Battle for
DYING FOR A DRINK: Grape harvests threatened THE heatwaves of the summer aren’t only taking their toll on land where wildfires have ravaged more than 230,000 hectares already across Spain.
Waters off Spain’s eastern and south eastern coasts and around the Bale aric Islands are between 2.5ºC and 4ºC warmer than usual this summer, reaching 30ºC in some places. These sudden, atypical spikes in tem perature – which come on top of the long-term trajectory of the oceans warming – have disastrous conse quences for aquatic fauna and flora. Aemet warned that the rise in water temperatures can lead to the prolifera tion of algae in coastal waters as well as a rise in jellyfish blooms. The warm sea temperature also brings an increased risk of storms with sud den torrential downpours likely to oc cur when cooler temperatures roll in. If you’ve bathed in the Med this sum mer, you have likely noticed that the water is warmer than usual. But the temperature rises aren’t confined just to the balmy Mediterranean coast. On Spain’s northern Cantabrian coast from Galicia to the Basque Country, temperatures are also on the rise, measuring some 2ºC higher in some places than the average for previous summers.
COPING: Children in Madrid deal with the heat By Fiona Govan THE heatwaves and drought are threatening this year’s wine harvest in AnSpain.exceptionally hot summer has left grapes withering on the vines with many winemakers choosing to bring the harvest forward by at least a month. The vendemia (grape harvest) usually takes place during September but many have decided to start picking in Au Yieldsgust. are expected to be down by an average of 15% to 25% depending on the region. Positive Grapes will be smaller but some winemakers believe this isn’t neces sarily a bad thing. “We will have fewer grapes to pick but it will have a positive effect on the markets because the wine will be better qual ity and at a good price,” says Castilla La Mancha Agriculture Minister Francisco Martinez. Spain’s olive groves are also struggling with warnings that harvests will be massively re duced pushing up prices of Meanwhile,oil. the coun try’s corn, wheat and barley crops could fall by as much as 13% this year, with prices inevi tably rising. the bottle
SPAIN has suffered its hottest July on record. Official data shows the mercury soaring to nearly three degrees above the average of the last 60 years, when records began. The country’s temperature for the month was 25.6 degrees, ac cording to AEMET, the national meteorological office on Mon Itday.makes it 2.7ºC higher than the average from records dating back to Predictably,1961. the hottest place in the country was Moron de la Frontera, in Sevilla province, where the dials hit 46ºC on July 24 during the second heatwave
Temperatures are also rising in un precedented levels in waters off the Spanish coast, posing a threat to ma rine Spain’slife. Meteorological Agency (Ae met) reported that in some areas of the Mediterranean off the Spanish coast, temperatures had reached above 30ºC during the latest heatwave.
Opinion Page 6
SCORCHIO! It was degreesthreeabove the average as newtotemperaturesJulysoaranalarmingrecord was described as ‘the most in tense, the most extensive and the second longest’ in history. It has also been one of thealsowereJuneandofmonthsly,ingAlarmyears.lastinrainfallleastwithJuly’sdriestthethe15theMaythe warmest on record, with AEMET warning that summer seems to be starting a month earlier than it did six decades ago. As a result of the extreme heat and drought, Spain is suffering nearly its worst year of wildfires on Somerecord.240,000 hectares had al ready been scorched in more than 370 blazes by the end of July. Meanwhile, water levels in reservoirs are worryingly low, although Valencia’s reservoirs are higher than in the rest of AccordingSpain. to official data, the reservoirs in Valencia are 60% full compared to the national average of 40%. Locally, Benagever reservoir, which is 100km from Valencia city, is 96.6% full. Restrictions However, Alicante’s capacity is lower - according to official data reservoirs are at 50% and for this reason water restrictions are expected in the province. Over in Andalucia, reservoirs sit at 28% capacity, some 7% below where they were this time last year.
of JulyuntilJulyfromsizzledwhichriod,Themer.sumthepe926, Sea threat
OPRESSLIVEThe COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA FREE Vol. 3 Issue 71 www.theolivepress.es August 11th - August 24th 2022 Tel: 952 147 834 See page 11
The 14-year-old told Policia Nacional officers that she was jabbed by a needle to stun her during a party on the unnamed Abeach.number of such cases were re ported during San Fermin fes tivities in Pamplona, northern Spain, with at least four women seeking help from emergency services because they were diz zy or lost consciousness after feeling a pinprick. In total at least 60 cases have been reported in Catalunya, the Canary Islands, the Baleares, the Basque Country and Anda Spain’slucia.
Street arrest
Refunded Around €1 million has been refunded and 12 bank accounts used by the fraudsters have been frozen. All of the people ar rested or investigat ed are French na tionals who ents.French-speakingtargetedcli
THEGETTINGMathiasNEEDLE
AN illegal Mediterra nean tortoise hatch ery operating out of an Elche finca has been shut down with 27 animals removed. The unlicensed breed er faces a prison sen tence of up to two years and disqualifi cation from animal related activities of up to four years.
Equality Minster Irene Montero acknowledged the growing problem and said: “In the last few days, there’s been a few reports of women who have been needle spiked in clubs, bars and pubs.”
Surge in cases of women drugged by hypodermics hits Alicante
POLICE are investigating a spate of attacks across Spain on women who believe they have been spiked with needles at Thenightclubs.victims have complained that they have been drugged and suffered memory loss, with many discovering bruising in dicating that they had been pricked with a needle. Most recently, four women went to Denia Hospital in just one evening on suspicion of suffering needle attacks in city Tennightclubs.morefemales went to hos pital over last weekend for the same reason, taking the total number of local cases to 22 since late May. And a teenage girl claims two men kidnapped her at a Marina Alta beach party and kept her in a house for two days where she was sexually assaulted.
A 50-year-old German fugi tive was detained walking down a central Torrevie ja street. Policia Nacional officers collared the man who had a European Arrest Warrant issued against him for fraud. Clear view A Spaniard, 39, brandished a large knife at three Elche pizzeria employees and fled with the takings. His face was caught clearly on secu rity cameras enabling police to identify and arrest some body they had crossed paths with before. By George
multiplebuilthomes60€5.4ItCampello.Muchavistaanrelai,Thescam.€5threeandarrestedTHEofScammedmillionsGuardiaCivilhasthreepeopleareinvestigatingothersoveramillionrealestateagency,GrupoLooperatedoutofofficeinthePlayaareaofElpocketedatleastmillionfromclientsforluxurythatwereneverorweresoldonoccasions.
A routine Guardia Civil inspection of the finca uncovered a fenced-off area with several dozen tor toises. Officers went inside a wooden shed in the enclosed space and discovered a breeding area for the It’sspecies.popularity as a pet, despite it being a protected species, means illegal trading is common.
A 25-year-old woman has been arrested after her daughter, 2, was found walking semi-naked around the streets of Molina de Se gura during a heatwave. The child, named as Ella, was suffering from dehy dration. A resident spotted the youngster and called police, who gave the tot first aid, as well as providing her with clothes and a nappy. They took her to a doctor before she was transferred to a chil dren’s centre. Police went to the family home where the front door was open and the television was left switched on. It took four hours for the mother to be found and charged with child abandon ment.
CRIMEwww.theolivepress.es August 11th - August 24th 20222 NEWS IN BRIEF
Spanish authorities issued guidelines to those who believe they may have been drugged in this way; don’t be alone, tell staff at the bar/nightclub and report it to police by calling 112.
Better centre SAN Pedro del Pina tar’s natural park visi tor centre will reopen this autumn following €776,000 of improve ment work. The ‘Las Sa linas’ centre will feature better mobility access and more use of sus tainable energy as well as a bigger car park. Free ride ELCHE residents can get up to €600 to buy an electric scooter or bicycle under a new council scheme. Details and vouchers are on the mu nicipal website.
