Olive Press Newspaper – Issue 230 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

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Deadline looms WITH little over a week remaining before a January 13 cut-off date, Spain’s politicians must pact or run the risk of forcing a second general election. Political uncertainty welcomed in the New Year following the first hung parliament in democratic Spain. And more uncertainty looks set to follow, as a political stand-off develops with no party willing to budge. Podemos are still riding high after taking 69 seats in the election, but Pablo Iglesias’ refusal to backdown over the issue of an Catalan independence referendum is currently preventing a pact with the PSOE. And with Mariano Rajoy forsaken by all leaders, the likelihood of a government being in place by next week is looking increasingly unlikely. Time to pact. Page 6

Vol. 10 Issue 230

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January 6th - January 19th 2016

Flashback!

Review of the year: Pages 19-22

FAMOUS FACES: Miss Spain, Russell Watson and Louise Harris, Ashya King and brother, Cilla Black, Freddie Starr, Rick Parfitt, Pablo Iglesias and Nigel Goldman

Statue of Liberty

€50,000 splashed on lewd ‘gold’ statue while cash-strapped soup kitchen remains in need

Expats save teenage rock climber’s hand Page 3

Thatcher feared Gib invasion Page 10

A €50,000 golden statue bought from public coffers has sparked outrage on the Costa del Sol. Estepona PP mayor Jose Urbano is facing a backlash from within the town hall after secretly commissioning the statue. He is now facing accusations of abusing his mayoral powers for spending public funds without at least consulting the council first. Estepona PSOE leader and councillor Manuela Benitez, and other council members are now calling for tighter restrictions on public spending. While a mayor is allowed to commission ‘constructions’ in his town without the approval of his council, the disposal of ‘any sum considered a large amount of money for the area’ must be backed by the council before it is spent, according to Spanish law. “This is a perfect example of the autocratic style of the current mayor, who has just be named an MP,” Benitez told the Olive Press. “It seems as if he was imagining himself already as an MP in OBSCENE: New statue installed Madrid when he signed off by Mayor Urbano (right)

Your say

Michael Hayes, 25, accountant: “Sculptures can be great but they need to be relevant. As far as I’m aware this has nothing to do with Estepona. The town’s murals are a cheaper, more relevant option.”

EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan such a large sum of public money. “Spending money on culture as with anything else should be subject to public knowledge and democratic approval.” Benitez argued there are more important areas to be spending council funds on, questioning how the mayor could justify the large fee while the Comedor Social (soup kitchen) receives just €18,000 a year. “There are many Esteponeros in need and yet they are receiving very little help,” she added. Located on a roundabout in the centre of Estepona, the golden statue was created by renowned Madrid sculptor Santiago de Santiago for €48,279. Councillors claim they first heard of the purchase on the day the statue of a naked golden couple was erected. A spokesman for the mayor confirmed the statue had been commissioned using public money but declined to answer any other Olive Press questions.

Opinion Page 6

Grace Gaywood, 24, jeweller: “This seems like a waste of money to me. Flower pots in the old town have improved Estepona, but this is a step too far. Personally I think it is quite obscene.”

Seamus Hayes, 32, banker: “I don’t think it fits in.There is lots of money being spent on making the town beautiful but there is a huge issue with parking which the money would be better spent on.”

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CRIME NEWS

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January 6th - January 19th 2016

Cat out the bag WANTED: Simon Corner/Dean Woods

Fighting his corner EXCLUSIVE

THE AWOL boyfriend of missing expat Lisa Brown (below) has contacted a Costa del Sol law firm, allegedly from a hideout in southeast Asia. Corner, whose real name is Dean Woods according to a former schoolfriend, has denied any involvement in Lisa’s disappearance in November. The Olive Press has learned he left contact numbers in Thailand and Vietnam, but none in Portugal, where other sources claim he is really hiding. He told the firm - which has insisted on being anonymous- he has nothing to do with the disappearance and wants it to ‘put it to bed’. The firm, which has a branch in Thailand, then contacted a well-known Malaga lawyer to make enquiries on his behalf. But when they phoned Corner to discuss payment of fees for their services, a ‘mysterious Thai women’ answered and they have been unable to speak to him since. The legal specialist said: “He said his business activities have taken him abroad and that he has nothing to do with Lisa going missing. “We agreed to make enquiries but he would have to pay us. I would be surprised if he does not come back online soon.” Meanwhile, Lisa’s sister Helen Jordan has set up a Facebook page that has more than 25,000 members. Corner is believed to be on the run from two or three big criminal gangs over several unsavoury incidents including one in Ceuta a month ago involving two women and a possible stabbing.

Dozens of expats reunited with prized possessions after missing containers are found MILLIONS of euros of prized possessions thought stolen by conmen have been found. Over 50 missing containers were discovered after they disappeared from Britishowned storage warehouse Fastcat earlier this year. While police are still trying to track down boss Eddie Hardy and previous owner Peter Gibson, the personal items have been located near to the old warehouse in Coin. The ‘lost’ containers were discovered by British expat Lisa Howard at another storage facility, just 10 minutes away. Howard is now in the process of uniting dozens of expats with their containers. However, time is running out, with the other warehouse’s landlords looking to sell up within the next couple of months, due to unpaid rent. “I have been able to reunite five people with their belongings with two more

EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan coming this month to claim their stuff,” Howard told the Olive Press. She added: “There must be at least 20 more containers in there though and I would urge people to get in touch quickly.” One victim reunited with her worldly belongings, Jean Newall, 63, said she is ‘over the moon’ to have her things back. “I had my life in there,” she told the Olive Press. “Important paperwork, old photos which mean the world to me, and sentimental items which are irreplaceable.” In September, the Olive Press revealed how a British lorry driver had been arrested in Dover, UK, after unwittingly transporting a Fastcat container with 33kg of cannabis inside. Meanwhile, last year, the company came under inves-

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FOUND: Fastcat contains and (inset) victim Jean Newall

tigation after €2.8 million worth of cocaine was found in a container. To contact Lisa, join Facebook group ‘FastCat SL of Coin Spain Have Stolen our Possessions’.

Costa drugs baron behind bars

AN underworld crime lord who flooded Scotland with drugs from his Spanish hideaway has been jailed for 11 years. Narcotics boss Roy ‘Mr Big’ Dunstance was found guilty of drug and weapons-related charges after a police investigation in Scotland revealed he was running his empire from the Costa del Sol. Dunstance admitted to running his multi-million euro drugs syndicate from his Benalmadena home after he was arrested on a European arrest warrant in Rotterdam, Holland. TWO people have been Heroin worth up to €7.7 milarrested for keeping their lion, cocaine worth €173,000, brother captive in a birdamphetamine worth €1 milcage for years. lion and cannabis with a street A man, 76, and his 61-yearvalue of €54,000 were confisold sister have been sent cated in the investigation. to a mental rehabilitation Glasgow police busted Duncentre after they kept their stance after tapping his mo59-year-old brother locked bile phone and discovering the up in their Sevilla home. 39-year-old was running his The victim has also been operations via Blackberry messent to a rehabilitation censenger. tre where he is said to be sufDunstance’s man on the fering severe brain damage. ground in Scotland, James The man was found naked Hanlon, also pleaded guilty to inside the cage with buckinvolvement in the supply of ets and bottles of human cannabis and was sentenced waste beside him. to two years and four months.

Evil siblings

NEWS

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January 6th - January 19th 2016

Blind faith

Hover nice day

EARLYBIRD tickets for the 2016 Gibraltar Music Festival have sold out in just one hour - months before acts are due to be announced. The first batch of tickets for the fifth edition of the popular festival went on sale on December 20. The festival will again be a two-day affair, taking place on the weekend of September 3-4. Last year’s event saw Kings of Leon and Duran Duran headline, while rockers Kaiser Chiefs and the Feeling also set the stage alight. It remains to be seen whether Paloma Faith will be invited back, after she shouted ‘Hola España’ to the crowd at the start of her performance last summer.

Helping hand FORMER TOWIE star Elliott Wright (above) has found a futuristic way of serving his customers at top speed. Jumping on board the latest fad, Elliott uploaded a video of himself precariously balancing a beer on his tray while riding a controversial hover board. Whether or not Elliott splashes out on trendy two-wheeled transport for all the staff at his Mijas restaurant Olivia’s remains to be seen.

BRAVING IT: Expats in Sabinillas raise money for Cristobal (inset, in hospital)

Community unites to save local rock climbing champion from losing his hand

A TEENAGE rock climbing champion is celebrating after locals and expats in Manilva clubbed together to save his hand from being amputated. A team of generous expats raised the funds needed to save 18-year-old Cristobal Rodriguez’s hand, with a brave few taking a dip in the Mediterranean on Boxing Day morning for the cause.

Sting in the tail ENRIQUE Iglesias is used to whipping crowds into a frenzy, although not literally. But now Sri Lanka’s President has caused

outrage by saying the organisers of the Spanish sex symbol’s recent concert should be ‘whipped with toxic stingray tails’. Maithripala Sirisena made the comments after female members of an audience in Colombo ran on stage to kiss the Latin lothario during his Love and Sex tour. star wife ShaWomen also removed kira and their their bras and hurled their two sons Milan underwear at Iglesias, and Sasha. bringing a stinging rebuke The family from Sri Lanka’s leader. posed up “This is most uncivilised wearing behaviour that goes matching against our culture,” he pyjamas. said. It’s hard “I don’t advocate that to imagine these uncivilised women Messi, who removed their brasNeymar sieres should be beaten and co with toxic stingray tails, doing the but those who organised same... such an event should be.”

Cheers, big ears! THEIR team spirit could almost rival that of Barcelona. Gerard Pique’s club won a phenomenal five trophies in 2015, but this Christmas the key players in his team were pop

EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan The youngster, who has won several Andalucian climbing events, faced a desperate race against time to raise €9,000 to travel to Barcelona for the operation or face the prospect of losing his hand after he developed Kienbock’s disease, a degenerative condition that destroys the wrist bones. Crucially, the campaign raised the necessary funds and Rodriguez’s hand was saved. Cristobal said: “I would like to thank my town for all that you have done for me, to every person who has helped me out so fast, because this has caught my family and I by surprise. “Without you this would not have been possible.” He added: “Now it’s time to recover and start rehab, and then to go back to climbing.” Among those contributing were The Duquesa Charitable Society of St George, whose inaugural charity Sabi Spartan Boxing Day swim raised €800. Local politicians also backed the campaign, with expat councillor Dean Tyler Shelton a key figure in raising awareness. “This local lad ended up with a degenerative bone problem that was going to affect his life, his hobby, his job and everything he does,” he told the Olive Press. “It was our duty to get him the op he needed.”

Opinion Page 6

Search for Cilla CILLA Black was the most Googled search term of 2015 in the UK. The late television presenter, who died at her Estepona villa in August, was searched online more than anyone, or anything else. Unsurprisingly, 80% of Cilla searches took place in August and September. Meanwhile, fellow Costa del Sol homeowner Lady Colin Campbell was the second most Googled search. Interest in Lady C peeked in the last two months following her appearance on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. Other popular Google searches for 2015 included the Rugby World Cup, Jeremy Clarkson and Charlie Hebdo.

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NEWS

December 23rd - January 5th

NEWS

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Ronda tragedy TWO people have been killed in a plane crash near Ronda after their light aircraft struck a tree. Their bodies were found in the wreckage of the plane in the Puerto Sauco region of Montecorto. The two deceased, aged 48 and 51, left Villamartin on Christmas Eve morning hoping to arrive in Ronda to celebrate with their families. Both victims are believed to be from Ronda and one worked as a doctor at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Granada. A relative of one posted on Facebook: “We are lost and don’t know what to do. If anyone saw anything strange or has any clue please call 112.” The Guardia Civil are investigating the cause of the crash.

Poisoned! A GREEN group has called for action in the Campo de Gibraltar after finding a poisoned fox. The president of Ecologistas en Accion, Alfredo Valencia warned of the effects of poison entering the environment. The fox was found dead in the Guadalquiton area. “We are facing a very serious situation for the environment and the people who live here,” said Valencia.

January 6th - January 19th 2016

Donkey killer in court Animal charity files private case against 23-stone man who killed baby donkey by sitting on it

AN obese man who killed a donkey by sitting on it for a photograph is being taken to court by a charity. The Refugio del Burrito, based in Malaga, has filed a private case against the 38-year-old Spaniard in the hope of reaching a criminal conviction. Estimated to weigh 23 stone, he posed grinning on a five-month-old donkey in a nativity display in Lucena, Cordoba, in December 2014. Just two days later, the donkey could not walk

EXCLUSIVE By Tom Powell and had to be put down by a vet. The man allegedly also kicked the donkey’s mother in the face when she tried to protect her baby. Lucena City Council removed donkeys from its Bethlehem display this year following a petition signed by more than 17,000 people. However, the display still went ahead with other animals. An investigation into

NEWS IN BRIEF

Royal honour

BRITISH expat Barbara Ann Patterson has been commended in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list for services to the British community, elderly and ex-servicemen in Spain.

Brolly time IT has been a wet start to the year in Spain, with 38 provinces on alert for severe winds and rain.

Locked up

SQUASHED: 23-stone man poses atop donkey

the donkey’s death was launched but the judge filed

Political pioneer SPAIN has elected its first black female MP. Podemos’ Rita Bosaho, 50, was one of a record 138 female MPs voted in on December 20. The Equatorial Guineaborn Bosaho moved to Spain 30 years ago and worked as a nurse before be-

coming involved in activism in Alicante . Bosaho said: “Why is it so striking that a black woman could end up in parliament? What does that say about us all being integrated?” Bosaho said she intends to campaign on behalf of women’s rights.

the case due to a lack of evidence, until now that is. Refugio spokeswoman Maria Gallar Sanchez told the Olive Press: “Our complaint is now being taken to court. “According to the Spanish Penal Code he could be fined, disqualified to work with equines and even go to jail for 18 months.” The court case is costly though, and the refugio has issued a fresh appeal for financial support. For more information and to donate, visit www.elrefugiodelburrito.com

FORMER mayor of Jerez Pilar Sanchez has been sent to prison for four years for falsifying documents. She is the second ex-Jerez mayor to be sent to jail for corruption in a year.

Crook AWOL POLICE have begun looking for Aifos property boss Jesus Casado after he skipped bail having been found to be involved in embezzling fund in the Malaya case.

Deadly drives THE N340 between Granada and Almeria has been named the third most dangerous roads in Spain by the Guardia Civil.

August 6th January - August 6th 19th- 2015 www.theolivepress.es January 19th 2016 66

FEATURE

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OPINION All that glitters is not gold WHEN a mayor can dip his hand into public coffers and pull out €50,000 for a frivolous purchase of his choice then questions need to be asked. Without undermining the authority bestowed unto a mayor, council members are well within their rights to be upset by Jose Urbano’s latest extravagant purchase. Especially when the purchase concerned is a bizarre statue of two awkward lovers caught up to no good on a roundabout. If councillors are unaware of where town hall money is being spent, what chance have the rest of us got? But it’s easy to see why he didn’t tell them, as surely no-one would have supported spending €50,000 on such an obscenity.

Coming together

IT is heartwarming to see expats and locals unite behind a good cause. Rock-climbing champion Cristobal Rodriguez was facing the amputation of his hand, and more than that, the end of his passionate hobby. But a fantastic fundraising effort saved the day, and it just goes to show how a little can go a long way. Those brave enough to go for a dip on Boxing Day were probably regretting it the second their toes hit the water. But we salute you all. Well done.

Transparency is key

A LACK of transparency in government is the enemy of democracy. And it’s also a recipe for disaster; just look at Spain for evidence of that. Now, the UK government has indeed made good progress in increasing access to information of a genuine public interest. But this latest change of tack by the Conservative government is worrying to say the least. Firstly, Freedom of Information laws must not be tampered with. Secondly, there should be much more clarity concerning what is being withheld and why. If there is a case for national safety, fair enough. If there is a case for saving politicians’ blushes, it is totally and utterly wrong.

