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Vol. 2 Issue 28 www.theolivepress.es November 26th - December 9th 2020
Landing Brexit A TRADE deal between the EU and Britain is on the verge of being finalised, after the EU looked set to cave in on fishing rights. An MEP broke ranks to say that it looked likely the French would have to compromise with Boris Johnson’s demands over UK waters. Christophe Hansen said the EU would have to meet the UK’s demands to clinch an agreement. "There will be compromises to be made on fisheries. The status quo, that is somewhere we're not going to land,” he told an event. French fishermen are understood to have backed the compromise despite losing out on access to certain fishing grounds. France had previously been refusing to back down on any fishing deal, demanding near-parity to the UK’s coastal waters.
Your
FORGET THE DRAUGHT: Conor and pals at makeshift local
UNABLE to have his regular Friday night down the boozer during lockdown, expat Conor Wilde hit on a novel idea - to build his own pub! The Irish expat, 46, got his mates over and converted his garden shed into what he claims is Spain’s smallest watering hole. Measuring 2.4m by 2.5m, it counts on a cornucopia of Emerald Isle collectibles… and it even has Guinness on draught. “After being cooped up like a man
Lockdown lock-in EXCLUSIVE in solitary in March I came up with a plan,” the Valencia-based real estate consultant told the Olive Press. “I had an old paellero shed in the garden. I got the lads over – Tuejar, El Gallego & Champ – and we
set about turning it into Spain’s smallest pub. And if I say so myself, we’ve done a grand job.” Called El Irlandes, after his favourite Martin Scorsese film, it happily fits his closest pals in for the usual Friday night Blarney. Wilde, from Skerries, near Dublin, has run the Found Valencia agency for two decades.
ELECTRIFYING! Energy giant sent packing after campaigners and Olive Press win long battle against ‘destructive’ pylon plan
Fight the power!
Deal
It comes as the governor of the Bank of England warned that a no-deal Brexit would be more economically damaging than COVID to the UK. Andrew Bailey said failure to get a deal signed would create a massive cross-border trade blockage and damage goodwill between Brussels and the UK. Meanwhile, Ireland leader Micheal Martin said on Monday he was hopeful that a Brexit deal would be completed this week. Taoiseach Martin said ‘by the end of this week we could see the outlines of a deal’. He said it would come down to ‘political will, both in the United Kingdom and I’m clear the political will is there from the European Union’. EU ambassadors were told over the weekend that a trade deal with Britain is on the verge of being finalised. They were told the majority of the 11 main negotiation issues have ‘joint legal texts with fewer and fewer outstanding points’. The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, struck a positive note, saying: “After difficult weeks we have seen better progress, on important files. This is good.” See No hard shoulder, page 6
SAVED: the stunning countryside and how it would have looked with the pylons
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GREEN campaigners are rejoicing after plans to erect over 100 giant pylons were effectively sparked out this week in Andalucia. In a shock win, they thanked the Olive Press for its year-long campaign to stop the ‘motorway of power lines’ through two iconic Granada valleys. Our Fight the Power campaign, launched in March 2019, strongly opposed the long lines of pylons and a giant electricity substation in the Alpujarras and Lecrin Valley. We were joined by celebrated writer Chris Stewart and pop star Dr Robert of the Blow Monkeys to oppose the ‘crazy abomination’. The battle had erupted when locals unearthed energy giant Red Electrica’s state-funded plan to erect the 80m high structures, mostly on private land. In the case of British expat Steve Holdup, 63, the REE scheme would have seen a pylon going up in his back garden. Ironically, the tower and service road would have been installed right in the middle of the retired teacher’s own solar panel project. Grassroots movement Di No a Los Torres (Say No to the Towers) was quick to argue the high voltage towers would have a ‘devastating effect’ on tourism, agriculture and health. After probing the shady interests
By Laurence Dollimore
behind the project, we managed to get the story printed in the national newspapers in the UK. Robert Howard, singer of the Blow Monkeys, who has a home in the Lecrin Valley, described the scheme as ‘ravaging’ for the region saying it would ‘have devastating consequences environmentally and economically’. Driving Over Lemons writer Chris Stewart added it was ‘heedless destruction’ and showed private interests ‘riding roughshod over the will and rights of the people’. Now the Junta has effectively ruled that REE cannot build its second substation, which would connect the long lines of pylons the region. TheOlivePress-256x170-BIKacross E-4.indd 1 A subsequent appeal by the electrical giant has also been rejected, according to campaigners this week. “It’s great news,” Teresa McKeon told the Olive Press. “Thank you so much for all your articles and the campaign you launched. “We continue to work behind the scenes to try to safeguard the natural beauty of our landscape from this and other threats.” McKeon explained that REE's megaproject included two lines crossing the valley. The first had been published in the BOJA in November 2017 and was subsequently approved See pages 11 & 24 by the Junta before locals were able to raise public TheOlivePress-256x170-BIKE-4.in
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dd 1
On the eve of Andalucia day, we look at the history of one its most famous group of residents, gypsies
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POWERLESS: The
POWER STRUGGL E: Christ Stewart and Dr Robert (inset above) join long, snaking X-GENESIS drummer protest against pylon project Stewart has joined Chris Over Lemons novel made the the fi- gion famous reEXCLUSIVE ght against a ‘motorway’ - added While supposedly necessary of growing collective his name to a By Tim McNulty power lines planned of campaigning to take electricity from Morocco dalucia’s iconic Alpujarras for An- expats battling the proposal. to Europe, it is set to ruin the untouched These include former The British author - whoseregion. beauty 80s star Doc- again private financial interests are of the area, Driving tor Robert, enjoyed by tens of thoufrom the Blow Monkeys, riding roughshod over the TM the rights of the people, will and sands of nature lovers each year. who leaving, as The Di No A Las Torres li- ever, a wake (Say No To of heedless destruc- The Towers) ves in the tion,” group n e a r b y this Stewart told the Olive Press, tage towers would argues high volhave L e c r i n “Oneweek. ting effect’ on tourism a ‘devastaday the tide will turn and and agriculV a l l e y , reasonable, more ture, as well as health. sustainable ways TM which is prevail; A but seemingly not yet; will a petition has been launched, while also set to it’s protest saw over a thousand so... peobe badly Theback to the barricades again.” ple march near the village outrage comes after it of Cona f f e c t e d vealed was re- char on Sunday. energy by the ca de España company Red Electri- The protest, which included (REE) plans to install expats many See pages 40 project. and children, is the start a network of some 211 of “ O n c e across giant pylons many to stop the scheme. the two valleys. Blow Monkeys singer Robert
Holdups
Black out
Celebrities join furious expats and locals to stop ‘abomination’ of pylons set to ruin series of celebrated tourist valleys
E
Mijas Costa
A BRITISH expat couple ‘disaster’ after they learntare facing a one of the ‘monstrous’ electricity masts to be built in their back garden.(left) is Steve Holdup, 62, and wife Karen, 61, who live on a self sufficient near Orgiva, could ironically farm even lose their sole source of solar panels, which are inpower from the way. The retired teachers, who moved from Cumbria a decade they have been kept in ago, claim energy company REE, andthe dark by out about the pylon from only found a friend. Steve told the Olive Press: “From having a fantastic house from scratch ten years we rebuilt ended up with a disaster. ago, we’ve “We put all of our life saving into it and now we face having a 220 volt tower directly to live with behind our home.” If built, the tower and adjoining vice road will cut right through sertheir field of 13 solar panels. “So somebody in Germany gets a load of electricity from Morocco as a result of putting a tower at the back of our house and we end the little electricity we have up losing for ourselves.” He added: “It has been the most chevalier fashion done in you could imagine. Howard, who has lived Valley for two decades, in the Lecrin ve Press: “The project told the Olimassive pylons across to take these an abomination. It will our valley is have devastating consequences environmen tally and economically. “It’s a magical place, a ‘Vale Of Happiness’, as the Moors place of natural beauty called it, a and conservation. “These giant pylons will scar the landscape, could destroy the local tourist businesses and ravage the environment. “There are no benefits people - we must fight at all for local Ecotourism is vital toto stop them.” the which was nominatedregion, UNESCO World Heritageas a site in 2017, mainly for having some of the world’s oldest olive groves.
NEWS: Start of the Olive Press Tel: 282 90902 2 12312 campaign 3 282in March 2019
902 123 282
awareness and fight it. “Technically this line can still be constructed,” she explained, “However, there is no substation to connect to. “So we continue to question the legality of a proposal which included a *Offer ends'fictitious' 30/11/18. Not valid for renewals. Subject substation, and of the Junto conditions . ta's approval of such a project.” Olive Press publisher Jon Clarke said last night: “This is amazing news and a great win for2/8/18 the environment. 17:01 “I’m proud that the Olive Press has been able to help achieve this victory, showing that the press still has relevance and can put pen to power. This is what a genuine people’s paper does.” It comes after REE reportedly ignored prohibition orders slapped down by town halls in Orgiva and Lanjaron which were designed to prevent work starting back in July last year. Councillors had issued the bans over ‘environmental fears’, but REE sent in diggers and dump trucks regardless, to begin preliminary groundwork. Now, for the time being at least, the electrical giant will have to find somewhere else for its electrical pylons. *Offer ends 30/11 /18. Not valid for renewals. Subject to conditions. UK BASED
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Some 245 businesses rural tourism and the work in which is set to have 109valley of the pylons - receives an estimated 8,000 visitors every weekend. The figures for the Alpujarras, which will see pylons ching all the way to the stretria border, are certainly Almemuch higher. Scottish expat Teresa Keon, 49, who has been Mcat the forefront of the campaign, the Olive Press: “The told whole place is going to be destroyed it is just awful... it really is awful.” Opinion Page 6
2
CRIME
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NEWS IN BRIEF All out SIXTY people were evacuated from the Decathlon store on Alicante’s Rabasa industrial estate on Monday after a fire started in a cardboard compactor machine.
Good as new THE 30-year-old San Juan tunnel on the A-70 highway will get €22 million of improvements over its 1.7 kilometre stretch.
