Mallorca Olive Press Newspaper – Issue 8 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

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PALMA Aquarium has blasted the plastic pollution harming Mallorca’s marine life. In a damning interview its conservation boss insists the problem is ‘getting worse’ and there is an ‘urgent need’ to tackle it or face seeing hundreds more turtles, sharks and dolphins die. It comes after the Olive Press revealed that the authorities are being probed over the alleged illegal use of plastics in the expansion of the Muelle de Ponent port in Palma. “The rubbish we find in the sea is just horrendous,” Aquarium director Debora Morrison told the Olive Press. “It is very rare we do not find a turtle that is not affected by plastic. “Seven years ago one of the major problems was fishing hooks. Now most of our animals - I would say 90% - are entangled in plastic or ropes. “We had one this week with a quarter of her shell missing. She was wrapped up in a massive ball of plastic and ropes. We operated on her yesterday.” She added: “It is definitely getting worse.” Morrison’s team has been subcontracted by the Mallorca government to rescue and rehabilitate turtles, sharks and dolphins since 2014. And as the summer months bring tourist crowds to the island, the problem of rub-

Dad’s joy on being reunited with daughter, 7, after church ‘abduction’ EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

A MALLORCA-BASED dad has thanked the Olive Press after he was reunited with his seven-year-old daughter after she was ‘abducted’ and taken to a Norwegian church by his ex-partner. British expat Dominic Shepherd, 40, said he was ‘elated’ after winning back Maia, six months after Tonje Bjornsen, 37, fled to the church seeking ‘asylum’ with their child. As we reported exclusively two months ago, Bjornsen ‘abducted’ Maia and her 10-year-old brothers, Tobias and Christian, last year after claiming she was going to Norway to visit her sick mother.

Recordbreaking flights SON Sant Joan airport is set for its busiest ever day this week. A record 190,000 passengers and 1,117 flights are due to land or take off this Saturday, with a plane landing or arriving every minute. “From June to September we have more flights than Madrid and Barcelona,” said airport boss Antoni Planells. This summer, 18% more Germans have flown to the island, with a 14% increase in British visitors and 5% more Spaniards.

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August 3rd - August 16th 2017

As the show on everyone’s lips drew to a close, our romeo reporter Joe got an exclusive look at the Love Island mansion SEE PAGE 6

Continues on Page 5

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Saluting Hugh

Remembering civil war academic Hugh Thomas

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Spycatcher

CMY

Find out more on page 13 XX

June 9th - June

22nd 2017

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MALLORCA PROPERTY

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June 9th - June

22nd 2017

MALLORCA CLASSIFIEDS

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BRAVE: Ignacio Echverria and (top) Sergio Farina

TRUE HEROES

A PAIR of Spanish heroes came to Londoners the aid of attacked by three crazed terrorists at the weekend. Ignacio Echeverria and Sergio stepped in to Farina save the lives of innocent bystanders caught up in the carnage that killed seven and injured 48. It has now firmed thatbeen conIgnacio Echeverria, from Madrid, who defended a woman from the terrorists one of , died in the attack. Echeverria, said to have 39, is his way homebeen on skate park on from a urday night the Satattempted to when he woman with defend a board in his skateBorough Market. He was last seen lying on the pavemen t.

Onslaught

In a second incident, a heroic Spanish put his life on waiter the line during the onslaugh t. CCTV footage Sergio Farina, shows PLEA: Dominic from Shepherd with Galicia, throw himself EXCLUSIVE kids against the door By Joe Duggan bar to prevent of his AN expat has the knife-bra one of made an urgent ndishing appeal to have terrorists from Choking back entertears, the Brityear-old daughterhis sevening. ish expat, continued: from a Norwegian returned He managed “I am just concentrat worship in February. ing on keepter his ex-partner church afthe man fromto keep ing my head together ran off with Despite Shepherd entertheir child. holding’ her ing, because those before kids need a dad. daughter from winning joining custody of their Heartbroken the door to opening We just want Maia her twin brothers help anborn children, three British- Mallorca. Don’t miss our herd, 40, is Dominic Shepother person in a normal back so we can live Bjornsen is not C’an Pastilla involved in life.” allowing his daughter find special nightmare battle “I’m numb, a safety. His ordeal began but the boys Maia to with ex leave Spjelkavik Tonje Bjornsen, “You do not when Bjørnsen last August, Church in make me strong,” Shepherd, even think Ålesund. sought ‘refuge’ 37, after she Page 13 an IT expert, about it,” he with the children, left Spain in the place of based in Santa said, “I She now faces ostensibly Ponsa, could have simply for a holiday, es in Spain forcriminal charg- “I’ve hadtold the Olive Press. left, as everyone the island for after living on ‘illegally withnothing but support from friends I would havedid, but However two three years. and family.” people behind.”left 28 received a call weeks later he He added that ner to say she from his partwas not coming could see was ‘all he back. with dynamite a guy Mystified, the ’ as distraught he tried to lower dad was forced to the bar DE MALLORCA windows’ shutters. Convention to use the Hague win legal cusHe added: tody of their children. “We did not know how But despite terrorists there many dicts in his three court verfavour, he was MORE and whether were forced to travel they would return.” revenue with to get his childrento Norway Dozens of pedestria Tel: 951 979 221 Bjornsen refused back after German clients! | sales@oaklandfurnitu ns to return were mowed them. respain.com Put your ads in down by a van on After picking Bridge before London EL AVISO Tobias and up the two boys attackChristian from ers stabbed school, he was newspaper! a police officer learn Bjørnsen stunned to and revellers around their daughter had fled with Market with Borough day is this week- whose birthCONTACT US See our adverts 12-inch - to live in a knives. local inside church. Ave de Gabriel Roca 971 619 234 More than “I was utterly 4, Palma 661 901 290 in a critical 20 remain said Shepherd,lost for words,“ condition. Info@el-aviso.es who has spo Spy Garbo’s links

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Desperate dad’s fight to win seven-yearback Norwegian old daughter from church asylu m

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FLASHBACK: June 9th were. “But I told her it seems to have worked and it was the angle we wanted to go in on these are British citizens and they have been abducted illegally’.” He continued: “Basically people stood up and listened and I’m sure I got more cooperation from the government in Norway because of the press articles.” Maia wasn’t allowed to leave the church to go to school, could only access a swing at the back of the church to play on and passed time learning to play the church organ. “She didn’t have any friends to play with,” said Shepherd. “She turned seven in there. I asked her how her birthday was and she shared it ‘with another girl’. “I said, ‘That’s nice, how how old was she?’ She said, ‘98’.” Shepherd is now hoping to get Maia into the same school as her brothers in September. “It was very emotional when they all met up again. Christian broke down crying and gave her a big hug. They all missed each other. “I feel elated. To have all three back together and see them all grow and develop together. “They shouldn’t have had to go through all this. But I couldn’t be prouder of all of them.” Continues on

FAMILY SELFIE: Maia with dad Dominic and brothers Tobias and Christian ger she was.” Bjornsen now faces two criminal charges in Spain over the abduction case.

Shepherd’s plight was reported exclusively in the Olive Press before being covered in the Mail On Sunday.

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Victorious

Shepherd, an IT specialist, based in Santa Ponsa, won back all three children after taking the case to the Hague Convention, and was victorious in every subsequent custody court battle. But after the doting dad flew to Norway to collect the children in February, Bjornsen hid in the church in Alesund with Maia before Shepherd won a final court battle in July. “It was very emotional when I saw Maia again,” Shepherd told the Olive Press. “There were tears in both our eyes. “I hadn’t seen her for nearly a year. It’s almost impossible to describe that moment when you haven’t seen your own child for such a long time. “There are just so many emotions flowing but obviously just one of huge relief. She had grown a lot as well. It was 16/06/2017 15:36 quite a shock how much big-

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Tongue tied AN American tourist has been arrested after complaining that a Palma Cathedral attendant spoke no English. The woman, identified as Marian. O, allegedly insulted a ticket seller for not being able to speak English as she tried to enter the 13th century cathedral. A security guard told the woman she couldn’t enter the building and called the police. She was arrested for disobeying the authorities after trying to re-enter the Cathedral.

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Paperwork probe CALVIA town hall and police have launched a major inspection of the paperwork in bars and clubs on Magaluf’s main strip. So far over 60 have been fined out of the 103 establishments inspected. Some 66 allegedly do not have the required documents, which includes the lack of complaint forms or outdated fire extinguishers. In total, 18 businesses were reported for infractions such as selling illegal items.

August 3rd - August 16th 2017

Nephew of Tolo Cursach sentenced for threatening witness in uncle’s trial

‘Cocky’ Brit busted with pills

PEDRO Rossello Cursach has been sentenced for threatening a key witness in his uncle’s ongoing trial. Pedro was found guilty after he visited the protected witness’s house and told him: “We know everything. Your judge lives in Forti and walks his dog. Things won’t end well for you.” The judge ordered Pedro to pay a €5,400 fine and suspended his sentence for two and half years on the condition he doesn’t commit another crime.

A BRITISH man has been arrested in Mallorca after officers seized more than 1,000 ecstasy tablets. The 20-year-old suspect was held in Sant Antoni after being seen allegedly driving at high speed and almost striking pedestrians on a zebra crossing in the early hours of the morning.

Cocaine

Denied

Meanwhile, Pedro’s uncle Tolo Cursach has denied allegations against him during a video-link up from prison. Talking from an Alicante jail, the nightclub owner denied threatening a former employee last Friday morning. Cursach faces a string of allegations, including homicide, money-laundering, corruption and making threats. The businessman said his lawyers had advised him not to answer any other questions during the call. A magistrate warned Cursach that failing to talk could mean he was committing a crime. “I feel bad and uneducated, but I’m not going to answer any questions,” he said. The video call came a day after the former director of Tito’s nightclub Jamie Llado tried to

Family affair

ON TRIAL: Cursach is accused of manslaughter, money-laundering and more

discredit a witness who claimed drugs were sold and prostitutes arranged for police officers at

the Palma nightclub. Llado told the protected witness, a former worker at Tito’s: “I don’t know what drives you to say all this. I don’t know what we have done to you. I don’t know you at all.”

Officers gave chase and found the driver had no ID or documentation for the car. He tested positive for cocaine and was found with 16 tablets of ecstasy in a bag, say police. Police raided his home and found 1,010 more pills. It is also alleged that the suspect boasted about selling drugs on social media.

The witness said the drugs supplied by the club had ‘destroyed the lives of 16-year-old girls’. Llado denied knowing the witness, although it was pointed out to him she had worked for five years at Tito’s.

SEIZED: Police find cash, mobile phones, watches and fake ID’s in robbers’ den

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POLICE have arrested nine people suspected of robbing Mallorca tourists. The Algerian men, who are alleged to have stolen luxury watches, were held in raids by Policia Nacional on Monday and Tuesday. Three were held in Port Andratx as they were about to commit another robbery, police say, with the others arrested in Palma hotels during Operation Perejil. A watch worth €15,000 and another worth €40,000 were seized during the raids. Police became aware of their alleged activities when one of the suspects allegedly mugged a tourist for his watch on July 17. Officers suspect the group

Doing time

HAUL: In Marbella

are responsible for the theft of nine watches in Mallorca, but believe they may have carried out more

than 50 robberies in Ibiza and the Costa del Sol in July. It comes after six Algerian men were arrested in Marbella for an identical operation. More than €400,000 worth of designer watches were discoverd during a police raid on their hotel room. The robberies are thought to have been carried out by two suspects who would approach their victim to check what kind of watch they were wearing. One would then grab the watch from the victim’s wrist.

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Looking back in regret?

LIAM Gallagher has revealed that he was so stressed out with his divorce and child custody issues that he almost moved to Spain. The Oasis rocker said his divorce from Nicole Appleton and a custody battle with ex-mistress Liza Ghorbani had a severe impact on him, revealing he almost started things over with a new life in Ibiza.

New life

"I knew that whatever happened with the money I would be left with (after the divorce), I wouldn’t be able to live where I wanted to live in London, so I might have to f*** off for a bit and get a nice place abroad — get a bit of sun, eat some nice food, and try and come up with a plan. Just start again,” he said, “Two years ago I got this close to going by myself. Googling properties. It weren’t f***ing Magaluf - I’m not that broke, but not far off. “My kids weren’t bothered. They were just asking if it would have a pool or not, the cheeky f***s.”

Highly EUlogical STAR Trek star Sir Patrick Stewart has slammed Brexit in a new video. The distinguished British actor spoke out against the ‘disinformation of the Leave campaign to take the UK out of the EU. Stewart was speaking ahead of a pro-EU rally in London on September 9, which is being organised by campaigners People’s March 4EU. “David Cameron didn’t believe we should leave the union. The leave campaign was filled with disinformation and one huge falsehood - the £350 million that was going to find its way into the NHS,” he said. “That £350 million never existed. The people of the UK were misled. Monthly reports are published on the economic impact of leaving the union - and they are all negative.”’

August 3rd - August 16th 2017

New balls, please BORIS Becker’s model wife has jetted to Ibiza without the former Wimbledon tennis champ. Lilly, 41, was seen topless and soaking up the sun at a beach on the party island, with a girlfriend amid rumours of marital woes over money. Becker, 49, was declared bankrupt FORMER Top Gear legend Jeremy Clarkson is back in Mallorca and posting about it on Twitter, of course. Clarkson landed in Mallorca for another holiday in the sun having been to the island many times for work and play. The car buff first tweeted ‘Mallorca is #Lit lol x,’ with apt emojis. Clarkson, a long-time lover of Spain, is known for his banter on Twitter and often replies to strangers and fans.

3 COUPLE: Boris and Lilly

by a British court last month, over an outstanding loan to a group of bankers. The German former player asked for a final chance to repay the debt by remortgaging his Mallorca villa. But Lilly didn’t look like she had a care in the world as she frolicked in the sea without Becker.

A dab of this..

Jeremy Clarkson shows off ‘dabbing’ skills on Mallorca break

Strange

Clarkson then posted a photo of himself 'dabbing', the trendy new dance move pose, with the caption "Dab on it wagwan x." Many have commented on Clarkson's strange dabbing tweet, including his daughter Emily who replied, “WHAT IS HAPPENING?”. Since then some of his family have joined him in Mallorca, and he’s again tweeted to fans, “It’s BARE hectic in #Mallorca with da fam.” Clarkson later posted a photo of girlfriend Lisa Hogan working out in a black bikini facing the Mediterranean. ‘Still can’t play tennis though,’ he quipped below the Instagram post. The next photo posted showed Clarkson sipping from a glass of white wine with the message, ’Weirdly, can play tennis’.

HAPPY: Enrique and Anna

Meet the parent

Full Disclosure THEY are bound to be some of the wildest club nights of the summer. But this hasn’t stopped the brothers behind massive UK dance group Disclosure from inviting their parents over for their Wild Life residency at Ibiza’s DC 10 club. The Croydon lads Guy and Howard will appropriately jet out their folks for one of the August shows that run at the hip venue every Friday. “it’ll be interesting to see what they make of it,” said Guy. Disclosure, who blend soul, jazz and 90s hip hop, shot to fame when they released their debut single Moshi Moshi to critical acclaim last year.

ENRIQUE Iglesias still hasn’t introduced his girlfriend to his father despite being with her for 16 years. The Spanish heartthrob said his tennis-champ partner Anna Kournikova and record-selling singer father Julio Igelsias are rarely in the same country. “They still have not met, no,” he said, “They have to meet at some point.”

Marry

He added that he has no plans to marry Kournikova. “We’re just as happy. There comes a point when you’ve been with someone for a certain amount of time that I beleive that you are like, married. “I guess the only difference is that we haven’t walked down the aisle.”

Eva fever EVA Longoria has visited Mallorca with husband Jose Antonio Baston. The stunning actress was on a Balearic break where she attended fundraising events for her Global Gift Foundation charity. After appearing at the organisation’s Ibiza fundraiser, Longoria, 42, jetted to Mallorca where she was spotted sightseeing in Palma with Baston. The American star later attended the Global Gift Gala in Mallorca’s capital city.

Vicky’s poolside passion VICKY Pattison and boyfriend John Noble were spotted in a steamy clinch during a Mallorca break. The Geordie Shore stunner and her fiance enjoyed a poolside snog while sipping a bottle of champagne. Vicky, 29, was previously engaged to fellow Geordie Shore reality TV celebrity Ricci Guarnaccio, before the affair ended in 2013. “‘It almost felt like decisions had been made. I’m not the same girl,” she said. “I’ve got an amazing man, I know he’s right and I won’t let any past mistakes affect how I view John and my desire to be with him.”

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Attacked A GROUP of British tourists have attacked a cameraman in the Martinique Hotel. The victim was punched and kicked repeatedly and suffered damages to the eye.

Back and forth WORKERS at Palma airport are being flown to Ibiza everyday for shifts due to worker shortages.

Arrested A TOURIST has been arrested at Palma Cathedral ticket-office for violently shaking a clerk after becoming frustrated at their inability to speak English.

A police presence THERE will be more police at Palma airport passport control following an agreement between unions and police chiefs.

Punter charged €1,200 for damage he claims was already on Record Go rental EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

A MALLORCA expat is taking legal action after being charged €1,200 for damage he insists was already done to his hire car. Johannes Strydom-Roth, 56, rented a Mercedes through Record Go at Palma Airport last September. Arriving around midnight, the German real estate agent made sure he took time-stamped photos of the contested dents to the left-hand bumper as proof after being told about the damage. He then politely refused Record Go’s insurance offer of €293,

August 3rd - August 16th 2017

Taken for a ride! DAMAGED: Rental car instead putting down a €1,200 credit card deposit with the company in case of damage. However, after returning the car 12 days later in the ‘exact same condition’, he was

Heatwave MALLORCA sizzled this week as temperatures reached a red-hot 41 C on Monday. Meteorological agency Aemet raised its alert to orange in the south, centre and north east of the Balearic prepares for the hottest temperatures of 2017. In the Levante area, the mercury reached 39c, with the Tramuntana region experiencing a comparatively mild 36C. In Menorca, the temperature hit a height of 37 C with Ibiza and Formentera around 34 C. Temperatures are predicted to dip slightly towards the end of the week, with a maximum temperature of 37 C on Thursday and 36 C on Friday.

shocked to receive two emails saying he had been billed for €596,34 and €377,71, as well as €162,19 for causing damage to the car. “I am very angry how dare they,” he told the Olive Press. “I am not a rich man and have been taken for a ride like. “When I complained, they then sent me a photo of the car dated from October showing exactly the same damage.

