Costa Blanca Olive Press - Issue 18

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Vol. 1 Issue 18 www.theolivepress.es

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November 21st - December 4th, 2019

How a Cartagena naval officer’s ‘land of submarines’ made waves around the world see pages 12-13

JAILED: Grinan and Chaves finally face crimes

Justice at last

IT is the biggest public money scandal in Spanish history, estimated at nearly €1 billion.

Now, finally, two former Andalucia leaders are heading to prison and banned from office for their links to the disgraceful ERE scandal.

Ex-Junta president Jose Antonio Grinan has been sentenced to six years jail and banned from office for 15 years, while predecessor Manuel Chaves has been banned from office for nine years.

The pair oversaw the scheme, which saw the shocking theft of at least €680 million - dubbed the ‘Reptile fund’ - meant to go to companies in trouble and to stimulate employment.

Bent

A further 17 politicians and businessmen who worked with the Junta received a total of 86 years in prison between them, a Sevilla court has ruled.

This included eight years for former Employment minister Javier Guerrero, who helped set up the scheme which embezzled money from 2000 to 2009.

The bent politician was particularly guilty, having set up two bogus companies with his former driver - dubbed the ‘Cocaine Chauffeur’ - defrauding over €700,000 between them.

The pair are said to have spent Continues on Page 5

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Police called after expats charged double the price - and then assaulted - for failing to finish a meal at Wok restaurant EXCLUSIVE

By Simon Wade

A BRITISH couple have called in police after being charged DOUBLE for a meal they thought was below standard.

Expats Wayne Clarke, 34, and partner Natalie, were left stunned after staff at Wok Asia 5 restaurant also then physically and verbally abused them.

The pair told the Olive Press they were ‘assaulted’ for merely refusing to pay for four people when only two of them had eaten at the buffet-style restaurant, in La Zenia.

“The food was over-cooked and dry and appeared to have been heated up from the night before,” explained Clarke, a builder who is originally from the Midlands.

“But when we asked for the bill they charged for four people, and when questioned said it was because we had left food on our plates!

“Obviously we refused to pay double, but they wouldn’t accept paying for two.”

To make matters worse, when they started to leave the staff got aggressive and started shouting at them.

“The owner’s son grabbed my wife by the arm and shouted abuse at both of us,” he continued.

“I then called the police, who were luckily on the scene quickly.”

Police backed up the couple and told the restaurant staff to accept the offer of the couple paying for ‘what they had eaten’.

“While they told us we could report the assault, we just wanted to pay and go home,” added Clarke.

However, that wasn’t the end of the saga, as later that night, at 3am, the couple awoke with what they believe was food poisoning.

It is also apparent that their experience isn’t unique, as online reviews

give similarly low opinions.

On Tripadvisor, Wok Asia 5 is rated 42nd out of 45 restaurants in La Zenia, with all but one of this year’s reviews being rated with one or two stars.

Comments include, ‘Worst garbage ever presented with’, ‘Dreadful, no wonder it was empty’ and ‘Horrible food, very rude waitress’.

Understandably, Clarke has one word of advice for Olive Press readers, “AVOID!”

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NEWS IN BRIEF Home Raiders FIVE scammers have been arrested for pretending to be heirs to a deceased expat’s properties in Alicante and Madrid, and €350,000 from various bank accounts, after a notary noticed fake stamps and papers claiming to come from the Spanish embassy in Berlin.

Scot-free FORMER Catalan regional minister Clara Ponsatí has been released on bail in Scotland following a European arrest warrant over her role in the failed unilateral declaration of independence in 2017. She will appear in court on December 12.

Wrong turn A DRUGGED-up British expat, 45, has been arrested after almost running over a pregnant woman when he was stopped for illegally parking in a disabled space in Andalucia.

THE Costa del Sol is facing a Christmas drugs war.

A vicious battle between rival gangs is seeing a new breed of Dutch gangsters take over the lucrative trade, it can be revealed.

According to a hard-hitting new book, Irish and British mafia gangs are being supplanted by Dutch gangs of Arabic descent from Amsterdam.

The book, Costa del Coke, reveals that legendary Irish mafia clan the Kinahans have been forced to strike a deal with one of the groups.

Journalists Ivo Teulings, 52, and Arthur Van Amerongen, 60, have spent over a year researching the trafficking business along Spain’s southern coast.

As well as spending time in Morocco they also joined Policia Nacional patrols in La Linea and the coastguard operations in Algeciras.

They talked to hundreds of criminals involved in the drugs trade, including gypsies, Moroccans, retired

CRIME

November 21st - December 4th 2019

GOING DUTCH ‘Ruthless’ Irish and Dutch gangs have teamed up on the Costa del Sol as third suspected murder occurs in three months EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

smugglers, but also members of the police force.

“Moroccans, mainly Dutch Moroccans, are taking over the cocaine business,” journalist Tuelings told the Olive Press.

“The Dutch are a new generation that doesn’t mind using extreme violence.

“The bosses are in their 30s and mostly live in Dubai, while their soldiers are a lot younger, sometimes teenagers.

“They are working together with the Irish mafia, the Kinahans, the majority of whom have moved to

Forging ahead

By Joshua Parfitt

POLICE have finally tracked down a gang of currency forgers – after an incredible four-year probe.

The group of six men, based in Alicante, were finally arrested at two different addresses in the city.

When police swooped on the group, believed to be the oldest counterfeit crime gang in Spain, they found a total of 526 fake €5 notes.

Dubai.”

It comes at a time of increasing drug-related violence along the Costa del Sol, with a suspected murder last week of an Arabic man in Marbella.

This followed the discovery of a body of a 39-year-old man in a ditch in Mijas in September and the body of a Bulgarian dumped on the Istan road with several gunshot wounds two weeks ago.

The new gang war comes three years since the infamous Kinahan-Hutch feud between two rival Dublin gangs saw several killed in Malaga and Ireland.

However, things slowed down massively after Ire-

The Spanish men had been issuing the dodgy fivers as they aren’t usually checked by businesses – €50 notes are generally subject to spot checks.

Once discovered, victims of the bogus cash are also loathed to make criminal complaints over a negligible €5 sum.

Nevertheless, police were able to track the bogus notes down in dozens of locations, including Madrid, Valencia and Andalucia.

They were even picked up in various premises in Portugal and other European countries. Those apprehended already had criminal records for similar offences.

It comes as last week an expat warned the

land’s Gardai and Spanish authorities launched a special task force to crack down on KILLED: Three murders have occured in recent months the gangs and the Kinahans mostly moved their operation to Dubai.

It was this lack of Irish presence, experts believe, which caused a power vacuum in the drug trafficking business, leading to the situation today.

Olive Press of counterfeit money circulating in southern Spain.

Jim Wasserman was left feeling the fool after his cleaner returned to his home in Granada to complain that she was given fake cash used for shooting in the film industry. Closer examination of the counterfeit €20 showed the words ‘this is not legal, it is used for motion props only’.

“I know it happens everywhere, but just remember to check your change, even if you are in a hurry!” Jim urged fellow expats.

It is not known how the €5 fakers were rumbled, but the Policia Nacional has advised caution when dealing with notes.

“Competitors are coming in from all over the world, as everybody wants a piece of the cake,” continued Teulings. “While the Dutch Moroccans have had the edge, they are now involved in their own drugs war right now with a huge civil war going on in The Netherlands right now.”

A Dutchman killed in Torremolinos last year is believed to be the first victim of that struggle.

Hamza Ziani was reportedly in a conflict with the Netherlands’ most wanted criminal Ridouan Taghi, who allegedly ordered around 20 deaths to protect his €100 million cocaine empire.

“I would say the Ndraghetta from Italy and rival Colombian gangs – who work with the Moroccans – are set to become the biggest forces at play.”

Costa del Coke is set to be translated for an English edition in the new year.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

November 21st - December 4th 2019

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POP versus POPulism

Let die and live

FORMER Bond girl Jane Seymour might have spent her time dodging death as Solitaire in 1973 hit Live and Let Die. But the closest she has ever come to death is in Spain, she has revealed.

The 68-year-old star told the Times how she somehow ‘came back from the brink’ after a routine jab she had on the mainland gave her an anaphylactic shock.

“I basically died and had to be resuscitated,” she revealed.

She said the near-death experience means today she lives life to the ‘fullest.’

Seymour has recently spoken out against ageism, saying that ‘not every designer will dress someone my age.’

FAR right party Vox has hit back at Spain’s biggest pop star Rosalia after she announced ‘f*** Vox’ in a tweet.

The 26-year-old star made the outburst after the party took a historic 52 seats in parliament.

But Vox hit back with a photo of Rosalia on a private plane, insisting: “Only millionaires like you who have private planes can permit themselves the luxury of not having a homeland.”

The party has campaigned on a platform of anti-immigration and pledged to repeal gender violence laws.

The Catalan singer had the last laugh though when she took home three trophies at the Latin Grammy Awards.

The 26-year-old Flamenco pop star picked up the best album gong and best contemporary pop vocal album award for El mal querer, as well as best urban song for Con Height. She is the first female winner of the album prize since 2006, when Shakira won.

Brexit brings me home HE is Malaga’s most famous son.

As Antonio And now Antonio Banderas may be Banderas celebrates coming home for good… all thanks to Brexit. the launch of a The famous actor - who has just new theatre in his opened a new theatre in Malaga he is ‘worried’ about conbirth city, he may revealed tinuing to live in the UK, where he be seeking to move has been based for four years.

Legend of Zorro star insists that home from the UK The Brexit may ‘force’ him to move back

Goyasmacked

KING Felipe and Queen Letizia didn’t seem to know what to make of a self-portrait by Spanish artist Goya during their historic visit to Cuba.

It came as the royal couple visited a Francisco de Goya exhibition in Havana during a four day trip to the former colony, the first by Spanish royalty in 500 years.

The pair seemed bemused by the pallid self-portrait completed in 1815.

Cuba is Spain’s third-biggest trading partner after China and Venezuela.

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to his home city of Malaga, where his new Teatro del Soho CaixaBank has just opened.

He revealed that the continuing ‘uncertainty’ about Britain’s departure from the EU made him pine more for Spain.

Banderas currently lives in the Surrey town of Cobham, with banker girlfriend Nicole Kimpel, but said he is ‘worried’ about the ‘uncertainty’

A HOST of big names from Spanish cinema and beyond attended the debut of musical A Chorus Line, in Malaga.

Academy awardwinning director Pedro Almodovar (left) led the guests for the musical, which will go on tour to Madrid, Barcelona and the United States next year.

Former Real Madrid defender Miguel Torres and Malaga-born bullfighter Javier Conde (left) also made appearances at the star-studded event.

caused by Brexit.

“There is the possibility of moving back to Malaga,” he said. “Malaga is just the size of city I love and I’m coming here more and more.”

The 59-year-old inaugurated his new Malaga theatre with a performance of A Chorus Line, attended by Spanish film legends including Pedro Almodovar at the weekend.

Banderas won Best Actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Almodovar’s Pain and Glory, in which he plays a ruined film director reflecting MISS Gibraltar was given a final gift to help her on her way to on his life choices. the Miss World beauty pageant.

The Hollywood star, born Celine Bolanos was crowned Miss Gib last summer and she in Malaga in 1960, also rewill now take part in the Miss World event in London. vealed that his Swiss-GerBolanos will be hoping to emulate fellow Gibraltarian Kaiane man girlfriend Nicole has Aldorino who became the first Gibraltarian to clinch the Miss begun learning Spanish in World title in 2009. Although beauty pageants are considpreparation for a possible ered old-fashioned and sexist, the final night on December return to his home country.

14 is likely to get a large TV following… particularly in Gib!

WILL SHE DO THE DOUBLE?

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NEWS

November 21st - December 4th 2019

From front page

Cancers caged

much of their afternoons spending the money taking cocaine with prostitutes at brothels near Sevilla.

The final 1,700-page report, issued by a panel of judges, announced that 13 of those accused received six to eight years in prison while all have been banned from public office for at least 10 years.

A further three, José Antonio Viera, Francisco Vallejo and Carmen MartínezAguayo were also ministers.

In a major embarrassment for the PSOE party, Chaves and Grinan led the Junta for a combined 23 years, two thirds of the regional parliament’s history.

The pair had been icons of the party, while Chaves went on to become a minister in both the Spanish governments of Felipe Gonzalez and Jose Luis Zapatero.

The pair had overseen the set up of the €855 million slush fund, intended for retired and unemployed workers and struggling companies.

Under Chaves’s presidency between 2001 and 2008 more than €576 million was diverted into the fund.

It is now nine years since judge Mercedes Alaya first began investigating the more than 200 companies and dozens of politicians.

A total of 507 people were investigated across an amazing 146 separate

probes.

The scandal is named after the so-called ‘expediente de regulacion de empleo’, or ERE, which means a collective dismissal procedure for companies which need to downsize.

Hundreds of illegal ERE payments were made to allegedly struggling firms to make severance payments to laid-off workers, many who didn’t exist, the probe discovered.

Millions were also handed out to companies and friends via grants which prosecutors described as ‘totally opaque’.

The Olive Press first revealed about the ERE scandal in 2015 when a total of €1.3 billion was believed to have been embezzled by corrupt officials over a 12year period.

In a front page report in May, that year, we revealed how 16 politicians at the employment ministry were behind the scheme.

President Chaves was warned about the fund as long ago as 2004 by a union complaining about bogus redundancy payments to miners in Huelva who did not exist.

In a letter published in national newspaper El Mundo, the group complained that these people had ‘not been near the mine, neither inside or outside’.

NEWS

After signing a deal with Podemos, Sanchez now desperately needs to woo Catalan separatists

Charm offensive

SPAIN’s caretaker prime minister Pedro Sanchez is in a race against time to persuade Catalan separatists to approve his coalition government.

While the PSOE finished as the biggest party following this month’s general election, it once again failed to win enough seats to rule alone.

A coalition deal quickly

signed with left-wing leader of Podemos Pablo Iglesias has helped, but the proposed minority government still needs more support to lead the country.

Sanchez has to persuade the Catalan Republic Left (ERC) to abstain during the vote, in order to form a government.

The pro-independence party is currently intending to

You beauty!

A COSTA Blanca pooch has been named one of Spain’s most beautiful dogs.

The Almoradi pero A Blaser de Mil Lunas, was crowned as Spanish champion of the ‘Young’ class (age 9-18 months) in the ‘Beauty’ category.

The German Bracco breed won the national competition at the Palace of Fairs and Exhibitions (IFEPA) in Torrepacheco (Murcia).

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November 21st - December 4th 2019

reject the PSOE-Podemos coalition however, claiming Sanchez is anti Catalan independence.

