Olive Press Spain - Issue 363

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ll about

Education

February 2021

Like London buses, not one but two special supplements in your free Olive Press this week... A Nevada ll about

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SPAIN could be gearing up for an avalanche of tourists to its shores in May. Airlines and travel agents have seen the number of Brits booking holidays abroad soar this week after the UK announced its roadmap out of lockdown. UK tourists will finally be able to leave the country for holidays from May 17, the government announced on Monday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed the move as part of his fourstep plan for gradually lifting restrictions in England, with all social contact rules finally lifted by June 21.

tile or pre-escolar, nursery in the UK. equivalent to a The only costs you’ll have to cover are books, school trips and, if them, uniforms. the school has There are, however, to Spanish schools, downsides your child is older or particularly if There are sad – but more timid. common – stories by no means of the 11-plus ‘guiris’ being ignored teachers and bullied by their by their classmates, or finding themselves left entirely untutored. Continues overleaf

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ILENCE. There is not a single peep as I climb upwards through the valley to meet my maker. of the I poke my head out the cable car window and alSierra Nevada’s fresh pine air hits my lungs. Then I hear it – a sweeping white crunch down the crisp piste, as a snowboarder whizzes past below. and Another tears through, weaving all then a third, at down the mountainside blistering speed. terriI’m definitely more fied than the three Spanish guys sharing the carriage with me. the We have left behind restaurants and bars cosy main in Pradollano, the ski town of Andalucia’s only resort. We step out at Borreguiles, mewhich sits some 2,700 tres above sea level. for This is the basecampruns, many of the Sierra’s the which range from facil’ green-coloured ‘muy lablack, in those to pistes belled ‘muy dificil’.

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voice in Spain

Vol. 14 Issue 363 www.theolivepress.es February 24th - March 9th 2021

You’ve got no mail! La Linea shut down

THE border town of La Linea de la Concepcion has been handed extra harsh coronavirus restrictions by the Junta de Andalucia. The municipality, which borders Gibraltar, has been placed into Level 4.2 of the region’s coronavirus tier system. The town is facing an unprecedented climb in the number of cases and was forced to order all non-essential business and trade to cease activity from midnight on Sunday. This includes shops, hotels, restaurants and bars - with the exception of essential businesses such as supermarkets or petrol stations. Experts made the decision along with regional president Juanma Moreno on Friday ter the town’s cumulative afincidence rate reached 1,247.9 cases per 100,000 people.

Double

That is more than double the average rate of the currently besieged Campo de Gibraltar health district, which stands at 506.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The whole district, made up eight towns, is currently

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PERI-LESS CROSSING

BATTLING: Mike wants his crisps and spices, and (right) our previous front page

closed down, meaning no one can leave or exit without a justified reason, such as medical, legal or for work. These measures will remain in place until at least January 25, Moreno said at a press conference today. The campo was first closed off when health authorities discovered the more contagious UK variant of the virus had arrived in Gibraltar. Since then, La Linea, which receives cross-border workers daily, has seen an extremely sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. One worker told the Olive Press this week that the situation in the area was ‘out of control.’ The young woman, who works on the Costa del Sol but lives in the Campo, and her partner are still both waiting be tested after coming into to direct contact with a COVID-19 infected person.

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THERE have been a total of 16 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic first struck in Gibraltar. The last four occurred on the weekend the vaccines finally arrived on January 9. The majority of the deaths were of elderly people with underlying conditions although there were also some exceptions. COVID-19 active cases surpassed the 1,000 mark just after the Christmas period although they have since stabilised. The strict measures imposed in the social lockdown introduced by the government on December 27 and January 2 have finally taken effect. Public health experts believe the start of the third wave was initiated by Black Friday shopping on November 29. As the pre-Christmas shopping spree continued and families started to meet together it is believed to have spread further.

c u s t o m e r s

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S u b j e c t

STUMPED: Lathey was angry when A BRITISH expat has branded Spanish border officials ‘ridiculous’ and ‘clueless’ after they confiscated his Nando’s Peri Peri sauce at the Gibraltar border. Joseph Lathey, 27, was left fuming when much of his weekly shopping was binned as he tried to cross back into La Linea. This meant seeing his bananas and leeks being tipped into a customs officer’s bin. It also included his vegetable samosas, one of his favourite weekly treats he buys from Ramsons, on Waterport Road. Meanwhile, his chilli and cloves were deemed acceptable. “I was completely stumped. I had chicken which I thought might havea been stopped but not the Peri-Peri sauce,” Lathey told the Olive Press. “The officials said it contained onion puree, meaning it contained processed veg and was therefore not allowed over.

his chilli and cloves were accepted

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t o

c o n d i t i o n s .

but his Peri-Peri hot sauce was confiscated

E n d s

at the border

British expat left fuming after including the Peri-Peri sauce most of his shopping - was labelled ‘contraband’ at Gib border due to new Brexit rules

“I said it was ridiculous as that would mean most of my shopping would also not be allowed in.” Indeed, officials told the Brit the only items from his £55 shop that could cross the frontier were his cloves and chilli powder. “It didn’t make any sense,” he added, “they seemed to be pretty clueless. “I asked them to provide documents to justify what they were taking and they just sent me a photo of a link to a Spanish Government website.” Lathey was told he could take shopping back onto the Rock his to store it. “I ended up selling it all for £20, which is better than nothing,” added Lathey. It comes after several reports on social media of Brits See page 16 having food seized at the border. One expat,