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or admin@theolivepress.es or sales@theolivepress.es A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in southern Spain - 200,000 copies distributed monthly (130,000 digitally) with an estimated readership, including the website, of more than 500,000 people a month. Iona Napier Luke Stewart Media S.L - CIF: B91664029 iona@theolivepress.es 951 273 575 Joe Duggan Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5 joe@theolivepress.es Calle Espinosa 1 Admin / Distribution / Accounts: Edificio centro comercial El Duque, planta primera, 29692 San Luis de Maria González Sabinillas, Manilva accounts@theolivepress.es Printed by Corporación de Medios Mirian Moreno de Andalucía S.A. admin@theolivepress.es Editor: Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es Newsdesk SALES TEAM: newsdesk@theolivepress.es Chris Birkett Head of Sales Tel: 665 798 618 652 512 956 Stephen Shutes 671 834 479 Tom Powell Sarah Adams 655 825 683 tom@theolivepress.es Axarquia Rob Horgan Charlie Bamber 661 452 180 rob@theolivepress.es

As Mariano Rajoy is shunned by all corners, PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez holds Spain’s political fate in his hands, writes Rob Horgan

HE prospect of a re-election is looking ever more likely, with time running out to form a government before a January 13 cut-off. It has been more than two weeks since the public took to the polls and yet a new government still seems a long way off. A pact between the PSOE, Podemos and Catalan nationalists is now the only option to find a prime minister before that deadline. If that is not forthcoming then King Felipe will be asked to take centre stage as the broker of a deal to form a government. Should no government be in place on January 13, then the King will select a candidate to take the prime minister’s seat. The King’s choice will then be put to the senate and if his chosen man secures the backing of 176 MPs then Spain will have a new government. If, however, the King’s choice proves unpopular with the senate then the ballot-boxes will be wheeled out once more and the public will be asked to cast its vote for a second time. However, up until January 13 Pedro Sanchez and his PSOE party hold the key to power in Spain. With the election producing the first hung parliament since the advent of democracy 40 years ago, incumbent Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has found friends hard to come by, as oneby-one each party leader has ruled out pacting with the PP. And so, the PSOE and Sanchez now face the tough choice of allying with a rival or forcing a new election. The PSOE leader has already categorically ruled out a po-

KING’S CHOICE: Will King Felipe (centre) pick Rajoy or Iglesias? litical pact with Mariano Rajoy fate for many years to come. However, should Sanchez pact, and the PP, following a 45-min- Yet, failing to pact at all will lead to it would not go down so well ute meeting with the acting accusations of destabilising the among his own party members. prime minister. country, as the party will no doubt First of all, Podemos leader He also said that a second be blamed for forcing new elec- Pablo Iglesias is insisting on a election in the event of no gov- tions through its refusal to ally. Catalan independence referenernment being formed would Despite being openly against dum as a condition for a deal, be ‘the last opnew elec- which would be difficult for the tion’. tions, San- Socialists to agree to given With businesswill be their current stance against an A second election chez minded Ciureluctant to independent Catalunya. in the event of no dadanos saying jump into of- If the PSOE ally with Podemos, it would abstain fice with Pab- they also run the risk of being government being in a parliamenlo Iglesias gobbled up by the fast-growing formed would be tary vote, the and his new- new party and losing leaderPSOE have been ly -emerged ship of the left for good. ‘the last option.’ left with two opp o l i t i c a l However, they haven’t got tions: to pact powerhouse much time to make their with Podemos Podemos. minds up, as if they are to pact or to allow the deadline to pass The surprise package of the then Sanchez needs to get his and risk the possibility of being election, Podemos grabbed 69 skates on, with January 13 apblamed for a re-election. seats in their first ever general proaching ever-so quickly. It would be fair to say that San- election, changing the face of Whatever happens, comprochez has been shoved between Spanish politics in the process. mises will have to be made a rock and a hard place, with A large portion of Podemos and a large portion of voters neither option open to him ex- backers are likely to be former- (and politicians) are likely to tremely attractive. PSOE voters, who won just 90 be unhappy with the outcome. Turning to the left to form a gov- seats - their lowest ever total. For the good of the country, we ernment is a profound political Therefore a PSOE-Podemos co- can only hope the political unchoice, likely to divide party mem- alition would likely be popular certainty doesn’t drag on too bers and determine the PSOE’s with the voters. much longer.

Political chaos continues Catalan upheaval is a reflection of political unrest throughout Spain

HE events this past weekend in Catalunya are a reflection of what is happening throughout the entire country. The anti-establishment CUP party refused to support the investiture of Artur Mas as regional premiere, plunging the northeast region into further political chaos with new elections looming. Catalunya has been under certain political upheaval after a regional election in September failed to give Mas and his Junts pel Si coalition an absolute majority to continue governing. Mas needed the support of CUP, which had been divided over whether to give the pro-independence premier its backing because it had lost trust in him, and lost two CUP confidence voting rounds.

The caretaker Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy is also facing an unprecedented crisis in modern democracy. Rajoy cannot muster any type of support – so it seems for now – from any of the three other major political forces that took large chunks of seats in Congress during the past elections. Rajoy had hoped to create a great coalition between his Popular Party, the Socialists and the new centrist group Ciudadanos. But Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez told Rajoy just before Christmas that he needed to go. Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera also rejected joining the PP but said it would abstain for voting in favor of or against his investiture if he could seek

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DECISION TIME: For Pedro Sanchez

Time to pact is now

MADRIDS MATTER

enough support from other groups. The leftwing anti-austerity Podemos is keeping the Socialists from creating a leftist coalition government by demanding that it support a referendum for Catalan independence – a proposal that Sanchez has vowed he won’t accept. Spanish society cannot be blamed for this political uncertainty caused by the fragmented results from December 20. There are deep divisions that have existed for a long time among Spaniards, and they are only surfacing now as the possibility of a new general elections begins to look real.

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FEATURE

August 6th -6th August 19th 2015 www.theolivepress.es January - January 19th 2016

77 7

PHOTOS: Iria Melendro Diaz

Master chefs

San Sebastian is the jewel in Spain’s culinary crown. Home to some of the world’s best restaurants, proud traditions are carried forward by its gastronomic societies, whose chefs lead raucous celebrations every January 19 at the spectacular La Tamborrada. In an awardwinning article Joe Duggan recalls this unique fiesta

OOD is both a way of life and an elevated art form in San Sebastian. From its glittering firmament of 16 Michelin stars to its painstakingly created pintxos, Donostia, as it is known in Basque, is a city in thrall to food. At the vanguard of this culinary movement march the legendary gastronomic societies. Members-only clubs, the txokos of the Basque country have been nurturing some of Spain’s finest cooking talent since 1870 and continue to draw locals (traditionally only men) together to cook for each other. Every January, the huddled streets of the Parte Vieja surge with thousands of chefs hammering out an earsplitting beat on drums as the txokos lead the celebrations of San Sebastian’s feast day. La Tamborrada’s roots are religious, with regional pride at the fore, but the fiesta’s army of marching chefs symbolises perfectly the military precision Donostiarras adopt in the kitchen.

Golden

San Sebastian’s most famous society is the Gaztelubide, and every year its members lead La Tamborrada. Jose Ramon Mendizabal, known as Mendi, is this year’s Tambor Mayor (or Drum Major, a military term used to describe the man chosen to lead the cooks of the Gaztelubide). He welcomes us inside the Gaztelubide, which nestles between La Concha’s golden crescent and the basilica of Santa Maria del Coro. A smattering of members sit playing cards. Looking down on them, a photograph shows the original founders from 1934 sitting down to dinner. Mendi has been a member since 1993, a status he only achieved when his father died, after which, according to society rules, a son on the waiting list can automatically take his father’s place. “My son will then go on to take my place,” Mendi explains. The following night they will raise the flag of the city in front of thousands at Plaza de la Constitución. Pride swells in his voice. La Tamborrada is, he says, “the most important and the most emotional fiesta. The fiesta in the summer – Semana Grande – is a bit more touristy. This is more ours and for the people from here.” The Gaztelubide’s 250 members include Martin Berasategui (three Michelin stars), Andoni Luis Aduriz (two stars) and Luis Irizar, the patriarch of modern Basque cuisine. It’s a staggering roll call of talent, but inside its kitchen the great and good of world cuisine rub shoulders easily with the man in the street. Mendi is keen to stress this egalitarian spirit. “Here there are members who are celebridades, such as Etxenike [Pedro Miguel Etxenike Landiribar], a famous scientist, but right next to him you can find a street cleaner, and they are sitting together and having dinner,” he says. “What you see inside the society is what you see in the street.” The txokos have, however, traditionally been the preserve of the Basque male, and some of the

CHEFS MARCH ON: In San Sebastian food festival, where the music is a key ingredient older txokos still prohibit women from becoming members. “A few years ago, women were not allowed here,” Mendi says. “Now they can come in to have lunch and dinner on Saturdays. Little by little it is changing.” Given the expertise of men in the kitchen, I ask if Basque children normally learn to cook from their their fathers. “The mothers,” he says without hesitation. “It’s they who have cooked all their lives, and it is they who have invented new recipes. My mother was the centre (in the kitchen); she dominated everything.” As for the influence of chefs such as Arzak or Berasategui, pioneering proponents of the Basque nueva cocina style of cooking, Mendi is more circumspect. “I think the influence is stronger from the societies than from the nouvelle cuisine,” he says. “Nouvelle Basque cuisine is based on the products of the area and the traditional ways of cooking in this area but also in discovering new methods. We use new methods here but not as much as the big chefs. The problem here is space. Sometimes you have to share the kitchen with another member, so you can’t use a very sophisticated method that requires lots of space if there is another person cooking.” Tomorrow’s menu is a classic representation of traditional Basque cuisine – fish soup, hake with kokotxas (hake cheeks) and salsa verde and solomillo. The cellar is stocked with the finest local nectar: txakoli from Getaria, cider from Astigarraga, a selection of Riojas, including a Reserva 2001 chosen to commemo-

rate last year’s 75th anniversary. As there are more members than places at the table, Mendi acknowledges “there will be a bit of a fight to get in”. The absence of one fond friend will be particularly mourned. The beloved Basque dish of angulas, traditionally served on the feast of San Sebastian, has almost vanished from societies menus and only one, Euskal Billera, has included them this year.

Delicious

The prohibitively high cost of these delicious small eels (€800 for a kilo at the local fishmongers) has seen a gradual decline in their use. Mendi says they thought about including angulas on the menu, but opted for the kokotxas instead. “This year, we weren’t sure, because we were offered angulas for €500 per kg,” he says. “But it doesn’t show solidarity with so many people unemployed if we are here eating angulas, so we decided to go for something a bit more modest.” A cheaper alternative, gulas, is available, but the exactingly high standards of the cooking in these societies prohibit the use of inferior substitutes. “We try to use the proper products,” Mendi says. “Even if you are just eating potatoes, it should be the best potatoes; if you eat eggs, they should be the best eggs. The gula costs €30 a kg but they are not the same. In the societies we eat authentic and good-quality products.” The quest for culinary excellence permeates every stratum of society here, and the popularity of the txokos continues to swell this devotion. Rafael Aguirre, a local historian and expert on

Basque culture who has written a book on the txokos, reveals that the societies’ are thriving. “Forty years ago, there were about 35 societies. At the moment, there are 119, and the largest ones have about 300 members,” he says. “Every year there are three or four gastronomic societies set up, and the new ones are completely open to women.” Cost is one reason that, especially during a recession, the societies are a popular way of keeping entertaining expenses to a minimum. “On a special event, maybe the birthday of your son, you join together, maybe 20 people,” says Rafael. “In a gastronomic club you prepare your own meal and you pay maybe €10 per head. If you go to a restaurant you pay maybe three times as much,” he explains. The teeming rain drenching the thousands crammed in to Plaza de la Constitución the following night seems only to ignite their passion when the Gaztelubide’s cooks ascend the stage. As the chimes of the plaza clock signal midnight, the crowd, many wearing chefs’ hats and carrying small barrels, accompany those drumming on stage as the strains of Raimundo Sarriegui’s ‘La Marcha de San Sebastián’ reverberate around the square. From the raised podium, Mendi conducts proceedings as undiluted local pride raises the decibel level of the crowd’s singing. For the next 24 hours San Sebastián marches to the beat of its own drum in a city where the heroes wear a uniform of pristine white. This article won the Santa Cruz prize for the best contribution to La Revista, a magazine run by the Anglo-Spanish society.

8 NEWS IN BRIEF

Tree huggers A TOTAL of 70 trees will be planted in Torrox in the next two weeks in order to improve the ‘green-feeling’ around the town.

Fight on TEENAGE kickboxer Angel Medina will be awarded with the Gold Medal of the City of Torrox by the town’s mayor for his impressive junior career.

Hike fall

AXARQUIA

January 6th - January 19th 2016

Gender attack A 30-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested for attacking the same woman twice in two days. The woman reported the man for attacking her in an Almunecar car park on Boxing Day. The following day, the man attacked her again, cutting her neck and eye in the process. He has now been charged with ‘gender vio-

lence’ and is being linked to two other attacks on women in December. The woman previously had a restraining order against the man which expired on December 11. Another woman currently has a restraining order against the same man.

Expat exodus?

AXARQUIA towns fear they may lose 5,000 foreign residents from their books this year, with disastrous consequences to council resources. A revision of the municipal registers set for March 31 will mean that expats who have not renewed their town hall registration- padron - in the

Towns fear foreign residents not renewing residency will cost them dearly last two years will be left out. This could cause significant losses to public funds and resources, including a reduc-

A 65-YEAR-OLD Belgian hiker was rescued from the Rio Chillar and taken to a health centre after falling and spraining her right ankle.

Baker’s dozen A GENEROUS bakery in Velez-Malaga distributed 5,000 free portions of Roscon cake as part of its Three Kings tradition. Bakery Ortiz launched the initiative 12 years ago.

Cave can-can VISITORS to Nerja Caves are being encouraged to bring their dancing shoes with them. The first of a series of tango lessons took place inside the cave on January 2, with more events being scheduled for the year ahead. More than 150 people joined in the inaugural event hosted by trained dancer Miguel Azul. The caves received more than 4,000 visitors in 2015, representing the third consecutive year of growth.

tion in the number of councilors. Nerja Town Hall has already launched a campaign which states 1,600 people will be removed from the padron if they don’t renew their residency status within three months. The Axarquia’s tourist hotspot is concerned its official population figure could dip below 20,000 again. Elsewhere, Torrox has seen its number of expat residents supposedly drop by 1,000 over the last three years. Even in Competa, which has enjoyed almost equal numbers of expat and Spanish residents during the past decade, the town hall is appealing for 700 foreigners to make themselves known officially. Expats also make up about a third of the population of Frigiliana, around 1,300 people, so the town hall there is also persuading foreigners to renew their residency.

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10 NEWS IN BRIEF

Injured in action

AN officer suffered a suspected spinal fracture during a high-speed boat chase, with rough conditions causing the vessel to hit a large wave.

Quiet night

NEW Year’s Eve was a relatively ‘quiet’ night according to the RGP, with just two drink-driving arrests and some complaints about fireworks.

Get out

A GUARDIA Civil vessel, the Rio Tormes, made an unlawful incursion into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters in the Western Beach area.

Fight arrests

A WOMAN and female juvenile have been arrested and bailed after they allegedly assaulted a young couple. A man has also been arrested in connection.

GIBRALTAR

Januarywww.theolivepress.es 6th - January 19th 2016

In the dark Controversy after UK government withholds vital 1988 IRA ‘Death on the Rock’ files

CRUCIAL government files on the controversial shooting of three suspected IRA terrorists in Gibraltar in 1988 have been withheld. The files should have been made public through the UK National Archives this week under the recently amended 20 year rule. However, a cabinet spokesman blamed ‘administrative changes’ as a result of decreasing the classified period from 30 to 20 years for a continuing non-disclosure of some documents. This includes those concerning the operation in which the SAS was deployed to the Rock to prevent an alleged IRA plot to plant a bomb outside the Convent.

Graffiti gripe

A man has been fined £300 for spraying graffiti on the walls of No6 Convent Place. Gino Baglietto, 49, wrote ‘we want jobs Picardo’.

KILLED: IRA members McCann, Farrell and Savage (from left)

By Tom Powell Three IRA volunteers, Sean Savage, Daniel McCann and Mairead Farrell were shot at the petrol station on Winston Churchill Avenue. Their deaths made major headlines after an ITV documentary titled Death on the Rock suggested they were shot unlawfully without warning. The documentary, aired a month after the shootings, was slammed by Margaret Thatcher’s government as inaccurate sensationalism at the time. Then Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe had attempted to postpone the airing of the programme twice to no avail. A year ago, the UK Cabinet Office released 500 files from 1985 and 1986. This year, just 58 files covering the period 1986-88 have been made public by the National Archives. Another significant omission is the Lockerbie bombing, a terrorist attack on a plane above Scotland in which 270 people were killed. Daily Mail columnist Stephen Glover described the holding back of government files as ‘profoundly unsatisfactory’.

Biggest

CONTROVERSIAL: The SAS shot the trio on Winston Churchill Avenue

Investigators commended

INVESTIGATORS who took part in the Boschetti Steps quadruple murder-suicide case have been commended for their work. Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Tunbridge and his deputy officer Roy Perez were both highly commended for the ‘leadership commitment and investigation skills’ in a ceremony attended by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. Crime Scene Manager Detective Sergeant Adam Bautista was also highly commended for ‘managing the crime scene and devising a forensic strategy’, while CID officers Detective Sergeant Dylan Quigley and Detective Constable James were also singled out for praise. Police Commissioner Eddie Yome attended the presentation along with Governor Alison MacMillan.

