Tickled Squirrel April 2015

Issue 5 EVERYFRMEOENTH April 2015 Bumper Easter Edition Tickled Squirrel Look inside for articles, puzzles, information and advertising from the some of the best local businesses.

P.6 112: The Emergency Telephone CLINICA DENTAL Number in Spain. GEERLINGS BONALBA P.9 Classifieds, Charities & Churches. Telephone: 965 959 714 P.10 Brain Drain Puzzle Pages www.clinicadentalgeerlings.es P.12 Walk for Life 2015. P.14 Link Words. P.16 Rock on, Alicante. P.18 Local Area Telephone Numbers. P.20 Changes to Succession Law. P.22 Film Review : CHAPPIE. P.24 Mediterranean Gardens. P.26 Flight of the Condor. P.30 Caribbean Fried Bananas & Rum. P.33 Making Changes: Mind over Matter. P.34 Music Ramblings. P.36 Tech Tips: Windows 10 part 2. P.38 Living in Laos: The Life of an Ex Pat. P.39 Puzzle Solutions. Website: www.tickledsquirrel.com Mobile site: www.m.tickledsquirrel.com Telephone: 634 327 682 Office hours Mon - Sat 10.00 - 18.00hrs Emails: [email protected] [email protected] Tickled Squirrel Magazine is published each month by Tickled Squirrel Ltd. UK Reg. No. 9244499 Tickled Squirrel Ltd. accepts no responsibility for the services, goods or work which is provided by any advertiser. Although we do our best to ensure the content is correct we accept no liability for errors or omissions. No part of this magazine, in part or whole, may be reproduced without obtaining prior written permission. 2

SNACK ~ A ~ JAX 619 381 722 More than just an English Food Shop Come along and have a browse, then sit at one of our tables for a drink or a snack. You can even enjoy a full English breakfast if you wish before finishing your purchases. We stock a good selection of fresh, chilled, and frozen English foods. Agents for TV Choice, RTN and Euroweekly. Easypost And Eurodirect Passport Service cards available Hot Cross Buns and Easter Cards In Stock We have a large selection of cards for all occasions Come along and see us soon. You’ll find us on the “Island” in Bonalba. We’re easy to find, and you can park outside or nearby. We are open Tuesday 9:30 to 5:30 Friday 9:30 to 5:30 Wednesday 9:30 to 5:30 Saturday 9:30 to 4:00 Thursday 9:30 to 5:30 (we are closed Sundays & Mondays) (Kitchen service ends one hour before closing time) Easter Weekend Opening Hours Friday 4th and Saturday 5th 10am to 4pm Sun and Mon closed Lunchtime Specials - 5.95€ including a drink 3

April 2015 Man With A Van April 3rd Long Wheel Base High Top Van Good Friday and Driver Available April 5th Easter Sunday Ideal for April 6th Easter Monday House removals April 23rd Off ice moves St. George’s Day Those extra large items Birthdays Call Ian on 648 835 377 or 627 703 521 Shannon Clancy April 6th MJC Van Transport Robert Littler *80* April 12th 965699100 07787745068 Phil Vasey *80* 687672081 April 14th Cassandra Anderson * Regular trips from Spain to UK & back April 24th * Buy in the UK. Delivered to your door by In Memory us! * Removals - Part loads - Full loads Single Jessica Clancy April 27th Items * Cars & Bikes Transported Phone or Email Colin & Mary for a Quote [email protected] Happy Easter Happy Easter Happy E aster 4

Sam’s 965 63 44 45 supermarket Open Monday to Friday 9 to 4:30, Saturdays 9 to 3 All Your Quality English Products In Stock Wide range of Quality Bakeware Available John Smith’s and Guinness Warburton’s Bread Wide Range Of Easter Eggs Available From 20th March Agents for TV Choice Baz Traditional English Butcher Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 to 3 Quality meats including roasting beef, steaks, home cured gammon, pork with crackling, home made beef and lamb burgers, and much more. Hair & Beauty Be Flawless - Be You! Salon Instantly Ageless: A powerful micro cream only available @ Kutz Salon! Contact Carmen in Salon. Appointments 965 63 44 45 Easy to f ind on the N332 between La Font & El Campello 5

A Quick Guide to 112: The Emergency Telephone Number in Spain By David Ruiz 112 is a free emergency telephone number in Spain which offers a 24/7 emergency service to any person located within the country of Spain, regardless of their nationality and legal status. It is the number you use in Spain for ANY emergency. The list below shows what kind of emergencies are covered by this number, but please note that the list is not definitive . . . Car accidents Physical aggressions Natural disasters Fire Theft Life risking situations/scenarios Health assistance Rescue When you dial 112 the operator will decide which of the emergency professional services are required. It may be the Spanish National Police, the Local Police, Guardia Civil, Firefighters, Ambulance/Paramedics, or even Civil Protection. How does the system work? It’s easy. Just dial 112 for any emergency. Do not hesitate as that delay could mean the difference between life and death in some situations. It does not matter that your native language is not Spanish because the operators also speak English. Although 112 is a national service it is managed at local level in each Spanish region thereby giving the fastest response possible to each emergency situation. 112 can be used as the emergency telephone number in other EU countries, including the UK which also uses 999. According to the European Commission Website, only “51% of EU citizens know that 112 is the number used across the EU”. 112 is not a general information phone number. Don’t call 112 either to know what the weather is going to be like, or for general traffic enquiries. Wrong or even malicious phone calls do nothing more than obstruct real emergencies. Please take this phone number very seriously. FINAL THOUGHTS: I’ve rang 112 around 10 times in my whole life and I can tell you they’ve always answered quickly and have been very efficient, at least when I was present, which was not the case in the first two examples I’m about to give you next. I recall that one day I was driving on the Cartagena-Murcia motorway and had to dodge a piece of carpet rolled up across the road. That’s 112. Sometime later there was somebody driving at night on the motorway with no lights. That’s 112. And whilst living with my parents, one night I looked through the window and saw some smoke coming up from the rubbish bin (in a few minutes it was completely on fire but the firefighters extinguished it fast enough). That’s 112. Whenever the situation poses a risk to any human being or even animals:That’s 112. David Interpreting, translation and driving licence specialist http://torreviejatranslation.com 6

RESTAURANTE LA PLAYA Telephone 633 469 488 Special Chef’s Menu Salad, BBQ Grilled Mixed Meats with Potatoes, 2 Pints beer or 1 Bottle of Wine 19.80€ for 2 People Menu Of The Day - 11.50€ Salad, Starter, Main Course Bread & Alioli, Dessert, Coffee. Available Every Day Wednesdays From 2:30 Relaxing Live Music With a wide range of styles for all tastes. We speak English, French and Spanish Open Tuesday To Saturday from 11:30 to late and Sundays from 1pm to 4pm (Kitchen open 1 - 4 and 7 - 10:30) Avenida Almadraba 9, El Campello - On the le as you head towards Pueblo Español SUNDRENCHED VILLAS Specialists in Property Sales, Long Term and Holiday Lets Are you are looking to SELL or RENT your property? en come and talk to us. We have a large portfolio of international clients waiting to BUY and RENT in this area. Calle San Bartolomé Nº 55 Commercial B El Campello 03560 (between the lottery shop and the charity shop) Telephone 666 967 469 or 622 658 581 English and Spanish spoken Email: [email protected] Web: www.sundrenchedvillas.com 7

