If you had any doubt as to how, time after time, Juan Carlos Benavides wins the municipal elections in Almuñécar, you only needed to have a look at the faces in the old Hiper supermarket, (the Mayor’s election HQ) on the Big Night: It was packed. It takes a lot of people to fill such a large place, leaving everybody edging past his neighbour to be able to move. One look at the faces of those gathered provided you with an A-to-Z of Almuñécar’s citizenry.

Like it or not, Benny is Almuñécar and Almuñécar is Benny, until he retires or is retired.

Fifty percent of Almuñécar loves him and the other half hates him, but - and this is a very crucial ‘but’ - his opponents are divided, while his supporters are not.

Election Results

Salobreña
(66.67% participation) Well, although the Mayor managed to keep his most-voted place, he pulled fewer votes than in 2003, losing some 288 votes and subsequently a councillor in the municipal council. That councillor’s seat went to the PSOE, which is headed by Gonzalo Fernández. This gain made by the PSOE appears to indicate that the wound caused by the split, when Manuel Pérez Cobos left to form his own party, has healed.

Unfortunately for the Mayor, there is now a higher probability of losing his office to an opposition coalition formation. In Salobreña you need nine councillors to rule, therefore the Mayor needs two more councillor seats, but where will he get them? The only other right-wing party is the PA, but they just have one councillor seat. The left wing, on the other hand, can get the nine seats between them: PSOE 5, PSI-S (Pérez Cobos) 2, PSA 1, and IULV-CA 1 = 9 seats.

So, although the Mayor’s party received more votes than any other party, his position is far more precarious than during the last administration.

Motril
(60.84% participation) Carlos Rojas is definitely the bright star in the conservative provincial cosmos, bringing the first single-handed PP victory in Motril in democratic history. There is only one way to read the election results for Motril and this is that the culprits of the seedy dealings that resulted in a vote of no confidence for the previous PP-lead coalition council have met their electoral retribution. To rule Motril with an absolute majority, you need 13 councillor seats and Carlos Rojas has 12 of them; 3 more than in 2003, but he’s not home and dry, however. The PSOE under Pedro Alvarez has already announced that he is open to suggestions regarding a coalition formation. The PA has also expressed this sentiment, but his conditions would include the legalisation of illegally built ‘cortijos’, for instance. Would the IU go along with such an arrangement, contributing their two councillor seats? On the other hand, Carlos Rojas has it much easier, needing only the support of the PA (who shared the first PP-coalition administration in 2003) to have the absolute majority. Of course, it is far too early to know and there is very little likelihood of anybody making a decision until at least the second week of June – they all need a rest after their election campaigns. One thing is for sure, though; GRITO (an acronym that translates for ‘shout’) went out with a whimper, thanks to their political backstabbing that provoked the shabby assassination of the PP’s tripartite coalition of 2003.

Almuñécar
(68.53% participation) There is no doubt that Juan Luis González Montoro committed a great mistake by signing before a notary public a declaration that he would never make a coalition pact with the PSOE. He no doubt thought that it would get him more votes, but it has in fact destroyed any possibility of the opposition parties making a coalition party to form a municipal governing administration. It would not be a reckless guess to suppose that Juan Luis will be stepping down as leader of the conservative PP party, after this electoral debacle. Undoubtedly, the electorate has ‘passed the bill’ for his support of the Benavides administration in its quest to see the controversial PGOU through.

Neither can Juan Luis put the party’s loss of the councillor seats down to the existence of an alternative PP party, the GPI, under the party rebel, Andrés Palacios. The GPI went straight to the bottom of the political pond, without leaving any bubbles during this election – something that surprised nobody, least of all, perhaps, Andrés Palacios. The GPI did not get one seat because they couldn’t pull the minimum 5% of the electoral votes needed. Therefore, how can the PP’s losing two seats be put down to the loss of votes to the GPI? No, the hitherto PP votes went elsewhere, namely the PA and squandered between the Partido Sexitano and the GPI.

So, the new kid on the block is the IU (far left wing) who finally made it onto the electoral map in Almuñécar with one councillor. Having spoken to many people, it is evident that they would have had at least another councillor had people not thought that voting for them would have been a waste of a vote. Well, the IU have proved that they are certainly not a ‘waste-of-a-vote,’ and will be a party to be reckoned with during the next elections.

I went around to the PSOE HQ on the night to see an evidently crest-fallen Rocío Palacios, who, nevertheless, managed to project a stiff upper lip with the following arguments: They pulled more votes than during the last elections and, although they hadn’t managed to increase their councillor presence, they had not lost any, either, remaining with four councillor seats.

The Partido Sexitano never made it to the starting line, which might be expected, given the choice of candidate, Antonio Martín Olid. You see, Sr. Olid carries a lot of political baggage, having belonged to the Communist Party, then the PSOE and now the Partido Sexitano. He might be wise to the ways of politics, but he possesses no charisma – certainly not compared with the Mayor.

The PA, under its new leader, managed to stay afloat with one councillor seat, which is a far cry from the days when it pulled ten with Benavides at the helm, but at least they are on the map, which is more that most expected.

And now we come to Juan Carlos Benavides, the man who has most been elected to mayoralty of Almuñécar in its democratic history. You might think him a bully, think that he is corrupt or that he is a demagogue, but Benny has nobody that plays in the same league as him – and that’s the only truth. No, that’s not exactly the truth; there is one man, an ex-mayor himself, that can match Benny blow for blow, but he says that politics is no longer the thing for him: Antonio Rebollo.

