The
OLIVE PRESS
Your expat
voice in Spain
VALENCIA / COSTA AZAHAR FREE Vol. 1 Issue 4 www.theolivepress.es January 14th - January 27th 2021
Peri-less crossing A BRITISH expat has branded Spanish border officials ‘ridiculous’ and ‘clueless’ after they confiscated his Nando’s Peri Peri sauce at the Gibraltar border. Joseph Lathey, 27, was left fuming when much of his weekly shopping was binned as he tried to cross back into La Linea. This meant seeing his bananas and leeks being tipped into a customs officer’s bin. It also included his vegetable samosas, one of his favourite weekly treats he buys from Ramsons, on Waterport Road. Meanwhile, his chili and cloves were deemed acceptable. “I was completely stumped. I had a chicken which I thought might have been stopped but not the Peri Peri sauce,” Lathey told the Olive Press. “The officials said it contained onion puree, meaning it contained processed veg and was therefore not allowed over. “I said that that was ridiculous as most of my shopping would not be allowed in.”
NEW YEAR ADVENTURE: How to capitalise on a trip to Madrid
See page 16
Deathbed threat
British wife of seriously-ill husband cannot return to Spain ‘unless he is close to dying’
EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore
A BRITISH expat stranded in the UK has been told she can only return to her chronically ill husband ‘if he is on his deathbed’. Carole Clarke, 68, is pleading for help after she got stuck in Belfast after flying out on December 19 to deliver Christmas presents to her daughter and grandchildren. Her husband Frederick, 81, is chronically ill back at home near Almuñecar, suffering lung disease COPD and diabetes. Despite this, the former nurse and aerobics instructor, who has lived in Andalucia for 20 years, was refused boarding on her easyJet flight back to Spain after new coronavirus measures demanded she must prove her residency. “I have been trying to get an appointment since December to start the process but it was impossible, ” Carole told the Olive Press. “There were none available anywhere.” She added: “If I had known bike rentAL • e-scooters I would • BIKE TOURS repairS not be allowed back I would not have flown in the first place.” It has turned out to be a total night-
CONCERNED: Carole is desperate to get back to husband Frederick
mare for the pensioner, who has long lived with her husband, Frederick, 81, both from Portsmouth, in a villa at La Herradura, in Granada. Despite having a negative PCR test, which set her back €120, Carole was told that having a dependent husband did not qualify as an exemption. Her situation reflects that of many people on
the Costa Blanca and Valencia who have not been able to return home - even in some cases those with the correct paperwork in order. “The Spanish Embassy told me that unless he is on his deathbed, I won’t be allowed back,” Carole said.“It’s horrific, my husband should not be going out but he is alone and has no choice.” It comes after Spain brought in tougher restrictions on UK arrivals following the discovery of See page 9 a more contagious coronavirus strain, dubbed the UK variant. Anyone returning
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from the UK must be either a resident or a Spanish citizen. A British Embassy spokesperson told the Olive Press they would be looking into it, as we went to press.
Compassion She said: “We have raised the issue of compassionate cases with the Spanish authorities, who have confirmed they will consider, on a case-by-case basis, the circumstances of nationals who wish to enter the country on compassionate grounds to support a vulnerable family member.” Opinion Page 6
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NEWS IN BRIEF Villa plantation TWO Lithuanians have been arrested for running an indoor marijuana farm out of a rented home in Denia.
Getting old OVER 70 towns in Valencia did not register a single birth in 2019 and 22 towns and villages throughout the region currently have no children aged under five years old, according to new stats.
Fake news WHATSAPP users have been warned to ignore messages from fraudsters posing as the Valencian government spreading lies about a total lockdown being enforced.
Machete man A MAN with links to Daesh was arrested in Castellon city for allegedly threatening passers-by with a large machete. The National Police were called out to detain the suspect, of Moroccan origin, who was causing panic in a busy street. According to police the man has a long criminal history and is a close relative of a member of Islamic State who lived in the province before travelling to Syria to join the terrorist organisation. Officers located the suspect on Alcora avenue, reportedly carrying a 35-centimetre machete and addressing them with shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ‘I’m going to kill you’. The police managed to immobilise and arrest the man, disarming him of the machete and another knife he was found to be carrying
Clean Up BENIDORM council has removed rubbish and prunings across 12,000 m2 of the Sierra Gelada at a cost of over €17,000.
CRIME
January 14th - January 27th 2021
Red carded Paedophile coach jailed for 223 years
A FOOTBALL coach in Valencia has been caged for over 200 years for sexually abusing children entrusted in his care. Sick Jose Vicente CF was sentenced to 223 years in prison - the highest punishment ever dealt to a sexual predator in the Valencian Community - after abusing 26 youngsters. The 24-year-old groomed boys between 11 and 14-yearsold while he was trusted as a football coach and supervisor at summer camps between 2015 and 2018. Vicente CF attacked his vic-
THE National Police has arrested 34 children on charges of distributing child pornography through social media. An investigation was set up following a tip-off from authorities in the USA, culminating in the detentions in Valencia, Alicante, Vizcaya, Asturias, Cordoba, Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla and Malaga, among other areas. Among the 40 people arrested were 34 underage suspects, many of whom allegedly shared the illicit material ‘just for fun’ and without being aware of the
JAILED: Paedo coach guilty of abusing trust of kids tion and where private sexual By Glenn Wickman acts between himself and the children also reportedly took tims after befriending them place. and making them perform The court heard how vic‘Josevi challenges’ whenever tims gave in to ‘psychologithey lost a game. cal pressure’ after they were The disgraced trainer also in- ‘manipulated’ by the coach vited them back to his house who would threaten to exwith the excuse of play- clude them from the group ing videogames, where the and humiliating them if they ‘dares’ escalated from exhibi- refused. tionism to full anal penetra-
Kids’ porn shame
severity of the offence. Police sources say that sharing and storing these types of images and videos is a very serious crime, and that if internet users happen to stumble across this kind of material they are advised to report it to the social media platform and inform the National Police.
Damages
Despite the huge prison sentence, the convicted paedophile will only serve a maximum of 20 years under current legislation. As a precaution against repeat offences, Jose Vicente has also been given 184 years’ probation upon his release. In addition to the prison and probation terms, Jose Vicente has also been sentenced to pay the victims €216,700 in damages.
Sozzled cop AN off duty cop who was advised by colleagues to head home took them at their word by jumping in a car and speeding off while four times the drink drive limit. He had been spotted walking down the street clearly intoxicated. His colleagues gave him a breath test to prove to him he was over the limit - but instead of calling a taxi he sped off in his own car.
Arrested
The 38-year-old Local Police officer from Castellon has now been arrested. He has been charged with an offence against road safety and is facing disciplinary measures within the force.
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NEWS
www.theolivepress.es THEY are the veritable odd couple. Now Prince Andrew’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Stanbury is to wed her toyboy Spanish lover. The 44-year-old mother-of-three, who also dated Hugh Grant, is to wed former Real Madrid winger Sergio Carrallo, 26, after he proposed to her during a trip to Nepal. In a clip that Caroline shared to Instagram, Sergio is seen pulling out a red jewellery box and bending down on one knee beside 'holy' lake Gosainkunda.
Ono! Not her again
YOKO Ono has stepped into the Catalan independence debate by signing a petition calling for ‘dialogue’ between the region and Spain’s national parliament. The widow of legendary Beatle John Lennon has thrown her weight behind a campaign run by ‘civil rights’ organisation Omnium that is calling for 'sincere dialogue' between the two bodies. So far 50 famous celebrities and influential people including Nobel Prize winners and UN dignitaries have signed up. Among the signatures are A m e r i c a n political activist Jody Williams, Irish peace activist Mairead Co rr i g an and Argent i n e painter and activist Adolfo Perez Esquivel.
Citizenship given to Brit pianist who inspired child sex-abuse law By James Warren
A CELEBRATED expat British pianist has been granted Spanish nationality. An exceptional cabinet meeting agreed to give musical maestro James Rhodes permanent citizenship for his 'artistic' merits' and his tireless work to modernise Spain's child abuse laws. The 44-year-old concert pianist, who has had his own shows on the BBC and Channel4, has been living in Madrid since 2017, with his wife Hattie Chamberlain and his son.
Matched up In the video, Sergio - who has been without a club since 2018 - can be heard telling her; ‘I love you so much and I want you to be my wife’. Caroline, who starred in TV show Ladies of London, doubled over with emotion before excitedly accepting the ring. He will become stepfather to three children from her 17-year marriage to Turkish financier Cem Habib.
High Rhodes to Spain
Cumberbatch
It was during this time that he began to campaign for changes in the law regarding child abuse in Spain. After two years of tireless campaigning and messages directly to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, so-called Rhodes Law was fast-tracked through congress. The law gives more rights to the victims of child abuse, changing the legal procedure for convic-
THE likes of Thom Yorke, Laura Marling and the Charlatans didn’t support Brexit in the first place. Now they have joined forces with the rest of the UK’s beleaguered pop and rock industry to send a plea to the UK government to strike an urgent deal with the EU so they can tour without visas. Spain has long been a favoured destination for British stars with stars heading to the big cities and, in particular, the big festivals in the summer. But now they fear lucrative gigs in places like Ibiza in August, or Benicassim, could be off the table this year (assuming COVID restrictions lift). As it stands they will have to apply for work visas for tours in EU countries which could make them too complicated and expensive to
tions. The draft bill extends the statute of limitations on the most serious crimes committed against minors and introduces protocols to be followed by schools as well as sports
Bad note undertake. Now a string of the biggest names have urged fans to back a campaign that calls for musicians to be allowed to work for up to 90 days at a time in the EU without need for paperwork. Radiohead frontman Yorke, composer Nitin Sawhney and Charlatans singer Tim Burgess have spearheaded the charge. They have been joined by One Direction's Louis Tomlinson, former Boyzone member Ronan Keating and singer-songwriter Laura Marling to urge fans to sign a petition urging the UK government to act. So far it has received more than 235,000 signatures.
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centres. Violence against children is largely invisible, say children‘s defense organizations. In 2018, 38,000 minors were the victims of some criminal act, said deputy leader Pablo Iglesias. “With this law, our country is going to adopt the highest international standards in child protection,” said Iglesias. The subject is close to Rhodes' heart, as he was himself abused as a child. After 35 years of silence, Rhodes spoke out on years of abuse at school at the hands of a PE teacher at the Arnold House School, in North London. He had to go to England’s Supreme Court - backed by celebrities including Benedict Cumberbatch, a friend from Harrow School - to win the right to publish a book about his experiences as a victim of abuse. His ex-wife had gained an injunction against publication as she thought it would be damaging for their 12-year-old son.
POLLY’S
January 14th - January 27th 2021
3
Giving COVID
the boot EVA Herzigova proved testing positive for COVID-19 won’t slow her down as she shared a picture of her photoshoot for ELLE Spain’s January issue. The supermodel, 47, looked the picture of health in a series of shots unveiled just two weeks after she revealed she had contracted coronavirus. Showing off her modelling prowess, the Czech glamazon put on a stylish display as she slipped into a black dress and scarlet red boots. The pic with glowy cheeks and a megawatt smile was a stark change from previous posts shared by the model where she detailed her journey with the virus. The mum-of-three first announced she had fallen ill in the run up to Christmas with a post on December 18. Sharing a selfie from bed, Eva told her followers that she was suffering from 'crazy shivers and physical fatigue'.
STEPS INTO THE NEW YEAR: Eva has been struggling with COVID
How Hilarias WITH her lucious, raven hair, intriguing mid-Atlantic accent and flashing dark eyes, Hilaria Baldwin was the very epitome of Spanish. The wife of Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin loved to talk of the country in glowing terms, gushing at length about its alternative way of life. She loved its customs and pastimes and, as the story went, she had moved to New York to study from her native Mallorca at the tender age of 19. The only problem is she would appear to have faked not just her background, but also her accent. For Hilary, 36, is in fact from a leafy home in Boston (USA)
and her real name is not Hilaria - which means cheerful - but Hillary Hayward-Thomas. Now the merciless forces of Twitter have heaped ridicule on her, with former classmates pointing out that there would appear to be not a drop of Spanish blood in her.
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4 www.theolivepress.es Nod and a Winks
NEWS
January 14th - January 27th 2021
Wine, ham and jewels in Russian bribes
TOTTENHAM Hotspur star Harry Winks could sign for Valencia CF on loan. The 24-year-old midfielder has grown frustrated with his situation in the London club, falling out of favour with manager Jose Mourinho in the Premiership – albeit not in the Europa League - and relegated to a secondary role in the club in recent months. This has led Winks to seriously reconsider his future, with the January transfer market now opening up.
Interest
Valencia have shown interest in the English player, who has reciprocated by stating that, although he feels British and wants to play for the national squad, he also has Spanish grandparents and feels a connection with the Mediterranean country. The
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December’s Russian mafia-mob arrests on the Costa Blanca immediately evoke similarities to a real page turner of a thriller that you can´t leave alone. You just wonder what might be lurking in the very next chapter with the heady mixture of Russians, dodgy businessmen, land deals, politicians, and police. Yes, truth can be just as gripping as fiction in the story of a Russian lawyer that was allegedly after a few favours to help a few associates along. 38-year-old Altea lawyer, Alexei Shirokov, was refused bail by a Benidorm judge in December after being identified as the ‘kingpin’ of what the Policia Nacional called their ‘biggest anti-East European mafia sting’ in a decade. There are not many times that you hear of full-scale East European arrests in Spain over
Costa Blanca’s latest Russian mob tales are stranger than fiction...
potential corruption. The normal stories surround prostitution with drug smuggling thrown in for good measure. This is in a different league, especially with seven years of investigations behind it. Countless hours of wire-tapped phone calls were monitored by the police to bring down the Costa Blanca Russian gang. 23 people were swept up in the pre-Christmas arrests by the Policia Nacional, as reported in the Olive Press on December 24. Their raids netted 16 luxury cars, €300,000 in cash, virtual wallets with crypto currencies, diamonds, and a vast array of firearms. The police surveillance recordings that appear to be really tasty are not the guarantees of success. Last year, the biggest-ever council corruption case seen in Alicante Province saw ‘not guilty’ verdicts because the judges found legal issues with some of the tapes. An appeal is now pending over the Orihuela waste disposal contract rigging case that dates back to 2006. It shows that good audio evidence does not necessarily bring an automatic slam-dunk in a Spanish courtroom. Nevertheless there appears to be plenty to chew over in the Policia Nacional recordings which feature Alexei Shirokov as the main player. Inducements heard online included wine, serrano ham, and CHILLING: War weapons seized
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LEAVING pets outside in extreme weather conditions could lead to owners being locked up. Ditching dogs or cats on the street, or leaving them abandoned in an empty house, is a criminal offense punishable by prison, animal welfare societies in Valencia have said. Animals used for work, such as horses, are also protected by the law. Modepran president Amparo Requena is calling on witnesses to inform the authorities if they see anyone trying to desert an animal.
Dunes comeback HAUL: Firearms and large sums of cash were seized ular politicians included Special report Benidorm’s Beaches and SecuBy Alex Trelinski rity councillor, Lorenzo Martinez (pictured inset below). One even jewellery being offered to Policia Nacional phone tap had help some deals go along. Shirokov suggesting to MartiShirokov owns a real estate nez that ‘he needs to do a trick’ agency based in Altea Hills, with the councillor replying an area which has one of the that he is ‘listened to in some largest Russian populations in places’. Spain. Martinez has strongly denied The agency proclaims that any wrong-doing and has ‘for over 12 years peobeen supported by the ple from all over the Benidorm mayor, world give us their Toni Perez. Anothtrust to help them er Shirokov confind and acquire versation had him their dream offering the Altea home’. PP a new site for There’s no menits headquarters tion of 52 apart‘without having to ments being pay anyone’, but the bought with bitcoins PP ended up using a to hide the real source different estate agency. of money. And so we can go on, but That’s on one of the Shirokov whether any charges stick or phone recordings, which innot, you can almost certainly cluded chats with regional and guarantee that the lawyers will local Partido Popular(PP) polmake a pretty penny. There are iticians, as well as council offiyears ahead in this and some cials and police officers. tenacious investigation will One recording features Shicontinue to be needed to get to rokov chatting to a ‘friend’ who the bottom of the matter, wanted assistance to get a car If the law has been broken, it park built. Shirokov told him does make you wonder why that donating money to a politpeople have managed to get ical party would help, ‘like I do’. away with it for us long. The arrested Partido Pop-
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DOG’S LIFE
CULLERA will recover the historic sand dunes that dotted its shores more than 60 years ago in a bid to prevent coastal erosion. Experts working for the national Ministry of Ecological Transition studied the area and concluded that the shoreline bordering the town’s southern beaches, more specifically Marenyet and Estany, is in a ‘disgraceful state’.
Regenerate
Comparing aerial photographs taken now and back in 1957 shows that the sea has devoured a significant portion of coastline - a problem largely attributed to the disappearance of the dunes. The discovery has prompted the ministry to announce plans to regenerate the shoreline and recover the dunes by means of large shipments of sediments to be extracted from an underwater sand bank located opposite the lighthouse.
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www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain
A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.
OPINION Twin terrors FAR from holding hands this new year, we’ve never been further apart. Thanks to the twin terrors - a departure from Europe and a catastrophic surge in COVID cases - Britain is being forced to hold its loved ones at arm’s length. In 2016 when we voted to cut our ties with the rest of Europe we don’t think any of us imagined how isolated we would truly feel, and with flights cancelled and borders shut we’ve never been more alone. Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Or is a deathbed scare (see Page 1) the only way for us to be reunited? Without residency thousands of Brits are being denied access into Spain, in a bid to curtail COVID infection rates the government is only allowing access to residents and nationals. Ironically the new restrictions mean UK nationals are being treated just like the immigrants they voted to keep out. Lockdown has finally given us a sense of what divided refugee families go through and although it may be too late to turn back time, hopefully this lesson will stay with us for years to come.
ROTTEN DEAL WHO knew the length British expats would go for their imports? From Joseph Lathey’s attempted to bring his favourite Nando sauce back from Gibraltar to the gourmet gangster smuggling bacon in his underpants, we know it’s fairly far. Brexit has seemingly whipped us foodies into quite the frenzy. While Brits may not quite have sold our cuisine to the rest of the globe (Spotted Dick anyone? Haggis?) we’re a proud bunch and we deserve at least a slither of respect. To split hairs over something as small as the onion puree in a bottle of sauce is bound to leave even the most composed Brit spitting mad. We all knew Brexit would be about as enjoyable as food poisoning brought on by a winking gamba - but at least that particular malaise tends to only last 24 hours. We could face a lifetime of this nonsense. From farmers to processors, distributors, importers and retailers to the humble foodie on the hoof, these new rules are aging faster than milk in the Costa del Sol sun. The British Retail Consortium warned years ago that the first people to be hit by the consequences of Brexit will be food shoppers. Confiscated cuisine is likely only the start of this nightmare. Whatever side of the argument - or border you are on - there are no winners when it comes to rationing food. As with all squabbles so silly, we're all inevitably left with egg on our face.
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NEWS FEATURE
Old and the new, With his family torn apart by the Second World War, Alex Trelinski reflects on why Brexit hurts him personally as well as impacts the opportunities for British expats present and future
T
HE UK finally said farewell to the European Union on January 1 as the Brexit trade deal kicked in. It’s a moment that genuinely led to moments of personal reflection for me over the futility of it all... but at least some consolation to already be living in Spain, which is still under the EU umbrella. This final unshackling from the EU was much more profound than a few British fishing boats now being allowed to catch more mackerel. Cheap slogans and untruths - plus a genuine anger with the political elite - convinced
enough voters on that fateful 2016 referendum day to stick two fingers up at Brussels. They believed we were entering the ‘promised land’ of milk and honey. I await all the ‘good things’ promised, but I suspect disappointment is far more likely for the UK, with a real impact for current and future expats in Spain. There is a good personal rea-
son why I hate Brexit and it’s down to my upbringing. The EU was born out of the ruins of the Second World War and to make sure that there was never a repeat conflict, especially between France and (at the time) West Germany. As a youngster I had that concept of a united Europe quickly implanted in me by my Polish parents,
QUEUING: Brits are famed for it luckily, who became refugees in Britain after 1945. My mother, who is still alive at 91, was taken away in 1939 from her home, and along with my grandmother, ended up in a Siberian concentration camp.
Adrift in Madrid
I
F we thought the bells on New Year’s Eve marked the end of our troubles, a historic snowfall in and around Madrid prompted a rethink. At 2.37 am, the lights literally went out in swathes of the capital’s commuter belt for a full day and we woke up to a chill house, the heating off and kettles cold. Things were looking decidedly bleak by Saturday midday with a blizzard outside, 40cm of snow piling up around the house, the temperature inside plummeting to 14ºC. With cold soup on the menu and no sign of Iberdrola, we were set for a very miserable weekend. Then we got some dry logs from a neighbour and set
The white weekend that cut off all communications around the capital for the first time in decades, reports Heather Galloway off with our sledge into our local town of Alpedrete that overnight transformed into a winter wonderland. In the shadow of Franco’s notorious Valley of the Fallen, locals had got out their sledges, snowshoes and cross-country skis and reclaimed the roads that were thick with snow. A 60-year-old member of the town’s servicios municipales told me he hadn’t seen anything like it since he was six. “There’s not enough salt,” shouted one of his colleagues as people picked
their way gingerly along the pavements towards the supermarket – a queue had formed; the owners stranded. “People will have to be patient,” he said. Returning home with a sleighful of wood, we lit candles and huddled around the fire, feeling almost disappointed when the lights finally flicked back on at 9pm. Like COVID, the icy conditions have been testing but, unlike the virus, have brought people together. Neighbours who never usually acknowledge my
presence were exchanging hellos and chuckling over the snowballs that had gathered around our dog’s actual balls... and, for those determined to get their vehicles on the move on Sunday morning, there was no shortage of volunteers to help push them out of snow banks. While COVID has tended to make people eye each other with mistrust, the Siberian weather conditions have prompted solidarity. As the song goes, Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
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HISTORIC SCENES: Heaviest snowfall in Madrid for over 50 years saw skiers in Plaza Mayor and right, Heather and dog found the Alpedrete train station two metres thick in snow
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And it’s goodbye from him…
O
LIVE Press Digital Editor Laurence Dollimore is leaving for London following five years at the publication. The 29-year-old is heading back to the UK to work on a national newspaper after overseeing much of the Olive Press’s growth since 2016. As News Editor he guided the expansion into Mallorca and the Costa Blanca, helping set up both editions before being put in charge of our website in 2019. The Olive Press online has since boomed, garnering up to four million hits per month and more than 20 stories per day, a significant increase from the roughly 300,000 monthly hits seen in 2016. He said: “It’s been an amazing five years and has been great to see the OP brand spread across Spain, with two new editions launched in the past year alone, bringing the total to six. “I have no doubt the Olive Press will continue to dominate both in print and online in Spain, being unrivalled in its exclusive and well-written content. “It continues to be the best English-language news source in the country and I don’t see that changing any time soon.”
get a ot mo e o them fly ng a ound Eu ope now that the UK s out o the EU
Roya Pa ace above and go ng a ound A ped ete oundabout be ow
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claim €6 million Police probe launched after expats scheme scammed in dodgy investment
ACCUSED: Rhys Williams has
vacated villa
declared bankrupt and having his stopped coming in,” he said. “I’m care home company investigated er clothes and Rolexes. sure this was some sort of Ponzi "They live the high life out here scheme. Clearly they ran out of in- for fraud. A GROUP of British expats have EXCLUSIVE Despite this, he has been able to with all the apparent credentials to vestors.” called in police after losing more inprove they are successful and mak- For two years, Williams kept help set up several companies, than €6 million to an alleged Costa rency companies. be cluding Impact General Trading, ing money." del Sol fraudster. him in with trips to Not initially convinced, Parsons promising the money would in Panama. company in Dubai, and others The unsuspecting Brits invested up "They hooked for the tennis, Sweden victims, Wilhe was returned, claiming his to €1.64 million each into the al- Wimbledon meals out, which was flew out to Dubai where facilities Impact General Trading, based in According to the have recentfamily shown around various leged ponzi scheme operating out and to fancy embargoed and liams and his nothing compared to what they got that apparently backed up the Dubai, had been ly vacated their exclusive rented of Marbella, Dubai and India. had accounts frozen after 'illegally villa in Marbella. explained son Paul. claims. Welsh expat Rhys Williams, 36, off him," to be stopped." now, dealing with Iran'. “He reinforced all this with de- Parsons has since asked for his “We understand they have and is accused of snaring various local "They need the coast lots of victim, Adrian Parsons, expats, including wealthy parents Another Birmingham, invested tailed bank statements andwe now €500,000 investment back to care rather rapidly left returned to Wales,” added Parat his children's €10,000-a-year 53, from into the Dubai-based official paperwork, which for his sick father, who has been di- sons. €500,000 think was fake,” he continued. private school in Marbella. company. seemed agnosed with terminal cancer. "Until last month, they had three The victims insist the business- recyclingvery convincing," Parsons Initially, the investment the first kids at private school, were still man, who was declared bankrupt "He was Olive Press, "He and his to be genuine and for back the Cancer going to all the top restaurants in the UK, persuaded them to told the were living in a €10,000 six months he was paid had happened. promised 2% agreed per month. invest huge sums into a paper re- partner "Williams promised me I would just like nothing villa in Marbella and he has left a cycling and printing business, as per month head to toe in design- “But then the money suddenly get my money back, telling me "At the same time behind him well as trading platforms in Dubai, were dressed how his mother had also had can- trail of destruction in tatters." 'guaranteeing them a 2% monthly cer and that he wouldn't let us and many livesthe UK's Serious This week, return'. down," added Parsons. confirmed to the OlOne British pensioner, Brian LiBut the money never materi- Fraud Office it is looking into the ive Press that vesey, 84, invested €1.64 million in alised. could not comment late 2014. Another alleged victim, Michael Williams, but The former soldier, who has lived McVicar, claims to have lost any further. denuncias, the in Marbella for decades, has yet to €1.5 million, while up to a dozen Following various in Estepona, is also see any return. other expats have apparently lost Guardia Civil,Williams. "It has destroyed him," his son between €100,000 and €1 mil- investigating attempts to conPaul told the Olive Press this week. lion each. Collectively the group After numerous by phone, he finally "He had a stroke earlier this year claim they are owed €6.28 mil- tact Williams replied by email to insist his infrom the stress of it, we are barely lion. keeping our heads above water The Olive Press has discovered nocence. utterly deny any alpaying off debts." that Williams left Llys Meddyg "I totally and wrote, but did not Livesey, who once ran a successLlangristiolus, in North Wales legations,” he questions. ful UK construction company, was almost a decade ago after being reply to any further introduced to Williams by a direcRhys had Rolex and fancy cars tor at one of Gibraltar's cryptocur- LIFE OF LUXURY:
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ACCUSED: Rhys Williams has
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A VICTORY for mortgage been awarded owners by the European has of Justice. Court The court has ruled that two mortgage holders in Spain are million to additional entitled because they refunds from the banks It came due paid too much interest. clauses’ that to the so-called ‘floor fail to lower saw most Spanish banks their interest rowers to match rates the base rate to borthe European set by The court ruledCentral Bank. that repaymentsthat it was unfair and should entire life of the mortgage cover the time that interest during the rates were continue to low and be. When the central bank base lowered to stimulate the rate was economy some years ago, eurozone repayments mortgage 1.5% to 2%, should have tracked it to continued to however many borrowers The surprise pay 3.5% and more. be appealed. ruling is final and cannot Around two now be set million borrowers should to receive repayments, timated to be esworth billions of euros.