Scales of justice
Breeding
Home alone
FORMULA 1 legend Fernando Alonso is to join Aston Martin at the end of the season. The two-time world champion has been with the French team Alpine since 2021, but will now replace retiring Sebastian Vettel in his seat. The 41-year-old is a veteran of the sport every season except ning the champion 2005 and 2006. comes unexpected ly, with the Alpine team achievingconsistentlytop10 finishes all season and lying 4th in the constructors cham pionship, while Aston Martin is 9th, with only Williams lower.
TOO MANY: to wave a stick at
EVA LONGORIA has been bringing a sprinkling of stardust to Spain this Eversummer.since her friend Maria Bravo recruited her into the NGO Glob al Gift Foundation, she has been a regular visi tor to Marbella. This year The Desper ate Housewives star returned to the Anda lucian coast to com bine charity work with pleasure. She chaired the 10th edition of the Glob al Gift Gala where entertainment was provided by former Big Breakfast host Denise Van Out en (below), who was wearing her DJ hat The Global Gift Foundation supports many projects world-wide that help disad vantaged and disabled chil dren, wom en and families.their
POP star Shakira could be jailed for eight years if she's convicted of tax Barcelonadodging. prosecutors also want her to be fined almost €24 million for allegedly defrauding the Tax Agency out of €14.5 million on in come earned between 2012 and 2014.Theprosecution demand came af ter the 45-year-old singer rejected a plea deal stating that she was innocent and that would be proven in a trial. Her position is that she worked outside Spain during the years in question. Prosecutors argue that she moved to Spain in 2011 due to her relationship with Barcelona footballer, Gerard Pique, but kept her tax residency go ing in the Bahamas until 2015.
€ (inc IVA) SOLAR ELECTRIC ENERGY NOW BEING INSTALLED +34 619 111 998 wellis-spain.com
Keep up withthe flockers corralVolunteers600 flamingo chicks annualunusualinevent
IT may not be quite as difficult as herd ing cats but the annual roundup of young flamin gos at a Spanish reserve is still quite a challenge. The Laguna de Fuente de Piedra reserve hosted the return of its tra ditional ringing of the long-legged chicks after a two year Covid hiatus. A 400 strong work force, including many volunteers, was need ed to herd and catch around 600 chicks. Al though this may seem to be too many birds to wave a stick at, the birds’ natural tendency to flock meant this was exactly what the ‘catch ers’ Wavingdid. sticks to grab the chicks’ attention they herded them into a Aftercorral.this, the ring ing and marking of the chicks began, with each bird marked with a metal ring on the right leg and a plastic one on the left. Since 1986, some 20,000 flamingos have been tagged for scientific pur poses and to allow for bet ter planning to protect the population in their natu ral Thehabitat.tagged birds will be analysed throughout their life, making it possible to better understand the dis persion of the population, as well as their reproduc tive and grazing behaviors. Breeding The information is essen tial both for the manage ment of the breeding col ony and for evaluating the effectiveness of the Anda lusian Wetlands Network.
NEWSwww.theolivepress.es August 11th - August 24th 2022 3 MORAIRA PLUMBING PLUMBINGwww.morairaph.comHEATING&AIRCONDITIONINGSPECIALISTS tel: +34 620 523 613 / +34 966 498 993 email: info@morairaph.com Calle Mulhalcen 3, Ctra Moraira de Calpe 142b, Moraira Teulada 03724, Alicante New location further down the road towards Moraira town centre, next to Gemisant & Kostas Restaurant Air Conditioning | Bathroom Fitting Gas and Oil Central Heating | Electrics Certification & Inspection | Pool | Solar Energy SPECIALOFFER Giastu Aroma 2 2,5 kw R32 gas refrigerate A+++20db 3 years warranty including 599installationstandardandmaterial
SHAKIRA’S GAMBLE
On the move
FOOTBALL star Neymar will go on trial this October over financial irregularities in his transfer to Barcelona from Bra zilian club Santos. The 30-year-old Paris Saint-Germain player, along with ex-Barcelona presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, will be tried for alleged corruption and fraud re lated to the 2013 transfer, with prosecutors wanting Neymar to get a two year jail Investmentsentence.fund DIS ar gue that they were enti tled to 40% of Neymar's 2013 transfer fee when he left Brazilian club Santos. They are claiming compensation of €120 million.
Cashing in By George Mathias
A real gift
SEVERE penalties have been introduced for the mistreatment of animals. The new animal welfare law brings Spain in line with most of its European neigh bours, with prison sentenc es of up to two years. It prohibits killing any do mestic pets except for specif ic sanitary or health reasons. It also stipulates that pets may not be sacrificed un less for sanitary reasons or A FAMILY was rescued after their pleasure boat overturned a mile off Santa GuardiaPola.Civil patrol boat Rio Oja was pressed into action after getting re ports that a group of people were on top of a half-sunken craft. The Rio Oja spotted two men and three wom en, all from the same Spanish family, clinging onto the boat. They were taken to dry land with a woman needing treat ment for a blow to the Ahead.jet ski user had al ready rescued two chil dren and taken them to Santa Pola. Guardia officers believe the boat capsized because the daggerboard had not been deployed. The daggerboard is a small retractable keel that pivots into an open ing in the boat’s hull.
tragedyWatchtower
HOTEL SAGA ENDING MURCIA government permits have been granted to dismantle an unfinished ‘ghost’ La Manga hotel after nearly 50 years. Work on taking down the Lagomar Hotel could start this autumn, subject to approval from the Coastal Authority. Construction began in 1974 but just the bare bones of the hotel were built. That re sulted in an eyesore on a prime plot of land occupying 22,000 square metres. Machines and cranes will be used to pains takingly take down the 11 floors from top to bottom in a process that could take up to six months. The €679,000 dismantling plan has been produced by the building’s owner, Intramanga Turistica.
challengedBritish UKRAINIANS are on the verge of overtaking Brits as the larg est group of foreigners living in FiguresTorrevieja.from the city’s mu nicipal padron show 4,596 Ukrainian residents in the city compared to 3,203 in January. It’s the second largest foreign group in Torrevieja, just behind 4,813 British nationals, with pa dron falls attributed by the city council to people leaving due to ThereBrexit.is little evidence to back that up with the figure up on the 4,777 Brits recorded on the register in 2018.
IN response to huge confusion among the British expat community about driving licence rules in Spain, the charity Age in Spain has drawn up a Brexitguide.meant that British licences can no longer be exchanged for Spanish ones by those resident in Spain for more than six months. Negotiations are currently underway - backed by the Olive Press’ s U-turn Driving tips campaign - for a new agreement to al low British licences to be recognised but a delay and the refusal by Span ish authorities to extend the grace period has meant that since May 1, thousands of Brits have been unable to Agedrive.inSpain, which works with ex pats across the coasts, carried out an online poll and discov ered that 42.6% of respondents have yet to acquire a Spanish driving licence. While we await an agreement the Guide to Driving to Spain is available from ageinspain.org
BANNED: Wild animals in circuses By Fiona Govan rescueSea
U-T
NEWSwww.theolivepress.es August 11th - August 24th 20224
About timeSpain beefs up animal welfare law but doesn’t touch bull fights Dogillness.owners will now have to have official identifica tion for their pets and all breeders must be listed on an official register. The rules are hoped to stem an endemic abandonment problem in Spain, one of the highest in Europe. The country also has a prob lem with a proliferation of socalled ‘backyard’ breeders. The new regulation also bans the selling of dogs, cats and ferrets in pet shops and bans the use of wild animals in circuses, as well as cock fights. Rights Despite the beefed up laws, there is no mention of bull fighting, an omission that has been criticised by ani mal rights groups. All zoos and dolphinariums are also required to be con verted into 'centres for the recovery of native species'.
