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Vol. 11 Issue 265
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Legendary Iggy Pop rocks Cadiz festival
Page 3
PARENTS are being urged to be on high alert after a number of alleged attempted kidnappings on the Costa del Sol. British expat Vicki Reid, 35, has taken to Facebook to warn people to be alert after she witnessed what she described as ‘any parent’s worst nightmare’ in Calahonda. In the week of the tenth anniversary of missing Maddie McCann, Reid, who was walking her dog with her son, noticed two men in a car closely watching a group of 11 to 13-year-olds playing in the street. The Riviera resident then spotted one of the men get out of the black Seat and pursue the group along Calle Siroco with a ‘very suspicious bottle of liquid in his hand’. To Reid’s horror, he then darted behind some trees to conceal his presence while the other remained in the car with the engine running.
Knighted Spanish psychologist reveals incredible life
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Droning on
The weird and wonderful uses for drones in Spain
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Eyes peeled EXCLUSIVE By Laura Duckett
Dr Frank
info@simply-shuttles.com
Alleged ‘child snatchers’ coasting the Costa del Sol on 10th anniversary of Maddie kidnap
679702_DFS_SPANISH_BOX_AD_40x40_MIJAS_COSTA.indd 23/02/2017 11:31 1
Lust for Life
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Detective work The hunt for false illness scammers begins
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SCENE OF ATTEMPT: Calahonda and (below) Seat Most suspiciously of all, when she shouted out to the children to be aware, the man stopped in his tracks before fleeing back to the vehicle and driving off. Reid then took the children back to her home where she called the police. “I’m still shaking and cannot believe what could’ve happened if I had not been turning
A paedophile, NOT parents killed Maddie Olive Press investigation See Page 6
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that corner at that precise moment,” she said. She described the man she saw as having shaved blonde hair, while his friend had darker hair. The car was black with some paw print stickers on the boot. This is just one of what is believed to be several incidents to have been reported along the
Costa del Sol in the last month. Estepona resident Jacqui Chamberlain has also come forward about her son’s frightening experience on Good Friday. The 12-year-old, who has not been named, was waiting for his sister outside her boyfriend’s house near the Plaza de Toros in the afternoon. Within minutes, a car went past and a man got out and asked him if he wanted any sweets. Chamberlain’s son immediately ran away. His mother reported the incident to the police where she says they told them there had been around five similar cases reported recently. “We tried to play it down because he was petrified - it scared the life out of him,” she told the Olive Press. “But we didn’t’ really know what to do – we didn’t have anyone to speak to because no one we know has had a similar experience. “What are you supposed to do, stop your kids from going outside? It’s hard when he has so many friends that live close to us. “You get this type of thing happening everywhere - I don’t think it matters where you are in the world. The most important thing is to spread awareness, because people just don’t believe it,” she added. Anyone who sees a car or men fitting the descriptions should call the police on 112 or contact the Olive Press at newsdesk@ theolivepress.es.
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PLEA: Ed Wilcox
Must speak English! By Chloe Glover
AN EXPAT has urged police to do more to help tourists who become victims of crime. Ed Wilcox, who has lived in Duquesa since 1982, is appealing for more English-speaking officers to be recruited for the Costa del Sol. Wilcox, a retired computer repairman, believes the number of English-speaking tourists justifies the majority of beat officers speaking the language. His appeal comes after he was randomly asked to act as an interpreter in crime cases TWICE in two days. Although only a passer-by, he was firstly asked to help translate for a British family who had been burgled in the Los Hidalgos urbanisation last week. “Both the local police and Guardia Civil were on hand and were very pleasant and efficient, but none of them was able to speak English so I was asked to translate,” said Wilcox, 75. The next day he was dragged into another case after four Norwegians had their passports, and a laptop stolen from their car at Supersol, in Manilva. “I know we’re in Spain but this area is benefiting from a tourist boom again and something needs to be done about the language problem. “They need to employ translators like those that are available in hospitals. “While the police are obliged to provide translators for court cases, they are not forced to provide one to victims of crime - it’s absolutely ridiculous.” On a recent visit to Manilva Guardia Civil barracks, the Olive Press was brought in to translate for a tourist, who had had his wallet stolen, taking a full 30 minutes. Malaga Police failed to comment.
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www.theolivepress.es News IN BRIEF
Food flight BRITISH Airways has delayed ending free food and drink on their short-haul flights from London’s City Airport following a legal challenge. The controversial move was due to take place in August but has now been moved back to October.
Unholy mess A 17-YEAR-OLD ‘devil worshipper’ has been arrested for allegedly scratching the numbers 666 on glass casing of a holy relic. She has also been accused of turning crucifixes upside down inside a church in Alicante.
Border crisis SOME 300 migrants tried to scramble across the fence separating the north African enclave city Melilla from Morocco. Several threw stones and other objects at police. Around 100 were able to make it into the city.
Globe trotters TWO new long distance routes are to be launched at Malaga Airport. Holidaymakers will be able to travel to Tel Aviv in Israel by June, while flights to Doha in Qatar will begin next year.
By Laura Duckett, Chloe Glover and Alex Brown
A TOURIST has allegedly been raped in broad daylight on one of the Costa del Sol’s most emblematic beaches. Police are investigating the assault which took place at Burriana beach, in Nerja, and whether the victim, a 37-year-old woman from Granada, was given a date rape drug. Fellow beachgoers were left shocked when two men assaulted the bather, who had apparently passed out on a sun lounger around midday. The men, 25 and 35, were arrested by police as they tried to flee the scene. Suspicions on whether the woman had been drugged are being probed after wit-
CRIME
In plain sight
Cops probe alleged broad daylight rape at emblematic tourist beach
nesses claimed the victim was in an inebriated, semiconscious state. Police are questioning whether the men in ques-
Killer who fled to Marbella jailed for 15 years A KILLER who fled to Marbella after a drive-by shooting of a rival drug dealer has been jailed for 15 years. Abdullah Amouri, 22, and Denny De Silva, 23, blasted Romario Green, 20, at close range in London, before fleeing to the Costa del Sol. An international manhunt located De Silva in Malaga, soon after the shooting in 2015, and he was jailed for 27 years for murder last year. Amouri initially eluded police, until he was located in Marbella, the following year. He was extradited and has now been found guilty of manslaughter for aiding the shooter De Silva.
tion gave her burundanga, a drug which completely eliminates the user’s decision-making abilities. Antonio Jimenez, employee
Poisoning alert AN urgent health warning has been issued after an outbreak of food poisoning from fresh tuna. The authorities made the warning after 21 cases of food poisoning were reported in Granada and Jaen after consuming freshly bought tuna. All those affected are said to have suffered itchy throats, headaches and vomiting. The tuna responsible was sold by Almeria company Garciden, with the batch number ‘170419003251’. All of it is being recalled and anyone who bought tuna between April 25 and May 25 is being advised to check it is not part of the Garciden batch.
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
of Rincon del Sol bar on the beach said: “I’ve worked here six years and it’s the first time I've ever heard about anything like this happening. It’s a very serious and sad case, but hopefully just an isolated one. “I’m not sure what the council and the police are going to do to ensure the safety of bathers in the future,” he told the Olive Press. Following the attack, the woman said that she didn’t remember anything that happened or how she ended up at the beach. It’s an incident which highlights the need for date rape drugs awareness, a topic on which the Olive Press launched a campaign last year. It comes after the Institute of Legal Medicine revealed that in 2016 there was a 35% increase in sexual assaults in Malaga alone.
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Stories and features in this edition of the coast’s number 1 English newspaper
Estepona gang lose €300,000 in raid OVER €300,000 en route to the Costa Del Sol has been seized after a raid in Dublin. Irish police found the cash during a raid of a Kinahan cartel ‘counting centre’ and arrested two brothers during the raid. Police also found a vacuum packing machine in what has been considered a ‘significant’ blow to the Kinahan gang, based in Estepona. The machine was allegedly used to seal money so police dogs could not discover it.
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
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Iggy Pop-tastic I GGY Pop strides onstage and throws the good people of Jerez, appropriately for him, ‘the bird’. Behind him, the band kick into the guttural chords of I Wanna Be Your Dog. Cue Motor Circus mayhem. That Iggy, legendary frontman of The Stooges, is still standing is a minor miracle. But as he enters the twilight of his career he leaves behind a body of work to rival any in rock and roll’s canon. And he’s here to play the hits. ‘Soy El Pasajero’, he roars, the Puerto de Santa Maria crowd ‘La, La La’ ing along to a blistering rendition of The Passenger. Search and Destroy, Lust For Life, Gimme Danger - Pop dispatches them all with undimmed enthusiasm. Almost 50 years after first prowling onto a Michigan stage, the iconic wild man remains a mesmeric frontman and performer. Earlier, Love Of Lesbian, the perennial Spanish
Boxer filmed ‘cooling off’ in Marbella fountain while training for Joshua superfight
PARTY: Matthews
Chelsea to Marbs A MADE in Chelsea star was on hand supporting his DJ girlfriend as she performed at a bikini show. Spencer Matthews, 28, was spotted supporting model Vogue Williams, 31 as she DJ’d for Irish swimsuit designer Virginia Macari's fourth couture swimwear collection at the exclusive Puente Romano Beach Resort and Spa in Marbella. As well as performing DJ duties, Ms Williams also walked the catwalk. The pair met on reality series The Jump, a competition which Spencer won.
HE is, not exactly, what one would describe as the fountain of all youth! Clearly overweight, the former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury has been filmed running through a fountain at night in Marbella. While the pictures might suggest he is just another inebriated tourist, he is in fact on a rigorous training camp at nearby Macklin’s Gym with WBO World middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders. Intending to shed the pounds in the run up to a fight with champion Anthony Joshua next year, he has been posting numerous videos and pictures on social media, including himself and Saunders running through
festival favourites, get the crowd warmed up with their breezy pop. The crowds are still filing in as the sun starts to dip, but the night is still young. Following Iggy, Crystal Fighters’ warm, folky anthems are well received. The English/Basquebased group are immersed in countercultural music. A scene-crossing blend of house beats, the psychedelia of Flaming Lips and Neutral Milk Hotel and the rhythms of their adopted Basque homeland, they are the ideal summer festival band. Finally, Fatboy Slim exhorts the crowd to ‘Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat’, and as 2am passes nobody’s thinking of bed. A huge monitor behind the British DJ flashes images which any reveller in an altered state would wholeheartedly appreciate. His dance set rounds off a fine day of top acts. Motor Circus has got Spain’s summer festival season off and running.
Fury makes a splash COOL DOWN: Fury heats up during training a fountain late at night ‘to cool down’. He claims to have lost 1.28
stone so far during the training and is now down to 26 stone in the run up to what he claims will
be his ‘easiest fight’. In the video on Instagram, he wrote: “Wow, this is how we train in #marbs2017. “Real cool down after running last night.” Fury also posted pictures of himself at the Barber Club in nearby Nueva Andalucia. The self-proclaimed 'Gypsy King' has not fought since dethroning world heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015. The fighter, who remains unbeaten in 25 bouts, relinquished his WBA and WBO titles after admitting taking cocaine and is currently suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control.
50 shades of Cheshire A Real Housewives of Cheshire star is to launch her 50-shades inspired fragrance in Marbella next month. Lauren Simon, 42, is set to debut the unisex perfume ‘Lauren Stone Number One’. Simon stars in the advert for the fragrance, in which she is seen rolling around a bed in a blindfold. The reality star claimed the advert was inspired by book, 50 Shades of Grey, adding: “We all like a bit of raunchy sex don't we?” The mum-of-two recently split from her millionaire husband Paul, 42.
Hinds On LINEUP
HINDS: Booked for MTV Calling
SPANISH all girl wondergroup Hinds are heading to Gibraltar. The Madrid band, who shot to stardom two years ago, are the latest act announced for the MTV Presents Gibraltar Calling festival in September. Hinds have become a staple of the festival circuit, with critically acclaimed debut album Leave Me Alone released in January 2016.
The Kaiser Chiefs are also confirmed to performing at the festival. The Leeds outfit, who played at the festival two years ago, are famous for hits I Predict A Riot, Ruby and Oh My God. Meanwhile, Jonas Blue, whose massive hit Fast Car was the highest selling single of last year in the UK, is also to play, with more acts set to be added.
NEW SCENT: Simon
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Super-doc sparks health rebellion
News IN BRIEF
Art on one’s sleeve
A CORRUPTION-battling doctor has launched a series of videos against financial fraud and corruption in Andalucia. Granada’s superhero-style medic, named ‘Spiriman’, has clocked up almost 100,000 views for his polemical Facebook posts. In his posts he takes on the Junta for misplacing millions of euros and un-
BREXIT has inspired a new mural by Banksy in Dover, Kent. The large piece can be seen by ships travelling to the ferry terminal and features a worker taking down one of the 12 stars of the European Union flag with a chisel.
Quids in A SEVILLA woman could receive a €2m inheritance after it was proved she is the biological daughter of Spanish noble and husband of the 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia, Jose Leoncio Gonzalez de Gregorio y Marti. Rosario Munoz’s mother, a servant, had an illegitimate relationship with Gonzalez.
Car Cr-hash OVER 400 kilograms of hashish was found hidden in a car that collided with another driver in Benalmadena. The driver of the car is said to have made a nervous phone call before running off.
Equality funds THE Official Gazette of the Andalucian Regional Government is to allocate €9.3 million to help promote gender equality. The sum allocated represents a 19% increase on last year’s allocation to equality programmes.
May 10th - May 23rd 2017
derfunding the health services. A&E doctor Spiriman, whose real name is Jesus Candel, 40, appears with trade unionists and other activists in the first of the El Cortijo series clips to be released. He argues that an incredible 80 hospitals could have been built in the region had all the money stolen by the authorities and politicians over
the last decade been used for health instead. He has been heavily behind a series of recent protests attended by tens of thousands of people demanding better hospital services in Granada. Andalucia has the worst life expectancy in Spain but also has the lowest budget spending on health at only €1,004 per person.
ACCUSED: PUJOL
Catalan leader had €70 million in offshore bank
No conspiracy! Diaz told to pipe down after two ex-Junta leaders join 22 for huge billion-euro corruption trial JUDGES in Sevilla have slammed Junta boss Susana Diaz’s claims that there is a conspiracy against the PSOE in Andalucia. It comes after two ex-Junta presidents were officially ordered to stand trial in the ERE case, that is set to begin this Autumn. In total, 22 socialist politicians, civil servants and the ex-leaders will face trial over the corruption case that involves the theft of almost one billion euros over
FACING JUDGEMENT: Grinan and Chaves a decade. Diaz, the current president insists she was not involved and claims the announcement of the trial was ‘politically-motivated’ to deflect attention away from the PP government’s own corruption problems. The scandal - that involved fake redundancy payouts and bogus company subsidies from
a shady slush fund - has taken over five years to unravel and get to court. Prosecutors in Sevilla are demanding six years in prison and 30 years of disqualification from public office for ex-leader Jose Antonio Grinan for alleged embezzlement of public money and prevarication. They are also calling for one
year in prison and 10 years disqualification for his predecessor Manuel Chaves, who served from 1990 to 2009, for alleged provocation. The other 20 figures face prison sentences and were all involved in handing out or taking €885m from the so-called ‘reptile fund’, which was run from the Junta’s coffers in Sevilla. One of those accused, ex-Employment Minister Francisco Guerrero had a ‘cocaine chauffeur’, who admitted to spending €25,000 a month on prostitutes and drugs. Under the scheme, hundreds received bogus early retirement payments, often for companies they had never even worked for. These payments came through the misuse of so-called ERE payments, which were meant to be special payments to help financially-troubled companies enact redundancies.
EX-Catalan president Jordi Pujol has been accused of placing €70 million in Andorran accounts. Pujol, his ex-wife Marta Ferrusola and their six sons are suspected of hiding the illegal cash between 1990 and 2014. Police have handed over a detailed report on the Pujols financial history to Spain’s High Court, in the lead up to a trial against the family. The report said: “The Pujols worked as an organised group developing a, presumably illegal, activity over a prolonged period from 1990. “They aimed to open bank accounts in a tax haven, to hide money of unknown origin, but presumably illegal.” Catalan figurehead Pujol was stripped of his political titles and honours in 2014 after he admitted hiding a multi-million-euro fortune to avoid taxes.
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A paedophile, parents killed
Voted top expat paper in Spain
A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than 500,000 people a month.
OPINION Brexits burning The decision of pro-Europe campaigners to host an anti-Brexit bonfire is welcomed by this paper, ensuring our voice is heard across the sea. As the fate of British nationals abroad or EU nationals at home are used as bargaining tools, it is important to remind UK politicians for many of us it is our lives they are playing with. It seems fitting on the anniversary of the referendum result to ensure those at home know the flicking candle of our EU membership still burns bright in Spain.
No stone unturned THE recent attempted kidnappings on the Costa del Sol serve as a dispiriting reminder of how important it is to follow up on all leads involving missing children. And in the wake of the 10-year anniversary of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, the timing could not be more pertinent. While hoaxes are not uncommon, most information comes from genuine people who are convinced they have seen Madeleine, or spotted a kidnap attempt. If it weren’t for these members of the public coming forward to talk to the police or the press, many investigations would have reached a dead end. The Olive Press was the first paper on the scene when Maddie was snatched in 2007 and it has been a story consistently close to our hearts. We have investigated over a dozen leads and genuinely hoped to crack the case. When sightings are reported - whether erroneously or not - it makes parents realise that in times of tragedy, they are not alone, because collaboration and publicity lend a huge advantage to crime-solving. Publisher/ Editor
Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es Admin (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es
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2016 Best expat paper in Spain and the second best in the world. The Expat Survey Consumer Awards.
2012 - 2017
Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.
May 10th - May 23rd 2017
I
RECEIVED the call at 7.15am from the Daily Mail foreign desk. It was a Friday morning as we approached deadline for one of the first editions of the Olive Press, then in its early fledgling stage. The daughter of a pair of British doctors had gone missing on the Algarve the night before. Could I get over and investigate? I was on the road half an hour later from Ronda, where we had our office, based out of a cowshed next to my home. As a stringer for Associated Newspapers in Spain, I was long used to these early morning calls that invariably led to wild goose chases around the Iberian countryside…but this journey would lead to one of the biggest news stories in history. It was a tale as sad as it was intriguing, and it would keep me in Praia da Luz where four-yearold Maddie went missing for the best part of a month. It would lead to over a dozen stories in the Olive Press linked to sightings and possible culprits around Spain, with a number making the front pages in the UK. There were claims that she was put on a ferry in Tarifa, claims she had been sold in Barcelona and even claims that she was living in a small village in Malaga province. There was even the deluded former deputy chief superintendent, who trolled long and hard from his villa in Andalucia, ‘convinced‘ that the par-
As the case of missing Madeleine McCann reaches its tenth anniversary, Olive Press editor JON CLARKE – the first journalist on the scene – analyses why her parents were not involved... and nor was he!
