Olive Press Gibraltar Issue 164

The

OLIVE PRESS

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GIBRALTAR

Vol. 6 Issue 164

www.theolivepress.es

The Rock’s ONLY free local paper

January 12th - January 25th 2022

LEGAL ODDITIES You can't build sandcastles in the Canaries or play dominoes in Sevilla...

Spain has some daft local laws See Page 6

IT’S TIME TO PULL TOGETHER CHIEF Minister Fabian Picardo, has called for unity in the New Year after a divisive and challenging 2021.

Wishing the community on the Rock a happy and healthy year, he also warned that when the going gets tough Gibraltarians must not give up.

It was a difficult year with over 100 lives lost to COVID 19 and more than €300 million, half of the Rock’s annual revenue, spent on pandemic costs, he said in his New Year’s message.

However, the Chief Minister said he was ‘deeply optimistic and positive about The Rock’s prospects’ yet also self reflective, saying he knew that ‘we have not got everything right’.

But he added that ‘the government team has been strong and effective and whether it has been a popular decision or not, we have done the right thing’.

Iconic Calata Hotel closes after 60 years to make way for five-star Hilton

GOODBYE OLD FRIEND

Bureaucracy

Picardo also made reference to Brexit, where he considers it ‘fundamental that we get our future relationship with the EU right’.

However, he maintained that the government is ‘closer to Britain than we have been for generations’ and assured that they are not going to do ‘anything to change that’.

The Deputy Chief Minister, and Liberal Party Leader, Joseph Garcia used his New Year message to highlight the cost of the COVID pandemic on lives lost and its impact on the economy.

In the case of Gibraltar being positioned as a third country outside the EU, he warned it may result in greater bureaucracy, disruption and red-tape for citizens and businesses as the Rock adapts to a new reality.

GIBRALTAR is waving goodbye to an old friend as a new pretender takes its place as a luxury beachside retreat.

Planning permission has been filed for a new five-star Hilton hotel for the site of the old Caleta Hotel.

Demolished

The landmark building, a four-star hotel built into the cliffs overlooking Catalan Bay, closed its doors on December 31 after almost 60 years and will be demolished to

Tel: 952 147 834

See page 16

TM

By Fiona Govan & Dilip Kuner

make way for the Hilton.

Plans for the new hotel were filed by the Hilton Group last week at Gibraltar’s Development and Planning Commission and include designs for a 12 storey building that will boast 166 rooms as well as a dining room, ballroom and Spa. There will also be a terrace and outdoor pool area.

But more contentiously, the development will also include two luxury residential blocks flanking the new hotel. Plans for the north block show it will comprise 40 apartments over eight floors that will be earmarked for professional Gibraltarian families.

However, the south block will have 88 apartments and duplexes over 13 floors, which will be open to those who seek to move to Gibraltar in the finance and gaming sectors. In this way, developers hope to boost investment on the Rock.

Once approved, the project is expected to take three-and-a-half years to complete. It has the backing of the Gibraltar authorities who welcome Hilton as the second international hotel chain to invest on the Rock.

Despite welcoming the proposal for a new hotel, the opposition GSD has raised concerns about the planned 128 apartments.

Damon Bossino, the shadow minister for planning said that he was concerned the proposals could badly affect the Gorham’s Cave UNESCO World Heritage site buffer zone.

Suffer

On top of that current residents of Catalan Bay could suffer from dramatically increased road congestion of the ‘already saturated’ Sir Herbert Miles Road.

Bossino also criticised the developers for claiming the 128 apartments were critical to make the

project economically viable. This, he said, ‘seemingly leaves too little wiggle room for planning alternatives to be considered. It is plain to anyone viewing the present designs that our narrow, small shoreline, will be further negatively impacted and blighted by a solid mass of concrete for the sake of developer and investor profit’.

He added that Catalan Bay village ‘will be architecturally swamped, destroying the coastline’s current Italianate setting, with the present buildings sympathetically melding with both the coast and its Jurassic backdrop. These features are what gives the whole area such an appeal’.

Caleta Hotel manager Bruno Callaghan said the changes were ‘bittersweet’, recalling that it was his grandfather who opened the original Caleta Palace on the site in 1964.

Since then, the hotel has always been run as a family business and has hosted events such as Miss Gibraltar and the International Chess Festival.

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NEWS IN BRIEF Rest in peace FABIAN Picardo sent his condolences via Twitter to the family of MP Jack Dromey on his passing, saying that the husband of former Labour minister Harriet Harman was ‘a long time friend of Gibraltar’.

New crew THE RGP has welcomed 20 new recruits. After 22 weeks of training, they will hit the streets in June as Response officers, providing frontline help to a wide range of incidents.

Heritage Day ON Heritage Treasures Day occasion, the World Heritage UK website has listed Gorham’s Cave as one of 33 World Heritage Sites, one of just four in British overseas territories.

Safe ciber-surf THE RGP has teamed up with UK organisation Get Safe Online, to give tips on how to help web surfers keep safe while using the Internet.

A MAN who wore a balaclava as he attacked and stabbed a British couple during a terrifying robbery has been jailed for just three years.

The thug acted as part of a savage gang that targeted the husband and wife who were sleeping in their Mijas villa on the night in 2011.

The terrified couple were woken by broken glass as the assailants smashed through their front door in the Entrerrios area, wielding knives.

While the couple insisted they had nothing of value the masked thugs launched a ferocious attack, demanding money and stabbing the

CRIME

January 12th - January 25th 2022

No justice!

Shock as vicious midnight stabbing of British couple lands just three years in jail

By Kirsty McKenzie

man in the chest.

Horrified, the wife raced to defend her husband with an air pistol but was unable to release the safety lock and fire before the attackers hit her over the head with an iron bar.

After being knocked unconscious they continued to stab the man numerous times, while he lay on the ground.

They then tied them up and fled with a gold ring, two mobile phones, an MP3 player and the victims' wallets, which contained just €20.

BAD CARDS

Danger drive

A PAIR of Britons have been arrested for using dodgy credit cards to buy £30,000 worth of high value goods from Gibraltar shops.

They were collared as they sat in the departures lounge at Gibraltar’s Airport on January 6. Ansumana Jabati, 40, and Ancilla Saba, 50, were arrested on suspicion of fraud.

The pair, believed to be based in London, were arrested following a report from a Main Street Business that high-value goods had been purchased using fraudulent credit cards.

A subsequent investigation found that more businesses had also been targeted with similar attacks in recent weeks.

The duo were charged with being in possession of articles for use in fraud, namely several debit cards and fraud by false representation.

A MAN aged 24 has been given a 12-month driving ban and 120 hours of unpaid work for dangerous driving.

Liam Remorino, of Laguna Estate, was arrested when night shift officers spotted and followed Remorino’s car, which he was driving erratically, narrowly missing pedestrians, on Devils Tower Road last June.

He tried to flee, but ended up with his car wedged between the police car and another parked vehicle and was arrested.

He also was found to have a gram of cannabis resin in his possession.

History, adventure and romance.

That’s just the setting.

A Malaga court heard that the man was so savagely attacked that his injuries took 236 days to heal.

As well as multiple fractures and long term scars, his hand was stabbed so badly he had to have a finger amputated.

His wife was lucky to escape only with minor injuries, including trauma to her head.

Officers were only able to hunt down one of the assailants for whom the prosecutor had demanded an 11-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery.

Addiction

Inexplicably, the judge handed down a sentence of just three years after considering several mitigating factors including the defendant's drug addiction.

The violent thug was also ordered to pay a total of €45,000 compensation to the couple.

It is not known if they, or the prosecutor, will appeal the light sentence, which will see the thug out by 2023.

Headline A TEENAGER has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to robbery.

The incident was discovered

by IPA Beer Garden staff when they arrived for work just before 9am on January 7.

Upon arrival, detectives observed that the door had been forced open and that there was significant damage to the interior of the club.

In addition, an electronic box had been extensively damaged and around £50 was missing.

A few hours later, the 17-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of burglary, interviewed and taken into custody.

Sailed away A MAN has appeared in court after being charged with stealing a £4,000 boat.

Darryll Martinez, 33, allegedly stole the vessel from Ocean Village Marina just after 2pm on August 2, 2021.

The defendant then sailed it across the Med to the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta, where it was impounded by the Spanish authorities.

The vessel remains in Ceuta.

RGP officers later arrested Martinez on suspicion of theft.

