Olive Press Gibraltar Issue 04 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

COUNTDOWN BEGINS - IT’S NOVEMBER 26 FOR ELECTION DAY the

GIBRALTAR

Trafalgar testament Famous battle’s victims honoured in Gibraltar

The only investigative local newspaper

olive press Vol. 1 Issue 4 www.gibraltarolivepress.com

October 28th - November 11th 2015

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Page 4

Franco’s legacy Forty facts for each year since the brutal dictator’s death Page 6-7

From Gib nightclub... to award-winning bank - P19

Cyber siege By Rob Horgan

A STRING of Gibraltar businesses have been stung by cyber criminals, leaving them over £1 million out of pocket. Police described the problem as ‘one of the biggest threats Dental board slams weak pun- to Gibraltar’, after the incredishment of living-room dentist ible sum was siphoned from up to 100 companies in the last Page 8 month alone.

Fake dentist rooted out

Online fraudsters now one of the ‘biggest threats to Gibraltar’ with over £1 million stolen this month alone

Using a series of elaborate ‘phishing’ scams, cybercrooks are attacking vulnerable businesses, with firms on the Rock currently facing a shocking 1,000 cyber-assaults daily. Most of the businesses targeted are ‘small, privately-run firms’, however larger companies are

also said to be ‘at risk’. One victim, Bruno Callaghan, of Callaghan Insurance Brokers said he was ‘horrified’ by a recent cyberattack. Losing £18,000 to a phishing email scam, Callaghan is now at the forefront of a team tackling the problem.

We can’t breathe Making more than waves We review the masterstroke that is La Sala on the Sunborn Page 29

CAMPO de Gibraltar residents have launched a protest against pollution that leaves them ‘unable to breathe’. People living near Puente Mayorga and Guadarranque hung up banners saying ‘It Hurts to Breathe’ to protest against pollution from the industrial estate Environmentalist protest group Verdemar - Ecologistas en Acción said it had complained to the EU that Junta measures to tackle pollution in the area aren’t working. San Roque mother-of-two Mirian Moreno told the Olive Press: “When it rains you notice it more. All my clothes and the terrace get dirty because you get dirty rain from the refinery.” Verdemar said residents living on the outskirts of the industrial belt were unable to open their windows. “Environmental pollution is one of the principal pollution problems in the Campo de Gibraltar,” a Verdemar spokesman said.

PROTEST: Over serious pollution

Organising an emergency meeting with targeted businesses as well as the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Callaghan is urging companies to ‘up their defences’. “There is huge stigma attached to being duped,” Callaghan told the Olive Press. “But this is a problem that will not go away, it is only going to get worse and people cannot be ashamed if caught out. “I would urge other businesses to take out cyber insurance so they are not had like we were. “The FSC and the police are doing what they can, but Gibraltar’s businesses must also work together to protect themselves.” The FSC and police are indeed now working to ‘improve security systems and implement new firewalls’ into Gibraltar’s three internet service providers. “Gibraltar suffers from thousands of attacks daily,” FSC chief information officer Alan Pereira told the Olive Press. “We are seeing more instances of Cybercrime creeping into our jurisdiction, with highly complex individuals capable of committing crimes that lead to terrorist acts. “Taking measures is now a priority. It is no longer nice to have cyber security; it is essential.” Meanwhile a police spokesman told the Olive Press that cybercrime is now ‘one of the biggest threats to Gibraltar’s economy. “Although this type of criminal

VICTIM: Callaghan issued cyber warning activity has been around for years, the methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated,” he said. “We believe that prevention through education is key, and we are urging businesses to seek help.” Ironically, the clampdown is being launched just a month after one of Britain’s ‘greatest online fraudsters’ gave businessmen and technology experts on the Rock a lesson in cybercrime. Once considered ‘underworld royalty’, stealing over £30 million from online retailers, convicted cyber criminal Tony Sales warned businesses they would become an increasing target unless they tightened their virtual defences. “The online world is a fraudster’s playground,” Sales said. “The amount of online companies, especially in the gaming industry makes Gibraltar a prime target for online crooks.”

Opinion Page 6

How the con works: - Cybercrooks send an email pretending to be from a member of staff (most likely a boss or senior staff member) - A link will take the email recipient onto a webpage resembling an ‘in-house’ system - Instructions to transfer funds into a bank account appear, looking like a legitimate transfer to an existing client - At this point the deposit is immediately transferred into an electronic ‘maze’ from which it cannot be traced

October 28th - November 11th 2015

CONVICTED killer Kenneth Noye will not be heading to Spain anytime soon. The two-time convicted killer and mastermind of the Brink’s-MAT gold bullion robbery was eyeing up a return to his Costa de la Luz pad, after it was announced that he will be released from UK prison within the year. However his Spanish getaway plans have been scuppered, with Justice secretary Michael Gove rejecting a ruling to release the 68-year-old con. The criminal mastermind hid out for two years on the Costa de la Luz, before he was arrested for the murder of Stephen Cameron, 21, beside the M25, in 1996. Despite being Britain’s Most Wanted, police took two years to track him down to his stunning multi-million euro villa in Atlanterra, near Zahara de los Atunes.

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Flying high By Rob Horgan

Killer’s homecoming cancelled

NEWS

A FORMER Swiss emergency rescue pilot has been busted for using the Straits of Gibraltar to import drugs into Europe. The 68-year-old French pilot, named only as Jack, has been detained in Malaga after he was caught in a chopper with 600kg of cannabis.

From hero to zero, emergency rescue pilot turned druglord banged up for using Straits of Gibraltar as criminal pathway Detained along with 14 other men, the former Rega and Swiss civil aviation pilot is said to be the mastermind behind two key drug-smuggling rings transporting drugs from Morocco into Gibraltar and Spain.

Rega is one of Europe’s leading emergency response units, largely carrying out search and rescue missions in the Swiss Alps. As well as being charged with drug trafficking, Jack has also

been accused of training helicopter pilots to avoid police radar detection. He allegedly trained up to 20 pilots to fly dangerously close to the sea, in order to carry out covert night missions.

Mystery markings WHO are the mysterious intended receivers of £3 million worth of hash dumped in the waters off Gibraltar? Is the clue in the letters marked on the bales, including ‘SS, FF, RM and HD’? Are these initials, and if so whose are they? The 21 packages, each weighing 30kg, were recovered by Gibraltar police following a boat chase. The RGP Marine section gave chase after noticing five suspicious vessels off the eastern seaboard. One boat was intercepted, but failed to stop and its crew were seen throwing bales into the sea two and a half nautical miles off Eastern Beach. The pursuit was abandoned when the boats left Gibraltar waters.

HIDDEN: Tobacco

Smoked out

A BRITON driving a car concealing £7,000 worth of tobacco has been caught by customs officers. The erratic driver, 20, skipped two sets of traffic lights when he saw the Customs Patrol vehicle directly behind him. A quick search of the boot unearthed a large quantity of cigarettes hidden under the spare wheel. A further 350 cartons of cigarettes were then discovered within the engine compartment and other areas of the vehicle during a thorough inspection. Both the driver and the passenger, a 39-year-old Briton, were arrested and bailed until December 28.

Inquest date THE inquest into the death of a family of four in a Boschetti’s Steps flat in March has been set for 10am on December 7 at the Coroner’s Court in Town Range.

Controversial absent publisher loses court case

‘Mr Angry’ is found guilty 6

Standing firm TROUBLE: Weekend World boss Israel failed to turn up at court, while Real role models (left) Lola after victory

NEW FEAT S URE By Tom Powel

IT does not come easy to knock tion. another publicaIn the cut-thro at media world recession - solidarit - particularly in y between rival a often key. publications is But two years staff at Simply of calls from former member Media and Sunsear s of investigate cannot ch asking us to be ignored. A former sales mer distributormanager, former bookkeeper, unpaid. Not to and former writers have all formention at least gone But when someon one printer. e with the chequer history of boss ed business Stanley Israel threaten eryone else’s hard s to ruin No certainty of work, he needs to be exposedevverts that have print run numbers, printing . adto distribute in not been contracted and claiming lounges... Stan, the world’s top hotels and airport For the first timeenough is enough. in Costa del Sol Press stands alongsid history, the Olive e the Euro Weekly News, sential Magazi on this charadene and Hot Magazine to call Es. time We all have our ments, but every differences and our disagree hard in very toughone of us has worked incredib times to still be ly Hard work, integrity here. counts for everythi days. ng these

A BOXER, a tennis player and a football head to Marbell er all After a week ona on their holidays. their heads held the beach, two head home with high while the in a cloud of controv other ersy… No prizes heads back which one that for guessing was. While British boxer tennis ace Novak Anthony Joshua and Serbian Djokovi c enjoyed the sun, young their fun in English football alish dropped the starlet Jack GreLike many a youngball. footballer before old Grealish is him, 19-yearbinge-drinking facing a slap on the wrists for escapades when his UK. he returns to the Will these football ers never learn? Probably not.

E claims to offer world, quite literally. the Stan Israel’s Homes magazin Perfect e is apparently available of the world’s 196for sale in ‘all countries’. It is one of a range of large, heavy glossy magazin es produced by the Group, based in Simply Media But since the Estepona. Olive Press revealed Stanley Byron Buckinghamshire, Israel, from UK is being sued by one of Andalucia’s biggest printing firms ment of €8,000 over non-paydating back to 2013, half a dozen have come forward. more victims Meanwhile, Israel known as ‘Stanley- sometimes Haw’ and, occasionally ‘Stanley How’, more of which later - has launched his new project, a fortnightly newspap er called ‘Weekend World’. Claiming to rival newspapers ‘in all other local every way’, it came out in dribs and drabs, with 104 pages everything, to beof, well, a bit of However, while exact. printed on the very best bleached white paper, it has not well received, been entirely with big name

He must get the award for being one of the coast most serious ’s serial non-payers of staff

www.t www.t heoliv heoliv epres epres s.es s.es

Rogue trader?

Expat publisher being sued by sales boss is a former non-payer of serial staff with a chequere business histo d ry

advertisers including Helicopteros Sanitario and Gibraltar’s s, Specsavers perplexed to findSunborn hotel adverts in the their full-page agreeing nothing.paper despite An investigation way, in particula is now underr at Specsavers and Helicopte out how the advert ros, to find appeared in Israel’s paper. Meanwhile, Israel, DECEPTIVE: THE following the €8,000 printing52, denies Israel’s impres companies are newspaper Weeken no longer allowed sive-loo company Tecnogra debt with - Jaipur Purple, d World launch king adverts from ness with the to do busi- - Reservatauro, Estepona even a court case phic - and ed Olive Press Ronda some of whichtotally oblivious companwith (Luke Stewart dence against him - but the evi- Webuycarsinspain ies... are now investig is mounting. ing .es B91664029), Media SL - CIF - Motor Trader Indeed, Olive Press ating to the Costa del Sol enquiries in 2010. standing debts: due to long - Best Coches have learned of a long track But most importantly, he must ticular, over the way the - MWM Investme record com- tant of pany was structure court nts Ltd cases and com- get the award for being one Rudy Gedeon The details are - Petersham Coins, d. panies closing down of In court documen the coast’s has also Marbella support of otherbeing published in ts, seen by the slammed his former employer - Investor Spain both in England in turmoil, non-payers most serious serial Olive Press, companie for not paying him. of staff. and she alleges that s that that in may be unaware before Take - Simple Care she Tenerife. believes former Sales of the problems that might be Manager printing she was exaggerating He was initially owed €4,000 - Autotunes Manilva Despite his claims at Simply Media, faced by providing ter of figures being being credit Lola asked to leave in afto a facilities Gomez, ents very - Hotel Embrujo, potential successful media to the businesse Sepby perhaps ten times. cli- tember 2013, having Arriate mogul - turning who previously worked for s and over their present individual El A claim Pais’ Prisa millions in started in owners. February, and has ous companies profit - his previ- taking Israelgroup, and is now “I felt Israel strongly denies. still not been paid €1,500 of defrauded and to court in Malaga that. victed for serious have been con- over non-paym that The original and only English-lang offences includent of her salary. been cheating my clients,”I had “He promised all his uage investigative newspaper ing dumping waste Gomez said staff Gomez, they began would in Andalucía who has only And he left a trail illegally. rael in Septemb working for Is- paid for been houses have sports cars and in the Bahamas EE dissolved companieof at least 10 left after just er last year, but trial will 15 days of work. The fore benow take place two months due s before movlong, but the truth FR on to ‘anxiety and stress’, in par- tober 20 in Malaga court 4. Oc- he wasn’t turning over is that Tel: 951 273 575 (admin) enough Meanwhile, former money to even pay Accounts: 658 750 accoun- staff,” printers 424 Sales: 655 Gedeon told the and 825 683 or admin@theolivepre Olive

