The Olive Press Newspaper - issue 137 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

HAPPY EASTER INDEED, AS OLIVE PRESS FINALLY WITH REACHES ALL 50 PER CENT ADVERTISING the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012 BUMPER, BIGGEST EVER ISSUE - WITH 64 PAGES... ONLY www.theolivepress.es EIGHT ANDALUCIA PROVINCES 30,000 PAPERS PRINTED

the

The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía

olive press

FREE

Vol. 6 Issue 137

ADVERTORIAL

June 14 - 27, 2012

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

ADVERTORIAL

www.theolivepress.es

NO SEX ADS AND 50 PER CENT EDITORIAL CONTENT GUARANTEED

The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía

the

olive press

FREE

Vol. 6 Issue 137

www.theolivepress.es

June 14 - 27, 2012

Pictures: By EMILY BATTY

Tarifa mayor in huge storm after he slams foreigners and ecologists for backlash against his ‘unsustainable’ megaproject on virgin beach

Keep up the good work, dear! PRINCE Edward holds court in a fetching panama hat, as his wife the Countess of Wessex does all the ‘hard work’ greeting school children, on day two of the controversial Royal visit to Gibraltar to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. See full story on page 21

No more than a sticking plaster THE €100 billion bailout of Spain’s banking sector has been dismissed as a ‘sticking plaster’ solution to the country’s economic woes. It comes after initial market gains quickly dissipated amid fears of further financial fall out.

Dubbed ‘bailout lite’, the relaxed terms of the package have caused anger in other bailed out countries including Ireland and Greece. Both are subject to much more stringent terms. Turn to Page 49

Don’t blame the guiris! VIRGIN BEACH: Valdevaqueros and (inset) Gil

By Eloise Horsfield A HUGE row has blown up after a mayor apparently blamed foreigners and ‘ecologists’ for a backlash against a scheme to build a gigantic housing complex on a virgin beach. Tarifa’s mayor found himself in a giant storm after making the obscene remarks to a journalist. Furious that a huge petition of over 80,000 names was opposing the project, PP mayor Juan Andres Gil told Adela Gama, of El Confidencial: “What Tarifa needs

is more work and fewer guiris (foreigners).” He then added: “To hell with the ecologists.” The row came after he was publicly grilled following a 15-minute speech about why the development, near stunning Valdevaqueros Beach, was positive for the town. He insisted that the 700,000 square metre scheme to build 350 apartments and a 1,400 room hotel complex – passed by the town hall last week - would bring necessary investment and jobs to Tarifa. However, not everyone agreed with him, with lo-

cal politicians and environmentalists insisting the project was a ‘barbarity’ and ‘completely unsustainable’. So concerned are the local IU and Equo party, led by former Greenpeace boss Juan Lopez de Uralde, that in just a few weeks, the petition has grown fast and an appeal has been made to Brussels. “This has only just started,” said Lopez de Uralde. “There is still much that can be done to avoid bricking over the unspoilt Valdevaqueros beach. “The economy of speculation has led us into the

pit where we are now and these same recipes are not going to get us out of it. “These schemes merely make some people richer while ruining the landscape and heritage for everyone else.” One local British businessman, who asked not to named for fear of repercussions from the town hall, told the Olive Press: “Local people have been anti-foreigner for a while. “And on this development? Well some of us are 11completely against Turn to Page 11

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

The Olive Press - Number One for crime

Fraud school closed down By James Bryce

A BRITISH gang who ran a lucrative ‘fraud school’ for conmen has been jailed. The group, who trained wannabe fraudsters and supplied them with fake documentation, got up to six years each following a three-year investigation. They had made millions providing fake documents

and instructions on how to commit fraud to thousands of clients online. This included the creation of false bank statements, wage slips, driving licences and utility bills from their office in Alicante. They also gave advice and unofficial ‘tutorials’ to conmen based on the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca. The criminal enterprise, known as Confidential Ac-

MASTERMIND: Place made millions from Alicante

Spain-based gang sent to prison for providing fake documents and ‘tutorials’ for wannabe conmen cess (CA), even sold socalled ‘platinum’ products costing €7,000, which included detailed information about how to commit identity fraud. In total, around 11,000 people used CA’s services through online forums which used nautical terms to determine the level of trust given to each member. Some spent more than €25,000 on false docu-

Ex mayor is back in the dock A FORMER mayor is in court for the second time charged with town planning offences. Competa’s former PP leader – who spent 32 years in power – is facing two years behind bars and a 10 year ban from holding public office for granting illegal building licences on non-buildable land. Leovigildo Lopez Cerezo is already banned from public office for seven years for other planning crimes. But he has now been accused of granting permits for properties ‘knowing that they could not be approved’. He is on trial at Malaga’s provincial court alongside four other councillors, the town hall architect and secretary. The defendents are said to have used underhand methods to make it look as though they were acting in compliance

with Andalucian planning law. Cerezo served between 1991 and 2007 in Competa, having been mayor in ON TRIAL: Cerezo Canillas de Albaida for 16 years before that. In 2008 he was fined and banned from public office for seven years after being convicted of granting licences for eight properties on non-buildable land.

ments, with some going on to commit crimes worth more than €1 million. Detective Inspector Tim Dowdeswell said: “This was a sophisticated operation which has netted millions of pounds over the years. “These cyber criminals not only provided the tools to commit fraud, they instructed their clients in how to use them to make the maximum amount of money, while ruining real people’s credit histories into the bargain.” Alicante-based Jason Place (pictured), 42, from Kent, was jailed for six years, while accomplice Barry Sales was not prosecuted due to terminal illness. Mark Powell-Richards, 59, a credit broker from Kent and Allen Stringer, 57, from Leeds, were both sentenced to 225 months for conspiracy to defraud. Michael Daly, 68, and Arun Thear, 22, both received suspended sentences, while Jaipal Singh, 31, was sentenced to 18 months for conspiracy to defraud.

It’s a crime not to speak Spanish HOLIDAYMAKERS who become victims of crime may have to brush up on their pidgin Spanish this summer. It comes after the National Police slashed its translation services in Spain. In the highly controversial move, police stations around Spain have been told not to use translators during the summer tourism season. Part of an ongoing series of cost-cutting measures, foreigners reporting crimes will now need to rely on the language skills of the officer on duty. There will continue to be officers who serve as translators in investigations and in immigration units.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

NO SHOEING FOR ZARA

Call The Police! CALL The Police - Sting is heading to Marbella. The British singer is set to wow fans with renditions of his best loved hits - including Roxanne, Every Breath You Take and So Lonely - taken from a career spanning three decades. The former The Police front man is performing as part of his latest tour which will take in 60 cities around the world. Tickets for the concert, which will take place on June 30 in the Puente Romano Tennis Club, went on sale this week.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

By James Bryce

MIX-UP: Spanish chain wins legal battle over claims it copied shoe design of a rival

FASHION giant Zara has won a legal battle against a designer who claimed the Spanish shop had ripped off his shoes. Christian Louboutin sued the chain after claiming it had copied the red-sole design on his so-called ‘Yo Yo’ slingbacks. But a French court has ruled that Zara’s cut-price version, costing €49, could not be confused with the French designer’s €490 shoes, even though both versions have a peep toe with a distinctive red sole. Following Zara’s successful ap-

peal, Louboutin must pay €2,500 in compensation. It is not the first time the designer, whose shoes are often sported by Victoria Beckham (right), has been embroiled in a legal row over red-soled shoes. He is currently fighting Yves Saint Laurent over a disputed trademark, and whether he should have the sole rights to sell them. The lawsuit reads: “Mr Louboutin is the first designer to develop the idea of having red soles on women’s shoes.”

The Pirate comes unstuck yet again Matador Padilla manages to escape prison sentence, despite having punched a policeman

Picture: Courtesy of GEOFF SIMPSON AND FLY NET

BULLFIGHTER Juan Jose Padilla has had another close shave - but this time out of the ring. The matador - known as ‘The Pirate’, after losing his eye in a bullfight last year - has escaped prison for assaulting a police officer in 2010. A San Sebastian court heard how Padilla, who testified via video link from his hometown of Jerez, hit an officer who was breathalysing his friend. But as he has no previous criminal record he was given a sevenmonth suspended sentence and €400 fine. Meanwhile, in a week of highs and lows, the bullfighter also received the ‘Insignia de Oro’ from Algeciras. The bullfighter, who began his

Black is back SUPERMODEL Naomi Campbell has come under fire for wearing the same black bikini in Ibiza for a week. The British supermodel, 42, still looked stunning though as she relaxed on the beach with Russian billionaire boyfriend Vladislav Doronin. The couple, who live in Moscow, are regulars to the White Island.

BULLY: Padilla career in the Las Palomas ring in the city in 1994, received a standing ovation as he accepted the award.

ODD COUPLE: Hewitt with Goodger and friend

MARBS UNDER ATTACK YOU can be forgiven for thinking there has been an invasion of reality TV stars on the Costa del Sol over the last week. Indeed, you could hardly move in Marbella or Puerto Banus without tripping over one of the cast from hit show The Only Way is Essex, better known as TOWIE. The TV show has been filming for a one-off ‘Marbs’ special, with the cast hanging out at the beach clubs by day and the ritzy restaurants by night. In some of the more unlikely pictures to emerge, Lauren Goodger joined co-stars Cara Kilbey and Frankie Essex at the exclusive restaurant Polo House, where they were seen dining with its owner, former British Household Cavalry officer

James Hewitt. The girls washed down a sumptuous dinner of buffalo mozzarella, baby lamb cutlets and lemon torte with Veuve Clicquot champagne before hitting the dancefloor. Goodger - who is currently undertaking the Cambridge Weight Plan - showed off her slim figure as she posed for photos with the 54-yearold restaurateur. The girls were also spotted partying at La Sala restaurant in Puerto Banus alongside footballers including David Bentley, Stephen Carr and Jake Livermore. Other cast members, including Chloe Sims (right, top) and Lauren Pope (right, bottom) were also seen shopping in Puerto Banus.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

6 MORE protection is being sought for the Iberian lynx after it emerged that the endangered species is spreading around Spain. In sensational claims, it appears that the world’s rarest wildcat may now number up to 50 individuals living in Castilla y Leon and Extremadura. In an exciting new study natural history scholar Luis Garzon, bases his claims on interviews with farmers and shepherds, evidence of stools, tracks and noises heard during the breeding season between December and February. In 2006 excrement was also found in Madrid which later turned out to definitely belong to a lynx. A further number are also living in Castilla-La Mancha. When added to the 396 closely-monitored individuals living in the wild or breeding centres in Andalucia, it is excellent news for the critically endangered feline. Now the new discovery has led to calls for further control of herbicides, as well as a halt to rabbit hunting, the lynxes main prey, in various key areas. “Current wood-clearing practices will have to stop too,” says natural history expert Ramon Grande del Brio, whose research has confirmed up to five lynxes living in the Salamanca re-

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

National tour By Eloise Horsfield

New protection measures sought as evidence shows that the lynx is finally expanding beyond Andalucian borders

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Andalucianborn Fontana was spotted in Castilla-La Mancha, 15o km away from home gion. “The machines they use destroy everything.” In April this year, a female lynx was spotted in Ciudad Real, in Castilla-La Mancha.

The animal was confirmed as Fontana, a three-year-old born in Cordoba’s AndujarCardena mountain range in 2009 who had not been photographed since 2010.

It’s a dog’s life for one Granada ‘mutt’

IT was love at first sight. Queen Sofia has adopted a three-year-old ‘mutt’ from a Granada animal charity after she spotted it at a pet fair in Madrid. Paquita, a mixed breed dog, had been abandoned at the Ladridos Vagabundos Association and needed a new home. “Now our little Paquita is living in a palace,” said a spokesman for the volunteer-run association. “The Queen came over and said she reminded her of a dog she’d had that died of old age. “Then she said she wanted to adopt her. We are very happy the queen was interested in adopting a ‘mutt’.”

www.theolivepress.es EXCLUSIVE by Wendy Williams A BRITISH woman has called in police after a landscape gardener launched a vicious internet campaign against her. Emma Surgenor (pictured), 47, who runs a construction company with her husband Peter Rennie, 51, argues her business is being put in jeopardy over the ‘ridiculous’ online claims. Among the rants being made by the former expat business associate are that she is an international criminal, wanted in the UK. “It is a really horrible situation,” explains Surgenor, who lives in San Pablo de Buceite, near Sotogrande. “I tried to ignore it but it is getting out of control now

NEWS

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

Police called in over internet hate campaign which claims expat is a ‘wanted criminal’

Tackling the trolls

and it is really upsetting. I just don’t know what to do. “I need to fight back from all this as it is impacting on my business, as potential clients are being put off,” claims Surgenor, who previously ran a construction company in the UK.

NASTY: The hate campaign undertaken by internet ‘troll’ jantje waarheid

She insists locals have been gossiping about it and she has received ‘numerous calls’ – some from potential clients – asking about the claims. “The problem is I can’t prove it’s him, even though his name is mentioned in several posts. “He has done the same thing to other people, with various aliases and almost exactly the same wording, but we are all helpless. “Anyone can write anything about anyone on the internet and it seems it just stays there.” One of the blogs, posted under the alias ‘jantje waarheid’ – which means ‘Johnny the Truth’ in Dutch – actually claims her company Rose and Thistle ‘is known to be a criminal firm due to a victim trail of biblical proportions’. It continues: “Emma has

ACTION: Surgenor quite an extensive criminal record in the UK for theft, malpractices and racketeering.” It gives no further details and Surgenor strongly denies it. “I can prove that I have absolutely no criminal record either here or in the UK, nor has my husband. “It is completely defamatory, but you can’t get rid of it and now our customers are reading it. “We have been here for nine years and I have never been taken to court by a client either here or in the UK. “We are just ordinary people, passionate about what we do. I am terribly upset by it all.” When the Olive Press tried to contact the gardener – whose identity we cannot reveal for legal reasons - his number was no longer in service.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

OPINION OPINION Battle for the beaches THE fact that Tarifa’s mayor wants to build an enormous hotel complex next to unspoilt Valdevaqueros Beach is beyond worrying. Yes, the area desperately needs jobs, and yes, this development would create them (at least in the short term) – but this does not make it anywhere near right. To blight the unspoilt scenery with such an unsightly development would be to lose track of what Tarifa is all about. The good news is that it has happened before... and was fought off. For two years, former mayor Miguel Manella tried to triple the size of Tarifa’s port to create 2,000 jobs – all the time threatening the area’s fragile ecosystem. Thankfully the plan was finally rejected by the Environment Ministry, after huge local opposition. Now the same opposition must work together to do it again. Whether they are ‘guiri’ or not.

Storm in a teacup The Earl and Countess of Wessex touched down in Gibraltar on Monday to be greeted by equal amounts of fanfare and fury, depending on which side of the border you are on. But with all the controversy surrounding the visit at a political level, it is easy to overlook the reality of the situation at a human level. While politicians in both Gibraltar and Spain have engaged in self-serving acts of political point scoring - residents on both sides of the border have been busy making the most of the occasion. There are plenty of Spanish residents with businesses in Gibraltar who welcomed the Royals with open arms thanks to the extra revenue generated by the crowds of well-wishers. Meanwhile businesses in La Linea will also have benefitted to a lesser extent from the passing trade created by curious Brits from the Costa del Sol hoping for a glimpse of Royalty. The ferocity of the row over Gibraltar’s sovereignty may have intensified recently, but as can be seen from the feature (right), there is more mutual affection between Spain and Britain than perhaps first meets the eye.

