Mallorca Olive Press - Issue 36 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

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expat paper in Spain POPPING IN: Michelle

Ladies who lunch QUEEN Sofia was summoned to Mallorca’s ‘most expensive home’ to have lunch with Michelle Obama this week. The former first lady declined to leave the sprawling estate in Esporles, preferring instead to invite Spain’s queen mum for a long lunch. It is third time Michelle has stayed at the home, which her friend, former US ambassador to Spain James Costos, rents out every summer. Michelle invited Queen Sofia and her friends the Fruchauds, from Paris, for lunch at 2pm on Monday. The leading ladies had lunch and enjoyed a sobremesa’ until 5pm, when Sofia returned to Marivent Palace.

Security

Michelle - who is travelling solo - is expected to stay on the island until Monday. She has been pictured just once getting off a yacht. It is the second time she visited Spain this year, having been over with husband Barack and daughters Sacha and Malia last month. Strong security measures have made it virtually impossible to photograph Michelle. The estate, which is said to be one of the island’s most expensive, is owned by Mallorcan millionaire Marieta Salas.

The gag is up THERE have been ZERO fake food poisoning claims by Brits on package holidays to Spain this year. It comes after 2013 saw a 500% hike in the bogus claims, which were dubbed by the Spanish hotel industry as the ‘diarrhoea scam.’ Last year was one of the worst on record in the Balearics, with Mallorca’s Hotel Federation announcing false gastroenteritis claims had soared by 700% since 2015 and had cost hotels on the island €50 million in 2016 alone.

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Vol. 2 Issue 36 www.theolivepress.es August 30th - September 12th 2018

‘You can’t get prosecuted… it’s just cheating’

Faking it

BUSINESSES in Spain are paying to post dozens of FAKE fivestar reviews on TripAdvisor in a bid to increase their rankings. An Olive Press investigation has unearthed companies offering packages of 50 glowing reviews for just €400. Restaurants, hotels and garages have utilised the services of Malaga-based company GCI Global, which promises ‘genuine reviews’ that will be ‘tailored to your business’. We can reveal that one of its clients, a Malaga restaurateur, managed to get to number one in his town on TripAdvisor after ‘purchasing’ dozens of ‘excellent’ reviews over just two months. In total, 99% of the comments for his restaurant - which we are not naming for legal reasons - are ‘excellent’ 5/5 with only one ‘very good’. “The restaurant was over 100 (in the list) but look at it now,” GCI boss Ben Fisher boasted to

launches probe, as Olive Press exposes a Spanish business ‘selling’ fake customer reviews on to the global giant’s website EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore and Elisa Menendez

the Olive Press this week. “It doesn’t matter if (the reviewers) eat there or not, although if you want to pay a bit more we can actually send someone,” added Fisher, who lives in Alhaurin de la Torre. “In fact if you pay we can send four people to share one pizza. Then we spread the reviews out over a few days. “I have dozens of clients.” The Olive Press probe was launched after we were approached by an angry reader, targeted by an unsolicited email from GCI last month. The advert read: “We offer

tailor made professional review packages giving your business a boost and the edge over your competitors.” Posing as potential clients with a holiday rental business in Marbella, our reporters were told by Fisher that the reviews would be ‘from real people’. “The reviews are from real people on the Costa del Sol, it’s not a bunch of fake accounts putting reviews on,” said Fisher,

Please forgive us! In an open letter to Spain, the Olive Press apologises for our unruly tourists

We’re Sorry Dear Spain, WE ARE SORRY.

by the sinvere ask that you judge us Brits not balconies or guenzas who choose to poo over your but by the perform oral services for a free cocktail, privileged to majority of respectful expats who are home. country beautiful your call Seriously though, how did we get here? manners and puncBrits used to be famed for their polite drinking excessive our tuality. Now we are better known for ed by the senseless and outrageous party antics compound alcohol-fuelled sport of ‘balconing’. injuries after falling or deSome 46 patients were treated for between 2010 and 2015 liberately jumping from balconies - and 60% were Brits. grow, with almost The last two years have seen this number 10 Brits dying this year alone (CHECK). whole catalogue of outraAnd that’s only one example from a high jinks sink to a geous behaviour that has seen holiday shocking new low. from Benidorm which Just this week we were sent a videopenis in the mouth of a showed a British reveller putting his passed-out compatriot.

girl who performed oral And who can forget the brazen British or the man who fell sex on 24 men for a free drink in 2016, while trying to defecate from a balcony in Mallorca last month over the edge. stabbings at Costa del Closer to home, beach club brawls and summer. last Sol haunts dominated the headlines streets of Puerto Banus Two rival gangs’ fight spilled onto theto run over his rivals. and ended with one member trying biggest resorts are Is it any wonder that some of Spain’s starting to resist tourists? are the terrorist,’ are just ‘Tourists go home’ and ‘Tourist, you graffitied across toursome of the messages that have been years. few past the ism hotspots in from visiting Brits every Just because resorts make a killing up with such antics. year, it doesn’t mean they have to put the next time you roll your We hope you will bear this in mind about a British reveller eyes in disgust at yet another story on behalf of the apology our behaving badly, and accept whole damned lot.

Dusculpanos

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Trust

“If you really want to know if a restaurant is good or not, ask someone you trust or go yourself!” Last night TripAdvisor thanked the Olive Press and confirmed it was ‘investigating the case’. “We strongly oppose any attempt to manipulate a business’ ranking,” said a spokeswoman, adding that its investigations team was ‘proactive and effective’ at catching anyone who attempts to market paid review services. “We take serious steps to penalize any properties caught using their services,” she added. After revealing ourselves as journalists, Fisher told the Olive Press: “People pay for direct traffic, people purchase the reviews, then a team of four will go into the premises, share food and leave a review on their experience… it’s a service that is genuine and helps everybody… the reason my clients pay is to cover the cost of the food purchased by each customer!” Opinion Page 6

CMY

from Hull. “A potential customer doesn’t know if they are real or fake. It is not illegal. You can’t get prosecuted... it’s just cheating.” Describing himself as a ‘web marketing specialist’, he explained how if our reporters bought 50 reviews, our new business would receive two five-star reviews per day from his network of users consisting of ‘friends and family friends’. He offered to do 20 reviews for €150 or the 50 reviews for €400 - with payments made by cash or PayPal. So confident was he that it would boost our business ranking he offered a 100% satisfaction or a ‘money-back guarantee’. “You’re paying for direct marketing - the higher you go on TripAdvisor the more you pop up as recommended and the more business you get,” he insisted. Sadly, the process is not new. TripAdvisor has been caught out before, including a famous stunt pulled off by VICE website in which an undercover reporter set up a fake restaurant, The Shed at Dulwich, and made it the number one restaurant in London. Just this week a simple Google search unearthed a US-based company, Reviews that Stick, offering packages on the global

supersite from $69 per month. “We can provide TripAdvisor reviews that would help your hotel or restaurant to improve its reputation and increase its number of customers,” it offered. Local hoteliers and restaurateurs were quick to support out investigation. “I’m sure it is very common with restaurants here,” said Mark Wardell, manager of the Sunset Beach Club in Benalmadena, Malaga’s biggest hotel. “TripAdvisor is particularly very open to manipulation and fake reviews. “You often see these small places pop up with phenomenal reviews that quickly sink without trace,” he added. Restaurateur Robert Grimmond, of well-established El Jardin restaurant in Frigiliana, added he had been aware of this practice for years. “It’s disappointing that businesses on the coast are still buying reviews in this way,” he added.

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Hot SEE MORE IN water THE RESTAURANT

SOME 14 fire bosses h for alleg embezzling €7 million public funds. The Policia Nacional fo that the Consortium Bomberos Cadiz took mass early retirement in

arrested SECTIONbeen INSIDE

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Friendly home AN LGBTQ+ retirement home is set to open in Madrid by the end of the year, following a campaign by a pensioner who experienced homophobic abuse in a residential centre.

Busted BRITS posing as tourists have attempted to smuggle more than €8,800,00 worth of cannabis into mainline Spain from Ceuta on a yacht.

Rental rise A THIRD of Spain’s Airbnb landlords own five or more homes, it has been revealed.

Abuser POLICE in Cadiz have detained a 42-year-old man who is accused of abusing four children and showing them pornographic material after establishing relationships with their mothers.

Tiny sniffer dog unearths thousands of ill-gotten cash in Mallorca’s ‘biggest ever property scam’

c r im e

August 30th - September 12th 2018

Sniffed out pany, Mallorca Investment, is behind the alleged sale of off-plan apartments in the areas of Llucmajor, Santa Ponsa, Palma and Portol. The owner of the firm who police are still searching for - is accused of selling hundreds of properties that the company neither owns or has permission to build.

By Laurence Dollimore

IT is being dubbed the biggest real estate fraud in Balearic history - and a miniature sniffer dog has helped bring it down. Coco - a Kaninchen Dachshund - helped locate tens of thousands of euros of cash which was hidden across several businesses this week.

Fraud

HERO: Coco is trained to sniff out bills

It comes as it was revealed at least 200 people are believed to have lost between

€3m and €5m for homes that will never be built. A Palma-based property com-

Mallorca timeshare scam nets €500,000 AN international rogue’s gallery of expats are being questioned over a fraud that has scammed over €500,000 from foreigners. The Mallorca-based group of British, German, Austrian and Spanish are being accused of impersonating Spanish officials to take the money. In the operation - dubbed ‘Bankog’ by police - the gang used false public documents to defraud over 20 foreigners around the world over five years. Identifying themselves as officials from the ‘Spanish Justice Administration’, they persuaded the victims to part with an estimated €20,000 each supposedly for payments and public taxes for a bankrupt timeshare scheme in Austria.

By Gillian Keller & Elisa Menendez

The masterminds of the operation were in Palma, with one in Malaga, who targeted mostly expats with criminal records. In the clever scam, the criminals developed a banking framework that allowed them to constantly move the fraudulent cash, preventing it from being quickly intervened by officials. Officers said that the network was so complicated it took three years to investigate and required the help of agents across Europe. Despite snaring numerous members, the investigation is still open and more are expected to be arrested.

The first arrest occurred in Palma, with six search warrants executed around the city and two more off the island. The accused are all of Spanish nationality, apart from one Italian. They, along with other staff at the firm, are being investigated for fraud, money laundering and organised crime. The hero of the raids is Coco, however, who is trained to sniff out all types of bills, be it dollars, euros or yen - and also uncovered several documents relating to the scheme which had been hidden in one of the probed offices. The investigation continues.

HAUL: Fake foods

Counterfeit crackdown AROUND €2 million worth of illegal goods, mostly from Asia, have been seized by Palma Police. One of the island's biggest points of distribution of counterfeit goods has been shut down, with more than 8,000 illegal items confiscated. Police also have identified 31 people from different nationalities connected to the network – so far one has been arrested.

Smuggled

Police first found boxes containing smuggled goods that have avoided EU regulations and taxes inside a car in Palma. The investigation began and led to the base of the operation in Palma. The goods would have eventually been dispersed around the island and illegally sold by vendors on beaches had police not intervened.

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Bombshell for beauty queen One Tree Hill star pops in AMERICAN actress Lindsey McKeon has been enjoying her first holiday in Mallorca. The 36-year-old is best known for starring in hit series Supernatural and teen drama One Tree Hill before that. The TV star has been enjoying a Balearic holiday with husband Brant Hively, spending much of their time in Deia and the surrounding Tramuntana mountain area.

ON TOUR: Lindsey and (top) with Brant

A FORMER Spanish beauty queen has been seriously injured after being blasted by a car BOMB that was intended for her boyfriend. Olatz Bilbao Gonzales is in hospital with serious leg injuries following the attempted assassination in Belgrade, Serbia. The former Miss Marbella, 20, was sitting in the passenger seat of the Audi car waiting for her partner, Strahinja Stojanovic,

28, who had run back into their apartment to retrieve his phone. Police believe the bomb was intended for Stojanovic, a local man known to police who has recently been released from prison. He was not hurt. Gonzales, who won Miss Marbella in 2015, managed to get out of the car, screaming with pain, after the bomb went off and was rushed to hospital by ambulance. SHOOK: Gonzales

Lord of the Rings star joins Kate Moss and Sadie Frost in the Mallorca hills

Liv’in it up

SHE is famous for her starring roles in blockbusters including Armageddon and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now 41-year-old motherof-three Liv Tyler has taken some time to enjoy the Tramuntana mountains – especially the popular celeb hangout of Deia. The hollywood star was spotted looking radiant and make-up free in a black embroidered kaftan at the esteemed Ca's Patró March restaurant - where several scenes of the hit TV series The Night Manager were filmed. After joining her father and Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler in Paris for a family holiday, the actress popped

Don Danny HOLLYWOOD actor Danny DeVito is gearing up to receive a lifetime achievement award at the San Sebastian Film Festival next month. The 73-year-old Batman Returns star will receive the coveted Donostia Award on September 22 for his ‘versatile career’ in theatre, film and TV lasting almost five decades. Past winners have included Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro and Bette Davis, while the Basque film festival is considered the oldest and most prestigious of its kind

HOLIDAY VIBES: Liv in Deia and (below) with Nick to Mallorca for a two week getaway. The American actress joined BBC One Radio presenter Nick Grimshaw for his birthday celebrations in the mountain town, and then stayed to explore the island with family. Kate Moss and Sadie Frost were among the throng of celeb guests also attending

in the Spanish-speaking world. Currently starring in hit TV show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, DeVito rose to international success after winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his iconic performance in Taxi in 1998. PALS: Sadie and Moss

STRIPPED DOWN: On costa run and (right) in tennis gear

Speedo Gonzales Grimshaw’s party. Tyler was joined by partner of four years David Gardner and their two children Lula Rose, 2, and Sailor Gene, 3 on the 15-day trip. “Mallorca is amazing – it has been fascinating, especially of the whole area of the Tramuntana mountains,” Tyler told locals as she ate at Ca's Patró March. “Of course I plan to return.” The New York-born actress has recently been causing a stir as Lady Fitz in the Hulu series Harlots after she joined the cast for its second season in July.

