Camposol News - What an amazing community!
In just under 2 weeks’ time, it will be a whole year since the news arrived that we were all dreading (and not quite believing) until it had actually happened. It was Friday the 13th of March 2020. FULL LOCKDOWN!
Despite enormous challenges and difficulties, Camposol continues to be the most fantastic community and as usual, has “pulled together” in so many different ways it is almost impossible to document.
We have spoken to some local Camposol businesses in different sectors, as well as charities, and volunteer groups to see just how they have coped. The positive stories just keep on coming! Not all businesses have suffered financially either. Talking to a number of business owners in the last few weeks, some pool cleaners and some key holding service providers have reported that they have seen a slight upturn in business. Never before have owners been absent for so long and some have had to employ services where they had previously, never needed to. Businesses such as Estate Agents are still doing fairly well in most areas, as buyers are moving forward, some even selecting and purchasing properties via, live web links etc as they cannot currently travel.
The private health sector has also been very busy as so many “state run” medical centres have been closed or became very difficult to access. Camposol Health Clinic is a great example of this, offering essential medical ser- vices when no one else could assist.
For many businesses in the hospitality sector, it has been very, very challenging trying to adhere to constantly changing regulations but they have all come through. At the time of going to print, there is a very positive feel that we are really starting to “come out the other side” of all of this, with Spring, only just around the corner.
Camposol is in a fairly good position compared to other areas as there are still thousands of residents here, and they have really made an effort to support the local businesses. Driving round the backstreets of some local towns and villages shows a very different story. We have never seen so many “for sale” and “for rent” notices on business premises. In some instances, those without any outside space have not opened since last March. So far, we are not aware of a single Camposol business that has been forced to close which is an amazing achievement and the community should be very proud to have helped make this happen.
Local bars and restaurants all, without exception, had to revolutionise their businesses over night and had
to amend their offerings to cope with takeaway only services during lock- down, and then strict social distancing and restricted terrace occupancy when restrictions eased a little.
From one week to the next, new challenges had to be faced and they have all coped admirably and produced some amazing food.
Here are a few examples of just how businesses have coped with the current situation. We spoke to the owners of the following businesses and this is what they had to say.
The Diner, Sector B Camposol.
The Table Top Quiz at The Diner started back in June 2020 and despite capacity restrictions the figure raised for various charities was a whopping
€8,422.25! Each charity provided the raffle prizes which were supplied by community donations as well as local businesses in and around Camposol.
Huge thanks also go to The Hotel La Mariposa who have supported us
throughout, despite them facing their own challenges. A further €2,000 + was raised for the young family who tragically lost their young son Alvaro.
The local community were devastated by this terrible event. The Diner was
asked to raise funds to help the family in their time of need, and due to the fantastic support from local business and their regular quizzers they were able to hold an auction last August.
January 2021 however, has been difficult as yet again, they were halted with closure.
Their loyal, regular quiz fans, have helped raise thousands in revenue to help maintain local groups and charities, which include everything from cancer care, medical care, war veterans, age vulnerable and the welfare of the local animals that are cruelly neglected.
In addition to the above, The Diner was also quick to adapt and have had a wonderful range of takeaway hot and cold food on offer, the entire time and at very reasonable prices. Sue Pipe at The Diner would like to say thank you to the Camposol Community, “you are amazing”.
Camposol Heating & Maintenance SL. (CHM)
CHM, were not forced to close during either the full lockdown or during any subsequent restrictions due to the diverse nature of the business. Many callouts they cover are for no heating or hot water which during the winter months is considered “essential”.
They also cover an increasing amount of mains water leaks and need to be able to respond rapidly.
As a result of this, they were free to trade, however most of their suppliers were not working so they could not buy any supplies. Thankfully, CHM always ensure they carry a reasonable amount of stock, which includes, oil boilers and gas and electric water heaters, or it could have been a very different story.
Thankfully, as they have been trading here for over 16 years, and have a large, loyal and diverse customer base, they have managed to “tick over” without incurring huge financial losses. Needless to say, however, apart from being offered an enormous
over draft from the bank, there was no
financial help offered whatsoever.
CHM would like to say an enormous thank you to their loyal customers. It
has been a difficult and trying year, but we are still here! Kevin and Teresa Hicks would like to thank their custom- ers for their continued support and look forward to things getting back to normal over the remainder of this year and the next.
Luz Del Sol
Most businesses have been badly af- fected by the Coronavirus outbreak, some more than others. One that has suffered greatly is the property market. In recent years, there has been a surge in property purchases, agents readily moving property on to new owners of many nationalities.
March 2020, saw a drastic reduction in sales, with potential buyers unable to travel, struggle to get travel insur- ance and have to quarantine on return to their native countries.
This brought about a necessary change in the way agents promoted and sold properties and reassuringly many working together in order to complete any possible sales.