Wet days HEAVY rain is predicted to hit the whole of the Costa Blanca and Murcia region from today, lasting over most of the weekend.
Solidarity PERMANENT purple road signs have been put up in Los Montesinos this week to promote the town’s strong stance against domestic violence.
A BRITISH man’s distinctive tattoos have led to him being identified and facing 15 years jail. He was wanted by Essex police over serious assault charges. The 34-year-old fugitive was detained on the La Marina urbanisation in San Fulgencio. He had no ID papers but
Tattoo ID
the agents recognised him by matching his tattoos with photos sent to them from the UK authorities. The unnamed suspect is accused of attacking his ex-partner in Essex, last year. He forced his way in through the front door and threatened
to kill her as he punched her in the face and all over her body. A neighbour heard the commotion and helped her to escape. The man was handed over to the National Court, which is processing an extradition warrant issued by the UK. He faces up to 15 years in prison if he’s convicted of assault.
November 26th - December 9th 2020
Alleged killer named
CAUGHT: Inked suspect
Big bang theory Explosion ripped through Torrevieja flats
Sharp exit fail
By Alex Trelinski
RESIDENTS in a Torrevieja apartment block had a miraculous escape after what is thought to have been a deliberately-set explosion tore through a flat, with the occupant fleeing the scene. Two flats on Calle Diego Ramirez were destroyed with six families having to spend a night in a hotel. The intensity of the blast threw furniture and debris out onto the street, where a parked car was damaged. The Guardia Civil launched a hunt for the 50-year-old resident of the first-floor flat where the explosion happened. He was arrested on Saturday
THE ALLEGED murderer of young Ben Nesbitt has been named as Wai Ming Lam from Southport in the UK, who knew his victim well. Following his arrest in Girona on October 2, the 38-year-old was taken into custody suspected of fatally stabbing Nesbitt, aged 21, in the neck after a latenight altercation in Ciudad Quesada. The victim’s father Michael, known as Nezzy, told the Olive Press: “I tried to block it all out, hoping that I’d wake up the next morning and all of this was just a nightmare.”
DESTROYED: Flats blown to smithereens by massive explosion in Torrevieja when he was spotted in a local pharmacy. The man had allegedly regularly threatened to ‘blow up the building’ after disputes with other residents, with his latest warning coming just a day before last Thursday’s explosion.
Reports say that he is mentally ill and is a prolific hoarder of items. He has a criminal record and had several complaints made against him by his neighbours to the Guardia Civil. Emergency services discovered nine butane bottles and
three gas canisters in his property, plus paint and petrol cans. Torrevieja fire chief, Toni Pastor, said: “The butano had been strategically placed around the home and we are gratefully that nobody was hurt despite the intensity of the blast.”
A MAN tried to steal an Alicante police car which he then reversed into two agents before crashing into a wall. Police were called to a hotel in the city at 3.30am last Saturday after complaints that a guest was causing trouble. They found a 24-year-old man standing in the car park in an agitated state and agents called for an ambulance. When the paramedics arrived, the man ran across the car park and got into the police car. He started the engine and hit reverse gear to try to run over the two agents.
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NEWS
www.theolivepress.es FIVE Barn owls have been introduced to a Marina Alta farming community as part of a major plan to enhance the flora and fauna of the area. The village of Jesus Pobre, two kilometres from Gata de Gorgos (Alicante), is involved in a project to restore species that are vital to farming ecosystems.
RESTORED: Barn Owls
Role replacement MALLORCA local Mads Mikkelsen has been tipped to replace Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in the new Fantastic Beasts film. Depp was axed from the cast of the latest Harry Potter spin-off when he lost his trial against The Sun newspaper, who called him a ‘wifebeater’ in 2018. The court found the claims made about Depp, 57, were ‘substantially true’ following statements from his wife Amber Heard, 34. After featuring in films such as Casino Royale, Mikkelsen is now director David Yate’s firm favourite to take over the role. No stranger to the Balearic Islands, Mikkelsen snapped up a luxury pad in the heart of Mallorca several years ago. Situated in the trendy Santa Catalina area, the Danish expat relocated several years ago.
November 26th - December 9th 2020
What a hoot! That includes the barn owls who are seen as a useful way of combating pests that destroy crops. Nesting boxes will be put up close to farmland to encourage kestrels, bats, and red-tailed scrub robins to choose the area as a home. Population monitoring is planned to check out the success of the initiative.
Asthmatic actress
As season four of royal drama The Crown hits TV screens, leading actress Emma Corrin reveals her on set health struggles... STAR of The Crown Emma Corrin has revealed she was hospitalised when filming the hit Netflix drama in Spain. The actress, who plays Princess Diana in the newly released fourth season of the show, said she had been suffering with asthma and a severe cough and stopped at a hospital for antibiotics. It was there that doctors refused to let Corrin, 24, leave as her oxygen levels had become worryingly low.
By Lydia Spencer-Elliott
It came after Corrin had filmed an underwater scene for The Crown in a freezing cold swimming pool in Spain where the show had spent two months filming in a bid to recreate Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s 1983 tour of Australia. And this was not the first time the show had come to the Costa del
Marian’s dreams fulfilled
DREAMS: Marian Avila was honoured
A SPANISH model with Down’s syndrome has received a prestigious award for being ‘an example to follow’. Marian Avila, aged 23, picked up the 2020 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy award in a ‘virtual’ ceremony hosted in Denver earlier this month. She shared the honour with actor Caterina Scorsone from the popular TV series Grey’s Anatomy. Marian Vila said: “People with Down’s syndrome can achieve as much as anybody else. My motto is I can. “We can all fulfil our dreams and I am very happy and honoured to have receive such an important award.”
BREATHLESS: Corrin Sol. An airport scene for season three was shot in Torremolinos’ congress centre. The show has recently come under fire for straying from alleged real life events. Biographer Penny Junor, who has been covering the royal family for around four decades, told reporters: “Peter Morgan [director] has invented stuff to make expensive and very rich drama. It’s the most cruel and unfair and horrible portrayal of almost all of them.” Historians have raced to point out fabrications in the latest series’ script including: The royal family intentionally tried to humiliate Margaret Thatcher at Balmoral and Princess Margaret mocked Princess Diana for not being able to curtsey. “Sometimes you have to forsake accuracy, but you must never forsake truth,” said Morgan in response.
Don’t sashay DON’T ‘sashay away’ from your sofa because RuPaul’s Drag Race has announced it’s coming to Spain. The reality-competition show follows a group of elite drag artists as they battle it out to be crowned the drag scene’s next superstar. Commissioned by the suitably sassily named media company ¡Hola Hola Hola!, alongside Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia, the show will be titled Drag Race Spain and promises an ‘update’ on the show’s classic format. Drag Race Spain joins a long line of international spin-offs, including Drag Race Thailand, Canada’s Drag Race, Drag Race Holland and The Switch Drag Race from Chile. And RuPaul is not the only hit-show to announce its expansion to a Spanish network lately. Love Island Spain was announced by ITV back in September, so there will be plenty to keep viewers entertained in 2021. SASSY: Ru Paul
Sea legs
STRETCH: Rodriguez
GEORGINA Rodriguez has taken yoga to the high seas. Posing in blue athletic wear, the 26-year-old model proved boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo, 35, isn’t the only one with sporting skills as she showed off her ability to perform the splits. She captioned the Instagram snap: 'Entre el mar y el cielo', meaning 'between the sea and the sky'.
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LAGOON: Mar Menor MURCIA’S residents and academics are petitioning to make Mar Menor lagoon a legal person to protect it against ‘ecocide’. If successful, the legislation will grant the salt water lagoon the right to ‘exist as an ecosystem’ with protection from legal guardians, protectors and scientists. Officials have given the environmental activists nine months to get half a million signatures so the plan can be voted on in parliament.
Proposal
A FAREWELL TO ARMS The illegal shipments were concealed among cargo transporting legally sourced armaments. The traffickers transported weapons and heavy armament, even including tanks. They showed little fear of law-enforcement and even sprang a ship’s captain from jail after he had been arrested by Greek authorities for arms smuggling. But a power struggle within the criminal gang was to prove its downfall when cracks in its security began to show. Police took advantage to place members under scrutiny as they gathered evidence for more than two years.
Profits were laundered and sent to tax havens with lax financial rules, before being sent back to European bank accounts, mainly in Switzerland and the UK, and from there to Spain, allowing them to invest the criminal profits in properties and finance their luxury lifestyles.
BUSTED: Police moved in
November 26th - December 9th 2020
Bah humbug! CHRISTMAS celebrations on the Costa Blanca will definitely face restrictions on numbers. The current rules only allow for a maximum of six people to get together. Valencian Community president, Ximo Puig, said that exact capacity numbers for the holiday will be announced in early December, That will be around the time when the night curfew and regional border closure have their current end date of December 9. Puig said: “You cannot take hasty decisions but we will not be having celebrations as normal. We can’t say now what we will do as we have to study the infection rates.” A national committee will try to see if all of Spain’s regions can adopt the same measures for the festive season with exceptions for areas with more serious health issues. “Christmas will be different this year but I believe the important thing is not so much how we celebrate it, but that we still feel the emotions of the time of year,” Puig added.
Terrace joy
It comes after Vicente Gimenez, a professor from Murcia University, first proposed the idea to parliament in July. In response, Los Alcazares council have published a report suggesting that giving the lagoon rights might be ‘unconstitutional’. Murcia’s Mar Menor lagoon was once a picturesque location with flamingos and sea views back-dropped by volcanic skylines. But due to ‘ecological unbalance’, blamed mostly on irresponsible agriculture methods and poor sewage systems, the stinking lagoon has since driven away tourists and harmed Murcia’s property market.
Street walking deer
A GANG that smuggled arms including tanks to war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa has been busted in Spain. Properties worth about €10 million have been seized and seven suspects arrested in the operation, led by the National Police and Catalan Mossos d’Esquadra with the help of Europol and the Spanish tax agency. Raids were made in Valencia, Alicante and Barcelona. The gang, made up of Latvian, Spanish and Ukrainian members, illegally shipped Russian weapons and explosives in merchant ships from Ukraine mainly to conflict zones in North Africa and the Middle East. The destination countries are subject to international arms embargoes.