“We are not told how many files have been held back, or why, and are given no timetable as to when they will be published,” he said. “Instead of greater transparency, there is confusion and apparent obfuscation. It is very difficult to believe this is not deliberate,” he added. It comes as a UK government commission is investigating changing the Freedom of Information Act. The legislation, introduced by Tony Blair although later described as his ‘biggest regret’, allows journalists or any member of the public access to information held by public authorities. The commision has been widely criticised in the press as an attack on transparency. Meanwhile, government files which were declassified have revealed that Thatcher feared Spain would invade Gibraltar during the Falklands War and even sent RAF back-up to the Rock.

Opinion Page 6

Thatcher feared invasion of Gibraltar

MARGARET Thatcher sent two extra jets to Gibraltar out of fears of an invasion by Spain during the Falklands conflict, it has been revealed. The then UK prime minister (left) ‘agonised’ over the Rock’s vulnerability to an attack from Spain during the 1982 war, according to a recording from her private secretary. The files are among the few

which have been made public to the National Archives under the 20 year rule, formerly the 30 year rule. Cabinet papers show that Gibraltar was believed to be under no increased military threat, despite Spain’s capability to attack at short notice. However, Thatcher herself wrote in blue pen in the margin: “This is suspiciously like the Falkland Island assess-

ment before invasion, a thousand soldiers with a land border, no air cover etc.” Later that year upon discovering Spain was planning to hold an amphibious training exercise 35 miles west of Gibraltar, Thatcher decided to act. She had a suitable cover story concocted to explain the arrival of two extra RAF Jaguar jets on the Rock.

KILLED: IRA members McCann, Farrell and Savage (from left)

GREEN NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Happy snapper AN Andalucian photographer has been lauded for taking the best nature snap of 2015. Francisco Mingorance won the ‘places’ category in National Geographic’s yearly honours for his photo of a marsh in Cordoba partially destroyed by radioactive waste. Named Asteroid, Mingorance said his ‘environmental conscience’ drove him to take the photo. “As an environmental photojournalist I knew I had to take this picture,” he said. “I discovered the site while on a low-flying training missing, at first I thought it was an asteroid scene. “It perfectly illustrates how radioactive discharge has destroyed part of the marsh. “The photo tells the story better than any words could.” The grand prize went to James Smart, from Australia, for his shot of a tornado in action in Colorado, USA.

Make way for the whales

Anti oil drilling campaigners smell victory with protected highway plans

By Tom Powell A ‘WHALE highway’ through the Mediterranean is being planned to protect creatures from oil drilling. If successful, it will be a great victory for those who have long campaigned against oil drilling in the area between Catalunya and Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Spain’s Environment Ministry is aiming for the zone to be designated a ‘Specially Protected Zone of Importance’ by the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean.

Celebrities

This means exploratory oil drilling will be banned in the area, helping to conserve whales and dolphins. The highway will be discussed at the next meeting of the Barcelona Convention.

SAFE AT LAST: Whales in the Mediterranean

Karmenu Vela, the European Commission’s director general for the environment, said he also approved of the plan ‘for the protection of marine species and to advance towards completing the international agreements on the protection of marine biodiversity’.

Firebug menace

ARSON is being mooted as the cause of more than 120 forest fires currently ripping through northern Spain. While unseasonably warm temperatures and high winds may account for the blazes, officials suspect underhand tactics from farmers are to blame. The head of the national forestry association, Raul de la Calle, said high temperatures ‘do not explain’ the fires and added that ‘cattle farming SPAIN’S Supreme Court has cast doubt interests could be reon whether millions in government cuts sponsible’. to renewable energy are constitutional. Firefighters continue Over 400 appeals were launched by to tackle the blazes, Spanish companies following the PP’s which span Canta2013 reforms, which included a €1.7 bria, Asturias and the billion cut to renewable energy. Basque Country. Thirty foreign companies also con- More than 80 fires tested the cuts. are currently burnThe Supreme Court believes the law ing in Cantabria, could violate the principles of legal where 2,000 hectares certainty and legitimate expectations (5,000 acres) of land enshrined in the Spanish Constitution. have been destroyed. Their findings have opened up the Some 100 soldiers path for the case to be brought before have also been deSpain’s Constitutional Court. ployed to the region.

Doubt over cuts

Many different species of whales make their home in the Mediterranean, including sperm whales, pilot whales and fin whales. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Kate Moss have backed the campaign to end oil drilling off the coast of Ibiza over the last few years.

All at sea

A YOUNG dolphin being battered against the rocks in Gibraltar was rescued by a team of brave volunteers. The striped dolphin, between four and five years old, had become trapped by the bad weather and sustained numerous bloody wounds. Members of the public waded out into the sea to guide the dolphin away from the rocks but could not guide it out to sea due to the weather. Officers from the Department of the Environment and Climate Change were called out and upon inspection decided to release the animal as soon as possible. Watch a video at www. gibraltarolivepress.com

Lynx patrol DRONES are to be deployed to help Spain’s wild Iberian lynx. Conservationists are introducing eyes in the sky in order to gather more information about the endangered wild cats. The animals have benefitted from a captive breeding scheme, seeing the number of wild lynx in Spain (mainly Andalucia) rise from the critical level of 94 in 2003 to 327 today.

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

www.theolivepress.es

Sierra Nevada

snow report

FESTIVE FUN: Santas swap sleighs for skis on the Sierra Nevada slopes

Most wonderful time of the year DOZENS of festive skiers dressed as Old St. Nick were spotted on the slopes over the Christmas period. During the night skiing session, which run every Saturday throughout the season, up to 30 Santas took to the slopes. Organised by slope managers at Cetursa, Santa’s helpers performed a choreographed ski at the beginner Borreguiles slopes. The event aimed at children

Santas don skis under the floodlights in the Sierra Nevada also included a rock concert and skiing workshops run by mascot Suly Sierra Nevada. The CEO of Cetursa Sierra Nevada, María José López, said the event was a resounding success. “The performance of Santa’s helpers was spectacular, a great way to start the

programme this season,” he said. The mountain tops are still looking a little bare, with the harder red and black runs closed until the first major snowfall of the season. For a live broadcast of the Sierra Nevada slopes visit www.sierranevada.es

16 16

la cultura

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

what’s on

stepona, until January 10

The Estepona ice rink is back for another year along with a small funfair with rides for children. Situated on Avenida Juan Carlos I, the attraction is for all ages

ompeta, until January 16

The Galeria de la Luz showcases a new exhibition of expat paintings by artist Eva Joensen and Lieuwke Loth entitled ‘Loths with Dots’. For more info visit www.luzdelavida.es

alaga, January 19

January 6th - January 19th 2016

Digging for victory

ONE of the Roman Empire’s most important settlements may lie under the soil in Andalucia. Archaeologists have begun digging in Jimena de la Frontera to unearth what they believe could have been a key ‘nerve-centre’ for Roman operations in Spain. Originally uncovered by retired archeologist Hamo Sassoon when he retired to the Campo de Gibraltar, the find could rewrite the history books. A complex series of walls, a strategically-placed castle and the layout of the town were ‘obvious giveaways’ to Sas-

The winner of Andalucia’s Young Musician of the Year award will be performing compositions by Shostakovich and Brahms at the Picasso museum. For more info visit www.museopicassomalaga.org

www.theolivepress.es

Roman ‘nerve-centre’ discovery in Jimena could rewrite archaeological history

CAPTION: Caption here ROCKING: AC/DC

soon. Early excavation work revealing Roman coins stamped with Oba, supported his early findings. “At first sight the impression is of visiting an Arab castle on top of a hill,” lead archaeologist Miguel Angel Tabales said. “But the moment you take a critical look and analyse what you are actually seeing, you quickly realise that this is nothing other than the remains of a very important Roman city.” Excavationists estimate the dig will take up to six months to complete.

Highway to Hell AC/DC will play in Spain during a major tour in 2016. The hellraising rock and roll wizards from Oz return to Sevilla for the concert on May 10. The gig at Estadio de La Cartuja Rock or Bust World Tour 2016 is the band’s only Spanish date. Angus Young, Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams have played in the Andalucian capital on numerous occasions in the past few years. Tickets are now on sale.

erja, January 26

The Museo de Cuevas showcases a new exhibition of photos, depicting the Andalucian countryside. Tickets are €10, for more information visit www.nerjanadfas.org

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Euro visions A JOURNALIST, a Starlite performer and former a Junior Eurovision Song Contest winner will battle it out to represent Spain in the singing competition for real. In total, six hopefuls will compete to be given the opportunity to represent Spain in this year’s competition in Stockholm, Sweden. Among those competing is Maria Isabel from Huelva who claimed the top prize in the kids version of the competition at just nine years old. Andalucian viewers will also be familiar with fellow hopeful Barei who took to the Starlite stage in Marbella this summer. And Southern viewers will be equally interested in seeing Barcelona-based singer Salvador Betran whose musical inspiration comes from his Andalucian mother. Trained journalist Electric Nana also makes up the numbers along with Murcia-based singer Xuso Jones La Voz finalist Maverick.

la cultura

www.theolivepress.es

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

17 17

Failure is not an option January 6th - January 19th 2016

Off the back of smashing six world records at the WPC Weightlifting World Championships, teenage muscleman Leon de Roeck pumps iron with Rob Horgan

POWERHOUSE: Leon in Palmones gym

‘

FAILURE is not an option!’ That is 15-year-old weightlifter Leon de Roeck’s motto. Since he was eight, he has had one goal -- becoming the strongest man in the world -- and everything he has done since then has been moving towards that aim. Incredibly determined, Leon smashed six world records, claiming three world titles at last month’s WPC Weightlifting World Championships in Portugal. Now officially the strongest ever 15-year-old at his weight, Leon’s drive and focus is rarely seen in someone so young and is frankly inspiring. “My name will go down in history; I will be the world’s strongest man,” Leon says, with steely determination in his eyes. “There is no rush. I will go through the age categories and keep smashing records at every level.”

SIX OF THE BEST: Leon’s World records

DETERMINED: Leon smashed record in Portugal and (below) pulling van with ease

Supersize that! Leon’s typical McDonald’s order: Seven double cheese burgers: 1974 calories Four large fries: 2040 calories Two Extra Large Coca Colas: 620 calories

Battered

He adds: “I am proud of the records I set in Portugal, but there was never any doubt. “It is easy to be so sure and so driven when you do something you love. “I have been hitting the numbers in training and I am not just breaking records but smashing them.” With the European Championships in Manchester, UK, in June and the World Championships in Louisiana, USA, next November, Leon is ‘100% certain’ that he will smash more of them. Extremely self-assured but by no means arrogant, Leon’s self-confidence comes from the numbers he hits as he blows the competition around him out of the water. In fact, the records set in Portugal are even higher than the current ones in the 16-17 year old age bracket, which Leon will move up to later this year. Freakishly strong for as long as he can remember, he was banned from playing with children his own age in primary school as he was too much for them. By the age of 13 he was playing rugby with the under 18s at Estrecho Rugby Club in San Roque. Even step-father Cyrus Licudi had to stop play fighting with eight-year-old Leon as it would leave him ‘battered and bruised’.

Bench press raw: 155kg Deadlift raw: 235kg Squat: 200 kg Bench: 157.5kg Deadlift: 242.5kg Powerlifting: 600kg

Total: 4634 calories steaks and rice. (Thankfully the government and his school, Bayside Comprehensive, help fund him, for which he is ‘extremely grateful’.) Despite usually sticking to a ‘healthy diet’, Leon occasionally treats himself to a McDonalds, where his usual order includes seven double cheeseburgers, four portions of chips and two extra-large cokes. But Leon insists he is gaining weight at a safe pace and that his weightlifting career has always been ‘safety first’.

Painted

As Leon’s mother Michelle tells me ‘he came out like the Hulk and hasn’t stopped growing since’. Currently weighing between 103kg and 110kg (depending on competi-

tions) Leon expects he will move up to 125kg in the next two years. Eating five to eight meals a day, Leon’s food bill costs a staggering £250 a week -- mainly in chicken,

“I have never had an injury,” he says. “I have always surrounded myself with good people who ensure I perfect my form so I don’t hurt myself.” At eight years old, Leon worked under the watchful eye of ex-body builder Paul Baw and then Francis Sanchez, who showed the youngster the ropes. Nowadays he trains at the Gimnasio

Municipal de Palmones under the watchful eye of owner and Spain’s strongest man, Juan Carlos Heredia, AKA ‘El Porruo’. He also trains with MMA fighters in Gibraltar but cannot compete as it could hamper his weightlifting career. Outside the gym in the Bay of Gibraltar, a mural of El Porruo is painted on the wall. And on my visit, he watches closely as Leon goes through his training routine, squatting 180kg like it’s nothing at all. A nod and smile tell me all I need to know. “One day, Leon will have a mural of him painted on the wall,” El Porruo says. Leon also pays occasional visits to the Marbella gym of six-time Mr Olympia, Dorian Yates. “The old pros are great to learn from and are always keen to teach me,” Leon says. ‘El Porruo is great; he is always here, offering advice and making sure I look after myself. “Dorian is also a role model for me and is always happy to offer advice if I need it.” He adds: “I have no shame in asking for help. I want to learn from these guys so I can be better than them.” And that is the aspiration of Leon de Roeck in a nutshell: to be the best. When I asked if the gym was a daunting place as an eight year old, he resoundingly said ‘no’. “I saw these guys in the gym and I always thought ‘I want to be bigger than you; I am going to be bigger than you’. “I want young kids to look up to me and think the same way.”

LETTERS

18 the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015 18

POTTED POINTERS EMERGENCIES Police 199 Medical service 190 Fire 190 EURO EXCHANGE RATES 1 euro is worth 1.09 American dollars 0.74 British pounds 1.50 Canadian dollars 7.46 Danish kroner 8.42 H Kong dollars 9.60 Norwegian kroner 1.54 Singapore dollars ANDALUCIA RESERVOIR LEVELS This week: 60.14% Same week last year: 77.26% Same week in 2005: 55.14% AIRPORTS Gibraltar 00350 22073026 Granada-Jaen 958 245 200 Jerez - 956 150 000 Malaga - 952 048 844* *For English press 9 Sevilla - 954 449 000

Beware of currency trap! VISITORS to Gibraltar who finish up with Gibraltar Sterling in their wallets should beware. For away from The Rock it is not the easiest currency to exchange. I recently used my Spanish ATM card to get some cash while visiting, but then did not make the major purchase I intended. However, when I flew to London for a pre-Christmas visit I was confident I could easily use the Gibraltar Pound 20 Sterling notes still unspent without question. How mistaken I was, with the majority of shops and restaurants flatly refusing to accept them. Even in Fortnum and Mason an assistant at first refused. Fortunately her superior, who I asked to see as I had used some Gibraltar currency at another cash point in the store the previous day, did say ‘in view of that I suppose it will be alright’. ML, Estepona

Welcome star I AM a Spanish professor and I am thrilled that the greatest author in the world, who wrote the greatest novel in the world of literature, will receive the honour justly due him (Written in the stars, issue 229). Naming a star after the

Each print issue of the Olive Press can be read in its entirety on www.theolivepress.es And our site is updated January 19th 2016 daily with the latest news, making it one of Spain’s most visited news websites.

January 6thwww.theolivepress.es -

Please keep looking IT is great to see the Olive Press raising awareness for missing expats in Spain (Still missing, issue 229). I am the daughter of John Leach and I am glad to see you haven’t forgotten about us. Unfortunately we still haven’t heard anything as of yet. It is still a mystery. We are getting no news of help from the Spanish police either. The community of La Cala de Mijas were kind enough to plant a tree of hope for my father in remembrance which is a lovely and amazingly thoughtful thing for them to do, Its somewhere where I and my mother can go and pray for his safety and is very much appreciated. Jessica Leach, Mijas

great Miguel de Cervantes is the least this country can do to remember such an important cultural figure. Viva Don Miguel de Cervantes y viva Don Quijote! Pr. Alphonse Dattalo, Ciudad Real

Dogged days IT is not surprising that dog lovers are becoming irritated living in Gibraltar (Dog fight, issue 229). The loss of the Rosia Bay walking area is just the latest example in a long line of development works that is making it almost impossible to own a dog on the Rock. I hope the government is true to its word and creates new areas for dog walkers but unfortunately, with the growing demand for property in Gibraltar I can only envision more development which is

bad news for us dog walkers. Stefanie Diaz, Gibraltar

Many tourists I talk to now say they are put off coming to the Costa because of the amount of petty crime. Scott Couper, Puerto Banus

Real risk WHEN you ask outsiders about Spain they mention the Costas, corruption and bullfights. Corruption is finally coming under scrutiny and animal rights is moving in the right direction. Tourism is obviously a major part of the Costa del Sol’s income and from what I can see it is at risk now more than ever. I live in Puerto Banus and I have to say that the local police look after their own at the expense of tourists and expats. In the 15 years I have lived here, the number of muggings has gone through the roof and gets worse every summer.