NOVAK Djokovic has been spotted jogging along the Costa del Sol ahead of this year’s US Open - in tight swimming trunks. The tennis star was seen enjoying a run in Marbella wearing nothing but his Speedos, cap and sneakers. He completed the minimal look with a black necklace featuring a gold crucifix. The father-of-two even had a go on the public gym equipment along Marbella’s beach promenade, performing pullups and leg presses, all the while sporting the rather tight budgy smuggler. The 31-year-old Serbian was later seen taking a dip in the sea after changing into different swimwear. He is believed to have been staying at the luxury Puente Romano hotel on the Golden Mile, where he has regularly been spotted training on its tennis courts. Djokovic defeated Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in his first match of the US Open last night.

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August 30th - September 12th 2018

NEWS

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No more knock-offs ANYONE caught buying goods from illegal street vendors in Palma will be fined from September 1. This includes sunglasses, fruit, massages, handbags and hair braids. Fines range from €100 to €750 enforced by both local and Polica Nacional.

Restaurants are suffering a 20% drop in turnover this summer RAID: In Ibiza

High seas POLICE have seized cocaine worth €17 million on a luxury UK-registered yacht close to the Ibiza coast. Officials say it is the biggest cocaine haul they have ever discovered on the Balearic Islands. It comes after 300 kilos of the Class A drug were intercepted on Sunday morning around 15 miles from Ibiza. Five people, who were on board the lavish yacht, have been arrested in connection to the load.

Ropes

While the boat was flying a Gibraltar flag, four of the suspects are Dutch and one is German. Half of the cocaine was found in packets tied with ropes and the rest was discovered under the floor of the captain’s cabin in a secret compartment. The vessel was tracked by Policia Nacional leaving Palma and heading towards the mainland. Officials found the crew collecting bales of cocaine which had been thrown into the sea from a larger ship. The common “drop off” technique allows smaller boats to pick up the drugs and take them back to the coast.

RESTAURANT trade is down by a fifth this summer. A number of factors are being blamed on the dramatic 20% drop, including a decline in holiday rentals due to new laws being introduced. According to Mallorca’s restaurant association, the drop started in May, which was colder and wetter than usual. The association surveyed cafes, bars and restaurants all over the island, with very similar results throughout all tourist areas.

August 30th - September 12th 2018

ernment is set to crackdown on boozy all-inclusive trips in Mallorca and Ibiza by bringing in new regulation. It comes after a string of

No switching off! MORE than half of Spanish workers admit they respond to work emails during weekends and holidays. According to a new report, 51% of Spain’s workforce find it impossible to switch off completely from their job. And the higher up you are, the more likely you are to keep your mind at work during your time off. While only 45% of low-ranking employees check their emails outside working hours, 68% of middle managers and 84% of senior managers deal with work on their weekends and holidays.

farms around Spain, including Aragon, Asturias and Catalunya. The goal is to educate Balearic farmers on new technologies and optimising resources, while touching on safety and maintenance, hygiene and animal welfare.

Grub’s down

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BAD YEAR: Eateries have been down on trade

July also saw a substantial drop, in part blamed on the world cup, with many regular diners eating at home. While the first week of August saw a slight rise, business has dropped again. “At the moment we are at the same levels of sales from May and June, which is more than worrying,” said president of Mallorca's restaurant association, Alfonso Robledo.

Booze ban for brits BRITISH holidaymakers are in for a surprise with free alcohol on package holidays set to be banned in Spain. The Balearic Islands gov-

August 30th - September 12th 2018

Farmer camp

A SERIES of training tours are being organised for farmers in Mallorca. There are four different trips organised for the sectors of dairy, fruit and vegetable, almond and sheep. The tours are three or four day educational trips to

Strangest

“No one was expecting business to be this low, but at least we are all in it together,” a Palma bar owner told the Olive Press, wishing to stay anonymous. “I have had restaurants for over 20 years around Palma, this is the strangest summer yet,” the British expat continued. “Last winter’s business was almost better than the past couple of months’.” June was a bad month, blamed on the unusually warm summer in northern Europe, and a drop in last minute flights.

laws were recently introduced by the local government in a bid to control unruly tourists in areas such as Magaluf. The new rules suggest tourists must order and be served drinks from a waiter, which they will have to pay for, instead of hitting the bar without a wallet at an all-inclusive hotel.

Holidaymakers

This also stretches to holidaymakers sitting outside of the main dining area during allocated meal times, while free drinks in mini bars will also be strictly off limits.

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F e at u r e

www.theolivepress.es Mallorca’s original community newspaper

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than 500,000 people a month.

OPINION TripAdvisor on trial IT’S something everyone has suspected for years, but now, thanks to good old fashioned journalism, it has been finally exposed. In a classic newspaper sting, the Olive Press has this week proven that a variety of businesses along the coast are not scared to cheat in order to get on. Our front page on TripAdvisor has caught a businessman selling fake reviews in order to help restaurants and rental homes move up the rankings. And it’s not just a few places. In one incredible case, a restaurant allegedly rose from 100th position to first place in just two months. It is a scandal that is as shameless as it is fraudulent and it is lucky TripAdvisor says it is investigating. If only Twitter and Facebook also better probed those businesses who shamelessly buy followers and ‘likes’ to make them appear more popular. Well, the proof is in the pudding. When you see a website, or an Instagram or Twitter feed suddenly grow from 5,000 to 20,000 followers almost in a week, you know something is wrong. Take it from us, we have built up our massive web following organically and ethically over a decade, with no artificial injections. It’s a shame some of our rivals have done it differently! Either way, next time you are looking for the ‘best restaurant near you’, take the results with a pinch of salt - many of them could have been paid for! As we are about to hit ‘scroll free September’ and a British campaign against social media, perhaps it’s time everyone tried to go back to genuine, old fashioned experts. All in all, If you want real, honest reviews use good local media, proper independent websites and good local bloggers. And, above all, trust the word of someone you know. It’s not Fake News, honest. Publisher/ Editor

Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es

Newsdesk newsdesk@theolivepress.es Tel: (+34) 665 798 618

Head of SALES Sarah Adams sales@theolivepress.es

Gillian Keller gillian@theolivepress.es Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es Elisa Menendez elisa@theolivepress.es Pablo Balbontin pablo@theolivepress.es

Admin Beatriz Sanllehí (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es Office manager Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@theolivepress.es Distribution Graham Warters distribution@theolivepress.es

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Princeton University’s partnership with the Olive Press goes from strength to strength as the Class of 2018 graduates with flying colours. This year’s interns Diana Tang and Grace Lee write up their end-of-term report

OR the past nine years, Princeton University has sent two interns to the Olive Press as part of their International Internships Program, a project that sends undergraduate students from the world-famous Ivy League campus to all corners of the globe for eight weeks of summer work experience. Soon after applying, we were carted off to ‘Sabi’ (Sabinillas) a small beach town on the southern coast of Spain, with no idea what to expect. But before we knew it, we were caught up in the whirlwind of life at the Olive Press. As our eight weeks come to a close, here are the highlights of our experience writing for the best expat paper in Spain.

INTERNS: (Left) Grace Lee and (right) Diana Tang

Ivy League at the Olive Press

Work Experience

At the Olive Press, our voices were not just heard but our works were published. We were treated as journalists, not just as interns, which motivated us to produce original, engaging pieces. We wrote both hard news stories and features. Although many of our working days were spent at our desks, typing away on our laptops, the diverse stories in Spain and our weekend travels made even those sedentary less vineyards at a bodega in Ronda. hours enjoyable. Many of our assignments al- We’ve tackled a lot in the past eight weeks lowed us to experience Spanish culture first but have yet to set foot in the Basque Country hand. We wrote about Malaga’s campaign or in Mallorca where an edition of the Olive Press is published every two weeks, which to award Unesco protection to gives us the perfect excuse to its espetos (sardines roasted olive press return and add to our long list online on skewers from boats on the of the strange things we found beach) and reported on the T 2 in Spain! Here’s what stood out new government decree to al3 for us this time round: 4 low live music in the city. And 5 after the last word had been Shrine to written, we chowed down on a mass these delicious fishy skewers murderer and listened to musica en vivo at a local café. There were fascinating backstories and quirky details to Figuring out the dining customs be explored and reported on has been quite an ordeal, from at every location we visited. having to flag down a waiter for everything to the crazy eating hours, with dinner at around 9 or 10pm. Even after eight VARIETY: From weeks, dinner at 8pm is the on war criminals in We were both newcomers in articles best we managed. Sevilla to iconic poet Lorca Spain so every chance we saw In American restaurants, you CULTURA LA LACULTURA to explore, we jumped at it. walk in for dinner around 6pm We made the trek up to the An ode and are greeted with free water bustling cities of Barcelona I and bread, courtesy of the resca Lor to and Madrid and climbed the taurant. When we walked into steep hills of Sacromonte in our first restaurant in Spain at Granada under the scorching 7pm the waitress gave us a puzheat. We drank our way along zled look (presumably because the sun-kissed beaches of we were so early) and brought the Costa del Sol. We chased out two bottles of water and a after one of our biggest pasbread basket for which we were sions, jamón, in Jabugo and charged €5 euros on the bill. marvelled over beautiful caThings which are free in the thedrals and delicious tapas States and which we’ve come in Sevilla and Córdoba. We to take for granted aren’t free also fell in love with the rich culture and his- in Spain. tory of Granada. Another surprise was the Spanish penchant And on our memorable last weekend in for drinking. Whether at lunch or dinner, it Spain, we danced with the locals in flamenco was common to see most customers casualdresses at the famous Feria de Málaga and ly downing glasses of vino blanco or cerveza. sipped wines on a balcony overlooking end- And while restaurants in America will often round off your meal with free mints, we were taken aback by the shots of red Pacharán liquor that were brought out with the check. WEBSITE

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Visitors to Sevilla’s Basílica de la Macarena little realise they are admiring the tomb of Franco’s chief executioner - thanks to Spain’s Pact of Forgetting

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in Magaluf, homeless man tattooed on a stag DISGRACE: (from top left clockwise) Brits on a booze tour about the Spanish locals and one tourist aining compl do, drunken revellers in Benidorm, Freda Jackson ‘tourist go home’ signs are apperaring that r wonde any it is r... ymake holida en drunk r violates anothe around the islands?

We’re Sorry

Dear Spain,

e know you are a patient and long-suffering bunch, well, please can we ask you once again not to judge us Brits by the sinverguenzas who choose to poo over your balconies or perform oral services for a free cocktail, but by the majority of respectful expats who are privileged to call your beautiful country home. Seriously though, how did we get here? Brits used to be famed for their polite manners and punctuality. Now we are better known for our excessive drinking and outrageous party antics compounded by the senseless alcohol-fuelled sport of ‘balconing’. The facts speak for themselves. Some 46 patients were treated for injuries after falling or deliberately jumping from balconies in Spain between 2010 and 2015 - and 60% were Brits. The last two years have seen this number grow, with almost 10 Brits dying this year alone. And that’s only one example from a whole catalogue of outrageous behaviour that has seen holiday high jinks sink to a shocking new low. Just this week we were sent a video from Benidorm which showed a British reveller putting his penis in the mouth of a passed-out compatriot. And who can forget the brazen British girl who performed oral sex on 24 men for a free drink in 2016, or the man who fell from a balcony in Mallorca last month while trying to defecate over the edge. Closer to home, beach club brawls and stabbings at Costa del Sol haunts dominated the headlines last summer.

Two rival gangs’ fight spilled onto the streets of Puerto Banus and ended with one member trying to run over his rivals. Is it any wonder that some of Spain’s biggest resorts are starting to resent the tourists? ‘Tourists go home’ and ‘Tourist, you are the terrorist,’ are just some of the messages that have been graffitied at hotspots in the past year. Just because resorts make a killing from visiting Brits every year, it doesn’t mean they have to put up with such antics. And while most Brits behave themselves, as we know, it’s only the headline-grabbing activities which are etched in the memories’ of fed-up Spaniards - like Freda Jackson, who famously complained this month of there being ‘too many Spaniards’ during her recent trip to Benidorm. So yes, there will always be Brits behaving badly in Spain, but please, don’t tar us expats with the same brush! We embrace the culture, we learn - or try to learn - the language and we have the utmost respect and pride for our adopted homeland and Spanish neighbours. We hope you will bear this in mind the next time you roll your eyes in disgust at yet another story about a British reveller behaving badly, and accept our apology on behalf of the whole damned lot.

