Gibraltar Olive Press - Issue 99

Ready for the worst

Your

THE success of the Brexit party in the European elections could bring the no-deal scenario Gibraltar is dreading.

This is the message from Sir Joe Bossano, whose party has been focussing on cutting down costs and creating a rainy day fund.

“The result of the European Parliament election is considered by many in the EU, including Spain, to have increased the probability of a no deal Brexit in October,” said Bossano in his annual budget speech.

“Last year in the face of such uncertainties the GSLP took a policy decision there should be a limit placed on the pay rise of public sector workers by not more than 60p an hour.”

This decision received criticism from Unite the Union leader Len MacCluskey earlier this year, which he branded ‘austerity’.

Despite the uncertainty the GDP of Gibraltar is now at £2.1 billion, the fourth highest per capita in the world.

He stressed the importance of the gaming sector, where a few companies were helping the growth of the private sector.

In case there was a shortage of funds after Brexit, Bossano has reserved a Community Care and Rainy Day Fund.

They would be boosted by the £85million surplus recorded during the last financial year.

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Vol. 4 Issue 99 www.theolivepress.es June 19th - July 2nd 2019

GIBRALTAR police have blasted social media users for ‘falsely claiming’ an off-duty officer was behind a late-night bar brawl.

The RGP issued an unprecedented statement, insisting claims that a fight leading to five arrests was caused by one of its officers was totally untrue.

The affray took place outside the Pig and Whistle pub in the Watergardens area on Saturday June 8.

Sources told the Olive Press that an 80-year-old man was one of those arrested but has not yet been charged.

However, at least four other men were arrested following the fight, which took place after Gibraltar Under-21s lost in

Lighting the fuse

football 10-0 against Belarus.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were also playing in key qualifying games that night.

The problems began when a local woman claimed on social media that a drunk policeman had started the brawl.

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ropical June 2019

DRAMA: Rugged Nerja

coastline and (inset) Frigiliana

Violent

“The RGP takes note of the serious, false accusations made in social media against the organisation in connection with the

MISS Gibraltar Celine Bolanos has been presented with her £1,000 first prize after winning the local beauty pageant.

Minister for Culture Steven Linares also presented cheques for £1,000 and £500 to first and second princesses Janice Sampere and Jyza Balban respectively.

The competition was held at the Alameda Open Air Gardens and was well attended by the Gibraltarian public.

Linares also presented a £1,000 cheque to last year’s Miss Gibraltar, Star Farrugia, as she made way for Bolanos.

He thanked her for ‘wonderful work she had done throughout the year’ and wished Miss Gibraltar and the two princesses all the best in the year ahead.

Miss Gibraltar will now take part in the Miss World pageant to be held in Thailand on December 7.

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Life in the laid-back East (of the Costa del Sol) has never seemed more appealing, writes ‘West End Boy’ Laurence Dollimore

‘

WELCOME to the most beautiful town in Spain,’ toothless local out in broken English as Jorge calls I wipe the sweat from my brow. look like a tourist, despite(OK, so I still four years in Spain.)

I had just hiked up to liana which has indeedthe top of Frigibeen crowned one of the country’s most pueblos, as plaques throughpicturesque the village will tell you at every turn.

A 10-minute drive up from the coast from Nerja, it’s the pearl in a string of white-washed villages glistening in the hills of the Axarquia and its nearby Granada neighbour, the Costa Tropical.

Either way, this is the eastern end of the Costavery laid-back boy, take it from me a del Sol, and near Marbella, it really ‘westie’ based is a breath of fresh air.

“This is our little paradise,” beams grandfather Jorge, who has lived here Turn to page 18

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violent disorder that occurred at the weekend in the Watergardens area,” a statement read from the RGP. “Although we are aware that the incident in question is under investigation, we must emphatically deny that this was sparked off by an off duty officer who was under the influence.

“These are baseless allegations.

“Neither the trouble was sparked off by an off duty policeman under the influence, nor was there a policeman under the influence

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Police issue angry statement denying one of its officers was behind late night fracas that saw five arrests

Gib save the queen

POPULAR 90s pop band Lighthouse Family will take part in the MTV Gibraltar Calling festival.

The biggest cultural event of the year will be held at Europa Point on June 7-8 with Take That and Liam Gallagher also playing.

Tynesiders Lighthouse Family will be publicising their comeback album Blue Sky in Your Head on the Saturday evening performance.

Lighthouse Family are best known for their Lifted single from the Ocean Drive album released in 1995.

After 18 years away from the musicscene they have got back together for this latest offering and they have a few surprises up their sleeve.

With the festival already more than half sold out, tickets can be bought online or at a number of outlets around Gibraltar.

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DEEP: Alleged wounds of man caught up in fight

in the first place.”

The RGP statement added: “We are acutely aware of how these defamatory expressions can have a negative impact on the public’s confidence in the police, and are not prepared to stand idly by while our integrity and good name is unfairly smeared.

“The RGP does not normally intervene in ‘debates’ of this sort, but these particular comments are so misconceived and injurious that we have deemed it appropriate to make a public statement to categorically refute them.”

The fight was so raucous it Lettings | Sales could be heard by nearby Investments | Relocations residents, with many takto social media to ask Commercial and Residential ing what was happening.

Various posts on FaceTel: +350 200 44955 book site Speak Freely, enquiries@seekerspropertygibraltar.com claimed emergency services were also attacked during the fracas.

“Numerous people were 10 Engineer Lane, arrested, a situation esGibraltar GX11 1AA calated and emergency services personnel were www.seekerspropertygibraltar.com assaulted,” wrote one.

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NEWS IN BRIEF On the radar THE Plymouth-based Royal Navy sea-mapper HMS Echo has moored in Gibraltar to take part in the Maritime Week celebrations at the territory.

Sporting relics A PUBLIC exhibition called ‘Our Sporting Heroes’ that will run until July 13 has been opened by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo at Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery in Casemates.

Tonna tuna A TOTAL of 15.5 tonnes of Bluefin Tuna will be able to be caught in Gibraltar waters this summer with a specific office set up for the task at North Mole.

Missing crisis POST-Brexit trade was on the agenda when Sir Joe Bossano visited the Carribbean with Lord Triesman of the UK’s Cuba Initiative.

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June 19th - July 2nd 2019

YEAR OF HELL! EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

IT was supposed to be a run-ofthe mill business trip.

Robert Mansfield-Hewitt had rented a room in what seemed an ordinary apartment in San Roque and was set to attend meetings in Gibraltar.

What the 51-year-old engineer didn’t know was that someone was using the adjoining garage to stockpile 1.5 tonnes of hashish, worth a whopping €5.5 million.

The Chichester man found out the hard way when he was cuffed in a dramatic raid on the property last June.

And despite urgent appeals from family and friends - as well as his local MP in the UK - he has been locked up in Algeciras’ notorious Botafuegos prison

After being locked up for a YEAR alongside terrorists without any charge and with no evidence against him, the Olive Press demands to let Robert Mansfield go…

since then.

Home to ETA terrorists and murderers, Hewitt - who has a PHD and is an avid poet in his spare time - will have been held for exactly one year on June 27.

For a man with severe liver disease ascites, who has not been getting his medication regularly, if at all, it has been 365 days of hell.

Police had been alerted to the garage of the rental property in Campamento - which Robert claims he never stepped foot inside - when a Moroccan man was seen trying to break in.

As the Olive Press reported last year, the home was owned by a man with previous convictions

‘Never seen before’ POLICE in Gibraltar have arrested three men over a ‘never seen before’ attempt at smuggling hashish.

The trio, all Spaniards, were cuffed after police discovered 1.5 tonnes of cannabis resin worth over £6 million.

Juan Jose Pinero Espinosa 24 from Algeciras, Francisco Gil Dominguez 33 from Jerez, and Juan Manuel Ordonez Suarez 36, from Algeciras,

tried to smuggle the drugs onto the Rock in a boat.

The semi-rigid inflatable vessel used had been altered, so the console hull had a cavity to store bricks of the Class B substance. An RGP statement said the smuggling attempt was a ‘a new sophisticated method of concealment for these type of vessels which we had never seen before’.

The trio now face charges of

for drug dealing and Mansfield had a business he worked with in Gibraltar But that seemed irrelevant when he was taken in front of a judge at San Roque court 48 hours later, who sent him to prison to await trial.

He has since been denied bail three times, despite suffering serious health issues, which led him to be rushed to hospital on two occasions.

His health is still ‘touch and go’, according to a close friend and neighbour back home in the UK. And worse than that, he faces losing his home, as the rent has

Get in the spirit of the festive season with our 10th anniversary Sierra Nevada special inside

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AXARQUIA 19www.ll about theolive-ll about the olive press - October 30 - November 12 2014 www.theolivepress.es

Vol. 13 Issue 307

ierra Nevada

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December 19th - January 3rd 2019

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+34 958 481 170 +34 675 470 669 www.alquileressierranevada.es

December 19th- January 3rd 2019

COSTA DEL SKI Jon Clarke (right) returns for his 15th season in southern Europe’s top skiing resort WHILE it’s foggy in the Pyrenees and they’re shivering in the Alps, I’m taking the sun near the top of Spain’s second highest mountain.

It’s early December and yet the Sierra Nevada still remains warm during the day. Some people are skiing in t-shirts and everyone is looking tanned.

Even better, my elevenses of a croissant, apple and a Coke come to less than €10 euros... and that is at a restaurant halfway up the slopes!

“Here we sell the weather, not the number of kilometres,” explains Juan Luis Hernandez, boss of EOE ski school. “And the prices have hardly gone up for years.”

On top of that you are just over an hour from the beaches of Almunecar and half an hour to the celebrated Alhambra. That is hard to beat.

(Free or paid for)

What is certainly changing in the Sierra Nevada though is the dedication to move forward.

Believe me, I’ve been coming for 15 years... and this is the 10th anniversary of the Olive Press’ special supplement on the resort.

New kilometres of pistes are added every year and this year - by amazing fortune - it snowed so heavily in November, the resort opened a week earlier than expected, with a record 40,000 skiers enjoying the DeContinues on next page

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LIGHTING THE WAY: A new lighthouse on the kids play park area and (main pic) the slopes lit up at night

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

WITH RESERVATION

Pension shocker

THE EGG TEST

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 as Sheffield, claims she has lost much as a third of her monthly budget. us “Over two years this has causedthe problems financially,” she told Olive Press. “Prices and commodities have also risen so it has been like a double hit.”

The exchange rate was an average an 1.24 in 2014 before climbing to 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. a for called has Spain in Brexpats ofgovernment-run internet bank fering basic current accounts, debit out cards and the option to carry international and national transfers online.

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

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importation, possession and possession with intent to supply and are in Magistrates Court this morning.

All three men were in fact rearrested, after originally being detained on Monday over lesser charges, before police intelligence led to the discovery of the hash.They plead guilty to importing a prohibited import and dangerous navigation after piloting the 14-metre 350x3 horsepower vessel in Gibraltar’s territorial waters.

Voted

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 two spending power over the last years as a direct result of Brexit.

Richard Hill, vice president of Brexpats in Spain, claims plummeting in exchange rates, taxes and a rise 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 the around 22% ‘worse off’ since will referendum, believes expats struggle regardless of whatever deal exit is reached ahead of Britain’s 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.”

Seriously ill Briton locked up with terrorists after being fingered for 1.5 TONNES of hashish found at holiday rental home

FREE

TRAPPED IN HELL

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.

MansfieldAnthony Robert Hewitt, 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

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Vol. 13 Issue 307 www.theolivepress.es December 19th - January 3rd 2019

BRITON’S PRISON NIGHTMARE CONTINUES

See page 6

UN-MERRY XMAS INTO FESTIVE SEASON

Brighten up the dark nights with Malaga’s festive lights See page 14 How to celebrate Christmas like a Spaniard

Friends send festive gifts to ‘innocent’ Brit spending Christmas in solitary confinement in Algeciras prison

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 terhouses a number of Basque ETA

See page 16

FRIENDS and family are rallying EXCLUSIVE round a seriously ill British man 15%’ having collapsed following sion for our visits, but since we

By Elisa Menendez set to spend Christmas behind his incarceration in June. can’t talk to him and none of bars in Andalucia.

“Robert is not well - he needs the garage of the Robert Mansfield-Hewitt, 51, sti- Campamento. rental home in walking stick and he’s not beena us speak Spanish, we just don’t ll insists he known nothing about His PA, Pilar Ford, given one. He also told me he has know what to do.”

She said one friend has managed 54, told the to a €5.5million haul of hashish Olive Press she go back into hospital. found in a San Roque Airbnb sed a raffle and has now organi- Meanwhile, friend of 20 years, to get in touch and is planning to raised €200 for rental property he stayed at on a him to buy books, Vicar Rebekah Cannon, based fly to Spain in the New Year to vishampoo and in sit him in prison. business trip six months ago.

Chichester, has also described According pens as Christmas to his colleagues he The Chichester engineer, (pictu- “He’s locked up presents. in a hell hole and the ‘hopeless’ situation as ‘a sta- may finally be charged this week red right) who has severe liver is absolutely devastated lemate’. and could face up to six years in to spend disease ascites, is ‘miserable’ and Christmas there,” prison if found guilty. ‘confused’ at having to spend the works alongside said Ford who the Brit at elecHe has been denied bail twice, Letters festive season locked up. trical company Neither an appeal from his local Ltd in Gibraltar. Genco Holdings She is exasperated that she can- with one reason being that a JaMP or UK press reports have hel- “He’s been stuck not reach him on the telephone panese ‘Katana’ Samurai sword ped him get bail over the offence, finement. Imaginein solitary con- and while her letters have arrived was allegedly found in the house, for which he has still not been cent man and keepsthat, an inno- in Spain, they are all returned to the Olive Press has learnt.

The judge refused bail in Octoasking ‘why charged. am I here?’ We just don’t know sender without being opened.

Mansfield-Hewitt, who has a what to do.”

“It’s all one way, he sends us le- ber given the ‘quantity of drugs seized, which were located in the PhD, has been in Algeciras’ Bo- Ford, who visited tters him a fortni- don’t but we can’t get in touch. I garage, and the presence of a Katafuegos prison - which houses ght ago, is extremely even think his family have tana concerned got their weapon in the living room’, ETA terrorists - since June after about his health, letters through the pri- stated in court documents obtai1.5 tonnes of drugs were found in said his ‘liver was after doctors son,” she told the Olive Press. functioning at “Robert TM has to request permisTurn to page 2

Mansfield-Hewitt rorists.

Notorious prison while (right) The Brit, a consultant at electrical com- CAGED: and (above right) ETA terrorist pany Genco Holdings Ltd in Gibraltar, suf“The doctor said he hadn’t been who regularly travels to the Rock, daily for his illness.” given his medication and his liver fers from severe liver disease Ascites After spending two days in a cell, he CAPTION: 15%. His at San was functioning at just and walks with a cane. she appeared in front of a judge His PA, Pilar June Ford, 54, said call Roque court before being sent to Bota- heartbeat was almost non-existent and he was delirious.” was ‘horrified’ when she received a fuegos prison.

Castro Esfrom her boss screaming at La Linea Ford is concerned he has not been re- His lawyer Jose Maria now being after he cudero believes he is police station. the ceiving the correct medication, started administered the correct medicaShe told the Olive Press: “He was at collapsed in shock as his ‘body tion, but still remains in a critical station shouting ‘please help me, help of to shut down’ on the way to prison.Pun- condition. The nightmare began me, bring me clothes, there’s loads to the He was rushed to ICU at Hospital drugs in the house.’ It was horrible. of ta de Europa where his survival chanc- after police were alerted stash after following a man of Mo“I rushed there with a huge bag es were described as ‘touch and go’. roccan nationality, who medication, which he needs to take pulled up outside the property and attempted to get into the garage.

Police found 48 packets of hashish weighing around 33 kilos each, or MINIMARKET almost 1.5 tonnes.

Products Deli Freshly Baked If found guilty he could Tel: 602 514 384 be sentenced to up to UK BASED WhatsApp: 602 559 385 six years in a Spanish Opp St Anthony’s College prison.

La Cala Hills According to his lawClosed Mondays yer he is ‘fighting every day to free Robert’ and get him bail, meaning for Spanish he would likely have to CASHBACK ON residents report to police once a YOUR HOUSE month while he awaits

Costa del Sol traditions not to miss this year

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FLASHBACK: Our previous front902pages 123 282 Not not been paid for months. enough stars “It’s just awful and the authorities in Spain are burying their heads in the sand,” said Cliff Ruffle, 57, who has known Mansfield for years.

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Hot water

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.

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‘He deserves it’

Costa del Sol hotel has three months to fight decision before it is demolished

SOME 14 fire bosses have been arrested for allegedly embezzling €7 million in public funds.

The Policia Nacional found that the Consortium of A HOTEL is to be knocked Bomberos Cadiz took out down for not having enough mass early retirement insurclass! ance policies.

Benalmadena’s Hotel Vista But when their employees de Rey must be demolished retired early, chiefs siphoned within three months, a court off the money from the payhas ruled, outs.

Andalucia’s Superior Court Authorities also found discrepancies in the consorof Justice ruled that the hotium’s training courses. tel falls short of its four-star Large sums were paid to a requirement. company to provide training courses, but no evidence has Probing been found that these courses It began probing the three took place. irregularities star hotel and apartment Meanwhile, were also found in grants and block in 2011 after it was desubsidies, which cops believe nounced over planning rules were used to pay for private which set aside the plot for a trips. four star hotel only.

The irregularities date back According to the PGOU town to 2008 and cops believe at plan an apartment block was least €7 million has been stonot permitted and it also len by those at the top. breached rules by being over

DOOMED: Costa hotel

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.

2/8/18 17:01

SMUGGLERS’ WALL

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

the beach deter drug smugglers from using as a drop off zone.