So, Benny has wiped the floor with those that snap around his ankles, proving, yet again, that he has made Almuñécar what it is today, and, undeniably, Almuñécar has made Benny what he is today: The Mayor of Almuñécar.

The town council meeting that was held during the second week of the month approved the desalination plant. Whoopee doo! Not everybody is happy about it – me, for example, and those that are going to have their land compulsory-purchased. I’m not a happy bunny because, although the town could well do with such an installation for it’s present day needs, it is increasingly obvious that the desalination plant has more to do with propping up the huge housing increase envisaged in our controversial PGOU, than improving the water resources of Almuñécar’s present-day inhabitants. After all, this project will be financed through our local taxes, whilst those that will benefit from it will be the building developers who are just panting to be able to start bricking up the towns hitherto-green surroundings and won’t have to put a centimo to it. Let them finance it, as without it, there is insufficient water for the housing that they intend to build, and if that cost has to be transferred to the selling price of the properties, making such housing hideously expensive and less attractive – then tough bloody luck.

A good friend, whose family owns one of the most beautiful villas left standing in the Rio Seco Bajo, one whose garden exhibits trees nearly a century old and of grand girth, has found out that somebody in the Town Hall has evidently just sat down, traced a design on the map and bugger anybody whose property that gets in the way. It is about a mile inland, by the way, so you must ask yourself, what are they going to do with the salt produced, and how logical is it to site such an installation, right in the middle of a vega, so far inland?

Anyway, the Town Hall has awarded the contract to an UTE (Union Temporal de Empresas - temporary union of companies), comprising of Pridesa Proyectos y Servicios SA and Aqalia Gestión Integral del Agua SA. The project has a basic cost of 23,910,668 euros, to which must be added a further 207,060 euros preparatory work and permits from the Junta, and another 116,000 euros for the drawing-up of the project.

On the 17th of last month – just ten days before the elections - the Mayor’s party began taking down their illegal posters on the town’s lampposts, which was an elapse much greater than the 48 hours stipulated by the provincial electoral board, of course. It is calculated that Almuñécar and La Herradura have 3,500 lampposts and 2050 palms, which will have been shared out by the board amongst the seven competing political parties, according to the votes they pulled in the last elections. Working on that basis, Benny won’t officially have many at his party’s disposal.

Almuñécar is going to have one of the largest skateboard areas in Andalucía, which will be situated on a 1,700-m plot, alongside the Avenida Príncipe de Asturias, which is the one that runs parallel with the east bank of Río Verde. The Town Hall has awarded the contract to Gestión Técnica de Montages y Construcciones (GTM), worth 135,203 euros. Were not just talking about a concrete bowl, by the way, but quite a large complex, complete with changing rooms, stands and a refreshment kiosk. Granted that this announcement came just before the election campaign officially began, and is therefore rather opportune, it is still to be commended and the Youth Area Department in the Town Hall deserves a slap on the back for this one. Enhorabuena.

Talking of leisure facilities for youngsters, Almuñécar has also just inaugurated a Casa de la Juventud (Youth House), which is situated in what was the old Cine Coliseo, just behind the Paseo del Altillo. Permit me to reminisce at this point… Did any of you ever go to that cinema? I used to love it, with its upstairs circle. Before being a cinema, it was a theatre, you see. The other cinema in town was the Cine Galiardo, which was just across the road from Pension Marina. It goes without saying that none of these three buildings now stand, with blocks of flats standing in their place, with the exception of Pension Marina, which is just an empty, walled-in, building plot. Anyway, the only part of the Cine Coliseo that was preserved was the façade with its large portal. This, then, is where the Casa de Juventud is housed. The installations enjoy 234 sq/m of floor space. According to Dani Barbero, who is now the Consejal de Juventud, the premises has a cyber room, living room and a multi-purpose hall with a stage for social events.

Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of… thread. The yearly embroidery festival was held in the Majuelo park on the first weekend of last month. The VII Encuentro Bolillero de Almuñécar had more participants this year (over 300 all told) with other nationalities taking part. One of the visitors was from the Nottingham, where she gives embroidery classes to some 200 students. But you would be wrong to believe that the park groans under the weight of a tribe of old ladies, packing serious hardware, because there were participants of all ages and both sexes. The words of one 80-year-old veteran, Josefa Ruiz, from Ciudad Real, are heartening ones for all those that fear that manual crafts are disappearing with the twilight generation: “There was a time when I thought that embroidery was dying out, however, starting from a few years back, there has been an important increase in interest.” The amazing thing is that Josefa and English Juanita (she prefers the Spanish version of her name) might not understand each other’s words, but they speak the same language with the tools and material of their craft… although you could say, ‘with different accents,’ as the styles and methods are distinct.

