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OLIVE PRESS
THE healthcare costs of hundreds of thousands of British nationals in Spain may only be covered for a matter of months. Government officials have confirmed that in the event of a nodeal Brexit expats’ unrestricted access to healthcare could end after just six months. In the nightmare scenario, the often costly treatment would have to be funded by the individuals after that date. While a British embassy spokesman insisted the new ruling would not be introduced until the end of 2020, it is still a major jolt for already worried expats.
Taxes “Having paid taxes our whole working lives, pensioners should be en-
titled to free healthcare whether we choose to retire in Bradford, Bournemouth or Barcelona,” said Sue Wilson, of Bremain in Spain. “The UK government is trying to reassure people with this new announcement, but inevitably people will ask ‘what about after six months?’” The Department of Health has sofar only pledged £150m to cover the costs of British nationals living in the EU after a no-deal. This would cover pensioners, students, those on disability benefits and UK workers posted to the EU, as well as UK tourists who began their holiday before the UK’s exit. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Protecting the healthcare rights of UK nationals is a priority of this government. UK nationals in the EU’ should nevertheless act now and take the simple steps needed to secure their access to healthcare.”
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Modern masterpieces
Issue 33
Have you seen a tortoise around Jalon? Contact the Olive Press at newsdesk@theolivepress.es
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In Ibiza
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September 2019
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Lis, y sa illa Ca st on Ca Le
UPS AND DOWNS
Growth figures for buyers and a drop July make up for sluggish foreign in June
SPAIN has recorded month for property its best growth. sales for In total, 11 years, new government 11 of Spain’s 17 re- difficult for owners to rent to data gions grew over tourists. This has made has revealed. the last year. ty on the islands less properA total of 47,890 transactions It made up for a 9% year-onattractive as investment opportunities. year drop in June, were reported in which sugJuly 2019, gested marking a 3.8% year-on-year the market was really Further negative news saw foreign buyers drop by slowing down. increase. British buyers among 7%, with There have also been June 2008 was the those besome more homes were last time declines in the long time big ing put off purchasing in Spain for- (see Slow Down, in Spain, continuingsnapped up eigners favourite the Balearics pg the trend as well hoped that the end of II). It is of steady market growth. as Madrid, which the BrexThe regions of Extremedura drops of 21.9% and 8.1% saw it saga, possibly next month, re- and the long spectively. In (23.4%), La Rioja (22.4%) awaited return to and slump followsthe Balearics the political stability Castilla-La Mancha can help recuon from the in(21.6%) re- troduction corded the largest year-on-year of strict new rental perate British losses while also bringing a boost to laws which have made both the it more foreign and domestic markets.
DECLINE: Mallorca’s
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down following new
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Your expat
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September 26th - October 9th 2019
Replacement flight rip offs, evictions from hotels, anxiety among thousands of tourists as Thomas Cook folds after 178 years
Hellcare
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COSTA BLANCA
The BREXIT NIGHTMARE
Your
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September 10th
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a red Ferrarinaked upon gar-chomping as its ciA RANDY tortoise has gone es the streets driver cruismissing from FOOT FETISH: of Ibiza. his Costa Appeal launched Tortoise gets The Blanca home woman stuck in while his Brit after for ‘randy’ tortoise appears completely owner is urgently it escapes from oblivious as stairs, Kent, appealing to the public and went to she dances to British centre for help. stay two nights reggaeton Corrales ‘Torte’ the tortoise in a local music blaring from B&B. disap- Tuesday. area of Jalon last from the slow-moving peared from Greece, and the Camino He has been “When we picked him The incident supercar. is understood in up was to come theDavid Priaulx’s care for the owner gave me an in- at the Marina Ibiza filmed last 30 years. voice, saying on the Balearic island, ‘no “I’ve had so and was many esca- ever stayed for freeone had later widely pades with and he shared on sowasn’t years,” David,him over the “Torte’sgoing to be the first’. cial media. like my But the Jalon, told the who lives in but I love him andnemesis, pursueddriver is now being “He escaped Olive Press. for reckless so does once in Broad- the whole family.” driving. David added that Torte an- A city council swers to his name. son said the spokesperHe said, however, authorities that the hope to track down randy tortoise A JOY ride has will ‘pick culprits soon as ‘there the on anyone’ gone pearare not many cars shaped after to make a and is known Ibiza’. like this in an Irish teen gine running outside a smashed through garage noise’ when loud ‘shrilling a school All in San Pedro. wall in his dad’s mounting the chaos then ensued shoes of his victims. The cheeky Audi A4. as the minor -
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Music to our ears ROSALIA has become the first Spaniard to win an MTV Music Award, by ‘Best Latino bagging for her song Video’ Con Altura with J Balvin and El Guincho.
Testing times A MAN, 26, has been gored edly in hisrepeatcles at a bulltestirun in Cuellar, near Valladolid, after he jumped a fence became tangled.and
Get me out of here! THE biggest peacetime repatriation of Britons abroad is in full swing following the collapse of Britain’s oldest travel company Thomas Cook. A shocking 120,000 British holidaymakers are still stranded overseas following the travel giant’s collapse on Monday. A massive 70,000 of them were stuck in Spain, when the massive firm which has 55 hotels and dozens of planes in Spain - filed for bankruptcy. Most of them were left in the dark
By Robert Firth and Joshua Parfitt in Alicante
about their travel plans and even if their hotels would be paid. While all clients are ATOL protected, meaning they would be provided with flights home, many could not afford the expected wait for many hours, even days. Some customers told the Olive Press how they had been forced to fork out huge sums of money for quicker replacement
IT’S SPAIN vs FRANCE: Which country comes out top for World Tourism Day on September 27? Find out on Page 27
flights. Jamie Marshall, 40, told the Olive Press he had spent €1200 euros on replacement flights from Mallorca to London for his family of four. “It’s very disappointing,” he said. “We weren’t told anything. If a pilot I know hadn’t told me, I’d have just turned up at the airport.” Many others were forced to bed down on airport floors as they battled mammoth queues in airports. One mum, stranded in Almeria, insisted she will run out of vital food supplies for her disabled daughter unless she is flown home this week. Demine Warner, 25, from Essex, will urgently need medicine for Aubree, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and needs to be tube-fed milk through her stomach, if they don’t get to fly out as scheduled by this Wednesday (today). “We still haven’t heard anything. I’m worried about my daughter as she is on medical milk and cannot eat the food here,” she said. “We will soon run out.” Thomas Cook customers at some hotels meanwhile, reported staff threatening to kick them out if they didn’t pay huge amounts of money.
Bars in Magaluf clubbed together to pay for food, drinks and accommodation for a group of five lads from Manchester. It came after staff at the BH Mallorca hotel allegedly threatened to kick them out if they didn’t cough up €1800. “I don’t understand why they were kicking those boys out. They hadn’t done anything wrong,” a barman told the Olive Press. In the biggest travel company collapse in history, 600,000 people were left stranded worldwide after the UK government denied an eleventh-hour bailout of £250 million. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has commandeered a fleet of 45 aircraft from as far away as Malaysia to support the massive rescue operation. They will fly from 53 destinations in 17 countries. By the end of Tuesday, 30,000 out of 150,000 passengers had been flown home, with around 5% having to spend a day longer in Spain. A massive 21,000 people (thousands in Spain) have been left jobless by the travel firm’s sudden collapse, with 9,000 in the
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NEWS IN BRIEF Soft touch KING Felipe VI of Spain’s jailed brother-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarin, will be allowed out of prison for two days a week to avoid ‘dehumanisation’ and ‘desocialisation’, a court has ruled. Urdangarin was jailed last year for misappropriating €6 million of public funds.
Plate death AN 83-year-old man has died in hospital after his wife, 84, battered him with a plate.
Police sting GUARDIA Civil in Murcia are investigating the theft of 12 beehives. Police traced the local culprits as they were the only people with a knowledge of bee-keeping.
Policeman arrested A LOCAL policeman was arrested in Totana (south west of Murcia) for cultivating a drugs farm. The local mayor said the case ‘tarnishes’ both the force and the municipality.
SWOOP A MULTINATIONAL group of drug-smugglers that used children to transport their contraband has been dismantled after the Spanish Policía Nacional, the French Police Nationale and Europol swooped. A Europol press release states that the gang of 29 would abduct children from protection centres and send them across Europe on buses to traffick drugs on their own. They would target minors of various nationalities by having men from their own national group befriend them. The men themselves would typically enter Spain via the sea port at Almeria, from Algeria, Malia, Morocco and Syria Collusion with Spanish, French and Morrocan-owned bus companies meant they could smuggle hashish, tobacco and rare animals in hidden compartments.
Shots fired
A BRITON has allegedly shot a bouncer in the leg after being barred from a Benidorm nightclub for being ‘too drunk’. The 46-year-old returned some hours after a ‘struggle’ armed with a firearm, which he shot ‘twice in the air’ and then at the doorman. The victim, 36, gave chase until alerting Policia Local agents, who encountered the perpetrator on Amtella del Mar Avenue. The doorman was released with wounds to the leg.
CRIME
September 26th - October 9th 2019
Caught redhanded
Notorious scam captured on CCTV camera
AN alleged conman has been caught on CCTV tricking a Costa Blanca bar with the ‘truco de cambio’ scam. CCTV at the Artesano cafe and juice bar in Moraira captured a man allegedly stealing €45 using sleight-ofhand. The man is seen paying for two drinks worth €6 using a €50 note. He offers €1 extra in exchange for €45 change in notes, before he pockets the €45 change without ever handing over his €50. “I was so busy I assumed I must’ve taken his 50euro note,” Ismael Harrak, co-owner of Artesano, told the Olive Press.
EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Parfitt
Matthew Butterfield, co-owner of Artesano, said another man attempted the same scam on him just weeks later - but he filmed the alleged conman until Policia Local arrived. “I hate people like this. We work so hard to make our living,” Butterfield told the Olive Press. “As far as I can tell, there are a team of criminals currently operating this scam.” The Olive Press is able to reveal the Fishy Fishy fish and chips restaurant just doors
Storm after the calm GUARDIA Civil have apprehended four unauthorised migrants that reached the municipality Águilas on Tuesday night. Eleven more were caught as they landed close to Cartagena, some 350km further north than the Costa del Sol areas that are the typical destination of refugees.
down from Artesano said a woman had tried the ‘truco de cambio’ weeks previously. Owner Nicola Longstaff said CCTV showed the women shoving the €50 note ‘down her knickers’ as she demanded her change. “We asked her to wait while we checked our footage and she did a runner,” Nicola said. The alleged criminals have been spotted operating as far as Javea, with the Punch Cafe, Lancashire Bruja and Quicksave Javea falling victim to the scam. Teulada-Moraira Town Hall declined to comment on efforts to catch the alleged con-artists.
Italian rape POLICE in Torrevieja yesterday arrested a 35-yearold man wanted for a rape in Italy. The suspect had previously escaped Turin Police by jumping through a 4m-high window at their headquarters while undergoing questioning. Specialist agents received information from his native Gabon that the attacker had fled to Spain, where they found him in a Torrevieja apartment.
Yeah, right A RETIRED British couple arrested with nearly €1million worth of cocaine on a luxury cruise have claimed a mystery ‘Jamaican businessman called Lee’ funded their lavish lifestyle, court papers revealed. Roger and Sue Clarke, owners of a house in Alicante, were arrested in Lisbon last December with the cocaine hidden in four suitcases. They were set to plead ‘not guilty’, claiming they survive off their state pensions - €1,000 a month. The pair told Portuguese police the mystery Jamaican paid for the €7,700 cruise to Lisbon. Clarke claimed ‘Lee’ requested he pick up suitcases in St Lucia and buy exotic fruit to be sold for a ‘massive profit’ in the UK. However, Clarke was unable to provide a phone number, email or name of any firms the elusive entrepreneur was involved in. A Portuguese police report said: “There is no doubt Roger and Susan Clarke had contact with drugs trafficking organisations during two trips in 2017 and 2018.” The report said the pair travelled on cruise ships from South American to carry ‘a larger amount of drugs’. The duo face up to 12 years in prison for drug smuggling.
NEWS
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September 26th - October 9th 2019
Diamond in Denia Dr Quien? A NEW Netflix series filmed by David Tennant has a twist: part of the series, Criminal, is shot in Spain, with the characters speaking the local lingo. The four-part series takes place across four countries: the UK, Spain, France and Germany, with each episode unfolding in a police interrogation room. Lee Ingleby from hit BBC crime drama Inspector George Gently will star in the UK instalment of the series. Spanish actor Eduardo Fernandez, who starred in the award-winning spanish language film Biutiful, plays an Al Capone-esque figure in the Spanish section. The show’s creators include George Kay, the man behind BBC thriller Killing Eve.
ONE of the world’s most expensive superyachts has caused an internet sensation after docking in the Port of Denia last weekend. The Lady Moura, reportedly the largest yacht ever to dock in the Marina Alta, has sent hundreds fumbling for their phones as Instagram feeds filled with selfies and snaps of the craft. Reportedly boasting seven decks, a helicopter pad, a 24m-long dining table and an indoor pool with a sliding roof, the Lady Moura is believed to be the 13th priciest yacht in the world – according to Beautiful Life – at an estimated $210 million.
Leading the way Basketball ace to join Freddie Flintoff and Katie Price with protection dog EXCLUSIVE By Jacque Talbot
EMPATHY: From Jasmine Harman
A place in the mud
A PLACE in the Sun presenter Jasmine Harman has captured the aftermath of the torrid floods that killed seven in southeastern Spain. The Costa Blanca had its worst storms in 140 years and Harman stepped out onto the beach in Murcia to show her Instagram followers the devastating effects. She said: “The sand is like quicksand because of the floods. “I normally enjoy a dip in the sea in the morning, but now everything is a bit strange.” The havoc even saw several towns become entirely engulfed by water, with one British expat claiming he had lost ‘everything’.
A SPANISH basketball star is taking a lead from a host of UK celebrities in buying an elite protection dog. The Barcelona-based player will join cricketer Freddie Flintoff, model Katie Price and a host of British footballers and business magnates when he buys the top-of-therange dog from UK firm Protection Dogs Worldwide. Costing from €16,000, the dogs - mostly Dobermans, Great Danes or German Shepherds - are hand-trained by a team of specialists. They have worked alongside the Manof K9 institute, which has provided dogs for the Israeli special forces as well as alongside the Czech Police’ special dog division.
Attackers
“We carefully tailor our training to what our clients need,” explains lead trainor Leedor Borlant, who has also provided dogs for ambassadors. “Some of what our celebrity clients have gone through, you wouldn’t believe,” he added. “Being rich and famous makes you vulnerable.” Through word of mouth, the company has acquired a string of leading clients from Katie Price, who bought a German Shepherd named
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Like-ala-vista Paz!
SHE is one of Spain’s true celluloid sex symbols. Now Paz Vega has set pulses racing sporting not much more than a leather jacket for a saucy lingerie shoot. The Sevilla beauty, 43, was all smiles as she posed nearly topless, sporting a cropped haircut. She is currently starring alongside Rambo legend Sylvester Stallone in the film’s fifth installment, Rambo: Last Blood, which has had mixed reviews. Vega, known for Lucia y El Sexo and Spanglish, plays an undercover journalist seeking revenge.
Rolling in
WHO’S NEXT: Which star joining Katie and Freddie? Blade, to Flintoff, who purchased a Doberman called Trevor. Now the Yorkshire company has started to expand into international territory, with Spain already taking around 15% of its dogs. The most expensive dogs take years to train and come in at around €55,000. “We teach our dogs to handle any situation we can think of, whether that be one attacker or multiple attackers,” he explains. “The training is thorough. Diligence is required to ensure the dog will be effective in a real-life situation. From
SPOKING OUT: Ambassador Hugh on missing bike
obedience training to protection training, the dogs build confidence, and soon they are able to start biting the padded sleeves on cue, before being put in scenarios catered for the buyer.” And best of all, the company carefully vets each client to ensure the dogs are not sold to criminals. “We get frequent calls from the underworld to buy dogs. Criminals, drug dealers they come knocking, but we assess each client before we even allow them to visit us.” Visit www.protectiondogs.co.uk Oceanview Estates Ctra. Moraira-Calpe, No 142 03724 Moraira
BRITAIN’S top new mandarin in Spain has spoken of his fondness for the country at a private party to mark his tel:arrival. (+34) 676 674 111 Hugh Elliot told a select group of diplomats, journalists and info@oceanviewestates.es friends how he had fallen in love with Spain - and found a wife, www.oceanviewestates.es Toni (above) - while teaching English in Salamanca. Speaking over canapes at the official home in the leafy Madrid – UK Refambassador No ID: 15530 – 349.000€ suburb of MORAIRA Valdezarza, the revealed how it had Lovely Bed 2 Bath Villain–Spain All On One Level not, however, been3the smoothest arrival in 1984. Speaking in fluent Spanish, he raised a big143 laugh, when he re- pool 3 Beds, 2 Bath, Plot 825 sqm, Build sqm, Swimming vealed he had arrived here for a cycling holiday MINUS his bike. He recalled how he got off the train in Burgos to find the bike had vanished and asked if there was anyone in the audience from RENFE who could still help find it. Elliot then joked that he would not have any problem filling the ‘big shoes’ left by outgoing ambassador Simon Manley, as he had size 47 feet (a UK 12). The ambassador, now in his 50s, has worked for the Foreign Office since 1989 and been posted in Argentina and France, as well as spent five years in Madrid in the 1990s. The former Cambridge graduate has two children, both Real Madrid fans and born in Spain.
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Covering Gota losses frequent SEPTEMBER’S devastating floods will see more than €140 million paid out in insurance claims, according to experts at the Insurance Compensation Consortium. An estimated 25,000 people have been affected by the gota fria storms, suffering damages to homes, shops and insured vehicles across the southeast peninsular. Director Alejandro Izuzquiza of the Consortium warned, however, that this number was still very provisional as areas of Valencia were still inaccessible and impossible to assess. In the Valencian Community in particular, the consortium estimates that there are around 10,000 claims, totalling nearly €70 million. In the Region of Murcia, where the figures are somewhat more definitive, the consortium estimates that there around 12,500 affected people, with roughly €62 million in damages. In Andalucia, the damage is estimated to be around €10 million euros, with about 2,500 people affected. The insurance figures only include homes, commercial businesses and vehicles owned by residents - it does not include the structural damage which will have to be paid for by the government.
A LEADING climatologist from the University of Alicante has blamed a ‘warmer Mediterranean Sea’ for the record-breaking rains that devastated the Costa Blanca this month. Jorge Olcina, responsible for the Climatology Laboratory at the University of Alicante, said despite four other major Vega Baja floods since 1946 this year’s was ‘the beast’. The Professor of Regional Geographic Analysis explained that the Mediterranean Sea is warmer than it was just 30 years ago - now reaching ‘tropical levels’ of 27º-28ºC. Clouds are therefore larger and loaded with more water and energy resulting in ‘rains with increased intensity’, according to Olcina.
Failed crop ALICANTE’S agricultural industry is set to lose €550 million following catastrophic floods that rocked the province this month, an association has claimed. The Agrarian Association of Young Farmers (AJASA) estimates ‘100%’ of harvests will be lost in 56,060ha of cultivated land in the Vega Baja, causing losses of €304.9 million - or 44% of the total value of the agricultural industry in Alicante province.
FLOOD SPECIAL
Animal
‘Famine’ EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Parfitt
A NORWEGIAN man has driven hundreds of kilometres across Europe in search of free hay as he claims horses in the Vega Baja are facing a ‘famine’. Rune Knutsen last week drove for 22 hours from his native Norway to Villach, Austria, and begged farmers to donate forage in support of horse owners, riding stables and rescue centres in the flood-hit region of Alicante. As much as ‘90%’ of the region’s alfalfa crop - the main forage feed in the region was decimated during this month’s catastrophic weather, according to an industry source. “Horses will develop illnesses if they don’t get any forage feed,” Knutsen, 52, told the Olive Press. “A lot of bales in Spain have become rotten from the rain. Coupled with ruined harvests, this could be a crisis.” Knutsen has guaranteed a ‘lorry load’ of hay from concerned farmers as he now searches for a truck to drive
BUCKED: Food shortage could lead to ‘crisis’ for Alicante horses the emergency feed down to the Vega Baja. It comes as co-owner of the Rojales-based Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre, Susan Weeding, fears there’s ‘no alfalfa’ in the Vega Baja’ and storehouses have been ‘flooded’. Meanwhile Susan has sufficient forage for ‘maximum six weeks’ to feed to the 140 rescued horses and donkeys in her care. Carlos Corts, who owns Covaza Nutrición Equina, was more optimistic about the
September 26th - October 9th 2019
Horse owners warn of severe hunger after gota fria destroyed forage harvests across the Vega Baja
situation. “Alfalfa is not only grown in the Vega Baja,” Corts told the Olive Press. “There’s a supply of alfalfa in Albacete - I’ve already had a quote.” As much as 78% of Spain’s alfalfa is exported, however, meaning Corts will have to compete with higher prices, including extra transportation.