Exclusive by Laurence Dollimore

who asked not to be named, admitted that he stuffed bacon down his underwear after hearing they were seizing the majority of someone else’s products. The EU now classes the UK as third country, bringing in toughera controls on what can and cannot cross the border into the bloc. According to the Gibraltar Government website, several items for personal consumption are now banned, including all meat and milk products (bar powdered infant milk, baby food and special food required for medical reasons or pet food quired for animal health reasons).reYou cannot bring in more than 20kg of any fish product or more than 2kg of other specific animal products, including honey, oysters, live mussels and snails. The Government reminder, published on January 4, does not vegetable products as being on list the

prohibited list. But Spanish legislation, specifically law 2019/2072, dictates that vegetables and vegetable-based products are prohibited from entering the peninsula from a ‘third country.’ The Gibraltar Government told the Olive Press: “The Government’s understanding is that EU law specifically exempts plant products intended for personal consumption from official controls at Border Control Posts on introduction to the EU.

Agreement

“Therefore, the Government will be seeking to clarify this matter with the relevant Spanish Authorities. “Until the final agreement with respect to Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU is settled, and unless the Government advises on specific bridging measures or derogations having been agreed whilst that agreement is negotiated, Gibraltar will be treated as a third country for the purposes of EU customs controls.”

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1 21/6/19 13:30

Expat’s fury as birthday gift containing favourite UK goodies seized by customs due to Brexit A BRITISH expat has branded post-Brexit rules ‘his worst nightmare’ after a birthday present of his favourite treats from the UK was banned from entering the country. M i k e B a t tle, 41, was left stumped when he heard his package of good-

EXCLUSIVE By Kirsty McKenzie

ies had been held up by customs in Madrid for over TEN days. The gift, sent from his family, via courier company Fedex, contained crisps and spice mixes - but Mike never got to unwrap them. The parcel, valued at around €20, was deemed unacceptable by customs chiefs and returned to Mike’s mother in Leeds. “It was confirmation of my worst nightmare when it comes to receiving anything from the UK,” Mike told the Olive Press. “Before Brexit it was the same as receivTHE SKY ing deliveries from around DOCTOR the corner, now ALL AREAS COVERED receiving products from the 4G UNLIMITED UK is just as INTERNET difficult as from

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Peri-Peri 2

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Choosing the best of algebraic proportschools for your kids can be a problem ions - particularly a tightrope with now visiting can COVID restrictions be

to You can finally slope off Andalucia’s skiing heaven, writes Charlie Smith

Confidence

Airlines, including easyJet, said bookings for the summer season were more than four times higher compared with the same period last week. Malaga, Alicante and Palma were among the most popular Spanish destinations, according to the budget holiday giant, with August its busiest month. The announcement was described by chief executive, Johan Lundgren, as a ‘much-needed boost in confidence’. “We have consistently seen a pent-up demand for travel and this surge in bookings shows that this signal has been what UK consumers have been waiting for,” he said.

WHETHER you are in Spain or were newly arrived here, one subject born and bred unites all parents - how to make sure their children get the best possible education. It can be a tough call, especially for those unfamiliar By Dilip Spanish system, but with the Younger children, (dad of 3 kids Kuner in general, schooled in Andalucia you are fortunately thrive in state Costa del Sol) on the spoiled for choice. youngsters under schools, with nine normally Of course your make for younger children, picking as pri- Spanish up impressive spoken depend on certainselection will mary schools throughout (usually, far better key factors: are more Europe their parents’ than distance from home, or less comparable. Spanish) ademic standards, budget, ac- Around 80% of expats year, just by socialising within a with their and word-of-mouthteaching style children to the local send their Spanish friends. dations, to name just recommen- – called ‘colegios’ state schools The majority of foreign for primary and parents So where do you start?a few. schools and ‘institutos’ students find that integration for sec- with other The first item on ondary schools. nationalities is normalyour checklist should be Public or Private - do There are two serious advantag- ly handled with skill and considyou opt for a Spanish es to Spanish schools. eration. The first The second or an international state school is that children will key advantage is that college? learn Spanish It’s generally an easier fast state decision to theirand should integrate well into from schooling is free of charge new home country. the age of three, when children can begin attending infan-

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February 2021

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Vol. 14 Issue 363

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China,” continued Mike, who has lived in Spain for 27 years, currently based in Malaga. “There is supposed to be a trade agreement in place, but no-one knows exactly what that agreement is - just as no-one knew exactly what Brexit was when they voted for it,” added the businessman, who recycles electronic products.

Nando’s

It comes just a month after the Olive Press broke the story that guards at the Gibraltar-Spanish border confiscated a furious expat’s Nando's Peri-Peri sauce under new Brexit rules. Joseph Lathey, 27, a Brit who works in Gibraltar but lives in Spain, said was left fuming when much of his weekly shopping was binned as he tried to cross into La Linea.

Tel: 952 147 834

See page 40

TM

“I was completely stumped. I had a chicken which I thought might have been stopped but not the Peri-Peri sauce,” Lathey told the Olive Press. “The officials said it contained onion puree, meaning it contained processed veg and was therefore not allowed over. “I said that that was ridiculous as that would mean most of my shopping would also not be allowed in.” The EU now classes the UK as a third country, bringing in tougher controls on what can and cannot cross the border into the bloc. A spokeswoman from Fed-Ex told the Olive Press: “Food and Beverage are included among our prohibited items for international shipments.” Any perishable foodstuffs requiring refrigeration are prohibited, as well as a specific restriction for Spain for other foodstuffs, including olive oil. She added: “These restrictions are in place for any third country outside the Community Customs Territory, and now they apply to UK as well since it left the EU”. Opinion Page 6


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