The PSOE leader will have his work cut out, having toughened his stance over Catalunya prior to the election, culminating in him saying he supported criminal sentences for holding illegal referendums.

If he fails to pass his coalition, Spain may be forced to hold its third election this year, in which far-right Vox could ever improve on the 52 seats it gained two weeks ago.

Podemos leader Iglesias blamed the PP and centre-right Ciudadanos party for the rise of the far-right party this week.

He claimed that Vox did so well ‘because of the way in which the Spanish right approached the Catalan crisis.’

Vox came second in Andalucia and, incredibly, won in various towns, including Benahavis, Estepona and Manilva, as well as in Murcia province.

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‘Nazi’ Vox VOX’s leader in Denia has said he feels ‘threatened,’ after a left-wing politician called him a ‘f***ing Nazi’ for refusing to stand during a minute’s silence for an expat murdered by her ex-partner. Félix Redondo and another member of far-right Vox remained seated during an act of remembrance for the Russian National at Denia town hall in October. The 44-year-old woman, known as Helena, had a knife plunged into her throat while she was sleeping by her ex-partner.

Basili Salort, ex-mayor of El Verger and leader of the municipal Compromís party, said on social media: “F***ing Nazi, no one will cry when they come for you.”

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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.

FEATURE

November 21st - December 4th 2019

IT’S WARMING UP... ...and SHE’LL be there...

OPINION The reptiles have finally been caged It’s thanks to the unshakable determination of one woman that this week 19 Andalucian politicians and business leaders were sentenced to a total of 86 years in prison for swindling the public out of millions of euros.

The iron lady of the Spanish justice system, judge Mercedes Alaya, has devoted almost a decade of her life to uncovering the gross corruption of the former PSOE leaders.

And it is she who should be remembered as the unsung heroine of the sorry ERE saga.

The €1billion-plus slush fund that paid for ex-employment minister Javier Guerro’s cocaine-fuelled afternoons in brothels has been dubbed the ‘reptile fund’.

Fag

And this 63-year-old alleged socialist can only be described as reptilian, seemingly unable to arrive or leave a single court hearing without a fag hanging from his mouth or gripped between his fingertips.

Hopefully his eight year jail sentence will give him ample time to reflect on why splurging money meant for laid off workers and the unemployed is a bad look for a politician meant to be on the people’s side.

It is a further kick in the teeth to those who voted these politicians into power that ex-Junta president Chaves - who incredibly avoided jail - turned a blind eye when miners in Huelva tried to warn politicians of the bogus payments in a letter published in El Mundo.

Let’s hope the sentences today serve as a reminder to our elected representatives that they may help make the law, but they’re not above it.

Publisher / Editor

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Heather Galloway on how hosting the climate change summit COP25 could be a game-changer for Spain

M

ADRID will be front page news next month when 25,000 of the world’s environmental experts fly in for the UN’s COP25 climate change summit. And not only because teen activist Greta Thunberg will be among them (and she’s sailing in, not flying).

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stepped up to the plate when social unrest forced Chile to pull out as host at the eleventh hour, giving Spain front row seats and a golden opportunity.

Chilean president Sebastian Piñera will continue to preside over the proceedings, which will be staged at the IFEMA conference centre from December 2-13.

But Spain’s Ecology Minister, Greenpeace spokesperson Teresa Ribera, a prestigious Tatiana Nuño is also positive. figure on the global scene, “Our country is a rough diawill also take a leading role. mond when it comes to renewAnd she has had to employ able energy,” she tells me. “And the same sense of urgency people here are aware; they required to reduce CO2 emiswant to act and participate. sions to prepare for the deluge “We have the potential to be up of experts and negotiators in there with the most progressive record time. countries. But we need a stable Among those guaranteed to government, one that puts enattract global attention during ergy transition at the centre of the summit is Swede Thunberg, its agenda.”

16, who has droves of followers There certainly should be an in Spain, where Fridays for Fuincentive, Spain being on the ture strikes have taken off. frontline when it comes to the She does however, have her deimpact of climate change in Eutractors, such as rope. the far-right Vox A 2016 report naysayers who published in have attacked the Spain is already Science preactivist, branding dicts a range experiencing her ‘a puppet’. of scenarios for Having already the south, dealarming embarked on her pending on the developments zero emissions rate at which journey, Greta are like flash floods emissions found herself checked... the stranded on the worst possibility wrong side of the is being a ravAtlantic until Australian couaged ecosystems of semi-desple Riley Whitelum and Elayna ert for much of Andalucia and Carausu came to the rescue Murcia and poor prospects for and offered her a passage on those living along the coast as their catamaran, back the way sea levels rise and temperashe came. tures increase by five degrees So will the summit act as a catby 2100. alyst to Spain’s fight against Spain is already experiencing climate change, perhaps turnalarming developments such ing the country into a European as an unprecedented increase leader on the issue? in flash floods, blamed by the Ribera has high hopes and Observatory of Sustainability

The end of the world as we know it?

2012 - 2019

“The world may already have gone down the toilet in terms of emissions. That is what is moving Extinction Rebellion. That’s what I see on Greta’s face. Somehow she symbolises the cock-up of our generation. What we need to do is to sell emerging economies the truth; that sustainable economies are the most economically viable, bringing quality jobs, reduced energy insecurity and reduced foreign control.

Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

UK expat Michael McGovern, correspondent for Wind Power Monthly magazine

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW There will be climate-change demos almost every day, with the biggest march (see left) going from Atocha to Nuevos Mi nisterios on December 6, organised by various groups including Fridays for Future COP25 will cost €90 million to host and is predicted to bring a cash injection of €200 million

on climate change, economic growth and unbridled urban development which increases impermeable surface areas.

Murcia’s Mar Menor is also acting as a wake up call. Fish are being starved of oxygen and Europe’s largest salt-water lagoon is turning into a graveyard, due in large part to intensive farming and flooding.

It didn’t happen overnight of course. As former renewables journalist, Anthony Luke, points out, “Everyone was surprised when tonnes of fish were washed up on the shores of the Mar Menor this autumn following years of pollution from agricultural pesticides.

“The warning signs,” he said, ”have been there for years but nobody took the blindest bit of notice. The Mar Menor has now become synonymous with environmental disaster. But it could occur on a far larger scale anywhere in the world if the signs are not heeded.”

Ignoring the signs is a major issue. Less than 2% of Spaniards listed climate change among their top three political concerns in a survey carried out by the Centre for Sociological research (CIS) in the run-up to the November 10 general election. Coupled with the gains made by the extreme right wing party Vox, which remains sceptical about climate change, this is somewhat at odds with Ribera and Nuño’s optimism.

However, when the current PP-led Madrid council tried to dismantle the low-emissions scheme ‘Madrid Central’, it was stopped in its tracks after thousands came out in protest, prompting a court ruling.

Nuño is also encouraged by the fact that climate activists have called for demonstrations against Black Friday at the end of this month and believes people power will be a significant factor during COP25.

“The demonstrations will put pressure on Madrid not only to maintain Madrid Central but to expand it and get the emissions within the city down to

There will be an alternative summit called the Social Climate Summit held at the Complutense University from December 7-13 The Paseo de la Castellana will become the Green Castellana – the focus of cultural and citizen activity In IFEMA, COP25 will occupy seven pavilions. The Blue Zone will host the multilateral UN negotiations The Green Zone will raise environmental awareness among the public with open dialogue and workshops Some 400 volunteers will be working at the event Madrid will host a Youth Conference from November 29 to December 1 and the young people are set to play a significant role in the conference zero,” she says, adding that it will force the government to be more ambitious with its targets for 2030.

She hopes to see it aim to reduce emissions by 55% as opposed to 20% with respect to 1990. Meanwhile Sergio de Otto, of the Renewables Foundation in Madrid, believes Spain does not have the weight to become a leader in Europe in the fight against climate change. However he does see Spain’s hosting of COP25 as a positive means of raising awareness. “We can feel optimistic that we have someone like Teresa at the head of the Ecological Transition Ministry,” he tells me.“But there is a lot of resistance. The government is going in the right direction but there are obstacles slowing things down when the only thing we need right now is to go fast.” Whether or not we can pick up the pace depends on the consumer. “If we as individuals act,” he says, “then we can demand more urgent action from the authorities, pushing them to legislate.”

The ball is in our court, it seems.

November 21st - December 4th 2019

FEATURE

The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago this month, but populism and far-right groups like Vox are building another one that is dividing our response to the climate crisis, writes Jon Clarke

Spain’s best English news website

at the HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

Another brick in the wall

AS the Olive Press continues to grow around Spain - having just opened its FIFTH paper in Murcia and the Costa Blanca south this month - so does our community footprint.

Thanks to our huge - and genuine - social media following we have an enviable head start.

Yes, our REAL 22,100 Facebook followers and our TRUE 7,250 Twitter fans means that we are already known in the new region.

While we get hundreds of thousands of engagements each fortnight, it is our website that takes the biscuit.

For www.theolivepress.es leads the way in Spain in English by a country mile.

Indeed, it is bigger than any rival by nearly FOUR TIMES. Yes, you read that.

Thanks to our dozens of stories every day about Spain - not celebrity tittle tattle in the UK, or accidents in France - we are the ONLY English website in the Top 1000 in Spain.

This is definitive and comes from an official ranking by Amazon’s Alexa.com, and backed up by legitimate Google analytics.

T

ANTI-IMMIGRANT: HERE was never any quesFar right partion where we would aim for. ties are making It was my university’s hitch inroads around hike for charity and it beEurope today, whigan exactly 30 years ago, during the le (below) the wall week the Berlin Wall started to fall. opens in 1989 A precursor toOctober my future9th career as a - October 22 2019 journalist, there was only one place in the world that I wanted to be.

Just 20 years of age and half way through a degree in Geography at Manchester University, the opportunity to see this momentous world event close up had incredible allure.

And despite a later 15-year career covering numerous big stories – including Chernobyl, Maddie McCann and the death of Princess Diana – it presidents, Bill Clinton and George still leaves a bigger imprint on my Bush heard what the defeated formind. mer rival had to say, but went ahead So much still sticks in the memory, with what they planned anyway. from the edgy faces of young East Millions of eastern Europeans also German border guards standing took the promises of a bright new nervously on top of the wall, undawn at face value, only to pay a sure what to do, to the families of heavy price in unemployment, ecoWest Germans, standing by Checknomic collapse, and social turmoil. point Charlie handing over wads of And despite Germany investing banknotes to total strangers as they some two trillion euros, unemployarrived through the wall in their batment and social problems are still tered Trabant cars. higher in the former communist Deeply interested in the rift bepart. tween communism and fascism It took Hungary and Poland, the from studying the Spanish Civil War richest Iron Curtain countries, a full during my history A-level, it was indecade to recover economically from credible to think that this formidawhere they were when the ble barrier to world wall came down. peace, which saw 239 There has also been a people shot dead tryDresden in sharp rise in racism in ing to cross it, was these former Eastern the east of finally coming down.

Bloc countries, a problem The unbreakable which has spread around Germany has spirit of people who dared to dream came declared a ‘Nazi’ Europe.

Dresden in the east of to a head at Berlin’s Germany has just deemergency Brandenburg Gate on clared a ‘Nazi’ emergenNovember 11, 1989. cy, saying it has a severe That night, at around problem with the far 11pm, the border guards finally right.

The city has long been viewed started letting its citizens leave East as a bastion of the far-right and Germany. In the following days, is the birthplace of the anti-Islam cracks started appearing in the Pegida movement. wall, as the exodus swelled. By the Meanwhile, the far-right Alternative weekend after it became a deluge as fur Deutschland is now Germany’s thousands made their dash for freeofficial opposition, having won 94 dom, aided by thousands of West seats in the 2017 elections, while Germans chiselling away at the hatAngela Merkel’s party shed 65 seats. ed barrier with hammers, pickaxes, In this month’s Spanish elections, shovels and even hydraulic drills. the far right Vox party which calls Nobody seemed to be working. for the ‘reconquest of Spain’ I joined them, arriving back in the has made huge gains everywhere, UK five days later with a suitcase full including the expat hotspots of the of souvenir chunks. It was an amazCosta del Sol and Murcia, to become ing time to be in Berlin. the third force in parliament.

As former British prime minister Vox took 52 seats in Congress, a maGordon Brown later told up to a million Germans: “Because of your courage two Berlins are one. Two Germanys are one, and now two Europes are one.”

Yet, once again all is not well in Europe. While the reunification of Germany eventually ushered in a new, larger and more powerful Europe, it had a double-edged meaning.

Millions regained their basic freedoms but various promises made to Mikael Gorbachev at the time were never kept.

In particular, the Russian leader was promised that NATO would not expand into the bases left by departing Russian troops in East Germany. US

Olive Press online

7

jor increase on the 24 seats it previously held. Many believed Spain was immune to the far right because of memories of life under Franco. But Vox’s anti-immigration stance aligns it with many right wing parties across Europe, and it has sought to change legislation aimed at protecting women from gender violence, claiming it discriminates against men. These are worrying times.

Over my nearly 20 years in Spain I have seen a horrifying disregard for European laws, protecting both human rights and the environment.

The tsunami of cement that has seen its coastlines almost completely destroyed over the last two decades has made the country a watchword for excess, while wide scale corruption has allowed the real estate sector to steamroller its way over thousands of protected green spaces.

Thousands of foreigners have seen their homes in danger of being knocked down, despite acquiring the correct licences. Many more lost out in off-plan schemes, only now finally being rectified by law.

It’s 10 years ago since the Auken Report into environment and human rights abuse was issued by the EU demanding action. But despite the millions in taxpayers’ money spent compiling, interviewing and investigating the excesses, little has changed.

That is where the European Union, as a higher authority, should have stepped in. And indeed it would have done, if a crucial vote to withhold €185 million of benefits from Spain hadn’t been shelved at the final hour.

There is much speculation about why this was allowed to happen, some claiming it was the Spanish government threatening to block further EU legislation. Either way, if such blatant disregard for European laws remains unpunished, what then is the point of the EU? Certainly, it is vital that issues like this are addressed, particularly with the spectre of climate change likely to hit Spain a lot harder than northern Europe.

Madrid is hosting the UN Climate summit next month when world leaders and climate change activists, Greta Thunberg included, will discuss how to stick to the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement promise of keeping global warming below 2 degrees.

But actions speak louder than words.

Having seen the fall of the Berlin wall it is vital that we Europeans, whether from the East or West, harness that same spirit of unity to solve the environmental crisis.

It is going to be painful financially and difficult socially. But if we don’t work together on this one, it will create a wall dividing not only Europeans but the whole of mankind.

THE PAPER WITH THE REAL NUMBERS And what can you learn from this.

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Meanwhile we have zoomed up to 638th position in Ireland and are 79th in Gibraltar.