Prices start from only 3€ per m² The Square Coveta Fuma BAR Pool Table Live Music International Menu Good Range Of Beers Cocktails & Snacks Live Sport Open Every Day From 9:30 till Late Tel 965 639 018 www.facebook.com/barlosdos El Campello Christian Community EASTER INVITATION Good Friday 11am Hot Cross Buns - Easter Egg Hunt - Singing and more . . . Easter Sunday 5pm Rosado, Chocolates, Songs and a special testimony from a special person! ALL ARE WELCOME We meet in the hall beside Meson/Pueblo Español Avenida Almadraba, El Campello You are also invited to join us on the second and fourth Sunday each month at 5pm Website - www.elcampellochristiancommunity.org Email - [email protected] or telephone Sue on 965699991 / 693048200 8

Classifieds ClassifiedsClassifieds Classifieds Charities & Churches Classified To include a charity in our listings please supply a valid registered charity number. Advertising APAC Section Animal Protection Charity in El Campello. Dogs of all ages awaiting rehoming. Classifieds Classifieds Sterilisation scheme for feral cats. Charity shop at Av. Germanies, 20, El Campello. For Classified adverts are free for items up to 500€ information about dogs, call Joy 965699460, (maximum 20 words per item including contact and for feral cats call Janice 965638899, or number). Photographs cannot be included. Onny 965940763 (charity no. 3817) However, don’t forget that you can also place your adverts on our website, including up to four Bruised But Not Broken photographs at www.tickledsquirrel.com Cancer Support Charity. Our aim is to provide respite breaks. If you or your family need help, To include your advert in the printed magazine or you wish to volunteer, please get in touch. Tel: Lorraine 608524896 (charity no. CV-01- please send by email to: 049781-A) [email protected] BEFORE the Church of the Good Shepherd 15th of each month. Only one item per email San Juan. Services in English. Sundays11am. Calle Juan Sebastian El Cano 19. Everyone and a maximum of four items each month per welcome. Please call Gordon on 965950231 or Sarah on 600714573 for more information email address. Space may be limited therefore El Campello Christian Community adverts will be placed on a first come first served Meetings of this Community will be held on Sunday, 16 April and Sunday 26 April basis. Tickled Squirrel Magazine Classified Ads in the Hall next to Meson Pueblo Español (Pepe´s Bar) at 5 p.m. Everyone welcome! section is solely for private individuals to advertise For information email: campellocc@ gmail.com or telephone Sue Bishop on items for sale or wanted. It is not for the use of 965699991/693048200 businesses. April Ads MABS Cancer Support Group covering Costa Blanca For sale Briggs & Stratton Generator, really good area. Interpreters, Transport, Equipment, condition. 80€Aigues : Tel: 965690482 Support and nursing available for you and your family in your time of need. Tel: Sue Wanted brass ship’s bell. Any age/condition. 664266991 (charity no. 7261) Please call Ian on 648835377 or 627703521 Wanted Small automatic car, e.g. Renault Clio, Citroen C1. in good condition & with reasonable mileage. El Campello area. Tel: 965633712 / email: [email protected] P.E.P.A. Animal Charity is desperately looking for foster carers to help us with the overwhelming amount of abandoned animals. All expenses are paid, all that we ask is that a secure loving temporary home is given. For more information please telephone Pat on 962833325 or the helpline on 650304746 or email [email protected] (Reg. Charity Number: G.97646921) 9

The Brain Drain Puzzle Pages Across 30. More than two (7) 18. Deadlock (9) 32. Ocean (3) 20. Soon (9) 9. Wife of one’s son (8-2-3) 33. Unpredictable (13) 22. Automobile (5,3) 10. Self-esteem (3) 26. Critique (6) 11. Place in Lincolnshire (7) Down 27. Good-tasting (5) 12. Repose (4) 29. Diminish (5) 13. Woody plant (4) 1. Misfortune (9) 30. Adds (4) 15. Fragrance (5) 2. Breathes fast and hard (5) 31. Told an untruth (4) 17. Parts of feet (7) 3. Discharge of a firearm (4) 19. Small assemblage (5) 4. Reduce (8) 21. Tree (3) 5. Ignominious failure (6) 23. Something that causes 6. An alcoholic (4) fermentation (5) 7. Profane word (9) 24. Late (7) 8. Telephone (5) 25. Small fish (5) 14. Nuisances (5) 27. Fastens a knot (4) 16. Give consent (5) 28. Title (4) 10

5 Ships in a Port 16 9 1. The Greek ship leaves at six and carries coffee. Nationality Departure Load Chimney Destination 2. The ship in the middle has a black chimney. 3. The English ship leaves at nine. 7 25 7 5 24 4. The French ship with a blue chimney is to the left of a ship 69 7 312 8 4 27 5. that carries coffee. carrying cocoa is a ship goin6g to5 2 547 To the right of the ship 891 14 Marseille. 6. The Brazilian ship is heading for Manila. 6 2 57 46 1896 15 7. Next to the ship carrying rice is a ship with a green chim4ney5. 7 8. A ship going to Genoa leaves at five. 9. The Spanish ship leaves at seven and is to the right of the 6 13. The ship w1ith a9black chimney leaves at e2ight. 4 ship going to Marseille. 9 2 3 14. The ship carrying corn is anchored n3ext to the5ship7 car1rying rice. 10. The ship with a red chimney goes to Hamburg. 11965.. The ship to gHoaemsbtuorPgolertaSveasi6da?tWs4ihx.ich ship car7ries tea? 9 Which ship 11. Next to the ship leaving at seven is a ship with a wh1ite c6himney. 12. The ship on the border carries corn. Solutions are on Page 31. 7 25 7 5 24 31 Sudoku Easy/Medium/Hard 69 7 312 8 94 11 65 4 27 4 8 321 8912 547 14 85 96 57 46 62 15 91 457 1896 24 18 39 3 571 6 19 64 7 9 735 6 4 9 23 51 16 9 75

Walk for Life 2015 Hi folks. It´s that time of year again! Yes, it is time to get out your walking shoes and sign up for our “Walk for Life” which will take place this year on Sunday 3rd May. We shall walk the usual route along the seafront between El Campello and Muchavista beaches covering a distance of approximately 10kilometres, although you may if you wish, walk the shorter distance of 3 or 5km. Although called a walk, you may run the distance if you prefer, but walking or running, this is not about winning. It is about taking part in support of those who cannot, and everyone who enters is a winner by the very fact that they care enough to do so. We would especially like to see families entering . . . Cancer is after all, a disease which can affect the family unit as a whole. The walk is open to everyone regardless of age, albeit on 1 leg, 2 legs, or those who need wheels . . . you are all welcome, including our 4 legged friends. If you would like to take part please call Lorraine on 608524896 for details or call into The Bruised but not Broken charity shop in El Campello where our volunteers will be happy to offer you a registration pack. This will include sponsor forms, a Walk for Life tee shirt, a wristband and information about the charity. All walkers will receive a medal on completion of the walk. Registration is at a cost of €6.50 Please support this event and walk or run yourself a little fitter at the same time. We look forward to seeing you there. Lorraine Brown. 2013 Walk for Life participants Bruised but not Broken - Who are we? Bruised but not Broken is a Registered Cancer Charity founded to honour the life and courage of Bec Isaacs who died in 2010 at the age of 32 following a 4 year battle with Bowel Cancer. Our aim is to offer respite breaks to the family carers of those affected by this monstrous disease. If we can help you or if you would like to volunteer some of your time, then please contact us on any of the following: [email protected] Lorraine on 608524896 www.bruisedbutnotbroken.co.uk You can also find us on Facebook or why not call into our charity shop in Calle San Bartolome 55, El Campello 12

