Gilbraltar Olive Press - Issue 110 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

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Vol. 5, Issue 110 www.theolivepress.es November 20th - December 3rd 2019

AUTUMN DREAM: The road to Ronda through the Genal Valley

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errania de Ronda

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November 20th - December 3rd 2019

Bewitched by fairytale Ronda Y Vol. 13

Issue 331

This picture-perfect mountain town has charmed many an artist in time past and many famous people recently yet still retains its mythical appeal. Robert Firth shares the magic

OU don’t have to be writing the next award-winning novel or screenplay to appreciate Ronda, but it helps. Artists from Ernest Hemingway to Orson Wells – both commemorated with busts in the town – have made pilgrimages to Ronda for centuries in search of artistic inspiration. And it’s easy to see why from the moment you begin your journey here in the south east – just outside the town’s walls. For this is the only place you should begin your trip to Ronda. To really understand this historic medina, you have to first leave it and start again outside the town’s walls. From this vantage point, Ronda – dripping with history – perches monumentally above the olive and auburn countryside it overlooks. And through winding dirt tracks by ramshackle farms tended by shepherds with crooks in the shadows of the fortress and up stone steps towards the town, you catch a glimpse of the mythic beauty that transfixed so many artistic geniuses. So stunning is Ronda’s puente nuevo, bridging the canyon the town is built over, that Germany’s most famous poet, Rainer Maria Rike, credited his stay at the Reina Victoria hotel overlooking the ravine with curing his writer’s block.

Remote

Around almost every corner is tucked a stunning church, immaculately preserved historical ruins or a viewing point over postcard landscapes. If entering the town the proper way from the south, a stop-off at the Arab Baths is almost obligatory. Indeed passing through the exceptionally well-preserved 13th century hammam was mandatory for visitors to the Muslim medina when the town was a stronghold of the Emirate of Granada. It was one of the last places to fall to Catholic rule. After the conquest, its remote location in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park made it a refuge for Muslims fleeing per-

Bent

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It’s time to head to the hills for a classic winter break... our six-page Ronda special gives you the inside track

To the future

THE new government is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030, its new minister for climate change has revealed to the Olive Press. John Cortes told this paper how despite the challenge, a Green Gibraltar is ‘realistic’. “I have never said it’s not a challenge,” Cortes said. “I think we have to make many changes in the way that we all behave but I think it is possible to achieve it. “In some African countries it’s already illegal to even import a plastic bag or carry one with you.” He called the Climate Change portfolio ‘overarching’ after declaring a Climate Emergency. “All areas of government work will be influenced by commitments to climate change,” he said.

EXCLUSIVE By John Culatto

“I have to drive that very, very hard to make a real difference in everybody’s work and life patterns.” With New Harbours industrial estate already draped in solar panels, he is hoping to unveil a whole raft of renewable energy projects in the next few months. “I think that society now has a clear picture of what we have to do,” Cortes concluded. “With the support of governments, together with NGOs and crucially with businesses, we will achieve the carbon neutrality we need.” It comes as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol was extended to Gibraltar by the Government. The amendment to the global agreement, which was made in 1987, calls on countries to reach an 80% BASED reduction in the consumption of dangerous greenhouse gas

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A journey you won’t forget

IT is the biggest public money scandal in Spanish history, estimated at nearly €1 billion. Now, finally, two former Andalucia leaders are heading to prison and banned from office for their links to the disgraceful ERE scandal. Ex-Junta president Jose Antonio Grinan has been sentenced to six years jail and banned from office for 15 years, while predecessor Manuel Chaves has been banned from office for nine years. The pair oversaw the scheme, which saw the shocking theft of at least €680 million - dubbed the ‘Reptile fund’ - meant to go to companies in trouble and to stimulate employment. A further 17 politicians and businessmen who worked with the Junta received a total of 86 years in prison between them, a Sevilla court has ruled. This included eight years for former Employment minister Javier Guerrero, who helped set up the scheme which embezzled money from 2000 to 2009. The bent politician was particularly guilty, having set up two bogus companies with his former driver - dubbed the ‘Cocaine Chauffeur’ defrauding over €700,000 between them. The pair are said to have spent much of their afternoons spending the money taking cocaine with prostitutes at brothels near Sevilla. The final 1,700-page report, issued by a panel of judges, announced that 13 of those accused received six to eight years in prison while all have been banned from public office for at least 10 years. A further three, José Antonio Viera, Francisco Vallejo and Carmen Martínez-Aguayo were also ministers. In a major embarrassment for the PSOE party, Chaves and Grinan led the Junta for a combined 23 years, two thirds of the regional parliament’s history. The pair had been icons of the party, while Chaves went on to become a minister in both the Spanish governments of Felipe Gonzalez and Jose Luis Zapatero. The pair had overseen the set up of the €855 million slush fund, intended for retired and unemployed workers and struggling companies.

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‘hydrofluorocarbon’ (HFC) by 2047. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, ‘hydrofluorocarbons, are super greenhouse gases, manufactured for use in refrigeration, air conditioning, foam blowing, aerosols, fire protection and solvents’. Unlike most other gases, these substances are ‘intentionally produced’. “I am delighted that this amendment to the Montreal Protocol has been extended to Gibraltar,” Cortes added. “This is one of the steps we needed to take in order to continue to conform to international environmental standards even when we leave the European Union. “I am grateful to DEFRA in the UK for their support and their work on this and look forward to

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EXPERT: John Cortes

other international agreements on environment being similarly extended to Gibraltar in the coming months.” Meanwhile, the minister also hopes to continue to raise standards in the culture portfolio he took over from Steven Linares. “I will improve the way we record and archive our culture, including our cultural heritage and promoting our culture outside Gibraltar,” he added. As a dramatist, one of his main tasks will be to create a new national theatre at John Mackintosh Hall over the next two years.

CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF Slow justice CONVICTED murderer, Real Lishman, 44, has had his case thrown out by the Supreme Court, with a retrial set for 2020.

Sea weed TWO Moroccan men, Khalid El Moghne, 20, and Abderrahman Douass, 27, have plead not guilty to several charges after allegedly chucking £60,000 worth of hash into the sea.

Same old THE Rock’s ‘substantial’ terror threat level has remained unchanged following a meeting of the Contingency Council attended by the Governor and Deputy Chief Minister.

Terminated A MAN, 38, has been arrested after riding a motorbike and weilding a replica submachine gun in the Waterport Road area.

Boat load EXCLUSIVE By Robert Firth

A COWBOY builder has fled to the UK with thousands of euros an expat paid him to fit air conditioning in her new dream home. Expat Nicola Brookes claims she is owed €1,709 after Air Care Gibraltar director Andrew Maddison returned to Britain. The Casares resident has called in police to probe the case, after the former Duquesa resident suddenly upped sticks. She claims she has also had to fork out €700 on legal fees and changing the locks. However, this was firmly de-

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

A HIGH speed boat carrying illegal immigrants has run aground on Torremolinos’s main beach. Shocked beachgoers watched as the vessel, which is normally used to carry hashish, burst ashore at around 9:45am. The migrants made a run for it as eye witnesses

Air conned Police called in to probe cowboy builder who vanished into thin air

nied by a so-called ‘accounts manager’ of the firm Phillip Charlton, who threatened her to stop spreading ‘malicious rumours’. The problems came after she paid half of the quote upfront in August. “He just failed to return to

ROGUE: Trader has fled with thousands of owed money do the job,” she told the businesses in Hampshire, Olive Press. “He is a total the Olive Press has discovnightmare”. ered. Since leaving Spain in Sep- When we contacted him this tember, the 55-year-old week, he insisted the claims plumber has set up two new were ‘entirely false’ and that he was suing Brookes for libel. He added he no longer owned Air Care Gibraltar and insisted the company’s AT least two Brits could have been conned into coughing up new boss had offered to €4,600 in a timeshare scam. complete her installation, A Policia Nacional investigation led to the arrest of a of Fuenwhich she had turned down. girola resident who police believe could have scammed other “She refused and then startBritons too. The 38-year-old Colombia national is accused of ed slandering me everyoffering a number of properties for holidays which then never where when in fact it had materialised. nothing to do with me once The payments were made to the account of the mother of the the company was sold,” he accused but the holiday-makers were left empty-handed. The said. Despite his claims, he Policia Nacional opened the investigation after the two Brits still appears to be the direcmade a denuncia. The Colombian was arrested and charged tor of the La Linea-based with fraud after the investigation was carried out. business.

Doing us Time trouble proud HIGH profile messages of support have flooded in for RGP officers who were hurt while fighting off smugglers in Gibraltar’s waters. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo tweeted how the RGP were ‘the best of us’ and thanked them for keeping Gibraltar safe. He was retweeting RGP Assistant Commissioner who reported the head injuries suffered by two police officers.

contacted police. Fast-moving rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) are banned from the Andalucian coast in order to prevent drug trafficking. Authorities have seized the boat and are holding it in a warehouse for safekeeping. People smugglers charge up to €6,000 to transport migrants to Spain in these vessels.

Put the toys away A MOTORCYCLIST has been arrested after wielding a replica submachine gun while riding through Gibraltar. The 38-year-old man was held by firearms police over ‘conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace’. RGP officers held the suspect at around 10:50am on WHICH DAY after he had been travelling through the Waterport Road area. An RGP statement read: “This is not the first instance of firearms officers having to respond and despite previous requests by the RGP for persons to refrain from carrying toy guns or replica firearms in public, this type of incident continues to occur, with potentially lethal consequences for the individual.” The statement added that the Rock’s terrorism threat is currently ‘substantial’, meaning that ‘an attack is a strong possibility’. The spokesperson added: “The RGP appeals to the public to refrain from the brandishing or carrying of toy/replica firearms in a manner that may cause public concern and forces our highly trained firearms officers, to make split second decisions as to whether a firearm is a replica or real.”

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Let die and live

FORMER Bond girl Jane Seymour might have spent her time dodging death as Solitaire in 1973 hit Live and Let Die. But the closest she has ever come to death is in Spain, she has revealed. The 68-year-old star told the Times how she somehow ‘came back from the brink’ after a routine jab she had on the mainland gave her an anaphylactic shock. “I basically died and had to be resuscitated,” she revealed. She said the near-death experience means today she lives life to the ‘fullest.’ Seymour has recently spoken out against ageism, saying that ‘not every designer will dress someone my age.’

NEWS

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

FAR right party Vox has hit back at Spain’s biggest pop star Rosalia after she announced ‘f*** Vox’ in a tweet. The 26-year-old star made the outburst after the party took a historic 52 seats in parliament. But Vox hit back with a photo of Rosalia on a private plane, insisting: “Only millionaires like you who have private planes can permit themselves the luxury of not having a homeland.” The party has campaigned on a platform of anti-immigration and pledged to repeal gender violence laws. The Catalan singer had the last laugh though when she took home three trophies at the Latin Grammy Awards. The 26-year-old Flamenco pop star picked up the best album gong and best contemporary pop vocal album award for El mal querer, as well as best urban song for Con Height. She is the first female winner of the album prize since 2006, when Shakira won.

Brexit brings me home HE is Malaga’s most famous son. As Antonio And now Antonio Banderas may be Banderas celebrates coming home for good… all thanks to Brexit. the launch of a The famous actor - who has just new theatre in his opened a new theatre in Malaga he is ‘worried’ about conbirth city, he may revealed tinuing to live in the UK, where he be seeking to move has been based for four years. Legend of Zorro star insists that home from the UK The Brexit may ‘force’ him to move back

to his home city of Malaga, where his new Teatro del Soho CaixaBank has just opened. He revealed that the continuing ‘uncertainty’ about Britain’s departure from the EU made him pine more for Spain. Banderas currently lives in the Surrey town of Cobham, with banker girlfriend Nicole Kimpel, but said he is ‘worried’ about the ‘uncertainty’

caused by Brexit. “There is the possibility of moving back to Malaga,” he said. “Malaga is just the size of city I love and I’m coming here more and more.” The 59-year-old inaugurated his new Malaga theatre with a performance of A Chorus Line, attended by Spanish film legends including Pedro Almodovar at the weekend. Banderas won Best Actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Almodovar’s Pain and Glory, in which he plays a ruined film director reflecting MISS Gibraltar was given a final gift to help her on her way to on his life choices. the Miss World beauty pageant. The Hollywood star, born Celine Bolanos was crowned Miss Gib last summer and she in Malaga in 1960, also rewill now take part in the Miss World event in London. vealed that his Swiss-GerBolanos will be hoping to emulate fellow Gibraltarian Kaiane man girlfriend Nicole has Aldorino who became the first Gibraltarian to clinch the Miss begun learning Spanish in World title in 2009. Although beauty pageants are considpreparation for a possible ered old-fashioned and sexist, the final night on December return to his home country. 14 is likely to get a large TV following… particularly in Gib!

