Welcome to DigameXtra !
The Most Popular English Language Daily Newsletter In Andalucia
Content in this newsletter blog site comes from its subscribers, followers & Editor. Submissions are subject to editing and posting at the Editor’s discretion. Content from other sources is credited. The Editor is Naythan, aka DoctorLaptop.
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Announcements
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DigameXtra Holiday Schedule- No Issue These Dates:
Posts scheduled for holidays will be posted in the next issue.
– Jan. 1 & 2, Mon. & Tues., New Years Day & recovery day.
– Jan. 5, Fri., Epiphany (bridge holiday). Epiphany Day, a national holiday, is Jan 6th, Saturday.
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HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER
I can only produce DigameXtra with the financial support of my readers. This year’s goal is to receive a donation from 3% of subscribers. The 3% Club finances DigameXtra for the 97% group that don’t donate. Which group will you belong to? The generosity of the 3% Club members is greatly appreciated.
Just like your morning coffee,
what would you do
without your morning DigameXtra?
-Holiday Donation Info, 2 Methods-
You may drop cash donations off in person and say hello, after 2pm M-F by appointment, or place them in my mailbox beside my door anytime. Due to health reasons, unannounced drop-ins may be inconvenient for me. But if I am expecting you, no problem! Both the door and the mailbox have the name HARRIS on them. Email me for map and directions. Cash donations are strongly preferred.
Alternatively, you may send me an Amazon ES (Spain) “eGift card” by email. You need to have an Amazon.es account. The only info you may need is my name and email address, see those below. Typically you will only need my email address. Remember, this is an “eGift card” sent to me by Amazon, don’t buy a plain “gift card”. Use the link provided below to access the “eGift card” purchase page.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND AMAZON UK eGIFT CARDS. NO TRANSFERS/APPS.
Here is the Amazon.es eGift Card Link, (NOTE: YOU CAN CHOOSE ANY AMOUNT YOU LIKE ON THE FORM, it is set at €50 by default):
https://www.amazon.es/Cheques-Regalo-Amazon-es-mail-Amazon/dp/B07SS5PFJK/
Buy the eGift card for:
Name: N.J. Harris
Email: digamextra@protonmail.com
Total Donations Received As Of Today: 94
(Last year = 96. New goal = 150, 3% of subscribers, a modest target. If just 3 of each 100 subscribers make a donation the goal will be attained!)
UPDATE 28/12/23: As of today we are at 62.6% of the 150 donations goal with only 10 days remaining – 56 donations short. Less than 2% of subscribers have donated. Big thanks to the 93 donors in the 3% Club! This year there will have been 250 daily issues. A €25 annual donation equals only 10 cents per issue, or €2.10 per month with 21 issues.
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Music Lovers! Be Sure To Check Out The Rare Music Videos Section, below the humour section. A holiday season bonus.
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What’s On
Tell them you saw it on DigameXtra!
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Torrox Christmas Events:
– Thursday, December 28 in the Plaza de la Constitución from 4:30 pm. Party includes a living Nativity scene, various performances and children’s attractions, as well as a visit from the Royal Postman.
– Saturday 30th December there will be a concert by the Asociación Cultural Vive la Música in the same square to close the year.
– Tuesday 2nd of January, a New Year’s concert in Santiago Street in El Morche.
– Wednesday 3rd of January, big Christmas Party in El Morche with the same characteristics as the one in Torrox.
– January 4th & 5th. A children’s show on the 4th of January in the Teatro Municipal Villa de Torrox, on the 5th of January there will be a big parade of the Three Wise Men through the municipality. (Sorry for the poor quality in the images, that’s what I received. -Ed.)
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XIV San Silvestre 2023 Race in Vélez-Málaga: Saturday 30 December at 18.00 hours, with an urban route of 5,000 metres, with prizes and a concert by Tributo a Estopa.
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Three Kings Parade of Torre del Mar: January 5
A large parade of thirteen floats, ten local groups in parades, charanga (brass band) & batucada (drum band) that will make this one of the best parades on the Costa del Sol. The departure is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. from the Mayor’s Office.
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Torrox Spanish History Group next meeting Thursday 4 January 2024:
Starting at 11.00am the talk will be presented by Malcolm Smith and is titled:
“The Visigoths in Spain and France”- Their history, art, and legacy.
The talk will be in three parts, an examination of the history of the Visigoths and what they achieved, a look into their art and architecture and how it relates to modern art.
There will be two addenda covering a recent visit to Toledo, and the Visigoths while they were in Septimania, France, where Malcolm lives.
Please come along and support Malcolm.
Non-members are welcome. Details of how to reach the venue appear below.