Scam alert IT is sad that the world we live in, means that people who are trusting are leaving themselves open to being scammed.Once again this week’s paper has a number of stories on fraud and forgery – from mayors to car salesmen. And with the existence of an actual ‘fraud school’ dedicated to teaching people how to scam others, the odds really are against us. There is at least some good news that police are taking seriously the case of expat Rodney Quinn and the Land Rover concession that asked him to sign a blank document. It merely serves as a reminder that you must always read the small print and double check everything, before signing... in particular that there is ink on the page! And if in any doubt, get hold of a good lawyer to help you.

theEE

The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía

olive press

Telephone: 951 166 060 or 691 831 399

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in southern Spain - 152,000 copies distributed monthly (90,000 digitally) with an estimated readership, including the website, of more than 500,000 people a month. Design and page layout: Luke Stewart Media S.L - CIF: Jackie McAngus B91664029 jackie@theolivepress.es Urb Cayetano Arroyo, Buzon Admin/advertising sales: 13, Arriate 29350 Malaga Pauline Olivera Printed by Corporación de admin@theolivepress.es Medios de Andalucía S.A. Editor: Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es News Editor: Wendy Williams 689646049 wendy@theolivepress.es Reporters: James Bryce james@theolivepress.es and Eloise Horsfield eloise@theolivepress.es Distribution: 951 166 060

SALES TEAM: West Costa del Sol Jane Jewson 673958858 Axarquia Charlie Bamber 661452180 Cadiz Elizabeth Gould 620 532 672 Ronda/San Pedro/Marbella Jon Clarke 691 831 399

COMMENT

HE British love Spain. Fact. The property market may be suffering and the press may be full of stories about how we are all desperate to go home, but don’t be fooled. The truth is us Britons show no signs of falling out of love with Spain – and the claims that a third of us want to go home are, quite frankly, well wide of the mark. Spain is by far the number one choice for Brits seeking a place in the sun and even those who choose not to live here keep coming back on holiday. Well, around 12 million of us, at least, each year as it happens. Coming primarily for the beaches, we are also here for the culture, the food and wine, with cities like Sevilla, Salamanca and Madrid, brimming with British tourists. This is all, of course, well catalogued... with writers such as British author George Orwell writing in Homage to Catalonia: “I would sooner be a foreigner in Spain than in most countries. How easy it is to make friends in Spain.” What is less well known however, is that the love affair flows two ways. Despite centuries of wars and hegemony, the two nations have now forged a long-lasting bond that ties them, imperturbably, together. And furthermore, the Spanish actually have a fondness for the English that far exceeds tolerating us for spending vast sums of money in their bars. As many as 71,000 Spaniards have now officially made their home in the UK, a figure that is rising as the Spanish are forced to go searching for jobs. On top of this, at any one time there could be at least another 100,000 Spaniards living a footloose life, many in West London. While Brits in Spain are taken by sun, sea, sand and sangria, etc, the Spanish are mostly seduced by our music, football.... and the fact we actually stop at zebra crossings! On top of this, according to online forums, the Spanish like our television programmes – in particular comedy –

www.theolivepress.es

We love the Brits... they stop at zebra crossings! Going to war over Gibraltar? No chance. As the royals tour the Rock, Wendy Williams explores the intriguing special relationship between Britain and Spain and, overleaf, the ways to know you are integrating well

as well as the concept of being an English gentleman. “I love the traditions and the values in the UK,” explains Jose Ramos Paul, a winemaker from Ronda. “The British are patriotic and look out for themselves. “And I love how much they support the monarchy.” He continues: “Of course there is a history war and both of us had empires that brought us into conflict but we have supported one another when it was needed. “I have a lot of English friends and I think the relationship between Spain and England is very good now. In fact, I would argue it is the one of the countries we have the strongest relationship with. We understand one another.” Much of this can be put down to the monarchy, as it happens, with the Queen of England actually being a cousin of Queen Sofia of Spain. When speaking about the close bond between the royal families Queen Elizabeth II actually once remarked that ‘all four of us’ – referring to herself, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Spanish king and queen – ‘are the great grand-

Got a news story?

Contact our team of fully-qualified journalists, Eloise, Jon, Wendy or James on

951166060 or email newsdesk@theolivepress.es

FAN: Expat Chris Stewart and (left) Jose and Pilar Ramos Paul children of Queen Victoria’. Relations between the two families go back more than eight centuries however, even before the establishment of the current Bourbon dynasty in Spain and Hanover in Britain. The two families were related by marriage for the first time in 1170, when the daughter of Henry II (of England), Eleanor, married King Alfonso VIII of Castile.

www.theolivepress.es “There are a lot of connections between the two countries,” explains Gonzalo del Rio y Gonzalez-Gordon, from Carmona, whose family has run the famous Gonzalez Byass sherry house in Jerez for 176 years. “A lot of English people are partners with Spaniards in business and I think the two countries have a wonderful relationship from business to personal relationships. “My great granddad actually married a Scottish lady and despite the English being Saxons and the Spanish being Latin, it works well. “I like the English culture, the customs, the education, and, above all, the way you understand honour and principles. “I certainly think most Spaniards like the English and we have a good future.” British expat writer Chris

Stewart agrees. The Driving Over Lemons author, who insists he will only ever ‘leave Spain in a box’, insists: “The British and Spanish get along pretty well. “We were sworn enemies for a long while, of course, and the relationship has been up and down but I think it is in a good phase at the moment. He continues: “We have certainly had no trouble at all being accepted into the local community and it has been that way from the beginning. “I would like to think we are well thought of. I certainly think well of them,” he adds. “The cheap booze and the sunshine is a big attraction but there are also more profound things. There is a cultural connection. “Spain has always had something exotic about it. “Now everyone wears the

SECOND HOME: The Spanish celebrate their World Cup Victory in London

COMMENT

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

the Spanish now call their War of Independence. Although history, as taught in Spanish schools, minimises his contribution and those of the British soldiers that fought with him, there is no disputing that the Duke of Wellington was the driving force behind the success. Of course, this is not the only time that the British have taken up arms to defend their Spanish neighbour. At the outbreak of the SpanFAMILY TIES: Queen Elizabeth with cousin Queen Sofia ish Civil War many Britons same things but it has still re- a friendly ambush and they travelled out in great haste to tained a hint of exoticism that would pay them and it was all defend the Spanish republic. The first British volunteer to you see through things like part of the travel experience. bullfighting. There is a certain “We must also remember die was actually a female artotherness but at the same we did them a big favour in ist Felicia Browne, who was time it is not too far from Eng- getting rid of Napoleon,” he killed attempting to blow up a fascist munitions train on adds. land.” He continues: “The Victorians At the start of the Napoleonic August 28, 1936. when they visited actually Wars, and notably the Battle Many Britons served in several of the hastoften wanted to be captured of Trafalgar, ily raised militia by bandits. After all, it was Spain found units even beitself allied fore they were The Brits are with France. grouped togethBut this was lovers of good er in the Internas h o r t - l i ve d brigades. and when things, they are tional “I would like Napolean invaded Iberia always eating and to think I’d have been with to foist his brother onto drinking the best them,” continues bilingual the Spanish Stewart, who throne, the has lived on British and (most) Spanish a farm in the Alpujarras for joined forces. A united British-Spanish- more than two decades. Portuguese army, under the “It is very admirable. They command of the Duke of Wel- came to fight out of a passion lington, eventually forced the for Spain and a battle against French out of Spain, in what fascism that was lost and

20 ways to know you’ve become a local The longer Brits live in Spain the more they become accustomed to the Spanish way of life, with things that once seemed strange now completely taken for granted. The following list highlights some of the eccentricities of Spanish living that are now an everyday occurrence for expats. 1) You think adding lemonade or coke to red wine is perfectly acceptable. 2) You can’t get over how early bars and clubs shut back home. 3) You aren’t just surprised that the plumber/decorator has turned up on time; you’re surprised he turned up at all. 4) You’ve been part of a botellon. 5) Not giving every new acquaintance two kisses seems so rude. 6) On MSN you sometimes type ‘jajaja’ instead of ‘hahaha’ 7) You think aceite is a vital part of every meal. And you don’t understand how anyone could think olive oil on toast is weird. 8) A bull’s head on the wall of a bar isn’t a talking point; it’s just a part of the decor. 9) You’re amazed when TV ad breaks last less than half an hour. 10) You forget to say please when asking for things - you implied it in your tone of voice, right? 11) You don’t see sunflower seeds as a healthy snack - they’re just what all the cool kids eat. 12) Every sentence you speak contains at least one of these words: ‘bueno,’ ‘coño,’ ‘vale,’ ‘venga,’ ‘pues nada’... 13) You know what resaca means. And you had one at least once a week when you lived in Spain. 14) You eat lunch after 2pm and would never even think of having your evening meal before 9pm. 15) You know that after 2pm there’s no point in going shopping, you might as well just have a siesta until 5pm. 16) You know how to change a gas bottle or bombona. 17) On a Sunday morning, you have breakfast before going to bed, not after you get up. 18) The fact that all the male (or female) members of a family have the same first name doesn’t surprise you. 19) You know that the mullet didn’t just happen in the 80s. It is alive and well in Spain. 20) You know the difference between ‘cojones’ and ‘cajones’, ‘tener calor’ and ‘estar caliente’, ‘bacalao’ and ‘bakalao’...and maybe you learned the differences the hard way! (See Lost in Translation feature p42)

then won.” But we have not always fought for a common cause, it should be pointed out. In 1587, for example, Sir Francis Drake attacked the port of Cadiz and seized 3,000 barrels of the drink which soon became a favourite with the English Court and was even recommended by Queen Elizabeth I. Due to the ever growing popularity of sherry, many British entrepreneurs later set up their own businesses in Jerez during the 17th and 18th centuries. Names such as Gordon, Garvey, Byass and Sandeman became identified with the area. “The Brits are clearly lovers of all good things,” adds Gonzalo del Rio, who sits on the board of the huge sherry dynasty Gonzalez Byass. “They are always eating and drinking the best quality foods and wines and they always seek out the best places. “Indeed, if you look at all the good places in history the British found them.” And where, of course, have we settled the most? Well, in Spain. And having lived together, fought together, worked together, married each other, and shared our hobbies, our cultures, our music, our food and our eccentricities, is it any wonder we are good friends?

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

News IN BRIEF

A Smurf year

JUZCAR has received 130,000 visitors in the year since the village was painted blue to promote the Smurfs in 3D film.

Speeding up

Mijas mayor Angel Nozal has launched a campaign to have the speed limit on the A-7 restored to 100kph after it was reduced to 80kph last year.

Jailhouse rock

The Concerto Malaga chamber orchestra has performed a concert of classical music to inmates in Alhaurin de la Torre prison.

Rubbish fine A Mijas resident has been fined €20,000 for illegally dumping a truckload of garden waste for the second time.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Knock it down IU party hits back after local town halls insist on opening illegal Algarrobico hotel THE Algarrobico hotel is an ‘aberration’ and must be knocked down. This is the view of Spain’s IU party, after a group of Almeria town halls banded together to get the illegal hotel opened. The group of 16 town halls (15 from the PP party) insist the 411-room monstrosity

built on a beach in Cabo de Gata Natural Park would create an estimated 300 jobs. “Whether we like it or not, the hotel is pretty much finished,” said Alcontar mayor Antonio Ramon Salas. “I think the benefits of opening it would be shared across Almeria and help establish quality tourism in

Tourist sites ‘to be added to UN danger list’ THREE key tourist attractions in Andalucia are set to be placed on a UNESCO ‘danger list’ alongside a host of sites in war-torn countries, including Iraq and Kosovo. The trio in Sevilla - the Cathedral, Alcazar and Archivo de las Indias - are to be blacklisted due to the negative impact on them from a tower block currently under construction. The threat to the World Heritage Sites by the so-called Torre Pelli project will be considered at a conference to be held in Russia from June 24. The Spanish authorities have ignored repeated warnings by UNESCO to reduce the planned height of the 178-metre skyscraper to comply with their strict guidelines. The €300 million construction is set to become the new headquarters of Cajasol bank.

the region.” He also claimed that demolition would cause an even bigger environmental impact than leaving it. However, IU deputy Ascension de las Heras dismissed the claim as wrong. She said that while job creation is an ‘absolute priority’, these jobs must be ‘socially useful and secure’. “The Algarrobico is an aberration, one of the biggest on the Spanish coastline,” she said. “It must come down.” She added that the organised demolition and recuperation of the natural space it is built on ‘would bring many more jobs than continuing with this project,’. Meanwhile Junta Environment councillor Luis Planas has made his position clear. “The Junta’s position on this subject is unchanged,” he said. “From an environmental point of view it is not acceptable, and legally speaking judicial proceedings are still active.”

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Almeria still has worst black spots, while four beaches manage to clean up their act in annual coastline report

DANGER: Speculation threatens many of Cabo de Gata’s beaches

Wild West in Far East By Wendy Williams

ALMERIA has once again come under fire for being the Andalucian province with the most beaches suffering from pollution and urban sprawl. According to the latest Black Flag report by Ecologistas en Accion the province has a shocking 29 flags. The report - the antithesis of the European Blue Flag awards – highlights beaches that are deemed unclean or overbuilt to show how ‘human activities are causing deterioration or destruction’.

In particular the report highlights many beaches in Cabo de Gata Natural Park, which it says are in danger of ‘urban speculation’. In total, Andalucia has 62 black flags this year with a further 81 ‘black spots’, which indicate a lower - but still noteworthy - level of pollution. This is actually slightly lower than last year, when there were 64 black flags and 80 black spots. It comes after the beaches including Playas Cruz del Mar y Regla, in Chipiona, Playa de los Banos del Car-

men in Malaga and Punta de Banos in Estepona improved quality. Cadiz is the province with the second highest number of flags with 16, followed by Malaga with eight, Huelva with six and Granada with three. “In most cases however, they have not solved the problems that we highlighted in previous years,” said the group. It comes as the EU Blue Flag beach results for 2012 show Spain has recorded its ‘best ever’ outcome winning a total of 638 blue flags, 35 more than last year.

‘Guiris’ fight Tarifa plan

From Page 1

WORRYING: Gil’s proposals for Valdevaqueros

it and some are just concerned about its location. “Perhaps if it was in the town and not on its own in a green location it would have been OK.” Another local, estate agent Tony Cassidy, said that while he could ‘see the need for it’, he added: “There are other places it could be built in the town.” Irish expat Raphael Doyle, who lives in nearby Vejer, summed up the development well. Labelling it as ‘short-termism’, he said: “It is the human response to insecurity, greed and elections. “All we can do if we love nature is say ‘no’.