“It is obvious they are ripping me off and probably other people as well.” Strydom-Roth has now contacted a lawyer, who said he could take the case to court for €3,000. “He first sent the company a letter but they replied completely denying it,” he continued. The letter from Record Go to his lawyer, seen by the Olive Press, said: ‘We have no doubt the damage was caused by your client.’ Strydom-Roth has since received a refund of €162.19 from Record Go after they said he had been charged twice for damage but he is still pursuing the rest of the money. A Record Go spokesman told the Olive Press: “We have received a letter from a lawyer representing the client and to whom we responded.” Have you lost out to the Hire Car companies? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es

Bad tourist blacklist MALLORCA hoteliers are preparing to ‘name and shame’ tourists who are ejected from their establishments. In an unprecedented move, blacklists of badly behaved holidaymakers are being compiled and shared by hotels. The lists show the culprits’ full name, passport number and other relevant documentation and the reason they were thrown out of the hotel.

Expelled

One list already circulating, the Olive Press understands, names nine Dutch clients expelled for damaging rooms and throwing a bed from the balcony. Another circular names two Germans who threw furniture from their hotel window. Six other tourists were given their marching orders for ‘destroying their rooms’, with another group hurling ‘a chair from the sixth floor onto a plaza’. It comes after yet another summer where badlybehaved Mallorca tourists have made headlines across Europe.

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Save our sealife

EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

Sheep shock OUTRAGED Mallorca residents are demanding action against two local farmers they claim are mistreating sheep. It comes after 20 badly malnourished sheep were allegedly found by Guardia Civil officers at the farm of Sa Indioteria farmer, Toni Feliu, although the animals have not been seen since, neighbours claim. A denuncia against the farmer lists ‘a lack of shade, water and the presence of a dead animal’ among various infringements. “The sheep were simply removed one night since and we don’t know anything about these poor animals,” a local resident told the Olive Press. Meanwhile, in Lloseta, campaigners claim a second farmer is separating ill and old sheep from the rest of the flock and leaving them to die without food. According to the Animal Association of the Balearics (ASSAIB) the sheep were left unsheared in the heat wave, ‘with nowhere to shelter and without food or water’. The group said their plight had been dealt with by local residents who brought a little food.

CONCERNED locals have blasted the authorities after raw sewage seeped onto Palma’s beaches. It comes after lifeguards at Playa Ca’n Pere Antoni raised red flags and told swimmers to leave the sea due to the amounts of effluent last week. Meanwhile, one mother told the Olive Press her young daughter had suffered itchy eyes and skin after swimming in dirty water at La Gaviota near Molinar, this week.

Sewage

The mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said there was ‘clearly’ sewage in the water yet there were no red flags in sight to warn bathers. “The water smelt and looked horrible,” the mother told the Olive Press. “But there was nobody there to warn children and parents not to go in the water. “My daughter arrived home yesterday with very red eyes. She says they are itchy. She hasn’t had red eyes all summer and she’s underwater all the time. When she found out red flags were up at Playa Ca’n Pere Antoni, she called the police, who advised that everyone at La Gaviota must leave the water and they would close the beach. She added: “This problem is

August 3rd - August 16th 2017

Continued from front

Locals hit out as sewage pollution taints Mallorca coast after heavy rains

It stinks!

SICKENING: Raw sewage being released into the sea not new, but it hasn’t happened in peak season before, so tourists will be unaware. “What I don’t understand is why wasn’t the news of the red flag published at 10 am when the flag was raised? “No-one knew why there was a red flag until lunch time or speaking to lifeguards.”

A spokesperson from EMAYA, the company which looks after local water, said beaches were closed ‘due to a discharge of water from the treatment plant’ after heavy rain during the night. One leading Mallorca environmentalist, Bartomeu Rosselló, told the Olive Press the

GROSSED OUT: Popular beach is being ruined by raw sewage, claim locals

School praised THE British Balearic College has been recognized by Cambridge International Examinations as an official school. The Cambridge Primary, an education programme taught in more than 1,000 primary schools worldwide, will be taught in the school.

island’s system for water purification could be ‘breaking international law’. The environmental engineer has blamed the Spanish government for not providing funds to upgrade the treatment plant. “The government of the Balearic Islands have asked for funds for a new water purification system, but Madrid is not interested,” he said. “We have a system from the 1980s. We are stuck with an obsolete system and the problem is getting worse. I think it is breaking international law. “The problem is when it rains the system can’t distinguish between sewage and rainwater and it all ends up in the sea.” Swimmers entering dirty water can develop diarrhoea and vomiting, he added. In 2006, Rosselló filed a denuncia with the European Commission over the matter, ‘but nothing has been done’. He also pointed to the damage being done to Mallorca’s underwater posidonia plants by pollution and crowded seas.

bish polluting the sea only gets worse. It comes after the Olive Press joined environmentalists to investigate the serious leak of 20,000 tonnes of molten plastic onto nearby shores to the Palma port works, last issue. In the same week, Morrison’s team was unable to save a shark that washed up on a Mallorca beach with a seven centimetre hook in her. “The shark was catatonic and dehydrated,” she explained, as she showed us the hook on her desk.

Rubbish

Morrison, originally from Leicestershire, has worked at the Aquarium for ten years and lived in Mallorca for the past 40 years. “I think plastic pollution is a particular problem here because our resources are not managed,” she continued. “We are a population of 1.3 million but in five months of summer we receive 13 million people, which generates a lot or rubbish. “Plastic bags dropped in the street will end up in the sea. We need to change our habits.” She has also called on the government to recycle plastic on the island instead of shipping it to Barcelona. “I think that would help solved a lot of problems,” she said. “And the costs of transportation are high. “It would be more sustainable and could be made into sunglasses or picture frames here.”

Drownings increase

So far this year, 15 people have died from drowning in the Balearic Islands. Overall in Spain 305 victims have been claimed by the sea. July saw almost a third of the entire year's drownings, due to such an increase in people in the Mediterranean.

The Litter Bug cleaning up our beaches

Interview by Gillian Keller

FTER a heavy night drinking while living in Australia, Ben Cattell tossed a cigarette butt off his balcony and promptly fell asleep. When the now Mallorca-based Brit woke a short time later, firefighters were arriving to put out his neighbours’ blazing shed, connected to the smoke-filled home where the family with children were sleeping. Although no one found out he started the fire, that was the beginning of Ben's journey to be an environmentally responsible citizen. This passion has now led to him launching his own cigarette dispenser system, which is gaining worldwide attention. Originally from Haslemere in England, Ben, 25, and his girlfriend moved to Mallorca 18 months ago, attracted in particular to its beautiful scenery. While walking the dog at beauty spot Es Carnatge he couldn't help but notice the rubbish, plastic and cigarette butts littering the paths and beaches. “Every piece of litter would bug me,” Ben tells the Olive Press. “And being British, it's our God-given right to complain about everything,” he continues adding though that complaining often gets you nowhere. “You either get used to it, or you do

Expat - who once started serious fire by accident is now leading positive environmental campaign

something about it,” he adds. One day while on a camping trip in the south of the island, he was shocked with the amount of rubbish. He picked up a large bag and filled it with waste. That is also the moment he whipped out his phone, took a photo and created the growing instagram account, The_Litter_Bug. Ben returned to his local village in Playa de Palma and started the 'Ciggy Trap Challenge' by making homemade butt bins out of plastic bottles that now hang near bus stops and beach entrances. “People put cigarette butts on the ground every second of every day,”

says the former smoker. “I personally owe the Earth nine years of cigarette butts.” So far, Ben has put up almost 30 homemade cigarette dispensers all along the south-east coastline, many of which are of bright colours and have catchy phrases. His target is to put up 100 'ciggy traps' by the end of the year. Between the homemade traps and the hours he spends each week cleaning the beaches, parks and paths, Ben has picked up at least 15 litres of cigarettes butts since he started the campaign. The traps have the hashtag #CiggyTrapChallege which encourage others to post themselves on instagram using the cigarette disposal bins. Ben has had both locals and people across the globe following his account and posting their bags of rubbish and ciggy traps to him. A California woman with the handle

BeachinBagLady on instagram is one of his favourite beach rubbish accounts to follow. “It's not a political issue, everyone agrees that plastic bags don't belong on the beach,” Ben continues. He is also careful to only be light-hearted and even humorous with his posts and trap slogans. In both English and Spanish, he makes sure he doesn't shame people, but rather uses wit. Keep an eye out for bottles reading; 'I'm an ash tree, not an ash tray,' hanging from a tree nearby. “I'm a big believer in practising what you preach, and that's how The Litter Bug started, lead by example,” Ben adds. His goal is to inspire people, ‘to spend just one or two hours a week to make the world a better place, whatever that means to each individual person.’

ECO-WARRIOR: Ben Cattell

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OPINION Sewage woes EXPATS and locals across Spain seem to be facing a similar problem; raw sewage washing up on the beach. How, in this day and age, have we not figured out a way to prevent fecal matter from washing up where children are playing? Let’s hope the Balearic and national government clean up their act and get something done. God knows what diseases could be picked up!

Loving father So it’s fantastic news to hear Shepherd has won back custody of his youngest child, Maia. Obviously this is mainly down to the hard work of Shepherd’s lawyers and to his own unflagging determination to see justice done. But in highlighting the family’s dilemma, both the Olive Press and then the Mail on Sunday hopefully helped shine a light on a glaring wrong done to a good man and his young family.

Plastic problems THE alarming revelations from Palma Aquarium’s Debora Morrison that most marine animals they are called out to rescue have been polluted with some form of plastic should give us all cause for concern. The mania for plastic bottles of water in Palma is just one example of how human wastefulness can contribute to the crisis. And as the island’s population swells in the summer months, the issue only worsens. It behoves us all to take greater care of our plastic usage. The health, and the future,of the beautiful Mallorca waters we all enjoy depends on it. Depòsito Legal PM: 610-2017

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Olive Press tracks down site of hit ITV show Love Island, near quiet picturesque Sant Llorenc, by Joe Duggan

T has been the TV sensation of the British summer. And while Love Island may have closed its Mallorca doors once more, the gates to its Casa Amor are very much open. The swanky four-bedroom country pad real name Villa Alchemy - located along the Ma-3323, can be bought for a cool €2.8 million. With a 14-metre swimming pool, a private vineyard - with lemon and orange trees - the property has been on sale since April last year, listed with Zoopla and available with Chestertons. The sales pitch describes it as ‘one of the most stylish homes to have been built in Mallorca in the last 20 years’. It may have been in Mallorca for a few years, but during the series, the Love Island villa's exact location was the subject of intense debate. Situated around two miles outside Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, the site was strictly patrolled by a crack team of security guards when the Olive Press tracked it down. But the location of the main villa, where the show's final was filmed, was a couple of hundred metres up from Villa Alchemy along a dirt track. A show insider told the Olive Press a stream of fans and tourists had sought out the villa in the hope of catching a glimpse of the reality-TV stars. “One woman drove up with her two

So long,

Love

Island

A local bar owner said spotlights from the show lit up the sky like a nightclub young children and pleaded to be allowed in as she had spent a lot of money travelling to Mallorca,” the source said. He also revealed that cameras showing a live feed of the show had been turned off prior to the final to maintain utmost secrecy. One local bar owner in Sant Llorenc des Cardassar said spotlights from the show had lit up the sky 'like a nightclub'. Before the final, Love Island staff and guests gathered at a private party in village bar Sa Cova, said by locals to be a popular meeting spot for the programme's crew over the past few weeks. The private party, which was closely guarded by security, was strictly out of bounds for those arriving without an invitation. The town itself, nestled near the hilly Levant Peninsula, is a sleepy little idyll, a quaint jumble of winding roads and traditional Mallorquin houses. Situated in the island’s north-east, some 60 km from Palma, it has around 3,000 inhabitants. The main square, Placa Nova, holds the beautiful Parish Church of Sant Llorenc, which contains a 13th century Romanesque sculpture and a gothic statue of Our Lady and Jesus, hewn out of local Santanyi stone. Those in search of a high-class meal should look no further than the nearby Bou, situated in an old flour mill which, in 2004, became the first Mallorca restaurant to receive a Michelin star. Head chef Tomeu Caldentey (pictured

STUNNING: Love Island villa hidden near beautiful Sant Llorenc town (below)

top), promises ‘A grand cuisine performance In three acts’ and the menu, a blend of local Mallorca classics and experimental techniques, certainly demands applause. Other sites of local interest include Son Carrió’s Church of Sant Miquel, Romanesque-style chapel with a fan-shaped rose window designed by Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia architect Antoni Gaudi. Close to Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, Son Carrió’s bakeries are also famed throughout the island for their traditional pastries. And its train station, recently renovated, is well worth a visit, too. Mallorca’s second city, Manacor, is the

main hub on the eastern side of the island and is home to a thriving artificial pearl industry (it’s also the birthplace of one Rafael Nadal, who still lives here). Here, you can visit two pearl factories, where the handmade precious spheres are made to such acute detail only experts can tell them apart from the real thing. For cyclists and walkers, the Via Verde from Manacor to Arta offers a scenic path through some Mallorca’s Tracing an disused railway line, the path cuts through Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, Son Carrió and Son Servera. There is something for everyone in this corner of Mallorca. Apparently a TV show was even filmed around here, too.

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Ahead of this month’s Chopin festival we look at how the Polish composer and his lover, writer, George Sand found themselves in Valldemossa, by Joe Duggan

Fe at u r e

Winter in

HiS month, classical music enthusiasts will flock to Valldemossa for the annual Frederic Chopin festival. The concerts, held in the elegant cloister of the village’s Monastery, pay musical tribute to one of the region’s most beloved adopted sons. Famously, Chopin and his lover, Romantic novelist, George Sand escaped here in 1838. Despite the much-cherished link, it was not an idyllic retreat. Sand left France for Mallorca in search of warmer climes to help her 15-year-old son, Maurice,who had rheumatism. The writer had two children and was separated from their father when she eloped to Mallorca with the Polish composer. Arriving in Barcelona on November 7, they set off for the Balearic island that was to become their new home. Initial impressions were certainly favourable. “I’m in Palma, between Palm, cedar, aloe, orange, lemon, fig and pomegranate trees; the type of trees that will never grow in The Garden of Plants there in Paris,” glowed Chopin in a letter.

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Promised land

ARTWORK: Portraits of Chopin and George Sand “The sky is turquoise, the sea blue, the protested with all his might – and he was mountains emerald, and the air? The air is right to – against the childishness of such as blue as the sky. The sun shines all day aural imitations. His genius was filled with and people are dressed as in the summerthe mysterious sounds of nature, but transtime, because here it is hot.” formed into sublime equivalents in musical Sand, originally referred Mallorca as the thought, and not through slavish imitation ‘promised land’. But with accommodation of the actual external sounds.” hard to find in the capital, they headed inMany critics believe the composition Chopin land to the 16th century town of Valldemwas playing to Sand that stormy night was ossa. Soon afterwards, however, they were The Raindrop. kicked out of their lodgings because of Sand herself saw the Preludes as inspired Chopin’s lung condition,their landlord conby their surroundings. They conjured ‘vicerned about contagion. sions of dead monks and the haunting It was not an auspicious start, but things sound of funeral chants’, she wrote in her got worse. Moving into the abandoned famed novel Winter In Mallorca. It was an memoir History of My Life. 13th century monastery that Sand used as enmity the locals repaid in full, refusing to In January 1839, despite his sickness, Choa writer’s studio,they found that the build- sell Chopin and Sand supplies, such was pin was ready to dispatch his new composiing’s thick walls, effective at keeping out their suspicion of the composer’s chronic tions to France. "Dear friend,” he wrote to the raging Spanish summer heat, encour- lung ailment. the virtuoso pianist Camille Pleyel. ”I am aged an icy chill in winter. With no heating, Sand was finding the environment unconsending you the Preludes. and a savage winter gripping the island, the ducive to her craft. Far from spending her “I finished them on your cottage piano couple soon found Mallorca was not the all- days writing, she was left nursing Chopin which arrived in perfect condition in spite of year-round sunshine haven they had hoped and looking after her children. the sea-crossing, the bad weather and the for. As the wind and rain made the roads The arrival of Chopin’s Pleyel piano was Palma customs." from Valldemossa impassable, the couple yet another arduous chapter. Taking three found themselves effectively isolated in months to arrive, the prized instrument was transported by donkey after arriving in their new home. Palms. His beloved Pleyel was load“We lived in the middle of the ed onto a ship in Marseille, with By February, it became apparent that Choclouds, and fifty days had Chopin receiving instruction he pin’s health was deteriorating. Throughout passed without being able must pay a 500 franc import their winter on the island, his state of welldescend to the plain; the charge. In the meantime, being had been a constant theme in letters roads had become torChopin had hired a local to friends. rents, and we did not piano which, according to “I get no sleep. I can only cough,” he wrote. see the sun,” Sand latSand, ‘gives him more vexaThree doctors had visited Chopin during his er wrote. tion than consolation’. short spell in Mallorca, one in Palma diagIt wasn’t just a physiWhen Chopin’s piano arnosing TB - ‘the first said I was dead, the cal disconnect. Social rived after being held in port second that I am dying, and the third that exclusion from the confor a week it was the subject I'm going to die’, he remarked with gallows servative villagers deepof the villagers’ wonder. A humour.’ ened Chopin and Sand’s sketch by Sand’s 15-year-old The couple packed their belongings, and sense of marginalisation. son, Maurice, shows Chopin headed back to Paris in order to save ChoSand, a cigar-smoking diplaying for a crowd of astonpin. They left on the ferry El Mallorquin vorcee renowned for openly ished onlookers, who appear bound for Barcelona, their fellow passenconducting affairs, was fond open-mouthed in awe at what they gers 200 seasick pigs.The captain refused of wearing men’s clothes, an u n are hearing. to allow the clearly unwell Chopin the best thinkable outrage in deeply bed for the crossing, complaining he would Catholic 19th century Mal- LOVERS: Chopin and Sand Despite his worsening health, Chopin composed Prelude have to burn it if he did. lorca. Whatsmore, the cou[Op.28, No.15] (which, given After two weeks in Barcelona, they boarded ple’s refusal to darken the door of the loLe Phenicien back to France.The couple’s cal church further scandalised locals. Their the inclement weather he endured, is aprelationship began to unravel. Chopin, horCarthusian monastery,with monks’ cells propriately known as The Raindrop) and rified at Sand’s cruelty towards her daughcells’ Nos. 2 and 4 reputedly where Sand Ballade [Op.38] while in Valldemossa, the former’s mournful air said to mirror Choter, Solange, refused his partner’s demand and Chopin stayed, became an outpost. that he never speak to the girl again. Chopin “This is the devil's own country as far as the pin’s mindset at the time. died destitute aged in Paris on October 17, post, the population and comforts are con- One night, after Sand and her children had 1849, two years after breaking with Sand. cerned,” lamented Chopin in a letter from returned home in a howling gale, Chopin exclaimed ‘ ‘Ah! I knew well that you were The couple’s conflicted relationship with December that year. Mallorca remain a source of fascination, Removed from the creative circles they dead’ . While playing to her, Chopin claimed with tourists still flocking to the Valldemmoved in in Paris, where the bohemian pair to have had a vision. ossa museum erected in the memory of the were at the heart of a ??? movement, there “He saw himself drowned in a lake. Heavy three months they spent on the island. was precious little to link them with their drops of icy water fell in a regular rhythm on his breast, and when I made him listen to "His first days here were ones of great happinewfound surroundings. ness," said Mallorca pianist Joan Moll. "They Sand was scathing in her assessment of the sound of the drops of water indeed fallproduced works that are intimate, contemthe benighted Valldemossa inhabitants and ing in rhythm on the roof, he denied having plative and as luminous as the landscape. their entrenched social mores,referring to heard it,” she wrote. “Then he realised his sickness was incurthem as ‘’barbarians’ and ‘monkeys’ in her “ He was even angry that I should interpret this in terms of imitative sounds. He able.”

