With clear blue skies and a nice temperature, it wasn't long before layers of clothing were peeled off and everyone got into the swing and down to business. The course was in very good condition for the time of year and with nice open fairways, there should have been no excuses.

All seemed to go well on the day until our fourth group reached the stream in the small ravine across the fairway on the sixteenth hole. At this point, “Quicksand” Mike O'Brien managed to land a shot in the ravine. On trying gingerly to step down to retrieve his ball, Mike found one leg sinking in the mud up to and past the knee. His next effort to use the other leg to help him out of the situation then went from bad to worse with poor Mike now up past both knees in the mud and stuck fast. Eventually Mike made his way clear by crawling on hands and knees from the mire and his team-mates stayed well clear of him for the final three holes. Something to do with the odour around him ! He was last seen heading for the shower rooms.

Needless to say, this group did not return very good scores on the last four holes as it took them that long to stop laughing and falling around.

The following group also, briefly lost one member when three of the players on green heard a cry for help from the ravine from Billy Wilks who had also got stuck down the bank. Fortunately Billy avoided the mud.

The moral has to be, “don't be tempted go looking for your ball in the ravine on the 16th, any doubt, play a provo”.

Apart from these incidents, the day at La Finca went very well and thanks go to the staff at the course.

The prize winners on the day were as follows:

First place - Darren Jones 35 points
Second place - John Leggate 32 points
Best Lady - Gorman Hagan 31 points

Nearest the pin at 3nd hole – Hilda Scott
Nearest the pin at 6th hole – Ray Parker
Nearest the pin at 13th hole - Colin Mitchell
Nearest the pin at 16th hole - Darren Jones

The Magic Two's competition prize money rolls over with none of above managing to sink the vital second shot.

The next Society events are a Stableford Competition on Monday 6th February and a Medal Competition on 19th February at Vistabella Golf Course and entries can be made as usual on the Society Website or on the board at El Juglar Mudo.

NOTE: As always, please book early to allow tees to be booked and avoid disappointment.

ACASA- The National Casework Service of Age Concern España - are actively looking for volunteers to help publicise the vital work done by our caseworkers. There are hundreds of ways you can get involved and help raise funds for ACASA but two of the most popular are the Pub Quiz and the Big Brew Up.

If you think your local pub or café would be interested in holding an event then please email CCM@ageconcern-espana.org for your free fundraising pack and to register the event.

ACASA has two client bases – people over the age of 50, and those of any age who serve or used to serve in the British Armed Forces, and their families, as ACASA does the work of SSAFA Forces Help in Spain. Contact 902 00 38 38 or info@ageconcern-espana.org for further information: website www.acespana.org.

ACASA - Official Partner of The British Embassy in Spain, AGE UK, and SSAFA Forces Help

It was decided to play a four ball team Texas Scramble with each team member being required to hit a minimum of 4 drives. Unfortunately the Secretary's team due to the non arrival of one of our members only had 3 players but this apparent disadvantage was negated by the fact that there was less pressure on his team fitting in the required minimum number of drives resulting in them recording the lowest net score.

The full list of winners on the day were:

1st Geoff Walters, Dean Charles and Quentin Williams with a net 64.4.
2nd Sonny Edling, Chris Liddicoat, Roy Welburn and Sykes Beaumont with a net score of 65.7.

Nearest the Pin prizes were won by Gordon Jefferson, John Glennon, Chris Liddicoat and Geoff Walters.

Last Friday on 3rd February we held our President's Dinner/ Dance at Tree Tops Restaurant in Campoverde and 60 members and guests enjoyed a splendid meal with entertainment being provided by the excellent vocalist, Andy Jones. This event was again well organised by Marianne Hunt, our President, and 155 euros was raised for our Captain's chosen charity Help for Heroes.

Future Fixtures:
Monday 13th February, Mar Menor, first tee time 10.30.
Monday 20th February, El Valle, first tee time 10.30.
Monday 27th February, Roda, first tee time 10.30.

Contact: Geoff Walters, Secretary, Tel 966 763 369 or email geofwalt@telefonica.net

As with the Provincial Fire Service, the municipality is up to date on its payments to all consortia or commonwealths (mancomunidades) that offer services to the Marina Alta district (comarca) such as the Consorci Esportiu de la Marina Alta (CEMA), Mancomunitat Cultural de la Marina Alta (MACMA), the Consortium for the Economic Recovery and Activity of the Marina Alta (CREAMA) and the Area Waste Plan of Area 15 corresponding to the Marina Alta. The Local Council has paid all its contributions for 2011 and has budgeted those for the current year in the 2012 accounts, ratified since December.

At Monday's meeting the Local Executive Board also authorized eight licenses for minor works.