Olive Press Newspaper – Issue 272

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Vol. 11 Issue 272

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August 16th - August 29th 2017

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nolotil Pressure mounts

679702_DFS_SPANISH_BOX_AD_40x40_MIJAS_COSTA.indd 23/02/2017 11:31 1

THE Olive Press has received nearly 1000 signatures for its Kill the Drug campaign.

So far 700 have signed the online change.org petition which aims to outlaw the drug Nolotil in Spain.

It comes after we reported for the fourth time on victims of the lethal painkiller, also known as Metamizole, over the last year.

Nolotil, which is banned in the UK, US, Australia and most of western Europe, has led to a number of side effects and been blamed for leading to deaths.

It is known to have brought to the brink of death dozens of unsuspecting expats by poisoning their bone marrow and

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Vol. 11 Issue 271

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GET IN IT TO WIN IT!

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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 simple 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

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 answers to the newsdesk@theolivepress.es.

WIN WIN WIN: Bolton and Pink Purple Zep Fest tickets

destroying their white blood cell count. Our petition has since been KILL THE reported on by foreign DRUG press, including the Irish Independent.

KILL THE One person to sign, American Theresa DRUG Bridgette, wrote simply: “This drug killed my father,” alongside her ALARMING:SALE Our last 59 Mosquito signature.

SEE MORE PAGE 8 front page Screens EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

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

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

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

Metamizole, Nolotil is banned in the US, the UK, Ireland and most of Europe, but it is prescribed widely in Spain.

Irishman William ‘Billy’ Smyth was given a five-day course of the drug in February.

But when the 66-year-old returned to a different Spanish

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.

Billy, a keen 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.

Another British expat Hugh Wilcox was prescribed the same medication for mild shoulder pain on the Costa del Sol. He developed severe head Continues on Page 2

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Screening row EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

AN expat is demanding answers after thermal imaging of her breasts missed a life-threatening tumour.

German Anke Werner (above), 53, claims the screening at a Marbella clinic failed to recognise the cancerous lump under her arm, with doctors diagnosing it as a lymph gland that simply needed draining.

Instead of noticing the 30mm tumour, the report advised arm exercises and a review in three months time.

“Thank God I got a second opinion and had it checked somewhere else,” Nerja-based Werner told the Olive Press.

“Now I fear there may be many other people out there whose lives could be in danger, who need to go for further tests.”

Werner, from Dusseldorf, had visited Marbella’s Bodyworks Clinic clinic in December after discovering a hard lump under her arm, just six months after removing a tumour from her breast in June 2016.

“I assumed that it might be scar tissue from the breast operation or maybe a swollen lymph gland,” she explained. “But thought best to be certain.”

According to Werner, one of the clinic’s doctors insisted she receive thermal imaging of her breasts in early January instead of the typical mammogram.

“I had not heard of this before, but after they explained that it was safe, non invasive and the Continues on Page 8

SHOCKING CLAIMS LEADING CLUB HAS ‘NO BLACK PEOPLE’ POLICY

‘No blacks in here’

West End star claims black people barred at Malaga nightclub EXCLUSIVE

By Laura Duckett

A TALENTED British actor has vowed to never return to Malaga after he was allegedly refused entry to a nightclub because he is black.

Tarinn Callender 21, was celebrating landing two roles in London’s West End musical Hamilton, while his friend Caleb Roberts, 21 - also black had just landed a part in King Lear.

But their trip turned sour

TURNED AWAY: Callender (left) and Roberts

when the pair were refused entry to popular city centre club Sala Wenge, because of their skin colour, they claim.

After they approached the door they were told they

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at the time, told the Olive Press: “I knew something strange was happening because the bouncer asked for their student IDs which they didn’t do with white people.

“It was clearly just an attempt to find an excuse to keep them out.”

Abdullah, who was on an Erasmus placement for the summer, claimed his manager chastised him for bringing the pair to the club, after hooking them in on a street nearby.

“He made excuses saying I couldn’t bring people Continues on Page 2

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had to be wearing polo shirts instead of t-shirts, and so were turned away.

“We looked at people inside the club and lots of the guys were wearing tshirts, so we knew they

were just trying to make up stupid excuses,” said Callender, who is playing the key roles o f James Madison and Hercules Mulligan in Hamilton.

The pair were also asked to show their student IDs, which is not the club’s door policy.

Their story came to light after British club promoter Beijan Abdullah approached the Olive Press in a bid to expose what he claims is an alarming ‘no-blacks’ policy at the club.

The 22-year-old London law student, who was working for Sala Wenge

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2

CRIME

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Hash flow THE Guardia Civil has made ‘one of the most important coups against drug traffickers’ in recent times.

They have arrested around 25 people in connection to a five-tonne hashish haul.

The huge bust took place in Algeciras on August 3, and also involved the seizure of three boats, three tractors and an unspecified amount of money.

Officials claim that those involved make up one of the most powerful groups of drug traffickers in the region.

At large

Not all of the members of the gang have been captured, and some of them remain at large.

The organization worked in San Roque, La Linea and Algeciras and its leader was among the detainees.

According to officials, it is one of the most important police coups against drug trafficking organizations in the Strait.

The Cadiz province is a drug smuggling hub due to its proximity to Morocco, one of the world’s top producers of Hashish.

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Asylum attackers

Shock robbery Expat pensioner sees priceless jewellery and cash robbed by phoney electrician

A FAKE electrician has robbed a British expat pensioner of more than €10,000 worth of jewellery and cash.

Patricia Vause, 88, is warning fellow expats on the Costa del Sol of the ‘young and charming’ man who she claims pretended to be from energy giant Endesa.

While inside her home in Ronda en al Mar, Este-

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

pona, the sick thief stole countless priceless items and almost €1,000 in cash.

Vause, originally from York, told the Olive Press: “I stupidly let him in but he was so convincing, he knew how much electricity I was using and spoke extremely good English.”

After suggesting she could

cut her energy costs, Vause claims the man took her to her electricity meter in the basement and changed the settings, causing a red light to turn on.

Then, according to Vause, who has lived in Spain for 30 years, the man instructed her to call upstairs to him when the light turned off while he ‘tested appliances’.

“Of course after ten min-

Double act

Holiday’s Hands up! over A SENIOR member of notorious Irish crime clan the Kinahans has been arrested in Spain.

The 34-year-old suspect, who is wanted on suspicion of murder, was seized by armed Guardia Civil during a dawn raid on a hotel 60 miles south of Barcelona.

The fugitive is wanted for questioning over the 2010 slaying of gang boss Eamon ‘The Don’ Dunne.

During the raid, masked officers brandishing semiautomatic weapons can be heard screaming ‘Manos, manos’ (‘Hands, hands’) as the suspect lay in bed watching television.

A bloody turf war between the Kinahans and the rival Dublin Hutch gang has claimed a dozen lives.

In 2016, the suspect reacted with ‘violence’ during an attempt to arrest him at Malaga Airport, fleeing across a busy motorway to evade cops.

utes I called out to him and heard nothing, and I went upstairs and he had vanished.”

It was only a few hours later that Vause, an ex-career civil servant at the Ministry of Defence, noticed the true extent of the theft.

“He had taken a Rolex, gold braceletes, five platinum rings and priceless items like a sovereign gold ring that was given to me at birth, I couldn’t believe it!”

The haul also included an eternity ring containing 22 diamonds and €900 in cash. Altogether he made of with goods worth around €10,000.

Vause believes the robbery was a double act, as the thief was regularly on the phone.

THREE Russian men have been arrested after they allegedly beat an Italian tourist to death in a Spanish nightclub.

The victim, named as 22-yearold Niccolo Ciatti, was pronounced dead on Sunday, 24 hours after he was punched and kicked unconscious in Girona.

All three suspects, from Chechnya, are believed to have been seeking Asylum in Spain.

They were cuffed on the Costa Brava after horrific footage emerged showing of Ciatti, a fruitseller from Florence, being beaten to death in a nightclub.

He was enjoying a holiday with friends.

Police say the suspects and victim did not know each other, and there was no verbal altercation before the beating started.

EUROPOL is enlisting the public to help track down fugitives who have committed serious crimes in 21 EU countries.

The crime agency has produced a series of illustrated postcards, complete with details of the criminals and sarcastic messages.

British criminals on the list include David Daniel Heyes, a Welshman accused of child abuse. He has been on the run since 2015 and was last seen boarding a flight to Amsterdam.

His postcard, decorated with a traditional red phonebox, reads: "Dear

Daniel, We have been trying to get hold of you because there is still so much to discuss. Please get in touch soon."

Europol hopes that the public will share the tongue-in-cheek images on social media and help catch the elusive fugitives.

“Share these postcards, send your leads. For these fugitives, holidays are over!” Europol said in a statement.

“He was always on the phone to his ‘colleague’, but when I think about it now, I don’t think he was speaking Spanish as I couldn’t understand any of it.”

She added that he was ‘extremely crafty’, managing to win over her trust by talking about his ‘family from the UK’.

“He spoke about his mother and father and how he loved the UK and that he went to Trinity College in Birmingham, all of which is probably a lie and all the while scheming to rob me.”

Vause has made a denuncia and police confirmed to the Olive Press that an investigation has been launched, although they could not comment further.

Long term friend and fellow British expat Sandra Russell, 65, said: “It’s awful as she blames herself.

“She is such a sensible person. But she has been poorly recently which of course doesn't help.

“I hope this story will save other vulnerable people.”

Transexuals freed from forced sex gang SPANISH police have dismantled a prostitution network that exploited transsexuals who thought they had won a ‘new life in Spain’ at fake ‘Miss Trans’ competitions in Venezuela.

Police more than 20 victims on Monday, who had been forced to live in ‘inhumane conditions’ in overcrowded apartments in Barce-

lona and Palma de Mallorca where they had to pay off debts through prostitution and drug dealing.

The network lured transsexuals to Spain by offering to pay for their travel and accommodation, along with new breast implants, police said in a statement.

The network's leader promised them ‘great prosperity.’

When the individuals arrived in Spain, the network confiscated travel documents and imposed a debt per person of €15,000 for their return. They had to be available 24 hours a day to clients.

The ring had earned around €1 million in five years.

Some 14 people have been arrested.

‘I can’t believe it’ From front

‘like that’ in the club. they are ‘not dressed properly’, and we ‘don't know where they're from’.

“He said ‘we didn’t know if they have papers or who they are’.

“I asked him straight out if it was because they are black, and he laughed nervously and said ‘yes’.”

He is now convinced it is the club’s policy to refuse entry to black customers after others were also turned away.

“I can’t believe it - it’s blatant racism, it's not the 1940s, I can’t believe stuff like this is still happening,” he said.

The Olive Press approached the nightclub on several occasions, but it failed to comment in time for press.

NE WS

www.theolivepress.es

Bun in the oven BRITISH soap star Danniella Westbrook is said to be expecting a baby with her husband-to-be, just weeks after the couple met.

The owner of a Costa del Sol strip club, 44, and her toyboy lover Alan Thomason, 34, have enjoyed a whirlwind romance after meeting just weeks ago.

Danniella later appeared to confirm her engagement after flashing a ring on her finger during a day out in Spain.

Danniella is now expecting her first child with Alan. She is already a mother to Kai, 21, from a relationship with Robert Fernandez, and Jody, 15, with ex-husband Kev Jenkins.

Bad boys A MAJOR Hollywood studio is poised to sign a deal with Nigel Farage and Arron Banks to make a £60million, six-part film of Mr Banks’ best-selling diary of the referendum campaign The Bad Boys of Brexit.

The script is nearly finished and shooting will start in the New Year.

The series will air in April, once the deal is signed next month at a meeting in Los Angeles.

The story is told from the point of view of Gerry Gunster, a US pollster who advised the Leave.EU campaign, and tells how Mr Farage and Mr Banks won against the odds and ended up campaigning for Donald Trump's successful campaign in the US presidential election.

August 16th - August 29th 2017

3

Dream come true SIX of our lucky readers have enjoyed two of the hottest concerts of the year after being chosen at random in our summer ticket giveaway.

Antonia and hubby Jan (pictured), and Julie Watts and her plus one all won tickets to see Michael Bolton at the exclusive Puente Romano hotel in Marbella.

Meanwhile Edward Wall won two

tickets to the epic rock concert The Pink Purple Zep Fest in Estepona.

“Thank you so much, it is a dream come true to see him,” Antonia told the Olive Press, “Of course we thoroughly enjoyed the concert, Bolton never fails, and the seating was perfect.”

Keep your eyes peeled for more ticket giveaways.

WINNERS: Anotnia and Jan

CONCERN: For British TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson

Top fear JEREMY Clarkson has revealed he almost died after being rushed to hospital with severe pneumonia in Spain.

After three nights of spasms, the former Top Gear presenter went to the local hospital in Mallorca, where he was told he needed to be admitted for at least a week.

Clarkson, 57, said he had too much to do, but a doctor replied, ‘do as I say, or you will die.’

“All there was to watch was golf. In Spanish,” he said of his week-long stay.

“For me it was a new experience. And a weird one. Because I was in a room with nothing on the walls except wallpaper, and most of that was coming off.”

He claimed he hadn’t had a day off work since 1978.

The controversial presenter posted an Instagram photo of himself on a drip after being taken ill .

Clarkson told ‘you will die’ if he left Spanish hospital He became ill while on holiday with after filming of his Grand Tour programme finished.

Clarkson joked his Mallorca doctor hand told him his smoking was, ‘good, that keeps me in work.’

He later quipped ‘not this week it doesn’t’ under an Instagram photo of a newspaper article claiming smoking brings in €16.5 billion to the public purse.

The motor head detailed his deadly battle with pneumonia in his weekly Sunday Times article, where he said he will be taking it easy for the next two months.

Party with Paris

PARIS Hilton has brought her DJ set from the Balearics to mainland Spain.

The blonde heiress span the decks for revellers at one of Marbella’s newest clubs Mirage.

The billionaire-in-waiting tweeted to her 7.2 million followers before her set: “'Hey Puerto Banus! Can't wait to play for you all tonight at Mirage Marbella! See you all there! #PartyWithParis.”

The former Simple Life star has spent most of the summer stationed in Ibiza, where she is resident DJ at Amnesia.

This is her fifth year there, where thousands have flocked every Sunday to catch her legendary Foam & Diamonds party.

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Illegal taxi and minibus services are putting everyone in danger, warns Costa del Sol lawyer EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

THE AUTHORITIES are finally beginning to clamp down on the huge growth of illegal pirate taxis in Andalucia.

Olive Press sources claim that hundreds of illegal drivers are touting their services from bus and train stations and at the airports around the region.

They are also prowling the streets late at night to pick up fares from drunken tourists.

Many are even brazenly offering their services via Facebook pages and round-robin emails, as well as down most local pubs and bars.

“There has definitely been an increase in illegal taxiing, especially this summer,” Malaga lawyer Jose Luis Ortega Gaspar told the Olive Press.