Deteriorating

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Dali exhumed

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what’s on

welcome end to ‘brutal ollenca AuBE ‘APPY! gust 5, Music anachronism’ Festival as Madrid Drawing in lovers of music, the music festival vows to will host styles from fine to classical. One show is retaliate on August 5, but there

are more throughout allour app now and Download of August. Balearic Island’s parbegin enjoying the THE best Spanish liament has banned harmon the go. ing or killing bulls during rta - news August

6, Fiesta Sant Salvador

bullfights. But Madrid has warned Lasting all day, this festhe Spanish government tival will have triathlons, may fight the new law in fashion shows, races, Spain’s Constitutional parades and parties. Court. Spain’s Constitutional a Pobla - AuCourt had previously ruled The Olive Press gust 11, Jazz the country’s autonomous Festival regions did not have the Enjoy jazz in theTOP openfor air news in Spain! power to ban bullfightings at Plaça Major Sa Pobla. outright.

There are also seminars for jazz musicians and an art exhibition to compliment the music.

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Taunting

But with some 30 Balearic towns voicing opposition to bullfighting, the new measures have been welcomed by Humane Society International (HSI) director general Joanna Swabe. “Taunting and killing bulls for entertainment is a brutal anachronism and so this is a very satisfying victory for compassionate policy making,” said Swabe. “Rather than allow the

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of bullfighting in the region, a cross-party group of politicians got creative

Stretch of the imagination SPANISH artist Cinta Tort Cartró is painting over stretch marks in a bid to battle body image issues. Inspired by her own experiences and struggles with body image, the Catalan artist, 21, aims to celebrate aspects of the female form that society deems shameful as well as tackling racism and xenophobia by painting and photographing women of different races. “I grew up feeling sometimes out of place. I'm tall and big, so it's important for me to state in my art that everyone is beautiful and those 'flaws' are not that,” she said. “They make us unique and special.” You can see Cartro’s artwork on her Instagram page @zinteta.

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to effectively ensure that the torture of bulls for public entertainment is relegated to the annals of history on the Balearic Islands.” She added: “This vote shows a full ban is not strictly necessary to end the practice of bullfighting, and that compassion can win the day.” New legislation states only three bulls rather than six should be introduced to the ring, with each animal only in the ring for ten minutes.

SALVADOR Dali’s body has been exhumed for DNA tests in a paternity case. The surrealist Spanish artist had his remains disinterred during a four-hour operation in Figueres in Catalunya. It follows a claim by a woman born in 1956,María Pilar Abel Martínez, who claims her mother gave birth to her after having an affair with Dali. If true, the woman could claim part of Dali’s estate, which is currently owned by the Spanish state. It is thought tests on Dali’s remains could take weeks to clear up whether the artist is Martínez’s father. Martinez, a tarot card reader, brought her case against the Spanish state after claiming her mother, who worked as a cleaner in nearby Cadaques, had an affair with Dali the year before she was born. She claims both her mother and her grandfather told her Dali was her father. Last month, a Madrid judge ordered the painter’s body should be exhumed for testing. Historian Ian Gibson believes it is ‘absolutely impossible’ that Dali could have fathered a child as he had claimed to be impotent. Dali died in 1989 in Figueres and was buried in a tomb in the museum dedicated to his work.

Parliament

Horses are also to be banned from Balearic bullfights, with alcohol consumption also prohibited. In 2016,the Balearic Islands Parliament voted to ban bullfighting and bull fiestas. Miquel Jerez of the Partido Popular rejected the new Balearic law. "The national government has warned that nine of the fourteen articles in the legislation are unconstitutional,” he said. The Spanish Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn CAtalunya’s 2010 bullfighting ban had delayed the bill’s passing. An 2013 HSI poll showed only 29% of Spaniards were in favour of bullfighting.

Ocean in motion A BALEARIC environmental group is fusing music and protest to raise awareness of pollution. Oceanic held its first event on July 20 in Ibiza, blending DJs, conservationists, musicians and celebrities to battle sea pollution. It hopes to bring its message to more cities in the coming months. “Before you saw congas,groupers, sharks, crabs, seals,” said Oceanic organiser Manu San Félix. “Now we are exhausting the ocean. We treat it as if it were a bank account and we are taking everything out but putting nothing back in.”

Almodovar salutes Spanish War dead families PEDRO Almodovar has dedicated his first Platino award to ‘hundreds of thousands’ of families searching for relatives killed in the Spanish Civil War. The Oscar-winning director was accepting a Best Director award for his new film Julieta at the Platino Awards ceremony in Madrid. During his speech, he said he was shar-

ing the honour with those ‘who continue searching for their ‘disappeared’. “They say that to search and open graves where our disappeared remain is to open wounds,” said Almodovar. “It is to close them [wounds], it is as simple as that, it is to close wounds and to end once and for all our awful Civil War.” Thousands of Republicans executed by

Franco's Nationalist troops are in unmarked graves across Spain. The Association For The Recovery of Historical Memory has led the way in trying to locate the graves and identify victims' remains. During his speech, Almodovar also criticised Donald Trump’s plans to build a wall along the Mexican border.

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Literary

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English-speaking writers keep falling for Spain’s charms. Joe Duggan looks at some of the best authors over the decades

PAIN has captivated wave after wave of English-speaking writers for generations. Even now, with so much written about every corner of its magisterial landscape, Spain’s rich traditions and sorrowful past are a siren call to artists from rainy northern climes. Popular, modern-day writers like Britain’s Chris Stewart and the Anglo-American Jason Webster, are re-introducing readers to Spain’s allure, as the country weaves its spell on the next generation. It’s far from an unrequited love affair. In a relationship stretching back centuries, expat historians, journalists and novelists have left an indelible and invaluable stamp on Spain’s cultural map.

Labyrinth

Indeed, Gerald Brenan, with books like South of Granada, the Spanish Labyrinth and The Face of Spain, cemented his place as perhaps the most authoritative voice on Spain, albeit one with a clipped British accent. The perspective of British writers like Brenan and Hugh Thomas, following the Civil War, was crucial in forming an accurate historical analysis of the bloody conflict and its aftermath. With Spanish historians and scholars neutered by Franco’s vicious suppression of free speech, British writers fixed a powerful beam on the Generalissimo’s murky regime. Here is our guide to ten of the best British and Irish writers on Spain.

Michael Jacobs THE art historian, travel writer and hispanophile Jacobs was one of Britain’s foremost writers on Spain. A bon viveur, he settled in the Andalucian town of Frailes, writing his much-loved Between Hopes and Memories: A Spanish Journey and The Factory Of Light, set in the village he had come to call home. His final, unfinished work was a book on Spanish art, focusing on Velázquez’s masterpiece, Las Meninas, and his relationship with it. As he was dying of cancer, he pointed out the irony of the the darkened figure in the background of the painting, quietly exiting the scene up some stairs. He died in 2014 aged 61.

Jimmy Burns Staying with Barcelona, Burns’s lifelong passion for the Catalan football giants is given vivid expression in a superb labour of love. Barca: A People’s Passion is a forensic examination of the club’s history, tragedies and glories, both sports book and historic account. Burns is a committed cule (the name given to the club’s fans comes from the

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August 3rd - August 16th 2017

Robert Hughes

ART critic Hughes’ peerless Barcelona is an aria to this most elegant of cities. Avoiding the fiery civil war years, his meticulous research and acute observation cast a magisterial eye over the Catalan capital’s 2,000-year history. In the city’s transexual prostitutes plying their trade, Hughes divined Barcelona’s endlessly rich spirit of reinvention. He warmly evokes nights spent in bustling working-class restaurants around the fisherman’s quarter Barceloneta in the 1960s, and vividly recalls the then-seedy Placa Real where you could feel ‘the germs mutating’. But it’s the sheer historical scope of Hughes’ book that so impresses.Tracing the city from its Roman roots, he explains how Catalan developed from the class of Latin conquerors who settled in the area. Barcelona’s art, architecture, its struggles with Castilian and foreign monarchs and the surge in Catalan nationalism are all given generous attention in Hughes’ scholarly masterpiece.

George Orwell

George Steer

HOMAGE To Catalonia is a typically Orwellian sneer at the absurdities and hypocrisies of war. An early volunteer to the Marxist POUM, Orwell was initially energised by the anarchist revolution he encountered on arrival in Barcelona in December 1936. ‘When one came straight from England the aspect of Barcelona was something startling and overwhelming,’ he wrote. ‘It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle.’ Dispatched to the front, Orwell describes with a journalist’s detail the squalor, fear and boredom of life as a soldier. While

TIMES journalist Steer was the first reporter on the scene after Hitler’s Condor Legion eviscerated the ancient Basque market town of Guernica. Filing his copy the day after the 1937 massacre, Steer was quick to point the blame at the Nazis, identifying Junkers and Heinkel bombers and fighters as responsible for dropping more than 3,000 incendiary bombs before machinegunning fleeing victims. The overall death toll is estimated to have been as high as 1,500. Franco denied the bombing was carried out by nationalist forces, ludicrously blaming the massacre on the Republicans. Steer’s detailed on-the-scene account for the Times and the New York Times was a bold repudiation of Franco’s lies. Four days after reading it, Picasso began painting his iconic Guernica.

there, he was shot and wounded in the neck. While recovering, Orwell was in Barcelona again during a key moment in Spain’s Civil War, where he watched the bullets fly between rival leftist factions

Catalan for ‘arse’, he reveals, as before the Nou Camp was built, fans’ backsides would hang off the walls of small stadiums). The club’s motto, Mes Que Un Club, is examined by the journal-

on the Republican side from the rooftops of the Ramblas. He was forced to flee Spain with his wife for fear of being assassinated by Communists. The book remains a key firsthand document of the war.

ist as he talks extensively to fans, players and officials connected to the Catalan titans. Barca has, over the years, become a political and social phenomenon, at times acting as an engine of social change and a symbol and forum for dissent. The club’s emergence from a group of English, Swiss and Spanish players, the 1936 assassination of president Josep Suñol and Barca’s reawakening with Johan Cruyff's arrival are all brought to life by Burns in this excellent account.

LEGEND: Steer and (below) destroyed Guernica

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11 11

YOUNGER DAYS: Legendary author Laurie Lee

Laurie Lee LEE’S autobiographical As I Walked Out One MidSummer’s Morning is a lyrical paean to Spain and to one young man’s questing wanderlust. Landing in Vigo in 1935, Lee encountered a country unmoved by centuries of European progress but on the brink of changing utterly.

Ian Gibson IRISH scholar Gibson has devoted much of his life’s work to examining the murder of poet Federico Garcia Lorca. During 60 years in

Washington Irving THE American writer travelled from Madrid to Granada in 1829, taking up residence in the dilapidated Alhambra. Irving, who had won fame as a short-story writer, was enchanted by the fading glory of the Moorish Palace and the Andalucian city which had remained largely unchanged since the15th century. Irving had travelled to Spain to research his book, A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, which was published in 1828. Moving on from Madrid to Granada, his Tales of The Alhambra hit bookshelves four years later. Irving’s collections of short stories conjured a magical image of the Alhambra which endures to this day.

Spain, the Dubliner has interviewed giants of Spanish life, writing books about Salvador Dali and assassinated political leader Calvo Sotelo, among others. But it is for his definitive work on Lorca that Gibson is most instantly associated. Publishing the first of five books on the Granada poet in 1971, Gibson admits he was forced to bend the law in his pursuit of what happened to Lorca, who was shot dead near his hometown shortly after the Civil War broke out. Pretending he was a professor of botany, the scholar bravely walked into one military office demanding to see a map of the area where Lorca was shot. His most recent book, Aventuras Ibericas, was published this year and examines his love affair with Spain. Part travelogue, part memoir, it draws on Gibson’s rich experiences during six decades writing and working in Spain.

Devoured

Armed with nothing more than a violin, he was almost devoured by wolves in Galicia and just about survived the flaying heat of Castile’s sun-scorched plains as he headed south on foot. Sleeping rough and busk-

ing for money, he gained a unique insight into a coun-

John Hooper HOOPER’S The New Spaniards is essential reading for anyone interested in how Spain flourished in the years following Franco’s 1975 death. During two stints as Spain correspondent for Fleet Street, Hooper assembled the information to write perhaps the most definitive account of modern-era Spain. In his foreword to the book’s third edition, Hooper illustrates the extraordinary changes that swept over Spain in the 20 years after democracy was restored. He wrote: ‘A predominantly rural society has become transformed into a mainly urban one. A dictatorship has become a democracy. One of the world’s most centralised states has been made into one of the world’s most decentralised. A society that was intensely sexually repressed has become notably permissive. There has been a revolution in the roles of men and women. ‘Other countries have undergone several of these transformations but I know of none that has experienced them all, and in such a brief timespan.’

try on the brink of war. When Spain’s toxic political brew reached boiling point, the young British writer witnessed a tax inspector chased from an Andalucian village by enraged peasants, then the accidental bombing of the village.

Bombing

He was evacuated by a British warship from Gibraltar shortly after war broke out. Controversy surrounds Lee’s account of his time in the International Brigades in A Moment Of War, with some Brigadistas denying he was present at some of the events he describes.

Richard Ford OXFORD-EDUCATED Ford’s 1845 A Handbook for Travellers in Spain, and his 1846 follow-up Gatherings From Spain, are regarded as benchmarks in the travel genre - 19th-century Rough Guides for Britain’s moneyed classes venturing south. Ford struck out in an era when Spain’s inhospitable terrain had yet to be mastered by concrete, tarmac or rail track. Riding on horseback, he journeyed the length and breadth of the country. From Galicia to Granada asnd the Basque Country to Badajoz, he spent four years delving into every aspect of Spanish life. From its cuisine and wine, and from bandeleros to bullfights, Ford was a true pioneer in promoting Spain’s wild exoticism, a frontier land about which little was truly known by his fellow countrymen.

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THE Olive Press is giving away three pairs of tickets for two of the best concerts on the Costa del Sol this summer... And all you have to do is answer two sim-

ple questions! Michael Bolton takes to the stage for an emotive end of season night at Marbella’s Puente Romano on August 10, while Estepona is set for its biggest rock concert in years with mammoth EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore

Doctors and dentists join Olive Press appeal for ban on dangerous painkiller Nolotil EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore

one month to knock down their only property (pictured above). In a court order seen by the Olive Press, the Wards are warned they will be held criminally responsible if they refuse. “I don’t know what to do anymore, I’m at the end of my tether” Gill told the Olive Press, “I’m totally exhausted from the whole ordeal.” The retired pair, who have now spent thousands of euros on legal costs, bought the old farmhouse ‘in ruins’ in 2004, and were given permission from Velez-Malaga town hall to rebuild it. But when the original wall collapsed of its own accord during construction, the Wards’ architect told them it would be fine and that he would let the town hall know. Unfortunately for Continues on Page 8

THE Olive Press is calling on Spain to ban a lethal painkiller that is killing countless of unsuspecting expats. British dentists and doctors are supporting the ban after Briton Graham Ward, 75, complained to the Olive Press of how he was prescribed the deadly Nolotil drug by a dentist last week. It’s the very same drug that was blamed for killing his wife in 2006. The Marbella-based expat was furious when he was told to take the painkiller by his Spanish dentist, after suffering from a difficult abscess. His wife Mary, 59, had died after being prescribed the same drug following a double vasectomy at Costa del Sol Hospital. “Within 24 hours she was in intensive care, her white blood cell count plummeted to zero within days,” explains Graham, a former computer technician, from London. She never regained consciousness and was on a life support machine for FOUR months, before spending three years fighting the impact of the drug, which led to organ failure. “The chief surgeon at the hospital promised me he would never prescribe that drug

tribute bands Think Floyd, Deeper Purple and Whole Lotta Led rocking out the greatest hits of Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin at the Plaza del Toros on August 26. For a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Bolton, just answer the question; what year was Michael Bolton born in? For the Pink Purple Zep Fest in Estepona, just tell us; Where was Jimmy Page born? Email WIN WIN WIN: Bolton and Pink Purple Zep Fest tickets answers to the newsdesk@theolivepress.es.

KILL THE DRUG

Need for more research

Dr Nina King, of Oasis Dental Care in Marbella, fully supports the campaign, telling the Olive Press the drug is not something she prescribes. “It’s not a drug I use, I stick to safe and standard medication,” she said, “And after seeing what damage it can do, it’s a drug I won’t be using in the future.” Marbella-based private doctor Dra. Victoria María Chacón Almeda also agrees the drug is dangerous. “I don’t prescribe the drug,” she told the Olive Press, “I have lots of British patients and I am aware of what it is capable of doing. “There needs to be a lot more research on its impact.”

HAPPIER TIMES: Graham with wife, and Billy Smyth

again. “He said she would be alive if she hadn’t taken it, but I have heard from dozens of Brits and Irish who have been given it,” added Graeme. It is the third victim of the drug the Olive Press has reported on in under a year. Sometimes known also as

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Metamizole, Nolotil is banned in the US, the UK, Ireland and most of Europe, but it is prescribed widely in Spain. ‘Billy’ William Irishman Smyth was given a five-day course of the drug in February. But when the 66-year-old returned to a different Spanish

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doctor to get a renewal in April, tests showed the drug had caused a toxic poisoning in his bone marrow and his white blood cell was dangerously low. keen a Billy, sportsman, developed sepsis and necrotising fasciitis as a result and required ‘radical surgery’ to remove the affected tissue in an attempt to save his life.