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THERESA May has vowed Britain won’t accept a ‘half in, half out’ Brexit in a landmark speech that is likely to have long-lasting effects on Gibraltar and all expats in Spain. The Prime Minister issued a 12-point plan to take Britain out of the EU, with Downing Street looking to scrap EU single market and current customs union access. In the biggest speech of her sixmonth tenure, she said: “To be clear, what I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market.” She added Britain would no longer give ‘huge sums’ to the EU, however she conceded that Parliament will have the final vote on the deal. Maintaining the common travel area between the United EXCLUSIVE Kingdom and the Republic of By Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead Ireland is also a priority during rushed to the vets he died 30 minutes and Laurence Dollimore the Brexit negotiations. later. However, the border of GibralAn X-ray showed he also had a bullet tar with Spain was not men- A BRITISH expat has called in police shot through the roof of his mouth. after finding five of her dogs executed in 2004, found the five rescue dogs tioned. in shot Meanwhile, one of Mitchell’s 12 horses a late-night massacre. in their pens on January 6, the night of was also attacked, so savagely that its The Guardia Civil are now investigatthe Reyes (Three Kings). eye may have to be removed. ing the horrific attack that also left Control Her beloved seven-year-old Dizzy, one Vets have been struggling to treat “We want to control our im- of Illona Mitchell’s horses with its eye the of the friendliest dogs you will ‘one four-year-old, named Rocco, because migration from the EU,” said gouged out. meet’ and a puppy called Maisie ever he has May. “We also recognise the The detectives from the environment shot dead at the gates of their pens.were Deeplybecome too nervous and skittish. traumatised by the attack - that importance of the brightest section Seprona told Mitchell, 48, that Meanwhile Coco and Domingo, were thankfully was not seen by her daughand the best coming here. We it was one of the worst attacks they had shot in their beds, with Mitchell believter Ella, recognise the contribution they seen and were visibly shocked by it. ing they had cowered in their kennels so angry 11 - Mitchell continued: “I am that someone would do someThey have put on extra patrols to have made.” before being killed in cold blood. keep thing as disgusting as this to innocent May is believed to favour a work- an eye on the estate at weekends and at Coco, two, had been shot at point-blank animals.” permit system as she looks to night. range between the eyes, while three- Mitchell, from Chester, believes the at“I am sickened as to why someone trigger Article 50 by March. year-old Domingo was shot through the tack is linked to her recent decision to It comes as the House of Lords would carry out such a cruel and bar- week. side of his face. ban hunters from her huge 173-hectare published data showing a bor- baric attack on innocent, defenceless The mother-of-one, They later found Jack, a six-year-old estate that sits in stunning scenery in above, who bought der closure with Spain would animals,” she told the Olive Press this her estate in mountains near Granada German Shepherd, having convulsions the Sierra de Baza. put 40% of jobs at risk in Giunder a nearby tree, but despite being Continues on Page 4 braltar. The 32 page-report, based Opinion Page 6 on Gibraltar government evidence, estimates 10,500 of the Est 1984 Rock’s 26,000 workers crossed the border daily. “A frontier which lacked the necessary fluidity would thereAntiques, Jewellers & Pawnbrokers fore put directly at risk the jobs For all your of 40% of the Gibraltar workA huge variety of over insurance needs! force,” said a spokesman. May’s speech was cheered by 1 carat diamond jewellery. Leave campaigners, who are pushing for a ‘hard’ Brexit. Choose one of our great HIGH STREET PRICES: 7,000€+ She said:“We do not seek to lens offers or get 30% estepona@ibexinsure.com adopt a model already enjoyed OUR PRICE: 1,500 - 2,000€ off selected frames by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of memSee our ad inside for details. UNBEATABLE PRICES GUARANTEED bership as we leave,” said May. Fuengirola “The British people voted for WE BUY, WE PAY MORE, WE PAY change. And it is the governCASH fuengirola@ibexinsure.com Diamonds@anthonys-diamonds.com ment’s job to deliver it.” 952 588 795 or 609 529 633 Opinion Page 6
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NEWS
www.theolivepress.es DID YOU SEE CHRISTIAN (RIGHT)
SPOTTED: At Tunnels in Alcossebre
Case against prime Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner grows stronger as series of key Spain links emerge
June 10th - June 23rd 2020
OR HIS VW WESTFALIA VAN ON
THE COSTAS?
Maddie exclusive On order for the Mail on Sunday I managed to route out the village of Foral in Portugal, where Maddie McCann suspect Christian Brueckner lived immediately after the British toddler vanished from the Algarve. Working alongside publisher Jon Clarke, we managed to find the house, leading to the case being blown wide open. The story secured a page lead in the MoS.
CLOSING IN
EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore & Joshua Parfitt, in Alcossebre
BIRD’S EYE VIEW: Breuckner’s
rental home overlooked McCann’s
apartment in Luz
MADDIE McCann was reportedly seen getting into a German-owned VW van with a mystery man just weeks after Christian Brueckner. her disappearance, it has been The 43-year-old paedophile revealed. was living in Praia de Luz when Unearthed police files, pub- Maddie vanished and was drivlished this week, show how ing a distinctive VW T3 Westa witness was convinced he falia van (pictured). saw the British toddler leave a A German expat, who has lived restaurant in Alcossebre on the near the restaurant for years, Costa Blanca. remembers the day well as it The alleged sighting took place was his friend who contacted at Tunnels, at 11am on May 28, the police. 2007, just three weeks after the Jorge, who asked to stay anonthree-year-old vanished. ymous, told the Olive Press The area in Valencia is 600 that it was ‘the talk of the town’ miles from where Maddie was and his friend clearly saw the snatched in Praia da Luz, in VW van and he ‘still swears it Portugal, and is popular with was Maddie’. people living the camper van Following the tip off at the lifestyle, such as prime suspect
the Olive Press he was always but that he could have easily sued as part of Operation Task, have been driving any number polite to her and a good neighbour. “I even had coffees with explained that the restaurant of different vans. was in an area called ‘Cap Y It comes as Brueckner, who him on a few occasions and he Corp’ and that the witness had lived for many years around seemed fine,” she said. an ‘unimpeded’ view of the girl Praia da Luz, allegedly told col- It is the circumstances of his time, Leicestershire cop DC who walked straight past him. sudden departure from the reJohn Hughes issued an inter- German police said there were leagues in Germany that Mad- sort around the time of Madnational Interpol alert with indications that he could have die was dead. die’s disappearance, plus a a ‘risk to life missing person’ used either the van or a Jaguar Reports say he became frus- mysterious 30-minute converwarning demanding that both model XJR 6 with a German trated when his work pals sation with someone called ‘DiSpanish and German police in- number plate to commit the would not stop talking about ogo Silva’, on the night she vanthe case while working at a ki- ished, which is so intriguing. vestigate. snatching of Maddie and apHe urged police to check the pealed for help tracking where osk between 2012 and 2014. The fact that he sold or at least “The child is dead now – and re-registered his Jaguar car the location for CCTV and wit- they were parked. nesses and asked for the Ger- The Olive Press has established that’s a good thing!” Brueck- day after her death is suspiman van’s details, which were (see box) that he was seen back ner reportedly screamed, “you cious, as is the fact that just a allegedly BMS 1049. It is not in the Algarve area a couple of can make a corpse disappear couple of weeks later he started known what checks were weeks later in the same van, quickly… pigs also eat human living in a small village, Foral, flesh!” made. The police report, issome 45 minutes away inland. German police issued both Boasted phone numbers used on the before she While he was discounted from evening an hour gave out the Portuguese investigation vanished, and also and car. in 2007 and again in 2012, photos of his van when close Yet, Portuguese police became to began net the was her parGerman police started probing obsessed that it and did not ents who killed her him in 2017. HIDEAWAY: House where on a list It came after Brueckner told even include Bruekner Breuckner stayed in Foral and a pal on a night out about the of 600 possible suspects. (below) our story in Mail on links, now Sunday case and boasted how he had Despite his closeOlive Press in raped a 72-year-old Ameri- confirmed by the yet to search can woman in Praia da Luz, Foral, police have probe two years before Maddie was the property or properly his links there. snatched. It came after a picture of Maddie flashed onto the TV screen Sex attack in a bar they were in, it being The village has now become disher of anniversary the 10th filled with investigators and appearance. journalists trying to crack the He went on to show the pal case, following our expose, invideos, allegedly of the sadis- cluding the BBC that filmed on Suspect’s secret tic rape, for which he has now Monday in the strange properbeen convicted, and possibly of ty that housed troubled teenagthe vil- called Silva, “it lair could lead guy, people were scared of him in horrible was Maddie. Germany. revealed. from in ers brought lage,” owner Lia Silva The suspect has 17 convictions, Brueckner would go on to comand finding that in police to Maddie “He claimed to be a private detective real- my house, but many of them sexual offences mit more crimes against chilhe carried a gun which was obviously I burnt it all, against young children. dren, including another sexual ly terrifying.” His first known offence was attack in June 2013. rented I didn’t want She revealed how the house was when he molested a six-year- He has now been linked to anliv- to be incrimito a German woman Nicole, who waswho nated by that old girl in Germany at the age other five missing children and he ing there with her boyfriend Roman, later year A stuff.” of 17 in 1993. a series of rapes both in Portuallegedly beat her up. attempted to sexually assault a gal and Germany. a Brueckner was hadson Parents out adopted the woman that kicked She explained nine-year-old girl. also not seen in the as teenager after crime spree but she of her own, Whether he could have comyoung daughter ‘People were afraid of village after NiHe moved to Praia da Luz with mitted offences in Spain on his him in the restaurant’ took in troubled teenagers from Germany, cole and Roman left. his then-girlfriend in 2005, but many trips across the country for a living. who she fostered ‘They had difficulty ‘I got the feeling that he Police turned up a couple of times looking broke up with her soon after is now a question for Spanish to control him’ enjoyed torturing a me’ rehabilirunning “She wastryingsupposedly did not reveal to Silva why. but Roman for arriving. but youths, legal police to grapple with. tation programme for troubled “He received some serious looking relatHe had a series of other girl- According to German magaone escaped and came back pregnant, so maybe it was friends, including a British girl, zine Der Spiegel, in September I believe was letters from Lisbon who him under SurVeillance thathadman alongside police ed to that.” and also found work as a wait- 2013, he wrote in an online inside the Christian.” er and carried out odd jobs.But chatroom that he wanted to of Talking to the Olive Press The property has become a key part of grounds, she said she welcomed police meanwhile he was also robbing ‘capture something small and the investigation into the movements digging up if it helps solve the Maddie apartments and selling drugs. use it for days.’ Brueckner around the time of Maddie’s case. Eerily, he was living in a runlike everyone disappearance. down property, rented from Do you recognise the van rented “I just want this case closed The home, which is currently being and a else, the parents need closure. If it was a British owner, which over- or jaguar pictured? Do you they by two Brits, has extensive grounds area. him who took Maddie, then I hope looked the resort from a near- remember seeing either of large swimming pool and barbecue 2009, hang the bastard.” by hill and just a short walk to the vehicles throughout the Nicole abandoned the property in rent. Several other witnesses in the town conthe beach. never 2000s? Contact newsdesk@ owing Silva around €10,000 in unpaid firmed that Portuguese police have One of his neighbours, an Aus- theolivepress.es the case. “They left behind needles, used syringes trian woman, Salamanda, told re- visited to ask questions about with a spoon and bricks of hashish,”
EXPOSED: The paedo’s lair SPECIAL INVESTIGATION
by Jon Clarke & Laurence Dollimore, in Foral
T
HIS is the house where the prime suspect in the Maddie case spent several months following the tod-
dler’s disappearance. sleepy The extensive property sits in the drive village of Foral, around 45 minutes from Praia da Luz, where the three-yearold vanished in 2007. Press Several locals confirmed to the Olive his they saw Brueckner, now aged 43, and distinctive Westfalia van parked outside the property, where troubled German back teenagers were supposedly nursed to health. for The German paedophile was around months and often worked at the village’s earn O Faro restaurant and did odd jobs to cash or in exchange for showers. scary “He came and went and was a really
SCARED: Landlady Lia
16
Anguished mother: I don’t want to know what he has done The Mail on Sunday June 7 • 2020
V1
UNKEMPT: Maddie suspect Christian Brueckner
By Mark Hookham and Abul Taher in Germany
THE prime suspect for the abduction of Madeleine McCann was kicked out of home as a teenager because his adopted mother could no longer cope with his spiralling criminal behaviour. Speaking for the first time, Christian Brueckner’s mother Brigitte insisted she does not want to know what crimes her depraved adopted son has committed, saying: ‘I don’t know anything about it. I don’t want to know anything about it.’ Kind-hearted Brigitte and her husband Fritz adopted Christian as a baby after he was given up by his birth mother. But when Fritz was seriously injured in a car crash in 1992, Brigitte was unable to cope with caring for both her brain-damaged husband and the increasingly delinquent teenager. Christian was sent to a children’s home for disruptive teenagers, but soon sank into a debauched life of crime and sex offending. In 1992 he committed a burglary and a year later molested a six-year-old girl in a playground, only stopping when she began to scream. F i v e m o n t h s l a t e r, h e approached a nine-year-old girl tions, including theft, assault, drug trafficking, violations of the weapand dropped his trousers. It marked the beginning of an ons law, child abuse, possession of appalling 27-year criminal career. child pornography and rape. Astonishingly, he has been extraLast week German police announced that they were investi- dited back to Germany from abroad gating the 43-year-old on suspi- to face justice no fewer than three cion of murdering three-year-old Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday apartment in the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz in 2007. Brueckner is also being investigated in connection with the disappearance of a five-year-old German girl who vanished from woods in times: twice from Portugal and once from Italy. northern Germany, in 2015. Given his repeated offending, the Inga Gehricke – often referred to as Germany’s Maddie – vanished file provides a vivid physical during a family barbecue. Brueck- description of Brueckner who has a ner lived 48 miles away in a cara- pockmarked face, pierced ears, a van on scrubland by an abandoned five-inch scar on his lower back, an eight-inch scar on his right arm, box factory. Police are also examining poten- birthmarks all over his body and tial links to the disappearance in 1996 of another German youngster, René Hasse, six, who vanished from Amoreiras beach in the Portuguese coastal town of Aljezur – 25 miles from Praia da Luz. And yesterday the Belgian authorGERMAN police considered ities said they are investigating Christian Brueckner so dangerous whether Brueckner might have that they put him under roundbeen involved in the murder of 16the-clock surveillance. year-old Carola Titze in July 1996. The convicted paedophile was The teenager, whose mutilated released from jail in 2018 as a body was found six days after she result of a bureaucratic bungle vanished while on holiday at a against the wishes of German Flemish resort in De Haan, West police and prosecutors. In panic, Flanders, was allegedly seen at a officers were sent to follow him, disco with a German man, who was but he gave them the slip. never traced. Brueckner had been arrested in The Mail on Sunday has seen Portugal in 2017 and extradited to Brueckner’s 19-page police file, a Germany to serve 15 months in shocking catalogue of 17 convic-
‘unkempt hands’, including chewed fingernails. It even details a distinctive scar on his groin. The file – and the testimony of his friends and acquaintances – provides a picture of an itinerant and dangerous sexual offender who appeared to flit between Germany and Portugal at will, committing serious crimes wherever he settled. Brueckner was born Christian Fischer in 1976 but given up by his birth mother and adopted by the Brueckner family, who lived in Bergtheim, a village near the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg. Neighbours yesterday said the family had difficulty controlling him and the situation became impossible after Herr Brueckner, who has since died, was confined to a wheelchair after the car crash. ‘The Brueckners were a lovely
prison for child sexual abuse and possession of child pornography. He was eligible for release in August 2018, but the German authorities were desperate for him to remain behind bars for drug trafficking. Under extradition law, Portugal had to give its consent and it is claimed the Portuguese authorities did not do so in time – meaning Brueckner was released. Detectives first tried to covertly track his movements but he soon realised that he was under
couple, very kind. But what happened with their boy Christian is a catastrophe,’ one neighbour said. ‘They took him in as a baby and brought him up as their own. ‘He was often in trouble and he got worse and worse as he grew
into a teenager. As the man of the house, it was Fritz who disciplined the boy. Christian needed a firm hand. But after the accident he could not do that any more. ‘Brigitte, the mother, did her best, but she could not cope with the boy and look after her husband. ‘Christian had been in trouble and
surveillance. The officers then began openly following him. ‘We stood in front of his house at night, walked beside him when he was out, and talked to him,’ said an investigator. Brueckner went to the Netherlands, where the Dutch police who took over surveillance lost him. From there he fled to Italy, where he was arrested a month later and extradited back to Germany where he was convicted of the 2005 rape of a pensioner.
that is when he was sent to a reform school for delinquent teenagers in Wuerzburg.’ Another neighbour added: ‘If what I read is true it will destroy his mother. Brigitte and Fritz did everything they could for him when he was a boy.’ A third neighbour told the German newspaper Bild that the home where Brueckner was sent had a bad reputation: ‘There were only bad young people there.’ At his trial for the child sex offences in 1994 at Wuerzburg District Court, Brueckner was asked by the juvenile judge what he thought about his actions. He replied: ‘I didn’t think anything.’ He was given a two-year sentence but fled to Portugal with a girlfriend in 1995 before it was completed. He worked for a sales company, fitting awnings and swimming pool covers, and with his then girlfriend rented a remote whitewashed farmhouse on a hillside near the beach where the McCanns would later play during their week’s holiday. In 1999 he was arrested and extradited back to Germany where he served out the remainder of his youth sentence for the child sex offences. The following year he was back in Portugal – but his life became increasingly chaotic. Neighbours described an ‘angry’ car dealer who raced along the quiet country roads. He collected lost balls from golf courses to sell and stole diesel from parked trucks and boats in nearby marinas. Then, one hot evening in early September 2005, just 18 months
June 7 • 2020 The Mail on Sunday
17
V1
From Jon Clarke and Laurence Dollimore in FOraL, POrTUGaL
NOTORIOUS DRUNK: Brueckner out in a bar in Hanover in 2011
FAMILY HOME: The house in Bergtheim where he was brought up before the abduction of Madeleine, his offending took a horrifically depraved turn. Less than a mile from his farmhouse was the home of a 72-year-old American widow, who had lived alone with her cats for 17 years following the death of her Austrian husband. Brueckner knew the widow’s villa
– Casa Jacaranda – having regularly stopped there to pet the cats on his way to the beach. At about 10.30pm, as she watched TV, the woman was grabbed from behind, dragged upstairs to her bedroom where she was tied-up, gagged, blindfolded and raped. Brueckner, who wore a mask and
PAEDOPHILE Christian Brueckner regularly visited a rundown house hidden away in the Portuguese countryside in the months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The property – pictured exclusively and never before linked to Brueckner – could now become a focal point in the investigation into whether the German kidnapped and murdered Madeleine. An investigation by this newspaper has established that Brueckner often stayed at the villa in the village of Foral in 2007 and 2008. He reportedly parked his distinctive Volkswagen Westfalia campervan, which was subsequently seized by German police, in the car park of a nearby restaurant. The villa is about 40 miles from the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, the holiday resort where threeyear-old Madeleine disappeared in May 2007. The villa, which is understood to have never been searched by police, was rented between 2002 and 2009 by a German woman called Nicole who is said to have used it for a rehabilitation programme for troubled teenagers. A German couple who have lived in the village for more than 20 years said they immediately recognised Brueckner when he was named last week as the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine and his image appeared in the media. ‘I said, “That’s Christian” before I even read what his name was,’ said the husband, who asked not to be named. ‘The first time I met him he was hosting a party at the restaurant. ‘He had two dogs, one mediumsized, one small. The name of the small one I even remember, it was called Frau Muller and was always rummaging around the bins. ‘The female tenant was German and had a young daughter. She
was armed with a ‘curved sabre’, beat the pensioner with a metal, flexible object. ‘I felt that he enjoyed torturing me,’ she later told police. Two of Brueckner’s acquaintances stumbled across evidence of his horrific crime when they burgled his farmhouse the following year, but apparently failed to tell the police about their find until many years later. They stole his camcorder but were horrified to find a film sequence in which an older woman was bound and masked and whipped then raped. A second film showed a young woman tied naked to a wooden beam in the house. Brueckner is understood to have courted a string of young women during his
KEY CLUE: The villa in Foral, Portugal, that was visited by Brueckner also had a young teenage girl living with her who was not her daughter. The woman would fly kids over from Germany and was supposedly running a rehabilitation programme for troubled youths.’ Brueckner’s visits to the property could form a key part of police attempts to piece together his movements after Madeleine vanished. He is thought to have left Portugal shortly after and returned to Germany, reportedly
telling friends that he had stolen a lot of cash during a burglary on the Algarve. He first moved to the German of city of Dresden for a few weeks and then to Augsburg in Bavaria, staying in the attic of a home owned by landlord Alexander Bischoff, 64, for two or three weeks at a time. But according to Mr Bischoff, Brueckner was often away, including on trips back to Portugal. In 2015 he sold the VW T3 Westfalia to the German owner of a scrapyard in the town of Silves,
12-year stay in the Algarve and had a year-long relationship with a British expat. He disappeared from Praia da Luz shortly after Madeleine was snatched as she slept alongside her twin siblings in May 2007. German police last week revealed Brueckner took a mobile phone call, placing him in the resort between 7.30pm and 8pm on the night she vanished. He initially settled in Hanover and became a notorious figure in the city’s backstreet bars, often leering drunkenly at women and wearing an ill-fitting and pungent suit. ‘I remember him,’ said Diana Bieler, who worked at the Cuban-themed bar Havana, where Brueckner was photographed in
14 miles from Foral. Meanwhile, Brueckner’s German police file lists one of his ‘abodes’ as ‘Portugal. Messines’. The village of Sao Bartolomeu de Messines is just six miles from Foral. Lia Silva, the owner of the property in Foral, said an intimidating German man would visit the villa and visit Nicole. At one point it is claimed he helped track down one of the German teenagers who had run away. ‘Suddenly a German guy turned up, and the rumours were that he was a private detective of some nature,’ said Ms Silva. ‘Some people were afraid of him when he used to go to the restaurant. ‘Eventually, the guy found the runaway girl … and it turns out she was pregnant. It was a major problem. It was then that Nicole was no longer allowed to receive kids from Germany, so she lost all her income.’ When Ms Silva was shown a photograph of Brueckner, she said: ‘Yeah that looks like him, it could be him.’ She added that Nicole abandoned the villa in 2009, allegedly owing 10,000 euros in rent. ‘I found syringes and used needles and a spoon and bricks of hashish in a shoebox,’ Ms Silva added. ‘I was devastated to find that in my house.’
April 2011. ‘He used to come to the bar twice a week, always on his own. He always had beer and looked unfriendly. ‘He was a dirty man, and I did not talk to him. He always smelt and always looked tense.’ It was his habit of drunkenly boasting in bars that may have sealed his fate. In 2017, he apparently suggested that he was responsible for Madeleine going missing while drinking with an associate in another German bar. Shockingly, he then allegedly showed his fellow drinker a video of him raping a woman. The associate informed German police who passed the new information to New Scotland Yard.
Bizarre cremation In one of my most bizarre stories, retired expat Francis Jones had his leg amputated at a Costa del Sol hospital before being sent the bill for its cremation. Naturally it made a lead in the Sun’s health pages.
