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June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Mijas Costa SAN JAVIER
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Who is he? EXCLUSIVE
A PLUCKY policewoman who arrested Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner in 2017 says police tried to find a ‘blonde man’ who was with him that night. Off-duty officer Vanessa Viera reveals in a new book how she and her colleagues searched the area trying to find the potential accomplice. It came after she arrested dangerous sex offender Brueckner, 44, in a children’s park on the Algarve, at 2.15am during a feria.
Familiar
“He looked so familiar and I knew I had seen him before,” she revealed in the book, My Search for Madeleine, by Olive Press editor Jon Clarke. “It was then I realised he hadn’t come alone and I’d seen him and his friend at one of the bars in the square. Other parents also remembered he had been chatting to another tall blonde man,” added Viera (left). Her grilling of the German came after she was forced to hold off four angry dads of kids he had allegedly flashed at under a slide. She eventually calmed them down and managed to call in colleagues. “I asked him where his friend was and he just smiled and wouldn’t say anything. He wouldn’t tell us where he was staying either.” She continued: “We searched all around for his friend, but it was clear he Continues on Page 2
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Vol. 3 Issue 64 www.theolivepress.es September 9th - September 22nd 2021
TIED UP AND LEFT TO DIE OLIVE PRESS
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Summer escape 2
British family slam controversial hospital after mother died from infected bed sores while ‘handcuffed’ in bed EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade
AN ELDERLY expat was ‘handcuffed’ to a hospital bed which led to a ‘humiliating and agonising death’, claim her family. Kathleen Marshall, who was displaying the early signs of dementia, was admitted into Torrevieja hospital for treatment for dehydration. But when relatives went to visit the 73-year-old British resident, who had lived in Spain for more than two decades, they were shocked to find her restrained in a bed.
Summer escape 3
Lucky blast
DISGRACE!
British expat mum, 33, sent home to die in agony after being refused treatment after 14 hour wait at A&E
her legs earlier that week, and was advised to go to the emergency department if the condition worsened. In regular messages to her mum, she said hospital staff justified making her wait all day because emergencies took priority. After seven hours of waiting in agony with her leg swollen to twice its size, the 33-year-old eventually saw a female doctor. However, she felt her condition was not taken seriously, and insisted the doctor dismissed her after seeing medical notes that mentioned previous treatments for mental illness. In a message to her mother, Jane, a nurse h e r self, she wrote: “ T h e doctor was really nasty,
EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade
said she’s read my notes and I’m mental in the head.” She said the doctor had told nurses that once she had her X-ray to ‘get her to a taxi and get her home’. In a later message (see right) she added: “The other two nurses were well shocked”. Referring to the doctor, she added: “She hates me.” The part-time charity volunteer stayed on the ward despite the bad feeling in the desperate hope that someone would eventually attend to TRAGEDY: Rachael pictured her leg.
Embolism
with mum Jane
Exhausted, she was eventually sent Jane performed CPR while neighhome at 3am, after 14 agonising bours called for an ambulance but hours in the hospital. Rachael died on the floor of Later that morning, her mother lounge with paramedics also the un- who has 35 years nursing expe- able to revive her. rience - realised something was A Spanish neighbour confirmed gravely wrong and rushed to the Jane that the ambulance staff to nearest pharmacy for medication him that ‘an embolism was told cerand advice. tainly to blame’, after assessing her But by the time she returned, symptoms. Rachael had slipped into uncon- Rachael’s own son, Reece, sciousness and was completely un- had thankfully been staying 13, with responsive. friends that night so did not witness his mother’s death. The family is now looking for answers as to why medics failed to take Rachael’s illness seriously and to provide treatment that A WOMAN had to go to hospital could have saved her life. fish bit her foot at El Pinet beachafter a Jane in La has sought legal advice, with Marina. a view to preventing such a tragedy this shouldn’t happen to Beach-goers initially believed anyone.” it was happening to someone else. Rachael was cremated at Torrevieja from a blue shark after a crematorium last week with dozens recent sighting in of friends, family and colleagues in Benidorm. Animal But it “The way my daughter was treated attendance. turned out in her final hours is nothing short Kind neighbours had helped toto be a of disgusting - you wouldn’t treat an wards the expensive funeral costs at bite from short notice. animal that way,” she sobbed. “Mona memey isn’t the issue, what difference ber of the If Olive Press readers would would it make anyway? Golfar fish family, “I just want justice for Rachael and like to help the family, there is which has sharp teeth. I want answers to the questions we also a gofundme page to help. have about her awful treatment Opinion Page 6
Nippy dip
CONTACT +34 711 00 49 70 – howieuk99@google
TRAGIC: Kathleen was tied to a bed at Torrevieja hospital (below) mum developing bed sores which Firth, 33, died in agony at home of became infected. a suspected embolism, after TorThey say the situation was made revieja hospital sent her home afworse as she was left to lie in soiled ter she had waited a full day to get bedclothes. treatment. The alleged mistreatment comes In more damning criticism of the just weeks after the Olive Press public hospital, the Marshall family reported on another British expat claim staff had disconnected emerwho had died after being refused gency help buttons on the ward. treatment at the They added that they ignored cries same hospital for help from many patients and (see story, top were “never off their phones.” right). “If this happened in the UK, it Mother Rachael would be considered nothing but abuse,” George Marshall, 51, told the Olive Press, this week. He later discovered his mum who had moved with him and his wife Sharon to Spain from Luton in 2000 - had not SALES & RENTALS SPECIALISTS been given any pain relief. Moriara•Calpe•Jalon•Javea•Denia•Altea After noticing she was constantly grimacing from www.moraira-hamiltons.net
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FLASHBACK: Our last issue
Nappy
They found her also wearing a nappy, despite the fact that she was ‘able to use’ the toilet and wash herself. Son George, who lives in San Miguel de Salinas, has failed to get an explanation over what he insists was “humiliating treatment”. He claims t h a t b e i n g forced to stay in the same position in bed, led to his
August 26th - September 8th 2021
Phew! We survived the heatwave with a bit of help from our friends....
QUICK-thinking lifeguards have saved a baby from choking to death on an ice cube. The one-year-old girl was licking it to keep cool on a Santa Pola beach A YOUNG British woman died hours when she swallowed it and it got after being dismissed by doctors stuck in her windpipe. and Despite the baby’s pulse stopping, told to go home after waiting 14 the two Cruz Roja lifeguards used hours at a hospital for treatment. Rachael Firth, who worked as a livethe Heimlich manoeuvre to get it and then revived the youngster. out in carer, sought help at Torrevieja’s A&E on August 14, after suffering A doctor later confirmed that the days baby was fine, although her mother of pain. needed treatment for shock. She was seen by her GP for pain in
A RUSSIAN man had a lucky escape when he was blown off his boat after an explosion at Altea's Greenwich Marina. The 50-year-old was working on the engine when the blast threw him into the water. A mixture of gases in a confined space is believed to have caused the incident.
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Summer escape 1
A TODDLER has miraculously escaped injury after falling from a second floor apartment block. The two-year-old boy had climbed onto a chair on the balcony of the holiday apartment in Benidorm and slipped over the railing and plummeted to the street below. Luckily his fall was cushioned, firstly by an awning and then by a local man who tried to catch the child. The holidaymaker appeared to be completely unharmed when police arrived on the scene. It is not known if the passer-by suffered any injury. The toddler was taken to the Villajoyosa Hospital for a thorough examination to ensure he did not suffer any serious injuries.
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the pain of the infected sores, he asked nursing staff to confirm what painkillers had been administered. He was given the reply: “Oh, do you think she needs some?” A hastily-arranged morphine treatment left Kathleen incredibly nauseous, but allegedly staff hadn’t noticed that constant vomiting had dislodged her feeding pipe. Consequently, fluids were fed directly into her lungs, and she developed respiratory problems as a result. After two agonising weeks, Kathleen was sent home, but it soon transpired she had septicaemia from what had developed into ‘Stage 4 bedsores’. A return to the same hospital saw her die within a week, less than a month after being first admitted for a simple rehydration treatment. “Mum is definitely in a better place now, but her passing should have been a dignified affair with her family by her side, not alone and in agony up until her final breath,” continued George.
Neglect
His mother’s death certificate mentioned three reasons for her passing: respiratory problems, dementia and the ulcer. The family is convinced that Kathleen suffered ‘criminal neglect’ and believe others may have suffered in a similar way. He is now seeking other local families, expat or Spanish, that have suffered at the hands of the hospital. He hopes that by joining with others and speaking up about certain practices it will raise awareness and pressure authorities to make improvements in care. Opinion Page 6
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CRIME
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NEWS IN BRIEF
EXPAT LIFTED
Home drama
A BRITISH expat has been arrested in Guardamar after the Guardia Civil discovered three kilos of marijuana in his car. The man, 42, was stopped by a patrol that the nervous driver tried to evade, and with good reason.
POLICE talked an Ibi woman out of leaping off a balcony after stabbing her son, 21, with a knife. His injuries were only minor and his mother was arrested and taken to hospital..
Drop in ALL 133 mass vaccination centres across the Valencian Community are now offering ‘appointment-free’ COVID-19 injections.
Hotel fear A neighbourhood group and six people have filed written objections about plans to build a 67-room hotel in the Blay Beach area of Denia. The proposal has to observe coastal law and Denia council planning rules.