Campello Alternative Therapy Neuro-Muscular Therapeutic Massage John Goodhew D.M., M.A.S., Th.M., S.W.S.M Member of A.T.M. Practitioners Telephone: 654 254 904 Email: [email protected] www.costablancatherapy.com Simply the best, trained by the best! Make an appointment with me now for a little restorative body work Call me on 654 254 904 Jacqueline Goodhew Reiki Master S.W.S.M I.H.B.C Email: [email protected] Reiki One to One Reiki Level 1 and 2 Teaching Animal Reiki Call 635 734 647 For A Reiki Appointment 13

Link Words Find a word that can go before or after each set of words, for example: Tea, Cake, Egg, The answer will be: Cup. Tea Cup, Cup Cake, Egg Cup, They all begin with a different letter of the alphabet but not in the right order. 1. Ring, Geezer, Rough 2 Bowling, Emerald, Peace 3 Night, Torch, Bulb 4 Nations, Manchester, States 5 Chest, Plate, Unit 6 Charlotte, Eating, Crumble 7 Beam, Circle, House 8 Cross, Queen, Sponge 9 Lane, School, Stop 10 Finger, Hob, Clipper 11 Black, Mill, Pot 12 Flower, Hat, Roof 13 Light, Roman, Stick 14 Cream, Cube, Vanilla 15 New, Book, Last 16 Times, Top, Dining 17 Red, Spring, Soup 18 Gate, Book, Wicket 19 Cutting, Knife, Waters 20 Box, Label, White 21 Bow, Forest, Coat 22 Dinner, Donkey, Dust 23 Stand, Bowler, Box 24 Beauty, Carnival, Bee 25 Absent, Broad, Single 26 Fastener, Code, Nylon For the answers see page 39 14

Association Emmanuel Alicante We are a charity Live Music With SuperHits set up to help Every Saturday from 10pm Free Salsa Lessons Wednesdays Feed The Hungry from 6pm to 8pm We have a Charity Shop based in Followed at 8:30 by a Fun quiz San Juan Town whose proceeds are used to help feed the local poor Live Music on Sundays from 1pm of all nationalities. with Maddie Douglas We welcome donations of all kinds: Clothing, Electrical, Furniture, Spanish Conversation For Beginners Food, Financial Help. & More Advanced - Wed from 3pm (Starts 8th April) French Conversation Group Saturdays at 4pm Open every day from 11:30 till close (Closed Mondays) Tel: 965 63 77 04 Overlooking The Beach in El Campello 965 698 082 Food Served Daily Monday – Saturday 09:30 – 16:00 Sunday 09:30 – 14:00 We are currently supporting over 30 What’s On familes with food. Every purchase from our shop helps us do more, so Live Sport / Football Daily come along and see us soon. Tuesdays Darts 20:00 Tel: 611338954 Wednesday Bingo - eyes down 20:00 C/Pintor Baeza 12, San Juan Pueblo Alicante Thursdays Quiz 19:30 Friday Fish and Chips 17:00 – 20:00 (Please Pre-Book) Music Quiz - date to be announced Avd Pais Valencia Busot 03111 15

Rock on, Alicante! A brief geological history/main events/vocabulary, and a bit of context for future articles The Alicante province can be found at the eastern end of the Betic Cordillera, a 600km mountain range which occupies most of the southern and south-eastern parts of the Iberian Peninsula. The rocks here are mainly sedimentary, formed by Jurassic limestones, the accumulation of layers of sediments (loose bits of Cabeço d’Or, Busot anything and everything) in a big and often water-filled dip in the ground (a sedimentary basin). Underneath the sedimentary rocks there is what is known as the basement and which is made up of ancient rocks which are either igneous (made from magma) or metamorphic (rocks which have been changed by heat and pressure). So when and where these rocks were formed? And how and when they were all crushed together and mushed up to form the mountains we see today? So let’s start with the basement, which we can’t actually see here in Alicante, but which we know is the same as the basement everywhere else in the Iberian Peninsula and is made up of metamorphic rocks left over from a tectonic collision (two big chunks of the earth’s surface smashing together to make mountains which were then eroded away) about 300 million years ago. After this there was an episode of extensional activity (a stretching and breaking apart of the basement) which created the dip that we need to accumulate sediments and make our sedimentary rocks. In each different part of the basin different types of rocks were formed. The oldest sedimentary rocks we can see around this area are Triassic in age (200-250 million years old). These are generally the brightly colored red, yellow and green rocks which can be seen, for example, in the Monnegre area just inland from Muchamiel. They were formed in a very shallow, and sometimes exposed, basin. Cretaceous rocks, Cabeço d’Or, Busot A little bit later, in the Jurassic 16 (145-200 million years ago) the sea level rose and the type of rocks that accumulated on top of the Triassic ones changed to be mainly limestones such as the ones you can see at the Cabeço d’Or in Busot, or at Puig Campana in Finestrat. This was later followed by another extensional phase which broke this shallow limestone platform of the basin and created higher and lower areas in the basin where different

types of sediments were accumulated. This continued into the Cretaceous (66- 145 million years ago) where different rocks continued accumulating in the different parts of the basin. At the end of the Cretaceous a huge Triassic rocks near Jijona meteorite impact on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico occurred which caused a mass extinction. Because the Alicante region was quite close to the Yucatan in the late Cretaceous a lot of the dust from the impact accumulated in the basin forming a 2mm thick dark layer, which can be seen in Agost, and which is an international reference for the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the Tertiary (66 million years ago). So this basin, which is pulling itself open, creating different water depths and underwater topography which then causes the formation of different types of sedimentary rocks, suddenly changes its behavior and starts closing. The African Plate to the south starts pushing towards the Iberian Plate to the north about 65 million years ago. The Iberian part of the basin starts going underneath the African part (subduction). This changes the structure of the basin and also influences the rocks types which form, as well as metamorphosing some of the sedimentary rocks further south. The two big plates continue coming together until Alboran, a big island in the middle of the basin, collides with Iberia about 18 million years ago. This closing-together movement and later collision are processes of the Alpine Orogeny which not only mushed up the sedimentary rocks and created the Betic Cordillera but the Alps and many other mountain belts. The next major event to occur is the Messinian salinity crisis (5.3-7.2 million years ago) which produced deposits of evaporites (rocks formed by evaporation) due to the basin losing its water depth. After this the marine conditions returned and the different types of marine rocks started accumulating again. In the present day, the Alicante region is still undergoing a compression (4-5mm/year), with most of the deformation occurring in the southern parts of the province where most of the major active faults are also located and which occasionally cause moderate to high intensity earthquakes which can be very destructive in nature, like the 6.3 – 6.9 magnitude one which occurred in Torrevieja in 1829 causing 389 deaths and the destruction of 2965 homes and damages CLINICA DENTAL in 2396 others. GEERLINGS Matthew Clancy BONALBA Watch out for future articles, Telephone: 965 959 714 including one on how the Caves of Canelobre www.clinicadentalgeerlings.es were formed. 17

