News Letter May 2016

Dear Members 10th May 2016 I hope this letter finds you all healthy and happy. The Plans for this years “Summer Party “ are under way and you will shortly be receiving your invitations for this event. Please keep an eye on your e-mail boxes as this is a free event funded by the Vecinos Asociacion and a chance for you to meet your neighbour’s in a casual and relaxed environment.. If you know of any neighbour’s who are not members of the association – then please encourage them to join by either contacting me directly or there is a membership form on our excellent website listed above. Sadly, along with the beautiful weather comes a resultant product of Nature. We are currently at Level 3 of a 4 level alert of water shortage in our area due to the lack of rain over the last 3 years. The reservoirs are at their lowest for decades and whilst the rest of Spain maintains high levels of water – Marina Baixa is in fact one of the 3 driest places in the world. Already in Jalon water is being cut off to houses as it is “not fit for human use” due to the high Aluminum levels in the water – caused by the water coming from the bottom of the “embalses”. It is a desperate situation and car washing stations are beginning to close and there is talk of “limiting” water usage to 100m3 per month to all chalets and house should we get to the last level – 4 – which at the moment seems highly likely. Passing this amount will result in a fine – it is that bad. Use of water should be restricted wherever possible in all houses from now on and if you see a neighbour with a hose on, wasting water please advise them that there is a real problem they may not know that the problem exists. A consequence of the dryness we are experiencing at the moment is also an increased risk of Fire in the Area, so please take extra care when extinguishing any form of open match, fire or barbeque – Pine roots can transfer flames underground a long way and whilst not indigenous here there are a lot of them. We have been asked by the Ayuntamiento to ask our membership to sign on to the Padron in Altea or Altea La Vella. It is a very simple procedure where you take your passport and your NIE number and register with them. That’s it! As simple as that – it means that the Ayuntamiento will be able to claim extra money from Central Government which ultimately goes back into repairing and cleaning roads and other “Council Tasks”. It is not a census or something to “catch you out” but it gains very much needed funds for the locality. Lastly, In Altea Social Centre, just next to the bridge over the railway in the centre of Altea, there is an “Intercambio” on Mondays and Fridays between 18.00-21.00hrs. This is a fun way to improve your Spanish and help Spanish people improve their English but of course it is open to all nationalities. It is conversational and involves sitting with 3 others at a table and “chatting” firstly in one language for 15/20 mins then in the other language it is free and if you have never been there they run lots of other courses throughout the week so pop in and have a look. Thank you for your patience, If you have anything that you think would be relevant to any of us here in the Sierra’s or wish us to bring something up in our meeting then please let me know. I look forward to seeing you at the Summer Ball. Best Regards Matthew King Secretary