Lost in post I AM so baffled by Spain’s postage rules. My daughter and my two grandsons live in Malaga and have been waiting for my package from Norway since November 27. The post authorities in Malaga are telling my daughter that she must have all receipts for all contents in the package? It is a present for them, and for sure they don’t know what it is and all the receipts are in Norway anyway.

olive press online

October 2015

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Jane Strand, Norway

Light shines bright IT is fantastic to see so many volunteers working to help the homeless (Light in the dark, issue 229). I will no doubt be volunteering to help the cause and I hope many like minded people follow suit. This time of year, more than ever, is a time to give and what the staff at Hogar Betania do is nothing short of amazing. Keep up the good work. Tracey Holmes, San Roque

Inspirational tales READING some of the tales in this feature has inspired me to do more to help in the community. Unfortunately I live too far from La Linea to assist with Hogar Betania but I will be contacting my local town hall to find out of any homeless charities in the area. It is easy to walk by and forget these people exist, seeing it all in one place really brings it home, especially at Christmas. I would like to applaud everyone who helps out and it is great to see the high-profile Gibraltar football lads helping as well. Pat Wilson, Nerja

Find a home! I REALLY hope that Ronald Lima is given a council home by the Gibraltar authorities. If we can’t look after one of our own who can we look after? It is great to see that Hogar Betania have put him back on his feet, now Gibraltar should play catch up and ensure that he stays on them. Steven Price, Gibraltar Letters should be emailed to letters@ theolivepress.es. The writer’s name and address should be provided. Opinions are not necessarily those of the Editor.

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Goldman: a clarification WE wish to point out that it has never been the intention of the Olive Press to bring the professional reputation of either Euro Weekly News or Spectrum Radio - nor their owners - into question in any articles published on convicted fraudster Nigel Goldman. In addition we want to stress that Goldman has abused many of his contacts and associates throughout Spain and that, in particular, the EWN Group helped us to highlight his wrongdoing to bring him to justice here in Spain.

olive press The Olive Press The best Englishlanguage newspaper in Spain

TOP for news in Spain!

2015 Round-up

www.theolivepress.es

4-PAGE SPECIAL

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

19 19 19

WHAT A LINEUP: (Top line, from left) Miss Spain, Fabian Picardo, Pablo Iglesias, Stacie Cottle, Jonathan Lutwyche, Donal MacIntyre, (middle) Leon de Roeck, Rick Parfitt, Cilla Black, (bottom) Ashya King and brother, Russell Watson and wife Louise, Freddie Starr and Nigel Goldman

Movers, shakers and holidaymakers

Oh what a year it was! From celebrity exclusives to uncovering crooks and corruption scandals the OP brought you all the biggest stories of 2015

ITH four elections taking place across Spain and Gibraltar, 2015 had the potential for political upheaval of seismic proportions. And the demise of the Spanish two-party system didn’t disappoint. However, as 2016 dawned, Andalucia had the same Junta boss as 12 months ago and the nation faces a New Year of political uncertainty after the general election failed to produce a standout candidate. Meanwhile, Gibraltar’s government

proved rock solid, seeing Fabian Picardo returned with an increased majority. Outside the fireworks of the political sphere, it’s also been a cracker of a year for the Olive Press which has been undergoing many major expansions: first moving to a new office, then launching a Property magazine and finally taking on the Rock with the launch of the Gibraltar Olive Press. We also endeavoured to bring you celebrity exclusives, big expat news plus

investigations into corrupt politicians, businessman and untoward characters blighting Andalucia and Gibraltar. Never afraid to print the stories other publications would rather ignore, the OP will continue in the same vein next term, proving to be the only English-language investigative newspaper in Spain. As we review our coverage of 2015’s highs and lows, we wish a Happy New Year to all our readers and advertisers and here’s to a prosperous 2016!

2015

20 20 the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

2015 saw Spain vote for change, Gibraltar opt for more of the same, while the Olive Press continued to break the biggest expat and Spanish news

Here’s what we predict (hope and dream) 2016 will bring:

Lions roar Expats dance in Plaza Mayor as Marbella-favourite Harry Kane bags the winner for England in the Euro 2016 final against Spain in Paris.

Better together

Ungagged Human rights intervention puts an end to Spain’s draconian gag law, to the delight of Spaniards and expats alike.

Round-up

a game-ch

Look into the Olive Press crystal ball...

Gibraltarians and expats rejoice after a hard-fought anti-Brexit campaign results in a massive triumph. Voters resoundingly elect to keep Britain in the European Union.

www.theolivepress.es 2020

January

February

THE year got off to an explosive start as we broke news of Russian President Vladimir Putin installing a multimillion euro vineyard at an alleged Zagaleta palace. Unsurprisingly, the Kremlin rushed to pour cold water on the potentially damaging claims. The infamous ‘wedding runner’ returned, this time on our screens. Sonicknamed for repeatedly leaving Costa del Sol couples high and dry on their big day, wedding planner Sue Danker resurfaced on a reality TV show. Journalists - and many others - across the world united in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Thousands protested for free speech under the slogan ‘Je suis Charlie’.

WITH new party Podemos beginning to make itself heard, the Olive Press headed north to report on the March for Change in Madrid. Google launched an internal probe after we discovered towns including Algeciras were being renamed as ‘Taifas’ on Google Maps, their title during ancient Islamic rule. The search engine made headlines again when it removed our legitimate story about a corrupt lawyer from search results due to a controversial Human Rights Court ruling. The solution? We published it again (and weren’t damned). A British expat living in Sotogrande, Victor Kainth, killed an alleged German paedophile with one punch after spotting him filming his own children in a restaurant. Finally, there was widespread pandemonium among female expats when reporters Tom Powell and Rob Horgan offered themselves up as dates in a Valentine’s competition. (Alas, not one person actually entered!)

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EXCLUSIVE By Giles Brown at Big Blue Box, which destroyed hundreds of thousands of euros of furniture, most belonging to private individuals. The fire broke out in the early hours of Friday morning at the Atena Commercial Centre, completely destroying the showroom, as exclusive Olive Press photos show. As firefighters struggled to control the massive blaze, the area was cordoned off as

smoke blew across the nearby main road. Nobody was injured in the blaze, but it comes after a series of woes for shop owners Bennie and Debbie Glynn. In recent months the company had been the subject of complaints by some customers who were unhappy with the service they had received, with several contacting the Olive Press. A friend of the couple con-

OLYMPIC gold medal winner James Cracknell has vowed to become a new hero for the Rock. Rower Cracknell - who is standing as a candidate for the MEP elections in May 2014 - told the Olive Press he would ‘fight the corner’ of Gibraltarians in their current dispute with Spain. He insisted he would campaign on their behalf in Brussels, and would ‘not take no’ for an answer. Cracknell - who was burgled last week while receiving treatment for a brain condition in a London hospital - added he was buoyed by Gibraltar’s sense of community and passion for politics.

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The good, the bad and the ugly of 2014 See our round-up of the year, starting on Page 15

MISSING: Amy and Agnese MISSING Amy Fitzpatrick’s family have joined the campaign to find a second missing Costa girl, Agnese Klavina. Amy’s aunt Christine Kenny offered her support to Agnese’s family to mark Amy’s disappearance on New Year’s Day 2007. Meanwhile Agnese, 30, has not been seen since leaving a Marbella nightclub last September.Kenny said: “Agnese went missing not too far from where Amy did. “We are trying to help each other. “There are said to be eight other women who have gone missing on the Costa del Sol since 2005 and too little is being done to help find them.” More than 80 expats, including Amy’s mother Audrey Fitzpatrick and partner Dave Mahon - who is currently on bail for murdering Amy’s brother Dean - also attended a service in Fuengirola. On Monday, the body of a young woman was rumoured to have been found by police in Istan lake. However, Guardia Civil told the Olive Press yesterday that no such find has been made. Turn to Page 2

Chateau Putin EXCLUSIVE By Tom Powell

HE is one of the richest, most controversial men in the world and – it seems – somewhat the wine buff. Russian president Vladimir Putin is planting his very own vineyard at the multimillion euro home he is developing in the hills above Marbella, it can be revealed. Olive Press sources insist that the Russian gourmet, 62, has dug 25 plants from Spain’s top bodega Pingus into a series of terraces around the mansion, in Benahavis. In a huge mega-deal he has also contracted the vineyard’s owner Danish oenologist Peter Sisseck to oversee production of the wine. The wine will be produced in two huge underground cel-

Three wine cellars and a crop of Spain’s most-exclusive Pingus vines for Russian president’s luxury Marbella hideaway

lars at the 10-bedroom palace in the exclusive enclave of Zagaleta - complete with private helipad and 22-car garage. A series of French oak barrels will store the wine. The climatised cellars cost an estimated €1 million to install and also include a separate champagne room with its very own fingerprint code entry system. “It is an amazing project and

no expense is being spared,” said the source. A spokesman for the small five hectare Pingus holding in Burgos - whose wines are Spain’s most expensive at €1,000 a bottle - was unable to confirm the purchase. “I am not able to give out any information about grapevines being sold, only about the bottles we sell and distribute,” she said.

GRAPE ESCAPE: Putin is to grow his own wine in this incredible Benahavis mansion

In October 2012, the Olive Press was able to link the ExKGB boss Putin to a consortium of six wealthy businessmen behind the €19 million Zagaleta project. The epitome of extravagance, his 18,000m² plot boasts its own spa and gym, a cinema, piano bar, and two swimming pools. Putin has long been a big Hispanophile having visited

Spain on many occasions, with a recent book claiming he came in ‘illegally’ 37 times on false documents in the 1990s alone. He has also been linked to a Spanish construction company. It is also clear that Putin appreciates his wine, as his South of France mansion was revealed to have expansive wine cellars too, back in 2001. Est 1984

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So long, Dickens Virtual reality gaming headsets become the must-have birthday present across Spain and Gibraltar; books are confined to museums.

Gold shock And finally, Britain’s Got Talent star and dancing supremo Jonathan Lutwyche wins Gibraltar’s first ever Olympic gold medal after a last-minute call up to compete in the triple jump.

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THE search for missing expat Agnese Klavina made international headlines at the start of the month after a businessman’s yacht was seized and Brits Westley Capper and Craig Porter was brought in for questioning. The month’s close brought tragic news as a British family of four were found dead in a Gibraltar flat, on the same day that retired expat couple Jean and Peter Tarsey were tied up and killed at their Alicante home. In other news, the OP tracked down infamous British fraudster Paul Bloomfield in Puerto Banus, fellow tycoon Alan Sugar cashed in on his Marbella beach pad and the world’s deadliest walkway, the Caminito del Rey, reopened to the

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public, with the OP getting an exclusive preview. March also saw the first of four elec45 years tions in 2015, with Susana Diaz voted as an agent back in as Junta President after negotiating a pact with Ciudadanos. It was also a landmark month for the OP, with the unveiling of our first ever Let us help you Property magazine. The launch coinreach your destination. cided with our K.O. the Kickbacks campaign to rid Marbella’s property sector of backhanders between lawyers and estate agents. The secret Spanish homes of a dozen leading celebrities

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May THE runup to the summer holidays was marred by a phishing scam which left hundreds of holidaymakers out of pocket and with nowhere to stay, as exclusively investigated by the Olive Press. Meanwhile a British mother contacted us when the UK courts ordered her to return to Spain to live in the same village as her abusive ex-partner in order to share custody of their child. In other news, Britain’s Got Talent star Jonathan Lutwyche taught OP reporters how to dance, Pablo Picasso’s Women of Algiers sold for a world record €160 million and football fans were left pulling their hair out as La Liga was temporarily suspended over a TV rights tussle. May also saw the return of the ballot box, with local elections taking place across the country.

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ENVIRONMENTALISTS were rejoicing as the Los Merinos golf project in Ronda was finally scrapped and the Junta announced plans to demolish the Algarrobico Hotel in Almeria. Keeping it green, the Olive Press paid a visit to the Bay of Cadiz to lend its support to a preservation effort at bird-watching sanctuary La Covacha. Celebs were also busy cherishing the planet with Helena Bonham Carter stripping off to pose nude with a tuna to highlight illegal fishing. Meanwhile, we lifted the lid on how Europe’s biggest-ever gangster, Ricardo Fanchini, operated from his Benahavis hideout before being banged up in the States. We also caught up with brain tumour survivor Ashya King and family on the youngster’s embattled road to recovery and spoke exclusively to the brave British nurse who helped pull four deaf Turkish students out of the sea in Marbella, only for all but one to tragically die.

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June AS usual, a flood of celebs arrived on the Costa del Sol for the start of the summer. As the Olive Press caught up with Premiership footballers in Gibraltar and partied with TOWIE stars in Puerto Banus, BBC presenter Nick Knowles moved to Sotogrande and celebrity restaurant owners Elliott Wright and Steven Saunders began writing columns for the OP. It wasn’t all good news for the rich and famous however, as the Olive Press exclusively revealed. Status Quo star Rick Parfitt and his wife Lyndsay were duped out of thousands of euros in a pots-andpans scam in Marbella. We also tracked down controversial Scottish boxer Scott Harrison’s trashed villa in the Guadalhorce Valley and exposed Estepona Town Hall for not clearing up an E-Coli-ridden river. Finally, in what must be the most bizarre tale of the year, we exclusively revealed how a British holidaymaker reported one of Gibraltar’s Barbary macaques for sexual assault, only to be asked if she could pick one out of a lineup!

www.theolivepress.es

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

21 21 21 21

January 6th - January 19th 2016

hanging year RAJOY THERE: While his election rivals were battling it out in a TV debate in December, PP leader Mariano Rajoy took a trip to Estepona to snap up a copy of his favourite English-language newspaper

July A FOUR-page probe special kicked off July. Tracking down British holiday scammers Mark and Michelle Stafford’s Guadalhorce bolthole after they left dozens of Marbella holidaymakers out of thousands of euros, we also unveiled the crooks behind the Status Quo con as well as exclusively revealing Baron Rothschild’s indictment in the France for fraud. July also saw controversial Kim’s Animal Rescue Centre put up for sale, while the Gibraltar Licensed at last government launched legal proceedings against Spanish daily ABC for libellous

ish-language and only Engl The original newspaper in Andalucía investigative

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2015 July 24th

reunited Brit finallyinsist on a ors Heartbroken after doct with baby prove it is hers to

DNA test early at two weeks edly broke two1:30am. later in the girl ed Half an hour a healthy mother separat series bedroom house, A BRITISHnewborn baby by triggering a was born, which turned the from her hospital has been a of events a Spanish dream into her daughfamily’s Spanish reunited with results finally re. l for nightma ter after DNA hospita to hers. her is They took check-up the next proved she 27, has been a routine the paediatrician Stacie Cottle, three torturin where l baby day, the forced to endure claimed at the hospita immediately belong to her. ous weeks near Malaga, did not in fact it had actually Torre del Mar,rician claimed paediat a a insisted days for She after brought in three to five been born the baby she not be hers. previously. check-up couldthe Olive Press with But now, after court dealing visited the demand answers, Criminal ble’,” in bold claim fiExpat artist her case to was impossi 5 allowed to la “She said ‘itthe Olive Press. “I al de she has been Turn to Page bethe Comarc baby Cottle told nally leave , I couldn’t l with felt so helpless were saying.” Axarquia hospita they the very first ly Veronica, lieve what Anzelika for mother prompt FAMILY: a She and her and confused, to time. for all your HAPPYand baby Anzelik upset grateful so left, house. night. Stacie “I am to the new police ofsaid last help,” she a on June 1. in several return an hour the most horBut within knocking on the stayed “This has been of my life Anabell acfamily were ficers looking for to return to like a The rendous month been treated hotels while for her mother door, asking them and I have l. term, the hospital for tests. Anzelika commodation longer twice rent common crimina baby to a me think to find work Upon arrival, her moth“It makes coming back to Veronic l as she hoped . separated from about ever g English a wasand placed in the neonata teachin signing er after Spain.” the night house in Areg chain of events 4 The shockin Cottle, a dental But t on a Turn to Page Axarquia region, unfolded afterLondon, arrived contrac tnas, in the from waters unexpec loves AC/DC nurse with her mother in Malaga ar-old daughter Cottle’s Marbella mayor 6 and three-ye

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A SAD start to the month saw the world mourn the loss of TV presenter Cilla Black who suffered a stroke at her Estepona home. As exclusively revealed by the Olive Press, Cilla had planned to dine at her favourite Estepona restaurant that evening. Instead, the world’s favourite Liverpudlian lass was tragically found dead by her son Mark. In other news, the Vuelta a Espana got off to an embarrassing start with the Puerto Banus stage, in essence, scrapped after failing to meet necessary standards. Working alongside TV presenter and journalist Donal MacIntyre, the OP also assisted in the making of a documentary on missing expat Amy Fitzpatrick. Elsewhere, the Olive Press exclusively revealed Coin-based British artist Michael Shurman’s claims that he is the real Banksy, and exposed British storage facility Fastcat bosses for leaving dozens of clients without their belongings. The hot summer also took its toll on the Costa del Sol, with wildfires ripping through the countryside, especially bad in the Bay of Gibraltar. was the proved Stacie hers DNA tests s claimed wasn’t RESULT: POSITIVE the baby that doctor mother of

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comments. Meanwhile British mother Stacie Cottle hit international headlines as the Olive Press campaigned to reunite her with her baby in Torre del Mar. Elsewhere, the OP exclusively interviewed incoming Marbella Mayor Pepe Bernal, headed up to Benicassim for Spain’s biggest music festival and launched our first ever Gay Pride supplement to mark a decade of same-sex marriage in Spain.

