The
OLIVE PRESS
Mijas Costa FREE
ANDALUCIA
Your expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 13 Issue 333 www.theolivepress.es December 18th - January 7th 2020
Festive fears for British expats after landslide Boris victory slides UK ever-nearer Brexit... BRITISH expats are in turmoil about their futures in Spain, following Boris Johnson’s huge election victory. Healthcare, pensions and the fate of the pound will keep expats awake at night this Christmas, now that Johnson has promised to ‘get Brexit done’ by the end of January. With the overwhelming majority of
By Karen Livermore and Robert Firth
expats voting to remain, there are set to be many uncomfortable and unsettling periods ahead. “People are disappointed with the way this has panned out and are feeling very uneasy,” said British coun-
cillor in Mijas Bill Anderson. “I am hearing many concerns and confusion over what will now happen, particularly from constituents who are retired,” added the respected Olive Press columnist. “They are worried about their pensions and whether they will be index-linked. They are worried about
...but there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful... There’s so much to read in this bumper Olive Press special festive edition
On the slopes with the pros in snowy Page 17 Granada
health cover and of course how Brexit will affect the pound, which in turn will affect the amount of income they have to live on.” He continued: “In five or 10 years time expats are scared they won’t be able to afford to continue living here.” He added that many people are now considering returning to the UK, because - above all - they fear they won’t be able to afford healthcare. A quarter of a million Britons officially live in Spain, making it the most popular European destination for British people living abroad. Many more live here unofficially or for half the year. However, expats on the mainland still lack clarity over healthcare, pensions and rights of family when the UK finally leaves.
Suicide
Tracing the origins of the Costa del Crime
Page 6-7
Home cooking with the biscuitbaking nuns
Page 38
Anne Hernandez of Brexpats in Spain, which promotes the rights of British expats in Spain, said the confusion is causing many residents distress, leading to some even contemplating suicide. “It is putting people under incredible pressure. Some have said; ‘I am so suicidal,’ particularly some of the elderly,” she told the Olive Press. She added she was ‘bitterly disappointed’ with the result of the election, which put an end to all calls for a second referendum. Now Johnson has a majority, MPs are expected to start the process of passing the EU withdrawal bill through parliament on Friday, with Johnson promising a Brexit ‘Christmas gift’ to voters. Christine Rowlands, chair of Conservatives Abroad on the Costa del Sol, offered up a more optimistic view of the future, at least. Despite being a ‘staunch remainer,’ she told the Olive Press she was glad the election result meant Brexit would ‘finally be over’. “The reaction has been good from both sides,” she said. “My members just want the job done.” She added the party was now ‘passionate’ to overturn the 15-year voting rule for expats who have lived abroad that long. “It's ridiculous that in my position here I cannot vote either. It would be the icing on the cake if this happened.” Opinion Page 6
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Parental advisory POLICE have arrested a British couple on charges of child abandonment after their 17-month-old baby girl nearly died when she ate a stash of cannabis at their upmarket family home in Marbella.
Caught out AN INFORMANT has been gunned down while he was spotted conversing with a police officer on a roadside in Barcelona. The informant was providing information on a violent armed gang when shot.
Cemetery cold case POLICE have unearthed bone fragments in the continuing search for missing sailor Simon Parkes in Gibraltar, who is feared to be the victim of notorious serial killer Allan Grimson.
CRIME
December 18th - January 7th 2020
PIPE dreamers
One British family are facing the festive period inside after the timely-named Operation Rudolf snared them in €4m fuel robbery A SELF-styled British Adams Family are facing prison over a multi-million euro fuel robbery. The family of four are on trial accused of siphoning off €4 million worth of petrol from an underground pipe leading to Malaga Airport. In the audacious theft the group worked together to dig a hole deep under their rented farm in the nearby Guadalhorce Valley. They then inserted basic tubing to steal nearly 160,000 litres of diesel, petrol and
kerosene over the course of 2011, before selling it at hardware stores around the area. Despite admitting the crime, the father told Malaga court, he was unable to name his boss ‘out of fear’ for the safety of his family. The alleged crime on the family’s farm, in Pareje Palliza, Campanillas, was discovered in November 2011, after logistics company Hydrocarbon Company (CLH) called in police. The company which ad-
Bad Belgian
Drug war escalates
AN EXPAT on the run from Belgium for drug trafficking has been arrested on the Costa del Sol. The 39-year-old, who was facing a 30-year prison sentence, was spotted in Marbella. Spanish police snared him on a European arrest warrant and will now be extradited back to Brussels. Assassins for neighboiurs Page 6
THE Costa del Sol’s growing drug war has reared its ugly face again with yet another bullet-riddled corpse discovered by locals. This time, a dead Slovenian was found face down by a walker with seven bullet wounds in him at the cliffs below the AP-7 motorway in Mijas Costa. He is believed to have been shot dead with an automatic weapon, while the reasons for his assassination still unknown.
ministered the pipeline had noticed a sudden change in pressure that at one point nearly cut off the entire supply for the airport. It could have easily led to a serious explosion and badly polluted much of the nearby area due to leaks. When police paid a visit to the family’s farm, first by helicopter, they discovered a layer of concrete had been crudely poured in to seal the pipe. The family, who are facing up to 32 years in prison, worked
PETROLHEADS: A Guardia Civil officer checks the pipeline and (below) the British family in court together at a nearby depot, where the fuel was stored and decanted into smaller containers. The father was caught red-handed with 1,000 litres of diesel in a white van. A neighbour told police he had been doing daily trips at around 1pm. The son, who admitted trans-
porting the fuel, admitted he ‘shouldn’t have taken the job’ while his mother, who has since divorced, claimed to know ‘nothing about it’. The family could be sent down for as long as 30 years in prison, although they have already returned three €3 million of the total value of the stolen fuel.
It comes after drug-related killings claimed four lives in the last three months, with various other shootings.
Butcher’s pen-knife flight A BRITISH butcher has flown to Spain with a four-inch knife in his hand luggage. Latimer Higham managed to sneak the lethal pen knife onto a flight from East Midlands Airport to Lanzarote. Incredibly security staff failed to spot the knife, instead confiscating a bottle of shampoo from the Derby resident. “It is disgusting that I managed to get on a plane with a knife,” he said. “Something like this could have serious consequences if someone with the wrong intentions did it.” He added: “A knife like this could be used as a serious weapon.” Higham only realised he had the knife when he was unpacking his bags in the Canaries.
You dopes
A BRITISH expat has been arrested after police seized more than 6,000 grams of marijuana at his Mijas villa. Police also found 450 cannabis plants, almost 4000 grams of hashish oil and €2500 during the raid. The 48-year-old is now in custody awaiting trial, alongside a 59-year-old Thai national.
Pigs in handcuffs THIEVES have nicked more than 300 legs of jamon from the back of a lorry while the driver took a siesta. The delivery man had been en route to Malaga when he decided to take a nap at a service station, while he waited for businesses to open at dawn. While he was snoozing a gang of robbers forced open the backdoors of the van and stole €42,000 worth of
jamon. The massive loot comes after authorities reported a surge in the theft of ham and sausages across Andalucia with the approach of Christmas. Guardia Civil in the autonomous community are investigating the theft of 130 pieces of jamon in just over a month. The meat can fetch as much as €600 on the black market during the festive season.
NEWS
www.theolivepress.es
December 18th - January 7th 2020
Resigned to sleepless HE may have lost millions of voters in Nonights! vember’s Spanish elections.
Putt a ring on it
But Alberto Rivera clearly hasn’t lost his mojo. The ex-leader of Ciudadanos party and his pop star girlfriend Malu have announced they are expecting a baby. “I am very excited to share this wonderful gift that life has given us,” the 40-year-old
said in the post he shared with followers. Rivera and Malu certainly haven’t wasted any time in embarking on family life. The couple have only started seeing each other this year, soon after Rivera’s breakup from his four year relationship with influencer Beatriz Tajuelo.
Royal retreat
A star is re-born
HE may have won numerous trophies in 2019, but now Spain’s top golfer Jon Rahm has won what he wanted most of all – his girlfriend’s hand in marriage. The 24-year-old tied the knot with American fiancee Kelley Cahill, 25, in a fairytale winter wedding at his childhood church in Bilbao. It comes after the world number three won his second Race to Dubai last month, in the same year he was crowned European Tour Golfer of the Year. The Arizona-based newlyweds will return to the US for another wedding in San Diego in April.
There will be chorus’s all round if Banderas wins a Golden Globe
RELAXED: Smith
STIFF COMPETITION: From (clockwise) Pryce, Driver, Bale and Phoenix HE has taken another star-studded step towards Academy Award recognition. Now, Malaga’s favourite son Antonio Banderas has come one step nearer, after being nominated for the prestigious Golden Globe in his latest role in Pedro Almodovar’s film Pain and Glory. THEY are believed to be two of the wildmen of American rock. But Slash and Axel Rose are normally on best behaviour when they visit Spain these days. According to Olive Press sources the pair, who get on well, usually stay with their families at luxury Malaga hotel Finca Cortesin, never making any noise or mess at some point during the tour. Now the pair will reunite
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for a massive Guns N Roses show in Sevilla next year. The legendary US band, behind hits like Sweet Child O’ Mine and Paradise City, will play at the Benito Villamarin Stadium in May, in what will be their only date in Spain. It will be the second date of the European leg of their tour, which starts in Lisbon on May 20. The tour then heads to Germany, England, Sweden and many other countries.
By Robert Firth
However, the 59-year-old, who is currently starring in his version of musical, A Chorus Line, in Malaga, is under stiff competition. Banderas will have to beat Christian Bale, Adam Driv-
No need to lock up your daughters Tickets go on sale on December 20. The group has performed 160 concerts for more than 5.5 million fans around the world.
er Joaquin Phoenix and Jonathan Pryce to win the best actor globe in January, which is normally a predictor for the Oscars. In the film Pain and Glory, he plays an aging film direc-
tor, afflicted by a creative block who recalls significant life events such as first loves and breakups through a series of flashbacks. It is a semi-autobiographical look at director and writer Almodovar’s life, for which he is up for a director’s award. Banderas meanwhile, picked up the best actor accolade at the European Film Academy awards in Berlin. He was also named best actor at Cannes, where the film premiered in May. Malaga-born actor Pablo Puyol will replace Antonio Banderas in A Chorus Line when he heads across the pond for the Globes and the Palm Springs Film Festival. A Chorus Line will run at Malaga’s Soho Caixabank until January 19.
HE plays Prince Phillip in The Crown. And Matt Smith has been spotted relaxing at a destination suitably fit for a king. The former Doctor Who star was seen chatting to rowers on the exclusive Canary Island of La Gomera, ahead of the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge. The race is one of the world’s toughest rowing competitions, which sees contestants travel 3,000 miles from the island to Antigua in the Carribean. The 37-year-old looked relaxed as he shared a cuppa with the competitors prior to the start of the race. It was a world away from his love troubles back in the UK, where he is reported to have split after a five year romance with actress Lily James in favour of co-star Claire Foy (below), from the Crown.
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NEWS
December 18th - January 7th 2020
Drawing breath!
xmas Odd job
A SPAIN’S Got Talent contestant has almost died after failing to escape from a sealed underwater box. Viewers and judges of the Telecinco show were left in shock as they watched Pedro Volta literally drowning onstage. Medical staff rushed to free the Galician escapologist who was knocked out after he stopped breathing during a live broadcast of the semifinals. The magician had intended to free himself from a straitjacket inside a double locked container filled with water. The talent show was won by two-year-old carol singer, Hugo Molina, who wowed judegs with his rendition of Campana sobre campana.
SPANISH classified ad website Milanuncios has been pressured into dropping a job offer that promised extra bonuses for ‘sex’. An advertisement looking for a ‘sexy housekeeper’ read that prospective employees would be well paid and have the potential to earn more cash.
“Lingerie is essential, cleaning only but if there is sex the difference will be paid,” the advert said. “Looking for a woman aged between 2040 in fine physical form, good breasts and very pleasant. Ugly women please refrain.” The denigrating job offer saw widespread condemnation on social media, before northern Spanish paper La Voz de Galicia succeeded in pressuring Milanuncios to drop the advert.
Flirty Sanchez By Robert Firth
SPANISH Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has embarked on a charm offensive to seek the support of Catalan separatists as he tries to form a government.
Acting PM’s desperate bid to woo pro-independence parties as time runs out to form government The leader of Spain’s Socialist Party is meeting with leaders from the Catalan Republic Left (ERC), Together for Catalonia (JxCat) and Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) in an
Spreading Christmas cheer A POPULAR Costa del Sol cafe restaurant is cooking free meals for lonely expats on Christmas Day. Cafe Bar La Gamba has a limited number of spaces available on the 25th December for people who would otherwise be spending the day alone. The Mijas restaurant which specialises in seafood and tapas, announced the free meals on social media. “Don’t be shy, this is not a dating occasion,” the post said. Anyone interested in a complimentary meal and good company is encouraged to express their interest by sending a Whatsapp message to +34 633233407.
SPECIALITY: La Gamba’s ‘pil pil’
attempt to build a governing coalition, following November’s inconclusive Spanish elections. Sanchez’s PSOE emerged as the largest party from last month’s vote, winning 120 seats, but still far short of the 176 it needs for a majority. The socialist party leader made a coalition deal with left-wing, anti-austerity Unidas Podemos soon after the result.
Last ditch
However, he still needs the support of opposition parties to get the coalition approved by parliament. Talks with centre-right Ciudadanos and the conservative Popular Party (PP) in recent days have failed to secure their approval for the left-wing pact with the two right-wing parties objecting
to Podemos MPs getting key cabinet posts. In a last ditch attempt to avoid a third election in less than a year, Sanchez is now seeking the support of regional nationalist parties from Catalonia, as well as Valencia’s Compromis and Basque nationalists EH Bildu. Sanchez’s plan A is to get Catalan separatists from the ERC to abstain on the vote to approve the coalition. For it’s abstention the ERC wants the socialists to agree to talks between Madrid and the Catalan regional government about the future of the northeastern region. PSOE MP Adriana Lastra said any deal would be ‘subject to the law and Constitution.’ She added: “The entire PSOE is working so that this country can have a government as soon as possible.”
Tsunami to halt El Clasico
SPAIN’S most famous football match, El Clasico, will be policed by 3,000 troops to ensure that Spanish-Catalan tensions don’t boil over this week. Around 1,000 officers from Catalunya’s Mossos will join the club’s own security on the streets outside Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium, in preparation for the arrival of Real Madrid. It comes as campaign group Tsunami has organised several protests inside and outside the ground for one of global football’s most anticipated matches of the season. There will be two ‘phases’ of security at the match this Wednesday, phase one will be a ‘non-armed’ police cordon, with a second phase stopping pitch invasions and keeping fans apart. Fears of civil unrest caused the fixture, which was due to be played in October, to be rescheduled for this week. It came after Spain jailed nine Catalan separatist leaders over their role in Cataluyna’s illegal independence referendum of 2017.
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NEWS
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Braveheart!
Let him stay
Heroic undocumented migrant set to receive residency for saving local man’s life
AN undocumented immigrant working as a street hawker in Denia has had a request for immediate residency sent to the Valencian government. Gorgui Lamine Sow made headlines around Spain when he saved 39-yearold Alex – who suffers from a disability – out of his first-floor apartment after it dramatically caught fire in Denia. Photographs of the heroic rescue showed Gorgui lifting Alex down a precarious ladder while the disabled man vomited due to smoke inhalation.
But the street hawker’s identity was unknown until reports today revealed he was a 20-yearold undocumented immigrant living in a Gandia squat without a door alongside his wife and young child. A Change.org petition to reward Gorgui’s selfless act with permanent residency Spain was immediately launched. “A native of Senegal, he came to Spain in search of a better future for him and his family,” the petition wrote. “His gesture should be
Gibraltar security guard reveals how he chased and pinned down an alleged murderer, after fatal Costa stabbing A BATTLE-hardened security guard for Gibraltar’s Chief Minister has chased and pinned down a suspected murderer. Brave James Abecasis told the Olive Press how he tackled the knife-wielding attacker as he fled the scene of a fatal stabbing on the Costa del Sol. Father-of-one Abecasis, 28, revealed how he chased the alleged killer, a Brazilian, after stepping in to try and stop
rewarded and the political authorities should grant him the regularisation he so deservedly earned after his act of citizenship.” Unbeknownst to the petition’s creators Denia Town Hall has already requested residency for Gorgui, his wife and child, by contacting the Spanish government’s subdelegation in Valencian.
Heart
According to Denia.com, regularisation is contemplated more seriously when the case concerns a matter of popular interest. Denia Town Hall will also decorate Gorgui for his
EXCLUSIVE By John Culatto
the vicious attack, outside a nightclub in Estepona on Saturday night. While most people would have left the scene, the former soldier said his ‘instinct’ told him to chase the attacker, who was running away. “I went flying after him and as he rounded the block I tackled him to the floor, getting grazed heroic act with a municipal distinction for intervention in acts of emergency. “I saved Alex because my heart told me to,” Gorgui said. “I’m poor. I have nothing. But I am also strong and can help. I don’t like to see people suffer.” Gorgui reportedly arrived in Spain on August 19, 2017, after spending time in Brazil and Argentina. He currently commutes to Denia every day by bus from Gandia, where his young family sleep together on a sofa. “I want papers so I can work and live here with my family,” he said.
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on my hand as I took away the knife from him,” he continued. “I then held him down with a club security guard until the police arrived a few minutes later and cuffed him.” Gibraltar-born Abecasis - who spent four years with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, much in the Middle East - had been on a night out with friends. When they came out of the Mykonos nightclub in Estepona, at 4am, a fight quickly broke out between two strangers. It has since emerged that Sabinillas hairdresser Abdessamad el Ammali, 21, from Morocco, died within minutes of the stabbing. He had accidentally spilled his beer over the attacker, it has since emerged. “They were on the floor hitting each other and no-one had intervened,” Abecasis told the Olive Press. That is when he decided he had to do something.“Someone held one of the guys and I held the other, who I had faceto-face,” he revealed. “It was really violent and there was literally a river of blood as his attacker must have hit an artery,” revealed Abecasis, who has been working in the Chief Minister’s security team for four months.“I think I will have a few flashbacks because of all the blood there.”
