In total, the rain that fell in our region last winter caused damage for an estimated amount of more than several million euros, and generated an avalanche of insurance claims mostly for infiltrations and humidity in homes. This is confirmed by the data from the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros, which since Christmas has received more than two thousand cases of damage to properties.

The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (in short, CCS), is an organization under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, that is responsible for covering those insured with private companies when the causes of the incident are a matter of extraordinary weather such as floods, rainfall in excess of 40 litres per square metre per hour (which occurred on many occasions last winter) or winds with an average speed of more than 90Km/h or earthquakes.

Ask your trusted Spanish lawyer for advice if you need help in filing the claim. Most insurance policies allow clients to use their own lawyers.

What is the procedure?
The first thing to have is a well-defined insurance policy that will clearly specify the covered risks and compensation, both for the property structure and the property contents.

From whom should you claim?
If the water infiltrates the property from bottom to top (for example from the street or from the garages into the house) you will have to address the claim to the CCS. If the water infiltrates the property from top to bottom (for example from the roof or terraces) you will have to claim compensation from your insurance company.

If the water infiltrations are caused by the neighbours, you can file the claim with your insurance company and they will contact the neighbours. If the neighbours do not allow the surveyor access to their property, you can make your claim in court.

Take into account that if the water penetrates the house through doors or windows that are not properly closed (or with defective seals) the insurance companies will not compensate for any damage nor will compensation be given if there are construction defects or where the building is not properly maintained.

How to proceed?
In the case of CCS claims, a special form has to be requested from your insurance company, an insurance payment receipt and the insurance policy have to be provided. The declaration will have to be done within seven days from the ascertainment of the damage, by sending the documents by fax to the local CCS office.

It is important to keep all the items that have been damaged or deteriorated until the arrival of the insurance company assessor. If you should have to throw any objects away before the assessor arrives, then you should document everything in an inventory and take photographs to prove their existence and the extent of damage.

The CCS assessor may take several days or even weeks to come and inspect the damage after receiving the claim. If you do not have clear evidence of the damaged objects then the compensation will be proportionately reduced. Remember that CCS covers vehicles, even if you only have 3rd-party insurance.

If you have to claim from your own insurance company the damage has to be reported within seven days from the ascertainment, and the same procedures have to be followed as for the CCS claim, ensuring that a proper inventory and photographic documentation of perished objects is included.
Very important: if the compensation payment is delayed beyond 40 days, you have the right to ask for interest for late payment (see Insurance Contract Act of 1980).

In many cases the amount the insurance company offers to pay is much lower than the claim; in this case it will be necessary to seek legal advice in order to file a claim in court. Your lawyer will be able to arrange for a report from a surveyor and take care of the necessary procedures for a successful claim in a legal process.

www.velascolawyers.com

It turns out that he has been married to his wife for nearly 30 years and she is more like his sister than his wife; he loves her dearly but the passion has long since left their relationship. He reckoned that that process had started after about 15 or 20-year stage.

I have been together with my husband for 20 years and of that time married for 15 years… Oops, is it time to panic? Does he feel the same way? Do couples slip into a comfortable relationship and forget to keep the fires of passion burning, preferring to watch football or soap operas on TV with a bottle of wine rather than talking to each other on a candle-lit balcony. What was the last romantic gesture I did for my husband, and more importantly for me, what was the last romantic gesture he did for me? When you see a man open a car door for his wife you can guarantee that either it is a new wife or a new car! It does not have to be this way.

Relationships can die and the passion can fade away if we allow it to and all we are left with then is a mediocre relationship that doesn’t thrill you, but may still work. It’s tough to keep the passion in a relationship when you have other responsibilities like work, school, friends, etc., however make time for it though to savour the longevity of a full and vibrant relationship. Remember the endless chatting and laughing. I am amazed when I see a couple sitting with nothing to say to each other.

Remember what you initially found attractive about your partner and ask them what they found attractive about you. Be honest with each other, with what you like and don’t like. You would be amazed that in a lot of my relationship counselling sessions one or both of the clients will say, “I didn’t know you hated that,” or even worse, “I didn’t know you liked that.” Be prepared to be shocked by some of the replies.

