Comment August 2018 Soltalk

Hello and welcome to the August edition of Soltalk! What a busy month it’s been. So much in the news and it almost always seems to be bad, so when the story of the 12 boys and their coach trapped deep in Thai caves hit the news, it really appeared to grip everyone’s attention. And aside from the tragic death of one of the would-be rescuers it seemed too much to hope that they would all get out safely and as quickly as they did. I did wonder how well they would have coped if they had been of a different nationality, they seemed so calm and accepting of their plight. After they were freed I read that they had pledged to dedicate their lives to become worthy of the man who died trying to save them. It did bring a tear to my eye I admit.

Closer to home and I admit I was hoping for a reprieve from the heat when I booked two weeks in the UK last month! Oh well who knew it would end up being 4 degrees hotter where I was than in Nerja on several days! Let us just hope that the weather breaks and they get some much needed rain in the south of the UK soon!

I’ve just read that a certain no-frills airline, which I refuse to name on the grounds that I would not give them free publicity, are cancelling 400 flights this week, 24 of them to Málaga. So if you are reading this issue of Soltalk online because your flight to Málaga was cancelled – you have my sympathy. Apparently the cancellations are due to strikes by airline cabin crews’ unions in Spain, Portugal and Belgium. The strikes are over pay and working conditions.

Here in Nerja animal charity APA NERJA – Estacion Esperanza who since they started in 2015 have rehomed 800 dogs (!) now find themselves being evicted from their premises. This means that they only way they can help animals at the moment is with the help of fosterers. If you can help by offering a dog a permanent or even a temporary home, please get in touch with them via facebook or email: apanerja2015@gmail.com. You can also get in touch with them via their shop (pictured) on Calle Chaparil, Nerja just down the road from Clinica San Fernando vet, on the opposite side of the street. The shop has loads of clothing, books and household items on offer so even if you can’t help by fostering you could donate goods or buy something if you would like to assist. I spoke to Laura at APA just before we went to print and she told me that a demonstration at the Town Hall was planned for Saturday 28 July so we hope that went well and they are given an alternative location for their kennels very soon.

And finally, rubbish! Every summer I see confused tourists with armfuls of rubbish staring at the array of bins! So if you are new to the area, the metal bins with handles which swing up, and the green bins are for normal rubbish. These are emptied daily and you are asked not to put rubbish in them until after 10pm although many disregard that. Yellow bins are for plastic bottles, green dome shaped bins are for glass and blue bins are for paper and cardboard. Happy recycling!

We hope you enjoy August. By the way, August 15 is a national holiday in Spain – the Assumption of Mary.

SARAH BROOKES