Gibraltar Olive Press Newspaper – Issue 51 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

Gibraltar 1 Gibraltar August 16th - August 29th 2017 business classifieds

Gibraltar culture

Gibraltar news

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The Rock’s original community newspaper FREE

Vol. 3 Issue 51 www.gibraltarolivepress.com August 16th - August 29th 2017

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Check that out, mate

LEGEND: Coulthard

Medal trio for fire hero A LOCAL firefighter has taken home three medals at an international race in the UK. Matt Coulthard triumphed at the British Firefighter Challenge competition held at Du Montford University, Leicester. He won gold in the British category at the July 29 race which involved eight demanding physical tasks. He also joined a Humberside firefighters team for the team relay, where his contribution earned the team a silver medal.

Competing

He won a silver medal in the overall competition, competing against 120 firefighters from UK, Australia, Germany, USA, Austria, and France. The Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Service said: "We would like to congratulate firefighter Matthew Coulthard for his fantastic effort and outstanding achievement at this international event. Matt is a true ambassador for the GFRS and has no doubt put Gibraltar on the map once again."

THE seventh edition of the Gibraltar Junior International Chess Festival will see over 135 youngsters from 14 countries compete for the title. From Friday, youngsters in the U12 and U16 categories will play in six rounds over four days at the Caleta Hotel.

Justice Jack says ‘unlikely’ government didn’t back contract renewal assurances EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

THE government has come under attack over the dumping of Supreme Court judge Justice Jack. The GSD opposition has slammed the decision to not renew his contract as ‘out of sync’ and says it ‘does not sit well’ with promises of increased public expenditure in the recent budget. Justice Adrian Jack himself told the Olive Press he believes it’s ‘unlikely’ the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) would have given assurances over his contract being renewed without Government backing. He added that his unwanted departure as a Supreme Court judge was already making listing cases in 2018 ‘more difficult’, contradicting government suggestions that a work backlog he was hired to tackle had been cleared. Last night, a Government spokesperson said it couldn’t comment on contract assurances to Jack ‘as the JSC is entirely independent of Government’. It comes after Jack became Gibraltar’s first Supreme Court judge to not have his contract renewed, a decision one source called ‘very strange’. Jack told the Olive Press: “They assured me that, if offered the post, I would have a reasonable

“The number of registered participants has increased dramatically this year,” said tournament director Stuart Conquest. At least 135 players have signed up from Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Portugal, Scotland, Estonia and Morocco. “The farthest travelled player

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

Dumping Jack rash! ANGRY: Jack wanted to stay

prospect of renewal. “It is unlikely such a distinguished panel would make such statements unless that was their understanding of the Government’s position.” Jack said it is a ‘matter of concern’ the Government hadn’t explained ‘why they aren’t standing by those assurances’. He added it was a ‘matter of sadness’ the Government was reducing the size of the judicia-

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ry’ due to ‘uncertainties ahead’. “I was expecting Mr [Neil] Costa, the Justice Minister, to expand on that in his Budget speech,” Jack told GBC. “Somewhat to my surprise, he didn’t mention that the number of puisne judges was going to be downsized by 33%, which I found a surprising omission.” Suggestions the work of the courts has declined in recent months were also treated with

derision in legal sectors. “He is the most active judge we have ever had. So his early departure is a matter of concern,” a source said. “It is very strange that Judge Jack, who has shown himself to be utterly implacable, shouldn’t have his contract renewed. “He has shown himself completely immune to the cosy charms of the legal establishment in Gibraltar.” The Olive Press asked Chief Justice Dudley to provide any available data showing if the court’s workload had diminished, but hadn’t received a response at the time of going to press. One source said ‘there are troubling questions as to the independence of the judiciary, which cannot be brushed under the carpet’. GSD MP Elliott Phillips said the opposition was ‘concerned’ at Jack’s removal and the Government’s ‘clear u-turn’ in deciding a fourth judge was unnecessary. “This view is out of sync with the legal profession,” said Phillips. “What has changed since the passing of the Budget in Parliament? Was the legal profession consulted?” He added: “Gibraltar’s judiciary

is one judge down leaving many unanswered questions.” Jack gave his final judgment last Thursday, ruling an RBS manager was complicit in the Marrache brothers’ £28 million swindling. He ruled that the bank employee had abetted the three convicted fraudsters in the theft of £9.8 million from online gaming millionaire Jim Magner Jack’s judgments in some of the Rock’s most controversial cases attracted huge attention. His rulings in Isaac Marrache’s parole release this year sparked one of Gibraltar’s most intriguing legal sagas. Justice minister Costa took the extraordinary step of twice hiring the UK’s most expensive QC, Lord Pannick, to fight Jack’s judgment that Costa shouldn’t have discontinued his challenge to the Parole Board’s decision to release Marrache. Costa won a Court of Appeal case against Jack’s ruling in May this year. Last week, Freddie Vasquez QC, speaking on behalf of the Bar Council, said Jack’s stay had been ‘too short’ and it was unclear why the government hadn’t extended his contract. Opinion Page 6

CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Advice for advancement GIBRALTAR government has invited a consultant from the UK to help the Rock become a cultural and sporting hotspot. Ian Streets will offer advice on everything from tourist attractions to hotels to wine cellars in the tunnels.

Load of rubbish THREE people have been arrested in Spain after being allegedly involved in a network thought to have illegally transported 370 tonnes of rubbish from Gibraltar across the border. The government affirms that it takes its environmental regulations very seriously.

Hot heights ON August 8, temperatures reached 34.4 degrees Celsius in Gibraltar, marking it as the hottest day of the year so far. The record for August, set in 1986, still remains at a sweltering 40.2 degrees Celsius.

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Hash flow hampered THE Guardia Civil has made ‘one of the most important coups against drug traffickers’ in recent times. They have arrested around 25 people in connection to a five-tonne hashish haul. The huge bust took place in Algeciras on August 3, and also involved the seizure of three boats, three tractors and an unspecified amount of money. Officials claim that those involved make up one of the most powerful groups of

drug traffickers in the region. Not all of the members of the gang have been captured, and some of them re-

main at large. The organization worked in San Roque, La Linea and Algeciras and its leader was among the detainees. According to officials, it is one of the most important police coups against drug trafficking organizations in the Strait. The Cadiz province is a drug smuggling hub due to its proximity to Morocco, one of the world’s top producers of Hashish.

Supreme decision

RBS to blame for employee’s role in £28m Marrache fraud THE Supreme court has ruled that an RBS manager ‘dishonestly assisted’ the Marrache brothers in their £28 million fraud. Judge Adrian Jack says the bank is at fault and that one of its managers Howard Shaw dishonestly assisted

Benjamin, Isaac and Solomon Marrache in swindling millions of pounds. The former lawyers were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud their clients in July 2014 after their law firm collapsed, hitting hundreds of investors.

Police get new DNA weapon POLICE have introduced a DNA database to help fight crime on the Rock. This means individuals taken into police custody in connection with a crime will undergo DNA sampling and testing against crime/victim samples, as is currently the case with fingerprinting. The measure comes after the recent introduction of roadside breath tests and

drug testing. Traffic officers have also been equipped with portable decibel meters to help them test vehicle exhaust levels. Last year the RGP introduced the use of the Capture II incapacitant spray in addition to a baton, which they have said reduces the risk of potential physical injury to aggressors and officers.

The Judge has also found that the bank is liable for Mr Shaw's actions. Online gaming tycoon Jim Magner, who was one of the Marrache’s clients claimed the three stole over £9 million from him in 2007 and 2008. He took the Royal Bank of Scotland to court for assisting the Marrache brothers in stealing of his money. He could potentially be awarded around £9m in damages as a result. In response to the judge’s decision, RBS issued a statement saying it was ‘disappointed at the outcome,’ and that it will consider the judgment in detail before considering its next course of action.

Stories and features in this edition of Gibraltar’s original community newspaper

Phoney lines

POLICE are warning the public about phone scams targeting locals on the Rock. It follows a recent spate of incidents which have seen victims signed up to premium rate lines against their will by replying to texts or returning calls to suspicious phone numbers. Authorities are warning locals not to call back if they have seen a missed call from an unfamiliar international number from a country they have no connection with. The same applies to text or WhatsApp messages from international numbers requesting the recipient to call back urgently.

Bottled

A LOCAL has been charged with wounding with intent. Kayleigh Podesta, of MidHarbours Estate, was remanded in custody after allegedly throwing three bottles of vodka at her sister, resulting in a laceration to the head.

Ne ws

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Dream come true SIX of our lucky readers have enjoyed two of the hottest concerts of the year after being chosen at random in our summer ticket giveaway. Antonia and hubby Jan (pictured), and Julie Watts and her plus one all won tickets to see Michael Bolton at the exclusive Puente Romano hotel in Marbella.

CONCERT: In Marbella

Bad boys A MAJOR Hollywood studio is poised to sign a deal with Nigel Farage and Arron Banks to make a £60million, six-part film of Mr Banks’ best-selling diary of the referendum campaign The Bad Boys of Brexit. The script is nearly finished and shooting will start in the New Year. The series will air in April, once the deal is signed next month at a meeting in Los Angeles. The story is told from the point of view of Gerry Gunster, a US pollster who advised the Leave.EU campaign, and tells how Mr Farage and Mr Banks won against the odds and ended up campaigning for Donald Trump's successful campaign in the US presidential election.