Market Days Wednesday El Campello Friday Alicante Thursday & Saturday Sunday Mutxamel Wednesday San Juan Saturday Villajoyosa Thursday Local Area Telephone Numbers El Campello Villajoyosa 965636194/6491 Casa de Cultura 965894250 Casa de Cultura Hospital San Juan 965938700 Post Office 965891230 Post Office (Correos) Health Centre 965630318 Library 965891698 965637106/965937480 / Town Hall 966851001 Ad. Education Centre Taxis 85 Municipal Police 965890050 965635808 Guardia Civil 965891143 Town hall Railway Station 965101611/965101029/ Hospital Marina Baixa 966859800 Tourist Information Tourist Info 966851371 Guardia Civil 965252511 Policía Local Taxis 965893343/902075073 Suma Office 965637200 965262731/900720472 Jijona 965610300 965634606 965610142 965630418/062 Town Hall 965612400 965637099/ 965634444 Guardia Civil 965612031 965292015 Health centre Post Office San Juan 965653245/965653324 Transport 913211000 965942222 902240202 Town Hall 965653232 Alicante Airport 965130700 Local Police 965653368 Renfe 902422242 Guardia Civil 96 593 74 40 Alicante Bus Station 965292034 Alsa (Coaches) Post Office Health Centre 966908240 Other Numbers 1004 Suma Office 965698072 902109356 965699092 Movistar (client attention) 902225235 Busot 965698181/607385522 British Consulate 965989900 Iberdrola (Electricity) Health Centre 965956960 Aguas de Alicante (Water) Casa de Cultura 965952777 Town Hall 965653232 To the best of our knowledge these telephone Police 965953500 numbers are correct but they have been supplied 965953166 to us and have not been verified. If you believe any Mutxamel number to be incorrect please send an email to: Town Hall [email protected] Health Centre Additionally if there are numbers missing from the Guardia Civil list that you feel would be useful please let us know. Local Police Post Office 18

“A superb dining experience at a very reasonable price.” Chef’s Menu Tapas Menus Mon to Fri 11.95€ Special Easter Menu 30€ Every Day - Choice of 2 Sat & Sun 14.95€ (5 courses & 1 drink each) Available All Easter Weekend 20.00€ or 30.00€ (For Two People) Open 10:30 to 16:00 & 19:30 to 22:30 every day except closed Tuesday eve and Wednesday all day C/San Bartolomé 47 El Campello Tel: 966 209 539 Reservations 965 63 43 71 Overlooking the port in El Campello, La Cova offers a delightful place for a relaxing meal. A La Carte or Menu del Dia, both offer superb food at reasonable prices. Open Tuesday To Saturday Lunch Times 13:30 to 16:00 Evenings 19:30 to 23:00 Sunday Lunch Time 13:30 to 16:00 (Closed Monday all day and Sunday evening) Dinner Dance - Last Friday Every Month - 17.50€ Menu of the Day 17.50€ 19

GB BAR ALKABIR, EL CAMPELLO Bar • Restaurant • Sports • Entertainment Tram stop: AMERADOR (2nd stop from El Campello) 2 minutes drive from town centre AIR CONDITIONED Find us on Facebook Telephone 603-33-09-17 [email protected] Open Every Day From 7pm till Late Bookings/Functions/Parties WiFi - Pool - Darts - HD Screens Mon Quiz Night with Barbara Wed Free Pool Table From The Kitchen Fri Karaoke from 9pm Full Meals - Snacks - Sandwiches Children’s Menu Available Saturday 4th April - Live Entertainment from 9pm with International Singing Star Sandra Singing songs from the great female singers Play Your Cards Right in the interval Saturday 18th April - Live Entertainment See Notice Board or Call In For Details SKY SPORTS - ALL LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL IN HD Changes To Succession Law You cannot begin to imagine the expense and heartache that can be caused by failure to have a Spanish Will. Many are under the impression that only having a UK Will is sufficient and will cover their assets in Spain after their death. Our advice has always been that anyone owning assets in Spain - ie property, bank accounts,vehicles etc is recommended to make a Will in Spain which should be limited to assets, rights and shares situated in Spanish territory. Changes to Succession Law will come into force in august 2015 meaning that those resident in Spain will automatically have Spanish law applied to their estate. Consequently, your Spanish Will should include a specific clause stating that you wish your estate to be administered as per your nationality and not your residence. Now is the time to check your Spanish Wills to ensure such a clause is included. For advice on this matter or more information then please contact [email protected] or telephone 687170241 www.lbs-spain.com “First consultation free”. CLINICA DENTAL GEERLINGS BONALBA Telephone: 965 959 714 www.clinicadentalgeerlings.es 20

e Royal Carvery Alkabir Traditional Home Made English We are here for you! Affordable, Food and Breakfasts Trustworthy and Transparent. With a Good Choice of Quality Wines The cost of a funeral here in Spain can be extremely high, and this cost has to be paid almost immediately. Avalon Menu Del Dia 8.50€ brings peace of mind to those you leave behind - sorting 3 Courses and a glass of wine/water/coffee everything out with just one English speaking phone call. • Guaranteed to pay whenever the inevitable happens. Sunday Roast 10€ • Covers UK as well as Spain. Three Courses • Flexible Payment Options . • Just one phone call needed to an English speaking Friday & Saturday Evening BBQ 8€ Please book in advance service. • Avalon has been operating for 25 years. M.R. KARAOKE • We conform to UK regulations and procedures, Saturday 11th April 8pm to Late bringing that reassurance to Spain. • Funeral costs �ixed for life. We are open 10am to 3pm Tuesday to Saturday 6pm to late Avalon offers a quality pre-paid funeral plan Sunday From 1pm to bring comfort and reassurance to all of us living here in Spain Reservations: 96 56 36 890 We’re easy to nd on Alkabir For further information please call me just o the N332 from El Campello Joe Costigan on Tel. 688 206 107 Email: [email protected] 21

Film Review Megan Parker CHAPPiE Imagine Robocop, only he’s just been born and he’s not entirely human. His physical strength compares to the fragility of a toddler, and he hides in corners in fear of strangers. He wouldn’t be much use in a crime-ridden world, would he? Well, that’s basically how Chappie, the Artificial intelligence robot, begins his life. In the near future, South Africa’s police force is ruled by crime-fighting robots. Human ability is no longer required other than on the basis of supervision, and the creation of bigger and better robots. The plot focuses on the deviant endeavours of a quirky, small-time gang who get themselves into the cliché, sticky situation of owing drug money to a much scarier bunch of people who own even more guns. With a week’s deadline, the gang turn to the computer geek genius, Deon Wilson, who is the creator of the police droids. In the hope of pulling off a million dollar heist, they confide in him to simply ‘switch them off’ for the time being. Instead, they get given ‘Chappie’, a childish robot in need of human socialisation and training in preparation for the heist, which if I haven’t already mentioned, is in a week. The best thing about this film is the music. The alternative indie genres compliment the futuristic nature of ‘Chappie’, and emphasise the contrasting suburban back-drops of rich skyscrapers and loud, explosive graffiti to symbolise the rebellious subcultures of the gangs in the city of Johannesburg. Actually no, I lied. The best thing about this film is the cast. Hugh Jackman decides to stray from his usual heroicness in this one. He plays the bad guy for once, which is actually a plausible decision considering he does the whole ‘angry and violent’ thing rather well. Slumdog Millionaire’s Dev Patel plays the character of Deon Wilson, who spends most of the time running around after things, just as he did in ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’. He is an excellent runner. So will a group of small-time criminals and a baby- minded robot successfully complete the heist? I guess you’ll have to watch it to found out. 22