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CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE UNIONS representing 50,000 of the nation’s farmers met last Friday with Mireia Molla, the Regional Minister of Agriculture to accuse the organisation managing the Segura river basin of ‘criminal negligence’. Representatives from groups The Water Courts, Irrigation Communities and Irrigation Unions of Vega Baja called for legal action of ‘fraudulent liability in omision’ against the Segura Hydrographic Federation (CHS). Vega Baja farmers involved collectively lost ‘thousands of hectares’ of land that grew potatoes, artichokes and many other foods that sell around the world. The groups claim the CHS ‘paid no attention’ to a 2016 report on the ‘deterioration and abandonment’ of the Segura river channel, where storm drains had become blocked. The same report mentioned ‘water leaks by the joints of Algorfa Bridge’ in a list of seven affected points. Algorfa and surrounding areas ended up being one of the worst hit municipalities by when this same bridge broke on Friday, September 13, flooding out hundreds of families downstream in Almoradí and Dolores. Legal action is understood to be in process.
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FLOOD SPECIAL
Save Our Spain
Councillor says Costa Blanca floods were a ‘humanitarian crisis’ largely ignored by world media EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Parfitt
A BRITISH councillor has called the gota fría catastrophe ‘a humanitarian crisis’ largely ignored from international media. Darren Parmenter, British San Fulgencio Councillor for International Relations, said: “I was on the frontline watching people cry over food parcels they’ve never asked for in their lives. “It could’ve been Africa, South America or the Caribbean - but this was Spain.” Parmenter described the ‘horrendous images’ from his municipality where 150 people were evacuated as record-breaking rain battered the Costa Blanca between September 11-14. Across the Vega Baja, nearly 4,000 fled for their lives as the worst storm for 140 years dumped 425.4 l/m² on the city of Orihuela, causing the Segura river to burst its banks.
September 26th - October 9th 2019
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Service you deserve People you can trust DEVASTATION: Runied furniture on the Costa Blanca Seven lost their lives as more than 1,000 military personnel were drafted in to rescue survivors from top floors and inside flooded tunnels. And behind token headlines, Parmenter described a hidden ‘humanitarian effort’ that has seen locals and expats risking their lives to deliver vital aid, clothes and supplies to those in dire need. “Within two hours of a Facebook post we had 11 trolleys of food. Since then, whatever we’ve asked for, people have supplied,” Parmenter said. “It’s been very humbling and emotional to be a part of.” Similar scenes were witnessed in the coastal town of Los Alcázares, where British member of the PSOE executive committee Jo Scott described a ‘humanitarian disaster on a biblical scale’. Indeed, despite an international blackout, solidarity has been
strong in the region. One Spanish woman in her 20s told the Olive Press how she and a group of friends banded together to drive down from Alicante city and spend the day ‘mucking out houses’ in Benejúzar.“It was back-breaking work, but it’s at times like this you forget yourself and do what you can to help,” she told the Olive Press. We also spoke with Marilyn Coates (68) from Sucina and Debbie Brockbank (56) from Murcia who were helping to divide clothes into sizes and styles. In addition to this, Donna Walsh of Murcia, set up a gofundme page for flood victims, and it’s raised over €14,000 in only 10 days. Donna (51), originally from Manchester, admitted, “Volunteers in the thick of it just didn’t have time, so I stepped up and started the fund with an initial target of only €1,000 but we smashed that in two hours.
Mapped out
THE Vega Baja region hit by devastating floods was once part of the Mediterranean Sea, a Roman-era map of the area shows. The find from the Museo de Arqueología de Elche shows the Dolores, Catral, Almoradi and Algorfa municipalities all underwater less than 2,000 years ago. Weather watching site Mete Orihuela published the map last week explaining the Vega Baja was ‘a gulf that existed south of Elche in Roman times’.
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A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than 500,000 people a month.
OPINION
Enough to make you cry
THIS newspaper has reported on genuine human tragedy following record-breaking rains and floods in Costa Blanca. Devastation that’s killed seven men and women, drowned hundreds of animals, saw nearly 4,000 homeowner evacuated and will cost the region €1.5 billion, according to Valencian government estimates. The rains and flooding will have gone now, but one lasting legacy that will forever stay with the Olive Press is the unconditional kindness of complete strangers. Those thousands of expats, holiday-makers and locals that turned up to help - many with only a pair of wellies and a brush - have genuinely brought this part of a very fractured world back together. Our reporters have dozens of anecdotes, but one remains front of our minds. It’s not of a fireman or a rescue-worker, but an elderly Spanish lady in Los Alcazares that came to help clean up a stranger’s backyard. She lost her shoes in the mud, but still pushed on. Only when the end finally fell off her broom did she give in, and trudge barefoot back to what was left of her own home. Enough to make you cry.
Right not a privilege THE news that British expats will have to pay for their healthcare if no-deal Brexit happens is a betrayal of hardworking people. Many of these expats have paid their taxes for years and rightly expect quality care that they can afford as they age. Brexiters told us that leaving the EU would give us an extra £350 million per week for the NHS. Even if that figure was exaggerated, surely all of that money should now be used to cover expats’ healthcare costs. People back in the UK already have guaranteed free healthcare. So far the Department of Health has pledged £150 million to cover British nationals’ healthcare costs. That sum is a slap in the face to the 360,000 Brits living in Spain. They expect better and they deserve better. As Sue Wilson from Bremain in Spain has said, British nationals should be entitled to free healthcare whether they choose to retire in ‘Bradford, Bournemouth or Barcelona.’ PUBLISHER / EDITOR Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es
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FEATURE
Losing their religion
September 26th - October 9th 2019
With atheism on the rise in Spain, Maya Eashwaran checks out why the masses are deserting the church
T
HINK Spain on Sunday and for many this conjures up an image of families soberly dressed, starting the day worshipping in their local churches. Old and young alike brought together by tradition, religion and community. But the deeply religious roots that have long been part of Spanish culture are being severed and instead of packed churches, clergymen are increasingly preaching to rows of empty pews, their sermons echoing round silent churches where congregations have gradually disappeared. Spain’s younger generation is firmly turning its back on religion and, while this is not surprising, the growth of atheism in a country with a history of religious fervour certainly is, with almost half of young Spaniards aged between 18 to 24 claiming that no religion is their religion. Decline in religion is a worldwide phenomenon. According to The Guardian newspaper, 70% of 16-29 year-olds in the UK identify with no religion. Around two thirds of people in this age range say they never pray. Leading the faithless field in Europe, France and the Czech Republic come just under China and Japan in The Independent newspaper’s list of countries with the most ‘convinced atheists.’ Atheism is no longer a hidden minority - in fact, Europe’s Christian population is forecast to drop by 100 million people in the next 30 years, according to a study conducted by Pew Research Center, a respected organisation in Washington, USA. Pew’s study takes into account factors like migration between Asia and Europe, the fertility levels of women of different religions, as well as the average ages of current religiously affiliated people. The numbers are so substantive that no religion at all was called the ‘world’s newest major religion’ by National Geographic just a few years ago. According to the Pew Research Center, non-religious people (labelled the ‘nones,’
SKY’S THE LIMIT: Young and old Spanish believers are in freefall, while (above top) Father Francesc Romeu battles to keep bums on pews and (above) the latest data an ironic homonym) make up a stunning the strong connection between Franco’s 16% of the world population. dictatorship and Spanish Catholicism. This Non-religious groups have become so age group still believe in God who was an prominent that they are often referred obligatory element in their childhood lives to as their own grouping entirely — the under the Franco regime which lasted from ‘nones’ actually come in second place as the end of the Civil War until his death in the largest ‘religious group’ 1975. in almost half of the world’s But following decades of decountries. This grouping mocracy, Varsavsky believes Religious includes those who do not ‘religion in Spain is mostly identify with any official rebecoming tradition.’ He conmarriages in ligion, including atheists, tinues: “Sunday church attenagnostics and those who Spain declined dance is in the single digits. practice a mix of religions or In this country, they still teach from 79% to spiritual practices. religion in most schools, but This rapid movement toto most it is as if they were 19.8% wards atheism, coupled with teaching Spanish history, the the less surprising finding history of a country that used that the majority of churchto be religious but it is not goers are from older generations, does not anymore.” bode well for the future of European Chris- According to Pew’s research, most western tianity. European adults still consider themselves Spain’s declining religious numbers are Christian, even though they may be non-pracparticularly interesting. ticing. El Pais reported earli- This group still makes up a larger portion of er this year that 27% society compared to the ‘nones’, showing of all Spaniards are how religion is adapted to fit the social and among the ‘nones’. In cultural views of many modern day adults. contrast, 88.6% of the These non-practicing Christians do not becountry’s 65-and-overs lieve in the ‘biblical definition of God,’ as still ascribe to tradi- practicing Christians do although they intional religious beliefs, clude elements of the religion in their daily the most prominent of lives. which is Christianity. But the clergy still hold out hope that there Church marriages have could be a reversal. Father Francesc Romeu also declined steeply; (pictured above preaching)remains optimisin a 27 year-long peri- tic, even though he has seen a decline in od, the percentage of congregation numbers at his parish of Santa religious marriages in Maria de Taulat in the Barcelona barrio of PoSpain declined from blenou since he was ordained 34 years ago. 79% to 19.8%, a huge “The old people I had when I started out as a drop of nearly 60 per- priest have died and now I have others who cent. are retiring,” he told El Pais. “Their grandchilMartin Varsavsky, in the dren are now older and there comes a day Huffington Post, goes when they walk into the church and stay.” to the history books to Whether the growing tide of atheism sweepexplain that one of the ing across Europe will continue to empty major factors behind church pews long term, only time will tell. the older generation’s Or perhaps it’s in God’s hands. religious adherence is
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FEATURE
7
LET’S TALK ABOUT PORN With more gang rapes reported every year, there is an urgent need to define the line between fact and fiction, writes Heather Galloway
P
ORNOGRAPHY used to be associated with middle-aged men hovering in front of magazine racks until they believed it was safe to reach up to the top shelf, snatch down the coveted item and make it to the till unobserved. Then came the 1990s series Friends and porn was ushered into the mainstream with chums Joey and Chandler constantly alluding to their porn addiction in what was packaged as harmless fun. Now, the founder of the Asturias Association for Sex Education, Ivan Rotella, claims that children as young as nine and ten are regularly consuming porn on their smart phones – a device which, according to the Spanish Institute of Statistics, is in the hands of 26.25% of this age bracket. Consequently, a warped sex education begins before some even reach puberty. “It creates a lot of problems,” Rotella tells me after explaining that any child looking up parts of the body for anatomy homework will be exposed to it. “Some don’t want their parents to touch each other after seeing it,” he continues. “Nor do they want to give kisses themselves or go to the park where other children will show them more porn on their mobile, usually the most obscene or peculiar images they can find.”
7 Olive Press online
September 26th - October 9th 2019 that’s the
Spain’s best English news website
ON TOP: Olive Press website traffic for last four weeks
LIES AND DAMNED STATISTICS
FILMING: 12% of gang rapes in Spain were filmed
offender to have a notable criminal record, and more likely to be Spanish than foreign. There is a pattern to these crimes too: they are frequently committed after fiestas or at weekends, suggesting that the blurring of the line between Rapes fantasy and reality has been exacerThe porn-addiction joke starts to ware bated by drink and drugs. particularly thin though, when we are But like Rotella, Andrea Giménez-Satold that the numbers of sex offences lina, president of the Foundation for and gang rapes are soaring. Applied Research into Crime and SeAccording to Feminicidio.net there curity, is loath to draw conclusions. were a staggering 60 gang rapes “Recently there has been a lot of in Spain last year compared to 14 talk relating pornography to these in 2017, and 18 in 2016 when the attacks, but there is no empirical evinfamous Pamplona San Fermines idence to support this,” she tells me. ‘manada’, - or wolf pack - took place Rotella believes the rise in gang rape with five Spanish men taking turns to is probably down to more victims rape an 18-year-old. feeling able to report This year, there have it. But he does make a been 42 reported tenuous link between cases taking place People think porn on tap and sex between January offences when he and August 2, when sex education is says, “Proper sex edsix men raped an about condoms ucation in schools 18-year-old who had would decrease genarranged to meet and orgasms. It’s der violence and sex one of her aggressors attacks,” adding that not through Instagram in porn distorts young Bilbao. people’s view of what Of the 134 gang rapes might be pleasurable committed since 2016, 12% were or acceptable because it is pure faneither filmed or photographed, as tasy. though the perpetrators were keen He goes on to draw parallels with scito make their own porn movie with ence fiction. “If a child watching Spithemselves as the stars. derman understands it as a climbing But while Rotella, who runs the Artur- manual, they’re going to have probsex program to educate teenagers, lems. Pornography is entertainment, agrees some offenders may want to not a handbook for sex,” he says. imitate porn, that doesn’t mean porn “The only solution is to educate our has actually driven the crime. children. People think sex education “They may prove a link in the future, is about condoms and orgasms. It’s but it hasn’t been done yet,” he says. not. It’s about getting young people Gang rapes are generally committed to understand their bodies, accept by a younger demographic than sim- themselves and express themselves ilar crimes committed by an individ- and it’s about respect and commuual. nication.” The average age is 25, according to Ana Fernández Alonso, director of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior. the sexology department at Oviedo They are also less likely than the lone University, goes further, explaining
that it is not enough to have sex education thrown in with another subject. “It needs to be taught by someone qualified,” she says. “To think anyone can teach it because we are all sexual beings is like thinking we can all be cardiologists because we all have a heart.”
Fairy tales
Through the Artursex programme, Rotella and his colleagues visit schools to discuss sexism and homophobia with students, personal hygiene and sexual diversity with younger teenagers, jealousy, control issues and the risks of social media with pre-teens. They also look at alternative endings to traditional fairy tales with the very young. “It should start at the age of three,” says Rotella, “like any other subject.” Back in January this year, the PSOE’s Ministry of Education was proposing to include sex education as part of a reform bill, enraging elements on the right, such as the Madrid region’s Vox candidate Rocío Monasterio who claimed that pupils aged eight were being introduced to bestiality in optional sex education sessions. Rotella dismisses this as nonsense. “We have had complaints from Vox, but they have no idea what they are talking about. We never introduce material that the school doesn’t approve beforehand.” In any case, Monasterio can breathe easy as the reform bill has been put on ice while Pedro Sanchez struggles to form a government. But as Rotella says, we haven’t yet had the chance to assess what effect exposure to porn will have on these nine and 10 year olds in later life – “Above all, on their relationships with a future partner.” It’s time to get the conversation started.
‘LIES, damned lies and statistics,’ as former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said. Anyone can make claims and throw figures about. It is what’s behind the statistics that matters. At the Olive Press we simply publish our numbers according to official Google Analytics numbers (above) and report on our most popular stories of the fortnight (below). We also like to remind our readers that we are Spain’s Number One English news site by a country mile. What we DON’T do is buy followers on Facebook or Twitter or acquire overnight website links (hundreds of thousands of them, like some rivals do) to artificially boost our site. We simply grow organically, thanks to our diet of good reporting and consistent investment in journalism. And we let the numbers do the talking.
THE MEDIA GROUP WITH REAL NUMBERS Yes, we are the definitive media group in Spain with the numbers. That means over 800,000 unique visitors a month to our website, reading around 1.5 MILLION pages. That adds up to 400% growth online in a year. We have grown steadily from 200,000th position in the world to 60,000 in the world, according to Alexa.com in just one year.
HOW CAN WE HELP? What this means is we can help your business target either expats of all nationalities here in Spain, or northern European, Asian and American tourists visiting. Combine this with our nearly 100,000 printed papers a month and, for a keen and competitive price, we can ensure that your business grows in a competitive and tricky market. Send us an email today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 to help your business grow.
The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress. es in the past two weeks are:
1
- BREAKING: Extreme risk ‘red alert’ warning issued for all of Alicante from midnight Wednesday as Gota Fría batters the Costa Blanca (50,398)
2 3 4 5
- City-wide curfew and ‘Level One Emergency’ in Orihuela as Costa Blanca deals with torrential floods (23,494) - WATCH: Cars swept down 3m-high weir as rainfall exceeding 400mm hammers Costa Blanca village (21,921)
- Hailstorm hits Costa del Sol’s Ronda as winemakers hope their crops have not been ruined (19,473) - Brits living in Spain will LOSE their rights if UK fails to give Spanish citizens better protection says Spain’s Government (17,727)
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NEWS
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Thousands stranded From Page 1
UK. Online competition and debts were cited as reasons for the company’s collapse by UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. Despite not balancing the books, the Thomas Cook directors received £50 million in bonuses over the last decade. The firm’s most recent CEO, Peter Fankhauser - who apologised for its collapse on Monday - raked in £8.3m during his time in the top job. Despite this, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speculated that it could be time to ‘reflect on whether the directors of these companies are properly incentivised to sort such matters out’. Thomas Cook was set up in 1878 to offer one-day railway excursions across the UK and has been running package holidays to Spain since the 1950s. ATOL Protected passengers with future bookings are entitled to a full refund for their cancelled holiday. Passengers currently overseas may also make claims for the cost of replacing ATOL protected parts of their trip, or for out-of-pocket expenses as a result of delayed flights home. The Civil Aviation Authority will be launching a service to manage all refunds by Monday 30 September, once the flying operation has progressed. This refunds service will seek to process all refunds within 60 days of full information being received.
SLOW DIG Franco’s body comes one step nearer to being removed from mausoleum IT’S a saga almost as torturous as his life. But Spain has now come one step closer to moving former dictator Francisco Franco from his communal grave at Madrid’s Valley of the Fallen. The Supreme Court has finally ruled that the disgraced dictator can be dug up from his tomb in the heart of the biggest war monument in Europe. It comes after Pedro Sanchez’s government pledged last year to remove his body from underneath the monument and move him to a pri-
By Robert Firth
vate cemetery in Madrid. The move was originally planned for June 10, but the Supreme Court forced it to delay the move after receiving an appeal from the Franco family. However, the appeal, arguing that his body should be reburied in Madrid’s Catedral de la Almudena, has now been turned down. The body could now be moved to a non-controversial site the El Pardo cemetery where
Call to arms
PASSIONATE: Brits protesting
his wife is buried, as well as many other politicians. The issue has divided opinion in Spain, with Franco buried alongside tens of thousands of civil war dead, most of them Republicans. It has led to the monument symbolising a triumph of fascism, and a shrine for the far right. “The idea that people who were killed by Franco’s troops are buried together with Franco is absurd,” said Silvia Navarro, whose great uncle died in 1936.
DOZENS of British expats have filled the streets of Malaga to protest against the UK government’s Brexit preparations. Demonstrators, many draped in EU flags, held up placards saying ‘No Brexit.’ Around 365,967 British nationals’ rights to healthcare, work permits and other assistance lie in the balance in the event of a no-deal Brexit. “We feel really forgotten here in Spain,” said 61-year-old businessman Michael Soffe, who was protesting in Malaga, where he has lived for 30 years. More anti-Brexit protests are due to take place in the border town of La Linea, near Gibraltar, on October 19.
September 26th - October 9th 2019
PLANE CRASH
A HUNTER out stalking rabbits has claimed he heard ‘three explosions’ from the engine of an aeroplane that later crashed in Pedreguer, killing two French nationals. The hunter told the Olive Press he heard ‘a very strange sound’ coming from the engine of the Cirrus SR22 four-seater aeroplane. Police sources initially claimed ‘poor visibility’ due to ‘mist’ as the possible cause of the accident - but the hunter’s account could suggest engine failure as a possible cause. It comes following the tragic incident in the hills near to Llosa de Camacho last Monday. Residents of the Monte Solana area called emergency services saying a plane had gone into the mist and disappeared just before 4pm. Members of the Grupo Rescate de Denia had to hike 400m to get to the remote area, where by 8pm a team of forensics, judicial police, Civil Protection and Guardia Civil arrived and confirmed the death of the two pilots. The French nationals, aged between 60-70, were taking part in the Latécoère Rally that keeps alive the memory of the first airmail pilots who flew between France, Africa and South America. “This year’s edition of the Raid Latécoère-Aéropostale 2019 began on Saturday 14 September,” a statement from Latécoère Rally read.
NEWS IN BRIEF Sick joke A TRIO of girls have been slammed after posing for selfies on a cliff edge known for its number of suicides in Gijon.
Urgent aid VICTIMS of the Vega Baja’s worst floods for 140 years can now request emergency funds ‘up to €4,500’ from their respective Town Halls.
Round four VICTIMS of the Vega Baja’s worst floods for 140 years can now request emergency funds ‘up to €4,500’ from their respective Town Halls.
Deadly floods A DUTCHMAN, 66, was the seventh named fatality of the catastrophic gota fria storms this month. The first fatalities were a brother and sister killed in their car in Albacete, followed by a driver swept off the motorway in Granada and a man trapped in a tunnel in Almería. A fifth man was swept away by floodwaters in Benferri, while a sixth fatality was named on Saturday in the ‘ground zero’ city of Orihuela.
Listen in Expats tired of lack of Brexit clarity from Government
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REPRESENTATIVES of campaign groups for British nationals in Spain have urged for ‘greater clarity’ after meeting with the UK’s Brexit Secretary. John Carrivick, vice-president of EuroCitizens, said ‘less gung-ho optimism’
EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Parfitt
was needed from Stephen Barclay over crucial issues like rights to ‘benefits’ and ‘healthcare’. Barclay met with Carrivick, as well as representatives
Brexit bard
ALTHOUGH much of Europe is unsympathetic towards Brits over Brexit, one Madrid poet has penned the UK a touching message of solidarity. For €1, street writer Marta Carmona fired off a few lines of prose on her typewriter for the Olive Press in the capital’s trendy La Latina barrio. Her untitled work (translation below) confronts nationalism by asking ‘why do we let ourselves be divided?’ ‘Why divide, when we could share the pain, why build up a wall at the frontier. Why search for a compass (and take us or to take us) to nowhere. I love those that take a plane to smell the streets of Madrid, Why deprive me to fly to England where today and yesterday will always be ours. From me to you!