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The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:

1 2

- Grumpy Bake Off star Paul Hollywood threatens to fill in Olive Press cakehole for asking a question (42,369) - Storm Cecilia from the Atlantic to blast southern Spain this week as Costa del Sol, Murcia and Costa Blanca on alert for strong winds ahead of FIVE DAYS OF RAIN (30,999)

3 4 5

- ‘Fake bus driver’ who made €3.2 million from tourists and kids on Costa del Sol and across Spain arrested and has his 19 buses seized (24,721)

- Shocked beach-goers watch as drug boat carrying migrants runs ashore on Spain’s Costa del Sol (21,605) - REVEALED: This is the restaurant in British tourist hotspot in Spain accused of treating staff ‘like slaves’ with €2.80 per hour salaries (20,619)

8

November 21st - December 4th 2019 Check out our issues online at www.theolivepress.es

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Andalucia Issue 331 The

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Mijas Costa

Vol. 13 Issue 331 www.theolivepress.es November 20th - December 3rd 2019

A journey you won’t forget

IT is the biggest public money scandal in Spanish history, estimated at nearly €1 billion.

Now, finally, two former Andalucia leaders are heading to prison and banned from office for their links to the disgraceful ERE scandal.

Ex-Junta president Jose Antonio Grinan has been sentenced to six years jail and banned from office for 15 years, while predecessor Manuel Chaves has been banned from office for nine years.

The pair oversaw the scheme, which saw the shocking theft of at least €680 million - dubbed the ‘Reptile fund’ - meant to go to companies in trouble and to stimulate employment.

A further 17 politicians and businessmen who worked with the Junta received a total of 86 years in prison between them, a Sevilla court has ruled.

AUTUMN DREAM: The road to Ronda through the Genal Valley

A Vol. 13

ll about

Issue 331

S

errania de Ronda

www.theolivepress.es

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

Bewitched by fairytale Ronda Y This picture-perfect mountain town has charmed many an artist in time past and many famous people recently yet still retains its mythical appeal. Robert Firth shares the magic

OU don’t have to be writing the next award-winning novel or screenplay to appreciate Ronda, but it helps. Artists from Ernest Hemingway to Orson Wells – both commemorated with busts in the town – have made pilgrimages to Ronda for centuries in search of artistic inspiration. And it’s easy to see why from the moment you begin your journey here in the south east – just outside the town’s walls. For this is the only place you should begin your trip to Ronda. To really understand this historic medina, you have to first leave it and start again outside the town’s walls.

From this vantage point, Ronda – dripping with history – perches monumentally above the olive and auburn countryside it overlooks. And through winding dirt tracks by ramshackle farms tended by shepherds with crooks in the shadows of the fortress and up stone steps towards the town, you catch a glimpse of the mythic beauty that transfixed so many artistic geniuses. So stunning is Ronda’s puente nuevo, bridging the canyon the town is built over, that Germany’s most famous poet, Rainer Maria Rike, credited his stay at the Reina Victoria hotel overlooking the ravine with curing his writer’s block.

Remote

Bent

Around almost every corner is tucked a stunning church, immaculately preserved historical ruins or a viewing point over postcard landscapes. If entering the town the proper way from the south, a stop-off at the Arab Baths is almost obligatory.

Indeed passing through the exceptionally well-preserved 13th century hammam was mandatory for visitors to the Muslim medina when the town was a stronghold of the Emirate of Granada. It was one of the last places to fall to Catholic rule. After the conquest, its remote location in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park made it a refuge for Muslims fleeing per-

It’s time to head to the hills for

a classic

This included eight years for forwinter break... our 16-page Ronda mer Employment minister Javier special gives you the inside track Guerrero, who helped set up the scheme which embezzled money from 2000 to 2009.

The bent politician was particularly guilty, having set up two bogus companies with his former driver - dubbed the ‘Cocaine Chauffeur’ - defrauding over €700,000 between them.

The pair are said to have spent much of their afternoons spending the money taking cocaine with EXCLUSIVE prostitutes at brothels near Sevilla.

By Laurence Dollimore force.

The final 1,700-page report, issued “Moroccans, mainly Dutch Morocby a panel of judges, announced cans, are taking over the cocaine that 13 of those accused received THE Costa del Sol is facing a Christbusiness,” journalist Tuelings told six to eight years in prison while mas drugs war. the Olive Press. all have been banned from public A vicious battle between rival gangs is seeing a new breed of Dutch gang“The Dutch are a new generation that office for at least 10 years. sters take over the lucrative trade, doesn’t mind using extreme violence.

A further three, José Antonio it Vi- can be revealed.

“The bosses are in their 30s and era, Francisco Vallejo and Carmen mostly live in Dubai, while their Martínez-Aguayo were also minis- According to a hard-hitting new solbook, Irish and British mafia gangs diers are a lot younger, sometimes ters. are being supplanted teenagers.

In a major embarrassment for the of Arabic descent fromby Dutch gangs “They are working together with PSOE party, Chaves and Grinan Amsterdam. coast. the The book, Costa del Coke, reveals As Irish mafia, the Kinahans, the majorled the Junta for a combined well as spending time 23 that legendary Irish years, two thirds of the regional mafia clan the they also joined Policia in Morocco ity of whom have moved to Dubai.”

Nacional pa- It comes Kinahans have been forced to strike parliament’s history. at a time of increasing trols in La Linea and the coastguard drug-related violence along the Costa KILLED: The pair had been icons of the par- a deal with one of the groups. operations in Algeciras.

Three murders have del Sol, with ty, while Chaves went on to become Journalists Ivo Teulings, 52, and Ar- They talked to hundreds of criminals week of an a suspected murder last occured in recent months a minister in both the Spanish gov- thur Van Amerongen, 60, have spent involved in the drugs Arabic man in Marbella. trade, including over a year researching the traffick- gypsies, Moroccans, retired smug- This followed the discovery of a body the gangs and the Kinahans mostly Continues on Page 5 ing business along Spain’s southern glers, but also members of the police of a 39-year-old man in a ditch in moved their operation to Dubai.

Mijas in September and the body of It was this lack of Irish presence, exa Bulgarian dumped on perts believe, which the Istan road with sev- vacuum in the drug caused a power trafficking busieral gunshot wounds ness, leading to the situation today. two weeks ago.

“Competitors are coming in from all The new gang war over the world, as everybody wants comes three years since a piece of the cake,” continued Teulthe infamous Kinah- ings. “While the Dutch an-Hutch feud between have had the edge, they Moroccans are now intwo rival Dublin gangs volved in their own saw several killed in now with a huge civil drugs war right war going on in Malaga and Ireland.

The Netherlands right now.”

However, things slowed A Dutchman killed in down massively after last year is believed to Torremolinos Ireland’s Gardai and tim of that struggle. be the first vicSpanish authorities Hamza Ziani was reportedly launched a special task conflict with the Netherlands’ in a most force to crack down on wanted criminal Ridouan Taghi, who allegedly ordered around 20 deaths to protect his €100 million cocaine empire.

“I would say the Ndraghetta from Italy and rival Colombian gangs – who work with the MoSee pages 5 & 45 roccans – are set to become the biggest forces at play.”

Costa del Coke is set to be translated for an English edition in the new year.

RECENT VISITORS: J.K Rowling, Anne Hathaway, Gordan Ramsay, Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker and Ricky Gervais

Continues next page

GOING DUTCH ‘Ruthless’ Irish and Dutch gangs have teamed up on the Costa del Sol as third suspected murder occurs in three months

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November 8th - November 21st 2019 Vol. 3 Issue 67 www.theolivepress.es

UNSAVOURY An investigation uncovers Mallorca restaurant serving up ‘contemporary slavery’, threats and worse EXCLUSIVE

By Jacque Talbot

Right turn

A DANGEROUS lurch to the right could see Spain’s anti-immigrant Vox party becoming the kingmakers in this weekend’s general election. of The massive surge - off the back the recent Catalan crisis and a fear of Islam - could see the party seizing 15% of the seats in Parliament.

The expected gains will seriously damage centre-right Ciudadanos, which could lose over half its seats, while the ruling PSOE and left wing Podemos are also expected to suffer.

Vox, which has pledged to ‘defend’ Spain from immigrants, is predicted to finish third in the country’s many as in fourth general election years. led The latest polling suggests Vox,

by Santiago Abascal, will increase its 24 seats in Spain’s 350-seat parliament to 46.

reAN Olive Press investigation can veal the identity of a now-notorious over restaurant owner, who presided alleged ‘slave-like’ conditions.

After local media reported this week that Failed about a restaurant in Escorca employed staff on just €2.80 an hour Meanwhile Albert Rivera’s Ciuto Sa Calobra beach for up to 14-hour shifts, we can reveal dadanos will be reduced from 57 to work 14-hour days metres from seven ‘slaves’ were forced to the restaurant is Es Port, in Sa Calo14. In the 40dB poll Vox is setthe Pe- IDYLLIC: Yet bra, owned by local businessman gain 14% of the vote, alongside and his pending court date - we claims. facts are simple: seven people dro Vicenc.

PP in second place with 21.2% and this spoke to other local restaurateurs The allegedly found to be workWhile he refused to comment 91 seats and the PSOE coming first who backed up the shocking wereunder ‘inhumane’ conditions. week - merely confirming his arrest ing with 27.3% and 121 votes.

According to a police investiga- las said it was an embarrassment The PSOE’s predicted victory two less tion they received just €40-a-day for the resort and that Vicenc had would see the party with election, without proper breaks and under been known for his ‘modus ope- seats than in April’s last another headache for its a ‘climate of fear’. randi’ for some time. His downfall prompting as he tries to The restaurant ‘took advantage’ of came a few days after plainclothes leader Pedro Sanchez form a government. the seven ‘immigrants’, who felt cops had staked out the joint.

Opinion page 6 forced to accept the slave-like con- Official court documents show ditions and work, usually six days that the staff were under constant lie to forced and dismissal a week. of threat One local restaurant owner, who about any accidents at work. They asked not to be named, told the were also refused holidays and ofto Olive Press: “I don’t recall seeing ten had to juggle multiple jobs as the a single Spaniard or Mallorquin cooks, cleaners and maintenance working there. All workers looked staff. Staff were forced to sign off like they came from Morocco. their criminally-low payslips or “There were always a lot of strange face the threat of being sacked. goings-on at that restaurant. It’s been very unsettling.”

Court Another, who has known the ownwhich is in the er for years, said: “It’s a disgrace The restaurant, of scenic Sa Caloand has been going on for years, heart of the port bra, is administered under the along with various other things.

Colobra SL. “I am so pleased it is finally being company nametold the Olive Press Owner Vicenc dealt with.” anything say can’t “I dozen a night: over last He revealed how 15:36 the restaurant now. People can hear what I have 16/06/2017 1 on police swooped Untitled-1.pdf to say when I’m in court.” He about three weeks ago. was arrested along Mayor of Escorca Antoni Solivelwith two other bosses, who have Amanda Butler also been charged wonders who on with crimes against workers’ rights earth to vote for in C Police rumbled the the forthcoming UK operation following M a tip off in Septemelections UK BASED Y ber.

See page 14

You total doughnut!

Keys Isl nd

Find out what’s eating Paul Hollywood on Page 3

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Justice at last

FREE

IT is the biggest public money scandal in Spanish history, estimated at nearly €1 billion.

Now, finally, two former Andalucia leaders are heading to prison and banned from office for their links to the disgraceful ERE scandal.

Ex-Junta president Jose Antonio Grinan has been sentenced to years jail and banned from office six for 15 years, while predecessor Manuel Chaves has been banned from office for nine years.

The pair oversaw the scheme, which saw the shocking theft of at least €680 million - dubbed the ‘Reptile fund’ - meant to go to companies in trouble and to stimulate employment.

A further 17 politicians and businessmen who worked with the Junta received a total of 86 years in prison between them, a Sevilla court has ruled.

Bent

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Vol. 5, Issue 110 www.theolivepress.es November 20th - December 3rd 2019

A journey you won’t forget

AUTUMN DREAM: The road to Ronda through the Genal Valley

A Vol. 13

ll about

Issue 331

S

errania de Ronda

www.theolivepress.es

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

Bewitched by fairytale Ronda Y This picture-perfect mountain town has charmed many an artist in time past and many famous people recently yet still retains its mythical appeal. Robert Firth shares the magic

OU don’t have to be writing the next award-winning novel or screenplay to appreciate Ronda, but it helps. Artists from Ernest Hemingway to Orson Wells – both commemorated with busts in the town – have made pilgrimages to Ronda for centuries in search of artistic inspiration. And it’s easy to see why from the moment you begin your journey here in the south east – just outside the town’s walls. For this is the only place you should begin your trip to Ronda. To really understand this historic medina, you have to first leave it and start again outside the town’s walls.

From this vantage point, Ronda – dripping with history – perches monumentally above the olive and auburn countryside it overlooks. And through winding dirt tracks by ramshackle farms tended by shepherds with crooks in the shadows of the fortress and up stone steps towards the town, you catch a glimpse of the mythic beauty that transfixed so many artistic geniuses. So stunning is Ronda’s puente nuevo, bridging the canyon the town is built over, that Germany’s most famous poet, Rainer Maria Rike, credited his stay at the Reina Victoria hotel overlooking the ravine with curing his writer’s block.

Remote

Around almost every corner is tucked a stunning church, immaculately preserved historical ruins or a viewing point over postcard landscapes. If entering the town the proper way from the south, a stop-off at the Arab Baths is almost obligatory.

Indeed passing through the exceptionally well-preserved 13th century hammam was mandatory for visitors to the Muslim medina when the town was a stronghold of the Emirate of Granada. It was one of the last places to fall to Catholic rule. After the conquest, its remote location in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park made it a refuge for Muslims fleeing per-

It’s time to head to the hills for a classic winter break... our

This included eight years for former six-page Ronda Employment minister Javier Guerspecial gives you the inside track rero, who helped set up the scheme which embezzled money from 2000 to 2009.

The bent politician was particularly guilty, having set up two bogus companies with his former driver - dubbed the ‘Cocaine Chauffeur’ defrauding over €700,000 betweenthem.

The pair are said to have spent much of their afternoons spending the THE new money taking cocaine with prostigovernment is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030, its tutes at brothels near Sevilla.

EXCLUSIVE

By John Culatto The final 1,700-page report, issued new minister for climate change by a panel of judges, announced that has revealed to the Olive Press.

13 of those accused received six to John Cortes told this paper how “I have to eight years in prison while all have drive that very, very despite the challenge, a Green hard to make a real difference in been banned from public office for at Gibraltar is ‘realistic’. least 10 years.

“I have never said it’s not a chal- everybody’s work and life patA further three, José Antonio terns.”