FARAGE: In Film

PREGNANT: Westbrook

Video for reggae artist’s song praising Gibraltar has received more than 100,000 hits

PRIEST: In Gibraltar Tourism Minister Gilbert Licudi said: “Maxi Priest’s video is a fantastic marketing tool that showcases some of Gibraltar’s most popular sites

in the context of the song. I must thank my colleague Samantha Sacramento, Minister for Housing and Equality for having taken the lead on this project during her time as Minister for Tourism.” The London-born singer, whose career has spanned four decades, is most famous for his songs Close to You and his Shaggy duet That Girl.

Death’s Door

In it to win it NINE hopeful teens are gearing up for this year's Miss Teen Gibraltar pageant. No1 Models will hold the seventh edition of Miss Teen Gibraltar on August 18 at the Alameda Open Air Theatre. During the competition, contestants will compete to win the coveted crown, with Miss Teen Gibraltar 2016 Shyanne McIntosh, who won the crown for Gibraltar at the National Elite Teen Pageant, crowning her successor. There will be five rounds in total, and at the end, international judges will select the winner who will represent Gibraltar at the National Elite Teen Pageant next year.

BRITISH soap star Danniella Westbrook is said to be expecting a baby with her husband-to-be, just weeks after the couple met. The owner of a Costa del Sol strip club, 44, and her toyboy lover Alan Thomason, 34, have enjoyed a whirlwind romance after meeting just weeks ago. Danniella later appeared to confirm her engagement after flashing a ring on her finger during a day out in Spain. Danniella is now expecting her first child with Alan. She is already a mother to Kai, 21, from a relationship with Robert Fernandez, and Jody, 15, with ex-husband Kev Jenkins.

Maxi-mum hits

A MUSIC video about Gibraltar has reached more than 100,000 views on Facebook. Since it was posted on August 3, the video for a song by reggae artist Maxi Priest has been viewed more than 136,000 times, and many of these are unique viewers. A quarter of the video’s watch time has come from the United Kingdom, and it has been watched by Facebook users from as far away as New York, California and Ontario. In response to the video’s success, the government is encouraging people to ‘like’ and ‘share’ the video and other posts on the Visit Gibraltar page to show people around the world what the Rock has to offer. The video, released via Visit Gibraltar, accompanies a song which showcases the singer’s affection for the Rock. Its promotes many of the area’s touristic spots as well as scenes from his concert last year.

CONTESTANTS: For Pageant No1 Models Director Kelvin Hewitt said: "We are working hard with the girls to make sure we build their confidence and self esteem, and show them the importance of helping our community whilst having fun at the same time." "We believe that our shows are

Bun in the oven

LUCKY: Winners Meanwhile Edward Wall won two tickets to the epic rock concert The Pink Purple Zep Fest in Estepona. “Thank you so much, it is a dream come true to see him,” Antonia told the Olive Press, “Of course we thoroughly enjoyed the concert, Bolton never fails, and the seating was perfect.” Keep your eyes peeled for more ticket giveaways.

August 16th - August 29th 2017

an important life experience for the contestants and it helps them build a strong foundation for their experiences in their life ahead". A limited number of tickets are available by contacting No1 Models on 54028980.

JEREMY Clarkson’s family are pleading for him to cut back on alcohol and cigarettes after he was rushed to hospital in Spain. The former Top Gear presenter posted an Instagram photo of himself on a drip after being taken ill with severe pneumonia while holidaying Mallorca. The 57-year-old had been on holiday with his family after filming of his Grand Tour programme finished. After three nights of intense spasms during his sleep, he went to the local hospital where he was told by doctors that he needed to be admitted for at least a week. His reply was of course no, he had too much to do, but the doctor replied, ‘do as I say, or you will die.’ He recently said he would take it easy over the next few months.

Party with Paris PARIS Hilton has brought her DJ set from the Balearics to mainland Spain. The blonde heiress worked the decks for revellers at one of Marbella’s newest clubs Mirage. The billionaire-in-waiting tweeted to her 7.2 million followers before her set: “'Hey Puerto Banus! Can't wait to play for you all tonight at Mirage Marbella! See you all there! #PartyWithParis.” The former Simple Life star has spent most of the summer stationed in Ibiza, where she is resident DJ at Amnesia. This is her fifth year there, where thousands have flocked every Sunday to catch her legendary Foam & Diamonds party.

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Pound plummet THE euro will be worth more than the British pound by the end of the first quarter of 2018, analysts from Morgan Stanley have said in a client note circulated on Friday. In the bank’s latest FX Overview paper, it is argued that a combination of a stronger euro and a weakening pound will combine to make the euro more valuable than the pound for the first time in its history, and make it — in terms of pure value — the strongest major currency. The euro has been on the up this year as investors have taken note of the improving fortunes of the bloc’s economy. Countries like Spain and France have helped the bloc recover to its best levels since the eurozone debt crisis. The forecasts suggest the euro will continue to strengthen and will move ‘beyond parity’ with the pound during the first three months of the year, hitting a peak of £1.02 before weakening a little as the year progresses. By the end of 2018, €1 will be worth £0.91.

POUND: Weakening

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Surprise beach arrivals

ARRIVALS: To Playa de los Alemanes

Alfonso Dastis says Spain won’t use Brexit to claim Gibraltar SPAIN’S foreign minister has said the country won’t stake a claim on the Rock in the wake of Brexit. Alfonso Dastis said Spain will not jeopardize a deal with the UK by attempting to reclaim the British over-

BEACHGOERS got a surprise last week when a rubber dinghy full of migrants arrived on a Cadiz beach. The group, suspected to be undocumented migrants, arrived the shores of Playa de los Alemanes, a beach in Zahara de los Atunes as onlookers quickly got out their phones to capture the moment. A clip shared on Twitter shows around two dozen suspected migrants flee the boat as it reaches shore. Carlos Sanz, who was on the beach, said the group quickly vanished and the police only arrived some time later.

It comes as Spain announced it was closing its border on Ceuta after a policeman broke his thigh bone when more than 200 migrants stormed into Spain earlier this week. Ceuta’s government delegate Nicolás Fernández Cucurull blamed a security failure in the surveillance of the border. A spokesman from the immigration centre said: “It’s not our problem and we’re not going to solve it. “It is a problem for the European Union because the autonomous cities are the way to enter the continent.

Brexit vow seas territory during Brexit negotiations. “I won’t make a deal between the EU and the UK conditional on recovering sovereignty over Gibraltar,” he told the Spanish press.

Cruelty case

A MAN has been charged with one count of cruelty to animals after allegedly punching a dog 20 times. Dennis Barnes, 46, was arrested for allegedly attacking the French bulldog in June and appeared before the Magistrates court. The case was adjourned until October, with Barnes reportedly entering a not guilty plea. His bail was set at £200.

It comes after the European Council’s controversial decision to award Spain a veto on whether the Brexit deal could be applied to Gibraltar. Dastis agrees with the idea of joint sovereignty which would see Gibraltarians obtaining British and Spanish dual nationality. Meanwhile, Tory MPs urged Spain to back up the statements by halting all incursions into Gibraltarian waters. The issue of sovereignty over the Rock is a fiercely debated topic, especially in the wake of the brexit vote, after which concerns that

DASTIS: On Brexit

Spain may attempt to claim the British territory during negotiations began to grow. Gibraltarian residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in the EU, with only 4% of voters opting to leave.

FUN: Previous fair

Fair at the Fair THE Gibraltar Fair has extended its deadline for disabled passes applications until August 17. Application forms can be collected from the Ministry of Equality office at 14 Governor’s Parade or requested by email on equality@gibraltar.gov.gi. The Easy Access Pass forms part of a new initiative launched by the Minister of Equality, Samantha Sacramento, to make the Fair experience more inclusive for people with disabilities. For more information on the initiative or to apply for a pass, please call 20070112 or e-mail equality@gibraltar.gov.gi.

C AM P O ne ws

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Trash talk A WOMAN has been arrested for mocking the death of a La Linea police officer. The 22-year-old took to social media to post insults about officer Victor Sanchez, who tragically died on June 7 while chasing two drug smugglers. The woman, identified only by her initials I.M.L.P, has been released on hate crime charges and slander against a public official. It’s alleged she celebrated his death on Facebook with posts including: “I’m glad he is dead”. It’s also been reported that she wished death upon all police officers. After her release she posted a message on her personal profile:"I didn’t realise that I could cause such pain with my words and I can only ask for forgiveness from the officer’s loved ones. This is no excuse, but I was going through a bad period of my life.”

August 16th - August 29th 2017

Hotel tragedy Two dead and seven injured in freak Tarifa explosion

TWO women have been announced dead following a ‘freak’ explosion at an Andalucian hotel. Local Maria de la Luz Morillo, 33, died today after suffering burns on 90% of her body following a fire at the 100% Fun hotel in Tarifa, Cadiz. Another woman, 32, has also died. The flames began after a generator exploded, sending sparks into the kitchen and setting fire to a vat of cooking oil on Saturday night, revealed Olive Press sources. Morrillo was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Hospital Virgen del Rocío in Sevilla, where four others remain, all in a serious condition.

