Torremolinos Town Hall has sent out an asphalting contract worth more than €2 million out to cover 67,000 square metres of worn tarmac around the Costa del Sol town. This is the third programme of its kind and is meant to tidy up broken and deteriorated surfaces, road safety, accessibility and how traffic actually moves.

Firms have until September 22 to bid through Spain’s public procurement platform. Five months are allowed to finish the job once the job is awarded. Crews will rip out failed tarmac, lay a new wearing course, raise manholes and grilles and drains, and repaint road markings on the stretches that get done.

MA-20 access near the Malaga boundary is on the list

One package covers a stretch of the MA-20 around Avenida Manuel Fraga Iribarne, where Torremolinos meets Malaga via the airport turn-off. Cracks, potholes and crumbling stone have left that gateway looking rough and feeling worse for anyone coming off the dual carriageway.

That earlier ownership wrangle still matters, because this contract now puts money against the same worn surface drivers have been moaning about for years. A bigger, longer-term upgrade of the MA-20 corridor towards Malaga airport has been talked about for years as well.

Local streets used every day come next

Residential and shopping streets that people use for school runs, errands and night-time traffic are said to be high on the queue of priorities. The Town Hall wants a standing annual budget line so resurfacing becomes a regular habit rather than a rare splash. The worst-worn patches will get first dibs, so cars and walkers get a quieter, safer stroll.

Busy neighbourhoods with shops, holiday lets and year-round residents should feel fewer interruptions and fewer trips on broken edges. Updates will go out as work moves so households and businesses can dodge the worst of the cones.

Road safety has already been a running theme in town, from a new speed camera on Avenida de la Libertad to earlier street works. Official Spanish road-safety advice from the DGT still applies while surfaces stay patchy: slower speeds and extra distance on broken tarmac.

Bids and paperwork are on the state contracting platform; town notices appear on the Torremolinos Town Hall site.

Costa del Sol fundraiser Alan Boardman has given his Fun Quiz for Charity a new regular home at Christy’s Irish Gastropub in Fuengirola. Tuesdays at 2.30pm is the slot, handy for just after lunch and fancy a giggle that also pays for something useful.

Seeing how popular Alan’s quizzes are, Christy’s have already talked him into hosting the quiz weekly, on a temporary trial basis during September. That is quite a jump from the old every-other-week rhythm at Fibbers in Torreblanca and Dixie’s in town. Alan still writes every round himself, in that slightly cheeky style regulars already know and love. Someone did leave an English quiz book behind the bar, which is a rum find in an Irish pub, but he will not be nicking questions from it. He has been doing this long enough not to need to cut corners.

Small price for great causes in the heart of Fuengirola’s social scene

Entry is still €2 a head. Every euro goes to a registered local cause. Alan rotates the beneficiary between an animal charity and one that helps people. Past quiz pots have gone to Pawsawhile Dog Rescue, ADIMI in Mijas, SEARCH in Coin, El Vuelo de las Libelulas, Last Chance Animal Rescue and Cudeca. Right now the pot is for Aristochat, the Mijas Costa cat shelter, which takes in abandoned cats and finds them forever homes.

Christy’s is right in the middle of Fuengirola at Calle Olleria 20, an easy stroll from the Paseo. Staff are the same familiar faces week in, week out, and the covered terrace is private, air-conditioned in summer and heated in winter. First quiz day they sat 40 without a squeeze and still had room for latecomers. Sightlines are good and the sound carries, so nobody is craning round a pillar.

Perfect timing after a morning at Fuengirola market

Hungry types can sit the Tuesday roast first. It is a smaller plate than the Sunday roast that made the pub’s name, but it is only €9.95, with the main menu still available. Coffee, tea and soft drinks are on if 2.30pm feels early for what many call the best Guinness in town.

Jenny Boardman keeps the books tidy. Alan and Jenny post the accounts on their Facebook pages so anyone can see the cash went where they said it would. Same idea as his Mijas walking tours, which have now passed €30,000 for 27 local charities.

Turn up as a four or on your own for the now legendary fun quizzes for charity; Alan will park solos with a friendly table. Tables for food: WhatsApp Christy’s on +34 620 226 911.