The dad-of-two later died from septic shock – believed to be linked to taking the Nolotil. BritAnother ish expat Hugh Wilcox was prescribed the same for medication shoulder mild pain on the Costa del Sol. He developed severe head Continues on Page 2

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A BRITISH expat couple are fighting to save their Malaga home from demolition over a technicality. Gill and Bob Ward, both 74, have been locked in a battle with their town hall, which claims their house in Almayate is illegal. Just yesterday the retired couple from Cornwall were given

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RECYCLING bins have been installed on ALL beaches in Gibraltar. Some 26 recycling units have been placed on all six beaches, with each containing four bins - a yellow one for plastics, cans and tetra brik containers, green for glass, blue for paper and cardboard and black for other general waste. The initiative forms part of a plan to increase recycling rates and reduce littering. The bins are being serviced daily and additional, larger recycling and general waste bins are also available on all beaches if the smaller units are full.

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202-204 Main Street Mob: 00 350 The Gibraltar Olive 56523000 July 19th - August the Rock’s original olive press 1st 2017 Gibraltar info@century21gibraltar.com Press is celebrating its community Red, newspaper white 50th issue. throughout. See and We have come a long FREE a message from way in just over two publisher Jon Clarke years and we have inside been proud to be SEE PAGE 6

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FORMER deputy chief minister Keith Azopardi has said he will consider running for leader of the GSD after rejoining the opposition last week. “I have rejoined to play my part in any renewal of the party to the extent that the current leadership, MPs, the Executive and members desire,” he said. Meanwhile, others anticipate party founder Peter Montegriffo's return. “If Peter Montegriffo stands I will support him,” said Azopar-

di. “If he does not then I will consider throwing my hat in the ring.” Another rumoured contender Damon Bossino, has not confirmed whether he intends to stand for leadership. It comes after former leader Daniel Feetham announced his resignation from the post earlier this month due to 'personal family reasons.' Roy Clinton has taken over in the interim until a permanent leader is chosen.

GIBRALTAR GIBRALTAR July 19th - August 1st 2017 BUSINESS CLASSIFIEDS

GIBRALTAR PAGE 22 GIBRALTAR July 19th - August GIBRALTAR 1 1st 2017 1 August 2nd - August 15th 2017 BUSINESS CLASSIFIEDS CLASSIFIEDS 1

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original newspaper www.century21gibraltar.com newspaper www.century21gibraltar.com www.century21gibraltar.com community Century21 Tel: 00 350 200 51020 Century21 FREE Vol. 3 Issue 50 www.gibraltarolivepress.com Century21 Tel: 00 350 200 51020 202-204 Main Street Tel: 00 00 350350 20056523000 51020 Augustnewspaper Mob: Vol. 3 Issue FREEFREE 2nd - August 202-204 49 www.gibraltarolivepress.com Main Street 15thMob: 201700 350 56523000 Vol. 3 Issue 49 www.gibraltarolivepress.com 202-204 July 19th - August 1st 2017 Main Street Mob: 00 350 Gibraltar Gibraltar 56523000 July 19th info@century21gibraltar.com - August 1st info@century21gibraltar.com 2017 Gibraltar www.century21gibraltar.com info@century21gibraltar.com Vol. 1 Issue 1 www.gibraltarolivepress.com

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Politicians call for to be permanently British Royal Navy gunships stationed in Gibraltar defiant National Day during speeches

DEFIANT calls battleships to be for British Navy stationed again By Tom Powell Gibraltar have been in made during a raucous National got the biggest Day rally. cheer, when he A group of 11 British sisted inlivered rip-roaring politicians de- again the Royal Navy should - once - have battleships speeches focussing on recent tensions ly stationed in Gibraltar.permanentand backing Gibraltar’s with Spain “The people of Gibraltar right to selfdetermination. are a part of the Great British family and I would The Casemates crowd like to and white – echoed – a sea of red hend see a battleship here to appreany Spanish ship the patriotic sentiments as Chief to illegally enter British waters,” Picardo delivered Minister Fabian Democratic he said. Unionist MP Ian centering around the final address, added: Paisley “These are a salute to the ‘evacuation generation’ waters, this is our our international PARTY MODE: of 75 years Gibraltarians ago. our people and country, these are inflatable barbary celebrate National we must support Linking it to the macaque Day with them.” current refugee crisis engulfing Europe, “We will never surrender “National Day he vowed to help as much as will never ever this rock!” he roared in a rousing diminished. In fact, be cent years plea that ‘sharingpossible under the After due to its environmental it will only get waving a letter ofaddress. is caring’. bigger. We stand impact – took place. But it was Conservative ‘best wishes’ together, red white from and free!” he bellowed. Then, as the crowds MP for finallythe Queen, the Chief Minister Romford, Andrew gazed up at the Following the speeches, vowed to Rosindell, who red and white speckled Day celebrations increase National the tradi- Turner’s tional releasing in years to come. Simply the Bestsky, Tina which has causedof the balloons – through the blasted controversy in resound system, signalling the start of an almighty party.

Blown away

The Rock’s leader was talking alongside his lawyer wife Justine ahead of his at National Day, key speech ‘most significant one of the He told the Oliveever’. Press: “It is particularly auspicious this year with the day commemorating the 75th anniversary of great evacuation as well as comingof the Rock, in the week the Queen becomes the UK’s longest serving monarch.” A highlight of his watching Kings of week was Leon at the Gibraltar Music Festival. “Not at the front have got crushed,”as I would “But I was blown he joked. I saw everyone’s away when hands in the air for Sex on Fire, the best rock song of the As for a date forlast decade.” election contest, his first rebe on November rumoured to “The only person 20, he said: who knows is my wife.”

200 44885

Lisa Brown suspect found adrift on boat in the Atlantic EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore

A SUSPECT in the Lisa Brown case has been found adrift in the Atlantic. 71-year-old Ron Beasley, from Wales, was found drifting 200 miles off the coast of Portugal. The sailor, who has a wooden leg, was said to be so disoriented he was unable to recall his name when an Italian catamaran crew came across his shipwrecked yacht, the Doolou. His ship was drifting without electricity or engine power in a busy shipping path and was at risk of being mowed down by a freighter.

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A THIRD British man arrested over pat Lisa Brownmissing exhas fled to Portugal on boat, it can behis grandson’s revealed. The Olive Press to the Welsh has spoken who confirmed pensioner, currently ‘living that he was in a Portuguese port’, but refused to give further details. Ron Beasley, he had broken71, confirmed ditions, which his bail conrequired him to report to San Roque police every day, but had been forced to leave Spain to escape the clutches of the ‘Costa del Sol drug mafia’.

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England rugby international holiday scam demands website that netted nearlyaction over sophisticated €50,000 from him

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THE Olive Press is demanding action against a string of fake holiday falsely advertisingrental sites las across Spain. luxury vilIt comes after we reported last issue that scam daysvillas.com site RentholiBritish tourists was conning sands of euros out of thoueach year. One of its victims Dean Schofield Rugby star nearly 50,000 shelled out fraudulent villa euros for a In total, Britishbreak. victims lost €8.16 million in holiday scams last year, a year-on-year rise of 20%, claims the British Travel Association of Agents (ABTA). OLIVE PRESS – 70mm x 40mm FRONT COVER

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A PAIR of Spanish heroes came to the aid of Londoners attacked crazed terrorists. by three Ignacio Echeverria and Sergio Farina stepped in to save the lives of innocent bystanders caught up nage that killedin the carseven and injured 48. Fears however are now growing for Ignacio Echeverria (pictured top left), from Madrid, EXCLUSIVE ed a woman who defendBy Joe Duggan the terrorists. from one of Echeverria, RUGBY star to have been39, is said Dean Schofield is urging action home from a on his way after mauled in a the Saturdayskate park on sophisticated being day shakedown. holihe attempted night when Wasps international a woman with to defend (above) and Dean board in Boroughhis skate38, were setwife Gemma, both Market. He was last other stories break to Spainto take a dream the pavementseen lying on emailed the came up. When we celebrate the with friends to ily have beenand his famEngland internadealing with person we’d been unable to tional’s retirement. locate him sent an abusivecalled ‘Flavio’ he SCAMMED: But the vacation the Spanish despite calling email back. Holiday group “Luckily we nightmare after turned into a were in a fortunate hospitals. consulate, and and (right) position where The group fake site with 16 from Cheshirethe group of The Red Cross we could arrange an alternative scam, via only rumbled the “We profile stolen unwittingly booked via made an appeal has also from Oz agent still get villa and com, the day rentholidaysvillas. foundwere very angry when the flight day website a fraudulent holito locate before they flew. him. we out,” if we were from over. But what a horrible homes on thethat has dozens of Olive Press Gemma told the Costa del Sol. ily and couldn’t a normal famthis week. “It weren’t sure moment and we In total, scammers what to do. was “We afford to come? We were at Onslaught started Googling took payment and the holiday.”least able to salvage it and (£5,000) deposit of €5,700 Rentholidaysvillas.com The group had and €11,400 (£10,000) come across US-based stunning six-bedroom is hosted the fore swiping respectively beby with warned as server GoDaddy, which villa with a huge pool (£26,000) for another €29,800 was and law enforcement by a leadinglong ago as April of got in touch and grounds and on alleged have processes la in Mallorca,their stunning vilfraud When asked holiday rental site the scam anyone which is owned for taking The websitevia email. by a wealthy believes in why it was GoDaddy Digital British owner. still live thisSpain. ed they should they have been action. If credible and looked extremely week, Contact defraudCrimes boss contact law explained: of its alleged even had a photo Ben Butler, enforcement.” “We communicate your owner, ‘Flavio and email local police and Action nandes Davila’, Herregularly who did the Fraud you’ve been newsdesk@theolivepress.es gotiating. nescammed. if “I must confess we did think it was a bit was, and it incheap for where it fact rents for more,” admitted a lot 1987 Gemma. Thankfully, Patience a Santo! of adults and the group of eight 2017 are still oneight children who holiday are The Olive Press trying to reclaim now JOINING their money toasts the 30th as the booking three decade anniversary was made via CLUB! credit card. of two of Andalucia’s a yet leading hotels, The website despite beinghowever is still live, Santo and Sunset Molino del reported to its hosting company web Beach Club by the Olive Press and to The website UK police. CELEBRATIONS: boasted that ‘you Inside

In a second roic Spanishincident, a hewaiter put his life on the line during the onslaught. CCTV footage shows Sergio Farina, from Galicia, throw himself against the door of his bar to prevent one of the knife-brandishing terrorists from entering. He managed man at bay, to keep the ing the door before opento help another person find “You do not safety. about it,” he even think have simply said. “I could one did, but left, as everyleft 28 peopleI would have He added thatbehind.” see was a guy ‘all he could with dynamite’ as he tried to lower the bar shutters. He added: “We did not know how many terrorists there were and whether they would return.”

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We have now discovered many other websites similar fraudulent running schemes, including Spainvipholidays.com, Luxurydreamsvillas.com and www.digitaldreamsholidays.com. Top-end properties bella and Sotograndein Marare being marketed by the scammers at massively reduced prices to lure Helle Heredia,victims in. from Costa del Sol-based rental firm Novasol, said she to 30’ recent had heard of ‘25 cases of people being scammed there are ‘many but believes more’. “It’s so scary with these scam sites - they pop up with just one purpose; of robbing people of their money in the most important time of everyone’s year - their holidays,” she said. “It is too easy to make a website today - just be tempted by ensure not to by companies fantastic offers heard about. you have never Don’t let scam-

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However, he insisted he is entirely innocent wrongly dragged and was into the investigation over missing Brown, who mysteriously vanished November 4, 2015. Beasley was pals with Lisa’s boyfriend at mon Corner, the time, Siboat engine to.who he sold a He was pulled in for ‘withholding information’, alongside Stephen Jackson and Corner, are still underboth of whom “I was held investigation. for three days and grilled constantly,” del Sol drug he He says theymafia’. told the Olive in Alcaidesa port. had anythingPress. “If they be a police believe he could “I’m just gave me a guy on a boat have charged they would being docked informant after ing to try- they said24 hours to leave or enjoy the easy they would slit it’s ridiculous, me by now, who work in close to people mind my my the drugs trade I told them own business. life, I throat.” everything I know,” “But they came to me and He added: “They think I’m Speaking on grass, if I go a mobile from back to Spaina his boat in Portugal, I’m a dead man.” ed: “The last time he addHe claims I saw Lisa was on November pleaded withhe has been Lisa’s sister, 1, (three days before the British Helen Jordan, Embassy for family will never when I askedshe vanished), body had not help, but noquit until 50, has insisted her her if she had behind bars. got some antiques returned his It comes two those responsible are calls. I had delivered to her Corner was months after Simon Lisa’s sister home. “If I knew where claimed she ing €10,000.released on bail, paycould not comment would have told Lisa was, I directly “We are Lisa’s about his involvement. the police.” He is now involved voice now and never stop Helen Jordan, will tussle with Spanish in a legal Jordan toldpushing for answers,” “We just want 50, said: have his passport police to “The people the Olive Press. the truth and him to tell returned. The Swansea-born is are living who know where she authorities will maybe the who has a wooden expat, then help you. They are normal lives among him.” leg and needs heart walking your and are dangerous.” streets claims he was medication, Police fear If you have forced to leave La Linea home beforeshe was murdered at tion contact informaby the ‘Costa her body was out to sea. Press on 951 the Olive thrown 273 575 or at newsdesk@theolivepress.es

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Mosquito had delivScreens ered to her home, and that’s all I know. 286 Main Street Gibraltar, where Lisa was, I GX11 1AA The Kaskazi managed to tow “If I knew (+350) 200 75913 have told the police.” the yacht to the Portuguese would info@mayfaironmain.gi He is now involved in a legal www.mayfaironmain.gi coast, 13 hours away tussle with Spanish police to have his passport returned. The Swansea-born expat, who needs heart medication, claims he was forced to leave La last time I saw Lisa was on NoLinea by local criminal groups. vember 1, (three days before He says they believe he could she vanished), when I asked her be a police informant after beif she had got some antiques I ing docked close to people who work in the drugs trade and illegal dealings in Alcaidesa port. MAYFAIR “I’m just a guy onAaI Nboat trying ONM to enjoy the easy life, I mind my own business. Gibraltar’s luxury hair “But they came to me and gave salon experience MAYFAIR me 24 hours leave O Nto M quality A I N &or they said they where would slit my matterthroat. “Theyservice think I’m a grass, if I luxury go Gibraltar’s back to Spain I’mhair a dead experience 286 salon man.” Main Street Gibraltar, where He claims & pleadhe quality GX11 has 1AA been service ing with matter the British (+350) Embassy 200 75913 for help, but that they had not info@mayfaironmain.gi returned Beasley’s www.mayfaironmain.gi 286 at time Main Streetcalls Gibraltar, of press. 1AA Lisa’s sister GX11 said she75913 could not (+350) 200 comment directly about his ininfo@mayfaironmain.gi volvement. Helenwww.mayfaironmain.gi Jordan, 50, said: “We just want him to tell the truth and maybe the authorities will then help him.”

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Beasley told his rescuers that he was on the run from gangsters. When they asked him if he required assistance, he said: "No radio, no engine, no electricity." It comes just weeks after the Olive Press exclusively revealed Beasley was ‘hiding from crimiBeasley’s yacht was found drifting nal gangs’ in a port in Portugal. without power in a busy shipping lane Beasley, who was friends with 200 miles from Gibraltar Brown and her now-suspect boyfriend Simon Corner, told the Olive Press how he had ab- mation in the case. Beasley said he knew nothing of sconded from bail after being Brown was due to start her disappearance. arrested for withholding infor- job in Gibraltar when shea new went Speaking on a mobile from his missing in November 2015, but boat in Portugal, he added: “The

Madness!

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FIRST Minister Fabian Picardo has given a warm to the Olive Press’ welcome launch in Gibraltar. The father-of-two paper’s original saluted the reporting and insisted his would give its fullgovernment aid our growth in support to “I am delighted the enclave. to cooperate and to ensure you the help you need receive all those who choose to inform Press for their news.the Olive “Welcome to the media stable in Gibraltar.”

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Safety on board

GREAT to have a GOOD English-speaking newspaper on the island finally! Much needed! Well written, too.

YET one more instance of uncaring lack of safety precautions in Spain (Emergency Failure, Issue 7). If proper care was taken of party customers, this young man would still be alive. Yes, they are young and foolish, which is why these idiot boats and booze venues need reining in. But not by cops with whips and batons on the punters.

Jules Jameson, Palma de Mallorca

All these leading international companies have chosen to trust the Olive Press with their campaigns in Spain over recent years

Chas, Estepona

Magaluf tragedy YET one more instance of irresponsible so-called 'party' behavior in Magaluf (Emergency Failure, Issue 7).

Stefanjo Liwinski, Marbella

Police brutality? GUARDIA Civil. . . a throwback from the days of Franco (Spanish cops attack holidaying Brits, online). Same as the Carabinieri in Italy. Not good enough to join the National Police or the Army so they have to put them somewhere. Give a moron a bit of authority and this is what you get. These are the same idiots who open diplomatic baggage. . .I rest my case.

Simon Hepburn, UK

Yob culture? THESE british yobs just don't get it (Spanish cops attack holidaying Brits, online).In Spain we have a police force, not a castrated police service like the UK. At the moment the police are getting it in the neck in London because some drug dealer tried to swallow his stash and died - it's really not ‘killer cops killing young black guys’ as some folk are trying to make out.

Tom Felix, Costa del Sol

Normal service ITS called normal policing in Spain (Spanish cops attack holidaying Brits, online). If you don't want a crack off a Spanish copper then don't treat it like the UK. Respect the people and their culture.

Craig Calder,UK

Holiday hell

And here is why

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I did a quick look at the info related to the site and here’s some more details for you (scam website taken down): 1. The site is hosted with site5 and manages email with Gmail 2. It’s on a shared hosting plan 3. The Google Analytics ID is: UA-101758878-1 and appears to be unique (not used on another site) 4. The username behind the site is rental333, it’s valid 5. The user didn’t remove the “demo” content of the WordPress template and uses the Houzez 7 theme of Favethemes 6. Most if not all the pics he uses are imported from Tripadvisor, probably at API level which also pulled all the info about the properties. 7. They started to build the site around 21/06 – 22/06 and copied info from a couple of existing sites about Mallorca So it shouldn’t be that hard for authorities to start digging up info if they wanted to do something about it. Anonymous, UK

Sick of it! QUITE right too (In the dock, Issue 7). It is greedy and immoral idiots like this who force other honest people to pay more in Holiday costs and insurance. With a bit of luck they will both get jail sentences.