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Mafia town
How the CEO of organized crime corrupted a town hall PAGE 8
Press team to EXCLUSIVE: Expat tip leads Olive paedophiles snare one of UK’s most wanted
SecretcityMalaga of culture, but It’s a true Malaga has so much more PAGE 16
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errania de Ronda
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Rob Horgan goes native in the Serrania de Ronda and discovers the backroad gems of the Genal Valley
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SOARING HIGH: The view up to the
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HERE are few places in the world where beer with an army general … and even you can drink fewer where the general stands all the rounds! Ronda, however, is one of those Celebrating a recent promotion with places. friends in quintessential bar El Porton, an olé away from Spain’s oldest bullring - Spanish Legionnaire Carlos Velo is eager to include me in the party. After introducing me to the town’s signature tapa - jamon and quail eggs - Carlos (above) regales me Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia before with tales from tours to explaining why Ronda is the ‘best place in the world’. “I have been all over the world and says, taking a swig from his cana seen many things,” he and pushing his glasses back into his face. “But Ronda is the best place I have ever been to.” Originally from Madrid, Carlos moved to Ronda some 35 years ago when he joined the Spanish Legion, which has one of its two national bases here, counting on around 800 legionnaires at present. “The quality of life in Ronda is like nowhere else in Spain. I can live like a gentleman here, in Madrid I would just be like everyone else. “Everything is affordable, if you like ing from tapas bar to tapas bar andyou can spend the day goyou will still have change in your pocket. “And the scenery is breathtaking,” he adds. “The walks Continues on next Page
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WORDS AND PICS EAGLE-EYED Olive Press By Rob Horgan and readers helped snag one of BritLaurence Dollimore ain’s most wanted fugitives in Spain, just hours after he had al Crime Agency, who arrived at been named. the scene after the arrest. Following a tip off to the paper, “Well done Olive Press and suspected paedophile Matthew thanks to the expat community Sammon was dragged from his for tipping us off, this is the reacampervan in a dramatic night- son we run these campaigns.” time raid and whisked away in The dramatic day had started an unmarked police car. when Crimestoppers issued its Working closely with informant annual list of most wanted fugiDaniel Reid, we were able to tives in Torremolinos on Thursfirstly track down Sammon day morning. to Fuengirola, then call in the Leading to hundreds of press Guardia Civil to arrest him. stories around the world and On the run for two years, Sam- on national television, the hunt mon - a blackbelt in Jujitsu - was immediately on. was wanted in the UK for shar- But, it was to popular local ing indecent images of children. newspaper the Olive Press His seizure came just 10 hours that expat plasterer Reid, 40, after he was named in Opera- reached out to, trusting us to tion Captura and is the quickest ‘do the job properly’. recorded arrest in the joint UK In a series of Facebook mesand Spanish police operation. sages, he announced that Sam“It was a fantastic result,” said mon, 45, had worked for him Steve Reynolds, from the Nation-
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car, Sammon covered his face Within an hour, the Olive Press and remained silent when team scrambled to Fuengirola, questioned by the Olive Press. learning from another builder He was then bundled into the that he was currently camped BMW and taken to Madrid to out at the feria ground. be fingerprinted and prepared After a day working nearby, the for extradition. Londoner duly arrived in his Following the arrest, father-ofEnglish-plated cream Moncayo two Reid said he was ‘relieved’ campervan. to see Sammon taken away. Parking up, he looked relaxed “As soon as I saw his face among as he took his dog for a walk the most wanted I felt sick,” around the feria ground and said Reid, from Blackpool. spoke with neighbours. “I let him hang around my chilOnce identified, we called the dren, we took him in with open Guardia Civil and Crimestop- arms and at first were none the pers and so began a tense three- wiser. hour waiting game, with Reid “But we always thought he was sitting in the car beside us. a bit weird, he’s a real loner and Sky News crime reporter Mar- never talks about his family. tin Brunt was soon there too. “He creeped my family out so Eventually, as night had well much that I fired him.” unmarked an fell, truly and Incredibly, police did not take any black BMW arrived and two evidence from his campervan inSUCCESS: Reid, Horgan, plain clothes detectives swiftly cluding his computer and other Reynolds and Brunt moved in for the arrest, confisas a labourer and was currently cating his passport and phone. CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 living in a campervan around Frisking him at the side of the the Mijas and Fuengirola area. Est 1984
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met by a man from a local fu- Dianne, who previously ran neral company, who asked if a cleaning company in the I had insurance to ‘cover my UK. husband’s cremation’,” she She has now made an ofrecalled. ficial “It was horrific. I obviously pital’scomplaint to the hoswelfare department, immediately thought he had insisting died and burst into tears. I to have it is entirely unfair to pay it. nearly fainted.” She is It turned out however, that hospitalalready paying the her husband of 56 years was eration €12,245 for the opactually fine and the ‘crema- While and recovery spell. she confirmed that tion’ was merely of the hospital had apologised his leg. for not warning of the im“I was told that by pending cremation cost, law - even if it is she believes this is ‘not acyour little finger - ceptable’. you have to pay, so I “The hospital was signed on the dotted derstanding but very unit was an line,” said pensioner unsettling experience as I had no prior warning,” added Dianne, who has lived in Spain with her husband since 2006. Cremation of amputated body parts is mandatory in Spain unless you have a pre-bought cemetery niche or have an agreement to donate it for medical research. A spokesman from the funeral company blamed it on the hospital for not warning her. Xanit hospital was not available for comment. RECOVERING: Francis Opinion Page 6 and (inset left) the couple
Dramatic raid In one of my most dramatic stories, I managed to Gotcha! track down a wanted paedophile who was hiding in a caravan park in Fuengirola. After tipping off Sky News and their top crime correspondent Martin Brunt, I walked around the campsite holding the hand of a producer to conduct a classic stake out. Once we laid eyes on Matthew Sammon, we called in the cops and captured his arrest on film, making the Sky News at ten o’clock bulletin, along with various national headlines.
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Expat slams The pair met at the G20 By Laurence Dollimore summit in China in Sephospital over tember but they have yet AN expat has been left to discuss the sovereignty stumped over a €525 bill for shock payment cremating her husband’s amof Gibraltar. for husband’s The Rock is expected to be putated leg. a talking point on Thurs- Dianne Jones, 73, from Mid- leg cremation day given the recent in- dlesex, claims she was given no warning of flammatory comments tion of the limbthe incinera- considerably harder when she - nor of its was told she had to pay the from Spain’s foreign min- cost - from Xanit Hospital, in ‘unexpected’ bill. ister Jose Manuel Garcia- Benalmadena. Worse than that, Margallo (see below). It came after husband Franit came just days The conservative official cis, 76, was forced to have his after the operahas attempted to lobby leg amputated above the knee tion and while her EU leaders to support after years of suffering from husband was still his quest for joint Sover- vascular disease. recovering at the eignty, and most recently However, the shock of losing hospital. said ‘we will see the Span- a limb last month was made “I came in to be ish flag on Gibraltar very soon.’
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LOCK up your hijas, Andalucia. Legendary lothario Steve Coogan and sidekick Rob Brydon have been serving up a third helping of TV comedy smash The Trip in Malaga. The foodie funnymen have spent the summer filming in Santander, Rioja, San Sebastian and
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THERESA MAY is set to thrash out the UK’s position over Gibraltar at a high level meeting with Mariano Rajoy tomorrow. The UK Prime Minister will meet Spain’s acting leader in Madrid to also discuss Brexit. The meeting follows a telephone call the two shared in July in which they both agreed that no Spanish or British citizen should be ‘harmed’ by the Brexit result.
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speak English. ha because m B sh mus They also encountered an an- have gone a ong w h B ex and ti-foreign streak among some how s up d he UK was o vo e locals who conveniently forgot o eave he EU that Polish airmen helped them a ong w h he ove whe m ng to win the Battle of Britain in ma o y o B sh es den s n 1940. Spa n vo ed Rema n n 2016 The horrors of war mpac ed he and en oy em nd ng hem es o he ves and he e we e o ha Th s newspape cam ew days n my upb ng ng ha pa gned o Rema n bo h n he consequences we e no Span sh AND Eng sh men oned o me a so po n ou how much mon Wha ea n n my ch dhood ey us expa s pu n o he econo was he need o Eu opean co my nc ud ng unn ng bus ness ope a on and was de gh ed es and he axes we have o pay when he UK o ned he Com Bu wha o he ong e m u u e mon Ma ke n 1973 o new B sh es den s? n 1975 was a membe o he Sue W son be eves w ake B a n n Eu ope g oup n my much onge o B s n Spa n own o Rugby ha campa gned o ee he u e ec s o B ex o a Yes vo e n he e e en “Meanwh e we a e s wa dum ca ed by Ha o d W son ng o hea wha he benefi s o ma n y as a means o so ng B ex w be wou d appea ou sp s n he u ng Labou o be a c ose y gua ded sec e ” Pa y she added The e was some On e e endum day wa ked good news o u u e e ees ou o an O Leve Gene a Sc mov ng o Spa n unde he new ence exam a e us en m n UK EU ag eemen u es and o ned vo un ee s n “The v sa w cos £516 and knock ng on doo s o ge ou he m n mum mon h y ncome he p o Common equ ed o Ma ke vo e qua y o he Tha s how much v sa s ands a It’s as if I have €2 151 ” ex Eu ope mean o me bu was a ned he my membership pcounc ubb sh n sc o n San ence anyway Fu genc o n A of the EU club Fas o wa d o can e unfairly revoked 2021 and ou “ w make fi COV D h p an nanc a y p oh b after 50 years e wh ch needs ve o a mos no us vacc nes eve yone and bu econom c e hus w econ cons uc on and n e na ona s de he p ans o make Spa n coope a on he home “ The UK s ou he e on s own He con nued “Th s s ve y wh e Spa n s pa o a b oc o wo y ng o mun c pa es ke coun es ha a e abou he p ng ou s wh ch has a ways a ac each o he ed e ees Those ha have Bu as a pos B ex expa n sad y d ed o e u ned o he UK Spa n now ee a wee b d e have no ma y been ep aced en desp e a he pos ve v bes by he nex yea s n ake and om he au ho es ove he e have kep ha demog aph c s as have had my mem s eady be sh p o he EU c ub un a y “W hou doub h s w now evoked a e nea y 50 yea s o change and ea o he nex devo ed oya y and no b eak 10 o 20 yea s as he numbe s ng any u es o UK es den s d m n sh and Repo s o B sh expa s be ng he consequences ha w w ong y u ned away a UK and have on oca bus nesses and Span sh a po s ove no hav he economy ” ng he gh D documen s was The O ve P ess w ca y on d g a ch ng ea y check g ng n o and exp a n ng a o s h s ea y he b ave new he p ac ca es o wha B ex wo d o B ex ? means o p esen and u u e The cha o B ema n n Spa n B sh c zens n Spa n Sue W son o d he O ve P ess The o d ph ase o dec s ons “A hough h s was n pa due have consequences has neve o COV D es c ons he ssue been ue han ha 2016 e e was ou ab y o p ove o he endum esu au ho es ha we a e ega es am u y saddened ha es den s – some h ng ha wou d sons om h s o y have been neve have happened be o e b ushed as de a ong w h a myo B ex p c UK v s on o he u u e wh ch “A hough h s was c ea y a w p obab y no be ove u ned ee h ng p ob em has he gh n my e me Bu w be o ened he eve o ea and s ess eve g a e u o my pa en s o be ng e by B sh es den s ” g v ng me he scope o ook we she added ou s de he coas a wa e s o A coup e o my Span sh ends he B sh s es and owa ds a egu a y ch de me n a un way ha mon ous wa ee Eu ope
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was shot by the Nazis. My parents became refugees after 1945 and chose the UK as their home. Of course they found life difficult for a few years arriving in a strange country unable to
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My dad became a teenage member of the Polish Resistance and his activities included blowing up German military vehicles. He also witnessed first-hand the death of his girlfriend after she
N
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A Spanish vision
January 14th - January 27th 2021
Talking trivia If you’re struggling to learn Spanish, take a break - the history of the world’s second mostspoken native language is a lot more fun, writes Cristina Hodgson
MASTERPIECE: Sorollo’s Antes de la corrida
A SOROLLA masterpiece seized as part of the Malaya anti-corruption probe in Marbella has gone under the hammer for €801,500. Antes de la corrida (Before the bullfight - above), painted in 1898, was sold in a week-long online auction in London, despite a company claiming ownership at a Malaga court in a bid to stop the sale. Early valuations had indicated it might be worth up to €3 million, but only three bids were made.
Ownership
Spanish businessmen Andres Lietor and Carlos Sanchez, owners of the company CCF21, each attempted to claim ownership of Joaquin Sorolla’s timeless masterpiece. Lietor is the son of a businessman convicted in the notorious Malaya corruption case that rocked Marbella. Spanish courts believe that the Sorolla masterpiece is one of several valuable paintings that were ‘gifted away’ in order to avoid confiscation to pay fines and compensation.
L
INGUAPHILIA. That’s not a sexual practice, it’s the love of language and Spanish is full of tantalising trivia. But that’s only to be expected considering Spanish grammar has been officially around since 1492, first published in a book by Antonio de Nebrija the same year Columbus discovered America. As the official language of 20 other countries it is the second most spoken lingo in the world, natively, after Chinese (Mandarin) and before English. It is additionally the third most used language on the Internet, after English and Chinese. It’s also an old language, basically a dialect of Latin, and it appears in texts that were written over 1,000 years ago. Las Glosas Emilianenses are among the earliest forms of written Spanish, believed to have been penned in 964 by an unknown monk at the Suso monastery in La Rioja. The texts comprise Spanish and Basque notes made in the margins of a religious Latin manuscript. As well as its 17 tricky tenses, gender-bending nouns and nasty irregular verbs, you may have discovered that the Spanish language also has some wacky onom a to p o e i a s , especially when it comes to the animal kingdom. Apparently pooches yap ‘wow -wow,’ feathered
friends tweet ‘pio-pio’, ‘iii-aah’ is the heehaw of a donkey and cockerels crows ‘ki-kiri-ki’ Meanwhile, a sneeze is ‘achí’, ‘chof’ a splash and ‘toc toc’ a knock on the door. Not quite essential to survival in Spain no doubt a residency card would come in much more handy - at least you can impress your new Spanish friends. On the plus side, Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn for native English speakers. Really! According to the experts, it takes around 22-24 weeks to achieve what they call ‘general professional proficiency’ in reading and speaking. However, you really know you’re picking up on the local Spanish lingo when you try to sit through an English documentary which has been dubbed into Spanish but you ironically don’t understand a word that’s being said. Curiously, your brain will instinctively try to pick out your mother tongue, which has been semi-silenced under the Spanish translation, and goes into overdrive filtering the two languages at once. Congratulations, you’re on your way to bilingualism, and you’ll never be able to watch a dubbed documentary ever again… And the fun doesn’t stop there. Once
you’ve gained speaking and reading proficiency, you still have to master the art of gesticulation. Discourse in Spain is accompanied by body language that can’t be ignored. You’ll find a lot of frantic hand movements going on (and often arms too), emphasising words, and the full gamut of facial expressions.
Flapping They may intimidate at first, these flapping arms, clicking fingers and peculiar gestures that seem to be an intrusion into your personal space, but don’t be offended. The gesticulations are part of the culture. You’re not being told off and it’s not a sign of disrespect. Remember, you’re only truly bilingual when you include your shoulders, arms, hands, eyes and even mouths in the conversation... And once you can do it without feeling like a total plonker, you’ll be a credible candidate for that residency card - or, at least, you’ll look the part. You might also appreciate that the correct pronunciation to ñ is roughly like an English ‘ny’ and you definitely don’t want to confuse año (year) with ano (anus). You’re welcome!
Lengua loca · 8 more fun facts: 2
As well as being rooted in Latin, Spa nish has been significantly influenced by nine centuries of Moorish words in its vocabulary have Arabic occupation, and over 8,000 na (olive), arroz (rice) and almohada roots - azúcar (sugar), aceitu(pillow), to name but a few. Spanish is the official language in 20 sovereign states and one dependent territory.
3
The first steps toward standardisat Spanish language as a whole) were ion of written Castilian (the taken in the 13th century by King Alfonso X of Castile.
4
Unlike other languages, the resembl and the modern written language is ance between Old Spanish so similar it makes medieval documents easy to read.
5
E is the most frequently used letter pearance on average in the writtenin Spanish with 13,68% aplanguage, while W is the least used, with only 0.01%.
6
The most used word in Spanish is the
7
According to the Spanish Royal Academ in the Spanish language, with 23 lettey (RAE), the longest word rs, is ‘electroencephalographico’ (a monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain).
8
Spanish is a phonetic language, whic h means that words are written as they are pronounced.
1
preposition ‘de’
LA CULTURA
Do you have a what’s on?
Masterful discovery
A PREVIOUSLY unknown work by El Greco has been discovered. The modest piece depicts Jesus Christ holding a wooden cross wearing a crown of thorns and gazing into the sky. The discovery was made after the death of a private collector. As his workshop was being cleared and organised, the painting was found rolled up in storage and covered in dust.
Send your informa tion to newsdesk@theolivepr ess.es
Unknown work by El Greco found rolled up and covered in dust Curious of the piece's origin, it was taken to the Center d’Art d’Època Moderna (CAEM) at the University of Lleida for critical analysis. Head of the authentication team, Ximo Company and the recently deceased Carmen Garrido spent two years metic-
ulously studying the painting (pictured right). During the studies, experts compared the brush work and style of the painting with other confirmed El Greco paintings, as well as dating the canvas and oils used in the piece. “It has been more than two
Empty halls SPAIN’S Museums have seen a fall of 70% in visitor numbers during 2020. COVID lockdown and the lack of school visits as well as an absence of tourists have been a hammer blow to the cultural sector, with a survey by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) reporting that 6% of galleries and museums will not reopen after the COVID crisis. The precipitous decline in visitors has been starkest at some of the most popular institutions, although these are probably too big to fail, relying as they often do on government hand outs. But they still need to budget for a massive drop in income. In Madrid, the Museo del Prado and the Museo Reina Sofia have seen falls in total income of 65% and 60%, respectively.
BLOW: Museums seen sharp decline In 2020 the Reina Sofia welcomed 1,248,486 visitors, 71.8% fewer than in 2019, when 4.4 million attended one of its three venues. Together with a reduction in entrance fees following its reopening, this has caused income from ticket sales to plunge by nearly 82%.
years of exciting work, studies and analysis,” said Ximo. "For us, to confirm this is an original piece is fantastic, and a great tribute to Garrido." Carmen Garrido was the founder and director of the Prado Museum’s Technical Documentation Cabinet, and recently passed away at the age of 73. According to the study, CAEM believes the piece was created by El Greco himself, rather than any of his students or workshops due to the style and quality of the painting. It is also understood that it may have served as an example for other works due to its small size. Domenikos Theotokopoulos, known by the Spanish as 'El Greco', was a sculptor, architect and painter that played an important part in the Spanish cultural renaissance in the 16th and 17th century. He lived and worked in the town of Toledo from 1577 until his death in 1614 at the age of 72.
The Times January 14th - January 27th 2021 Great Events: A Modern History Spanning 200 Years
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Fascists fall
VALENCIA city Guardia Civil have begun removing the last remaining Franco shields from their barracks. The move comes 13 years after the approval of the national Historic Memory Law, which among many other provisions enforced the removal of all symbols relating to the fascist dictatorship from public buildings. Of these, by far the most widely recognised is the pre-constitutional shield with the eagle that used to feature on the Spanish flag. This week, officers at Patraix barracks in Valencia city centre were the first to cover up the emblem with the current official shield, with Benimaclet and Cantarranas in the beach area to follow suit.
Shields have previously been taken down from schools, churches, and army headquarters, with a horseback statue of Franco himself removed from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento – formerly named Plaza del Caudillo – and stored in a warehouse. In addition, more than 50 street names have been changed from references to military and political figures of the regime and named after important figures of Valencian culture and history. The most widespread visual reference to the dictatorship still in evidence is the ‘yoke and arrows’ symbol of the Falange party, which remains at the entrance of blocks of council homes throughout the Valencia region that were built back in the day and are still in use.
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LETTERS
Too right!
WITH regard to Alex Trelinski’s online comment piece headlined The brave and uncertain new world of an EU-free United Kingdom. It was a really great report, especially the sentence where he wondered how those who voted for Brexit would react to the realisation of what it really means to their lives (or visits to ) Spain. I could not agree more. I moved out of the UK due to Brexit and became a resident of Spain, Thank you Spain.
year don’t miss:
Stunning, but was it worth €1.2 billion?
The local Spanish chefs with new ‘green’ stars
Festive check before the IT will come as a massive breath of revelry beginsfresh air for Gibraltarians in this
COVID-hit Christmas. fesWhile the pandemic is forcing at tive plans to change, there has least been some good news about the environment. See page 22 The latest figures from the Gibraltar is Government show that air quality at the best level since records began. Data provided by the EnvironmenRital Agency alongside UK firm of cardo’s shows that the two types dangerous particulate matter, PM10 deand the more dangerous PM2.5, creased in 2019. niof levels and This particle matter trogen oxide can cause chronic lung disease, reduce plant growth and even discolour furniture. published been The findings have of in the Government’s Department the Environment annual statistical report… and pollution is expected to have dropped considerably more this year.
See page 18
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GIANT SIZE: Malaga’s festive display is legendary
to a deal that is in line with j b S u we l y . o n principles e r s fundamental o m tthe brought into the negotiations.” UK health secretary, Matt Hancock claimed that ‘unreasonable demands’ from the EU over fishing rights had thrown a roadblock across negotiations. However, he remained hopeful that a deal could be reached by Christmas.
Festive plans wrecked for thousands
e c t
Deal
He said: “I’m sure that a deal can be done, but obviously it needs movement on the EU side.” If a deal is agreed in the next few days then there remains the possibility of it being ‘provisionally applied’ from January 1 until the EU parliament can meet later in the month. UK ministers meanwhile, have firmly ruled out extending the Brexit process into 2021. It comes after a group of MPs from all parties, plus London Mayor Sadiq Khan, had called for the Brexit transition period to be extended due to the pandemic and ALL AREAS COVERED slow progress on negotiations.
t o
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THOUSANDS of expats have had their Christmas plans ruined as Spain closed its borders to tourists from the UK. Spanish officials had called for an EU-wide response to the news that a virulent new strain – said to be 70% more contagious – was spreading through the South East of England. Spain has now decided to follow the lead of other European countries in restricting travel from the UK. The good news is that Spanish citizens and residents of the country will still be allowed to visit. It does not, however, help those expats who were gearing up for a visit from relatives. It comes as Gibraltar confirmed that it is the fifth country outside the UK to identify a case of the new mutated virus. Over a dozen countries - including Germany, France, Sweden and Denmark have suspended flights from the UK.
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infected persons has ALL of the Rock’s restau- up five times since the 37 rants, cafes, bars and gyms active cases recorded on have been closed from De- December 13 and is many cember 22 until January more than the previous re10 as the amount of active cord of 129. COVID cases reached un- While planes can continue precedented levels. to land, all visitors must A ‘major incident’ has now have a negative certificate been declared and the or take a test on arrival. authorities are set to reopen the Nightingale Field Border Hospital, as the enclave reached an alarming 209 Visitors from Spain will not active cases. face restrictions, however, In new rulings, masks are it is understood Spain is set to be worn in all public ar- to bring in new tougher reeas as the Gibraltar Gov- strictions on those crossing ernment took action to from the Rock. The country avoid having to order a full announced yesterday that lockdown. it was banning all tourA maximum of three house- ists from coming in from holds will be allowed to mix the UK after a new strain over Christmas, while all spread rapidly around the been has worship religious South East. stopped. The government blamed Elderly people have been the rapid spread on a parstrongly advised to stay at ticularly busy Black Friday. home. An angry protest from the Companies are being asked Gibraltar Catering Associto get staff to work remote- ation outside No.6 Convent ly, while it is thought un- Place on December 18 led likely that schools will re- to fines for organisers and open early in January. participants. It comes as the number of
Stunning, but was it worth €1.2 billion?
The Spanish chefs with new ‘green’ stars
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RUSSIAN MOB EXPOSED Mafia corruption probe ends in dozens of arrests of police and 96 649 politicians in1883 Valencia
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CORRUPT cops and politicians are among two dozen arrested in a major operation against the Russian mafia in Valencia. Several police officers and two local Partido Popular (PP) politicians were among the 23 cuffed in what has been described as the biggest sting against the Russian mob ‘for a decade’. Operation Testudo focused on the money laundering gang that mostly worked in the Marina Baixa area. A series of 18 raids led to arrests in Valencia City, Altea and Finestrat, while gang members were also rounded up in Alicante, Ibiza and Madrid. The investigation was launched in 2013, along-
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home park in the area. A Ukrainian IT expert, based in the San Juan area of Alicante, was also visited in the police raids. The so-called ‘hacker’ was previously arrested in 2018 for being the mastermind behind a gang of cyber thieves who stole over one billion US dollars from banks around the world. “The organisation planned to control key sectors of the Spanish economy and infiltrate state institutions, counting on lawyers, officials, politicians, businessmen and hackers,” said a police spokesman.
Luxury
“Profits from these criminal activities were invested in Spain in various businesses, mainly in leisure, hospitality and the real estate sector,” he added. He added the ‘main purpose’ of the criminal organisation was to ‘take over the nightlife and catering sector’, both on Spain’s eastern coast and in the Balearic Islands. The house raids netted 16 luxury cars, €300,000 in cash, virtual wallets with crypto currencies, diamonds, and an array of firearms. Numerous bank accounts and property See page 24 assets worth millions of euros have also been blocked.
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Vol. 4 Issue 96 www.theolivepress
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DOWN TO THE WIRE .es December 24th January
14th 2021
Johnson and von der to try to thrash out Leyen hold secret talks a trade deal
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HAPPY CHRISTMAS: better year for us all! May 2021 be a
Costa Blanca Sur - Issue 30 p shi ts We senbring r pre t !! you . Jus you r list for you
Stunning, but was it worth €1.2 billion?
See page 10
Festive plans wrecked
Festive plans wrecked THOUSANDS of expats have had their Christmas plans ruined as Spain closed its borders to tourists from the UK. Spanish officials had called for an EU-wide response to the news that a virulent new strain – said to be 70% more contagious – was spreading through the South East of England. Spain has now decided to follow the lead of other European countries in restricting travel from the UK. The good news is that Spanish citizens and residents of the country will still be allowed to visit. It does not, however, help those expats who were gearing up for a visit from relatives. It comes as Gibraltar confirmed that it is the fifth country outside the UK to identify a case of the new mutated virus. Over a dozen countries - including Germany, France, Sweden and Denmark - have suspended flights from the UK.
stocking this year don’t
The Spanish chefs with new ‘green’ stars
THOUSANDS of expats have had their Christmas plans ruined as Spain closed its borders to tourists from the UK. Spanish officials had called for an EU-wide response to the news that a virulent new strain – said to be 70% more contagious – was spreading through the South East of England. Spain has now decided to follow the lead of other European countries in restricting travel from the UK. The good news is that Spanish citizens and residents of the country will still be allowed to visit. It does not, however, help those expats who were gearing up for a visit from relatives. It comes as Gibraltar confirmed that it is the fifth country outside the UK to identify a case of the new mutated virus. Over a dozen countries - including Germany, France, Sweden and Denmark - have suspended flights from the UK.
