diary

“Playing sports improves academic and work performance, it’s essential”

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Is the situation of sport more critical now, with restrictions, than during the first confinement?
Now there is more freedom, even if it is to exercise in the individual sphere. Before you couldn’t leave the house. Now you can go for a bike ride or play outdoors. But the problem is that despite having more freedom we have been 10 months without being able to train or compete. The kids have been able to train a bit in the fall, but compete, in no time. They have accumulated many months without being able to do good sports. The WHO recommends that young people between the ages of 5 and 17 do one hour of exercise a day and that 3 days a week be with higher activity to strengthen bones and musculature. Aside from the physical education class at school, it is now very little else.

Is abandoning sports the main risk of prolonging the break?
Exactly. The critical age is usually between 12-13 years. For different reasons. Because you change sports, and that’s good, because you try other disciplines. Or maybe because it costs you at school and you leave it out of responsibility, with the intention of going back there later. The serious thing is total abandonment. Of course you can have other hobbies, but playing sports is never too much. Society is moving towards an increasingly sedentary path where well-being seems to be materialism and not caring for the body. You have to educate the kids in the sport, to create the habit.

Is television or video games a very dangerous temptation now?
Yes. And I say that, I collaborate with an e-sports team but we also have a physical trainer. If the dwarf is only playing in the play with friends or watching too much television it is difficult for him to reach the recommended minimums for burning and exercising.

How can young people who have folded be convinced?
We cannot force anyone to do what does not interest them. That is why it is important from the beginning to educate with sport. Create the habit where boys and girls want to play sports and have an interest in it. Then let everyone choose what they want to do, the discipline they like best. The important thing is to exercise. We have to be the adults who educate the children in the sport and now, in the meantime, it is time to improvise and solve it by going out on a bike, playing on the track, but keeping them active.

Are children and young people fed up with the now yes now no, and the telematic sessions?
It depends on the club and the number of sessions. We at Vilafant haven’t done much. To the restrictions that sport already has in addition is the municipal confinement, which means that you can’t change town to go and train. And studies reveal that only 0.28% of infections have occurred in sport. In Madrid with a federal license you can go to train and compete. And in Galicia, the Basque Country or Andalusia is also allowed.

Is allowing elite sport and stopping grassroots sport incongruous? Is the government unaware of the reality of grassroots and amateur sport?
Elite and grassroots sports cannot be compared. How many PCRs must Messi have passed? Dozens or maybe hundreds. In the elite they are very marked. The money they move is nonsense.

What benefits does sport bring to children and young people?
It improves attention, concentration and memory and this helps academic and work performance. It reduces stress and anxiety and helps you sleep, and all of that is good. These are things to keep in mind and this part, who puts the restrictions, does not see it.

Would doing sports without competition be a solution?
Everyone likes to compete. It’s a bit like the exam, which puts you to the test. The youngest children do not play to win games or leagues, what they want is to have fun, improve their skills and learn. Because of a pandemic you can’t compete but if you could at least keep playing and doing physical activity it would be something. Now, with the pavilions closed and the municipal confinement, it is almost impossible.

How can a current situation be explained to a child?
He needs to be made to understand that the situation is exceptional, that the coronavirus pandemic will happen, and that sooner or later he will be able to train and compete again, and be with friends. In the meantime, alternatives should be sought within the physical activity that children and young people can do without forgetting their team or their sport. And when you can re-train, they will make the most of it. In the meantime, going for a run, cycling, going to the track for a few shots in the basket or kicking in the goal can help you stay active knowing that you will soon be able to compete again, and that you should not despair of that.

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Compete before experiencing the intermittency of Atalanta

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A “personal decision” is what has caused the sudden air change by Johan Mojica. If in the summer he accepted the proposal of Atalanta, a Serie A team that plays in the Champions League, now in the winter he asked to leave Italy to end up signing for theElche. Both destinations, always with theacceptance of Girona, club who still owns it. Yesterday he was presented to Martínez Valero, where he explained his “hunger” to do things right, the “commitment” with which he enters the dressing room, and above all the desire to “compete”. Which I couldn’t enjoy in Bergamo. “At Atalanta I played, but one game I did, and then two I didn’t. It was an intermittent thing “, explained Mojica, remembering that he is international with his country and, therefore, what he needs are minutes.

Assigned until the end of the season and with a purchase option of two and a half million euros, he said he was physically fit and ready for an “immediate” adaptation because he knows the category. “I know the purpose of Elche and also why I came here,” he added. He also said that it was a “success” to land Martínez Valeri and that in the coming weeks “I will prove it”. Eliminated from the Cup at the Rayo stadium, Johan Mojica’s new team plays an important match today at the Valladolid stadium, while next Sunday they will receive a visit from Barça.