Dusculpanos

The Olive Press team

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War on herbicide SPANISH green party Equo is demanding an ‘immediate ban’ on the herbicide Glyphosate which has been linked to terminal cancer. The call comes after American courts ordered the manufacturer to compensate a victim who fell prey to the disease after exposure to the product. Developed in the 1970s by Monsanto, now owned by pharmaceutical giant Bayer, Glyphosate has been denounced on multiple occasions due to its negative effects on the environment and human health. Based on official government data, ecologists claim that at least one of Spain’s three major rivers is contaminated with the substance. Equo pointed to Bayer’s difficulty in getting its manufacturing license renewed in Europe. “It’s no coincidence that the European Parliament blocked Monsanto which has been accused of interfering with scientific reports about Glyphosate”. However the European Commission maintains that use of the herbicide in the EU is based on ‘scientific evidence’, adding that every country is free to use it or ban it as they choose. A Bayer’s spokesman said: “The court’s decision doesn’t change the fact that more than 800 scientific research reports state that Glyphosate doesn’t cause cancer”.

Eelly weird DEAD moray eels have been washing up on Mallorca’s shores. Nearly 100 eels have been found dead in recent days, leading to the government to launch an enquiry. Investigations have so far ruled out pollutants and fishermen as a cause of death, but notice all the eels have destroyed livers. The current assumption is that a bacteria or virus is affecting the eels.

August 30th - September 12th 2018

Final straw

Green campaign launched as it emerges Spain uses more plastic straws than anywhere in Europe GREEN campaigners are demanding new laws to ban plastic straws around Spain. It comes after it emerged that the country is Europe’s biggest user of straws, which take up to 500 years to decompose. A shocking 4.7 BILLION are discarded every year in Spain - around 13 million each day - and it is the fifth

By Laurence Dollimore

most common waste found on the country’s beaches. On average every Spaniard uses 110 of these plastic single-use items annually, or one every three days. Greenpeace is now calling on Spain to introduce laws to ban plastic straws and other disposable products. "Plastic straws have be-

come one of the most frequent pollutants in our seas, beaches and rivers,

STUFF OF NIGHTMARES

TWISTED: Stuffed lion

Pig of a problem

DYING: Moray eels

A WOMAN is under investigation for trying to sell a stuffed lion online in Spain. It comes after Malaga cops found the advert offering the stuffed beast for €6,000 in Barcelona. In a sting, police arranged to meet the woman to buy the item before seizing it. Specialists confirmed it was a male African lion and that it was ‘in perfect condition.’ “From the side it doesn’t look very real, but when you see it, with its head and teeth, you know it’s authentic,” said sources from Seprona.

The woman claimed her late father-in-law had killed the animal on a hunting trip to Namibia in the 1990s. He brought the animal to Spain and kept it in a storage room. The lion remained there until it was passed on to the woman, who decided to sell it on the classified website for €5,995. Seprona has launched an investigation into the alleged possession and trade of an endangered species and passed the case on to prosecutors.

despite being the most unnecessary plastic utensil,” said Julio Barea, of Greenpeace. “In the Mediterranean they already account for 6% plastic pollution." He added that they ended up being ingested by fish as microplastic, so therefore return to our tables through our own consumption.

Waste

Cigarette butts, food wrappers, plastic bottles and plastic bottle caps are the top four most found waste products on Spain's beaches. It is estimated that between 40 and 60% of the turtles in Europe's seas ingest plastics, while more than one million birds and about 100,000 marine mammals die every year as a result of plastic pollution.

THERE are now more pigs in Spain than people. According to the environment ministry, the resident swine count stands at 50 million - some 3.5 million more than the human population. Their number has soared by nine million in the past five years, causing concern over the environmental impact of one of the country’s most profitable industries. The sale of pork products added €6 billion to Spain’s coffers last year, but pigs are now the fourth-largest generator of greenhouse gas emissions after transport, electricity generation and industry. Meanwhile, every pig consumes 15 litres of water a day, totalling 750,000,000 litres – a worrying trend in a country plagued by drought. Their waste, which contains high levels of nitrates, is also beginning to contaminate ground water, according to green groups. It’s the latest in a a litany of food safety scandals which have damaged the industry’s image. A police probe was launched earlier this year after a customer returned a worm-riddled ham to a Carrefour. Investigators revealed a network of unscrupulous suppliers and more than 50 tonnes of ham that was destined for the incinerator but instead had been relabelled with new sell-by dates.

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NE WS

August 30th - September 12th 2018

Cowabunga! German expats arrested over illegal business that shipped rare and endangered turtles around the world By Gillian Keller

A PAIR of German expats have been arrested after police raided what is believed to be Europe’s biggest illegal turtle farm in Mallorca. Around 1,100 endangered turtles and 750 eggs were seized by police in the raid at the finca, in Llucmajor. Many of the turtles came from America, Canada and Mexico and are among the world’s most endangered species and worth up to €10,000 each. One rare Box Turtle specimen, from Thailand, is considered to be at a very high risk of extinction.

Breeding

that no longer exist in the natural world. The investigations began 18 months ago when the authorities seized an illegal shipment of Coahuila turtles at Palma airport. It emerged they were being sent

to the German businessman in Llucmajor, who had previously been arrested for turtle smuggling in 2009, but vanished. After Europol was brought in, the network was linked to a pet store in Barcelona that specialis-

es in exotic animals. "The turtles were well looked after as they knew healthy turtles gave the maximum yield of the reptiles,” commented director of Mallorca's Natura Parc Foundation Mariano Mas. “All are acclimated to Mallorca even though there were 62 species from all over the world and from different climates,” he added.

INTERIOR DESIGN

KITCHEN

"There are breeding pairs that reach a price of up to €60,000," said Pedro Garcia, of Seprona, the Guardia Civil’s environmental arm. He added that the majority of the turtles were being sold to ‘eccentric people’ who want turtles

SUMMER SALE

Taking the high ground SPANISH migrants living in the UK will be given the right to remain in the country even if there is a no-deal Brexit, it has been revealed. The UK government is set to take the ‘moral high ground’ even if the EU and Spain act differently, according to a leaked government report. The deal will be offered to all 3.8 million EU citizens residing in Britain who will still be able to use the benefits system and access the NHS. It comes after fears grew over potential labour shortages in certain sectors once Britain is no longer in the EU. British expats in Europe were warned of losing access to their pensions and hit with taxes when using credit cards if no deal is agreed. Annuities, deposit services, lending and insurance are just some of the financial actions where expats could face difficulties if the EU does not take action. UK citizens in the European Economic Area will not be able to access these products without intervention from Brussels before the Brexit deadline. It comes after the UK government released its no-deal preparation plans last week, in a bid to offer guidance in the event of a so-called ‘hard Brexit’. Hugh Savill, director of regulation at the Association of British Insurers, said leaving the EU without a deal would cause ‘major inconvenience’ to millions of pensioners, travellers and drivers. He added: “We urge the Government to agree a deal as a matter of urgency.”

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yo va We u r lu vi e ew s

LE T T ER S

Safety is key in Mallorca

Don’t miss our Mallorca party guide for this summer SEE PAGE 10 10 10

for lively beach UMMER is prime time BBQs and all parties, mouth watering the stars. night dancing under towns across MalAnd even the small celebrate the seahow to lorca certainly know fesson in style. rounded up our top The Olive Press has you entertained through tival picks to keep August.

Party Guide

Selva

taurant.

IF those two lads were in a swimming area I could see why they would sue but being out with the swimming area and having no warning marker or buoy and being submerged under the water what do you expect to happen? (Boat propeller hacks off arm and leg of two young tourists in Mallorca, issue 34). When we use them we always stick around the shore line and use buoys, the same as I would when snorkelling or diving.

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saint celebrating their patron Llucmajor has been this year’s celebrations of for 300 years, making a party not to miss, with 12. Festes de Santa Candida running until August events and activities by Mallorca’s own MatraEvents include a concerts August 4, parades with ria del Mar Bonet on 9 and 11, and the big event ditional giants on theon August 12. and Cavallets dance Salvador with art exhibitions, Arta celebrates Sant parties everyday until Auconcerts, parades and 70s gust 7. hosts a ‘flower power’ On August 5 the town throwing a hotly anticipatparty, with with live DJs On the final night, August fit for ed party the night after. the town with a party 7, live music will fill fireworks display at all, ending with a spectacular midnight.

concerts is back with evening Sa Pobla's Jazz Festival Es Cavallets on August 22. after dark and the Sala for musicians, workshops and There are also seminars most art exhibitions. Music Festival continues The Deia International will be Thursdays until September. from the US and Taiwan On August 2 Wei Yi Yangon the piano. performing Schumann will play Bach on the cello on Asier Polo from Bilbao estate August 16. the stunning Son Marroig All concerts are at continues overlooking the Mediterranean. the Chopin festival monastery, Every Sunday in August concerts at the local in Valldemossa with architecture to Claustre de la Cartoixa. elegant views and Andratx uses their outdoor concerts throughout the host unforgettable month of August.

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first two weeks of AuCala d’Or spends the Festes Sant Maria del gust celebrating the full of events for the Mar with a program events, fairs and whole family. Sporting and parades fill the artmarkets, art exhibitions and pay homage to art streets with colour with a number of ist Joan Riera Ferrari, installations.

Musical notes

of Can Picafort celebrates The little beach towntwo weeks mid August with the Virgin Mary for craft fair. Also popular a market and artisan ducky race, while the among locals is a rubber correfoc (fire run) party ends with a spectacular tearing through the with demons and fireworks town.

troversial sport

Voted

Cala d’Or

Port of Valldemossa

the Port From August 4-19 over of Valldemossa hosts for a week of celebrations the Festes de sa Marina. popular Events include a beach sardine grill on theopen-air on August 14, an 16 showcinema on August coning Cars 3 and fishing 18 with a tests on August to each box of worms given festival participant. The where ends with a feast as the diners dress up folMoors and Christians, party in lowed by music and the square.

its patron saint with from The town of Selva honours for Festes Sant Llorenc a week of festivities main square hosts an conAugust 5 - 11. The town’s every day, including evening event almostand plenty of dancing. On certs, art exhibitions a tapas tour around town, August 9 there will be participating bar and reswith live music at every

Our Princeton interns travel to the Aracena, the birthplace of Jamon

15th- 2018 - August1st August 14th 2018 August 2nd August

CULTURA LA LACULTURA

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be Small towns seem toMallorca having all the fun in this August, writes Gillian keller

We map Spain’s love - and hate for its most con-

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Vol. 2 Issue 34 www.theolivepress.es August 2nd - August 15th 2018

BOATING HORROR

Tourists plan legal action after losing arm and leg in hellish speedboat accident By Gillian Keller

TWO young tourists are planning to sue after losing an arm and a leg in a horrific speedboat accident. The German holidaymakers were testing an underwater scooter off Es Trenc beach when the speeding vessel drove right through them and left them for dead. “Suddenly a boat appeared and was going very, very fast and hit us,” said victim Max, 20. “None of the crew of that boat helped us. “I had to swim 15 meters to our boat after losing my arm, I was so afraid of bleeding out”. The boat’s propeller had sliced his arm off just above

HORRIFIC: Guardia Civil diver finds tourist’s arm on seabed

the elbow. His friend Tobias, 26, was left floating in the water after having his leg shredded to pieces. A member of the boys’ boat helped drag them aboard before speeding to the beach where they were met by medics, some 45 minutes after the hit-and-run.

Tobias’s leg had to be amputated due to the severity of the injuries and remains in intensive care with a critical prognosis, while Max is believed to be in a stable condition. Doctors had been hopeful after Guardia Civil divers found Max’s limb among sea plants close to the shore

of Es Trenc beach the next day, that it could be reattached to his body. But surgeons have now ruled out the option as it was left submerged overnight. The lads had just finished their exams in Germany and were enjoying Untitled-1.pdf their first trip to the island.

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August 30th - September 12th 2018

Stay safe

Goodbye Spain

I OFTEN swim outside the buoys. But it’s no good expecting crafts to see you. You need to be aware, especially if you’re under the water, as they have no hope of seeing you. Like so many things, you have to do everything reasonable to keep yourself safe.

It’s not free. (British holidaymakers are in for a surprise with free alcohol on package holidays set to be banned in Spain.) Nothing is free. It’s built into the price. Goodbye Spain and the hotel tax. Sean Frain, Benidorm, UK

Graham Chaney, Mallorca

Count me out

FLASHBACK: Mallorca issue 34 Y

I don't want to be counted as a binge drinking balconyjumper. (Posters encouraging tourists to jump off balconies spotted in Brit hotspots in Spain) I don't feel offended by these posters, I feel offended by the sick behaviour of certain British tourists.