Stop, look and see what you will lose. And keep saying it.” He was also upset with the use of the word ‘guiri’ during a public speech. “The use of the word is unfortunate. We need our politicians to exercise thoughtfulness and to resist the temptation to slip into facile, populist prejudices. “The Spanish people are better and deserve better than that.” Meanwhile a spokesman for the Junta’s Environment department insisted that they were ‘monitoring the situation closely’. To sign the petition visit http://tinyurl. com/bp3pxgu and visit ‘Salvemos Valdevaqueros’ on Facebook.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

A deep discovery A MASSIVE fossilised cave has been discovered in Huercal-Overa. The Sima del Campico, found by five local potholers, is the largest cave found in the area to date. According to the group - who are remaining tight-lipped about its exact whereabouts until it has been catalogued by the authorities – the hard to reach cave is 60 metres deep and over 150 and 200 metres long. It consists mostly of limestone but there are numerous fossils and stalagmites. “It was not a complete fluke as we have been looking for something like this for a long time,” explained Juan Luis Fernandez, one of the group. “Being locals there is a lot of personal satisfaction in having found a cave like this in our own town,” he added.

VAST: The hidden cavity

DATELINE DODOS Spanish archaeologists are 200,000 years out at Atapuerca cave, claims British professor By Wendy Williams SPANISH researchers have come under fire for incorrectly dating the world’s biggest haul of human fossils by a staggering 200,000 years. Britain’s leading expert on evolution, Professor Chris Stringer, slammed the team in charge of a find at Atapuerca cave, near Burgos. He claims the site, known as La Sima de los Huesos – the ‘Pit of Bones’ – is actually filled with 400,000-yearold Neanderthal remains and not a 600,000-year-old species called Homo heidel-

NOT THAT OLD: The cave and (inset) evolution expert Chris Stringer bergensis. Writing in the journal Evolutionary Anthropology, the professor from the Natural History Museum, said: “The Atapuerca finds are hugely important. “There is no other site like it in terms of numbers of bones and skulls of our ancient predecessors and the team there has done a mag-

New AA group for Costa de la Luz ALCOHOLICS Anonymous (AA) is now running an Englishspeaking help group in Vejer. AA offers support and information for anybody who is affected by a drinking problem. “We’re always happy to give more information to anyone who’s interested, and especially to talk to anyone who feels they may need help,” said a spokesman. For more information, ring 693 474 647 or 669 843 065.

nificent job in excavating the site. “However, if we cannot correctly fix the age and identity of the remains then we are in trouble,” he added.

Distorts

“The problem is that many of the skeletons unearthed at La Sima clearly have Neanderthal features. “But all other evidence indicated Neanderthals did not appear on the scene for another 200,000 years. “Dating these bones to such an early date completely distorts our picture of our evolution.” La Sima de los Huesos was discovered by potholers exploring Atapuerca’s UNESCO-protected cavern system and excavations began in 1990.

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS

Pole position for F1 Flavio’s nightclub

West End comes south

WEST End stars Niamh Perry, Robyn North and Danielle Bowen have been wowing crowds on the Costa del Sol in a bid to raise money for Children with Cancer. The stars performed at Marbella’s stunning Villa Tiberio as part of the 24th Summer Party fundraising gala dinner in aid of the UK charity. The evening included a three-course dinner, dancing and an auction with all money going to Children with Cancer, the leading national children’s charity dedicated to the fight against childhood cancer.

Pictures: Courtesy of GEOFF SIMPSON

MILLIONAIRE businessman Flavio Briatore is set to open a ‘Billionaire Club’ on the Costa del Sol. The former Formula One mogul - who famously dated supermodel Naomi Campbell - will open the venue on Marbella’s Golden Mile next month. The venture will be the fourth Billionaire Club to be launched by the former Queens Park Rangers owner, alongside branches in Istanbul, Monaco and Sardinia. The 58-year-old Italian - married to Wonderbra model Elisabetta Gregoraci, 28 - is known to be fond of Spain with his yacht, Force Blue, regularly seen in Puerto Banus. The club will open on the site of the former La Leyenda restaurant on July 5.

News IN BRIEF

Congress calling Carlos Divar, the President of the Supreme Court, is to appear in Congress to answer questions over his weekend trips to Marbella paid for with taxpayers’ money.

Durham miners A group of miners from Durham are heading to Spain to share their expertise on the industry with striking miners in Leon.

Hola Huffington American news website, the Huffington Post has launched a Spanishlanguage version in partnership with El Pais.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

A big leap of faith IT may sound like every mother’s nightmare. But a Spanish devil has been jumping over newborn babies in a bid to cleanse them of original sin. Over 200 people took part in this year’s annual El Colacho festival, in Castrill de Murcia, near Bilbao, which symbolises the eternal fight between good and evil. As part of one of the country’s more unusual festivals a Spaniard dressed in yellow and red - representing the devil - takes a running leap over babies born during the previous year. The brave babies are placed in rows on mattresses in the street. It is believed the bizarre

RISKY: Spanish ‘devil’ leaps over newborns ritual - which dates back to 1621 - will put the infants on a path to a good life, opening

their entrance to heaven. There have never been reports of injuries to the babies.

MEET THE STARS MEET singer Rosie Jordan, 13, who will be strutting her stuff at the Search for a Star talent contest in aid of Cudeca on Saturday. Along with three other finalists, Rosie is competing for a €500 cash prize as part of the Hot Talent Show at the Teatro Ciudad, hosted by Marbella Stage School. Two singers, plus a dancer and a dance troupe from Gibraltar have managed to make it to the final out of dozens of entries. The Olive Press is pleased to have stumped up half the prize money in order to support local talent as well as the work of Benal-

madena’s cancer hospice. It’s sure to be a great occasion, with a full evening of entertainment provided by students from Marbella Stage School. Tickets (€10) are available from Marbella Stage School on 952 906 865 or from the theatre box office on Sunday.

THE COMPLETE STORAGE AND INTERNATIONAL REMOVAL SERVICE Huge selection of packing materials Self storage - Storage containers Family-owned business Established 22 years in the industry All work undertaken with care and consideration GUARANTEED SCHEDULED COLLECTION AND DELIVERY SERVICE COSTA DEL SOL SERVICE 24-HOUR SECURE PREMISES LONGEST ESTABLISHED REMOVAL FIRM ON THE COAST Please contact us for a free estimate or for one of our representatives to give you an evaluation

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

Axq IN BRIEF

Tree party

CHILDREN in Nerja dressed in 19th century costume to celebrate 125 years of the araucaria tree, which was first planted there in 1887 after being imported from Chile.

Foot in

Torrox youngster Jessica Fernandez, 19, has received a medal of honour from the town hall after joining a professional women’s football team in Italy.

Orange wars

An emergency meeting will be held in Rincon de la Victoria to address the issue of huge orange patches appearing on beaches, caused by anchovy and sardine spawn.

Gold steal

A man has been sentenced to nine years behind bars for stealing €12,000 euros worth of jewellery from a house in Torrox while it was undergoing building works.

Animal bash A FUNDRAISER is seeking sponsors for a night market in aid of cancer hospice Cudeca. The event, hosted by Londoner Sheree Lloyd (below) and opened by Comares mayor Manuel Robles Robles, will take place on July 27 during the feria at Las Cuevas de Comares. Mrs Lloyd, who helped raise almost €1,000 for Axarquia Animal Rescue at a similar event earlier this year, hopes to hit the €1,500 mark this time. “I lost my mother to cancer, as well as a close friend who was dead within a week of diagnosis,” said Lloyd, whose event will include stalls, a bar, a raffle, an auction and guest performers such as singer Katie Louise Mann, AKA ‘The English Rose’. To help, contact Sheree at slgp23@gmail.com

AXARQUIA NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

D-Day for drilling THE Spanish government has rejected a last-ditch attempt to stop prospecting for gas off the coast of Motril. In a written reply, it insists there can be ‘no technical argument’ to prevent it from

Government refuses to halt plan to prospect for oil off Axarquia coast taking place next year. Canadian multinational CNWL Oil was given the

green light in 2010 to look for hydrocarbons on the condition the company

Expat, 13, scoops Spanish writing prize A BRITISH expat teenager has been praised for her imaginative storytelling in Spanish. Chloe Madison Grubb (right), from Salobrena, won first prize in eastern Andalucia in the Coca Cola short story contest. The story – about an evil painter and a magnifying glass – saw her chosen to enter the final, alongside six finalists, out of 1500 entries. The bilingual 13-year-old has now won a trip to Amsterdam, a tablet computer, plus a Sony laptop for her school,

IES Nazari. “I was really shocked,” said Chloe, who only had a few words of Spanish when she moved here from Buckinghamshire six years ago with mum Dawn, dad Graham and sister Erin. Chloe will now take part in a creative writing course in Madrid where the finalists will learn to improve their entries for a chance to be placed in the top three.

meets all the environmental requirements. A spokesman for Malaga’s Izquierda Plural political party sent a written question to the government in the hope the project to drill off the Costa Tropical would be abandoned. But a government spokesman said: “There is not sufficient technical argument to justify a blanket prohibition to search for gas.” “The current legislation provides measures and adequate safeguards for the proper conduct of the investigation to ensure the marine environment is protected.” It said CNWL Oil still has to carry out an environmental impact study to ‘identify and quantify all the potential impacts that the operations they intend to perform could cause’. Drilling is unlikely to start before next year.

A true ‘hive’ of activity Sally Harrison on the sweet village of Colmenar

lthough populated since the Neolithic period, Colmenar is one of the younger pueblos as it wasn’t established until after the Christian Kings’ conquest – and it didn’t become an independent township until 1777. The name comes from colmena (Spanish for beehive) after a local honey-producing estate of the same name, and fittingly the town’s coat of arms features a haycock surrounded by seven bees. Today you can still buy local honey, particularly at the local honey museum, which is

COLMENAR: One of the ‘younger’ Axarquia pueblos well worth a visit. At the top of the village on a hill is a magnificent 17th century hermitage, La Santisima Virgen de la Candelaria, which was consecrated to the local patron saint and be-

came a historical local monument in 1982. According to legend, it was erected by a group of sailors from the Canary Islands who wanted to show their gratitude after surviving a storm.

Lower down is the 16th century parish church of Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion with its Moorish-style architecture. The town’s festive calendar starts on February 2 with a celebration of the town’s patron saint, the Virgen de la Candaleria. One of the most popular festivals is the Dia de la Pipa on May 3 when all the townsfolk head to the countryside to eat bread rolls filled with hard boiled eggs, and of course to drink and be merry! The most attractive route to get here is via the Montes de Malaga on the Carretera de Colmenar, through the pine forests with the road winding high over itself via two tunnels. Visit: www.axarquiaproperties.com

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

www.theolivepress.es

AXARQUIA NEWS

DANGER: Torrox’s Plaza de la Constitucion and (inset) Les Jones who witnessed both attacks

Back to square one? After two accidents in Torrox’s main square mayor reconsiders €144,000 traffic plan By Eloise Horsfield TORROX is taking emergency road safety measures after a car drove into diners in its main square for the second time in just four months. The town hall has confirmed it is drawing up an action plan after two Spanish pensioners, aged 67 and

72, were injured in the latest incident. The pair had been dining at the Plaza Bar in Plaza de la Constitucion, when the Fiat Panda crashed into their table. In February, the Olive Press told how six expats were injured – and a pet dog killed – when a 4x4 lost control in the same square. Eyewitness to both inci-

Settling up scores

AXARQUIA Town Halls have finally settled €68.8 million in outstanding debts to suppliers thanks to a fund from central government. Thousands of businesses have benefitted from a Decree issued in February, giving town halls the chance to sign up for government support to pay bills. Velez Malaga has since settled 8,000 bills to 850 suppliers, totalling €27.7, while Rincon de la Victoria has transferred €23.4 million, Nerja €4.8 million and Benamocarra €2 million. “This plan has enabled us to pay large amounts of money to suppliers, who are the true generators of employment in our country,” said PP senator Patricia Navarro.

dents Les Jones, 55, revealed: “It is incredible that this has happened again. “From what I understand a tin of paint rolled under the driver’s feet, causing her to lose control of the car.” “She was covered with white paint.” He added: “Something definitely has to be done.” Mayor Francisco Munoz has vowed to install bollards and fencing and improve signalling to prevent it happening again. Ironically the town hall still owes a construction company €144,000 for road works undertaken in the square earlier this year. To the bemusement of many residents this included the removal of kerbs, which might have prevented both accidents. “It is clear there are not the sufficient measures to protect pedestrians, despite the high cost of the recent road works,” admitted Munoz.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

The Olive Press NOW has 31,000 papers delivered across EIGHT provinces of Andalucia www.theolivepress.es and Gibraltar every fortnight by our hard-working team of distributors

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

ALAMEDA Mobile Home Park • Posada Tempranillo • Petrol Station • Casa Benito ALCALA Conexions • Hotel Torrepalma • Library • Tourist Office • Optico Real • Hotel Zacatin • Estate Agent Andaluz • BP ALGATOCIN BP Service Station ALHAURIN el Grande Alhaurin Golf • La Boma Rest. • 1st and 2nd Tabacconist • Annas Butchers • Christinas Paper Shop • Arte Hair • Martins Paper Shop • British Supermarket • Posh Pets • Cudeca • ALHAURIN de la Torre BP • Las Brisas Restaurante • Montemar Restaurante • Lauro Golf ALMUNECAR Spar Supermercado • Tourist Office • El Faro Bar • Olivares Shop • Danny s Bar ALORA Harveys • Tropicana • Repsol Petrol Cudeca • Zalea Bar ALOZAINA Petrol Station ANTAS Frandi • The Full Swing • El Poligono • Costa Cars ANTEQUERA Lidl • La Veronica • Antequera Golf • Tourist Office • Hotel Plaza San Sebastian • BP • Hotel Las Villas de Antikaria ARCHIDONA Cepsa Garage • 3R Café /Bar • Mercadona Garage • Sunset Estates ARDALES Paco’s Bar ARRIATE Petrol Station ATAJATE Andalazar BEDAR Town Hall • Empalme • Cajamar Olive BENADALID Los Labros BENAHAVIS Canela Cafe /Bar • Amanhavis BENALAURIA La Molienda BENALMADENA COSTA Super Save • Hapenny Bridge Pub • Kiosko Puerto (Marina) • Tourist Office • Paloma Library • Irish Time Bar • Xanit Hospital • UK Foods BENAMARGOSA La Vaqueria BENAOJAN Meroil • Papeleria Ruiz • Hotel Molino del Santo• Cuatro Paradas BENAVISTA Bowls Club • Card Shop • Ibex Insurance • Grumbles • English Butcher • Costa Less Supermarket • Plaza Hotel • Dog House • Brubecks • El Paraiso Golf •Petrol Station • Kids Kingdom • Agro Jardin • Calpe School • Pegotty’s Fish & Chips • Experience Group BENAMACARRA Hotel Cortijo Bravo BUBION Supermercado Coviran CABOPINO Pina Pinaka • Cabo Pizza • Sportsmans Bar • Cabopino Camping • Garage • Shebeens Pub • Paper ShopSupermarket • Plaza Bar • Alberts Restaurant CABRA Tourist Office CADIAR Pagamenos CALAHONDA Age Care • Party Party • The Pit Shop • Sol Finders • GT Mc Kenna Butchers • Internet Café • Mercadona • Spikes Hairdressers • RBL • Club Naranja • Plaza next to Paper Shop CALYPSO MPA Estates (Bryce) • Inspirations Haidressers CAMPILLOS Kiosk • BP Petrol Station CAPILEIRE Supermercado Coviran • Bar CARTAMA ESTACION Aguamania • Topres CASABERMEJA Petrol Station CASARES Arroyo Honda • Venta Victoria • Venta Garcia • Villas and Fincas • La Tienda •Mi Cortijo • Muebles Gavira CHICLANA LHD • Monopoly • Oasis Bar • Tourist Office • Posthouse COIN Tourist Office • Cudeca • Guerreros • Insurance Office • Bohem Rest. • Internacional • La Trocha • Chain • Leslies • BP • Buyrite • Robertos COLMENAR CO2 • Bar Campesino COMPETA Todo Papel • Pavo Real and Restaurant • Sugar and spice • Alicats CORTES Camping el Salitre • El Gecko • Mary Becker • La Fuente CORTIJO CABRERA Restaurant