Goyasmacked

KING Felipe and Queen Letizia didn’t seem to know what to make of a self-portrait by Spanish artist Goya during their historic visit to Cuba. It came as the royal couple visited a Francisco de Goya exhibition in Havana during a four day trip to the former colony, the first by Spanish royalty in 500 years. The pair seemed bemused by the pallid self-portrait completed in 1815. Cuba is Spain’s third-biggest trading partner after China and Venezuela.

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A HOST of big names from Spanish cinema and beyond attended the debut of musical A Chorus Line, in Malaga. Academy awardwinning director Pedro Almodovar (left) led the guests for the musical, which will go on tour to Madrid, Barcelona and the United States next year. Former Real Madrid defender Miguel Torres and Malaga-born bullfighter Javier Conde (left) also made appearances at the star-studded event.

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NEWS

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NEWS IN BRIEF Forgotten fathers MINISTER for Equality Samantha Sacramento is looking to talk to fathers who feel they are unable to see their children after a divorce as part of International Men’s Day.

Patten of learning FORMER Secretary of State under Maggie Thatcher, Lord Chris Patten was shown around Gibraltar University after speaking at the Gibraltar Literary Festival.

Political mobility AFTER much discussion, a lift similar to that at Commonwealth Park will be installed at the western side of parliament to give better access to those with disabilities.

Busy Brexit Nearly 1,000 people have visited the offices of the Brexit information office on Main Street, including Spaniards and Brits posing outside for a picture!

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

It’s war and peace

Tragicomic award

Picardo launches fierce defence of Gibraltar in wake of historic rise of Vox at Spanish Election GIBRALTAR will fight the slander of the far right in Spain while still extending an olive branch of diplomacy, according to its Chief Minister. Speaking at the start of the new parliament Fabian Picardo said he is open to talk with a possible leftwing coalition in Madrid. “I say to all who would

By John Culatto

slander or smear our people, our motives or our identity: you stand in the way of the truth and legitimacy of our people at your peril,” he told Parliament. “We are fierce friends to those who want to work with us – but we will be

fearless foes of those who seek to denigrate us.” However, he spoke of being keen on ‘non-sovereignty dialogue’ with Spain to ‘improve the lives of people on both sides of the frontier’. “That need not change because we will not be in the European Union and will be more important for our citizens if we are not,” he

A schoolboy error THE BBC has become embroiled in a sovereignty row after it appeared to suggest that Gibraltar is part of Spain in a CBeebies show. An episode of the cartoon Go Jetters aimed to teach children about the migration of birds from Europe to Africa.

A voiceover explains that characters Lars, Foz, Xuli and Kyan are travelling to the strait of Gibraltar to watch a flock of stalks. However, any reference to the Rock is then cast aside as Lars later says the group are making the journey from ‘Spain to Africa’.

“The BBC has let its guard down and failed in educating the next generation about our far flung, diverse and fascinating Overseas Territories,” said Ben Brickley, a spokesman for charity Friends of the British Overseas Territories.

said. “But such dialogue must be based on the principle of mutual respect; something which we believe was preserved under the mechanisms of the Trilateral Forum for Dialogue.” In the long speech the Chief Minister announced that for the first time, the accounts of government companies would be published online. This would put an end to criticism the GSD Opposition has levelled against the GSLP/Liberals in the last eight years. He also mentioned that the £100 million owed to Barclays Bank was due in October so another loan with Natwest Bank would be negotiated for £75m.

AN ILLUSTRATOR has won a prestigious Spanish Comic Award for a graphic novel telling the story of the 2006 Valencia metro disaster, which killed 43 people. Cristina Duran’s partner Miguel Angel Giner - who cowrote the novel - took the call announcing her victory as the 49-year-old was undergoing surgery for breast cancer. It is the first time the gong has been awarded for a piece of journalism. El dia 3 recounts the events of the 2006 Valencia metro catastrophe and the ensuing battle of victims’ families for justice. The jury praised the novel for its ‘narrative in which emotion, graphic excellence and the use of powerful visual metaphors are balanced.’ The comic was published in February 2018 in Spanish and later in Valencian.

OP QUICK Crossword Across 7 Elude (5) 8 Love affair (7) 10 Obscurity (7) 11 High building (5) 12 Pastry (6) 13 Actor (6) 15 Mock (6) 17 Expels (6) 21 Pole thrown by Scottish athletes (5) 23 Youngster just walking (7) 24 End result (7) 25 Recess in a wall (5)

Down 1 Anise-flavoured liqueur (6) 2 Nationalist China (6) 3 Freed (8) 4 Forest (5) 5 Send forth (4) 6 Closer (6) 9 Recently (5) 14 Cherished relation (5,3) 15 Physician (6) 16 Capital of Morocco (5) 18 Plain-woven cotton cloth (6) 19 Loud shrill cry (6) 20 Refined iron (5) 22 Chess piece (4)

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Food relief HOT lunches served daily at the two new comprehensive schools could help working parents. Students at the new buildings of Bayside and Westside schools will receive the lunches for free in the first term. “The provision of hot lunches in schools marks a milestone in the services we provide our students,” insisted a government spokesperson. “Parents will be able to choose from a meat, fish or a vegetarian dish each day with each choice providing a nutritious and healthy meal.” The move will give working parents and single mums the peace of mind their kids are eating healthily while they’re at work. Parents can register their children for hot lunches at smart.gi.

Making tracks

FIVE firms have bid for the new high-speed rail service from Malaga to Madrid. Train bosses at Adif have confirmed that several firms have made bids for the line, which is set to open in 2021, with state operator Renfe being one of them. Currently Renfe has the monopoly on rail services from the Costa del Sol to Madrid, but new government legislation will see that all change, as it aims to keep up with EU rules.

NEWS

WINDS of change

Royal Marine reflects on the ever-changing Gibraltar on Remembrance Day

Light it up!

GIBRALTAR has changed a lot according to a former Royal Marine in town to remember the war dead. But Corporal Pete Wilkins believes the Rock will always be part of the UK family, even with Brexit on the horizon. The former corporal attended

the military parade with other veterans at the British War Memorial on Line Wall Road.“It’s a lovely place, always has been,” Wilkins told the Olive Press. “But it’s getting more crowded. “Every time I come here there’s more buildings, it’s progress – you can’t prevent it,” admits the

GIBRALTAR’S Christmas lights plans have been unveiled by the Government. Father Christmas himself is descending for this year’s big switch-on, which also boasts a wealth of entertainment from Christian Santos. Organised by the Gibraltar Cultural Services and the Gibraltar Electricity Authority, the Xmas extravaganza kicks off in Casemates Square on November 22, with music from 6pm and the main event at 7:30pm. The Rock’s legendary outdoor space will also

feature a Santa’s Grotto. Following the big switch-on, the Rock’s lights will start up automatically every day until January 6, 2020. The programme of events released by the Government is as follows: 6:15pm - Performances by the Calpe Band, Band & Drums Association with the Sea Scouts Pipe & Drum Band, the St Anne’s Middle School Choir, GAMPA choir and Danza Academy 7:15pm - Video Presentation 7:30pm - Switch-on Christmas Lights ceremony 7:40pm - Opening of Santa’s Grotto

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

former Royal Marine. Wilkins has been coming to Gibraltar to celebrate Remembrance Sunday for nearly a decade. “I did three tours here of four months each in the 60s and early 70s,” he explained. “It’s important because the Royal Marines along with the Dutch Marines took Gibraltar in 1704.” “But there’s only so much land you can build on before you

have to fill in the sea!” Two large reclamations on either side have increased the size of the land area of Gibraltar with another planned for the port area soon. “The people are still aware of their colonial past,” Wilkins said. “The traditions go back hundreds of years. “When the dust settles on Brexit, the UK will have its own identity along with Gibraltar within the Union.

UK’S Head honcho in town BRITAIN’S new ambassador to Spain is set to visit the Costa del Sol today (Wednesday). Hugh Elliot will meet an estimated 100-plus expats in Manilva to discuss the issue of Brexit. Elliott, who succeeded Simon Manley as the UK’s top mandarin this summer, will be the key speaker for the town’s fifth seminar on the UK’s planned departure from the EU. Other speakers include British Consul Charmaine Arbouin, local politician Dean Tyler Shelton and Derek Langley, from the Chamber of Commerce, while a trio of local mayors will also be present.

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than one million people a month.

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

IT’S WARMING UP... ...and SHE’LL be there...

OPINION The reptiles have finally been caged It’s thanks to the unshakable determination of one woman that this week 19 Andalucian politicians and business leaders were sentenced to a total of 86 years in prison for swindling the public out of millions of euros. The iron lady of the Spanish justice system, judge Mercedes Alaya, has devoted almost a decade of her life to uncovering the gross corruption of the former PSOE leaders. And it is she who should be remembered as the unsung heroine of the sorry ERE saga. The €1billion-plus slush fund that paid for ex-employment minister Javier Guerro’s cocaine-fuelled afternoons in brothels has been dubbed the ‘reptile fund’.

Fag

And this 63-year-old alleged socialist can only be described as reptilian, seemingly unable to arrive or leave a single court hearing without a fag hanging from his mouth or gripped between his fingertips. Hopefully his eight year jail sentence will give him ample time to reflect on why splurging money meant for laid off workers and the unemployed is a bad look for a politician meant to be on the people’s side. It is a further kick in the teeth to those who voted these politicians into power that ex-Junta president Chaves - who incredibly avoided jail - turned a blind eye when miners in Huelva tried to warn politicians of the bogus payments in a letter published in El Mundo. Let’s hope the sentences today serve as a reminder to our elected representatives that they may help make the law, but they’re not above it. Publisher / Editor

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Charlie Smith Joshua Parfitt charlie@theolivepress.es joshua@theolivepress.es Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es

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Heather Galloway on how hosting the climate change summit COP25 could be a game-changer for Spain

ADRID will be front page news next month when 25,000 of the world’s environmental experts fly in for the UN’s COP25 climate change summit. And not only because teen activist Greta Thunberg will be among them (and she’s sailing in, not flying). Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stepped up to the plate when social unrest forced Chile to pull out as host at the eleventh hour, giving Spain front row seats and a golden opportunity. Chilean president Sebastian Piñera will continue to preside over the proceedings, which will be staged at the IFEMA conference centre from December 2-13. But Spain’s Ecology Minister, Greenpeace spokesperson Teresa Ribera, a prestigious Tatiana Nuño is also positive. figure on the global scene, “Our country is a rough diawill also take a leading role. mond when it comes to renewAnd she has had to employ able energy,” she tells me. “And the same sense of urgency people here are aware; they required to reduce CO2 emiswant to act and participate. sions to prepare for the deluge “We have the potential to be up of experts and negotiators in there with the most progressive record time. countries. But we need a stable Among those guaranteed to government, one that puts enattract global attention during ergy transition at the centre of the summit is Swede Thunberg, its agenda.” 16, who has droves of followers There certainly should be an in Spain, where Fridays for Fuincentive, Spain being on the ture strikes have taken off. frontline when it comes to the She does however, have her deimpact of climate change in Eutractors, such as rope. the far-right Vox A 2016 report naysayers who published in have attacked the Spain is already Science preactivist, branding dicts a range experiencing her ‘a puppet’. of scenarios for Having already the south, dealarming embarked on her pending on the developments zero emissions rate at which journey, Greta are like flash floods emissions found herself checked... the stranded on the worst possibility wrong side of the is being a ravAtlantic until Australian couaged ecosystems of semi-desple Riley Whitelum and Elayna ert for much of Andalucia and Carausu came to the rescue Murcia and poor prospects for and offered her a passage on those living along the coast as their catamaran, back the way sea levels rise and temperashe came. tures increase by five degrees So will the summit act as a catby 2100. alyst to Spain’s fight against Spain is already experiencing climate change, perhaps turnalarming developments such ing the country into a European as an unprecedented increase leader on the issue? in flash floods, blamed by the Ribera has high hopes and Observatory of Sustainability

The end of the world as we know it?