NEWS
BARS and restaurants in 29 Murcia municipalities have reopened for terrace-only service. A complete closure of the region’s hospitality industry was imposed at the start of November to reduce COVID-19 cases. Ten areas, including Cart-
Some restrictions are finally lifted in Murcia but border remains closed until December By Alex Trelinski
agena, were given the goahead for last Saturday. They were joined yesterday
by 19 more including the British expat populated areas of San Pedro del Pinatar and Mazarron. Other expat areas like San Javier (with the exception
of the La Manga strip), Los Alcazares, and Torre Pacheco remain closed due to high coronavirus infection rates. It means that 16 Murcia municipalities still have a complete closure of hospitality businesses. Regular reviews will take place as to whether the approved list will be extended or reduced. Murcia’s president, Fernando Lopez Miras, claimed that shutting bars and restaurants had been necessary to reduce virus numbers. Lopez Miras said: “The move has paid off with the efforts having their reward with fewer infections and a case fall that was faster than expected.”
Travel
AT LAST: Terraces can serve punters again
A DEER caused a commotion in San Fulgencio after it was spotted walking down local streets. Policia Local agents tried to use their patrol car to block in the fallow deer without much success, as it bounded down the Elche road.
Unfortunately, it fell into an irrigation ditch at La Culebrina next to the municipal garden. Guardia Civil agents and a fire crew then joined forces (pictured) for a successful operation to save the deer from drowning.
Murcia has also followed the neighbouring Valencian Community over keeping its border closed until at least December 9. Travel will continue to be barred between all of the region’s municipalities unless for work and other exceptional reasons like getting health treatment. The night-time 11.00pm curfew will also be maintained.
Family risk HOSPITALITY businesses are a minimal source of coronavirus outbreaks on the Costa Blanca, according to figures compiled by the Valencian Health Ministry. Since the end of the first State of Alarm in late June, the department says that out of 2,814 outbreaks in the Valencian Community, 1,730 (61.47%) of them were caused by gatherings of families and friends within private homes.
Outbreaks
In contrast, the official regional figures show that catering outlets have registered just 59 outbreaks since late June, accounting for just 2% of all coronavirus outbreaks. Home socialising is the big outbreak threat with domestic gatherings currently accounting for 87.5% of all local COVID-19 outbreaks of social origin. The stark statistics come as the Valencian government is looking at loosening the restriction on the maximum limit of six people getting together over the Christmas holiday. Meanwhile bars and restaurants are continuing to work to major capacity restrictions and early closing times.
6
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 Happier Days After so much gloom and doom, we can at last see a little twinkling of the light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel. The first vaccinations will hopefully start this January in the Murcia and Valencia regions. COVID-19 cases rates are beginning to show some flattening of the much-mentioned curve. Mercifully the number of deaths is not at the same level of the gloomy days of March and April. Bars and restaurants have started to reopen in Murcia, and now there's talk of some rule relaxations for Christmas. The regional governments are pondering what to do over families and friends keeping their annual traditions going. The big Spanish family evenings of Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are being looked at over raising the current limit of six people getting together. That's good news along with a possible reduction in curfew times on those two days. Quite rightly authorities don´t want to let their foot off the gas too much in beating off the virus before the vaccine appears like a knight in shining armour.But at least we are in a happier place than seemed likely even a month ago, and we should be grateful for that.
Sweet victory THE victory of the pylons not being erected in the stunning Alpujarras valley just goes to show what can be done when a community newspaper and grass roots campaigners work together. This is what a REAL ‘people’s paper’ does - as one of our rivals likes to call themselves. We support our readers in their David and Goliath battles and shine a light on the shady dealings of those in power. We are by no means taking the credit for this win, as it was the Di No a Los Torres movement which put in hours of legal work and challenges at the Junta de Andalucia, and we applaud them for their efforts. But it cannot be underestimated how the international media coverage - spearheaded by us - and our celebrity-backed campaign helped put pressure on those in the corridors of power. Much like the campaigners, we will be keeping an eye on this story to make sure the ruling is kept to. And if you have a similar campaign that you think deserves our support or you want to raise awareness, you know where to find us!
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NEWS FEATURE
F you’ve ever woken up in a shaking bed like Regan in The Exorcist, or seen teacups rattling in their saucers of their own accord, you’re not cracking up. It’s the price you pay for living in an earthquake zone. Up to 1,400 quakes are recorded each year around the Iberian peninsula and they tend to be headline grabbers as people literally feel the earth move, and not in a good way. The recent spate of tremors in eastern Spain has seen a clutch of concerned reports from Andalucia, Murcia, Valencia and the Costa Blanca. The website Volcano Discovery logged 749 quakes on the Iberian peninsula in a single month between October 17 and November 17. But experts say there is nothing to be worried about. It’s all a question of the depth of the tremor rather than a rising trend in earthquakes. In the case of last month’s spate of quakes, only 180 rated above magnitude two on the Richter Scale. That means that very few people would have noticed and the actual number of recorded tremors is not above normal. The head of Alicante University’s Seismic Unit, Jose Delgado, explains: “The Valencia Community suffers dozens of earthquakes each year that nobody notices because of their depth. Everything is absolutely normal. “It’s just a coincidence that a
Whole lotta Alex Trelinski discovers why people in southern Spain feel the earth move more than most...
n u m ber of them have been grouped together along with their aftershocks. “I believe that reporting current tremors should be done calmly
because people naturally get scared if the ground happens to move,” Delgado added. The fault - and it’s a big one - lies in our friction-fraught relationship with the earth’s tectonic plates.
No hard shoulder! EXIT COUNTDOWN TO BR
I
In the countdown to Brexit, Anne Hernandez looks at new rules to help UK drivers get their licences in check before January 1
N another eventful week for British expats, Spain announced new not issued with them until July this year. rules for exchanging your UK driving licence for a Spanish one There is obviously a misinterpretation of the rules somewhere before December 30. along the line and my group Brexpats in Spain continues to inform While the authorities are trying their hardest to cope with the in- the British Embassy of such discrepancies. creased demand, it has sent many of you into an understandable Another important issue is changes to some UK bank accounts dither because the info on the DGT traffic department’s website in and, while most UK nationals living in Spain will not see any English is anything but clear. change, some have been contacted to advise of changes, even inLet me clarify that the application to exchange must be presented cluding the closure of their accounts after December 31. to the DGT not later than December 30, either via the online portal, or by calling 060. It may also be possible to take the form into the DGT in person but Many of you are asking why some UK banks are closing accounts or phone to check with the office before wasting a journey. And remember, if you call 060, no English is spoken so information restricting their services and, ultimately, this depends on whether the bank can meet the Spanish regulatory rules. must be given clearly in Spanish using the phonetSome of you might need to consider other options ic alphabet to avoid any errors (a-Avila, b-Barcelona although it could cost more as some banks may etc). Some DGT charge more for providing an account or for certain The information requested is full name, NIE, date centres have transactions. of birth, driving licence number, telephone number, Other UK-based or international banks will be able email and the centre where you will present your been refusing to continue to provide bank accounts in sterling afapplication. ter Brexit so do make sure you check. The office will then check on the validity of your drivapplicants Options worth considering could be a digital bank ing licence and three days later, another call is necwithout a TIE (some do not allow direct debits in sterling), elecessary to be given the appointment. tronic money accounts, prepaid cards or a local I did it last Friday and got an appointment for TuesSpanish account. day this week. I was impressed! As long as the application has been submitted and the licence has In a very eventful 10 days we have also been notified that residents been verified by the end of the year, the appointment to exchange registered with an S1 as a UK pensioner need to apply online to renew their UK-issued EHIC. Their current card will not be valid after can be within the first six months of next year. So to confirm UK licence holders will be able to use their licences December 31.This only applies to UK-issued EHIC’s. And lastly, not much to report on the Brexit talks because this for six months to drive in Spain from January 1. However, I must week, at a crucial time, the EU negotiations have been temporarily draw your atten- suspended as one of the EU negotiators tested positive for COVID tion to the fact that and Boris Johnson is spending two weeks in isolation after meeting some DGT centres with a Tory MP who also tested positive. have been refusing If any deal is agreed it will clearly be taken to the wire and not applicants who do signed off until December 28 at the earliest. not have a TIE and Senior EU officials also report that several countries including others have been France, the Netherlands and Spain are worried that any last minute declined because deal could be worse for the bloc than a no-deal scenario and say the TIE is not older it is essential to make sure that the UK cannot undercut the bloc than six months, after it leaves. which is impossible since we were Visit www.brexpats.es for more information
Banking concerns
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DISASTER: nine people died when a quake hit Lorca in 2011, reducing much of the town to rubble
Spain’s eastern coast sees a lot of seismic activity as it lies on the edge of the Eurasian Plate, just to the north of its boundary with the African Plate. Geophysicists have worked out that the two plates are getting closer to each other at a very slow rate of around an inch per year with ‘collisions’ happening off the Algerian coast and further east off Sicily. Scientists say the Eurasian tectonic plate is actually moving ‘underneath’ its African counterpart, and that movements, though very gradual, can actually produce a big lurch that could cause a more significant tremor. Utrecht University’s Rinus Wortel produced a study in 2011 suggesting more substantial quakes could be on the way. Wortel said: “The way that the Eurasian plate is moving means that the chances of a major earthquake in the Western Mediterranean region may be increasing.” In 2012, Dr.Jose Martinez Diaz from Madrid’s Complutense Uni- FRICTION: Spain is right on the boundary of the African and Eurasian Tectonic plates versity co-wrote a report which However Spain’s greatest earthclaimed that seismic dangers in kilometres. Spain were being underestimated The only other fatal quake in the quake tragedy was recorded in because only 2,000-year-old re- 20th century was at Albalote in 1755. Granada in 1956, which killed five An 8.5 magnitude tremor originatcords were being looked at. ing in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Researchers discovered a fault- people. line dating back thousands of Alicante University’s Jose Delga- St.Vincent created a 15-metre tsudo emphasises that nami that engulfed much off westyears that caused modern building stan- ern Europe and northern Africa. tremors of up to seven There have dards are different Dubbed the Lisbon Earthquake, on the Richter Scale to the structures that an estimated 15,000 lives were been two “This line could prosuffered damage in lost in the flood and devastation duce a major quake Spanish Lorca and Albalote. that ripped through the Portulike in the past”, Mar“Personal injuries are guese city. tinez Diaz commented. earthquakes likely to be avoided Parts of Huelva and Cadiz were Thankfully, there have been just two Spanish with loss of life because Spanish con- also hit and the final death toll struction has worked may have been as high as 100,000. earthquakes with loss in 136 years to earthquake-resis- That’s ancient history now. But of life in the last 136 tant standards for over what of the future and the chancyears. es of large destructive earthThe most recent tragedy rocked 50 years.” the Murcia town of Lorca in May Historically, it’s another matter. quakes returning, as Lorca wit2011. A quake registering 5.1 on Two massive 19th century earth- nessed in 2011? the Richter Scale killed nine peo- quake disasters make for grim It’s anyone’s guess, but they’re not going away. ple, toppling older buildings in- reading. Around 1,200 lost their lives on “I cannot make a prediction about cluding a church bell tower. The earthquake caused many Christmas Day in 1885 in a 6.7 future earthquakes like it was a underlying problems because it magnitude tremor across Andalu- weather forecast,” says Jose Delstruck at a very low depth of just cia. And 389 deaths were record- gado. ed around Torrevieja on the Costa “But there will continue to be three kilometres. Four weeks earlier, a 6.3 Rich- Blanca in March 1829, when a 6.6 earthquakes and we don’t know ter Scale tremor hit the Granada magnitude tremor razed at least whether it will be today, tomorrow, next month or when.” area, but it was at a depth of 609 2,000 buildings to the ground.
