Until now, each year, Infoca began its annual fire prevention and fire-fighting campaign earlier… and finished it later. For example, El Plan Infoca 2005 spent half of its 54,4m-euro budget on fire prevention work, i.e. forest clearing etc, etc. This year the budget is far greater - El Plan Infoca 2006 will spend 111,7m euros of its 187,3m budget on fire prevention. The reason for this huge increase in funds is that Infoca now runs all year round, instead of standing down personnel and equipment during the winter months.

It was the fire just beneath the Peña Escrita Mountain Park (Almuñécar) in the depths of January 2004 that, more than anything else, brought this about. On that occasion, specialised aircraft for water bombing had to come all the way from Sevilla, because the summer landing strip near Jayena (La Resinera – Pantano de Bermejales) had been shut down for the season. Consequently, El Plan Infoca 2006 counts on 168 vehicles, 10 aeroplanes and 29 helicopters – four up on last year. As far as personnel go, Infoca has 4,700 members.

Finally, for the first time, fire-crews can count on GPS tracking, as well as guaranteed voice communications and meteorological reports via satellite.

Now we come to this latest fire in Río Jate on the night of the 23rd/24th May. This first large fire of the season in the province wiped out over a hundred hectares of mainly mountain shrub and secano land. Official reports put the fire starting at around 10.30h in the evening, but locals put it about an hour earlier, and by 16.15h the fire was officially declared ‘controlled,’ i.e. out but smouldering, therefore not completely extinguished. Although investigations into the cause of the fire have not reached a conclusion yet, most evidence points to electrical installations – an electricity line suspended on wooden posts. It is widely believed that sparks from this line set the undergrowth alight and gusting winds that evening soon fanned the blaze. The first to arrive on the scene were the Local Police, followed by the local fire service and then the Infoca team from Órgiva (Alpujarra).

Efforts to control the blaze during the night were hampered by the wind and the unavailability of airborne units because of the darkness. Although the wind dropped around dawn, one fire-front was threatening an area to the south known as El Pago de La Mezquita, where it completely incinerated an abandoned and over-grown olive grove.

By 09.30h the following morning, the first air units had begun operating in co-ordination with the exhausted firemen on the ground, who had been having to struggle up and down steep and rugged hillsides in the dark.

All told 96 people, divided into 13 specialist groups, four helicopters and seven vehicles were needed.

As for the aftermath, several neighbours have denounced Sevillana as the culprit, mainly because the locals want something done, so that future incidents such as this one can be avoided. However, almost a full week after the fire, the suspect cable is still hanging where it was.

The Rio Jate Fire
A personal account by Michelle Rumney

Last Tuesday night was terrifying. We were putting our sons to bed when I heard the strangest noise – a roar of crackling and popping outside. David went outside to find a wall of orange flames about 100 metres away down by the river and to hear our next door neighbours, whose house was only about 50 metres away from the fire, shouting across for us to get out. While I grabbed the boys and got them up to the car to safety, David turned our watering system on… and our other neighbours’ water on… and then got a hose going to dampen all the ground down frantically. The wind was intense and it appeared the fire was moving fast. Our friend Paul, who was visiting next door, and Mark, our neighbour, did what they could with spades and hoses to stamp out the fire on the other side and managed to prevent it crossing the road and catching the bone-dry hills that lead up to El Cerval.

As the fire truck arrived, I stood watching the scene unfold in disbelief with my neighbour, Marina, reassuring our children - who were safely strapped into our respective cars, ready to leave at any moment - that everything was going to be ok. The fire crew hosed down what they could reach from our side of the valley but, after seeming to get the whole thing under control, the wind changed slightly and whipped the fire up the hill opposite. It caught through the olive trees and within minutes was up to the very top where there’s a cluster of houses. I heard the sirens up there as firemen arrived and then glass popping; I guessed it was windows.

The men down here carried on battling with a nearly horizontal wind and what looked like 10m-high flames, but then the fire down by the river caught hold of the curtain of bamboo that leads to our land and home, while the fire up above swept round and caught the whole of the next hill alight.

I thought ‘this is it’ - the bit where you watch your home go up in flames - but incredibly the fire crew managed to get the fire in the bamboo out and I guess I should have felt a huge sense of relief. By then though, the hills opposite us had become an inferno – a living wall of fire, eating down the valley with the wind behind it. It was terrible to stand and watch, without being able to do anything to help stop it.

The next few hours are now a blur - the fire raged on and on - away from us up into the next valley and down Rio Jate towards La Herradura as far as we could see – but finally, we conceded that the fire had done its worst here already and so carried the boys back down to the comfort of their beds to the overwhelming smell of smoke and ash.

My overall impression of that night though, is actually a positive one – throughout it all, our neighbours, Spanish and English alike, were incredibly supportive, concerned only about everyone’s safety, especially the children; doing whatever they could in several ways to make sure that we and everyone else in the valley were all OK and accounted for, both on the night and since. It obviously isn’t something I’d like to go through again though and we’re all keen to take action to help prevent anything similar happening in the future.

Repercussions
When representatives from the Junta came to inspect the source of the fire the day after the fire, while the helicopters were still in full dousing mode overhead, they seemed concerned only with asking us to tell them who actually owns those particular electricity cables at the source of the fire. We found this line of questioning odd - one might assume that, as in other parts of Europe, the maintenance and upkeep of electricity supply – anything on a pylon - is the responsibility of the electricity company that runs the national grid. Not so here in Spain? As we currently understand the situation, (and our true understanding at this point is very limited) property owners may be deemed to be personally responsible for any fire originating on their property or from their electricity supply. That’s personally responsible for any loss of life or property, personally responsible for the cost of deploying any emergency services such as helicopters, fire trucks or ambulances and personally responsible for the cost of replanting any forest or agricultural trees and crops lost in the fire. And if you can’t pay, that could mean a jail sentence.