Bernie‛s 965 632 576 Back by popular demand Friday Fish and Chips Karaoke Night. FISH AND CHIPS ONLY 5 EUROS If you dont want to take part in the Karaoke no problem just turn up for your fish and chips. Starting Friday 3rd of April. Look out for Saturday Night live outside entertainment Starting in the summer - Artists to be announced shortly. Sunday Roast Beef Dinners 1pm to 4pm Bingo - 7pm Sunday Nights Sports At Bernie´s Multi Screen TVs means you can watch All Premiership Football Games Plus Rugby - Tennis - Boxing - F1 If It‛s Sport, You Can See It Here We offer a wide range of quality English meals and snacks at prices that won‛t hurt the pocket. Come along and see us soon to find out for yourself why everyone comes to Bernies We Are Open Mon to Fri 10am to 4pm & 7pm to 10pm (Bar and Kitchen) Sat 10am till 7pm (Bar and Kitchen) Sunday (All Day), Kitchen closed at 5pm On the sea front in El Campello - towards the southern end 23

Mediterranean Gardens Roald Goorman Bulbs in the garden (Part 2) Last month I discussed bulbs from South Africa. This month I will discuss some of the loveliest bulbs from the European Mediterranean. You don’t always have to go far away to find the nicest things! Scilla peruviana is a native from Southwest Spain and Portugal. It can be found on freely draining rocky or sandy soils. This bulb produces amazing blue tennis ball size spheres with hundreds of tiny blue flowers on each sphere. This plant grows in midwinter and produces many leaves before producing the flowers in March/April. The Squill genus (Scilla) has If you have a dry garden you definitely should many garden worthy species, consider this species. It gradually forms larger clumps. If you want to, for example the Madeira Squill you can divide it every 3 years to make new groups in other parts of (Scilla madeirensis) the garden or simply leave it and enjoy an even bigger display of blue bloom in spring! Do not put it anywhere near an irrigation system, otherwise the bulbs will succumb to rot. Muscari sp. (Grape Hyacinths) is another genus with various members spread around the Mediterranean from the Middle East to Southwest Spain/ Portugal. Some common species are Muscari botryoides and Muscari armeniacum. Yellow/White flowering and highly fragrant are the Muscari muscarimi and M. macrocarpum, both native to Turkey. All Muscaris are very easy to cultivate. They spread quickly and, if really happy, they tend to be a bit on the invasive side. Grow them in pots if you fear too much spread. Or if yours is a difficult garden where little wants to grow, plant grape hyacinths in bare spots and let it take over! Asphodel, a common Mediterranean bulb, usually associated with overgrazed land, roadside verges and rocky terrain. It is easy to grow and forms a profusion of white pinkish flower spikes in early spring. It tolerates many soil types and can even handle waterlogging in winter! The sword like leaves remind me of Red hot pokers (Kniphofia) to which it is related. Deadhead in summer if you want it to look tidy during the dormant period and to prevent over-enthusiastic self-seeding. The three most common species are Asphodelus fistulosus, A. alba and A. aestivus. Ornithogalum collinum – Star of the Mediterranean. The Ornithogalum genus is mostly known for their Southern African members, but Ornithogalum collinum is a very garden worthy Mediterranean native! O collinum is a true Mediterranean bulb that manages to endure prolonged freezing weather during the winter and the baking temperatures and drought of summer. It is found across the region from Spain to the Balkans and is a plant of well-drained and stony soils on hillsides and verges. In April and May, it races to flower and set seed before the summer heat arrives. At 3cm across, the sparkling white upturned flowers are considerably larger than those of 24

other better known Ornithogalum species. Plants are extremely rare in cultivation, but seeds can be found with specialised nurseries on the internet. Allium. The genus Allium contains approximately 850 species. The centre of Allium diversity is in the Mediterranean/Middle East region although other smaller centres of diversity are found in North America and Eastern Asia. The genus is perhaps best known from the handful of species that make up the edible food crops we’re all familiar with, e.g. onions (Allium cepa), leeks (Allium ampeloprasum), garlic (Allium sativum), scallion (Allium fistulosum ), and chives (Allium schoenoprasum); but many more species are known for their ornamental value and are thus dubbed the “ornamental onions”. Some of the showiest examples are Allium cristophii (Stars of Persia), Allium sphaerocephalon (drumstick allium) (middle), Allium caeruleum (right) and Allium schubertii (left). There are many more Mediterranean bulbs that are worth a mention but that would take this whole edition to discuss! If you want to know more about Mediterranean bulbs or simply have other garden related questions feel free to contact me at: [email protected] Gardens tailor made to suit your needs www.mediterragarden.es Tel: 630 477 295 [email protected] Avenida del Reino 1, 3a - 30130 Beniel (Murcia) 25

Flight of the Condor It is late April and the sun is warm, especially away from the shade of the narrow streets. It is four in the afternoon and the school day is over. I am running across the square into the vibrant and spacious open-air market place to help Mama sell her basket ware. The colourful stalls are arranged in rows. Craning my neck I’m scanning the crowd. “Who are you looking for cariño?” Mama asks. Stepping into the shade of the white canvas covered stall I see the twinkle in her eyes. “You want to see Pedro, no?” “Oh, Mama. You know we are only friends.” Let me tell you about my friend Pedro; he is almost the same age as me and he works with his Papa, walking the herds of goats and sheep across the land for grazing, just like his Grandpapa used to do many years ago – our traditions are important to us in the Basque country. Last summer I would walk along with him and we would talk about everything. I’d agreed to let him hold my hand. Smiling now, I remember Mama’s face when Pedro sent me home with a new-born goat. Its mother had given birth to twins out in the hills and Pedro said we would have one each, they could be our pets. Mama had laughed. “Soon he will want you as his bride!” Mama tells me, sassiness in her voice as she teases. “Next will come the kiss. You see if I’m right!” I feel my face blushing at Mama’s words. It is months since I saw Pedro. But maybe today. Maybe he will come to the market with his Papa and today will be a good day for us. I smile at my beautiful Mama and squeeze her, placing a peck on her cheek at the same time. Mama says the market has been busier since the arrival of thousands of refugees moving up from the south, away from the war. We used to be such a small town, more of a village really, but we must all stick together and help each other through. Papa works in the Taberna Vasca for a few hours helping his cousin, Xavier, just on market days. He says the injured are arriving all the time at the Hospital Josefinas. Some are recuperating within the Convent of Santa Clara. Papa tells me that the men in the bar love to chatter over their vino. He often hears snippets of news about the war and General Franco’s frontline. The most recent discussions have been about Durango, a nearby town which was bombed a few weeks ago. Papa says it was dreadful and that more than two hundred people were killed, and even a priest died. Every day I ray the saints will protect me and my family. The market place is swarming. Some folk from the country are still arriving, especially from the more remote farms. Above the racket of voices the Church Bells of Santa Maria begin to clang. Unlike the normal peel which would ring out at half past four there is an urgency in their tone. The buzz of voices stops and the crowd is immobilised. Silence descends and for a few seconds my whole world is muted, the only sound being the bleating of a lamb. “Pedro,” I murmur. 26