2012 - 2019

“The world may already have gone down the toilet in terms of emissions. That is what is moving Extinction Rebellion. That’s what I see on Greta’s face. Somehow she symbolises the cock-up of our generation. What we need to do is to sell emerging economies the truth; that sustainable economies are the most economically viable, bringing quality jobs, reduced energy insecurity and reduced foreign control.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW There will be climate-change demos almost every day, with the biggest march (see left) going from Atocha to Nuevos Mi nisterios on December 6, organised by various groups including Fridays for Future COP25 will cost €90 million to host and is predicted to bring a cash injection of €200 million

on climate change, economic growth and unbridled urban development which increases impermeable surface areas. Murcia’s Mar Menor is also acting as a wake up call. Fish are being starved of oxygen and Europe’s largest salt-water lagoon is turning into a graveyard, due in large part to intensive farming and flooding. It didn’t happen overnight of course. As former renewables journalist, Anthony Luke, points out, “Everyone was surprised when tonnes of fish were washed up on the shores of the Mar Menor this autumn following years of pollution from agricultural pesticides. “The warning signs,” he said, ”have been there for years but nobody took the blindest bit of notice. The Mar Menor has now become synonymous with environmental disaster. But it could occur on a far larger scale anywhere in the world if the signs are not heeded.” Ignoring the signs is a major issue. Less than 2% of Spaniards listed climate change among their top three political concerns in a survey carried out by the Centre for Sociological research (CIS) in the run-up to the November 10 general election. Coupled with the gains made by the extreme right wing party Vox, which remains sceptical about climate change, this is somewhat at odds with Ribera and Nuño’s optimism. However, when the current PP-led Madrid council tried to dismantle the low-emissions scheme ‘Madrid Central’, it was stopped in its tracks after thousands came out in protest, prompting a court ruling. Nuño is also encouraged by the fact that climate activists have called for demonstrations against Black Friday at the end of this month and believes people power will be a significant factor during COP25. “The demonstrations will put pressure on Madrid not only to maintain Madrid Central but to expand it and get the emissions within the city down to

There will be an alternative summit called the Social Climate Summit held at the Complutense University from December 7-13 The Paseo de la Castellana will become the Green Castellana – the focus of cultural and citizen activity In IFEMA, COP25 will occupy seven pavilions. The Blue Zone will host the multilateral UN negotiations The Green Zone will raise environmental awareness among the public with open dialogue and workshops Some 400 volunteers will be working at the event Madrid will host a Youth Conference from November 29 to December 1 and the young people are set to play a significant role in the conference zero,” she says, adding that it will force the government to be more ambitious with its targets for 2030. She hopes to see it aim to reduce emissions by 55% as opposed to 20% with respect to 1990. Meanwhile Sergio de Otto, of the Renewables Foundation in Madrid, believes Spain does not have the weight to become a leader in Europe in the fight against climate change. However he does see Spain’s hosting of COP25 as a positive means of raising awareness. “We can feel optimistic that we have someone like Teresa at the head of the Ecological Transition Ministry,” he tells me.“But there is a lot of resistance. The government is going in the right direction but there are obstacles slowing things down when the only thing we need right now is to go fast.” Whether or not we can pick up the pace depends on the consumer. “If we as individuals act,” he says, “then we can demand more urgent action from the authorities, pushing them to legislate.” The ball is in our court, it seems.

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

FEATURE

The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago this month, but populism and far-right groups like Vox are building another one that is dividing our response to the climate crisis, writes Jon Clarke

Spain’s best English news website

at the HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

Another brick in the wall

AS the Olive Press continues to grow around Spain - having just opened its FIFTH paper in Murcia and the Costa Blanca south this month - so does our community footprint. Thanks to our huge - and genuine - social media following we have an enviable head start. Yes, our REAL 22,100 Facebook followers and our TRUE 7,250 Twitter fans means that we are already known in the new region. While we get hundreds of thousands of engagements each fortnight, it is our website that takes the biscuit. For www.theolivepress.es leads the way in Spain in English by a country mile. Indeed, it is bigger than any rival by nearly FOUR TIMES. Yes, you read that. Thanks to our dozens of stories every day about Spain - not celebrity tittle tattle in the UK, or accidents in France - we are the ONLY English website in the Top 1000 in Spain. This is definitive and comes from an official ranking by Amazon’s Alexa.com, and backed up by legitimate Google analytics.

ANTI-IMMIGRANT: HERE was never any quesFar right partion where we would aim for. ties are making It was my university’s hitch inroads around hike for charity and it beEurope today, whigan exactly 30 years ago, during the le (below) the wall week the Berlin Wall started to fall. opens in 1989 A precursor to my future career as a journalist, there was only one place in the world that I wanted to be. Just 20 years of age and half way through a degree in Geography at Manchester University, the opportunity to see this momentous world event close up had incredible allure. And despite a later 15-year career covering numerous big stories – including Chernobyl, Maddie McCann and the death of Princess Diana – it presidents, Bill Clinton and George still leaves a bigger imprint on my Bush heard what the defeated formind. mer rival had to say, but went ahead So much still sticks in the memory, with what they planned anyway. from the edgy faces of young East Millions of eastern Europeans also German border guards standing took the promises of a bright new nervously on top of the wall, undawn at face value, only to pay a sure what to do, to the families of heavy price in unemployment, ecoWest Germans, standing by Checknomic collapse, and social turmoil. point Charlie handing over wads of And despite Germany investing banknotes to total strangers as they some two trillion euros, unemployarrived through the wall in their batment and social problems are still tered Trabant cars. higher in the former communist Deeply interested in the rift bepart. tween communism and fascism It took Hungary and Poland, the from studying the Spanish Civil War richest Iron Curtain countries, a full during my history A-level, it was indecade to recover economically from credible to think that this formidawhere they were when the ble barrier to world wall came down. peace, which saw 239 There has also been a people shot dead tryDresden in sharp rise in racism in ing to cross it, was these former Eastern the east of finally coming down. Bloc countries, a problem The unbreakable which has spread around Germany has spirit of people who dared to dream came declared a ‘Nazi’ Europe. Dresden in the east of to a head at Berlin’s Germany has just deemergency Brandenburg Gate on clared a ‘Nazi’ emergenNovember 11, 1989. cy, saying it has a severe That night, at around problem with the far 11pm, the border guards finally right. The city has long been viewed started letting its citizens leave East as a bastion of the far-right and Germany. In the following days, is the birthplace of the anti-Islam cracks started appearing in the Pegida movement. wall, as the exodus swelled. By the Meanwhile, the far-right Alternative weekend after it became a deluge as fur Deutschland is now Germany’s thousands made their dash for freeofficial opposition, having won 94 dom, aided by thousands of West seats in the 2017 elections, while Germans chiselling away at the hatAngela Merkel’s party shed 65 seats. ed barrier with hammers, pickaxes, In this month’s Spanish elections, shovels and even hydraulic drills. the far right Vox party which calls Nobody seemed to be working. for the ‘reconquest of Spain’ I joined them, arriving back in the has made huge gains everywhere, UK five days later with a suitcase full including the expat hotspots of the of souvenir chunks. It was an amazCosta del Sol and Murcia, to become ing time to be in Berlin. the third force in parliament. As former British prime minister Vox took 52 seats in Congress, a maGordon Brown later told up to a million Germans: “Because of your courage two Berlins are one. Two Germanys are one, and now two Europes are one.” Yet, once again all is not well in Europe. While the reunification of Germany eventually ushered in a new, larger and more powerful Europe, it had a double-edged meaning. Millions regained their basic freedoms but various promises made to Mikael Gorbachev at the time were never kept. In particular, the Russian leader was promised that NATO would not expand into the bases left by departing Russian troops in East Germany. US LANDMARK: Jon notes his 1989 trip

Olive Press online

jor increase on the 24 seats it previously held. Many believed Spain was immune to the far right because of memories of life under Franco. But Vox’s anti-immigration stance aligns it with many right wing parties across Europe, and it has sought to change legislation aimed at protecting women from gender violence, claiming it discriminates against men. These are worrying times. Over my nearly 20 years in Spain I have seen a horrifying disregard for European laws, protecting both human rights and the environment. The tsunami of cement that has seen its coastlines almost completely destroyed over the last two decades has made the country a watchword for excess, while wide scale corruption has allowed the real estate sector to steamroller its way over thousands of protected green spaces. Thousands of foreigners have seen their homes in danger of being knocked down, despite acquiring the correct licences. Many more lost out in off-plan schemes, only now finally being rectified by law. It’s 10 years ago since the Auken Report into environment and human rights abuse was issued by the EU demanding action. But despite the millions in taxpayers’ money spent compiling, interviewing and investigating the excesses, little has changed. That is where the European Union, as a higher authority, should have stepped in. And indeed it would have done, if a crucial vote to withhold €185 million of benefits from Spain hadn’t been shelved at the final hour. There is much speculation about why this was allowed to happen, some claiming it was the Spanish government threatening to block further EU legislation. Either way, if such blatant disregard for European laws remains unpunished, what then is the point of the EU? Certainly, it is vital that issues like this are addressed, particularly with the spectre of climate change likely to hit Spain a lot harder than northern Europe. Madrid is hosting the UN Climate summit next month when world leaders and climate change activists, Greta Thunberg included, will discuss how to stick to the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement promise of keeping global warming below 2 degrees. But actions speak louder than words. Having seen the fall of the Berlin wall it is vital that we Europeans, whether from the East or West, harness that same spirit of unity to solve the environmental crisis. It is going to be painful financially and difficult socially. But if we don’t work together on this one, it will create a wall dividing not only Europeans but the whole of mankind.

THE PAPER WITH THE REAL NUMBERS And what can you learn from this. Well firstly we are ranked globally at 12,854th position, putting us above the Liverpool Echo and Scotland’s prestigious Daily Record. Thanks to our high traffic figures - between 30,000 and 50,000 visits a day - we are at 593rd position in Britain and 870th in Spain. Meanwhile we have zoomed up to 638th position in Ireland and are 79th in Gibraltar.

OUR RIVALS Other local English newspapers Sur in English, Euro Weekly News and the Costa Blanca News fail to get into the top 2,000 in the UK, Spain or Ireland. The Mallorca Daily Bulletin ranks at 853,331, while the Costa Blanca News ranks at 2.93m, Costa-news at 1.84m, Alicantetoday at 11.04m and Murcia Today at 832,706.

12,854 # 593 # 870

Users

574.3K 1.3 M 1.6 M ON TOP: Olive Press website traffic for last four weeks

MILLIONS OF VISITORS

This boils down to visitor numbers and pages viewed and we had 1.6 MILLION pages read over the last four weeks (see Google Analytics graph above), with 1.3 MILLION visits.