PROBED: Malinka and Murat ents were guilty. Finally - possibly in part, thanks to him - I would even find myself accused, more of which later. Of course, the best whodunnits are always complex and far-fetched. But for a couple of loving parents to murder their daughter, bury
Decade of digging The Olive Press has investigated the Maddie case on many occasions over the last decade via our own leads and those fed to us by the UK national newspapers. After a series of initial articles in 2007, we reported on various suspects and photofits issued in 2008 and again in 2013. In 2009 we investigated whether a British woman may have been linked to the purchase of a child in Barcelona at the time of Maddie’s disappearance. Two years later we looked into the claims of an expat reader that she had seen Maddie in a supermarket in Alhaurin with a man who she described as ‘looking like a gypsy.’ She was also allegedly seen with a Swiss couple on a campsite in Cabopino, but we finally tracked down the holidaymakers to discover it was their own ‘lookalike’ daughter. We also probed whether she had been seen on an Axarquia beach in 2011 and in May 2012 our search intensified after another expat claimed to have seen her between Torrox and Nerja with a ‘party of Spanish people.’ In 2014, we again investigated a claim that she was spotted in Nerja by an ex soldier. We also probed whether she had been seen taking a flight from Ibiza to Munich by a German holidaymaker, who had contacted Scotland Yard. Like most of our articles it was heavily followed up in the global media and led to former Met detective Ian Horrocks to praise us for continually probing the case.
Whodunnit
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News IN BRIEF
Top PP
MAYOR of Nerja, Jose Alberto Armijo, has been re-elected as president of the Partido Popular (PP) in Nerja for the fifth consecutive time, taking 97% of the vote.
Trashed THREE illegal settlements under the Nerja aqueduct have been dismantled and 200kg of rubbish removed from the site.
Sand savers TORROX council has asked the government to protect the town's beaches, two of which were badly damaged in the summer.
To visit the archive see http://www. theolivepress.es/spain-news/tag/ madeleine-mccann/
Thief caught THE main suspect in a string of summer thefts on Nerja's beaches has been arrested. It is thought the 23-year-old man hid in the rocky terrain waiting for opportune moments to strike.
AXARQUIA
Could it be Maddie?
September 18 - October 1 201411 11 the olive press - October 2- October 15 2014
Ex-soldier claims he saw missing girl by a Nerja pool, in the latest alleged Axarquia sighting EXCLUSIVE By Tom Powell and Joe Chivers POLICE are investigating another reported sighting of Madeleine McCann in the Nerja area. Former prison worker and military man David Fullman (pseudonym) spotted a blonde girl speaking Spanish in an English accent at the communal pool at the Tropicana apartment complex in La Herradura and was immediately reminded of Maddie. After checking the online photo fit, he immediately contacted police in the UK. “A Spanish couple were by the pool with a very Spanish daughter and a blonde, whiteskinned girl who looked English and spoke with an English accent. “I tried to take a photo but the parents were keeping an eye on me, it was obvious I was watching them so I didn’t
SPOTTED: The pool in question, and (left) a digital photo-fit
want to make a scene or appear to be a pervert. “She looked similar to the digital construction, but more like her mother.” Fullman, added: “I felt like I had to report this, even if it leads to nothing.” Maddie disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007. The Olive Press has reported on previous alleged sightings of Maddie in the Axarquia.
No bull in Malaga THE man who tried to paint 300 Axarquia houses pink is offering Malaga residents a chance to ban bullfights. Mayoral candidate Javier Checa – representing the Andalucian Party of Malaga – will hold a referendum on January 11 on Calle Pedro Gomez Chaix.
and cover all traces in an hour while on holiday is stretching it just a bit too far. But this didn’t stop the Portuguese police from charging them… and to this day, one notorious ex-detective continues to publish books claiming they were involved. No care that Kate and Gerry McCann were educated doctors with not a blemish on their names. That they were on holiday with two other families. And that they had invited the world’s press to help in the search. These are just some of the reasons why I am convinced the McCanns did not kill their daughter. It is perhaps too obvious to point the finger at the parents. After all, they say that in cases of child molesting and abducting, more than half the time it is family members to blame. But accusing them had more to do with the ineptitude of the Portuguese police investigation, which didn’t bring in specialists to pick up vital strands of DNA evidence strewn around the flat, until THREE months later. Then they seized the hire car of the McCann’s, found so-called ‘key, crucial DNA evidence on the back seat,’ and finally allowed them to have it back to drive around. And, of course, they allowed dozens of local people, including one of the main suspects, Robert Murat - and even me - to wander around the crime scene. Nor did they shut the border with Spain until the next day. From the word go, they did not take this crime seriously. And, in a way, who can blame them? Praia da Luz sits in the sleepy south west corner of Europe, just short of Sagres. There had been no kidnappings, murders, or any serious crime reported for three years, as it turned out. The Mark Warner holiday club that charged thousands to parents like the McCanns, did not even have security cameras, or secure premises. There was no suggestion of putting families on higher floors and anyone could walk right into the complex through a small side gate. All the more perfect for a predatory paedophile who lived in the area. I was completely shocked by the laid back manner of the local authorities who were dealing with the case that Friday morning.
Checa has pledged to halt the bloody tradition if he is voted into government next year and the vote comes out against bullfighting. Checa remarked: “For the first time one political party takes the pulse of Andalucian society to hear their opinion about the national festival and find out if the majority wants to end centuries of animal torture.” Checa has a reputation for ambitious projects after attempting to paint 300 houses pink, rename roads in honour of gay icons and create a park designated for
COLOURFUL: Exhibition
British expat Rose Johnson, 70, believes she saw the missing girl playing on nearby Penoncillo beach – between Torrox and Nerja – in the summer of 2011. Another Olive Press reader, Yvonne Tunnicliffe, claimed to be ‘100% sure’ that she had spotted Maddie at a Mercadona store in Alhaurin el Grande in 2010.
COVERAGE: The Olive Press has followed up countless leads
When I arrived at about midday I was firstly able to walk into the apartment, where I introduced myself to the McCanns and told them I would do everything I could to help. The only reporter on the scene till late that evening - apart from Sky News reporter Kay Burley, who happened to be on holiday there - I spent time grilling neighbours, before noticing that a road crew was still digging up the street to lay sewage pipes literally right outside the apartment. The trench was nearly two metres deep and three men continued to shuffle around inside it. Nobody had stopped them. Incredibly, we had to wait till late afternoon before a couple of sniffer dogs had arrived, which was amateur to say the least, given that Maddie had been reported missing a full 18 hours earlier. I am not going to be able to solve the mystery, but I am convinced she was snatched by a local paedophile, who had been watching
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paranoia that everyone felt in the resort that month. Whatever happened I am sure the McCanns could not have done it. Much has been made of the missing hourand-a-half window between 7pm and 8.30pm on May 3, between Madeleine being put to bed and the parents coming down to dinner. While Gerry was seen playing tennis, Kate was apparently in the flat . . . she must be guilty then? Not really. She was probably relaxing, having a bath, putting on her make up for the evening. One Portuguese tabloid claimed Kate had killed Maddie and then hid the body in the fridge of their apartment before ‘passing it through various locations’ and finally moving it in a hire car, perhaps on a ‘suspicious’ trip to Huelva three weeks later. But given that the apartment fridges are tiny, they would have had to chop her up first. Would they have then calmly sat at dinner with their friends at 8.30pm, showing no sign of a struggle or the anguish of murdering their daughter to their pals?
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Shovel
VANISHED: McCanns’ villa and Maddie (right) the family’s movements. It was sketchy and unsubstantiated, but It was coming to the end of their holiday. there was no doubt - as in any place where The fifth night they had put their children to northern European expatriates drift in their bed and gone down to have dinner with their hundreds - there were a number of bad eggs friends, all doctors bar one. among them. The apartment door was shut, but within Then, there was the Russian connection. Mueasy reach and in full view rat’s friend Sergey Malinka, of the road and the small vila handsome young man, lage had apparently very little who masqueraded as an escrime . . . until you scratched An English couple tate agent and had a numthe surface. ber of connections to boats. While there had only been told me there were I discovered he worked out one murder of any substance of a small office in Lagos, ‘half a dozen’ for nearly three years in the where the police had been area, there was, it turned out, paedophiles living the day before to find he had a seedy underworld inhabited suspiciously just wiped his there by numerous expatriates. computer clean. One woman told me how she He refused to comment, had been the victim of an atbut I discovered that he and tempted snatch at midnight in nearby Lagos Murat, who lived in direct sight of the Mada month earlier. A long term English couple, die apartment, allegedly talked a number who lived in a nearby hamlet, told me there of times within half an hour of the girl going were ‘half a dozen’ paedophiles living there missing. alone. While he was never charged, and Murat was One of these is still being sought. later exonerated, it summed up the sense of
FAMILY RESORT: Praia da Luz in Portugal
If they had killed Madeleine and then somehow driven her body away in the tiny time scale, they would have needed to have gone more than 25 miles – the distance from the resort sniffer dogs and police searched. That would mean driving for at least half an hour on the windy backroads inland from the Algarve. They did not know the back roads, nor a good spot to hide the body. How would they have hidden the body? Using a shovel? Hold on, would not there then be a shop somewhere that sold them a shovel? Is anyone still missing a shovel? If so, please call the Olive Press newsdesk. It is all so far fetched it is quite ridiculous. And then I got accused of being involved!!! It came after I inadvertently found myself interviewing a former nightclub bouncer in Huelva, who claimed he knew who snatched Maddie. A huge Angolan chap, he told me she had been taken on order and was now, most likely, in America. We double checked his credentials, ran it past Maddie’s family and published a carefully worded and, I believe, sensitive piece, which then of course got picked up by The Sun to be splashed on its front page. Not so sensitively. And all hell broke loose. Within a week there was a 5,000-word essay from an anti-McCann ‘troll’ named Tony Bennett, a solicitor, who was later found guilty of contempt of court over his repeated claims that the parents were guilty. In his article, still online, ‘Jon Clarke’s role in Maddie in US claim’, he made numerous wild accusations about me and my integrity, named my wife and children and even where I lived. He accused me of lying about the case, and crucially claimed I could not have got to Praia da Luz so quickly on the day after her disappearance. He suggested I was actually staying there. More alarmingly, it emerged, he had close connections to the aforementioned former UK police chief, who is still based in Andalucia. When I went to confront this ex-copper, who I vaguely knew, he refused to back down and thrust me a pamphlet entitled ‘What Really Happened to Madeleine?’, which gave 60 reasons insisting she was not abducted. It’s fair to say we do not see eye to eye, but he is sadly one of millions of people around the world who still think the McCanns are guilty. One thing for sure, it made me think long and hard about doing my job and how evil and pernicious the internet and its many trolls can be. I doubt the case will ever be solved, but I am certain the parents were not involved. And nor, should I add, was I.
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Costa psychologist knighted by Spain’s Royal Family reveals his extraordinary life story, writes Joe Duggan
SIR STAHL: At his knighthood
P
SYCHOLOGIST Dr Frank Stahl is describing what makes him tick. Knighted by Spain’s Royal Family for work in his field of expertise, the Fuengirola-based life coach has had more than his fair share of obstacles to overcome. After surviving being clinically dead twice, malaria, angina, alcoholism and 60 years in a wheelchair, you could forgive Stahl - commonly known as Dr Frank - for feeling life dealt him a tough hand. But not a bit of it. People, and their problems, are his mission. “What motivates me is all the people who call me 40 or 50 years after I see them and say, ‘Thank you so much’,” says the 71-year-old. “So many people who say, ‘Do you recognise me? You helped me’. You don’t need anything else.”
“A couple of days before I went into a bar, put in two or three pounds into a slot machine and won around €1,000,” he says. “I thought,’Ok, they probably want me to go’. I couldn’t even find the place in Segovia at first. When I got there they told me, ‘We’re waiting for you’. “I was told there was somebody already knighted and he would show me the routines. But I had seen what they were having for dinner and I wanted to get to that. “If somebody calls you Sir you are still you. You don’t become better or worse. If my mother wanted to call me Sir she would have called me that, instead of Frank.” Rubbing shoulders with the hoi polloi may discomfort him, but Stahl is most at home helping his patients - or friends, as he calls them. He even developed his own self-hypnosis technique - the Dream Walk - to fight the panic attacks he experienced following a car crash in Sweden. Life in a small community like Gibraltar has brought about its particular set of challenges for people, he says.
Altruism
This altruism has underpinned Stahl’s career as a life coach. Indeed, the generosity with which he has dispensed his expertise to patients unable to pay him saw him knighted by Spain’s Royal Family in 2004. More recently, Dr Frank has become a social media phenomenon. Teaming up with Gibraltar marketing expert Chris Gomez Stahl’s Facebook page is attracting thousand of visitors a week. The verbose Stahl is compulsive viewing. Fag in hand, he delivers his monologues in a warm, Scandinavian burr and with an effortlessness that 45 years as a psychologist has given him. “I understand what it is the patient needs within five or six minutes,” says Stahl. “I have ADHD, and have many ADHD patients. I enjoy working with people when they have bad confidence, when they are scared.” Gomez has now set up Stahl’s YouTube page, as anxiety-ridden expats, Spaniards and Gibraltarians turn to Stahl for guidance in these troubled times. His psychologist skills have seen him called in as an expert witness at court cases in Sweden, Denmark and Spain. The weight of newspaper cuttings from his homeland speak volumes. His style is refreshingly direct and irreverent. Self-effacing and funny, the German-born Swede has an instinctive feel for the patient’s needs. “A lot of patients come in and think they are worthless,” says Gomez, who films
Physically dead for 90 seconds, he experienced an out-of-body sensation
IMPRESSIVE: Frank Stahl (left) and cuttings from the volume of papers he has appeared in Stahl’s Facebook videos. “Frank is able to hone in on what they are good at. And the hardships he has endured have allowed him to develop the psychology and address the whole spectrum of problems people have.” The hardships -
Stahl dismisses the word - have been many. From the age of 12, arthritis forced him into a wheelchair. As a young actor, he overcame the alcoholism he used as a crutch to combat stage fright. Aged around 40, he was physically dead for 90 seconds, experiencing an out-of-body sensation that Stahl describes as ‘the most lovely feeling in my life’. A bout of malaria contracted in Tunisia levelled
him. As well as ADHD, he has had some 200 heart attacks as an angina sufferer. Despite these setbacks, Stahl has an outlook on life that can be described as ‘devil-may-care’. His knighthood by Spain’s Royal Family is a case in point. Modest to the last, it is clear the mere mention of the honour embarasses him. In fact, Stahl almost didn’t even go to the Segovia ceremony.
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“There are people who live in a shabby little place and can’t get anything better,” he says. “There is also a lot of anxiety because people talk too much about each other. People know too much about each other here. “And there is a lot of ADHD here. Compared to Spain and Sweden it is higher, I don’t know why, but it is.” His own physical trials and tribulations certainly haven’t held him back. An Aikido expert - ‘he can kick someone’s ass from that wheelchair’, says Gomez - he is a published writer and speaks seven languages. In fact, Stahl believes he has achieved so much because of the difficulties he has experienced, not in spite of them. “I think I am privileged being ill all the time. It has made me so strong,” he says. “Even if I have a really bad day, I am sitting at home writing books and having fun. Either you see yourself as poor little me, or you say,’What can I do with my life’?” To find out more visit: www.facebook.com/AskDrFrank/
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Big cheque for small children LA Cala Lions Club has donated €1200 to a group supporting local children. The Lion Club presented DRANG (which stands for Diversión, respecto, amistad, naturaleza y generosidad), with the cheque for local activities, overalls, a changing tent and wellington boots. The charity helps underprivileged children from the ages of 4 to 11.
Giving back A MARBELLA clinic has teamed up with charities to perform surgery on 25 Kenyan patients. A team of six medical staff from Ocean Clinic Marbella went out to Kenya on a five-day reconstructive surgery camp last month as part of its ongoing mission to ‘give back’. Head surgeon Dr. Kai Kaye said: “I can change lives in Kenya and have much more impact than I can here in Spain, where nobody lacks basic medical services or care. I call it part of our social responsibility.” Kaye said one of the highlights was performing knee surgery on a young girl called Maryam, who thanks to the treatment, hopes to learn to walk again.
Dictator’s remains set to be exhumed from controversial burial site near Madrid By Joe Duggan
GENERAL Franco’s body is set to be removed from his Valle de Los Caidos tomb after a vote in Spain’s parliament. Deputies were expected to vote to support the Socialist PSOE motion to exhume the dictator’s body from the controversial site near Madrid. The public site was constructed by thousands of Republican prisoners and is the final resting place of 33,000 Civil War victims. His body is now set to be disinterred and, most likely,
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EXHUMED: Franco
os, ERC, PNV and Bildu with only the right-wing PP voting against it. Granada PSOE deputy Gregorio Camara said: “We have to take this step forward, to comply with the law and establish new ways of developing.
Victory
taken for a private burial at his family’s estate in Galicia.
The motion was supported by Unidos Podemos, Ciudadan-
PRobe over Nazi salutes at funeral MOURNERS are under investigation after giving fascist salutes at a funeral near Malaga. Madrid government representative in Malaga Miguel Briones, is currently gathering information on the funeral of ex-Franco minister Jose Utrera Molina in Nerja last month. It comes after dozens of attendees are said to have raised their arms and sang the fas-
cist hymn ‘El Cara al Sol’ outside the church where a service was held. The event could be considered a crime under the Historical Memory Law if deemed to have been public. While the Junta insisted it did not have enough evidence to presecute, Briones has not yet reached a conclusion yet.
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
“There is nothing in this law that can be rejected from any democratic point of view.” Socialist leaders Adolfo Suarez, Felipe Gonzalez and Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero have all previously failed to disinter Franco’s body. Every November 20, farright supporters visit Valle de Los Caidos to pay homage to Franco Falange party founder Jose Antonio Primo De Rivera at a Mass. “It would be impossible to carry out the process of rebranding Valle de los Caidos without removing Franco and ensuring the remains of Primo de Rivera don’t occupy a prominent place,” continued Camara.