Olive Press pay ments

FLASHBACK: Olive Press investigation the olive prMedia into Simply Group in June ess W haGroup, t a Twit ran the Sunsearch Media failed to even turn up to court for the October 15 hearing, inI sisting he had been given the wrong date. When contacted, Israel, who is said to be planning a newspaper for Gibraltar, claimed: “We sent everything to the court explaining about Lola and that we hadn’t paid her because she still had a company mobile in her possession. “We have documents saying the court case was on the 20th which was why we didn’t turn up on the 15th.” The businessman, who formerly lived in Tenerife and runs a series of magazines, then openly threatened the Olive Press team and publisher. “I have been very forgiving so far. Those days are now over,” he added. “If you write this story, then you won’t get to see the world. Do not mess with me.” He continued: “You do not want to have Mr Angry coming down to your office, trust me, I am not the kind of person who doesn’t follow through on threats.” In June, the Olive Press reported on a string of other former staff who had not been paid, as well as his practice of publishing free adverts lifted from other publications. ss.es or sales@the

A campaigning, olivepress.es community newspaper expatriate community , the Olive Press in southern Spain represents the huge (130,000 digitally) - 200,000 more than 500,000with an estimated readership copies distributed monthly , including the website, people a month. of Luke Stewart Media S.L - CIF: B91664029 Iona Napier 951 273 575 Iona@theolivepress.es Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5 Calle Espinosa 1 Admin / Distribution / Accounts: Edificio centro comercial Maria González El Duque, planta primera, 29692 accounts@theolivepress Sabinillas, Manilva San Luis de .es Mirian Moreno Printed by Corporació n de Medios de Andalucía S.A. admin@theolivepress.e s Editor: Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es SALES TEAM: Newsdesk Chris Birkett 652 Newsdesk@theolivepre 512 956 ss.es Stephen Shutes 671 Tel: 665 798 618 834 479 Classified Tom Powell Sarah Adams 655825683 Tom@theolivepress.es Rob Horgan Axarquia Rob@theolivepress.es Charlie Bamber 661 452 180

RIO ALE MA

The Madrid counc should know betteillor slammed for anti-semitic tweets years ago r, writes our man MAD in the capital, Mario N politics, everythin Alegria MAT RID When it comes to g is fair and unfair. cultural TE

IA GR

A COSTA del Sol media boss has been ordered to pay €2,800 to his former sales boss by a Malaga court. Stan Israel, owner of Simply Media Group, including the Weekend World newspaper, was found guilty of not paying Lola Gomez for two months. The judge at court 6 ruled that if the €2,840 sum is not paid to Gomez within 20 days, the court will take it from Simply Media’s income, and if that is not possible, it will seize it from the firm’s assets. Gomez began working for Israel in September last year, but left after just two months due to ‘anxiety and stress’. Her lawyer, Manuel Dominguez Carvajal, told the court that Gomez was made to exaggerate printing numbers to potential clients by ‘up to ten times’. Outside court, Gomez told the Olive Press: “It’s such a relief to finally have some justice after a year of anguish and being treated badly. “It’s not so much about the money but the complete disrespect Israel has shown me after persuading me leave my previous job (at El Pais’ Prisa group) to work for him.” Israel, 52, who previously

Olive Press June thethe Olive Press June May 13th - July 9th 2015 11th25th -- May June 27th 24th 2015 2015

OPINION

post 48 hours a politician’s past,digging up dirt about been after he had and incidents that national electoral it is all part of the ue to appointed, but vowed to continhave taken place keep his seat on process. So it isn’t surprising how a over the Madrid City the years at synagogues, public Council. places meeting vocative Tweets Madrid councillor’s pro- should His detractors believe that he front for the Jewish community, and leave governm just hours after came to light last week all, of while his supporteent once and for Zapata the Israeli Embassy in Madrid. in he was appointe city’s culture chief claims he d the was a victim rs, who claim he by incoming leftist of apologised for his was a victim and has Mayor Manuela his freedom of dirty politics, believe that in offending Tweets. Carmena. speech guarante this Guillermo Zapata, But violated. es were flagrantday and age, when we are seeing screenwriter, said a novelist and a There human rights violation on prejudices, including s based when he posted he meant no harm tween is a very thick borderlin e on bespeech the his recent masTwitter account sacre of a freedom and freedom some years back hate; the latter a series of anti-Sem to while they group of African-Americans just doesn’t exist comments, including held a Bible study on the a church one that poked itic Spanish law books. A tolerant course at the Holocaus fun Spain has country, of ‘dark in the United States, this at never been consider Basque terrorismt, and criticisms of the anti-Sem type humour’ only goes to foment hahumour’, he says. victims. It was all ‘dark Europeanitic nation compared to ed an tred and resent. other Zapata countries. However, Under pressure should know better. listed it is often , Zapata gave For a leftist up his rights in annual international human – which he claims to be reports with a short – social equallist of abuses ity, tolerance and civil rights lute virtues. are abso-

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NEWS

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Sweet send off - but not for Dothraki

ADIOS: Game of Thrones finishes filming in Spain

THE cast of Game of Thrones had a sweet send off when they said adios to Spain with a celebratory cake. The stars of the hit fantasy show have been filming the sixth series in Girona, Bardenas, Zafra, Peñiscola, and Almeria for the past few months. And makers HBO called it a wrap with a cake showing the five different Spanish locations. New scenes filmed include the arson of a Dothraki camp by Daenerys’s Dragon and the Tower of Joy.

Miss diversity While chosen to represent Cadiz... a transexual has lost her battle to become Miss Spain By Iona Napier SPAIN’S first ever transsexual beauty queen has lost her battle to become Miss Spain. Despite making Miss World history, Angela Ponce - currently Miss Cadiz - didn’t make it to the final 10 competing for Miss Spain’s crown. While she got to the final 25 at the contest in Estepona, she was pipped to the title by Miss Barcelona, model Mireia Lalaguna, with Miss Asturias and Miss Baleares coming second and third. Despite being born in a boy’s body, Sevilla-born Ponce was overjoyed to

I’M NOT RARE: Miss Cadiz was born a boy

make the finals. She also feels passionately about the need to normalise gender diversity. “Society isn’t educated for diversity, that’s what I really want to publicise,” said Ponce. “I am here and I’m not that rare, I’ve just got a different

history. I am not ashamed of anything.” She follows in the footsteps of transgender woman Jenna Talackova, 27, who won a legal battle to win Miss Vancouver in 2012. Opinion Page 6

BRAVE new world! BY rights he should become one of the mostcherished expats on the Costa del Sol. After 10 months of preparation, Down Syndrome hero Reuben Coe, 31, has launched his very own website.

Reuben, who has lived in San Pedro de Alcantara for three years, raised money through a crowd-funding website Indie Go Go to launch Reubensworld.com. “Reuben is so creative and this blog will allow him to channel that and connect with people around the world,” his brother Manni Coe, of Toma Tours, told the Olive Press. “I have never seen a blog directly from a person with Down Syndrome before, we’re so excited to see where it will go.

Inspiration

EXCITED: Reuben with brother Manni and (inset) website

“We want it to be loaded with Reuben’s personality, as he is such an inspiration to families with young children with Down Syndrome,” he added. Reuben joined his brother in Spain after an unsuccessful time living in a group care-home in the UK, where he gained weight and lacked stimulation. The difficult move has been a roaring success though, as he has lost two stone, learned to ride a tricycle and also helps out at a friend’s business. “I love Spain, the food and the beaches especially,” Reuben told the Olive Press earlier this year. Reuben’s world uses a font based on his handwriting, which is also available to download.

THUMBS UP: Dec had been filming on a cruise ship

All Ants on Dec

BRITAIN’S most loved TV double-act Ant and Dec made a fleeting visit to the Rock last week. Filming an episode of Saturday Night Live aboard the Britannia cruise ship, the Geordie duo were greeted by adoring fans at the cruise terminal before jetPRINCESS Anne is set to cause a stir when ting off from the she visits the airport. 2016 GibralAccompanied by tar Literary a couple of the Festival. boys from former The royal’s pop band JLS, as visit will no well as X-Factor doubt cause winner Sam Baicontroversy ley, Dec wooed across the the crowd posing border with for photos. her last apAnt, however, pearance was in no such on the Rock mood and bolted sparking protests in 2009. straight for the The Princess Royal was anawaiting taxi nounced as the Patron of the maybe suffering festival by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. from a bout of seasickness.

Royal visit

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Election countdown

GIBRALTAR’S general election on November 26 gives voters just one month to make their minds up. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo revealed the date in a snap party political broadcast aired on GBC. It gives the ruling GSLP and opposition GSD, led by Daniel Feetham, four weeks to persuade voters they should be given the chance to govern Gibraltar for the next four years.

NEWS IN BRIEF Sunday service GIBRALTAR will commemorate Remembrance Sunday (November 8) with a ceremony at the American War Memorial on Line Wall Road.

Border visit FIVE European Commission representatives made a surprise inspection to the Gibraltar-Spain border on Tuesday October 27.

Park life REPAIR work at Commonwealth Park is due to finish by the end of October with turf being relaid, according to a government spokesman.

NEWS

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Power struggle Politicians at war over safety reports on new planned gas power station

A WAR of words has broken out between Gibraltar’s main political parties over the planned £77 million power station. Chief Minister Fabian

By Tom Powell Picardo’s GSLP has published safety reports which give the green light to the liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Remembering Trafalgar

THE 210th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar has been commemorated with a Remembrance ceremony at the Trafalgar Cemetery. Members of the Royal Navy were joined by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, acting Governor Alison Macmillan and Commander of the British Forces in Gibraltar, Commodore Iain McGee on October 18. The occasion also marked the 50th anniversary of the decommissioning of HMS Calpe, a Gibraltar-based Royal Navy Reserve Unit. To further mark the anniversary, there will be a HMS Calpe Exhibition in the Small Arts Gallery beginning on November 16.

A rich history

EACH year on the Sunday closest to the battle of Trafalgar (October 21), the Royal Navy holds a ceremony at Trafalgar Cemetery. But just two victims of 1805’s almighty battle between the Royal Navy and combined French and Spanish fleets are actually buried there. Instead, many tombstones commemorate those who died in three devastating yellow fever epidemics around the same time. While most of those that died at Trafalgar were buried at sea, Lord Nelson’s body was transported back to London for a state funeral and burial at St Paul’s cathedral. However, he was initially taken to Gibraltar’s Rosia Bay, in his ship HMS Victory, where his body was put in a vat of rum to conserve it, before being sent to the UK.

terminal needed to store and supply fuel for the new North Mole power station. The recommendations from the UK’s Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) and also Lloyd’s Register have effectively signalled the start of the construction process. However, the GSD party has criticised the government for rushing ‘inconclusive’ reports to be published before November’s election. They believe the LNG terminal could pose safety concerns to residents. Leader Daniel Feetham said: “No-one, least of all the Opposition, can possibly review the veracity of the safety claims made in these reviewing documents without actually seeing the underlying safety reports.” In defence, Picardo reiterated that LNG is the ‘right choice’ for Gibraltar. “It poses no risk to any residential area and it is the clean fuel for the future,” he said. Indeed, the HSL’s report claimed that a catastrophic event at the site was not only an extremely remote risk, once every three million years. The project will now progress to the next phase, a significant consultation process to be conducted by Shell and HSL, involving all stakeholders and the local community.

