Community Spirit Aug 2018

HEALING
SAWALTERNATIVE
- RETHINK YOUR
VALENCIA
TAX
SPANISH
AUTHORITIES
DOWN ON
CLAMP
AIRBNB
SUMMER
INDIAN
REVIEW
FESTIVAL
AYURVEDA
AT
SPAIN
LIFESTYLE
Community Spirit
Let's use our good Energy to create great things together
AUGUST 2018
TRACEY &
MIKE'S 23.3
GRILL BAR
OPENS IN
BETERA PROJECT
REVOLUTIONIZES
TRADITIONAL FARMING
LLIRIA
BLONDES, BRUNETTES
& REDHEADS - A CUT
ABOVE THE REST
ASTROLOGY- THE
REAL MEANING OF
THE ZODIAC IN
MODERN TIMES
WELL-BEING

IN THIS
ISSUE
Founder's Message
Hi Everyone,
This is the 9th issue Community Spirit Valencia e-magazine.
As ever, with such a diverse community here in Valencia, I have
been out and about meeting and interviewing people from all
walks of life.
Community Spirit Valencia is now ranked No.1 in Google.
I am grateful to everyone who is getting involved!
All the Best,
Richard T. Voller
BA (Hons) Media & Cultural,
Southampton Solent University, UK.
COOLEST BAR IN
LLIRIA
Tracey and Mike have just opened
there new Bar Grill 23.3 in Lliria!
Community Spirit Valencia met up with
them to get the inside story and find
out how it's all going?
CLOWNING ABOUT WITH LUKA
Luka Soriano has got talent! He uses
his laughter to uplift kids in hospital
who are feeling sick as well as using his
music in workshops to help peopple
relax.
THE SCHOOL OF LIFE!
Didier Thomas, Massage Therapist
explains how health is not only
about massage, it’s also about the
way we live!
BETERA: ORANGES OR
TREES?
Forget the orange, buy the tree:
Valencia project revolutionizes
traditional farming.
IN LOVING MEMORY
A loving tribute. David James
remembers Gizmo, his best friend.

CONTENTS
Areas of interest to be covered .
4
WHAT'S ON?
6
LOCAL BUSINESS
SERVICES DIRECTORY
12
THINGS TO DO
La Tomatina 2018
13
POETRY
This month by Stuart Bavester
19
14 COOL PLACES TO EAT
MUSIC MATTERS
Tracey & Mike's Bar Grill 23.3, Lliria
Luka Soriano from Valencia
23
MARKETING MATTERS
Nina Eggens, Copy Por Favor, Valencia
32
HEALTH AWARENESS
Didier Thomas, Kaikki Massage, Valencia
34
TRAVEL
Tiptoeing around volcanoes in Java
38
BUSINESS MATTERS
New Spanish tax laws for people with tourist
apartments
39
HOLIDAY HOMES
Dreams do come true! Jeanny Grevelink
40
LOCAL TOWN NEWS
Betera: Transforming traditional farming
41 IN LOVING MEMORY
Human's Best Friend, by David James
43
ASTROLOGY
The Real Meaning of the Zodiac in Modern Times

CONTENTS
Areas of interest to be covered .
47
HAIR & BEAUTY 58
Pierre and Yohe Debaas-Tortoza, update
on building a business in Valencia
EVENT REVIEWS
Indian Summer Festival - Ayurveda
Lifestyle Spain, L'Eliana, Valencia
59
ALTERNATIVE HEALING
Nial Sawa, founder of SAWAlternative
Healing Valencia

WHAT'S ON?
Local Towns and Valencia
Free Language Exchange,
Lliria
The address is:
ASOCIACION VECINOS LA BUITRERA
C/ ABETOS 2
URBANIZACIÓN LA BUITRERA
46160 LLIRIA
The language exchange takes place every Friday from
7,30 to 8,30 PM.
We do half an hour of Spanish conversation and half
an hour of English. There is no charge for this
R E I S E | P A G E 2
ARTS & MUSIC

- Emergency: 112
- National Police: 091
- City Police: 092
- Civil Guard: 062
- Fire: 080
- Red Cross: 963 67 73 75
Wednesday- Casinos and L'Eliana
- Airport: 961 59 85 00
- Bus Station: 963 46 62 66
- Port: 963 93 95 00
- Post Office: 963 51 67 50
- Valencia Regional Government Info: 012
- Valencia City Hall Info: 010
- Customs: 963 67 13 00
- Visas, Embassies & Consulates
Pedralba
Rastro
Pedralba Rastro
Sunday 12th August 2018,
Location: Behind Bar Sardi, Pedralba.,
From 9.00 til 1.00.
Lin Shepherd, event organiser, raises funds for
Naturaleza y Animales (Vice President) by charging
Euro 2 for space at the Rastro which goes to the charity.
Sellers need to arrive at 8am
Weekly Local Town Markets
Friday - Villar del Arzobispo
Thursday - Lliria
Tuesday - Betera
Public Holidays in 2018:
There are some things which you just need to
you don't want to be driving into. .
remember,
town to find that everything is closed down
because you forgot it was a public holiday!
Tuesday 1 May - Labour Day
Wednesday 15 Aug - Assumption of Mary
Tuesday 9 Oct - Valencian Regional Holiday
Friday 12 Oct - Fiesta Nacional de España
Thursday 1 Nov - All Saints' Day
Start planning now for Villar del
Arzobispo Fiesta Week!
10th to 18th August
Thursday 6 Dec - Constitution Day
Saturday 8 Dec - Immaculate Conception
USEFUL NUMBERS FOR
VALENCIA:
Emergency Numbers
- Renfe (National Train Service) Information: 902
24 34 02 or 963 52 02 02
- Renfe Tickets: 902 24 02 02 or 963 52 02 02

Local
Services Directory
NOW
FREE
HOME
SERRANIA SOLAR / NATHAN / +34 619 589 210 OR UK MOBILE 0044 07743 755108
MAN & VAN / DAVID SMITH / +34 615 462 452
PLUMBER & ELECTRICIAN / TONY ROGERS / +34 677 201 382
DOG AND HOUSE SITTING, HOUSE CLEANING /VILLAR DEL ARZOBISPO /
JANICE PARKER / +44 752 389 5968
CLEAN AND GREEN ECO-FRIENDLY CLEANING SERVICES / KELLY DANVERS / +34
633 975 167
ANIMAL WELL-BEING
ECLIPSE VETS / MARIA LLUCH BARBERA / +34 962.700.659 OR +34 652.161.659
BUSINESS MATTERS
CONVERSATIONAL TRANSLATIONS / DANI /+34 618 37 92 94
SUSANA DIAZ ESTEBAN / PA & MANAGEMENT / SUSANA / + 34 651 407 565
EXPAT WEB DESIGN / DERRICK BAILEY / +34 674 996 156
CHLOE DELAUNAY COACHING / CHLOE DELAUNAY - CAREER & BUSINESS COACH
/ +34 673 246 661
ELENA ZURRIAGA VIRTUAL ASSISTANT SERVICES / ELENA ZURRIAGA -
BUSINESS SUPPORT / +34 615 339 555
VIDEOGRAPHERS / ANTON UZUNOV / +34 684 13 07 28

Local
Services Directory
ECO FRIENDLY PRODUCTS
TIERRA DELICADA / DAVID JAMES / +34 617 24 27 42
HAIR & BEAUTY
BLONDES, BRUNETTES AND REDHEADS/HAIRDRESSING SALON -PIERRE & YOHE
DEBAAS-TORTOZA / + 34 654.890.599 OR ESP + 34 654.893.956
FITNESS, WELL BEING and EXERCISE
YOGA WITH JENNISON / JENNISON GRIGSBY / +34 661 58 56 53
YOGA VIDA HATHA YOGA / KELLY DANVERS / +34 633 975 167
ALTERNATIVE HEALING
KAIKKI MASSAGE / DIDIER THOMAS / +34 602 87 61 92
AYURVEDIC LIFESTYLE / RONAK NEGI / +34 962 324 478
REIKI THERAPY / KELLY DANVERS / +34 633 975 167
NUTRITION, FOOD
WARRIOR UP TO WIN / NUTRITION HEALTH - KELLY DARLING / WHATS APP 001
(480) 290 2906
BICK'S BAKES / CAKES & DOG BISCUITS - KAREN BICKNELL / + 34 636 660 380
FOR YOUR 'INDIAN DELIGHTS / MORGINI / + 34 642 189 873
Click here to Subscribe

July 2018 / Community Spirit
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To benefit from advertising in Community Spirit online magazine, please visit our website and
discover more:
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Local
Services Directory
LA PUERTA COACHING /PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT SPECIALIST - ANNE E.
DUGUID - TEL + 34 657 43 43 24
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
LIAH BERLIOUX COACHING / LIFE COACH - LIAH BERLIOUX - TEL + 33 635 180 638
ENTERTAINMENT
POMPINO LIVE MUSIC /ELECTRIC ROCK & KARAOKE FOR FIESTAS, ACOUSTIC
FOR FUNERALS OR CHRISTENINGS / DEREK BELL - +44 7480 319 687
BPSB - BUDDY PAUL'S SMOKIN' BLUES BAND / RED HOT JUMP BLUES, R'N'B,
RICK'N'ROLL / PAUL TIDIMAN - +34 640 353 304
HOLIDAY HOMES
VILLA TORRENT / JEANNY GREVELINK / +34 678 446 129
HAPI ZEN / RICHARD VOLLER / +34 602 564 973
SCIENTIFIC HEALING TREATMENTS
DELTA O2 / GHISLAIN MOUTON / +34 638 15 35 85
SPIRITUAL & COSMIC
BRUJA CELTA / MASAGE,HEALING, AROMATHERAPY (PHYSICAL,EMOTIONAL AND
SPIRITUAL) WITCHCRAFT. /CHLOE / +34 673 146 224
THE SIXTH SEED ASTROLOGY / ASTROLOGY /RADILINA SHANOVA / WHATS APP
+44 7794 0854 04

COMPETITION
Art Competition
Villar del Arzobispo
Are you artistic? Do you like painting or
drawing and want to enter an art
competition? If so, then this is a great
opportunity!
You need to create a piece of artwork on a bedsheet, which
you collect when you register at the Fiestas Commission in
Villar del Arzobispo.
The photo to left is the Winner of the competition in 2017.
The art competition is open to individuals and groups, you
don't have to live in Villar del Arzobispo to enter the
competition. You need to be over 18 years old and the
theme and the style is totally up to you!
Registration
To register, send an email to:
communicacionfiestasvillar2018@gmail.com
Deadline for finished pieces is 3rd August 2018
Prizes: 1st - Euro 200, 2nd - Euro 100 and 3rd - Euro 50
You'll find further details of the competition on the Fiestas del Villar Facebook page.
www.facebook.com/fiestas.delvillar

NO. 1
LA TOMATINA 2018 - AUGUST 29TH, 2018
place in
Takes
a little
Buñol,
near
village
Spain.
Valencia,
40 km
Located
Valencia
from
bus, by
or car.
train
I know this looks totally crazy
and you must be wondering
what on earth is going on?
Once a year the town of Buñol
near Valencia becomes a
battlefield of the traditional
“tomato war”, otherwise
known as La Tomatina.
It's history dates back to 1945
and it was banned for many
years by the Spanish
government until it finally
became so popular in the 60's
that it was finally allowed to
take place. In 2002, La
Tomatina of Buñol was
declared Festivity of
International Tourist Interest
by the Secretary Deparment of
Tourism due to its success.
So participants get 140 tons of
tomatoes to throw at each
other, just for the fun of it!
In recent years, there have
been a few changes and the
entrance is no longer free, but
definitely still worth
experiencing!
Although it is outside of the
city, La Tomatina is probably
the most enjoyable festival in
the whole Spain!
Things to
Do!

I wake in the morning I lie and think of the day
As
will happen in the casa de campo to myself I say
What
I hear a noise and wonder “oh no, what was that.”
Then
the the water pump, the inverter, the dog or a rat.
Is
walk to the kitchen never knowing what I will find
I
dog trips me up and I pat him and think never mind
The
the kettle, not enough water for the tea I gasp
Lift
refill the kettle and put it on, hoping the gas lasts
I
while the kettle boils its time to visit the bog
Know
& praying the waste runs away with my log
Hoping
on the taps to wash my hands and I wonder
Turn
the pump kick in and wait, tap on, hands under.
Will
tea is made and I look to see if there is sun
When
it's cloudy I think will the solar last this bad run
If
sit outside on my faithful old worn plastic chair
I
the sun has weaken it leaving it there.
Knowing
the chair snaps and the leg breaks away
Crack,
I sit, but knowing here I cannot stay
Momentarily
I crash, heading for the floor and its dust
Down
goes splashing, clothes wet and cup bust.
Tea
I have to shower and need to wash my hair
Now
turn on the water heater, tap and cold I stand bare
I
it runs hot & I jump underneath the flow
Eventually
in the moment and the bloody gas it does go.
Warm
cold now, soap in my eyes, face and hair
Freezing
try and find the key to the gas cupboard somewhere
I
the bottle in slippers and a damp dressing gown
Changing
am determined that life and today will not get me down
I
finish my wash and I dress with vigour and a grin
I
have managed the trauma today has decided to bring
I
would check my social media and catch up with stuff
I
the internet is off and by now I have just had enough.
But
check the time and realise I have only been up just a tad
I
the day starts like this there is more calamity to be had
If
is life in the campo and more I am sure will go wrong
This
each disaster as it comes and remember that old song
Take
campo life
written by Stuart Bavester
E D I T O R I A L O F F I C E
Always look on the bright side of life…

COOL
PLACES
TO EAT
Tracey and Mike’s Bar Grill 23.3 in
Lliria, near Respol Gararge.
WRITTEN BY RICHARD T. VOLLER
click to access FB page
14 | Cool Places to Eat
It’s always nice when a new English
bar opens up in the local
community, because it means that
there is a new place where people
can meet, especially for those of us
who are living out in the campo, as
we hardly ever get to see each
other. I was really happy when I
heard about Tracey & Mike’s new
bar grill 23.3 that has just opened
up in Lliria next to the Respol
petrol garage, just past Lidl
supermarket. So I decided to go
along and discover more about
what’s happening?
THE INTERVIEW
Richard: “How did you discover
this place and why did you want to
buy?”
Tracey: “Well we just came on
holiday really to see Sharon!”
Richard: “And Sharon is?”
Tracey: “Sharon is my cousin, but
we are like sisters. She has retired
and we came out for a holiday. She
wanted to show me a really good
English pub that had closed down.
So we went along and looked at it.
Immediately we thought, ‘Shall we
have it?”
Mike: “Yes, we came for one
week’s holiday. We arrived on the
Saturday night, on Sunday we sat
with Sharon and Mark in Pedralba,
on the Monday they showed us
through the window of the bar grill.
Tracey immediately fell in-love
with it and wanted to know more
about it, and by the Wednesday we
had signed the lease and paid the
deposit, got a bank account, got a
lawyer. Then we had to go home
for six weeks, sort out our jobs and
houses. Then we came back here
on 1st June 2018, got our NIE
numbers on 11th June and then
started on 15th June. It was all
very quick.”

C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T V A L E N C I A
/ A U G U S T
1 5 | X C L U S I V E
I N T E R V I E W
Richard: “What did you feel when
you looked through the window?”
Mike: “We both just fell in-love
with it straight away.”
Richard: “So have you worked in
a restaurant before?”
Mike: “We have both worked
behind bars, but quite a long time
ago. It’s just that I have worked in
television for the last 30 years
and I wanted a change of lifestyle.
Tracey had the same ideas.”
Above: Fish'n'Chips served on a Friday from 4pm onwards.
Tracy: “Yes, the original plan was
that Mike was going to work in
the kitchen and I was going to
work behind the bar. But with the
language barrier, I ended up
working in the kitchen.”
Richard: “Are you happy with
that?”
Mike: “We’ve taken on Lola who
speaks Spanish and English, as
well as Sharon and Mark who
support in the kitchen. We like to
think that we have a nice team
working here, everyone pulls
together. It works well, it’s a
happy team, even when we get
faced with big challenges.”
Richard: “So when you came here
and got everything setup, what
did you think that you would do
differently?"
Tracey: “I thought it was going to
be a burger bar! But we’ve only
sold two burgers!!”
Mike: “We’ve started to expand
the menu, but we wanted to crawl
before we walked. It’s taken a few
weeks to happen, but I just don’t
think you can do everything at
once. We started off with the ‘All
Day English Breakfast’ which is
quite popular.”
Richard: “So what is included in
the All Day English Breakfast?”
Tracey: “There is a small one,
classic one and a Belly Buster! The
small one is one sauage, one bacon,
one hash brown, one tomato, an
egg, beans, toast and butter and
orange juice. The classic one has
two of everything and the belly
buster has three of everything.”
Mike: “We are now doing lasagna,
salad, chips, and chilli con carne. We
have Fish’n’chips on a Friday, and we
have Sunday dinners on a Sunday. And
we are now closed all day on a
Monday.”
Richard: "That’s good to know you have
one day off as you are working very
hard!"
Tracey: “I need to have a day off to do
the banking and the paperwork.”
Richard: “And desserts?”