THIEVES have stolen approximately €800,000 worth of mobile phones from a warehouse in Malaga. The group are swaid to have smashed cameras inside the building before making off with the goods.
Take Over THE Andalucian president and candidate for the PSOE primaries, Susana Diaz, has said that she wants her party to ‘take over’ the country. Speaking in Sevilla, she added Spain ´deserves it and needs it´.
Buen provecho SPAIN will host next year’s The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. The 2018 Basque location marks a return to Europe for the prestigious annual gourmet gathering. This year three Spanish restaurants made it to the top 10 of the list.
Very irrigated WORLD Wildlife Fund has said World Heritage Site Donana is at risk due to large levels of irrigation. The organisation slammed the emergence of 251.9 hectares of irrigated crops as illegal.
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Have you got real Specs appeal? The hunt is on to find the best looking spectacles wearer in Spain. Expats and locals are being urged to take a selfie in their glasses and enter Specsavers Opticas Spectacle Wearer of the Year contest. Open to all glasses wearer over the age of 16, the opticians hopes to find people who really express their style and personality through the glasses they choose. The lucky winner will become Specsavers Opticas model of the year and bag a €1,000 cash prize. Five semi-finalists from different age categories will each win a pair of designer frames worth €159. Enter the competition, which closes to entries on June 11, via Facebook at or online at en.specsavers.es/loveglasses.
Huge increase in cycling accidents ‘a major concern’ for tourists and associations
Bullfight cancelled A CONTROVERSIAL bullfight has been pulled after a large campaign. Animal rights activists celebrated the cancellation of the event in Rota, which would have been the first fight in 12 years. Mayor Javier Ruiz Harana took the decision after various protests and an online petition on Change.org, signed by almost 16,000 signatures. The town’s IU party, in coalition with the mayor, also insisted that local rules forbade any event with live animals. The mayor blamed the cancellation on ‘bureaucratic processes out of the control of the council.’
Wheel concerns
MOTORING accidents involving cyclists have more than doubled since 2009 across Spain. The number of serious crashes increased from 3,469 to 7,186 from 2009 to 2015 (see graph, right). The period has also seen an increase of 33% in hospitalisations from 489 people in 2009 to 652 in 2015. A BRITISH expat is in intensive care after a serious bike crash that killed two people in Spain. Scott Gordon was taken to hospital after the accident on the Costa Blanca, which killed two cyclists from a local triathlon club. The oil worker was one of three members of the Athletic Llebeig Club in-
Between 50 and 75 cyclists die each year on Spanish roads with 664 having died between 2006 and 2015 alone. Over 60% of the crashes are not the fault of the cyclist. “We cannot go on like this... How many people have to die for just laws to be put in place? Respect the cyclist,” said former professional road racing cyclist Joaquim
Cycle of death
jured in the crash some 60 miles north of Alicante. Police in Gandia have arrested a 28-year-old woman on suspicion of manslaughter and serious wounding. She tested positive for alcohol.
Rodriguez. “More cycle lanes need to be introduced and urgently around Spain,” added Amy Watton, of travel booking site HundredRooms.com. Much of the increase is due to the large increase is the rise in cyclists, with 20% of Spaniards claiming they cycle. For this reason director of cyclists organization Con-
Bici and Luis Montoro, Professor of Road Safety at the University of Valencia, urged caution to ‘not spread alarm’. However a lack of infrastructure on large roads and lack of road safety campaigns has also been cited as a source of the problem. Meanwhile a petition was handed in to central government last year for improved safety measures. It comes a fortnight after another Around one in five British cyclist Bryan Stout, 86, was of Spain’s populakilled by a drug driver while on a cy- tion list the bicycle as their mode of cling holiday in Mallorca. Stout - a member of the London Cy- transport, with citcling Campaign and Stop Killing Cy- ies like Valencia clists - was killed instantly by the and Zaragoza surreckless 48-year-old driver near Port passing that figure with around 45%. d’Alcudia.
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Legally sound Around 600 lawyers have signed a manifesto in favour of holding a referendum on Catalan independence. The lawyers say the Catalan Independence referendum conforms to the constitution, and gave full support to the calling of a vote. The signing took place at the Bar Association, with the lawyers declaring it ‘ legitimate and legal’. UAB Constitutional Law professor, Merce Barcelo, stated that the signers are in a position to affirm that the referendum is not a legal problem, but a political one. Catalonia's Minister of Justice, Carles Mundo, was also present at the signing of the manifesto.
May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Malaga Politicians seeking harsher sentences for animal cruelty Politicians in Malaga are to seek harsher sentences for animal cruelty. Partido Popular MPs Avelino Barrionuevo and Joaquín Ramirez are to start the process of having the changes en-
Andalucian Premier tops Socialist party endorsements Andalucian Premier Susana Diaz has received the most endorsements from party members ahead of this month's election. Spain’s Socialist Party will go to the polls to vote on the party’s general secretary in an election set for May 21.
shrined in law. They would introduce an aggravated subtype for cases involving a large number of victims, as well as for groups which are supposed to protect animals. Under the plans, prosecutors
Poll position CANDIDATES: Diaz, Lopez and Sanchez
Councillor breathes new life into coalition A Velez-Malaga councillor expelled from the Ciudadanos party for testing positive on a breath test has joined the Socialist party. After sitting as an independent for seven months, Antonio Moreno Ocon has now joined the PSOE, giving their coalition with the PA and GIPMTM overall control
would be able to ask for a longer prison sentence than the current limit of 18 months. Mr Ramírez said: “It won't happen immediately, but we will do what we can to get it through.”
of the Velez-Malaga town hall. Mr Ocon had been expelled in 2015 after being caught three times over the blood alcohol rate while driving in Torre del Mar. Mayor Antonio Moreno Ferrer said: “I believe in a person like Moreno Ocon who comes here to work in Velez-Malaga.”
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Ms Diaz received 63,610 endorsements, but is only 6,300 signatures ahead of former general secretary Pedro Sanchez. Patxi Lopez, a former Basque premier who also worked as speaker of Congress, came a distant third with 12,000 endorsements. The PSOE has been without a leader since October of last year, after an internal party revolt prompted Mr Sanchez to walk out. The power struggle and
aftermath was dubbed by Spanish press as the the war of the roses. Endorsements were overwhelmingly geographical, with with party members in Andalucia mostly backing Ms Diaz, who received 26,551 signatories in the area compared to 8,818 for Mr Sanchez.
Compete
Catalan members reversed the trend, preferring Mr Sanchez with 6,058 endorsements with Ms Diaz receiving 974. All three candidates will compete at the party primaries where a new leader will take over from the interim management team that has been heading the PSOE since Mr Sanchez’s departure.
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Theresa May has accused European politicians of making ‘threats’ against Britain to try to influence the general election result. In a speech outside 10 Downing Street, Ms May suggested those in Brussels wanted Brexit talks to fail and that the European press had ‘misrepresented’ the UK’s negotiating stance. She said: “Britain’s negotiating position in Europe has been misrepresented in the continental press. “The European Commission’s negotiating stance has hardened. “Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials. “All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on June 8.” Ms May´s comments refer to reports in a German paper of a Downing Street dinner with EC President Jean-Claude Juncker, during which he said she was ‘delusional’ about Brexit.
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www.theolivepress.es US rescue team’s mission to save burned sailors on Gib-bound ship has ‘one of the riskiest ever’ EXCLUSIVE interview By Joe Duggan
IT was one of the most dangerous missions they have ever had to undertake. Braving three-metre waves and gusting winds, the rescue team summoned iron nerves to parachute out of their military plane in the dead of night. Out to save a crew of badlyburnt sailors in the heart of the Atlantic, the risks could not have been higher. “This was definitely one of our most difficult missions,” explained Major Boughal, of the US Air National Guard. “There were definitely periods where things could have gone south really fast.” Speaking for the first time, the leader of the 106th Rescue Wing mission, based in New York, told the Olive Press, how the perilous mission had to be carefully planned. After a five-hour flight on an HC 130 Hercules plane, the crack medical rescue team arrived at the Gibraltar-bound vessel the Tamar, some 1,300 miles offshore. They had jumped into action after an emergency call had gone out following a mystery
up to
Saved at sea HEROES: US rescue team (main) , the Tamar (left)
explosion that killed two crew members and left another two badly injured. “We are trained to jump from 3,000 ft, but we had to jump from 1,400 ft,” said Technical Sergeant Jordan St. Clair. “That is not a lot of time to get
ready for hitting the water. The moon was also not lighting up for us, so it was very dark. But you truly don’t have time for fear to set in. These guys are trained to use fear as an asset.” Major Boughal added: “That was definitely the risky part. We are deploying at an altitude half of what we trained
for. “Once the ramp opened it was just blackness. You couldn’t even see the water. We just knew how low we were because the pilot told us “Once you get to jump phase it is all mission focus. One step at a time. Especially when it is that dark. ‘Do I have a good
May 10th - May 23rd 2017 chute?’, ‘Where are the other jumpers?’ “Collisions can be potentially fatal at that altitude. On our jump there were a couple of moments where I was thinking; ‘Where are my guys’, because it was so dark?” In total, five pararescuemen - known as PJs - and two officers from the Air National Guard were involved. The first four-man team leapt at three-second intervals from the Hercules, using glow sticks to mark their landing spot in the waves below. Wearing protective fluorescent suits to guard against the Atlantic’s icy waters, the team inflated their Zodiac dinghy, gathered their equipment and travelled 500 metres to the Tamar. “When we got there we found the crew badly burned on their face, arms, legs and hands. Initial report was they were meditating, talking and were mobile. But we knew the end state. Their lives were absolutely at risk. “They probably only had a few hours to live.” After securing the two patients’ airwaves and administering a cocktail of drugs, three PJs left with the burned sailors on a Portuguese rescue helicopter towards Lisbon 36 hours later. An inquest into the deaths of the two Filipino sailors will be undertaken by Gibraltar coroner Charles Pitto after their bodies came ashore on the Rock last week. The US air rescue wing was born out of a World War Two rescue mission in Burma and was responsible for saving downed pilots in Vietnam.
13
Let’s be friends THE German Government believes Brexit marks an ‘historic opportunity’ to reach a ‘sensible’ agreement over Gibraltar. Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Spain and Britain’s dispute over the Rock had lasted centuries. However, he refused to state the German Government’s position on Spain’s claims over the territory. “We want a friendly and sensible political agreement between the states that are politically facing up to each other, in this case Spain and the UK,” said Schafer. “Perhaps the process that starts now for the UK’s exit from the EU is an historic opportunity to approach this question and clear it up once and for all.” Last week, a leaked document showing the Spanish government plotting to axe Gibraltar’s tax status sparked fury. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo slammed the plans, blasting the PP government’s ‘neo-colonial aggression’. “Gibraltar will, as ever, continue to seek dialogue over Spanish vetoes and will seek cooperation and friendship over Spanish aggression and belligerence,” he said. Meanwhile, the Cross Frontier Group (CFG) has agreed to expand its membership to include business groups from the Campo de Gibraltar and Cadiz.
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14
G reen
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Aiming high By Chloe Glover
Minimum impact SUSTAINABLE constructions are to get a huge boost in a major green campaign. The Junta is pumping €75.9million into financing environmentally-sound and long-lasting projects in Andalucia that will come to fruition before 2020. José Sánchez Maldonado, head of the department for employment and business, revealed the funding, which has been drawn from the region’s energy agency. Some of the money will also go into renovating existing buildings to make them more green, installing thermal insulation to bring down energy use and ecoair conditioning. The investment makes up part of the Junta’s new threepronged energy efficiency program, whose other two parts, focusing on small and medium enterprises and ‘intelligent networks’, are due to receive €227m co-financed by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund. The plans for these areas will be revealed by the Junta by July.
A PETITION has been launched to get a Costa del Sol mountain range recognised as a national park. Over 15,000 people have already signed the campaign on Change.org to grant Estepona’s Sierra Bermeja the status jointly with neighbouring Sierra de las Nieves in Ronda. It comes after the Junta lodged a proposition to only turn Sierra de las Nieves into a national park, despite the wishes of a group of academics and eco-campaigners who created the Sierra Bermeja Parque Nacional platform. The group insists Sierra Bermeja's diverse ecosystem is more in need of the protection and conservation measures offered by
Petition launch ramps up campaign to get Costa del Sol mountain designated as a national park
the status as it is the only place in the world where pinsapo (fir) trees grow on red peridotita rocks. But it decided to back a joint instead of singular mountain range bid as they believe is more likely to lead to success for Sierra Bermeja. "We are heartened by the amount of signatures we already have as it highlights the importance of this mountain to the peo-
ple," said Maribel Marin, a Sierra Bermeja Parque Nacional campaigner. "But we want to encourage everyone to sign it to really show to the officials the amount of support for our campaign. "At the moment Sierra Bermeja only has parque natural status, which we do not believe affords it adequate protection against risks such as fires. "It would be tragic if we lost a unique habitat forever due to a lack of this." The platform plans to send the petition to both the Junta and Spain's National Park Organisation, which decides which areas can receive the special status. To sign the petition, go to www.sierrabermeja.com
Save the cats MARBELLA Hard Rock Cafe has pledged to support big cats conservation with Bioparc Fuengirola. The Marbella franchise has signed an agreement with the Bioparc Foundation to support conservation programs it participates in around the world, initially donating almost 1,000. It’s hoped that there will be a change in the traditional zoo model as being an exhibitor of exotic animals to a place where serious problems about conservation are addressed. Hard Rock Cafe Marbella is part
of one of the most iconic chains in history, and their support of the cause will bring awareness to people across the globe. Of the six subspecies of tigers that exist today, the Sumatran tiger is the most threatened species. During the twentieth century three of the nine species of big cats became extinct: the Bali tiger, the Java tiger and the Caspian or Persian tiger. Of the six remaining subspecies, all of them are in danger of extinction.
CAMPAIGN: To save big cats
ANDALUCIA RESERVOIR LEVELS This week: 53.50% Same week last year: 60.55% Same week in 2006: 60.49%
Greening the future AN INTERNATIONAL climate change conference has burst into action today. Sixty renowned speakers from across the globe have descended on the Congreso Internacional sobre Cambio Climático in Huelva. A three day event, it hopes to find solutions to stop the destruction of the environment. It comes after Spain’s public prosecutor announced that Andalucia is ‘particularly sensitive to the consequences of climate change’ due to its ‘thousands of kilometres of coastline, pastures, high mountains, wetlands and deserts. Low energy and sustainable cities, greening the energy sector, education, consumption, agriculture and water use will be some of the topics discussed at the event. It has been organised by the Junta and a team of academics mostly from Andalucia.
17 YEARS
Art isn’t just hung on the wall Find out more in
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Hitting ALL the right notes AN eclectic exhibition of more than 100 musical instruments from 40 countries is heading to Velez-Malaga. Culture councillor Cynthia García, and professor of music Gabriel Marín, opened the exhibition in order to get students from
Doing it for the kids COUNCILS are set to pump hundreds of thousands of euros into schools in the Axarquia. Larger classrooms, renovated toilets and new sports tracks are some of the works being undertaken. The Agricultural Employment Promotion Programme will provide almost €150,000 to Nuestra Señora de los Remedios and Axarquía de Vélez schools. The goal is to complete works as soon as this summer. Of the €146,232 used to fund the project, €96,061 will go towards labour, €48,030 for materials and €2,140 to wage costs.
around the Axarquia involved in music. Running until May 26, the Gabriel Marin Collection will also feature live concerts. Garcia said: “It is a very interesting opportunity to interact with music and this diversity of
instruments, which otherwise neither a child nor an adult can know.” The exhibition will use QR codes which can be scanned using mobile devices to distribute information on each of the instruments on display.
Water waste
Farmers plea for pipelines to be built to try fight a feared drought FARMERS have mounted a campaign to try to overcome a feared drought. Members of both La Plataforma de Aguas de la Axarquía and the Spanish Association of Producers of Tropical Fruits want an irrigation pipeline to be built between west and eastern Malaga after officials warned that an official drought decree is likely to be called in the Axarquia area by summer. They argue that a pipeline between the Costa del Sol’s Guadiaro and Genal reservoirs to La Vinuela
15
Puppy Empower! A PAIR of dogs are helping Axarquia children to overcome difficulties in learning and emotional development. Alicia Martín Cruz, who has a masters in animal-assisted therapy, takes dogs Lima, 8 and India, 9, to provide therapy to children and adults alike. Schools in Rincon de la Victoria, Colmenar,as well as Malaga City, have all benefitted from the pups. In sessions lasting an hour, dogs reduce stress and lower the heart rate of participants, enabling them to relax and be more interested in learning.
Up in smoke DROUGHT FEAR: Axarquia farmers plea for water
would help transport water to their crops from the much wetter west, which has seen 122 litres per metre squared in the last few weeks against only 7.5 in the Axarquia. Cultivators also want better linkages between reservoirs in Cordoba and Granada so they can double the current growing area of avocados and mangoes, to better compete with other fruit-producing countries. Currently, crops on 6,500 hectares are currently at risk in the Axarquia due to the water shortages, which has forced 9,000 farmers to imple-
ment emergency water saving measures. Public company Acuamed proposed the idea in 2016 but it has not yet received any public acknowledgement from the Junta. “It is regrettable that restrictions are imposed here when there are areas where immense quantities of water are being thrown into the sea, such in wester Malaga, whose Guadiaro and Genal basins dump about 750 cubic hectometres,” said José Linares, president of the Spanish Association of Producers of Tropical
AN arsonist has been arrested for attempting to burn a religious statue with a molotov cocktail. The 44-year-old threw the homemade device at the statue at the Convent of San Francisco in Velez-Malaga. The Torre del Mar resident was arrested for crimes against freedom of conscience. A glass bottle was found with petrol inside, and although the molotov cocktail did not ignite, it caused damage to the plinth of the Virgin de los Desamparados statue. Police are investigating the motive behind the attack.
16
LE T T E R S
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Number crunching
Listen up Anyone who has seen the latest poll from YouGov should be demanding that Brexit be stopped, as the majority in the UK now think that Brexit is a bad idea. As the effects are felt – inflation, job losses etc – even more will come to the same conclusion, that the ‘will of the people’ is to stay in the EU.