Remember it’s very important to keep talking and maintaining a sense of humour with each other. It is in the fun and playfulness that true passion and romance can flourish even in everyday life. The other day I was out shopping with my husband and he hates shopping. He was looking for a birthday present for his mother. “What do you want to buy for her,” I asked. He replied, “She would probably like something electric,” I seized the opportunity of suggesting, “How about a chair!” It put a smile on his face.

In Finland, people have always been great admirers of the Swedish royalty, and here the atmosphere was almost euphoric. After having belonged to Sweden for more than 600 years, we still seem to feel entitled to a part of the glamour surrounding the Swedish royal family. In many homes the wedding was celebrated in grand style in front of the television with family and friends. What a show it was, performed with a lot of regal style, but with a warm-heartedness typical of the Swedes. In Sweden alone the wedding was watched on TV by 3 million people, in Finland by more than one million. About 2,500 journalists were present.

C.P. Victoria met Daniel Westling when she started working out at his gym in Stockholm in 2000. “Daniel and I had a very beautiful and grounded friendship. We were very good friends before, and it was a friendship that grew and became love,” she revealed.

On the eve of the wedding, the couple were treated to a star-studded gala evening attended by a huge audience, among them Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik of Denmark with Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary, King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway with Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette Marit, Queen Sophia of Spain, Crown Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia and Infantas Elena and Christina.

The wedding ceremony had around 1,100 guests. Victoria walked down the aisle with her father, King Carl XVI Gustaf, handing her over to Daniel, who looked just as nervous as expected.. There has been much debate over this custom, critics saying that handing over the bride from father to groom is a symbol of the woman being the father’s property and then becoming the groom’s property.

The royal court defended the handing over with the statement: “the King conveys the heir to the throne and hands her over to a man who has been accepted.” A compromise was reached, and the handing-over was done half-way down the aisle. Victoria wore the same diadem that her mother Silvia wore at her wedding.

After the ceremony Daniel Westling was made Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, an honour last bestowed upon a commoner in the Middle Ages. The newlywed then passed through a gauntlet of crossed swords, stepping into a horse-drawn carriage and waving to hundreds of thousands of citizens lining the streets on their 7 km procession to Stockholm harbour, where they boarded the barge Vasaorden.
At the banquet attended by heads of state from all over the world, dignitaries and other VIPs, King Carl Gustaf and Daniel’s father held moving speeches to the bride and groom.

Prince Daniel’s speech to Victoria was a roaring start to royal life. He gave a confident, yet emotional speech, without notes, and switching from Swedish to English. This is really remarkable, considering the VIP audience and millions of television viewers. Experts have called his address “a rhetoric knockout.” The Swedes have not seen much of Daniel so far. Now they got to know him a bit. The speech was an answer to the question ‘can he do it?’ Now I don’t think anyone doubts that he can.

Rumour has it that the honeymooning couple has been spotted somewhere in French Polynesia.

So the new ‘XYZA’ would contain half a molecule attached to the old ‘XYZ,’ which makes it a new chemical compound upon which a new patent/copyright will be issued and a new 10-year period of paradisic ‘non-competitive’ selling lies ahead. You do not believe that? I am happy to name a few examples.

OK, ok – this is only marketing and doctors should be able to look through that. They should be capable enough to prescribe good-old, well-known ‘XYZ’ for 10 € a month instead of prescribing brand-new, mainly-unknown, ‘XYZ2’ for 60 € a month.

Why do they not do that? Maybe their wife runs a pharmacy next door! Again I would be happy to name examples.
But now let’s take a salto mortale back to medicine, because twice a year there is real innovation coming into our hands and I would like to present two.

Many people do know of or take Warfarine (UK) or Sintrom (E) or Marcumar (D) to keep their blood thinned for the most varied reasons. All of them are aware that any injury may bleed profusely, that other medicines must not be taken unless a doctor has approved, that no intramuscular injections can be given because they might be life-endangering and that they need regular blood tests once a month to check the correct dose.

The new drug Dabigatran is an oral medicine, can be given at a fixed dose and does not require laboratory monitoring. In cases of atrial fibrillation and deep vein thrombosis, it seems comparable to, or even more effective than, Warfarine. It is available in this ‘pequeño gran país,’ but as indicated above, at a considerably more uneconomical price than Warfarine.