CMY

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Daive Rodriguez, Alcalá de Guadaira, Spain

Tourist hospitalised after being gored by bull with flaming horns at festival in Spain

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FAKING IT launches probe, as Olive Press exposes a Costa del Sol business ‘selling’ fake customer reviews on to the global giant’s website

BUSINESSES in Andalucia are paying to post dozens of FAKE five-star reviews on TripAdvisor in a bid to increase their rankings. An Olive Press investigation has unearthed companies offering packages of 50 glowing reviews for just €400. Restaurants, hotels and garages have utilised the services of Malaga-based company GCI Global, which promises ‘genuine reviews’ that will be ‘tailored to your business’. We can reveal that one of its clients, a Malaga restaurateur, managed to get to number one in his town on TripAdvisor after ‘purchasing’ dozens of ‘excellent’ reviews over just two months. In total, 99% of the comments for his restaurant - which we are not naming for legal reasons - are ‘excellent’ 5/5 with only one ‘very good’. “The restaurant was over 100

EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore and Elisa Menendez

(in the list) but look at it now,” GCI boss Ben Fisher boasted to the Olive Press. “It doesn’t matter if (the reviewers) eat there or not, although if you want to pay a bit more we can actually send someone,” added Fisher, who lives in Alhaurin de la Torre. “In fact if you pay we can send four people to share one pizza. Then we spread the reviews out over a few days. “I have dozens of clients.” The Olive Press probe was launched after we were ap-

Please forgive us! In an open letter to Spain, the Olive Press apologises for our unruly tourists

proached by an angry reader, who had been targeted by an unsolicited email from GCI last month. The advert read: “We offer tailor made professional review packages giving your business a boost and the edge over your competitors.”

Posing

Posing as potential clients with a holiday rental business in Marbella, our reporters were told by Fisher that the reviews would be ‘from real people’. “The reviews are from real people on the Costa del Sol, it’s not a bunch of fake accounts putting reviews on,” said Fisher, from Hull. “A potential customer doesn’t know if they are real or fake. It

WE’RE SORRY Dear Spain,

oral brazen British girl who performed And who can forget the drink in 2016, or the man who fell sex on 24 men for a free last month while trying to defecate from a balcony in Mallorca Brits not by the sinver- over the edge. at Costa del or E ask that you judge us club brawls and stabbings poo over your balconies guenzas who choose to a free cocktail, but by the Closer to home, beach the headlines last summer. Puerto Banus Sol haunts dominated perform oral services for who are privileged to Two rival gangs’ fight spilled onto the streets of his rivals. majority of respectful expats trying to run over home. and ended with one member of Spain’s biggest resorts are call your beautiful country we get here? wonder that some Seriously though, how didfor their polite manners and punc- Is it anyto resist tourists? are just Brits used to be famed known for our excessive drinking starting go home’ and ‘Tourist, you are the terrorist,’ across tourtuality. Now we are better compounded by the senseless ‘Tourists that have been graffitied some of the messages few years. and outrageous party antics in the past every ‘balconing’. alcohol-fuelled sport of treated for injuries after falling or de- ism hotspots resorts make a killing from visiting Brits antics. Some 46 patients were balconies between 2010 and 2015 Just because have to put up with such year, it doesn’t mean they in mind the next time you roll your liberately jumping from you will bear this reveller - and 60% were Brits. seen this number grow, with almost We hopedisgust at yet another story about a British of the eyes in on behalf The last two years havealone (CHECK). and accept our apology of outra- behaving badly,lot. 10 Brits dying this year from a whole catalogue damned And that’s only one exampleseen holiday high jinks sink to a whole geous behaviour that has low. new which shocking sent a video from Benidorm Just this week we were putting his penis in the mouth of a showed a British reveller passed-out compatriot.

WE ARE SORRY.

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Hot water

SOME 14 fire bosses have been arrested for allegedly embezzling €7 million in public funds. The Policia Nacional found that the Consortium of Bomberos Cadiz took out mass early retirement insurance policies. But when their employees retired early, chiefs siphoned off the money from the payouts. Authorities also found discrepancies in the consortium’s training courses. Large sums were paid to a company to provide training courses, but no evidence has been found that these courses took place. irregularities Meanwhile, were also found in grants and subsidies, which cops believe were used to pay for private trips. The irregularities date back to 2008 and cops believe at least €7 million has been stotop. the len by those at

Gibraltar Issue 78

Pipe ban FRUIT growers in the Axarquia are facing a 60% reduction in water use from the La Vinuela reservoir with no solution in sight. The Junta has decided to limit its use as the reservoir is already at 22.7% capacity and could drop even lower if the dry weather keeps up.

Est. 1946

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Vol. 3 Issue 78 www.gibraltarolivepress.com August 29th - September 11th 2018

Border brawl

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Celebrating

30 19

August 29th - September 11th 2018

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ibraltar National Day

August 29th - September

11th 2018

September 11th 2018 Vol. 12 Issue 299 www.theolivepress.es August 29th -

Red, white and wonderful Gibraltar National Day - always a celebration of sovereignty and self-determination takes on an added importance this year

PATRIOTIC: A sea of red and white will fill in Casemates Square, while

ORIGINAL: Fancy dress is a popular tradition

THIS is the woman who took on Spanish police protestors after an off-duty cop kicked her in the stomach during a protest at the Gibraltar border. Shocking footage of the incident sparked outrage, as Erika Gonzalez, 35, is seen driving a red Mercedes before her car is surrounded by protestors waving their flags at her windows and kicking her tyres. The trained nurse can be seen exiting the car and approaches the group of protestors before a scuffle unfolds. It was then that she was brutally kicked in the stomach by an offduty Spanish police officer. It is believed the mother had a child in the back of the car. She told the Gibraltar Chronicle: “I was trembling, I was shaking, and felt like I was cornered.” It comes after Jusapol police union protestors marched to the Gibraltar border from La Linea, demanding pay increases after what they described as ‘30 years of abandonment’. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo met with Gonzalez to hear her side of the story. Picardo said: “I am very grateful that Ms Gonzalez was able to come to No6 to explain exactly what happened. “I was able to express to her my anger and regret at the way in which she was attacked and I was also able to pledge the government’s full support in any issues which arise from this deplorable and regrettable incident.”

August 29th - September 11th 2018

The Rock’s ONLY free local paper

Gibraltar national day special pullout, including full timetable and special features, SEE PAGE 19

(inset) various characters

party... and organis- On that day, an overwhelming 99% of GibralIREWORKS and beers at the ready... The Passion truly makes this revellers - not tarians voted to remain British and, 51 years Rock is set to rumble as Gibraltar pre- ers expect more than 30,000 as, if not more, impasto mention the monkeys (Barbary macaques, later, they are just to the ever-volatile relapares for its National Day celebrations. - to join the celebra- sioned - largely due Just over half a century on from the ref- if we are being pedantic) tionship with their Spanish neighbours. erendum that gave it such a unique appeal, tions. their allegiance lies, “There is always a real buzz around Gibraltar As if to make clear where the Rock is standing taller than ever. day,” explains Brit- the Moorish Castle is illuminated in red and An abundance of local pride spills out over in the build up to national who covered the white to mark the occasion for a period of various days of celebration - including mu- ish journalist Joe Duggan, Rock for the Olive Press for a three weeks before the big day. sic of all genres, arts, food, While the Queen may not have made an apyear, while based in La Linea. photography, fancy dress and ago Prime Overwhelming “National Day was always one pearance since 1954, five years competitions - and is a perfect celebra99% of of the highlights of the year Minister David Cameron joined the from a excuse to bring locals and tourand is a time when Gibraltar tions in spirit, rallying his loyal troops Gibraltarians ists alike onto the streets. showed off how proud it was of giant screen in Casemates. voted to remain But the big day is September “For 300 years we have stood together, as one its history and successes.” 10, a day to show the world assure you British The festival is a mix of look- with our shared sovereign. Let me there really is nowhere quite ing back at Gibraltar’s proud that the British people and my Government like Gibraltar, and there is no is solid, history; and looking forward, stand with you now. Our relationship group of people quite like Gihe proclaimed to roars of celebrating the business opportunities, inno- sure and enduring,” braltarians. plans for this very modern approval. This year, it’s a statement as well as a cele- vation and building These sentiments are increasingly important bration; because with Brexit it’s a tense time peninsular. Determination for Gi- to Gibraltar in the light of international tenpolitically, and that only fuels the fire of the Organised by the Self to the limit by current braltar Group in conjunction with Gibraltar sions, being stretched out locals. the annual celebration Brexit negotiations and how they will play For just as the Rock is a symbol of the coun- Cultural Services, of the most important for the Rock. try’s strength and unity, the people are a re- commemorates one history: the referen- National Day is an opportunity to tell Spain flection of its charm and character and stand moments in Gibraltar’s citizens had a say on their Continues overleaf up as one of Europe’s most recognisable land- dum of 1967, when sovereignty for the very first time. marks.

‘You can’t get prosecuted… it’s just cheating’

FAKING IT Eroski billboard.indd 1

Eroski billboard.indd 1

launches probe, as Olive Press exposes a Costa del Sol business ‘selling’ fake customer reviews on to the global giant’s website EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore and Elisa Menendez

you want to pay a bit more we can actually send someone,” added Fisher, who lives in Alhaurin de la Torre. “In fact if you pay we can send four people to share one pizza. Then we spread the reviews out over a few days. “I have dozens of clients.”

Posing

The Olive Press probe was launched after we were approached by an angry reader, who had been targeted by an unsolicited email from GCI last month. The advert read: “We offer tailor made professional review packages giving your business

a boost and the edge over your competitors.” Posing as potential clients with a holiday rental business in Marbella, our reporters were told by Fisher that the reviews would be ‘from real people’. “The reviews are from real people on the Costa del Sol, it’s not a bunch of fake accounts putting reviews on,” said Fisher, from Hull. “A potential customer doesn’t know if they are real or fake. It

Please forgive us!

In an open letter to Spain, the Olive Press apologises for our unruly tourists

WE’RE SORRY Dear Spain, WE ARE SORRY.

E ask that you judge us Brits not by the sinverguenzas who choose to poo over your balconies or perform oral services for a free cocktail, but by the majority of respectful expats who are privileged to call your beautiful country home. Seriously though, how did we get here? Brits used to be famed for their polite manners and punctuality. Now we are better known for our excessive drinking and outrageous party antics compounded by the senseless alcohol-fuelled sport of ‘balconing’. Some 46 patients were treated for injuries after falling or deliberately jumping from balconies between 2010 and 2015 - and 60% were Brits. The last two years have seen this number grow, with almost 10 Brits dying this year alone (CHECK). And that’s only one example from a whole catalogue of outrageous behaviour that has seen holiday high jinks sink to a shocking new low. Just this week we were sent a video from Benidorm which showed a British reveller putting his penis in the mouth of a passed-out compatriot.

And who can forget the brazen British girl who performed oral sex on 24 men for a free drink in 2016, or the man who fell from a balcony in Mallorca last month while trying to defecate over the edge. Closer to home, beach club brawls and stabbings at Costa del Sol haunts dominated the headlines last summer. Two rival gangs’ fight spilled onto the streets of Puerto Banus and ended with one member trying to run over his rivals. Is it any wonder that some of Spain’s biggest resorts are starting to resist tourists? ‘Tourists go home’ and ‘Tourist, you are the terrorist,’ are just some of the messages that have been graffitied across tourism hotspots in the past few years. Just because resorts make a killing from visiting Brits every year, it doesn’t mean they have to put up with such antics. We hope you will bear this in mind the next time you roll your eyes in disgust at yet another story about a British reveller behaving badly, and accept our apology on behalf of the whole damned lot.

Dusculpanos

is not illegal. You can’t get prosecuted... it’s just cheating.” Describing himself as a ‘web marketing specialist’, he explained how if our reporters bought 50 reviews, our new business would receive two five-star reviews per day from his network of users consisting of ‘friends and family friends’. He offered to do 20 reviews for €150 or the 50 reviews for €400 - with payments made by cash or PayPal. So confident was he that it would boost our business ranking he offered a 100% satisfaction or a ‘money-back guarantee’. “You’re paying for direct marketing - the higher you go on TripAdvisor the more you pop up as recommended and the more business you get,” he insisted. Sadly, the process is not new. TripAdvisor has been caught out before, including a famous stunt pulled off by VICE website in which an undercover reporter set up a fake restaurant, The Shed at Dulwich, and made it the number one restaurant in London. Just this week a simple Google search unearthed a US-based company, Reviews that Stick, offering packages on the global supersite from $69 per month. “We can provide TripAdvisor reviews that would help your hotel or restaurant to improve

its reputation and increase its number of customers,” it offered. Local hoteliers and restaurateurs were quick to support out investigation. “I’m sure it is very common with restaurants here,” said Mark Wardell, manager of the Sunset Beach Club hotel, in Benalmadena. “TripAdvisor is particularly very open to manipulation and fake reviews. “You often see these small places pop up with phenomenal reviews that quickly sink without trace,” he added. Restaurateur Robert Grimmond, of well-established El Jardin restaurant in Frigiliana, added he had been aware of this practice for years. “It’s disappointing that businesses on the coast are still buying reviews in this way,” he added.

Trust

IT’S a shame that the authorities are now shutting down bars and other venues that have music early but let the Spanish carry on until they want (Tourism industry officially Spain’s biggest employer, outpacing construction, online) . I know we live in Spain but I went to an open air charity night last Saturday which was organized by three English bars and two Spanish, there was a licence until 1am but the police came and shut it down at least half an hour early.