C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T / A U G U S T
1 6 | X C L U S I V E
I N T E R V I E W
Tracey: “Apple crumble, sticky
toffee pudding, spotted dick,
strawberry pudding, whisky tart,
ice creams and tiramisu.”
Richard: “So you really have got
quite a variety now.”
Tracey: “When we were busy on
Sunday, we ran out of apple
crumble. A table of 12 wanted
apple crumble, so we said the
only thing that we can do is make
another one, so they had to wait
35 minutes while I made it. That’s
how fresh it is!”
Richard: “Wow, that’s quite
different!”
Tracey: “Yes, we do make our
own apple crumble and we do
freeze it. We make it on a Sunday
and we will freeze it as we
estimate roughly how much is
needed for the week, because we
can’t afford any waste.”
Richard: “So it’s all home-made
food, that’s why I feel so full after
I have been here for a meal. It’s
feels like home.”
Tracey: “That is what we
intended it to be. A little bit from
home. Home cooking and very
English. We are not a restaurant
and we don’t charge restaurant
prices. So we don’t give
restaurant service. We give the
best service we can. And when we
are busy we do the best that we
can.”
Richard: “What have you learnt
from all the trials and tribulations
you have experienced so far?”
Tracey: “Always cater for
everyone as if they are having a
large serving. We have reviewed
our booking system and we are
addressing any problems
immediately afterwards to make
sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Richard: “Do you miss being in
England?”
Tracey: “I am really looking
forward to getting back from
England and I haven’t even gone
yet!”
Mike: “This just feels like home now.”
Richard: “A lot of people say that about
the bar as well. So what do you think home
is?”
Mike: “We want people to feel
comfortable, feel like they know us.”
Tracey: “A lot of our customers become
our friends. A lot of them have become
very good friends. And that’s what we
want, it feels like a little community here.”
Mike: “We want them to feel part of it and
we want to do as much for them as we can.
If you feel comfortable in a place, then you
start to think of it as being homely, and
safe and you can relax.”
Richard: “Well I think that you are doing
that very well! So thank you for your time
and I wish you all the very best!”

Discover so much more about your self
through this soul reflection art workshop
guided by Richart.
THIS SUMMER HAVE FUN AND LEARN HOW TO PAINT YOUR
You might just starting seeing life in a
new light! Call Richart on 602.564.973
AURA ON CANVAS
THERE'S NO PAIN IN AURA PAITING!!
LET YOUR SOUL SHINE BRIGHT!

COMMUNITY SPIRIT / SUBSCRIBE 18

I was intrigued to discover more amazing things about
LUKA
this man and why it felt so good to listen to him playing
music. So I met up with him near the City of Arts and
Sciences complex in Valencia and we sat on the grass,
shaded by a tree in the afternoon sun.
SORIANO
Interviewed by Richard T. Voller / Translation by Chloe Bright
I first met Luka Soriano when I was invited to attend a
macrobiotic dinner, with a group of lovely ladies in a private
dinner location in Benimaclet in Valencia. He was playing a whole
array of different musical instruments, and although he only
spoke Spanish that evening, it was still very entertaining to watch
him. He really knew how to get the audience involved, even the
people at the back of the room!
THE INTERVIEW
Richard: “Wow!! So you are a clown as well?”
Luka: “Yes, I visit sick children in hospital. 18 years ago I
started working for a professional group of Clowns
(www.payasospital. org). Their aim is to help families who
are in hospital and to make their lives better. The two
things that we use are music and laughter”
[At that moment a branch suddenly fell out of the tree
and crashed onto Chloe's cigarette tin, making a big bang
and we all burst out laughing in surprise!]
Richard: “Well that proves it works!!
MUSIC
matters

LAUGHTER MATTERS
Richard: “So what age group are you working with?”
Luka: “I work with children who have just been born up to
about 13 years old.”
Richard: “So you are going in as a Clown and you are
playing music and telling jokes?”
Luka: “We learn improvisation, so depending upon the age
of the child and what condition they are in, depends on
whether we use humour or music, or both together. It just
depends on the situation and the child.”
Richard: “So being a Clown helps to heal the children?”
Luka: “It depends on the situation of child. Some children
are very ill. It is more just to help them through to the end,
it really depends on their condition. With each situation
we channel what the person needs, to help the family and
the children.”
Richard: “Why did you decide to take on this role?”
Luka: “I lived for a number of years in a little village which
had about 20 people in it, and I realised that I wanted to do
more. I wanted to help people in society. Once I made that
I decision I coincidentally met someone, or NOT, it was
fate! So I met the association of the Clowns and it all
started.”
Richard: “Do you feel like a bit of a Clown?”
Luka: "I feel that the clown is the real side of everybody.
Everybody puts a mask on, but the smallest mask in the
world is the little red nose, and even though it is a mask,
you connect with the best part of yourself."
Richard: "So what is the best part of yourself?"
Luka: "When you are not afraid of being yourself."
Richard: "Which could be your inner child?"
Luka: "Jango Edwards, who is a very famous clown, he said
that a clown is someone who uses parts of the child which
Above: Luka as a Clown
is inside of you. But use it with the adult side of you, because it
is not about being a stupid little child, it is rather using the two
sides to create a clown."
Richard: "Ok, I can understand why you have chosen that role.
Now I am curious about your music. You play the guitar, the
flute, the hand organ and you sing! When did you start playing
music?"
Luka: "In 2010, in Ecuador, I was part of a healing ceremony and
after I did that I wanted to investigate more into the therapy
side of music."
Richard: "So at what age did you start playing music?"
Luka: "I started playing music at 8 yrs old when I taught myself
how to play the harmonica. I have always been interested in
music because my grandfather played the violin in theatres
when there were silent movies."

2 1 | X C L U S I V E
I N T E R V I E W
Richard: "Wow! That is a great inspiration!
There is a strong musical history in your family
then. So you went travelling, how did you end up
in Ecuador?"
Luka: "For a year I travelled around Latin
America with a friend, because I was very
interested in Shamans, healing plants and selfhealing.
"
Richard: "So how do you use your music for
healing?"
Luka: "Certain instruments react in different
ways to certain parts of your body. For example,
the Shamanic drum connects with your root and
sacral chakras, your voice and your guitar
connects with your heart chakra, and the
double-flute connects with your mind and helps
you to see things. The most important thing,
regardless of any instrument, is the intention
that you use when you use the instrument."
Richard: "That's fascinating, can you tell me
more about the musical healing trip that you can
take people on?"
Luka: "It is for individuals, they can lay down on
the floor or in a bed. They have to close their
eyes and then concentrate on their breathing. It
is very important that they are conscious of
their breathing and their body.”
“It starts with a Tibetan Bowl and this work
cleanses our three bodies, spiritual, mental and
emotional. And then I work with the Shamanic
Drum to connect with the 1st and 2nd chakras,
so you connect with the earth.”
“And then I work with the Native American flute
and sometimes I use the Squidgy Box or my
voice, very close to someone's chest so they can
feel the vibration of my voice. It's all to do with
activating different
Above: Video showing Luka giving a healing music workshop.
energetic centres of your body. Also it Richard: "Yes, energy goes where
is so that the person can feel the
energy is needed. Interesting. So I
vibration of the music and themselves. met you when you were at the
But not just on a physical level, but also Macrobiotic Dinner event in
on a cellular level."
Benimaclet. It was a really
interesting experience as you
“And then I do an integration of
were getting the audience
everything, where they normally lay on involved in your performance by
their side or in the fetal position. And I choosing songs out of a hat for
play the guitar and sing so it unites all you to play. Nice!! Do you always
the work which has been done on the do that?"
energetic side, it's like being a baby."
Luka: "I didn’t want to put
Richard: "How does your work heal together an actual setlist of songs,
people?"
so I got the audience to choose
instead! I love to play and joke.
Luka: "First of all I don't heal anyone. When something like a dinner is
That is something which you do
very formal, I like to introduce
yourself. Most days people are
humour into it, so it breaks the
stressed, this experience just gives you barriers and makes it all less
the opportunity to relax, to cry, to
serious. When you relax and laugh
shout and scream. Some people get more, the music has a deeper
messages, people have different
effect on you.”
experiences. But it is all a part of their
healing. "
Richard: “I am also curious as you
said you are a father, does your
"The music always goes to where it is son play music?”
needed most."

Above: Song by Luka Soriano called 'Samuel'
Luka: “My son is eight years old and has started to
play the trumpet!”
[It’s funny because I am aware that that is the same
age that Luka learnt to play the harmonic, it’s like
life is repeating itself.]
“When my son was born, I was always playing the
flute in the house, so he saw what I was doing and
it’s inspired him to be musical himself. He chose to
play the trumpet.”
“I want to expand the work which I am doing, not just in
Valencia, but in Spain and Europe. I am learning English
so that I then can reach people all over the world.
Actually, I can already give workshops (HUMOR Y
CREATIVIDAD) CON TRADUCCIÓN in English, so they
are available for people in both the Spanish and English
speaking community.”
Richard: “Great! It’s been really nice to meet you and I
wish you all the best. Thank you.”
Richard: “I am curious that with all this clowning
about, what sort of impact would you like your
work to have in the world?”
Luka: “Well because I am always learning about
everything in life, I feel that I am just beginning.
But I basically want to shake people up! My
mission is to break up the rigid fixed structure of
society, to make it more fluid. I want to be able to
reach out and touch people through my work.”
Luka Soriano
www.lukasoriano.net

MARKETING
INTERVIEW WITH NINA EGGENS, OWNER OF COPY POR FAVOR IN VALENCIA
MATTERS
DO YOU HAVE A BUSINESS AND FIND YOURSELF STRUGGLING WITH WHAT TO WRITE
ABOUT IT ON YOUR WEBSITE? OR HOW TO DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS IN A
BROCHURE? WELL, NINA EGGENS, WHO RUNS COPY POR FAVOR, IS JUST THE
PERSON YOU NEED TO KNOW, AS SHE IS A COPYWRITER WHO RECENTLY ARRIVED
HERE IN VALENCIA WITH HER FAMILY.
I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO MEET HER IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, BEFORE
GETTING AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW HER AT THE BLUEBELL CAFE IN RUSSAFA.

almost ten years and I know how to
“I think to myself, ‘if I
write in different styles for different
know nothing about
media.”
you and your business,
I want to be able to
Richard: “What is your blog called?”
read that text and then
I want to know exactly
Nina: “My blog is called ‘Nina’s
what you are about
Apartment’. It’s about interior design
and what you are
and lifestyle and a little bit of ‘soulful
selling.”
living’, as I call it. Mindfulness,
conscious-living, vintage buying.”
“I also specialise in
writing blog posts as
Richard: “Tell me about your business.
What do you do?”
Richard: “Ok, it seems like there are
quite a few things there that you are
offering. So coming back to the
they are a very
important marketing
tool for businesses
Interview by Ricahrd T. Voller.
Nina: “I offer copywriting to small
businesses here in Valencia, but I also
work internationally online. I am
originally from the Netherlands and
write in English and Dutch. I lived in the
UK for 12 years, so I am bilingual.”
Richard: “You speak Spanish as well?”
Nina: “Still learning! But if you have a
Spanish business here in Valencia and you
need English copy, then of course I can
help you to put your story into words.”
services that you offer, who are your
customers?”
Nina: “I have a lot of small
businesses who come to me, who
are either just starting off or have
been going for a while. They are
usually struggling to put their
service offer in writing. They are
passionate about their business,
they are offering amazing products,
but they just don’t know how to put
it into words that attract customers.
But I can help them do that.”
these days. They can
drive a lot of traffic to
your website. In fact, I
can be your Ghost
Writer!”
Richard: “What is a
Ghost Writer?”
Nina: “Basically I
pretend to be you! So
that means I really
have to get to know
you, understand your
Richard: “So what are the core things you
are offering through your business ‘COPY
POR FAVOR’?”
Richard: “How do you do that?”
Nina: “I really listen to what drives
business and write
about lots of things
that are related to
what you offer. But I
Nina: “My core business is writing great
copy for websites, leaflets and blog
articles. Secondly I offer graphic design for
flyers or business cards and I can also
design simple websites and blogs in
Wordpress. I’ve had my own blog for
them, what they are about and what
they are offering to their audience.
Then I summarise that into an easy
to read, informative and
professional piece of text. I don’t like
to write in very complicated words, I
see far too much jargon.”
don’t necessarily talk
about your business all
the time. For example,
if you are hiring out
apartments in Valencia,
your blog could be
about the city

C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T V A L E N C I A P A G E 2 5
YES, WHEN YOU WRITE BLOGS IT IS ALL
ABOUT STORYTELLING. SO YOU NEVER
DO A HARD SELL IN A BLOG POST
BECAUSE PEOPLE GET BORED OF THAT.
THEY DON’T WANT TO BE SOLD STUFF
ALL THE TIME. THEY WANT TO LEARN
SOMETHING NEW.
and all the sites you can visit, the best cafes in town or
where you can hire bicycles. Basically, anything which a
tourist could be interested in. Then I would put in
keywords and links to drive traffic to that blog post and
your business at the same time.”
Richard: “So it is a bit like indirect writing about your
business?”
Nina: “Yes, when you write blogs it is all about
storytelling. So you never do a hard sell in a blog post
because people get bored of that. They don’t want to be
sold stuff all the time. They want to learn something
new. So I come up with ideas and topics which add value
to your website and business and make people want to
read it.”
“Say for example that you have a massage clinic, you
don’t want to constantly talk about what massages you
offer, but you might want to have a blog on your website
which is about healthy lifestyle, with massage being part
of this. So I could then offer articles about healthy eating
or perhaps relaxation techniques, which offers
customers added value and information. You want to
create a brand they want to affiliate themselves with.”
Richard: “So by using the right keywords people will find
your website?”
Nina: “You use particular keywords in headings,
subheadings, the article itself and even in image
descriptions, words that people would type into Google.
If people are looking for ‘massage clinics in Valencia’, I
could write a blog post using that keyword several times,
so Google is more likely to pick it up.”
Richard: “So it comes up in a Google ranking?”
Nina: “Yes, hopefully!! The thing about Google and other
search engines is that they like websites that are
offering quality, original content and are regularly
updated.”
Richard: “How do you regularly update a website?”
Nina: “Blog posts are ideal for this as a blog will be
updated all the time with new articles. You can have a
new post once a week or once a month, whatever suits
you best. The thing about a blog is that you have to
commit to it. Which is why a lot of people don’t start one,
because they don’t have the time.”