Vi- lenge,” Cortes said. era, Francisco Vallejo and Carmen With New Harbours “I think Martínez-Aguayo were also minis- changes we have to make many estate already drapedindustrial in solar in the way that we all ters. behave but I think it is possible panels, he is hoping to unveil a In a major embarrassment for whole raft of renewable energy PSOE party, Chaves and Grinan the to achieve it. projects in the next few months. led “In some African countries the Junta for a combined 23 years, it’s already illegal to even import “I think that society now has a ‘hydrofluorocarbon’ (HFC) by two thirds of the regional parliaa plastic bag or carry one with clear picture of what we have to 2047. ment’s history. do,” Cortes concluded.

According to the Environmental you.”

The pair had been icons of the party, “With the support of govern- Investigation Agency, ‘hydroHe called the Climate Change while Chaves went on to become minister in both the Spanish govern-a portfolio ‘overarching’ after de- ments, together with NGOs and fluorocarbons, are super greencrucially with businesses, we house gases, manufactured ments of Felipe Gonzalez and Jose claring a Climate Emergency. for Luis Zapatero.

“All areas of government work will achieve the carbon neutrali- use in refrigeration, air conditioning, foam blowing, aerosols, The pair had overseen the set up will be influenced by commit- ty we need.” of the €855 million slush fund, intendments to climate change,” he It comes as the Kigali Amend- fire protection and solvents’. ment to the Montreal Protocol Unlike most other gases, these ed for retired and unemployed work- said. was extended to Gibraltar by the substances are ‘intentionally ers and struggling companies.

RECENT VISITORS: J.K Rowling, Anne Hathaway, Gordan Ramsay, Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker and Ricky Gervais

Continues next page

To the future

LEAVERS: Trio of Brits in Spain

Holiday horror After reading the article about animal cruelty in Paloma Park I just wanted to add that during my holiday to d chasing and edu Get teenagers also I saw cate dena in July Benalma

attempting to catch the rabbits and birds (Exclusive: Rabbit a political lly, as After s Answers EU, essentia Group theDemand Greensees SpainMoore Rose This Park, The In325, pg 7). Online Abused Issue And Animals ted(Leave and proud, Decapita hip dictators up as to be put cameras states, Signs .and sovereign are 28need Novembe There opposite is ther 9). reality behavetorespectfu trusted to bevoluntari cannot becomelly. ly chose clearly locals which the UK, including park to the goUK see. People g to distressin would This wasd.so that the believes Dunne Steve associate this watchto not going animals, and nature the te apprecia to not I’m so.

Not terms. fair better on WTO can on informati this all hope I r. behaviou g disturbin and chapter page by quoting weigh down your letters and those park into thelooks those involved be passed the Steve nd that with recomme but I to verse, do to could thing they . Another punished leany responsib Trumpes That knows. he that industry of specifics enclosur create is rabbits the for safer things make should UK EU-free an with deal trade to get trying isfor donkeys and goats have. likeathe them, trade Trump’s know:quality all you youwould tell it would but deals of life, a good haveto stillwant They for speaks Mahler Brent Finally, labels.

US-first have them. stop people being able to access EU armed force of anbeen coming to the of UK citizens a Inumber and have in Junewary was on holiday are ideas visiting closer have been an ever and life and, these all myHowever areaunion. dena Benalma policy. I am EU separate not two occaand On people specific by since a toddler. floated I was the park of proThe 40-plus animals. ng theyears at the insidious s mistreati more I saw teenager sionsworried h, teenage Telegrap of three the Mail, EEC/EU abygroup themorning, was late paganda first timeagainst did had young thatWhat hensSun. theThe of course, and, chasing boys were SpanishTimes Express, bushes. some why he was so anasked was he of chicks with whenout saythem Murdoch The us. writing forof: into you I go thankthe “Whento Harriet, lines Ed. Hi g along Somethin ti-EU? have weeks few past the over The park EU.” the in the to go I scenes when say: I what do they 10 No. pass We will ent! g.appointm been nothing ask for an to shockin he hadof on is thatshort implicati your information on to the relevant authorities and continue to investigate this matter.

Warm welcome

Readers react to news that Spaniards are worse at speaking English than Romanians, Serbians and Greeks, according to a new study Oh the irony

UK BASED

Government.

The amendment to the global agreement, which was made in 1987, calls on countries to reach an 80% reduction in the consumption of dangerous greenhouse gas

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“I am delighted that this amendment to the Montreal Protocol has been extended to Gibraltar,” EXPERT: John Cortes Cortes added.

“This is one of the steps we need- other international agreements ed to take in order to continue to on environment being similarconform to international envi- ly extended to Gibraltar in the ronmental standards even when coming months.”

Meanwhile, the minister also we leave the European Union.

“I am grateful to DEFRA in the hopes to continue to raise stanUK for their support and their dards in the culture portfolio he work on this and look forward to took over from Steven Linares.

“I will improve the way we record and archive our culture,

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including our cultural heritage and promoting our culture outside Gibraltar,” he added.

As a dramatist, one of his main tasks will be to create a new national theatre at John Mackintosh Hall over the next two years.

3 1 / 1 2 / 1 9 .

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Great read

No-go in the Campo

I picked Issue 1 up from Quesada and found it a great read, covering everything you need to know. It is very informative. We live in La Siesta (Torrevieja) and my question is could you tell me if there would be a nearer pick up point for the next issue? Many thanks, I look forward to reading it some more.

Shirley Forrest, Torrevieja

On the defensive

Game of chess

Selective hearing

Nationalists are the foolish pawns of the wealthy, blindly working against their own self interest in support of the very people who oppress them (How populism is the new divide that’s endangering our response to the climate crisis today, Online, November 10).

Brenda Sherman, San Francisco

Actually English people who have lived in Spain for years take the prize!

Karen Young, Nerja Spaniards who work in the tourist industry are more likely to speak English. Not just for the benefit of the British, but also Germans, Dutch and others who usually use English as their second language. In the countryside it is a different story.

Teresa Tracy Ramsey, Fuente-Tojar Why don’t they do a study in the UK to see how well people do with any other language apart from English? I don’t see the point of the article.

Jessica Marina Dos Santos, Malagan I disagree. Some Spaniards don’t like the English and although they can speak our language they choose not to....according to my Spanish friends.

Angie Knell, Malaga

Best from the east

Russians are the best nation for speaking a second language. It’s something to do with their dialect that makes it easier for them to learn a second language.

James Cottnam, Cardiff

Rock to be carbon neutral by 2030 as new initiatives set to be launched

TRAVEL INSURANCE

It was good to find the Olive Press in San Miguel on Wednesday. We picked up the last copy!

Congratulations on your continued success, and to your welcome arrival in our neck of the Woods.

Robert W Barnes, Pilar de la Horadada

Cracking column I am loving your light hearted and amusing narrative (Rescuing Manola, Issue 17, pg 22). Count me in as a reader! Good luck for the future.

Lynn Constantine, Cartagena

Has anything piqued your interest in this week’s Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing letters@ theolivepress.es or message us on at www.facebook.com/OlivePressNewspaper or Twitter @olivepress

OP QUICK Crossword Across 1 Thin soup (5) 4 Aided (6) 10 Efflux (7) 11 Cram (5) 12 Set down (4) 13 Turned around (8) 14 Murder (11) 18 Unusual (8) 20 Applications (4) 22 Pale pinkish-violet (5) 23 Arousing intense feeling (7) 24 Renter (6) 25 Forest god (5)

Down 2 Keeps (7) 3 Scrabble game piece (4) 5 Oriental (7) 6 Saint ---, Wren’s masterpiece

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8 Ponds (5) 9 Lottery (11) 15 Resident of e.g. Cape Town or Cairo (7) 16 Bear witness (7) 17 Ait (5) 18 Set apart (5) 19 Thermoplastic yarn (5)

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Clean beds

Reporters Simon Wade and Joshua Parfitt

Your reporters, here to help on the Costa Blanca

AN environmental company has teamed up with a sea cleaning organisation to clear up the waters of the Costa del Sol. Equilibrio Marino and Alnasar have joined forces and will provide year-round cleaning to remove waste dumped in the sea, as well as seeking out and reporting any possible environmental threats.

Fernando Alarcon, head of Equilibrio Marino, said: “Plastics, wet wipes, cigarette butts, sewage from waste plants, and even illegal fishing, are all threats to the marine ecosystem as they break down the waters of the Costa del Sol.” Among the team tackling the environmental issue are professional sailors, divers, and scientists.

Already they have found a huge discarded fishing net close to the beach, which trapped some fish on the seabed.

Time wasters Most areas of Alicante set to fall short of new year food waste targets

ALICANTE’S food waste plans appear set to fail, as only six municipalities out of 81 currently comply with government plans.

January 2020 had been the date set for a full rollout of organic waste bins across the Valencian Community, but new data suggests the region will miss the target.

Currently, only Alicante, Elche, Sant Joan, San Vicente, El Campello and Elda comply with new rules set out in the Plan Integral de Residuos (PIR) by the Generalitat.

The new rules state that ‘all

Hot air

Contact them with any stories or news on 951 273 575 or email newsdesk@theolivepress.es (Personal contacts on page 6)

Ethical investors were historically driven by their focus on doing what was best for the environment and communities and often this meant their investment could sometimes suffer. But times are changing and investing ethically can now be very rewarding.

When a company owned by Warren Buffett (one of the world’s most successful investors) bought a stake in BYD, then a little-known Chinese car company, some sceptics were ridiculing the 2008 deal. Car and Driver, an industry magazine, commented that it was “hard to take BYD seriously” because many of its cars seemed to be copies of older Japanese models, while their performance was lacklustre. “We drive faster in our driveways,” the magazine said. But Mr Buffett is now more than vindicated and the Chinese company’s focus on electric cars and

municipalities and local entities responsible for waste collection services must have a separate collection for bio-waste’ by the deadline.

But eight months later the vast majority of municipalities are still scratching their

DENIA’S municipal recycling plant has again caught fire, in what appears to be an annual tradition.

Flames erupted in the 15m-high black mountains of compost created from beach algae and green waste, while a noxious cloud travelled for kilometres towards the La Xara area.

Two firefighting crews were dispatched to contain the blaze – but the slow burning has penetrated to the core of the compost mounds meaning smoke is still billowing out over a week later.

“We are separating the remains so that the fire does not spread. We must avoid this at all costs because it would be very dangerous,” the head of Denia’s fire service said.

He added the plant ‘is oversaturated with waste’ and so spontaneously combusts, releasing carbon it was supposed to recycle into fertile soil.

Ethical Investing - It is no longer just something for a few tree-hugging individuals. By Tracy Storer, Senior In a world that is becoming more and more focused about the environment and ways to protect it, it is no wonder that I am being asked more and more about ethical investments.

November 21st - December 4th 2019

Partner

SRI is based largely on excluding certain companies from your portfolio, which you identify using a series of criteria related to, for example, environmental and social practices.

Socially responsible investing continues to grow and expand as investors have taken a shine to building profits with a purpose. There’s no longer a trade-off between profits and the planet!

The BYD investment story is a small part of a much bigger trend. Investors are finding that if they are good to the planet and to people, they also end up, on average, benefiting themselves.

At Chorus Financial we make sure that we understand the individual needs of all our clients, not just in terms of their financial goals but also what is important to them in terms of investing. Being Independent means that we can chose the best possible investments for our clients and that includes investments with an ethical focus. As always, we promise to only recommend funds from well-known trusted companies, so you can be sure we aren’t going to invest your money into some unknown rain forest project in Brazil!!! Instead we turn to companies that you will have heard of and trust, companies like

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is another approach to investing ethically.

965 641 163

www.chorusfinancial.es info@chorusfinancial.es

DENIA’S Fisherman’s Association retrieved 6,000kg of plastic from their fishing nets in 2018, a new documentary has revealed.

The film Plastic Fresquet, which will feature at the town’s first Gastric Forum from November 25-27, follows a day in the life of a group of fishermen, from their day’s catch to market.

However, instead of fresh fish, the men package up a portion of the plastic they encounter day in, day out to inform the public of the dangers of plastic pollution.

Marine pollution will be a major talking point at the upcoming forum, which will explore gastronomy, territory and sustainability.

A roundtable discussion about using the Mediterranean sustainably, called Fishing: a renewable resource, will be held on November 26.

The documentary also reveals that a whopping 69,040kg of plastic waste was collected throughout the Valencian Community by fishermen last year.

The plastic is collected and upcycled through the Ecoalf project which produces yarn and shoes from the marine waste.

Providing Multi-award winning advice for your pensions, investments & tax planning.

climate-friendly motoring is delivering on the promise concealed in its acronym — Build Your Dreams.

Its shares are trading at roughly 21 times forward earnings, or 2.5 times the ratio when Mr Buffett bought in. The deal stands as an example of how investing in renewable technologies can pay off and since 2008, BYD has become the world’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.

There is mounting evidence that funds which observe environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards in their strategies tend to outperform those that don’t by a significant margin.

heads at how to install the new containers – known as the ‘fifth’ bin – for organic waste.

The brown-coloured bins will recycle the food waste that previously was sent to rot in landfills or be incinerated via grey-coloured ‘general waste’ bins.

Several town halls have complained that the Valencian government was ‘not inclined’ to offer any assistance to regional waste collection firms.

One municipality in the Marina Baixa region said it was still ‘preparing documents to award the new contract and include all new modifications’ of the PIR. Many town halls said they were planning to roll out the new food waste containers some time in 2020.

Catch of the day

Aviva, Standard Life, Rathbones, Jupiter and Henderson who all have ethical focused funds. .

If you would like more information about ethical investing or if you would like to discuss your investment or pension requirements call Tracy on 693 107 044 or email t.storer@chorusfinancial.es

Investment contracts are intended as medium to long term investments, and all investments have some level of risk. Figures in our articles are examples of what can be achieved and cannot be guaranteed; the value of your investments can go down as well as up. Fees and charges can vary and will be fully explained to you before any advice can take place. This article should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular product.

Chorus Financial is a trading style of Tourbillon Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Commission (Gibraltar), Licence Number FSC1118B, registered with the UK FCA reference 539348, registered with the Spanish DGS and CNMV Nº Registro Oficial 3214.

LA CULTURA

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HE is the giant of Spanish painting who haunts every corner of Madrid.

So it is fitting that global great Francisco de Goya should be honoured with the largest ever retrospective of his work.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Madrid’s Prado Museum, curators have pulled together a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of over 300 of his paintings and engravings.

Among the gems are the 80-piece Caprichos collection, as well as the Notebook, which has never been seen by the public before.

It will also feature the mystical Witches Sabbath (above).

Goya, who was born in Fuendetodos, near Zaragoza, in 1746, lived for much of his ilfe in Madrid, before dying in Bordeaux, in 1828.

