the catalunya chronicle issue 14 - december 2010

The Catalunya Chronicle - Issue 14 December 2010 - www.chroniccat.com -

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DECEMBER 2010

In this month’s issue...

A Brief History of Time Part V...Our regular series of history articles returns and concentrates onThe Zenith of The Moors In Spain And Their Decline

Diet tips for Christmas...

Its Written In The Stars...Exclusive to the Catalunya Chronicle, we welcome our newestcontributor - Catalunya resident and Astrologist - Nenufar.Find out what December has in store for you...

How to avoid the pitfalls of overeating throughout the festiveseason.

Another month passes us by as we say goodbye to November and move into December edgingcloser towards another new year and a new decade. Where does the time go?

It almost seems like yesterday that we were eagerly anticipating the start of a new excitingmillennium. As they say time “waits for no man” but is it only me that feels that as we get older lifeseems to move at a faster pace? Perhaps I’m just getting old.

December is a month which naturally contains a great deal of excitement for young children,however for those us of us who have decided to build a new life here in Catalunya, perhaps someof that excitement and spirit of Christmas that we had as a child has an opportunity to resurface.

Due to planned visits to or from loved ones many miles away - It’s a time which enables us toonce again meet, gather and spend a few precious moments with family and special friends.

However, it is also a time when life seems to encourage us to look back and reflect upon thoseacquaintances that we have not heard from, or seen for a while and to re-establish contact onceagain. What I am really trying to say is it shouldn’t be just at Christmas that we take this time outand pause for a moment. Perhaps this calmer period highlights even more the fact that life is sofast-paced these days and the fact that this time is so special due to the fact that we do take timeout for others, instead of getting caught up in the selfish hub-bub of everyday life.

Whatever this Christmas has in store for you , we hope that you have a safe and enjoyable one.

To all of our contributors who I express my thanks to once again for their continued support, theadvertisers and of course you the readers I wish you a very Happy Christmas!!!

COMMUNITY NEWS

for cancer charities SpainFreesiagroup

The 9th Freesia Group Annual Christmas Fair will be held once more at thefabulous Charlie Chaplin’s bar disco and Christie’s pub next door, kindly offeredby Mark Evans and Chris McGrath - many thanks to both of them. Address:C/Falset, in front of Hotels Santa Monica and Las Vegas. The two places togetherare spacious and ideal. Parking is plentiful. The venue will stay open after thefair for a night of music and, hopefully, entertainment.

If you would like a stall or you can spare a few hours tohelp us please contact Pamela Gené on 977 395064 or

[email protected] for further [email protected]

On sale - international foodstuffs(including British goods), gifts, cards &

decorations, toys, books. Tombola.Nearly new clothes. Stalls from local

shops & businesses.Competitions etc. Fabulous raffle for

Christmas hampers & other great prizes.

Hot “Christmas food” and bar till late!

Santa Claus in his Grotto.

Easy directions to Chaplin’s: - drive up from the fountain towards Cap Salou.At the fork take c/Alfons V Magnanìm and turn left at Hotel Caspel. CharlieChaplin’s is on C/Falset, 100 m. down the street on your right. Parking onstreet or car park next door.

ASSOCIATION FOR THE REFUGE ANDCARE OF ANIMALS

Invites you to an

INDOOR CAR BOOT SALEAND XMAS MARKET

ON NOVEMBER 27THAT PARTYCENTRE “SINDICAT”

CAMARLESFROM 10.00 AM UNTIL

1.00PM (SELLERS 9.00AM)STANDS AVAILABLE FROM 5€

(Fresh food allowed)


On Saturday, 16th October, The

Friends of Alcossebre held a special

“Bling Sale” at the Charity Shop.

The day was bright and sunny, and

the event attracted a crowd of people

of many nationalities. The regular

shop stocks had been extended, the

new autumn clothes brought in and,

clearly, people came in search of a bargain!

The picture above shows the busy scene outside the shop in El Centro, Las

Fuentes. An amazing 500€ was raised on the day. The Friends are very

grateful to everyone who supported the Sale and to all those volunteers who

helped with the organisation.

The sale followed the October Committee Meeting at which the 2010 thirdquarter donations to the following organisations were agreed totalling3,500€: The Alcala Comarcal School, the La Mola School in Alcossebre,the Sierra d’Irta School in Alcala, the Alcossebre and the Alcala Pensioners,the Alcala-Alcossebre Roman Catholic Church, the Alcala Amas de Casa,the La Dorada Fishing Club and the Grup Bombos and Tambors “ElRepliquet”, based in Alcala.

All funds raised by the Friends of Alcossebre either in the Charity Shop orat special events, are given to local charities and organisations. Donationsof good, clean clothing, books and bric-a-brac are always welcome, andmay be brought directly to the shop or to the collection points in theAlcossebre and Alcala Pensionistas Clubs. Volunteers to work in the shopor helping sort items in the store are always needed.

The Charity Shop, in El Centro, Las Fuentes, Alcossebre, is open fromMonday to Friday, from 10am to 1pm, and can be contacted by phone on964 414 973.

FRIENDS OF ALCOSSEBRE ‘BLING’ SALE

If you were unable to await the results of the raffle,below is a list of unclaimed prizes.You may be one of the lucky ones!

YELLOW: 175, 195, 199, 238, 247, 259

PINK: 144, 150, 153, 165, 180, 182, 222, 227, 232, 240, 247

BLUE: 70, 232, 238, 239, 277

If you have a winning ticket please contact: Liz on 977 059 783 or Mobile: 619 905 609

Unclaimed Raffle TicketsFreesia Group Christmas Fair El Perelló

Saturday 6th November

CARTES A L’EDITOR


Readers Letters - to the EditorDo you wish to voice your opinion on a particular subject, or feel that our readers could benefit from some usefulinformation that may assist them in settling into the Catalan / Spanish way of life? If so, why not send us a letter - pleaseaddress all correspondence to:

This month we received a letter relating to the ‘rising’ cost of dining out in Spain compared to the UK. How do you feel?Are you getting value for money? Let us know by responding to the address above. We look forward to hearing from you.

I am one of the fortunate people who visits Spain long term. I

have been going to Spain for 10 years now. I am writing to try

to help the wonderful Spanish people to understand why we

Brits are not spending so much money in Spain these days.

It used to be that the Spanish Menu Del Dia was a bargain

costing us and the Spanish working man around £4.60 (GBP) It

was far cheaper than a meal in the UK.

Nowadays the price is around £10 to £12 and whilst we

appreciate that wine is included, the wine in Spain is not

expensive. These days it is possible to eat well in the UK for

around £5 in many, many places. You can check out the menus

on these websites for proof.

www.marstontaverns.co.uk

www.tobycarvery.co.uk

www.harvester.co.uk

Indeed one national chain

sells an excellent all you

can eat carvery for £3.69

(GBP)

www.crowncarveries.co.uk

I recently saw a pair of gents slippers on a market in Spain that

were more expensive than the same item from a store in the

UK.

I think the Euro has cut off the Spanish people from the real

cost of things. It is a great shame that we Brits cannot afford to

spend as much as we used to in Spain but it is an even greater

shame that the Spanish people are having to pay so much in

their day to day lives.

Phil Summers

The Catalunya Chronicle C/ Martirs 6, 43500, Tortosa or alternatively you may email us at [email protected]

PUERTO DEPORTIVO 17/18,12579 ALCOSSEBRE

CHRISTMAS DAY SPECIALDinner including Coffee &Liquor Served at 3.00pm

Live 60’s, 70’s Music & dancing from4.30pm with The TRIO HEATWAVE

ONLY 25 Euros

NEW YEARS NIGHT SPECIALFour Course Menu

Coffee & Cava includedMusic 60’S / 70’S 9.00pm - 2.00am

35 Euros

ASSOCIATION FOR THE REFUGE AND CARE OF ANIMALS

WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO THEIR EARLYCHRISTMAS BUFFET PARTY & DANCE

ON NOVEMBER 27TH 2010 8.00pm - LATE

AT PARTYCENTRE “SINDICAT”, CAMARLES

Live music from Mr Swing & The Four Legends

For further info please call Mave on 678 975 816

Directions to the PARTYCENTRE From the N340 take the turning for CAMARLES Takethe first turning on your left and drive to the end of the road, turn right, then leftand immediately in front of you will be the “SINDICAT” with plenty of parking spacesavailable.


ONCE UPON A TIME...

PROGAT DE TORTOSA www.progattortosa.com

Are you concerned with the way that cats live and are treated on our streets?

Are you aware that one cat can be responsible for producing20,000 descendants in only five years?

Join Progat and you’ll help us, to help them.

Please come and see us!Donations are always welcome.

If you decide to adopt a cat,sterilisation/castration is provided for free.

We have many cats and kittens needing new homes.

Progat Tortosa 977446649 / 630502142

GINESTARBy Jennifer Figuerola

Ginestar is one ofthe villages dottedalong the river Ebro,on the way to MoreD'Ebre, on theopposite side of theriver to Miravet, whereI live. Having drivenpast it so many times,it wasn't a place I tookmuch notice of duringthe first year of living in the area. However, thereare quite a number of English people who havesettled in and around Ginestar, and gradually Ihave met them and become acquainted with thevillage. It has a couple of places to eat, bars, anda great swimming pool, clean and inviting.

Georgina and Norman live in the hills across fromthe village centre. They bought their relativelycheap plot of land in Ginestar and have spent acouple of years now making their placecomfortable and it really is lovely, with greatviews. Both have managed to make new friendsand are well settled into life in Cataluñya.

I was interested to know how they had come tothis point in their lives – busy, active, happy,involved, and what factors, if any, had helpedthem feel welcome. Georgina loves gettingtogether with her friends and is involved with theTiara Group, meeting regularly for coffee and achinwag, or going off on organised jaunts. Thisever-growing group, which now amounts to some70 ladies, quickly gained popularity as a means

to make new friends and pass on usefulinformation and generally help each other outand provide moral support – it can be difficult touproot your life, move out to another country andautomatically slip into a comfortable lifestyle withnew surroundings and new friends. The TiaraGroup is a great way to help you over this barrierand integrate more quickly and easily into thecommunity. Then she also helps out at Arca, thedog home. Being a professional dog groomer ina past life, she is very knowledgeable when itcomes to dogs, whatever the breed, and is happyto give up her time to clip them. So of course shehas met people through this. Free time is aprecious commodity for her these days, as shealso owns a beautiful property in Miravet, literallyon the riverbank, complete with hot tub, whichlucky holiday makers can rent out. This hasmeant meeting many holiday makers throughoutthe year, which all adds to her already busy socialcalendar.

Literally all her other spare social hours are spentwith Norman, supporting his gigs, concerts andmusical evenings. Norman has his fingers inquite a few pies, having made numerous musicalcontacts until eventually forming a band, 'TheFour Legends', with three other musicians. Notonly that, but he has also set up a radio broadcastwith his friend and fellow musician, Josep, onRadio Mora La Nova. A pioneer in this field,Norman's broadcasts are in English, and he isconstantly on the lookout for contributions,snippets of local information, welcoming manydifferent guests to the studio each week to addto the variety of the show. He is passionate aboutproviding a media through which English peoplecan integrate into the local community by sharingviews, ideas and music. His broadcasts are alsolive – a very brave move – every Wednesdayevening without fail at 8pm. It's called 'TheCrossover Show' and literally anyone can phone

in or email him with info, stories or just musicrequests. Recently he has expanded with asecond broadcast in L'Ametlla de Mar. This goesout every Saturday afternoon on Radio Cala, andis called “Still Rockin”. Both stations are onfrequency FM 107.3. As he says, he is your Voiceon the radio: [email protected] or call himon 617162264.

Any regrets, I asked Georgina? Anything youwould have done differently, in hindsight?Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but on the whole,Georgina is happy with her lot here in Catalunya.The access road to their property is probably thebane of her life, if she had to name one. The rainturns it into a perilous descent from the house tothe main road. It stops being a road andtransforms into a mind bending, theme park, logflume-type ride, claiming cars and 4 wheel drivesas casualties , which inevitably means moremoney out the window on hefty mechanic bills toput them right. There is the other minor issue ofplanning permission and what exactly is/is notlegal, but they are here now and not wasting timeworrying about what they cannot change...Essentially, they have forged a comfortable, attimes hectic, but fulfilling life for themselves inthe space of a couple of years. Not bad eh?

To both Norman and Georgina, Ginestar is nowthe place they call home.

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FREESIA GROUP - FIRA DE NADAL


For the second year running – the El Perello “Freesia Group” organised aChristmas Fair - ”FIRA DE NADAL” (held in El Perello on Saturday 6thNovember) dedicated to raising money for Cancer Charities in Spain.

The “Fira de Nadal” – raised over €2,500– all of which will be given to the followingcancer charities:- AECC (The SpanishAssociation Against Cancer - Tarragonaprovince), CNIO (Spanish NationalCancer Research Centre), AFANOC(Association for Children with Cancer –Tarragona province).

The ‘El Perello Freesia Group’ is a localbranch of the ‘FREESIA GROUP’, a registered charity founded in 2002 byex-patriots resident in the Tarragona Province of Catalunya.

The Freesia Group has so far raised over 200,000 euros for cancer charitiesin Spain – a staggering average of over 25,000 euros a year!

The 2010 Christmas Fair featured not only over 40 stalls with a wide varietyof gifts, crafts and produce for sale but also a programme of live musicincluding the popular “Decibels Choir”, “The 4 Legends Rock Band”, “TheBuskers” Folk Group and the “El Perello Youth Choir”.

Norman Jay – who hosts the radio programme – Radio Mora la Nova 107.3FM – kindly DJ’d the whole event for free!

A Barbeque and Bar ran all day andchildren enjoyed visiting “Santa” in his “Grotto” where they received a gift ofsweets and were able to have apersonal photograph taken ofthemselves with Santa.

In addition – the renowned Catalan author, artist and children’s bookillustrator – Mabel Pierola – personally presented the prizes for a Children’sPainting Competition – the entries for which were submitted from each ofthe Catalan year groups in the El Perello Schools. Mabel donated personallysigned illustrated books for the winners - who also each received a prize ofartists materials and a signed certificate.

El Perello is a thriving, forward thinking Catalan village, with approximately20% non-Spanish permanent residents many of whom are integrated intothe local community by their desire and willingness to become involved inthe life and concerns of their host community here in Catalunya.

Over 1,000 people of all nationalitiesfrom the El Perello area (and beyond)visited the Christmas Fair and not onlyenjoyed themselves but also showedwhat can be achieved on a communitybasis – to help those in need – whilsthaving a lot of fun !

