Avenida Paris, Calle Paris or Avenida de Paris!

Sometimes you just have to laugh at life in Spain. Such is the reaction of some residents from Avenida Paris in Torrevieja. Three years ago this stretch of road opened in Torrevieja allowing drivers and buses better access from Torrevieja to La Mata. The new street; Avenida Paris is a continuation of Calle Paris and the two have lived side by side for many years but until the development of new urbanizations, the road was never completed. After  the road opened permanently,  many taxi and delivery drivers have had major problems finding correct addresses! Many would say that it can’t be that difficult in this day and age of satellite navigation systems plus Torrevieja has a number of excellent maps as a point of reference. So what’s the problem?

Miscommunication and that deadly word ‘assumption’ are probably to blame and with it, a few red faces at the Torrevieja Town Hall, as a couple of week’s ago new street signs were proudly attached to walls along the Avenue. Nothing wrong with that you may say. Well, you’d be wrong; as at the very top end of Avda. Paris there now is a sign for Calle Paris and on the other side of the road, not 50-metres away, is a completely new non-existent street for Torrevieja, Avenida  de Paris. So now one stretch of road, about half a mile or so in length, has all three street names on it; no wonder that delivery drivers, taxis and visitors have problems finding their way around! It should be pointed out that these are newly designed signs. There are others from an older generation that are incorrect too!

Now that local residents have had a laugh at the Town Hall’s expense, one must wonder how many different employees at the Town Hall managed to order these new signs, hand work orders over to the installers, who unquestionably installed them, within sight of each other, without even batting an eyelid or maybe questioning the reason behind it! Resident’s look forward to the new signs and possibly receiving their mail while developers at Tom Tom work to upgrade their Sat Nav systems! 

Notary Murdered in Torrevieja

On the Costa Blanca Monday, shock-waves were sent through the local Torrevieja business community when within 100-metres from the Town Hall, a well-respected Notary was murdered at work.  Guardia Civil are on the lookout for two individuals who shot to death notary, Juan Jose Martinez Roman, 54, at around 12.15 pm on Monday afternoon.

Latest reports indicate that two masked individuals burst into the notary's office, located at the corner of Ramón Gallut (74) y Marisa Parodi and demanded money from the employee on the front desk. On hearing the commotion, Senior Martinez exited his office to discover the disturbance and  confront the aggressors. Apparently, the attackers fired twice at the notary, mortally wounding him before fleeing the office.

Emergency services were immediately summoned but paramedics from Service of Atención Médica Urgente (SAMU) could only declare him dead upon arrival on the scene at 12.27 Monday.

Guardia Civil are now searching for the two individuals who they can only be described as being armed and dangerous. Any one with information about the crime can contact Guardia Civil in Torrevieja on 96 571 01 13. 

Club Torrevieja celebrate their Third Anniversary in style

It’s hard to believe that three years has passed since a group of classic car enthusiasts sat down together for a drink one evening and decided that the time was right for Torrevieja to have it’s own International Car Club.

Spurred on by the success of a night-time display on the Vista Alegre, prior to the Last Night on the Proms show back in 2006, a meeting was advertised from which over seventy people showed up, much to the surprise of the organisers. And so Club Torrevieja Classics and Specialists Cars was created and since then, they have attracted over (120) one hundred and twenty members to the club, and still growing every month.

The Club was formed to bring together all nationalities that are interested in keeping old cars on the road as well as helping with Driver Awareness, to highlight some of the problems associated with driving in Spain. On Sunday October 4th they celebrated their 3rd Anniversary and the International nature of the club was much in force as the countries represented included Denmark, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Great Britain.

All those who participated received a bottle of the freshly made wine from La Mata’s Bodega Simon, a very special wine as it is the first wine to be produced in La Mata as well as being total organic and made by the local families of La Mata in Torrevieja. Leaving the wine untouched, for the moment, the cars set out on a beautiful Sunday drive that took in the scenic green lake of Pedera; sparkling in the unexpected burning sun in the light blue sky. Turning off into the campo with the fruit producing granjas that sit between the sharply cut out hills of the Orihuela, this part of the Vega Baja always changes and is always breath taking to drive through before heading for Torrevieja and their awards dinner.

