed the inauguration of Anna diGesu and Rowland Fade’s joint exhibition at Felicia Hall’s, but I shall definitely go before it closes because Anna and Rowland are two of Almuñécar/La Herradura’s longest established and best-loved artists. Enhorabuena to both of you!

Finally and sadly, we received news at the end of the month that Milton Méndez (Galería Mondrian) had died. We would be grateful if somebody who knew him would like to provide an obituary for next month.

Peña Escrita or bust! The challenge-hungry cyclists of La Herradura joined forces with the Almuñécar cyclists (and indeed, entrants from many other parts of Granada and Málaga provinces) for the 6th annual cycle race from Almuñécar to the Peña Escrita nature reserve on 5 March. As a regular ‘cycling widow’, I’ve heard all the excuses and pleas for sympathy before! However this time, I have to accept that it really was a was a tall order... After several days of rain, the tracks of the extended route leading up there were waterlogged, the entrants had very strong winds against them virtually all the way up and freezing temperatures towards the top, even including some snow flurries for good measure! Who said exercise was good for you? The usual post-race paella and welcome hot drink were therefore served at the Casa de la Cultura instead of at Peña Escrita. Congratulations to the winner, Antonio Cárdenas Garcia. Despite the disastrous weather forecast, over 120 cyclists entered. Strangely, there were hardly any non-Spanish and not a single female entrant... A challenge for next year, Girls!

Talking about the achievements of women, we were delighted to see so many ladies out there on International Women’s Day. For those of you who weren’t quite so aware, March 8th saw us dine out in our droves. Quite an interesting thought when we’re so accustomed to the usual barrage of men protesting that they need their ‘networking’ opportunity. Looking around the tables on this special evening, where we were duly treated to some brilliant food (who would expect anything less at our Pizzeria Venezia, under the careful eye of Silvia, Roberto and team!), I couldn’t help but think there were some seriously intelligent, sensitive and beautiful females in such a small village. Is there an opportunity here, for us, to set up some kind of women’s network? I think there could be some really fantastic ideas and (more importantly) actions come out of such a combination of talents, particularly for those women who somehow missed out the celebration of women and our achievements! Drop me a line and let me know what you think.

St. Patrick’s day was celebrated on the 17th in appropriate style- big celebrations, especially in the Sun Lounge and El Ancla. The locals certainly did their bit to reduce the international Guinness lake! Some particularly fetching headwear this year. Will it catch on for year-round sun protection use, we ask ourselves?

San José a wash out but that certainly didn’t stop a fantastic party spirit in the various casetas and bars - especially around the Plaza de Independencia. But the promised spectacular fireworks on the Saturday night had us all standing out in the cold damp evening staring into the skies above, waiting ... waiting ... waiting ... no announcements … no fireworks. Well, fireworks did finally make an appearance, but on Monday night, with no prior formal announcement. So, most of the fiesta visitors had disappeared off home by then and local families were busy getting kids ready for return to school the following morning. Oh well, we will just have to imagine how a nice large chunk of our local rates looked, going up in smoke and pretty colours! Wonderful to see the ‘venenciadores’ (those specialised in serving wine in long handled dippers for serving samples of the wine!) on hand again, serving up free samples of the delicious wines from Jerez. Not quite as ‘freely available to all’ were the funfair rides on the beach. Visitor numbers were down significantly on previous years- partly due to the weather, of course, but according to most parents (a.k.a. to their kids as ‘cash point machines‘!), it was to the astronomical prices. Come on guys, a lot of people round here are struggling to earn eight euros an hour for their hard labour. Two euros for each and every ride feels like daylight robbery! OK, OK, I know there’s the children’s day when prices are reduced, but the whole fiesta is about family celebration and togetherness, so should be affordable. Here’s the deal: lower the prices next year and we will try to organise better weather! Alternatively, Town Hall please note- surely it’s up to you to negotiate the prices, this way the operators still make the money they need to warrant appearing here. Let’s be really controversial: how about subsidising the rides over the weekend, to have two reduced price days?