R I C H A R D : “ W H I C H I S W H E R E Y O U C O M E I N ? ”
Nina: “Yes, people realise that blogs are very
important, but on the other hand they get a bit
stressed out that they don’t have the time nor
the expertise to write them. And I love writing,
it’s my passion.”
Richard: “That is interesting because a lot of
people put stuff on Facebook and think that is
enough.”
Nina: “It is really difficult these days, for
example on my ‘Nina’s Apartment’ Facebook
page I have almost 5,000 Likers, which is a lot!
But sometimes, when I post a link or a picture
on it, only a handful of people see it. It is
frustrating.”
Richard: “Why is that?”
Maybe you have an amazing breakfast so you want to
share some recipes! It's all about thinking outside the box
and being creative.”
Richard: “So what is the difference between social media
and a website?”
Nina: “Well your website is your HOME. You need a
website, but it can be as simple as a Landing Page with an
About Us page, Services and Contact page. It just has to
look good, give clear information and help people to easily
find your contact details. Then everything you do outside
of the website, whether it is Facebook, Pinterest,
Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIN and / or You Tube, they all
have to lead back to the HOME source. But in all those
channels you have to be informative, adding value to your
core business, to spark someone’s interest to actually go
and visit your Home. You need to give them a reason.”
Nina: “It’s because of algorithms and they
constantly change. At the moment Facebook
and other social media prefer ‘storytelling’,
rather than hard sells and self promotion. So if
you have a story to share, then you are more
likely to be seen. Videos are also popular just
now. Whatever you post, social media is about
adding value to your business, rather than just
selling your products and linking to your own
website.”
“You might have a hotel that you want to
promote, but what are you going to talk about
on social media? Oh we have great rooms! Oh
we have a special offer! No, you want to talk
about what people can see in the area, or
something about interior design if you have a
gorgeous ‘boutique hotel’.
“Social media is a great tool to build that relationship with
customers, so you want to create that trust and
connection. You want people to like you and your brand
and encourage word-of-mouth. They may not buy anything
from you this month, but if they enjoy your posts and
stories, they’ll remember you. Then maybe in six months
time they will make a booking or they will come back and
put in a large order.”
“You eventually want to convert them from LIKERS and
READERS into BUYERS.”
Richard: “And then you take them further up the ladder?”
Nina: “Yes, you obviously have to deliver what you promise
you are doing. If you give them something which is rubbish,
they won’t come back no matter how good your
storytelling is!”
AUGUST | 26
Community Spirit Valencia

“Another thing is, not everyone is on Facebook
and lots of people are getting fed up with it and
not bothering anymore. You have to stay ahead
of the game and think about what to use next.
Just doing Facebook is not going to cut it. How
are people going to find you online? If people
are tailing off on Facebook then perhaps it is
time to get that blog up and running, start
looking at Instagram and Youtube or try
reaching people by email.”
Richard: “So do you do newsletters as well?”
Nina: “Yes, I’ve done a lot of those in my time.
I’ve worked as a marketing manager for
companies in the Netherlands and in the UK in
the creative industries. This meant I was
involved in managing the mailing lists and then
designing lovely looking Mailchimp
newsletters. It has to look cool and
professional and be fun to read. People get a lot
of emails, so you really want to stand out from
the crowd.”
Richard: “What is your background?”
Nina: “I’ve got a Masters Degree in Art
History.”
Richard: “That is very different. I wasn’t
expecting that!”
Nina: “So I am passionate about art and design.
I guess I am a creative being. I have always
worked in either architecture firms or art
centres and doing the communications and
marketing for them, bridging the gap between
art and the public. Often these types of
organisations and companies are on small
budgets in terms of marketing, so you have to
be really, really resourceful. You have to know
where to get the free stuff, how to do something which has
an impact without spending your whole annual marketing
budget on a brochure! I’ve been doing that for about 18
years.”
Richard: “Oh, that shows!”
Nina: “I started just after University and I had a few
internships at magazines, so I really learnt to write during
that time. I know what goes down well with journalists as
well as different audiences.”
Richard: “I think that this is the unique part about you,
because you have done such a wide area of work it’s like,
you’ve got this vast amount of knowledge to be able to
understand the different types of customers that come to
you…”
Nina: “Yes, I think so, from art history and paintings to
buildings, I’ve developed myself over the years into really
understanding people. It’s almost psychology. I think that
things should be kept simple and understandable for
everyone and especially for small businesses who are just
starting out. You want to grow and reach out to as many
people as you can. If your web copy, brochure copy or
social media copy is not up to scratch, you are not going to
grab people’s attention. And of course you also need to
figure out who your customers are, where they are, how
they get their information and what media they use.”
Richard: “What sets you apart from other copywriters you
think?”
Nina: “I think the thing which sets me apart is that I can
place myself in different shoes, coming from different
angles. I don’t ‘just’ write. I have been a marketing
manager for many years, but also understand what it is to
run your own business. I understand the struggles and
challenges. Besides that I am a creative person, combining
a keen eye for design with well written copy. Stuff needs to
look good! Last but not least, I can write fluently both in
English and Dutch."
AUGUST | 27
Community Spirit Valencia

Richard: “So is there any particular niche that you
specialise in?”
Nina: “I have a strong background in art,
architecture and design, so this would be my niche
area which in a wider perspective relates to
tourism, real estate and culture. But I can write
really about anything I get my teeth into.”
Richard: “ What did you do before moving to
Valencia?”
Nina: “In 2005, I changed from working in the very
vibrant city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands to
living and working in Aberdeen in the north east
of Scotland, which was a bit of a cultural desert at
the time. Just a lack of independent shops, cafes
and art. My husband and I bought a house and
when looking for furniture I couldn’t find anything
I liked.”
“To create an outlet for my home interior ideas I
started a blog, called ‘Nina’s Apartment’, sharing
articles about interior design, upcycling, vintage
furniture, etc, etc. The blog soon grew into a
business idea to open my own vintage furniture
shop. I thought, if there’s nothing here, I’ll start it
myself! When I was pregnant with my eldest son, I
registered as a Sole Trader on the first day of
maternity leave and I opened the shop Nina’s
Apartment nine months later.”
“I stocked lots of mid-century classics and
Scandinavian design, everything I loved and it was
quite successful. Unfortunately two years ago it
burnt down which changed everything.”
Richard: “Oh no! How terrible! How did that make
you feel?”
boys and my shop. My shop was my saviour while
being a new mum. It gave me a lot of energy and
literally recharged my batteries in those first few
years of changing nappies and many sleepless
nights.”
“I didn’t care so much about the stuff, it was the
concept that had been destroyed that upset me the
most. It was my dream and hard work that went up
in flames.”
Richard: “Did this have a deeper meaning for you?”
Nina: “It was around the same time that my husband
lost his job after many years of working for the same
company. So it was all happening at the same time. I
guess fire is the symbol for new beginnings.”
“That day I felt it was a decision taken for me, to
stop that business and focus on other things. With
both of us out of work we then quickly started
thinking about our future. Because we had no ties
keeping us in Aberdeen, we thought, why not take
the plunge and look for a new place to live as a
young family?”
Richard: “So that is why you came to Valencia?”
Nina: “Well first we looked at France, but when
ending up in Spain on holiday during a camping trip
in 2016, we decided we really liked this country and
a seed was planted. A year later, while having our
house advertised on a House Swap website we were
contacted by a family in Valencia, who fancied a
vacation in Scotland. We exchanged homes for two
weeks in August. I never knew it was so hot here!
But we just fell in love with this city and decided, if
anywhere, why not here? It’s been nearly six months
now and we haven’t regretted it for a minute.”
Nina: “It was devastating, because it was basically
my third baby. I had had a second child in the
meantime, so I had my two little
AUGUST | 28

The creative spark behind the interviews, design and
publishing of Community Spirit Valencia e-magazine is
eMazineMedia.
Have you ever considered being interviewed about your work
and sharing your story in a popular local online magazine?
Telling your story is a great way to engage with your
audience.
eMazineMedia help you to open up and talk about your work
either on camera or digital press.
We offer a very professional and totally different approach.
It's definitely a win-win solution.
If you'd like to know more, then feel free to contact us and
arrange an appointment to discuss the options.
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2 9 C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T V A L E N C I A

City Centre Space for Rent
Calle Doctor Ferrán 13, located between
avenida Aragón and avenida del
Cardenal Benlloch next to the hotel
Puerta Valencia.
About 70m2
Charges are included : air conditioned,
wifi, water, electricity
We are renting, with its own entrance in the
street that can form a shop window of about
6m2, with its own electric shutter, half the part of
our property. This property looks like a U, the rent
concerns the left part of this U. In the rear room,
separated of the 2 branches of the U by 2
beautiful patios containing an olive tree and
plants, you can find 2 toilets that have to be
shared, one of them contains a shower.
The place for rent is very bright, 55m2,
ceiling height is about 3,35m. The patio is
16.50m. The common rear room of 20m2
eventually can be added to the rent, just
giving us the Access to the area that we now
use as a stockroom. The two of them are
70m2.
The place is completely renovated, bright,
smooth concrete floor, LED lights, water and
a place that can be used as a small kitchen
without smoke exit.
Conditions : 1 month of deposit + 1ºmonth:
TOTAL 1200 €.
CONTACT: JEREMY tel. 638 153 585

Spanish bureaucracy
and language
getting you down?
Susana Diaz Esteban
PA &
Management
Legal assistance, conveyance, wills, translations on site, NIE,
residency, Architects, Town Halls, Self-employment Ltd
registrations and Accountancy
tax and Social Security registration and returns, etc
info@spanishrelocate.com
susana@spanishrelocate.com
Tel/Fax: 962792916 Mob / Whats App: 651407565

Health Awareness
The School of Life!
W R I T T E N B Y D I D I E R T H O M A S , D I R E C T O R A T K A I K K I M A S S A G E , V A L E N C I A .
In the issue of June and July of Community Spirit,
the subjects of the articles were about giving
information and raising awareness about arsenic,
parasites and bacteria, in food and beverages,
along with the symptoms linked to those
outsiders and insiders. Someone asked me why,
as a masseur, I was giving information about food
and other subjects rather than about the actual
massage. I answered: Health is not only about
massage, it’s also about the way we live, we eat,
we drink and we love. She was OK with the
answer, but I felt that this short answer was
coming from deeper thoughts, and so I started
this August issue.
– was it optional? Maybe I was too busy attending the Curiosity class.
There, I didn’t make many friends. They were probably at school, at the
school made of walls. I understood at an early stage that if schools had
walls, it was perhaps because something hazardous could happen. And
then the few hours spent there taught me to get away from unsafe
places like schools made of walls. While I stayed out of them, I made a
promise: Always attending the Weakness class, that’s where I became
stronger. At the school of life, there’s no difference between learning
and teaching. You can hear everything, do anything… and this is where I
was the best paid. Not with money but with generosity, because life
doesn’t pay with greed. All along the endless lanes of the School of Life
there are countless doors. One day I thought I got lost, but that was
before I discovered a breakthrough: the doors of life are always open –
I’ll try to get through all of them.
I got there very early, I don’t really remember. I
grew up observing something every second, since
I had nothing else to do. At the time, I didn’t have
many questions but had rather countless answers
that I didn’t understand. Everything’s there at the
School of Life: First smile and first tears at this
never-ending school programme. There are core
classes, but I may not have attended all of them.
It often starts with Carefreeness, very
inspirational and useful for providing confidence.
And just right after, there’s a Responsibility class
In the Mistakes class, I had an “A”, I didn’t even know I could fail. In the
Hope class… well, it looks like the Survival class made me forget about
it. I don’t know what class helped me the most, I’m hesitating between
the Lying class or the Honesty class – anyway, I mostly attended the
Naivety class. Every course is useful, especially the Solitude class, this is
where I made the most friends. We were attending together the Mess
class, thus ranking it best for its good ambiance. Then the Sex class
started when the Friendship class ended, while the Sadness and the
Loneliness classes were taking place. These four classes were full of
fools thinking that they were attending the Love class. I spent many
hours along the lanes to find the Equality class – without success.
3 2 | C S V • A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

I, therefore, decided to stay in the Make-believe class
until I understood that I rather should have called it the
Expectations class, in which everyone waits for the
others to be true – so I waited a long time. I waited for
commitment, courage, trust, joy, and love to come but
pretending to have understood them brought me fear,
anger, sadness, and disgust – until a wise one passed by
and told me about the Freedom class.
Instead, I went to the Music class, there, highs and lows
combine to make a beautiful harmony. I bled a lot in the Fall
class… or was it in the Success class? Then in order to better
understand the world, the Wonder class was a perfect match
for me – I found it just after stumbling upon the Chance class. I
passed by the door leading to the Happiness class pretty often.
It was always open but I never saw any teacher there. Instead, a
certain magic was sending me back to the Survival class. I
really liked the Reading class and its paradox – the more books
in my hands the lighter I felt. Some of my friends from the
Mess class invited me to the Drugs class. I asked them if they’ve
already been attending the Curiosity or Knowledge classes but
it seemed the noise in the Mess class had made them deaf and
they couldn’t hear my question – I lost them in the
Unconsciousness class, where lies the biggest crowd ever! So,
after some classes of Reason, I could attend the Drugs class
(which was happening at the same time as the Learning class).
Throughout the lanes of the School of Life, there weren’t any
signs pointing me towards the right paths – nor towards the
wrong ones either. Out there, there were many unfound classes
that I wanted to attend, like Self-confidence class. Around me,
it was like most of the people were already proudly carrying
this diploma while I was still looking for that class. At that
point, I already had attended the Shame and Disappointment
class quite often. Then, when I got across a very useful class
(I’m going to talk about it now), it didn’t take me too much time
to get in. How surprising! I finally did find the main class! It
was the biggest class I attended. This crowd, I couldn’t believe
it! Everyone was there: people from the Commitment, Courage,
Kindness, Trust, Joy, and Love classes were all gathered in the
same class: the class of Make-believe. Pretending to be and not
to be. All the answers were there, right or wrong, never mind, a
very few cares anyway! In just one class it was just like
attending all of them. I thus understood that it was a question
of time for everyone! It’s not lying, it’s pretending. The
difference? Lying is aimed towards others while pretending is
aimed towards one’s self. Self-confidence, here I am!
I left the Make-believe class and started to look for the
Freedom class, and since then I’m becoming healthier
with the way I live, I eat, I drink and I love and I share it
through articles published in Community Spirit.
This is the answer I wanted to give her.
Contact Details:
Name:Didier Thomas, called Diego.
Nationality: Swiss.
Date of birth: 05 march 1972
Married - 3 kids
Profession: Trainer and masseur at
Kaikki Massage.
Website: www.kaikki4all.com
Facebook page: Kaikki Massage.

island famed for it’s almost
The
volcanic origin, with 45
enteric
considered currently
volcanoes
Java is one hell of a hotspot
active,
it) for the avid adventurer and
(get
scaler. Who knew I would
mountain
to enjoy getting out of my
become
bed in the middle of the night
comfy
dangerously clamber up the sides
to
a volcano in hope of catching
of
of the best sunrises I have ever
some
in my life? Not me! Somehow
seen
seems to have uncovered in me
Java
new-found fondness of night time
a
(which I gratefully guess is a
hiking
advancement of night time
mature
love for sunrise hiking
My
wasn’t immediate from
however
offset, with the first expedition
the
a downright
being
We wanted to
disappointment.
Mount Bromo at sunrise,
witness
active volcano in East Java
an
entire top has been blown
whose
and which spews out white
off
smoke. It sits inside
sulphurous
Tengger caldera in the middle
the
a flat expanse of volcanic sand,
of
from a photo looks so
and
it seems hard to believe
incredible
even real. After a hearty meal of
is
tomatoes in hot water
chopped
Travel
SPIRIT
COMMUNITY
E-MAGAZINE
Sulphur spewing volcanoes and
toxic crater rim tiptoeing
Written by Helen Warriner,
UK expat from Valencia on her travels
We wanted to witness
Mount Bromo at sunrise, an
active volcano in East Java
whose entire top has been
blown off
activities over getting hammered)..
and sugar (Heinz cream and

once up and dressed, I felt surprisingly
However
(and slightly larger) after I donned 7 layers of
ok
(that were subsequently peeled off one
clothing
one as I sweatily headed upwards, and then
by
all thrown on again as the wind chill
quickly
in when we paused for a break and the
kicked
dawned that this Antarctic weather,
realisation
the thick misty white fog that rendered our
plus
to see beyond 10 metres, did not in fact
ability
well for any promise of a spectacular
bode
Yet we optimistically soldiered on in
sunrise.)
cold and darkness, in hopes that perhaps we
the
climb above the clouds and catch a
could
of….well, anything! No such luck…
glimpse
the day did redeem itself and as the
Fortunately,
fog lifted, we trekked across the sea of
morning
before climbing some steps to reach the
sand
of a smoking Mount Bromo. Despite the
summit
of farts blowing in my face as the volcano
stench
out a white flurry of sulphur, it felt
forced
SPIRT
COMMUNITY
E-MAGAZINE
eat your heart out), we went to bed freezing for what seemed like 3 minutes before the 2.40am alarm sounded to
tomato
wind bashing against the door and the inner dreaded thought that literally the last thing I felt like participating in right
the
and special to tiptoe around the crater rim of an active
exhilarating
volcano.
the optimists to witness the volcano in full glory, we stayed an
Ever
night and although our sunset dreams were emphatically rained
extra
we held hope for a miracle in the change of weather to catch a
upon,
of Bromo in the magical morning sunlight. Utterly convinced
glimpse
we would not be partaking in any more middle of the night hiking
that
I was a little shocked (and disappointed) that at 3 am the night
action,
was promisingly full of stars and thus I must remove myself out of
sky
comfy abode to once again scramble up a mountain and finally kill
my
my poor calves. But so glad was I that we did because as the sun
off
and the volcanoes clearly came into view, I was blown away by
rose
a fully-fledged volcano hiking fan, it was easy the next time
Now
to get up at 1.30am, pumped and excited to witness the
around
that is Mount Ijen and it’s electric ‘blue fire’ that can only
phenomena
witnessed between 3am-5am inside the huge crater of the quiet
be
active volcano. Ijen is a sulfur mine and the magical blue fire is
but
ignited sulphuric gas which emerges from cracks at
actually
PAGE 27
now was the upscaling of a mountain.
the majestic and natural beauty that lay before my eyes.
temperatures of up to 600 degrees.

