Motril: you will be able to find some at Radiovision, Mediterranea garage on the Puntalón roundabout, Café Paris on the ring road up to the hospital and Restaurante El Zarcillo on the Esplanada, for example.

Salobreña: Chiringuito El Bahía, Supersol, Lingwoods, Casa Técnica, tourist office, etc.

Nerja: Dentadanés (Maro) Clínica Sta Cecilia (c/Hurtado, Nerja) and Tienda Danesa (Frigiliana)

Almuñécar and La Herradura: everyone that advertises

Alpujarra: phone area rep on 645 036 158

Lecrín Valley: main branch office of Caja Rural (c/Granada 21)

Velez Benaudalla: Inmo Margarita on the main street, just after the church square.

As for the online, we will start putting it up on the 1st, just as soon as we’ve had a breather from getting the Seaside Gazette ready for the printer.

Something to Bear in Mind
You may well be aware that when you move country within the European Union, you can take certain social security benefits with you. For example, you can receive UK benefits such as contributions-based incapacity benefit/ESA, Bereavement Benefit, the State Pension, as well as others, even if you move to Spain.

However, there are certain benefits that are ‘non-exportable’. You can only receive them if you are resident in the UK. These benefits are known as ‘means-tested benefits’ and include pension credit, income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit and income-related incapacity benefit or ESA. If you are resident in Spain and in receipt of any of these benefits, you should inform the authorities immediately.

For more information on which UK benefits you can and cannot receive as a resident in Spain, see our website

Healthcare in Spain
Many people who live in the UK do not think twice about going to the doctor and accessing state-run healthcare. This is because the UK’s health system is residency-based. What some people do not realise when moving to Spain, however, is that the health system here is different, it is contributions-based.

In other words, to have entitlement to use public doctors and hospitals, a person must either be working and making national insurance contributions into the Spanish system, be in receipt of certain Spanish or UK benefits or in receipt of a state pension. Unfortunately this does mean that some British residents in Spain do not have immediate access to public healthcare and more information on the options available to you if you are in this position can be found on our website.

But what if, like many other British residents in Spain, you are in receipt of a UK State Pension?

Pensioners:
Well, if you are not in receipt of a pension from any other country, you can apply to the International Pension Centre (IPC) for form S1 (previously known as an E121). Once you receive this form, and have your residency and padrón certificate, you must take all copies of the S1 form, along with some form of official ID, to the INSS (social security) office.

They should take the forms and issue you with an accreditation document, either there and then or through the post. Once you have this document, take it to your local health centre to register with a doctor. They will then apply for a Spanish health card on your behalf. (NOTE – this is a different card from the EHIC which is for use outside Spain)

So if you’re a pensioner but have never applied for an S1/E121 or have the forms but never registered them, make sure you follow the steps above to make sure you have your right to healthcare in Spain recognised.

To request an S1 form, call the IPC on 0044 191 218 7777. In September, look out for accessing healthcare as a ‘dependant’.

UK Child Benefit
If you or a member of your family cares for young children, you may want to find out if you are entitled to some form of benefit.

To receive UK child benefit in Spain, you must either:
* Be employed or self employed in a job in which you have to pay national insurance contributions to the UK, OR
* Be in receipt of a UK contributions-based benefit such as a pension, incapacity benefit, ESA or Bereavement Benefit.

However, if you are resident in Spain and your child was born here or you are paying Spanish insurance contributions, you should make enquiries with the social security office regarding your entitlement to Spanish child benefit. See www.seg-social.es for more information.

For more information on UK Child Benefit, call the Child Benefit Department in the UK on 0044 161 210 3086 or see www.direct.gov.uk.

Keeping Your Cool
It has been a long winter so I«m sure that you are glad that summer is on its way! However, high temperatures and humidity can present a risk to health and so it is important to protect yourself from the heat and recognize the signs of heat related illnesses.

How to avoid heat related illnesses

(1) Keep out of the heat – stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day and if you are outside make sure to stay covered and take water with you.

(2) Avoid strenuous activity – limit chores such as gardening to the mornings or evenings when it is cooler.

(3) When you are indoors stay in the coolest part of your home and draw curtains and blinds closed in rooms that get the sun.

(4) Wear loose fitting, lightweight and light coloured clothing.

(5) Take cool baths and showers.

(6) Drink lots of fluids even when you«re not thirsty and eat cold foods such as salads and fruits that contain a lot of water.

