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October 15th - October 28th
We don’t celebrate genocide
Gangsters’ Who’s next on the paradise Costa del crime hitlist? Page 6 -7
Which Costa chef cooked for Clinton on his only Russia trip? Page 23
DEAD: Gerard ‘the Hatchett’ Kavanagh, Paul Kavanagh and Gary Hutch NEXT?: Fat Freddie Thompson
A Spanish guiri How to get abreast of life in Spain
Left in limbo Expat continues a 15-year battle to prove her innocence over ‘multi-million’ fraud claims
Tried and tested tips from new A PENNILESS pensioner is blogger the Spanish Guiri desperately trying to clear Page 41 her name in a massive money laundering scandal. The 78-year-old British expat has spent 15 years battling to prove her innocence after a string of UK police investigations. Yet the former primary school teacher suspects an ex-husband is entirely to blame for the labyrinthine mix-up. Now forced to squat in a dilapidated home, in Salobrena, pensioner Patience Kelly, has taken matters into her own hands after a three-year money launderWhy our reporter had ing investigation left her to NOT break the ice on impecunious. his date in San Pedro Led by Staffordshire police, Page 24 investigations began in 2005
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EXCLUSIVE By Iona Napier & Rob Horgan after £135,000 (€180,000) ‘went missing’ from the sale of Kelly’s Essex home which she owned with her ex-husband. She insists she has no idea where the money is and suspects her ex-husband might be behind it. Police and council letters seen by the Olive Press claim Kelly committed fraud by failing to declare her Spanish assets. In total, they believed she had ‘laundered’ up to €2.5 million through ‘three or four’ Spanish villas, which were not declared. However, Kelly insists she has only ever owned one house in Spain and the €2.5 million relates to the purchase of properties with her ex-husband in the UK in the 1980s. She insists she has ‘no idea’ where the money is now, but believes her ex-husband may still have it hidden somewhere. However, based on the evidence before the authorities,
WHILE the Royal Family led a military parade for Spanish National Day, left-wing politicians around the country were quick to dub it a ‘celebration of genocide’. A growing section of Spanish society is now openly questioning whether they should be celebrating Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World with a national holiday. Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias predictably caused headlines when he rejected King Felipe’s invite to the Royal reception in Madrid on Monday. But it was left to other leaders, including Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, to openly speak out.
Massacre
DETERMINED: Kelly wants to clear her name she was evicted from her council flat in Staffordshire in 2007 for benefit fraud. While police ‘mysteriously’ dropped the investigation a year later, she has still not been publicly cleared of the allegations. “I have spent the last 15 years trying to clear my name and been treated like a criminal throughout,” she told the Olive Press. “I have lost hundreds of thousands in the process and have
lived a hand-to-mouth existence throughout.” Staffordshire police confirmed they were aware of the case, but would not comment on why it had apparently been stopped. A source at Staffordshire council revealed there was ‘a stack of paperwork’ on Kelly and that she was ‘well known’ in the area. Officially though, a spokesman confirmed there was ‘no current case’ against her.
Mayor of Cadiz Jose Maria ‘Kichi’ Gonzalez criticised the 3,500-strong Madrid military parade, complete with aeroplanes, insisting: “We never discovered America, we massacred and subjected a continent to our culture in the name of God. Nothing to celebrate.” It is estimated some 50 million indigenous Americans died from violence as well as disease during centuries of Spanish rule, after Columbus landed in the late 15th century. As Colau tweeted: “I am ashamed of the state for celebrating genocide and, on top of that, with a military parade that cost €800,000!” Podemos’ leader in Andalucia, Teresa Rodriguez added: “I think a national holiday should mark one’s own liberation and not the slavery of another.” Thousands of citizens agreed, taking to Twitter to vent their disapproval through the hashtag ‘#nadaquecelebrar’ (nothing to celebrate). However, many thousands still lined the Madrid streets to celebrate ‘Hispanic day’, desperate to gain a view of the Royal princesses.
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CRIME NEWS
Starr seeking
October 15th - October 28th 2015
Lawyers heading to Spain to track down disgraced comedian Freddie Starr over million-euro legal bill EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan A WOMAN who claimed to be groped by Freddie Starr has revealed she is following him out to Spain. Karin Ward’s representatives are set to slap a writ on the fallen comedian on the Costa del Sol, where he has fled to avoid a massive legal bill. Her lawyer in the UK told the Olive Press he was set to slap a writ on Starr, 72, at his new home in Mijas. Lawyer David Price insisted the funnyman was breaking the law by not paying the £1 million legal bill he owes her. As reported in our last issue, Starr fled to La Cala after he lost his libel claim against Ward, in
BRUTAL: Lunatic bites into Ibiza DJ’s face
PICTURES: DAILY EXPRESS/SWNS
2
Horror attack
which he was seeking £300,000 (€400,000) in damages. Her lawyer estimates the costs to be around €540,000, plus a win fee and VAT, amounting to around €1.2 million. “He has to pay up,” Price told
ESCAPE TO THE COSTA: Freddie Starr in Mijas and (left) Ward the Olive Press this week. “He lost the case in court and is now trying to get out of paying up anyway he can.” However, when the Olive
Murder case concludes GIBRALTAR police’s biggest ever murder inquiry into the tragic death of a family of four in March has been concluded. The findings confirm there was no third party involved and also show the services of Estepona police were en-
listed to investigate the family life of the British male, John Shannon, who was a resident there. The investigation, Operation Indigo, has been handed over to HM Coroner Charles Pitto, who will make the results public next year.
Press tracked Starr down to his La Cala Hills bolthole he said he was ‘skint’ and couldn’t afford to pay up. “I didn’t run away because of the court case,” he said. “If you haven’t got socks, you can’t pull them up. “I’ve got no money, plain and simple.” In August, court officials attempted to serve a statutory demand order to his UK home when his first payment of €450,000 was missed. But the comedian had already fled the country and was hiding out in Spain.
A BRITISH DJ has been attacked by a madman who tried to ‘chew off his face’ in Ibiza. The Spanish maniac, whose arms were smeared in vaseline, bit into Kenny McSween’s forehead and pummelled him during a 20-minute assault, seen on CCTV. Bizarrely, while Spanish police turned up to save him they clasped him in handcuffs. Kenny, 38, said: “I honestly thought he was going to kill
me. I feel like I’ve gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. “My face swelled up like a balloon and I was dripping with blood from where he bit me. “The sound of him biting me still haunts me - he was growling like a wild animal. “I’ve had to return to the UK because I genuinely feared for my life.” The assault took place in party town San Antonio and the British Embassy have been informed.
Party police catch killer THE two British bobbies who patrolled a series of rowdy Spanish resorts this summer have inadvertently captured a convicted killer. PC Martina Anderson and Sgt Brett Williams, have been praised for helping track down Ashley James who went AWOL after escaping from a UK prison five years ago. The pair had previously been criticised after Anderson admitted she was ‘sozzled’ while on patrol in Magaluf. They have now made amends by tracking down former teacher James, 30, who was given a 10-year sentence for manslaughter in 2008 for killing his student Uriel Johnson.
NEWS
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October 15th - October 28th 2015
Walking in Main Street THE Rock became the backdrop for US rapper Beniton the Menace’s new video last month, and now it is the turn of pop rock group Lawson. The English band told revellers at Gibraltar Music Festival they would be filming their new video after the show… and they stuck to their word. Clips at the airport, up the Rock and of the band performing in Victoria Stadium all made the video for We are kings. We are Kings is the second single from the album, Perspectives, out later this year.
What’s he got that I haven’t?
pat factor Olive Press meets Costa singing sensation tipped to win one of Spain’s biggest TV talent shows AN English expat in the semifinal of Spain’s biggest childrens talent show has called for support following confusion over her identity. Elisha Lang, 12, has grown up mostly in Gibraltar but was dubbed as being from Cadiz on the massive hit TV show La Voz Kids. The talented singer - who has sung at Gibraltar National Day and numerous charity events - has fought off an incredible 20,000 applicants to reach the
THE intention was to toast the Madrid launch of an alcoholic drink. But things got personal in a provocative selfie between television presenter Risto Mejide, 39, and David Beckham, 40. In a Twitter post, Mejide wrote: “Okay, he has more hair, more success, better looks, he’s nicer and has more money than me. “But what has David Beckham got that I haven’t?” The answer? Aside from his glamorous model girlfriend Laura Escanes who, at 19, is 20 years Mejide’s junior...not a lot.
EXCLUSIVE By Tom Powell last 15, with the next round on Monday. But the Westside pupil, whose family also has a home in Los Barrios, caused a stir on the Rock when she told the show’s judges she ‘came from Cadiz’. Ironically, the programme aired just hours after Elisha had performed the Gibraltar national anthem of Llevame Donde Naci (Take Me Where I Was Born) at
Full house...
LA CALA
...But no full English for Elliot Wright, who needs a health kick
T
HE Wright household is busy as always. Not only has my new girlfriend Sadie moved in, but my parents have moved to a place nearby, having just made the move from Alicante full time. Sadie and I also flew home for about 14 hours last week to turn up for my mum’s surprise 60th birthday which was a laugh. My parents have been on hand to help me with Olivia’s as we grow fast, having just had our busiest weekend yet. This was despite the huge storms on Saturday night when all the outside tables had to be put upstairs to feed an extra 50 punters.And when the pirate ships - Blackbeard and all dropped their anchors to book a table, sadly we had to turn them away we were so full. One other bit of news. I have finally said goodbye to TOWIE for good and, to be brutally honest, I am not even watching the show anymore.Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a great time, but it is time to move on…even after I got a huge bottle of whisky and a thankyou card from producers after filming finished last week. With all the fun and games I haven’t managed to get to the gym as much as I’d like to and I can’t get away with comfort food at my age, regrettably. At least we are now serving up our delicious - and mostly healthy - English breakfasts to the guys who work out on the WITH beach in the morning. MUM: At party Come and join us from 9am!
THE VOICE: ‘I really hope everyone on the coast and in Gibraltar gets behind me,’ says Elisha the Evacuation anniversary concert in September. “I know people might have been offended that I said I came from Cadiz on the show, but I didn’t know what to say,” Elisha told the Olive Press. “I have made it clear I am from Gibraltar in Spanish interviews. I’m proud of it.
Support
“I want to thank everybody who has supported me so far, in Spain and Gibraltar,” continued Elisha, who started singing at the age of three. Her father Scott added: “It should be about her voice, not where she is from.” The show’s producers initially had no issue with Elisha registering under a Gibraltar address. However, after succeeding at preliminary auditions in Sevilla and two in Madrid, her family were told by the show’s legal team she MUST have a Spanish address and town hall registration. Her mother Claire admitted: “We were worried that because she was from Gibraltar, it might affect her chances in the public vote. “But it turns out that only the judges decide who goes through until the final, when it is up to the studio audience.” She added: “With hindsight, everyone has been so kind on the show that we don’t think mentioning Gibraltar would have made a difference.” Elisha, who now counts 10,000 Instagram followers, was actually born in Northumberland, in the UK, but moved to Los
Barrios while two weeks old and has always been schooled in Gibraltar. Both her mother Claire and father Scott have Gibraltarian parents. The mayor of Los Barrios has already publicly awarded her with a plaque for her singing achievements.Claire and father Scott have Gibraltarian parents.
Silva dust THEY may have a 34-year age gap between them, but Richard Gere, 66, and Spanish lover Alejandra Silva, 32, have plenty to help them click. The daughter of a former Real Madrid vice president, she has revealed how the pair’s mutual humanitarian work and beliefs as Buddhists brought them close. In her first interview, confirming their relationship, the Spanish socialite told how they bonded through their ’love of helping those in need’, especially refugees and the homeless.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Court summons
ANTONIO Rivas, the director general of Andalucian Employment Services, has been summoned to speak in court about his role in allegedly falsifying certificates in the ERE corruption scandal.
Roman rules THE Roman remains of Baelo Claudia welcomed a record 17,347 visitors during the month of September.
Four way Pablo Iglesias is demanding a four-way open debate with main party leaders Mariano Rajoy (PP), Pedro Sanchez (PSOE) and Albert Rivera (Ciudadanos).
War tales The Andalucian government has submitted a draft law to allow schools to teach pupils about repression that occurred under Franco’s dictatorship.
October 15th - October 28th 2015
Off air!
Popular expat DJ finally calls time on her radio career after not being paid for four years EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan AN expat radio presenter has been forced to hang up her headphones and turn off the mic for the last time. Irish pensioner Rona Bourke has called time on her radio career after being ‘messed around’ by Estepona town hall for too long. Slamming the town hall for failing to pay its staff, ‘while paying thousands for murals and flower pots’, Bourke, 79, insists ‘enough is enough’. The host on Radio Television Estepona for 12 years has slammed mayor Jose Urbano for not paying her for four years. Promised her job would be
ANGRY: Bourke safe by Urbano just before his 2 0 1 1 election win, Bourke was shocked when her €200
Church goers ANTI-corruption party Podemos is fighting to make a Catholic cathedral public property. The party has filed a request with the Aragon government to annul the deeds to the Jaca cathedral as it’s private property. The 11th century church was registered with the local government in 1998, leaving many Catholics outraged. “They took an entire cathedral and all the property inside away from us,” the head of Podemos’s Aragon branch, Pablo Ecenique said. Podemos also asked that another 30 cemeteries and churches registered between 1989 and 2015 in Aragon be ‘given back’.
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monthly wage was suddenly stopped after he got in. Told there was no money to pay her, Bourke battled on regardless with her weekly show for four years on the continual promise that money would start coming her way again ‘soon’. But it never did, and three years after her on-air partner Eddie Taylor quit the Rona show. “The town hall kept telling me that the money would soon return, maybe I was naive to believe it,” Bourke told the Olive Press. “I loved doing the show but I couldn’t go on working for free, it was demoralising. “After four years of not being paid I have had enough.” In further criticism of the town hall she continued:: “It’s all well and good decorating the town with flowerpots and paying thousands for giant murals but when you can’t afford to foot the payroll then something isn’t right.” When asked about Bourke’s departure a town hall spokesman thanked her for her ‘12 years of service’ but would not comment on financial matters.
DANGEROUS: Road conditions in the wet
Car crash chaos FLASH storms are being blamed for an increased number of car accidents on the Costa del Sol. Two men lost their lives on Mijas roads over the bank holiday weekend during heavy rains. A 60-year-old man died after falling from his motorbike and tumbling 10 metres down an embankment near to the racecourse. Meanwhile, a 33-year-old driver also died in a head-on collision after driving the wrong way down the A7 coastal motorway. On Saturday, a British expat couple were lucky to escape with cuts and bruises after their Smart car was hit head-on by an out-of-control driver in Estepona. A police spokesman said extra officers are placed in ‘high risk areas’ across the country to slow drivers down in wet conditions.
A right royal day of reckoning
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THE date for Spain’s most anticipated trial has been set. In an unprecedented court appearance on January 11, Princess Cristina will become the first member of Spain’s royal family to be tried in court. Charged with tax fraud, King Felipe’s sister is accused of using her royal standing for the benefit of her husband’s company, the Noos Institute. Her husband, former Olym-
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OPINION The Caribbean con PERHAPS the two billion euro ERE scandal isn’t as bad as it seems. Perhaps the construction of a hotel in the Caribbean with public money was all a big misunderstanding, and the Court is taking it out on the wrong people. Perhaps former Junta bosses Grinan and Chaves really did have the best interests of their people at heart. Not buying it? Nope, us neither.
Money, money, money THE heartless nature of greedy companies has rarely reared its head as cruelly as with AENA at Malaga airport this week. Slapped with a €266 parking fine after watching his wife undergo cancer treatment, Chris Wood is understandably more than a little miffed. Unwilling to cooperate or understand the couple’s plight, the company’s lack of empathy is a sad reflection of corporate greed.
Lessons in life STUDENTS are famed for their resourcefulness and creativity, but Lucas de la Haro’s caravan plan wheels away first prize. The hard-pressed Kingston University scholar’s decision to buy a mobile home in Malaga and drive it 3,000 km to London was an inventive solution to the capital’s soaring rental costs. With problem-solving skills that refined, the business student is sure to prosper after graduation day. Meanwhile in Madrid, mayor Manuela Carmena is cracking the whip with feckless youngsters. The exjudge wants students to start sweeping the capital’s street. With the detritus from weekend ‘botellon’ parties turning Complutense University into a rubbish dump, students need to spend two or three months a year cleaning up, says Carmena. It’s a proposal that should instill a sense of civic pride in young Madrilenos… and give them an often muchnecessary work ethic.
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FEATURE
Gangsters’ paradise T
Dubbed the Costa del Crime, southern Spain has long harboured some of Europe’s most dangerous gangsters. Rob Horgan and Tom Powell take a look at the most notorious from the past and present
RAFFICKING drugs, robbing millions and pulling rivals’ teeth out with pliers can become tiresome after a while, even for the most hard-bitten of gangsters. So it makes sense that Europe’s biggest criminal firms of the last 50 years have pitched up on the Costa del Sol and Gibraltar to enjoy the fruits of their ill-gotten gains. Some, the clever ones, realised they could
make as much, even more, by getting involved in prostitution, drugs and peoplesmuggling. After all, Andalucia is one of the key entry points for not just immigrants, but cocaine, heroin and, of course, marijuana grown just across the pond. No surprise then that the coast has been a notorious playground for the most depraved criminal masterminds and nefari-
DUBBED the Godfather of European organised crime, Ricardo Fanchini is the slick-haired crook behind a multitude of trafficking and money-laundering operations. He founded his empire on fencing bootleg vodka throughout Europe, before moving onto the more sinister stuff - drugs and firearms. More recently, he organised ‘crime summits’ consisting of Europe’s most important mafia figures. Described as the ‘CEO of European organised crime’ by the BBC, it hardly comes as a surprise that there is a palatial villa, hidden up a long, winding driveway in the hills above Marbella, with two ornate ‘F’s decorating the iron gates; welcome to Casa
Fanchini. But the man described as the Polish Al Capone hasn’t been able to relax by his pool and enjoy the views out to Africa in some five years. He is currently languishing behind bars in an American prison, sentenced to 10 years in 2010 after agreeing a plea bargain. Fanchini admitted a single charge conspiring to distribute 424 kilos of ecstasy. His main link to the Costa del Sol currently comes in the shape of the Majestic urbanisation in Casares, the illegally-built complex which has seen former mayor Juan Sanchez facing 18 years imprisonment for his illicit agreements.