The ‘El Perello Freesia Group’ would liketo stress the emphasis on “community”!

Their aim has not only been to raise money to fight Cancer but also toencourage the participation of the local Catalan ‘host’

community of El Perello in their fund-raising activitiesand to foster a sense of ‘joint effort’ & pride incontributing towards helping those in need.

The El Perello Freesia Group have graduallymanaged to cement firm links with the localAdjudamente, Chamber of Commerce, localschools and businesses and within the localpopulation - with the result that the Catalancommunity in the area has been extremelysupportive and helpful towards all their efforts.

It shows a generosity of spirit and welcome towardsthe ex-patriots living in their community and the ElPerello Freesia group is enormously grateful to themfor this!

They have also been fortunate in being able to enlist the help of localresidents who are fluent in Catalan, English & Spanish to help with translationsto enable this event to proceed smoothly.

Some of these are children of ex-patriots who have lived in the area for manyyears and their linguistic skills have been a great help with inter-communityliaison.

So – The Christmas Fair was not only asuccess for raising money for CancerCharities but also - a success forfostering & maintaining a goodcommunity spirit between foreignersliving in Catalunya and the Catalunyans!!

THE DECIBELS CHOIR

THE 4 LEGENDS

THE MAYOR CHATTINGWITH STALL HOLDERS

THE BUSKERS

DEAR DIARY...


24th September 1916

I forgot I had this diary! I've finally got

some spare time! So I thought I would

write in this old diary that my mother

gave to me! She told me to write in it as

much as I could! So here it goes:

Well where do I begin except for today has

been the worst of them all! I've lost my

best friend and some of the other soldiers

in the troop, also my general is injured! I

can't say which trench we were in! But

what I can say is that I appreciate

everything my best friend Charles has

done for me! And I am so fortunate to

have had a friend like him. He was a kind

young lad and had a lovely wife and kids,

he never did a thing wrong until risking

his life for me today, I don't know how I

could repay him for what he's done now

that he's gone. Should I write a letter to

let them know? No I best not, the general

reads the

letters before

they are sent

off and I will

probably be

punished for

him dying

instead of

me! I best not, although, I'd rather be

dead than be here right now, I'd rather

him be here than me, he deserves to live,

he just does. The trench was really dirty

and the green haze was getting worse by

the minute, we finally realised what the

haze was and we all got down on the floor

to try and protect ourselves from inhaling

the toxic fumes but due to only

going just of the base not all of us

thought we would be in serious

danger and a few of us didn't see

the importance of taking our gas

masks. And that is when it

happened I woke up and next to

me was my best friend, I sat up,

tapped Charles, no answer, I then

lay on his chest to check his heart

beat, there was nothing, no

beating, nothing, then I realised I had

something on my face, I couldn't breathe

properly, and that is when I realised what

he had done.

I took off the gas mask and inside it had a

name, 'Charles'. The smell when i took of

the gas mask was like rotten eggs and 3

week old sandwiches! It was horrid, I

couldn't stand it no longer, I scrawled

across the damp trench in desperation to

find my general, hoping he could do

something about Charles, but to my utter

dismay the general seemed unconscious,

and I feared the worst for him too, as I

checked for a heart beat he came out of

his comatose state. It became apparent

that whilst he was wearing his gas mask

he was trying to save his troop by sharing

the mask between them, inhaling a small

quantity of the toxic fumes that had

wiped out many of my fellow comrades,

luckily the general had only superficial

shrapnel wounds and was not seriously

maimed. But by the time I could get him

to speak every last breath of life had

departed my best friend’s body and there

was no saving him.

I had never experienced

anybody do something so

selfless like Charles did

for me today enabling

me to continue on with

my life's journey, by

being a better person and

consider others before

myself just like Charles

did for me.

Farewell for now, general is shouting for

my assistance in helping the rest of the

injured troops back to the safety of our

base to assess and tend to their injuries,

also to unfortunately take the un surviving

comrades including my best friend,

Charles to ' no man's land' and pay our

silent respects to them and their families.

A valuable lesson has been learnt today,

unfortunately it was the hard way. And

Charles' gas mask will always be with me

whenever we leave the security of our base

and I know he will

continue to protect me!

R.I.P Charles, an

honourable friend, never

forgotten and always in

my heart! xx

By Megan Whitehouse

Aged 13 years

Following on from various articles that we have featured in recent editions on friendship and Armistice day, my thanks to one of our regular readers -Joan Sutton, who submitted the following short story written by her grand-daughter Megan Whitehouse.

Megan recently researched the first World War and using some of the information acquired, plus her imagination, she wrote this poignant story abouta day in the life of a soldier in the trenches.

I, like her grandmother, believe she has shown a wonderful insight into the conditions endured by the unsung hero's of the time.


Workshops & Guided ToursBee Keeper MuseumFully Stocked Shop

Av. Catalunya, 23 · 43519 El Perelló (Tarragona) · Tel. 977 49 00 34 [email protected]

Opening Times:Mornings: 9:00 - 13:00Afternoons: 16:30 - 20:00Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 - 14:00(July and August closed)

El Raco deMuria - Mercat Municipal. C/Galetet s/n Parada 8-9,L’Ametlla de Mar 977 457 260

Large range of Organic, GlutenFree, Vegetarian and Dietary

LARGE RANGE OFCHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS

AVAILABLE

HAND MADECHRISTMAS GIFT

BASKETS AVAILABLE

Christmas CustomsChristmas around the world:

In Italy, children receive gifts from the good witch La Befana, old, bent anddressed in black. La Befana was a widowed, childless woman when theThree Kings passed on their way to see the Christ child. When they askedher the way to Bethlehem she was busy cleaning and sent them away.Realizing her mistake, she left to search for the Baby Jesus. To this day sheis still searching going from house to house on Epiphany, January 6, leavinga gift for good children.

Russian children await gifts from Babouska, a farmer's wife who offeredfood and shelter to the Three Wise men on their journey to Bethlehem,Baboushka declined their offer of travelling with them to visit the Christ child.Realizing her error on the eve of Epiphany, she tried unsuccessfully to findthem, but handed the presents she had intended for the infant Jesus tochildren she passed along the way.

In Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico and SouthAmerica, the Three Kings or Wise Men bringChristmas gifts to children, while in Francechildren eagerly await the coming of FatherChristmas or Pere Noel who brings their gifts.

In some cultures, Saint Nicholas travels with anassistant. The old bishop Sinterklass arrives inHolland on December 6 in his red bishop'scostume astride a white horse. In many porttowns, he is said to have sailed in on a ship fromSpain. Beside him walks Black Peter with a blacksack and a book recording each Dutch child'sbehavior through the year. Good children receivea gift from the bishop while bad children may becarried away in Black Peter's sack.

In Germany Saint Nicholas also travels with a helper, known as KnechtRuprecht, Krampus, or Pelzebock, and comes with a sack on his back anda rod or switches in his hand. Saint Nicholas gives gifts to good children,while those who have been bad are punished by the assistant with a fewhits of a switch.

Swedish children wait for the gnome Jultomten, also called Julemanden orJulenisse, who dresses in red and carries a sack of gifts on his back. Heflies in his sleigh pulled by the Julbocker, the goats of Thor, the god ofthunder. Elves, called the Juul Nisse, hide in the attics of families throughoutthe year, eagerly waiting to help him. Children leave bowls of milk or ricepudding in the attic for the elves, hoping they will be empty in the morning.

In Austria and Switzerland it is Christkindl or the Christ Child who arrivesbearing gifts. In some towns children await the Holy Child and in othersChristkindl is a beautiful girl-angel who comes down from heaven bearinggifts.

And in England a thinner version of Santa Claus known as Father Christmas,wearing long red robes with sprigs of holly in his hair, delivers gifts to children.

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY...

Why is it that when you’re driving andlooking for an address you always turndown the volume of the radio?

If 75% of all accidents happen within5 miles of home, why not move 10miles away?

If love is blind, why is lingerie sopopular?

How come you press harder on aremote-control when you know thebattery is dead?

In today’s times if a cemetery were toraise its burial costs would it beblamed on the cost of living.

If quitters never win, and winnersnever quit, what fool came up with,"Quit while you're ahead?"

Why do banks charge you a "non-sufficient funds fee" on money theyalready know you don't have?

"I am" is reportedly the shortestsentence in the English language.Could it be that "I do" is the longestsentence?

A CASE OF TRADITION

NEUVOS AMIGOS


With Christmas 2010 in our sights, I have been chatting to friends andacquaintances from the area to see how easy they had managed to makefriends since moving out to Spain. And you know what? It seems that if thereare two of you then there isn't much of a problem. Couples eat out, visitbars and cafés, join various clubs and quickly hook up with other couplesand the network swiftly spreads like fast-creeping ivy on a tree trunk. Singlefolk however, tell a different story. Besides having twice as much to do onthe finca/in the flat/in the townhouse, there being only one of them, they arecertainly more reluctant to wander into new places alone, preferring to makeone or two bars theirregular haunt. So they endup spending what littlespare time they have inthe familiar bar and tendto have a smaller circle offriends.

So when a time likeChristmas comes around,it's not difficult to imaginequite a few of you singlesout there spending themost part of the festiveseason alone, if you arestaying in Spain, whileyour friends jet off back toEngland to spend the timewith their families there.

Anyway, I suddenly had a brainwave and this is it: a speed date eveningduring the run-up to Christmas to get everyone in high spirits. I have donethis in the UK and believe me, it's a great way to spend an evening.Especially within an ex pat community with all sorts of folk who, for whateverreason, haven't yet met many people to socialise with. Therefore, with thisin mind I have organised the first, fun-filled evening of speed dating, to beheld at

Bar Estación, L'Ampolla, on Saturday, 4th December, 7.30 – 11pm.

If you decide to be brave and go for it, pop into the bar to buy your ticket atthe reduced price for the first evening of 8€. Or telephone me, Jenny, on654 875 163. Places are limited to 25 ladies and 25 gentlemen, so be surenot to leave it too late. You will not be able to buy a ticket on the night, aswe need your contact information and name in advance to prepare the'Speeding Tickets'.

So if you are a speed date old timer, no need to read any more, but for thosewho have never tried this type of entertainment, read on to find out exactlywhat it's all about...

FANCY A FUN NIGHT OUT?Then maybe speed dating is for you. My name is Jenny and it's my job tomake this a great night for you.

HOW IT WORKSDress up, ready for loads of fun.Bring along your ticket, it has yournumber on the back. Plan to arrivein good time so that we can registereveryone, give out 'SpeedingTickets', pens and Comment sheets.Just before kick-off at 8pm,everyone will sit at the table

corresponding to their number. A bell

rings to start the first 3 minute date, and you're off!Write your date's name beside their number on your speeding ticket, as youare bound to get mixed up later on if you forget. The next bell signifies theend of the date. Mark your speeding ticket with a tick or a cross in the spacenext to your date's name, to indicate if you would like to share your contactdetails with them. Then, the ladies remain seated and the gentlemen moveto the next table number and await the bell that begins the second date.Write your new date's name next to their number and enjoy your date...

After the first 5 dates, there will be a 15 min drink/toilet break, after whichthere will be breaks after every 10 dates, up to a maximum of 25 dates.

At the end of the evening, hand in your speeding tickets to me, and have adrink while you fill in the comments sheet – all comments are welcome andcan only improve future sessions if I can tailor them to further suit yourneeds. Within the next 48 hours I will email or phone you with the contactdetails of those wanting to meet you. It's as simple as that.

That's about it. Up to 25 dates in one evening. A great atmosphere. Noawkwardness, pressure or embarrassment. It's a win-win situation, youliterally have nothing to lose. It's the fastest, cheapest way of making newfriends and sometimes meeting that special someone. Plus it's totallyconfidential. I respect everyone's right to withhold or give out their contactdetails. There are no knock backs.

3 MINS TOO SHORT?Believe me, if you don't get on, then 3 mins is plenty! If you do, read on toget the most out of them...

Spend a little time before the evening working out what you would like toknow about someone before you would go out with them and think up 4 or5 questions. Remember,they will want to ask youquestions too. If youneed to, use the ice-breaker questions on thename card. Get your bigconcerns out of the wayquickly, for example, Areyou allergic to cats? Areyou married? Whichfootball team do yousupport? Try to avoid thepredictable, boringquestions: how long haveyou been here? What do you think of it? Do you miss England? 25explanations on the same theme do not make for a fun-filled evening.

IF YOU'RE NERVOUS......smile. First impressions count for a lot. Don't be afraid to make eye contact....be sure to write your date's name beside their number on your speedingticket, or you'll forget who was who...be discreet. Keep your speeding ticket closed during the date....be polite. Even if it's obvious there is no attraction, it's only for 3 minutes.

COLOUR , WHAT SHOULD YOU WEAR?Apparently women are more attracted to men who wear blue. It indicatesstability, dependability and trustworthiness. Bright yellow-green is supposedto put off both men and women. Red is very stimulating and arousing.

GOOD LUCK– SEE YOU THERE!

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The wife says: I heard a noiseThe wife means: I noticed you were almostasleep

The wife says: Do you love me?The wife means: I went shopping with thegirls today and spent too much

The wife says: Am I fat?The wife means: Tell me I’m beautiful

The wife says: You’re... so manlyThe wife means: You need a shave

The wife says: Sure you can watch itThe wife means: Isn’t there something elseon?

The wife says : Are you listening to me?The wife means: Too late your doomed!

The wife says: You wantThe wife means: You Want

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“Yoga Day Out with a difference”Fed up with the daily routine? Want to meet new people or visitsomewhere different? Once a month, why not join a very livelybunch of people for 2 hours of yoga with a difference, followed by afabulous menu of the day at a local restaurant.

Pamela Sharp, Yoga Teacher & Reiki Master, who has lived andpractised in Spain for 35 years is an excellent teacher and alwaysdoes something different. In December we are going to be taughthow to cure ailments by “Tapping”. (No previous experiencenecessary!). The yoga is held at the Town Hall in La Galera from11am to 1pm and afterwards we go to somewhere different for lunch,where the food is always excellent and good value for money. Thewhole day usually costs about €20 and will definitely be no morethan €25.00.

Usually the day out is on the first Friday of the month, but inDecember it will be held on Friday 10th. For further informationplease ring Jeanette Lane at least one week before on 977 477 042or 686 292 823 (mobile).