1
side Europol, after a tip off that a series of shady Russian businessmen were influencing politicians to land lucrative real estate deals. The gang is said to have created shell-companies as a front for laundering money out of Spain to be used for international crimes include murder, drug-trafficking, human-trafficking, and extortion. Among those arrested were PP councillor for Benidorm, Lorenzo Martinez, and former PP president in Altea, Jaime Selles. They have been charged with ‘peddling influence’ alongside an Altea council official who was also detained. Alarmingly, two Guardia Civil officers and a Policia National detective were also arrested in the raids. The operation appears to have been run by a Russian solicitor, who masquerades as an Altea real estate agent. The 38-year-old was said to have ‘extensive local contacts’ and was seeking to build a luxury motor-
...and in your Olive Press
See page 3
CORRUPT cops and politicians are among two dozen arrested in a major operation against the Russian mafia in Valencia. Several police officers and two local Partido Popular (PP) politicians were among the 23 cuffed in what has been described as the biggest sting against the Russian mob ‘for a decade’. Operation Testudo focused on the money laundering gang that mostly worked in the Marina Baixa area. A series of 18 raids led to arrests in Valencia City, Altea and Finestrat, while gang members were also rounded up in Alicante, Ibiza and Madrid. The investigation was launched 2013, alongside Europol, after a in tip off that a series of shady Russian
A Ukrainian IT expert, based in By Alex Trelinski the San Juan area of Alicante, was also businessmen were influencing The visited in the police raids. politicians to land lucrative real ouslyso-called ‘hacker’ was previarrested in 2018 for being estate deals. the mastermind behind a gang The gang is said to have created of cyber thieves who stole over shell-companies as a front for one billion US dollars from banks laundering money out of Spain to around be used for international crimes “The the world. include murder, drug-trafficking, controlorganisation planned to key sectors of the Spanhuman-trafficking, and extortion. ish economy and infiltrate state Among those arrested were PP institutions, counting on lawyers, councillor for Benidorm, Lorenzo officials, politicians, businessEND TO A RUFF YEAR: At a Martinez, and former PP presi- men See page 22 and hackers,” said a police huge cost dent in Altea, Jaime Selles. spokesman. They have been charged with ‘peddling influence’ alongside an Altea council official who was also Luxury detained. “Profits from these criminal acAlarmingly, two Guardia Civil of- tivities were invested in Spain ficers and a Policia in various businesses, mainly in National detective leisure, hospitality and the real were also arrested estate sector,” he added. He added the ‘main purpose’ of in the raids. The operation ap- the criminal organisation was to Jávea / Altea pears to have been ‘take over the nightlife and cayorkshirelinencostablanca.com run by a Russian tering sector’, both on Spain’s solicitor, under eastern coast and in the Balearic the cover of being Islands. an Altea real estate The house raids netted 16 luxury cars, €300,000 in cash, virtual agency. The 38-year-old wallets with crypto currencies, diSALES & RENTALS SPECIALISTS amonds, was and said an array to have of firearms. See page 24 Moriara•Calpe•Jalon•Javea•Denia•Altea ‘extensive local Numerous bank accounts and contacts’ and was property assets worth millions of seeking to build a euros have also been blocked. www.moraira-hamiltons.net luxury motorhome park in the area. Opinion Page 6
Festive check before the revelry begins
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and hope Critical Brexit deadline missed a knife edge for a deal remains balanced on
By Dilip Kuner EXPATS in Spain have been c u s n e w f o r v a l i d e r O f f the left in Brexit limbo* after crucial deadline for a trade has the right to veto it. deal between the UK and EU The EU Council of Ministers was missed. 1 midnight on Sunday TheOlivePress-256x170-HOME02.indd inching to- had given Despite negotiators as the cut off point if they were wards an agreement, Sunday’s to have time to ratify the deal deadline passed with France in the EU parliament before sticking to its ‘red lines’ over the end of the year. fishing rights in British waters. Unless a spectacular breakHowever, as the clock ticks to- through is made, Britain will wards the UK’s departure from fall under World Trade Organthe EU on January 1, there still isation rules, with a range of remains hope that continuing tariffs being imposed, in just negotiations could avoid a no- over a week’s time. deal Brexit. deadline Despite the critical One of the main concerns for being missed, chief UK negotinegotiators - and the vast ma- ator, David Frost, and his EU jority of British expats in Spain counterpart, Michel Barnier, - is that all 27 EU nations must continued talks on Monday . agree to the deal...and France “Talks remain difficult and significant differences remain,” a source insisted on Monday. “We continue to explore every route
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CHRISTMAS PLANS SENT INTO DISARRAY gone
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December 22nd - January 12th 2021 Vol. 14 Issue 359 www.theolivepress.es
Festive check before revelry begins
See page 22
Mafia corruption probe ends in dozens of arrests of police and politicians in Valencia
...and in your Olive Press stocking this year don’t miss:
the Rock in years gone by HOW IT WAS: Murky air envelopes the GSLP/Liberal election victory. of By John Culatto “We were up against high levels pollution and fanning the possibility Contaminants of high level fines from the EU. cause a lot of the pollution “We have successfully dealt with all Air quality is now at EU-recom- which removed and the old powmended levels for the second year are being has now been decommis- of that and attained recorded levels that we must be very pleased with. running and closer to stricter World er station sioned. “Air pollution from power generaHealth Organisation standards. As a result air monitors will now has now been dealt with almost Other pollutants like benzene were to the north district to tion of entirely.” also down after the constructiongas be moved analyse and tackle pollution there. Both the LNG power station and a much cleaner liquid natural be affected by aeroplane enNorth could the It at station power moves towards more renewable the LNG exhaust. have been made to satisfy Mole. challenge the authorities ergy the While air quality is afflicted by re- The next to tackle is pollution from protocols of the Paris Agreement cliare trying and COP25 as they try to tackle nearby Campo de Gibraltar oil traffic and shipping in the bay. change. finery and chemical factory, bosses re- The first moves have already been mate Minister Cortes even runs a Climate have tried to do what they can to made with electric buses and post- Change portfolio within the governduce contaminants. vehicles being examined ment, the first time so much energy Meanwhile, temporary diesel pow- al delivery possible extended use. to saving the er generators in the south district for their “In 2011 we set has been dedicated out to tackle planet. still not happy with the different “I am of course, said Cortes, a foraf- our air quality,” strands campaigner environmental fecting our air mer quality,” said himself. shipping, See page 16 for “Traffic and, on occasions, Minister contributors, and the Environ- are now the main together to tackle work all must John we ment further.” Cortes about these and improve
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Merry Xmas to our readers...
See page 12
Familiar chaos
IT’S apparently another case of the rules being written on high and then never properly disseminated, or explained, to those who carry the can for applying them. It is evident a similar chaos exists in terms of the COVID -19 jab. A very large percentage of those who were supposed to get it, didn’t. In some cases less than 10% did - nowhere the projected 20%. The excuse was that Spain had extended holidays! The grim reaper, alas, like the virus, doesn’t take a holiday. Tell that to the folks cooped up in old folks’ care homes. Don’t even get into a discussion about the autonomous local tax offices who are essentially clueless about the prevailing tax rules - they just gouge and then if they are confronted, never admit to an error and defend their stance until the victim dies or moves away! Appeals are useless, costly and frustrating.
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So was it worth €1.2 billion?
The Olive Press online article reporting on how British residents of Spain were being denied entry to the country despite having all their paperwork in order proved to be a hot topic…
year don’t miss:
Stunning, but was it worth €1.2 billion?
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Government ‘pleased’ as air quality ‘best since records began’
Vol. 2 Issue 46 www.theolivepress.es December 23rd - January 13th 2021
The Spanish chefs with new ‘green’ stars
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December 21st - January 12th 2021 Vol. 5 Issue 138 www.theolivepress.es
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BORIS Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula der Leyen have been lockedvon in last-ditch secret talks to secure a Brexit deal. This was after expats lorca and the rest of in Malthe EU were left in a Brexit limbo THE Government of the the crucial deadline for after Balearic Islands deal between the UK a trade nounced that the has anand EU Level 4 was missed. coronavirus restrictions in Despite negotiators inching Mallorca will likely towards an agreement, tended until January be exdeadline passed withSunday’s This level is deemed 11. France the most sticking to its ‘red lines’ serious in the COVID-19 over fishing rights in British system and includes tier SECRET: Johnson and the von der Leyen have However, as the clock waters. harshest restrictions. been in contact ticks wards the UK’s departure toThese include a 10pm with the fundamental By Dilip Kuner the EU on January 1, therefrom few and a ban on the curples we brought into theprincistill remains hope that continuing negothe interior areas use of tiations.” of bars the end of the negotiations could avoid and restaurants which UK health secretary, a no- Since then year. also Matt Prime must close by 6pm deal Brexit. on FriJohnson and the von Minister Hancock claimed that ‘unreadays, Saturdays and der Ley- sonable demands’ One of the main en Sunfrom have been holding regular days. concerns for ne- ‘secret’ over fishing rights had the EU thrown President Francina gotiators - and the break phone calls in a bid to a roadblock across Armennegotiagol had said previously vast majority of Britishthe deadlock. tions. that the epidemiological British expats in today and EU negotiators are He said: “I’m sure situathat a deal trying to thrash out tion would be assessed Spain - is that all agreement an can be on over trade before needs done, but obviously it December 28 and 27 EU nations must they movement on the EU break for Christmas. island could return that the agree to the deal... Unless side.” to Level 3. and France has the through a spectacular break- If a deal is agreed then there is made, Britain will remains However, Armengol right to veto it. the possibility of it fall under World Trade revealed her plans to today The EU Council of isation Organ- being ‘provisionally extend applied’ the Level 4 restrictions Ministers had given tariffs rules, with a range of from January 1 until until the EU at least the second midnight on Sun- over being imposed, in just parliament can meet week of a week’s time. later in January. day as the cut off “Talks the remain difficult and UK month. She said: “Only a point if they were to significant ministers differences re- firmly ruled meanwhile, have drop in cases woulddrastic have time to ratify main,” out extending the me rethink this plan,make the deal in the EU “We a source said this week. Brexit process into but 2021. this is not likely.” parliament before routecontinue to explore every It comes after a group to a deal that is in line from of MPs Balearic Health Minister all parties, plus London Patricia Gomez has also asked Mayor Sadiq Khan, residents to avoid travelling had called for the to mainland Spain over the Brexit transition pefestive period. riod to be extended She said: “We recommend due to the coronaSee page 16 that you do not travel and virus pandemic and ask for maximum slow progress on nesibility in the face ofrespongotiations. crease in coronavirusan incases.” Opinion Page 6
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Irene M. Hiscock (Valencia) 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
No surprise FOR months the Spanish and UK authorities have been telling us that the oldstyle green paper residencia certificate would continue to be valid. While this is no doubt true, I for one - and I am sure many long term residents- was rather cynical about it. I think most of us have run up against funcionarios who would appear to make the rules up as they go. Rather than take the risk, I long ago got the new TIE identity card.
Jeanette Spinks (Alicante)
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1 Allied (5) 4 "Man on Fire" actor Washington (6) 8 Made suitable (7) 9 One under a Lt. Col. (5) 10 Long-term spy (4) 11 Dishonourable act (8) 13 Old permanent computer information store (1,1,11,1) 14 Back-pocket bottle (5) 18 Kentish resort (5,3) 20 Sudden shock (4) 23 One of the Schumanns (5) 24 Rattletrap, maybe? (7) 25 "What a pity!" (2,4) 26 Obscure (5)
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KEVIN Cash asked the question ‘Do we blame the architect for its shortcomings?’ (Clever-trava, the Olive Press last edition). Yes, we do, as well as the Valencian government and, its trained staff for these outrageously expensive and badly designed buildings. Overall,they are not fit for purpose. Recently, the long closed L. Hemispheric building has undergone an extensive and costly overhaul. What is the purpose of this building? The Opera House has many flaws - basically it leaks - and, so the inner concrete is damp marked. It has dangerous, slippery glass flooring both outside and inside the building. There is little to no lighting of the steep flight of steps to and from the Opera House and, there is a wind tunnel effect outside the building. The stalls part of the auditorium has poorly lit steps which cause people holdups: something which is unsafe should there be a fire. The stalls row and seat numbers are difficult to read and the rows are inadequately raked for good vision, which is also hampered by not adhering to the ‘alternate-head principle’ in rows. OLIVE These design failures indicate the lack or conPRESS sideration of the needs of the users of the Opera House. Calatrava is typical of the ‘head in the clouds’, vanity project generation of architects where RUSSIAN extraordinary external appearance of a buildMOB ing is all important and outweighs any common sense, practical user needs, as well as the EXPOSED initial cost and the expense of upkeep of the OLIVE buildings. PRESS The
Anthony Innes (via email)
The Christmas crackers in your Olive
January 14th - January 27th 2021
Yes we do!
Dear Olive Press,
The
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1 Body of bees (5) 2 Rang on an older phone (7) 3 Often joined to make a picture (4) 4 Sometimes called "The capital of the Black Country" (6) 5 Mathematical figures (8) 6 Savour (5) 7 With irony (5) 12 Fixture for Arsenal at the Emirates (4,4) 15 Bent over (7) 16 Throw (5) 17 Hip-hop artist (6) 19 River straight (5) 21 Cheap-sounding (5) 22 Bad weather for sailing (4)
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IT’S BEHIND YOU! ... But it wasn’t all doom and gloom in 2020, as the Olive Press round-up of the year clearly shows. Kirsty McKenzie makes the picks
It was perhaps the worst year for a century. For most people, at least this one so far. But amid the car crash wreckage that was 2020, we
found plenty of lighter shades...and even with the bad stuff we were there for you every step of the way. In many ways the year was a battle
Mijas Costa
POLITICAL uncertainty in Spain finally came to an end just in time to usher in 2020. Hopes were high that the new socialist coalition government of Pedro Sanchez could get the country – and its economy – booming after two years of minority rule by the Partido Popular had hamstrung any meaningful decisions by government. A first warning that the forces of nature could overwhelm man came within two weeks as Storm Gloria swept across Spain, with the Baleares particularly hard hit when 14-metre high waves lashed the coast, as the Mallorca Olive Press reported (Issue 72). Twelve people died in the natural disaster. There was some good news when a controversial project to drill 14 gas wells and build a 70km pipeline in the heart of the iconic Doñana National park was thrown out by the supreme court.
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Diving in ONE of the world’s leading experts on swimming pool deaths has flown to Spain to investigate the tragic drownings of three British citizens on Christmas Eve. Allen Wilson, a health and safety expert who has worked on numerous drowning cases around Europe, arrived on the Costa del Sol yesterday. He told the Olive Press last night he believed the pool, where British tourists Gabriel Diya, 52 Comfort Diya, nine, and Praise-Emmanuel Diya, 16, died on Christmas Eve, was ‘hazardous’. He insisted the Club La Costa World (CLC) resort in Fuengirola - which he is set to visit this week - was ‘most likely to blame’ for the shock deaths of the trio. Wilson claimed the pool’s design with just one floor ‘outlet’ – instead of two – could have created an ‘excessive suction vacuum’ and dragged them under water. It flies in the face of the Guardia Civil’s official investigation, which Continues on Page 2
AT LAST: Spain has a government
Vol. 13 Issue 338
There’s a whole year ahead. Contact us if you missed your copy of our annual wall planner
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Vol. 13 Issue 334 www.theolivepress.e s January 8th - January 21st 2020
FINALLY! The nearly man becomes the Main forms a government in Spain after Man, as Pedro Sanchez a turbulent two year wait
EXPERT: Allen Wilson
OVERWHELMED: Podemos’ Pablo Iglesias in tears after the coalition victory It was no surprise who voted against the In his letter, he referred to the two coalition, with 165 MPs from the Partido left-wing men’s desire to look beyond ‘the eternal issue’ shared Vox, Ciudadanos, Junts per Catalunya, Popular, of soverNavarra eignty and he extended the hand of Suma and others saying ‘no’. friendship on behalf of the people of Gibraltar. The left erupted into applause, with some shedHe also offered his support for the ding tears, when it was revealed that promotion of Sanchez had ‘policies based on the principle of clinched the vote. dialogue, understanding and co-operation between Representatives screamed ‘si, se our repuede!’ while spective people’. Sanchez hugged Iglesias, who was photographed Key to Sanchez’s victory was the abstention in tears. Spain’s most recent election of the pro-independence Catalan Republican fourth in as many years as the country was the Left party failed to (ERC), which agreed to sit out the form a cohesive government. vote after Sanchez vowed to find a solution to the “It’s great news for Spain,” leading political expat flict that has dogged Spain since Catalunya’s conist, Sir Ian Gibson told the Olive Press. Hispanseparatist regional government tried to “There are going to be lots of compromises, secede in 2017. but also solutions.” He added: “Sanchez is an amazing Terrorists man and it’s remarkable to think he stuck it out The government’s after being opponents argue Sanchez’ kicked out of his own party and then ‘Frankenstein government’ will be came fighttoo ing back. to Catalan separatists and pose a threat beholden “He has the qualities of a true national unity. While Sanchez appealedto Spain’s for calm, statesman and speaks very well. He and called on MPs to overcome the ‘atmosphere of will be a great asset for Europe.” irritation’, his adversaries went on the offensive. Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian PP leader Pablo Casado, accused him of being an Picardo also sent a letter of con‘extremist’ who had left the country’s future in the gratulation to Sanchez on being hands of ‘terrorists and coup-mongers’. re-elected, after ‘a tortuous and In a tweet sent after the vote, Sanchez fractious debate’. “Spain is entering a time for defending wrote: dialogue and useful politics. A government for all people that restores co-existence and fights for tice. Today is the dawn of a time of social jusmoderation, progress and hope.” Spain’s new coalition is expected to roll out a policy of raising income tax for people in Spain who earn more than €130,000.
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February 6th - February 19th 2020
Take a visit to Spain’s secret Acropoli
See page 10
Oh and it’s Valentines Day, chaps! Don’t Forget Find our romantic recipes inside
LIFE ON THE EDGE, See page 5
See page 14
NATURAL FORCES: From Mallorca storms to (inset) deer in Doñana
T
Your
INES: TWO SPANISH HERO Franco One who escaped infamous to another whose ted by name has been adop n statio a train
his was the month that coronavirus reared its ugly head. What had seemed a problem for far away China became a plague
on our own doorsteps. In the same issue (left) that we celebrated the achievements of women for International Women’s Day, we report-
of ten PLUS: The opinions celebrate leading ladies to en’s Day International Wom
inside 23 A special four-page pullout www.theolivepress.es
March 2020
WE CAN DO ANYTHING! Over a century after International Women’s Day first started, Karen Livermore asks, are things really any better in 2020? media giants, companies, politicians and stars. Being male, rich and powerful was suddenly no longer a shield. Out of it has come a real effort to shift, not only
unpalatable men from their positions, but the views they represent, from public acceptance. Things that matter to and affect women, are finally
Last getting heard, and action women is still alarming. months is being taken. But there is year was a dark 12 kistill so far to go. We may be in Spain with 55 women or ex celebrating the downfall of lled either by partners figure Harvey Weinstein, and the partners. The highest only the shaming of Placido Domin- since 2015. It's not figugo over his admission of se- country where these in xually harassed women, but res are rising. However,Vox the in Saudi Arabia women are a disturbing move for cuts still high fiving their right to party is lobbying genown a passport without the in funding to combat consent of a male guardian. Continues overleaf Gender violence against
We needed to change the work culture
Women on the frontline in Spain Let’s raise a glass to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020 or, as we say in Spain, Día Internacional de la Mujer. Ten women in Spain from all walks of life share their views and inspirational stories
in that we needed to change the work culture and in doing so society if we wanted to see advances the field of equality. Ana Botín, “Since then these ideas have been reflected in the President of equal opportunity policies that we first pushed for in Banesto, then in Santander in the UK and more the Santander in the Santander group as a whole,” she banking group recently continued. “In that speech I emphasised the becompany. And with data Botín made an honorary nefits of diversity in the I explained that having from different studies, more women in managerial positions, apart from being fair, was good for business. Besides talent, the first Award for Responsible Capitalism after women bring skills to business that complement taking the helm the year before. those of men – better interpersonal communicaAna, 59, is also a pioneer. The first woman to run tion, cooperation, horizontal thinking and a capaa major European bank, she’s been ranked eigth city to really listen as well as more empathy and on the Forbes’ list of World’s Most Powerful Wo- the ability to prioritise.” men. Within her corporation, this financial whizz Botín has also introduced a life-work balance has made a point of boosting female direction, ai- scheme because, ‘one of the keys to equal opporming for 30% of its CEOs to be women by 2025 tunities lies in domestic work.’ (they currently account for 20%). Beyond 2025, She said: “For men to increase their share of this the aim is technical equality, which means a 60%- responsibility, we need public policies that allow 40% ratio, irrespective of gender. for greater flexibility in the workplace.” In an article she published on her LinkedIn page Ana is adamant there will be no discrepancy in in response to a debate over her feminist creden- salaries between male and female staff members tials, she wrote, “I have spent years as an execu- taking on equal responsibility in a banking institutive; years in which I have seen enough to knowa tion that is ranked 16th in the world. that in general women don’t get a fair deal… In Forbes magazine also notes that Botín has a pospeech delivered to a room full of men in Bilbao licy of ‘backing small companies and companies in 2008, I talked about the importance of women owned by women’. acting with more confidence in ourselves and
ot only was Ana dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the N Financial sector in 2015, she was also awarded
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I was absolutely speechless,” Maria told the Olive Press. “Articles from the Olive Press came up over a number of years about dogs dying in transit and other problems. I then found Jeremy insisting one poor client’s dog had died because it was ‘overweight and fat’.” She continued: “Most pet transporters I’ve known are amazing and will bend over backwards for a beloved pet, but this man is an utter crook.” She immediately cancelled the order and asked for a refund for the January 25 trip. However, when no refund was made, she was forced to shell out an extra €275 for a separate transport company to deliver her kitten.She has now made a
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N equal world is 1911, so now in a new cenan enabled world. tury and a new decade are This is the theme of we making a difference? to International Wo- At first glance, it’s easy something men's Day 2020. On March say yes. There’s like real 8 the spotlight turns to wo- in the air that feels and men throughout the world change. The #metoo were who are striving for gender #timesup movements where parity in the workplace, in a palpable moment being only their businesses, in sports, women were not were in culture and arts, and in heard, but their voices powerful. They were calling their communities. The movement started in out previously untouchable
Expat pet transport scoundrel emerges again after years working below the radar around Spain
SOCIAL media recommendations can be life-saving – but for one over-trusting Costa Blanca expat a post led her into the hands of an alleged serial conman. The recommendation for a pet transport company on Facebook saw Maria Vila lose €350 to a firm she claims is a ‘scam’ and operating ‘without appropriate licences’. The 43-year-old had contacted Pet Taxi Transport to arrange the travel of her cat from London to her home in Spain in January. Despite further checks she paid the company in full to bring her kitten, a Cornish Rex called Gatsby to her villa in Gandia, Valencia. It was only when owner Jeremy Griffiths (above right) refused requests to provide basic company information that Vila became suspicious. “I then put his name into Google to find his company website, and
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BREXIT dominated the news as the UK officially left the EU and Olive Press reporters were out and about to see what people thought of the news. Perhaps unsurprisingly the vast majority of expats we spoke to were remainers and drowning their sorrows, with one calling Brexit ‘a f***k up’ Meanwhile, Barry and Marion Joyce had taken on the might of Rothchild bank when they found themselves on the verge of losing their Costa del Sol home after a ‘dodgy’ investment sold to them left them owing thousands. A Malaga court ordered the bank to repay them every penny in a ruling that potentially affected dozens of other home owners. And a warning (right) was put out against an OLIVE expat ‘pet taxi serPRESS vice’ with one Costa Blanca reader claiming to have lost out on €350 after she cancelled Back to his a transportation trip for her cat after old tricks reading Olive Press reports of animals dying en route with Pet Transport Limited. The
WINNERS/LOSERS: UK and Brexit and (below) the Joyces
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5, starting on April With Semana Santa are worried about businesses in Spain busiest weeks will whether one of Spain’s idis go ahead as normal. visitors traditionally More than a millionand Malaga combined descend on Sevilla eurs restaurat and Week. during Holy NERVOUS hoteliers es for the devasSpain’s Gross Domestic A total of 14% offrom tourism, according are bracing themselv us could have on Product comes Travel Commission. tating effect coronavir industry. to the European fear Spain’s tourism Eduardo Santandtourist chiefs who It’s Executive Directorof the virus on EuThey are joined by Semana Santa week, er said: “The impact seaa major hit to critical massive — we’re start of the holiday tourism will be which heralds the Airways, ropean losses.” the of the company that owns Britisha drop in talking about big son. surge in cases here, has seen its number But despite the has yet to issue travel any It comes as Spain 150, with the number in Vueling and Iberia suffering of 9%, the highest UK authorities country, as Spain has cases soar to over almost overnight. value of more than warnings to the Madrid doubling analytics firm Forward- company in the Ibex 35. Associat with Italy. that onal Air Transpor Data from travel nal flights booked The Internati that the virus outbreak will doneUK Foreign Office simply insistsaddiwith any Keys shows internatio were down al- tion estimates more than €26 billion in The comply US the should and travellers put in place by from the UK period up until cost the sector screening measures most 20% for a five-week es. 2020. Ralph Hollis- tional authoriti analyst, most Spanish 23. the the and Travel and tourism is February football may be Easyjet, Ryanair said: “If the virus British Airways, all started cancelling ter, from GlobalData impact by the end Meanwhile, the same see page 4 Lufthansa have and those to China. still having could start to inflights within Europey cut prices in order of April, cancellationsas consumers deem a rapid rate Opinion Page 4 Some have drasticall with Ryanair reducing crease atto their health to be greater than to fill empty seats,25%. the risk for a holiday.” flights to Italy by ing too, with IAG, their need Stocks are plummet By Dimitris Kouimts
48.1% REMAIN
RELIEVED: Pedro Sanchez after the vote PEDRO Sanchez has become Spain’s prime minister after winning a second official vote of confidence yesterday.
The PSOE leader will govern the country for the next four years, after an agonizing two-year wait and three general elections. Acting prime minister Sanchez, 47, from Madrid, was forced to recall MPs to sit for the over the weekend to confirm his victory. first time It was his second attempt at an investiture vote since the PSOE won the most seats in December’s general election, but failed to win an overall majority. The vote saw MPs in Spain’s congress vote either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to Sanchez’s proposed left-wing coalition government, propped up by Pablo Iglesias’s Podemos party and a host of other parties. After a heated afternoon session, he won a knifeedge victory of 167 votes against 165, while 18 MPs, the majority from Catalunya, abstained. It means Sanchez will preside over the first coalition government in Spain since 1977 after the death of dictator Franco. The PSOE is propped up by MPs from Unidos Podemos, PNV, Más País, Compromís, Galego Nationalist Block, Teruel Existe and Nueva Canarias.
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denuncia to the Guardia Civil and reported Griffiths to Malaga under 24 hours in advance and was therefore ‘not entitled’ to a Trading Standards (OMIC). But without any registration de- refund. tails it will be difficult to see re- However clause 11 of the contract, seen by the Olive Press, makes no sults. “I’m determined to stop this mention of cancellations and instead details what will happen in man,” insisted Vila. “He is so dodgy, using his moth- the event no person is present to er’s address and an English mo- receive a pet. bile number.” When contacted by the Olive Heart-attack Press, Griffiths was unrepentant and insisted his business was reg- He said the money would be used istered in the UK – however Com- to help bring over a pet ‘for charipanies House has no record of the ty’ in the future. It comes after Dianne Lunt, from company ever existing. A spokesperson for the UK’s De- Marbella, said her pet pug suffra Transport Compliance Team fered a heart-attack while in tranconfirmed in emails that there is sit under Griffiths from Spain in ‘no transporter authorisation for 2013. Another expat, Alec Strathern, Mr Griffiths’. Griffiths, based in Torre del Mar, also denounced Pet Taxi Transnear Malaga, added Maria had port after claiming his three dogs ‘violated clause 11’ of the com- were transported in a van without pany’s contract as she cancelled ‘air conditioning’ and with holes in the floor.