When you buy a property out here in the campo, you inherit the sometimes dodgy cables from the meter to the outhouse and the antiquated pump for the well or the water deposit – and you of course also inherit responsibility for maintaining and upgrading them; these are at the more ‘domestic’ end of electricity installations – the on-the-ground stuff. But what about the overhead pylons that get your electricity from A to B? And what about the pylons that cross your land to supply someone else’s well or cortijo or who knows where. How do you get them moved or upgraded? Who do you ask? We asked Sevillana (Endesa) when they came to connect our brand new (underground!) supply earlier this year. All they could tell us was that the wooden posts that cross our land from the transformer nearby to wherever they go further down the valley (part of the line that caused last Tuesday’s fire) are dangerous and will need to be replaced. When, how and who by? There are hundreds of wooden posts criss-crossing the campo - if responsibility for their upkeep doesn’t lie with Sevillana, clearer guidelines are needed for property owners regarding their own electricity supply and also posts or transformers on their land providing electricity onwards to other properties. What if we find out that it’s down to an individual neighbour, or even worse, a group of neighbours to upgrade them and they can’t afford to or don’t want to deal with the matter? What can we do then?

What is Sevillana’s policy on all of this? Are there any deadlines or regular inspections? They’ve got strict, new, safety regulations regarding new supplies but what about the old ones? Can they force landowners to upgrade their installations for safety reasons, or is it just left until there’s a fire? The campo – obviously it’s a huge area with a much less density of population, so probably way low on any list of priorities regarding infrastructure, but we still pay Sevillana for our electricity service and expect it to be safe on their part. After this particular fire, which caused so much damage and had the potential to do so much worse, surely an inspection of the valley is a must? Yet there are no regular inspections that we know of. If individuals have requested Sevillana to upgrade or at least inspect installations and they’ve neglected to do so, to which body do you go above Sevillana – they’re a monopoly, who else is there? How are those responsible made to be accountable – what is the formal procedure?

The fact remains that the climate is dry and the summers are long and seeing as we are in such a high fire risk area it would seem prudent that there were in the future periodic inspections or other preventative measures put in place. Apart from the danger from fire to life and property, it’s an area of stunning wildlife and ‘natural’ beauty. Almuñécar town hall is actively promoting green tourism, including Peña Escrita at the top of Rio Jate and Rio Seco valleys – after two fires in the area within two years both caused by faulty electrics, surely it’s in their interest too to make sure that any more of the olive covered hills and ‘typical Andalusian countryside’ views are burnt to a cinder.

Here we are at the end of the school year, more or less. For those of you who are unfortunate enough to have to drive up or down the San Sebastian road around the time that parents are picking up or dropping off their kids, this is a time that you have been desperately looking forward to. No more school and, at last, a relatively un-congested road, free of impossibly parked mothers, waiting to cast out, or scoop up, the concentrated life-forms of reluctant anarchy, cleverly disguised as schoolchildren. Is there a solution for that road… short of nuking the school? Well the IU (United Left Party) appears to think so, because they are calling for ‘solutions.’ This heroically misguided group of chronic optimists and self-confessed Lenin impersonators suggests that two municipal police officers should be on duty when the kids pile in – causing the building to visibly bulge – and when they pile out - when the same building contracts and sighs in grateful relief. The trouble is that Almuñécar has at least six junior schools, (Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Torre Cuevas, La Virgen de la Antigua, Rio Verde and La Noria), without counting La Herradura’s two. So, we are talking about 16 policemen being tied up with this school duty, when, in reality and at any given time, you’d be lucky to find six policemen available for duty to cover all of the towns necessities… Ain’t gonna work, Folks! Unperturbed by this mathematical impossibility, the IU has also asked for the existing pavements to be reduced, thus providing a wider road. Of course, the parents would be wildly pleased to know that their Storm-Trooper Smurfs would be denied a nice, wide and safe pavement, running alongside the school. Nope! No way, José. The only solution is – evidently - obligatory sterilisation for all residents of Almuñécar of childbearing age and the immediate demolition of the Santa Cruz junior school and the site to be converted into a car cemetery for the cars of mothers caught anywhere within a one-kilometre radius of any existing school. The Ed. for Mayor!

I had a phone call from a Brit along El Pozuelo way (thanks for the call, by the way) telling me that he had seen Benny with his shirt sleeves rolled up, digging holes and planting trees on the area known as the La Galera. Benny is a master at photo posing, admittedly, but he also knows how to appeal to his grass-root voters. Anyway the project concerned is part of the proposed, ‘green-belt’ area, between the Hotel Playacálida and El Pozuelo. This project was mentioned by him in his two-part interview with us, which ended last month. The whole area has been planted with palms, oleanders and pines. It will be, in effect, Almuñécar’s largest park. Some will argue that La Galera and the Loma de Baúl (which is the hill on which Playacálida is built) already was a natural park – a beach between two hills, dotted with olives trees – before the builders moved in. However, it will never be as it was, sadly, so algo es algo, as the Spanish say. The park runs between El Pozuelo, behind the Calabajío (known locally as the Eucalipto) to the Cabria (which used to be known as The Captain’s Beach, by the foreign crowd). Four thousand oleanders have been used to border the park and footpaths, while around 500 pines (carrascos) have been planted within. Some of the original, very old, olives have been preserved, too. The land being used came to the Town Hall through the P-1 development area.