AN 18-year-old man died after a late-night party on a San Pedro del Pinatar beach turned to tragedy. Around a dozen young peo ple were on El Mojon beach at 2am when some of them climbed into a wooden watch tower used by lifeguards. The sheer number of youths led to the structure’s partial collapse with parts of the tow er striking the teenager on his head. He was certified dead when medical teams arrived at the Ascene.male and female, both 18, were taken to Los Arcos Hos pital in San Javier for treat ment to minor injuries.
URNNOW!
Family appeal for missing Canadian man last seen in Madrid
A MECHANICAL fault left a group of thrill seekers hanging from a rollercoaster for an Thehour.midsummer hor rorshow at Madrid’s Parque Atracciones left them sitting ver tically on one of the Abysmal! hottest days on re cord. No one suffered any health issues on the Abismo ride, which re-opened the follow ing day. By Fiona Govan lagoonHot
THE summer heatwave has produced a record temperature high for the waters of the Mar Menor lagoon. The Mar Menor Scientific Com mittee said water temperatures reached an average high of 31.25 degrees on July 28. That’s the highest figure re corded since data started being collated with some very shal low areas touching 35 degrees. The previous high was around 30.25 during the first week of August in 2016. Bad news
High temperatures are not good news for the ecosystem as that creates conditions for re duced oxygen levels caused by the illegal dumping of nitrates from farms on the adjoining Campo de ChlorophyllCartagena.levelsin the water rise and that causes lower oxy gen which is not good for ma rine life as it produces danger ous algae which kills fish which washes ashore, as seen in recent years.
Anyone with information that may help find Scott can contact ham@gmail.comFindScottGra YOU SEEN HIM?
THE family of a Canadian man who vanished in mysterious circumstances a month ago have issued a desperate appeal for help to find him. Scott Graham, 67, was on a solo trip across Spain when the bus he was travelling on be tween Vigo and San Sebastian departed without him after a rest stop. On board the bus was Gra ham’s luggage including his passport and daily medication he requires after having a kid ney transplant in 2014. His family are attempting to piece together his movements since “Nobodythen.wants to live this nightmare and every minute counts,” his daughter Georgia told the Olive Press. So far the family have con firmed that he showed up on July 15, but his problems worsened when he was unable to retrieve his bag from the bus company and contacted police in San Sebastian. Passport They told him to go to the Canadian Embassy in Ma drid for help and to get a new Laterpassport.that day, he was treated at La Paz Hospital in Madrid for injuries to his head and hand that he told doctors he had sustained in a fall. He had applied for a new pass port at the embassy and was told to pick it up on July 18, but he never showed up. “If you have any information about our father’s whereabouts please contact police or contact us directly,” said Georgia. “Our father is in poor health and needs to be taken home where he can receive medical treatment.”
NEWS 5August 11thAugust 24th 2022www.theolivepress.es FREE Quotations and Design Service Specialists in Fitted Kitchens and Bedrooms Full Installation Service or Supply Only Wide Range of Doors and Worktops Laminate • Silestone • Granite Suppliers of Appliances Ovens, Hobs, Extractors tel: (+34) 965 077 555 mobile: (+34) 661 861 416 C/Alfredo Krauss 2, Local 11, Urb. La Marina Email:Visit:thekitchenshop@yahoo.co.uk thekitchenshop.es OTHER SERVICES INCLUDE: Baby Equipment Hire, Letters and Parcel Postage, Fax and Photocopy Service, Greetings Cards, UK Passport Renewal, Boarding Pass Printing
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NEWS FEATUREwww.theolivepress.es6 HEAD OFFICE Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5, Calle Espinosa 1, Edificio cc El Duque, planta primera, 29692, Sabinillas, Manilva NEWSDESK: 0034 951 273 575 For all sales and advertising enquiries please contact 951 27 35 75 ADMIN Sandra Aviles Diaz (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es OFFICE MANAGER Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es DISTRIBUTIONENQUIRIES (+34) 951 273 575 distribution@ theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION 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. Deposito Legal MA 1650-2019 AWARDS Best expat paper in 2016Spain-2020 Best2020English language publication in Google2012Andalucia-2022NewsInitiativegivestheOlivePressasubstantialgrant. PUBLISHER / EDITOR Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es Jo SimonChipchaseWade simon@theolivepress.es Cristina Hodgson cristina@theolivepress.es Fiona Govan fiona@theolivepress.es Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es George Mathias george@theolivepress.es Jorge Hinojosa jorge@theolivepress.es
● In March, 2021 the Heineken España, brewery in Jaen, crea tor of Cruzcampo, Alazar and Amstel beers, became the first AND largest brewery in Euro pe to be completely emissions free. With solar panels and heat energy generated by waste from the nearby olive oil indus try, they have eliminated 2,500 tonnes of carbon emissions.
ERE (standing for Expediente de Regulacion de Empleo) is a procedure which allows companies facing bankrupt cy to fire workers and receive public funding to underwrite severance and early retirement But,packages.inreality, the funds were il legally syphoned off for private gain, creating what is the big gest public money corruption case in Spanish history – so Mostfar. fraudulent payments were made off the books and without any form of public scru tiny. But more than 500 people have been investigated since the scandal broke in 2010, and now the ERE fraud prosecu tions of politicians, companies, and intermediaries like lawyers and bankers, are coming thick and fast.
And that’s just the start. Hundreds of politicians, busi nesses and intermediaries are involved in this massive fraud scandal that’s grabbed the headlines across Spain. The prosecution process is one of the longest – and slowest – in Spanish judicial history. At the root of it all is an un employment support scheme known as ERE that was sup posed to help companies in a region suffering the highest jobless rate in the country. Dubbed the ‘reptile fund’, this vast pool of money came from Madrid with the intention of stimulating employment and aiding ailing companies.
OVER €25,000 per month on cocaine, €400,000 for a fake chicken farm, and thousands of euros on holidays – just a few of the ways €680 million of embezzled Junta de Andalucia cash was spent. Now Andalucia’s ex-president and corrupt Socialist cronies face jail in one of the biggest fraud scandals to hit Spain’s political elite after their ap peals were rejected by Sevilla’s High Court. The appeal ruling comes three years after 19 former top offi cials in Andalucia’s then rul ing Socialist government were convicted for diverting public Spain’sfunds. top court upheld 16 of the 19 convictions, including that of the former president of the Junta, José Antonio Griñan, for embezzlement and misap propriation of public funds for which he has received a jail sentence of six years. The con viction of his successor, Manu el ‘Monolo’ Chaves, for malad ministration was also upheld, and Chaves was banned from public office. The ruling, now ratified by the Sevilla High Court, found that both former presidents of the Junta were ‘fully aware of the blatant and patent illegality’ of fraudulently allocated funds that were distributed from the public coffers between 2000 and Prison2009.sentences were also upheld for the ex-councillors Antonio Fernandez, Francisco Vallejo, Jose Antonio Vieira and Carmen Martinez Aguayo, who were each sentenced to be tween six and eight years.