Extra space PAVEMENTS on Benidorm’s Calle Denia in the La Cala area of the city are being widened due to obstructions caused by bollards and trees. The work, including new lighting, will finish in late October.
The car did not belong to him and its ITV certificate had expired. Police searched the car and found the man’s marijuana stash packaged up in plastic bags. He was then charged with drug trafficking.
September 9th - September 22nd 2021
TURN ON THE SCREW
A PRISON boss has been assaulted by six hooded men to warn her not to testify in a mistreatment case. The deputy head of Villena prison was confronted by the masked group outside her home. She was grabbed from behind and held while others punched her in the face. She was set to testify in
a case involving three guards accused of beating up a mentally-ill inmate. She had received other threats warning her to delete CCTV footage of the attack. The threat sent to her mobile phone, said: ‘We know you have images. Delete them or pay attention to the consequences’.
Military precision POLICE have arrested three men who donned disguises and deployed military-style tactics to steal from foreign tourists picking up hire cars at Alicante airport. The Kosovo-Albanian trio used their army backgrounds to track potential victims and keep an eye out for police patrols. They used an array of dis-
Robbers don wigs and hats to evade detection in airport rent-a-car thefts By Alex Trelinski
guises, including wigs and hats, to masquerade as tourists and avoid security camera identification. But they came unstuck when
Caught red handed THREE men have been arrested after police connected a severed hand discovered inside a car with the body of a man found in a river. The corpse, which was missing a hand, was found in the River Ebro, near Sant Jaume d'Enveja in Catalunya, with police admitting they had no clues as to who was responsible for the grisly murder. But when cops in Tarragona alerted detectives that a hand had been recovered from a truck of a car a few days later, officers were quickly able to link the two gruesome discoveries.
a police probe was launched following a spate of robberies. All the thefts occurred when visitors were picking up hire cars or loading them up with luggage. The men donned their dis-
AN online gambler tried to blame a hacker after losing €17,000 from gambling debts. His bank, in Ibi, was at the point of approving the refund before suspicion grew over his claims. It came after the man reported the fraud to cops claiming the withdrawals came from overseas
Bad bet betting sites that he knew nothing about. However the bank was eventually able to ascertain that he had activated the card and officers were able to prove it was used locally via different IP addresses to gamble online.
guises to mingle with tourists in the arrival area to identify a target. A potential victim, often elderly, was then followed into the car park. One of the trio would distract them by getting them into a conversation.
Luggage
A colleague would then rob their luggage before both men ran off to the third man who sped them away, ironically, in a rental car. Police detained the men in the arrivals zone as they preyed on a newly-arrived tourist. The trio, aged 33 to 49, were charged with six robberies in addition to document forgery and illegally staying in Spain.
From front
Maddie had completely vanished. He must have taken the car or van.” After being handcuffed he was taken to a police van, where her colleagues discovered there was a warrant for his arrest for sex offences in Germany. The Portuguese WPC, who had been out with her fiveyear-old daughter that night, had been following the case closely for a decade. She had actually been stationed outside the apartment at the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, where Madeleine, 3, had been snatched in May, 2007. She never thought for a second that the McCann family were involved. “I saw first hand the tragedy and trauma that the poor family went through,” revealed in the book. “It was awful. I could really see their pain and suffering.” The book has carefully tracked the German sex offender’s movements since first arriving in Portugal in 1994. Apart from spending over a decade in Portugal, Brueckner spent many months living in Spain, in particular in the Granada province, near Orgiva. My Search for Madeleine, by Jon Clarke, can be bought on all Amazon platforms in both digital and print formats. I’m sure he did it, See page 6 - 7
NEWS
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You’ll love this mystery
September 9th - September 22nd 2021
3
HEART-WRENCHING: Film is based on war dead
A TENDER love letter, written almost 50 years ago, has been found at a rubbish dump on the Costa del Sol. Dated April 21, 1974, from Santurce, in the Basque Country, the letter, written by a young 22-year-old man to his fiancée in Casares reveals a touching love story. In the letter, the young soldier counts the days to see his beloved again, specifically ‘19 Sundays’, and to marry her to be ‘always together’. “You will see how happy we are going to be,” he promises. However, his words reveal that the course of the romance was not a bed of roses, as her parents didn’t approve. According to the letter they branded him a ‘hippie’ and nicknamed him ‘el melenas’ (man with long hair) but he wrote that he had ‘cut his hair’ and begged the girl to convince her parents that he was a serious contender for her hand. The letter was found on the waste-sorting conveyor belt on timeworn sepia pages. How the love story ended is not known as no names were included in the letter to identify the pair. Did it end in tragedy for the star-crossed lovers or happy ever after? We shall apparently never know.
Ghosts of the civil war Spain’s top film director finally tackles the country’s most controversial subject - four decades on
HE has been Spain’s most creative - and controversial - director for the last half century. Now Pedro Almodovar is to delve into his most sensitive subject yet. The Madrid film director is to tackle the country’s most enduring wound; looking at the Spanish Civil War. In particular, his new film, which has just premiered at the Venice film festival, uses the tens of thousands of people who disappeared during the war - or are still buried in unmarked graves - as his subject matter. Parallel Mothers also appro-
FAVOURITE: Pedro with Penelope Cruz priately stars his favourite Some five decades after the Spanish actresses Penelope death of dictator General FranCruz and Rossy de Palma. co, unmarked graves still litter The film, which launches in the countryside. Spain this week, explores the Hidden within them are the refate of two women giving birth mains of an estimated 100,000 in the same Madrid hospital on people who were executed by the same day. Fascist death squads during His 23rd feature film, over four the three-year-conflict or the decades, highlights a political ensuing dictatorship. issue that still haunts Spain in Over the last 15 years, volunmodern times. teer teams have been exhuming graves across Spain and returning remains to relatives for proper burial. But campaigners have long fought for national state aid in locating and exhuming the SHAKIRA has been shaking off the stress of her ongoing tax battle thousands of other burial sites on a Costa Brava break. that the Franco regime sought The Hips Don’t Lie star was clearly enjoying her carefree vacation to erase. with her husband, footballer Gerard Pique and children. Now Almodovar, whose first The 44-year-old Colombian bombshell was all-smiles despite the film Pepe, Luci Bom, came out £13million tax evasion claims, in which Spanish prosecutors accuse in 1980, has taken up the issue. her of six offences. "I wanted to give this topic The singer showered her sons, Milan, 8, and Sasha, 6, with affection visibility,” explained the Osas the family relaxed onboard a 45ft vessel while soaking up the sun. car-winner, 71. Shakira's legal team and the Spanish Tax Agency are apparently at “Until we've paid the debt we loggerheads over the tax case and have 'totally opposite views'. owe the 'desaparecidos', we A trial is imminent with Shakira allegedly hiding money in compawill not be able to close the nies based in tax havens. chapter of our recent history.
Holidays don’t lie
BACK TO SCHOOL: But Hogwarts-style for Leonor
Princess of Wales PRINCESS Leonor of Spain has become the new Princess of Wales after starting boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan. The 15-year-old heir to the Spanish throne is enrolled at UWC Atlantic College where she will study the International Baccalaureate. The two-year course involves fees of around €76,500 which will be paid from the royals’ annual budget and is a favourite choice among Europe’s elite. The school in Wales has been likened to the Hogwarts school for wizards from the Harry Potter books because of its location in a 12th century castle. To become a student at a UWC college, students must have a strong academic record and at least a basic knowledge of English. As well as studying for the ‘bac’, students are expected to undertake a programme of experiential learning that focuses on key aspects of ‘peace, a sustainable future, and student initiative’. It offers alternative activities such as yoga, Tai Chi and Tibetan literature, leading it to be dubbed ‘Hippie Hogwarts’. King Felipe and Queen Letizia took their eldest daughter to Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez Barajas Airport and hugged her goodbye before she made her way to her deEN ROUTE: At airport parture gate.
POLLY’S International Bookshop
Quality Used Books since 1985 Polly’s Bookshop in Javea Port is 35 years old. “Polly’s is as old as me,” says Sam, her proud owner, “and to celebrate, we are opening a new Polly’s Bookshop in Moraira.” Like Polly’s Javea, the new shop has thousands of quality used books, fiction and nonfiction, in English, Spanish, German, French and Dutch. Apart from the books that are extra special, they’ll still be 3 euros each with a euro credit if you want to return it. We are continuing with our busy proofreading and editing services and our popular book finding and ordering services too. It feels great finding an out of print book for someone who has been searching for it.
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The race is on (again) THE search for Spain’s next drag superstar on Espana’s Drag Race continues. The Latin spin-off of RuPaul’s Drag Race has been given a second series, after the show crowned Sevilla’s Carmen Farala as the inaugural winner. “We can’t wait to see all the charisma, nerve and talent that the next group of Spanish queens have in store,” said a spokesman for the show. An exact release date has not yet been announced. Among other spin-offs of the Emmy-winning franchise are Drag Race Philippines and Drag Race Italia, plus other versions in Australia, Chile and Holland. Season three of the UK version launches on the BBC soon.
on up t r ffe tes l o the a i g ec Sp ishin fin
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September 9th September 22nd 2021
ROUNDLY CRITICISED
Over 400 accidents on roundabouts in Alicante province as the most dangerous blackspots are named ALICANTE has the most dangerous roundabout in the Valencia region. La Turborrotonda by the university caused the most accidents according to figures from the General Di-
By Alex Trelinski
rectorate of Traffic (DGT). The black spot accounts for over 30 crashes a year representing 5.5% of all round-
about accidents within Alicante province. Other locations singled out included a series of roundabouts on the CV-70 Alcoy to Benidorm road around Confrides, and the EL-20 Elche by-pass roundabout at kilometre 7.
