Pep Talk

Questions are being asked in Villajoyosa council about loopholes in recruitment ,allowing dishonest people to be employed.

The council in Villajoyosa is a PP council and socialist opposition were seeking a viewing of documents concerned with the recruitment of three men who have been discovered taking parts from cars in a municipal compound for cars which have been towed away,dumped or damaged in accidents.

The three were seen by a woman who was collecting her car from the compound.She took photos of them placing parts of her car in a council van.She later identified the men from council record sheets.She said that the men looked like scrap metal merchants stripping her car which had been impounded for a minor traffic offence.It appears now that there was a systematic and organised spare parts business going on.

The three men have been questioned and allowed bail pending further investigations as to whether the parts were for trading or private usage.It appears that one of the accused is the brother of a PP councillor.

The council in Alfaz del Pi has an Equality Policy and now the police is publishing a guide for residents which reinforces and supports that policy in terms of gender violence .

The guide has been made official and released to the public by the local police representitive and the deputy Mayor.These are the two people with overall responsibility for the issues in the town .It is the first such document to be published and it supplies details of the resources available to women ( and often men) who have been or are being subjected to forms of abuse,sexual aggression and sexual harassment in the workplace.

There is advice in the seventy section booklet on a wide variety of issues that may help and assist people involved.It also includes lots of practical advice such as telephone numbers of those who can help.

It is common for a woman to endure many years of such abuse before she takes action.Most women believe,and hope,that their partners will change ,as they often promise to do .Many women believe it is part of the cross that they have to bear in marriage and that you just stay quiet about it .It is changing these attitudes that is part of the role of education in Spain.

When cars are taken by the police and placed in the municipal pound in Villajoyosa on the Costa Blanca,then you expect them to be in one piece when you collect them.Not so.The Villajoyosa police have started an investigation into the possible theft of car parts from the pound.The case came to the fore when a woman who was collecting her car saw men taking parts and placing them in a van belonging to the local council.She recorded their activities and then called the police.The suspects were identified and then interviewed by the police.The police now have to ascertain whether the men ,who work for the technical department of the council,were taking the parts for their own use or whether they intended to sell them on.

Last week the body of a woman was discovered near Pedreguer and then the body of a man was discovered in a road in Aigues.The police are carrying out two investigations.The man was a 74 year old Dutch man .He was found in a pool of blood near his villa.He did suffer from a heart condition and it is thought that he may have collapsed and hit his head.The death is not being treated as suspicious.

The woman was from Javea and had been reported missing .A police helicopter spotted her body at a Pedreguer beauty spot.She had been walking in a mountainous area near the town.

Over the last 12 months the Palau Altea has attracted the largest audiences of all CTV theatre circuit venues in the Valencia region .These figures were released by the culture councillor in Altea.There was an average of almost 600 people attending musical and theatre performances in 2008,nearly 16,000 people over the year.The Palau Altea tries very hard to keep entrance fees low and the average ticket is about 9 euros .The excellent facilities are also an attraction.

At around 4am a man died near Villajoyosa after being hit by a train.

It seems that the man was walking along a railway track between the stops for Villajoyosa hospital and Finestrat,when the train hit him.The train was travelling from Alicante to Denia.

The accident happened about 400 metres from the hospitalin an area where the track is fenced off and closed ,although there is thought to be enough space to avoid being hit by a train.The reality is that all adults should know that it is a pretty dangerous thing to be walking along a railway track at any time of the day or night.Authorities cannot be responsible for the stupidity or the drunken state of adults.Children who are brought up near railway lines should be taught from a very early age that they stay away from such places .Those who choose to ignore parental warnings have to live or die because of the consequences.

The dead man ,who is thought to be in his thirties ,has not yet been identified.

San Juan has come and gone in Valencia .The beaches were crowded at night with partygoers making fires,jumping over them to make wishes and then jumping into the waves to wash away their woes.The 23 of June is San Juan and along the Costas the same sort of thing would be going on .This is the fiesta of fireworks and fires.It is the summer’s answer to the Fallas and the whole of the Costas are truly” fired up”.It is Spains most popular beach party.In Valencia the main beach had a huge stage which produced loud music way into the night.Thousands of heads bobbed in the sea,volleyball games went on into the night.It was truly a massive affair .The age range is enormous and the older generation and the very young just start earlier and go home between 1am and 2 am but the middle range might stay until dawn.

In the Palau de les Artes Reina Sofia in the City of Arts and Sciences a Catalan company La Fura dels Baus will be performing extracts from the four Wagner operasthat make up the Ring  but it will be outside and not inside the opera house.Those who pay it a visit will be given a spectacular display of lighting and special effects.

Fernando Alonso thinks that F1 is finished.His views have been voiced also by Jackie Stewart.They both say that capping the monies which private companies decide to spend on the racing is up to them and should not be decided by others.The bad news for Valencia is that the race this year will more than likely take place in Jerez de la Frontera.The decision all depends on the rival FI group FOTO .

August 7 is the deadline date for the Swiss America’s Cup syndicate to announce the location of the 33rd one on one America’s Cup match.They have just released a picture of the dimensions of the vessel which is currently being prepared in order to take on the dual against BMW Oracle.Valencia would be ready for them.