WE CAN HELP YOU GROW With our 1.3 MILLION GENUINE visitors a month, coupled with 30,000 GENUINE Social Media followers and 250,000 GENUINE print readers we can GENUINELY guarantee we can help your business grow. Get in touch about how a combined digital and print campaign will be seen by millions of potential clients each month in an increasingly competitive and tricky market. Send us an email today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951 273 575

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:

1 2

- Grumpy Bake Off star Paul Hollywood threatens to fill in Olive Press cakehole for asking a question (42,369) - Storm Cecilia from the Atlantic to blast southern Spain this week as Costa del Sol, Murcia and Costa Blanca on alert for strong winds ahead of FIVE DAYS OF RAIN (30,999)

3 4 5

- ‘Fake bus driver’ who made €3.2 million from tourists and kids on Costa del Sol and across Spain arrested and has his 19 buses seized (24,721)

- Shocked beach-goers watch as drug boat carrying migrants runs ashore on Spain’s Costa del Sol (21,605) - REVEALED: This is the restaurant in British tourist hotspot in Spain accused of treating staff ‘like slaves’ with €2.80 per hour salaries (20,619)

www.theolivepress.es

Early Christmas THE Three Kings have sprinkled some early magic in the Sierra Nevada. Spain’s top ski resort has invested €9 million as it gears up for another exciting season on the slopes. Cash injections for restoration work and new runs promise to make this one of the best winters ever. The announcements were made by Cetursa boss,

GREEN NEWS Jesus Ibañez at the presentation of the 2019/20 winter season in Madrid. In terms of tracks there will be a new route from the summit of Veleta to Pradollano, linking tracks on the south slope. While a second route has been created through Loma de Dílar, following popular demand. A total of 33 new snow cannons are set to produce the same amount of snow in half the time, meaning the environment benefits as well as skiers. There will be around 30 events, including Snowrunning, Potholes, School, and Veterans. But perhaps the most exciting will be the Snowboardcross event, on March 6 and 7, next year, featuring legendary athletes like Lucas Eguibar and Regino Hernandez.

Call for hospipe ban after shockingly low water levels revealed

By Robert Firth

A BRITISH photographer has called for a hosepipe ban on the Costa del Sol, after shocking photos she took show the plummeting water levels at a reservoir. Michele Brecknell says she has ‘never’ seen the Lake Istan reservoir (right) so low in the 23 years she has lived here. She now wants the town hall to impose a hosepipe ban and encourage people to conserve water. “We should not be washing our cars. People need to be

made aware,” she told the Olive Press. Brecknell took three photos of the lake over an 11-month period.

WORK is underway to build an Andalucian town’s first urban garden for school children. The plot in Estepona will be used to teach children about different types of fruit trees and plants. A variety of avocado, mango, lemon and orange trees will be included in the garden, alongside plants such as potatoes, peppers, watermelon, zucchini and onions. Estepona Council has set aside €58,200 for the project, which will be built over a one and a half month period on a 1,000-square-metre plot next to El Carmen public school. The urban garden will consist of a three level orchard, wooden planters and a tool shed containing gardening equipment. A council spokesperson said it was ‘fundamental’ that children have contact with nature.

The Olive Press is looking for a sorcerer to weave some magic in its head office as we expand yet again. You’ll be an energetic resourceful individual, to become the glue in the young and rapidly expanding team. Personable and bi-lingual you will have a good phone manner, be sociable and naturally computer literate.

The first photo taken in January shows the lake looking full. By late September when the second photo was taken the water level has reduced so much that the top storey of a derelict house has emerged from the lake’s surface. In the final photo taken less than two months later the entire two-storey house surfaced. “It has happened in about two and a half months– that’s the scariest thing,” Brecknell said. The 59-year-old estate agent said that officials at Istan town hall told her there wasn’t a problem because the lake was 30% full. “I think it’s a ludicrous attitude to have,” she said. “They say we are waiting for it to rain. We need a hell of a lot of rain to fill that.”

Clean seabeds a priority

The Olive Press is looking for a magician to distribute our amazing newspapers in Gibraltar. You’ll be an energetic, resourceful individual, with a sound knowledge of how to get around Gibraltar or at least a smart phone and some physical strength. At this point we are looking for a Spanish or UK citizen once every other Wednesday. If you think you have what it takes to help the Olive Press expand to its next level please get in touch at accounts@theolivepress.es at the first instance, sending your CV and a covering letter. These jobs could be part time or full time and will suit either man or woman of any age or colour or background.

AN environmental company has teamed up with a sea cleaning organisation to clear up the waters of the Costa del Sol. Equilibrio Marino and Alnasar joined forces and will provide year-round cleaning to control all the waste dumped in the sea as well as seeking out and reporting any possible environmental threats. Fernando Alarcon, head of Equilibrio Marino, said: “Plastics, wet wipes, cigarette butts, sewage from waste plants, and even illegal fishing, are all

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threats to the marine ecosystem as they break down the waters of the Costa del Sol.” Among the team tackling the environmental issue 2

are professional sailors, divers, and scientists. Already the groups have found a huge discarded fishing net close to the beach, which trapped some fish on the seabed. www.theolivepress.es

CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF Scummy mummy AN expat mother in Benalmadena has been jailed for six years after making sex videos with her young daughters, aged just 8 and 14.

Weeded out POLICE dismantled a marijuana plantation in an abandoned house in Marbella with 303 plants and the appropriate electrical installation found.

Beggaring belief

LUXURY CAR GANG SNARED

GUNS and thousands of euros have been seized as police rounded up an expat gang that stole luxury cars on the Costa del Sol. In total, seven expats from Germany, Italy, Romania and Algeria were arrested in the raids. The gang, between 21 and 61 years old, carried weapons and €7005 in cash. They also used a series of specialised electronic devices, to start cars and open locks. Police made the arrests after a four month investigation, which began in Velez-Malaga, and traced the cars to drug dealers in the Campo de Gibraltar and in Eastern Europe.

Expats and Spaniards unite to demand urgent action over alleged animal killers

NEWS

Hospitals, courts and

October 23rd - November

5th 2019

Lighting up

A BRAND new hospital is to be A total built next year in Malaga. of €2.6 been set aside for million has Malaga will receive A whopping €208million initial stud- of has ies for the hospital. been set aside to any province in the most build the fa- Other followed by Cadiz Andalucia, cility in the car park Malaga projects to and Sevilla. get a Mijas meanwhile isting Hospital Civil. of the ex- boost include Antequera’s will get a toA BRITISH teenager port, which has received dry tal of €6.5 million A new metro line to spend on is being con- injection a cash two schools, who plunged seven floors structed underneath of €13million and the new new Torremolinos to his the is being set while €500,000 death in Andalucia hospital. aside to has been named as Max McMullen. with €1.9 million law courts, CIO catering school reopen the reserved. nearby. The 15-year-old, who is believed to have attended Bath’s Beechen Cliff school, died where he was an in Cordoba, exchange student. His tragic death came just two days into a week-long trip with other students being investigated. and is still player at Walcot The teen, a was fixing a brokenRugby Club, house of the host blind in the family he was MALAGA has staying in, according stalling its 2019started inLocal sources said to reports. the exchange A BRITISH decorations, ahead Christmas trip’s travel insurer switch on at the of the big is now re- mysteriouslyfather and son who sponsible for repatriating EXCLUSIVE end of Novanished from vember. By Laurence Dollimore the the Costa del student’s body. Police Cordoba lighting said there killed during Sol were likely is no evidence to company, a drug deal suggest crimi- wrong. Illuminations Ximenez, gone nality. “I think Liam’s is in charge of the city’s died. I think That’s what the family display of Dan- he’s been killed,” she revealed. this year. iel Poole, 46, and his son, Liam, “I hope he’s not at the As ever, Calle Larios 22, fear, having not bottom of the will remain the focal them since April. heard from he is sea . . . I hope. People say A CHARITY is gearing point of the but I want the chance seasonal light display, up for its Liam’s annual awareness for despite day for peo- Catney, grandmother Kathy people to give him back to me,” the town having ple with Epidermolysis 63, believes they recently sold the street’s famous were she added. bullosa, probably shot a rare genetic condition, light tunwhile on a trip “I think his dad got nel to Liverpool. also from West into some no good but known as Butterfly Skin. DEB- where theySussex to Estepona, bother and Liam got caught in questions. we just didn’t ask while his RA Butterfly Children’s father Daniel, a were the crossfire.” last seen car on Charity April 2. “He was going to mechanic with hopes to raise more She continued: Spain to do convictions for the condition awareness suspected [Daniel]“We always some sort of deal. Whether for drug dealing, is related to which causthe notorious London-based was up to that was property es skin to be extremely or drugs, I Richardson fragreally didn’t know,” ile - as soon as a she told his mother’s crime family on baby leaves the Times. the womb. The lightest side. Gang leaders touch The pair had made Charlie and Eddie causes painful open Richardson to Malaga in the three trips were alleged to covering up to 80% wounds, have tortured SPAIN has banned four months victims before they vanished. two chilleading to a life of of the body, with bolt dren’s disability and A family source told pliers during the cutters and were sun creams after they severe pain. 1960s. labelled ‘dangerous’ Press in June they the Olive The Olive Press can by a AN Irish holiday consumer group. reveal ‘knew that the pair were dead’. the family received slammed a group maker has a ransom It came after the creams, of Spanish “We will never see demand for over teenagers who ‘tried €100,000 the which claimed to them again, day they were obviously be Factor after rabbit’ and abused to kill a doing appeared.Daniel and Liam dis- 50, turned out to be SPF something illegal 15 imals on the Costaother anand 30, after studies south,” he said. and it’s gone The ransom request by conchickens and ducks del Sol. was never sumer group OCU. “Liam was such a made balls’ at the park like rugby good boy, he the public, but police traced Both creams by Isdin in Palermo was smart and has call to a phone in and Park in Benalmadena. Babaria have now obviously The Morocco. been influenced been withfamily’s story Hundreds of people drawn have liked into this mess, it’sand dragged BBC One’s Insidefeatured on Agencyfrom sale after Spain’s and shared a Facebook so tragic.” Out with of Medicines The young computer Glen Campbell, and by Boyd, a professional post Medical cian had no criminal techni- shown in the UK which was confirmedProducts (AEMPS) dog groomer, that shows last week record, featured the findings. one of the Olive Press. and the teens gripping Phil Boyd, 52, a rabbit. gowan, was on from Ballya week-long break when he witnessed the trio. The dad-of-one THE friends and ive Press: “The told the Olmissing British family of a tourist have turned his back lad grabbed THE remains of said they are relieved to wring its former dic- has neck. after he tator Francisco Franco been at the controversial was found safe and are set site since “If my wife Sharon exhumed from the his death in 1975. Clifton Kandler, 57,well. and I hadn’t shouted from Lonthe Fallen this week. Valley of But many Spaniards don had disappeared feel they would have at the boys that the basilica, His body is set to while hiking with some cut the rabbit with open, they are bad friends in entered and placed be finally 150-metre cross above,has a Malaga. kids. Something must be done.” ily mausoleum in in a fam- rifies Franco rather gloThe dad-of-two was Madrid this commemorating than found by Thursday. search and rescue the deaths of 500,000 The former dictator’s being visiting theteams, before body during the people who died Spanish civil war. Malaga for a twistedhospital in complex have not general check-up. ankle and yet been completed. damaged his ankle Clifton had after trying THE new luxury In the agreement to walk down a with Malaga ravine, which let on Malaga’s designer out- town hall, it became impassable was a strict conPlaza Mayor due a se- did not open as planned dition that the project ries of waterfalls. must be after 100% finished He spent the it failed to acquire night on the hillside or its permit the neces- operate would be invalid. to tracing his steps the before re- sary permits. next morn- The Mcarthurglen Although it had been ing. He tried following Designer billed as pipe down but again a water Outlet complex, due to open having 100 stores, there are went over on October 22, now just 61, and on his ankle and four restauA SELFISH mother couldn’t walk it will ‘open soon’,has now said rants. anymore. He spent left her but failed to The five-year-old son a few hours give a concrete date. largest store will crying alone calling for help be on a balcony, while Ralph before Lauren Polo, which rescue Issues have arisen she parteams found him over the will be lotied all night with friends. hours for them to but it took fact that small parts of the cated in the central plaza of Police were called get him off the site. the mountain. house in the Ciudad to the “We are all so relieved,” Jardin neighbourhood Clifton’s friend and at around afterof Cordoba fellow walker MARBELLA’S Alan, who was the neighbours called concerned AN alarming 23% Festival, which Starlite fees are related to the authorto see him, told the last person of Andalucian pensioners ities. poverty, a new study featured Kool this year use of the venue, the the He added: “Clifton Olive Press. are at risk of Officers tried to Na& The gueles It makes the region has found. calm the boy Gang, John Legend auditorium. grateful for all the is extremely while they waited support given and Organisers In a country with second only to Extremadura with Jessie J, has yet for firefrom the local population had agreed huge divides, the fighters to arrive to pay to pay 6.5% in danger, while Basque Region only28%. and rescue its fee. the walking community and up before June him from the balcony. neighbouring Navarra has 1, The data collected in the when activities started. region.” Despite the festival has 6.5%. by the AIS Group The boy’s mother Cordoba are the end- “We do found that those returned The retired former ing in mid September, not understand from partying at in of 27%, followed worst affected, with a risk of poverty E-learning at GreenwichHead of this delay and we organisers of the morning and was7am in the rate demand UniverHuelva, Almeria by Malaga, Cadiz and Jaen with sity walked the route still owe the townevent that the government by neighbours that informed for 15 years. The national dataand Sevilla, meanwhile, rated at 23%. hall team act and police had 22%. for the over 65s was €125,000. taken her son. demand the tire country. 15.5% across the payment of these Socialist councillor He is currently enfunds, being looked after by family er Porcuna claimsJavi- which are important for the Marbella,” while his mother members he said. appearance at court.awaits an

Tragic end

November 6th - November 19th 2019

Catch them! DRUG DEAL DEA TH

British father and son had been back and forth in year before to Costa del Sol reveals family they vanished,

Butterfly help

CATCH THESE SICKOS

EXCLUSIVE By Jacque Talbot

Home at last

A GRUESOME image of a decapitated bunny allegedly found in a popular Costa del Sol park has horrified expats and local campaigners. The rabbit - which appears to be the same one seen in an image published in the Olive Press’ last issue - was apparently found with its head and paws cut off. It is one of three rabbits that have been attacked in Paloma Park, in Benalmadena, along with a number of birds, including chickens, doves and budgies.