This year the venue chosen was the magnificent Restaurante Queen Mississippi that rests on the brow of the pine dunes of La Mata that runs down to the sea. The restaurant has a unique and feel to it as it has been built in the style of an old Mississippi paddle steamer with an Octagonal cafeteria in front where the members congregated for a welcome free cocktail while making new and meeting old friends. Today two Irishmen joined the club even though they only are only regular holidaymakers, and soon made friends. John was to say that he wished the Classic Car Clubs back home could be as welcoming as this one is. While the cocktails were being consumed the members sat down in the wicker chairs to watch a film show produced by vice-president Keith Nicol and his son Brandon, depicting the 18 events held by the club over 12 months. Last year show was spectacular but this year was outstanding with the use of music to complement the photos that had special effects, which gave the feeling of each club day. When it was finished most members climbed out onto the top deck of the restaurant to get a view of the natural pine park with the seascape that was astonishingly picturesque.

As always, the awards surprised the recipients with Michael Stansmore receiving the Trabant Trophy for putting a smile on the faces of the members, Muriel Blackwell who worked tirelessly during the year to make sure every member no mater what language they spoke were enjoying themselves, received the Hand of Friendship Award and the Outstanding Member Award went to our Portuguese member Albino Careino who not only attended almost every meeting and event but made sure he met everyone with a smile and then financed and picked up the brass Club Plaques from Portugal. A fabulous night of good food followed by a fireworks display to top it all off. The club’s oldest member, in his 70s and driving his blue open topped Morgan, arrived home in Mazarron at 1.00 am, which goes to show that life is for living not for dying. A statement that is not only true of the members of Club Torrevieja Classics and specialists Cars, but also the treasured old motors, which they keep on the road too. Everyone is invited to come along and view the cars and talk to the owners during any of the clubs planned events, and advice on classic car ownership is always free. For more information on the club, visit their website at www.ClubTorrevieja.com.

Keith Nicol

FC Torrevieja Launch their new web site

FC Torrevieja launched their new Web Site last week onwww.fctorrevieja.es. Strangely, up until now, there has never been an official site for the football club, in part due to a dispute over the ownership of the .com name. Thus, for the last few years, all information about the club, fixtures, players and news, has been found on the Torre Army supporters club website, www.fctorrevieja.eu.
Club Chairman Eduardo Manuel Cagigao
said “It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the new FC Torrevieja website. This site is maintained and updated with a view to keeping ‘Torry’ fans both in Spain and around the world, updated with what is going on in and around the Club.
There are many people we have to thank for getting this official website up and running, but most of all I would like to thank those of you that take the time to look us up and demonstrate your interest in our beloved Club.

Torrevieja is a very special place and the football club that represents the town, FC Torrevieja, is a very special Club. We attract a large following both for the home and the away matches and one of the many things that make this Club unique are the many different nationalities that make up a typical match day crowd at the Vicente Garcia Stadium. Whether you follow the Clubs fortunes locally or, like the many thousands that take an interest in the Club all around the world, we welcome you to the wonderful world of Futbol Club Torrevieja.

Come on Torry!!!”
The new website is in both Spanish and English with German to follow soon. Through their website, Torrevieja Football Club aims to create a new bond of union with their followers while the Torry Army site, shall continue to promote the club and the uniqueness of being a Torry Army member along with information on fixtures, players, video clips and their forum. FC Torrevieja was reformed back in 1993 play their home games at the Garcia although the history of football in the town goes back to the 1920s. An overview of the History of the Club, written by Steve Hall can be found within the pages ofwww.CostaBlancaTV.com.

Keith Nicol

This Is Spain Exhibition, this weekend

This weekend, just south of the Torrevieja border down La Zenia way sees the Autumn edition of the This Is Spain Exhibition at the La Zenia Hotel. The show opens its doors on Friday October 23^rd and runs through Sunday evening. ‘This Is Spain’ shows have been a feature around the Southern Costa Blanca for over five years and have become a one-stop expo for information, services and suppliers in the region.