THE Olive Press website has been in a continuous state of growth for the past five years - and there’s no secret to our success. We are the only English-language paper dedicated solely to news about Spain… you won’t find stories about Taiwan and India or even the latest episode of Eastenders, like you would in one of our ‘rivals’. We also hire NCTJ trained journalists who write their own exclusives and know how to source and deliver the most relevant and intriguing stories for expats. This means we don’t make stories up, like when another downmarket rag invented a lockdown coming to Spain on September 18 this year. It was the Olive Press which immediately fact checked and proved that story to be total fiction, ensuring Fernando Simon, the head of the country’s coronavirus task force, addressed it himself at his daily press conference. For years we have supported the expat community by rooting out crooks and scammers, tracking down paedophiles and launching environmental campaigns. That’s why Sky News, the Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, the Sun - to name a few - all come to speak to US when they want a story investigated. We are the only English website dedicated to Spanish news that you can trust. Our handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and growing readership numbers, have proved that consumers value well written, relevant and trusted news - just as you find in the Olive Press.
The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are: woman arrested after lying that €140 had been illegally withdrawn from her bank account 1- British (21,901) British expat on Spain's Costa del 2-SolEXCLUSIVE: has card details hacked losing nearly €500, but bank refuses to refund amount (20,363) Police in UK and Spain reopen case 3- ofEXCLUSIVE: Costa del Sol bar owner who vanished 27 years ago (18,001) Two arrested in Benidorm after robbing foreign 4-cars at ‘40 golf courses’ across Spain’s Costa Blanca (17,958) From June 8 you can travel throu5- BREAKING: ghout whole of Spain's Andalucia, Government announces (14,853)
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LA CULTURA
How surreal
A NEW show at the CaixaForum in Madrid has wowed visitors with its display of over 279 surrealist works of art. Surrealism, an art form traditionally defined as art that explores the subconscious mind, is a particularly apt movement for those using culture as escapism during these challenging times. While the show features surrealist figureheads such as Dali and Man Ray, it also looks forward to the surrealist influences on modern art: for example, Bjork’s experimental music videos.
Desire
The exhibition, called Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924-2020, is an immersive experience with towering Dali landscapes for the viewer to lose themselves in. Fans of Surrealism will recognise the iconic works on display, including scenes from Bunuel’s Un Chien Andalou and Man Ray’s Le Violon. But the exhibition’s curators hope the show will also inspire a new generation of surrealist designers in Spain.
November 26th December 9th 2020
Fake news move
Shades of Banksy as Spanish artist uses coronavirus for inspiration
GRATITUDE: Overcoming is a thoughtful tribute
Brush with COVID A SPANISH artist has been combatting coronavirus with optimism by painting intricate murals on hospital facades for doctors and nurses to enjoy. Known as ‘Pejac’, the painter has created three intricate and eye-catching pieces across the outer walls of Marques de
By Lydia Spencer-Elliott
Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander. “The project is a gesture of gratitude to health workers in general and during this COVID crisis in particular,” said Pejac. “I’m offering them what I do best, which is painting.” Easily comparable with Bristol’s anonymous artist Banksy, Pejac redesigns well known images by the likes of Monet or Delacroix to convey a socially-charged message. Named Social distance, Overcoming and Caress, Pejac’s paintings have been finished with a helping hand from the children in the hospital’s oncology unit.
November 26th - December 9th 2020
Overcoming shows a child recreating Van Gogh’s Wheat Field with Cypresses with his hands. The boy is propped up on a wheelchair, harnessing his disability to paint where other children can’t reach.
Heart
“This is something that we, as a society could do,” says Pejac. “We could take this crisis and use it to propel us forwards.” And this is not the first project with a social cause at its heart that Pejac has taken on. His last commission took place at the El Dueso, Cantabria, where prison inmates painted alongside him to complete an eye-catching mural.
A NEW law has been introduced to better monitor ‘fake’ news stories in Spain. While the main target is foreign countries putting out disinformation, it will also look at false reporting domestically. It comes after government ministers were forced to deny incorrect reports of a September lockdown first published by an English-language free-sheet and posted on its website. The law is an extension of a decree brought in by previous Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in March 2019. Officials were keen to point out that no censorship will take place but it allows the govern-
ment to spring into action to counteract such ‘fake’ news. The European Commission has backed the move, with a spokesman, saying: “The measure guarantees that Spain is now part of the EU’s Action Plan against Disinformation.” Fingers have pointed to ‘fake’ campaigns coming from Russia in the 2016 US presidential election and last December’s general election in the UK. Spain’s deputy Prime Minister, Pablo Iglesias said: “The greatest threat to our democracy is the coup-plotting far-right and the behaviour of certain media groups that show contempt for the truth.”
A Promised Land BOOK REVIEW
8
SINCE Barack Obama handed over the reins of presidency to Trump, the world has been waiting for his presidential memoir. In this first volume, Obama takes the reader on a journey from childhood to the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011, focusing mainly on his political aspirations and career as President. We are given insights into his thought process, the dynamics of US politics, opinions of other world leaders, his battles with racism, and personal stories of life with his family in the White House. It is intimate, powerful, and compelling and above all, hopeful. Obama maintains his belief that progress is always possible and that ‘democracy is not a gift from on high, but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day’. €39.90 The Bookshop San Pedro, www.thebookshop.es
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Time to review your financial planning With Brexit just weeks away, now is the time to establish if your wealth management is ready for 2021 and beyond. Is your tax planning up to date? Are you holding assets in the most tax-efficient way for Spain? With today’s heightened tax scrutiny, make sure you follow the rules correctly.
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LETTERS
10 Check out our most recent issues online at Gibraltar - Issue 135
ANON
2020
See page 6
Vaccine breakthrough could be game-changer for Mallorca economy
Barnier is here for a week of ‘intensive’ talks with his British counterpart David Frost, with fair trade and fishing agreements the main points up for discussion. Anne Hernandez of lobby group Brexpats in Spain told the Olive Press a deal would be struck this week. She added: “I think Boris has another uphill struggle in befriending Biden who is vocally anti-Brexit but he has to get him on his side since his partner-in-crime is going to be leaving the White House in January. “There will be a deal and Boris will say they have ‘managed’ to agree it with the EU and he will forget to add reason being that he buckled and the did another u-turn.” But her optimism was tempered by downbeat assessment from Downinga Street, with No 10 claiming ‘significant differences remain’ between the two sides on Monday. A spokeswoman added: “The prime SHOTS ALL ROUND The vaccine is giving the travel and service minister set out that, while some progindustry new confidence for ress had been made in recent discus2021 sions, significant differences remain HOPE has been injected back into in a number of areas, including the Balearic tourism industry thanks to the “For us, 2021 begins today and marks the the By Isha Sesay called level playing field, and fish.” so- ground-breaking announcement century’ that would ‘be the saviour the beginning of how we intend that a She said they had agreed that their COVID-19 vaccine could to of the tourism industry’. be rolled out that ‘at the negotiating teams would continue next year. minimum, the vulnerable bring tourism back to the Balearic Is- Mallorcan hotel group RIU echoed this lands.” and healthcare professionals would talks in London this week to ‘redou- Developers Pfizer and view, with its CEO Luis Riu be The Balearic Islands are among the ‘it was the news we were stating that ble efforts to reach a deal’, adding that its drug against the BioNTech said protected by May.’ waiting for’ they would remain ‘in personal contact than 90% effective – virus was more Minister of Tourism Iago Negueruela worst hit in Spain, ranking highest for and will have ‘great implications a major victory at an unemployment in the entire country economic about the negotiations.’ against the disease that has killed more also voiced his hopes for a successful with level for the tourism sector.’ Nigel Farage this week blasted than a million people and devastated 2021 season, with British travellers be- the GDP falling by a historic 40.5% in President of the Mallorca Hotel Fedthe second quarter of 2020. ing the key to its revival. prime minister for failing to secure eration (FEHM), Maria Frontera, the global economy. said Speaking at the World Travel Market These bleak statistics were attributed the news ‘had been withdrawal agreement ahead of a Government spokesperson well received’ by US election results, claiming that the called the breakthrough Pilar Costa he said: “We have every faith in a re- to the region’s undeniable reliance on their members. Joe ‘a light at the covery for Biden ‘hates the UK’. the British market which is tourism which had taken a battering She did however warn that ‘even end of a very dark tunnel,’ pledging if the this year. so important for our islands. vaccine is rolled out, it will not reach The news on the drug’s high efficacy the entire population immediately’ and has since been celebrat- that ‘protocols must be put in place to ed by the Balearic gov- fight the virus.’ ernment and business leaders after 10 months Travel of growing uncertainty. Hotelier Gabriel Escar- “We rer was delighted with ports,need controls at ports and airPCR tests at origin and tracing the virus announce- through technological applications,” ment after his hotel said Frontera. One of these calls has chain Melia, experi- already been answered by the SpanIf you suffer from... enced a historic rise on ish government, Or you need... which announced on the Spanish stock mar- Wednesday • Mobility problems that all travellers arriving • Help with ket on Monday with in Spain from November 23 will have • Pain / Breathlessness 37%. washing /dressing to present a negative PCR coronavirus The Executive Vice test. This • Falls / Stumbles test must be performed with• Supervision President and CEO de- in the previous 72 hours before arrival clared the vaccine as and will You could be entitled to extra income ‘the announcement of borders. be checked at land, sea and air
Sports
Official exams and tests or appointments to renew or collect official documents are also considered an exemption. You must be able to prove your exception to avoid being fined by police. It had been suggested that provinces with a lower incidence rate would be spared the stricter measures against the hospitality industry but Moreno’s government has now decided to take a region-wide approach. There are exceptions to the 6pm closure, including supermarkets, financial entities, vets, driving schools and hairdressers. Additionally, outside sports activities will be allowed to continue as long as they are in the open air, including tennis and padel tennis clubs.