Civil, A combined police presence of Guardia present as local and national officers were would try fears grew that drug smugglers and disrupt the work.

Sensitive

advice slot on a well He even got himself a financial he snared unsuspectknown radio station, through which ing victims.

Press investigation exHowever, a comprehensive Olive coins and gold. posed his scams that involved stamps, close pal Barry Nathan We also revealed how he and his anonymously, wined and dined up to a dozen criminals, through the food column. following our expose, He eventually fled the country the UK, where he had but we soon tracked him down to was selling coins and changed his name by deed poll and cottage. antiques on eBay from a small Berkshire English law of conning He was quickly found guilty under people and given a suspended prison sentence only due to health reasons. never “And because he promised to of the go back to his online cons,” one British victim explained. with But this is apparently not the caseusing two victims claiming he is still eBay to sell ‘dodgy’ coins and stamps usfrom his unpaid flat in Brighton, ing the names ‘gqtrading’ and ‘gqtrading2’. his “We are pretty sure he has broken bail conditions and will have to finally go back to prison,” said one victim.

“The nerve of this man is unbelievable.” he should have known His landlord last night insisted something was up from the start. I thought he was a bit “When we met to sign the contracts only for the barista to slippery, I went to pay for my coffee his bill.” tell me he had left without paying couple of months but He continued: “He paid for the first account had been frozen then just stopped. He told us his which is probdue to a money laundering investigation, contacting him and acably true. “He then told us to stop cused us of harrassment. ill and can’t work to “Now he is claiming he is seriously make payments. court.” in “We’ll see him Opinion Page 6

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lack of evidence.

One bizarre reason for the denial of bail was that investigators found a Japanese ‘Katana’ Samurai sword in the house, which they said constituted a lethal weapon.

Shockingly, it wasn’t until May 27, last month, that he finally had a court hearing.

However, despite attending the court in San Roque, the Olive Press was unable to get into the hearing.

In a document now seen by the Olive Press, prosecutors are seeking four years and eight months of jail time and an €8 million fine.

However a verdict was meant to have been delivered within 10 days, but has yet to be made.

“They offered to let him go if he pleaded guilty,” added friend Ruffle, “But Robert refused, he is a man of great ethics and will fight this to the very

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“Rob is a lovely, lovely guy who wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s a sensitive soul, it’s just awful what is happening.”

The teacher added that Mansfield is ‘just a hair’s width’ from losing his rental home in Emsworth, Hampshire.

“We have just been able to stop the repossession order, but the courts are saying if they don’t hear news shortly it will have to happen,” he said.

“I’ve written so many emails to different government departments and feel like I’m banging my head against a wall.” Hewitt continues to be held despite his deteriorating condition and a Eroski billboard.indd 1

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NEWS

June 19th - July 2nd 2019

3

Girls on tour

GAME of Thrones star Sophie Turner was spotted partying it up with pals on her hen do in Benidorm.

The English actress, 23, was joined by co-star Maisie Williams, 22, and ten of her best friends, who all flew on a private jet from Luton Airport.

In a series of pics uploaded by pal Blair Noel Croce, the girls rocked multi-coloured wigs, which Turner paired with a tiny army shirt worn as a dress.

Williams, who played Sophie’s onscreen sister Arya Stark in the cult Fantasy series, was pictured in a pink wig.

Northampton-born Turner married US Disney star Joe Jonas, 29, in a lastminute Las Vegas wedding in May. However the pair will have an official ceremony in France this summer to

Monarchies collide THRIFTY Queen Letizia was snapped sporting a bargain €280 dress during a visit to meet the British royals.

The Spanish queen, 47, looked stunning in the Cherubina dress, with a matching veil and black headpiece, while taking a carriage ride with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, 37. She and husband Felipe, 51, were being hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle. The King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, and wife, Queen Maxima, also attended the ‘Knights of the Garter’ event.

British royals present included Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Prince William.

Time out CHAMPION boxer Anthony Joshua has been spotted partying in Marbella.

The 29-year-old was pictured in popular nightclub Tibu in Puerto Banus.

It came after his shock loss to Mexican fighter Andy Ruiz in New York on June 1 saw him lose all of his world titles.

Dani Garcia cooked for the Beckhams at celeb wedding of the year worth €500k THE biggest wedding of 2019 was a who’s who of Spanish football, complete with a Michelin quality menu.

David Beckham, 44, and wife Victoria, 45, joined Alvaro Morata, Luka Modric and Roberto Carlos, to celebrate the nuptials of Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, 33, in Sevilla.

A host of Real stars past and present joined Ramos as he wed sweetheart TV presenter Pilar Rubio, 41 at Sevilla Cathedral.

Around 500 guests then celebrated with the newlyweds at a €500,000 reception on Ramos’s nearby La Alegria farm.

Rubio donned a €30,000 Zuhair Murad jewel-encrusted gown with full train, which was previously worn by model, Heidi Klum at the Cannes Film Festival.

Victoria Beckham made the biggest fashion splash, pairing her own chain link print dress with fuchsia pink high heels - a colour apparently banned from the wedding.

Those not invited included teammate Gareth Bale, as well as former Galactico pal Cristiano Ronaldo, who instead jetted off to Greece for a family holiday.

Other notable absences included Real boss, Zinedine Zidane, who was in Bilbao, and Barcelona defender, Gerard Pique and his wife Shakira.

Those who did turn up were treated to a five-course masterclass from threeMichelin-star Marbella chef Dani Garcia (pictured above).

First up was salted lobster with mimosas and avocado, followed by spaghetti with truffled beef stew, and a third dish, ‘monkfish Dani Garcia-style’.

A kobe burger with togarashi chips

HAPPY COUPLE: The Ramos’s and (inset) the Beckhams

Posh

celebrate their love with family and friends.

Turner and Williams have famously been best friends for 10 years having met as children on the set of Game of Thrones.

Dropping in SEALED sewers, packs of sniffer dogs and dozens of private security guards.

All combined to ensure high-level security measures were in place for the latest visit of the Obamas’ to Andalucia.

They had been in town for a short visit to Marbella, where Barack was making a speech for executives of German tech company SAP. The ex-president’s family enjoyed the five-star luxury of the Gran Hotel Miramar, in Malaga… for a day at least!

Convoy

The only picture of the family on the coast was one of Sasha exiting the hotel, where she was staying with mum Michelle and sister Malia, during the day.

The former US President arrived half an hour late to the event held at the Puente Romano hotel, before giving a 45-minute speech.

He arrived in a convoy of six police vehicles and one provided by the US embassy before entering the heavily armoured resort donning dark sunglasses at 16:45.

The family returned to Malaga airport immediately after the speech and headed to France for a short holiday.

...& posher rounded off the mains before diners tucked into ‘Frescor Andalusi’, a signature Garcia dessert, flavoured with tea, orange blossom, mint and pistachio.

Revellers washed it all down with Dom Perignon champagne and €116-a-bot-

tle wine from Bodega Emilio Moro.

Soundtracking the day were band Ketama, Flamenco singer Niña Pastori, DJ Gianluca Vacchi and 17-time Latin Grammy Award-winner, who appeared via videolink.

OBAMA: On previous visit

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NEWS

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Plastic banned A CLAMPDOWN on plastic could be enforced in Gibraltar to try to halt climate change.

It follows the announcement of a Climate Emergency by the Gibraltar Government and the launch of a 25-year environment plan.

“We have a real chance in Gibraltar to achieve carbon neutrality and that is our intention,” said John Cortes, Minister for the Environment in his budget speech.

“Despite the tiny impact this will have on a global scale, we can be an example to others.”

He insisted that much had already been done by the current government.

Emissions

He claimed emissions from power generation has reduced by 21% since 2013, and the LNG generator, which produces 25% less carbon than diesel, has helped further.

Cortes called plastic ‘a scourge on the planet’ and is looking to ban single-use plastic bags in Gibraltar.

As part of the Greenhouse Gas inventory programme, carbon pollution is down by 10% since 2017 and this will be further targeted in the future.

Recycling will also be stepped up while a new sewage treatment plant will help stop waste products polluting nearby seas.

There are almost as many people employed in Gibraltar as there are residents.

According to the latest figures announced in the budget, nearly 30,000 people are working, a 7% increase on last year.

Almost 24,000 of these are in the private sector, with the average wage being over £30,000.

“None of this has happened by accident,” said Minister for Employment Gilbert Licudi.

Jury still out on most recent parking upgrades PARKING schemes created over the past year have been described as ‘yin and yang’ by the Minister for Transport.

The budget announcement was referring to the way parking zones have been created for different residential areas in Gibraltar.

Hard at work “This is a growth we have seen consistently since 2011.”

He paid tribute to the hard work done

by Sir Joe Bossano with his Future Job Strategy announced after the GSLP/ Liberals first came to office nearly eight years ago.

Since taking over the portfolio from Neil Costa, insisted he had streamlined the

June 19th - July 2nd 2019 vacancy matching process.

One area of discontent was the £17 being charged for every vacancy being posted.

The Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses (GFSB) has opposed this new policy so it will be reviewed in six months.

“This Government is committed to the eradication of illegal labour by ensuring that all businesses are compliant with employment regulations,” said Licudi.

“I am pleased to say that Gibraltar has not seen a fatality at work for over eight years now.”

Smart parking

“Just like in Chinese Philosophy, Yin and Yang describes how opposite or contrary forces actually

Edinburned

MADRID has sacked its consul in Edinburgh for saying Spain would not stop an independent Scotland joining the EU. Miguel Angel Vecino Quintana was given his marching orders after he said: “Spain will not block Scotland’s entry into the European Union.”

His comments, in a letter to pro-independence Scottish paper, the National, were a rebuke to Melilla MEP, Esteban Gonzalez Pons. The PP politician for the Spanish enclave had said his party would block Scotland’s ascension to the EU if it became independent before Brexit.

Spain's Foreign Ministry said Vecino had ‘crossed the line’ .

Relax.. Jacks got it covered

complement each other and are interconnected,” said Paul Balban “In the same way, the sustainable traffic and parking plan is a puzzle of many pieces, some similar, others opposing.

“Until all these pieces come together, it is impossible, at least for the moment, to see their interaction and what the final result will show.”

After introducing Zone 1 in Alameda Estate, Zone 2 covered all the town centre and now Zone 3 has helped ease parking in the south district.

He highlighted the environmental concerns too: “If we do not all row in the same direction we, the developed world will destroy the planet.

“A single person can save between one and two tons of CO2 per year by sim-

MINISTER: Balban

ply walking or cycling to work.

“With this in mind, a number of bicycle related initiatives have been rolled out this past financial year.”

Smart parking technology will soon be introduced that will help spaces become clear online to those looking for places to leave their cars.

A website will soon be launched that will make the endless search for parking a thing of the past.

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A BRITISH man has died off a beach in southern Spain after strong currents swept the the father out to sea.

The experienced swimmer, 53, got into trouble at Playa de El Palmar beach, near Vejer, while he swam with his niece.

A passing surfer managed to haul the niece to safety before heading back and bringing the man to shore on his board.

Despite the best efforts the man did not respond to CPR and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A German pensioner meanwhile has died in Torrox costa, when he drowned in front of his wife.

The 75-year-old was bathing in a swimming pool at the Torcasol urbanisation.

A lifeguard jumped in but was unable to resuscitate him.

‘Not a penny wasted’ NO patient was turned away this year from seeing a doctor, according to the Minister of Health Neil Costa insisted this was achieved by the reforms he has put in place.

In his budget address he claimed there were on average 46 unused GP appointments every day, even during the winter flu season.

He insisted that the MyGHA phone service is now dealing with 60% of all appointments giving patients the option of choosing their doctor.

New personnel had been employed and technology upgraded to the tune of £6.3m, with the total budget for the GHA hitting £124m this year.

“Our outstanding GPs have attended to over 110,000 medical appointments in 2018 alone,” he revealed.

“There has not been a penny wasted.”

The new Children’s Primary Care Centre will open this summer at the St Bernard’s hospital site.

Capitalist killer SIR Joe Bossano delivered a chilling message about how the desire for economic growth would be our end.

The Minister for Economic Planning, who is heading toward a half century in the house, lashed out at consumerism.

“The problem is not CO2 but what I call CCD - Compulsive Consumption Disorder,” he insisted.

“This is the Western world’s lifestyle and values, that define what we call the standard of living and what the rest of mankind aspires to achieve.

“Globalisation is turning this disorder into a world epidemic, it’s killing some of us in the West, and it’s killing the rest of the planet in the process.”

With the election of Donald Trump and the far right denial of impending climate catastrophe, he indicated there was no hope.

“Something much more radical is required,” he continued.

“In my view a balanced approach will not save us - it’s too late for that already.”

Taking on the bad boys of Brexit AN expat is taking on the millionaire backers of Brexit with a 2,000-mile protest walk from Gibraltar to Westminster.

Madrid-based Anthony Hogan has set out to raise €505,000, the same amount ‘bad boy of Brexit’ Arron Banks donated to Nigel Farage.

The colossal walk will take him from Gibraltar to Westminster, via Malaga, Barcelona, Paris, and Brussels while money raised has been promised to pro-Remain parties.

“I want to show that any-

body can do something to challenge the lies and Brexit agenda which threatens the stability of British Citizens living in Europe and of course the security of Gibraltar,” Hogan told the Olive Press.

“It's clear that Brexit is about the wealthy financial backers of the referendum making lots of cash off the back of the result.”

For every mile he walks, Anthony has to raise an average of €250 to meet his target along the 22 week trek, which begins in two months time. Despite the risk of heat exhaustion and injury, Antho-

T PA ES EX RO HE

advice

4

ny believes campaigning is the only way to stop ‘opportunist’ Brexiteers ‘streamrolling British democracy.’

www.theolivepress.es

No choice

HUNDREDS of people have joined a protest against planned new abortion laws for Gibraltar.

The demonstration at Casemates aimed to prevent the Rock from bringing laws in line with those in the UK. Pro-life campaigner Karenza Morillo called the government ‘tyrannical’ for trying to get abortion in line with the 1967 UK laws.

After the protest - which was attended by around 200 people, mainly from religious groups - she told the Olive Press: “We are here to stop this bill.

“Legislation is not about choice, it is about the protection of human lives,” she claimed.

“A foetus is just another stage of human life just as you would say a toddler or a teenager.

“In the UK it is practically abortion on demand,” she continued. “If that is not genocide what is?”

She believes a doctor who performs an abortion should face criminal charges.

Abortion for pregnant mothers however, is considered a human right by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights.

Gibraltar has been forced to act to bring laws into line with the European Convention of Human Rights.

Since the protest a joint statement by both the Jewish and Christian faith groups backed their calls to scrap the bill.

BRITS are to blame for a sharp spike in in-flight incidents to Spain.

UK passengers were behind 300 incidents last year, while the Spanish were a close second on 264, and the Germans just 61.

A total of 800 incidents were reported in 2018, up by 50% on the previous

NEWS Brits behaving badly

June 19th - July 2nd 2019

year, when there were only 549 reports.

Rowdy holiday makers, mostly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, were to blame, with a number of flights turning back due to them.

Alicante airport saw the most

incidents with 186, followed

by Madrid on 180, Mallorca on 116 and Malaga on 105, with 20% of those involving Brits.

New regulations are now being studied with fines possibly set to increase from the cur-

rent maximum of €5,000.

According to the airport authorities AESA, a special in-flight and online video about the consequences of behaving badly onboard may need to be improved.

AESA has now joined forces with the European Aviation Safety Agency to cut down incidents.

Gibraltar welcomes Virgin Bet just weeks after Bet365 announce Brexit departure

The Government congratulated Virgin Bet on its successful application of a gambling license, and new partnership with SBTech, allowing it to operate.

It also cited Gibraltar as, ‘the only jurisdiction which has guaranteed market access to the UK’ after Brexit, as a factor behind the move.

Minister for Commerce, Albert Isola, said: “We maintain that Gibraltar is a leading jurisdiction from which to operate a remote gambling business.

“A large number of existing operators, despite Brexit challenges, continue to maintain faith in the jurisdiction.”

His words come despite the recent announcement by Bet365 that it was beginning a €70 million Brexit transition from Gibraltar to Malta.

The GSD has expressed ‘concern’ and ‘disappointment’ at a potential 500 jobs leaving the Rock due to the move by Bet365.

Party spokesperson Orlando Yeats said: “Apart from the job losses this announcement will have a knock-on effect on the local economy.”

A well-placed Bet365 source told the Olive Press that employees in its Waterport Place office have been given eight weeks to decide on a move to Malta.

Many of the employees are already looking for jobs at other gaming companies, it can be revealed.

Gamesys Group reported a revenue of €324.9m for the first quarter of last year, which it attributed to the success of its Virgin Games B2C brand.

Gamesys’ Gibraltar Marketing Director Simon Mizzi said: “We’re excited to launch Virgin Bet (www.virginbet.com) into the world’s most competitive sportsbook market.

“We feel that Gibraltar is the perfect location for us to base our operations.”

One in one out VIRGIN Bet has announced its launch in Gibraltar, just a fortnight after Bet365’s Rock exit plan was revealed.

The Gamesys Group, which has an office of 50 people on the Rock, is behind the rollout of the new betting service.

By Charlie Smith

Virgin Bet takes its name from the Virgin Group founded by Sir Richard Branson, which also sold Virgin Games to Gamesys in 2013.

Terror alert - NOT

THE British authorities have NOT issued any new warnings over terror threats to tourists in Spain.

It comes after a number of English newspapers in Spain reported a new alert this week.

However the Foreign & Commonwealth Office denied this entirely, pointing out that they had merely been copied word for word from the website of the Daily Star in London.

“These articles come via a Daily Star article,” said a spokesman in London. “The article was founded on existing language which can all be found in our travel advice, and has been the case for some time. “There's no sudden increase on our part.”