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

Blown away

Royal Navy gunships Politicians call for British in Gibraltar during to be permanently stationed defiant National Day speeches British Navy DEFIANT calls for again in battleships to be stationed during a Gibraltar have been made rally. raucous National Day politicians deA group of 11 British focuslivered rip-roaring speeches with Spain sing on recent tensionsright to selfand backing Gibraltar’s determination. of red sea a – The Casemates crowd the patriotic and white – echoed Fabian sentiments as Chief Minister final address, Picardo delivered the salute to the centering around a of 75 years ‘evacuation generation’ ago. refugee criLinking it to the currenthe vowed to Europe, sis engulfing under the help as much as possible plea that ‘sharing is caring’. MP for But it was Conservative who Romford, Andrew Rosindell,

By Tom Powell

when he ingot the biggest cheer, should - once sisted the Royal Navy permanentagain - have battleships ly stationed in Gibraltar.are a part of “The people of Gibraltar and I would the Great British family here to apprelike to see a battleship to illegally hend any Spanish ship he said. enter British waters,” Ian Paisley Democratic Unionist MP international added: “These are our these are waters, this is our country, must support our people and we them.” this rock!” “We will never surrender address. he roared in a rousing ‘best wishes’ of After waving a letter Minister from the Queen, the Chief National finally vowed to increaseto come. Day celebrations in years

Day with s celebrate National PARTY MODE: Gibraltarian macaque inflatable barbary due to its environmental ever be cent years – took place. “National Day will never will only get impactas the crowds gazed up at the diminished. In fact, it red white Then, sky, Tina bigger. We stand together, red and white speckled Simply the Best blasted and free!” he bellowed. the tradi- Turner’s signalling Following the speeches, balloons – through the sound system, almighty party. tional releasing of the in re- the start of an which has caused controversy

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

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A GANGLAND war threatened to erupt on the Costa del Sol after a member of the infamous Kinahan clan, Gary Hutch, was shot dead at his Mijas villa. Timeworn comedian Freddie Starr revealed all to the Olive Press after moving to a newly-purchased flat in La Cala in an attempt to escape a million-pound legal bill in Britain. Gibraltar schoolgirl Elisha Lang made it to the semifinals of Spanish TV singing contest La Voz Kids, and looks set to forge a fantastic career off the back of her time in the limelight. Expats were warned over fake poppies in the run-up to Remembrance Day, following the inexplicable ‘disappearance’ of the British Legion’s entire Western Costa del Sol stock. Finally, controversial Weekend World publisher Stan Israel was found guilty of not paying his former head of sales, while popular expat DJ Rona Bourke called time on her Estepona radio career after not receiving pay for four years.

SCOTTISH expat Lisa Brown was reported missing on November 9, sparking a search which is still on-going. Her boyfriend Simon Corner, a namechanging convicted criminal with a shady past, is believed to be crucial in the hunt for answers. On November 20, Spain marked the 40th anniversary of dictator Franco’s death. Six days later, Gibraltar headed to the polls and gave Fabian Picardo’s GSLP party landslide approval to govern for another four years. However the Rock’s very own 15-yearold muscleman, Leon de Roeck, was hell-bent on stealing the headlines, breaking not one but six world records. The second Battle of Trafalgar broke out over plans for the beloved lighthouse on the Costa de la Luz, with a German company winning the rights to convert it into a private hotel.

CHEEKY: Cycling fan gives Vuelta a Espana riders more than they bargained for as they cycled through Sabinillas, passing right by OP headquarters

A TRANSLATION mix-up that led to devastated expat Teresa Tarry receiving an unnecessary double mastectomy dominated the news. We also broke the story that celebrity classical singer Russell Watson was left waiting an hour for his late bride-to-be at their fairytale Benahavis wedding. September also saw a landmark moment in Olive Press history, with the launch of a dedicated Gibraltar edition. An exclusive story about a thief who stole a box of Quality Street finally being brought to justice 17 years later got the paper off to a rocking start, alongside in depth coverage of Gibraltar Music Festival and National Day.

December WITH the spirit of goodwill in the air, expats clubbed together to support the launch of new charity Andalucia Childline. Spain’s general election lived up to the hype with voters torpedoing the two-party domination which had overseen such rottenness for decades. Meanwhile, notorious conman Nigel Goldman was at last found guilty of a €12,000 gold coin scam in the UK. His Christmas got worse when he received an order to attend Fuengirola Court too over a separate series of frauds in Spain. Last but not least, Miss Spain was crowned the best looking woman in the world in China.

2015

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22 22 the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

Round-up

January 6th - January 19th 2016

The Olive Press by numbers T

HEY say a stat can be found to prove anything but it’s hard to argue with the soaring growth of www.theolivepress.es throughout 2015.

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olive press Vol. 1 Issue 5

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Celeb chef set to cook up a storm Page 27

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BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR: The lighthouse is being converted into private apartments while (right) Nelson and Stuart A DESPERATE battle is being waged to stop the iconic Trafalgar lighthouse being privatised and lost as a public monument. The historic landmark, close to where Admiral Nelson’s British navy defeated an allied French and Spanish fleet in 1805, is loved and cherished by many Gibraltarians. The emblematic lighthouse, built in 1860, is also in a spot of serene natural beauty, located near Caños de Meca, on the Costa de la Luz. But now, 200 years after Nelson died in a heroic victory and was taken to Gibraltar, a second battle of Trafalgar is being fought. For a German firm has been awarded a contract to con-

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Teresa Tarry’s tragic translation mix-up

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LIVING HELL: For Tarry

Expat sues hospital after translation mix up leads to an ‘unnecessary’ double mastectomy

EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan

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A BRITISH expat is suing a Spanish hospital after a translation mix up resulted in her having an ‘unnecessary’ double mastectomy. Teresa Tarry, 49, has gone through ‘eight years of hell’ after surgery for a benign lump in 2007. Left with 55% incapacity following the operation, mother-of-two Tarry was led to believe she had a cancerous tumour in her right breast. However, weeks later she discovered the lump was, in fact, not cancerous and doctors at A Coruna’s Abente y Lago hospital had misinterpreted her medical records. It emerged that while undergoing preventative treatment, a translation mix up had led doctors to believe that both Tarry’s mother and sister had suffered from breast cancer. In reality, Tarry – who moved to Spain from Manchester in 2000 – has no immediate family history of cancer and it was therefore unnecessary to remove her breasts. “I have never gone through such a torrid time,” Tarry told the Olive Press. “I came to Spain to start a new life. In reality

it has been an eight-year living hell.” She added: “The operation has left me completely broken. My self-confidence is shattered, I can’t even touch myself, let alone let someone else touch me.” Tarry is set to have her case heard at trial next month and is seeking €600,000 in compensation for negligent practice.

Incapacity

Forced to quit her job as a chamber maid, due to her reduced mobility, Tarry has been living off just €190 a month in incapacity benefits plus savings since 2007. She claims the hospital never provided her with a translator, despite her Spanish being ‘very limited’ at the time. The hospital, however, insisted that they ‘always provide translators when requested’. “We cannot comment on this individual case,” a hospital spokesman told the Olive Press, last night. Opinion Page 6

Hit-andrun tragedy

British lad left for dead in heartless late-night crash Page 14

Whats the hold up?

Kaiser Chief’s Ricky Wilson on the edge at Gib Music Fest Page 20

Cooks to the stars

Which Costa chefs wowed Kate Moss and the Queen? Pages 36 and 38

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Our coverage of the ‘one punch’ Sotogrande murder was followed up by a dozen papers globally

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UNDER FIRE: Stan Israel

Media boss in court EXCLUSIVE By Tom Powell

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AN embattled Costa media group is being sued by one of Andalucia’s biggest printing firms. Sunsearch Media, run by Stan Israel, is being chased for the non-payment of €8,000 dating back to 2013. Tecnographic, in Sevilla, printed Perfect Homes, one of a range of large, glossy magazines produced by his group. Israel, 53, launched a new company in 2014, called Simply Media Group, whose clients allegedly include Louis Vuitton, Bulgari and even popstar Lady Gaga’s perfume.

Debt

When confronted last night, dog-lover Israel - who drives a Range Rover - initially claimed to have nothing to do with Sunsearch, claiming it was sold last year to someone who ended up ‘not paying’. But he then admitted he was still a ‘shareholder’. Either way, Tecnographic is still fighting for the €8,000 payment, and has taken Israel to court in Sevilla over the debt. While insisting it had won a

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Vol. 9 Issue 215 www.theolivepress.es

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Disrupting the Status Quo

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www.masmovil.es/en OLIVE PRESS – Earpiece 10th June

Rockstar Rick Parfitt and wife Lyndsay call in police after losing thousands in Swiss kitchenware con

ROCK legend Rick Parfitt has been conned out of thousands of euros after falling for an age-old trick. The Status Quo guitarist and vocalist was duped into buying ‘luxury’ pots, pans and cutlery for €1,465 from a pair of slick conmen posing as Swiss salesmen in Guadalmina. It was only when the 66-year-old British rocker returned to his Marbella mansion that he realised he had been sold a dud. Instead of ‘luxury Swiss finery’, it soon became apparent that he had acquired ‘a load of old tosh’ with ‘made in China’ inscribed on the base of the pans. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Parfitt’s wife Lyndsay was ALSO tricked by the same fraudsters completely by coincidence. Approached separately in Nueva Andalucia, two days before, Lyndsay handed over the same amount as her husband, leaving the Parfitts €2,930 down with nothing to show for it. The pair have now called in the police, after Lyndsay amazingly then met the same men in IKEA’s car park in Malaga a week later.

EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan Having taken their photo and given police their details, she is hoping for a quick conviction. “I cannot believe that we both fell for it,” fitness instructor Lyndsay told the Olive Press. “Neither of us are stupid or gullible so it just goes to show how professional these guys are. “They are dressed in slick suits and drive luxury BMWs and claim to be from Switzerland. “They are very good at their act, so it is vital that people must be warned about them.” The con involves the two ‘businessmen’ approaching their ‘target’ while they are in

ROCKED: Rick and Lyndsay Parfitt lost thousands to Costa conmen price as they can’t transport it back to Switzerland. “It is all very believable,” Lyndsay SUSANA Diaz has reached an added. “They show you some genuine agreement with Ciudadanos gear while you are seated in your car to claim her second term as president of the Andalucian and then start throwing deals at you. “When they start loading the boxes Junta. into the boot of your car it all looks The PSOE pact with Ciudadanos leader Juan Marin was legitimate. “It is only when you get home that you concluded with the signing realise you’ve bought a lot of cheap of three documents regarding 72 policy points. rubbish.” Always on the lookout for a bargain, The coalition is based on an anti-corruption agreement, the Parfitts married in Gibraltar in and Ciudadanos has told sup2006 in a £46 ceremony. porters against the pact that They now split their time in Spain it will not merely ‘watch and between properties in Alhaurin el listen’. Grande and Marbella.

a stationary car, usually in a car park, Lyndsay explained. From there they claim to have leftover stock from a nearby exhibition, which they are willing to sell for a cut-

Status Quo star Rick Parfitt and wife Lyndsay duped out of thousands of euros

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Role play

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GIBRALTAR has undertaken a terrorist attack response exercise which involved all emergency services, armed response police and military units.

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27th May

GSD Leader Daniel Feetham is determined to carry on as the Leader of the Opposition for the next four years despite losing a landslide election.

Bay-watch A REVISED £4.5 million plan to develop a leisure area with an urban beach at Rosia Bay has been submitted.

Vote time THE Gibraltar in Westminster Movement has claimed the time is right to push for Gibraltar to represented in the House of Commons with its own vote.

www.gibraltarolivepress.com

Cheesed off

Health fears over Burger King’s ‘irresponsible’ schoolchildren offers

Praise him LEGENDARY Minister Joe Bossano must be honoured ‘now not later’ according to the Equality Rights Group.

NEWS

BURGER King has been slammed for encouraging Gibraltar’s schoolchildren to dine on fast food meals with special lunch offers. Described as a ‘shocking’, nutritionist Claudia Norris said: “What’s worrying is that school kids are not seeing this as a treat; it’s being marketed as lunch.” It comes after the Olive Press

EXCLUSIVE By Tom Powell

Fraudster Nigel Goldman was featured in El EXPERT’S VIEW – Claud Confid-encial ia MEAL DEAL: Casemates

Norris, Gibraltar’s leading Nutritional therapist

“THIS is shocking. The issue

is not just the very high levels of saturated fat in Burger King meals but also the high salt content. What’s worrying is that school kids are not seeing this as a treat; it’s being marketed as their lunch. Often fast food is accompanied by a soft drink, and the amount of sugar in Coke and Fanta is really going to affect concentration in school in the afternoon. The Gibraltar Health Author-

ity has been doing so much to help children with the big drive to cut back on antibiotics but it’s very difficult when you are up against big businesses like Burger King. Gibraltar in general is benefitting from lots of healthy lunch options cropping up so kids don’t have to resort to Burger King. Obesity is tackled by informing and educating the population, starting with the kids. So this is something that needs to be addre

noticed the fast food giant, in Casemates’ Square, had been promoting its ‘schoolchildren lunch offer’ on a big sign outside its entrance. Under the deal, kids are invited in for special discounts on cheeseburger, hamburger and chicken nugget meals IF they are in uniform. All of which contain high levels of salt and fat, and are usually consumed with a fizzy drink. It comes as UK Prime Minister David Cameron is under pressure from MPs to ban adverts for unhealthy food from the internet and TV shows. A cross-party Commons committee insisted radical action was needed to solve a youth obesity crisis, with 19% of 10-year-olds chronically overweight. The last Gibraltar Health Authority survey found obesity on the Rock is around the same level as the UK. Over the last decade, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has worked tirelessly to change eating habits of schoolchildren through TV shows in the UK and the USA. Both the government and Burger King declined to comment.

NO RETURN: Goldman on way to court and (inset) in Marbella

Guilty and charged - thanks to the Olive Press

INFAMOUS Costa del Sol conman once again been found guilty of fraud.Nigel Goldman has The former Spectrum Radio pundit and Euro Weekly News columnist defrauded online than £10,000 in a gold coin eBay shoppers out of more scam. Having changed his name by deed Monte, the 58-year-old was arrestedpoll to Howard del and charged with fraud in the UK last year after two enraged customers failed to receive their goods. Having fled Spain accused of an elaborate which he owes millions, he got involved Ponzi scheme in in yet more scams via his online company Bensons Emporium. A jury at Reading Court heard how the Olive Press tracked him down via the details on his eBay him in March 2014, followed up by account and exposed the UK press. Two victims, who never received coins they had purchased, contacted the police after reading He claimed the case was all part our report. of an Olive Press conspiracy against him. The four-times convicted fraudster will now be sentenced on January 8.