Reader Phil Boyd, Sunny a tourist from Ireland, fright revealed: “I watched this teenager and his two friends kicking the chickens and ducks. “He also tried to wring this poor little rabbit’s

Can you Mum’s dig it?neck. I grabbed the word it from

Doors closed

GRUESOME: Decapitated bunny in popular park Shocking old-age problem Local resident Cruz Lopez shared a number of the im- group Benalmadena es Verde ages online saying she had is now demanding urgent acfound the injured or dead tion despite admitting it was animals while cleaning up the not clear how they had died. “It’s so horrific,” she told the park. Olive Press. “In one week we The leader of local green found two seriously injured rabbits and one beheaded. “It is awful and we are demanding the council take immediate action. “We certainly didn’t need a POLICE have thwarted a gang house of terror for Halloween of masked youths who intended to riot and overturn cars on this year - a walk in our local The alarm was raised after an image Halloween. park is horrific enough,” ed by weapons with the text: ‘What of two youths surroundExpats were quick to branded een?’ was shared on social media are you doing on Hallowthe unknown perpetrators as Luckily police spotted the post andaround Malaga city. ‘pure evil’. flooded the area of Teatinos, where over 100 youths gathered “This is disgusting beto run rampage. Dressed in black and wearing balaclavas haviour,” commented one to conceal their identities, they were stopped after Facebook user. During the police operation, one turning over just one car. It comes after eyewitnesses child was arrested for possession of a pellet gun while six more told the Olive Press a fortwere arrested for possessing laser guns and razors. night ago (inset above) how A further 25 balaclavas were seized they had reported seeing a by police. teenager abusing animals in the park.

Halloween thugs

him and chased him and his accomplices off. I’m sorry to say I think it’s a regular occurrence.

COUG “Clearly H UP he came back and finished the job.” The full extent of the butchery was revealed when Benalmadena es Verde spent a day cleaning up the park at the weekend. The group has now called in police and demanded action

from the town hall. “We need proper surveillance, and parents to better educate their children to love animals,” its statement read. When professional profiling of criminals began in the US in the 1970s, one of the FBI’s most consistent findings was that childhood animal cruelty was a common behaviour among later serial murderers and rapists. Many notorious serial killers – including Jeffrey Dahmer – began by torturing and killing animals when they were children.

Rabbit killing - it’s not a new problem AN expat has been arrested for forcing his daughter to beg on the Costa del Sol. The 38-year-old Romanian has been charged with exploitation of an underage person, after the arrest in Torremolinos. It is the second time he has been arrested for sending his daughter, believed to be 11, out to solicit money from passers by and tourists.

AN animal cruelty problem has existed for ‘a long time’ in Benalmadena, it has been claimed. The president of campaign group Benalmadena Verde told the Olive Press that the authorities have just completely failed to tackle it. “This problem has been going on for a long time,” insisted Oscar Gil. “It’s serious because there is no security in the park and no adequate veterinary control.” His claims were backed up by a groundsman at Paloma Park, where the head of a rabbit was ripped off earlier this month. “The kids only come out on Friday, usually at night when no one can see them. They pick up, kick and

Have you seen any animals being attacked? Contact newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

punch the animals,” said the worker, who gave his name as Luis. “The authorities haven’t done anything to stop it despite our requests,” he added. It comes after a British tourist contacted the Olive Press with evidence showing a local teen apparently about to kill one of the rabbits. A clean up of dead animals in the area has become so bad a clean-up day was organised to get rid of the mess. Holidaymaker Harriet Pattinson revealed this week: “I saw teenagers attempting to catch the animals. It was very distressing.” (Holiday Horror, Page 10). The town hall has failed to reply to requests for answers from the Olive Press and Benalmadena Verde.

Lightening the load MIJAS’ famous donkeys are at last set to get a breather. The overworked mules will no longer have to carry overweight punters from next year. Under a new council scheme no-one over 80kg will be allowed to ride a donkey. It comes, oddly, after PP party plans to bring in the weight limit this summer were overruled and described as ‘excessive.’ The donkeys are now set to also get improved veterinary checkups and better hygiene standards, as well as a new purpose-built stables.

A Vol. 13

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Issue 331

errania de Ronda

www.theolivepress.es

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

Bewitched by fairytale Ronda Y This picture-perfect mountain town has charmed many an artist in time past and many famous people recently yet still retains its mythical appeal. Robert Firth shares the magic

Remote

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10 November 20th - December 3rd 2019 From previous page

History town

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secution during the Spanish Inquisition. Reminders of Ronda’s Moorish past are always lurking just a few inches below the surface of its Christian landmarks. The sublime blend of European gothic, renaissance and baroque styles that converge in the Church of Santa Maria unravel on the site of a former mosque. From the church rooftop, you can gain unparalleled views across town towards the mountains of the Sierra de las Nieves. But its appeal is not limited to imposing artefacts of bygone religious struggles. It is also home to the oldest and largest bullring in Spain. While Ronda’s Plaza de Toros seats a modest 5,000, its rueda (the sand pitch where the spectacle takes place) unfurls over 66 metres, making it larger than Madrid’s bullring. And while a few other bullrings predate Ronda’s, none prior to its completion were constructed of its size or entirely from stone. The onsite museum is a must-visit, housing a colourful collection of bullfighting costumes through the centuries. You can also find a unique etching of Francisco high street, Carrera Espinel, tends to get clogged Goya’s La Tauromaquia at the aptly named Muwith large groups of gawking tourseo Taurino, making it an unmissaists, come lunchtime. ble stop-off for art fanatics. When you’ve had your fill of culWith so many sights to see and with ture, Ronda is rife with tapas bars, Don’t miss so much to take in, you’re probaboth hipster and traditional, where bly feeling a bit peckish. Arriving Goya’s La you can stuff yourself with as much on a bitterly cold Sunday morning, cured ham, olives and seafood as Tauromaquia I picked up a sumptuous churros you desire. However, sprinkled in con chocolate in Plaza del Socorro etchings at the between these restaurants off the for the price of a cappuccino back streets around Plaza Espana, is a in the UK, which kept me satisfied bull ring rich selection of eateries catering well into the afternoon. The streets to other national cuisines. I tried around the square are bursting with out Il Forno A Legna on Calle Nuecafes and artisan shops and well va, where I gorged solo on the Tagliere salumi e worth checking out. However, if you’re visiting on formaggi sharing platter, given a Spanish twist a weekend it pays to be an early bird as as the with jamon serrano and salchichon and washed PERFECT PITCH: Painting in the Tajo gorge and (left) the cathedral with its Arabic roots

11 November 20th - December 3rd 2019 down by a sharp glass of vino tinto – divine! If you’re passing the night in Ronda, come day two you’ll be looking to work off some of the calories from all the wine, meat and cheese you’ve scoffed. One of the best walks around the town begins just outside the imposing Almocabar gate on the southern side of the medina. Take a right onto Calle Prado Neuvo and soon you’ll find yourself in a network of vineyards, olive trees and fincas which sit in Ronda’s 1,500m wide Hoya del Tajo. The track down, the Camino de los Molinos, was originally constructed in the mid 20th century to provide access to a hydroelectric power station in the gorge. Today it offers stunning views of the colossal sandstone and limestone plateau Ronda sits upon, and the other less-photographed side of Puente Nuevo. And no one should leave Ronda without taking a walk up (or down) the Jardines de Cuenca. Also known as the Rose Gardens, 25 metres separates the lowest and highest terrace of these ornamental hanging gardens which run above the Tajo de Ronda, offering stunning views towards the Sierra de las Nieves in the east. And with that you’ve probably given Ronda every last breath. But of course, the secret is, you’re never finished with it. Around every cobbled alley there’s another architectural gem and, with every shift in the clouds, another subtle way of viewing Andalucia’s most wild and breathtaking of towns.

BANDOLEROS: Almocabar arch and Spain’s oldest bullring (below)

VINOS de RONDA ONLINE

Outstanding wines from Ronda and Spain

NEW ‘VINOS DE RONDA’ website with 180 different wines Picture by Geoff Scott Simpson

www.vinosderondaonline.com

Trailblazers

The word on the street from some of Ronda’s famous visitors…

Syrian prince Abu’l-Fida (1273-1331) “Elegant and lofty city in which the clouds serve as a turban and its towers as a sword belt”

REGULAR VISITOR: Orson Welles American author Orson Welles (1915-1985) “A man is not from where he is born, but where he chooses to die.”

Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) “It is here, in Ronda, in the delicate penumbra of blindness, a concave silence of patios, leisure of the jasmine and the light sound of water, which summoned up memories of deserts.”

Irish novelist and poet James Joyce (1882-1941) “Ronda with the old windows of the houses, the eyes which spy out hidden behind the latticework so that their lover might kiss the iron bars.” German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) “The spectacle of this city, sitting on the bulk of two rocks rent asunder by a pickaxe and separated by the narrow, deep gorge of the river, corresponds very well to the image of that city revealed in dreams.”

Selections from a huge range of bodegas

Jamoneria Granadina vinos, ibericos, gourmet & quesos

Professional ham cutter for all events

Tel: 605 31 58 68 / 952 87 10 13 email: info@tintosderonda.com Calle Setenil 20, 29400 Ronda (Málaga)

12 November 20th - December 3rd 2019

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WHERE TO EAT

errania de Ronda

MELTING POT

Traditional dishes of Ronda

There are mountains of great restaurants in Ronda, writes Dining Secrets of Andalucia editor Jon Clarke

E’S cooked for Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo over the last year and trained at two famous Michelin starred restaurants, run by Martin Berasategui. But it was at Ronda’s legendary Tragabuches restaurant - working with the likes of Dani Garcia - that Martin Abramzon really fell in love with the mountain town. As well as finding some of Spain’s best ingredients locally, he also found a wife, so it was only natural that the Argentinian chef would finally open his own restaurant in the town. But don’t expect to find it easily. And that FRIENDLY: At Cerveceria Bandolero is all part of the plan. For his new joint Kutral (www. In a huge industrial unit, it is restaurantekutral.com) sits in a the most spacious restaurant super-cool spot on the edge of in town, by far. It may also have Ronda’s industrial estate. some of the best food.