He was interviewed and bailed, before being charged at New Mole House.

His case has been adjourned until later this month.

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A year of Culture

Bring hearts, minds and souls

NEWS

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January 12th - January 25th 2022

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All about my Mother-tongue SPANISH movie legend Pedro Almodovar will make his first feature film in English with Cate Blanchett in the lead role.

The Oscar-winning director confirmed the adaptation of Lucia Berlin’s A Manual for Cleaning Women is already in the early stages of development.

The original book features 43 stories that navigate the lives of several women who work in low-paid, demanding jobs.

Sad farewell AN expat film-maker, who worked with The Beatles on their debut movie A Hard Day’s Night, has died at his Almeria home.

Brit Denis O’ Dell had a long association with the Beatles and Cabo de Gata where he had a property.

In 2013, he was given the Almeria Short Film Festival’s highest honour, the Almeria Land of Cinema award.

His Beatles connection started as an associate producer of A Hard Day’s Night in 1964 and he took the same role three years later on How I Won the War. The World War II satire saw John Lennon appear as a supporting actor.

O’Dell persuaded Lennon to take part and the whole movie was shot on location in Almeria.

His visit inspired the Beatle to compose the legendary hit Strawberry Fields Forever.

It came after taking regular trips past farms full of the popular red fruit.

O’Dell also produced the 1967 Beatles TV film Magical Mystery Tour as well as The Magic Christian, which had Ringo Starr in the cast.

PALS: Denis with George Harrison

Millionaire footballers feature on Spain’s €29.6 billion tax defaulters list

By Dilip Kuner

SPAIN has published its annual list of tax shame and footballers continue to be targeted by the tax man.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti and Barcelona stars Dani Alves and Samuel Eto’o owe Hacienda (Inland Revenue) a total of more than €3 million.

Many of those on the list of those that owe more than €600,000 and football stars.

Superstar

Almodovar, who won an Oscar for his 2002 film Talk to Her, Her told Variety magazine that he is writing the new script in Spanish, which will then be translated into English.

He has previously made a short film in English - the acclaimed The Human Voice starring Tilda Swinton.

TAX SHAME

Leo loses Titanic auction battle A PAINTING of Mona Lisa as a bullfighter has sold at auction for nearly one million euros.

The painting by Mallorcan Domingo Zapata was snapped up for €906,000 with all the money going to charity.

Among those bidding was Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio (right), already a Zapata collector, although he lost out to the anonymous American collector.

The sale makes New York-based Zapata, one of Spain’s most successful living artists.

“A new auction record for my career!

This fills my heart,” he wrote on Instagram.

“100% will be donated to help children in need,” he added.

Zapata has sold to billionaire philanthropist George Soros as well as Johnny Depp and Diana Picasso - granddaughter of Pablo.

Brazilian superstar Neymar was said to owe an COUGH UP: Alves and (top right) Ancelotti eye-watering €34 million million.

Ancelotti is said to owe in unpaid taxes, last year.

It is not the first time he €1.4 million while former Cristiano Ronaldo and Li- has appeared on the list Barca star Eto’o - now onel Messi have both been - in 2016 he was featured president of Cameroon’s heavily fined, given sus- with a tax debt of more football federation - owes pended jail sentences and than €1.2 million. €1 million. ordered to pay tens MANY readers will remember their of millions early laughable attempts at speakover unpaid ing Spanish on arrival in Spain. tax.

A new TV show The Language of explained former Big Brother preThis year’s Love takes this to a new level, hop- senter McCall. list includes ing a group of Brits and Spaniards It certainly didn’t matter for Brit7,277 taxcan find love while living together. ish supermodel Naomi Campbell payers, who In the show, hosted by Davina Mc- when she fell in love with Spanish owe a total Call, a dozen girls and boys were flamenco singer Joaquin of €29.6 deposited at a dreamy Andalu- Cortes a decade ago (see billion. cian finca to see if they could find right).

Brazilian love… despite not speaking each On the differences beAlvez, 38, other’s language. tween the nations, Mcwho recent“The idea of the show poses the Call added: “We’re quite question: is it possible to find love self-conscious as a nation, ly returned just through body language and we Brits… Spanish people SWOONING: McCall with to Barceinstinct and a vibe off someone?” are very liberated physicalMerino lona, owes around €2

Tongue tied

ly. They’re not embarrassed.”

She also noted the importance of learning a language: “I think we are universally known for not making an effort in other people’s languages because so many people speak ours.”

Spanish actor Ricky Merino co-presents the show alongside McCall.

You can watch the contestants soul gaze, angrily search dictionaries and meet each other's families at 10pm every Tuesday on Channel4.

NEWS

4 www.theolivepress.es New cases GIBRALTAR has registered 123 new COVID infections in just one day.

Of these, 85 patients were vaccinated and 38 unvaccinated.

Of the total reported for Sunday, 70 are of the Omicron variant, and 66 are residents of the Rock. In addition, six of the infections are of the Delta variant.

The number of hospital inpatients has not changed since January 8, with three people admitted and zero cases in intensive care.

In terms of vaccinations, 41,199 people have had one jab, 40,079 two and 130 people have had a booster.

Back in town

January 12th - January 25th 2022

Nurse praise

Eva Carneiro, the Chelsea medic who fell out with Jose Mourinho, to spill the beans at local event GIBRALTAR’S Eva Carneiro, who hit the headlines after she quit her dream job as medic to the Chelsea team after a very public bust-up with then manager Jose Mourinho, will soon be back in town.

The ‘Special One’ from Portugal had been furious after the doctor ran onto the pitch after Eden Hazard went down with an injury during a crucial moment in stoppage time against Swansea during a 2015 match.

Carneiro took Mourinho to court as she filed for construc-

By Fiona Govan

tive dismissal, and went on to reject an initial £1.2million settlement deal offered by Chelsea.

After the case was settled out of court, Carneiro started working with a private practice, the Sports Medical Group, situated in London.

She now works at the Sports Medical Group as a private consultant, and will be working with the Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital

TESTING TIMES THE Rock is considering turning to lateral flow home testing for COVID as the GHA works to increase test capacity.

But the measure will not be introduced yet and COVID-19 tests will continue to be available only through the GHA or private clinics, said Director of Public Health, Helen Carter.

“The successful control of the virus in Gibraltar to date has been the result of our current supervised testing strategy”, she said.

Ensuring that testing is carried out by trained medical professionals

is a guarantee of the quality of the test and the results, she added.

It also means that the government can keep track of case numbers and transmission rates.

Carter praised the population for showing great responsibility, as evidenced by the high volume of calls to 111 and high attendance rates at the Mid Town centre.

She said: “Maintaining this approach, along with proven methods such as reducing contacts, masks and frequent hand washing, are the best ways to keep the virus under control.”

in Qatar in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. The Gibraltarian sports medicine doctor of British and Spanish parentage will be back in her hometown to take part in GibTalks an event taking place on Saturday February 5 that is styled on the TED series of talks.

Speakers

The event organised by Gibraltar Cultural Services will take place at John Mackintosh Hall and will see a range of local guest speakers deliver fifteen-minute talks on a broad spectrum of subjects with the aim of focusing on the anecdotal, the personal, and the light-hearted.

In addition to the invited speakers, four ten-minute ‘Vox Pop’ slots have also been allocated to members of the public who will have the opportunity to speak to the audience about an issue close to their hearts.

HEROES: Some of the medical team NURSES have been praised for their work in the fight against COVID-19.

Gibraltar celebrated the first anniversary of its vaccination programme on Monday.

Dubbed ‘Operation Freedom’ it has seen 108,577 jabs given to residents and cross border workers.

A government spokesman said: “Operation Freedom is fundamental for COVID response and recovery. It has been successful thanks to the dedication of the service teams whose tireless efforts have made it possible.”

Director of Nursing Sandra Garcia explained: “Nurses have been at the heart of Operation Freedom from the beginning.

“Many have been working extra hours in the vaccine clinic in addition to their existing shifts.”

Health Minister Samantha Sacramento added: “Vaccination remains the best option for protection against COVID.”

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NEWS

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Mask up SECONDARY school children should wear masks while at school, the government has advised, saying it is vital to control the widespread spread of the Omicron variant of COVID. A spokesman said that youngsters are ‘strongly advised’ to mask up at all times while at school.

Secondary school children are more likely than primary school children to mix socially and become vectors of transmission to others.

While the advice has excluded primary school children, the situation has been put inder review, and the advice may be extended to younger children in the future.