lazy *bleep words* who paid to get pushed and pulled up the mountain via wheel barrow by the poor miners who
few
breaking their backs in the process. When we reached the summit of the 20km crater it took only 30 minutes to
were
into the rocky and downright dangerous dark abyss (and quite surprisingly) it wasn’t me, but a poor girl tripped
descend
fell flat on her face (luckily not initiating a game of human dominoes as we all carefully fumbled down the winding
and
when we reached the bottom and inhaled
Only
yellow smoke of the stinkiest nature
billowing
our eyes started stinging like crazy, was it
and
the reason why we had been carrying
apparent
a gas mask. The highlight however was
around
getting intoxicated by sulphur, but realising
not
as the sun rose, it shone light on a beautiful
that
lake that appeared from the darkness
blue
the crater. Piercing blue, it looked very
inside
for a dip (yet being the largest highly
inviting
crater lake in the world, I opted instead to
acidic
next to it….with my gas mask on).
stand
mined sulphur is deep red in colour when
The
molten, however it turns bright yellow as it
it’s
and hardens. The miners break off this
cools
and carry it away in baskets that can
sulphur
up to 90 kg! Many times, we had to jump
weigh
of the way as they trundled past us (in
out
kitty figurines or other random sulphur related items. This
hello
and dangerous trip up and down is often done twice daily for
arduous
pittance of around 13 US dollars (that’s £9.80!). With little protection
a
safety in horrendous conditions and with an excessive exposure to
or
I couldn’t help but feel extremely sad for the men and how
sulphur,
they must suffer just to provide for their families and how lucky
much
are in the west with our cushty jobs, or (and I cough) in my
we
lucky case at present, no job (…but obviously not that sad
extremely
most breath-taking and insanely beautiful sunrise, however, was
The
in Java but on another middle of the night hike up Mount Batur in
not
Picture perfect to witness the currently rumbling and causing
Bali.
Mount Agung poking up above the flat expanse of white
problems,
as the sun turned the sky a myriad of assorted colours. Simply
clouds
Coming down was pretty treacherous as the rocks slipped
stunning.
under our feet and pirouetting slash skiing slash falling down
from
the preferred and popular method to maneuver off the mountain.
was
am actually rather proud of myself, not lest for climbing 3 volcanoes
I
quite miraculously for surviving to tell the tale.
but
27
It only took 1 hour and 20 minutes to hike up and although yes, it was extremely steep in gradient, I did not agree with the
PAGE
path in a lengthy line like obeying lemmings).
www.joyfuloverlander.com
loading...
because I didn’t buy a yellow Eifel tower).
flipflops?! and smoking?!) trying to sell us yellow

around 20 to 25 years old, due to our lifestyle habits, polluted air, stress, poor nutritional diets, drug
From
and many other reasons, our bodies begin to change naturally with the loss of our thinnest and
abuse
blood vessels (capillaries) in many parts of our body, and the consequences are that we don’t get
smallest
of the necessary nutrients and oxygen which we need for the metabolism of all the cells in our
enough
our skin starts to deteriorate and each day we get tired faster when doing things. The more bacterial and
So
attacks we have, the more we are weakened. Sometimes it disturbs our sleep and so we end up
microbial
now, this technology was too expensive for people in Europe, only for the privilege of the medical
Until
in some hospitals treating diseases or serious injuries. But it is a natural therapy that can really be
world
pressure, oxygen is not only captured by red blood cells and white blood cells, but it dissolves and is
Under
in all our body fluids. The first consequence affects cell metabolism, starting with vascular
stored
that will re-feed each cell of our body. And thus optimize the energy and the complete vitality
regeneration
our body, strengthen its defenses and prevent many disorders and diseases.
of
http://www.hyperbaric-chamber.ca/about.html
https://maisonsaine.ca/sante-et-securite/loxygenotherapie-hyperbare-nouvelle-arme-contre-les-maladies-
can call Benoît Roul, Director of Delta o2 Valencia, on mobile: 00 34 638 15 35 85 to arrange an
You
and get more information about HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY (HBOT) at Delta o2 in
appointment
information:
Further
o2 are official distributors of hyperbaric oxygen chambers for Spain
Delta
also for France. We can also provide a financing system for customers
and
wish to purchase our products.
who
SPIRIT
COMMUNITY
E-MAGAZINE
VALENCIA
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
available in Valencia
body.
taking pills, changing our diet or doing a lot of sports, trying to change things.
But there is a therapy which can treat the root problem: OXYGEN HYPERBARIC THERAPY
preventive for many problems and diseases. Why?
HBO has the effect of delaying natural degeneration such as arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.
For more medical information about HYPERBARIC OXYGEN (HBO)THERAPY, check out these links:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3058327/
neurologiques-et-environnementales.html
Valencia.
Location address: Delta o2, Calle del Doctor Ferrán, 13, Valencia, Spain

A few months left for owners
of tourist apartments, before
the Spanish tax authorities
have access to your data.
B U S I N E S S
Written by Laurence Lemoine
It is finally from January 2019 and
not from next October that the
tourist rental platforms will have the
obligation to provide the tax data of
its users to Hacienda, as planned in
the tax law, approved by the
Ministry of Finance in December
2017, and which will enter into force
next July.
Finally, platforms such as Airbnb,
HomeAway etc will have until 31
January 2019 to communicate the
operations carried out in 2018 in
Spain, knowing that for the year
2018, the first presentation of this
declaration of information on the
turnover generated by tourist
apartments will be exceptionally
annual.
For the rest of the financial years,
the informative declaration will be
quarterly and must be presented in
relation to the transactions carried
out during each calendar quarter, in
the period between the first and the
last day of the month following the
end of the quarter to which the
declaration relates.
Hacienda has just presented the
new form, the 179 of the "Quarterly
declaration of information on the
rental of accommodation for tourist
purposes" which will allow (or rather
oblige) intermediate platforms to
provide information and data
relating to tourist rental activity. Of
course, the names of the owners
and the catastral references will be
required but also and of course, the
number of nights spent with the
corresponding turnover, which
seems logical…
On a voluntary basis, tourist
platforms will also be able to
provide more precise information
such as the date of the stay, the
exact amount of the payment, the
type of means of payment used and
the Tax and Customs Administration
specifies that the fact of providing
this additional information will only
make it possible to avoid any
'requests' for additional information
on its part.
For the Spanish state, it is an important step to
try to control the money that represents in terms
of potential taxes, this sector is still a little
"underground" and thus it can reduce the tax
fraud that, as in other countries, is a sport quite
well controlled here (!). It is also a question of
putting an end to certain forms of unfair
competition in this sector, since even hotel
chains rent their rooms via private platforms,
posing as private users.
The tourism sector is a pillar and engine of the
Spanish economy since it represents nearly 12%
of its GDP with last year more than 81 million
visitors, a figure which should be largely
exceeded in 2018.
After France, Spain is the second largest tourist
destination in the world, generating an estimated
turnover of around 100 billion euros.
www.valencia-expat-services.com
3 8
C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T V A L E N C I A

HOLIDAY HOMES | COMMUNITY SPIRIT VALENCIA 39
Dreams Do Come True!
Interview with Jeanny Grevelink
I first got chatting to Jeanny about six months ago, through
Facebook when she started to comment on some of my
posts. Once I got to talk with her, I felt like she was a
kindred spirit, as our way of thinking was very similar. I
then ran a ‘Recycled Competition’ in Community Spirit
Valencia e-magazine which she won for her fence, which is
built out of plaster moulded from two litre recycled
bottles. A few months later she came along to my ‘Aura
Painting’ event at Delta o2 in Valencia, which was the first
time that I got to meet her in-person.
So it was really nice to be invited to her home and to
interview her about her new life here in Valencia and
understand a little bit more about her approach to life.
Sitting in the garden, surrounded by dogs and drinking a
cup of rooibos tea, whilst eating her home-made almond
cake, I suddenly became aware that I was looking at her
recycled fence!
THE INTERVIEW
Jeanny: "How time flies!"
Richard: "So I am really curious about how you ended up
coming to live here in Valencia because you are from the
Netherlands originally?"
Jeanny: "Yes, I am Dutch. I've been living here now for 8
years. In Holland, I had my own business working together
with a medical doctor to help people who were off work
with long-term sick leave. So I would work with their
employers to find other work for them and assess how
much benefit they would receive from the local
government. So I was a kind of intermediate.
“I did that for almost 20 years."
Richard: "That sounds like very compassionate work."
Jeanny: "It was, and I got to work with a lot people's
problems, it was great but because I worked as an
independent, I missed out on getting personal training and
development, which if you were working for an employer,
you would have received once a month or once a year. So
at a certain point, when I was 50 years old actually, I said to
myself 'Why don't you do something completely
different!"
"That is really how it happened! And back then I had a
partner, I spoke with him about it and he was really
enthusiastic too."
Richard: "So what year was this?"

"In June 2010, we moved over here and then I
uploaded the website, and by July we had our first
clients arriving!"
Jeanny: It started in November 2009,
that we made the plan and Spain is not
too far away from the Netherlands and
there is sun! So we started looking at
several different places, but then when
we came to this area and I saw this house
I knew immediately that this was the
one! But it wasn't a B&B then."
Richard: "So you just had this gut feeling
then?"
Jeanny: "Yes, this was it! It was very
difficult to get it and to get everything
organised. But it was funny because I
took some photos of the place and in
Holland I was busy with building a
website before we had even bought it!"
"In June 2010, we moved over here and
then I uploaded the website, and by July
we had our first clients arriving!"
“We started in the high season and I had
no idea what to expect! But people were
booking last minute so it just happened.”
Richard: “Really it was like a dream
coming true!”
Jeanny: “Yes, the dream manifested very
quickly. It wasn’t like I had to wait years
for it to happen! But I had the dream and
within half a year it was reality! Later it
just got better because we are close to
the airport, just 20 minutes drive away,
and only 30 minutes drive from the city
centre!”
Richard: “It is amazing how many Dutch people there are in
Valencia! What is this area well known for?”
Jeanny: “It is really good for people who want to get away from the
busy crowds of the cities. They come here and they enjoy having
their privacy. And from here it is only 10 minutes to the highway and
then they can go anywhere they want to, so you can go to Alicante in
the South or make a day trip to Castellion in the North. And people
who like walking, they can go in the mountains nearby.”
Richard: “Before Google Maps, did people ever have problems trying
to find this place?”
Jeanny: “I would always make a description and send it to them. In
the beginning, we didn’t know the area that well, so I would get
telephone calls from people saying ‘I am in this street, number so
and so, as if I would know where they were! So, in the beginning, I
was always searching for my guests!”
“I remember one time when there was a group of four young people,
who wanted to come and stay here but they didn’t realise that you
really needed a car to come and stay here. I explained everything to
them, but it ended up that their father had to come to rent a car for
them because they were too young to rent a car. So we picked the
group up from the airport and a day later their father arrived. So we
dropped them at the airport and they came back in the rented car
with their father. And then we were out partying and at 2 am when
we returned home,, I saw that on our landline answer machine,
which we don’t have anymore, they couldn’t find their way back
again!”
"So they had been driving around since 7 pm trying to find the place!
So we agreed to meet at the McDonalds in Torrent. So I got there and
then spent about half an hour walking around trying to find them, I
could not see them anywhere! Eventually, I rang a friend and he
explained that there are two McDonald’s in Torrent!! So it was about
3 am by the time I eventually met up with the group and father,
waiting for 8 hours to get back to their rental home. I remember
saying, ‘Let’s talk tomorrow’ and father said ‘That’s a great idea!”

Richard: “That is funny because when I was coming
here, I was thinking ‘thank god for Google maps’!”
Jeanny: “Yes, I remember another time when there
was a man from Belgium who asked if it was ok to
come on Sunday evening. I remember that he
‘phoned me to say he had landed and then after
that I didn’t hear anything!”
"So when it got to about 1am, I started thinking
that I couldn’t sit up all night waiting for him to
arrive! So I phoned him and I kept on getting his
answer machine! I thought that maybe he just
decided to stay in Valencia or something?”
“It’s very quiet here. In the distance I heard a car, so
I walked on to the road and in the distance I could
see a blue light flashing! It was the Police! They
arrived with this man following them, they guided
him to here!”
“He couldn’t find it, so he drove to the Police
Station at Montserrat and asked if they could help.”
Richard: “You must be quite famous in the area?”
Jeanny: “The Belgium man told me that the Police
had nothing to do, they were getting bored at the
Police Station, so they drank a little and it was just
fun to drive him to here!”
Richard: “That is brilliant! Thank god for satellite
navigation these days then! So do you find that you
have people coming here from all over the world?”
Jeanny: “Most people come from Holland or from
France. There are special events like the Moto GP at
Cheste and then they come from all countries and
surrounding towns.”
Richard: “So it’s funny because today I am here
interviewing you and you also get people here
today to do a film shoot?”
Jeanny: “Yes, they want to do a film shoot in the
garden with a model, for a new Spanish science
fiction film, so they are coming from Madrid and
rented out one of the apartments, only for a few
hours of film shooting!”
Richard: “I bet you’ve had some funny bookings here in your time?”
Jeanny: “Yes, I remember one time I got a booking from a group of Italians.
They wanted to arrive and have dinner in the evening, breakfast early in the
morning and stay for two or three days. So we made a big table and
everything was prepared for dinner, the plan was that at 8 pm they would
arrive here … but here we went again! Then it became 9 pm.. 10 pm… and
so on! Finally, I got a call and they were saying that they were having
problems renting a car. Finally, at around 11 pm, I called them and asked
where they were? They explained that they were at the McDonalds in
Torrent!!”
“So I told them to stay there and I would go to them, so they could follow
me back. Well, when I got there I saw three cars with about 10 Italians in
them, the whole area smelt of Marijuana and they had a big rubber doll in
the front of the car! So I thought … “My god what is coming now!!”
“But he opened the window and gave me lots of kisses on my hand, so I
said ‘OK! You follow me or l leave!”
“Then three cars all started to move and they came up here. It turned out to
be a Bachelor Party! The next day they wanted to go out in the city so they
were pimping themselves up in nice shirts and things. First, they wanted to
borrow my hair dryer, then my iron for their shirts, so I had to ask if they
wanted to use my mascara as well!”
Richard: “Do you learn lots of lessons after each experience?”
Jeanny: “Yes, you have to communicate very well. Now I know a lot more
than in the beginning! For example, the Spanish people have a very
different way of thinking, they want a lot of value for a very small amount of
money. So they keep on bargaining and expect the same level of service. In
the first year, I remembered that they always celebrate Christmas with their
family and the News Eve and News Day they want to celebrate with a group
of friends in the campo. So they are basically looking for a house to party in,
in the campo.”
“So in the first year, I said I have a maximum capacity for 10 people. I
remember that I made a night price per person, but then they came during
the day in the afternoon. One car, two cars, three cars, four cars!! I was in
my house looking through the windows and counting the people getting
out. There were already 10 people and more cars were coming!”
“At the end, there were nearly 20 people! When I walked out and spoke to
the man I asked him what was going on? I could see he was really sweating
and feeling uncomfortable. But the thing is that most people think, we rent
a house and the owner doesn’t live there and then they can arrive with lots
of people. The Spanish always do that!”
“So they arrive with everything, even heaters! But we just arranged a new
price and they slept outside and anywhere that they could.