‘GUNG-HO’: Barclay from Brexpats in Spain and ECREU, at the British Embassy in Madrid before flying to Brussels. “Why is the uprating of pensions within the exclusive gift of the UK government being made subject to reciprocity, and thereby placing it at risk?” Carrivick told the Olive Press. President of Brexpats in Spain, Anne Hernandez, said: “It seemed to us the buzzword of Mr Barclay was ‘intention’ - but we don’t want intention, we want action.” Hernandez said it was the first time a Brexit Secretary had spoken with her, despite ‘numerous’ conversations with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and EU Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt. In a video message after the meeting, Barclay affirmed the government’s commitment to ‘safeguard citizens’ rights’. It comes as Barclay is locked in talks with the EU over amendments to Theresa May’s withdrawal deal ‘minus’ the controversial Irish backstop, according to statements made during the meeting.
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SPAIN has seen the biggest G decline in new car registration since the 2008 economic With Brexit around the corner crash. Gibraltar National Day has never felt more important. Check out our FREE The sharp decline has you been guide inside on everything need to know about the celebrations. attributed to the introduction of new emission tests, which deflated car sales by 48% last August. Car registration has decreased by 30.8% to 74,490 units compared to the same month in 2018, according to industry groups. This is the biggest drop for August in terms of commercialization of cars since 2008, when levels collapsed 41.27% in the middle of the economic crisis. Spain’s automobile employers association Anfac has called for urgent measures to reverse this trend as soon as possible. In particular Anfac would like to see ‘a crash plan with stimulus measures to encourage the purchase of new vehicles’. As Brexit tensions boiling point, John reach Culatto explores why Gibraltar National this could be the Rock’sDay significant one yet most
MINISTRY of Defence workers could soon receive similar wages to civil servants on the Rock. It comes after Chief Minister Fabian Picardo backed the union pay claim, saying he would bring it up with ministers in London. Picardo pledged his ‘full support’ for all MoD employees against what he called UK ‘austerity’. "It is remarkable that it is now those working as locally employed civilians in the Ministry of Defence, who are being negatively impacted by UK austerity as they have been,” said Picardo. “Historically, Gibraltar has really turned a corner when we see our people having to seek parity of wages with Gibraltar Government salaries, and not the other way around as was the case almost 40 years ago.”
ET ready for the biggest the year when Gibraltar party of Spanish aggression. declares With it is red, white and Brexit tensions free. There is no latest National Day running high, this is bound to be bigger Rock in all its vibrantbetter time to see the than ever. than National Day character and colour Gibraltar has always stood Every year since at Casemates Square. September 10, 1992 throughout its 300-year history.by Britain the people of Gibraltar have assembled National Day is a celebration of what to show their desire Theto be British and defy Continues overleaf
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He was referring to the fight for wages parity led by the founder of his party the GSLP, Sir Joe Bossano. The Chief Minister gave special mention to Gibraltar Defence Police officers LEAKED: Report warning of four-hour border queues sees Keith Azopardi and the soldiers of the Roy(far right) tell Picardo (left) to ‘get radical’ al Gibraltar Regiment. A Government spokesperson said that the ‘real pay of these individuals has fallen very significantly’. “The impact of this gap in Gibraltar has been even worse considering our outstanding economic growth during the same period,” said the Government. Picardo said: “We will fully support our colleagues in all By John Culatto sectors of MoD employment in Gibraltar in their claims for better remuneration and FOUR hours of queuing to get terms and conditions.” The main Gibraltar union, in and out of Gibraltar could Unite, is leading the charge be the norm in a no-deal Brexalong with the Gibraltar it scenario. General Clerical Associa- That’s one of the many stark revealed the document was the EU will create cannot warnings predicted in the tion. be published on August 1. underestimated or indeed re- especially given how those It followed Opposition criticism “I will raise this issue myself leaked Yellowhammer docu- But Picardo has been quick to solved by a new arrangement issues would affect frontier that not enough was being done with ministers in London," ment, prepared by the UK dismiss the claims as ‘planthat anyone is able to negoti- flow.” said Picardo, who regularly government in the case of a ning for worst case scenarios.’ The Government hopes the to plan for what many fear could ate. meets with top UK Govern- no-deal. “I maintain it will not be a ‘Memorandums of Under- bring Gibraltar to a standstill. “It is obvious we should be planment representatives in the Although Chief Minister Fa- of roses,” the Gibraltar bed “We have repeatedly stated standing’ signed last Gov- that we are working with year bian Picardo declared the leak UK capital. the could become ‘a non-legally ning hard for a no-deal Brexit,” was ‘out of date’, it was later ernment said in a statement. “The many problems leaving United Kingdom and Spain binding basis’ for a no-deal said GSD Leader Keith Azoparto address a no-deal situation, di. scenario. “The election of Boris Johnson has brought that prospect much closer. “The Government needs to invest more time and resources on no-deal planning and do so in a ALL AREAS much more radical way. UK BASED COVERED “Time will tell whether those preparations have been effecLettings | Sales 4G UNLIMITED tive.” Investments The Yellowhammer report highINTERNET Reliable private hire transfer lights the risk of disruption to IDEAL FOR STREAMING TV Relocations services for any occasion the supply of goods, including ALSO IPTV, for Spanish Commercial • Luxury vehicles food, medicine and the shipSATELLITE TV • Door to door service ment of waste. and Residential residents • Airport collections Picardo added: “As a responTel: +350 200 44955 • Weddings transport sible Government, we plan for www.globelink.co.uk enquiries@seekerspropertygibraltar.com • Sightseeing day trips the worst case scenarios, even • Restaurant shuttles though we are confident they tel: (0034) 952 763 840 will not occur.” Find out more at: 96 626 5000 info@theskydoctor.com With Gibraltar being on the EU’s www.simply-shuttles.com 10 Engineer Lane, +44 (0) 1353 699082 www.theskydoctor.com most southern frontier, delays tel: 951 279 117 Gibraltar GX11 1AA are likely to be substantial. info@simply-shuttles.com www.seekerspropertygibraltar.com The UK is expected to leave the EU on October 31.
Opposition urges Gibraltar to ‘get radical’ as leaked report warns of four-hour border queues
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AN undercover investigation has revealed that rental firm Goldcar uses ‘criminal lying and bullying’ as sales tactics. Consumer publication Which? said it caught the car hire company ‘red handed’ using ‘pressure-selling’. In secret filming at Malaga and Alicante airports Goldcar threatened to charge journalists posing as holidaymakers ‘€300 for a tiny scratch’. The notorious firm also offered an excess and deposit of just €1,100, while it said drivers who broke down would be charged €8.50 for every kilometre on a tow truck. Goldcar told several lies, including ‘if you don’t buy our insur-
CAUGHT: Which? probe found mis-selling by Goldcar in Malaga and Alicante ance, you’re only covered for cies wouldn’t be valid, and that tional insurance when renting a third-party damage’, according unless they accepted Goldcar’s, car and are covered with ‘basic’ to Which? they would be unable to hire the insurance by law. Other untruths included that vehicle. In Europe, customers It comes after numerous comcustomers’ own insurance poli- are not required to buy addi- plaints have been made against Goldcar, including claims of customers having €1,200 frozen on their credit card for refusing to pay an extra €100 insurance payment. SPAIN’S Iberdrola has sold part of its substantial offWhich? advises customers to shore wind farm operation in the UK in a €1.8 billion ‘never rent from Goldcar’. deal. Some of the best-rated car hire The energy firm has completed the sale of the East Anfirms in contrast include Enterglia ONE wind farm after receiving the necessary apprise, Hertz and Avis. A Goldproval from the Crown Estate. car statement read: “Goldcar The move will see a 40% stake in the North Sea wind would never condone the use farm go to the Australian Macquarie group through of misleading statements that Iberdrola’s British subsidiary Scottish Power Reneware not aligned with our terms ables. East Anglia ONE will be one of the largest in the and conditions. Where we find world when it enters into operations in 2020, supplyunaligned practice we will take ing 600,000 British homes with clean energy. firm action.”
BREXIT has been blamed for the second consecutive summer fall in British tourist numbers to Spain. For the second year in a row, July has seen a decrease in the number of foreign visitors to Spain. The fall of the British economy and the devaluation of the pound due to uncertainty over Brexit has seen fewer Brits seek the Spainish sun in favour of cheaper alternatives. In total, 161,000 fewer British tourists have visited Spain in the last two years while a fall of 1.6% has already been registered so far this year.
EXPOSED: Our previous article on Goldcar Worrying times STRONG GUST
THE Bank of Spain has warned of the risk of an upcoming economic crisis. Governor Hernandez de Cos has warned ‘urgent’ progress needs to be made to reform the European Banking Union before another financial crash hits. De Cos has defended the need to create a fiscal stabilization instrument in the eurozone. He described the situation as ‘very worrying’.
‘ROBDBED’ ERCATE SION PENGET EDU
Dea he O ve P ess Rose Moore sees the EU, essentially, as a political d cu a pg dca a They 7).ous om GoIssue 325, ed a ca en (Leave and proud, n May hip dictators o be oo good €30 states, ess . han sovereign are 28was ow p ce There opposite is thewas reality hey pu ca d and my c edly chose ove voluntari handwhich o UK, to become ue hadthe including ved a a would am 00 a 8 that fl gh With Brexit around the corner the poundwas plummeting, it nDunne e uand on My OLIVE €900 the UK E are all well and truly fed believes Steve d. associate up of hearing the ‘B’ word is the perfect time to get your finances in order o ake one PRESS no was e The am 00 6 a po A aga and the majority of expats I Ma to going not I’m so. Not terms. fair better on WTO asked a he nwww.theblacktowergroup.com now speak to have reached Howler! ma on desk o chapter the stage that they just want Brexit ched keyBY my and Tsea M your page by quoting letters over with – whatever the outcome! m down weigh bu he pthe dn into cou If only life were W key She he that hand n nd couIdrecomme e GOVAERTS whe looks Steve verse, butwou whe em he ca pa kTrump back oknows. d have o go sa d ha of m That he that Y! industry any OR specifics VICT me and wou d have The e was no an had e hemca trade m m UK should trying to get a wasdeal is home andm he key o m akeEU-free o dwith m ssed my fl gh m trade Trump’s know: to want you all you tell o he m u mneddeals e W m when aga Ma send back m o Go dca m m for Finally, labels.wou m US-first m he depos have was y keep speaks obab Mahler d pBrent UK m o d hey force armed EU m an of m wary citizens ned u UK e of was key a number once he eW u n he u amoun and m M m ved ideas , these However ece union.he heyare and e ed pos eg scloser m key wh ch byever senan m policy. I am and not e ephoned peoplewand andEU e o by specific €150 was gom back Afloated Costa Blanca m hey m of y proyears ca mworried €150 Bas the ainsidious u he 40-plus y eceatved moreua even m Issue 13 m by amoun h,o hugeTelegrap s aMail, s the me Th EEC/EU €600theom s o en have paganda magainst so ha did o dWhat a Sun. and canno The one of course, a pens m and, Times money Express, m m om nce esponde OLIVE cowhy so ane any gno he was nowhe They asked was money o when say Murdoch PRESS Blacktower Financial Management Ltd is authorised you sgois into regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct registered h hIand wAuthority away gein Gibraltar can hey ng sgus “When of: s dand lines me g along Somethin ti-EU?Financial with both the DGS and CNMV. Blacktower Management (Int) Ltd the is licensed by the Financial Services s ha hethe o to wa Iningo eas Commission (FSC) andsome is registered with o bothIa the DGS and CNMV Spain h ng Thed EU.”wou do can when say: VICTORY! what do they 10 No. ed a ec ent! app be appointm an for ask to had implication is that he
Mallorca Issue 63
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KICK IN THE STOMACH preparing Health authorities are reportedlyhandling of heavy sanctions for failures in the food and ‘structural deficiencies’. at 6ft 2, A top scorer in his club and standing be signed by Baunbag was last year tipped to English Premier League club Liverpool. Reds said the In November, agents from the well’ in Eng19-year-old’s qualities ‘could fit were trackland and made it known that they ing him. off the pitch The rising star will now be firmly while he recovers from sickness. was first outbreak Salmonella the of alarm The
A RISING football star is one of at least 51 customers believed to have been poisoned at a Japanese restaurant in Mallorca. de Real Mallorca B footballer Victor Baunbag is among the dozens to have fallen ill this week after eating at Dragon Sushi on Calle Blanqerna in Palma. in MaThe Cameroonian forward, born already drid, is one of many who have bacteria tested positive for Salmonella - the found in uncooked meats and seafood.
CASES of ‘werewolf syndrome’ have grown after 16 children were given contaminated medication on the Costa del Sol. exInfants developed hypertrichosis cessive body hair growth - after taking omeprazole which had been contaminated by minoxidil – the active ingredient for alopecia medication. Some 13 babies had initially been diagnosed with the condition before three more cases linked to the tainted drugs were discovered earlier this month. Officials believe the contamination could have affected up to 30 Andalu50 cian pharmacies and more than batches of the drug.
when raised 19-year-old Carlos Mora the entered emergency the restaurant. room the morning after eating at later that However it wasn’t until two days safety inspecDragon Sushi was closed by food tors, who ordered tests to be performed. stands at While the current number of victims could climb 51, authorities believe that figureremain closed much higher. The restaurant will until the case is complete.
Hair
Malaga-based pharmaceutical company Farma-Quimica Sur SL has been found to be the source of the batch. lot The affected batch is from re11072/10/42 and most have been are called while any missing packets being tracked down. Parents have been advised to seek medical help if their child has been given the formula and check with their an pharmacy if they have purchased as affected lot. Hypertrichosis, known ‘werewolf syndrome’, is a rare condition characterised by excessive hair growth anywhere on a person’s body. Those with the condition have historiand cally been subject to great interest in in somes cases forced to perform travelling circuses and freak shows. inSpanish authorities have said this cident is isolated to children’s formula and that adults taking omeprazole capsules should not worry about developing symptoms. When the children their prescription the stopped taking hair growth subsided. Opinion Page 6
Rental websites which scammed British holidaymakers out of thousands FINALLY shut down following Olive Press exposes
2
May 9th - May 22nd
CRIME
Dream Killas
www.theolivepress.es
Introducing News Editor Laurence Dollimore and Reporter Joshua Parfitt
any Contact them with on stories or newsemail 951 273 575 or newsdesk@theolivepress.es
2019
Vox
4 blocked
NEWS
www.theolivepress.es April 25th - May 8th 2019 for BeniVOX’S top candidate been replaced dorm mayor has he received a after revelations sentence A BRITISH for expat is being handed a prestigious British gong by the Queen for her two-year prison in February services to tourists in Alicante. domestic violence Candida Wright will receive an MBE for two years ago from the British Ambassa2018. banher charitable work as an interpreter in dor to Spain. Brigido was Perez Davidparty THE socialist (PSOE) largest hospital in the Marina Alta, on Though she is a professional interpreter, election,thedespite the ned Candida often represents victims of sexual will hold on to from the Valencian May 16. MYSTERY surrounds the sentences sometimes government in the upcoming 58-year-old, known as ‘Candy’, has violence in Spanish courts for free, as well The if two-year the apparent suicide of an elin Spain offering financial support through her regional elections, according volunteered being waived derly British resident on con- with HELP of Denia & Mari- as charity. to a marketaccused research company. na Alta since it launched in 1984. has no previous the Costa Blanca. Sigma Dos revealed PSOE will During that time she has helped expats “One of the hardest things is when someofew The 84-year-old expat victions. to lung cancer a to have through cancer, bereavement, bureaucra- ne comes to the desk saying ‘my husband take between 29-30 seats, whiwas found threw herself from a bridge Brigido is helping mother Perez died and I don’t know what to do’,” expcy and court battles. Party (PP) will le the Popular ex-wife, his years ago. THE Olive Press in Javea after being seen legal action “My nephews and nieces were ‘repeatedly fallabused’ from As the president of the charity, she runs lained Candy, who lives in Ondara with see its representation her threw victims take ‘pacing frantically’ by the to it as 31 seats to 22-23. helphair desk at the Marina Salud hospital her Spanish husband. Her two children, rental comafter he ‘shoved and theher looking forward against a holiday railings. 35 and 25, live in Madrid and Valencia But with the totalground, seats inpulled in Denia. abroad,” holiday- really to the face’. A neighbour, who asked pany that scammedfor rental they have never been Valencia’s Generalitat at 99, “The most exciting thing was the pink in- respectively. While she helps with hospiher in the punched Olive Press. andneed dis- I was posted with the words tal procedures, burials and repatriation, not to be named, told the the card PSOE will again to form vitation Deleslie told the makers thousands Blanca. alsoa found saving up The judge Olive Press he saw the wohad coalition to reach the absolute politician BP (Buckingham Palace),” Candida told she’s often called upon to just be a ‘helping villas on the Costa paper was “I spent two years conned Brits abroad we just can’t graced man ‘peering over the edge’ hand’ to someone in need. majority of 50 seats. far-right Press. theand Olive‘deVillas Spain site It comes as the victims of for this trip, and new villa. after squeezing between a The poll suggests the PSOE‘insulted’ will it meant British Petroleum at “You’re sometimes dealing with people “I thought SCAM: Dream frequently 2014 to 2017. who was contacted by new following afford to pay for Ro- returns from phone the woman, who are cancer patients, or need amputamake a pact meaned’ with Valencianist first.” she joked. fence and a steel support ‘general manager’ stress kids are devastated.” There is no available Dream Villas Spain, Compromis seats)post-traumatic and The expat, who has lived in Spain for 45 tions, and it just gives you a wonderful feweb- (17-18 pillar at one end of the brion the plight The helped the family make whichAlba Gutierrez has shut left with (the one on the last issue’s report years, received a ‘Points of Light’ award eling to think ‘I really helped them today’.” MEETING QUEEN: Candida left-wing populist Podemos dge. House number been disconnected) who lost We after De- sella (6-7Alba seats). disorder. site has a police denuncia, lose ‘more Spain’s Companies of the Bolton family, rental. It was about an hour befoRosella Dream Villas The regional re police were alerted to a leslie said she willflights were and reveals that registered as and the name €2,000 on a Moraira in elections will fall 42, has now on May 26 the same day as the appears nowhere suicide attempt over the Petra Deleslie, after losing than €12,000’ asand her bank Spain, which is was incor- Gutierrez European elections. dry Gorgos riverbed while the list of employees. contacted us a villa in Mo- already booked claim their Digital Dream SL, Olifor ‘data pro- Another victim told the See children played on a nearby election porated in 2014 hosting’. €6,000 booking for her ex- were unable to hadour football pitch. on page 6 this week she guide and web money back. raira later this year Press cessing Carrer de la Fe, in ve Pressa villa in Marbella as “She was holding a white 18. in showed the Olive tended family of paper bag and kept looking for four after she She it filed tax booked Dream Vi- Based a surprise getaway We agreed to help‘desperate’ emails asking refund, after Palma, Mallorca, in the bag and then leaning 18-year-old have scammed a friends and five told us she was losing her llas Spain for a over the edge,” the neighLevels CON artists out of €300 bour told the Olive Press. daughters as a post-A for a break after British pensioner help him reto “I wanted to ask her what present. in Lon- after pretending she was doing, but I womoney left at a cashpoint Sarah Adam, based is convinced cover rried she spoke only SpaSaturday. don, told us she scammed. in Javea last proceTHE owners of a bike shop are 77, was approanish and assumed she was Town Hall beganthat the she has also been appealing Brian Stokes, families scammed out of not res-for witnesses a British feeding stray cats.” has begun the ‘20-something’ two byof- in The company has JAVEA Town Hallagainst the edings after learning reforfor ched theft of €40,000 of stock the Sa- from requests thousands EXCLUSIVE ponded to email just one minute! Spanish men outside legal proceedings who cut off owner had intentionally access la Nau By Joshua Parfitt Cabo deholiday Quickly bank Bikes in onfake The theft at Xabia’s the stairs, closing Calle comment. badell owner of a property in Coombes heritage fi- med bikes stolen he had left €20 saw ninePla Just after 7pm last Tuesday ancient site from claiming Meanwhile, DarrenMoraira public access to a thenwho booked villa, in Moraira, before transDream al Mar. to the thieves mor- A at 4am last Wednesday The BRITISH family another Spanish eyewitfrom Alicante-based the cashpoint. shing ground in Balconwho has Samuel Adler. Olive ning. Press a week’swithdraw holiday on the Costa ferring the deposit. ness revealed she had seen represent a very they couldn’t Villa Spain told the One The unknown owner, of the in bikes, claimed a Trek LR10, Blancaand villa “These works wereasked shocked to see She has now confirmed that cashing a heritage the woman jump from the the fraudsters areand cash themselves a luxurious four-storey built serious attack on to us all,” wasdrawing worth €13,000. their villahis advertised card, as avai- her family have been scammed eastern of two bridges on corresponds in andtoin re-insert on his credibility “Two thieves lable on a completely different over the holiday due for June. Stokes overlooking Cala Ambolo, pro- broke the Avenida de Augusta. for Jávea with ‘metal that just a minute andwhich a half they stole stole. “We were this close to leaving website. users from his legitimate a ‘stone staircase’access to the said a spokesperson “I was walking to MercadoInstinine bikes,” Martin Stadlhofer, Susan Bolton, 61, soon realised for our holiday that never perty business website. railings’ that cut fishery. Oceanographic Research na when I saw her take off 40, co-owner of Xabia’s Bikes, she had lost the ₤1,300 depo- existed,” Bolton told the Olive SCAM: Brit family caught by fake villa website her shoes, climb the railing, Llavadora del PinetBolufer said tute (IROX). He told the Olive Press they tations’. told the Olive Press. sit when Dream Villas Spain, Press. and no more,” the woman Councillor Isabel
Socialist win
helps victims take The Olive Press skyrocketing action following rental scam reports of holiday
Your reporters, here to help on the Costa Blanca
Mystery suicide
Gong for Candy!