Did you know that there’s a reasonably local parent and toddler group that welcomes kids from nought to five-years old? It’s held on a Thursday morning from 11am to 1pm in the Fellowship of the King Church opposite Mercadona in Nerja. Free refreshments are provided and every week the midwife, Karen Fagan, is on hand to provide advice and give talks on a range of relevant topics. For more information contact Andrea on 686 401 291

And whilst we’re on the topic of mothers and babies, Paula Gallardo is running bi-lingual Mother and Baby Yoga classes at The Cocoa in Las Palomas, La Herradura on Wednesday mornings at 11.30am at seven euros a class. Paula moved to La Herradura last summer from London with her partner and three children. She is a birth and post-natal Doula (birth-sister) and a trained yoga teacher specialising in pregnancy yoga. She has assisted Karen at her birth preparation classes teaching yoga and other coping techniques also held at The Cocoa. Paula’s Mother and Baby Yoga classes aim to give mums the chance to get back into shape, unwind and discuss issues close to their hearts without having to leave their babies behind. The exercises also incorporate the babies and so are stimulating for the child. Baby massage, parenthood advice and information are also included in the classes. Paula can be contacted on 958 827 and 636 583 558.

Parents’ meeting at school Monday 6th March: a plan to open up new facilities for the infants’ and primary school. The topic of greater resources for the local school, Las Gaviotas, was yet another hot point of discussion, as parents showed their interest in an ‘Aula Matinál,’ the before-school and after-school centre for parents to keep their children safely deposited. We’ll find out in coming weeks whether a dining facility can be organised (let alone adequate supervision and reasonable activities) and whether working parents can have greater support.

As the local park is finished, hats off to the Town Hall (and the twenty or so workers they had on board at any one time during the last few days!). This new children’s park was indeed opened in time for San José. An incredible feat bearing in mind how things were looking the previous week. People were watching in bewildered amazement, to see the energy that went into it. Anyway, I hope these guys were rewarded with a few copas in the caseta after all the hard work!

On the subject of investment in local infrastructure, our illustrious Mayor, Juan Carlos Benavides, was happy to point out at the opening of the children’s park that the Town Hall has recently invested more than 4.2 million euros in La Herradura. Between the park itself, the Estación Náutica Costa Tropical, the new Civic Centre and the covered sports pavilion, located at the west end of the bay (now planned to include an underground car park with 140 spaces), the Mayor feels that they really have been looking after the interests of the people of La Herradura, at least for the past year. Of course, he had to admit that not all the funding had come from Almuñécar, since some of these projects were jointly agreed with the Junta de Andalucía and other government bodies and investors. Needless to mention, this amount represents the largest investment ever in La Herradura over such a concentrated period of time. Timely coincidence with the current PILH sentiment?

La Herradura is taking another step in its bid for independence from Almuñécar. PILH, the Party for Independence for La Herradura, has fought long and hard and won many battles, but there are still legal and political processes in the pipeline. Meanwhile it has been suggested that La Herradura look into the possibility of being an Entidad Local Autonoma, (local autonomic entity) which would give them the right to (a) choose their own Mayor, separately from Almuñécar and (b) administer its own budget. It would not, however, constitute a total separation. Headed by Juan José Ruiz Joya, the steering committee that is looking into the possibilities called an open meeting on Friday 17th March. About 100 people attended and it was agreed to look more fully into the actual legal repercussions on the application for independence, if any. As a follow-up, it’s also been proposed that the village should meet again on Friday 21st April at 9 pm in the Centro Social Cultural Jate, Calle Gonzalo Barbero (underneath the Municipal Market).

Oasis is under new management, as Gaynor, Graham, Rob and Naomi hand over the baton to Jane and her mum, Dot. Welcome to the neighbourhood, ladies! The doors opened officially on Friday 24th March with some tasty treats and a warm reception from a pair of ‘gals’ who have a really interesting connection with the show business world. Take some time to pop in and say, “hello” and you’ll be glad you did, getting the chance to meet some friendly folk and learn a little of their history on the road with big names such as Smokey Robinson, the Four Tops and Barry Manilow - just by looking at the paraphernalia and memorabilia they’ve taken the time to mount around the bar. Our very own piece of ‘Hard Rock Café’ here in La Herradura.