A WIDER REACH

Covering the costas and inland to eight provinces And here’s how our rivals fare:

CORDOBA Bodegas Campos • Hotel Casas de la Juderia • La Fragua CUEVAS DEL BECERRO Petrol Station DIANA Royal Nordic Club • Man Friday Supermarket • Super Market • Aud Dublin • Big BlueBox DUQUESA PORT Paparazzi Neswagents • Supermarket • Las Gallerias • English Butcher • Duquesa Golf Club • Marlows Restaurant • Souvenir Shop • Gaston Golf • Manilva Properties • Monte Duquesa Sq • La Bella Vista Camping • Clubhouse Bar • Duquesa Estates • Castillo Foreign Resident Centre • Macues Restaurant • Penguin Bar El CHORRO Olive Branch BB • El Kiosko • Hotel Posada el Conde • Rest. Boca Bella EL FARO El Faro Supermarket • Carlton Bar EL ROSARIO Bar • Bar • Town Hall ELVIRIA Martys Hairdressers • Bio Nature Shop • Town Hall • EIC School •Beach House Restaurant •Aventura Amazonia •El Lago Restaurant ESTEPA BP Garage ESTEPONA Hospiten • Best Coches • Arte Escuela Ecuestre Restaurant • Pointer Vets • Eden Bar • Laguna Village Entrance • Terra Sana Digi Print • Optica Machin • Carrefour • Longmans Bookshop • Fergussons Bar • Cudeca Bar • Dune Bar • Furniture World • Padel and Sports • Techo Aluminio • Lidls • Amapola • Tourist Centre • Estepona Golf • International Club of Estepona • Costa Nature • Albayat Resort • Muebles Gavira ESTEPONA MARINA Sailors Cafe • Business Centre EportBic Universal Estate Agents • The Irish Fiddler Marlow Chip Chop FRIGILIANA Hotel Almazara FUENGIROLA Iceland • Camping Fuengirola • Scotties

Butchers • Salon Varieties • BP • Specsavers • Cudeca • Dunnes Stores • Yorkshire Linen • Speedy s Garage • RMDC Glass • Euro Market • St. Anthony s College • Tamisa Golf Hotel FUENTE DE PIEDRA Bar Rebujito • Corner Bar • Diane’s • Donkey Sanctuary GARRUCHA Clinica Veterinaria GAUCIN Repsol Petrol Station • Hotel Caballo Andaluz • Pura Vida Health Shop • Benassim Deli • Fructosa • El Convento • Casa Antonia • La Fuente • El Puente GIBRALTAR Bray Properties • Café Fresco • Kristina Szekely • Laziz Rest. • Ipanema Rest. • O’Reileys • Ocean Village Express • Ibex Insurance • Morrisons • Savills • Rock Hotel • Elliot Hotel • Sacarellos • Icc Shoping Centre • Chamber of Commerce • Cafe Solo • Copywrite • Café Rojo • Colourworks • MH Bland • Sovereign • Rolex • Caleta Hotel • Ibex Insurance GRANADA Airport • Hotel Macia Plaza • La Romanilla • Hotel Fontecruz Granada • Metro Bookshop • Hannigans 1 • Hannigans 2 • Tourist Office • El Catrachod • Jardines de Zoraya • La Alacena de Andalucia • Hotel Palacio de Santa GUADALMINA Tricky Rickys • Bookworld GUARO Petrol Station IZNAJAR BP • The Yoga School • Sueños • Los Cuatro Vientos Bar JEREZ Los Jandalos • Tourist Office JIMENA DE LA FRONTERA Cepsa• Papeleria Los Garabatos • Bar Cuenca • La Tasca • Hostal Anon • Bar Oba • Estate Agents • Casa Henrietta JIMERA DE LIBAR ESTACION Bar Allioli LA CALA DE MIJAS Corner Café • Lions Charity Shop • Pensioners Bar • Internet Café • Papeleria

Quetzal • Captains Bar • Zurich Office • BP Garage LA CALETA Papeleria las Colonias LA HERRADURA The Hideaway Bar • Libreria Coral • La Tartana Hotel LA VINUELA Hotel Vinuela LANJARON Ambienza • Cafe Bar Health • Tourist Information • Los Llanos LAS BUGANVILLAS Victor’s • Cactus LECRIN VALLEY E.S Leman Gasolina LOJA Cafe Continental • Repsol garage LOS GALLARDOS Unicaja • Subministros Ridao • Gas station • Camping los Gallardos LOS ROMANES Camping Bar LUCENA Carrefour Pet Shop • Hotel Bronces • B.P near the fire stn. MALAGA CITY British Consulate • Café Andino • Dunkin Coffee • Hotel Tribuna • Pizzeria el Laboratorio • Restaurante Vino Mio • Hotel EL Pintor • Calle Brusseles • Celtic Irish Bar • Café con Libro • Picasso • Robert Boyd • Hotel Don Curro • Hotel Molino Larios • Tourist Office • Hotel Vinci MALAGA AIRPORT Helle Hollis • Car Parking Malaga • Easy Park • Aena Information Desk • Monarch MANILVA Kwasi Cafe • Curtain & Bedding • English bookshop.Manilva Solicitors • Dr Santos Centro de Balud • Fathom’s Bar • Natura Garden Centre • Vets • Eden Gift Shop • Visage Hair Salon • Coast to Coast Properties. MARBELLA La Cuisine • Casa del Te • Hotel Fuerte • Hotel Morada la Hermosa • Town House Hotel• Villa Marbella Hotel • Swans International School • Vergola • Puente Romano Hotel• Polo House • Absolute Café

• Deli next Door • Casa Mono • Casanis• Lawbird MIJAS PUEBLO Tourist Office • Town Hall • BP Garage MIJAS ROAD World of Furniture • Centro Idea Danish Centre MOJACAR Gas station • Masko • Habana Koi • Marina de la Torre Club • Costa Coches • Kasbah Romantic • Sal’s Diego Ortega • Pippas • La Collera Paco • El Olivo • Comptoir de la Crepe • Jolly Lemon • Total entertainment • Tomas • Mojacar Estates • Beachcomber • H Puntazo • Trufibar • Clinica Dental (Parque comercial) • Kimrick • Parador MOJACAR PUEBLO Centro de Arte Municipal • Thao • English Library • Bar Pavana MOLLINA Bar Margarita • And Estates • Brit Shop • Lazy Days Mobile Home Park •Saydo park MONDA Paper Shop • Petrol St. MONTEFRIO Alan Russell MONTE HALCONES One stop café (Ronda road) • Irish café MONTEJAQUE Hotel Montejaque • Las Casitas MOTRIL Aki • Café AL Campo • Tourist Office Los Moriscos Golf • Bar/ Rest Moriscos • Ideal Papeleria • Gran Elba Hotel NERJA Hotel Carabeo • English Book Shop • Supermercado Iranzo • Dancers Bar • Smiths Bookshop • Tourist Office • John the Barber • H2O Bar • Keyhomes Estates Agents • Team Estate Agents Mojito Bar NUEVA ANDALUCIA Aloha News • Garden Bar • Yanks • Wilsons • Alberts • La Sala restaurant • Mad Hatters • Terra Sana • N10 Hotel • RWK furniture OLVERA Petrol Station • Dynos • Olvera Properties • Via Verde • Rest. El Puerto

NEW DISTRIBUTION SPOTS ADDED EVERY ISSUE - LATEST INCLUDE SUPERSAVE IN BENALMADENA, ICELAND IN VERA, ANN’S BOOKSHOP, IN ARROYO, HOTEL FUERTE IN MARBELLA AND EIC SCHOOL IN ELVIRIA

ORGIVA Indoor Market • Camac • Internet Café • Alpujarra Supermercado • Baraka PAMPANEIRA Hotel • Gasolinera PERIANA Cantueso PITRES Camping • Bar • Bar PIZARRA Kiwi • Aliprox PRIEGO DE CORDOBA Tourist office • Kiosko maribel Cepsa garage x2 PUENTE DON MANUEL Petrol Station • Moreno’s • Petts Dentist • English Shop • Arkwrights • Bar Atilla PUERTO BANUS VIPS • Gift Shop (Port) • Moneycorp • Mumtaz • Jacks • Bookworld • Iceland • Cravings • Kristina Zekely • La Sala • Starz Cafe PUERTO REY (VERA) Club Deportivo • La Esquina RINCON DE LA VICTORIA Tourist Office • Hotel Rincon Sol Anoreta Golf RIO FRIO Hotel Almazara RIOGORDO Coviran RIVIERA DEL SOL Miraflores Bowls Club • La Terraza Supermarket • La Terraza Paper Shop RONDA Molino del Puente • BP • Almocabar • Bar San Francisco • Tourist Office • Siete de Copas • Atrium • Chocolate • Casa Ortega • Osaka • TragaTapas • Hotel Maestranza • Hotel Colon Hotel Polo • Hotel Don Miguel • Locutorio • Serrania Services • Libreria Dumas • Huskies RUTE Estanco SABINILLAS English Bookshop • Eden • Hairdresser • Coast to Coast • Bar • Lidls SALINAS Casa Monolo • Meson Estacion SALOBRENA Hotel Salobrena • Correos • Tourist Office • Café Goya • 1616 Books • Abyla Papeleria • Restaurante Flores • Café Emilio SAN PEDRO Tourist Office • Passion Café • TRE Radio Station • Staysure • Book Shop by N10 SAN ROQUE San Roque Golf Suites Reception area and golf clubhouse • Okay cafe • Supermarket SIERRA DE YEGUAS Kiosko SOTOGRANDE GUADIARO Newsagent • Corner Café • Lemon Tree Café • Estate Agent • English Butcher Shop • Sotofiesta • Terra Sana Business Centre NH Hotel • Abbeygate Insurance • Mara Rest. • Anglo Wines • Lidls • Videola • Irish Pub • Hairy Lemon •La Terrace •Cafe Ke TARIFA Tourist Office • lidl • cafe central • hurricane hotel •hotels in centre TEBA Meson de Diego TOLOX Cross Road Bar TORRE DEL MAR Papeleria el Faro • English Bookshop Pasatiempo • Expatriate Help Centre • Lukuma • Baviera Golf • Las Yucas • Cudeca TORREMOLINOS Tourist Offices x 3 • Cudeca Town Centre Baileys Pub • BP Garage (Towards Benalmadena) •others TORROX Russels English Shop • Sol y Sombra • Light of India • El Pino English Shop • Tourist Office TRIANA Bar Triana TURRE Fundraiser • Chili • Zambra • Super Turre • Casa Diego • Total entertainment • Tio Tomas UBEDA Golden Poppy English Center UGIJAR Juan’s Bar and Bookshop VEJER Bookend VELEZ MALAGA Garden Centre La Palma • Eroski Centre • Bar Jamaica • Dunnes VERA Iceland (Suzzanne) • Galasa • Terraza Carmona VILLANUEVA DE ALGAIDAS La Bodeguita VILLANUEVA DE ROSARIO Bar • Bar • Town hall VILLANUEVA DE TAPIA La Paloma Rest. VILLANUEVA DE TRABUCO Ronnies • La Plaza • La Rubia • El Rincon de Teresa • Trabuco Books YUNQUERA Petrol St. ZAHARA DE LA SIERRA Al Lago

IF YOUR NORMAL DISTRIBUTION SPOT HAS CLOSED OR DOES NOT HAVE PAPERS THIS WEEK PLS EMAIL ADMIN@THEOLIVEPRESS.ES

GIBRALTAR NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Diamond Jubilee insult

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

UP WITH THE ELITE

Olive Press enters top 100,000 global websites IT has taken less than five years... but now the Olive Press website is firmly installed in the world’s Top 100,000 websites. Standing proudly at 99,492, www.theolivepress.es is miles above its main competitors Sur in English (283,062) and Euro Weekly News (179,223). The ranking is made by Alexa.com, which compares 30 million sites globally. Only two English websites come above us in Spain, Typically Spanish at 73,038 and Andalucia.com at 37,483. Andalucia.com, started up by Estepona-based expat Chris Chaplow in 1996, is impressively the 8th most visited geographical domain in the world. Meanwhile, our website is getting around 100,000 ‘unique’ visitors a month and an incredible 60,000 people are now reading our paper online each issue That’s over seven times more than in August, just six months ago.

Spanish group – who behaved ‘like Hitler being celebrated in Tel Aviv’ – are escorted from Gibraltar ‘for their own safety’ Picture: Courtesy of EL MUNDO

By James Bryce A GROUP of Spaniards have been kicked out of Gibraltar ‘for their own safety’ after angering patriotic locals during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Police escorted the tourists to the border after a 50-strong mob surrounded them. They claimed the Spaniards had provoked them after one of them kissed the badge on his Spain football shirt. A Gibraltar police spokesman compared the provocation to ESCORT: Group were ushered out of Gibraltar ‘going round Tel Aviv celebrating after taking photos with ‘birdman’ (top) Hitler’, despite the group, from Sevilla, claiming not to have been aware of told them the best thing to do in the cirpolitical tensions between Spain and the cumstances is go back to Spain. Rock. “It would not have been a good idea to stay “You have to understand the climate bein Gibraltar. We moved them for their own tween Gibraltar and Spain at the moment, safety,” he added. it is not the best, particularly with the fishInmaculada Rueda, her boyfriend Jaime ing dispute,” he told the Olive Press. Berjarano and three friends had been kill“People are hyper-sensitive at the moment ing time in Gibraltar ahead of an evening and you can compare it (kissing the badge) football match in the nearby Spanish borto going round Tel Aviv celebrating Hitler.” der town of La Linea. The spokesman confirmed that two mem“We were walking down Main Street and bers of the Spanish group were taken to a we saw a man with two parrots, one on each police station but no arrests were made. shoulder. Jaime placed himself to have his “It was the Jubilee weekend with Union photo taken, and it was then he kissed the flags everywhere and everyone was in high shirt,” Rueda said. spirits, but the incident created a tense at“People were shouting ‘go back to your own mosphere, some people took offence and country’ and we felt physically threatened, temper’s flared. it was shameful. “We explained the situation to them and “I’ll never go back to Gibraltar.”

And, here is what a few other advertisers think:

‘A Full House thanks to the OP!’ “

I would like to thank you for promoting our talk about tax issues held in April. We had a full house and it was a great success which was, in part, due to our adverts in The Olive Press. I would also like to thank your readers who attended and let them know that we will be organising a further talk in the autumn, obviously publishing the details in The Olive Press well beforehand.