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NEWS

October 15th - 28th

October 28th - November 11th 2015

OPINION Defences mustered THE latest siege of Gibraltar is one that will no doubt rumble on for years, if not decades, to come. Cybercrime is - regrettably - here to stay as virtual hackers multiply and online frauds continue to grow in number. With over 1,000 daily attacks on Gibraltar’s business sector it is fair to say the Rock is being targeted. But, the proverbial towel is not being thrown in and Gibraltar - as it has done for hundreds of years - is ready to weather the storm and batten down the hatches. It is reassuring to see businesses, the Financial Services Commission and the police working together to battle the problem and they must continue to do so if they are to beat the online underworld.

FEATURE

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Long-lasting shadow

Forty years since Franco

THE 40th anniversary of Franco’s death in November will bring back memories of ‘the siege of Gibraltar’. Franco’s decision to seal the crossings in 1969 cut Gibraltarians off from Spain, and although the blockade was lifted for pedestrians in 1982, the border wasn’t fully reopened until 1985. His belligerence towards the Rock even resulted in Spanish troops and tanks preparing for a 1970 invasion, although the swift deployment of a British task force was enough to disperse them. Rock residents showed their fortitude by sharing food as shortages and economic hardship bit and Gibraltar’s British status also ensured a vital supply of imports from the mother country. Franco may have tried to cow Gibraltar into submission, but the Rock stayed strong against his bully boy tactics.

Lights, camera, reality

Olive Press payments THE following companies are no longer allowed to do business with the Olive Press (Luke Stewart Media SL - CIF B91664029), due to long standing debts: - MWM Investments Ltd - Petersham Coins, Marbella - Investor Spain - Simple Care - Autotunes Manilva - Hotel Embrujo, Arriate

the EE

- Jaipur Purple, Estepona - Reservatauro, Ronda - Webuycarsinspain.es - Motor Trader - Best Coches The details are being published in support of other companies that may be unaware of the problems that might be faced by providing credit facilities to the businesses and their present individual owners.

GIBRALTAR

olive press

Covering Gibraltar with 10,000 copies

Tel: (+34) 951 273 575 (admin) or admin@theolivepress.es or sales@theolivepress.es A campaigning, community newspaper, the Gibraltar Olive Press represents the local and expatriate communities working or living on the Rock with 10,000 copies distributed fortnightly on a Wednesday.

Luke Stewart Media S.L - CIF: B91664029 (+34) 951 273 575 Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5 Calle Espinosa 1 Edificio centro comercial El Duque, planta primera, 29692 San Luis de Sabinillas, Manilva Printed by Corporación de Medios de Andalucía S.A. Editor: Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es Newsdesk newsdesk@theolivepress.es Tel: (+34) 665 798 618 Tom Powell tom@theolivepress.es Rob Horgan

rob@theolivepress.es Iona Napier iona@theolivepress.es Joe Duggan joe@theolivepress.es Admin / Distribution / Accounts: Maria González accounts@theolivepress.es Mirian Moreno admin@theolivepress.es SALES TEAM: Chris Birkett Head of Sales (+34) 652 512 956 Stephen Shutes (+34) 671 834 479 Sarah Adams (+34) 655 825 683

IS death marked the pivotal moment in modern Spanish history, releasing the country and its people from his horrific 39-year dictatorship. In the years that followed Francisco Franco’s passing on November 20 1975, Spanish society underwent an astonishing transformation from a cruel fascist dictatorship to one of the world’s most liberal democracies. That evolution was powered by a rebirth of free thinking known as la movida which reached its zenith in Madrid. But, four decades on, Franco’s memory still casts a long, dark shadow over Spain. To his supporters, El Caudillo (the Lead-

HE latest jobless figures may put Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s administration, which faces a tough battle on December 20 to retain its majority in Congress, in a positive light. Nonetheless, the numbers don’t provide any irrefutable argument that Spain’s economy is heading for better times. The government’s statistics office reported last week that unemployment fell below the five million mark for the first time in five years. Just some 4.85 million of the active population are out of work, which puts the country’s official jobless rate at 21.18%. That is still one of the highest figures in Europe. This past weekend in Alicante, a buoyant Rajoy attributed the lower numbers for the

er) was Spain’s saviour from godless left-wing ideology. To his detractors he was a brute presiding over a murderously vindictive regime. Some 500,000 people died - not all of them on the field of battle - during the three-year Spanish Civil War, triggered when Franco led a military coup against the democratically-elected government in 1936. As many as 200,000 of those men and women were executed extrajudicially or on flimsy legal grounds. A further 20-to-30,000 were put to death on El Generalisimo’s orders in the years after. His final resting place, Valle de Los Caidos, is now the subject of legal wrangling. Families of Republicans killed during the

Spanish Civil War are demanding their loved ones’ remains be removed from the vast mausoleum, where 33,000 bodies are buried. Republican prisoners were forced to help construct their hated enemy’s tomb. The Pacto de Olvido (Pact of Forgetting) agreed by Spain’s political parties as the fledgling democracy took shape in 1977 was an attempt to draw a line under the war’s horrors and absolve the crimes of the regime. But a new generation of Spaniards is demanding answers. Forty years on, the ghost of Franco and the atrocities he perpetrated still have the power to haunt. Spain is not, yet, a Franco-free zone.

Game plan Is political spin enough to save the PP? third-quarter to higher tourism and rigid labour policies he introduced after he came to office at the end of 2011. The Popular Party (PP) has acknowledged that it may lose seats in both chambers to the up-and-rising conservative grouping Ciudadanos, which is gaining strength in many parts of Spain. The only way for the PP to stay in government would be through the formation of a coalition with Ciudadanos, but this wouldn’t guarantee that Rajoy would remain as prime minister. Ciudadanos leader Albert Ri-

vera has said that the prime minister’s office would no doubt be a bargaining chip in any partnership negotiations. On another front, the Socialists, who lost to Rajoy after two tumultuous terms under Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, have also seen their political fortunes rise thanks to the fears and uncertainty of radical change being offered by the left-leaning Podemos party. Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez has proposed altering some of the PP government’s policies while adopting similar, but less radical, ideas that Podemos is

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With the 40th anniversary of Franco’s death looming large next month, Joe Duggan uncovers 40 facts about El Caudillo

IN a competition as repetitive and formulaic as Miss World, the efforts of Miss Cadiz – who was born a boy – are deeply refreshing. Media portrayals of the pageant momentarily shifted from lip colour, pore size and waist-to-hip ratio to the fundamentals of gender identity... and self worth. Just as transgender woman Jenna Talackova fought after disqualification from Miss Universe Canada as she wasn’t a ‘naturally born woman’, so too has Ponce stirred up debate by ‘refusing to be ashamed’. No, she did not win, but she was unparalleled as the most interesting, engaging and ballsy (if not literally) contestant. Spain can be proud of this brave, progressive woman.

MADRIDS MATTER

proposing. The Socialists are nearly neck-and-neck with the PP, according to recent polls. Ruling party strategists have now advised Rajoy to focus his discourse on his ‘experience’ over these three political novices, and convince voters that there will be a continuation of ‘economic stability’, as the campaign is formally set to begin. The problem with this game plan is that most Spaniards have not experienced any improvements in their household finances in many years.

www.gibraltarolivepress.com

FEATURE

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Franco’s Gibraltar siege AFTER the Second World War, Franco adopted a combative approach to Gibraltar. A 1954 visit by Queen Elizabeth II (left) infuriated the dictator, who threatened to confiscate Gibraltarians’ Spanish properties. In 1963 and 1964, Gibraltarian leaders Sir Joshua Hassan and Peter Isola lobbied the UN, who rejected Spain’s claim to the Rock. On September 10, 1967, Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining under British sovereignty, with 12,138 opting for the status quo and only 44 opting to live under Spanish rule.

Franco was born in 1892 in the Galician naval town of El Ferrol, the son of a naval officer, Nicolas.

His father, who Franco was not close to, deserted the family and ran off to live with his mistress in Madrid.

After failing to follow his brother, father and grandfather into the navy, Franco left for the Toledo infantry academy and became an officer in the Spanish Army

corps.

Salvador Puig Antich, an anarchist robber who killed a policeman, was executed in 1974, the final person to be garroted under Franco’s regime.

A pact of non-intervention was agreed by the world’s major powers when war broke out in 1936, but Franco enlisted the help of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Franco was nicknamed Franquito or ‘Frankie Boy’ as he wouldn´t participate in his fellow students activities.

Franco was sent to Morocco in 1912 to fight in the colonial war, where he stayed until 1926. He received a wound near Ceuta that almost killed him in 1916 and developed a reputation for courage and brutality.

During World War Two, Franco wrote a semi-autobiographical novel called Raza, using the pseudonym Jaime de Andrade. It was later turned into a film..

A British pilot, Cecil Bebb, took off from Croydon Airport on 11 July, 1936, to collect Franco in the Canary Islands and take him to Tetuan, Morocco to start the army uprising.

Franco showed his brutal methods in the Asturian miners’ uprising in 1934, when his troops killed almost 2,000 miners.

The Malaga to Almeria N340 road was the scene of a bloody slaughter in February 1937 when up to 5,000 fleeing Republican refugees were killed as Franco’s fascist planes strafed and bombed them. A huge statue of Franco on a horse was removed from his home town, Ferrel, in 2002.

Juan Carlos, who was later to become King of Spain, was a firm favourite of Franco and the dictator chose the young prince to be the next head of state in 1969. Juan Carlos was instrumental in pathing the way for Spain’s transition to democracy after Franco’s death.

Cliff Richard was denied victory in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest when Franco´s regime fixed the contest by offering bribes for votes, Montse Fernandez Villa´s 2008 documentary claimed. Spain´s Massiel won the competition with the song La, La, La.

When Franco died in 1975, half a million Spaniards visited his coffin as he lay in state fpr 50 hours. One mourner tripped and fell into his grave a few hours before he was buried.

He became the youngest general in Europe aged 33.

The Socialist government passed the Historical Memory Law, in 2007 which called for Francoist monuments to be pulled down and state help given to relatives wanting to recover loved ones buried in mass graves.

smuggle millions of pesetas-worth of her father’s gold and valuables out of the country.

The Gibraltar Constitution Order was published on May 30, 1969. On June 9, an outraged Franco closed the Rock’s borders. Residents now had to make a sea-bound voyage to visit friends and relatives, with telephone lines cut. It was effectively a siege designed to cause economic hardship to Gibraltarians. The Rock’s Spanish workforce was replaced by hundreds of Moroccans, and food trade with Spain came to a halt. Although Franco died in 1975, the border remained sealed until 1982, when it was finally reopened.

Franco made dubbing compulsory in Spanish cinema in 1941 so his censors could completely control the content of foreign films.

The German Condor Legion’s infamous attack on the Basque market town of Gernika killed up to 400 civilians and inspired Pablo Picasso’s painting.

Work on Franco’s final resting place, Valle de los Caidos (below), began in 1940 and was finished in 1959. Much of it was built by Republican prisoners.

During his dictatorship, Franco banned the public use of the Basque, Catalan and Galician languages.

Around 35,000 people from 53 countries came to fight for the International Brigades against Franco, including 4,000 from Britain.

Franco made Luis Carrero Blanco his Prime Minister in 1973. The admiral would have succeeded Franco, but an ETA bomb blew him up six months later.

The families of two Republican brothers buried at Valle de los Caidos have asked the courts to exhume their bodies. The case is currently going through the courts.

Barbate in Cadiz was known as Barbate de Franco until 1998 because the dictator used to holiday there.

Franco was fanatical about dams, and insisted on being present at the opening of each new facility his regime built.

On Christmas Eve 1961 Franco was injured when his shotgun for hunting exploded in his left hand.

The Spanish government’s National Heritage pays for the upkeep of the site which attracts thousands of visitors each year and contains a Benedictine monastery.

Franco is the only person buried at Valler de los Caidos who did not die during the civil war. Falangist founder Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera is also buried at the site.

Franco oversaw Spain’s rapid economic development, los anos de desarrollo, which was powered by tourism. Between 1961 and 1973, Spain’s economy grew faster than any developed country apart from Japan.

Franco slept next to the severed hand of St Teresa of Avila, which was looted from Ronda by a Republican prisoner in 1937.

sion.

It was revealed in a book by Jose Maria Zavala in 2009 that Franco only had one testicle after being shot in the abdomen in 1916.