Virtual tours and videos sent via media tools such as WhatsApp, have become “the norm” enabling potential buyers’ greater visibility, giving many the assurance they need to purchase a property while not able to view in person.
While this may not be the best approach, it does give another dimension and looks set to continue for a long time to come and there has been a steady increase in sales in the region.
As said earlier, many agents are working much more closely and helping each other where possible and this is a big positive for buyers and sellers alike, long may it continue.
T J Electricals
TJ Electricals (Euronics Camposol) would like to say a huge thank you to their loyal customers for their continued support during this difficult time.
They have been lucky enough to be able to continue trading, even when they couldn’t open the doors, they could take orders by telephone, email, etc and were still able to deliver, as
many of their items are considered essential items.
There are a lot of manufacturers of electrical items that are still not fully operational and also a lot of components for items are not available.
This has resulted in severe shortages and unavailability of some makes and
models of various different electrical appliances.
Coupled with the fact that a lot of their customers don’t actually live in the area full time but have holiday homes here and have been unable to travel.
The current situation has had a huge impact on their business, but they are doing their very best to survive and are muddling through the best that they can with your continued support.
The owners of T J Electricals would like to thank everybody for bearing with them during these strange times.
The Salon
The Salon has been trading on Camposol for over 16 years and as a result has a large, loyal and regular customer base.
It is for this reason, that businesses such as The Salon are still trading and will survive in the long term. The
diversification of services that they offer has meant that they have always been busy, despite going through
a painful, full lockdown for over 3 months.
The backlog that was growing rapidly over March, April and May, resulted in over 15 pages of appointments to fit in, once The Salon re-opened.
Adapting the Salon to the new rules was also a monumental task. Screens had to be erected in between each hair section to ensure social distancing, and when the capacity was restricted to only 75%, they had to “block out” certain seating to ensure they were in line with the ever-changing restrictions.
After every client, everything is sanitized, i.e., every chair, table and nail bar station.
The reception area has 1.5 metre “taped off” so clients are reminded to keep apart. Clients are politely reminded to both sanitize their hands, and to wear a mask as they enter.
We apologise for the fact that there are currently no complimentary magazines or drinks on offer as usual, but it is not currently permitted.
Clearly, like any business it is noticeably quieter than usual; many holiday home owners have been unable to return as have the many of the tourists who love to visit The Salon when they are here on holiday.
The summer remained steady, and the Christmas period also made up for some of the quieter moments. Melissa would like to thank all her customers for their continued loyalty and is very optimistic about the future.
C M Constructions
CM constructions has worked throughout the lockdown period over the last year and up to and including the present restrictions today. Luckily, they were only closed last year for the 2 weeks of strict full lockdown.
As they are usually booked up with work well in advance, they managed to juggle things around and work on empty holiday properties to avoid and
lower any risks of COVID infections.
C M Constructions are forever grateful for the loyal and continued support of previous customers and also friends/ neighbours they have thankfully kept them ticking over. They are now into their 20th year of working in the Cam- posol/ Mazarron areas.
Hopefully now with the vaccinations being rolled out things will soon get back to some sort of normality.
Cat’s Bar
This past year has been very hard for everyone and all of us have had to make changes which sometimes have made it hard.
Sara from Cat’s Bar gave birth to her baby during lockdown and had to go back to work 2 weeks after giving birth as it was the only way her business would survive! Cat’s Bar is a wonder- ful example of how friends, family and the community can pull together when really needed.
Sara and her mother did all the cooking and served the takeaways as they knew the staff also needed money
so were transferred onto the ERTE scheme so ensure they at least had an income.
Cat’s Bar offered some delicious old favourites, both on the terrace (when allowed) and as a takeaway option.
Some of their old favourites such as steak and ale pie, liver and on-
ions, minced beef and dumplings etc proved to be very popular and excel- lent value for money.
Sara will be forever grateful for all the support their customers old and new have shown them.
Other News – Camposol gets a football pitch
After 17 years of campaigning, with 5 “false starts”, countless hours of cam- paigning, the children of Camposol finally get their football pitch!
As far back as 2003, Tracie Smith Rowley approached the “Masa” site manager “Miguel”, to see if there was any possibility of allocating a piece of land for a football pitch, as there were no facilities whatsoever for children on Camposol. As a gesture of goodwill, Miguel did allow temporary use of a piece of land on sector C4, but it was not official and was soon closed down following complaints from local resi-
dents and it was some time before the project was resurrected as there were changes in Council administration, and there was a recession on the way.
Around 2010, almost 7 years later, a parents meeting was held and subsequent fund-raising committee was formed. This became known as “Camposol Kids” or “Jovenes De Campo- sol”.
This was well supported for a good couple of years but as the children grew up, and `people gradually moved away, it became a campaign of 1, i.e., Tracie!