According to sources at the hospital, the remaining seven victims have burns between 30% and 60% of their bodies. The eighth wounded is recovering at the Hospital Puerta del Mar, but has burns on 90% of his body. The incident occurred at about 19:40 on Saturday in the kitchen of the Russian-owned hotel, when the eight employees, four men and four women, were having dinner. There was an explosion in an Endesa electricity transformer box, which brings electricity to the hotel. A local British hotelier told the Olive Press: “It was the hottest day of the year and the electricity demands were enormous at

A LOCAL woman reported as missing has been located and is back on the Rock. Joanna Rosanna Falzun, 39, who disappeared on July 30, has returned home in good health. The police have thanked members of the public who responded to their appeal for information. Falzun is now assisting Police with enquiries.

SHARK: Not aggressive

Some fin amiss VIEW: From the hotel all the nearby hotels. “I really don’t know who is to blame, but as I understand it, it was a spark that lit the cooking oil at the restaurant and it all went up very quickly. “It was just before the restaurant was due to open.”

In a statement released today, the power company Endesa regretted the death of the woman. It said it has launched an investigation into what happened, adding that the explosion was something ‘exceptional’.

No need for speed

Found

SAFE: Fazlun

A NEW speed radar has been installed in Tarifa. It is located five kilometres from Algeciras, and will detect any vehicles speeding over 70 kilometres per hour. The device is currently performing recalibration tests and will be in use imminently. The Andalucia region was Spain’s speeding capital last year, Some 459,836 tickets were issued for offences over the year, over twice as many as in the next worst-offending Castilla y Leen, with 230,171.

A POSSIBLE shark sighting last week led to the closure of La Linea’s Levante and Santa Bárbara beaches. The town placed red flags on the popular beaches on Thursday after a local swimmer reported seeing a shark measuring around two metres in length near the coast. The person claimed that officials onboard a customs boat confirmed his story shortly afterwards. Juan Macias of La Linea city council, said the decision to close the beaches was a ‘precaution’, given that the description provided matched that of an angular roughshark , one that is ‘neither aggressive nor dangerous.’ The species is found in the eastern Atlantic from Norway to South Africa, and the Mediterranean. This is the third shark sighting on nearby beaches in the last three months. The first two cases were reported on Getares beach.

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Feat u re

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A campaigning, community newspaper, the Gibraltar Olive Press represents the local and expatriate communities working or living on the Rock with 10,000 copies distributed fortnightly.

OPINION Judiciary crisis FOLLOWING the axing of Gibraltar judge Adrian Jack, there are many more questions than answers. Jack is now unable to work in the legal profession for a year following the end of his contract. He himself has admitted it will be ‘difficult’ to resume his practice as a barrister after four years away. This deprives the law world of a highly respected and knowledgeable expert. Brexit is named as one of the ‘uncertainties ahead’ that have cost Mr. Justice Jack his job. Given the huge unknowns of leaving the EU, losing Gibraltar’s most active judge seems a high-risk and unnecessary gamble as we prepare for departure from the single bloc. Another suggestion given for Jack’s removal in the letter informing him his contract was being removed was an initial ‘backlog’ of work had lessened. Again, this flies in the face of what various sources, and Jack himself, are saying. The Chief Justice’s silence so far has raised eyebrows because he is the head of the judiciary in Gibraltar and some think he should have stood up to the Government if he thought that a reduction in the number of judges could interfere with the proper running of the justice system. The principle of judicial independence requires that there be absolute clarity as to the effect of removal of a judge and non-renewal of a contract. Right now, there are only a multitude of questions swarming around a story that has ignited public interest and suspicion.

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Laurence Dollimore meets the Gibraltarian who spent a whirlwind week with Elvis and his family during his military service in Germany, nearly 60 years ago, when the king of rock ‘n’ roll had his own pet name for the tomboy teen Rascal

S Elvis Presley kissed her on the cheek in front of a packed press conference, Gibraltarian UbiRhodes Malin thought she had died and gone to heaven. For the teenage tomboy, it was the icing on the cake of a life-affirming week that saw her get closer to the Presley family than most fans could ever have dreamed of. Never had she imagined that when she bought his first record – That’s Alright, Mama, still her favourite – that she would spend a week hanging out with his family and ‘Elvis the Pelvis’ himself. “I was obsessed,” she says, as we chat in Gibraltar’s Sacarello café. “I begged my mother for two years to take me to see him but she refused, my mum was horrified, he had too much hip-swinging and that jet-black quiff.” Ubi was studying at school in Switzerland, where she was living with her mother. It was after Presley arrived in Germany in 1958 as part of his army service that Ubi, now 73, decided she had to meet him.

Heaven

“Eventually my mother agreed and we travelled to Friedberg, near the Ray Barracks where he was training.” But when the unassuming 15-year- old approached his home, she froze. “I came over all shy and told my mum ‘I can’t do it’.” Mum Elizabeth was not going to let the journey from Switzerland be in vain. She marched to the front door and knocked, “I was so nervous,” Ubi recalls. “Is Elvis here?” she asks his grandmother. “No,” she replies, “but he will be back at around 11 tonight.” The pair booked a hotel room and came back later that evening to find a gaggle of screaming girls. Thinking on her feet, Ubi began chatting to Presley’s bodyguard, Cliff. “There was no point standing there screaming,” she explains, like a celebhunting pro, “you don’t go for the star, they won’t notice you that way.” Elvis could hear the pair chatting away as he was signing autographs and eventually made a beeline towards them. “He walked like a panther,” Ubi recounts, “And he was so handsome back then, he was divine. “My mother said I just stood there with

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King

my mouth wide open. He was everything I expected and more.” “‘Hi there’, he said to me, ‘I hear you speak English? Where are you from?’ ‘Gibraltar,’ I replied. “I was so mesmerised I forgot about all the cut outs under my arm that I had

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August 16th - August 29th 2017

KING OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL: Giving Ubi a kiss at a press conference in Germany

brought for him to sign. “’Don’t you want me to sign those?’ he asked.‘Oh yeah, sure,’ I said. I couldn’t believe what was happening.” And that was just the start. “He saw my mother and instantly asked if she was my ‘mom’, I don’t know how he knew but she instantly loved him from then on.” The fuss around Ubi captured the press’s imagination and they began snapping. She was then shown around the house by her new pal, ‘Cliff the bodyguard’. “The press weren’t allowed in there, all they kept asking me was ‘what is the house like, what’s inside?’ All I can say is it was full of Pepsi cans and there were music records everywhere, all over the place!” She would go on to meet Presley’s father Vernon via a chance encounter near the house. “He asked me if he knew me and if I had been at a party the night before. I hadn’t, but we chatted and I talked to him a few times after that. CNN actually interviewed me outside the house with Vernon when they were quizzing me about my tour.” Ever the dedicated fan, and now friend, Ubi would visit every day and had no qualms about being herself around the king of rock ‘n’ roll and his family. “He liked me, I was ordinary and he liked that, I would be straight with him and told him off every now and then. “One time a poor girl had been waiting

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STARSTRUCK: Ubi enjoying her close encounter with the Rock ‘n’ roll superstar

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two days for an autograph so I grabbed his finger and made him sign her pictures, and that’s where the nickname ‘Rascal’ came from, plus the fact that I wasn’t a glamour girl. I didn’t wear makeup and was a real tomboy.” And it would be the same pet name he shouted out during the international press conference as he prepared to leave Germany for New York. Ubi had persuaded a German journalist to take her to the conference at the Ray Barracks so she could say her final goodbyes.

Madness

“I was posing as an English translator who had ‘forgotten her press pass’, and I tell you I have no idea how I got through SEVEN military checkpoints. At each one I was told I probably wouldn’t get through the next, but I got in.” The cameras, recorders and flash guns of the world’s press circled around a small table, waiting for the Mississippi music legend to appear. “Eventually he came out, and he looked so nervous,” says Ubi, remembering it like it was yesterday. And that’s when he spotted his friend from the Rock. “Rascal! What the hell are you doing here?!” he yelled. “I was thinking, ‘oh great I’m going to be rumbled now’,” Ubi recalls, “‘I’m a trans-

REFCECTING: Ubi today

lator, don’t you know?’, I said, or something like that. The press – including CNN and the BBC – egged Ubi on to ask him a question. “I asked him which fans were the most persistent and he snarkily replied: ‘I would have to say Gibraltans’ – he didn’t know the word was Gibraltarian.

“Next thing you know, he calls me over and kisses me on the cheek, then all the press went mad and asked him to do it again, so he gave me a few more pecks. I was just in heaven, it was madness! “Then, of course, they thought something was going on between us and they followed me around asking what it was, but it wasn’t like that between me and him, it wasn’t a sexual thing, it was a music fan thing.” After posing for a few more photos with the press, Ubi’s whirlwind week came to a close. She would never see Elvis again but he wouldn’t be the last celeb she rubbed shoulders with. Ubi went on to work for famous Sixties fashion queen Mary Quant on the King’s Road in London. During her time at the inventor of the mini skirt’s shop, she mingled with the likes of Twiggy and Diana Ross. Later when she moved back to Gibraltar, she hung out with Sean Connery in Marbella and became good friends with the Rock’s own legendary song writer, Albert Hammond. “It’s fair to say that ever since meeting Elvis my life took a strange turn,” Ubi admits. Although she grew out of her obsession for ‘the King’, regarded today as the first ever pop star, she still loves the music. “That’s Alright, Mama is still my favourite. It’s a shame how he ended up but I will always love his music.”