“It has led the authorities to work hard on a new crackdown. But more needs to be done.”

He explained that drivers are being fined €4,000 if caught, with the fines rising if caught again. Their cars are usually impounded until it is paid.

“Many don’t know that the

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Push out the pirates!

The airport run

ONE pub manager in Estepona told the Olive Press he knows ‘at least seven or eight locals who do regular airport runs’. “They are getting plenty of work in the summer, at least once a week, and maybe two or three times a month punishment for having an accident while operating an illegal taxi can be between eight to 15 years.”

Some 43 illegal pirate taxis have been pulled over and fined at Malaga airport alone over the last two years.

However, this figure is a drop in the ocean, with one reporter from the Olive Press

off season,” he said. While not declaring the money, most are charging, intriguingly only 15 to 20 euros less than a legitimate taxi, whose driver must pay tax, maintain his car in perfect condition and pay for his annual licence.

being approached by THREE separate pirate taxi drivers as he left Malaga airport last Sunday.

Another expat (see pullout) estimated that dozens of illegal airport runs are being undertaken every week in summer from Estepona alone.

One long-time expat, based near Ronda, has been un-

dertaking illegal airport runs for years, while another is in constant demand, near Antequera.

This month an illegal driver was arrested in Sevilla after continually ferrying British tourists to and from the airport for €100 a time.

Over 20 pirate taxis have been picked up in Sevilla and

the same number in Jerez recently.

“But there are hundreds more, maybe even thousands,” explained the owner of a reputable transport company, based on the Costa del Sol. “These people are flaunting the law, not paying taxes and, above all, putting lives at risk.”

The businessman, who asked not to be named, has seen his fleet of over two dozen vehicles come to a near standstill this month as the pirates come out into force.

“Whether it’s a guy in the local bar or an estate agent, they may be lovely people but the fact is without a licence they are pirate taxis,” he said.

“If an accident happens the passengers will be left without insurance, while the driver, vehicle owner and person responsible for booking the service will also face legal consequences.”

He also warned about socalled ‘courtesy services’ which may seem legal on the surface.

“They try to justify their transfers by calling them 'courtesy services',” he warns,

PERFECT PITCH : a pub board has no less than 4 transport ads out of 12 only one with a landline “This happens a lot with holiday rental companies.

“But EU law states that if a service is charged directly or the price is hidden within a package it must be provided by a public service vehicle.

That means there is no way a property management company can collect passengers going to or from the airport.”

Marbella town hall, at least, is taking specific steps to remedy the problem by holding a specific course for its police to help identify the culprits.

The course run by the International Police Association, was held this month after the town hall received hundreds of complaints from licensed taxi drivers.

Mayor Jose Bernal said of the training: "We want to guarantee the safety of citizens and protect the taxi sector.”

Last week to order for September delivery at Summer Sale Prices

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August 16th - August 29th 2017

5

6

Fe at u re

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION Pirate patrol Of course taxis are not a cheap way to get to the airport, or home after a boozy night out… but what are the alternatives?

Jumping into any old car at the airport, or calling the friendly chap down the pub, is simply not on!

Not only is it dangerous to rely on these drivers, whose cars are likely not properly maintained, but you could end up getting robbed, or worse.

And, on top of that, these drivers are not declaring their income and are taking money out of the pockets of local legal taxi drivers who do pay their taxes.

When you consider it is only costing you 15 to 20 euros more for that airport run, it really does make sense to pay a legal taxi.

And continue to demand that the authorities finally put in a good, reliable train service for the entire Costa del Sol and inland too.

‘No blacks’ THE tale of two successful british actors being turned away from a Malaga nightclub on the basis of their skin colour is reminiscent of a dark age where segregation was an accepted social norm.

It is simply shocking to think that people are still being turned away from clubs due to the colour of their skin, and it’s important to note that many are unaware that such overt discrimination still rears its ugly head in the 21st century.

It takes a principled individual like Beijan, the club promoter who reported the incident to the Olive Press, to stand against it, however uncomfortable and whatever the repercussions may be.

Without action, incidents like these continue to marr the experiences of certain individuals and perpetuate harmful the stereotypes which have no place in modern society.

Publisher/ Editor

Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es SALES: sales@theolivepress.es Admin Maria Angeles Vázquez (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es

Newsdesk newsdesk@theolivepress.es Tel: (+34) 665 798 618 Joe Duggan joe@theolivepress.es Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es Laura Duckett Laura@theolivepress.es Designer James Partington design@theolivepress.es

Accounts Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@theolivepress.es Distribution Graham Warters distribution@theolivepress.es

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2012 - 2017

Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

August 16th - August 29th 2017

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

I

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 Ma3323, 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

A local bar owner said spotlights from the show lit up the sky like a nightclub 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 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 above), 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, Romanesquestyle 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

So long,

Love

Island DUMMY: The real Love Island villa is hidden in a quiet picturesque village in Mallorca

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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Fe at u re

Code name: Broken Arrow As the US and North Korea square up with their nuclear toys, Olive Press Mason Cox uncovers the incredible near miss that almost wiped out Andalucia during the last Cold War

But all of a sudden, all hell seemed to break loose,” US Air Force pilot Major Larry G. Messinger on January 17, 1966, after a nuclear spy mission goes wrong over Andalucia.

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Messinger and Trump’s statements, although separated by five decades, are almost interchangeable as our post-Cold War world begins to look scarily like the 1960s.

With the rise of North Korea’s nuclear capability and the United States’ stance towards the rogue nation, the stage is again set for two nuclear powers to flex their muscles in an attempt to personify the ‘Don’t Mess With Us’ narrative.

And although no nuclear weapons were fired some 50 years ago, there were dozens of near misses, some of which could be repeated if today’s trend continues.

But, how many people know that perhaps one of the biggest nuclear disasters to strike in peacetime actually happened in the late 1960s right here in Andalucia.

It was on a sunny January morning during the Cold War in 1966 that a US B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear H-Bombs was scheduled for midair refuelling 9,450 metres off Spain’s Almeria coastline.

US nuclear deterrence at the time hinged on the constant aerial monitoring of the USSR’s borders, code-named Chrome Dome.

This particular bomber was on the return leg of a non-stop journey that had taken it from Seymour Johnson air base in North Carolina, over the Atlantic on a non-stop flight path over Gibraltar and along the Mediterranean coastline to the borders of the Soviet Union.

The purpose of the non-stop flight was to allow the US to strike the USSR at any given moment.

However, just before 10.30am that day, disaster struck.

As the KC-135 refuelling plane approached the B-52, it accidentally overshot the bomber midprocess and the planes collided.

The bomber’s left wing was ripped off, causing an enormous explosion with 30,000 gallons of kerosene going up in flames, and the bomber broken apart.

As Major Larry G. Messinger insisted later ‘all hell did break loose.’

The four men on the KC-135 and three of the seven men on the B-52 died.

But of even greater significance was the cargo now hurtling to the ground.

The plane was carrying four hydrogen bombs. A payload 100 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945 was plummet-

7

2 3

“They will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before,” President Trump on North Korea, August 8, 2017.

Disasters

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NO ENTRY: Nuclear site and (below) on map

ing towards Andalucia.

Or, more specifically, to the tiny fishing village of Palomares, where the Almeria locals were going about their daily lives as usual, oblivious of the terror poised to rain down from the skies.

Half a century on, little is still known about this devastating event, even though the cleanup from the fallout is ongoing, with America signing an agreement to remove further quantities of contaminated soil as recently as October 2015.

Few people speak about the incident, while conspiracy theorists talk about a cover-up between America and Spain, which was then under General Franco’s dictatorship.

So what do we know?

A number of locals later revealed how they saw and felt an explosion, while one five-year-old girl claimed to see the sky ‘raining fire’ from shrapnel.

This was later confirmed to be radioactive material,

CONTAMINATED: Farmers’ land in Andalucia’s Palomares

including plutonium, that leaked into the subsoil over a wide area of the surrounding countryside.

But somehow, by incredible fortune, it was not a repeat of Hiroshima.

A hydrogen bomb needs to be ‘activated’ before it can detonate. This means that the electrical circuits in it must be wired correctly in order for fission and fusion to start.

Without properly preparing the bomb, a radioactive explosion will not happen.

So the ‘orange fireball’ in the sky, described by 83-year-old fisherman Pedro de la Torre Flores was not actually nuclear armageddon but something more akin to a ‘dirty bomb’. And the payload from the bomb that exploded in front of him only knocked him off his feet, leaving him with scratches … at least on the surface.

One bomb landed in a dry river bed, another only half exploded, the fourth fell into the sea and was only retrieved months later.

The bombs fell with such force because their parachutes failed and much of their radioactive material was buried underground.

The region was declared radioactive, in secret, and the Americans sent in a team to cleanse the area.

Not 24 hours after the mishap, President Lyndon B. Johnson was in the ‘situation room’, where he and his administration were operating under a codename for the loss of a nuclear warhead: ‘Broken Arrow’.

Over subsequent weeks, the US removed 5,000 barrels of radioactive soil, in addition to compensating farmers for the loss of their tomato crops.

However, it was of little comfort to the locals, many of whom, it has been claimed, died from cancer in their younger years.

There is however, no concrete evidence to this, as Franco destroyed the medical records.

Indeed, it was not until four decades later in 2008 that the Spanish government discovered contamination was still present on 12 acres of land.

Secretary of State John Kerry has since pledged to clean up the mess once and for all.

A bill for nearly €29 million has been agreed and is certainly preferable to something that could have been incredibly worse.

Indeed, given the current dangerous gameplay between Kim Jong Un and President Trump, it may turn out to be trivial.

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Migrants triple THE number of migrants arriving to Spain has tripled in just one year.

Three times as many migrants have arrived in Spain so far this year compared to the same period in 2016.

According to figures released by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), it means the number of sea arrivals (8,385), could soon overtake Greece, which has so far had 11,713.

It comes after footage of a rubber boat dinghy full of migrants landing on a touristpacked beach in Cadiz went viral yesterday.

The IOM figures said in total, 11,849 people have arrived in Spain so far this year, compared with 13,246 in the whole of last year.

“We assume that some of the change is due to the fact that the route [to Spain] is considered a safe route up to the

Putting on the brakes

MALAGA’S taxi drivers have joined a strike sparked to protest the Uber-like taxi app Cabify.

Thousands were left stranded at the Feria de Malaga and Malaga airport last Sunday when the snap strike was called.

Meanwhile, taxi services in Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, Estepona, Manilva, Benahavis and Casares are operating with only half of their drivers.

Tensions also threaten to spark protests in other regions of Spain where drivers have voiced their support for the cause.

Union representatives have said the strike will continue until Cabify ‘ceases its activities.’

Cabify provides premium vehicles for hire via its smartphone mobile app.

Vehicles are driven by their owners, who must pass a rigorous selection process.

news

August 16th - August 29th 2017

CAMPAIGN LATEST: 700 sign petition while more victims emerge

P ll pushers

Brits being told to have Nolotil or suffer without by Spanish GPs

can confirm what happened.”

It comes as the Olive Press received overwhelming response to its ‘Kill the Drug’ campaign, launched last issue.

So far more than 700 have signed the online petition, including victim Ursula Barry, from Ireland, who said she had been ‘sick for months’ from the drug and was ‘lucky’ to live.

KILL THE DRUG

Suffering

A BRITISH expat has thanked the Olive Press for ‘saving his life’ after he was prescribed the lethal painkiller Nolotil.

Trevor Naylor, a 77-year-old retired police officer from Essex, said he was given the drug by his GP near his home in Mijas golf.

“You might have just saved my life,” he said.

“I was prescribed a five day course of two tablets per day by my GP at the medical centre in La Cala, having gone there after suffering a headache and stiff neck for four weeks.

“By pure chance, before starting the course of treatment

“I was given a double injection of nolotil by a GP when I was suffering from nerve pain on holidays in Portugal in June 2016,” she said.

“I went into septic shock, was diagnosed with pneumonia and spent 15 days in intensive care when it was very touch and go whether I would survive.

“I made it - I was lucky, although I was sick for months,” she added.

KILLED: Mary Ward and (right) ‘Billy’ Smyth Meanwhile, Theresa last night, I read your article ish expat, who chose not to Bridgette, from Ohio in the in the Olive Press. be named, claims his doctor US, wrote simply: “This drug “Needless to say I will not be tried to push the deadly No- killed my father,” alongside taking this drug.” lotil drug on him despite his her signature.

Meanwhile another, Brit- pleas for alternative medica- They join a host of others tion. who have The pensionapproached er, who was the Olive looking for rePress to tell our GET IN IT TO WIN IT! lief for severe Save of their horhome! a b d o m i n a l rific experiCAR-hire firms at Malaga airport have been caught piling expain, claims ence with tra charges on customers at rental desks in foreign airports.

KILL THE the drug. the doctor Companies are pressuring drivers into buying excess insurshrugged his But shockance even if they already have cover.

DRUG shoulders And deposits worth €1,200 are being blocked from customers’ ingly, health credit cards, according to a Moneymail investigation. and refused authorities Inflated fees for petrol and diesels were uncovered at Goldcar to budge even both in Mawhile several firms were found ramping prices for hiring at the when condrid and Anairport rather than booking online. fronted with dalucia have Europcar, Goldcar and Firefly, which is owned by Hertz, were evidence of yet to comSALE all visited during the research.

59 its devastatment on the Thrifty, which is also owned by Hertz, and Budget quoted Mosquito ing effects on Screens campaign. hugely inflated costs for renting a car on the day, the investiBritish pa- CAMPAIGN: In last issue Pharmaceugation found. Drivers who damage cars abroad have to pay an tients. tical giant excess for repairs – normally a few hundred euros – although “I actuBoehringer holiday destinations have hiked excess charges to closer to ally showed her recent Olive Ingelheim, which manufac€1,000. Many motorists choose to take out excess waiver inPress articles but she just told tures the drug, has also igsurance with a third party ahead of the trip to avoid this payme ‘well that’s what we use in nored our requests for comout. But there’s no law to make hire firms accept these cheaper Spain,’” he explained. ment. policies leaving staff free to force customers to either buy the “She told me if I wasn’t hapfirm’s own waiver cover or pay a hefty deposit. py with it that I should take The more attention the Motorists then have to claim any charges back through their Paracetamol, but she knew campaign gets, the more party insurer AFTER the holiday.

Martyn James, of complaints website Resolver, said: “Car hire that wasn’t strong enough. pressure we can apply, companies have got away with fleecing customers for decades.

“It was basically ‘have Nolotil sign the petition here: It’s about time the authorities clamped down on these sharp or nothing at all’. https://www.change. practices.”

“I even have a witness, who org/u/748159939

Drive you mad

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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 simple 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

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

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 answers to the newsdesk@theolivepress.es.

WIN WIN WIN: Bolton and Pink Purple Zep Fest tickets

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

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

Metamizole, Nolotil is banned in the US, the UK, Ireland and most of Europe, but it is prescribed widely in Spain.