PJ, UK

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

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Showboating! HIS team has just come second in the English Premiership for the first time since 1963. So Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis (inset) has every right to be showboating around the Med in his 68-metre superyacht, Aviva. The €126 million stunner has been seen in Gibraltar and Malaga this month and is believed to be en route to the Balearic Islands.

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EX-MADE In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh has been sunning herself in Mallorca. The brunette beauty was with boyfriend Hugo Taylor to celebrate a friend’s wedding in Puerto de Pollenca.

T was one of the most glamorous weddings Mallorca has ever seen. Pixie Geldof and rockstar fiancé George Barnett tied the knot at a star-studded ceremony on the outskirts of idyllic Deia on Saturday evening. Arriving in a grey ROIG bus with her bridesmaids - including Daisy Lowe and Alexa Chung - Geldof, 26, looked stunning in a traditional white dress with tiered white gown as she clutched a white bouquet. Proud dad Sir Bob Geldof wore a smart dark suit as he walked daughter Pixie down the aisle at the exclusive Son Marroig mansion venue.

Redknapps selling up luxury Balearic bolthole

IT is a transfer that will upset many a local. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp is selling his Mallorca villa after a decade on the island, it can be revealed. Ex-Liverpool and Spurs star Redknapp and wife Louise have had a second home in Bendinat for several years, but an Olive Press source claims they are saying adios to the luxury bolthole. They had first bought the home in 2007 after a friend’s wedding on the island. Louise later revealed how Mallorca - and the nearby Portals Nous area - had ‘captured her heart’. “There's a marina below us, and you can watch the boats coming in and out of the harbour at just about any time of

GUESTS: Harry Styles and (right) Paul Simonon

Fashion designer Chung, 33, and model Lowe, 28, sported off-theshoulder pink dresses and carried elegant pink and white bouquets. Celebrity pals attending included One Direction star Harry Styles. Other stars celebrating the couple’s nuptials included The Clash bassist Paul Simonon and Radio One DJ Nick Grimshaw along with Pixie’s sister Fifi, half-sister Tiger Lily Hutchence and Peaches Geldof’s widower Thomas Cohen. Tying the knot overlooking the Mediterranean in front of around 140 guests, the couple exchanged vows in the venue’s majestic gardens as the early evening sun began to dim. Gazing into one another’s eyes, IT might seem like a sleepy Geldof and These New Puritans village, but Deia has actually drummer Barnett, exchanged been rocking for decades.

Deia: A Hotspot for artists for decades And it is not just rock stars, like Geldof, who have homes in the area, with Virgin boss Richard Branson owning a home and formerly a hotel in the village. But Deia - population 850, half of whom are ex-

pats - has been popular with all sorts of artists since the early 20th century. Poets, musicians and writers from all over the world have come to Deia for inspiration, and a few never left. English poet Robert Graves, whose home is now a museum, was one of the first to settle in the village and spent much of his life there until his death just over 30 years

ago. The I, Claudius writer had numerous celebrity guests to stay, including Sir Alec Guinness, Hollywood heartthrob Ava Gardner, and Oscar winning English actor Sir Peter Ustinov. Andrew Lloyd Webber meanwhile owns property in the area and for his 60th birthday flew 50 guests to the village including Michael Caine, Roger

Moore and Tim Rice. Others who have stayed in the village include Princess Diana, Harrison Ford and George Lucas, as well as models Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss. Rock star visitors include Kylie Minogue, Mick Jagger, Mike Oldfield and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. And quite a few have actually played there, including Irish band The Corrs,

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which spent the morning kitting out the venue. One employee confirmed that it

was a riot of colour inside: “So many colours, every colour, too many colours!”

Guests had started leaving Deia’s exclusive La Residencia hotel around 6pm on a

as well as Robbie Williams who famously serenaded his then fiance at gourmet restaurant, El Olivio. The village is also famously where Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt and Daevid Allen, all from Soft Machine, moved to ‘escape the changing world’ back in the 1960s. They went on to form hippy band Gong.

bus to transport them to palatial Son Marroig, formerly the mansion of Austrian archduke Luis Salvador. Guests, even including the bride, piled on for the short 5-minute drive to the venue. The wedding party danced into the wee small hours to a live band in the outdoor courtyard at the magnificent country pad, where 17 tables were laid out for a lavish dinner. A three-tier, all-white wedding cake was spotted being brought into the venue. In the days leading up to the top-secret wedding, celebrities partied the nights away in

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ARE Spain’s King and Queen (top) set for a night of London clubbing? It comes as Britain’s partyloving royal Prince Harry was given the role of welcoming the royals for their official UK visit next week. It will be the first time Harry has been involved in an official state visit. The 32-year-old redhead will officially escort Felipe and Letizia to Westminster Abbey, where they will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. The night before, he will escort them to an extravagant state banquet at Buckingham Palace, alongside Prince William and Kate, with the afterparty plans unlikely to be revealed.

PP and unions linked to €1bn fraud A PAIR of former PP bigwigs and two leading union bosses have been added to Spain’s biggest-ever corruption case. The PP politicians Carmen de Miguel and Soledad Córdova and ex-union bosses Francisco Carbonero and Manuel Pastrana are set to join a list of 25 leading expoliticians to be tried in the billion euro ERE fraud investigation set to begin in December. The pair, who were in the PP government of Jose Maria Aznar, are being probed over their involvement in a Continues on Page 2

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July 6th - July 19th 2017

Choppered in...for a dip!

A MILLIONAIRE bather has been slammed for taking a helicopter for a swim at a well-known beauty spot. The mystery man was filmed being picked up at S’illot des Toro, near Santa Ponsa, which is a specially protected nature reserve.

Campaign group Terraferida has denounced the incident to police, who are now investigating. “The area is strictly prohibited for landing,” said a spokesman. “Such activity endangers the biodiversity here” The off-limits beauty spot (left) is classified as a Place of Community Importance (LIC) and a Special Protection Zone for birds (ZEPA). When the Olive Press contacted the alleged helicopter company a spokesman claimed not to know about the incident. “I am not aware of this,” he said. “The airport authority AENA is very strict. If something had happened with one of our craft we would have been contactNO JOKE: Mystery man returns from illegal swim ed,” he said.

SECURITY BREACH

British Airways launches probe after Olive Press expose into tourist travelling on wrong passport

Flight Madness

EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

AN airline has launched a security investigation after the Olive Press revealed that an English tourist allegedly travelled to the UK from Spain on his friend’s passport. British Airways is probing how British tourist Scott Morgan managed to fly back from Ibiza to Manchester on his pal Dominic Carroll’s passport. Mancunian Morgan, 27, had accidentally picked up his pal’s passport after a big night out in San Antonio. And incredibly, despite looking nothing like him, he was able to make it past both Spanish and 16/06/2017 15:36 British airport security, as well

Night in Shagaluf Is Spain’s most infamous resort really that bad?...The Olive Press investigates

The 27-year-old looked sizzling hot in a white lace-up

transfer?

By Joe Duggan and Gillian Keller

rings in front of an open-air, white-marble folly offering commanding coastal views. The ceremony, which lasted half an hour, was performed by David Waller, chaplain of the Anglican Church in Palma. He later told the Olive Press that the service had been ‘pretty normal actually’ and that there were about a dozen bridesmaids and grooms. The happy couple chose Elvis Presley’s I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You for their first dance as husband and wife. The decorations were supplied by Palma company Moments –

bikini in photos she posted of her break on Instagram. Fashion designer Mackintosh was attending the nuptials of friends Alex and Sophie Potter. The former reality TV star founded her own clothes label three years ago.

PALS: Carroll (left) and Morgan (with beard) on holiday before flights home as BA’s own security checks, without being detected. “He’s got a beard and I don’t. He’s a big guy and I’m not,” Carroll, 27, told the Olive Press this week. “It’s really bad with all the security problems we are having in

the UK at the moment,” added the chef, who was staying on for an extra day on the island. Morgan, from Wythenshawe, was only eventually caught out when a security scanner at Manchester airport failed to recognise his face and the gate

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wouldn’t open. However, according to Carroll, he was merely ushered to a nearby desk, where he was quickly waved through. “They simply let him through,” explained Carroll. “I just don’t understand it, especially the

way things are at the minute. He could have been anyone.” Luckily for Carroll, a friend who regularly flies to Ibiza for work was able to bring over his passport a few days later and he was able to get another flight home. British Airways confirmed it had now launched a ‘very thorough investigation’ with ground staff in Ibiza over the alleged breach of security. “British Airways takes safety and security very seriously and we have launched an immediate inquiry into this alleged incident of a customer travelling on the wrong passport,” the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Home Office’s Border Force told the Olive Press it was also investigating the incident. At the time of going to press, Spain’s Policia Nacional, who are in charge of border control, had not responded.

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Deia’s hip Cafe Sa Fonda, knocking back beers, wine and cocktails. On Thursday evening, Bob Geldof, who owns a house in the area, looked crisp in an allwhite trouser and shirt combo and trademark cap at the cool bar. Strictly Come Dancing beauty Lowe looked a knockout, arriving in a dark dress around midnight as dozens of party guests mingled on the bar’s outdoor terrace before dispersing around 2 am. On Friday evening, the wedding crowd, including Styles, Lowe and Chung hit the bar again, arriving around half past ten. Former punks Geldof and Simonon, who was rocking a white fedora hat, spent the night chatting together as the

A-List revellers got in the party mood in the sleepy village. During the day, the wedding party relaxed by their hotel pools and kicked back in the village’s cafes and restaurants as the summer sun blazed. The Olive Press was the only local paper present, along with two UK national papers.

Mallorca’s original community newspaper

ABOVE: Bob with bridesmaids and Pixie arriving, Barnett (left) and (below) stage for live music

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

OPINION Wrong tourists? EVERYONE who lives in Mallorca loves the island. So the constant bad publicity it attracts, via a couple of infamous resorts, is galling for those of us who call this paradise our home. However, there is no getting away from it. As the mercury rises, so too does the tally of all-toofamiliar stories involving drunken tourist excess and violence. It’s become an inescapable facet of life here. But this week’s showdown meeting between police and local politicians shows the authorities here are determined to meet this problem head on. Limiting the amount of booze available on all-inclusive holidays won’t bend the iron will of northern European holidaymakers to drink themselves stupid. But it is a start.

Deal with it

MOVING: The Redknapps and (left) with the Barnes family day,” said Louise. “It's a particularly special view at night, when you can see Palma twinkling, and the lights from the ships out on the bay dancing on the waves.” The area is a big hit with celebrities, with the likes of John Bishop, Ryan Giggs and Jamie Carragher often spotted relaxing in nearby restaurants and cafes. The Redknapps were pictured with John Barnes and his family two years ago at their home. It is not known if they are looking to buy another home on the island.

Soccer mum Madonna MADONNA has splashed €5.7 million on a palace in Portugal. The 58-year-old has splurged on the property in Sintra, near Lisbon, to help her 11-year-old adopted son David - who is currently training with Benfica football club's junior team. The 18th Century Quinta do Relogio Palace was once owned by a Portuguese nobleman, whose colourful life inspired Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count Of Monte Cristo. “Madonna visited Portugal in March and the fans went wild,” said a source. “One even sent her a message saying they were an estate agent on Instagram and she started following them back. “It was then it became pretty apparent that she was looking to make a move permanent. "Now the town is abuzz.” "It's a stunning building in the hilltops with a huge number of bedrooms and bathrooms all decorated in striking Islamic style, although there are huge plans for a redesign inside already."

IT seems quite staggering that, in this day and age, a passenger can inadvertently skip through numerous security checks in two different countries on the wrong passport. And yet this is what happened to a traveller on British Airways of all airlines. Investigations into the incident are ongoing and must be thorough. Given the dozens of murders by terrorists in London and Manchester in recent weeks, it raises some alarming questions.

Dip stick THE reckless bather who hired a helicopter to fly him to a protected beauty spot for a dip showed a jawdropping sense of entitlement. One can only assume that the mystery swimmer is a wealthy tourist as it is hard to imagine a local would disrespect the area in such an obscene way. He may not be kicking seven bells of hell out of a stranger in a drunken rampage, but in his own way, this man has inflicted his own form of upmarket vandalism on the island. But, perhaps worse, the helicopter company that took him there, should have known better. It is time to name and shame them both. Depòsito Legal PM: 610-2017

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PIXIE: Our cover of Geldof’s daughter’s wedding and (left) QUEEN VIC our passport story, both in The Sun ON VACATION: Vicky and John

GEORDIE Shore’s Vicky Pattison has been soaking up the summer sun in Mallorca. The 29-year-old beauty flaunted her figure on a break with boyfriend John

Noble. Stunning MTV star Vicky looked fantastic in a bikini which showed off her hourglass figure as she frollicked in the water.

F EAT UR E

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June 22nd - July 5th 2017

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FEATURE

Sun, sex and hospital beds As Mallorca’s summer season kicks off, Joe Duggan and Gillian Keller head to the heart of Europe’s most infamous party strip at Magaluf

Pictures by Graham Wilding

NIGHT PATROL: Police have to deal with numerous infractions and complaints every night

Each print issue of the Olive Press can be read in its entirety on www.theolivepress.es And our site is updated daily with the latest news, making it onebest of Spain’s Mallorca’s English most visited news daily news website websites.

olive press FLATTERED: Our online indepth feature on 1 Magaluf’s nightlife was 2 printed by the Irish 3 4 Independent 5

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- Spain’s summer to be one of the hottest on Most read this (14,909) record fortnight on

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moreup rainGuardia - 4616 views - Drugged Civil officer arrested after at least three killed in A7 pileup en route to Marbella (3,969)  VIDEO: Floods hit Costa del Sol

T’S 11pm, and Magaluf is grinding into action. On the Strip, scantily clad girls at the City Lights bar gyrate on raised platforms while Irish and British youngsters sink cheap shots and cocktails. Over the years, this Mallorca resort has become a byword for bad behaviour. Its heady brew of sex, drink and violence is manna from heaven for tabloid-headline writers, with a daily onslaught of stories proclaiming the worst excesses of north European youth. In truth, most of the youngsters here are well-behaved kids, many enjoying their first overseas holiday away without the family and exercising their right to cut-price booze. Two Sex On The Beach cocktails here cost as little as €4.50, two pints just €3. But despite the best intentions of Mallorquins and the local business community, Magaluf is finding it hard to shed its bad-boyand-girl reputation. “A few lads we know have got a hiding over here,” said Sean, 19, from County Wateford, who is here for a week with a group of seven friends. “One lad went out on his own the other night and 15 English lads attacked him. He got battered with a baseball bat and had to have 12 stitches. He went to the hospital, but was back out again the next night.” It’s a graphic example of the dangers that can befall unsuspecting youngsters in ‘Shag-

as heavy rain continues - 4604

-Jamie views and Louise Redknapp selling Mallorca villa after a decade on the island (3,420)  Gangsters’ paradise: A look atfire in - Alleged arson leads to raging the key figures 1,500 past andevacuated present of (2,880) southern Spain,

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RESCUE: For one inebriated lad, while (right) a young girl looks vulnerable

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HOSPITALISED: Nearly every night people are rushed to hospital iour,” said a spokesperson for the head of local business body ACOTUR. “There are important people here that are working hard to change the image of the area. “Thirty or so years ago, this kind of thing didn’t happen. Tour operators like Thomas Cook had guides who showed people what to do, where to go and what not to do. That doesn’t happen now. “People here didn’t expect it to be as bad this year as last year. We have to change attitudes, and tell people. ‘You can’t come here and do whatever you want.’” This week, Mallorca council and government officials sat down with local business and hoteliers to discuss the dilemma of badlybehaved young holidaymakers tarnishing the island’s reputation. Despite the local outrage, Magaluf’s illicit thrills continue to draw boys and girls looking for a good time, with many young Irish choosing to base themselves in nearby Santa Ponca before heading into Magaluf for a night - or day - out. “I got kicked out of my hotel the other day,”

BE ‘APPY! Updated daily The Olive Press online www.theolivepress.es Download app now and Theour website is begin enjoying the best Spanish conveniently accessible from your desktop computer to your laptop, tablets news on the go. and smartphones throughout the day wherever you are. www.theolivepress.es

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‘If you want to look for bad press, you can find it anywhere’ to terrace, has also claimed more than a few victims here. “They tied to raise the heights of the balconies to stop people doing that a few years ago,” continued Brown. Many local Spaniards have long grown tired of their area being dragged through the mud. “People who come here think they are better than us,” said Isabel Perez, 47, a local supermarket worker for 20 years. “How would you feel if I came to your city and behaved like this? It makes people very angry.” Nevertheless, it seems the overwhelming majority of holidaymakers here are simply out for a good time, and shy away from any hint of trouble. “I hate fighting,” said Tom, a 19-year-old from Donegal on holiday with 13 pals. “I was in Ayia Napa two weeks ago and you were always watching your back. We are staying in Santa Ponca. There are more Irish

he Olive Press has been at the thick of the action since opening in Mallorca three months ago. Already, numerous stories have been used by some of the UK and Ireland’s leading national newspapers. These include our exclusive report on Dominic Shepherd’s battle to win his daughter back from an ex-partner hiding in a Norwegian church, which was run in its entirety by the Mail On Sunday. Meanwhile, our various stories on scam websites conning Brit tourists out of thousands have been followed up by the Telegraph, the Guardian, The Times and even ITV. On top of that our exclusive on Pixie

Basic Instinct star slashes price of his Mallorca mansion to €36.5 million EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

EXTINCT: Village makes a comeback

T could probably best be termed a slasher! Michael Douglas’s palatial Mallorca mansion has come back on the market with a third snipped from the price. Originally on the market for €50 million, the mid-19th century villa - where the likes of Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer have stayed - has now come down to €36.5 million. “The property was originally €50 million, so it’s now a very good price for the uniqueness of the property and position,” said MJC Associates director Amanda Butler, who is marketing the property. She added: “It is an amazing property in one of the most beautiful parts of the island. I am sure there will be no problem in selling it now.”

Rising from the ashes

HIDDEN: Unique estate of Michael Douglas (pictured with Catherine Zeta Jones) in Mallorca Basic Instinct star Douglas has been a long-term homeowner on the island, snapping up the 247-acre estate for an undisclosed sum in 1989 with ex-wife Diandra Luker. As well as stunning gardens, the stylish pad holds a gym-

nasium, games room, jacuzzi, library and wine cellar and cinema. Nestled in the Unesco World Heritage-protected Tramuntana mountains, it boasts seven separate buildings, including five individual apartments with 10 bed-

Camp de Mar-vellous

rooms and two cottages. Its stunning setting, in 247 acres of rolling Valldemossa countryside, offers glorious vistas of the sea and surrounding countryside. Douglas, who scooped an Oscar for 1987 film Wall Street, used to tend to the vineyards on the property, which offers crystal-clear sea views of the Mediterranean. Douglas, who is married to British actress Catherine Zeta Jones, originally put it up for sale in 2015 but took it off the market last year. The property was built in 1867 by the Austrian Archduke Ludwig Salvator after he fell in love with Mallorca. Douglas’ films include Basic Instinct, Falling Down, Disclosure and Wall Street. Email Amanda at amanda. btlr@gmail.com for more information.