ANOTHER nuclear submarine docked in Gibraltar just days after environmentalists warned that the Rock was becoming a repair shop for ‘floating bombs’.

The USS Albany, a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine owned by the American Navy, was docked in Gibraltar Port from December 30 until January 5.

The scheduled visit came less than three weeks after the arrival of HMS Astute provoked anger from Verdemar Ecologistas, an NGO umbrella organisation made up of more than 300 environmental groups across the Campo de Gibraltar.

Sub off!

Environmentalists call for end to ‘floating bombs’ after yet another nuclear submarine docks

Threats

They claim that the nuclear subs pose multiple threats to the environment and cite an incident in May 2000 when HMS Tireless docked in Gibraltar.

The sub developed a fault in its nuclear reactor cooling system which led to it discharging 200 litres of contaminated water into the Mediterranean Sea. Earlier this year the environmental group complained that three nuclear subs had docked

By Elena Goçmen Rueda

in Gibraltar within a month after HMS Artful, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Lancaster were spotted in port near Gibraltar’s Europa Point during June and July.

Restricted visits VISITS to nursing homes in Gibraltar have been reduced.

This measure has been taken to protect residents in the face of a high incidence of COVID cases in the community.

One visitor per day will be allowed to visit each resident at the Elderly Residential Services facility for one hour - from 1pm to 2pm.

A government spokesman said that the de-

cision had not been taken lightly and that caseloads will be reviewed and compared on a weekly basis.

The residence says that the screening programme continues to operate for both staff and visitors.

“We continue to do all we can to maintain a safe environment for the residents in our care," said a spokesman.

"We denounce that Gibraltar’s naval basy is becoming port 'X', where the United Kingdom takes these 'floating bombs' for repairs,” the group said.

"We do not have nor do we want a nuclear emergency plan, we want them to leave.

"We are not going to stop complaining, we will act using methods that are within our reach to drive away this nuclear risk", they said.

Aside from the visits by British naval subs, Gibraltar has been a port of call for US nuclear submarines operating in the area on at least 30 occasions in the last 20 years.

With the arrival of USS Albany, the public relations department of the US 6th Fleet issued a release after the arrival, stating that it had made a scheduled port visit to Gibraltar, without specifying the reason.

January 12th - January 25th 2022

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WELCOME GUEST P&O Cruises’ new flagship, Iona, has made its first call in Gibraltar It is one of the largest cruise ships the famous company operates, with a capacity of 5,200 passengers and 1,800 crew, and is also one of its first LNG-powered ships.

This time it is carrying 2,484 passengers and 1,657 crew members.

Minister of Enterprise and Tourism, Vijay Daryanani, after participating in the traditional exchange of gifts, said that he was ‘delighted to welcome the Iona to Gibraltar’.

“P&O is one of the world’s leading cruise lines and we welcome them with open arms.

“We are delighted that this new cruise ship is visiting our port because it is powered by LNG. “The introduction of LNG is an important development that supports our environmental goals and the decarbonisation pathway.”

A DEMO calling for teachers on the Rock to be given permanent contracts, and highlighting health care issues and disability rights was cancelled yesterday because of the pandemic.

Teachers’ union NASUWT Gibraltar claims almost a third of school teachers on the Rock are not on permanent con-

Called off tracts.

It supported a demonstration called by Gibs biggest workers’ organisation, Unite the Union, which has 4,200 members.

But rising COVID cases led to the protest being called off.

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OPINION STAYING UNITED NOT since the dark days of Franco’s regime has Gibraltar had such a tough two years.

The twin attacks of Brexit and, more immediately, the COVID pandemic have tested the people, government and institutions of the Rock to the extreme.

Sadly many have succumbed to the pandemic, but there is no doubt that many more would have died without the quick response of the health authority and the selfless dedication of its staff.

Nurses have rightly been applauded for their dedication in Operation Freedom to vaccinatging as many of Gibraltar’s citizens as possible as well as many cross-border workers.

But all of Gibraltar’s citizens should be congratulated too, from teachers to their pupils, restaurant and hospitality workers to their bosses.

Everyone has pulled together to ensure the Rock pulls through the choppy waters and reaches a safe shore.

But, as Chief Minister Fabian Picardo hinted at in his New Year’s message, there is a long way to go before the all clear can be given.

His call for unity is the right call to make, but it should not be taken as simply following instructions and giving authorities carte blanche.

It is important that people continue to make their voices heard and for the government to listen too.

The cancelled Unite the Union demonstration sends out the right signals. Workers ARE making their voices heard, but also acting responsibly.

Long may it continue.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Fiona Govan fiona@theolivepress.es

Kirsty McKenzie kirsty@theolivepress.es

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NEWS FEATURE

LEGAL ODDITIES Weird laws that could leave you steamed up

SPANISH law says new rules By affecting business can only Joshua Parfitt come into effect in January or July – which makes a lot of sense, right?

But as it’s January, we’re thinking of all the laws that don’t make a lot of sense.

Like France’s bizarre ban on calling your pig ‘Napoleon’, Samoa’s ban on forgetting your wife’s birthday or the Milanese legal requirement to smile at all times (except at funerals or hospitals) Spain also has some strange laws.

Here are eight that will make you say ¿qué?

No Spanish Castle Magic The Canary Islands are well known for their tropical temperatures and shimmering seas – perfect for a day at the beach.

Except in Tenerife, where it’s illegal to build sand castles.

Similar laws exist on the Costa Blanca in the Valencian Community, where you’re allowed to build sand castles, but only if you use sand from the spot where you’re building and you destroy your structure before you leave.

It sounds like a killjoy law, but stems from local conflicts, like someone who staked out a huge area to build a 1:12 reproduction of the Alcazar de Segovia medieval fortress.

In this case, it was one of us who ruined it for the rest.

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Name of the game

2

It would appear that the state should keep out of how you name your baby. Your baby is yours, after all.

Except in countries like Denmark, where you must choose a baby name from a pre-approved list.

Spain doesn’t go so far as prescribing a list to name your child, but bans you from naming your child Cain, Judas or Lenin (above).

No mops allowed

3

In the town of Villanueva de la Torre, in Castilla–La Mancha, residents are prohibited from keeping a mop on the balcony.

They are also also banned from hanging out their clothes on balconies, windows or terraces situated above public roads or in sight of public areas.

The draconian laws even call for a fine up to €750 upon the parents of children playing in the street.

NO YEAR’S EVE BAH HUMBUG: Spanish town that hasn’t celebrated the New Year in 25 years

G

OOD luck is the reason why tain village came out to protest the faulmillions of Spaniards eat ty electricity supply, exacerbated by a storm, which ruined their their 12 grapes hopes of eating the 12 on New Year’s uvas de la suerte (grapes Eve – but a stroke of bad More than of luck) and begin 1995 in luck has seen one Spanish town refuse to celebrate 10,000 people good spirits.

New Year’s Eve in Berchuthe new year at all in 25 have visited les, on the slopes of the years - at least not on New Sierra Nevada, has not Year’s Eve. each year for been the same since with It was the last night of 1994 when a power cut the summer fun villagers turning their back on traditional celebrabrought New Year’s Eve tions. celebrations to a halt in But perhaps the village is the living the village of Berchules in Granada.

Nearly all 800 inhabitants of the moun- embodiment of the Spanish phrase no hay mal que por bien no venga (there’s no bad that doesn’t bring good).

If it wasn’t for the bright idea of the village’s nightclub owner, Berchules wouldn’t be known across Spain as the village that celebrates New Year’s Eve smack in the middle of summer.

In 1995, the inhabitants of Berchules decided to hold their New Year’s Eve celeFELIZ FIESTA: But in the summer not winter brations on the date

HOT KINGS: The Three Wise Men arrive in the

least likely to see a powercut: the first weekend in August.

By 1997, the Berchulean Association of New Year’s Eve in August (ABNEA) was founded to oversee the festival – complete with Three Wise Men, nativity scenes and the 12 grapes at midnight – and it's become one of the most popular festivals of the entire Alpujarras mountain region.

In the last four years, more than 10,000 people have visited Berchules each year to take part in the summer fun.

“We get called by the media from all corners of the world, and visitors come in their cars to eat the grapes of luck with us,” one inhabitant said.

So popular is the festival that the An-

January 12th - January 25th 2022

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7

WHO’S BEHIND THE HEADLINES

T Absolutely barking Villanueva de la Torre has a rather strange ban on dogs – no barking at night or during siesta hours (2pm to 4pm).