The stillness is rudely broken by the droning of an engine. The planes are coming. I can hear the whining getting louder and louder. Everyone begins to panic. I’d hoped and prayed to the Blessed Maria that the war would spare our town but now it is here. Chaos rules the market place. Mama grabs my arm and together we are running along with the crowds of people all heading for cover. “Teresa, run to the Taberna. We need to find Papa. Quickly. ” cries Mama. The crowd scatters and seeks safety in every direction. The nearest place to run is to the Vizcaya bank across the market place, to hide inside its cellars and be protected by its strong stone walls. Directly behind the market, the Arrien Restaurant is also vast enough for a few hundred people to shelter but it has no cellars. Some are running in that direction. Others are heading west to the school, or to the railway station on the east side. They are running to the bars, the shops and down towards the Hotel Julian, pushing each other, pulling their wives and children along. I see countless people running towards the edge of town, probably heading for the countryside, the hills, the fields, their homes maybe. Screaming and desperate, declarations and prayers to God are quickly drowned by the sound of the plane above us. I stumble, falling onto the cobbled street losing my grip on Mama’s hand. The crowd splits and passes on either side of me as I try to get back onto my feet. I tuck my arms close to my body to try and protect them from being trampled. I feel as if I am an island in a sea of madness. Suddenly, I hear an almighty boom thousands of times louder than any thunder I have ever heard. Terror fills me and I gasp for breath. A priest’s hand reaches down and grabs hold of my arm, pulling me upwards to break the surface. I am no longer able to see Mama. She must have been pulled away by everyone else in the crowd. I look up at a plane flying above the town as it passes over my head. I see its two engines and hear their deep droning noise filling the air. It has black crosses on the underneath of the wings. It is the German Air force, I’m sure. The plane turns slightly to the south revealing its tail, half painted white with a black diagonal cross, and in front of the cross, still on the tail I see what looks like a picture of a white eagle with a bomb in its claws. I can see the big bombs raining down from the belly of the plane emitting an ear-splitting shriek as they plunge downwards towards the buildings below. One, two, three, four, five, six. I stop counting. My hands cover my ears trying to drown out the noise but it isn’t working. The bombs are hitting the ground somewhere in the direction of the railway station. Billowing smoke rises high into the sky. The thudding inside my ribs feels as though my heart is stopping, like I am being kicked in the chest. It coincides with each bomb that finds a target. “Dear God, have mercy on me,” I murmur as I stand in the middle of the street, lifting my hand and blessing myself in the form of the cross whilst at the same time trembling from head to foot. The earth rumbles and the air is filling with dense black smoke all around me. The walls of houses and shops are falling to the ground, collapsing into mounds of stone and rubble and iron. Dirt is flying high into the air. Grains of grit and choking smoke are filling my nostrils. Almost every building in the street towards the railway station, Calle de la Estacion, is reduced to piles of dust and debris. The drone of the plane fades into the distance and as quickly as it arrived it is gone. “Are you hurt, child?” A woman shakes me. Her voice cuts through my shock, jolting me back to face the reality of what is happening. I am staring into the face of a woman, probably in her thirties. Her clothes and hair are grey from the dust which is filling the air. Crumbling buildings, rubble, the twisted metal wrecks of motor cars and delivery vans are blocking the streets. For a moment everything is silent. I feel as if I have lost my hearing. This is only a dream. It has to be a bad dream and surely I am about to wake. “I… I… I need to find my Mama,” I say, and I turn and walk away from her. Nothing looks familiar any more. Piles of rubble are smouldering from the now charred wood which until twenty minutes ago held the houses together. People are coming outside from their hiding places now that the plane has gone, walking about in silence looking dazed at the sheer devastation in front of them. I am walking passed an injured man clawing at a pile of bricks. 27

His hands are raw and bleeding. “Help me. Please. My children, my wife are under here,” he sobs. He has a gaping cut from his right ear across to his nose. I am aware that his jacket is shredded, revealing deep cuts to his upper right arm and his neck, yet he still has his beret on his head. I ignore him and continue to clamber over rubble. The pile of stones and twisted metal beneath my feet suddenly feels different. I stop walking and look towards the ground. Horrified, I realise that I am standing on someone’s foot. There is no leg attached to the foot; it has no body; it is one foot and its toes are black and smoking. The pungent smell of its burning toenails are filling my mind with memories of when the blacksmith fitted new shoes to our horse. I retch and reel backwards losing my balance and twisting my ankle as I fall to the ground. Blood-stained bricks and shreds of textiles are everywhere and I dare not look closely at the rubble for fear of seeing the other foot; or worse, the face of the person who owns the foot. I have no voice with which to cry. I cannot describe the unbearable pain in my heart and the terror I am feeling. Screams penetrate my head, becoming louder and louder. They are the cries of children, women and grown men searching for their loved ones, and helping those who are injured. Men are pulling mattresses from piles of rubble and laying the injured on top of them. The dead are scattered all around. People are running again. Above the screams I can hear the roar of the plane. Panicking, I spring to my feet. In spite of the pain in my ankle, fear is at the forefront of my mind and I am running with everyone else. I lift my eyes to the sky. I can see four planes. They look the same as the first one which came, flying in from the north and heading for the town again. Some of the people are stopping and staring up at the sky, their mouths are gaping in disbelief at the planes. I feel too afraid to stop so I push my way through the townsfolk and I keep running, heading down towards the river. The bombs are falling, whistling as they rush through the air. Walls are crashing to the ground. Fires are burning in every part of the town that I can see. There are huge holes, craters, in the streets where the bombs have already landed. They look as deep as a three storey building. I am fighting my way around the holes, still moving as fast as I can, afraid that a bomb is going to land near me. A bomb falls at the far end of the street near to the Hotel Julian. I can only stand and watch, helplessly, as dozens of people are ripped from the ground with the force of the blast. I can do nothing to help. Part of the hotel wall collapses and is burning fiercely. The bodies of my friends and fellow villagers are plummeting from the sky, landing on top of the flaming rubble. I am screaming but still no sound comes from within me. I continue running forward in the direction of the hotel ruins, scrambling across the piles of rocks and lifeless bodies. Disconnected limbs and torsos are scattered across the destruction. I place my hands on top of my head protectively, and I keep on running, turning left at the top of the street into Calle Don Tello. The planes are flying above the town on my left hand side. My legs carry me across the street and into the grass at the side of the Mundaca River. I fall to my knees and lay face down into the grass, remembering Papa telling me that if I ever need to hide, I should lay still and pretend I was dead. Even away from the buildings, the air is laden with dust and grit. The planes are leaving the town, flying south. I dare not move in case they return for a third time. As I lay in the grass all I now hear is the sounds of brickwork crumbling to the ground and the crackling and hissing of fires. I give thanks to God, for at this moment the sky is quiet and I drag myself a few metres along through the grass to be nearer to the river where the grass is taller. I can hear more planes coming. The droning sound is deep and it’s coming closer every second. People are once more screaming and wailing. I lay still in the grass, on my back, afraid even to breathe in case I am spotted. 28