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Tennis
THREAT: If COVID jumps to the monkeys
CULL THREAT
GIBRALTAR’S famous Barbary macaques face a death sentence if efforts to protect them from COVID fail. The government has warned it might have to cull the iconic mon-
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HOME by 10pm and restaurants and bars closed by 6pm. These are just some of the tougher coronavirus restrictions came which into force for most of Andalucia last night. Expats however, were left confused at where exactly they were allowed to travel and what they could do during the two week lockdown. In Fuengirola, for example, Olive Press readers questioned if they were able to go to Iceland alongside the N-340, as it sits inside Mijas. Meanwhile, in Casares costa where there are no shops - expats wondered if they could go to the supermarkets in neighbouring Estepona and Manilva.
By Dilip Kuner
keys if the coronavirus jumps species, as it has with minks elsewhere in Europe. Patrols have now been stepped up to make sure the macaques are not approached or touched by humans. A spokesman from the Environmental department said there were serious worries the macaques could be vulnerable to the virus. There are also concerns that mutant strains may jump back into the human population from inSee page 15 fected animals. T h e s e w e r e
reinforced by the recently announced cull of farmed minks in Denmark, Spain and Italy, which were found to be infected by a mutated version of coronavirus. The Danish government said the mutation could threaten the effectiveness of any future vaccine. The World Health Organisation has said that further scientific study is needed to understand any potential implications of the new strain. A spokesman said: “It remains a concern when any animal virus spills into the human population, or when an animal population could contribute to amplifying a virus.” The concerns led to a new law specifically forbidding the touching and feeding of monkeys to be introduced in August. The new law ‘followed evidence’ that the SARS-COV-2 virus was being transmitted from humans to animals such as dogs, cats, lions and tigers. “The recent development in Denmark has resulted in the mass culling of mink and is particularly worrying given the implications this could cause for Gibral-
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tar’s Barbary Macaques,” said the spokesman. “The consequences (of a mutation) would clearly be hugely significant, and could include the need to cull our macaques.” He added the Environment Department would be undertaking ‘more regular patrols at known hotspots’.
Churchill “Interference with macaques has always been discouraged since it can prejudice their health and social structure as well as result in aggressive behaviour,” he added. The macaques are hugely significant to Gibraltar, with the legend being that so long as they remain on The Rock, it will stay in British hands. In 1942 after the population had alarmingly dwindled to just seven, Winston Churchill ordered that the numbers of the monkeys be replenished immediately from both Morocco and Algeria. Macaques are also seen as one of the major tourism attractions of Gibraltar, bringing in considerable revenue.
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POLICE launched an early hours emergency protocol - dubbed ‘Operation Hell’ - after over a dozen cars were set ablaze late on Saturday night. as Residents woke up in fear flames lit up the streets of Fuen15 girola when a man set fire to cars in his wanton orgy of destruction. The Spaniard, 38, was arrested after targeting vehicles, while also breaking the COVID curfew. identified cameras Security him after following him driving around leaving the blazing wreckage. One block of apartments in Avenia da Miramar was scorched by line of eight burning vehicles. inFirefighters were called to the cident at 3.20am and were able to to stop the flames spreading the building. On arriving at the scene, police of received four more reports fires nearby, including four cars in one street and a car at the Miramar shopping centre.
TRADING BEYOND THE HORIZON WITH BINCK
minister set out that, while some progress had been made in recent discussions, significant differences remain in a number of areas, including the so-called level playing field, and fish.” She said they had agreed that their negotiating teams would continue talks in London this week to ‘redouble efforts to reach a deal’, adding that they would remain ‘in personal contact about the negotiations.’ Nigel Farage this week blasted the prime minister for failing to secure a withdrawal agreement ahead of the US results, election claiming that Joe Biden ‘hates the UK’. Opinion Page 6
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Across 7 “Good heavens!” (2,2) 8 Poll’s findings (8) 9 Cross rats veer all over the place (8) 10 Corn covering (4) 11 “Private Benjamin” actress (4) 12 Annoy (8) 14 Wine crops (8) 16 Where tadpoles might be found (4) 17 Botanical balm (4) 19 Yesteryear (3,5) 20 Militant supporter (8) 21 “It’s good for what --you” (4) 952 147 834 v a l i d
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All solutions are on page 22
Definite racism Dear Olive Press,
Switch to our cheaper, 100% green energy tariffs today
Alan Nichol, Coin
Not happening
BORIS, you had a deal when you were part of the EU, but you voted to leave. Then you negotiated and agreed I CANNOT believe the constant bulthe nst agai a deal, got your Parliament to vote in favour of it, and lying and degradation e ther now you want another deal. Boris, it isn’t going to UK by Brussels. Every day ahappen! are more bullying tactics and outr Paul Keaney, Dublin geous new rules. It is definite racism. Belgium and France were notTime’s almost up against the UK when they need ed our help in the war when they BORIS will be a goner as soon as Brexit has gone couldn’t defeat the Germans. Now through in 2021. Bloody chaos will prevail. any ill treatment they can impose on us they do. Rick Nunley, Rushden I thought the global idea was to wipe out bullying and racism. This is all because the EU is scaredHalf-baked that when the UK thrives after leav and EU the of tion ing the incarcera WHATEVER the deal - or no deal - is the UK governits unelected MEPs and no longerment has been made to look silly, as has the British has to waste its money, other coun electorate. tries will want to follow us. Despite the long list of lies that Johnson has been sova is UK The win. r neve es Bulli exposed for over the years, people still believed him ant toler t mos a and try coun n ereig when he said he had an ‘oven ready deal’. tordicta EU the like not country, Well, it may have been oven ready, but what no ive. surv ship. We will one said was that the cooking time would be quite this long. Let us hope the finished dish is perfectly Name and address supplied cooked and does not come out half baked! Samantha James, Benalmadena Has anything piqued your interest in this week’s Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing letters@theolivepress.es or message us on at www.facebook.com/ OlivePressNewspaper or Twitter @olivepress
A possible threat MAKE sure these QAnon members in Spain know they are being watched. The FBI has designated them potential domestic terrorist threats in America and we are seeing that potential, too. I hope the Guardia Civil is well aware that this group is already here in Spain. Robert Gertson, via FB
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HE’S been spinning the negotiations out until the USA result. Now he needs a deal. Also, COVID has played right into him and Cummings’s grubby mits, because the downturn caused by Brexs*** will be masked by COVID!!!
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Down 1 Lost one’s query (5,2,1) 2 Abounding in trees (6) 3 Accommodation for paying guests (8,5) 4 No.2 who oversees moral weakness? (4-9) 5 Million seller, for example (3,3) 6 Burden of proof (4) 13 With affection (8) 15 Unlawful removals (6) 16 Earliest (6) 18 Desired by detectives and salespeople (4)
OP Sudoku
Cover-up
DONE DEAL?
In Granada, a total closure of non-essential businesses, including the hospitality industry, was ordered by the Junta due to ‘much worse’ coronavirus figures. President Juanma Moreno announced the new rules at a press conference on Sunday evening. optimistic trade They will be in force until at least BORIS Johnson has assured his UK Prime Minister November 23, when a review is cabinet that a Brexit withdrawal agreement can be reached before this scheduled. deal is ‘there to be done’. The night time curfew is now from The proposed agreement comes week’s looming deadline 10pm to 7am and every municipal- amid signs Joe Biden’s stunning week. election win has sparked a ity has closed its borders, meaning great enthusiast for a trade deal if US Boris has residents can only leave or enter desire to double down on negoti- with our European friends,” said She added: “I think another uphill struggle in bethey have a justifiable reason. ation with the EU. at the weekend. anPrime Minister is hoping to Johnson the friending Biden who is vocally The exceptions include travelling for if The a trade deal this week before “I think it’s there to be done, ti-Brexit but he has to get him on work, medical or legal reasons or strike broad outlines are pretty clear.” you are caring for a dependant. Vets, the European Union’s deadline to His remarks come as EU Brex- his side since his partner-in-crime White supermarkets and hairdressers are reach an agreement on November it negotiator Michel Barnier re- is going to be leaving the House in January. allowed to stay open after 6pm. 16. turned to London on Monday ofBoris will Outdoor tennis and padel clubs are While Olive Press sources insist fering ‘three keys to unlock a deal’. “There will be a deal and agree it to allowed to stay open. Biden’s win has injected renewed He is here for a week of ‘intensive’ say they have ‘managed’ forget to into the talks, Johnson with the EU and he will See Olive Press online impetus this has always been the talks with his British counter- add the reason being that he bucktrade claimed fair with Frost, David for full list of rules part case. the main led and did another u-turn.” “I’ve al- and fishing agreements But her optimism was tempered w a y s points up for discussion. by a downbeat assessment from group lobby of Hernandez 10 Anne No been a in Downing Street, with Brexpats differences Spain told the claiming ‘significant sides on Press remain’ between the two Olive a deal would Monday. added: be struck this A spokeswoman “ T h e prime
Deal time Readers respond to Boris Johnson’s assurance that a Brexit withdrawal agreement is ‘there to be made’
See page 6
Streets of fire
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iracy The consp theorists getting a grips on the costa
November 11th - November 24th 2020 Vol. 14 Issue 356 www.theolivepress.es
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ANDALUCÍA
Lockdown
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KIM CLARK
Mijas Costa
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NEW rules will make it tougher than ever for Gibraltar residents to cross the border into Spain. It is believed that people are only to be allowed into neighbouring La Linea, although that has not yet been confirmed. The most important rule to remember is that all restaurants, cafes and bars will close at 6pm in Spain with everyone needing to be back home by 10pm. These are just some of the tougher coronavirus restrictions which came into force for most of Andalucia yesterday. In Granada, a total closure of non-essential businesses, including the hospitality industry, has been ordered by the Junta due to its ‘much worse’ coronavirus figures. President Juanma Moreno announced the new rules at a press conference on Sunday evening. They will be in force until at least November 23, when a review is scheduled. The night time curfew is now from 10pm to 7am and every municipality having closed its borders, meaning residents can only leave or enter if they have a justifiable reason. The exceptions include travelling for work, medical or legal reasons or if you are caring for a dependant.