Entertainment is high on the list of offerings this year with performances by such acts as Nicky Dick, Jukebox Legends, Dance Xtream, Alan Findlay, Sevillanas Club Flamenco Dancers and the Kingsbury Dance School. Doors are open from 1000 until 1800 hrs each day with entertainment planned for early afternoon.

The show’s director, Christine Roche is bringing the show to the La Zenia Hotel for the first time. She said “This Autumn’s show shall again offer a little something for everyone. From entertainment to wine and cheese tasting plus a big raffle prize with your one euro admission ticket.”

For more information about the show you can visit www.exhibitions-spain.com or call 627 409 881.

Video about the event can be found on www.CostaBlancaTV.com

Keith Nicol

The Shirt 2010 - a mission raise awareness from Oslo to Cape Town

Few in Torrevieja may have heard of ‘The Shirt’ but that is all about the change as in the second week of November, Bjorn Heidelstrom an ex-professional footballer with a long career in Norway and England (Leyton Orient) shall cycle into town. The reason that this is so special is because he is a man on a mission; a mission to spread the word about ‘Soccer Against Crime and Racism’. His one year plan started in June when he left Oslo on a standard mountain bike pulling all of his worldly goods for the trip in a small trailer behind him. The task in hand is a major challenge as he plans to cycle and hitchhike his way from Oslo to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, visiting 50 countries in the process.

The Shirt 2010 already has the backing of the Norwegian Refugee Council and the South African Premier Soccer League and last week he received official recognition from FIFA with the signature of Sepp Blatter himself.

The Shirt 2010 is an initiative from Bjorn Heidelstrom. Along the route, he's picked up official support from a number of organisations, including the Irish Football Association and FIFA and whilst he's cycling through Spain, he hopes to get more organisations on board and turn The Shirt 2010 into a symbol of solidarity for football fans around the world. Bjorn is cycling from Oslo to Cape Town and collecting signed football jerseys from all teams of all levels along the way. All these shirts will be be sewn together to form the world's largest signed football-shirt - a symbol of the unity of the football family and its solidarity with the plight of young refugees.

He says, "We are creating the world's largest football shirt - a shirt and a symbol that is sewn together by the signed club-shirts. The Shirt symbolises the ‘football family’ standing together and not forgetting the small ones." Big clubs, little clubs and even fans who sign their own shirts can become a part of the one big shirt - all are welcome.

Bjorn's journey began in Oslo back on June 20 (2009) and he's already been through Scandinavia and the Baltic, the UK and Ireland and now he's heading down through Europe. He'll be arriving in Spain on October 27 and his first port of call will be Barcelona where he'll be stopping off at Camp Nou to pick up a shirt before heading along the coast to Valencia, Calpe, Alicante and Torrevieja, picking up as many shorts as possible on the way.

How Can You Help? Obviously, the whole idea is to get as many people involved as possible so we want you to spread the word and/or to donate a shirt. For more up to date information about Bjorn's trip, check out his daily updated Shirt 2010 blog on www.theshirt2010.com.

Bjorn Heidelstrom and The Shirt 2010 shall be in Torrevieja from about November 9^th, 2009 , where a number of festivities are being planned including a civic reception, an appearance at FC Torrevieja’s Stadium, coaching of the players at the Sheffield United Academy (Sheffield United treated him exceptionally well while in the UK) plus a series of fund raising events at the Rocajuna in Torrevieja which shall probably include a car display from Club Torrevieja Classics and Specialists Cars, a Pie and Mash Night, a Fun Sports and Entertainment Quiz Night, music to dance to plus lots of other activities. More information and video of his activities in Torrevieja shall be broadcast around the world on www.CostaBlancaTV.com.

Taxi Drivers on the warpath

For many years, legal and licensed Taxi drivers in the Torrevieja area, and elsewhere, have had to compete with ‘the airport run’ competition; a battle that, until recently, they had almost lost. Last week saw an altercation between a local Taxi owner in La Mata and someone whom allegedly is providing a transport service to their company’s clients, or as they would refer to them here, a 'Pirate Taxi'. It’s a situation that almost every expat is aware of. Make a couple of phone calls and someone shall know someone who can run you to the airport, the hospital, downtown, etc, for a few bob less than a local taxi can.