Further to the Tales From The Riverbankarticle that appeared in our October editionwhich mentioned using squid as bait, wehave received an email from one of ourreaders - Mrs Dena Rowlands, who wouldlike to make keen anglers within our regionaware of a situation that arose when someof her guests were fishing with live bait andreceived a visit from the Agent Rurals...

If you are thinking of coming to Catalonia tofish the River Ebro and have been trawlingthe web sites you could be forgiven forbelieving that fishing with live and dead baitis permitted. Many of the web sites offeringfishing services on the River openly publicisethat they use live eels, mullet, even carp asbait. Beware! Fishing with live or dead fishhas been illegal for some years, and now therules have been tightened even further.

When we first moved here we heard manyconflicting opinions about what was waspermitted and what wasn’t. However, sinceat least 2006 we’ve been aware that baitingwith live or dead fish is prohibited becausewe picked up a “Fishing Rule Summary” fromthe licence office here in Mora d’Ebre. A shorttime later my son had a conversation with anAgent Rural who told him that although it wasprohibited to use fish as bait it was ok to usesomething like squid. And since then, that iswhat we have told our guests. Until now…

In June this year one of our regular guestswas fishing from the Mora d’EbreEmbarcador which is right outside ourapartments. He was fishing for catfish onsquid bought from the supermarket. TheAgents Rurals came by to check his licenceand also asked him to bring in his line. Whenthey saw the squid they announced that hewas fishing with illegal bait. We explained ourunderstanding of the rules, only to beinformed that they had changed in December2009 and that squid was now illegal. Theyalso made a point of telling us that it was theanglers responsibility to keep up to date withcurrent law by checking the Medi Ambientweb site. Our surprise and apologies didnothing to sway them from their intention tomake a legal report. A denuncia wascompleted and the rods were confiscated.

I checked the Medi Ambient site and couldfind no changes to what I had read on therepreviously. The relevant part stated: “The useof dead or live bait fish is prohibited inCatalan Inland Waters”

Some weeks later our guest receivednotification that he was to be fined 601 Euros.The law was quoted and in English translatesas:“Law 22/2009 of 23 December. Article 31.1:prohibits the use as bait of any fish,crustacean or mollusc, in any biological state,

living or dead, and also of insects that do notbelong to the local fauna.”

We helped our guest submit an appeal onthe grounds that the information on the MediAmbient web site was misleading because itdid not specify that using mollusc was illegalin accordance with the new law of December2009. We attached a print-out of the relevantpage. It is now November and we are stillwaiting for the outcome. But, interestingly,the page on the Medi Ambient site hasdisappeared! Removed entirely from the website in all 3 languages, Catalan, Spanish andEnglish! Instead of a brief Law Summary,there is now a link to the entire law – all 29pages of it – in Catalan only.

The removal of the misleading page makesus hopeful that in this instance the appeal isgoing to be upheld. Of course, the fact thatthere is now a link to the entire law removesany possibility of future appeals being madeon the basis of a lack of information.

So, make no mistake: fishing with anykind of live or dead bait - be it fish,

crustacean or mollusc is prohibited onthe Catalan stretch of the Ebro and the

fines are heavy.

I’ll advise you of our outcome as soon as wehave it and intend to translate a summary ofthe new laws and relevant fines in English assoon as I have it.

VIDA BUENA


A WALK A DAYThe popularity of walking as a fitness activityis growing by leaps and bounds. Low risk andeasy to start, walking has proved its healthbenefits in numerous studies. A classic eight-year study of 13,000 people conducted at theInstitute for Aerobics Research under thedirection of Dr. Steven Blairfound that those whowalked the equivalent of30 minutes a day had asignificantly lower risk ofpremature death thanthose who rarelyexercised.

A regular walkingprogram can help:• Reduce blood cholesterol• Lower blood pressure• Increase cardiovascular endurance• Boost bone strength• Burn calories and keep weight down

Get ReadyA walking program is simple to start. All youneed are comfortable clothes and shoes. It isa good idea to layer loose clothing, keeping inmind that exercise elevates the body’stemperature. Shoes specifically designed forwalking are your best option.

Every workout should begin with a brief warm-up and a few simple stretches. Walk aroundthe house or in place for a few minutes to getthe blood flowing to the muscles before youattempt to stretch them. Although walkingprimarily works the major muscles of the legs,don’t forget to stretch your back, shouldersand arms. This will help to loosen up anytension you may be carrying and make yourwalk more enjoyable, as well as moreeffective.

Get MovingBeginning walkers can make their workoutsless strenuous by limiting how fast and farthey walk. Keep the following in mind: • Walk short distances—Begin with a five-minute stroll and gradually increase yourdistance. • Forget about speed—Walk at a comfortablepace. Focus on good posture, keeping yourhead lifted and shoulders relaxed. • Swing your arms naturally—Breathe deeply.If you can’t catch your breath, slow down oravoid hills. • Be sure that you can talk while walking—Ifyou can’t converse, you are walking too fast.

Get Fit!Walking is one fitness activity that allows younumerous options. Once you have reached a

point where you can walk a few miles withrelative ease, you can start to vary theintensity.

Walking hills, in addition to increasing yourcardiovascular endurance, is a great way totone the legs. Concentrate on lengtheningyour stride or increasing your speed. Anddon’t forget to reward yourself after eachworkout with a few minutes of relaxingstretches to help prevent sore muscles.

Listening to lively music while you walk is alsoa great way to energize your workout. But ifyou wear headphones, keep the volume downand watch out for traffic that you may not hear.

Keep track of your progress.Many experts recommend that you walk aminimum of 30 minutes a day, but there are nohard and fast rules. Fit walking into yourschedule whenever you can. That may meanthree 10-minute walks each day, or even hour-long walks two to three times a week. The bestschedule is one that keeps you walking andkeeps you fit!

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WORD PLAY ANAGRAM

That's one small step for a man, one giant leapfor mankind." -- Neil A. Armstrong

Becomes

A thin man ran; makes a large stride; leftplanet, pins flag on moon! On to Mars!

LES MASCOTES


The December Issue; Wow, can this really be true?Has time flown by so quickly? Another year haspassed and it's almost Christmas again. I haveenjoyed writing for you for a whole year and hopethat the information I've tried to provide has beeninteresting and helpful to you.

For this last month of the year 2010 I have decidednot to write an entire article, but instead to give youa few updates on previous articles and a few safetytips to enjoy the Christmas season with your pet.My furry four legged crew and I wish you all a veryMerry Christmas and a splashing New Year 2011.

Leishmaniasis

My Rottweiler whowas diagnosed withLeishmaniasis inMarch is doing great.The treatment seemsto have worked, andshe shows no signs ofsickness anymore. 2weeks ago her bloodtests confirmed thatshe is as good as new

and that she should continue to live a happy andhealthy life. Currently she does still remain on themedication regimen to ensure the disease nottaking hold again, but that's a small inconvenienceconsidering what we went through and what couldhave happened. I'm very happy that all turned outas well as it did. Sadly though, another 2 of my 4dogs have just been tested positive forLeishmaniasis. Unbelievable! They too receiveall the prevention possible to avoid contracting thisdisease, and still they have managed to beinfected. Pfew! Well, here we go again with thetreatment and all that .... only now with doubletrouble. Still little is known about this disease, butI do have a bad feeling that if 3 of my 4 dogs getinfected though I've taken all the preventivemeasures, then many many more dogs must beinfected with this disease than we care to know.I have a gut feeling that this promises nothing goodfor the future. I can only hope that a goodpreventative, a cure or vaccine can be found soon,before it gets much worse.

Spay & Neuter Mission #2In the first week of November the second Spay &Neuter Mission took place. We thank everyonewho participated in the fundraising, and all ourdonors for making this financially possible. It wasa great success again, and we managed to neuter22 shelter dogs, that are now waiting to be adoptedinto new loving homes. We had many volunteershelping out with lunches, animal care, andtransportation, and everyone participated withgreat enthusiasm. If we can manage to raise thenecessary funds, we are hoping to realize yetanother Spay & Neuter Mission next spring. Theshelters, Vets and Volunteers, in any case, areeager and ready. If you'd like to make a financialcontribution or volunteer for the project, pleasecontact me via [email protected]

Stray Dogs ... or are they?

2 weeks ago a stray dogappeared in my finca. Thepoor thing was quite skinnyand obviously hadn't hadenough food in a while. Sometype of a weird hunting dogcross that looks like a largeskinny shorthaired fox. A verycute and sweet animal whoimmediately wanted to bepetted and become part of the pack. Of coursethere is no way I can take in another stray and addit to my overfull household. But on the other hand,I cannot simply look at its sweet starved eyes, seeits ribs stick out, hear it cry, and then turn my head.So yes, I gave it some food. My intention was tosee if I could somehow against all odds find it'sowner, and if not take it to a shelter. Before I couldgood and well make the time to make a plan torealize this search ... 2 more dogs appeared! Yes,am I lucky or what! This time it was a big GermanShepherd and a small long haired companion.Very cute to see this odd couple interact. Thesetwo as well were very sweet and good natured,and snoozed in my olive harvest nets all day. Afterthe nets and olives were cleaned up though andnight came, they still hadn't left. I was convincedthat these two must have a good homesomewhere, as sweet and well kept as they were,and so after 2 days I set out to ask some randompeople in the area if they were missing any dogs.And what do you know, it worked. Quite a longway down my street, a Spanish gentlemen saidthey were his, and immediately came to pick themup. He took one look at the fox look alike andmanaged to tell me that this was his neighboursdog who'd been searching for him for 2 weeks.He promised to send him to collect the dog. I wasthrilled that these sweet dogs actually had ownersand that i managed to find them, and that I onlyhad one"stray" dog left. But when I woke up the nextmorning, 3 pairs of eyes greeted me through thewindow ... Well, at least I know how to reach theirowners, but I wish people would take more care inleaving their dogs to roam around free. I still don'tunderstand why they won't put any collars on themto make the search easier when found. I mustremember to ask next time.

Christmas Safety Tips

The holiday season isa great time for ushumans, and we enjoydecorating our houseand garden in theChristmas spirit. To ourpets however, some ofthese decorations can

pose a health risk, and it's good to be aware of thepossible dangers. Here are some tips to keep theChristmas season jolly and your pets safe...

- Make sure your pets do not drink the water fromthe Christmas tree or any water which may containfallen tree needles, don't feed your pets chocolateor let them nibble on Christmas plants such as theChristmas-star. All of these are poisonous.- Your tree should be well fixated if you have pets.You may even want to tie up the tree near the topto something sturdy. A kitty can bring down aChristmas tree in a split second while exercisingits call for the wild.- Watch out with your tree decorations. Shinydangling ornaments are irresistible for kitties andsome playful dogs. A dog can be seriouslywounded if an ornament is ingested, and a kittycan end up with nasty cuts and wounds if anornament should fall and break. You can alwayshang plastic or paper ornaments instead of glassballs, and you could avoid hanging them near thebottom of the tree.- tassels or angel hair can be fatal when ingested.- and Champagne corks can result in anemergency Vet visit for your dog.

Hopefully these tips will help to keep your pets safethis Christmas season.

While you are celebrating a warm and cozyChristmas with lot's of food, presents, loved ones,and furry companions, please remember that thereare many lovely pets waiting for a new home inyour local animal shelter. If you can't adopt one foryourself, maybe you could help giving the shelteranimals a Happy Christmas by bringing them afood donation, a financial donation, old blankets,or simply go by to give them some lovingChristmas cuddles. They will love you for it.

Have a Safe and Merry Christmasand a Happy New Year !

By Meike Knol

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Pets leave paw prints on your heartFor this last month of the year 2010 we would liketo present only one animal to you. One dog whodeserves to shine in the spot light.

Rico was the Shelter May-Day in the March edition,and sadly he still has not been adopted. We wouldlike to tell you his story again in the hopes thatsomeone will fall in love with this lovely animal andadopt him.

Rico is a beautiful German Shepard Mix. He isyoung. Only about one or two years old.

This beautiful animal came to the shelter throughthe police, and sadly nothing is known about hispast. Rico is a shelter emergency because he is tooscared to adapt well to the shelter surroundings.Though he is not small in size, the other dogs in hisfree-run pen pick on him and have pushed him tothe lowest ranks. He is getting more scared by theday and is beginning to wither away.

Rico desperately needs to find a home of his own,with a responsible loving owner, who can help himrestore the confidence that this type of dog shouldhave.

Once this beautiful dog has regained its self-esteemand has adjusted to its new surroundings andfamily, Rico could be anything you had want him tobe. Granted, he probably would never make a greatbig nasty guard dog, but a playful companion isdefinitely in his cards. With the right amount of time,love, and attention, Rico could adjust to anyenvironment.

When you see him in the shelter surroundings, hecrouches and tries to hide from you in the farthestcorner of his pen. He is too scared to move andeasily gets overlooked as other hyper and excitedspecimens rush to greet visitors.

Those who do notice him, say "ah, what a sweetscared animal. poor thing" and walk on.

But if someone would only give this sweet creaturea chance, he could finally show what a wonderfuldog he could be. Rico is not as large as a Germanshepherd. He is actually more the size of aLabrador retriever but then with the beautiful coatcolouring of a German shepherd.

Though right now he is very scared of everyoneand everything, he quickly makes friends. If youjust spend a little quiet time with him, he beginsto trust you and snuggles up to you. He loves tocuddle and slowly pushes his whole body closerand closer towards yours until he almost pushesyou over. Slowly but surely you feel the shiveringsubside and his body starts to relax. As he'scalming down and the fear subsides, he is gettingtired. So tired. You feel the weight of his body inyour arms as he seems to be falling asleep. Thefear and utter terror that this poor animalexperiences every day in the shelter is costinghim so much energy, that when he finally feelsthe safety of some human arms around him, heactually literally relaxes, forgets the demons, andsurrenders to the safety and tranquility. Sadly thiscould only be for a short while.

Though many scared dogs are difficult tointegrate in a home, this one isn't. He's reallysweet natured and is not a fear-snapper. He getsalong well with other dogs and probably any othertype of animal, as long as they don't beat him up.All he really needs are loving arms to protect him,provide him with security, and give him a lovingenvironment.

If you are the saviour for this poor animal, pleaserush to the shelter to adopt him. He has beenwaiting to be rescued for much too long already,and every minute longer is pure terror for him.

Make this sweet, scared dog's Christmas a happyone. Make the new year 2011 the first good yearof his life. Please give him a second chance.