Government warns macaques must be protected from coronavirus or face potential death sentence
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The conspiracy theorists getting a grip on the costas
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Done deal?
BORIS Johnson has assured his cabinet that a Brexit withdrawal deal is ‘there to be done’. The proposed agreement comes amid signs Joe Biden’s stunning US election win has sparked a desire to double down on negotiation with the EU. The Prime Minister is hoping to strike a trade deal this week before the ropean Union’s deadline to reachEuan agreement on November 16. While Olive Press sources insist Biden’s win has injected renewed impetus into the talks, Johnson claimed this has always been the case. “I’ve always been a great enthusiast for a trade deal with our European friends,” said Johnson at the weekend. “I think it’s there to be done, the broad outlines are pretty clear.” His remarks come as EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier returned to London on Monday offering ‘three keys to unlock a deal’.
reporting in Spain in English
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Responses to the news that QAnon has landed in Spain:
Change in tactics?
Job well done
MAYBE QAnon members should volunteer at hospitals and care homes and prove everyone wrong by treating and helping people who have or are supposed to have COVID-19.
GOOD article. Charlie Ward, whom you mentioned was asking people to invest their savings in his company after frightening them with banking reset conspiracies, has since been deleted from Facebook.
Sandra Russell, Estepona
Julie Frank, Mijas
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The future is here Vol. 2
Issue 28
www.theolivepress.es
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HE news that the UK is planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 is expected to push the motor industry even faster into the adoption of ‘green’ technology. In Spain the long term aim is for the entire country to be carbon neutral by 2050, although plans
November 26th - December 9th 2020
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EXPENSIVE: The Audi e-tron GT TheOlivePress-37x55-CAR-BF.indd 1
13/11/20 11:23
Dilip Kuner takes a look at the latest concepts in electric vehicles
for the wholesale conversion of transport to electric are not as ambitious as those in the UK. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a bill to ‘encourage’ Spain’s motor industry into a greener future. But
FIGHT ON: VW’s ID.4 is aimed at taking on Tesla’s EVs
a mooted ban on the sale of diesel or petrol powered vehicles by 2040 was turned down. The bill aimed to bring Spain’s motor industry alongside its international counterparts in terms of carbon neutrality. The new automotive plan focuses on the environmentally friendly electric and hybrid car industry and aims to make the technology cheaper, and easier to use and access across the country. Special incentives will be rolled out over the coming years to encourage the ownership of environmentally friendly vehicles, both private and commercial. Companies will be given special subsidies to replace their current fleets of vehicles with electric models. In total, the government is granting a total of €3.75 billion towards making electric and hybrid cars cheaper than petrol and diesel to buy by 2027. But there is no need to wait that long if you wish to help save the planet. Car manufacturers have been developing electric vehicles for years now. And 2021 will see
MATTER OF TASTE: The ‘futuristic Tesla Cybertruck is certainly unusual
the launch of a new generation of EVs that could be game chang- models and specs are planned for next year. ers. While still more expensive than Apart from its green motor, Volvo their ICE contemporaries, subsi- has also introduced frameless dies and scrappage schemes are mirrors and a lighter-than-leather bringing them into the reach of vegan interior fabric designed to mimic the durability of a wetmany more people’s wallets. One of the most unusual will suit be the Tesla Cybertruck. Aimed A pair of electric motors work with 27-module lithium ion squarely at the US market where a ‘trucks’ are a huge segment, this battery pack to deliver an imretro-futuristic ‘space machine’ pressive 402 horsepower, and a range of up to 275 is sure to make it miles. But all this to Spain at some comes at a price point. For build with the luxury Clad in dent-proof car costing from stainless steel it quality and €59,900. looks like sometop class When it comes thing out of Mad to mainstream Max, and accordengineering manufacturers, ing to Tesla boss Nissan was one Elon Musk it will look at Volvo of the first to enbe a ‘really tough, ter the market. not fake-tough’ Its LeafEV was truck. Mind you, he ended up with launched a decade ago, and now egg on his face at the vehicle’s has sales of nearly half a million. launch when he tried to prove The car giant is aiming to build on its durability through a series of this success in late 2021 with the ‘torture tests’. All was going well launch of the Ariiya, a more styluntil Musk hurled a steel ball at ish take on emission-free the vehicle and shattered its ‘ar- transportation. The five-passenger crossover moured’ glass. Deliveries of the plug-in pick up features a surprisingly aggressive are due to start in 2021 with pric- look, with some swoopy, concave surfacing and wheels pushed to es starting from €39,900. While Tesla has been the leader the corners. in EVs (particularly in the publicity The interior is minimalist, with a stakes) it will have more compe- low, flat floor and a vibe that Nistition than ever next year, with san calls ‘lounge-like’. It will mainstream manufacturers not have a claimed range of around only ready to unveil a slew of lat- 300 miles and pricing is expected est-technology models, but also to start from around €34,000. Mercedes-Benz will enter the ahead of the game. For build quality and top-class en- all-electric field with the five-seat gineering Volvo is worth a close look. Their Polestar 2 five-seater launched this year - brings Volvo polish and Swedish style to compete with Tesla’s Model 3. It is the second vehicle to come from Volvo’s new performance arm (the other, the 1, is a hybrid petrol-electric), and alternative
crossover EQC - and they are aiming for the top end of the market. The 402 HP monster will be luxurious and will also have good performance for a big car - it will hit 60mph from a standing start in around six seconds. This performance and luxury will be wrapped in a package with a range of 200 miles. A price has not been announced - but it won’t be cheap! Meanwhile Volkswagen’s new ID.4 SUV is aimed squarely at taking on Tesla. Starting prices are €45,400 in Spain and has a range of 250 miles. Staying with the German marques, the 2021 Audi e-tron GT promises to be a big hit.
Impressive
It is a sleek, electric sedan with loads of power and polish. Behind the streamlined bodywork is some architecture shared with the Porsche Taycan EV. With 590 horsepower, the two-motor GT should accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in an impressive three seconds, and will be able to gain an 80% charge in just 20 minutes. The car is billed as top-of-the range in the Audi EV portfolio, so expect to pay €100,000 plus for it. These are just some of the electric cars that will grace our roads in the near future - there are many more planned from just about every major manufacturer. So this is just a glimpse of the future - which may be arriving sooner than you think.
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Clam Stricter driving laws to come into force in Spain - all you need to know
HERO: Carlos Sainz
A
S I walk through a rural village deep in southern Spain on a Sunday afternoon, I notice a white van parked with a #93 Marc Marquez sticker on the rear window. Fifty yards further along the road, the roar of V6 hybrid engines could be heard emanating from a local bar as a group of transfixed regulars follow the latest Formula One race. Motorsports in Spain has long been ingrained in the DNA of the population, with global superstars capturing the imagination of young children, whilst their impassioned parents following their idols every move. Spain has a long history of motor racing, both on two and four wheels.
In our DNA By James Warren
With their Formula One history dating back to the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix in Guadarrama in 1936. After the Spanish civil war, events have been held almost every year since until today, with the truncated 2020 season hosting the Spanish GP at the Circuit de Barcelona Montmelo. Motor racing stars have become god-like figures to their followers, the multi talente d
Fernando Alonso being one of the sports brightest stars. Alonso is a two-time world champion in F1, a world endurance champion and has been a frontrunner in both the Indianapolis 500 and the gruelling Dakar Rally. He is also noted for his charity work and his tireless work as a Unicef GoodWill Ambassador. Off-Road, an equally influential figure emerged in the outrageous Group B days in Spanish World Rally Championship. Carlos Sainz has almost become a household name for his flawless record, with his son Carlos Sainz Jr
CHAMPION: Fernando Alonso is a Spanish superstar
Race to change licence
NEW advice has been released for British expats in the run up to the end of the transition period. All Brits living in Spain must exchange their DVLA British licence for a Spanish one before December 31. The government has long advised that anyone who has lived in Spain for at least six months should have a Spanish licence but the number of people trying to book a cita previa at DGT offices has soared as the December deadline approaches. The Olive Press reported in October that the British Embassy said that it was in discussion with the Spanish
currently holding the Spanish mantle in F1 this year. On two wheels, the list of icons is as long as the proverbial, with 1980’s MotoGP stars such as Ángel Nieto, Sito Pons and Jorge Martínez still being as relevant today as they were 40 years ago. During the 500cc heyday, riders such as Sete Gibernau and Alex Criville collected numerous titles before stars such as Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez continued to fly the flag for Spain. But why is Spain so motorsport focused? It can be separated into two factors, funding and influence. The government has for a long time, invested heavily in motor racing, valuing the economic and social impact on the country. It is estimated that the F1 event in Barcelona earns the region a staggering 163 million, meaning large amounts of funding has been injected into state of the art facilities. Racing is also encouraged at an incredibly young age, with world renowned youth training academies nurturing talent that could one day become the country’s next superstars.