Prado director Miguel Falomir said: “I do not think there is another contemporary artist who has addressed violence against women or social inequalities as Goya did.”

The exhibition, which launches this week, will run until February 16 next year.

Greatest Goya

INSPIRED: Witches Sabbath (left) and his Caprichos (right) will go on show

Stony reception

Tragicomic award

AN ILLUSTRATOR has won a prestigious Spanish Comic Award for a graphic novel telling the story of the 2006 Valencia metro disaster, which killed 43 people.

Cristina Duran’s partner Miguel Angel Giner - who cowrote the novel - took the call announcing her victory as the 49-year-old was undergoing surgery for breast cancer.

It is the first time the gong has been awarded for a piece of journalism.

El dia 3 recounts the events of the 2006 Valencia metro catastrophe and the ensuing battle of victims’ families for justice.

The jury praised the novel for its ‘narrative in which emotion, graphic excellence and the use of powerful visual metaphors are balanced.’

The comic was published in February 2018 in Spanish and later in Valencian.

A DISPUTE has broken out between a local heritage group and a university over the age of an aqueduct.

The Los Milagros aqueduct in Merida, Extremadura, was thought to be from the Roman era.

However, two engineers from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid say that tests carried out on a brick from the aqueduct show it is in fact Byzantine and

AN 81-year-old Catalan poet has been awarded Spain’s most prestigious literature prize.

Joan Margarit won the annual Miguel de Cervantes award which has a prize pot of €125,000.

But Margarit may be less than impressed, having previously said ‘́poetry is not literature; it’s another thing.’

The octogenarian poet and architect published his autobiography To have a house you have to win the war earlier this year.

He has described the book as ‘the epilogue of my complete work.’

Announcing the prize winner, Minister of Culture

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November 21st - December 4th 2019

was built in the fourth century.

But the ancient city’s archeological committee disagree. They have slammed the study as being ‘without archaeological rigour.’

The committee’s director, Felix Palma, said: “They have come to the theory without taking into account the rest of studies and knowledge about the aqueduct.”

Merida’s mayor, Antonio Rodríguez Osuna, also dismissed the findings.

Ode to a poet A famous Spanish writer and poet has been awarded a distinguished lifetime achievement accolade Jose Girao, described Margarit as ‘a great poet in Spanish and Catalan’ who was ‘worthy of the prize.’

The award’s jury said the Catalan poet was deserving of the accolade ‘for his poetic work of deep transcendence and lucid language, always innovative.’

“[His work] has enriched both the Spanish language and the Catalan language MULTILINGUAL: Joan Margarit and represents the plurality of the peninsu- Margarit wrote only in lar’s culture in one dimen- Spanish until 1981, when he sional universal mastery,” switched entirely to Catait said. lan. Since the 1990s he has written in both languages.

Recently, he spoke publicly in support of Catalan autonomy. “It is the only lanHE played the parts of Sean Connery, Richard guage, or one of the few inBurton and Michael Caine, yet hardly anyone tellectual languages, ​​withknew what he looked like. out a state,” he said.

Now, after a 60-year career that saw him play Margarit will be officially presented with the award over 1000 roles - also including parts by Jack on April 23 next year at AlNicholson, Nick Nolte and Burt Lancaster cala University in Madrid. dubbing actor Arsenio Corsellas has passed

No longer heard

away at age 86.

Me by Elton John

Elton John’s first official autobiography is a brutally honest and entertainingly funny window into his life.

Sharply witty and self-deprecating, it deals with troubled relationships, his battle with drugs and cancer and, above all, his love of music. There are amusing anecdotes featuring royals, celebrities and music legends.One of the most refreshing things about the autobiography is Elton’s self-aware humour and complete honesty. The stories are told without vanity, acknowledging times when he felt he acted terribly. For people who are ardent Elton fans there will not be any shocking revelations, but it is a comprehensive, rounded and entirely entertaining account of a global icon. €29.90, Available from The Bookshop San Pedro - www.thebookshop.es

12

November 21st - December 4st 2019

EVENTS GUIDE Monday, November 4-December 8

Denia’s Mes de la Cuchara festival gives foodies the chance to savour mouth-watering meals for just €3 in a raft of top restaurants. Selected restaurants rotate each day of the week. Full information can be found at saboreadenia.com.

Denia

Thursday, November 21

Javea’s maritime history will be given pride of place as 10 restaurants offer exquisite menus celebrating the best the Mediterranean has to offer in the 8th Xabia al Plat Mariner. Javea Golf Club, Embruix, Mezquida, the Parador, Bollard, Calima, Le Rende-Vous, Canali, See-Montgo and Cantina are all offering select menus between €30-37. Reservations recommended.

Javea

Friday, November 22-24

Teulada-Moraira is preparing for the celebrations in honor of Santa Catalina, featuring food, orchestras, fun and games.

Teulada-Moraira

Saturday, November 23-24

Ondara’s 34th Fira de Fires (‘fair of fairs’) will conclude this weekend with a culinary fair on Sunday in the EL Prado square, manned by top restaurants across the Marina Alta. A classic car show will also feature on Avenida de Alicante, while a Sunday-morning motorbike rally will rip through town.

Ondara

Sunday, November 24

Basque artist Victor Goikoetxea – known for a mural on Carrer Teuleria in Javea’s old town – exhibits his contemporary figurative works. Until November 24.

Casa de la Cable, Javea

Thursday, November 28

LA CULTURA

Amigos de Denia Charity Shop in Paseo Saladar 87B, Denia, is holding a ‘super sale’ with items reduced to €2 on Thursday, €1 on Friday and €0.50 on Saturday and €0.10 on Monday.

Passeig del Saladar, 87, Dénia November 28-December 2

Monday, December 2-7

Jávea Players will whisk audiences back to the British film noir of the 1950s when they present the premiere of brand-new play Look Out – He’s Got A Gun!. The play, directed and authored

by Phil Mansell, is a fast-paced crime spoof in which a husband and wife team are called in by a baffled Scotland yard to solve a series of mysterious kidnappings. Tickets cost €10. For more information: www.javeaplayers.com.

Jávea Players’ Studio Theatre, Javea 8.00pm

Sunday, December 1

Teulada-Moraira Lions Club present Christmas extravaganza “What a Cracker VII”, featuring the Costa Blanca Male Voice Choir, plus all manner of festive treats. Donations €5.

Espai La Senieta, Moraira 6pm

Tuesday, December 3

Xabia Book Circle’s monthly meets return to hear readings from In the steps of Cervantes by Christopher North. ​Centro Social, Javea 6.30pm

Friday, December 6

Javea Connect is offering tickets to their Masquerade Ball, allowing members of the Facebook group to meet, troll and crack puns in person. Contact info@javeaconnect.co.uk for tickets.

Seemontgo 8pm

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In the Land of (Spanish) Submarines

Jack Gaioni dives deep and reveals how a visionary Spanish naval officer could have changed history and how his legacy is still making waves today - in nearby Cartagena

W

hen asked about the meaning of the lyrics to Yellow Submarine, Paul McCartney and John Lennon called it a “fun song” - a children’s song. They simply wanted kids to sing along.

Many music critics weren’t so charitable. Some called the lyrics “nonsense, illogical and meaningless”.

One critic used the Latin descriptive “Reductio Ad Absurdum” or “reduced to the absurd.” After all, no one really lives in a yellow submarine. But for one Spanish sailor, his life in the land of submarines converges with “absurdity” in a rather bizarre chapter in Spanish Naval history.

Many of us would be surprised to learn that the modern submarine was invented in Spain. Granted, many throughout history have envisioned an underwater vessel (e.g. Leonardo Da Vinci) but a Spaniard named Isaac Peral is credited with the first prototype of today’s modern submarine. He was born in 1851 into a naval family in Cartagena — home to Spain’s Mediterranean fleet.

Isaac had sea travel in his DNA. His father was a naval officer and later taught at Spain’s prestigious naval academy in Cadiz. Isaac would enter that academy at 14 years old and went to sea

at 16 years old. He was decorated for bravery in Cuba and The Philippines.

What separated young Isaac from his fellow officers however was his expertise in hydro-graphics - the study of oceans as it relates to maritime travel. He would be awarded the chairmanship of the physics and chemistry departments at the naval academy. There, he committed himself to submarine navigation.

By 1884 Peral had designed an advanced torpedo launching sub that was state-of-the art both militarily and scientifically. It featured advanced periscopes, a chemical system to oxygenate and the ability to launch torpedoes while controlling depth.

Enthusiasm

These were major breakthroughs. Under Isaac’s command, a series of trials were conducted publicly in the Bay of Cadiz. Thousands of spectators cheered wildly as Peral’s creation would submerge, resurface and fire torpedoes successfully at simulated targets. A wave of enthusiastic pride swept Spain.

Isaac found himself at the center of attention

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LA CULTURA

“In the town where I was Lived a man who sailed toborn sea And he told us of his life In the land of submarin We all live in a yellow sub es marine, a yellow submarine…”

MAKING WAVES: Isaac Peral (above) was born to sail

and his story ran in all the major newspapers. He became a national hero. After all, this is the country that brought us the Spanish Armada and long legacy of naval superiority. Could Isaac Peral become the restorer of Spain’s faded naval glory?

The excitement was short-lived. Many of his fellow officers viewed him as an upstart. His peers became jealous and envious as they tried to delay trials and downplay the submarine’s abilities.

They even tried to sabotage construction. His rivals were able to convince the top naval brass that submarines were a useless curiosity and there was no future in underwater naval power. Ultimately, all funding of Peral’s prototype was cancelled. The navy believed that their future was in “above sur-

face” armoured battleships. Heartbroken, Isaac left the navy in 1891 and died four years later.

The Spanish Navy has since got serious about building submarines. In 2003, the Spanish company Navatia was awarded the contract to build a new class of submarines at their ship yard in Cartagena.

Isaac’s legacy resurfaced (pun intended) as Navantia’s lead ship was named The Isaac Peral in honour of the “man who lived in the land of submarines”. Production has not gone well. Monumental miscalculations at the engineering stage has “reduced to absurdity” the construction of the Isaac Peral series.

Embarrassing

In 2013, (already (10 years behind schedule and millions of euros over budget) officials disclosed that the Isaac Peral was 75 to 100 tons too heavy. Were it to go out to sea, it would not be able to surface! According to El Pais, “the fatal flaw was the result of someone in the design process placing the decimal point in the wrong place.”

Rafael Bardaji, Spain’s Defense Minister, said: “It was a fatal mistake from the very beginning - nobody paid attention and

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November 21st - December 4th 2019

reviewed the calculations.” The solution?

Lengthen the submarine by 7-10 metres to increase the buoyancy metric. This project was contracted to an American defense contractor Electric Boat Co. Three years and millions of euros later, The Isaac Peral was successfully made sea-worthy. Mission accomplished?

No…. It gets worse.

Now 15 years after the submarines were ordered there is a new problem.

The Isaac Peral is too long to fit in its home port at Cartagena. It is even more embarrassing than the original buoyancy issue because Spanish authorities had five years to ponder the ramifications of enlarging the sub’s design.

Cartagena authorities have proceeded to enlarge the port, construct new piers and dredge the harbor. Full commission of the vessel is planned for 2022 - a full 15 years after construction began. It is perhaps a stretch to intersect the Beatles’ “land of submarines” with the concept of absurdity.

But in the case of Isaac Peral that case could be made. He was a man who sailed the seas…in the land of submarines but because of some ineffectual and foolish actions of the Spanish Navy, his legacy is borderline absurd.

DID YOU KNOW? The Queen Regent Maria Christina was so excited about Peral’s project that she ordered her naval aide-de-camp to ride along during the test trials. She later sent Isaac a jeweled sword in appreciation.

There is speculation that had Peral received proper funding, his submarine would have revolutionized the Spanish Navy and perhaps changed history.

For example, had Peral’s submarine been in Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish American War (1898), the superior American fleet would have been sitting ducks to Peral’s invention. The outcome of the war might have been different.

After Peral’s launch in 1888, his prototype ended up in a junkyard. Thanks to some dedicated naval aficionados who recognized its value, it became an exhibit in the Seville World Fair of 1992. Today Peral’s sub is on permanent display in the Naval Museum in Cartagena.

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November 21st - December 4th 2019

Emergency design A COSTA Blanca student has won a Valencian Community design award for her plans to improve her local ambulance base.

The project – dubbed ‘Department 13’ – by Nelly Carrio intends to improve the efficiency of the key emergency service in Denia, while honouring the region’s cultural history.

To expand the current base, Nelly, from Pedreguer, opted for shipping containers to honour the region’s maritime history and provide much-needed space for ambulances that serve the Marina Alta region.

It comes after authorities issued new measures earlier this year to stop ambulances attending minor emergencies in rural areas that could be dealt with by local health centres.

PROPERTY

Clear off

Finance famine A SHORTAGE of finance available for smaller construction firms is leading to a Spanish house building crisis, industry leaders have warned.

More and more banks are turning off the funding taps and refusing to provide the 100% finance above land acquisition costs that small and mid-sized house builders need, according to Carolina Roca from the Asprima builders’ association.

The belt tightening means that, increasingly, only the biggest developers who can afford to stump up between 30% and 40% of the money for projects themselves are able to secure the necessary funds to build.

Spain has significantly fewer large developers than its European neighbours, meaning that the lending restrictions are having a disproportionate impact on house building on the mainland.

Some 150,000 new homes per year are needed across the country to keep up with demand.

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ANGRY residents have taken Javea Town Hall to court over a development set to be approved on one of the last stretches of virgin coastline.

The association in defence of II Muntanyar announced the legal move ahead of Javea’s expected approval of plans to build a restaurant on the beach Segon Muntanyar.

The organisation branded the works ‘illegal’ after the town hall’s own technicians deemed the site ‘environmentally important’.

Neighbours added that town planning councillor Isabel Bolufer granted a work license in breach of her own plenary agreement for the suspension of such licenses.

Denuncias made against the works last year led to an order suspending the works on the controversial plot of land.

However, the association insists the development is ‘going ahead illegally despite the decree of work stoppage’.

“The continuation of the work without a license – and in

New restaurant development set for unspoilt coastline angers locals

breach of the repeated suspension and stoppage orders – must be prosecuted.”

Residents say Javea Town Hall has declined to respond

Golden smile MARBELLA’S longest established real estate firm has been crowned ‘best real estate agency in Spain’.

Panorama Properties, which has two offices on the Golden Mile, received the prestigious prize at the European Property Awards.

The firm was founded by American expat Christopher Clover over five decades ago.

Panorama’s victory means that it is now automatically nominated for ‘best real estate agency (single office) in Europe’.

The winner will be announced at the International Property Awards in London on December 2.