For years, police round Alicante airport have been on the lookout for regular cars, visiting the airport. There is a fine line to be drawn between running friends and family to their flights, a service provided by real estate companies, hire firms, hotels and the local man with van, who is happy to make a few extra euros driving people they’ve never ever met before, to wherever they want to go.

The recession has not only hit local business but also the Taxi Drivers themselves. Clients think twice about making that trip, car pool with friends, just do without or, in a rare case, flash their free Bus Pass and save on their carbon footprint. Thus many taxi drivers are finding it hard to make a living and certainly can’t compete against non-licensed individuals as they have to pay for their vehicle, its upkeep, local, taxes, higher insurance rates and that all important licence, all of which makes up your ‘fare’.

The issue of Pirate Taxis goes a little further than saving a few euros on a run to the airport. One should realize that these operators do NOT have the correct public liability insurance, should they be involved in an accident PLUS, should your mode of transportation be stopped at a police road check, there is a good possibility that you will be asked to unload all your luggage and stand by the side of the road, while all documentation is gone through. This may be an inconvenience in itself but not as inconvenient as missing your flight because of such a hold up, plus you shall not have anyone to try and ask for compensation for!

The local taxi Association are in talks with the Police forces to see what can be done about the situation and already undercover officers have been noting cars, especially if on UK plates, that are regularly travelling to the airport, hospital, health centres and shopping centres. The day of the black market cab is certainly not over but it may be more difficult to find one in the very near future!

Keith Nicol

Cinema Pilar presents Harry Potter

Cinema Pila brings you Harry Potter

Yes, the cinema is open again and so, for 5 euros it's a great chance to see V.O. films close to Torrevieja, in Pilar de la Horadada. Enjoy.

The Story

In the sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, and in both wizard and muggle worlds Lord Volemort and his henchmen are increasingly active. With vacancies to fill at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledor persuades Horace Slughorn, back from retirement to become the potions teacher, while Professor Snape receives long awaited news. Harry Potter, together with Dumbledore, must face treacherous tasks to defeat his evil nemesis.

Action/Adventure/Family/Fantasy/Mystery
153 minutes
PG (Scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.)
Saturday 3rd October 5.30pm & 8.30pm
Sunday 4th October 5.30pm & 8.30pm

Free Classified Adverts at www.Torrevieja.com

Homes, jobs, cars, tools, pets..… anything, really.

Torrevieja.com Classifieds was started as a local Torrevieja classified ads and community site, designed to connect people who were either planning to move, or had just arrived in the city, and needed help getting started with accommodation, employment and meeting new people.

The aim at Torrevieja.com Classifieds is to give you a simple and easy-to-use tool that lets you quickly find you might be looking for. You can find everything you need to live your life with the help of your local Torrevieja community; from a job or a flat, date, a nanny for your kids or a bargain to a language teacher and a tennis partner.

Sheffield United still offering youngsters the chance to play football

he new Valencian football season for those aged six through eighteen is about to get underway at the beginning of October and one of the few International teams in the region is looking forward to competing at all age levels for 2009/10.

Without doubt, Sheffield United FC Academy Spain have the best training facilities available in Torrevieja as they train two days per week on the artificial pitches beside the Infanta Christina Sports Stadium (swimming pool) with games played Saturdays and Sundays, depending on ages and teams. This season, each squad will be training on a minimum of a half-sized pitch, as opposed to a quarter-sized pitch as it was last season. Training and coaching is based upon the development program that is in place at the Sheffield United Academy in England

For those interested, SUFC need to register all of their players with the Valencian Football Federation during September. Players and parents are invited to attend training sessions that take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tonight (Thursday) the Development Group (under 10) are from 6.00pm - 7.30pm; Alevines & Infantiles - 6.00pm - 7.30pm: Cadetes -7.00pm - 8.30pm and Juveniles 7.00pm - 9.00pm. Those interested should contact the Program Director, Robbie Burns on 692 507 439 for more information.

Graffiti vandal arrested in Torrevieja

300,000€ per year is the price of Graffiti in Torrevieja.