Are we supposed to feel sympathy for a reckless individual who put himself in danger by standing in front of a bull that is being tortured? Well I certainly don’t feel anything for him, but feel so sad for the bull. It’s disgraceful that a supposedly forward-looking country still allows this to happen!

not new. TripAdvisor has been caught out before, including a famous stunt pulled off by VICE website in which an undercover reporter set up a fake restaurant, The Shed at Dulwich, and made it the number one restaurant in London. Just this week a simple Google search unearthed a US-based company, Reviews that Stick, offering packages on the global supersite from $69 per month. “We can provide TripAdvisor reviews that would help your hotel or restaurant to improve its reputation and increase its number of customers,” it offered. Local hoteliers and restaurateurs were quick to support out investigation. “I’m sure it is very common with restaurants here,” said Mark Wardell, manager of the Sunset Beach Club hotel, in Benalmadena. “TripAdvisor is particularly very open to manipulation and fake reviews. “You often see these small places pop up with phenomenal reviews that quickly sink without trace,” he added. Restaurateur Robert Grimmond, of well-established El Jardin restaurant in Frigiliana, added he had been aware of this practice for years. “It’s disappointing that businesses on the coast are still buying reviews in this way,” he added.

Trust

Dusculpanos

Change needed

No sympathy

2018 Vol. 12 Issue 299 www.theolivepress.es August 29th - September 11th

‘You can’t get prosecuted… it’s just cheating’

Costa del Sol hotel has three months to fight decision before it is demolished A HOTEL is to be knocked down for not having enough class! Benalmadena’s Hotel Vista de Rey must be demolished within three months, a court has ruled, Andalucia’s Superior Court of Justice ruled that the hotel falls short of its four-star requirement.

of the

week

deserves it’ Leave‘He migrant s alone Not enough Dear Olive Press, stars NEWS

December 6th - December 19th 2017

From Page 1

than permitted. Although the town hall and developer maintain this excess was later corrected, the judge ruled that the rectification would have taken place after the granting of the licence, so does not count. The building has 61 apartments and 46 parking spaces. The original building was granted planning permission by then mayor Enrique Bolin in 2001.

He even got himself a financial advice slot on a well known radio station, through which he snared unsuspecting victims. However, a comprehensive Olive Press investigation exposed his scams that involved stamps, coins and gold. We also revealed how he and his close pal Barry Nathan wined and dined up to a dozen criminals, anonymously, through the food column. He eventually fled the country following our expose, but we soon tracked him down to the UK, where he had changed his name by deed poll and was selling coins and antiques on eBay from a small Berkshire cottage. He was quickly found guilty under English law of conning people and given a suspended prison sentence only due to health reasons. “And because he promised to never go back to his online cons,” one of the British victim explained. But this is apparently not the case with two victims claiming he is still using eBay to sell ‘dodgy’ coins and stamps from his unpaid flat in Brighton, using the names ‘gqtrading’ and ‘gqtrading2’. “We are pretty sure he has broken his bail conditions and will have to finally go back to prison,” said one victim. “The nerve of this man is unbelievable.” His landlord last night insisted he should have known something was up from the start. “When we met to sign the contracts I thought he was a bit slippery, I went to pay for my coffee only for the barista to tell me he had left without paying his bill.” He continued: “He paid for the first couple of months but then just stopped. He told us his account had been frozen due to a money laundering investigation, which is probably true. “He then told us to stop contacting him and accused us of harrassment. “Now he is claiming he is seriously ill and can’t work to make payments. “We’ll see him in court.”

I dont think anyone is in a place to judge, even Spain (Migrants storm touristpacked beach in southern Spain, online). S’ WALL people are fleeing SMUGGLERThese war torn places like Syria and Afghanistan, we (as in the west) have absolutely no place to point fingers when our governments have contributed to this very crisis by selling arms A range A range and poking their noses in other countries of Waitrose because they want toof Waitrose take ownership and winesfrom oilwines make profit and other resources. When people start talking in an ignorant Available exclusively exclusively way aboutAvailable these at Eroski coming up on the people at Eroski shores, and assume to know why they are here and the actions that one or two ‘possibly might’ take all it says is they have been brainwashed by the media and other OF ACTUAL SIZE. opinions, and are failing to look SIZE.SETUP TO 25% ARTWORK ACTUAL ARTWORK SETUP TO 25% OFpeoples’ at them as human beings due to the media portraying them this way. The whole thing is disgusting. You’d think that image of the boy that was washed up on the shore a couple of years ago might actually sink in, or might make people look a bit deeper. sadly people only see what they want to see. Probing

It began probing the three star hotel and apartment block in 2011 after it was denounced over planning rules which set aside the plot for a four star hotel only. According to the PGOU town plan an apartment block was not permitted and it also breached rules by being over 700 square meters bigger

DOOMED: Costa hotel

POLICE officers have formed a human wall along a beach in La Linea to ensure that the construction of a beach wall went ahead. The wall, between the church of Nuestra Senora del Carmen and the perimeter wall of the fishing port of La Atunara, hopes to

deter drug smugglers from using the beach as a drop off zone. A combined police presence of Guardia Civil, local and national officers were present as fears grew that drug smugglers would try and disrupt the work.

Opinion Page 6

24/11/2017 11:18

Kerstin Inga, Spain Has anything piqued your interest in this week’s Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing letters@ theolivepress.es or alternatively message us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OlivePressNewspaper or Twitter @olivepress

OUCH: Tourist speared by raging bull

Stop the barbarism Shame it was only one person... Bulls belong in the fields not in the streets or bullrings. Spain needs to join the rest of the civilised world and put an end to this sort of barbaric behaviour.

Phil Burstow, Spain

Shaw Swanton, Portsmouth, UK

No justice

Not entertainment

Why is he still in prison when he hasn’t been charged with anything? (Seriously ill British man locked up with terrorists in Spain’s Andalucia after 1.5 TONNES of hashish found at Airbnb he was renting) 48hrs anyone? Yet we have murderers still walking the streets threatening people even though the evidence is damning.

This is not entertainment. The whole point of it seems to be to watch the distress of the animal. How do you expect the bull to react?

Burnt

Judith Lowe, Bristol, UK

Disgusting, shouldn’t be allowed. You play with fire, you get burnt.

Ian Roberts, Marbella, Spain

Graham Laraine Alberto White, Málaga, Spain

Absolute disgrace Absolute disgrace condoning bull fighting. I can’t feel sorry for anyone who goes to bullfights condoning such barbaric acts of torture to innocent animals. They should be deeply ashamed of showing such cruelty to animals and tourists encouraging such cruelty should be publicly humiliated and given the same treatment as they gave that poor animal. Sick cretinous SCUM. John Squires, London, UK

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Vol. 12 Issue 298 www.theolivepress.e s August 15th - August 28th 2018

THE EGG TEST

Everyone has heard of the claims that it is hot enough in Andalucia to cook an egg on the pavement... we visited Ecija, the ‘Frying pan of Spain’, to test out the theory, CRACKING JOB PAGE 6

EXCLUSIVE By Luke Madeira

BRITISH pensioners in Spain claim to have lost more than a fifth of their spending power over the last years as a direct result of Brexit. two Richard Hill, vice president of Brexpats in Spain, claims plummeting exchange rates, taxes and a rise in the cost of living have caused significant income losses. It comes as the pound sunk to a new low of just 1.10 to the euro last week, as worries of a hard Brexit magnified. The pensioner, who claims he’s around 22% ‘worse off’ since the referendum, believes expats will struggle regardless of whatever deal is reached ahead of Britain’s exit from the EU. The pensioner added: “The significant problem at this stage with Brexit is the fluctuating exchange rate. “Obviously fluctuations are normal, however the steady downward trend is seriously affecting people.”

Plummet

It comes after the Rabobank in London warned that a no-deal Brexit could end in euro-sterling parity, while last week saw the pound plummet to an eight-month low. British expat Karen Watling, from Sheffield, claims she has lost as much as a third of her monthly budget. “Over two years this has caused problems financially,” she told us the Olive Press. “Prices and commodities have also risen so it has been like a double hit.” The exchange rate was an average 1.24 in 2014 before climbing to an average 1.38 in 2015. However the year of the referendum saw the average fall to 1.22 before falling again to 1.14 in 2017. This year so far has been lower at 1.13 and it currently stands at 1.12. Brexpats in Spain has called for government-run internet bank a offering basic current accounts, debit cards and the option to carry out international and national transfers online.

The group even suggests ordering RBS - the only bank in the UK which the government has a stakein Turn to page 8

Seriously ill Briton locked up with terrorists after being fingered for 1.5 TONNES of hashish found at holiday rental home A BRITISH businessman - who attended Eton with David Cameron and Boris Johnson - is seriously ill in an Andalucian prison having been accused of drug smuggling. Robert Anthony MansfieldHewitt, 51, was arrested after police swooped on his rental home during a short business trip to Gibraltar two months ago. The consultant engineer, who insists he is innocent, has yet to be charged over the 1.5 tonnes of hashish police found in the garage of the villa he rented through Airbnb. He insists he has absolutely ‘no connection’ to the drugs that were being stored at the rental in Campamento, in San Roque. The owner of the villa, the Olive Press understands, was charged for importing cocaine into Gibraltar last year. In the case, that has strange parallels to the plight of Scottish student Robbie McMiller, MansfieldHewitt was woken up and ‘dragged out of bed practically naked at gunpoint’ by police officers at 8.30pm

TRAPPED IN HELL EXCLUSIVE By Elisa Menendez

on June 27. Colleagues and friends told the Olive Press that Mansfield-Hewitt, who has a PhD and no criminal record, is an ‘innocent man’ and has been wrongfully imprisoned. They added that the Chichester-raised engineer is currently in a critical condition and is being held in the medical wing at Botafuegos prison in Algeciras - a dangerous jail, which notoriously houses a number of Basque ETA terrorists. The Brit, a consultant at electrical company Genco Holdings Ltd in Gibraltar, who regularly travels to the Rock, suffers from severe liver disease Ascites and walks with a cane. His PA, Pilar June Ford, 54, said was ‘horrified’ when she received a she call from her boss screaming at La Linea police station. She told the Olive Press: “He was at the station shouting ‘please help me, help me, bring me clothes, there’s loads drugs in the house.’ It was horrible. of “I rushed there with a huge bag of medication, which he needs to take

CAGED: Notorious prison while (right) Mansfield-Hewitt and (above right) ETA terrorist daily for his illness.” “The doctor said he hadn’t been After spending two days in a cell, CAPTION: appeared in front of a judge at he given his medication and his liver San was functioning at just 15%. Roque court before being sent to BotaHis heartbeat was almost non-existent fuegos prison. and he was delirious.” Ford is concerned he has not been ceiving the correct medication, afterre- His lawyer Jose Maria Castro Eshe collapsed in shock as his ‘body started cudero believes he is now being administered the correct medicato shut down’ on the way to prison. He was rushed to ICU at Hospital Pun- tion, but still remains in a critical ta de Europa where his survival chanc- condition. The nightmare began after police were alerted to the es were described as ‘touch and go’. stash after following a man of Moroccan nationality, who

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pulled up outside the property and attempted to get into the garage. Police found 48 packets of hashish weighing around 33 kilos each, or almost 1.5 tonnes. If found guilty he could be sentenced to up to six years in a Spanish prison. According to his lawyer he is ‘fighting every day to free Robert’ and get him bail, meaning he would likely have to report to police once a month while he awaits

Have you got a comment on any of our stories? Do you have an important issue to raise or just something funny to tell us? Please email newsdesk@theolivepress.com •

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Hot water

SOME 14 fire bosses have been arrested for allegedly embezzling €7 million in public funds. The Policia Nacional found that the Consortium of Bomberos Cadiz took out mass early retirement insurance policies. But when their employees retired early, chiefs siphoned off the money from the payouts. Authorities also found discrepancies in the consortium’s training courses. Large sums were paid to a company to provide training courses, but no evidence has been found that these courses took place. Meanwhile, irregularities were also found in grants and subsidies, which cops believe were used to pay for private trips. The irregularities date back to 2008 and cops believe at least €7 million has been stolen by those at the top.

Pipe ban

FRUIT growers in the Axarquia are facing a 60% reduction in water use from the La Vinuela reservoir with no solution in sight. The Junta has decided to limit its use as the reservoir is already at 22.7% capacity and could drop even lower if the dry weather keeps up.

Not eno star

Probing

DOOMED: Costa hotel

SMUGGLERS’ POLICE officers have formed a human wall along a beach in La Linea to ensure construction of a beach wall went that the The wall, between the church ahead. of Nuestra Senora del Carmen and the perimeter wall of the fishing port of La Atunara, hopes to

deter drug s as a drop off A combined local and na fears grew t and disrupt t

-final of Spanish TV talent show 3065 views

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FANS of classic cars and ‘APPY! bikesBE are being invited to Port Adriano for the third annual Mallorca Classic Week. The program includes a festival of the classics, a contest for the cars, and the traditional Crime Drive that follows the footsteps of master Download our app now and detective Nick Nickerbocker. The week on the September beginstarts enjoying best Spanish 19, with classic cars that come news on the go. from all around Europe. The big party is on Saturday 22, with an American car show, food carts, live music and the annual Pin Up Girl contest.