Clover, whose children Alex and Katinka also work in the company, said: “Winning the award for best real estate agency in Spain is a reflection of our team’s joint effort, and of our commitment to clear and transparent communication and providing an unbeatable service to our clients.”

to their concerns, and they hope the legal actions will facilitate the ‘immediate stoppage of the work’ near their homes.

Family Ties

KEEPING it in the family has been the key to the success of local estate agency Casas Manuel.

“You’d think that working with your mum, dad, sister AND husband would be a nightmare, but it isn’t,” explained Sophie Rodriguez, who runs the Benijofar office. She and her sister having been working in the same office for eight years, while their father Manuel, 62, runs the other offices. While you might think he is the boss of the family, the patriarch confirms that the real boss is Liverpudlian wife, Linda!

Well known in the local community, they sponsor donkeys at the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre in Rojales, as well as sponsoring an annual fun run in the town. They also raise thousands for different charities each Christmas. These include one woman whose main priority was that of her parrot’s welfare.

While the family already have three branches in the Costa Blanca South and Manuel insisting it is ‘enough’, daughter admits: “You just don’t know though, never say never!”

Casas Manuel Estate Agents can be found in Benijofar, La Zenia and in Los Alcazares.

Contact the team on 966 714 719 or visit www.casasmanuel.com

We need more immigrants BUSINESSES in one of Spain’s most unpopulated areas have called on the Government to make it easier for immigrants to work there.

The northern province of Soria is one of the most deserted areas in Europe. Companies there are in desperate need of workers, but the legal paperwork needed is making it hard for them to source potential employees.

“The lack of workers has never been so staggering,” said president of Soria’s Chamber of Commerce, Alberto Santamaria, who has asked for help from the Secretary of State for Migration.

The Chamber of Commerce estimates that some 1,700 workers will be needed in Soria three years from now - and if none come, there is concern companies will have to close or put their expansion plans on hold.

BUSINESS

Bad for business

TURMOIL in Catalunya is turning British companies off investing in Spain.

UK firms believe the political instability in the pro-Independence region will lead towards an ‘unstable’ future, according to recent data compiled by International Financial Analysts (AFI).

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November 21st - December 4th 2019

The report suggests that 51% of British companies believe that political unrest in Catalunya will continue over the next two years, while 28% expect the instability to escalate.

Only 21% believe it will reduce in that time.

The survey also indicated that three out of ten British firms have considered changing their current and future investments in Spain, owing to the recent crisis in the northeastern region.

Time out for overtime SPANISH companies have been fined €1.26 million for failing to maintain records of staff working hours.

New rules introduced in May forced employers to register the hours put in by workers and store them for four years.

The PSOE government brought in the measures in a bid to crack down on unpaid overtime.

Between May and October, investigators had over 5,000 complaints submitted to them relating to inadequate completion of paperwork.

The Ministry for Labour has begun investigating 2,000 cases related to oversights in recordkeeping and 107 compa-

Companies who fail to pay employees for working overtime will get hefty fines as a new law comes into force

nies have so far received fines of up to €113,000.

Next year, in conjunction with local councils, the government is launching a crusade against

Making tracks FIVE firms have bid for the new high-speed rail service from Malaga to Madrid.

Train bosses at Adif have confirmed that several firms have made bids for the line, which is set to open in 2021, with state operator Renfe being one of them.

businesses which fail to adequately document employees’ working hours.

Spanish workers are thought to

Currently Renfe has the monopoly on rail services from the Costa del Sol to Madrid, but new government legislation will see that all change, as it aims to keep up with EU rules.

The bidders’ names have not yet been announced but even foreign firms such as Virgin and Avanza may enter the bidding war.

put in 2.6 million unpaid hours per week, down slightly from a peak of 3.5 million in 2015.

When the law was announced in May, several organisations representing employers criticised the new rules, saying they would drag Spain back into the past when workers had to clock on and clock off.

At the time acting labour minister Magdalena Valerio dismissed these concerns, saying that modern technology has made it easier to keep records electronically.

Lining up Growth

STRUGGLING Vodafone Spain has bounced back from a poor start to the year, gaining customers and reducing losses.

The phone network added 112,000 customers across its mobile, internet and TV services in a three month period.

While turnover dropped 8.7% between July and September, it was an improvement on the 9.3% reduction it recorded between April and June.

Vodafone attributed the fall in profits to a temporary increase in costs, linked to its decision to leave the football streaming sector.

The phone giant’s income from its services was €978 million between July and September.

Vodafone started in the UK in 1983 and won the license to build Britain’s first mobile phone network.

It broke into the Spanish market in 2000 when Vodafone Spain was founded. It is now the world’s number one mobile network, with 444 million customers in 26 countries.

16

November 21st - December 4th 2019

Flying again

BUSINESS

Why do I need travel insurance and will Brexit make any difference?

From the RAF to a ‘flying’ carpet business – Brit couple still enjoying life after a decade of business on the Costa Blanca

WITH successful military backgrounds behind them it’s perhaps no surprise that Gary and Kate Russell would launch a business in Spain with flying colours.

After 10 successful years running Carpet Heaven, in Los Montesinos, the couple are looking forward to the next decade.

After 48 years of service in the RAF between them, the pair decided it was time for a new challenge in their lives.

“After living on the Costa Blanca for a while, we noticed there was a gap in the market for a much larger choice of quality carpets and rugs,” explains Gary, 60. Once a prime site was found to sell their wares, they started Carpet Heaven with only 20 rugs, but contin-

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ually reinvested into the business – with the sole focus being on the customer.

Kate, 57, adds: “We never pressure customers into looking at certain things, we just let them browse and take their time, but we are always there if they need any advice with colours and sizes etc.

“It wasn’t long before we were flying again.”

Their customers include a healthy mix of Spanis, English and Scandinavian expats. The language barrier is never a problem either, explains Gary.

“A Russian family once came in, and we ended up with their young son drawing diagrams to explain exactly what was needed – despite not having a common language.”

Kate adds: “We love doing home visits, especially if we can be of help to the elderly or infirm, it’s all part of the service.”

Separation anxiety FRESH fruit and veg suppliers in Murcia have expressed fear at a grave loss of earnings after 3,000 lorries from the region have been stuck at the French border following Catalan separatist demonstrations.

Each driver is estimated to be losing between €350-500 a day for their respective businesses after the AP-7 was blockaded in La Jonquera from November 11, in protest over last month’s jailing of nine Catalan politicians. The protests called by social media phenomenon Tsunami Democratic saw 1,500 activists block the main transport artery between Spain and northern Europe in a bid to force Madrid into dialogue over Catalan independence. The 3,000 lorries from Murcia are among an estimated 20,000 trapped for two days at the French border, which has ravaged the Spanish economy to the tune of around €10 million. But Costa Calida suppliers are fearing that buyers could turn to Italy or Greece due to the instability in Spain.

M

y advice would be to always take out travel insurance, because accidents and illness can happen at any time, and you could find yourself with a very large medical and repatriation bill.

We can provide travel policies, which include loss of luggage, special cruise ship cover, medical and repatriation cover up to £10 million with over 200 pre-existing medical conditions covered for free.

Europe-only cover, or worldwide cover is available for both short and long trips. The travel cover is available for vacationers up to 85 years old.

The company that I have selected to work with has over 20 years’ experience and is extremely secure. You can pay in either Sterling or Euros.

With regard to Brexit, the likelihood of the EH1C remaining in place is very optimistic. But if, as I think, it will be withdrawn, then travel insurance becomes even more vital – even for those travelling to the UK. When opting for a travel insurance company, please make sure they are Brexit friendly. This means that if they are a British company, make sure they are allowed to sell their product in a European country.

Many aspects of travelling are going to change, as the British will no longer have all the benefits when travelling in Europe. For those driving, it will be necessary to have a Green card and for the vehicle to comply with the traffic laws in the country that you are visiting.

When we are on holiday, we tend to relax more, and this, of course, is when accidents occur. It is important to know that you have the protection you may need, which will allow you to fully relax and enjoy your holiday.

For more information or a quotation, please contact one of my offices or visit my website.

For help, advice and information, please contact one of my offices or visit my website www.jennifercunningham.net

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Brits behaving badly

BOOZY Benidorm-bound Brits are back in the spotlight after figures revealed they have made Alicante Airport Spain’s most disruptive destination.

Alicante’s main El Altet airport received 216 criminal complaints this year due to rowdy, drunk and abusive passengers flying to the Costa Blanca.

And British flyers were behind 163 (75%) of these complaints, according to Spain’s air safety agency AESA. The numbers contrast wildly, with just eight denuncias made against Spanish nationals – the second-most complained about nation – followed by Italy with seven.

The aggressive holidaymakers also turned Alicante’s El Altet airport into Spain’s number one for disruptive passenger removals, with 31 this year.

17

November 21st - December 4th 2019

A spokesperson for AESA said ‘disruptive-inappropriate-conflicting passengers’ can cause the diversion of an aircraft and, by extension, affect safety.

Bad behaviour is now a sanctionable offence for passengers flying to Spain, with fines up to €5,000 handed out to offenders.

Since 2017 a total of 729 people have been fined, adding €580,300 to the Spanish coffers.

And no surprises that Brits were the most-fined nation with 311, followed by 153 Spaniards and 103 Germans.

AESA has reportedly made a video about the dangers of drunk and disruptive behaviour on board a Spain-bound aircraft, and plans to release it in English in the United Kingdom.

Green streets Andalucia and Spain’s islands islands boast the country’s ‘most veggie’ cities

Porky pies

FEARS have emerged that fake Chinese jamon will scupper Spanish exports as the country is granted access to the product for the first time.

Carlos Tortola, Chief economic and commercial advisor at the Spanish Embassy in Beijing, said Chinese authorities have a ‘great commitment’ to protect consumers from fakes.

He cited ‘greater awareness’ to the ‘dangers of counterfeiting agrifood products due to health problems’ as a key reason for optimism.

It comes as Spain has finally been granted approval to export shoulders and legs of the pork delicacy to the east Asian country – its biggest export market for luxury goods.

Measures were approved in October, after years of lobbying by Spain’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Ministry to convince Chinese authorities to give the green light.

The Chinese export market for Spanish ready-sliced ham was already worth €2 million in 2014, according to the Chinese Customs Department.

This year, those figures are expected to sky-rocket.

Tortola said the typical Chinese consumer of jamon will be Beijing or Shanghai-dwellers ‘from the middle to upper classes, open-minded and well-informed’.

GRANADA has been declared the most vegetarian city in Spain, according to a new study.

It is joined by Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Palma de Mallorca in the Top Three of Spain’s ‘most veggie’ destinations.

Barcelona beats Madrid for the most non-meat restaurants and is also the fourth most veggie city overall.

Meanwhile, Catalunya and Valencia are Spain’s top veggie regions, according to research by vegan and veggie website www.hap-

Grapes of wrath

pycow.net.

Salamanca is the fifth most anti-meat metropolis followed by Santiago, Girona, Tarragona, Valencia and Alicante.

Calculations were made by comparing population sizes against the proportion

Big cheese A SPANISH cheese has been voted among the top three best in the world at the World Cheese Awards.

The annual event, considered the ‘Oscars’ of cheese awards, compiled a list of the top 16 best in the world and put Spain’s Torta del Casar Virgen del Prado in third place, behind Nazionale del Parmigiano Reggiano of Italy in second and the United States’ winning Organic Blue Cheese Rogue.

Virgen del Prado was made by Queseria Dona Francisca, a company founded in 2011 in the town of Casar de Caceres, Extremadura. The award-winning cheese can be purchased in wheels of 350g for €8, 600g for €12 and 900g for €17.

Full steam ahead

FOR eight amazing days the Transcantabrico Gran Lujo will be your lounge, bar and bedroom - a hotel on wheels - in which you sleep and wake up in a different place every day.

The landscape passing by the window of your deluxe suite or social carriage with upholstered sofas means each coffee is a new adventure.

It makes the San Sebastian to Santiago de Compostela route

of city eateries with vegan or veggie menus.

Granada has one of these restaurants per 17,905 inhabitants, which according to researchers is a ‘pleasant surprise’, given the city’s fame for meaty delicacies.

Researchers also found that 7.8% of Spaniards claim to have reduced their meat consumption.

They discovered that 6.3% of the country claims to be ‘flexitarian’, meaning they opt for a plant-based diet with the merest nod to their carnivore origins.

It comes as just 1.3% of those polled said they were vegetarian, while just 0.2% identified as vegan.

The report also highlights changing Spanish food habits, such as plant-based snack foods like cabbage chips and seaweed products.

Research was conducted for World Vegan Month in November, when thousands of carnivores take the Veg Pledge and switch to plant-based diets.

unique and unlike any other experience in Europe.

The original 1923 Pullman coaches, evoking the nostalgia and charm of early 20th century grand express trains, will take you back decades while a jam-packed itinerary will keep you up to date with all the goings-on in Northern Spain.

The cherry-picked route will take passengers through the verdant Basque Country, Castilla y Leon, Cantabria, Asturias and on to Atlantic-fringed Galicia.

Through the Costa Blanca-based Falken Tours, a Deluxe Suite aboard the unforgettable train can be yours for €5.500 per person.

Departure dates for 2020 are: April 25; May 9, 23; June: 6, 20; July: 4, 18; August: 1, 15, 29; September: 12, 26; October: 10, 24.

Or, the returns from Santiago towards San Sebastian are: April 18; May 2, 16, 30; June 13, 27; July 11, 25; August 8, 22; September 5, 19; October 3, 17.

Suites include a la carte and buffet breakfasts every day, as well as the finest cuisine in hand-picked restaurants en route.

Passengers are also treated to entertainment on board, including music and live performances, parties in the pub car, show cooking and cocktails, dancing, and more.

Gastronomy, landscape, culture, glamour, entertainment and relaxation come together to make this journey a unique and unforgettable experience. www.falkentours.com

THE climate crisis is drying up Spain’s wine industry.

Production this year has fallen more steeply than any other country in Europe, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine.

Spain saw a 24% drop compared to an average 10% decrease across the rest of the world, The country produced 34.3 million hectolitres of vino in 2019, compared to 46.6 million hectolitres in Italy and 41.9 million in France where output fell by only 15%. Portugal was the only country in Europe where wine production increased, rising from 10% to 6.7 million hectolitres.

Early Christmas

THE Three Kings have sprinkled some early magic in the Sierra Nevada.

Spain’s top ski resort has invested €9 million as it gears up for another exciting season on the slopes.

Cash injections for restoration work and new runs promise to make this one of the best winters ever.

The announcements were made by Cetursa boss, Jesus Ibañez at the presentation of the 2019/20 winter season in Madrid.

In terms of tracks there will be a new route from the summit of Veleta to Pradollano, linking tracks on the south slope.