Justice

Property

www.theolivepress.es

the Olive Press June 25th - July 9th 2015

January 6th - January 19th 2016

Sugary sweet saviour

German restoration company steps in to save iconic sugar mill from the bulldozers

Marbella 23 Real Estate Photos

23the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

December 10th - 22nd 2015

NEW on the Costa Del Sol Prices from EUR 90 + IVA Get those all important viewings with good pictures

EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan

MARBELLA’S crumbling sugar mill could be set for a sweeter future. At the eleventh hour, the town hall has entered negotiations with a German restoration company to save the iconic 19th century Trapiche del Prado and adjoining sugar refinery. Gifted to the town hall for public use by its former owner in 1992, the mill has been left to rot ever since. Plans to tear the derelict building down in the next few months have now been put on hold with restoration company Baudenkmalpflege Katrin Piejde keen to take on the project. “We consider the sugar mill an iconic structure and one that need not be demolished,” assistant manager Jean-Paul Piejde told the Olive Press. SWEET FUTURE: Talks ongoing to save Marbella sugar mill “Our company is one of the best building and restoration companies in the world and we are regularly brought in by politicians to help out. “If we can reach an agreement with the town hall we SPANISH houses are the second nosiest in standards but, prior to this, there were no would definitely be able to the world, a new study has confirmed. laws covering Spain. help with this project.” More than 80% of homes don’t have suffi- According to the World Health Organisation The news will be sweet relief cient sound-proofing according to the sur- (WHO), the recommended level of noise is to Marbella culture councilvey by Danosa, a company that sells sustain- 55 decibels during the day and 45 at night. lor Gema Midon after she able building solutions. In Spain, residents endure up to 65 decibels, expressed her desire to transSince 2009, new regulations required Span- second behind only Japan in developed form the building into a muish homes to be sound-proofed to European countries. seum or exhibition hall. “Rebuilding el Trapiche requires a huge amount of money and lots of time,” said Midon. “But we are looking at a long-term project and our 11+ first priority is to slow down the decay and reinforce the structure.” ALL PROPERTY MATTERS

Noisy neighbours

New tidings we bring

years experience in

RICS SURVEYORS & VALUERS BYBUILDING CAMPBELL FERGUSON

For peace of mind follow these property buying rules

Find Your Property Recent law changes will bring new challenges to Spain’s property owners in 2016

EW Year is a time to look forward to things that will be significant in the coming months … the perfect opportunity to look at recent changes in legislation and how they will affect property owners in Spain in 2016.

. Certificado de Eficiencia Energetica (CEE) National law states that every property for sale or rent must have a CEE (Certificado de Eficiencia Energética) for the sale to be fully registered. The onus is on the seller to provide a copy of the energy certificate that has been registered with the Junta de Andalucía. Beware that some less-than-scrupulous arquitectos are only providing the first stage, then charging more for the Junta Certificate! Many agents, solicitors and owners are risking substantial fines by not having this available when they start marketing, as the law says they should have. The certificate, which lasts for 10 years, should contain recommendations on how to improve the energy rating of the property. If the registered certificate is not available, the property sale should not be accepted by the Title Registrar, leaving the buyer at considerable risk as effectively they only have a private contract with the seller. The seller’s future debts could be secured against the property as he/she is still the registered owner, or the sale could be contested by another ‘buyer’.

Instruct

Building Surveyor Lawyer . Local Property Taxes (IBI) Before official electioneering had started, the Government announced that as from 1 January 2016, local property taxes (IBI) will be reduced by Buy with Knowledge as much 20 per cent in homes that are energy & Confidence efficient according to the following schedule. Grade A – 20%; Grade B – 16%; Grade C – 12%; Grade D – 8%; Grade E – +34 4%.Those in Grades 952 923 520 F or G, which is the grading of the majority Connect of with us! admin@surveyspain.com surveyspain.com properties we see in our building surveys or valuations, or where a certificate has not been submitted, will receive no rebate. We consider that it’s only a matter of time before the lowest grades are taxed higher, so the energy rating will become more significant in property sales.

. Title Registry Changes In June 2014 the Spanish Government announced their intention of merging the Title Registry and Catastral data to achieve more accuracy, with Titles eventually incorporating Catastral plans. Now that has become a law requiring a topographical survey of all properties where the Catastral or Nota Simple descriptions are different, or are being changed. Where you see a note stating that the Catastral description has not been graphically coordinated, buyers and sellers should be wary. It could be another obligation that the seller will have to comply with before a sale can be concluded.

Contact Campbell and the team on +34 952 923 520 or email info@surveyspain.com

Franco falls STREET names that honour Francoist figures are being torn down from Madrid buildings. The Spanish capital is to change 30 such names honouring the former dictator and his regime. The Comprehensive Plan for the Memory of Madrid was approved in December by the city’s town hall, including the Podemos-backed Ahora Madrid, the Socialist PSOE and Ciudadanos. In 2007, Spain’s Historical Memory Law called for the removal of Francoist names and symbols from public buildings, but the ruling PP council didn’t comply.

www.marbellarealestatephotos.com

24 the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015 24

Property

the Olive Press June 25th - July 9th 2015 www.theolivepress.es January 6th - January 19th 2016

RAMPS OF SHAME: Spain’s worst disabled access ramps

Ramp rage Housing group slams government over access for disabled

A NATIONAL housing group is demanding changes to building laws in order to improve disabled access. Thousands of elderly and disabled people living in Spain are being denied adequate access to their homes, a housing group has protested. The Professional College of Administrators of Buildings of Madrid (CAF) is demanding the government amend the law. To support their argument, the group has released a series of photographs demonstrating the worst disabled ramps in Spain. Currently over 70% of the country’s buildings are inaccessible to wheelchair users. Online realtor Idealista puts the problem down to bad MILLIONS of Spanish homes don’t have insurance, a new planning, rushed construcstudy shows. tion and a lack of empathy for The report by Direct Line Insurance reveals that 8.4 million people with disabilities. houses in Spain are not covered. To highlight the plight, CAF The same study shows that a further 10 million Spanish has published a guide to raise homeowners don’t know how much they are insured for. awareness and break down The average insurance policy covers damage of €107,000 both physical and mental with the highest number of claims in Extremadura (49%), barriers connected with disMadrid (44%) and Andalucia (40%). ability.

Insurance issue

Costa del Century This month, let’s take a trip 100 years back in time to trace the rise of Spain’s favourite holiday and second-home destination

TRETCHING 175 kilometres from Manilva in the west to Nerja in the east, the Costa del Sol is the queen of Spain’s holiday hotspots encompassing over 100 beachside and inland destinations. It’s hard to believe so much has changed in little more than a century. At the end of the 1800s, the province of Malaga’s traditional economies - the iron and textiles industries, overseas wine trade and even the agricultural sector - were all failing in rapid succession. As a last resort (sic), a group of Malagueño worthies set up a society in 1897 to promote the region’s year-round sunshine to the nascent tourism industry and drum up an alternative source of income. By 1918, the great and the good (as well as the unwashed) could take a dip from the Costa del Sol’s first public bathing beach, Baños del Carmen, which opened east of Malaga. The first golf ball to find the region’s rough was hit on the course near Torremolinos, now part of the Parador de Malaga Golf, not far from the airport, in 1925. The Spanish Civil War, followed by the Second World War, saw little but fighting on the beaches for the next decade. But soon after hostilities ended, first the Marquis of Ivanrey, Ricardo Soriano, and then his nephew Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe, bought country estates around the village of Marbella – home to just 900 back then – and began to lay the foundations for the Costa del Sol’s first

resorts: El Rodeo in 1943 and Marbella Club in 1954. The world beat a path to the door. First (class) off the plane were Hollywood stars like Grace Kelly and Marlon Brando in the 1950s, followed by a gaggle of European aristos and artistic types in the ‘60s, along with regular, royal visitors including Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd who first came to Marbella in the 1970s. Malaga-Costa del Sol International Airport inaugurated its first purpose-built passenger terminal in 1968, opening the floodgates to charter flights packed with package holidaymakers from northern Europe. Cranes sprouted along the coast from Torremolinos west, as tourism took root and skyscrapers filled with hotel rooms and second homes by the sea changed the face, and the faces on the streets, of these former fishing villages In 1970, visionary property developer (and chum of Franco), Jose Banus, cut the red ribbon at Puerto Banus, buoyed by kilos of caviar and the strains of Julio Iglesias kicking off the first of the port’s

The Propert y Insider b y Adam

Neale

jet-set parties, before turning his gaze and his diggers inland to develop Nueva Andalucia. The Costa del Sol’s golf valley is home to the highest concentration of the area’s 60 courses today. By the 1990s, Marbella’s most infamous mayor, Jesus Gil, had installed his ample rear in the town hall hot seat, overseeing nearly a decade of corrupt municipal management that, to a lesser extent, was copied along much of the Costa del Sol during the bad old days of ‘brown envelope’ urban planning. Today, the Costa del Sol remains Spain’s top destination for Spanish and overseas holidaymakers and holiday-home buyers. Andalucia welcomed nearly 8.5 million of Spain’s 64.9 million tourists in 2014. In terms of property sales, close to 319,000 homes changed hands nationwide in 2014. Over 63,700 were in Andalucia, with the lion’s share on the Costa del Sol. By the end of the third quarter of 2015, sales registered in the three-month period were the highest in the last two-anda-half years, leading many to believe a recovery is finally underway. Foreign buyers were involved in 13% of property sales, an all-time high and a huge increase over 2009’s 4.24%. In the first half of 2015, flush thanks to the strong pound and the UK’s economic optimism, Brits represented 19.8% of overseas buyers, many of whom have found the home of their dreams somewhere on the Costa del Sol.

Terra Meridiana. 77 Calle Caridad, 29680 Estepona. Tel: +34 951 318480. Office Mob: +34 678 452109 Email: info@terrameridiana.com. http://www.terrameridiana.com

Top Dollar www.theolivepress.es

25 January 6th - January 19th 2016

Pump it up

AT AUCTION: Banks

Going, going, gone SAVINGS banks rescued by a multi-billion EU bailout are raising hundreds of thousands from pawn-shop auctions. In the wake of Spain’s economic crisis, cajas - or savings banks - have returned to their roots by regrowing their pawn-brokerage business as a way of accessing revenue. “This is where and how our business really started, so we’re returning to our origins,” said Santiago Gil, Director of Caja Madrid’s pawnshop, the Monte de Piedad de Madrid. The non-profit Caja Madrid Foundation, formerly owned by the failed Bankia bank, raised €909,000 for social projects at a recent jewellery auction by its pawn shop. A gold bracelet featuring diamonds and sapphires brought in €27,500.

Cheapest prices at the pumps since 2009 send motorists into overdrive MILLIONS of drivers are enjoying record-low petrol prices. With the average price of diesel costing €0.984 and a litre of unleaded coming in at €1.149 as of December 22, Spain is experiencing its cheapest prices since 2009. According to an ABC survey, the cheapest leaded petrol in mainland Spain can be had for €0.978 a litre at a Binéfar petrol station in Huesca. Prices of petrol and unlead-

ed have gone down 6% and 13.5% respectively since last year. The plummeting prices at the pumps are thanks to the price of Brent Crude oil dropping below €35 a barrel for the first time since 2008 in worldwide markets. And they are expected to stay low for decades to come, with OPEC warning oil prices won’t return to last year’s level of €92 perhaps for a further 24 years.

A summer holiday bookings bonanza is on the cards for Spain according to the UK’s leading travel trade group. ABTA’S Travel Trends 2016 report has pointed to a surge in Britons heading to the Med this year. The improving British economy, a strong pound and the threat of terrorist activity elsewhere has boosted holidaymakers’ numbers. The report states: “Western Mediterranean destinations, in particular Spain, are set for a bumper year with bookings for summer 2016 tracking ahead of previous years as 2015 comes to a close.” The study also praised new laws brought into Magaluf in 2015 that are helping to gentrify the notorious Spanish destination.

SUMMER TOURISTS: Heading to Spain

Nurses, engineers and business analysts are set to be in high demand in 2016 as Spain’s economy grows, experts believe. Employment agencies Hays and Randstad Professionals are predicting these sectors will boom, with the EU forecasting 450,000 new jobs for Spain this year. Madrid, the Basque Country, Valencia and Catalunya are expected to see the highest growth, with Andalucia lagging behind. The Hays report said: “Andalucia hasn’t taken off yet. They still have a lot of work to do to create a steady number of jobs.”

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POLITICAL uncertainty is taking its toll on the Spanish stock market with stocks falling by 2% on the opening Monday after the general election.

SPAIN’S Consumer Price Index remained stagnant in 2015, according to figures published by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.

Perfect plan RECORD LOWS: Recorded at the pumps

CHRISTMAS presents are landing back on the shelves almost as quickly as they flew off them. Europeans take an average of three out of five gifts back to the shops within a month of Santa’s visit. The busiest day for gift exchangers was December 27, leading to it being dubbed Takeback Tuesday.

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January 6th - January 19th 2016

Trade secrets Court to probe insider trading allegations against ex-Abengoa CEO

A FORMER CEO of stricken energy giant Abengoa joined a US investment firm who made millions from his old company’s collapse, it is alleged. Manuel Sanchez Ortega left Sevilla-based Abengoa in May to join BlackRock, the world’s largest investment firm. In August BlackRock, which has around €3.73 trillion of assets, took short positions against Abengoa on the market worth 1% of its working capital. The deal made BlackRock millions and helped accelerate Abengoa’s demise with liabilities of around €25 billion in Spain’s biggest ever bankruptcy case. Spain’s High Court is now investigating allegations of insider trading against Sanchez. It will also look at severance payouts received by Sanchez and former Chairman Felipe Benjumea following complaints from Abengoa shareholders. UNDER SCRUTINY: Abengoa ex-chief Manuel Ortega It is not all doom and gloom for the green energy giant though, after it ecured a €106

TAXING FACT

million emergency loan as it tries to stave off Spain’s biggest ever bankruptcy.

Crippled

The thermal solar power and electrical engineering firm announced that the loan from creditor banks will be used to pay salaries and maintain current operations. The cash injection offers a temporary reprieve and comes after Abengoa was left crippled by its expansion into clean energy. Its financial liabilities are thought to be around €25 billion.

SHAMED: Reyal Urbis boss Rafael Santamaría

SPAIN’S tax agency has named and shamed thousands of debtors who owe billions of euros. La Agencia Tributaria (AEAT)’s report shows 4,855 people and businesses owe €15.6 billion euros. Estate agents make up much of the debt, with the largest amount - €378 million - owed by Reyal Urbis. The second highest debt is owed by construction company Nozar, at over €203 million.

AGONY ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Take cover from unauthorised insurance company products

M FINED: Property firms

Double flat fines SPANISH authorities have hit two accommodation rental giants with heavy fines for ‘publicising illegal properties’. Barcelona Town Hall slapped €60,000 fines on Airbnb and Homeaway for advertising accommodation that wasn’t authorised by the Registry of Catalan Tourism. The fines included a €30,000 charge for not responding to the administration’s requirements. They are the first fines levied since the summer when the town hall announced plans to ‘reduce the negative impact of tourism on the city’. Airbnb has said it will appeal the decision. The town hall used a new software tool, known as araña web (web spider), to locate the unlicensed flats online.

UCH has been written about unregulated IFAs (Independent Financial Advisers) operating in Spain. In 2012, The European Commission was considering appointing an ombudsman to help expat victims reclaim against these firms, while Spanish regulators the CNMV (financial investment) and the DGS (insurance) regularly post warnings about unregistered operators. The CNMV is particularly proud of its achievements in the supervisory arena. Its website boasts: ‘Spain enjoys a modern, efficient regulatory and surveillance system, but we must continue working to perfect it.’ Whatever surveillance system the CNMV is working on to perfect, its methodology has failed to prevent the activities not just of unregulated IFAs but also of unauthorised insurance companies. Let’s take the example of Old Mutual (former Royal Skandia), a FTSE100 company ‘overseeing 319.4bn assets under management for more than 16 million customers worldwide (as at 30 September 2015).’ In Spain, Old Mutual operates via the companies Old Mutual International Life Ireland Limited (Dublin) and Old Mutual Wealth Life & Pensions Limited (Southampton), the only group companies authorised by the DGS. On the Costa del Sol, Old Mutual is known for offering a life assurance policy called Executive Investment Bond (EIB) which has, incidentally, lost millions to investors. Yet for some reason, the EIB is being offered in Spain through IFAs by Old Mutual International Isle of Man Limited, a standalone company registered in the IOM but not ‘passported’ - meaning not registered, in regu-

Holes in the system

latory jargon - into Spain to offer any product, whether insurance or financial. The same applied to its unauthorised predecessor, Royal Skandia Life Assurance Limited (based in IOM), which also offered the EIB. For its part, article 4.2 of the 2004 Insurance Supervisory Act states the following: Insurance contracts and other legal arrangements subject to this law signed or agreed with an unauthorised entity, or an entity whose authorisation was revoked, will be null and void. A person that having entered into a contract with it will be under no obligation to pay the premium and will have a right to obtain a refund of any paid premium. Corporate lawyers are always quick to point out that registered entities forming part of a group of companies are autonomous and separate from each other, regardless of whether they share common brand or names. To this extent, Old Mutual Isle of Man (and Royal Skandia Isle Of Man) should have been registered in Spain and where not, all of its contracts could be null and voided by Spanish Courts.

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.es

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

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BUILDING

Game on!