How disgruntled neighbours should go about fining the offending dog is unclear.

The absurdity doesn’t stop there, however, as the rules also dictate rules of behaviour in lakes, lagoons, hospitals and museums.

4

This is despite the municipality having none of these spaces.

Residents are also prohibited from disposing of their radioactive waste in the town’s garbage bins.

The rules are something the town’s opposition party, the leftwing PSOE, has been fighting since at least 2012.

No dominoes please The game of dominoes is extremely popular in Spain – except for the city of Sevilla in Andalucia, that is.

A local law against acoustic contamination, noise and vibrations puts a ban on anyone playing dominoes on the terraces outside bars in case the noise offends residents in the area.

The same ordenanza also bans anyone from rolling barrels of beer around the street, and prohibits you from eating or drinking next to bar or restaurant terraces.

5

Get a room

e summer heat

dalucian government declared New Year’s Eve in August an official festival of cultural interest.

Though they wouldn’t have known it that dark evening of December 31 in 1994, Berchules’ worst luck has turned out to be the village’s biggest blessing.

And now that power has returned in adequate supplies over the festive period, it means that Berchules is probably the only village in the world that gets to see in the New Year twice, even if it is in the privacy of their own home on December 31.

No tap dancing please

6

Keeping the peace is huge business in Spain – the country leads the E U ’ s ranking for shared living spaces with 66.5% of the population living in apartments and urbanisations.

Neighbourly disputes have no doubt caused a slew of ordenanzas regulating what you can and can’t do, especially in the capital of Madrid.

Madrid joins the cities of Mojacar in Andalucia and Ciudad Real in Castilla–La Mancha in banning anyone from running, jumping, skating or tap dancing inside apartment blocks and urbanisations.

7

A quick roadside romp in the car seems like a harmless affair, provided there's consent of course.

But in the cities of Granada and Malaga it is a crime to have sex in your car in accordance with laws that also ban sexual acts in public places.

A man was fined €750 in the Costa del Sol capital of Malaga after police caught him having sex in his car near to a public road – on appeal, the man pleaded the fine be reversed as ‘vegetation’ blocked the illicit act from public view.

Generally in Spain, it is also a crime to perform sexual acts while driving, as a man in Valencia found out after receiving a €200 fine for masturbating at the wheel.

He also lost three points for ‘distraction’ while driving, probably along with his pride.

Get a room in Bilbao, seriously While less benign, it is still a crime to sleep in your car in the northern city of Bilbao.

The rule that regulates public spaces extends the ban to caravans, motorhomes and tents, adding that you can't sleep in them within the city's boundaries during night or day.

The ban goes further still, banning anyone from sleeping on benches, bathing or washing clothes

8

HE media, more than any other, is a people business.

It’s all about communication and that can not be done by robots. At least not yet.

So aside from the Olive Press’ A-team of full time journalists, who work around the clock to provide the best English news service in Spain, we can rely on a big squad of additional talent.

Over the last decade and a half, the Olive Press has assembled a skilled group of writers, who look behind the headlines to bring you in-depth and original features from around the country.

We have also acquired an impressive team of experts and specialists who are ahead in their fields and who always have a finger on the pulse.

These include our property insider Adam Neale, our legal eagle Antonio Flores, our mortgage man Tancrede de Pola and our insurance guru Jennifer Cunningham.

Each of them comes up with regular incisive analysis… and a few of them have done so for well over a decade.

The same could be said for columnist Giles Brown, one of the funniest expat writers around, while Bill Anderson, Martin Tye and Sue Wilson MBE more than know their onions in the world of politics and the environment.

And then there are our history and culture writers like Jack Gaioni, David Baird and Heather Galloway, who always file original - and often quirky - features on a regular basis.

But sadly many of our brilliant writers’ articles don’t quite make the paper.

Take Jo Chipchase’s colourful look at the alternative scene around the Alpujarras region, published on the website this week. Or Joshua Parfitt’s insightful view on Spain’s important skiing industry…sadly, neither of them have made the printed paper.

So yes, there is so much more going on behind the scenes in our engine room, the website.

With over 20 stories and features a day, it more than justifies its cost of just under €6 a month… or under €60 for the whole year.

What are you waiting for?

Visit www.theolivepress.es now.

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in municipal fountains, or cooking in public places.

As a caravan user in one forum suggested, if you want to sleep in your motorhome in Bilbao, bring a book to pretend you’re just reading.

measures and restrictions to re1- COVID-19 turn to Spain’s Andalucia in the New Year Holidays in Spain 2021: full list of 2- Bank dates for every autonomous community restrictions in place in Spain’s 3- COVID-19 Andalucia ahead of New Years Eve

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 for more info

8

GREEN

www.theolivepress.es

Spain has its first road made from non-recyclable plastic waste A NEW road surface has been unveiled in Barcelona using non-recyclable plastic waste in the first project of its kind in Spain.

The environmental pilot project in the Bon Pastor neighbourhood is one of many experimental and radical innovations to address plastic waste that comes amid warnings that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish.

The new material is said to be more resistant than traditional road surfaces to heavy traffic, as well as helping cut greenhouse gas emissions during the manufacturing process and the subsequent handling process.

If widely adopted it could help tackle the problem of the huge amount of plastic ending up in landfills, illegal dumps, waterways or burnt in open pits.

Spain produces over two million tons of plastic waste every year, with only 43% being recycled.

Estimates indicate that using

Electric start SEAT has opened a new €7 million battery research and development centre for electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

The centre (known as TCE) at the carmaker’s Technical Centre in Martorell, is part of the Volkswagen Group’s global R&D network and is the group’s first such centre in Europe outside Germany, alongside those already running in China and the United States.

The TCE is intended to become a key element of SEAT’s project to lead the electrification of the Spanish car industry and is part of the €5 billion investment plan announced by the company to electrify not just its vehicles but also its factories.

PLASTIC HIGHWAY

non-recyclable plastic to build roads uses less than 17 tons of CO2, far less than traditional techniques.

This particular stretch of road surface along the Paseo de la Verneda used a total of 4,500 kg of plastic, equivalent to 3,000 household garbage bags full of plastic, which would have otherwise not been recycled.

If the pilot project is successful, the type of road surface will be used in other parts of the city.

SOLUTION: Plastic road in Barcelona

January 12th - January 25th 2022

Strong arming CAMPAIGNERS are calling for the world’s first octopus farm to be closed down.

To keep up with the world’s growing appetite for Octopus, Spain’s biggest seafood producer Pescanova has invested €65 million to build the farm at Las Palmas on Gran Canaria.

But activists are opposing the facility because of the ‘serious environmental and animal welfare impact’. They claim that the octopus´ carnivorous diet will put pressure on local fish populations to feed them, and the intelligent animals tend to eat each other in captivity.

Prices of Galicia’s Atlantic Octopus have escalated dramatically in recent years from €12 to €50 a kilo, meaning it makes up only 3.5% of all octopus consumed in Spain.

Most octopus sold in Spain comes from Morocco, which has agreements with Spain to allow Spanish boats to fish the waters.

Insane Sun Tax caused untold damage

T

HE government of Mariano Rajoy (The People’s Party) last decade was condemned for corruption. Fact.

In 2018 Spain’s High Court convicted 29 people, including senior officials of the PP, sentencing them to a total of 351 years in prison.

Public contracts were awarded at inflated prices, ‘kick backs’ were rife.

In this environment the former state owned monopolies Endesa and Iberdrola were able to influence the introduction of the completely insane Sun Tax, effectively preventing homeowners and businesses from installing solar panels.

Put simply…….if you produce your own electricity you are not buying from them.

The end result was that when this ludicrous law was repealed in October 2018 less than 1,000 rooftops in Spain had solar panels installed.

Compare that to Germany with more than 1 million installations at that point.

By now Spain should not still be reliant on fossil fuels to generate electricity.

This absurdity is now costing us all.

Inflation is back , largely fuelled by soaring electricity and gas prices: ● Inflation last year in Spain was 5.5%.it’s impossible for salaries and pensions to keep pace.

A WASTED DECADE

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Matters

● The outlook for this year doesn’t look much better. ● Interest rates will rise (European Central Bank) ● In December Spanish consumers had to pay 6.7% higher costs than they did in December 2020. ● Eurozone inflation reached 5% in December. The highest ever on record. ● On Christmas Day electricity costs were 14 times higher than last year.