Giving way
There are over 400 accidents a year on roundabouts in Alicante province resulting in six deaths and over 500 injuries. The survey revealed that 80% of drivers are prone to errors on roundabouts with the most common mistake not giving way to others already on the roundabout.
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DRONES have flown to the rescue of drowning bathers at beaches along the Costa Blanca in recent weeks as part of pilot schemes launched at ten sites within the Valencia region. One dropped a lifejacket to a woman struggling 150 metres from shore in rough seas at Guardamar del Segura, after bathing when a yellow flag was flying. The delivery bought time while Red Cross lifeguards rushed from the shore to the woman’s aid. On the same day up the coast at Cullera beach, drones were deployed to help two swimmers who were struggling 100 metres from shore. They too, had entered the sea when a yellow flag was flying.
BOOGIE NIGHTS CURFEWS ended on Monday in 68 towns in Valencia as part of a new set of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions. Nightclubs can now open until 3.00 am and with 50% indoor capacity. Bars and restaurants still have to close at 12.30 am with final service 30 minutes earlier. The plan is to extend opening hours and capacities further depending on COVID infection rates, with the aim of hitting ‘normality’ by Valencia Day on October 9.
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The big clean up
NEWS
September 9th September 22nd 2021
5
Back on schedule Deal struck for Benidorm bus station
STORM: Cars washed away in Alcanar floods TOWNS and villages around Spain are cleaning up after some of the worst summer storms in decades. Many parts of central and eastern Spain and some towns in Andalucia suffered serious deluges of rain and even hail. In Antequera, Malaga, the town hall has asked to declare a national emergency after hundreds of businesses were damaged after hailstones the size of golf balls thundered down on the town. Nearby Fuente de Piedra also saw many cars, street signs and awnings damaged. The heaviest downpours triggered flash floods that destroyed homes and businesses in Castellon, Tarragona and Toledo. Many homes were left without electricity and roads and rail-links were closed due to flooding which saw cars washed into the sea. The worst affected communities included Guadamur, in Toledo, and Alcanar, in Catalunya, where 230 litres of rain fell in three hours. Restaurant owner Rosa María Sancho, 67, said: “We had to get upstairs to our apartment and then leave it all in God’s hands”. The mayor of Guadamur, María del Sagrario, said she was overcome with emotion as she saw the 200 homes that had been devastated. “What took 15 years to develop was demolished in an hour for a village of 1,800 people. I was born and raised in this town, and I've never seen anything quite like it,” she said. There were also serious floods in Lorca and Aguilas, in Murcia. Madrid saw its second rainiest August day since 1920.
A SOLUTION is in sight for Benidorm’s illegally-built bus station. The council is proposing a payment of €24.5 million to developer Enrique Ortiz as compensation for the scrapping of his 50-year operating concession.
Persistent fraudster
A RENTAL scammer who conned dozens of people out of deposits for non-existent properties has been arrested. The Cullera man, 31, had committed the same crime last year using fake ID. He has now been charged with 13 counts of fraud, in 80 separate incidents. In the latest case he duped a woman in Novelda into paying a deposit for a flat that the fraudster had advertised online for rent. He ripped off at least six others with fake rentals ads offering properties across Spain. He often sent his victims the same pictures of the same property.
A search for a new operator will then be advertised in a tender, which could take up to nine months. In what is hoped to be an end to a long impasse, the winner will then pay Ortiz the agreed fee as compensation for projected profits. As part of the deal, Ortiz will have to spend €288,000 on making essential improvements to the station within two months of the new contract being awarded. The commercial centre and hotel linked to the station will also be finally legalised. The sum was thrashed out last year in meetings between council officials and Ortiz. Ortiz had originally won the construction project in 2003 which included permission for shops occupying a 500 square metres area. However, his company illegally developed 10,000 square metres as well as adding two unauthorised storeys at the adjoining hotel. In 2007 and 2012, court rulings annulled the concession to Ortiz over the infractions. Despite a later Supreme Court order backing those verdicts, no deal to break the log-jam has been reached until now.
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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 two million people a month.
OPINION CRITICAL CONDITION “BARBARIC lazy nursing” is just one comment about Torrevieja Hospital made by an Olive Press reader online this week. The tragic passing of his mum, Kathy Marshall, in August came in the same month that Rachael Firth, 33, was sent home to die after a 14 hour wait in A&E. Dozens of similar stories have now surfaced from grieving families that have unnecessarily lost loved ones after apparently similar treatment. It is telling that a trio of health unions - CESM, SATSE and CSIF - have all described Torrevieja Health Department as being at “saturation point”. In a joint statement, they slammed the A&E department, insisting that on one recent occasion there were 24 patients still awaiting admission, of which ‘many have been in observation for more than 40 hours.’ “There is only one administrative assistant to attend to patients arriving at the door, creating a backlog,” it continued. The Ministry of Health has pledged to ‘guarantee normality’ with a new manager now due to arrive next month, when the current private management contract ends. Dr. Maria Santos starts on October 15, moving from the position of medical director of Orihuela’s Vega Baja Hospital. In the meantime, support is growing so fast on a social media page, Untold Stories & Bad Experiences of Torrevieja Hospital that it’s also been translated into Spanish and German. The Olive Press is firmly behind any campaign to highlight injustices inflicted on any nationalities and will continue to put pressure on the relevant authorities for answers. PUBLISHER / EDITOR
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I’M SURE
In a soul-searching new book, Olive Press editor Jon Clarke takes a deep dive into the seedy world of ‘van lifer’ Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the snatch of Madeleine McCann
‘
I’M SURE he snatched Maddie. He was a pervert and a very strange man,’ insisted Michael ‘Micha’ Tatschl in June 2020. ‘I know he did it.’ Talking about his ‘best friend’ Christian Brueckner, with whom he’d lived in Portugal and spent eight months in prison, he went on: ‘He was always on the dark web. I don’t know exactly what he did, but I think it involved drugs and pornography. He was also always bragging about money and making money, particularly from burglaries. He was an excellent thief. He even talked about selling kids, maybe to Morocco ... and I think he probably sold Maddie to someone. Maybe a sex ring.’ I nearly dropped my caña, as did the two other witnesses to the phone conversation, as we sat in a leafy finca garden, in the heart of southern Spain’s Alpujarras region. We were talking about the German drifter, who had just been made the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. In what was easily the strangest interview of my long journalism career, I was talking to Tatschl in Austria, while sitting in the back garden of the home he had shared with his British ex-girlfriend Emma for a number of years near Orgiva. The area has long been a haven for new age travellers, also known as ‘van lifers’ and a character like Tatschl, with his pierced nipples and skull and crossbones tattoo, would happily fit into this footloose, transient community. So too would Brueckner, who I discovered had been a frequent visitor, staying nearby often for weeks at a time. Much to the shock of the three of us sitting there, according to Tatschl, he had turned up in late May or early June 2007, with what he described as ‘one of the most expensive camper-vans money could buy.’ If true, the timing was incredible. For his visit was just three or four weeks after Maddie had vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal, some 585km to the west. During that month in 2007, the whole world had been following the heart-wrenching story … how Kate and Gerry McCann’s 3-yearold daughter had apparently been snatched from her holiday apartment by an intruder, while the parents ate dinner at a restaurant nearby. By the time Brueckner had parked up his huge Tiffin Allegro Bay RV on an area of waste ground near Tablones, the story had easily garnered 100 front pages and was fast becoming one of the biggest missing person mysteries in history. Yet here was this dangerous German paedophile – with, as we now know, a prison record as long as his arm – brazenly driving into the backwaters of Granada province in a 30-foot long motorhome.
‘We all wondered where he’d got this expensive new van,’ continued Tatschl. ‘We assumed a big drug deal or something like that. Now I definitely suspect it was Maddie.’ I have spent the last year investigating the new German suspect for a book (see right), which has taken me across the border into Portugal half a dozen times, as well as around Spain and to Germany. I’ve analysed Tatschl’s claims at length, which are damning and include a series of rape videos that Brueckner made of a teenager and a pensioner. I’ve studied the further rape of a 72-year-old and interviewed the Portuguese WPC who arrested Brueckner in 2017 after he exposed himself to four toddlers in a play park. I’ve analysed the German police evidence that places Brueckner outside Maddie’s apartment on the night she went missing, grilled the chief prosecutor for three hours and met nearly a dozen of Brueckner’s former friends and flatmates. I met his mother and his mentor and visited half a dozen of his former homes, including the derelict box factory, where police found up to 20,000 videos and photos, much of it child pornography, that had been buried under the body of a dead dog. This is my journey into the heart of darkness of paedophilia and its policing, and my conclusions on the case and its wider implications are deeply disturbing.