Irishman William ‘Billy’ Smyth was given a five-day course of the drug in February.

But when the 66-year-old returned to a different Spanish

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.

Billy, a keen 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.

Another British expat Hugh Wilcox was prescribed the same medication for mild shoulder pain on the Costa del Sol. He developed severe head Continues on Page 2

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19 July

Busted A BAND of alleged robbers who carried out more than 20 burglaries in Marbella has been dismantled.

Three individuals have been identified by Benalmadena police, two of whom (both Algerian) were arrested, for the alleged burglary of several Marbella houses.

It’s alleged that one would stand guard in a vehicle while the others entered the properties at dawn illegally by climbing or breaking fences or doors to gain entry.

The men, 22 and 41, were transferred from Benalmadena to Marbella while numerous items have been recovered including jewels, money, handbags and a vehicle they had used to commit the assaults. The trio also allegedly attempted to run over an officer during the pursuit with the stolen vehicle. The case remains open.

Tumour debate From front

newest technology in diagnosing breast cancer, I agreed, and so the doctor took a number of photos using an infrared camera.” Just a few days later Werner was told that the results from the thermal imaging showed there was ‘nothing suspicious at this time.’ She was told to come back for another review in three months .

But fearing something wasn’t right she immediately booked a scan at another clinic, where she was told the lump was ‘suspicious’ and the she should have a biopsy, which would confirm if it was cancerous.

Tumour

“It was a tumour which had been growing at 3mm per month, meaning it was definitely present before my thermal imaging,” said Werner, whose husband is one of the most successful British estate agents in Nerja.

“It’s scary, how did it not pick up that the lump was cancerous? How many other people have been misdiagnosed and are potentially walking around with cancer without knowing?”

She has now had the tumor removed and is still receiving chemotherapy. According to Breastcancer.org such screening is not effective enough. “No study has shown that it’s a good screening tool to detect breast cancer early, when the cancer is most treatable,” a spokesman told the Olive Press. “It may be used to supplement information from a mammogram and help identify cancers that are close to the skin. But thermography can't find cancers that are deeper in the breast and it can't detect small cancers.” Werner’s doctor at the Bodyworks Clinic, who we have chosen not to name for legal reasons, insisted that the analysis of the thermal screening is not carried out by the clinic. She told the Olive Press: “We take the images and send them to a group of specialists in the US who send us back the report.

“There is a lot of debate at the moment over screening, some argue that mammograms don’t cover all the breast tissue while radiation from X-rays may be more harmful than we know.”

She added: “Of course whenever cancer is found it is an emotional time for everyone involved.”

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THE government has come under attack for dumping Supreme Court judge Justice Jack.

The GSD opposition has slammed the decision to not renew his contract as ‘out of sync’ and says it ‘does not sit well’ with promises of increased public expenditure in the recent budget.

Justice Adrian Jack himself told the Olive Press he believes it’s ‘unlikely’ the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) would have given assurances over his contract being renewed without Government backing.

He added that his unwanted departure as a Supreme Court judge was already making listing cases in 2018 ‘more

Justice Jack says ‘unlikely’ government didn’t back contract renewal assurances difficult’, contradicting government suggestions that a work backlog he was hired to tackle had been cleared.

Last night, a Government spokesperson said it couldn’t comment on contract assurances to Jack ‘as the JSC is entirely independent of Gov-

BiSTROT CASANiS

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Dumping Jack rash!

ernment’.

It comes after Jack became Gibraltar’s first Supreme Court judge to not have his contract renewed, a decision one source called 'very strange'.

Jack told the Olive Press: “They assured me that, if of-

fered the post, I would have a reasonable prospect of renewal.

“It is unlikely such a distinguished panel would make such statements unless that was their understanding of the Government's position."

Jack said it is a ‘matter of

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concern’ the Government hadn’t explained ‘why they aren’t standing by those assurances’.

He added it was a ‘matter of sadness’ the Government was reducing the size of the judiciary’ due to ‘uncertainties ahead’.

“I was expecting Mr [Neil] Costa, the Justice Minister, to expand on that in his Budget speech,” Jack told GBC. “Somewhat to my surprise, he didn’t mention that the number of puisne judges was going to be downsized by 33%, which I found a surprising omission.”

Suggestions the work of the courts has declined in recent months were also treated with derision in legal sectors.

"He is the most active judge we have ever had. So his early departure is a matter of concern,” a source said.

“It is very strange that Judge Jack, who has shown himself to be utterly implacable, shouldn’t have his contract renewed.

“He has shown himself completely immune to the cosy charms of the legal establishment in Gibraltar.”

The Olive Press asked Chief Justice Dudley to provide any available data showing if the court's workload had diminished, but hadn’t received a response at the time of going to press.

One source said ‘there are troubling questions as to the independence of the judiciary, which cannot be brushed under the carpet’.

GSD MP Elliott Phillips said the opposition was ‘concerned’ at Jack’s removal and the Government’s ‘clear u-turn’ in deciding a fourth judge was unnecessary.

“This view is out of sync with

the legal profession,” said Phillips.

“What has changed since the passing of the Budget in Parliament? Was the legal profession consulted?”

He added: “Gibraltar's judiciary is one judge down leaving many unanswered questions.”

Jack gave his final judgment last Thursday, ruling an RBS manager was complicit in the Marrache brothers’ £28 million swindling.

He ruled that the bank employee had abetted the three convicted fraudsters in the theft of £9.8 million from online gaming millionaire Jim Magner Jack’s judgments in some of the Rock's most controversial cases attracted huge attention.

His rulings in Isaac Marrache's parole release this year sparked one of Gibraltar's most intriguing legal sagas.

Justice minister Costa took the extraordinary step of twice hiring the UK's most expensive QC, Lord Pannick, to fight Jack's judgment that Costa shouldn’t have discontinued his challenge to the Parole Board’s decision to release Marrache.

Costa won a Court of Appeal case against Jack's ruling in May this year.

Last week, Freddie Vasquez QC, speaking on behalf of the Bar Council, said Jack’s stay had been ‘too short’ and it was unclear why the government hadn’t extended his contract.

FAMiLY

Check that out, mate THE seventh edition of the Gibraltar Junior International Chess Festival will see over 135 youngsters from 14 countries compete for the title.

From Friday, youngsters in the U12 and U16 categories will play in six rounds over four days at the Caleta Hotel.

“The number of registered participants has increased dramatically this year,” said tournament director Stuart Conquest.

At least 135 players have signed up from Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Portugal, Scotland, Estonia and Morocco.

“The farthest travelled player is Max England, who is coming with his family from Canada. The festival has always attracted a large number of Spanish and English participants, but this year there are also several Russian and Ukrainian families, living in Spain, who are bringing their children to play,” he said.

Fourteen local children are currently registered to play in the tournament, several of whom now have international ratings.

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Pound plummet THE euro will be worth more than the British pound by the end of the first quarter of 2018, analysts from Morgan Stanley has said in a client note circulated this week.

In the bank’s latest FX Overview paper, it is argued that a combination of a stronger euro and a weakening pound will combine to make the euro more valuable than the pound for the first time in its history, and make it — in terms of pure value — the strongest major currency.

On the up

The euro has been on the up this year as investors have taken note of the improving fortunes of the bloc’s economy.

Countries like Spain and France have helped the bloc recover to its best levels since the eurozone debt crisis.

The forecasts suggest the euro will continue to strengthen and will move ‘beyond parity’ with the pound during the first three months of the year, hitting a peak of £1.02 before weakening a little as the year progresses.

By the end of 2018, €1 will be worth £0.91.

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Stuck in Spain

bunch of Scaredy-cats!

AN Irish MEP has claimed the UK is ‘not brave enough’ to hold another referendum on membership to the EU. As rumours suggest Brexit negotiations are in chaos, vice president of the European Parliament Mairead McGuinness said Britain does not have the guts to ask the public again in a major dig at Theresa May. McGuinness compared Ireland’s two takes at the Lisbon Treaty in 2008 and

Controversial Angeles Muñoz returns to mayor position while opponents fear ‘return to dark days’ ANGELES Muñoz has returned to her position as mayor of Marbella.

It comes after the Partido Popular and the independent Opposition Sampedreña (OSP) registered a motion of no confidence against socialist mayor Jose Bernal at Marbella town hall.

A vote is believed to have taken place at the town hall Monday morning, placing Muñoz back into the mayoral role.

OSP President Manuel Osorio announced last Friday at a press conference that his party would sign a motion of no confidence with the PP, the main opposition party in Marbella, so that they could govern the municipality until the end of 2019.

Bernal said he saw ‘no motives’

2009 with the UK’s single Brexit referendum.

She said: “In Ireland, we are brave enough and courageous enough to have a second referendum.

“When we put the question first and we believe that the debate is not full then we go back to people and say ‘look, here is much clearer information, our circumstances have changed, we’ll put the question again on a number of issues.”

She’s back!

READY TO RULE: Angeles Muñoz

Specialist Clinic for Dental Implantology and Advanced Oral Rehabilitation

MEP: McGuinness to file the motion, saying it was just an ‘excuse’ to give power back to the PP. PSOE leaders previously said Muñoz and the PP back in control of Marbella could ‘set the town back’ and ‘see it return to a dark era of hidden interests.’

In 2015, PSOE, Izquierda Unida, and OSP banded together in a four-party pact to place Jose Bernal as the leader.

It was the first time the PSOE came to power in 26 years.

But now OSP want to align with PP, believing them to be more aligned with their interests.

The PSOE accuses OSP of handing Marbella over to a ‘corrupt’ party whileIzquierda Unida says it has become ‘the mafia’.

The PP has responded by reminding the PSOE that its own councilors in prison for the Malaya case were ‘part of the cause of the dissolution of the City in 2006’.

It added that the IU has a mayor in Casares who was recently sentenced to eight and a half years for his dealings with the Russian mafia.

C.C Costasol 951 272 267 Estepona

BRITISH citizens living in the EU would have limited residency rights post-Brexit under EU proposals, David Davis claims.

The Brexit minister made the revelations in a letter to the House of Lords last week.

Under the EU proposals, 1.2 million Brits living in the EU would be barred from moving to work or study in another country other than the one they live in or the UK post-Brexit.

“The EU has confirmed that their offer only guarantees residence rights in the Member State in which a British national was resident at the point of our exit from the EU,” wrote Davis.

“It does not guarantee the holder of those residence rights any right to onward movement within the EU, for example to work or study in a neighbouring Member State.

However, a Spanish or other EU citizen resident in the UK after March 2019 would be permitted to move to any of the other 27 member states.

“We have questioned whether this is consistent with the principle of reciprocity, and also with the Commission's desire to protect rights currently enjoyed under EU law,” continued Davis.

“This will be the subject of further discussion in due course."

The EU is also set to bar British nationals living in the EU from voting in local elections.

Davis described the recent round of talks with EU negotiators in Brussels as ‘difficult, but ultimately productive’.

Soheil S. Mark Sam Mark Master degree in Implantology and oral Rehabilitation

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Killer heat Hundreds of thousands of Europeans will die from deadly heatwaves by the 2080s HEATWAVES could kill more than 100,000 Europeans per year by the 2080s if climate change is not tackled.

According to a new study, children, the elderly and the chronically ill will be increasingly struck down with heatstroke, heart and breathing problems and early deaths.

Terrifying

The terrifying predictions have been made by the European Commission Joint Research Centre based in Italy, which looked at the impact of global warming from Southern Europe through to Northern Europe and Iceland.

The forecast reflects a worstcase scenario; if greenhouse gas emissions see no reductions and if nothing is done to improve protection from extreme weather events.

The study sees heatwaves as being the biggest killer,

ON FIRE: Temperatures punishing south Europe taking up to 7,358 lives, followed by coastal flooding at around 56, river flooding 36 and storms at least 34 a year from 2080.

Lead author of the study Dr Giovanni Forzieri said: “Climate change is one of the biggest global threats

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to human health of the 21st century, and its peril to society will be increasingly connected to weather-driven hazards.

“Unless global warming is curbed as a matter of urgency and appropriate measures are taken, about 350 million Europeans could be exposed to harmful climate extremes on an annual basis by the end of the century.”

There is expected to be widespread disruption to power and transport infrastructures, property damage and people being regularly displaced.

The elderly, sick and in particular the poor will be biggest hit.

Wealthier members of society will be able to protect themselves by installing air conditioning and floodproofing their homes.

In deep trouble SEWAGE leaks from La Linea that have in the past contaminated bathing water in Gibraltar’s Western Beach are being analysed ‘in detail’ by the European Commission.

Europe’s environment commissioner Karmenu Vella said Spain had now responded to a letter of blasting its failure to comply with EU directives on wastewater treatment.

“In May 2017, the Spanish authorities replied to the letter of formal notice sent by the Commission for failing to comply with the requirements of Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban wastewater treatment,” Vella said.

“The Commission is currently assessing in detail the specific situation and the results of the treatment applied to the wastewater in the agglomeration of La Linea de la Concepción.”

“A decision will be taken once the assessment for all the agglomerations included in this case is finalised.”

It’s a deal A €790 million deal has been signed between Madrid and Andalucia in a bid to tackle the latter’s sewage woes.

The huge sum will be invested into the southern region’s wastewater and sewage treatment infrastructure until 2021.

The Junta will front €531 million of the investment, while Madrid will pay for the rest (€231 million).

Environment minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina visited Estepona to sign the deal and open the Costa del Sol town’s new treatment plant, which cost €35 million to build, 31% of which came from central government.

Regional environment minister Jose Fiscal said the deal is a ‘fantastic example of partnership’.

The new treatment centres will cover 400,000 people in the region.

PP calls for new shelter SPECIALISTS IN COSMETIC DENTISTRY

+34 952 83 74 42 www.oasisdentalmarbella.com

DR. NINA KING & DR. SACHA MILLER-WOJTAN

MIJAS’S Partido Popular president Angel Nozal has again called for new shelters for the town’s donkeys.

"The current stables, which are located in the urban area where people live, do not meet the necessary sanitary conditions," Nozal said in the note sent to the media.

The PP wants the existing buildings in the quarry to be upgraded so that abandoned animals can be cared for and so donkeys used for taxis can also spend the night in the ‘hygienic-sanitary conditions they deserve,’ said Nozal.

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LE TT E R S

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Number crunching 1.5%

was the inflation level on Spain during July, staying steady with earlier predictions.

12% - The increase in number of tourists in the

first half of 2017 compared to 2016.

101

people arrested in a smuggling ring, bringing people from Iran to the UK.

220

Sephardi Jews have been granted Spanish citizenship in part to protect the Ladino language.

8,000 - Estimated number of migrants who have reached Spain this year.

3,000,000 mobile customers have used

BBVA, an app on cellphones through a Spanish bank.

€1,5b spent by foreign investors for a part of Spain’s Gas Natural.