Gaelic football heals social fractures in Jerez, writes Olive Press blogger Luke Andrews

JUMPING FOR JOY: Gaelic football used to tackle gender stereotypes AN Telmo has often been described as a town within a city. It is one of Jerez’s most infamous barrios, that was absorbed by the city as it expanded. With the highest unemployment rate in Jerez and situated in a natural depression in the ground generously called ‘The Hole’ by locals, San

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Telmo has remained apart, as attested to by its own postal code, 11408. On a quick visit you will see its name splattered across walls in black paint, and cafes overflowing with locals, and locals only. “When I told people that I work there, they told me that it is an awful area. The kids are very bad,” commented one expat working at the local school. The dire situation has led to the township becoming sealed off. Inhabitants rarely consider leaving it, and few visit. Yet somehow, Gaelic football found its way into the barrio. The local school took the decision to adopt the sport to combat entrenched sexism, and introduce its pupils to a foreign culture. “We wanted to remove social and gender divides, as well as introduce pupils to a culture outside San Telmo,” stated the project organiser. Gaelic football was settled on as the ideal engine to implement the change. As an unknown pastime, it does not THREE KINGS: Prolongs Christmas cheer in Spain come with the social stigmas of other sports. The school claimed that this could help establish equality of the sexes. They placed both girls and boys on the same teams to encourage equality, and tasked pupils with developing fantastic posters about the sport. As a result, the school’s inner-building is now heavily decorated with reminders of Gaelic football. A lot of energy has been invested to really establish it as its own AM writing this issue’s column during the night before will have you reaching for sport. the festive No Man’s Land between the Alka-Seltzer. And I regret to inform you The game’s foreign nature imChristmas Eve and New Year’s Day. It’s that I have yet to find the perfect breakmediately forced pupils to turn the time of the year when you aren’t fast burgundy. their eyes over the border. Dereally sure what day of the week it is, al- In the UK, Christmas celebrations are veloping this awareness is key though to be honest, as a freelance jour- over by January 2, but here in Spain we to encouraging children to fornalist that applies pretty much to every like to prolong the festive season for as mulate aspirations for the fuother time of the year as well, especially long as possible. Three Kings on Januture, and encourage tolerance as it relates to deadlines. My many exas- ary 6 is the final day of celebration, with of other cultures. perated editors will vouch to the fact that I Spanish children traditionally getting their “We have a child here who am very much a follower of the late Doug- presents the night before. wants to study medicine now,” las Adams, who famously quipped “I love The evening is marked by the procession commented the organiser with deadlines. I love the whooshing sound of the Three Kings, which for a grumpy a beaming face. they make as they fly past.” bachelor like me is something of a living As well as playing the sport at This is also the time of year when it is so- hell, with sugar-crazed kiddies dashing break times, the kids have also cially acceptable to eat chocolate, scoff around, and little ones and grown-ups been involved in matches. They have played against the Cadiz mince pies or finish off last night’s bottle alike fighting for the sweets thrown out by Gaelic football team. first thing in the morning. (Again, as a the Reyes themselves. It will also be in“In the future we hope to confreelance journalist this applies pretty teresting to see if anyone decides to ‘don tact clubs in Ireland and begin much to every other time of the year as blackface’ as Balthazar this year. Madrid a cultural exchange,” said the well, although chocolate digestives tend banned the practice last year and Malaga organiser. to take the place of mince pies.) footballer Rudd van Nistelrooy got himself It is fantastic to see how our After intensive testing I can reveal that in all kinds of trouble a few years ago for own Irish culture can be utithe After Eight mint is the most easily di- doing the same. lised to promote equality and gestible chocolate at 9am, but steer well Enjoy the last of the celebrations. Persontolerance. Perhaps we will see clear of the Ferrero Rocher. The crunching ally I won’t be venturing out from the Caflamenco in Irish and British noise that they make the morning after sita till after Valentines! schools very soon.

Mince pies in hand, the Christmas No Man’s Land period is a weird and wonderful time of the year

Holiday haze

X Lotto lift The Olive Press’ www.theolivepress.es

monthly youth and education sectionthe Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

treme

Rural school in cash-strapped village hits El Gordo jackpot

CHILDREN and teachers from a small rural school are jumping for joy after bagging €300 million in Spain’s El Gordo Christmas lottery. With just 140 pupils, secondary school students at Emilio Manzano in the Alpujarras can expect more than just new books when they return from the festive break. Beginning as a way to raise money for a Year 10 summer trip, the school in Laujar de Andarax sold almost 800 tickets. “The money will change the school and the pupils lives,” said headteacher Maria Villegas. “We were sorting out Christmas grades and suddenly we got this surprise. “Parents are coming here in tears.” sity of Navarra business report. She added: “This part of the Dean of the university, Jordi Canals, said Alpujarras has been so badthat many multinational companies are ly affected by unemploytargeting MBA graduates from Asia - in parment and the crisis, so this ticular Hong Kong and China - as a way to is really going to help the extend their global reach. village bounce back.” Plans for a trip to Italy have now been shelved, with pupils urging their teachers to fly them to Miami.

Asian takeover SPANISH universities are seeing a decline in the number of MBA students heading into multinational companies. Demand for postgraduates from Asia is impacting on the number of jobs available to European graduates, according to a Univer-

Biker generation

ON YOUR BIKE: Budding Chris Hoy

KIDS in Spain are more comfortable on two wheels than most of their European counterparts. Along with children from Holland, Denmark and Germany, Spain has been applauded by the European Union for teaching children the benefits of cycling. A nationwide campaign to boost cycling in Spain began at the turn of the century, where just 1% of children commuted to school by bike, according to an EU report. That has leapt to almost 15% with specific cycling lessons in primary schools.

EC job boost BRUSSELS has announced it will plough €11.8 billion into educating and training thousands of young unemployed Spaniards. The European Commission project means 187 training projects will be fully funded from 20142020. The EC hopes that a million people will benefit from the training, with around 50% of young Spaniards out of work. European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, said: “I am confident that this programme will make a positive difference to many people in Spain where unemployment – and especially youth unemployment – remains a pressing challenge.”

essentialmagazine

16 years FUTURISTIC: Robot teachers from Spain

1999-2016

RoboProf

ROBOTS are being flown in from Spain to teach international students in Abu Dhabi. Humanoid, flying and pet robots are all part of the staff at Merryland International School in Musaffah. In total there are 50 robots teaching everything from maths and medicine to engineering and dance. And with most of the models coming from Spain, Merryland headteacher Vijoy Varkey thinks it is just a matter of time before Spain’s own classrooms are run by robots.

w w w. e s s e n t i a l m a g a z i n e . c o m

32 32

T Salud

the Olive Press 32 November 11th - 25th 2015

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NEW YEAR, NEW YOU!

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All uphill from here How downhill skiing can whizz up your well-being PURE mountain air, winter sunshine doses of vitamin D and a great workout for the body are just three benefits of skiing the Sierra Nevada. And that doesn’t include the mental and psychological benefits of freestyling it down the mountainside in an exhilarating winter wonderland setting. Although the dry mountain air is low in density and humidity, it has huge benefits for your lungs. While six hours exerting yourself on the slopes can burn up to 3,000 calories, meaning you could lose up to 2.5 kilos in just one week. And there are many other physical benefits. Stomach muscles get toned as you engage core muscles to keep your balance on slippery slopes. Skiing is also a great cardiovascular workout, whether you’re a beginner or ad-

Do it for the dog

FULL OF FITNESS: Skiing in the Sierra Nevada vanced: racing downhill increases heart rate, ups circulation which burns fat and reduces hypertension and cholesterol levels, while the mental benefits are just as important. Essex University researchers have identified self-esteem benefits from the first five minutes of the endorphinreleasing activity, which has also been found to enhance memory, capacity for concen-

tration and social skills. “Skiing is great for family health. It’s an activity you do with your family, with friends or loved ones, which makes you feel great and has good emotional health benefits,” said Baqueira Beret resort health director, Aleix Vidal. So snap on those boots and head off for the piste because it’s snow joke - as well as a buff body, skiing can give you a beautiful mind.

ALONGSIDE diets, giving up smoking is one of the most popular new year resolutions. And now there is even more reason to stub it out, with research warning just how bad smoking is for your pets’ health too. Researchers at the University of Glasgow found that pets living in smoking households may be at greater risk of cell damage, some cancers and weight gain. Cats specifically are most at risk from smoke exposure, possibly due to their selfgrooming regime causing them to ingest more tobacco toxins. Professor Knottenbelt said: “While you can reduce the amount of smoke your pet is exposed to by smoking outdoors, stopping smoking completely is the best option for your pet’s future health and well-being.”

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

January 6th - January 19th 2016

Promising everything from better well being to preventing cancer, Kangen water is the latest health-fad to sweep the world. Swapping tap water for its alkaline equivalent, Rob Horgan goes in search of a new lease of life

Drink up J

Theatre music IT must go down as one of the most bizarre musical performances of all time. Spanish jazz musician Carlos Aguilera played his saxophone to 16 doctors during a 12-hour operation to remove a tumour from his brain. With a piece of his skull removed, doctors from Malaga’s Carlos Haya hospital instructed the 27-year-old to play his alto sax to help them ensure his musical ability was not hampered as a result of the operation. It was the first time this kind of surgery had taken place in Europe and surgeons say it was a success.

www.theolivepress.es

APANESE hospitals pioneered it, Harley Street surgeons make their patients sign a contract to drink it and Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg swears by it. Kangen water -- or alkaline water -- is the latest fad for healthfanatics looking for the next source of wellbeing. Replacing regular water with ‘live water’ has been linked with preventing everything from being bloated to leukemia. So when the LeveLuk R Kangen medical device turned up at Olive Press headquarters, it is fair to say I couldn’t wait to give it a go. But before enjoying a healthy lease on life, I was left stumped (and quite wet) by my attempts to install the device, which re-

FAN: Miranda Kerr

Dry eyes in the winter months Leighton Griffiths, Store Director, Specsavers Opticas Marbella

ANUARY’S cold winds, wet weather and central heating can all play havoc with your eyes, leaving them feeling dry, gritty and bloodshot. Symptoms can lead to longer term problems if left unchecked, therefore this month, the team from Specsavers wanted to explain dry eye and offer a few hints to help prevent eye soreness over the coldest months of the year.

What is dry eye?

The term “dry eye” is used when we don’t produce enough tears or our tears evaporate too quickly. People with dry eyes often have plenty of water in their tears but not enough oil. Dry eyes can be caused by heating and air conditioning, windy and cold conditions and certain medications.

How can it be avoided or reduced?

Don’t get dehydrated - Cut back on the cof-

fee and drink more water, use eye drops and sprays to add extra lubrication. Wash your hands before touching your eyes to prevent cross infection from the viruses in coughs and sneezes which can inflame your conjunctiva – the clear membrane covering the whites of your eyes, leaving them feeling irritated. Reduce the setting on your central heating, avoid car heaters, especially at face level, and sit away from direct heat such as gas or electric heaters. Keep the sunglasses handy – As the sun is low in the sky at this time of year and can be uncomfortably bright for drivers and sunglasses reduce this and protect against UV radiation. Winter is a great time to get your eyes tested as poor light conditions can make you susceptible to eyestrain. There are Specsavers Opticas stores in Marbella and Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol, visit www.specsavers.es to find your nearest store and book an appointment.

HURRY

sembles an early R2-D2 model. But just one YouTube video later and I had (somewhat) successfully fixed up the device and was ready to drink my way to better health. And so for the next four weeks I replaced tap water with Kangen water in a bid to be revitalised. The theory is that maintaining a higher bodily PH level is key to better hydration, which leads to improved general health and can even prevent certain diseases. While most tap water has a neutral PH level, alkaline water has a PH of up to 9.5 bringing the body inline with the ‘perfect’ PH level of 7.4.

Champions

And while Kangen has its sceptics it also has its champions. Many of Harley Street’s top surgeons encourage their patients to use it in order to speed up recovery times. Equally, it is the only type of water readily available in Japanese hospitals. And alkaline water even has its celebrity fans, with Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg and model Miranda Kerr refusing to go near anything that does not have a high PH level. And while four weeks was perhaps not long enough for me to feel completely revitalised I did feel slightly perkier. And if nothing else it tasted much better than Sabinillas tap water.

The LeveLuk R retails at €1,180, or can be bought on hire purchase from €50 a month. For more information contact Jacinta Hannon of Global Independent Enagic Distributor on 670628468 or jacinta@kangenrunningwater.com.

ends 10 ! t JAnUAR h Y

Please see red stickers in store indicating reduced frames. 1.5 scratch-resistant single vision lenses selected. Other lenses and Extra Options available at an additional charge. Cannot be used with other offers. One pair of complete glasses only. Excludes reglazes, contact lens products, non-presciption sunglasses and safety eyewear. Offer ends 10 January 2016. ©2016 Specsavers. All rights reserved.

OLIVE PRESS – 105mm x 256mm – Colour

6th January

WATER WORKS: For Wahlberg and (below) kangen machine

Painless pain relief MUSCULAR pain and tension can be a thing of the past without a single stretch required! Somatics is a way to release chronic muscular pain and tension by performing simple movements anyone can do. It is an active learning process allowing your body to move freely, creating new and improved movement patterns and natural posture. The Somatics movements re-produce the three natural stress reflex patterns our bodies ‘take hold of’ and help us to let go of them. They are corrective ‘exercises’ that retrain your brain to retain your muscles by gently working via the nervous system. Most chronic muscular pain is down to ‘sensory-motor amnesia’. What this means is that muscles have simply forgotten how to let go and relax to their full resting length due to the way we habitually sit, stand and move, or through accidents or injuries. Years of developing poor movement patterns start to take their toll and then we are often mistakenly told it’s down to getting old! In fact, we have merely subconsciously learnt to hold our bodies tight, which brings on back, neck, shoulder and hip pain. The good news is, these learned patterns can be reversed. Unfortunately no amount of stretching, rolling or massaging will get the muscle to remember where it used to be. Sure, these moves feel great to do but muscles are controlled by the brain so it is at the brain level that we need to teach them to let go. The moves are very easy and relaxing to do, you are in control of your movements guided by your coach. Group classes and private home visits are available at www.somaticsgibraltar.com

Request an eye test online at specsavers.es or by calling your local store.

Marbella 952 863 332 Avda. Ricardo Soriano 12 Fuengirola 952 467 837 Avda. Ramón y Cajal 6

Top Salud

3434the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

Learn from mistakes

SPAIN’S patient safety regulatory body is doubling its efforts to stamp out medical errors in the nation’s hospitals. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation said eradicating the number of errors in relation to anesthesia was a priority for 2016. According to the World Health Organisation, the European Union reports approximately 750,000 medical mishaps per year. A spokesman for Spain’s regulatory body said that the number will only decrease through ‘proactive work’ “Unfortunately, the traditional approach to medical errors is focused on blame and punishment. This makes it difficult for health organisations to learn from mistakes,” he said. “Our commitment is to spread a patient safety culture in anesthesia, critical care and pain management throughout all hospitals in Spain.”

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January 6th - January 19th 2016

Fitness fever

After a six-year slump, Spain’s fitness sector finally picked up in 2015 and is set to get even better

Somatics comes to Gibraltar! Do you suffer from back, neck, shoulder or hip pain? Do you suffer with painful sciatica? Are you stuck at a desk all day? Do you have trouble sleeping? Would you like to improve your posture? Would you like to improve your game of golf & other sports?

If you answered YES, come and try something different!

GYMTASTIC: Spain’s fitness sector is predicted to grow this year

Somatic movements are very relaxing and easy to do; they are also very effective at releasing pain and tension in the body. In class you will learn skills to help you take care of yourself for years to come!

Charity cheer

Classes will start 11th January, visit www.somaticsgibraltar.com or call Sarah 00 34 678 968 954 for more details.

A COSTA del Sol charity has fed dozens of underprivileged children over the Christmas period. The Duquesa Charitable Society of St George donated a cheque for €1,850 to the Emaus social kitchen in Estepona to provide Christmas food parcels. The charity has also begun a collaboration with the Hogar Betania shelter in La Linea and provided €2,217 for new toilet and bathroom facilities. A Christmas Gift Campaign provided 500 gift bags for children identified by social services in Manilva, Casares and Estepona.

*Special first time offer!* 5 classes for the price of 4 (£40!)

Dr. Bjørn Abraham-Nilsen, DDS Dr. Tonny Nielsen, DDS

· Your high quality english spoken dentists in Alhaurin El Grande ·New Campus BUDDING UK physiotherapists will get a chance to learn their trade with one of the best football teams in the world. Staffordshire University and Barcelona F.C. have reached an agreement to allow students to visit the footballing giant’s training and medical facility a year. Avda. Gerald Brenan 37-2D, 29120 Alhaurin elonce Grande The university’s Professor Spain . Tel. 952 499 366 Vish Unnithan is already working on a project relating to body fat levels with Barcelona’s first team.

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Vaccine verdict THE results of a new Ebola vaccine tested on 40 volunteers in Spain should be announced in January. The vaccine was tested for the first time in Europe on volunteers at a Madrid hospital. When the same vaccine was used on 4,000 people in Guinea, the World Health Organisation said it had been 100% effective.