Right! That’s enough being sensible – it’s on with the show! The Junta de Andalucía, through its provincial offices in Granada, has asked the Town Hall to revise the PGOU, pulling it into line with legality. Member of the Board for Public Works, Concepción Gutiérrez, said that there would be no shortcuts, in reply to a question raised about urban development in Almuñécar by Socialist MP in the Regional Parliament, Rocío Palacios (who is also the candidate for the office of Mayor in Almuñécar for the PSOE, you will remember). Sra. Palacios had asked Gutierrez about her interpretation of the Regional Supreme Courts finding that the ‘modificaciones puntuales’ that the Town Hall had carried out were illegal. A modificación puntual is basically an annex to a standing PGOU (a specific adjustment). These are designed for minor adjustments to PGOUs, and not, as is the case in Almuñécar, wholesale rewriting of a PGOU, by passing regional control. “Almuñécar has been trying to delay, and thus avoid, having to submit a new PGOU, [and thus] attempting to modify an exhausted PGOU with modificaciones puntuales,” said Sra. Gutiérrez. She basically urged the Town Hall to get its finger out and stop farting around… more or less… so to speak. Sra. Palacios took the opportunity to lament the fact that the ‘turncoat’ Town Council - whose members collectively jumped ship from the PA to the CA – had lost four years, drawing up an illegal PGOU that was destined to go nowhere. Perhaps, Rocío, bless her, should remind herself that if she had accepted the offer by the PP to head a coalition governing council as mayoress, then those four years would not have been lost, would they? People’s memories, Lass, are not that short, however inconvenient that might be.

The Town Hall, in conjunction with the Junta and the European Social Fund, will be providing a free German course for the unemployed (no, I’m not referring to the people that you see sitting around in front of desks in the various offices of the Town Hall). The course will comprise of 234 class hours, from 08.30h to 14.30h Monday to Friday. Anybody who is interested should get their digestive outputs round to the Centro de Iniciativa Empresarial, which can be found on the road behind Chinasol, before you get to the junior school, coming from the east.

You’re never going to believe this, but Almuñécar was the town with most judicial investigations into urban corruption during 2006! Wow! I reaallllyyy didn’t expect that… The courts opened no fewer than five criminal investigations into alleged urban-development abuse in just one year. However, the Town Hall has an adherence factor of a Teflon frying pan when it comes to charges sticking. Anyway the Ombudsman for Andalucía 2006 report awarded Juan Carlos Benavides a title that nobody is in a rush to achieve: ‘The mayor who has most ‘entorpecido’ (hindered) investigations into urban development irregularities that had ended up on the regional ombudsman’s desk.’ Who came in second amongst our neighbouring townships, you might ask, and the answer is Gualchos-Castell de Ferro, who had four investigations instigated in the same time period. Of all the investigations, two resulted in condemnations and pending demolition. The first was in Salobreña, where the culprit was also sentenced to six months imprisonment because he repeatedly ignored warnings and court orders to pull down a concrete structure that he had erected on non-building land. The second case, where a demolition order was handed down, was in the Barranco de la Campana in the Pago del Río Seco: the culprit did not appeal against the six-month prison sentence, a hefty fine and demolition. It is becoming increasingly more apparent that there is only one way to control town halls: the politicians and functionaries that are responsible for administrative infringements should pay the subsequent fines out of their own pockets, and not walk out scot free, leaving the tax payer to pick up the tab.

Now you see it; now you don’t, so it’s a fair farewell to the old medical centre, which was behind the gasolinera. Besides being the patching-up workshop for the listless & loiterers, the lingerers and malingerers and the bored and the boring, its grounds were also the quickest rout to the gasolinera without having to brave the main-road crossing. Yes, no matter how many times the Town Planning Department changed the direction of the one-way system of the bloody slip road to San Sebastian – and they’ve changed it yet again a few weeks ago – you could always nip through the Medical Centre… Besides, what did it matter if you knocked somebody over, as you sped through? If they were there, they were sick anyway, and if they weren’t, then there couldn’t be a more expedient spot for medical attention to be knocked over, could there? So it’s gone, but life goes on…

Before I forget, I had emails and phone calls from readers who complained that they were not on the electoral list and suspected foul play. Having spoken with somebody in the Town Hall, the immediate reply and defence was that the lists of those eligible to vote was on public display until the 16th April so that voters could check that they hadn’t been omitted. If you didn’t check, then you don’t have a leg to stand on, unfortunately. As there is no way of knowing just how many have been omitted from the list, through error or design, until voting day (today) there is little point in following it up further until the scale of it is known. If you know of anybody that has not been able to vote - Spaniard or foreigner – then please urge them to get in contact with us; preferably by email, but if not, by phone.

I had an email from Julie Parson, asking where all the recycling bins had gone. Good question, so I fished around. The official version is that the bins were withdrawn from the centre of Almuñécar and La Herradura, because they were an eye-sore and a hygiene hazard, if not emptied regularly. And that is precisely the problem; they weren’t. There is only one company on the whole of the Costa Tropical that is tasked with managing these bins, which is hired by the provincial authorities. This company, as it has a monopoly, couldn’t give a flying zebra’s striped armpit about emptying them when it is necessary, preferring to empty them when it is convenient. The result is that the bins in the municipal market, for example, were invariably overflowing and a veritable mega-fest for cockroaches etc. Obviously, this was incompatible with the dozens of food stalls of the municipal market, so they had to go. The bins have all been moved out of the centre of town: Almuñécar’s bins are situated on a pull-in, on the main road, just below Camping Carambolo, and on Velilla, on the turning which takes you up past the municipal plant nurseries (old Al Club road); La Herradura’s bins are on the N-340 pull-in next to Restaurante Los Verdiales, i.e. on the dry riverbed from the beach, passing under the N-340. Evidently, the present situation is a pain, to put it mildly, but until something is done about the rubbish-collection company – and Salobreña is experiencing the same problem with them – there is little that can be done. In the meantime, it is costing the tax payer because people that are unable to find suitable arrangements for separating their rubbish are just throwing it all together and throwing it out in the usual fashion. As the town has to pay a certain amount per kilo that is delivered to the rubbish recycling plant in Vélez, the return to mix-rubbish processing is costing us, collectively, money.