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The work approved by the architects falls by 15% in Girona in 2020

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The area approved for construction and rehabilitation in the counties of Girona has decreased by 14.86% in 2020 compared to the previous year. With these data provided by the Official College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC) in Girona, the slowdown in the sector is confirmed, this time aggravated by the pandemic. In fact, the COAC claimed that the state of alarm caused a considerable drop in the number of projects during the first half. During the second half of the year, the data remained similar to those of 2019. However, from the COAC ask the administrations to facilitate and encourage rehabilitation works in order to reactivate the construction sector in a sustainable way. .

The pandemic has affected new construction and rehabilitation projects planned in the Girona region. For this reason, if 55,289 m2 were approved for construction in February, in May this figure fell by half, remaining at 24,679. From June onwards, however, the figures recorded were rising until a trend similar to that of 2019 was followed in October. All this has led to the closing of 2020 with 14.86% fewer meters. squares endorsed in the demarcation.

Houses predominate

On the other hand, the president of the COAC in the province of Girona, Marc Riera, stressed that “the largest number of files approved” corresponds to projects of less than 500 square meters. This means that “most of the projects in the demarcation are single-family homes for private development”. However, new construction continues to predominate over rehabilitation works.

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“The effects of ‘Gloria’ have already been overcome, now what worries me is the pandemic”

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A year after the flood that destroyed much of the facilities of Sant Ponç, the GEiEG has given for “surpassed” the bad trance of the storm Gloria. This is what the president admitted yesterday, Francesc Cayuela, who also said that now his main concern is to survive the effects of another headache, the coronavirus pandemic, and the mandatory restrictions imposed by the Generalitat on the world of sport.

“At this moment the effects of Gloria are solved, in the absence of small fringes that do not affect daily activity. After a year, and with the pandemic in the middle, we can say that this chapter is over “, Cayuela detailed yesterday in a visit to the facilities of Sant Ponç. The activity in this installation of the GEiEG would be 100% recovered, but the health restrictions due to the pandemic they keep it half-gas, like the rest of the Group’s and sports spaces. That’s it swimming pools operate at 30% and one has been mounted outdoor gym, on the terrace of the bar, because the prohibition to practice indoors. The paddle and tennis courts are also in operation, albeit with small groups and bubbles.

The first damage estimate made by the GEiEG encrypted the damage in 2 million euros. In the end the figure has exceeded one million, but it has not been as high as expected initially. With what the Group has received from the insurance and some public aid, it has been possible to repair the damage and put Sant Ponç back in perfect condition for the members, in the absence of small fringes. On the other hand, the president revealed that the campaign micro-patronage which they set up last winter to raise funds allowed them to earn 4,000 euros.

With the effects of Gloria overcome, now what worries Cayuela most is how it will end up affecting the pandemic at the club. “This is the most complicated situation for the uncertainty which generates. Gloria’s damage was all insured, now we don’t know who will pay us what we are losing for the loss of partners and activities. The help you have does not solve the losses either and the truth is that the clubs have a serious problem ahead of them and I don’t know if we can survive like this for a long time“, The president pointed out in yesterday’s visit.

The GEiEG is one of the three non-profit and public utility clubs in Girona, as is the CN Banyoles and CN Olot. Cayuela recalled that they have invested in all anti-video measures “because the regulations say so and because we want our partners to be safe.” However, the restrictions imposed by the Generalitat have greatly reduced their activity.

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The Avenue also opens the winning bubble

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Perfumerías Avenida is the host of the Euroleague Group A bubble. Like the Spar Girona, the Castilians also started winning in the return to the top continental competition. Those of Rioberto Íñiguez got rid of Izmit (80-101) and are solo leaders, taking another step towards qualifying for the quarterfinals of the tournament.

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Bàsquet Girona wants to extend the good moment against Lleida in the farewell of Dani Garcia

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Despite the fact that Bàsquet Girona has won the last two league games, on the court of the leader TAU Castellón and against Huesca, Carles Marco does not dare to ensure that the team is living the best moment of the season. He is very demanding and knows that the team has an even longer run. “I hope it’s not the best time of the course and that every week we’re a little better,” he says. The progression of Bàsquet Girona will be tested again this afternoon in Fontajau against ICG Força Lleida (3/4 of 7, Esport3). The derby was postponed to December for positive cases of covid-19; the same reason that will make, once again, the duel against the ZTE Canoe, set for next Tuesday, have had to be postponed. The match against Madrid has already had to be postponed four times, three due to coronavirus cases and another due to the snowfall of storm Filomena. Now the two teams will have to agree to find a new date.