You can find Rico in the No-kill Animal Shelter"Alberg d'animals de les Terres de l'Ebre" inCamarles. The new centre is located on CamiFilato which turns off the N-340 next to Mangrane.Open daily 10:00 – 13:00(English, Deutsch, Nederlands, Espanol/Catalan)www.albergdanimals.com

RICO

WE SPEAK THE ABOVE LANGUAGES FLUENTLY

[email protected]/Ramon I Cajal, 22Deltebre 43580 // TGNT: 977 481 525M: 628 496 209

WORD PLAY ANAGRAM(From Hamlet by Shakespeare)

To be or not to be: that is the question,whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer theslings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

Becomes

In one of the Bard's best-thought-of tragedies,our insistent hero, Hamlet, queries on two

fronts about how life turns rotten.

A MISCELLANY


PARSON PAUL’S DIARY . . . .One of the privileges of being a Vicar in Britain is that you get to visit schoolsand take part in class assemblies. And since schools seem to startpreparations for Christmas as early as the supermarkets, I seem to havebeen to a lot of school carol services – some more formal than others.

There are lots of stories about school nativity plays where things didn´t quitework out as planned. A shy child was encouraged to play one of the threewise men and couldn´t quite manage his lines – so the doting parentswatched the following drama...

Wise man 1: “See I bring gold – kingsare crowned with this!”Wise man 2: “See I bring myrrh – peopleare buried with this!”Nervous wise man 3 – (long pause):“Err, Frank sent this!”

Or there was a play where a buddingyoung actor wanted the part of Joseph

but was made the Innkeeper. He wasdetermined to get his moment of glory so when the donkey arrived with Maryand Joseph asking “Do you have room in the inn?” the innkeeper threw openthe door and said “Of course, we do – come right on in!” The actor Joseph,who had been cast for his quick wits, turned to Mary and said “No, Mary.This is too good for the likes of us. We can make do with the stable!”

Even music can lead to complications as one Vicar found when he asked aclass of children to choose their favourite Christmas carol. A persistent younglad would not accept that Jingle Bells did not fit into the Carol Servicefollowing the Bible story of the birth of the Messiah.

Nowadays the sacred and the secular become easily blurred. The holymessage of Christmas can be drowned out by the merry ringing of the cashregisters and I feel great sympathy for shop-workers who endure eight hoursa day of jolly Christmas tunes being played in their stores every day. I doubtthey welcome a church Carol Service singing “O Come all ye faithful” yetagain.

But I am not one of those Vicars who rages about the commercialisation ofChristmas.

The truth is that Jesus was not born on 25th December and the birth inBethlehem is much more likely to have been in March. It is too cold, even inIsrael, for shepherds to watch their flocks on the hills above Bethlehem inDecember.

And however lovely carols like “Inthe bleak midwinter” might soundthey do not give a proper image ofwhat actually happened on the firstChristmas. Most of the Britishimages of the Festive Season datefrom Victorian times, with cards,snow scenes, and the trimmings –and the poor - but happy image ofCharles Dickens “A ChristmasCarol”. Long before then cleverChristian missionaries had spotted the midwinter festival of Yule and latchedonto a jolly good party. Where better than to introduce the Christmas storythan at this time of the year? So Christians hi-jacked a pagan festival tomake Christmas.

A Vicar friend of mine once dared to point all this out to her congregation –including facts like there is no mention in the Bible of a donkey carrying Maryto Bethlehem, nor do we know that there were animals in the area used as

a stable – they had probably been pushed out because the stable was beingused as overspill accommodation. One churchgoer told my Vicar friend “Youhave ruined my Christmas!”

But this curious mix of fact andfiction, tradition and fable, oughtto make us go back to thebasics of the Christmas story. Itwas a very simple businesswhich, over the years, we havemade complex. And thesimplest of truths is that Godchose to get involved in humanhistory – to be born as a human,to live among us and die for us.If we let that basic truth into ourhearts and minds we shall havea truly Happy Christmas.

For me it will, as usual, be a busy time.We have Carol Services in El Perello on 17th December at 8pm, then onSunday 19th in Vinaros at 10am and Alcossebre at 7.30pm.

Our Christmas Communions begin in Ampolla on 24th December at 4pm,then we celebrate in Vinaros on Christmas Day at 10am and in Alcossebreat midday.

You will be very welcome at any of these.

Drop in for a coffee and chat.

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OPEN EVERY TUESDAY & FRIDAY11.00am - 2.00pm

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We have noted the advancing periods of earlySpanish history in earlier episodes of thispublication and have noted the periods when theGreeks, Romans and the Goths plus others,played a part in the formation of the country wenow call Spain. Of all the preceding nations orstates that played in this important formation, byfar the longest period under foreign domination orinfluence was that of the Moors who some claimruled Spain for 800 years. This is not strictly true,they never ruled all Spain – they found like theirpredecessors the people of the north were not inthe mood for interlopers to tell them what to donever mind tax them. It was these people, strongwilled to the degree almost of total obstinacy thatcan lay claim to the Spanish modern day attitudeof indifference to law. The moors inhabited 80%of Spain for 375 years, about 50% for a further 160years and the tiny Kingdom of Granada for the final244 years. During this 779 year period they canonly lay claim to ruling a maximum of ¾ of the landmass of Spain.

Maximum lands controlled by the Moors in 790

The northern tribes, (Christians) fought bitterbattles in order to retain their lands, in between theChristian and the Moors was a sort of no mansland which had no fixed boundaries and whichebbed and flowed like the tide subject to theallegiance of who ever ruled the barren centralswath of land. Sometimes, Christians foughtalongside the Moors fighting their fellow Christiansonly to change side years later. A perfect exampleof this is El Cid, the iconic Spaniard of present daySpain (and Hollywood) gives the honour andaccolade of a saviour and fighter for a united land..At this moment, we shall consider the period ofMoorish influence from their zenith until their finaldeparture in 1492

Everywhere you travel in Spain your eyes see thelasting benefits of the Moors, the citrus fruits,pomegranates, irrigation, universities, landscapedterraces, mosques and other spectacularbuildings, intricate silverware and embellishedleather crafts plus many, many more items wereintroduced into Spain during their period here.They were masters of arithmetic, medicine andalchemy and their scholars excelled the rest ofEurope in astronomy, botany and geography. It’seven noted that a ruler of the northern Christianlands came south to be treated by a doctor ofMoorish origin, and with the blessing of theCaphliph, halting his campaign against the Moorsuntil the treatment was over and fully recoveredhe resumed his campaign against his adversaries,the Moors.

There was a period during the Moors rule that allreligions of the day were recognised, after all theyworshiped the same God. Churches were usedon Friday for the Jewish faith, Saturday for theIslamic faith and Sunday for the Christians.Perhaps we could all take a lesson from this. TheIslamic fundamentalists in northern Africa saw thisas ‘backsliding’ by the ruling Moorish junta in Spainand an army lead by the son of a street lamplighter( yes, by 1126 the streets of some large northAfrican towns were lit by oil lamps!) came to Spainand forcibly ejected their ruling brethren and

introduced a more harsher version Islam so wenow had Moors fighting Moors who in turn werefighting Christians who sometimes foundthemselves fighting Moors and Christians –confused?- not half as much as any of the fighters!What eventually came out of all this was a gradualshrinkage of Spanish lands ruled by the Moors. Attheir zenith, the Moors approx. 80% of all Spanishlands stretching from Porto in the west to a pointapprox. at the mouth of the Ebro including theislands of the Balearics, this was around the year910. By the year 1150, this had shrunk to a linefrom Lisbon to the Ebro and the islands with theKingdoms of Aragon, Castilla and part of theKingdom Portugal regaining their independencefrom the rule of the Moors. This came aboutthrough a ‘Holy War’. The Christians in the northhad rallied around Santiago El Matamoros, St.James the Moor Slayer and his shrine atCompostela which had been the subject of a raidby the Moors who removed the bells andreinstated them in the Great Mosque in Cordoba.

S a n t i a g oMatamoros ("Saint James the Moor-slayer"). St. Jamesis on horseback and a beheaded Moor lies on theground, by the 15th-century Flemish-Spanish painterJuan de Flandes.

This fired the Spaniards in their Holy War and itbecame a matter of principle to retake theCathedral bells as well as all the lands of Spainfinally for the Spaniards. Payment for the dutiesgiven was by the giving of lands and the hidalgos(Knights) who came into ownership of the landpracticed a strict code of conduct that glorified landand forbid business activities and manual labour,a code that would eventually lead to one of thevices having a direct input into the Civil War of1936 – 38. At this time, Spain was not wholecountry but a collection of lands ruled by variousKings. The time for the unity of Spain as a single,united country was not yet but the seeds werealready sown in the marriage of Isabella, Queenof Castilla and Ferdinand, the King of Aragon onOctober the 19th in the year 1469.

THE ZENITH OF THE MOORSIN SPAIN & THEIR DECLINE

Land controlled by the Moors prior to their expulsion.

Land controlled by the Moors 900

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME PART V

By Brian Hall

MORE HISTORY...


This marriage brought about the unification of thetwo houses, Castilla and Aragon and made for thelargest power broking area in Spain. But beforethis battles had to be fought, won and sometimeslost in the ebb and flow and amidst all this, theKingdom of Catalonia was busy doing its ownthing, expanding its trade into the eastern part ofthe Mediterranean. Catalonia had its own army,sparing some of its men to fight the cause againstthe Moors but it needed men to defend its ownnew territories to the east for it had a fight to facewith Turks. The Catalans were a proud nation whodid not care for unity with the rest of Spain but bymarriage, they were forced down the path of totalunion, a forced marriage which Spain had to sufferthe consequences for centuries to come. Whenthe time came for the Catalans to swear allegianceto the King, the Catalan parliament had sufficientclout that the rights of the ruled were protected bythe justice, a kind of watchdog to safe guard thepeople of Catalonia, the spirit of which just aboutsums up the people and the will power of theCatalans today, the wording is :-

‘We, who are as good as you,Swear to you how are no better than we,Accept you as our king and sovereign Lord,Providing that you accept all our liberties andlaws,But if not not.’

This was delivered to the King, who was kneelingwhilst the justice sat. In all the centuries to come,this law sat with great difficulty with all the rulersof Spain including Franco who learned to his totaldislike, the stubbornness of the Catalan people.

To write about the period of the Moors conquestis difficult within the pages of this newspaper, forwithin the 779 years of occupation so muchhappened in the fermentation that was to producea totally united country. Three religious entitieswere involved, the Christians, the Moors and the

Jews whom of which I have not written but will doso in the next episode. The Christians drew upontheir faith with the help of the Holy See in Rome,in fact a Holy War, (Crusade) was declared.Likewise with the Moors, who practiced Islam,drew from the then centre of the Islamic faith,Baghdad. Add to this important and colourfulcharacters such as:-

Ramiro, the brother of Alfonso I of Aragon who atAlfonso’s death (no heir) was persuaded to leavehis religious position as a monk for a short periodin order to sire a daughter who in turn was marriedto Count Ramon Berenguer IV thereby uniting theHouses of Aragon and Catalonia and sealingCatalonia’s fate with the unity of Spain.

El Cid, basically a mercenary fighter, who initiallyfought for the highest bidder, be they Moor orChristian. He went on to rule Valencia and diedwhilst fighting the Moors.

Pedro the Cruel (his followers called him thisbehind his back, his official title was ‘TheDispenser of Justice’) who became the ruler ofCastilla and was very proficient at murder. Hecame into the possession of a large ruby, againby murder. When he called upon Edward, theBlack Prince of England to do him a favour, hepaid the Prince with the ruby which now forms partof the Imperial Crown in the Tower of London.

Pedro de Luna, cardinal of Aragon, who becamePope Benedict XIII and was later declared ananti-pope.

The next sequel will deal with the two tragic eventsthat modern day Spanish history teachers declareas the most far reaching errors of the formation ofthe Spanish nation, the final expulsion of theMoors and the Jews and the single event that sentSpain on its conquest of the Americas, theappointment of Christopher Columbus.

Isabella and Ferdinand

With visits to actual crossing points, newly restored trencheshigh above Asco, the pictorial museum dedicated to the

International Brigades at Faterella and a visit to Hill 548 wherefurther trenches and a recently discovered mass grave of

French volunteers is to be found, this tour brings to the fore thesacrifices made by ordinary people around the world in the fight

against fascism. Highly recommended.

Walking on this tour is approx. less than 1kmover the whole day.

Access to all sites visited is good for cars.Sensible footwear and clothing.

Price 22 euros per person

Watercolour, ‘The summit of Hill 705’by Brian Hall

AV, Barcelona, 67 Edifici“Marfil” local 1 43892

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GROWING NICELYTHE APPEAL OF THE POPPY


I, like most people bought a poppy badge this year,both to commemorate Armistice Day, and tosupport the British Legions appeal. I alwaysthought the poppy had no real significance for megrowing up, in post war London; it was just a prettywild flower. However the symbolic meaning I hadunconsciously internalised and attributed to thisdelicate small poppy caused me to have a verypowerful mind awaking visual experience when Iwas in my twenties.

In the mid sixties I was commissioned to fly toBelgium as part of an advertising contract for anold rail passenger carriage that was being carefullyrestored. It was in fact the first carriage of manythat would eventually become a modern railway,the new ‘Orient Express’. I travelled to the LowCountries with the notion that it was just anotherprofessional commission, with absolutely no ideathat it would change my view of the world.

Upon arriving on a clear bright spring day, I wastaken by taxi to the site, somewhere in a field. AsI emerged from the cab, I was shocked at my ownintense reaction, as I looked around at the mostbeautiful and in the same moment heartbreakingsight, I was deeply moved and brought to tears atthe sight of a field of red poppies disappearing intothe horizon, as far as the eye could see, in the thefield stood a diminutive old railway carriage,standing in an sea poppies like some ghost of thedead rising up, a resurrection , midst wild bloodred corn Poppies, Papaver rhoeadifolia. I waspuzzled and unable to believe the force of theimpact of such a simple sight.

I had no idea at the time I was actually in theFlanders fields, later I learned that this was one ofthe actual battle sites of World War I. I can onlybelieve the impact of the scene was so powerfulfor me because it tapped into my unconsciousinterpretation of the poppy, I have never felt sucha powerful impact since, although I have visitedmany battle fields around Europe. This experiencegave me a personal insight into the power of

symbols which we oftenunconsciously absorb fromsociety, art, religion and oureducation. It has given me alifelong interest in people’spersonal emotional reactions tographic visual stimulus, inparticular the symbolic use ofplants.