And just when we thought there might be enough hotels in the area, the CPU (Comisión Provincial de Urbanismo) has given the green light to the construction of a four-star hotel with 250 rooms on the beach front at the west end of the bay (virtually opposite the chiringuito La Gaviota). This falls short of the original request for nearly double the size hotel (450 rooms), but Mayor Benavides says that the Town Hall will continue their fight for a second phase, claiming that it would represent a real economic boost to La Herradura and a source of employment for the labour force. Of course, this comes at a time when the Town Hall is pushing the area as a tourist destination, looking for as much attention and support from central government as possible. Whether enough tourists can be attracted to actually keep these hotels busy and the local economy stimulated, however, is another question.

First of all, I shall have to tell you about Tony’s and my interview with the Mayor of Salobreña on the 29th of last month -too late for the interview to process and produce a transcript of the interview. First of all, we would like to thank the Mayor for a generous helping of his busy time – we had his total attention for about an hour and a half. He responded to all the questions, though it is up to you to decide whether he ‘answered’ them. It came to light that the local Guardia Civil detachment was not too happy with being called the ‘local Sole Tappers and Nipple Tweakers.’ We did manage to clear it up that it was a touch of Monty-Python-style humour – the Seaside Gazette being a very satirical magazine, as well as newsmagazine. We assured the Mayor that nobody seriously believed that the Guardia Civil went round tweaking people’s nipples. A closer look at the end of the offending article where it said, “…when he [the arrested person] was devoured by a herd of hungry handcuffs,” should have given the game away that the article was very tongue-in-cheek. However, just so that the gentlemen concerned can be assured that we had no malicious intent in mind, I, the Editor, fully regret that the jocular term, ‘Sole-Tappers and Nipple Tweakers,’ should have caused offence, and add that I have but the greatest respect and admiration for the Guardia Civil. I also rectify by confirming that the incident involved a unit of the National Police and not the Guardia Civil at all. Therefore, the Guardia Civil were not involved, nobody got their nipples tweaked or the soles of the feet ‘tapped’ and finally, nobody was devoured by a herd of hungry handcuffs, other than in the fertile imagination of yours truly.

One of the fruits of our interview with the Mayor was a privileged preview of a press release for the 10th of this month. Points mentioned in the communiqué are: new car park on the site of the old market; the completion of the bridge to nowhere; pedestrianisation of the old town, fixed mechanical means of access to the old town, once the area is pedestrianised. I won’t tell you any details, as that would spoil next months complete interview article.

The Mayor also defended his administration against the accusations levied by the IU in our previous months issue (P.55, ‘The said council meeting…), concerning the TH2 area between the river and the Motril golf course. Nobody, he says, was forced to sell their land, and, furthermore, most of the land that was bought up belonged to one single land owner; the inheritors of the Count of Agrela’ estate (Los Moreno Villalonga), so, argues the Mayor, it was far from the case of small land owners (smallholders) being ripped off for their land, as Sr. Coello from the United Left Party has implied. More details in next month’s Gazette.

Three young Colombians in their twenties were arrested at a road control point, whilst a fourth person was arrested in Salobreña, selling cocaine. The Guardia Civil (better known as the ‘Guardia Civil’ and with no relation, whatsoever, to Nipple Tweakers) intercepted their Opel Corsa at kilometre point 303 of the N-340. Upon searching the car they found 508 grams of marihuana, equivalent to 2,000 doses. Another patrol, as mentioned before, nabbed a 21-year-old gentleman of questionable ethics, in the act of selling six doses of cocaine. The patrol had noticed that the car of the said gentleman had pulled up alongside a group of youngsters. When the man realised that the GC had spotted him, he allegedly threw the merchandise out of the window and tried to flee, but to little avail. At no point were any nipples involved in the incident.

Whilst the IU recuperate from its Olympian whinge from last month, the PSOE slipped into the breach and let off a small salvo… They criticised the Town Council for letting the Peñon fall into an abandoned state, as well as the Tajo de Gambullón. The socialist claim that both of the emblematic tourist attractions are covered in abandoned litter and that most of the flora has dried out. The Tajo de Gambullón, unless I am mistaken, is the vertical rock on which the castle is sitting.