THE above phrase could be a legitimate sign placed at airports across the costas in future as we have confirmation that July was indeed the hottest month ever recorded in Spain, with the mercury rising some 2.7ºC above the usual average temperature. The official data will come as no surprise to anyone who endured the month and who are suffering in what is now the third heatwave of the summer. You may have developed your own coping mech anisms to deal with the heat beyond staying at home with the blinds down. It almost certainly won’t include taking a cooling dip in the Med, whose waters have not surpris ingly also reached record warm temperatures surpassing 30ºC in some places posing a threat to marine life while encouraging a proliferation of jellyfish and invader algae. If you discovered that spending the hottest days wandering around climate controlled shopping centres brought a reprieve from the scorching heat, think again. Those days are over as the government brings in plans to limit A/C temperature to a rather balmy 27ºC. And don’t rely on ice-filled drinks as an anec dote to the heat. A perfect storm of early heat waves eating into the stockpile teamed with rising energy costs and distribution problems means those bags of ice we all depend on in summer are now rationed… if you can get your hands on them at all. If you’re not in a position to head for cooler climes in the nearby hills or even better, the more forgiving northern coast of Spain and cooler Atlantic waters to ride out the rest of summer, then we wish you good luck. And roll on September!
Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow?
‘I drink beer when I have occasion… and sometimes when I have no occasion’, Jack Gaioni agrees with Miguel de Cervantes SPANISH wine culture dates back 3,000 years to the Phoenicians. But what about that other fermented de light - namely beer? Although not as consistent in its popularity as wine, the erratic and unpredictable popu larity of Spanish beer has a colourful story to tell. The Roman Republic’s conquest of Hispania (approx: 218 B.C.) was not seamless. The native Celtiberian tribes - a loose alli ance of ancient Celtic tribes - were strongly opposed to relin quishing control of Hispanic lands to Rome. Known as the Celtiberians Wars (181-151 BC), the native pop ulations were so fiercely combative that Rome was forced to send large armies to quell the unrest. In one battle at Numantia (Castilla y Leon), the warlike tenacity of the beer drinking natives led the Romans to reconsider their strategy. Numantian women, as part of their daily routine of baking bread, would often liquify the wheat, barley and hops left over from their bread making process. Left to ferment this ‘liquid bread’ (read: beer) was an extremely powerful intoxi cant. So potent in fact, that before every battle the Numan tians would increase their morale and courage by getting wildly drunk on the liquid bread. The Romans soon learned to fear them as ‘crazed, fierce, de monic fighters’. The ferocity of the native beer guzzlers success fully held off the invaders until the Romans had suffered enough losses to stop fighting. Instead, they reverted to building a wall, a moat and im paling rods around the settlement as part of laying siege. For two years the Numantians refused to sur render but as famine and suicide took their toll, the natives burned their city to the ground rath er then become Roman slaves. In the centuries to follow, the victorious Romans replaced the beer-drinking culture with one built around However,wine.when Charles V became King of Spain (1516) he began to change the culture. Although grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella, Charles was born Dutch and had inherited his crown via com plicated Hapsburg marriage arrangements. King Charles and his court imported their strong Northern European taste for beer to Spain. He hired Flemish, German and Alsatian brew mas ters and began Spain’s first beer factory along the Manzanares River in Madrid. Charles established rules and regulations as they applied to beer manufacture: the amount of wheat, barley and hops, the alcohol content, and fermentation time. If anything was changed, the brewers would suffer a penalty. Charles, his entourage and his beer were wildly unpopular - the public didn’t like him or his beer and rejected both. Wine remained the public’s libation of choice for the next few centuries. Only in the beginning of the 20th Century did a beer drinking preference begin to gain enough popularity for large breweries to open. Mahou and El Aguila Beer opened Madrid in 1900. Cruzcam po started brewing in 1904 in Sevilla, Estrella in Barcelona in 1906, while Alhambra began in Granada in 1925. By the 1960s with Spain’s boom in tourism, beer became the common drink in bars it is today. The ‘beer linked with tapas’ craze took off in thousands of tabernas throughout the pen insula. The splendid golden liquid has since far surpassed wine as the libation of choice. Spaniards now drink twice as much beer by volume than wine. Granted, Spain will always be fa mous for its amazing wines, but cerveza inarguably has taken on an important part of Spanish day to day life. As for the ‘Beer Today - gone to morrow’ trope? A definite yes to the former and not likely to the latter…
Special report by DollimoreLaurence and Sorrell Downer
DID YOU KNOW?
● “ Cerveza Artesana “ or craft beer is rapidly beco ming part of the discussion of beer in Spain. In less than a decade there have been 400 new producers introducing 650 varieties of craft beer throughout Spain. Openly counte ring Charles V demand for strict regulations, craft beer brewers creatively experiment with flavours (e.g. coffee, citrus, honey) to the delight of many. Could Cerveza Artesana be posed to be the next exciting chapter in the his tory of Spanish beer? Welcome to the inferno
The ex-president of the Junta, the union boss, a coke-addicted chauffeur - just three of the criminals who turned more than half a billion euros destined for unemployed Andalucian workers into a ‘reptile fund’ to pay for drugs, fast cars and prostitutes
● The expression ‘Numantian re sistance’ has become a Spanish proverb used to imply a strident, single minded resistance to au thority. Many Spanish authors, in cluding Cervantes, find meaning in Numantia similar to that of the Masada for Israelis.
white, see page IV
roperty www.theolivepress.es P inpropertySpain’sbestmagEnglish AUGUST 2022
COUNTRYRuralpropertysalessoarto53%above2011lows,writesMarkStucklin Pueblo’s
Mark Stucklin is the owner and editor of property website www.spanishpropertyinsight.com
ESCAPE TO THE
Fincas&VillasCREDIT:PIC Making the
SPANISH country property sales were close to alltime highs in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Sta tistics (INE). There were 43,650 rural property sales in Q1, up 11% on the same period last year and 8.4% higher than 2019. It was the highest level of quarterly sales since the boom year of 2007. Country property sales have been steadily climbing since they bottomed out in 2011 with just 103,609 rural land sales that year, down from a peak of 192,302 in 2007, a decline of 46%. By last year rural property sales were up 53% compared to the trough of 2011. However, country property sales have really taken off in the last few quarters in the wake of the pandemic, with growth near or above double-digits in most quarters. Most rural property sales in Spain are located in the three biggest regions of Castilla y Leon, Andalucia, and Castilla –La Mancha. Along with the Valencian region they make up 58% of all rural property sales in Spain. If you look at the quarterly change in sales (year-on-year) in a selection of regions and provinces of most interest to foreign investors, you see the biggest growth in sales in Q1 came from the Catalan provinces of Barcelona (+40.5%) and Tarragona (+32.1%). This reflects a pandemic-related displacement of demand away from urban areas to rural areas with good access to city centres and transport hubs. Industry insiders report that rural property sales are being driven by lifestyle changes in the light of the pandemic, and some also mention a growing interest in rural real-estate as an inflation-proof asset offering a self-sufficient lifestyle.
COMBATING CLIMATE CRISIS
Clients also receive an app so that they can monitor their solar instal lation from anywhere in the world, seeing how much electricity it is generating and how much they are What’sconsuming.more, the Mariposa Energía team handles all of the registration paperwork on behalf of their clients. All solar installations come with a 30-year comprehensive guarantee, giving you peace of mind that your solar installation will stand the test of time and full maintenance sup port is provided, although solar pan els require very little maintenance. “Installing solar panels really is a win, win situation. You will make huge savings, you will gain the free dom to use your high consuming appliances, such as the dishwasher and washing machine during the day and you will even add value to your home. What’s more you will be helping to protect our planet for fu ture generations to come.”
One of the main factors that has prompted consumers to opt for so lar panels is the volatility in the en ergy market as Martin Tye explains: “The wholesale cost of electricity has sky-rocketed over the last 12 months and with so many external factors that can cause fluctuations in those costs, many homeowners and busi nesses are choosing to produce their own electricity, putting themselves firmly in control of their electricity costs and allowing them to make huge savings. “In fact our clients are finding that, with the savings they are making, their solar installation has paid for itself in just two to three years.”