The poppy is mentioned byOvid (43BC - AD17) the Romanpoet and philosopher. Hedescribes sleep as a cavernthat lies at the end of a lush fieldof poppies mixed with other herbsfrom which the god of the night‘gathers the drowsiness’. The poppy is alsoassociated in mythology with Morpheus from whichwe derive the name of our modern drug Morphine.The Greek god of sleep, Hypnos, is customarilyrepresented wearing a crown of opium poppies,P.somniferum. However, later it was the wild cornpoppy that was absorbed into Christian doctrine;the vivid blood red is symbolic of the passion anddeath. Frequently used in Renaissance paintings,the painting

Madonna with the Rose by Kassa Master (ca 1500)shows the Madonna holding a Rose, an attributeof the virgin Mary with many complex meaningincluding Love, Purity and Martyrdom, but it’s thecorn poppy held by the Christ child Jesus, whichalludes to his future passion. In Raphael’s (1506)very beautiful painting, Madonna of the Meadow,

the field poppy is clearly andgraphically a symbolic of thePassion of Christ.

Since antiquity, the olive tree hasbeen a symbol of peace in everyculture and religion of theMediterranean basin. It wasinitially Minerva, who accordingto mythology was the victor withher gift of an olive shoot, in acompetition against Neptunewho called up a spring of water,the Greek council of godsconsidered the olive of greatervalue than water. Although awarrior goddess, Minerva foughtto maintain law and order, thus

its association to peace. In the OldTestament it is God who gives the

dove an olive branch to deliver amessage of peace to Noah, to mark the end of theFlood. According to the Bible the sermon in thegarden and the ascension into heaven both takeplace on the Mount of Olives. My final example,in the early painting, ‘Allegory of GoodGovernment’ by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1337) Peacewears a crown of olives.

The many olive trees, which are at this momentheavily laden with their harvest of liquid gold, adda much appreciated special peace and tranquillityto my garden/finca, as I write this on the 11th dayof the 11th month.

Recently we held an exhibition of sculpture andinstallations, most of which have been situated inthe garden, and amongst the olive trees. We askedthat no young people under the age of 16 attended,because the exhibition explored tragic and painfulhistorical references, as well as containing adultimagery, each person who visited the exhibitionbrought their own internalised symbolic imagerythrough which each of us sees and interprets theworld, so different sculptures and installations hadfor each person a very different impact.

The ancient gods were present amongst thesculptures, the Greek/Roman god of the grapeharvest and revelry, Dionysus/Bacchus adornedour wall and many accepted his invitation to joinhim in revelry and had their photograph taken withhim. It was Dionysus, who according to Greekmythology was father of the god Priapus, (the godfrom which we derive the modern medical termPriapism) which was represented at our gate, asan interactive installation of a huge phallus, madeout of reclaimed metal and which caused muchhumour, I find it amusing, that although poorPriapus was cursed by Hera to be ugly andimpotent, whilst still in the womb of his beautifulmother Aphrodite. He is still remembered to thisday as a Satyr, a spirit of fertility and growth,although he was perennially frustrated by hisimpotence! His primary task for the people washowever, to act as the god of the countryside, ofGardens, to protect livestock and the vegetableharvest.

The artist rescued an innocent tree root from thewoodpile several years ago, mentioning it was toointeresting to burn, in the exhibition it turned into agolden, coin studded sculpture set on a stand athead height and as you examined it carefully youcouldn’t but help seeing your own reflection in the

STILL GROWING...


cleverly mounted mirror, named not Midas but ‘Theroot of all evil’ leaving you to contemplate exactlywhat or who was the root of all evil!

I like very much and will keep the ‘couple’ madefrom pieces of metalwork and artfully sculpturedinto ‘a woman in a new hat taking her newhandbag and husband for a walk’; they werebeautiful, seen at sunset against the falling leavesof our Paper Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera.

Several terraces below the house have beenturned into the representations of the unknowngraves of the disappeared from Catalunya andalso those from all over the world, wherethroughout history families have not been able to

discover the fate of their loved ones. Suspendedfrom the trees, gazing into the graves were two,four legged spider monsters with horrid faces. Thespider represents the devil as a symbol in theChristian tradition, because perhaps it ensnaresits prey in much the same way the devil luresmankind into a web of terrible sin, making themperfectly situated above the graves.

Although I am afraid of spiders I never kill them ordestroy their webs because I appreciate theirpresence and the beneficial effects on my garden.Personally I tend to prefer the Greek myth, that awrathful Minerva turns the young woman Arachne,into a spider for boasting of her weaving skills andchallenging the goddess herself. I always marvelat the beauty of the intricate weaving of a spider’sweb, it is one of the gifts of my garden that it allowsme to enjoy the incredible works of nature whichis so interconnected into my culture and education.

When the terrace of ‘The Disappeared ‘have beendismantled, I will grow a field of wild corn poppyseeded together with sweet wild AlyssumLobularia maritimum to follow the short floweringperiod of the poppies, and extending the floweringseason for many months giving an intoxicatingperfume that will float up toward the house andlast for almost the rest of the year.

This will be a small remembrance not only to theart installation and all that it represents, but alsoto the disappeared of the world wars. In this timeof remembrance, to remember to those tens ofthousands, whose bodies were never recoveredfrom the trenches; “.... that there is some cornerof a foreign field that is forever England.”Rupert Brooke (03.08.1887-14.06.1915)

Heather Charlton

The Exhibition raised money for bothAmnesty International and Red Cross(Spain).

Thank you to all of you whocontributed; we had over 85 Euros inour small box and will donate morethan 120 Euros.

Thank you

Heather Charlton & Sarah Massie

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THE ‘ART OF THE MATTER


Several visitor’s observations of the recent ArtExhibition held in Camarles by the artist SarahMassie

On the 1.11.2010,Sarah’s Art Exhibition ather home in the Camarlesregion was opened to thepublic for one week. Themany visitors werestopped in their tracks bya prolific display of uniqueand often puzzling worksof art. Sarah mingledwith visitors explaining the

concept and evolution ofeach piece to those who asked. Many piecessimply spoke for themselves. Under 16s werenot allowed in and for good reason. Each piecerevealed a dark glimpse into the diverse spectrumof life and death. This was no conventionalexhibition and I doubt whether you will everencounter an exhibition such as this again. Theart pieces included a series of human formsmodelled out of both ordinary and extra ordinarymaterial. These ‘human’s conveyed a visualimage of humanity, and inhumanity. We foundimagery of joy, desolation, unspeakable pain andunspeakable pleasures in their mostconfrontational forms. Well, what does that mean,you may well ask, what did you miss.

You missed a Pandora ’s Box of life’s heaven andhell. There was a muse of a Chess gameseemingly in progress with some pieces waitingto strike while others floated in the air having beencaptured. For me this was reminiscent of happytimes as a child playing endless games of chess.Then there was blood thirsty Boadicea, thebeloved historic warrior woman was leading thecharge at the front gate. She exuded glorious funon her playground charger, and huge chariotwheels, her hair flying and two severed heads onher pitchfork. So sweetbut deadly. How manloves a warrior woman,she can fight his battles,but who fights hers I ask.

If you went to theexhibition you may wellhave winced and turnedaway in silence at thepiece of the priest givingsuccour to the obedientchild. It was a dark cruel image of the livingexperience of sexual abuse for many young boysat the hands of perverse men of god. It must havetouched a raw nerve for some.

The creation was compelling artisticgenius, for its perfect portrayal of theunimaginable. I looked, and quickly

turned away, but looked again, and yetagain in the hope I could somehow make

it less vile. I could not.

The three crucified women on life size woodencrosses towered over the exhibition. Two of thecrucified women had birthed babies lying dead attheir feet while the third nailed woman was heavilypregnant and awaiting the birth while dangling onthe cross. The first life experience of this pendingprojectile’d unborn child was to be a drop to death.Chilling.

In the same relentless theme of cruel infanticidethe creation of a shrouded baby with eyesgouged by impaled scissors was an image ofdeath at its worst. Such imagery may well havedisturbed many of the visitors. This exhibition wasnot about bland watercolours but concrete,tangible and larger thanlife recreations of lifewith all its blood, gutsand ghosts.

In a lighter vein werethe numerous life sizeand larger than lifephallic symbols. A fewbold visitors put a firmhand grip around thesepenile objects of art as if to try them out for sizeand managed to raise a conspiratorial earthylaugh from those watching. I’m not sure if theartist envisaged this bawdy response but it wasvery good natured and fun, though I was not boldenough to take hands on approach to thedisplays. Perhaps the best phallic creation was6 foot high bright red phallic symbol with animpressive circumference not that I wasmeasuring, complete with huge red balls, and aninnocuous foot pad in front of it. Visitors werenonchalantly invited to step on the pad by theartist. With one light stepthe penile objectinstantly ejaculated ahuge spray of water,without fail the wettedand unsuspectingvisitor squealed withamusement.

In another corner werea multitude of Ken’swere having a bondageorgy with Barbie’s giantshoes, each Ken was in a painfully contortedposition, and enslaved by Barbie’s crushingfootwear.

I shall never look atKen and Barbie in

the same lightagain.

I have mentioned just afew of the exhibits, therewere so many. Within thelight hearted exhibits Iwondered whether therelurked some inner

darkness, and among the dark and deathlyexhibits I wondered of a great fear being buriedand god help us all if we ever find that place inourselves.

This was an Art Exhibition that took ahuge amount of courage, insight and

back breaking hard work to put togetherand for me as a visitor it was worth everyminute spent there, it was funny, scary,

and touching. It was never dull. Longmay the artist live and be creative.

Emma Messenger: Visitor to the Exhibition.St Albans, England

An Eye Opener

My wife and I recently visited an Art and Sculptureexhibition held by Sarah Massie. There were a

large number of works,ranging from humorousand quirky to bizarre,risqué to beautiful. Somewere immediately selfexplanatory, others, beingmore profound needed anudge from Sarah to pointthe mind in the rightdirection.

They included imagesfrom childhood, mythology,

and symbols of man’s past and recent atrocities.Her depiction of “The Lost Souls of the Civil War”was particularly moving and Priapuswas……Startling!

A clever use and mix of materials,including old farm implements, framesfrom water cubes, household objects,discarded furniture, wood, plastic, paintetc. showed a vivid imagination at work.

Sarah is obviously widely read, and a lot of selfexpression and thought hasgone in to this exhibition.

The displays weredismantled when theexhibition ended on Nov. 7,but we will look forward toSarah’s next exhibition,which will be advertised inthis paper.

Well worth a visit, try not tomiss it!

Brian Pike

Vincent van Gogh walked into abar, and the bartender offered

him a drink...No thank -you, said Vincent,

I've got one 'ere.

LIFE

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Why do we use theword heart so much inour vocabulary? Thisquestion struck me whenreading the content of anemail that is far moreserious that my trivialword games. The heartis the vital bloodpumping organ, we allhave one! The serious bitis at the end of this light-hearted nonsense.

Somehow it has become the basis of emotionallife! The more I consider this the more irrationalit is…….we don’t think or reason with our heartwe use the grey matter in our heads. Yetcompassion, sympathy, emotions and manyother feelings are associated with the “Pump”.

The “Pump” is used to signify love especially bygreeting card manufacturers, song writers andjewellers especially on the 14 February.

The “Pump” as a reason for brave or weakactions, fainthearted, to lose heart or bleedingheart.

The “Pump” the centre, at the heart of it, in theheart of the country, the heart of a lettuce orgetting to the heart of the matter.

The ”Pump” to describe a state of mind or mood– light-hearted, in good heart, wholehearted,heartfelt

To have a “Pump” meaning have compassion,sympathy, feeling

I will give you my “Pump” (yuck) not at allromantic.

“He looked into my eyes and by heart startedpumping”. Well had it not been pumping then youwere dead and your eyes would have possiblybeen closed for ever.

“Get you heart pumping” would you say this toget someone who is dead to take more exercise.

By heart - learned by rote, memorised word forword.

From the bottom or depths of one's heart - withthe deepest appreciation; most sincerely.

Have one's heart in one's mouth (yuck) - to beextremely frightened or anxious.

Have one's heart in the right place - to bewell-intentioned.

An appeal from the heart; a subject dear to herheart; the worst atrocities the human heart coulddevise and the list is endless……………..

Then if you lose your heart to someone its notcareless - you have fallen in love!

All the silliness in words doesn’t get away fromthe fact that the heart in a vital organ. Most of ushave lost loved ones because of a heart problem.It is heart breaking especially if it waspreventable. I had never thought of the situationof having a heart attack totally alone until I readthis....

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHENALONE

Let's say it's 6.15pm and you're going home(alone of course), after an unusually hard day onthe job. You're really tired, upset and frustrated.

Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain inyour chest that starts to drag out into your armand up into your jaw. You are only about fivemiles from the hospital nearest your home.Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able tomake it that far. You have been trained in CPR,but the guy that taught the course did not tell you

how to perform it on yourself. Since many peopleare alone when they suffer a heart attack, withouthelp, the person whose heart is beatingimproperly and who begins to feel faint, has onlyabout 10 seconds left before losingconsciousness.

However, these victimscan help themselves bycoughing repeatedlyand very vigorously. Adeep breath should betaken before eachcough, and the coughmust be deep andprolonged, as whenproducing sputum fromdeep inside the chest.

A breath and a cough must be repeated aboutevery two seconds without let-up until helparrives, or until the heart is felt to be beatingnormally again.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs andcoughing movements squeeze the heart andkeep the blood circulating. The squeezingpressure on the heart also helps it regain normalrhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can getto a hospital. Tell as many other people aspossible about this. It could save their lives!!

THE PUMP

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LA COMIDATASTY TURKEY TRIANGLES


STUFFING

Use this mix for stuffing your bird, meatballs or theChristmas pie below.

Take a box of stuffing ( flavour of your choice ) and mixwith finely chopped onion and sausage meat add somefresh herbs if you have any, if you use for meat balls tryrolling mix around cubes of cheese before you fry them offin shallow oil.

CHRISTMAS PIE ( GOOD ON BOXING DAY )

Spread the above mix onto a pie plate ( uncooked ) nextspread pate over the mix then top with thinly slicedmushrooms cover with slices of ham then add thinly slicedcooked chicken breast or turkey and top with short crustpastry, glaze and bake at about 180c mid oven for about40 minutes serve hot with a mushroom or parsley sauceor cold with salad.

Don't forget cheats sauces: buy a packet of mushroomsauce make up with milk or cream add extra choppedmushrooms and cook for 2 minutes extra or buy a packetof parsley sauce make up the same way just adding extrafresh parsley.