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TWISTED: Gaspar (left) with convicted paedophile Max Clifford at Costa del Sol bash
WHERE Fanchini is involved, two other names are rarely out of the picture: Frank Mani, 55, and Robert Gaspar, 54, who together led the Polish criminal’s Kremlyovskaya gang. Police believe Gaspar, a French national of Ukrainian origin, is the mastermind behind the Majestic scandal. He is still the subject of an international arrest warrant, while Robert Mani, an Armenian, was arrested at Malaga airport last year. Their network, launched in 2004, included the now defunct Majestic TV station, as well as Sol Mijas developers and Blue Sky Television. The pair also took over the running – and subsequent ruining – of the now-deserted Mijas racecourse, under the guise of Carrera Entertainments. Gaspar even launched REM radio station with Costa celebrity Maurice Boland at the helm, into which he pumped hundreds of thousands of euros. It’s fair to say they have left quite a legacy, and not a proud one, in this part of the world.
Citizens arrest for the PP
A
S the general elections approach on December 20, many in the ruling PP party have already recognized that they may not win a clear majority to stay in power. The latest polls show that Prime Minister Rajoy might need the help of the up-andcoming centre-right force, Ciudadanos, if he intends to govern for a second term. Ciudadanos (Citizens), which grew from a Catalan conservative citizens movement 10 years ago to a budding political party, has been gaining strength in many regions as PP moderates sway towards its side. Ciudadanos’ charismatic lead-
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GODFATHER: Fanchini ruled in Marbella
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ous gangland enforcers for decades. But with the demise of ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser, the Mijas mobster and John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer of Brink’s-MAT infamy, some would think the hey-day of the Costa del Crime might be over. However there are certain ‘businessmen’ from Ireland, Eastern Europe and elsewhere who would suggest they think again...
Polish Al Capone
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August 6th --August 19th 2015 www.theolivepress.es October 15th October 28th 2015
MADRI Mario Alegria takes a look at the problems Prime Minister Rajoy faces in run up to MATTE D RS winter elections and policy.
er Albert Rivera seems intent on splitting the PP to leave behind the harsh right-wing remnants from the Franco regime, which have guided public policy since Rajoy has been in office. His strategy could work if he publicly came out and denounced many of the party’s political shortcomings and antiquated thinking. But that may not happen. Political partnerships are the products of negotiations and silence. The PP has already
spread the word that it won’t broker any change of leadership within the party. In other words, Rajoy is the only candidate for prime minister and there won’t be any challenges against him. Rivera may not have the political savvy to become prime minister, but he is coy enough to push the PP into some tough talks if he intends on forming a pact. The conversations will no doubt centre on power-sharing
One sticking point where Rivera won’t budge however, are the issues of corruption and cronyism – problems that have plagued the PP for decades. Ciudadanos wants tighter measures to ensure that former officials are brought to justice. The problem with this demand is that there will a lot of collateral damage within the PP itself. This, no doubt, is a situation that Rajoy does not want to find himself dealing with.
FEATURE
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August 6th28th - August October 15thwww.theolivepress.es - October 2015
The fearsome Irish Kinahan clan CONNECTED to drugs and money laundering on a global scale and linked to a string of brutal murders, the Kinahan clan could have stepped straight out of a Martin Scorsese movie. But this is real life and the notorious crime organisation is active here, on the Costa del Sol. The Irish-run gangster clan has established itself as a modern day Mafiosa, running riot along the Spanish coast since landing in 2003. Worth an estimated €500 million, the gang’s leader Christy ‘the Dapper Don’ Kinahan is considered Ireland’s wealthiest criminal in history.
The clan however, was dealt a heavy blow in 2010, when a covert Spanish-Irish police operation put 34 of his gang behind bars - 22 in Spain, including the Dapper Don himself and his right-hand man, John Cunningham. Codenamed Operation Shovel, 20 vehicles, over €1 million in cash and several firearms were seized. But a string of brutal murders over the past 18 months suggest the gang is back in action. Out of jail since April 2013, Christy has wasted no time reestablishing himself at the helm of the organisation and allegedly settling scores with foot soldiers who fell out of line during his time behind bars. Shot three times by a balaclava-wearing hitman at his Mijas swimming pool, Gary Hutch’s execution last month is being reported in Ireland as a show of strength by the clan. Coming after the killings of major drug players, Gerard ‘the Hatchett’ Kavanagh (pictured left) and brother Paul, Irish and Spanish authorities fear more murders will follow. Mown down in broad daylight at a bar in Marbella, leaving bullets sprayed across a public square, the ‘Hatchett’,
like Hutch, met his end after allegedly stealing over €100,000 from the drugs lord. It was third time unlucky for Hutch who survived two previous hits - one leaving former British boxing champion Jamie Moore fighting for his life after he was shot outside the Kinahan’s €10 million Estepona pad in a case of mistaken identity. (Big boxing fans themselves, the Kinahans are regularly seen ringside, cheering on Marbella-based fighter Matthew Macklin.) Now the next disloyal member is alleged to be in the clan’s sights - Dublin-based ‘Fat Freddie’ Thompson. A former partner of Hutch and the Hatchett, the trio set up operations in Spain in 2009 but a hit on all three in Puerto Banus saw partner Paddy Doyle killed, leaving the others little choice but to team up with the Kinahans. It was in fact that hit which put Operation Shovel in motion. Like his former associates, Fat Freddie is allegedly suspected of dipping his hands in the kitty, leading to fears that a gangland war is ‘in danger of exploding’ on the Costa del Sol, with Kinahan ‘heavies’ Dublinbound to meet with key enforcer Paul Rice. Rice himself fell out of favour with the Kinahans last year but apTHE crooks behind the the record Brink’s-MAT gold bullion robbery Meanwhile, Olive Press sources claim Noye could be set for a return pears to have mended were no strangers to Spain’s shores. to his Costa de la Luz property when he is released from UK prison in relations. But it is not Both John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer and two-time convicted killer Kenneth the next year. just internal affairs that Noye owned property in Spain, probably quite a lot of it. Hiding out near Zahara de los Atunes for four years before he was could bubble over. The Palmer - who spent most of his time in Tenerife - was murdered by caught, Noye allegedly flew in and out of Gibraltar numerous times Kinahans are also out Spanish hitmen earlier this year. while police searched for him. to get a number of rival gangs, it is reported. FROM LEFT: A long-running turf war Charlie with the notorious LonWilson, Mad don and Spain-based FrankieFraser, Adams family could reach boiling point as Ronnie Knight and the long arm of the law John Palmer finally comes down on leaders Terry and Patsy Adams. London gangland brutality than ‘Mad Frankie del Sol during the hey-day of cockney gangWhile Terry - reportedly sters, where he became known as the king Fraser’. worth tens of millions The notorious enforcer spent 42 of his 90 of the lot. of euros - has been years in prison but still found time to build a He even married his third wife, Sue Haylock, pinned on ill-gotten reputation for carrying out horrific attacks on in Fuengirola in 1987. Unable to resist taking TWO key figures in Britain’s most iconic heist - his rivals - with razors and pliers. gains, Patsy’s €4 mila cheeky shot at the law, their wedding cake the Great Train Robbery - hid out on the Costa He worked for the Krays - the rulers of London was in the shape of a prison. lion villa in Mallorca del Sol to avoid the heat. was stormed by poin the 1960s, as well as the Richardsons, a But Knight’s Spanish dream came crashing Charlie Wilson - also involved in the Brink’s- similar force to be reckoned with. lice in June and the down when he was jailed for seven years in MAT robbery - owned property on the coast Fraser, who died last year, was certified in- 1994 for his role in a multi-million pound crimelord was picked but came to his end in 1990 when a hitman sane three times. up in Holland in Auarmed robbery in London. riding a bicycle took him out in Marbella. gust on an attempted He was certainly crazy about the Costa del Nowadays the 77-year-old lives in a rented His former partner in crime, Gordon Goody, Sol, having owned a villa in La Cala de Mijas flat in Cambridge on a £130 a week pension. murder charge. moved to southern Spain after his release where he enjoyed regular sun-drenched holiThe clan may also turn from UK prison in 1975 and still resides in days. His son is said to still live in the area. their attentions to the Almeria today. Dundons trampled emAnd while his criminal associates – Ronnie pire in Ireland - reportBiggs and Bruce Reynolds (to name just two) FREDERICK Foreman enjoyed the good life in edly teaming up with – became cult figures in the UK, Goody esSpain for more than a decade before returnLimerick-based travelcaped to Spain to run beach bar Chiringuito ing to the cold reality of a UK jail sentence, ler gangs as well as the Kon Tiki in Mojacar. just like his coworker Ronnie Knight. Keane family to take OF all the villains who fled to the so-called The Krays’ former henchman, Brown Bread what’s up for grabs. Costa del Crime in the 1980s, Ronnie Knight Fred was part of the 1980s Marbella scene There is no doubt the Kiwas arguably the most colourful. which led to the Costa del Crime nickname. nahan clan will continue This was largely due to his marriage to East- But time catches up with everyone eventuto flex its muscles over enders star Barbara Windsor, who even gave ally, and Fred was convicted of the disposal the next 12 months. evidence in his defence in court. of Jack ‘the Hat’ McVitie’s body after he was Where and how remains Knight spent 11 years hiding out on the Costa killed by Reggie Kray. to be seen. THERE are few names more synonymous with
Looking back on Golden Oldies
Runaway train robbers
Gangster King of the Costa del crooks
Brown Bread Fred
Mad mobster of Mijas
HITLIST: Gerard Kavanagh, Paul Kavanagh, Gary Hutch and Fat Freddie
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POLITICAL NEWS
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August 6th - August 2015 28th 2015 www.theolivepress.es October 15th19th - October
Jobs for… the Caribbean Pantoja released By Tom Powell
Illegal Junta slush fund was used to build hotels in the Dominican Republic
A DIRTY money network which links the Andalucian ERE scandal to hotels in the Caribbean has been exposed in court. Bogus grants totalling tens of millions were used to set up a luxury hotel company in the Dominican Republic. The money, which was meant to stimulate employment and the economy in Andalucia, was instead syphoned into a web of
Eye on
CORRUPTIO N A former accountant at the Junta, who is now on the run, confirmed that the money was syphoned away to set up the business Corporacion Hotelera del Mar. Eduardo Pascal, now under a search and capture order, admitted that €15 million of the money was invested into the Fishing Lodge Cap Cana. He revealed that the other €3 million went directly into the back pockets of prominent PSOE members at the heart of the illegal financing network.In total, over €2.2 billion is believed to have been syphoned off in EXCLUSIVE bogus grants during the ongoing ERE case.The money, nent official headquarters of the US ‘reaction in the form of grants from force’ to fight jihadism, with navy destroyer USS Madrid and Brussels went Carney arriving in nearby Rota, in mid-Septeminto the so-called ‘reptile ber. fund’ from which money Moron airbase, which counts 100 planes, was was divvied out to friends opened in 2012. and family of the PSOE-led Carter later observed troop manoeuvres Junta, allegedly for business with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro projects that did not exist. Morenes, at the base. The case has so far seen forThe tour is the latest seal of mer Junta chiefs Manuel good military relations between Chaves and Jose Antonio the two countries, with May’s Grinan being dragged into agreement extending the numcourt for questioning. ber of US troops stationed at the Spanish base. Opinion Page 6
offshore companies abroad. Millions were also literally paid into the back pockets of a series of Junta bosses, who helped to streamline the fraud over decades, it has emerged.Madrid’s Audiencia Nacional has heard how €18 million of €91 million paid to the Junta in one of various so-called ‘ERE cases’ ‘has disappeared in the Dominican Republic’.
Pentagon chief swoops in HE swooped in like James Bond on a secret mission deep inside rural Andalucia. Pentagon boss Ashton Carter has flown into America’s massive Moron de la Frontera air base, as part of a classified troop manoeuvres, the Olive Press can reveal. Sources revealed that the White House Defence Secretary was on hand to d i s cuss continuing military operations in North Africa and the Middle East. In particular, looking at the spread of ISIL, he was discussing the strategy of how to best use the 2,200 US troops based there. The base is now the perma-
SINGER Isabel Pantoja has secured a six-day release from prison, where she is serving a two-year sentence for money-laundering. It is the third time she Pantoja, 59, has been freed since going to prison in November 2014. She emerged from prison wearing sunglasses and was driven to her Cadiz farm in Medina Sidonia. The Sevilla singer is not considered a risk flight.
We will stop paying taxes LEADERS of a left-wing Catalan independence party are threatening to stop paying taxes to central government. Various town halls led by the CUP party insist they will undertake the radical move, as the first step towards declaring independence. Berga mayor Montse Venturos is initially proposing to withhold €190,000, a move seen as a de facto independence claim. SAN Pedro’s hopes of sepa“We know that we aren’t gorating from Marbella have ing to change anything by been hit by a court ruling. legal means,” said Venturos. The Andalucian high court, “All change is going to come approved the Junta’s decifrom disobedience and we are sion to block the indepennot going to have independence move. dence if there is not disobediIt ruled the two towns are ence towards Spanish laws. too close for separation to “We shouldn’t and we can’t be viable. apply laws that are a disgrace.” Breaking apart would have As further disobedience to the a negative impact on the lostate, no bank holiday was reccal economy as well. ognised this Monday for NationSan Pedro supplement. al Day with the town of 17,000 From Page 21 functioning as a normal day.
Pedro not empowered
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GIBRALTAR NEWS
October 15th - October 28th 2015
To the rescue! A LEADING marine rescue firm has arrived in Gibraltar. Florida’s Resolve Marine Group has announced a deal to set up a base on the Rock, and become one of the largest emergency response operators in Europe and Africa. Resolve can now provide first class maritime fire and emergency response services in the region, as well as oil pollution control. One of the largest emergency response tugs in the market, the Resolve Blizzard, is now also based in Gibraltar.
Emergencies
A Resolve Academy is also in the pipeline, which will train up the next generation of professional marine rescuers and port firefighters. Resolve Marine Group President Joe Farrell said: “Not only will this new station be on hand to support HMGOG and the Port Authority, we will also be responding to emergencies worldwide. “Gibraltar’s strategic location, stable modern governance and thriving economy are many of the benefits we have identified during our decision process.”
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We’re no colony! By Tom Powell CHIEF Minister Fabian Picardo has blasted the United Nations for ‘consistently thwarting’ Gibraltar’s fight to be removed from the list of nonself-governing territories. In a fiery New York speech, the Rock’s leader warned the UN that the Spanish were acting like the ‘last colonists of Europe’ in ignoring Gibraltar-
Picardo issues scathing attack on Spain and United Nations in keynote New York speech ian wishes. He also emphasised that Gibraltar has repeatedly invited the Fourth Committee of 24 members to send a mission to the Rock, but has never even received a formal response. “We are better prepared to be
removed from the list than many who have already been removed,” he insisted. “It is only because of the objections of the Spanish Government that we remain on the list of non-self governing territories.”
BATTLE OF THE FLAGS
In a week of tit for tat patriotism, flagbearers continue Spain and Gibraltar’s three-century-old border dispute in unusual places
V Flagging it up... SCUBA stunt TWO British politicians have caused controversy by unfurling a Gibraltar flag in the European Parliament moments before a speech by the King of Spain. Eurosceptic UKIP MEPs James Carver and Julia Reid, who represents Gibraltar, posted a photo on Twitter and Facebook of them holding the flag aloft.
A SPANISH SCUBA diver is causing a storm on Twitter after he took to the Straits of Gibraltar to unfurl his country’s flag. The SCUBA stuntman posed for a photo with the Spanish flag tethered to a rock, while inside Gibraltar’s territorial waters. The photo sparking thousands of comments.
His address came just days after Spain’s foreign minister Jose Margallo told the UN’s General Assembly that Gibraltar is a colony which ‘plays unfair’. Strongly refuting Margallo’s words, he slammed the PP government’s ‘neo-colonial and expansionist approach’ and reminded the committee that Spanish ships had trespassed in Gibraltar waters 119 times in September alone. There is no impediment to our delisting other than Spain insisting that the inalienable principle of self-determination should not apply to us as a people,” he said. “Our nation is the third largest in the world in GDP terms per capita. And our financial services are among the most highly regulated in the world. “Our sales of tobacco are also the most highly regulated in Europe, despite the annual criticism. “But on each occasion I have come here I have heard, like today, the baseless accusations of the distinguished Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain,” he added. In an equally feisty speech earlier in the week, Margallo complained to the UN that Gibraltar’s government is damaging the Campo de Gibraltar, Spain’s treasury and the European Union. He said: “Spain cannot accept that the Gibraltarian authorities play unfair.”
11
ON the Rock Until October 23, 42nd Gibraltar Art Exhibition
Open to artists over the age of 16, the winner of this annual competition can walk away with a cool £4,000. Contact info@culture.gi or call 206 72 36.
October 16, Frank Sinatra Tribute
Bosom Buddies will be doing it their way in this their homage to Ol’ Blue Eyes at the Rock Hotel Khaima from 7.30pm. Info on Bosom Buddies Facebook page.
NEWS IN BRIEF
London calls GIBRALTAR Day in London was marked by an annual mass at Our Lady of Dolours Sevite Church in Fulham to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World War Two evacuation.
Open fire THE Gibraltar Fire and Rescue service is set to celebrate its 150th anniversary with an open day in Casemates Square on Saturday 17.