€0.85- The average price
per kg of Spanish grown tomatoes, compared to an EU average of €1.24
Sue Wilson, Valencia
100
Take flight
total number of goals scored in the history of the Champions League by Athletico Madrid
It’s no surprise really that so many of them want to leave (Huge amount of Spanish students say they would prefer to leave Spain after university, Issue 264). What would they do if they stayed, pick olives or work in a hotel? There's no creativity in Spain, no business acumen, and no opportunities for clever people. The only young people succeeding here are the ones lucky enough to come from wealthier backgrounds in the first place.
101
total number of goals scored in the Champions League by Real Madrid´s Christiano Ronaldo
3,866 the number of reviews given on Tripadvisor to the Hotel Becquer in Seville, making it the most reviewed hotel in Spain.
Adrian Day, Marbella
263,903 number of
Tuck in
overseas voters on the UK electoral registers as of December 1st, 2016, despite an estimated 5.5 million living abroad.
It is very true that Casares is an excellent culinary area and, even before one gets to the white pueblo village, there are many lovely restaurants on the road up from Sabinillas (Culinary spotlight on Casares thanks to Spanish TV show, issue 264). There is Venta Cozar, Venta Garcia, The Forge and Arroyo Hondo to name but four. We are very lucky in this area.
3.4
million - number of vacant properties in Spain
4,255,000
PJ Biddulph, Casares
people are currently unemployed in Spain according to the Institute of National Statistics
Better causes? I don’t see the need to make Sierra Bermeja a national park, as most of its biodiversity is already dead (Petition launched to turn Costa del Sol mountain range into national park, online). Enough pinsapo trees can be found at Sierra de Grazalema and Sierra de las Nieves.
€8 million- The amount paid by
an anonymous buyer for a lost Diego Velazquez painting at auction in Madrid this month.
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BAD PRACTICE
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I’m backing British expats ALBERT Rivera is giving his ‘total support’ to British migrants living in Spain. The Ciudadanos leader told the Olive Press he realised the importance of British expats and tourists on the costas. In the week Brexit is being invoked, he promised to back our rights to stay here. He later told a rally in Mijas he was going to be fighting corruption in Andalucia over the coming years and hoped to bring a train line to the coast. BACKING BRITS, PAGE 9
March 29th - April 11th 2017
I
T is a practice that most property professionals had hoped was a thing of the past. But Olive Press Property can reveal that tionable practice of charging buyers the ethically quesrearing its head again on the Costa del as well as sellers is Sol. According to sources, at least two agents in the Marbella area have recently stung their buyers with bills of up to 5%. scene’, especially when you consider The so called ‘finder’s fees’ are in addition they already have very from taking com- high purchase taxes mission from the seller. which are often in “We as agents are paid by the sellers excess of 10%. “It’s disgusting,” said Terra Meridiana’s and we never nothing wrong with finder’s fees if you Adam Neale, “I have a fee to a buyer,” he said, “On the whole our industrycharge works ent beforehand, but I have heard from agree it with the cli- very well as it is, without the need to start charging such high certain agents are adding a 5% fee with several buyers that additional fees to buyers. We should be encouraging them to invest here!” “It’s bad ethics and gives agents on the no prior warning. Costa del Sol a bad Ben Bateman name.” of Holmes in Sotogrande added he was aware of the practice happening ‘in a few cases’. Mike Smith, Chairman of Marbella-based agreed that charging potential buyers First Choice Spain, “It is totally unethical and gives our business a bad reputasuch fees was ‘ob- tion for sharp practices,” he said.
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EXCLUSIVE: Agents unite as some ‘bad apples’ are slapping finders fees on buyers without warning
“I have no objection to agents operating but I do object when these so called with a finder’s fee, without declaring from the outset that buyers bill both sides He added: “When unscrupulous agentsthey will be doing so.” abuse the system by adding extra amounts, the whole industry suffers. “Beware of this sharp practise.” Legal expert Antonio Flores added that such practises can be deemed illegal. “It is not illegal to have your commission with the agreement of the vendor,” he built into the price, The problem is when an agent adds told the Olive Press. but does not tell the buyer or seller. a commission on top “This happens when the agent is the middle man and the parties are not in touch via their lawyers. This is actually a criminal offence.”
Granada’s new eco-village
PAGE XIV
Andalucia’s highest towns
Have you been a victim? Email newsdesk@theolivepress.es
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WHAT A PANE! Expats take legal action on double glazing firm over thousands of ‘missing’ euros
revealed that he was offered a €187 discount if he did a bank transfer immediately. “The man’s impossible to deal with,” said Jones, 69. “We could never get him again. “We have used another company now. I just want my money back from Ware.” Another victim, Pete Jones, paid Ware half of a €9,000 quote for bifold doors in his as deposits on contracts kitchen in October. that were never completed, After hearing nothing for some up to €20,000.” five weeks, Jones was told Kaiser, who lived in London by Ware via text that he was for 30 years, began work at having computer problems the Marbella-based compaand that work would start ny four years ago working ‘imminently’. as a salesman and on social “Of course, nothing hapmedia. pened,” said Jones. “Since However, it soon became then I have been constantly apparent that boss Vincent trying to contact him withWare, also 58, was not de- Jones, claims he never two patio doors in Estepona out luck. heard from Ware again af- last October. livering what he promised. “I am sure, like others who One victim, expat Graham ter transferring €2,000 for Jones, from Cheltenham, have lost money, plea for there is very little Becky that can be done. “I think exposing his practices will at least help people in the future.” A HOMELESS couple towards a deposit for a By Chloe Glover One client, hotelier have received much needflat, which they are in the Andy Chapell, was ed financial help thanks to plight last issue. process of looking for. forced to go to court Kennedy, who runs the “If it wasn’t for groups an Olive Press story. to demand the reLeslie and Paul Dunt, who Help the Homeless Costa and people like Joel, we turn of €800 paid were left sleeping between del Sol Facebook page, wouldn’t be as close to for a safety fence, their car and a shed, have said the money had been finding anywhere,” said which never arbeen offered €500 by left over from a recent Paul. “We are very graterived. good samaritan Joel Ken- group fundraiser. ful for their generosity and Malaga Court ruled nedy who read about their Paul will put the money support.” DONOR: Joel
EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore
A WORD IN YOUR SHELL LIKE: Olive Press reporter Joe Duggan interviews Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera
AN employee at a well known glass and windows company has come clean after dozens of clients complained about unfinished work. Expat Rudi Kaiser, 58, revealed that tens of thousands of euros of work has not been completed by his former firm Andalucia Glass & Steel. He admitted he ‘could not take it anymore’ after receiving a barrage of complaints and being cited in various court cases. “I have been tarnished by this company and I’m not happy about it,” the German told the Olive Press this week. “We are talking about large Lastpaid MARBELLA of money, amounts LANDMARK FOR ditch NEWS
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March 15th - March 28th 2017
CANCER BATTLER
MORE than 160,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org asking for a street in Marbella to be named after brave cancer sufferer Pablo Raez. The campaign has been set up in response to Raez's inspirational campaign to increase awareness, as well as the num-
ber of bone marrow donations. Raez sadly lost his battle to leukaemia in February, but not before launching a campaign that went viral, its aim being to increase donors from 230,000 to one million. The petition has now been submitted to Marbella mayor José Bernal. MISSED: Pablo Raez
Homeless plea 4
Eviction
“We are really grateful we have this hut for now, but it has no running water, electricity, heating or gas. “I’m really worried what effect living in these conditions will have on Paul’s health and my own,” she continued. The couple, who moved to Spain 15 years ago, had fallen into financial difficulties last year when Paul had to stop working when he had a pacemaker fitted following a heart attack. As he was unable to continue running his mobile car valeting service they quickly fell behind in the rent. “The heart attack left him dependent on crutches to walk which meant he couldn’t work for 18 months,” added Leslie. After receiving a letter in January from the landlord telling them he was taking them to court, they were evicted on March 7. “It was horrible to find police and bailiffs banging on our door telling us
We’ve got Andalucia covered
SOUGHT: Boss Vincent Ware and (above) Rudi
Our readers share their thoughts on the upcoming UK general election, whether it could be as good as having a second EU referendum and the lack of votes for expats living in Spain for over 15 years.
Smoke and mirrors The only thing as good as a second EU referendum is a second EU referendum! But Madam May won’t give us one because the Brexit she has created is not what anyone voted for on 23 June. It’s a cunning earner for her and her millionaire pals in the upper echelons of the Tory party. It will be at great expense to the ordinary Brit in the street who is going to be several thousands of pounds out of pocket each year and lose several EU rights that protect his/her employment and free speech. The General Election is a smokescreen. Barry Freeman, Spain
Votes for all
Game changer?
Bremain in Spain has and is doing a fantastic job supporting expats in Spain who are going through a difficult time because of brexit. Bremain in Spain is fighting for our rights and one of those rights is a right to vote. Other countries give their citizens votes for life. Why should UK citizens be any different?
It might be a tad too soon to give up hope for a second referendum and there’s certainly good sense in treating this general election as one since May has said that she’ll interpret every vote for a Conservative candidate as part of a mandate to get whatever deal suits her.
Val Winstanley, Murcia
Not fair I have lived in Spain for 23 years now so can no longer vote. However, I have paid UK taxes since I first started to work at the age of 16 and continue to do so today and will do for the rest of my life. In these circumstances, I believe I should continue to have the right to have a say in matters that affect me and the running of my country of origin in general. P.S. During my time living out here I always used my vote while I had the right to do so. John Round, Spain
To become a national park because it is ‘the only place in the world where pinsapo (fir) trees grow on red peridotita rocks’ is not enough for justification. I would prefer that the already existing national parks would be better protected by, for instance, destroying and renaturalising illegal ‘tool sheds’ or by stopping illegal water consumption at Donana national park. Wolfgang, Frankfurt
March 14th
Fight for your right For the sensible amongst you that do not live in the past, this election is a chance to fight Brexit and get the Tories out by voting for pro EU candidates. It’s those of us who are trying to fight Brexit who are combating the uneducated and illinformed, especially Brits in Spain that voted to leave the EU, who were basically turkeys voting for Christmas. But it’s not too late if you are beginning to realise leaving the EU will be a disaster. Get registered and get your vote in! And John Moffett and co – keep up the good work. Gemma Middleton, Valencia
No dice The concept of the PGOU (town plans) is a total joke (New bid to finally solve Marbella's illegal housing crisis with new PGOU, issue 264). It’s basically drawing a line around a map whilst blindfolded to decide which area is legal and which is illegal. A PGOU in one town may have totally different rules to another, yet have identically built properties in terms of size, age and legal status. Fred, Uk
2017
Drug plea
4
Peter Taylor, Spain
5
Olive Press story helps homeless couple March 1st -
€245 +IVA
fibrosis believes Expat with cystic help save lives new pills could
of EU citizens THE numberUK actually inleaving the last year. By Chloe Glover creased by 17% the amount In the year of Brexit,to the EU or is pleading for of people returning increased A BRAVE expat denied a vital moving elsewhere help after being 103,000 in one operation. from 85,000 to lung transport who has cystic year. Becky Baker, revealed that relies on an New figures also fibrosis, currently as UK breathe. Spaniards registering oxygen mask to from Coin, is fell by 2,000. a residents also The 32-year-old, readers to get has been Meanwhile, there asking Olive Press campaign in the number sharp increase the country folbehind a nationwide new US of Brits leaving June 23 result to legalise a pioneering lowing the shock drug called Orkambi. for somelast year. She is also searching the Office for able to help her The figures from one who may bemedication. show that National Statisticsthe UK rose find alternative live,” said Becky, emigration from “I just want to Spain with her in 2015 to now and before by 9%, from 297,000 who moved to lungs. from Burn- BRAVE: Becky Baker, cluding my newa chance that I 323,000 in 2016. 20 mum Sarah Spencer Málaga to push in Somerset “If there was treatment or a Fibrosis Quística ham-on-Sea more its legalisation. to could get in the UK I would go years ago. campaigning stay alive every for there is re“I’m fighting to life and am in “We’ve been for the past year transplant back but the weather I don’t get it legalised single day of my to repair for my lungs and expensive costing now if I’d WORK is underway constant pain. kilos (1.25 stone) and yes it’s patient per year…. ally bad wrecked by I would be here Malaga beaches “I’ve lost eight months alone, €120,000 peryou consider that think other last December’s floods. it stayed. in the last few pills a day and but when knows of any will be spent who are using have to take 50 fed at night as some people to take their oth- “If anyonethat may help I would A total of €4.1m sand and rehave to be tubemany calories as now don’t needor stay in hospital treatment them as I am on restoring of love to hear from at the mo- pairing the infrastructure er medication I’m burning so so high. from feeling very down my heart rate is Spanish doc- it’s not bad.” coastal areas stretching recently refused ment.” the Axarquia. Spanish doctors “At the moment, been who has a campaigning Manilva to a lung transplant, anything to help tors won’t do only keep me to give Becky her main hope Becky, called See Off CF Spain, Diggers have alreadystretch website which had been me. They will sand from one a fundraiser for hopes to launch cystic fibrosis moving to another in Estein of survival. stable. of beach which is legal I have amyloidosis Marina, research into more “But Orkambi, that has been “It’s because Becky. pona and at Casares a cures. as well,” said the US, is a drug both badly hit with Becky to lung function by “They said that even if I had To get in touchhelp, go to www. which were proven to boost too the conhow to from floods. of kidney transplant and would find out thinning mucus. it, as would lots dition would return organs, in- seeoffcfspain.com “I’d love to try know here.” other other people I up with charity damage my She has teamed
Contact spencersarah46@yahoo.com or visit www.seeoffcfspain.com if you can help
www.legal10abogadosmarbella.com
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MAKESHIFT: Leslie and Paul are living between a Ford Fiesta and a hut
are desperate and don’t know what to do.” Their good samaritan, a local Spanish landowner, jumped in to help after seeing a plea a friend of theirs had posted on Facebook. He quickly offered blankets and dog food and allowed them to live in the hut on his land. “But now we need someand permanent thing would be over the moon if anyone out there could help us. “We almost have enough to pay a deposit and would find enough money somehow. “We just need a little help to get us over this hump. It is incredible how quickly you can fall here.”
to leave. “Fortunately we were able to move our belongings to
our neighbours’ houses temporarily and live in our Ford Fiesta, but we
Anyone able to help can contact Leslie and Paul via newsdesk@ theolivepress.es
Continues Page 4
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DECISIONS
A DETERMINED expat is devastated after being told she cannot have the drug she has been campaigning for. Doctors told Coin resident Becky Baker, who has cystic fibrosis, she is now too ill to have the Orkambi drug, despite being well enough when she first requested it a year ago. It is the latest blow for Becky, 32, who spoke to the Olive Press last issue (see left) after Malaga’s Carlos Haya hospital, where she NEWS Br-exodus - as they is a patient, said she was no longer fight to leave UK!eligible for for a lung transplant due to having too low a lung function. She had been campaigning to have American drug Orkambi legalised in Spain, which thins mucus, to help Coast clear those with the progressive lung condition. “For the hospital to only say now I could have had the drug were I betback on your ter when I began to campaign to get Due money long ago is so gutting,” said Becky, originally from it so mortgage? Spanish Somerset. FREE family has ramped up its plea to find an alternative HerRISK Call us today - 952 78 03 38 treatment. 647 20 20 29 - NO FEEout there has any other suggestions for us or NO WIN “If anyone In association with... would like to fundraise to enable more research into CF that would be great,” said Becky’s mum, Sarah.
www.theolivepress.es March offer
Long term expat couple need urgent help after being forced to live between their car and a hut
By Chloe Glover
A BRITISH couple have pleaded for help after eviction left them living between their car and a shed. Leslie and Paul Dunt are desperately hunting for somewhere to live for themselves and their 17 rescue dogs after being thrown out of their home in Coin. Paul, 56, who has a pacemaker, and Leslie, 63, who has a serious back problem, now fear for their health, as they struggle to survive on a small plot of land of a friend in Alora. “We can’t believe what’s happened,” said Leslie, who comes from east London.
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Anna ZIUzina - an apology WE recently published inaccurate stories about Anna Ziuzina (also known as Ganna Ziuzina and Julianna Moore) and the death of her ex-husband, Barry Pring.Amongst other things we gave an incorrect account of the recent coroner’s inquest into the death of Mr Pring. Importantly, the result of the inquest, including all the findings of the coroner,
has been quashed by the High Court in London following complaints by Ms Ziuzina about a series of legal errors in the handling of the inquest.As a result, no reliance of any kind can be placed upon that inquest.We apologise unreservedly to Ms Ziuzina for the inaccuracy of our reporting and for the distress we have caused her.
Has anything piqued your interest in this week’s Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing letters@theolivepress.es or alternatively message us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OlivePressNewspaper or Twitter @olivepress
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Andalucia revealed as party central for music festivals in Spain, while girls go most seller Ticketea, which compiled data from 2016. Well over 500,000 revellers descended on Andalucia to dance their nights away at a host of concerts showcasing every musical genre from
rock and punk to rap and reggae. Alrumbo in Cadiz is the region’s biggest event, with 150,000 attendees. Dance-heavy Dreambeach in Almeria rocks up 100,000
TheBritish Olive AN influential artistPress inspired by Ronda’s beauty is to have his workfor showcased in Spain! a TOP news in new exhibition. David Bomberg lived in the Spanish mountain town from 1934 -35 and from 1956 until just before his death in 1957, and painted some of his greatA FORMER Eurovision Song Contest entrant is set est work there. to light up Andalucia as Manilva hosts its first ever His complex geometric compoPride Celebration. sitions which combine Cubism, Celebrations will include live entertainment from Futurism and striking use of Euro star Fruela and Michael Marouli Music, both colour got him expelled from of whom featured on the X-Factor. the Slade School of Art because The rainbow revels will be staged over five hours of their unconventionality. on June 17, beginning with a flamboyant parade of The display at Waterhouse & floats from the park to Duquesa Port. Dodd in London runs from Those wishing to support the celebraMay 9 until June 2. tions can do at https://www.gofundme. Bomberg’s previous exhibition com/3j08d9k. of Ronda-inspired work was described by The Week as ‘outstanding’ and ‘extraordinary’. The exhibition also features work from artists influenced by Bomberg, including Edward ILLEGAL downloading decreased by 4% in Spain last Middleditch, Edna Mann and year. Dennis Creffield.