THE solar energy revolution has firmly taken hold across Spain, with demand for solar panel in stallations soaring. Homeowners and businesses alike realise the huge benefits that gener ating their own electricity can offer. To cater for the growing demand, Spain’s leading solar panel and green energy company, Mar iposa Energía has just opened a new office in LaunchedAlicante. in San Pe dro de Alcántara on the Costa del Sol al most three years ago, Mariposa Energía has gone from strength-to strength, rapidly in creasing its reach from Andalucia ini tially to the whole of Spain. The new Alicante office is ideally lo cated to support the high level of in terest from the English-speaking mar ket, who welcome the ability to work with a company which speaks their Martinlanguage.Tye, CEO at Mariposa En ergía said: “We are delighted to have opened a new Alicante office, with a team on the ground in the area. “We pride ourselves on our first-class customer service and so it is important that we have solar specialists based in the Alicante area as local points of contact for
AN INVESTMENT THAT PAYS FOR ITSELF
SUNNY DELIGHT
As solartemperaturessoar,sodoesdemandforpowerandenergyprices er-growing client base.” With more than 300 days of sun per year, Spain is the perfect location for solar panels, yet historically the coun try has lagged behind some of its European neighbours in terms of the numbers of solar installations. This was mainly due to the infamous ‘sun tax’ which previously levied un fair taxes on those who chose to generate their own electricity with so lar Thankfullypanels. that tax has been abolished, paving the way for both homeowners and businesses to make substantial savings from this plentiful and renewable source of energy. “Interest in solar panels is at an all time high,” Martin Tye said. “And it’s easy to understand why when you look at all the benefits an installation has to offer.”
And it’s not just the substantial cost savings which make solar panels such an attractive investment. It’s also a fantastic way for consumers to reduce their carbon footprint. “Climate change is a very real and very urgent problem. The planet’s average temperature is rising at an alarming rate and it’s vital that we take immediate action to slow down global warming. The effects of this temperature rise can already be seen with an increase in forest fires, droughts, flooding and the erosion of coastal areas. If action isn’t taken this problem will only get worse with an increase in crop failures, loss of habitats and rising sea levels,” Mar tin “Theexplains.burning of fossil fuels to pro duce electricity is one of the main contributing factors to climate change. The harmful emissions that are produced as a result of this pro cess, known as greenhouse gases, become trapped in the earth’s at mosphere, leading to global warm “Bying. moving to green energy sources, such as solar power, we can reduce the levels of harmful emissions in our atmosphere and help to protect the future of our planet. “Unlike fossil fuels, solar power does not produce these harmful emissions. What’s more it’s a re newable source of energy, meaning that as long as the sun continues to shine, it will never run out.”
To find out more about solar panels contact the friendly team at Mariposa Energía today on +34 951 120 830, by www.mariposaenergia.esorgogreen@mariposaenergia.esemailingbyvisitingthewebsite
A SIMPLE STRAIGHTFORWARDANDPROCESS
Wholesale cost of rocketedhaselectricitysky-overthelastyear
Installing and using solar panels is actually a lot easier than you may Atthink.Mariposa Energía it all starts with a satellite survey of the roof or available land space and analysis of your electricity bill to determine how much energy you consume on Fromaverage.there the solar specialist team creates a proposal, recommending the size and layout of the solar in Thestallation.proposal is incredibly detailed and includes information on the amount of electricity your solar pan els will produce, along with a 20year cash flow forecast so you can see how much money you will save and how soon your investment will have paid for itself. “The cost savings really are stagger ing and our clients are often really surprised at just how much money they will save and how quickly they see a return on investment.”
PROPERTYAUGUST 2022 II
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Andalucia’s famous white village houses are cool and beautiful – and they might just keep out plagues By Livia Cockerell
GETTING READY: Limestone is stacked... ...then when ready the kiln is lit... ...and a worker tests to see if it’s ready... ...with the final cal powder ready to be mixed into paint 19th century lime kilns and a shed ca lled ‘Del Caler’ built at about the same time and made with materials from the Bothperiod.the shed and all decorationretainmuseuminbuildingsthethethe
MorondeCalMuseoCREDITS:PIC
THE WHITE STUFF
OF all the possible images of An dalucia, the white village set against a mountainous landsca pe is one of the most iconic. In provinces such as Cadiz and Malaga, the pueblos blancos shimmer blindingly under the Andalucian sun. They happen to be as pretty as a picture, but there are practical reasons for why they are white. Between the 8th and 15th century, Anda lucia was an Islamic kingdom, separated from the north of Spain, which was ruled by Christian kings. During this period of divi sion, the decision to use lime (or cal) to whi tewash entire villages in Andalucia helped create a sense of unity between the Moorish pueblos Choosing the colour had practical as well as political benefits. The bright white reflects the sunlight, kee ping the houses cool during the hot summer months. The Moors had several ingenious strategies for combatting the Mediterranean heat, from building on the north face of crags to designing streets so narrow they were shaded by houses on either side, and using white was an integral part of their Inplan.the past, the whitewash that coats these buildings was made by artisan caleros from slaked lime, known to be both an effective insect repellent and a powerful disinfectant. During epidemics of yellow fever and pla gue, houses were whitewashed in an at tempt to prevent the further spread of disea se. While it’s uncertain whether this worked, it was a particularly valuable course of ac tion during the cholera outbreak of the 19th century, when the highly alkaline properties of slaked lime proved effective in killing this particular bacteria. So important was cal that UNESCO has granted the traditional method of its pro duction ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hu manity’ status. Today, most cal is industrially produced and the centuries old artisan practice is in dan ger of dying out – but not everywhere.
An hour’s drive from Sevilla, the Museo de Cal de Moron demonstrates the artisanal Itprocess.occupies a large area of 3,000 m2. Vi sitors can see two fully restored, traditional and utensils characteristic of the period. The museum has an interpretation centre and projection room, where visitors can learn first-hand the whole process of lime production and how its impact on Anda lusian culture has made it a world-fa mous symbol of the region's identity.
TENDING THE FIRE: at the Museo de Cal Moronde
Hundreds of articlesfrom restaurant reviews to travel features and from crime stories to explainers on new laws - are not making the printed paper for many reasons. But fortunately, modern technology has come to the rescue in the shape and form of our website. The portal www.theolivepress.es gives us un limited space to expand on topics and really go to town on the most in teresting subjects. Our team of trained journalists, who have experience at The Daily Telegraph , The Times and the Dai ly Mail , spend hours each day investigat ing and producing great content for the site. This is where you will find a host of special web-on ly features and explainers as well as news from around the regions that we simply can’t fit in the print editions. FOMO So if you feel you are missing out (the so-called FOMO effect), the solution is at hand: Just go to our website and you will find a huge amount of high-quality articles, news and views – all at your fingertips. We are also pretty sure that you’ll soon get regis tered, ensuring you get a daily email giving you a breakdown of the main stories of the week. You’ll even get one a week on travel. With theolivepress.es you never have to miss out!
1- Family call for justice after British father of two dies in Magaluf after police knelt on him
A JUDGE’S HUNCH
JUAN Lanzas, a socialist from the UGT union, is one of the intermediaries being investigated for admitting companies into the ring of corruption and pocketing an alleged €13 million in return. His mother once boasted to the Guardia Civil at their home in Jaen: “Mi hijo tiene dinero para asar una vaca” (literally: my son has enough money to roast a cow), meaning he had cash to burn. This was probably true, given he bought 16 properties and still had €80,000 cash left to stash inside a mat tress. But now the authorities would like it back. Lanzas faces multiple charges after more than a de cade of investigation. He’s due to stand trial for fraud relating to a €2.3 mil lion payment to Sevilla photographic laboratory Surcolor in July 2023.