CHRISTMAS CRUMBLE

Take some leftover fruit and cover and simmer for 6-8minutes stir in some mincemeat sweeten to taste and adda little cinnamon then top with a crumble mixture also witha little added spice and bake in moderate oven for about20-25 minutes serve with custard, cream or evencondensed milk ( my husbands Christmas treat )

And one more cheats thing - for extra special gravy add alittle red or white wine to a normal Bisto mix and even afew herbs then leave on a low heat for the flavours todevelop.

Happy cheatingremember forsome it is morefun out of thekitchen than in,so enjoy yourChristmas, takethe complimentsand smile.

Merry Christmas!

CHEATS CUISINE

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Left over Turkey? Yes of course you have.Don’t let it go to waste or make the usualTurkey Sandwiches. Try these tasty pastrynibbles with your left over meat - they’re idealfor parties too.

SERVES:12PREPERATION TIME: 25 MinsCOOKING TIME: 20 Mins

INGREDIENTS

� 425g pack puff pastry sheets

� A little beaten egg to glaze

For the filling:

� 1 small leek, finely sliced, or about 125g(4oz) leftover cooked leeks or sprouts

� 15g (½oz) butter

� 15g (½oz) plainflour

� 125ml (4fl oz) milk

� 100g (3½oz)cooked turkey and /or ham, fairly finelychopped

� 1 rounded tablespoon chopped freshparsley and/or thyme

� Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD1. To make the filling: If using fresh leek, cook

the slices for a couple of minutes in boilingwater

2. Cool under running water and leave todrain.

3. Melt the butter in a small pan and mix inthe flour to make a paste

4. Gradually add the milk to make a smooth,thick sauce and simmer for a few minutes

5. Add the leeks and leave to cool

6. Stir in the cooked meat and parsley, andseason well

7. Unroll the 2 sheets of pastry and cut eachone in half lengthways, then each strip into 3,to get 6 squares (each about 10cm/4insquare) from each sheet

8. Work on one at a time

9. Moisten round the edge of each squarewith a finger dipped in beaten egg

10. Pile a tablespoon of filling mixture in themiddle, and then fold one corner over to theopposite corner to make a triangular parcel.Seal well, knock up the edges and decoratethem

11. Put on a heavy baking sheet

12. Chill the parcels while the oven heats upto Gas Mark 6 or 200°C.

13. Brush the parcels withbeaten egg, make a small holein the top with a knifepoint andbake for 20 minutes

14. Best served warm

Enjoy!!!

ALGO PARA LOS NIÑOS


T H S U A L C A T N A S E P WH B S T N E M A N R O I G R IT G E S R E I N D E E R A E NF T G N I V I G S N E P L S TI L I N B R G C H N P R I E EF S Y T B L E S N I T E M N RY A A S O W S B N D I T N T ST G D L N R E G M Y O A F S GN A I L S E P L T E I R M S NE Y L I M A F E I K C B S T IW B O I P T N G C R R E O H KT S H E B H Y S S U O L D G CC H R I S T M A S T R E E I ON G W H I T E C H R I C S L TT M A S D E C O R A T I O N S

Find all the words listed below within the grid, and with the unusedletters learn an interesting Christmas fact.

CELEBRATE FAMILY ORNAMENTS SANTA CLAUS TWENTY-FIFTH

CHRISTMASTREE

GIVING PRESENTS STOCKINGS WINTER

DECEMBER HOLIDAY REINDEER TINSEL WRAPPINGPAPER

DECORATIONS LIGHTS RIBBONS TURKEYDINNER

WREATH

CHRISTMAS WORD SEARCH AN A MAZE ING CHRISTMAS

Chuckles the Christmas Mousethinks the Christmas Star at thetop of this tree is made ofcheese.

Can you help him reach the top?

CHRISTMAS CHUCKLESWhat do you sing at a snowman’s birthdayparty?Freeze a jolly good fellow!

Who hides in the bakery at Christmas?A mince spy!

What do you get when you cross asnowman with a vampire? Frostbite!

How does Good King Wenceslas like hispizzas?Deep and Crisp and Even!

Why are turkeys wiser than chickens?Ever heard of Kentucky Fried Turkey?

What did Mrs Claus say to Santa whenthe Sun went in?Looks like reindeer!

What do snowmanwear on their heads?Ice caps

Why are Christmas trees such bad knitters?They are always dropping their needles !

Why did the the turkey lose his appetite?Because he was stuffed!

Grandfather says of all thingsThe silliest he's heardIs that some children call thingsThey've never seen, "absurd!"And have their doubts of true things,And won't believe, becauseThey say, "If you but knew things,There is no Santa Claus!"Grandfather says he knows him,And sees him every year,And Santa often shows himThe playthings he brings here;He says, too, Santa told himIf any girls and boysLaugh at and won't uphold him,They'll not get any toys!

Grandfather Knows by Evaleen Stein

WRITTEN IN THE STARS


“When you wish upon astar,

Dreams come true”

Says Nenufar

SCORPIOWhat goes round, comes aroundand - hey - it’s all coming around inyour favour - so pick up the chipsand enjoy your well earned rewardfor the many kindnesses you haveshown others. Well, lets face it -November has always been kind toyou. A meeting later in the monthwill prove extremely enjoyable.There is a face out of the pastsomeone you have missed. Havefun.

Many unexpected turns in your life’spath recently have drained yourenergy. It may not be possible to dropeverything and just go away onholiday, but it is possible to unwind bygiving up every free moment you haveto self indulgence. There has been toomuch emphasis on other people’sneeds and now you need to sit yourselfdown with a cup of something andspoil yourself. Some good news iswinging your way.

CAPRICORN

PISCES Here we go again. One fish saysthis, the other says that. You wantto go with the flow but you are afraidof getting hurt. My advice would beto go with the tide this time.Invitations come your way. Thiscould mean the appearance of anew partner on the scene - ormaybe the surprise arrival of an oldfriend. Whatever is in store forPisceans this month, it all looksgood to me. Jump in and swim.Your common sense is quitereliable and will see you through.

Something has been bothering you.Don’t let this go on - get this sortedout. However, make sure that theadvice you seek is the best. Everyproblem can be solved and byrefusing to face up to things, youare building monsters. Once youhave resolved your problems, putthis period of worry behind you. Ona lighter note, expect really goodnews in the last week of Novemberor first week of December.

SAGITTARIUS

AQUARIUSLeast said- soonest mended. Notthe easiest advice to accept whenyou feel yourself in the midst of agreat misunderstanding. However,things do have a way of sortingthemselves and my advice would beto keep your own counsel and letthings settle. You’ll be surprised howsoon this will happen and, boy, wllyou be pleased you didn’t interfere.Those around you will applaud yourdiplomacy!

ARIES Change and more change. This couldbe an exciting time for you. That longwait you expected has suddenlydisappeared and what you thoughtwould take a couple of years , nowlooks like becoming possible in acouple of months. Give this one a lotof thought. Do you really want to bringmatters forward or would it perhaps bemore prudent to let things remain asthey were intended? Don’t be forcedinto changing things if you think youwould prefer not to just yet. Good luck,anyway!

CANCERHow I would like to be in your shoesthis month - in fact, all the way up toNew Year your path is carefree. Thereis joy in the air and a fresh start. Thiscould be a change of career, countryor even marriage. Whatever it is,embrace it with open arms. This newbeginning coupled with the fact that anold problem will shortly be resolved,combines to make this one of thehappiest and prosperous times of yourlife. Embrace life. Lucky old you.

LIBRA Aha- Saturn appears. Good oldSaturn. Saturn will calm you after whathas been a hectic (but happy) period.This is one of those golden timeswhen you look around you, reflect andthink that everything has beenwonderful and will continue to be. Yourrelaxed attitude will make youextremely approachable and don’t besurprised if you are the centre ofattention among younger people. I seeyou surrounded by older children.They can learn from you and you canlearn from them. Nice times for you.

TAURUS Stubborn and faithful- wonderfulattributes of your star sign, but theycan force you into a rut which, whilenot a problem for you, may beextremely boring for your family whowould love to see you get up and trysomething new. Now thisopportunity may offer. There is onthe horizon a bull doing somethingnew. Have you been inspiredrecently to study or undertake ajourney? Discuss this with familyand friends. Perhaps you can allwork in unison. Enjoy!

LEO Work appears strongly in your signthis month. Change is in the air, butthis does not come as a completesurprise to you. This change will notnecessarily affect the work you do,but could affect the surroundings inwhich you work. There may be anew boss on the horizon (this couldbe you) or there may be a new workdirective which may mean workingdifferent hours. There will be a goodoutcome before long. Somethingmay no longer be valid. Get thatsorted out before Christmas.

GEMINI Change of residence- sale andpurchase of property - these aresome of the most stressful situationswe face. At this time of year, forsome reason quite unknown to me,many born under your sign feel awanderlust. Now just sit down for amoment and look around you. Is itreally worth the effort and stress? Ifyou believe it is, then off you go tothe estate agents - good luck. On alighter note, there is a nice surprisein store for you around the end ofthe month.

VIRGO Something is not right in your world.There seems to be an aura ofboredom around you. This is reallynot the time to be bored becausethere are opportunities open to youand now would be a good time toexperiment. Like so many bornunder your sign, you bury your lightunder a bushel. What about yourtalent for writing or that ability topaint? Take yourself out for anairing, brush yourself down, pick upa pen or paintbrush and producesome sort of masterpiece.

REVIEWSOVERLAND

Foden [email protected]

+34 619-772-492Twitter @RosieReay

Rosie Reay


By Mark Stephen LevyPublished by AuthorHouseISBN-13: 978-1438996264

Book review by Rosie ReayTwitter@RosieReay

This book holds many meanings for me. But thismorning, as a mother of 2 British soldiers (and theelder one due to return for another tour of duty toAfghanistan), I would like to share my thoughts withAmerican and British mothers, spouses who havesoldiers out there or been there.

This book has brought me peace and more understanding of theAfghanistan village people and the geographical life of this "desert hole"and its neighbours. I was enthralled with the descriptions of the country,the culture and warmth of the village people where they all considerthemselves of the same "family" and how they embraced, shelteredand even assisted (at the risk to themselves from the Advancing andmenacing Russian army).The foreigners who have fallen in love withthis corner of the earth and settled there of their own free will andaccepted by the locals in Kabul.

Many twist and exciting turns within this novel but it also highlightedhow the developed world medical staff give freely of their help, theircare and sympathy irrespective of who is friend or foe.

Yet Mark so eloquently weaves in and out of the time line from thepresent to the past and back again and all along cradles the essenceof romance, tinged with danger, smashed dreams, adrenalin fuelledsituations and then nurtures hope, hit against by dread, loss and eventswith folk who should help and protect you - but don't. How true to life!

Friends, my musings this morning are only touching on part of the storyand one of the countries as with it being "Red Poppy" week in the UKmy thoughts are with those who've lost families, friends and colleaguesout in Afghanistan, or who still have folk out there, and as I say myone son returns there yet again in January. This book has brought mesome calm in these turbulent times. Thank you Mark, I'm sure this hasunwittingly happened and may not be by your design but by yourwonderful craft of the English language has achieved this.

This book will be enjoyed by women and men alike. There is so muchmore depth and empathy in this book, apart from it being a wonderfulromance and travel book of a different kind, across many lands.

So many books end and leave you wondering. This one concludes with..."To be continued." I cannot wait for the follow up!

This would make a lovely film or TV documentary!

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MORE THOUGHTS....If money is the root of all evil thenhow come churches ask for it?

Why can't women put on mascarawith their mouth closed?

How many people thought of thePost-It note before it was inventedbut just didn't have anything to jot itdown on?

Why do they call the small candybars the "fun sizes"? Wouldn't bemore fun to eat a big one?

TALES FROM THE EBRO RIVER VALLEY


Benifallet 2004: sat outside the Casal enjoyingwatching the tractor grid lock increasing in itscrescendo in the main highway of this agriculturalriverside village, as the evening wrapped itselfaround the mountains. Fishing guides werereturning with animated English tourists anddepositing them outside this watering hole to buythe first round in. They themselves would soonreturn to relish in the stories of how these men folklanded their first big catfish (or kitten as it may be!)

Way back then this was a gathering point as moreand more Brits moved into the village or the elcamp. We were renting there and thrived on theevening contact and the escape of theconfinements of an apartment. One of the fishingguides wife joined us with her darling baby girl anda mischievous looking young boy. I just knew whenI saw his cheeky smile that would melt the coldestof hearts, that we would be friends. He wascarrying the a huge book under his arm. Hepushed in next to me with chair and shoved thisbook in front of me.

"George don't pester Rosie!" He rolled his eyesbackwards and shook his head.

"He's alright. I really don't mind. Anyway I'mintrigued to see what this big big book is all about."

George replied, "Grandma gave it me. It has 50stories in it."

"Okay lets have a gander."

"Mom doesn't she talk funny?"

"George don't be rude."

"Sure I do, but then I've travelled an awful lot andlived in many different countries and learned tospeak other languages. That is why I like funnylittle boys like you George."

"You don't really know me that well," he replied asa matter of fact. He spoke English far above hisage group. This was one smart kid!

"Oh George I am sure I will do before long!" Ichuckled. I'd seen how he wormed his way into thehearts of all the village people around us, as hestarted to learn Catalan and embrace their ways.Shy George was not!

"So which story would you like me to read to you?"as I was browsing through this magnificent bookwith amazing and detailed illustrations.

George responded some what lessenthusiastically to what I expected, "It doesn'treally matter." Grabbed the book back and huggedit to himself in a surprising sulk.

"So what is the problem with it then, George," Iencouraged him to open up. I knew this book musthave cost his grandma an absolute fortune.

"Wellll," he thought for awhile and peeked at hisMom. Then turned away, "Stupid book! It has allthese stories in and there isn't one about asquirrel," he muttered unimpressed.

"George this book is about famous childrenlegends that have been read by millions of parentsand children over years and years." He didn't careless. "Okay, we won't read then." He grabbed thebook back and pushed it into the back of his sisterspushchair and went inside to the Casal to see whatAntonio was up to.

Peace was restored. The evening turned intonightfall, the midgies and Ebre Negre pests werestarting to nip our bare ankles and time to cooksupper.

5.00 am the next morning I was seen sat by mycomputer writing away. I didn't really plan it. It justseem to unfold. I could not extinguish the forlornface of George's from my mind. His words rangthrough my head again and again,"...there isn't oneabout a squirrel". So I wrote on and on. I hadn't satdown to write in poetic form - just to write. Thus,the poem "The Squirrel from Wirral" emerged...

