Huddersfield ex-pat BRIAN HAYHURST reports from his home near Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol
Some high winds last week and brief showers did not deter the thousands of revellers during the annual Fuengirola Feria.
But later we had some very heavy downpours, flooding the entrance to Puerto Banus and the main A7 circling Marbella, causing havoc and chaos.
Even so, that was not enough to start rivers flowing into the parched, critically low reservoirs throughout Andalucia.
The growth of tourism on the Costa del Sol continues, bringing with it multi-national numbers, causing problems of parking and overcrowded roads within each municipality.
Towns along all of the Costas are gearing up to introduce the much discussed low emission zones – LEZ (ZBE in Spanish).
Places with over 50,000 residents are at different stages, way behind Estepona, the first to get the restrictions underway last year and are steadily introducing fines for heavy polluting vehicles and preventing ‘B’ labelled vehicles from entering the zone boundaries.
It’s looking like each Town Hall is taking time to consider older cars owned by elderly residents and access by deliveries, taxis and other necessary vehicles.
Malaga hopes to remove up 20% of heavy polluting vehicles in the early years, allowing vehicles showing their Eco or ‘C’ group sticker free to enter.
It’s going to be a lengthy process but it is definitely going to happen, with possible hefty fines. Last year we paid a taxi driver extra for the LEZ fee to travel through Bradford en-route to Leeds Bradford Airport.
This week we were invited to the El Chaparral Golf Club Green Label restaurant along with many others to celebrate the 80th birthday of a leading Huddersfield sportsman who has made many friends here over 24 years – Jeff Parkin (above).
A former bricklayer/builder from Stoke-on-Trent, Jeff met his wife Christine and they moved to Huddersfield where Chrissy, a former ladies squash champion in Kirklees, set up a successful hair salon business in Rawthorpe.
They bought a villa 30 years ago in Torrenueva which needed much work. Jeff installed a pool, totally renovated the property and created an apartment below, battling by hand with tree roots and tons of boulders.
Jeff and Christine had a son called Steve. It was indeed a desperately sad time for Jeff, family and friends when they both passed away here on the Costa some years ago.
Jeff, an incredible multi sportsman played rugby for the YMCA 1st team for 10 years, he then went on to play tennis at a high level, and the natural follow on was to play squash, when he became the Yorkshire Veterans Champion several times, and County 1st team player.
His love of sport beckoned him to golf where he won many trophies and for a decade was a senior marshal at a leading Marbella golf club.
Padel was another sport he mastered over 10 years. He now plays this ever popular game three times weekly here with several Huddersfield players, all are eager to try and beat the tenacious Jeff every session!
The growing group includes Peter Emsell, chairman of Huddersfield Lawn Tennis Club, who instigated the installation of the first covered padel courts in the UK, and Graham Stacey with his wife Val, are founders of the Phoenix Squash Club, Honley. They are pictured (main image, top) with Jeff and the other Huddersfield guests at his party.
And finally – the proposed November introduction of the EES (Entry/Exit System) may be pushed back and is now likely to be after Christmas due to some countries being not quite ready.
And the wild boar situation worsens, and there are indications they carry diseases.
READ MORE: Catch up on Brian’s previous blogs HERE