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The Minister’s trial takes place at Sevilla High Court in September. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has requested 14 years in prison, and the money back.
And as a very special early Summer deal for Augustwe are offering all new clients AN AMAZING VALUE€1 EURO DEAL to access our website for a month.That means full access with no annoying pop upads for an entire month, plus all our printed issuesFREE on top.That’s for ALL our stories, features, explainers andinvestigations - around 600 of them - working out atjust 0.0016c a story.With around 20 professional journalists, writersand experts providing content every week, whatare you waiting for?
hundreds of fake retirees receiving money in a similar way. The diedmandthanpealed,Guerrerokickbacksreceivedfundedhisdrughabit,homeim-provements,fastcarsandinternationalholidaysforfriends,fam-ilyandhisfellowcoun-cillors.GuerrerowassentencedbySevillaHighCourttosevenyears,11monthsinprisonforembezzlement,andanothersixyearsonrelatedcharges.Heapspentlessayearonreincustody,andinOctober2020.
HE ERE scandal was exposed in November 2010 when campaigning judge Mercedes Alaya launched a probe into ir regularities in the municipal com pany Mercasevilla. It came after two former direc tors attempted to bribe a pair of hotel owners, offering them the concession for a hospitality training school for €450,000. Unluckily for them, the business men recorded the meetings and handed the tapes over to Madrid’s Ministry of Employment, which sent them to the prosecutor’s of fice. While the Junta’s then employ ment minister, Francisco Javier Guerrero, brushed it off as mere ly a fund which ‘helped business es breathe’, Alaya realised there was something more sinister going on. What quickly became clear was that chain-smoking Guerrero was the man with the keys to the safe. Along with the Minister, the Union Boss and the Missing Man, he is one of hundreds of fraudsters whose stories have been filling
THE UNION BOSS EDUARDO Pascual Arxe is another intermediary –and a fugitive. A Catalan ex-banker who helped commission the fraudulent EREs, he fled to Africa in July 2015 and is yet to be extradited. The slippery money man was once the president of Eurobank, which he fraudulently bankrupt ed 15 years ago, enriching him self to the tune of €12 million. Pascual prepared an escape plan years in advance: After in vestigations began in 2005, he married a Bolivian woman, ac quired Bolivian nationality, and changed his name to Marcellino Jose Monasterios Arce, before fleeing to Africa. By the time the trial came to court Pascual was in Burkina Faso cultivating medical mari Hejuana.isnow suspected to be in the Republic of Benin. Should he ever show up, the An ti-Corruption Prosector’s Office is requesting he gets a 28-year jail sentence.
The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:
5- Exclusive: Two men arrested after being caught on camera as they tried to break into homes in Marbella in Spain’s Costa del Sol
G UERRERO’S driver, Juan Trujillo, provided the court with juicy testimony, admitting to judges he’d spent at least €900,000 of public cash on cocaine, booze and ‘par tying’ at brothels with his boss –as well as on antiques. He admitted accepting €1.4 mil lion in public funds from his boss for business projects which never materialised, including a non-ex istent chicken farm, for which he received €450,000. One of the sacked workers from the fake firms was his mother, who re ceived €122,468 in compensa He’stion. a cheating criminal, but wellgroomed, apparently: “Like a min ister,” said a neighbour of Trujillo in Andujar, Jaen. “In fact, that’s what we call him.”
3- U- turn campaign everything you need to know about the driving license exchange debacle for Brits in Spain
L OOKING like a Mafia capo, Guerrero ruled the roost with energetic aplomb –fuelled, it turns out, by a €25,000-a-month cocaine habit. He could make anything happen as long as you played by his rules, voted Socialist and made sure he got generous kickbacks. His regal beneficence won him the name ‘the HeMarquess’.handed out cash from the fund at will. His hometown, El Pedro so, north of Sevilla, where he was mayor from 1999 to 2008, did part cularly well, and literally dozens of friends and neighbours benefited. His pal, Jose Llorente, received a severance package from a cork pro duction company despite never hav ing worked there. (Llorente told investigators he thought the money that arrived in his account was ‘a gift from God’.) Another neighbour was ‘fired’ from a bogus company he’d never worked for, earning himself a €1,100 a for countless locals who had supposedly worked in the nearby Alquife mine (despite never having set foot in Ait). network of fake compa nies was set up listing dozens of local res idents who had taken early retire ment. In to tal, the group was paid around €60 million over five years. The fake com pany nessesicpaniesmarketingschools,fakespreadnetworkwithlanguageITandcomandorganfruitandvegbusisetupacross
MARQUESSTHE
4- Alert for high concentration of jellyfish in Costa del Sol Torremolinos and Marbella
THE MINISTER
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W E are proud at the Olive Press to provide expat communities in Spain with the lat est news - and plenty of features - in our five print editions. But while each copy is guaranteed to be full of at least 50% editorial, sad ly plenty of things do not make the edition, which is fortnightly, after all.
EURO MONTHLY NEWS
DON’T MISS OUT!
2- Spanish tourism officials sets the record straight about travel requirements for British tourism visiting Spain
THE MONEYMISSINGMAN
Litterbugs
NO TIE: PM Sanchez COMEBACK: Straw donkey NEW rules have come into force to save energy at public venues across Spain. The Council of Ministers ap proved the first tranche of measures to cut Spain's gas consumption by 7% as part of a European Union agreement to limit dependency on gas from Spain'sRussia. reductions will be low er than the EU-wide figure of 15% and will be maintained until at least November 1, 2023. Ecological Transition Minister, Theresa Ribera, said: “This is an unprecedented ef fort not seen since after the end of the Second World War.”
NGOs are warning that lit terbugs are causing forest fires. A report from the associa tion BirdLife and Ecoem bes revealed that care lessly discarded plastic, cigarette butts and aerosol cans can spark and feed Theblazes.report comes after it was revealed that a fire in Cebreros in Avila was caused by rubbish. Both associations believe that it is important to pro mote environmental edu cation and prevention.
Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. +34 638 145 664 ( Spain Phone ) Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es about too little to late … the latest advice is farcical WHEN it comes to talking about climate change, it is impossible to stay away from politics. They are completely intertwined. My recent columns have focused on the dire situation that planet earth faces as a result of governments around the world failing to act quickly enough to reduce the more than obvious impact of global warming. So, this week, let’s look at the humorous side of things. That’s what we do in the face of adversity. I’m going to ignore:
● The impact on the environment caused by the murdering lunatic Putin ● Pretend that the Taiwan escalation is not hap pening (there’s nothing the rednecks like more than a war on foreign soil)
● The fact that only the misguided delusional op timists, and mentally challenged still think that keeping global warming within the agreed target of a maximum increase of 1.5C is possible
GREENwww.theolivepress.es August 11th - August 24th 20228 +34 951 120 830 | gogreen@mariposaenergia.es | www.mariposaenergia.es 100% Certified Green Energy Reduce your energy bill Switch to our 100% Green Energy Save even more money with our solar PV panel installations! Generate your own electricity Solar PV Panels Simply send us a recent bill & we will calculate how much you can save. Get a quote today Contact us today
Furtherbuildings’.measures will be an nounced in September. It will be down to Spain's 17 regions to make sure that rules are be ing followed.
Talk
Green MattersBy Martin Tye
Plans approved to cut energy consumption By Alex Trelinski air-conditioned premises to have a door closing system in place before September 30 and for premises to review boilers and thermal installations be fore December 1. It’s also going back to the days of the Covid pandemic by en couraging more home working to ‘save on travel and heating
SANCHEZ HAS IT CRACKED
SPAIN’S Agriculture Minister, Luis Planas, says this sum mer’s hot weather will dent this year's olive harvest if things don't change soon. Spain is the world's leading producer and exporter of ol ive oil, accounting for 15% of arable land in the country. It produces 70% of the EU’s olive oil and represents 46% of the worldwide market, according to government sta tistics. The effects of extreme weather are being felt right across Spain's agricul tural sector. Luis Planas has estimat ed that Spain’s overall production of grain crops like corn, wheat and barley, could fall as much as 13% this year to 17.5 million tonnes.