CATCH THESE CONMEN
Swallow the bait
Wheely fast!
SEL-FISH
(Personal contacts on page 6)
“I’m not sure they knew what they were doing as they knocked over a bike worth €12,000 and didn’t take it—which is great for us.”
based in Mallorca, shut off all contact. The mother-of-two from the West Midlands had spent weeks finding the perfect holiday
Animal horror
A BRITISH expat called in police after finding a group of dogs chained in an abandoned house without food. Roger Ballantine contacted the Guardia Civil after finding the dogs while out walking near Orba. Ballantine had decided to investigate when he noticed a ‘pungent smell’ coming from the ruin. Inside he found scenes worthy of a horror film with dogs kept on short chains surrounded by trash and their own excrement. “It was despicable,” Ballantine told the Olive Press. “It is clear that farmers have chained these four dogs.”
“I knew we had been conned when I contacted them regarding an airport pick up and got no response. It made me become suspicious.” She added the company is now not responding to any calls or emails. Meanwhile, celebrity chocolate taster Angus Kennedy lost ₤5,000 when his family discovered a German man living at the Mallorcan villa they had booked through Dream Villas Spain. Kennedy, from Kent, revealed that when the family arrived this month, the owner, who gave his name as Klaus, was completely baffled and knew nothing about the rental or website.
had chosen the villa out of 780 different homes for rent on the site. They only realised they had been scammed when an airport pick-up never arrived, and he caught a taxi to the property to find the bewildered German. “What was different in our case is I was determined to get to the house, and then contacted the press” Angus told the Olive Press. “I think many more have been duped and the scam could be worth millions.” The website he used to book the trip, dreamvillasspain. com, claims its goal is to ‘create your dream holiday experience and exceed your expec-
The scam comes almost two years since the Olive Press exclusively exposed a string of fake holiday websites duping tourists coming to Spain. In a series of investigations we found dozens of tourists had been scammed millions of euros from the various sites, which illegally uploaded villa photos from legitimate sites. Among those scammed were British Rugby Union star Dean Schofield, who lost €50,000 on a fake villa in Mallorca. Spain Dream Villas, who operate as Digital Dreams SL, declined to comment. JWe were unable to contact anyone at Dream Villas Spain as we went to press.
told the Olive Press. “It all happened so quickly.” Three police cars and an ambulance raced to the scene to retrieve the body. Police confirmed the cause of death as suicide, while a spokesperson for the Town Hall said the lady was British and had lived in a block of flats next to the river ‘for many years’. Neither police or the town hall would reveal her name, suggesting it was proving problematic to contact her next of kin in the UK. None of the residents in the area by the bridge knew the octogenarian.
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A FRAUDULENT villa rental web952 147 834 site that tricked British holidaynailed after Olive makers out of thousands has finally family LAST: Scammers Dreamvillasspain.com while (right) victim Angus and shut down following an extensive AT Press campaign (inset left), the scam Olive Press campaign this year. bogus achs lurch as they read of in lost fielding calls concerning Dreamvillasspain.com was behind it It soon dawned on Angus he’d a rentals from Tenerife, to Marbella tactics of dreamvillasspain.com countless tales of heartbreak as heart- the Olive Press. his €5,500 and urgently needed seduced holidaymakers into pur- place to stay with his wife and five and Moraira. One of the most The way the scam operated was that breaking was from Petra Deleslie, prospective renters would receive chasing villa rentals that never ex- young children. 42, and the collapse of her €6,000 an email from ‘general manager’ isted. “I think many more have been the Costa The first case was reported by the duped and the scam could be worth month-long villa rental on Rosella Alba Gutierrez offering disOlive Press to the Guardia Civil in millions,” Angus told this paper at Blanca, booked for this October. counts for up-front payments on reThe mum-of-two from Kent was all spective villas. April when professional chocolate the time. family taster Angus Kennedy turned up at With mounting cases, this paper set to travel with 18 extended break’ But once paid, Gutierrez would shut members for a ‘much-needed out the a villa he had paid for in Mallorca. made a collective denuncia at the mother to off all contact, as it turned He was met with bewildered Ger- Guardia Civil in Moraira on behalf following the death of her company’s phone was a fake. had no 15:36 16/06/2017 lung cancer. 1 who owner, Klaus, heard - unmanUntitled-1.pdf of UK-based victims. were re- For months nothing was knowledge of ever putting his house Soon after, the Olive Press was “My nephews and nieces forward til a major UK news network got in ally looking up for rental. the website had been SUFFERER: Of hypertrichosis to it as they have never touch saying been abroad,” Deleslie shut down. Press can also reveal a The Olive told the Olive Press. - named and shamed in “I spent two years sav- second sitearticle - is also no longer ing up for this trip, and a separate C I just can’t afford to live. operated pay for a new villa. The Travelvacationtour.com M with exactly the same layout and kids are devastated.” UK BASED as dreamvillasspain.com, Deleslie added the cu- houses Y Brit Donna Archer mulative loss of flights and scammed for a Tenerife villa CM would cost her family out of €5,500 booked as a post GCSE gift to her €12,000 in total. his best mate in May. MY Then there was Sarah son and yet clear if legal action has Adams, who booked It is not for Spanish CY against the companies, taken been getaway a surprise residents are listed as ‘active’ on CMY to Malaga for four as both Companies House. friends and their joint- Spanish Civil could not comment www.globelink.co.uk K five daughters as a Guardia went to press. we before post-A Levels present. Find out more on page XX Both Deleslie and AdOpinion Page 6 96 626 5000 ams felt their stom+44 (0) 1353 699082 Come and Visit Us!
Contact Isabel Calatayud - Head of Admissions and External Relations info@laudeladyelizabeth.com
Telephone: 671 698 769
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FLOG IT: Mark Stacey in Javea
Going going gone!
RAID your jewellery boxes and plunder the garage because Flog It! is coming to the Costa Blanca! Mark Stacey, renowned British auctioneer, will be in Javea on September 14 to value your trinkets and even give you a juicy offer. The TV personality has appeared on Bargain Hunt, Flog it!, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is and Antiques Road Trip - but this trip the will be raising funds for charity Guardian Angels.
“Six years ago Mark came over we had over 400 people through and door,” Sue Nutbrown, president the Guardian Angels, told the Olive Press.of “If your items are worth something, Mark will make you an offer and then livestream you its auctioning back in the UK.”
Help
The charity afternoon will take place at the Palacio de la Paz, 20 Calle de Salvia, and floggers will be charged la €5 for a valuation. Guardian Angels operates from Gandia down to Torrevieja guiding families, particularly expat Brits, through
separation and divorce. “Our work is so important. In the UK families tend to have aunts and uncles around for support, but in a foreign country situations can get complicated,” Sue said. “We try to help in any way we can.” Sue said the event six years ago raised €6,000, which went to everything from ‘counselling’ to ‘medical care’ and ‘repatriation’. Pianists Lola Smolokowski will appear ‘jingling the keys’, while animal shelters and children’s charities would also be on site.
voice in Spain
Vol. 1 Issue 12 www.theolivepress.es August 29th - September 11th 2019
Rental websites which scammed British holidaymakers out of thousands FINALLY shut down following Olive Press exposes
2
CRIME
www.theolivepress.es
mother to lung cancer a few years ago. “My nephews and nieces were really looking forward to it as they have never been abroad,” Deleslie told the Olive Press. “I spent two years saving up for this trip, and we just can’t afford to pay for new villa. The kids are devastated.” We helped the family make a police denuncia, after Deleslie said she will lose ‘more than €12,000’ as flights were already booked and her bank were unable to claim their money back. She showed the Olive Press emails asking Dream Villas Spain for a refund, after
SEL-FISH
Contact them with any stories or news on 951 273 575 or email newsdesk@theolivepress.es
(Personal contacts on page 6)
JAVEA Town Hall has begun legal proceedings against the owner of a property who cut off public access to a heritage fishing ground in Balcon al Mar. The unknown owner, who has a luxurious four-storey villa overlooking Cala Ambolo, built a ‘stone staircase’ with ‘metal railings’ that cut access to the Llavadora del Pinet fishery. Councillor Isabel Bolufer said
the Town Hall began proceedings after learning that the owner had intentionally reformed the stairs, closing access to the ancient site from Calle Samuel Adler. “These works represent a very serious attack on a heritage that corresponds to us all,” said a spokesperson for Jávea Oceanographic Research Institute (IROX).
NEWS
VOX’S top candidate for Benidorm mayor has been replaced after revelations he received a A BRITISH two-year prison sentence for expat is being handed tigious British gong a presdomestic violence in February services to tourists by the Queen for her in Alicante. 2018. Candida Wright will Davidparty Perez Brigido was ban- work receive an MBE for two years THE socialist her charitable ago (PSOE) will hold on ned the election,thedespite largest hospital inas an interpreter in dor to Spain. from the British Ambassato from the Valencian the Marina Alta, on government May 16. two-year Though she is a professional in the sentences sometimes regional elections, upcoming The if58-year-old, interpreter, Candida waived in Spain the according to a marketbeing volunteered with known as ‘Candy’, has violence often represents victims of sexual research company. HELP of in Spanish has no previous Sigma Dos accused na Altaconsince it launched in Denia & Mari- as offering financialcourts for free, as well revealed PSOE will 1984. victions. support through take between During that time 29-30 seats, whiher she has helped expats charity. le the Popular through Perez Brigido was found to have cancer, bereavement, “One Party (PP) will bureaucra- ne of the hardest things is when someosee its representation cy and court battles. ‘repeatedly his ex-wife, comes to the desk fall abused’ from 31 seats to 22-23. As the president died and I don’t knowsaying ‘my husband after he ‘shoved and the threw her of the charity, she But with the total what to do’,” runs help desk at the Marina seats inpulled to the ground, her hair Salud hospital lained Candy, who lives in Ondara expValencia’s Generalitat in Denia. her Spanish husband. with at 99, and punched her in the face’. PSOE will again Her two children, “The most exciting thing 35 and 25, live in to form Madrid and Valencia SCAM: Dream Villas Spain site conned Brits abroad coalition to reach vitation Theneed judge alsoa found the card dis- I was postedwas the pink in- respectively. the absolute While she helps with with the words majority of 50 BP (Buckingham graced had tal procedures, burials hospiseats. far-right politician Palace),” Candida which ‘general manager’ Ro- returns from 2014 to 2017. The poll suggests theand and told she’s often Olive‘dePress. frequently the PSOE‘insulted’ called upon to just repatriation, will sella Alba Gutierrez has shut There is no availablemake phone “I thought it meant a pact meaned’ be a ‘helping hand’ to someone with Valencianist the woman, who was British Petroleum Compromis first.” Spain’s Companies House number (the one on the web- (17-18 at “You’re sometimesin need. she joked. seats)post-traumatic and left with stress dealing with people left-wing populist The expat, and reveals that Dream Villas site has been disconnected) who are cancer patients, who has Podemos (6-7 seats). disorder. years, received a lived in Spain for 45 tions, and or need amputaSpain, which is registered as and the name Rosella ‘Points of Light’ The Alba award eling to it just gives you a wonderful feregional elections think ‘I really helped will Digital Dream SL, was incor- Gutierrez appears nowhere on Mayin them today’.” MEETING 26 the same day as fall the porated in 2014 for ‘data pro- the list of employees. European elections. QUEEN: Candida cessing and web hosting’. Another victim told the OliSee our election Based in Carrer de la Fe, in ve Press this week she guide had Palma, Mallorca, it filed tax booked a villa in Marbella as on page 6 a surprise getaway for four friends and five 18-year-old daughters as a post-A Levels CON artists have scammed a present. British pensioner out of €300 Sarah Adam, based in Lon- after pretending to help him redon, told us she is convinced cover money left at a cashpoint she has also been scammed. THE owners of ain Javea last Saturday. bike shop are The company has appealing not res-for witnesses Brian Stokes, 77, was approaa British theft of €40,000 families scammed ponded to email requests for ched byof- in two ‘20-something’ of stock just one minute! Spanish out of comment. thousands men outside the Sa- from The theft at Xabia’s Meanwhile, DarrenMoraira Coombes badell Bikes bank Cabo de la Nau in onfake EXCLUSIVE saw nine bikes stolen By Joshua Parfitt from Alicante-based Dream Pla claiming he had leftholiday €20 in at 4am last Wednesday mor- A ning. Press Villa Spain told the Olive the cashpoint. The thieves then BRITISH family who booked a week’swithdraw of the in the fraudsters are One cashing they couldn’t bikes, claimed holiday on the Costa villa, in Moraira, before transa Trek LR10, wasdrawing ferring the deposit. Blancaand worth €13,000. wereasked on his credibility and cash themselves shocked “Two thieves broke their villa advertised to see She has now confirmed users from his legitimate pro- Stokes in andtoin re-insert card, as avaithat just a minute lable on ahis completely different her family have been scammed and a half they perty business website. stole stole. nine bikes,” Martinwhich over the holiday website.
Socialist win
Gong for Candy!
April 25th - May 8th
2019
MYSTERY surrounds the apparent suicide of an elderly British resident on the Costa Blanca. The 84-year-old expat threw herself from a bridge in Javea after being seen ‘pacing frantically’ by the railings. A neighbour, who asked not to be named, Olive Press he saw told the man ‘peering over the woafter squeezing the edge’ between a fence and a steel pillar at one end support of the bridge. It was about an hour before police were alerted to a suicide attempt over the dry Gorgos riverbed while children played on a nearby football pitch. “She was holding paper bag and kept a white in the bag and then looking leaning over the edge,” the neighbour told the Olive “I wanted to ask Press. she was doing, her what rried she spoke but I wonish and assumedonly Spafeeding stray cats.” she was
Wendy Norfo k Ma aga Kate Ferry, Altea
Quickly
Just after 7pm last another Spanish Tuesday eyewit-
ness revealed she due “We were this close for June. Susan Bolton, 61, the woman jump had seen from the she had lost the soon realised for our holiday to leaving eastern of two that never bridges on sit when Dream ₤1,300 depo- existed,” Bolton told the Avenida de Augusta. the Olive SCAM: Brit family based in Mallorca,Villas Spain, Press. caught by fake “I was walking to shut off all “I knew villa website He told the Olive contact. we had na when I saw herMercadowhen I contactedbeen conned had chosen the villa Press they tations’. The mother-of-two take off out her shoes, climb West Midlands had from the ding an airport pickthem regar- different homes for rent of 780 The scam comes almost the railing, up and got spent wee- no response. on the years ks finding the perfect since the Olive two and no more,” the woman It made me beco- site. Press told the Olive holiday me suspicious.” They only realised exclusively exposed Press. “It all they had fake a been scammed She added the company holiday websitesstring of happened so quickly.” when an airduping Three police is now port tourists coming to not responding to cars and Spain. any calls or and pick-up never arrived, In a emails. he caught series of investigations ambulance raced to the an sceproperty to find a taxi to the we found dozens ne to retrieve the Meanwhile, celebrity the bewildebody. chocola- red German. had been scammed of tourists Police confirmed te taster Angus millions of the cause euros from the ₤5,000 when hisKennedy lost “What was different of death as suicide, various while a covered a German family dis- case is I was determinedin our which illegally uploaded sites, spokesperson for the Town at the Mallorcan man living to the house, and then to get photos from legitimate villa Hall said the lady was Britibooked through villa they had ted the press” Angus contac- Among those scammedsites. Dream Villas Olive told the British were sh and had lived in a block Spain. Press. Rugby of flats “I think many more Dean Schofield, Union star many next to the river ‘for Kennedy, from Kent, years’. that when the familyrevealed duped and the scamhave been €50,000 on a fake who lost Neither villa in Macould be llorca. arrived worth millions.” police or this month, the hall would reveal the town Spain gave his name asowner, who The website he used to book rate asDream Villas, who ope- suggesting it washer name, completely baffled Klaus, was the trip, dreamvillasspain. Digital Dreams SL, proving de- problematic to contact clined nothing about the and knew com, claims its goal her is to ‘crea- JWe to comment. rental or te your next of kin in the website. were unable dream holiday expeUK. rience and exceed anyone at Dream to contact None of the residents in your expec- as Villas Spain area by we went to press. the bridge knew the the
Animal horror
A BRITISH expat dogs chained in ancalled in police after finding a group of Roger Ballantine abandoned house without food. the dogs while outcontacted the Guardia Civil after finding walking near Orba. Ballantine had decided ‘pungent smell’ coming to investigate when he noticed a from the ruin. Inside he found scenes worthy of kept on short chains a horror surrounded by trash film with dogs excrement. and their own “It was despicable,” clear that farmers Ballantine told the Olive Press. have chained these “It is four dogs.”
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Stadlhofer, 40, co-owner of Xabia’s Bikes, told the Olive Press. “I’m not sure they they were doing knew what as they knocked over a bike worth €12,000 and didn’t take it—which is great for us.”