Further attempts were made to secure a site for the children, but all efforts were thwarted, as either the land was not suitable, residents were not happy or some identified possible sites had already been sold off as Masa assets.
It was not until the current Mayor, Gaspar Miras came to power, that it became clear that it was a priority for the children of Camposol to finally have somewhere to play. Suddenly all barriers previously faced seemed to disappear and the project was not
only approved but also funded by the Council. Representatives from the town hall, consulted both Tracie and Silvana, (our Councillor for Foreign Residents) at every stage of the process, and were incredibly helpful which was such a refreshing change.
Tracie was even consulted on the most suitable surface for the football pitch.
The money that was raised (approxi- mately €4,000) is still sitting securely in the bank and will be used at a later date to add more facilities such as new sports equipment, secure storage, seating etc. All to be agreed between both Tracie and The Council. The facility cannot currently be used due to Covid 19 restrictions, but it is hopeful that come the Spring, we can finally watch a match! The new sports area runs along Calle Nogales on D sector.
The only last thing to add to this really is ironically the son of Tracie Smith Rowley, young Callum who was only 5 at the start of all this, is now going to be a father himself.
At least the “kids of the Camposol kids” will have somewhere to play at last!
Noah’s Arc
Like most charities, Noah’s Arc have also been “hit” quite hard with all the restrictions, but thankfully their loyal
helpers ensure that they just keep on going! They are in desperate need of donations to be able to continue with what they do. Their van can pick up large items, please call the shop on their NEW number. 711016236.
As one of the longest and most established animal charities in the region, Noah’s Arc have suffered quite badly over the past year.
Apart from donations to the shop, and shop takings they have lost income. Less people have been out and about, so their shop has seen far fewer visitors than usual, which has also resulted in fewer donations.
The popular Friday stall and their famous cake stall has also had to be put on hold until the current restrictions are over.
Noah’s Arc as an organisation remain, totally committed to the cause, and their loyal helpers are ensuring, that they will “get through this”! A huge thank you this month goes to Marley’s Dog Park, who have offered Noah’s Arc the following.
For every visitor to the dog park, (cost is €10.00), they will donate €2.50 to Noah’s Arc for a whole week. A big thank you to them as “every little helps”
The following dogs are in need of their “forever” home, can you be that special person?
MO who is approximately 4 years old and through no fault of his own was returned to Noah’s Arc when his adopters went back to the U.K leaving him behind.
WIDGET was rescued from the El Saladillo area in Mazarron. He weighs about 7 kilos, has been castrated and is “up to date” with his injections and is in good health. He walks well on his lead and puts himself to bed at night! Widget is also totally house trained.
SCOOBY DOO is 5 years old, and simply loves to play. His favourites are squeaky toys. He is well behaved and sits on command. All these lovely animals are neutered and fully vaccinated.
Children’s Play Ground
The fund raising for this new proposed park started back in 2008, over 12 years ago and was the initiative of Julie Townsend who many of you will know.
The first event was an open day which was held at The Calida Hair & Beauty Academy which raised the princely sum of 2000€.
The fundraisers decided to split the
proceeds and 1000€ went into the children’s playground fund and the other 1000€ went directly to MABS, the local cancer charity.
Since then, the team have run numerous fund-raising events which includ- ed the Compusurf “land train”
In a very similar theme to the football pitch, the new mayor Gaspar Miras has ensured that the project was also funded by the town hall and consulted
both Julie and Silvana at every step of the process.
The original funds raised by the peple of Camposol are also held in a se
cure” Leo’s” bank account and the money will be used to improve the play area still further by adding further benches and shade to the area.
If you have a Camposol business or are involved in a Camposol volunteer group or charity and would like to tell your story over the last year please let
us know.
You can email us before 15th March on
and we will are do best to include it in the next few editions of The Journal.
Fast
Over the last year FAST have been manning the phones 24/7 since the pandemic stopped us responding in person. We have given advice over the phone to more than one hundred callers.
One in particular, a lady called FAST to say her husband appeared to be having an allergic reaction and she wanted some advice.
The responder diagnosed the man’s condition after some questioning as a stroke. An ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital. Four days later he was home.
The people of Camposol in the main have followed the restrictions to the letter.
People have been careful when out and about and wearing their masks etc. The businesses have played their part, policing their clientele at times, and they have had a very difficult time.
They have followed the rules set out by the authorities. The people of Camposol have been looking out for each other. Helping with shopping and collecting medication from the pharmacy.
During the first lockdown many businesses did carry out some home deliveries, from Alen’s Supermarket to the Ferreteria.
This was a lifeline to those who needed food and paint.
We can now truly appreciate the little things in life, such as sitting on the terrace with a coffee.
When we can meet friends again, we will certainly appreciate their company.
A massive thank you to Shaun Matthews for supplying the photograph of Camposol.