Lucky with Nolotil I have been prescribed this drug on several occasions and luckily suffered no side effects (KILL THE DRUG: Olive Press launches campaign to ban deadly painkiller Nolotil in #Spain, issue 271). I must have been very lucky but following the recent findings I will never take it again.

Dorothy Ridgley, Crevillente

Mandatory carry It’s about time Brits and immigrants get ID cards (British citizens’ residency rights to be cut post-Brexit under EU plan, issue 270). They are convenient for so much.

It should be compulsory like in Spain to carry it at all times. No problem for non criminals and easier for policing.

Sandra Russell, Unknown

Round them up Round them all up, lock 'em in cells for a couple of days then throw them out of the country (‘BRITS ARE SAVAGES’: #Marbella officials threaten to revoke licences in new party tourism crackdown, issue 271). The word will get around that it's not worth coming here to behave like that. The authorities have GOT to be tough.

Ian Bushnell, Alhaurin El Grande

Some needed accommodation Some sympathy (American tourist arrested for rant at Palma Cathedral attendant who spoke no English, issue 271). In the US, most phone lines give you an option to select Spanish or English for assistance. As a tourist paying for entry, some accommodation in the language department is to be expected. I have visited many tourists offices here manned with Spanish only speaking staff!

Justice Christopher, Unknown

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Deadly Heatwaves Our readers react to new predictions showing 150,000 Europeans per year will die by the 2080s due to deadly heatwaves Circle of life The one thing constant with life is change, and the planet is going back to how it's been for most of its life, which is stinky, hot and humid.

Jack Edward Kidd, Gaucin

Scientists know I watched a programme a few years ago where scientists predicted this weather change and I think they know what they are talking about.

Lois Bennett, Valenciana

Get a grip!

Before humans walked the face of the Earth, it went through phases of heat and ice ages. This is without so-called ‘greenhouse gases.’

If we really are to blame, and world leaders want to make any difference at all, they need to start with the USA, China and India, but it is not in their interest to do that apparently. In summary, ‘move along now, nothing to see here..’

John CS Watson, USA

Cashing in That's useful information. I'm going to start buying up shares in fan-making and air conditioning companies ready for the 2080s.

Michael Flewings, London

We need more action now! I’m sick of governments dragging their heels and risking the lives of seven billion people. This is the survival of the human planet we are talking about for God’s sake! Get a grip and sort it out!

Jennifer, Malaga

Look elsewhere

Hope for rain Let us hope the winter rainfall is heavy this year, otherwise Andalucia will start to become totally uninhabitable in the summer period. Many small villages are already on tanker supplies and the water table is way down.

Fred, unknown

More sensationalistic figures from the lunatics…

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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Avda. Trafalgar 102, Los Caños de Meca, Costa de la Luz tel: 956 437 255 CalifaVejer.com

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Millionaire faces prison for smuggling €26 million Picasso out of Spain

what’s on

DESPACITO is the first Spanish song to top the US’s Billboard 100 in more than 20 years.

The ‘song of the summer’ in A BILLIONAIRE accused of dozens of countries has been smuggling a Picasso out of at the number one for and 14 Spain on his yacht is facing Download ourspot app now weeks and counting, a feat not prison. enjoying best hit SpanishProsecutors are demanding achievedbegin since the the 1996 song La Macarena.

Jaime Botin, a member of news on the go.

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's one of Spain’s most successful song has now set a record as the banking family, is locked away most streamed song on Spotify for four years and is to be hit and is the first YouTube video with a €100 million fine. to reach three billion views.

Botin, the owner of the €26 "It wasn't really forced, it wasn't million Head Of a Young gimmicky ... it's sort of an ac- Woman, is suspected of trying cident if you will," Fonsi said to take the Picasso painting SEIZED: Police with the Picasso painting of his hit song. "There's some- out of the country without an TheinOlive Press thing magical that melody export permit. and in the beat and in the pro- French police seized the paintductionTOP ...everyone's just dancing on a yacht in Corsica in the for news in Spain! ing." summer of 2015.

The painting was named a cultural treasure by the Spanish National Court in 2015.

It is currently on display at Madrid’s Reina Sofia museum until an investigation is complete.

The prosecutor is calling for the work of art to be returned permanently into the state’s ownership. that sailing in Mediterranean In 2012, auction house ChrisBotin’s lawyers have argued EU waters breached the ex- tie’s Iberica requested permission to export the painting that the banker was unaware port ban. out of Spain on behalf of EuMORE than two million visiroshipping Charter Company tors are expected to visit MalaLtd, a company linked to Boga for its famous annual Feria.

The week-long festival, often seen as the most popular on the Costa del Sol, began on SaturRARE photographs of Salvador Dali day. and Pablo Picasso have gone up for The seven-day fiesta celebrates sale in London. the conquest of the city by the The pictures offer an intimate look into medieval kingdom of Castile on the life of two of the world's most celAugust 19, 1487. ebrated artists.

The new rulers decided to hold The black-and-white images, taken a celebration on August 15, between 1952 and 1968, capture the 1491; an event which from the Spanish men posing playfully with following year was held on Aufriends - and standing alone in solitary gust 19. contemplation. They are among a colThe event featured a royal prolection of vintage artists' portraits by cession starting from the Carenowned photographers that has been thedral of Malaga to the church put up for sale at the Zebra One Gallery of Santiago, where the city held in Hampstead, North London. a Mass.

C

adiz - August 20 Night of Flamenco Celebrated by the town’s original Moorish walls, there will be nighttime flamenco. This is the second part to a two week fiesta.

C

astellar de la Frontera - August 27-28 Fiesta of the Village A celebration for the Virgin of Almoraima, there will be music, dancing, and equestrian shows.

Culture will also be celebrated.

N

Artful dodger?

Feria time

Candid

MUNDO MANIA

THE COAST’S LEADING PLAY & PARTY CENTRE

ChRiSTmaS & NEw YEaR FOR GOLFERS includes 3 rounds of golf

O

lvera - August 28 31 - Royal Feria of Saint Augustin This feria is celebrating its 300th year and still features its original livestock markets. Taking place every morning, the feria is the most famous in the region.

tin. Spain’s then-minister for culture, Jose Ignacio Wert, turned down the request.

Picasso painted Head Of a Young Woman when he was 24-years-old.

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iebla - August 28 Castle Festival The festival will host theatre and dance performances. Set inside the castle, plays from famous playwrights such as Shakespeare will be performed.

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Small free play area

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HEY are two of Andalucia’s stand-out historic cities, constantly compared for their dazzling architectural heritage and cultural wow factor. But which of these two jewels shines more brightly? Princeton University interns Mason Cox and Danielle Fortuna packed their bags for a weekend in both provincial capitals to settle the debate once and for all.

The Olive Press runs a rule over Andalucia’s two most famous provincial cities to see which comes out top for a weekend break

August 16th - August 29th 2017

A tale of

cordoba First impressions:

Sevilla VS Cordob a

Although technically it’s a city, Cordoba feels more like a town and you can easily see the city limits ending in the nearby hills. It has less of a commercial vibe than Sevilla.

9/10

People We were looking forward to meeting friendly natives. But sadly this was not always to be the case and many people seemed not so much unfriendly as indifferent. The waiters would disappear for long periods, while one made multiple mistakes with our order and refused to correct them when asked. Despite this, we encountered a number of friendly locals at the supermarket and in the gift shops who we chatted to.

7/10

Cost Costs in Cordoba were similar to Sevilla’s for meals and UNESCO sites but unfortunately, the Mosque-Cathedral did not offer a student discount. Regardless, food, drinks, events and everything else were moderately priced.

8/10

Weather Walking through the city beneath the baking sun was a feat of endurance with temperatures hitting 48 degrees Celsius.

It was however a heatwave on the weekend we visited.

DRAMA: The Game of Thrones gate and bridge and better in real life

CROSSING: For centuries across the river Guadalquivir

7/10 Architecture

Cordoba’s historic buildings were smaller in size and number to Sevilla, which was a disappointment. We did enjoy the Roman ruins which run throughout the city but those buildings that were not Roman were less evocative of their historic period. The cathedral/mosque largely made up for it though.

What a building.

8/10 Sights

The entire city was a sight to see, with Roman ruins intertwined between buildings and restaurants. Cordoba also offered specific points of interest that reflected its beauty. The Roman Bridge and Gate were even more stunning in reality than their depiction in the popular television series, Game of Thrones. The Palace provided beautiful views of the city, as well as a lovely garden. However, the Great Mosque left us with a bittersweet taste, as Danielle was not allowed in as her tank-top sundress was said to be ‘too revealing’. Mason was more fortunate and returned, raving about the architectural beauty inside.

8/10 Transport

We drove with our co-workers to Cordoba and we were constantly remarking on the elegance of the landscape en route. Cordoba also has plenty of taxis and horse-drawn-carriages but we chose to walk, clocking up 14.5 km day.

8/10

BEAUTY: The arches of the Mezquita of Cordoba are incredible

Food

Night Life

After asking the waiter for some recommendations at our first restaurant, we indulged in a plate of fried calamari, sardines and other seafood, as well as croquettes with various fillings. For dinner we went to a local hotspot called El Patio, where we sampled a traditional Spanish sandwich filled with ham, peppers and onions, as well as tuna and gazpacho. The food was all-around delicious.

Cordoba’s nightlife was a huge let down.

We’re not sure why but there was nobody about. The two clubs we went to had around five customers apiece. The time was, significantly, after midnight. It could have been that there was something going on elsewhere but we walked around a large portion of the city looking for something to do. Nothing was happening. Ultimately, it was one of our deadest nights out in Spain.

7/10

5/10

Animal treatment There were fewer horse-drawn-carriages than in Sevilla and the horses were kept in the shade during work breaks. Despite the crowded narrow streets near the major tourist sights, there were many cars driving through this pedestrian-choked area which did not seem very safe.

9/10

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two cities SEViLLA First impressions

VARIETY: From the wacky ‘setas’ to the Plaza de España (left), Royal Palace (right), and Cathedral (below)

Andalucia’s capital has a genuine city vibe, like any other major European metropolis, and exceptional historic buildings in all directions. It’s clearly a commercial place.

10/10

People Prior to our trip, we had asked plenty of locals and expats what they thought about Sevilla. Most said the city was incredibly beautiful and energetic, but the people were incredibly rude! So it was a real surprise to find not only our first waiter, but almost every other person we met was charming, animated and patient. This proved to be a common theme for the rest of the weekend.

9/10 Cost

Food in Sevilla averaged €20 a meal but you can always spend less. For UNESCO sites, the cost per person was around €10 but we received student discounts. Taking everything into consideration, the cost of Sevilla was moderate, but it always depends on what you want to do.

8/10 Weather

Stepping off of the train into the city felt like walking into an inferno. Temperatures reached a simmering 41 degrees Celsius.

We took a siesta during the middle of the day to escape the heat.

7/10 Architecture

The buildings are so incredibly beautiful, it was like walking through a storybook. From Renaissance-style apartments to Baroque courtyards, the architecture is historically diverse and there’s plenty of it. We were struck by the number of squares, especially the stunning Plaza de Espana.

10/10

Sights This city has stunning sights and points of interest. Over the weekend, we managed to squeeze in visits to the Royal Palace, the Cathedral of St. Mary of the See, the Archive of the Indies, the Plaza de Espana, the mushroom-shaped Metropol Parasol known colloquially as ‘Las Setas’ and the Museum of Fine Arts. The Royal Palace dazzled us with its sprawling maze

garden, intricately-tiled features and resident peacocks. Las Setas offered an experience as unique as its shape, and we enjoyed a tinto at the top while watching the sun set over the city. The Plaza de Espana was grander and more picturesque than we had imagined. The major sights were also relatively close to one another, which meant that we were able to walk to all of them.

10/10 Transport

Although we never took it, Sevilla has a train that runs through the middle of the city centre. Instead, we opted to walk, averaging 14.5 km a day.

It was a lot but the city vibe kept us going. There are horse-drawn-carriages as well as taxis.

8/10 Food

Wanting to get a taste of the local cuisine, the first item we ordered was a ham and cheese flamenquin, a traditional local dish of pork loin wrapped around ham, battered and then deep fried. We also tried berenjenas con miel, deep-fried eggplant with honey. The food was exceptionally tasty, especially the more traditional dishes. (ED: YOU MEAN YOU DIDN’T TRY RABO DE TORO?)

9/10

Night Life The nightlife in Sevilla was amazing. Like most of Spain, things didn’t really pick up until after midnight. We went to a plaza where a bunch of the bars and clubs are, and there were hundreds of people drinking, socialising, listening to music and having a grand time. The outdoor bars were great, serving fabulous cocktails for around €5!

9/10

Animal treatment Despite the majestic quality of the horsedrawn-carriages being pulled through the city, I personally disliked seeing the animals being forced to work in the blazing heat all day, with temperatures hitting 41C. Even when they were parked in a side street taking a break from carting people around, they had no shelter from the sun.

5/10 CONCLUSION

In the end, Sevilla and Cordoba were both great. Each had their difference and simi-

larities, and we urge everyone to visit them.

From the Renaissance buildings of Sevilla to the Roman Bridge of Cordoba, each has its own defining attractions. We’d like to thank both cities for their hospitality and, even though we prefer one to the other, we hope we’ll be welcomed back to both!

FINAL SCORE: Sevilla:

83/100 Cordoba:

76/100

OVERALL WINNER: SEVILLA

18 9

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August 16th - August 29th 2017 August 16th - August 29th 2017

18 – 22 august 2017

Exciting new music festival ‘reflects on man and nature’ and mixes the best of Andalucian cuisine and international artists

A

RTIST Andy Goldsworthy says ‘to be disconnected from nature is to be disconnected from ourselves’; these days, most of us are.

The gulf between most people and the natural world has never been so great.

We lead fast-paced, urban lives, and few of us can remember the last time we stood barefoot in the grass or walked through a forest.

That's not good for our mental health and spiritual well being; and it's not good for the natural resources we're busy wasting, either.

Which is why an intriguing new Andalucian music festival is inviting you to pause.

TALENTS: Big range of artists

The idea of pause is to focus on the big things that really matter while enjoying some deep natural immersion.

Over the course of five days from this Friday (Aug 18), one of the most exciting, exclusive mountain retreats in Spain is hosting a series of concerts and improvised sessions featuring musicians from around the world.

The venue, La Donaira, is mixing up ancient-old traditions with new technology and ideas in a quest to find the best, most sustainable way, of doing things.

This includes everything from traditional farming methods to rewilding bees and from smart innovative design to luxury tourism - eight suites and a yurt - and is a true, inspirational eye-opener.

On this amazing 250-hectare Andalucian estate, close to the Cadiz/Malaga border, you will find the breeding Lusitano horses and rare cattle, as well as organic winemaking and field-to-fork organic gastronomy – as well as just simply living in general.