TRAGEDY: Hero Abecasis (above) jumped on knifeman accused of murdering Abdessamad (right) outside Costa del Sol nightclub Abecasis revealed that his army training has helped him through life. “I definitely don’t regret it,” he said. “I am proud of what I did. Even the judge at the initial court case hearing this week told me how brave I was.”
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FEATURE
www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain
A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than one million people a month.
OPINION Britain’s Christmas no.1 On Friday we discovered what was top of the British people’s Christmas list. Santa Claus promised them a ‘Christmas gift’ they couldn’t turn down. And they lined the streets queuing up for it. And they got it. ‘Let’s get Brexit done,’ said Boris Johnson, ripping off his beard. Brexit they got. But like every child who sits on Santa Claus’s knee and tells them all his wishes, the British people were sold a lie. And you don’t have to wrap yourself in an EU flag outside Westminster to believe that. For Boris Johnson like Father Christmas can’t ride through the sky, granting everyone’s wishes with a gusto-filled ‘ho ho ho.’ Even as Johnson’s hefty parliamentary majority will allow him to whizz Brexit through the commons by Christmas and have it ‘done’ by the end of January, years of wrangling over the EU and Britain’s future relationship and ehem trade deal waits around the corner like a new year hangover. And the future of every British citizen living in Spain is tied up in that. Only yesterday Micheal Gove - who is in charge of no-deal planning - refused to rule out no-deal when challenged over the government’s plans to make it illegal for Britain to ask the EU for an extension to the transition period which ends in eleven months. Fair enough, he might have been doing himself out of a job by ruling out the possibility his job exists to plan for. But that will be no reassurance for those whose futures these politicians are meddling with.
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December 18th - January 7th 2020
Assassins for neighbours Nearly 40 years since his articles coined the phrase ‘the Costa del Crime’, it is not surprising we’re STILL living in a gangster’s paradise, writes author and journalist David Baird (right)
H
ERE’S a question you don’t often ask yourself: how many murderers have I known in my lifetime? The answer is - almost certainly more than you imagine. No matter how tranquil and law-abiding you are, you are likely to have come into contact with somebody who has committed a fatal crime and got away with it - by sheer luck, thanks to a cleverly faked accident, or whatever. And, if you live on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, the odds you have been elbow to elbow with a most wanted criminal are even greater. Not for nothing has the region been dubbed the ‘Costa del Crime’, a tag that originated in the early 1980s. Until then, the coast was mostly famed for the antics of international jetsetters, from Prince Alfonso Hohenlohe, founder of the Marbella Club hotel, and millionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi to film star Stewart Granger and society hostess Gunilla Von Bismarck. But then more sinister sun-seekers arrived: Underworld figures learned
Organised crime on the coast was shocking a decade ago. But, warn the authors of Costa Nostra, it’s nothing compared to the drugs cartels’ vicelike grip today
Timeline of the crimes
that there was no way they could strong, respected newspaper) be extradited from Spain to the detailing a crime wave along the UK following the collapse, in coast. The article was headlined 1978, of a long-standing agree- ‘The Costa del Crime’ and the ment between the two countries. name stuck. A logo of a shifty guy This extraordinary extradition in a black hat by a palm tree beloophole was not closed until came almost seminal. 1985. Although the report was totally So Brits on the run began buy- factual the coast’s tourism bossing properties on es were furithe Costas in the ous, accusing late 1970s and me of saboThe coast’s early 80s, flaunting tage. Howevtheir ill-gotten gains er, since then tourism bosses and frequenting the number of the top night spots. were furious, shady individHitmen, conmen enjoying accusing me of uals and bank-robbers the good life in rubbed shoulders our midst has sabotage with aristocrats and multiplied. bullfighters. Among the They were soon more notorimaking second fortunes being ous residents was Ronnie Knight, conveniently close to the vast once married to Carry On star plantations of marijuana - which Barbara Windsor. He was wanted was getting increasingly fashion- for his part in the 1983 theft of £6 able - across the pond in Moroc- million from the Security Express co. headquarters in Shoreditch, east In the early 1980s I filed a report London. to the Sunday Express (then a I ran him to earth along with Sue
Haylock, his girlfriend, in their luxury home in the hills behind Fuengirola, but they (not so politely) declined to be interviewed. When Ron and Sue married, in typically flashy style at a Costa restaurant, an army of expat crooks turned up in force, brazenly flaunting their wealth and contempt for the law. But Ronnie’s cash dwindled and he and Sue ended up running a Fuengirola bar, attracting thrill-seeking British tourists. Eventually Ronnie was forced to return to the UK to face the music. So too was Freddy Foreman, a fearsome hitman and friend of the notorious gangsters, the Kray brothers. He loved the Costa, remarking recently: “Sun and sangria and birds. I would still be there if I could!” Meanwhile, along the coast in Almería, known as the home of spaghetti Westerns, another arch-criminal once ruled the roost. On the surface Juan Asensio Rodríguez, a chunky, balding
COSTA mafia BREXIT could threaten attempts to bring the drug trade under control along the Costa del Sol warn journalist and author Miguel Diaz and IU politician Antonio Romero. It comes a decade after their book, Costa Nostra: The mafias on the Costa del Sol, sent shockwaves through Spain and threatened its essential tourism trade. The authors say the same problems with criminal organisations still exist, but ‘with even more intensity. “The political context today is about less cooperation,” says Diaz. “The UK is key (in helping tackle the mafias) and Brexit
Owner of Heaven, David Ávila, assassinated while sitting with his family in his Range Rover, after his daughter’s communion in San Pedro
keeps Europe from having common legislation.” This comes after John Sawers, the ex-chief of the UK’s foreign intelligence service, said Britain’s security depended ‘heavily’ on the security of Europe and he hoped relations between the EU and Britain would not completely collapse after Brexit. Diaz and Romero believe the growth of mafia activity is to do with social impoverishment, and unemployment. Thousands of people in drug trafficking hotspots like La Linea, on the Gibraltar border, are employed by gangs, often throwing stones and attacking
A British man is shot, kneecapped and given a ‘Glasgow Smile’ in Marbella. The unnamed Brit was left with multiple injuries
Bomb blows up San Pedro warehouse while another explodes under a car in Benahavis, both warnings from Swedish drug mafias
Frenchman shot 20 times with an AK-47 outside his home in Marbella. The murder was a settling of accounts between mafias
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Heaven beach club burned to the ground as a warning to owner to pay what he ‘owes to Colombian drug lords’
British drug trafficker Sean Hercules gunned down in Estepona after engaging in a shootout with police
Spaniard Brian Carmona gunned down in Estepona before being bundled into a car, tortured, killed and dumped in Algeciras
Dutch-Moroccan bombmaker Hamza Ziani shot four times in the head and chest while eating sushi with a girl in Torremolinos restaurant
Moroccan man is shot in the leg outside nightclub in Puerto Banus. Motive remained unclear but appears to be a warning
FEATURE
www.theolivepress.es
December 18th - January 7th 2020
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EXPOSES: David’s stories in the early 1980s, the front page interviews with Ronny Knight (below) businessman, was a pillar of society, controlling all 12 Almería cinemas. But by night he inhabited a sleazy netherworld frequented by prostitutes and men with criminal records; a world of bleak, garishly-lit establishments with obliging hostesses which cropped up like mushrooms along the main highway. Many a ‘chorizo’ (petty criminal) had his bail paid by Asensio, who then put them on his payroll. They bore nicknames like Rambo and El Loco. And those who fell out with him suffered nasty sometimes fatal - accidents. Asensio’s estranged wife was killed outside Almeria’s Imperial Cinema. Apparently a corpulent man in a black leather jacket shot her several times, finishing her off on the ground. No witness could be found. Joaquín Abad, editor of the Crónica, an Almería paper, campaigned against Asensio. He told me several attempts had been made on his life and then I understood why his office was protected by bul-
let-proof glass, Almería’s astonishing period of lawlessness was ended when campaigning Judge Balthasar Garzón, scourge of drug-traffickers and organised crime, dispatched a squad of Civil Guards from Madrid to tackle him head on, deliberately not advising the local authorities. Asensio was released after eight years in jail, but in 2004 he was executed gangland style, leaving
his family to squabble over his €100 million fortune. Another Costa execution occurred in 1990 when Charlie Wilson, a key player in 1963’s Great Train Robbery, discovered there is no hiding place when you fall out with fellow criminals. A blond man on a yellow bicycle turned up outside his house near Marbella. He shot Wilson, who
was preparing a barbecue to celebrate his marriage, and made his escape. In 2008 Judge Garzón turned his attention to the Costa del Sol, launching Operación Troika, a huge operation against money-laundering mafia gangs along the coast. Some 400 police made 30 simultaneous raids. Arrests were made in Almuñécar, Nerja, Frigiliana, Marbella, Estepona and San Pedro, with a further 10 detentions in other provinces. Near my village, police swooped on a luxury residence. The Russian owner kept a low profile, posing as a respectable expatriate. But his mansion did have some special features, such as unusually high walls and the presence of a security guard. One of my friend’s daughters was well-paid for looking after his children and taking them to school. Treated as one of the family, she even went to
Moscow on holiday with them. An sions in Russia on murder charges innocent abroad indeed. and illicit possession of arms. He Then, abruptly, the picture led one of several competing machanged. The disfia groups involved creet neighbour in heroin smuggling proved to be Alexin St. Petersburg in Sleeping with ander Malyshev the 1990s, when (left), a notorious an axe and a Vladimir Putin was gang leader, acdeputy mayor. machete under cused of several After several atkillings. He was tempts on his life his pillow to fend arrested and takMalyshev had en to Madrid to off rivals sought a safe refawait trial, along uge and moved to with his wife Olga Spain where (acand my acquaincording to The Guardian) his group tance, the children’s maid. allegedly laundered more than It turned out that Malyshev had US$62 million through real estate. been jailed on at least three occa-
Troika
strONGhold police during chases of suspects. “There are lawyers and financial advisers who create companies to launder the ill-gotten cash,” the pair said.“A network of professionals collaborate with the mafias because they generate wealth in the short term.” The crisis has also been allowed to fester, according to the duo, due to some authorities and institutions looking the other way.This has been seen at Algeciras port, where 30% of drug profits are said to be spent bribing dock workers, customs agents and police officers. There are around 120 organised groups along the coast, according to the Ministry of Interi-
Popular businessman Marco Yaqout, who owned several establishments in Puerto Banus, shot to death while driving his Bentley home to San Pedro
Jan. 21
2019
or.“. “Officials previously denied the mafias saying they were isolated events, but now they admit it’s a well-installed phenomenon.” The gangs come from an increasing internationalised scene and are either collaborating or clashing, with Dutch and Italians taking over, alongside British and Irish. “There is growing cooperation between the gangs,” continued Diaz and Romero, “who share the work in the criminal chain.“There are very specialised individuals who weave alliances between groups.“They outsource work - criminals come in, do the job, and leave.“ The renewed focus comes after one of the most
British father and son disappear from Spain’s Costa del Sol and have STILL not been found. Daniel and Liam Poole, 46 and 22, are feared dead from a drug deal ‘gone wrong’
The body of a man is found dumped on the side of the A-7 between Marbella and Mijas showing signs of violence
EXECUTION: Of Frenchman in Cabopino just weeks ago wanted in Europe was arrested while celebrating his birthday in Puerto Banus
Dutchman shot dead outside property in Marbella before killers made off in his car. His associate was also shot but survived
Frenchman, 60, executed with series of shots outside restaurant in Cabopino, by two masked hitmen thought to be of Dutch origin
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Body of French man of sub-Saharan origin, 23, found dumped in Guadalhorce industrial estate after being shot at least 10 times
Young man of Moroccan origin shot in his leg in Benalmadena as a suspected warning from a rival drug gang
Bulgarian man found dumped in a ditch on the A-7176 road which connects Marbella and Istan, just hours after being shot three times in the stomach
Briton Peter Williamson, 39, from Manchester, shot and killed outside his property in Mijas. Police believe the murder was drug-related
some weeks ago. Whilst the infamous Marbella-Fuengirola-Estepona triangle has been hotter than ever, the action is spreading to Mijas.“The Algerian mafias operate in El Zoco,” the experts revealed. “There is little suspicion raised around there.”
Bombs
There have been six shootings, including the death of a British man, Peter Williamson, who was shot to death by a man ‘of Arab origin’ in Mijas, as well as a Frenchman, who was executed in the car park of a Cabopino restaurant. “A man was also shot in Nagueles, Marbella while taking his boy to school and we have seen bombs and arson attacks by Dutch mafias in the infamous triangle recently,” added Romero. Asked how to tackle the problem, the pair said an increase in specialised police would be ‘a start’
A huge investigation was launched but Operación Troika collapsed in October 2018, when no case could be proved against the 17 accused, consisting of seven Russians, five Spaniards, two Ukrainians, a German, an Estonian and a Lithuanian. By then Malyshev, surprisingly let out on bail, had fled Spain for Russia. Disturbingly Judge Garzon, who brought many criminals, including Chile’s President Pinochet, to book, was banned from practising when his enemies in the judicial system organised his removal from office. That’s good news for the international cohort of criminals who have moved to the Costa, and their arrival has not stopped. Most recently, Dutch and Irish gangsters have been settling accounts in public fashion as a warning to their enemies. These mobsters of various nationalities don’t have much faith in the Spanish authorities’ ability to protect them. When a leading Russian mafioso was arrested in Mijas in 2017, he was sleeping with an axe and a machete under his pillow to fend off murderous rivals. Meanwhile, my one-time neighbour Alexander Malyshev is back in St. Petersburg with partner Olga, where with two sons they run several successful businesses. Local publications have noted: ‘The godfather of the 90s has returned’. David Baird has been reporting from Spain since the 1970s. His books include Between Two Fires, an account of the guerrilla war in southern Spain in the 1940s and Sunny Side Up, how the 21st century hit an Andalusian village. Published by Maroma Press (www. maromapress.wordpress.com)
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Dirty secret HORROR: Over one million fish died in Mar Menor A SHOCKING new film has lion cubic metres of unfiltered laid bare the environmental domestic and industrial water crisis destroying Spain’s wa- were detected as polluted. terways and coasts. The Valencia region, the BaleAlarming footage taken by the aric Islands, Galicia and the Guardia Civil reveals the ex- Canary Islands are among the tent that dangerous chemicals other most affected regions. are poisoning the country’s Meanwhile, the Guardia Civrivers and oceans. il confirmed an investigation The investigation, 30 Days was underway into ‘unconat Sea, which coincided with trolled spills’ in Murcia’s Mar Madrid’s COP25 climate con- Menor area after millions of ference, has led to the arrest of fish died from asphyxiation 46 people accused of environ- following floods in November. mental crimes. In Valencia, several firms have Offences include marine pol- been accused of the ‘unconlution, water theft and waste trolled dumping’ of plastics in trafficking, which can lead to Asia. sentences of up to five years. A Guardia Civil spokesperson Most alarming were the 25 said: “Marine pollution poses ‘illegal spills’ of chemicals, a serious and growing threat which came within a total of against the environment and 1028 inspections made across poses risks to public health the month-long period. and food security, due to the The illegal dumping of waste depletion of fish stocks, diand desalination plants linked rectly related to the economy to agriculture are behind of developing countries. much of the pollution. “The latest UN report warns of The Guardia was joined by a loss of oxygen in the oceans Interpol and other global law because of the increased emisenforcement organisations sions that pollute waters and for the investigation, which the atmosphere. found the Costa del Sol was “Even at great depths, a lack the country’s worst affected of oxygen threatens marine coastline. biodiversity and constitutes a An alarming total of 34 mil- growing threat to fishing.”
December 18th - January 7th 2020
Plastic shocker OVER a third of Spain’s plastic packaging ends up in landfill, shocking new statistics have revealed. An alarming 38% of packaging ends up dumped in landfill, compared to just 0.1% of packaging in Germany, according to research. The UK fares slightly better,
chucking 22% of plastic packaging into landfill each year. Other European countries also recycle more than Spain. In France, 29% of plastic is dumped without being recycled and in Italy only 14% of plastic waste isn’t recycled. Europe produces 20% of the world’s plastic waste, about 60 million tons of the 348 million tons of plastic the world throws away each year.
Climate flop COP25 conference ends in ‘failure’ as countries agree vague pledge to work harder to meet warming targets
ACTIVISTS symbolically dumped a pile of manure outside the global climate conference as it ended after 14 days in Madrid this weekend. It was a fitting end for the 2019 United Nation’s Climate Change Conference. For as Greta Thunberg said, the much hyped-up, COP25 talks ‘failed.’
Positive
World leaders ended up agreeing to come up with more ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, in order to meet the 2015 Paris agreement. The accord, which is now more than four years old,
pledged to limit global warming to below two degrees. Few countries who attended the summit brought with them revised plans to meet the targets set in Paris. In one small positive, the EU finally agreed to its target of reducing Co2 emissions to net zero by 2050, more than 30 years in the future. Experts say more ambitious emissions cuts are needed if the world has any hope of meeting the objectives set in the Paris accord. Particularly as emissions have risen by 4% since the agreement was signed in 2015.
Driest ever THIS year is set to be Andalucia’s driest year since records began. Only 181.2 litres of rain per square metre has fallen this year in Malaga for example, an alarming 344 litres per square metre less than average. Unless the dry spell is broken, 2019 will smash records for the year with the least rainfall in the province’s history. Until now, the driest year ever was in 1985 when 267 litres of rain per square metre fell. “It could be the least rainy year in Malaga ever,” said Jose Maria Sanchez-Lauhle from the city’s regional authorities. Rainfall throughout the year has so far been well below average. In October, there was only a single day of rainfall, amounting to about five litres. Reservoirs in the region are at 54% of their capacity. The president of the Junta de Andalucia, Juanma Moreno, insisted, at least,
Green jobs boom GREEN jobs are increasing at a faster rate than jobs in all other sectors in Spain, new figures have revealed. The number of environmental jobs increased by 4.5% last year, compared to a 2.5% increase in jobs overall, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Some 316,200 new green jobs
were generated in 2018 and the production of environmental goods and services added an extra €26.4 million to the economy. The increase means that jobs related to the climate and natural resource management now account for 1.76% of all employment in Spain and make up 2.2% of GDP.
that his region - Spain’s most endangered - was set for a ‘green revolution,’. This will involve injecting €350 million to fund reforestation, as well as encourage more renewables and hydroelectricity projects. Andalucia has suffered a 40% reduction in rain in the last four decades while bouts of flooding and droughts have become more frequent. The autonomous community is also home to the Tabernas desert, one of Europe’s few deserts.