All this could have been mitigated if Spain’s progress in installing renewable energy had not been corruptly diverted.

Everywhere else in Europe citizens had the right to generate, consume, store and sell electricity without facing punitive taxes and fees.

The former legislation was muscled in by the PP who had a parliamentary majority at the time.

As always, corruption has cost us all.

Since the abolition of the Sun Tax, Spain has pushed forward in taking advantage of the two key free natural resources it has in abundance – sun and wind.

It’s criminal that so much time was lost. We can’t rewind the clock, but we can act quickly now.

No country in Europe is better located to take advantage of renewable energy technologies: ● We have over 300 days of sunshine a year. ● We have huge land mass.

● We have extensive coastal areas. ● We have wind.

By becoming independent we remove ourselves from the political shenanigans that surround energy supply such as the devious and questionable practices of Putin. (Russia supplies over one quarter of the natural gas consumed in the European Union).

Another threat is Algeria closing pipelines because of its dispute with Morocco.

In 2021 natural gas prices in the EU have risen as high as 800% from the beginning of the year.

Time to be independent and accelerate the use of renewable energy.

Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. +34 638145664 ( Spain Phone ) Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es

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LA CULTURA

Main attraction

MALAGA’S Picasso Museum managed to attract more than 250,000 visitors last year, an increase of 55% compared to 2020.

The MPM Collection together with the temporary exhibitions Miquel Barcelo, Metamorphosis and Brassai's Paris. Photos of the city that Picasso loved, have been credited for as being the main attractions.

The museum highlighted its work to maintain and increase its educational and cultural activities while keeping pandemic safety measures in place.

More than 11,000 people took part in the training programmes and cultural activities organise by the museum.

For 2022 the museum has revealed that the artist Paula Rego and photographer Brassai will feature in new exhibitions, alongside its collection of Picassos.

Do you have a what’s on?

Send your informa tion to newsdesk@theolivepr ess.es

The flour and the glory IT was an opportunity to let off steam after the stress and depradations of the COVID pandemic - and the townsfolk of Ibi took full advantage.

In a 200-year-old tradition participants dress up in military outfits and stage a mock 'revolution' outside the town hall.

They pelt each other with flour and eggs - often by the tray load

Researchers may have found the longlost Temple of Hercules SEVILLA University has found ruins of a temple in the Bay of Cadiz that could have housed the most famous sanctuary in ancient Spain.

Researchers used terrain modelling software to find a submerged rectangular structure between San Fernando and Chiclana de la Frontera in

SOME of the most sought-after stocking fillers of the past century have gone on show in a nostalgic new toy exhibition in Malaga.

Vintage childhood favourites of all shapes and sizes, dating back to the 1950s have been included in the playful new display at Andalusian Museum of Education (MAE).

Looking back at the different ways children have played and learned over the decades, the collection is sure to spark happy mem-

9 Thorny issue

January 12th - January 25th 2022

- and let off firecrackers in the annual Fests dels Enfarinats battle.

Last year the event, which is part of the Day of the Holy Innocents celebrations, a time in Spain for pulling pranks similar to the UK's April Fools Day, was canceled.

This time round participants were determined to have a messily good time while COVID restrictions still permitted them.

Ancient discovery Cadiz.

The location fits with history and myth as the site of the Temple of Hercules Gaditanus, the 9th century BC sanctuary linked to all major

Toy Story

ories at a time of year when the latest toys and games are flying off the shelves.

Highlights include the first Nancy doll, Cinexín, la Magia Borrás and GAC bicycles.

The collection will remain open until Andalucia Day, February 28, from Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 1.30pm and from 5pm to 8pm, and Saturdays from 10am to 1.30pm.

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figures until destruction in the 12th century AD. The temple is believed to house the actual tomb of Hercules, the belt of warrior god Teukros, as well as Pygmalion’s miraculous olive branch that fruited emeralds.

Oracles also received some of the most famous men of ancient history here, like Hannibal before he crossed the Alps and conquered Italy.

“We researchers are very reluctant to turn archaeology into a spectacle, but in this case, we are faced with some spectacular findings. They are of great significance,” said Francisco Jose Garcia, the di-

rector of the department of Prehistory and Archaeology at Sevilla University.

The region around the Bay of Cadiz and the castle of Sancti Petri have for more than two centuries yielded marble and bronze sculptures of Roman emperors and deities, now on display at the Museum of Cadiz.

The team from Sevilla traced sea bed variations and erosion, before discovering a seemingly ‘large manmade building’ with an inner harbour.

The structure measures 300 by 150 metres and lies up to five metres underwater.

SPAIN has granted protected status to a small oil painting worth €50m, that was on the verge of being sold for a mere €1,500.

An expert has stepped in with the suspicion that it could be a long-lost masterpiece by Caravaggio.

The protected status means it can no longer be sold to the highest bidder but must be kept in Spain and the government has the option, to buy it for the nation.

The Culture Ministry imposed a last minute export ban on the artwork after it was offered for sale by the Madrid auction house Ansorena.

The painting identified as The Crown of Thorns had been attributed to an unnamed artist within the studio of 17th century Spanish painter Jose de Ribera, but there was hope it could turn out to be an original Caravaggio and therefore worth upwards of €50 million.

The regional government of Madrid declared the work an item of cultural interest.

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10

LA CULTURA

January 12th - January 25th 2022

AN ANCIENT EVIL

W

The Spanish inquisition may have raised a laugh for Monty Python, but it was no laughing matter for thousands of its victims, writes Joshua Parfitt

hen anti-semites spray-painted the town hall of a tiny northern Spanish town, their graffiti made disturbing reference to a Spanish priest now 500 years dead.

Torquemada era camarada (Torquemada was an ally)

read the black graffiti on sunbaked Spanish brick. To anyone in Spain, the name of Torquemada instantly means cruelty and religious fanaticism in the name of the Catholic church.

Thomas of Torquemada (1420-1498) was an intelligent Dominican Friar of Jewish descent, who became a central

figure of religious fervour as the first Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition and advocate for expelling Jews from Spain, torturing converts and burning heretics at the stake.

The tiny village of Castrillo Mota de Judios (population 50) is a new focal point for righting Spain’s historic wrongs after residents

NO ONE ESCAPES: Monty Python and (above) the graffiti

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changed its name from Cas- reconquered Spain. In the trillo Matajudios (Jew-killer name of ridding ‘false concamp) in 2014. verts’ to Christianity, the Though the citizens of the vil- Spanish crown received the lage hope to wash these re- Pope’s blessing to set up a cents stains away, the legend Court of Inquisition in 1478 of Torquemada is not so easy and properly oversee public CULPRIT: Torquemada tortured thousands trials of faith. to forget.

Tomas de Torquemada was At first, the Inquisition deborn on October 14, 1420, scended on the Andalucian treasurer of Toledo until in the city of Valladolid, the city of Sevilla in 1481 and 1449 when the mayor of the capital of Spain’s Castilla y burnt alive six Jewish converts. city rose up against Cota beBy 1483, Pope fore ransacking, burning and Leon, to a prestigious family Sixtus VI named murdering converts in the headed by the Torquemada as Jewish quarter la Magdalena.

Even their renowned theothe first Inquis- Cota was a prominent Jewish logian and conitor General de convert to Christianity of high garments fessor to King España (Span- intelligence and authority in marked them Juan II, Juan de ish General In- Toledo. the King of Castilla, Torquemada. as condemned quisitor), and When Thomas of he held the post Juan II, wanted to raise funds souls Torquemada’s with zeal un- for a war against the Crown ancestry also til his death in of Aragon, he asked for an outrageous loan from Toleincluded Jew1498. ish converts to Christianity, Accounts say that Torque- do and ordered mayor Pedro known as conversos, whom mada forced Jews who had Sarmiento to take up arms religious authorities began converted out of fear of retal- against Alonso Cota and his to view with increasing sus- iation to wear garments that possessions. marked them as condemned Cota narrowly survived the picion.

At the time of Torquema- souls, bearing images of slaughter. This pattern of da’s birth, the Catholic king- hell’s flames, dragons and events was seen prior to the nationwide pogroms of doms of Castilla and Aragon snakes. had conquered most of the Spanish historians estimate 1391, which began in cirSpanish peninsular but the the Inquisition burned alive cumstances surrounding the Muslim Sultanate of Grana- over 10,000 people during assassination of Jose Pichon, a senior treasurer in Sevilla da still ruled the south until Torquemada’s reign.