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And Benidorm police provided one of the best picture opportunities of the month, with ‘Quedate en casa (Stay at home) written in giant letters on the beach. On a lighter note, Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas (right) was revealed as a Bond girl in the latest planned blockbuster Never say Die. The movie itself became a coronavirus casualty, with its release postponed until later this year.
MARCH
WRITING’S ON THE SAND: Police in Benidorm carved out this strikingly strong and simple message
12
www.theolivepress.es THE arrival of May brought some much needed hope for the people of Spain as the pace of the virus slowed and adults were allowed to exercise outside for the first time in seven weeks. The country had had put up with some of the strictest lockdown regulations in Europe and the chance for people to head out into the great outdoors was a much needed breath of fresh air.
april AL ISSUE THE EXPAT SURVIV
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Your expat
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April 1st - April 14th, 2020
Dance your way to business success at home see p6
The best Spanish shows to get you through the long days at home
While the army is on the streets, 8,000 have died, millions of jobs are at risk and everyone is on a four-week lockdown, there are...
see p10
LIFE OF BRIAN: Always
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...REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL Global warming reverses slowing Infection rates are up New shelves are finally No weeds in the garden e Parking spaces everywher
Top From Joe to Ulysses... thesee p11 10 tomes to catch up on
Price of petrol is down Wuhan’s back to work Bees are buzzing
e Quarantinis in abundanc be back Kane and Son will soon
The best nearby escapes the lockdown ends see p11
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Even advice from Oprah see p22
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Vol. 13 Issue 346 www.theolivepress.es June 24th - July 7th 2020
A DANGEROUS paedophile believed to have snatched English tot Maddie McCann visited southern Spain on many occasions. German pervert Christian Brueckner hid out in the Alpujarras region of Granada often dealing drugs, the Olive Press can sensationally reveal. According to his best friend, an Austrian who lived in the area for many years, he even visited just two or three weeks after Maddie went missing. Michael Tatshl, who spent eight months in prison with Brueckner, now believes he is guilty of the murder of Madeleine. Having spent 14 hours being grilled by police over the crime, he spoke to the Olive Press for the first time to explain why. “He was a real pervert and talked about selling children to Morocco, I am pretty sure he did it,” he said this week. Micha, 46, who lived in Orgiva for over a decade, revealed that Brueckner had visited the town on many occasions in his jaguar and various vans.
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Your expat
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Pic by Joshua Parfitt
Christian SEEN THEM:Van or paedophile taken Maddie? Brueckner, believed to have
INTRIGUING: Various witnesses
MOCKERY d Maddie get out of a VW van
swore to police they saw three-year-ol
Demands from victims as convicted holiday rentals conman avoids prison AND paying back stolen fees of A BRITISH couple conned out €2,800 through a fake holiday web-a site have turned detective and had Spanish fraudster convicted. However, the angry holidaymakers the are now demanding action after to conman with Valencia links failed court a despite return their money, order. The couple, Lucia and Peter Myers, both 54, from London, are furious one that Alvaro Lopez Uribe only paid installment out of an agreed 11, after being found guilty of the elaborate scam. to A Spanish court sentenced Uribe six months jail for ruining their holiday in Mallorca last year and then he condition on term suspended the re-paid the couple. But Uribe has now declared himself insolvent and the court has therefore declared the case over. “I thought that the lockdown might have been why we have had no payan ment for months, but then I got email informing us that the matter was now ended,” IT specialist Lucia told the Olive Press this week. a She and husband Peter, who runs
and go into the Tunnels Restaurant
in Alcossebre in May 2007
EXCLUSIVE By Dilip Kuner
computer business, had handed over for the cash via a bank transfer to pay a one-week stay at an upmarket villa near Palma, in 2017. due But just the day before they were was to fly out, they were told the villa no longer available. with travelling were who couple, The now conman is ‘bankrupt’ convicted over villa rental but their two children, Julia, 15 and Alicia, Brit Lucia had Uribe (right) nine at the time, were forced to book SCAMMED: ed. “This puts us off visiting Spain. – the end of the case,” she said. another villa. she Scams like this are not good for One of them turned up in Mallorca During the two year investigation it harder for Incredibly, on an internet search with their two children to find they compiled a huge dossier of informa- authorities should make a last minute rental they were offered ac- conmen.” had nowhere to stay. tion – including details of a bank to the court by the actual villa by the real owners and of a Determined that no-one else should count in Valencia that was also used A home address given told that they had been the victims managed she in Granada appeared empty site, the Uribe to fall victim by the same scammers. classic scam that has caught hundreds Ol- to have it closed down after making “The authorities in Spain don’t seem this week. they Press Olive out over the last few years, as the the told she con- Neighbours an official complaint. time’. An ive Press has frequently warned.“It She also went to the Guardia Civil, to take this very seriously,” big had not seen him for ‘some lettings tinued. “But to my mind this is a turned out these scammers had simofficial address for his ‘holiday in- which eventually took on the case, crime. How much money has been business’ turned out to be empty with ply stolen the pictures from the with Lucia twice flying out as a wit- stolen from innocent people?” ternet and set up a fake site,” Lucia ness to Granada. local businesses saying they had never Uribe claimed he was not guilty heard of him. explained. paid the expenses, but While court behind “The as were refused figures was shadier and other money to be returned I think the defendant’s lawyer was the scam, she believes he should pay there were no funds in the account. Opinion Page 6 is convictsurprised to see me. If I hadn’t Lucia managed to find two other cou- turned up, that would have been the for the crime for which he ples who had fallen for the same scam.
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Lawyer appeals to EU over ‘illegal’ lockdown claims that infringe civil rights and make Spain a ‘de facto dictatorship’
a total whitewash particularly
A SPANISH lawyer has complained to the European Parliament that By Dilip Kuner the country’s coronavirus lockdown rules are illegal. Jose Ortega believes the rules - which tion to the current state of alarm deare more draconian than other Euro- cree. “The government has illegally intropean countries, such as Germany, UK and Italy - are an infringementthe duced a very dangerous and disturbof ing system of suspension civil liberties. of individual rights that could be described as a The Valencia-based lawyer has sent de letter to the Human Rights sub-com-a facto transitional dictatorship,” insistmittee demanding that the basic right ed Ortega, who is best known for his of movement is added as a modifica- work opposing new coastal laws. The letter received by MEP Leopoldo
with cleaners like this on our
streets, see full story on page
Lopez, who sits on the sub-committee, focuses on the restrictions to travel and the right to basic ‘outdoor activity’, where risks of catching or passing on the virus are low. “It is an effective suspension of right to free movement,” insisted the Ortega. “It is a fundamental right of the individual contained in the European Convention on Human Rights and in other international human rights treaties and, of course, in the Spanish Constitution.” He added that under Spanish law citizens had the right to appeal to the courts against any clauses in the state of alarm. But as the courts have all closed down as part of the emer-
10
Photos by Jon Clarke
MUST LET US OUT! CARRIED AWAY: Easter was
May 14th - May 27th 2020
EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Parfitt
A BRITISH expat has urged the public to ‘take coronavirus seriously’ after catching the lethal virus twice in two months. Ian Tanner, who has lived on the Costa Blanca for three years, has suffered permanent lung damage from the disease. The former maintenance business owner, 62, who lives in Orihuela Costa, tested positive to COVID-19 last Friday - some seven weeks since he was first diagnosed - and recovered - on March 25. It comes after he had felt fine for over a month, but then went back to doctors complaining of what he thought was a blood clot in his arm. Medics at the private Hospital Quironsalud Torrevieja instead found he had a lung
gency this is not possible, so therefore depriving people of their rights. The news comes, as it emerged that over 650,000 people had been fined in Spain for breaking the rules of the lockdown. The majority of these were for minor offences, such as not having a receipt
at a supermarket or walking a dog more than 200m from homes. In most European countries, including Germany, the UK and France, citizens are allowed to take exercise outside their homes. Even in Italy at the height of the pandemic, people were allowed to take exercise once a day. In Sweden, social distancing rules only prevent meetings of groups of more than 50 people. It is however unlikely that the European Parliament will take any action against Spain at the moment. MEP Lopez, of the PP party, confirmed to OK Diario that the sub-committee on human rights had received the complaint, but admitted that the procedure was wrong. He insisted that Ortega first had to send the letter to the Petitions Committee, which is the ‘competent body’ to register this type of citizens’ request. However, he has since replied to Ortega, saying that the committee is now ‘studying his case’.
SURVIVORS: from Naghmeh (left) to medical miracle IanTanner (right) oh, and Cher of course!
UNE was the month that British tourists returned to Spain for the first time in nearly 12 weeks. International travel soared as air bridges were established and cultural hot spots like the Alahambra in Granada and The Prado museum in Madrid, once again opened their doors to visitors. It wasn’t just the tourist industry making a killing - author Luke Jennings cut through the noise to reveal that his character Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer in the hit tv show, Killing Eve was based on Idoia López Riaño, a Spanish ETA hitwoman also known as La Tigresa. Meanwhile the capture of Britain’s Most Wanted Louis Robinson in Murcia was one of our biggest stories of the month. The 25-year-old who vaulted the dock and fled court moments after he was sentenced for attempted burglary in the UK was arrested by armed Spanish police in Murcia after a six-year manhunt. Another major scoop saw us exclusively reveal that Maddie snatcher suspect Christian Brueckner hid out in Granada hills just three weeks before the youngster went missing. We tracked down the German pervert’s best friend Michael Tatschl, who revealed shocking details about his time living with sick Brueckner, even revealing that he believed his former pal was responsible for the three-yearold’s murder. Finally we reported how one British expat couple were conned out of €2,800 through a fake holiday website (story left). Lucia and Peter Myers, both 53, were left livid when the conman convicted of duping failed to repay the money he stole by filing for bankruptcy.
infection and permanent scarring. He took a COVID-19 test and found he was positive again. “I was walking around, going to the shops, it was horrendous,” Tanner, from Kent, told the Olive Press. “It’s terrible to think I had my three grandchildren come to stay for 10 days and I was cuddling them without knowing. “And all the time I was positive.” It comes after Tanner was initially hospitalised and tested positive for COVID-19 on March 25. His wife Sue had been hospitalised the day before, and was ‘within a whisker’ of dying after she suffered double pneumonia. “Thank Christ
From Page 1
Opinion Page 6
she pulled through,” said Ian. While Sue, 62, spent 17 days in the Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja, medical staff sent Ian home after just four days under daily supervision saying he had made a full recovery. They even told him he would be safe to go out after two weeks. The 14-day self-isolation period was supposed to end on April 11 – nearly a month before Ian tested positive once again to COVID-19 by PCR, the standard testing procedure for the virus. During the two weeks of isolation he didn’t go out and only had twice-weekly visits from a nurse. “When you come out of
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Numbers of Brits home in making a new as Spain jumps 500% time runs out
is hit by a expect when a country or political crisis.” and 2018. ing between 2016 escape is part of major economicDaniel Tetlow said His colleague & The great expat across Europe, that the rise was a ‘striking commitBy Simon Wade scrambling to embed’. a wider trend seen BRITS have been revealing that the ment to integrate or socially Kirsty McKenzie in Spain with the with researchers observing a to take up make a new life of and cer- number of Brits hurrying has soared He continued: “We’re the country as in to the costas for sun, sandvote. n and a redefining numbers registering EU state jumping fivefold EuropeBrexit citizenship in an 73,642 phenomeno their new home tainty following the WZB Social Sci- by 500%, with a whopping UK in what it means to be British from the the run up to Brexit. of people moving away from the an.” revealed that over Research half of intershowed an average New research has for a residen- ence Center from the UK sought 2016-18. During the research, to leave applied chose popular expats they most 20,000 year be- While Spain was the viewees revealed ) as part of the 2,300 people in Spain each Germany and the UK quickly, showing ‘increased cy card (residencia SPECIALISTS and country following residency and 2015. destination for Brits, rise in SALES & RENTALS rush to stay in the 2016. tween 2008 saw a significant from impulsiveness, spontaneity 2016, in also in France a arriving a•Denia•Alte the referendum popular place for But after the referendum times the risk-taking.’ back in the number of expatsshores. Moriara•Calpe•Jalon•Jave to leave the EU Spain is the most according to the the number rose by five British Brits registerthat Brits votedwhile the country officialBrits to move to, fleeing amount, with 21,250 The spike suggests and Brits of 2016 Britain remains data, with thousands the referendum results a transito ly left in January, iltons.net EU rules during the end vote prompted Brits www.moraira-ham offi- bound by make their move was tion period that lasts until cial before Brexit SPECIALISTS of 2020. lived CONDITIONING many Brits have finalised and freedom to For years, in Spain without forPLUMBING & AIR of movement came and worked but uncertainty an end. basic Auer mally registering, thousands are SPECIAL Co-author Daniel EAS Electric 25 A++ over new rules means resito preserve their cold said: “The uncertainOFFER* Brexit scramblingemployment status. Inverter hot and ty surrounding dency and n successfully caused Brits installatio certainly 21,250 has Standard between peo- Despite E U R O P E LT D large numbers of bags securing a residence card in Spain registering € (inc IVA) ple to pack their 555 965 770 639 2016 and 2018, an uphill struggle (+34) E: ALICANT in both directions.” in- has now become Olive Press closer. 952 426 560 call and mention He added: “Thesemag- for many as Brexit looms Press readers, Simply MALAGA: (+34) 6 are of a *Available to Olive Page creases 570 tape: 651 red by 1772 would Torture | Bathroom Fitting nitude that you PRESTON: (+44) Air Conditioning Heating | Electrics o.uk Gas and Oil Central www.moversint.c | Solar Energy om Inspection | Pool movers.int@gmail.c Certification &
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that condition, you think ‘I am immune, the virus has gone’,” Ian, who said he had no significant medical history, added. “But of course it hadn’t. If it wasn’t for this lung infection, I’d still be out there talking
and possibly infecting friends, POLICE have rescued a He was unconscious and had a probably without a mask on. 24-year-old man who fell off large “The Spanish health system his horse – and then fined him. He six-inch cut on his head. Police were called by the man’s ical was given immediate med- saved my wife’s life, but it’s riding partner, who was in a ferredaid before being trans- a worry they’re not testing to Castellon Hospital by patients again regularly after state of extreme nervousness helicopter. they leave hospital.” and could barely point agents Police in the direction of his injured who later fined both men, Ian thought Spain was dohad broken coronavirus ing a ‘good job’ to combat friend. quarantine rules by going out COVID-19 but his bizarre Finally, on a steep hillside in for re-infection and asymptomatthe backwaters of Castellon Thea horse ride together. horses also lacked an ic response made him wonder they found the injured rider Equine surrounded by blood on a nar- ment, Identification Docu- ‘how can this end?’ a microchip and did not He believed he picked up the row path. have obligatory vaccines. first infection from a casino he and his wife visited on March 12.
THINGS warmed up in the Costas as Spain enjoyed record temperatures, with sweltering heat waves hitting the likes of Malaga, Estepona and Coin. Celebrities came out in their droves to soak up the sunshine with the biggest names from sport, music and film fled to Marbella and Ibiza. Rita Ora and footballers Dele Alli and OLIVE James Maddison PRESS were among those basking in the soaring temperatures but where the stars go the rest of us follow - stats revealed that the number of Brits making a new home in Spain had jumped 500% since the Brexit vote in 2016. Even far-right ex96 649 1883 tremist Tommy Movers Robinson was momentarily temptCOSTA BLANCA
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MIRACLE: Sue and Ian Tanner, (right) recovering at home this week
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British expat grandad gets coronavirus TWICE in two months
August. Brits represent 21.6% of the to Spain each year, contributing the foreign tourists coming lion’s share of the €92 billion raked in by the industry in 2019. Currently, people flying into Spain must be either returning citizens or residents or have a justified reason for doing so. It is not yet known when Spain’s borders international tourism. While officially will be reopened to ders are to remain closed until May the land and sea bor24, that is likely to be extended until June 8.
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AS the coronavirus lockdown started to bite at the start of the month the Olive Press reported that despite 8,000 deaths, the army being called onto the streets and millions of jobs at risk, there were in fact many reasons to be cheerful. It may have been little consolation for those stuck at home, but petrol prices plunged to lows not seen in years, while air quality improved around the world and carbon emissions fell dramatically – helping in the fight against global warming. But questions were being asked about the legality of the Draconian lockdown. Spanish lawyer Jose Ortega complained to the European Union parliament that the Spanish government was abusing its
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Spirits were further lifted by the news that the oldest woman in Spain, 113-year-old Maria Branyas, beat C OV I D - 1 9 after experiencing only mild symptoms. We also shared the story of British expat Ian Tanner, who survived the virus not once but twice and the incredible tale of Naghmeh King (left), who revealed she was stuck in locked-down Spain after splitting from her Jehovah’s Witness husband. The mum of brain cancer survivor Ashya King, 50, ditched her family to flee Spain shortly before the travel ban amid concerns that Jehovahs were branding coronavirus an ‘Armageddon’. And if that wasn’t Strong Enough, we also heard COVID-19 that pop Double dose legend Cher was releasing a version of ABBA hit Chiquitita in Spanish SADDLED WITH FINES The end of summer - proof that we could believe in life after lockdown.
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whose by hasboss Darren moved now Kir- It is allegedly to Australia. One 300 believed based Costa-del-Solat least clientsof CWM’s Olive expat pension have £59,000Press told the mated, had 900 their he sunk pots CWM, shocked with decionly through cover had victims realising to later his lost £39,000 the value he investments dis- to end sent pension when meted of their a statement. ain on up back trustees However, “I couldn’t had plumdramatically. benefits.”in Brit“I have have believe close lost thousands praise pounds,” nothing it. sisted: to thea source [Trafalgar for Tony victim, revealed ofI many ‘There case but Barnett in- Stewart main asking are still customers MD] the are happy mentum Davies “The anonymous.to reand pension with who tive]. ing adviser [MoAnd portfolio.’ Theychef executheir magnificent teed,me, ‘This kept tell- tax aluc have of them ia-b transferred ing to certainit can’t is guaran- Brooks, specialist been a s e d money.” recoup in trylevel’.”go below had His money, a pert on a leadingAngie The people’s UK their prithrough15:36 others eration Olive pensions France,acrossand that pension ex- derstands the company, Press schemes lib- possible of the founder high-risk was Spain and it unLife, put and may investor ‘professional legalis highly into a fighthas nowof Pension be taken parties action has been only’ tims’ to helplaunched assets, againstby some claimed. get vicit She ismoney back. CWM, working side pension Trafalgar alongtrustees and International sions.Momentum “People Pen- based distressed,” are ters in out of terribly executives. based headquarAlicante, Olive Brooks Granada- Both and its told lost Press. “They the and the office their large amounts the website have recently in Javea ings.” retirement shut. of When have She sav- spoke the Olive these added: to boss ‘definitively’ Press people “Some of responsibility Kirby he are going crash. denied world,” “I have over the A closehe said. lost my Kirby’s associate XX 20 Press told of formerthe Olive staff Ave de Gabriel set’. were all ‘veryCWM “It is Roca 4, upPalma still for them, quite working and they raw next,” out what are he said. to do
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SPECIALIZING CRIMINAL IN: LAW CIVIL LAW BANKING (FLOOR CLAUSE) FAMILY LAW
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of disgraced management businesses Costa firm financial while rakes in Blanca wealth €1million trio ruin, cancer of British for her claimants and depression battle
THE A WELL-KNOWN MUSIC signer has been expat to €1million fashion accused of receiving deBlanca from NOTORIOUS: financial an unlicensed up Companies advisory EXCLUSIVE businesswoman Disgraced company.Costa given the in Jody By Joshua accused Wealth money by Smart’s name Jody Parfitt in financial huge sums Smart were three British years’ Managementdefunct Continental ‘without Worse, scandal before (CWM) inal charges claimants GUIDE left hundreds its high-profile in the two ens of it comes as falling into losses’. are seeking accounting for aggravated it emerges €20million of investors less by victims left destitute collapse organisation.and belonging fraud,crim- after that out of Page vealed. Smart the Denia-based pocket, an estimated 18 fake CWM’s and doz- The complaints to a criminal A total it can be left him September Kirby. and her former firm arepenni- transactions, with just re- In to her of €999,435 concern investments partner suing pension €22,0002017 collapse the first bungled unpaid Darren SL and fashion label was paid (approx of more from initial case to property Jody ants overinvestments loans and house Davison €900,000). than ₤800,000 pany Mercurio reach holding Bell failed €1million that lost the courts, One of comtween the victims, between the claim- sion just was diagnosed 2015 andConpro SL ically died, them. ing to bank beturning weeks after with 2017, aged 59,Mark Davison, the collapse,depresto statements accordto the Olive in July trag- ing type-2 alcohol before shown Brit Jody, Press. this year shot just diabetes, abuse and developa €144,00043, was His body,before his according to a video telling salary also paid covereddeath. sores, In documents with lesions know a court that she- despite a weekhad lain undiscovered Press, what it seen CWM sole director home in the mid-summer for and commission meant ‘did not was paid by the to be a up was only of company’ “Mark in Sanet. bonds Olive €3,391,873 heat at to for selling and investments his ing and involved in and done todied as a result prus-based of PR’. insurance ‘markethim,” Timothyof what In a series low claimant, October financial had by 2015 of shocking larations “By the A January firms, two Cytold the Benjamin, been and end he between Olive Press. a felgiven Court decto appear.” Spain’s didn’t want Page 2019 September to Denia’s of Instruction 20 financial has emerged statement 2017. Benjamin, insurance the daylight No.3 ny could 67, that after he breach from bondsregulator ill afford the compa-it lost his likewise felt sion, reinvested What of the law. were revealed €250,000 ‘ashamed’ to pay sold these investments, fundedis certain in by CWM private penIn his players a ‘lavish is that this via official QROPS. into ‘risky’ lifestyle’ Kirby money court how in a relationship testimony and Smart, for its (€375,000 he had transferred to March he told key the approx) 2017, together who were sale to staff members. ₤325,000 according from CWM investing on the from a property 2011 to former But courtit in a villa basis the firm papers in Monte Pego. was went directly UK BASED revealed to the ₤200,000 bank account Continues Tel. (+34) of 96 649 on Page info@hispaniahomes.es 18 29 2 www.hispaniahomes.co.uk
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SPAIN’S accused prime Catalan minister Puigdemont has leader sion’ of causing Carles after signing of independence. ‘confua declaration Mariano Rajoy clarify demanded if he independence had really he day’s followingdeclared Catalannail biting address TuesIf so, parliament. to the trigger Rajoy insisted Article constitution 155 ofhe could take direct to allow Spain’s “There control Madrid of Catalunya.to put an is an urgent end to Catalunya need the is going situation to through that Continues - to
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Reporters against ts in ‘landmar stole our papers fraudulen Simon Wade k’ case claim they in car above over t financial Joshua Parfittand pensions did not know firm CWM fraud article were put clients’ at risk (right) grilled over his involvement Your in reporters, the Continental EXCLUSIVE OLIVE hereCWM As for the agement (CWM) Wealth Manto By Jon Clarke PRESS scandal, took situation helphe he insisted umbrage to his name on‘didn’t go Profi appear- lived the to ing in an article and ts Costa and out anybody’ in our March cars, lives of luxury with sports ed scamBlanca addlosses 5 edition. he had lost exotic foreign and designer clothes. holidays ey’ as well, but‘a lot of monHe insisted he had declined to Contact say howstories papers as he ‘was taken the Director Jody launched them with much. any 951 273 or news on the story headed angry’ with ion label and twice flew a fash- Denia newsdesk@th 575 or email court is set ‘In to to eoliveconpress.es Denial’, New York fashion week, tinue about how he probe into how according victimsits(Personal 750 In declarations leagues scammedand his col- to official court documents. lostoncontacts page millions, 6) with at made least Olosing investors out of hundreds of When the Olive Press LIVE their entire an estimated Hathaway tracked sion 17P pen- along in February, Hathaway, €35 million. RESS pots. with two other former down multi-million euro to his These include The company, owned colleagues Anthony former Black- Shame Downs Smart and Darren by Jody in the hills above mansion pool bus driver Les Javea Hutchings, and Dean Stogsdill, claimed Kirby, is couldn’t accused of fraud their former boss deny the theft, he 67, who lost nearly his and falsifying his with €117,000 Kirby entire commercial documents. SUV parked in the private pension responsible for the frauds. was drive. “But when it ended up The Olive Press is now taking than it was a lot less papers portfolios in high-risk Pensions investigator Angela legal action against the police claimed,” without his knowl- Brooks told the Olive Press he edge. the financial advisor, the British insisted. case would set a who was a “I was major ‘preceAnother is widow shareholder of CWM, angry, just very angry, dent’ across Europe. Karen O’Hawhich as you printed gan, was based at Javea’s “It’s upmarket the court,” documents from RBS who lost €72,000 of her en a disgrace that it’s takMarriott Hotel. pension. a Spanish lawyer he added. in Spain “My wife was approached She was told by CWM While many victims and a Spanish criminal lost staff everyat that judge work. transferring the thing and, at least I was just protecting money was to recognise the wickedness my the ted suicide, the one commit- name along with everything her only way to protect it for of actions taken by all parties CWM bosses else,” he added. concerned. The two young children scale of this if she case passed away. has made the and take notice.” courts sit up
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A KEY associate of a crooked wealth management has been accused company hundreds of copies of stealing Press newspaper, of the Olive court documents have confirmed. Police have grilled moneyman over thethe wealthy to 20 bundles of theft of up the Javea area. the paper in It comes after witnesses spotted Neil Hathaway out of a black SUV jumping entire bundles from and lifting our stands along with an accomplice. Hathaway, who had been
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IT was the month that children across Spain returned to classrooms, a rare edition of Shakespeare’s last play was uncovered in a Scottish Catholic college in Spain and CorinO na zu Sayn-Wittgenstein spoke P HED! out about a multi-million euro VANIS gift from Spain’s ex-king and an ill-fated elephant hunt. Anonymous artist Banksy accused European officials of deliberately ignoring distress signals after a refugee rescue boat he financed was left stranded in the Med. He hit out after his mercy vessel, launched from Valencia in August, failed to receive any help when it came close to sinking, overloaded with over 200 refugees. It came after the ship captain made a distress call after it became marooned due to overloading, with many of the refugees ill and one dead. The British street artist took to social media to attack the slow response saying that ‘EU authorities deliberately ignored the pleas from non-Europeans’ Residents in Costa Blanca revealed they were ‘living in fear’ that as the rainy season approached flooding that had devastated the area in 2019 would return once again, while we appealed for LIVE Mijas Costa developers to keep their RESS hands off the costas (right). Feeling unsafe at home was a feeling that resonated with our reporter Isha Sesay (above with dad), who caught COVID-19 despite not stepping out of her front door. Isha was floored by the virus after she contracted it from her landlord when he came into her flat to help her catch a rodent. Luckily Isha is back fighting fit - and ready to rejoin the rat race, working from home in Mallorca. Back in OP HQ, we launched a paywall to + + safeguard our journalism, maintain our standards and Tel: 952 147 834 free us from the tyranny of952 147 834 ‘clickbait journalism’.