August 30th - September 12th 2018

olivepressnews +TheolivepressEs So classic

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August 30th - September 12th 2018

Jordi Molla whose paintings have been bought by Johnny Depp and Thyssen goes on tour AN exhibition dedicated to artists living in Mallorca will feature the work of Spanish actor Jordi Molla. Known as the ‘Tom Cruise of Spain’ for his roles in action films like Bad Boys and The Alamo, Molla has been

Stomp all night

The Olive Press

ONETOP of the Orleans style bands in Europe is forhottest newsNew in Spain! coming to the Palma Auditorium this autumn. The Bourbon Street Stompers will bring traditional jazz and swing from Louisiana to Mallorca on October 5. The music is a mix of classic jazz instruments with the intense stomping tradition that comes from New Orleans. The band – with 25 years behind them – bring not only the music but the costumes from the streets of the 1920s and 30s.

Made in Mallorca

painting for more than 20 years. Now his best works will feature in The Passion Baleart Exhibition in Stockholm. The sample of 170 works can be viewed at the Edsvik Konsthall gallery until September 2. The show has brought together 25 artists who live in Mallorca. Molla, whose work has been bought by Hollywood star Johnny Depp as well as Ma-

what’s on

onsa party SANTA Ponsa is celebrating the Festival of the Rei en Jaume – its biggest festival of the year – on September 9, with battle re-enactments, parades, firework shows, markets and exhibitions.

STAR: Jordi

drid’s famous Thyssen family, will share a gallery with artist Richard Chiang and painter Pascual de Cabo. Molla, who has long been a prominent figure in the Spanish cinema scene - acting, writing and directing - has made a name for himself in the art world with his unusual aesthetic. Most of his paintings feature women emblazoned with a political or social message. DIFFERENT: Molla’s art

utumn begins SAY goodbye to summer with Manacor's September Fair - the first of the island’s autumn festivals, with an outdoor market, concerts and exhibits.

lues and jazz THE BLUES Brothers will be opening the eleventh annual Jazz Voyeur Concert at the Trui Theatre on October 12, combining blues, soul and humour on stage.

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Loved by Gandhi, banned by Franco and Hitler... how a loveable Spanish toro in a children’s book raised hackles all over the world, writes Jack Gaioni

T first blush, The Story of Ferdinand comes across as an innocent and heartwarming tale. After all, it is a children’s book, as well as a 1938 Walt Disney film. Yet Ferdinand’s legacy has taken on an unexpected life of its own, with many layers. The pacifist bull who prefers flowers to fighting has been caught in the crossfire of political ideologies,

AUTHOR: Munro Leaf

drawing world leaders, behavioural psychologists and top professional sports stars into the argument. Seldom has any book, much less one written for youngsters, become a sounding board for so many. Written in 1936 by American author Munro Leaf, it quickly became a bestseller, with many reviewers proclaiming it ‘the greatest juvenile classic since Winnie the Pooh. The tale has been translated into 60 languages and has been in continuous publication for over 80 years. The plot is set in Spain with many illustrations depicting Ronda, rural Andalucia and Madrid. Ferdinand, unlike most bulls, is a passive and peaceful creature with no interest in bullfighting. He prefers to smell the abundant flowers, his true passion. One day, men come to his pasture to choose a fierce bull to fight in Madrid. Ferdinand, as usual, is in the meadow indulging his floral fetish when he is stung by a bee. The pain sends him wild, snorting, charging and causing mayhem. Mistaking him for an aggressive bull, the men rename him ‘Ferdinand the Fierce’ and take him away to the capital to fight. In the ring, Ferdinand is distracted by the many flowers worn by the female spectators and refuses to fight. After his adventure, he returns home to his favourite cork tree to contin-

LA LACULTURA CULTURA

August 30th - September 12th 2018

The beef about Ferdinand

ue smelling the flowers. The fictional tale ends there but the story opened up a whole new chapter of controversies. Because of the sensitive time it was written - three months before the start of the Spanish Civil War - hyperpolitical ideologies on both sides interpreted its meaning through very different lenses. Pro-Franco factions perceived it to be a political tract promoting subversive pacifist propaganda and Franco banned it, calling it a danger-

NO BULLY: Pacifist bull Ferdinand was taken from his homeland in a field near Ronda (left and below) on the long journey to fight in Spain’s most famous bullring Las Ventas in Madrid

ous message that encouraged disloyalty to cherished Spanish traditions. It remained on the blacklist in Spain until after Franco’s death in 1975. In Germany, Franco’s ally Adolf Hitler was equally inflamed by the book’s ‘degenerate democratic propaganda’ and ordered all copies to be burned. After the war, attitudes changed. In Germany 30,000 copies were distributed to the country’s youth in an international mission to promote peace, while anti-Franco ideologues saw Ferdinand as a positive metaphorical alternative to the ‘toughest, meanest bull’ (i.e. Franco). Other leftists saw Ferdinand’s behaviour as an effective sit-down strike against capitalist exploitation. The saga didn’t end there. Ferdinand’s message has been hotly debated in the world of behavioural psychologists. The prominent Freudian journal American Imago interprets Ferdinand as the ‘eternal child … locked in happy innocence, nursing himself with the abundance of infantile pleasure’. The professional journal concludes that the bull’s ‘passion for flowers with his nostrils widened and his eyes half closed - like a woman in ecstasy - to be a clear-cut castration threat’.

Judged

Other psychoanalysts have judged Ferdinand to be manic-depressive, schizoid and homosexual while psychologist Lori Day took another view, calling the story ‘the first children’s book on gender nonconformity’. The LGBT community in particular has embraced Ferdinand’s message. Writing in The Guardian, culture critics asserted that Leaf took on one of the most virile aggressive animals in nature and made him a passive, loving, almost effeminate creature. Ferdinand’s message resonates with boys who dislike sporty, often violent heteronormative activities. It reflects the stand all non-conformist kids must eventually take, that ‘this is who I am and I will not apologise’. The controversy continues to this day. Accomplished Brazilian filmmaker Carlos Saldanha found Ferdinand the Bull so inspiring he produced and directed the 2017 animated movie of the same name, which was nominated for an Oscar. In his own words, Saldanha wanted to ‘capture and preserve the origi-

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LA LACULTURA CULTURA

August 30th - September 12th 2018

13 13 13

CONTROVERSIAL: Ferdinand was among the thousands of books burned by Hitler

CENSORED: Franco banned the book

NOT A FAN: Hitler while (right) Gandhi loved the book

nal elements of Spain…yet, also to stay true to Ferdinand’s essence of being a kind, lovable bull’. For various reasons, Saldanha chose American professional athletes for the voices and personalities of the animated characters, with reigning world wrestling champion and bodybuilder John Cena as Ferdinand. Cena, an intimidating and fierce-looking man yet softspoken and gentle, likens his personality and build to Ferdinand’s: “I’m a gentle soul with a big body… People think Ferdinand is fierce because he has a big body but he has a heart of gold…sound familiar?” The character of Guapo, Ferdinand’s determined and confident companion, is played by Peyton Manning, arguably the greatest quarterback in American professional football. When Manning asked Saldanha why he had been chosen the director replied, “Because I keep imagining you in your position with all you have the skills, the body, the mindset ...Don’t you sometimes have anxiety before a game? I

VOICEOVER: Jon Cena

want to tap into that side of your fighting aficionado, played devil’s advocate with personality.” his own children’s story, The Faithful Bull. His A long list of famous people have opening stanza states: ‘One Time there was a also embraced Ferdinand. Presi- bull not named Ferdinand and he cared nothing dent Franklin Roosevelt and First for flowers…he loved to fight…he was a chamLady Eleanor greatly pion!’. Most literary critics believe admired the book that Hemingway’s piece was a and mentioned it in pointed rebuttal to Ferdinand. Stalin made multiple news conThe Story of Ferdinand is a quick ferences. Mahatma Ferdinand the only read (less than 800 words) and Gandhi (far left) Munro Leaf claimed it only took non-communist him 45 minutes to write. So give it called it his favorite book. H.G. Wells and go and judge for yourself. Does book allowed in aFerdinand Thomas Mann retell a larger story? peatedly said much Are there political issues here? Soviet Union the same thing. Did the story tell you anything Even Joseph Stalin about yourself psychologically? granted Ferdinand Spiritually? Will the text have a favoured status as the only non- permanent place on your bookshelf as it has communist book allowed within the for so many others? The answers to these quesSoviet Union. tions may not necessarily tell us how Ferdinand Meanwhile Ernest Hemingway, a sees the world but rather how we see the world. Republican sympathizer and bull- What’s your take?

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From time to time as Ferdinand has been continually rebranded, there have been international calls for Munro Leaf to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Carlos Saldanha’s film version of Ferdinand was not the first attempt to put the bull in the movies. In 1938 a Ferdinand animated short won an Academy Award for best cartoon. It was produced by an up-and-coming director named Walt Disney.

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Leaf always maintained that he had no hidden messages in mind when he wrote Ferdinand he merely wanted to write a funny story. He did admit however that the story was indeed ‘propaganda for laughter’.

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The Story of Ferdinand is no stranger to the world of music. The story has been set to classical compositions and used as solo pieces for famous violin, piano and cello recordings.Recently, some of Ferdinand’s musings have been used as lyrics for some contemporary rock bands.

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weight, thanks to Gastric Mind Band

Spain-based cognitive therapists star on UK television special

olly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have publishers Hay House in New York, and were then talked with Martin and Marion Shirran about invited to share details of their work at two leading their Gastric Mind Band® permanent weight European psychology conferences at universities in loss treatment on the This Morning TV Show. Portugal and Poland. The Costa del Sol is acknowledged around the world They were recently invited to appear on the This for a number of reasons, but for a few in the know, Morning show to talk about the treatment and its including a growing number of celebrities, it remains development, you can see the full interview on the the Go-To destination for those wishing to achieve clinics web site – www.gmband.com. The revolutionary treatment which can be completed Permanent Weight Loss. The incredible story around the over either three or four days delivers what is surely Gastric Mind Band® treatment Utopia for dieters... Permanent Weight Loss using a goes back to 2012 when it was range of proven psychological interventions. Today developed at a small clinic the Gastric Mind Band® is regarded by many as the gold standard in permanent non-surgical weight loss in Fuengirola, treatments. by Martin and Marion Shirran. Helping people The unique approach has been refined during a decade of research and extenShortly afterlose weight is sive client trials. Every element of the wards Claudia Connell (left) a complex task treatment is evidence based. There’s no smoke and mirrors, no diet plan, and no of the Daily Mail, travelled requiring various exercise regimes to follow. “Helping people to successfully, and perto Spain to techniques manently lose weight is a complex task, meet the developers and experience the requiring a careful fusion of empirically treatment for herself. Two weeks later proven interventions. The treatment inshe wrote a two-page feature in the Daily Mail newspaper detailing her treatment that literally got the corporates Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Neuro-Linwhole world talking. Martin and Marion were then guistic Programming and the clinic’s own registered, flown to New York to be featured in a Good Morning TactileCBT along with Mindfulness Techniques, each America TV special regarding their approach; result- underpinned as and when required by Hypnotherapy. ing in them establishing a number of licensed clinics The treatment has been further enhanced following the new and exciting research in the field of Neuroaround the world. Following the TV appearances they signed a multi- plasticity. title publishing contract with leading Mind Body Various past clients have been interviewed in the media and on TV worldwide. One Sara Price, lost half her body weight following her treatment, Katie Drew, went on to lose over 100 pounds. Kaye Lindley, a past client was interviewed by Lorraine Kelly on GMTV Breakfast show after losing 105 pounds and reversing her diabetes. Read their stories at www.gmband.com

TRANSFORMATION: Katie Drew lost 100 pounds

MODERN: the team’s Fuengirola clinic

A MUST READ, DON'T DESPAIR - FIND SUCCESS!! Their highly-esteemed work has been featured in Vogue, Marie Claire, The Times, Telegraph and The Daily Mail

Written by expat cognitive therapists Martin & Marion Shirran Gastric Mind Band Therapy Elite Clinic, Fuengirola +34 951 311 591 mail@gmband.com www.gmband.com www.pausebuttontherapy.com

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olivepressnews +TheolivepressEs Butcher is back BE ‘APPY!

Booming tourism sector sparks job growth

THE MANACOR slaughterhouse has reopened THE tourism industry is now after a five month clo- the biggest employer in Spain. sure due to health viola- Figures show more than 2.65 tions. million people – 2.17 milThe facility was one of lion contracted workers and Download our app now three shut down thisand 483,861 private contractors Spring begin for enjoying poor the workbest Spanish – were employed in the sector ing conditions, bad han- this spring. news on the go. dling and processing of This represents 13.7% of meats. Spain’s working population It has also been caught (19.34 million people), meanre-selling expired meats. ing tourism has overtaken The slaughterhouse that construction as the top emcovers the East of the ployer in the country. island has seen various In fact, a whopping 75.5% of new installations and the country’s working popumodernisation, over- lation are employed in a serOlive Press seen by The the Ministry of vice-related job. Agriculture. TOP for news in Spain!

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August 30th - September 12th 2018

Good job! On the up SPAIN’S economy is set to grow by 0.7% over the rest of this year. The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) has predicted it will speed up on the back of the 0.6% growth registered in the second quarter.

Increase

However despite the booming tourism sector, wages have remained stagnant. Hospitality employees were paid an average of €9.32 an hour in the first semester of 2018, while construction workers received €11.73 an hour. Catalunya welcomes the highest number of tourists in Spain, with 19 million foreigners and five million Spaniards visiting the region last year, according to the INE.