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LAST HURRAH: Head down on the table and (inset) rubbish left on the streets there.” While the Brits may attract the lion’s share of the bad headlines, Irish youngsters have found themselves on the wrong side of the local press, too. Last week, local online media outlet Cronica Balear posted a video purportedly showing dozens of Irish youngsters dancing in the street at 6.30 am. Which could be dismissed as mere high jinks were it not for the fact many of them were pogoing on top of a car, destroying it in the process.

We have all been young and made foolish decisions through drink. And it does bear repeating that it is a small minority of fools spoiling it for the rest. The vast majority are guilty of nothing more than having a good time and – more than - a few drinks. “I love all the people here,” said Jack, a 19-year-old from Donegal, sunburnt after spending the day on a booze-cruise boat with unlimited drink for €55. “It’s amazing for us to see different people from all over the wordl.”

The Olive Press has been continually breaking news since its launch on Mallorca… with some local papers even copying us Geldof’s Deia wedding story was followed up in the Sun on Sunday and the Mail, while we were the first paper to report that Jamie and Louise Redknapp were selling their Mallorca home. Most recently, the Sun used our British Airways investigation splash about Scott Morgan travelling to the UK from Spain on his pal’s passport, while Ireland’s Sunday Independent used our excellent colour piece and pictures about a night

petrol stations, it has become the most soughtafter English newspaper in just three months. While we print 10,000 copies every issue, we take our distribution very seriously, and need

DREAM

Ambulance/ Fire brigade/ Police 112

out in Magaluf. Best of all though, we are flattered - and a little bit puzzled - that one local publication saw fit to publish (plagiarise) AT LEAST TWO of our stories almost word for word - weeks after we published them. As if proof were needed of who leads and who follows. And in case you were wondering see some of the places you can find Mallorca’s favourite FREE paper below.

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KATIE Price channelled her inner Jordan while hosting a VIP gig at a Mallorca hotel. The Loose Women star, who is currently promoting her new single, was said to be flirting outrageously with party guests, talking about sex and lewd acts. Price called couples on stage to kiss while she made jokes about them performing

FIRESALE

Redknapp’s holiday villa sold after marriage split

IT was their dream holiday home they waxed lyrical about for the best part of a decade. But now footballer Jamie Redknapp and wife Louise have sold their Spanish villa, after their 19-year marriage came to an end. The Olive Press can reveal that the celebrity pair have taken ‘nearly’ the full €2,950,000 asking price for the amazing villa in Mallorca. The four-bedroom villa, in Bendinat, which has a swimming pool and stunning Mediterranean views, has been sold along with all its furniture.

Chic

was away with the co-author of a style blog, Emma Rose Thatcher. In a seeming act of defiance, Louise again posted on the account, which boasts 76,000 followers, an image of her and Emma walking into the distance sporting extremely

similar dresses. “One more sleep until I’m back in my fave island”, she wrote on her A Style Album account before flying to Spain. Louise is reportedly living near the Surrey mansion she shared with former Liverpool star Jamie and their boys.

Makin’ it, not fakin’ it! SUPERSTAR Beyonce has worn a dress by a young Spanish designer in her first official photo with her newborn twins. The American singer posed with flowers behind her as she held her twin babies Rumi and Sir Carter. The photo features the artist in pink floral dress sleeves and a long blue veil, designed by Cordobabased Palomo Spain. It received 700,000 likes within 30 minutes of being posted. Palomo is an incredibly progressive brand that’s reinventing what is considered to be menswear, led by designer Alejandro Gómez Palomo. The organza gown was made at the workshop in Posadas, the small village near Cordoba, where Alejandro was born and still lives and works.

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Perf

SHE’S been summer. Paris Hilton restaurant C photos with The multi-m at the cafe-s Looking the green dress ing a pair of ers at the pa Before hitti DJ sets, th off her body videos.

MOVED OUT: The dream villa in Bendinat and (left) the Redknapp family in happier times there

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you, the readers to keep us informed of numbers... and more importantly if each location needs more or less papers. We also want to know where you would like

Mint condition! I’M A CELEBRITY winner Vicky Pattison looked in beach-perfect condition at a Mallorca photo shoot. The Geordie stunner sizzled in a lime-green swimsuit, seductively strolling along the beach as she flaunted her toned figure. The 29-year-old is famous for her strict weight-loss and exercise regimes. Former Geordie Shore star Pattison was spotted at Wimbledon last week, smooching with boyfriend John Noble.

EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

The new buyers, believed to be British, have already taken possession. Former Eternal singer Louise meanwhile was spotted in Mallorca with the couple's sons, Charley, 12, and Beau, eight, last week as she took a Balearic break. The Strictly Come Dancing star posted Instagram photos of herself in her gym kit at Mallorca’s Roxy Beach Club in Portals. She shared an image in a chic ensemble with a caption reading: ‘Mallorca Nights’ while another post revealed she

July 20th - August 2nd

oral sex on the stage. She poured vodka down peoples’ throats, and pointed an imaginary shotgun at guys she fancied, making crude jokes. She continued swearing and talking about sex until hotel staff had to intervene. She also performed her new single I got you.

TOP 100 DIS TIBUTION SPOTS IN MALLORCA THE Olive Press is now distributing in the far corners of the island in an incredible 400-plus locations. Found at castles, tourist offices, museums and

A RADICAL mayor is celebrating success in his campaign to save a village from extinction. Pedro de Verona has more than doubled the population of Chumillas in Cuenca from 21 to 44 in less than 10 years, while reducing the population’s average age from 75 to 40. It is hoped his initiative, which focuses around re-opening a school and encouraging small businesses to base themselves there, could be used to help turn around the fortunes of villages also at threat from extinction across Spain. “It had been closed for 28 years but now there are 15 pupils at the school,” said Verona. Verona said that the encouragement of small businesses to the village was revitalising its economy without having to rely on the presence of big businesses.

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You read it here first… FLOORED: One young drinker

taste of Italy the glitzy Itali But the lege it will be a wr overlooking P “If somebod makes it eas then I will po Mallorca life-chang “We stil just don go. I us be on a every c of weeks when y got babie can’t do added S fellow, w a dad of Stringfe four-bed villa b four en a fab pool with out in hi print. The hom Balearic mirrored bedroom Olive Pre

FALLING DOWN

IF Michael Douglas’s pad (above) doesn’t float your boat then how about this jawdropping Camp de Mar mansion, on the market for a cool €48.5 million. With stunning sea views, 10 ensuite bedrooms and a huge outdoor swimming pool, it ticks plenty of boxes. Surrounded by fruit trees and nestling beneath mountains, the 400,000 m2 estate is a 20-minute drive to Palma. The property is divided into three houses. It´s for sale through Mallorca Sothebys.

olivepressnews

said 19-year-old Ray, from Birmingham, as he slurps on a Sex On The Beach cocktail at Lennon’s bar. “I had to pay another €500 to get somewhere else.” Similar examples of youthful excess can be found in towns and cities all over the British Isles every night of the week. But weary Magaluf bar and restaurant owners, many of them long established, have grown tired of the ‘unfair’ amount of negative stories emanating from their area. “If you want to look for bad press, you can find it anywhere,” said Jason Brown, who runs thriving beach-side café Tom Brown’s, a popular local establishment since 1982. “I got attacked in London with a knife. They are trying to change the rules here, but things can’t change overnight.” The phenomenon of ‘balconing’, whereby daredevil youngsters try to leap from terrace

The first 15 days of June saw 25 complaints to police for outdoor nudity aluf’, a nickname which needs no further explanation. Just last week, two British youngsters were filmed brutally battering a compatriot at an apartment block in Punta Ballena, setting about him in a sustained, sickening assault that was captured on CCTV. One of the culprits can be seen stabbing the victim with a broken bottle before the duo pummel him to a pulp. The following day, a 19-year-old Brit was left fighting for his life after falling from a third-floor flat, sustaining a broken leg and life-threatening injuries. On Wednesday, an 18-year-old British girl reported an alleged sexual assault to Spanish police as Magaluf’s grim roll call lengthened yet further. The annual ritual of debauchery has spurred locals into action. In June, as reported in our last issue, an updated list of 64 regulations outlawing bad behaviour were issued by Calvia council, the local authorities charged with upholding law and order. The list of misdemeanours are split into three categories. ‘Minor’ offences, such as climbing a tree or shining a laser, are charged at between €100 and €599. ‘Serious crimes’, like defecating in the street, will see miscreants charged from €600 to €1,499. Bar owners serving under-age drinkers can be slapped with a penalty of between €1,500 to €3,000. According to figures supplied by Calvia Town Hall, the first 15 days of June saw 25 complaints filed with the police for outdoor nudity, with one group of 18 drunken tourists fined last month after jumping in the sea totally starkers. But despite this new clampdown, many are yet to discern a meaningful change. “People have had enough of this bad behav-

July 6th - JulyWEBSITE 19th 2017

NIGHTCLUB impresario Peter Stringfellow has admitted leaving Mallorca ‘would be a life changer’ as he puts his villa on the market for €3.5million. The self-made millionaire, famous for his London nightclub Stringfellows, is swapping island life for a

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May 25th - June 7th

2016

Booming July predicted following ‘pause’ in run-up to EU referendum Special report by Iona BOSSES: Cox and Wells

IN COME THE BIG BUCKS! A HUGE US property fund is splashing €45 million on three new Costa del Sol developments. The American bosses Real Capital Solutions behind have snapped up sizeable plots in Estepona, Mijas and Benahavis and continue to look at further opportunities along the coast. The company, based in Marbella since 2013, already has five other developments, including The Retreat, in Elviria.

“We have spent around lion here so far and have€86 mila fund of €100 million to spend,” plained Managing Partner exWells, based in Colorado. Peter “We are one of the largest opers on the Costa del develSol and our emphasis is on distressed properties.” He added: “Also we do transparently and always things try and deliver on price and quality.” The company - which made hundreds of millions buying ing distressed propertiesand sellUS - has 16 staff working in the its office at Centro Plaza. out of Local boss Taylor Cox, added: “The coast is really starting come alive and it’s a pleasure to to live in such a beautiful part of the world.”

Napier

ESTATE agents in Spain lining themselves up for and Gibraltar are the busiest July on record. It comes as some British buyers put purchases on hold due to referendum on June 23.the forthcoming EU Most agents the Olive Press firmed they had various spoke to con‘paused’ awaiting the result,sales currently despite the British market remaining The majority believe that strong. pected result - to stay in the ex- will lead to the pound Europe strengthening with a red hot summer of sales to follow. Ben Bateman, at Holmes Sotogrande, described the lead up as a ‘pause forreferendum British buyers’ due to thought for concerns over the weak pound. “After a remain vote however, we expect to see a strong finish to the den wave of bids from year - and a sudBritish buyers,” he told the Olive Press. One agent in Gibraltar has gone one step further actually employing July. Savills director Sammy extra staff for Cruz-Armstrong said: “Everything is on but I am convinced we hold due to Brexit, will stay in Europe and am taking on extra with the expected delugestaff in July to deal Benahavis agent Scott of business.” Marshall of Proper-

Spanish property sales

Roll on Remain

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Deals

Source: Registradores

Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016

& Money Transfers

Where is Gillian buying?

tieSpain, meanwhile, described the pause as ‘very psychological’. He said: “It’s a combination the vote and the exchange of the uncertainty of While many agents have rate right now.” rently on hold, some havea couple of sales cur“We have up to ten sales seen more. til after the referendum,” currently on hold unboss of Castles, in Manilva.said Victor Witkowski, “Buyers are not necessarily they are biding their time pulling out, but to see what happens.” Fellow Manilva agent, confirmed a slowdown, Shani Hamilton, also predicting a huge influx but added: “We are a decision is made.” of business as soon as

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Either way, official statistics out this month confirm the British market remains strong and tens of thousands continue to look for their dream home. Respected analyst Mark eign demand for SpanishStucklin insists that forin the first quarter with property was up 16% of foreign buyers at 22%Brits the biggest group “The British still dominateof the market share. property and there is no the foreign market for able decline in demand evidence of a noticeas yet,” he said. And certainly not everyone One agent, Graham Govier is suffering. of Inland Andalucia has seen ‘no negative impact’ at all during the referendum lead-up. “In fact it is the opposite. cheap right now and we Prices are extremely are selling two times as many properties as we were He added: “My salesman last year,” he said. a local celebrity - has justPaul - already a bit of enth consecutive sale and completed his sevpeople are buying because they can see that won’t wait around for themthe incredible deals Paul made headlines in forever,” he added. the Olive Press last year when he sold an impressive nine properties in a row.

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Carmena

Mallorca factory attracts investors in possible multimillion-euro deal

MALLORCA-BASED luxury real-estate experts Engel & Völkers have issued a four-point guide for homeowners looking to value their property. Understanding what determines Download a home’sour market app nowvalue, and obtaining an expert opinion, A FAMOUS Mallorca carbegin enjoying the best Spanish pet factory is set for a multisetting a realistic sale price and news your on the property go. marketing with million-euro makeover. value in mid are four key points The Can Morato factory in to consider, the internationally- Pollensa is attracting interrenowned firm said. est from investors, accordEngel & Völkers, who have 17 ing to local mayor Miguel real-estate shops and over 100 Angel March. employees on the island, also Can Morato, which was givstressed the importance of ‘lay- en protected status by the out, condition, size, future devel- Council of Mallorca, is valopmentsThe and desirable Olivefeatures’. Pressued at around €2.3 million. “It’s highly recommended to obtain a professional valuation,” an for news in Spain! Concerns Engel TOP & Völkers spokesperson wrote. The factory closed at the “The housing market changes end of the 1960s and was daily, so it’s advisable to gain due to demolished a few access to the latest sales trends years ago after concerns in order to achieve a desirable house price.” A loft conversion over safety. could add 12.5% to a property’s The Council of Mallorca will selling price, the article went on now decide to whom the property will be sold, with “For us, the main priority The owners of the property, to say. A conservatory may also give ‘a a hotel or cultural centre is the building’s conserva- the Morato family, have sales boost of 7-11%, according among the most likely uses. tion,” said March. tried to sell the building on to Engel & Völkers. Marketing your property correctly is also a key consideration. A NEW helicopter tour will offer guided “You can choose from a clastours of the Love Island villa. sic sale with public marketing Casa Amor - real name Villa Alchemy - is on efforts used to secure maxithe market for €2.7 million. on Mallorca’s eastern side. mum coverage, or a discrete The new airborne tour with Jumeirah Port It will also swoop over the stunning Trasale where we market directly Soller Hotel & Spa will take visitors over the muntana mountain range, a UNESCO to prestige buyers,” the article site just outside Sant Llorenc des Cardassar World Heritage site. added.

MADRID mayor Manuela Carmena has unveiled plans for 11,000 new homes. The properties are to be built in the north of the city, with 37% of them protected properties for those on less salaries. The work is set to begin in 2019 with new bus and train lines linking the zone to the city.

Carpet sale Loved up

various occasions over the last decade. Recently, its gardens and facade have been totally cleaned. “We would like the building to be renovated and for it to be given a particular use, preferably for people to be able to enjoy it,” said Tomeu Bartomeu Cifre, the councillor for urban planning.

Flattened! PALMA Town Hall has banned new tourist flat rental accommodation from the city. The new legislation was passed after six PSOE councillors, as well as the PP, abstained. Álvaro Gijón,currently facing corruption,drugs and prostitution allegations in the Tolo Cursach case, also abstained. A year-long suspension of new tourist-rental licences was also approved. It came after a petition with over 6,000 signatures was submitted by the Federation of Palma Neighbours.

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August 3rd - August 16th 2017 August 3rd - August 16th 2017

Keys Isl nd to the

Six hit by ban SIX areas in Mallorca are set to be banned from introducing new tourist rental accommodation. The Council Of Mallorca has set out a blueprint to prohibit new rentals in Playa de Palma,S´Arenal, Peguera, Santa Ponsa, Palmanova-Magaluf, Calas de Mallorca and Cala Bona-Son MoroS´Illot. The council’s plans,which fall under its Tourism Intervention Plan (PIAT), means none of the 42,000 additional tourist spaces to be created under the government’s Tourist Law can be set up in these zones. Tourist Minister Mercedes Garrido said hotels would be subject to the ban as well as individual flats and houses. New measurements will be A NEW Mallorca real estate put in place to ensure the agency will manage low-cost new no-rent zones are adhousing for just €50 a month. hered to. Lemonkey.es, Spain’s first Current rental licences will online real estate agency for still be valid. owners, will engage with ten“Illegal rentals have no ants and guests for a monthly place in a saturated area,” fee. said Garrido. The counThe company, which has cil estimates some 30% of been set up by Spanish estate Mallorca’s accommodation agents Housers, is based in is taken by tourists, with Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca some 123,700 beds availand Castellon. able, 54% of them unregu“Our difference is we are lated. It comes the week global, we look after rent and after the Balearic Islands sales, but also we take care of parliament passed its Tourthe property and its rentabilism Law, which many claim ity,” said Lemonkey.es CEO failed to tackle the issue of Arturo Ballester. tourist-apartment rental.

Lemonheads

By Amanda Butler

HOT HOT HOT!

S the temperatures have steadily risen this summer to higher than normal levels, so have the property prices. In areas like Iletes and Portals, first line sea view apartments have reached heady heights of €9,000 per sqm. Visitor numbers continue to increase and demand continues to rise, with the Scandinavian market taking over in some locations. One wonders if this is sustainable at this rate - but people working in the business believe it still has a long way to go. In my mind, country property is still the best of the buys but it is rising at a much more slow and steady pace, and with current market trends has a long way to go. Thankfully, to date our infrastructure - despite the current massive tourism onslaught - seems to be withstanding the weight. With the continued uncertain geopolitical backdrop (hopefully by the next Olive Press issue the US will not have waged war with North Korea, or vica versa!), and with the lack of available product, this sellers’ market looks set to continue. We all knew Mallorca was in for a substantial rise in prices, but goodness, don’t I wish I’d had a crystal ball, even just a year ago!