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ibraltar Fair, August 19-27

RIDES and games for all age-groups will be complemented by food and drink provided by bars and catering facilities. A churro stall that proved very popular in previous years will also make its return.

TAKING place in the beautiful setting of St. Michael’s Cave, visitors will have the chance to experience award-winning rock legend Toyah Willcox, as well as Jetstream live.

ur Gibraltar Photographic Exhibition 2017, August 21- September 9

HOSTED by the Gibraltar Photogenic Society, for the Ministry of Culture, artists are welcome to submit their work, which will be put on display for visitors at John Mackintosh Hall.

arina Festival Weekend, August 19-20

TAKING place in Ocean Village, this is sure to be a weekend full of fun, with the RAOB charity cardboard canoe race on Saturday, and an array of water activities, such as kayaking and water-walking-balls, on Sunday.

PERFORMING: Hunt

THE European Symphony Orchestra and a leading British clarinettist is due to perform at this year’s autumn classical concert. Respected clarinettist Matthew Hunt will play at the October 10 show, organised by the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society, at St. Michael’s Cave. The orchestra will be conducted by Howard Shelley, and its programme includes music from Mozart, Webner and

Beethoven. “We are committed to bringing the world class artists to Gibraltar and making classical music accessible to everyone,” said a spokesperson for the society. £20 tickets go on sale from August 15, with a limited number of £10 concessions available from the John Mackintosh Hall reception.

+TheolivepressEs Get BEpainting ‘APPY!

Artful dodger? A BILLIONAIRE accused of smuggling a Picasso out of Spain on his yacht is facing prison. Prosecutors are demanding Jaime Botin, a member of one of Spain’s most successful banking families, is locked away for four years and hit with a €100 million fine. Botin, the owner of the €26 million Head Of a Young Woman, is suspected of trying to take the Picasso painting out of the country without an export permit. French police seized the

Billionaire accused of smuggling €26 million Picasso out of Spain

painting on a yacht in Corsica in the summer of 2015. The painting was named a cultural treasure by the Spanish National Court in 2015. It is currently on display

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at Madrid’s Reina Sofia museum until an investigation is complete. The prosecutor is calling for the work of art to be returned permanently into the state’s ownership. Botin’s lawyers have argued that the banker was unaware that sailing in Mediterranean EU waters breached the export ban. In 2012, Christie’s Iberica requested permission to export the painting out of

Spain on behalf of Euroshipping Charter Company Ltd, a company linked to Botin. Spain’s then-minister for culture, Jose Ignacio Wert, turned down the request. Picasso painted Head Of a Young Woman when he was 24-years-old. It is prized because it demonstrates a shift in the artist’s style. Botín bought the work in 1977 in London.

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£9,500-WORTH of prizes are up for grabs in this year’s Gibraltar International Art Competition. Gibraltar Cultural Services are calling for talented artists over thenow age Download our app and of 16 to submit a the maximum of two begin enjoying best Spanish paintings and two sculpnews on the go. tures. First prize will be £4,000, second £2,000 and third £1,500. There will also be cash prizes for the best Gibraltar-themed and young artist pieces. Works must be original and not previously entered comThe Olive petitively, andPress submitted from October 23 - 27. Entries will beinexhibited TOP for news Spain! at the Gustavo Bacarisas Galleries from the 8th to the 18th November 2017. For more information, visit www.culture.gi or email info@culture.gi

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On their toes A RENOWNED Russian ballerina has held a workshop for students on the Rock. Russian American Valentina Kozlova gave a class to pupils at Danza Academy on August 7. The 59-year old was joined by two of her students Justin Valentine and Nikita Boris. Kozlova has performed with companies including Boston and Stuttgarter Ballet. She began her 40+ year dance career at the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, where she was principal dancer. She teaches regularly and is currently holding a summer school in Sotogrande.

APPOINTED: Beacons

New roles THE University of Gibraltar has appointed its inaugural beacon professors. Professor David Abulafia and Dr John Cortes have been appointed due to their ‘outstanding contributions’ to academia. They will deliver their inaugural lectures to the public during the next academic year The Professional Appointments Committee recommended Professor Abulafia for appointment in recognition for his ‘exceptional’ contribution to Mediterranean studies and his long-standing relationship with Gibraltar, among other things. The committee recommended the appointment of Dr Cortes for his outstanding contributions to ‘public engagement, knowledge exchange and consultancy, and academic and professional leadership’. Committee member Professor Christina Slade reflected on the decision: “These prestigious appointments are a landmark for the University as they reflect an exciting new stage in the development of the institution, and establish a firm foundation from which to continue to develop the University’s academic credentials.”

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18 – 22 august 2017

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

RTIST Andy Goldsworthy says ‘to be disconnected from nature is to be disconnected from ourselves’; these days, most of us are. The gulf between most people and the natural world has never been so great. We lead fast-paced, urban lives, and few of us can remember the last time we stood barefoot in the grass or walked through a forest. That's not good for our mental health and spiritual well being; and it's not good for the natural resources we're busy wasting, either. Which is why an intriguing new Andalucian music festival is inviting you to pause.

TALENTS: Big range of artists

The idea of pause is to focus on the big things that really matter while enjoying some deep natural immersion. Over the course of five days from this Friday (Aug 18), one of the most exciting, exclusive mountain retreats in Spain is hosting a series of concerts and improvised sessions featuring musicians from around the world. The venue, La Donaira, is mixing up ancient-old traditions with new technology and ideas in a quest to find the best, most sustainable way, of doing things. This includes everything from traditional farming methods to rewilding bees and from smart innovative design to luxury tourism - eight suites and a yurt - and is a true, inspirational eye-opener. On this amazing 250-hectare Andalucian estate, close to the Cadiz/Malaga border, you will find the breeding Lusitano horses and rare cattle, as well as organic winemaking and field-to-fork organic gastronomy – as well as just simply living in general. The finca is run by a collaborative team and is a hub of activity with a constant flow of guests, including WWOOFERS, visiting enthusiasts, neighbouring farmers and experts from all walks of life, all sharing ideas.

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pause festival information

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

a tapas dinner and drinks, followed by the main concert performance (21:30), and then performances from featured artists and informal improvisation sessions until the early hours, all on the open-air stage. Shuttle transport provided all night between El Gastor and La Donaira (10 mins away). For programme details, 1-day tickets (€65) and 5-day passes (€275) plus help booking local accommodation, visit www.pausefestival.com; email: info@ pausefestival.com

VENUE: Finca La Donaira: The festival is taking

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

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

ARTISTS: Members of the Partitura Movement,

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

La Donaira has hosted workshops, equestrian events, summer camps and concerts, but pause is the very first festival. The open-air stage with its cool breeze and spectacular views of the surrounding fields and mountains is the perfect place for pausing from busy lives. It will be a delight to simply sit (or recline on cushions) and listen to some of the world's most beautiful music as the sun sets and sheep and horses graze in the surrounding fields. A host of international artists, including the classical musicians who make up the Partitura Movement, have agreed to grace the stage. Founded by the Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires, Partitura's mission is to share music with new audiences outside the concert halls, and all take time from their own tours to perform together in unusual places: prisons, hospitals, schools... and now an Andalucian mountain farm. The theme for this year's pause festival is 'reflections on man and nature', and to keep things BLISS: A room for a night peaceful and dreamy. Tickets are limited to just 100 each night. Small is beautiful. So don't miss out! Plans for pause 2018 are already underway, but in the meantime, watch this space and follow La Donaira for news of arts, food and equestrian events and workshops throughout the year. Pause pausefestival.com; info@pausefestival.com Finca La Donaira (information, reservations, events) www.ladonaira.com; info@ladonaira.com; www.facebook. com/ladonaira; www.instragram.com/ finca_la_donaira

BREATH-TAKING: Views from La Donaira and the grounds

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

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

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

A tale of

CORDOBA FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

Sevilla VS Cordob a

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

9/10

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

7/10

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

8/10

WEATHER Walking through the city beneath the baking sun was a feat of endurance with temperatures hitting 48 degrees Celsius. It was however a heatwave on the weekend we visited.

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

CROSSING: For centuries across the river Guadalquivir

7/10 ARCHITECTURE

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

8/10 SIGHTS

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

8/10 TRANSPORT

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

8/10

BEAUTY: The arches of the Mezquita of Cordoba are incredible

FOOD

NIGHT LIFE

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

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

7/10

5/10

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

9/10

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two cities SEVILLA FIRST IMPRESSIONS

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

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

10/10

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

9/10 COST

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

8/10 WEATHER

Stepping off of the train into the city felt like walking into an inferno. Temperatures reached a simmering 41 degrees Celsius. We took a siesta during the middle of the day to escape the heat.

7/10 ARCHITECTURE

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

10/10

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

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

10/10 TRANSPORT

Although we never took it, Sevilla has a train that runs through the middle of the city centre. Instead, we opted to walk, averaging 14.5 km a day. It was a lot but the city vibe kept us going. There are horse-drawn-carriages as well as taxis.