R LIVING IN FEA
to stop a NOTHING is in place g floods repeat of the devastatin ago. that happened a year of a high-proThat is the verdict mayor as exfile Costa Blanca the National perts met up at Orihuela. Flood Congress in drop) storm A gota fria (cold of Septemover the weekend wiped out ber 12 to 15 last year across towns and villages
: Millions HORRIFIC
of fish
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s Demandm for €80 aid flood
has demanded the devastated Baja mayor aid for A VEGA Perez in flood €80m region. Mario leader flood reten-d Murcia a majorimplemente Los Alcazares seriinsisted be should the sort of SepCervera in tion project to preventhappened that urgently t in Madrid ous flooding to pretember. the governmen was also vital which He told that it is Menor, Gota Fria. this week to the the Mar serve hit by the so-called rain led the debadly of heavyof fish and The week to of millions of homes. deaths of dozens floods needed future struction 10 on Page He insisted Continues
LIVE RESS
COSTA
FREE
year on fails to arrive a ed as flood aid Urgent action need fria storms of last September an Press, the Liverpudli a from the fatal gota she de- Olive Almoradi event, now lives in Formenter
killing the Vega Baja region, causing milseven people and . lions of euros of devastation in fear as the “Yet we are still still not been was received aid that urgent works have of Ori- still not from the regional done,” said the mayor . promised t soon after the nathuela, Emilio Bascuñana reality is we governmen He added: “The ure to ural disaster. aid has failed to don’t have infrastruct But urgent with the happening prevent floods from arrive in many areas, the PPCV party again.” has President of Orihuela that He revealed
By Simon Wade
slamming the Isabel Bonig also authoriregional and national ties. the victims Paying tribute to
Your
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A 20th, 2019 / MURCI 7th - November A SUR BLANC vepress.es November
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of care Duty after claims g British missingrandfather d to greatstation was allowe police leave in clearly at 3amented state disori E
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turn Right
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DEVASTATING:
And how
of aid demands for €80m
were reported
O P
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in our first issue
last November
at an allowed to whoSegura, said: “The uncerdel manded it was not became an all encomhappen again. the means at tainty factor in the fear. “We must use all a simi- passing the devastation further saw our disposal to prevent happening “We upstream lar catastrophe from with the again,” she Segura said. bursting The PPCV its banks t presiden and taking helped save called for THE heroes who during the away en‘more will’ lives and propertyBaja floods tire villagon the part fatal 2019 Vega d. es. have been recognise has unof the na“When council Almoradi tional and Heradades at its ‘ground veiled a plaque Segura River regional auwas floodthe to where zero’, thorities walls and ed out, we broke its retaining sort out the the town. knew Foroverflowed inton reads: "In situation. mentera The inscriptio all the heroes She adddel Segura recognition of ed that the or another, way was next. one in who, money was the conse“Mirachelped alleviate floods that needed to ulously, quences of the town from alleviate the floods devastated our 15, 2019." ‘so much stopped September 12 to suffering ’ less than a because the mile from entire Vega then, it’s Since door. needs front our Baja nonatural to take serious investments. 59, yester- only of every weather warning. tice Expat Peter Corner, and good – events hope that all our day recalled the and does “I just in Septemluck didn’t run out the fear - of the DANA through live to have not want to to the ber 2019.” the same again. Talking
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See page 7 LAST GREEN SPAC ES AND COASTS
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Last stretches of pristine coast endan by new law, along side inland beaut gered y spots
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UPROAR: Beach and virgin Cala protestors in Tarifa de San Pedro (below)
By Dilip Kuner
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The hulking shell set for a 311-room of concrete - once SWATHES of rural mega resort - has Andalucia are in remained an eyesore danger of being concreted over after work was halted by for years after a new planning law the courts. was brought in Bunkers are also being by the regional governmen 700-home golf course dug to stop a Green groups including t. scheme, near EcologisNerja, which will tas en Accion and Greenpeace have ment of one of thesee the developjoined with hundreds Costa del Sol’s final stretches of pristine ciations to fight on of local assoa series of new coast. And protesters in fronts opened up during the COVID digging in to stop Mijas are also crisis. SOON LEGAL?: the law being used to build in woods Algarrobico They are up in arms over the so- one, but TWO the sea at El Chaparral. overlooking called LISTA law new hotels the lockdown - that- passed during beaches in the supposedl on virgin The first of many dozens of previously is set to allow ed natural park of Cabo y protect- took place outside planned protests de Gata. outlawed proj- The first involves la Cala de Mijas council offices in ects to go ahead. a 30-room hotel the green light for It could also this week. In particular, activists near see the about a controvers are outraged famous Bahia de Los the globally Valdevaqueros projectcontroversial Genoveses of homes ial new golf beach, while of hundreds course in Nerja, the go up on a heavily-pr second is for a twootected virgin stand of woodlandas well as a final star hotel close to the pristine in Mijas. Cala Under the beach, near Tarifa. de San Pedro bay They are also furious recently resubmitte about not Protestors fear (pictured above). the new law will also project, backed by TV celebrity d now allow the legalization Ana Rosa Quintana, the stunning area of nearby between Bolonia and El Algarro- see a series of hotels getTarifa would bico hotel, Ecologists built. are also worried that built dis- Los Merinos the project for graceful ly courses and hundreds oftwo-golf on a virgin es housbeach, near landon UNESCO-protected virgin See page 24 near Ronda could Carboneras, despite be revived, due to a preme being quashed by the SuCourt. planning mix up. Fairway to hell: See page 6
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EXPAT parents are completely split over whether it is the right time children to return to school. An for Olive Press reader survey shows that mums and dads are unsure whether September is too soon to send pupils back to the classroom. In our online poll, we asked readers to share how they felt about schools reopening for the first time since March. Exactly half said they were happy for their children to be back with their teachers and peers while rest wanted a vaccine before theythe their sons and daughters return. let
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FAR right extremist Tommy son says he will be ‘moving Robinto Gibraltar’ after weighing up a permanent move to Spain following an alleged arson attack. The EDl co-founder, whose real name is Stephen yaxley-le shared the announcement nnon, on a social media platform while top of the Rock in flipclimbing to the flops on Monday night. In the video, the 37-yearold said:
headlines with him
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Anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson flip flops between a decision to move from UK
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alleged Spanish move
In a recent livestream do.” The 37-year-old posh Marbella sports , filmed at had been “triggered admitted many ” when he was club Manolo said “My fat little legs got me Santana Racquets Club, to be considering leaving the this in sliders. Moving to the top of revealed he had secured Robinson UK, given his previous anti-immistick that in your f*ckingto Gibraltar, cal schools for his three places at lo- grant diatribes. The anti-immigration s*it paper.” was still ‘in the process’ children but The rabble-rouser, who does not unpreviously announced figurehead permanent place for themof finding a derstand Spanish, previously to live. stated ‘fleeing’ the UK after that he was The Brexit supporter, that if a person “does who arsonists al- ly not legedly attacked property opposed immigration has vocal- language, he should not speak our into owned be the in UK, by the his wife and left his went on to say that he United family feeling permanen is looking at now Kingdom.” ‘unsafe’. Extremist Robinson, his hints tly who ‘which is prettyrelocating his family, ly to Gibraltarat moving permanenthas been banned from hard to do, especially have been met with tagram and Facebook Twitter, Ins- with CoVID’. backlash from appalled following rac- In locals. Taking to another video he contradict ist rants, himself, ed There is no Twitter one user said: pledging to return place for the far has been UK. Robinson, real name to the the far left in Gib. So please right or h i n t i n g yaxley-le Stephen myRobins #Tomnnon, said: “let me for weeks clarify just go away. on , do us all a favour and a b o u t am not something for the record. I Another #Gibraltar” moving abroad or anywhere agreed: “nobody in Gibralm a k i n g permanen ALL AREAS COVERE tar is going tly. to welcome you with D a perma- “I’ve open nent move cationjust had family issues and lo- peoplearms. We’re the dirty foreign issues you hate. F*ck off, Tommy to deal with. My family t h r o u g h not me, 4G UNLIMITED Robinson. that will free me up for v i d e o s work the I tell you or maybe it’s better if that I do.” in Spanish, INTERNET posted to He added: hate multiculturalism seeing as you “For all your snowflake so much. Vete R u s s i a ’ s will be IDEAL FOR back in the UK very soon, s I a toma por culo.” VK plat- the streets STREAMING TV of England, doing whaton A third wrote: “We embraced refI ugees during the Civil War. We reALSO IPTV, jected Franco. Many of SATELLITE TV marched in a show of us anti-racism on July 4. “our history is nothing tel: (0034) 952 763 840 without See page 5 - 14 anti-fascism. Tommy Robinson is info@theskydoctor.com worst of the English the www.theskydoctor.com farright and we don’t want imperialist crap in Gibraltar again.”
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Paradise in peril
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ed to follow the status quo. The former leader of the English Defence League and anti-immigration activist was spotted on the Costa del Sol in living it large at a plush Marbella sportsclub before fleeing to Gibraltar and vowing to make the Rock his new home. Meanwhile the Spanish government was forced to step in after a downmarket English news site claimed the country would go into a second lockdown on September 18. Fernando Simon, director of health emergencies, made it clear that no such plan has existed. He singled out the story as ‘fake news’ - or a ‘bulo’ in Spanish - in a heated, latenight press conference. The story, that was published on an English website based in Fuengirola, claimed the government would be introducing the extreme measure next month. Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, called the report ‘science fiction’.
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And while not all parents want to keep their little ones at home, 56% said that they did not feel their child would be safe on their return. A whopping 83% agreed that social distancing would be impossible to maintain in the classrooms and 78% thought all children should be made to wear masks at school. Ominously, just 28% of parents said it was likely that pupils would able to complete a full school year.be RESCUED: Banksy says EU officials Spanish education officials have are ignoring the mercy mission weeks been debating how to get for pu- BANKSY has accused pils safely back to school this month European officials of deliberately ignoring disBy Alex Trelinski for in-person classes. tress signals after a refugee rescue boat he financed was left stranded Opinion Page 6 North Africa to Europe. in the Med. “Like most people who make it The iconic artist hit out after in his the art world, I bought new mercy vessel, launched from a yacht cruise the Med,” Banksy posted to Valencia in August, failed to onre- line, accompanied by a video ceive any help when it came close of the to sinking, overloaded with over ship mixed in with footage of people stranded at sea. 200 refugees. It came after the ship captain made “Because EU authorities deliba distress call after it became ma- erately ignore distress calls from rooned due to overloading, with ’non-Europeans’,” he continued. many of the refugees ill and one “All Black Lives Matter.” But within weeks of launching, his ship, already dead. esThe British street artist took social media to attack the slow to response saying that ‘EU authorities deliberately ignored the pleas from non-Europeans’. The 31-metre rescue vessel Louise SALES & RENTALS SPECIALIS Michel, named after a 19th century TS French anarchist, set sail in secrecy Moriara•Calpe•Jalon•Javea•Denia•Alte a from Burriana, near Castellon, on August 18. Its aim is to save refugees making www.moraira-hamiltons.net the dangerous sea crossing from
SPOKEN
Iconic British artist accuses officials of ignoring distress calls from Spanish refugee boat he financed
is smaller but considerably fasttimated to have cost €950,000, also found itself in trouble off it er than other NGO rescue vessels. Sicilian island of Lampedusa. the It is capable of reaching speeds of After floundering for hours with 28 knots. The planning of its latest mission was carried out in secrecy 219 refugees on board, Italian between London, Berlin and Burricoastguards and char- ana, where ity Sea-Watch finally docked to the Louise Michel had be equipped for sea resstepped in to save the cues. day, last week. The crew feared that media attenA coastguard motor tion could vessel took 49 of the If word hadcompromise their goals. most vulnerable trav- financed by circulated that a project ellers to the island to rescue Banksy would set to sea of Lampedusa, while authoritiesmigrants, the European Sea-Watch 4 took the thwart the could have attempted to mission. A spokesman rest to Palermo, where for Burriana’s port confirmed that they were eventually the Louise Michel docked there given sanctuary. June 23 and left on August 18. on The Louise Michel is hard to miss, paintGay ed bright pink with a trademark Banksy “During this time, they have been PLUMBING & AIR CONDITIO mural on the boat’s repairing and preparing the boat NING SPECIALISTS hull, depicting a girl but they did it by themselves, they in a life vest holding did not use the port services”, he EAS Electric 25 basic a heart-shaped safety said. Inverter hot and cold A++ Referring to Banksy, he added: buoy. SPECIAL “If It sails under a Ger- he has been here, he came incogStandard installation OFFER* man flag and is cap- nito,” the official said. Burriana, tained by a profes- which has 34000 residents is best 555€ (inc IVA) sional crew of 10 known for its Arenal music festival each European summer. activists *Available to Olive Press readers, with a ‘flat hierarchy Locals in the town had no idea what Simply call and mention Olive Press and a vegan diet’. The its planned mission was, but they Air Conditioning | Bathroom motor yacht, former- dubbed it ‘Orgullo gay’ or ‘Proud to Fitting ly owned by French be gay’. Gas and Oil Central Heating | Electrics customs authorities, Certification & Inspection | Pool Opinion Page 6 | Solar Energy tel: +34 620 523 613 / +34 966 498 993 email: info@morairaph.com
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REEDOM was short-lived in Spain where tourists had hoped the easing of strict coronavirus lockdown would give a chance for summer at least. Barely a month after Spain ended its state of emergency, cities including Barcelona, Zaragoza and the capital Madrid saw a surge in infection rates, prompting the UK government to enforce a 14-day quarantine for travellers arriving from Spain. In Magaluf, meanwhile, partying Brits forced the strip to close after boozed up revelers ignored social distancing rules. Hoping to provide a much-need mood booster, celebrities from around the world (including Wolverine Hugh Jackman and Bill Gates) took part in the world-wide campaign Global Goal to raise funds in the fight against the virus. The A-lister weren’t the only ones to dip into their cofters. Closer to home, Olive Press celebrated scooping a substantial grant from Google as part of its Journalism Emergency Relief Fund. Speaking OLIVE of scoops, our invesPRESS tigation into crooked wealth manager Neil Hathaway on the Costa Blanca left quite the paper trail. The scheming financier was caught stealing copies In denial of the Olive Press in an attempt to cover up his links to a fraud investigation.
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fishing a stir in the Axarquian Sofia has caused QUEEN Doña de la Victoria. town to particiup town of Rincond monarch arrived at the coastal incentive to tidy The 81-year-ol nal Beach Cleaning Day, an a pate in Internatio after a summer of use. Sofia donned gloves, the world's beaches visit, Queen Doña in collecting trash the volunteers During her 30-minute bags and joined mask and refuse del Carmen beach. during her visit, defrom the Virgenkeep the crowds to a minimum however minute, In an effort to in the dark until the very last show their support. media was kept 700 onlookers gathered to audience was ' support from the spite this, almost the 'Beautiful! stay Queen!', minute During her 30 with shouts of 'Long live the overwhelming,Spain!'. from the controand 'Long live former monarch is far removed I and the investigaThe love for the ng her husband Juan Carlos reign. versy surroundi throughout his tion into his corruption
ish expat told of how she had become scared to leave her own home after squatters took over the property meant for her sick daughter and threatened to kill her entire family. Tina Cackett, 64, said she was left ‘terrified’ after repeated verbal abuse and swore to take the crooks to court in a bid to reclaim her property. Meanwhile, residents of
Doña Sofia helped
in costa clean-up
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La Linea the most mayor ‘with in Europe’difficult job exclusivel speaks y to the Olive Press
By Kirsty
McKenzie
IRING gunsho lice officers ts into the air, poswarmed boat full towards of drug traffick raced toward ers as theya drop off s the beach It lookedin the dead of night. for a ican narcolike something from the wars. But the new the scene, Mexdocumentary and happen from ing on an on Netflix, is real sis just kilomet almost daily the surge res from hotspots ba- greates of drug popular tourists crime has While theon the Costa del t become of Spain. scourge of the southe hard-hitting Sol. the Linea: shadow rn coastlin miniseries, In a hard-hi shocking of Narco, e La lucia’s tting intervie faraway viewing for thosemakes for w with one most from the Olive Press popular alcalde of Andawatching town mayor comfor t that when s, he tells La Linea he the guez knows Jose Juan of their sofa, the ‘mostin 2015, he knewbecame mayor of better than Franco Rodrihe was taking difficult Born anyone on how along and raised job in Europe’. the border in the town that of Gibralta sprawls r, Franco has
Where high price tags society and high don’t alwa hand in hand ys go Elliott sorts . Lydia Spencertruly posh the pijos from the
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A black Coutts ● ‘Loo’ card ● Schoffover ‘toilet’ ● Black el gilets labrad ● Ottole ors nghi recipe ● Moltons Brown soap ● Being called anythi ng but your actual name, even by your own ● Handw mothe r ritten thank ● Sodas you notes ● Dubar tream s ● Lurpakry boots
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COVID-19 el restrict could be creating ions limit a squatte The numbe the rs’ r of propert ability of people paradise as travsult in a ies lying empty to visit homes of homessurge in the numbe . in Spain To tackle lie empty across r of squatters as could rethousands property this, more needs the country. to erase the ties seem‘ownership’ - becaus scourg In 2018, to do diddly-squat. e at the momene of illegal the Spanis t authorican reduce h government eviction time rarely happen to 20 days,brought in a law s. Instead, but in practic that e, this intruders,owners find it near impossible be illegallywith more than 83,000 to force out occupied year rise the in the middleproperties reporte d to Squattersof nearly 6%. of 2019, a year-on law when are covered by certain rights of complain properties are not posses to police upas. within 48 lived in and ownerssion in hours of However, discovering must if they leave the okto start long it until later legal battles ett, who to removeowners may be told the Olive the squatte Press (see them, like Tinaforced Cackfront page) Unlike the rs from hell. her story position. squatters, owners of thousandsEither face violenc are left in an uncom e and on legal bills fortable to squish threats or squand the squatte rs rights. er
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“When they finally had a lawyer, EXCLUSIVE to Dollimore he managed expat has become By Laurence afA BRITISH find a misprint her own house of scared to leave by a family in the escritura bought the claimed ter being terrorised past two years. began when Tinaacross a dried which he the insquatters for the64, claims she has ble which sits just own home, suggested might her Tina Cackett, assaulted and re- house, riverbed from end of heritors had the been verbally death threats from out Malaga, at the not have the ceived several they illegally took in Competa, right to sell was since 2018. she it the family next to hers, The previous owners, who the in- property, but and typo.” over the property owns, in December very close to, had died, decided to was just a which she also property make matthe To of heritors 2018. ters worse, Tina Tina, a live-in sell it to Tina. Kristine (left) infor my daughter had to find a new On one occasion, and daughter barricade herself “I wanted a home and needs after SCARED: Tina Cackett carer, had to rocks at him,” solicitor she is often ill while the father her started throwing child was side her home family repeatedly Kristine, treatment or looking after, ex- discovering charging her for Tina claimed, “even their of the squatter in her driveway hospitalsetup was ideal,” Tina it’s just horprevious one was death threats, so the screamed at her to kill her. not worked. or- shouting the mother is supposed to hours be documents in and the deeds to that he was going Tina, from Col- plained. She now has the bought the home rible,care worker! Even my daughter while waiting for she be a “It was terrifying,”Olive Press. “He But into her name, which took seva resolution threatening WhatsApp in der to prove saved for chester, told the like he was on put weeks, the squatters moved and is hoping for has been has received legally which we have eral everything looked deranged, this year, but COVID-19 messages, just kept screaming changed the locks. to police. something, and to kill me and that and then a legal battle has ensued, slowed down due to the leave my house and extend- pandemic. and Since “I’m scared to a walk in case they that he was going come delayed family been would who which has the squatter and her take my dogs for most iconic he had friends ies. me. Tina they Meanwhile A tour of Spain’s ed on technicalit do something to ruined our lives kill me. him back and “The first couple of times which continues to threaten family has castillos... lawyer, “This a I paid all “His wife was holding ones. driveway while my without loved fair, leave I turned up case gets adjourned,” Just three weeks ago Tina’s partner and it’s just not living rent free in begging him to Page 20 while the by the father, a tacbills they’re in p h o n e d means Tina. “I’ve been told it’s was also threatened and son, who theirproperty and driving around time. mother my buy to p o l i c e . ” added lot 12 years they use a is only around a new car.” two privateThe trou- tic has contacted old. to ‘go Tina squatter removal companies case “They told him ly-run court a is you back to England and but they said as therecannot take on ongoing they English madman’ her case. Spain’s right It comes as are hoping to wing parties THE SKY on squatting, clampdown during the DOCTOR which has soared AUTHORISED ALL AREAS COVERED coronavirus pandemic. and Vox DISTRIBUTOR The Partido Popular stricter meawant to see thousands 4G UNLIMITED OUT! sures, including and up to KEEP SQUATTERS INTERNET of euros in fines IDEAL FOR three years in prison. parties and TV Special Anti “Okupas” STREAMING of your future However left-leaning strugalarm offer ! Take control criminalise may it choices al fear ALSO IPTV, have been financi gling families who during the make your own SATELLITE TV Immediate Police unable to pay rent n crisis. 840 response 763 /horizo COVID-19 tel: (0034) 952 6 BinckBank.com ydoctor.com Opinion Page
All you need ... San Pedro de Alcantara
Squat out
NEWS FEATUR
EYE OF HE HURRICT ANE
La Linea slammed a new Netflix docF umentary that uncovered the dark underbelly of drug trafficking in the area. After premiering in September ELITE ES PAÑA it quickly climbed to the number one slot on Netflix Spain’s most viewed S chart - but locals raged that they were ‘fed up’ of the city being labeled as a place ‘drug trafficking, debauchery and banditry’. But in an exclusive interview, La Linea’s mayor told the Olive Press that the series was a troubling but accurate reflection of his hometown. Jose Franco said La Linea was in ‘the eye of the hurricane’ and begged for more support from the central government to tackle the soaring rates of drug crime. Meanwhile Latin pop star Shakira joined forces with Prince William and David Attenborough to help save the planet. The Waka Waka singer, who’s married to Gerard Piqué, confirmed she will work alongside Prince William and David Attenborough to help select the winners of the ROYAL APPOINTMENT: Shakira will Earthshot Prize. work with Prince William AWARDS
’s over British expat Squatters take daughter t for her sick property mean g to kill entire family while threatenin
Saintlyto town know about
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Carretera s 951 27 35 Nacional 75 Duque, planta 340, primera, km 144.5, Calle 29692, Sabinill Espinosa HEAD OFFICE as, Manilva 1, Edificio cc Deposito El Legal
ER OUR SQUATT L HEL
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A campa in Spain representsigning, community an estima the huge expatr newspaper, the than two ted readership, iate community Olive Press million people including in the websiteSpain with a month. s, of more
ctober saw the Spanish capital and nine nearby towns given just 48 hours to impose a lockdown as infections rates skyrocketed. As rules intensified in the capital, organised gangs helped squatters get a foothold on the Costas, taking advantage of the surge of empty holiday homes in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. One Brit-
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the same allows g every day ● ‘Cortijo’ 4 tanning oil, sorry. of your two as the mahogcountry mon. Whethe side bolthole week trip s The basted r a farm in a hillside Cordob UK and Spain hideaway mountainside in Sarria-S a like Victoria Ortizhave this one in comant mansion Martinez-Sagre scene. to escape Gervasi, Barcelona, ra or ● WaterspMust have horses. from the bustle of everyone needs orts. There’s a the weekda eyed with a breed of y social lowkey pijo found in the bohemian. that ‘gap yah’ Tarifa in camper Dubbed the ‘pijhipp melds the monie’ they can ● Bimba students from vans or kitesurfi ng. Similar y Lola crossbo West London be are on tabletop energy to . dy bags. I can’t explain s everywh Paraguas. ere this one. But bank in the Costing €100 to from Nobu to Restaur they ante the wardrobsame way Dolce €300, they don’t es of millenia does. Yet, they break theEl ● Winters have infiltrate ls in tled in the Baquiera Beret. and old-money mujeres d The Courche Sisley spa. Pyrenees at Lleida, vel of Spain,alike. Hotel with Val neswinding slopes for the de Neu is the go-to ● Forget cognoscenti. Bogner and fast fashion ski jackets accommodationa people. Timeles . We’re talking are a must. s silk cashmere ‘investment and denim and linen for ena Revored summer, pieces’ o rewear for winter. Queen classic honestly. Letizia and their outfits: Helsustainability is chic,
CRIME: October was a month for squatters and drug gangs in La Linea The
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LOCKDOWN LOC COUNTDOWN TO BREXIT
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The new rules allowing you to drive in Spain until next summer Page 6
How Amy’s guitar-m lencia won over the aker from Vaworld
“Life goes on and forward,” insisted we must move director of the Antonio Bernabé, Turismo Valencia Foundation, to the Olive Press, this week. “We have struck a good balance be-
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to Christmas felt even more urgent this year as politicians scrambled to secure a Brexit deal before the end of the transition period on December 31. Boris Johnson assured his cabinet that a Brexit withdrawal deal is ‘there to be done’ as Joe Biden’s stunning US election win sparked a desire to double down on negotiation with the EU. OUR PROMISE - OUR DNA:
Mijas Costa FREE
Lockdown HOME by 10pm and restaurants and bars closed by 6pm. These are just some of the tougher coronavirus restrictions which came into force for most of Andalucia last night. Expats however, were left at where exactly they wereconfused to travel and what they allowed could do during the two week lockdown. In Fuengirola, for example, Press readers questioned Olive were able to go to Iceland if they the N-340, as it sits inside alongside Meanwhile, in Casares Mijas. where there are no shops costa wondered if they could - expats go to the supermarkets in neighbouring Estepona and Manilva.
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Streets of fire
POLICE launched an emergency protocol - early hours dubbed ‘Operation Hell’ - after over a dozen cars were set ablaze late on Saturday night. Residents woke up in fear as flames lit up the streets girola when a man set of Fuenfire to 15 cars in his wanton orgy of destruction. The Spaniard, 38, was arrested after targeting vehicles, while also breaking the COVID curfew. Security cameras him after following identified him driving around leaving the blazing wreckage. One block of apartments in Avenida Miramar was scorched by a line of eight burning vehicles. Firefighters were called cident at 3.20am and to the inwere able to stop the flames spreading to the building. On arriving at the scene, police received four more fires nearby, includingreports of in one street and a car four cars ramar shopping centre. at the Mi-
DONE DEAL?