In 1832, just two years be- and extremely wealthy Jewish 1492.

The largest reconquered cit- fore the end of the Spanish convert. ies of Barcelona, Sevilla and Inquisition, gravediggers ex- The significant difference Valladolid had sizeable Jew- humed his body and burnt it, in 1449, however, was just as Torquemada had done the subsequent decree of ish and Muslim populations. ‘blood-cleansing statutes’ Periodic outbreaks of vio- to thousands of Jews. that disposbelence against these com- Religion sessed Jewish munities saw many Jews came the deconverts of culprit convert to Christianity for fining Mistrust, their positions personal safety and to ac- of the Spanish of authority and cess positions of authority. Inquisition, but jealousy and wealth in favour However, whether conversos the roots of anhatred of of Catholics converted to the Christian ti-semitism in century Jewish converts who could prove faith or continued practising 15th their Catholic Judaism became the princi- Spain are much abounded heritage. pal concern of religious au- harder to deBy 1492, misfine. thorities. trust, jealousy Torquemada meanwhile was Some accounts rising up the religious ranks say rural Spaniards accused and hatred of Jewish converts after Queen Isabel I de Cas- Jews of having a hand in the led to a decree expelling all tilla named him one of three Black Death of 1347, either practising Jews from Spain. A personal confessors to the poisoning wells or trying to rid similar series of events happened with Muslim converts crown in 1474.

Spain of Christianity.

One of Torquemada’s first Others factors were pure jeal- to Christianity and the expulsion of Moriscos in 1609. jobs was to investigate Jew- ousy. ish practices among conver- A prime example can be Pope John Paul II began maksos in the southern cities of found in Alonso Cota, the ing the first apologies for the atrocities of the Spanish Inquisition in 2000.

In 2011, the president of Mallorca made the first official apology for the role of the Spanish government in the Inquisition and the persecution and murder of Jewish converts.

The central Spanish government in 2015 then began making amends for the expulsion of Jews in 1492, when Torquemada was still chief Inquisitor.

The government passed a law recognising descendents of Sephardic Jews following their expulsion from Spain, opening a legal path for them to apply for Spanish citizenship and return home up to 500 years later. By 2019, more than 127,000 Sephardic Jews from Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, the US and Israel had applied for citizenship.

12

BUSINESS

SOME of Spain’s beleaguered hotels are to get a TV production boost with a Hollywood production company booking 10,000 nights accommodation.

Soho Boutique Hotels have hit the jackpot after Global Television Operations decided to move into Spain in a big way.

As part of a year-long project to make seven TV dramas in and around Andalucia, the rooms have been booked exclusively with the group.

Cast members and production crew will also work from a new 300m2 office

Film action

complex on the prestigious Calle Larios in Malaga from this month.

Some scenes will even be filmed in the new Soho Equitativa Hotel, considered to be the most trendy hotel in the area.

The hotel chain operates a number of hotels across Europe, with seven in Malaga.

All their sites are renovated old buildings combining traditional features with modern and functional decor.

ESTUCO INTERIORS

January 12th - January 25th 2022

OFF THE ROLL Telefonica cuts

SPAIN’s labour market has recovered to pre-pandemic levels as unemployment fell faster than ever before.

But the jobless figure still stands at more than 3.1 million people or 13.5% of the country’s workforce.

Progress

In 2021, around 776,500 people entered the workforce and another 782,000 left the unemployment roll, according to the Ministry of Labour.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the figures, saying: “Once again, the data reflects the progress of Spain’s recovery.

“We will not stop. We will continue working to keep cre-

Jobless figure plunges but is still 3.1 million

ating quality employment,” added Sanchez.

There were 10 straight months of net job creation for the first time in Spain as businesses recovered from a miserable 2020 that was severely affected by the COVID-19 lockdown and travel restrictions.

The jobless figure was down 20% over December 2020, which might be expected after the pandemic shock, but the more encouraging news is that the number of unemployed people is at the lowest level since 2007 before the financial crisis hit.

Golden goose

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SOCIAL security contributions for self-employed workers in Spain (autonomos) will rise by €8 a month.

This means a monthly increase from €286 to €293.76 for self-employed workers paying the full social contribution rate – meaning autonomos will pay around €96 more per year.

First-time autonomos will still pay the reduced €60 for their first year of activity, rising to €150 monthly in their second year of activity.

New laws have also reduced corporate tax from 15% to 10% for newly-created entities. There is a minimum rate of 15% corporate tax on companies invoicing over €20 million annually or those in the banking and hydrocarbon industries.

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The biggest gains were made in the service and hospitality sectors as tourism recovered, while the construction, industrial and agricultural sectors also saw small gains last year.

Spain’s Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz highlighted that jobless figures for young people and women also fell. Historically Spain has had some of the worst levels of youth unemployment in Europe.

Rise

The pandemic saw unemployment rise by about 725,000 people in 2020. But even that was considerably better than 2008 when the financial crisis saw the construction industry in Spain grind to a halt. The jobless figure soared by a million and it took five years before the labour market began to recover.

SPANISH telecoms giant Telefonica will cut 15% of its workforce this year.

The reduction will be achieved through an estimated 2,700 voluntary redundancies. Offers for pay-off packages will be made soon with Telefonica expected to make an annual wage bill saving of over €230 million from 2023.

The pay-off will nevertheless cost Telefonica €1.5 billion. Workers who are 55 years or older in 2022 with 15 years service behind them will qualify for the redundancy package.

Redundancies Telefonica is mainly branded in Spain as Movistar.

It is Europe’s third-largest telecoms firm and has 18,500 Spanish staff. The redundancies follow similar moves by rivals Vodafone and Orange in recent months.

Telefonica and its domestic rivals have been fighting to slash costs in a competitive Spanish telecoms market as well as investing in 5G expansion. The company reported a net profit of €706 million for the third-quarter of 2021 taking in all of its worldwide operations.

OP QUICK CROSSWORD Across 5 Switzerland doesn’t have one (3,5) 8 To an archaeologist, three stones in a row make one (4) 9 As well (2,4) 10 Maidenhair tree (6) 11 National anthem? (7,5) 13 Ruthless way to prepare land for cultivation? (5-34) 16 Without (4,2) 18 Music award (6) 19 Volcanic outflow (4) 20 Rolled into a ball (6,2)

run to the hills

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OP SUDOKU

Down 1 Move us on in a panic, like an adder (8) 2 Old coach driver perhaps, operating behind the scenes (5,7) 3 Often seen with roundabouts (6) 4 Online diary (4) 6 Yorick or Coco, for example (5) 7 Time for an accessory?

(5,3,4) 12 Essential ingredient of stainless steel (8) 14 Gladiators’ workplaces (6) 15 Prepare for a crash (5) 17 Sheltered stretch of water where ships may safely anchor (4)

All solutions are on page 15

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL Don’t w(h)ine!

January 12th - January 25th 2022

13

Budget launch

BRITISH Airways will start operating low-cost flights to eight Spanish destinations this spring out of Gatwick.

The airports served will be Alicante-Elche, Ibiza, Las Palmas, Madrid, Mahon, Palma, Sevilla and Tenerife.

BA is relaunching its budget short-haul division which was mothballed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The services will be BA-branded initially before regulatory approval is granted to spin them off into a new standalone subsidiary company called BA Euroflyer.

Premium

BA chief executive, Sean Doyle, said: “The creation of a new short-haul BA organisation means Gatwick customers will benefit from access to a premium service from the UK’s flag carrier at competitive prices.”

Fares start from €45 each way but do include BA’s regular full luggage allowance and basic onboard snacks. Services will start in late March with three Airbus short-haul planes beginning the operation, increasing to an 18 by the end of May. Another 23 European locations including the Greek Islands and Italy also feature in the new flight schedule.

L

Spain beats France in battle of the wine giants (but still only comes third) SPAIN has beaten France as a wine tourism destination.

Despite its Gallic neighbour’s reputation - much of it selfdubbed - as being the centre of the wine world, when it comes to the whole wine experience, Spain is a better place to visit, according to a new report.

With its 12 main wine regions and 968,000 hectares dedicated to viticulture, Spain is certainly at the forefront when it comes to quantity.

The research by Bounce luggage storage company takes into account the amount of

land for vineyards, production of wine, exports, wine tours, price of a bottle of wine as well as the amount of wine consumed by each country to decide the rankings.