8/10 FOOD

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

9/10

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

9/10

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

5/10 CONCLUSION

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

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

83/100 Cordoba:

76/100

OVERALL WINNER: SEVILLA

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Portugal

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

Roads, trains and fires

The roads in Portugal are pretty good, with the motorways usually run by concessionaires who charge a toll, either with an operator, or with slightly annoying cameras. The normal country roads are more or less fine, although the Portuguese sometimes add large metal posts to where a simple white line of paint would serve nicely. Driving through the country, the best thing for me – we live in the desert of Almería – was the greenery. As we had had some trouble with the GPS – Movistar doesn’t make it easy when you switch to another country – we got a bit lost at one point, and found ourselves driving through the burned forest which claimed over 60 lives re-

cently. It’s a large and most depressing stretch of country. The Portuguese have been blamed for planting eucalyptus in the countryside, and the fires are consequentially dangerous and immediate. We saw several reported on their TV news channels, even after that horrific fire. On the subject of transport, our train to Aveiro was full. It stops in all the small villages en route and its timetable means it calls by every hour. Compare this with our own noble and idiotic plan to build an AVE through Almería and on to Murcia - a train which will be empty, hurtle by without stopping twice a day, and cost the taxpayer a fortune.

A DIFF SORT OF NOI I

LAST visited the other side of the Iberian peninsula two de- who cades with an old black and white guidebook from 1957… so ma it wasn’t really much of a surprise that Portugal had changed tery at least a little bit. But let’s face it, nothing stays the same forever. By Spanish standards, it’s still a bit gloomy and quiet in Portugal - quiet, to say the least (more of which later) - and the Portuguese still read the news pages rather than the sports pages, but that large area of the peninsula that Spanish weather forecasters leave oddly blank has quietly turned itself into a modern European state. My Spanish friend and I crossed into Portugal in the middle of the country from Extremadura, where we had spent a couple of days in Merida, a city where, if you kick over a rock or even a stubborn weed you’ll likely find some remains from the Roman times. From here it was only 60 kilometres to Elvas, a town literally leaping with castles, palaces, churches and a fine aqueduct. It took no time at all to reach since the formalities of crossing a frontier from one Schengen country to another involves nothing more than turning to your companion and saying ‘Cor, looks like we’re going to need that phrasebook soon’. We spent our first night in Hotel Jardim, just outside Elvas, which served us well, turning out to have a fine restaurant where we discovered that the Portu- EYE-OUT: A local vendor with guese have a trick. They leave various plates on your table of cheese, ham, fish paste som and olives before you’ve settled down and looked at the menu, tery and then they charge you heavily for them afterwards. Later on in a The Lisbon restaurant, having learnt the hard way (ED: I happen to re- any ally like all that stuff, particularly the cheese, most of which comes doe from a fantastic town Azeitao, near Setubal) we said to the waiter ‘all of this stuff – fuera!’ And it worked. The Portuguese couple at the next table looked vaguely impressed. ‘Yeah’, they said, ‘you can take The plac ours away too’. peacefu The food however in Portugal is great; the wine – especially the vinho verde – is excellent and a genuine grimly be surprise, as is the nearby Alvarinho, which is the local version of Galicia’s excellent Albarino. the foo Chicken, by the way, is called frango. Easy to remember, I told my Spanish companion after a glass or terri two, ‘just think of Francisco Frango’. The coffee is served black in tiny cups. We spent a few days in a coastal city called Aveiro which is notable for its canals; its handsome three and four story We tiled buildings and a beautiful old palace which makes a fine cup torw of tea in a china pot. it w My partner had her first ever cup of Earl Grey. The We had brought our swimming things with us on the tour, but the TV weather was cool: sweaters in the evening. ‘You won’t want to swim ‘We here’, we were told, ‘the ocean is far too cold’. stir From here we took a day return north to Oporto on the local train (150 kms total), to meet a friend, and marvel albeit too briefly at For the dramatic beauty of the city and to buy a bottle of port. spa The station in Aveiro is manned by a delightful collection of people nes

LTURA

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

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

o speak absolutely nothing except the local patois, and while I anaged to explain that we wanted two daily returns, it was a loty as to whether I had got it right - especially since the whole cost for both of us was 12 euros all in, one hour each way including a number of brief stops in small country stations. Through the window, we finally saw the beach. Aveiro is nominally on the coast - it's a town with canals - but the beaches are several kilometres off, behind dunes and scrub. At last the ocean - apparently cold and inhospitable - was in view. Perhaps another time. The main charm for me from our mobile viewpoint was the giant bird-nests that seem to decorate the top of every beautiful and noble man-made construction in the western half of the Iberian peninsular. The more sublime the edifice, the more likelihood of a giant mess of twigs and a very self-satisfied crane crowning the building, to the irritation of the owners and the evident delight of the birds themselves. Lisbon is also a tremendous place to take a tour around. High buildings and narrow streets cover the seven hills. Small yellow trams; tuc tuc three-wheelers with a sofa nailed to the back; tiny electric two-seater Renaults; some Segways, and particularly h eels cool ones that look like mopeds, me motorcycles with sidecars and a few expensive looking baty-run BMWs make up most of the traffic. e city is full of tourists. Everyone speaks English, and French and ything else – except of course Spanish. Spanish? Forget it. It esn’t exist, much to the annoyance of my friend. That said, we spent three contented days in the Portuguese capital – where the history of their abandoned colonies in Africa and Asia, plus their success story of Brazil – means ce was that you see people of all colours and, unlike ul and anywhere else I know, perfectly integrated. spent our last day in a small town called eucolic: We Castro Verde, where we felt like the first tourists ever. The place was peaceful and grimly od was bucolic: the food in the local restaurant was terrific. ific And so back across the border to Spain, with our booty of fridge magnets, tee shirts and decorated mugs. e got our skates on and our first port of call was in a giant moway cafe near Antequera. And what a complete culture shock was. e noise of a 150 gleeful diners screaming altogether over a loud was most welcome – and ear-splitting. e’re home at last’ my partner shouted happily to me as she rred her café con leche.

r more musings from Lenox visit his excellent blog http:// anishshilling.blogspot.com.es/ or newsletter www.busissovertapas.com

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

My Top Ten surprises in Portugal

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

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AN electricity company employeeBE has‘APPY! been awarded £273,000 after a fall at work. The 38-year-old was left ‘seGovernment hits back at Gibraltar Heritage Trust’s verely disabled’ after suffering a fall in 2011 on OESCO accusations over Grand Parade car park plans premises. He sustained injuries after THE government has criticised the Gibraltar Heritage Trust’s changing a spotlight onsite, Download our app now and reaction to the proposed car and broke several bones in both legs. begin enjoying the best Spanishpark at Grand Parade. It has described comments by A former enthusiast, newssports on the go. the trust about the way in which he can no longer partake in the scheme was launched as ‘tochallenging activities, as his tally without foundation’. feet swell up when he walks. It comes after the trust claimed The damages take into acthe plans ‘has not been alluded count loss of earnings, the to in any manifesto or more cost of future surgery and importantly in the recently health care as a result of the (March 2017) launched Susaccident. tainable Transport and Traffic

Due to recent expansion of the brand we are looking for a new reporter. This is a multi-facated role building on 10 years success of the business. It is an exciting time to join the team as the only investigative newspaper on the Rock Key Requirements: ●● Experience in writing local and international news pieces ●● Great interpersonal skills ●● Experience in journalism or the world of media ●● Shorthand at 100 wpm is preferred ●● References

The Olive PressPlan.’ However, according to the gov-

Sales bonanza

ernment, the announcement TOP for news in Spain! stated that the tabling of the project before the development and planning commission will mark the formal start of the consultation process.

HOUSE sales in Spain leapt by 19.3% in June with sunny Andalucia leading the charge, new data shows. The region saw the largest number of sales altogether with some 8,551 sets of keys exchanging hands. Meanwhile, per capita, the Balearics recorded the highest number of sales at 165 per 100,000 inhabitants, ahead of second-placed Valencia (159) and Madrid (144). Altogether, 44,135 homes were bought by new owners across Spain, the highest number since February 2011, according to Spain’s Institute of National Studies (INE).

Longest

In April, overall property sales across Spain had dipped by 8%, putting an end to 40 straight months of increases, before bouncing back in May and June. Sales of farmhouse fincas rose by 18.6% compared to June last year. It comes as dozens of new projects have begun along the Costa del Sol this summer, a clear indicator that the Spanish economy, and in particular its construction industry, are firmly putting there 2008 days behind them.