Not to produce works of art but towards cleaning it off and then repairing the damage caused. It’s a never-ending battle facing every town council where paint spray cans are available for purchase but Torrevieja have taken a big leap forward in trying to combat this crime.

With the assistance of a graphologist, the police in Torrevieja have managed to catch one of the individuals responsible. Around the city’s seafront area one can see the pseudonym ‘Sadow’, ‘Bruto’ and ‘XPLTS’ tagged along the Paseo Vista Alegre, Paseo de la Libertad, Los Marineros and the Paseo Marítimo Juan Aparicio. It is estimated that the cleaning costs for damage caused by this individual is in the region of €12,000.

The twenty-year–old suspect, who is originally from Madrid has lived in Torrevieja for over four years. When detained by police they discovered 20 cans of spray paint in his car. There is no word from authorities if, as is the case in parts of the USA and UK, he is found guilty, part of sentence shall be to remove his and other works of vandalism found all over Torrevieja. One can only hope so!

Torrevieja's Red Cross second to none

There are those who complain about the lack of Blue Flags, facilities, and services on the City’s beaches.

Of surprise to some will be the news that the municipality of Torrevieja is number one in all of Spain when it comes to the number of days that her Beaches are opened and monitored.

Thanks to an agreement with the Red Cross, Torrevieja’s beaches are supervised from April 1st through to the end of October. In 2009 the Red Cross reported that they had attended to more than 9,000 incidents on her beaches not including 2,283 bracelets distributed to children so that they do not become lost in the beach, as well as more than 500 services helping the disabled enjoy the sea in adapted chair

Torrevieja’s beaches count on a total of 82 life-guards with the Red Cross operating nine first-aid stations: 4 in Playa de La Mata (uno de ellos en Cabo Cervera), plus one each at Los Locos, Playa de El Cura, Piscinas del Paseo de Juan Aparicio, Playa de Los Náufragos plus Rocío del Mar (Cala Piteras). The cost for these services was 784,714 Euros.

Between 1 of April to the 31 of August, the Red Cross also attended to fish bites (317), urchin punctures (133), insect bites (323), falls and contusions (1.700), and the worst offender, 2,354 jellyfish stings with almost 1,000 taking place at La Mata. Lifeguards also rescued 316 swimmers who required help along with treating sun burn victims, four deaths from heart attacks and working closely with local emergency services.

Cricket at La Manga Club to celebrate 100 years of the ICC

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the International Cricket Council, an organisation with the enviable task of promoting the sport of cricket on a global scale.

As part the ICC’s centenary celebrations, Spain was granted the opportunity and funding to encourage and support cricket through the Madrid Twenty20 tournament last Spring plus the organisation of a family orientated fun event in October.

Most of the male species over the age of 25 know the name W.G. Grace. He is synonymous with the early days of cricket and many schoolboy cricketers can still picture in their mind an old Black and White photograph of this gentleman with a long grey beard holding his cricket bat, from the turn of the last century. Those images of a bygone age shall be recalled as players from local Spanish teams don cricket uniforms from yesteryear and play a charity event, in full costume, on Saturday, October 3rd at the La Manga Club in Murcia.

Also planned; a schoolboy match, fun and games for the kids (of all ages), the delights of our own ‘Mr. Whippy’ offering soft ice cream and slushes plus cricketing celebrities and guests of honour. Any money raised from the event will go towards improving the lives of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people in Anantpur in India, where the Spanish NGO the Vicente Ferrer Foundation is based.

Cricket España is the governing body for the sport in Spain. Founded in 1986, Cricket España now brings together 20 teams from many parts of the country. Its mission is to promote the sport, encourage youth participation, develop cricketing abilities, organise competitions and national teams and ensure the Spirit of Cricket prevails in the sport in Spain. Spain became an Affiliate Member of the ICC in 1992 (www.icc-europe.org/SPAIN).

Gazumped by the Banks

It’s now official. The recession is officially one year old this month, marked by the crash of Lehman Brothers in the USA which sent shock waves through the financial markets.