The venue for the meeting of Thursday 4 January starting at 11:00 hrs, will be the MEDIACANA MERENDERO, formerly known as El Ancla.
This venue is the first chiringuito on the beach if you travel along the N340 from Torrox Costa towards Nerja. It is situated just a couple of hundred metres past the turn off for the Viveros Amberes garden centre if you are heading from Torrox costa in the direction of Nerja. It is on the beachside of the road.
Mediacana Merendero is available to find on Google Maps. There is ample parking at the venue and public transport is available, supplied by ASLA, with a stop at Km. 46 on the N340, which is just 290 metres from the venue.
Please can you mention to your friends and other members who have expressed an interest in attending our meetings about this next meeting at this venue. (Just in case they do not pick up this message personally). Many thanks in advance.
For any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Email: keithrocksue AT gmail dot com
I look forward to seeing members and newcomers.
Keith / Vélez
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Weather Forecast from https://weather.com/
Click or tap the image to open an updated report in a new tab
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NOTICE!
Submissions for posting in sections below
must be signed like this or they will be returned !!!
Sender's First Name / Nearest Town
NOTE: YOU MAY ADDITIONALLY INCLUDE A LOCATION TO MEET OR PICKUP, BUT YOUR LOCATION IS REQUIRED IN ANY CASE. Including only the statement "for collection from..." is NOT sufficient! You may include that, but all submissions must be signed like this, Naythan/Torrox Costa.
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Services Wanted/Offered
Check the DigameXtra Sponsor’s list whenever you need a service. By using these services you are helping support DigameXtra.
Landlords, tell your renters about DigameXtra, where they can get overnight answers to questions about local stuff without having to call you!
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BluCee Real Estate:
BluCee would like to wish all DigameXtra readers a very Merry Christmas!
Thank you to all of you who have entrusted us with your property this year.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday, however and wherever you celebrate it, and a happy and healthy New Year.
Best wishes Michelle, Henny, Sheleigh and Clara.
And a HUGE special thank you to Naythan, we really appreciate the hard work you put into producing DigameXtra.
At BluCee we go above and beyond for you during the sales process, don’t just take our word for it – see our reviews on Google and Facebook.
Pass by our office to have a no obligation chat!
Calle Timón 11b, Torre del Mar, 29740
For an appointment outside of our opening times or for one of us to view your property please contact us info@blucee.com or 0034 711 04 27 27
www.blucee.com
We cover the whole coast line and inland.
BluCee Real Estate are a DigameXtra sponsor so our contact details are shown here every day.
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Buy / Sell / Trade / Rent / Wanted
Click on pics to enlarge
How to post more photos than the rules allow – use collages. The limit is one pic per item/event. You can combine several of your photos into a
single collage photo by using this free online collage creation tool. It’s very easy to use, give it a try! https://www.photocollage.com/
Are you still dealing with scammers on Fakebook Marketplace?
Sell your items here, to locals, for cash, without the shenanigans.
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For Sale, 2 items:
– 48 inch Samsung full HD Smart TV WiFi USB.
Model no UE48H5500AW. Excellent condition. 60 euros.
– LG Blu-Ray/DVD Player. Model no BP250 with leads and remote. 20 euros.
Tel. Peter 636122319 Torrox Costa.
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For Sale: Baby Pram by Quinny. Full (3 pieces) with baby bag, umbrella and rain cover. Very good condition. 500€. Patricia, Torrox Costa. 666089558
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Recommendations & Requests
When making a recommendation always include the phone number or website of the biz, service, etc., so readers can reach them.
Note: I can’t post third party email addresses.
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News & Articles
(Click the link to read the full article)
{ Translations by www.DeepL.com/Translator }
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SPAIN
IVA sales tax on electricity bills raised from 5% to 10%:
– Ministers agreed to partially extend some measures and start a progressive increase in the taxes that were lowered to reduce electricity and gas bills. The green light was given to raise IVA (Spain’s sales tax) on electricity bills from 5% to 10% (although there is still some way to go until reaches its ‘normal’ 21%), according to sources.
– Meanwhile, the elimination of 4% IVA on staple foods (such as bread, flour, milk, cheese and eggs) will be maintained until June, and the IVA on oil and pasta will continue to be reduced from 10% to 5%. Full article: https://www.surinenglish.com/spain/iva-sales-tax-electricity-bills-raised-from-20231227133645-nt.html
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President of the Community of Madrid Isabel Díaz Ayuso on Pedro Sánchez- “He is a communist supported by pro-independence supporters who have the most serious crimes on their backs”: {Translation, summary}
– Ayuso has ended the political year with a fierce attack on Pedro Sánchez, his pacts with the independentistas and his government in general.
