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1984 - 2010
The Canary Islands’ biggest fortnightly English newspaper read by thousands of tourists & residents Edition # 626 /
24th Sept.- 8th Oct. 2010
/ 1.80€ at Newsagents
/
www.islandconnections.eu
/ www.newscanarias.net
Double death
Island tragedy
The badly decomposed bodies of a Glaswegian couple were removed from their home on September 20.
J
ames (Jimmy) Mutch and Beatrice Sallens had lived in their apartment in the Los Cardones complex in Playa de las Américas for over five years and were considered by neighbours to be a quiet and courteous couple who were devoted to each other.
Local sources say that 57 year old Jimmy and his 69 year old partner had been together for over three decades. Neighbours noticed a bad smell and alerted the caretaker who spotted Mrs Sallens’ body. The police and fire brigade were called, forced an entry and they found Mr Mutch’s body on the living room floor with a bad head injury. There were no obvious signs of a struggle and the police’s initial theory is that Mr Mutch fell and struck his head a fatal blow and that his partner then died of shock or took her own life. A close friend of Beatrice’s told us that she had been withdrawn after the death of her mother two years ago. Local rumours indicated that Mr Mutch had a terminal illness, but reports from his family in the British press claim that he was in good health. Initial results from the autopsy confirm that there were no signs of violence, but that Mr Mutch had a chronic asthmatic condition, according to the local paper, El Día. At the time of going to print full autopsy results were unavailable.
Tenerife
Sarah Shields Page 03 murder:
Nervous excitement was the order of the day for the opening of the first Primark store in the Canary Islands, in CC Las Arenas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and that was just amongst the 171 staff members. In the presence of Las Palmas
Knickers!
More than just underwear
mayor, Jerónimo Saavedra, the doors were finally opened to the 100s of eager shoppers waiting outside. The buzz was infectious. Primark Human Resources Director, Breege O’Donoghue, said, in well practiced Spanish, how glad
Page 55
The couple will be sadly missed in the ex-pat community, by their neighbours and by the regulars at their local bar, Bad Bobs, on the Patch. Mr Mutch had two sisters and a mother in the UK and Mrs Sallens, a brother in Bulgaria.
T
h e first Primark store in the Canary Islands opens in Las Palmas
Victim’s boyfriend extradited Sun Live Festival
football
Live Park CD Tenerife Why Tenerife could be a multi-theme park Page 38
Manager Arconada sacked after worst start in 25 years
Pages 21-36
Guide
Pages 8-9
they were to be here (there are more Canarian stores in the offing) and that the fact the customers keep coming back was one of the most important indicators of this very international success story. Primark has continued to buck the recession trend and has been opening new outlets across Europe, especially in Spain, in recent years, and shoppers here in the Canary Islands hope that this store opening in Gran Canaria is just the first of many. Although Primark, or Penneys as it is known in Ireland, where the company continues to have its home base since its creation in 1969, has a reputation for offering cut-price items of clothing, the com-
pany has opened stores in upmarket locations, both in Ireland, the UK and in Spain. And Spain continues to appear to be the focus for the brand’s international wing, with this shop bringing the number of Spanish stores to 17, with other shops now open in Holland, Portugal, Germany and Belgium. While the stock is geared mainly at the younger end of the market, the low prices appeal to everyone, and though in previous years Penneys and Primark might not have been considered ‘in’ places to shop, that has changed with many famous faces happy, it would seem, to wear Primark knickers. Reportedly when Coleen Rooney admitted to wearing Primark pyjamas there was an immediate rush in branches across the UK. Unlike many UK and Irish chain stores, Primark do not seem to need to rely on the ex-pat market for survival abroad, and have previously stated that they “want to learn” from the Spanish experience, and follow and adapt to Spanish shopping trends quickly. Their success would appear to be their low prices combined with a relatively quick stock turnover, and a pleasant ‘shopping experience’ which may be missing in other stores.
The Sports Megastore 8.000m2
Motorway Santa Cruz La Laguna, Exit “Las Chumberas”. La Laguna, Tenerife. Tel: 922 62 79 00, Fax: 922 82 11 07
www.decathlon.com