”

Kind regards, Jose M Lopez Avalos, Senior Partner, Marbella Solicitors Group

An intelligent, thoughtful lot

“

I have been working with the Olive Press and its sister magazine The Green Guide for nearly three years and been absolutely staggered at the sort of decent, upmarket clients that have come my way. Your readers are clearly a thoughtful, intelligent – and above all – a green and sustainably-minded lot. When I recently had a couple of adverts in one of your downmarket rivals I got not one call, despite claims that it was the biggest paper in southern Spain. Keep up the good work.

”

Chris Bourne, Forestry Trading, Gibraltar

or dium f ses e m l a s Ide busine ress and quality e Olive P

th g Secrets ing with Advertis d website Dinin dium for e te m ia l c a o its ass lucia is the ide hotel. We are of Anda restaurant and sponse we get a quality ased with the re really pleth media. l, nto Hote from bo o del Sa n li o M , apell Andy Ch Ronda

“

”

Clients Zagale from La ta!

“

Sinc with the e we started ad noticed Olive Press I ha vertising callers wthe dif ference inve really While ad ho have been ri the kind of sent me vertisements in nging up. Benalmato meet Ben in rival papers me pote dena, the Olivea pub from places li ntial clients fromPress offered ke La Za galeta. exclusive Nigel Go ld Stamps, man, Petersh am Coin Marbella s and

”

At least two house sales!

“

We have had probably a dozen enquiries for homes – and at least two sales – since we started advertising in both the Olive Press and its sister website All About Andalucia Property. Thanks a lot guys.

”

Adam Neale, Terra Meridiana Estate Agents, Estepona

GIBRALTAR NEWS

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

Gib IN BRIEF Oil spill A CLEAN up is underway following a minor oil spill caused by bunkering activities in the Port.

Taxing task The government is chasing £36 million in unpaid tax owed up to the end of March, according to data from the Income Tax Office.

Net benefit Representatives of Gibraltar’s fishing commission and Spanish fishermen have held the first meeting of the joint technical working group set up to resolve the fishing dispute.

Solar flight A solar-powered plane has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar as part of the world’s first transcontinental flight by a zero fuel aircraft, between Madrid and Rabat in Morocco.

www.theolivepress.es

Joker like his dad Controversial royal visit gets off to a flying start – despite wheelchair gag PRINCE Edward showed he had his father’s risque sense of humour during a controversial walkabout in Gibraltar this week. On a short stroll up Main Street alongside his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, he could not resist cracking a joke to a wheelchair user who had been patiently waiting to see them. On seeing the woman, he sidled over and joked she was ‘lucky’ she had brought her chair. In shades remarkably similar to the sort of controversial jokes his father Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh is famous for, the woman laughed it off. In total, the Royals spent over an hour chatting to shop owners and buntingwaving children, amid a sea

of union flags. They made a particular effort to chat to 91-year-old Gibraltarian Aurelio Montegriffo, who dined with the Queen when she visited the Rock in 1954. During the first day of a Rock tour to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the prince later told an Olive Press reporter that ‘it was lovely to be in Gibraltar’. Wherever they went they received an enthusiastic welcome from well-wishers. The crowds enthusiastically

WALKABOUT: Prince Edward and wife Sophie joke with wheelchair user while (left) Prince with Minister Picardo

waved their flags of red, blue and white and broke into the Gibraltar and British anthems as the royals arrived at the Convent to meet First Minister Fabian Picardo at 2pm. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, said: “The people of Gibraltar have done themselves proud. “We wanted to show Her Majesty our respect, affection and loyalty in her Diamond Jubilee year and the people of Gibraltar have come out in droves to welcome our Royal visitors.” During the three-day visit they are set to take in a wide variety of sites. On arrival on Monday they inspected a Tri-Service Guard of Honour at RAF Gibraltar before laying the

Emily Batty and James Bryce in Gibraltar foundation stone for the Diamond Jubilee Monument. On Tuesday they visited the British Forces HQ, the Upper Rock and attended the Queen’s Birthday Parade, before finishing with a tour of the new airport terminal on Wednesday morning. The visit has caused tension between Britain and Spain, with the current fishing dispute showing no signs of being resolved. “I said from the outset that this visit was deeply unfortunate,” reiterated Spain’s foreign minister Jose Manuel GarciaMargallo. Algeciras mayor Jose Ignacio Landaluce, added: “This land is ours and it’s a tense situation. It is a most inopportune moment for them to come.”

Spain reclaims lost treasure DISPUTED treasure from the Odyssey case has been returned to Spain from Gibraltar. The 59 items of archaeological significance had been held on the Rock throughout a bitter five-year legal dispute over ownership of the haul. The items have now returned to Spain after the US Supreme Court dismissed a claim by the US salvage company, Odyssey Marine Exploration. However, some coins have remained on the Rock and will not be returned after judges in the US and Gibraltar rejected ownership claims made by Spain. The items are part of a €375 million haul recovered from the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, which was sunk in the Straits by a British warship in 1804.

Arty winners THE winners have been announced in the Art category for the Newton Creative Awards 2012, in Gibraltar. Tyron Oton claimed the top prize in the 12 and under category, while Anne-Marie Valverde was successful in the 17 and over group. The deadline for submissions in the Music category is October 31 2012. Visit: www.newton.gi for details.

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

LETTERS

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

POTTED POINTERS ANDALUCIA RESERVOIR LEVELS This week: 71.77 per cent full - Same week last year: 89.55 per cent - Same week in 2002: 61.28 per cent AIRPORTS Gibraltar 00350 22073026 Granada-Jaen 958 245 200 Jerez - 956 150 000 Malaga - 952 048 844* *For English press 9 Sevilla - 954 449 000 EMERGENCIES Police 091 Guardia Civil 062 Medical service 061 Fire 080 EURO EXCHANGE RATES 1 euro is worth 1.2468 American Dollars 0.8079 British Pounds 1.2894 Canadian Dollars 7.4319 Danish Kroner 9.6723 H Kong Dollars 7.5995 Norwegian Kroner 1.6043 Singapore Dollars

www.theolivepress.es

Why leave? Dear Olive Press

Regarding the article ‘I’d rather sleep on the beach than go back to the UK’ (issue 136). As a pensioner why would I want to leave Spain? The cost of living is much cheaper and my pension has increased by 20 per cent in the last few months. There is very little crime here, people are SO friendly and drinks are cheap! Lojaman, via the Olive Press website

Keeping up appearances Regarding the article ‘I’d rather sleep on the beach than go back to the UK’ (issue 136). As with the majority of expats in Spain; no-one would say to their neighbours or even friends they are thinking of leaving. There is a massive falseness on the Costa del Sol. But I suspect that the figure of 30 per cent is true and that people just want

to keep up appearances and don’t want to admit they want to leave. Gareth, via the Olive Press website

Miscarriage of justice

I refer to the article ‘Pensioner faces prison over blaze’ (issue 136). My partner and I read it with dismay but, sadly, we were not surprised to hear about yet another miscarriage of justice in Spain. This breaches just about every European directive on human rights. It looks as though she was forced to sign some sort of statement without proper representation. It cannot be right that her fine was not means tested and that she was forced to pay €220 per month on an income of €350. There could also be a legal question with regard to sending a woman of that age to prison for that type of crime - usually it has to be something much more serious to justify such a severe punishment. The article closes with ‘guilty until proven inno-

cent’ but this woman didn’t even get the chance to try and prove herself innocent despite the eyewitness accounts and the testimony from Endesa which was conveniently found to be ‘inadmissible’. SOHA are already planning to take Spain to the European Court of Human Rights let’s hope this poor woman does as well. Jane Garrett and Robert Chilton, Axarquia

A big thanks My wife and I would like to thank all those who attended and helped make the inauguration party of the Instituto Andaluz de Reiki in Estepona a great success. A special thanks to the Olive Press team, whose continued support has helped turn my wife’s dream of having a Reiki treatment centre where she can treat both animals and people under one roof - into a reality. Eddie Taylor, Instituto Andaluz de Reiki

Success The newspaper has been a success! People here love it! Thanks so much! Golden Poppy English Centre, Jaen

Renewed vows I write regarding the article ‘Wedding out the Rogues’. This originates from a disgruntled client of mine who is looking to damage my reputation.

Olive Press is a hit with ‘Google’ This doggie is called Google. He is a fan of the Olive Press and never fails to bring it home. I’m French but I love reading it! Liliane, Tarifa A solution has been reached on the matter which has been approved by my lawyer and as far as I am concerned the matter is fully settled and closed. Many thanks for your help and co-operation in this matter. Alan Malcolm McLean

No health problems To clear things up on healthcare, I have been under the Spanish health care system since turning 60 and my husband on turning 65 also joined the Spanish system. For both of us it was straightforward. We received our E121 (in my case) and S1 (in my husband’s case), took them to our local social security office with our

residencia and were given a number which enabled us to sign on with the local doctor straight away. Our social security cards were later received through the post and I do not remember this taking very long. There is no reason for any expat who is residencia and receives state pension not to enter the Spanish health care system. Many expats do not take up residencia fearing that they will pay more in tax. This is not the case as the agreement between our two countries is that double taxation is avoided. As an ex civil servant I had no option but to pay tax at source in the UK. My husband was able to choose and chose to stay with the Inland Revenue, now HMCE. Joan Josey, Chiclana De La Frontera

Letters should be posted to Urb. Cayetano Arroyo, Buzon 13, Arriate 29350, Malaga or emailed to letters@ theolivepress.es The writer’s name and address should be provided. Published opinions are not necessarily those of the Editor.

PLE WR ASE ITE

Heavy Equipment Electrical Maintenance Technician www.elgastor.co.uk PT AsiaRep is South East Asia’s Largest Heavy Equipment Electrical Preventative Maintenance Systems Manufacturer and Service Provider. We are searching for Certified Automotive Electricians to join our team. Your role will be specific to Heavy Equipment Air Conditioning and Electrical Preventative Maintenance focusing on: • Auditing our Client’s Maintenance Operations • Assessing our Client’s Maintenance Technicians • Training our Client’s Maintenance Technicians • Estimating our Clients Fleet Modification Projects • Installation and Commissioning our Client’s Fleet Modifications • Developing and Maintaining good company to client relationships • Assessing our Heavy Equipment A/C and Electrical Preventative Maintenance Technicians • Training our Equipment A/C and Electrical Preventative Maintenance Technicians The successful applicants will be based in Indonesia. The position will suit single, career orientated Automotive Electricians who enjoy travel and engaging with diverse cultures.

Please email your application and CV to careers@asiarepmining.com

www.theolivepress.es

ll about

June 14, 2012

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

ojacar

25 25

A 16-page Olive Press special supplement

The Corner of Enchantment Long-time resident Lenox Napier (left) recalls the good old days of Mojacar when his dad played checkers with Orson Welles and kicked a young Dennis Hopper up the backside

FAMOUS FACES: Robert Shaw, Anita Ekburg and Dennis Hopper have hung out in Mojacar, while filming movies

N the early 1960s, a local politician hit on the idea of attracting new residents – wealthy ones would be nice – to boost the economy of the then dirt poor village of Mojacar. No doubt spurred on by events to the west in Torremolinos and Marbella, the offer was simple enough: we’ll give you a ruined house or a chunk of land if you are prepared to invest locally. Several people took the bait and the sleepy spot found itself with some new, and much needed, blood. The first arrivals were mostly artists, who founded an art movement named after the local totem the Indalo, calling themselves the ‘Indalianos’. But by the end of this project, around 1965, many well known characters had joined the fray; including famous bullfighter Antonio Bienvenida, diplomat Sir Michael Adeane, actor Charles Baxter and concert pianist Enrique Arias. It was into this exciting mix that my parents arrived in the town in 1966, when they bought themselves a two-storey house for the equivalent of just €540. Then, a callow 13-year-old, bobbing backwards and forwards from my boarding school in the UK, I soon began to realise where my future lay. Weighed down with the tradition and rigidity of public school life or enjoying the excitement in the refreshing re-

SUNSET: Watching the sundown from a restaurant terrace in Mojacar village

Turn to Page 26

26 26

Mojacar special

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

From Page 25

gion of Almeria? Of course, I chose the latter, fleeing school with just a handful of O-levels and joining my mother and father, who - worried by the lack of late evening activities - had built a bar (La Sarten: which is still with us today). Other oddballs had soon set up shop; mainly a succession of serial drinkers thanks to the three-cent-a-glass brandy available in those days. But there was also glamour – and a small, but internationally renowned bohemian colony sprung up – much helped by the decision of the tourist board to build a staterun Parador in the town. I remember clamouring to watch film stars hang out on the beach - such as Robert

A kind of magic PICTURE PERFECT: View of Mojacar pueblo from the beach at sunset Shaw, Anita Ekburg and director Mike Lester and his film-star son Mark, the young

The expat miners AFTER the Romans had found some gold and silver in the hills of Almeria, it fell to British concerns in the 1880s in the hills around Bedar - mainly iron and copper - with some heavy strip mining further along in Cuevas. It led to a small community of Europeans to settle locally, and Garrucha – essentially the only way in or out, as there were no roads into the area – became the foreigners’ capital, port city and a rail head into the interior.

Oliver in the famous musical. There was also what turned out to be the appropriately

By 1930, there were even Dutch, German and British consuls in the town. Mojacar passed much of this by, although in 1915, a local Briton, connected to the mines, bought and piped much of Mojacar’s fresh water over to Garrucha, where he sold it to the townsfolk on a twenty year licence. He apparently also makes the history books for owning the first operative vehicle in the province, a lorry with AL-1 as its number-plate.

named Dennis Hopper, who was kicked up the backside by my father in a rare barroom brawl somewhere in the village. Then there was the other time that my father played ‘checkers’ with Orson Welles. The story goes that the famous actor/director enjoyed a game of draughts. His version, honed on the nearby beaches between takes of his film Treasure Island, involved playing with 12 small glasses of liquor each, one player choosing brandy while the other went with anis. You ‘took’ a piece, you drank it.

towns sprung up, several of which are still standing. Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Lee van Cleef and director Sergio Leone frequently spent time in Mojacar, when staying at the nearby Gran Hotel in Almeria, or out on set in Tabernas. Us expats were often cast as extras to help water down the number of gypsy ‘bandidos’ in these cheap and cheerful productions. It all makes perfect sense then, that Mojacar these days is known for its magic: but whether it comes from the witches that used to plague the town with their love philtres or the heavy scent of jasmine in the narrow whitewashed streets is up for deThe player who could still bate. see the board at the end of Or could it be to do with the a game being declared the light? While there’s not much winner. My dad to interfere bereckoned he tween the top had won hands of the town down. It all makes and the sky It was just as high above, perfect sense the region beMojacar has came famous then that Mojacar its own microfor it’s film inclimate. With dustry. is known for its acceptable avIndeed, Spaerage seasonmagic ghetti Western al temperafilms came tures and lots from the area of sunny days, and were at it’s never too hot or too cold. their zenith then, when vari- Either way, the town and its ous purpose-built cowboy 17 kilometres of fabulous

Mojacar special www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

HEYDAY: Orson Welles in Treasure Island and (below) scenes from Mojacar

27 27

The little man keeping evil at bay WALKING around Mojacar, it is virtually impossible not to notice the town’s symbol, a matchstick figure with outstretched arms and arc over its head. While the origin of the indalo is unknown, fascinatingly it appeared in 6,000-year old cave paintings in nearby Velez Blanco. It was traditionally painted above doorways to ward off evil and named by artists in Mojacar in 1955. Experts believe it is the only case of a prehistoric symbol being passed down the millennia in a sole location.