Wow! One of our centurions of the Post Office, i.e. postmen, was arrested for pocketing a 1,500-euro cheque that had been sent by post. The waylaid (highjacked) cheque, which had been sent by certified post from England, was for a 77-year-old pensioner. When the gentleman went to pick up the letter, he found that it had been resealed with cellotape and that the awaiting cheque was missing. Fortunately, as the money was in cheque form, the Guardia Civil were able to track it down, after the culprit had cashed it in. Although the cheque was made out ‘to the bearer’ (therefore no record of who received it was made), the bank clerk remembered who had cashed it in, as the postman is very well known there. Upon being arrested, the postman admitted his guilt and returned the sum to its rightful owner. On a personal note, I would like to make two observations: firstly, about three years ago, a similar thing happened to me, when my mother sent me a certified letter containing cash, hidden inside a birthday card. The envelope was partially opened, which I did not realise until I was outside. I phoned up my mother, thinking that she had absent-mindedly forgotten to enclose the money, but she confirmed that not only had she done so, but had inserted the money before the English post-office clerk, before sealing the envelope. So I complained to the Almuñécar Post Office Head, at the time, who, after consulting her superiors, told me that as I had opened the envelope outside, there was no proof that I had not removed the money myself… My mother complained at that other end, but the British Post Office merely said that they could not be responsible for Spanish post-office staff. The moral of the story is that if you are expecting something of value in a certified envelope, then make sure you open it in front of the clerk. My dear Mum’s error was sending a birthday card by certified post; a clearer indication that the envelope contained cash or a cheque could not have been made. My second point is that I have nothing but praise for and complete trust in the postman that delivers my letters – Antonio.

The provincial delegate for Granada for the Department of the Environment of the Junta has put the mockers on the scrambling track up in the hills (El Pago de Guerra). The said delegate, Gerardo Sánchez – Benny’s Captain Hook, it would appear – has refused permission for the site to go ahead as it will create an unacceptable level of noise for surrounding households. The Town Hall, on the other hand, puts this latest ‘dampener’ down to a more generalised ‘harassment campaign,’ which is allegedly being orchestrated against Almuñécar. The Mayor considers that Sr. Sánchez’s grounds for rejecting the project – i.e. unacceptable noise levels for the neighbours – are completely unfounded as, “there are no inhabited constructions in that area.” According to Town Hall records, there is only one ‘apero de labranza’ (store for farming equipment) in the area. It is worth noting, however, that the backdrop hills of our coastline are studded with unofficial ‘typical cortijos,’ under the guise of ‘aperos,’ which are being churned out by some real-estate companies and snapped up by foreigners. The scrambling fraternity, on the other hand, fear that the promised scrambling track will disappear before it even starts – a drawing-board ‘never-was.’ In fact, six of their number have formed a committee to sway the Delegate into withdrawing his objections.

The single-mother’s association, Solas Marisa Sendón, has announced that they will be helping working-mothers out by providing leisure activities for their children during the summer. When school breaks up for the summer, single mothers have a hard time trying to cope with the kids and keep up their work activity, without the help of a partner. For this reason, Solas Marisa Sendón and the Town Hall have signed a collaboration agreement between them, whereby children between the ages of three and eleven belonging to families with ‘special circumstances’, will have games and other leisure activities organised for them at the C.P. San Miguel junior school, which is right next to the IES Al Ándalus secondary school in San Sebastian. The children will can attend between 08.00 and 15.00h between the 26th and the 30th of June, and then again between the 1st and 15th September. Those interested should hand in their request form at the Servicios Sociales Comunitarios offices (behind the gas station). Successful applicants will receive between 100% and 50% of the fees for the said activities, according to their financial circumstances.

The Botellón phenomenon is growing in its popularity. For those who have never heard the word Botellón, it is basically an impromptu street party – bring your own booze, which goes on until the alcohol is consumed or the police break it up. The trouble is that the selected venue – which is normally passed from person to person via SMSs – is left in a bloody awful state next morning. Anyway, an Almuñequero has composed a comic dealing with this activity. The publication, called La Magia de Los Duendes (The Magic of the Pixies), has been published by the Almuñécar branch of the OJE (Organizacíon Juvenil Española, or Spanish Youth Organisation). A total of 5,000 copies have been printed, with 500 of them going to the local schools. The rest will be distributed around Spain. The OJE has been behind this project for four years, and all was hanging on a subvention from the Junta de Andalucía, which finally came through.

Almuñécar now has a radio taxi service! The transmitter is housed in the bus-station building and cost some 10,000 euros to set up. “Our citizens will be attended and our taxi drivers will guarantee that the service they provide will be of good quality,” said Dani Barbero, who is the Councillor for Traffic and Citizen Safety. There has been a long-running demand for a radio taxi service. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, you won’t have to phone the taxi rank, only to hear it ring and ring because there’s nobody there. You now merely need to ring 958 63 00 17 and you will be attended… in theory.

Locals had to rescue eight youngsters from the heavy waves next to El Santo (the rock with the cross) just as the night was drawing in. They had evidently been bathing too close to the rocks and had trouble getting back to the shore – one of them was already showing signs of hypothermia. The alarm was raised at nine in the evening, just as the sun began to set, when at least two of the group, aged between 16 and 23, had trouble getting out of the water owing to the heavy surf at the area commonly known as La Pisa de Vaca. Within moments the Protección Civil unit, the Local Police and the Guardia Civil had turned up. “When we got there, there were locals in the act of launching small boats, and who eventually managed to rescue them, not without putting their own lives in jeopardy,” explained Cecilio Fajardo, who is the Chief of Civil Protection.