It now appears that Almuñécar will have to find almost a million euros for the Francisco Bonet Football Stadium’s stands, whereas they were going to be ‘free’. The reason for this is that there was an agreement reached between the Town Hall and Cercado de la Santa Cruz company, whereby the company would finance the seating stands on the east side of the stadium in return for the concession of business premises under the new stands. This sounded good on paper, but now technical problems have appeared with the ground on which the installations will stand, and it is the Town Hall that will have to finance the extra work, costing around 900,000 euros. Juan Luis González Montoro (local PP Leader) took the opportunity to bring up the subject of the controversial gasoline station that is being situated right next to the new stands… He pointed out that the company requested permission to build a gasoline station there in February 2006; two whole months before the Town Council decided upon the idea of installing one there, and putting up the contract for bidding… What a coincidence! A further oddity was that the only company to present an offer was this one, so they got the contract. Draw you own conclusions. The Mayor, however, says that the governing council has not authorised any service station under the stadium stands, although he recognises that there are these kind of installations, underground, but outside the actual stadium grounds. He says that this service station is tied to the construction of the stands and that work on it had been halted by the Town Hall, itself. Nevertheless, the huge, underground storage tanks have already been installed. Needless to say, it is illegal to have a gasoline station in the urban centre of a town – it must be at least 500m away from one. So, it is rather mind boggling that one should be built right under sports stands that will have hundreds of people sat on them at given moments.

The new municipal aquarium now has some fish in it. Around 500 specimens now float around in bemused expectation within the 18 huge display tanks. The five-metre-long transparent passageway is a good place to get a look at the metre wide rays as they pass over… it’s also a chance for them to get a look at you, of course. These are the first fishy vanguard and will soon – hopefully - swell in number to the amount of 2,500 or 3,000 fish, belonging to 250/270 species. Here’s a list of some of the inmates: doradas, verderones (peces limon), pulpos, brecas, congrios, ermitaños, peces guitara, seriolas, corvine and rayas. Oh, come on; you didn’t expect me to translate that little lot, did you? Go on, brighten up the day of your sadly ignored Spanish-English dictionary! You know, the one that thought that it had found a new, loving home and which was tickled pink to be thumbed enthusiastically… for the first month, but has since sunk into a Mariana Trench-deep depression from being totally ignored ever since.

So, how much do you reckon that our Mayor earns? Well, he is the third-best-paid mayor in the province, picking up a nice cheque worth 56,409 euros annually. In fact, the Mayor of Granada, José Torres Hurtado, only earns 200 euros more than him a year. The Mayor of Motril gets 49,045 euros and the Mayor of Salobreña, Jesús Avelino Menéndez, gets 3,318 euros a month. Right down the other end of the scale, you have the Mayor of Lanjarón (José Rubio) with 1,816 euros per month, the Mayoress of Sorvilán (María Elena Maldonado) with 1,000 and the Mayor of Carataunas (Santiago Rodríguez) who earns bugger all, because he doesn’t get paid for it – he only gets about 250 euros a month for expenses. Hey, but the salary of a mayor or councillor is only a part of what they take home – without getting into extra-official pecuniary understandings that some have been known to have a weakness. It is not beyond reason to assume that these such elected administrators get almost the same again in allowances for attending any kind of official meeting, as well as travelling and luncheon expenses.

The Secretary of State for Infrastructures claims that the A-7 Bridge Disaster was not predicable. He also admitted that they have not been able to prove that it was a faulty soldered joint or a loose bolt that caused the bridging platform to collapse. Therefore, one and a half years later, the investigating commission is still unable to conclude, without a doubt, what caused this accident, which resulted in the deaths of six workers. However the Secretary of the workers union confederation CCOO (Comisiones Obreras), José María Fidalgo, points at the Ministerio de Fomento as the ultimate responsible party, i.e. where the buck stops. He pointed out that whereas the Government is quick to blow its own trumpet for Spain’s record in economic growth and employment figures, it is strangely silent on work-related deaths, in which field Spain leads Europe.He also pointed out that as the various investigations could not establish the exact cause for the accident, there remains the possibility of a similar incident on a construction of the same characteristics.

Confirmation that XXIII Andrés Segovia Competition is to take place 19th-24th of November this year. It will be held in the Civic Centre and commemorate the French composer Darius Milhaud [1892- 1974] who dedicated some of his work to Segovia, and Italian composer and guitarist Mauro Guiliani [1781 -1829] for his contribution to guitar and orchestra repertory. The age limit of entrants to this prestigious competition remains at 35 years and the prizes range from €700 through to a first prize of €9,000 plus a guitar made by Paco Santiago Martín valued at €7,500. An Association is now formally in place to help organise and raise the profile of the competition on a global scale, with Tony Morton as Chairman. He has commissioned Miguel Moreno to produce a 2-metre-high sculpture entitled ‘El legado de Andrés Segovia al Mundo’ and this will be unveiled at Tony and Carole’s home, Los Olivos before November, in order to help generate some publicity for the event. As Tony has remarked, “I believe that the Certamen is a jewel which La Herradura should enjoy, guard jealously and promote as its passport to the world.” If handled wisely, it could certainly help to boost the number and calibre of visitors to this area, as well as inspiring musicians worldwide. To find out more about the event, you can contact Tony on anthonyrmorton@hotmail.com