NEW BREW: Martin Abramzon at Kutral While focusing on great cuts of the town’s grandest restaurant meat cooked on an open paril- Pedro Romero (www.rpedrola-style Argentinian bbq, there is romero.com) sitting opposite a lot more besides, with a burra- the bullring, with wonderful bullta salad with dry tomatoes a top fighting photos and posters, as pick and the lemyou might expect. on curd pudding Run by brotha total winner. ers Carlos and He trained at It is just the latest Tomas, a top the cathedral in a long line of sommelier, you excellent places should try the of food, to eat in the Serfantastic rabo de rania de Ronda. Akelarre, in San toro and let him Whether you select the wine. Sebastian are after tasty A total contrast is tapas, simple inEl Almacen, run gredients or Miby talented Javichelin-starred mastery, care of er Pimentel, a local Ronda lad, Benito Gomez at Bardal, there who went around the world and is so much on offer. back before opening his restauFor history lovers take a ride to rant two years ago. It’s a stylish spot, with a great selection of music, including a huge pile of records... but you are here for the food and Javier doesn’t disappoint, having trained for a year at San Sebastian’s three-Michelin cathedral of cuisine Akelarre, before a stint in Ireland and two years in London. Soulful Almocabar has been consistently one of the town’s finest places to eat for over a decade, with a superb wine list and atmosphere personified, particularly if eating in the square outdoors at summer time. In the same square in Barrio San Francisco is an exciting new addition, Cerveceria Bandolero, which really could be the friendliest place to eat in Andalucia. It’s very much service with a smile from these two cousins, who run backwards and forwards charming guests and

SOUL FOOD: Monolo at Almocobar and

13 November 20th - December 3rd 2019

RONDA ALL STARS: Javier at El Almacen, Benito at Bardal, Javier at Porton and Tomas and Carlos at Pedro Romero

AUTHENTICITY: Is order of the day at Porton and (right) El Muelle de Arriate, where the menu is always fresh and original plying you with excellent simple and local fare, with a bent towards Carnes a la Brasa. For wine lovers you mustn’t miss Entre Vinos, which has over 100 wines from Ronda, and always has a dozen wines available by the glass. There are some excellent tapas and it is a charming place to while away a few hours. Just up the hill a little is Siempre Igual, which is exactly that ‘Always the same’, and a bloody excellent place to enjoy tapas and some excellent wine with

(above) team at Siempre Igual

friends. Run by a friendly family team (below left), they always have some experimental new dishes, worth a try and you are in a great location, just up from the bullring. For those up in the heart of Ronda authentic Porton – an institution run by Javier for the last 40 years - has wonderful old photos on the wall and a guaranteed feel good factor. Here, you will find my favourite Ronda tapa, the wonderful quails egg with ham on toast. Venturing out of Ronda there are so many amazing country escapes for lunch or supper. My favourites are Molino del Santo, in charming Benaojan, now shut for the winter, as well as El Muelle, in Arriate, which boasts hundreds of regulars who drive all the way from the coast - and even Sevilla - for lunch. It’s no surprise, this old railway storeroom being extremely atmospheric and boasting excellent local authentic fare to boot. Run by friendly Dutchman Frank Rottgering, alongside talented local chef Isa, there are plenty of new dishes each month and

SELECTION: One of the best wine lists is at Entre Vinos the menu is full of their colourful creations. The wine list is simple but inspired and the food is always amazing fresh and beautifully served… Even better are the prices. It would be unfair not to mention chef Ian Love at La Cascada, at hotel Molino del Puente (www.hotelmolinodelpuente.com). He and his wife have been pleasing the punters with their tasty

creations for well over a decade now and its amazing riverside terrace cannot be beaten in good weather. For great coffee and the best place to watch the footie and grab a snack Buenos Aires in the heart of Ronda’s Calle la Bola cannot be beaten. www.diningsecretsofandalucia.com

14 November 20th - December 3rd 2019

After selling dozens of homes this year, Olvera Properties, urgently needs more stock

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errania de Ronda

Gateway to history

We want more!

T’S been so busy for the team at Olvera Properties this year, that they have had to take on a new agent. Step in, cool hand Kevin Park, 59, who arrived in the Serrania de Ronda, having worked for nearly two decades in the real estate market in Italy. With a marketing degree at University College, in London, and an incisive knowledge of the upmarket rural areas of Tuscany and Umbria, he was perfect for the role. “He has hit the ground running,” explains boss Zoe Males. “And just in the nick of time, as the market continued to grow nicely this year.” As well as selling over two dozen properties this year, the agency - which covers a big area from the Serrania de Ronda to the Sierras de Cadiz - has had some excellent clients. While the UK market has slowed down a little, there have been plenty of buyers from other northern European countries. “And that said we had an English client who came over last Friday to see a couple of properties and by Monday morning he had put down a deposit,” continues the motherof-four, who divides her time between Olve-

DREAM TEAM: Kevin Park with Zoe and Anne Marie ra and Wales. The Welsh mother-of-four certainly knows better than most having worked in the area since moving there in 2004. Today, she and her team, which also includes capable Anne Marie, handle over 300 properties, stretching from Ronda to Zahara de la Sierra and from Olvera to Campillos. “It’s a big area, but we know every listing inside out and are good at matching buyers with homes,” explains Zoe. There are some incredible good deals to be had there, particularly in the sleepy towns of Algodonales and Zahara. Either way, the Serrania property

market finally started to pick up again two years ago, after flatlining prices for half a decade. “Thing’s have really picked up in the last couple of years,” adds Zoe. “Townhouses that we were selling for €40,000 three years ago are now selling for €60,000, and people are coming with higher budgets” “There are also a lot more country property buyers in the €260,000 bracket,” she adds.

It’s been a key Andalucian nerve centre since the time of the Romans and back in the days of Al Andaluz, Ronda was a key stopping off place for travellers. It´s no wonder then that you feel like you have stepped back in time in the cobbled streets of Ronda old town. Around every corner you will find historic palaces and townhouses, each with their very own original entrances. Many hide grand townhouses inside (left), while others lead to emblematic squares.

Visit www.andaluciaolveraproperties.com and contact the team at olveraproperties@hotmail.com or (0034) 686 131 908 or 684 09 29 67 in spain or (0044) 7969 450 206 in the UK

Phone +34 686 131 908 /+34 684 09 29 67 / UK +44 7969 450 206

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Gibraltar

15 November 20th - December 3rd 2019

Rock the Christmas shopping From now until January 6, it’s jingle bells all the way in the British territory

HRISTMAS is finally around the corner, a time for giving to your loved ones and treating yourself. And even if you dread the shopping part, there’s nowhere quite like Gibraltar for instilling the process with a large (British) measure of festive spirit. Main Street shop windows get tinselled up

like a scene from A Christmas Carol - indeed some of Gibraltar’s shops have been trading since Charles Dickens’ time - and it’s all contained in a postage stamp-sized space of just one square kilometre! To make a day of it, start your walk about town from The Yard in Ocean Village where you can get a delicious meal in the middle of

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Gibraltar greetings

the 330-berth marina. Since the opening of Ocean Village in 2012, the entertainment hub has become a mecca for those wishing to enjoy the Rock’s annual 300 days of sunshine in style. The Yard is perched at the end of one of the pontoons, which gives you the feeling of being at sea. The over-water experience has a calming effect, amplified by the friendly staff and tasty dishes. Feeling well-fed you can then walk into town through the iconic Casemates Square and think of getting a gift for a loved one. One of your first stops should be the crystal sculpture shop at newly-opened Maleras on Main Street. The international chain of shops based in Sweden has carved its own identity over more than a century. Inspired by nature, legend and myth, the glass sculptures will awe your friends and family with their beauty. Veering off Main Street’s central shopping artery, Irish Town where some of Gibraltar’s oldest emporia can be found, is a relatively quirkier and less frenetic experience, especially when there’s a big cruise ship in port.

Class glass Målerås is Gibraltar’s new art glass gallery. In the 1840's the King of Sweden fell in love with the Italian Murano glass, so head hunted two skilled craftsman and set up the first glass blowing factory in the Smålund area under the name of Kosta Boda. The area of Småland quickly expanded to a specialist area of glassblowing. Målerås whose branded store is located in the heart of Main Street was founded in 1890. Since then, the well-respected firm has expanded across the globe, with Målerås’

Gibraltar

Once there, be sure to check out BIA, a time-honoured institution on the Rock. Here you can find everything you need for your home or office to help you start 2020 in a more organised and practical way. Talking of fresh starts, fitness is sure to be on your mind after the Christmas blowout so why not get ahead of the game with a visit to In Motion? The Irish Town store is stocked with chic sportswear and even sign up for group sessions of yoga, pilates or somatic therapy on site. Being in shape is fashionable and In Motion get this. With its trendy range of gear you can put together a comfortable and functional new wardrobe that will in-

new store on the Rock, marking its 14th opening worldwide. Legendary designer Mats Jonasson now heads Målerås as its artistic director. He first joined back in 1959 as an apprentice engraver but with his innovative techniques and new approach to developing cast glass and post processing he was quickly sought after. In 1977, to prevent acquisition by Kosta Boda who wanted to move the factory away from the village of Målerås, the villagers and employees purchased the shares and under the leadership of Mats Jonasson has grown it from strength to strength. Målerås prides itself on its handmade ‘beautiful crystal creations’, which are ‘inspired by nature, guided by light’.

Its Gibraltar outlet has a fantastic collection of art and glassware for the home or for the perfect gift. They will even post presents direct to your loved ones for Free (conditions apply). Målerås also makes glass gravestones, cremation monuments, street statues, garden features and glass fronted building and reception facades. These can all be discussed at the store, or call for an appointment. All products are handmade in Sweden, where an expert team do all the casting, blowing, painting and engraving. Målerås is located at 202-204 Main Street, opposite the Cathedral. Visit malerasgibraltar.com for more information or email info@malerasgibraltar.com Tel +350 200 51020

16 November 20th - December 3rd 2019

spire you to limber up for the new decade. As you emerge from Irish Town into sunny John Mackintosh Square, colloquially known as The Piazza, cross Main Street into City Mill Lane for a range of therapies to complement your new regime at Fit 4 Life. The company offers relaxing massage, beauty treatments and advice on nutrition and anti-aging. Of course, Christmas wouldn’t be Navidad without a few sinful treats and Gibraltar’s floating yacht hotel is the perfect place to unwind after a hectic bout of shopping. Take a U-turn back down Main Street to our Ocean Village starting point and step aboard the Sunborn where you can plonk down your bags and indulge. Order up a cocktail on the poop deck or a slap-up something at one of its top class eateries and have a flutter at the casino - you could win your Christmas pressie money back. It all adds up to a festive shopping experience like no other, and all under the watchful eye of Gibraltar’s famous British bobbies, who are always happy to give you directions. They may even pose for a souvenir photograph!

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- There are over 150 caves inside the Rock, the most well known of which is St. Michael’s Cave. A twisting maze of limestone, the cave was created from a steady drip of water that eroded the stone over time. St. Michael’s Cave is the most visited cave of Gibraltar’s Rock.

hristmas in

Festive fun 5 good reasons to visit Gibraltar at Christmas time

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Gibraltar

- Despite its five kilometre length and one kilometre width, the Rock boasts 52 kilometres of bombproof underground tunnels. Fearing a German invasion during WWII, Gibraltarians built nearly an entire city below ground, complete with electric generators, telephone lines, bakeries, and hospi-

- Gibraltar is the setting for two of the James Bond movies, and is the shocking backdrop for Bond’s famous burial at sea scene in You Only Live Twice.

17 November 20th - December 3rd 2019

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Pocket of patriotism

Fashionably fit

Admiral Nelson’s legacy in Gibraltar lies beyond cemetery walls DESPITE its name, Trafalgar Cemetery is home to just two victims of 1805’s almighty battle. Instead, many tombstones commemorate those who died in three devastating yellow fever epidemics around the same time. Nonetheless, this tiny pocket of Gibraltar still radiates patriotism. Its moss-covered graves and low-hanging branches could tempt anyone in for a moment of reflection while en-route to the cable car. The cemetery – originally known as Southport Ditch Cemetery – was abandoned for many years until a huge restoration effort in the 1980s. Each year on the Sunday closest to the battle of Trafalgar (October 21), the Royal Navy holds a ceremony here.