Last month we mentioned a controversial building project that was being carried out along Torrecuevas way. The controversy was caused by the fact that the construction work was allegedly putting in jeopardy the ancient Roman aqueduct that runs just behind it. The Ecologistas en Acción denounced this fact before the authorities and press. The Town Hall responded by publishing part of a police report (Seprona), which indicated that a visual inspection did not turn up any damage to the monument. The ecologists countered a day or two later, pointing out that the end of the report, which had been omitted by the Town Hall’s press release, clearly stated that the construction work lacked the relevant permits from the provincial department for culture, whose task it is to safeguard monuments of historical heritage. Well, on the 26th of May, the Junta de Andalucía ordered all work on the building site to halt, forthwith. The Aqueduct, by the way, was declared a Bien de Interés Cultura (Item of Cultural Interest) in 1931. The Junta took this decisive action after the Town Hall failed to provide paperwork, demonstrating the legality of the project, i.e. that it enjoyed all the necessary documentation. The Delegate for Culture said that, not only had the Town Hall failed to respond to the request, but that in the interim the work on site had been speeded up. As a personal observation, it is nice to know that at least somebody is keeping an eye on Almuñécar.

The Town Hall has also announced that they are putting out to bidders the planting of the Paseo del Altillo flower gardens, with a contract worth 30,000 euros. (Oh look, a disguised Pesetas figure = five million pesetas!)

I never thought that I would hear the day that a politician suggested that another of his kind should pay for the mistakes of his making from his own pocket, but that is precisely what the main opposition party is suggesting, concerning the Mayor’s ‘blunder’ in the public square under the aqueduct in Torrecuevas, beside the school. José Luis González spoke out strongly against, what he qualified as, the ‘incompetence’ of the Mayor and the councillor in charge of maintenance, José Rodríguez. Apparently, work on the said square was finished just over six months ago, but now a section has to be dug up again and replaced, because the Town Hall did not, allegedly, listen to the Comunidad de Regantes (irrigation collective) for the Los Arcos well, who submitted written warnings to the Town Hall (14/07/05 and 31/10/05), as well as making a formal statement before the Guardia Civil (20/07/05), “because the construction work on the square was being carried out on top of a large irrigation pipe.” In all the said documents it stated that if any damage was caused to this main irrigation-water pipe, then the square would have to be dug up to repair it. Accordingly, it was suggested to the Town Hall that the said pipe should be rerouted before the final surface of the square was laid. No heed was taken. Lo, at the beginning of May the pipe was damaged and the square was flooded. Now the Town Hall has to spend tax-payers’ money ‘needlessly’ to dig it all up, so that the pipe can be repaired, and then resurface the square again. Although I whole-heartedly agree with Sr. González on this occasion, I can only hope that he remembers this ‘the culprit pays’ philosophy, especially as the demolition of the Casa Revuelto (which stood next to the main church), that was authorised by his council when he was mayor, has resulted in the town having to find around 150m euros in fines before the provincial authorities for the destruction of a protected building… I wonder whether he has that amount of loose change on him?

At last, you say. The new medical centre opened for the first time at the end of May. And so ends the 20-year working life of the old medical centre next to the gasoline station. In case you didn’t know, before that, the sick were attended by nuns up in the old Casa de Socorro, which is where the Casa de la Cultura now stands. Fifty staff will look after the health needs of 30,000 people in Almuñécar, La Herradura and the villages of Río Verde (Jete, Otívar and Lentegí). The new centre cost almost three million euros, 75% of which was supplied by the Town Hall.

Take note of the new telephone numbers: Information 958 649 762, appointments, 958 649 754 and Emergencies 902 505 061.

Staying with Juan Luis González, for the moment, we come to the PP’s political rally on the 3rd June, which centred upon transfugas. For those of you who are not familiar with this Spanish political term, it refers to a political turncoat. Thanks to the peculiarities of the Spanish electoral system, the voter casts his vote for the party representative in the elections, rather than for the party itself. This has continually resulted in elected members of councils changing sides, taking their votes with them. It is beyond comprehension that if you vote for a staunch, rightwing Pepe, he can suddenly skip over to join Manolo the Leninist, for whatever obscure reason – in many cases for thinly disguised financial considerations. Up to now, the recipients of such ‘sliders’ have sniggered, whilst the bereft party has gnashed its collective teeth in frustration, but as all parties have been assailed by this ‘slippery practice’ they have reached a common accord to ‘reject’ such people when they call at the door, so to speak. We come to the case of our mayor and his retinue of councillors loyal to him (i.e. all of them barring one), who shifted ‘en bloc’ from the Partido Andalucista to the Convergencia Andaluza – a hitherto unknown party in town. This has raised a very interesting political quandary: Can the C.A. govern in Almuñécar if the party never even figured in the last elections? To put it another way, can they govern if not one person in Almuñécar voted for this party? Well, back to the rally, where Sr. González proposed the composition of a ‘black list’ for political turncoats, and the total rejection of them standing in the forthcoming municipal elections.