It’s a bit like living on a Monopoly board, as there seem to be hotels or plans for them springing up all over the place. Part of the Best Western chain, the Best Alcázar at the entrance to the Marina del Este opened its doors during May. I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘finished’, but this four-star hotel is now the seventh in the area. The Alcázar already includes 241 rooms, dining area (where the general public can even come in and enjoy buffets), massive conference and banqueting suite, plus an extensive central pool and garden area. Although incomplete, the complex feels very self-contained and I imagine this impression will be even stronger once the apart-hotel section (an additional 160 apartments facing behind the central garden area) is finally sorted out next year. The previous gymnasium will be fully incorporated, housing an indoor swimming pool, spa and sporting equipment. As the director Miguel Artigas commented, the intention is to keep the hotel running throughout the year, regardless of the weather, with estimated room occupation already looking very good. When quizzed on how many people it will take to staff, his answer was that during high season they could expect to have some 70-80 personnel in total. But looking around at the staff during the opening event, I can’t say that I recognised any locals. The organisation is clearly aiming to attract the family market, claiming that in their other establishments they’re already working with Russians, English and German tourists. It could certainly be beneficial if they were to attract more spending visitors to the area, but given the facilities, I’m not struck by the feeling that clients will be encouraged to venture out of the hotel, despite the strategic location of a bus stop outside. So if we’re talking about overflow to local businesses, I’m not yet convinced.

And yet more hotel space, as Hotel Fuerte at the west end of La Herradura, in the zone of the new sports pavilion, is granted its licence after six years of delays. Aiming to open its doors in 2009, this hotel will be yet another four star complex, finally consisting of 302 rooms, occupying approximately 11,000 square metres of space and costing some 30m euros to build. It’s no secret that the building licence approval has arrived after the hotel’s concession of 2,000 square metres of land to the village sports pavilion (representing ten percent of the total land originally acquired by the hotel). What does remain a mystery to me, though, is where all these tourists are going to come from and – given Maria Luisa’s comments to me last issue – what they’re going to do when they get here that will actually help the local economy. Well, at least this complex is closer to the heart of the village itself, so it increases the probability of people venturing into the pueblo and interacting with us (hopefully, in a positive way!).

Despite the rains, at least three fires have already occurred during the last couple of months. At the time of writing, one of these fires had been caused by someone burning rubbish in La Mezquita, just one kilometre behind the village. Neighbours, as well as the La Herradura Cycle Club, helped to stifle the flames before the fire fighters arrived on the scene at about 5pm. The inhabitants’ and cyclists’ action was fundamental to preventing serious damage, since high temperatures combined with winds helped to speed the flames along towards the plantations. Half an hour after the fire actually began, the helicopter came to drench the final flames.

Blue Lagoon opens its doors, as Sue, Martin and family join the growing international community in La Herradura. Already known for their home cooked food and good choice of wines, we’re sure that this new venue will make a real impression on the village.

Applications for public nursery places close 5th June, so you could be just in time to enter your child’s details for one of the government-run institutions in the area. You can enrol your baby or infant (up to three years of age) in any of the municipal nurseries by making further enquiries and taking a form from either the Community Social Services Centre in the La Paloma area of Almuñécar (behind the petrol station) or directly at the municipal nursery La Caleta, across from Restaurante Jeannot in La Herradura. Their hours are 9am - 11am, Monday Friday.

La Herradura youth theatre group wins competition, as Puntapié competes against at least ten other groups throughout Almuñécar for the coveted award of José Martín Recuerda. Under the skilful direction of Miren Bakarne Hernandez, the seven children presented a riotously successful performance of Pluff, El Fanstasmita. The talented troupe rehearsed long and hard for their well-deserved award and Miren showed just what an impact she’s made on the local theatrical scene (together with Sol, they hold theatre classes in La Herradura and Otívar), by also scooping the award for the Adults’ section of the competition. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event, so it’s a considerable achievement for the local group. You can enjoy another performance of the production at La Herradura’s own Civic Centre during the evening of June 9th, as well as being entertained by the local Batuka dancers and the younger theatrical group. For anyone who witnessed the shows during the San José celebrations, you know you won’t fail to smile at this one, so don’t miss this fun-filled event!

Talking of events at the Civic Centre, Maria (the lady who administers activities there) informs me that as we approach the end of term, there will be a number of other displays to give the children a chance to show the world what they’ve been doing in their extracurricular courses. For instance, the art classes (under the thoughtful eye of their teacher, Lissi) will be exhibiting their works on June 8th. Such is the value of these unique pieces (you never know where a Picasso or Miró in the making might be hiding!), that their sale is expected to raise quite some funds, later to be handed over to La Herradura’s fund-raising committee. Continuing the show theme, there is also a concert scheduled for the 12th June, where the musical students will have an opportunity to perform to their audience. So, lots to keep us busy this month (and these are just the items we’ve got definite dates for!)

Axarquía Golf Shop is up and running at Sunlounge, so that any bits and pieces that you need last minute to get you out on the golf course, you can pick up in a flash. Leanne’s also pleased to launch her new summer menu, with all the old favourites, plus coronation chicken, as well as duck with Hoy-sin-sauce sandwiches. And what better to wash it all down than with their weekly guest ales, following on nicely from the success of the Sunlounge beer festival. And mentioning parties (always something happening here, right?) you’re all invited to the Sunlounge beach party for San Juan. From 9pm onwards, you can join in the fun for the one night when La Herradura’s beachfront takes on the appearance of a sixties Elvis movie, when frolicking, music, feasting and camping are the order of the night! Finally, don’t forget about the huge number of activities that Leanne can organise for you, including sailing trips, horse riding and excursions, but to name a few. No chance of a dull moment here.