Too hot to grow
Offices, shops, cinemas, the atres, and hospitality venues will no longer be allowed to set their cooling systems below 27 degrees in summer nor raise heating above 19 degrees in the Thewinter.measure also applies to airports and railway stations. Shops will also be obliged to keep doors closed and heating systems must be checked more often to increase efficiency un der the new measures. The package also includes shops having to switch off win dow lights after 10pm. Street lighting will not be affected. The government is demanding A BIG TURN-OFF
● Deforestation is increasing And focus on Pedro Sanchez’s solution. He recently announced that to save energy he is go ing to stop wearing a tie! This is unreal and truly farcical and worthy of a West End comedy. Bring back Morecambe and Wise. He is also advocating the same initiative for all pub lic employees and in the private sector. Tie shops must love him. I can’t recall ever witnessing such a blatant attempt to divert attention from the major challenges his leadership faces. Many political commentators are wondering what item of clothing he endorses removing next. Unreliable sources are expecting him to start pro moting the famed Spanish Straw Donkey. Remem ber those? They were highly popular with the advent of mass tourism in the 1970s. Less popular if you happened to be seated on a plane next to a muppet who had bought one. But now Pedro’s pony is set for a comeback. It’s made by hand and requires no electricity. All part of the government’s drive to encourage tourism to Spanish shores. (Forget the 90 day rule, the British driving licence exchange fiasco and the less than speedy Spanish residency application Soprocess).Sánchez has it cracked. God help us.
Essaouira came second followed by Caceres with the old castle doubling up as King’s Landing. Fourth on the list is Itzurun beach at Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country which in season seven showed the landing of Queen Daenerys at Dragon stone. In fifth place is Peñiscola in Castellon Province which became the city of Meer een, which was captured by Daenerys.
IT can not be overstated how important it is to read and under stand the documents that come with your insurance policies. Very few people seem to be aware of the importance of first checking if your policy documents are totally correct with all the right information. This is especially important for car policies where it is vital that the number plate information is correct. Also, these documents should be kept in the car, but make sure you have copies at home too in case the vehicle is stolen. For your home policies, ensuring that the address is correct and the same as that registered on the catastral will make life a lot easier, should you need to claim. Without understanding your insurance documents, you will not be fully aware of your exact coverage, should anything happen. With the increases to both inflation and the cost of living, unfor tunately burglaries are on the increase, especially with unoccu pied properties. Ensure you understand what you need to do to not only protect your property but also ensure you have the right cover with your insurance. It is worth making sure know in advance what to do if anything happens. For example, know what telephone numbers to call and research what documentation and information you will be required to provide. Obviously health insurance is a little more complicated. Ensure you know what information you need, have the contact details with you at all times and it helps to store the telephone numbers on your telephone, along with your policy number. If you are unsure how to use your medical insurance, ask your agent or broker. It is always better to be prepared, I know that insurance docu ments are not easy reading but it always pays to know and un derstand your policy. It will make your life easier, less stressful and in some cases, will prevent large unexpected bills. To help you with your claim, I have a special Claim Administrator to guide you through the process with Liberty Seguros, an ASSSA administrator to assist you with your health policy and a renew als department to help you with your renewals, and to check that your policy coverage is correct and up to date. Outside of my office hours, all the insurance companies have emergency contact information, which comes with your policy.
NEW LADY PLEA ELCHE council has made a fresh appeal to the Ministry of Culture and the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid to return the ‘Lady of Elche’ bust. Mayor Carlos Gonzalez made the plea at a ceremony on the 125th anniversary of its discovery. The Lady of Elche is a stone bust that was found on August 4, 1897 at L’Alcudia. It’s an Iberian sculpture dating back to the fourth century BC and was bought by the Lou vre museum in Paris for 4,000 Infrancs.1941, it returned to Spain where it stayed for 30 years in the Prado Museum. Elche council has campaigned for many years for it to be perma nently displayed in its home city.
Scent successof IT may be a feast for the eyes, but Madrid’s Prado museum also made one masterpiece a treat for the nostrils too. Last month it experimented with exhibiting The Sense of Smell by Jan Breughel and Rubens accompanied by scents and aromas. The painting’s original goal was to evoke the immense range of smells a human can distinguish through its sub ject matter of a sucious gar Soden.the Prado decided to go a step further by partnering with the Perfume Acade my Foundation to create 10 distinct scents to bring the painting to life for visitors. Using AirParfum, a technol ogy developed by Puig, the perfumer Gregorio Sola cre ated the fragrances which were wafted towards visitors.
Spain has 4 out of top 5 Game of Thrones locations GAME OF THRONES fans are eagerly gearing up for the new prequel series House of the Dragon which premieres on August 21 in the US and over the following days inter Locationnationally. shoots happened last year in Spain, with Cace res being used, like in Game of Thrones, for the drama which stars ex-Doctor Who, Matt Smith. The original worldwide hit used stunning international locations and four of the top five most popular for visitors are in Spain. Pop culture specialists, Zavvi, produced their list of most visited locations by looking at photos posted on social media featuring location hashtags and filtering. The most visited location is the Castillo de Zafra in Gua dalajara - also known as the Tower of Joy, which featured in season six of Game of Thrones According to Google Trends, Thrones filming locations had a 92% rise in interest in July, with the Castillo de Za fra, seeing a 50% increase in Morocco’ssearches.
TOP DRAWS
Dear Jennifer: It makes life so much easier if you know what to do in a crisis
OPSUDOKUOPSUDOKUOP QUICK CROSSWORD All solutions are on page 10 Across 6 Cold, dry Adriatic wind 8(4)Gloaming (8) 9 “---, home’s best” (4,4) 10 German idealist phi losopher (4) 11 Pot bakers (5) 12 “Who cares?” (2,4) 14 Lot, to Abraham (6) 16 Cake topper (5) 18 Burn slightly (4) 20 Kind of aural implant 21(8)Pack it up (4,2,2) 22 “--- of the D’Urber villes” (4) Down 1 Essential constituent 2(4,3,6)Stately horse (5) 3 Small informal restau rant (6) 4 Very popular confec tion (4,9) 5 At that time (4) 7 Like some cysts (7) 12 Baste, perhaps (3) 13 “--- That Shook the World” (John Reed book) 15(3,4)Money held by a third party (6) 17 Chip off the old block 19(5) WWI field-marshal (4) FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR A QUOTATION, PLEASE CONTACT ONE OF MY OFFICES, EMAIL INFO@JENNIFERCUNNINGHAM.NET OR VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.JENNIFERCUNNINGHAM.NET
By Alex Trelinski
LA CULTURA 9August 11thAugust 24th 2022
MOST VISITED: Castillo de Zafra
PROTECTING AGAINST VOLATILITY
The Iceman NO Cometh HIGH electricity pric es is being blamed for an ice shortage across Spain as it suffers in the grip of the third heat wave of the summer. Much of the ice sold during the summer comes from a stockpile built up during the first half of the year, but as energy prices soared with the Russian inva sion of Ukraine, pro duction stalled. Then when an early heatwave hit in June, demand for ice shot up and supplies dwindled. As a result the price of ice is also soaring and supermarkets are sell ing Someout.have been ra tioning sales by limiting purchases to two bags of ice per customer.
