SWAN LAKE was an enormous success in Almuñecar. The only staging of the ballet to be held in Andalucia was completely sold out for both performances at the Casa de la Cultura by the Moscow Ballet company.

The ballet in four acts lasted two-and-a-half hours and the illumination, costumes and choreography transported the audience into the ‘magical’ scenery as the story unfolded.

The dancers, who all came from Russia, and the two soloists from Moldavia, performed with the same discipline and technical quality characteristic of the Russian School of Ballet, receiving standing ovations at the end of both performances.

THE cycling school of Almuñecar has attained good positions in the Provincial Circuit. During the fourth trials held in Churriana de la Vega the cyclists won medals in numerous categories, according to the co-ordinator, Francisco Alvarez. 

Jose Maria Herrerro was triumphant in the men’s two kilometre race and for the women, Isabel Rodriguez led the way with her team mate, Andrea Garcia in second place.

In the one kilometre trial, Francisco Alvarez was fifth and behind him were Francisco Lopez, Rafael Barbero and Angel Ruiz.

In second and third place for the women were Carmen Manzano y Hada Maria Aragon, respectively.

In the under 18s there were so many participants that the race was held in two lots, and it was Antonio Herrero who came in 15^th. In the under 14s, Carlos Rodriguez, showed his rivals his strength and crossed the finishing line alone.

The 11 to 12-year-old group did not have so much luck. After 10 circuits Manuel Barbero and Javier Barranquero took 15^th and 17^th position respectively. For the female category, Yasmina Boto was fifth.

Finally in the gymkhana, Andres Rodriguez came in third place while his team mates Micael Aragon was fifth followed by Pablo Peralta, Manuel Peralta y Daniel Jeronimo.

The best female classifications were Aixia Manzano and Leire Ruiz in sixth and seventh place.

Now all the cyclists from the Almuñecar school are preparing for the fifth test on the calendar which will take place in La Zubia.

A BOLT of lightning struck a rooftop in Velez-Malaga during an electrical storm yesterday.

The noise was so loud that people living in the area thought there had been a bomb explosion.

The incident occurred around 5.15pm yesterday when lightning struck the roof of a four-storey building in calle del Rio and entered the penthouse apartment via a television aerial. No-one was hurt fortunately, but serious damage was caused to various electrical appliances, including his television, and burning a hole in the the ceiling. Some of the debris fell into the road below.

The owner of the flat, Jose Luis Garcia, was inside when the lightning struck working at his computer.

He said he heard a loud noise and afterwards he noticed the smell of burning. He ran out into the street and contacted the fire service who immediately sent two fire appliances to the scene.

The mayor, Francisco Delgado Bonilla, said that everyone in the area had suffered a great shock and were all nervous but praised the quick action of the Local police and fire service.

Council technicians and the fire brigade have carried out a temporary repair to the building which is still structurally sound despite the impact.

It rained heavily all day yesterday in the Axarquía district of the province of Malaga, and thunder and lightning came directly overhead in the town of Velez-Malaga.

NERJA continues to be a popular location for film makers.

During 2012 a total of 12 television, film, video and advertising campaigns chose Nerja as their scenic backdrop. This year has already seen the arrival of around 40 cast and crew for a production for a multi-national company and following them will be a group shooting for a French fashion catalogue. The town hall says it has received more applications for permission to film in the town. The council added that it is all good publicity.

AXARQUIA Animal Rescue is a small group of volunteers dedicated to helping and rehoming animals in crisis in the Axarquia region. 

HOMES NEEDED!

Gino was rescued during terrible storms and is eight weeks old.

Jessie is four weeks old and was found in a bin.

Jambo has been hand-reared since being rescued after his mother was poisoned and died, and is nine weeks old.

Bonnie and Blaize (B&B) are approximately eight weeks old and were also found in bins.

They are all currently in foster homes and will soon be starting their vaccinations.

They have had such a bad start to life, can you give them the forever home they deserve?

They will reward you a million times over with lots of love and affection.

Find out more information at www.axarquianimalrescue.com, where more animals are listed who are looking for homes.

Nerja yes to parking bid

NERJA Council has awarded a tender to build an underground car park in Burriana to a consortium that bid €2.5 million. The 200 place car park should take 18 months to build.

Need a lift

THE mayor of Nerja has called on the regional government to install a lift at the town’s health centre, which suffers from chronic access problems as a result of unfinished building work.

Catastrophe

COUNCILLORS in both Almáchar and El Borge have voted to ask the central government to grant them state aid as areas afflicted by natural catastrophe. They have also asked the Provincial Council and regional government for help.

Lamb plan

ROAST suckling lamb from Canillas de Aceituno could be on the menu in EU countries after proving a hit in the rest of Spain. A local business has secured distributors in Holland, Belgium and Denmark for the ready-to-eat dish.

Green lesson

SCHOOLCHILDREN in a Vélez-Málaga primary school have received a crash course in recycling from the provincial environmental delegate so that they know the difference between blue, green and yellow containers.

Given funds

LOCAL associations and NGOs in Vélez-Málaga will receive €57,000 in council grants. The town hall will allocate €15,000 to the non-governmental organisations and the remainder to the collectives.

Cave saved

WORK to protect 30,000-year-old cave paintings at the Cueva del Tesoro in Rincón de la Victoria will be finished by the summer. A further €75,000 has been allocated to fight fungus in the cave, the mayor said.

Lights out

AT LEAST €74,000 of electricity will be saved by Vélez-Málaga Council following a decision to use less street lighting. Parks and council buildings will have less lighting and the Christmas lights will also be more frugal.