English Library update, with no immediate sign of change. An extremely frustrated Ann Maxfield is very grateful for your calls, but unfortunately there is no additional news as yet. What has been suggested is that all librarians and library members meet up at the Hidewaway on Wednesday 27th June between 11am and 1pm to discuss what options are available. It should also be a chance to unload library books and swap with other readers.

And you never know, but come the elections, there could well be some developments. One thing I do agree with Ann on, is that instead of holding your breath waiting for something to happen, you’re better off saving it for climbing the flights of stairs within the Civic Centre, whilst they’re still figuring out what to do with the lift!

Pilgrimage to El Cerval chapel during their annual festival, where the neighbouring villages converge behind La Herradura. Now, it seems that this little hamlet has been celebrating the fiesta and procession for over 50 years, but this year it was somehow very significant for a number of reasons. Talking to the older members of El Cerval, they remember a time when the only people who attended this event were actually those who were out here doing the ‘campo’ thing full time. During the late 70’s and early 80’s, when things started to change quite considerably in Spain (the demise of Franco’s dictatorship obviously filtering through to Andalusia, amongst other regions), there was more mobility between areas than ever before. For instance, soon it became apparent that the local school was no longer necessary, as students headed down to the coast on a regular basis. Also, in search of employment opportunities, whole families were moving away from their inland environment. What started off as a hamlet with a population of about 500 people, these days consists of only a few handfuls of people.

However, if you took a look around at the great crowd that had gathered for this festival during May, you would have argued that this wasn’t the case. It was clear that there were far more people than anticipated, particularly when they ran out of plastic plates and beer! The effigy of Our Lady of Fatima sat gloriously surrounded by fresh flowers under a tarpaulin, totally dedicated to her protection. Every spare centimetre was taken up with people chatting, eating, drinking, making music and tripping the fandango cortijero! And then, of course, there was the proverbial political lobbying, with Benavides dishing out paella and moving between groups with his trusty team in tow, making references wherever possible to the newly tarmacked tracks throughout the area. The occasion was to celebrate the traditions of the ‘campo;’ keeping them alive for young and old, local and foreign. But who knows what they’ll see when another lot look back in fifty years’ time.

Hideaway now open for food as Darren and Jeanette can provide you with tasty snacks throughout the day. Not to mention their already popular all-day breakfasts, which you can work off with all the ‘exercise’ that you’ll be getting. Not only is pool free on Friday nights, but the friendly team is also setting up a monthly pool competition. Don’t despair: for those parents who think that they’re going to go crazy if they’re forced to spend another two minutes on park monitor duty, there’s always the handy and yummy alternative of afternoon tea at the Hideaway 4pm – 7pm daily, where you can take some time out and enjoy a civilized tea or coffee with a wicked piece of cake whilst the kitchen’s closed and you can still keep an eye on the kids as well! Please note, since Darren’s well in line for a reward, the bar will be closed on Sunday 3rd June where he’ll be doing some serious birthday celebrating. Congratulations from all of us and may this following year be a bit less ‘surprising’!

Two nasty accidents within minutes around Punta de la Mona tunnel, which separates La Herradura and Almuñécar on the N-340. A motorcyclist from Granada, who was heading towards Málaga, was seriously injured inside the tunnel during a side-on collision with a truck, whose own driver emerged unscathed. The motorcyclist was launched from his bike and struck the side of the tunnel. Within 30 minutes, the ambulance arrived (negotiating the kilometre-long backlog of traffic which had built up under the control of the Guardia Civil) and the victim was taken to hospital in Motril. During the delay, the motorcyclist was attended by health assistants.

Approximately an hour later and once the traffic was again in full flow, a separate accident occurred with a three-car pile-up. The reason for the accident still remains unclear, as the stories of each driver were inconsistent. Although there was damage to the vehicles, thankfully there were no seriously injured victims here, apart from one of the drivers from Almuñécar, who complained of pain in his chest where he had clearly come into contact with his steering wheel upon impact (I would have thought that his airbag might have been activated?) and within one of the other vehicles, there was a victim of the canine variety, which seemed to be trembling inconsolably.

El Ancla on course for a fresh new menu, while Jean takes a well-deserved break. No need to panic, though, as she’s made Katie and Jonathan promise before she goes off that there’s no way they’ll sacrifice the old favourites, like fish and chips with mushy peas, or steak and kidney pie, not to mention lasagne or the ever popular Sunday roasts (bookings are still advised). ‘Sadly’ (stop cheering, football widows!) the football season has come to an end, but make sure you watch the sport boards for the upcoming England Euro 2008 qualifier. And continuing the sport note, May 20th was that sacrosanct day when TAGS competed for the now annual Anchor Masters Silver Salver. And the winner was: … yes you guessed it, (trumpets, please) Barry Crosbie! The fun day ended with a brilliant buffet back at the Ancla, enjoyed by all.

Electronic sign hits the beachfront, as La Herradura gets its very own temperature monitoring, time-telling and date-providing electrical sign. Oh, and if you weren’t sure, it even reminds you that you’re in La Herradura.