In Granada, a total closure of non-essential businesses, including the hospitality industry, was ordered by the Junta due worse’ coronavirus figures.to ‘much 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 BORIS Johnson has assured scheduled. his cabinet that a Brexit withdrawal UK Prime Minister The night time curfew deal optimistic trade 10pm to 7am and everyis now from The is ‘there to be done’. agreement can be reached municipalproposed agreement ity has closed its borders, comes before this amid residents can only leave meaning US signs Joe Biden’s stunning week’s looming deadline election win has or enter if they have a justifiable reason. desire to double down sparked a on negoti- great enthusiast The exceptions include ation for a trade deal week. work, medical or legal travelling for The with the EU. with our European friends,” reasons or if Prime Minister is hoping you are caring for a dependant. said She added: “I to Johnson strike think Boris has supermarkets and hairdressersVets, the a trade deal this week before “I think at the weekend. another uphill struggle it’s there to be done, European Union’s are in beallowed to stay open after reach an agreement ondeadline to broad outlines are pretty clear.”the friending Biden who is vocally anNovember His remarks Outdoor tennis and padel6pm. clubs are 16. come as EU Brex- ti-Brexit but he has to get him on allowed to stay open. his side it negotiator Michel While Olive Press sources Barnier re- is goingsince his partner-in-crime insist See Olive Press online Biden’s win has injected renewed turned to London on Monday of- House to be leaving the White fering ‘three keys to unlock in January. impetus into the talks, for full list of rules a deal’. Johnson “There He is here will be a deal and Boris claimed this has always will been the talks withfor a week of ‘intensive’ say they have ‘managed’ his British countercase. with the EU and he willto agree it part David forget to “I’ve al- and fishing Frost, with fair trade add the reason being w a y s points up agreements the main led and did another that he buckfor discussion. u-turn.” been a Anne Hernandez But of lobby group by her optimism was tempered a downbeat assessment Brexpats from in Downing Spain told the claiming Street, with No 10 ‘significant differences Olive Press remain’ a deal would Monday.between the two sides on be struck this A spokeswoman added: “ T h e prime
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minister set out that, while some progress had been made discussions, significant in recent es remain in a number differencincluding the so-called of areas, level playing field, and fish.” She said they had agreed negotiating teams wouldthat their ue talks in London this contin‘redouble efforts to reach week to a deal’, adding that they would personal contact about remain ‘in the negotiations.’ Nigel Farage this week blasted the prime minister for failing to secure a withdrawal agreement ahead of the US election results, claiming that Joe Biden ‘hates the UK’.
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a Tel: 952 147 834 ome November re95 imposed 7 834 becurfew strictions tightened 2 14 once again as Spain tween the of declared a national state hours of emergency and imposed 23:00 and a night-time curfew in an 06:00 as the country passed effort to help control a new one million cases, with spike in Covid-19 infections. nearly 35,000 fatalities, the But just days after Prime government made a swift Minister Pedro Sánchez u-turn. Spain removed the nationwide curfew from its state of alarm decree, clarifying that the curfew would remain in place only for the 15-day period from when it was first decreed. From November 9, autonomous communities had the power to lift the restriction if they saw fit. Local authorities were also given the ability to ban travel between regions. Finance Minister Maria Jesus Montero said she recognised that citizens are ‘fed up’ with the situation but added it is essential they stay informed and comply with the measures established. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. November brought with it the launch of our sixth edition in Valencia and the Costa Azahar to rave reCHANGING SIDES: Chris views. And the countdown Stewart
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Oh la landing Brexit!
Valencia team getting the message out around the city this week A TRADE deal between the EU and Britain is on the verge of being finalised, after EU looked set to cave the By Dilip Kunar in on fishing rights. Taoiseach Martin An MEP broke ranks to say that it looked week we could see said ‘by the end of this likely the French promise He said it would the outlines of a deal’. mise with Boris would have to compro- France in order to get an agreement. come down to ‘political Johnson’s demand had previously been will, UK waters. s over back down refusing to clear both in the United Kingdom and on any the I’m Christophe Hansen near-parity to the fishing deal, demanding ropean political will is there from the Eusaid the EU UK’s Union’. have to meet the UK’s demands to would It comes as the governocoastal waters. an agreement. "There r of the Bank of En- EU ambassadors were told over clinch gland warned will the weekend that be that a trade deal comprom a no-deal Brexit would es to be made on is- be more with Britain is on verge of being finalised economically damagin the that is somewherefisheries. The status quo, COVID . g than They were we're to the not UK. going he told an event. to land,” Andrew told the Bailey said negotiation issues majority of the 11 main French fishermen have ‘joint legal signed would create failure to get a deal with fewer are understo texts od to have trade a massive cross-bo backed the comprom and fewer outstand on access to certain ise despite losing out tween blockage and damage goodwill rder The European commission ing points’. be- sula von der presiden Brussels and the UK It came after the fishing grounds. Leyen, struck a positive t, Urfor years. Meanwh EU’s chief negotiat note, chel Barnier demand or Mi- said on ile, Ireland leader Micheal Martin saying: “After difficult weeks with Monday he was hopeful ed the need to comvery, slow that a Brex- days progress now we have seen in thevery it deal would be complet better progress last ed this week. important files. This , more movement on is good.”
O UR D
Lifting the Val
C
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D: The Olive Press
Is Baqueira really Spain’s top skiing resort?
tween keeping life normal and keeping it safe.” While tourism is year, the tourist down 80% on last boss says all activities, including cinemas and museums, are open. Best of all, unlike locals and tourists much of Spain, between midnigh must only stay in “It’s a great time t and 6am. to discover the city as there are no queues, ” adds Bernabe. “We take the pandem ic seriously, but we also believe in the right to have a full life.” Currently few places in the Comunidad face tough restrictions due high infection rates. to The city meanwh an activity card ile, has developed an app anyone called Valencia On, can download, not just aimed at tourists .
Run by Visit Valencia it offers a huge range of discoun events, restaura ts for museums, even hotels. You nts, transport and valenciaon.com, can find it at www. and it is complet free. ely Roland Wareha m, 55, a compan director from Andaluc y ia, was impressed by how well the city was handling the pandem On a business trip ic. Mijas this week, from his native he said: “I was struck by how normal Ruzafa, all the bars life seemed. In and restaura were open, and nts the terraces were crowded with families enjoying the al fresco and friends lifestyle. “In Andalucia, meanwh ile, bars and restaurants must my town is like a close by 6pm, and “Valencia shouldghost town at night. print for the rest serve as a blueof Spain.” Opinion, page 6
Palace con
A bunch of crooks tried to sell my hotel for a song
november
turning it into pub. And if I say Spain’s smallest done a grand job.”so myself, we’ve Called El Irlandes ite Martin Scorses, after his favourfits his closest palse film, it happily Friday night Blarneyin for the usual Wilde, from Skerries. has run the Found , near Dublin, for two decades. Valencia agency
Valencia is ope n!
VALENCIA remains open for visitors, with COVID relaxed than most restrictions more By Eugene Costello sists tourist chiefs. other regions, inThe city has been praised by busi- ‘sensible’ approach, which has nessmen and tourists kept the economy running alike for its sible. as best as pos-
Back to Blanca
K-IN
EXCLUSIVE
UNABLE to have night down the his regular Friday on a cornucopia boozer during lockdown, expat Conor lectibles… and it of Emerald Isle coleven has Guinnes novel idea for this Wilde hit on a on draught. s one - to build his “After own pub! being cooped The Irish expat, in solitary in March up like a man over and converte46, got his mates a plan,” the ValenciaI came up with d his garden shed tate -based real esFORGET THE DRAUG into what he claims consultant told the Olive Press. and pals at makesh HT: Conor est watering hole. is Spain’s small- “I had an old shed in ift local the garden. Measuring 2.4m got by 2.5m, it counts lego the lads over – Tuejar, El Gal-I & Champ – and we set about
T
he year OLIVE may have PRESS b e e n NatIVItY DOu BLE! winding down but there Dinner with dest was no time to iny CaN’t BEaR It relax: With a pandemic still raging, waves of social change swelling around the globe, and the aftermath of the presidential election and952 147 834 the countdown to Brexit, there was still a lot of history squeezed out of the last month of 2020. Boris Johnson took negotiations with the European Union down to the wire but he made it just in the nick of time. Elsewhere, in Barcelona, four lions tested positive for coronavirus at the city’s zoo after coming into contact with an asymptomatic staff member. Meanwhile, the killing of two brown bears on the same day in Spain prompted investigations. The adult females were shot dead by different hunters, with one claiming to have fired at the bear in self defence. In what infuriated environmentalists, both animals were killed in conservation zones, in the week a law banning hunting in Spain’s National Parks came into force. The first bear (top) was shot in the Palencia mountains, in Castilla y Leon region, by a hunter who claimed he thought the creature was a wild boar. A second bear, named Sarousse, was killed during a hunt in the Aragon Pyrenees. In Valencia corrupt cops and politicians were among two dozen arrested in a major operation against the Russian mafia a story that is set to run and run. The
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ivepress.es December 10th -
LIKE buses, Alicante world records in one has bagged two fell swoop. The city has been handed the Guinness World Record award after building the tallest and largest nativity scene in history. The display features 18-metre high statuea record-breaking side a smaller Virgin of Joseph alongMary and baby Jesus. Created by Jose Manuel Garcia, its giant statue easily beats the old 1991 height record set in Mexico. The display is also now the world’s largest-ever static nativity scene occu-
voice in Spain
December 23rd 2020
By alex trelinski
pying an area of 56 Some local politicalsquare metres. cised the cost of the parties have critiing €123,000 for enterprise, includThere is also the the sculptures. able to Guinness bill of €14,000 payWorld Records for certification.
Councillor Manuel the expense saying: Jimenez justified bers justify it and “The visitor numwe are seeing business being stimulated by the display.”
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO: Boris was set for crucial meeting with Von der Leyen last night
BRITAIN’S Prime a date with destinyMinister had row could spell a hit of up last night in for the Brussels. economy and up to 3% to the same for Spain, the Boris Johnson was biggest prener with European having din- dicted victim in Europe. president Ursula Commission A final last minute to see if there wasvon der Leyen Johnson travelling push sawany chance of in an to salvaging a so-called attempt to salvageBrussels soft Brexit Von der a deal. trade deal with Europe. Leyen confirmed that an EU summit It came after Johnson insisted day (Thursday)will begin on toa deal with the EU to address the ‘very very difficult’ was looking disagreements. on Tuesday. EU chief negotiator The frustrating news Michel Barweeks of claims that came after nier has been firm that talks will a deal was not continue close to being finalised. past Wednesday and is ‘very downbeat’ “We’ll do our level would just like to best, but I gloomy’, according and ‘very to the Irish body - be in good say to every- government. Environmental are great options cheer, there As Johnson took to country,” Johnsonahead for our celebrate the first Twitter to hunters kill twogroups unite after coronavirus vaccineday of the Talks with the insisted. EU have re- Belgium’s roll out, mained in deadlock bears on ‘dark protected brown president jibed SLAIN: Female for days the jab day’ for Spain thanks to disagreement brown bear Sarousse had been ‘Made in that Euover rope’. was shot by a fishing quotas. hunter who claimed AN investigation While it comprises it was an act of has been See Cash Crash, launched after a ‘self defence’ the UK economy, just 0.1% of pair of brown p17 the fishing and No News bears were gunned underway to determine By Kirsty McKenzie is Bad down on a News, p22 what said spokesman ‘dark day’ for efforts led to the killings on NovemGarcia Palotect the endangered to proma, who insisted ber 29. the laws hunt in the Aragon The adult females species. Pyrenees. It comes after six green needed to be strengthened. dead by different were shot The 21-year-old animal - one groups, including Ecologistas Bears, once critically endanwith one claiming hunters, of just 350 in Spain - was shot en Accion, SEO Birdlife and gered in Spain, are now conto have dead fired at the bear sidered ‘high priority’ Friends of the Earth, in self de- The in the Bardaji valley. fence. hunter, who claimed to demand immediate united World Wildlife Fund by the he The (WWF). action. Brown was acting In what has infuriated envi- gunned her in self-defence, unit Guardia Civil’s wildlife tected bears became a proronmentalists, both down at pointSeprona confirmed species animals blank range were killed in this of an attempt in 1973 as part Saint Martin’s Urban when she acted week that an investigation conservation to grow numIrish is an Irish Pub with in an ‘aggressive zones, in the week bers in the Pyrenees has now been launched. Mediterranean touches, ning hunting in a law ban- after being disturbedmanner’ France and Spain. between in the center of Valencia. by his tional Parks cameSpain’s Na- dogs. The deaths came Where you can find good into force. as Heritage Sarousse, who had The first bear was International beer, commercial huntingsport and Guinness, live music originally The shot in the been the best became Palencia mountains, deaths came just captured in Slovenia and sport shown 10 days illegal in Spain’s National in Cas- fore be- after tilla y Leon, by a ...Where Valentian rugbyon 7 full HD screens hunter who is thebeing released in 2006, restedpolice in Catalunya ar- Parks on December 5. claimed he thought meets third bear to be killed a local environmen- The law was actually all International rugby in tal official passed ture was a wild boar.the crea- the Pyrenees this year. in 2014, over Spain’s environment a third bear, a the death of party, thebut the then-ruling A second bear, RESERVATIONS WhatsApp: six-year-old PP, granted a six minister male 680 743 904 rousse, was killednamed Sa- Teresa Ribera slammed called Cachou, who year extension, during a deaths which came and said efforts the killed in the Val d’Aran was to an end last week. were in April. area Hunters described The Spanish Brown ‘ecological disaster’the ban as Bear lead that will Foundation described to job losses and the population Bar food from €5 killings as a ‘dark overday of for the conspecies. servation’. Environmental groups called Saint Martin’s Urban The group warned See page 24 Irish – that de- for Aragon’s regional council liberate hunting Calle Abadía San Martín Tel: 963 942 171 carried pen- to suspend all wild boar hunts alties 2, 46002 Valencia of up to three years in the in ence areas where the presprison. of bears is known. “This is enough. were everyone’sThese bears heritage,” Opinion Page 6 f
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas
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21/6/19 13:30
BUSINESS
15
Recovery THE Valencia region is spearheading the gradual recovery of industry in Spain following the COVID-inflicted crash. Led by the energy sector, the Valencian Community registered the third highest increase in industrial activity in November, according to figures published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Production in the area grew by 4.5% in the second-to-last month of 2020 with regards to the same period in 2019, compared to the 2% drop in industrial activity registered throughout Spain as a whole. Energy production – including the extraction of oil, natural gas and other minerals, plus oil refinery – has shot up by 25% in the Valencia region, while it fell by an average of 7.5 across the country. According to the INE, only Extremadura and Murcia registered higher figures in November last year. On the opposite end of the scale, 10 regions suffered a drop in activity,
Valencia region leads industrial recovery in Spain including Madrid and the Basque Country who, along with Catalunya, lead the ranking of areas where industry plays the largest part in the regional GDP.
Positive When considering 2020 as a whole, industrial production in the Valencian Community fell by 7.1% - three points less than the national average. On another positive note, work at Valencia’s Ford Almussafes car factory resumed on Tuesday after being stopped for nearly one month. No new vehicles had left the plant for the European market since December 17, following a drop in demand that has slightly recovered this week.
Swan’s Corner
A touch of Hemingway this afternoon Do I really need a Spanish Will? A SUN filled January must be one of the most outstanding perks of living in Valencia. These brighter days opening this new year are certainly welcome as many of us push ourselves forward to finally getting long outstanding paperwork in order. It is all too common for many of us to put off making a will in Spain. Afterall, it is very much part of the human condition not to wish to dwell on such matters. It is often therefore good news to many expats that putting a Spanish will in place is quick and straightforward once you have the right assistance. The reason why it is key to have a Spanish will is that quite restrictive Spanish inheritance law may automatically apply to your estate if you are a Spanish resident. As a foreigner you may make a Spanish will that expressly applies the laws of your home country to your estate in Spain. Depending on where you are from, you may decide to apply your Spanish will solely to your Spanish assets and have another will in your home country or in other countries where you hold assets. This may mean that the administration of your estate will be more easily managed by beneficiaries, which is after all the whole point of making a will in the first place. Another key point for those considering making a will in Spain is that in the case that you have young children, you can appoint guardians should the death of both parents occur. Moreover, you can appoint administrators to look after their finances until they reach the age of majority.
While the above points are certainly key, our focus at SWAN Partners when assisting clients making their wills is to put in place a clear and readily applicable process for family members left behind so that unnecessary stress and potential disputes can be avoided. Our tax team, headed by José Oltra can also assist you with estate planning at both a national and international level. There are a wide range of tax considerations and many options to take into account. If you are contemplating making a donation to your children or providing them with a loan to commence their business or purchase a home, we can bring you through the options and assist you with putting a tax efficient solution in place. So if you would like to make a Spanish will or if you need tax advice regarding estate planning please contact Martin Hayes or José Oltra directly.
IDYLLIC: Sun-filled Valencia is a great perk
For information on Swan Partners visit www.swanpartners.es. For information specifically relating to expat services please see www.martinhayes.es
WORKING: Industry is starting to recover from COVID blow
SWAN Partners C/ Pizarro, nº 1, 4º-15ª. 46004 Valencia (Spain) + 34 96 334 89 83
Death of the tax return...and how APARI was born
O
VER the next two years, UK land- save what you need to pay your tax bill. lords face the biggest change in As a landlord myself, I have been submittax returns in a generation. ting tax returns for many years using an From April 6, 2023, landlords accountant. Yet, every year, after carefuland self-employed people will need to ly collating the information my accouncomplete four quarterly updates and one tant needed I was caught off-guard by annual self-assessment return, submit- the size of the tax bill and often ended up ting all information via HMRC-integrated paying late fees to boot. software. Yes, it was something of a mess. Part of new digital tax regulations (known When I stopped to think about it, I realised as Making Tax Digital, or I was doing almost all of the MTD), the process will rework, while my accountant place the current self-aswas doing very little. I was doing sessment tax return and He was merely reformatting should, in turn, make tax the information I provided almost all the simpler, easier and more into the format required by work while my transparent. the HMRC tax office. However, during the first accountant did It came as a lightbulb moyear of MTD, whether in ment. And I realised that, if very little 2023, or voluntarily before my accountant was simply then, you'll need to manage reformatting information both processes at the same and making a simple calcutime. lation, I could build some software that The good news is that this is a once-on- would do the exact same thing, yet faster ly transition and with good software it and more efficiently. should be simple. And with the upcoming MTD regulations And, even better, once embedded in the requiring landlords to use software for MTD system you’ll be able to see your tax tax, it felt like the ideal time to develop liability estimate in real-time so you can a solution. This was the start of something special; it was the start of APARI. Fast-forward a few years and APARI is now the first software solution for landlords that is recognised by HMRC for the transition to MTD. APARI has created an easy to use program to produce your figures, and should you wish to have a comfort blanket of an
Boss of tax software company APARI, Sudesh Sud, a landlord and homeowner in Spain on how the new UK digital tax system doesn’t have to be a headache
accountant in the background, you can do so at a more affordable cost. So, whether you are starting with MTD voluntarily now or continuing to file an annual self-assessment, you can simply add your account information, sit back, and let APARI’s accounting software calculate and compile your tax return ready to submit directly to HMRC at the touch of a button. The software will take care of the hard work for you with a direct HMRC confirmation receipt. And here is what our customers think:
“I have saved £8000 thanks to APARI with very simple to use software. My previous accountant had a noose around my neck, by not giving me timely information” – M Graham Over the next few months, Olive Press
readers will get exclusive content from APARI and its work with HMRC as the MTD project develops. We’ll also show you how APARI is automating more and more of the process for you, such as recognising and automatically tagging recurring payments, making tax returns easier and easier with each update. Find out more about APARI on Twitter or Facebook.
FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
1616 January January14th 14th- January - January27th 27th2021 2021
Looking for the perfect city escape inbetween lockdowns? Jon Clarke takes his (more grown-up and woke) family back to Europe’s art and entertainment capital to appreciate the haunts of his own wellspent youth
HOW TIMES CHANGED: Jon and wife Gabriella take Maia back to Madrid T was a crisp, sunny New Year’s most arty and entertaining city. Day in 2007 as we strolled out of While both were born in Spain, neither the Ritz Hotel and along Paseo de of them had visited their capital city la Castellana for a morning’s sight- and they were extremely excited as we seeing at the Prado. What could pos- headed up on the AVE fast train from sibly go wrong? Our seven-month-old Malaga. We had managed to acquire a suite at SCRATCHING THE SURFACE: Learning daughter, that’s what. Wailing from her pram as the chill of a the glamorous Westin Palace Hotel, about the lions at the Cortes Madrid winter morning hit her tender which sits right at the heart of Macheeks, we found ourselves turning drid’s Golden Triangle of Art, encom- Morocco during a 19th century war. around and heading for a comforting passing the Prado, Thyssen and Reina Who knew? Sofia museums, and in spitting dis- Our guide, a mine of fascinating inforcoffee and pincho de tortilla instead. Having Maia along on our first ‘couple tance of El Retiro park, Gran Via and mation, then got the kids to pose in the positions of two policemen guardtrip’ to Madrid seriously curtailed any Puerta del Sol. lengthy cultural excursions. So it was It was a joy to be back in the city that ing Spain’s House of Commons. Their something of an experi- was my own home for two years in the presence recalls the words of firement - and an adven- early 1990s, when it was as buzzing brand politician Dolores ‘La Pasionaria’ Ibarurri and her ¡No Pasarán! (They ture - to be heading as London in the Swinging shall not pass) slogan back with her, 14 Sixties. during the 1936 Batyears to the day, to A friendly place alive with see in 2021 in our history, art and excel- The statue is of tle for Madrid in the Spanish Civil War. favourite capital lent restaurants, it is, of Spain’s raciest From here it was a course, also blessed with city. two-minute stroll to Now a grown-up plenty of sunshine and monk who Barrio de las Letras, 15, and with probably the best nightlife a hive of pedestriancreated ‘Don her young- in the world (not that I get ised streets that were er brother much of a chance to samJuan’ once home to Golden Alf, 12, ple it, these days). Age of Spanish Litalso in Taking no chances, we erature writers like tow, we had enlisted the services p l a n n e d of the city’s most esteemed English Cervantes, Garcia Lorca, and Lope de to show historian, Stephen Drake-Jones, who Vega. them the had his own RTE programme on the We walked around playwright Lope de Vega’s garden, little changed in two c u l t u r a l city and written widely on it. sites as Our tour started literally right across centuries, and found the house where part of their the road outside the Cortes with its Cervantes wrote Don Quixote. baptism into magnificent lion statues, made from Next up was my favourite square, PlaE u r o p e ’ s melted-down cannons seized from za de Santa Ana, where Russian lead-
Eye on Madrid
I
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er Mikhail Gorbachev stayed during 1991’s famous peace process with America. Here too is a statue of Federico Garcia Lorca with a dove, and Ernest Hemingway’s favourite bar, Cerveceria Alemana, where Drake-Jones showed us his favourite table and told us about his top tipples and tips. We followed the aroma of fresh bread around the corner to Madrid’s oldest bakery and then it was on to Plaza Mayor with a growing appetite. Perhaps Spain’s most ornate square (only rivalled by Salamanca’s), it is infamous for the Spanish Inquisition’s
Trials of Faith and foreign football fans who converge here before important European games. Intriguingly, we had lunch underground in a cellar below the square called Los Galayos, dining on tortillas de patatas, Madrid’s second most famous dish after roast suckling pig, washed down with some fine Verdejo. Saving the best for last, we headed down into la Latina and Embajadores, visited an antique hat shop and learned all about Madrid’s raciest monk, Tirso de Molina who wrote The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest, from which the character of
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January 14th - January 27th 2021
Madrid revisited
17
WHERE TO EAT
Centre for excellence
An exhibition Beautiful Bellas Artes on Alcala is hosting a comprehensive Banksy exhibition until June 2021. While there are hundreds of works by the cult British graffiti artist on display, it is also extremely timely, focusing heavily on the concept of nationhood and nationalism, and particularly slamming Brexit. An excellent show for kids, it mixes film with clever photos and awesome concepts. www. circulobellasartes.com
MADRID has gone through a food revolution since I lived there in the early 1990s when it was literally all about roast suckling pig, pinchos de tortilla and there was just one vegetarian restaurant, near the Retiro. Today, it has as buzzing a food scene as, say Valencia, or Bilbao. And, the city counts on the same number of top two Michelin starred restaurants as Barcelona, these days. That is five apiece, which is a little short of amazing. And, while I love the famous joints like Diverxo, one of Spain’s most creative (and most expensive) restaurants, as well as elegant La Terraza del Casino, with its two Michelin stars, I have been more impressed by the amount of medium priced, good quality joints that have sprung up over the last two years. Easily my favourite of the moment is Triciclo (www.eltriciclo.es), which is a charming spot (above) sitting in the heart of historic Barrio de las Letras. One of four restaurants owned by the same group in the Huertas area, this is my favourite. The menu changes daily and it rests heavily on good seasonal produce, such as mushrooms, seafood and vegetables. The leeks from Tudela were spectacular served in a red pesto sauce and with Raf tomatoes, as was the Madrid-style Besuga fish, carefully braised. The steak tartare was beautifully handled and thanks to sommelier Luis Baselga, who is extremely knowledgeable, we had a won Continues on Page 19
Don Juan originates The following day we enlisted Stephen again for an intensive, one-hour tour of the highlights of the Prado, possibly Europe’s greatest art gallery. We’d decided to limit its length to the attention spans of our kids to art and were amazed when the tour hit the hour-and-a-half mark and we had hardly scratched the surface. Highlights were certainly Las Meninas by Velazquez, Tintoretto’s Last Supper that I hadn’t taken a second glance at before, and Heironymus Bosch’s epic Garden of Earthly Delights, which looked as avant-garde as the Banksy exhibition we visited on our final day. Having sent the kids back to the room to plug themselves back onto devices, we spent an hour going around the Botanical Gardens behind the Prado before taking a short stroll around beautiful Retiro park, as wonderful in winter as in summer although, fittingly, very ‘parky’! Sightseeing boxes ticked, we got stuck into my favourite Spanish pastime: hunting down the hidden dining gems.