Gibraltar

While most of those that died at Trafalgar were buried at sea, Admiral Nelson’s body was being transported back to London for a state funeral and burial at St Paul’s cathedral. However, he was initially taken to Gibraltar’s Rosia Bay, in his ship HMS Victory, where his body was put in a vat of rum to conserve it, before being sent to the UK. But the connection goes deeper, before his heroic death Nelson would have been a regular on the Rock, especially at naval haunts like the Victualling Yard and Old Naval Hospital. And it was his close friend Aaron Cardozo – a wealthy Gibraltarian merchant – who inherited Nelson’s medal commemorating his victory in the Battle of the Nile.

AT InMotion, we are passionate about fitness and fashion in equal measure. Our mantra is that activewear can be stylish as well as functional. That’s why we have carefully curated a collection of the finest activewear brands from across the globe that promises to provide you with the perfect balance of style, comfort, and practicality - so that you can look and feel great whatever your active pursuit. Whether you are off for a run, to the gym, a dance or yoga class, or just keeping up with friends and family, InMotion will take care of all of your fashion needs. And you can be sure that we don’t favour style over substance. Quality is very important to us, which is why each of our brands has been carefully chosen to ensure we offer you the very best technical fabrics and high-performance pieces. But don’t take our word for it come visit our store to discover our fantastic collection. InMotion store, where fashion meets function, is located at 15 Tuckey’s Lane, just off Main Street in Gibraltar.

Elastic truths PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has ‘an elastic relationship with the truth’, according to Tory Lord Patten. The last governor of Hong Kong criticised Brexit and the surge to the extreme right at the Gibraltar Literary Festival. “I would say Boris has an elastic relationship with the truth and sometimes that elastic snaps!” said Patten. On Brexit, he claimed that as a former minister under Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady would have never supported Brexit. “I would hope it is still possible to stay in the EU,” he said. “It is more likely that we are leaving. Influence “I don’t want that to happen but I try to be realistic. The object would be to leave in the best possible terms.” He said he believed that if there was a second referendum ‘it would be won by Remain’. Patten also complemented the work of the Chief Minister trying to find a way of keeping the frontier flowing freely. “What you’ve managed to do so far which I think has been pretty skilful,” he said, “but don’t worry. You can trust the Prime Minister on this.” In the end, he believes the only thing that will change is the UK’s ability to punch above its own weight with less influence on the global stage. The talk by Lord Patten was the best attended of all the speakers at this year’s Gibraltar Literary Festival.

AN ex-journalist’s poem which was to be read at his funeral has taken first prize at this year’s annual poetry competition. Peter Schirmer, 85, said the win has left him ‘totally gobsmacked’. “I hadn’t written verse for years and years,” Schirmer told the Olive Press. “I went through a stage at school and at universiEXCLUSIVE By John Culatto

A WAR photographer who worked with Marie Colvin in Syria has spoken about her assassination by the Syrian government in Gibraltar. Paul Conroy was one of the speakers at the Gibraltar Literary Festival held from November 14-17. He spoke openly about his experiences with the war correspondent, known as Sandy, who was murdered by Bashar-Al-Assad in February 2012. “We woke up at 6.30 in the morning with two explosions 100m to the left and right of us,” he told the Olive Press. “The fourth rocket killed Marie instantly and I got a blast of shrapnel took the back of my leg off and filled me with shrapnel. “From that point on the regime knew we were we were dead or injured so they just spent the next five days attacking in an attempt to kill the survivors.” The Scouser confided to the Olive Press how he tries to tell the story of his time in Syria ‘with a little bit of humour’ rather than being ‘melancholic’.

LA CULTURA

Hack-ing the competition ty when I thought I was going to be a poet. Then I realised I was crap, so I stuck to journalism!” The hack has worked for both The Observer and The Times, and only start-

ed to write poetry four years ago. “I wrote The Final Truth to be read at my funeral,” he revealed. It’s about death and regrets of the people one has hurt during one’s

November 20th - December 3rd 2019 life. There is some uncertainty, some remorse, not a great deal of happiness although I have had a bloody good life, so I shouldn’t grumble about it.” Elena Scaltiel was both runner-up of the overall competition and winner of the best Spanish poem out of 149 entries at the Autumn Poetry Competition.

My escape from Assad Legendary war photographer Paul Conroy talks to the Olive Press about escape from Syria

what’s on Handy crafts BUY some original gifts at the Artisan’s Market this Christmas held at the Line Wall Boulevard from November 21 to December 24 opposite the Midtown development.

Festive fun THE Winter Party in town’ will once again be held on November 23 at Casemates Square featuring Britpop local band Crimson Clover, DJs and dancing from 4.30pm.

Time travel FIND out how Gibraltar has changed in the last thirty years with an exhibition by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust at the Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery starting on November 26.

Mass shave DRAMATIC: Conroy’s snap of the horror’s of war (left) and (right) a selfie with his travelling partner, the renowned Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin He said it was ‘disconcerting’ ing about how you have to get Under the Wire tells the story and ‘not the best of times’ in out even though there is this of ‘the longest and most convotypical British understate- tendency to just lay there and luted escape’ from that unenviment. “You have to keep think- go ow!” he explained. His book able situation.

HAVE a giggle as all those who bravely left their moustaches grow for the Movember men’s health campaign have them shaved off on November 30 at Casemates.

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

We need more immigrants BUSINESSES in one of Spain’s most unpopulated areas have called on the Government to make it easier for immigrants to work there. The northern province of Soria is one of the most deserted areas in Europe. Companies there are in desperate need of workers, but the legal paperwork needed is making it hard for them to source potential employees. “The lack of workers has never been so staggering,” said president of Soria’s Chamber of Commerce, Alberto Santamaria, who has asked for help from the Secretary of State for Migration. The Chamber of Commerce estimates that some 1,700 workers will be needed in Soria three years from now - and if none come, there is concern companies will have to close or put their expansion plans on hold.

Buying British

BUSINESS

SHOPPERS who love buying British will be happy to hear about the multi-million pound refurbishment of Gibraltar’s Morrisons. The £6million investment is expected to provide a very British feel to Christmas. It comes as its market competitors on the Rock expand their op-

erations with a Coviran opening off Main Street and a third Eroski store planned for the Midtown complex. While a re-arrangement of the store might have caused chaos at first, it has been revealed that a UK-style layout of products is now in operation. More choice will be included in

the changes including a homeware section while the cafe has a brand new look. The tarmac of the supermarket’s large parking were also relaid and the shades repainted. This investment is being seen as a big commitment of the company to remain on the Rock despite Brexit.

businesses which fail to adequately document employees’ working hours. Spanish workers are thought to

put in 2.6 million unpaid hours per week, down slightly from a peak of 3.5 million in 2015. When the law was announced in May, several organisations representing employers criticised the new rules, saying they would drag Spain back into the past when workers had to clock on and clock off. At the time acting labour minister Magdalena Valerio dismissed these concerns, saying that modern technology has made it easier to keep records electronically.

Time out for overtime SPANISH companies have been fined €1.26 million for failing to maintain records of staff working hours. New rules introduced in May forced employers to register the hours put in by workers and store them for four years. The PSOE government brought in the measures in a bid to crack down on unpaid overtime. Between May and October, investigators had over 5,000 complaints submitted to them relating to inadequate completion of paperwork. The Ministry for Labour has begun investigating 2,000 cases related to oversights in recordkeeping and 107 compa-

Companies who fail to pay employees for working overtime will get hefty fines as a new law comes into force

nies have so far received fines of up to €113,000. Next year, in conjunction with local councils, the government is launching a crusade against

Making tracks FIVE firms have bid for the new high-speed rail service from Malaga to Madrid. Train bosses at Adif have confirmed that several firms have made bids for the line, which is set to open in 2021, with state operator Renfe being one of them.

Currently Renfe has the monopoly on rail services from the Costa del Sol to Madrid, but new government legislation will see that all change, as it aims to keep up with EU rules. The bidders’ names have not yet been announced but even foreign firms such as Virgin and Avanza may enter the bidding war.

Open for business LONDON technology chiefs were invited to a discussion at One Canada Square on Gibraltar’s DLT framework. The well-attended event also saw the presentation of recently announced Financial Services Commission chief Kerry Blight, who will take over next year. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is a system for recording transactions in multiple locations that is more secure than traditional databases Over 1,250 experts from cybersecurity, fintech and retail industries are based in One Canada Square in Canary Wharf. “We now have 13 licenced firms with a further number at that advanced ‘in principle’ stage of the process,” said Albert Isola, Minister for Digital and Financial Services. “Testament to the success of our DLT proposition is the quality of panellists who shared their insights and experiences with our guests.” It followed two other finance sector seminars at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall with lawyers from the financial services sector on the Rock. The sessions highlighted the cutting edge legislation passed in Gibraltar last year to pave the way for the new common market agreement between the overseas territory and the UK.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

Grapes of wrath

Starry nights

A CELEBRITY Marbella chef is bidding farewell to his three Michelin stars as restaurateurs countrywide wait for news of this year’s awards at the upcoming Michelin Gala in Spain. Dani Garcia will mark the closure of his eponymous restaurant in Marbella, opened in 2014, with a ‘Last Supper,’ attended by local culinary giants, friends and relatives. The 43-year-old chef announced the closure of the restaurant just one month after it received its third Michelin star last year. But as one star fades, another may soon to be born: the Andalucian chef Benito Gomez is pinning his hopes on earning a second Michelin star for his Ronda-based Bardal restaurant. The new star winners will be announced at the 2020 Spain & Portugal Michelin Guide Gala, which takes place in Sevilla on Wednesday.

THE climate crisis is drying up Spain’s wine industry. Production this year has fallen more steeply than any other country in Europe, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. Spain saw a 24% drop compared to an average 10% decrease across the rest of the world, The country produced 34.3 million hectolitres of vino in 2019, compared to 46.6 million hectolitres in Italy and 41.9 million in France where output fell by only 15%. Portugal was the only country in Europe where wine production increased, rising from 10% to 6.7 million hectolitres.

Big cheese A SPANISH cheese has been voted among the top three best in the world at the World Cheese Awards. The annual event, considered the ‘Oscars’ of cheese awards, compiled a list of the top 16 best in the world and put Spain’s Torta del Casar Virgen del Prado in third place, behind Nazionale del Parmigiano Reggiano of Italy in second and the United States’ winning Organic Blue Cheese Rogue. Virgen del Prado was made by Queseria Dona Francisca, a company founded in 2011 in the town of Casar de Caceres, Extremadura. The award-winning cheese can be purchased in wheels of 350g for €8, 600g for €12 and 900g for €17.

Green streets Andalucia and Spain’s islands islands boast the country’s ‘most veggie’ cities

GRANADA has been declared the most vegetarian city in Spain, according to a new study.

It is joined by Santa Cruz de Tenerife and P a l m a de Mallorca in the Top Three of Spain’s ‘ m o s t veggie’ destinations. Barcelona beats Madrid for the most non-meat restaurants and is also the fourth most veggie city overall. Meanwhile, Catalunya and Valencia are Spain’s top veggie regions, according to research by vegan and veggie website www.happycow.net. Salamanca is the fifth most anti-meat metropolis followed by Santiago, Girona, Tarragona, Valencia and Alicante. Calculations were made by comparing population sizes against the proportion of city eateries with vegan or veggie menus. Granada has one of these restaurants per 17,905 inhabitants, which according to researchers is a ‘pleasant surprise’, given the city’s fame for meaty delicacies. Researchers also found that 7.8% of Spaniards claim to have reduced their meat consumption. They discovered that 6.3% of the country claims to be ‘flexitarian’, meaning they opt for a plant-based diet with the merest nod to their carnivore origins. It comes as just 1.3% of those polled said they were vegetarian, while just 0.2% identified as vegan. The report also highlights changing Spanish food habits, such as plant-based snack foods like cabbage chips and seaweed products. Research was conducted for World Vegan Month in November, when thousands of carnivores take the Veg Pledge and switch to plant-based diets.