SPANIARDS are digging out their old running trainers and heading back to the gym. A nationwide push to promote fitness has led to a boom in the sector after six years of decline. And the industry is predicted to see even greater growth in 2016. There are currently 4.9 million people signed up to gyms in Spain, according to the EU, putting Spain’s fitness industry in Europe’s top five. Currently worth €2.13 billion a year, EU forecasters expect the industry to improve by a further 10-20% in the next 12 months, largely due to a recovering economy and a tax hike from 8% to 21% in the sector. Alongside Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the UK make up 65% of the European gym market, according to the EU report which estimates that there are 4,300 gyms in Spain, providing jobs for 59,000 people.

Self commitment This New Year, resolve to put yourself first…

HE old year is gone and the new one is here. What is your resolution for this year? What about your commitment to yourself? Being the most important person in your life? Putting yourself first on all levels - body, mind and soul? Does that sound selfish? On the contrary, only when we are well balanced ourselves can we be there for others without any underlying agenda. Only then are we capable of showing them the way, without needing or wanting something in return so we feel better. As we grow in knowledge and wisdom, we come to understand that no one can give us what we appear to lack, (love, the attention of the partner etc) except ourselves. If we feel that lack, we know we first need to turn inward to fill the perceived void before we can retrospectively show others the way. So first commit to yourself in 2016. Then your life will change. Next time, when you do something for somebody else, ask yourself why. Is it because you expect something back? If yes, be aware you are on

dangerous ground as you just set yourself up for huge disappointment and resentment in the future. Expecting something in return, especially in a relationship, is one of the prime reasons it can fail as we expect our partner to fill the gap. How often do I hear: ‘I do all those things for him/her but he/she is never there for me.’ Question to self: Are you there for yourself? How do you expect others to attend to your needs and desires if you neglect them yourself? Or maybe you think you need to do something for somebody else so you feel a ‘good girl/boy’? Beware, you are skating on thin ice. You will never be able to make it right for all of the people all of the time. Only if you feel that you are a ‘good girl/boy’ at the very core of your being can you be free to assist others with no hidden agenda. Then you become a real asset, wholly concerned with their issues, not subconsciously mixing them in with your own and projecting it back on them. I wish you a spiritually prosperous 2016, when awareness becomes your power and authenticity your key.

Landline: +34 951 20 43 06 Mobile: +34 673 293 333 www.thesourceofwellbeing.com martina@thesourceofwellbeing.com

FOOD & DRINK

35 www.theolivepress.es

with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

The only English newspaper in Spain with a dedicated food and drink section every issue

Leon’s dens Chef of the sea gears up for two restaurant launches this year

ONE of Andalucia’s top chefs is planning to open two restaurants this year... one of which will be solely manned by women. ‘Chef of the sea’ Angel Leon is set to reopen the doors at the site of his old two-Michelin starred Aponiente restaurant in Puerto de Santa Maria in the Bay of Cadiz in February. Under the new name of Chef Taberna del Mar, the kitchen will be led by Leon’s former pupil Sonia Arjones, who spent two years under his wing in the kitchens of Aponiente. In fact, the entire kitchen will only comprise female members of staff. WOMEN ONLY: For Leon Serving mainly tapas and rations, Leon promises a few old favourites will make it onto the menu. In a separate venture, Leon is also lining up a restaurant THE government is considering introducing fines launch in Sancti Petri in Chifor households who throw away ‘too much’ food. clana. Launching in March, Spain is the seventh worst offender in Europe for Alevante will be more like throwing away food, according to an EU report. Leon’s flagship restaurant On average, every Spanish home bins 76 kilos of Aponiente which moved to food (worth €250). Now the government is conan old mill in the Bay of Cadiz sidering measures to curb the waste, similar to last year. those already in place in Belgium and France. Alevante will be situation in Tighter restrictions on food disposed of by superHotel Melia Sancti Petri, one markets is also up for discussion. of the region’s top hotels.

Waste not, want not

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

Shelling out THE Costa del Sol may be rife with seafood but Spain is importing more fish from abroad than ever before. And a large amount of it is coming from familiar shores. UK food secretary Elizabeth Truss is celebrating ‘an excellent year’ for food and drink exports, sighting seafood purchases by Spain as a major factor. “The demand is out there and in recent years sales of all kinds of British products have soared,” she said. “America wants our London dry gin, China is choosing British cheese and Spain is buying seafood from our coasts.” While the official figures are not released until March, industry experts are predicting 2015 as a bumper year for British exports.

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

FOOD & DRINK www.theolivepress.es with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

Former Jamie Oliver chef opens Italian restaurant in La Linea EXCLUSIVE By Tom Powell A FORMER protege of Jamie Oliver is taking La Linea by storm with his own Italian restaurant. Benito Farsi, who previously lived in England, launched the Perejil Grill in spring of last year. He honed his craft working for his pal Oliver at his Jamie’s Italian restaurant, as well as his London steakhouse, Barbecoa. “I have worked with Italian food for the last 20 years and learned a lot working with Jamie,” said Farsi. “We went to Italy’s Amalfi coast to train. “I set up the restaurant here because I didn’t think there was any good Italian food in the Gibraltar area.” Perejil Grill is located in what used to be the oldest bar in La Linea, right in the centre of town. Farsi previously set up an Italian restaurant at Hotel Sindhura in Vejer de la Frontera before looking for a new adventure. “Everything I cook is Italian, 100% fresh and I use a wood grill which gives a beautiful, aromatic flavour,” he added.

Churros ‘n’ chopsticks YOU may be forgiven for thinking churros were reserved for Spain’s late night revellers coming home from a night on the tiles. But it appears the sugary breakfast snacks are also full of eastern promise. Singapore is the latest place to have fallen in love with the stick-shaped donuts, with six takeaway bars opening in the city in the last two months alone. In fact, the owner of the latest bar, Mr Churro, claims to serve up to 700 rations every day.

Jamie’s Italian protege

PALS: Benito Farsi and (inset) Jamie Oliver

Authentic italian Bar & Antipasti

Food finders A SPANISH startup company is setting up local food producers with ready-made customers. Mobile phone app Luraki acts as a matchmaker, hooking up buyers and sellers based on their location and preferences. The app also traces the origin of the food, enabling the consumer to understand the whole field-to-table story.

perejilgrill Perejilgrill

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FOOD & DRINK with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

Farmers form vigilante groups to stop gangs poaching their produce

Olive wars

LOOT: Police recover stolen carload of olives

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FARMERS are fighting back after a spate of olive and olive oil thefts. The price of olive oil in Spain surged by 50% last year, making it a steal on the black market. Now criminal gangs are plundering hundreds of tonnes of olives and thousands of litres of olive oil. Smashing through gates and fences with large vans, criminal gangs swoop in at night and make away with SOMETIMES you just need numerous carloads of proto pack your bags and get duce. away from it all. But growers are not going Thankfully there is now a down without a fight. Formguide to the best rural resing vigilante groups in Antaurants for when you head dalucia and Extremadura, off into the wilderness. the national farmers union The Country Chef by Rursays it will do all it can to alKAHoteles compiles the defend its stock. best restaurants and chefs in “Gangs are becoming more the country that can only be organised; where once they found off the beaten track. stole the odd sack of olives, Among the first batch of eatnow they are making off eries to be uploaded to the site are two from Andalucia. with exorbitant amounts Boutique hotel Hospederia la from the trees themselves,” Era’s El Ganan restaurant in said Juan Metidieri, head Cordoba gets the nod for its of the Association of Young eco fare while in Nijar, AlmeFarmers in Extremadura ria, Mandragora is selected (ASAJA). for its healthy-eating menu. “Farmers are having to orFor more info visit ganise night patrols to prowww.thecountrychef.es tect their crops,” he added.

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sport

January 6th - January 19th 2016

No going back now

Still banned REAL Madrid remain banned from the Copa del Rey after losing an appeal against their punishment for fielding an ineligible player. It comes as manager Rafa Benitez was sacked and replaced by club legend Zinadine Zidane.

TEN’s up

WINNERS: World champions Gisela Pulido and (inset) with Liam Whaley

Youngest kitesurfing champion bags tenth world title

BANNED: Mullera

Steeplechasing the dragon THE national sport council has suspended its second Olympic steeplechaser in as many months. Angel Mullera has been suspended for two years for doping, after a five-year legal tussle. The 31-year-old first came under investigation in 2011 after testing positive for banned substances. However a legal case in 2012 saw him reinstated to Spain’s Olympic team by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. That decision has now been overturned and Mullera has been stripped of a number of medals, including a European bronze. In December, fellow steeplechaser Marta Dominguez had her European silver medal stripped for doping.

A RECORD-BREAKING kitesurfing champion has won her tenth world title. Gisela Pulido, 21, was announced as freestyle champion by the Virgin Kitesurf World Championships after making the podium at all five events this season. Tarifa-based Pulido, who entered the Guinness Book of Records as the sport’s youngest champion aged just 10, has been training with Spain’s national gymnastics coach. Football clubs Racing Santander, Recre“I have never been so physiativo de Huelva, Jerez, Murcia, Albacete cally fit as this season,” said and Alicante are also named for owing Pulido. the tax man more than €1 million.

PHIL Neville has vowed to become a manager in Spain after falling in love with the country. Currently assistant to his brother Gary at Valencia, the former Manchester United midfielder is now determined to become fluent in Spanish. He said he is desperate to get a manager’s job in Spain, no matter which club. “I do not want to leave here, that is 100%,” he told Sky Sports. “I want to be a success and become fluent in Spanish not only me but my family as well because it’s just as important that they embrace the culture too.” “If somebody said to me, ‘You’ve got a job offer in England’ - which I have had over the last couple of months the thought doesn’t enter my head to go back,” he added.

Tax dodgers SOME of Spain’s top sports stars have been named and shamed for not paying their taxes. MotoGP star Dani Pedrosa (below) is by far the worst offender, owing the tax man a whopping €7.8million. Meanwhile former Barcelona footballer Gabriel Milito (left) owes more than €1.8 million in back taxes and ex-Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz has a debt of €1.3 million.

Pedrosa now claims Swiss residency in order to get around paying taxes in Spain. Much of his tax debt dates back to his days as a 250 rider when he was still resident in Spain. In total La Agencia Tributaria (AEAT)’s report shows 4,855 people and businesses owe €15.6 billion.

Blowing a Gael THE Gibraltar Gaels will be hoping to break away at the top of the table as the second half of the Gaelic football season gets underway. Playing on home soil, the Gaels will be taking on Costa Gaels and Eire Og Seville on January 16. The Gibraltar outfit currently sit top of the table on eight points, tied with the boys from Seville. Meanwhile the Costa Gaels have it all to do and will have to beat both Eire Og Seville and Gibraltar Gaels in order to keep their championship hopes alive.

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Brother

“Gymnasts make jumps with their strength, they don’t have a kite to help them.It helped me to see how gymnasts prepare, their discipline and sacrifice.” The win ended two years without a title for Pulido, who comes from Catalunya. During the season, Pulido’s punishing training schedule included four hours of abs, legs and arm work in the morning followed by four more hours in the evening. She often trains alongside expat Briton Liam Whaley, who she considers a ‘brother’ and who won the men’s freestyle category for 2015. Whaley’s father Peter owns the Hurricane hotel in Tarifa.

ON THE UP: Cycling

Question of sport SPANIARDS are throwing away their shinpads and splashing out on bikes instead. Cycling is now the most practised sport in the country, while football is on the slide, according to a ministry of sport report. While 39% of people said they had been cycling in the last year, just 22% said they had played football. Wannabe Rafa Nadals aren’t hard to come by with 54% of people owning a tennis racket, although just 25% admitted to playing tennis in 2015. Swimming is also on the rise (38% did last year), as is hiking (31%) and running (29%).

If you have a sports story, contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call 0034 951 273 575 LARGE SUNNY TERRACES FUN BOWLING AREA LIVE SPORTS SHOWN facebook.com/thegreenbarbenavista OPEN MON-SAT 10AM-8PM KITCHEN 10AM-4PM SUN 11AM-4PM

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Telephone: 951 273 575

CHILDLINE Andalucia is appealing for sponsors. The charity set up late last year and has launched a new website. For more information visit www.childlineandalucia.org

FINAL WORDS

advice

Expat call-up IRISH expat Gareth Morcombe has qualified to represent Spain in the 2016 FootGolf World Cup based on his performance over five European tour events.

January 6th - January 19th 2016

Sky high

Caught offside REAL Madrid star James Rodriguez was chased by an unmarked police car to the club’s training ground after the Colombian was clocked doing a reported 200 km/h on the motorway.

Covering Andalucia in 2016 with over 200,000 papers (130,000 digital) and around 500,000 visits to the website each month… The Olive Press just keeps growing!

BRAVE: Jose Ivars-Lopez

Corrupt politician claims suitcase filled with money was left by IKEA delivery man

A MARBELLA businessman swapped a month’s work for 30 days scaling the world’s eighth highest peak, the ‘pearl of the Himalayas’. Keen mountaineer and Europe boss of currency specialist HiFX, Jose Ivars-Lopez successfully climbed the notoriously tricky Ama Dablam, in Nepal’s Kumbu Valley. Only three members of the eightstrong team reached the top, after as-

Eye on

CORRUPTION

GOOD ONE: Granados

Relax.. Jacks got it covered

FRANCE - ITALY - PORTUGAL

cending 6,182m of snow, ice and rock. “Technically, it is extremely challenging, thought to be more difficult than Everest – you can lose your life,” Ivars-Lopez, 38, told the Olive Press. He claimed he was lucky to be unscathed after rocks of ice came careering at his head during one leg. “I had been wanting to do it for ages and it was a real achievement,” he added.

Briefcase of excuses

Sore head A 31-YEAR-OLD man was knocked unconscious after falling off the roof of a taxi in the early hours of the morning following a heavy New Year’s Eve in Madrid.

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IKEA has announced it will discontinue its popular ‘Voila’ briefcase with €1 million inside. It comes in response to a Spanish politician’s ludicrous claim that a money-filled briefcase had been left at his in-laws home by a ‘plumber or some delivery person from Ikea’. A search of ex-General secretary Francisco Granados parentsin-laws’ property turned up the million euros stashed in a briefcase. He had recently been jailed as part of the Punica investigation into bribery and corruption. Needless to say, the judge didn’t buy Granados’ explanation and refused him bail. In its satirical article, the Swedish chain announced that the ‘Voila was not profitable’. “One of the biggest blockONE of the world’s bigbusters of IKEA, a briefcase gest dance festivals will be full of money and designed taking place in Spain this to be placed in the house, will year. disappear from the catalogue The first ever Tomorof the famous Swedish comrowland Madrid will take pany this coming January,” place this summer, with the article read. the lineup and venue still The article also recommendto be announced. ed that all current Voila Spain joins Brazil, Belowners ‘should hide it out of gium and the US in hostsight and try to forget about ing the global dance muit’. sic festival.

Summer dance

CHANGE OF FORTUNE: For El Gordo winner

Golden ticket

ONE of the winners in Spain’s €2.24 billion El Gordo lottery is a Senegalese migrant who arrived in Spain on a raft in 2007. The 31-year-old man was one of the lucky winners from Roquetas de Mar in Almeria who scooped €4 million in December’s draw when the number 79,140 was drawn. Two more tickets in Sevilla and one in Cordoba won the second prize of €1.25 million . The world’s biggest lottery is a huge fixture on the Spanish national calendar, with 75% of Spaniards taking part.

Back to school for Ashya BRAIN cancer survivor Ashya King has returned to school full-time. His father Brett said he was ‘proud’ and that the sixyear-old has been ‘doing very well’ since undergoing proton beam therapy. Naghmeh and Brett King sparked an international manhunt in the summer of 2014 by removing their son from a UK hospital without medical consent for brain tumour treatment abroad. They were arrested in Spain and spent several nights in prison away from Ashya. The family of nine lived in their flat in Casares for almost a year before returning to the UK.

Do the can-can

WHEN it comes to a ‘can do’ attitude, the good folk of Algeciras win hands down for their ability to create art from a load of old rubbish. And this year they excelled themselves at the town’s annual can sculpting competition. A fire truck, a MotoGP bike and a wedding cake took the top three prizes in an amazing array of innovative and lifelike entries.

Taking home the top gong and €150, judges applauded Mari Paz’s attention to detail when constructing her ‘working’ fire truck. With ladder, hose, lights and mobile levers, it was Paz’s ability to incorporate moving parts that most impressed. In second place, Peter Verdaguer used different-sized cans to create a model MotoGP bike, while Miguel Angel Moreno took third prize for his wedding cake.

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TOP THREE: Algeciras can-sculpting competition