Much of blame of the present economic recession has been laid firmly at the feet of the banking communities around the globe, who lent unwisely and required bailing out by National Banks and governments. During the Spanish housing boom, Banks were notorious for offering 100% or even 120% mortgages on very small deposits, The entire Real Estate market crash can be partly attributed to them ceasing to lend money to qualified clients or to developers, in order to protect themselves from further loses.

Now the banks and real estate companies are facing a further quandary. On the one hand Real Estate agents need the banks to lend their prospective clients money, in the form a mortgage. On the other hand, thousands of mortgages have been defaulted and the banks, unwillingly, have reposed many properties.

There was a time that many of the top agents handed such repossession sales for local banks, taking a small commission for their trouble. However, relationships between many of Torrevieja’s banks and top agents has reached breaking point as some banks have been accused by some agents of ‘double-dealing’ and putting the banks in a conflict of interest position when it comes to mortgages.

Picture if your will: Agent takes client to bank; Client asks for a mortgage; bank counters the request by offering a similar property, in a similar area, or even the same apartment building or urbanization; for a lesser amount! The bank sells a property to a client that was brought to them by a real estate agent. The bank does not pay the agent a commission. The bank has sold both a house and also self-financed it though their own mortgage department. Client leaves bank and tells agent that they have bought a similar but cheaper property thanks to the help of the bank!

Some local Banks are now playing this dangerous game as they are now so desperate to sell their glut of reposed properties that should this be at the expense of their former associates, few seem to care who it was that provided them with record profits for the last fifteen years or so!

For the buyer; the positive is that a great deal may be at hand; the negative is that once bought from the bank, chances are that you shall receive little if any aftermarket support and once bought, you are on your own. Bank Managers might like to note that much like the Elephant, Real Estate agents also have long memories and shall recall those who double-crossed them when the good times return!

Torrevisa Masa in debt trouble

MASA International was bought by local Torrevieja developer Torrevisa back in 2003 and trades under both names, for marketing and branding reasons.

Torrevisa-MASA International, one of the best-known names in Costa Blanca real estate has officially let it be known through the courts that they have a recognized debt of 102 million euros. MASA International was bought by local Torrevieja developer Torrevisa back in 2003 and trades under both names, for marketing and branding reasons. The MASA brand has long been marketed to Northern Europeans and Expats through weekend trade shows throughout the UK and Europe.

According to official Alicante Province invoicing records; Torrevisa-Masa International has been one of the foremost construction and promotional companies in the region. In the last decade they have become one of the three largest construction companies building over 30,000 houses in 25 years, mainly second residence homes. It seems that the group have not only been hit hard by the global recession and Spanish housing crises but also the downturn in their Hotel business plus other urban housing projects as far away as Brazil have accounted for their downfall.

The filing of this court action is one of the most significant to date and largest from the construction sector, in Alicante. Bankruptcy and Chapter 11 laws are different in Spain and this filing is to protect them from creditors. The amount stated may rise or fall depending on other creditors coming forward to the courts.

The courts shall now decide on the next steps to be taken to try and resolve these incurred debts, designating administrators to supervise the decisions of Torrevisa to guarantee their viability. With thousands of their homes still unfinished or lying empty, house buyers relying on their 10-year building guarantees, many shall be hoping that they survive these troubled times to fulfil their contractual obligations.

RED announces first look at new Photo-Video camera

News just in from Tim Stevens at Endgadget

When RED's Scarlet and EPIC camera bodies finally became official late last year (after seemingly endless teasing) they were pictured with an almost farcical array of accessories. Nearly a year on and neither of the bodies nor any of those add-ons are available, but you can at least now get a higher-res look at all that wallet-tapping accoutrement. Pictured are the REDVOLT battery pack and its hot-swappable cells, the wireless REDMOTE controller, the BOMB EVF, a display screen, and even a rifle-like stock called the RED GUNNER. Some of these we've already seen in the flesh, others haven't been rendered with this much detail before, and sifting through the REDUSER.net forum where they were posted uncovers some other morsels to whet the appetites of photographers who like extreme stylistic touches. The juiciest is a mention that the release dates for EPIC and Scarlet will be announced in October -- which doesn't leave much time for a 2009 debut for the cameras themselves.