Spain, meanwhile, has ramped up security for the summer season, as it has done for several years now.

5

Face up

FACIAL recognition cameras have been installed at Gibraltar Airport.

The new security measure is to assist the Government in identifying criminals and illegal immigrants.

The new airport cameras are not yet operational, but are being used at the Frontier and the Cruise Terminal.

Signs at all three sites are in place to warn the public that the technology is being used, reported GBC. “The Government is pleased to have invested not only in additional human resources, but also in the latest available technology in passport scanners, CCTV and facial recognition cameras,” said Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.

Software in the cameras creates a biometric map of the points on a person’s face, which is then cross-checked against a database of existing images. Officers can then manually check an image that has been flagged up, and UK police currently has a database of 20 million faces.

Toll free

Toll charges on the AP-7 motorway are to be scrapped, it has been announced.

Drivers between Malaga and Sotogrande are likely to get free access to the motorway from December 31.

The AP-4, running from Sevilla to Cadiz and a section of the AP-7 between Zaragoza and Alicante, is also set to become free next year.

27-30 junio 2019

Real Club Valderrama Sotogrande, San Roque, Cádiz

6

FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION Legalise it!

It is a bit embarrassing that Gibraltar women might still have to go to prison for life for deciding what they do with their own bodies.

Gibraltar currently has the strictest laws in Europe on abortion and the government is now being pressed AGAINST aligning themselves with the UK. The UK rules on abortion date back to half a century ago and are currently under review. But religious groups on the Rock have taken it upon them to deny a right enshrined in UK and all of the EU. This course of action is very controversial considering their unscientific arguments on the matter.

You would think that a liberal and socialist coalition that has already legalised gay marriage and ensured co-education would see this as a simple step.

However, two of the ministers signed a declaration against abortion and the GSLP secretary led the Prolife demonstration itself, so at this point nothing is certain.

Let him go!

HOW on earth can a UK citizen be treated in a modern European democracy in the way that Robert Mansfield-Hewitt has been?

Held for months without charge and locked up with terrorists for almost a YEAR before getting his day in court.

It is a disgrace to Spain and surely in breach of a score of human rights laws at both European and international level.

It is even more damning given the businessman’s illnesses and deteriorating condition over the months.

Where is the outcry from other media outlets, especially back in the UK? Or in Gibraltar?

Once again the Olive Press is left to highlight the murky proceedings of the Spanish justice system, as we do gladly. And for the third time in a year!

Here’s hoping Robert is duly released, or we can promise we will not let up the pressure until he is.

Publisher / Editor Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es

Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es

Charlie Smith charlie@theolivepress.es

Joshua Parfitt joshua@theolivepress.es

Timothy McNulty tim@theolivepress.es

As infamous British killer Kenneth Noye is released this month, and could be on his way to Cadiz, Claire Leibovich presents 12 expat criminals captured in Spain

F

OR decades Spain was a notorious playground for the most depraved criminal masterminds and gangland enforcers.

With no extradition treaty with the UK between 1978 and 1985, the Costa del Crime became a gangsters’ paradise for wily villains like Ronnie Knight, the ex-husband of actress Barbara Windsor, and Freddie Foreman, who was behind the £26 million Brink’s-Mat bullion ­robbery at Heathrow.

Operation Captura changed all that.

Office manager Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es

Cop killer Kenneth Noye was on licence from a previous jail term when he fatally stabbed Stephen Cameron, 21, on London’s M25 slip road, in 1996.

The brutal murder, following a road rage incident, took place in front of the victim’s 17-year-old fiancee Danielle Cable.

Already well known to police and knowing he would be rapidly caught, Noye immediately fled to France by helicopter and then hired a private jet to fly to Madrid. He travelled on to the Canaries and the Ivory Coast before choosing the Costa del Crime to lie low, going into hiding in Atlanterra, near Zahara de los Atunes. He soon had a Spanish girlfriend and was posing as ‘Mickey the Builder’.

When police eventually traced him, they flew Danielle Cable to Spain to ID him, taking her to a restaurant where he was

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for minor crimes and extradited back to face the more serious crimes at home.

On top of Operation Captura’s ‘Most Wanted’ ­suspects, numerous British f­ugitives are arrested each year in Spain for serious crimes including murder, ­ child sexual ­ exploit­ ation, fraud, drugs and firearms offences.

Check out our rogues gallery of fugitives flushed out of their hideaways on Spain’s balmy shores.

eating.

‘That’s the man who killed Stephen,’ she whispered.

The story goes that the cops took various tables in the restaurant and let him order his food and drink but before he could take a sip of his caña, they stormed in and arrested him.

The former gangster served nearly 20 years in the UK before being released earlier in June, after it was ruled he was no longer a ‘significant risk to the public’. He still owns a property in Atlanterra (above), which has been cared for by his son since his arrest in 2000. He is certainly expected to come back.

Mark Lilley - 2013

Christy ‘Dapper Don’ Kinahan - 2010 In 2010 the ‘Dapper Don’ was arrested in his Marbella villa as the alleged mastermind behind a global drugs and weapon business.

Together with his sons Daniel and Christopher, he was banged up in Alhaurin prison under Operation Shovel that caught up with 30 criminals from his gang throughout Europe.

Irishman Kinahan is regarded as one of the most intelligent criminals involved in the international drugs trade. He moved to Spain after his release from prison in 2001.

The investigation focused not only on drugtrafficking but also on the money-laundering and property investments in which Kinahan was allegedly involved, many of them in Es-

tepona.

But after being held briefly, Kinahan and his associates were released without charge, as not enough direct evidence was found to link them to specific crimes they could be charged with.

Described as one of Merseyside’s most dangerous crooks, the heavily tattooed bodybuilder was arrested at his villa in the Alhaurin de la Torre in July 2013. Footage shows Spanish police storming into the villa and handcuffing the half-naked criminal, who had hidden in a safe room behind a bedroom wardrobe after being alerted to the raid by his three hunting dogs.

Also known as ‘Fatboy’, ‘Mandy’ and ‘Big Vern’, Lilley skipped bail during a trial for drug trafficking in 2000 where he was sentenced to 23 years in jail. He was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and cannabis, as well as possessing a firearm.

The 41-year-old was hauled out of the villa and helicoptered to Madrid before being extradited back to the UK.

Brian Colin Charrington - 2013

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Launched in 2006, two years after the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant, it is a joint initiative between the UK’s National Crime Agency, the Spanish authorities and Crimestoppers to capture Brits on the run in Spain.

The message sent is clear: Spain will no longer be a safe haven for expat crooks.

According to Jago Russell of UK charity Fair Trials International, most of the foreign nationals arrested in Spain are actually arrested

Kenneth Noye - 1998

Gillian Keller gillian@theolivepress.es Admin Beatriz Sanllehí (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es

June 19th - July 2nd 2019

The former car dealer from Middlesbrough was apprehended in 2013 at his fortress villa in Calpe, on the Costa Blanca. At his trial in 2018, he was found guilty of shipping 192 kilos of cocaine from South America.

Together with his son Ray Charrington, he was also convicted of money laundering. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay €31.2 million in fines. The police impounded assets worth €5 million, including a dozen luxury properties, high-end vehicles, six recreational craft and bank accounts.

He was known as ‘el narco de Wikipedia’ because he apparently wrote and updated his own entry on the website.

Charrington had previously been arrested in Spain in 1997 for allegedly participating in the purcination with firearms’, chase of four tons of hashish. and even changed his appearance with plastic surgery to avoid capture. from Spanish police after In November 2012, he a sophisticated roadAGAIN esc a p e d block was set up along one of his regular routes.

Footage of his arrest showed armed officers swooping down on him and tackling him to the floor at his villa.

Moran eventually pleaded guilty to drugs, firearms and road traffic offences while on the run and received a prison sentence of six years and six months.

Andrew Moran - 2013 In classic Hollywood style, cops burst in and arrested 31-year-old Most Wanted Andrew Moran as he was relaxing in his shorts by the pool, in Calpe, Alicante, in 2013.

He had been wanted for four years since being found guilty of robbery in 2009, but managed to escape his security guards at the trial, before fleeing to Spain on a false passport.

Originally from Salford, Moran went on the run, travelling across Europe with his girlfriend. He is said to have had a ‘fas-

David Mather - 2014

David Mather, 57, was held by armed police as he drove through La Linea in 2014.

He had been on the run since being sentenced to 18 years in prison the year before for smuggling heroin into the UK.

‘OVERJOYED WITH MY

Election countdown

FEATURE

Toni Muldoon

Podemos boss in massive comeback

Mark Acklom

Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in southern Spain - 200,000 copies distributed monthly (130,000 digitally) with an estimated readership, including the website, of more than 500,000 people a month.

OPINION

Get on with it

THE family and friends of missing Lisa Brown have been stuck in a living hell for the last year. While Lisa’s brother Craig Douglas has praised the efforts of the police, the drawn-out nature of the investigation cannot be ignored.

Simon Corner has now been languishing behind bars for more than six months and yet we still appear no closer to an answer.

If Stephen Jackson is the key, then investigating officers must listen to his call and visit him in the UK. Waiting for his release in October 2018 will only delay the investigation and put Lisa’s loved-ones through more unnecessary torment.

Dining time!

WITH the sun dipping down before dinner time and the speedos well and truly tucked away for another year, there is no better time of year to explore Andalucia’s exciting inland restaurant scene! Looking to learn about the best of the region? Wanting to find its very best gems?

Look no further than our fabulous new Dining Secrets of Andalucia website just relaunched in time for Autumn, Bon appétit!

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es

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A lifetime of deception is finally catching up with notorious conman Mark Acklom, with the Olive Press joining the hunt for Britain’s most wanted

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By Rob Horgan, Joe Duggan and Laurence Dollimore

E’S posed as an MI6 agent, seduced dozens of women out of millions of pounds and been on the run for much of his life.

Well-spoken and privately educated Mark Acklom drives expensive cars (Porsches, BMWs and Bentleys), watches Ascot from the Royal Enclosure - kitted out in top hat and waistcoat - and dines at the world’s top restaurants.

To all intents and purposes, he is a wealthy businessman who lives the highlife with a perennial smile stretched across his face.

The reality: Acklom is one of Britain’s most wanted fugitives and his catalogue of scams is rivalled only by Hollywood’s greatest fraudsters.

A compulsive liar and professional swindler, Acklom, from Bromley, UK, has created a false reality in which the world is at his feet.

And, unwaveringly convincing, dozens of people have swallowed his tall stories and fallen for his devilish tricks. He probably even believes it himself.

Depending on who he’s talking to, he is a property developer, a banker, event manager or gynaecologist.

And for each new profession, there are two or three different names: Marc Ros, Mark Ross, Zack Moss, Dr Mark Ros and Don Marc Ros are just some of the aliases he is known to have given.

At the helm of countless property and investment scams around the world, Acklom has most recently been operating in Murcia and on the Costa Blanca, the Olive Press has discovered.

But his time is running out after being placed on a list of Britain’s Most Wanted fugitives.

Of the 10 named in the latest installment of Operation Captura last month, Acklom has garnered the most intrigue, taking up countless column inches in national newspapers in the UK and Spain.

Sought over defrauding an ex-girlfriend out of €950,000 after posing as an MI6 agent, there is now a European Arrest Warrant on his head, as well as a €22,000 reward for his arrest.

Unlike the paedophiles, rapists and drug dealers that appear on the list, Acklom’s criminal activities are in a completely different league… in fact, he is not even playing the same sport.

After tracking down, staking out and helping police capture most wanted suspected paedophile Matthew Sammon last issue, the Olive for them to club until she left in January this year, them here. It’s an address Press went straight on the Rodriguez claims that her new real es- pick up their mail,” he said. scent of Acklom.

I have tate venture has links with an estab- “I have heard a lot of complaints.

Following a tip-off that he was still involved not happy with lished Swiss racing-car team. Unsur- heard that their clients are with his Spanish wife Maria Yolanda Ros prisingly, that team had them. In recent weeks there have been Rodriguez, we linked her to never heard of Ros or many people looking for them. I decided a new real estate company to stop picking up their mail two weeks Acklom when contacted. in the centre of Murcia.

Their clients are not When the Olive Press ago.” he last saw the pair together over Registered under the name visited the registered of- He said happy with them. of Yolanda Ros - adopting fice in Murcia there was the summer at the golf resort. her hubby’s trick of mixing There are many no sniff of the couple or In fact, the Olive Press can reveal that up her name - Ross Luxury people looking for in even a sign on the door they were staying in a rented property Estate Agents was set up in them for Ross Luxury Estate La Manga as recently as last month.

April, conveniently just one A former colleague of Ros told the Olive Agents. month after Acklom was A financial adviser in the Press ‘they left two weeks ago’. released from prison in the firm at La adjacent office said he collected the Agents at an estate agents UK for a Chelsea apartments con. come in lookcompany’s mail for Ros, who he met a Manga said the couple hadresort over the On LinkedIn, Facebook and other social year ago when she still worked for La ing to buy a house in the media sites, Ros names herself as the summer.

Manga club.

Managing Partner of the company, which a lot of money.

“I helped her to set up the address “He was pretending to have house in Switalso ‘operates’ in Madrid. here, but there was never a place for He said he had a massive A sales member of staff at La Manga golf

olive press Vol. 7 Issue 177

www.theolivepress.es

December 23 2013 - January 8 2014

PLAN: Skyscraper

Sky’s the Limit to keep Russians happy

RACING AWAY: Acklom and Ros at the Royal Enclosure at Ascot

zerland but I knew he did not have any money,” an agent told the Olive Press.

“He said he was a marketing director at the big advertising firm McCann Erickson.

But he used a completely different name.

He called himself Mark Long.”

A barman at nearby pub The Last Drop told the Olive Press that when Acklom fled the family’s rented flat at La Manga’s Buenavista ‘he didn’t pay his rent’ and ‘left behind a lot of debt’.

The Olive Press also discovered Acklom’s wife owned a flat on Cartagena’s Calle Bodegones before selling it in February 2014. Neighbours were unaware of her current whereabouts.

Acklom’s ties to Spain stretch back over 20 years.

It was the late 1990s when Acklom first came to Spain, but he quickly left his mark on the country and by 1998 he had HAUNTS: Murcia office and (below) Yolanserved two years for a fraud involving un- da at La Manga sales office paid hotel rooms on the Costa Blanca.

The Brit was arrested again six years later in Benidorm for a con in which he posed as the head of a real estate consortium, when he did not own the land he said he would build on.

Court documents also show Acklom appeared in a Alicante court in 2006 over an art fraud.

Most recently he was locked up by Cartagena court for a €14 million property scam in 2015 for conning two brothers out of €225,000.

Prosecutor Miguel Pouget Bastida confirmed that Acklom changed his name to Mark Long by deed poll in Britain last year, the third time he has done so.

Pouget’s clients, Francisco Legaz Cervantes and Domingo Legaz Cervantes, worked with Fundacion Diagrama, a Spanish non-profit organisation that helps vulnerable people.

Acklom met the men in 2008, claiming to be the son of an incredibly wealthy Lloyds banker.

Boasting he had three London flats worth €9.8 million in Chelsea Wharf’s Cheyne

Apartments to sell, Acklom used a fake sales price list he had forged from a Knight Frank property list to convince the brothers of his credentials.

Operating alongside his then-girlfriend Josefina Rebollo Munoz, Acklom was hauled before a Spanish court in 2009 along with his accomplice after Pouget discovered the deeds to the flat sale were fake.

The lawyer recommended an eight-year sentence, but before he could be tried and jailed Acklom fled.

Court documents show that while on the run he married Maria Yolanda Ros Rodriguez in Totana, Murcia on March 4 2009, changing his name again the following month to Marc Ros Rodriguez.

An Interpol warrant was issued for Acklom’s arrest and he was finally tracked down to the Italian port of Genoa in November, 2014 and deported to Spain where he served 18 months behind bars.

“I love so much catching conmen,” said Pouget. “But this is the case has had me working even harder.

“Mark has an incredible capacity for fantasy. But I think he talks too much.”

While in prison, Acklom revealed to a fellow convict that he had gold bars buried in Spain as a ‘form of insurance’.

A serial fraudster, the 43-year-old scams began in childhood when he stole his mum Diana’s mink coat so he could sell it.

At 16, he stole his father’s American Express card and racked up a €12,000 bill before posing as a stockbroker in a €1.2 million fraud.

In a career that has spanned four decades he has left a trail of broken hearts as he targets vulnerable women.

One former associate said: “He loves making women fall in love with him. He gets a kick out of having them buy wedding dresses for a ceremony he knows will never take place because he’ll have vanished. In the decade I knew him, he fooled more than 50 women.”

In blog posts, Acklom repeatedly denies many of his crimes and moans about harassment from the law and from ‘people pretending to be the police’.

He pleads: “I have paid my time and it is absurd to be paying for that again and again.”

Insisting he has ‘a life-threatening illness’ he claims to live a quiet life working on his autobiography.

Wherever he is, that autobiography is sure to be one hell of a read.

THE UK’S MOST WANTED FUGITIVES

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VICTIMS in Spain have fresh hope after Nigel been given Goldman was found guilty of fraud in the UK. A jury heard how the Olive instrumental in bringing Press was old, now called Howard the 58-yeardel Monte, to justice.

After spotting our reports men who failed to receiveonline, two they had purchased from gold coins him called in police. A year later, he was found guilty on two counts of fraud and now faces jail.

to all our Seasonal wishes To long-time Olive Press readers and advertisers readers, notorious Nigel ‘Naughty’ Goldman will be a familiar figure.

The three times imprisoned Where’s naughty conman, continued a string Nigel? of scams in Spain, including selling dodgy gold coins and stamps on eBay, as well as taking millions in bogus investment fraud.