Meanwhile, Vueling cabin crew may also go on strike. Up until now, the airline has benefited from strikes at ri vals, Easyjet and Ryanair but now cabin crew are threaten ing strikes in August over pay.
Tourism sector buzzing as number of visitors doubles with visitor numbers over the six months of 2022 running at over 80% of the same period back in 2019. Tourism Minister, Reyes Maroto, said that based on June’s figures and if the current trend is main tained, pre-pandemic lev els will be ‘clearly’ achieved and described the news as Speaking‘extraordinary’.toTVE , Maroto reflected on the 30 mil lion-plus foreign visitors this year and their increase in spending power. She said: “We have tourists who spend more and who are staying longer. “This has to be the way forward where quality and diversification are the hall marks of this recovery. We are avoiding very well the uncertainties derived from the Ukraine war and from inflation which makes us optimistic but also realis tic.” Fruits “The tourism sector has made a great effort to resist the effects of the pandemic and we are benefiting from the fruits of good work and the safety net that we de ployed to protect the sector and families,” Maroto con cluded.
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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL August 11th - August 24th 202210 OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword Across: 6 Bora, 8 Twilight, 9 East West, 10 Kant, 11 Kilns, 12 So what?, 14 Nephew, 16 Icing, 18 Char, 20 Cochlear, 21 Time to go, 22 Tess.
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING? Sterling soared through the final week of July, with GBP/EUR climbing to a three-month high. Throughout the week, recession fears hammered the euro. Poor economic data from Germany and the wider eurozone worried markets, with confidence among consumers, investors and busi nesses all Additionally,declining.Russia’s Gazprom slashed gas exports to Europe, ex acerbating concerns about the EU’s worsening energy crisis. Meanwhile, markets became increasingly confident that the Bank of England would raise rates by 50 basis points at its August meet ing. This lifted the pound to a three-month high against a weak ening However,Euro.concerns about economic and political instability in the UK may have limited GBP’s gains. As wage growth lags behind inflation and the cost-of-living squeeze tightens, workers across the country are striking to demand pay increases. In addition, the Tory leadership contest brought out bitter divides in the ruling Conservative Party, as the political turbulence con GBP/EURtinues. wavered higher at the beginning of August, although movement was perhaps limited as investors awaited the BoE de cision. The pound suffered from a downward revision to the final UK services PMI while a stronger US dollar weighed on the Euro. The BoE decision then slashed Sterling’s gains. Although the bank did raise rates by 0.5%, it also warned that in the fourth quarter of 2022 the UK economy would enter a recession, which would last throughout the following year. GBP/EUR slumped by a cent.
CLEAR: Reyes Maroto PACKED: Beaches are busier than ever No peaceEASYJET has made peace with protesting cabin crew only for its pilots to call a se ries of strikes. The pilots’ union SEPLA has called for action over nine days in August to demand better working conditions for Spain-based pilots at the Theairline.strikes at the British low-cost air line are to take place for three periods of 72 hours each, with stoppages on August 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28 and 29.
Good times roll
By Alex TrelinskiOVER twice as many for eign tourists visited Spain in June than in the same month last year, according to official government fig Arrivalsures. also spent almost three times as much during their stay compared to a year June’searlier.7.5million visitors spent close to €9 billion
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GBP/EUR exchange rate drops from three-month high after BoE recession warning THE Pound to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate climbed to a three-month high over the last two weeks as EUR investors grew increasingly concerned about the intensifying Europe an energy crisis. Meanwhile, Sterling rose as markets anticipated a 0.5% rate rise from the Bank of England (BoE), but a recession warning slashed the pound’s gains. GBP/EUR rose by more than two cents from lows of €1.174 to a three-month high of almost €1.199 before falling to €1.188.
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ENERGY SWINGS
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR? Looking ahead, economic data is sparse through most of the second week of August. As a result, GBP/EUR may trade on external factors. Any fresh warnings or concerns about the gas crisis in Europe could weigh heavily on the single currency. Likewise, eurozone recession fears may dampen the appeal of the euro. As for Sterling, increased industrial action, social unrest and political instability in the UK may prevent the pound from making significant gains. UK GDP data on Friday could potentially see GBP/EUR fall. At the time of writing, economists expect the UK economy to have con tracted by 0.3% in June. The following week brings high-impact data for both currencies. The UK’s latest labour market report, inflation rate and retail sales will be the focus for GBP investors. Signs that the UK economy is slowing would likely hurt the pound, while any data that might prompt more action from the BoE – such as a hot inflation reading or above-fore cast wage growth – could see Sterling climb. Meanwhile, Germany’s latest ZEW economic sentiment index may dent the Euro. While no official forecasts are out at the time of writing, the worsening gas crisis and looming recession risks may see anoth er steep drop in morale.
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Cops get their goat after daylight chase shoppingthroughstreets
BENIDORM firefight ers rescued a man from a city self-ser vice launderette after he was trapped when the front door auto matically bolted shut at Bad10pm.signal
SPAIN’S bullet train service between Madrid and Barcelona ground to a halt when 600 me tres of fibre optic cable used for its signalling system were stolen. A man has been arrested. DJ Calvin Harris may have bought himself a farm on Ibiza but that does not necessarily make him a farmer. The Scotsman claimed on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show, that he can’t get a cow on Ibiza because the island is too hot. This will be a surprise to locals who have long kept cattle - in cluding a herd just 8 kilome tres from his property.
By Alex Trelinski FEELING HORNY: Cops grab the goat Rags to riches area and after wrapping up her begging at around 2pm, she would pop into the shop. She’d only buy Bonoloto and Primitiva lottery tickets rather than Euromillions tickets as they were Localscheaper.described the woman as popular. She usually spent cash raised on food for her family. IT gives the term a ‘room with a view ‘ a whole new meaning. A luxury hotel in Ibiza is of fering guests the chance of an overnight stay for free, but the catch is that everyone can see Thisthem.is because the ‘Zero Suite’ has glass walls and is in the middle of The Paradiso Art Hotel’s lobby in full view of other guests as they check in and head for their own more private suites. The hotel website describes the suite as ‘A room with glass walls in the middle of the lob by of the Paradiso Art Hotel where you can sleep one night for free…’ withRooma view ofBarrelsfun AN Irish whiskey distill ery has saved 100-yearold Spanish wine barrels to reuse them maturing whiskey. The 68 Oloro so casks were bought by Boann Distillery when a Cordoban bodega closed. Clean escape
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AN Alicante beggar has scooped a life-changing €1.2 million first prize in the Bonoloto lottery. The unnamed winner would beg for cash every day close to a tobacconist which sold her the winning ticket. Shop owners Mariangeles Torregrosa and De siree Agorreta told the Informacion newspaper that the woman ‘told us that we have changed her Theylife’.added that the ticket holder lived in the WHAT could be worse than a bull in a china shop? Ap parently, a goat in a jewellery Astore.black goat caused chaos in Cartagena when it was chased around the city by police be fore smashing a glass display in the store. The animal had entered the city from the Murcia road and ran down Paseo Alfonso XIII. The female then hoofed it with police on motorbikes and in patrol cars in hot pur suit. Even passers-bye on electric scooters joined in the chase. She finally turned into pedes trianised Calle Mayor, scat tering shoppers before taking refuge in the ‘lo soy joy’ jewel lery Storeshop.owner Laura Nicolau told the newspaper: “She ran in very quickly. She had very large horns, it was a good thing that she did not hit anybody, especially a child. “She struck a glass item very hard and shattered it,” she added. Burly Seven people were in the shop at the time. It took four burly officers to corner the horned beast in the shop’s loo using riot shields, before two shepherds arrived to help tie up the ani mal and man-handle it out of the shop.
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