Although Spain beat France, it was not top of the list. That honour went to Italy, with Portugal in second spot. New Zealand followed Spain and France to come in fifth.

Cody Candee, CEO and Founder of Bounce said: “Spain often doesn’t receive

FOREIGN tourist levels in Spain recovered to 70% of what they were in the same month 2019 ahead of the coronavirus pandemic.

Figures released by the National Institute of Statistics showed 3.3 million people visited Spain in November 2021 - 633% more than the same month a year earlier.

The encouraging recovery will have been severely tempered by last month's identification of the Omicron variant and new restrictions imposed by countries like the UK. For the second month in a row, British

OBSTER, the only mobile network in Spain to offer a service completely in English, is celebrating its third anniversary!

After just three short years Lobster has established itself as the benchmark mobile network for British expatriates, and other English speakers, who reside in Spain.

Brexit brought with it a lot of uncertainty for British living in Spain, but one thing for certain is that Lobster customers continue to enjoy a great mobile service in Spain with no changes. The same cannot be said for British in Spain using their UK SIMs. One of the changes that we are now seeing after Brexit is that many UK mobile networks are introducing mobile charges when roaming in Spain. These mobile roaming charges can be very expensive and lead to bill shocks.

Lobster has always recommended getting

No test needed

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RANKING: All great destinations the recognition it deserves when it comes to wine, often being overshadowed by the likes of Tuscany, Napa Valley and Champagne. However,

On the up travellers accounted for nearly 20% of foreign visitors at 600,000. They were followed by French tourists at 496,579 and German arrivals at 479,403.

In the first 10 months of 2021, foreign arrivals to Spain reached 28.2 million- 64% less than over the same pre-pandemic period of 2019. The fall in spending is in the same proportion, namely €31.2 billion compared to €86.9 billion in 2019.

for travelers wishing to spend their well-earned vacation sipping wine and exploring vast vineyards in the sun, our research shows Spain is an exceptional choice of destination.”

He added: “Spain is home to the largest surface area of vineyards in the world, with a total of 968,000 hectares of land covered by vineyards offering limitless possibilities to explore the wine regions of the country, including a total of 548 wine tours to explore.”

“We recommend visiting Haro in the famous La Rioja region.

Here you’ll find deep red wines full of fruity flavour, from just €4 a bottle.

FULLY vaccinated travellers no longer have to take pre-departure COVID tests before arriving in England.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it would apply to all arrivals to England from last Friday.

He also said that those who were fully jabbed would also not be required to self-isolate while awaiting test results after arriving.

Instead they will be able to take a lateral flow test on day two and only need a PCR if the result is positive.

He removed the strict rules brought in with the threat of the Omicron variant that meant all travellers over the age of 12 had to show proof of a negative test lateral flow or PCR test taken within two days of setting off for the UK. The prime minister said the pre-departure test ‘discouraged many from travelling for fear of being trapped overseas and incurring significant extra expense’.

Three years of great deals Lobster, the mobile network made for English speakers in Spain, celebrates its third anniversary!

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14

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

January 12th - January 25th 2022

Where bandits once trod Jon Clarke heads on a riding adventure into the Andalucian outback of the Sierra Morena near Sevilla

NATURAL: Jon looks happy in the saddle

F

OR many people a trip to brave enough to take the jourMadrid or a week on the ney south from Madrid.

Algarve is an adventure So it felt exciting to be riding now the pandemic is, out from a 16th century trading hopefully, starting to ease. post, to test out part of an overAnd then there are those who land journey that can be exwant to stretch themselves and tended all the way to Portugal. do something really out of the Guided by expat equestrian ordinary.

George Scott, guests can opt Well saddle up and head for for anything up to a five-day a riding escape in the Sierra wilderness escape, following Morena, a rolling 450-km long ancient bridleways and staying wilderness that straddles the in rambling cortijos and even border of Andalucia and Ex- tents. tremadura.

My stay began at There are green George’s famidestinations…

3,000-acre It has billeted ly’s and then there Trasierra estate, are really green everyone from near charming destinations, Cazalla de la Siroyalty to with the Sierra erra, which has Norte de Sevilla billeted everypop stars and natural park, in one from royalty particular, about to pop stars and supermodels as wild as it gets supermodels to in Spain. politicians over This is a largely the last few deunknown expanse of rural Eu- cades. rope where wolves, Golden Ea- A great place to relax after a gles and the Iberian Lynx - the year of corona-stress, the highworld’s rarest wildcat - are ac- walled palace is more than tually in the ascendance.

1,000-metres square in size, Named after its distinctive with over a dozen distinct spots black rocks, the Sierra Morena to luxuriate and only the same was once known for a different number of rooms. sort of wildlife: its fabled ban- The very definition of Andaludits who preyed on travellers cian vernacular architecture, its jigsaw puzzle of pantile roofs drop down to arched entrances and wisteria-laden pergolas. The all-pervading smell of jasmine and azahar follows you around the grounds.

So relaxing you’ll never want to leave, I jumped with a start when George’s mother Charlotte suddenly appeared as I was settling into my third cafe con leche, with a decent biography on the go.

“Your steed awaits,” she trilled joyfully, handing me some gaiters and leading me to the grand front gate, where my ride - a mixture of Spanish Arabian and Anglo-Arabian - was literally chomping at the bit. We were PARADISE: For George’s horses soon heading off on a mix-

PRETTY: Cazalla de la Sierra where dictator Franco’s granddaughter and fashion designers Victorio & Lucchino live

Stunning Trasierra counts Bryan Ferry and Kate Moss as regular guests, while photographer Bruce Weber has been helping owner George Scott and his sister, chef Gioconda, produce a film series about the region. Another brother Jackson, a flamenco guitarist, who once dated actress Sadie Frost, is appropriately writing the soundtrack ture of ancient drovers paths - known as vias pecuarias, cordeles and caminos reales depending on their importance - which George knows like the back of his hand, having grown up in the sierra.

A keen advocate of keeping the

countryside open, he is also a fan of ‘rewilding’ and bans all use of pesticides from his estate. “The locals call our land sucio (or dirty) as we don’t clean it up and plough beneath the olive trees,” he explains.

“The birds and animals certain-

ENTRANCE: Grand front door and (above) Giaconda’s feast

VISTAS: George Scott looks across the wild Sierra Morena ly don’t mind.” is glamping with a capital ‘G’.

It took a full 30 minutes before These are Rajasthani safari we were even clear of Trasi- tents, in fact, with proper beds erra, riding along windy dirt and linen, as well as dressing tracks through woodland that’s tables, sinks, soaps and fresh as wild as it is beautiful. cologne.

When we did finally emerge To top it off there are hot wafrom the forest, the landscape ter bottles and a well stocked was gentle and rolling, not dra- bar and you get tea and coffee matic like the Sierra Nevada or delivered to your bedside table the mountains around Ronda, every morning. where I live.

I, however, have been invited But you certainly have to keep to spend my last night back at your wits about you with lots the ranch, where I am to be the of low-lying branches and the guest of the Scott family, who sudden startling of an escap- are getting together for the first ing partridge or the swoosh of time since the pandemic bea snake. gan.

My only real conI am delighted cern - apart from to be trying out A minion my aching thighs a ‘fire cooking’ profferred and a sore bum show by George’s - came from a sister Gioconme an ice pair of delinda, who has a quent foals runroaring outdoor cold glass of ning loose and bbq on the go by refreshing fino the time we get inquisitive in the back. extreme.

A true gourmet, My horse was, quite simply, not amused and Gioconda has long been an adspent the next ten minutes vocate of slow food and sourctrying to send them packing, es her ingredients as close to before rearing up and almost the ‘Km0’ ethos as possible knocking me into a tree. and we eat amazing belly of Thankfully, we were just a few free range pork from the nearminutes to lunch and suddenly by hills, as well as local lamb emerged into a clearing with a and much, much more. ruined farmhouse and the won- It is a wonderful night, which derful sight of a shady picnic rumbles on well into the small table brimming with goodies hours, a never-ending supply of from around the region. local wine and plenty of banter One of George’s minions prof- to boot. I almost forget that my fered me a glass of ice cold thighs have been bounced into fino, while a separate ice buck- oblivion and I can hardly feel et held lager and cava. my backside.

From here, we only had an Thank the lords there is a really hour or so to the tented camp, proper bed waiting for me when where most guests normally I finally flop. spend their first night.

