Vol 4 Edition 3 January 2004
Costa Blanca Netguide Newsletter
http://www.costablanca-netguide.com
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CONTENTS:
1) Editorial
2) Suzanna's Article
3) New Museum - Guadalest
4) New School - Benidorm
5) B. R. I. T. S. 4
6) Consumer Advice
7) Spanish Resources
8) Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information
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1) Editorial
Hi ,
Happy New Year to everyone. We all had a lovely time
enjoying the warm weather and generally relaxing with my
parents who always spend their Christmas break here. As with
most year's we sat out on their terrace to eat Christmas
lunch which is always a nice touch. New Year's Eve we were
on their solarium roof, Dad in his t-shirt, to watch the
fireworks being set off from all the surrounding towns.
My parents left a day or so early back to Blighty to beat
the traffic and hopefully the bad weather in France but we
were still on holiday until after the 3 Kings. The kids were
definately ready to go back to school and the parents
thought so even more.
January has had exceptionally warm weather with temperatures
of over 20 recorded last weekend. All well and good but not
really getting me ready for a quick trip we are taking back
to England at the end of January! I daily ask for weather
reports from my parents but you know what it's like you just
can't imaagine the opposite of what you are sitting in and
now appreciate the opposite conversations when anyone is
coming here.
Anyway all that aside we have lots of news this month for
you with a report about the El Gordo scam, Barry & Pam's
latest BRITS article and views of their first Xmas in Spain,
a review of a new museum opened in Guadalest, plus a Q & A
we passed onto Kootenay Design. So happy reading and see you
all next month.
Suzanna Editor - Costa Blanca Netguide.
editor@costablanca-netguide.com
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2) Suzanna's Article
Hello ,
So everyone gets excited here about "El Gordo" Lottery -
"the fat one" literally. I was amazed to even hear a report
about it on the World Service from Madrid on the 22nd
December the day of the draw. We are now so used to the
sound from every bar and shop of the television and radio
broadcasting the children chanting the numbers and winning
amounts. This lasts for the entire morning and is even held
in front of a live audience. Originally the children used
were from an orphange but they are now from a local school.
We were down in Santa Pola later that morning at a meeting
and the guy we were with was quite jumpy as Santa Pola
apparently had won some of the money so he was waiting to
hear from his office via the mobile if they could all retire
yet!
However there are always unscrupulous people who manage to
spoil things. This all came to light for me back in October.
We suddenly started to receive phone calls in the office
from all over the world asking where and how these people
could collect their winnings. Being totally unaware of the
situation to unfold I thought they had found an article I
had written sometime back about the lottery and were
desparatly trying to contact the lottery office. This was
expelled from my mind when someone phoned and asked the
usual questions and when I explained they would have to get
in touch with the lottery office they told me they had
received a letter with our phone number on it. Very strange.
I then went to research a bit on the net and discovered
entire websites about the scams. Here is some info I
downloaded:-
"Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon today issued a
consumer alert regarding an international sweepstakes fraud
that has recently targeted at least one Nassau resident.
"A letter is being circulated," Dillon explained,
"purporting to be from the El Gordo Sweepstakes Lottery
Company in Madrid, Spain, informing the letter recipients
that they have won hundreds of thousands of dollars in the
El Gordo Spanish lottery. They are told to 'keep this award
top secret from public information' due to a 'mix up of some
of the numbers,' and are urged to contact a claim agent at
an overseas telephone number. When they do so they are asked
to provide personal banking information as well as other
personal information.
"Once victims show interest in trying to collect their
'winnings,' they will be asked to provide money in advance
to cover administrative costs. In addition, the victims'
bank information and void checks can be used or modeled to
create counterfeit checks and clean out the victims' bank
accounts, and the other personal information requested can
be used to commit identity fraud, enabling the scammers to
pose as applicants to obtain credit cards and fraudulently
purchase merchandise.
"The perpetrators of this fraud are obviously relying on
victims confusing it with the legitimate national Spanish
lottery that is nick-named 'El Gordo' ('the Fat One').
Potential victims should keep in mind the following:
Legitimate El Gordo lottery tickets can only be purchased
from authorized ticket sellers in Spain. If you have not
made such a purchase, you cannot have won a prize in the El
Gordo lottery;
Legitimate lotteries do not ask winners to pay out money in
order to collect their winnings;
You should never provide any personal information to a
company or an individual whom you do not know.
"Most importantly, the El Gordo Sweepstake Lottery Company
is not a legitimate organization."
So be warned! Funnily enough only days later I received an
email with the exact same scam from a Dutch address the only
difference was they claimed that the money I needed to
deposit before I could claim my prize of 200,000 Euros was
because I wasn't a resident of Holland.
To give you an idea here is the email:-
NOTE Due to Sp*m filters, follow this link to read the emails
http://www.costablanca-netguide.com/clip/vol4_3.html
Since then I have read in a local newspaper of 2 people
being arrested as a result of one of these scams so
obviously the authorities are onto it but it needs people to
be vigilant and definately bin any correspondance received
from these places. A Phoenix resident even sent a letter by
snail mail to our office this week asking for details of how
to enter the "El Gordo" lottery.
Apart from that we didn't win anything this time and the
national news here reported on TV this morning that they are
looking for one of the lucky winners from the "El Nino"
Lottery a slightly smaller version of "El Gordo" held on
January 6th so if you did buy a ticket check it you could be
a millionaire.
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, if you know someone who may benefit
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to pass it on.