But: fixed dose for everybody (is that why the PSOE government has approved it?), no lab monitoring and no probs with injections – that’s why we love it too!
The second candidate is outperforming the notorious ‘the-day-after-pill.’ No, No – not the handful of Aspirins or Nurofens for a hang-over; rather the real one, once remorse has kicked in or the condom’s burst or been neglected.
Within 72 hours (3 days) after unprotected intercourse, two tablets of Levonorgestrel (Postinor) would prevent in most cases the start of an undesired pregnancy.

The new Ulipristal can be used within the first 120 hours (aprox. 5 days). And it seems to prevent a pregnancy more reliably than Levonorgestrel.
Side effects are described as mild and not significantly different from the other scheme.

At the moment, as data are still preliminary, it will not be available as an over-the-counter medicine. Postinor though is available at hosptial Emergency Departments as well as pharmacies as on O.T.C. product.

ArteCalle came to life because Andrea had an idea and a desire to do something beautiful in (and for) the town. In her own words, the idea “was to bring the flair of art into the village.” The intent was not only to beautify the town for the summer, but also to create a cultural art event that involved both local artists and establishments. The aim was also to create exposure for local artists and to generate interest in their works of art.

It was easy to get the local community involved because the project is such a creative one. Not to mention the fact that is has all the right ingredients in order to become a successful one. The concept is to decorate the streets and establishments of La Herradura with original and colorful artwork.

Different artists in the area will have their sculptures, paintings, ceramics and other art objects featured in various locations throughout town during the summer. There are 25 establishments participating in the project, ranging from the hotel, to boutiques, to restaurants and real estate agents. Naturally, the Town Hall is also very supportive of the project and hopes it will become an annual event.

Starting in July, you will see streetlamps throughout town decorated with large banners. Each banner, measuring 50 x 140 cm, will show a particular piece of artwork, the name of the artist, and the name of the establishment where you can view the original piece. The establishment pays a fee to sponsor the banner during this three-month event.

A brochure will be available that includes an ‘art-walk’ map with a route to follow in order to see all the pieces being showcased. Also look at the ArteCalle posters hanging in the surrounding towns for a list of all participants.

What a great way to spend the day in La Herradura – it sounds almost like an exciting treasure hunt to me! All the works of art will be available for sale through Kuerbis & Kaviar Art Studio. For more information see www.kuerbis-kaviar.com or contact Andrea at tel. 671 696 743.

“I always wanted to be more than a tourist. I like to participate in, and observe the Spanish life around me. Of course, this gives me the inspiration to paint. Consequently, I paint for my Spanish neighbors. With my paintings, I remind them how beautiful Andalucía is. They know this, but very often they forget. My paintings are colorful and simple. The style is naive. As an artist, I must know my tools well, which means I must know about colors and their impact on each other and how this affects, and creates, the expression wanted in my painting.”

When asked about her background, she told me she was taught in Aarhus, Denmark. She didn’t study painting per say, but rather studied all the relevant subjects of art. She also studied visual advertisement in University. She said, “One of my best experiences was the pure magic I felt when developing photographs in the darkroom. Today, however, I feel this pure magic when I paint.”

If you are looking for a cultural breakaway, this exhibit is a good reason to escape to Málaga for the day. Along with Anne Marie’s art, Espacio Tres will feature the work of two other Spanish artists as well. The exhibition opens July 6th, but the inauguration takes place on Fri. July 9th at 20:00 p.m.. For more information check out their website at www.espaciotres.es

Furthermore, located next to Espacio Tres is Málaga’s Contemporary Art Centre, which is also well worth a visit. They have current exhibitions along with a permanent art collection. CAC Málaga’s permanent collection features artwork from the 1950’s to the present and include pieces by internationally renowned artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Art & Language, Olafur Eliasson, Thomas Hirschhorn, Damian Hirst, Julian Opie, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth. Spanish art is featured as well and include works by Victoria Civera, Juan Muñoz, José María Sicilia, Miquel Barceló, Santiago Sierra and Juan Uslé. Read more at www.cacmalaga.org

Espacio Tres is located at Calle Alemania 3, Málaga. Open Tues. to Fri. From 11:30-14.00 and 18:00-21:00. Sat. and Sun. from 11:30-14:00.