Franco met with Adolf Hitler in Hendaye on the French border in 1940 to discuss Spain entering World War Two (see photo left).

The 152.4-metre high stone cross at Valle de los Caidos is the largest freestanding crucifix in the world.

Although Spain remained neutral, Franco sent the Division Azul, a unit of volunteers, to fight on the eastern front for Hitler.

Franco’s daughter, Maria del Carmen Franco y Polo, was arrested at Madrid’s Barajas Airport in 1978 as she tried to

Under Franco, women were banned from owning property, travelling, taking employment or opening a bank account without their husband’s permis-

Divorce was prohibited and adultery was heavily punished. Franco was believed to have been faithful to his wife, Maria del Carmen Polo y Martinez-Valdes.

On his deathbed, the 82-year-old Franco said: “I ask pardon of all my enemies, as I pardon with all my heart all those who declared themselves my enemy, although I did not consider them to be so.”

Franco attempted to open negotiations with Britain over Gibraltar, and in 1969 he closed the border to the Rock. A 1967 referendum showed 99% of Gibraltarians wanted to stay British.

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF

Flying colours SOTOGRANDE International School has again been classed as one of Spain’s top 100 schools in El Mundo’s 16th edition of its school rankings.

On your bike A €357,000 bike lane linking San Roque station with Castellar has been agreed between San Roque Town Hall and the Junta and will be finished by summer 2016.

Caught out! A SAN Roque man has been arrested for selling his car before reporting it as stolen thanks to police uncovering details of the Sevilla sale.

Co-op boom CO-OPERATIVE organisations are on the rise with 70 of Andalucia’s 400 in the Campo de Gibraltar.

A HELICOPTER service linking Ceuta and Algeciras may resume in November. Helicopter company SAAR hopes to reconnect the African-based enclave with the Spanish mainland after rival company Cathelicopters terminated the service back in June 2014. SAAR’s 10-man Bell 412 helicopters are light enough to land at Algeciras heliport, which is unable to hold the company’s 30-man Sikorsky S92 weight. Reopening the route requires the approval of Spain’s Civil Aviation. If approval is granted, the company would also reopen the Ceuta to Malaga route.

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Ceuta chopper

Rooted out! By Joe Duggan SPAIN’S dental body has reacted angrily after a bogus dentist was given a paltry €1,000 fine for practising without a licence. The Board of Dentists described the sentence as ‘insufficiently mild’, after the dodgy dental technician was found guilty of treating patients at his dad’s house for over five years. The Spaniard, who the authorities have bizarrely refused to name, had even been fitting false teeth without using prescription medication. He has now been made to pay legal costs and €1,250 in civil damages to two patients after being found guilty of ‘professional intrusion’. The judge at Algeciras Criminal Court ruled: “He jeopardised the health of all

OUCH! Outrage as bogus dentist fined just 1000 euros after working from dad’s house for five years

TOOTH FAKE: Living room dentist caught at last

those who attended the consultation, by not having the necessary training to work as a dentist.” The Board of Dentists has

now called for a change in legislation and tougher penalties for such crimes, describing the sentence as ‘very mild and insufficient’.

Cheeky tapas bid A ZAHARA de los Atunes tapas bar is hoping to gobble up a major national award. La Esquina de Catalina is one of 48 Spanish restaurants battling at the ninth Concurso Nacional de Pinchos y Tapas in Valladolid between November 9 and 11. Representing Cadiz: chef Manuel Alba Chico, whose rendang tapas – an Indonesian-influenced stewed cheek and tomato concoction – took second prize at the 2015 Ruta del Retinto de Zahara. JAILED: Skipper

SUNK

TASTY: Stewed cheek dish is one of the bar’s best

San Roque powerless THREE thousand San Roque residents were left without electricity after a power cut. Homes in Sotogrande, Torreguadiaro, Guadiaro

and San Martín del Tesorillo were hit by the outage at 9pm on October 21. Energy company Endesa blamed the incident on a power line shortage.

THE skipper of a boat which sank off the coast of Cadiz has been ordered to pay up €1.4 million for ‘imprudence’. Eight people died 14 miles off the coast of Barbate during a storm in 2007. The Algeciras court sentenced skipper Jose Vega to 18 months in prison, as well as ordering payments of €150,000 to the families of each deceased victim and €35,000 to each of the seven survivors. The combination of heavy cargo and blocked drainage saw the boat, the ‘Nuevo Pepita Aurora’, go down in just seven seconds.

10 www.gibraltarolivepress.com

GREEN NEWS

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Tyre trouble

Happy snappers A PAIR of Andalucia snappers have been awarded at the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards. Juan Tapia claimed the top gong in the ‘Impressions’ category for his picture of swallows entering an old storehouse in Almeria. Meanwhile, Pere Soler was recognised for his image of the algal blooms in the wetlands of Bahia de Cadiz Natural Park. Canadian Don Gutoski was crowned overall winner for his photo ‘A tale of two foxes’.

Outrage as Prestige tanker crew cleared in Europe’s ‘worst environmental disaster’ By Rob Horgan

SPANISH authorities are looking for a shredder to dispose of a rubber mountain that has been building up for 13 years. The 90,000 tonne heap composed of five million tyres is a blot on the landscape overshadowing a housing estate between Toledo and Madrid, as well as a serious fire and environmental hazard. Local authorities announced in October they are putting out a tender from January to find a company to shred the tyres, which have been there since 2002. A company originally in charge of recycling them was unable to cope with the vast operation and folded in 2011.

WINNERS: ‘A tale of two foxes’ and (right) Tapia’s snap

Oil at sea 14

Bluefin banditsfishing network

os RhiNOTer

illegal A MAJOR up on the Costa has been broken charges del Sol. people face A total of 18marine violations afcaught relating to of illegally ter 1,800 kiloswere seized by the bluefin tuna in Estepona. Guardia Civil are linked to alThe fishermanactivities along the leged illegal using speed boats to entire coast, catch back to their transport their Estepona base.

MESS: Galician beach and (inset) Prestige sinking

CMY

2015

s, Almeria at Palomare operation Clean-up COMING: LONG TIME t has fithe THE US governmen to clear up nally agreed at the Almerinuclear fall-out of Palomares. years, only cardamIn the ensuing an coastal resort Force planes colradioactive dealt in US his25% of the Two US Air bombs properly nuclear accidentof complaints age has been rying four nuclear killing seven tory’ and years decontaminawith. lided in 1966, than 45,000 residents, dis- fromis set to take place. In March, morea change.org crew members. apart, split tion signed a town of 16,000 Two bombs radioactive matex- people demanding the US Palomares, are British and seminating three square mess ‘once nuclear petition - half of whom clear up the covered in ter over nearly of Palomares. pats - was the for all’. kilometres decades later after to begin in waste. The job is due Nearly five dubbed the ‘worst new year. what was to take two It is expected years to complete. t of EnThe US Departmen to dig up affected ille- ergy plans them out in condenounced ship groups have Bay of Algeciras. areas, and bury them in the s tainers environmental in the TWO Spanish for killing dolphins submitted complaint Nevada desert.

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with widespread criticism. The state prosecutor is now demanding the Supreme Court overturns the Galician court’s decision. Slamming the ruling as ‘illogical, erroneous and outrightly wrong’, prosecutor Luis Navajas insisted the crew are criminally responsible. He is also demanding they pay €4.3 billion for the environmental damage caused by the spill. The crew are accused of acting negligently, resulting in 75 million litres of oil being released into the sea. The spill happenned after a storm off the coast of Galicia resulted in one of the ship’s 12 oil containers splitting. After being denied access into French and Spanish ports - due to the spill - the ship eventually split in half and sank after six days, resulting in the ecological disaster. The Supreme Court will now take one month to decide whether or not to prosecute Captain Apostolos Mangouras, 80, and his two lieutenants.

the Olive Press

Green grow

in Andaelectric cars SALES of up a whopping 35% in only 84 lucia were frighten you. a metre long, number was about the name 2015, but the behave. DON’T letos iguanas are only red on long as you units. Rhinocer in green-powe hurt you as A bony outgrowth So the increase motorists are uncertainly and they won’t for their name? but most one in vehicles means The reasonwhich looks like – stuck behind found likely to be the snout is primarily from 698, up traffic. isn’t – a horn. d lizard species ranging in Spain hit Overall salesthe same period last This threatene , with skin colours a green. 29.02% on in the Caribbean to a forest too, as Fuengirol year. a steely grey del Sol is in luck creature. to this special But the Costa also home Bioparc is

THE men behind the ‘worst environmental disaster’ in Europe have been acquitted of negligence. The decision to acquit three Greek sailors over the 2002 Prestige tanker spill has been met

October 15th

At last!

GREEN NEWS

ress.es

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Malaga CP 29199, Blanco, Coin, – Barranco 514 733 Finca La Fuente 951 204 306 / +34 669 tel: +34 fwellbeing.com eing info@thesourceo hesourceofwellb Facebook.com/t TMENT ONLY 13:42:30 Y BY APPOIN 02/10/2015 ss.pdf 1STRICTL VISITS AF-10-1-olivepre

ar clear up nucle America to nearly half rophe disaster site after catast a century

fiends Fishermen

is leading have both gal fishing crews Verdemar the Straits of Gibraltar in PACMA and tuna fishing that illegal ry deaths to the ‘unnecessa of dolphins’. political party PACMA, a animal that championscalls for an rights, is leading into whether investigationare being comthe crimes or Gibralmitted in Spanish tarian waters. of these dolphins “The death clear malice,” told is done with spokesman a PACMA “The abuse r’s floods the Olive Press. should OUS: Septembe of these dolphinsd by any DISASTR or not go unpunishe be it Spanish legislation, British.”

Sea clearly

now

in leading the way MANILVA is clean up the seas. an attempt to divers will be Twenty volunteer seas off Sabinillas taking to the until the end of and Duquesa a bid to remove the month in the seabed. rubbish fromin the Olive Press As reported sea crusadlast week (Deeplitter and polers, Issue 223) the world’s of lution are depleting half the number oceans, with disappearing in marine species 45 years.

up’s Green gro g flood warnin

for the Junta deaths has denounced ntal group September caused four in AN environme ’ after floods d’ build‘negligence hills, ‘totally uncontrolle around Granada. coast’s crumbling en Accion criticised Ecologistas greenhouses on theand land movement. to ing work of ‘enormous’ erosion that is dragged which causes s also produce rubbish it is not The greenhouse rains. said: “While events the sea by heavyen Accion spokesman known that fall, it is well of the land has a An Ecologistas the rains will the state known when common and that have occurred. like these are the misfortunes that and the floods swallow die, lot to do with wait until hundreds “Should we houses?” schools and

why not

IN ACTION: Kerry and (inset) we first broke the news last issue

Let the clean-up commence!

IT’S official: the US government is set to clean up and remove the remains of a nuclear disaster that happened in Almeria 49 years ago. And all for the bargain price of €640 million. Secretary of State John Kerry and Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo signed a Madrid agreement that the site of Palomares will be cleaned up after a plane collision and nuclear spill in 1966. TORRENTIAL rain The US agreed to remove storms last week left the 50,000 cubic metres of conchestnut crops of the Getaminated soil and transport nal Valley severely deit by boat to Nevada (USA) pleted. where it will be stored. Andalucian farmers are They will decontaminate land mourning the loss of up to while ensuring the safety of 25% of their chestnut harthe local population of around vest after 250 litres per 16,000, many of whom are Britsquare metre of water fell. ish expats.

Storm damage

Landslide clear-up A BLOCKAGE in a storm water culvert has been blamed for causing the landslide in Gibraltar lastweek. Europa Road is now open again after five days work following the collapse of a retaining wall. The Rock Hotel, which owns the land in question, brought in a local civil engineering firm to work with the government’s Technical Services department.