Police quiz

OPPOSITION groups in Torrox want an investigation into what they claim are illegal police contracts that have led to the existence of a ‘parallel force’ in the Proteccion Local control.

Tourist plan

THE association of local municipalities is setting up a body to coordinate quality control for tourism related industries in Axarquia.

Landfill seal

A LANDFILL site near Sayalonga is to be sealed, while mountain sides facing roads are to be vaulted to prevent rock slides. The Provincial Council has put the plans to tender and has a budget of €580,000.

Road repair

THE Provincial Council has allocated €1.2 million for improvements to a three kilometre stretch of road from Rincón de la Victoria to Macharaviaya.

Xmas gift

MORE than 8,000 temporary work contracts will be signed during Christmas in Malaga province and 35,000 in Andalucia, a study by Randstad recruitment agency said.

Cash boost

UP to €47 million will be invested in 2013 by Malaga city hall, out of which €6 million will be used on the AVE railway works, the Tabacalera building and the Port promenade.

Local food

REGIONAL gastronomy will be promoted through the Sabor a Malaga campaign and trade show on December 6-9, both organised by the Malaga government.

In the red

A PLEA to delay payments of the €800,000 annual royalty has been made by the company managing Malaga’s Muelle Uno Port promenade, reportedly in the red.

Building cost

MAINTENANCE expenses of Malaga´s town planning building have doubled to €800,000 a year after it was split into five separate offices, the city´s works council said.

Clean up

THE Malaga City Hall would save €12 million a year if the public cleaning company Limasa was made fully public, the local IU party said.

Staying put

SOLAR panel manufacturer Isofoton, headquartered in Malaga, is not planning to leave the city and will invest on international exports, CEO Angel Serrano said.

Sell kiosks

THE €200,000 kiosks that the city hall installed in Malaga to collect citizens’ opinions are considered “useless” by the local IU party “and they should be sold.”

Eviction stopped
AROUND 300 members of local association PAH stopped police from evicting a disabled woman from her home in Malaga’s Palma-Palmilla area.

LOCALS will be relieved that the weather forecast for the coming weekend in the Axarquia and Costa Tropical area does not include rain.

Axarquia was left battered and bruised after another bout of floods last weekend. The MA-3112 from Almachar to Velez-Malaga had to be closed, and taps ran dry in El Borge and parts of Comares after pipes were damaged. At the time of going to press, the water supply had still not been restored.

In the Nerja area a wall in the sports centre collapsed and the premises were flooded. The Maro beach road was eroded creating several large potholes, and parts of the rock wall surrounding the Hotel Avalon collapsed.

Meanwhile in Almuñecar more than 100 litres per m2 more of rain than last year has already fallen. Rainfalls have been considered by experts and farmers as very positive for subtropical fruits and cropss in general.

Since September, it has rained a total of 350 litres per square metre. While in 2011 the overall figures were 287 litres, this year 400 litres have been recorded in two and a half months. In Malaga city 2,000 and 3,000 insurance claims are expected after 112 litres per square metre fell in three and a half hours last Saturday.

Some of the worst affected areas in the city included Ciudad Jardin, El Limonar and Los Asperones. El Palo, Carretera de Cadiz and the city centre also sustained flood damages. A small tornado was reportedly spotted near Malaga Airport.

SHEPHERDS claim that their animals are being targeted by criminals, with one in Nerja losing his entire flock to the thieves. The unprecedented crime spree is causing so much concern that farmers are openly speculating about the possibility of organising ‘citizens’ patrols’ as has happened in other parts of Malaga province.

Farmers have already suffered a spate of robberies during the mango harvest and are now fearful about the forthcoming olive and artichoke harvests. They would like laws regarding petty theft to be toughened up as those accused of stealing goods worth less than €300 suffer a mere slap on the wrist. There has been a 20 per cent increase in such crimes in the past year. The farmers say that criminal gangs are recruiting unemployed people to sell the stolen goods at street markets or door to door.

Representatives from farming groups have met with the police in Vélez-Málaga to demand action. Antonio Rodríguez of the COAG farmers’ union said the problem was widespread and that the countryside was being forgotten about by the authorities such as the case of the shepherd in Nerja who had his flock of 50 sheep stolen.

He said: “Inland in Malaga province, there are farmers who have had sheep, goats and pigs stolen. We have passed this information on to the relevant authorities. “We’ve been hearing promises for years but they are never fulfilled. We farmers and ranchers are always abandoned by the authorities.”

Farming representatives argue that the authorities ignore agriculture at their peril and seem to be oblivious to the job creation potential of a sector that was once the lifeblood of Axarquia.

BOYZONE singer Mikey Graham lost €110,000 on the sale of his Spanish holiday home.

The 40-year-old sold the four-bedroom villa in the Axarquia area to a family from Manchester for €215,000. Included in the price was all the furniture, a 4x4 Nissan and one of his guitars.

His wife reportedly bought it for him six-and-a-half-years ago for €325,000 without him seeing it. They only used is a few weeks a year.

GLOBAL warming is turning the Axarquia into the tropical orchard of Europe.

That means that farmers in the region could soon be growing high value tropical fruits such as lychees and longans to export all round the world, claim scientists.

La Mayora institute for investigating tropical fruit has been growing different varieties of the fruit trees at its Algarrobo experimental plantation. Now they have come up with the perfect varieties for local farmers to grow.

The professor in charge of the study, Iñaki Hormaza, explained that in the past farmers experimenting with lychees had grown the wrong variety for the area. But he explained that longans, a South Asian fruit, might be the perfect tree to plant as they bear a large, all year round crop.

Plus they are high value and much sought after in Vietnam. In the USA they fetch between five and seven euros a kilo.