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CHIEF Minister Fabian Picardo has insisted that legalizing abortion without a referendum would be like ‘shoving progessivism’ down Gibraltarians throats. In an exclusive interview with the Olive Press, the leader, who was recently elected to his third consecutive term, said his government needed to be ‘realistic’ with such hot topics. While he confirmed he was pro-abortion, he insisted: “We have to deliver the progressive agenda in a way that doesn’t break our society.” “Conservative society has adopted our agenda because we have ensured we’ve respected the freedom and liberty of those who wish to disagree with us.” He added ahead of next March’s referendum: “There are others who are so progressive, they would force things down the throats of those who disagree with them. “I think that’s actually so progressive that it becomes anti-libertarian.”
Gibraltar security guard reveals down an alleged murderer, after how he chased and pinned fatal Costa stabbing EXCLUSIVE By John Culatto
A BATTLE-hardened security guard for Gibraltar’s Chief Minister has chased and pinned down a suspected murderer. Brave James Abecasis told Olive Press how he tackled the the knife-wielding attacker as he fled the scene of a fatal stabbing on the Costa del Sol. Father-of-one Abecasis, 28, revealed how he chased the alleged killer, a Brazilian, after stepping in to try and stop the vicious attack outside a nightclub in Estepona. While most people wou ld have left the scene, the former soldier said his ‘instinct’ told him to chase the attacker, who was running away. “I went flying after him and as he rounded the block I tackled him to the floor, getting grazed on my hand as I took away the knife from him,” he continued. “I then held him down with a club security guard until the police arrived a few minutes later and cuffed him.”
EXCLUSIVE CHAT with the Chief Minister See Page 4
Violent
Gibraltar-born Abecasis - who spent four years with the Royal braltar Regiment, much of it in Githe Middle East - had been on a night out with friends. When they came out of the Mykonos nightclub in Estepona, at 4am, a fight quickly broke out between two strangers. It has since emerged that Sabinillas hairdresser Abdessamad el Ammali, 21, from Morocco, died within minutes of the stabbing. He had accidentally spilled his beer over the attacker, it has since emerged.
INSTINCT: Abecasis served
A NEW STORM
“They were on the floor hitting each other and no-one had inter- TRAGIC: Victim Abdessamad (top), blood at the crime vened,” scene (centre) and police he told the Olive Press. arriving at Estepona Port That is when he decided he had to do something.“Someone held one revealed Abecasis, who has been of the guys and working in I held the other, security teamthe Chief Minister’s for four months. “I who I had face- think I will have a few flashbacks to-face,” he re- because of all the blood there,” he vealed. added. “It was really vi- Abecasis revealed that his army olent and there training has helped him through was literally a life.“I definitely don’t regret it,” river of blood he said. “I am as his attack- Even the judgeproud of what I did. er must have case hearing at the initial court hit an artery,” how brave I this week told me was.”
with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment
IT will go down as the hottest decade on record. With temperatures soaring, both land and sea, global warming has on become a major issue for Europe. With temperatures about 1.1C above the average from 2010 to 2019, desertification has been spreading, in particular, through southern Spain. The provinces of Granada, Malaga and Almeria are at serious risk, while Murcia and large parts of Valencia are also in danger of semi-desert conditions. The ‘exceptional’ heat around the world was announced by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as climate activist Greta Thunberg (pictured) arrived in Portugal by boat en route for a key climate summit in Madrid this week. She is set to stay in the capital for two weeks, taking part in a huge demonstration this Friday. Opinion page 6
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UNRULY: Magaluf clubbers subject to Government ban on rowdy tourists
Hotels and bars in Mallorca’s top tourist destinations to be handed eye watering fines and shut down in NEW crackdown on boozy Brits
pact. “I’ve never heard of them,” said beat to patrol pedestrian areas during the owner of JJ’s Sports Lounge in the summer season. An Irish barman Calvia. He added that he would catch By Gillian Keller and Robert ALL inclusive holidays at party Firth at popular Magaluf drinking hole Zep- up on the new measures when he rehotspots will be banned under tough pelin’s Live Music Bar said he hadn’t new measures to tackle troublesome from holidaying in Tenerife. the new laws, but said he turned tourists being debated by politicians. be forced to close during high season heard of The fresh crackdown on troublesome was concerned police might try and visitors comes as Mallorca tries to reThe new rules would see balcony throughout June, July and August. laws to impose jumping tourists sent packing back Hotels will also be targeted as part of misinterpret the new invent itself as a leading tourist destithe collapse of Britsh to their home countries immediately the drive and could face hefty fines if harsher fines. it’s not the music nation following and impose draconian fines on busi- they fail to swiftly kick out disruptive “They never stop. If with, it’s some- tour operator Thomas Cook. The nesses found to be selling alcohol out- guests. The sanctions drive marks a they’ve got a problem Olive Press. Balearic Isle was disproportionately he told the buisness’s failure in side of licensed hours. departure from the harm prevention thing else,” sell alcohol after affected by the The zero tolerance approach to badly measures that have previously been He added: “If you fined. As long as September. 1.2 million of the 16 milwho visited Malbehaved tourists will target destina- favoured by the Mallorcan govern- hours you should get drinking up lion holidaymakers with Thomas tions popular with British holiday- ment, such as makeshift first aid units the police don’t confuse People get half lorca in 2018 travelled makers, including stag do favourite on popular bar strips. Residents of time with after hours.It’s a problem if Cook. The tough new rules are expectSant up. and drink de to Palma Playa hour de an Magaluf, Playa Magaluf, tourist hotspots like ed to be approved next January and then.” Antoni have previous- the police start coming in Olive Press come into force for the 2020 season. Antoni. Under the new measures, the be Palma and Sant bars selling booze after hours could to ly criticised politicians for gimmick Most other bar owners of them and Opinion Page 6 contacted had no heard slapped with crushing fines of up responses to problem holidaymakers, potential imtheir by the unfazed on euros. of seemed bobbies thousands British tens of such as getting Offending establishments may also
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on record. T will go down as the hottest decade on land and With temperatures soaring, botha major issue sea, global warming has become for the world. above the average With temperatures about 1.1C has been spreadfrom 2010 to 2019, desertification Spain. ing, in particular, through southernand Almeria are The provinces of Granada, Malagalarge parts of Vain serious risk, while Murcia and conditions. lencia are also at risk of semi-desert the world was anThe ‘exceptional’ heat around Organization nounced by the World Meteorological Thunberg (pic(WMO), as climate activist Gretaen route for a key tured) arrived in Portugal by boat week. climate summit in Madrid this a donkey ride from The Swede snubbed an offer ofpreferring the modLisbon to the Spanish capital, ern comforts of the train. climate activist It would have taken the teenage Madrid on donkey more than five days to reach have missed half back, by which time she would the capital for two the summit. She is set to stay in this Friweeks, taking part in a huge demonstration day. the 1.5C warming Temperature rises are close to weather and that scientists insist will cause extreme many places. Other the loss of vital ecosystems in heatwaves and impacts include severe droughts, over the seas there floods across all continents, and have also been heatwaves. this year will be that show WMO The findings by the the second or third warmest records since began.
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after driving from Ireland to
EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Parfitt
rescue his injured friend
With no documentation on him, nobody knew who he was until a nurse recognised Jim in a local missing person's post. But the ordeal was not yet over as when Jim finally did come round doctors ordered he could not fly for at least three months due to the affect cabin pressure would have on his injuries. “They were very worrying times – and we were absolutely ecstatic when we found out he was in hospital,” Phil told the Olive Press from Northern Ireland, this week. “Phil has been a great customer of my firm 365 Taxis, and I often have a wee BIG HEARTED AND BIG FARE: pint with him at our pub. Phil’s trip cost £4,300 “So when I found out he couldn’t I joked that perhaps we could sendfly “I said ‘that’s the way to do it, all we “How could I turn around a need is a driver’, and then all eyes and say taxi to Benidorm. no?” were suddenly on me. No sooner had he left Belfast for the news broke in newspapers around Ireland, the UK and even Spain that T will go down as the hottest decade he was on his way. With temperatures soaring, both on on record. land and sea, globA whopping nine days, (82 drival warming has become a major issue ing hours) and a taxi metre reading With temperatures about 1.1C above for the world. the average from £4,300 (€4,700) later – Jim is now 2010 to 2019, desertification has been spreading, in particsafely home with his family in the subular, through southern Spain. urb of Newtownabbey. The provinces of Granada, Malaga and “The firm covered all the costs which ous risk, while Murcia and large parts Almeria are in seriof Valencia are also was a lovely gesture from our direcat risk of semi-desert conditions. tors,” Phil continued. The ‘exceptional’ heat around the world “And we’ve been inundated with mesthe World Meteorological Organization was announced by (WMO), as climate sages of support from New Zealand, activist Greta Thunberg (pictured) arrived in Portugal by Australia and America. boat en route for a key climate summit in Madrid “People this in week. Benidorm made us sandThe Swede snubbed an offer of a donkey ride from Lisbon wiches for the journey home, Brittany to the Spanish capital, preferring the modern comforts of Ferries gave us a free passage from the train. Santander to Cork and C&C MotorIt would have taken the teenage climate parts offered a free service on our five days to reach Madrid on donkey activist more than reback, by which time turn. she would have missed half the summit. She is set to stay “Our local Indian even gave us a comin the capital for two weeks, taking part in a huge demonplimentary meal – it’s unbelievable.” stration this Friday. He continued: “The story has clearly Temperature rises are close to the 1.5C given people hope. We might fight tists insist will cause extreme weather warming that scienand the loss of vital among each other, but when one of ecosystems in many places. Other us impacts include severe in need we all gather round, regarddroughts, heatwaves and floods across all continents, and less of race, colour or creed. over the seas there have also been heatwaves. “I think the reason it touched The findings by the WMO show that the hearts of so many people is that stosecond or third warmest since records this year will be the began. ries like this turn out pretty bad – and this had a happy ending.” So can we save the world? Page 7
Sailing into a new storm...
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December 5th - December 18th, 2019
Taxi driver turned local hero
Avda. Madrid, 24, 03724 Moraira - Alicante
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Home run
HE was once an ordinary taxi driver from north Belfast – but these days gets pestered for selfies and stop he ped by people pestering him in the supermarket to call him a 'hero'. All because of a good deed gone viral. This is the story of how 43-year-old Phil Hamilton embarked upon the longest journey of his life – some AN angry mayor has slammed the re- 4,107kms across six countries – to gional authorities for failing to clear help his friend in need. blocked drains that have caused It started when the news broke that second round of flash floods in justa fellow Belfast local Jim Moore, 58, three months. had gone missing in Benidorm on NoFurious Los Alcazares leader Mario vember Perez told the Olive Press the ‘mud- Shock 15. quickly turned to desperation filled drains’ were the reason over as no news of Jim arrived for 72 hours 100 local residents had to be evacu- – until ated on Monday following torrential friend a Spanish nurse contacted a via an appeal on social media. rains. It turned out he had slipped on the It comes less than 80 days since stairs deadly gota fria downpours left the plex, at his Acuarium II hotel comsix needing an urgent ambulance to VillaJoyosa hospital where he was Continues on Page 4 placed into an induced coma.
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Boar off I came face to face with a huge wild boar and three piglets as I came out of our back gate d just last Thursday. Get educate
than 10 feet I froze for a moment as I was no more Moore sees the EU, essentially, as a political Rose away. The in the pg 7). 325, Issue andssproud, move hip (Leave every dictators g its watchin motionle As i stood states, sovereign 28 are There . gave me opposite even the is never reality boar the that realised I s, darknes UK, which voluntarily chose to become thelook. including a second wouldoff the UKeyes that themy believes taking Steve Dunne associate past without I slowlyd.walked going atoflinch. I’m not Not on WTO without betterand fair rooting onso. carried it justterms. animal and when chapter quoting page by letters s later moment weigh a few still there were boarsyour The down the into looks Steve that nd recomme I but verse, shop. I returned from the Trumpa quick That took knows. that he industry anymore now and specifics t by confiden little I felt a of trade deal with an EU-free UK should get avideo. trying toand ispicture Trump’s know: want toeven above the you all headsdeals you their trade tell lifted never animals The speaks for Mahler Brent Finally, labels. US-first have floor. force due EU armed citizens of UK poor quality number a The a very of an are of videowary and picture closer an ever and s. union. However, these are ideas darknes to the am not EU policy. by specific s nearI Torrenue floated de Miraflore is Angeland tion people My urbanisa years of pro40-plus insidious the at worried more va. h, same Mail,allTelegrap thethey the EEC/EU said the paganda and people by to several I spokeagainst did What apparen Sun.there The and tof course, Times Express, are there animals theand, thing, that was so anhe why asked was he when say Murdoch them. of families ly three go into of: “When the lines g along and they in the Iarea ti-EU? anyone harmed have never TheySomethin when I go to the EU.” The do awhat they on No. basis. dailyI say: are10seen appointm for anwithout ask time to the hadall much as soent! is that implicati them by he Peopleonpass glance. a second Martin Lovatt, La Cala de Mijas
Voter apathy
I met the guy like seven or eight years ago in San Pedro (Doggone, Issue 332, pg 1). He was honest about the fact that they were not real driving licenses, but said you could ‘try your luck with the inland Guardia, the ones on the coast might know’, etc etc. At €500 a pop for it, he must have made a fortune. If I recall correctly, he paid for my coffee. Alex Brown, Marbella
Are these the British expats that couldn’t be bothered to vote. In my, albeit very small, group of expat work colleagues, five out of five couldn’t be bothered to vote. Jenni Johnston, Malaga
Years in the making
Broken system
How did they get away with it for so long (Reptiles, Issue 332, pg 6-7)? It’s incredible! Whole streets, whole villages, town halls etc. knew about it for years but nobody thought, ‘this can’t go on’. It’s only thanks to the Judge that this has come to justice, which has taken years because in Spanish democracy you’re not guilty until proven, even though the evidence is screaming at us. Ingrid Telford, Mijas
The results are due to the voting system, they are not what people really want. If there was a proportional voting system, the outcome of this election would be different. Zuzanna Marecka, Gibraltar
15-year rule
I’m an expat in Spain whose vote, like many, was taken away by my own government! Actually I would have voted Brexit because I think it is best for UK. There is no reason on earth why Brits will not be able to work or retire here if they wish, just as they could before the EU was in existence. Pauline Laverick, Torrevieja
No crib for a bed
Both as bad as each other
If Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn were the alternative, then I guess I have nothing to say. This is like shooting oneself in the foot instead of shooting your other foot. Brian Alexander, Marbella
Future at risk
If the immigration point system is introduced there will be consequences for future migration from the UK worldwide. Bob Ludgate, Norfolk
The In 1978 there were no decorations and Christmas day lasted just that (IF YOU KNOW YOUR CUSTOMS: Today’s the day for getting your Christmas tree up in Spain, online, December 9). Later on when we got Corte Ingles they sold nativity scenes, but every Jesus got stolen from the crib. The next year the poor chap was Sellotaped down!.
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CULTURA LALACULTURA
Dun Roman
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December December18th 18th--January January17th 7th 2020 2020
what’s on
POLICE have seized a trio of Roman jugs an expat tried to flog online. Guardia Civil confiscated the ancient amphoras, used for transporting oil and wine, from a Russian man living on the Costa Brava. The 46-year-old resident of Lloret de Mar had been trying to sell the historical artefacts for €2000 a piece online. Officers working as part of Operation Pandora IV, which targets the illegal sale of cultural objects, seized the items.
Festive shows A SERIES of Christmas concerts will be held in Malaga’s Plaza de La Constitucion with performances from the Sierra Blanca El Romeral choir, Teatro Musical Victoria and Gym Victory. December 17-29.
Guiri gong By Joshua Parfitt
A BRITISH tourist, an American expat and a boat load of illegal migrants. These are the key ingredients for one of the hottest foreign films ever up for a Spanish film award. With its backdrop of barbecues, fine wine and boat trips, it is the
English-language film, Foreigner, tipped to win prestigious Spanish film award perfect setting for a classic summer sojourn. But Foreigner - filmed in Malaga and Cadiz - has been nominated for ‘best short film’ at this year’s prestigious Goya awards. One of four films up for the gong,
Bickering bishops
A SPANISH bishop has won a court case against a Catalan bishop, demanding the return of 111 pieces of religious art. A court ruled that the Diocese of Lleida in Catalunya must immediately return the artefacts to 43 parishes which lie within Aragon’s Diocese of Barbastro-Monzon. Judge Carlos Lobon said: “The assets are property of each of the parishes they come from and must be returned immediately.” The 111 pieces of art (including the one above) are currently split between the Diocese of Lleida and the Museum of Lleida. The ruling comes after a decade spanning legal battle between the two dioceses, which
Swan Lake
began in 1998. It has taken the judges months to sift through 25,000 pages of documents spread over 36 volumes, in order to reach a decision on the case.
Happy 106th
SHE’S had 106 Christmases. Happy birthday Rosa Maria Schaller, who was born in Germany and now lives in Javea. The expat of 23 years celebrated with 106th with her family and the town mayor.
it seeks to unite the experiences of the characters, who come across a boatload of migrants in original circumstances. The shocking series of events slowly unravel as Mark (played by Josh Taylor) goes out with an old friend on his speedboat into the shimmering Med. But a strong current sees Mark suddenly drift into mortal danger, until he is miraculously rescued by the anxious immigrants, who include pregnant women on board. The short film ends with an innovative scene shot from a beachgoers’ phone as the migrants sprint through sunbathers and into, as is often the case, newspaper headlines. It is a film that, according to director Carlos Violade, ‘makes us reflect on what it means to be a foreigner in a globalised world, where, paradoxically, more and more borders arise’. Foreigner has so far won ‘Best International Short Film’ in the prestigious Bogota film festival, as well as winning three awards at the Spanish annual Cortogenia short film festival. It will discover its fate in Malaga on January 25.