He was eventually handed a 12-month suspended sentence in January 2016 in the UK, but has so far failed to face justice in Spain, where he has many victims.

Abortion: Back to the dark ages

A

ll about

Vol. 7 Issue

press -

December

23 2013

- January

15

8 2014 15

Sierra Nevada December

23 2013

- January

8 2014

177 www.theolivepress.es

Photo by

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Telemark

the olive

ANGRY: Protesters

A BITTER war of words has broken out between Marbella’s new and old guard over plans to erect a 50-storey skyscraper off the Golden Mile.

Prince Pablo von Hohenlohe, whose uncle built the Marbella Club hotel, insists the project is totally out of keeping with the town’s low-rise, low-density housing.

“You can’t mortgage the future of the town for the benefit of a few,” said Hohenlohe of the first block that would be built on the Istan road, overlooking the palace of the Saudi royal family.

The scheme, designed by architect Ricardo Bofill, could be the first of six to be allowed in the Marbella area, after the town hall published a new proposed PGOU town plan.

By Claire Wilson

PROTESTS have erupted around Spain after the government approved abortion laws that take the country back 30 years.

The new abortion law will permit the procedure only in cases of rape, mental or physical risks to the mother, or lifethreatening foetal deformities.

Hundreds gathered outside parliament in Madrid and burnt an effigy of Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz Gallardon who masterminded the law.

Protesters took to the streets in around 20 other cities, including Malaga, Bilbao and Barcelona, while the Socialist party has already announced further protests.

Winter and wonderl arrived when he a massive to ski in Andalucia he has become it was possible had no idea as a keen snowboarder, Liam Kirkaldy ago. Now, here six monthsfan Sierra Nevada

was once it that there with his EGEND haslord who lived casa wealthydaughter in a remote southbeautiful Alpujarras, on the tle in the Sierra Nevada. he of the and because ern slopes off to a felwas controlling, away The lord to marry his daughter her hidden planned he kept could not meet she low landowner world so had from the daughter anyone else. to him, his at night, someBut unknown out the house in love with been sneaking already fallen and had – a local shepherd. her father’s one else two learned of through the When the decided to elope mountains plans, they Sierra Nevada if it meant even snow-bound to the north, and flee accordhis lover, into their deaths. bumped to way to meet But on his the shepherd him a broom ing to legend, who offered in the snow. the devil, lord, the hide his tracks by the richuntil they Pursued fled of Alcazayoung couple the peak reached sits at 3,371 meba, which a few less than its tres, just rivals Veleta and two nearby(3,482m).

Mulhacen they dropped the by But whenbegan to sweep broom it an avalanche itself, causingtheir pursuers. and burying goes that the The storybroom’ was left ‘devil’s where it still landslides there forgotten, causing sweeps, to this day. at the base When I arrived Nevada last by jutting of the Sierra patches week, greeted scattered hills withlandslides were the of snow, on my mind. last thing mountain range The tallest Europe, the Siin southern is higher than erra Nevada and has one the Pyrenees

L

Turn to

page 17

No donkeys, sledges or snowboards...the three kings trudge up the snowy slopes of the Sierra Nevada... see our annual skiing supplement on page 15

HIDDEN ASSETS:

Goldman with Suzanne Couling

HE has been one of the coast’s most colourful characters for years.

Regularly hosting charity auctions and appearing on radio phone ins, he even had his own restaurant column in a local newspaper.

But now things appear to

the Olive Press INVESTIGATES

have come unstuck for ‘Sir’ Nigel Goldman with police and lawyers actively seeking his whereabouts.

The self-styled poker wizard, who dealt in gold and coins, has allegedly fallen foul of regulators by offering bad financial advice and leaving investors empty handed.

Spanish police are now probing two of his financial companies - Harvard Private Client and International Fi-

nancial Investment - with Goldman allegedly fleeing the country back to the UK. A separate police report has now been filed with Action Fraud UK. Two victims alone, expats Roy and Jennifer Feather, claim to have lost €550,000, while another Geoffrey Whitton claims to have lost over €20,000.

“I’d like to find him and get my money back,” said Whitton, a writer, from Cornwall, currently based in Madrid.

According to Marbella lawyer Antonio Flores of Lawbird,

At a heated meeting on Friday at El Fuerte hotel, a mix of locals, including aristocrat Beatriz de Orleans and environmentalist Javier de Luis, vowed to fight the plans, setting up a new platform.

They warn that the skyscrapers would destroy the charm of the town and thousands have now signed a petition against the building.

Developer Pedro Rodriguez however, insisted the scheme would be positive for the town, which is rapidly becoming more popular for Russians and Eastern Europeans.

He said: “The British and Scandinavians like old style architecture, but the Russians demand modern apartments.”

Pablo Moro, who is responsible for town planning in Marbella, also dismissed the outcry. He said: “There was opthere are ‘likely to be’ many position in Paris when then more victims. they built the Eiffel Tower.”

Public school educated Gold- However, the town hall has man - who lived in an up- agreed to set up a public conmarket Elviria development sultation body and listen to and drove a Mercedes - cer- the views of its people.

Indeed, tainly had pedigree.

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Gotcha!

This heinous paedophile was snared by the Olive Press just hours after his mugshot went out across the media in the annual 2016 Crimestoppers Most Wanted appeal in Spain.

FOR 1 Working on a tip-off from an 2eagle-ey ANTed HONreader, our YS reporters tracked down Sammo n in Fuengirola be59€ fore calling the Guardia Civil to arrest him in a dramatic midnight raid in November 2016. The story hit national headlines in the UK. Mafia town

BANGED UP: Sammon bundled into police car and (inset) his campervan

How the CEO of organized crime corrupted a town hall PAGE 8

EXCLUSIVE: Expat tip leads Olive Press snare one of UK’s most team wanted paedophiles to

Secret Malaga

It’s a true city of culture, Malaga has so much morebut PAGE 16

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Issue 251

errania de

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October

26th - November

Ronda

26th - November

8th 2016

8th 2016

deep,high River mountain

Rob Horgan native in the goes Serrania de Ronda and discovers the backroad the Genal gems of Valley

T

SOARING

HIGH: The

view up to

the city from

the Tajo gorge

and (top)

a typical town

scene

HERE are beer with few places in the world an army general where general stands … and even you can drink all the rounds!

Ronda, fewer where the Celebrating however, is one bar El Porton,a recent promotionof those places. ish Legionnairean olé away from with friends in quintessential After introducingCarlos Velo is Spain’s oldest bullring - Spanme to the eager to include me quail eggs town’s signature - Carlos (above) in the party.

Iraq, Afghanistan tapa regales me with tales - jamon and the ‘best place and Bosnia from “I have been in the world’. before explaining why tours to Ronda is says, taking all over the world a swig from and seen back into many his been to.” his face. “But Rondacana and pushing things,” he his glasses is the best Originally place I have ever ago whenfrom Madrid, Carlos moved he joined its two national the Spanish to Ronda some 35 years Legion, which naires at present.bases here, counting on around has one of “The quality 800 legioncan live like of life in Ronda is like nowhere a gentleman everyone else. here, in Madrid else in “Everything I would justSpain. I is affordable, be like ing from tapas if you in your pocket. bar to tapas bar like you can spend the day goand you will “And the still have change scenery is breathtaking,” he adds.

“The walks Continues

on next Page

In the Serrania 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE AND OLD ON NEW BUILDS ON THE

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PAGE 19

19 19

EAGLE-EYED Olive readers helped snag one Press WORDS AND PICS of Britain’s most wanted fugitives

By Rob Horgan and in Laurence Dollimore Spain, just hours after he had been named. al Crime Agency, Following a tip off to the paper, the scene after who arrived at suspected paedophile Matthew the arrest.

“Well done Olive Sammon was dragged from his thanks to the expat Press and campervan in a dramatic community time raid and whisked night- for tipping us off, this is the reaan unmarked police car.away in son we run these campaigns.”

Working closely with informant The dramatic day had started when Crimestoppers issued Daniel Reid, we were its able to annual list of firstly track down Sammon most wanted tives in Torremolinos on fugito Fuengirola, then call Thursin the day morning.

Guardia Civil to arrest him.

Leading to hundreds of press On the run for two years, Sam- stories around mon - a blackbelt in Jujitsu the world and - on national television, was wanted in the UK for the hunt shar- was immediately ing indecent images of children. on.

But, it was to popular His seizure came just 10 local after he was named in hours newspaper the Olive Press tion Captura and is the Opera- that expat plasterer Reid, 40, quickest reached out recorded arrest in the joint to, trusting us to SUCCESS: Reid, UK ‘do the job properly’.

Horgan, and Spanish police operation.

Reynolds and Brunt In a series of Facebook “It was a fantastic result,” mes- as a labourer said sages, he announced and was currently Steve Reynolds, from the that Sam- living Nation- mon, 45, had worked for him the in a campervan around Mijas and Fuengirola area.

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Within an hour, the Olive Press car, Sammon covered team scrambled to Fuengirola, and remained silenthis face learning from another when that he was currently builder questioned by the Olive Press. out at the feria ground. camped He was then bundled into the BMW and taken to Madrid After a day working nearby, to the be fingerprinted Londoner duly arrived in his for extradition. and prepared English-plated cream Moncayo Following the arrest, father-ofcampervan. two Reid said he was ‘relieved’ Parking up, he looked as he took his dog for relaxed to see Sammon taken away. a walk “As soon as I saw his around the feria ground and the most wanted Iface among spoke with neighbours. felt said Reid, from Blackpool.sick,” Once identified, we called the “I let him hang around Guardia Civil and Crimestopmy children, we took him in with pers and so began a tense open hour waiting game, withthree- arms and at first were none the Reid wiser. sitting in the car beside us.

“But we always thought Sky News crime reporter he was tin Brunt was soon there Mar- a bit weird, he’s a real loner and never talks about his family.

Eventually, as night hadtoo. well “He creeped my family and truly fell, an unmarked much that I fired him.” out so black BMW arrived and two Incredibly, police did plain clothes detectives not take any moved in for the arrest, swiftly evidence from his campervan incating his passport and confis- cluding his computer and other Frisking him at the sidephone.

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OLIVE PRESS – 70mm x 40mm FRONT COVER

2015

who was in Estepona

S

Nigel Goldman convicted

for a fourth time

GOLDMAN GUILTY

GOLDMAN: Awaiting

prison

Heated

Colourful Costa character ‘Sir’ Nigel Goldman sought in fraud probe

Freedom

movement, Femen The which staged a topless protest at parliament in October, warned on Twitter: “If they take away our right to decide, we’ll have to abort the Church and everything that limits our freedom.”

The ruling PP party had promised to change the law in its run up to the 2011 election.

Currently women can abort without restrictions until the 14th week of pregnancy.

In a 2012 poll, 81% of Spaniards said they were opposed to changes to Spain’s abortion laws.

The PP was keen to empha-

One way ticket to jail! Page 4

December 10th - 22nd

TV debate minus the PM

INCISIVE: Malaga PP boss points out another Olive Press exclusive to Rajoy OME say the Spanish Prime Minister is out of touch Readers of La has taken his finger off and While debate still the pulse. rages But Mariano Rajoy proved Vanguardia went was clearly engrossed about his ability to speak English, he in our last front page, before priorities straight in the doubters wrong by getting his minute flicking even stronger in spending a run-up to the most exciting through the issue. their support, giv- eral election in Spanish history. gen- Finding plenty of interest, with Malaga’s ing him an aston- While the other party leaders engaged PP boss Elias Bendodo a crucial TV debate on looking over his shoulder, he then pointed out ishing 55%, ahead Monday, the PP boss was preoccupied in something apparwith the more important ently intriguing on the cover. matter of... what’s happening in Andalucia. of Rivera (16%), Perhaps he was making And his choice a note of the website for Sanchez ence on his return to Madrid? future refer(16%) After a keynote of reading matter was spot on! campaign Or maybe, just maybe, and Saenz de San- he he was imagining himself found time to catch upspeech for party faithful in Estepona, cover pictured on the tamaria (13%). of on our expat next news edition by following a landslide victory own, decade-old, super-reliable reading your very 20.

Dreams can come true. on December Olive Press.

Election fever sweeps nation Page 6-7

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Rajoy’s new goal

MARIANO Rajoy begins his second term in a completely different political landscape to five years ago. In 2011, Spain was still in the darkest days of a savage recession. Jobs and securing a path to economic recovery were the priority. But with Spain’s economy powering on - albeit with 18% of the country still jobless - Rajoy has switched his focus to the issue of Catalunya. The appointment of pragmatic lawyer Soraya Saenz de Santamaria indicates Rajoy is keen to pursue better relations with the key region. Santamaria has a reputation for fixing crises. She will need all her powers of diplomacy to resolve her government’s headache of Catalan independence claims.

November 9th - November 22nd 2016

the

PAGE 3

The Olive Press went on the hunt of fugitive Mark Acklom, one of Britain’s Most Wanted, for a few months in 2017, linking him to numerous scams in Spain. We traced his wife to a business address in Murcia and found his rented home.

Catch However, he had H me... just moved to IF Madrid, before YOU heading to SwitCAN zerland, where he was arrested MOST WANTED... last year.

FEATURE

see page 13

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Monkey bites fox

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BOTTLE: (From and Santamarialeft) Three leaders

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Earpiece let the Don’t thein let Don’t cash banks new size cash in banks 39mm www.hifx.co.uk www.hifx.co.uk 50mm xsee page 13

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WEBSITE

6

Nigel Goldman

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...while Rajoy brushes up on his expat news

A BEAMING Pablo Iglesias came both parties. out swinging during a leaders’ debate to blowcrucial TV “This is the reason Mr Rajoy the Span- not here: is ish general election wide he too received illegal open. payments,” roared Iglesias.

With Prime Minister Mariano Ra- Also insisting joy absent - and watching he would ings in his pyjamas - the proceed- bomb Syria, he clearly got not the Podemos upper leader’s popularity received hand on his nervous boost in front of a record a huge main anti-corruption rival Al9.2 mil- bert Rivera, lion viewers, Spain’s of Ciudadanos. largest TV The end audience of 2015. result was ‘una ba’, as the Spanish wouldbomGoing for the jugular, haired leader slammed the long- coming out on top by a milesay, in and PSOE - over a raft the PP - various polls yesterday. tion scandals, that haveof corrup- These included the right-leanengulfed ing El Mundo, their parties. with nearly half of the paper’s readers In a damning final (42%) 51-second siding round-up of why he should be- Soraya with him, while PP rep come Spain’s new PM, Saenz de Santamafive key cases that havehe listed ria got 30%, Rivera 22% and rocked PSOE’s Pedro Sanchez, just 7%.

See page 2

The Olive Press first exposed the timesharestyle cons conducted by infamous fraudster Toni Muldoon and his Costa del Sol cronies way back in 2008. We continued to monitor their scams with regular stories until Muldoon was finally put away in 2014 for running a bogus escort service. ‘Timeshare Toni’, as he became known to Olive Press readers, wrote a string of books on his scams before passing away this year.

Vol. 10 Issue 228

begins with sensational

Pablo’s back...

www.theolivepress.es

After a tip-off to the paper, the Olive Press tracked down and photographed one of Crimestoppers Most Wanted Daniel Johnston, in Pruna, Sevilla, who had been sought for a string of violent robberies in the UK. Despite informing the authorities it amazingly took a month for them to finally pick him up.

- SHINING STAR PAGE 52 The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía

PHOTO: Iona Napier

FREE

DOING OUR BIT Daniel Johnston

FIRST MICHELIN STAR’

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Malaga 29640 (EASY PARKING)

26 October

TOP for news in Spain!

Terry Wright The Olive Press has been investigating boiler rooms in Spain from day one. In 2011 we revealed that blacklisted British businessman Terry Wright had earned millions of euros by persuading unsuspecting investors to part with their hard-earned cash.

We found a series of lists of his scams and his victims names and addresses and literally banged him to rights, before he fled to France, buying a castle with his ill gotten gains.

June 19th - July 2nd 2019

7

olive press online

that’s the

Spain and Gibraltar’s best English daily news website

PECKING ORDER: Olive Press website at 7,501 in Spain and 157,658 in the world, with EWN and SUR in English well below us according to Alexa.com

Updated daily The Olive Press online www.theolivepress.es The website is conveniently accessible from your desktop computer to your laptop, tablets and smartphones throughout the day wherever you are. www.theolivepress.es

Useful numbers

Christopher Mealey - 2014

Do you know his whereabouts? Contact us at newsdesk @theolivepress.es

EMERGENCIES

Ambulance/ Fire brigade/ Police 112 Local police 092 Medical 061 Fire 080 Guardia civil 062

AIRPORT

Malaga - 952 048 844* *For English press 9 Gibraltar00350 22073026

Granada - Jaen 958 245 200 Jerez - 956 150 000 Sevilla 954 449 000

www.crimestoppers.es #MostWantedSpain

Christopher Mealey was held by armed police as he walked down the beach in Marbella in 2014.

Originally from London, the 38-year-old was wanted in connection with importing cocaine worth millions of pounds into the UK. His father-in-law John Reed and six others have already received prison sentences totalling more than 130 years in connection with the drug smuggling investigation.

Hank Cole, head of international operations for the NCA, said that Mealey’s capture ‘demonstrates the NCA and its partners have the capability to pursue fugitives relentlessly’.

Shane Walford - 2015

Paul Monk - 2015 The 54-year-old fugitive was arrested in 2015 as he oversaw workmen laying a marble patio around the swimming pool at his luxury villa near Benidorm, Alicante. The Guardia Civil issued dramatic video footage showing armed officers swooping on the property.

Detectives found written notes pertaining to the supply of 997 kilos of cocaine with a street value of €66 million, as well as an imitation firearm, €125,000 euros stashed in a plant pot and a fake Slovenian passport.