X-Factor Stars come out for Pride
Piracy plunge
Do it for Spain SPAIN’S Eurovision entrant Manel Navarro aims to please with song Do It For Your Lover. He will represent the country at this year’s hotly-awaited contest in Kiev on May 13. The 21-year-old, who is known for carrying his guitar around everywhere he goes, found fame on social media while performing cover songs.
A survey carried out by consultancy firm Gfk revealed the first downturn in pirated consumption in the country in 10 years. The findings were based on 4,036 online interviews and identified two main reasons for illegal downloading. Some 47% of participants said it was because they already pay for their internet connection. Another 47% argued that if the original content was less expensive, they would pay for it. In 2016, piracy cost businesses an estimated €1.8 billion loss in profits which, had the material been paid for, would have led to the creation of more than 21,000 jobs. The music and film industries were particularly badly hit, with downloaded music losing €398 million in potential profit and film more than €4 million. More than 67% of websites providing illegal content are financed by advertising.
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ANDALUCIA has been Download our app now and named as one of Spain’s music festival hotspots. begin enjoying the best SpanishThe party-mad region hosts around 119 bashes each year, news on the go. more than in the regions of Madrid (109), Valencia (81) COMPLEX: Bomberg and Castilla y Leon (72), the biggest autonomous community in the country. Only Catalunya has more festivals in the country with 167, according to online ticket
Ronda retrospective
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
visitors, while 50,000 roll into town for alternative rock event Granada Sound. Other popular events were Jaen’s Etnosur (40,000), Weekend Beach (33,000) in Malaga and Interstelar (32,000) in Sevilla. According to Ticketea, Andalucian festivals scored an average rating of 7.91, with 87% who attended an event last year intending to do so again in 2017. Sevillanos are the fourth most likely to attend festivals in the whole country, followed by Granadinos in sixth place and Malaguenos in ninth place. Ticketea also revealed that 58% of Spanish music festival goers were women, with the average age being 28.8 yearsold. Brits were the biggest foreign audience at the 970 Spanish festivals held last year. In a poll, Ticketea said that Spanish artists were the ones most music lovers wanted to see at Spanish festivals this year. The most popular include Lori Meyers, Juanito Makandé, Love of Lesbian, La Raíz and Fuel Fandango.
what’s on
M
alaga May 12 - 14 A new adaptation of popular musical Chicago will be staged at the Teatro Cervantes Málaga. Directed by Celia Dolci, it will incorporate the songs, dance and spectacle that sparked the show’s extraordinary success. Tickets €10.
T
orremolinos May 13 The Espeto Festival brings together bands playing alternative music at the Torremolinos Football Field for flamenco, hip hop and fusion genre performances. There will be freshly barbecued sardines along with other mouthwatering treats offered at the food trucks. Free entry.
T
orremolinos May 20 The Sun Coast Festival is a an electronic music event held in Aqualand water park which combines aquatic fun with fantastic acts including Stefano Noferini, Juanjo Martín, Serial Killaz, Prok & Fitch this year. Tickets from €24.
M
arbella May 20 Based on the popular Lewis Carroll novel, this musical is aimed at young children and takes place at the Palacio de Ferias, Congresos y Exposiciones.
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017 May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Goya’s VD diagnosis By Chloe Glover
INSPIRED: Andrew John
Andalucian art A RENOWNED British artist whose work is inspired by his adopted Andalucia is staging a oneman exhibition in east Malaga. Entitled Simply Watercolour, it showcases Andrew John’s visual reflections on years of travelling around Europe and his life in the region, where he works as an art tutor.
Worldwide
THE exhibition at the Museo Antonio Segovia Lobillo in Moclinejo runs from May 26 until July 12. Andrew’s work has been exhibited by galleries all over the world, including the Royal Societies in the UK, and he has also been featured on British television.
THE mystery illnesses that afflicted Spanish artist Francisco Goya in later life have been traced to Andalucia where academics believe he may have contracted syphilis. The sexually transmitted disease has been fingered by numerous art historians as one of the most likely causes of the succession of tortuous illnesses
The artist’s deafness may have been down to catching an STD in Sevilla suffered by one of Spain’s most revered painters, including his total loss of hearing. Headaches, hallucinations, vertigo and walking difficulties were also listed as complaints that suddenly began to afflict
the romanticist while he was staying in Sevilla during the winter of 1792. He had been sent there to recuperate for two months from another, as yet thought to be unlinked illness he suffered while
THREE DECADE APPEAL A LEADING Costa del Sol hotel is to celebrate its 30th anniversary by attempting to raise €12,000 for three children's charities. One of the biggest hotels on the coast, the Sunset Beach Club, in Benalmadena will be supporting DEBRA Spain, Barretstown Ireland and
CHART TRIBUTE: Ricky Lavazza
Make a Wish Spain. Taking place on May 26, guests will enjoy live performances from celebrated cabaret singer Ricky Lavazza, who does a number of tribute acts for stars including Robbie Williams, Freddie Mercury and Michael Buble. He will be joined by Adele impersonator Nikki Rae, 27. Hotel manager Mark Wardell said: “We are really hoping to reach this record target in our crucial anniversary year. That will be no mean feat.” Tickets are available for €10 from the hotel leisure desk, or by calling Joanne on 695 887 336.
working in Madrid as court painter to King Charles IV. Despite moving to Cadiz to convalesce once more in February 1973, Goya was unable to shake off his symptoms, becoming completely deaf soon after. Friends reported that his deafness caused him to become withdrawn, while his mental health worsened. The mystery illness, whose origins are still not fully understood, also heralded the start of his darker and more pessimistic period, when he became obsessed with depicting insanity and fantastical creatures in his oil paintings and etchings.. Despite his debilitating symptoms, Goya did not die until 1828 at the ripe old age (for those days) of 82. Talking at the latest lecture to be held on Goya’s illness at the University of Maryland in the USA, hearing specialist Ronna Hertzano acknowledged that syphilis could have been one of the causes. She also cited the rare autoimmune disease Susac Syndrome, which impairs brain function, as another possibility. “The question of Goya's ailment is a fascinating medical mystery,” said Hertzano. She added that Goya may have been able to retain his hearing had he been alive this century, due to the availability of cochlear ear implants.
Cross culture ESTEPONA revelled in the Cruces de Mayo celebrations this year. A relatively new festival in the town, it was a chance for residents to decorate crosses and display them at various points in the city. There were also mini neighbourhood parties with flamenco dance and music performances, food stalls and contests to see who could create the most beautifully-decorated cross. The festival is celebrated throughout Latin America and Spain - most notably in Cordoba, where cross-decorating competitions started in 1953, but the custom dates back to the 18th century. Traditionally, each Catholic brotherhood or neighbourhood association in the town sets up a bar next to its cross to serve drinks and tapas to the partygoers. This year was no different.
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la cult
To patrol beaches
In 2015 Spanish police first began to trial using drones to patrol some of Spain’s most popular beaches, including in Marbella and Benalmadena. The drones were initially intended to spot struggling swimmers or drifting boats during routine patrols and carried floats to drop to those in need. But their purpose has since taken an even more sinister tone: terrorist watch. With Europe on high security alert after the recent spike in Islamist terrorist attacks, packed summer beaches have become a prime target, so drones are going on the lookout for any suspicious behaviour.
5) To track wild animals The number of wild Iberian lynxes hit a devastating low of just 94 in 2003, but since then a captive breeding programme has been successful in raising the population above 300. As these lynxes were set to be released into the wild, the Andalucian regional government signed a deal with a tech company in order to help track the wild animals using drones, helping to better understand their movements and protect them from traffic accidents.
6) To inspect railway infrastructure
2) To crack-down on tax fraud The Spanish Treasury uses drones to hone in on houses, extensions or outdoor swimming pools which are not correctly declared to the tax authorities. A two-year crackdown on tax fraud rooted out almost 1.7 million incorrectly registered homes, and generated €1.25 billion in extra income for the country´s coffers - much more than the cost of buying and running the drones. Andalucia is the area with the most fraud discovered, with 373,224 irregularities spotted between 2014 and 2016.
Several rail companies in Spain are now using drones to inspect difficult-to-reach infrastructure such as bridge bearings or the roofs of station buildings. Drones must, of course, be kept away from dense residential areas to minimise the risk of injury to unsuspecting passers by.
7) To save protected palm trees In 2016 Spanish experts devised an ingenious new way to protect the 200,000 palm trees in the Elche UNESCO World Heritage Site from the lethal red palm weevil. The job of the drones is to inject the trees with a special fungus, which protects them from the pest.
3) To stock take For over a year, cement factories in Córdoba and Huelva have been piloting the use of drones to check the inventory of goods stored outside. The machines can record data more precisely than humans, and this practice carries a much lower risk of accident and injury than that of human technicians having to clamber over huge piles of bulk materials in order to assess the inventory.
8) To inspect sewers A pilot scheme was launched in Barcelona in December 2015 with the view to drones eventually replacing humans in the dan-
4) To prevent sunburn Drones have been used in Benalmadena to fight against sunburn. Equipped with sensors to monitor dangerously high skin temperature, they were designed to protect pasty guiris who had failed to apply sufficient suntan lotion or had simply fallen asleep.
me to Fly the
Is that a UFO? No, it’s a the Spanish have develo out-of-this-world uses fo
T
HEY do everything from catching tax cheats to preventing sunburn. Spain is one of the most innovative countries when it comes to using drones, the unmanned
moon aircraft developed for military use which are enjoying soaraway success in civvy street as the future’s next best thing. But with incidences of drone-related crime on the rise, the government is
gerous and unpleasant work of patrolling the city’s sewers. The drones’ job is to inspect piping and infrastructure as well as monitoring water and air quality, and if successful, the scheme will reduce the cost of cleaning operations and make inspection results much more precise.
9) To patrol the motorways The Spanish highway agency is developing a plan to use drones to read
becoming stricter use of these super Elsa Maishman sca discover the novel u manned Aerial Veh date.
number plates and spot incidents, traffic infractions and infrastructure faults in the road. This programme has not yet come into effect however, due to current legislation stipulating that a drone must remain in sight, making it impossible to track hundreds of kilometres of motorway. If approved, the scheme could come into effect as early as this summer.
10) films
To create
The laws governing drone-use in Spain were much looser before 2014, and the machines were becoming increasingly popular as a cheap alternative to helicopter and cranes to film difficult aerial scenes.
FUN
There are now 2,600 drone o istered in Spa to Agencia Es guridad Aerea lowed to fly cr up to 25kg. Seventy per Chinese b
11) To race one another This new sport took off in June with the first National Open drone race
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held in O Porrino, Galicia. The specially-designed course was littered with obstacles, and pilots flew their drones around it using a videocamera strapped to the drone and connected to headgear which gave them a view of the track. The objective was to beat opponents by completing the course in the fastest time, without crashing the machine of course.
FACT
w more than operators regain, according statal de Sea, who are alraft weighing
12) To inspect power lines and wind turbines
Jaen-based company Enerdrone has long been offering commercial engineering and inspection services in r cent are Andalucia. The machines brands. can check for faults and infrastructure problems, letting engineers know where repairs are needed.
13) To patrol border fences Spain’s interior ministry is currently
considering using drones to patrol weak spots along the border fences of its north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Equipped with heat-detecting cameras, they could provide early warnings of groups gathering to mount an attempted assault on the fence and ensure extra security forces were called in to prevent it. The plans have been met with some criticism by groups who are concerned about Spain’s treatment of migrants and refugees at the borders.
14) To spy on civilians In 2013 the Spanish defence minister declared drones ‘the future’ of the nation’s air force, and began to test spy planes disguised as large birds of prey for military use. The prevalence of these camouflaged machines is unknown as the government would probably like it to remain.
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15) To traffic drugs Reports are emerging of drones being used to transport small quantities of drugs across short distances within cities, from one buyer to another. As most drones still cannot carry large amounts of weight or fly long distances without a power-boost, this practise has so far remained relatively small-scale. Who knows how long this will last though, as new drone technology is
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BOSSES: Cox and Wells
IN COME THE BIG BUCKS! A HUGE US property fund is splashing €45 million on three new Costa del Sol developments. The American bosses behind Real Capital Solutions have snapped up sizeable plots in Estepona, Mijas and Benahavis and continue to look at further opportunities along the coast. The company, based in Marbella since 2013, already has five other developments, including The Retreat, in Elviria.
“We have spent around €86 million here so far and have a fund of €100 million to spend,” explained Managing Partner Peter Wells, based in Colorado. “We are one of the largest developers on the Costa del Sol and our emphasis is on distressed properties.” He added: “Also we do things transparently and always try and deliver on price and quality.” The company - which made hundreds of millions buying and selling distressed properties in the US - has 16 staff working out of its office at Centro Plaza. Local boss Taylor Cox, added: “The coast is really starting to come alive and it’s a pleasure to live in such a beautiful part of the world.”
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Booming July predicted following ‘pause’ in run-up to EU referendum Special report by Iona Napier ESTATE agents in Spain and Gibraltar are lining themselves up for the busiest July on record. It comes as some British buyers put purchases on hold due to the forthcoming EU referendum on June 23. Most agents the Olive Press spoke to confirmed they had various sales currently ‘paused’ awaiting the result, despite the British market remaining strong. The majority believe that the expected result - to stay in Europe - will lead to the pound strengthening with a red hot summer of sales to follow. Ben Bateman, at Holmes Sotogrande, described the referendum lead up as a ‘pause for thought for British buyers’ due to concerns over the weak pound. “After a remain vote however, we expect to see a strong finish to the year - and a sudden wave of bids from British buyers,” he told the Olive Press. One agent in Gibraltar has gone one step further actually employing extra staff for July. Savills director Sammy Cruz-Armstrong said: “Everything is on hold due to Brexit, but I am convinced we will stay in Europe and am taking on extra staff in July to deal with the expected deluge of business.” Benahavis agent Scott Marshall of Proper-
Roll on Remain
Where is Gillian buying?
PAGE 19
tieSpain, meanwhile, described the pause as ‘very psychological’. He said: “It’s a combination of the uncertainty of the vote and the exchange rate right now.” While many agents have a couple of sales currently on hold, some have seen more. “We have up to ten sales currently on hold until after the referendum,” said Victor Witkowski, boss of Castles, in Manilva. “Buyers are not necessarily pulling out, but they are biding their time to see what happens.” Fellow Manilva agent, Shani Hamilton, also confirmed a slowdown, but added: “We are predicting a huge influx of business as soon as a decision is made.”
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Deals
Spanish property sales by nationality and quarter
www.spanishpropertyinsight.com Source: Registradores Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016
Either way, official statistics out this month confirm the British market remains strong and tens of thousands continue to look for their dream home. Respected analyst Mark Stucklin insists that foreign demand for Spanish property was up 16% in the first quarter with Brits the biggest group of foreign buyers at 22% of the market share. “The British still dominate the foreign market for property and there is no evidence of a noticeable decline in demand as yet,” he said. And certainly not everyone is suffering. One agent, Graham Govier of Inland Andalucia has seen ‘no negative impact’ at all during the referendum lead-up. “In fact it is the opposite. Prices are extremely cheap right now and we are selling two times as many properties as we were last year,” he said. He added: “My salesman Paul - already a bit of a local celebrity - has just completed his seventh consecutive sale and people are buying because they can see that the incredible deals won’t wait around for them forever,” he added. Paul made headlines in the Olive Press last year when he sold an impressive nine properties in a row.
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New-build boost in 2016 THE new-build market is enjoying a resurgence with sales and prices up across Andalucia. Sales for new-build properties rose by 7.2% year on year, with prices increasing by 8.6%, according to the National Institute of Statistics.
This is slightly lower than the national trend, where sales increased by 8.4% from June 2015 to June 2016, while resale price rose 3.2%. New builds tend to focus on customer specific plans, have large open spaces, and are more energy efficient.
Brexit blow BRITISH demand for second homes in Spain has plunged amid Brexit uncertainty and a fall in the pound’s value. Spain’s Association of Land and Commercial Registrars revealed that demand from Brits is down nearly 30% on last year’s pre-referendum levels. From 2012, British property purchases were increasing in Spain by an average of 20% each year. But now, the new report shows sales to UK buyers were down for the first quarter of 2017, from 2,800 to 2,000. The pound is down 10% compared to pre-referendum levels, meaning a €300,000 villa, which would have cost a UK
British second home sales drop by a third
buyer £229,000, will now cost them £254,000, a £25,000 increase. Fortunately, growing Swedish and Turkish investment has managed to offset the drop in British interest. Alfredo Millá of the Sonneil property agency said potential buyers are also becoming reluctant due to uncertainty surrounding issues such as whether they will still be en-
titled to healthcare following Brexit. British cash buyers looking for a relatively modest place in the sun are said to have been the hardest hit. “The pound-euro exchange rate has a bigger effect on people at the lower end of the market, in the €200,000€400,000 price range,” said Chris Clover, head of Panorama Properties in Marbella. “Those with more money can take advantage of low interest rates to hedge against the weak pound.” Hence ‘hot markets’ including Ibiza and Marbella are still thriving, as luxury buyers remain largely unaffected.
REBRAND: Hotel
Snapped up GLOBAL hotel chain Melia is set to take over Estepona’s Atalaya Park in 2018. The four-star hotel will undergo an €18 million renovation to ensure the property offers the ‘Melia brand experience’. The renamed Sol Marbella Atalaya Park will have 468 rooms, six restaurants and bars, an outdoor pool and playground. There will also be a gym, golf course and a range of sports activities on offer at the resort. Melia Hotels International has taken over seven establishments as it continues to expand its portfolio of properties. The company has also obtained a four-star hotel in Murcia which will open this autumn.
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RECENT article in Spanish Property Insight stated: “Building land market comes back to life, but recovery is patchy and town planning an obstacle”. Yes, only by looking round the skyline it's good to see cranes moving to create buildings where people want to live and holiday. Yes, it is patchy, because the builders want to build in the ‘safest’ locations, where people want to live and holiday. There are still shells of developments in poorer locations, far from beaches and social and retail facilities, which were never going to be popular. Developments started there because builders were lent money to build. They were the only sites available and speculative buyers were lent money to reserve them. However, when the crash came, these buyers couldn’t sell on at a vast profit, especially considering the costs of purchase and sale. Too late they found they couldn’t rent the houses as nobody wanted to live there. Also, the costs and taxes on income made it impossible to cover all the running costs. So, they pulled out of the purchase and the whole deal collapsed leaving banks with empty shell apartments in a failed development. The failure wasn’t of the building; it was of the location. Now we are seeing a rush to buy building land again, in poorer locations because the price
is low. Then marketing starts, convincing naive buyers that they should be paying high prices for new, unsnagged properties. People buy new when, with internet research, they’ll find better existing properties, in better locations, as that developer had the pick of those. Why do they buy new? Because they are provided with a folder with all the information there and easy mortgage finance. As valuers, we see it all the time, where people buy from a developer and then have to sell.