Sadist
Now a married father-of-one, living near Graz in Austria, Tatschl has twice been interviewed at length by German police over his connections to Brueckner. Another former friend of Brueckner, Helge Busching, had put his name forward in 2017, while a third did the same as long back as 2013, after a German TV appeal. But few people knew Brueckner better than Tatschl, who shared a home with him in Praia da Luz, before spending eight months in prison with him after they were caught stealing fuel from lorries on the Algarve. In a bombshell confession during their trial in December 2006 Brueckner told the judge that he had committed various burglaries and sex crimes, (yes plural) as a teenager. For some reason the specifics were not probed. Certainly not properly logged. And that was not the first time his dangerous nature had come up in the two decades he spent in Portugal. Shouldn’t police have taken a closer look at the sex offender when a young Irish woman was brutally raped in Lagos in 2004? Or when a 72-yearold American was viciously assaulted in Praia da Luz in 2005, for which he was found guilty a staggering 12 years later? He lived, after all, just 900m away and was known to be an aggressive local wife-beater. These were particularly sadistic rapes because in both attacks the assailant had rigged up a video to film the crime. Both women recalled their assailCONVINCED: Brueckner’s pal Michael ‘Micha’ Tatschl ant’s eyes and his believes he snatched Maddie English spoken with
a German accent. And then there was the 10-year-old German girl molested on a nearby beach just weeks before Maddie went missing. On that occasion I established that the police didn’t even bother to go out to investigate despite having a perfect description of the scruffy blond man who ran away naked.
Keystone cops
Ultimately then, I took a look at the force employed to catch one of the most wanted and most dangerous criminals in European history. Firstly shining a light on the leader of the initial investigation, Goncalo Amaral, who was removed after criticising British detectives and claiming they were only following leads the McCanns asked them to pursue. Few know that Amaral – who later wrote a lucrative book claiming the McCanns killed their daughter – was charged (and later convicted) over the case of another missing girl Joana, 8, exactly ONE day before Maddie went missing. Meanwhile, his former Policia Judiciaria (PJ) deputy, Paulo Pereira, who also wrote a book on the
September 9th - September 22nd 2021
PIC: Jon Clarke
7
HE DID IT www.theolivepress.es
TRAUMATIC: McCanns at first press conference in 2007
Just Another Early Morning Job
I
FIRST investigated the Madeleine McCann case on Day One in May 2007, when I was up and out of my house near Ronda before 7am and on the road to the Algarve. A missing child story in Portugal wasn’t too out of the ordinary. What was different though, was the family involved. The professional, middle-class doctors Kate and Gerry McCann were not your typical Brits abroad-type victims – the least likely of tourists to want to get involved with the press, particularly on holiday. But they were clearly in desperate need for help. Conjuring up a legion of journalists to help in their hunt for their missing daughter seemed the best way forward. The story had first appeared on Sky News at around 7.45am in the UK,and I figured it would be over by the time I got there: she would be found, like the vast majority of other kids that wander off during their holidays, either dead or alive, in a swimming pool or a ditch somewhere. It wasn’t hard to locate the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz and I was the first British journalist on the scene. After establishing the name of the missing toddler as ‘Maddie’, I walked up the short flight of stairs to the apartment, number 5A, – completely unimpeded by police – to speak to the parents, as any decent journalist is programmed to do on arrival at a job like this.
PICTURES BY: Jon Clarke and Police
Pleasantries
VICINITY: Brueckner (above) lived for 7 years overlooking the Ocean Club (circled) in Praia da Luz, driving two vehicles (left)
I walked inside the open front door and bumped straight into the McCanns, who were heading off to the police station in nearby Lagos to make an official missing persons statement. They looked fraught and stressed, but were somehow still functioning, despite presumably not sleeping a wink. I smiled and said ‘hello’, introducing myself as a local hack, just arrived from Malaga. I promised I’d help as best I could to find their daughter. They seemed grateful and smiled ... well grimaced to be fair – saying ‘thank you’ and mumbling a few other pleasantries, before telling me their daughter’s name and the rough time she had disappeared. I don’t remember much but I do remember them describing it as ‘a nightmare’ and saying they were ‘sure’ she had been snatched. I scribbled it down in my notepad. From the very first moment I arrived in Praia da Luz that May morning, my overbearing drive was to solve the mystery and find young Maddie. The rules of journalism revolve around the five ws: When, Where, Why, Who and hoW. Stick to these and you can’t go wrong. I haven’t yet solved the mystery, but my 130,000 word, 46-chapter book comes close, I believe, to offering any amateur detective or interested reader the opportunity of understanding the case and all its many complex and compelling idiosyncrasies.
Searching the Border
W case, recently went to prison for seven years for his involvement in a robbery and kidnapping gang near Lisbon. Finally, I will look, for the first time, at two other retired police officers – both English expats – lurking like a bad smell in the background. One, a senior career detective who has spent years supporting the Portuguese police and trolling the McCanns for being guilty of the crime. And the second, a former London detective, who also defended the Portuguese investigation, while sensationally living NEXT DOOR to Brueckner for a number of years.
Vipers
My book explores in depth the nondescript village of Foral, where Brueckner lived twice and where the case completely blew up, after the German appeal in June 2020. I believe it offers a number of keys to the entire case. For it was here, some
35 minutes north east of Praia da Luz that I found a veritable nest of vipers; a place that was totally uninvestigated and where so many strange people resided and so many odd things happened. I suspect a child sex trafficking ring was centred here and I believe Brueckner was involved. It was in Foral that the gun-toting crook was linked to an underage teenager who got pregnant and in the nearby town of Messines where he was caught (and yet again, inexplicably, not tried) for exposing himself to children. Some readers might get the feeling that someone is protecting Herr Brueckner. After all, he was wandering around Europe at will, hanging around children and teens, and managing to offend repeatedly with surprisingly little consequence. And when we add in Portugal’s truly shocking Casa Pia case – involving government ministers, doctors and judges – you will start to understand why I think Brueckner was being given a helping hand.
HILE the Portuguese police turned their focus on the McCanns, I started looking into numerous leads in Spain. By the end of 2016, police had to sift through over 8,600 reported sightings of Maddie in over 100 countries. Between 2007 and 2013, The Olive Press looked at more than a dozen links to the case around Spain. The McCanns have always believed there is a ‘very real possibility’ Maddie was taken across the border. This is, after all, one long straight coastline that simply continues into Spain. There are no great mountainous bound-
SPAIN PORTUGAL
Praia da Luz, where Madeleine McCann disappeared
The Portugal Spain border is 1,214km in length (the longest uninterrupted border in the European Union) and is mostly unmanned.
aries and it has been a mostly fluid border, hardly manned since the 1980s. There are numerous crossing points between Portugal and Spain stretching from the southern tip at Vila Real de Santo Antonio to the northern Atlantic border at Seixas, near Galicia. Known as The Stripe (A Raia in Portuguese, La Raia in Spanish), it is, at 1,214km in length, the longest uninterrupted border in the European Union. Border checks are rare, and, apart from the recent ones due to Covid, when the border was actually shut for a number of months, it was only manned during the 2004 UEFA Euros, the 2010 NATO summit in Lisbon and Pope Francis’ visit to Fatima in 2017. Over the years we have investigated leads that include a known Swiss peadophile living in Benimantell in Alicante, who killed himself after snatching and killing a toddler remarkably similar in appearance to Madeleine in July 2007. Then there was a convicted British sex offender who wrote a letter from his death bed claiming he knew Maddie had been snatched to order for sale to a wealthy childless couple. And most sinister of all was a nightclub bouncer turned whistleblower who had compiled a dossier on a massive paedophile network linked to the Casa Pia orphanage in Portugal and well connected to the Portuguese judiciary and police (see front page top).
LETTERS
8
September 9th - September 22nd 2021
Hospital woes
Response to the story of Expat mum being 4 sent home from A & E at Torrevieja Hospital to die in agony (see story right)
IN BLACK AND WHITE Dear Olive Press,
w that VaI just wanted to let you kno h of a new birt the ting bra cele is ia lenc zebra. n frolickI spotted the stripey newbor Bioparc. at s foal ng you er ing with oth Bom to It is the second foal of mother be born within 12 months. Barbara Jones, Benidorm
Motorbike death
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a 51-year-old motorcyclist
On March 22 my wife had a bad fall in our garden, I called an ambulance which took her to the above hospital. On examining her and taking an X-ray the lady doctor told her ‘no bones are broken, you can go home and here’s a prescription for paracetamol’. I had to ask for a wheelchair to get her to our car as she could not walk. On arriving home I had to get help from
S TA R S
B LE
The key word for this month is balance as we reach the tipping point, Autumn Equinox, the moment of equal hours of day and night, which has a rich history of celebration both in the Neolithic and pre-agricultural ages. The time of Harvest Festival, when we gratefully gathered in and stored supplies for the coming winter months. It is no coincidence that the planets start to enter the sign of balance – Libra this month. So what does that mean for you?
T I C I A PA R
M
ER
ARIES
Though you are thoroughly independent and love to ‘go it alone’, you’re really keen to partner up this September, whether for work or pleasure. You may be surprised just how much you enjoy being attached.
TAURUS
The bull likes to make his way across the field, quietly munching and going his own way. However, this September your equilibrium may be troubled by a challenging someone who insists you revise your perspective.
GEMINI
Balancing duty and fun is your challenge this September. You like being the one to provide the laughs and you’ll have great fun playing with the youngsters, but that can mean a lot of tidying up afterwards.
VIRGO Virgos are naturally financially shrewd and like to meticulously balance the books. So this Autumn Equinox is the perfect moment to consider all the incomings and outgoings which balance every aspect of your life.
was killed on the AP-7 near Benalmadena when he was in collision with a car at 10pm on Thursday, August 19.