As the Island hots up, so does its property prices, writes Amanda Butler

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Healthy boom

HOME sales in Spain are expected to be 10% higher than last year. The research division of Spanish bank BBVA forecasts that they will break through the 500,000 barrier for the first time since the crash. BBVA say they have upped their home sales forecast by 3% since their last report on the Spanish property market because of the improving job market at home, continued low interest rates, and the improving EU economy. The Spanish property market has recovered well so far this year, with sales up 14.5% to 213,074 transactions in the first five months of the year, promising another year of growth. This will be the fourth consecutive year of growth since the market touched bottom in 2013 with just 300,000 homes sold that year. BBVA forecast that house prices will rise 3% on average this year to 1,570 €/m2, bringing them back to where they were 13 years ago in 2004. Commentators point out that the increase won’t be uniform, with prices rising faster in some hot local markets, whilst continuing to fall in other areas.

Sales expected to break 500,000 barrier for first time in 13 years

BBVA also forecast that new home building will continue to recover this year, with 80,000 planning approvals, up 20% on last year, and that residential investment will drive almost 10% of Spain’s economic growth in 2017. BBVA have scoffed at sugges-

tions of another house price bubble inflating. “During the crisis house prices fell 35%, and in the last three years they have increased by 5%,” said an economist at BBVA Research. “It’s going too far to say there is a new bubble. Moderate growth is what there

August 3rd - August 16th 2017 August 3rd - August 16th 2017

1919

MORTGAGE THINK TANK by mortgage broker Tancrede de Pola

What to expect when buying a mortgage in Spain as a non-resident

Great expectations

UYING a property in Spain for non-residents can be difficult, but not impossible. Some Spanish banks may not lend money to people living abroad, whether they be Spaniards or Brits, but many others will. It is important to know the ins and outs when borrowing to avoid unpleasant surprises. Expect to pay more Non-resident expats will pay higher interest rates than those with resident status. Fixed-rate mortgage typically start around 2.75% for 20 years. With a variable rate, you can expect the margin added to the Euribor index to be between 1.1% and 1.25%. Non-residents pay higher interest rates because they are buying a second home and will find it harder to meet some conditions that could reduce costs, such as having a bankassociated life insurance or a salary that gets paid into the bank. • Expect a 20-year, fixed-rate mortgage Banks like to give fixed rates to help ensure the amount the purchaser repays is steady. This helps offset uncertainty and reduces risk later on. The usual maximum repayment period for non-residents is 20 years while non-residents can extend it to up to 40 years. • Expect to be lent less money Even though as a rule, a mortgage should not be more than 70% of the value of the property, residents in Spain are often able to borrow up to 100%. In the case of non-residents, the figure is usually around 80%, and 100% in certain cases. This is because in the event of non-repayment, the bank’s only guarantee is the property itself.

• Expect to provide a credit rating Non-residents are usually required to provide a credit rating from their country of origin or residency. These are provided by Experian in the UK. The origin of any funds the buyer contributes to the purchase has to be accounted for. This is due to efforts by authorities to combat money laundering. • Expect to translate all documentation Fotunately, in most cases the only docuemntation that needs to be translated are those associated with a foreign company buying the property, and in this case they will also require the Hague Apostille, an international authentication similar to a notarization. This can be sent by email to the bank for confirmation, but the contract must be signed by the interested party or by a legal proxy. If you’re a non-resident foreigner, you should request a NIE (Foreigner Identification Number) at a police station or in a Spanish embassy or consulate, or give your lawyer power of attorney to do the same. • Expect to pay 3% tax when you sell the property Taking out a mortgage in Spain does not grant you residency. This means non-residents will be subject to the same legislation as Spaniards, but will have to declare the property bought in Spain on their tax return at home. When non-residents sell their property, they will have to pay 3% of the value to the Spanish tax office in lieu of capital gains tax. Any over-payment in this regard is returned once the correct amount of this tax is calculated by the tax office.

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

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BANKIA have confirmed it will merge with BMN on September 14. Spain’s fourth largest bank agreed to take over BMN,which was formed out of troubled savings banks our app now and Caja Murcia, CajaDownload Granada begin enjoying the best Spanish and Balearic bank Sa Nostra. Bankia valued news on the go. The Spanish government wants to recover 41 billion of EU funds it received in 2012 to support lenders affected by the country’s economic crisis. Bankia received 22 billion euros of state aid, while BMN THE Balearic Islands econgot 1.65 billion euros. The omy is set to power ahead in country’s bank rescue fund 2017 and 2018, new data sugThe Olive Press will hold about 67 percent of gests. the new entity. The islands’ GDP will surge TOP for news by in by Spain! 4.4% this year and by 3.1% the following, according to figures from the Regional Observatory of BBVA Research. Across Spain during the same periods GDP is expected to A PETITION against ‘low cost’ rise by 3.3%and 2.8%. Mallorca tourism has gained Balearic GDP growth this year more than 11,000 signatures will outstrip that in the Canary so far. Islands (3.9%), Madrid (3.6%) Angry locals have rushed to sign and Catalunya (3.3%). The Change.org petition since it The islands’ tourist boom went online last month, slam- and construction industry are ming bad tourist behaviour in powering the surge in ecoArenal and Llucmajor. nomic growth, according to Violence, vomiting in the street, the report. vandalism, loud music and ag- But the study warned: “The gressive language are just some capacity of growth in the of the issues said to be sparking tourist industry has not run outrage. out yet, but it is close to satu-

Balearic Islands economy powers ahead with unemployment to be lowest in Spain

ACCORDING to a Caritas study, about 70% of Spain’s poorest neighborhoods have not felt the economic recovery.

Bankia THE economy minister has stated Spain is considering selling more of national bank Bankia.

Ronaldo YOU’RE HIRED: Tourism helping to boost Balearic economy ration point sometimes and in some regions like the Balearics.” During high season, the Balearics has the highest hotel oc-

cupancy of any autonomous region in Spain, with over 90% of space taken. The region is also predicted to have the lowest unemploy-

ment rate in Spain by 2018, with the study predicting jobless numbers will drop to 8.8%, down from this year’s figure of 11.1%.

CRISTIANO Ronaldo has begun court proceedings following a state prosecution accusation that he has defrauded the tax office of €14 million.

Introducing our new finance writer, Sandy Paterson, of Blacktower, who’s here to help make the most for your finances

Timetable for Brexit

What can we expect over the next two years?

frontrunner in German elections and likely to be re-elected. As all EU leaders will be in position they can then discuss what deal they will accept, if any. Towards the end of 2017 – The European Communities Act (1972) that wedded the UK into the EU for better or worse, will be repealed by the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. UK parliament will then be able to ‘amend, repeal & improve’ as it sees fit and the European Court of Justice will no longer have power over the UK. Last ¼ 2017 – The main details and conditions for Brexit should be concluded by now and talks about what the future will look like can begin. Knowing the EU this may be a bit of a long-shot to have completed by the end of the year.

Serious

Davis is concerned the UK citizens abroad will not get the same rights they have now regarding Healthcare and mobility around the EU. The French Finance Minister is worried about the cost of exit (€100bn in his estimation) and ‘wants his money back’. Barnier summed it up best I think. “The UK decided to leave the EU, that’s a serious decision, a serious matter, with serious consequences. We take it seriously”. So apparently this is a, erm, what’s the word? Oh yes ‘serious’ business. He then proceeded to delay the seriousness by saying: “I know

Inequality bypassed

SPAIN has warned Catalonia that independence will cause its unemployment rate to double.

Sandy shores

NEWS IN BRIEF

Going backwards

Stop this madness!

HE second stage of Brexit negotiations started on July 17 with four days of meetings between the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and David Davis - Brexit Secretary for the UK. Result of the talks was as many expected from highly paid senior politicians – not a great deal. On day one Davis left after less than an hour, on day 2 Barnier said he was ‘prepared to stall talks’ over UK’s unwillingness to present proposals. By the end of the talks there were more questions than answers. Barnier is concerned that they want the European Court of Justice to remain in place with control over the UK – a big no-no for Davis.

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By the end of 2017 – Parliament will pass the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. October 2018 – Talks are expected to be completed in order to have the exit deal agreed within 18-months of Article 50 being triggered. one has to compromise in negotiations but we are not there yet” What happens next is as follows:

“serious” proposals and the EU are prepared to start talking compromise.

End August – Another round of negotiations if the UK put forward

September 2017 – Angela Merkel is expected to be the

Towards the end of 2018 – The final Brexit agreement will be voted upon in Parliament and The Lords. This needs to be either accepted or rejected before going to the EU Parliament.

UNDER PRESSURE: Theresa May

Late 2018 – European Parliament and EU Council vote on the Brexit agreement if there is one. March 2019 – It is now two years since PM May triggered Article 50, and unless the EU states all agree to extend the deadline, it is time for the UK to close the door behind it on the way out. An extension is unlikely particularly if you bear in mind the EU Council President – Donald Tusks’ recent comment: “We don’t know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end”. April 2019 – Brexit, for good, bad or indifferent is done and a new era has begun, Rule Britannia! Sandy Paterson DipFA, CeMAP, MLIBF – Regional Manager Blacktower Financial Management (International) Ltd – Mallorca Office Tel: 971 42 59 86 Email: sandy.paterson@blacktowerfm.com Web: www.blacktowerfm.com/ locations/mallorca

Blacktower Financial Management (International) Limited is licensed in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission. Licence 00805B and is registered by both the DGS and CNMV in Spain. Blacktower Financial Management Limited is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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Siesta time for Madrileños Banco Unpopular BANCO Popular lost 100% of its liquidity in two months this year, it has been revealed. The Spanish bank, which collapsed last month, lost €10.64 billion from April as it struggled to cope with capital being withdrawn by concerned clients.

Failed

Businesses withdrew some 2.76 billion in deposits from Banco Popular accounts. The failed bank was bought by Santander for a nominal fee of €1 in May. Meanwhile, outraged investors are planning to take legal action despite Santander setting up a €1 billion compensation scheme. Some 2,000 investors have hired Spanish law firm Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo, with possible legal action being taken against European regulators and Banco Popular’s former management. Only two investors withdrew their plans to take legal action when Santander announced its compensation scheme this month.

SPAIN’S first-ever ‘nap bar’ for weary businessmen has opened in Madrid. Siesta and Go in the heart of the capital’s financial district of Azca charges weary workers €14 an hour for a power nap in a private bed. In a modern twist on the tradition-

al Spanish siesta, founder Maria Estrella Jorro de Inza got the idea from similar businesses in Japan. “It’s funny that we’re known for the siesta, but we haven’t been professional about it,” said De Inza. “We get a lot of men in suits who just want to relax and women wanting to take their heels off.

Lunch break is the busiest time.” Last year,Spaniards racked up 1,695 hours at work on average, ahead of Germany and France. Only Italian and Portuguese staff spent more time at work, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Vueling gets €340,000 fine Airline slapped with fine after Balearic passengers hit by cancellations and delays VUELING has received a €340,000 fine after Balearic Islands passengers were hit by cancellations and delays. In the past year, some 191,000 passengers were affected by problems on

flights to and from airports on the islands. The Balearic Islands government slapped the charge on the airline after 66.4% of

AGONY Property ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Not im-pressed National press slams Marbella’s growing ‘trash and noise tourism’

lerted by groups of neighbours suffering from a small number of establishments throwing endless daytime parties with blasting music, Spanish national TV press has taken at interest in Marbella’s night, as well as day, party life. Among the venues investigated is a hotel, located close to Marbella, that runs like a de facto day disco. But also clubs that are offering unlawful live concerts with expensive DJs and similar functions. The Andalusian Ombudsman already sent a threat in the form of an extensive report to all town halls in Andalucia reminding licensing department officials in charge of supervising summer clubs, open air discos and other infringing establishments that they are likely to be prosecuted criminally if they grant music licenses in breach of Decree 78/2002 of Andalucia. According to the Ombudsman’s report, except for occasional or exceptional concerts or recreational activities for the public, music in Andalusia can only be played in private establishments catalogued as ‘bars or pubs’ or ‘discotheques/night clubs’, with adequate soundproofing, and always within the premises - never outside. Besides these cases, it is illegal for a town hall to grant permissions, licenses or authorizations for music to be played in day bars, pools, restaurants or hotels. There are serious fears that Marbella becomes a stag-and-hen-party destina-

tion and national press has picked up on this, Cuatro Television national TV station among them, who sent a crew to film scenes not dissimilar to those regularly taking place in resorts such as Mallorca, Magaluf. Illegal parties were also filmed and will be exposed on the tv channel.

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com

Vueling’s 2,411 flights suffered some form of delay or cancellation. Vueling had committed a ‘very serious offence if we

bear in mind the number of people affected and the airline’s dominant position in the market’, according to government minister Patricia Gómez. The company was given a €320,000 fine for the delays and cancellations and a further €20,000 fine for ‘repeatedly ignoring requests for information needed to clear up the facts’. “[Vueling] has violated the Consumer Protection Law by its widespread non-compliance of the air transport contracts signed with the passengers of the Balearic Islands,” he said.

Mind the gap SPAIN’S trade gap grew in May as imports outstripped exports, figures from the Economy Ministry showed. The country’s trade deficit rose to €1.43 billion from €940 million the previous May. Exports surged 15.2% yearon-year, but imports rose by 16.7%. From January to May the country’s trade deficit was €9.82 compared to €6.52 billion in the same period in 2016. Spain's foreign trade gap widened in May from a year ago, as imports grew faster than exports, preliminary figures from the Economy Ministry showed Friday. The trade deficit rose to EUR 1.43 billion in May from EUR 0.94 billion in the corresponding month last year.

Tourist trips half THE number of sightseeing excursions taken by tourists in the Balearic Islands has halved since 2011. Travel agents sold some two million tourist excursions six years ago,with that number now around one million. The Federation of Balearic Business Transport (FEBT) said the drop was having ‘a negative impact’, “This affects business trade, since the excursions generate income,” said FEBT president Rafael Roig.

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Mallorca diaries By Lesley Keith

I’ve been eating out a lot lately, in fact I very rarely do anything else

AVING visited the island before moving here, I already knew how good the food

was. Fresh ingredients brought to life by the warm Mediterranean sun and cooked in a traditional way was always going to be a winner. But visiting is one thing, living here is another. As a holidaymaker you tend to dine out a lot, eating lots of lovely dishes cooked to your liking and served to your table. But now living here, I wanted to embrace the cuisine in my own kitchen, so I took myself off to the local markets so I could produce my own culinary gems. The first thing that hit me at the markets is how big everything is here. It’s like the vegetables are on steroids, or perhaps it's genetic modification or just plain solar power? The second thing was I really had no idea what a lot of it was. I held strange

Can’t cook, won’t cook

conversations with market traders who only really spoke Mallorquina, with Spanish Castilian as a second language. What the hell is a ‘kaku’ for example? And that huge long pinky thing that looked a bit like a fence post turned out to be a horseradish.

Radishes were the size of snooker balls and peppers could make a reasonably sized waste paper bin. It didn’t help that if my partner was with me he’d insist on buying one of those bags of 16 deep fried doughnuts that always seem to be on offer (meaning I’d have to

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help him out as 16 is too many for anyone, even him). Finding myself out of my depth, yet again, I turned to the local supermarkets. I live close to two major players situated side by side, a very respectable Lidl and a big Eroski, both keen for custom and very

August 3rd - August 16th 2017 August 3rd - August 16th 2017

well stocked. I soon filled my cupboards with a great selection of what I considered to be staple Mallorcan fayre, paella style rice, locals dried herbs, red onions etc. I set to work producing what I hoped would be my very own culinary masterpieces. You’re probably way ahead of me here but I truly did give it my best shot so at this point I feel I should explain that in a former life I cooked every day. Ad m i t tedly I was never very good at it and I can’t say I enjoyed it much and n e i t h e r, it would seem, did the recipients. Well here, stuck in my impractical rental flat kitchen with its dated gas cooker (which of course only ever runs out when you’re actually in the middle of cooking something) it soon became obvious that I seemed to be making the same meal again and again. Some sort of meat with slowly roasted

tomatoes and local vegetables. At first it was actually quite good but variety is the spice of life and even I had to admit it was getting boring. Both my partner and I were increasingly craving a taste of home, I’m almost ashamed to say that following such a promising start my local produce and ingredients are now pushed to the back of the cupboard w h e r e their sell by dates are slowly passing by, leaving space for the prized Kelloggs Cornflakes, s l i c e d b r e a d , Cheddar cheese and Branston pickle. We now relish our burgers and sausages on the barbeque and eat out a lot. A friend who is a very efficient house husband was listening to me praise yet another restaurant we’d recently tried and asked ‘Do you actually own a cooker?’ I did laugh along with everyone else but the answer should have been ‘Yes, and it’s very clean’.

Silverstone

A racy weekend among the Who’s Who of F1

WAS back in the UK last month for the British Grand Prix. Regular readers of my witterings will know that one of the great jokes of the universe is my somewhat disastrous relationship with cars – I've been through four in less than three years, and car number five, the inappropriately-named Felicia, is making terminal-sounding noises as the ITV approaches, while The Tank is now only used to tackle the track to get to the Casita. This is especially ironic as, back in the 60s and 70s my father was an international racing and rally driver of some repute, competing in a variety of exotic cars in classic events such as Le Mans 24 hours, the Targa Florio and even the World Cup Rally in 1970, racing pretty much non stop from London to Mexico. (They were 13th when they hit a huge rock 13,000 feet up in the Andes and that was game over). Dad was sponsored by JCB, which also lead to Lord Bamford becoming my Godfather (I haven't received a birthday present from him since I was about 12, so I'm hoping he'll make up soon with a really big one. A yacht would be nice.) In recognition of his achievements, Dad was also invited to become a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), which is basically a Who's Who of British motorsport and includes Sir Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Damon Hill and Lewis Hamilton as members. The BRDC also own Silverstone Circuit and have two fantastic clubhouses there, complete with all the racing memorabilia a petrol-

head like me could wish for, though the portrait of playboy world champion and sometime Marbella resident James Hunt beaming down on the stairs did raise a wry smile. As a BRDC member and guest (me) we had passes to most areas during the weekend, even getting a pit walkabout on the Friday afternoon for a closer look. I grabbed a picture in front of Carlos Sainz's car, though the drivers had retreated to the massive motorhomes in the paddock. On the Saturday I brazened out a cold qualifying in the stands, enjoying the cheers when Fernando Alonso briefly topped the timesheets, and when Lewis took pole. Then it was back to the clubhouse for tea and overpriced catering (No change from ten pounds for a coffee and a Thai Style sandwich) and to watch Wimbledon on the big screen. The Grand Prix itself was pretty much perfect, with Lewis speeding to victory from the start, and rival Vettel finishing down the order with a late puncture to huge cheers. Afterwards we had sandwiches on the lawn (brought in from Waitrose this time) and watched Federer effortlessly win an eighth title. As I always do at races I became as excited as a four-year-old by the sights, sounds and sheer speed of the F1 cars and the only change I noticed was in the conversations of my Dad and his racing mates. When once they talked about bits dropping off their racing cars, now the talk was of bits dropping off them!!!