‘Deathtrap’ barriers changed throughout the Costa Tropical, as work begins along the N340, starting from La Herradura. Installing some 22,000 kilometres of metal strips along the roadside all the way through to Almería, the intention is to prevent serious accidents involving vehicles careering off the side of the road. Up until now, motorcyclists have viewed the existing rails quite differently; as lethal blades, which on impact can cause death, or at best lead to the amputation of limbs. Studies have shown that when travelling at only 40 km/h by motorcycle, hitting these old barriers can split the rider’s spinal column in half. The new barriers being installed are much safer for all drivers, apparently; making it less likely for the odd bus to get involved in any Italian Job impersonation, or any motorcyclist to get jammed between the metallic strips. And with an increasing number of people travelling by motorcycle or scooter so as to avoid the inevitable traffic jams, this is very good news.

Heroes from Chiringuito in Cantarriján save Briton, as two waiters from the beach bar and restaurant La Barraca come to the rescue of an irresponsible visitor. Caught up in a strong current several metres from shore, it was clear that the inebriated swimmer was not going to make it without immediate help. Risking their own lives, Isaac Rodríguez and José María Trinidad, waiters from La Barraca, quickly grabbed a canoe plus three lifejackets and set out to save the victim. Struggling against the persistent waves and wind, the two worked relentlessly to rescue the 27 year old (placing all three lives in jeopardy). Although the victim was by now only semi-conscious, the waiters managed finally to get him back to shore where (an hour had passed by this stage) the emergency services were waiting to take him to Santa Ana Hospital in Motril. All three of them needed to be transported there in the end, suffering from hypothermia and exposure. Doubtless, these brave waiters will go down in history as the ‘heroes of Cantarriján!’

Hello, Everyone and welcome to the June edition of the Salobreña NewsLetter and my penultimate one! If you want to contact me, then please use my email address of tonysharley@seasidegazette.es. I have been writing this column for over two years now. Having enjoyed it very much, I would like to thank both the Publisher and Editor for giving me the opportunity to write for the Gazette. I hope that you have enjoyed reading at least some of my efforts? Also, thank you to those people that provided me with the material and gossip, on which I was able to base my articles, I could not have done it without you. A special thank you must go to my wife for her patience and understanding when I was stuck-in-front of the computer for so long; the times that she sat in the car when I was interviewing someone, and for proof reading my ramblings.

When I retired to Salobreña some eight years ago, I had no intention of doing work of any kind, other than carrying out the essential repairs and painting required on the house we had bought. What I wanted to do was to learn Spanish, read the books I never seemed to have time to read when I was working, learn to play the music keyboards I have, see more of Spain and other parts of Europe and generally enjoy my third age in retirement. That is what I propose to do from this September.!

La Casa de Carmen furniture store. This local furniture store has recently opened a new large showroom, below a block of flats along Avenida Federico Mayor Zaragoza and near to the bus station in Salobreña. The new showroom, painted dark red on the outside, is 1,000 sq/m in size and has everything you could want for your home, be it modern or the more traditional furnishings. When you enter La Casa de Carmen you will be met by welcoming and attentive staff, who can show you the many items they have for sale, or you can wander round and take your time looking at them for yourself. They have furniture for the lounge, dining room, bedroom, garden, also lighting for both inside the house and outside. There are traditional and modern mirrors and pictures to suit all tastes. They also sell table decorations, ornaments, cushions, tablemats, mattresses, etc; indeed everything you could want for your home in high quality furnishings at a competitive price. La Casa de Carmen offers a special service to help you to furnish a room in your home, or to fully furnish your house or flat! This Home furnishing plan means that you can go along with your requirements and, of course, your budget and they will offer a series of choices of different furnishings to suit your requirements. There is parking near to the showroom and you can choose your furnishings from their large selection at your leisure. La Casa de Carmen offers up to 24-month, interest-free terms and is open on Saturday afternoons! Visit their new showroom to see what they can offer or phone them on 958 612 050 or mobile 660 077 644 I think you will be very pleased with what you see there.

Ashtanga Yoga classes in Salobreña. In the past there have been yoga classes in Salobreña, as reported in this magazine, but the person who ran them, moved away. However, these are now available once more, for both beginners and the more experienced followers of yoga. A Frenchman, called Brice Canipel, who is an experienced teacher and practitioner of the art of Ashtanga Yoga, is running classes for all ages and abilities every Tuesday and Thursday from 09:30 hrs to 11:00 hrs. The classes take place in a room underneath the administration block on the urbanisation Monte de Los Almendros and everyone, wherever you live, is most welcome to attend. There is parking available in the area of the administration block. Brice also tells me, that he is happy to organise special three hour workshops for Ashtanga Yoga, if there is a demand for these sessions from students. The cost of the normal classes is only €30/month! Students need to bring with them, a floor mat to do the exercises on, a blanket to keep themselves warm in the relaxation period after the exercises and to wear appropriate and comfortable clothing. There is also a programme for yoga on Radio Motril (107.7) that you might like to listen to and can be heard every Friday morning from 10:10 hrs to 10:30 hrs. Yoga is good for you. It has therapeutic effects, keeps you supple, alert in mind and body, active and young at heart. Go along and try it out, if you have never exercised in the Ashtanga Yoga way before, and, if you are a little apprehensive or shy, take a friend or friends along with you! You can get more information from Brice Canipel at yogawithbrice@yahoo.com or telephone him on 691 068 476.