TWO US military bases in Moron de la Frontera and Rota in southern Spain will receive Afghan refugees who worked for the American government after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez agreed to president Joe Biden’s request.
A BOY aged 15 who suffered a serious head injury after falling off an electric scooter in Riviera del Sol (Mijas), has died nearly a week later despite two operations to remove blood clots.
If you suffer from... • Mobility problems • Pain / Breathlessness • Falls / Stumbles
LEO
AQUARIUS
SCORPIO
PISCES
You’ll find yourself enjoying more stimulating conversations than you’ve had for many months. But don’t hog the limelight too much because this September there’s just as much to gain by truly listening. September may be a month of quiet contemplation for you as you tune in to the changing light . A great time to reflect over the year so far and to prepare, like a squirrel, for the winter months to come.
Lydia Bailey, British expat living on the Costa Blanca
The Olive Press -25, 26 and 27 Aug ---
DISGRACE!
British expat mum, 33, sent home to die in agony after being refused treatment after 14 hour wait at A&E EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade
Strengthening TIEs
A STAGGERING 150,000 Britons living in Spain have been issued with a TIE card since they were introduced last year. The British Embassy confirmed this was a mix of new applicants and those swapping over from their old green NIE certificates. It means that more than double the number of people applied in the first six months of this year than in the last six months of 2020. Many made the exchange after seeing the mayhem caused when the pandemic restrictions combined with new Brexit rules made things increasingly difficult for those without the card.
the desperate hope that someone would eventually attend to her leg. Exhausted, she was eventually sent home at 3am, after 14 agonising hours in the hospital. Later that morning, her mother - who has 35 years nursing experience - realised something X-ray She said the doctor had told was gravely wrong and rushed nurses that once she had her to the nearest pharmacy for X-ray to ‘get her to a taxi and medication and advice. By Elena Gocmen Rueda But by the time she returned, get her home’. In a later message she wrote: Rachael had slipped into un“The other two nurses were well consciousness and was com- TRAGIC: Rachel Firth A WORKER at a Spanish Burgpletely unresponsive. shocked”. ness seriously and to provide er Referring to the doctor, she Jane performed CPR while treatment that could have saved hellKing revealed the hotter than conditions at her fast food neighbours called for an ambu- her life. added: “She hates me.” restaurant in Jerez during the The part-time charity volunteer lance but Rachael died on the Jane has sought legal advice, recent heatwave. stayed on the ward though, in floor of her own lounge with with a view to preventing such a Eva Rosado took to Twitter paramedics also unable to re- tragedy happening to someone to denounce the working convive her. else. ditions she had to endure in a A Spanish “The way neighbour con- treated in my daughter was kitchen where the air condiher final hours is tioning wasn’t working. firmed to Jane nothing short of disgusting - She posted two photographs that the am; THE devastated family of a young wom- bulance staff you wouldn’t treat an animal the second showing the mercuan are determined to find out that way,” she sobbed. “Money died suddenly at a hospital in why she told him that isn’t the issue, what difference ry reaching a staggering 62.2ºC. She claimed management had ‘an embolism The 20-year-old repeatedly Spain. insisted visited the was certainly would it make anyway? emergency room at the Costa “I just want justice for Rachael ditioningthat fixing the air condel Sol would only be made a to blame’, after and Hospital after she tested positive with assessing her tionsI want answers to the ques- priority if they were presented coronavirus on August 4. we have about her awful with a medical certificate. symptoms. She visited the emergency room five Rachael’s own treatment - this shouldn’t hap- “In other words, for them to times in total but the family allege pen to anyone.” come and fix the aircon they turned away each time despite she was son, Reece, 13, Rachael was cremated at Tor- need one of us to faint from suffering had thankfully from acute vomiting and diarrhoea. revieja crematorium last week heat stroke”, she said. been staying with dozens of friends, The family allege doctors family Spain is now cooling off after friends daughter that her case was told their with a four-day heatwave that saw ‘not so se- that night so and colleagues in attendance. rious’. Kind neighbours had helped record temperature did not witness towards the s last week. The young woman was eventually expensive funeral The record was broken ad- his in Cormother’s costs at short notice. mitted on August 7 after she doba when Montoro recorded fainted death. in a wheelchair and she was the intensive care unit, whererushed to The family is If Olive Press readers 47.4ºC, overtaking the previous record in Ecija, Sevilla. she died now looking would like to help some hours later. the fam- In Castellon, a weather phefor answers as The family has accused the ily, there is also a gofund- nomenon meant that one night ‘malpractice’ and demandedhospital of to why medics me page to help. during the heatwave didn’t see an autop- failed to take sy be performed. the temperature drop below Rachael’s illOpinion Page 6 42ºC until after 2am. the Olive Press, she said: “The doctor was really nasty, said she’s read my notes and I’m mental in the head.”
Flaming angry
Bob Gordon, Moraira, Costa Blanca
1/3 Page - 256 mm w x 105 mm h ---
(all editions except Gib)
OP QUICK CROSSWORD Across 8 Not for money (3,4) 9 Elevate (5) 10 So soon? (7) 12 "Oleanna" playwright (5) 16 Parliamentary output (4) 19 Kind of entertainment channel (5,2) 20 Gentlemen's preferences, maybe (7) 21 Partial darkness (4) 24 Vesicles (5) 27 A girl's best marriage prospect (2,5) 29 Middle Eastern heights (5) 30 In name only (7)
Down
Always sensitive to mood, you feel the changing season quite deeply in you psyche this September. It is a good month for you to go within, to meditate and to connect profoundly with your personal spiritual support.
LIBRA
For a private appointment with Leticia for an in depth reading of your own Astrological Chart email: leticiaparmer@yahoo.com. Also check out Leticia's insightful book WHY ON EARTH which is available from Amazon
It is estimated that hundreds of similar unmarked boreholes litter the Spanish countryside. The shafts, which are often illegal, are drilled in an attempt to find underground water.
I will not be travelling to the UK for some months until this uncertainty ceases. The cost and effort of all these “I am very sad that this happened tests just makes it unviable. I am lucky, The UK’s but I have been here for twelve Leano I have family din g in the UK, just friends years and have had excellent On care I would line Sch oollike to visit. I am a resident of Spain but still have a house in the UK. from the Spanish health care sysI have an Easyjet ticket booked back tem. My husband had three opin 2020 which, without cost, I have erations, one very major surgery changed 5 times. Now rebooked for and had brilliant treatment,” November. Well done Easyjet.
You are a natural humanitarian and team player and all of this is enhanced now as sports and games which include people from every culture and tradition, are the great interests for you this September.
You are a pacifist, preferring harmony and peace to discord – but this September you will fight vehemently against any perceived imbalance or unfairness. Resist the temptation to take things too personally though.
Axarquia region of Malaga. Emergency services retrieved the and said the victim may have body been down there for several days. No details on his identity have yet been released by police.
Travel on hold
FOR ADVICE OR TO BOOK A CONSULTA TION call 950 169 729 or 663 297 568 www.ukbenefitsinspain.com
This is a month of outreach, of socialising, friendship and gatherings. You will happily organise or join a group of like-minded folk with similar or charitable interests. The more the merrier is your September motto.
This September you have an authoritative air about you. Combine your natural business acumen with your love of history and tradition by aligning your goals with the energy and meaning of this Autumn Equinox.
August 25th - September 7th 2021
Borehole horror
Death probe
Or you need... • Help with washing /dressing • Supervision
You could be entitled to extra income
SAGITTARIUS
You are the intuitive nest-builders of the zodiac. This month you’re more engrossed than usual in setting up your home exactly as you want it. Perhaps you are tuning in to nature’s prompting to prepare for winter?
A YOUNG British woman died hours after being dismissed by doctors and told to go home after waiting 14 hours at a hospital for treatment. Rachael Firth, who worked as a live-in carer, sought help at Torrevieja’s A&E on August 14, after suffering days of pain. She was seen by her GP for pain in her legs earlier that week, and was advised to go to the emergency department if the condition worsened. In regular messages to her mum, she said hospital staff justified making her wait all day because emergencies took priority. After seven hours of waiting in agony with her leg swollen to twice its size, the 33-year-old eventually saw a female doctor. However, she felt her condition was not taken seriously, and insisted the doctor dismissed her after seeing medical notes that mentioned previous treatments for mental illness. In a message to her mother, Jane, a nurse herself, seen by
by claiming UK sickness/disability Peter, benefits while living in Spain (surname and email withheld)
CAPRICORN
CANCER
POLICE are investigating how a died after falling down a 15-metre man deep borehole in Andalucia. The man was found by a pal in Motril who looked for him after realising had been missing for several days. he It is the second case to take place just two years - with two-year-old in len Rosello (right) dying in 2019 Juin the
the lady next door to help me get her into Afghan refuge our house. She was in so much pain that the following morning I called a private ambulance to take her to the IMED clinic in Torrevieja for a second opinion. Tragic death On arrival they saw what state she was in and transferred her to a hospital in Elche which carried out tests and found she had a fractured pelvis. They kept her in hospital overnight and KIM CLARK Benefits Consultancy sent her home by ambulance the following day, she spent six weeks in a wheelchair and has now fully recovered.