They are so cute I can’t tell you. I’m dreading how many are female but what can you do? Thank goodness for Wayne! 45 – 55 euros for a female spay. Anyway, back to animal behaviour. One of my female cats, who was not pregnant and isn’t spayed but next in line, moved in with the kittens and started looking after them and letting them suckle. Now it’s just one big love fest in there, one big heap of kittens and four mums feeding and grooming whomever. Heap of kittens: a new collective noun.

Some very interesting dog behaviour; sounds a bit traumatic but it was interesting. Chris, (my husband), had an epileptic fit a couple of weeks ago. It’s the second one he’s had in his life, first one two months ago all due to medication he has now stopped taking. The first one I though he was dying, never seen anyone fit before.

The second one I knew what to do, so I’m sat there on the floor, holding Chris in the recovery position waiting for it to pass. The dogs were so freaked out! Brian stood about two metres away barking at us, looking really nervous. Peluqui, who we call doctor Peluqui because whenever any of the cats or dogs have cuts he sniffs them out and cleans them up and keeps cleaning until they’re better.

Dogs have an enzyme in their saliva that is similar to an antibiotic. It is the reason your dog has brownish-pink stains where he’s been chewing his paw, licking and around his mouth, it causes the discolouration.

So, Peluqui starts frantically sniffing all over Chris as if he could smell a treat that we’d hidden. He looked really serious and wouldn’t stop. Teddy was circling us quite fast and not too close, I don’t know for sure but it honestly felt like he was guarding us. All the other dogs just stood there watching…except the four, eight week old puppies who thought it was all a fantastic game that dad had lay down on the floor as a human climbing frame purely for their benefit! I had to just watch all of this, I couldn’t stop any of them as I was a bit busy myself, I’d sling the odd pup, but this just added to the game. It was truly amazing to witness.

Diatomaceous Earth – what a find. I have no fleas! No ants, a lot less ticks and a lot less flies and mozzies (mosquitoes). It is incredible and people are coming back for more and more. It’s really funny they stand at the gate like Diatomaceous Earth addicts. ‘Got any more of that powder?’ Wayne the mobile vet will be here early July for a cat day and a month later for a cat and dog day if you want an appointment.

Thank you all for your kind comments and support, re: last month’s article.

I called the vet and asked who has reported me, and for what. Basically, very peed off about the affordable mobile charity vet prices.

The vet had not read the article properly and thought I was giving injections and God only knows…spaying animals? So backtracked and said I was not allowed to sell worming tablets, even though you can but them in every chemist, pet shop, garden centre and some hardware stores in town. Not to mention the Internet.

Futhermore, I explained that Wayne is a fully qualified, licensed, English vet with a fully kitted out van, insured by a charity in Málaga, a fully registered rescue centre.
Here I feel the need to brag a little, sorry. Grooming and the kennels is a second career for me, a therapeutic career as I have a terminal illness. In my past life, I worked as an investigative journalist for the BBC for over ten years, closing down residential care homes for the elderly, badly run nurseries etc. Before that, I was part of a team of only ten, hand picked, people to launch MTV into Europe from America, before that toured the world in the 80’s with Eurythmics. Have lived and worked in London, Paris, Australia, Los Angeles and New York. Throw in my degree in communication and psychology. Yes love, my paper work is in order!

I have asked every vet in this town to help with spaying and neutering. And only one has come close to doing so.
I told the vet that people call me about injured and abandoned animals constantly and that the police ring me and ask me what to do with them. I told her I just want to help people afford to spay, to reduce the population and that Wayne, who is also a teacher felt the same way (he was also the celebrity vet on Channel 4’s Big Breakfast some years ago).

I guess my terminal illness, husband recovering from cancer and family to support counts for nothing against their potential loss of earnings. Stupid thing is that the people I’m encouraging and helping couldn’t afford to use normal vets. anyway!

My kennel poster has disappeared, by the way.

So to clarify: Wayne Hockenhull is a fully qualified English vet who has a mobile clinic in a very posh van. He is registered, insured, pays tax and is allowed to charge whatever he wants to operate and sell medication. He’s allowed to park his van on private land wherever he wants. It is a charity.
I do not sell animal medication in my salon. I sell diatomaceous earth for the treatment of fleas and ticks and I am allowed to do so.