Balance

“The tone of their statement is particularly unfair because the Government has invested hugely in heritage projects all over Gibraltar,” said a press release. It then highlighted the positive impact the government had made on other heritagesensitive projects, including the refurbishment and beau-

CAR PARK: Proposal for Grand Parade tification of Wellington Front, the continuing progress at the Northern Defence and the restoration and relocation of the MOD gatehouse. “A government has to balance conservation and development and sometimes the scales will tilt towards one side and on other occasions, the balance will tilt to the other.” “It would have been practically impossible to develop areas such as Casemates, the leisure

Open house MARLENE Hassan Nahon has called for an investigation into Calpe House Trust. It comes after a ‘growing list of discrepancies’ and the adoption of a new legal structure from the Trust. “I echo the sentiments of members of the public who have expressed misgivings about the motivations behind this move,” she stated. “I therefore reiterate that, in the interest of transparency and respect towards the many members of our community who give so

‘Biggest ever’ sell-off SANTANDER Bank has sold €10 billion of distressed Spanish property after its takeover of Banco Popular. In Spain’s largest-ever property sale, Santander sold the stock to US investor Blackstone Group as the country’s housing market continues to recover. The housing was originally worth €30 billion, but plummeted in value after Spain’s savage economic recession hit home. The deal will see a new company created with Blackstone owning 51% of the stock and Banco Popular the rest. It comes two months after Santander rescued Banco Popular, snapping up the crippled bank for a fee of €1. The stock sold includes land, hotels, apartments and houses. Despite Spain’s booming property market, some half a million homes lay empty following a crippling recession from 2009 onwards. According to Spain’s Economic Ministry, more than a third of the €22 billion of foreign investment in Spain was from the property market.

centre and the university, which were all on the site of old military facilities if successive Governments had adopted a fundamentalist approach to Heritage matters.” It concluded that the ‘historical’ parking problem Alameda Estate, of Trafalgar House, and particularly those who live in the southern end of Main Street and the southern Upper Town residents face is a priority it has a duty to deal with.

Please send your CV to admin@theolivepress.es

King’s Wharf, gibraltar

CONCERNED: Nahon

generously to this very worthy cause, Gibraltar Government get an external UK auditor to fully investigate all the circumstances and costs surrounding the purchase of the new Calpe House.” She has questioned the true cost of the Norfolk Square refurbishment, including professional fees and commissions paid.

Explanation

She has also called for an explanation as to why the government made two planning applications for the refurbishment, with the second one omitting a clause stating that the building was only to be used by Calpe House and its service users. Calpe House provides accommodation for sick Gibraltarians in London while they are undergoing treatment.

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DESIGN AND FIT SOLUTIONS FOR ALL HOME REFURBISHMENT NEEDS Our curriculum includes a variation of construction works carried out on many buildings here in Gibraltar; St. Martins School, the new St. Bernards School, MOD housing estates and the new Mons Calpe Express, to name just a few, and we are now proudly offering a design and fit service for refurbishments in the private sector.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

fintech venture A NEW ‘fintech’ company is setting up in

Wage cuts

Gibraltar our home in respect of the ex-

A UK-BASED company Gibraltar. citing opportunities that our e-money lihas won a multi-million Xapo has been granted an e-money licence cense brings the group, and we look forpound contract to supply to operate on the Rock after an 'extensive ward to being part of Gibraltar’s continuemergency vehicles to Gijurisdictional analysis'. ing growth, said Xapo group CEO Wences braltar airport. The company views Gibraltar as an 'area Casares. Rosenbauer UK, based in of continuing growth as an international Xapo provides services including Bitcoin financial centre'. wallets and debit cards. Yorkshire, will supply four Download our app now andat “We are delighted to have received our Bitcoin is a virtual currency which allows air crash trucks valued license in Gibraltar. After an extensive users to make payments from anywhere to £2.5m. begin enjoying the best Spanish jurisdictional analysis, we chose to make anywhere without any intermediary. Threenews 6x6 and on the go. one 4x4 powerful Panther trucks are set to arrive at the airport early next year. All four feature Euro 6 engines, with the trio of 6x6 Panthers set to include a ‘Stinger’ High Reach Extendable Turret (HRET) and rear steer axles Press to faThe Olive cilitate maximal efficiency Spain’s busiest holiday period in deployment. threatened by airport worker forand news in Spain! “TheTOP team I are extremely excited to be strikes working with Gibraltar AIRPORT staff are threaten- operations and the quality of Airport on this project,” ing to paralyse Spanish air- services,” a statement from said Oliver North, Rosen- ports with a wave of strikes. the workers read. bauer UK’s Managing Di- Unions CC.OO, UGT and If the strikes goes ahead, rector. USO vowed to walk out over they would interrupt some

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25 days from next month if their pay demands aren’t met. Workers’ representatives issued an ultimatum to airport operators AENA, giving bosses until August 16 to respond. “There are places of work where employment precariousness is extremely high, jeopardizing the safety of

of Spain’s busiest holiday periods, including the puente bank-holiday breaks in October, November and December. Staff are angry about an 8% cut in their salaries since 2010 and the proposed axing of jobs with AENA and 250 with ENAIRE. In 2016 Spain was the third

AGONY ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Take note

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

ccording to the General Council of Notaries, these highly qualified professionals fulfil an essential part of the judicial life of this country by bringing legal security and certainty. Their website states the following: “Notaries are state civil servants required to provide citizens with the legal certainty guaranteed by Article 9 of the Spanish Constitution within the context of extrajudicial legal dealings.” A recent ruling by the Supreme Court - and more so a previous one of 2013 - seem to cast doubt over such convincing and forceful statement in respect to one the main functions of Notaries: granting POAs and their presupposed validity if the grantor challenges them in court. The 2013 sentence - supported by a prior one of 2010 - shook the notarial establishment when it declared that POAs to settle, dispose of, mortgage or perform any other act inherent to ownership (art. 1713) would have to […] clearly specify the object and subject, in a clearly defined and predetermined manner. The high tribunal’s interpretation of general POAs to sell or mortgage is thus far-reaching: if the POA does not specify the property or the lender, the transaction can be rendered null and void. Again, in 2016, the Supreme Court stated that those transactions where such POAs

were used could also be declared null and void where the recipient abused or exceeded the instruction. This is how the Court explained it: […] In this context, the will of the parties stands as the guiding interpretation criteria, ruling out an automatic or mechanical reliance on the literality of the POA granted, but principally on the intention and will of the grantor to establish the purpose and sense of the instruction. And secondly, the obligations of fidelity and loyalty are indispensable guidelines connected to carrying out the instruction. The importance of these rulings (dated 2013 and 2016) is that they rendered a Deed of Gift and a deed of sale of shares null and void, even if the POAs were - allegedly - properly granted in front of notary public, with all the required solemnities and formalities. For its part, notaries believe that their job is separate from that of courts and that the above rulings represent solutions to specific disputes brought before them.

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com

AIRPORT: Affected by strikes most visited country in the world, recording 75.3 million tourists. Tourism contributes about 11% of Spain's GDP.

The highest number of tourists to the country are British, with 15,790,998 in 2015 and 17,840,292 in 2016.

THE weakening of the pound has resulted in about 300 million fewer Euros in circulation, which has caused cuts of up to 40% in the wages of Spanish workers. This places an added stress on workers already in an uncertain position due to Brexit.

Money mates THE Gibraltar Financial Services Commission has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which will allow the two bodies to share information. Gibraltar contributes to the FSCS, which helps to pay what financial firms owe their customers when the companies are unable to do this.

Banned SAUDI Arabia has banned equine imports from Spain and Macedonia. This is due to an infectious disease found in the animals in Spain.

cyber security strategy

LE TT E R S

www.gibraltarolivepress.com

Lucky

Deadly Heatwaves

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

Identify your exposure to threats Dorothy Ridgley, Crevillente

Mitigate Mandatory carry

your vulnerabilities

It’s about time Brits and immigrants get ID cards (British citizens’ residency rights to be cut post-#Brexit under EU plan, says David Davis, issue 270). They are convenient for so much. It should be compulsory like in Spain to carry it at all times. No problem for non criminals and easier for policing.

Our readers react to new predictions showing 150,000 Europeans per year will die by the 2080s due to deadly heatwaves

Educate your staff

Sandra Russell, Unknown

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

August 16th - August 29th 2017

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

Fred, unknown

More sensationalistic figures from the lunatics… Before humans walked the face of the Earth, it went through phases of heat and ice ages. This is without so-called ‘greenhouse gases.’ If we really are to blame, and world leaders want to make any difference at all, they need to start with the USA, China and India, but it is not in their interest to do that apparently. In summary, ‘move along now, nothing to see here..’

At Hedgehog Security we work with businesses John CS Watson, USA Scientists know of all sizes that want to reduce their exposure I watched a programme ato few years ago where scientists Cashing in Ian Bushnell, Alhaurin El Grande predicted this weather change and I think they know That's useful information. I'm going to start buying up what they are talking about. both external and internal threats. shares in fan-making and air conditioning companies ready for the 2080s. Some needed accommodation Lois Bennett, Valencia We provide a wide range of cyber security services, Michael Flewings, London Some sympathy (American tourist arrested for rant at Palma CaGet a grip! thedral attendant who spoke no English, issue 271). In the US, from penetration tests to vulnerability assessments and most phone lines give you an option to select Spanish or English We need more action now! I’m sick of governments Circle of life for assistance. As a tourist paying for entry, some accommodation dragging their heels and risking the lives of seven bilour new ismanaged - Continual Cyber Assurance. in the language department to be expected. Iservice have seen many lion people. This is the survival of the human planet we The one thing constant with life is change, and the planet is going back to how it’s been for most of its life, which is tourist offices manned with Spanish only speaking staff!

Justice Christopher, Unknown

are talking about for God’s sake! Get a grip and sort it out!

Look elsewhere

stinky, hot and humid.