Target

TOURIST BOOM: Some 13.7% of the workforce are employed in tourism

It is also the region that employs the greatest number of tourism workers, with 457,944 people employed in the sector in the second quarter of this year.

Sunny Andalucia comes in second place with 433,853 workers – a 7.5% increase upon last year’s figures from the same period. Although Madrid receives

fewer visitors than the Balearic and Canary Islands, it has more people working in tourism – 400,000 compared to 169,000 and 244,000, respectively.

This improvement in expectations comes from the latest data for social security affiliation, as well as electrical energy consumption and financing for companies and households. The national deficit, however, will reach 2.7% of GDP this year, remaining five base points above the original target of 2.2% set by Brussels, opening Spain up to punitive fines.

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relating to UK income tax, capital gains tax and/or inheritance tax. The most common reasons for declaring offshore tax are linked to foreign property, investment income and moving money into the UK from abroad. “This new measure will place

The Olive Press

Betting on death

PENSIONERS in in Spain TOP for news Spain! are selling their homes for half the price, but on one condition - the buyers let them to live in their property until they told El Español, who’s die. Known as ‘naked owner- planning on selling ship,’ the trend is grow- her 100sqm flat in the ing in hot markets like capital for just under Madrid, where young €200,000. buyers in particular are “I have all my family struggling to get on to memories here so until I die, I’d like to live well." the property ladder. estate "What I want is to die Madrid-based in my house,” 92-year- agency Eduardo Moold Carmen Segovia let is now one of many

which specialises in the purchase and sale of properties under bare ownership. Some commentators reiterated that the legal practice is completely above board but other Twitter users found it macabre. “One way or another, isn't it disturbing? You could actually wish someone else's death to have access to their homes? I wouldn't sleep well,” wrote one Twitter user.

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higher penalties on those who do not contact HMRC and ensure their offshore tax liabilities are correct,” said UK Financial Secretary Mel Stride. “I urge anyone affected to get in touch with HMRC now." According to reports, at least 17,000 expats have already notified the government about their foreign income, including holiday homes and overseas properties.

Secured

“Since 2010 we have secured over £2.8bn for our vital public services by tackling offshore tax evaders, and we will continue to relentlessly crack down on those not playing by the rules,” said a spokesman. Once the deadline passes, the UK will join forces with Spain and 98 other countries in the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) system, which allows all the nations involved to share financial data to help weed out tax avoiders.

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SPRAWLING: Alcudia property

Top of the props TWO properties in Mallorca have made the list of Spain's top ten most expensive villas. A villa in Alcudia and another in Puigpunyent rank third and fifth on the impressive list, compiled by Idealista. The Alcudia property is worth €30 million and was built by a group of Italian architects with many Renaissance elements. It is large with a 12-car garage and nine bedrooms, and a private helipad. The property in Puigpunyent is an ancient estate from the middle ages worth €26.5 million. The ten-bedroom mansion is surrounded by olives.

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olivepressnews

BRITISH expats have been warned to declare their asDownload our overseas app now and sets and earnings by September 30 or face penalbegin enjoying the best Spanish ties. newsRevenue on the go. and CusThe UK’s toms’ (HMRC) deadline comes after new tax rules passed on July 11 aimed at taxpayers abroad who aren’t declaring all the income they receive outside the UK. Brits in Spain must now report offshore tax liabilities

property

August 30th - September 12th 2018

PRICEY: In Puigpunyent

18 18

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by mortgage broker Tancrede de Pola

PROPERTY

MORTGAGE THINK TANK

Brexit rush

Why a Spanish mortgage is the way forward as the UK prepares to leave the EU AS Brexit looms closer and closer, the window of opportunity for Brits to invest in Spanish property before everything potentially changes is closing. There are just seven months until the UK leaves the EU and Spain’s favourable laws mean its government is actively encouraging Brits to put their money into its property market. If you are looking to finally buy your dream home in the sun, when it comes to mortgages, there are several things you need to consider.

Faster

One option may be a mortgage loan from a UK bank, as the process is faster and it is easier for the bank to check applicants’ creditworthiness. However, this option will only be available to you if you have property in the UK with sufficient equity available. The increasingly popular route is to borrow from a Spanish bank as a non-resident, as banks have shown a greater willingness to lend and interest rates have become more competitive. Spanish mortgages are calculated using the Euribor rate and adding a margin, with the rate now

at an all-time low following nine years of decline. Spanish mortgage rates for variable mortgage products typically lie in the 1.7 to 3% range (although, we do have rates as low as 1.25%), and fixed rate loans coming out at around 2.4% to over 3%. Another way to save money on transactions is to open a euro account with an overseas bank. This way, you can convert sterling to euros when rates are at their most favourable. That is where a mortgage broker comes in. The Finance Bureau is able to assist in the account opening process whether you are abroad or in Spain. It is also essential to have someone in your corner to highlight any hidden fees or compulsory add-ons tucked away in the small print and to ensure you get the best possible mortgage rate to suit your needs and circumstances. The Finance Bureau has more than 15 years’ experience in finding expats the best deal possible and making sure they’re avoiding the many pitfalls associated with buying abroad. When it comes to buying a mortgage, getting it wrong is not an option.

To contact Tancrede for all your mortgaging needs call: 666 709 743 or for insurance queries call: 951 203 540 Email: tdp@thefinanacebureau.com The Finance Bureau Centro Commercial Guadalmina, 2nOffice No. 7 Guadalmina, 29670

August 30th - September 12th 2018

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August 30th - September 12th 2018

Photographer documents the locals staying put in Andalucia’s cave homes A CHILEAN photographer has spent two weeks in Andalucia documenting hundreds of cave dwellers and their fascinating homes. As part of her project, Tamara Merino photographed cave homes and their residents in Gaudix and Sacromonte in Granada. “The most important thing was not to have any preconceptions,” she told The National Geographic magazine. “I like to sit with people and hear their stories. I share my life with them as well.” Gaudix is home to around 2,000 underground houses, where many residents still live an agricultural life similar to that of 500 years ago. “They still live with the animals inside the caves,” added Merino. Tocuato Lopez and his family have lived in the Guadix caves

ICONIC: Cave homes and (above) refugee residents

Meet the cavemen

for four generations. They offer shelter from the unbearable summer heat while ‘providing a sense of deep-rooted community’. “I’m very proud of being from the cave and still living in the cave,” he said, “I will die in the cave.” Sacromonte, which sits across from the iconic Alhambra in Granada, is mainly occupied by illegal squatters.

Meanwhile, the lower portion is mostly home to legal residents drawn to cave life for environmental and cultural reasons. Many members of the community, like Henrique Amaya, continue to live in the caves as a way to honour their Romani culture. “I was born inside a cave with the animals and the beasts,” Amaya, whose family has lived in the Sacromonte caves for six generations, told photographer Merino. His ancestors were the originators of the Zambra flamenco, first performed in the caves more than 500 years ago.

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Stirring the pot

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Punching for pintxos

Dining out in the Basque Country voted ‘world’s best eating experience’

A CATALAN chef has received death threats over a ‘controversial’ menu including dishes such as ‘grilled Andalucian Guardia Civil’. The Olive Press Nova Font Blanca restaurant in By Elisa Menendez the region of Lleida, has come underTOP fire for afternews creating an in Spain! unusual menu, causing quite IT’S official. Spanish cuisine is a stir among Spanish far-right the best food experience in the world. groups. Dishes such as ‘slow-cooked Well, more specifically it’s hands of Constitutional Court Basque cuisine, with pintxo prosecutors and judges’ offend- hopping in San Sebastian’s ed social media users who tar- historic old town voted the geted owner Toni Punyet with best culinary journey by Lone‘hundreds’ of death threats, ly Planet. which regional police are now Choosing from 500 different food experiences from all over investigating. The chef describes the incident the globe, the travel bible’s as a ‘misunderstanding’ and panel awarded the coveted top apologised, reassuring that ‘ev- spot of the ‘Ultimate Eatlist’ eryone is welcome’ at his mod- to the Basque Country’s mini taste explosions. est restaurant. guide recommends “A grilled Guardia Civil is a The grilled sardine,” added Punyet, spending a night hopping “It’s a typical Catalan culinary from bar to bar tasting as expression.” He also pointed many different pintxos as huout that there is a Spanish pig manly possible, while washing trotters recipe called ‘manos de them down with a glass of vino ministro’. It comes as tensions as you go. continue to run high between “If there’s a better way to exSpanish authorities and Cata- plore a culture’s cuisine than lan separatists, following the in- pintxos in San Sebastian, dependence referendum in Oc- we’ll eat our shorts,” reads the tober last year. There has been mouth-watering guide. hostility particularly between Runners up include tucking the Spanish Guardia Civil and into a creamy curry laksa at civilians, after police used vio- a stall beneath the towers of lence against voters and seces- Kuala Lumpur and testing your maki rolling skills at a sionist politicians were jailed.

What’s on for foodies!

ulla new

AFTER a month off for summer holidays, Santa Catalina’s Fulla D’Ostra reopens for the season on September 4 with a brand new menu.

ig fair

FOR over three decades Lloret de Vistalegre has been celebrating the local fig with a fair on September 1, with a tapas tour and local restaurants hosting special menus.

uy muy mamas

PALMA’S Mymuymuybueno Deli hosts its monthly Mamas and Tots day on Saturday September 1. Mums are invited to bring a selection of crafts and items to sell or display.

TOP SPOT: Pintxos in San Sebsastian are a must for food lovers sushi masterclass in Tokyo. Typically the ‘tiny bites’, or ‘Basque tapas’ if you don’t mind offending locals, consist of fresh meat, fish or vegetables piled sky-high on a slice of freshly baked bread. As culinary trends changed, the pintxo evolved and now hungry diners can find a mixture of traditional dishes to molecular gastronomy renditions all beautifully laid out in rows on bar tops. Compiled by top chefs, food writers and Lonely Planet authors, the guide was inspired

by the ‘inextricable link between food and travel’ and its ability to unlock ‘social cus-

toms’ and ancient traditions. No other Spain-based experiences graced the top 20 list.

h melon

VILLAFRANCA will host its famous melon festival from September 1 - 2, with a contest for the biggest and best melon in town.

Burger battle MALLORCA’S beefiest event is back and bigger than ever. This summer's famous Battle of the Burger festival is set to return to Palma's Pueblo Espanol on September 2. Meat lovers can get in on the action for just €5 with pre-sale tickets and tuck into a loaded

Tomatina on tour SPAIN’S biggest, messiest and most famous food fight has gone on tour to London. La Tomatina - a huge tomato-throwing battle - painted the streets of the UK’s capital red with mushy fruit and sangria this month. The annual festival, held on the last Wednesday every August, normally sees thousands of tourists flocking to the tiny town of Bunol in Valencia to launch around 130 tonnes of tomatoes. And now the giant fruit fight has taken over a venue in Marylebone, where guests were given ponchos and masses of tomatoes to get involved in the action. But in true London fashion, the fight took a more environmentally conscious approach by using tomatoes that would have gone to waste from Spanish restaurant Aqua Nueva, with leftovers sent to a compost centre afterwards.

patty from 13 of Mallorca's best burger joints, including Santa Catalina's Gin Burger, Hogan's Burger Bar and Lemon Tree. And to make sure visitors can try as many burgers as possible, vendors will be selling small versions and vegan options. Mallorca's own Forastera craft brewery will be providing the perfect pints to accompany each burger. There will also be live rock music on stage all day from bands including The Black Cats and Cool Daddies.

Something fishy POLICE have seized 45 tonnes of illegally treated frozen tuna around Spain. The fish had been been authorised for tinned consumption only but was labelled as ‘freshly caught’, while vendors were selling it at four times its worth. Seprona, the government’s environmental agency, intercepted the fish in Alicante, Barcelona, A Coruna and Cartagena.

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20 Food, drink & travel

Food, drink

August 30th - September 12th 2018

It mightn’t be tea at the Ritz but Spain’s own-brand supermarket products turn this great British tradition into a merry merienda at half the price. Diana Tang reports hot from the kitchen at the Great Olive Press Cake-Off.

Afternoon Tea Español

was staring blankly at the scene on my breakfast table - a jar of strawberry jam and a box of cereal when I noticed the brand Hacendado stamped on both these morning essentials. Curiosity got the better of me and I started rooting through all the products I had picked up in the supermarket the day before: milk, chocolate, salad mix, cookies, the list goes on ... Without exception, they were all branded the same. Hacendado is the marca blanca (white label product) of Mercadona, the biggest supermarket chain in Andalucia. The Spanish are the biggest consumers of generic brand goods in the world which ring up 39.5% of total sales in supermarkets here.

7.1%. Which gave us the idea of recreating our own version of Britain’s most lavish gastronomic tradition: afternoon tea with a Spanish twist - to see which store worked out the cheapest.. For savouries, traditional vol au vents and cucumber sandwiches have been swapped for tea montaditos and a biscuit canapé topped with queso fresco and dulce de membrillo (quince jam), a firm bronze-coloured jelly made from the quince fruit which grows on the Iberian Peninsula and in many South American countries. Queso fresco, a soft, creamy cow’s milk cheese, is another Iberian speciality. For the montaditos, we prepared two Spanish favourites (there’s a lot you can do with

TASTY: Selection of tapas

By creating their own ‘storebrands’ chains can deliver quality products to consumers at a much lower price than other branded producers.