But now I would ask them in advance whether they
are planning on bringing more people and if they
know that I live here, then most times the booking is
cancelled.”
Richard: “So what do people really like about this
place?”
Jeanny: “I think the thing is that sometimes people
just want to be on their own and have no contact.
Sometimes they want to have a drink or whatever,
and some people want to be in the swimming pool
by themselves, so we respect that. We just give
everyone their space and freedom. Some people
like to have their meals cooked for them, so we do
everything according to their wishes, it just depends
what they want.”
Richard: “So it is really tailored to their needs?”
Jeanny: “Yes, and I also organise “special holiday
weeks” : like : “mother/child week”, “hiking
holidays”, “ladies relax week” and holidays for
people with special needs “autism” because they
feel safe and at ease here. And nearly always my
guests fall in love with the dogs.”
Richard: “Well you do have some lovely dogs here.
What are there names?”
Jeanny: "I have 5: the smallest one is Rina, she is
the mother of Tado, then there is Ruska, who comes
from a dog shelter, the big black one is Touwtje
(dutch name for rope, because I found her in front of
my house, highly pregnant and with an electric
cable around her neck, and the one who is sleeping
all the time is Cami. (the Valencian name for road,
because I found him on the road with an injured leg
and Leishmania)."
Richard: “So they are all from the campo?”
Jeanny: “Yes, they have all got a story to tell too!
From being poisoned to having Leishmania. A dogs
life is really difficult here, it was something that I
never expected before I got here. So I worked in a
dog refugee place as a volunteer for 2 years. And
that led to something else which I am doing now
also called ‘Animal Aid Valencia”. One year I had a
lady from Holland, who rented the house for three
months because she is a writer and an even a bigger
dog lover than I am!”
“When she was here there was an incident with some dogs and it resulted in
her helping out and now she has a Foundation in Holland which helped
more than 100 dogs from Valencia being adopted in Holland! And they stay
with really nice families.” Almost everytime I fly to Holland I take a dog with
me.
Richard: “That is wonderful news, because looking around, your dogs look
so happy here!”
Jeanny: “And you can’t imagine a bigger contradiction than from when I
first found them!”
Richard: “You know I was thinking that you must have to have quite a
positive mindset to live and survive out here by yourself. It must be quite a
challenge?
Jeanny: “Well I worked independently in Holland for 20 years, but I never
expected to do this on my own! It happened when my relationship was
finished and I just had to do it. It was difficult to adjust and make it all work
out by myself, but now three years later and it is all ok! I have someone who
helps me with all the technical things around the house and the gardening.
That’s Jose, he lives nearby and if there is any problem he will pop-by and
help out. I also have a nice Spanish lady who helps with the cleaning of the
apartments and the house. But it is still a lot of work. I do the washing, I
look after the gardens, the dogs, I do the bookings and I need to pay a lot of
attention to the whole organisation here. I always have a lot of things going
on in my head!”
Richard: “I am curious whether you are spiritual in any way? And do you
find that helps you get through all the difficult situations?”
Jeanny: “Yes, the last few years have not been very easy. I also see it as a
challenge to figure out why it happens? What is the deeper reason? And
how you can learn from it? And now that I have spent the time to go very
deep within myself, the time for sadness and self-reflection, now I am out of
that, I’ve figured it out, had time to process it all and now I am in a new
situation. That is why now I feel ready for this interview. If you had asked
me a year ago, I would have said ‘No!’ … but now I am ready.”
“Now there is also a new love in my life!”
Richard: “Wonderful! It’s funny actually because I have found that in the
last six months there has been a strong shift in the energy. I’ve been
through a very deep phase in my life, but now I feel that I too have gone
through that phase in my life.”
Jeanny: “Yes, I feel that with you. I know that I have always been a strong
and independent woman, but I didn’t know about it and I didn’t feel it
before. It was as if things were just happening in my life and it was
constantly repeating itself. So now I really have had a chance to take it to a
deeper level and transform my life for the better. This is how it feels.”

So you have to do the work for yourself to let the good
energy in.”
Richard: “How where you able to trust, open the door and
let this energy in?”
Jeanny: “I did different things. I had a Coach, I do
meditation, I read a lot and I found a lot of support from a
group of ladies on a secret Facebook page, where people
are very honest to each other. And slowly you meet new
people and you also say goodbye to people!”
Richard: “I still get things repeating, but now it is
more as if I am in a spiral. An elevated state of
consciousness, so every time it comes around again, I
experience it from a higher perspective and from this
view I can see the bigger picture and it all makes so
much more sense. Do you understand what I mean?”
Jeanny: “Yes, here it comes again! Here comes my
fear again! But this time you can handle it differently.
It never stops, but you can feel it differently because
you have been so deep. Because you have been
there, you don’t need it anymore.”
Richard: “Yes, it’s like I’ve been through all that
drama. I don’t need that anymore.”
Jeanny: “And at the end of the day, it’s all about selflove.”
Richard: “How would you describe self-love?”
Jeanny: “That you feel blessed about what you do.
That you can tackle the negative thought, and the
biggest thing was, I remember now, that when the
relationship was finished, I just felt nothing at all! And
everyone said ‘Be proud of what you do!’
“But I could not feel that! I couldn’t feel anything! But
now I am in a good mood and I embrace everything! I
embrace life and then more and more things come
my way!”
Richard: “Yes, that is true! I found that you have to
surround yourself with like-minded people, because you
have to be in a vibration with people who resonate with
you, in order to feel happiness, to be accepted, to be
understood and to be respected even!”
Jeanny: “Yes, that’s right. And you can’t do it all by
yourself. I know you have learned this as well, I have been
very much by myself as well, but when it comes to
socialising it has to be with the right people otherwise, I
prefer to spend time alone with myself! So I don’t force
myself to do things with people for fear of being alone, I
embrace being alone and from that place comes some of
the most inspirational moments in my life!”
Richard: “Yes, indeed! And so your life becomes more
inspirational.”
Jeanny: Yes! Do you want another tea and piece of cake?”
Richard: “That would be marvellous. Thank you Jeanny!”
www.villatorrent.com
“In the energy, there are a lot of positive things, but if
you don’t allow them to enter then it won’t happen.

Forget the orange, buy the tree:
Valencia project revolutionizes traditional farming
(El Pais ) The local residents of Bétera, a village in
Valencia with no tourist attractions to speak of, are
perplexed by the sudden influx of visitors, mostly
from central Europe, who arrive in town each day.
They come from Austria, Switzerland, France and
most particularly Germany, and they come with one
goal in mind: to visit the orange grove of Naranjas del
Carmen and see the tree that was planted just for
them.

Written by Melissa Kitson
Naranjas del Carmen was initially
founded by brothers Gonzalo and
Gabriel Úrculo in 2010 as an online
business dedicated to the direct sale of
citrus fruits. While they still sell seasonal
products, as well as honey and wine,
their sales model has changed. Now,
instead of selling oranges, they sell
orange trees.
A tree is planted specifically for the
customers, who then have the right to
receive its fruits whenever they want. In
exchange, the customer pays an annual
upkeep fee that could be charged for as
many as 25 years. While the tree is
growing, the company offers the
customer oranges from a fully grown
tree on the property that doesn’t yet
have an owner.
Oranges are picked off the branch,
packaged and sent the very same day
that a customer places an order. Once
the tree begins to produce fruit, the
client receives the annual harvest from
the tree. It’s a model that builds loyalty
as owners become increasingly attached
to their tree, coming to view it like a pet.
They can give it a name and follow its
progress as it grows – and even pay the
tree a visit.
From this model, the brothers have
created a spin-off firm called
Crowdfarming, a company that delivers
fresh, ecological products in partnership
with suppliers in several other regions
and countries. They already sell olives in
Castellón and almonds in Granada. And in a few weeks, they
will begin to sell cocoa trees in the Philippines, coffee shrubs in
Colombia, and even cows in France and Italy in exchange for
Comté and Parmesan cheese.
In three years, the entrepreneurial siblings predict there will
be around 1,000 products for sale: “Like an Amazon farm,”
says Gonzalo.
From €25,000 to €2.5 million in sales
In 2016, Naranjas del Carmen had 700 customers. The
brothers had launched the business after inheriting an
unproductive orchard from their grandfather that was set be
sold. Today, however, there are 10,847 orange trees growing
on the premises, each one with an owner, with 5,000 more
people on a waiting list and 100 new requests arriving each
day. The company sells 50,000 kilograms of oranges a week,
shipping the produce in small boxes to owners throughout
central Europe. Sales have soared from €25,000 to €2.5
million.
The brothers, both in their 30s, explain that Naranjas del
Carmen is independent from Crowdfarming, a project that
emerged in response to the number of requests they received
to plant orange trees. Instead of buying more land in Bétera at
increasingly high prices, they decided to get other producers
to adopt their model and join Crowdfarming instead. Almost
any product fits within the model, but the owners admit it is
more difficult to build an emotional attachment when it comes
to food such as meat. It’s a situation they’re looking into, but
for now their website does not offer this option.
Gonzalo describes Crowdfarming as an Amazon farm
The small-scale growers who have joined Crowdfarming are
independent. The job of the Úrculo brothers is to ensure that
their partners meet organic food standards, and they also deal
with the logistics: sales, customer care and home delivery. On
the online platform, customers can decide what food they
want to include on their virtual farm-orchard, and receive
information and photographs of their animals and trees.

“The growers of Bétera keep asking us
how we can be so profitable if our
orange trees produce half the fruit that
theirs do. This is because we are not paid
per kilo but for the upkeep of the tree,”
explains Gonzalo. And because they have
sold the harvest before the beginning of
the season, the owners argue they can
focus on producing quality fruit. At €2.5
per kilo if the delivery is within Spain, the
cost of Naranjos del Carmen is
significantly higher than supermarket
prices.
The success of Naranjas del Carmen has opened
the door to new opportunities in agro-tourism
which the Úrculo brothers are looking to explore
with their recently opened bed-and-breakfast,
located inside a rural house on their premises and
available only to the owners of the orange trees.
Tourist visits
Customers love to visit their orange
trees. The business has had to set a daily
limit because many people were turning
up without warning by following the
exact location of their tree as provided
by the company website.
Gonzalo believes that the same thing will
happen with the cows, which will each be
“adopted” by 160 clients. He credits this
to the “fan” phenomenon: not long ago
two clients, Priska Lange, 38 and Gregor
Weber, 36, traveled 2,000 kilometers in a
motor home from Bremen in Germany
to Bétera. Although the couple had
planned to see other sites in Spain, their
main reason for the trip was to visit their
tree. “It’s important for us that protection
of the planet be compatible with work
and for small-scale farmers to be able to
survive,” said the woman.
Written by Melissa Kitson

first recorded instance of the phrase “man’s best
The
came from King Frederick of Prussia who in 1789
friend”
of the relationship between man/woman and
Stories
four legged friend pre dated this phrase by an age.
his/her
it was Odysseus' beloved hound 'Argos' who
Whether
obediently for his master's return for 20 years before
waited
Yudhishthira’s refusal to abandon a stray dog who had
Or
him unflinching loyalty and companionship on his
offered
at the cost of a place in heaven, in The
journey,
Mahabharata.
IN LOVING
Page 41
memory
human's best friend!
Written by David James
quoted as saying “dog is man’s best friend,”
was
in reference to his beloved Italian Greyhound.
apparently
finally passing.

the artificial selection of dogs is indicative
Indeed,
man's recognition that canines had a place by
of
side, whether it was for hunting, protection, or
their
Dogs also observed the benefits of such
company.
partnership, generally tactile creatures, they
a
attention from a perceived alpha, able to
received
food with ease and help with issues of health
get
harm. and
so that relationship grew, Fredrick the Great's
And
becoming more and more relevant. Growing
quote
in Wales, and having a fascination with all
up
fantastical and romantic about the country, I
things
area. This folklore suggests that
Snowdonia
Grave' is the resting place of the beloved
'Gelert's
of Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd,
hound
returns from hunting to find his baby missing
who
Gelert with a blood-smeared mouth. Llywelyn
and
his sword and kills Gelert. Afterward, he
draws
the cries of the baby and finds it, along with a
hears
wolf which had attacked the child and been
dead
by Gelert. Llywelyn buries the dog with great
killed
and, after that day he never smiled
ceremony
falsities of this story are irrelevant. The
The
is the same as the aforementioned tales.
message
relationship between humans and canines has
The
and will always be strong.
been
am I talking about this? Well, very recently I
Why
my best friend. A beautiful, adorable, tiny,
lost
breed dog named Gizmo. For any readers
mixed
there who knew him are aware of what a
out
cut a long story short, I rescued him over three
To
ago. He has nearly died twice, once from
years
a disease similar to malaria, and once
Babesiosis,
a mystery blood disease. Both times he came
from
of it stronger, more determined, happier to be
out
and more loving.
alive
had a sense of adventure and curiosity that was
He
He hated children but would make no
inspiring.
when I picked him up to be stroked by any
fuss
youngster. He would always be happy to
excited
constantly marvelled at the profound effect he had on everyone,
I
a smile to strangers face just from the sight of him.
bringing
acquaintance once said that myself and Gizmo were alike, friendly,
An
and scruffy. I'm not sure if this was something that was
approachable
doing, or the reason we chose each other. Either way, he was
my
one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and I
undoubtedly
had an amazing ability to light up any room he was in, greeting
Gizmo
with a wagging tail and a lapping tongue. I had never met
everyone,
person who didn't fall in love with him, and he even managed to
one
anti-dog folk into his little doggy love sphere.
bring
all dogs were as loving as Gizmo, and did not appreciate his
Not
After an initial attempt, and a bark, growl or snap, Gizmo
attention.
look back and forth between myself and the aggressive dog,
would
to comprehend, unable to understand the negative attitude.
trying
he found a dog that reciprocated his attention he would
Whenever
attempt to have sex with said dog. Something that I would
inevitably
allow for fear of contributing to the abandoned dog issue
never
in Spain.
prevalent
unconditional love of this sweet little creature has made my life
The
It has given me a reason to get up in the morning. It has
wonderful.
coming home at the end of the day an absolute pleasure. I am
made
to have many beautiful people in my life. I don't know how
fortunate
of that I deserve but I know that I would be lost without them. Of
much
everyone has their own lives to live and they can't be there all
course,
time for you, I certainly wouldn't expect them to, but Gizmo was
the
all the time, unquestioningly, happily.
there
so, this is my story, my lamentation. My experience with ‘Human’s
And
friend’. My first dog, my great loss. For anyone who has been
best
a similar thing, as I assume many have, I am sorry for your loss. I
through
feel your pain. As a dear friend put it “…something so little, how it
truly
everyone who is helping me through this, for everyone who has
For
profoundly affected by this, for everyone who has loved Gizmo
been
welcomed him in to their lives. I thank you and I love you. There will
and
no replacement for my dear friend, this heavenly creature who has
be
the lives of mine, my friends, and everyone who has met him
made
He was definitely one of a kind and will be sorely missed.
brighter.
In Loving Memory
Page 42
Community Spirit Valencia
The
Inside
can only hope that he felt the same.
Scoop
the story of Beddgelert, a village in the
recall
again.
can be something so big in our lives”.
spectacular creature he was.
I love you, puppy.
see anyone. He was intelligent, obedient and loyal.