I am delighted to have been appointed Headmaster of Prior Park School, Gibraltar, the fourth school to join the Prior Park Schools' family. Our aim is to inspire and challenge every child by offering stimulating educational opportunities and to build a school of which all of Gibraltar can be proud. We will open for Years 8 through to 10 in September 2016, Years 11 and 12 in 2017 with full school provision in September 2018. For details of how to register your child please visit our website. Peter Watts Headmaster, Prior Park School, Gibraltar
An Education for Life
www.priorparkgibraltar.com Find us on social media: priorparkschoolgibraltar
www.theolivepress.es 12 12 the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th
YOUR BRITISH GP Dr.Paul Godden
Home visits in the Axarquia, Surgery in Riogordo. For a home visit call 692 42 41 42 www.britishgp.es
AXARQUIA
October 15th www.theolivepress.es - October 28th 2015
Taken for a ride Former Downing Street photographer slams extortionate AENA parking charge after mercy cancer trip
EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan A FORMER Fleet Street photographer has slammed a massive parking fine he got at Malaga airport after an emergency trip home for his wife’s cancer treatment. Nerja resident Chris Wood, 77, informed staff at AENA long-term car park that they had to delay their return to Spain by a month, while wife Carol underwent a biopsy and mammogram. However, upon their return they discovered the extra month’s stay had been billed FOUR TIMES higher than expected. “The original charge was €50 a month. I let them know we needed an extra month but when I went to pick the car up the total charge was €266,” said Wood, who worked at the Daily Express for 35 years and later as former Prime Minister John Major’s
NEWS IN BRIEF
Bus bother A NEW bus station planned for Salobreña has come under fire from the nearby Mediterraneo secondary school, which has voiced concerns about noise and pollution.
Cave way RENOVATION work on the 800-metre path connecting Nerja’s caves with a viewpoint is due to be completed before the month ends.
Lifesavers MORE than 5,000 lifeguard interventions were registered across Rincon de la Victoria’s beaches this summer, including saving 18 people at risk of drowning. PARKING PROBLEMS: At airport for Wood (inset)
photographer in Downing Street. “But they didn’t care about our problem and their atti-
Facebook fight breaks political pact
THE socialist coalition governing Nerja has broken up over a Facebook fight. Ciudadanos has withdrawn from the pact – which ousted 20 years of PP government – after the PSOE deputy mayor made negative comments online about the party. The rift came when Jose Miguel Garcia accused Ciudadanos of constant complaining and lying. The PSOE party only got into power under mayor Rosa Arrabal with the help of Ciudadanos’ two councillors, along with support from Izquierda Unida and Espacio Verde in the May elections. But the pact broke down after Garcia wrote: “This is embarrassing, you need to govern more and tell fewer lies. “Three months in charge without doing anything, only complaining, not collaborating. Nerja is asking for change and you are not contributing anything.” Ciudadanos responded that the comments had ‘betrayed our trust’ and pulled out of the pact. “We would like to notify Nerja Town Hall that the pact has been broken,” a statement read. However, mayor Arrabal insisted this week that she intends to repair relations with the two Ciudadanos councillors, as it is vital to her stability as mayor.
tudes were were not helpful at all. To suddenly hammer us with a bill that was more than four times as much was ridiculous.” Exasperated, Wood eventually paid the bill to take the car away. A spokesperson for AENA told the Olive Press its policy was to charge an extra €6 a day after a booking expired. “He should have made another booking. I have been working here for eight years and seen many similar cases,” said the spokesman. “AENA does not give the money back in this situation. No-one gets reimbursed.” But as Wood exclaimed: “Why didn’t they tell me that by email or on the phone in the first place. It’s a disgrace.” Opinion Page 6
Octoberferia HUNDREDS of visitors are set to descend on Benamocarra on October 18 for the town’s legendary October feria.
Gates’ grant AS one of the richest people in the world, Bill Gates has a lot on his hands. And yet he has still found time to support a cutting-edge research centre in the Axarquia, which is investigating the whitefly epidemic in Africa. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated a €300,000 grant the Mayora centre’s project, in Algarobbo.
Robbing trio caught A TRIO of youths behind 16 burglaries in Salobreña have finally been arrested. The investigation was launched after one family had their home ransacked while they slept, with a laptop, tablet and two iPhones stolen. As more burglary reports flooded in from the same area, police tracked down one of the stolen tablets to a second-hand shop in Almuñecar. The shop’s owner then cooperated to help them locate one of the suspects, which in turn led to the arrest of the two others. Nearly all of the stolen objects have been recovered, while the three detainees stand charged with at least 14 acts of theft in just 12 months.
Independence at last IT is very much a stand-alone resort. And now La Herradura has got a decent chance of becoming a town in its own right. It comes after the local Izquierda Unida party had a motion unanimously approved to break the seaside resort away from Almunecar. All parties at Almunecar Town Hall agreed on the creation of an independent commission of 10 members. The current deputy mayor of La Herradura, Juan Ruiz Joya, will become head of the commission. “Today, this municipal group has achieved a very important agreement, dare I say, historical,” said Ruiz Joya. “I have always been convinced that this time would come, although it is now essential to tackle it with a calm approach while listening to what the residents have to say.”
FREEDOM: La Herradura’s breakaway bid could be successful
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GREEN NEWS
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Bluefin bandits
RhiNOTeros
DON’T let the name frighten you. Rhinoceros iguanas are only about a metre long, and they won’t hurt you as long as you behave. The reason for their name? A bony outgrowth on the snout which looks like – but most certainly isn’t – a horn. This threatened lizard species is primarily found in the Caribbean, with skin colours ranging from a steely grey to a forest green. But the Costa del Sol is in luck too, as Fuengirola Bioparc is also home to this special creature.
A MAJOR illegal fishing network has been broken up on the Costa del Sol. A total of 18 people face charges relating to marine violations after 1,800 kilos of illegally caught bluefin tuna were seized by the Guardia Civil in Estepona. The fisherman are linked to alleged illegal activities along the entire coast, using speed boats to transport their catch back to their Estepona base.
the Olive Press October 15th - October 28th 2015
At last!
Green growth SALES of electric cars in Andalucia were up a whopping 35% in 2015, but the number was only 84 units. So the increase in green-powered vehicles means motorists are unlikely to be stuck behind one in traffic. Overall sales in Spain hit 698, up 29.02% on the same period last year.
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LONG TIME COMING: Clean-up operation at Palomares, Almeria THE US government has finally agreed to clear up the nuclear fall-out at the Almerian coastal resort of Palomares. Two US Air Force planes carrying four nuclear bombs collided in 1966, killing seven crew members. Two bombs split apart, disseminating radioactive matter over nearly three square kilometres of Palomares. Nearly five decades later after what was dubbed the ‘worst
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C
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nuclear accident in US history’ and years of complaints from residents, decontamination is set to take place. Palomares, a town of 16,000 - half of whom are British expats - was covered in nuclear waste.
Fishermen fiends
In the ensuing years, only 25% of the radioactive damage has been properly dealt with. In March, more than 45,000 people signed a change.org petition demanding the US clear up the mess ‘once and for all’. The job is due to begin in the new year. It is expected to take two years to complete. The US Department of Energy plans to dig up affected areas, ship them out in containers and bury them in the Nevada desert.
TWO Spanish environmental groups have denounced illegal fishing crews for killing dolphins in the Bay of Algeciras. PACMA and Verdemar have both submitted complaints that illegal tuna fishing in the Straits of Gibraltar is leading to the ‘unnecessary deaths of dolphins’. PACMA, a political party that champions animal rights, is leading calls for an investigation into whether the crimes are being committed in Spanish or Gibraltarian waters. “The death of these dolphins is done with clear malice,” a PACMA spokesman told the Olive Press. “The abuse of these dolphins should not go unpunished by any DISASTROUS: September’s floods legislation, be it Spanish or British.”
Sea clearly now
Finca La Fuente – Barranco Blanco, Coin, CP 29199, Malaga tel: +34 951 204 306 / +34 669 514 733 info@thesourceofwellbeing.com Facebook.com/thesourceofwellbeing
America to clear up nuclear disaster site nearly half a century after catastrophe
MANILVA is leading the way in an attempt to clean up the seas. Twenty volunteer divers will be taking to the seas off Sabinillas and Duquesa until the end of the month in a bid to remove rubbish from the seabed. As reported in the Olive Press last week (Deep sea crusaders, Issue 223) litter and pollution are depleting the world’s oceans, with half the number of marine species disappearing in 45 years.
Green group’s flood warning AN environmental group has denounced the Junta for ‘negligence’ after floods in September caused four deaths around Granada. Ecologistas en Accion criticised ‘totally uncontrolled’ building work of greenhouses on the coast’s crumbling hills, which causes ‘enormous’ erosion and land movement. The greenhouses also produce rubbish that is dragged to the sea by heavy rains. An Ecologistas en Accion spokesman said: “While it is not known when the rains will fall, it is well known that events like these are common and that the state of the land has a lot to do with the misfortunes that have occurred. “Should we wait until hundreds die, and the floods swallow schools and houses?”
16
la cultura
what’s on
M
anilva, 15
October
A presentation of a new book of six poems, La Moribunda Voz, dedicated to the Spanish writers’ Generation of ‘27, by author Juan Emilio Rios takes place at Villa Matilde. Tel: 952 89 00 84.
M
alaga, October 22
Los recortables, una comedia electoral, a comedy by Mandrágora Teatro theatre company about three women on election day.Tel: 952 246 668 www.lacocheracabaret.com
B
onares, 21-25
October
The Fiesta de Santa Maria Salome will see locals carry the town’s patron saint through the streets with music, dancing and childrens’ activities
October 15th - October 28th 2015
Peppered with poetry
Lights, cameras, auction!
A MADRID street poetry phenomenon is celebrating its first birthday. The streets of Spain’s capital have been peppered with road graffiti since a group of five artists friends etched 22 verses on the ground overnight one year ago. The romantic phrases appear on road crossings across the city. The artistic and poetic wordplay project is called ‘Te comeria a versos’ and is described by its creators as ‘an act of love for Madrid’.
SPANISH Game of Thrones fans can now get their hands on some fantasy memorabilia. Props from the series, which is partly filmed in Spain, are coming under the auctioneer’s hammer in Los Angeles. The crown of Jack Gleeson, who plays Joffrey Baratheon, is one of the items up for sale and has already been reserved at a mouthwatering fee of between €13,000 and €18,000. The smash TV show is filmed in Seville, Osasuna and Granada.
ACT OF LOVE: Pavement poems
Sky viewers hooked on Gibraltarian artist’s story
of all W words
EXCLUSIVE By Iona Napier
A MALAGA mural is helping bridge language barriers. George Kowzan’s Word Art Portraits was unveiled at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas this month. evilla, October 29 The painting contains 6,909 words, painted in 11 different Scottish rockers Gun languages to form five types of faces - Asian, Magrebi, South dust off their guitar cases American, African and European. and head to Sala Custom The 14m x 4.5m set of images were formed by painting 6,909 words from 11 different languages. where smash hit Bet“I knew that my portraits would, in theory, work well on such a ter Days will delight the scale and now I can see that they do,” said Kowzan. crowd.Tel 957 497 501 The language school’s motto of ‘I understand you’ was the inwww.salacustom.com spiration for the work. 16:47 Page 1 Gaston Golf - Olive Press - revised:Layout 1 21/07/2015 The artist is also a judge at the Gibraltar Spring Art competition.
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Success story He continued: “And I also found out the programme of me painting the work with Cumming received extraordinary numbers of viewers.” The show which followed Hook’s collaboration with Cumming saw the channel record its highest viewer ratings of the year and led to a string of similarly popular programmes. Hook has since been filmed painting a trio of famous portraits: Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall, BAFTA-nominated actress Sue Johnston and former Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba. His exhibition, Reinterpret-
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TALENTED: Christian ing the Past, opens this week at London’s prestigious Mayfair Gallery where commissions for his work sell for as much as ₤75,000. The secret of his success? “I don’t wait for inspiration,” reveals Hook.
LAS 13 ROSAS: Honoured
Rose garland ONE of ‘The 13 Roses’ executed by Franco’s forces during the Spanish Civil War is to be honoured in Jaen. La Carolina Town Hall, Jaen, is to make Ana Lopez Gallego an honorary mayor of the city. Born in the town and dead at 21, Lopez Gallego was one of 13 young women and 43 men shot by a fascist firing squad in Madrid. The executions were immortalised in director Emilio MartinezLazaro’s 2007 film, Las 13 Rosas, which won four Goya Awards.
A BASQUE-language film has been selected to represent Spain at the Oscars for the first time. Loreak was premiered at the San Sebastian film festival last year, and was the first Basque production to be nominated for best film at the Goyas. Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga’s feature focuses on a woman receiving flowers from a mystery admirer. The last Spanish film to bag a Best Foreign Language Oscar was Alejandro Amenábar’s The Sea Inside (Mar adentro) in 2004.
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the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th
He’s best known for his dark subject matter but a groundbreaking new portrait exhibition shows a lighter side to the famous Spanish artist, writes Joe Duggan
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CONFIDENT: And contemporary in self-portrait
NEW exhibition of Goya’s portraits is set to challenge the prevailing image of the exalted Spanish artist. Perhaps the London show, Goya: The Portraits, will even draw some of the capital’s more feral youth to the National Gallery, as Goya was recently credited with patenting hoodie fashion in his ‘Hat And Cloak Riots’. Goya’s portraits number around 160, about one third of his total artistic output, 70 of which have been sourced from public and private collections around the world for the groundbreaking show, some of them never seen before in the capital. These often playful and honest depictions of his subjects don’t chime with the orthodox view of Goya as an artist whose personal torments wrung horrific images from the darkest nights of his depression, caused by deafness. Goya’s depiction of Saturn
Goya in a new light CHARLES IV: Spanish Royal family
devouring his son, his two giants, feet submerged in the soil, clubbing one another to death, his coven of grotesque cackling women, faces hideously distorted with malevo-
lent laughter, are just some of the arresting images that halt you in your tracks at Madrid’s El Prado. Seamus Heaney, gazing at the works in August 1969,
saw them as a metaphor for the re-emergence of the bloody violence that had started to convulse his native Northern Ireland. Goya’s 14 Black Paintings are well
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the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th 19
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October 15th - October 28th 2015
FAMOUS: The Family of Infante Don Luis with Goya seated (left)
named. A visit to his home during this dark period, between 1819 and 1823, would certainly have been shocking. As deafness struck him, Goya’s mood pitched into vast depths of hopelessness and he took to creating his terrifying visions on the walls of his country retreat. The paintings were somehow transferred to canvas between 1874 and 1878. But the new exhibition, which has taken a decade to bring together, shows a far lighter side to Goya. He started painting portraits at the comparatively late age of 37, having previously focused on religious paintings around his home town of Fuendetodos,
near Zaragoza. His portraits show an irreverence towards authority. Goya resisted the urge to hide his subjects’ physical deficiencies, regardless of their social status. When he became a painter for the royals in 1786 and painted Queen Maria Luisa, he did not embellish her appearance, which had been ravaged after 22 pregnancies. Similarly his portraits of her husband, King Charles IV, appear to satirise his squat stature and self-important bearing. But Goya’s commissions continued rolling in so his superiors either appreciated, or didn’t notice, the absence of any fawning in his work.
DUKE AND DUCHESS: Of Osuna
He was also fond of ‘putting himself in the picture’, a stylistic trick Velazquez also adopted in his court paintings. Goya paints the Duchess of Alba coquettishly pointing to his name - Solo Goya (only Goya) - on the ground. The gesture is freighted with erotic symbolism, and set the rumour mill rumbling about an illicit affair (the Duchess’s husband died in 1796 and Goya, in his role as royal painter, spent time with her between July 1797 and March 1798).
Presence
In his 1784 portrait of the Family of the Infante Don Luis, Goya is depicted painting the group. The artist loved the disgraced Don Luis, the king’s brother, who was exiled from Madrid and stripped of his Bourbon title for his carousing and fondness for prostitutes. Goya presents the playboy ex-prince and his family as carefree, a depiction Don Luis would have appreciated as he yearned to free himself from the societal mores and constraints of the age. Goya’s presence in the foreground adds to the painting’s sense of playful unconventionality. In bringing together works from as far apart as Madrid, New York, Dallas and Zaragoza, the exhibition offers a unique window into the soul of one of Spain’s most celebrated and enigmatic masters.
DUCHESS: Pointing to Goya’s name in the ground
The exhibition runs until January 10, 2016.
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LETTERS
the Olive Press October 15th - October 28th 2015
POTTED POINTERS ANDALUCIA RESERVOIR LEVELS This week: 60.59% Same week last year: 71.33% Same week in 2005: 49.44% AIRPORTS Gibraltar 00350 22073026 Granada-Jaen 958 245 200 Jerez - 956 150 000 Malaga - 952 048 844* *For English press 9 Sevilla - 954 449 000 EMERGENCIES Police 091 Guardia Civil 062 Medical service 061 Fire 080 EURO EXCHANGE RATES 1 euro is worth 1.14American dollars 0.74 British pounds 1.47 Canadian dollars 7.46 Danish kroner 8.82 H Kong dollars 9.17 Norwegian kroner 1.59 Singapore dollars
Blind to the real problem I AM glad to see the Olive Press taking the vulture crisis in Spain seriously (Carrion carnage, issue 222). While wind turbines in Malaga have been blasted by all corners for the deaths of two vultures, the government and the country’s farmers are continuing to turn a blind eye to the real problem. Wind turbines may have killed two vultures but the use of Diclofenac in livestock is responsible for the deaths of thousands of vultures. The law must be changed on this to protect the dwindling number of vultures left in our skies. I hope other media outlets - English and Spanish - will join the OP in highlighting the issue. Faye Murphy, Estepona
Bull buster I HAVE been a resident in Spain for 13 years. During my time here I read that Spain had at last passed a bill against cruelty to animals. Sadly there is little evidence that the law is being enforced. Your report of the vile cruelty to a bull at the Toro de la Vega festival showed how sick these revolting men are (Speared to death, issue 222). Why don’t the police stop it? Is the mayor as evil as those men on horseback or was he threatened or bribed? Lynne Bower, Alhaurin el Grande
In an online Olive Press article, we reported on a controversial geocache causing a storm because it was placed at the iconic Baelo Claudia on the Costa de la Luz. Here’s just some of the reaction:
Rule breakers
TOO bad the hiders and seekers have forgotten the rules of placing a cache (Hidden threat, the Gibraltar Olive Press issue 2). The number one rule is to NEVER place a cache on a monument or a historic place and to always respect the earth. We love Geocaching and finding new beautiful new places but would never, ever destroy or change any part of a place whether historic or not.