G
uernica is as synonymous to Madrid as Pablo Picasso is to Malaga. Painted for the World Expo in Paris in 1937, Picasso’s visceral painting shines a spotlight on the deadly aerial attack on the Basque town by Franco’s Nazi allies from Germany and Italy. With its screaming women, dismembered horses and flaming corpses, few paintings are more emotive and powerful. There’s no better time to see this 25foot masterpiece, and not merely because COVID is keeping the hordes
Armed with tips from the marketing boss at the Palace Hotel, the latest Michelin guide and input from a few local contacts, we came up with a trio of excellent spots (see box right). Easily my favourite, Triciclo in the Barrio de las Letras recently won a Red Meals award from Michelin. Tucking into wild winter mushrooms with a free range egg and ‘papada’ (neck of pork), washed down with a soft Mencia red from Galicia, I felt truly back in the Madrid I missed and loved. You could say, I felt like a roast-suckling pig in clover!
6 Madrid Must-Dos for Spring 2021
A museum
TOUR: With guide Stephen at Hemingway’s favourite table
When you’ve done the biggies, head for the Museum of San Isidro, a relatively new showcase on the origins of the city and its saint. Filling a 16th century townhouse, it houses three floors of exhibits dating from the days of Visigoths, Muslims and Mammoths.
A stroll
A marvel Few people bother to visit Madrid’s Sistine Chapel, a work of art undertaken by Spain’s very own Michelangelo, Francisco Goya, in the 18th century. Down by the much improved Manzanares river area of the city, the dome and interior of San Antonio de La Florida chapel was painted in just 120 days and depicts a murdered man being brought back to life. It is also, coincidentally, where the painter is buried (minus his head!). Entrance is free and if you time it right (let’s say, lunchtime) you might get it all to yourself.
Take a walk into Madrid de las Austrias. This dreamscape of stunning buildings and interesting shops starting from Plaza Mayor takes its name from the days of the Habsburg dynasty. Calle Cava Baja sports some two dozen excellent places to eat which heave on weekends.
A painting away. The Reina Sofia museum has dedicated an entire wing to enhancing and introducing it. You can watch Luis Bunuel’s incredibly shocking 1933 film, Land Without Bread film, focused on the poverty of one particular region of Spain, Las Hurdes, as well as a series of films about how Madrid survived two years of bombardment during the Spanish Civil War.
A book Called simply Drake-Jones’ Madrid, this fascinating history, art and culture tour of the city is unusually told through the eyes of 60-plus statues representing kings, queens, presidents and even the humble Spanish soldier. The journey begins in Puerta del Sol with the equestrian statue of the Bourbon king Charles the Third. Spiced with intriguing facts, author Stephen Drake-Jones draws on nearly five decades of living in Madrid. There’s the story of the hidden art works of 10 great artists and their paintings in the Prado, the Bourbon queen who bore 11 children, none by her husband, and the king who sneaked out at the dead of night to be in the arms of his opera singer lover. He also spills the garbanzos on the galavantings of writer Hemingway, the peccadilloes of a sinful monk and the famous Madrid highwayman who notched up umpteen prison breakouts. The chairman of the esteemed Wellington Society, you can gen up on more at www.wellsoc.org more information can be found at www.wellsoc.org
T
THE paper not to miss in Valencia
HE Olive Press is now distributing all around Valencia city and up the coast north and south, plus inland. You can find the paper at a whole host of varied and colourful locations, including golf courses, tourist offices, bookshops and supermarkets. It has already become one of
TOP DROPS: Include Mercat Central
the most sought-after English newspapers on the Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol and Mallorca over the last 15 years and it is set to become as popular here in the Valencia and Castellon provinces. Look out for one of our many stands, as seen below at Valencia’s central Mercat Central, outside agent Home Espana and out-
side popular Irish pub The Bear Club. Every distribution point is carefully monitored and the drops audited each issue. We take our distribution very seriously, and need you, the readers to keep us informed of numbers... and more importantly if each location needs more or less papers. We also want to know where
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you would like to see it and where you don't think we should bother. Here are a select group of a few dozen key drops. Please get in touch at Newsdesk@theolivepress.es to find your nearest drop or suggest another.
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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL From Page 17
A trio of goodies to try out in Madrid this Spring
derful light red from Galicia, Pradio, made from Mencia grapes. Best of all you can have each dish in full, in half and even in thirds. Genius. Properly cool right now is Roostiq (above) (www. roostiq.com) that even during the recent pandemic has been busy. On the edge of trendy Chueca, it is all about dark spaces and moody lighting, plus one of the best wine lists I have seen in the capital. That is, if you love, Burgundy, which I do, as well as Champagne, with well over 20 different bottles apiece. There are of course some Spanish wines, but the food is very much on a local, farm-fresh tip, with the free range chicken a sure-fire winner, as are the spectacular artichokes. The kids loved the thin crust pizzas, particularly the black truffle one, while the pork-scratching starter called ‘torreznos’ is the dreamy polar opposite of Veganuary. Finally, it’s worth trying Kulto (www.kulto.es) if you need to get a dose of the best of Cadiz! A journey to Zahara de los Atunes this place is the brainchild of chefs Laura Lopez and Jose Fuentes, who opened up in the upmarket Retiro neighbourhood in 2015. It goes heavy on the best BlueFin tuna money can buy and some great Andaluz albondigas.
January 14th - January 27th 2021
19
The Royal Treatment
M
ASKED guests are nothing new for staff at the Palace Hotel, which has survived two pandemics. While none of the staff today remember the Spanish Flu which struck just six years after the 1912 opening of the capital’s elegant grand dame, many can still remember the stay of legendary germo-phobe Michael Jackson three decades ago. Some still recall how the US singer wore a black mask at all times and insisted that staff did not stare when he walked around with his family during his 1988 stay. He also brought his own chef and upgraded his suite to rather eccentric levels, ordering the maintenance team to install a dance floor at one end of his well-appointed quarters. On a winter’s break to bid good riddance to 2020, we too were treated with almost celebrity-like standing, receiving an upgrade to a fifth floor suite. The door to room 523 swung open to widescreen views across the Paseo de la Castel-
lana, where the Westin Palace lords it over its long-time rival, the Ritz. You can imbibe in some of the five star hotel’s fascinating history in its own museum, quite literally, as it doubles as a bar! While similar in grandeur to its rival across a main road that shares the same address as the Prado and and Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium, the Palace was always hipper and more informal. For starters, you didn’t have to wear a suit and tie at all times, to the relief of bohemian writers like Ernest Hemingway who rarely did. Hemingway would spend weeks on end at this fabled institution, which was handy for his favourite cafe/bar, Cerveceria Alemana in nearby Plaza Santa Ana where the bullfighting crowd and artists always congregated. Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca is pictured alongside Salvador Dali at one Palace soiree. Ava Gardner, Charlton Heston, Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein
HISTORIC: The 1912 dome where doctors operated in the war
Live it up like a king (or a pop prince) for crazy COVID prices at Madrid’s prime Westin Palace Hotel, writes Jon Clarke
are among other luminaries to have signed the guest book, and the Rolling Stones who usually stay when on tour in Madrid. More recently, Antonio Banderas has become a regular. After five months of COVID lockdown last year, the Palace reopened with some incredible deals for families last August. This spring you can pick up special rates of just €230 a night. The only other time the hotel closed was during the Spanish Civil War when it was requisitioned as a hospital and the stunning domed atrium dining room was used
for emergency surgery. Having witnessed so many turbulent events in its long history, it was perhaps appropriate that when an attempted coup was launched in 1981 from over the road at Spain’s Houses of Parliament, a temporary government was set up at the Palace Hotel. “We had 200 journalists book in from around the world in just a couple of hours,” recalled marketing boss Paloma Garcia Gaxa, who has worked at the hotel for over two decades. “It was probably the most exciting place to stay in the world that week.” The location, of course, couldn’t be more central, with all Madrid’s top attractions within a few minutes walk. Travelling with our two children, we were able to dip into the Prado for an hour before heading to the botanical gardens next door while the kids returned to base for phone time.
Vuitton
Back at the hotel, there are various restaurants to try and you’re guaranteed a superb breakfast to fuel you up for an energetic day of sightseeing day, with pancakes, churros, eggs any which way … and a gym to work it off later. With 470 rooms, it was the largest hotel in Europe when it opened and the first in Spain to boast bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and telephones Opened by King Alfonso XIII, the Royal Suite is still one of the city’s most exclusive and in-demand places to stay for A-listers and the super-rich. “Staying there is the equivalent to buying a Louis Vuitton bag,” said Paloma. Naturally, you’ll be treated royally whichever room you stay in, and with the current deals on offer, for very much less than a king’s (or pop prince’s) ransom. You really can’t Beat It, as Michael Jackson sang (and yes, we really were dancing around our room)!
Marriott.com
20
PROPERTY
INVESTORS in Spain with a large number of empty properties will be looking at a new law in Valencia nervously. This year sees the introduction of a new tax on empty properties held in the region. And owners across the country hope their regions do not follow suit. According to the Generalitat, the charge will be levied on proprietors with more than 10 houses to their name, and is part of a series of new measures to raise income based on proportionality – the more you have, the more you pay. However, the regional department of Housing has not yet quantified the number of houses
January 14th January 27th 2021
Taxing time currently standing empty in the Valencian Community, and thus cannot yet specify how many people will be obliged to pay the tax. The last published figures for empty properties throughout the region date back to 2011, when they numbered 515,000. With the new statistics due to be updated this year, analysts believe the figure could be higher. Sources close to the Generalitat have revealed that the government decree should be ready within the first few months of 2021, with a register of properties to be drawn up throughout
the year. The tax would then be introduced in 2022. According to the Generalitat, the charge will not be aimed at second homes until they have been empty for four years or more, properties reserved for tourist use, or those pending inheritance or judicial resolutions. The regional executive hopes to raise an estimated €17.5 million through the new tax. Another of the key points of the new budget is a planned increase of fiscal deductions for vulnerable collectives, such as victims of gender violence, young and unemployed citizens, and people with disabilities.
Locked out OWNERS of tourist lets in the Valencia region will will not be allowed to rent out individual rooms, under a new law passed this week by the Generalitat. The government decree is due to be approved this Friday (January 15), and is aimed at regulating the tourism accommodation market and weeding out illegal practices. As a result landlords have one year to officially regis-
By Glenn Wickman
ter their properties and By requesting the catastral reference number, the autonomous executive hopes to eliminate from the list those houses that are no longer officially classed as tourist lets and more accurately locate the flats with unspecified floor and door numbers. Furthermore, the legislation entitles the General-
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Landlords slammed with new housing laws
OVER 500,000 new homes are expected to be built in Spain over the next four years in spite of the current slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A third of the new properties will be in the Barcelona and Madrid areas according to a survey conducted by the E&Y consultancy. The report says that 387 new housing projects are in the pipeline from developers and investors. E&Y’s Ivan Azinovic said: “The pandemic has produced a drop of 22,000 new homes planned for 2022, but we do predict an eventual return to building levels last seen in 2005.” Azinovic added that there will be an increasing trend of new homes being constructed to lease out. “By 2025, 10% of new builds will be aimed at younger people looking to rent.” The survey also projects no major long-term reductions for new builds in tourist and retirement areas like the Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, and the Balearic Islands.
itat to check up on these houses every five years to ensure the owners wish to continue featuring the properties on the regional database. But probably the most significant part of the new law, which is expected to equally raise hackles and be welcomed by private owners, refers to the renting out of individual rooms on internet platforms such as Airbnb. “Tourist accommodation is to be let out as a whole; individual rooms cannot be rented out,” states the document to be approved by the regional parliament
Crisis, what crisis?
on Friday. In order to enforce this restriction, more information will be requested before authorising adverts on digital platforms.
Digital
All communication between the property management and the client must be done electronically, such as through email or Whatsapp, to boost the safety of the process. Other points include the standardisation of prices and the requirement for owners to take out liability insurance.
City new build prices still rising
By Alex Trelinski
Av. Regne de València 15-3, 46005 València (España)
NEW home prices in Spain's main cities went up during 2020 in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. The Appraisal Society's(TS) Real Estate trends report said that the average price went up by 0.9% last year. Price rises have slowed down for the third successive year with €2,476 being the average per square metre for properties sold last month. That means for a 90 m2 medium-sized home, the asking price comes in at just under €223,000. Spain's largest new property price rise for a city is Palma de Mallorca with a 1.4% in-
SURGE: Home prices went up crease in 2020. That's closely followed by the regular price drivers of Madrid and Barcelona. The Trends report says that by region, Madrid, Catalunya, and the Basque Country have the highest new house prices in major centres. In contrast at the bottom of
the scale, the lowest increases could be found in Murcia's towns and cities, along with Extremadura. The Appraisal Society has worked out that at the end of last year, it would take 7.5 years of an annual full salary to buy a property. That's 0.1% more than a
year earlier, but the Society believes that concerns over income caused by the pandemic will make it hard to make any future predictions, at least in the short-term. “We are concerned about the uncertain future of the real estate sector,” the TS report concluded.
HEALTH Health card pledge
January 14th - January 27th 2021
Taking the strain
Tasting the air
A TEAM of Valencian investigators has developed a system to measure the presence of coronavirus particles in the air. Scientists from Valencia Polytechnic University, working with Castellon’s General University Hospital, have created a high-sensitivity biosensor that detects SARS-CoV-2. The device can be used to evaluate the air quality in enclosed spaces such as homes, classrooms, restaurants, cinemas and public transport. According to spokespeople for the project, the technology is still in its prototype stage and the process has been financed by the regional government. Preliminary studies have been performed using particles that are similar to the virus but which are not infectious, successfully measuring the viral load in the air. When the device detects levels considered hazardous to health, it emits a warning signal.
SPAIN will receive 600,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine within the next six weeks as part of the European Union contract. Salvador Illa, the health minister, said that the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical company will arrive in ‘the next seven or 10 days’. The decision follows a recent recommendation by the European Medicines Agency. This stated that the vaccine should be authorised for use in the 27-member bloc. Moderna’s vaccine is the second to be approved by the European Medicines Agency after BioN-
A REGISTRY of people that refuse the Covid-19 vaccine will have their details shared with other EU nations, says Spain’s Health Minister. The first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination campaigns were rolled out on Sunday, December 27, in various residential homes around the country. Spain’s Health Minister, Salvador Ila, said his intention was to,
A SPANISH company has produced a fast PCR test to detect the new UK strain of COVID-19. Scientists at the Elche firm (Alicante), Genetic PCR Solutions, quickly set about the challenge to produce a new detection kit after the variant was identified last month.
New health card planned for Brit travellers THE UK will replace the European Health Insurance Card(EHIC) with a new Global Health Insurance Card(GHIC) during 2021. It will keep essential medical care going for British travellers in many European countries and vice versa. The EHIC largely stopped being issued last month at the end of the Brexit tran-
Jab well done Tech/Pfizer’s jab late last year. The European Commission has confirmed the order of 300m doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine and 80m doses of the Moderna vaccine, with an option to double the amount. Despite the good news, Illa has admitted that COVID-19 remains a ‘very high concern’ in Spain, adding that ‘very complicated weeks are coming’. The Spanish Government hopes to vaccinate nearly half of the country’s 47 million population by early summer.
On the register ‘vaccinate all of us - the more the better’. Although infection numbers are improving in certain areas, Spain has been one of the worst-affected countries in Europe. Responding to a poll which found that 28% of people in Spain were un-
Test
By Alex Trelinski
sition period when the UK finally left the European Union. New EHIC cards are still being provided to EU citizens in the UK; British students in EU countries; and to British pensioners and their families that live abroad in countries like Spain. Existing card holders can use them until their expiry date, contrary to any rumours that they would be suddenly invalid from January 1. At some point this year, the British government will start to release an
EHIC replacement known as the UK Global Health Insurance Card. A UK government spokesman said: “We will soon replace the EHIC with a GHIC and once your EHIC has expired, you will be able to replace it.” The new card will be similar in scope to that of the EHIC in that it offers
Bleak New Year
SHAME: Carballo blasts handling of the crisis LEADING Doctor and television personality Dr. Cesar Carballo took to Spanish TV with a bleak message for Spain 's future in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Carballo made the prediction in an interview on his regular slot on La Sexta Noche . During the 20-minute segment, Carballo slammed the Spanish government for their handling of the pandemic, claiming that Sanchez, along with the rest of Europe, are 'putting all their eggs in one basket' when it comes to stopping the spread. "We have adopted absolutely the wrong strategy, and we have not done the homework that we should have done," said Carballo. "We have bet everything on the vaccine, whilst countries like China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand do not need to get vaccinated so soon." Carballo also warned that as a country, Spain needs to act fast as history dictates that another, more deadly pandemic is on its way.
willing to take a coronavirus vaccine, he said that vaccination would not be mandatory. He said: “We are going to try to solve doubts ... Getting vaccinated saves lives, it is the way out of this pandemic." But speaking of the ‘registry for non-compliance’, he said: “Details of those people who have been offered it and have simply rejected it will be shared with our European partners.”
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basic treatment if people fall ill or have an accident in countries that it will be valid to use it. It will also, like the EHIC, allow pre-arranged medical treatment to continue abroad like kidney dialysis and chemotherapy, which has been the case previously.
The aim was to find a test that would only find the new COVID-19 strain and to make sure it would be confused with other variations. Company founder, Dr.Antonio Martinez-Murcia, said: "Based on the unique combination of mutations, we've come up with the correct combination in a test to detect this strain.” The test can be done at the same time as the conventional PCR test to uncover whether a person has the coronavirus, which means it will take the same time to get a result.
Making room HOSPITALS throughout the Valencia region have suspended all non-emergency operations to make bed space for coronavirus victims. General director of Healthcare in Valenciana, Mariam Garcia Layunta said: “The number of cases is increasing [as is the] increase in the healthcare pressure in our hospitals.” She said that health departments are applying their contingency plans, ‘expanding spaces, doubling beds that allow for greater healthcare capacity in the ward and in ICU’. “We still have sufficient capacity to respond and we have other facilities that we did not have in the first wave, such as field hospitals.” She also recalled that the Director of Public Health, Ana Barceló, ‘issued a resolution where the resources of private health were made available to us in this public-private collaboration’. Regarding the cancellation of non-urgent surgery,she said: “Our priority is the care of COVID and nonCOVID patients who require hospitalisation, but we will postpone any interventions that can be postponed.”
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COLUMNISTS
ORMALLY when we head into a New Year, my social media feeds are full of posts claiming ‘This will be my year’!, ‘Moving on up’! and many more of the same, all spouting the same feel good quotes like an Anthony Robbins video on badly cut speed. Needless to say, most people were a little more guarded this time. Marbella was, quite bluntly, battered by 2020. From the early days of the lockdown the mainstays of the local economy - bars, restaurants, hotels and luxury goods - were hit hard. Small businesses that make
January 14th - January 27th 2021
It’s a New Dawn, it’s a New Day... Despite our differences, people can be unbelievably kind up much of Marbella's atmospheric Old Town crashed through a seemingly non existent safety net and there is a real fear that many of them may never reopen. For freelancers and small business owners, 2020 was
the year that we wished we had taken our parents' advice and got a sensible job at the bank. As the funcionarios went on furlough (including my friends that work on the dam above Marbella, which takes the 'working
Things can only get better Hang on in there and believe in a better 2021 2020 was a defining year in history and one of which most people would prefer to erase. But for me it was one of the best years in that I moved to Spain and made some amazing new friends. Some of my long-term friendships have themselves become isolated as we gravitated to those people who shared similar opinions about COVID, lockdowns, Trump, Biden, Brexit and whether the story about Lily James and married actor Dominic West warranted so much media attention when we had far bigger things to worry about. I have some fantastic memories of 2020, as well as the nightmare ones. Some of you might have read that my partner and I moved to Mallorca last year when we relocated with his job as a pilot for Jet2. As I ran my own PR consultancy business, and I use past tense deliberately because I’ve watched my clients slowly drop off one-by-one, I was in the enviable position of being able to work from anywhere. But as we all know, life didn’t quite go according to our plans in 2020. Being a bit of a worrier and always having had the ability to take care of myself, Paul and I had to lean in and be more reliant on each other, not just financially, but also for mental support. In some ways Paul has become a better person as a result because many people identified themselves with what they did for a living, rather than who they really are. So, having not flown for the best part of 2020, Paul was just Paul. Like the rest of us there’s been nowhere to hide. Whether you’ve had to step-up and be heard in Zoom meetings, or completely reconsider your
Terenia Taras Telling it like it is
priorities in life, it’s all been a very humbling experience. I too have had to try and adapt with my own work. Fortunately, despite my PR business being on the decline I was able to revert back to working as a journalist. I’ve dabbled in the stock market and my new nickname is Gordon Gecko (a character in the film Wall Street) after Paul asked me what I was doing one day, and I replied ‘I’m waiting for the markets to open’, he thought I meant food markets! I’ve also become very interested in art, having worked with artist and author Phillip Witcomb, aka Roberto Sendoya Escobar.
Best
But for me, the best bit about 2020 was discovering the amazing island we live on. Having the time to just explore beautiful places and meet new fun and interesting people. Both myself and Paul, along with the rest of the population are entering the start of another uncertain year. I know we’d all have liked to wake up Jan first and it’s all just been a bad dream, but we’re not quite over the top of the mountain yet. The one thing I am certain of after being back in the UK for Christmas and New Year is that Mallorca’s my home, despite all the challenges we endured in 2020. So, fingers crossed, Jet2 will be flying regularly again and Paul can get back to work and off ERTE. As for me, I’m really not sure which direction my work will take me? But if I’ve learnt one thing in 2020, that is to just go with it. YOU CAN FOLLOW ME @tereniataras
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No point putting your head in the sand!
Lisa Burgess
G
LADSTONE said ‘justice delayed is justice denied’. I say this because I have heard of so many stories of injustice recently British residents being sent back from Spain without proper paperwork, expat businesses closing because they don't have the tools or access to proper advice. Let's face it, we are all in crisis one way or another. The UK has just entered national lockdown, rules change daily for most countries and even the experts cannot keep abreast of new changes with immediate effect. For small or medium expat businesses or autonomos they don't know where to turn, it is a minefield. Even the Spanish cannot get access to social help. Everything is online and crashing on a regular basis. You have to know a good gestor or lawyer to get anywhere. We can't sleep at night with the thought of unpaid loans, mortgages, rents, business leases and crisis. How can we all manage? You must face your problems head-on much like I did cancer. No point putting your head in the sand. Once you make that decision to remedy whatever bad situation you are in you won't look back and you can sleep at night. I have three friends on speed dial that can't get back to Spain. They failed to get their residencia and didn't understand the full repercussions of Brexit. I did. I took a petition to Downing Street for us expats only to be turned away for having stars on our t-shirts, it was a warning signal. I knew then without the unforeseeable horror of COVID that it would be a mess. It took me a year during chemo to get my residencia and my Irish passport. It was bureaucratic hell. I face injustice in 2021 but I will fight on as I did with cancer, If I can beat that I can beat anything. I am lucky to have my own personal warrior in the form of Arturo Lopez, my lawyer in Mija. He has a general law practice established since 1991, I would give him my highest recommendation and for those in crisis, he can be contacted at info@lopezlegal.es Benjamin Disraeli's words come to mind when I think of the many injustices I decided not to fight and those I must now, he said ‘justice is truth in action’. Take that action and don't look back.
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from home while monitoring water consumption' thing to a whole new level) the independents were left to struggle. The lack of tourists from the UK, traditionally one of Marbella's biggest markets, also had a huge impact. This, coupled with the uncertainties around 'El Brexit', convinced many Brits to pack up and move back. And yet. If the past year has taught us anything, it's that, despite our many differences, people can be unbelievably kind. The actions of individuals and institutions, of charities and communities all along the coast, providing food and support to those who had nothing, was inspirational. If 2020 proved anything, it proved that Marbella, once you brush aside the glam and the sham, is a real community that cares for everybody. Charity isn't just some glitzy gala that you turn up to once a year, it's the shopping bag of food or warm clothing that you drop off. So although Marbella 2020 was the worst of times, it was also the best of times. Here's to 2021. Stay safe.
Justice needed!
SUDOKU
22
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The
OLIVE PRESS
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Sweet symphony
FINAL WORDS
A VIRTUAL reality film featuring 250 musicians led by conductor Gustavo Dudamel has opened in Madrid as part of a 10-year tour across 100 towns and cities in Spain Spain and Portugal.
Wrong turn A BRIT who was stopped from entering Spain on New Year’s Eve was later caught out by French police for driving the wrong way down a motorway.
Dethroned VIEWERS were shocked when the King of Spain made a veiled dig at self-exiled father during a speech on Christmas Eve. Felipe VI made an allusion to former king Juan Carlos saying ‘ethics are above family ties’.
Your expat
voice in Spain
VALENCIA / COSTA AZAHAR FREE Vol. 1 Issue 4 www.theolivepress.es January 14th - January 27th 2021
Driven to revenge
Double take
A SACKED Mercedes car worker wrought havoc by destroying 69 new vans with a stolen excavator. The 38-year-old man was employed at the company's plant in Vitoria in the Basque Country until he was dismissed in 2017. He caused over €5 million of devastation and was charged unsurprisingly with a crime of causing damage. The man stole the digger from a construction company and smashed through the site's main barrier at the start of his 21km trip.
Centuries-old portrait in the Prado is a dead ringer for Game of Thrones star FROM Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote to Emma Corbin being cast to play Princess Diana in the Crown, Hollywood has the ability to find dead ringers of historical characters
By Kirsty McKenzie
down to a fine art. While casting calls may be stuffed with talented lookalikes, it’s far less likely
INFAMOUS nudist Olmo Garcia has caused a stir in Granada after scaling the Alhambra Cathedral stark naked. The local celebrity, who is often seen strolling around the city in his birthday suit, had to be brought down by a cherry picker. Nude in Granada But within days he
to run into an A-list doppelganger when trudging through museums and galleries. But that’s exactly what happened when one was spotted again, beady-eyed walking in the Batalsocial media las Fountain, this time user found with a mystery blonde themselves woman, also nude. seeing double Both braved the bitat a Spanish ter cold and seemed museum in unperturbed by the Madrid. freezing temperaA Twitter user tures gripping much shared a picof the country. ture of a por-
Ballsy!
trait at the Museo Nacional del Prado - and it looks exactly like Game Of Thrones star Peter Dinklage. The oil painting, which can be found at the Spanish national art museum, was painted by Diego Velazquez in 1644. The artwork depicts Sebastian de Morra, a court dwarf and jester at the court of Philip IV of Spain. Morra shares similar facial features to the actor especially when paired against his character Tyrion Lannister from the hit HBO series.
Speechless
His destination was a parking lot on an industrial estate which stored new Mercedes-Benz electric mini-vans that had come off the production line in Vitoria. A security guard was left speechless as the excavator careered through a fence and headed towards the new vans. The vehicles were either totally destroyed or picked up and flung on top of each other. Each van had a sales value of between €80,000 and €100,000. The guard brought the destruction to an end by firing a warning shot into the air.