Several people have commented that although work on the A-7 bridge in Torrecuevas was supposed to have recommenced at least a month ago, nothing really appears to be happening. In fact, at the beginning of last month, the only people on site were the private security guards. By the time that you have this in your hands, the seven month anniversary of the bridge disaster will have come and gone (7th November 2005). The fact is that despite three separate and simultaneous investigations, as well as other minor ones, no definitive conclusions concerning why the bridge collapsed has been given. All sorts of reasons have been speculated upon: a power cut that misaligned the advancing section former, material fatigue or calculation errors; but none have been given as the exact cause… or completely discarded, for that matter. One thing is for sure, the longer that the construction site remains inactive, greater credence will be given to the belief that the whole structure of the bridge is invalid, meaning that it will all have to come down and work commence from zero. To date, this is merely a rumour.

Stop Press: (23rd May) The judge in charge of investigating the accident has ordered the reconstruction of the accident using another identical section former. This must be carried out by the 30th of the month, at the latest.

Returning to the Calabajío beach – just below Hotel Playacálida (Taramay), Ecologistas en Acción have made a formal complaint and issued a press note concerning an allegedly illegal chiringuito that is under construction there. They pointed out the incongruity that - whilst chiringuitos all along the coast of Andalucía are facing a possible demolition order, thanks to the Departamento de Costas’ decision to move all such constructions back off the beaches - this particular one should appear to pop up with no comment from the Town Hall. Of course, this strip of land (100 metres) is the administrative jurisdiction of Costas – not the municipal authority’s, however, it does remain their responsibility to bring such allegedly illegal constructions to the attention of the corresponding administrative body – which they haven’t, according to the ecologists. It is somewhat suspicious that the construction of this building should take place during the very moment that the Town Hall was planting the area with trees – impossible to miss, therefore – and that it is immediately under the hotel… Returning to the subject of the future of the region’s chiringuitos, the Junta de Andalucía has announced that they will be imposing a ‘standard model’ of chiringuitos for all. The owners of such establishments are still hoping that the existing situation will receive an extension until 2007, giving them a short respite before the inevitable.

Workshop for foreigners in Spain and prospective residents a real hit with the locals, as Saturday 20th May saw about 30 people involved in a very informative day at the Hotel Almijara. The facilitators included Samuel Oziel from Centro de Idiomas El Mar, José Luis Sánchez Parejo Lawyers, Luis F. Hidalgo from La Caixa, Sergio Marchesotti and Mónica Minutella of Clínica del Mar and Pep Benaiges from Lepanto Insurance.

The people who attended this free day seemed very interested in the presentations given and quite prepared to openly discuss various issues in order to clarify any doubts about the requirements, restrictions and expectations of living, working and owning property here. The initiative of a very enterprising team, the workshop ended on a very positive note, as everyone was invited to have a drink on the stunning terrace of the Hotel and fill out a questionnaire to determine how to manage and organise similar future events. Let’s continue to help address people‘s concerns with accurate information delivered by recognised professionals!

One and one are two; two and two are four; oh if only Maths were that simple! Well the beauty of the 6th of what has now become the annual tradition of the ‘Maths and Physics in the Street’ day, is that it is a great way to convince young and old alike that these subjects can be interesting enough to stimulate your curiosity, without necessarily being impossible to solve. Based in La Herradura’s Plaza San José between 10am and 2pm, a number of puzzles and conundrums of all shapes and sizes were set out for visitors to experiment with. One side focused on mathematical challenges, whilst the other side of the display consisted of a number of exhibitions involving electrical and magnetic items, liquids, solids and gasses, set up to explore the principles of physics. Yet another success organised by the local Primary School Las Gaviotas, as you could almost be lead into believing that learning is fun!

Talking of Las Gaviotas, just a quick update on end of term events in case you missed the low down. As I mentioned in the last issue, the theme this year is on multiculturalism, sharing and celebrating the diversity of the community in which our school is based, entitled ‘La Herradura, a meeting point.’

On the 9th June, a Gastronomic Day will be held from 2pm, where each family is asked to bring along a typical dish from their country of origin. We’re not talking sit-down, four-course meals here, but more a ‘taster’ that as many people as possible can see and sample. By the way, they’re also hoping that you’ll give your child’s teacher the recipe well in advance (as soon as possible, really) so that an international recipe book from the school can be assembled at some point. Don’t forget to involve your child, as part of the intention is clearly to give the children a sense of pride and achievement in their own heritage. Even if it’s something as simple as helping to write out the recipe, or even turning their hand to the cooking as well. Go on - you may well find it’s worth the risk!

From the 12th to the 22nd June, an exhibition will be on show within the multiple-use room at the rear of the Infants’ block. It’s hoped that families contribute items that are representative of their culture (for example, flags, handicraft, images of their country, books, or national costumes) to display at this colourful exhibition.

Each class also has an allocated country, which will feature at the End of Term party at 8pm on Friday 16th June (sorry, I got the date wrong last issue). An entire evening of singing, musical and dancing variety entertainment of an international persuasion lies in store for us, so get ready to hear and see some things that you don’t often experience in La Herradura. In fact it’s a whole month’s worth of events you’d probably be hard-pressed to witness in just one primary school anywhere in the world! Anyone who would like to get more involved or help in any way, please contact your child’s teacher. There are some parents already working very hard every Mondays and Fridays to make these events a great success. Why not join them and take part?

Oh, the Head mistress Marie Carmen also tells me that the last day of classes is going to be 22nd June and student reports will also be given on the same day.

A writer from La Herradura wins the Infants Theatre prize, El Lorca (Murcia). Author of the work ‘On Safari’, Reinaldo Jimenez was the winner of the first prize of the second annual competition of Infants’ Theatre entitled ‘Once upon a time there was … Lorca’. Based in the Murcia area and organised by the cultural association of the same name, this competition prize was for 1,500 Euros and the work will be interpreted by the association’s theatre group, itself.