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Gotta cache them all!
Play fair
Simple solution
PEOPLE like this give geocaching a bad name. It’s a shame that more hiders don’t think about the location they’re hiding the cache, and how it may affect the area it’s in. I sincerely hope the issue at Baelo Claudia is sorted quickly and doesn’t hamper the fun which the geocaching community enjoys. Most hiders are responsible but some ruin it for everyone else.
I DOUBT that Baelo Claudia’s management can actually take ‘legal action’ against anyone. More importantly, I’m sure that if they contacted geocaching.com, the cache would be removed at least from the website. They would also see that the actual container – provided by geocaching.com - is removed from the site. It’s unfortunate that this has happened but it’s just a small problem with a simple solution.
Katie Lynn, Algeciras
Beth Cross, Tarifa
Beast of burden I WOULD never condone any kind of animal cruelty, and what happened in Mijas is indeed a disgrace, but the wider point about these donkeys hauling overweight tourists around doesn’t hold water (Exhausted donkey kicked and dragged in Mijas, OP online). Donkeys are beasts of burden and it must be remembered that the reason for donkeys being in Mijas in the first place was to carry heavy loads of fish up to the village from Fuengirola port - a distance of over eight kilometres up a steep hill. Contrast that to their virtually
flat tourist route of around one kilometre and it puts things in some perspective. Alan Boardman, Fuengirola
Still struggling WAIT a minute, the Spanish recovery was supposed to be in full swing, loads of new jobs and house prices all rising, and yet people are still struggling to put food on the table? Surely not? (Cooking up a storm, issue 223). It is crazy that we have millions of empty homes in Spain that no one can sell, and yet we still have homeless on the streets. Fred Smith, Malaga
Water works HOW are the people in Coin responsible for the flooding which took place 20 years ago? (Water fight, issue 223) It is totally crazy to think they should pay up. It is beyond cheeky from the town hall. But then again this is Spain, the town halls are skint and someone needs to top up the coffers. Stuart Crawford, Coin
Double bogey I WOULD like to clear up something from the last issue
Seth Bragg, La Linea
Lost in translation
Little sympathy
WHILE I feel desperately sorry for Teresa Tarry I can’t help but feel she is responsible for her own situat ion (Breast op horror, issue 222 Spain). If her Spanish was limited, why didn’t she take with her and have her paperwork translated an interpreter We are after all in Spain, the official languinto Spanish. age is Spanish not English. I have interpreted in Malaga hospitals for 15 more and more medical staff speak English,years and while the patient’s responsibility to understand theultimately it is Suing for €600,000 will take money from doctors. an already impoverished health service and force unnecessar y suffering for other people.
Buck stops where?
Bev Warnes, Malaga
THIS is an awful situation. I agree that Tarry should have demanded a translator or solicited one herself. However, the buck must stop with the docto duty to take as much care as possible and to rs. It is their double check her records are correct. Surely the Spanish medical authorities speak to doctors in the UK? You would think Tarry’s doctor in Spain would have spoken to her UK GP prior to undertaking such a major operation and the whole translation mix up could have been averted. Laura Robinson, Tarifa (issue 223). In the article Golf fair tees off, I am named as a sponsor. In fact, I have no part in the golf show whatsoever. I was originally asked to sell ‘stand space’ on behalf of the organiser, Jan Cooney, which I considered and then declined. I had asked Cooney to remove my name from any promo-
tional material where it had originally appeared inappropriately and incorrectly spelt. Neither my name nor my golf society has anything to do with the event despite it appearing on original PR material. Lynn Fisher, Marbella
Letters should be emailed to letters@theolivepress.es. The writer’s name and address should be provided. Opinions are not necessarily those of the Editor.
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Pedro power
HISTORIC CROSSROADS: San Pedro’s boulevard leading the way, while new skatepark (right) and tower
T
HERE are five towns called San Pedro in Spain but “What we like about San Pedro is it is still very Spanish,” Once the there’s only one San Pedro de Alcantara. And now said Hostal Plaza owner Karen Wynn. the town that has hid its light under a bushel for “It still feels like Spain, although we have lots of inter‘squeezed so long is standing up to be counted. national restaurants. They are spending a lot of money content to remain one of the Costa del Sol’s hidden on the town and we have returning guests who say how middle’ between Not gems, the 35,000-strong municipality crouched in the much they can see things improving.” Marbella’s Serrania de Ronda’s foothills is stepping boldly into the The most striking manifestation of these improvements and carving a name that is glittering as brightly as rises before you as you pull off the motorway. San Peseductive glitz future either of its illustrious neighbours. dro’s elevated iron walkway feels like a tree-lined promenades and outdoor bold statement of intent. The walkway and Estepona’s The spaces offer a refined brand of tranquilPart of the €6 million boulevard project ity and the town has retained a strong weaves over cool, that has been completed this year, the arty edge, Spanish core that has been lost by other walkway weaves over cool, clear pools clear pools of San Pedro de coastal resorts. of water, lifting San Pedro’s citizens water, lifting San up and offering a first-rate view of the For motorists speeding along the A7, San Alcantara is Pedro may be most synonymous with the most prominent mountain, La Pedro’s citizens area’s burrowing beneath it. But instead Concha. pushing to take tunnel of going underground, it’s well worth ‘goThis new communal space is hugely over the top’ to explore this fascinating corner of the popular and a testament to good civic planning that is centre stage in ing Costa del Sol. putting Sampedrenas first. In fact, the tunnel is part of a project of urban im- “The boulevard is fantastic,” says Anne McArthur, treaits own right, provement that is hoisting San Pedro’s profile high. Its surer of San Pedro’s Art Club. writes Joe completion - after a torturous five-year gestation - has “The facilities for children are amazing. San Pedro is reshaved valuable time off the local commute and opened ally up and coming and the boulevard is bustling in the Duggan up access to the town. evening, when it used to look quite rundown.
No surprises with six play areas, a skate park, an 800-capacity amphitheatre and synthetic skating rink. As Marbella’s new mayor Jose Bernal tells the Olive Press: “It has been an amazing civic project and San Pedro is now a very stand alone town, in charge of plenty of its own decision making. “When the so-called Guadaiza Plan - next to the Ronda road - starts to come together it is going to further revolutionize the place.” The huge area of development that sits alongside the Guadaiza river is set to have a series of private projects, including a shopping centre, hospital and even a university. “There will also be plenty of entertainment for families and kids and we envisage the first projects being finished within the next couple of years.” This spirit of renewal has long been woven into San Pedro’s DNA. General Manuel Gutierrez de la Concha, the Marques del Duero, purchased the barren colony in 1857. With malaria scything through the local populace and poor irrigation from the surrounding Guadalmina, Guadaiza and Guadalmansa rivers, the Marques introduced a Turn to next page
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A S an Pedro and Guadalmina Working together in harmony 22 22 the Olivell Press aboutOctober 1st - October 14th
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From previous page
competitive cocktails - the Marbella and the San Pedro, both unveiled last month. And the plucky civic upstart has been shaking things up for big sister Marbs in other ways. In Marbella’s corridors of power, San Pedro’s own separatist political party, Opcion Sampedrena (OSP) is doughtily fighting the town’s corner. OSP, born in 2006, has lobbied unsuccessfully for years for San Pedro to cede from Marbella Town Hall. They became ‘kingmakers’ this summer after the election of two OSP councillors helped them form a four-party coalition government to oust the PP. The push for greater autonomy from Marbella may occupy local politicians but, elsewhere, the towns are fusing closer together. “It is certainly going very well so far,” explained mayor Bernal. “We are all working together in relative harmony.” It has certainly helped that a new cycle route now links San Pedro to Marbella, while other joint projects are on their way. But while the cycle routes map the town’s arteries, San Pedro’s heart, like so many Spanish towns, is its main plaza. The Iglesia de San Pedro’s portico AMAZING PROJECT: Mayor Bernal with white-washed and tobacco-coloured Olive Press interivew
series of innovative agricultural reforms including a training school for local farm workers, bridges, dams and state-of-the-art agricultural machinery. His statue stands next to the old town, keeping paternalistic vigil over San Pedro, first foot forward with his back to Marbella. The old general’s positioning may cause Sampedrenos to smile wryly. The two neighbouring towns enjoy a friendly rivalry that has even led to
trim command the Plaza de la Iglesia. The triple-arched naves inside the church withstood a fire during the madness of the Civil War and the building’s enduring elegance and design are another legacy of the Marques del Duero’s reign. (‘No mobiles inside,’ the front entrance sign sternly commands. ‘God doesn’t use them’.) In the evening, the young and the old of San Pedro congregate on shaded benches around the statue of St Peter, and the square bustles with a market on Saturdays.
A long, winding pathway leads walkers through this airy, open space Strike north from the old town, through the industrial estate, to reach the wide expanses of the Parque de los Tres Jardines. A long, winding pathway leads walkers through this airy, open space under the gaze of La Concha’s vertiginous peak. If you’re feeling the heat, a trip to San Pedro’s Wakeboard Centre will cool you down and re-energise you too, as the taut cable propels you, body and board, through the water. Those yearning for the more briny caress of the Mediterranean should head south along the shady Avenida del Mediterraneo which sweeps down towards that vast blue expanse. The land between the boulevard and the
sea was vacant until the 1990s. Today the impressive array of recent developments include a world-renowned paddle and tennis club that hosts international tournaments. The beach’s long golden strip stretches on towards Puerto Banus. Parallel to it, the Avenida del Mediterraneo fans out along the front, providing a catwalk for locals and tourists strolling arm in arm, or stopping off for a drink at one of the the waterfront chiringuitos. The beachfront also reveals clues to the presence of less recent visitors - Roman baths, dating from the third century, which has withstood the ravages of time thanks to its compound structure of lime mortar, sand and pebbles. Next to them, a 16th century watchtower looks out towards the passing boats and water skiers. Set back from the waterfront action, you’ll also find relics of a 6th century STATUESQUE: In main square Paleo-Christian burial site, the Vega del Mar, unearthed in the 1930s. Walking along the beachfront, you can see why San Pedro’s forefathers chose this spot as their final resting place. The Mediterranean laps against the shore, couples amble along the wide paseo and fishermen’s cabins huddle next to boats that ferry fresh sardines to beachside restaurants. As the shadows lengthen and the street lamps begin to twinkle, head to Calle Marques del Duero, the old town’s main drag, where everyone meets up after work for drinks and tapas. Those looking for more hearty sustenance are well-served by the burgeoning local restaurant scene. And with San Pedro’s Feria the last one of the year on Spain’s action-packed fiesta calendar, the town reSWEET: The old sugar mill ally does have the final word on fun.
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March 19th - April 1st 2015
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Anything but fast at KM0
IF you are looking for real, authentic locally-sourced fare, look no further than KM0 in the heart of San Pedro. A fabulous mix of tasty dishes, very much on a healthy tip, ingredients almost all herald from nearby and vegetables are paramount. While there are some fabulous vegan dishes, such as the remarkable raw Maki sushi (left), with cauliflower, carrots, avocado and wasabi, you can also count on delicious grass-fed Retinto beef from Cadiz and local free-range chicken. The grilled prawns cooked in squid ink with black wheat were excellent, while the slow-cooked cod loin with rosemary, as well as grilled octopus with guacamole, ‘micro greens’ and a sweet pepper mousseline were enticing. Run by capable Amanda Gedeon, who also owns the highly-rated Bellaria, in Marbella, the stylish restaurant is bound to do well. Contact: 951480549
BUBBLING UP!
F
OR the last decade Marbella has been the stand out location for foodies on the Costa del Sol. But, little by little, there is a new kid on the block. Coming into its own since the completion of the long remodeling of the centre, San Pedro is truly on fire in the food stakes these days. An incredible number of quality restaurants have opened over the last year, each offering their own unique blend of cooking. Focussing on - or around - the brand new boulevard, they range from the hyper-modern to the authentic health-kick style. In particular, KM0 (see above), run by talented local girl Amanda Gedeon, Urban, run by a Russian-French couple, and Ambrosia, stylish in the extreme, epitomise this new revo-
San Pedro is becoming one of the key dining references on the Costa del Sol, writes Jon Clarke lution. And then there is the new Gym Junkie Cafe (see below) and the cool new ‘fusion’ restaurant, Benisty, an offshoot of the town’s long-time standout restaurant Albert & Simon. “Before the tunnel, everybody avoided San Pedro but now there are a lot of good restaurants and bars opening,” explained Pascal van den Broek, of Happy Days, who once cooked for President Clinton. “It’s definitely the new coming area for the whole Costa.” The leading purveyors of this drive for haute cuisine must certainly be Albert & Simon, which has been serving up fine
The President’s chef THERE are not many people in Spain who have cooked for a US President. But it was certainly a happy day for Happy Days co-owner Pascal Van den Broek when he had the honour of catering for none other than Bill Clinton. It was 1996 and Pascal still remembers the VIP assignment. His career as a chef took him from his native Holland to Russia’s St Petersburg, where he spent 15 years cooking in high class restaurants. And it was here, with the Cold War beginning to thaw in 1996, that he found himself cooking up a storm for Big Bill. “I remember he had salmon,” said Pascal. “And there were a lot of American secret service guys in the kitchen checking what we were making. “They told us to simply relax and just cook as normal.” Pascal now manages Happy Days, San Pedro’s artificial ice rink, crazy golf site and American diner. He also owns Trattoria Italiana in Elviria.
French food for three decades. Counting on a splendid wine list, with hundreds of references from around the world, brothers Albert and Simon are more deserving of a Michelin star that most. Just across the road you might want to check out the very elegant L’Impronta, an upmarket Italian joint, run by capable Francisco Vacas, who actually heralds from Cordoba. Another great spot is Vaca Loca, right by the stylish new bridge. The brainchild of expat businessman Andrew Levene, the menu has a great mix of steaks, burgers and ribs, all cooked on the grill.
Stalwart
You should also check out Hogan Stand, a well established Irish pub named after the famous Gaelic football stand at Croke Park. Run by capable Ross, it has typical bar snacks in the pub, while serving up more formal fare at the restaurant next door. Another long-term stalwart is Malcolm Spendlove, who has been at the helm of the ever popular Passion Cafe for the last 16 years, as well as the excellent Mr Gourmet Burger, which counts on 100% beef. Last but not least, a great stop off is Rincon de la Sala, which sits in the heart of the town with a great pavement location. Part of the popular La Sala group, the busy menu changes regularly and there is a daily ‘menu del dia’… and if you are lucky you might just bump into a range of footballers, who part own the restaurant including David Bentley, Paul Robinson and David Pleat.
Body beautiful at gym cafe A NEW gym cafe is helping San Pedro body buffs fuel their addiction. The Gym Junkie Cafe, Spain’s first protein eatery, serves up vitamin-stacked meals - ideal before or after a workout. The cafe’s mouthwatering menu includes grassfed beef, protein pancakes and an omelette bar - complete with seaweed, broccoli and tuna omelettes.
Owners Jamie and Deborah, from London, said: “We are gym junkies, but we noticed there was nowhere around to get food like this.” Jamie and girlfriend/ co-owner Deborah designed the menu with manager Ben Hayes and head chef Caffian Baldwin, using fresh local produce to make their sauces. Contact: jamie@gymjunkiecafe.com or call 627 17 95 61
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A S an Pedro and Guadalmina Ice ‘n’ slice
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Happy Days are here for Joe Duggan as he gets his skates on for the first time at new ‘ice’ rink
I
’M clinging on for dear life to my new friend, a plastic polar bear, as I tentatively skate my way around Happy Days artificial ice rink, San Pedro boulevard’s most recent familyfun venue. I may be the butt of my colleagues jokes but the town’s modernity and resurgence are encapsulated by this innovative outdoor ecofriendly rink, mini-golf site and American diner. Co-owner and former chef Pascal Van den Broek, who has cooked for Bill Clinton (See Page 23), threw in the dish towel to serve up San Pedro’s residents a treat on Andalucia’s only artificial rink. Since Happy Days opened in August, many Andalucians are being introduced to this green version of ice-skating. “It would be impossible to have real ice in Marbella with the weather. This rink is very ecofriendly as it uses no energy,” explains Pascal.
‘L
Strapping on a pair of skates in the evening air, budding Torvils and Deans take to the surface to show off their pirouettes.. The slick surface is a an excellent approximation and the balmy Costa evenings mean you won’t need woolly mittens. The high-tech rink was designed in Sevilla, and Pascal and Scottish business partner Sean Henry’s rinks is proving a hit with local youngsters. “Around the weekends it’s fantastic,” says Pascal. “Kids birthday parties are really picking up. They can play mini golf and we have their favourite food - burgers.” As befitting an owner who has cooked for the world’s most important man, the food at Happy Days is first-rate. The authentic airstream truck kitchen is the epitome of 60s retro cool. And burgers, hot dogs, buffalo wings and french fries are the perfect accompaniment to a night on the ice or swinging a putter. Contact 0034 693 745 454 info@happydayscostadelsol.com www.happydayscostadelsol.com
FUN AND GAMES: On the rink
Wakeboarding isn’t for wimps, as Joe Duggan discovers when he tries out the high-adrenalin sport
EAN forward,” Juan Carlos Nunez commands me. I’m crouched on a board at San Pedro’s Wakeboard centre, hands clasped with grim determination around one end of a cable as I prepare to launch myself headlong off a pier. I had just watched in admiration as a lad of about 10 leapt onto his board like a flying fish before performing a series of dexterous manoeuvres in a masterclass of this cable-propelled version of water-skiing. “Lean forward,” Juan Carlos, the manager, repeats but I’m feeling like a fish out of water. He’s suggested I start with a kneeboard rather than the upright version, a prudent decision given I have the balletic grace and poise of a newborn elephant. “Lean forward.” Easier said than done, when gripped with the overpowering fear that I may not have tied on my trunks tightly enough. Too late! The pulley whips its way towards me, the cable tenses and San Pedro prepares for the most artless
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FLUNG INTO ACTION: At the Wakeboard Centre and (top righ demonstration in the history of wakeboarding. Invented almost 50 years ago, the first commercial wakeboarding cable was built in Benidorm a few years afterwards. Riders are towed around a lake by a raised pulley and cable system, which propels
you through the water at breakneck speed. San Pedro’s centre is one of Europe’s best and has hosted international and national tournaments since opening in 1993. The glorious Marbella weather means the public can visit from February to December.