– The strength of the Community of Madrid is essential to confront the communist project of the central government. Pedro Sánchez is a communist supported by Catalan and Basque pro-independence supporters who have the most serious crimes behind them: against life, freedom and the unity of Spain. In perfect communion with an amalgam of ultra-left groups that have not hesitated this Christmas to criticise the defence that the head of state, His Majesty King Felipe VI, made of the Spanish Constitution”. With this forcefulness, the President of Madrid began her review of 2023.
– “If the ultra-left that governs us does not defend the Constitution, it means that Pedro Sánchez rejects this statement made by the King: ‘Outside of respect for the Constitution there is no democracy or coexistence possible; there are no freedoms but imposition; there is no Law, but arbitrariness’,” Ayuso recalled.
– “The political balance of the year 2023 can be summed up in the fact that an ultra-left government has taken power to liquidate the Constitution. And with it the unity of Spain, its prosperity and its influence in the world”, says Ayuso. Source, Spanish: https://www.elmundo.es/madrid/2023/12/27/658c147321efa0be0c8b45ae.html
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Sánchez uses Spain’s rotating presidency of the EU to lay the foundations for a system of censorship to control the press critical of his actions: {Translation, summary}
– Spain’s rotating EU presidency has delivered a regulatory change that smacks too much of Pedro Sánchez’s attempt to control the critical press. He has managed to give a decisive boost to an agreement on the European Media Freedom Regulation (EMFA). And that agreement, under the façade of a defence of citizens’ right to access “free and pluralistic” information, gives governments the ability to decide what is considered “free and pluralistic” information.
– What’s more, the Spanish government itself describes the European regulation as “a fundamental tool to protect freedom of expression, freedom and independence and pluralism of the media, both traditional and digital”. And that power in the hands of Pedro Sánchez could be anything but a guarantee of free information. Source, Spanish: https://www.libertaddigital.com/espana/2023-12-27/sanchez-usa-la-presidencia-espanola-de-turno-de-la-ue-para-sentar-las-bases-de-un-sistema-de-control-a-la-prensa-critica-7082811/
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GRECO warns that Spain fails to comply with its anti-corruption commitment in the midst of the amnesty process: {Translation, summary}
– The Council of Europe’s body that analyses the capacity of states to fight corruption, the so-called Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), has concluded that Spain has failed to meet its anti-corruption commitments to which it had committed itself in the Fifth Evaluation Round. This is a package of agreements by which states committed themselves to ensure the prevention of corruption and to ensure the promotion of the integrity of senior executive functions of the central government and security forces.
– GREGO has revealed in a new report that neither Spain nor Malta complies with the group’s recommendations. Moreover, this statement comes at a time when the same international body, the Council of Europe, is analysing the amnesty law in the Venice Commission.
– GRECO initially assessed this degree of compliance in March 2022. Even then, it ruled that Spain had not complied with any of the recommendations. Of the 19 recommendations, seven had been partially implemented and another 12 had not been implemented. Among the unfulfilled measures was the need to implement greater transparency in the activity of advisors, as the government focused on an explicit reform on civil servants but not on advisors. “There is no indication of how such measures would specifically cover areas of risk of conflict of interest and corruption with respect to persons with senior executive functions,” the body said at the time. It also criticised the practice of “revolving doors” in Spain.
– As for the security forces, which was the second block it analysed in 2022, GRECO denounced that there had not been more improvements in the Police for a better development of its infrastructure”. Source, Spanish: https://www.vozpopuli.com/espana/consejo-de-europa-avisa-espana-incumple-compromiso-anticorrupcion-pleno-tramite-amnistia.html
ANDALUCÍA
Crisis in the Ministry of Health of the Andalucian Regional Government – The vice-minister of Health and the manager of the SAS of the Junta de Andalucía resign: {Translation, summary}
– Two of the main heads of the department, the deputy minister, Miguel Ángel Guzmán, and the manager of the Andalucian Health Service (SAS), Diego Vargas, have tendered their resignations to the minister, Catalina García, citing personal reasons.