THE
REAL
MEANING
OF
THE
ZODIAC
IN
MODERN
part one
TIMES

IS A VERY OLD SCIENCE, POSSIBLY THE OLDEST OF THEM ALL, BUT IT IS TODAY A VERY
ASTROLOGY
DISCIPLINE FROM THE ONE WHICH SPREAD AMONG CULTURES OF THE PAST, WHEN IT WAS
DIFFERENT
A TOOL FOR PROTECTION AGAINST OVERPOWERING NATURAL FORCES. ANCIENT SOCIETIES
MOSTLY
OBSERVING THE REGULAR CHANGES OF MOVING BODIES IN THE SKY AND THEIR PARALLELS IN
WERE
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. VERY EARLY THEY CAME TO REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING WHICH
THE
CHANGES, WHILE FOLLOWING AN EVIDENT PATTERN, CAN BE USED TO TIME AND
PERIODICALLY
FUTURE EVENTS. THE REALM OF THE STARS HAS BEEN SPARKLING MAN’S IMAGINATION AND
PREDICT
FOR MILLENNIA, EVEN MORE THAN IT DOES TODAY, BUT FOR A VERY DIFFERENT REASON.
CURIOSITY
THE AGES, HUMAN BEINGS’ MAIN PREOCCUPATION HAD BEEN TO COME ON TOP IN THE
THROUGHOUT
AGAINST THE ELEMENTS IF THEY WERE TO ENSURE PHYSICAL SURVIVAL. THUS, FOR THE MOST
FIGHT
ITS HISTORY, ASTROLOGY HAS BEEN VALUED MOSTLY FOR ITS CAPACITY (AS SPECULATIVE AS IT
OF
IS) TO ‘TELL THE FUTURE’. CALAMITY COULD BE AVOIDED IF THERE WAS A MEANS TO KNOW
STILL
TO EXPECT IT AND IN WHAT SHAPE AND FORM. AND FOR THE MOST PART, ASTROLOGY OFTEN
WHEN
SUCH MEANS.
PROVIDED
Today, however, we live in a
shelter, sex, material
security) to the realization
Individual happiness, selfknowledge,
channelling of
individuals. Maybe that’s
challenges, mostly
world. The problem is that
written by radilina shanova
the now general realization
enter the picture. It is the
new era, in a time when the
that material prosperity can
astrological equivalent to the
focus is shifting rapidly from
be no substitute for real
popular ‘Third Force’ in
the urge to satisfy basic
psychology and presents a
personal development.
Adaptability today means
system of thought in which
biological needs (food,
more than learning practical
the Zodiac is also revealed to
skills and accumulating
be a model of the most basic
that self-actualization and
money and possessions. It
cyclic processes, one that is
participation in harmonious
requires a genuine interest
closely interlinked with the
human relationships is the
in oneself and others, as
Seasons of the year. What
new ‘leitmotif’ of the times.
well as an openness to
stands behind the meaning
constant change. Nowadays,
and characteristics of each
men and women face new
zodiac sign is its particular
personal abilities and one’s
place in the big cycle of the
unique potential, building
psychological ones, and
seasonal changes which every
personality both through
seek to explore and
living organism on the planet
self-initiated action and as
understand life beyond the
experiences personally and
surface of the material
part of couples or groups…
directly. The Zodiac itself is a
For the younger generations
symbolic concept, which
these are no longer merely
they are not, in the most
illustrates a unifying factor, a
part, well equipped to do so.
abstract concepts. They
shared environment which
seem to be naturally tuned
affects everyone and
Here is where
everything on Earth with its
to the idea of selfexploration
and integration
ever-repeating rhythm. It
contemporary, personcentred
astrology,
in society as conscious
provides common ground but
modernized and
also differentiates by
because many have
reformulated in the writings
revealing how the same basic
witnessed through the
of the prominent
energies exist in unique
confusion of their parents
philosopher Dane Rudhyar
combinations in every
the first definitive signs of .
can, and eventually will,
individual.

positions, signs, houses and
attitude, the true value of
astrology, in which every
existence. This was the only
Cosmos. Heliocentric
were. Life in big cities with
environment. But if observed
closer, natural phenomena such
Sun. In astrology they come
North) every day until it comes
summer, where it enters Cancer
Then, we see it more and more
the varying rhythm and distinct
meant by Geocentric
It takes a truly modern
processes in the natural
approach to astrology to
comprehend the real
moving body in the Galaxy
appears to be revolving
meaning of the 12-sign
around our centre of
Tropical Zodiac which still
as the germination, growth and
remains largely unknown,
decay of vegetation, are a grand
display of a series of cyclic
type of astronomy and
despite the increasing
changes which also apply to
mainstream interest in
astrology that ancients
astrological studies. Among
the gradual physical, mental
knew of.
astrologers of today, still too
and emotional development of
a human being. Rudhyar writes
great an emphasis is being
Scientific advances in the
last century, especially
that ‘the experience of seasonal
placed on archaic concepts
taken directly from ancient
change is basic for man. Greatly
space travel, have revealed
creative cultures seem to have
astrological text books and
the absurdity of people’s
developed mostly where the
common perception of the
applied mechanically, often
using too complicated
change was deeply marked.
astronomy and astrology
technical terms. Most are
now concentrate on the
completely out of touch
Spring and autumn equinoxes,
summer and winter solstices.
place of the Earth within
with the needs of the
present day and age. And
These are the four major
the larger scheme of our
Solar System, the centre of
what is worse, astrological
turning points in the yearly
journey of the Earth around the
which is the Sun. Since only
aspects are often labelled
very recently and for the first
time ever were people able
positive or negative, benefic
under the names of,
respectively – Aries, Libra,
to see the Earth as if from a
or malefic, while in reality
distance (note the great
Cancer and Capricorn. When
they are neutral or embody,
the Sun enters Aries and Libra
as a minimum, dualistic
popularity of the Globe
meanings.
symbol in all sorts of
at the equinoxes, it sets exactly
on the West. But at that point
advertising and publicity
in the spring, it starts setting
In contrast to the popular
since the 90s after first
‘black or white’, ‘right or
space photos were
higher and higher (to the
distributed in the media).
wrong, ‘good or bad’
to its peak in the middle of
Many previously enigmatic
astrology is in its study of
natural phenomena have
(the Summer Solstice). At the
received scientific
natural recurring cycles,
explanation and people
where its real essence lies.
autumn equinox, days and
The Zodiac itself can be
nights are equal again and the
reason about them. Still, we
Sun sets exactly on the West for
are getting more and more
called the ‘aura’ of the Earth,
alienated from the actual
the second time in the year.
an imaginary division in 12
equal sections of the space
fact of living in nature and
to the South as the nights get
through which we observe
as integral parts of it.
the Sun moving in
longer and the days shorter
relationship to our planet
We are no longer as acutely
until it reaches its lowest
setting point while observed
during the year. Of course, it
aware of the seasonal
changes as people once
from the Northern Hemisphere,
is not the Sun that moves
around the Earth, but the
entering the sign Capricorn (the
Winter Solstice).
other way around, though
provisions for warmth in the
for people on Earth the
winter and sufficient food
observable ‘truth’ is quite
throughout the year, has
the opposite. This is what is
blurred our perception of .

In Western astrology (which differs
from that of other cultures, like the
Chinese and Indian), the 4 seasonal
turning points, also called Cardinal,
are symbolized by the 4 elements
of nature – Fire, Water, Air and
Earth.
Fire – Aries (Spring Equinox) – the
period of most intense organic
growth in nature, germination. Fire
is the animating principle, a symbol
of initiation, vitality, forward
motion; commonly appears as
intense, emotional expression of
individuality.
Water – Cancer (Summer Solstice)
– organic grown reaches its peak.
The accent is on universality and
accumulation of concentrated
energy, which is emotional,
sensory, unconscious and creative.
The water element as it appears in
Cancer represents the principle of
assimilation in nature, all metabolic,
digestive processes.
Air – Libra (Fall Equinox) – the
balancing principle of adaptability;
it refers to the power of the
intellect and the capacity to make
connections and integrate differing
factors for the sake of collective
goals. This is the end of the
process of organic growth and
what is now important is the
preservation of seeds, only the
very essence of what will remain to
be preserved from vegetation.
Earth – Capricorn (Winter Solstice)
– from that point a new cycle of
organic growth is expected to
begin, seeds planted in the soil
waiting for the next spring equinox,
when only some will germinate; it
is the principle of consolidation
and stability. The earth element is
concerned with the practical,
mundane affairs that provide a
sense of ‘common ground’ between
members of the same group or
society.
Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn
are the 4 different channels
through which the first, biological,
‘Life’ force manifests itself in nature
and in living organisms. Each is a
culmination point of a 4-fold
process, the phases of which can be
associated with early childhood
(Aries), young age (Cancer),
maturity (Libra) and old age
(Capricorn). Still, there are 8 more
intermediary phases which will
repeat twice (2x4) the cycle of the
fire, water, air and earth at other 2
levels of human existence. All that
to be explored in the soon-to-follow
Part 2.
…to be continued…

So some people
might think
that Pierre
Debaas-Tortoza
is a bit too
much and
others just love
him for being
himself.
X C L U S I V E I N T E R V I E W F O R C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T V A L E N C I A

6 Months Later, what is happening?
An interview with Pierre and Yohe Debaas-Tortoza
Today I met up with Pierre and Yohe who I interviewed six months ago in the February
issue of Community Spirit Valencia. I love interviewing Pierre because he is always so open
and honest. He says it how it is and is not worried about what other people think.
I think that when you can get to this stage in your life where you don’t care what other
people think about you, then you can start moving mountains in your life and making big
changes. So some people might think that Pierre is a bit too much and others just love him
for being himself.
So without further ado, let’s see what’s happening in their colourful lives.
Richard T. Voller, BA (Hons)
E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F

Photo:
P A L A U D E M A R Q U É S
D E D O S A I G Ü E S
the
INTERVIEW
Richard: “So can you tell me about your lovely
wedding and what it was like?”
Pierre: “Yes, we got married 5 months ago. It was a
really fun day, it was just the two of us. We got
married across the street from the Palau de
Marqués de Dosaigües. It was a really beautiful
location and reflected how we felt inside. Neither
of us are religious, so we didn’t say ‘I do’ or
anything! We just wanted a wedding which
reflected who we are. All the lawyers came out to
congratulate us, which was really amazing! We had
brunch in a restaurant in the old square and
afterwards we met up with friends for a
celebration dinner!”
Richard: “Do you feel different now that you are
married?”
Yohe: “It is the same.”
Pierre: “Yes, it does feel the same, but the day after
I felt like, OMG I own you now!”
[They both burst out laughing]
Pierre: “We’ve got new wedding rings.”
[Pierre leaned across and showed me his ring.]
Pierre: “We've got a kinadly diamond on our rings.”
Richard: “What is that?”
Pierre: “You kinardly see it!”

Above: The boys with one of their happy customers
Richard: “So you really had a lovely wedding
then?”
Pierre: “Yes, we did. We’ve noticed that there
are expats who come here to change their lives
and enjoy every day, as we do. And they like to
see other people enjoying their lives as well.
And then there are the expats who come here
expecting an incredible lifestyle without putting
much effort into it and they just seem to cause
problems with people who are working very
hard to make something of their life.”
“Unfortunately we fit into that category as
we’ve been here 12 weeks.”
Richard: “Yes, I was going to say how is it going
because every time I come in here it is really
busy.”
Richard: “How is your Spanish going?”
Pierre: “Muy bien! I know lots of words, but I
don’t know how to put them together yet. I am
doing Spanish classes so it’s just about taking it
all step-by-step.”
Richard: “Sometimes I see your post and notice
that they are written in Spanish, so it’s good to
see that you are actively encouraging the
Spanish integration.”
Pierre: “Well, we live in Spain and I’ve got to
learn Spanish. The only expectations I had when
I came here was that all expats would be nice
people. But the power of social media has
basically now made me wary of a lot of people.”
Richard: “Why is that?”
Pierre: “Yes, it’s been incredible! We love every
person who comes here! Most people have been
here about 4 or 5 times now since we opened. So
it is like a growing family, they know about our
lives and we know about their lives. It’s always
very inspirational and gives us lots of ideas for
new places to visit and things like that.”
Pierre: “Well it seems that the nice people
usually keep their mouths shut and the nasty
people on social media are really, really nasty.”
Richard: “Is this why you have this zero
tolerance on your Facebook group ‘Expats and
Business in Valencia’?
50 COMMUNITY SPIRIT VALENCIA

Pierre: “After we got slaughtered for telling
people we were going to get married on social
media by a few very nasty people, even though
the majority were really nice, we got 26
shocking private hate mails. I am going to be 54
years old in October and I’ve never experienced
homophobia like this except when I was in
Holland.”
“It really affected me and made me so quiet over
the last 5 months. Before that we had a massive
following and were posting lots of Facebook
about our lives here. We enjoyed it and felt like
we were part of the community, but after we got
slaughtered on Expats in Valencia and had a lot
of problems with that group we decided to setup
our own facebook page called ‘Expats and
Business in Valencia’.
“Our rules on this page are simple. No
bitchiness, no insulting and basically don’t be an
asshole. We tell all members that they can
advertise 10 times a day if they want to, if you
want to blog, then blog away! If you want to
share photos or anything about your
experiences here in Valencia, then do it. If you
have a business, you are welcome to advertise
every single day if you want to. And our rules to
every individual person on the page is that “if
you don’t like what you are seeing, then scroll
past it. If you find it offensive then let us know.”
“But if you are going to write insulting
comments and belittling comments, or negative
comments or asshole comments, expect to be
blocked, because that is not what the group is
for! And after our experience of that other
group, we have made sure that we have more
than one Admin in our group, there is nothing
worse than one Admin dominating so many
people’s point of view.”
Richard: “Did that experience change... “
Pierre: “Everything changed. After that, I just
found it really hard to trust people. We just
didn’t expect to get attacked for getting
married, I mean this is 2018! But it’s amazing
that we really feel welcomed here by the
Spanish people as a gay couple, and all the
expats that we meet. But when it comes to social
media, the minority had dominance in that group
and the one Admin got involved in it as well. So
we don’t want to have any part in that again. I’ve
just never been attacked so viciously as we were
attacked in that group.”
Richard: “And that is why you put up your
boundaries?”
Pierre: “I just don’t understand why people want
to be so horrible to other people. I saw a post a
while ago about someone who wanted to go the
oceanographic and was asking where they could
get the cheapest tickets?”
“And just for making that post she got
slaughtered 250 times.”
Richard: “I think it’s a really sad reflection of the
state of society at the moment actually. Social
media is almost creating these keyboard
warriors.”
Pierre: “Yes, well the group that we have now,
‘Expats and Business in Valencia’ has now got
1,000 members! And we’ve only had nonsense
up on there once, that was only last week.”
Yohe: “Yes, so you can see that we’ve managed
to create a Facebook group which is really good
for the people.”
Pierre: “Yes, 99% of expats are amazing!”
Richard: “Do you think that the people who are
being horrible, is a certain age group?”
51 COMMUNITY SPIRIT VALENCIA

"99% of
expats
are
amazing!"
PIERRE DEBAAS-TORTOZA

Pierre: “No, I just think it’s an asshole group!”
Richard: “I notice that you are getting lots of
people coming from different countries now to
have their haircut.”
Pierre: “Yes that’s probably the most flattering
thing that I have ever had. I worked in Holland
for 10 years before I came here. For three years,
I won the Top Salon of the Year award 3 years
ago in Utrecht and I also won the same award
twice in New Zealand.”
Richard: “Awesome. Well, I always love your
haircuts.”
Pierre: “Yes, well every single week we have had
somebody from Holland coming here, we’ve had
people coming from Norway, Paris, Belgium,
Germany, and London!”
Noe, the sister of Yohe looking
beautiful with her new haircut!
Richard: “Wow! So you are really becoming
international now!”
Pierre: “I didn’t expect that actually.”
Richard: “How does that make you feel?”
Pierre: “Completely humbled and flattered.
These are people whom I love seeing but I never
thought I would see again. They come here, book
into a hotel, spend a few days on the beach and
get their hair done. Next weekend we have a 16-
year-old and a 17-year-old girl flying over to get
their hair done. I enjoy what I am doing and I
enjoy making people happy, but I didn’t realise
just how happy I made people feel.”
Richard: “A good haircut makes a world of
difference. It’s just a nice place to be.”
Pierre: “Well the thing about the positive
expats, 99% of our customers is that they have
been following us for the last year on Facebook
so we get a lot of support from them. But the
negative people aren’t going to be clients and
they are not going to be friends. You know sticks
and stones will break my bones, but words will
never hurt me. That is our theory on that!”
“I love Valencia, I love everything about it.
Yesterday we walked for 10 minutes and we
were on the beach. We paid Euros 20 for 3
chairs and an umbrella. Yohe’s sister is here
from Holland, she’s 7 years older than him and
his mother is 7 years older than me.”
Richard: "And you’ve also got this new dog as
well…”
53 COMMUNITY SPIRIT VALENCIA
Pierre: “Yes, we have Ari which is short for Ariel.
She is a little white haired Jack Russell, she is 12
weeks old. We wanted a playmate for Ruby. And
we’ve just bought two of these little Segway e-
scooters to come to work on, so they have their
little dog pouches and they love it!”