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www.happydayscostadelsol.com info@happydayscostadelsol.com The Boulevard San Pedro (Marbella end), San Pedro de Alcantara, Marbella, Malaga +34 693 745 454
o t r he ive c u vo rece s i th to g s n y i Br er. Da ff y o p p s i a h H t
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akey akey!
ht) a trick rider Staff guide you through the basics. Kneeboards are available for beginners, with strap in ski-boards for the more skilled and wakeboards for experts, who perform tricks on the 2,690-foot course’s ramps. “Cable ski was invented because water skiing is more expensive,”
explains Juan Carlos. “Skiing behind a boat is a good sport, I like it, but you can’t get a lot of people here. The queue is very fast here, so you don’t have to wait too long,” he says. “This is for all kinds of people because you don’t have to pay
too much to learn and to improve. It’s very easy to improve.” He’s right. Although certainly, my first foray into wakeboarding’s world couldn’t have been any less illustrious. Five seconds after being ripped from dry land, I lose grip of the cable and plunge into the drink. Clambering ashore and readying myself to go again, I assume this is going to be way beyond my meagre powers of balance.
Adrenaline
But second time around I unexpectedly manage to hold on. To my delight I’m suddenly experiencing the exhilarating rush of hurtling around the lake as the Serrania de Ronda mountains flash by. At each of the cable’s five pulleys, your body surges as it is hit by a mainline of energy and you are flung in a new direction. If you hold on, it’s a thrilling adrenaline jolt. I finish three straight laps and want to go again. Between circuits, you can recharge your batteries on a sun lounger and top up with Dutch courage at the cocktail bar. The Wakeboard centre is another great reason to visit San Pedro. And if I can do it, anyone can!
Advertorial
Flying without wings
THE sky really is the limit in San Pedro. Opened this month, a wall-to-wall bounce heaven is sending kids and adults skywards. Filled with 50 interconnecting trampolines, basketball hoops and a foam pit, CostaJump is the only indoor trampoline park on the Costa del Sol. The trampoline centre located between the I.T.V and Parque 3 Jardines has brought a new level of family fun to the area. BOUNCE TIME: At CostaJump “It is an exciting time to be opening,” the Dutch owner says. “Everyone loves to bounce, although it’s just the kids who will admit it, adults love it just as much.” With basketball ‘slam dunk lanes’ he says the censteopathy – a distinctive way of integrative healthcare’ tre also gives you the opportunity Osteopathic treatments available: to ‘dunk like a pro’. • Back pain, sciatica, neck, shoulder, hip and any other joint problems There are also • Arthritic and rheumatic pains, headaches, migraines, muscle tension regular games of dodgeball as • Asthma, digestive problems and postoperative rehabilitation well as fitness classes on the • Advice and assessment of body mechanics for the sport aficionados trampolines and the centre caters for birthdays and corporate events. Francisco Toscano Jimenez And at just €10 BSc Hons. Ost. Med. DO MRO MROE an hour for kids and adults alike. UK trained Osteopath Registered Member of the General Osteopathic Council (UK & Spain)
or appointments call: 951 27 55 56 / 670 938 065 Pasaje de las Palmeras No.13, 2ª – San Pedro Alcantara, Marbella (Opposite Hotel NH) marbellaosteopathy@gmail.com
For more information visit www.costajump.com or email info@ costajump.com
FOR modern kitchens with sleek designs, look no further than Design Space Marbella. With a range of ingenious systems the company gives the clients a high degree of creative freedom. Customised to create space for contemporary living, each kitchen is designed with the customer’s needs in mind. And they won’t dent your bank balance, with the top-of-therange fittings at great prices. High-quality, hard-wearing and easy-care materials ensure that your kitchen will give you pleasure for many years to come while still providing a stylish finish. For more information call 952 799 440 or visit designspace.es
Treasure trove TWIST Boutique, ladies fashion and accessories boutique based in La Colonia, San Pedro, stocks brands such as Hudson Jeans (One of Kate Middleton’s favourites). You can find everything from Onjenu dresses, Ams Barcelona, Beth & Tracie and Barbados to the contemporary range of Charli, to name but a few. And there is the added bonus of free parking. Owner Jane Clark opened her doors in 2007, with her keen eye for upcoming fashion. She stocks clothing to suit all ages and budgets. “My aim is to provide high quality clothing that complements the feminine figure,” Jane explains. Pop down to Twist Boutique at La Colonia and see for yourself. The boutique is off the A7 next to Passion Cafe and McDonalds.
Ladies fashion and accessories boutique Located in Centro Comercial La Colonia, San Pedro, Marbella, Spain next to Passion Café and McDonalds
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A
ll about
S an Pedro
and Guadalmina
New kids on block Advertorial
Exciting times are afoot at mortgage brokerage The Finance Bureau with its new HQ and insurance agency
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ITH the Costa del Sol property market enjoying a comeback as great as Gary Barlow and Take That, there has been no better time over the last decade to buy. And with San Pedro breaking away and rising out of Marbella’s glitzy shadow, many businesses are relocating to the area and neighbouring Guadalmina.
That is exactly what established mortgage broker The Finance Bureau has done. Based on the Costa del Sol for 11 years, boss Tancrede de Pola has moved operations to Guadalmina commercial centre, in the block between La Caixa Bank (formerly Barclays) and the Asador. And what’s more, The Finance Bureau has launched a new
NEW HOME: For The Finance Bureau boss Tancrede insurance agency, adding an- us,” Tancrede says. “While we other string to its bow. are excited to be in Guadalmi“It is a very exciting time for na, we are even more excited about launching the insurance agency. “When looking for a mortgage it also makes sense to start thinking about your insurPedro. We supply ance needs, be it home, life, all the materials... health or building cover. So it they supply their was a logical next step for The talent.’’ Finance Bureau - a one-stopThe hostel at shop if you will.” Calle Juan RaWith a team of in-house bromon Jimenez has kers specialising in residential 18 ensuite rooms and investment mortgages, and a lovely roof terThe Finance Bureau has also race. taken on an insurance expert With three more artists due to arrive next to front up the new side of the month to add their personal touch and more business. making plans to join in the project, backFor mortgage information call packers and holidaymakers alike planning a 666 709 743 and for insurvisit are in for a visual treat. ance needs call 951 203 540, Contact 952 78 20 33 or 674 777 970 or email tdp@thefinancewww.hostalplazamarbella.com bureau.com
Art of hospitality A KALEIDOSCOPIC explosion of artistic colour greets visitors to Hostal Plaza San Pedro. Most of the rooms and communal areas have bespoke murals which present visitors with a bold sensory delight that elevates a stay high above the average hostel experience. The project is the brainchild of the Wynn family - Gary, Karen and sons Richard and Michael, who moved to San Pedro from the UK fourand-a-half years ago. “There are so many hostels in Spain we wanted something a bit different so we would be remembered,” said Karen. “We invite artists who are wanting to build their portfolio to come and paint at the hostel, we do this on an exchange basis, offering free food and accommodation and a chance to have a holiday in San
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October 15th - October 28th 2015
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Winkworth bringing UK real estate excellence to the Marbella, Guadalmina and San Pedro property market. Come and visit us at: Centro Comercial Guadalmina (close to Sabadell Bank) Urb Guadalmina Alta, C.C. Guadalmina 4, Local 12, San Pedro de Alcantara, Mรกlaga
Telephone: 952 880 941 Email: info@winkworth.es
Property
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the Olive Press June 25th - July 9th 2015
October 15th - October 28th 2015
Net growth soars
Clever Clover
WHEELY GOOD: Lucas and his mobile home
Student digs A SKINT student has bought a Spanish caravan and driven it to his British university to live in. Lucas de haro Pishoudt, 21, couldn’t afford his Kingston University halls of residence rent so headed to Spain and wheeled his new home back. The €3,000 caravan has reduced his living costs from €815 to €136 a month. HOUSE prices are stablising Lucas said: “When I finacross the country with the exished last year I could ception of Barcelona which is seeing values increase. not afford to pay my final Property values levelled out bills. nationally in the 12 months “I got into a lot of debt to September, according to and I was still paying even website idealista.com despite though I had gone home government sources claiming for the summer. they rose by up to 5%. “The caravan just seemed Meanwhile, house prices in like the best option. Barcelona shot up by 7.4% “My friends thought it was in September to a city avera crazy idea at first, but I age of €3,347/m2 compared have solar panels that give to the national average of me electricity, a shower €1,574/m2. and water.”
Barca boom
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the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th
MARBELLA’S longest established estate agent has received an award for his services to the industry. Appointed as Eminent Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Christopher Clover, owner of Panorama, is just the eighth person to receive the prestigious title in Spain. Recognised as a leader in the industry, Eminent Fellow status is given out to those whose standing and achievements are ‘beyond question and judged to
be extraordinary’. Forever humble, Christopher Clover said he was ‘shocked and honoured’ to receive the award. “I am quite surprised and deeply honoured to receive and accept this nomination from the most respected organization in the real estate world,” he said. “RICS has my unconditional support in promoting and fostering their work and values.” Eduardo Fernandez-Cuesta, President of RICS Spain, added: “Christopher Clover is today, as well as for the last 45 years, an
HONOURED: Clover outstanding example of leadership and professional commitment in the real estate sector.”
THE number of Spanish households with internet access has risen to 80%, new figures reveal. About 13.6 million homes are online, with 3.3 million not yet on the web, according to Spain’s national statistic agency INE. Common reasons for not logging on were affordability, availability and lack of need. Last year 74.4% of Spanish homes were using the internet.
Expat victory
Jerez law firm wins landmark court battle over lost home deposits BRITISH expats whose dreams were shattered when a Spanish property developer collapsed are in line for huge payouts after a landmark court ruling. Jerez law firm Abolex Abogados, led by Martin de la Herran, took on the cases of some 40 British families, many of them pensioners, who lost deposits of up to €100,000 when Herrada del Tollo folded in 2008, leaving their homes unbuilt. Scottish retiree Joan MacLachlan stood in court twice as she battled to reclaim the €38,000 deposit she put down in March 2006 for one of the 1,500 properties in Jumilla, Murcia. “There were so many lies I just did not
EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan know what to believe. We were told we would be compensated, but it was all a smokescreen,” MacLachlan told the Olive Press. “I know of people who died trying to get their money back. “We were made to feel like criminals in court. It was devastating and it felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. But I was determined they were not going to spoil my dream.” Buyers placed deposits with Herrada del Tollo, which were then paid to banks BBVA, CAM or Banco Popular.
The banks and insurance company SGR had general insurance policies with Herrada del Tollo, but British buyers were told they had lost everything when the developer went bust. A Supreme Court ruling last September stated banks were liable even if these general guarantees had not existed, allowing clients to recover their money from either the banks or the insurers. Abolex has fought in the Supreme and Appeal Courts to win back clients’ deposits, with some of their clients’ cases still going through the courts. ”I can’t praise Martin enough,” said MacLachlan. “He is worth his weight in gold.”
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Property
the Olive Press June 25th - July 9th 2015
October 15th - October 28th 2015
Building boom MALAGA house-building has risen for the third consecutive quarter, new figures reveal. The statistics from the Official College of Architects showed 922 properties were approved between July and September, the biggest increase since 2010. So far this year building work has begun on 1,797 new buildings in Malaga, more than triple last year’s corresponding figure of 584.
We are very pleased to announce the opening of our new office in Fuengirola. Please telephone Paul: for the very best discounted golf times on 952 479 004 or Email: paul@gastongolf.com Pop into our office next door to the PYR Hotel on the Paseo Maritimo, Fuengirola.
Brits buy big TRIUMPHANT AT LAST: Five British families win compensation claim
VE day By Rob Horgan
A LANDMARK victory for five British expat families could spark a spate of compensation claims. The ruling to cancel the demolition of the five pensioners’ homes in Almeria saw a newly-implemented property law put into action for the first time. The new law protects homeowners who unwittingly bought illegal property in ‘good faith’. There is now renewed optimism for expat homeowners who fell foul of illegal housing scams in the mid 2000s. AUAN expat campaign group president Maura Hillen said the ruling represents a ‘turnabout moment’ in the way homeowners are treated in Andalucia.
Unscrupulous “It certainly looks promising,” she told the Olive Press. “We feel that the change to the Criminal Code has given the courts the tools to deal fairly with homeowners who were the victims of unscrupulous promoters and careless administrations. She added: “The new legislation exists but people need to invoke it. “The five homeowners are now free from proceedings, relieved of the stress, and can set about having their properties legalised.” Meanwhile, a spokesman for fellow campaign group SOHA said the victory was a ‘positive sign of things to come’. He also said the group is hopeful for a positive resolution to the Prior’s case, which saw the expat couple’s Almeria home torn down in 2008 after it was deemed illegal, as reported in the Olive Press.
Historic victory for British expats to spark more claims
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times... Now we’re living in an interesting time when two very different real-estate markets exist, like parallel realities
A tale of two markets
‘L
A crisis’ hit Spain hard and, for many, where it hurt most. Property prices have plunged by 40% on average nationwide since 2008, hitting rock-bottom at the end of 2013, leaving many homeowners with negative equity, the prospect of decades of debt, and at risk of repossession. But, since the first quarter of 2014 a slow recovery has been taking place, at least in premium locations – like Madrid, Barcelona, and the Costa del Sol – where the combination of limited stocks of new and resale property, and rising demand from, mostly, overseas clients is driving prices and sales up. More than 365,500 homes were bought in Spain in 2014, a jump of 21.6% compared to 2013. While far from the record 955,000 properties sold nationwide in 2006 at the height of the boom, the trend looks set to continue, albeit at a steadier rate than before. In the first eight months of 2015, the number of homes that changed hands nationwide climbed by 12%, year-on-year. House sales Spain-wide rose by over 24% in August, compared to the same month the previous year, reaching a total of 29,369 transactions, according to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute. Equally, there is still – and will be, for quite some time – a sizeable surplus of less desirable housing that languishes unsold, much of it built just before the rollercoaster started heading downhill. The latest Real-Estate Market Statistics Report by RR de Acuña y Asociados, looking at the 1.6 million homes for sale in Spain at the end of last year, found that more than 650,000 of the total were located in areas ‘with no demand whatsoever.’ From personal experience, I can vouch for the fact that new-build, luxury properties in prime areas of the Costa del Sol are selling like hot cakes. Cash-rich overseas clients, who don’t
BRITISH buyers make up 20% of foreign home purchasers in Spain, new figures say. In total 12.7% of all Spanish property sales were made to overseas buyers, according to Spain’s Colegio de Registradores. Hotspots for foreign investors include the Balearic and Canary Islands, Valencia, Murcia, Andalucia and Catalonia. In the Balearics, 33.5% of all purchases were funded by overseas buyers.
The Property Insider by Adam Neale
depend on Spanish banks for finance, are snapping up high-end houses faster than they can be built. Before accusations of irrational exuberance, let me qualify those remarks: this is still a niche market, one that is firmly focused on serving the increasing demand for brand-new, contemporary-style homes. In Malaga province, licenses for new-build properties rose for the third consecutive quarter from July to September, reaching 922 for the three-month period and taking the annual total to almost 1,800, the highest figure for five years and three times as many as in 2014. And, in hotspots like Marbella, where demand begins to outstrip supply, the lack of quality resale properties on offer and the shortage of land available to develop is fuelling a sharp upturn in interest among affluent foreign purchasers wanting well-appointed cutting-edge properties. Norwegian property developer Solvilla is among the companies that are setting their sights on the luxury end of the market. Its Los Olivos project in Nueva Andalucía, a gated development of 19 modern villas in the Costa del Sol’s Golf Valley, has almost sold out its first phase. Some six of the seven properties have gone off-plan and two of the remainder in phase two have already found buyers, despite only being launched in September. “The market is definitely moving,” Torgeir Wemmestad-Haaland, Solvilla’s CEO, insists. “Agents in Marbella have had the busiest summer in a long time and we see a clear trend that buyers prefer new modern villas. Land prices have doubled in 18 months and that will be reflected in the future price of new-build homes. We started selling mainly to Scandinavians and have seen increasing interest from French, Italian, and English buyers.”
Terra Meridiana. 77 Calle Caridad, 29680 Estepona. Tel: +34 951 318480. Office Mob: +34 678 452109 Email: info@terrameridiana.com. http://www.terrameridiana.com
Top Dollar
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Pricey pumps REPSOL has sold part of its piped gas business to fellow Spanish gas giants Gas Natural Distribution and Redexis Gas for €651.5 million.
World winner RONDA has made Trivago’s top 100 places in the world to visit in 2016. It is one of just four Spanish cities to be included in the site’s Best Value City Index.
Flying high BUDGET airline Ryanair is opening seven new routes to Malaga from Newcastle, Rome, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Berlin, Budapest and Hamburg in summer 2016.
Workers woes OVER 22% of temporary employment contracts in Spain last for less than six days, up from 13.7% in 2007, a study by trade union UGT reveals.
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October 15th - October 28th 2015
Marbs Fair trade
NEWS IN BRIEF
MAYOR MARVELS: Bernal looks to future
MARBELLA Mayor Jose Bernal has announced the city will have its own stand at the 2016 International Tourism Fair. And according to sources, the town hall is planning to enlist a Hollywood star to help publicise the city. Mr Bernal invited local businessmen to participate in the event, which takes place at the IFEMA - Feria de Madrid from January 20 to 24. The 108 square metre stand will be next to the Tourism Andalucia site at the exhibition. It’s the first time in six years Marbella will have its own stand.