Before the rubble can be cleared, the slope must first be regraded to make the area safe. Pedestrians will not be allowed on the road at any point until it is reopened. However, access for pedestrians will be allowed through Alameda Gardens from 7:30am. Traffic heading towards town can use Europa Road between 7:30am and 10:00am on Thursday and Friday, due to safety measures put in place. But the road will be closed completely over the weekend. Planned resurfacing works along Queensway have been postponed to avoid further SPAIN has been slammed by the European Commission for failtraffic congestion. ing to clampdown on illegal timber traders. Technical Services staff have Despite a 12-year programme, the EC has announced that Euidentified a blockage in the rope is still ‘falling short’ with its efforts to stop illegal logging. storm water culvert on EuAlongside Spain, Greece, Hungary and Romania have been roport Avenue as the likely singled out for being countries ‘of concern’. cause, with the over-pumping “As the chain of control is only as strong as its weakest link regime unable to the excesin the single market, illegal timber can still be imported via sive rainfall of over 22mm in these four countries,” Karel Pinxten, EC auditor, said. less than two hours. “The EU needs to put its own house in order.”

Timber tirade

Repsol UN pledge

A snail’s tale NOT all snails are hell-bent on poaching raspberries from your vegetable patch. The giant African snail, which is one of the largest in the world, has bigger fish to fry. Languishing among the roots of a fallen tree at Fuengirola’s Bioparc, this 400g beast moves lightening fast (for a snail…) thanks to strong foot muscles and is herbivorous. It measures four to seven inches long with a life expectancy of up to ten years. Track the creatures down next to the pythons!

SPANISH energy giant Repsol has pledged to support UN climate change pledges ahead of the Paris world conference. Repsol was one of ten companies in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative group to back the UN’s goals of tackling global warming. The 2015 United Nations Climate Change conference starts on November 30 in the French capital. US president Barack Obama has also received assurances from 81 of America’s leading companies to back White House initiatives for reducing emissions.

October 28th - November 11th 2015

POTTED POINTERS EMERGENCIES Police 199 Medical service 190 Fire 190 EURO EXCHANGE RATES 1 euro is worth 1.11American dollars 0.72 British pounds 1.46 Canadian dollars 7.46 Danish kroner 8.57 H Kong dollars 9.22 Norwegian kroner 1.59 Singapore dollars ANDALUCIA RESERVOIR LEVELS This week: 55.01% Same week last year: 63.95% Same week in 2005: 49.97% AIRPORTS Gibraltar 00350 22073026 Granada-Jaen 958 245 200 Jerez - 956 150 000 Malaga - 952 048 844* *For English press 9 Sevilla - 954 449 000

All together now

Ticket talk

DEAR OP, I saw mention of ‘Llevame donde naci’ as a national anthem of Gibraltar in your report ‘Doing it for Gib (Issue 3). I am sure that particular song, while very much loved in Gibraltar, is not the national anthem, but what is then? I always assumed it was God Save the Queen, or is it in fact the Gibraltar anthem which is played during the balloon release on National Day?

www.gibraltarolivepress.com

Caminito Mafia MOST people know the Malaga provincial council has sold out of tickets to the Caminito del Rey. But how many are aware that you can only buy tickets if you book a table at one of the restaurants or hotels in the area? I am completely against this manner of selling - tickets should be sold to individuals rather than corporations and companies. Not only does it force people to consume in a Malaga hotel or restaurant, but tourists have to jump through the same hoops. What if I want to go with my backpack and tupperware? All entrances are sold out because the restaurants and hotels in the area have bought them. Bravo for the Malaga mafia! Absolutely outrageous. Kokomodo Modokoko, Ardales

What’s the problem? I HAVE heard people moaning about local restaurants offering Caminito del Rey tickets as part of a dining package. But so what? The best part of having a world-famous attraction is the boost it brings to the local area. There are some wonderful restaurants and hotels near El Chorro and it is a great idea to sell tickets through them, meaning that everyone wins.

Anon, Gibraltar ED: Anyone who can shed light on the issue of Gibraltar’s national anthem please email letters@theolivepress.es

Bad friends

LETTERS

Rowan Liburd, Marbella

UBER fight

I’M going to say this for the first time – well done the PP! UBER is another American company that only cares about making money and not about paying tax (Three hundred taxis ‘from Spain’ rally against Uber in Brussels, Online). Also well done to these Spanish taxi drivers. Everyone complains about taxi fares, but how many want to do this job, especially those days when late at night so many drivers are attacked. It’s not a healthy job being Tariq Fosu, very sedentary. Just whose La Linea interests are Brussels and

I DON’T know if we should be celebrating the raising of the Gibraltar flag in the European Parliament quite so enthusiastically (Flagging it up, issue 3). It was, after all, raised by two UKIP MEPs, and not everyone in Gibraltar is a supporter of UKIP. In fact, I for one am vehemently opposed to its leader Nigel Farage’s attitude towards immigrants. It’s not something I think Gibraltar should be associating itself with.

Strasbourg looking after? Certainly not the ordinary working stiff. Stuart Crawford, Sabinillas

Basket case I FOUND Belinda Beckett’s column (Off my Trolley!, issue 223) very funny. My wife has half banned me from shopping with her in Morrisons, but seems content to drag me around Mercadona. She even lets me select stuff now and again. You’re right about ripeness selection…. many a yellowing broccoli has had to be eaten on the day because I didn’t notice.

Having said that, the exotic stuff she buys ends up in the bin as it’s gone off. And how many toothpastes can you have even if they are three for two or half price. I’d have to clean them five times a day for life to get rid of our current supply. John Peters, Malaga

Winter woes MANY expats are not as wealthy as you would imagine. I did not come over here until I was 70. While in England I paid all my taxes. I also saved the government a lot of money by caring

for my mother-in-law and then my husband’s elderly aunt. Me and many other women saved the government millions by not having any children. I now get 70 pounds per week pension. Fortunately my husband gets considerably more. We came to Spain for our health and because it is far cheaper to live out here. I believe that I and many more expats have saved the British government millions and if they paid us the winter fuel allowance until the day we die they will still be left owing us millions. Margaret Hickney, Estepona

Letters should be emailed to letters@theolivepress.es. The writer’s name and address should be provided. Opinions are not necessarily those of the Editor.

What’s hot on the web The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks (October 12th - October 26th) 1)Costa del Sol on weather alert with dropping temperatures and more rain (4,438) 2)Gangsters’ paradise: A look at the key figures past and present of the Costa del Crime (3,644) 3) Gibraltar schoolgirl reaches semi-final of Spanish TV talent

show (3,067) 4) Landmark victory for expats under new Spanish property law (2,472) 5) Ryanair launches seven new Malaga flight paths for summer 2016 (2,158)

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Diet & Nutrition

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Heritage heroes

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Primatologist and historical fiction authors bag individual heritage awards A BARBARY macaque awareness campaigner and the authors of a series of historical fiction novels have won individual Gibraltar Heritage Trust awards. Primatologist Brian Gomila, 37, who educates and entertains through his Monkey

By Tom Powell Talk outings, described the prize as ‘truly an honour’. Dr Sam Benady and Mary Chiappe were equally commended for bringing 18th

Drama Queens, and Kings THE date has been set for the Gibraltar Drama Festival 2016. From March 14-19, drama groups will compete at the Ince’s Hall Theatre for various prizes, with the best play winning £1,000. Additional awards include separate male and female prizes for best actor, youth actor, supporting actor and supporting youth actor. Each participating group will receive a small grant to help

cover props, costumes and other costs. Entry forms are available at John Mackintosh Hall, online at www.culture.gi or by emailing info@culture.gi The closing date for entries is January 18.

century Gibraltar vividly to life in the Bresciano Mysteries. “This award is official recognition that the macaques are part of our heritage,” said Gomila. “While visitors undoubtedly enjoy their 20 minutes with them, it is us, the locals, who live alongside them and in some cases need to ‘put up’ with their antics. “For over 13 years I have been trying to portray the ma-

Clearing out the cave GORHAM’S Cave is now ready for a UNESCO World Heritage bid thanks to a team of daring firemen. A specialist group of climbers and abseilers from the Fire and Rescue Service have been working to clear debris and old ropes. The Gibraltar Museum has thanked the fire service for the potentially dangerous work. Director Clive Finlayson said: “I am delighted with the support received from the fire service. “It is highly satisfying to have different sectors of our community coming forward to make our World Heritage bid a success.” Gorham’s Cave complex, located on the southeastern face of the Rock, was first inhabited some 55.000 years ago and contains Neanderthal engravings. The museum is confident that Gorham’s Cave will be added to UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites when the committee makes a final decision next summer.

UNESCO-ready: Gorham’s Cave

Home economics

‘GIBRALTAR Studies’ will be taught at all first and middle schools from next September. The subject will look at the development of Gibraltarian people, natural history, geology and the marine environment.

WINNERS: Brian Gomila (left) with Mary Chiappe and Dr Sam Benady while (inset) Bresciano Mysteries

caques in their true light so we will slowly begin to appreciate them for the great asset they are.” The Gibraltar Heritage Trust, an independent organisa-

Shooting star EXPAT singing sensation Elisha Lang is using her TV talent show success as the springboard to a professional singing career. The 12-year-old Gibraltar schoolgirl made it all the way to the semifinal of La Voz Kids, wowing viewers and setting social networks in Gibraltar and Spain alight with her pitch-perfect rendition of the Power of love. And although she missed out on a place in the finals, she’s already hitting the stardom trail with plans to cut her first album.

The importance to Gibraltar of trade and tourism will also be part of the syllabus, as will culture, food and the Rock’s history and prehistory going back to the Neanderthals. Education Minister Gilbert Licudi said:

PHOTO: Gibraltar Heritage Trust

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tion partly subsidized by the government, presented the awards at the Sunborn Yacht Hotel. The awards recognise outstanding sensitivity and contribution to Gibraltar’s heritage. Three group awards were also presented. Jekylls and Hydes. Page 16-17. Born again. Page 19.

DETERMINED: Elisha Her father Scott posted a heartfelt message on Instagram saying he is the proudest father in the entire world. “The whole world loves you and your voice and this is only the start,” he said. “Tomorrow is a new day and the start of your musical career.” Father and daughter are currently laying down tracks for an album at a recording studio in Tarifa, including some of the songs she performed so well on the show. “I love singing and I’ve been doing it since I was a kid, I definitely want to be a professional singer when I’m older,” Elisha, who was born in England but moved to Spain just weeks later and has been schooled in Gibraltar, told the Olive Press. The Westside pupil, whose family also has a home in Los Barrios, fought off an incredible 20,000 applicants to make the last 15. She caused a stir when she told judges she ‘came from Cadiz’ on the first show, following concerns that her Gibraltar link could have affect her chances.

“There is so much to learn about Gibraltar, and we want it to be taught in a structured manner.” A curriculum working group is now being established to develop the finer details of the new course.

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Spooky happenings Grab a broomstick and a set of vampire teeth, and check out these chilling Halloween events:

Nightmare on the Sunborn There’s a bottle of Laurent Perrier for the best-dressed (and we’re not talking designer) at the Halloween Spectacular, at La Sala, aboard the Sunborn yacht on October 31. Losers can make do with the specially scary Halloween shots.

Scary variety A variety show organised by Ideal productions is set to take place at the Ince’s Hall Theatre at 8.30pm, October 31. For tickets and further information contact idealproduction@live.com or call 540 260 13.

October 28th - November 11th 2015

? n io it d a r t r o k ic r T Halloween in Gibraltar is set to be a frightening affair… and there’s no escaping it!

NLIKE Spain, where Halloween is something of an afterthought, Gibraltar knows how to celebrate the spookiest day of the year in style. As in the UK and USA, Halloween has grown exponentially on the Rock into an event involving everyone from schoolchildren to office workers.

Parties

Fancy dress fiesta Kids, listen up: tricks, treats and tasty eats are on offer at Eclipse Lounge’s Halloween Kids Costume Party at 5pm on October 31. Tickets cost £6.

Haunted house Later on, Eclipse will be transformed into a haunted house with wicked DJs keeping revellers entertained until the early hours. The £5 entry is waived for anyone in a great costume.

Most restaurants are offering special ‘menacing menus’, while nightclubs are hosting fancy-dress nights. Costume queen Aimee Jay, of AimeeJay’s in the ICC, told the Olive Press: “We see everyone from babies to grandparents wanting to dress up and join in the fun. “People go all out on the makeup, with liquid latex, blood and fantasy contact lenses to create a new persona for the night!