THE Saint Petersburg Classical Ballet will perform a festive rendition of Tchaikovsky’s magical ballet at Malaga’s Teatro Cervantes. December 26, 8pm.
Classic rock THE Rob Sas band will perform a range of classics from legendary artists including Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and AC/DC at O’Callaghan’s, Sabinillas. December 21, 9pm.
Art and wine PORTRAIT: Goya’s man and boy and (inset) Irons
Goya wouldn’t have fingered me! VELAZQUEZ would have been too ‘superficial’ , while El Greco would have accentuated his fingers too much. For Jeremy Irons, Francisco Goya would have been the ideal Spanish master to encapsulate him. The Hollywood actor revealed his passion to have sat for Goya, best known for his satirical engravings and black masterpieces. He was talking to promote a new documentary he presents about Madrid’s Museo del Prado, which houses
works by Spain’s greatest pre-20th century artists dozens by Goya. “Velázquez might have done a superficial portrait. El Greco, with those elongated figures, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have gotten my best profile, so I’m staying with Goya,” said the Oscar winning actor. He added that he was ‘delighted’ to get the opportunity to return to Madrid to present the documentary, Painters and Kings of the Prado.
THE Arts Society de la Frontera presents an illustrated talk about one of London’s iconic landmarks, Big Ben. Attendees receive a complimentary glass of wine after the lecture. San Roque Golf and Country Club, December 21, 11am. €11.
Rock holiday RELIGIOUS group Lux Mundi Torre del Mar is organising a trip across the frontier to Gibraltar on December 19. €13, passports required.
December 18th - January 7th 2020
LA CULTURA
Rebel priest shocks Catholic traditionalists by opening his church to the homeless this Christmas, writes Heather Galloway
On a Friday night in the run up to Christmas, Chueca is throbbing with a young hip crowd that pack its many bars and restaurants. One of the first districts in Madrid to be gentrified, Chueca is now synonymous with smart and trendy, which is why you can’t help but feel surprised by the altogether different crowd hanging out under a large star half way up Calle Hortaleza. “Look!”, says one passerby. “There’s that futuristic church!” The crowd gathered here does not consist of aliens, though they are used to being considered as such. Rather they are a mix of Spanish and immigrants who have rocked up to San Anton because they have nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep and they have heard that it is the one church in Madrid that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. ‘There’s no room, there’s no room” says Padre Angel, the man behind the open doors initiative. “That’s what everyone says nowadays just as they did to a certain family in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. The doors of the churches should be open in times of snow and cold, but also
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There’s ro Photo by Heather Galloway
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By Heather Galloway
OUTREACH: Those with no place to call home can at least have a bit of Christmas cheer the doors of palaces and senate - the palaces where the politicians work.’ The founder of Messengers of Peace, an NGO set up in 1962 that works with underprivileged children, immigrants and drug addicts, Padre Angel had to fight with the upper echelons of the Church to keep his doors open 24/7, “My idea has always been to have a church where people can go to pray at any time. But those who came were people who were cold and sleeping rough. Well, God bless them, it’s here for everyone” says the 82-year-old who has since collaborated in similar initiatives in Barcelona and Mexico and now in the centre of Rome where the
Church of the Holy Stigmata of St Francis has been an around the clock sanctuary since December 9. Is it a trend that will catch on? Padre Angel laughs at the suggestion. “I’ll be lucky if they don’t close this one down,” he says referring to San Anton.
Solidarity
Inside the church, the back pews are stacked with shabby bags overflowing with belongings of people clearly in need of a safe haven. Some sleep sitting up, others lying out on a pew and more stare towards the altar where Padre Angel stands giving mass. There is WiFi in one cor-
ner, toilets in another, a place to have a cup of coffee and facilities to change nappies. Such is San Anton’s reputation, people come to take a look, and there have been those within the church - cardinals and bishops - who have popped in to make sure no black magic is being performed, according to Padre Angel. “In social issues, you have to be humble but you also have to be a rebel. You can’t conform,” he says. The only magic here is that the church is being used to carry out the fundamental Christian message. It’s a message that, with the rise of Vox and the extreme right, seems to be increasingly unfashionable. But Padre Angel, who was awarded
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om at this inn BIG-HEARTED: Padrel Angel and follower this year’s Beato de Liebana prize by the Cantabrian government for nurturing harmonious coexistence and international cooperation, is determinedly upbeat on the subject. “There has never been so much solidarity,’’ he tells me. “I remember as a child when Andalucians came to Asturias to find work, they were insulted. That would never happen now. But at times, instead of concern for people who are different, there’s precaution. We are cautious about doing too much for immigrants, careful not to open our borders too wide. Instead of seeing how many we can take, our politicians try to see how few we can get away with. Its shameful. If they come to my country it’s a blessing. It means I’m doing something right. In 1972, he famously ap-
proached General Franco for financial assistance for an orphanage in Asturias. To his surprise, the dictator agreed to donate but subsequently sent the trifling sum of 2,000 pesetas - equivalent to 12 euros. His response? “What was I meant to do with that?” An attempt to send it back was discouraged by the governor of Asturias who predicted dire consequences for them both, so he had it framed instead. He is outspoken on the lack of political action on the refugee situation which is currently unfolding outside the doors of Samur Social in Madrid, the municipality’s social services. “The politicians try to make it society’s responsibility to sort it out. Instead of feeling ashamed that local people are providing the food and blankets they encourage it. It’s like keeping the
SINGLE IMPLANT
streets clean, we are paying for these things.” Naturally Padre Angels boldness get himself into trouble on occasion. Besides his open door policy for his church, he has been ciritcised for mingling with celebrities and giving homosexual couples his blessing. “I don’t like being criticised,” he tells me. “I’m not a masochist. But at times I understand my critics.” San Anton initially provided breakfast for the socially excluded but when people started turning up for dinner as well, Padre Angel and his Messengers of Peace opened the Robin Hood chain of restaurants in Madrid and Toledo which allow the homeless to dine with dignity every evening from 7-8pm, meals that are funded by paying customers at other times. And this Christmas Eve there will be a dinner for around 200
sleeping rough hosted by Padre Angel and attended by Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida. “We do it every year,’’ he says. “We have held it in the Circulo de Bellas Artes and the Prado museum. We’ve asked to do it in the Senate this time and they’ve agreed. The purpose of the event is to make people aware that the poor have as much right to be waited on as the King and other rich people to dine with dignity.” As part of the Christmas mass given at the dinner, Padre Angel wants to flag up the “No room at the Inn’ issue and the ease with which we turn immigrants away. “We fear differences because we are not very adventurous,” he says. “People like their comfort zone, they like certainty. We need revolutionaries, people to stir things up.” And Padre Angel intends to keep doing just that.
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IMPLANT DENTURE
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LA CULTURA
Clean living Dane in Spain Plant-based diets are in reach this Christmas thanks to the Naked Chef himself
Veg by Jamie Oliver is the most popular and most wished for cookery book this Christmas. Filled with simple and tasty recipes, Veg is perfect for long time vegetarians and those who just want to reduce the amount of meat they eat. There are also several vegan recipes included. The sections are divided into Soups & Sarnies, Brunch, Pies Parcels & Bakes, Curries & Stews, Salads, Burgers & Fritters, Pasta, Rice & Noodles, and Traybakes. There is something for everyone in this book. Firm favourites include Sticky Toffee Waffles and Roasted Tomato Risotto â‚Ź33.00, Available from The Bookshop San Pedro - www. thebookshop.es
A HIPPIE-inspired Danish pop artist is set to take over the five star Marbella Club Hotel. Jan Klein, 68, will present his latest exhibition Why so serious? at a wine reception on December 19 at 7pm. Klein’s work which draws inspiration from the 50s and 60s, as well as New York, will be on sale exclusively in Marbella.
His wood, paint and print art also exhibits in Copenhagen and Berlin, and will
be shown in the Marbella Club Hotel throughout December.
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Light up the world THE Malaga Christmas lights have returned for another year.
Showtime on the Rock New Year’s Eve in Gibraltar is a distinctly British party, writes John Culatto
SPAIN’S BEST: So good, Malaga’s last lights were bought by Liverpool City Council
Navidad down south
The joys of Christmas in Spain include a twist on carols and likely clear skies... but beware of the free minibars, warns Karethe Linaee Every Christmas when I was young, my mother would bring out her scratched Bing Crosby record and we knew the festive season had arrived. Here in Spain, where the main celebration is el Dia de los Reyes on January 6, the lyrics don’t quite fit. Although the month-long fiesta is felt far and wide as locals elbow their way down supermarket aisles with trolleys stacked to feed a small army, Christmas in Andalucia is quite another kettle of langostinos, a favourite seasonal treat. While Northern Europeans may dream of
December 18th - January 7th 2020
a White Christmas, here (most of the time) we have no such chance. There might be a dusting on faraway mountains - particularly in the appropriately named Sierra de las Nieves and the Sierra Nevada - but generally winter means camel-coloured landscapes and occasional downpours. To get ourselves prepared, we normally hold a weather consultation with our 90-year-old neighbour, Antonio. As our self-appointed meteorologist, he makes his predictions (believe it or not) from a wet blotch on the ancient Arabic city
wall, near where we live in Ronda. And this year, according to his expert opinion, there will be ‘poca agua’ at Christmas. Back in my native Canada, Christmas muzak has been blaring out of malls since Halloween, a constant stress-inducing reminder of the upcoming festivities. It is the same in the UK. Spanish shops meanwhile, rarely pipe in their own festive music, instead the main pedestrian streets in most Andalucian Continues on Page 16
GIBRALTAR will see in the new year in sensational style, with parties to suit every taste. The remarkable range of New Year’s Eve entertainment will follow on from a family Christmas in the wonderfully lit streets of the British territory. Top Costa del Sol band The Legal Aliens will usher in 2020 at Casemates Square after a terrific fireworks display over the Rock. Popular local group Jetstream are on as support to help see out the last few hours of 2019. For a more exclusive experience, Gibraltar’s only five-star hotel the Sunborn will put on not one, but three themed nights at Ocean Village. Its lively top floor venue, the Barbary Restaurant and Bar, is arranging a four-course family meal from 7pm until 1:30am.
Extravaganza
Complete with cocktail bar, children’s buffet and a midnight toast, be prepared to boogie down into the wee hours with some live music. An adults-only four-course meal will also be on offer at the stylish La Sala. Enjoy the first few hours of 2020 with a welcome reception, cocktail bar and latenight snacks in the ‘Viva Las Vegas’ themed event. Finally, enjoy a real cabaret in the ‘Showtime’ celebration at the Aurora Ballroom. With adult entertainment all night, this 18+ party includes a ‘New Year’s dinner specta-
cle’, buffet extravaganza and cocktail bar until four in the morning. For a New Year’s Eve party with a twist, The Yard just across the water in Ocean Village hosts a West End drag queen. The two-part cabaret show with Jade Justin as Cher will dust off your 2019 with a sparkle and a giggle. The doors of The Yard open at 7pm with welcome drinks and canapés included in the £15 entry price and over 12 gins available in traditional festive flavours. All in all, make sure you are in Gibraltar as you welcome the coming year of its independence, in distinctly British style.
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From Page 15
towns more than make up for it. Named after an alleged snowball that once rolled down the street, loudspeakers on Calle La Bola, in Ronda, blast out pop-ified English carols with Spanish lyrics, traditional carols and the occasional Buble Christmas special (a remake of the remake). Andalucia’s Christmas lights get more sophisticated by the year and might include an evening light show. Otherwise, the decor is pretty modest. The shop’s window displays might have a Santa, a penguin
FESTIVE TREAT: Snow on palm trees in Ronda
with a toque or a few stars squeezed in between Iberian hams and sequined party dresses. But step off any commercial street and one would think there is no celebration at all. Be it due to the economy or tradition, the rural Andalucians usually have no Christmas decor outside their homes, with the exception of a red banner featuring a semi-nude baby Jesus. A more pagan twist is to hang rope off your balcony with a Santa climbing up it or, in more religiously-inclined households, the Three Kings. Most certainly ‘Made in China’, these escaping Continues on Page 33
ASierra Nevada ll about
Vol. 13 Issue 333
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White world
+34 958 481 170 +34 675 470 669 www.alquileressierranevada.es
2019/2020
First-time skier Charlie Smith slopes off to the Sierra Nevada to discover the thrill of the chill on our doorstep
S
By Charlie Smith We step out at Borreguiles, which sits some 2,700 metres above sea level. This is the basecamp for many of the Sierra’s runs, which range from the green-coloured ‘muy facil’ pistes to those in black, labelled ‘muy dificil’. Blinded by the brilliant white sheen given off by the snow, I meet my teacher for the day, Joey, from the British Ski Center. Having only ever skied on the dry slope in Halifax, Yorkshire, Continues overleaf
photo by Telemark
ILENCE. There is not a single peep as I climb upwards through the valley to meet my maker. I poke my head out of the cable car window and the Sierra Nevada’s fresh alpine air hits my lungs. Then I hear it – a sweeping crunch down the crisp white piste, as a snowboarder whizzes past below. Another tears through, and then a third, all weaving down the mountainside at blistering speed. I’m definitely more terrified than the three Spanish guys sharing the carriage with me. We have left behind the cosy bars and restaurants in Pradollano, the main town of Andalucia’s only ski resort.
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Pascual perfect WANT to avoid all the chaos of queuing for skis and kit on arrival in the resort? Why not take a short stop at Pascual Ski on the way up? Opposite the BP garage in the village of Cenes de la Vega, just off the main road, here you will find Jose Luis Pascual, 65, who has nearly 50 years of working in the Sierra Nevada. He has a great range of new skis and boots and all the tools to repair and prepare your own skis in advance of your arrival. You can literally park right opposite the shop at the petrol station. As well as speaking perfect English he has a big number of skiing instructors available to connect you to. “I have always been one to look after the clients,” explains Jose Luis, who did his military service at the age of 19 with the so called ‘legion blanca’ in the Pyrenees. “We can do repairs that people might think are impossible and we take particularly care of the boots we rent out.” You can find it at Camino de la Vega, 23, Cenes de la Vega or call 958481048 or visit www.pascualski.com
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THROWING SHAPES: Charlie shows some classic early form after getting ‘Bambi legs’ From Page 17
Halifax’ finest
on a school trip, it’s fair to say I am out of my depth. Joey takes me over to a small conveyor belt up a very gentle incline slope, that is probably classed as ‘muy muy facil’. He puts me through my paces and after an hour of intensive training, I’ve gone from Bambi on ice to actually skiing. It’s time to hit the slopes. The pair of us hop onto the Emile Allais ski lift, named after the French alpine ski champion of the 1930s. And maybe Emile would have been proud – if not a bit bored and bemused – as I safely ‘snow ploughed’ my way to the bottom. Saying goodbye to Joey, I pop into Restaurante Borreguiles for a much-needed and reasonably-priced cafe con leche and bocadillo, while I reflecting on my newly-discovered sporting prowess. With the sun now beating down, I take my confidence – or should that be cockiness – back up the slope and prepare for my first solo run. All goes well until I cross a small but slippery patch of ice – a rarity on most of the Sierra Nevada slopes, which are generally icing sugar-soft. A €9 million cash injection for the 2019/2020 season has seen the introduction of 33 new snow cannons, which produce the same amount of snow
in half the time, meaning the environment benefits as well as the slopes. As I hurtle over the ice, desperately trying to slow myself, I clip the skis of 10-year-old boy, sending us both flying. As I look up I realise his classmates have witnessed the whole thing. But rather than giving me a dressing down, the lad’s teacher imparts some words of wisdom and encouragement.