Originally from Romford, near Essex, Monk fled to Spain in 2013 while on licence from a nine-year sentence for a €3.3 million cannabis smuggling racket.

He obtained false identity documents and continued to run a €67 million international drug supply network from his home in Spain.

Police said he never left the villa for fear he would be shot dead by rivals, or arrested. He relied on friends to bring him food as he led the life of ‘an authentic fugitive’.

Joseph Lindsay - 2018 The Glaswegian ganglord was arrested in 2018, near South Tenerife airport where he was meeting relatives.

Police had prepared the ambush after discovering that relatives of Lindsay had booked flights to spend the New Year in Tenerife.

The 34-year-old was wanted by Scottish authorities for a tally of 29 crimes, punishable by 100 years in prison.

He is accused of member-

ship of a criminal organisation, drugs and weapons trafficking, money laundering, computer crime, homicide and serious assault, kidnapping, unlawful detention and the taking of hostages, as well as armed robbery.

His gang stood out because of the level of violence they employed, including the use of firearms.

Lindsay was jailed in Spain before being extradited to the UK.

?

Jamie Acourt - 2018

The 42-year-old drug smuggler - one of the gang accused of killing black teenager Stephen Lawrence - was arrested in 2018, as he was leaving a gym in Barcelona.

He fled the UK in 2016 after police raided his home in Kent. He had been living in Spain for two years, under the alias ‘Simon Alfonzo’.

At his trial last December, Acourt admitted his role in a multi-mil-

Walford was convicted for the manslaughter of an off-duty fireman while on leave from the army. The former soldier killed father-of-two Paul Gibbons with a single punch outside a bar in Coventry.

The former boxer was imprisoned for four-and-a-half years and released after serving half of his sentence, but was recalled to prison in August 2013 after breaking the terms of his licence.

The 42-year-old fled the country but was eventually tracked down and arrested in 2015 in the Canary Islands.

James Quinn - 2016 Irish hitman Quinn was arrested in September 2016 while trying to board a plane in Madrid.

The 36-year-old was accused of gunning down Gary Hutch in Fuengirola in 2015, allegedly on the orders of ganglord Christy Kinahan and sparked by the infamous feud between the Kinahans and the Hutch clan that has seen 18 killings so far.

A yacht and Bentley believed to have been used in the operation were seized in Spain. While in Dublin, Gardai found €23,000 in cash, along with computers, phones, false IDs and financial documents relating to property purchases and foreign bank accounts.

Quinn, a former boxer, had already served time behind bars in Ireland for a string of more than 70 convictions.

In 2019, the father-of-one was convicted by a Spanish court and sentenced to a record 22 years in prison. lion pound cannabis smuggling operation and was sentenced to nine years behind bars.

Prosecutors believe that Acourt, together with his brother Neil, enlisted family members to the scheme that saw drugs transported between London and the north. Both brothers were prime suspects in the racist murder of Lawrence (right) back in 1993, but always denied involvement.

In 2012, 19 years after the mur-

der, pals Gary Dobson and David Norris were finally convicted and jailed for life.

Green means go!

ONE local newspaper insists on dressing up its staff in red and telling the coast how it is the definitive best free media group in Europe.

What it fails to realise is red also means ‘stop’... which is almost exactly what has happened to its website over the last few months.

So bad have been the hits to our ‘rival’s’ website this year, that the paper has gone from shouting about its amazing site on page 4 to burying its statistics on page 69.

It comes as their website sunk in position by around 30,000 places globally and its stories garnered around 70,000 page views a week - or roughly what the Olive Press online is now getting a day.

This, dear readers is all about content and investing in journalism.

It is also about looking after your staff, not insulting your readers and not delivering the same story twice in the same edition.

Reporting

Above all, it is about spending money on actual reporting, as we have been doing at the Olive Press for the last 13 years.

All in all, green means go as we head up to 7,500th position in Spain, according to Amazon. com’s Alexa ranking, out of two million sites, as well as 157,000th in the world, out of billions of websites.

Meanwhile, the EWN sits at 220,000 and Sur in English, another local newspaper group, sits at 618,000.

Google Analytics delivers a similar story, showing clearly how we are frequently outpacing our rivals.

When it comes to Facebook, Twitter, breaking news, analysis, features, travel and culture, remember: Olive Press online. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, delivering the best English news website in Spain.

LA CULTURA World class success 8

www.theolivepress.es

June 19th - July 2nd 2019

Do you have a what’s on?

Send you r informa June 19th - new July 2nd 2019 tion sdesk@theolivepres to

s.es

John Culatto enjoys a night of Balkan music, while opera and comedy is up next on the Rock

G

IBRALTAR’S Spring Festival programme ends with ‘A Celebration of Opera’ at the Convent Ballroom this Thurs-

ACROBATS: In Irish Town

day.

The event on June 20 will feature a renowned soprano, tenor and piano player.

Grazia Doronzio, David Astorga and Elizabete Sirante will provide the entertainment on what promises to be another fantastic evening.

If comedy is more your thing, check out comic Jason Manford with his Muddle Class tour.

The British comedian will be making his audience split their sides at the St Michael’s Cave on the same evening.

The Gibraltar World Music Festival (GWMF) meanwhile, was one of the greatest successes of this year’s Spring Festival.

The public thronged to its film night, street party and final concert by Goran Bregovic at St Michael’s Cave.

The festival really captured the imagination of all ages, educating and entertaining the public about the world around us.

It all kicked off with a film about the five year struggle of a family escaping death at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Filmed only on mobile phones, it showed the desire of a filmmaker to TALENT: Goran Bregovic stuns audience in St Michael’s Cave get to a place where his young family brought the public to their feet late Belgrade.” could follow their dreams. into the night.

As a professional musician she has The street festival was another high- One of the stars of the night was Mil- toured all over the world playing solos light, as circus performers took over ica Milhailovic, whose viola solo had for orchestras and chamber music.

Irish Town with their acrobatics. the public aghast with wonder.

Local and international musicians At only 31-years-old she has played kept the atmosphere lively all night the viola and violin for more than half SUMMER NIGHTS at John Mackintosh her life.

Square after young “Everything is very dancers had shown well organised and Back with a bang for the warmer A collection of off their skills. people are very kind evenings is Summer Nights, which A lively family atmohere,” Mihailovic told brings entertainment for all the famslow and fast sphere truly demonthe Olive Press about ily to the lively setting of Casemates songs brought strated what Gibraltar the Gibraltar World Square.

Concerts, magic shows, face-painthas to offer in a friend- the public to their Music Festival. ly, entertaining night “It was really nice be- ing, bouncy castles and dances will feet for all. cause I felt that peo- keep attendees in bliss until they It all culminated with ple were very touched have no more left in them.

During the Island Games it will be Goran Bregovic at the by our music.

St Michael’s Cave where the Balkan “I started playing with Goran Bregov- renamed Games Square, with some musician brought the house down ic at 19-years-old and I enjoy his con- of the medal ceremonies being held with his talent. certs very much. Balkan folk music is there between the event dates of A collection of slow and fast songs very close to my heart as I am from July 6-13.

City of Girls

Flower power

The latest offering from Eat, Pray, Love

author Elizabeth Gilbert IT’S 1940 and 19-year-old Vivian has flunked out of Vasser.

Her affluent parents can’t deal with her, so they send her to New York to live with her Aunt Peg who owns crumbling theatre call The Lily Playhouse.

Virginal and naïve, Vivian is enthralled with the show girls and actors she meets there.

She immediately delights in gallivanting around New York City, drinking, flirting and sleeping with men. The scene where she loses her virginity is particularly entertaining...

However, her partying and carefree living catch up with her when she makes a mistake that can’t be undone.

Told in the form of a letter to a woman named Angela, City of Girls is narrated by the now 95-year-old Vivian.

It is a fun, sensual, heart-warming story which explores the ideas of redemption and forgiveness and living life on your own terms. A fun, witty read.

€19.50, Available from The Bookshop San Pedro www.thebookshop.es

what’s on

M

o o n i n g about An exciting Lunar Walk will take place at midnight on June 21 starting and finishing at Casemates to raise money for Breast Cancer Support.

C

reative commons Artistic folk will be showcasing their creations in a market on Gibraltar Artisans’ Day this June 22 at Casemates from 10am to 4pm.

A WITTY ‘yanito play’ about the effects of the frontier being closed in the hippie era is being shown at Ince’s Hall.

Flower Power is a story about a young Gibraltarian hippie teenager who tries to get a caravan with his girlfriend.

It was created by a mother and son team who call themselves LOL productions in the unique combination of English and Spanish called ‘Yanito’.

“My mum is the director, producer and writer of our plays,” Jordan Baker told the Gibraltar Olive Press. “I am the one who handles everything else and also act in the show.”

LOL Productions began creating plays for the residents at the Mount Alvernia elderly people’s home.

“After this we felt we should do it more regularly,” said Jordan Baker. “We did another show in the stadium and 400 people came.

“We have been doing a show almost every year since then.”

The musical dramas they come up with use well-known songs with Gibraltarian lyrics with live and pre-recorded material.

The show runs on May 18-22 at Ince’s Hall where tickets can be bought from 2pm to 5.30pm for £15.

I

n the Navy Get the chance to visit a Royal Navy ship and find out everything about Gibraltar’s commercial connection with the sea at the Maritime Week from June 24-28.

F

unny old game Betting staff from Ladbrokes and Coral will face off in an 11-a-side football match at La Linea sports complex in aid of Prostate Cancer Awareness on June 23.

A C T Touch of the Tropical xarquia &

A special 16-page pullout

osta

www.theolivepress.es

ropical June 2019

DRAMA: Rugged Nerja coastline and (inset) Frigiliana mill

Life in the laid-back East (of the Costa del Sol) has never seemed more appealing, writes ‘West End Boy’ Laurence Dollimore

‘

WELCOME to the most beautiful town in Spain,’ toothless local Jorge calls out in broken English as I wipe the sweat from my brow. (OK, so I still look like a tourist, despite four years in Spain.)

I had just hiked up to the top of Frigiliana which has indeed been crowned one of the country’s most picturesque pueblos, as plaques through the village will tell you at every turn.

A 10-minute drive up from the coast from Nerja, it’s the pearl in a string of white-washed villages glistening in the hills of the Axarquia and its nearby Granada neighbour, the Costa Tropical.

Either way, this is the very laid-back eastern end of the Costa del Sol, and boy, take it from me a ‘westie’ based near Marbella, it really is a breath of fresh air.

“This is our little paradise,” beams grandfather Jorge, who has lived here Turn to page 10

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Unspoilt paradise From page 9

ARABIC: Vestiges exist in many villages, including Archez

his entire life. “We have a great local community, amazing food and sunshine, what more do you need?”

Some of the views inland wouldn’t look out of place in Jurassic Park - minus the dinosaurs - and hidden in that jawdropping landscape is a whole world of stunning mountain villages, underground caves and beautiful, unspoilt hidden coves.

Jorge recommends a visit to the outer walls of this old Moorish fortress town, and a break at his friend’s tapas bar, but it’s 300 metres back down the ancient cobbled street.

I opt for the closer Las Chinas, having just toiled up the Everest-steep slope in searing heat, the car parked a good

PERCHED: Castle in Velez-Malaga (left) while (above) surfer enjoys shores of the Axarquia coast

kilometre down the road.

The food didn’t disappoint: a dorada as meaty as chicken, the whole three-course menu del dia typically for the region, cheap as chips.

For something sweeter, head to the only sugar cane factory still functioning in Spain.

Still chugging out deliciously sticky molasses (treacle), the El Ingenio miel de cana factory operates from the magnificent 16th century Nuestra Senora del Carmen mansion in the heart of Frigiliana.

Delve deeper into its maze of

whitewashed alleyways - maybe after a restorative caña or two - and you can sense the pride here, with abuelas tending to their prize-winning geranium pots and not a scrap of rubbish blowing down the streets.

It’s a recipe that’s repeated across the hills of this region - fantastic food, incredible views, charming villages with Arabic ruins and just as friendly people - just ask the expats, who have set up in Sayalonga, Comares, Competa or Salobrena.

If you’re not set on staying quite so rural, Vélez-Málaga the Axarquia’s capital, which offers a faster pace and its own brand of charm.

On arriving, there’s only one direction to go – and that’s up!

From the ruined Moorish castle you can map the town with its busy roads, coffee shops and bars and a historic quarter typical of so many white hilltop villages embedded throughout a region that was once a jewel of Islam.

The route to the castle will

11 June 2019

UNEVEN: Higgledy piggledy streets are part of the appeal while (below) Salobrena castle is a crown of the Costa Tropical

take you to the Jardin de los Remedios, a park that sits parallel to the castle and overlooks a church with a spire that protrudes from the whitewashed Lego-stacked houses below.

With its streams, miradors and benches, the park is the perfect escape from the bustling centre, offering up fisheye lens views from the Med to the mountain tops.

The statue of Jesus - Velez’s answer to Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer - has the best panorama, watching over the action from his lofty perch next to the Ermita de la Virgen church.

Head over to the castle and watchtower for a glimpse into the Moorish past which shaped the Axarquia region.

Although parts of the building date back to the 10th century, its heyday came 400 years later, when it was one of a chain defending the mighty Arabic Nasrid Kingdom of Granada.

The entire city played a part in subduing a notoriously turbulent zone, hence the old Moorish name for it: Ballix-Malaca – or Fortress of Malaga. With 1,500 metres of defensive walls and numerous solid turrets, the castle provided such

strong defence it was used in a military capacity right up to the 19th century.

The mountain towns and villages of the Axarquia from Competa to Comares and Archez to Algarrobo are full of signs of their Moorish past and olden days in general.

Each has a wonderful crop of white houses stacked higgledy-piggledy around quaint plazas and along timeless cobbled streets.

But no trip to the Axarquia is complete with seeing the charming Nerja.

It’s famous Balcon de Europa jutting out into the Med offers theatrical views while the popular town has managed to retain its Andalucian credentials and its rocky coves, sandy beaches and pueblo vibe are the envy of its more westerly Costa del Sol rivals.

Nerja was left untouched by the massive tourism develop-

FORTRESS: Roman aqueduct has survived to this day

ment boom which hit the likes of Torremolinos and Marbella from the 1950s onwards.

But that all changed when five boys on a bat-hunting trip stumbled upon the opening to a cave on a hillside above the tiny fishing village of Maro, a few miles east of Nerja.

Vast caverns were revealed, with spectacular rock formations showing evidence of Paleolithic man.

General Franco himself came to view the ‘Cueva de Nerja’ and coach-loads of visitors subsequently followed suit.

And when Nerja was chosen as a location for the 1980s TV series, Verano Azul, its future as a tourism destination was set. The series left an indelible mark. Now, wherever you go in Nerja, you’ll come across the name, which means blue summer. There is a Verano Azul travel agency, bus company, park, block of apartments ... you may even find a bar serving a Verano Azul cocktail.

But if you want to get away from it all - the disco bars, the tourist shops and the bustle - head for one of the small coves just below the town, or nearby in Maro.

Nerja’s beaches are cut off from the town and roads, backed by sheer cliff-face. You can sit on the sand for hours in solitude, lose track of time, without seeing a sign of civilisation, just coastline colliding with blue sea in both directions.

It is just so un-Costa

del Sol! But then again, I am from the western end.

And, sitting alone on my rock, toes in the sea, watching the sun set over Malaga, the sleepy, do-nothing lifestyle of the laid-back ‘East’ has never seemed more appealing.

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One-eyed bandit!

David Baird follows in the footsteps of the bandoleros, who made the Axarquia infamous

CAPTURED: Infamous bandit El Tempranillo was finally captured and kept at Venta de Alfarnate (below)

A

BOUT the biggest hazard you will meet on the back roads of the Axarquía is a herd of goats, a lorry overloaded with farm produce or a hostelry inviting you to dally for a lazy hour or so.

But it was not always so. Bandoleros – or bandits - were once a major feature of life in this area.

Colourful types though they were, it did not make the experience of having your valuables purloined at the point of a blunderbuss any pleasanter.

In the years following the Napoleonic Wars, so lawless were the roads that the English writer Richard Ford advised travellers to bring along ‘a decent bag of dollars’ to appease any highwaymen you might meet.

He also suggested carrying an impressive-looking watch, noting; “The absence of a watch can only be accounted for by a premeditated intention of not being robbed of it, which the ladrón considers as a most unjustifiable attempt to defraud him of his right.”

One of the most notorious 19th-

century bandits was El Bizco (the one-eyed bandit). They remember him in his birthplace, El Borge.

Take a ride up there and witness how the landscape becomes steeply undulating, clothed in olive groves and vineyards.

Several streets are named after

Closed 12.00 until mid February Open Tuesday to Sunday. until 22.00

de caña (molasses), on sale in lo- bandits. Such as Benamargosa, up a cal shops.

Frigiliana was a flash point in the well-watered valley 1940s when anti-Franco guer- northwest of Vélezrillas based in the adjacent sier- Málaga. ras sought to provoke a general A couple of centuries revolt. In a bid to discredit them, back it was dubbed Franco’s tightly controlled media Gibraltar Chico (Little Gibraltar) because labelled them ‘bandoleros’.

If you hike into the mountains the inhabitants were with their abrupt inclines and renowned as smugdeep gorges riddled with caves, glers, particularly of you can see how difficult it was tobacco. for the Civil Guards to track the These days Benamargosa likes to guerrillas.

High up, near a pass called the think of itself as the Puerto de Frigiliana, lie the ruins Oasis of the Axarquía. The shelof the Venta Panaderos. Once tered environment and benign this inn was a welcome rest stop climate allow tropical fruits such for muleteers en route to Grana- as mangoes and avocadoes to da and a meeting place of foot- flourish on the fertile lands borpads, smugglers, guerrillas — and dering its river.

Perhaps most famous for its asCivil Guards.