Hell has arrived here in Guernica. I find myself looking up through the tall grass at the underside of dozens of planes. The first planes are enormous - much bigger than the previous ones. These are made from corrugated grey metal and they too display a black cross underneath. Each plane has three engines. I think I can see faces watching our annihilation through the many glass windows visible down the sides of these great bombing machines. They are spread across the whole of the town. The bombs are dropping one after the other. I feel sure that I am going to die. The smaller planes follow, releasing smaller bombs - bombs which look like thin silver tubes and which, when they hit the ground, flash a blinding light before they burst into flames setting fire to anything that will burn. I listen as women and children scream and run. From my hiding place in the grass I witness a man with his clothes on fire, his piercing screams burning a permanent memory into my head just as surely as the flames are devouring his flesh. He is flapping his arms trying to extinguish the flames, almost stepping on me as he runs towards the river. Launching himself forward into the cold mountain water, I hear the sizzle as he is extinguished. At the back of the swarm of warplanes are many smaller planes, still displaying the swastika symbol on the tail. With a single propeller and a white nose these planes are flying very low. I train my vision on a solitary pilot flying one of these planes. He is looking out of the small side window, searching for anything that moves. He has spotted some people heading for the Renteria Bridge. They are trying to run from the town. The pilot turns the plane, swoops lower and fires his machine-gun at them. Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta. Everyone falls to the ground. Dead. A herd of goats and sheep are also running for the bridge and the pilot obliterates them too. I don’t know if they are Pedro’s. I don’t know if he is alive or dead. I think I have laid here by the river for hours hidden by the long grass. The planes came many times but now the skies have been quiet for maybe half an hour. “Mama. Papa,” I whisper. I think it may be safe now to search for them and I climb to my feet slowly, afraid that if I move too fast I will be shot. Standing in front of the Church of Santa Maria my eyes are stinging from the dust clinging to my eyeballs. As I blink it scratches the inside of my eyelids. I want to cry but my tears can’t come. I’m screaming inside but the only sound is the crunching stones and rubble beneath my feet. There is nothing left; everything has been destroyed, yet Santa Maria’s Church is still here. To my left and my right are the ruins of our town – Uncle Antonio’s bakery is completely destroyed. Almost every building is demolished. On both sides of the street walls that this morning were white are now scorched and blackened, seared and branded, ready to collapse in a heap on top of the dozens of dead bodies lying amid the debris. How can life change so quickly, so dramatically, in less than four hours? We have become a part of the civil war. Written by Ann Lorraine Smith This is a story of fiction based on fact. The bombing of Guernica (Gernika) took place on Monday 26th April 1937. 29

Delicious Desserts Caribbean Fried Bananas with Rum 4 Bananas (peeled) 50g / 2oz Caster Sugar 65g / 2½oz Unsalted Butter 45ml / 3 tbsp Dark Rum Grated rind & juice of 1 lime Vanilla ice cream approx 8 - 12 fresh strawberries 1. Place the sugar, rum, butter, grated lime rind and the lime juice into a large frying pan on a low heat stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved. 2. Cut the bananas in half down their length and add to the pan. 3. Cook on a medium heat until the bananas are golden brown on each side (approximately 8 - 10 minutes in total). 4. Keep turning them over so that each side is coated with the sauce. 5. Remove from the heat and place the two halves of each banana on a plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with the sauce from the frying pan and serve decorated with one or two fresh strawberries. Tip - Don’t use overripe bananas as they tend to break in the frying pan.

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Making Changes Mind over Matter. Perhaps you are one of the many of us who would dearly love to find a way of overcoming the weaknesses in your personality, and maybe you think it is too far along the road of life and you cannot make any meaningful changes now. YOU CAN DO IT. There need be nothing to stop you. There are no fees or expensive tuition. You can pull it off if you recognise the ability within you and you are determined enough to do it. All through your life your mind has picked up and remembered good and bad, and experiences. These have taken root in your subconscious, and that is where the building work has taken place all through your life. Don’t be discouraged as you realise what a massive building programme has been going on! It is never too late to start to think differently and to change the whole pattern of your life. Your life’s result is down to the things you have thought and acted upon. Realising this is very powerful because you can see that what is now required is a change of thinking to achieve a change in the results you are having. You can reconstruct your thinking. It may not be easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible! Sometimes we are afraid to give outward signs that we are thinking differently and acting differently. There is a wonderful book called “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway” and the message is that as long as you are only concerned about feeling “comfortable” no change is going to take place. Making progress involves a certain amount of fear, but do it anyway! Don’t let “I can’t” hold you back in life. Let “I can” take over, and look forward to the future changes. Violet King You may not be able to move out of your physical circumstances with ease, Personal but you can start by moving mentally to make you feel happier. Learn day Confidential by day to appreciate everything you have that is good . . . life itself is a Counsellor gift, that’s why today is called “the present”! Try smiling as you talk . . . see what a difference that makes. I know someone who smiles at everyone, For information the biggest and sincerest of smiles, and the results are amazing! I learnt please ring something from that! Don’t be afraid to keep on learning and keep on being 966928256 or prepared to making changes. 634312179. There are many dark areas in people’s lives . . . abuse, cruelty, and lack Alternatively send of emotional support, and I do not underestimate these things, but our an email to: salvation is to plan the changes we can make each day, and make them. vmking303@ yahoo.com If I can be of any help to any of you to help you to make these changes please call me, or if you are in the Torrevieja area, perhaps six or eight of Website: you would be interested in sharing in group sessions to help you and to www. share the things that are controlling your lives? If you are interested call me makechanges. on either of the numbers in the box on the left. webs.com Till next time. Violet. 33

Music Ramblings Vince Tracy Moments in history are pivotal. In the early 1960s The Beatles were exciting all of us with their music and they were beginning to become very popular in America. The groups were becoming very popular around Merseyside and some were gaining popularity in other parts of the world with Germany and America well to the fore. I listened to the American Forces Network Radio AFN and Radio Luxembourg - the BBC had not yet started Radio 1. Radio Caroline was another huge influence and the DJs were able to share their personalities with various gimmicks used in producing jingles to play on their shows. It’s not always clear who was choosing their music and you might remember the Payola scandal where money was being paid to DJs and producers to give records airtime on popular shows. Like most people I just enjoyed the music and didn’t realise there was so much politics involve. I hadn’t known that the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, had bought copies of the song Love Me Do to help the Beatles climb the charts. Despite all the hard work of their astute manager the Beatles were to generate their own problems. In 1966, John Lennon’s statement that The Beatles were ‘more popular than Jesus Christ’ was published in The London Evening Standard. He said, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. We’re more popular then Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary.” This was hardly the most diplomatic thing he could have said. There was a terrific backlash and Christian groups in the US were outraged resulting in some states burning Beatles records. Lennon later apologised. I suspect he was ordered to do so by his manager. However, had the Beatles got too big for their boots and did John Lennon really believe what he had told the press? In 1972, Lennon wrote a letter to American Evangelist Oral Roberts, apparently in which he apologized and further explained his statement about being “bigger” than God. Here’s an excerpt from a letter that Lennon wrote to Roberts: “The point is this, I want happiness. I don’t want to keep on with drugs. Paul told me once, ‘You made fun of me for taking drugs, but you will regret it in the end.’ Explain to me what Christianity can do for me. Is it phoney? Can He love me? I want out of hell.” It has been subsequently explained that John wasn’t against Jesus but was against organised religion. Well, John certainly did put his foot in it and Christianity has survived whereas the Beatles are now a memory with only two of the Fab Four still alive. I still love their music and I like to play their songs on my guitar. This, however, was a classic instance of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and the Beatles certainly suffered through John’s faux pas. John would seem to have had his heart in a good place with his campaigns for peace and love. Many of us still like to hear his Christmas song and the world certainly still needs to bear his prophetic words in mind . . . all we are saying is give peace a chance. All we are saying is give peace a chance. John Lennon 34