It’s a remarkable place, care- For more information visit fully sited in a shady glade sur- www.georgescottrides.com rounded by oak woodland. or www.trasierra.com And forget the usual tents, this

HEALTH Sad toll SPAIN’S national institute of statistics (INE) has published the first dataset on COVID-19 deaths according to location.

The 494,000 deaths in 2020 were 70,000 more than normal (17.9%) and the highest annual death toll in the past 100 years.

Data shows Madrid was the worst-affected region with eight of the capital’s districts registering in the 10 municipalities with most excess deaths across Spain’s 8,131 municipalities.

Deaths

Leganes in the capital’s southwest was the worst-affected municipality in Spain, registering 875 more deaths than an annual average of 1,300 over the last four years – a 67% increase.

The entire region of Madrid registered 9,800 more deaths than normal (+33%), followed by Barcelona with 3,500 above normal (21%) and Zaragoza with 1,300 above normal (+20%).

Regions where death rates were the lowest in 2020 – and often even less than normal – occurred in regions popular with expats.

Foreign

Adeje in Tenerife showed 12% fewer deaths than normal, and is the municipality with the highest population of foreign residents in Spain.

Other municipalities with high percentages of foreign-born residents and lower-than-normal death rates include Alfaz del Pi and Javea in the Valencian community, and Fuengirola in Malaga province.

January 12th - January 25th 2022

PRICES for COVID-19 antigen tests are set to be capped in Spain. There has been widespread criticism from consumer groups and politicians over rising antigen test costs fuelled by the spread of the Omicron variant.

Pharmacies reported shortages over the Christmas holiday coupled with price hikes.

Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said: “My team is going to look at price control and regulations.” He pointed out that IVA tax from the tests was removed at the same time as the

Test capping levy on masks. Sanchez also said that Spain would this January buy 344,000 doses of the Pfizer antiviral pill. “This will reduce by 88% the possibility of hospitalisation for vulnerable patients,“ he predicted. He suggested that the Omicron peak rate of infections would be reached sometime this month.

UNVAXXED FACTS

Having the jab dramatically slashes the risk of COVID hospitalisation COVID-19 figures from Spain’s health ministry show unvaccinated patients are up to 24 times more likely to enter intensive care wards (UCI), according to data from this autumn.

Data showed infection rates among unvaccinated people were also twice as high as the double or triple-jabbed in Spain.

Reported

Government statistics analysing 99.8% of all reported COVID-19 cases between October 11 and December 5 showed an accumulated incidence (AI) of 310 cases per 100,000 among the unvaccinated – compared to an AI of 148 among the fully vaccinated.

Infection rates were most pronounced among 60 to 79-yearolds, with the IA shooting up to 866 cases per 100,000 among unvaccinated populations compared to an AI of 136 cases among the vaccinated.

Similar patterns were seen

among hospitalisation rates, patients in intensive care and mortality rates.

Official data showed 20.41 deaths per 100,000 population among unvaccinated over-80s and 2.04 deaths per 100,000 among fully vaccinated over-80s.

These are death rates 10 times lower.

Death rates drop to 4.71 per 100,000 among unvaccinated 60 to 79-year-olds and to 0,29 per 100,000 among the double or triple jabbed.

There were 13.86 patients per 100,000 unvaccinated population in intensive care (UCI) among 60 to 79-year-olds, compared to just 0.58 patients per 100,000 vaccinated population.

That meant intensive care rates 24 times lower among vaccinated people over the eight-week period from October to December 2021.

Hospitalisation rates among vaccinated 60 to 79-year-olds

LEADING THE WAY SPAIN’S Prime Minister released a photograph showing him receiving a booster dose of the vaccine, which everyone over 40 years old is now eligible for.

Pedro Sanchez, who turns 50 in February, was jabbed at Madrid’s Puerta de Hierro hospital, the same place where he received the first two doses of the vaccine last summer.

“This afternoon I received the third dose of #VacunaCOVID19 at the Puerta de Hierro Hospital. My thanks to all the health personnel who continue to take care of us and who make Spain a world example in vaccination,” he wrote in a tweet.

“Vaccines and prudence are the best way to fight the virus,” he said encouraging everyone in Spain who is eligible for a booster to make an appointment.

Booster

Spain’s vaccination drive has seen more than 90% of the population over the age of 12 fully vaccinated. In terms of the booster, some 88% of those over 70 have received it, along with 79% of those over 60 and 39% of those over 50.

Spain has seen infections sky rocket over the festive season to nearly 2,500 cases per 100,000 people.

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15

Get a boost

SPAIN is rolling out a nationwide strategy to give a third dose of the vaccine to the population in a bid to keep people protected as the Omicron variant spreads.

Currently, boosters are being offered to everyone over the age of 40 in Spain.

These can be requested in the same way that appointments were made for the first doses – you will have to request an appointment through a regional health service which will have a dedicated webpage offering time slots at various vaccination points in your area.

Those who were vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are eligible for a booster from six months after they received their second dose.

Those who were vaccinated with AstraZeneca or the one-dose Janssen only have to wait three months.

Spain’s Health Ministry clarified that those who have recently caught COVID should not have a booster dose until at least four weeks have passed since they tested positive regardless of whether they had symptoms or were asymptomatic.

Currently Spain has rolled out a programme to vaccinate those between the age of 5 and 11 with the Pfizer vaccine dose for children.

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Hospitalisation rates were also seven times lower among vaccinated 30 to 59-year-olds in Spain.

Apply today and join our free assessment week in Malaga on a number of dates throughout November and December 2021.

To find out more, please email spanishrecruitment@helpinghands.co.uk

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Flying high A CANADIAN tourist has been charged with illegally flying a drone over Sevilla’s Cathedral, and World Heritage site the Alcazar as well as a military airfield and the local airport.

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January 12th - January 25th 2022

The

KNOW THE LINGO Furry friends can tell the difference between languages

DOGS can tell the difference between Spanish and Hungarian.

A study by researchers from Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary has demonstrated for the first time that a non-human brain can differentiate between two languages.

First author of the study Lau-

Sell out ALL 7,000 tickets for a concert by French DJ David Guetta in Cadiz have sold in just three hours.

The world’s number one DJ, according to DJ Mag, will play in el Puerto de Santa Maria on July 24.

By Dilip Kuner

ra Cuaya was intrigued as to whether her Spanish ‘speaking’ dog would be able to tell the difference between Spanish and Hungarian when she moved to take up a job at the university from Mexico.

She explained: “Before, I had only talked to my dog Kun-kun in Spanish. So I was wondering whether Kun-kun noticed that people in Budapest spoke a different language, Hungarian.

“So we designed a brain imag-

Poached Parrot POLICE have rescued two Aratinga parrots, which were apparently about to be cooked in an Asian restaurant in the Usera district of Madrid.

The birds were seized by officers during a routine inspection.

The parakeets, native to South America, were found in the kitchen of the Chinese restaurant, crammed into a plastic container, without food or water and

next to the cooker where there were two cauldrons with boiling water and sauce. Police allege that they were going to be cooked alive.

The birds have been transferred to the Wild Animal Recovery Centre (CRAS).

3 AL S IM KER AN AC CR

FINAL WORDS

CROWDS who gathered to watch the Three Kings arrive by boat at Oropesa (Castellon) got more entertainment than they expected when a wave capsized the dinghy and deposited the soaking wet Wise Men on the beach.

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ing study to find this out.”

She added: “Kun-kun and 17 other dogs were trained to lay motionless in a brain scanner, where we played them speech excerpts of The Little Prince in Spanish and Hungarian.

All dogs had heard only one of the two languages from their owners, so this way we could compare a highly familiar language to a completely unfamiliar one.”

When comparing brain responses to Spanish and Hungarian speech, two distinct brain activity patterns could be seen, showing the animals could tell the difference.

AN exceptional treasure trove of Roman coins buried for centuries in a cave in northern Spain has been unearthed thanks to a hungry badger.

The hoard of coins dating from between the third and fifth centuries were discovered in a cave outside Grado in Asturias just feet away from a badger’s den.

Experts believe that the badger dug up the ‘largest treasure trove of Roman coins found in northern Spain’ as it foraged deeper for food.

Visigoths

The coins were made in destinations across the Roman Empire and the largest coin, weighing more than eight grams and made from 4% silver, is believed to have been cast in London.

Researchers believe the coins may have been hidden during a time of political instability when the Roman hold on Iberia was crumbling as the Visigoths gained ground.

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