MOJACAR comes from the Arab name ‘Muxacra’, which comes from the Roman name ‘Mons Sacra’. This ‘sacred mountain’ refers to a pyramid shaped hill (pictured) just below the town. The hill, now known as Old Mojacar, has an Arab water deposit on its summit, innumerable ruins at its base and the dry river Aguas to its rear. The current location of Mojacar however - at the foot of the Sierra Filabres – is a more defensible site with available water and retreat routes. Sitting at 400 metres above sea level and a kilometre inland, it has always been a safe haven from the Barbary pirates and corsairs. Settlements here can be traced back to the beginning of history, and include Phoenicians, Greeks, Trojans and the Icini (the original ‘Beaker People’). Mojacar was a fortified town in the Moorish era, and fell to the Christian Kings – Isabel and Ferdinand – in 1488. Everyone was promptly slaughtered. Or left in peace, if you believe the plaque located at the Moorish fountain. The town regained its strength during the following centuries, after being re-populated with Christians from nearby Lorca, and became the local capital during the following centuries. While the population in 1910 sat at 6,000 souls – not far off today’s numbers – by 1960, the population had dwindled to just 600. The Civil War had taken its toll, Mojacar being enthusiastically ‘Red’, leading to most of the locals being obliged to take off for foreign climes after the Nationalist victory. Indeed by 1960 the only real farming was some tomato plantations on the beach, and little else. Land then was a peseta for 10 metres square. We stayed firm. It would never go up in value…

Mystic mount

beaches are the final steps in a tumble of hills that began their descent in the high Sierra Nevada mountains in Granada. Cubist in appearance, the town sits perched on an uncomfortable-looking hill, almost tumbling down to pray to the east. It is by far the best known town in what is known as the ‘Almerian Levante’, which includes the market town of Vera, the mountain eyrie that is Bedar, Turre with its restaurants, the port of Garrucha and Cuevas del Almanzora and its gypsy caves. By Mediterranean standards, the area is quiet, relatively unspoilt and generally offers lower prices in everything from property to accommodation and leisure activities. Compared to resorts like Benalmadena and Marbella it is certainly a minnow. It counts just 8,000 full time

inhabitants, with perhaps another 15,000 visitors arriving in the summer. This small population has meant the village largely remains attractive and unspoilt by mass development, with narrow Moorish streets and charming buildings. Down on the coast, Mojacar Playa, as it is known, is where the buzz can be found. Broadly it’s a long stretch of hotels, restaurants and bars stretching from Garrucha to the east and as far along as the Hotel Best Indalo to the west. Thankfully a long-observed rule to keep buildings down to just two storeys has helped to keep the area special. The beaches, including three Blue Flag beach-

es, have full service, including a number of colourful beachbars. It gets even nicer: beyond the built-up area there’s an extension of pristine, empty coves and playas, leading towards Cabo de Gata. While Mojácar is the lodestone for the Levante de Almeria, other nearby towns and villages are attractive, with Bedar and the communities of Cortijo Grande and Cortijo Cabrera (both in Turre) standing out as the best of them. My advice: Come and see it for yourself...I’ve been here for 47 years and there is no way I’m moving anywhere else. Lenox Napier set up the Entertainer newspaper which later became the Euro Weekly News. He now runs the website www. theentertaineronline.com.

ONE of Spain’s better known pop groups, stretching back to the days of vinyl plugged into jukeboxes, must be Los Teddy Boys. The Almeria band has been playing its own kind of music for a heady 50 years. Despite a list of songs and minor hits, the band was always best known by its followers for its concerts. ‘We play covers of things from Los Beatles, Pink Floyd and Spanish acts like Los Brincos’, says Chipo Martinez, one of the original group, which is about to tour Almeria later this month. Dress: optional, but blue suede shoes a must.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

www.theolivepress.es

Mojacar special www.theolivepress.es

Living it up on the Levante Wendy Williams takes a ride up Almeria’s Levante coast

HE Costa Levante of Almeria is a popular destination for holidaymakers and expats alike. It offers superb sandy beaches with clear waters ideal for diving and snorkelling and boasts excellent all-year weather conditions. “We rarely get much more than around 150 litres of rainfall a year most of it spread over around 12 to 20 days,” explains architect Almudena Mateo-Sagasta, who lives in Cabo de Gata with her Italian husband Umberto. Much more than sun, sea and sand, the area

also offers excellent hiking, cycling, climbing and caving and it is well-known for its golf resorts. “You can have a really good holiday here,” remarks Bill White, 70, who has lived in Los Gallardos, near Mojacar, with his wife Jean for the last five years. “There are wonderful beaches, Mojacar is steeped in history, and just down the road is Almeria city, which has lots of museums and a castle.” Here the Olive Press shines a light on some of the other places of interest in the area…

Arrow that created modern Vera

Bigger than some of the surroundings villages, Vera offers six miles of stunning sandy beaches. The town, which was originally called Baria, is also steeped in history having been inhabited for thousands of years from Neolithic times right through to the Romans and Moors. Interestingly, the Arabs moved the town to the hill of Espiritu Santo but an earthquake destroyed it in 1518. Legend has it that after this, Queen Isabel climbed to the top of the hill, fired an arrow and ordered that Vera be built wherever it landed. The town as it stands today was built in the 16th century and enlarged in the 18th century. It is one of the most important commercial centres in the region and is a prosperous town with a variety of shops. There is also a keen artisan tradition with handicrafts including embroidery, esparto grass weaving and marble carving. A big street market is worth a visit on Saturdays.

The towers that created Turre

This small inland village is situated a few miles inland from Mojacar next to the river Aguas and the soaring Sierra Cabrera. Its Muslim origins are apparent from the whitewashed houses and flat roofs, and while it is not the most visually appealing town it has a lot of character, and a large gypsy influence. The main sights include the 16th century Hermitage of San Francisco and the Parish Church de la Purisima Concepcion. There is also a market on a Friday but the real draw is the history. The town sprung up around 1488 after the Catholic Monarchs forced the inhabitants of Mojacar who did not want to flee to Africa to settle inland. Turre – which originates from the Latin word ‘turris’ meaning tower - was named after a watchtower built by the Moors during Nazari times to protect the people from continuous attacks by the Christians. The Moors of Turre were eventually taken to Cordoba during the War of the Alpujarras between 1568 and 1570 and the town was left deserted for several years until 43 families from Murcia moved in to repopulate it. In recent years the town has benefitted from an influx of tourists visiting the region.

Take a visit to buzzing Garrucha

Last, but not least, it is worth popping in to visit the lively seaside town of Garrucha. While winning no prizes for beauty, it is a buzzing place, particularly when the fishing fleet comes back to the port midafternoon. There is a lively fish auction and some of the best fish can always be found in the popular port-side restaurant El Almejero. A great place to stay is Hotel Tikar, where American Sean has recently added a wine shop to compliment his excellent restaurant.

Come to the caves

Cuevas de Almanzora, an inland town which lies in the fertile valley of the Almanzora River, is one of the oldest towns in the province. It was here that silver was discovered in the Sierra Almagrera in the early 19th century which led to the town becoming flooded with miners looking to make their fortune. In particular the town is known for the artificial caves that were once inhabited by the silver miners. Some of the caves are still lived in today and you can visit many of the dwellings. Meanwhile, the silver rush also led the town to prosper with a lot of grand old houses springing up. These too can still be seen today, particularly around Plaza de la Constitucion and the town hall. The Castillo de Cuevas del Almanzora, a 16th century palace/fortress is also well worth a visit and the Castillo de Marques de los Velez houses an important art collection. “It is a nice place to live,” said John Crellin, 59, from Blackpool. “I think a lot of Brits came originally as it was cheap but now they have made their home here.”

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

Mojacar special

The perfect Place in the Sun

Wendy Williams discovers why the popular British TV programme has recently been filming in the Mojacar area

IM Desmond was extremely surprised when his small inland estate agent got a call out of the blue from popular property pro-

gramme A Place in the Sun last month. “We thought they usually went for the more mainstream places and the bigger agents,” explains

We’re here for the long term Patrick Bennett on how he and his wife spotted a gap in the market running a long term rentals business in Mojacar

AFTER falling in love and moving to Mojacar a decade ago, we began to look for a challenge. Thankfully we spotted one when we realised that – despite being dozens of estate agents – there was no-one specialising exclusively in long term rentals. We believed that an agency unfettered by competing aims and able to deliver proper care and service to its clients, would do extremely well. Now, nine years later and our company Mojacar Long Term Rentals has over 70 properties to let around Mojacar. In total, we have helped hundreds of clients relocate to the area, giving them all the advice they need to settle in and find their way around the system. We have purposely kept the company small so that we can offer a personal service which enables us to build up a good relationship with both property owners and clients. Also we are very careful with the properties we take on and the clients that we deal with. If we do not feel 100 per cent confident that the deal is right for both parties we would rather turn the business away than risk our reputation. We also differ from many agents in that we do not take any fees up front, neither from the owners, nor prospective tenants. This gives us an incentive to collect the rent monthly and keep the clients happy and settled for the long term. Initially, for the first few months, we prefer to collect the rent in person which gives us the opportunity to make sure that the property is being cared for and that the new tenant is happy and feels valued. For more info visit http://www.mojacarlongtermrentals.com/

the British agent, who moved to the small inland village of Bedar, near Mojacar, with his wife Joanne, after leaving the navy seven years ago. “But I guess our agency is doing a good job promoting quality places and it is certainly a unique spot with wonderful views to the sea CHARACTER: An old property in Mojacar while (inset) and the Sierra Cabrera mounagents Daphne (top) and Karen and (left) view of Bedar tains.” After he and Joanne spent a few believes it is one of the last villages in days rushing around entertaining villa, a charming town house or a modern the area that has not been ‘spoilt by the the film crew and meeting the duplex - there seems to be something boom’. ‘househunters’, he is not con- that fits the bill. Moreover, according to the experts, She explains: “Mojacar started in the vinced they are going to buy. 1970s as a place where you could find “The pair are like chalk and prices are now at the lowest they have artists, musicians and writers,” she excheese and while the wife loved ever been and ‘there has never been a plains. the property we showed them, better time to buy’. So why do people come to Mojacar? “It was really a little hippy village. Little by her husband was not as sure. “Apart from the excellittle it has grown but it has remained rus“But just the fact lent weather, Mojacar tic and quiet and kept its charms. the programme is “Initially there were a lot of Americans focussing on Bedar According to the is different. Its village is historical and has here as the US ambassador fell in love is great,” adds Tim very colourful and with the place, but today there are 75 nawhose company Olexperts, prices aeventful past,” extionalities living here which is a nice mix.” ive Properties has are now at the plains Daphne Price, She continues: “It has always been a range of excellent much cheaper than the Costa del Sol properties with an lowest they have from Price Brown, the first British professionand far less developed.” average price of just ally qualified agent to On top of this, she believes now is perunder €200,000 ever been establish offices in the haps the best time to buy with prices and starting from area. having dropped by half over the last few €80,000. “There is no high-rise years. “It is difficult to give a general figThe only agency in ure but I would guess it is around 45 to Bedar, his portfolio of over 200 building allowed, so when one is walk55 per cent.... and people who want to properties currently stretches ing or driving along the sea front, the sell are quite flexible.” from here to Antas, Sorbas and sea views are not restricted. Lubrin, where he is opening a “It has an excellent beach line, second branch. magnificent “In recent years Bedar has be- a of come an attraction for both art- backdrop ists and painters,” he continues. mountains and “It is just a short drive from the is a very friendly coastal town of Mojacar and place. owes its presence to the mining “Overall it has a beckoning finger, of iron ore in the 18th century. “It boasts all the charm of a tra- it is beautiful, ditional Spanish white washed and its heart is she village with small squares and Spanish,” winding streets, and the locals adds. Meanwhile fellow are friendly and welcoming.” expat Over the years Mojacar and the German surrounding area has attracted a Karen Schroter, lot of expats also looking for their from Mojacar Estates, which has place in the sun. And no matter what you are search- been serving the ing for – whether it be a secluded area for 30 years,

Mojacar sp

The M I

BEAUTIFUL BEDAR

NO trip to the Mojacar area would be complete without taking the 20 minute ride up to the stunning mountain town of Bedar. The stunning white town is full of pretty nooks and crannies and understandably popular as a place for expats to buy properties.

T s In n tians miss Takin the armi The their bars ful a and bash main bedl bang

COLOUR: The joy of the Moors an Christians festival

Archways to paradise

A former Arabic town - with ro back to Phoenician times - Mo is, unsurprisingly, full of histor and buildings. One of its original arches (left intact, while around the villag will find a succession of arche admittedly installed over the l decades.

pecial

Moors and Christians

T has become perhaps Mojacar’s flagship event. nvolving much pomp, colour and noise the annual Moors and Chriss festival in June is one not to be sed. ng place this year from June 15 to 17, celebrations will see seven different ies marching through the town. armies, known as kabilas, will man r fortresses in the village; with music, s, food and costumes. It’s loud, colourand fun. There are some exhibitions activities on the playa, but the main h, including a medieval market in the n square, is in the village where the lam continues with fresh explosions, gs, firecrackers, music, live bands,

oots going ojacar village ric corners

t) is still ge you es, some last few

thunder-flashes and musketry. The slightly deafened soldiers and courtesans will finally be participating in the most extraordinary parade on Sunday evening with gorgeous costumes, interspaced with large brass bands and horse riders. The Moors and Christians event celebrates the story of Mojacar’s defeat in 1488 and how the two sides managed to turn the battle into a companionable ‘draw’. The Christian Kings, as they are known in Spain, were camped on the doorstep of the fortified town. They had broken through the Moorish lines and sacked the next door town of Vera. The Moorish captain of Mojacar sued for peace by saying ‘we are as Spanish as you’. The romantic version has it that his argument fell on fertile ground and there’s an old plaque at the Mojacar fountain to prove it.

Signs of the times

Expat with an amazing eye For the second time the poster for the Moors and Christians event has been designed by British artist Jill Bennett, who has lived in the town for nine years. Having studied and taught art in the UK, she moved to Almeria, where she is inspired by the scenery and colourful characters. A former illustrator and interior designer, her art shows great movement and colour.

A popular haunt for artists since the 1960s, Mojacar village certainly maintains a connection to its creative roots through its street signs. Colourfully painted - mostly by hand - they offer a distinct flavour of days gone by. Take a stroll around the narrow, shady streets and you will find a number of artists studios and shops selling a large range of artisanal products.