Siempre Sabroso is sold. This originally Dutch-owned-and-run bar, on the beachfront in Salobreña, has been sold to a British couple and will be open by the time this edition of the Gazette is published. The new owners, Sarah and Joe, a mother and son combination, will be renaming the business Limon Tapas and will run it as a sports bar, having a wide screen television mounted to the wall and another over the bar. They will welcome everyone, whether you like sports or not, to their new bar/restaurant. Sarah and Joe hope to attract those of all nationalities and quality tapas will be served with every drink. They will also be offering a beach menu! This means that if you are basking on the beach alone, with friends or with your family and you are hungry, then you can buy a hot or cold meal in a container with a drink, for a fixed price. What a great idea for visitors and those who live here alike! They will also be hosting special theme nights, which will be dedicated to musical artists, such as Elvis Presley, Freddy Mercury, etc. The Limon Tapas will be able to seat more than sixty people and serve all kinds of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, as well as a variety of food from a wide menu, from 09:00h until late, all seven days of the week and every week of the year. So, past customers of this bar/restaurant and new ones, go along and sample the service, tapas, drinks and food at this new venture and give them your support! Contact Limon Tapas on 699 616 298.

Good News for all property owners! Remax, the largest estate agents in the world have a base in Salobreña, more than 7,000 offices throughout the world, covering most countries and some 150 in Spain alone! Tom Walker, the owner of the Remax agency in Salobreña, has been approached by a number of property owners, who are looking for a locally based estate agent, with the marketing ability and resources to promote their property worldwide. This could be especially good news for those owners, with luxury properties for sale, on the urbanisations close to Salobreña and who want to tap into a worldwide sales market. For those with luxury properties for sale, at more than €400,000, there is an exclusive contract available to you and having a reduced sales commission of only two percent. To talk to Remax about marketing your property, call at the office, opposite the taxi rank in Salobreña, or ring the office and talk to Tom on 958 617 077.

Road safety is quite different here in Spain than to other parts of Europe. However, those of you who regularly drive into Salobreña and pass the fountain/roundabout by La Bodega and the taxi rank perhaps have noticed the dangerous new streetlights in the area? It is commendable that the local authority has illuminated the numerous pedestrian crossings in this busy part of Salobreña, there is however a substantial flaw in the design and fabrication of these new lights. Where there are two lights coming together from the same base plate, they are joined by a large plate of steel, no doubt to re-enforce them. However, although these pieces of steel have small holes drilled into them they create significant blind spots for pedestrians to hide behind before launching themselves onto the crossings. A matter made worse in the run up to the May elections, as posters had been erected on these steel plates creating even bigger blind spots. I hope the prospective candidates on these posters did not campaign on a policy of road safety! (We also advise that Mr VW driver gives Salobreña an extremely wide berth!)

Beware when parking at Los Moriscos golf club. My wife and I went to play golf as usual, on Thursday 3rd May in Motril. The car park at the club was packed and, as it would be difficult to park there, I parked the car a little way from the clubhouse. We played a four ball and, after four hours, returned to the car to put the clubs and trolleys back into the boot, before having a drink in the clubhouse with the friends that we had played golf with. When I unlocked the car with the remote control, the car lights did not flash in their usual way and I then noticed that the driver’s door lock had been forced open! Fortunately we do not leave anything of value in the car when we go to play golf. Money, mobile phones, etc, are taken with us, but we do leave our normal shoes in the car, after changing into our golf shoes to play the game. Therefore, the only things of value they, he or she, could steal were a pair of ornate slip-on sandals belonging to my wife and a pair of old, but highly polished, brown shoes belonging to me and for which I had bought a new pair of laces that morning, but not had time to put into the shoes! The only thing they stole were my old shoes, but they obviously did not see the laces, as they were still in the car and so were my wife’s sandals! I am now looking for a suspicious character, wearing nicely polished brown shoes, but having worn out laces. If I find him, he can keep the shoes, but I would like to exchange the new laces, which will be useful to him when the ones in the shoes break, for the €87 it cost me for a new door lock! Be careful where you park at the golf club, after all, a thief has more than four hours when you are playing a game, to break into your car and steal anything of value, even if your car, like mine, has an alarm fitted!

Brief Odds and Ends: They are still working on the N-340 at the first entrance to Salobreña, but it’s to complete the road underneath, that will lead from the old village to the cemetery road and allow any funeral parties to get to the cemetery without risking life and limb crossing the N-340, as was the case in the past. They are also working on the new entrances and exits on the N-340 for Salobreña.

A new Football Stadium: Many people will have seen the work in progress, on the wasteland near to the Sports Hall in Salobreña and the N-340 entrance to the village from Motril. If you were not aware, this is the site of the new football stadium and a conscious attempt to keep all the sports facilities in one area. By the way, having seen that rubbish from the new Wembley Stadium recently, could someone explain why it’s called The Beautiful Game? So called athletes who, so we are told, train all week to play for only forty-five minutes each way and, when they have to play extra time, fall down exhausted in a heap! Plus the prices they charge to go to watch it, the price of the programme, a drink, food, etc. need I say more? O.K. so I hate football!

The Skateboard Park: Youngsters around Salobreña can now enjoy this new facility, without putting others pavement and road users in danger, as they have done in the past. The recently completed park is situated near to the Casa Roca cultural centre and opposite the BP garage. It is being used a great deal by youngsters and seems to have been given the thumbs up, catch potential voters whilst they are young I say!

The Bridge to Nowhere: They are still working on the Motril side of this bridge. Now there is a completed roundabout in place, as well as part of the new road, which will lead to the Motril Port and Granada roads. The men working on the site told me, that they hope it will be completed in a few weeks and thus help to improve the movement of traffic during the coming summer months.