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Old age pleasures
IDYLLIC: The Sierra Nevada puts skiers on top of the world
SURFS UP: Some daredevils ditch skis and snowboards as they ride the slopes
for a hot steam bath and soak up some me-time at one of several This friendliness is a characterising feature of the Sierra Nevada, as hotel spas. locals and tourists – from Portugal, Britain, Germany and ScandinaBut all year round, the Sierra Nevada is paradise for fresh air fiends. via – seem at peace among the tranquility of the idyllic landscape. After ‘the melt’, the resort becomes a haunt for walkers, wildlife lovGiven that my ‘victim’ and I both walk away unscathed, all in all, I ers and mountain bikers. count my first ever day’s skiing as a roaring success. Get the best views by taking advantage of the ski lifts, which in sumThe prices for all this fun in the snow are not to be sniffed at either. mer carry both people and bikes to the summit to enjoy the breathMy adult’s one-day ski pass was €50.50 (low season price, which rises taking routes back down. in high season to just over €52). Seven-day options start from just €271, while there are generous dis- Borreguiles, the resort’s imprescounts for children, elderly and disabled customers. sive ski bowl, boasts a bike park This is a bargain when you look at what the Sierra Nevada has to offer, in the hotter months. Youngwith 124 different runs for every ability, whether you’re Shaun White sters can test their strengths in or Barry White. the mini-olympiads zone or race Beginner and intermediate slopes are in abundance with 19 green against each other on the pedal runs and 41 blues – my kind of territory. car track. And for Beijing Winter Olympics hopefuls there are 50 red runs (dif- Guided dawn and dusk walks ficult) and 14 black and orange (very difficult). and a bumper running and cyThere is even more adventure for the 2019/20 season, with some 30 cling race calendar are a magevents including Snowrunning (snow mountain race), Potholes (free- net keeping the resort busy 12 style), School (alpine skiing) and Veterans (alpine skiing) competi- months of the year. tions. Back in the icy present, it’s time But perhaps the most exciting will be the Snowboardcross event, on to sample some of Pradollano’s March 6 and 7, starring legendary athletes like Lucas legendary apres Eguibar and Regino Hernandez. ski scene. It’s hard to believe that 106,8 kms of pistes and 124 runs For the perfect The bar’s walls (75% open in mid-December) lie just two hours from start, drop into sunny Marbella on sea and half an hour from Granada. include a family Bar Esqui where It truly lives up to the marketing hype as a place where affable landlord you can ski in the morning and sunbathe on the coast, photo featuring Nichu slings pina colada in hand, by the afternoon. cañas across the a fresh-faced Expert skiers treasure the snow which, particularly in counter like a springtime, is quite unlike the tightly-packed ice found King Felipe VI bartender in a in many European winter sports resorts. western saloon Some ski fans even brave the mountain descent in bikiwhile blasting nis for the last day of the season in May (la bajada en bikini), an un- punters with everything from missable occasion charged with champagne, hedonism and near-nu- Michael Jackson to 90s club dity. classics. A hearty pub grub menu Even on my trip in cold December I spotted some shoeless surfer – with quality albondigas – is on dudes, wetsuits and boards in tow. offer as you scrutinise the history “Constant improvements and an ability to produce a lot of snow are adorning the bar’s walls, includjust two of the strengths of our resort,” said Santi Sevilla, who has ing a family photo featuring a been working at Cetursa, the resort’s administrator, for eight years. fresh-faced King Felipe VI. “Add to that the arrival of the Freestyle Ski World Championship and An equally-tasty post-ski belSnowboarding here in March, and the affordability of ski passes, and ly-warmer is the lentejas, freshly you can see why it is one of the most attractive resorts in Europe. served up by Jose Carlos and his “One of my favourite new additions is the Pista del Mar in the heart team at the cosy and modestof Borreguiles. ly-priced Casablanca. “This has been created to make a fun and safe area where families and La Visera is also a great spot for beginners can enjoy the snow.” steak, while Swell, Tito Tapas Santi is far from the only skier smitten by Pradollano’s charms. and La Bodeguita are all defiOver one million people visit the resort each year. nitely worth a trip too. That is an impressive achievement considering it was only construct- For those with a bit more spended in 1964, making it a newbie in comparison to some of France’s ing money, La Muralla’s relong-established resorts like Chamonix and Courchevel. vamped menu makes that hard But there is much more to the Sierra Nevada than sliding down it on work on the slopes all worthtwo planks of wood. while. The melt-in-the-mouth You can tackle it by toboggan and snowboard, or on a snowshoe hike carrillada is a must, as is the (akin to walking with a tennis racket strapped to each foot). courgette carpaccio with fig Family-oriented Mirlo Blanco park gives kids their adrenalin fix as sauce and the peanut tart to finthey brave the star attraction, Trineo Ruso (Russian sled), which ish. And of course, nothing goes whisks riders around a several hundred metre track with tight turns down better at this time of year and a 550 metre descent. than a steaming glass of tinto de A magic carpet slide and bouncy castles can also be found in the zone, Invierno - spiced, mulled wine. along with mountains of snow for DIY fun. Salud! And if that sounds like too much action, you can always swap icy snow www.britishskicenter.co.uk
THEY have been coming to the Sierra Nevada for decades from their home in Almeria. And, best of all, retired expats (above) Martin and Brenda Carney, 72 and 70, now get their ski passes completely free of charge. “All we have to do is rent our gear and we have been using the same shop Ski Sol since we first came,” explains former UK hotelier Brenda. “We love it up here and the snow is usually excellent.” Shop boss Montse (pictured with them) explains that they have dozens of clients in their 70s, and one Norwegian in his NINETIES. “He’s been coming down here for years,” she reveals. “He is amazingly fit and I think skiing really helps him stay that way.” Many of the local business owners still ski every day, well into their sixties. They include Jose Carlos, at Bodega Casablanca, and EOE skiing school boss Jose Luis Hernandez, 64, who explains: “It’s a great sport, using almost all your muscles, your arms, your legs and your dorsals, not to mention the heart. “My brother Manolo still skis and he’s in his 80s and I intend to ski when I’m 90.” Statistically 2.7% of skiers in the Sierra Nevada are over 60 years old. Last but not least there are a lot more Asian skiers coming these days, including the group (left) from China who live in Malaga.
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Sierra Nevada
Jetting in! World champion Jet Skier David Selles has set up on the slopes
H
AVING whizzed around the world as a professional jet skier David Selles has slid onto the Sierra Nevada slopes with an exciting new business. The seven-times World Champion, from Benidorm, opened a ski shop and school in the heart of Pradolla-
HOT SEAT: David with team and (top) after winning jet ski title
no last season. Be Snow is the culmination of a three-year search for the perfect way to make a living on the slopes. “Since buying a home nearby some years ago, I haven’t stopped looking,” Selles, 48, tells the Olive Press. And when decades-old ski shop Pascual Ski, in Plaza Andalucia, came up for sale he jumped at the option. Now half a year later he has finally opened with a stylish new urban look, with a few of the former staff and with tens of thousands of euros of brand new equipment. “We’ve got 650 new pairs of skis and 800 pairs of brand new boots,” he boasts. “It is the most important thing for anyone wanting to guarantee to have fun on the slopes. “Top class skis with fantastic edges and the most comfortable boots you can find. We can promise that.” It has been an exciting couple of de-
cades for the father-of-two, whose Brazilian wife, Alyne, often helps out in the shop. After growing up in Finistratt, near Benidorm, he took up the sport of jet-skiing and won his first world championship in Crete in 1997. He then competed around the world in countries as diverse as Japan, Canada, Alaska and Chile, before winning his final championship in Marbella in 2008. It was a pretty full on two decades and, technically, he was not allowed to ski during all the time as a professional. “Contractually my sponsors would not allow it, but - of course - I couldn’t resist and came quite a few times incognito,” admits the businessman, who first skied in Candanchu at the age of eight. “Now I couldn’t be happier. This is my passion, not a business. I get to ski every day and make a living at the same time,” he concludes.
Don’t boob this one
THRILL-SEEKERS: Get their kit off every year
A COLLECTION of Sierra Nevada’s bravest and silliest thrill seekers rush down the mountain in swimsuits for the last day of the season. Next year, the V Bajada Swim, will start at Borreguiles where participants hand in their clothes to take to the slopes into Pradollano where drinks and hedonism awaits. Budding nudists also get a discounted ski pass if they sign up to the official page. However, space is limited to 500 people and prizes are given to the best and most outrageous outfits.
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Century in the making The history of Telemark - one of the Sierra Nevada’s oldest ski companies has roots as far back as 1912
THEY say a photo is worth a thousand words. And the picture of Luis Casanove’s grandfather 100 years ago is certainly no exception. Taking pride of place on the wall of his company Telemark’s office in the heart of the Sierra Nevada, the grainy black and white image shows him skiing in Spain, in 1912. In the hills of the Guadarrama range, north of Madrid, he actually appears to be snowboarding at first glance.
“He is actually Telemark skiing, which was the original way, before Alpine skiing became more fashionable later in the century,” explains Luis, in faultless English. “And here we still offer Telemark as well as many other types of skiing classes.” Be it hiking, Telemarking, cross country, snowboarding or off-piste skiing, there are not many inches of the Sierra Nevada that Luis and his business partner Jesus Fernandez don’t know. Going for three decades, they
PERSONAL ATTENTION: From Luis, while (right) he teaches children
PROUD: Luis shows a off a photo of his grandfather skiing near Madrid are well known for their famous off-piste mountain adventures that last from a morning to two days. But their school, set up in 1989, is now focusing very much on families and children. “We have realised that our knowledge and know-how is perfect for families who want the perfect personal one to one break,” continues Luis, who spends half the year in the resort and the other half in Africa. The company also runs amazing wilderness trips that literally end up in another world... the charming cobbled villages of the Genil
valley, in the Alpujarras. Another popular pastime for These one or two-day adventures those who don’t fancy risking life take you through deep off-pis- and limb on the pistes, is to have te snow onto narrow mountain a day of cross-country skiing on tracks. two or three well established “We try to put an emphasis on paths around the resort. ecology and na“It is great fitness ture and it is imand you do get pressive to see enjoy the fab“We try to put to the typically old ulous views and farmhouses in nature at the an emphasis the area and how same time,” he on ecology and adds. little they have changed,” adds company nature,” adds The Luis. can also help or“It is a real, fun ganise hard-core Luis adventure, someuphill climbing thing you will not for mountaineers forget. to a half day soft “Best of all, a team of mules ends snow walking trip with snow rackup helping to bring your stuff ets. back to Pradollano,” he adds. Contact the team on telemark@ The day trip costs just €100 per telemark.es or call 958 48 11 person and includes transport 53. and lunch.
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FLYING S
CARVE UP: Some of the sections of the superpark Sulayr
L
OCALS boast of its cream snow. So it is no wonder the Sierra Nevada is a Mecca for thrill-seeking snowboarders, who come in their droves to take advantage of a soft and sumptuous ride. For beginners and experts alike, Spain’s highest resort is a glorious setting. With its stunning scenery and top-class facilities, it was no surprise that it won the bid to host the Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships two years ago. One of the best places to catch the top riders in action is at SuperPark Sulayr, Europe’s largest freestyle snowboard park. Sitting at an altitude of 2,700 metres on Borreguiles, the famed snowboarding park houses the country’s biggest permanent half-pipe.
Measuring a height of six the side of th Rookies will sort, thanks reguiles. Here, lifts d groomed are Many profes their home a These includ their passion “It’s a fantas Spain, if not over the last
Carigüela La Carigüe La
Carigüela
Warm and friendly local in the heart of the Sierra Nevada
Urban legends
The Sierra Nevada’s treacherous nature has created a land of myth and folklore
T
O local Granada folk, the Sierra Nevada mountains are hugely important - and not only as a source of tourism and pride.
Their snow-capped peaks are the setting for many legends and urban myths. The stories, designed to help explain tragic events and natural phenomena like avalanches, have been passed down over the centuries and remain • The Mulhacen peak is 3478 metres high and is the highest classics to this point of continental Spain. day. Below are the two • There are 66 plant species and 80 animal species native to most famous. the Sierra Nevada National Park.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Sierra Nevada has been part of La Vuelta a España with the final stage of the cycling race ending there on several occasions.
• At 1200 metres it has the largest difference in gradient in any resort in Spain. • Night skiing is held at Pradollano on weekends, weather permitting • The Super parque Sulayr has a 165 metre Half Pipe for freestylers and snowboarders and is Europe’s largest freestyle snowboard park.
• It is the most Southern ski resort in Europe and 80% of its days are sunny during season.
Fabulous fish, amazing salads and various Moroccan dishes tel: 958 480 010
Calle de la Virgin de las Nieves, 16 Edificio Edelweiss, 18196 Sierra Nevada
MONKEYING AROUND: But the Mono Careto warns against this
• Sierra Nevada ski station hosted the Alpine World Ski Championships in 1996 and the 2015 Winter Universiade, the world university games. • The name Sierra Nevada means ‘Snowy Range’ in English
• Sierra Nevada has 107km of skiable slopes, with 115 runs (40 blue, nine black, 50 red and 16 green as well as cross-country ski trails).
• The resort’s ski lifts can carry 45,555 skiers every hour.
• In case of a lack of snow, there are 353 artificial snow cannons which cover 35km of piste.
The mono careto
The literal meaning is ‘monkey face’ but the mono careto may be a magical monkey or a mystical fairy, depending on who is telling the story. The small, hairy creature is blamed for many of the ills that befall the local populace, including the ‘la malafolla granaina’, a bad mood that makes you snappy towards others. It has also been fingered for causing avalanches which have buried mountaineers, cutting climbers’ ropes and throwing rocks at visitors. The cheek critter is believed to have been created as a metaphor for how dangerous the mountains can be if you don’t treat them with respect.
The Devil’s Broom
Legend has it that there was once a wealthy lord who lived with his beautiful daughter in a remote castle in the Alpujarras, on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The lord planned to marry his daughter off to a fellow landowner, and kept her hidden away from the world so she could not meet anyone else. But unknown to him, she had been sneaking out of the house at night and had already fallen for a local shepherd.
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STARS
The Sierra Nevada is fast becoming a natural haven for Spain’s top snowboarders
FREESTYLE: Riders catch some air
GNARLY: Snowboards are well catered for at the Sierra Nevada
an astonishing 165 metres in length with a metres, the special design flattens the snow on he half-pipe so boarders can jump on both sides. also find a place to carve their niche in the reto the gentle gradients of central station, Bor-
deposit snowboarders on a smooth and wellea where they can hone their skills. ssional snowboarders class Sierra Nevada as and a few shops specialise just in snowboarding. de South Star, where Jesus and his brother juggle n for the snow with running their own two shops. stic place for snowboarders, one of the best in t Europe,” explains Jesus. “It has grown loads t few years and we are always busy.”
When the lovers learned of her father’s plans, they decided to elope north through the treacherous, snow-bound mountain passes, even if it meant their deaths. On his way to meet her, the shepherd bumped into the devil who offered him a broom to hide his tracks in the snow. Pursued by the rich lord, the couple fled until they reached the 3,371-metre peak of Mount Alcazaba, just a few metres short of the mighty Mulhacen (3,482m) But when they dropped the broom it began to sweep by itself, causing an avalanche and burying their pursuers. The story goes that the broom was left there forgotten, where it still sweeps, causing landslides to this day.
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Timeline of a ski station • Angel Ganivet, Spanish Consul to Helsinki, gave birth to the idea of turning the Sierra Nevada into a ski resort at the end of the 19th century. He likened his Granada homeland to the ‘Finland of Andalucia’ in a local newspaper. • 1898 marked the creation of Diez Amigos Limited, a group that led skiing excursions around the area. • Thanks to their continued success, the organisation was able to create the first youth hostel in the area not long after rebranding itself Sociedad Sierra Nevada in 1912. • The main road from Granada to Sierra Nevada and a cable car were both put in place at the beginning of the 1920s, which allowed more people to discover the joys of snow-oriented fun. • The boom years of the resort began in 1964, when Centros Turísticos S.A. (CETURSA), was created, allowing its rapid development. • Sierra Nevada is the southernmost ski station in Europe and sits at the highest point in Spain. The station hosted the World Alpine Ski Championships in 1996. It has also welcomed several Alpine Ski World Cup events, with the first in 1977. In addition, it has been the main venue for the Winter Olympics. • In 2017, the Sierra Nevada hosted the FIS Snowboard and Freestyle World Championships (see poster right), a major international contest put together by the board of the International Ski Federation.
It used to be a two hour bus ride from Granada and then a donkey up the slope
Going uphill slow T
HE only way to get to the top of the slope was to walk... or take a friendly donkey! Indeed, until the first two ski lifts (Borreguiles and Parador) were built in 1969, this was the preferred route. The resort actually dates back to 1912 when Spain's oldest ski club, the Sierra Nevada Society was founded. However, it was not until the 1920s – with the modernisation of Granada’s roads - that the Sierra Nevada started to become known. By the 1950s a bus used to chug its way up to the slopes, while cars would turn up in their dozens at weekends. Visitor numbers slowly grew from then and, in 1964, Cetursa, a business dedicated to reserving ski tickets, was founded. It was around then that the resort was at its most glamourous with the likes of Principe Alfons Hohenlohe, the owner the Marbella Club hotel, regularly bringing up friends, including Sean Connery to ski. The best selection of old pictures, not just some of the vintage visitors to the resort, can be found in the charming Tito Luigi restaurant, which has been open for 30 years and counts the King as an occasional visitor. “We have had them all in here,” explains owner Javier, who heralds from Menorca. “Spain’s best footballers, bullfighters and its leading politicians... everyone loves to ski in the Sierra Nevada.” One of the longest-established work-
YOMP: Most skiers had to walk up until 1969, while (right) a donkey lift
ers in the resort Jose Carlos Villanueva remembers the 1960s well. “I actually had my first communion on the slopes wearing ski boots and a jersey. I was the only one in Spain,” he explains pointing at a photo of him as a child, with his sister.He had arrived there in 1961 when his father got a job running the 'alberge' one of just three buildings in the resort back then. Living there for five years, it was no surprise that he always had a strong urge to return and at the age of 15 he became a ski teacher. Now, appropriately – after 38 years teaching and an incredible 50,000 students – Jose Carlos is running the charming bar Bodega Casablanca.
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+34 958 481 170 +34 675 470 669 www.alquileressierranevada.es
AVALANCHE: Of snow (below) but rarely more than a dozen cars came up in the 1960s
CHUGGING UP: An old bus takes skiers up the slopes with a bit of help from its passengers
S ierra Nevada
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WHERE TO EAT
Après scoff
There are mountains of good places to eat in the Sierra Nevada, writes Jon Clarke
Tlf: +34 958 17 72 93 Plaza de Andalucía, Edificio Montebajo, Local 1, 18196, Sierra Nevada National Park
IN their matching outfits and sparkly tops, there is a real sense of fun at Ci Vediamo. But the real reason to visit is the wonderful creative food of chef Stevie Silva and his team of hip, young chefs. Now in his 11th year on the slopes, this talented young chef spends his summers in Asia or south America, with girlfriend Luna, picking up new dishes to test out on his faithful clients. The pair deserve all the success they have had, opening just as the worst recession in Spain’s history kicked in. Their excellent dishes this season include a ceviche of scal-
TOP TUCKER: Olive Press editor Jon enjoys Nevada Suiss, while (right) team at Ci Vediamo lops in a bloody Mary sauce and mention a great wine list. an amazing false risotto with co- They also have a new Japanese conut milk, kimchi and prawns. inspired restaurant Shimbuya, Also look out for the amazing halfway up the resort, that uzukuri of turbot with yuzu and keeps getting better and better. an amazing soft crab tempura. Staying faithful to the Plaza de Andalucía, Edificio Montebajo Local 2,Japanese But let’s not forget they also style of minimalism, it has elechave some 18196, of the best pizzas tric blue tiles on the wall and lots Sierra Nevada National Park in the resort and lots of more of plain wood and even a slot traditional dishes to boot, not to machine at the door.