34 34

Mojacar special the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

www.theolivepress.es

Mojacar special

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

Blood Wedding, nudist beaches and Mojito Joe! HAUNTING: Blood Wedding ‘setting’ at Cortijo Fraile and poster for the film

ROWING up, there was one place in Europe that I knew I could always get away from it all and enjoy pretty-much guaranteed sun. Cabo de Gata is one of Spain’s last remaining coastal regions not yet sacrificed to developers and consumerism. Coupling hauntingly beautiful landscape with stunning unspoilt beaches, the natural park region has the most amazing relaxed vibe. Conjuring up a true sense of wilderness, it is no surprise that many a Western film was shot here, nor that Garcia Lorca’s tragedy Blood Wedding, was based on a true story set at the now-ruined atmospheric Cortijo de los Frailes. Rolling hills of elephant grass, pock-marked with lines of agave and low-rise, flat roofed white farmhouses, this is a photographer or filmmaker’s dream. The walks are wonderful, either inland, or along the un-

Cabo de Gata is Andalucia’s best place to chill out and relax, reckons Olive Press editor Jon Clarke dulating coastline, and the mix of restaurants and hotels excellent. But most of you are probably interested in the beaches and there are few places in the world that can compete with Playa de los Genoveses, Playa de los Muertos, or La Cala de San Pedro, which until recently could only be reached via a stiff hour-long stroll from Las Negras. While Genoveses is part naturist on one side, it is the perfect family beach, as long as the kids don’t mind a short walk across the dunes. For those looking for some-

TRANQUIL: Agua Amarga beach

Top Kip: Looking for somewhere different to stay, head to stunning Cortijo la Tenada, a stylish carbon neutral retreat a few minutes inland in a breathtaking valley

thing more convenient, hole up in Agua Amarga, often thought to be one of Spain’s most exclusive resorts, albeit in the most low-key sort of way. It was here where the film Sexy Beast was shot and where Spain’s leading captains of industry come to unwind. We spent five days at Christmas here and literally had the beach to ourselves. But what nailed the area for me was when I interviewed former Clash lead singer Joe Strummer, who told me he had a home in San Jose and visited frequently. As the owner of local restaurant La Gallineta explained: “Joe tipified the kind of visitors we get to the region. He was fun, thoughtful and intelligent. “He spoke Spanish and would always turn up at my restaurant shouting for a Mojito with a big smile on his face. “We gave him the nickname ‘Mojito Joe’ and were all devastated when he passed away so young.” There is no way Joe went Straight to Hell, to coin the name of a film he starred in and shot in Cabo de Gata in the 1980s.

Top Tucker: Keep your eyes peeled for La Gallineta in El Pozo de los Frailes, which is romantically-lit and has a fabulously fresh, original menu

MEET THE LOCALS: Cabo de Gata is a long way from the Costa del Sol and (top) Joe Strummer in film Straight to Hell, which was shot there

35 35

36 36

Mojacar special the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

www.theolivepress.es

Mojacar special

www.theolivepress.es Where to eat

T is sometimes suggested in gentle criticism that there is more to eat in Mojacar than ajo colorado, gachas, pelotas and migas. But now the town has its own ‘Tapas Guide’ and a promotional event ‘Eat Mojacar: Gastronomic Events’ taking place between June 28 and July 8. The area, including Cabo de Gata, Garrucha and Vera, actually has a lot of good places to eat. As the sun slips behind the hills, where better to sit than on the roof terrace of the Aires del Sur, in Mojacar pueblo, ordering cous cous and a fabulous bottle of chilled rose. Formerly known as Elizabeth’s this friendly joint, owned by Miguel from Melilla, is a true family affair with his wife and daughter all helping out. Also in his family is the equally stunning Pulcinella, just across the square, where Abel’s pizzas featured recently in the European Pizza Championships for two years running. On the beach, there are vari-

Mojacar Munchies VIEWS: Aires terrace and next door Hostel Arco plaza while (right) stunning Gallineta ous restaurants, including, in particular, the simple and honest food at the Beach-

Where to stay

HE Mojacar region has a wealth of decent places to stay from the top end Parador to the charming hostel Arco Plaza in the heart of the old town. This brilliant, good value spot, can be as cheap as €35, and you are literally right in the heart of town in pole position for exploring. Up the coast in Garrucha, you will be treated like a King at Spain’s ‘smallest hotel’ Hotel Tikar, which has just six suites, and one of the best restaurants in the region (see Where to eat). Inland you must certainly look out for the fantastic Cortijo el Saltador in Lucainena de las Torres. This beautiful hideout sits in the most stunning valley with amazing views and space. Perfect for a slow holiday, you will love the sound of silence, apart from when on various weekends the place comes alive with flamenco shows. There are also a string of different courses taking place throughout the year, including yoga, cookery and art. And for the next few months the main part of the cortijo is full of original art from a string of celebrated artists from around the region. Nearby you can also stay at Venta el Museo, which boasts perfectly comfortable rooms and the added

comber. The owner, John, a personable chap, has been serving good food in Spain

at a great price for 25 years, formerly in Ibiza, and he is the perfect person to ask about

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

fishing trips. The most famous beachstyle chiringuito is Tito’s b e a c h bar, which is located down towards the southern end of the playa. It’s a fun place, famous for its Sunday lunch, which also puts on Thai food evenings and plenty of live music. Over in the fishing port of Garrucha, famous for its fresh red gambas, you should head to Sean’s fantastic Hotel Tikar for one of the coast’s best restaurants. Long recommended in the Michelin guide, the food is extremely good value and changes by the season. Afterwards, (or during the meal for a small corkage fee) make sure to buy a bottle of wine from his new wine store... and

Sweet Dreams ARTY: Saltador, Tenada and Hotel Tikar

attraction of having a great restaurant. Over in Cabo de Gata you should definitely consider the stunning, carbon neutral retreat Cortijo la Tenada. Run by a charming architect/designer couple from Italy and Spain, they have worked hard to make this eco-retreat both stylish and with a low impact on sustainability terms.

Using hemp bricks, solar panels and a clever system of rainwater run-off, the place is worth a poke about even if you are not staying. Finally for campers, you should pitch your tent or bring your caravan to Los Gallardos campsite, which has been open for more than 20 years and now counts a fully-functioning restaurant and shop, seven days a week, as well as its very own bowling club.

if you have got any sense stay in a room upstairs. Over in Cabo de Gata there are plenty of good places to eat but – without a doubt- the best place must be La Gallineta, in El Pozo de los Frailes, a stylish place, with an enticing, original menu. A long time haunt for celebrities and film stars, it was Clash lead singer Joe Strummer’s favourite restaurant before his untimely death. Last, but certainly not least, the fabulous inland restaurant of Venta el Museo, in Lucainena de las Torres, has one of Almeria’s top chefs Stephan Streifinger at the helm.

The talented German has travelled around the province and knows about food This talented German has travelled around the province for a decade and knows a lot about food. Make sure to come and spend a night at the attached hotel and get blown away by his fresh and exciting tapas dishes. Finally, just up the road is an excellent olive oil factory Oro del Desierto, where you can try some of southern Spain’s best award-winning olive oil and also conveniently sit down for lunch.

Mojacar special the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

www.theolivepress.es

Mojacar special

www.theolivepress.es

39 39

Towering Internal

By Jon Clarke

T is slowly becoming one of inland Andalucia’s most exciting places to visit. And the best way to get to Lucainena de las Torres is by bike, enjoying the fabulous via verde that takes cyclists up to the mountain town from the coast. Actually, you will probably have to take your car, winding up to the village on one of the charming lanes from the main motorway, via Nijar or Polopos. You will soon find yourself lost in a stunning area of rolling hills and nature. Sitting at just over 500 metres at the foot of the Sierra Alhamilla, Lucainena is great for hiking and watching birds. The town was founded in the 19th century after a string of iron ore mines were opened. Taking the ore via a railway line to Agua Amarga in Cabo de Gata, some of it now the via verde, the mines brought considerable wealth to the area and saw the town expand to 7,000 residents in its heyday. Today just 700 souls live in the town, an attractive, well looked after place, with a pretty church and fantastic scenery. It gets its name after the string of towers which sit at

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

But Lucainena de las Torres is also a great place to visit for its history and food

the edge of the old mines. You are guaranteed to have a lovely time spending a day or two in the area, as part of a trip to the region. And don’t forget if you want to get hold of some of the best olive

oil in Spain, take a short ride from here to the amazing olive oil factory Oro del Desierto, near Tabernas.

GREEN ESCAPE: Take a ride along the Via Verde to (top) the towers of Lucainena

Top Kip: There are some great places to stay, in particular at Cortijo el Saltador, a well established country retreat, a few miles outside town. Known for its art and yoga courses, it is ‘chill out’ guaranteed with your German host Claudia Scholler.

Top Tucker: Without a doubt one of Almeria’s best restaurants is Venta el Museo, run by German chef Stephan Streifinger and his trusty sous chef Pedro Enrique Morales. A great selection of Almeria wines and some inventive tapas.

40 40

Mojacar special the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

www.theolivepress.es

la cultura

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

41 41

June 14, 2012

Hemingway muse dies

Thyssen says adios to Constable Spanish baroness hopes to raise €30 million from sale of The Lock, which she cannot afford to keep A CASH-STRAPPED Spanish baroness is to sell a €30 million painting by British artist John Constable after claiming ‘I need the money’. Carmen Thyssen said she had decided to auction The Lock after struggling with

the huge expense of maintaining her €100 million collection, part of which is on display in Malaga. The Baroness bought the masterpiece for €13.3 million in 1990, at the time a world record price for any British work of art.

The painting - which depicts a man operating a wooden canal lock - will be auctioned at Christie’s in London on July 3 after previous attempts to sell it failed. “I need the money, I really need it, I have no liquidity,” Thyssen said. “I am very austere with my life, but to maintain the collection requires lots of costs.

Pain

“I have had €790 million of art work lent for free to the Spanish state over the last 13 years. “I did not want to sell this. “It has given me a lot of pain to lose this painting that myself and my husband bought at an auction in 1990, but if God chooses I will not have to sell any more,” she added. The Lock was finished in 1824 and is the last of The Stour Series, which includes Constable’s famous work The Hay Wain.

A SPANISH woman who inspired a character in Ernest Hemingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls has died aged 91. Maria Sans met the American writer while working as a volunteer nurse tending wounded members of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. Hemingway depicts the character of Maria as a beautiful, selfless and helpful young woman in love with his American protago-

LEGACY: Maria Sans nist Robert Jordan. Sans had kept her acquaintance with Hemingway quiet until a Catalan researcher established the link in 1996.

A SNAPPY EXHIBITION AN impressive selection of snaps by top US photographer L a r r y Fink is currently on show in Almeria. B o d y and Soul covers a wide range of subjects such as Donatella Versace partying in New York, the Portuguese grape harvest and intimate moments shared by boxers in Philadelphia. The free exhibition runs until July 15 at the Centro Andaluz de la Fotografia.

what’s on

illanueva de Algaidas June 22, 19:30 at La Bodeguita de Enmedio, Barriada La Atalaya. La Vid y La Vida present Music for a Summer Evening - 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s. Songs by Ivor Novello, Simon & Garfunkel, John Denver, the Beatles and many more, with WW2 and 60s favourites for YOU to join in. Collection in aid of La Asociacion Espanola Contra el Cancer

alaga, June 15, Saxo Jazz, international jazz stars Greg Osby and Marc Copland will perform for the first time in Andalucia at the Auditorio del Museo Picasso.

os Marcelinos (between Albox and Taberno). 22-24 June. Three-day Folk Festival in aid of animal rescue charities. A weekend of music, arts and crafts, set-up and maintenance clinic for acoustic stringed instruments. Free admission. Further info: www.almeriastrings. org

imera de Libar. June 23 - 13:00h, Camping Jimera de Libar, ‘Mini Woodstock of the Guadiaro Valley’. Artists include Markus, Biagra, The Beerbellys, The Silverbeats and more. Tickets €5. Tel: 671 501 054

42 42

la cultura

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

HEN the Catalan government let Google Translate loose on its website last month, the results produced in English were hilarious. As reported in the Olive Press, and to the delight of Spain’s national press, current president Artur Mas – who ironically is fluent in English – appeared as ‘President More’. Former president Josep Tarradellas puzzlingly became ‘George Washington’, and agriculture minister Josep Maria Pelegri was side-splittingly introduced as ‘Joseph and Mary Pilgrim’. The Catalan government was quick to justify its actions. It said Google’s automatic translation was only provided as an interim measure while the funds were gathered to translate the government’s new websites properly. “In the meantime we thought it would be useful to provide a link to Google Translate,” a spokesman told the Olive Press. “None of the errors were hosted on the government’s servers, nor had they been translated by the government itself,” he continues, adding that the pages were removed as soon as the errors became apparent. But the damage had been done, with one commentator

LOST IN TRANSLATION suggesting it was ‘pathetic’ that a public body should use a free online translation service such as Google Translate. So, how does this automatic translator work and is it useful? “Google Translate works without the intervention of human translators, using state-ofthe-art technology instead,” explains a Google spokesman. “It looks for patterns in hundreds of millions of documents to help decide on the best translation. “Since the translations are generated by machines, not all translations will be perfect and sometimes there will be mistakes.” This is a bit of an understatement really, as will be testified by most people who have used the service. “Japan’s imperial family, and benevolent Prince died on the 6th,” starts an English Google translation of a random article on World Journal, a Chinese news website. “He is a cousin of Emperor Akihito, close to the people the image of Japanese na-

Eloise Horsfield looks at the perils of making mistakes in a foreign language and why it pays to get a translation right…

WHICH LANGUAGE?: Unicaja bank certainly fails to speak English properly tionals praise, because the bodily functions of cancer failure and died at the age of 66,” it continues confusingly. So while Google Translate may be useful for getting the

gist of a text in an unfamiliar language, to rely on it would be a little foolish to say the least. As Aine O’Connell, a Mijasbased translator from Ire-

land, says: “If Google Translate (or any other statisticallybased machine translation service for that matter) had any hope of translating a text accurately, why would anyone

spend four or five years studying to become a professional translator?” O’Connell, 32, who translates from French and Spanish into her native English, says that no matter how hi-tech they seem, machines will never be able to replace human translators. “To translate well you need to know the context and the tone,” she explains. “Furthermore, look at how many homographs (words that are written the same but have several different meanings) we have in the English language. “A machine could never possibly detect the individual meanings for all these correctly.” Which is why, thankfully, most reputable bodies and companies are aware of the need to pay to get the job done properly. And it seems it is big business – with translation companies like O’Connell’s, AOD Translation Group, charging anything between four and 13 cents per word depending on the type of text. Indeed, the European Union’s

la cultura

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

annual translation bill is a whopping €1.4 billion, which takes in a colossal 1.3 million pages of text and 11,000 meetings. Interestingly though, when the UK National Health Service (NHS) was criticised for spending €73,000 a day on translation earlier this year, think-tank 2020 Health recommended they use free internet translation software in order to cut costs. But, as the Catalan government can testify, this would be asking for trouble – especially when you consider the sorts of texts the NHS needs to translate. It might be a matter of life or death!

A sign on a Malaga motorway can be seen advertising ‘locals for sale or rent’. For less serious texts though, it may seem unnecessary to spend so much money on translation. Tourism literature, for example, is unlikely to be technical jargon or complicated medical terms. But sadly, this attitude means that many documents published in Spain aimed at English tourists have got ‘I’ve been translated by a Spaniard’ written all over them, with tell-tale mile-long sentences and baffling descriptions aplenty. As it says on the sports sec-

43 43

Worldly Women A NEW exhibition charting the role of women in Spain’s conquest of the New World has opened in Madrid. They Didn’t Go Alone - at the National Naval Museum until September 30 - includes information about the country’s first female admiral, Isabel Barreto, appointed by King Phillip II. Women are thought to have been on two of Christopher Columbus’ journeys to the New World in 1493 and 1497, while an estimated 14,000 women crossed the Atlantic during the colonisation period.