While a second route has been created through Loma de Dílar, following popular demand.

A total of 33 new snow cannons are set to produce the same amount of snow in half the time, meaning the environment benefits as well as skiers.

There will be around 30 events, including Snowrunning, Potholes, School, and Veterans.

But perhaps the most exciting will be the Snowboardcross event, on March 6 and 7, next year, featuring legendary athletes like Lucas Eguibar and Regino Hernandez.

18

November 21st - December 4th 2019

As the first dates fall from Europe’s only date palm grove – in Elche – Joshua Parfitt uncovers their Islamic origins

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

First

N

OTHING could better describe Spain than ‘devils on horseback’ – the food, I mean.

Dates wrapped in bacon are the epitome of Moorish cultural advancement smothered with the proud, sweaty pork of the Castilian reconquest.

They symbolise the celebrated Moros y Cristianos festivals – so popular in the Valencian Community, but found in various places around Spain – in just one bite.

It is no coincidence, then, that Spain is home to Europe’s only date palm grove, in the city of Elche on the Costa Blanca.

It even has UNESCO status and - yes - against all the odds, Europe produces Medjool dates using a Yemenite tradition of irrigation.

This ancient and innovative Arabic watering system allowed cultivation of a cornucopia of crops, from pomegranates to citric fruits and vegetables to grains in one of Spain’s most arid and inhospitable climates.

Muslim

Through this irrigation system, 30-minute intervals of water were auctioned off to Muslim farmers each day. And it still survives intact in the centre of this 200,000-strong city today.

The thousands of 30ft-high palm trees – though emblematic – were actually deployed as sort of large masculine parasols cuckolded by the stumpier female shrubs enjoying shade, attention and pruning beneath.

The Palmeral de Elche follows so closely its Muslim engineers that the UN named it a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

Dubbing it a ‘cultural landscape inherited from the days of Al-Andalus’ it celebrates the ‘transfer of landscape and agricultural practices from Moorish North Africa to Christian Europe’ – but

A date with destiny

THE first bunch of dates has been ceremoniously cut from a date palm in Elche.

Dozens of people, including the Greek consul, joined town hall bosses in La Hoya to witness the historic event, organised by the agricultural collective Datelx.

The municipality’s date palms date back to the fifth century BC, when they are believed to have been planted by the Carthaginians.

Those gathered at the cutting were even treated to a lunch, which used local dates as the star ingredient. shh, they wrapped it in bacon so no one will ever find out!

Each autumn – October 18, to be precise – the Elche date harvest begins (see above) and it goes on for weeks in the 100-odd palm groves that take up 3.5 km2 of prime land – about 40 football pitches – in and around the city of Elche.

Incredibly, until very recently the thousands of trees were actually pollinated by hand – despite date palms being both male and female.

But now, modernity has finally moved in with Norwegian company DatElx planting 8,000 laboratory-germinated specimens that yield a

heavier crop, but the company only just this year learned how to refrigerate the dates yearround, so don’t expect any to appear in Mercadona any time soon.

For now the best way to pick the grapes is to basically shin up the tree like a monkey. There are few crops as dangerous to harvest as a date palm.

One 75-year-old ‘palmero’ from Elche, Pascual, told me he was first forced up a 30ft palm tree when he was seven.

“It was pretty terrifying,” he told me from a market stall selling woven white palm fronds – the other crop from Elche’s Palmeral, used in Sem-

ana Santa celebrations.

“My brother actually fell down and has walked with a limp ever since.”

HEALTH CROP Dried fruit is a misnomer for dates – they are berries from one of the world’s tallest plants in the grass family.

They can be eaten fresh, dried or confit, in the same order of increasing sweetness.

“Dried, they are perfect for people practising sports,” insists Miguel Angel Sanchez, president of the Elche Asociacion de Palmeros.

Dates feature large quantities of calcium, copper and potassium, all wrapped up in a nice bundle of fibre.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

dates

Devils on horseback

19

November 21st - December 4th 2019

Veal tagine with dates

XMAS FEAST

The slow-release sugars and portable shape make them a real sportsman’s friend and the dark-brown delicacies (whose name comes from the Greek for ‘finger’) have been claimed to aid heart trouble, intestinal issues, diabetes and anemia, as well as combating stress and aiding weight loss.

But science and statistics aside, what other foods are so naturally sticky, gooey and sweet you could feed it to a child without a sugar coating?

And you can feed them without worry too: they contain just 0.2% fat.

The Spanish traditionally give dates at Christmas time, and of course eat them as devils on horseback.

The vast majority may be from Egypt (the world’s largest exporter with one million tonnes, compared to Elche’s paltry 15 tonnes) but with every date harvest come new calls to create a domestic and international market.

If they succeed, it would be a cultural accomplishment in these days of globalisation.

Though potatoes, corn and rice have all moved around the world through trade, no one grows potatoes like an Andean, corn like a Mesoamerican, nor rice like a south-east Asian.

Likewise, no one could locate with certainty the precise patch of Irish dirt where the first South American potato was planted.

But in Elche, ever since its first Christian ruler, Don Manuel insisted in 1270 that any new settlers ‘should use the same irrigation system as the Moors’, the tradition has continued unbroken.

With threats coming from a string of urbanisations, climate change and a decline in farmers, the city faces a task to keep this rare multicultural success story alive.

Get educated Rose Moore sees the EU, essentially, as a political dictatorship (Leave and proud, Issue 325, pg 7). The . There opposite is thers reality n are 28 sovereign states, of baco · 12 rashe UK, which voluntarily chose to become including the dates · 2 dozend.ripe Steve Dunne believes that the UK would associate ndsso. I’m not going to almoNot eled unpe 2 dozen ·fair terms.

WTO on better chapter and by quoting page letters your weigh down . dates 1. Remove pits from the into the verse, but I recommend that Steve looks meoverTrump dsThat thehealmon brown pan, knows. that 2. In a frying industry of any specifics they asshould soonUK As oil. little very with EU-free heat an with dium deal trade a get to is trying the pan from trade them remo deals ed,want Trump’s know: have to ve all you youbrown tell s. towel paper labels. Finally, Brent Mahler speaks for onto US-first have ing wrappforce of an forarmed fit EU citizens a size of UKrashe r towary a3.number Cut bacon an ever closer union. However, these are ideas and a date.

I am EU, policy. specific floated by almon replacing dates the not insideand dspeople 4. Place worried at the insidious 40-plus years of promorepit. the Telegraph, paganda against the EEC/EU by the Mail, . Fix bacon a slice did dateofwith What each and, TheofSun. course, 5. WrapTimes Express, to ul caref being stick, ail cockt ana so was with he why her asked toget say when he was Murdoch stick theI go d. (The into “When the almon of:that lines is avoid Somethin theidea g along ti-EU? does that bacon of the The EU.”not the to it I go whenso holds I say: do what theyends 10 the No. g.) bakin g ent! durin appointm an loose for ask to come had he that is on implicati

6. Preheat the oven to 190ºC, put the skewers in and leave them to cook for 8-10 minutes.

· 3 cloves of garlic · 2 bunch of spring onions Rose sees ther EU, essentially, as a politi· 40g Moor unsaleted butte cal dictatorship (Leave and proud, Issue 325, pg 7). ·The 1 ½kg veal reality is the opposite. There are 28 sovereign · 1 pinch saffro n states , including the UK, which voluntarily chose · 1becom to teaspeoon assoc cinna iated. mon Steve Dunne believes that the UK would fairpepp better · 1 pinch black er on WTO terms. Not so.

I’m not going to weigh down your letters page by · 2 pinch es salt quoting chaptfine er and verse, but I recommend that ·Steve 150glooks honeinto y the specifics of any industry that · 250g dates he knows . That Trump is trying to get a trade deal with an blanc EU-freehed · 125g UKalmo should telltoast you all nds, edyou want to know: Trump’s trade deals have US-first labels.

FiPeel the garlic clove s and cut very nally, Brent Mahler speaks for a numbfine the er ofwith UK citispring onion s. EU armed zens wary of an force and an ever closer Add butte r and oliveare oilideas to a floated cast-iron union cassec. Howev er, these by specifi role pan, and once hot add the mince ddgarlic people and not EU policy. I am more worrie at the, onionus s and veal. insidio 40-plu s years of propaganda against the Add saffro n, cinna mon, pepp er, salt and honEEC/EU by the Mail, Telegraph, Expre ss, Times and, ey.course Moist, en pan with enou gh water to cover of The Sun. What did Murdo ch say when thewas meat and simm er for 90 minu tes. he asked why he was so anti-EU? Something Add dates andof:almon and cook along furthe the lines “WhendsI go into No. for 10 they dor 30 minu what I say:tes. when I go to the EU.” The implic ation is Serve with cousc ous. that he had to ask for an appoin tment!

20

November 21st - December 4th 2019

HEALTH In-fighting

DEMANDS to re-nationalise one of the northern Costa Blanca’s biggest hospitals have grown after exposes have revealed bizarre outsourcing practices.

Last month it emerged that patients at Denia’s Marina Salud hospital were being sent to a ‘lorry in the carpark’ for MRI scans as waiting lists for in-house procedures were overwhelming doctors.

And now a leading campaign group has denounced the hospital, which has treated patients with dermatological conditions via photographs.

A statement from La Plataforma en Defensa de la Sanidad Publica de la Marina Alta said nurses were taking pictures of skin-based medical issues and sending them to ‘an unknown third party’.

The photographs were sent ‘without the consent or knowledge’ of the patients to an out-sourced private company due to a chronic lack of specialist doctors.

The Plataforma campaign group met last week with Denia’s councillor for health, David Fernandez, to discuss the Valencian Generalitat’s pledge to re-nationalise the hospital.

A statement said the town hall was ‘deceiving’ voters as no ‘concrete steps’ had been taken to purchase the hospital from its private owners.

“The councillor was unable to answer most of the questions we had prepared.

It is not known how or when the hospital will return to being a public company or with direct government management,”

Patients at cash-strapped hospital treated in car park as privatisation row erupts

La Plataforma’s statement read.

A spokesperson for the HELP de Denia and the Marina Alta charity, however, said the new practices had little to do with ‘privatisation’ and more to do with ‘efficiency’.

“Marina Salud in Denia has to deal with MRI scans for the whole Marina Alta region. There’s nothing wrong with scans in a carpark laboratory, they’re saving time and patients’ health,” the spokesperson said.

“If more patients are getting treated faster, then what’s the issue?”

Back on track

HEALTH APPOINTMENt

By Jeremy Kenton

You have either had it, got it, or are going to get it.

We are not talking about your tax bill – but as you bend down to pick your letters from the taxman and wince with pain, take a moment to consider your poor back.

We will all suffer from back or neck pain at some stage in our life. The ache knows no boundaries and can affect both the young and the more mature.

So why do we get these problems? Remember that not all back pain starts in the spine.

As an osteopath, I see many other conditions that mimic back pain.

Every day, patients come to me without ever having their their problem investigated, or diagnosed.

The causes of back pain are numerous, but best summed up by the mnemonic ‘VINDICATES’: Vascular. Your circulatory blood supply, such as an abdominal aortic aneurysm, producing back pain.

Inflammatory. From rheumatoid arthritis or rheumatism. Infection. Think of the back pain caused when you have the flu.

Neurological. Nerve damage, as in pressure onto nerve tissue – just think of sciatic pain neoplasms.

Destructive. Osteoporosis, or from infection such as TB. Degenerative. From osteoarthritis, possibly the commonest cause of spinal problems.

Idiopathic. Of unknown origin.

Cancer. A possible cause of back pain. Congenital. We sometimes are born with problems such as spondylolisthesis or scoliosis.

Acquired. From your posture or work or even prolonged driving or computer use Traumatic. Following accidents and injuries.

Endocrinal. Osteoporosis, as many hormonal conditions, can produce spinal pain.

Sexual. Fibroid prostate problems and some sexually transmitted diseases. Skeletal. Or, from the numerous mechanical causes of spinal pain and its allied musculature.

Diagnosis of problems is literally like detective work as one sifts through various clues through symptoms, some of which are relevant, while others may be red herrings. There is a lovely medical expression - ‘if you hear hoof beats think of horses not zebras’ - as commonest causes occur most commonly. A physical examination can then lead to a correct diagnosis or require investigation through X-rays, MRI scans or blood tests. But remember that these tests are used to confirm a diagnosis and should not be a stab in the dark.

As can be seen, there are many potential causes of back or neck pain. Arthritis, falls or poor posture are very often the main culprit. Try and modify the way you stand and sit so you are upright as possible. Be careful as you bend and twist, taking extra care when lifting. Be aware of how you move at work and in the home. Remember that constantly repeated tasks can put strain on spinal joints leading to disc and joint damage. As always, prevention is better and cheaper than cure.

But if you are in pain this is why a detailed consultation and osteopathic examination is so important to establish exactly what is wrong rather than just treating the symptoms. This could also mean that osteopathy may not be suitable - but you can rest assured in the knowledge that a trained and qualified practitioner will recognise those conditions and, if necessary, refer you to an appropriate medical specialist to deal with such issues. Therefore, diagnosis is vital to establish the cause which as you can see may be from one or a mixture of factors.

The correct treatment for your problem can only be given once the diagnosis has been established.

Sometimes simple - but it may be a complex mix of causes and disease processes causing your pain.

30

invasive cosmetic surgery.

Fully one-third of were previously not considered Americans opt for minimally candidates for body contouring invasive fat reduction or body procedures.”

What’s more, truSculpt sculpting treatments to look www.weekender.news an average fat better in the buff, according to iD produces a new survey of 500 men and reduction of 24 percent, and women from Cutera, Inc. And visible improvements are seen November - December 4th 2019 in 621st to 12 weeks following the those who exercise regularly are most likely to have a first treatment. Multiple areas body-sculpting treatment, with can be treated in one session,

HEALTH

21

Health & Beauty

Dietary laser Look betterdemands in the buff:Major Get your sexy back

without giving up everything you love

OBESITY is on the march in developed countries and Spain is no exception.

That’s the warning that has been issued by the president of the Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity (SEEDO) Francisco Tinahones.

The expert said it has become a ‘worrying problem’ in Spain where a QUARTER of adults are obese and more than half have an unhealthy weight.

“This is the most important health problem of the century,” said Tinahones, on World Obesity Day last month.

Being overweight or obese can lead to diabetes and puts people at risk of developing endometrial, gastrointestinal and breast cancer, among others. Looking sexy, svelte or built It also leads toincardiovascular sleep your clothing diseases, is one thing. apnea, gallbladder problems Looking better inand thecan buffaffect is a your joints. whole other ballgame.