SPOOKY: 10/10 for the costumes

“Those attending two parties will often want a new costume for each party and many come to us for make-up tutorials or advice on how to accessorise for the night.” But it is not all fun and games. Police have been forced to impose an age limit on the purchase of eggs before Halloween after a recent rise in ‘egging’ incidents. Egging, for anyone who has been living under a (erm) rock, involves hurling eggs at moving cars or people. It’s the last thing anyone needs after spending all afternoon preparing the costume, and a waste of a potential tortilla.

That Sunday feeling Gibraltar poet shortlisted for coveted international prize

A GIBRALTAR poet has been shortlisted for the international Bridport Prize. Rebecca Faller’s poem Sunday finished in the top 200 of around 7,000 submissions in the poetry section. It is a nostalgic trip back to the poet’s younger days. Faller, who has never before entered an international writing competition, said she was “delighted and shocked in equal measure”. The Bridport Prize was founded in 1973 to promote literary excellence and encourage

emerging writers. It attracts entries from more than 80 different countries. First prize in the poetry category is now £5,000, second prize £1,000 and third prize £500. Gibraltar’s budding poet is well known on the Rock for her work with the Women’s Association, and in the campaign group that helped save Europa Point from the construction of a football stadium.

At the heart of art PAINTBRUSHES are at the ready as the Rock prepares for the 42nd Gibraltar International Art Exhibition. The deadline is up to submit entries and the artwork will be exhibited from November 4-14 at the Gustavo Bacarisas Galleries with incredible prizes up for grabs. The winner takes home £4,000, while runners up receive: £2,000 for second place, £1,500 for third position and the best young artist (aged 16-24) takes home a £1,000 reward. Winning artwork will belong to the Ministry of Culture, contact info@ culture.gi for more information.

Sitges tense scene-stealer

INVITATION: Sitges’ winner

THRILLER The Invitation terrified Sitges Film Festival judges enough to win best film at this year’s event. Karyn Kasuma’s tense drama about a friends’ reunion that spins out of control picked up top gong at the 48th annual award in Catalunya. The Sitges festival’s popularity soared this year, with 76,336 tickets sold, up from 55,000 in 2014.

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Photo by Peter Parkorr of Travel Unmasked

Jekylls and Hydes

PRIM

W th ca as sw re fe a Af of la ce m th

MONKEYING AROUND: Monkey Talk’s Brian Gomila chats to a Barbary macaque

’VE seen the ‘apes’ loads of times. I know their game. Show them a glimpse of food, or plastic packaging, and they’re on to you in a flash. Or so I used to think… in the days before I met Barbary macaque expert Brian Gomila, whose forgiveness I beg for my calling them apes in the very first line. Sorry Brian. It was actually Brian who contacted me, having read a rather left-field piece of prose I’d penned from the ‘point of view’ of one of the macaques this time last year. Apparently I was ‘lacking in key scientific areas’. So, after slowly recovering my bruised ego, I agreed to let him show me the real Barbary macaques, and teach me all the things that hardly anyone knows. It turns out he was right. I didn’t actually know the monkeys at all, and I boldly predict that 99% of tourists and a similar percentage of Gibraltarians don’t either. That’s how I found myself tearing up the Rock to St Michael’s Cave to meet Brian, of Monkey Talk Gibraltar, for a two-hour outing that would change my perception of the Rock’s most famous residents for good. He has just been honoured with an award from the Gibraltar Heritage trust, so I knew I was in good hands. We met at 7pm and began with an introduction, as Brian – who completed a masters in primatology at Roehampton University – set the tone for the evening. “The first thing we did when we met was to greet each other,” begins Brian. “And the macaques do exactly the same. “We are both primates and share many behaviours.” Thus we head off past St Michael’s Cave towards a rocky outcrop above Spur Battery, overlooking Europa Point. There are seven distinct groups of macaques in Gibraltar, each one moving around as a unit and sleeping within their established territories. We were destined for the group at the southern tip of the Rock where the Royal Anglian Way troop had decided to settle for the night. So after manoeuvring ourselves down

Everyone knows what Gibraltar’s notorious Barbary macaques are like… or do they? Tom Powell discovers a different side to the Rock’s most famous residents with Brian Gomila, winner of a Heritage Trust Award

CHILLING: Former governor Sir James Dutton with macaques a steep gap we stepped out onto the rock face, found a cosy wedge and settled in as the last of the sun’s rays beamed across the bay . Within seconds, I was speechless. The same monkeys I had seen ravage shopping bags, tear at zips and prowl menacingly at the Cable Car Top Station were nonchalanty wandering right past our group. A youngster perched in front of us, picking at his hands and rubbing

them. Why? He had just fallen victim to the merciless prickly pear, of course. Then the dominant male in the group sauntered up to my camera lens, took a long, calculative look, and sauntered off to find something more interesting to look at. Brian explained how it is not the older males who concern him when taking groups out, but rather the younger, more excitable adolescents, that he

hasn’t had the chance to properly gauge yet. But that doesn’t stop him showing us his wellrehearsed routine. “Who’s this food for?” he asks, slowly producing a banana from his pocket. pering is all about relieving stress, “You?” comes the pantomime reply we’re told, after an argument more from myself and the four others. Then, often than not. with two monkeys sat directly in front So this is how the day draws to a close of him gazing longingly at the banana, for this affable group of macaques, he preceded to peel and eat without preening halfway up the rock, at a a worry. great vantage point, as the sun sets I could barely believe my eyes, the its last rays over the Europa Point monkeys simply sat and watched be- lighthouse and large boats lit up like fore losing interest and moving off. birthday cakes chug through the dark, If I tried this stunt at the top of the ca- blue sea. ble car I’m pretty sure I’d end up bur- Brian – a man with an analogy up ied under a furious melee of Barbary his sleeve to suit macaque before I’d every occasion – even taken a mouthful. becomes almost But Brian was showing They have taught wistful in these last, me a completely differstunningly beautime things about ent side to these Jekyll ful moments. “Part myself and the and Hyde creatures. of the problem is He explained that by way humans that the macaques not cowering in fear are seen purely as socialise from the macaques, by a tourist attraction, simply eating in front of while the locals are them as if they were no left to put up with bother, he is asserting his dominance. their antics,” he remarks. Whereas normally, tourists shriek in “Gibraltarians should be proud to share terror and jump back, giving the ma- their home with the only free-ranging, caque the impression it is the one in non-human primates in Europe.” charge. This mesmerising moment is only in- He is going the right way about changterrupted by a loud squeaking noise. ing perceptions though, having taken It’s a younger male in the group, mak- small groups of children on his exceling what’s known as a ‘contact call’. lent trips, and currently liaising with This apparently lets the other mem- the schools about working together. bers of the group know where he is, “Educating the younger generation is and not to all disappear off without key to sustaining this wonderful envihim. ronment, and these fascinating creaAnd it turns out his family had found tures,” he adds. a delightful perch on a ledge half way He’s right, you know. up the cliff above, where several ma- Brian has spent time with the macaques were engaged in a thorough caques from a young age, finding regrooming process. This primate pam-

spite i Rock, primat Univer taught way hu we slo And w learn an eve change friendl it’s tim Dr Jek

If you an ey iarisa family bondi of 6 monk com o bralta

17 October 28th - November 11th 2015

Should I stay or should I go now? INTERESTINGLY, while females remain with their group for their entire life, the adolescent males have a choice and may chance it in another group . Occasionally this decision may be forced upon them if there is too much intra-group competition from rival males.

MATE SPOT: The group enjoy witnessing the macaques up close and personal

Who’s the daddy?

WHEN the mating season starts his month it is easy to see physial changes in the females, such s their prominent ano-genital wellings. The mating system is egarded as promiscuous, with emales mating repeatedly with number of males. fter a five and a half months f gestation, babies are born in ate spring/early summer. Exept there’s one problem. All the males think all the babies are heir offspring. In reality, short

in these hidden corners of the and now plans to undertake a tology PhD at the newly opened rsity of Gibraltar. “They have t me things about myself and the umans socialise,” he explains as owly leave our watching place. while not everyone is going to life lessons, I can guarantee ening with Brian will completely e your perception of these ly primates. And so it should, for me we started talking about the kyll side, not Mr Hyde.

u would like to take part in ye-opening macaque familation outing with friends, y or as a corporate teaming event, get into groups to 8 and email Brian on keytalkgibraltar@gmail. or visit the Monkey Talk Giar Facebook page.

of verifying paternity through analyses of blood samples nobody knows for certain who the father is. The eternal confusion has a benefit though; they all take turns to care for all the babies. Barbary macaque males are excellent fathers. As for the babies, these play a very important social role within their group, acting as a focal point for all group members to be more tolerant of one another.

Free food’s like free money “IMAGINE a kind stranger just walking up to you and putting a tenner in your hand for no apparent reason. Well that’s exactly what giving a monkey free food is like,” explains Brian. This is a problem exacerbated by some tour guides, who encourage feeding the macaques, despite signs warning against it. Together with the provisioned foods provided by the Macaque Management Team, there is enough natural food for the monkeys on the Rock. They don’t need your Twix.

E UP: Brian asserts his dominance eating a banana

Property

the Olive Press June 25th - July 9th 2015

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Hopes and homes THE construction of affordable homes in Seashell House is complete. The seafront development on Gibraltar’s east side was designed to provide high quality family dwellings with communal facilities. Purchasers will receive information about snagging appointments shortly. There are 38 one-bedroom apartments, 166 with twobedrooms, 321 with threebedrooms and 39 four-bedroom flats with prices ranging from £55,200 to £157,600. “The Government has kept its promise to deliver affordable homes for Gibraltar,” said Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. “A shortage of affordable homes had almost become in a crisis in Gibraltar. In a few short years this Government has successfully implemented holistic and co-ordinated policies that have gone a long way to solving it.”

Tree houses WOODEN houses are gearing up to set the housing market on fire. Building your house from wood saves up to 90% in energy and constructions are cheap, quick to build and durable. Spain’s largest wooden house is 650m2 and yet the monthly bill (electricity, hot water, heating) comes to just €140. The property in suburban Madrid, Torrelodones, cost €800 per square metre to build and consumes very little energy.

BEFORE AND AFTER: The attractive transformation of Ince’s Hall has been awarded. Photos: Gibraltar Heritage Trust

Gibraltar International Bank awarded for sensitive conversion of former nightclub

Born again A LEGENDARY Andalucian-based expat architect has received a coveted annual award. Donald Gray won the Premio Internacional de Arquitectura Clasica y Restauracion de Monumentos Rafael Manzano, which includes €50,000 and a commemorative medal. The Australian’s standout works include the Marbella urbanisation La Virginia, Las Lomas del Marbella Club, the City Hall in Pitres and the Hotel La Tartana in La Herradura. The award recognises work that respects the surrounding countryside and traditional Spanish architecture. Gray is a Spanish national and has spent decades working on the Costa del Sol.

IT is a transformation to rival London’s Tate Modern. And now the Gibraltar International Bank has been awarded with a Group Heritage Award for the ‘sensitive conversion’ of the old Ince’s Hall into its attractive head office. The tired building, last used as a nightclub, has been carefully restored retaining many original features. The Gibraltar Heritage Trust presented two other group awards at a ceremony earlier this month. One went to Jew’s Gate Cemetery for the sensitive installation of raised walkways and improved access, and the other to the University of Gibraltar for its conversion of Bombproof Barracks into a modern higher education facility.

Gray wins gold Flat fight

SHADES OF GRAY: Architect’s grand design

THREE big fish in the property world are fighting to sell Spain’s most exclusive pads. And, by exclusive, we mean as much as a whopping €14,000 per square metre. The battleground is Madrid, and the armies are Spain’s biggest property tycoon, Villar Mir; Asia’s richest man, Chinese multi-billionaire Wang Jianlin, and US investment firm Pimco. Three unimaginably luxurious developments are going head to head: Villar Mir’s Canalejas project in the centre of town, where one square metre sells for €12,000; Wang’s iconic 2014 Edificio Espana, at from €4,000 up to €14,000 a metre and Pimco’s Juan Bravo 3 in Salamanca district at €10,000.