Mercadona currently leads the market with 43.5% of sales coming from Hacendado products. Dia trails behind with 16.2%, Lidl with 11.2% and Carrefour with

HOSTESSES WITH THE MOST: Grace and Diana

one freshly baked barra, the Spanish-style baguette). The first we topped with jamón ibérico, a celebrated Spanish delicacy. After drizzling the bread with olive oil made in Spain, the largest producer in the world, we added grated tomato and a slice of jámon and está! The second montadito stars queso manchego, the artisan cheese of Spanish cuisine made with sheep’s milk. The buttery, fruity taste of

the cheese goes amazingly well with chorizo and olives, which add a savoury kick. For sweets, we’ve kept it simple with a mix of British and Spanish classics. Let’s start with the staple. What is a cup of tea without biscuits? You can find generic brand digestive biscuits, both plain and chocolate-coated, at all four of the largest supermarkets in Spain. As for the Spanish treats, we have all textures with flan de huevo, bizcocho

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CLASSIC: Montadito featuring manchego, chorizo and an olive to sweeten the deal

and turrón: creamy, crumbly and crunchy. One of the most common desserts in Spain, flan de huevo, is a rich, creamy custard made with eggs, water and sugar. Although bizcocho can refer to different desserts in different countries, in Spain it’s a scrumptious sponge cake in classic flavours like vanilla, chocolate and lemon. And we couldn’t forget the turrón a chewy testament to the great diversity in Spanish cuisine. This Moorish

nougat, a traditional Christmas treat in Spain, is typically made with honey and almonds. Finally, for sipping with one’s little finger crooked, there is classic English Breakfast Tea - with milk and a little Spanish something to jazz up this generally teetotal ceremony: a glass of sparkling cava, which should never be referred to as ‘Spanish champagne’, although it often is. Our Olive Press’ Spanish Afternoon Tea was curated entirely with generic brand

items from Spain’s top four supermarkets. With the most affordable options, your grand total comes to just €24.26 euros for all the sweets, savouries and sips. And even after your tea party is finished, you’ll have plenty left over for many more merry meriendas. Bien provecho!

Sweet Digestive biscuit dipped in chocolate Flan de huevo Bizcocho Turrón Sip English Breakfast Tea Glass of cava

SET MENU: Olive Press brunch

High Tea at the Olive Press Savoury Biscuit canapé Dulce de membrillo & queso fresco Tea Montaditos Jamón Ibérico, tomato & olive oil Queso manchego, chorizo & olive

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Someone...or something, is feasting on my food at night and I have no clue what, writes Lesley Keith

AM a naturally curious person and I always have been. I was one of those annoying children who continually asked ‘Why?’, not just as a toddler but ever since. I just can’t accept something, I want to know all about it. I wanted to know my family history, friends’ family histories, what people used to do, where they used to live. Most people love talking about themselves so it was hardly ever a problem. I always question guides in museums and galleries making their days by letting them explain something to a genuinely interested person. I go on loads of explanatory tours of things like factories and caves. If I visit somewhere I read up about it first so I know all the places to go and see, and there’s always that next corner or hill to discover what’s on the other side. My favourite books are who-dun-its, especially historical ones and I love cop dramas on TV where you work out the result as you learn more. If I can’t find the answer to something it drives me mad and yes, it’s happening now. We’ve got an unwelcome visitor. I don’t know what it is but I’ve googled pictures of the droppings being left and they are inconclusive. I don’t sleep very well anyway and

Columnists

August 30th - September 12th 2018

Mystery diner

CLUELESS: Evidence of mystery diner

this really isn’t helping. I usually get up at least twice in the night so put some washing on, make a cup of

tea or read, before trying to get my brain to switch off enough to sleep. I remember mentioning this to my

Mallorca diaries

By Lesley Keith

partner’s mother who suggested it nothing like that at all and never might help if I tried lying still with have had. Then again this morning my eyes closed. Really? Why didn’t I there was another one, in exactly think of that? My non-violence ethic the same place but this time on a was sorely tested that day. tea plate. I kid you not. I have been The other night I thought I could diligent in clearing every single thing hear something so I got up and for away into cupboards every night so once I switched the kitchen light on. that nothing gets contaminated. At the same moment a broom on How can this happen? the other side of the room fell over My partner, who doesn’t give two which shook me up just hoots about anything a tad. like this really got quite Every morning there’s exasperated when I Short of been little bits of more asked if it was him? I ‘evidence’ on the sitting in the got the ‘Are you stupid floor, work surfaces look – I know dark waiting I woman?’ and cooker top so the that look very well – folwhole kitchen has to don’t have any lowed by a shrug and a be completely cleaned, ‘What does it matter, answers again. why get upset?’ Well it On the dining room tamatters because I’m ble, apples in an uncovnervous of geckos, ered fruit bowl have had big holes scared of mice and completely and eaten out of them with the skin utterly terrified of rats, especially being left in little heaps, however any of those that bring their own bananas are untouched. I’ve pulled crisp breads and eat off my crockout my fridge, blocked around the ery. Short of installing CCTV or sitwashing machine removed every- ting in the dark waiting to see what thing up off the floor and still can’t happens I don’t have any answers. find anything. Please don’t ask me to set a trap, I Then yesterday when I got up there know I’ll just get too upset, we’re all was a ‘thing’ on the kitchen work God’s creatures after all. surface. I can only describe it as half It’s still a complete mystery and one a crisp-bread just sitting there. We that’s going to end badly and soon. aren’t crisp bread people and I have Watch this space, I certainly am.

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Spanish players furious at plans to host La Liga games in the US

THE union of Spanish footballers (AFE) has unanimously come out Download our app now and in opposition to La Liga's begin enjoying the best Spanish plans to play regular seaBID: For World Cup by son games in the US - and the go. Morocconews andonSpain it won’t rule out going on strike to protest against the proposals. La Liga’s organising body announced in partnership with multinational media, sports and entertainment group Relevent that it MOROCCO is planning to plans to hold Spanish topPress join forcesThe with Olive Spain and flight games in the US in Portugal to launch a bid to the future. joint-host the 2030 World

Football’s staying home

Shared goal

TOP for news in Spain! Cup. Compensate According to Moroccan news outlet Al Yaoum 24, La Liga has not given derelevant parties from all tails on when the first three countries have met matches there would take regularly over the past few place, how many games months and an agreement has been drafted for the per season would be infirst-ever pan-continental volved, how they would be selected or whether bid to host the tournament.

Losing

Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, has claimed there is ‘no doubt’ that the country will bid for the World Cup again after losing out on five previous occasions. The bid will have stiff competition given that the 2030 edition will mark 100 years since Uruguay, in association with Paraguay and Argentina, first held the cup, and the trio of Latin American countries will be bidding again, as will England.

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it would compensate the loss of home advantage for teams involved. Captains and vice-captains representing the 20 clubs in the league including Barcelona's Sergio Busquets and Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos attended a meeting in Madrid called by AFE president David Aganzo in response to the announcement. "The captains are surprised and angry that such an important decision was taken without being consulted. The players are unanimously against this,

no-one is in favour of it," Aganzo told a news conference. "There are some clubs that are in favour and others that are against it, but I'm speaking on behalf of the footballers." Aganzo, who became head of the union this year when Luis Rubiales left the role to become president of the Spanish Football Federation, did not rule out organising a players' strike if their concerns are not

Suits you, sir!

FAUX PAS?: Serena in catsuit and (right) Nadal

Pique-ing sides GERARD Pique has ruled out ever returning to Manchester United or the Premier League - while praising their rivals. The Barcelona defender joined United in 2004 but failed to establish himself at Old Trafford before returning to the Nou Camp in 2008. Pique went on to win seven La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies, the World Cup and European Championships. When asked if he would return to England, Pique said: "I don't think so. I'm very happy here. "It's my home, with my family and friends, and playing for the club I always dreamed to play, and I hope to win more titles here."

RAFAEL Nadal has supported the French Open’s decision to ban Serena Williams from wearing her iconic catsuit. The US tennis star returned to Roland Garros earlier this year donning the sleek black and red ensemble, but French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli insisted that her ensemble would not be ‘accepted’ in future tournaments. “I think we sometimes went too far,” he told Tennis Magazine’s 500th edition. “The combination of Serena this year, for example, it will no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place.”

Quizzed

When quizzed on the move, Mallorca-born Nadal sided with the event he’s won a record 11 times. “I think that everybody is fair to do whatever works better for the tournament,” he said. “I really believe when you have a tournament like Wimbledon that they do what they want. “You cannot say to another event that they have to do another thing. That’s my opinion. “Why if Wimbledon have their own rules, why Roland Garros cannot have it?” Williams has yet to address the French Open comments.

heard. "I will state very clearly that we will do everything possible to avoid this," he added.

A La Liga spokesperson said the organising body "will meet with AFE in the appropriate forum to discuss the plans".

We’ll be just fine REAL Madrid will be fine after losing Cristiano Ronaldo as long as they ‘keep calm under pressure’, coach Julen Lopetegui has said. It comes after Los Blancos came from behind to win 4-1 against Girona. "Both halves were tricky," Lapotegui told Spanish TV station Movistar. "Girona have a good collective game, they started well got an early goal and could have had another. "We kept calm under pressure and played well enough in the second half to deserve the victory. "We were calm and clear and had plenty of space When we have that this team gets going, it works and the goals start to flow.”

CONFIDENT: Julen

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Knock off NEW Spanish TV series, El Continental, has been slammed as a ‘cheap copy’ of Birmingham-based hit show Peaky Blinders, with users editing the show’s Wikipedia page.

FINAL WORDS

Stop war AMATEUR football team, Clapton Community FC, has gone viral in Spain for its anti-fascist shirt commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Civil War.

Bumped A MAN has been crushed by a 250 kilo giant globe while taking part in the running of the balls festival in Madrid.

Vandalized history A VANDAL has drawn a cat face in blue on a 12th century marble sculpture at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, a World Heritage site. The vandalism is seemingly a tribute to rock band Kiss.

Masked A man wearing a medical mask and a cap broke into a coffee shop in Málaga and threatened the workers at gunpoint, robbing about 1,000 euros.

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Vol. 2 Issue 36 www.theolivepress.es August 30th - September 12th 2018

Vicious black fly is buzzing its way around Spain VILE blood-sucking flies are on the rise in Spain - and they're spreading around the country. La Mosca Negra - or the black fly - was first detected in the country in 2006 along the banks of the river Ebro, in Aragon. Unlike other flying insects, the black fly attacks during the day, and is able to get inside long garments to reach your skin.

Bite-mare

Bites

Only the female bites and in the most serious cases they can land you in the hospital. When they bite, they remove a little piece of skin and inject a special anesthetic to be able to feed on your blood for a while without you noticing. The saliva of the fly causes the reaction, which is usually

WATCH OUT: Black flies leave a nasty bite a red lump which can swell and be aggravated depending on how allergic you are. Their bites are capable of killing mice and birds. When they first appeared in Aragon in 2006, over 2,000

people had to be treated for bites. Last year the region saw a whopping 28,500 medical consultations, according to El Confidencial. They are slowly coming

Rough rental WHY rent a room when you could rent a ‘grubby’ sofa for €375 a month? This is the advert which has caused outrage across social media this week, after a Facebook user advertised a ‘sofa for rent’ in a shared apartment in tourist hotspot Ibiza. The Facebook post read: “Sofa for rent in ample living/dining room with very nice views from the balcony. There are three of us and we need to reduce expenses to feed ourselves.” The current roommates - three professionals - were looking for a ‘quiet tenant with a job and good vibes who does not go to parties often’.

A blurry image of the 6.6 foot couch was accompanied by a shot of the view from the balcony, while social media users slammed the grim-looking piece of furniture as ‘grubby’. People living on the party island are forced to pay astronomical prices, especially during the summer season.

Slice of fortune

A SPANISH restaurant has forked out €14,300 for a block of cheese. The owners of Llagar de Colloto, in Oviedo, paid the astronomical sum for a block of the Asturias region’s famous Cabrales. The cheese in question was a 2.5kg Valfriu, whose makers Salud and Francisco Herrero, won top prize in this year’s annual Cabrales Awards. You can buy your own Valfriu by the same cheese makers at supermarket Corte Ingles for €20 a kilo. Cabrales is a blue cheese made with cow's milk or a south, with residents of Madrid suburb Butarque, now mixture of goat, cow and suffering the consequences sheep’s milk, and with the same fungus as Roquefort of a black fly plague. Experts say they have colo- cheese, its French predecessor.1 16/04/2018 14:57 Page 1 Olive Press nised on the nearby Man-2018_Layout zanares River, which will Cabrales cheeses are mamost likely help them ex- tured for between two to four months. pand to other areas. The black fly has already reproduced massively in Catalunya and Valencia and most recently in Murcia. "They are here to stay, and they are going to go further... In the last ten years we have seen how specific plagues have already multiplied," animal expert Javier Lucientes said. He added that climate change was making the matters worse, as the mild winters were not killing them off. “They are taking advantage of the higher winter temperatures,” he said.

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