Clothing What’s worse, said Tinahones, is that childlow-cut necklines, shorthood obesity is- even now increasingly common. shorts32% or tight-fi tting tees - can In Spain, around of children aged between six andhide 13 are as obese, with yourclassed flaws and accentuate 45% of kids having unhealthy bodyyou weight. your an assets, but when are Tinahones has called on politicians to address nude, there’s nowhere or the chronic disease and offer it the sameway conto hide anything. sideration as -conditions such as cholesterol, If youpressure. want to look better diabetes or high blood “Politicians must take more serinaked, youthis areissue not alone.

Far ously, becausefrom obesity is a disease and must it. More and more people be treated as such,” he said. are into healthy living and

getting fit these days. The good news is that there is finally something you can do about it that doesn’t involve giving up carbs and sweets, doing excessive crunches or having invasive cosmetic surgery.

Fully one-third of Americans opt for minimally invasive fat reduction or body sculpting treatments to look better in the buff, according to a new survey of 500 men and women from Cutera, Inc. And those who exercise regularly are most likely to have a body-sculpting treatment, with

The wobbles You may think that loose teeth can only be solved by dentures, but Karan Sud Dental’s fibrebond technology can save you the time, effort, pain and cost

SUFFERING with loose teeth?

You may have been told you will now need dentures or implants.

But this is not actually the case, especially with regards to the front teeth.

At Karan Sud Dental, in Calpe, we use fibrebond technology to splint loose teeth together and replace missing teeth.

This innovation uses a resin-based fibre, placed behind the affected teeth, that can strengthen them without having to pull them out and allows you to keep your teeth for much longer.

Dentures are bulky, and affect both taste and function. They also can jeopardise the health of remaining teeth.

Dental implants in the anterior region - or front teeth - are also very complicated.

They involve surgery, and take a lot of time, effort and expense.

With fibrebond technology, however, you can save on all of these things, as well as pain.

If you have mobile or missing teeth, please call us to see if you’re a suitable candidate for this innovative treatment.

Dr Karan Sud British dentist Calpe

“Very pleased with my new dental treatment from Karan and the team. My teeth were loose, but this treatment solved the problem completely. I am usually very nervous around the dentist, but the procedure was pain-free and the aftercare was easy and exceptional. Well done.”

Glenys Cook

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Revolutionary Laser PVP treatment for prostate gland enlargement now offered at British clinic by first class medical staff

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by BPT

22

November 21st - December 4th 2019

COLUMNISTS

Love at Keys in the Facebook Bowl long last GetTING ConnectED By Loraine Gostling

Farm Flash

By Susan Weeding

A swingers request on Javea Connect Facebook group sends admin scratching their heads at the rulebook

damned if we don’t.

But the one thing that many of the members don’t realise, is that often there is nothing more tempting than actually being ourselves.

In these occasions we have to top up the G&T, find three more people to play Cards Against Humanity with, and hope that that temptation to speak our minds quickly subsides.

So… we let the swingers have the stage, and 106 comments later (and still going) I think we made the right decision in not giving in.

My fellow admin, Gwenda Robinson, (the one who owns the broom and cauldron) did finally comment: “There’s a question earlier on asking why/how admin are allowing this thread, well here’s my take. We are all adults and not ALL judgemental (albeit the usual ones will out themselves) but for me it makes a change from how wonderful your plumber/ mechanic/manicurist is, moaning about dog crap, rubbish, the weather and cyclists. Vive la differencia I say!

And so say all of us.

Two ponies left disabled by violence and abandonment find friendship at the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre in Rojales, writes Susan Weeding These two little ponies are deeply in love and they go everywhere together.

They're both disabled, and they are inseparable.

Fudge was the first rescue – he came two years ago on the 21st of September in another shocking rescue.

We were called out by the police, who took Rod to where this little pony was tied up literally in a bush.

He had his head in the bush to keep the flies off of his face, because they were devouring every inch of him.

Once Rod got him out of the bush, he saw what was inviting the flies: his eye was punctured and rotting away.

Fudge was skeletal, very weak, but we got him back to the rescue centre and our vet, Dorothy, came to examine him.

It became evident that due to a very heavy blow, most likely from a human, the eye had been severely damaged, and the impact had fractured the second vertebra in his neck.

It was causing neurological problems, and meant the pony could barely walk.

He also had a sexually transmitted dis-

ease. He was probably owned by gypsies, who do unselective breeding, so they put any mare with any pony. (Believe it or not, horses, ponies and donkeys can transmit STDs).

Anyway we treated 18-year-old Fudge. We got him as strong as we could and castrated him. Unfortunately, this little guy will never be able to go out in the yard with the other ponies because of his disabilities. He rolls when he walks and if he has another blow to the neck it might paralyze him.

So here was Fudge all lonely in the yard, when fate took a hand.

The following year, in May, we were called out again by the police to another skeletal pony.

She'd been abandoned on the street, tied up and left. She was covered in parasites, very near death. Her hooves were so long she could barely walk.

We suspected she'd probably been used for breeding and been kept inside a stable her whole life. When she got weak, her owners likely just dumped her in the street and left her.

Annie was about 17 years old when we got her. Again, obviously, we got her to the rescue centre, and slowly managed to get food into her.

We cut up to 30cm of growth from each hoof to enable her to walk again, but due to her sheltered life this was another disabled pony unable to ever be in the yard with the others.

And so, it became a match made in heaven. They are together 24/7 and sleep in the same stable.

When you consider the terrible lives these two must have had in the past, it’s a miracle neither of them are in pain any longer.

It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about these little two.

I just hope when their time comes they pass away together, because they would be lost without each other.

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 1 Broth, 4 Helped, 10 Outflow, 11 Stuff, 12 Laid, 13 Reversed, 14 Assassinate, 18 Abnormal, 20 Uses, 22 Lilac, 23 Emotive, 24 Tenant, 25 Satyr.

Down: 2 Retains, 3 Tile, 5 Eastern, 6 Paul’s, 7 Dyfed, 8 Pools, 9 Sweepstakes, 15 African, 16 Testify, 17 Islet, 18 Allot, 19 Nylon, 21 Sofa.

SUDOKU

Before I begin, I just have to give you a quick update on the new KFC in Ondara (avid readers will remember last week’s food fight over whether we should celebrate or protest).

Signs are now up and this week many workmen were on site standing about admiring said signs, and seemingly little else, which could be why there is no opening date yet.

So, sorry, KFC fans… but keep your eyes peeled on the Javea Connect Information page for updates!

So, what else has been happening on my beloved Facebook group this week?

Well, it was all rather ‘same old, same old’, that is, until yesterday evening when a lady from Belgium (where the chips are far superior to KFC I might add) announced quite openly that she was ‘looking for couples in the swingers world’.

You can imagine, within minutes admin’s phones were dinging, with prudent users reporting the post as a violation of rules.

After a little giggle, I checked the rules and it appears we have nothing explicitly banning swinging – oh the dilemma!

I know many members on Javea Connect who would recoil in horror at this post, but I also know the vast majority would have grabbed the popcorn, a glass of wine and sat down to watch how this one progressed.

There are also the few ‘devil may care’ members who, I pretty much knew, would be flexing their fingers to get a few laughs.

But, what about us admin?

As usual, we are damned if we do and

6 9 5 7 4 2 8 3 1

1 7 3 9 5 8 6 4 2

2 8 4 1 3 6 5 7 9

7 2 8 4 6 9 1 5 3

3 5 9 2 1 7 4 8 6

4 6 1 5 8 3 2 9 7

9 1 6 8 7 4 3 2 5

8 3 2 6 9 5 7 1 4

5 4 7 3 2 1 9 6 8

Puzzle by websudoku.com

If you have a sports story, newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call 0034 951 273 575

SPORT Clawing Striking out ahead 23

November 21th - December 4th 2019

Lionel sum

LIONEL Messi has been revealed to be the highest paid sports star of the year, according to Forbes, surpassing Juventus star and footballing rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Barcelona ace earned €115 million this year, while Ronaldo made €100 million and Neymar, who spent four years at the Camp Nou before moving to Paris Saint-Germain, received €94 million.

On the list, too, was Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez and tennis superstar Roger Federer.

Former Barca playmaker Andres Iniesta was the only Spaniard to make the top 50.

David Villa waves adios to the sport that brought him adoration across Spain SPAIN’S all-time leading goalscorer, David Villa, has announced his retirement from football at the end of the season, ending his spellbinding 20-year career.

One of the least appreciated players in modern football, Villa earned his first international cap in 2005 and went on to score 59 goals for his country - 15 more than second-place Raul, and 22 more than third-place Fernando Torres.

The striker started his career at Sporting de Gijon, before

moving to Zaragoza, then to Valencia, where he made his mark as one of La Liga’s most prolific goal scorers.

Barcelona brought Villa to the Camp Nou in 2010 for €40 million and he enjoyed three seasons in Catalunya before heading to Atletico Madrid.

Nada for Nadal

RAFAEL Nadal crashed out of a major tennis tournament, only four hours after lifting a world number one trophy.

The 33-year-old Spaniard was beaten by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the ATP Finals in London on Friday.

It was the third time he has been knocked out of this season-ending spectacle in the group stages.

Nadal, winner of 2019’s French and US Opens, tipped Djokvic to the number one title for the fifth consecutive year.

He will now be setting his sights on the trophy at the Davis Cup, which is taking place in Madrid this week.

For the later stages of his career, he moved to the USA, to play for New York City, and then Japan, teaming up once again with Andres Iniesta, this time at Vissel Kobe where he is finishing his esteemed career.

The 37-year-old has scored 12 goals so far this season, his career total being 376 goals in 752 games.

Villa will be best known for his time at Barcelona where he, Lionel Messi and Pedro made up a devastating attacking trio under Pep Guardiola at Barca, in what’s often labelled as the best club side of all time.

For his national side, Villa helped Spain emerge victorious in the 2008 European Championship and the 2010 World Cup.

LOBSTER customers can now surf the internet more and for longer at no extra cost, as we have increased data by up to double across all tariff plans.

The Small Plan now has 4GB per month, the Medium Plan 10GB, and the Large Plan 25GB. All Lobster tariff plans continue to include unlimited calls and texts in Spain, as well as the UK and other countries.

Everyone gets the increase in data, both new customers and current customers.

Our tariff plans are tailor-made for British expats and other English speakers who reside in Spain.

Our prices start from just 12€ per month VAT included.

We pride ourselves on being the only mobile operator in Spain to offer a service completely in English, and in addition to unlimited calls and texts in Spain and the UK, all our tariff plans also include unlimited calls and texts to Denmark, Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the USA. Our brand was created to establish and maintain an emotional bond with British values and service.

So far, our winning formula that has appealed to over 10,000 happy Lobster customers in just nine months and we’re growing rapidly.

Tony Watts, marketing director of the company, said: “We are always listening to our customers’ feedback and it is important to us that our customers have the highest levels of satisfaction.”

Signing up for the service can be done through any one of the over 600 retail stores.

Customers can also easily find the closest store to them using the store finder our website Lobster.es.

If customers prefer, they can also sign up online or by calling us at our contact centre for free on 1661, where all our agents are English-speaking.

To top it off, we have extended our promotion of ‘first month for free’ for a limited time.

WE TRANSPORT: YACHTS, CARS, MOTORBIKES, POWER BOATS, WORK BOATS, BARGES, MOTORHOMES, STATIC CARAVANS, MOBILE HOMES, TOURERS, AND ALL TYPES OF GENERAL HAULAGE. SPECIAL TYPE VEHICLES FOR WIDE, HIGH, LONG LOADS.

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FOR A FREE QUOTE CALL: +44 1522 702 443

Farseical DOCTORS have apologised ‘profusely’ after a patient undergoing a rectal exam in Valencia complained that consultation room doors were ‘broken’ leaving him exposed.

FINAL WORDS

Economy class AFTER Rosalia’s social media slanging match with Vox, in which it slammed her for flying on private planes, the singer has returned to using commercial air travel.

Lucky dip A SPANISH Euromillions lottery winner has taken home €122,766,852 following a lucky draw on November 19.

Have a crack BREXIT has been selected as the topic for Alicante’s first round of the Debate Lope de Vega tournament, with local schools tasked with answering: ‘is Brexit beneficial for the UK?

OLIVE PRESS

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Vol. 1 Issue 18 www.theolivepress.es

Your expat

voice in Spain

November 21st - December 4th, 2019

Reuse Reduce Recycle We use recycled paper

My mate Marmite SUN, sea and sangria are all very well but most expat Brits still yearn for a taste of home, a poll has revealed.

A Great British cup of tea, along with crumpets and Marmite top the list of comfort foods and beverages they crave after moving abroad.

Other delights, such as Heinz salad cream, Bovril and Scotland’s speciality drink Irn Bru are also firm favourites.

The poll of 1,000 expats by

New poll reveals the food and drink British expats just can’t live without

the British Corner Shop also found marmalade, custard, back bacon, mustard and Twiglets on the list.

And an incredible two thirds said they missed foods from home, while 52% said they missed traditional British pubs.

“Moving abroad can be tre-

Sail away for €300m A SUPERYACHT, currently based in Malaga, has gone on the market for €300 million.

The 100-metre long megayacht Octopus, which has eight diesel engines, is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who passed away last year.

It is the fourth time the 9,000 ton yacht has docked in Malaga.

mendously exciting,” explained the company’s Alex Kortland. “But often it’s only once you’ve settled somewhere else you realise there are certain things which are much harder to get hold of.

“They may seem small and insignificant but sometimes you want that little taste of home.

“Short of making extra visits to the UK or forcing guests to bring jars of Marmite out with them, we’ve been helping Brits satisfy their cravings for over 20 years.”

While some said they missed Tennent’s lager and cod roe, one expat insisted it was Whiskers Crunch for her cat.

CRAVINGS: Expats miss the taste of crumpets Among the Top 30 favourites are: Tea Marmite Gravy Biscuits Baked beans Pies Pickles Sausages Crumpets Squash Bovril Mustard Salad Cream Marmalade Irn Bru Custard Malt Vinegar Scones

Couch potato A DOZY burglar has been nabbed watching television at a mayor’s country home in the Costa Blanca.

Denia mayor Vicent Grimalt (above) called police after arriving home to find his gate and front door broken into.

Local police were quickly on the scene to confront the thief, who was sitting on the sofa drinking a can of Coke.

According to cops he had not stolen anything and had merely picked up a couple of pens, although he was wanted for breaking into another house in the area last month.

Ham fisted

A SHOPLIFTER has been charged with stealing a leg of ham from a supermarket.

The Calpe local reportedly used ‘baggy clothing’ to hide the cured jamon Iberico, which can weigh up to 8kg and measures almost 90cm.

She was arrested along with three others involved in a ‘Christmas campaign’ to steal chocolates, perfume, makeup kits, turrones and cockles worth more than €500 from supermarkets.