For those of you that have never heard of RED, you will very soon, as this could be the camera and company that starts to knock Sony, Nikon, Canon and Panasonic off the top spot for video and photo, as this camera shoots both, at the same time, simultaneously, for want of a better word!

I want when.

When can Mr. Lotto arrange for me to win some cash!!!

Torrevieja still number two to Benidorm

While Torrevieja may be the fifth largest city in the Valencian Community, it lacks a quality hotel and conference facilities.

While the new Conservatory of Music will soon be able to offer conference facilities, the city is lagging behind others in being able to attract conferences to the region. Not so however for the city of Benidorm, who in 2010 host to the ‘The Institute of Travel and Tourism’, at the Barcelo Asia Gardens in Benidorm on June 6-9.

YouTravel.com have also reported that their winter bookings for the Costa Blanca is up 5% on last year, while for the summer of 2010 the area lies sixth behind the Algarve, Corfu, Sharm el Sheikh, Dalaman and Hurghada, all areas where the pound stretches a little further.

The ITT recognise that Spain and in particular the region of Valenica, has an extremely important part to play in the continued growth of the travel industry. ITT chairman Steven Freudmann added that “We are pleased that we can offer our delegates this opportunity of seeing the enormous investment that is being made in the region.”

While Torrevieja still has to come to terms that tourism euros shall not be flooding into local hotels, Benidorm continues to set the pace, lying second behind the more tropical Egyptian city of Sharm el Sheikh for YouTravel.com bookings for this winter season.

After the hottest summer for fifty years, Torrevieja is experiencing the wettest September for over 100 years.

Monday’s heavy rains should not have caught the emergency services unprepared but many of the town’s roads around Carrefour shopping centre, downtown and in Playa los Locos sported over half a meter of fast flowing water, which didn’t seem to have anywhere to go!

Car after car stalled in the high waters as electrics became wet, caused many times because trucks and vans, with a higher road clearance, created waves that flowed unabated into the engine departments of oncoming vehicles. Having personally given about a dozen fireman’s lifts to stranded ladies and children outside of Ardy’s, I can attest that there was no sign of any emergency services, fire trucks nor Proteccion Civil on site for the three hours that I was ‘stranded’ in the vicinity awaiting the ‘river’ levels to drop.

We all know that Torrevieja has high kerbs to allow heavy water to flow down to the sea and thus, in this part of town it certainly could not be classed as an emergency, more of an inconvenience. What was lacking, due to the absence of local patrols, was the erecting of barriers to stop traffic trying to pass in these conditions. The same situation occurs every time when there is a heavy rainfall so authorities cannot say they were unaware of a possible situation. When barriers eventually arrived (at only one end of the street but not the three access roads leading onto it!) these quickly started to flow away; due to the speed of the water!

This week’s rain caused more inconvenience than disaster. Other parts of the Valencian Community were very badly hit with thousands of euros of damage caused to property, roads, bridges and cars. Hopefully this will act as a wake-up call for the Emergency Services to be on their guard for the next time such weather is predicted, should such weather conditions be expected.

EcoWash - waterless car washing system

Not many amongst us would ever imagine it being possible to clean our car without using wataer and; with all the water that has fallen on the region over the past two weeks, coupled with having Europe’s largest desalination plant, one would hardly think that Torrevieja’s Town Council would consider cleaning their vehicles this way! Always with one eye on the future, last week Torrevieja’s Mayor, Pedro Hernandez Mateo, Councillor for the Environment, Eduardo Gil Rebollo plus 38 franchises from all over Spain attended a demonstration from local Torrevieja company EcoWash who presented their revolutionary system of cleaning vehicles without water.

The creators of EcoWash presented several proposals directed to the important issue of water saving and environmental protection for the locality. The mayor of Torrevieja has shown interest in this revolutionary ecological system for the cleaning of vehicles and is impressed by the innovative character of the two entrepreneurs, who are both from Torrevieja, Javier Lopez and Adrián Martel. They founded EcoWash in 2006 and they are now the leading company when it comes to the cleaning of vehicles without water, in the Spanish market.