Born in La Herradura in 1969, Reinaldo Jiménez is a Professor of General Education and is currently working as a Drama and Language teacher. His literary efforts have appeared as many theatrical works and poems for both adults and children. Reinaldo has also won the 7th prize in both the poetry competition Enma Egea and the International poetry competition Tardor in Castellón.

The motorway creeps ever closer, but we’re not quite there yet since the official estimate suggests that it could be another six months until La Herradura joins the A-7 directly. Of course, the political parties are now using this as yet another platform from which to undermine each other. The final connection should take another six months, not quite meeting the predicted summer date, but spreading over into autumn. Part of the reason for the delay is that the UTE (Temporary Union of Companies) has been obliged to construct an alternative route north of Maro to avoid the town centre. At the moment, detours are in place to accommodate the construction and some drivers seem a little confused in the very least about the new system, leading to slowing of traffic and congestion, particularly around peak hour.

Drivers aren’t the only ones who are confused, so it seems, as a spokesperson for the PP questioned the logic of the PSOE promising meaningless dates for the motorway. As Juan Luis González Montoro pointed out, why is the PSOE continuing to commit to the entire Autovía del Mediterraneo being completed by 2009, if even the Nerja - La Herradura section is now at least three months behind schedule? I have to admit that I’ve never seen a building project - particularly a public work of this magnitude - ever stick 100 per cent to schedule, but then what do I know?

The Tartana is gearing up for the warmer weather, with its garden terrace area now open; just the job on the coming warm evenings! The restaurant opening hours are 19.30h to 23.00h. Ah, and don’t forget that from the 13th to the 20th, la Tartana will be having ‘Aloha Days,’ with a special Hawaiian menu!

Stephen Hill is the guitar maker who set up shop in La Herradura late in 2004, only to leave again, back to the cold northern climes. The good news is that Stephen is returning in April to set up shop again, this time for longer than before! His intention is to start making Spanish classical and flamenco guitars here again and also to start evening classes in guitar making, (surely there are loads of people who have wanted to make a guitar in their lifetime!), as well as international, one month, intensive, guitar-making courses in La Herradura. (Stephen has been running them in the UK). In the tradition of Andres Segovia and with the next competition on the horizon for November this year, Stephen hopes that he will encourage the guitar culture of La Herradura and beyond. For more information, take a look at his website www.spanishguitars.co.uk .

Joaquín Barbero is set to become a TV celebrity in Cuba! The Chairman of the Asociación de Amigos de Baracoa and Joaquín are set to travel to Baracoa to sponsor the city’s first television service: Televisión Primada Visión. Joaquín already sports the title of Hijo Ilustre de Baracoa, which was awarded to him by the city authorities just over two years ago.

(Ed.) I had a chance to chat with Conchi Barbero, who is the Chairwoman of the Asociación de Comerciantes de la Herradura, which you can find in the Centro Jate. (Tel: 958 640 554). Apparently, around 50% of businesses in the village are members. One of the things on display on their stand at the Feria de Asociaciones at the Majuelo Park, was a DVD containing old photos of the village, costing twelve euros, and which can be obtained from Jose & Nihal’s shop. It looked very interesting, from the images that you could see on the hooked-up TV. Whilst on the subject of the fair, I spoke with Marion Müller, who is the Chairwoman of Juventudes Musicales. I asked her for her opinion of the event and she said that it was much better organised than previous years, with light refreshment being provided for stand participants. Also the fact that it was divided into a morning and evening event, as opposed to straight through to 19.00h and closing, proved to be much more popular.

Salobreña has some mathematical geniuses amongst them, it would appear. Kids from the Mayor Zaragoza and Seglvina junior schools in the village have come away with two of the three prizes in the Olimpiada Matemática finales, which were held in Granada.

Both Salobreña and Lobres are going to have their existing cemeteries enlarged. Better said, in the case of Lobres, the existing one has been closed and the burial remains have been transferred, by council workers, to the new one, which is located on Cerro del Venero. The Salobreña cemetery, on the other hand, has been enlarged, as mentioned, by 67 additional burial niches.

Whilst on the subject of Lobres, this municipal annex now enjoys three extra television channels: Tele5, Antena 3 and La Sexta. This is the first time that locals have been able to view these private TV channels… they haven’t been missing much, mind you.

You will have noticed that the building known as the Panteón, on the slope up to the castle (next to the municipal radio) has been demolished? This eventuality was mentioned in the Gazette last month, as the Town Council are turning it into a car park. The parking arrangement for the moment will just be the cleared and flattened plot where the building stood, where around 25 cars will be able to park. Plans for the future, however, will include a two-storey car park, with a little square on top to serve as a look-out from which to enjoy the views. The Panteón got its name from the fact that it was built on top of the site of an old cemetery, which was in use up to the end of the 19th century. Then, in 1960, the Panteón was built, which first saw life as a school. The school was closed when the CP Mayor Zaragosa was built. In recent years the Panteón was used as offices for social services and offices for several municipal associations. Of course, all this demolition work is causing a bit of havoc with the traffic, with all the comings and goings of large lorries and heavy machinery. Demolition work also began on the old municipal market, where the artisans had their workshops. Again, the site will be used as a car park, which everybody will be grateful for, once the summer hordes arrive!