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n Buen

Fascist Fiat A FIAT Uno covered in Francoist symbols for a political art project has been banned from driving around a Spanish town. Nuria Guell and Levi Orta plastered a Nazi flag, a Falangist banner and an image of Spain’s late dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco on the car. They intended to drive the car around Figueres during this month’s festival of contemporary culture, Ingravid, to observe people’s reactions. But local authorities ruled that the provocative work, called Ideologies Oscil-latories, should be prohibited. “We are surprised. We were hoping that no government that says it is democratic would censure a political work like this, especially in Catalonia,” a statement from Guell and Orta said. “The saddest thing is it brings back ways we have overcome. “Fascist symbols have gone the way of fossils, but not fascist attitudes. “We believe that with different masks, fascist attitudes

Rock’s road makeover

Provocative political artists wanted to drive Nazi car through town centre

CLASSY: Car on show in Costa del Sol

Vintage Costa show OUT OF LANE: The car in question

are still present in state institutions and in Spanish society.” Guell has previously tackled such tough social subjects as immigration and unemployment in her political artwork.

OCTOBER saw Costa del Sol´s vintage car enthusiasts rev up their engines for an annual drive down the coast. The Costa del Sol International Route set off from San Pedro Boulevard before winding its way to Estepona, Benahavis, Fuengirola, Mijas and Marbella. The three-day event was organised by the Club of Historic Vehicles.

THE second phase of a major road resurfacing programme in Gibraltar has been announced. Work along Queensway South is now underway, with resurfacing at Harbour Views Roundabout completed earlier this year. Many of the roads involved have not been resurfaced for years. The first phase of the government programme was carried out in 2014 and included major works to Rosia road and Line Wall Road. Minister for Transport, Traffic and Technical Services, Paul Balban said: “I am happy to see the necessary continued investment throughout our road infrastructure through the road resurfacing programme. “This Government is committed to a proper dedicated annual maintenance programme that provides a safe standard to our road users.”

Highway to hell SOME Spanish drivers spend more than one day a year sitting in traffic jams, with the national average being 17 hours. Residents of Barcelona were backed up for 25 hours on average in 2014, a report from driving data company NRTX reveals. In Madrid, drivers weren’t far behind, kicking their heels in queues for 22 hours. Spaniards waste 16% of their fuel looking for a parking space at an annual cost to motorists of €3.9 billion. Another study by driving app Wazypark showed Spanish students spend more than seven hours a month looking for a place to park.

ROYAL RIDES: Going under the hammer

King Juan Car-lot JUAN Carlos may have taken a back seat in the Spanish Royal family, but his sports cars are still riding in the fast lane. The former king was given a gift of two Ferrari FF models, which he donated to the Spanish state before his 2014 abdication. The exclusive cars are now being auctioned by the treasury ministry for €350,000 and €345,000. The Ferraris were a present from the prime minister of United Arab Emirates in 2011, although the King is not believed to have used them. Prospective buyers have until October 30 to make a bid.

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Top Dollar

October 28th - November 11th 2015

NEWS IN BRIEF Partner up BUSINESS newspaper City A.M. is the official UK Media Partner of the Gibraltar Literary festival and will broadcast the event to the UK audience.

Shipping in to Gib

GDP glory

MORE than 290,000 passengers from 207 cruise ships will have called in at Gibraltar by the end of the year. Tourism Minister Samantha Sacramento said that it is 27 more ships than last year, and includes 12 inaugural calls. The minister was speaking in light of the MedCruise General Assembly in Sardinia, where Gibraltar was represented by its Port Authority and Tourist Board. “We continue to pursue our policy of oneto-one contact with all the decision makers in the cruise industry, and the return on this endeavour is clear for all to see,” she said.

GIBRALTAR’S GDP now stands at £1.84 Billion with over £800 million in government revenues.

Dinner guest CHIEF Minister Fabian Picardo gave an address at the Gibraltar Bankers Association Annual Dinner confirming debt, unemployment and Government spending are all down.

Hedging bets GIBRALTARIAN delegates last week attended the Hedge Fund Startup Forum 2015 in Zurich to explain the benefits of the Rock as a prime destination to set up a hedge fund.

Frequent flights BRITISH Airways has announced two extra flights from Gibraltar to Heathrow starting May 1. The Monday and Friday early-morning services takes the number of weekly BA London flights to 11. Minister for Tourism Samantha Sacramento said: “The new flights will allow business-day returns from London on Mondays and Fridays. “It will also allow additional long-weekend break opportunities in Gibraltar by allowing visitors to maximise their stay on the Rock.”

Rato’s Rock secret Disgraced Spanish politician has links to 26 Gibraltar businesses

DISGRACED ex-IMF chief Rodrigo Rato allegedly maintains secret links to 26 Gibraltar-based companies. The former Spanish deputy prime minister attempted to hide links to the string of companies from Spanish authorities, it has emerged. Rato apparently owns two of the companies in question and has strong ties to the others, sitting on the board of directors in many. Accused of money laundering, Spanish authorities have been clamping down on Rato over the last year. During investigations, he has been accused of setting up a

number of businesses in family members’ names in order to launder money and avoid tax payments. According to Spanish media reports, he now also stands accused of failing to declare the extent of his wealth, allegedly hiding a number of offshore companies in ‘tax havens’ such as Gibraltar. As president of Bankia, he was also found responsible for the so-called ‘black cards’ credit card scandal as well as mismanagement of the banking group. Last year, Rato was ordered to pay €3 million to the banking group for his role in the scandal.

Anti-money laundering success GIBRALTAR has been accepted into Moneyval, an anti-money laundering evaluation process, after four years of trying. The government has announced its delight that Gibraltar will now be subject to the stringent evaluation processes

and procedures. Moneyval was launched in 1997 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to assess anti-money laundering measures in member states. Over the past few years, the Rock has been accused of being a centre for money laundering, mostly by the Spanish media and politicians. Officials in Gibraltar and London have been working closely to have Gibraltar included in Moneyval’s evaluation. Intensive negotiations, which began in 2011, ended earlier this year when the UK formally approached the secretary general of the Council of Europe to apply for Gibraltar. This application has now been formally accepted. Finance Minister Albert Isola said: “I cannot stress enough how important this achievement is for Gibraltar in the context of being seen to be at the forefront of two international cooperations. “This is one of the key objectives that we set ourselves when elected and I am delighted that our participation in Moneyval has come to fruition.”

PROBED: Rodrigo Rato

Top Dollar

Champion training Internationally renowned Pitman Training Centre opens in Gibraltar ONE of the world’s most highly regarded professional training centres is relaunching in Gibraltar. The Pitman Training Franchise, based on Main Street, is offering training courses and diplomas for individuals and employers. Courses include general office skills, accounting, touch-typing, PA and social

OFFICE SKILLS: Taught at Pitman Training Centre

media. Project director Brenda Cuby told the Olive Press:

Tax crackdown

All you need is

‘Bringing music to your ears, and Gibraltar to your screen’

Autumn on GBC TV includes: ‘City Pulse’ with Jonathan Sacramento ‘Viewpoint’ with Jonathan Scott ‘The Sports Locker’ with Paul Grant ‘The Hub’ ‘Rock’s Explorers’ ‘Police Drama 19-2’ GBC TELEVISION

RADIO GIBRALTAR

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GONE are the days when crafty expats could cheat the hard working man in the street by dodging h i s taxes. An international campaign including 51 nations is clamping down on tax evaders and making it harder than ever for them to avoid paying their dues. Spain tops the list of countries ‘aggressively’ fighting this ‘not just illegal but immoral’ behaviour, followed by Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Russia. Participating countries will now automatically share tax information. The CXC Global manager specialist study revealed that the UK did not make the top five of the list and lauded Spain’s effort to be tougher. Chancellor Osborne also claimed that tax evaders ‘rob their fellow citizens’ and should be treated like a ‘common thief’.

Spain stocking up WHILE the Spanish property market recovers and houses begin to fly off the shelves, some properties will not be sold, says rating agency Fitch. There are currently 600,000 brand new but unsold houses in Spain, and the agency predicts that some 150,000 will be ‘practically unsellable’ due to being ‘poorly located’. The properties, which have lost around 67% of their value, are located in areas where the economic recovery is predicted to be slower. On a positive note, the depreciation of properties has stabilised and, with unemployment falling (now at 22.4%), house purchases are on the rise. SPAIN is among 20 countries with more than 1,000 people in the ‘ultra-rich’ bracket. New international census figures reveal there are 1,390 Spaniards with more than €43 million to their name. This puts Spain ninth worldwide, with the USA topping the list of the super rich.

Making millions

EMPTY?: Spanish flats

“The IT courses are especially important for Gibraltar, as so much of the job market here involves computers and there is no other local IT training. “We have mothers returning to work who want to brush up on their skills, students who see it as a more practical alternative to university and anyone who wants to gain an extra skill. “We teach essential skills that are very hard to learn on the job.” Courses vary in length and can be undertaken largely from home or at the centre, which closed down in Gibraltar in June after inactivity. The Pitman Training Franchise has 10 international centres.

Madrid’s Primark fever

HUGE queues snaked down Madrid´s Gran Via at the opening of Spain´s biggest Primark. Bargain hunters thronged to what is the Irish company’s second-largest store in the world, with its five floors, 12,400sqm and 573 employees. The grand unveiling of the flagship shop signals Primark’s new Spanish strategy. The retail giant had concentrated on outlets in shopping malls on the outskirts of urban areas, but is now opening new stores in city centres.

Costa lot less BRITS heading abroad get the best value for money in Spain… and the Costa del Sol is easily the cheapest European destination The Post Office Travel Money service found the Costa del Sol to be the cheapest of 12 destinations surveyed, while Marmaris in Turkey was found to be the most pricey.

C lassifieds

the Gibraltar 24 24

GIBRALTAR

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Olive Press September 17th - 30th

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Christmas in Gibraltar

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Guess who’s (almost) back?

HINT: You might want to start planning for that little thing they call Christmas

O ho ho. No this isn’t a joke, it’s genuinely almost that time of year again. Many people may feel like they’ve only just finished last Christmas’ turkey leftovers, swept up the remaining pine needles from their tree and found somewhere to store all the kids’ new toys. But with summer disappearing quicker than water held in cupped hands, it’s time to face up to the reality. Santa’s on his way back, and his elves are working in overdrive to get everything ready. So everybody reading this better get ready too. Paint is now flying off the shelves in Gibraltar, with families sprucing up their homes in time for the big day by giving the walls a fresh lick of a colour. It’s certainly one of the more unusual Gibraltarian traditions; it isn’t Christmas without the smell of paint apparently! But Christmas in the 21st century requires a great deal of advanced preparation and meticulous planning… or - for those who like to live life on the edge - a

FESTIVE: Gear up for Christmas with the Olive Press Christmas Eve dash up Main Street. If you fall into the latter category, may luck be on your side.

For everyone else, make sure to check out the Olive Press Christmas Special next issue.

Columnists

October 28th - November 11th 2015

New beginnings Our new anonymous columnist lifts the lid on life as a Linense, having recently made the dreaded move to the town known as ‘Gibraltar’s doormat’

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T’S the place you were always warned to avoid. If there was a Disney film set on the Costa del Sol, La Linea de la Concepcion would be the dark, evil area in the cloudy distance that is rarely mentioned. And when it is, people look at their feet and shuffle awkwardly. Until one day, a young naïve character explores too far west of his home and stumbles across the town he has been forbidden to enter. And here’s the plot twist. It is nothing like he had been taught. La Linea isn’t gloomy and depressing, the people aren’t monsters and the tapas bars don’t serve up rats’ tails and toads’ eyes. I know it sounds like a future box office record-breaker, but that’s also the best metaphor I could think of for the last few months of my life, in which I have departed conventional expat territory for the not-so-glamorous La Linea. My friends tried to stifle looks of horror when I said I was moving to Gibraltar’s doormat, but I quickly realised there’s a lot more to life here than those on the Costa del Sol think there is. There are many charming squares decked out with quirky bars and some

Child’s play

of the best tapas bars I’ve found in Spain, plus a couple of not-too-shabby beaches. But La Linea’s defining feature is its powerful expat contingent; the Gibraltar workforce. Is there anywhere else in the world where such a large percentage of the residents go to work in a different country every day? People from all over the planet and from all walks of life have wound up in La Linea, crossing back into Spain after work each evening with a big smile, knowing that their daily wage has just increased in value by a third. And La Linea has grown to cater for its social niche. The nightlife here is buzzing year-round, unlike the two months a year in my previous home of Estepona. There is a busy Wednesday night language intercambio, live music events and an Irish pub which stays open ’til the early hours. Now it wouldn’t be a proper Disney storyline without meeting some kind of princess, mermaid or Pocahontasfigure… so it’s off to the Irish bar for me I guess. I’ll let you know how that pans out.