Richard: “Very eco-friendly for the
environment! So how long does it take you to
get to work?”
Pierre: “It takes just 10 minutes! It’s also better
than sitting in a bus and we can never get a good
connection. Sometimes we might have to wait
10 or 15 minutes if we miss a bus…”
Richard: “And when you are running a place like
this I suppose timing is essential?”
Pierre: “We open at 10 am, but we are always
here at 8.30am. So we have to come here and
get the place ready, chill, have breakfast. I also
book an hour for everybody to do their haircut.
The reason I do that is because I like to sit down
and have a full consultation with my clients, I
like to make sure they are happy with what I did
last time, and if you are a new customer I want
to get to know your personality. I want to get to
know what you want?”
Richard: “So it is really important that people
are here on time?”
Pierre: “And again 99.9% of my clients are on
time and I really appreciate that because when
there is just one person who arrives late by
about 20 minutes then that can have a knock-on
effect, which affects everyone through the
whole day and that’s not fair.”
Richard: “What do you mean?”
me, it’s not fair on the next person. People who
turn up late still expect me to give the same service,
for the same time and don’t care about the people
booked in after them!”
Richard: “What’s the bottom line here then?”
Pierre: “I just think that it is totally disrespectful. I
want to just point this out, because I don’t like it
that one person can affect everyone, I think that is
the point I want to make.”
Pierre: “Well if I am booked out all day, that
means I’ve got 8 people coming in that day. So if
you are my first client and I’ve booked you in for
an hour of my time, which needs an hour to do to
the high standards that I like to achieve, that
means that if you are 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30
minutes late, it basically means that you are
robbing me of the time that you’ve booked me in
to do. That means that there is more pressure on
Richard: “Well I think that it is also good to mention
that you are the only hairdresser here, so it’s not
like in other Hair Salons where there are more
hairdressers.”
Pierre: “The Spanish hairdressers are a lot cheaper
than we are, but they are cheaper for a reason. The
Spanish hairdressing salons do not make
appointments because if you are charging between
Euro 7 to Euro 15 for a haircut, you are
54 COMMUNITY SPIRIT VALENCIA

"Yes, I am a 5 times
cancer survivor
and I want a stress
free life. I love
what I do and I
want to be able to
keep on doing the
best for people."
PIERRE DEBAAS-TORTOZA

expect anything out of Spain. I am now learning
Spanish because I live here and I am going to die
here, that is how much I love the place. And I can’t
expect someone in the street to speak English
because I am arrogant enough not to speak their
language. You know, these days I don’t even look at
a menu to decide what I want as the food is so
delicious out here. I love to just choose a number
and say I am having that!”
“Going back to earlier, we normally only have time
off to get things when most Spanish shops are
closed for siesta, but we can’t get angry with them
because this is how it is in Spain. They advertise
when they are closed and we have to change to
accept it.”
Richard:“I think this is an important point you are
making here because all change has to come from
within people.”
not going to be making anything. People think
that we are making a lot of money, we are
making good money but not a lot of money! we
have to pay rent, we have to pay for our energy
bills, we have to pay for telephones, we have to
pay for the stock, we have to pay the taxes and
the local council fees. People tend to forget how
much it costs to run a business in Valencia.”
“So the Spanish way is not to take bookings. The
first one who arrives is number one, and the last
one to arrives goes last. But we don’t work that
way, as you are booking one hour of my time as a
professional. I think the thing is that if I book an
appointment with someone I always turn up on
time. So I just expect the same of others.”
Richard: “So what is your attitude to life to get
you through all of the challenges of having a
business here in Valencia.”
Pierre: “Well we have the same mentality as we
did when we first arrived here, that is we don’t
Pierre: “Yes, I am a 5 times cancer survivor and I
want a stress free life. I love what I do and I want to
be able to keep on doing the best for people. I just
don’t want people who aren’t considerate enough
to respect me and my other clients by turning up
late. I would honestly prefer those types of people
to choose a different hairdressers and people who
can get here on time are more than welcome!”
Richard: “Who are the types of people who come
here?”
Pierre: “Amazing ones! We have clients from all
around the world. I like to think that they are all
happy with what we do, we get a lot of people
coming back. We have recently started offering a
Loyalty Discount Plan, as we appreciate loyalty.”
Richard: “What other offers do you have at the
moment?”
Pierre: “Well we are now offering a 20% discount
for people who book their next appointment before
they leave, but it has to be within 6 weeks.
56 COMMUNITY SPIRIT VALENCIA

COMMUNITY SPIRIT VALENCIA
"Also if you book your next haircut with 6 to 8 weeks,
we’ll give you a 15% discount. If you book between 8
and 10 weeks we’ll give you a 10% discount."
"Also, it’s been three years now that Yohe has been
working together with me, he gave up nursing and I
have been teaching him to be Stylist. Yohe is really
confident in colouring, base colours and also blow
drying. So if you do a Colour and a Blow Dry with
Yohe, you can get a 50% discount, but that has to be
in between a colouring and a cut with me. So think of
it like first time with me, then next time to Yohe and
then back to me again, that’s how that great special
offer works”.
Richard: “And for new clients?”
Richard: “Why is she so amazing?”
Pierre: “When we were building the salon, I put the feelers
out there and asked if anyone had a tall ladder they could let
me borrow? So she offered to help and she lives in Rocafort.
She paid for a metro ticket to come and bring it to me. We
offered to go to her, but she insisted on coming to us. Then
we got a call from her saying that she got kicked off the
metro because she couldn’t take the ladder on it. So as we
were so grateful to her, we said that her first haircut with us
would be complementary.”
Richard: “Pierre and Yohe, that’s the community spirit!
Thank you, it’s been lovely talking with you and I wish you all
the best for the next six months.”
Pierre: “If it’s for roots only then they can get a 50%
discount, and if it is a colour only then it’s a 30%
discount, but he is not officially doing haircuts yet.”
Richard: “When is Yohe going to start doing haircuts
then?”
Pierre: “Well Yohe had his official paying client on
Saturday. She is part of your group, she is one of our
favourites. On Facebook she is called Bob Bird. She’s
a really cool lady, a teacher who lives out at Rocafort.
When someone is asking for help she is the first one
putting her hand up all the time! She’s an amazing
lady."

HUMAN WELL-BEING
INDIAN SUMMER
FESTIVAL
Ayurveda Lifestyle Spain, L'Eliana, Valencia
SATURDAY 28TH JULY
CENTRO AYURVEDA IN
L' ELIANA CELEBRATED ITS
4TH EVENT SINCE
INAGURATION IN SEPTEMBER
2017: AN 'INDIAN SUMMER
FESTIVAL'
Despite the heat lots of people came
along to see & purchase the variety of
Arts & Crafts on offer; 26 stalls in total.
Kalpana provided the traditional Indian
food..delicious as usual. Lots of
ambience provided by a local dance
group and later by a traditional Indian
dancer (& Dr Bharat!)..with the visitors
joining in.
Everyone enjoyed a lovely, happy
summers day: definately to be repeated.

Rethink
Your
Well-Being
Interview with Nial Sawa, founder of
SAWAlernative Healing Valencia
C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T V A L E N C I A | P A G E 5 9

message
from
the editor
V a l e n c i a s e e m s t o b e a t t r a c t i n g m o r e a n d m o r e
p e o p l e f r o m a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d w h o a r e f o c u s e d o n
l i v i n g a h e a l t h y l i f e s t y l e . P e o p l e a r e c o m i n g h e r e
w h o w a n t t o s e t u p t h e i r o w n b u s i n e s s e s d o i n g
t h i n g s w h i c h t h e y a r e p a s s i o n a t e a b o u t , w i t h
p e o p l e w h o c a r e a n d a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n w o r k i n g
t o g e t h e r t o b u i l d a c o m m u n i t y o f l i k e - m i n d e d
p e o p l e .
T h i s w e e k I g o t a t e l e p h o n e c a l l f r o m N i a l S a w a ,
w h o h a s b e e n l i v i n g i n V a l e n c i a f o r a l m o s t 1 5
y e a r s , r u n n i n g a c l i n i c i n t h e c i t y c e n t r e w h i c h
s p e c i a l i s e s i n h e l p i n g p e o p l e w h o s u f f e r f r o m
c h r o n i c d i s e a s e s / i m m u n e s y s t e m i s s u e s , c h r o n i c
a n d a c u t e p a i n , s u b s t a n c e a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l
a d d i c t i o n s , a s w e l l a s h e l p i n g p e o p l e w i t h w e i g h t
l o s s a n d n e g a t i v e t h i n k i n g p a t t e r n s . S o I w e n t t o
m e e t N i a l , w h o i s E n g l i s h , a n d a l s o s p e a k s S p a n i s h ,
a t h i s c l i n i c n e a r t h e r a i l w a y s t a t i o n . C a l l e
U r u g u a y 3 7 - 1 - 3 , t o d i s c o v e r m o r e a b o u t h i s w o r k .

THE INTERVIEW
R i c h a r d : “ S o a s a T h e r a p i s t w h a t d o y o u
s e e a r e t h e m a i n c h a l l e n g e s t h a t p e o p l e
a r e f a c i n g i n t h e c o m m u n i t y t h e s e d a y s ? ”
"Our mental
health
and physical
well-being
are being
compromised,
and stress
is a given
ailment
that is
taken for
granted.
N i a l : “ I n t o d a y ' s s o c i e t y , m a n y o f u s a r e
n o t t h r i v i n g p h y s i c a l l y o r m e n t a l l y . I t i s
p r o v e n t h a t n e g a t i v e t h i n k i n g a d v e r s e l y
a f f e c t s o u r h e a l t h a n d t h a t a s l i t t l e a s 3
m i n u t e s o f n e g a t i v e t h i n k i n g a f f e c t s o u r
i m m u n e s y s t e m i n a d e t r i m e n t a l w a y . T h i s
i s d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y o f u s
h a v e m o r e w e a l t h a n d a m e n i t i e s a v a i l a b l e
t o u s t h a n e v e r b e f o r e . ”
“ I t a p p e a r s t h e a d v a n c e o f t e c h n o l o g y h a s
n o t n e c e s s a r i l y b r o u g h t u s t o a h i g h e r
l e v e l o f r e a l w e l l - b e i n g . "
" O u r m e n t a l h e a l t h a n d p h y s i c a l w e l l - b e i n g
a r e b e i n g c o m p r o m i s e d , a n d s t r e s s i s a
g i v e n a i l m e n t t h a t i s t a k e n f o r g r a n t e d . W e
a r e a c t u a l l y e x p e c t e d t o s u f f e r f r o m s t r e s s
a n d d i s e a s e i n t o d a y ' s s o c i e t y ! ”
“ T h e r e h a s a l s o b e e n a n i n c r e a s e i n c h r o n i c
p a i n d i s e a s e s s u c h a s F i b r o m y a l g i a ,
A r t h r i t i s , t o n a m e a f e w a s w e l l a s a n
i n c r e a s e i n D i a b e t e s t y p e 2 , A l z h e i m e r ,
P a r k i n s o n , a n d C a n c e r o f c o u r s e . A s m a n y
p e o p l e k n o w , u n f o r t u n a t e l y , W e s t e r n
M e d i c i n e c a n d o l i t t l e f o r a n y o f t h e a b o v e
m e n t i o n e d , e x c e p t f o r g i v i n g t r e a t m e n t s
t h a t c a u s e d a m a g e t o t h e b o d y , a n d t h a t
d o e s n o t a c t u a l l y h e a l t h e r o o t i s s u e . ”
N I A L S A W A
“ T h e f a c t t h a t w e h a v e 2 4 / 7 a c c e s s t o t h e
i n t e r n e t h a s l e a d t o a n d w i l l l e a d t o m o r e
i n c i d e n c e s o f p a i n a n d h e a l t h r e l a t e d
d i s e a s e s . T h i s i s n o t e v e n t o m e n t i o n t h e
i s s u e s c a u s e d b y t h e h a r d l y s p o k e n a b o u t
i n t e r n e t a d d i c t i o n s - w h i c h a r e s t a r t i n g t o
c a u s e c o m m u n i t i e s s e r i o u s i s s u e s . ”

R i c h a r d : “ S o h o w w o u l d y o u d e s c r i b e y o u r
j o b ? ”
N i a l : “ M y j o b i s t o h e l p l e a d p e o p l e b a c k
t o t h e i r i n n a t e s t a t e o f w e l l n e s s - b o t h
p h y s i c a l l y a n d m e n t a l l y . T h e a i m i s t o
r e c o n n e c t p e o p l e w i t h t h e m s e l v e s a n d
h a v e a m o r e p o s i t i v e w a y o f t h i n k i n g . T o
s h o w p e o p l e h o w t o d r a s t i c a l l y i m p r o v e
t h e i r h e a l t h . T h e p o w e r o f t h o u g h t
a l o n g s i d e t h e o t h e r t h e r a p i e s I u s e i s v e r y
i n f l u e n t i a l i n o r d e r t o g e t t h e p a t i e n t o n
t h e r o a d t o r e c o v e r y . ”
R i c h a r d : “ O k , s o w h a t t y p e s o f T h e r a p i e s
d o y o u o f f e r p e o p l e ? ”
N i a l : “ I u s e A c u p u n c t u r e , w i t h o r w i t h o u t
n e e d l e s . W i t h o u t n e e d l e s i s f o r t h e b e n e f i t
o f t h e n e e d l e p h o b i c . M a n y i s s u e s a r e
t r e a t e d w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l a c u p u n c t u r e
a l o n e , e s p e c i a l l y p a i n , c h r o n i c d i s e a s e s ,
s t r e s s , a n d e s p e c i a l l y W o m e n ´ s i s s u e s
r a n g i n g f r o m P M S t o t h e m e n o p a u s e a n d
o t h e r h o r m o n a l i s s u e s . ”
“ I u s e m a g n e t i c t h e r a p y i n a l o t o f t h e
c a s e s . E s p e c i a l l y i f i t i s b e i n g u s e d a s a
s u b s t i t u t e f o r a c u p u n c t u r e n e e d l e s . I t e a c h
s e v e r a l s t r e t c h i n g / s t r e n g t h e n i n g e x e r c i s e s
a s w e l l a s b r e a t h i n g t e c h n i q u e s s u c h a s T a i
C h i , Y o g a , Q i g o n g . O n c e a p a t i e n t i s b e t t e r
a f t e r a f e w s e s s i o n s , I e n c o u r a g e t h e m t o
c o m e r e g u l a r l y t o t h e s e c l a s s e s - a k i n d o f
c o m m u n i t y h e a l i n g ! ”
“ I a m a t o t a l f a n o f B u t e y k o a n d W i m h o f
b r e a t h i n g , a n d i f t h e p a t i e n t i s w i l l i n g t o
l e a r n a n d p r a c t i c e t h e t e c h n i q u e s , I
n o r m a l l y g i v e t h e m a f o r m s p e c i a l l y
t a i l o r e d f o r t h e m . T h e b r e a t h i n g
t e c h n i q u e s a r e v e r y h e l p f u l t o a i d t h e
i n i t i a l m a n u a l t h e r a p i e s , a n d t h e n w e c a n
s u b s t i t u t e i n d i v i d u a l s e s s i o n s f o r g r o u p
s e s s i o n s . B r e a t h w o r k w o r k s t h e i m m u n e
s y s t e m v i g o r o u s l y . I t h e l p s t h e p a t i e n t
d e a l w i t h h e a t o r c o l d i n a n i n c r e d i b l e w a y .
I c u r e d m y s e v e r e a l l e r g i e s t o d u s t a n d t h e
p o l l u t i o n i n V a l e n c i a b y u s i n g t h e s e
t e c h n i q u e s - s o t h a t i s w h y I a m s u c h a h u g e
f a n ! A l s o , a f t e r y o u h a v e l i v e d i n V a l e n c i a
f o r a f e w y e a r s , t h e h e a t a n d d u s t s t a r t t o
g e t t o y o u . I n o w c o p e w i t h t h e h e a t r e a l l y
w e l l , a n d s o d o s o m e o f m y p a t i e n t s ! I
e n j o y t h e h e a t n o w a d a y s e v e n w h e n i t ´ s a t
t h e m a x i m u m l e v e l s i n A u g u s t i n V a l e n c i a .
S o u n d s c r a z y ! O u r c o p i n g w i t h t h e h e a t
( a n d c o l d ) i s a l s o a s t a t e o f m i n d a n d h o w
s t r o n g o u r i m m u n e s y s t e m s a r e ! ”
“ I c a n h e l p p e o p l e n o t o n l y i m p r o v e t h e s e
r e s p i r a t o r y i s s u e s - e v e n a s t h m a a n d C o p d .
T h e s i d e e f f e c t s a r e a n i n c r e a s e d e n e r g y
a n d f e e l i n g b e t t e r ! F o r s p o r t s p l a y e r s
t h e s e b r e a t h i n g t e c h n i q u e s a r e a m u s t . T h e
r e c o v e r y t i m e i s g r e a t l y r e d u c e d a f t e r
m a t c h e s a n d h e a v y t r a i n i n g , a s w e l l a s
e n d u r a n c e d u r i n g g a m e s . N o t b a d r e a l l y ! ”
R i c h a r d : “ G o s h , y o u ’ v e g o t q u i t e a v a r i e t y
o f d i f f e r e n t t e c h n i q u e s t h e n ? ”
N i a l : “ H a h a , I h a v e n o t f i n i s h e d y e t , t h e r e
i s m o r e ! ! I a l s o a d v o c a t e t h e u s e o f h i g h
q u a l i t y i n f r a r e d s a u n a s . T h e y a r e a v e r y
p o w e r f u l a i d t o m a n y , m a n y i m m u n e
d i s e a s e s . E s p e c i a l l y M u l t i p l e S c h l e r o s i s ,
C h r o n i c f a t i g u e , F i b r o m y a l g i a , A r t h r i t i s ,
a n d e v e n C a n c e r . T h e y a l s o h e l p i n w e i g h t
l o s s . T h e y w o r k v e r y w e l l t o a i d t h e b o d y
d e t o x t h e m a n y c h e m i c a l s w e h a v e s t o r e d
i n o u r b o d i e s . T h e y i m p r o v e o u r s l e e p
q u a l i t y ”
“ A n d l a s t b u t n o t l e a s t . P r o b a b l y t h e m o s t
i m p o r t a n t o f a l l t h e t h e r a p i e s i s t h e T h r e e
P r i n c i p l e s b y S y d n e y B a n k s . B y l e a r n i n g t o
s e e t h e p o w e r o f t h o u g h t , a n d h o w t h i s