Tlf: +34 638 58 83 73
Michelin trained chef Esteban Silva produces classic Italian style dishes with a modern twist
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK • Monday to Saturday • 12.00-16.00 & 20.00-24.00 Plaza Andalucía, Edf. Salvia s/n • Pradollano • Tel. 958 480 856 • civediamosn@gmail.com Find Us on Google Maps with 360° degree view
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KINGS OF PRADOLLANO: Javi and Luis at Tito Luigi, while (below) Fatima and Mohamed at La Cariguela
I particularly liked their California Roll with a king prawn, salmon and sesame seeds. Next door, keep an eye out for the excellent local Swell next door, which is a cool place to hang out, grab a burger, salad or wok and watch the football. Close by is another recently-opened restaurant, La Cariguela, run by the team behind the most popular bar in town Bar Ski, set up by Nichi two decades ago. Here you will find Nichi’s partner Fatima running a classic soul
kitchen concentrating on excellent quality fish and the resort’s only Moroccan dishes, including a delicious chicken tagine. This is a classic local place, warm and friendly, where service is at a premium and where you will eat some of the resort’s best food, including my personal favourite the tartare of bluefin tuna with avocado, apple, cucumber and caviar. In particular, stop to chat to Fatima’s son Mohamed, who is a livewire of information and at 22 as ambitious as anyone I’ve met
in the Sierra Nevada. In the heart of the resort, few places come more traditional than Tito Luigi, where at least two kings of Spain have eaten. Take a look on the walls and you’ll find evidence of the royal family’s many sojourns down to the golden slopes… and plenty more aside. Indeed, over the last three decades, this wonderful restaurant, run by pals Javier and Luis, has also provided dinner for bullfighters, Hollywood stars and politicians. And it’s perhaps no surprise for See next page
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SERVICE WITH A SMILE: At Al Dente and Shinbuya From previous page
mountains of choice
a joint that consistently provides for 250 covers every evening during the busy season. Specialising in good Italian fare, it serves up great pizzas, pasta dishes and my favourite squidink spaghetti with prawns. The pair have another, hipper restaurant Tito Tapas just up the road and a third more formal restaurant up the hill in the middle of the resort. Next door look out for the also well established La Muralla, run by Argentinian Gonzalo Funes, and appropriately with the best steaks in the resort, not to mention excellent wines by the glass. The melt-in-the-mouth carrillada is a must, as is the courgette
GREAT BURGER: Muralla
carpaccio with fig sauce and the peanut tart to finish was a surefire winner. The ‘tostas’ are also great and come in various guises, while I loved the milhoja of foie gras. He and his brother Luciano also run the brand new Muralla Burger, almost next door, which specialises in the best quality burgers on the slopes. It’s a lovely spot and makes a great addition to what is easily the most competitive run of restaurants in the Sierra Nevada. And don’t forget the brothers’ other bustling spot Las Gondalas, right in the heart of the town and perfect for some apres ski light bites, a hot drink or a beer. The cool sounds playing to the terrace attract a cool crowd and you will struggle to find a seat on many days. Just up from here, look out for the amazing Bodega Casablanca run by Jose Carlos Villanueva, who grew up on the slopes, with his father opening one of the first hostals in the 1960s. The historic photos add to the atmosphere (as does a framed Olive Press article!) and the heart-warming soul food is always excellent, and includes stews, lentils as well as prawns wrapped in potato with a soya mayonnaise and lovely lamb chops with whisker-thin wild asparagus. Looking for views, the recent-
AUTHENTIC: The lentils at Casablanca are legendary
ly-opened, Al Dente faces right onto the slopes and has a superb mix of Italian and Spanish dishes. My tomato, mozzarella bruschetta with basil and black olives was original, while I particularly loved the Saltimbocca, which is fillet steak stuffed with ham and with a rich ricotta sauce. There were some delicious ‘niscalo’ mushrooms added for extra measure. Owned by friendly Granada lawyer Antonio, his team are knowledgeable and service is crisp. He also co-owns the well established La Visera next door, along with chef Pepe, who is a very capable chef and always leading the charge in the kitchen. Another excellent place overlooking the slopes is Tia Maria, which has a good mix of dishes
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introducing...
FACES: At La Visera, Vertical and Tia Maria bar (below) Nichu shows off his skills at Bar Ski
and is a great place for breakfast. Run by Carlos, the brother of Tito Luigi’s Javier, this is an institution and place to while away the day. Newer and really leading the charge food-wise is La Mar Sala, where Carlos has created an ambient spot, perfect for tapas and wines by the glass. This prime spot by the Melia hotel is normally filled to the rafters and counts on some excellent
wines by the glass and the very best seafood from Motril, including boquerones, cigalas and conchas finas. A genuine find. He has also just opened another place called La Mar del Bueno, which is a stylish place and promises to be a true winner this winter, with a decent, creative looking menu. For coffee, breakfast, and in fact just about everything, Vertical is hard to be beaten and also
has a great range of snacks and light bites, including hot dogs for the British clientele. Another brilliant option, particularly for great coffee and amazing pastries, is La Croissanteria, in the heart of the main square. Run by friendly Argentinians Cristian y Jessica, service is very much with a smile and there are even a couple of unusual south American chestnuts I had never tried before.
SHIMBUYA RESTAURANT
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tel: 958 88 55 06 Virgen de las Nieves, Edifico Bulgaria (local 7), Monachil
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FREE 654 18196,SURVEY Sierra Nevadatel: National Park593 372 / 654 593 351 info@cosycasa.es www.cosycasa.es
Tlf: +34 638 58 83 73 Plaza de Andalucía, Edificio Montebajo Local 2, 18196, Sierra Nevada National Park
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Marvellous Muralla THE Funes family continue to make new strides in the Sierra Nevada. As well as a supermarket, burger bar, cafe and skiing school, their benchmark La Muralla restaurant goes from strength to strength. Undertaking some stylish changes, they have updated the menu and brought in some excellent new wines, ensuring that the restaurant remains one of the top gourmet spots on the slopes. Under the parent name of Las Gondolas, the Argentinian family, including children Lorena, 42, Gonzalo, 40 and Luciano, 38, all do their bit. It was their father who brought them over from Argentina two decades ago, wanting to
come back to his natural home of Granada (he was born nearby in Lanjaron) and soon opened a supermarket in the resort. The family’s ski school - run by Luciano’s Austrian girlfriend Simone - sits on pole position right by the slopes and main ski lift. “We just keep forging forwards by looking after all our clients,” explains Luciano.
Sierra Nevada’s coolest new restaurant ONLY the Best Beef! Edif Mont Blanc, Sierra Nevada (in front of Melia hotel)
BUSY: La Muralla is always bustling and (inset) a dish
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December 2019/2020 WHERE TO STAY IT is hard to describe Pradollano as an authentic mountain village. But, with a metre of snow on the ground and the sun finally out, it certainly has its charms. There are lots of places to stay but easily one of the most charming has got to be the authentic Hotel Kenia Nevada, which is well located near the centre of town and open most of the year. Run by the friendly Don Pedro – who used to ski for the country as a youngster - it is clean, well run and serves up one of the best breakfasts in Spain.
Charming
It also has a gym and spa, with an in-house masseur, and plenty of communal areas, filled with charming old furniture. You could also go upmarket and splurge on one of the two wonderful Melia hotels, right in the heart of the resort. The rooms at the Melia Sierra Nevada have been recently renovated and the New Premium rooms have been built on floors 7 and 8. Meanwhile the nearby Meliá Sol y Nieve hotel offers The Level experience, which is the hotel group’s most exclusive commitment to luxury and personal service. Another good budget option is the GHM Monachil, which is well located right by the
I
T is hard to describe Pradollano as an authentic mountain village. But, with a metre of snow on the ground and the sun out, it certainly has its charms. There are lots of places to stay but easily one of the most charming has got to be the authentic Hotel Kenia Nevada, which is well located near the centre of town and open most of the year. Run by the friendly Don Pedro – who used to ski for the country as a youngster - it is clean, well run and serves up one of the best breakfasts in Spain. It also has a gym and spa, with an in-house masseur, and plenty of communal areas, filled withSIERRA charming old furniture. NEVADA Another good budget option is the GHM Monachil, which is well located right by the slopes and has had a massive upgrade over the last couple of years and continues with the rooms now.
MELIÃ
Snow dreams
SPLURGE: At luxurious Melia hotel
There are hundreds of places to stay in the Sierra Nevada, but only a handful are really reliable, writes Jon Clarke slopes and has had a massive upgrade over the last couple of years and continues with
the rooms now. It has an excellent breakfast buffet and a big car park,
It has an excellent breakfast buffet and a big car park, which costs just €10 a day for guests. You could also go upmarket and splurge on one of the two wonderful Melia hotels, right in the heart of the resort. The rooms at the Melia Sierra Nevada have been recently renovated and the New Premium rooms have been built on floors 7 and 8. Meanwhile the nearby Meliá Sol y Nieve hotel offers The Level experience, which is the hotel group’s most exclusive commitment to luxury and personal service. Another excellent option is to rent an apartment in the resort, of which there are many. Be careful, of all the many deals on the likes of airbnb and booking you could be in for a shock when you arrive, being stuck out in Babylon or find the place much smaller and dirtier than it initially looked in
photos. A much better option is to trust the long-time local specialists, Sierra Nevada Alquileres, which has a massive 150 apartments on its books The company is always busy but its boss Antonio (pictured left) always has time for a chat if around and will always find you a good deal.
MOVER AND SHAKER: Antonio at Sierra Nevada Alquileres and (above) Kenia Nevada which costs just €10 a day for guests. Another popular option is to rent an apartment in the resort, of which there are many. Be careful, of all the many deals on the likes of airbnb and booking you could be in for a shock when you arrive, being stuck out in Babylon or
find the place much smaller and dirtier than it initially looked in photos. A much better option is to trust the long-time local specialists, Sierra Nevada Alquileres, which has a massive 150 apartments on its books, which start from €80 euros a night and go up to well over
€1,000 if you want something really exclusive. It even has some chalets to rent to boot. The company is always busy but its boss Antonio always has time for a chat if around and will always find you a good deal. Visit www.alquileressierranevada.es) for more information.
Visit www.alquileressierranevada.es) for more information.
SKI & APRÈS-SKI HOTELS
MELIÃ
SOL Y NIEVE
MELIÃ | SIERRA NEVADA
–
MELIÃ | SOL Y NIEVE
(+34) 902 144444 // www. melia.com
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From Page 16
Festive delights puppets are in some odd way so very Andaluz. A lovely Christmas tradition common in many Catholic countries is the belen (nativity scene) and here in the Spanish south it has developed into an art form. Our neighbour Jose Manuel proudly showed us his latest intricate production which has taken him months to build and covers half his patio.
photos by Karethe Linaae
Zambomba
Almost every Spanish home, church, brotherhood and bar will have a nativity display perfect in every detail, from miniature shepherds and tiny sheep to working waterfalls and stars in the East that light up. A uniquely Andalusian Christmas tradition is the zambomba - a bonfire with jingle bells on when musicians and dancers crowd around braziers outdoors playing flamenco and villancicos (Spanish christmas carols) and keeping warm with mulled wine and shots of sweet anis liqueur. The tradition originated with Jerez’s gypsy communities and in the city today there are so many you can put together your own zambomba crawl. The name comes from a pecu-
PAGAN TWIST: Santa scales a house, while (right) a Spanish carol drum called a zambomba
liar sounding drum-like instrument that has become synonymous with Andalucian Christmas, and though an acquired taste, it wouldn’t be Navidad without it. Designated drivers beware. A
somewhat risque traditional is the Christmas minibar which local businesses offer clients. I first noticed this generous booze and cookie display at our car dealership in Malaga. When renewing our insurance
in December, we also encountered this free bar at our usually very responsible insurance agency. I even spotted one in a hardware store, tucked behind the hunting knife stand (the shop
also sells the aforementioned ‘three-kings-on-a-rope’ should anyone be interested). Nothing like a breathalyser-busting tot of good cheer before driving off in the new car, taking out life insurance or
revving up a power-saw. During our first Spanish Christmas, a few years back, word got out that we would be alone for the holiday. Immediately Continues on Page 34
34
December 18th - January 7th 2020 From Page 33
A
ll about
C
hristmas
E
xperience
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Nativity numbers
photos by Karethe Linaae
friends and neighbours opened their homes to us. On Christmas Eve, serenaded by howling winds, we celebrated with a local policeman, his wife, children, in-laws and miscellaneous family members. Then on Christmas Day we joined the descendants of another neighbour, including his eight adult children and an old aunt with a lovely voice.
Magical
After eating, musical instruments appeared and everyone burst into villancicos composed by their great-grandfather, so they told me. Braving the elements, we also went on their annual carolling visit to a local convent. The door was locked (very biblical) but a sister eventually let us in to a chapel where cloistered nuns were singing Gregorian chants. Once they finished, our group strung our guitars and began carolling for the old nuns. It is a tradition the family has kept up for generations and it was a magical introduction to the true sense of navidad in our adoptive home country. As we ring in another Christmas season, make sure to enjoy some of these unique Andalusian holiday traditions - but watch out for those free minibars.
BELEN GALORE: The nativity scenes often take weeks to set up
PROPERTY
CRUEL U-TURN
35 December 18th - January 7th 2019
Government comes to loggerheads with Junta over illegal homes decree SPAIN’S government is trying to block a planning amnesty which would legalise thousands of illegally built homes in Andalucia. The Madrid government has started proceedings in the Constitutional Court against the planning amnesty, approved by the Andalucian parliament last month. Officials say that the regional parliament doesn’t have powers to grant planning permission for 300,000 homes built without approval. The dispute will see the socialist party in Madrid pitted against local socialist councillors who voted in favour of the amnesty. The policy was introduced by the regional government in an attempt to help many expat homeowners who unwittingly bought illegal properties. The home owners found themselves forbidden to connect to essential utilities like water and stuck with the homes, unable to sell them. Maura Hillen, president of Abusos Urbanisticos Anda-
lucia group, which has campaigned for the homes to be legalised, said: “We see with horror how the acting national government is trying to overthrow this much wanted measure. We do not understand. “What is not acceptable is that people continue to bathe in water contaminated with faecal matter. Not only is this a third world situation, but it runs the risk that some day there could be a disgraceful epidemic.” Environmentalists have criticised the Andalucian government’s decree, saying that the removal of restrictions rewards those who break the law could open the floodgates to dodgy construction projects across Andalucia. Following the announcement of the policy in November, a spokesperson for the Ecologists in Action group said: “This decree includes very dangerous new measures that will encourage the total impunity of illegal building, and sets a terrible precedent.”
Unwrapped for Xmas A STUNNING new 68room boutique hotel has been unveiled in time for Christmas. Palacio Solecio in Malaga features a menu from Michelin star chef Jose Carlos Garcia, a gym, cocktail bar and conference rooms. A €30 million investment
today Start ve your ecei and r MAS GIFT! T CHRIS Visit / k.com n a b k binc noel
transformed the 18th-century former home and paper warehouse of Italian merchant Felix Solesio into the four-star luxury retreat. Rustic wrought iron details have been preserved in the hotel’s windows and balconies, as has the building’s sweeping staircase.
LET IT GROW LET IT GROW LET IT GROW Learn how to grow your portfolio at the Binck Investment Academy in Marbella. The value of investments can rise or fall and you could get back less than you invested. www.BinckBank.com
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36
December 18th - January 7th 2020
BUSINESS
Can’t buy class W
Against Johnson’s looming Brexit backdrop, Jonathan Holdaway has some advice for asset holders in and out of the UK
ITH the results of last week’s In other words, describing large-cap stocmonumental General Elec- ks or short-term bonds asset classes is tion now meaning a Conser- incorrect. These investment vehicles are vative government in situ for asset class categories, and are used for the next five years, BoJo’s promise to ‘get diversification purposes. Brexit done’ also edges ever closer to reality. Equities - also called stocks or shares Depending on your views of the impact - represent shares of ownership in publithat this will have on the UK’s economy, cly held companies: you may well decide to increase or reduce · Historically they have outperformed your ‘asset allocation’ in your investment other investments (keep in mind that past portfolio accordingly to UK assets. performance does not guarantee future An asset class is a group of results) securities that have similar · Most volatile in the short term financial characteristics, beEach one is · Returns and have similarly in the markeprincipal will expected tplace, and are subject to the fluctuate so that same laws and regulations. accumulations, to reflect The three main asset classes when redeeare equities (stocks), fixed-in- different risk med, may be come (bonds) and cash equiworth more or and return valents (money market insless than origitruments). nal cost In addition to the three main asset classes, some investment professionals Fixed income - or would add real estate and commodities, bond investments - generally pay a set and possibly other types of investments, rate of interest over a given period, then to the asset class mix. Whatever the asset return the investor’s principal: class lineup, each one is expected to re- · Set rate of interest flect different risk and return investment · More stability than stocks characteristics, and will perform diffe- · Value fluctuates due to current interest rently in any given market environment. and inflation rates Asset classes and asset class categories are often mixed together. Money market - These invest-
ments are relatively safe, liquid shortterm investments; examples include: government issued securities, CDs, banker’s acceptances, euros and commercial paper: · Less volatile than stocks and bonds · Lower potential for growth · Short-term investment
Guaranteed - These assets have a fixed rate and backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer: · Preserves your principal · Provides at least a specified minimum return Real estate
- Your home or investment property, plus shares of funds that invest in commercial real estate: · Helps protect future purchasing power as property values and rental income run parallel to inflation · Values tend to rise and fall more slowly than stock and bond prices. It is important to keep in mind that the real estate sector is subject to various risks, including fluctuation in underlying property values, expenses and income, and potential environmental liabilities. Most financial experts agree that some of
the most effective investment strategies involve diversifying investments across broad asset classes like stocks and bonds, rather than focusing on specific securities that may or may not turn out to be ‘winners’. Diversification is a technique to help reduce risk. However, there is no guarantee that diversification will protect against a loss of income/capital. The goal of asset allocation is to create a balanced mix of assets that have the potential to improve returns, while meeting your: · Tolerance for risk (market volatility) · Goals and investment objectives (income or growth) · Preferences for certain types of investments within asset classes Being diversified across asset classes may help reduce volatility. If you include several asset classes in your long-term portfolio, the upswing of one asset class may help offset the downward movement of another as conditions change. In future articles I will go into more detail about the benefits of diversification on your investment portfolio.
Jonathan now has an office Malaga, which can be found here: Alameda Colón, 9, 1, 7. 29001 Málaga, Spain. Phone: +34 951 579226
Contact me for a no obligation investment product and/or portfolio review and at my expense on +34 654 898 303/+44 77230 27864 or email me at jonathan.holdaway@chasebuchanan.com I’ll even buy the coffee.