"Who am I?I am the Squirrel from Wirral!"....it goes on further down,"He wanted to travelNew experiences to unravelHis back was in painSo he flew down to SpainFor sunshine to gainLetters home to explain"

So the long poem started to unfold, but the sceneswere what I witnessed from my window.The poem wraps up with:

"Best friends you can nevercompareThey play games to a dareThey rough and tumbleThen land in a bundleLizards and spiders they chaseAlways wanting to win the raceNo words they say harshFor his new friend is George EuanMarsh!Who am I?I am the Squirrel from Wirral!"

I printed off a copy and placed it in a red folder forGeorge. But I didn't realize what would follow afterwriting this poem. I never planned it. I neverenvisaged it. It just happened.

The following morning I was up again at 5 o'clockas my muse was pestering the hell out of me. Sowith a strong cup of must have black coffee firstthing in the morning, I started to write what was tobecome the first book in the Chimona Chronicles.All I knew was that somehow I would incorporatethis poem into the book.

Then every book after that would also have a poemor lyric in it. I felt that schools were loosing the artof encouraging children that poetry is still avaluable tool in learning, understanding, exploringand writing down their own feelings. Feelings ofjoy or sadness; hope or depression; worries ordreams; achievements or missing the mark; historyor fantasy.

So Rosie Reay wrote onand on.

In 2001 my husbandand I travelled toCalifornia to visit mybrother Athol and hehad planned a surpriseroad trip for all of us from Mountain View, Ca upthrough Oregon and into Washington where wepicked up his youngest son, Benwww.Benfoden.com at Seattle airport and on intoBritish Columbia, Canada for glorious days to bespent at a resort on the Okanagan Lakeside aboveKelowna. Later on we drove down into Idaho toBonners Ferry to pickup his eldest son, Nick andthen back into Canada to a hot springs along alake above Nelson...but that is another stories inthe series.

The opening chapters of "How Kelvyn got hisname" is what we truly saw. Then every evening Iwould relish sitting outside the Clubhouse (ofcourse!) watching these gophers chasing the golfballs and stealing them. I kid you not! So the storyunfolds.

HOTCH POTCH


Yet you will need toread the book to seehow I link countries,stories, animals andpeople together.

But don't take myword for it. Readwhat some of mycritics say:

"This unique and inspiring theme will have childreneverywhere excited about how we get our namesand encourage them to be creative", Jo Parfitt inHolland- author of over 26 published books.

"I can't recommend it enough for those who havechildren. Unlike most recent books in this market,the writing is not dumbed down, challenging thekids to think and ask questions while entertainingthe parents who will get a kick out of the situations.The themes of friendship and responsibility areuniversal, but it doesn't come across as preachyor condescending. The golf course setting and thepersonality of the characters make it fresh andunique and perfect to take along for a road trip."Jeremy Holland in Spain: author of FromBarcelona:Stories behind the City"

Dominic Dauchez in Paris, France: "As a stillyoung grandfather I wanted to encourage my twingrandsons to improve their English with fun andenjoyable reading material ... and found it a reallyquality book that does not consider our kids asmorons but helps them to travel along with the loveand exhilaration and thisis, to my knowledge, anessential message toforward to the cominggenerations."There are many delightfulcharacters I have craftedfor everyone's enjoyment.To learn more about themin both books visitwww.Chimona.com andlook up Characters undereach book. There is somuch more about theseguys.

Book 2 "Salquin to theRescue" embraces thecharacters from the firstbook and peppers it with some more OkanaganLakeside kids called OLKs by the grown ups. Here,a normal Scottish family mingles into the storylineand poems within.

"We meet bravery , when Salquin Salmon-Eco isdetermined to save Kelvyn's friend Freckles, whouses poetry to bring a bit of humour into an anotherwise stressful situation. We see the wise owl,is awakened by the sad tune of a flute beingplayed by a worried Blue Raven First Nation (nota bird), and this alarms her that all is not well inthe OKanagan Lakeside land. She flies off to

investigate ...immediately takes charge of thesituation and does what she does best - get thingsdone! We meet colourful characters with tongue-in-cheek names whilst we learn about behavingresponsibly and safely in the face of danger. In thestory we learn the value of friendship and family.The critters teach us the importance of living in aclosely-knit community and the importance ofteamwork..." Melanie de Bruyn in South Africa-teacher, linguist and parent of 3 boys - all whoenjoyed both books!

The author,Victoria Tweed ofChicken Mulesand Two Old Foolsis currentlyteaching Englishfor a year inBahrain wrote:"As an author andteacher, I wasdelighted to read"Salquin to theRescue." this littlebook is the secondof the ChimonaChronicles seriesand is crammedwith engaging littlecreatures who live around the Lake Okanagan.Rosie Reay's enjoyment and fascination withnames is infectious. The young reader isintroduced to colourful characters such as RossAngus MacKnavery, Captain Tripp, Penny Perkins-Spitfire and Babbling Brooke the baby beaver.

Each character has a distinctpersonality and she breathes life intothem via lively and fun dialogue.Some of Rosie's images are equallyengaging, such as the description ofBig Brown Bear, who was far too largefor the boat. 'His generous waistlinecreased over the sides, like hotchocolate over the top of a mug.'There are other bonuses in thesebooks too. This one poses a mysterywhich children will enjoy puzzling out,the illustrations are charming and thereis a poem that young readers andparents alike will enjoy."

Jeremy Holland enjoyed the first bookso much he couldn't wait to read thefollow up:

"...As always the names of the characters test andprod the imagination, while the wonderfulillustrations by Candice McMullan help bring theanimals and people to life. But it is the depth andoriginality of their personalities, combined withRosie's trademarked poems, which truly sets thisseries apart from the others in a crowded children'sbook market.A great second addition to what is becoming oneof the best and most original series out there."

I am currently writing book 5 in the series of whichI hope to have 13 stories. I too have taken a

character out of Book 2 called Babbling Brookeand hope to write a First Reader series around her.There is more... I am crafting along the lines of aseries called "Tales from River Ebro Valley" whereI have two Catalan children Angel and Paula andonce again "our" George in it, but for now that isfurther down the line.

These books are ideal for Christmas presents andmay be bought online in your chosen currency ofpreference in print format fromhttp://www.fodenpress.com/store.html or you cango to the button E-Books if you want to downloadit.

Alternatively contact me at the address below asI'm here in Spain.

But above all else these books are to be enjoyed.There is nothing nicer than to have a really goodbook or books amongst your Christmas stockingsand presents under the tree. You may lament thatwe can't get the kids away from the computer.Okay, I have dealt with this in two ways. Iencourage children and their readers to look upthe glossary online and read more about thesecharacters they will relate to www.Chimona.com.Then also don't forget you can buy the downloadedversion straight onto their computer.

Please, please whatever you do stillencourage your children to read and write.It is two of the greatest gifts we are given.Maybe they are not the neatest writers orgreatest speller. It does not matter. Thiswill evolve. Never put down their creativityand their natural voice.

You can discreetly photocopy their work and alterit, so they can compare their copy with yours - buttheir own writings will become so territorial andthey will be very possessive of them. After all, whynot join them. Pen your thoughts. Can't write thefirst chapter - doesn't matter. Start writing withbullet points. Let your muse guide you. I often goback and completely re-write the first chapter.Read and write - write and read.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and prayers andmantras across all cultures to one and all!

Twitter:@RosieReayEmail:[email protected]

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Call 645 565 571 to make an appointment (Consultations in English or Spanish)


In much of the Western and Christian world thecelebration of certain holidays, especiallyChristmas, is naturally associated with thetradition of eating a lot. Families gather aroundthe table and spend time together. Lunches anddinners satisfy an emotional need to share food,home and family with loved ones, which oftenpromotes the release of brain compounds thatproduce a feeling of well being. You can not goagainst this habit, but you can be reasonable,since banning something just makes it moredesirable. People who are deprived of the specialcuisine parts of Christmas eat more than theyshould because they feel frustrated and saddenedthat they are not participating in the familycelebration. Therefore, many experts are not infavour of banning or breaking with a tradition thatis part of our culture, but to promote moderation.

There aren’t many problems if the 'excesscalories' are limited to the festivities of the specialdays: Christmas Eve, Christmas day, New Year'sEve and New Year's Day without continuingduring the remaining days. It is notrecommendable, however, to munch on thenougat and candy during the intervening days.Ideally, plan a good complement of different mealsthroughout the day, that is, if the celebration mealis at lunchtime then plan for a light breakfast anddinner, and vice versa. The big meals should notbe offset by omitting other meals such asbreakfast or dinner; you can enjoy a festive mealwithout using it as an excuse to overeat. Theamount should always be reasonable.

Cook light, as far as possible. Do notprepare excessive amounts in fear of nothaving enough for your guests, and avoideating the remains of the Christmas dinnerfor the next three days, because this dietwill be unbalanced.

You can always freeze the food left over and useit another time. It is wise to eat light meals whennot celebrating to compensate for the extra whenyou are.

Sit down to eat without hunger. If before thecelebration meal eat a fruit and drink plenty ofwater, you will start eating while partially filled, soyou eat less and reduce calorie intake. Rememberthat the appetizer is the beginning of a meal ratherthan a meal in itself; therefore it is appropriate tohave a small sample, avoiding high-energy foodsand drinks and enjoying the good company.

The traditional Christmas cuisine can be verybalanced if we introduce vegetables and saladsthat can be combined with various foods and canbe prepared in a very attractive way for theholidays. Fish and other seafood such as shellfish,are a healthy source of protein and recommendedover meat. Remember that blue fish such assalmon, contain omega-3 fatty acid that protectsthe cardiovascular system. In addition, you shouldaim to have desserts based on fresh fruit after alarge meal.

As for drinks, avoid excessive amounts offizzy drinks and especially avoid alcoholicdrinks. One or two glasses of wine or cavawith your meal are ok if you like them. Butabove all, remember to drink water everyday.

Those with diabetes,obesity, celiac diseaseor high cholesterol donot have it easy atChristmas. Nor dothose who try to stay ata certain weight.Sweets and chocolatesthat are typical of thesetimes are not exactlythe most healthy andbalanced. But theirconsumption, if it ismoderate and adaptedto the needs of eachperson, does not have to be removed from ourdiet. It is better to cut the sweets into smallportions so that guests can try different kinds insmall quantities. And it is better to make sure thatthe sweets are not present during the whole meal,since they are a great temptation and mealsduring these days last longer. Many of the

Christmas desserts are made with olive oil, honey,chocolate or nuts (cakes, candies, marzipan, etc.),constituents of healthy foods, however theyshould be consumed sparingly. If you can choose,

try to avoid sweets madefrom unhealthy animal fatsor vegetable fat, such aspolvorones etc. Nuts(almonds, pine nuts ...) anddried fruit (apricots, prunesand raisins ...) are a sweetalternative, delicious andhealthier than the typicalChristmas products, withoutforgetting that it is alsoenergy food.

Christmas dessert varieties accompanied by themessage "fructose" or "no sugar added" increaseevery year, with the same confusion about theircalories. Most consumers believe that they arelower calorie products, but not always. Whensugar is replaced by no-calorie sweeteners(saccharin, aspartame, cyclamate, acesulfame)or polyol-type sweetener or sugar alcohols(sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol ...), they actually havefewer calories. Not so if the product containsfructose instead of sucrose (table sugar). Fructoseis a sweetener with a definite advantage forpeople with diabetes: it produces little effect onthe level of blood sugar, if its consumption is notabused. However, fructose provides the samecalories as sugar.

Holiday time is a great opportunity to do activitiessuch as walking and hiking, or playing sports. Itis highly recommended to go for a walk a whilebefore or after meals. Dance, move, walk, laugh,but escaping from the sofa and TV! Physicalactivity provided it is not too intense, helps todigest the food eaten during a heavy dinner, andhappens to burn some calories too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Arancha CorominaDietitian-Nutritionist

[email protected]

DIET TIPS FOR CHRISTMAS

PASSATEMPSCryptic Crossword Across

1. Find a prophet or a clever person (6)4. Extra dark but found detection device (5)9. Slipped on wet spot to form a dance (7)10. Some echo reverberation job (5)11. Look for a short man, urgently (4)12. Writhing serpents make gifts (8)14. A few winks and family for protection (6)16. Romance hideaway made from a tree (6)19. Container conduits make music (8)20. Part of a hat, so correct the deletion (4)23. Looks like a party could be a hit (5)24. Mixed up singer, so no rap (7)25. Acquire knowledge with poker end ofthe day (5)26. Some future market comment (6)

Quick Crossword


Down1. Can go to confusing shape (7)2. Fruit and thick skin? (5)3. Garbled tale is delayed (4)5. Romance story involves someone fromthe past (8)6. Decorated and redo at random (7)7. Not together but a role (5)8. Sounds like a swarm of letters (4)13. Ended fiendish confusion (8)15. Leaf insect, a spectacular ceremony (7)17. Communicate and catch employment (7)18. Refugee seafarer finds birds (5)19. Put up with a large carnivore (4)21. Headdress found in militia ranks (5)22. Keep eels, found there's a point to it (4)

Across1. Concern (5)4. Maxim (5)7. Fruit (3)8. Responded (7)9. Chess piece (4)10. Writer (6)13. Sagacity (6)14. Leave out (4)17. Decorate food (7)19. Beverage (3)20. Stitched (5)21. Travesty (5)

Down1. Thin biscuit (5)2. Areas (7)3. Tall story (4)4. Counting device (6)5. Perform (3)6. Duck (5)11. Short-tailedburrowing rodent (7)12. Aped (6)13. Earnings (5)15. Search and find (5)16. Professional cook (4)18. Uncooked (3)

HardMediumEasy

Across: 1 Teller 4 Libra 9 Collapsed 10 Younger 11 Acres 12 Averse 14 Steals 17 Omega 19 Endures 21 Relocated 23 Wyatt24 Appear Down: 1 Tally 2 Lecture 3 Eel 5 Instant 6 Radar 8 Pauses 12 Aboard 13 Scarlet 15 Abridge 16 Peace 18 Early20 Spear 22 Top

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LES DIGGER629 010 [email protected], groundworks, landscaping,tree pruning & site works.