i n f l u e n c e s t h e w a y w e s e e t h i n g s f r o m a n
o u t s i d e i n m a n n e r , t o a n i n s i d e o u t
m a n n e r . ”
R i c h a r d : “ S o w e c a n i m p r o v e o u r m e n t a l
w e l l - b e i n g j u s t t h r o u g h o u r t h o u g h t s ? ”
N i a l : “ Y e s ! W e c a n d r a s t i c a l l y i m p r o v e o u r
m e n t a l h a p p i n e s s , a n d a s s u c h o f t e n o u r
p h y s i c a l b o d y i m p r o v e s , o r t h e i s s u e g e t s
l e s s f i x a t e d o n a n d l e s s b e c o m e s l e s s
i m p o r t a n t . ”
“ I a l s o l i k e t o a d d r e s s i s s u e s i n s o c i e t y
t h a t a r e n o t o f t e n s p o k e n a b o u t . P o r n
a d d i c t i o n s , a d d i c t i o n s t o s o c i a l m e d i a a n d
t h e i n t e r n e t i n g e n e r a l . I m e a n t h e u s e o f
t h e s e e x c e s s i v e l y , a n d a l c o h o l a n d
s u b s t a n c e s a b u s e . A g a i n , b y s e e i n g h o w w e
c r é a t e t h e w o r l d w e “ s e e ” , t h e e m p h a s i s
r a d i c a l l y c h a n g e s f r o m o u t s i d e i n , t o i n s i d e
o u t , a s w e s e e h o w w e f e e l a n d t h i n k , o u r
f e e l i n g g r e a t l y c a u s e s o u r s u f f e r i n g , a n d
d i s t r a c t s u s f r o m w h a t i s r e a l l y i m p o r t a n t
t o u s i n l i f e . B e i n g h a p p y a n d w e l l ”
R i c h a r d : “ S o w h a t i s y o u r e x p e r i e n c e a n d
w h a t a r e y o u r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s i n t h e w o r k
y o u o f f e r ? ”
N i a l : “ I h a v e o v e r 2 0 y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e
t e a c h i n g T a i c h i a n d Q i g o n g . D u r i n g m y
s t u d e n t d a y s w h e r e I g a i n e d a n H o n o u r s
D e g r e e i n I n t e r n a t i o n a l B u s i n e s s s t u d i e s , I
s t a r t e d t o l e a r n T a i C h i . I h a v e b e e n
p r a c t i c i n g A c u p u n c t u r e f o r o v e r 1 2 y e a r s
a n d h a v e t r e a t e d h u n d r e d s o f p e o p l e . ”
“ I b e c a m e i n v o l v e d w i t h T a i c h i a n d Q i g o n g
t o h e a l m y o w n c h r o n i c F a t i g u e a n d g a i n e d
t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n f r o m t h e Y o n g Q u a n
T a i C h i s c h o o l i n E n g l a n d . T h e n I s t a r t e d a
d e g r e e c o u r s e i n T r a d i t i o n a l C h i n e s e
M e d i c i n e a t M i d d l e s e x U n i v e r s i t y , m o v e d
o v e r t o S p a i n a n d c o n t i n u e d w i t h f u r t h e r
s t u d i e s i n T C M a n d o t h e r a l t e r n a t i v e
h e a l i n g a r t s . I a m a l i c e n s e d a c u p u n c t u r i s t
i n S p a i n a n d m e m b e r o f t h e P E F O T S
a s s o c i a t i o n f o r p r a c t i t i o n e r s i n S p a i n - I
s t i l l c o n t i n u e l e a r n i n g a s I f e e l i t i s a
n e c e s s a r y p a r t o f m y l i f e , a n d f o r m y
p a t i e n t s , a n d b e c a u s e I l o v e t o . I a l s o l o v e
t o i m p r o v e m y s k i l l s . ”
“ I h a v e m a n y a c c r e d i t a t i o n s f r o m d i f f e r e n t
A c u p u n c t u r e c o u r s e s w h i c h I c o n t i n u e
w i t h . T h r o u g h m y T a i C h i a n d Q i g o n g
t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t e f r o m t h e Y o n g Q u a n
i n t e r n a l m a r t i a l a r t s s c h o o l , , I a m c a p a b l e
o f t e a c h i n g m a n y b r e a t h i n g t e c h n i q u e s . A s
s u c h I h a v e b e e n a b l e t o d e s i g n a p e r f e c t
b r e a t h i n g s y s t e m b a s e d o n Q i g o n g ,
B u t e y k o a n d W i m h o f b r e a t h i n g . I h a v e
b e e n a u t h o r i s e d t o t e a c h t h e B y r o n K a t i e
m e t h o d f o r l o o k i n g i n t o t h o u g h t s , a n d n o w
m a i n l y u s e t h e T h r e e P r i n c i p l e s w i t h m y
p a t i e n t s . ”
R i c h a r d : “ S o c a n y o u g i v e m e a n y e x a m p l e s
o f p e o p l e w h o h a v e b e e n s u c c e s s f u l l y
t r e a t e d b y y o u ? ”
N i a l : “ O n e o f t h e m o s t r e m a r k a b l e c a s e
h i s t o r i e s w a s a l a d y w i t h F i b r o m y a l g i a
g o i n g t h r o u g h t h e m e n o p a u s e , a n d
s u f f e r i n g f r o m o t h e r s e r i o u s i s s u e s .
S h e c a m e t o t h e c l i n i c a s s h e l i t e r a l l y h a d
p a i n r u n n i n g t h r o u g h t h e w h o l e o f h e r
b o d y . S h e w a s a l s o s u f f e r i n g f r o m h o t
f l u s h e s a n d m o o d s w i n g s . S h e d e s c r i b e d
t h e p a i n i n h e r b o d y , a s a à o n t h a t r a n f r o m
t h e b a l l s o f h e r f e e t , u p t h e a n k l e s t h r o u g h
t h e k n e e s , l e g s , h i p s , l o w e r b a c k , r i b s ,
s h o u l d e r s , n e c k a n d a l l t h r o u g h h e r h e a d
w h e r e s h e a l s o s u f f e r e d f r o m m i g r a i n e s .
N o t o n l y t h i s a n d t h e u s u a l i n s o m n i a
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h f i b r o m y a l g i a , b u t s h e a l s o
h a d s e v e r e a l l e r g i e s , w a s o v e r w e i g h t w i t h

h i g h b l o o d s u g a r r a t i n g s , n e e d i n g i m m i n e n t
d i a b e t e s t y p e 2 m e d i c a t i o n . S h e a l s o
s u f f e r e d f r o m s e v e r e t i r e d n e s s a n d
d e p r e s s i o n . ”
“ W h e n s h e e n t e r e d m y c l i n i c , s h e w a s v e r y
d i z z y . I i m m e d i a t e l y s h o w e d h e r t h e
b r e a t h i n g t e c h n i q u e s a s h e r b l o o d s u g a r
l e v e l s w h e r e w a y o u t o f c o n t r o l . T h e
c o l o u r c a m e b a c k t o h e r f a c e a n d s h e
s t a r t e d t o f e e l
b e t t e r w i t h i n 1 0 m i n u t e s . A f t e r
a c u p u n c t u r e a n d s p e a k i n g t o h e r a b o u t
t h e T h r e e P r i n c i p l e s o f S y d n e y B a n k s , t h e
p a t i e n t l e f t a l r e a d y f e e l i n g b e t t e r . S h e
s t a r t e d t o d o t h e b r e a t h i n g t e c h n i q u e s
d a i l y , a l o n g s i d e
c o m i n g t o m e j u s t o n c e a w e e k , a s s h e
l i v e s i n D e n i a , a n d i t w a s n o t e a s y f o r h e r
t o v i s i t m e m o r e o f t e n . S h e a l s o h i r e d t h e
i n f r a r e d s a u n a , a n d w i t h i n 2 w e e k s , h e r
h e a l t h h a d c h a n g e d . S h e b e g a n t o s l e e p
b e t t e r , a n d h e r p a i n l e v e l s h a d d e c r e a s e d
b y o v e r 6 0 % . H e r p a i n l e v e l s a r e n o w n o t
a n i s s u e a n y m o r e . H e r s u g a r l e v e l s
s t a b i l i s e d f r o m d a y 1 a n d s h e a v o i d e d t h e
m e d i c a t i o n r o u t e f o r D i a b e t e s t y p e 2 .
( P l e a s e a l w a y s s p e a k t o y o u r c o n s u l t a n t
w h e n b l o o d s u g a r l e v e l s a r e a n i s s u e - d o
n o t d o t h i s o n y o u r o w n ) .
R i c h a r d : “ O K , I a m c u r i o u s b e c a u s e e a r l i e r
y o u m e n t i o n e d t h a t y o u ’ v e u s e d s o m e o f
t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s t o c u r e y o u r o w n
p e r s o n a l c h a l l e n g e s t o d o w i t h e x t r e m e
f a t i g u e i s s u e s . I t h i n k t h a t w h e n y o u c a n
e m p a t h i s e w i t h y o u r p a t i e n t s , t h a t i s t h e
m o s t p o w e r f u l h e a l i n g w o r k t h a t y o u c a n
d o , w h a t d o y o u t h i n k ? ”
N i a l : “ I t h i n k i t h e l p s a s I s t i l l c a n
r e m e m b e r r e a l l y s u f f e r i n g a n d f e e l i n g a
s o r t o f e n e r g e t i c d e p r e s s i o n . H o w e v e r , I
w o u l d n o t h a v e w i s h e d t h e d i s e a s e o n
m y s e l f a s a w a y o f b e i n g a b l e t o h e l p
o t h e r s ! P e o p l e , f a m i l y m e m b e r s , d o c t o r s i n
g e n e r a l d i d n o t u n d e r s t a n d w h y y o u w e r e
t i r e d , a n d I s t i l l r e m e m b e r t h i s - “ I t ´ s a l l i n
y o u r m i n d , y o u a r e n o t i l l ! ”
“ I r o n i c a l l y , t h e m i n d d o e s h a v e a h u g e
i m p a c t h e r e , b u t i t i s n o t w h a t p e o p l e w e r e
r e f e r r i n g t o - a s i n i t i s t h e w a y “ m y m i n d ' s
t h o u g h t s ” g o t i n t o a c h a i n o f n e g a t i v e
t h o u g h t s a b o u t l i f e , m y t i r e d n e s s - c a u s i n g a
v i c i o u s c i r c l e e t c e t c . I h e l p p e o p l e l e a r n
t o b o o s t t h e i r e n e r g y q u i c k l y , s o t h e y f e e l
b e t t e r , t h e n w e f o c u s o n t h e i r t h o u g h t
s y s t e m . ”
R i c h a r d : “ I a m c u r i o u s t o k n o w w h a t y o u r
a p p r o a c h i s t o l i f e ? H o w d o y o u m e n t a l l y
a n d p h y s i c a l l y p r e p a r e y o u r s e l f t o g e t
t h r o u g h r e a l l y t o u g h c h a l l e n g e s ? ”
N i a l : “ M y m a i n p i l a r i s t h e b r e a t h w o r k a n d
t h e T h r e e P r i n c i p l e s . I n o w u n d e r s t a n d
t h a t I w i l l g e t i n l o w s t a t e s o f t h o u g h t s ,
b u t t h a t t h e s e b a d t h o u g h t s a n d t h e
s u b s e q u e n t l o w m o o d s w i l l p a s s . A l s o , t h a t
w h e n I a m d o w n , I a m m y v e r y o w n w o r s t
e n e m y i f I a c t o u t t h e s e l o w v i b r a t i o n a l
t h o u g h t s ! M y p e r s o n a l t h o u g h t s , w h e n
l i s t e n e d t o a n d b e l i e v e d , d o m o r e h a r m t o
m e t h a n a n y o n e h a s e v e r b e e n a b l e t o d o
t o m e . T h i s a p p l i e s t o e v e r y o n e - a l l h u m a n
b e i n g s . ”
R i c h a r d : “ W o r k i n g i n a l t e r n a t i v e h e a l t h
c a n b e q u i t e c h a l l e n g i n g b e c a u s e p e o p l e
h a v e t o b e o p e n - m i n d e d t o n e w w a y s o f
h e a l i n g a n d n e w f o r m s o f m e d i c i n e . D o y o u
h a v e a n y a d v i c e f o r p e o p l e w h o a r e
t h i n k i n g a b o u t t r y i n g o u t a l t e r n a t i v e
t h e r a p i e s f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e ?
N i a l : “ I w a s t o t a l l y o p p o s e d t o a l t e r n a t i v e
h e a l i n g t h e r a p i e s b e f o r e I s t a r t e d Q i g o n g

a n d t a i c h i .
I p l a y e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e v e l s p o r t f o r
E n g l a n d , a n d d e v e l o p e d a h a m s t r i n g i n j u r y ,
t h a t a f t e r s u r g e r y n e v e r h e a l e d . A d d e d t o
t h i s , s o m e p e r s o n a l f a m i l y i s s u e s , a n d I f e l l
i n t o a n e g a t i v e l i f e s t y l e . ”
“ I t w a s o n l y w h e n I t r i e d T a i c h i a n d
A c u p u n c t u r e t h a t I i m m e d i a t e l y f e l t s o m e
r e l i e f . T h a t g o t m e o n t h i s p a t h . B e f o r e
t h i s I b e l i e v e d t o t a l l y i n W e s t e r n
M e d i c i n e ! I h a v e h a d c l o s e r e l a t i v e s w h o
a r e a n d w e r e W e s t e r n D o c t o r s . I o f f e r
p e o p l e t h e f i r s t t h e r a p y s e s s i o n f o r a n
h o u r a n d a q u a r t e r o r a c l a s s f r e e t o t r y . I f
y o u l i k e i t g r e a t , i f n o t , a t l e a s t y o u d i d n o t
w a s t e a n y m o n e y ! ”
“ I a l s o o f f e r a f f o r d a b l e h e a l t h c a r e a t
E u r o s 4 0 p e r s e s s i o n . F u r t h e r m o r e , f o r t h e
o n l i n e c o m m u n i t y w h o c a n n o t t r a v e l t o
V a l e n c i a C a p i t a l , s k y p e s e s s i o n s c a n b e
a r r a n g e d , a n d w o r k s u r p r i s i n g l y w e l l . ”
R i c h a r d : “ T h a n k y o u N i a l . I a m l o o k i n g
f o r w a r d t o t r y i n g o u t y o u r Q i g o n g c l a s s e s
n e x t w e e k a n d d i s c o v e r i n g m o r e a b o u t
y o u r e n e r g y h e a l i n g m e t h o d s . ”
Above: Nial, Founder of SAWAlternative Healing Valencia
“It was only
when I tried
Tai chi and
Acupuncture
that I
immediately
felt some relief.
That got me on
this path."
https://www.facebook.com/NialSAWAlternativeHealingValencia

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