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Viva Portugal! SPAIN’S uncertain political landscape after its general election, has prompted investors to splash the cash in Portugal instead. National and international investment has increased in the country following the November 10 vote that saw the PSOE party left without an overall majority. Portugal has a GDP growth rate of 2% compared to that of Spain, which stands at just 1.6%. Tax exemptions of up to 10 years under Portugal’s NHR program for non-habitual residents, also make the country an attractive prospect for Spanish investment. Law firms and real estate agents have been among the businesses to have registered their interest in Portugal in recent weeks. Spain remains unstable, while acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez enters negotiations with other parties.
BUSINESS
37
December 18th - January 17th 2020
Rich get richer Spain’s richest man adds another couple of billion to his fortune
AMANCIO Ortega has an extra €2.75 billion in his pocket this Christmas thanks to a huge stocks recovery. The firm he founded, Inditex, has seen a 5.2% increase in its stock value fol-
lowing the announcement of its third quarter sales. The Galicia-based textiles giant saw a €2,758 million revaluation in shares — this is 59% of the company’s total capital. It comes after the market
Barcelona’s saving grace CATALANS have received the best Christmas present after a year from hell. Their most famous cathedral has made it into the top 10 tourist sights, according to TripAdvisor. The Salvador Dali designed La Sagrada Familia (right) was the only attraction in Spain to make the list.
RYANAIR has promised a New Year’s sacking spree after a row with workers who refused to accept new contracts. Union bosses have slammed the budget airline, which they say ‘put pressure’ on staff to accept pay cuts of up to 25%. It comes as the Dublin-based operator was set to axe its bases in
Dirty tactics Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Girona on January 8. However a U-turn over its Girona operations, saw Michael O’Leary’s firm offer 160 workers new contracts, in a bid to maintain a foothold in the northeastern city. Some workers said they recognise that the contracts ‘do not
Record
conform’ with Spanish law and could even prompt a visit from an employment inspector. In response, Ryanair has classified the disgruntled workers as ‘Expediente de Regulacion de Empleo’ (ERE), meaning the dissenting workers now face the sack.
AGONY Property ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES
Rent and be damned? A tangle of red tape in the holiday lettings sector is leading some landlords to take the law into their own hands WHEN Decree 28/2016 on Touristic Apartments was enacted three years ago it was rejected by pretty much everyone with one notable exception: the hotel lobby, which has always secretly sought to complicate the lives of private property owners, its direct competitors in a fierce market. Shortly after the new law came into force, the Spanish Federation of Associations of Touristic Apartments and Touristic Use Properties (they are not the same and have different regulations believe it or not), went to court to have various articles set aside: the obligation for landlords to provide hot and cold aircon systems was one; the requirement to have an LFO (variously called license of occupancy, license of first occupation or license of habitation) was another. The Andalusian High Court ruled that aircon was not a necessity in Andalucia but rejected the notion that the LFO should not be a requirement, dubbing it a ‘minimum standard to ensure the property is fit for purpose’. This despite the fact that this document is not legally required to occupy any given property, nor indeed to rent it outside the scope of the touristic rental law (i.e. lets of more than 2 months). Only the Andalusian Government appealed and the Supreme Court, some weeks back (21/10/2019), bizarrely ruled that obliging owners to provide heating and cooling to tenants was ‘disproportionate’, thereby annulling this obligation. With regard to the LFO requirement, far
from backing off, the Andalusia Government had already issued a clarification note in late 2016 to specifically deny validity to an AFO certificate (tolerating an illegal build) or a Certificate of Non-Infraction as alternatives to LFOs. And here lies the problem: Marbella - the jewel of the crown - has more than 20 thousand such properties affected by the controversial law, the owners of which are not prepared to lose out whilst waiting for much-awaited bureaucratic solutions (one of which is having a limited ad hoc LFO issued, in line with other municipalities). Meanwhile, what’s the plan now with these properties? Well, it seems that everyone’s already got one: Renting them despite not having an LFO, or having a revoked LFO. Renting them with a Certificate of Non-Infraction. Renting after applying for an AFO (under the most recent 24/9/2019 Decree allowing urban properties to get one). What is the common denominator to all these options? Clearly, that the Andalusian Government will have none of them and may issues penalties. Taking the most recent statistics throughout the region, those penalties could amount to €3,000 on average (and potentially up to 18k on this specific infringement and a rental ban of up to 6 months). Still, with annual rental yields reaching tens of thousands of euros, it may well pay to break the law.
Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com
reacted to the news that up to October of this year Inditex’s sales had increased by 7.5% to €19.8 billion. The first nine months of 2019 is a record period for the business, which has exceeded €19 billion for the first time in its history and has almost hit the €20 billion mark. Only a few years ago, this figure was the equivalent to the multinational company’s sales for the whole year. Clothing firm Zara brought in 70% of sales for Inditex, which also owns Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear and Stradivarius. Turnover in the third quarter of 2019 also surpassed €7 billion for the first time ever, and was also 9.2% higher than the same three months of 2018. The quarter is also the best Inditex has had since 2017 and exceeds the 8.5% growth in turnover, predicted by Bloomberg analysts from August to October. Inditex president Pablo Isla attributed the impressive figures to the integration of online and offline stock, which has allowed the company to streamline its inventory by 5%, which improves gross profit margins.
Amazon goes green AMAZON is to build its first solar farm in Spain, which will start producing energy from 2020. The Sevilla-located renewable energy power plant will provide 300,000 MWh of electricity per year to the American company’s logistics and data centres. The renewables project is part of its ‘Climate Pledge,’ which has seen it set the goal of cancelling its carbon emissions by 2040. “We are on track to be able to operate with 100% renewable energy by 2030,” said Kara Hurst, director of Sustainability at Amazon. To date the e-commerce company has launched more than 70 renewables projects, which produce 5.3 million MWh of clean energy.
Women’s work SPAIN has seen its biggest average wage growth for a decade. Salary increases for November have resulted in a 2.3% growth rate, a level not seen since 2008, when wages rose by 3.6% ahead of the financial crash. The new data from the Ministry of Labour is coupled with the finding that rates of female employment have increased from 61% of 25-54-year-olds in 2001 to 82% in 2019.
38
December 18th - January 7th 2020
I
T’S beginning to smell a lot like Christmas, here in Spain, when the buttery aroma of mantecados warm from the oven wafts from bakeries and abuelas’ kitchen windows, filling the chill December streets with festive expectation. Sinful homebaked sweetmeats have been a guilty Christmas pleasure in these parts since Moorish times and every town, village, peña and brotherhood has its own traditional recipes – frequently jazzed up with a naughty nip of cider, sherry or aniseed liqueur. But who could have guessed that some of the nicest (and naughtiest) are produced behind convent walls by nuns! Some sisterhoods have been tempting mortals with their convent confections since the Middle Ages, guarding their recipes with the secrecy of the confessional. So it was with a fair degree of excitement that the Olive Press got to spend a morning baking with a group of group of nuns
FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
A taste of the divine Get thee to a Spanish nunnery for the best sister act in home-baking since Two Fat Ladies. Karethe Linaae gets an exclusive cookery lesson in Ronda
at the Convento San Francisco in Ronda… and the results were divine! Convent pastries - such as Huesos de Santo (Saints’ Bones), Trufas de Madre de Dios (Mother of God Truffles) and Corazones (Sacred Hearts) de Santa Clara - are often christened to reflect their saintly origins. And the nuns work their culinary alchemy with the humblest of ingredients.
Augustine nuns at Sevilla’s Convento de San Leandro have been baking since the 16th Century and their most famous pastry, Yemas de San Leandro, contains only egg yolks, sugar and a few drops of lemon. They are among a heavenly host of artisan reposterias made in Andalucía’s convent kitchens. Carmelite, Cistercian and Franciscan are among the orders now busy at their de-
Restaurant El Muro is situated on an idyllic square, next to the church, in the heart of Benalmadena Pueblo. It Has a rustic interior and an amazing view, definitely a must to visit. EVENINGS & SUNDAYS ROAST OFFER €12,95
PROCESS: A patient nun watches her mantecados bake in the oven
votions to produce seductive sweetmeats for Christmas. While initially selling to the surrounding communities, some
convents now have websites, offer gluten-free alternatives, and can ship anywhere in the world.
Our local nuns in Ronda have also gained quite a reputation for their blessed dulces. We are led in to meet them
Amazing views that you can now enjoy all year round on our new enclosed terrace
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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
39
December 18th - January 17th 2020
DID YOU KNOW?
Among the most typical Christmas pastries are Roscos de Vino. Andalusian children will keep three to give to the Three Kings on Dia de los Reyes, known as Roscos de Reyes. While the grandmothers of every household used to bake these ring-shaped pastries infused with sweet wine for the whole family, today that task is often left to the local nunneries. Borrachuelos are a traditional Christmas treat from Malaga’s villages - miniature empanadas filled with cabello de angel (angel hair, a spaghetti squash marmalade). Borracho means drunk, and these tipsy treats are laced with a generous glug of cider. Each piece is then deep-fried and dunked in sugar for extra naughtiness. It’s no surprise that some pastries date from the Al Andalus era. For example alfajores (from the Arabic al-fakher, meaning luxurious), have been found in the Spanish dictionary since the 14th Century, and are a particular speciality in the Cadiz pueblo of Medina Sidonia. Alfajores were also exported to the New World and have become a traditional Christmas treat in South America. in their wonderful authentic When I ask them where they kitchen in the bowels of their keep their recipes, they look wonderful home, just off the down at their busy hands, premountain town’s historic Plaza tending not to hear. de San Francisco. Each convent has its own speWe are soon watching ancient cialties and the recipes are Sister Natividad cracking a sacrosanct. sack of almonds on a tree What I can disclose is that trunk in the convent patio with no pastry is made with more a giant hammer. than a handful of ingredients As December begins, the sis- and contains no preservatives ters can be found rolling dough or artificial flavourings; just around the clock, kneading ground almonds or wheat flour, their love, care and culinary butter or lard, cider or sugar traditions into every bite-sized and a touch or cinnamon, lemtreat. on peel or orange zest. They are baking an incredi- Most ingredients are grown ble 35 kilos of mantecados – locally, some in the monastic meaning a few thousand cook- gardens. Some closed conies – by hand in a single day! vents still sell their confections Originating in Antequera and clandestinely through a revolvbrought to fame in the tiny ing Lazy Susan embedded in town of Estepa, mantecados the wall so as not to show their have gone faces, but our nuns nationwide to now sell them from become synTaste of home their little store, onymous with albeit still behind cooking, old a Spanish bars. C h r i s t m a s . village kitchens People here say that What’s the the nun’s repostesecret? Could rias taste of home and a bit of it be the gencooking, old village heaven erous amount kitchens and a bit of of lard? heaven. In their inThanks to the industrial-sized 19th-century come from their baking, the kitchen, the sisters chat softly sisters can continue their simas they fill tray after tray with ple lives and maintain their neat round dough balls which convent. one of the novices will top with By purchasing their artisan sesame seeds. After baking, pastries, you are not only shareach mantecado is individual- ing in a best-kept Spanish gasly wrapped in a silk paper with tronomic secret but also keepthe convent’s seal. ing alive an important part of “Working and praying is our the country’s culture. life”, Sor Isabel tells me. And when you get to eat them Madre Nieves, the Abbess, - believe me - heaven can wait! adds touchingly: “With all the bitterness in the world, we pray The convent in Barrio de San that our treats will sweeten the Francisco is open for purlives of those who eat them”. chases from 10.00 to 18.00. Tel: 952872177
TEAM EFFORT: Nuns sit and prepare their Christmas treats, while (top left) sesame seeds are added before baking
Why not try for yourself?
They may not taste as great, but it’s always fun to try:
Mantecados
ALFAJORES 1 kg Almonds 500 gr sifted pastry flour 100 gr sugar + 100 gr icing sugar ½ water two types of sugar in a saucepan, adding the water.
1 cup lard ½ dl sweet sherry 5 gr salt 850 gr pastry flour Sugar to sprinkle on top
In a bowl, mix lard, sherry and salt. Gradually add the flour until the dough won’t stick to the hands. Form small identical balls and flatten them slightly. Place the mantecados on a pregreased oven tray. Bake at 180* C for 15 minutes. Remove and sprinkle abundantly with sugar.
Make a syrup mixture without letting it change the colour. Remove from heat. Cover the balls with syrup and icing sugar. Form balls into tubular shapes. Let cool before serving. on top In a bowl, mix
40
December 18th - January 7th 2020
Creating festive magic!
FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
HOME GROWN: Decorations made from cuttings from the garden and nearby hedgerows
When it comes to Christmas traditions, it’s the simple pleasures that mean so much. Just take a look in the nearby hills, writes Gabriella Chidgey
C
HRISTMAS is coming and my heart sinks just a little. This is the first year that both my children are Santa sceptics, and with Father Christmas out of the picture, where does the magic and ritual come from? I shall miss the hanging of the stockings and the letters I answered as if from the head elf. I shall miss being woken up at 5am with squeals of excitement, hard as it may seem. Despite being at a Catholic school in Ronda they are non-believers so church rituals won’t fill the gap. Since our families live in the UK, it won’t be about a big family get-together, nor about sending cards since I never make it to the post office between the opening times of 11.45 and 14.30. This Christmas I am instead concentrating my resources on the feasting and decorating part. And, in the current tradition of eco-consciousness I am
In the villages around Spain, the women traditionally infuse anis with herbs and spices at Christmas. In many homes you will see a bottle with small glasses on a tray with ‘rosquillos’; homemade donuts with orange lemon and cinnamon flavoring alongside them. Coincidentally, the anis from my village of Arriate has been trademarked ‘Mistela’, its local name and can be bought around the region
being as organic as possible. In times gone by, I have designed, bought, created, cooked, decorated and directed the entire production for family and friends. Yes, I wanted to fulfil expectations, and I completely exhausted myself. This year, I want to do Christmas, but I want to do it with grace and ease, and I want to enjoy it. But how is this possible? In Spain everything begins on December 8 - the ‘puente’ bank holiday - which celebrates the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
This is the day when families traditionally put up their decorations. And until only a few years ago, this ritual would be unpacking the boxes of small figurines to compose the nativity scene. Meanwhile, moss would be collected from nearby woods to simulate the ground and often mountains, rivers and extended villages created around the manger. Now, however, the northern tradition of the Christmas tree has been adopted by many Spanish families and garden centres are filled with pine trees sold in their thousands.
DID YOU KNOW?
The British Puritans banned Christmas in 1647, both for its Pagan decorations as well as its ‘debauched’ festivities. Leader Oliver Cromwell removed the public holiday of December 25 since it was not a named day in the bible. The public was not amused. Violent disturbances ensued with the worst taking place in Canterbury and the repercussions of the rioting leading eventually to a rebellion and a second civil war.
my wintery interior. Outside, the saturated blue sky and evergreen landscape of holm oak, olive and pines around our Ronda valley is dappled with the golden leaves My British roots mean that I am glass decorations, most have of poplar, acacia and mulberry. firmly established in the tree been bought locally in Ronda, It is a wonderful time to be tradition, and the boxes we rit- but certainly not made there, or outside and I feel enormously ually unpack are full of lights, indeed anywhere vaguely local. grateful for a winter as colourbaubles, stars and angels. As my mother took back the ful as this. Finding these boxes rather de- figurines she had from her own I am also glad I have set mypleted this year - following a childhood and my children re- self the task of collecting and vicious cull of all half-working fused to hang any apples and making some decorations inlights in a rather puritannical walnuts from our garden, a box stead of heading for the nearpost-festivity purge last year - I of unbreakable mass-produced est shop, particularly when it wondered how I might replen- red, shiny and glittery baubles means walking in these surish stocks. were added to the Aldi trolley. roundings. Luckily I still had a few strings I did however go out in search Once back inside, I put the of lights, which are the cen- of evergreen leaves and berries mountain of foliage and fruit tral decorative element to this in the knowledge that my quest into all the jugs, vases and any winter solstice celebration that to beautify my home was as other appropriate receptacles I signifies the return of light and much a Pagan tradition of ven- can find. warmth after the darkest days erating tree spirits as it was a I then mixed roses with roseare over. wider celebration of the winter mary and olive tendrils, while The rest of the decoration is solstice. bay branches largely inspired by the Paradise It also serves were paired with tree, a fir tree hung with apples the practical olive branches Pine cuttings that represented the Garden of purpose of using and berries Eden. A 16th century German the suckers and turned out to be Pine cuttings tradition that became a Chris- new shoots that turned out to be tian ritual and slowly spread proliferate on my, very malleable very malleable across Europe and America. as yet, unpruned were great and were great and Redemptive wafers are trans- trees. for wreaths and formed into the current predi- Pleased that my circular tree orfor wreaths lection for cookies, and apples, husband has naments. They nuts and berries are now bau- bought new seare easily fashbles. cateurs, I easily ioned without Tree decorations became a gathered armfuls of bay, olive, any wire or string. globalized commercial venture rosemary and cypress tree With time, I can see how you after about 1840, following the branches. could make rather lovely tree popularisation of the tradition I returned for the last of the decorations and next year I will by Queen Victoria. red roses and filled a few bas- give it a go. Fashionable Americans fol- kets with quinces (which grow Originally these circular declowed suit and today the total in abundance), persimmons, orations symbolized the Holy revenue in the US alone is esti- oranges and a few remaining Trinity with its triangular shape. mated at 26 billion dollars. pomegranates. Wreaths meanwhile, were Although I do have a couple The fiery life-giving colours of made from larger branches of very beautiful hand blown these fruits really warmed up and by the 19th century had become the symbol of advent. Currently, making wreaths seems all the rage, looking on my Instagram feed. There are even workshops in the UK you can attend, which is a great way to spend a day with other people; getting into the Christmas spirit without just imbibing it. The historian Ace Collins wrote that ‘The wreath was born out of not throwing things away’ and I don’t want to throw away my seasonal cheer and love on the quest for a perfect Christmas. I started out feeling resentful about the advent of Christmas, but I now I feel inspired. I want to create a verdant, nature-filled home. I want to set aside time to go for a walk with my husband and gather more foliage. In the future, I would like to set aside time to make cookies and natural decorations with my children, friends and strangers. I want to create a ritual out of this and I would like it to feel companionable, A winter tip is quinces which can be found all around inland undemanding and unhurried. Spain. They are wonderful to scent a room and the Victori- And, of course, may this fuans used to keep them in the linen cupboards to perfume the ture also be resplendent with sheets. They are also delicious poached in a syrup with cinna- twinkly lights and hundreds of spice scented candles. mon, star of anis, cloves , lemon and maple syrup.