Locals tell anecdotes about how sociation with the lawless past is the guards would suddenly arrive, a lonely inn standing on a crossdiscover meals which the guerril- roads at one of the highest points of the Axarquía. las had ordered To reach it, you and proceed to take the old road scoff the food El Tempranillo’s from Málaga themselves. to Granada, Just east of Nerja claim was: “In the A6103. It is the Río de la Spain the king weaves its way Miel valley, a dethe forlightfully peaceful rules, but in the through ested Montes de spot but once a Málaga then past refuge for smugsierra I do” limestone crags glers. to the Venta de When guerrilAlfarnate. las landed from North Africa, they trekked up this First opened in 1691, this inn, valley to their bases in the moun- standing beneath the rocky tains and Río de la Miel became buttress of the Tajo de Gomer, such a breeding ground of re- claims to be the oldest in Andalusistance that it was called ‘Little cia. At weekends it is crowded as ‘domingueros’ (trippers) tuck into Russia’.

Almost every village has some roast kid, partridge and pork. tale to tell about smugglers or In the past all manner of travellers stopped here. A plaque notes: “In this Venta on April 21 1850 the Mail on the way to Málaga was stolen by a group of 12 armed men. The bandits took particular care to seize a packet of Government prosecutions and criminal lawsuits coming from the Granada chancery.”

On one occasion in the 19th century, a horseman rode up as the customers were tucking into gazpacho from a common bowl.

Told there were no spoons left, he used the crust of a loaf to scoop up the cold soup — then produced a pistol.

RUINED: An old mill in the Rio de la Miel valley once used “Now,” he commanded, “do the same as I do. Eat your spoons!” by smugglers

revolutionary heroes such as Che Guevara, the legacy of a leftwing, anti-monarchy mayor who often made headlines with his controversial decisions.

The Mudejar-Renaissance Rosario church is impressive, with immense pillars supporting its three naves. Look for two holes in the weather-vane atop the church.

They were allegedly made by El Bizco’s shotgun.

The vane had never worked but — after he blasted away — it functioned perfectly.

Otherwise El Bizco’s record is pretty gruesome. With his comrades in crime, Frasco Antonio and Manuel Melgares, he terrorised the whole area. At times, these cut-throats were used by unscrupulous ‘caciques’, powerful land-owners, to sway local election results.

Wander down a maze of narrow streets and at the bottom end of the village you find the olive mill where El Bizco was born. It has been converted into the Posada del Bandolero, combining an attractive hotel, restaurant and museum. At the side of the bar you can see the original mill-stones and a deep well.

El Bizco’s chum, Melgares, meanwhile is said to have committed one of his most daring crimes in Frigiliana (six kilometres inland from Nerja).

Disguised as a priest, he entered the Ingenio, the mansion owned by the Counts of Frigiliana, pointed a pistol at the manager and made off with around 100,000 pesetas.

Today the Ingenio houses the last factory in Europe producing miel

They recognised him as El Tempranillo, Andalucia’s most notorious bandolero, whose claim was: “In Spain the king rules, but in the sierra I do.”

They were forced to chew their wooden spoons.

On other occasions, El Tempranillo was more gallant. Always courteous, if he stripped a lady of her best jewellery, he would kiss her hand and assure her: “Such a pretty hand needs no adornment.”

Truth to tell, those bandits were hardly a bunch of Robin Hoods.

Most would have robbed their own grandmothers given the chance. But time has cast a romantic aura over them, popular mythology has embroidered their characters and their memories have been enshrined in everything from museums to the names of gourmet dishes.

Ford maintained that travellers often exaggerated the bandit peril. When he inquired about thieves, “according to all sensible Spaniards, it was not on the road that they were most likely to be found, but in the confessional boxes, the lawyers’ offices, and still more in the bureaux of government.”

Bless my soul — some things don’t change.

Learn more about the outlaws in Francisco Montoro Fernández’s book Bandoleros de la Axarquía (Acento Andaluz). David Baird is the author of East of Malaga (Santana Books), the definitive guide to the Axarquía, as well as Sunny Side Up — The 21st century hits a Spanish village and Typhoon Season. These are distributed by Maroma Press (http://maromapress.wordpress.com/).

13 June 2019

chiringuito

WHERE TO EAT

Creative cuisine has finally started to revolutionise the Axarquia and Costa Tropical’s dining scene, writes Jon Clarke

LA SARDINA

POLE POSITION: Restaurant el Penon overlooks Salobrena

MOUNTAINS OF CHOICE T

HE Axarquia and the Costa Tropical are slowly developing a varied dining culture after decades of meatballs and goat stew.

Led by a string of outsiders, many of them expats, a drive towards experimentation has seen a growth of creative cuisine.

In Nerja there is a great melting pot of places to eat, with one of the best being Carabeo, whose setting could not be improved sitting on desirable Calle Carabeo overlooking the sea.

Up in the nearby village of Frigiliana you would be mad to miss the amazing Garden restaurant, which consistently produces some of the freshest, most varied (read spicy and original) food in the Axarquia (see next page).

A varied menu with plenty of original dishes it sits in a lovely back street with the best views in the entire region.

Possibly the best food in inland Axarquia is to be found at Hotel Vinuela, which has got better and better since opening 20 years ago.

Combining a great mix of local ingredients and creative Mediterranean cuisine, you will not be disappointed.

The menu is detailed and includes such joys as rabo de toro spring rolls with lettuce hearts, as well as an excellent

Paseo Andrés Segovia, 0, 18697 La Herradura, Granada Tel: 958 64 01 11

cress salad with cured beef and foie shavings.

There is even a Moroccan tagine as a main course, while fresh fish is always on offer.

In good weather you dine outdoors overlooking the lake reminiscent of the Days of the Raj, and it is no surprise that the King is said to have eaten here.

Also close to the Vinuela lake you will find the unusual boutique hotel/restaurant Las Orquideas, with one of the best backdrops in Spain, overlooking Vinuela Lake and Maroma mountain.

Not far away in the charming village of Archez, you will find one of the most alluring new restaurants in the region.

Called Meson Mudejar, it was

recently taken over by a Polish couple, who have turned it into a Vegan restaurant with rooms.

A charming spot in the extreme, you sit and take an early evening drink in one of the sleepiest town squares imaginable, alongside one of the Axarquia’s most evocative church towers, which was built in Arabic times.

The meson itself sits around a charming cobbled patio and counts on its original beams, old doors and windows and numerous other features.

The menu is varied and interesting, particularly for a carnivore like me.

Mobile: 0034 682 489 949 Home: 0034 952 557 842 Calle Alamos 6 29753 Archez www.mesonmudejar.com

Continues on Page 14

Mesón Mudéjar – Vegan restaurant and hotel

VARIETY: On the terrace at Hotel Vinuela and (above) stunning La Sardina in La Herradura

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Spicy mix From Page 13

ORIGINAL: New vegan joint Meson Mudejar

I wasn’t sure what to go for but was steered to the delicious spicy onion fritters, as well as the cauliflower wings, and raw sushi rolls, which had carrots, nori seaweed, leeks and cashew nuts all rolled in courgette slices.

A light vegetable curry was splendid, while a ‘Beyond meat’ burger from California was a surprise indeed, having zero meat but plenty of flavour.

In Competa, try the highly rated El Pilon, which is very much the stand-out restaurant in the town. A popular social hive, the bar area is great for tapas, while the restaurant itself is a must try.

Close by is the wonderful Bentomiz restaurant, sitting in the same name vineyard, in Sayalonga, which has won international awards for its wines for a decade.

Mixing its wines in a fabulous food pairings, this is one hell of a place for lunch, with incredible views and stylish flourishes to boot.

Up in Comares there is a good variety of places to eat, including Atalaya, where you can also stay the night.

Finally, another excellent in-

STUNNING: Both the winemaking skills of Clava and cooking of Andre impresses at Bodegas Bentomiz land place is Cantueso, which has been serving the Periana area for over a decade.

A holiday complex, rated by the Guardian as within the Top Ten best in Europe, the restaurant is normally full at lunch and frequently busy at night.

Costa Tropical restaurants There is a big mix of good places to eat on the Costa Tropical as well.

By far the most emblematic must be legendary Restaurante el Penon, which sits in pole position literally built on the famous

CORTIJO BRAVO

rock below Salobrena town.

I’ve eaten here on various occasions over the last two decades and rarely been disappointed, not just with the excellent ambience and views, but also by the service.

Professionally run, by two local friends, it focuses on top quality fish and seafood, including lobsters, and has an excellent wine list to boot.

Next door is Restaurante La Bahia, which is anything but your usual fried fish affair, and apart from the cool jazz music, there were a number of interesting dishes.

These included the so-called ‘queda bien’, a clam and langoustine stew, which was delicious, as well as an excellent value rich and creamy fish soup at just €6.

Another place worth checking out here is Hotel Miba above the town, where the menu keeps getting better and better, since it was taken over by the new owners from Villas Colores.

Another place in Salobrena is Arais which is the creation of Francisco ‘Paco’ Izquierdo, an ambitious chap, who has not only cooked since his teens, but also makes his own rum, from a factory in the town.

Dubbing his food as ‘an adventure’ his place is certainly well out of the ordinary.

Beautifully decorated, it is split into two parts, a bustling bar area, full of creative furniture and lighting, and a

stylish dining room next door.

Up in La Herradura look out wonderful beach restaurant La Sardina, which has a splendid setting and excellent staff.

The fish was incredibly fresh as was the seafood and the owner, now well into his 70s, is regularly about bossing the team.

Also look out for English chef Mark Parris at No.20, who along with business partner Laurent Hue is doing a great job.

Mark, from Kent, has considerable pedigree in the kitchen, having trained under Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in London, before doing stints at the Oxo Tower, Harvey Nichols and Souffle.

I was very impressed with the attention to detail and the lovely mix of flavours in original starters, which came (sort of) in combos.

Just up the road a great bar to hang out in and grab some tapas and a decent range of beers is Hideaway.

Finally for a charming inland spot look out for el Nacimiento, in Velez de Benaudalla.

This is one trip well worth the journey, particularly to take in the Museum of Olive Oil, en route.

Hidden up a tiny track on the edge of the village, you will find this charming spot beside a roaring stream and waterfall.

Once an olive mill, it is a great place for lunch or dinner and the menu is a good range of dishes typical from the Granada region.

Garden of delights

B { } bou Hotel Cortijo Bravo, is a typical Andalusian cortijo rehabilitated in hotel, where its 21 comfortable rooms combine an elegant decoration, typically Andalusian, with cosmopolitan and romantic touches of the 19th century Málaga, in an incomparable natural setting that includes a magnificent pool and a restaurant where from its magical terrace, our clients can enjoy the magnificent temperatures of the Costa del Sol all year round, as well as its wonderful views of the Sierra de Tejeda and Almijara, the white villages of the Axarquia bathed by the sun and as a backdrop, the blue Mediterranean Sea. In B { } bou Hotel Cortijo Bravo, you can enjoy an oasis of peace and tranquility among a sea of subtropical trees, ideal for pleasant meals and events enjoying the absolute calm that is breathed in the place. Our renovated restaurant with contemporary and traditional cuisine, puts at the service of our customers the best dishes of Andalusian cuisine, as well as the best meats of our territory. A Mediterranean cuisine with modern and creative touches with the ability to delight the most demanding palates.

It will be a pleasure to receive you.

B { } bou Hotel Cortijo Bravo, where your dreams come true ...

Telephone for reservations: 951 550 048 Booking email: info@hotelcortijobravo.com

W

ITH stunning views across emblematic Vinuela lake and up towards the formidable peak of Mount Maroma, Hotel Vinuela is one of the most scenic places to stay in Andalucia.

With stylish bedrooms, an amazing restaurant and peaceful grounds, it is hardly surprising that it is already the stand out place to stay in the Axarquia.

Now 20 years old, this four-star spot has the region’s most exclusive spa and massage centre.

Set in the hotel’s grounds with views across the lake, the Mei Wellness & Spa is a new concept in exclusive well-being therapy.

Perfect for individuals or for couples, the spa - which counts on a jacuzzi, sauna and hammam - is rented out privately by the hour.

“You will experience feelings of complete serenity and harmony: a unique and unparalleled experience that you will never forget,” promises hotel manager Maria Herrero, of the B Bou chain.

The company has also recently taken over another amazing hotel Cortijo Bravo nearer the coast near Velez-Malaga.

This wonderful place was once one of the homes of the Larios family, who grew sugar cane for their rum factories along the coast.

The converted mansion is style personified and each room offers lovely views inland towards the mountains or along the coast.

Now a boutique hotel, many of its 21 rooms count on four poster beds and balconies.

In Nerja you are spoilt for choice for good places to stay. In pole position is Hotel Toboso, which couldn't be in a better location in the heart of town by the emblematic Balcon de Europa.

The rooms are fantastic in size and you are right next to the excellent Cochrane's Irish restaurant and bar, which is good for a local meal and has the best terrace in Nerja.

You might also check out Hotel Carabeo

WITH views and food to match, the Garden restaurant in Frigiliana is hard to beat.

Run by capable expat Rob Grimmond, who trained at Leiths in London, you will be hard pressed to find anywhere with such fresh and exciting ingredients.

A distinct Arabic crossover of

flavours, dishes are heavily geared towards vegetables, while spices come from around the world.

Some stand out dishes include an amazing Iberian tartare (pictured), as well as salmon in ajoblanco with tahini and pomegranate molasses, while his

pluma pork melts in the mouth, with a chickpea lentil dhal and curried banana sauce.‘No tricks, just good fresh local produce,’ insists Rob. Who could disagree?

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LA VIÑUELA & SPA

SLEEP WELL: At Hotel Miba (above)

B { } bou Hotel La Viñuela & Spa is one of the most special boutique hotels on the Costa del Sol, located in a natural environment of the most beautiful in Andalusia, on the shores of Lake La Viñuela and at the foot of the Sierra de Tejada and Almijara, a few minutes from the beach, a unique location.

RETREAT: At Vinuela Spa and (left) Cortijo Bravo

WHERE TO STAY

Everything adds up so that your stay at B { } bou Hotel La Viñuela & Spa is a mixture of emotions and sensations to be enjoyed, surrounded by 15,000 m2 of beautiful gardens, in 37 exclusive rooms, with two swimming pools and a private spa, among many others services. Savoring the best traditional cuisine in the area, in its rooms or terraces, is an incomparable experience.

The Axarquia and Costa Tropical have a great selection of places to stay, discovers Jon Clarke in one of the best parts of the town.

Looking to stay in a charming inland village, look no further than Meson Mudejar, in Archez.

Recently taken over by a charming Polish couple, it is a sleepy spot with simple, clean rooms, that sit above the vegan restaurant downstairs.

It’s good value and you can head out for a range of walks from the door as well as enjoy experiencing the typical Axarquia life.

Along the Costa Tropical perhaps the best place to stay is the recently renovated Hotel Miba, in Salobrena.

This wonderful eight-room hotel, recently taken over by the team at Villas Colores, perches on an escarpment overlooking Salobrena town.

Every inch of this modern hotel maximises on the incredible views, be it across to the breathtaking

nearby town, which soars up like a wedding cake from stage left, or stage right to the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains.

The rooms are spacious and each have their own private terrace.

It also has an excellent restaurant and rooftop bar and swimming pool with stunning views up the coast. This is a great place for an evening cocktail Up in Motril look out for Casa de los Bates, which is an amazing 19th century Italianate mansion, with sumptuous bedrooms and well appointed dining and sitting rooms.

The places oozes history and the family home, now owned by two charming brothers Borja and Inaki, is full of antiques and photos of its illustrious guests, which have included Nelson Mandela and the King of Spain.

B { } bou Hotel La Viñuela & Spa draws a gastronomic route through Andalusia, which starts with the fresh fish and seafood from Málaga, continues with the important tropical mango and avocado from the Axarquía, as well as the incomparable goat from Canillas . A unique Mediterranean traditional cuisine, a delight for the palate and the senses.

It will be a pleasure to receive you.

B { } bou Hotel La Viñuela & Spa, a place to lose yourself and meet again ...

Telephone for reservations: 952 519 193 Booking email: hotel@hotelvinuela.com

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• Festive dinners • Business lunches • A drink and aperitif at the bar • Cocktails at the skybar • Business drinks • Receptions • Communion parties • 2 suites and 6 spacious rooms, all with sea views • For events see our calendar on

www.hotelmiba.com

N-340, Km. 325, from Malaga first exit to Salobreña • Tel. +34 958 617 228 info@hotelmiba.com • www.hotelmiba.com

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Believe the hype

It really is all about the location, at the stunning award-winning holiday property complex overlooking lake Vinuela

I

T is certainly corny to use ‘location, location, location’ in a property description, but one exception must surely be this unusual complex in the Axarquia, which has just come up for sale.

There are ten cottages and a restaurant complex, overlooking the reservoir of Lake Viñuela, with its turquoise waters and stunning views.

Cantueso is a holiday destination that has over the last 12 years developed a reputation for its cosy cottages and family friendly facilities.

The Guardian newspaper has listed it in its top ten European self-catering family holiday destinations.

And for those days when mum doesn’t want to cook, there is an on-site restaurant which has been

number one on Tripadvisor for many years.

The landscaped gardens surrounding the cottages are admired for their colourful diversity throughout the year, and visitors love to pick figs, oranges, or a lemon to go in their gin and tonic.

There are also interesting plants and shrubs such as the Coral Tree, Pineapple Guava, Kumquats and of course the ubiquitous olive.

The site has been developed very much with children in mind and all the cottages have individual terraces and the large pool is securely fenced with self-closing gates.

The swing park, football field, mini golf course and trampoline provide lots for active youngsters, and babies and younger children are not forgotten with a host of items available to make travelling families’ lives easier. Not least, having large items such as buggies available can save costly excess baggage fees, and the Cantueso policy of allowing arrival and departure to be on any day, can lead to cheaper air fares.