Speculators
They have glossy marketing and a ‘motor-mouth’ agent working for high commission. Banks are only prepared to offer mortgages at a lower percentage of loan to value. There can be 20, 30 or even 40% price differences in prime locations between new apartments and resales. Resales are where the bargains lie, with the teething problems dealt with by the original buyer. Yes, the new developer will offer to sort anything, for the first year, but it's the occupier who has the hassle and possible damage, the lost time waiting and arguing for the repairs and then never really feeling that it's as good as new! Urban planning should prevent wholesale development of an area and allow for construction of infrastructure. Also, planning should be
designed to provide accommodation just for occupiers and not speculaInstruct takenInstruct tors. If speculators were out Surveyor Lawyer of the land and Building housing market, then supply would be much more balanced to occupier demand. Each with Knowledge development companyBuycannot know & Confidence what other companies are planning and so take the risk of buying the land and developing takes +34 952 923which 520 admin@surveyspain.com years, all based on historic data of surveyspain.com 'buyer' demand. Each buyer should be obliged to have the apartment/ townhouse/villa occupied for at least one year before they can sell or be fined on an increasing monthly scale. That would stop the speculation. So, be prudent, both speculators and potential occupiers. Research the location carefully and look at everything that’s available. It will take time doing detective work to get all the information. It's better to spend time now and buy at a good price, instead of being blinkered and spoon fed by a developer’s agent, only to find that you have an instant loss on a property where defects still have to be corrected. Some of the work can be carried out by professionals being paid by you and therefore working 100% for you. Snagging, buildings surveys and valuations can be carried out by an RICS surveyor, working with the physical property and advising the lawyer who is making good the paperwork. You know it makes sense.
Contact Campbell and the team on +34 952 923 520 or email info@surveyspain.com
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Making a splash A WATER-THEMED hotel is set to make waves in Malaga when it opens this summer. Valencian chain Casual Hotels will open Casual Malaga del Mar in the city this August. Work has already begun on the single-storey hotel which will have 46 marine-inspired rooms. It will replace a gym, and is expected to be completed within the next few months. This will be the company’s third hotel in Andalucia, after Casual Sevilla Don Juan Tenorio, which is inspired by the work of poet and dramatist José Zorrilla and Casual Sevilla De Las Letras, which is inspired by literature. Casual Hotels also has establishments in Valencia, Madrid and Bilbao.
WATER-THEMED: Hotel
RELIEF: Neil Riddoch EXCLUSIVE By Chloe Glover
CROOKS who conned a Brit out of €92,000 in a land scam have finally been jailed. Neil Riddoch, is overjoyed that two men have been put in prison for 12 months, 11 years after they fraudulently sold him a nine hectare plot in Carataunas, near Orgiva in Granada province. The result comes after Riddoch, a Colchester-based businessman, mounted a campaign with the Olive Press to get justice. Although the fraudsters were found guilty by Granada Supreme Court in 2013, they had until now managed to keep their freedom despite being told they would have to go to jail by 2015 for refusing to pay Riddoch back the money. “I can hardly believe it as I had almost given up hope that anything would happen to them,” said Riddoch, 58, boss of London printing company Colour Fast World. “It has taken an incredible amount of time to get any jus-
Property
May 10th - May 23rd 2017 May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Justice at last Brit celebrates jailing of fraudsters after a decade long Olive Press campaign
CONNED: The land that Riddoch believed he owned tice. “Although I am currently still out of pocket to the tune of about €200,000 including to lawyer costs, it is a result.
“I will be opening a bottle of champagne and thinking of the two crooks sitting in a hot sweaty prison cell for what they did to me.”
Riddoch had intended to build three houses on the land before he realised he had been scammed when he was sued by its legal owner, as the Olive Press first reported a decade ago. The win has given him fresh confidence to try retrieve his money. “My lawyer will now try to seize their assets and have them sold off to pay me back, whatever they are worth,” he said. “I don't hold out much hope on that one coming to fruition any time soon though, given how long it has taken to get to this stage. “I have been informed, however, that I will receive my €6,800 land tax money back I was also owed by the local council with interest, bringing it €10,000.”
On the rung THE Government is set to give thousands of euros to young people to help them get on the property ladder. Requirements for the grants include being under 35 years old and on a monthly income of less than €1,600. The measure aims to boost property purchases in the country after fiscal aid was scrapped in 2013. There are fears the housing market could eventually implode again if young adults are not given the chance to own their first home.
New look THE classic Andalucian pueblos blancos are experiencing an architectural evolution. Villages near the Costa del Sol are seeing the arrival of new high-end residential developments. The traditional white buildings have been replaced by sleek alternatives with straight lines and large windows - a contemporary look that responds to ‘the new trends and tastes of buyers’. They are also built to a higher standard and contain more communal areas. Although the cost of construction is increased, properties like these are in high demand on the Costa del Sol.
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Lucky strike? A PROPOSED €2.2 billion euro super casino near Madrid could be given the green light after new plans were submitted by US developers. Regional authorities rejected the proposals in March, arguing the development needed €3.4billion of infrastructure investment. But developers The Cordish Company have come back with new plans, including a six-hectare artificial lagoon and beach 30 km east of the capital. Madrid’s regional PP government now has a month to analyse plans for the 134-hectare site. It is predicted the development, which includes a 500-room hotel, would attract around 1.6 million tourists to Madrid.
Illegally occupied homes boom in Spain due to poverty and bad housing planning OVER 87,000 families are living in squats in Spain. The figure equates to around 270,000 people, an increase of 75% in the last 10 years. The stark figures were revealed by research founda-
Property
May 10th - May 23rd 2017 May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Squatters rights tion Instituto Cerdà, which believes an increase in poverty, the scarcity of social housing stock and existence
of empty houses have contributed to the rise. According to its report, up to 90% of the affected
Back to before
INCREASES: Property companies have seen big year on year rises
THE Spanish property industry appears to be flourishing again after years of crisis. Profits tripled in the fourth sector in 2016 to a total of around €1.4 billion. This is a drastic increase from last year’s profits of €407 million, and isn’t far behind 2007’s registered profit of €1.6 billion, signalling a return to the market seen in the country before the financial crisis. Profits recorded come from sales both in the residential and in the office and retail sectors along with price increases and rental income.
dwellings have been squatted peacefully, with many people living in houses that are either old, unfinished or without an occupancy certificate. Up to 60% make illegal connections to supply lines to obtain basics such as electricity and water. Around 35% of Barcelona’s Nou Barris neighbourhood’s housing stock has been squatted, one of the highest rates in Spain. In Andalucia, 1,465 homes are said to be squatted in Sevilla province, 1,200 in Granada and 646 in Malaga. So far, the Junta has attempted to deal with the issue by renovating some of its housing stock to make more affordable houses available by 2020. Social housing only accounts for 2,5 % of houses in Spain, much lower than the European Union average of 15 %.
Property sales rise Property sales in Spain have increased across the board. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the numbers of sales in the first two months of 2017 rose by 10% compared to the same period last year. Sales in Malaga rose by 12%, ahead of Madrid with 11%. The total value of transactions also rose significantly in the first quarter, up by 54% across all regions.
Keep it down MALAGA City Council will for the first time place measures to limit noise pollution to residential buildings. At least €200,000 of the €3 million designated funding for housing improvement this year will go towards reducing the risk of noise disturbances over 65 decibels. It could potentially benefit around 130 homes in the city. This year’s budget is a 25% increase on last year’s allocated funding. Around €500,000 of the remaining amount will go towards the historical centre and another half million towards structural repairs of buildings outside the centre.
MORTGAGE THINK TANK January 18th - January 31st 2017
by mortgage broker Tancrede de Pola
OFF PLAN PROPERTY DEPOSIT REFUNDS S.L. Did you buy a Spanish Property ‘OFF-PLAN’ from a developer? Did you place deposit/s? Did the developer fail to complete construction? Did the developer enter into Liquidation or Bankruptcy?
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Different mortgages in de Pola talks potential buyers Spain Tancrede through Spain’s mortgage maze.
T
HE array of mortgages on offer by banks and savings banks (cajas) in Spain can at best be confusing. As they are loans that could take decades to pay back, understanding the best for your situation is vital. In Spain, an EU citizen (as well as English speaking countries such as USA, Canada etc) can normally borrow up to 70% of the purchase price of the property, with an average term normally up to 25-30 years. However, older borrowers may be have to accept a shorter borrowing term if the lender wants the loan to be paid off by the time the borrower reaches the age of 75. Russian and other non-EU citizens can normally get a loan of up to 60% of the purchase price. Fixed rate mortgage Whilst not offered by all banks they have become much more widely available in recent years. Fixed rate mortgages are generally for the full term and available at competitive rates. Due to a low Euribor, which variable rates track, the fixed rates are higher than the variable rates but will provide long term stability. But with fixed rates at a historical low, now is one of the best times to consider them. Other good news is that most fixed rate loans don't have higher early redemption penalties than the variable rate products, while knowing how much you must pay each month will give you peace of mind. Variable mortgage The vast majority of mortgages sold both to Spaniards and foreigners fall under this category. Simply put, repayment rates will vary according to the base rate set by the European central bank. This means that borrowers cannot be certain what their mortgage payments will be in the future. If the interest rate falls they will pay less, but if it
rises they will pay more. The plus is that you could save money should interest rates drop, which could then free up more money to pay off a lump sum. However, historically, variable rates have been higher than current fixed mortgages. Mixed mortgage As the name suggests, this is a combination of fixed and variable mortgages. The first few years of the repayment are fixed and under control, before changing to a variable mortgage where interest rates can vary, thus affecting the monthly repayment amount. This is ideal for the buyer who knows little about the market but wants the advantages of both types of mortgages. But, given that rising interest rates could result in increased payments, budget adjustments are necessary during the loan term. Mortgages for S.L. & Ltd companies Some banks will allow you to purchase through a Spanish limited company if the company is set up as a shell company purely for the purpose of buying the property. Due to the additional work involved in assessing companies, banks are more reluctant to approve this type of operation. Generally, they will only look at such cases when the clients or companies have strong profiles. Tax advantages include the deferral of a large part of the transfer tax (ITP and IVA) but clients also need to be aware that there are administrative implications, such as the need to file quarterly tax returns and pay corporate taxes. Rustic Due to years of illegal builds on suelo or terreno rustico, banks can be reluctant to give mortgages on rustic land properties. If they do, it will generally be for no more than 50% of the purchase price and almost impossible when trying to release equity from an existing property.
To contact Tancrede for all your mortgaging needs call: 666 709 743 or for insurance queries call: 951 203 540 Email: tdp@thefinanacebureau.com The Finance Bureau Centro Commercial Guadalmina, 2nOffice No. 7 Guadalmina, 29670
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Banking on it IBEX banks gained almost €4 billion in profit in the first quarter of this year. That’s a 20.4% increase on last year’s figures, and it’s down to factors such as the integration of new businesses and international market promotion. Companies that contributed to the growth include Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell and more. The only exception has been Popular, which lost €137 million in profits compared to last year. Ibex’s net interest income at is estimated at €500 million between January and March of this year.
May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Swede success
BOOKING.COM has overtaken all of its competitors in Spain. The US company, owned by The Priceline Group, controls around 50% of business inDownload the country’s our app now big and cities. begin330 enjoying the best Spanish Last year, million hotel news on the go. nights were registered, 7.1% more than in the previous ILLEGAL cannabis clubs are year, according to the Na- booming in Spain as maritional Institute of Statistics, juana users exploit a legal many of them marketed loophole. An underground market has through Booking.com. seen some 700 ‘dope dens’ However, the site does not pop up around the country report the exact volume of since 2011, as people take reservations it handles, nor advantage of a loophole in does it The provideOlive data onPress its Spain’s anti-smoking laws. annual turnover or business The clubs rake in millions of strategies. euros each year as hundreds TOP for news in Spain!
of thousands of smokers light up, despite possession and use of cannabis in the street being illegal and punishable by a large fine. In Barcelona, there are more than 300 such clubs which bring in around €60 million a year, according to a new report. Licences for the clubs cost around €1 million a year, with the majority of owners coming from abroad, it has been claimed. “Big companies have recognised the market’s potential,” said one Armenian cannabis club owner, who employs 17 people in his 400 sq-meter cafe in Barcelona. “People in the US who got into this business are already millionaires.” Users pay €50 a year to smoke at his club, which has
IKEA experienced a record-breaking year in Spain in 2016. Andalucia is at the heart of the success, with a 12.3% sales increase. Sales at the Swedish furniture giant increased by 8% in the country as a whole, equating to a huge €1.4 billion turnover. The company made a profit of €121 million in Spain, 55% more than the previous year, Ikea also employed a further 8,158 people - 12.5% more than the previous year.
Lighting up Cannabis smoking dens boom in Spain as users exploit legal loophole making millions
2,400 members, although some venues have more than 10,000. In the USA, cannabis has been legalised in eight US
MALAGA is now in the driving seat for car sales across the whole of Andalucia. In the first four months of 2017 a total of 10,270 cars and vehicles were registered in the province, a 7.4% increase on the same quarter last year. Malaga was closely followed by Sevilla with 9,778 units, while Huelva was
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NEWS IN BRIEF Full steam ahead SPANISH rail companies Talgo and CAF have made bids to supply trains to the UK’s High Speed Two (HS2) project. Entries into the contest to win a 3.28m contract to make 70 trains for the line in a contest will close in June.
Hacking it LEADING UK and US cyber security firm Hedgehog Security has opened a new office in Gibraltar. At its opening CEO Pete Bassill demonstrated how easily he could break into a fully hardened and protected Windows 10 laptop.
Going solo ANDALUCIA has seen the second biggest rise in selfemployed workers in Spain. There was a 1.3% rise to 513,712 people in the first quarter of 2017.
states, including Nevada, California, Colorado and Maine. Last year, the North American marijuana market was worth €6.12 billion.
Wheel deal
placed last with just 2,191 registered in the first four months. This growth is particularly promising in light of the funding support from the PIVE Plan for new car buyers no longer being available.
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Where there’s a will, there’s a way ADVERTORIAL
As a former member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists. I undertook disputed estates litigation for over eight years. During a first meeting with clients, I always warned them of the level of stress they would experience when entering into litigation, usually with close family members as their opponents. I would also tell them how costly it would be to fund and how long it would take. Clients often told me ‘it’s not about the money, it’s the principle.’ Well let me tell you, principles cost.
British lawyer Dawn Joughin explains the importance of making a will
Principle
Around half of the disputed matters clients approached me with could have been avoided if the deceased had made a will; or if a will was disputed, taken advice from a suitably qualified lawyer when making their will to avoid litigation. Anyone can draft a will, right? Well under the law of England and Wales anyone can draft a will, but let me tell you, a badly drafted will can cause more problems than no will at all. Making a will costs money. Yes, a professionally drafted will does cost money, but I can tell you I have made
more money from acting on behalf of clients where no will was made, or one was badly drafted, than I ever have from drafting wills for clients. Here are my top five reasons to make a will:
1.
Choose the law which will govern your will. I explained in my last article the potential for English law to govern your will, utilising Brussels IV, if you have retained your British domicile.
Property AGONY ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES
Get the power
Understanding the difference between the two documents that grant lasting power of attorney in Spain.
L
asting Powers of Attorney (LPA), well known and extensively used in common law jurisdictions, are legal documents which allow anyone aged 21 or over ('donor') to appoint one or more people (‘doneels’) to act on their behalf as proxy decision maker in the event of lost mental capacity. In Spain, very few know that there are two almost identical legal documents that grant the same powers to a trusted person should that occasion arise. These documents are known as the ‘Poder Preventivo’, or Preventive Power of Attorney (PPA), and the ‘Autotutela’, or ‘Appointment of Tutor’, both of which are granted before a public notary. The PPA allows the proxy to deal with the financial affairs of the donor with immediate effect after a certain date, or once a
medical doctor has declared the person incapacitated. For its part, the Appointment of Tutor deals with health and care decisions, daily routine or where the affected person should live (but will require judicial approval where the sale of assets is concerned). It is recommendable to have both, to avoid the lengthy (and costlier) process of applying for a judicial decision following a clinically diagnosed incapacitation or intellectual disability because of disease or accident, a process that requires a separate procedure to sell real estate or other assets. It is worth noting that both appointments can be revoked by the donor whilst capable, and that public notaries in Spain have an obligation to communicate any such documents to the Spanish Civil Registry.
Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com
Appoint Executors, 2. Trustees and Guardians. It’s so important you
appoint the right trustworthy people to care for your children and to hold and distribute money to your children if they are under age at the time of your death. Very often the best people to care for and shower love on your children, are not the same people who are best to be left in charge of investing money. You can appoint different people for the two roles. Remember if your guardians and trustees are the same people, there are no checks on how much money they release for the maintenance of your children. This is a careful balancing act, as bringing up children is costly. However, your children will be unhappy if their inheritance has been exhausted by the time they are old enough to inherit.
Don’t appoint people as Executors who don’t get on, just because you don’t want one of your children, or siblings to feel left out. Executors need to be able to work together, and there are a large number of costly disputes that arise between family members, because one of the appointed executors refuses to work with the others. An awkward executor or trustee can delay essential work being undertaken in the administration of the estate, and it is very time consuming and costly application to court to have them removed. Avoid unnecessary disputes and ensure your loved ones are provided for. Incorporating a trust into your will can ensure assets are ring fenced for your children, while ensuring your spouse or civil partner is provided for. This is particularly impor-
3.
tant for couples in a second marriage, with stepchildren. It also affords protection if your surviving spouse or civil partner remarries and that marriage fails. It stops the new spouse or partner claiming money you left your spouse or partner and intended to pass to your children in the future. It’s also possible to include no contest clauses in your will, so if the beneficiary does dispute the provision you have made for them in your will, they risk losing the provision you have made for them. This can often be very effective in making a claimant think twice, and can avoid litigation. Specify who receives your personal chattels, such as special items of jewellery. Last, but certainly not least! Obtain estate planning advice about how to protect your assets and reduce your liability to tax.