Get Registered!
If you’re resident in Spain you might have heard of the Padrón. The Padrón is simply a list kept by your local town hall which allows them to know how many people are in the locality, so that they can provide sufficient services for the community.

But did you know that registering is a really simple process and that it’s free of charge? All you need is:

* An address where you habitually live.
* A form of official identification.
* Your NIE or residence card.
* Details of your home (deeds/rental contract).
* A recent utility bill in your name.

Go to your local town hall with the above documents and fill in a form. It really is that simple!

Unfortunately, we at Age Concern España see an increasing number of people coming to us for help and our hands are tied because we cannot link them into state provided services. For example, if you are not on the Padrón you may not be able to enter a state residential care home, nor access local services such as home help. You will also not be able to claim income-related Spanish benefits. Access to many of these services depends upon the length of time you have been registered on the Padrón. Therefore, the sooner you register the better!

For further information about registering on the Padrón visit the “Living in Spain” section on the UK in Spain website. www.ukinspain.fco.gov.uk .

San Cristobal, west end looking east

The Town Hall has just announced that the construction companies are ‘working around the clock’ to have the two controversial underground car parks open for the end of this month.

Despite reiterated promises of having the two installations open for summer, it now appears that the San Cristóbal works won’t be concluded until the 23rd of July, with the Velilla works finally concluding on the 30th of July – with the first month of summer already gone.

San Cristobal east end looking west

Talking of blue-zone parking, the Town Hall has also announced that they are considering making El Paseo de la China into a blue zone as well, albeit, only over the summer. This is the area between Chinasol and Edifício Los Ramos, which is the last apartment block heading towards Cotoboro

On the other hand, the Town Hall appears to have backed down over their plans to extend blue zoning to just below Hotel Playacálida (Taramay). This stalled plan was highly controversial as there are no commercial premises on this dual avenue to justify blue-zoning – the concept of blue zones was to increase parking turn over in front of shops as business and thus provide greater accessibility to them, which was and is a concept that nobody disagrees with.

However, the blanket blue-zone coverage of Almuñécar and la Herradura’s beaches, from eleven in the morning to eleven at night, seven days a week, is an incredible folly, destined to provide short-term economic relief for the municipal coffers at the price of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs and turning these coastal towns into tourist-wise ghost towns.

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.

crowd goes wild

Tonight the crisis is forgotten

For an excellent account of the match, which you saw, anyway, but from an American point of view, click on this link

They have a fantastic product range providing low-cost telephone calls from your mobile, even to overseas numbers. Calls on their mobile service are only seven cents per minute to Spanish mobiles and an even cheaper 5.3 cents per minute to the UK landlines and many other European destinations.

They even allow you 100 five-minutes calls between Telitec customers for free (subject to 15 cent connection charge) and texts from only 9 cent each! Telitec’s landline services are equally impressive with calls at one cent per minute to most European landline destinations.

We asked whether the call quality was poor with delays, only to be told we were speaking through their system and the quality was perfect! So if you are looking to cut down your phone bills, or if you are interested in representing Telitec here on the Costa Tropical, check out their web page at http://www.telitec.com/

Enjoy delicious food and refreshments on board. There’s time to sunbathe on deck, snorkel, visit the untouched beaches and coves, as well as watch the dolphins. To end the day, watch the sunset and relax with a glass of champagne. Put your dream day in Mike’s hands.

Skippered day charters are priced at 70€ for full day (6 hrs), 50€ for half day (3 hrs) and 50€ if you just want to come aboard to witness the area’s spectacular sunsets.

More info: www.sailthemed.org/

The idea of the project is to facilitate young people from 7 to 17 years of age to get together and form bands. Very often, youngsters can sing or play an instrument, but never get the chance to meet up with other youngsters with the same interests and play together, and maybe progress on to form a band.

In February this year the first meeting of the Starfish Project was held and with the help of several professional musicians who have encouraged the youngsters, helped in the writing process and organised places to practice.

The project is run by unpaid volunteers, all forfeiting their time, talent and enthusiasm for the benefit of local youngsters, and obviously they need some help… so if you have an empty shop or garage where the bands could practice, let Stephen know on 678 195 536 or email spanishguitars@mac.com.

I haven’t seen this much eurphoria in the streets in years. Spain in the Word Cup Finals – unheard of.

¡Viva España!