Make sure to visit our website www.cantueso.net, as it not only describes the cottages and restaurant in great detail, but also has masses of tourist

information, excellent photographs and videos of the complex and surrounding area.

There is an associated blog which regularly adds items of current interest, and a live webcam overlooking the lake which attracts thousands of hits each week.

Nearby Periana village, which sits at 450m above sea level, is surrounded on three sides by mountains and has lake views to the south.

Just under an hour from Málaga airport it attracts nature lovers, photographers, cyclists and walkers

who enjoy the subtropical climate and marvel at the myriad of springtime wildflowers.

In summer there is often a welcome breeze with thermal currents over the lake attracting eagles and other birds of prey.

Although the village only has 3,500 inhabitants they certainly know how to enjoy life, and throughout the year there are many fiestas and events, some which last several days!

Only for sale due to personal reasons, in total the site covers about 18,000 sq m and has ample scope for further development.

For more information contact us at info@cantueso.net

Cantueso 255mm x 170mm_Layout 1 30/05/2019 11:40 Page 1

• Beautiful holiday location • 10 air-conditioned cottages • Well known on-site restaurant • Rural location with spectacular views • Landscaped gardens

Cost of the freehold and business: 2,500,000€

Holiday Complex FOR SALE An unusual commercial opportunity to buy the freehold and business of a well established family friendly holiday complex in Andalucía, comprising ten self catering cottages, a restaurant (rated number one in area) with 50 covers inside and 50 outside, and owner’s apartment.

The whole site is tastefully landscaped with an area of over 18,000 m² and is surrounded by olive groves. There are wonderful views to the south over Lake Viñuela and mountain ranges on other aspects.

In first instance enquiries to: info@cantueso.net www.cantueso.net www.cantuesoblog.es Also see us on Facebook

Cantueso Periana SL, Periana, Málaga 29710

BUSINESS

Up and out

FOOD supplements have been removed from shelves in Spain after they were found to contain viagra.

The Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) ordered the withdrawal of six products containing sildenafil, the active ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug.

Drugs

Sildenafil can react harmfully with other drugs and cause adverse side effects such as heart palpitations and chest pain.

The affected pills are all distributed by the same Tenerife-based company, Marco Cordone-Spain.

They are Bioacvit, Bioacvit Extra Forte, Torexan, Devit Forte, Devit Solo Piante and Bull Extreme tablets.

VODAFONE has taken the lead over rivals with the rollout of 5G networks across Spain.

The communications giant confirmed that the new ultra-fast mobile technology is now available in 15 Spanish cities.

In Andalucia, Malaga and Sevilla benefit, while other sites include Barcelona and Madrid, although coverage in areas is only 50%.

The fifth generation network will have a download speed of 100 Mbps with the 700 MHz band, and in theory could reach

Black market costing Spain billions of euros each year FAKE products are costing Spanish businesses the equivalent of more than 10% of their sales, a new EU report has found.

At least €6.7 billion worth of sales are lost in Spain each year to counterfeit goods, according to the European

Costa lot less SPAIN has been voted the fourth best value for money holiday destination by Brits.

A huge 87% of holidaymakers said Spain had the best bang for one’s buck in a survey released by Post Office Travel Money.

Bulgaria's resort town of Sunny Beach came top of

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June 19th - July 2nd 2019

the poll for the sixth consecutive year.

Affordable local prices and favourable exchange rates helped to boost the spending power of UK tourists last year.

Portugal's Algarve coastline came in a close second with prices down by over 16%, while Turkey came in third.

5-G that’s fast! never-before-seen speeds of 10 Gbps.

Vodafone also said it would not yet use 5G infrastructure from Huawei, the embattled Chinese tech firm, which saw the sacking of UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson.

It comes as Vodafone’s competitors, Telefonica, Orange and MasMovil, are not set to unveil their 5G networks in Spain until 2021 or 2022.

Faking it

Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The global trade in fake goods rose to €452.9 billion in 2016 from €338 billion in 2013, representing 3.3% of world trade.

The fashion industry is the worst hit, with losses totalling €28.4 billion in Europe (9.4% of total turnover).

Pharmaceuticals are the second hardest hit, suffering losses of €9.6 billion, followed by cosmetics on €7 billion.

Counterfeit wines and spirits cost companies 5.9% of their business or €2.4 billion.

The impact of fake products is worse in Spain than the EU average in several sectors.

The country’s fashion industry sees 14.9% of sales lost to counterfeit goods, pharmaceuticals 4.5%, wines and spirits 8.3% and smartphones

UNLUCKY: Man on Spanish beach selling fakes 10%.

In real terms, analysts say it costs the EU 480,000 jobs, which in turn leaves the bloc missing €16 billion a year in

tax revenue.

Across the EU, the total economic impact of fake products is estimated at around €92 billion.

NO: Spain shops in store

Old habits die hard ONLINE food shopping is failing to take off in Spain, new figures have revealed.

Despite significant investments from major supermarkets including Mercadona, more than 75% of the population still never use the internet to buy food, drink or cleaning products.

Only a tiny 2% exclusively go online to buy such items while 20% do a mix of online and in-store shopping.

Spaniards care more about buying their fresh produce in person than most other countries, according to the report from the Observatory for the Evolution of Electronic Commerce in Food, carried out by the Complutense and Autonoma Universities of Madrid.

Toke up time Business leader predicts medical cannabis will soon be made legal on the Rock

MEDICAL cannabis will be legalised on the Rock ‘within one or two years’, the latest business innovation winner has predicted.

Naydan Porro, who owns prize-winning company Hempassion, is already supplying his hemp-based CBD products to six European countries.

“The medicinal legalisation of cannabis in Gibraltar, is something I believe will happen within the next year or two,” Porro told the Olive Press. “By

Pension outrage NEW pension plans have been slammed by the Chamber of Commerce for not including any of its recommendations.

The proposed bill, published for this year’s May Day celebrations, would force companies to provide pension plans for their employees.

“The draft bill has no mention of the type of pensions which will be permissible in Gibraltar,” said the Gibraltar Chamber of Com-

legalisation, I mean a comprehensive medicinal cannabis program.

“It would offer different types of flower extracts and general products, with a range of cannabinoid profiles to suit every need.”

Research suggests medical marijuana could be used to help those suffering from Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s, cancer, epilepsy and PTSD. “Needless to say we are ready and willing to aid merce. “Employers and employees need the certainty that contract-based pensions including self-invested personal pensions (SIPPS) will be permitted.

“No mention is made in the bill on whether the government will give tax relief to the contributions made by employers and employees.”

A statement by the Chamber claims the bill ‘underscores a complete detachment from the reality of the commercial world’.

It believes that the new rules would be too expensive for local businesses which ‘cannot just hike their prices at will’.

the Government should they wish to employ a scheme under which provides cannabis products to qualifying patients via prescription,” he added.

Porro already worked with the government to change the law so that his company could sell CBD products which have their own health benefits.

“The distinction between hemp and cannabis is a trivial one,” he said. “Industrial hemp is a subcategory of cannabis sativa, and possesses its own set of distinct terpene and cannabinoid profiles, just as all traditional cannabis strains do.”

“Many countries have realised this and have passed the necessary legislation in order to provide their citizens with alternative and effective healthcare.

It’s only a matter of time before Gibraltar and the UK catch up.”

Hempassion won the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses Innovation Award in March this year.

Buying or selling your property may be the most important transaction you will ever make... Attention to detail is crucial.

That is why when you choose Charles Gomez & Co for your conveyancing, our dedicated team of experts scrutinise everything and keep you informed at every step of the process.

35 Years of Excellence in Conveyancing

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Paint me please TAX relief will continue to be offered to landlords who improve the outward appearance of their buildings under a scheme introduced last year.

The scheme received 14 applications throughout 2018, totalling up to more than half a million pounds in works.

“Our focus continues to be on identifying specific buildings in need of refurbishment and encouraging owners to undertake improvement works thereby bringing new life into these urban areas,” said Minister for Planning Paul Balban in his budget speech.

PROPERTY

Gibraltar planning to be live streamed to bring gamechanging transparency

PLANNING meetings discussing new construction projects will now be live streamed in a bid to increase transparency.

It comes after there were a huge 538 applications in 2018, 57 which were made by the government and the Ministry of Defence.

The GSLP/Liberals were the first administration to allow the planning in public meetings, contrasting to the secretive ones held under 16 years of GSD control.

“During the course of this year the Government is aiming to

New hotel I IT’S official. Club Med is returning to Spain with a new complex on the Costa del Sol. The group is set to open the Club Med Magna Marbella hotel on the site of the former Hotel Don Miguel in March 2020.

The new €70 million hotel will

Glass ceiling

introduce live streaming of all meetings of the DPC,” said Paul Balban, Minister for Planning about the Development and Planning Commission.

“This will greatly enhance the ability of the general public to view the important work of the DPC and adds further to an open and transparent plan-

ning system.”

Additionally, developers will have to contend with even tighter controls than ever concerning the environmental effects of construction on the Rock.

The DPC meets about once a month throughout the year with the exact dates published

feature 350 rooms, a spa, five swimming pools – one with its own water park – gourmet restaurants and a wide range of sports facilities.

In fact it will be the first hotel to offer paddle tennis as one of its main sports activities. Those looking for a more tranquil experience can enjoy the Zen area, featuring an adult-only swimming pool with gardens and a bar.

The all inclusive hotel will have a huge main restaurant capable of serving 1,022 people while its Gourmet Lounge Bar – open all day – will serve dishes a la carte.

HILTON has unveiled its new Higueron Hotel in Malaga - featuring the province’s only sustainable Michelin-starred restaurant.

As part of the Curio Collection, the new offering has 177 rooms, the largest conference centre in the region with a 1,000-person capacity and two art exhibitions.

Its Sollo restaurant serves dishes based on caviar and fish cultivated at the hotel’s own on-site farm.

“Malaga is one of Europe’s most popular destinations, with 12.5m tourists flocking to its sunny shores last

on the government website.

It gives groups and individuals the ability to speak out about a development and to contribute to the discussion.

The panel is comprised by government personnel and environmental and heritage experts, who all have a vote on forthcoming projects.

New hotel II

Sky high PLANS to build the Costa del Sol’s two tallest skyscrapers have been revealed.

The La Princesa area of Malaga is the intended home of the new towers, which both stand at 126m high. The 29-storey blocks will collectively house 450 apartments. If completed, the buildings would be Spain’s 17th tallest, as well as the highest in Malaga city and the rest of the coast. Property developer AQ Accentor has been drafted in for the new development, which is financed by German investment fund Aquila Capital.

Full plans for the Malaga plot include a total of 750 new homes, but details of the project are limited. The site is known as the ‘Martiricos’ development, which is being led by Madrid real estate company Espacio Medina. Although the plans are not finalised, AQ Acentor boss, Sven Schoel told Diario Sur, ‘we have demand both for purchase and for rent’. Other construction works at the Martiricos site include a 20,000-square-metre park and a seven-floor office complex.

year,” said Simon Vincent, President, EMEA, Hilton.

“With €1 in every €7 generated from travel and tourism in Spain, we are excited to expand our portfolio by 50% in the next three to five years.”

www.glasscurtains.direct

GLASS CURTAINS ALUMINIUM WINDOWS AND DOORS STAINLESS STEEL UPVC WINDOWS AND DOORS BI-FOLD DOORS STEEL CONSTRUCTION

952 479 754

info@gtsglass.com www.gtsglass.com

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

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White & gold

Made in Malaga

Tokyo draft AN Andalucian craft beer firm is teaming up with a local tapas restaurant for a new fusion project… in Tokyo.

Brewery Son and Manquila, a Sevilla-based eatery, has announced plans for an outlet in the Japanese capital.

The project is the brainchild of Spanish chefs David Fernandez and Daniel Torres, as well as Japan’s Ren Anzay.

Dishes at the new site will use seasonal produce and include a special salmorejo and eggs Benedict with marinated mackerel. Son beer will also be brewed on-site.

A FUENGIROLA restaurant has been named the best in the province at a brand new awards ceremony.

Los Marinos Jose picked up the Best Restaurant of the Year gong at the

inaugural Gala of the Hospitality Industry of Malaga. More than 300 people attended the show at the Hacienda Nadales Palace for the sector, which employs 76,000 people in the province.

Arte de Cozina in Antequera won the Values ​​ of Gastronomy award for its traditional local cuisine, while Malaga city’s Chester & Punk cocktail bar picked up the Innovation

WINNERS: Los Marinos Jose

prize. Fernando Rueda, founder of Gastroarte, was awarded the title of Hospitality Ambassador for Malaga.

Oil or nothing

MARBELLA’S hottest party of the year has once again brought its glitz and glamour to the Costa del Sol. The White & Gold Party returned to La Sala by the Sea in Puerto Banus with all its celebrity sparkle.

Revellers were treated to live music, DJs, poolside fire dancers, an amazing array of Thai canapes and plenty of flowing Champagne.

Former Spurs and Blackburn defender David Bentley was in attendance, along with other famous faces, and of course the Olive Press.

Report warns 20% of Spain’s olive farms could disappear within a decade

BIG IN JAPAN: Son and Manquila

Root applause Spicy Wasabi has been grown in Spain for the first time.

The Japanese plant, commonly found in sushi restaurants, is being cultivated in Viladrau, Catalunya.

It is the first time the root, which produces an intense green paste, has been grown in the Med. Gardener Arnau Riba and engineer Pau Gelman are behind the production.

Experimentation to bring wasabi to Spain began three years ago with a 30-squaremetre test plot, in which they mimicked the climatic conditions of Japan.

Their product sells for €0.44 per gram.

MORE than 240,000 Spanish olive estates could vanish in the next 10 years.

Olive oil giant Deoleo has warned that international competition and the stagnation of prices are making it hard for smaller producers to retain their position in the market.

The study - titled Salvemos el buen aceite (Save the good oil) - looked at Andalucia, Castilla La Mancha, Valencia, Aragon and Catalunya. It found that 320,000 acres of traditional olive tree farming had already been abandoned.

Experts suggest the decline is down to the fact 64 countries now produce olive oil compared to 46 some 15 years ago.

Every second, 10 olive trees are being planted somewhere on the planet.

Intensive

Meanwhile, almost 40% of the total quantity of olive oil comes from intensive farming, which yields almost 50% more than traditional farming at half the cost.

In recent weeks, prices of extra virgin olive oil in Spain have sat around €2.20 per

kilogram, which is already below the profitability threshold, according to the agricultural organisation COAG. The study predicted Spain would lose 20% of its olive groves in a decade, hitting 240,000 small farmers and almost 300,000 families.

Traditional farmers are now being pressured to take the intensive route, producing higher amounts of lesser quality.

However, these methods are also bad news for the environment. Traditional olive orchards preserve land from desertification and absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, mainly thanks to the age and size of the trees.

Intensive farming mainly uses younger and smaller trees with less foliage and shorter roots.

Juan Vilar, the study’s author, said: “It is possible and necessary to reverse the situation, it takes the commitment of the agents of the sector to maintain a type of olive grove that has an important social, economic and environmental role, which is typically Spanish and which, due to its uniqueness, provides a huge richness and variety to the offer of olive oil.”

Ramsay’s kitchen dream

STAR: David Munoz

GORDON Ramsay has confessed his love for one of Spain’s top chefs and his London restaurant.

The Hell’s Kitchen star (right), 52, said Street XO in Mayfair, owned by three Michelin-starred chef Dabiz Munoz, 39, is ‘one of his favourites’.

“I’ll often head there when I’m after something special,” he added.

“Chef Dabiz Munoz has an exciting and original approach to food.”

Munoz owns his native city Madrid’s only three Michelin-starred restaurant DiverXO, as well as Street XO Madrid.

www.bistropoint.gi UNIVERSITY OF GIBRALTAR, EUROPA POINT

Reservations on 200 76588 or bistropoint@huntergroup.gi

A Spanish restaurant with a twist, located on the edge of historic old Estepona Town in a converted farmhouse dating back to the 1890 with many features retained.

June 19th - July 2nd 2019

Superwines After giving you Spain’s most expensive wines, here we offer you the 10 best value chestnuts at supermarket prices

by Claire Leibovich

Restaurante La Pampa is open from Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Calle Sevilla 70, 29680, Estepona Phone: 952 795 545 email: reservas@lapampaestepona.es www.lapampaestepona.es

FOOD,DRINK

20

LAST issue we looked at the 10 best-scoring Spanish wines that combined the highest quality and prices. This week our theme is bodega bargains as we select the best of the cheapest wines you can find in Spanish supermarkets, such as Alcampo, Carrefour, Lidl, Dia and El Corte Inglés.

There is an overwhelming choice of supermarket wines in Spain, so we went to the reference guidebook, Los Supervinos (Linde Editions) by oenologist Joan C. Martín. For the ninth year in a row Martín has hand-picked 110 superwines that cost less than €7 and another 40 under €15. He evaluates each wine according to 10 different criteria, including display, taste, colour, information to the consumer, aroma and qualityprice ratio. The final average score ranges from one to five ‘eyes’. So keep your eyes peeled too...

Paramo de Casser, Sierras de Malaga

MO Salinas Monastrell, Alicante

Freixenet Elyssia Brut Rosado

Martín describes it as ‘refined, elegant with an intense aroma, frank and natural’. This superwine is made from Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

It goes perfectly with red meat, stews, Iberian pork sausages, goat and s h e e p cheese.

In 2018 it was named Best Superwine for the second c o n s e c u t i ve year by Los Supervinos guide.

The prize goes to the wine with the best quality, price, singularity and origin.

This one comes from the Sierra Salinas, in southeastern Spain, a landscape as green as a Swiss valley in the midst of a very dry region. It is well structured with a balanced acidity.