Jennifer, Malaga

Jack Edward Kidd, Gaucin

anything piqued your interest in this week’s Gibraltar Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing Get in touch today to find Has out how to letters@theolivepress.es or alternatively message us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GibraltarOlivePress or Twitter @olivepress avoid becoming the next headline:

540 65558 TAKE BACK CONTROL OF hello@hedgehogsecurity.gi YOUR CYBER SECURITY Test

Comply

Cyber roundup Hedgehog Security CEO Peter Bassill takes a look at the latest in cyber security news

A Monitor

Secure

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dobe has officially set a kill date for its love/hate Flash. The Photoshop giant said it plans to end support for the hacker-prone multimedia browser plugin by the end of 2020. There will be no further updates for Flash Player after that date and the end of support on many browsers including Chrome, Internet Explorer and Edge, and Firefox. Facebook also says it will shut off Flash games by the end of 2020, and is advising developers to change their FB games over to a different format. Programmers, designers and companies whose websites still rely on Flash (Google estimates that is about 17 per cent of all sites) are being encouraged to start planning now to transition to a more modern format, such as HTML5 and WebGL. This is welcome news for security professionals, as it is one less attack vector to worry about. In recent years, the notoriously insecure Flash Player plugin has been a favourite target for automated exploit kits due to both its dominance and the large number of serious flaws lingering in the code. 2020 may be the end of an era but it is a welcomed one. Sensitive Data Exposed on Google Groups Hundreds of organisations have been discovered by researchers at RedLock for exposing sensitive data via Google Groups and have pinned the cause on basic configuration issues. The exposure of sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, including

employee salary, compensation details, customer’s passwords, names and email addresses and home addresses at hundreds of companies has all be down to ‘A customercontrolled configuration error in the Google Group sharing setting”. The exposure was found when RedLock searched for publicly exposed groups with the top 1,000 most visited sites on Alexa. Although some would like to blame Google, this is a case of companies themselves underestimating the power of making things public on the internet and not setting their sharing groups to private. Is there really any need to make these types of groups public when companies know how sensitive the information is? Chrome Extension Hijack A rather popular Chrome extension was hijacked recently to inject unwanted ads and code into browsers. The hijack was carried out by simply hacking the creator’s Google account through a phish. Anyone using the Web Developer for Chrome extension should update to version 0.5 immediately. This is further proof that even sensible people can fall for a good phishing attack. Treating all email as suspicious until proven otherwise is a good starting point for defending against phishing attacks. If you would like to find out more about cyber threats that could target your business and what you can do to mitigate your vulnerabilities, visit www.hedgehogsecurity.gi or call us on 540 65558.

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August 16th - August 29th 2017

1919

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It’s now illegal to discriminate against breastfeeding mothers

THE Rock’s Roman Catholic Bishop has described the morning after pill as morally wrong. Carmelo Zammit’s comments came after the GHA announced THE Gibraltar government that the pill will be made avail- has passed a law that makes it able over the counters at phar- illegal to discriminate against macies in Gibraltar, where Download our app nowpreviand mothers breastfeeding in pubously it had beenthe issued with lic places. beginonly enjoying best Spanish a prescription. Equality Minister Samantha news on theThe go. Bishop Sacramento has made changes added that the to an Equal rights Bill in order Church teach- to make women breastfeeding es that human their children in public more life begins comfortable. from the mo- She said: "I am absolutely dement of fertil- lighted to have introduced this ization, and legislative amendment to benso the drug efit women who wish to breastinterferes with feed. Breastfeeding is of course The Olive Press human life. absolutely natural, the health He claims the benefits are widely known and TOP for news in Spain! pill chemically accepted. Even though the induces abor- benefits of breastfeeding are tion, a procedure that the Catho- generally accepted, negative lic church strongly opposes. attitudes to breastfeeding in Equality Rights Group chair- public can pose a barrier makman Felix Alvarez acknowledged ing women feel uncomfortable the bishop’s right to an opinion, and unsafe to do so. but asserted that ‘Women today "I feel that it is important to rightly demand authority over create an accepting environtheir lives without redundant in- ment in public. The introductercession.’ tion of this legislation is a pro“The right to choose goes both active and necessary approach ways - yes or no. But on the basis to ensure that women can of a woman's own authority, and breastfeed in a café or restauno one else's." rant without the embarrass"In today's world, the Church's ment of the owner of the establong-standing claim to entitle- lishment asking them to stop." ment doesn't wash. “ The Gibraltar Breast Feeding

Fountain of youth

CAMPAIGNING: For the right to breastfeed without discrimination

No shame

society called it a 'momentous occasion for women in Gibraltar'. A spokesperson for the group said: "We hope that the legislation will encourage more mothers to feel secure to continue breastfeeding, which in turn will help other mums to overcome breastfeeding challenges themselves." The Gibraltar Women's Association congratulated the

Gibraltar Breastfeeding Association regarding the recent legislation: "Well done to the association on their continuous awareness and promotion regarding breastfeeding and to the minister for wholeheartedly supporting women's rights." The measure was announced in June and its publication coincides with this Saturday's awareness initiative 'the Big Gen01.pdf 1 16/10/2012 08:30:24 Latch On', organised by the

Mr Fit - Here to help by Paul MacGregor

Ditch the fad diets

Adopting a healthy diet can help you lose weight in the long term

KAY. We have talked about having a more than one approach, but they have the healthy diet over the past few months, science to rely on. The internet, magazines, and, although I thought this was an and other people are full of information about easy idea to understand, it seems to diets and ways to lose weight, and although have confused a lot of people, judging by the these may seem to have credible statistics amount of emails I’ve had. behind them they may not be right for you. Dieting is a way to lose weight over a fairly Become healthier forever, don’t diet to lose short term, and by definition the fact that we weight. ‘go on a diet means that we will come off it I also often hear ‘I just want to tone up,’ ‘I at some point. The obvious question is then just want to lose a bit off my bum,’ or ‘I just ‘what next?’ When I talk about a healthy diet want a bit of a six pack’. But working to lose this is not a short term plan – it is a plan that weight off one part of the body is impossible will make you healthier, happier and fitter for in a healthy and non-surgical way. Everybody’s the rest of your life. An example of this is a body is different and we all store fat in slightly client who has been on a diet trying to lose different ways. Fat is stored in various parts of weight for a wedding. Wedding our body and depends on age, over, diet finished, weight back sex, lifestyle and many more on. The whole point of the exfactors. Hormones can play a It is a plan that ercise was missed. Does that huge part in fat storage and will make you ring any bells? I’m sure you where it is placed. have ‘a friend’ who has done healthier, happier Once again (this just seems to the same. keep coming up) a healthier and fitter for the balanced diet can help with this I’m asked a lot: What is the best diet? What is the best problem a lot easier than havrest of your life way to lose weight? The aning to do 100 ab crunches every swer is easy – change to a day. Our bodies are very comhealthy diet. You may not get plex machines and are unique. results as quickly as by starving yourself, but For instance, a vitamin deficiency can be the it is a much better way to become healthier, cause of fat being stored in certain places. So and you have a lot more time to get to your tar- with the best will in the world, until you solve get weight. A weight-loss programme should your vitamin problem you just ain't going to have you shedding no more than two kilos per shift it. week, and one kilo per week is even better. So It is always worth seeing a nutritionist who can when you work out how long it will take before help you with these problems and advise you you can get into those jeans, that is how long on a more balanced diet. Adding certain foods it will take. to your diet may help the problem alone. You If that isn’t quick enough for you, you should never saw that one coming did you??!! have started earlier! A weight-loss programme So it’s simple. Get healthy. Get qualified proshould be advised by a qualified health profes- fessional help. Up your exercise. Sleep more sional, not by friends at the pub or colleagues and avoid stress. Doing that will make you at work. What works for someone may not happier and healthier. It’s that simple. If you necessarily work for you. need help you can email me at wearefitandEven your health professional may need to try happy@gmail.com

CMY

Gibraltar Breastfeeding Association. At the global event, there will be thousands of breastfeeding women and their babies/children taking part in synchronized breastfeeding event in multiple locations. In Gibraltar, participants will meet at Café Solo in Casemates. For more information, visit www.biglatchon.org

WOULD you want to live well into your 120s? That could become a reality thanks to the world’s first anti-ageing drug, which is being trialled on humans this year. It comes after the Food and Drug administration in the US gave the go-ahead for a drug based on metformin, which is used to treat diabetes and has been proven to extend the life of animals. Scottish ageing expert Professor Gordon Lithgow of the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in California said: “If you target an ageing process and you slow down ageing then you slow down all the diseases and pathology of ageing as well. “I have been doing research into ageing for 25 years and the idea that we would be talking about a clinical trial in humans for an anti-ageing drug would have been inconceivable in the past.” If successful, the drug will mean a person in their 70s would be as biologically healthy as a 50-year-old. Experts say it could usher in a new era of ‘geroscience’ where doctors would no longer fight individual conditions like cancer, diabetes and dementia, but instead treat ageing, the underlying cause.

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THE US Department of Commerce has launched an investigation to determine whether or not Spanish olive farmers are dumping their products on the US market.Download our app now and They also want to know if begin enjoying the best Spanish they are being ‘unfairly fathe EU’s go. voured’news by onthe Common Agricultural Policy subsidies, thus violating fair trade laws. Spanish table olive producers are growing concerned over the possibility of facing harsh protectionist measures.

August 16th - August 29th 2017

with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

It takes two

The Olive Press Severely

TOP and for news in Spain! “Dumped subsidised Spanish ripe olives are severely impacting our industry,” said the CEO of US company Bell-Carter Foods, Tim Carter. Dumping, which is viewed as a means to hurt American producers, is illegal under US law. If the government uncovers unfair practices through dumping and subsidisation it could announce sanctions on Spanish table olive imports as soon as September of 2017.