How I broke the first rule of a peaceful existence… childcare

S the theatrical saying puts it so succinctly, ‘Never work with children or animals’. It’s a motto that pretty much sums up the single male lifestyle philosophy that has carried me, more or less successfully, into my late 40s. Admittedly I do have a cat, the infamous 50 Shades, but she wasn’t so much a lifestyle choice. She just rocked up at the Casita one day, had a look around and decided to stay, much to the local rodent population’s dismay. But apart from that, I have managed to resist the temptation to get any other pets. The same goes for children. The only pitter patter of tiny feet that I hear around the Casita on a regular basis are either the aforementioned rodents in a desperate attempt to flee 50 Shades, or serve as a timely reminder that I really should clean up the kitchen as there are some seriously large ants making off with last Tuesday’s pasta. (In common with most single males, there are some items that haven’t just formed cultures at the back of the fridge. They’re actually advanced civilizations with their own languages. Last year’s Christmas Stilton growls at me when the fridge light goes on). Though I may not have children of my own, I am Godfather to two delightful girls - I play my Marlon Brando ‘el padrino’ role to great effect, and am unofficial Wicked Uncle to several

others. I’ve also made it a point of principle to try to be nice to all kids, especially if their parents are strapping Scandinavians or Dutch. Not being the tallest person on the planet, by the time some boys reach their teens they tower over me, and I don’t want to be the victim of some savage revenge because I wouldn’t let them watch Peppa Pig when they were five. Which leads me to my latest adventure.

Gallant

The Hottie Hippy was stuck without a babysitter for the weekend recently and had to attend an exhibition for her work. Judging by the WhatsApp messages I received from her, ‘work’ seemed to involve an awful lot of corporate dining. Being the gallant chap I tend to imagine I am, I said that I’d, ahem, ‘bolster my reputation’ (and it needs all the bolstering it can get at the moment, trust me) by looking after her sevenyear-old son for the night. Said seven-year-old has a bit of a reputation for being what you

DENNIS THE MENACE: A cartoon Satanito? might euphemistically call ‘a bit of a handful’ or ‘boisterous’. When I mentioned that I was looking after the child (whom I can’t name for legal reasons, so I’ll just call him Satanito) my social media was flooded with the type of valedictory messages not seen since those sent to men going on active duty to the Russian Front. All went well at the beginning, with a male bonding session of hamburgers and driving games on the PlayStation. But the fast food diet and video gaming came back to haunt me... I took Satanito down to the rugby club to watch England get thrashed by the Aussies and on my return, went through my usual ritual of getting out of the 4x4 and walking around the

front to unlock the main gate. As I fumbled for my keys, I heard a small voice yell, ‘I’m going to kill you’ and looked up to see that Satanito had undone his safety belt, clambered onto the driver’s seat and was manically sawing away at the steering wheel. The fact that my 4x4 is automatic, the engine was running and all he had to do was knock the gear stick down to flatten me meant that I let out a blood curdling cry as my life flashed before my eyes. (Though when you’ve had my Rock n Roll lifestyle, that bit was rather entertaining) Satanito shot out of the driver’s seat into the back, and I reflected that I really should work with safer animals. Like Great White Sharks...

ED G IT IB IO N

the Gibraltar - June the PressPress JuneJune 11th -11th June 24th 24th 20152015 29 29 www.theolivepress.es www.gibraltarolivepress.com 29OliveOlive

FOOD & DRINK

October 28th - November 11th 2015

Cruising ahead A

S I sip a fabulous Gin Mare at the bird’s nest bar to the stern of the Sunborn Hotel, I can’t help but think this was a masterstroke. High above the Friday night throng of Ocean Village, there is a distinct sense of calm and, above all, privilege. Overlooking lines of yachts and up onto the green slopes of the Rock, the terrace of the La Sala restaurant brings a whole new experience - and indeed focus - for diners and night owls in Gibraltar. A much needed addition to the rapidly growing marina scene, this is an undeniable masterstroke for the Marbella restaurant group, now nearly a decade old. The fifth in a chain of quality eateries, owned by a string of professional footballers - including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shay Given and Raheem Sterling - this could well be the best yet. Opening the restaurant aboard

The new La Sala restaurant in Gibraltar is really making waves thanks to an expected sprinkling of glitz and glamour, writes Jon Clarke the former cruise liner, now a five star hotel, brings enormous prestige for the group headed up by expat businessman Ian Radford. We step inside after our aperitif, to find a buzzing dining room of glamorous guests, dressed up for a special occasion, a business dinner with clients, or romantic night out. One of the most original cover bands I have heard for years, the La Sala Project, are belting out songs by the Clash and Cure and Kings of Leon and Kaiser Chiefs, in a clear salute to the stars of the recent Gibraltar Music Festival. We are led to a grey slate velvet banquette with a good view of the stage and quickly thrust a comprehensive, detailed menu.

STYLISH: A string of footballers own La Sala

A wine list has a good mix of Spanish and international wines and we are guided towards a Pesquera crianza that had a wonderful bouquet and consistence. So far so good, the menu throws up a large range of the La Sala classics that thrill diners in Marbella, San Pedro and back in London. A glass of gazpacho arrives with some nibbles and soon a beef salad of rocket and mixed leaves with hoisin sauce, pesto and olive tapenade, is working well as a starter. Following on, a parcel of smoked salmon is generous to the point of lunacy. For mains we opt for the standout dish of lobster and prawn linguini, plus my favourite crispy duck pancakes. The amazing caramel cheesecake is the perfect finish, rich and easily enough for a family of four. Soon we are back out on the terrace enjoying the midnight air and noticing how the earlier hubbub below is slowly settling down. Thankfully, we can enjoy a decent nightcap before heading back to our great value prebooked room on the boat below. All in all a fabulous evening, setting up perfectly a Saturday morning’s sightseeing around the Rock, one of the fastest growing and affluent economies in the world… and plenty to see for the tourist.

All aboard

SHIP-SHAPE: Sunborn Hotel in Marina Bay

THE five-star Sunborn Hotel arrived in Gibraltar a year ago to a fair degree of cynicism. A massive former cruise liner, there were plenty sceptical that it would not take off, with visitors and tourists preferring to lay down their heads at the more historic Rock Hotel, or La Caleta. However, it has slowly come into its own and become a useful hub for tourists and businesses alike, that find the location superb. There is a definite sense of glamour arriving into the clean retro lobby with its huge glass disco ball/planet hanging above and jazzy marble floors. Being five-star you are quickly helped by a porter and reception staff are polite and efficient. Best of all though are the rooms, which make clever use of light, as well as the stunning maritime location overlooking lines of yachts and towards shimmering views of the Serrania de Ronda. Technology is paramount with everything focussing around a touch screen and the curtains opening by touch. Mood lighting is good and the sheet quality excellent. On board you will also find a casino, gym and, of course, beauty parlours plus various places to eat, drink and generally be merry. All in all it was great to be aboard!

GLAMOROUS: The Sunborn yacht is possibly the classiest venue in Gibraltar

LAST CHANCE IN 2015 If you really, really, really love me... I know, I know... I’ll book Molino del Santo And there are some very special deals for readers of the Gibraltar edition of The Olive Press. Yes - I know - we just need to e.mail the hotel mentioning this ad : info@molinodelsanto.com - rooms at up to HALF PRICE

ThankYou!...

...from Andy and Pauline and all the staff at Molino del Santo for making 2015 another very special season. We treasure hundreds of great memories from 2015 and so many lovely things have been said to us. We consider ourselves so lucky to be supported by such very lovely people. We hope to see you before we close on the 15th November 2015 and if not, from the 4th March 2016.

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More information of any kind e-mail

info@molinodelsanto.com

www.molinodelsanto.com | info@molinodelsanto.com | +34 952 16 71 51

ESTACIÓN DE BENAOJÁN, NEAR RONDA, MÁLAGA When you need to escape the busy life in Gibraltar, you know where to head

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FOOD & DRINK with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

As Spain’s 17 best baristas did battle in Malaga to be crowned the nation’s champion, Tom Powell and Iona Napier added a little sugar to proceedings

HE crowd is transfixed, the judges are scribbling furiously on clipboards and the air in the auditorium is rife with nerves and the aroma of coffee. But instead of the chemical tang of Mercadona’s stock instant powder, this is unequivocally the best coffee in the country. I’m at the café con leche equivalent of the Copa del Rey, a two-day coffee-making championship, with the 17 best baristas from Spain battling it out to be crowned the nation’s finest. The Olive Press sent me down to drink in the atmosphere, sniff out the winners and sip on the tension. So far so good, except for one tiny, unimportant titbit of information: I don’t drink coffee. “Do you have anything descafeinado?” I ask tentatively at the hectic, free-sample corner, where I daren’t mention tea. The baffled barista points at a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries. “Fine, you’ve forced me into this. Forget the fact I am pretty much a medical danger to myself under the influence of caffeine. I’ll have a cappuccino.” And it was sumptuous. Frothy, hearty, smooth… the Cristiano Ronaldo of cappuccinos, a 50- goals-a-season sort of coffee. Wired, ready and with a chocolate strawberry in my hand, I headed to the auditorium to watch the finals play out. Each contestant had 16 minutes to prepare two pairs of coffees, one pair of cappuccinos, one nonalcoholic combination and one alcoholic combination. Sounds tough? Not for these pros. There were fancy splashes of alien liquids, sticks of cinnamon, grated nutmeg, syrupy syrups, chemical contraptions straight from Frankenstein’s lab and – last but not least – some actual coffee beans. But the baristas also had to talk the 300-strong audience through the entire process, and what’s more, they even had to choose their own backing music. However, it appeared the dj might have had one too many caramel macchiatos, with the erratic volume increase on an Ed Sheeran hit drowning out all other noise in the arena. Angry gesticulations from the entire left-hand side of the audience soon had him sheepishly turning the volume way back down, so we could once again hear exactly what coffee-tastic surprise was being brewed in a particular test-tube. Around 200 professionals competed in nationwide events to earn a place at this final, held in the impressive Palacio de Congresos, so they have a right to be annoyed if the music’s too loud. But by this point, there are just six remaining, fighting to be crowned winner of the 10th edition of the event hosted by the Forum Cultural del Café. Forum’s former president, Josep Casayas Puig, tells me: “This event is all about promoting coffee culture. “Last year’s winner, who came from Asturias, was sent to Uganda on holiday to learn how they produce coffee beans. This year the prize is a week in Colombia.” The judges are all experts from around Spain, many of whom have previously competed in the event. One from Barcelona, Isaac Sancho, also runs a coffee blog. “Every year there are more people at this event; Spain is getting more and more excited about coffee,” he reveals. “It’s the second most consumed drink after water after all!” He’s right. The nation does appear to have woken up and smelt the coffee when it comes to, err, coffee. There is a surprising amount of 16-18-year-olds who are study catering at college, and are desperate to see how the experts do it, taking photos, notes and a lot of free samples.

Cuppa del Rey

GOLD BLEND: A Barista shows off and (inset) the Olive Press’ Iona Napier and Tom Powell tuck in

FULL OF BEANS: Dancers drink up before performance

COFFEE SHOP & RESTAURANT

Respectable

The event ends with a bang as Damian Seijas, again from Asturias, wins the FA cup of coffee thanks to some stunning concoctions. (If only I’d got to try one…) Andalucia’s own Rani Aouam came a respectable third, with the man from Valencia, Javier Carrion, bagging second spot. Seijas also received special prizes for the best artistic latte and the best ‘special drink’. On this evidence, coffee-lovers need to pack their bags and head north to Asturias for their morning brew! Now where can I get a decent cup of tea…?

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