Winter tip
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S a ala Team L e h t Merry Christmas from
Christmas Eve with the
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CHRISTMAS DAY
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42
December 18th - January 7th 2020
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You could be entitled to extra income by claiming UK sickness / disability benefits while living in Spain FOR ADVICE OR TO BOOK A CONSULTATION call 950 169 729 or 663 297 568 www.ukbenefitsinspain.com
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I visit homes along the coast between Sotogrande and San Pedro, advising clients how to arrange good energy in their homes using feng shui methods. One third of my nominal fee is donated to a charity. Phone Gerry at either 952 891080 or mobile 6900 17237
PROPERTY
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December 18th - January 7th 2020
New golf home
THE Santander Women’s Championship has found a new home 450km away, after it was postponed due to bad weather. The 2019 tournament will now take place at Santander’s own course, Golf Santander, in the Spanish capital. The luxury golf resort is 16km from the centre of Madrid. The world famous Real Golf de Pedrena,
UNLUCKY: Sergio Garcia has a bad end to his 2019
Misery of Oz
SERGIO Garcia crashed out of the Australian Open after the Spaniard recorded one of his worst performances of the year. The fiery 39-year-old recorded three bogeys and a double bogey to finish on a card of 74 +3, meaning he did not make the cut. The world number 35 had needed a birdie on Hole 9 to stay in the five-day event, held in Sydney, but only managed a bogey and so was dumped out on day three of matchplay. The 2019 KLM Open champion was beaten to the title by local golfer Matt Jones, who finished on 15-under, one ahead of the South African Louis Oosthuizen, to take home the €140,000 first prize.
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Rebranding of Andalucia’s Women’s Spanish Open sees organisers DOUBLE prize money
IN a huge statement of intent on gender equality, organisers of the Women’s Spanish Open have doubled the tournament’s prize money. The purse at the Ladies European Tour event held at Marbella’s Aloha Golf Club is to be increased from €300,000 to €600,000. The competition, which began in 1982, will also now be known as the ‘Race to the Costa del Sol’ in a large rebranding of the event. Held between November
28 and December 1 next year, the tournament will see Europe’s top female golfers go head to head. Local golfer Azahara Muñoz, 32, from San Pedro, is the top name on the poster for next season’s event.The two-time Spanish Open champ won in 2016 and 2017, but was pipped to the 2018 title by Dutch athlete Anne van Dam, who defended her title this year. Joining them for the reformatted showdown in Andalucia are Tiger Woods’
niece Cheyenne Woods, and the Americans Beckey Brewerton and Beht Allen. Muñoz finished fourth at this year’s competition on 279, behind Nanna Koertz Madsen and Aditi Ashok, who both carded 276, while van Dam was one ahead on 275. The ‘Costa del Sol’ brand will sponsor the 2020 event, which is described by organisers as ‘a perfect showcase of what the Costa del Sol in particular and Andalucia in general can offer’.
Drought over
CHAMPION: Pablo Larrazabal
NOVEMBER saw a gradual worsening in the weather which even included a ‘rain cancelled round’ in the middle of the month. However one out of nine games for the month isn’t bad compared with our fellow disciples in northern Europe who have had to contend with much worse weather. The course was in cracking nick for the European Junior Championships and of course, us members benefited from this as well, although the fast greens provide us ‘senior’ players a lot more trouble than our younger compatriots. We had many winners this month and they
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FERGUSSON’S ESTEPONA
ESTEPONA
Putting things right
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FERGUSSON’S
near Santander, was due to host the event, but gale force winds at the resort caused five trees to be uprooted and seriously damaged the green. Officials were forced to delay the event just two days before it was due to start. The tournament will now take place between December 11 and 13.
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New horizons included Martin O’Callaghan, Ron Ramsay, Mike Dunlea, and also three visitors from the UK who took the spoils whilst they were here. Namely, Clive Dench, Bob Henderson and Tom Cahalan. However the coveted Monthly Trophy in November was won by Peter Manley who just managed to hang on after a challenge from Gordon Storey and Jan Hakkensen. During this past year the Society has been operating the soon-to-be-introduced World
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SPANISH golfer Pablo Larrazabal has won his first tournament for four years in South Africa. His victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship was the first competition of the 20192020 season. The event at the Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane, saw the 36-yearold overcome foot blisters to clinch his win. Three birdies on the last three holes helped the Barcelona athlete to his first tour win since June 28, 2015, when he claimed the BMW International Open.He finished on +3 (-8), ahead of the Swede Joel Sjöholm, who carded a -7, and now moves from 261 to 154 in the world rankings.
Peter Manley has some exciting golf news ahead of Christmas on the Costa del Sol Handicap System which uses the best eight scores out of your last 20 rounds and then takes the average to give you a Handicap Index. This is going to be introduced next year worldwide so we as a group are ahead of the ball. Don’t forget, Fergusson’s Bar in Estepona for your Xmas night out and I wish a happy Christmas to all the Olive Press readers.
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MOTORS
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December 18th - January 17th 2020
Ending on a high Tesla Spain profits soar despite ‘pedo’ slur and ‘cybertruck’ blunders by boss Elon Musk
THE profits of Tesla Spain have surged by 93%, amid a series of high-profile blunders from billionaire CEO Elon Musk. The subsidiary of the California-headquartered electric car company ended 2018 with a net profit of €373,286. Its profit before taxes stood at €495,526 in 2018, which is a 106% increase compared with the year before.
Increases in Tesla Spain’s net and gross profits come despite selling just 306 units in 2018 – a 13% decline. This has been explained by lower sales figures of the Model S, Tesla’s electric saloon, which boasts a battery life distance of 610km – the largest of any battery-powered road car.
Boasting
With just 152 units shifted in 2018, there was a 27% drop in the vehicle’s sales, while sales of the seven-seater Model X increased 8% to 154 units. The news comes after a year of PR disasters for Musk personally, with the 48-year-old entrepreneur having been embroiled in a €170 million court battle. He got sued by heroic British diver Vernon Unsworth who rescued children from a Thai cave, after labelling him a ‘pedophile’ on Twitter, but has now been acquitted. Meanwhile, Musk was also left red-faced after boasting in a keynote speech that the windows of the new Tesla Cybertruck were ‘indestructible’, only for them to be smashed with a metal ball moments later.
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ACCIDENT REPORT FORMS IF YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT
We hope you never need to complete an accident report form, but should it be required, here are the steps to follow. Try to keep calm, never admit blame and collect as much information as possible. STEP 1. Using the accident report form, take down the name, address and mobile phone number of all the drivers involved in the accident along with their car make, model, registration, colour and insurance details
happened. Take photos and video footage of the scene. STEP 4. It’s important that all parties involved sign the completed accident report form. Below is an example of how an accident report form should be completed.
STEP 2. Request names, addresses and mobile phone numbers of any witnesses to the accident, and add them to the report form. Our breakdown assistance covers motorbikes, scooters, mopeds and all types of powered two wheelers. Wherever your two wheels take you, Línea Directa has you covered. STEP 3. Collect evidence noting the direction that the cars were travelling, the car’s condition and how many passengers. Write down the sequence of events by sketching out what We hope the information provided in this article is of interest. If you would like to contact Linea Directa please call 952 147 834. More information about Linea Directa online at www.lineadirecta.com
Get down to Electric Avenue IBERDROLA has promised to install 25,000 electric car charging points by 2021, despite not meeting its 2019 targets. It follows the Spanish energy giant’s pledge to install 200 EV charging points for electric vehicles
by the end of this year, which is understood not to have been fulfilled. The firm, along with Madrid’s fairs-organising body IFEMA, set up a ‘charging fairground’ for the COP25 climate conference in the capital.
The new infrastructure, named ‘Iberdrola Electric Recharge Parking’, is capable of simultaneously charging 34 vehicles and aims to move towards the ‘decarbonization of the economy’.
COLUMNISTS
December 18th - January 7th 2020
Crappy Xmas
Britain’s PM is up to his butt in a scatological Catalan nativity tradition, writes Belinda Beckett The blonde hair and boyish grin are instantly recognisable, the cheeky rear view less so – it’s Boris Johnson in figurine form, caught with his pants down taking a dump. He’d probably rather die in a ditch, but Britain’s newly-minted PM is tipped to be one of the best-selling Caganers of Christmas 2019. That’s Shitter in English, or Defecator to be more polite, the name given to the irreverent ceramic figures that have been part of every Catalan nativity scene since the 17th century. En serio! Among the miniaturised models of the Sagrada Familia & Co in the Catalan stable (usually tucked away in the animal quarters so as not to offend extranjero sensibilities) there’s always a funny little man with his pants down, doing a poo. Why? Learned theologians have debated this long and loud (on the BBC included): some blame the tradition’s Baroque origins (a period infamous for its earthy realism); some say it’s a fertility symbol (manure fertilises crops); but everyone believes the caganer’s presence at the birth is as vital as the Virgen Maria’s, ensuring good luck and in the coming year. In 2005 half of Barcelona was up in arms when the town hall cut him from the city display on the grounds that defecating in public was illegal. In times past no self-respecting Spanish household was without a crib scene in the front parlour, but these days there’s
less call for handcrafted shepherds and sheep and in 2003 one hardpressed family of potters in Girona beat the recession and the growing preference for Christmas trees with a radical reinvention of the caganer. They took him out of his traditional Catalan peasant dress and gave him celebrity status. It began tamely enough with a Santa Shitter, progressed to Spanish political figures and went viral with Barack Obama edition in 2008 (the Americans are biggest foreign contributors to caganer.com’s online shopping cart).
Pope
No global public figure’s dignity is safe from the kilns of this mother-and-threeson team – not Donald Trump, nor the Queen of England, nor the cast from Game of Thrones nor even the Pope. Everyone’s bottom is up for grabs. Today the unveiling of the Advent Collection is as eagerly awaited as the El Gordo lottery draw. Chosen in large part by the family’s grandchildren who ‘get’ the ‘poo-uerile’ humour, this year Boris is among 40 new famous faces (or should
Never Mind the Boris… The Tories’ victory has Giles Brown battling trolls and stockpiling for the Brexit apocalypse
OH ARSE: Boris has his bum out for Christmas that be faeces?) along with climate activist Greta Thunberg, PP President Pablo Casado and tennis ace Novak Đjokovic. But before you complain to your nearest Disgusted department, it’s not about making them butts of a tacky joke – it’s a Homage from Catalonia, as it were. ‘All the versions pay tribute to whom they represent while wishing them well’, explains the website. And it’s not the only scatological Catalan Christmas diversion. Throughout December, children are given a toy Yule Log called Caga Tio (Uncle Shit) which they ‘feed’ with scraps until Christmas Eve when they beat the caca out of it until it ‘poops’ real sweets. They’re a weird lot, the Catalans*. But then, as Manuel the Fawlty Towers waiter forewarned us, a lot of them come from Barcelona… *Caganers are also a tradition in parts of Valencia, Murcia, Portugal and Naples, Italy
SO. The prophecy came to pass and the worst nightmare for those who were clinging onto the faint hope that the Tories would lose the election and that Brexit would be cancelled has come true. Never mind the Boris – Brexit means Brexit and the UK will go crashing out of the EU leaving Remainer Brits in Spain (guilty as charged. I grew up as a Single European under Jacques Delors) in the kind of wasteland that TS Elliot would have dismissed as too bleak. I went to bed on the night of the election with the faint hope that I would wake up to the news of the biggest upset in British political history. An early morning glance at my Twitter feed, however, abruptly put an end to that. A Hungarian friend in the UK, whose family fled in 56, was inconsolable on Twitter, so I sent a ‘virtual hug’ to her. Yes. That is a thing. Seconds later we were being trolled for being ‘fairies’. Troll-hunter that I am, I immediately sprang to her defense. “How dare you” I replied. “I’m a gnome”. My second thought was what ac-
tion I should take now that Brexit now seems inevitable. After deciding that it really was too early for rum – although a significant number of my friends seemed to be hitting the carajillos earlier than usual – I reasoned that it would be a good plan to tidy up the bits of paperwork that were still outstanding, on the grounds that most other Brits would be banging their heads on the kitchen table in quiet desperation. It now turns out that I am missing one particular piece of paperwork that might be a bit of a problem. My original plan of building a cabin on the back of one of the boats, rowing out into the middle of the lake and declaring myself an offshore financial centre has been scuppered by a lack of water, Spanish citizenship might be tricky and I’m loathe to get a green card by an arranged marriage in Lepe. So in the meantime I’m stocking up on canned food and medical supplies, heading back to the hills and barricading myself in the Casita. Where I intend to sit tight until I qualify for a Scottish passport. Never mind the Boris indeed!
Walking the talk/New NewYear, new Year, new mantra mantra
MIJAS MATTERS
By Bill Anderson
Resolve to stop talking and start doing in 2020, writes Councillor Bill Anderson in his end-of-year missive
THIS time last year I wrote about Janus the two-faced god who looked to the past and to the future. It has been an interesting 2019 and although I worked for 20 years in psychological services in the UK, I have learned a lot more lessons in human behaviour. For the first five months all I heard was that we needed a change of government in Mijas. Yet when the moment came to achieve this, 90% of the eligible International voters didn’t bother to turn out to vote. The Mijas donkeys have been regularly on the agenda. In August I posted that Mijas Council had rejected the motion we presented. The post reached almost 34,000 people. There were over 200 comments, many of which were angry, insulting, pleading or indignant. Things did move on regarding the donkeys: new ordinances were passed and training given to Inspectors to ensure that these are monitored - not just weight limits but general checks on hoof health and saddle and
harness fittings. This post received one comment and 11 ‘reactions’. Frankly, where were all these people who were baying for blood when we see progress and positive change? Why are people so addicted to bad news? Why can’t we react positively to good news? I have an answer but it is not for this article. What else happened this year? Well, I became the first British Citizen to become a Councillor in the 40 years of democracy in Mijas. I don’t see this as a personal achievement as without the support and foresight of the Partido Popular president, Angel Nozal, it would never have happened. I took leave of absence from my University lecturer’s post and have been concentrating on being available to the residents of Mijas. I like my new role! I also took the decision to change the way I use social media, and to concentrate on informing people and not in criticising the government. I also decided to work as closely as I
can with the other councillors. Since if the purpose of my job is to get things done, it is the only way to do it. So much for the past; what of the future? That is unknown country. I have never been good at treading water so I will continue to push for, and support, change. However I and my colleagues will not support poor decision-making or procrastination, and we will challenge things which we feel are not in the best interests of Mijas. We will continue to promote common sense approaches and good management. From the Opposition benches there are limits but when the government team turns down common sense suggestions, I will report it. Then there is Brexit: the black hole which will determine our future. All I can do is advise, and it is up to individuals to get their finger out or be left out. I wish you all the best for 2020. Let’s stop talking and start doing!
OP Puzzle solutions
Quick Crossword
Across: 1 Toll, 4 Steepest, 8 Handmade, 9 Tars, 10 Arid, 11 Pyjamas, 13 Able, 15 Inn, 16 When, 17 Attempt, 19 User, 21 C Eng, 23 Incident, 24 Unbeaten, 25 Yule.
Down: 2 Omaha, 3 Luddite, 4 Soar, 5 Everyone, 6 Pitta, 7 Surface, 12 Misprint, 14 Between, 16 Washday, 18 Eagle, 20 Renal, 21 Scan.
SUDOKU
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SPORT
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December 18th - January 17th 2020
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MALAGA has been named European Capital of Sport for 2020, following Budapest, which previously held the title.
Odd job SPANISH classified ad website Milanuncios has been pressured into dropping a job offer that promised extra bonuses for a ‘sexy housekeeper’.
Get a room AHEAD of one of the most passionate El Clasicos in recent memory, a graffiti work, featuring Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique snogging, has gone viral.
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Vol. 13 Issue 333 www.theolivepress.es December 18th - January 7th 2020
Round the bend! A SHOCKING video has captured the moment a dopey lorry driver rammed a car sideways down a motorway for 2km. The scary footage shows a female driver in a damaged Nissan Micra being pushed around by the trucker who had no idea there was a vehicle in front of him. When the Spanish driver was finally stopped by dozens of
Oblivious lorry driver ‘T-bones’ motorist down Costa del Sol road for miles without stopping
fellow drivers on a dangerous bend in Mijas he revealed he had ‘no idea’ she was there. “I didn’t see her, where was she?,” he can be heard saying in Spanish, “I thought I had a puncture.” The terrified woman, called Ana, believed to be from Swe-
Bah humbug! SWEET-toothed expats’ vintage tuck shop favourites have been revealed. Sales of confectionary from yesteryear have risen by 40%, according to Waitrose. The British supermarket partnered with the British Corner Shop, in 2016, a firm shipping sweets to Brits overseas who are in need of a sugar rush. Jelly babies are the company’s most popular nostalgic treats, making up 25% of all orders. They are followed by mint humbugs, wine gums, rhubarb and custards, butter mintoes and liquorice allsorts.
den, adds: “I was in the right lane, he was pushing me for miles.” Local English chef Steven Saunders shot the video, coming off the A-7 at La Cala de Mijas. He revealed: “Oh my god, she is lucky to be alive!.” The Nissan sustained body damage, as well as a flat tyre and a broken wing mirror in the incident Police later breathalysed the driver, who is believed to have passed a test. The Spanish-plated truck appears to be from haulage company, Palletways.
festive delight A MAN with Down syndrome has been chosen to play one of the three kings in Spain’s traditional Christmas parade. Known as ‘Antonio’, the 30-year-old takes on the role of King Melchor, who visited baby Jesus with the other kings Caspar and Balthazar. ‘King Antonio’, as he is now known, was reportedly ‘overcome with emotion’ when he was told of his new role by Churriana Town Hall.