Landsbanki case to be heard at criminal court after hundreds of expats lose out to unscrupulous equity release scheme
Bank busted EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan
A MULTI-MILLION euro equity release scheme that financially ruined hundreds of expats in Spain is to go to trial in France. Representatives of Icelandic bank Landsbanki are facing charges including tax evasion and money laundering, while the bank itself will be held accountable on
Short of income?
fraud charges. The saga has seen numerous victims, largely British expats on the Costa del Sol and Costa Brava and in France. The case is linked to Rodrigo Rato, former Spanish economy minister, head of the IMF and a close friend of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The bank’s head lawyer in Spain, Domingo Plazas, has been charged with aiding Rato to evade taxes and launder the proceeds. Lawyer Antonio Flores, from Lawbird in Marbella, said: “This is great news and a relief for so many who have seen Spanish courts blow hot and cold over this massive scam.” As the Olive Press has reported over the past few years, hundreds of British expats lost their homes after the bank collapsed in 2008. After Landsbanki went into liquidation many expats were left owing thousands of euros on an equity release scheme sold through unscrupulous financial advisers. Such schemes, which allowed pensioners to borrow 100% of the value of their homes, have been banned in the UK since 1990 but were sold to Britons abroad in the early 2000s. They were told investment returns would pay off the interest and provide an income for life, but incomes plummeted when Landsbanki collapsed, leaving expats with huge interest bills.
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the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th
TRAVELLERS in Spain are opting to let the train take the strain, with a massive 23 million people going by rail in the first nine months of this year. Between the high-speed AVE and long distance services, the number of passengers is up by 6.2% on the same period last year. Meanwhile, Spanish airports have seen 22 consecutive months of increasing travellers, 5.2% up on last year. Spain’s air foundation AENA predicts 300 new flight paths will be opened over 2015 - 61 of them domestic.
Flying high GEORDIES, Romans, Danes and Poles will all be holidaying on the Costa del Sol due to Ryanair’s new flight routes for summer 2016. In a total of seven new weekly flight paths, Malaga will connect with Newcastle, Rome, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Berlin, Budapest and Hamburg. The new flight paths will open up 52 connections and transport 3.5 million travellers. The additional routes will bring Ryanair’s weekly flights to and from Malaga up to 275 which gives 2,700 people work.
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ASBESTOS EXPOSURE
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YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES
Failing to declare taxes on time is no laughing matter
T
HE Form 720 tax obligation, a controversial asset declaration procedure which obliges residents to notify the tax Conditions include: authorities of assets worth over €50,000 held in other countries, Pleural thickening Mesothelioma had its first victim last June. The Granada-based taxpayer Pleural plaques Lung cancer who filed the tax form 14 months late was given a fine Fribrosis Asbestosis of 150% of the tax owed on ..................................................................................................... undeclared cash deposited abroad. This sum, of just over It is essential to contact a specialist solicitor. €340,000, was deemed undeclared taxable income and Wolferstans has an experienced team of taxed at the applicable tax rate lawyers who can ensure you obtain the of just over 49%, or €169,000. In addition, the unfortunate Gfdh
compensation to which you are entitled.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE LEGAL EXPERTS ON: Tel: 0044 1752 292362 Email: dcruickshanks@wolferstans.com Website: www.wolferstans.com
Hgf
Wolferstans is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Wolferstans North Hill office SRA number 75407. The Plymstock office SRA number 75408.
October 15th - October 28th 2015
AGONY ANT
Talk to the legal expert
Exposure to asbestos can lead to a variety of adverse health conditions. Although these conditions often arise many years after you have come into contact with asbestos YOU may still be entitled to compensation.
Top Dollar
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The taxpayer
taxpayer was given a staggering fine of €253,950 plus €16,010 in interest. The Commission’s Taxation and Customs Union Directorate-General has already studied this tax declaration procedure and provided the following opinion, in a letter addressed to Alejandro del Campo, a Palma-based tax expert (DMS Consulting), who filed a formal complaint in 2013, along these lines: 1. The fact that this procedure relates only to assets
ADVERTORIAL
Drive time
IT may be time to renew your driving licence. The latest EU directive requires holders of EU driving licences that have expired or are about to expire to renew them. Holders of EU driving licenses that are valid indefinitely or for more than 15 years for Group 1 (AM, A1, A2, A, B & BE) or valid for five years or more for Group 2 (BTP, C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE) need to renew their licence, providing they have been legally resident in Spain for two years since January 19, 2013. A psychometric test will need to taken in order to renew. For more information call the Spanish Traffic Department on 060 or visit www.dgt.es Or call Linea Directa on 902123282.
located abroad does not imply restriction of EU-laws as this is a situation not necessarily comparable to Spanish-located assets. 2. The obligation to declare is general and founded on objective criteria, appears proportionate and imposed without discrimination on all taxpayers in Spain, whether national or EU. 3. The deadline for submission of the declaration appears proportionate as it is in line with deadlines for domestic tax declarations. 4. As far as fines are concerned, the Commission proposes the launch of an infringement procedure (against Spain) in respect to fines and penalties so that these are better correlated with similar sanctions applied in purely internal situations regarding tax declarations. 5. In contrast to domestic regime, the taxpayer may not
prove that assets were acquired in a tax year barred by Statute of Limitations, as those assets will be automatically applied to the last year not barred by the limitation (in essence, the 4-year limitation rule in Spain disappears). This may infringe EU law. 6. Form 720 may also infringe EU law as regards assets located with the EU and EEA for these territories should not be considered ‘abroad’, for the purpose of the law, as there already is a certain degree of exchange of information within the EU. 7. Finally, there is no EU data-protection violation in the obligation to disclosed ultimate beneficiaries - with a view to remove intermediaries- as this is necessary to combat tax evasion. With a bit of luck, Form 720 could soon be declared contrary to EU law insofar as the fines and statute of limitations is concerned.
Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.es
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Leading health store to SPONSOR Estepona OVER 50s SHOW And The British Consulate in Malaga will be back to offer expats a wide range of advice
M
ulti-national health product producer and supplier Holland & Barrett have teamed up with The Over 50s Show and come on board as sponsor for the lifestyle event which will be held again in Estepona in November
Commented James Victor, Marketing Manager for Andalucia:
‘We are absolutely delighted to be joining for our first year in the hugely
ANTIQUES: Knowles knows
ADVERTORIAL
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the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th
HOLLAND & BARRETT ONBOARD popular Over 50’s Show. Only just entered the market in Andalucia and with stores in Marbella and Fuengirola, we are eager to get the Holland and Barrett name out and we think the Over 50’s Show is one of the best ways to do it. We look forward to welcoming everyone at the show with a variety of our products, samples and other surprises.’ John Low, organiser of The Over 50s Show, said it was a huge vote of confidence in the event for such as prestigious brand to be associated with it. Added Mr Low: ‘We have had a number of companies interested in participating in this year’s event, but up to now they have been sitting on the fence, so hopefully they will now be happy to be in good company! ‘We are also pleased to announce that the British Consulate will be participating for the first time in some years and will be offering visitors advice on a myriad of subjects relevant to ex-pats’. But it is also ‘business as usual’ for the rest of the show with antique valuations from Eric Knowles of Ther Antiques Road show giving free
valuations, fashions, jewellery, pottery demonstrations, bridge tuition, free health checks, financial, pensions and legal advice, TV reception specialists, art, modern dance lessons, spa treatments, eye health, spinal treatments, ear testing, plus entertainment, and much, much more. The Over 50s Show, the lifestyle event for the Coast’s retired and seniors returns to the Palacio de Congresos in Estepona the weekend of Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th November. Once again admission, car parking and coach parking is free All the free attractions which have contributed to the success of The Over 50s Show, and made it one of the ‘must attend’ events in the Coast’s events calendar, will again be in the mix. The event offers the over-50s ‘a one-stop shop’ to get information on their physical and financial health as well as enjoy many of their interests and hobbies. Health and well being will be a key element of the event based on the well-proven premise that exercise, sensible diet,
MADE-UP: Beauty tips on offer at over-50s show
and regular, routine monitoring slows down the age process. Visitors can avail of blood pressure and blood glucose tests; spine monitoring and bone density screening will also be available, backed by information on treating arthritic joints and knee pain. Art exhibition at The Over 50s Show The Andalusian International Artists art group will be displaying their new works at the show. The AIA Art Group was formed seven years ago by professional and dedicated visual artists from around Europe who are all living and working in Andalucía. The artists comprise Diana Worthy, Richard Wood, Gordon Haslett (UK); Roger Cummiskey, Dolores Cummiskey, Philip Magee (Ireland); Mette Madsen (Denmark); Eleazar Galea (Malta); Arcadio Cabrera,
Roger Rodriguez (Cuba); Enrique Linaza and Juan Cruz Plaza (Spain). For more information on the group contact the president 952592652.
Crafts section
There will also be a crafts section featuring pottery demonstrations, flower arranging and leatherwork, and embroidery. The Over 50s Show will take place at the Palacio de Congressos y Exposiciones, Estepona on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th November, from 11am until 6pm on both days. If you are interested in exhibiting at The Over 50s Show, contact the organisers for information at : john@slp.ie Or tel: 003531 4969028
The lifestyle event for the Coast’s Ex-Pats returns to Estepona this November...
Organisers: S&L Promotions Ltd.
...and offers companies and specialists in a wide range of businesses unique access to this affluent market, including:
Personal Finance Wealth Management
Health & Well-being
Homes, Home Fittings, Furniture & Gardens
Fashion
Crafts
And much, much more...
Joint sponsors:
FREEION S ADMEIESCAR & FR ACH CO G PARKIN
Over 50s favourite Eric Knowles from The Antiques Roadshow will again be offering free antique valuations
Andalucía
INTERESTED IN EXHIBITING? Email: info@slp.ie or Phone: 003531 4969028 for details
Palacio De Congresos, Estepona 11am - 6pm, Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th November 2015
Top Dollar
34 34 the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th
Backing a winner The market is what it is but you can always switch horses mid-stream, writes SaltyDog
I DON”T understand the socalled professional financial pundits who say you can never better the market, so don’t try. Recently I read a report from one of our major banks which made my blood boil. ‘If you are investing in equities, which historically produce higher returns, your money needs to be invested for a minimum of five years to ride out short–term fluctuations,’ it said. ‘This timescale is a minimum: ideally, you should be looking at an investment period of 10 to 15 years. That way, any big falls are likely to be balanced out by the gains. Perhaps those gains will be greater than the falls.’ And if the gains are not greater than the falls, then you lose, but of course the bank, with its charges, wins whichever way the cookie crumbles. As an investor, it is important to become familiar with the arena in which you are operating. There have been more than 100 market corrections in the last 110 years - that is,
around one per year, and more than 30 ‘bear markets’ during that time. The corrections average about a year from top to bottom and back, whereas a bear market may fall by 25% or more and last a year and a half before reaching the bottom and turning. It is not surprising that Fund Managers will advocate that you should stick with their funds through the thick and thin of stock market fluctuations. Naturally, they do not want to see the volume of money in their funds falling, as it will affect their remuneration. In times of market volatility,
different sectors are affected differently. The manager of a fund in a failing sector is not allowed to diversify away from his own sector and has to stay invested. Under these circumstances, the best manager in the world may lose you money. You, however, as an independent and informed investor, can switch horses from a failing sector to a winning sector or, in extreme conditions, go into cash. The Saltydog Investor gives you all the information to make these decisions and even runs a demonstration portfolio that shows its ability to avoid the market falls and corrections. To find out more, or better still to take the two-month free trial, please go to their website. www.saltydoginvestor.com.
www.theolivepress.es October 15th - October 28th 2015
Business boost for Caminito towns as more tickets are made available THOUSANDS of thrill seekers itching to try out Malaga’s cliff-hanging Caminito del Rey are still in with a chance to ‘walk the planks’ this year. Tickets to the death-defying walkway, perched 100 metres above El Chorro Gorge are now available locally, despite the official website’s allocation selling out until January. From this month, the towns of Alora and Ardales will each have an allocation of
Caminito Challenge back on 250 daily entries, reducing the website’s share to 400 of the 900 daily limit. Jose Sanchez, Mayor of Alora, said that making tickets available to hotels and restaurants is a way to ‘empower local businesses’. It means that local restaurants and hotels can provide entry tickets as part of
20 years of service SIMPLY Red topped the UK charts, Eric Cantona made his comeback following his karate escapades at Selhurst park and Marbella Design Academy was opening its doors for the first time! Founded on October 1 1995, the academy celebrated in style this month for its 20th anniversary. The sangria was flowing as students and staff celebrated with a barbeque, topped off perfectly with a locally sourced cake from Monda bakers. Located in Monda since 2008, Danish founder Helle Byrn’s decision to move to a purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility has proved wise. Marbella Design Academy boasts today over 44 different nationalities among its students and teaching staff, becoming an international hub of creative minds. For more information visit www.designschool.com
a package, with common meal deals costing between €16 and €25. Tickets can also be booked directly through the two towns’ tourist offices, via email or phone. Once dubbed ‘the world’s deadliest walkway’, 9,000 tickets sold out in the first two weeks of reopening in March. The tally of summer visitors is expected to be more than 100,000.
Ground Zara SPAIN’S multi-billion euro clothing empire, Inditex, is opening a Zara megastore in New York’s Ground Zero zone next month. The 2,800 m2 space on Broadway, near the footprint of the Twin Towers, cost a cool €235 million. Speaking about his eighth shop in New York, Inditex’s President, Pablo Isla, said Zara’s expansion was ‘limitless’.
X
35 www.theolivepress.es The Olive Press’
OP
monthly youth and educationthesection Olive Press October 1st - October 14th 23
treme
Sweeping statement
All students should work cleaning the streets says mayor BRUSH STROKES: Mayor’s message to idle students
MADRID Mayor Manuela Carmena is demanding students best known for holding wild parties clean up the capital’s rubbish. The reformist leader wants undergraduates to spend a few months a year sweeping the streets. The mother-of-four has given students the third degree for piling empty bottles and rubbish around the Complutense University of Madrid at weekends.
Carmena said: “It is not bad that, for two or three months, a person is cleaning, or occasionally cleaning, the street. “Youth events where rubbish accumulates are intolerable.” A PSOE spokesperson has slammed the idea, saying workers should do the cleaning.
Opinion Page 6
Language of love
ON YOUR MARKS: UK exams to be scored abroad
Testing times for UK examiners GCSE students in Britain may have their papers marked in Spain because of a lack of examiners at home. A jump in exams taken in June and July has led to a dearth of qualified examiners. Under proposals being looked at by the OCR, one of the UK’s biggest exam boards, marking could be sub-contracted abroad to countries like Spain. The OCR’s sister organisation, the CIE, already sends international GCSE papers to Spain to be evaluated. The OCR say it needs 5,000 more examiners by 2016.
AROUND one million ‘Erasmus babies’ have been born since the European study programme started in 1987. Of students who take a year abroad with the organisation, 27% hook up with their longterm partner while doing so, according to the European Commision. At the same time, 33% of former Erasmus students have a partner of a different nationally, compared with just 13% for stay-at-homes.
Lost in translation AN AWARD-WINNING Spanish language school has filed for insolvency after 12 years of teaching. Timpany, which had affiliated schools in more than 20 countries, cited ‘increased competition’ and a ‘fall in demand’ for its demise. Students who had booked courses with the school have been seeking advice from Spanish association Aseproce.
Excess demand for languages ALMOST 3,500 budding students have been turned away from Malaga´s official language schools this year due to excess demand for places. Malaga is the Andalucian province with the highest demand, with 11,647 people applying
for courses in 11 different languages. However, only 8,423 were admitted, according to the Education Department. English courses were the most frequently unavailable.
Student surge SPANISH language schools have seen a big rise in new students. In July, 460 pupils sat the DELE exam, the official Spanish language diploma, up from 353 last year, with October bookings up 77 from 2014. A favourable exchange rate has led to a rise in US applicants, making up for the loss of Russian students as the rouble falls in value. “In general, schools are happy and there’s an air of positivity; they say things are going well,” said Ana Cozar, director of the Spanish federation of schools of Spanish as a foreign language (FEDELE).
Presenting the
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Top Salud
36 36 October 1st - October 14th 36 the Olive Press 35
Heart of r e t t a m e h t
www.theolivepress.es
www.theolivepress.es
October 15th - October 28th 2015
Dear oc Love D
Empowerment therapist Louise Van der Velde helps expats spice up their lives and overcome personal problems My husband’s in with wrong crowd DEAR Louise, I’ve been living in Spain for three years, my husband seems to have fallen in with the wrong crowd, he goes out all the time, doesn’t invite me and I’m beginning to feel isolated. I recently lost my job and I am now thinking of moving back home. I feel torn between him and my family in the UK... what should I do?. Louise says: It’s important to plan your future from a peak state, as any decisions you make from a troubled perspective will not be the right ones. Find a quiet, inspirational space on the beach or in the campo and remember the times you felt good and empowered. Relive these moments in your mind until you get a good feeling, then stand tall and ask yourself what is right for you at this point in your life, and listen to your inner voice. Remember, the problems you have you will take with you. Perhaps you need to get out yourself, meet new people and keep the faith. Spain is a beautiful place to live and you CAN make it work. Focus on you and the rest will come.
Wife worries I suspect my wife is having an affair. She does not want to have sex anymore and seems distant, often disappearing with no good explanation. What should I do? We have been together for 12 years, I don’t want to lose her and I’m scared to ask but I do need to know the truth. Louise says: It’s important you ask her outright, the chances are you will sense the truth. Surprisingly, outing affairs can actually address issues and put couples back on track, so it’s really important you get to the bottom of this. Then, if you both agree the relationship is worth saving 100%, and you are BOTH prepared to work at it, seek a relationship therapist who will help to re-bond you and clear the pain. Whatever the outcome, you can’t go on like this. You need to know the truth, which always comes out in the end.
TAN-TASTIC: Spain just can’t get enough
Tanorexia WITH over 320 days of sunshine per year, Spain is a hotbed for sun worshippers looking for a year-round tan. But according to one Spanish dermatologist, bronzing nature’s way is no longer enough. The nation has become addicted to tanning
Hooking up to a tanning bed is an addiction in sunny Spain
salons. This bizarre habit, dubbed ‘tanorexia’, is booming in Spain, despite Madrid boasting 2,750 hours of sunshine
Email Louise at louisenlp@gmail.com or visit www.loveliferetreat.com
MARBELLA HILLS RETREAT GIBRALTAR CLINIC AND MARBELLA CLINIC
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per year, double that of London. Jose Carlos Moreno from Spain’s dermatology academy (AEDV) believes it is an addiction. The demographics most afflicted by this ‘addiction’ are women and the under-40s who get their tan fix at least twice a week.