EcoWash has been awarded various prizes and awards for their innovative system including 2º Prize in the Torrevieja’s III Contest for Young Enterprise and the prospects for Torrevieja again leading Spain in terms of environmental concern and innovation seems just around the corner.

Torrevieja's Autumn Cultural Program

Torrevieja’s autumn cultural program was launched this week, consisting of over 170 events and performances with a budget of 172, 671 euros. The councillor of Culture and vice-president of the Municipal Institute of Culture, Eduardo Dolón, announced the new Cultural agenda which consists of 41 musical concerts, 14 theatre performances, 6 Cinematic shows plus courses, workshops, conferences, 3 dance performances and 2 fairs.

The announcement came just before the cast of Simply Ballroom, hosted by Lionel Blair, thrilled audiences with their Las Vegas styled dance show, the success of which has encouraged other show producers to bring quality entertainment to the city, including ‘Mamma Mia’, the ABBA musical, which shall be staged from December 17th through the 20th. Other major attractions include a performance by Miguel Rios on December 4th and, taking a break from Los Lunnies this year, we have instead the children’s musical ‘Cantajuego ¡De fiesta!’ on 29 of November at 17:00 hrs in the Palacio de los Deportes “Infanta Cristina”.

Those that like to enjoy works of art and culture shall not be disappointed, as over the next few months there shall be courses and exhibitions from the art school, Collection of Great Contemporary Painters, photographs, engravings, taichí, painting, choirs, piano, guitar, salt crafts, dance plus many other private shows and exhibitions not directly associated with the council’s program of events.

No excuses not to be out and about and finding something to see or do on the run up to Christmas.

Simply Ballroom: simply fabulous

Those that did not mange to see Lionel Blair host the Spanish Premier of Simply Ballroom in Torrevieja or Benidorm last week (some because of Sunday’s flooded roads) missed one of best ‘feel-good’ shows staged on the Costa Blanca. From the moment the ever-youthful Lionel Blair bounded onto stage (he’s only 78, or so he says) the entire audience were clapping, tapping their toes, smiling and laughing. Such was the positive reaction to the show that the producers ‘Qdos Productions’ is now looking at expanding the show format and touring it in different parts of Spain, including a return to Torrevieja.

Lionel Blair was certainly in top form. Fresh from his performance at the Edinburgh Festival in ‘School for Scandal’ and, for the very first time in his career, his one man ‘Tap and Chat’ show, he had the audience in the palm of his hand as he soft shoed, sang and worked the audience, teaching them how to shimmy, shake and even Salsa. He also mentioned his desire to bring his one-man show to Spain in 2010.

Simply Ballroom is a dance show for audiences of all ages. Jon Conway of Qdos Productions Ltd, created this ballroom dance extravaganza which has played in London’s West End, toured South Africa and Dubai as well as enjoying a residency in Las Vegas plus a nationwide American tour in 2008 with the legendary Debbie Reynolds.

Lionel Blair’s glamorous co-host, Claire Simpson, also sang and danced and most importantly translated everything into Spanish, although a show like this, full of spectacle and movement, overcame all language barriers regardless. This was also one of the youngest professional casts to grace the stage of the Municipal Theatre. Rather than bringing over dancers from the UK, the producers auditioned and rehearsed local, young, professional, ballroom dance champions from the Valencian Community. However, stars of the show were quite possibly the two ten year olds who closed the show with spectacular Latin American routines, bringing the house down. Two of the stars of the TV Phenomenon ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Erin Boag and Anton Du Beke originally choreographed the show’s ensemble numbers that the Spanish cast carried off with aplomb.

The Spanish premiere tour was directed and staged by Christopher Wood of Qdos Productions Ltd in conjunction with Marie Perrin of BMC Productions.
Christopher‘s constant and busy schedule sees him collaborating creatively on productions worldwide and more recently has seen him putting his talents to productions here in Spain. He took particular pride in producing the critically acclaimed ‘Peter Pan’ in conjunction with Marie Perrin, using local young talented actors and students and playing to sell out audiences on the Costa Blanca. Qdos entertainment also holds the accolade of being the largest producer of pantomimes in the world, with plans to bring Cinderella to the Costa Blanca in the near future.