Whoopee! And I don’t believe it! The Bridge to nowhere is experiencing some work on either end… it is to be connected up to a road system. The bridge, for those of you who don’t remember it, began life on the drawing board in 1985 – over twenty years ago! The bridge was completed in 2003, by the way, but the roads leading up to it have never existed, hence, just a bridge. On the 24th, the Mayor, Jesús Avelino Menéndez, laid the first stone for the construction of the west access ramp, the funds for which have come from the development of the TH2. It is hoped that the whole western ramp will be completed in August… then we will have to wait for the eastern side. Now before you pull your hair out, let me explain. The first phase that will conclude in August will get you across the bridge and deposited onto the track on the other side that runs up alongside the river and gives access to the N-323. The second phase is the connecting of the bridge to the whole TH2 development, and will come about when the planned urbanisations and hotels of the TH2 are finished.

Molvízar is going to get a residency for the retired, called Residencia Santa Ana, which will be built on the hillside just where the Jete road begins. The whole complex will have some 3,410 sq/mts floor space on a 1,662-sq/mt plot. It will provide accommodation for 80 residents and a further 50 day-visitors. The building work won’t begin, however, for another nine months, so it won’t be completed until June 2008. And what residency for the aged would be complete without its own mortuary? (Ouch! Hey, it’s true; it’s what the promo article says!) Seriously, it is calculated that in the Granada-South Health District, there are at least 3,000 chronically-ill senior citizens, who are looked after by their families or partners, yet there is not one centre in the whole area that is dedicated to residents of this profile. Here are some figures to give you an idea: in Molvízar in 1981 the over-60 populations represented just 12% of the total population. The percentage has now risen to almost 16%. You can find more information by phoning 687 874 611. The name Santa Ana, by the way, comes from the patron saint of the village.

And Lobres doesn’t plan on lagging much behind, because a development boom is set to double the village’s population. Thanks to the Lobres’ proximity to the coming Granada/Motril autovía, building promoters are planning to squeeze in 235 dwellings, which could double the existing population of 900 inhabitants. But it’s not just houses, because an inevitable golf course is also planned. The las Terrazas housing complex is going up at a startling rate, with the construction cranes clearly visible long before you enter the village. Although it is not finished, 59 of the dwellings are already sold. And of course, the prices have shot up as well, with some reaching around 180,000 euros. Of course, the Town Hall gets 10% of all building projects, so there’s plenty of cash rolling about for municipal schemes, such as a municipal swimming pool and gymnasium. Yes, Lobres has been pampered by the new Salobreña PGOU with a total of 3,000 dwellings and the projected Los Palmares golf course, covering some 1.5m sq/mts. There will be two public parks contained with this area.

All of this pales besides the following project: there are plans to build a racetrack up in the Lobres area, too! Yes, your ogling marbles did not deceive you! We’re talking about a racing track occupying between 150,000 and 200,000sq/mts in the P-8 area (between Salobreña and Lobres). The track will be nearly five kilometres long (4.7kms) and will have five left-hand bends and six right-hand ones. The track will also have leisure areas and a small hotel, as well has two heliports. The track will be used for go-karts, mini-bikes, as a runway for model aircraft, and can also be hired as a test-track for prototype vehicles. Ambitious? Well, they also hope that there will be a spot of Formula One and the world motorbike-racing championships, sometime in the hazy future.

I have accidentally stumbled into the 21st Century. As it says above, I have changed my email server from ‘Arrakis’ to ‘Telefónica’ and you should use this new email address whenever contacting me from now on. Also I have a ‘Broadband facility’, which I thought was something to do with my waist size and had to agree with that comment, as my waist is definitely getting bigger! However, I am told that it is something to do with computers being able to be used at the same time as someone else uses the phone, really handy if you live alone and it’s a lot faster at ‘downloading’ information from the Internet. I also suspect that it is just another thing that can go wrong with the blasted computer and will cost me more money! It all started when I was trying to get my emails in from ‘Arrakis’ and it kept asking me to type in my ‘password’. Every time I typed the password in, the message came back that it did not accept it and to type it in again. I have been using the same password for a number of years with ‘Arrakis’ and I knew it was the correct one. However, it would not let me have my emails, so I did the same thing that all we computer uses do and resorted to shouting at it, very loudly! It would still not let me get my emails, but it did not answer back, thank God and my wife came into the room to see what was wrong! I tried to explain what the problem was and she immediately left muttering things like “Stupid old fool”, “He’s having another senior moment” and “I wonder if the Doctor will give him some stronger tablets!” I was left just muttering to myself! However, salvation was on the horizon in the shape of an Englishman called Rob Trevethick, who will come to your home and fix or repair your computer, install or upgrade your computer software, add new hardware, make sure everything is installed in your first language, supply you with a new computer, with the software in English and generally make you feel much more comfortable about the whole thing. Rob will also teach you how to use a computer or any of the software. He can also design a website for any purpose and show you how to manage the site. Rob explains things in English, not in computer speak and does not charge you an arm and a leg for the privilege. His family have lived in Spain for more than twenty-five years and, although he is based in Nerja, he will travel to your home, if you live anywhere between Rincón and Motril. He also has a holiday rental website and, if you rent out your property in Spain, you can advertise through Rob. He can be contacted by telephone on 952 533 136 or on mobile 610 639 904. You can also contact him through email on rob@vistanerja.com or visit his website at www.vistanerja.com.