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

The OTHER little Red Book And why it deserves its place in history alongside Chairman Mao’s, writes Belinda Beckett

now, chefs are either breaking out the Vega Sicilia or sobbing into their souffles. And every Joe Bloggs in the blogosphere is beating a path to their doors with selfie sticks to claim the

bragging rights on Facebook. With apologies to Chairman Mao, no other little red book has such global influence with its MI6style-secretive inspectors and flower-shaped stars whose

Last of the summer fines Giles Brown celebrates the freedom of the roads off-season … with a few provisos

NOW that the summer crowds have migrated north, you don’t have to approach each trip into town like a cross between the Dakar Rally (water, GPS system, local currency for parking meters) and ‘Mad Max’. It’s not all plain sailing, however. The, ahem, ‘eccentric’ driving styles of many of the chromed-up 4x4s and AMG Mercs with German number plates that you may have seen roaring along the coast means that you have to keep your wits about you. It’s also a wise move to be at one with your inner self and develop a Zen-like sense of calm. This is especially true if someone comes up hard and fast behind you and starts flashing to get you to move over – even if you are unable to at that precise moment. I find a cheery wave when you finally let them past infuriates them even more. All in all, however, it’s not been a great month for me on the road. I broke the unbreakable Landcruiser

again, but the upside was that the grua driver was an old friend of mine. Although to be honest I’ve been in contact with the tow truck companies so many times over the past few years that I’m on first name terms with most of them. I’ll be a little upset if I don’t get Christmas cards. Then there was the rather large fine I received while delivering the fine publication that you are holding in your hands. I stuck the Landcruiser in a ‘loading and unloading’ area and, on my return, found a Policia Local firmly placing a ticket on the windscreen. When I politely pointed out that I was, in fact, unloading, he (equally firmly) replied that this was only for commercial vehicles. “It’s the law”, he said, fixing me with the sort of look that convinced me any further

argument might result in anything from a quick look through my documents to a full cavity search, then and there, at the side of the road. My mood wasn’t lightened by the fact that, later that afternoon, I was driving one of the Banus back roads and spotted a small speedboat parked on a bend. I know the proper technical term is usually moored, but this was marooned high and dry on the roadside. I spluttered my indignation and wondered what the fine would be for that particular traffic infraction. If there wasn’t one, I pondered, perhaps I should just start delivering by boat and declare myself an offshore financial haven. Either that or a piratical paper delivery service! I drove on and debated if it was too early for rum...

addition or subtraction can make or break a chef, a restaurant, sometimes even a destination. Even the F-Word fierce Gordon Ramsay cried when Michelin took two of his away. And to think it all started out as a freebie motoring manual given away to sell tyres. T h e r e were fewer than 3,000 cars on French roads in 1900 when the Michelin brothers had the foresight to publish a book of route maps with tips on fixing the Bugatti and listings of places to grab a baguette and a bed for the night. Star ratings started in 1926 – the beginning of our anal interest in food. Bibendum the Michelin tyre mascot has also survived (in a slimmed-down version, and minus the pince-nez), along with his rather un-PC motto (for a motoring guide): ‘Nunc est bibendum’ – ‘Now is the time to drink’. But not everyone’s reaching for the stars. Some chefs don’t want the pressure. Marco Pierre White handed all three of his back in 1999, spitting: “I was being judged by people

who had less knowledge than me!” The late esteemed food critic A.A. Gill had harsher words, writing that it had ‘blighted the lives of chefs from Brooklyn to Bombay while spawning legions of checklist gourmands populating unreadable internet blogs and nerds who photograph their own lunch’. Everyone but the French suspect it is a tool of Gallic imperialism that cooks the books in favour of French cuisine (France has more stars than any country except Japan). And although some Michelin inspectors don’t

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 7 Evade, 8 Romance, 10 Nowhere, 11 Tower, 12 Danish, 13 Player, 15 Deride, 17 Evicts, 21 Caber, 23 Toddler, 24 Outcome, 25 Niche. Down: 1 Pernod, 2 Taiwan, 3 Released, 4 Trees, 5 Emit, 6 Nearer, 9 Newly, 14 Loved one, 15 Doctor, 16 Rabat, 18 Calico, 19 Shriek, 20 Steel, 22 Rook.

SUDOKU

HAT’S red, makes chefs nervous and helped us win the war? Clue – the 110th Spain & Portugal edition just came out at a star-studded gala event in Sevilla. Did you guess the Michelin Guide? If the war bit threw you, it did me too. There are Michelin Guides to more than 25 countries and cities and publication day is as big as the Hollywood Oscars. In restaurant kitchens throughout the Iberian Penisula right

COLUMNISTS

even tell their wives what they do, beans have been spilled a b o u t non-existent restaurant visits and a chronic shortage of inspectors – one 2014 report claimed there were only 120 worldwide. However, the one inarguable reason to cherish the Michelin Guide is for the part it played in liberating France from the Germans during WW2. No kidding! In 1944 it was the only book in the world with up-to-date French street maps, and a special print run stamped ‘For official use only’ was distributed to every Allied Forces officer. And so it was that the D-Day Landings were lead by men brandishing copies of the Michelin Guide. No wonder the Nazis ran!

SPORT

November 20th - December 3rd 2019

Gunned down

Lionel sum

Plucky Gibraltar nab goal in Euros qualifying rout against Swiss Premier League stars IN what was the last international before Victoria Stadium gets a facelift next year, Gibraltar put a precious goal past the Swiss, in a six-goal thriller in the Group D European Championship Qualifiers contest. Although the Swiss got six in reply, the gulf in class was

always evident, Cedric Itten’s brace and Granit Xhaka’s close-range strike secured an emphatic win for Switzerland as they progressed in the Euro Championships. Gibraltar managed to make it to half-time just one down, against a disciplined, skillful Swiss side that pressed high

goalkeeper Yann Sommer, in what will be a memory to savour for the 30-year-old. The joy for the home crowd was short lived, however. Within a minute, Switzerland had restored the three goal cushion through Loris Benito, despite calls for offside.

whenever Gibraltar were in possession. But in the second-half, Switzerland went three goals up, putting the game out of reach. Gibraltar managed to get an elusive goal, through what some might call an ‘inevitable’ goalmouth scramble. Reece Styche converted past

Nada for Nadal

RAFAEL Nadal crashed out of a major tennis tournament, only four hours after lifting a world number one trophy. The 33-year-old Spaniard was beaten by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the ATP Finals in London on Friday. It was the third time he has been knocked out of this season-ending spectacle in the group stages. Nadal, winner of 2019’s French and US Opens, tipped Djokvic to the number one title for the fifth consecutive year. He will now be setting his sights on the trophy at the Davis Cup, which is taking place in Madrid this week.

Wheel good advice

What is the car insurance Green Card? The Green Card or International Insurance Card is an international certificate of insurance accepted by the authorities of all 48 countries for which the Green Card is valid. It certifies that visiting motorists have the minimum compulsory third party liability insurance cover required by law . The Green Card System Each year over 400,000 road traffic accidents occur in member countries of Green Card system. The system was vePress-256x170-CAR-4.inddthe 1 founded in 1949 to provide a series of guarantees compensation for victims of cross-border road traffic accidents and its handling bureau ensure legitimate claims can be settled in accordance with national legal provisions. It also facilitates the flow of cross-border traffic by avoiding the need to obtain insurance cover at each of the 48 member countries. Member countries Austria, Albania, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia &amp; Herzegovina, Belarus, Switzerland, Cyprus,

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Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, France, Finland, Liechtenstein, UK, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Israel, Iran, Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Morocco, Moldova, * Fu l l y co m p re h e n s i ve o f fe r v a l i d fo r n e w c u s to m e r s o n l y. G u a ra n te e s u b j e c t to cove r, re p a i r a t a p p rove d g a ra g e, a n d co u r te s y ve h i c l e av a i l a b i l i t y. S u b j e c t to co n d i t i o n s. O f fe r e n d s 3 0 / 1 1 / 1 8 . North Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey and2/8/18 Ukraine. (Source: The Council of Bureaux). The following countries are eligible for future membership: Algeria, Armenia, Egypt, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya and Syria. How do I get it? Motorists can obtain a Green Card from the provider of their motor insurance policy. Currently the UK and Spain belong to the European Economic Area, which means that the cost for the Green Card is included in the price of the insurance policy.

We hope the information provided in this article is of interest. If you would like to contact Linea Directa please call 952 147 834. More information about Linea Directa online at www.lineadirecta.com

17:01

This was before Itten added another on the 84th minute, and Xhaka finished the game off with a tap-in. All in all, Gibraltar played a great game and can be proud of the performance they put in against a far superior side in every department.

LIONEL Messi has been revealed to be the highest paid sports star of this year, according to Forbes, even surpassing Juventus star and footballing rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Barcelona ace earned €115 million this year, while Ronaldo made €100 million, and Neymar, who spent four years at the Nou Camp before moving to Paris Saint-Germain, received €94 million. On the list, too, was Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez and tennis superstar Roger Federer. Former Barca playmaker Andres Iniesta was the only Spaniard to make the top 50.

The

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FINAL FINAL WORDS WORDS

After Rosalia’s slanging match with Vox, where she cussed them on social media and they scrutinised her for flying in private planes, the singer has returned to using commercial air travel.

Puppy fat

TEMPERS had to be calmed and security called at a VOX party rally in Barcelona when one attendee said to another: “I am not Spanish? I am more Spanish than you - you have a monkey face.”

Space Sevilla Sevilla has been selected to hold the next ministerial summit, where it will be decided when the next space missions to the Moon and Mars will occur.

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Vol. 5, Issue 110 www.theolivepress.es November 20th - December 3rd 2019

TREE FELLING TREE TRIMMING & REMOVAL Tel: 622 932 049 Tel: 622 304 104 rockscampogardens@gmail.com

My mate Marmite SUN, sea and sangria are all very well but most expat Brits still yearn for a taste of home, a poll has revealed. A Great British cup of tea, along with crumpets and Marmite top the list of comfort foods and beverages they crave after moving abroad. Other delights, such as Heinz salad cream, Bovril and Scotland’s speciality drink Irn Bru are also firm favourites. The poll of 1,000 expats by

New poll reveals the food and drink British expats just can’t live without

the British Corner Shop also found marmalade, custard, back bacon, mustard and Twiglets on the list. And an incredible two thirds said they missed foods from home, while 52% said they missed traditional British pubs. “Moving abroad can be tre-

Sail away for €300m A SUPERYACHT, currently based in Malaga, has gone on the market for €300 million. The 100-metre long megayacht Octopus, which has eight diesel engines, is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who passed away last year. It is the fourth time the 9,000 ton yacht has docked in Malaga.

mendously exciting,” explained the company’s Alex Kortland. “But often it’s only once you’ve settled somewhere else you realise there are certain things which are much harder to get hold of. “They may seem small and insignificant but sometimes you want that little taste of home. “Short of making extra visits to the UK or forcing guests to bring jars of Marmite out with them, we’ve been helping Brits satisfy their cravings for over 20 years.” While some said they missed Tennent’s lager and cod roe, one expat insisted it was Whiskers Crunch for her cat.

CRAVINGS: Expats miss the taste of crumpets Among the Top 30 favourites are: Tea Marmite Gravy Biscuits Baked beans Pies Pickles Sausages Crumpets Squash Bovril Mustard Salad Cream Marmalade Irn Bru Custard Malt Vinegar Scones

au revoir ANDALUCIAN schools are saying au revoir to French. The Junta’s Education Ministry has said it wants to scrap French as a compulsory subject in the first year of the Baccalaureate. The move has been condemned by teaching staff as a ‘setback.’ The French Teachers’ Union said the decision would ‘throw multilingualism on the scrapheap’ and roll back progress to language learning. Almost half of the students in Andalucia (47.7%) choose to study French, more than those in any other region of Spain.

Ham fisted

A SHOPLIFTER has been charged with stealing a leg of ham from a supermarket. The Calpe local reportedly used ‘baggy clothing’ to hide the cured jamon Iberico, which can weigh up to 8kg and measures almost 90cm. She was arrested along with three others involved in a ‘Christmas campaign’ to steal chocolates, perfume, makeup kits, turrones and cockles worth more than €500 from supermarkets.