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A FRAUDULENT villa rental website that tricked British holidaymakers out of thousands has finally shut down following an extensive Olive Press campaign this year. Dreamvillasspain.com was behind countless tales of heartbreak as 952 147 834 it seduced holidaymakers into purchasing villa rentals that never ex- AT LAST: Scammers Dreamvillasspain.com nailed isted. after Olive Press campaign (inset left), while (right) victim Angus and The first case was reported by family Olive Press to the Guardia Civilthe his €5,500 and urgently needed a the Costa Blanca, booked for this an email from ‘general in place to stay with his wife April when professional chocolate and five October. manager’ young children. Rosella Alba Gutierrez offering distaster Angus Kennedy turned up The mum-of-two from a villa he had paid for in Mallorca.at “I think many more have been set to travel with 18 Kent was all counts for up-front payments on extended fam- respective villas. He was met with bewildered Ger- duped and the scam could be worth ily members for a ‘much-needed But once paid, Gutierrez millions,” Angus told this paper man owner, Klaus, who had at break’ following the death would no the time. of her shut off all contact, as it turned knowledge of ever putting his house With mounting cases, this paper mother to lung cancer. the company’s phone was a fake.out up for rental. “My nephews and It soon dawned on Angus he’d lost made a collective denuncia at the ly looking forward nieces were real- For months nothing was heard to it as they have until Guardia Civil in Moraira on behalf never been abroad,” Deleslie told got a major UK news network in touch saying the website had of UK-based the Olive Press. been shut down. victims. “I spent two years Soon after, the trip, and I just saving up for this The Olive Press can also reveal a can’t afford to pay second site - named Olive and shamed Press for a new villa. The kids are devas- separate article - is also no longer in a was fielding tated.” live. Travelvacationtour.com calls concern- Deleslie added operated the cumulative loss with exactly the ing bogus rent- of flights would same layout and als from Tener- €12,000 in total. cost her family houses as dreamvillasspain.com, and scammed Brit Donna Archer ife, to Marbella Then there was Sarah Adams, out who of €5,500 for a Tenerife villa and Moraira. booked a surprise One of the aga for four friendsgetaway to Mal- booked as a post GCSE gift to her and their joint- son and his best mate most in May. heart- five daughters as a post-A Levels It is not yet clear if legal action breaking was present. has been taken against from Petra De- Both Deleslie and Adams felt their as both are listed the companies, leslie, 42, and stomachs lurch as they read of the Spanish Companies as ‘active’ on The British expats who are pro- the House. collapse scam tactics of of her €6,000 com in the Olive dreamvillasspain. Guardia Civil could not comment Brexit and proud SEE PAGE 7 before we went to press. m o n t h - l o n g The way the scamPress. operated was that villa rental on prospective renters would receive Opinion Page 6
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THE Olive Press is helping victims take legal action against a holiday rental company that scammed holidaymakers thousands for rental villas on the Costa Blanca. It comes as the paper was contacted by new victims of Dream Villas Spain, following last issue’s report on the plight of the Bolton family, who lost €2,000 on a Moraira rental. Petra Deleslie, 42, has now contacted us after losing €6,000 booking a villa in Moraira later this year for her extended family of 18. We agreed to help after she told us she was ‘desperate’ for a break after losing her
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Dream Killas The Olive Press helps victims take action following skyrocketing reports of holiday rental scam
Your reporters, here to help on the Costa Blanca Introducing News Editor Laurence Dollimore and Reporter Joshua Parfitt
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Readers share their Goldcar stories after a Which? investigation revealed the firm ‘bullies’ and ‘lies to’ customers
Money for nothing Goldcar took €200 out of my son-in-law’s account. They said there was a scuff under the bumper. They had to leave the car uninspected as they said they were busy. Gina Roebuck, Almeria
They’re not all bad Each time I use Goldcar I buy my own excess insurance and take a copy of the policy with me. They try and sell me the insurance but a polite ‘no’ works. The trouble is, the staff are paid commission on the insurance and most people are so stupid they don’t have the insurance and then fall for the expensive one at the airport. It’s not a bad company, it’s more idiot drivers who don’t think about insurance before they go away. Chris Monks, Gran Canaria
Evil staff I refused the insurance as I have my own and so endured all the bullying. I then had my card blocked for €1,200 but I was also charged an extra €79 for supposedly agreeing to a diesel car. I tried to get my money back without success. In April this year I hired from Interrent and was appalled it is the same firm as Goldcar. When I got my card bill they had taken a further €29. I rang to be told it was for a deep clean for sand? I put a formal complaint in and asked for proof as there was no sand in the car. This time they refunded. I am used to the hard sell with most of them now, but Goldcar staff are evil. Kath Kirby, Alicante
Nothing but good things We have rented cars from Goldcar exclusively throughout being retired in Spain for the last three years. The service is fantastic at the Jerez Airport office, we have never experienced any pressure to buy additional insurance. We wholly endorse and recommend using Goldcar, and sincerely hope that your inflammatory ‘reporting’ doesn’t harm the reputation of the manager and staff here. Patricia Geesing, Jerez de la Frontera
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
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In 2018 I went to Spain for a month. I made a rental here in Canada for €900 and with normal insurance. When I arrived at the Avis in Barcelona and showed all my papers the problems started. In the end they charged me another €1,350 on top and wanted me to pay risk insurance for €100 per day. I made complaints in Spain and at the US headquarters too, but heard nothing. Carlos Molina, Canada
We booked from August 15 to September 5. We paid €181 for the hire at Malaga Airport. I was told that I could either leave credit card details and they hold €790 and pay €56 for the full tank of petrol and if I had an accident it would be €300, or I could pay €218 up front and I would be totally covered. So I got worried and paid it. I did email Wiber stating that by paying €181 for hire, another €218 was a bit excessive. They said that it states in the small print I had another option, but I can’t recall seeing it. I’m a bit peeved off and worried about booking hire cars in the future. Hayley Davis, Kent
I booked from July 23 - 26. On collection I had to submit a second credit card as the card I always use was declined. At the car collection point an irate Hertz employee was on the phone and I told him I had discovered six scratches. He was quite annoyed. He said grumpily, ‘you damage car, you pay’. I was careful and returned the car to Hertz Bristol Airport. But 14 hours later I had an email saying there was a scratch on the front left bumper. I did not have any incident during the rental period. I was charged €240 in total. I now see they have charged me twice, as I just received my statement from the card that was declined. The whole thing is sharp practice and no one is policing this wrongdoing. Kevin Barry, Bristol
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Issue 33
September 2019
El Ca Cap nt ric ab h ria o,
Modern masterpieces
From pet passports to dodgy removal men, one British family’s highs and lows as they set up in Spain before Brexit strikes... See page IV Ca Ba sa rc Ba el tll on o, a
But which is Spain’s favourite modernist building? See page III (a clue is in the picture in the middle)
C Ca asa s Le tilla Lis, on y
P Lo alac M ngo io d ad ri e rid a,
UPS AND DOWNS Growth figures for July make up for sluggish foreign buyers and a drop in June SPAIN has recorded its best month for property sales for 11 years, new government data has revealed. A total of 47,890 transactions were reported in July 2019, marking a 3.8% year-on-year increase. June 2008 was the last time more homes were snapped up in Spain, continuing the trend of steady market growth. The regions of Extremedura (23.4%), La Rioja (22.4%) and Castilla-La Mancha (21.6%) recorded the largest year-on-year
growth. In total, 11 of Spain’s 17 regions grew over the last year. It made up for a 9% year-onyear drop in June, which suggested the market was really slowing down. There have also been some big declines in the long time foreigners favourite the Balearics as well as Madrid, which saw drops of 21.9% and 8.1% respectively. In the Balearics the slump follows on from the introduction of strict new rental laws which have made it more
difficult for owners to rent to tourists. This has made property on the islands less attractive as investment opportunities. Further negative news saw foreign buyers drop by 7%, with British buyers among those being put off purchasing in Spain (see Slow Down, pg II). It is hoped that the end of the Brexit saga, possibly next month, and the long awaited return to political stability can help recuperate British losses while also bringing a boost to both the foreign and domestic markets.
DECLINE: Mallorca’s property market has dramatically slowed down following new rental laws
II
PROPERTY
COOLING OFF September 26th - October 9th, 2019
Mark Stucklin
www.spanishpropertyinsight.com
Foreign buyers, Brits included, were turned off investing in Spanish property this summer, writes Mark Stucklin SPAIN was not the flavour of the 2019 summer season for overseas buyers. The number of Spanish homes purchased by foreigners declined in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. And it’s not just a blip. This is the second consecutive quarterly decline in what looks like the start of a downward trend. The number of property sales deeds registered in the Spanish land register by a foreign buyer in the second quarter of this year numbered 16,209, according to the latest report by
Spain’s Association of Land Registrars. That compares to 17,338 a year before, a decline of 7%. Before Q1, foreign demand for Spanish property had not declined in any quarter since foreign demand started to recover back in 2010 (and four years before local demand began to recover). Now it has declined for two quarters in a row. By nationality, the biggest group of buyers was once again the British, with 2,159 Spanish property acquisitions registered in the quarter (13% of the foreign market), followed by the
French some way behind with the biggest markets all appea1,236 (8%), and the Germans red to turn upwards towards with 1,184 (7%). positive growth in Q2, with the In terms of market share the exception of the UK, where de‘rest of the world’ is mand growth is gaining whilst the negative and poinbiggest markets are ting down. The trend in on the retreat. When you look at Almost all markets foreign demand is the overall market posted a decline clearly downwards including local dein Q2, with the exmand, the figures and looks set to reveal a second ception of Morocco, Romania, France, continue that way consecutive quarand the rest of the terly decline and world. a clear downward However, if there is trend, so it’s not one bit of good news in the fi- just foreigners who seem to be gures it was that demand from going cold on Spanish property.
&
As a result of the change in both local and foreign demand, buyers from abroad represented 12.5% of the Spanish property market in Q2. As I concluded in my article on the Q1 foreign demand for Spanish property figures: “The trend in foreign demand is clearly downwards and looks set to continue that way in the next few quarters at least.” I see no reason yet to change that conclusion based on the Q2 figures. The downward trend is taking shape.
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PROPERTY
III
September 25th - October 8, 2019
House arrest
Expat feels ‘imprisoned’ in own home after agricultural plant built without planning authorisation next door EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Parfitt
Brutalist birthday A TRIO of Brutalist Costa del Sol blocks celebrated their 50th anniversary this month. The ‘Los Manantiales’ complex in Torremolinos was finished the same year Judy Garland honeymooned in the town - way back in swingin’ 1969. The three striking 18-storey towers have been acclaimed for their unique features including external spiral staircases and concrete tubing used to channel sea breezes. Madrid-born architect Luis Alfonso Pagan is behind the
ANDALUCIA’S capital city is growing sharply having approved 2,000 new homes, with construction to be carried out mainly in the south and east of the city. The new houses in Sevilla have been given the go-ahead, with some 18,000 homes set to be completed over the next three years. Otaisa Architecture Studio will
complex, which houses 450 apartments and a 45-bedroom hotel. Originally only planned as a six-storey development, Malaga City Council upped the ante due to Pagan’s ‘quality’ design. Los Manantiales even went on to win a Silver Hexagon at the Space International Awards in 1979. Brutalist architecture, a style that emerged in the 1950s, was characterised by its monolithic appearance, rigid geometric style and large-scale use of poured concrete.
Capital growth carry out the plans, with the new neighborhood, named ‘Buenaire’. It is set to have many trees, a children’s playground, spaces for walks, bike lanes and a leisure centre.
A BRITISH expat is demanding action after a seven-metre high and potentially toxic agricultural plant was built just yards from his Costa Blanca home. David Lesak, 62, is considering legal action after his countryside views were turned into an ‘industrial nightmare’ thanks to the 82,000m2 BabyPlant plant nursery in Vereda Salazar, Orihuela. A steel-wire fence is all that separates Lesak’s kitchen and living room from forklifts that operate from ‘seven in the morning until after midnight’ - even on Sundays and public holidays. “Once the plant began production, our lives were destroyed,” Lesak, who has lived in Vereda Salazar since 2003, told the Olive Press. “We have lost our privacy.
Go Gaudi
PLANT PROBLEMS: Only a steel wire fence separates the resident and the ‘toxic’ plant We’re exposed day and night to the noise of industrial machinery and shouting factory workers, while greenhouses taller than our properties block out the light, and we’re exposed to dangerous levels of contamination. “Our peaceful little village has been transformed into a mixture between Brands Hatch and an industrial centre.” A February 2015 environmental report shown to this paper concluded the agricultural warehouse was ‘appropriate for an industrial area’ - not a residential area. The report says ‘activities’ on site could ‘harm neighbours’ health’ and ruin the ‘scenic landscape’. It declared the installation ‘unfavourable’. According to town hall documents, the plant neverthe-
less received a licence for construction on February 2, 2016 - a YEAR AND A HALF after BabyPlant had begun operations. Carlos Bernabé, with the Cambiemos political party in Orihuela, said the legality of BabyPlant was ‘questionable’. “It’s a disgrace. For years, Orihuela Town Hall has almost encouraged people to break the law, then pay a fine and carry on as normal,” Bernabé told the Olive Press. He said it wasn’t clear if an ‘offence’ has been committed, but the documentation was ‘strange’ and ‘contradictory’. “It’s much more difficult to get away with this now.” BabyPlant did not respond to a request for comment.
Round the houses HE might have problems selling his Spanish mansion, but it hasn’t stopped Michael Douglas playing the property market. The US star has splashed €4.1 million on a home in the New York suburbs, despite failing to shift his S’Estaca estate, in Mallorca, now down to just €29 million from an original €50 million asking price. The Basic Instinct actor’s new buy, with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, dates back to 1895 and is set amongst 12 acres of meadow on the Hudson River. It also boasts two indoor pools, a tennis court, gym, sauna, steam room, two-story library and guest cottage.
GAUDI’S remarkable Casa Batllo has been crowned the greatest modernist building in Spain. An Architectural Digest poll put the Spanish architect’s masterpiece in Barcelona in first place with 21% of the vote. In second place came Cantabria’s El Capricho, with Casa Lis in Castilla y Leon third, and Madrid’s exuberant Palacio de Longoria, in fourth. Casa Batllo, which is known for its peculiar skeleton-like balcony, sits in Barcelona’s Eixample district. It was however, snubbed as the city’s best building in 1906, when it was finished, with another architect being awarded that year’s title.
Rental woes RENTS have surged at more than 30 times the rate of wages in Spain for the last five years. Whilst the average rental cost in Spain is 50% higher than the same property in 2013, wages have only increased by 1.6% in the same period. Around half of Spain’s tenants spend over 40% of their pay packet on rent. Mallorca’s capital, Palma, saw the steepest increase in rents, alongside Barcelona, with rents going up by more than 50% since 2013. In Malaga, Madrid and Valencia, properties are 45% more expensive than in 2013.
PROPERTY
IV
September 26th - October 9th, 2019
Brexit made us do it! As the Halloween deadline looms, Karen Livermore relives the trials and tribulations of her own family’s recent Brexodus to Spain
R
EWIND to the summer of 2016 and refe- worse-than-usual porendum result day. My partner and I were litical backstabbing. relaxing on a friend’s terrace over a chilled Key messages about glass of Rioja, gazing up at the awe-inspi- trade and freedom of ring Sierra de las Nieves mountains, when the re- movement got lost. sults started to come in and pictures of a gurning We became increaNigel Farage filled the TV screens. singly incredulous at Compared to our spectacular surroundings it was the inept handling of not quite such a pretty sight! negotiations with the It was also the outcome no one expected. Even EU and when MPs began acting like sulky chilFarage originally declared the Leadren in kindergarten we decided it vers had been defeated just a few was time to go. hours after the polls closed. Three quotes, one It wasn’t a decision taken lightly. A shocked nation, a PM’s resignawere hardly militant pro-Euroif we moved pre- We tion, Parliament in turmoil, calls peans hoisting the blue and yellow for a general election ... the weeks Brexit, one for no- flag outside our house. But the following were muddled and chaoextremism and fake news stories tic. Three years on it’s eerily the deal and another from both sides left us cold. Inssame... tead, like a growing number of Back in the UK, we watched sides if there was a deal rationally-minded Brits, we could being drawn up. We were told how see what effect leaving the EU President Trump would give us would have, and we didn’t like huge trade deals to make up for the plethora of what we saw. companies and industries that were packing their If we were going to make a move, we wanted to go bags and heading for the nearest Channel port. before Brexit - whatever that looked like - to avoid Let’s see how that pans out. being caught in a potential red tape nightmare. We witnessed changing global economies and After a dalliance with France and a mad half hour suddenly Leavers who had cast their votes on considering Australia, we chose Spain. the back of an immigration campaign started to My partner speaks fluent Spanish (which has realise that this was an insignificant part of the been a godsend) having lived in Menorca for over overall picture. 15 years, while his sister and her husband have I think at the time of the referendum, huge num- been based in Andalucia for almost 20. Really it bers of the electorate simply did not know what was a no brainer. And so the property hunt began. they were voting for or the impact the result would Many a Sunday morning was spent flicking throuhave. The campaigns were full of rhetoric and gh inmobiliario websites shortlisting properties
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f you are interested in buying or selling a house in Spain, but are not a resident, then you need not worry. In Spain, there are no restrictions upon non-residents, since they enjoy the same opportunities and rights any Spanish citizen would have at the moment of buying a property. The same goes for selling a house, as non-resident foreigners can sell any property in Spain without restriction. However, in this latter case it is important to keep in mind a few key features so that such legal action can be performed without errors or complications before a notary or when registering with the property registry. As common practice dictates, the purchase or sale of a property always requires that there be a public deed and that it be presented before a notary for registration in the property registry.
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whether you want to buy or sell in Spain as a foreigner or as a non-resident. As indicated by the Personal Income Tax Law in article 9, a person who meets the following particularities will be considered as a resident: · Lived for more than 183 days in Spain. · Is a spouse, not legally separated, and with children who are minors who reside in Spain and who depend on the person. · Has his/her main economic activities within Spain, either directly or indirectly. Taking into account the above information, people who are foreigners or non-residents and who comply with Tel. (+34) 96 649 18 29 any of the three info@hispaniahomes.es points above, will www.hispaniahomes.co.uk have to keep in mind different considerations depending on Want to sell your property? their situation. Ask here for our VENDORS GUIDE
For example, if you the purchasing party are a foreigner or a non-resident, you will be required to Avda. Madrid, 24, 03724 Moraira - Alicante submit a public deed This process will and an NIE docuhave the function of a liquidation of the ment, alongside which a standardised apcapital gains tax, such as that of a liqui- plication form is attached and signed. You dation of the tax for patrimonial transmis- will also have to present your passport and sions and legal acts, or such as VAT, de- a copy, among other information. pending on whether it is a new property or a second-hand property. This may vary depending on other scenarios, so it’s always worth researching as So, what are the key points you should much as possible according to your status. keep in mind? In this case, it depends on Certified Residential Specialist The Proven Path to Success
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Find us at Av. Madrid, 24, 03724 Moraira, Alicante. Call us 9am - 7pm (Mon-Fri) on: +34 96 649 18 29 or +34 669 24 20 27 Contact us on: info@hispaniahomes.es
IDYLL: Karen’s Brexit-free paradise with Hubby Terry (top left) and her dogs (right) that could be our new home. A quick viewing trip back to Andalucia, and we fell in love with the first place we saw. Yes, very dangerous I know. Alas, just as we were about to make an offer, the agent told us the vendor had accepted a private deal. The house with its 360-degree panoramic views of whitewashed villages, the Sierra de las Nieves and Sierra de Mijas was no longer an option. However, as happens in the house hunting business, the next property we found had equally stunning views, needed less work and our offer was accepted. By now it was December 2018 and the Brexit clock was ticking. The vendors needed to find somewhere, their lawyers were not the fastest in the world and we wanted completion before the then Brexit deadline date of March 31. Then, as now, no one really knew what would happen. Deal or no-deal, it could alter the stakes drastically in terms of freedom of movement and the status of Brits in Europe. Meanwhile the exchange rates were going crazy, rollercoastering to highs not seen since 2017 before suddenly plunging to levels that made us gasp. Poring over the pound to euro exchange rates became an obsession. When you are changing property-sized amounts of cash, every centimo counts! Even the physical move was hijacked by Brexit. Astonishingly, one UK-based removal company gave us three quotes - one if we moved pre-Brexit, one for a no-deal scenario and another if we moved and there was a deal! Not unsurprisingly, they didn’t get our business. Instead, we found a great company based on the Costa del Sol which quoted one price and a good one at that! We also didn’t realise how Brexit would affect our dog and two cats. Dylan the dog was already well-travelled with a pet passport from the previous year, obtained by a simple process - get the rabies jab, pay £90 and wait for the passport to arrive in the post. This time around vets acting on DEFRA advice, which of course could not be definitive, were not
only recommending a £90 rabies jab for all three pets but a further blood test four weeks later at £120 and, depending on the antibody count, another £90 rabies jab and then another £120 blood test. Then a three month wait before they could travel and a potential further unspecified cost for a second certificate alongside the pet passport. Oh, and despite only being a few months into her original rabies jab, Dylan had to go through the process again too. However, we were advised that should Brexit not happen, then the old regime was adequate which made the whole process look like a money-making ploy rather than extra vigilance over rabies. And this was all coming from the UK government, not Europe. Given the cost for transporting our pets would come to £1,200, and convinced there was no way Brexit would be delivered by the end of March, we took a chance and brought them over on the current system. Since then, like a lot of expats, we have adopted another dog and getting her passport from our new Spanish vet was a breeze - at half the price! Now we watch the news - glasses of chilled Rioja in hand - with a slightly more detached view, glad to be out of the mayhem choking the UK, although we sense the panic as the new October 31 deadline looms. We eventually completed on our house on March 29 - just two slim days before the initial Leave Europe deadline. It all went smoothly, which is more than can be said for the shambles that is Brexit.
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September 26th - October 9th 2019
PROPERTY
Watertight As floods in Spain once again make global headlines, one expat company is pouring in to help
DURING late 2018, Andalucia was hit by the Owner of the property Master Choy was so inworst flash floods in living memory. spired by the series of heavy duty windows and Similar to last week’s terrifying deluges in east- doors installed that he decided to create some ern Spain, the Costa Del Sol and the Serranía new opportunities for his students to join the de Ronda took a battering. business. While we didn’t see the death toll of Alican- “Protecting a physical building is a mirror of te and Almería, thousands of residents had how you protect yourself,” he told the Olive to live through the painful Press. experience of being forced “Like Tai Chi taught me, I am from their homes, powerless willing to invest in loss and I against the wrath of nature. put 17,000€ into flood-proof Hundreds were badly flooded doors and windows for the out. Dozens of families lost whole property.” everything. He continued:”I knew in my That’s the case of Tom, Linda gut that I had to find doors and Andy, who came to live in and windows that are proved Cortes de la Frontera just 150 to work, tested again and feet from the river Guadiaro. again.” Coming to study with Tai Chi After doing his research he and Taoist Master Choy and met Malcolm Snape, the ownother students from the UK er of StormMeister, and perand Holland, they had only suaded him to come to Spain been settled-in for three days to supervise the installation. when the floods came. As both Tom and Andy are Almost everything they owned TOUGH: These doors will keep both experienced carpenters in the finca was swept away, floods at bay they decided to learn to install with the water level rising to four feet high in these special fittings themselves. the house. This is where it sparked and clicked immediThey worked for weeks just to make their home ately. Malcolm was looking to expand his busilivable again. ness in Spain and saw in the group a great And then they came up with a clever plan, potential to start providing flood protection which they hope will inspire many other expats installations here. - and Spanish - around the country. This is how StormMeister Spain was born and Their fresh start involved bringing in Storm- now homeowners have the real opportunity to Meister, a UK-based world leader in Flood Pro- make their homes flood proof. tection constructions. Now the same problems are back and after a
TEAMWORK: The solid doors and windows are guaranteed to keep rain out dry summer the floods are striking again and the phenomena is not showing any signs of slowing down as the climate is getting more and more uncertain. “Andalucia and the Costa Blanca are wonderful places to be enjoyed and many would be wise to protect their homes to make sure this is how their time in Spain is going to be,” explains Tom.