The finca is run by a collaborative team and is a hub of activity with a constant flow of guests, including WWOOFERS, visiting enthusiasts, neighbouring farmers and experts from all walks of life, all sharing ideas.

•

18

finca la donaira

www.pausefestival.com

Time

for a

pause

pause festival information

Date: Aug 18-22: Events start 19:00, and include

a tapas dinner and drinks, followed by the main concert performance (21:30), and then performances from featured artists and informal improvisation sessions until the early hours, all on the open-air stage.

Shuttle transport provided all night between El Gastor and La Donaira (10 mins away).

For programme details, 1-day tickets (€65) and 5-day passes (€275) plus help booking local accommodation, visit www.pausefestival.com; email: info@ pausefestival.com

Venue: Finca La Donaira: The festival is taking

place at this 250-hectare sustainable farm, equestrian centre and smart design retreat in the heart of the Serrania de Ronda.

A breathtaking location in idyllic mountain scenery, it sits on the border between Malaga and Cadiz provinces, near the white village of El Gastor.

artists: Members of the Partitura Movement,

an international collective of young, exciting musicians founded by the world-renowned Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires (who performs on Aug 22): Miloš Popović, piano; Lilit Grigoryan, piano; Julien Brocal, composer & piano; Julien Libeer, piano; Talar Dekirmenjian, soprano, as well as cellist Camille Thomas; renowned flamenco cantaora Mayte Martín; composer & pianist Rupert Huber; composer & jazz pianist Juan Ramón Veredas Navarro.

See www.pausefestival.com/programme/ for full details.

La Donaira has hosted workshops, equestrian events, summer camps and concerts, but pause is the very first festival.

The open-air stage with its cool breeze and spectacular views of the surrounding fields and mountains is the perfect place for pausing from busy lives.

It will be a delight to simply sit (or recline on cushions) and listen to some of the world's most beautiful music as the sun sets and sheep and horses graze in the surrounding fields.

A host of international artists, including the classical musicians who make up the Partitura Movement, have agreed to grace the stage. Founded by the Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires, Partitura's mission is to share music with new audiences outside the concert halls, and all take time from their own tours to perform together in unusual places: prisons, hospitals, schools... and now an Andalucian mountain farm.

The theme for this year's pause festival is 'reflections on man and nature', and to keep things BLISS: A room for a night peaceful and dreamy.

Tickets are limited to just 100 each night. Small is beautiful. So don't miss out!

Plans for pause 2018 are already underway, but in the meantime, watch this space and follow La Donaira for news of arts, food and equestrian events and workshops throughout the year.

Pause pausefestival.com; info@pausefestival.com Finca La Donaira (information, reservations, events) www.ladonaira.com; info@ladonaira.com; www.facebook. com/ladonaira; www.instragram.com/ finca_la_donaira

BREATH-TAKING: Views from La Donaira and the grounds

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Portugal

EYEOPENING: From the Venice-style canals in Aveiro to the grandeur of Lisbon, Portugal really is different

Roads, trains and fires

The roads in Portugal are pretty good, with the motorways usually run by concessionaires who charge a toll, either with an operator, or with slightly annoying cameras.

The normal country roads are more or less fine, although the Portuguese sometimes add large metal posts to where a simple white line of paint would serve nicely.

Driving through the country, the best thing for me – we live in the desert of Almería – was the greenery. As we had had some trouble with the GPS – Movistar doesn’t make it easy when you switch to another country – we got a bit lost at one point, and found ourselves driving through the burned forest which claimed over 60 lives re-

cently.

It’s a large and most depressing stretch of country. The Portuguese have been blamed for planting eucalyptus in the countryside, and the fires are consequentially dangerous and immediate. We saw several reported on their TV news channels, even after that horrific fire.

On the subject of transport, our train to Aveiro was full. It stops in all the small villages en route and its timetable means it calls by every hour. Compare this with our own noble and idiotic plan to build an AVE through Almería and on to Murcia - a train which will be empty, hurtle by without stopping twice a day, and cost the taxpayer a fortune.

A diffe sort of nois I

LAST visited the other side of the Iberian peninsula two de- who s cades with an old black and white guidebook from 1957… so mana it wasn’t really much of a surprise that Portugal had changed tery a at least a little bit.

But let’s face it, nothing stays the same forever.

By Spanish standards, it’s still a bit gloomy and quiet in Portugal - quiet, to say the least (more of which later) - and the Portuguese still read the news pages rather than the sports pages, but that large area of the peninsula that Spanish weather forecasters leave oddly blank has quietly turned itself into a modern European state.

My Spanish friend and I crossed into Portugal in the middle of the country from Extremadura, where we had spent a couple of days in Merida, a city where, if you kick over a rock or even a stubborn weed you’ll likely find some remains from the Roman times.

From here it was only 60 kilometres to Elvas, a town literally leaping with castles, palaces, churches and a fine aqueduct.

It took no time at all to reach since the formalities of crossing a frontier from one Schengen country to another involves nothing more than turning to your companion and saying ‘Cor, looks like we’re going to need that phrasebook soon’.

We spent our first night in Hotel Jardim, just outside Elvas, which served us well, turning out to have a fine restaurant where we discovered that the Portu- EYE-OUT: A local vendor with e guese have a trick.

They leave various plates on your table of cheese, ham, fish paste some and olives before you’ve settled down and looked at the menu, tery-r and then they charge you heavily for them afterwards. Later on in a The c Lisbon restaurant, having learnt the hard way (ED: I happen to re- anyth ally like all that stuff, particularly the cheese, most of which comes doesn from a fantastic town Azeitao, near Setubal) we said to the waiter ‘all of this stuff – fuera!’ And it worked.

The Portuguese couple at the next table looked vaguely impressed. ‘Yeah’, they said, ‘you can take The place ours away too’. peaceful The food however in Portugal is great; the wine – especially the vinho verde – is excellent and a genuine grimly beu surprise, as is the nearby Alvarinho, which is the local version of Galicia’s excellent Albarino. the food Chicken, by the way, is called frango. Easy to remember, I told my Spanish companion after a glass or terrifi two, ‘just think of Francisco Frango’.

The coffee is served black in tiny cups.

We spent a few days in a coastal city called Aveiro which is notable for its canals; its handsome three and four story We g tiled buildings and a beautiful old palace which makes a fine cup torwa of tea in a china pot. it was My partner had her first ever cup of Earl Grey.

The n We had brought our swimming things with us on the tour, but the TV wa weather was cool: sweaters in the evening. ‘You won’t want to swim ‘We’r here’, we were told, ‘the ocean is far too cold’. stirre From here we took a day return north to Oporto on the local train (150 kms total), to meet a friend, and marvel albeit too briefly at For m the dramatic beauty of the city and to buy a bottle of port. span The station in Aveiro is manned by a delightful collection of people ness

tura

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ELEGANT: A row of stunning townhouses line the banks of the Douro river in Porto

Funny table settings, Earl Grey and too cold to swim...Long time expat writer Lenox Napier takes a midsummer trip across the border into ‘muy diferente’ Portugal

speak absolutely nothing except the local patois, and while I aged to explain that we wanted two daily returns, it was a lotas to whether I had got it right - especially since the whole cost for both of us was 12 euros all in, one hour each way including a number of brief stops in small country stations.

Through the window, we finally saw the beach. Aveiro is nominally on the coast - it's a town with canals - but the beaches are several kilometres off, behind dunes and scrub. At last the ocean - apparently cold and inhospitable - was in view. Perhaps another time.

The main charm for me from our mobile viewpoint was the giant bird-nests that seem to decorate the top of every beautiful and noble man-made construction in the western half of the Iberian peninsular. The more sublime the edifice, the more likelihood of a giant mess of twigs and a very self-satisfied crane crowning the building, to the irritation of the owners and the evident delight of the birds themselves.

Lisbon is also a tremendous place to take a tour around. High buildings and narrow streets cover the seven hills. Small yellow trams; tuc tuc three-wheelers with a sofa nailed to the back; tiny electric two-seater Renaults; some Segways, and particularly eels cool ones that look like mopeds, e motorcycles with sidecars and a few expensive looking batrun BMWs make up most of the traffic. city is full of tourists. Everyone speaks English, and French and hing else – except of course Spanish. Spanish? Forget it. It n’t exist, much to the annoyance of my friend.

That said, we spent three contented days in the Portuguese capital – where the history of their abandoned colonies in Africa and Asia, plus their success story of Brazil – means e was that you see people of all colours and, unlike l and anywhere else I know, perfectly integrated. spent our last day in a small town called ucolic: We Castro Verde, where we felt like the first tourists ever. The place was peaceful and grimly d was bucolic: the food in the local restaurant was terrific. fic And so back across the border to Spain, with our booty of fridge magnets, tee shirts and decorated mugs. got our skates on and our first port of call was in a giant moay cafe near Antequera. And what a complete culture shock s. noise of a 150 gleeful diners screaming altogether over a loud as most welcome – and ear-splitting. re home at last’ my partner shouted happily to me as she ed her café con leche.

more musings from Lenox visit his excellent blog http:// nishshilling.blogspot.com.es/ or newsletter www.busisovertapas.com

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VARIETY: Lenox loved the rolling green hills and (above), Fado music, cheeses and custard tarts

My Top Ten surprises in Portugal

The temperatures in August are lower than expected – we even wore a sweater at night occasionally Unemployment, at 9%, is half of Spain’s rate The small round goats cheeses (queijo de cabra) are delicious The amazing custard pies (pasteis de nata) Port (although make sure you get a proper ‘vintage’ one) Vinho Verde - it’s very refreshing The countryside is overwhelmingly green The unconscious integration of immigrants, LGBT community and any other minority group The government decriminalised all drugs in 2001 (with the consequence of a far lower crime and death rate) Fado music. Try Mariza. Fantastic!

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+TheolivepressEs For ‘Biggest ever’ sell-off sale BE ‘APPY!

SANTANDER Bank has sold €10 billion of distressed ONE of the biggest develop- Spanish property after its takeover of Banco Popular. ments in Andalucia for over a In Spain’s largest-ever property sale, Santander sold decade is set to complete its the stock to US investor Blackstone Group as the country’s housing market continues to recover. second stage.

The second stage of the The housing was originally worth €30 billion, but 600-property Horizontal plummeted in value after Spain’s savage economic recession bit home.

Golf Project have already Download our app now and been put on sale, with many The deal will see a new company created with Blackbegin enjoying theyear. best Spanish stone owning 51% of the stock and Banco Popular to be completed this news on the The project, by go.

British de- the rest. veloper Taylor Wimpey, will see the existing La Cala Golf in Mijas turned into one the largest housing developments seen on the coast.

The company says its offering will put property owners ‘at the forefront of international residential tourism, with one TheandOlive Press of the best most varied offers of housing in low denTOP for news in Spain! sity complex with Panoramic views of the golf, sea and mountains, and only 30 minutes from Malaga airport.’

Javier Ballester, director general of Taylor Wimpey Spain said: “We have made significant progress in the Spanish HOUSE sales in Spain market last year with 304 leapt by 19.3% in June sunny Andalucia new homes built. Sales dur- with ing the first half of 2017 have leading the charge, new been very positive and we ex- data shows. pect it to continue the same The region saw the largest throughout the summer of number of sales altogether 2017. ” with some 8,551 sets of

It comes two months after Santander rescued Banco Popular, snapping up the crippled bank for a fee of €1.

The stock sold includes land, hotels, apartments and houses.

Despite Spain’s booming property market, some half a million homes lay empty following a crippling recession from 2009 onwards.

According to Spain’s Economic Ministry, more than a third of the €22 billion of foreign investment in Spain was from the property market.

Sales bonanza keys exchanging hands.

Meanwhile, per capita, the Balearics recorded the highest number of sales at 165 per 100,000 inhabitants, ahead of secondplaced Valencia (159) and Madrid (144).

Altogether, 44,135 homes

Andalucia saw the highest number of sales in the whole of Spain in June

were bought by new owners across Spain, the highest number since February 2011, according to Spain’s Institute of National Studies (INE).

In April, overall property

sales across Spain had dipped by 8%, putting an end to 40 straight months of increases, before bouncing back in May and June.

Sales of farmhouse fincas rose by 18.6% compared to June last year.

It comes as dozens of new projects have begun along the Costa del Sol this summer, a clear indicator that the Spanish economy, and in particular its construction industry, are firmly putting their 2008 days behind them.

The costs of selling on the Costa, part 2 If you make a profit from a Costa del Sol property sale, you’re liable for capital gains tax (CGT)

I

N my previous column, we covered the two taxes vendors have to pay upon the sale of property. While the first of these, municipal capital gains tax (Plusvalía), is levied on the property itself, the second, income tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta), can vary greatly. Two factors come into play when working out how much you may have to pay: your place of residence and your earnings during the fiscal year the sale is completed.

For residents, the taxable base includes what you receive from work (renta general) and savings (renta del ahorro), while nonresidents are only liable for tax on the latter. But as the Spanish Tax Agency (better known as Hacienda) classes capital gains that arises from property sales as savings, everyone ends up paying one way or another. The difference is that residents can mitigate tax by accounting for deductibles, while non-residents cannot.

To calculate exactly the amount of CGT you need to pay, I checked with our lawyer friend, Adolfo Martos Gross, a partner in the Costa del Sol firm of GAM Abogados, to ensure what follows is in line with the letter (and numbers) of the law. He explains that deductible expenses can be divided into those paid on purchase, those incurred during ownership, and those due at the time of sale.

The first covers fees for your lawyer, the notary and the Property Registry, as well as

Transfer Tax (Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales) or VAT/Stamp Duty, depending on the type of property you bought. The next includes any improvements, but not routine maintenance. These could be an adding an extension or redoing a bathroom, but must be a permanent change that enhance the space, habitability or useful life of the property. Adolfo says that Hacienda will ask to see invoices for work done, so ensure you get them and keep them in a safe place. The final category comprises commissions paid to estate agents, additional legal fees and Plusvalía tax (see above).

When you add up the costs that can legally be deducted, these can be considerable, so it's worth getting some good advice from your lawyer or tax advisor before filling out the form. As an example, let's imagine an apartment in Estepona that was bought for €300,000 in 2013 and sells for €400,000

in 2017.

If you take into account €24,000 (8%) in transfer tax, €1,500 (around 0.5%) for notary and registry fees, and €3,630 (usually 1%, plus 21% VAT) for a lawyer, that's already nearly 10% to sum on top of the purchase price. If you spend €20,000 on a kitchen, double-glazing and wooden floors, you can include that as expenses, too. You can also subtract, let's say, €2,000 for Plusvalía, €4,840 in lawyer's fees, and €24,200 for estate agent commissions, discounting more than 10% from the sale price.

That results in a declarable capital gain of less than €20,000, rather than a nominal profit of €100,000. Given that residents of Spain pay CGT on a sliding scale of 19%23%, that represents a significant saving.