The last two victories seem to have awakened Bàsquet Girona. The team has taken a step forward. He won on the leader’s track and, against Huesca, Sevillano, Logan and Rozitis surpassed the 10 rating in a remarkable collective performance. However, Marco warns of the danger of a very physical Lleida with powerful men in painting such as Buchanan and Bulic. “It’s a very energetic team, very aggressive, physical and that makes a lot of points,” said Marco, who also has words for Segrià’s coach, Gustavo Aranzana. “He is a very good and experienced technician, who had me under his command for many years,” he recalls. Marco urges everyone to think only “about Lleida” and not look at what could happen if the team wins today. “Until there are a few days left to finish the first phase, we must not think about it. We will see where our limit is “, says the Badalonian.

On the other hand, today will be Dani Garcia’s last match with the team. The base played in Fontajau on loan from Baxi Manresa, who have decided to recover it to compete in the ACB. So far, Dani Garcia has averaged 5.4 points, 3.1 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game at Fontajau and had become a major player for Marco. It remains to be seen if Bàsquet Girona will look for a replacement when their departure is confirmed. Garcia is following in the footsteps of Aleix Font, who was already recovered a few weeks ago by Casademont Zaragoza, who also ceded him to Girona.

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The shooting of “The heirs of the land”, in Vilabertran this February

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Vilabertran will be the scene of the shooting, this February, of the new production of Diagonal TV for Netflix, The heirs of the land, based on the novel by Ildefonso Falcones. Just the continuation of The Cathedral of the Sea is being shot these days in the Old Town of Girona, after having also passed through Hostalric. To get extras, the producer organizes a casting, with all the security measures, on Friday.

He is looking for men and women aged 25 to 65 “of all classes and races” with special interest in people of Moroccan, African and Eastern origin, with long and semi-long hair. Dyed, shaved or modern haircuts will not be accepted. Neither tattoos nor piercings. All those interested, from the vicinity of Vilabertran, can present themselves at the Tourist Office, in the Church Square, from 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 8 pm. They must all carry their DNI, Social Security affiliation number and a pen. The work is paid.

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“I’ve been closed for six months and it’s useless”

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It’s alreadyumpteenth time the Espai Gironès has had to close its doors in just under a year. The fear and urgency of the first time has turned into resignation and anger. Traders do not understand how, while in other European countries strong and effective measures are taken, here aid does not arrive and ICUs do not stop receiving patients.

«I have been closed for six months and it has been useless», Protest Ernest Freixes, manager of the Lizarran tapas restaurant. He says that the primitive has touched him because he belongs to the guild ofhospitality and besides, it is inside a mall. He regrets that, although it has been shown that the measures taken by the Government since the confinement of spring they have not yielded results, he has been forced to close the doors. “The postures that are halfway have not served. We are suffering for nothing, that this is the most pathetic ».

He has his workers in an ERTO and in all this time it has gone plugging holes how could he spending the savings which had brought him the smooth running of the business in previous years. “I don’t expect anything from the grants, because anyone who runs a restaurant knows that for 2,000 euros does not exceed the viability of the business», Considers Freixes, who warns that the only solution is a closed house and limited in time, as they have done in other parts of the world.

Psychological bill

Laura Sanchez is the responsible from Intimissimi lingerie store in the Espai Gironès. “The store is my only support, and that’s starting to be one guirigall without any planning. If they tell me: look, we will do this and with these conditions … Well, let’s close and make the effort, because nobody says that there is no pandemic. But that ofbe choosing whom to sacrifice it’s being very dramatic. “

Her workers go start charging ERTO for March last month, and adds that passes bill psychologically. “You’re leaving someone in misery, who has virtually nothing to eat. You have to make the effort, because they are your workers, and you say, ‘I’ll make an advance, whatever it takes.’ But that’s a shame, “he said. As a freelancer, she criticizes that has been paying all dues religiously, although they have forced him to close the activity. In this sense, he denounces that the administration has had an “improvisation” and a “brutal lack of foresight”.

Blow on essential services

A l’Espai Gironès he 60% of businesses are franchisees and small businesses and currently about 600 workers are in an ERTO, 85% of all employees. With the latest restrictions, only those establishments considered “essential” are open. One of these is the BSFarma pharmacy. But it is not because of these characteristics that he has been saved from the measures of the third wave. Your manager, Anna Bros, explain what municipal confinement has left them literally without users. “The people who come are from all over the region, which is where we serve. But with the confinement, we were left here without anyone. Most customers don’t understand how you can’t come here, when there is all the security at the entrance, every store has its control … And you can go to Girona in a street that is full ». The pharmacist explains that the only way for users to come is when they have to make a justified trip to Salt, such as the Santa Caterina hospital. “People call us, say what they need and we leave them ready for when they have to come for a moment and pick it up.”

