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The
Olympic Games are shortly coming to Nerja according to one visitor.
Having seen the great deal
of work taking place on Burriana beach with the removal of all of the
sun beds, umbrellas, pedaloes and other assorted items, plus the
cutting down of nearly all of the trees, the curious holidaymaker
asked one of the council employees what was going on exactly. The
reply was forthcoming that it was, “Preparación para limpiar,”
(preparation for cleaning) which led to Richard at the Café del Mar
being told of the imminent and prestigious sporting event by the ‘well
informed’ customer later on in the day.
As reported in
November, these works are all part of a two-year plan that the
councillor for beaches, Jonathan Mendez, has for the beach. In an
exclusive interview then he told me: “It is my intention to make
the area much more attractive in looks than it is at the present
time. There are many possibilities available to me in my capacity
as councillor |
A bare Burriana |
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Councillor Ménedez
visits work in progress |
for
beaches and one of those receiving my full support is the general
idea that Burriana beach should be kept as natural as possible, in
every aspect.”
I met Sr Mendez again
last month when the work “in preparation for cleaning” was well
under way. “This stage of the work will be finished by Easter” he
told me. Rather than large areas given over to the cultivation of
a mixture of trees and plants I want to see natural small oases of
vegetation along the sands. At the same time the whole of the
beach is being given a huge general clean up, especially important
following the September storm.
“Once this has been
completed, and a lot of the beach furniture has been replaced,
there will be more of a natural and uniform appearance to the
area, and it will be easier to maintain on an ongoing basis. This
is only the beginning. Bit by bit the beach is going to be brought
up to a much higher standard in many ways, but this will be a slow
process.”
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| A large rock
crashed over 30 feet down onto the pavement at the far western end
of the beach, near the Parador, in January. (Pictured right)
Weighing over 300
pounds, the consequences could have been fatal but fortunately
no-one was in the vicinity at the time. This area was the subject
of extensive cliff strengthening work recently and the fall has
brought into question the effectiveness of the long and expensive
operation.
Despite nearly
halving the spending budget for investment in the town for 2008,
Nerja’s town hall has listed one of their priorities for the
forthcoming year as being the provision of an underground car park
for the Burriana area.
Exactly where it
will be situated (if it ever materialises) remains to be seen but
the favourite site appears to be on the parking area at the bottom
of Calle Vélez Málaga. This area was almost completely swept away
in the September 21 floods and was only restored and levelled off
in the middle of January.
A car crashed
nearby at the bottom of Calle Filipinas and for whatever reasons
the occupants |
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Kyle, the Guardia
recruit |
decided to flee from the incident, hotly pursued by members of the
Guardia Civil who happened to be in the area at the time.
Lee and Linda’s son
Kyle, from The Black Horse, was one of the first people on the
scene and he was temporarily recruited by the police to direct the
traffic away from the accident. Linda said of the youngest member
of the force: – “It was a great experience for him – he has always
wanted to be a policeman!”
On February 14 the
couple are hosting a special Valentine’s four course dinner,
starting at 7pm. “There will be a choice of three starters, main
courses and sweets, followed by coffee and chocolates, and there
only a few places left – it has proved to be a very popular idea,”
said Lee.
At the time of
going to press Tony, Gill and Mike at Woolley’s Bitter and Twisted
hadn’t made up their minds whether the 14th would be a “love free
zone” or not at the restaurant. “Because of a football match we
declared ourselves just that last year”, said Gill, “and there is
a game on this year too. We’ll be making a decision shortly which
way we’re going on this and put the information up on the boards
as soon as we do.” |
| One thing is
certain at this popular venue and that is it is really a must to
book your table for their renowned Sunday lunches. People come
from miles around to sample the fare being produced by Scott and
Sam in the kitchen, and Gill’s gravy is, quite simply, in a league
of its own.
At All That Jazz
the Boxing Day evening buffet was a packed out repeat of the
successes of previous years and the cabaret artistes once again
brought the affair to a hilarious climax. Sandy Lawrence
entertained before and after the ‘guest appearances’ and the
dancing went on into the small hours.
There is a strong likelihood of a surprise celebrity appearance at
the venue on Valentine’s night. Sandy and Marc will again be
putting on a special menu for the occasion, along the lines of the
successful New Year’s Eve format, and bookings are essential for
what promises to be another memorable evening.
Another venue with a proven track record for rising to the
occasion when notable dates occur is Café del Mar. Richard and
John are once again providing their special February 14 romantic
dinner, and full details along with availability can be obtained
by contacting either of them on (+34) 606 018 981 or (+34) 626 122
633. |
Sandy Lawrence
at All That Jazz on Boxing Day |
Simon and Matt at H20 said
farewell to Baron recently. After two and a half years as bar manager
at the venue he has moved to work out of Nerja. “We would like to
thank Baron for all of his support during this time,” said Matt “and
we all wish him every success and happiness in the future.”
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This
month’s blast from the past is provided by the cover of a magazine
in circulation during the seventies. The publication was based
around one of Nerja’s largest ‘home in the sun’ developments and
as the photo shows things were rather different then – and those
sun-beds were probably the most uncomfortable items of beach
furniture ever inflicted on an unsuspecting general public. If you
have got any old photos or material connected with Burriana and
would like to share them with Soltalk readers please get in
contact with us. All items will be returned unharmed and with the
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minimum of delay.
And almost finally – the phrase that ends in the words “… from a
great height” came to mind when the owner of this vehicle returned
after a few days break over the holiday period.
Visibility through
the windscreen was almost zero thanks to the local avian residents
of two nearby trees and by the time things were cleaned up a bit
the unfortunate driver was late for work in the kitchen of one of
Burriana’s restaurants. |
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Luck of a better kind came to Dani from Sands a couple of days after
Christmas. A horse called Axis Shield was running in a race being
shown in the restaurant and for some reason it caught the waiter’s
eye. A quick €4 bet was placed and odds of 553/1 were given on the
animal, which was generally considered to be a no-hoper. How wrong
indeed.
The finishing line
battle with the favourite in the race went the way of Dani’s
selection and, over €2,200 better off, it is no wonder that 2007
will be a Christmas that he will not forget in a hurry.
After an active Christmas season, Sands is now all geared up with
a winter menu and their very popular traditional Sunday roast. A
new introduction is the early bird dinner, served between 6 -
7.30pm which gives 20 per cent off the entire bill – an
irresistible offer and you might even pick up a few racing tips.
And finally, a girl
with a need! Kirsty (pictured right) from Blue Med was watching
Family Fortunes recently and when game show host Vernon Kay posed
the question “Name a part of the body beginning with the letter
‘N’ she enthusiastically called out her answer - and hasn’t lived
it down ever since …
... in fact, she’s
bitten her “nuckles” to the bone. |
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