The IU, now fully recovered, supplied their monthly quota of discontent, stating that they did not want the municipal library to be transferred to la Casa Roja. Sr. Coello (The Silent) said that they would be quite happy for the proposed community services centre to be housed next to the library, as opposed to actually being set up within, necessitating the relocation of the municipal library. I haven’t a clue where the Casa Roja is – besides, I’m colour blind.

Salobreña’s Registered Population Figures:
Spain: 10,947, UK: 248, Rumania: 204 Germany: 144, Morocco: 113, France: 50, Belgium: 50, Argentina: 33, Holland: 32, Lithuania: 30, Brazil: 26, Colombia: 22, Russia: 21, Portugal: 19, China: 18, Italia: 17, USA: 17, Switzerland: 16, Ecuador: 16, Denmark: 14, Sweden: 14, Norway: 13, Austria: 11, Cuba: 8, Canada: 7, Syria: 6, Iceland: 4, Chile: 4, Uruguay: 4, Venezuela: 3, Ireland 3, Czech Rep.: 3, Poland: 2, South Africa: 2, Mexico 2, El Salvador: 2, Dominican Rep.: 2, Bolivia: 2, Ukraine: 1, Slovakia: 1, Peru: 1, Indonesia: 1, Iran: 1, Turkey: 1, Finland: 1 and Greece: 1

Analysis: Foreign residents account for about 10% of the total population. The largest foreign presence is British, followed by the Rumanians – both over the 200 mark. The Germans and the Moroccans take the 3rd and 4th places, respectively, with more than 100 inhabitants. The French and the Belgians both have 50 representatives apiece, which should keep them both happy… or not. The Colombians and Russians are within the 20’s. Now comes the curious part: Spain’s nearest neighbour, Portugal has 19 residents, whilst its furthest neighbour, China only has one less! Our North American’s make a combined presence of 23 (US 17 & Canada 7). Our Central and South American contingent weigh in with the combined figure of 125, the leaders being the Argentineans, followed by the Brazilians. The Scandinavians are all in their teens, giving them a combined presence of 42… 46, if you include Iceland. The combined Eastern European figure totals 262, meaning that the Rumanians represent nearly 78% or over three quarters, if you prefer. There are only 7 people from the Middle East: 6 from Syria and 1 from Iran. The Spaniards will be happy to know that they are still the majority in their own town… which is more than some towns from the Costa del Sol or Costa Blanca can say!

The Mayor of Salobreña has kindly agreed to be interviewed by the Gazette at the end of March, but it will be too late for inclusion in this April edition. There are quite a number of local issue questions which concern the residents, both Spanish and foreign. It is hoped that the Mayor will provide the answers, for inclusion in the next issue. Just watch this space!

The amphitheatre, sited next to the park dedicated to the ‘Cane sugar workers’ in Salobreña and towards the beach, is to be named after the playwright Nilo Cruz. Nilo is a forty year old Cuban/American and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2003 for his play entitled Anna in the Tropics. The play has recently closed in Madrid after a very successful staging and is now on tour throughout Spain. Nilo visited Salobreña, fell in love with the village and its people - who could fail to do that - and has written a new play based in the village! This new work is called The Beauty of the Father. The play is being staged all over the world including, currently, on Broadway! It is introducing and promoting Salobreña to the world and will be brought to Spain, as a touring repertory production, in the near future. Currently Nilo is in New York, but he will be returning to Salobreña shortly, when the amphitheatre naming ceremony will be carried out in his honour.