A New Emergency Number for Salobreña! The emergency number is now 092, if you live in the Salobreña area and want an emergency service. When you dial this number, it will put you through to a dedicated switchboard, manned by the local police, twenty-four hours a day and this new number should be used if you want an ambulance, the fire service or the local police. The new number should be used from the time you read this article and I would advise you to note it in your telephone book for future reference. The Council is to mount an advertising campaign to inform people of the change and we on The Gazette are happy to do our bit to help and pass on the information, but hope that you never have to use the service. The cost of installation of the new switchboard is some 3,000 euros, plus a small on going maintenance cost and it should stop or reduce hoax calls, as the caller and the place from where the call is made can be identified.

Lidl supermarket is coming to Salobreña. The German cut-price supermarket group Lidl, currently to be found in Almuñécar opposite the open air market place, is to open a store in Salobreña and will offer cut-price food and drink, as well as its regular special offers on clothes, electrical goods and sports equipment, etc. This new store can be found in the commercial area behind the B. P. Garage, just off the coast road at the entrance to Salobreña. This will introduce major competition to the other supermarkets in the village. At the time of going to press, the actual date of opening is not available, but it is expected to be fairly soon.

SPJ Burgers re-opens after refurbishment. SPJ burgers, based in Avenida Federico Garcia Lorca in the village, has recently undergone a major refurbishment and has now re-opened. Suzanne and Patrick have had the kitchen moved to the back of the Burger Bar and carried out other alterations to give you more room to enjoy their products, including a bar area, where they can offer you draft beer for the first time, other drinks and their regular food. They are also installing another television, for you to enjoy the World Cup matches and a glass or two of your favourite tipple. They are going to be open every day and show all the televised matches, but they are more than happy to serve you at any time, even when there isn’t any football! During the televised matches they are offering a ‘free, special Chupito’, to customers in the bar, when their country scores during the normal 90 minutes of playing time, sorry fans penalty shootouts do not count and ‘changing Nationality’ is not allowed! So get down to SPJ Burgers and enjoy something to drink, to eat and watch the World Cup football with other fans, Suzanne and Patrick would love to see you.

‘San Juan’ will be celebrated along the coast throughout Spain towards the end of this month (night of the 23rd). This is the festival when, traditionally, people are supposed to wash themselves for the first time in the year! (Joking). This symbolic washing represents the end of winter and the beginning of summer. There will be bonfires on the beach at Salobreña and groups of people will join in the celebrations by going down with cool boxes, packed with food and drink, to picnic with family and friends into the early hours of the morning. Traditionally, the food packed should include a special San Juan loaf of bread, with at least one hard-boiled egg inside it. This welcoming of summer, will see hundreds of bonfires and thousands of people joining in with this traditional event. If you haven’t taken part in this festival, then let your hair down and give it a whirl!

Demonstration by ‘Bikers’ wins the day. A number of protest demonstrations took place recently throughout Spain, including one in Motril, starting at Al Campo, where bikers and scooter riders were protesting about the dangerous nature of the crash barriers on the side of the road. They say that the metal supports holding up the barrier, have been responsible for the deaths of too many bike and scooter riders, who have hit them after an accident and that the current support should be replaced with a design which is less dangerous. It was announced last month by the Minister for Development Magdalena Álvarez, that the Government will replace the crash barrier supports and, as a result, there will hopefully be less fatal accidents due to these ‘safety’ barriers! I also hope that bikers and scooter riders will help themselves to survive, by wearing crash helmets correctly and stop driving on the roads at weekends, as if they are in a race with Carlos Checa! You really don’t have a bike like the professionals race and most of you ride more like Chubby Checker! (In other provinces such as Málaga these vertical posts – which act like guillotines for as they slide into them – have been covered with padding or have had a lower rail added. Whereas the standard crash barrier works perfectly well for cars, i.e. deflecting them back onto the road, they are useless for motorbikes that are sliding on their sides… Ed)

From over the water: work has begun on a new car park in the centre of Motril. This new, multi-storey facility is situated on ground, near the indoor swimming-pool on the Port Road and opposite the esplanade where the market stalls are often set up for special events.

Cannabis was seized by the Guardia Civil, on a beach to the east of Motril, amounting to more than four tons. The drugs had already been loaded into two rental vans when the National Police arrived, but the smugglers had left the scene and thus avoided arrest. Further investigations are being carried out by the Guardia Civil drugs unit into the incident.

More Drugs seized. Ten Moroccans were arrested and 3,500 kilos of cannabis was seized, with a street value of five million Euros, in a joint operation between Guardia Civil forces in the provinces of Granada and Almería. The raid took place in an area near to Castell de Ferro.

More than 150 Illegal Immigrants have landed on the coast south of Granada already this year! In the main they have been from Morocco, have included a number of children and some of them have required medical attention on being apprehended. However, they will all face repatriation to Morocco at some stage.

The Mayor of Motril, Pedro Alvarez, has announced that there is to be an extension to the facilities in the Port. This will be a 1,000 to 1,200-berth Marina and the project will be presented for approval during June. However, the relevant authorities have yet to be approached and, at the moment, it is still not approved!

Dogs in Motril have their own toilet areas! The council has designated five specific areas in Motril for use by dogs, wishing to go to the toilet. If they ‘go’ anywhere else, then the owner will be fined by the local police, but no mention is made as to who is to clear the mess up in these designated dog toileting areas and should that be the owner of the dog or the local authority? Are they also going to provide training courses for the dogs, who are bursting to go to the toilet, not to do so until they have come down five flights of stairs from their flat and travelled half way across the town before reaching the designated dog toilets? Surely this is local government gone potty, sorry about that! It would be better if they brought in a law, making it compulsory that dog owners have to clear up the mess their animals make and fining them heavily if they don’t?