A ‘very glamourous’ wine, says €13,95 Martín, ‘because it maintains its intensity while having the texture of English marmalade’.

It is almost exclusively made from Pinot Noir, but has a small percentage of Trepat to keep it fresh. The colour is a clean and shiny pale pink with tints of blue. It tastes fresh, light, with a refreshing acidity and slightly bitter notes.

€15

€5,95

All the above wines are the most outstanding of this edition, but others are more affordable - less than €4.

WHITE WINES Montblanc 362, Conca de Barberà This wine from Tarragona, in Catalunya, is fresh, fruity and voluptuous with some acidity.

‘The climate of the region and its Gascon and Occitan heritage make this wine very French,’ says Martín.

Riesling, Alicante

SUPER SATURDAYS IN JUNE

€3,99

Acidic yet, at the same time, fresh and mellow. According to Martín, this wine from the Monóvar winery is particularly good this year.

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€3,29

Pazo Ribeiro, Galicia

Marqués de Monistrol, Cava

This wine tastes a bit like kiwi, ‘that marv e l o u s green fruit, exotic but not warm or tropical’.

This rosé cava is ‘fresh, fruity (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries), and slightly acidic with notes reminiscent of sweet cake.’

Pair it with rice dishes, salads and all types of seafood.

€3,93

CAVA

€3,36

with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

& TRAVEL

21

June 19th - July 2nd 2019

RED WINES

Estola Reserva, Castilla La Mancha

restaurant | lunch and dinner

Bodegas Ontañón Comportillo Crianza, Rioja

This rich and intense wine is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranil- l o .

Full-bodied and wellstructured, it presents complex aromas with spicy and balsamic notes, and is velvety on the palate.

It goes well with lamb.

€3,70

ROSE WINES

restaurant | lunch and dinner

This blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha combines aromas of fruit and wood.

It’s the perfect partner for lamb, veal and poultry.

€3,15

Enterizo, Utiel - Requena Categorised as a ‘gastronomic rosé’, it’s the ideal companion for Mediterranean dishes, especially seafood rice dishes, recommends Martín, adding: ‘A nectar, undoubtedly’.

€2,39

Alicia en el País de las Uvas, Valencia Made from the Bobal grape variety, this wine has a fresh aroma with blackberry and fruit jelly notes. It is sweet, fresh and easy to drink with a low alcohol volume.

It goes well with salads, pastas and cold dishes.

€1,90

Solar Viejo Tempranillo, Rioja This classic red wine from Rioja Alavesa presents notes of ripe fruit, red fruit and spices.

‘Really good, like those historic reds from Riojan harvests, but modernised in process and taste,’ says Martín.

€3,49

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Clot, Terra Alta, Catalunya A ‘bright and luminous vermilion’ wine with notes of raspberry, blueberry and basil.

Goes brilliantly with suquet, fish, fish broths and mellow rices.

€3,95

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June 19th - July 2nd 2019

COLUMNISTS

Carless Vespa

“

I’VE decided to forego my soul and become an estate agent.”

My husband, a man used to my vast array of career choices just nods his head and continues to eat his all bran.

“I’m serious, a friend of a friend’s husband is one and he says you don’t need any qualifications and it’s the easiest way to make decent money along the coast and he’s prepared to train me up.

“I’m starting tomorrow.”

I finally pause for breath and await his approval.

“Go for it Hoogstraten, I’m more than happy to become a kept man.

Is there any more milk in the fridge?”

I shouldn’t be surprised by his reply.

GOOD TIMES: In dog suit

New wife in the sun

From entertaining to nannying, Paula Leskovitz has done everything, apart from be an estate agent

I have had a fair few careers since I loins or the reality of working a 15left school in 1984. hour day, or working at all if I’m honOver a 100 at the last count. est…

My husband has had Anyway, I digress. two.

I was now going to Most people count I consoled myself make a fortune sellsheep when they go ing property and purwith a ham to bed, I count the nuchase me some Botox merous opportunities and a bit of liposucsandwich and that have been handtion with my first ed to me. promised to cut proper Spanish pay The trouble is, I love a cheque. out carbs good interview, I just Staring at the condon’t usually like the tents of my wardrobe I actual job. realised that anything My first foray into gainful employ- resembling office wear had a size 12 ment was a season as ‘Henry the label in the collar and I was currently Happy Howler’ in Pontins, Blackpool. verging on a stout 16.

That job was short-lived as I over- Slamming the offending closet door heated on the first Summer’s day closed I consoled myself with a ham whilst clad in the orange dog suit, sandwich and promised to cut out passing out on top of a small child carbs starting from tomorrow. currently having his photo taken with The sound of rainfall dripping onto my alter ego. the air conditioning unit dragged me Then as an only child I suddenly from my slumber the following morndecided I wanted to care for others ing and I forced my ever expanding people’s offspring and not just crush hips into a pair of ‘all you can eat’ them so I promptly took a position leggings and a borrowed blouse. as a nanny for three small kids aged By 9am I was ready to make my first one, three and five. million and headed outside to stradIf I’m honest, the main reason I dle my latest mode of transport, a wanted the role was because it was second hand blue Vespa purchased based in Israel and after a brief stint only a few days earlier which sat as a hairdresser I wanted to see alongside my husband’s larger bike. much more than just the inside of a Staring down at the wet seat I repensioner’s beehive. alised mopeds were only fun when Unfortunately, on arriving in Tel Aviv, the sun shone and not on rainy days I realised my teenage self didn’t ac- but as training was being held in the tually like the fruit of other people’s manager’s house over in Mijas Golf I had no choice but to clamber on board and

MEMORIES: Vespa hope that none of the other trainees thought I was incontinent when I walked into the room with a moist bottom.

Twenty minutes and several wrong turns later I finally located the property.

Brushing the rain off my visor I stared up at the big detached house then down at my sodden attire.

A knot formed in my stomach as I gingerly reached out to push the doorbell on the gate.

Hesitating, I let my hand stay mid air.

Uncertainty gripped me and the bell

remained untouched.

Clutching my helmet, I bowed my head and turned back towards the bike.

Who was I kidding; this dog was way too old to learn new tri…..

The door behind me suddenly opened and a masculine voice cut through the air “Hola! You must be Paula. Come in!”

Follow our further adventures and video clips on www.anewwifeinthesun.com

Open (house) season Giles Brown puts up many a guest at his place, but draws the line at garden yurts

I

T’S the time of the season that most people living in Spain dread.

The time when that open invitation to ‘come over and stay for a few days’, comes back to haunt you.

Your home suddenly becomes an attractive alternative to your poor raindrenched northern European friends, huddling in their woad huts (or some such).

Rather than staying at some eye-wateringly expensive hotel in high season, and unable to find a private villa as the Junta de Andalucia has imposed the sort of restric-

NOT GONNA HAPPEN: Yurt

tions, rules and regulations that make storing nuclear waste seem a doddle, they decide to rock up at yours.

The current houseguest has turned into my very own version of Alan Bennett’s Lady in the Van, or a twisted version of Hotel California.

“She could check out any time she likes, but she won’t ever leave”.

Having been the guest cottage for over two years now, however, I have been through the full range of emotions as I realize that nothing short of well placed high explosives will remove

her, and I’ve gone through shock, anger and denial, and now find myself in a zenlike state of acceptance.

Plus the kitchen isn’t so much of a biohazard these days.

As one American guest, who didn’t stay long, famously remarked, ‘You see kids?

This is what happens when a man lives alone’.

Previous houseguests who have overstayed their welcome have had to be removed by a variety of methods, including not so subtle hints by friends – mention of gun collections, connections to law enforcement - that sort of thing.

The Ziglet (otherwise known as the oldest goddaughter aka Troll Fodder) is exempt from all of the above by the way.

Due to her ‘on-the-road’ lifestyle, which often entails sleeping in the back of vans on the way to or from gigs, she actually prefers to crash in the smallest space possible.

She’s back again at the end of this month with a friend, and there’s even talk of a teepee in the garden.

If I suddenly look out and see more springing up however...and I definitely draw the line at yurts…

SPORT WINNERS: Canada

Yes we Canada THE NBA has been won for the first time by a Canadian team, with the help of a trio of Spanish stars.

New champions Toronto Raptors, have in their team, Spaniards Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, and assistant coach, and Spain national coach, the Italian Sergio Scariolo.

Raptors beat the two-time reigning champions Golden State 144-110, to lift the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.

The club, which is just 24 years old, also became the first Canadaian side in any sport to bring a major trophy to the city and country since the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team in 1993.

23

Golden oldie Chris Froome could be crowned Vuelta a Espana champion from his hospital bed

BRITISH cyclist Chris Froome is in line for the 2011 Vuelta a Espana title after its winner has been caught doping.

Spanish rider Juan Jose Cobo was stripped of his title by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) after abnormalities in his biological passport were found.

Froome finished second in the race, eight years ago, meaning the 34-year-old may now be retrospectively awarded the victory.

MAESTRO: Sergio Garcia

Master class

It would also go down in history as Britain’s first Grand Tour win, as Froome’s victory would be prior to Bradley Wiggins lifting the Tour de France trophy in 2012.

It comes after Froome recently underwent an eight-hour surgery following a horror

League of Spies LA Liga has been fined after the league's official phone app was discovered to have used popular phone app to eavesdrop on illegal match broadcasts.

Recordings would be secretly compiled and then cross checked using the devices’ geolocation to determine if the venue hadn't paid to screen the game.

A TEAM of 30 track and field athletes will be hoping to secure more gold medals at the Island Games in Gibraltar on July 6-12.

Some 25 island nations are taking part in the competition in what will be the first time in 24 years that the Island Games are held on the Rock.

“The athletes are all training under head coach Hector Romero to be ready for the games in two weeks,” Gibraltar Amateur Athletics Association chief Frank Carreras told the Olive Press.

“We’ve been using the Victoria Stadium to train until the new athletics facilities are prepared at Lathbury.”

Sports fans can look forward to seeing Gibraltarians compete in the long jump, high jump and discus as well as all the running events.

“For the first time we have the equipment to hold the steeplechase,” revealed Carreras, who is highly

June 19th - July 2nd 2019

Spain’s data protection agency has hit La Liga with a €250,000 fine and called the ‘spy’ app ‘very serious breach of transparency.’

The official match-following app has been downloaded by more than 4 million fans, who were not informed it could remotely activate their device’s microphone.

Race to the finish regarded by the IAAF. “It consists of five different hurdles which includes the water jump which can lead to some funny moments.

“We have had incidences where athletes have fallen head first into the water!”

Throwing events like the hammer and javelin will not be held because the plastic turf in Gibraltar would be damaged in the process.

“We’ve always brought back gold, silver and bronze medals,” said Carreras. “Hopefully this year we can add more to our tally as we have good athletes capable of doing so.”

He admitted that while most of the new sports fa-

cilities would be finished by the time the games start, it is likely changing rooms will have to be shared.

Workers have been racing to finish the facilities at Lathbury and Europa Point in time for the event.

“I would encourage people to come up and support our athletes over the week,” added Carreras.

“We have a few young, developing athletes that will run both in the morning and the evening against strong competition.”

Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey will be some of the biggest challengers to Gibraltar out of the 25 islands taking part.

crash that leaves him out of this year’s Tour de France.

Team Ineos, which rebranded from Team Sky this year, confirmed its rider suffered a fractured right femur, broken hip, fractured elbow, fractured ribs and lost consciousness during the Criterium du Dauphine race.

The four-time Tour de France champion was travelling at 37mph and hit the deck whilst attempting to blow his nose in high winds outside the town of Roanne.

His team have now said a sixhour operation was a ‘success’ and that they are ‘very happy with his progress’.

Meanwhile, 38-year-old Cobo, who doped between 2009 and 2011, could now appeal the UCI’s decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Mad about motoring?

Whether you’re a car enthusiast or rely on your car for just about everything, keeping your vehicle on the road is a costly endeavor. Prices for car insurance can vary greatly between providers depending on different risk factors. While reducing your annual mileage and keeping your car in a secure location will help keep your premiums down, Línea Directa recommend shopping around for insurance quotes to get the best possible price with the best possible cover.

Minor car problems At this time of the year in the early morning sunshine, condensation is particularly troublesome especially in older vehicles. Motorists and other road users are at risk. Accidents can be caused when drivers try to wipe down the windscreen.

Here are some handy tips to help you tackle condensation. Wash your car regularly

SPAIN’S Sergio Garcia will bid for a hat trick of back-toback wins in Andalucia as the Masters lineup has been announced.

The 39-year-old world number 30 won the Andalucia Masters, held at Real Club Valderrama in 2011, 2017 and 2018.

Standing in his way of a consecutive triple, is his countryman Jon Rahm, the world number 11, who has six in-

Top tips

ternational titles to his name, including the Zurich Classic.

A big crop of British talent is also among the 144 golfers teeing off on Spain’s most famous course for the €3 million prize.

From England, come 2015 British Masters champion Matthew Fitzpatrick and 2018 Hong Kong Open-winner Aaron Rai, while Scotland sends Richie Ramsay, the first Brit to win the U.S. Amateur for almost a century.

Tickets are €18 for adults and €7 for young fans and can be bought from www.andaluciavalderramamasters.com.

There will be plenty of sun with highs in the late 20s currently forecast for the tournament from June 27 to 30.

TM

902 123 282

Three snippets of car advice from Linea Directa and why we should be the insurance company you choose

* Fu l l y co m p re h e n s i ve o f fe r va l i d fo r n e w c u s to m e r s o n l y. G u a ra nte e s u b j e c t to cove r, re p a i r at a p p rove d g a ra g e, a n d co u r te s y ve h i c l e ava i l a b i l i t y. S u b j e c t to co n d i t i o n s. O f fe r e n d s 3 0 / 1 1 / 1 8 .

TheOlivePress-256x170-CAR-4.indd 1

as dirt and dust attract moisture and early morning dew. Remove any damp items like towels or coats from inside the car. When safe to do so, leave the windows open for a few hours. Switch on the air conditioning and wipe down the inside of the windows.

Finally, you can fill a sock with cat litter and place it in your car to help absorb excess moisture.

But what if it doesn’t start?

A flat battery is a great inconvenience, jump-starting your car from the roadside can be hazardous and new batteries are expensive and can be troublesome to fit. These tips can help prolong the life of your battery.

Keep the terminals clean of residue that builds up over time.

2/8/18 17:01

And remember to turn off air conditioning, lights, radio and other battery draining systems whenever possible.

Help is at hand Línea Directa offers service, support and 24-hour roadside assistance to over 3 million customers in Spain.

Should you break down or your car won’t start, they will immediately dispatch an approved mechanic to help get you back on the road again as soon as possible.

And with their new GPS Geolocation service Línea Directa can pinpoint your exact location and send breakdown recovery even faster.

We hope the information provided in this article is of interest. If you would like to contact Linea Directa please call 952 14 78 34 More information about Linea Directa online at www.lineadirecta.com

How a-boat that

The Rock’s only free local paper Advertise here for as little as as £75 per issue

Fee-ling good ONLINE fees have been removed for international money transfers by account holders of moneycorp bank in Gibraltar.

FINAL WORDS

Gamers AROUND 500 Island Games volunteers are being trained over the weeks leading up to the Island Games to be held in Gibraltar on July 6-12.

FREE

Vol. 4 Issue 99 www.theolivepress.es June 19th - July 2nd 2019

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Brit fuming as new Bentley is towed away in Spain thanks to slow government database A BRITISH driver has been left furious after his new UKplated Bentley was towed away by six police officers in Spain because of a slow online database.

The officers in Benidorm

Back on guard ONE of the two Royal Navy patrol-boats, HMS Scimitar, is back guarding Gibraltar waters after a full service and a clean lick of paint

EXCLUSIVE

By Joshua Parfitt

took the car away after they checked a UK Government website and could not find evidence that Dave McQueen

Toast!

TWO brothers have been arrested after trying to nick 11 champagne bottles from a supermarket.

The Romanian pair, aged 41 and 42, attempted to hide the bottles in a cycling suit worn by one of the men under a jacket. The men thought they had gotten away with it after removing the security tags from each bottle before stuff-

ing them down the cycling top while in a hypermarket in Fuengirola. However they were being watched all along on video surveillance cameras by security guards.

BENT COPS: Took McQueen’s supercar had paid UK tax, instead be- supercar ‘did not fit onto’ a lieving the twin-turbo Conti- tow-truck, and so two police nental GT ‘was stolen’. cars and six officers stopped McQueen explained to police traffic to escort him through that the website states it can Benidorm. take ‘five working days’ to The next day his solicitor reupdate, and vowed that he trieved his car ‘without any bought his car ‘just four days charges’. ago’.

McQueen later found he was “Surely if the police are go- driving home on two flat ing to check your car they front tyres, which cost €650 must use a better system that to repair and another week doesn’t take five days to up- without his car. date,” McQueen told the Ol- He said he may have ive Press this week. been stopped due to his He added his twin-turbo ‘BE04ORM’ numberplate.

952 147 834 * O f f e r

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WE all remember the flamingos and unicorns of summers gone by.

Well this year there's a new inflatable hero - a huge blowup speedboat capable of holding six people.

Available on Amazon, the must-have item comes complete with a drinks cooler and will no doubt make you the envy of the seas.

It's not the cheapest of lilos coming in at around €300 online, but can you really put a price on looking this cool?

Ball buster A RECEIPT from a Spanish bar has gone viral for billing a customer €10 for ‘taking the piss’.

The bizarre surcharge appeared on a bill from Bar Eguzki, in the Basque Country, alongside charges for various wines.

Tocar los cojones means ‘to touch the testicles’ and roughly translates as ‘taking the piss’ in English.

Waitress Anka told Espejo Publico the customer was a ‘joker’ and ‘always messing’ with her.

TM

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