Sadly for non-residents, the same rule does not apply and they are required to pay CGT at a flat rate of 19%.

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Trip to Spain News IN BRIEF +TheolivepressEs

inspires multimillion euro No cheap BE ‘APPY!business idea holiday for Brit HOLIDAYMAKERS

have been told to consdier avoiding Spain by A BRITON has revealed travel agents TUI due to how a trip to Spain insaturation of the marspired his multi-million ket and priceDownload increases. euro our app now and business.

Andy Peck, 46, was recovbegin enjoying the best Spanish ering from a near-death news on the go. experience when he offered to dog-sit for a famSAUDI Arabia has ily in Galicia. banned equine imports from Spain Launch and Macedonia.

This is due to an In return, he could stay at infectious disease their home rent-free. found in the animals It was then he decided in Spain.

The Olive launch Press Trustedhousesitters, a website that TOP for news matches in Spain!people who want THE weakening of the pound has resulted in about 300 million fewer Euros in circulation, which has caused cuts of up to 40% in the wages of Spanish workers. This places an added stress on workers already in an uncertain position due to Brexit.

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Happy tail

Banned

Wage cuts

August 16th - August 29th 2017

SUCCESS: For Brit businessman Andy Peck

Strike misery threatened AIRPORT staff are threatening to paralyse Spanish airports with a wave of strikes.

Unions CC.OO, UGT and USO vowed to walk out over 25 days from next month if their pay demands aren’t met.

Workers’ representatives issued an ultimatum to airport operators AENA, giving bosses until August 16 to respond.

“There are places of work where employment precariousness is extremely high, jeopardizing the safety of op-

erations and the quality of services,” a statement from the workers read.

If the strikes to ahead, they would interrupt some of Spain’s busiest holiday periods, including the puente bank-holiday breaks in October, November and December.

Staff are angry about an 8% cut in their salaries since 2010 and the proposed axing of jobs with AENA and 250 with ENAIRE.

to travel around the world with homeowners who need someone to dog sit.

“Potential house-sitters relished the opportunity to travel to places they might not otherwsie have considered,” explains Peck, “while enjoying the therapeutic benefits of spending time with an animal.”

TrustedHousesitters is now the world’s largest house-sitting website, with nearly 500,000 members in 140 countries.

Peck, who travelled around the world to sign up his first few hundred members in person, said travelling and face-to-face business interaction were the keys to the company’s success.

“So much of our world would never have come to light if we hadn’t been travelling,” he says, “It has helped us build personal relationships we couldn’t have achieved with an email.”

GUTTED: Smurf village

Smurf trouble

ANDALUCIA’S ‘Smurf Village’ has been ordered to remove all references to the popular blue characters that have been a major source of income.

It comes after heirs to the creator of the Smurfs demanded 12% of all money derived from use of the Smurfs name.

Juzcar, in the Serrania de Ronda, was painted blue by Sony pictures six years ago in a bid to promote the series of recent films.

The town hall were unable to reach an agreement with the family, meaning all images, statues and references to the hit franchise must be removed by August 15.

While the houses will remain blue, the town will likely take a huge hit.

The town, which only has 240 inhabitants, relies mostly on tourism.

It receives around 50,000 visitors a year directly from association with the Smurfs.

AGONY Property ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Notaries and Supreme Court at war over validity of powers of attorney (POA)

A

Take note

ccording to the General Council of Notaries, these highly qualified professionals fulfil an essential part of the judicial life of this country by bringing legal security and certainty. Their website states the following: “Notaries are state civil servants required to provide citizens with the legal certainty guaranteed by Article 9 of the Spanish Constitution within the context of extrajudicial legal dealings.”

A recent ruling by the Supreme Court - and more so a previous one of 2013 - seem to cast doubt over such convincing and forceful statement in respect to one the main functions of Notaries: granting POAs and their presupposed validity if the grantor challenges them in court.

The 2013 sentence - supported by a prior one of 2010 - shook the notarial establishment when it declared that POAs to settle, dispose of, mortgage or perform any other act inherent to ownership (art. 1713) would have to […] clearly specify the object and subject, in a clearly defined and predetermined manner. The high tribunal’s interpretation of general POAs to sell or mortgage is thus far-reaching: if the POA does not specify the property or the lender, the transaction can be rendered null and void.

Again, in 2016, the Supreme Court stated that those transactions where such POAs were used could also be declared null and void where the recipient abused or exceeded the instruction. This is how the Court explained it: […] In this context, the will of the parties stands as the guiding interpretation

criteria, ruling out an automatic or mechanical reliance on the literality of the POA granted, but principally on the intention and will of the grantor to establish the purpose and sense of the instruction. And secondly, the obligations of fidelity and loyalty are indispensable guidelines connected to carrying out the instruction.

The importance of these rulings (dated 2013 and 2016) is that they rendered a Deed of Gift and a deed of sale of shares null and void, even if the POAs were - allegedly - properly granted in front of notary public, with all the required solemnities and formalities.

For its part, notaries believe that their job is separate from that of courts and that the above rulings represent solutions to specific disputes brought before them.

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com

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LIBERTYHOME

THE amount of British holidaymakers travelling to Spain has almost doubled over the last 20 years.

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics today, Spain is the top UK holiday destination, with 12.9 million Britons visiting last year, up from 6.9 million in 1996.

The figures also showed holidaymakers are rejecting Egypt, Tunisia and Kenya amid fears of future terrorist attacks.

France has also seen its

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Double Bubble

larity, as more than 2.8 milHome Insurance lion trips were made to the benefits include: country in 2016 – over dou-

Number of Brits visiting Spain each year almost doubles as rivals decline

have you got that Liberty feeLing? figures over the past 20 years drop from six million to 5.6 million last year.

The ONS said the explosion in budget airlines

offering cheap flights all over Europe could have also contributed to France’s downturn in popularity.

Belgium and Turkey,

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which have seen devastating terror attacks, have both dropped out of the top ten.

The series of statistics put out by the ONS also showed that the traditional two-week holiday is in decline as Brits are more likely to opt for shorter

ble the 1.01 million made u Excess water consumption in two decades earlier in 1996.

Croatiaclaim. has seen the numcase of water damage ber of trips soar from just u Windows and 12,600 Solar Panels in 1996 to 394,000 breaks. breakages.

They also revealed that in 2016.

Theresa May and Jeremy The UAE has seen the largu Allholidayed Risk accidental est damage increase in the number Corbyn – who (building and contents). in Italy and Croatia re- of trips by British tourists past two decades. spectively –uare bang on in the Repair assistance service 24/7 trend as both countries In 1996 fewer than 30,000 and a DIY service. are enjoying a British trips were made, but this boomed to 565,000 last tourism boom.

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It’s a time to be extra vigilant while For an instant quote call 91 342 25 49 or go to www.libertyexpatriates.es driving on Spanish roads The Olive Press – 170 x 256mm

19 July

ONCE again, summer is here with a vengeance. Temperatures soar and with the influx of tourists, you have to keep your wits about you at all times when driving. Holiday makers who rent a car, may also be driving on the opposite side of the road to their home country, like the British, so you need to be extra vigilant and try to anticipate their possible mistakes. One very common incident happens on roundabouts where drivers take the wrong lane. For example, if you want to carry straight on then it’s best to take the outside lane, and if you intend to turn left, take the inside lane. What many people do, is take the outside lane with the intention of turning left but the driver on the inside lane who is going straight on, has to be very careful to avoid a collision with the vehicle going all the way round.

Aside from the inevitable increase in traffic accidents with the huge influx of tourists from around the world, you need to make sure your car is up to scratch too.

For example, always make sure that your tyre pressures are correct by checking them at least once a month especially as road surfaces become very hot indeed and will affect the pressures. Needless to say, check the tyres too and make sure they are in good condition with enough tread. Also check the car’s radiator water level; the last thing you want is to overheat if you’re stuck in a queue and worse still have to wait for a breakdown truck.

It’s also illegal to run out of screen-wash so keep this topped up. Driving with flip-flops or shoes without backs is not permitted either. Obviously seat belts must be worn all round and children need safety harnesses. And stating the obvious too, mobile phones must not be used for speaking (unless using a built-in hands-free device) and definitely no texting!

If you do have an accident, remember the following: Stay calm and use the reflective vest.

Use your vehicle’s emergency flashers and use two warning triangles at appropriate distances from the vehicle.

Stay away from oncoming traffic.

Call 112 if necessary.

Take photos of the incident when safe to do so.

Get statements and contact information from any witnesses.

Complete the accident report forms.

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So, call on 91 342 25 49 for further information, or visit: www.libertyexpatriates.es to find out the name of your nearest broker.

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health

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Fountain of youth THE world’s first anti-ageing drug is being trialled on humans this year.

It comes after the Food and Drug administration in the US gave the go-ahead for a drug based on metformin, which is used to treat diabetes and has been proven to extend the life of animals.

Scottish ageing expert Professor Gordon Lithgow of the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in California said: “If you target an ageing process and you slow down ageing then you slow down all the diseases and pathology of ageing as well.

“I have been doing research into ageing for 25 years and the idea that we would be talking about a clinical trial in humans for an anti-ageing drug would have been though inconceivable.”

If successful, the drug will mean a person in their 70s would be as biologically healthy as a 50-yearold.

Marbella’s ‘Ken Doll’ can’t help himself with more surgeries despite health risks RODRIGO Alves has revealed his plans for gastric bypass surgery after putting on three stone.

The Marbella-based TV personality, known as the ‘Human Ken Doll’, said his body is unable to handle any more liposuction procedures following his fluctuating weight.

The 33-year-old, who is currently in Iran to shoot a documentary on plastic surgery culture, has also confessed that in the past few weeks his spending has soared from €440,000 to €496,000 in his quest for perfection.

Rodrigo told the MailOnline: “I’m now planning a gastric bypass surgery in September since my body can’t handle lipos anymore.”

Alves has undergone liposuction numerous times in the

Can’t stop past, but now it seems like his body is unable to handle it - causing him to opt for the extreme solution of gastric bypass.

The procedure will see his stomach divided into a small upper pouch and a larger lower remnant pouch and is typically used to treat morbid obesity.

First contact All your questions about contact lenses answered

L

A: Contact lenses bring great benefits and are easy to use. Following simple hygiene and care guidelines will keep your eyes healthy and mean that your vision remains clear and the lenses stay comfortable.

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August 16th - August 29th 2017 August 16th - August 29th 2017

The Human Ken Doll also informed MailOnline of the fresh new set of procedures he has had done during his trip

to Iran at the Parisian Beauty clinic and has claimed he’s ‘spent £50,000 on a total face revamp.’

“Yesterday I had a vampire face lift with derma pen and PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma). The aim of the procedure is to clear all my scars after all the surgeries that I have had while here in Iran.

“The vampire facelift has become very popular by Kim Kardashian,” he noted.

He also admitted he had his tenth nose job using the cartilage from his ear - despite being told his nose could fall off as a result of more surgical procedures.

HEALTH departments across Spain have been told to ensure that they no longer offer homeopathic services.

It comes after the health ministry sent all departments a reminder that ‘practices described as pseudoscience and their promotion’ are strictly outlawed. Health Minister Carmen Montón sent a letter to the Health Authorities to request homeopathic medicines be withdrawn as granted by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2015.

“Good medical practice is linked to scientific evidence and we must clearly differentiate between products that have evidence-based medicine support rather than those products and practices that have not proved their effectiveness,” she said.

Plug in to tooth care

E

LECTRIC toothbrushes have been available for decades but have recently increased in popularity with a confusing array of choices now available.

Hence one must ask if it is worth spending up to €200 euros for the best all-singing, all-dancing power brush instead of €3 on a manual brush?

As a dentist, my primary concern is that patients remove plaque effectively from surfaces of their teeth and gums daily.

If they don’t, then bleeding gums and inflammation develop as the first signs of gum disease. If left untreated this leads to teeth becoming loose, painful and early loss. So, patients must practice effective plaque control to keep healthy teeth for life.

I am therefore an advocate of anything which can help patients do this!

Patients like power brushes, they like the sensation and think features such as a ‘stain removal’ and even the simple timer are very helpful.

Two minutes of brushing is a lot longer than most people realise! And, if you have just invested in a shiny, new power brush or been lucky enough to have been gifted one, I find

patients are more likely to use it.

Hence, I see greater compliance and therefore improved gum health when switching to an electric brush.

Research also strongly supports my clinical experience; numerous trials have shown that powered toothbrushes can be up to 49% better at plaque removal. But not all power brushes are created equal…. Variations exist, e.g. bristle design and technology based on oscillating, vibrating, or ultrasonic. The two market leaders are Oral B: rotating-oscillating (e.g.

Oral B 5000), and Phillips Sonicare: Flexcare sonic. The largest independent review using international standards (Cochrane) examined more than 30 years of published studies. They concluded that only the rotating-oscillating type toothbrush consistently demonstrated a statistically significant benefit over manual toothbrushes.

So, it would seem Oral B comes out on top.

However, clinically I find most of the mid-range rechargeable brushes (not battery powered/ with simple rotation only) are more effective than manual brushing.

Hence, I readily recommend them to all my patients as part of their home care regime.

Contact the Oasis Dental Clinic on 952 83 74 42

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August 16th - August 29th 2017 August 16th - August 29th

Sick teacher cuffed A BRITISH teacher has been arrested in Spain for allegedly sharing pictures of his students with paedophiles online.

Spanish cops said the suspect, from Manchester, secretly filmed his students and shared images ‘with clear sexual connotations’.

Detectives raided the English teacher’s home in Valladolid, 120 miles north of Madrid, following a tip-off from Interpol.

It was revealed that he was previously living in Sevilla.

In a clip released by Policia Nacional, cops can be seen leading the suspect away while detectives trawled through his computer for evidence.

While his computer was full

British teacher allegedly took photos of students for paedophiles

of videos and images of a number of students, the suspect appeared to be ‘obsessed’ with one girl, to whom he had dedicated a whole folder to.

The investigation began in Canada, where detectives discovered that an email address based in Spain was being used to share illegal images.

Canadian officers alerted Spain through Interpol.

Policia Nacional said in a statement: “Our officers have arrested an English teacher who stored and distributed images of child pornography through a storage system on

Prevention not cure MALAGA schools are actively promoting healthy living habits in a new initiative.

The initiative involves 113,900 students and 9,143 teachers, and aims to provide Andalucian children with training to adopt attitudes and responsible behaviour concerning their own health.

The initiative works on emotional

education, healthy lifestyles, selfcare and accidents.

During the past year more than 90,400 students and 6,200 teachers have participated.

The programme incorporates sexual education and the prevention of addictions such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drugs.

the Cloud.

“The suspect obtained ‘candid’ images of his pupils – taken secretly and with clear sexual connotations – especially one girl with whom he demonstrated a special obsession.”

Police in Spain initially tracked the email address to Sevilla, but they discovered the teacher had moved north.

They said: “Once he was located, an urgent warrant was obtained and his address was searched.