A new Restaurant opens. A French-owned and run restaurant, aptly named Chez Pierre, opened in the middle of March on the beach front in Salobreña. This new hostelry is situated on the beach side of the urbanisation ‘Lunamar,’ underneath one of the blocks of flats. This restaurant is owned by French trained Chef Pierre and his Scottish partner Jackie. Lyons born Pierre has been in the restaurant business all of his life and, in the past, had some 147 restaurants in the UK trading under the names of ‘Pierre Victoire, Pierre Lapin, Beppe Vittorio and Chez Jules. He is now taking things a little easier and has brought his culinary expertise to Salobreña. Between the two partners they speak Spanish, French and English. The restaurant is run by Jackie, whilst the superb food is prepared by Pierre and they are open every day, with lunch being served Monday to Sunday and dinner, at present, being served on Friday and Saturday. There are some forty dishes on the menu from around the world, but obviously with a French bias. All the produce is fresh and you can enjoy a traditional meal, or a speciality plate of food to share with your friends as tapas. You can sit inside the restaurant or outside and, in the warmer weather you can enjoy your meals, drinks, or tapas in the garden outside. As Pierre said ‘We French savour every bite and sip, for us every meal is an event. We love good company and conversation too. Which is why at Chez Pierre we serve wonderful French food and wine, at affordable prices; we also do all we can to create as convivial an atmosphere as possible’. So next time you eat or drink, try a little French cuisine and hospitality and join Jackie and Pierre at Chez Pierre. The contact number for the restaurant is 958 611 782. Give them a try!

Time to pay your Vehicle Road Tax. If your car is registered in Salobreña, then it’s that time of year when the road tax should be paid. Payment has to be made to the Ayuntamiento from about 20th March to about 20th May. The amount of tax you have to pay depends on the size of the vehicle’s engine. You can arrange to have it paid by direct debit, which avoids the queues and you don’t have to remember to pay it, as it’s done automatically. If you don’t pay it on time, there is an extra fine of 20% of the cars annual tax.

Salobreña Beach ‘Flasher’ arrested. A 45-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident, reported in an earlier edition of the Gazette, of a man exposing himself to a woman on the beach in Salobreña. The woman was walking with her six-year-old son along the beach between La Caleta and El Peñon when the man jumped out of the bushes and exposed himself. The woman ran off with her son and reported the incident to the Guardia Civil. It was this department of the police service that carried out the arrest. The man has been charged with indecent exposure, but no further information is currently available.

The Mercadona Supermarket attempts to foil the thieves in the area and the ‘illegal’ parkers. A new system for parking has been recently adopted at this supermarket in Salobreña, in an attempt to stop the casual parkers, who have no intention of buying goods from the store and to foil the car-park thieves. It means that, when you park in this supermarket car park, you have to take a parking ticket to get the barrier to lift and let you enter. To exit the car park, you do not have to pay a parking fee, but you have to purchase goods from the shop and give the cashier your ‘parking ticket’ during payment. Your receipt, for the goods you bought, will then contain a special bar code; to be put in front of the car park exit ‘reader window’ and this will lift the barrier and let you out of the car park. The bar code on your receipt has a ‘time limit’, so don’t think you can park, buy a couple of things and then go for a wander around the village! The parking is still free. However, Mercadona is not happy with the number of people that treat their car park as a place where they can just park for hours on end for free and not actually shop at their supermarket.

Virgin comes to Spain! Don’t get too excited chaps, this is The Virgin Cosmetics Company (Shucks! – Ed.) we are talking about and will be of more interest to the woman in your life. Sir Richard Branson’s Cosmetics and Jewellery business, ‘Virgin Vie’, is very successful in the UK and is bringing its fantastic array of products to Spain! It offers quality merchandise, great service and outstanding value for money. ‘Virgin Vie’ has a superb range of cosmetics and skincare products. ‘Virgin Vie Jewellery’, launched in January 2005, has a collection of more than 130 exclusively designed and hand crafted pieces, based on ideas from around the world. ‘Virgin Vie’ provides beautiful, premium quality products at affordable prices and has a display stand at the ‘Homes and Gardens’ show in Malaga on Saturday 22nd April. You can book a ‘Virgin Vie’ party in your home now through Kerensa on 617 104 445, or you can browse through the catalogues at the Internet café ‘Cyber Surfer’ on Salobreña beachfront. If you host a party, then you will get a free facial or makeover and other free gifts. You and your friends will also get expert advice, lots of beauty tips and have a chance to try some wonderful products for free. So contact your consultant Kerensa and be a host for a ‘Virgin Vie’ party, it’s the best excuse for a girls night in you’ll ever have ladies! Go on, give her a call.