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For more information about the storm doors, windows, barriers and gates from StormMeister, delivered and fitted by our team in Spain, contact us on 0034617683556 / linda@stormmeister.com or look at www.stormmeister.com
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Lawbird’s Antonio Flores explains how the Supreme Court makes it more difficult for banks to foreclose IN line with the resolutions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the Spanish Supreme Court (SC), a recent ruling on September 11 has ruled on the consequences of the invalidity of mortgage repayment default clauses that allowed termination of the loan agreement and in doing so, has sealed the fate of thousands of ongoing foreclosure proceedings dealt with by Courts of First Instance. As of September 11, the following rules apply in loan foreclosures in Spain: 1. Banks will be able to foreclose if:
2013 by applying the default clause recognized as null and void, the case will be disa. The borrower has defaulted on its repay- missed. ment obligations on principal, or interest. b. If the loan was terminated after May 15 b. The sums unpaid amount to 2013 by applying the default a minimum of: clause recognized as null and b.i. 3% of the principal borDismissed if the void: rowed, if default takes place b.i. The case will be dismissed during the first half of the default does not if the default does not meet the mortgage loan term. This concriteria of gravity and proportiondition will also be considered meet the criteria ality, by application of art. 24 of met when the borrower is at Act 5/2019. of gravity and least 12 months in arrears (or b.ii. The case will not be disequivalent). proportionality missed - and may continue to be b.ii. 7% of the principal borprocessed - if the default meets rowed, if the breach takes the criteria above described. place during the second half of the mortgage loan term. This condition will 3. Where the bank is legally unable to also be considered met when the borrower is continue with ongoing cases: at least 15 months in arrears (or equivalent) In this case they will still be entitled to bring 2. Loan foreclosure cases that are ongo- further loan foreclosure applications but exing will be dealt with as follows: clusively based on contractual default based on the criteria of Act 5/2019, and not on the a. If the loan was terminated before May 15 existing loan default clause.
Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com
PROPERTY
17
Setptember 26th - October 9th 2019
BUY HIGH, SELL LOW
O
Jonathan Holdaway recounts Harry Enfield’s shaky lesson in finance, while offering his rather better advice on how to get a balanced investment portfolio
NE of my favourite comics is the great Harry Enfield, who first came to my attention when appearing on C4’s Saturday
Live. It was the diversity of comic characters that I really admired – having been a budding ‘impressionist’ myself around the age of 10, putting on shows in old people’s homes with my Frank Spencer or Columbo skits. Both Harry and his sidekick Paul Whitehouse’s performances reflected the mood of the mid 80s in the UK, with colourful characters like the obnoxious plasterer ‘Loadsamoney’ and Stavros the Greek kebab shop owner. But one of my favourite characters ‘Tim Nice-But-Dim, an endearing ‘upper class twit’, appeared later in his career in his own 90s TV series. Having just become a qualified financial adviser myself around that time I was particularly amused when Tim was giving advice to his bank manager on investment. ‘Buy high sell low’, he confidently exclaimed, then adding ‘or have I got that the wrong way round? Course I have …sell low, buy high’. Although Tim’s character is a parody and his advice sounds absolutely absurd, it does serve to highlight the uncertainty of investing for the unwary or
inexperienced. So what’s the best way to handle price swings in stock markets and retain value within an investment portfolio? This is the perfect time to consider this, given market movements over the last two years, and the general state of investment markets globally. If you prepare yourself psychologically for a potential bear market ahead of time, it decreases the chances of ruining your portfolio by making unforced errors. Over the past year there have been a few warning signs of impending volatility appearing in markets. You don’t need to get fancy with disaster hedges either - high quality shortterm bonds have been your best option for preserving capital during an economic disaster consistently in every negative market year since 1928. They do their job as the portfolio anchor during periods of stress to give investors options for buying back into stocks on the dip or for spending purposes so stocks can be held during a crash without needing to be sold. Removing some risk from the portfolio and it is suitable for your attitude to risk should result in less sleepless nights when volatility hits. Don’t panic as stocks fall
Stocks can fall far and fast but also tend to recover very quickly. That’s why bailing out of stocks after they crash just compounds your problems compared to simply holding them through the crash in the first place. If you have lost money on a stock investment my advice is to hold the stock unless there is a fundamental reason why that specific stock will not recover. Balance is the key to surviving these periodic crashes. The Balanced Asset Class Index which included large caps, small caps, value stocks and bonds fared much better than the all-stock options and outperformed other more aggressive/cautious options over a five cycle 80% of the time. Diversify your portfolio The key is always having a diversified portfolio of investments. The biggest thing is to have a plan and stick with it (everyone says this but it’s true). You won’t know the exact reasons ahead of time as to why the market will fall, but understand that you will see a handful of market crashes over your lifetime. There’s no way you can avoid risk in the financial markets if you hope to beat
inflation over the long-term and earn a respectable return on your portfolio. Stocks outperform bonds over longer cycles, which in turn outperform cash but bonds provide stability when you need it the most. Stocks wouldn’t offer a risk premium over bonds if they didn’t have these periodic large selloffs. It’s also important to understand your ability and willingness to take risk. Allocate more money to less volatile investments if you can’t handle losses, but understand that you will likely have to save more to reach your financial goals if you carry a more risk averse portfolio. Don’t tie everything up And for those investors that are in or approaching retirement, don’t have money tied up in stocks that you’ll need to use for spending purposes within three to five years or so. It’s too much of a risk that stocks could take a hit right when you need to sell if you have an all-stock portfolio. There really are no one-size-fits-all answers to this problem as every investor’s tolerance for risk and investment strategy is different. Investing really is a balancing act that’s full of trade-offs. There is a constant tug-of-war going on inside our brains between fear and greed depending on the market environment. We want to be able to sidestep losses in the markets and only participate in
LESSON: Though wacky, Tim NiceBut-Dim’s advice does leave us with a lesson in uncertainty the gains, but it’s impossible to invest in stocks and not experience periodic losses. Pick your position and understand your emotional swings. Maintain a balance of assets within your portfolio and always keep an eye open for a new entry point if stock markets do become cheaper. Most importantly don’t overreact to short term movements. And finally remember Tim’s closing remark to his bank manager – ‘never lend money to Charlie’.
Send your comments and feedback to Jonathan at jonathan.holdaway@ chasebuchanan.com or call him on 00447723027864
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IV
September 26th - October 9th, 2019
PROPERTY
Making waves Designer Magnus Ehrland stitches historic styles together seamlessly in this new hotel on Palma’s seafront
WEDGED between the Med and Palma cathedral it couldn’t ask for a better location. And Mallorca’s hottest new hotel El Llorenc Parc de la Mar is already making waves. The stunning 33-room guest house cleverly knestles into this historic location, while also sending out a strong message. Its clean lines and simple exterior, bely the
MORTGAGE THINK TANK
by mortgage broker Tancrede de Pola
B-DAY APPROACHES WE are finding that a lot of banks are pulling out of their 70% LTV deals for British clients as they worry about the implications of Brexit on the exchange rate and possible effect on employment prospects generally. A good case in point is Banco Sabadell, which has previously been open to this type of business but also has been affected by its somewhat toxic purchase of the British bank, TSB. Added to this are the implications of the new mortgage laws which have become more onerous and, arguably, weighted unfairly against the banks. As a result they are becoming more risk-averse again. Among the new laws that have inevitably led to banks pulling back on lending relate to the greater difficulty in foreclosing on a non-performing loan and the new rights allowing clients with foreign income to switch the loan to their home curren-
Brits applying for mortgages in Spain should not panic, but should be Brexitready, writes Tancrede de Pola
cy if there is a material (downward) change in the value of the euro. Both of these could potentially prove to be very expensive for the banks. With the value of Sterling plummeting to historic lows - even dipping below €1.10 in August - Brexit has the banks scared. What the devaluation of the pound against the Euro also means is that buyers in Spain are effectively paying more for their
monthly installments. For those on holiday, it may mean less to spend on ice cream, but for those setting up their new life in the sun, it could have more profound impacts. With the price of Sterling now dropped, Brits in Spain may be seen as higher risk by banks, and this could see more of them denied mortgages than before. Having said that it is worth remembering that Brexit does not seem
to have put Brits off setting up a new life in Spain. From January to June 2019 there were 7,613 property purchases by Brits in Spain - a 13% increase since the 2016 referendum on EU membership. However, if you are still worried, there are a few things you can do to ensure you are Brexit-ready for a mortgage in Spain: - Take into account the effect of exchange rates on having funds available for completion (you will typically need 30% of the price, plus closing fees) - Calculate carefully that you can afford your monthly repayments taking into account a possible future drop in the exchange rate - Ensure you have some sound advice from a quality mortgage broker’s like the Finance Bureau, especially at a time of volatile markets
To contact Tancrede for all your mortgaging needs call: 666 709 743 or for insurance queries call: 951 203 540 Email: tdp@thefinanacebureau.com The Finance Bureau Centro Commercial Guadalmina, 2nOffice No. 7 Guadalmina, 29670
sumptuous, stylish interiors within. But it is the rooftop swimming pool which really takes some beating, with its amazing views across Palma bay and inland towards the cathedral and far away hills. Its architect Pedro Rabassa has created a clever balance and included all the necessary luxuries one would expect of such a hotel, such as a Turkish steam bath and spa. Designed by Swedish interiors guru Magnus Ehrland, the rooms eschew the well-worn beach linen and wicker combos of many boutique hotels, and opt for a style befitting this historic suburb of Palma. So think Moorish patterns alongside art deco and you get the picture. For more information visit www.elllorenc.com
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Do you have a what’s on?
LA CULTURA That bombed! Send your informa newsdesk@theolive tion to press.es
Lucky dip PAUSE for a moment before purchasing your next pint or pincho de tortilla - the €2 coin in your hand could be worth €1,000. This is the top suggested bid on Ebay for a €2 piece minted in 2009 - a tidy 500 times its actual face value. The mint itself depicts the 10th anniversary of the birth of the Euro currency. The design is intended to celebrate the single currency and, by extension, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) being the latest step in Europe’s long history of trade and economic integration. But the childlike image of a stick figure holding hands with the Euro symbol has been much ridiculed and turned it into a collector’s item.
19
September 26th - October 9th 2019
CLEAVAGE ROW
United Nations apologises after webpage claimed Republicans were Guernica bombers
THE United Nations has apologised after it wrongly attributed the bombing of Guernica to Spanish Republican forces, who were in fact the victims of the attack. The UN website that records gifts donated to the organisation said the 1937 painting was created by Pablo Picasso as an ‘artistic protest against the atrocities of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.’ In truth, Nazi German and fascist Italian forces carried out the aerial bombardment of the Basque town in support of their fascist Spanish ally,
SINKING STONES
General Francisco Franco. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the error was a ‘horrendous mistake.’ He added: “The Republicans were the victims, not the perpetrators. We regret the error and extend our apologies to the people and Government of Spain.”
THE Spanish Government has ruled out rescuing ‘Spain’s Stonehenge’ from being submerged by a swamp. The 55 granite standing stones of the 4,000-year-old Dolmen de Guadalperal made headlines when they emerged ‘like magic’ from the waters of Valdecanas lake in Extremadura in August. There is now a ‘very high probability the stones will be lost to water erosion’, according to the Geographical Association of Extremadura.
Bombers dropped over 45,000 kilos of explosives on Guernica during the 1937 attack, reducing the town of 5,000 people to rubble. The description on the UN website is in reference to a tapestry of the painting that was commissioned in 1955 by former US vice-president and
Hit debut
A BRITISH author residing on the Costa Blanca has enjoyed such ‘amazing success’ with her debut novel she’s already begun work on numbers two and three. Jacqueline Carpenter’s Louisa was published in January this year, before ‘thousands’ of surprise sales saw her winning fans from the Costa Blanca to Cairns, Australia.
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The work centres around a contented, happy 15-year-old girl, Louisa, living through the terror and strain of WW2 Britain. “I was so grateful and flattered to get messages from readers across the world,” the writer, originally from Essex, told the Olive Press. “Writing a novel at this stage in my life was nothing more than a toe-in-the-water moment. Jacqeline will be signing copies of Louisa at The Emerald Isle in La Florida near Torrevieja on Friday October 11 from 6.30-8.00pm
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tycoon Nelson A. Rockefeller. It has hung on a wall at the entrance to the UN Security Council chamber since 1985. The tapestry was created under the supervision of Malaga-born Picassso in a workshop in the south of France. The UN has since removed the offending description.
THE Iranian government has confiscated a lithograph on loan from an Alicante museum as it depicted Spain’s Queen Isabella II with ‘too much cleavage’. The lithograph was removed on the order of officials from the Iranian Ministry of Culture as the mid-19th century Queen was wearing a sumptuous dress with a neckline and shoulders bared. The item was one of 283 loaned by Alicante’s Marq museum to the National Museum of Iran (MNI), in Tehran, as part of an exchange programme. It has been repackaged and deposited in the MNI’s store rooms until the exhibition finishes in April next year and the items return to Spain. The lithograph itself depicts the Queen’s visit to Alicante on May 25, 1858, on the first trip of the new trainline with Madrid. Isabella II appears in the center of the image surrounded by dozens of people celebrating the event while being presented with a tray with delicacies.
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LA CULTURA
20
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Send your informa newsdesk@theolive tion to press.es
20
September 26th - October 9th 2019
September 26th - October 9th 2019
Lost in translation Setting up any new business in Spain is hard. Try setting up a newspaper. In the first part of a hilarious new serialisation, Jason Heppenstall (right) recounts the strange, bizarre and quite frankly shocking genesis of the Olive Press newspaper
W
HEN the door swung open into what would be our new office it revealed a scene that suggested the previous occupant had left in a hurry. The brass plaque with the lawyer’s name was still attached outside the entrance and the picture from his law school graduation remained on the wall above the desk, but of the man himself there was no sign. Next to the picture stood a bookshelf packed with leather-bound tomes of the type lawyers like to be pictured sitting in front of. It was difficult to overlook the fact that the splintered wooden door had a bootprint on it, and an upturned chair lay on the floor surrounded by scattered legal papers. The elderly landlady was showing us around.
Mercedes was a sturdy-footed senior thanks for the offer.” with a booming voice and a cast iron The landlady didn’t seem to underhairstyle. stand my Spanish but repeated the ofShe was speaking so fast that Mar- fer again very slowly as if we were both cus, our editor, had to deaf and dumb. translate for me as we “THESE BOOKS ARE INinspected what was CLUDED IN THE PRICE “At least you are clearly a residential OF THE RENT. apartment rather than not English. I must “They are very valuan office, complete Maybe you will admit, I respect able. with floral curtains and need them here in my a kitchen sink full of what you Germans country so you can unwashing up. derstand the law.” have done” “These books,” she “Jesus,” grumbled Marshouted as if we were cus, “why do these old deaf, “are included in Spanish people have the rental agreement.” to say everything three She waited for our reaction, and failing bloody times?” to detect one, started again, a little Having considered cutting costs and louder this time. “These books are in- working from home, the prospect of cluded in the price of the rent.” possessing an office in Órgiva would “We’re not lawyers,” I pointed out, “but lend us at least some credibility, we
figured. But office space was in short supply in Órgiva, a town in the Alpujarras mountains of Granada province, unaccustomed to white-collar employment, and we had almost given up the search when Molly, Marcus’ girlfriend, had put us onto Mercedes. Surveying the wreckage in the office before us the question had to be asked, and Marcus duly obliged: “What happened to the lawyer who was here before?” She eyed him suspiciously. “Gone. He is gone away,” she said with a dismissive flick of the wrist, “to Madrid.” I got the impression that ‘Madrid’ was a euphemism for ‘away: destination unknown’. “So he’s not going to come back and find us in his office?” I asked, a little hesitantly.
FOUNDER: Olive Press stalwart Jason Heppenstall and behind Orgiva town In truth I was more worried about people coming in looking for the man. Whoever had kicked in the door and smashed the place up probably didn’t look wet behind the ears. “He will not be coming back,” Mercedes replied with a wry chuckle that sounded a little sinister. “If you want his books I will also throw in the desk blotter as well.” “As if we’d want that…” muttered
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Marcus. “What are you doing here in my country?” she suddenly demanded, her penetrating stare putting us both on trial. “We’re making a newspaper,” said Marcus. “An estate agency?” she replied, as
A SMALL FART AFTER A DUMP Our new printer Carlos greeted us and led our party inside the facility in an industrial estate in Granada (ED: appropriately in the suburb of Peligros, meaning ‘dangers’). A handful of tired-looking workers wearing blue boiler suits were leaning against different parts of the mechanical contraptions that filled the cavernous space. He led us around, pointing out the functions of the machinery that would print The Olive Press. A worker yawned loudly, and Carlos apologised, telling us that they had just spent the night printing 200,000 copies of local rag Ideal, as well as various magazines and books, and all that stood between them and their beds were 10,000 copies of The Olive Press
Bloodshot
The man said something to his mates and they all burst out laughing. Carlos looked embarrassed. “What did he say?” I asked, and Marcus explained that he’d said printing our newspaper would be “like a little fart at the end of a long shit.” And thus, with that thought in mind, and without any fanfare whatsoever I was invited to press a large button, setting in motion the entire printing press. The cacophony was enormous, like being inside an immense metal tank while men with jackhammers tried to smash their way out. A huge roll of paper, like a giant toilet roll, span around and a single continuous sheet of printed paper flew above us at speed as it was fed into a box. It appeared from this box just a fraction of a second later chopped neatly into small piles and recognisable as a newspaper. These newspapers flew onto a high speed conveyor belt, which took them around the warehouse at a dizzying speed before they emerged on another belt at table height where a man with a magnifying glass picked copies off at random, inspecting the colour balance with one bloodshot eye.
September 26th - October 9th 2019
though that was the only rational cus, in English. reason to be launching a business She reached out and squeezed his as an expat in the very rural region. cheek, causing him to blush, and “No a newspap...” continued almost in a whisper. “Yes,” she interrupted, “you es- “You may rent my office but, by the tate agents come here to sell the Lord, the rent I am charging you is land from under our feet. Just as I so low it pains me. You hear me, it thought. pains me! And me, a pensioner be“Well, you may rent my office while ing held hostage in my own country you go about your unsavoury busi- by foreigners!” ness, but on my word, I trust you We both looked at her. She seemed only because of your German her- to be completely mad, but an office itage.” was an office, even if it wasn’t real“We’re English,” I inly an office and was a terjected, feeling that bit on the pricey side. perhaps I’d missed “You may pay me some part of the con- Avocado-coloured a deposit of three versation. The old rent and the bathroom with months’ woman’s eyes narfirst month’s rental in rowed as she scrucash, plus a breakaga leaking tap, tinised my face for es deposit. But do not no light and an push my generosity, if signs of dishonesty. “Ingles?” she said, unflushable toilet I do not hear from you her voice softening. by tomorrow I will give “If you were English, it to someone else.” as you say you are, And with that the old you’d be pirates. And I do not let my lady turned and left us on our own. office out to pirates!” We looked around the apartment She spat the word ‘piratos’, disgust unimpeded. It was large, consisting flashing in her eyes. She continued, of a spacious reception room and almost at a whisper. two smaller ones. “No, you are nothing more than The kitchen was stacked to the babies. But at least you are not En- ceiling with cardboard boxes, and glish and, I must admit, I respect an avocado-coloured bathroom what you Germans have done in the with a leaking tap, no light and an past.” unflushable toilet. The one large “We’re not window looked down from the secbloody Gerond floor onto an abandoned litm a n s , ” ter-strewn courtyard in said Marwhich a lone fig tree had sprouted from a gutter. Stray cats sunned themselves atop a graffiti covered wall beside the church. “Órgiva really is a dump isn’t it?” said Marcus. Naturally, we took the office. We needed a name for the newspaper, and racked our brains to come up with one. The ÓrMore adventures giva Post seemed an obvious moniker, but this next issue from was swiftly rejected by Marcus and Molly, who : THE OLIVE disliked the association with the town, which they PRESS: NEWS regarded as a Spanish version of the spaceport FROM THE LAND Mos Eisley from Star Wars (“You will never find a OF MISFITS more wretched hive of scum and villainy...”). The (available on next proposal was the leftie-sounding Voice of Amazon) the Alpujarras, which had a pleasing resonance and seemed to fit in with the area’s self-regard as an enclave of radicalism. The name, however, was likely to put off people who lived outside Las Alpujarras. I looked around at the landscape with my foreign eyes for inspiration and came up with The Lemon Tree. Nobody could find a good reason not to dislike this title and so it remained The Lemon Tree for quite some time prior to the first issue. But then, one day, standing in the kitchen of one of my neighbours and listening as he lamented the amount of work he had put into harvesting his olives compared to the puny amount of oil he had received as payment from the olive press, a new name struck me. I texted Molly: “The Olive Press?” She texted back immediately: “We have a winner!”
Forget the Lemons!
INTREPID: Jason and daughter on Alpujarras peak, (left) his book and (top) the first issue
21
LA CULTURA
Do you have a what’s on? Send your informa newsdesk@theolive tion to press.es
22
September 26th - October 9th 2019
SHOWJUMPING: At the Autumn Mediterranean Equestrian Tour in October
EVENTS GUIDE Want an escape from the busy costas? A weekend in romantic Ronda will revive your senses. Ronda Romantic Apartments is the answer
Tuesday, October 1 Financial Times journalist and author John Lloyd to speak about recent book The Power and The Story at the Xàbia Book Circle Social Centre, Plaza de la Constitución Española, Javea 6.30pm.