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Olive ‘plague’ talks for Palma

MALLORCA is set to hold a major conference on the battle against an olive ‘plague’. Palma will host the talks on the blight scything through olive trees across Spain, with international experts gathering on November 13 for the three-day meeting. Download our app now and Some 305 cases of Xylella fastidibegin enjoying the best Spanish osa, known as olive ebola, have news on the go.

Down to the wire

Meat-free food festival to launch second gastronomic A SHOCKED Mallorca diner gala in August almost bit off more he Press Thethan Olive could chew this week. The stunned Palma restauTOP for news rant goer found a three-centimetres-long wire inside one of his breaded filets. After waiters apologised, he and a friend paid for the rest of their meal and left. However, the diner who found the wire has had to visit a hospital for checkups after feeling discomfort in this throat. "I touched the tip and it was like a needle ... or a nail,” he said. “Now I have discomfort. It is like when you a fishbone is stuck." The young man went to a clinic in Palma this Wednesday, but says he still feels pain in his larynx.

inVEGAN Spain!Day Out is making a return to Mallorca this month. The ‘dairy-free, meatless, plant-based’ food festival, which made its inaugural appearance on the island last month, is opening its doors once more on August 26. Workshops, live music and - of course - lots of delicious food stalls will have guests licking their lips at the free event, which will be held at Agroturismo Ca na Susi. “Vegan Day Out is a celebration of the health, environmental, and animal welfare benefits of a plant-based lifestyle,” a spokesperson said. “There will be vegan food to

been reported in the Balearic Islands since the first case appeared in October, 2016. So far, three different strands of the bacteria have been identified, with the vast majority of cases reported in Mallorca. Around half of the trees affected have been destroyed, with olive and almond trees worse hit.

Vegan Day Out is back

Palma is veggie hotspot PALMA has the fourth-largest number of vegetarian restaurants in Spain, a new survey shows. The study by holiday website Holidu puts the Mallorca capital behind only Granada, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Barcelona in terms of vegetarian eateries. ARound 7.8% of Spaniards count themselves as vegetarians, according to a report by Lantern.

Citrus, grape and fig trees have also been hit, with authorities on the mainland warning passengers heading to Mallorca not to bring back vegetation from the island. Balearic authorities have cut down and destroyed affected crops and intensified controls within 100 metres of the infected trees.

sample and purchase, engaging speakers, exciting performers, and members from the local vegan community to answer questions and showcase what inspires them.” In June, over 1,000 foodies gathered for the first Vegan Day Out, organised by expat Scott Adams. This time round, guests are set to experience a surprise final. Palma de Mallorca was recently named-one destination for vegans by Jasmijn de Boo, CEO of The Vegan Society.

Wine truce AGRICULTURAL ministers from Spain and France have met for talks in a bid to reduce tensions in the ongoing ‘wine war’. The ministers met in Paris to discuss ongoing grievances brought by French wine producers. p Last year, it emerged many French supermarkets were selling cheaper Spanish wine instead of supporting local French brands. “We have nothing against exportation, but we found ourselves in a situation where supermarket aisles had Spanish wine bottled in France, sold under French brands,” said Samuel Masse, president of ‘Young Farmers’) of Hérault. “In 2016, we had an influx of low-cost Spanish wine, but that’s less true today,” he added. The meeting comes after the creation of a mixed FrenchSpanish committee on the issue, with producers from both sides working to resolve the issue since May this year. It comes after 2016 saw Spanish wine lorries attacked by French farmers.

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Food, drink & travel 26

As Spain’s top chef Eneko Atxa opens in London, OP publisher Jon Clarke checks out the green and wacky world of his three-Michelin star Basque restaurant Azurmendi

HERE are not many great meals that start with a picnic. But at Bilbao’s Azurmendi lunch begins in an unusual glass atrium, contemplating a rather twee basket that has suddenly been thrust in front of us. Inside is a leprechaun's picnic of tiny caipirinha balls, an eel sandwich and a spread of edible flowers on a ‘garden vegetable cake’ of hazelnut, chocolate and foie.

August 3rd - August 16th 2017

Life’s a picnic

Fabulous

Changing by the month and washed down with a fabulous glass of ice cold flinty Txakoli, this is the way that chef Eneko Atxa likes to welcome the fortunate guests that are able to get a reservation at his creative three-Michelin star cathedral of dining. A restaurant inspired by the environment, by its own surroundings and, very much, with an eye on sustainability, Azurmendi - voted 16th

BACKDROP: Rolling green landscape and (above) a crab dish

best in the world, by Restaurant magazine - is about as far from the convention-

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mendi uses geothermal heating, collects its own rainwater, has a fascinat-

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LEPRECHAUN´S DINNER: The picnic starter

FOOD PORN: Lobster dish

INVENTIVE: Seed bank and sweetcorn milk

ing seed bank on the roof, grows most of its own vegetables, and even makes its own wine. In short; this is an education, as much as an adventure. Like a visit to Charlie’s chocolate factory we are soon spirited away from the lobby picnic to another room filled with wonderful foodie creations. Here, a small group of culinary scientists proffer us a mixture of amuses bouches including white balls of asparagus powder inspired by cotton, a dish of porcini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms grown in situ and a type of sweet corn milk, dubbed morokil. Next up we find ourselves in the corner of the giant kitchen, where 25 chefs from as far and wide as Korea, Mexico and even that celebrated corner of cuisine Albania, go about their business in the most calming, Zen-like fashion. This is everything that Gordon Ramsay isn’t, with all the chefs collectively welcoming us with the Basque word for hello - agur - as we enter. It is a full half an hour before we are actually sitting down in the delightful cube-like dining room, with its clean lines, slate floors and acres of glass and wood. Everything maximises the classic Basque country-

side, the rolling green hills, stands of trees and, of course, the inevitable clouds that bob around in the distance, this being Spain’s wettest region. “It rains 130 days a year here and that shapes your personality,” Eneko, 39, tells me, before revealing how many of his dishes are inspired by rock music, quite a few by British bands. “Each plate has a different song and I come up with them at home before working on them here.” He doesn’t want to be specific, but admits he is a fan of Led Zeppelin, as well as the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers. “But I am also heavily influenced by the Basque rock bands of the ´80s,” he adds. Passionate and enthusiastic about the environment, it is little surprise that Azurmendi has won prizes for sustainability. He is heavily influenced by the region and learnt a lot from the local masters, including Martin Berasategui and Juan Mari Arzak, and credits both his parents and grandmother as influences.

This all comes over with the main meal that starts with his famous truffled egg dish (left), which could be the most delicious mouthful I have ever eaten. This is followed by easily one of the most beautiful; spider crab served with a Bloody Mary infusion (far left), which starts as a Monet and ends as a Jackson Pollock. Next up comes the most amazing roasted lobster, out of its shell on a bed of herbs and chive. This is food porn of the most explicit… not to mention luxurious. Indeed, of the seven main courses that follow, each is as rich as it is creative. There is roast suckling pig and even a cauliflower dish with fried eggs and truffle that tastes amazing. By the time the roasted duck comes I have run out of superlatives. Thank god there is a meaty 2008 Rioja Contino to keep it in its place. The only real disappointment are the puddings, which sort of drift in and out without fanfare and are hardly worth a mention. Wine-wise the advice was superb and it is impossible to fault the service, which is easily worthy of three Michelin stars. Eneko, if London doesn’t fall for you, then I’m a leprechaun… and please come to Mallorca!

Azurmendi 944 558 866 email: info@azurmendi.biz Barrio Legina, s/n, 48195 Larrabetzu (Lezma)

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CRISTIANO Ronaldo has denied hiding millions of euros from Spain’s tax authorities. The Real Madrid star was appearing at a Spanish court where he has been charged with tax evasion. The TheOlive OlivePress Press He is accused of not declaring €14.7 million earned fromnewsininSpain! TOP TOPfor fornews Spain! image rights. "I have never hidden anything, nor have I had the intention of evading taxes," Ronaldo, 32, said. "I always voluntarily file my tax returns because I think we all must file a return and pay taxes according to our income. “Those that know me, know what I ask my advisors: that they have everything up to date and properly paid, because I don't want problems." The four-times world player MORE than 700 guests have attended Juof the year is accused of evad- ly’s Engel & Völkers Polo Cup in Mallorca. ing tax via companies based The event, held at the private estate of CEO/ in the British Virgin Islands Founder Christian Völkers, attracted a host and Ireland. of famous faces. Judge Monica Gomez Ferrer Duchess Anna in Bayern with husband will now decide if the case Baron Andreas von Maltzan, Daniel Craseshould go to trial. mann and his wife Luisa, Prince Carl-Eu-

Tour de France champ wants to secure Vuelta a Espana CHRIS Froome says he is going to the Vuelta a Espana with ‘a sense of mission’. The four-times Tour De France winner secured his fourth yellow jersey in glorious style in Paris last month. And now the Team Sky leader is preparing for the gruelling Spanish grand tour as he bids to become only the third rider in history to win both races in one season. "Previous years, the Vuelta felt like an afterthought. This year we've thought about it a lot. We're going there with a sense of mission and I just want to have a real shot at it," Froome said. Froome also revealed the pain he endured during some the toughest stages of his year’s Tour de France.

During Stage 12 to Peyragudes, Froome faded badly and lost 22 seconds, with the British rider blaming his lapse on failing to eat properly in preceding days. “The legs felt good, the power was there but I had a fuelling problem. My mistake wasn't on that day but in the buildup to it," Froome said. "We'd done two flat stages before Peyragudes and I'd eaten less than I should have. That had a knock-on effect even though on the mountain day itself I ate plenty. “You learn lessons in every Tour and that was an important one for me. From Peyragudes to Paris I didn't stop eating and ended weighing almost 1.5kg more than I'd been at the start of the race."

Engel & Völkers Polo Cup in mint condition gen zu Oettingen Wallerstein and his wife Anna, Hieronymus Count Wolff Metternich and his wife Maryni were among those attending. Other star names included Simoneta Gómez-Acebo, the cousin of King Felipe VI of Spain, Diandra Douglas, Leonardo Ferragamo, painter Natasha Zupan and Jor-

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dan Hewson, daughter of U2 singer Bono, and actor Diego Osorio. “It fills me with pride that the Engel & Völkers Polo Cup has now taken place for the ninth time. “It’s a special event that I enjoy sharing with friends who are just as passionate about polo as I am,” said Christian Völkers.

Nadal No.1? RAFAEL Nadal is eyeing up the number-one spot in the tennis rankings. The Mallorcan maestro saw Roger Federer bag his 19th Grand Slam with victory at Wimbledon. But Nadal, who secured his 10th French Open win in May, is ready to do battle with his old rival to regain top spot in the world rankings. “It’s true that we (Roger and I) are better prepared to compete for nice things at the end of the year but it depends on what we’re able to do from now until the end of the year. We’ll have to wait and see,” said Nadal. “The person who will be able to keep his high level for a longer period of time will have more options to fight for the world No 1 ranking. “But the same can be said of Murray, and many others who are up there. Maybe they haven’t had the best six months this year but they are also candidates.”

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August 3rd - August 16th 2017

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August 3rd - August 16th 2017

Ronaldo rents superyacht for Balearics

Swanning around A RECORD number of Swan yachts have competed in the Copa del Rey MAPFRE regatta. In total,crew will man six ClubSwan 50s, 12 ClubSwan 42s, 12 Swan 45s and one Swan 601 and use the race to test their ability ahead of next October’s Nations Trophy. It is the first time six ClubSwan 50s have lined up at the starting line-up together. “The boat feels very balanced from light to strong winds but still quite challenging to keep her always on max speed,” said yachtsman Diogo Cayolla, tactician on Andrea Masi’s ClubSwan 50 Ulika. “Even if the deck layout is a little bit different from what we are used to, most of the manoeuvres are smooth and gentle.” He added: “We have a huge mountain to climb but very optimistic with the boat and crew. Copa del Rey will be our first big test after the good feelings from the last Giraglia Rolex Cup.”

Before he returns to the ranks of Real Madrid on August 5, Christiano Ronaldo has been sailing around the Balearics enjoy a summer holiday. First the Portuguese football star, along with his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, were sailing around Ibiza on the superyacht, aYa London. The Real Madrid player is reportedly paying 45,000 a week to hire the superyacht. In mid July the luxury ship was boarded by customs officers off Ibiza for a routine inspection after

Ronaldo and his family left dinner on Formentera. After Ibiza and Formentera, the father of three took a quick trip to China for business before returning to the Balearic Islands with his girlfriend. They landed in Mallorca and hit the streets. Armed with a large security team the couple went shopping in the capital city, making sure to stop in the exclusive store, Corner. The two also shared a romantic dinner at Tapa Negra in the basement of the hotel Meliá Palas Atenea where they

Sail of the century

took photos with locals and fans. Photo Note: Posted on Monday by Georgina with caption: username: georginagio - Aunque un acto sea efímero el recuerdo será eterno. #❤️ Note that ronaldo was in court on Monday so not taken that day- or that’s not ronaldo…. There a load a photos of him on the yacht earlier this month but I can’t find one I know we have the right to use. Maybe someone else will have more luck.

King of Spain’s boat takes early lead in ‘biggest-ever’ Copa del Rey KING Felipe’s boat Aifos has held onto its lead in the Copa del Rey MAPFRE for a second day. The monarch’s vessel held out to maintain its surprise position in the BMW ORC1 classification, although the King missed Tuesday’s course of 7.75 nautical miles.. Tuesday’s stage was won by the crew of the Rats on Fire boat, on a day when winds were very low. On the overall leader board,Porron IX is second with 14 points, with Hydra - Marina RUBICON in third place on 19 points. This year’s event sees a record-breaking number of yachts taking part. The largest-ever event sees 138 teams from 24 countries hoist sails for the annual fourday extravaganza from July 29 in ten separate

HUGE SAILS: At Copa del Rey classes. For the first time,three Nautor’s Swan One designs - from one of most prestigious boatyards in the word - will compete in the ClubSwan 50, MRW Swan 45 and Swan 42. “It is a real source of pride,” said Palma Royal Nautical Club’s Vivi Mainemare.

“The boats are drawn here, attracted to the safety, climate, and the solid savoir-faire of the RCNP, as well as the extraordinary sailing conditions in the Bay of Palma.” He added: “The Swan 45 and 42 are over ten years-old, and the ClubSwan 50 was officially launched this year. “The first two are very classical, traditional yachts, although they have the one design character, the newer class is more aggressive and fun, and has been created to enjoy racing.” Five of the categories consist of one designs competing in real time (the first to cross the finish line wins). Three of the classes sail under the BMW ORC category, which sail with strict handicap rules.

Boats, bikes and automobiles… Yacht ablaze TECHNICIANS installed a floating barrier to contain the spill of fuel from a huge fire which ripped through five boats in Port d’Andratx. A man carrying out repairs on one boat suffered serious burns following the fire, which destroyed the vessels. Initially a containment fence of 50-square metres was erected, but technicians were forced to expand it. The injured man was doused with hoses by onlookers.

Taking over THE 2017 regatta marks the sixth season of the 52 Super Series and was the biggest yet. The renowned series is established as “the world's leading grand prix monohull yacht racing circuit,” after forming from the ashes of the former TP52 MedCup which dissolved in 2011. The super series sailing week took over Puerto Portals and the Bay of Palma for five days, with Ergin Imre's Provezza team winning their first ever title in the series. The 52 Super series will finish the season with their finale in Menorca this September.

Out with the royals

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Tat spat Scottish footie fan asks for Ten In a Row tattoo but gets Terry Munro

August 3rd - August 16th 2017

WHOOPS: Funny tat

A CELTIC fan who asked for a ‘Ten In a Row’ tattoo in Magaluf discovered in the morning something had been lost in translation. Robbie Brunton, 25, from Fife, asked for the ink in anticipation of his team securing ten Scottish league titles on the bounce. But the boozed-up supporter soon discovered his broad Scottish accent had confused matters, with the name Terry Munro

now forever branded on his chest. “To be honest I can’t really remember getting it done,” he said. “I was pretty drunk. I think we’d just went to the tattoo place after a night out about 6am. “I just remember waking up in the morning and wondering why I had it on my chest. “I’m a big Celtic fan so I’m guessing that’s why I thought it was a good idea to get it.” He added: “It was daft enough getting Ten in a row on my chest – never mind Terry Munro.” Brunton got the tattoo done in May and had managed to WITTY British cops who posted they were in Mallorca on keep it secret until someholiday sparked confusion on Facebook one took a photo of it which The status, which read ‘Bye house! Hello Majorca for two went viral on Twitter. whole weeks’ was part of an anti-burglary drive by Avon & Somerset Constabulary. “I’ve not even told my family Facebook users, believing the message had been posted acyet,” he said. “I’m thinking cidentally by an officer, warned would alert burglars that about getting it removed but the house was empty. at the same time I might keep “Did you see our post earlier? Sad to say, we’re not actually it because it’s so bizarre.”

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Sunbed saga IT used to be Germans who got blamed - by the British, anyway - for taking all the sunbeds. But a hilarious new video shows dozens of tourists sprinting to nab the best spot by a Spanish hotel pool before it even opens. In the film, holidaymakers can be seen frantically dashing to place towels and secure the best-placed sunbeds at the four-star Servatur Waikik at 7.30am on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria.

ANTI-tourism brigade runs riot ANTI-tourism activists have published a video of themselves targeting a Mallorca restaurant popular with holidaymakers. The group, Arran Paisos Catalans, invaded the restaurant in Palma’s Moll Vell before letting off flares and unveiling anti-tourism banners, one reading ‘Tourism Kills Mallorca’. Around 20 campaigners, some wearing masks, rushed into the joint Mar de Nudos, with one woman seen showering diners in confetti.

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A spokesperson for the group, which is the youth wing of the radical radical CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy) party, said the campaign aimed ‘to raise awareness about elite tourism’. A message accompanying the video, filmed on July 22, said the group wants to ‘paralyse the massive tourism that destroys Mallorca and that condemns the working class of the Catalan people to misery’.

We are back on August 2nd. In the meantime visit our website www.theolivepress.es for daily stories... and send comment to newsdesk@theolivepress.es