A New Ceramics shop opens in Salobreña. ‘Fantasia’ is the name of a new ceramics shop, which has just opened at No 21 Avenida Federico Garcia Lorca and is situated opposite the covered market. They are open every day, except Monday, from 10:30h to 14:30h and from 16:30h to 20:30h. The shop is run by Mark, an Englishman, and Sylvia, a Spanish lady who is from Salobreña and whose family still live and work here. Between the two partners they speak Spanish, English and French. So what is different about this ceramics shop? The main difference is that all the ceramics on sale are made in Persia and they are of superb quality, but at affordable prices! These hand made pots, water features, plates, ceramic shoes and other wall hangings, etc. are beautifully finished and the larger pots for the garden, are cheaper, but of better quality, than the ones on sale in the local garden centres. They also sell ‘Fish Pottery’ designed work and some glassware. You can also design your own ceramic work, be it a pot, plate, favourite animal, human figure or intricate water feature and it will be hand made for you in Persia and sent to Spain, or anywhere else where you can display your own unique design. Contact Mark or Sylvia on 675 689 852 or visit them at their shop and just browse around or talk to either of them about what you would like.

An Accident on N323. On Wednesday 8th March near Salobreña, a 40-year-old Motril man, who was riding his motorbike, was killed. The motorbike skidded and left the road. The man was thrown into the metal barrier at the side of the road and died at the scene. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

Organ Donor Cards. Thank you to those who contacted me, to say that they were pleased about the publication of information, about how to obtain these cards in the last issue of the Gazette and that they have now begun the process of getting their own card. If you missed the item and would like to get a Donor Card, the following is a brief resume of the information. Get an application form from your Doctor, the Health centre or the Hospital and fill it in. When complete, you send it to the address in Granada, shown on the back of the form and they send you the Donor Card to carry in your purse or wallet. You can also get more information and a form by contacting AEDOPAT, the organisation that deals with people wishing to donate their organs when they die, by going onto their website at www.aedopat.org. If you live in Almuñécar, you can obtain one of these forms from “La Clinica” surgery on the Paseo del Altillo which is the surgery where Dr. Axel Thieke and Dr. Wolfgang Piller have their practice. Thanks again for caring!

Possible New Homes in Molvízar. The ruling Partido Popular in Salobreña, is hoping to obtain the support of the Socialist Party, to approve the building of some 3,500 new homes in Molvízar. Some of these homes, approximately two thousand of them, will be built on the proposed Los Palmares golf complex. The Partido Popular has also approved the Salobreña district budget for 2006, which this year is some 26 million euros and represents a huge 36% increase over last year. It is the largest budget the village has ever had! Sixty-one percent of the investments will come from the development projects currently in their plans.

Monroe’s Bar Closes. This British owned and run bar in Salobreña has now sadly closed. The owner, Jeannette, would like to thank all her customers who have supported her during the time she ran Munroe’s bar and is now looking for a new premises. Keep your eyes and ears open, Jeannette will be back!

From over the water. The National Police Commissioner, Jose Luis Tejedor, said recently that the police had been waging a national campaign against drug pushers trying to sell drugs outside schools. The campaign has been something of a success and said that there is much less evidence of drugs being sold outside schools in Motril and the surrounding area. How sad to think that there are any drug pushers outside schools! The latest information from the UK states that 1 in 5 secondary school students have taken drugs!

The Partido Andalucista in Motril, has asked the Town Hall to tell Telefónica, to remove the telephone antennas in the San Antonio area of the town immediately. Telefónica signed an agreement to remove all antennas last year, but have failed to do so to date. Regulations say that antennas should not be nearer than five hundred metres from schools and health centres.

An accident causes a death in Motril Port. A local Motril man, aged fifty-six, died in an accident at the port in Motril last month when he was run over by a forklift truck. He was working in the maintenance department at the port and had only been working there for a short while. The cause of the accident is currently under investigation, but it is reported that the driver of the forklift truck was inexperienced in handling it and there are conflicting reports as to the cause of the accident. The local President of the Partido Popular, Carlos Rojas, said that during 2005 there were an average of three industrial accidents in Motril every day and he hoped that this trend would not continue in 2006!

Please remember that if you have any information about what is happening in Salobreña, Lobres or Molvízar, or an event you would like promoting, you should let me know by email, before 20th of the month, on tsharley@arrakis.es