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Windows 10 Tech Tips If you read last month’s magazine you will know I’ve been trying out the new version of Windows which is expected to hit PCs around October. To test it I installed it on two PCs, one an average spec PC, the other an older Asus Eee PC netbook with minimum spec. This way I hoped to find out how most of us will cope when the new system arrives. My first impressions overall have been very positive. My Windows 7 PC upgraded and kept all its installed programs and settings. Because the netbook didn’t already have Windows 7 or later, it had to be treated as a completely new installation with the hard drive being reformatted and programs reinstalled after the installation of Windows 10. Start up time was the one thing Windows 8 had improved on when compared to its predecessors, with the time taken from switch on to being able to do something useful noticeably quicker. Windows 10 has, if anything, improved on this further. It’s still nowhere near the speed of starting a Chrome OS computer, but it’s now far more useable than it was. Every program (now called apps) has worked correctly so far apart from a few small niggles with a couple of the new apps which come with Windows 10. The test process is of course intended to fix these, and they are only niggles not major problems. The netbook is a bit slow as I expected, but then it was slow when it had Windows XP installed. Most of the time the slowness is due to disk access which the small amount of memory (RAM) leads to as it switches program info in and out of memory. But it is useable and some of this article has been written on it in fact. What’s Changed? If you are used to Windows 8.1, then Windows 10 will hold few surprises. If you are more used to Windows 7 or earlier then you will have a steeper learning curve I’m afraid. When you turn the PC on, you are presented with an almost blank screen similar to 8.1 showing a clock and some info re WiFi and battery state. You click on this screen to bring up the login page where you enter your password. Once logged in, your desktop appears, all much like Windows 7 or 8.1, but if you click on the Start Button, the screen that opens is more like a cross between 7 and 8.1 with a vertical list of apps (programs) on the left and a collection of tiles. At the bottom of the program list is an ‘All apps’ option which if clicked produces a tall scrolling list of the apps that are installed. You can also expand the tiles part to fill the screen. If you have more tiles than can fit, they also scroll vertically. On the task bar there are two new items. A search option which allows you to search on the PC as well as on the internet via Microsoft’s Bing, and a ‘Task Manager’ tool to allow multiple desktops, this latter only when the desktop is showing. The multiple desktops option is something that Mac users have had for a while and allows you to create several desktops with different apps open on each. You can switch between the desktops as wished using the task manager. I’m personally not sure how useful this will be but I’m sure time will tell. But to me the best part of the new operating system is that for users of Windows 7 (with service pack 1) and 8.1, the upgrade will be free if taken in the first year from Windows 10’s release. And then future upgrades will remain free for the life of the PC. Microsoft apparently make very little money from upgrades and it costs them a fortune to continue to support multiple operating systems, so it makes financial sense for them if we are all using the same system. Will I upgrade when the time comes? Well I was one of the many who didn’t like Windows 8 when it came out. I still think that Windows 8.1 tries too hard to do things for me and hide away the things I need to find, but I’m getting to like it, so yes I will upgrade. The new system is better than 8.1 and will be even better once the feedback from the thousands of beta testers has been assimilated. Also, the offer of continuing free upgrades should mean a reduction in potential security hazards as well. 36

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Living In Laos ~ The Life of an Ex-Pat John Nelson Part 2 The dream; the reality; an error and a lie. I had arrived in Asia at last, well in Bangkok to first day. I failed to comprehend the complexity be precise. It was around mid-morning when my of arriving in a foreign capital city with no flight from Amsterdam arrived, I think about 9am agenda, no hotel, no expectation or thought for when the doors to the plane finally opened and what I was actually going to do! My visa form I could breathe some fresh air after the 11hrs of wanted to know where I was staying. Nothing recycled people’s breath! How disappointed I else mattered to my brain now except how the felt when the rush of air was anything but fresh, hell do I complete this form? “Can you imagine kind of more humid and heavy. Still I breathed it being refused entry because you don’t know in as a welcome friend after the intimacy of so what you’re doing?” These were the words many hundred strangers personally breathing my brain was speaking over and over to me. over me, on me and in me! I remember feeling So I did what every honest traveller would do refreshed, but with hindsight this could have when completing the form for the scary looking been early on-set jet-lag from my two flights, but uniformed official. I LIED! I made up a name of it was ok as I fought my way through crowds a guest house in Bangkok and scribbled it down of bustling people oblivious to the messages hoping it would be ok and they wouldn’t ask me contained in the overhead tannoy calls, clearly to show a booking or something. in a new language to me. All I wanted was to get my bag from the luggage area and escape The next thing I recall my brain saying was into my long awaited freedom. ‘”John, you’re stupid. Why did you worry?” this was after the official glanced at my passport My first escape from the dream I had built in and stamped the page before scribbling a my head was as I queued with everyone else signature on the visa form and adding it to a at Thai Immigration. It was here they handed pile. I just smiled and walked on through. me a form to complete, you know the type which allows you free entry, a visa stamp and a Outside the airport my dream was further request for more personal information. At that shattered when the reality of having no map or point the dream began to turn to reality with idea where to go stopped me like a brick wall! a slow but impending awareness that nothing Taxi men were yelling at me, “City. City. One is as it seems inside our head. No matter thousand baht.” Or they would shout, “Cow how sensible or stupid we can be, when that Son. Cow Son. 800 baht.” In truth, this was sledgehammer of reality hits home the brain meant to be Khao San Road, the place where goes into ‘panic mode’. Mine happened here! I all back-packers headed but in reality a place I had dreamt of a wondrous adventure starting in never wanted to see. I ignored all of them and Thailand and yet with less than 30 minutes on headed to the sky train, a monorail/urban transit the clock the basic schoolboy error had literally train system which took me to the city for I think smashed me in the face! What was I doing in 50 baht, maybe less. ‘Superb’ I thought, ‘I’ve Bangkok? just saved a fortune on a taxi.’ Yes I know I was travelling in South East Asia, Next time read about my very close encounter and Bangkok is the main arrival and departure with a rat, the delights of Bangkok Central and a point for most people, but WHAT WAS I DOING potential insult to the Thai Royal Family! IN BANGKOK? I had not even considered my 38

4 1 9 8 7 3 6 2 5 Puzzle Solutions 34 21 89S1u8 d57ok63u 96 42 75 Crossword 195278695278635278634 678439578439528439521 423561723561783561789 536742936742916742918 914386214386254386257 782195482195462195463 357824157824197824196 816597316957439157342 249618349638179613785 19 67 42 53 91 78 35 86 24 71 96 64 55 19 37 23 48 82 47 39 16 25 91 83 62 74 58 1. Diamond Link Word 269318542693187426931 815472638154729381547 527839415278396152783 648793126487935264879 753624897536241975362 492165784921653849216 184957361849572618495 936581279365814793658 371246953712468537124 2 Green 58 62 49 13 84 75 37 21 96 3 Light 14 Ice 75 36 24 91 48 17 53 62 89 4 United 15 Year 67 13 82 29 54 71 95 36 48 5 Xray 16 Table 934125869341257693412 425879614258793142587 579631485796312857963 816354728163549281635 687913256879134568791 352468973524681735246 241786392417865924178 198247531982476319824 763692147636928476369 6 Apple 17 Onion 85 69 41 74 23 98 36 57 12 7 Full 18 Keeper 8 Victoria 19 Edge 9 Bus 20 Wine 10 Nail 21 Rain 11 Pepper 22 Jacket 12 Sun 23 Hat 13 Candle 24 Queen 25 Minded 5 Ships in a Port 26 Zip 8Na6tio4na7lity2 9 D3ep5art1ure Load Chimney Destination French 5.00 Tea Blue Genoa Greek 6.00 Coffee Red Hamburg Brazilian 8.00 Cocoa Black Manila English 9.00 Rice White Marseille Spanish 7.00 Corn Green Port Said 39

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