– The crisis comes at a delicate political moment for the Andalucian government, as delays in waiting lists and other shortcomings in the health service have made the ministry the main target for attacks by the parliamentary opposition. Source, Spanish: https://sevilla.abc.es/andalucia/dimiten-viceconsejero-salud-gerente-sas-junta-andalucia-20231227111821-nts.html
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Another Avoidable Hospital Tragedy- Andalucian health will pay 300,000 euros to a family for the death of a minor after a diagnostic error by a doctor in training: {Translation, summary}
– {I have warned about this previously, from personal experiences. Many times in Andalucian hospitals the person who examines you is not in fact a qualified doctor. Often they are loosely supervised trainees or residents, who will not disclose the fact they are not MDs unless you demand to see their badges. They do not have full prescribing privileges, so for instance, if you need a painkiller as I did for a nasty broken arm, they will prescribe an anti-inflammatory or uncontrolled analgesic because they cannot prescribe a controlled med like codeine without clearing it with the real doctor on duty, who is off doing his rounds and does not like being disturbed. In my case they inappropriately gave me deadly, yet uncontrolled, Nolotil, despite knowing I was a native English speaker (Velez Malaga). Another time, a hospital trainee tried to substitute Penicillin, which it clearly said on my chart that I was allergic to, for a more expensive antibiotic I can tolerate. Had I not woke up in time to check the drip bag label it could have done me in. (Carlos Hoya) -Ed.}
– The death of the child occurred on 25 March 2015. The little boy was admitted to the Juan Ramón Jiménez Hospital with a “pleural effusion” which “would have required consultation with paediatrics and hospital admission”. However, he was discharged because there was a “diagnostic error”, as “the pleural effusion” that could be seen in the X-ray was “not assessed”, according to the opinion of the Andalusian Advisory Council.
– The problem lies in the fact that the X-ray showing the child’s condition was analysed by “a doctor who was a first-year resident” at the Juan Ramón Jiménez Hospital. But this “does not imply the existence of professional negligence with criminal relevance, as it is precisely this lack of experience of doctors who are in their training period that leads to the establishment of supervision protocols, which apparently did not work correctly in this case”, the report states.
– A report by the Andalusian Advisory Council, published on Tuesday by Efe, certifies the existence of “patrimonial responsibility” of the SAS for the deficient medical care provided to the child and sets the compensation at 301,376.64 euros. Source, Spanish: https://www.elmundo.es/andalucia/2023/12/26/658abd41e4d4d84e2d8b457f.html
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Humour Section
Free Comic Strips provided by https://www.arcamax.com/comics
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Music Videos
Holiday Music Video: Santana Full Concert 08/18/70 Tanglewood, Lenox, MA. Video Link
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Exchange quotes from x-rates.com
Click here to see more currencies
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Fun & Games
National Geographic Photo of the Day: Click Here
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Click Here
Word of the Day: Click Here
Quote of the Day: Click Here
Fact of the Day: Click Here
Born Today: Click Here
Today in History: Click Here
Today’s Front Pages (New Link), worldwide: Click Here
Daily Mail UK- Daily Sudoku: Click Here
Cinesur El Ingenio Films schedule: You can find the film schedule at this link. Films tagged as (VOSE) are in the original language with Spanish subtitles.
https://www.cinesur.com/es/cine/mk2-cinesur-el-ingenio
Useful Links, Info & Numbers
Petrol Prices – Updated daily: These are the fuel stations in Malaga province with the lowest prices. The price data for 95 and 98-octane petrol and diesel fuel is updated every day. See it here:
https://www.surinenglish.com/malaga/updated-daily-these-20220314114157-nt.html
Weekly Markets
Monday: Torrox Costa
Tuesday: Nerja, Salobrena
Wednesday: Rincon de la Victoria, Algarrobo Costa
Thursday: Velez Malaga, Torre del Mar, Frigiliana
Friday: Almunecar, Salobrena, La Herradura- Summers only
Saturday: Competa, Mezquitilla@Algarrobo behind the Sala Ottowa
Sunday: Velez Malaga, Nerja Car Boot
Taxi
Nerja 952 524 519
Torrox: 952 531 030
Frigiliana: 952 533 231
Phone numbers for emergencies
Emergency Services.: 112
National Police: 091
Guardia Civil: 062
Ambulance: 061
Fire Station (Bomberos): 080
Emergency English Help Line: 902 102 112
Local Police
Torrox: 952 539 828
Nerja: 952 521 545
Frigiliana: 952 533 126
Torre del Mar: 952 549 238
Local/National News in English, The Sur: http://www.surinenglish.com/
Local Weather: https://www.accuweather.com/en/es/torre-del-mar/306652/weather-forecast/306652
Bus Info: https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/our-destinations/regional
Currency Converter: https://www.x-rates.com/calculator/?from=EUR&to=GBP&amount=1
Internet Speed Test: http://beta.speedtest.net/
Local Bank Holidays: http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/spain/index.php UK Newspaper Front Pages and Worldwide Newspapers All On One Site: https://www.thepaperboy.com/uk/front-pages.cfm
Check All Lottery Results Here: Updated daily.
https://www.20minutos.es/loterias/
Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Malaga Province: New, updated link (Aug, 2023). Info in English with list of English speaking meetings. https://aacostadelsol.com/
DoctorLaptop’s Homepage: https://doctorlaptop-repairs.webnode.com/
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