4. 5.
business
www.theolivepress.es A MAJOR holiday company has hired a team of undercover detectives to squash fake sickness scams on allinclusive holidays to Spain. Jet2holidays has made the move after it was revealed the amount hotels had to pay out to sickness claims increased by 700% last year. ‘Ambulance chasers’ are said to be luring and encouraging Brits into making false claims of food poisoning to receive payouts. Mallorca, the Costa del Sol and Tenerife will all be watched by undercover detectives this season in a bid to catch the companies in action. A dossier will be prepared but it is not known if companies will be named and shamed. A source told The Mirror: “Private detectives will be in the main resorts trying to
May 10th - May 23rd 2017 May 10th - May 23rd 2017
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Inspector sicky Private eyes on the hunt for fake sickness claims on package holidays
spot those looking for business. “These companies are peddling fraud and brazenly handing out leaflets and using social media sites telling British holidaymakers they can cover the cost of their trip by just filling out a form. “Holidaymakers don’t re-
alise what they are doing is fraudulent and if caught they will bear the brunt of the law – not the claims firms. “The Spanish are taking this very seriously and have said in no uncertain terms that unless something is done to stop this practise, the British face a ban from
certain package holidays.” Brits’ sickness claims are said to be costing the industry €59 million a year. Hoteliers across Spain are calling for a ban on Brits being offered allinclusive packages
We reward our loyal customers and new clients too!
Liberty Seguros opens new office On Thursday 20th April 2017, The Expats’ No. 1 insurer, Liberty Seguros, officially opened their new offices in La Colonia Shopping Centre, in San Pedro de Alcantara. Many guests, including clients, attended the function and enjoyed refreshments and tapas during a very pleasant afternoon’s celebration. A visit to this new office is recommended especially if you need a face-to-face chat with a professional advisor about all your insurance needs from car, home, life, pet, personal, leisure, marine to commercial covers. Alternatively call 913 422 549 or visit www.libertyexpatriates.es
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Border business expansion BUSINESS groups from the Campo de Gibraltar and Cadiz are joining the Cross Frontier Group (CFG). The Chamber of Commerce of the Campo de Gibraltar and the Confederation of Businessmen in Cadiz are being incorporated into the CFG, bolstering its Spanish contingent. The CFG, which represents Gibraltar and Campo workers and businesses, also signed a memorandum with the Gibraltar government to provide a framework for cross-border cooperation.
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Visit your agent, call 91 342 25 49 or go to www.libertyexpatriates.es Only for new policies issued and in force between 20th March and 26th June 2017 and paid by Direct Debit. Not for renewals or replacements. Comprehensive Car Insurance: policies over 400€. Home Insurance: policies over 200€ in Mainland and Balearics, and over 150€ in Canaries. Life Insurance: policies over 150€. 60€ Cashback for existing Liberty Seguros customers and 40€ Cashback for new clients (1st Liberty Seguros policy) will be refunded directly to your bank account (applies only to bank accounts within the SEPA zone).
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017 May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Reasons to be jolly! ADVERTORIAL
M CRYSTAL CLEAR: Jolly Gel keeps water clean
ANY people are aware of the incredible transparency that Jolly Gel imparts to pool water, but few know of the unseen benefits? As well as giving your water an almost invisible clean look, there are genuine hard-cash savings to be
The wonder product Jolly Gel will keep your pool sparkling and save you money, explains expert Ken Walker (right) made by using it for the filter, pump and in terms of maintenance costs. Jolly Gel will certainly pay for itself many times over in terms of water, chemical and electricity bills. In particular, it helps remove phosphates (or algae food) from the pool and less food equals less algae and thus, less chlorine needed. The chemistry is simple: Green algae strips carbon dioxide from the water as it grows, which in turn raises the pH level. Using Jolly Gel makes it easier (and cheaper) to keep this vital pool-chemistry parameter in check and reduces the chances of your pool turning green. Additionally, the filter will last much longer. The media in the filter (usually silex sand or recycled glass) would last indefinitely but for the abrasive 'micro-particles' that gradually, but inexorably, erode it as they circulate through the filter. These micro-particles are created by the media grains banging into one another during backwashing, so they are exactly the same hardness as the media they were chipped off from. They are much too tiny to be caught in any sand-filter. They are so small they don't even sink to the floor of the pool; they just get circulated round the system over and over. After three to four years the media becomes so eroded that it cannot keep the water clean anymore and needs to be replaced at a cost of €200-plus for an average pool. TIP: The next time you need to change your filter contents, take a look at our Zeoclere-30 product. It's an advanced filter media made from volcanic rock, which lasts for 10 years or more and also strips metals from pool water. Jolly Gel however, helps with this problem as it cleans water so thoroughly that backwashing can often be reduced to once every five to six weeks, instead of every week. Reducing backwash frequency minimises the number of microparticles, thus extending the life of the sand filter. The same is true for the pump ‘impeller’, the selector valve and the ‘tantalum dioxide coating’ of the electrodes of a salt-water chlorinator. Everything lasts longer when the water is perfectly
Jolly Gel is now available in over 40 locations in Spain. To find it visit www.poolsafetyspain. com/Pool-Safety-Products/jolly-gel-retailers. html or click on the QR code for a dealer near you. Also available online from http://mypoolguru.com/flocculant/ jolly-gel If no dealer near you – why not supply your local area and make some extra cash? Email us for details of our Distributor Start-up Offer. Email us at info@poolsafetyspain.com or call on 605 882 461 / 952 597 247
clean. Reducing backwashes saves thousands of litres of water annually and avoids pumping expensive, poisonous pool-chemicals into the drains or onto your land. In a heated pool the filter is backwashed with expensively-warmed water which is then topped up with cold water which one must pay to re-heat.
Please download our free eBook ‘The Pool Safety Bible’ at http://www.thepoolbible.com/
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Cheap as chips THE cost of car hire has dropped in Malaga among other regions in Spain. Car hire company autoeurope.co.uk analysed rates over five years in spots including Alicante, Barcelona, Nice, Palma and Tenerife, and prices have decreased in each. The best savings were found at Barcelona airport, where holidaymakers can rent a car from as little as €28 per day - that’s 55% less than in 2013. UK car hire prices have also lowered, and in London, it can cost from just €15 to per day - a 22% decrease from five years ago.
CHEAP: Car hire desk
May 10th - May 23rd 2017 May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Driving sales AROUND 7.9% more cars have been sold in the first quarter of this year than the same time last year. A total of 307,911 cars were purchased, according to the Spanish Association of Automobiles. Among the most popular brands were Peugeot, Seat and Toyota.
ANDALUCIA was Spain’s speeding capital in 2016. A total of 459,836 tickets were given out for offences over the year, over twice as much in the next worst offending region of Castilla y Leon with 230,171. According to the Asociación Automovilistas Europeos Asociados, 196,400 fines were doled out in CastillaLa Mancha, while the lowest numbers were given in Asturias (920) and La Rioja (1,624). Nine of the country’s 25 top camera fine hotspots are located in Andalucia. The most likely road to get fined out was Cordoba’s A-4 at 417.5km, where 80,582 denuncias were given. This was followed by Malaga’s MA-20 at 10.4km, where 36,022 drivers were caught. Jaen’s A-44 at 76.3km was in fourth place with 31,526 fines
Kill the speed
Most 2016 speeding fines in Spain given out in Andalucia
and Malaga’s A-7 at 256.7km, where 28,537 were given, in sixth. A total of 26,324 fines were issued to drivers found speeding on Sevilla’s A-92 at 29.1km, the ninth most prolific speeding stretch. Malaga’s A-7 at 246km, Se-
On the right track THE Fuengirola to Marbella train line extension has been touted as one of the most urgent infrastructure projects in Spain. The association of Spanish construction companies Seopan has placed the long-hoped extension on high priority, which has boosted calls for a national government budget to be allocated for it. Two studies have concluded that the construction of the railway
which would run along the coast would save people €295 million per year, placing it above 813 other infrastructure projects in terms of importance. They include Madrid and Barcelona rail improvements and work on Madrid’s ring road. It comes after Malaga’s government budget was slashed to €130m, meaning there is less money to fund much-needed infrastructure projects.
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villa’s SE-30 at 11.9km and A-66 at 795.5km and Cadiz’s N-340 at 84.8km were also in the top 25. A spokesperson for the automobile association criticised the cameras, which it believes do not stop speeding. “In view of the large number
of complaints made about speeding, the AEA considers that the DGT traffic department should rethink its radar policy,” it said. “This is because they do not achieve the objective of avoiding excessive speed or accidents, turning radars into mere instruments of collection.”
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Va va vroom A HUGE classic and luxury car rally will speed into Sotogrande this month. Cars registered between 1920 and 1965 from across Europe are expected to descend on the exclusive resort from May 26, following a route which will take their drivers from Sevilla and through Cordoba. They will arrive from 4.30pm in the marina, at the same time as GT cars taking part in another route. The La Reserva Golf Club will be the focal point for the Sotogrande event, with three days of exhibitions of classic and luxury cars planned. It will be the starting location of May 27 Concours d’Elegance parade, which will showcase 50 of the best-preserved cars to judges. An exhibition by Bonhams featuring cars set to be auctioned later in the year will run in a marquee at the club from 10am on the same day.
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with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com
Running on empty A study has found 19% of 15-year-old Spanish students skip breakfast before going to school. The Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OECD) report on student welfare also found that 11% of boys overall miss the first meal of the day. Those who did make time for breakfast were found to perform better in science tests compared to those fasting. However, these figures are lower than other countries examined in the report which show an average 26% of girls and 18% of boys going to school on an empty stomach.
Cooking up a storm MICHELIN-STARRED chefs dazzled crowds at a top culinary festival. Dani Garcia, Angel Leon and Kisko Garcia were among 30 top Spanish cooks who descended on Malaga to take part in its fourth Gastronomy Festival. Centred on the Plaza de la Marina, they flaunted their talents through cooking shows, cocktail-making classes and workshops. Budding young chefs went head to head in a contest, while visitors were treated to tastings of products bearing the Sabor a Malaga quality mark.
Plastic fantastic AN AD campaign aims to dismiss fears over greenhouse agriculture in Almeria. The greenhouse fruit and vegetable sector interprofessional, Hortiespaña, held its first Ordinary General Assembly in the province, where it discussed changing the perception that ‘plastic fields’ produce artificial foods. AGR Food Marketing will be in charge of the campaign which will be created in Spain and then rolled out to the rest of Europe via posters, newsletters and company statements. People will also be able to go on trips to areas where intensive agriculture is carried out so that they can verify the information themselves.
Strawberry squeeze Heavy rains have caused severe damage to Huelva’s strawberry harvest, pushing up the price of the region’s iconic fruit. Before the rains, a kilo of strawberries stood at €1.50 for the grower but now it could reach €2. There is huge ongoing demand for production in the area, especially after the recent cold snap which affected other areas in Europe,
down the drain
ANDALUCIA will take part in the National Wine Fair this month. For the first time, wines produced from different parts of the region will be grouped together on one stand. Montilla-Moriles, and Malaga, along with 12 bodegas from other regions will exhibit their products in Ciudad Real. Andalucia has more than 27,000 hectares of vineyards and more than 380 wineries, 10% of which are cooperatives.
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Northern Spain wine harvest wiped out by frosts
SEVERE frost has obliterated up to 80% of northern Spain’s wine harvest. Temperatures plummeted to -5 C for five hours in Ribera del Duero, destroying vineyard crops throughout the area. Local wine growers are now calling for compensation as they declare the area a natural disaster zone following the frost on April 27. In Bierzo near Leon, over 70% of the harvest was hit while €72 million of damage rocked vineyards in Galicia.
Rocked
“It has hit us all,” said local wine grower María Pinacho, who owns 150 hectares near Burgos. “We do not know how the crop will evolve.” It is estimated the damage has wiped out 21.7 million bottles of Galician wine. Around 75% of the vineyards in the Ribeiro area have been hit by the frost. Enrique Pascual García, president of the Ribera Del Duero Consejo Regulador, described the crop damage as ‘substantial’. One wine company hired a helicopter to fly over its vineyards using heaters to protect grapes from the cold. "The company that managed the helicopter had never done anything like that before,” said vineyard
Brighton rocks GIBRALTAR’S top chef Victoria Garcia-Bishop will be tickling tastebuds at one of the UK’s largest food festivals this month. Garcia-Bishop will present her Taste of Gibraltar, Iberia and North Africa menu at the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival.
particularly Poland, the main producing country for Valencian exporter Daifressh. Companies like it have been forced to look to other sources like Italy and Portugal, although there is ‘little availability’. It’s hoped that Poland will soon recover from the cold weather and start to market its own strawberries again.
It’s time to wine
The gala dinner will be inspired by recipes from the Iberian peninsula and North Africa. The festival, now in its 15th year, runs from May 18 to 29 and is the largest of its kind in southern England. Garcia-Bishop works as a private chef and caterer in Gibraltar.
BARREN: Badly-affected crops
owner Ernesto Peña. It is believed to have worked. Another winery in Páramo
de Corcos lit small fires near the crops to keep them warm.
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Contemporary fine dining
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Food, drink & travel
May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Stars in their eyes
Ambitious food festival to put Andalucia on Spain’s fine dining map, while below Chloe Glover does a round up of the foodie events around Andalucia
A NEW gastronomy event will showcase Andalucia as a haute cuisine hot spot. Marbella All Stars will bring together 30 of the best upand-coming chefs from across the region this month. The event is the second to be held by Michelin-starred chef Diego Del Río of Marbella’s El
Joffrey Charles is a French chef born and raised in Normandy. He has worked, for the past decade, in fine dining restaurants in Mont Saint Michel, Val D’Isere, Corsica, Dublin and London.
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ESTIVALS have burst into life in Andalucia’s streets, signalling the start of spring. Following the recent success of Malaga’s Gastronomy Festival, which brought thousands of foodies to the city, Chloe Glover has compiled a guide to some of the best free-toattend upcoming foodie events in the area. Read on to find out where to find the best delicacies and enjoy a tipple in the heat of the Spanish sun.
Lago restaurant, who wants to highlight the wealth of talent in Andalucia and give a boost to its new generation of forward-thinking cooks. The two-day event swings into action on May 22 with a chefs’ golf tournament at Santa Maria Golf Club followed by canapes concocted
by the in-house chefs. They will then partake in a culinary ‘catwalk’ at La Cabane de Los Monteros restaurant, to present some of the key foodie trends for this year. A networking event for chefs will also take place at the restaurant before a gin and tonic
tasting session at the 1870 restaurant in San Pedro. Talking about the event, Del Rio said: “It gives me real pride to take the name Marbella for this event, due to the amount of professionals there in the hotel and catering industry and their gastronomic proposals.”
TASTE TOURS
Ruta de Tapas Torremolinos, May 13-21 Eat your way around the town at this nine day long event, where a host of local bars offer up their signature tapas dishes for only €2 a plate.
Dia de la Naranja, Istan, May 13 Savour the delights of a freshly squeezed orange juice at this cute village fair. Traditional recipes will be served up by local groups, including homemade marmalade, while bars and restaurants will test their creative skills with citrus-
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inspired specials. Other centuries old dishes such as corn soup with clams and zahinas and rice pudding will also be on offer, while traditional dance groups and brass bands will add to the celebration feel. A market selling artisan products will also run.
lIsten careFully! May 10th - May 23rd 2017
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Dia de San Isidro, Estepona, May 15 Witness the spectacular sight of herds of animals streaming down the streets as Esteponeros celebrate the town’s patron saint of San Isidro Labrador, saint of the farm worker. Head to the beach or one of the many stalls to feast on vegetable campera soup and bread, the festival’s staples.
Festival de la Cerveza Artesana, Plaza Vieja de Almeria, May 19 to 21 Enjoy many a tipple in the sun at this beer lovers’ delight. Fifty different brews will be on offer over the days, which will be served to a soundtrack of live music performances. Family activities will also be on offer.
Feria de la Manzanilla, Sanlucar de Berrameda, May 23 to 28 Sanlucar’s feria is made even more attractive thanks to the plentiful presence of its very own tipple, manzanilla, a light, dry sherry, which is only made in the town. Wash down the town’s similarly famous Sanlucar prawns with a glass or two.
Fiesta de la Urta, Rota, August 3 to 6 Smells of locally-produced delicacies mingle in the air in Rota, whose event celebrates the wealth of culinary talent in the area. Check out the dishes on sale from the many casetas and watch judges put budding chefs to the test in various food challenges.
Fiesta del Gazpacho, Alfarnatejo, August date TBC
Ruta del Atun, Conil de la Frontera, May 5 to June 5 The bluefin wild tuna is a speciality of this town and is renowned throughout the world. Sample it fresh off the boats in the town’s restaurants and bars, which are offering tapas plates for 2 euros and accompanying drinks for 1.
Día del Caracol, Riogordo, May 28 Every May, Riogordo’s residents invite visitors to try their local speciality; snails cooked in a broth and served with olives and local wine. A street parade, live music and dance performances and a livestock fair will also take place during the event.
Raise a glass to this simple but delicious Andalucian staple, which finds even more fans than normal in this Axarquian pueblo. Residents come together to cook up huge pots of the soup, which are then doled out to hungry revellers.
Feria de Malaga, August 12 to 19 The biggest party in Malaga province is undoubtedly its week long feria in August. Crowds flock to taste wines and tapas in the historic centre, while live music and performances take place throughout the streets. The feria dates back to 1491 as a commemoration event of the incorporation of Malaga with the crown of Castilla
The first festival of its kind for Cordoba will bring together chefs specialising in a wide variety of international cuisine.
Medieval market, Castillo Sohail Fuengirola, August TBC Step back in time to discover the curious fare of Medieval Spain at this quirky event. Last year more than 80 stalls showcased various products, while entertainment came from jugglers, archery displays and more.
Calentita, Casemates Square Gibraltar, June 10
It is hard to beat the taste of a sweet cherry, which grow in abundance in this small village. Visit to buy large punnets at great value prices and taste cherry products along with other locally-produced foods.
(It’s actually 30 years but It would be less InterestIng vIsually) Yep - Molino del Santo - the award-winning restaurant and hotel near Ronda in the village of Benaoján - is celebrating 30 years (and ears) in business under the same ownership. We opened in May 1987. Why don’t you join us to celebrate our ongoing success?