OP SUDOKU
E TH
Y
IN
SEPTEMBER HOROSCOPES by Leticia Parmer
NEWS
www.theolivepress.es
NEWS IN BRIEF
1 Spread out lazily (6) 2 Take a loan (6) 3 Prolonged unconsciousness (4) 4 £25 (4) 5 Metric mass unit (4) 6 Thin layer (4) 7 Euro fraction (4) 11 Crack a cryptogram (6) 13 Modify (5) 14 Roof overhang (5) 15 Vituperative person (6) 17 Forced to turn and face attackers (2,3) 18 Talent-spotter (5) 22 Imploring (6) 23 Small boiler? (6) 24 Minor but essential workers (4) 25 River sediment (4) 26 Opposite/hypotenuse (4) 27 "I had not thought death had undone so --- " (Dante Alighieri, "Divine Comedy") (4) 28 City of Seven Hills (4)
All solutions are on page 14
LA CULTURA
FULL GLORY
Let there be light
A RARE example of a Roman candelabra has gone on display. Unearthed at El Monostil, in Elda, art teacher Eva Mendiola spent four months restoring it. Three times bigger than most other examples, it can be seen at the archaeological museum in Elda. Made between 30 and 34 AD in the final years of Emperor Tiberius, it was likely used in a prominent public building or in the home of a wealthy Roman citizen. The large chandelier has 32 spots for candles and room for oil to be poured in to keep them alight. It was made by Lucius Eros who engraved his name on the molds used for his work.
Let there be light
Do you have a what’s on?
Feminist mural restored after being defaced by far-right vandals A MURAL honouring famous women in Madrid has been restored, five months after being defaced by far-right vandals on International Women’s Day. The mural was destroyed with black stains that made it impossible to see the faces of the 15 women represented. The words 'terrorists' and 'communists' could also be read on the graffiti. The artist Frida Kahlo, singer
MALAGA will be turned into a lighting spectacular this Christmas. After last year’s muted celebrations, the council is determined to make things bigger and better this year. The main attraction will be a stunning lightshow at the La Concepción botanical garden from 23 November. Described as a ‘journey through the spirit of Christmas’, the park will be illuminated with ‘floating stars’, snowmen and animal figu-
Nina Simone, activist Rosa Parks and Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a sniper who fought against the Nazis, were among them. The mural created by Unlogic Crew in 2018, had been originally opposed by the PP, Ciudadanos and Vox insisting it sent too much of a political message. Vox proposed to repaint it with the image of paralympic athletes. Thanks to Ciudadanos changing their stance and rines. a series of proThere will also be a ‘tunnel of light tests from locals, and colour’ with laser beams. the mural won It is hoped the display will trump the support to the famous celebrations being creremain. ated in Vigo, in Galicia, said to be Support for the Spain’s most festive city. feminist mural The centre of Malaga will still have has led to some its traditional decorations includ50 replicas of it ing the Christmas tree, lights and being erected all nativity scenes. over Spain.
Up in smoke
VALENCIA’S world famous Fallas festival wrapped up with fireworks and the burning of giant colourful sculptures in an event that was delayed by 18 months because of the pandemic. The five-day festival is traditionally held in March but was cancelled in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Send your informa tion to newsdesk@theolivepr ess.es
September 9th - September 22nd 2021
9
Heartless attack A SCULPTURE paying tribute to victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denia has been vandalised. The heart-shaped artwork by Modesto Mari was damaged with graffiti scrawled on it. The ‘Corozones’ artwork symbolised two embracing silhouettes forming a single human body.
One step ahead I HAVE danced with the Grim Reaper many times during my life and have always remained one step ahead. He is still waiting for the last waltz. My first brush with the scythe-man was when as an 11-year-old boy scout, I got in trouble during a swimming lesson right in the centre of the deep end of the pool. Fortunately, the scoutmaster was a Catholic priest and immediately recognising a potential lost soul, without any hesitation he attempted to walk over the water to save me - he plunged to the bottom on his first step. It may have helped if he had removed his heavy crucifix first! Still water-related, I attempted to water surf using a child's foam board in a desolate bay during a visit to South Africa during the apartheid era. Unknown to me, there was a violent underflow that sucked me down to the bottom, then dragged me way out to sea within minutes. Fortunately, I was eventually rescued by a lone swimmer who dumped my unconscious and blue-faced body on the beach where an angry Afrikaner stood over me, demanding the return of his toy board. Like many of my age, I survived the London Blitz, but n o t without a few dodges with un-
OL D HA CK IN TH E SU N
Benny Da
vis cle death and also a head- Ramblings of an 80-something expat on car crash; two years eating 1950's army food; and many many years working with fatherless newspaper editors, who could reduce a cub reporter to a whimpering puppy dog, complete with a pool of liquid on the floor at a single stare.
Peace
Then came semi-retirement in carefree sunny Spain. Peace at last – that was until a couple of years ago when my tired old body started to complain. A couple of serious operations nearly killed off my weird sense of humour, which without, I wouldn't exist. At the moment, I am being fed through a tube in the stomach, which I suppose is a fair punishment for talking rubbish through my backside all these years and getting paid for it. Joking apart, my purpose of laying all my present problems on you, is to express my eternal gratitude for the incredible care and help given by the Spanish Health Service. All deserve top praise from cleaners to nurses, and doctors to specialists. I only wish that for once I could gather sufficient of my rubbish, illiterate words together to vent my true feelings. So, I will simply say: Grac i a s eres el mejor.
10
GREEN
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SNAKE ISLAND
Rare lizard under threat from a huge growth of snakes A HUGE rise in Ibiza’s snake population is threatening the island’s iconic green lizards, and tourists are being blamed. The snakes now populate around half of the island of Ibiza and are not dangerous to humans. However, that doesn’t apply to green lizards, which are easily spotted and prove a tasty snack for a snake. A major concern is that holidaymakers in the last two decades have fuelled the problem by opting for imported food over locally grown produce. That has meant added pressure on lizards seeking out reduced vegetation to feed on as well as dealing with a new enemy. Snakes arrived in olive tree imports in the early 2000s and a study suggests they will cover the whole island by 2028. Experts say that the ‘horseshoe’ snake breed poses the greatest threat to the lizard. One Ibiza council is offering free snake traps and even paying residents to destroy the slithery creatures A British expat formed-group, Ibiza Preservation, is trying to reverse the snake boom by promoting more eco-tourism to re-
Mar Menor buffer A GREEN 'buffer zone' of 390 hectares has been suggested in a bid to reduce pollution in the Mar Menor lagoon in the Murcia region. The proposed area, put forward by Spain’s Ecological Transition Minister, Teresa Ribera, would be free of farming and building development. She said: “Urban and agricultural growth is not possible in the Mar Menor. On the contrary, we must reduce it.” Ribera's 'green-belt' would occupy an area that's equivalent to 557 football pitches. The aim is to create a 'buffer' against any polluting chemicals running into the lagoon.
By Alex Trelinski
store lizard habitats. It’s also encouraging tourists to enjoy locally-sourced foods as opposed to imports. Kate Benyon-Tinker from Ibiza Preservation said: “The lizards evolved to eat vegetation in the area because of a lack of other foodstuffs.” “That means they pollinate plants which is important to the
eco-system.” Welcoming the move to encourage snake traps, Benyon-Tinker commented: “We are supporting the campaign to
save the lizard and spreading the word about encouraging people to get their own traps.”
September 9th - September 22nd 2021
Shining star
HE’S one of the most sparkling celebrities on the red carpet. Now Leonardo DiCaprio (left) has become a true shining star as he invests in a an eco diamond project in Spain. The Hollywood legend, 46, has joined the Diamond Foundry company, which uses plasma reactors and renewable energy to artificially create diamonds. Based in Trujillo, Extremadura, it will produce the stones in just two months. DiCaprio took a keen interest in the industry while filming Blood Diamond in 2006. This prompted his involvement in the organisation which aims to produce diamonds with little environmental impact The industry is to blame for numerous atrocities and wars in Africa.
Martin Tye explains why the devastating effects of nitrous oxide is a serious issue
LAUGHING GAS - IT'S NOT FUNNY !! Green
Matters
By Martin Tye
O
F course, there is a funny side to laughing gas. I’ve swallowed the contents of a helium balloon before to make my voice sound comical. However, N2O when it comes to the environment is a very different story. In the world’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions , the source of our food is coming under the spotlight. Not without reason. Agriculture accounts for up to 27%
of human caused climate warming emissions. These emissions are not from carbon dioxide, the usual culprit. They come from another gas altogether – nitrous oxide (N20) commonly referred to as laughing gas. This should not be a forgotten greenhouse gas. Molecule for molecule, N20 is around 300 times as potent as carbon dioxide at heating the atmosphere. And, just like CO2, it is long lived, spending over 100 years in the sky before disintegrating. It also depletes the ozone layer. Despite its important contribution to climate change, N20 emissions have largely been ignored in climate policies. Heavy use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is the principal offender. Before modern intensive farming came, farmers used comDESTRUCTION: Dead fish wash up at the Mar Menor post and manure to
encourage crop growth. Nowadays, industry has created methods to produce massive amounts of ammonia based fertiliser. Crop yields have been boosted, but at a huge cost to the environment. Because farmers apply such huge quantities, the plant roots can’t absorb all the fertiliser nutrients. N20 greenhouse gas is then released. In addition some of it runs off the fields and pollutes waterways. A current example being the Mar Menor in Murcia. Very much in the news again lately because of 1000’s of fish being killed. Politicians bicker while the environment suffers. Scientists are looking at ways to mitigate this problem. The solution cannot come quickly enough. The clock is ticking. If policymakers turn their attention to tackling nitrous oxide, there are benefits for all. The same measures that lower N20 levels also reduce air and water pollution as well as biodiversity losses. These tangible benefits can be seen immediately. TIME TO CLEAN UP OUR ACT.
Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. +34 638145664 ( Spain Phone ) Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es
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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL 12
Extre-mendous When it comes to tourism, Extremadura is off the beaten track. Fiona Govan explores a region ignored by many and discovers the rewards are great
L
ONG overshadowed by the more obvious landmark-laden cities elsewhere in Spain and unable to compete with the draw of Mediterranean beaches, Extremadura with its bucolic charm, medieval heritage and Roman ruins, is ripe for discovery. Here the Olive Press runs a rule over a few of its best bits.
I
Caceres where art and food combine
F there was one reason alone to go to Caceres, it is to dine at the fabled restaurant Atrio, but a new modern art museum raises the stakes of a long-overlooked gem of a destination. Tucked within a jumble of narrow cobbled streets in
Romans roamed
T
HE city of Merida boasts the best-preserved Roman ruins outside Italy, and without the crowds. Founded in 25BC, Augusta Emerita as the city was then known, served as the capital of Rome’s westernmost province, Lusitania. Today a modern city stands where Romans once dwelled, architecturally unremarkable except for the very notable fact that Roman ruins are everywhere. A bridge spans the Guadiana river, its 60 pristine stone arches
making it the longest Roman bridge still standing on the peninsula. A short walk from the river banks, just steps away from a bustling commercial centre is a Roman theatre, which each summer plays host to an international festival of classical drama. One stifling July night as the sun went down and the temperature dipped below 35ºC, I was among the several thousand spectators to settle down to watch the Shakespearean tragedy of Antho-
FOUNDER: Emperor Augusta and one of his temples
ny and Cleopatra. Just like in ancient times, men and women in Roman garb played out political intrigues and epic battles before an enraptured audience. Thankfully there is no such revival of the sports that once took place in the equally well preserved amphitheatre alongside. It was here that the crowds came to watch gladiatorial combats that pitted man against man and beast against beast. To the death. The theatre itself is bereft of the pantheon of statues that would have once adorned it, but many of them can be seen in the impressive National Archaeology Museum housed next door. The artefacts on display tell the story of a city where the past is very much alive. A delicately sculpted bust of Augustus was only recently discovered during renovations of a local pharmacy, while the demolition of a local jamon factory unearthed a cache of Roman treasures. Fine mosaic floors are regularly revealed beneath the founda
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
the honey-coloured medieval heart of the city is a doorway to another world. For it is here in the kitchen at Atrio under the masterful alchemy of chef Toño Perez, that Spain’s ubiquitous jamon iberico is elevated to heavenly dimensions. A tasting menu served within the hallowed dining room of this two-michelin starred establishment involved plate after plate of deliciously crafted and ingeniously presented morsels from fresh local ingredients. But the undeniable star is the Iberian pig, the black hoofed porkers which spend their days rooting around the vast pastures of Extremadura feasting on acorns and fattening up for the pot. Many of the 23 dishes served within the menu degustacion include a porcine flavour, from the elegant tapioca butterfly crisp paired with salmon mousse starter to a delicacy made of layers of scallops and trotters topped with caviar and the lomo doblao – an confit of lard made from Ibérico pork loin and ending with the mysterious chocolate jamon dessert. The famed wine list has won accolades as the best (and
September 9th - September 22nd 2021
MODERN ART: Katharina Grosse’s ‘Faux Rocks
longest) in Spain so complete the dining experience with a descent to the wine cellar, where rare vintages are displayed like the Crown Jewels. When you come blinking out into the harsh daylight of a hot summer day in Cacares, it’s just a short walk through the quiet streets beneath the ramparts of ancient walls and the palacetes adorned by the family shields of long dead conquistadores, to the newest attraction within the Unesco World Heritage city. Designed by Tuñon Architects, the same team behind Atrio, the new Contemporary Art Museum housing the Helga de Alvear collection, was inaugurated in Febru-
PIGGING OUT: Pork with every course and cheese and ham butterfly lattice (inset)
ary with a visit by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. The buildings, both the interior of the restaurant and the vast new exhibition space, share a similar aesthetic wooden slats through which shafts of horizontal light peep in – and an interesting juxtaposition to the Medieval monuments outside their walls. Currently on display is an exhibition of 200 pieces that form part of the vast 3,000 works donated by German art collector Helga De Alvear (one of the founders of ArcoMadrid) to the region of Extremadura. The artwork couldn’t be further removed from the dusty tapestries and ornate gilt on display in the neighbouring Palacios and churches. Here you will find a chamber barely containing the oversized boulders daubed with bold psychedelic smudges that is Katharina Grosse’s ‘Faux Rocks’ 2006. An entrance way is filled with
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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVELAND SO MUCH MORE...
September 9th - September 22nd 2021
13
Beyond Extremadura’s headline cities of Cacares and Merida, there is much to discover and a place to visit in all seasons. Here’s a look at just four more reasons to inspire you to explore Birding in Monfragüe The national park of Monfragüe is a jewel in Spain, a mecca for nature lovers and birdwatchers who come from all across Spain and beyond to seek out rare species. The cliffs of Monfragüe are home to Europe’s largest population of Black vultures and resident
SHEEPS EYE VIEW: Bucolic views of Extremadura town Jerez de los Caballeros the gaudiness of a crashed chandelier in Ai Weiwei's Descending Light, while under a stairwell a collection of old television screens flicker. The new museum and unrivalled collection that includes work by 500 artists including the likes of Joseph Beuys, Dan Flavin, Joseph Albers, Paul Klee, Nan Goldin, and Jenny Holzer, is tipped to transform Caceres into a European art destination in its own right. For those with deep pockets, Atrio offers rooms above the
restaurant hung with original artwork by Warhol and Tapies or there is the Parador just around the corner, a larger establishment that retains the charms of the converted palacete. But for those who want to combine a weekend visit of art and food with a relaxing rural escape, then head a few miles out of the city to the Hotel Hospes Palacio de Arenales & Spa. Boasting an indoor spa and vast outdoor infinity pool, the highlight of this tasteful-
ly converted former summer residence of a noble Cacereño family is best enjoyed at sunset. The chiringuito style bar beside the pool is the perfect place to enjoy a sundowner while watching the dozens of storks come home to roost in nests built on lofty stands erected in a pasture alongside the hotel gardens. The clattering of their beaks as they settle down for the night is an Extremeño lullaby that will linger in the memory and have you longing to return.
Griffon vultures and visiting Egyptian vultures. Rare Black storks come here to build their nests in the craggy cliffs above the turquoise waters and there is a resident population of Imperial Eagles and Eagle Owls. In the pastures surrounding the park, birders come from all over Europe to tick off a sighting of the Great Bustard.
Trujillo - Home of the conquistadores
Almond blossom or autumn colours?
A perfect medieval city perched on a hill, Trujillo prospered with the conquistadores who returned to their birthplace and lavished riches from the new world on elaborate palaces dotted around a grand square. At its centre you’ll find an impressive statue of one the most famous conquistadors of all – Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru. In fact rumour has it, the statue was designed by a New York sculptor to depict Hernan Cortes to be presented to the people of Mexico, where the gift was not surprisingly declined. So it was refashioned as Pizarro and now stands proudly in his hometown.
Spring is the time to pay a visit to the Jerte valley, an area of 70 square kilometres that is planted with over 1.5million cherry trees. In fact, Valle del Jerte is the largest uninterrupted area in Europe covered with cherry trees and the best time to catch the blossom in its full glory is for a few short weeks, usually beginning from the middle towards the end of March. Locals will tell you that autumn is in fact the best time to visit.
Century gem
SURROUNDED by rolling oak forests and choked with nature, few places give you such a good sense of space. And Hotel Monasterio de Rocamador near Badajoz also takes some beating for history, dating back to the 16th century. Opened in 1512 as a convent, it was bought by Spanish pop star Miguel Bose and opened in 1997 as a luxury hotel, before closing in 2012. Now it has been bought by a local wine business and after a multi-million refit is finally back open again.
with Tracy Storer, Senior Partner, Chorus Financial.
WHAT ABOUT MY UK SAVINGS?
Money Matters answers all your questions on finance, tax, pensions, investments and more here in Spain. This week we received the following question from Mrs Sandra W. from Altea. Dear Tracy, I am in the process of becoming a Spanish resident and have a question about my savings and investments. I have several ISA’s, premium bonds and fixed rate bonds in the UK and wondered whether I will still be allowed to keep these when I become a Spanish resident. They are all with NS&I. Hi Sandra, Great question and one that I get asked a lot! The short answer to this is that yes, you can keep these products open, however typically you cannot add to them and in most cases make any changes to them. Another question is, should you keep them… ISA’s and Premium bonds are tax free products in the UK so the growth you make on your ISA or the coupons you win from your premium bonds are tax free, however the minute you become a Spanish tax resident, all gains or wins become taxable. If your returns are modest then this might not appear to be too problematic, you’d add it to your tax return and complete a Modelo 720 (if the value is above €50k). The bigger the investment the larger the potential returns, so paying tax on the gains could mean that an ISA is no longer the best tax solution for your investments. The other consideration is that if you are unable to make changes to the investments within your ISA, then essentially you are stuck with the investments you have on the day you become a Spanish resident. This might not be a massive problem right now, but we live in a world where change is happening every day and the investments you hold need to reflect this. The classic example is if you looked at a portfolio from five years ago, it would probably have large exposure to some of the big oil companies and high street chains, if no changes had been made to that portfolio, then I would be concerned about the opportunity for growth. It’s one thing being invested, it’s another making sure that those investments are making the most of current opportunities, so not being able to make changes to your investment could be very detrimental. Thankfully, there are solutions here in Spain where you can invest in a tax efficient manner, which allow you, working with your adviser, to make appropriate changes as and when necessary.