HARSHER penalties and lower speed limits are on the cards if the Ministry of Transport has its way. It has approved changes to the traffic code that aims to crack down on some of the most common causes of traffic accidents. The new code still needs to be approved by parliament, which is thought to be a formality. “Since 2016, distractions are the main cause of serious accidents,” said Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande Mar-
By James Warren
laska. The new laws will also target speed limits in urban areas, driving without seat belts and tighter regulations on where electric scooters can be ridden. If the law comes into force, drivers caught using mobile phones while driving will face losing six points on their licence instead of the current three, with repeat offenders losing a further four.
NEW RULES: Fernando Grande Marlaska (inset) is getting
transport authorities and plans were afoot to revise the system to make it easier for expats to secure an appointment. Now the details of the new two-step process have been published. The first step is to make an application to the DGT before December 30 either by calling 060 or via the online portal if you have a digital certificate/CLAVE. In some provinces it may also be possible to download the form to take to a local office or for a representative (eg a gestor) to do this on your behalf. We understand that for this part of
the process you do not need to have a residency certificate or TIE, but you will need a NIE. If you do not hear anything from the DGT in the meantime, three days after submitting your application you can request an appointment with the DGT to do the exchange. This should be booked on the DGT’s website. As long as your application has been submitted before December 30, and the UK authorities have verified your licence by the end of the year, your appointment to exchange your licence can be after January 1, 2021, provid-
mp down
November 26th - December 9th 2020
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MINI MENTAL
PENALTY!: Harsher fines in store
Four points will also be issued for drivers not wearing a seatbelt, mo-
torcycle riders not wearing a helmet and children in vehicles
tough on phones and e-scooters
ed it is within the first six months of theyear. Please note that you will need a residency certificate/TIE to do final exchange, so if you are in the process of applying for residency you may want to choose a later date for your appointment. Irrespective of whether a UK licence has been verified for exchange by the end of the year, you will be able to drive in Spain using your UK licence for six months from January 1, 2021. The future rules on exchange and recognition of UK licences are still subject to negotiation.
without the proper child seat. Drivers with devices fitted to their cars to detect speed cameras will lose three points as well as a fine of €500. Regarding speed limits, one way roads will be reduced to 20km/h with single lane roads down to 30km/h. Urban roads will also be reduced from 50km/h to 30km/h. The current trend of electric scooters has also been targeted in a crack down on accidents involving irresponsible users. E-Scooters and Segway style vehicles will now be banned from all pavement and pedestrianised areas, with offenders facing a €500 fine. Marlaska hopes that the new laws will help reduce road deaths and serious injuries caused by careless driving by up to 50%. The proposal is currently awaiting confirmation by the central government before a full roll-out can be scheduled.
IT’S might be a Mini, but this unusual model aims to have a tardis-like interior! Dubbed the Mini Vision Urbanaut, its designers call it a ‘new interpretation of a vision of space’. Although the car currently only exists in digital form, the company, owned by BMW, is optimistic that it will become one of the most stylish vehicles for the future. “Mini sees its future primarily as an enabler of and companion for unforgettable times – what we might call ‘Mini
moments,” explains head designer Oliver Heilmer. This involves various settings for the interior including Chill and Vibe, that changes the dynamic inside. Chill turns the 4.46m-long car into ‘a kind of retreat, a haven where you can relax – or work with full concentration – during a journey.’ Vibe meanwhile ‘puts time with other people at centre stage,’ creating a lively but comfortable atmosphere for everyone. The model does not have a release date yet.
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BUSINESS
Xmas essentials
SPAIN’S toy makers want their products classified as ‘essential items’ so that festive sales can continue unhindered during the pandemic restrictions. The Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers(AEFJ) has launched a campaign called ‘Christmas is in your hands’. They are calling for the government to guarantee that shops that sell basic necessities can keep their toy sections open as the festive season beckons.
Trade
The AEFJ claimed that the logistics of the Spanish toy industry are such that selling items solely online would be impossible due to ‘stock capacity’. It said: “Specialist toy shops should be allowed to trade within the appropriate restrictions and people who have placed online orders with them, should be able to go along and collect their orders in person.” It added: “Our industry should be declared an essential asset especially with the Christmas campaign as we look to avoid irreversible economic damage in our sector and in thousands of toy stores,” the group added.
November 26th - December 9th 2020
Warm cheers Brewery giant to hand out terrace heaters this winter in €20m plan
SPAIN’S biggest brewer, Mahou San Miguel, is to pump in €20 million to keep bar terraces as warm and comfortable as possible this winter. Indoor capacity restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic have forced drinkers outdoors but they now face chillier nights as the winter draws in. Mahou San Miguel’s general manager, Peio Arbeloa, said: “We have been planning
KEEP WARM: Peio Arbeloa (inset) revealed new plan a turning point for bars and By Alex Trelinski restaurants. “We know there is a real this measure since May as need for businesses to get we knew that the arrival of this help, especially as they cold temperatures would be cannot pay for it themselves.” The company plans to hand out 22,000 heaters in addition to 42,000 umbrellas and over 136,000 units of terrace furniture.
Merger Mooted TWO of Spain’s largest banks, the BBVA and Banco Sabadell have opened formal merger talks Informal discussions have been held this year but last week they went to a formal stage. A union between them would create a new business similar in size to that of the merged Bankia and CaixaBank which was agreed in September. A deal between the BBVA and Sabadell would create a
A COSTA BLANCA golf resort has hit the jackpot for the second year running to win two prestigious international awards. La Finca Golf in Algorfa has walked away with ‘Spain’s Leading Sports Resort’ title in the World Travel Awards as well as the accolade of ‘Spain’s Best Golf Hotel’ in the World Golf Awards. La Finca Resort general manager, Brendan Dwyer, said: “It is an honour to be recognised with these prestigious awards for the second year in a row. “ “This achievement is testament to the incredible work that has taken place at the resort over the last 18 months and the effort put in by all staff members.” La Finca undertook a major multi-million Euro
Best in Spain renovation plan in 2019, which saw its courses at La Finca, and also at near-by Las Ramblas and Villamartin undergo extensive redevelopments. The courses saw a number of greens rebuilt as well as bunker renovations.
Pleased That’s in addition to enhancements made at La Finca’s restaurants. “We are extremely pleased with the work that has been done which has solidified our position in Spain,” Dwyer added.
Heaters
business employing 46,000 people with over 4,200 branches in Spain. Branch closures seem likely with banks cutting down on staffing and offices in recent years to focus on internet banking.
Mahou San Miguel will also provide 29,000 sanitation kits to reassure customers that socialisation under distancing rules is safe. “We are fully focused on understanding what the hospitality sector wants and protect this economic pillar of the Spanish economy,” Peio Arbeloa added.
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ACCOLADE: La Finca named as top resort
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PROPERTY
Bargain hunt
A L T H O U G H Spain’s property market value has dropped by 12%, according to Morgan Stanley, the bargain luxury homes that consumers may have hoped for are yet to emerge. While house prices in disadvantaged areas have plummeted by aA huge 30%, Spain’s swanky villas and townhouses have held onto their high price tags. “Faced with the fear that inflation could occur due to the excessive injection of money by the ECB and the Federal Reserve, tangible assets emerge as a good way to have capital in a safe place,” Manuel Romera, Director of the Financial Sector at IE Business School, told El País. In the ‘standard’ property market, experts estimate that prices have fall by approximately 10%.
November 25th December 8th 2020
Knockdown price Fraudster tries to flog multimillion Spanish palace he doesn’t own for €900,000
By Laurence Crumbie
IF it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Rarely if ever was this maximum for prospective buyers truer than earlier this year, when a grand gothic palace in the picturesque town of Cazalla de la Sierra, north-western Andalucia, went on sale for less than a fifth of its actual value. Erected in the 15th century, the Palacio de San Benito is a luxury hotel aimed at guests who wish ‘to live like kings,’ though it initially served as a hospital for pilgrims travelling on the Camino de Santiago. Its turbulent history includes partial destruction in the earthquake of Lisboa, 1531, as well as a change of hands after the Spanish Civil War. Various restorations have resulted in a unique architectural blend of the old and the modern, and the property has an estimated value of €5 million. Manuel Morales, an interior designer who renovated the palace together with art collector Carlos Maranon in the 1990s, could hardly believe his eyes when he saw it for sale online, without the per-
SWANKY: seriously undervalued
mission of the owner. “It’s as if you wake up one day and see your home on sale for a price much lower than its actual value,” he told Spanish newspaper ABC. The sales
advert was taken down after Morales contacted his lawyer, but there has been no news on the fraudster who put it online in the first place.
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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
Staying put
IN the latest blow for Spain’s tourism industry, a study has revealed that just 38% of Brits will consider travelling abroad this Christmas. According to data from Piplsay, over half of Britons have confirmed that if they do travel this festive season it will be for domestic trips only. Additionally, it looks like a un-merry Christmas for many as a third of BriAts will cut down on socialising this season. It comes after the UK government introduced a travel ban on November 5, which rendered internatiAonal travel and overnight stays in Britain illegal. Although the ban is set to be lifted on December 2, this latest study has revealed that the majority (77%) of Brits still fear lockdown restrictions will affect their holiday plans.
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November 26th - December 9th 2020
Easy cash
A COURT in Sevilla has condemned budget airline EasyJet for charging a Spanish passenger €60 to board with his laptop. The 19-year-old, Anamed only as Yoel, was boarding an aircraft travelling from Sevilla’s San Pablo Airport to Bristol when an air hostess told him his laptop was not permitted onboard and gave him an ultimatum: either he paid €60 on the spot or his computer staid on Spanish soil. Yoel, who studies in Bristol and travels on the Sevilla-Bristol line twice a week, was understandably confused and asked why this was. But the EasyJet employee simply said that those were the rules and repeated his two options.