Diagnose
A healthy mind... EVERYTHING from psychic readings, massage therapists and beauty products to ‘enhance and enrich your life’ will be on offer under one roof With over 50 exhibitors, this year’s Mind, Body & Spirit Festival will take place at the H10 Andalucia Plaza Hotel in Nueva Andalucia on Saturday 24-Sunday 25 of October. And event organiser Jacinta Hannon ‘cannot wait’. “I am very excited about this year’s event,” Jacinta says. “Attending the festival will help to bring balance and harmony to your life, nourish and improve your mental, physical and spiritual health & well being. “It is an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones. There really is something on offer for everyone.” Exhibitors include international mediums, healers, psychics, tarot unique jewelry, wellness practitioners, guest speakers and beauty therapists. You can also experience free allergy tests; free alHOSPITAL waiting lists in kaline ionized water; an Malaga have lengthened draamazing Japanese techmatically in the past year. nology which cleanses Patients face a 53-day wait and helps the body to for less serious operations, heal itself. according to figures from the The event runs from Department of Health. The 11am to 8pm and tickets corresponding figure in 2014 are €10 and includes all was 46 days. talks and demonstraPeople waiting for operations tions. on cataracts, gallbladders, bun-
Sick of waiting
ions or to remove tonsils are among those worst affected. Staff shortages and cuts by regional and central government have been blamed for the delays.
For more info visit www.mindbodyspiritmarbella.com or call 670 628 468
UV-emitting tanning machines have been officially classified as carcinogenic since 2012 but Brazil and Australia are the only countries to have banned indoor tanning beds. Australia sees 11,000 cases of melanoma (tanning-induced skin cancer) per year while Spanish doctors diagnose 3,600 cases annually.
Organ grinders SPAIN is the world leader for organ transplants for the 24th year running. New figures show Spain is still carrying out more of the life-saving ops than any other country, breaking its own previous record in the process. Spain eclipses the EU average of 19.6 organ donations per million people with its total of 36, according to the Health Ministry. And despite being home to just 0.7% of the world’s population, the country boasts 4% of all organ transplants conducted. During 2014, Spain carried out 4,360 organ transplants from 1,682 donations, including 265 heart transplants and more than 1,000 liver transplants. There were 118,117 transplant operations in 2014 according to the World Transplant Register, which is just 12% of the total number required.
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35
October 15th - October 28th 2015
Cancer care
Better cancer survival rate in Spain than UK
CANCER sufferers are less likely to die if they are treated in Spain than in the UK, according to shocking new statistics. The cancer survival rate in Spain is almost 53%, compared to 50% in the UK which lags way behind most of western Europe. Macmillan Cancer Support described the UK’s comparatively poor performance as ‘shameful’, with patients there far less likely to survive five years than countries that spend similar amounts on health care. Patients stand a far higher chance of survival in Sweden where the rate is 65%, followed by Belgium (60.5%), Austria (60%), Germany (59%) and Norway (58.5%). Denmark was the only other GOOD FOR YOU: Snoozing away the day ‘rich’ country that performed as badly as Britain, and also has an NHS-style system. The study analysed 7.5 million patients across 29 counTHE Spanish siesta may be a joke elsewhere but locals can tries in Europe. have the last laugh, according to a new study. As well as breaking up the day and an escape from the midday sun, doctors have announced that an afternoon nap can actually lower blood pressure. The Greek doctor heading up the research, Dr Manolis Kal- MALAGA’S health system is in ‘crisis’. listratos, has applauded the Spanish way of life. In just three years, 370 hospi“Although William Blake affirms that it is better to think tal beds have been lost in the in the morning, act at noon, eat in the evening and sleep at province, resulting in a bednight, noon sleep seems to have beneficial effects,” he said. The study examined 500 patients with high blood pressure to-population ratio of just 15 per 10,000 residents as govaged between 35 and 55. ernment cuts continue.
Nap’ll do it
Health scare
Look out for your vision W ORLD Sight Day 2015, celebrated last week, was themed on eye care for all. This is something we wholeheartedly support, as lack of eye care can lead to avoidable blindness. Looking out for your vision and knowing what conditions can lead to blindness is key to reducing the risk.
Q. What is the most common cause of avoidable blindness?
A. Cataracts are responsible for almost 50% of all blindness. It is common around the world, but thankfully, in developed countries, it can
people who are severely short sighted, and diabetics.
Q. What is Glaucoma Q. How can diabetes and can this cause affect my eyes? blindness? A. Diabetes affects the small A. Glaucoma is a buildup of fluid on the eye which increases pressure and, in turn, damages the optic nerve. If left untreated it can lead to permanent tunnel vision and blindness. Often, there are no symptoms in the first stages and vision loss occurs gradually, so it’s hard to spot before severe damage has been done. There is no cure for this vision loss, so it’s extremely important to have regular eye tests to identify the disease as early as possible. Over 60s are more at risk of glaucoma but babies and young adults can also be affected. People of African origin are more at risk of glaucoma at a younger age. Other high-risk groups include anyone with family history of glaucoma,
The Source Of Wellbeing’s Martina reflects on her own journey of discovery
MY
Courage: my recipe for success
W
HILE I am writing this article I am in 12,000 metres up in the sky watching the clouds race by and reflecting on the past 10 months, since I started The Source Of Wellbeing. Looking at it from a distance, I am actually amazed at my progress. It took me a lot of courage to quit my well-paid job and walk into the unknown. Operating in the fog day to day, not knowing what was coming next, the phrase ‘courage is not the absence of fear’ took on a whole new meaning. I had to face my fears, feel them, lean into the most uncomfortable feeling of all: not knowing what was around the corner. I had to tell myself all the things I tell my clients, walk the path I preach, take my heart into my
hands and trust that all would be well as long as I stayed true to who I am. For many, looking in from the outside, they see grace accompany me, but grace has its price. It is not just handed on a silver plate. It requires hard work. It involves reckoning with your own emotions, the past, the present and the future; looking at your behaviour patterns (if they hinder you from moving forward, change them); grieving for all the things that could have been, the losses and heartbreaks along the way... Integrate those lessons learned to live a wholehearted life. Foremost, I learned quick fixes. Denying emotions doesn’t work, at least not in the long run. Because they will get you one day, and then you hit the floor hard. And getting up again becomes so much more difficult. Today I am thankful for my past. Even those moments where I thought, I cannot go one more step. I know now, deep inside my heart, that I am a very strong person, and no matter what life throws at me, I can handle it. But even more important, I can pass on my lessons to others, assisting them to rise strong again. When you are willing to face yourself, your fears, hopes and dreams, you can be or do anything you set your mind and heart to. You become your own Source Of Wellbeing and the world is your oyster.
Landline: +34 951 20 43 06 Mobile: +34 673 293 333 www.thesourceofwellbeing.com martina@thesourceofwellbeing.com
Putting care into carer
How to end avoidable blindness By Amrik Sappal, Store Director from Specsavers Opticas Fuengirola
be easily treated with surgery.
37
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blood vessels and capillaries of the body. The walls of these vessels can develop small bulges (micro-aneurysms) and become ‘leaky’. Diabetic changes can occur in the blood vessels at the back of the eye. When diabetes results in these changes, it is referred to as diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes can also have other ocular pathological effects, including cataracts and retinal detachments. Severe changes, if left untreated, can result in blindness If you are experiencing any changes in your vision or have any concerns, please get your eyes tested as soon as possible. There are Specsavers stores in Fuengirola and Marbella which are currently offering free eye tests. To make an appointment or find your nearest store visit www.specsavers.es.
IF you are considering a career change or looking to get on the job market, then a rewarding job in home caring could be for you! With over 50 years of experience, Consultus Care in the UK offer training in live-in carer courses to give you the confidence to succeed.
Penny Hoey, a Consultus Carer for over four years from Orihuela, Spain, said the job allows her to enjoy ‘the perfect work/life balance’. “It’s a very rewarding career, the flexibility of the work is a great advantage,” she said. “In summer, I cook in restaurants and in autumn return to my caring work in the UK.” The rates of pay, €1,275 €1,950 per two week assignment, are competitive and SPANISH psychiatrists have identified a way of telling if with the pound getting ever a depressed patient is a suicide risk. stronger against the euro A study of more than 2,800 patients with depression means the real value is even found those who demonstrated signs of agitation, impulhigher. sive or ‘risky’ behaviour were 40% more likely to attempt For more information please suicide. either call Sandra Field on The author of the study, Dr Dina Popovic from the Univer658 965 204 or emails.field@ consultuscare.com or visit our sity of Barcelona, said symptoms of ‘excitation’ or ‘mania’ website www.consultuscare. were also common in patients considered high risk.
Suicide study
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tel: 952 663 131 / 670 964 181 www.seniorworld.es
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recruitment
49 cents per word. Minimum charge
www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th based on 10 words per issue and a 39
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minimum of 2 issues. IVA not includthe olive press - December 11- December 2014 ed All ads include the first 2 24 words in bold. For all text in bold add 25%
Join Our Award Winning Team as a LIVE-IN CARER Working in the UK Do you have experience in care professionally or with a family member or friend? We offer; Above average market salary • Industry leading employment packages Paid holidays • Unrivalled carer support Ongoing excellent training & development programme Subsidised travel costs • Induction training in LONDON or SPAIN Flexible working patterns to support a good work/home life balance (Examples of working patterns: 2 weeks on 2 weeks off, 4 weeks on 2 weeks off)
Make a Difference to Someone’s Life & Yours Contact ANNE GREATREX on 0034 965 713 746 or 0034 628 343 240 or email: anne.greatrex@thegoodcaregroup.com
We can help you to enjoy a rewarding career as a Live-in Carer in the UK Consultus Care and Nursing is one of the largest private providers
The Home Care Specialists
of Live-in Carers in the UK. If you are a kind and compassionate person and are seeking a rewarding career, our Carers from overseas enjoy a flexible working life that complements their lifestyle including seasonal work if preferred. We offer the following benefits: • Self-employed status offers you a choice of ad-hoc or regular assignments
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Live-in Carers Required
• Superb training and support
Flexible Placements across England and Wales, up to £580/pw, Direct Employment
To find out more
Helping Hands the UK’s leading Live-in Care company has it’s own Training & Recruitment Centre in Spain. Are you a compassionate Spanish based person who would like to work for us in the UK?
@ Email us at s.field@consultuscare.com
• Convenient accommodation in our Carer House • Competitive Pay (£952 - £1,456) for a 2 week assignment
Call Sandra Field, our Recruitment Consultant in Spain on +34 658 965 204 Visit our website at www.consultuscare.com
Consultus provides live-in carers
People feel better at home.
Our next dates in Spain:
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OFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS.
ALL LANGUAGES. SENT BY COURIER. 654613094 sanpedrotranslations@gmail. com
•
2nd - 6th November 2015
•
7th - 11th December 2015
To learn more about our next event in Spain and to see how you could be part of the team contact our Spanish Recruitment consultant Jayne Vale on (0034) 658 521 907 / (0034) 957 556 056 or email: jayne.vale@helpinghands.co.uk
GIFTS / PARTY STORE
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Winkworth Spain is looking for a professional administrator. Are you a Five Star Administrator? Is your attention to detail REALLY second to none? Do you take pride in your work? Are your IT skills tip top? We are looking for a professional administrator to support and work alongside our expanding sales team. You must be English speaking and fluency in Spanish will be a distinct advantage. It will be important that you have the ability to work on your own initiative in an often pressurized environment. We offer the opportunity to join an expanding and growing company, on site training and a competitive salary. HOURS: 9.00am to 6.00pm (Monday) 9.30am to 6.00pm (Tuesday to Friday) Please email your cv to cvent@winkworth.es
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Swing low....
41 October 15th - October 28th 2015
With the summer drawing to a close, the rugby season had expats gripped… for a while anyway
T
HE last of the beach closing parties has finished, the sunbeds have been stored away and the clocks are about to change in time for the countdown to autumn. For some this may be the season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’ (and finally finding a parking space in town) but for me it means only one thing. The start of the rugby season. The noble game has always been one of my passions (the others either involve a motor and/or are highly addictive/ illegal/ immoral/ all of the aforementioned). I first picked up a rugby ball at prep school and played throughout my school days and beyond, turning out for the Bulldogs at Twickenham whose brand of champagne rugby appealed to me. We would stumble out on a Saturday morning and take on teams such as London French, Feltham (always good for a punch-up due to most of their players coming from the nearby young offenders’ institute) London Cornish (where my opposite number in the scrum complained to the ref that I smelt of the morning after the night before), Bank of England (beautiful grounds in front of an 18th century stately home), and London Irish, traditionally the last game of the season and a gigantic booze
AGONISING: Viewing for Giles and friends up! I would invariably fall asleep on the tube and spend most of the evening going round and round on the Circle Line. Back in Marbella, I soon got involved with Marbella Rugby Club. As fate would have it, most of the tearaways I used to hang out with at infamous Arturo’s bar in the port during the 80s now run the club.
Must have been the multiple bashings we gave visiting Malaga punks looking for trouble. Which is an article in itself... The only problem is that, in all honesty, I’m not very good at the game. I used to be described as an impact player but the coach wasn’t really sure what my impact was. In my final match for Marbella, I spent
30 minutes on the touchline, loudly warming up and demanding to be brought on, only to dislocate my middle finger in the first tackle and be brought straight off. With the Rugby World Cup well underway I thought that I’d support the boys and head to the clubhouse to watch the England v Wales game. In rugby parlance, the Yummy Mummy has finally red-carded me and kicked me into touch, so it was time to take the Hottie Hippie with me. When we walked in, my old ‘lucky’ England shirt was the subject of much mirth. The Spanish rugby fans have adopted the tradition of supporting their own country - Spain last reached the Rugby World Cup finals in 1999, in case you were wondering – and whoever England are playing. Cries of ‘Come on Wales’ and ‘Come on Galicia’ rang out (Wales is Pays de Galles so I suppose it was an honest mistake). We all know the result. To quote Kurtz in Apocalypse Now it was ‘The Horror’ and the Hottie Hippie remarked that I was unusually quiet on the drive back to the Casita. My chariot was certainly swinging low. ‘Here we go!’ I wrote on social media before the match. ‘There you went’, replied a friend from Cape Town straight afterwards...
It’s not only expats who get tied up in knots by Andalucia’s red tape. It happens to the Spanish too! In her eye-opening new blog series, Madrileña Mirian Moreno finds there’s nothing like flagrant flirtation for getting the job done
A Spanish guiri
Gushing smile, flash of cleavage – action! W HEN the opportunity arose to come back to my native Spain after eight years in the UK, I didn’t think twice. While I loved my time at university in London and Edinburgh, it was always going to be a lovely homecoming to the warmth and welcome of the motherland. Particularly with my two young daughters, who would benefit from being immersed in a new language. But then, of course, I hadn’t factored in the challenges of being a born-and-bred Madrileña settling in Andalucia. The first issue arose when I needed to register as a resident on the Costa del Sol. It pained me to change my status from Madrileña to Andalucian but it was that or a seven-hour commute every day to take my kids to a school in Madrid. So there I was, bright and early at the town hall with my three-year-old twins -- who have an English father -- armed with every piece of paperwork I had been able to gather, since we were all born. I even took my second year school grades certificate, just in case, to avoid the scenario of lacking that one super-important document and having to queue up all over again. After waiting half an hour while the gathered staff finished swapping what-theydid-at-the-weekend stories, I was asked to come in and sit down. As I explained my seemingly straight-for-
ward situation to the grumpy-looking woman, handing her my fat folder of paperwork, I knew, from that moment that becoming Andalucian was not going to be easy. The first issue was the kids who also had to get registered. This, in theory, shouldn’t have been a problem. But in Andalucia, unless you are prepared to travel 100 miles through the Gobi desert to bring back a hair of a Mongolian dragon, it’s not going to happen. “I’m confused,” she said. “Are your kids English or Spanish?” “They are both English and Spanish”, I replied, explaining they were born to an English father and expecting her to take it in her stride. But no. Such a weighty issue involved… coffee (for her, not me) and a mumbled ‘come back tomorrow morning’. I decided to ring a friend who happened to know someone ‘quite important’ in the town hall. Doesn’t everyone? She offered to speak to ‘her friend’ who ran the admin department and come back with me the next day to confront the over-paid bigwig. After the usual pleasantries and chat about the weekend (he had taken a shine to my friend some years before, it emerged), my friend explained the situation and, lo and behold, his reaction was blunt and to the point. “Sorry, but no, there is nothing I can do.” Luckily, my tenacious friend was not pre-
pared to give up. Having lived in Andalucia for over two decades, she knew all the tricks. “Would you change your mind if I agreed to go out to dinner with you?” she asked with a gushing smile, thrusting forward her cleavage. To this, he smiled, gave me back my 30-years-worth of paperwork and left in a flurry. I wasn’t sure what to expect next. Precisely five minutes later, he turned up with the paperwork stamped for both me and the twins. Everything registered. Job done! It was an interesting initiation into life in what must be the most idiosyncratic place in Europe. Oh, and in case you were wondering, my fantastic friend got away with a 15-minute glass of wine and tapas a few days later, before making her excuses and leaving!
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Try, try and try again THROW away the Big Macs and scratch off fish and chip Fridays, trying worldly foods from a young age will improve health in later life. However, children may need to be presented with unfamiliar food up to ten times before accepting it, according to a 2015 Scientific American study on picky eaters. But it is worth persisting as broadening the palate from a young age can lead to a healthier lifestyle down the road. A new TV series has even been launched in the USA to promote world foods. In the latest episode of Gagging Abounds, children sample rabbit and asparagus from Spain. Comments include, ‘that smells like dog poo’, ‘I don’t like asparagus, it makes your pee smell’. When it was revealed to be rabbit almost all the children let out a squeal of disgust and dropped their cutlery at once.
Gold blend SPAIN’S smoothest coffee baristas are heading to Malaga to grind out who makes the best coffee. The 17 champions of Spain’s provinces will be stirring it up for the honour of the nation’s finest at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos from October 14 to 15. Andalucian champion Rabi Aouam, who makes coffee at Malaga’s famous Bar Flor, is among the hot tips to scoop this year’s award.