PLEASE NOTE: These articles are for personal use only and
may not be posted on any website, newsgroup or bulletin
board. If you wish to use any of our articles for commercial
purposes please contact us articles@costablanca-netguide.com
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3) New Museum - Guadalest
We received news from Javier Fracés of the opening of a new
museum in Guadalest called Museo-Colección de Vehículos
Históricos (Museum - Collection of Historical Vehicles)
This collection consists of over 100 motorcycles and various
small vehicles both from Spain and abroad dating from the
1920's through to the 1970's.
The museum itself covers over 500m2 and there is plenty of
parking available. Culturally it is a very interesting
museum that allows the visitor to see just what vehilcles
people used to use.
If anyone is interested in visiting the museum or would like
more information you can email Javier at
javifraces@hotmail.com
or call 00 34 965 88 21 97 or 00 34 677 65 57 96.
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4) New School - Benidorm
Theatre Express based in Javea worked hard to achieve great
things in 2003. As a consequence of this they are now proud
to announce the opening of second school this term in
Benidorm. Classes will run on Saturdays under the same
policy as the Javea school. All ages are welcome to attend
and classes are streamed into age groups and ability.
They are delighted to be able to teach these classes in
Benidorm Palace and are very grateful to the management
there for their co-operation and encouragement for the local
children.
For further information call 696 611 709.
Researched and Written by Suzanna
info.es@costablanca-netguide.com
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5) B. R. I. T. S. 4 (Being Retired in the Sun - episode 4)
Christmas…..
Well Christmas is over, as is New Year, and while I'm on the
subject of fiestas, so is Chinese New Year and we are now
into the Chinese year of the Monkey. This was our first
Christmas in Spain and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The
weather lived up to all expectations and was fantastic,
sunny and warm and exactly what we hoped.
There are some very different aspects to Christmas here
compared to the U.K. Firstly a lot less 'commercialism',
only in the last two or three weeks before Christmas did
decorations and Christmas trees start to appear in the shops
and then quite simply decorated and understated and hardly
any Christmas carols, or Christmas pop songs blaring out of
every shop doorway. I found this a very refreshing change
from now normal 'in your face' Christmas that start around
early September in the U.K. Another difference here is that
it doesn't stop quite as promptly, as the main celebrations
takes place on the eve of The Three Kings on January 5th.
We watched the fiestas with friends in the comfort of a bar
while enjoying some excellent wine and tapas.
Christmas day was spent with friends and was in every way
typical - we had turkey and all the trimmings and Christmas
pudding with brandy butter and various creams. The only
thing that wasn't easy to buy here was - wait for it -
brussel sprouts! Now some people may say this was a good
thing but I quite like them myself! We upheld the usual
traditions - we ate too much, drank too much, and played
silly games - great fun was had by all!!
The January sales did not start until after the Three Kings
and this seems to be the law so there is no crowding around
the shops on Boxing Day. In fact, I haven't been to the
sales yet and as we are almost into February now I guess
I'll have to wait until next year now.
January is 'gardening season' and we've been busy shifting
rocks and planting various shrubs and trees. The weather
has been 'unseasonable' - fantastically hot and sunny every
day for weeks! Its great speaking to friends in the U.K.
who are miserable, suffering from winter colds and flu,
going to work in the dark and coming home from work in the
dark and only seeing daylight at weekends, while we toil in
the garden in shorts and T-shirts! We try not to be heard
laughing down the phone!!
We now look forward to the approaching fiestas of the
'Falles' and Easter, more about them next time - now the
sunshine is calling me……….
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6) Consumer Advice
Kootenay Design helped us this month with a range of
questions about curtains and bedding.
Kootenay Design supply made to measure curtains and bedding
including fitted sheets, pillowcases, fitted bedspreads and
throwovers. Their speciality being the made to measure side
not the ready made.
So here are the specific questions they answered for us.
How much does a pair of curtains cost?
That all depends on the size of your windows and the fabric
you choose as they are all individually priced.
So do we measure the windows ourselves?
No, we provide a full service of consultation, home visit to
measure then the fitting and finishing of the curtains.
Once we have chosen the fabric how long does it take to make
the curtains?
Depending on how many windows there are to curtain, usually
between 3 - 6 weeks.
How do we stop the sun coming into our naya?
We also supply exterior awnings that will block the sun, and
keep the heat off the naya. We also have a large range of
vertical, venitian and wood blinds. If you do choose to hang
curtains we can line them with a blackout lining.
Kootenay Design can be contacted via the Costa Blanca Net
Guide at www.costablanca-netguide.com/listings/163.html or
on 00 34 96 648 0554.
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7) Spanish Resources
Books
i) Gardening in Spain
An ideal present for ex-pats living in Spain which deals
with the issues related to gardening in a hot and dry
climate. Chapters cover the basic ideals of gardening, tips
for absentee-owners, gardens by the sea, gardening for the
disabled, and more.
http://www.costablanca-netguide.com/bac/books/gis.html
ii) British on The Costa Del Sol
This downloadable book gives an inside look at British
migrants and a rich account of migrates, their reasons for
migration and the day to day realities of expatriate life.
British on the Costa del Sol is a lively and accessible
account of an under researched transnational community.
http://www.costablanca-netguide.com/bac/books/btcds.html
iii) "Time Out" Guide to Barcelona
This guide provides an in-depth view of Barcelona and
advises on where to stay, where to eat, where to shop and
what to see in the exuberant city of Barcelona.
http://www.costablanca-netguide.com/bac/books/gtb.html
CD's
i) Spain
"Spain" is a truly exhilarating CD combining classical and
flamenco themes with a touch of Latin American music that
reflects tremendous passion and spirit.
http://www.costablanca-netguide.com/bac/CDs/spain.html
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