News

2017-03-11 08:00:00

SUR in English’s panel of judges faced another difficult task earlier this month when it came to selecting work by students for publication in this special Education and Learning supplement. This year ten schools from Añoreta to Sotogrande answered this newspaper’s call to submit work by primary and secondary pupils in three categories: art, poetry and written reviews.

Winners in each category, as well as runners-up and others deserving of a special mention, were selected by a panel of judges formed by artist George Kowzan, poet and translator, Álvaro García, former editor of SUR in English, Liz Parry, and the newspaper’s current editor Rachel Haynes.

In the art section, Kowzan, whose murals are now decorating numerous walls around Malaga, stressed the high standard of the work submitted, making the judging very difficult. “I had eight on my shortlist to get down to three,” he said, referring to the secondary works.

 
Poet Álvaro García, who has translated poetry by writers such as Edward Lear, T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, Philip Larkin, Kenneth White, D. M. Thomas and Margaret Atwood into Spanish, as well as publishing his own work, commented that as in previous years, he was especially impressed by the primary poems.

“The poems by the younger children are the best,” he said, adding that as children turn into young adults, their poetry loses some of its innocence.

As in the previous year, the budding poets were asked to based their writing on two nouns, one abstract and one concrete.

Writers were asked this year to send in a review of a book, film or play. Liz Parry pointed out that what she looked for in a review was “engaging critical assessment rather than mere summary of the plot”, with enough information to let readers decide whether or not they want to read the book or watch the film and of course with “no spoilers”.

Winning primary artwork. / Luis Denis González de Vega, age 10, Sunny View School.
Artwork winners

Despite the incredibly high standard, the judges chose Luis Denis González de Vega (aged 10, Sunny View School) as the primary winner for artwork. George Kowzan referred to this as a fauvist landscape. “Just joyous” were the words he used to describe how the painting made him feel. “It lifts your spirits,” he added. “These are really, really strong colours. It is well composed, with purple and blue in the background, sending the colours off into the distance but then you’ve got this lovely orange sky”.

“I’d have that on my wall,” he concluded.

The judges did not know whether the student had been learning about fauvist art or whether his choice of colour was coincidental with the style.

George explained how fauvist art was a movement at the same time as impressionism. “They were called the wild beasts,” he said, adding that the paintings were identified by the super bright, bold colours. "They’re unnatural colours that show you are painting with the soul as well.”

As for the winning secondary entry, by Loreto Villegas (age 14, Sotogrande International School), he said: "There’s a great feeling of hardship and struggle here."

Winning secondary artwork. / Loreto Villegas, age 14, Sotogrande International School.
“You’ve got the bent backs of the people struggling with their meagre possessions. The black and white makes it even more powerful - there’s no joy, no colour.

“The last child figure shows total despair - the bending of the back and the positioning of the eye. The child’s on the verge of giving up, ready to drop.

“It’s very, very evocative; an extremely powerful piece of work. I loved it,” said the artist.

George discussed the technique used, lino cut. The white marks have been gouged out of the linoleum. “You can see the marks of the tool,” he said.

The judges discussed how the painting depicted the struggle of refugees fleeing from any of the crises, past or present, in the world.source surinenglish

2017-03-10 06:00:00

Last summer the Gorham's Cave complex was classified as a World Heritage Site and now new viewing platforms are being created for those who want a good look at the place which was the last known home of the Neanderthals.

The platforms will have room for a large number of visitors and they have spectacular views of the caves and an impressive view of the World Heritage Site all the way to the top.

The caves can only be visited under certain circumstances to avoid damage to the site. The platforms will also be an excellent spot to observe bird and marine mammal migration. source surinenglish

2017-03-09 06:00:00

It has been hailed as a victory and also as a humiliating defeat for the British government. On Tuesday the House of Lords voted 358 to 256 to amend the Article 50 Bill by including a clause to safeguard the rights of EU nationals in the UK after Brexit.

In a statement issued after the vote, the government described the result as "disappointing" but it has indicated that it intends to overturn the result when the Bill returns to the House of Commons and that prime minister Theresa May is determined to trigger Article 50 by the end of March, as planned.

The discussions in the House of Lords were polite but quite heated at times, especially when Lord Tebbit asked: "Why is everybody here today so excited about an amendment which looks after foreigners and not the British?", apparently not bearing in mind that British nationals living in other EU countries are also foreigners and also face uncertainty about their future. Other peers had stressed that EU nationals had come to the UK in good faith and were contributing to the country's prosperity, but had not been able to vote in the referendum.

 
Prime minister Theresa May has been under pressure to guarantee the rights of EU nationals who are already living and/or working in Britain post-Brexit, but she is reluctant to do so without a reciprocal guarantee in place from other EU governments.

Peers who voted for the amendment to Article 50 are now hoping to persuade Conservative MPs to defy the whip and support the amendment, although it is thought unlikely that many will do so.

Next week the Lords are due to vote on another proposed amendment to give MPs a meaningful vote on Mrs May's negotiations with the EU, and there is a strong possibility that the government will also be defeated on that. source surinenglish

 

2017-03-08 09:00:00

The number of unemployed on the Costa del Sol and across Malaga province fell by 1,376 in February to 167,907. This was the biggest February fall for ten years.

The number of people signing on to the social security system, reflecting an increase in the size of the workforce, rose by 5,040 in the month.

Malaga was one of only three provinces in Andalucía where unemployment dropped in February, the others being Huelva and Cádiz. In Andalucía overall, unemployment rose by 2,361.

 
It was the province's service sector that drove the growth in February, helped by a small increase in jobs in the construction sector.

Looking at figures on a yearly basis, unemployment in Malaga has fallen by 23,173 since February 2016, a drop of 8.7 per cent, while just over 24,000 have been added to the social security register in a year.

Across Spain, unemployment fell by 9,355, the second best February fall since 2005. The total number of unemployed in Spain is now at 3,750,876, the lowest level for seven years.source surinenglish

2017-03-07 09:00:00

Leading Courses, a reviewing website used by hundreds and thousands of golfers, has placed the Casares golf resort, Finca Cortesín, at the top of its European rankings this year.

The golf resort has been promoted from third to first place after achieving an average rating of 9.3 out of 10. The rating is based on golfers’ opinions of the resort’s facilities, course maintenance, clubhouse appearance and atmosphere, value for money and hospitality.

Miguel Girbes, Finca Cortesín’s new director has stated that this recognition is important for the resort’s staff because it demonstrates that their work is appreciated by customers.

 
Girbes also points out that Finca Cortesín has scored so highly perhaps because golfers are guaranteed more space than at other resorts, as in the last year they only had around 15,000 rounds take place there.

“We host a smaller number of players at a higher cost, but we provide a service to justify the price. If we offered rounds for 50 euros each we could possibly have had 40,000 rounds this year,” said Girbes.

Moreover, many golfers are attracted to the resort not only for its picturesque location, but also because televised golfing competitions, Volvo World and Match Play, have taken place there for the last three years.

Finca Cortesín hopes to repeat its success in 2017 as tourism and the demand for golf courses increases each year. source surinenglish