When the day of departure came I was so excited and grinning from ear to ear in anticipation of the weekend that lay ahead of me. And what a weekend we had! It was fantastic and lived up to all my expectations. On Sunday evening I said thank you and goodbye in preparation of my return home very early Monday morning. I wanted to get back into the bosom of my family with its daily routines.

On Monday at 6.00am I checked the airline website, just before I left for the airport, to discover my flight had been cancelled due to the ‘Ash Cloud.’ Argghh! With a weekend of excessiveness behind me I was not in the right frame of mind to be dealing with this kind of drama! I followed the instructions on the website with regard to re-booking but to no avail. I could not get another flight out of Bournemouth until the following Friday.

The stress and panic began to hit me. Oh, I had work appointments for the forthcoming week and as a mum of two, I became concerned about the children’s needs, but also more than anything I wanted to get home. What next! This irritation turned from worry, to frustration, and finally into mild anger and even tears. Over a period of six hours I was getting more and more stressed. I ran through all the alternatives to get me home: trains, buses, ferries, hitchhiking, rowing boat…only joking! I needed to take some mild breaths to calm down.

Then it dawned on me that the only person panicking was me. My husband didn’t mind, my clients didn’t mind, my boss wouldn’t notice and my two children are clever enough to look after the dog and my husband. I had money to spend. So what was the problem?

I decided to take the opportunity to spend a few days with my brother and his family and fly back from another airport later in the week. It would be a twin-centred holiday…fabulous.
Now I had a plan. I suddenly felt lighter and again in control. My initial reaction to my little drama now appeared excessive even a little ridiculous. Why do we do this? I guess it is all about making a decision and having a plan. When you know what you are doing and how you are going to achieve it, then life is much more fun. Be flexible and look to find the best in every situation. Sometimes you might need a friend or counsellor to help you see these other more positive alternatives. Don’t be afraid to ask. Remember, it will only be a problem if you want it to be.

I hope my husband sees it that way when I tell him I spent an extra €250 on shopping and wine! (No need; he reads the Gazette – you’re doomed! – Ed)

At the new terminal T3 at the Málaga airport, we were impressed by the post-modern structure, with its 225-metre glass façade, but less so with the efficiency in the check-in lobby.

The enormous queues to the desk took up so much space in the hall that it was very difficult for other passengers to pass through. We had to wait for two hours in line at the check-in with our luggage and a screaming, claustrophobic cat. The gate was said to open two hours before the departure, but the attendant was 20 minutes late. The manning of the desks should be adapted to the number of passengers. Now, only two check-in desks were open, and this is far too little for a charter flight with over 300 passengers. I don’t understand why the check-in takes so long, because once you get to the desk the procedure is very fast indeed.

The line to security was pathetically slow, zigzagging between ropes like in a labyrinth. It took us more than one hour to reach the security control where shoes, jewellery, belts, were was stripped off and computers inspected. I had to pass through the ‘beeping gate’ (metal detector) three times, and was thoroughly searched by a surly Amazonian. An elderly lady had secured her jewellery by wearing kilos of it. She had to get help by a flight assistant to put it back on again. I know that all this is for our own safety, but why do the security personnel have to be so rude? I really tried to be polite, having learned a lesson from a warning incident.
It so happened that the famous Finnish equestrian and trainer Piia Pantsu, now living in Sweden, asked, “Are you looking for a bomb?” in the security control at Sturup airport in Sweden because she thought they showed an exaggerated interest in her handbag, containing woollen stockings and a toy for her 3-year-old son. She shouldn’t have said that, because all gates were locked, no flights were allowed to take off, and the police was summoned. Ms Pantsu was interrogated by the police and was not allowed to continue her journey until several hours later, thus missing an important training session. So watch your tongue when being searched.

These tiresome procedures really make you appreciate service and comfort once you get on board the plane, and I must say that Air Finland had done its best to make us feel comfortable. Smiling faces, warm towels before dinner, a good meal and information by the pilot in three languages was something badly needed after this ordeal. After all, flying is rather expensive, and you expect to get some value for your money.

It’s nice to be in our summer cottage, surrounded by wild animals, growing vegetables, fishing and shopping at our small village grocer’s. Soon, the hardships of the journey will be forgotten. I do hope, however, that full-body scanning will be introduced by then.