Food Truck Festival, Cordoba Diputacion car park, June 16 to 18
Festival de la Cereza, Alfarnate, June 17
30 ears
Almost 50 food stalls will converge on Casemates Square to showcase the talents of chefs from near and far. The 11th year of the event will feature a wealth of multicultural cuisine and local Gibraltarian delicacies such as the beloved calentita, a chickpea flour dish which is a cross between a dough and a flat Yorkshire pudding.
Hitch a ride on the train from San Roque to Benaoján or drive from San Pedro via Ronda in an hour to discover another world – the huge delights of Andalucia’s most popular rural hotel and restaurant. Check our website for menus, room details and information on the area. www.molinodelsanto.com Whether you visit to eat or stay or both, do make the journey soon. Find out why 80% of people at Molino have visited before. Find out why we are recommended by Michelin, The Times and The Daily Telegraph amongst many others. Bookings often essential - and it’s a long way to travel to find we’re full. E-mail : info@molinodelsanto.com or call our English speaking staff on 952 16 71 51. Mention this ad when you visit for a special Molino Gift to celebrate our 30 years (and ears.)
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Food, drink & travel May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Souping it up
First national congress celebrating salmorejo set to create a stir in Cordoba augural Congreso Nacional Salmorejos, which also hopes to shed light on the mystery roots of the dish. But it will not just be the Andalucian version, which is topped with egg and jamon serrano, that will go under the spotlight. Diverse versions from other Spanish regions such as Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Canarias and Extremadura will also be showcased and analysed. Said Miguel del Pino, President of organisers the Cofradía del Salmorejo Cordobes: “We want to create an investigation into this emblematic dish. “We decided to have the event after holding several forums on it which were very successful.” After the event, this ‘brotherhood of broth’ a claim using just a medihopes to create a salmorecation receipt from a jo map which details the pharmacy as evidence. various versions in Spain, They are then able to with information on their claim as much as €3,500 similarities and differusing no-win no-fee law ences. firms to represent them. Tickets for both days cost “It seems that since PPI €100, or €75 for students. and whiplash has dried For more informaup, they are now after tion, go to www.conholiday sickness,” said an gresonacionalsalABTA spokesperson. morejos.es.
A CONGRESS has been called to pay homage to a beloved Andalucian soup. Salmorejo, a cold tomato puree thicker than gazpacho, will be celebrated on June 15 and 16 at the Palacio de la Merced in Cordoba, the city where it was invented. Chefs, historians, anthropologists, food critics and journalists will come together for the in-
Get stuffed! SPANISH hoteliers have called for Brits to be banned from all-inclusive holidays after fake food poisoning claims rocketed by 700% in one year. The nation’s hotels have had to fork out a staggering €4.9 million in compensation for Brits blaming the food for their fake illness - and tourists on the Costa del Sol are among the worst offenders. The Association of British Travel Agents has backed up the hotels’ complaints, blaming the loophole that allows tourists to submit
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GOOD COURSE: Contest
Swing into action A CHARITY golf tournament will swing into action to support a crucial cause. Players are practising their best shots in preparation for the third Acompalia Golf contest, which will tee off on May 19. Taking place at Los Moriscos Golf Course at Playa Granada, Motril, it hopes to raise as much money for Acompalia, which supports terminally ill patients and their families in Granada province and along the Costa Tropical. Golfers of all abilities are encouraged to take part, with handicaps to be applied to ensure everyone has a chance of winning on the day. Golf in Nerja Society is organising the event, which costs €30 to take part in. Participants and non-players can also attend an after contest meal for €15 each.
In full swing
Mijas Costa to welcome top European golfers this May A MAJOR golf tournament will swing into action this month. A total of 156 players will descend on La Cala Golf in Mijas from May 18 to 21 to take part in the illustrious Costa del Sol Match Play 9. The most important Seniors contest in the PGA European Challenge Tour, it will take place on the resort’s demanding 5,925-metre Campo Asia golf course. Players, who will also come from golf’s Real Federacion Andaluza and Real Federacion Espanola, will first test their luck over 36 holes of stroke play. This will be followed by a nine-hole match play for the 32 best-ranking golfers. The winner will walk away with a €200,000 prize, while the best ranking will accumulate points for the Road to Oman, the Challenge Tour's season-long rankings contest. La Cala Golf was visited by almost 90,000 golfers last year, who took advantage of
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Giving the green light ANDALUCIA’S high court has ruled in favour of Huelva town’s purchase of the Matalascañas golf course. The PSOE government bought the Almonte site in 2009, but the Administrative Court of Huelva cancelled the €7m purchase. However, given that it is the municipality’s only golf course, the high court ruled that the government had intended to provide ‘a public service of municipal competence’ in purchasing it.
its three courses. The Costa del Sol’s next big Challenge Tour meet will take place in October with the Andalucia Valderrama Masters at Sotogrande’s renowned Valderrama golf club.
TALENTED: Ladies’ golf
Almost there
THE countdown has begun to a huge female golfing contest. Heads of the Ladies European Tour joined forces with Francisco Javier Fernandez of the Junta to hold a presentation in Malaga on the event, which will swing into action on September 21 at the Real Club Guadalmina in San Pedro de Alcantara. Over 120 top players from across the continent will go club to club in the tournament, one of several that make up this year’s Ladies European Tour. Azahara Munoz will defend her Spanish Open title from other Spaniards such as Nuria Iturrios and Patricia Sanz Barrio and UK players Florentyna Parker, Hannah Burke and Kylie Henry. Fernandez said the event was an important step in the global campaign to ‘normalise women's competitions’ in the traditionally male sport and celebrate the players’ talents.
ON THE UP: Spain’s Rahm
Rahm-ping it up SPRING is shaping up to be a bumper month for Spain’s Jon Rahm. The talented 22-year-old flew into fourth place in the US Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, the latest tournament in the PGA Tour. It is great news for the world number 13, who was brought up in the Pais Vasco and only turned professional last year. But there will be no time to celebrate for Rahm, who has already begun the Players Championship in Florida and will take part in the Dean and Deluca Invitational from May 25. He will tee off in the Memorial Tournament on
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… Christopher Columbus was more ship-shape for his Voyage of Discovery than Huelva is for its 525th anniversary year
T
Open: Tuesday to Saturday 12.00 til 22.30 Kitchen closed 15.30 til 19.00 Sunday 12.00 til 16.00 Closed on Monday Reservations: elgarden2016@gmail.com
HERE probably isn’t an English speaker on the planet who doesn’t know the date Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Rather fewer would be able to tell you he sailed from Palos de la Frontera, across the estuary from Huelva city, where three perfect replicas of his famous galleons the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria - bob anachronistically at anchor in a pretty palm-fringed bay. The wooden ships and their picturesque mooring, the Wharf of the Caravels, were created in 1992 to mark the Fifth Centenary of the Discovery of America. Climb aboard and mind the bowsprit! You’ll be amazed to see how cramped and flimsy these 15th century sailing ships were, all creaking decks and headroom hazards. Cristobal Colon, as he’s called in Spain, crossed the Atlantic in one without a proper map! Although the real Santa Maria sank, the three replicas have proved their seaworthiness, par-
In 1492 … AHOY THERE: Replica of Columbus´s galleon in Huelva
ticipating in their own voyage around Europe and sailing up the Gualadquivir to Sevilla in style for Expo 92. Huelva isn’t exactly on mass tourism’s radar but it was
a record year for visitors to the province, the city and the wharf. This year should be even better because this quietly innovative city is Spain’s 2017 Capital of
May 1 marked the start of the busy summer season - time to retreat to the safety of the Casita for Giles
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he May Day bank holiday has been and gone – and the rain didn’t dampen the celebrations that mark the opening of the beach clubs – and the summer season is with us once again. I have always liked May as a month – and as a frizzy-permed, badger-loving guitarist with Queen. May starts with a public holiday, which is always a wise move in my book. May 1 is International Workers Day, celebrated all over the world – though as a freelance writer and broadcaster for the past 30 years I obviously have a very loose concept of the word ‘work’. My career, such as it is, has mainly consisted of being somewhere near the right place at roughly the right time, especially if there is the chance of finding something - or even better, someone - light and bubbly at the bar. I got a reputation for being the first responder to any event that was going in the 90s and noughties. When a friend’s organic ice cream company announced that it was giving away free samples, I made a beeline to the location. Ice cream was being freely distributed from the back of a refrigerated lorry with its doors open, a scenario that caused one of my best mates, who has seen me in action at hundreds of events over the years, to cry out: “I don’t believe it. You’ve finally turned up to the opening of a fridge door!” May is, however, also the month when residents take a deep breath before plunging into the madness of summer. And with airlines and hotels reporting even more demand than last year, which was a record breaker, Summer 2017 looks set to go down in Spain’s tourism history. All the restaurant, bar and club owners I’ve spoken to in the past couple of weeks mention 2017 in the foreboding terms usually reserved for Godzilla mov-
Gastronomy, and justifiably planning to make a song and dance about its D.O. wine, Jabugo ham and ocean-to-table cuisine. A packed programme of events over the coming months will see top chefs from all over paying homage to Huelva’s homegrown larder and there’ll be more strawberries than Wimbledon on the menu. The ones served at the famous lawn tennis club almost certainly come from Huelva, which accounts for 95% of Spain’s strawberry exports. The landscape is an ode to The Beatles with Strawberry Fields Forever growing under plastic tunnels as far as the eye can see. For another surreal landscape check out the rice paddies encircling the protected wetlands of Donana where wildlife and crops are both competing for water. Agriculture’s drain on local resources is a sore point with environmentalists who hope to increase awareness during Huelva’s spell in the spotlight.
Toast
THORNY: Giles’s life hazards ies – “I can feel it coming….it’s going to be huge….it’s going to smash Marbella”. Luckily I have the option of retreating to the casita during the summer months to lay low. The casita is off grid, which means I have a huge deposit tank for water and a generator for power and am able to stock up with enough food to withstand the fake-tanned zombie apocalypse that can be Marbella during summer. Although life still has its hazards. My house guest (three weeks in and counting) came with her cat, which managed to get stuck up one of my large cacti. Being the manly type that I am, I attempted to rescue the marooned moggie, made a misstep and went flying headfirst into the prickles. The cat came down of its own accord minutes later and as I lay pin-cushioned in the shrubbery, I reflected that I might have accidently discovered a new alternative medicine. Cactus acupuncture anyone?
Columbus would have understood the importance of Huelva’s aquifers, having supplied his own ships from the local well. But he might be surprised to find that La Fontanilla, now a National Monument, has been shunted several kilometres inland over time as the river changed course, along with the town of Palos itself. Huelva produces Andalucia’s only sparkling wine and no doubt there will be many a toast drunk in Raigal this year to the Capital of Gastronomy’s famous adopted son, who introduced potatoes, tomatoes, vanilla and chocolate to Spain and took Huelva wines back to the New World. Columbus certainly deserves a place at the feast, not least as 2017 is the 525th anniversary of his famous sea voyage. So he might be miffed to find that while everyone else is making capital out of a pretty landmark year for Huelva, his galleons are still in dry dock being titivated for this year’s big celebrations on August 3, the date he sailed. A notice on Huelva Tourism website states that the Wharf of the Caravels is closed for renovation and not expected to reopen until June!
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017 story, If you have a sports
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Friday 17th - St. Patricks Day 2.00pm 3.00pm 3.00pm 4.00 pm 7.00pm 9.00pm 10.00pm
Cheltenham Races All Ireland GAA Club Finals 4€ Biddy Mulligan´s Golf Society Party Live Music with John Maddocks Ireland U20´s vs England U20´s Ireland Women vs England Women Live Music with Alan Shiels
Three’s a charm AN Andalucian badminton star has won her third European Championship in a row. Carolina Marín beat Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour 21-14 21-12 in less than an hour to clinch victory. Marin managed to see off the Brit in Kolding, Denmark, mak-
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Guinness, Kilkenny, Magners €4 St Patricks Day Shots €2
FACE PAINTING saturday 18th - 6 Nations Final Day
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Scotland vs Italy France vs Wales Ireland vs England Live Music with Layla
Sunday 19th - Premier League
Malaga owner suggested CONFIDENT: Check outQuintana our Facebook page for our Virtual Tour, heComing wanted Special Offers, Whats Up Madrid to win the title 1.00pm 3.15pm 5.30pm 9.30pm
Middlesbrough vs Man Utd Spurs vs Southampton Man City vs Liverpool Live Music with Sean Murray
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MOVISTAR team leader Nairo Quintana is eyeing up a Giro D’Italia and Tour de France double. The Colombian pocket rocket, who won the Giro in 2014, leads the nine-man team for the Spanish outfit at the Italian Grand Tour, which started last Friday. Brit time-trial specialist Alex Dowsett is also part of the Movistar line-up, with Quintana one of the firm favourites. Quintana said: “This year’s route is a very tough course, a demanding one. “The last week has an impressive amount of mountains to overcome. Big gaps should be made there – I feel like this year’s course has sought for the strongest climber to win it.” Quintana’s main challenger for this year’s race will be Italian Vincenzo Nibali, who won the Giro in 2013.
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MALAGA have enraged Barcelona by suggesting they could let Real Madrid pip the Catalans to the league title. While Barcelona currently top the division, Real Madrid have a game in hand and are level on points in a delicately poised title race. The Costa del Sol club host Madrid on the final day in what could be a decisive fixture for the title. Comments from coach Michel and a tweet from owner Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani have suggested Malaga would prefer Real Madrid to win and not Barcelona. Michel, who played for the Madrid side for 14 years, claimed he was still a fan of the club, but it was owner Al-Thani who made
Foul play! the most controversial comments. He tweeted: "The human waste of Catalunya will never smell [the glory] of La Liga.” This prompted a furious response from FC Barcelona, who have now released a statement expressing “rejection and indignation”. They added: “The club will formally complain to the Anti-Violence Comittee of
ATHLETIC: Previous participants
Operation Game MALAGA is set to host the 21st World Transplant games next month. The games see participants ranging from four years old to 80, all of whom have received successful organ transplants, compete in a number of events. Running from June 25-July 2, sports include Athletics, Tennis, Swimming,
ing her the joint most decorated player in singles Badminton, tied with Dane Camilla Martin. The match was a rematch of last year's final in La Roche-surYon, France. Marin is the only woman from outside of Asia to have won the Olympic singles gold medal.
and even Tenpin bowling. The first competitive sporting event for transplant recipients took place in Portsmouth, England, in 1978, with 99 competitors from the UK, Europe, and USA. The summer games take place every other year, with a winter games held in between.
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the Superior Sports Council, and will transfer the matter to the Competition Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, and the Department of Integrity of La Liga." OVER: Sheikh Abdullah
TEAM: Female cricket
No boundaries BARCELONA has become home to Spain's first and only all-female cricket team. Established for Pakistani teenagers who emigrated to Catalunya, the team was set up for the girls “to promote their self-esteem, to favour social inclusion and their empowerment". Based in the Besòs neighbourhood, the team is made up entirely of immigrants. The scheme, known as Project Ma'Isah, was set up to cover an “invisible group”. Founder Aïna Coscollolas said: “Sports allow us to to promote a series of values like group dynamics, respect, equality, cooperative dynamics, responsibility.”
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A 23-YEAR-OLD Spanish woman who attempted to sue her parents for refusing to keep supporting her has lost the case. The Judge deemed her ‘too lazy to earn a living’ after she left numerous jobs because they were ‘too much hard work.’
It’s over A SHOCKED audience watched as a man sought to divorce his wife for ‘not having a vagina’ on a Spanish court show Caso Cerrado (Case Closed).
Top Cat THE number of Lynxes in Andalucia has risen from 90 in 2000 to 475 in 2016. An endangered species, the boost in numbers comes after a lengthy campaign by Life-Iberlince.
Vol. 11 Issue 265
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May 10th - May 23rd 2017
Feeding John
May 10th - May 23rd 2017
MUGARITZ staff had stars in their eyes when John Malkovich popped into dinner during one of their recent shifts. The Hollywood star dined at the Basque restaurant, after which the restaurant posted a photo with the caption: “When reality overcomes fiction. Thank you John Malkovich for visiting Mugaritz!” The restaurant is run by awardwinning chef Andoni Luis Aduriz.
WIPEOUT! Jackass mayor goes viral after taking a tumble at the skate park By Alexander Brown
THE mayor of Malaga has become an online sensation after being filmed falling off a BMX bike while on a skateboard ramp. The 74-year-old leader - a pal of actor Antonio Banderas - was the stuff of legends after he fell off while testing the circuit at skate-
SENSATION: A meme of De la Torre
park Rubén Alcántara. Luckily, Francisco de la Torre suffered little more than a slightly bruised arm… and, of course, a wounded ego.
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The internet reacted with hilarious results, with the politician being edited into photographs riding a bear, a dinosaur, and even in the film E.T.
Burn, baby, burn PRO-Europe campaigners have urged expats to take part in a huge anti-Brexit bonfire. Members of Bremain in Spain want people living on the costas to throw pro-Brexit placards and memorabilia into fires lit to celebrate Fiesta de San Juan on June 23. The date also marks the first anniversary of the British referendum on EU membership. Sue Wilson, group spokeswoman, hopes participation in the event will remind UK politicians of expats’ opposition to Brexit, while showing Spaniards their wish to integrate into Spanish life. “Our plan is to get as many people together,with placards with slogans like ‘strong and stable leadership’ and ‘Brexit means Brexit.’ “Most importantly, take loads of photos for us to use on our website and in press releases across UK and Spain.”
Fans were also quick to praise the effort of the Mayor, with Twitter users labelling his moves as ‘big’ and ‘sublime’. One user compared the fall to a scene in hit MTV show Jackass, while another compared his already being back at work with the Terminator. De la Torre, who has not missed any work as a result of the fall, expressed his delight in the memes on social media. He said: "Thanks to those who ask how I am after trying #BMX in @SkateParkMalaga: all good, I will reassemble, I have much fun memes." The Mayor was testing out the park ahead of the BMX Vans Pro Cup.
Wifeswap central THE UK and Spain have been ranked among the top three sauciest countries in Europe. According to a website, which lists every wife-swapping club on the planet, the UK has 155 while Spain has the third highest with 113. Germany has the most in Europe with 193. Brit holiday favourite Mallorca has seven such clubs, while Alicante and the Canary Islands have 12 each. London boasts 31 clubs and the north of England 26. There are 61 in France, 36 in Italy, 29 in Holland and just six in sexually liberated Sweden. British tourists are known to spend millions of euros every year frequenting sex clubs and swinging hotels when on holiday, according to the site www.clubsandparties.com.