BUSINESS Trade crash 14
September 9th September 22nd 2021
A QUARTER of a million euros has been lost in trade between the UK and Spain since Brexit. The value of Spanish exports to the UK has dropped by €230 million (£200m), according to the UK Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA). And with imports from the UK dropping by over €35 million, this equates to almost €265 million euros of business lost between the first half of 2019
Quarter of a BILLION euros lost in business between UK and Spain By Simon Wade
and the same period in 2021. Trade coming from the UK to Spain suffered the biggest percentage drop in the entire EU, with almost 54% less goods arriving from UK shores.
Airlines on the up THE airline industry is finally recovering from the COVID crisis. As Ryanair forecasts a big increase in traffic this autumn, Jet2 is investing nearly £5M in new aircraft. Ryanair expects 10.5 million passengers to fly in September, October and November on short-haul flights, many to Spain. “As long as there are no adverse COVID developments, things are set fair for a strong recovery,” said Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary. Jet2 meanwhile has purchased 36 Airbus A321 aircraft with the option to extend this order up to 60 aircraft.
OP Puzzle solutions
Quick Crossword
If you have any questions about finance, tax or money matters here in Spain, call +34 965 641 163 or please email them to me on t.storer@chorusfinancial.es with subject ‘Money Matters’. All emails will get a response, and some may even appear in our column!
Across: 8 Pro bono, 9 Raise, 10 Already?, 12 Mamet, 16 Laws, 19 Cable TV, 20 Blondes, 21 Dusk, 24 Cysts, 27 Mr Right, 29 Golan, 30 Nominal.
Money Matters answers all your questions on finance, tax, pensions, investments and more here in Spain.
Down: 1 Sprawl, 2 Borrow, 3 Coma, 4 Pony, 5 Gram, 6 Film, 7 Cent, 11 Decode, 13 Amend, 14 Eaves, 15 Abuser, 17 At bay, 18 Scout, 22 Urging, 23 Kettle, 24 Cogs, 25 Silt, 26 Sine, 27 Many, 28 Rome.
TAXING STUFF
F
OR those who live in Spain but rent out property back in the UK, the most important part of the Tax Return is the SA105 - otherwise known as the property income pages. The structure of the UK Self Assessment Tax Return is based on the main introductory pages - known as the SA100, then any necessary supplementary pages, guided by the boxes ticked in the SA100 - for example the SA103 (for self employment) and the SA105, for UK property income. However unlike self employment, where you will need to treat each employment separately, all property income is treated as one business - so you don’t need to fill in separate SA105 pages for each property.
Do I need to fill in the UK property pages (SA105)? ● You should fill in the SA105 if you receive total rental income of over £1000 from any of the following sources: ● UK land or property ● Letting furnished rooms in your own home ● Furnished holiday lets in the uk or european economic area. ● Premiums from leasing land ● Inducements to take an interest in letting a property (a reverse premium)
Can I claim the property income allowance instead? The property allowance is a tax exemption of up to £1,000 a year for individuals with income from land or property - even if you own the property jointly. If your annual gross property income is £1,000 or less, you will not need to notify HMRC, however if it is more than this, then you will need to submit a self assessment tax return including the SA105 pages. You cannot use this allowance on income from letting a room in your own home under the Rent a Room Scheme.
Trade with Italy has dropped over 50% (around €160 million) with German trade dropping by 49% (€400 million). All but three countries on the continent (Latvia, Hungary and Lithuania) have seen a drop in UK imports, as the consequences of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. Since January 1, when Brexit rules began, thousands of British companies have struggled with the additional paperwork and administrative costs of exporting. John Whitehead, FDEA director, said: “There is growing evidence that the complexity of trading with the EU has led to businesses moving operations into Europe and of importers looking for alternative suppliers. Its contributing to the ongoing decline in both UK exports and UK jobs.”
SUDOKU
MONEY MATTERS
Many Olive Press readers who submit a UK tax return, do so because they are landlords of UK properties, writes Emilia Carvell
However even if you qualify for the property income allowance you may choose not to claim, for a number of reasons: ● If your allowable expenses are higher than your turnover, you may want to claim tax relief on the loss against any future property income. ● If you are a non-resident landlord and want to claim back tax from the non-resident landlord scheme. If you choose not to claim for the above reasons then you will need to complete an SA100 & SA105.
What information do I need to fill in my SA105? The first thing you will need is your name and Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). You should have also filled in this information at the beginning of your tax return. You will then need to fill in some basic information about your UK properties - such as number of properties rented out, whether they are jointly owned, and if you are claiming Rent a Room Relief for any properties. Then you will need to fill in details of any furnished holiday lets, including income, expenses and details of any reliefs or losses. You will need to fill in a separate SA105 for any FHL’s in the EEA. (NB - if you receive income from overseas property, or FHL outside of the EEA, then you will need to fill in the “foreign income” pages of the tax return) Following on from this you will need to complete details of any UK property income (not including FHL’s,Real Estate Investment Trust or Property Authorised Investment Funds dividends/distributions), along with any tax you have already paid on that income (for example if you are an overseas landlord and have had tax automatically deducted by a lettings agent). After including income information, you can include details of any allowable tax deductible expenses - remember to keep all information about any expenses, as the more expenses you have will reduce your taxable income! Finally you will be able to calculate your taxable profit or loss. Here you will include any adjustments or reliefs claimed.
Now this can all seem very daunting - and to be honest there are a lot of boxes on the SA105. But that’s where APARI comes in! If you use APARI, you can upload and allocate transactions easily, and then the software will pull all of this information through to your self assessment tax return. We even have a handy scan and store feature, so that users can attach relevant invoices to their transactions. Sign up to APARI today, and start Making Tax Doable!
For all the latest information and advise visit www.apari-digital.com
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This is not a Drill
FINAL WORDS
Valencia’s Bioparc celebrated the birth of a new member of its Drill family, a highly endangered species of primate which number less than 4,000 in the wild.
Bite size? A 35 metre-long nougat turron - a Spanish speciality for the sweet-toothed especially at Christmas - is set to be the largest ever made in Jijona when it takes pride of place at this month’s Alicante Gastronomica fair.
Nude chaos A naked man walked around Alhama de Murcia on Saturday before stealing a moped and knocking over a person pushing a baby buggy. The child was unhurt.
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Vol. 3 Issue 64 www.theolivepress.es September 9th - September 22nd 2021
ORIGINAL SIN
Bishop chucks in his cassock to marry erotic writer A SPANISH bishop has resigned so he can marry an erotic novelist. Xavier Novell announced his decision to leave the church just 11 years after he became the youngest bishop in Spain at the age of 41. The 52-year-old sent shockwaves through the community when he suddenly resigned as the diocese of Solsona for ‘personal reasons’.
By Kirsty McKenzie
It has now been revealed that he took the personal decision due to his relationship with erotic writer Silvia Caballol. “I have fallen in love with a woman and I want to do things properly," Novell revealed. “It is a magnificent vocation
Short fuse
SEEN THE LIGHT: Bishop and his lover Silvia but I see that the Lord has ger family." wanted me to renounce that Novell will now also ask for beautiful thing to have a big- the Pope's permission for a dispensation from the vow of celibacy and obedience that all Catholic bishops take when they enter the priesthood. MARBELLA firefighters If the Pope gives Novell his have rescued an Eurasian blessing, he is set to marry eagle-owl after one of its talthe 38-year-old writer from ons got tangled in netting at Barcelona. a local golf course. She has penned at least two Firefighters used a specialnovels, Amnesia Trilogy and ised vehicle to get close to The Hell of Gabriel's Lust, the owl, which got trapped at which is described as ‘an erotic San Pedro Alcantara. novel with Satanic overtones’.
Terwit woo hoo!
A MAN attacked an electricity office in Galicia after receiving a high bill. The irate 54-year-old smashed windows at the Naturgy office in Vigo over a huge rise in his normal bill. He told the police that his anger had been building up for a day and he could 'no longer contain himself'. The government has introduced temporary reductions on IVA to reduce the impact of hikes.
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THEY normally take years to produce just one baby. Now a remarkable panda mother has given birth to twins in Madrid. In the first panda births in Madrid Zoo for five years, Huz Zui Ba had her fifth and sixth babies. As soon as she gave birth to her first cub, she put it on her lap and started to give it a good lick. The father is Bing Zing, who last year topped the charts in the ‘Giant Panda Global Awards’ for being the ‘most favourite panda’. The health of the cubs, born with pink skin, is being monitored by vets, joined by two experts from China’s Chengdu Panda Breeding Base. The international captive breeding programme has seen it now declassified from an endangered species to the ‘vulnerable’ category.
RARE: Pinkies
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