Tuesday, October 1 The Autumn Mediterranean Equestrian Tour, feat. international competition, leisure, gastronomy and children’s areas Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova, Oliva 9am - 6pm until October 20 WHAT’S ON: Acrobatics in Denia
Wednesday, October 2
Friday, September 27
Calpe Beer Festival annual Oktoberfest (table reservations only via email: oktoberfestcalpe@ The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Mac- gmail.com) millan’s biggest fundraising event for people Avinguda Casanova, Calpe. facing cancer 6pm until October 13 Mr Punch, Javea Park, Javea 10am - 1pm Thursday, October 3
Saturday, September 28
Taste the history
For bookings and more info visit www.alcantarilla.co.uk or call 654 152 122
Goodbye to Summer Party with Cava reception, buffet, live music and auction in aid of Tina Turner Tribute Show in aid of Catland and Tanamera Rescue (tickets €15.00) RAMA (tickets from the venue or from Assoc. Finca Klara Boutique Hotel, Benitachell Catland at djcjwall@hotmail.com) 5pm Novas Restaurant and Bar, Javea. 7pm Saturday, October 5 Circus Festival Denia puts on two contemporary shows: RAR, free; and Aware, tickets available through www.circarte.com Carrer la Via and the Social Centre, Denia 7pm and 8.30pm
XXVII Cross Baix Montgó 11km foot race from Javea to Jesus Pobre (€5.00 registration via www.somesport.com) Plaza de la Constitución, Javea 6pm
Sunday, September 29
Wednesday, October 9
Autumn Concert organised by Teulada/Moraira Lions Club, feat, the “Overtones” tribute act (tickets only, call 966498493) Espai la Senieta, Teulada-Moraira 7.30pm
Regional holiday, Dia de la Comunidad, marking the anniversary of King James I of Aragon’s capture of the city of Valencia from Moorish forces in 1238 All day
Want your event to feature in the Olive Press? Email us now at newsdesk@theolivepress.es
BUSINESS GROUNDED!
23
September 26th - October 9th 2019
Menos y menos
French connection
FRANCE’S national grid has announced it will choose Spain over Britain for future electricity links due to Brexit uncertainty. The country is planning €33 billion of investment by 2035 and has also been negotiating with Belgium and Germany. A government source said projects with the UK ‘risk remaining on standby, as the UK is still set to crash out of the EU without a deal on October 31. “There are three or four projects that are on standby, Brexit or not,” National Assembly spokesperson Francois Brottes said. “If you multiply links, you may end up with too many of them.”
Covering losses
Iberia staff to hold new wave of strikes as bosses slam door on union talks GROUND handlers for Iberia are set to stage an eight-week walkout this autumn in protest at the national airline’s suspension of negotiations with unions. The Union General de Trabajadores (UGT) has called for strikes every Monday from September 30 until November 18.
Fortunes
The nationwide strikes come off the back of August strikes that took place at airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Bilbao and led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights. The Iberia management suspended negotiations following
the summer round of strikes, saying that it ‘cannot continue negotiating in good faith, subject to the blackmail of strikes’. The UGT has called on all its members who work for Iberia to join the strike, as well as members of Iberia’s workforce who belong to different unions. Iberia has around 13,000 ground handlers across Spanish airports. These include airport personnel such as baggage handlers, mechanics in charge of aircraft maintenance and service staff. The UGT argues previous terms it signed with Iberia were agreed to on the basis of ensuring the sustainability
THE devastating floods in Almeria, the Costa Blanca and Murcia have affected at least 25,000 people and will see more than €140 million paid out in insurance claims. According to experts at the Insurance Compensation Consortium, damages made to homes, shops and insured vehicles across the southeast peninsular will see at least €142 million paid out in claims. In Andalucia, the damage is estimated to be around €10 million euros, with about 2,500 people affected.
of the airline. The agreement involved the union accepting concessions on wages and working conditions. The
union says Iberia’s fortunes have since reversed and the company now has a high volume of work.
Taking granny abroad A SPANISH company will soon start shipping its award-winning Abuela Carmen (Granny Carmen) cheese abroad. Sevilla-based Quesos Los Vazquez - which makes €10 million annually - is expanding around Europe from 2020 and expects to grow by 7% this year alone. The cheese is named after the owner’s wife.
Pay gap WOMEN with degrees in Spain can expect to pocket up to €9,500 less than their male counterparts each year, it has been revealed. While more Spanish women are working than ever before, their annual pay packet is still on average €5,982 less than men’s.
The Union General de Trabajadores (UGT) criticised the gender pay gap, saying that the shortfall could no longer be attributed to a lack of skills amongst women. It added: “There is a severe undervaluation of women’s work.” The OECD, which published the data, said the gap could partly be accounted for by women choosing lower paying careers.
POLICíA Local have this week sealed off the Masymas supermarket located on the Carretera Moraira-Calpe. The sudden closure follows an order from the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) for the immediate cessation of economic activity at the famous supermarket chain in Teulada-Moraira. The order has been subject of a fierce legal battle ongoing since 2013 between Masymas and the nearby Pepe la Sal, which deemed its rival was built too close. “I have never seen myself in a situation like the one I have encountered in Teulada-Moraira and it is incredible,” said José Juan Fornés, General Director of Juan Fornés Fornés SA, one of Masymas’ owners in Alicante. Fornés said ‘20’ workers are now ‘on the street’ - though he hoped to employ them in other supermarkets in the region. A Town Hall statement said: “The closure was sentenced in 2013, but it has caused a legal battle on the part of the defendant and the plaintiff with numerous appeals and subsequent sentences. “Finally, the ruling of the TSJCV is clear.”
KEEPING THE BEAR AT BAY
G
LOBALLY, we may be experiencing a bull market, but the one certainty about market cycles is that they are almost impossible to predict; a bear market could always be right around the corner. This might seem like scaremongering considering that the US, the world’s biggest economy with a GDP of $20,494.10 billion in 2018, is currently experiencing the longest economic expansion in history, but that’s not the case. At Blacktower Financial Management one thing we have discovered over the course of more than 30 years of expat wealth management is that being properly diversified across different asset classes (including equities, bonds, commodities, etc.), countries, sectors and investment strategies (value vs momentum), coupled with rigorous and active risk management is, will most likely tilt the investment odds in your favour. Financial markets will inevitably rise and fall but having a medium to long-term horizon whilst avoiding short-termism and emotional selling may well turn the downturns into opportunities. Over time, investors and wealth managers who have been able to consistently do this have been greatly rewarded. In this article we look at three ways your wealth manager can help you weather market fluctuations.
Wealth managers are a must-have for keeping your investments safe and weathering the market storm BY CHRISTINA BRADY
Keep a cool head There is no point trying to predict the market or time it - by trading your investments during volatility. In all likelihood it is better to consult your investment adviser so you can stay disciplined, remain invested and ride out the uncertainty. Remember that it’s better to spend ‘time in the market’ than trying to ‘time the market’. For example, many investors sold shares in the hours immediately following the Brexit referendum in June 2016, resulting in a subsequent 8% fall in the FTSE 100. Was this emotionally-charged decision wise? Given that the FTSE has now risen by around 25% since that infamous day, it should be clear that such emotionally-motivated decisions are unlikely to benefit investments in the long-term. Understand value rather than price Warren Buffet, one of the greatest investors of all time, famously said: “Price is what you pay, value is what you get”. Sometimes, investors and, consequently, markets chase the heat of particular securities that are having their prices distorted by head-
lines and hyperbole. In recent years we have seen this in many areas - particularly in relation to tech and cybercurrencies. Investors often suffer from a phenomenon called FOMO (fear of missing out) and base their investment decisions purely on the assumption that if the price of something has continuously risen, then it will surely continue to rise. This is typically a recipe for disaster. Bitcoin went up by circa 1,600% in 2017 only to crash spectacularly in 2018. Keep your investments diversified People like to invest in the familiar; we all feel comfortable with what we know; if you are British, there is a good chance that your investment portfolio might be heavily weighted towards UKbased securities. Data from MSCI shows that the average UK investor holds more than 45% of their stocks in UK companies. This can be quite imprudent when you look at the numbers and see that UK equities account for only 5.2% of the MSCI World Equity Indexes. Furthermore, with an average annualized return of 3.6% (accounting for dividends), UK equity markets have consistently lagged behind MSCI World Equity Indexes over a one, three, five, 10 and 20 year periods ending in December 2018. An experienced wealth manager can be extremely important in helping you understand
www.theblacktowergroup.com how your attitude towards risk, your personal circumstances and your income requirements can be taken into consideration when managing and constructing your portfolio. With the current global challenges of political uncertainty and rising populism the IMF has reduced its global growth forecast to 3.2% for 2019 and 3.5% the following year, at the same time that the FED (USA’s central bank) is going to cut interest rates in a bid to stimulate the economy. If Brexit has taught us anything, it should be that we cannot rely on Britain alone. A good wealth manager should never over-expose you to any single area but should ensure that you are invested across a diverse portfolio of assets, including those of established companies which can be expected to remain robust during a bull market and those of developing companies that exhibit plenty of growth potential. International wealth managers in Spain Blacktower Financial Management can help you structure your wealth and assets so that you have the best chance of protecting and growing your assets, even during times of volatility or when a bear market hits. We offer a personalised approach to international wealth management with a unique cross-border and bilingual service.
Blacktower Financial Management Ltd is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and is registered with both the DGS and CNMV. Blacktower Financial Management (Int) Ltd is licensed in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and is registered with both the DGS and CNMV in Spain
FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
24
September 26th - October 9th 2019
Benefits Consultancy KIM CLARK If you suffer from... • Mobility problems • Pain / Breathlessness • Falls / Stumbles
Or you need... • Help with washing / dressing • Supervision
You could be entitled to extra income by claiming UK sickness / disability benefits while living in Spain FOR ADVICE OR TO BOOK A CONSULTATION call 950 169 729 or 663 297 568 www.ukbenefitsinspain.com
After World Paella Day the debate over chorizo or no chorizo is still raging on ON World Paella Day food fans around the globe celebrate Valencia’s most universal dish. According to worldpaelladay.org, the cuisine of humble origins has eight million annual searches on the internet, affirming its rock-solid popularity.
World Paella Day
But the this popularity has not put to bed the controversy over chorizo. “Remember, we’ve been through this: no chorizo or green peas or any other random ingredients allowed!” tweeted the Valencia CF in honour of World Paella Day. Despite not featuring in the traditional recipe, chefs have long included the spicy pork sausage to the anger of proud Spaniards who believe it has no place in paella. Jamie Oliver famously came under scrutiny for adding chorizo to the dish in 2014, and told Graham Norton in a TV interview he received death threats over his shock addition. “They went medieval on me, I had death threats and all sorts because of a bit of sausage,” Oliver said during the interview. But the chef, now 44, stuck to his guns, saying: “By the way, for your information, it tastes better with chorizo.” Gordon Ramsay was also criticised in 2016 when El Pais published an article titled, ‘Chefs that destroy Spanish food’. So, whether you prefer sau-
sage in your meal or not, here is a traditional paella recipe according to Galbis Paellas Gigantes, who
METHOD
have claimed the Guiness World Record for the largest paella in the world, which fed 110,000.
INGREDIENTS
-8 spoonfuls of virgin olive oil -salt (approx. 20 gr.) -500 gr. chicken -500 gr. rabbit chopped in 60 gr. chunks -1/2 small green pepper, chopped -125 gr. flat green beans (Ferraura) -100 gr. white beans (Tabella) -125 gr. special beans (Garrofó) -1 garlic clove, finely chopped -1/2 spoonful of ground sweet paprika -1 ripe tomato, grated -2 l. water, approx. -8 flower saffron threads (toasted and ground) -24 boiled snails -a hint of saffron colorant -400 gr. Rice
Place the 40cm paella tin over a medium heat, with the oil and almost all the salt. When it’s hot, add the meat and slowly brown it all over. Add the pepper and fry Now, spread the rice out for 1 min, then toss in the evenly in the paella tin and green and white beans and cook over a high flame for fry for 5 mins before add- the first 8 mins and then ing garlic. progressively lower the When it star ts to brown, flame before eventually exadd the ground paprika, tinguishing it after about followed shortly by the to- another 10 mins. mato, so it doesn’t burn. In total, from when the rice Once the tomato is fried, was added cooking will pour in the water and leave take approximately 18 mincooking for 10 minutes utes. Once removed from over a high flame adding the heat, leave standing the snails, saffron, colou- 4-5 min. rant and a hint of salt.
FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL Street cred HAMtastic!
THERE’S more to the Spanish delicacy Jamon Iberico de Bellota than great flavour, texture and quality. It can also prevent digestive problems, scientists have discovered. Munching on the meat made from acorn-fed pigs reduces the symptoms of intestinal conditions such as Ulcerative colitis. Scientists found that a particular variety of ham made by the Joselito family for six generations had ‘superfood’ powers. Dr. Felipe Lombo, who led the study, said: “[This] is the only one that does not contain heavy metals, dyes, or preservatives. “[It is] 100% natural and of the highest quality.” Jose Gomez Sanchez, a member of the Joselito family, said: “We have 151 years of history: we develop a product of the highest quality, completely natural.” Some 180,000 people in Spain suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, according to 2016 figures.
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September 26th - October 9th 2019
Tequila swiftrise
Madrid barrio among top 10 coolest suburbs in the world A SPANISH suburb has made it into the top ten world’s most fashionable addresses. Embajadores in Madrid has been voted in at number nine in a list of the 50 coolest places to live around the globe. The barrio - just a stone’s throw from the city centre and historic Plaza Mayor - is awash with trendy restaurants, bars and shops, according to the poll by travel bible Time Out. As well as including the Lavapies district, which came top last year, it also incorporates hip La Latina and the
Top tip
A MYSTERIOUS plant which had lain dormant for 60 years has suddenly shot up to 15 feet within three weeks. The agave was sitting at Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden when, this summer, it sprouted at such ferocity some feared it could break the glass roof above it. Some staff members had even discussed throwing it out before the growth spurt in June. The plant has now been identified as an agave vivipara, which is native to Mexico. It is known to have laborious growth during colder climates, but suddenly shoots up during the heat.
famous Rastro flea market area that has been going for a century in Madrid.
Edgy
It was pipped at the post by Arroios in Lisbon and Wedding in Berlin, while Peckham, in London comes 11th. While many locals in Madrid warn tourists off the area, citing high levels of crime and drugs, the Olive Press spent a few days in the suburb this week finding, the very opposite. The vast majority of residents
‘Florists arrange their bouquets in Plaza Tirso de Molina next to the bold murals of street artist Okuda. Next to the Indian restaurants that have been popping up around Calle de Lavapies, you’ll find traditional eateries like the legendary Melo’s, where punters gather to order their famous zapatillas (two slices of bread, as large as a skateboard, stuffed with heaps of Lacon pork and tetilla cheese).
CHILLED: Rastro market (inset) and (right) caracoles chef were incredibly friendly and there was a real sense of an upwardly mobile, but above all proud and creative vibe. Businessman Fernando Barandilla, 42, who owns a series of tourist apartments just off Plaza Cascorro, one of the area’s nicest squares said: “I love the alternative buzz and edgy feel - plus at the weekend it comes completely alive with the Rastro.” The Time Out Index survey asked more than 27,000 city-dwellers around the world about the ‘best, most overrated and most underval-
Rabbithole
ued’ neighbourhoods in their hometown.
THIS autumn sees the 100th anniversary of the moment a rabbit led a Marina Alta man to discovery of a geological gem. In 1919 José Vicente Mengual - better known as Uncle Rull was stalking a rabbit with his dog when his prey escaped through a hole in the rock. Uncle Rull sent a ferret through the narrow cavity to claim his prize - but neither rabbit nor ferret returned. The centenary will be celebrated on September 28 at the Cueva del Rull.
THE paper not to miss on the Costa Blanca north THE Olive Press is now distributing all over the coast in a whole host locations. Found at golf courses, tourist offices, museums and petrol stations, it has become the most sought-after English newspaper on the Costa Blanca every fortnight. Look out for one of our many stands, as seen below at local newsagents. We print around 12,000 copies every issue and take our distribution very seriously,
DENIA DENIA DENIA DENIA JAVEA JAVEA JAVEA JAVEA BENISSA BENISSA MORAIRA MORAIRA MORAIRA MORAIRA GANDIA GANDIA ALBIR ALBIR ALBIR CALPE CALPE CALPE PEDREGUER PEDREGUER ALTEA ALTEA ALTEA
Carrefour Consum Denia market Tourist office Iceland Yorkshire Linen Bay Radio Jordan-Bay Iceland Pepe Sal Pepe Sal Iceland Quick Save Telitec Carrefour Tourist office Consum Mendoza Albir Sur Consum Britannia clinic Calpe Dental Harris Furnishing Monroes Yorkshire linen Dial Prix Albir Colonial
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 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.
ALFAZ DEL PI ALFAZ DEL PI ALFAZ DEL PI FINESTRAT JALON JALON JALON TEULADA TEULADA BENITACHELL BENITACHELL
Costablanca supermarket Mendoza PMR Marina S Cafe Ole Garcia Villas Hamiltons Consum First Stop Lady Elizabeth School Javea golf club
Advertise with The Olive Press TEL: (+34) 951 273 575 EMAIL: sales@theolivepress.es
www.theolivepress.es
FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
27 27 September 26th - October 9th 2019
September 26th - October 9th 2019
Costa del SOARING Despite the collapse of Thomas Cook, in the week of World Tourism Day, Robert Firth discovers that Spain’s tourist credentials are still decidedly rosy bringing in more cash even than France
S
PAIN is the second most visited country after France, having overtaken the USA last year in the tourist stakes. But, best of all, it makes more than its nearby competitor in terms of what tourists spend. In total, Spain grossed €67 billion last year from tourism, compared to just €61 billion for France. That’s certainly something to celebrate as World Tourism Day approaches this Friday. Despite the slight fly in the ointment of Thomas Cook going under this week (with an estimated 60,000-plus trips to the country affected), Spain is still likely to see around 83 million tourists arriving from around the world this year. That is more than the total population of Germany and the number one visitors are Brits, who take around 19 million trips here a year, making up around 23%. Brits, who have been flocking to the country since the 1960s, also make up around 60% of all the visitors to the Costa del Sol during the winter. But there are other nationali-
• The Alhambra (right) is the eighth most popular tourist site in the world • The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) set up World Tourism Day in 1979. • Palma de Mallorca has more visitors than Barcelona, with both being in the world’s top 20 most visited cities
• Greek visitors to the Costa del Sol have tripled over the last few years TOP: Spain takes more money than France, despite lower footfall (right top), while (right bottom) Spain has the second biggest tourism economy, and below Spain has two of most popular cities. ties now vying for Spain’s sun “That’s good for diversifying the loungers in the winter months. economy, easing pressures and Visitors from the US have inmaking tourism a year-round creased by almost a million in just thing,” a spokesman explained. three years, while While an inthe number of creasing number Greeks coming to of tourists are It’s not just the Costa del Sol seeking out less last winter almost well-trodden reforeign visitors tripled. gions for their And surprisingly, next holiday, the that Spain is they’re not just people taking a increasingly visiting for the stroll in the resort sun, sea and sanof San Luis de Sapopular with gria. binillas on ThursMany are ditching day had come for the beach and one thing only: the moving inland to explore the culsun. tural riches Spain has to offer. “I’m here for the sun, the sea The Moorish charms of Granaand the sangria,” pensioner Eida’s Alhambra palace attracted leen Farrell, 66, visiting from Ire3.5 million visitors last year, makland, told the Olive Press. WWW.BARBECUEWORLD.ES @BarbecueWorldES ing it the eighth most visited monHer friend, Lisa Mcguinness, 52, ument in the world. added: “To get away from work. The WTO told the Olive Press that And for the sun.” many visitors are now choosing The statistics don’t dispute this Spain for its sports and gastrosentiment. A whopping 13 milnomic offerings, particularly in lion people are expected to visit + 34 699 201 365 info@barbecueworld.es the Basque region. the Costa del Sol in 2019, three Address, Calle Juan de Mena 18, Polígono Industrial, Estepon OPEN Weekdays 9:30 - 19:00 Saturdays 10:00 - 15:00 million more people than live in the whole of Portugal. And it’s not just foreign visitors that Spain is increasingly popuA brand new way of cooking has made its lar with.
8 in 1 COOKING
Domestic tourism up
Something for everyone at
HILL TOP GASTRO PUB DATA: Palma de Mallorca among top cities, while London first
Breakfast 08.00-13.00 – Lunch 13.00-18.00 Evening Meals 18.00-22.00 Thursday karaoke – Tuesday quiz night LIVE music most Saturdays (check Facebook) Pool and Terrace ALL SPORT biggest screen in Moraira, enclosed terrace Open 7 days week, early until late
www.hilltopgastropub.eu
Calle Móstoles, Moraira tel: 965 74 43 66
More than a third of bookings in Spain on Airbnb over the summer were made by people who also live in Spain. The number of Spanish travellers booking accommodation in Spain on the rental platform this summer was three times greater than the number of holidaymakers arriving from the UK. Airbnb’s marketing manager for Spain, Arnaldo Munoz, said that the trend for holidaying local was driven by Spaniards’ concern for the environment. “Carbon footprint is a concern that is increasingly present when travelling,” he said. “Spanish families are increasingly attracted to local tourism.” Spain now pockets €6 million more a year from its beaches, tapas and Moorish palaces than France does from the Alps, moules frites and the Notre-Dame, even though the latter attracts more tourists. Mallorca’s Palma remains Spain’s most visited city, with 8.79 million people landing on the Balearic island to explore its beaches and gothic streets each year. So as September draws to a close, whether you are sailing around the Balearics, sunning it on the Costa del Sol or exploring Madrid, raise a glass to Spain and its visitors!
way to Spain. BAKE, BBQ, GRILL, SMOKE, BRAISE, ROAST, SEAR AND SLOW COOK
GREEN MOUNTAIN GRILLS Contact Barbecue World for more information on the variety of models available or come to one of our tasting sessions every saturday starting 28th of September 10:30-13:30
HEALTH
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28
September 26th - October 9th 2019
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but additional treatments may be required for optimal sculpting results. “TruSculpt iD is a very exciting new development in non-surgical body contouring. The lower abdomen and love handles can be treated in just a single 15-minute comfortable treatment session. Our patients have been very pleased with the body sculpting results they can achieve with this innovative system,” says Dermatologist Jeffrey S. Dover, MD, FRCPC of Skincare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, MA. By and large, people are
Costa Blanca charities celebrate raising €500,000 thanks to generous donations by expats
Look better in the buff: Get your without giving up everything
loving their truSculpt iD results. In a separate study EXCLUSIVE By Joshua of Parfitt individuals who had the and Simon Wade procedure, 100 percent said IF there’s oneed,thing thing they were satisfi would get that distinguishes British ithigh done streets again and would refer from the rest a offriend for truSculpt And the world, it’s theiD. charity everyone shops. felt better in - or out theclothes. efforts of British naofAnd - their tionals keepthinking up this tradiSo, if to you’re about tion have reached dizzying looking into a new kind of heights as two charities on personalized bodyaresculpting the Costa Blanca recordwithout resorting drastic ing figures of halftoa million euros. find a truSculpt iD measures, Cancer near Care with provider youJavea, by searching their shop in Javea Park, https://trusculpt.com/find-ahave registered donations of provider. €446,474 over the last four years. The charitable gifts have gone to everywhere from pediatric research at Valencia’s La Fe Hospital to breathing machines for cancer patients and chairs for patients at the Hospital de Denia.
