By the time this article is published the new CAFÉ Ambulance will have been presented by the Honary British Consul Antonio Berdonces Vivancos to the Ayuntamiento of Mazarron Gines Campillo. The ambulance will be administered by the Cruz Roja and will be identified by the CAFÉ logo on each side. You will see PALS The Lions and <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida International Radio logos as well. Thanks to everyone who over the years has helped pay into the fund. It reached 45000€ and PALS have advanced the balance making the total paid for this state of the art vehicle 57536€. The CAFÉ Concert in September will help out, so see you there and PALS continue to accept donations for the ambulance until the end of this year. PALS have, excluding the ambulance donation, now purchased life saving equipment to the total value of 188,414€ and were in the lead on the Lorca Earthquake Concert where 6400€ of equipment was donated to that stricken city. We think we are the only local charity that declares publicly where all the money goes and are proud to advise that the financial records are open to all at our monthly meetings at the Cultural Centre, Camposol B. We always welcome new members and ideas and have some really exciting events planned for this year. If you wanted a cruise to the Greek Islands and Turkey, sorry it’s already at sea from the 29 th April for 7 nights, however we do have some really unusual trips coming up. A trip into the beautiful Sierra Espuñas on <strong>May</strong> 28 th with visits to the market and archaeological sites in the town of Alhama de Murcia, then lunch at La Perdiz. 25€ food included. A day trip to Benidorm, on June 5 th with drop offs at Terra Mitica, the Old Town of Benidorm and the famous market. Have fun in Europe’s fun filled hot spot 15€. Pick ups at most places. A trip to Salamanca, Segovia & Avila from 24 th to 27 th June with a stop in Toledo 210€ 3 night’s hotel B & B. Some places available due to cancellations. We usually have our beach BBQ on <strong>May</strong> 1 st but as our team and quite a few of our supporters are on the cruise we have decided to hold a special lunch in a beachside restaurant, with special entertainment and hold the boules contest all on July 2 nd. 17.50€ per head. The second coach for the Basque Region Trip is rapidly filling up. Fantastic value at 285€ full board, all excursions included. See a totally different part of Spain in Cantabria from 6 th -11 th October. 5 nights and 6 days of exploration It might seem early, but we have reserved our Christmas Ball Dinner/Dance at the <strong>Costa</strong> <strong>Costa</strong> Hotel, Mazarrón for Sunday 8 th December 29.50€ with masses to eat and drink and entertainment by popular request the John Lindo Trio are back. Information and tickets from the Trevi Bar on each Saturday morning from 11am-1.30pm or at Saralaras on a Wednesday 1-3pm or call 626 460 465. PALS DO IT 4U In association with <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida International Radio and www.angloINFO.com <strong>May</strong>! Month 5 – where does it go? All is well in the Rainbow camp. Matt and Alan went to the UK for a week in April to see mum Jones – did a little decorating for her and got the garden ready for summer. Mum Monk continues to be independent in her little house in the garden – 91 and going strong. Regular readers will know we have a large garden and “too much” land. We had some students from Cartagena cultivating some of it a few years ago but they stopped and now our local goat man Antonio has asked if he can use it and with his friends has started to grow lots of vegetables – using our well water! We should get a good supply of fresh seasonal vegetables. We have noticed lots of the villagers cultivating their land much more this year – a sign of the “crisis” times? The “crisis” has also brought with it security issues. Normally good law-abiding people with no money can turn to crime. Our two security products mentioned in last month’s newsletter were received with interest – the personal distress alarm and the solar floodlights are both in stock. Ask for more details. TV NEWS There is lots of talk in the bars and on the internet about all Brits losing their UK TV later in the year – remember the same talk this time last year for a November close down? There certainly are some changes coming with the launch of the “E” Satellite and the moving of the remainder of the FREESAT channels to this satellite. What those moves/ changes will bring to us down here is UN- KNOWN – 100%. I suspect that the changes will be similar to those already made (the entire Channel 5’s and some of the 4’s) and will have little effect on us (except for those with the smallest dishes?) but there is no concrete information for reception one way or the other. We can only wait and see. The 5’s and 4’s already moved will not change again along with any pay SKY channels. These are on the pan-European beam and have mostly already moved. Supposing the worst and signals do become weaker in our region; that may mean you will need a bigger dish or change to internet TV (IPTV). The irony is that “those in charge” try to stop us watching our national TV in any other country in the EEC, but there are, and always will be, ways around that, so why even bother trying to stop us? Why not just open up the airwaves to all? We can live, work, pay tax and play in any EEC country, but we can’t, or at least officially can’t, watch our national TV. Crazy or what? What I do find disturbing is that further down the coast where expats have lost the 5’s and some 4’s, installers are pushing, and installing, bigger dishes to get these channels back, with clients spending up to a 1000€ for a dish that the installer cannot guarantee will work for the “E” Satellite and I bet they disappear if they don’t work! Hold tight, don’t fret and let’s see what happens. We at Rainbow are getting as prepared as we can for whatever eventuality and we are advising clients that are making investments of the possible changes with open minds! Just don’t listen to unsubstantiated “bar and internet talk”! Manhattan have been having a few issues with recordings. There is a software fix and Humax (told to us by Don of Spain and Bournemouth) have been having issues with the FREETIME boxes closing right down and not waking up to record items. Again a fix available, BUT both these fixes are “dangerous” to apply unless you are confident in what you are doing. Best to contact us for more detailed information if you are having either problem. We often get calls from clients having “odd” problems with all makes and types of digiboxes. All these boxes are powerful computers which are software controlled and like ANY computer the software, can get corrupted, especially in Spain where mains electricity is “dirty” – depending on what/where/ which bit of software gets corrupted, will depend on the problem you get and its severity. There is nearly always an easy remedy. Firstly unplug the box from the mains, count to 20, and replug to get the box going – will solve 80% of these problems, but if that doesn’t work go into the MENU and do what is usually called a “Factory Reset”. This puts the box back to a state it came out of the factory, with software all in order and none of the “fiddling” you have been doing installed! Instructions are always “on screen” but you could get the manual out if stuck! Or call us! That’s it for <strong>May</strong>. Article sponsored by Rainbow Satellites the company for all your TV needs in the Murcia Region. Contact Alan or Matt for any advice. Email rainbowsats@ gmail.com or call (0034) 686 358 475. Our website www.rainbowsats@gmail. com has some good basic information for TV viewing in Spain. Page 44 Please tell our customers where you saw their advertisement in the <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida <strong>Chronicle</strong> Sales Contact Teresa 619 199 407 or for the Editor Contact Patti 646 005 017 www.costacalidachronicle.com email: costacalidachronicle@gmail.com
In association with <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida International Radio and www.angloINFO.com Please tell our customers where you saw their advertisement in the <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida <strong>Chronicle</strong> Sales Contact Teresa 619 199 407 or for the Editor Contact Patti 646 005 017 www.costacalidachronicle.com email: costacalidachronicle@gmail.com Page 45