Food fest capital
Gastro events to rock Malaga this autumn
CONDE Nast Traveler has spoken: to make the most of Spain’s gastronomy this autumn, southern Spain is the place to be. Food festivals across Malaga province are gearing up to showcase the best of the region from chestnuts to moonshine. The Serrania de Ronda, famous for its chestnuts, hosts the Chestnut Festival in Pujerra with up to 50 different chestnut dishes on
DELIGHT: Chestnut season is here
October 31 and November 1. Meanwhile, neighbouring Parauta celebrates its 1,200 year old rabbit festival on November 14.
Not far away in Yunquera, the seventh annual wine and chestnut festival will be held on October 2425.
Maroween, in Nerja, specialising in sweet potatoes roasted in their jackets (boniatos), takes place in the small village of Maro on October 31 and November 1. In Ojen, the Toston Popular party is always on the first Sunday after All Saints Day, and brings together indie music (Love of Lesbian performed previously) and roasted chestnuts on November 8. Finally, a jamon festival which usually welcomes 10,000 people will take place in Campillos on November 8.
Hummus and heavy metal
Coconut comeback
IF you asked most people what a rocker’s favourite food is, they’d probably take a stab at a rare steak, or even a raw one. So imagine the surprise when Juanma Madrid opened Afrika Vegan Rock Bar in Almunecar. Yes. Vegan and Rock. Serving up homemade hummus, ‘eggless’ Spanish omelettes and pickled aubergines, Juanma hopes the bar will become a hit VEGAN ROCKER: Juanma with the rock community.
COCONUTS are making a comeback in Spain. The nutrient-rich fruit is ‘a la mode’ and Hispanic coconut water brand Goya has seen a huge Spanish sales boom in the last two years. The food is known for its contribution to heart health, and blood sugar and salt levels. A total of 63 million tons of coconuts were grown in 2013, mainly in Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Brazil. Europe is the only continent that cannot grow them.
By Marta Malinowska “I wanted to create an alternative space,” said Juanma. “A place for music fans to enjoy their favourite music, meet likeminded people and just feel like at home. “People do not see hard rock and veganism going together, but it is not true. Both are elements of unconventional life style.”
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44 the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th
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FOOD & DRINK www.theolivepress.es with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com FLOWER POWER by Steven Saunders of the Little Geranium
Chocplay
La Cala celebrity chef Steven Saunders reprises a savoury chocolate dish that hit the spot with Coldplay’s Chris Martin A FEW years ago we did a wedding for Tom Chaplin, lead singer the band Keane. There were a number of well-known guests, including Denise Van Outen (whom I worked with on The Big Breakfast) and Chris Martin from Coldplay. As Chris plays for one of the biggest bands in the world I was surprised when he walked in, shook my hand and said, ‘Hi Steve’. It turned out that he is a foodie and had watched me on TV’s Ready Steady Cook. I was very flattered as I love Coldplay. Anyway, one of the dishes on the menu was venison with a bitter chocolate jus. This isn’t a new idea. In Mexico, chilli-spiced chocolate is traditionally served with turkey, where the birds originated. Modern-day Michelin star chefs often use chocolate (cacao) in savoury dishes. Chocolate is very much the ingredient of the moment and not just a gimmick. Coincidentally, venison with chocolate and red currants is on my October menu at The Little Geranium in La Cala. So back to Chris Martin, who chose my slow-cooked venison with dark chocolate jus and blackcurrants. ‘Steve, that dish really tingled my taste buds,’ he said. ‘Chris, your music tingles my emotions,’ I replied and as I said that, he slipped and cracked the glass in the picture behind him. ‘I’m sorry, I’ll pay for the damage,’ apologised Chris. “The combination of great food with chocolate and wine is playing with my brain,” he joked. “Chocolate has that effect on the brain,” I said. “Maybe you should rename your band Chocplay!” ‘Sounds like a gay band,’ Chris joked, and then Tom came over and pinched his bottom. Chris left £20 in reception to pay for the broken picture but I never repaired it. Instead I added a notice beneath saying, ‘glass specially designed by Chris Martin & Gwyneth Paltrow’. It became a talking point! Although I guess I owe Chris 20 quid!
Saddle of venison with chocolate jus & blackcurrants Ingredients for 4 1 loin of venison fillet or 4 x 250g venison steaks (available in some good supermarkets, Campo and Corte Ingles) 50g dark chocolate 1 tablespoon cacao powder 500ml red wine stock made from beef stock* 50g unsalted butter 1 glass of red wine for the sauce 1 small punnet of fresh blackcurrants or redcurrants Fresh basil leaves to finish Maldon salt and black pepper
Method *At The Little Geranium we make a venison stock from the bones but you can use regular beef stock from a basic stock and then add the cooking juices of the venison for similar results. It is important to get the sauce right so make the stock well and add lots of red wine. Reduce the stock on a high heat and, while reducing, season the venison well with salt and pepper. Seal the venison on all sides for 2 minutes in a hot frying pan, then set aside. Pour the juices from this pan into your red wine stock and whisk in the butter and red wine. Now add the chocolate in cubes, continuing to whisk. Taste and add the cacao powder little by little until you have a distinct chocolate flavour but not sweet. Reduce the sauce vigorously Put the venison back in the pan or pre-heated oven and cook for approximately 15 mins for a 1kg piece (or 4 minutes if using 250g steaks). Check the meat is cooked medium-to-rare and slice into 1cm pieces. Season it again well with Maldon salt and pepper. Serve the venison with a little of the sauce, sprinkled with the blackcurrants and a few leaves of fresh basil.
Steven Saunders FMCGB - www.thelittlegeranium.com - steven@thelittlegeranium.com +34 952 49 36 02
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the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th 45
Sunday at La Sala SUNDAY roasts at La Sala are back and they’re bigger and better than ever before. The popular restaurant and bar chain part-owned by a string of footballers is launching its special Sunday lunches this autumn in both its Puerto Banus and Gibraltar restaurants. In the Puerto Banus venue, punters can enjoy a traditional Sunday lunch to the background of live chill out music for just €15.95 – and kids eat from €8.95. The mouth-watering menu includes traditional roast beef, chicken, pork and lamb with all the trimmings plus vegetarian and fish options.
CHEERS: Barack Obama enjoys Galician tipple
White House wine A DINNER invitation from Barack Obama is hard to turn down, but one Spanish winemaker nearly did just that. Cesar Enriquez’s Galician red, Peza do Rei, was chosen by the US president at his annual Hispanic Congressional Caucus gala dinner. It’s the third year in a row one of Cesar’s Cachin bodega wines was selected for the prestigious event, but the Gallego almost didn’t see Obama toast the White House table. “I told the Americans that my grapes need attention, and I probably couldn’t make it,”
Winemaker’s Galician red is toast of the White House at Hispanic dinner
he said. But eventually Cesar, 55, accompanied by his wife Maria Jesus, succumbed and headed to Washington. And it was a case of ‘bottoms up’ when Obama was snapped raising a glass of his wine at the ceremonial dinner. “That photo is worth its weight in gold,” said Cesar. “What fantastic promotion!”
ME WITH THE PREZ: Selfie
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FOOD & DRINK with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com
Guilt-free booze A BEER a day won’t make you fat, a Spanish study has revealed. The Spanish Academy of Nutrition (AEN) has debunked the beer belly myth by confirming a cana (200ml) contains just 84 calories. This intake represents just 3.4% of a man’s daily recommended intake and 4.2% of the female calorie allowance. In actual fact, AEN president Lluis Serra Majem confirmed that people who drink a small beer regularly tend to have a healthier BMI than those who don’t.
Winning wines
SPAIN’s finest tipples go head-to-head in the country’s most prestigious wine contest this month. The 16th House of the Best Spanish Wines exhibition will judge a record 200 bodegas at Madrid´s Palacio Municipal on October 29. Organiser Guía Penin are bringing together the best wines from its 2016 guide. More than 11,200 wines from all over Spain were sampled for the new Guia Penin.
Spanish fine wines do battle in prestigious annual awards
VINO VICTORY: Spain’s best wines line up Somelliers, distributors and importers will pour into the
Hearty ale BEER-DRINKING women are less likely to suffer heart attacks. Drinking beer has been linked to a reduced chance of heart attacks among women, in a new study published by the Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care. The study found that one or two beers a week was good for the feminine heart, with the danger of a coronary 30% lower than for those who drank more than that, or even none at all.
event from midday. Visitors wanting to sample the wines can enter from 5pm for a €60 charge. The DOP Jamon de Teruel will be serving jamon from white pigs, considered among the world’s finest. The day will also host the CORAVIN Wine Challenge, which is a blind-tasting of the 2016 Guina Penin’s best wines.
FOOD & DRINK with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com
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“Have you heard Cuddle Muffin?… Molino del Santo has extended its season a week until the 15th November 2015”
All aboard
“Yes but there’s more Cutie Patootie... they have some rooms at half price in November – that means from just €53,50 a night – for two people including breakfast”
Train station applauded for its charming eatery
rant and made the Guardian’s European top 10, coming in at number eight. With a ‘reputation for original food at reasonable prices’ the eatery is particularly well known for its mushroom dishes, croquettes and tapas with a twist. Owner Spaniard Nieves Dominguez told the Olive Press: “When I started I invited all my friends round to try the different dishes and asked them to rate each meal on a scorecard, and that is how I decided on my first menu,” she explained. “It is important to me that my customers are happy and there is a nice atmosphere.” Topping the list was 1e Klas, in Amsterdam’s Central station, while Le Train Bleu in Paris and Crystal, in Jungfraujoch, Switzerland made up the top three. ON TRACK: Restaurante La Estacion San Pablo AN Andalucian train station has been named among Europe’s best… not for its transport links but for its restaurant. Five stops north of Algeciras, Restaurante La Estacion San Pablo de Buceite, near Jimena, was crowned Spain’s best train station restau-
Amazon. vino? ONLINE global giants Amazon is to start selling Spanish food. America’s largest retailer are to launch a range of rice, wine, coffee, cereals, biscuits and cleaning products, although frozen and fresh produce will be excluded. They expect the move to help Spanish producers reach millions of new customers. A spokesperson said: “As of now, customers will be able to fill the pantry at anytime and anywhere, adding their favorite milk, pasta, drink or detergent brand to the cart and receiving their orders in 24 hours.”
Funky new place
A POPULAR Nueva Andalucia eatery has had to move premises due to licence complications. Garry Waite’s Funky Tapas has shifted 150m down the same street in La Campana, next to his other restaurant, Nueva Campana. But rest assured you’ll find the same great décor, the same great food, the same great prices and the same friendly staff, promises Gary. The leafy covered terrace on Avda Miguel de Cervantes is bigger than the old one – but shadier. “Our regular clients who have visited seem to prefer the new venue, which is satisfying, and the team look forward to seeing more of you soon,” added Gary. Nueva Campana remains open with its menu del dia (€15) and evening menu (€25) and their Sunday lunch (from €17.95). TUCK IN: Funky Tapas
A dog’s life,
by Eddie the hotel hound
Toy boy S
O it seems the old boy is finally getting his act together, in doggie terms at least. I’ve had two squeaky toy presents in the last week – or, actually, three. He drops gentle hints to guests – he’s so subtle – that his dog has very few toys and then people start to get competitive. Because the hotel is very busy, for once the old boy splashed out all of 85 cents in the local Chinese supermarket on a squeaky hedge-
PLAY TIME: For Eddie
“Which dates are they Lover Boy?”
“8th to the 11th November 2015 inclusive Sweetness” “Why don’t we stop calling each other silly names and book ourselves in, Dewdrop?”
Yes – it’s true. Because of a late group booking Molino del Santo, the Ronda area’s favourite hotel and restaurant, is staying open an extra seven nights until the 15th November 2015. And rooms for the nights of the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th of November are all at HALF PRICE – for a limited time only. You can stay from just €26.75 per person with breakfast included! First come, first served. Contact the English-speaking staff NOW to check availability. This offer is unlikely ever to be repeated so grab your room now.
Tel 952 16 71 51 or e-mail info@molinodelsanto.com
The perfect escape to show someone you appreciate them, to celebrate a special event, to spend quality time with frends, to unwind, to relax before Christmas, to walk the hills, to see the sights, to enjoy great food and wine, to spoil yourself, to do absolutely nothing curled up by a log fire. Not enough time to stay over? Come for lunch by train – or road. We can send you full directions. Contact the Award-winning Molino del Santo now.
info@molinodelsanto.com
Eddie the dog gets spoiled with three poochie presents in one week hog for me. It amuses me that he leaves the price tag on, trying to impress. By chance the next day, another squeaky hedgehog arrives from a guest. So kind! And made doubly pleasant by the look on my master’s face when he realises he has spent 85 cents unnecessarily. Just call me ‘twohedgehog Ed’. But it gets better … in the form of a squidgy, furry rabbit that arrived with some other regular guests this week. And this was no 85 cent-job bunny. This was your deluxe end of squeaky toys and I am talking serious tailwagging here. Soft in the mouth – a dog can only put up with plastic for so long before the flavour palls – and wait for this – with eight separate squeakers inside. Call me ‘eight-squeaker Ed’. Sadly, bunny’s life expectancy is short. I have been chewing long and hard and, at the last count, the number of ears was down to one and the number of squeakers similarly halved. Who brought me this latest bunny delight? Why, Alan and Katie Bunn of course! Wish the old master had as much of a sense of humour!
To get in touch with Eddie, contact his owners Andy and Pauline at the Hotel Molino del Santo. Bda Estacion s/n, 29370 Benaojan, Malaga. 952 167 151 - 952 167 927. info@molinodelsanto.com
“One of the 20 best hotels in Europe for Foodies”
Full menus available on the website www.molinodelsanto.com reat
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info@molinodelsanto.com
www.molinodelsanto.com | info@molinodelsanto.com | 952 16 71 51 ESTACIÓN DE BENAOJÁN, NEAR RONDA, MÁLAGA
Monkey business
FINAL WORDS
A GROUP of 30 Barbary Macaques from Gibraltar are ‘going down a storm’ in a Scottish wildlife park after proving too troublesome for the Rock.
the
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Covering Andalucia in 2015 with over 200,000 papers (130,000 digital) and around 500,000 visits to the website each month… The Olive Press just keeps growing!
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October 15th - October 28th 2015
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Prado proud MADRID’S Prado Museum came fourth in TripAdvisor’s list of the world’s best museums, ahead of the Louvre in Paris.
Cox out
Fright flight AN Iberia Airbus 340 was photographed flying perilously close to drivers near a Costa Rica airport.
NAKED British rowers have dipped their oars in trendy Tarifa and Marbella for a famous calendar’s photoshoot. The Warwick Rowers 2016 Calendar will be sold in 80 countries and counts Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry and Kylie Minogue among its fans. The rippling University of Warwick rowers flaunted their bulging biceps - and a lot more along the sandy shores for the calendar, which has raised more than €400,000 for good causes. Rower Alex said: “Spain and Marbella adds so much in terms of stunning scenery to the calendar as well as being an extremely enjoyable location for the guys to shoot in.”
Footy talk ESTEEMED La Liga journalist Guillem Balague will speak at the Gibraltar International Literary Festival about his new Cristiano Ronaldo biography.
Birdseye choice GENEROUS Brits leaving food out for birds have changed migration patterns. Birds are choosing to spend winter in the UK over sunny Spain because they prefer the grub, British researchers have revealed. The Blackcaps species, which breeds in Germany and Austria, used to migrate to southern Spain but many are now heading to the UK, a study carried out over 12 years revealed.
Jail hunt Rock Baby boogie FOETUSES are making a song and dance in their mums’ wombs, new Spanish research shows. The astonishing discovery showed unborn babies of 16 weeks old responding to music by opening and closing their mouths while sticking out their tongues. The Spanish Institute’s test on 100 mumsto-be could prove vital in the fight to detect early signs of deafness. It had previously been thought foetuses’ could hear only from week 26 of pregnancy.
Gibraltar’s answer to notorious prisoner Charles Bronson is tracked down after ‘intense’ manhunt By Rob Horgan
Can’t Bale him out! HE may be the world’s most expensive footballer, but it appears Gareth Bale’s millions can’t help his girlfriend’s father dodge jail. Martin Rhys-Jones, father of Bale’s long-term partner Emma, has been denied bail in his impending American fraud trial. He stands accused of running a ‘boiler room’ scam in New York which pulled in almost €5 million from mostly British victims. His lawyers have been unsuccessful in their bid to get him released on €200,000 bail, due to fears he would flee from justice, potentially aided by the Real Madrid star’s money. Rhys-Jones has a history of skipping bail, having fled to Spain after being arrested by police in London three years ago.
IT may well be the shortest-lived prison break in history. Following a tussle with a police sergeant, 18-year-old Sean Casey escaped his Gibraltar cell. But there aren’t many places to run to on The Rock, and the fugitive was back behind bars in less time than it takes to watch The Shawshank Redemption.
Stupid
Just one hour and 45 minutes later, to be exact, Casey had been tracked down and taken out by police dogs after threatening to kill a policeman with a broken glass bottle. He has now been sentenced to an extra six months in prison for escaping police custody. Casey was originally charged with threatening to kill a RGP officer, however those charges were dropped after he ‘showed remorse’. His lawyer insisted his dash for freedom was not a premeditated action, but rather an ‘extremely stupid’ opportunist reaction.
Camp Owh! THE Nou Camp lays in ruins in a scene from a new sci-fi film premiered at Sitges Film Festival this month. The ruined hulk of Barcelona’s stadium features in The Second Origin, Bigas Luna and Carles Porta’s adaptation of Manuel de Pedrolo’s cult 1974 novel. The European champions’ home is one of several Barcelona landmarks shown in the post-apocalyptic thriller. The Sitges festival is the world’s number one fantasy film festival - and is sure to be a hit with Real Madrid fans this year.
Dad’s legal Messi LIONEL Messi and his father must both stand trial on tax fraud charges, a judge has ruled. The court ruling reverses an earlier prosecutors’ decision to drop charges against the Barcelona star. Argentina striker Messi and his father Jorge are accused of defrauding Spanish authorities out of more than €4 million.