Fantastic
“It’s absolutely fantastic. You get a real good feeling when people come in to hand you their money and clothes for such a good cause,” Cancer Care Javea’s president Helen
Cotterill-Clark told the Olive Press. It comes as British nationals in Playa Flamenca, on Orihuela Costa, are on the verge of hitting €500,000 of donations since they were set up
Looking sexy, svelte or built in your clothing is one thing. Looking better in the buff is a whole other ballgame. Clothing - even low-cut necklines, shortshorts or tight-fitting tees - can hide your flaws and accentuate your assets, but when you are nude, there’s nowhere - or way - to hide anything. If you want to look better naked, you are not alone. Far from it. More and more people are into healthy living and getting fit these days. The good news is that there is finally something you can do about it that doesn’t involve giving up carbs and sweets, doing excessive crunches or having invasive cosmetic surgery. Fully one-third of in 2010. Americans opt for minimally The Pink Ladies have or just invasive fat reduction body sculpting treatments to look announced raising €456,000 better in the their buff, according after holding tenth to a new survey of 500 Walk For Life event in men sup-and Cutera, Inc. And port of women cancerfrom screening and who exercise regularly cancer those awareness. are most likely to have a body-sculpting treatment, with
but additiona may be require runners and yoga enthusiasts sculpting results topping the list. “TruSculpt According to board- exciting new d certified plastic surgeon non-surgical bo Walter L. Bernacki, MD The lower abdo of Ohio Plastic Surgery in handles can be Central Ohio, “The newest single 15-minu non-surgical body contouring treatment sessio system is Cutera’s truSculpt have been very p iD that uses radiofrequency body sculpting (RF) technology to target HERO: Cancer Careand achieve with t permanently destroy fat inBritish your system,” says Javea President, trouble spots (think muffin tops Jeffrey S. Dove expat, Helen Cotteriland love handles) - in just 15 of Skincare Clark (left) and with (above) comfortable minutes no Chestnut Hill, M the number of donations downtime. We have found that By and larg to charity thethe treatment works on all skin types, sizes and physiques, including individuals who were previously not considered “Even if for someone can come candidates body contouring along donate one prize or procedures.” What’s more, guessing truSculpt the spend a euro iD produces an bear, averageit fat name of our helps reduction 24 percent,founder and to ease of suffering,” visible improvements are seen Maria Wilson told the Olive in 6 to 12 weeks following the Press. first treatment. Multiple areas can be treated in one session, by BPT
LET THERE BE LIGHT Revolutionary Laser PVP treatment for prostate gland enlargement now offered at British clinic
SURGERY can be a scary, complicated and painful intervention. Which is why Clinica Britannia is a pioneer of non-invasive forms of treatment to heal its patients of their ailments. And to this end, the 22-year-old clinic has now added a new form of light therapy to its armoury. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a treatment that uses a light source and light-sensitive medication to destroy abnormal cells. On their own, the medication and light source are harmless, but when the medication is exposed to the light it activates and removes nearby cells. Diseases that can be healed by PDT include anal fistulas, hidradenitis suppurativa and macular degeneration as well as cancers such as lung,
skin, esophageal and mouth cancer. The treatment can also improve pre-cancerous conditions such as actinic keratoses, Bowen’s disease, basal cell carcinoma and Barrett’s esophagus. Clinica Britannia is a British medical and dental centre established in Calpe in 1997. English, German,
Russian, French and, of course, Spanish are also fluently spoken by the staff. You can always contact them in case of emergency 24/7/365. With no waiting lists, Clinica Britannia has at your disposal the best surgeons and anaesthetists under the supervision of a consultant physician.
Come and visit us. We will inform you. CLINICA BRITANNIA, 16 BIS (next to 16) FIRST (not Ground) Floor, Ejercitos Españoles Av TEL 965 837 553 - 24H 607 255 755
Listeria lawsuit SHE was expecting twins. And at 21 weeks, she was in the latter half of her pregnancy. But after consuming meat infected with listeria in Sevilla, she was rushed to hospital where she was told she would have to abort her pregnancy via stillbirth. Now, the Patient Advocate Association is taking the meat company, Sevilla city council and the Junta to court on her behalf.
In a denuncia filed in the regional capital yesterday, it details how the mother and father both stayed in a town five kilometres from Pilas, the Sevilla town ‘where the first contagion of listeriosis’ began with the La Mecha meat product.
Outbreak
The mother had consumed infected meatloaf during Holy Week at the end of April. The Sevillano couple immediately headed to Madrid, where they now live, but began feeling extremely unwell, so much so that the mother ‘could not move’. On May 2 the mother ‘was forced to go to the emergency room’ of a hospital in Pozuelo de Alarcon ‘with a strong pain throughout the body.’
HEALTH Woman plans to sue La Mecha after listeriosisinfected products forced her to abort her two twins
Several hours after arriving at the hospital, gynecologists informed the couple that she had suffered a ‘very strong’ infection and ‘was in serious danger.’ They told her that if she did not have an abortion she would die, according to the denuncia. It also denounced the delay in issuing a health alert and delaying the withdrawal of food products. ‘Any company, person or entity that may be responsible for aiding the outbreak’ was also named. The complaint is filed for alleged ‘crimes against public health, minor injuries, injuries due to imprudence, reckless homicide and injuries to the fetus or abortions due to recklessness of the Criminal Code and any other that may arise.’
Vaping precautions
In an insightful new column Jeremy Kenton explores the danger of vaping
Stylish stainless steel or polished piano black holders, Vaping products, often with coloured lights illuminating the vapour cloud, are recreating the elegant look of the cigarette holder of the 1930s. As if the horrors of the effects of smoking with lung cancer, damaged circulation, heart and lung disease are not enough, a new outbreak of smoking related problems appears. As millions of people turn to vaping as a safer alternative to smoking, the discovery of 500 fresh cases of a mysterious lung disease has cast doubt on its safety. Vaping is not smoking; it does not involve the process of burning a substance like tobacco. Vaping is using an electronic device to create a vapour mixture from a liquid, which is known as an e-juice or e-liquid. This vapor is inhaled into the lungs and the residual vapour is expelled by the person vaping.
Already various issues have been seen with Harvard researchers seeing a link between popcorn lung and vaping last year. Popcorn lung is the common name for a disease called bronchiolitis obliterans, an incurable condition that causes damage to the smallest parts of your lungs, called the bronchioles and alveoli. Popcorn lung occurs when scar tissue builds up within these tiny passageways, making it hard to breathe and expel air. It is caused by the chemical fumes of diacetyl which was first seen in workers in popcorn factories. Oil accumulation in the small passage ways in the lungs is another issue attributable to vaping which is seen by many scientists as a possible cause of breathing difficulties in vapers. The true cause of the current outbreaks is still unknown
EXPERT: Kenton but there is no doubt that better controls about the quality and safety standards of vaping liquids is required only last week the Indian Government banned the use of Vaping products joining many far east and South American countries who have taken on board the warnings issued by the World Health Organisation in 2008.
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September 26th - October 9th 2019
THE WOBBLES
Laser teeth whitening may be quick, but effects don’t last as long as Karan Sud Dental’s new teeth-whitening kits
SUFFERING with loose teeth? You may have been told you will now need dentures or implants. But this is not actually the case, especially with regards to the front teeth. At Karan Sud Dental, in Calpe, we use fibrebond technology to splint loose teeth together and replace missing teeth. This innovation uses a resin-based fibre, placed behind the affected teeth, that can strengthen them without having to pull them out. This allows you to keep your teeth for much longer. Dentures are bulky, and affect both taste and function. They also can jeopardise the health of remaining teeth. Dental implants in the anterior region - or front teeth - are also very complicated. They involve surgery, and take a lot of time, effort and expense. With fibrebond technology, however, you can save on all of these thing, as well as pain. If you have mobile or missing teeth, please call us to see if you’re a suitable candidate for this innovative treatment. Karan Sud British dentist Calpe
Dr Karan Sud
“Very pleased with my new dental treatment from Karan and the team. My teeth were loose, but this treatment solved the problem completely. I am usually very nervous around the dentist, but the procedure was painfree and the aftercare was easy and exceptional. Well done.” Glenys Cook
For more information visit www.ksuddental.com Tel: (+34) 965 837 553 - 24h emergency: (+34) 602 612 688 Clinica Britannia, Avda Ejercitos Españoles 16, first floor, Calpe
GETTING CONNECTED
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September 26th - October 9th 2019
By Loraine Gostling
COLUMNISTS
WEATHERING THE STORMS
FARM FLASH
By Susan Weeding
Loraine Gostling’s weather-worn advice on how to prepare for no-deal Bre.. whoops, gota fria
HAY HO The rescue centre may be home and dry, but there’s a bigger crisis on the horizon, writes Susan Weeding
STORMY SPAIN: Loraine’s Facebook group has been flooded with affection despite the grisly goings on
My ponderings over the last week or so obviously took me to floods and the impact of the extreme weather we both enjoy and suffer here on the Costa Blanca. More recently, my tired brain was being engaged by the freakin’ mess the UK is in right now and wondering how many sleepless nights all these headless chickens, who I have now renamed “Polloticians” are causing - especially to those who
have settled and love life here. But I will not linger on that particular can of fat, juicy worms right now. As a few regular readers know, I run a local Facebook group, which is both a beauty and a beast. It has a way of really grinding my gears, especially after the watershed, when beer and wine-soaked members drain the last droplet, open their phones
and proceed to bash the keys and spout stuff they would NEVER actually say face-to-face. On the other hand, it can be a wonderful and heartwarming place to go in times of crisis, as it proved last week. During the gota fria, the group was in ‘beauty’ mode. Community spirit shone through, despite the fact that our area, Javea, did not bear the worst anger of the storm. I am now going to pass on some useful information in print for a change, as it could be helpful to readers when facing a possible evacuation due to fire or flood: 1. Keep pet carriers and leashes readily available to lead pets to safety/get them into vehicles. 2. Keep a box or suitcase ready filled with precious photos, negatives, CDs or external drives, a torch and spare charger.
3. Consider a bank deposit box and put all important papers in there. If not, put certificates, I.D/Residencia copies, passports, pet documents, deeds, contracts, pension and health papers all in one safe place. 4. Take photos or a full video of your home and contents (this is good advice in case of burglary also). Insurance companies ask for proof when they are processing a claim and the more evidence you have, the less time it SHOULD take! 5. Finally, if ever your property is in the line of a serious fire and you have a pool… place the bottles into the pool before you leave and ensure you have joined your Local Weather and Firewatch Facebook group. Their advice is invaluable.
The next instalment of Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre, and what a story we have! I’m sure all of you will have seen the horrendous floods that have hit our area. It started with a gota fria - the third that we’ve had this year - and because of it, the Segura river burst its banks, sending people and properties underwater. Houses were lost, cats, dogs, horses and ponies - hundreds of animals have drowned. But by some miracle, the river didn’t flood Rojales, where we’re based. If it had, we would now be the Easy Fish Care Rescue Centre. Our problem was the clouds. We were pumping out rainwater for three days and three nights just to keep it out of the feed room and keep the water levels down in the fields. We had to make it as comfortable for the animals during the torrential thunder, lightning and the downpours we experienced. Anyway, we’re out of the crisis now, and we’re some of the lucky ones that survived. All of our 120 horses, ponies, donkeys and other animals survived - apart from four baby peacocks from the last column, sadly. Now that the craziness is calming down, we’ve had our first call from the police asking us to collect a donkey. This will be the start of many calls we’re expecting very soon, but it doesn’t solve an even bigger problem: there’s hardly any forage left in Spain to keep the thousands of animals that depend on it alive. The main reason is that 78% of the ‘alfalfa’ forage feed is sold to the Middle East and China, leaving only 22% for animals here. Because of the floods, most of this has been lost anyway, so what in the world are we going to do? As reported in the Olive Press, we’ve been aided by a fantastic Norwegian who’s working with German farmers to donate articulated lorry-loads of forage to bring to Spain. The first load should be over from Germany some time next week, but although the forage is being donated free of charge, the cost of transportation is huge - €3,300 for the first load alone. However, more Germans from a golfing organisation based in our area have amazingly donated €2,000 towards the costs. Temporarily, we should be okay, but we need to raise more funds to cover the cost of more imports of forage to Spain. Not only will this keep the animals that we have NOW stay alive, but also those abandoned ones that we’ll have to go out and rescue from hunger or worse. This is really going to be the most challenging times of our 11-year journey so far.
SPORT SPORT Fairway to hell A POPULAR golf resort has been flooded following the worst storms in Alicante for 140 years. Deadly floods killing seven and washing away cars in Valencia, Murcia and
If you have a sports story, newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call 0034 951 273 575
eastern Almeria. Online footage emerged Marquesa course’s bunkers sandpits completely terlogged by storms.
MUM’S THE WORD
September 26th - October 9th 2
has golf and wa-
Safe keeping
MANCHESTER United’s Spanish goalkeeper, David de Gea, has donated €200,000 to the disaster relief fund in the flood-hit Vega Baja region because of his father’s links in the area. His father was born in Redován and grew up in Orihuela, which was one of the cities worst affected by the recent
gota fria storm that killed at least seven people. De Gea himself was born in Madrid. Red Cross Spain thanked him for the gesture through their Cruz Roja Española en Aspe page, writing, “Thank you very much David De Gea for your solidarity and support to those affected.”
Expat golfer returns from maternity leave to beat Americans and take home Solheim Cup AN expat living in Marbella has helped Europe beat the USA in the Solheim Cup 2019, before announcing her retirement from golf. Suzann Pettersen, 38, had been away from the sport on maternity leave for two years. Many doubted that she should have even be selected, having only played in two events prior to the competition.
Biggest But she came back with a bang, holing her birdie putt on the 18th to defeat Marina Alex and win the trophy. The sportswoman celebrated as the ball rolled in, and soon her euphoric teammates joined - they had only half an hour prior resigned themselves to defeat in the competition. Indeed, Pettersen’s selection by her captain, Catriona Matthew, had some eyebrows raised, some believing the Scandinavian
Champions of the world
SPAIN has claimed its first title in 13 years after it beat Argentina 95-75 to win the Basketball World Cup in Beijing. Sergio Scariolo’s side maintained the lead after scoring 14 of the first 16 points against the 2004 Olympic champions. The tournament’s most valued player, Phoenix Suns point guard Ricky Rubio, was Spain’s most electric
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September 26th - October 9th 2019
player with 20 points and three assists. Toronto Raptors centre Marc Gasol, who became part of the first non-US team to win the NBA this year, also added 14 points and three assists. It comes after a talented Spain side hosted the competition in 2014, but failed to lift the title, dramatically crashing out against France. Gasol was part of that losing team and this year’s gold
OP Puzzle solutions
Across: 7 Incommunicado, 9 Smarten, 10 Discs, 11 Lobe, 12 Slander, 15 Sherbet, 16 Acne, 19 Raise, 21 Colleen, 22 Pennsylvanian. Down: 1 Diesel, 2 Scramble, 3 Burn, 4 Giddyap, 5 Eats, 6 Mouser, 8 Mate, 12 Set, 13 Decrepit, 14 Abreast, 15 Stripy, 17 El Nino, 18 Flea, 20 Ions, 21 Calf.
SUDOKU
Quick Crossword
medal-winning team, but he refused to compare the two. Speaking after Spain’s win yesterday he said: “It can’t be compared [with that of] 13 years ago. “It is not worth comparing it with other things. You have to enjoy it for what it means, for what all the staff have put in. It is magnificent.” Both Spain and Argentina had already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
was too rusty to compete, but she soon put paid to that. Following her dramatic victory the Norwegian said: “I think this is a perfect closure. “A good end to my professional career. It doesn’t get any better. “Life’s changed so much for me over the last year. “He’s [son Herman] obviously the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me. “But now I know what it feels like to win as a mom. I’m going to leave it like that.” Pettersen retires with an esteemed career, having won 15 times on the LPGA Tour, including two majors - the 2007 Women’s PGA Championship and the 2013 Evian Championship. She is a member of the Aloha Golf Club, a highend private members’ 18-hole PGA Tour course between San Pedro and Marbella.
UNDERDOG: Petterson had been on maternity leave
A SOUNDER of wild boars took a walk through Javea’s Plaza de la Constitucion before going viral as residents snapped videos of the strange encounter.
FINAL WORDS
Tractor trek A BRIT has driven a tractor from Spain to Yorkshire and topped an Amazon book chart with a memoir about the 1,700 mile trundle, called Tractorman: Adventure at a Snail’s Pace.
Legless A VALENCIA court has sentenced its regional maraton champ Jaouad Tougane to three months in prison for repeated theft. Tougane reportedly stole from his interpreter’s car during the court hearing.
Own goal ties POLICIA Local have arrested a Spanish man who filmed himself dancing on the roof of his moving car and uploaded it to Instagram. Nineteen of the 27 videos on the man’s Instragram involved dangerous driving
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Vol. 1 Issue 14 www.theolivepress.es
Your expat
voice in Spain
September 26th - October 9th 2019
A NEW movement is hoping to raise awareness of the importance of the industries that keeps the rural parts of Spain alive. Paso de Vaca is an initiative by the Casa Grande de Xanceda to see as many zebra crossings in Spain replaced with cow print versions. The goal is to remind city dwellers of the importance of rural Spain, which relies on cows and dairy industries.
WHITE STRIPES
AN ALBINO tiger locked in a cage next to the swimming pool of an Alicante residence has raised alarm bells among municipal law enforcement. Alicante Town Hall released a photograph of the tiger with a statement saying
Heavy load
A BIZARRE video has emerged of a ‘drunk’ woman being hauled around on the back of a mobility scooter. Shot in Benidorm, the hilarious footage shows a seemingly intoxicated woman being chauffeured about by what is thought to be her hubby. The woman is slumped over the back seat of the vehicle before it pulls up outside Rocky’s Benidorm Pub in Calle Gerona.
Rare tiger - one of 20 left in world - found in garden
Policía Local, Seprona and the Department of Health were ‘checking’ if the owner - in the Rebolledo area - pos-
UFO in Alicante
RARE: Tiger found at Spanish home
sessed appropriate licences. The statement added albino tigers are ‘extinct’ in the wild and only ‘twenty’ exist in the whole world. “Alicante, with this exceptional specimen in private hands, has become part of the few enclaves in Europe that have one of these wild oddities,” the statement said. “But the Department of Health assumes these wild beasts must live in their natural habitats, since their trade is driving their extinction.” Spain’s Ley 42/2007 prohibits ownership of a list of animals deemed either invasive or critically endangered. However, only indigenous Iberian animals at risk of
extinction – not foreign animals such as tigers – are illegal to own as pets. Owners of dangerous pets, such as dogs, are required to possess both licences and insurance of ‘no less than €120,000’, according to Spain’s Real Decreto 287/2002. Lacking any special precautions for tigers, however, in theory it is easier to possess a licence for a tiger than for a Staffordshire Terrier. Police and the Department of Health are reportedly investigating if the owner lacks the ‘documentation, permits, insurance and other requirements concerning the possession of a dangerous species’.
UFOLOGISTS have claimed alien spacecraft ‘refuel’ during electric storms after a UFO was spotted over Alicante city last week. A separate theory is that aliens use the storms as ‘camouflage’ to observe human life, according to Spanish media company Agencia 6. It comes after a strange flying object was spotted in a video of lightning over the city of Alicante during last week’s gota fría storms. The footage was originally broadcast on Canal 6 Alicante without any mention of the flying craft. But then a student at the University of Alicante contacted Agencia 6 for the video to take a closer look. An edited version of the footage has now gone viral with reports claiming NASA are looking into the sighting. The video appears to show a drone-like craft swoop down from the clouds before hastily retreating into the storm. The University of Alicante are continuing to look into the images in what has been described as Alicante’s first UFO, according to Agencia 6.