Airline made to reimburse Spanish student after slapping him with €60 fine for carrying laptop onboard
NOT FAIR: Laptop surcharge was deemed illegal just before departure, leavBy Laurence Crumbie ing the passenger with no choice but to take out his The incident took place credit card and pay up – right in the plane doorway despite his reluctance. and caused a disturbance On his return to Sevilla, Yoel informed EasyJet of this unjust fine and asked for his money back. When the airline refused to comply, the student went the legal route and the case eventually landed in Sevilla’s Mercantil court number three. At the trial, which EasyJet did not attend, the judge sided with Yoel and sentenced the airline to reimburse him with interest and to pay a fine as well.
FREE ASSESSMENT WEEK
Chef’s kiss! SAN SEBASTIAN has been named the sixth best foodie spot in the world according to a panel of top chefs. The much loved city in the Basque Country is the only Spanish town to make the list. Chef’s Pencil surveyed 250 foodies and chefs for the list and quizzed them on the best underrated food destinations across the world. And while many of the places, like San Sebastian, are already wellknown and appreciated for their gastronomic excellence, the judges believed San Sebastian still lacks the international recognition it truly deserves. Chef’s Pencil said it was a shame foodies flock to the likes of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia when the Basque town has some of the best food on the planet.
Social
Judges praised San Sebastian for catering to every taste, from ‘the avant garde, highly innovative Mugaritz, and cheap eats – like the Basque-style tapas at pintxo bars and exquisitely fine seafood, all to be devoured in a city that sees food as reason to be social’. Cape Town took first place, followed by Budapest, Chicago, Melbourne and Mexico City.
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COLUMNISTS
How much more? A TEENAGER was fatally stabbed earlier today on a street that I used to live near. It’s a busy road that divides a popular commercial centre and urbanisation. There’s a ‘neighbours’ association’ bar at one end where you’ll find a mixture of ages and nationalities, with a function room at the back that they rent out for dance classes, clubs and groups. On Saturday morning they hold a street market and there’s even an annual feria. In short, it’s a snapshot of how wonderful life is on this multicultural coast.
T
INY turkeys, trimmeddown Xmas puds, Rule of Six-sized boxes of crackers … Mini-mas, as COVID Christmas 2020 has pessimistically been coined, was shaping up to be the kind of gig Scrooge and the Grinch would relish. Even the installation of the town hall fairy lights super early this year failed to kindle the glow I usually get from rhinestone Rudolphs and
Now it is the site of a murder. I got a text message from a friend whose daughters go to a nearby school. I drove over straight away. Parking in the commercial centre, I climbed the stairs to the first floor so that I could get an overview of the scene. In a way, I wish I hadn’t. His body was there, covered in a white cloth, with the funeral van close by. The police were waiting for an official to certify the death before they moved the body. A policeman spotted me and politely, but firmly, told me to come down from
my vantage point. I spotted some friends and walked over to find out more information. And was told the victim’s name and tragically young age. About how he had an argument with the occupants of a luxury white car that resulted in one of them getting out and plunging a knife into the teenager’s chest. About how the car sped off. About how a nearby dentist ran out of his clinic and applied CPR in a vain attempt to save his life. About his mother and sister being inconsolable at the scene. The sister was still there, crying into
November 26th - December 9th 2020
I’m angry and upset as I write this
AFTERMATH: The tragic scene and an impromtu shrine to the victim set up by friends and family the shoulder of one of her brother’s friends. About the children that had seen him dying at the side of the road. My friends are long-term
residents on the coast, who lived here in the ‘Costa del Crime’ heyday of the 80s and 90s when British and Irish gangsters were a common sight. But they were all
Christmas in November sparkly Santas dangling above the dark winter streets. But suddenly, in what is normally one of the greyest, gloomiest ‘nothing’ months of the year, (even Black Friday sounds funereal) there are lights twinkling at the end of the COVID tunnel. And whether it’s the Herald Angels or the headlights on Santa’s sleigh,
it seems like our best presents have already been delivered. News of at least two viable COVID vaccines was the biggie under the metaphorical tree – and incidentally, real trees are selling like hotcakes because everyone’s staying home this year, whether by choice or force of lockdown. And OK, no one knows how long immunity will
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The season to be jolly starts now, writes Belinda Beckett last, and you’ll have to join a very long queue. But it’s ‘a shot of hope in the arm of the world’ as one politician cheesily put it. And if not, there are 28 other vaccines nearing the end of clinical trials, and 138 more under development. For tidings of great joy to all mankind, look no further than the American elections. Trump is out on his rump (yeehaw!) and leaving office disgracefully, ensuring the narcissist the rubbish legacy he deserves. With Biden’s pledge to re-join the Iran Nuclear Accord, the Paris Climate Agreement and the WHO, restore affordable Obamacare for 20 million Americans who would other-
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PRESENT: Platinum jubilee
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wise go bankrupt or die, and enforce mask wearing USAwide, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. There’s another big parcel as yet unopened. Is it too late to hope it contains a Brexit deal? I’ve also had a sneak peak at the stocking fillers. There’s the Tokyo Olympics, which the Japanese say will go ahead next July ‘at any cost’. There’s 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, which history’s longest-reigning monarch (70 years on the throne) is confidently expecting to attend. And there’s the Virgin Hyperloop. No longer just a pipe dream, it carried its first pod of human passengers along a vacuum tube this month, bringing a smile to everyone’s faces. In time it will be able to travel at 1,000kph - that’s Marbella to Madrid in 30 minutes! Better than the Scalextric I never got because it was ‘for boys’, if I live to be the Queen’s age I’ll get to try it! Meantime, if Andalucia is in lockdown on Christmas Eve and Santa’s sleigh doesn’t make it to Los Barrios, I won’t be too downhearted. I’m having myself a merry little Christmas now!
shocked. ‘This is just crazy’ one said. So I’m angry. I’m angry because this should not have happened. A few cross words between a teenager and the driver of a luxury car has led to a senseless loss of life. We’ve all seen these cars, normally with foreign number plates, tearing along the coast, their drivers acting as if the laws don’t apply to them. We’ve seen more and more criminals moving here because the police don’t seem to bother them. They seem more interested in fining people for menial infringements, especially during the current pandemic. Or they arrive to mop up after the violence is over. The police and authorities have to come together and rid our paradise of these parasites.
Nightmare
And I’m upset. Upset because when I was 19 I could be a mouthy little so-andso. At 19 you think you are immortal and don’t understand that a casual ‘F**k you’ could escalate into something much worse than words. But a second of teenage bravado should never have ended like this. And as long as the scum who think it acceptable to carry a knife, or a gun, get away with this, every parent’s nightmare will happen again. I was sent a photograph, which I didn’t publish. There was blood. Lots of it. And a pair of white trainers. The type I would have worn when I was a teen. That really hit me. I’m angry and upset as I write this.
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Clogging along
FINAL WORDS
DR Christian Lopez, holder of the most Guinness World Records in Spain, has added a 40th to his list by running the fastest mile in Dutch clogs.
Cashing in THE Spanish government has given residents an extra six months to cash in any pesetas they may have, of which â‚Ź1.6 billion worth remain in circulation.
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EYE CATCHING: The organ on display in Malaga
Vol. 2 Issue 28 www.theolivepress.es November 26th - December 9th 2020
Bare faced chee
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Teen ignores court order to dangle 180 metres above ground A BRITISH teenager returned to Benidorm this month to foolishly climb naked up a 180 metre-high crane next to the towering Intempo building. Adam Lockwood, who brands himself on social media as ‘The Little Nuisance’ illegally climbed six of the resort’s tallest buildings in February.
Those included the Intempo, the Torre Lugano, and the Gran Bali, which is the tallest hotel in Europe. The 19-year-old from Wigan was not put off by being arrested and fined earlier this year, as he bared all for his latest dangerous stunt. He posted several photographs of him dangling naked
NUISANCE: Adam Lockwood
off the Intempo crane on November 11. One pose showed him clinging on with just arm. Lockwood said on his social media account that his latest stunt enabled AN 81-year-old man from Madrid is training to climb the him to ‘tick Himalayas in tribute to those that have died from corothat one off navirus. the list of toCarlos Soria (pictured) will climb the 8,848 metre peaks tally unnecand dedicate his journey to the elderly people who lost their essary things lives to COVID-19. Of the 40,000 coronavirus deaths in to do before I Spain, more than 20% have occurred in the over-80s turn 20’. demographic. The teenagSoria has been training in the Sierra Guadarraer was senma mountains next to his home just north of tenced to three Madrid in preparation for his trek. After the months in jail Himalayas he hopes to climb Tibet’s Shisin August, hapangma and Dhaulagiri in Nepal. suspended for
Peak ambition
‘Big good’ MCDONALD’s has launched a burger made entirely with produce from local Spanish farmers to help them get through the economic slump.
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two years, by a judge in Manchester. Manchester City Council said he breached a three-year injunction imposed in 2019 that banned him from trespassing and posting content online. The judge branded his stunts ironically as ‘the height of stupidity’ and that Lockwood was motivated by ‘arrogance’ and a craving for ‘celebrity’. British transgressions included him standing on the roof of the Arndale Food Court during a Black Lives Matter protest in June. A few days later, he dangled from the edge of a 180 metre balcony off a building in London’s Canary Wharf.
A WOMEN’S rights campaigner has been fined for ‘offending religion’ after parading a huge vagina through the streets during a Women’s Day march. The protester was convicted of ‘a crime against religious sentiments’ by a Malaga court for mocking the holy Easter parades at Semana Santa in 2013. She was taken to court in a private prosecution by the Association of Christian Lawyers, which sought a 12-month prison sentence. She was instead fined â‚Ź2,700 and will pay off the fine at â‚Ź10 per day for the next nine months. The stunt formed part of several protests throughout the Women’s Day march in the city. The defendant insisted her procession was merely a ‘performative act of protest’ and that she did not intend to offend religious feelings. “I don’t see how it can be offensive,â€? she said, “it can be rude, but not offensive.â€?
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