Although it has practically run out of customers, Bros is bound to open its establishment because it is an essential service, and this prevents him from accessing grants that other businesses in a similar situation can. “We have a characteristic infrastructure, size and stock. We are people with a lot of staff, who are now in ERTO, and we need a lot of stock and rotation. He believes the solution lies in equate business in its situation with those of the rest of the sector. “This and making pots in the population.”

Private support

Pau Jordà, manager of the Espai Gironès, emphasizes that “we have always complied with what we have been told, we have put it into practice all the measures they have ordered us, we are safe spaces, we have asked the Administration what else we need to do, and they have not been able to tell us. They just don’t know any more. We are paying the consequences of poor management».

Remember that throughout 2020 the owners of the mall have helped the tenants with a substantial reduction in the rent of the premises, and they have invested 360,000 euros in security and awareness campaigns, measures that are expected to intensify throughout this 2020. “But the Generalitat does not give us an answer. When we’ve had meetings at the highest level, they just shut up. They start looking at the mobile phone in the middle of a video conference. When we tell them that we comply with everything, that what else needs to be done … They close and stay so wide. No one has ever come to check if we complied with the measures. Whoever makes these decisions has never been in a mall. Jordà also claims to be equated with the rest of the shops: “We are not the bad guys in the film, we want to be treated the same.” And he criticizes that the new aid announced by the Government has not yet been published anywhere.

For now, none of the shops in the Espai Gironès have had to close their doors. All of them, however, hold their breath, pending how a new wave of restrictions may affect them.

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“The heirs of the land”, between horses, incense and masks

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Horses, period clothing and mesh coats, but also masks and protective screens against the transmission of the covid to the faces of actors and extras and much zeal to prevent the access of onlookers on the first day of filming of the series The Heirs of the Earth, the continuation of The cathedral of the sea, a Girona. The recording of the television adaptation of the bestseller by Ildefonso Falcones, which will premiere worldwide on Netflix, started early yesterday morning around the cathedral and the Arab Baths area, where you could see how they recorded the scene of a procession.

Medieval knights, some on horseback, and a religious procession led by a bishop sheltered under a thalamus crossed, between the smoke released by a censer, the portal of Sobreportes to Carrer Ferran el Católic until it stopped at the height of the Arab Baths, where the passage of pedestrians and gossip was blocked and the filming equipment had installed a tent and elements that you will need in the coming days to continue rolling, such as standards, shields and lemon trees.

Meanwhile, a few meters away, in the Plaça dels Jurats, they continued to work on setting up a medieval market, with stalls for groceries, carts and sacks.

Recording has begun on the same stages that the series already used Game of Thrones during his stay in Girona -in that case, also with a market, but installed in front of the Arab Baths- and will last until Thursday. Among other spaces, the production is also planned to shoot inside the Cathedral.

The series is a co-production of Diagonal TV, Netflix, Televisió de Catalunya and Atresmedia set in Barcelona in 1387. It is directed by Jordi Frades and features actors such as Yon González, Rodolfo Sancho, Elena Rivera and Michelle Jenner.

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Payment with banknotes and coins plummets in supermarkets

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Consumption habits have changed as a result of the pandemic. Two trends have been noted in the latest consumer survey conducted by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU); theminority use of cash and the consolidation of the online shopping.

The data collected by the survey, conducted last July and which collects the experience of 5,825 members of the association (more than 250,000 members), reflect that only 12% of buyers continue to pay in cash and that 30% shop online once a month (twice as long as before the pandemic). And that despite that home delivery service is one of the most undervalued aspects by consumers.

When assessing supermarket chains in Catalonia, the OCU emphasizes that consumers place regional firms at the forefront of their tastes, which highlights the importance of the linking the signs with the territory, a trend that has become more evident during the pandemic according to data from specialized consultants in the sector (Kantar and Nielsen).

The satisfaction ranking in Catalonia is led by the Catalan supermarket chain Bonpreu, followed by several equally regional chains, three more Catalan (PlusFresc, BonArea and Esclat) and one Valencian (Consum). While the national chains include Aldi, Hipercor, El Corte Inglés, Alcampo, Lidl, Supercor and Mercadona, in that order.

Price, influential factor

While price is the factor that most influences user satisfaction, it is not the only one. The survey also includes assessments of the product range, freshness or quality (here are PlusFresc, Costco and Hipercor), as well as the location of the supermarket, ease of access, comfort and cleanliness of the facilities. or the attention received. In fact, in the latest supermarket study conducted by the OCU, some of these chains stood out for their high prices, as is the case with PlusFresc, Hipercor or El Corte Inglés.

The survey conducted by the consumer organization further reveals that the average cost per visit is 76 euros. And that the top brands are preferred when it comes to personal care products (such as gels or shampoos) or soft drinks, while white brands dominate in prepared foods, dairy, frozen foods and creams.

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