LANDMAINTENANCE

DAVID PIQUE977 172 939 Miami [email protected] Speaking Lawyers

LAWYERS

DRIVER977 480 788 DeltebreEnglish Speaking Mechanics

MECHANICS

RICHIE’S REPAIRS608 872 854English Auto MechanicOver 30 Years Experience

MECHANICSTALLER GANDIA977 470 060C 30, 13/15 CamarlesGarden Tools Sales & Repairs

MECANICA MIGUEL977 501 956 / 647 097 067C/Alcade Marin 31,RoquetesEnglish Speaking Mechanic

METAL WORKSSTEVE SNAITH659 225 068 El [email protected], Railings, StaircasesNo job too small

CERRAJERIA CLAU645 347 [email protected] Structure specialists & locksmiths

CARS & MACHINERY689 468 752Cash available for cars, machinery,tractors & generatorsWorking or Non-working

SALVAGE


CHRISTMAS CARDSANGEL CARDS687 145 043Beautiful hand made ChristmasAngels and Cards

GARDEN CENTRESPENIS VERD964 480 377www.penisverd.comOffering a variety of seasonal plantsand gift ideas plus freshly cutChristmas Trees

CHEERS BAR & RESTAURANT964 414 313 Alcossebre|Large selection of hot and cold foodserved all day.

PUMIWEX693 206 868Renewable Energy

SOLAR POWER

BUSINESS DIRECTORY CONT...

CLASSIFIEDSFOR SALE

2 SEATER SOFA BED50 EUROS,

SLATE BEDDED COFFEETABLE (NEEDS TLC)

30 EUROS,

SINGLE MATTRESS15 EUROS,

2 OIL FILLED RADIATORS10 EUROS EACH

PHONE 638 395 312(CAMARLES)

GET YOURPHONE RINGING!!!ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS

OR SERVICE IN OURBUSINESS DIRECTORY FORLESS THAN €5* PER MONTH

Email [email protected] call

646 353 442for further details.

* Price based on 6 monthcontinuous advert for only €25

(IVA included)

IT COSTS NOTHING TOADVERTISE YOUR

UNWANTED ITEMS UNDERTHE VALUE OF 1000€

WITHIN THIS SECTION.

TO ADVERTISE YOURITEMS PLEASE [email protected] PHONE 646 353 442

MAXIMUM 3 ITEMSPER MONTH


S.O.S (SPEAKERS OF SPANISH)679 219 [email protected] Translation ServicesSpanish & English Lessons

TRANSLATORS

AGATAMEUS977 481 525 Deltebrewww.agatameus.comEnglish, Spanish, French, Italian,German spoken fluently

VETSALUMNIOS CLAU645 347 [email protected] in door and windowfabrications

WINDOWS &DOORS

BRITSAT616 369 913 / 977 486 387www.britsat.tvSpecialist Suppliers & Installers of SkySystems

TELEVISION HELP IN SPAIN622 523 [email protected] Translation ServicesSpanish, English & German lessons

BILL’S ENGLISH SCHOOL977 221 200 / 649 895 118 / 653 394 582TarragonaEstablished 15 years

SPANISH LESSONS MARCEL CLINICA VETERINARIA977 823 405C/Terra Alta, 5, L'Hospitalet de L'Infantwww.marcelclinicaveterinaria.com

JOSH RUSSELL616 637 030 [email protected] translated Catalan, Spanish,English explained by Joshua as cheaplyas possible

FOR SALECITROEN BERLINGO,1.9 DIESEL SX

WITH ALL THE EXTRASLHD, SPANISH REG, DEC 2003, 86,000 KMS,

METALIC GREEN, VERY GOOD CLEAN CONDITION,NON SMOKERS, PHOTOS AVAILABLE. 5500 EUROS

TEL: 610 324 550MORA LA NOVA, TARRAGONAemail: [email protected]

4 PAWS 4 EYES4 UR SECURITY

House-sitting with or withoutmy guard dog

Pet Care at their homeor ours / Dog walking

Contact: Dot600 564 097 (Benicarlo)

email:[email protected]

FOR SALE

DVD PLAYERACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS MULTI-

REGION COMPLETE WITHREMOTE. GOOD CONDITION.

€25 ONO.

BUSH RECORD TURNTABLEBELT DRIVE SEMI-AUTOMATIC

2-SPEED (SINGLES OR ALBUMS).SIMPLE CONNECTION TO YOUR

HI-FI €30 ono.

4'6" PINE BEDCURVED HEADBOARD &

FOOTBOARD, SLATTED BASE(MATTRESS NOT INCLUDED).GOOD CONDITION. €50 ono.

Tel: 634 329 289

FOR SALENISSAN X-TRAIL 2.2 DCI SE

LATE 2005 LHD ON SPANISH PLATES, METALLIC SILVER,ALLOY WHEELS, CD PLAYER, CRUISE CONTROL,

AIR CONDITIONING, TOW BAR (LEGAL), ROOF BARS,ITV TILL DEC 2011 FULL SERVICE HISTORY LOW KMS 52,000

GOOD TYRES 13,500 EUROS

MOBILE 679 832 221

FREE TO A LOVING HOMETia is a 3 year old boxer bitch,

lovely with everyone and would make a great pet,unfortunately i cannot keep her as i already have 4 dogs.

TEL 628779422.

TYPHOON SCOOTER50 CC, 650 EUROS

RACING RX 50 CC BIKE,200 EUROS

L ‘AMETLLAPHONE 660 697 135

FOR SALE

WANTED

QUALITY FURNITURE,TEXTILES, FURNISHINGS &

CLOTHING

PLEASE CALL VAL

626 876 738

NVQ 3 QUALIFIEDCARE WORKER

Available for home help andrespite care.

Also 24/7 house/pet sitting.

El Perello / L’Ampolla /Tortosa & Amposta areas

CONTACT HAZEL638 430 338

[email protected]

NEED A HELPING HAND AROUND THE HOUSE OR CAN’T GET TO THE SHOPS?

5 years experience in respite care. Benicarlo / Vinaros areas

Contact DOT 600 564 097 email: [email protected]

NOT COPING?CONFUSED? UPSET?

GOING MAD?NEED COUNSELLING?

Person-centred, Bereavement,Family Therapy, Drink,

Relationship, Sexual problems...I am here to help

Individual, personal, confidentialhourly sessions. 20€

Initial Consultation 10€

Jennifer Anne FiguerolaBA, Honours Psychology,

Dip. CounsellingMIRAVET

TEL: 977 407 540 / 654 875 163

WANTED

GAS FRIDGE 2 DOORS

SOLAR PANELS 12v (17v)I GIVE 1€ PER WATT

GAS STOVE WANTED /KEROSENE STOVE FOR

SALE

OFFERS TO:[email protected]

644 243 415

FOR SALE

SCOOTER PIAGGIOMOD. TYPHOON 49CC

20,000KM,WORKING WELL 400€

WINDOWH130 x W120cmWOOD, SINGLE

GLASS SHUTTERS,NEW 125€

[email protected] 243 415

1999 SPANISH PLATED, LHD,BRITISH RACING GREEN

LUXURY LEATHER INTERIORAIR CONDITIONING, PAS,

GOOD TYRES,ITV (MOT) UNTIL SEPT 2011

IMMACULATE THROUGHOUT,GENUINE REASON FOR SALE

2,300€

FOR SALE

ROVER 620DI VANDEN PLAS

CONTACT: 977 267 677

Que? Monthly look at some differences between Catalan andSpanish words

Advertising RatesTo advertise in the next edition of the Catalunya Chronicle we would needyour copy before the 10th of the month.

Personal Classified Ads are FREE up to a maximum of 35 words, and subject to amaximum sales value of €1000. No more than three items at a time please.

Whether you have your artwork or not, included in the price we offer a design serviceand we will endeavour to match your requirements.

The cost of advertising is €0.80 per square centimetre, and there is a 10% discount fora six month run. This price includes IVA .

Let people know you are in business - can you afford not to?

The Catalunya ChronicleC / Martirs 6, 43500, Tortosa,

Tarragona, Spain.

(Please note this a mailbox address only)

Website: www.chroniccat.comemail: [email protected]

Telephone: 646 353 442 (Tim)

Deposito Legal: T-1528-2009Circulation: 5,000 copies per monthPrinted by: Lerigraf sl

No part of this document may be reproduced withoutwritten consent from the paper.

The Catalunya Chronicle cannot be held responsiblefor the contents of the articles supplied by it’scontributors, nor for the claims made by it’sadvertisers. Trademarks and Copyright are held bytheir respective owners.

We would like to thank all our contributors, articlewriters and advertisers for all their fabulous support.

INFORMATIONDistribution Points.A full list and map of all our collection locations isavailable on our web-site, and if you do not find onenear enough to you, then please let us know.

Currently we have managed to place the paper in thefollowing towns and villages.

L’AmpollaL’AmettlaCamarlesAmpostaTortosaMiravetTres CalasEl PerelloCambrilsSalou

HospitaletReus AirportAlcossebreUlldeconaFlixXertaRiba-RojaMora D’EbrePeniscolaBenifallet

Miami PlatjaGandesaBitemVinarosBenicarloFreginals

... with more tocome

WEEKLY MARKETS

WHEN THE MASSAGE COMES TO YOU..........Yes, it CAN be true, it IS true

Contact THE MOBILE MASSEUR NOW!BACKACHE

VARICOSE VEINS

TENNIS ELBOW

FROZEN SHOULDER

FEEL THE RELIEF MULTI-LEVEL THAI MASSAGEA drug-free procedure, suitable for men, women and children

Initial consultation 20€ Subsequent treatments 30€

PLEASE CALL: 675 071 794


ENGLISH SPANISH CATALAN

December Diciembre Desembre

Christmas Navidad Nadal

Wrapping Paper papel de regalo paper de regal

Christmas Tree árbol de Navidad arbre de Nadal

Can I order? puedo pedir puc demaner

Have you got another one? ¿tienes otra ¿tens una altra

Can you clean it? puede limpiarlo pot netejar

How long ¿cuánto tiempo quant de temps

When will it be ready? cuando va a estar listo quan estarà llest

Light bulbs bombillas bombetes

Happy Christmas Feliz Navidad Bon Nadal

Carol singing villancicos nadales

This does not work esto no funciona això no funciona

THE FIFTH EMERGENCY SERVICE FOR WHENYOU’RE DROWNING IN A SEA OF RED TAPE!

ENGLISH / FRENCH / SPANISHTRANSLATION SERVICE

SPANISH LESSONS AVAILABLEFOR ALL ABILITIES

PLEASE CONTACT US ON

679 219 715email: [email protected]

MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN

Amettla deMar,Peniscola,Reus,SalouTortosa

Alcossebre,AmpostaCamarlesTarragona

AmpollaBenicarloCambrillsHospitaletMora la NovaL'Aldea

Amettla deMarLa CavaDeltebre

UlldeconaMora d' Ebre

Sant CarlesMiami Playa

CamarlesTarragonaHospitaletBonavista

THE FINAL WORD


Riverside, 3 Bedroom bed &breakfast plus 3 bed self catering

cottage for sale! Direct River mooring- furnished 3000m2 parcela

M1062 - L’Ampolla

*** PROPERTY OF THE MONTH ***

3 Beds, 2 Baths, Community Pool,Double Garage, Terraces, Patio

Garden, Good condition,Well Presented, Near Beach,Close to the sea and shops.

M1014 - BitemVillage House 110m2 Reformed,

3 Bed, en-suite, sh. rm, fullbathroom + sep w.c. Roof

terrace. kitchen with outsidesm.covered area. Lounge, fully

furnished.

REDUCED FROM 245,000€PRICE NOW: 229,000€

ESTATE AGENTS

We go that extra mile to ensure your move runs smooth!

138m2 Country House,3 beds, 2 baths, Sea Views!

5,600m2 parcela withCedula de Habitabilitat

PRICE: 146,000€

PRICE: 190,000€

M1196 - Tivenys

3 Beds, 3 Baths. 170m2 built2235m2 plot size, Pool.

2 mins to village

Restored Farmhouse withFantastic Mountain Views.

M1097 - L’AmpollaVillage House

M1085 - Jesus

PRICE: 239.000€

M1095 - El PerelloWith “Cedula de Habitabilitat”Lovely Country House of 120m2

2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms,Auto system installed, Water,

Courtyard & Workshops14,200m2 of land

PRICE: 180,000€

M0053 - TortosaSuperb country property

2 beds, shower room,fantastic automatic power system!

Fenced & gated!PRICE: 150.000€Price: 165,000€

M1200 - 20 Mins Tortosa2 Masias to reform.

Compatible for many projects -Tourism/Riding Centre/Caravans

13000m2 plot size, Own well ,5 mins to village

M1199 - TortosaRestored farmhouse with

fantastic Delta views!3 beds, 3 baths -90m2

parcela 27000m2

PRICE: 130,000€

PRICE: 120,000€

M003 - TortosaREDUCED!

Lovely townhouse in centre ofTortosa with roof terrace.

Reformed to a high standard &ready to move into. Close to all

amenities - hospital -ample parking close by.

3 beds, 2 baths, Central heating

PRICE: 135,000€

M1212 - 20 Mins Tortosa80m2 Country House

Mountain location

Main house with 2 beds, shower room.5800m2 plot size. Water.

Automatic system & wind generator.Separate 1 bed & shower room

guest accommodation

FOR RENT - 400€ pcm

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's awreck.How to live in a world that's politically correct?His workers no longer would answer to Elves,Vertically Challenged they were calling themselves.And labour conditions at the north poleWere alleged by the union to stifle the soul.Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.And equal employment had made it quite clearThat Santa had better not use just reindeer.

So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that lookedstupid!The runners had been removed from his sleigh;The ruts were termed dangerous by the E. P. A.And people had started to call for the copsWhen they heard sled noises on their rooftops.Secondhand smoke from his pipe had his workersquite frightened.His fur trimmed red suit was called Unenlightened.And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs andflows,Rudolf was suing over unauthorised use of his noseAnd had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,Demanding millions in overdue compensation.So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life,Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,Demanding from now on her title was Ms.And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notionThat making a choice could cause so muchcommotion.Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.Nothing that might be construed to pollute.Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise.

Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific.No candy or sweets, they were bad for the tooth.Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.For they raised the hackles of those psychologicalWho claimed the only good gift was one ecological.No baseball, no football, someone could get hurtBesides, playing sports exposes kids to dirt.Dolls were said to be sexist and should be passeAnd Nintendo would rot your poor brain away.So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexedHe just could not figure out what to do next.He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,But you've got to be careful with that word today.His sack was quite empty, limp to the groundNothing fully acceptable was to be found.Something special was needed, a gift that he mightGive to all without angering the left or the right.A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,Each group of people, every religion;Every ethnicity, every hue.Everyone, everywhere-even you.So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth."May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

the catalunya chronicle issue 14 - december 2010

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