“The investigators found a large number of archives with explicit sexual content involving minors.

“We are now working to identify all the victims in the images.”

Take two AN alarming 12.3% of Spanish students in 2014-2015 retook their first year of secondary education.

Data for 2014/2015 show hat public schools had a higher percentage of repeat pupils, with 15.1%, repeating their first year, compared with 6.5% in private schools. The highest repetition rates on mainland Spain occurred in Andalucia (15.2%), Castilla La Mancha (16.5%).

17 YEARS

OF PORTRAYING MARBELLA’S BEST

® essential marbella magazine W W W. E S S E N T I A L M A G A Z I N E . C O M

31 31 31

Columnists

www.theolivepress.es

W

HEN I was seventeen, I had a boyfriend who was a vegetarian. My father – a macho, perma-tanned Robert De Nirostyle character, automatically assumed he was gay, because ‘all real men eat meat’ and so when we broke up a few years later, it came as no surprise to him, because ‘David always batted for the other side anyway.’

David has been happily married for ten years now.

To a woman.

Imagine though, my father's horror upon discovering that his own flesh and blood would one day become vegetarian – or vej-ans as my father calls us, as he announces in dismay to our waiter at a family outing upon his visit last week. "They're vej-ans, can you believe this? I don't know what I've done wrong! I've got children who are vej-ans!"

The waiter looks mildly amused and my siblings and I smile uncomfortably.

‘The Vejan’

This is my father's noun; 'The vejan'. Vegetarians are vejans, vegans are vejans, anyone who does yoga is a vejan and anyone who shops organic or favours homeopathic remedies over pharmaceuticals is also a vejan. Artists are vejans, feminists are vejans, activists are vejans, anti-establishmentarians are vejans and anyone who supports Jeremy Corbyn is probably a vejan too.

"My youngest is a university student, so it's to be expected that she would be a vejan," he continues, in a lamenting monologue to the waiter. "But my Nattie, you cannot imagine how she used to love her meat. Even as a baby she would chew on a juicy lamb chop with gravy all over her chubby face!"

‘Oh save me’, I think, feeling the colour rushing to my cheeks, as the waiter looks meekly in my direction. "That's not a problem," he tells my father, "We have a wide range of dishes for vegetarians and vegans alike," and my father nods while holding his head in his hands in mock despair.

I read a Facebook post this week that went viral about a young vegan holidaying in Malaga whose salad was not up to her expectations. But it was the comments underneath left me wondering

Marbella es diariRose Kern

By Natalie

August 16th - August 29th 2017 August 16th - August 29th 2017

31 31

Why is there so much hate for vegans?

Food for thought ANIMAL LOVER: ‘The Monkey’ why there is so much animosity towards those who have removed animals from their diets. My father is not an exception - in fact, my father is

YOGI: OP columnist Natalie Kern

like so many others who will not hear or accept anything other than what he has always believed.

And this has nothing to do with meat. It has to do with change. He believes that ‘vejanism’ is a trend, a fad, a fashion, while failing to realise that it's a movement towards a more conscious way of living.

The movement away from meat products is surging – veganism alone has increased by 500% since 2014, spurred on my documentaries such as If Slaughterhouses had Glass Walls, Cowspiracy, Earthlings and the latest Netflix series to be taking the world by storm, What the Health.

Of course, my father refuses to watch any of these movies or TV shows - perhaps because deep down he knows that, were he to watch them, he might have to make a conscious decision about so many of his life choices and beliefs, after all, ignorance is bliss.

Social media has played a great role in spreading awareness, not only about the inhumane suffering of animals and the destruction of the planet, but also the antibiotics, puss and poisons we are inadvertently feeding our bodies. Is it any wonder that obesity, cancer and other fatal illnesses are

at an all-time high despite medical advances, and that our bodies are sicker than ever before.

I suppose what people hate most about vegans is being preached to. And yes, many of them can seem preachy. It's like carbon emissions, recycling and the volume of plastic in our seas... it's an inconvenient truth. And one that gets in the way of our comfortable existence – but at what expense?

I know that with characters such as my father, preaching is of little good, so instead I send him links to documentaries shows such as What the Health, so that he is free to make up his own mind.

But sometimes the simplest wisdom comes from a nine-year-old boy, as I discovered last week, when The Monkey was asking for new ways to entertain himself (yes, the endless summer holidays are still ongoing!)

"I'd like to do some graffiti on walls," he announced casually, and I reprimanded him explaining why graffiti is bad.

"Yes," he nodded, "But I would just do a picture of a big dog and it would say 'Would you eat your dog?' That's all I would do... and then people would see it and think about it."

Food for thought indeed.

Summer Madness Heat, drunkards and a full moon make for a dangerous cocktail

I

am currently writing this article on my last day at the villa in the Marbella Hill Club, directly under the air conditioning unit, as the temperature outside seems to indicate that, in twinning scheme gone badly wrong, Marbella seems to have been twinned with the Sun. It's somewhere in the high 30s out on the terrace, which has had the positive effect of drying my washing in nanoseconds, but the negative effect of short circuiting everyone's brains – what passes for mine included. Though it is a widely known fact that I normally function on black coffee and impure thoughts – or the other way around... Added to that is the fact that it was a full moon last night and it is no surprise that people have been acting like fruit loops.

My first piece of evidence for that was a video that went viral about the continued goings on in Puerto Banus, as well as a “warts and all” expose on national television. In the video, an open-topped Porsche, complete with brainless Banus bimbo sitting illegally on the back and pumping out rap music like some bad copy of the Fast and the Furious franchise, pulls up to a red light. After pausing for a few seconds, the driver of the Porsche decides that the highway code doesn't apply to him and roars off through the read light, bimbo shrieking in delight as he does so.

Two more supercars, presumably also driven by knuckleheads, decide that this is a good idea and also jump the light, with the third car missing a hapless scooter, who crosses legally, by inches.

Meanwhile the TV show went behind the scenes of a night in Puerto Banus, riding shotgun with the Policia Nacional, as well as interviewing Marbella business figures and the owner of a boutique party hotel that has received over 700 complaints in the past two years.

It was the usual catalogue of fast cars, yachts, guns, prostitution, nightclubs, shady figures in gold chains, drugs and rap music.

And then the thought hit me.

Marbella really is missing a trick to get its profile

even higher on the world stage.

So I've just taken out the patent for the new PlayStation game MarbsMayhem. It'll give Grand Theft Auto and all the other shoot em up gangsta games a run for their money!!!

My second bit of summer madness involves the Starlite Festival, who seem to have thrown their toys out of the pram in a massive way now that Marbella Town Hall has enforced the Junta de Andalucia law that you can't run an outdoor nightclub in a mainly residential area until 6am, every morning. Starlite responded that they were going to sue Marbella for damages, had done wonders for the image of Marbella, and that they were upping sticks after this year and would never darken the town's door again.

To which my measured response is: “Jog on then, and don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.”

Maybe it was the fact that the ticket prices started at ridiculously high levels, or the fact that the audiences seemed to care more about taking selfies and wandering back and forth to the VIP bar during the performances – Rock God Robert Plant remarked on this very fact when I saw him at Starlite last year - or the fact that the road back down to Marbella was full of drunken pijo teenagers at 7am (and I am not sorry for what happened to the one who tried to flag me down as a taxi by standing in the middle of the road and point a torch at me. The Tank has handled wild boar without a dent so bouncing a few pissed up teenagers off the side panels is nothing. Plus he learned a valuable life lesson).

What really got me, however, was the slogan ‘todos somos Starlite’ that started to appear on social media. For those of you with memories longer than the average Justin Bieber song, this type of post started to appear after the killings in Paris, especially at the Bataclan, where innocent people were slaughtered by terrorists AT A CONCERT VENUE. If you truly believe that the fact you can no longer dance to Eurotrash music until 6am is on a par with what happened in Paris then the heat must be getting to you too...

Restaurante Arroceria Poniente Carretera de Cómpeta, S/N Moraleda de Zafayona, Granada

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Food, drink & travel August 16th - August 29th 2017

34

with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

It takes two British couple claim number one and two foodie spots on TripAdvisor

A BRITISH expat couple have claimed the top two spots on TripAdvisor in Vejer de la Frontera.

James Stuart and his partner Ellie's respective restaurants, El Jardín del Califa and Corredera 55, are ranked the number one and two best places to eat in the increasingly popular Cadiz hotspot.

James told the Olive Press: "It's great to be voted as the best by customers, because of course, that's who's opin-

LEADERS: James and Ellie

ion matters most."

And the pair insist there's no competition between them.

Troubling times Open: Tuesday to Saturday 12.00 til 22.30 Kitchen closed 15.30 til 19.00 Sunday 12.00 til 16.00 Closed on Monday Reservations: elgarden2016@gmail.com

restaurant | lunch and dinner

THE US Department of Commerce has launched an investigation to determine whether or not Spanish olive farmers are dumping their products in the US market.

They also want to know if they are being ‘unfairly favoured’ by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy program’s subsidies, thus violating fair trade laws.

Spanish table olive producers are growing concerned over the possibility of facing harsh protectionist measures.

“Dumped and subsidized Spanish ripe olives

"We are a collaborative couple," explains James, who owns the principal share in both eateries, "We both make sure we look after our staff and manage strong teams, which is essential for the restaurant business."

Ellie said: "Tripadvisor is now more important for sales than Michelin".

She used to own a Michelin star restaurant in her native Scotland and the Jardin del Califa has been in the Michelin Red Guide for the last 10 years. "The customer is king these days so we are very happy to have got the balance right in both restaurants".

The Califa offers an eastern Mediterranean-Moroccan fusion, while nearby Corredera 55 treats diners to traditional Spanish dishes with a modern European twist.

are severely impacting our industry,” said the CEO of US company Bell-Carter Foods, Tim Carter.

Dumping, which is viewed as a means to hurt American producers, is illegal under US law.

If the government uncovers unfair practices through dumping and subsidization it could announce sanctions on Spanish table olive imports as soon as September of 2017.

See our special olive feature on next page

Mixed feelings A BRITISH vegan’s reaction to a salad she was served on the Costa del Sol has gone viral.

Georgina Jarvis ordered the leaf-based dish on advice of the restaurant in Malaga while dining with her sister Gabbie.

However the plate of tomatoes and raw rings of onion she was given didn’t quite meet her expectations.

“I think we expected more of a salad for her with some lettuce and other veg maybe not just that,” sister Gabbie said.

“When she received the food I couldn’t help but laugh, we made pretty awkward eye contact with each other as staff were still serving us but I knew we were thinking the same thing.”

xxx

WWW.ELMUELLE-ARRIATE.COM ESTACIÓON DE ARRIATE | ARRIATE (MA 7400, KM 4) 0034 637 784 416 | 0034 952 166 370 CLOSED ON MONDAYS

Gabbie tweeted a photo of the rather minimalist plate which sat in front of Georgina’s unimpressed face.

It gained more than 10,000 retweets and over 43,000 likes within hours– and many comments from social media users who could completely relate to Georgina’s disappointment.

“The food was disappointing compared to the options there are in England but I was very happy that they accommodated to me,” said Georgina.

“Veganism, in my opinion, is the most sensible option for the well-being of animals, for the environment and for your health. Veganism has made me into a more compassionate person, and I urge people to consider even cutting down on meat, maybe making a vegetarian meal a couple of times per week.

“The tweet posted may make veganism look like an extremity and inaccessible, but in reality I normally have no issues eating out in restaurants, and normally have many options.”

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The Olive Press guide to Andalucia’s number one ‘liquid gold’ export

A

LTHOUGH small in size, the seemingly inadequate body of the olive not only conceals a powerful flavour but possesses an even more powerful history and influence over Mediterranean culture.

In Spain, one of the most critical aspects of any kitchen is the bottle of olive oil that sits atop the counter, waiting to liven up a morning tostada, add flare to a tapa or serve as the base for a dinner dish.

The love that Spain has for its ‘liquid gold’ is reflected in the statistics it boasts. It is the world’s largest producer, responsible for 44% of the world’s supply of olive oil. That’s twice the amount produced by Italy, and four times the amount produced by Greece, translating into 1.2 billion litres per year - enough olive oil to fill 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

Spain is home to some 300 million olive trees, which live to the ripe old age of between 300 and 600 years. Production is concentrated primarily in southern Spain, where the climate creates extremely favorable conditions for the growth of olive trees. The Andalusian province of Jaen is responsible for 70% of all Spanish olive oil. Although Spain takes first place for production, it comes second behind Greece, for olive oil consumption. Per year, the average resident of Spain uses about 10 litres. The Greeks can consume an incredible 20 litres.

History

Olive oil is said to have been introduced to Spain

by Phoenician tribes from Syria and Lebanon in 1050 BC. The Spanish word for oil - aceite reflects this influence, coming from the Arabic word al-zat, which mean ‘olive juice’. The Romans were responsible for the spread of olive groves across Spain, and for the creation of more advanced production and cultivation techniques.

For the Romans, olive oil was not only a cooking ingredient but also an important aspect in daily life, used as a preservative and for fuel, and was even said to have been used to light the first

Food, drink & travel 36

Oil you need to know…

Olympic torch.

Andalucian olives Despite the 100-plus varieties of olives that exist in Spain, only 24 are used in the production of oil. In Andalucia, the olives used for production, and at times, as table olives at restaurants, are the Picual, Hojiblanca, Lechin, Verdial and Picudo.

Picual - Concentrated in Jaen and neighbour-

ing provinces, these olives are responsible for 50% of olive oil in Spain, and 20% worldwide.

Each olive has a high yield of oil, ranging from 22-27%. The Picual’s excellent reputation is attributed to the high concentration of oleic acid, important for its antioxidant properties and in

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IT’S CALM & PEACEFUL...

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...IN THE MOUNTAINS

the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Those grown in the lowlands have more body and a woodier, more bitter taste than the sweeter, fresher flavour of those grown on the rolling expanses of Vejer. They are ideal for frying, salads and gazpachos.

mainly found in the south of Cordoba and Baena, and less abundantly in Jaen, Malaga and Granada. Size-wise, they are the second largest olive used in production, and have a 20% oil yield.

They are very delicate, with a soft flavour, and an exotic fruit aftertaste, making them perfect in warm salads, gazpachos, pastries and simply as table olives.

FREE nights available at award-winning hotel... if you’re quick.

How the oil is made

Hojiblanca - Also known as Casta de Ca-

bra or Lucentino, these olives are prominent in eastern Sevilla, southern Cordoba and the north of Malaga. Oil from this type of olive makes up about 16% of Andalusian production. The name comes from the white coloring on the underside of the trees’ leaves. High in fatty acids but low in saturated fatty acids, they are good for the health and their initially slightly sweet flavour develops into a more bitter almond aftertaste. Hojiblancos are good for frying and making dough, and the preferred ingredient in breads, pastas and pastries.