British pair nab top spots on TripAdvisor’s best Vejer de la Frontera restaurants

A BRITISH expat couple have claimed the top two spots on TripAdvisor in Vejer de la Frontera. James Stuart and his partner Ellie’s respective restaurants, El Jardín del Califa and Corredera 55, are ranked the number one and two best places to eat in the increasingly popular Cadiz hotspot. James told the Olive Press: “It’s great to be voted as the best by customers, because of course, that’s who’s opinion matters most.” And the pair insist there’s no competition between them. “We are a collaborative couple,” explains James, who owns the principal share in both eateries, “We both make sure we look after our staff and manage strong teams, which is essential for the restaurant business.” Ellie tells us that “TripAdvisor is now more important for sales than Michelin”. She used to own a Michelin star restaurant in her native Scotland and the Jardin del Califa has been in the Michelin Red Guide for the last 10 years. “The customer is king these days so we are very happy to have got the balance right in both restaurants”. The Califa offers an eastern Mediterranean-Moroccan fusion, while nearby Corredera 55 treats diners to traditional Spanish dishes with a modern European twist.

Egg-gate LOCALS are being reassured that no contaminated eggs are being sold in Gibraltar. It comes after a reported 700,000 eggs affected by illegal use of Fipronil pesticide on dutch farms were distributed to the UK. Eroski has confirmed its eggs are not affected, saying they’re all regionally sourced. Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Asda in the UK have withdrawn several products as a result, including sandwiches, sandwich fillers and salads. The FSA said it was “very unlikely” that the eggs posed a risk to public health while it released a list of processed products withdrawn in the UK to protect public health. Two men are being detained in connection with the incident.

Sweet venture A NEW candy cabin has opened at Westview Park. The outlet will sell sweets, food and drinks throughout the year. “It’s always been my sister’s dream to have this kiosk and seeing as it was always closed we decided to go for it as this park really needs one,” said Galadriel Soiza, whose sister is running the kiosk.

feast yourself Sharing menu for groups of 6 or more with a selection of our best flavours to share with family and friends. Check our facebook page for more information or ask in store.

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Marbella diariesKern By Natalie Rose

HEN I was 17, I had a boyfriend who was a vegetarian. My father – a macho, perma-tanned Robert De Niro-style character, automatically assumed that this meant that he must be gay, because ‘all real men eat meat’ and therefore when we broke up a few years later, it came as no surprise to him, because ‘David always batted for the other side anyway.’ David has been happily married for ten years now. To a woman. Imagine though, my father's horror upon discovering that his own flesh and blood would one day become vegetarian – or vej-ans as my father calls us, as he announces in dismay to our waiter at a family outing upon his visit last week. "They're vej-ans, can you believe this? I don't know what I've done wrong! I've got children who are vej-ans!" The waiter looks mildly amused and my siblings and I smile uncomfortably. This is my father's noun; 'The vejan'.

VEGETARIANISM: On the rise

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Food for thought Why is there so much hate for vegans?

Vegetarians are vejans, vegans are vejans, than what he has always believed. And this anyone who does yoga is a vejan and anyone has nothing to do with meat. It has to do with who shops organic or favours homeopathic change. He believes that ‘vejanism’ is a trend, remedies over pharmaceuticals is also a ve- a fad, a fashion, while failing to realise that it's jan. Artists are vejans, feminists are vejans, a movement towards a more conscious way activists are vejans, anti-establishmentarians of living. are vejans and anyone who supports Jeremy The movement away from meat products is Corbyn is probably a vejan too. surging – veganism alone has increased by "My youngest is a university student, so it's to 500% since 2014, spurred on my documenbe expected that she would be a vejan," he taries such as If Slaughterhouses had Glass continues, in a lamenting monologue to the Walls, Cowspiracy, Earthlings and the latest waiter who stands, pen poised, ready to take Netflix documentary to be taking the world by our order. "But my Nattie, you storm, What the Health. cannot imagine how she used Of course, my father refuses to love her meat. Even as a to watch any of these movHe might have to baby she would chew on a juicy ies or TV shows - perhaps belamb chop with gravy all over make a conscious cause deep down he knows her chubby face!" that, were he to watch them, Oh save me, I think, feeling the decision about so he might have to make a concolour rushing to my cheeks, many of his life scious decision about so many as the waiter looks meekly of his life choices and beliefs, choices in my direction. "That's not a after all, ignorance is bliss. problem," he tells my father, Social media has played a "We have a wide range of great role in spreading awaredishes for vegetarians and vegans alike," and ness, not only about the inhumane suffering my father nods while holding his head in his of animals and the destruction of the planet, hands in mock despair. but also the antibiotics, puss and poisons we I read a Facebook post this week that went vi- are inadvertently feeding our bodies. Is it any ral about a young vegan holidaying in Malaga wonder that obesity, cancer and other fatal illwhose salad was not up to her expectations. nesses are at an all-time high despite medical But it was the comments underneath (which advances, and that our bodies are sicker than were quite acrimonious) that left me wonder- ever before? ing why there is so much animosity towards I suppose what people hate most about vegthose who have chosen to remove animals ans is being preached to. And yes, many of from their diets. My father is not an excep- them can seem preachy. It's like carbon emistion - in fact, my father is like so many oth- sions, recycling and the volume of plastic in ers who will not hear or accept anything other our seas... it's an inconvenient truth. And one

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that gets in the way of our comfortable existence – but at what expense? I know that with characters such as my father, preaching is of little good, so instead I send him links to documentaries such as What the Health, so that he is free to make up his own mind. But sometimes the simplest wisdom comes from a nine-year-old boy, as I discovered last week, when The Monkey was asking for new ways to entertain himself (yes, the endless summer holidays are still ongoing!) "I'd like to do some graffiti on walls," he announced casually, and I reprimanded him explaining why graffiti is bad. "Yes," he nodded, "But I would just do a picture of a big dog and it would say 'Would you eat your dog?' That's all I would do... and then people would see it and think about it." Food for thought indeed.

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AM currently writing this article on my last day at the villa in the Marbella Hill Club, directly under the air conditioning unit, as the temperature outside seems to indicate that, in twinning scheme gone badly wrong, Marbella seems to have been twinned with the Sun. It's somewhere in the high 30s out on the terrace, which has had the positive effect of drying my washing in nanoseconds, but the negative effect of short circuiting everyone's brains – what passes for mine included. Though it is a widely known fact that I normally function on black coffee and impure thoughts – or the other way around... Added to that is the fact that it was a full moon last night and it is no surprise that people have been acting like fruit loops. My first piece of evidence for that was a video that went viral about the continued goings on in Puerto Banus, as well as a “warts and all” expose on national television. In the video, an open-topped Porsche, complete with brainless Banus bimbo sitting illegally on the back and pumping out rap music like some bad copy of the Fast and the Furious franchise, pulls up to a red light. After pausing for a few seconds, the driver of the Porsche decides that the highway code doesn't apply to him and roars off through the read light, bimbo shrieking in delight as he does so. Two more supercars, presumably also driven by knuckleheads, decide that this is a good idea and also jump the light, with the third car missing a hapless scooter, who crosses legally, by inches. Meanwhile the TV show went behind the scenes of a night in Puerto Banus, riding shotgun with the Policia Nacional, as well as interviewing Marbella business figures and the owner of a boutique party hotel that has received over 700 complaints in the past two years. It was the usual catalogue of fast cars, yachts, guns, prostitution, nightclubs, shady figures in gold chains, drugs and rap music. And then the thought hit me. Marbella really is missing a trick to get its profile

even higher on the world stage. So I've just taken out the patent for the new PlayStation game MarbsMayhem. It'll give Grand Theft Auto and all the other shoot em up gangsta games a run for their money!!! My second bit of summer madness involves the Starlite Festival, who seem to have thrown their toys out of the pram in a massive way now that Marbella Town Hall has enforced the Junta de Andalucia law that you can't run an outdoor nightclub in a mainly residential area until 6am, every morning. Starlite responded that they were going to sue Marbella for damages, had done wonders for the image of Marbella, and that they were upping sticks after this year and would never darken the town's door again. To which my measured response is: “Jog on then, and don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.” Maybe it was the fact that the ticket prices started at ridiculously high levels, or the fact that the audiences seemed to care more about taking selfies and wandering back and forth to the VIP bar during the performances – Rock God Robert Plant remarked on this very fact when I saw him at Starlite last year - or the fact that the road back down to Marbella was full of drunken pijo teenagers at 7am (and I am not sorry for what happened to the one who tried to flag me down as a taxi by standing in the middle of the road and point a torch at me. The Tank has handled wild boar without a dent so bouncing a few pissed up teenagers off the side panels is nothing. Plus he learned a valuable life lesson). What really got me, however, was the slogan ‘todos somos Starlite’ that started to appear on social media. For those of you with memories longer than the average Justin Bieber song, this type of post started to appear after the killings in Paris, especially at the Bataclan, where innocent people were slaughtered by terrorists AT A CONCERT VENUE. If you truly believe that the fact you can no longer dance to Eurotrash music until 6am is on a par with what happened in Paris then the heat must be getting to you too...

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August 16th - August 29th 2017