Lechin - Known for their milky-white colour,

these olives can be found in Granada province and parts of Sevilla. They have an oil yield of 18%, and are typically mixed with other varieties

1

. Before a tree can produce olives, it must mature for several years. Careful pruning can increase the amount of olives one tree will yield.

2

. When the olives are mature they are either hand-picked or shaken to the ground by machine. This shaking process can bruise the olives, making the hand-picking process a better option for quality.

3 4 ed.

. The leaves and branches are separat-

. The olives are pressed using stainless steel rollers (in the past, stone or granite was used), crushing the flesh and pit into a paste.

5

. Water is stirred into the paste for 2040 minutes, causing the oil molecules to clump and concentrate.

6 7 8

. The paste is then put on mats for further pressing.

to create blends of olive oil. They have a slightly bitter flavour and a green almond aftertaste, and are best for tapas and sweets.

Verdial- This is the name given to a number of local varieties of Andalucian olives with similar characteristics. They can be found in Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Seville and Huelva. They are larger than their cousines, with a high fat content, and a flesh to stone ratio that makes them ideal for oil as well as the table. Their sweet flavouralso makes them a good choice for salads and gazpachos.

Picudo - Also known as

Pajareros, or ‘for birds,’ as birds are partial to their sweet f l avo u r, these o l i ve s a r e

. The paste and water are removed from the mixture, leaving the oil. . If desired, the oil can be further refined, which will result in the specific smell, taste and colour that the producer desires.

Health Benefits

- Olives are high in oleic acid, which reduces inflammation and has been linked to lowering the risks of certain cancers.

-They have high concentrations of monounsaturated fats, which lower bad cholesterol without affecting good cholesterol.

-They have an ideal concentration of saturated fats, omega-3, omega-6 and fatty acids, as well as antioxidants.

-Research has shown that olives can decrease the risk of heart disease, inflammation, certain types of cancers, type 2 Diabetes and stroke and may even help fight Alzheimer’s.

-Olive oil consumption is not linked to weight gain.

-Extra Virgin Olive oil contains the most antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Olive fun

For those looking to experience the history of olive oil first hand, there are museums in Jaen (the Olive and Olive Oil Visitor Centre) and Cordoba (the Baena Olive and Olive Oil Museum). Both provide displays, images and even libraries detailing the production and history behind the olive and the oil. You can also make the journey up to the small towns of La Senia and Ulldecona in the south of Catalonia, where you can visit the world’s oldest olive groves.

A stroll through this open air museum of olive groves introduces visitors to trees that are over 1,000 years old, and one which is over 2,000 years old.

An oasis of calm at Molino del Santo Last week it took me nearly an hour to drive 8 km on the main coast road between La Cala de Mijas and Fuengirola. There had been a minor accident which made matters worse but I was surrounded by hundreds of frustrated motorists and their passengers as we baked in the afternoon heat and humidity. two hours later I was back in the mountains with the dry heat of the evening, watching the mercury nudge down as the full moon rose over the horizon and silhouetted trees on the skyline. sure, the coast is buzzing and exciting but a human mind also needs calm and peace and time for reflection. Detachment from screens, noise, pollution and immersion in quiet, natural sounds and peace is good for everyone in my humble opinion.

BEAUTIFUL SETTING If you need some peace and quiet – coupled with a beautiful setting, some outstanding food and excellent service – then there is a well-ish kept secret just outside Ronda. an old watermill sensitively converted into a small hotel with an excellent restaurant is just an hour away from the hustle and bustle of the coast. With just 18 rooms you may like to stay in a place where you will be known and treated as an individual, where you will get personal attention and where everyone is focused on your enjoyment of a visit: its name is Molino del santo. alternatively you may prefer to just

visit for a meal. The restaurant at Molino del santo is open every day until the end of October although it is always advisable to book – whilst it is hardly on the beaten track, the place is well known amongst the cognoscenti and can get very busy.

Recommended by Michelin, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian amongst many many others, your satisfaction at Molino del santo is assured with a no-quibble money back guarantee.

EASY TO REACH Easily reached by road or train from san Roque, you should visit Molino del santo soon. Drive from san Pedro to Ronda and then continue on the sevilla road before heading left to Benaoján.

The location is near to a railway line on the edge of the village – an hour in total.

Or let the train take the strain from san Roque at 0630, 1200 or 1540. after just 75 minutes of air-conditioned travel through stunning scenery you’ll be alighting in a different rural world.

Many people become instant converts returning to the location year after year.

If you haven’t discovered Molino del santo yet, why not do it soon?

AUGUST FREE ROOMS! Book any available room between now and the end of august and get a FREE night for every two nights you pay for. availability is very limited and it’s first come, first served. Mention “The Olive Press” for this special rate.

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More information of any kind e-mail

info@molinodelsanto.com

www.molinodelsanto.com | info@molinodelsanto.com | 952 16 71 51 ESTACIÓN DE BENAOJÁN, NEAR RONDA, MÁLAGA

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Friday 17th - St. Patricks Day 2.00pm 3.00pm 3.00pm 4.00 pm 7.00pm 9.00pm 10.00pm

Cheltenham Races All Ireland GAA Club Finals 4€ Biddy Mulligan´s Golf Society Party Live Music with John Maddocks Ireland U20´s vs England U20´s Ireland Women vs England Women Live Music with Alan Shiels

Tyre-d out St. PATRICKS DAY menu t r a d i t i o n a l

day SPANISH cyclingserved all chamGuinness, Kilkenny, Magners pion Alberto Contador is €4 St Patricks Day Shots set for retirement after the €2 Vuelta a Espana SepFACEthis PAINTING tember.

Ronaldo banned for FIVE saturday 18th - 6 Nations Final Day 1.30pm tour Scotlandde vs Italy The twice France 3.45pm France vs Wales winner6.00pmannounced the matches after aggressive Ireland vs England Live Music with Layla end of9.30pm his 14-year cycling outburst 19th Instagram - Premier League careerSunday on his 1.00pm Middlesbrough vs Man Utd account on Monday.

CRISTIANO Ronaldo has been given a five3.15pm Spurs vs Southampton Man Cityfrom vs Liverpool "I am 5.30pm retiring pro- match ban after pushing a referee during a game.

9.30pm Live Music with Sean Murray fessional cycling. I say It is the first time the 32-year-old has been sent Check out our Facebook our Virtual Tour, against Barcelona. this happy and without page off for during El Clasico Special Offers, Whats sadness.

It Coming comes Up as he faces allegations of defrauding Mulligans I have BiddysLaCala 952 494 877 “It's a Biddy decision Spain by Tel: not paying tax on the sale of image thought over very well rights. and I don't think there is a He has also received a €2,900 fine for the inbetter farewell than in the cident on August 13, which came after Burgos race in my country. I hope Bengoetxea penalised Ronaldo with two yellow it will be three wonderful cards during the Camp Nou game - the first for weeks," he said of the Sep- taking off his shirt to flex his muscles, and the tember 10 race. second for diving.

Contador won his first The Real Madrid player has now missed the secTour de France in 2007, ond leg in Madrid and will not play four La Liga and his second in 2009. matches.

He also won the 2010 race, Madrid side took the lead early in the second but was stripped of the half through an own goal from Gerard Pique but title in 2012 after testing Barcelona levelled the field thanks to a penalty positive for the banned goal by Luis Suárez. substance clenbuterol at Ronaldo scored with a strike to make it 2-1 in the the race, which he blamed 80th minute, after which Marco Asensio scored on a contaminated steak. following a lethal counter attack which secured As well as his Tour vic- the team’s fate. tories, he won the 2008 Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 11 goals in his last and 2015 Giros and the 11 games at Camp Nou. Vuelta in 2008, 2012 and He has appeared in 28 El Clasico games.

BANNED: Ronaldo will sit out four more matches 2014.

Couldn’t have tri-ed better

SPONSORED: Rugby club

New backing

THE Club de Rugby del Estrecho has a new sponsor.

Holmes Property Sales and the club have reached an agreement for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Following the agreement, the estate agency has now become the club’s primary sponsor, which ensures it will be able to continue developing its sports projects.

The company, established in 1978, is the most experienced real estate agency in the Sotogrande area.

It offers exclusive properties ranging from villas, apartments and townhouses.

ENGLAND has won its first two games in the rugby Women’s world cup in Dublin after destroying Spain in the opener.

The defending champions beat Italy 56-13 on August 12, with scores from Emily Scarratt, Alex Matthews, Lydia Thompson and Amy Cokayne to help them to a 22-8 half-time lead.

More tries came from Tamara Taylor, Scarratt again, a Danielle Waterman double, Thompson's second

and Amy Wilson-Hardy.

It comes after England thrashed Spain 56-5 in the tournament opener, with winger Kay Wilson scoring four tries.

Diana Gasso got Spain off to a good start in the second half, but England responded with six more trie.

England are the current World Cup Champions after beating Canada in the France 2014 World Cup. They will meet the USA next on August 17.

STRONG: The England girls

Alive and kicking FORMER Barcelona striker Neymar said he feels ‘more alive than ever’ after marking his Paris StGermain debut with a goal and an assist at Guingamp.

The 25-year-old became the most expensive player in history when he joined PSG from Barcelona for €222 million euros this month.

He set up Edinson Cavani for his side's opener on Sunday before scoring the final goal in a 3-0 victory.

"People think that leaving Barca is to die, but it's the opposite," he said.

"I'm more alive than ever. I play, I am very happy and football is the same. Only the country, the city and the team change, but football is the same."

Numero uno

RAFAEL Nadal is set to return to world number one for the first time in three years after Roger Federer withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters with a back injury.

The Swiss star, ranked No. 3, is sidelined along with No 1 Andy Murray, No 4 Stan Wawrinka, No 5 Novak Djokovic and defending champion and world number six Marin Cilic, leaving Nadal as the top-seeded player remaining in the draw.

"It's just coincidence," he said.

"We're not 20 years old any more. We're not playing all the weeks. It's part of our sport.

I've been in their position lots of times. I've missed more events than the other players. It's part of the game. I wish them all a speedy recovery. We need them in the game. I hope they get back soon." It means Nadal will return to the top spot when new ATP rankings are released next week. "It's been tough to get back to No. 1," he said. "I'm happy to have the chance to be in that position.”

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Vol. 11 Issue 272

A MALAGA restaurant owner has spoken out after a British vegan blasted his salad on Twitter.

“We are not a vegetarian restaurant, never mind vegan,” the owner of the Bahia eatery Ruben Gómez explained to press.

“At the entrance to our restaurant we have a counter full of different cuts of steak, but we make every effort to ensure our vegetarian and vegan clients are well served.”

FINAL WORDS

SPAIN is set to surpass Greece in migrant sea arrivals in 2017. This comes as a surprise as the Greece route was most popular among asylum seekers in previous years.

Unknown artifact

Retiring Alberto Contador, one of the most famous cyclists ever, will retire after the Tour of Spain. He won numerous awards and races before testing postive for doping in 2010.

Snappy snap A GERMAN holidaymaker had a rude awakening when he checked his phone after a heavy Mallorca night out.

Fliegbert Von Sichthofen and a pal were sleeping in their hotel room when a mystery woman snuck in and took a photo of herself next to the dozing duo.

In the morning, Von Sichthofen found the snap of a woman blowing a kiss next to the blissfully unaware dozing duo “Looking for the unknown who came to our room last night, took my phone and took a photo of us,” he posted “Who are you?? And how did you come to us??”

Fortunately the pair were introduced the following morning with ‘mystery’ snapper EvaMarie Lechner revealing Von Sichthofen had fallen for her friend.

“I just saw the open door and grabbed the phone took the picture,” she told the Olive Press “After that i closed the door. We met the morning after and now we are all friends.”

Unfortunately for Von Sichthofen the holiday ended on a negative note.

“We also missed our flight,”

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Surpassing Greece

A MYSTERIOUS slab has been discovered in Montoro and is covered with unknown ancient symbols. Experts have dated the artifact to the Iron Age.

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Sex-mad thieves make off with vibrators and condoms worth €1,000 IT has to be one of the most horny heists ever.

Three suspected thieves have been arrested in Catalunya after stealing €1,000 of dildos, condoms and sex aids from a shop vending machine.

The randy Romanian group were caught on camera clambering over a wall into a store near Tarragona before scarpering with their swag.

Altogether, more than 300 condoms, ten vibrators, ten fake vaginas and 12 sets of female vagina balls were swiped by the optimistic opportunists.

It comes after British blogger Gabbie Jarvis’s tweet of her ‘minimalist’ tomato and onion salad went viral (above).

The tweet, which she has now deleted, received at least 1,100 replies, 16,000 retweets and 61,000 likes.

Gomez added that there were dozens of ingredients she could have added.

The blogger has now shut down her Twitter account altogether.

Safety first

They first tried to steal the items by putting their arms into the vending machine before scaling the partition.

Cash and sweets were also stolen by the gang, who were aged 17-20.

One of the defendants has three previous convictions.

It is not known how many of the condoms were recovered.

Shagaluf

Party time RALLY: By Spain’s ‘Partido Cannabis’

SPAIN now has a record 4,772 political parties.

It comes after the number of parties registered has increased by 50% over the last 10 years.

According to a study by the University of Barcelona, a new factor has come into play - namely the economic crisis which put an end

to the two-party system.

“New political parties such as Podemos and Ciudadanos were able to take advantage of the situation,” said a spokesman.

Only 20% of the 51 parties registered in 2017 have ambitions at the national level, with thousands of parties springing up locally.

MORE than 70 people have been fined for public sex or nudity in Magaluf so far this summer.

Police have issued fines to 22 people having sex in public places throughout the Spanish resort, often referred to as ‘Shagaluf’.

Another 52 people have been fined for public nudity over the last two months and 46 more for breaching public security.

It comes as a crackdown on anti-social behaviour by tourists visiting the island by introducing new laws and onthe-spot fines.

Authorities are trying to clean up the resort's image and reputation which has been tarnished by stories of loutish and drunken behaviour.

CHEF DAD: Gill Meller

Father’s daughter TOP chef Gill Meller shared a hilariously scathing restaurant review written by his 12-year-old daughter Coco while on holiday in Spain.

Scribbling her thoughts on the back of a napkin, the youngster slammed the restaurant as being 'hell in a shell' - while describing the food as tasting like 'camp shop s***'.

Blasted

She even blasted the water, saying it is ‘warm and makes me chunder'.

Sharing a snap of the review on Instagram, Gill - who is head chef for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage group - wrote: “Even first hand restaurant recommendations can be way off the mark, unfortunately.

“Here with my youngest daughters review (left on a napkin) of tonight's somewhat alarming supper. #foodcritic #spain.”

In the review, Coco wrote: “I feel as if your calamari should be more crispy and your Garlic Mayo is discusting (sic).'

She continued: “You need to provide butter with your bread and clean the table when people are finished.

“AKA your restaurant is hell in a shell”.

SAVAGE: Napkin review