Book exchange A hefty read LINGUISTS: Translator Aine O’Connell, Catalan president Artur Mas and journalist Lenox Napier and (top) a bizarre translation seen on the Costa del Sol tion of the Junta website, andalucia.org: “The following list of sporting events are mostly considered to be of a great importance because they represent abroad the Andalusia Tourism Brand, economically invigorate the Community and also encourage sport practice.” It struggles on: “Besides, they have a great capacity to attract tourism, as well as a wide national and international media coverage. Thus it is considered to be of great interest their publication and dissemination in Andalusia Tourist community.” The Olive Press has a hunch this may have been written by a non-native English speaker. Which begs the question – are Spaniards under the false

belief that, with a little English, they are capable of delivering a satisfactory version of their native Castilian? “It’s a case of someone saying, ‘my cousin can do that – he speaks English because he spent three months in Oxford’,” says Lenox Napier, a journalist based in Mojacar who was left bewildered when he received correspondence from his bank, Unicaja, proudly stating: ‘Now we speak the same language yours’. “They never think to get a proper translator in,” he adds. Another example can be seen on a sign on a Malaga motorway advertising ‘locals for sale or rent’ – leaving the reader wondering what exactly the services on offer are. As O’Connell confirms, the only way of getting the job done properly is to get a native speaker to carry out the translation. “It is probably the MOST important requirement. “A non-native, no matter how fluent and immersed in the target language they are, can never truly write like a native. “Even if a sentence is grammatically correct, a native simply knows when it doesn’t sound right.”

BOOKS4SPAIN has joined forces with the Instituto Cervantes in London. The online bookshop will be working to promote the Institute and will be offering members regular discounts and special offers. “Like the Instituto Cervantes, Books4Spain is committed to promoting Spain, its culture, history, literature and language via books and eBooks and we are looking forward to working with the Instituto Cervantes London on a number of initiatives,” said owner Rod Younger.

A BOOKSHOP that prices second-hand books according to their weight has been opened by a group of friends in Madrid. The store - run from an old poultry stall in San Fernando market - sells the tomes at €10 a kilo, focusing on the value of the materials rather than the content. We looked around, and saw that in Spain there was nothing else like this,” said bookseller Raquel Olozaga.

44 44

la cultura

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

A TRIO of men has succeeded in smashing negative stereotypes about Andalucians – at least on the Spanish version of Google. The region has long been associated with laziness and backwards thinking, perhaps due to its rural lifestyle and scorching temperatures. But in April this year, three Marbella-born men decided they were tired of it. The team, who all work in advertising, found when they typed in the words los andaluces son (Andalucians are…), the search engine’s autocomplete function suggested words such as ‘lazy’, ‘stupid’, ‘illiterate’ and ‘false’. As these adjectives are selected automatically depending on previous searches, Habacuc Rodriguez, Fernando Munoz and Antonio Cabello decided to launch a website to help change the results of future searches. “Our challenge is to clean up the online reputation of Andalucians,” Rodriguez, 31, told the Olive Press. Losandalucesson.com works by encouraging visitors to click on an icon that triggers a fresh Google search saying Andalucians are, for example, ‘hardworking’, ‘incredible’, ‘creative’, ‘sporty’, ‘strong’, ‘special’,

Three Marbella men launch campaign to replace negative adjectives in Google with more positive ones – but admit there is still work to be done

Are Andalucians lazy and stupid? ‘original’ and ‘the best’. These searches all go into Google’s memory bank, meaning subsequent searches will produce more positive results. And the results have been impressive. Within a week 30,000 people had contributed, and in

a month the figure had risen to 150,000 with contributors as far away as Ghana and Australia defending Andalucians’ name. Just two months after the launch, the Olive Press can confirm that the words ‘creative’ ‘happy’ and ‘original’ are now appearing on at

least the Spanish version of Google. “We have managed to change Google.es 100 per cent, but Google.com is not quite there yet,” said Rodriguez. He admitted that their efforts are just a small step in the fight to combat the

negative image the region has across the world. “For this we would need another type of campaign which targets all those movers and shakers who spout out completely unfounded negative comments and generalisations about Andalucians,” he said.

Starlitestudded

SPANISH crooner Julio Iglesias and British comedian Hugh Laurie are among the top international stars set to perform at the Starlite Festival in Marbella. Last week Iglesias (above) spoke of his undying motivation to make music after 43 years, saying he will rest in 30 years’ time when he is ‘on the other side’. “If I didn’t sing, what would I do?” the 68-yearold said in Marbella. “I don’t know how to do anything else.” George Benson, Simple Minds, Paul Anka, Tony Bennett and Roger Hodgson from Supertramp will also appear at La Cantera de Naguales from July 13 to August 14. Tickets from €40 available from Ticketmaster and El Corte Ingles.

la cultura

www.theolivepress.es

A vote of confidence Victoria Twead gets to grips with small town Spanish politics in the latest extract from her book Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools…

“A

H, the beautiful senora Twead,” said the Mayor. He lifted my hand and brushed it with his lips. “I am most contented to see you here. And your husband?” “Er, Joe’s very sorry not to be here, he’s busy tonight.” “No pasa nada,” he said, and then leaned in close. “You, Veectoria, are a special guest, very special. And I have gifts for you.” He felt in a pocket and drew out a party political lighter and pen. He pressed them into my hand and closed my fingers around them, one by one. “Thank you very much,” I said, thoroughly uncomfortable. “Er, please call me Vicky.” “Ah, Veeky… Such a beautiful name…” He had the Andalucian’s usual problem with the letter ‘v’, so my name sounded more like ‘Beaky’. “Is that you, Vicky?” shouted a voice. Never had I been more pleased to hear Judith’s stentorian voice. “Judith, how lovely to see you here!” I meant it from the bottom of my heart. My relief was palpable. “Pancho, you old devil!” roared Judith, joining us. “Put Vicky down, and tell me, how’s that lovely wife of yours? And those strapping sons? Lord! How many grandchildren have you got now?” The Mayor released my hand as though it had become red hot, turned on his heel and melted away. “Ghastly old sleaze-bag, isn’t he?” said Judith. “Are you going to vote for Pancho?” I asked, curious. “Bless you, m’dear! Pancho Pinochet? Of course not! He’s made a bloody pig’s ear of his last term of office. Shan’t be voting for him again.” “Well, he seems to have a lot of supporters here tonight,” I said, looking around at the milling crowd. “Good Lord, dear. They’re

VOICE OF DISSENT: Uncle Felix’s mule not here to support Pancho! They’re here for the free food and drink.” The time had come. Pancho stepped up onto a wooden box, cleared his throat and launched into his election speech. I understood very little of the meaning, but the tone and cadence were familiar. It could have been a political speech delivered anywhere in the world - the same rhetoric, the same repetitions, the same delivery. I allowed Pancho’s words to wash over me, just picking out a few key words now and then. Did I hear him mention that old promise of a proper sewage disposal plant? “Beaky? You understand what I am saying?” The Mayor had broken into English and was addressing me over the crowd. I jumped; appalled that he was singling me out. One hundred heads swivelled in my direction. I nodded frantically, and Pancho continued with his speech, satisfied that I appreciated the finer points of Sewage Management. I tried to shrink myself, but I was taller than most of the Spanish present. “Beaky, you agree with my point?” Pancho’s thunderous voice assailed me again. My face glowed crimson. Again, a hundred pairs of eyes turned and bored into me. Again, I nodded like a piston, willing him to leave me alone. Judith saved me this time. In Spanish, she shouted, “Pancho, never mind all that! What about the swimming pool you promised us three years ago? Still waiting, you know!” The resulting buzz of assent deflected the crowd’s inter-

est away from me for just long enough. There were four ornamental trees planted in the square, and I slid behind the nearest. The crowd had settled down again, and Pancho relaunched, his voice echoing around the square. All too soon, I heard him break into English again. “Beaky? BEAKY?” Alas, there was no escape. “Beaky, it is important to keep the roads into both villages mended, no?” I poked my burning face out from behind the tree and nodded furiously. Mercifully, the speech ended soon after. Pancho gathered himself up and delivered his final punch line, a rousing question that I understood and rang in all the listeners’ ears. “So, would YOU trust the other Party to make these CRUCIAL decisions?” Silence. Then Uncle Felix’s mule, who was tethered nearby, lifted her head and brayed, perfectly on cue. The crowd erupted, united in laughter. Pancho gave up and stepped off his box. The Smart Ladies took this as a signal and whisked off the covers from plates of tapas laid out on tables. Politics already forgotten, the villagers surged to the tables, chattering happily among themselves.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

www.theolivepress.es

Top Dollar

www.theolivepress.es

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

47 47

Victory for investors By Lenox Napier

A GROUP of British homebuyers have won a landmark ruling against a bank, which failed to return their deposits.

Benchmark ruling sees Cam Bank ordered to return down payments for unbuilt homes

The 47 off-plan buyers are now to get their investments back in full, plus interest and damages.

The judge in Hellin, Murcia, declared that 55 sales contracts should be terminated due to ‘se-

rious breaches’ by the developer, who failed to build the homes. He ordered that a total of €1.5m, currently being held by the CAM bank, should be returned immediately. The group had invested in the de-

Olive producers feel the squeeze

SPANISH farmers are abandoning their olive groves as supermarkets and competition from other countries has forced prices down to a 10-year low. Bumper olive harvests in the last two years and cash-strapped consumers switching to cheaper vegetable and sunflower oils have also contributed to a 50 per cent drop in market value. At the same time, the EU lifted import tariffs on Moroccan olive oil in February, putting it in direct competition with Spain,

which relies on olive oil production as one of its biggest industries. Andalucia is particularly badly affected, with Jaen alone accounting for a third of Spain’s olive oil output and 15 per cent of world production. “We can’t compete with emerging countries such as China, India, Latin America and Morocco,” said Luis Carlos Valero, an olive growers’ representative in Jaen. “There are many sellers but few buyers. “If you’re unemployed you

funct Finca Parcs development in Agramon – getting so-called ‘bank guarantees’ from the CAM bank. The ruling requires CAM and developer Cleyton GES, to return deposits to the members of the ‘Finca Parcs Action Group’. The judge noted that the delay had already reached up to seven years and completion should not be left to the ‘discretion’ of the developer indefinitely. A spokesman for the group insisted the ruling set an important precedent for similar cases across Spain.

Justice

THREATENED: Olive groves are endangered by recession have no money, but in the olive oil business it costs you money to be poor.” Andalucia produced 1.3 million

tonnes of Spain’s bumper 1.56 million-tonne 2011-12 harvest, but the wholesale price of extra virgin oil is now worth less than half the €4,800 a tonne it fetched at its peak.

He described it as ‘good for the image of Spain, its justice system and even the financial system.’ He added: “It is good to convey the message that the system in Spain works and issues, like this, can be solved fairly”. One buyer Keith Rule, who put down €53,000 in 2006, added: “This is a great judgment and a credit to the work and determination of all those involved. “The wider significance should not be underestimated.”

Top Dollar

40 48

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

Top Dollar

www.theolivepress.es

AGONY ANT

YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED

An income from your savings of up to 8%? Is this what you need from your savings? Example income rates:e20,000 pays income e130 per month X 2 years e50,000 pays income e325 per month X 2 years e80,000 pays income e656 per month X 4 years

Example growth rates:e20,000 becomes e23,241 after 2 years e50,000 becomes e58,102 after 2 years e80,000 becomes e114,928 after 4 years

These are illustrative rates correct at going to press

At MWM Investments Ltd we specialise in producing high returns from your savings. We can do this for you quickly, safely and confidentially. Because we create accurate and bespoke financial solutions for our customers we pride ourselves on having long lasting relationships with our clients. MWM Investments are fully authorised & regulated by the U K Financial Services Authority and are permitted to give financial advice in Spain. Our advisers are fully qualified and very experienced If you want to know more take a look at our web site or call 951 406 550.

It’s our job to help you to grow your money or get a higher income. Safely. MWM Investments are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority No. 400105 The value of an investment can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you have invested.

MWM Investments Ltd | Studio 3 | Waterside Court | Third Avenue Burton on Trent DE13 8DL Tel: 951 406 550 or email enquiries@mwmspain.es

www.mwmspain.es

What happens when you follow bad advice?

Antonio Flores looks at what happened to the private investors caught up in the Lehman Brothers collapse and why some were more successful than others in pursuing their claims…

HEN the world’s fourth biggest investment bank collapsed it hit the headlines in a spectacular fashion and sent the world, including Spain, into financial turmoil. The large scale global effect has been widely reported. However, little is known about what happened to the private investors of generally modest sums, who, having followed the advice of their branch managers, also lost out with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The following are a selection of case studies obtained from court rulings:

Case One: An investor with a professional profile

In one of the most notorious cases, which went through the Marbella courts, the court actually ruled against the claimant finding Swiss Bank UBS was not to blame for the loss of €12 million, despite having recommended the buyer to acquire the soon-tobe defunct stock. So what went wrong with this mega-rich land owner? The Marbella court found that: • The investor had a professional profile, as opposed to a retail investor. • UBS was not administering his funds nor providing advice, but was a mere intermediary. • At all times, he had been

properly informed to make a sound decision.

Case Two: A savvy investor addicted to email

This case was mainly decided on the basis of substantial email correspondence between Bankinter and the investor who happened to be a partner at Accenture, a multinational management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Again, the courts ruled against the investor. In this case, because: • Lehman going bust fell between the probable and the possible, and thus was deemed an associated risk. • The emails stated ‘I have substantial structured products with Telefonica’, ‘Iberdrola is not a stock share I am comfortable with’ and ‘in this particular moment I would be inclined to go for a three-year BBVA account’ which were not consistent with that of a curious or rudimentary investor.

Case Three: A trusting conservative investor

Conversely, many rulings have been favourable to the investor and have disputed the bank’s allegations it acted appropriately. In this case in particular, the courts pounded Banco Espirito Santo by concluding that: • The investor was conservative in his approach to risktaking and always went with

ASK ANT Let Antonio answer your queries Q. A.

I disagree with what someone wrote about me on a public forum. Can I file a denuncia? Denuncias are formal complaints that are lodged with the police or the courts to inform the authorities of an event that has penal relevance, irrespective of whether one has been the victim or not. Unfortunately, their use is abused over and over again by people who have private disputes for which civil jurisdiction is the more appropriate course of action. If the denuncia has been filed to put pressure on someone who owes you money, the authorities will close the case. But if the statement made is untrue, then the complainant can get into trouble. In your case, you can only file a criminal complaint if the comments are libellous.

the advice of Banco Espirito Santo. • In August 2007, when the investment was formalised, Lehman Brothers was already being questioned due to the advent of the subprime mortgage crisis in the USA. • The information in the contracts was obscure, insufficient and worded in a manner that only made sense to professionals belonging to the world of complex investments.

Case Four: Retail investors deemed incapable of making informed decisions on financial investments

In a further case instigated by eight investors, who lost everything through bad advice by Bankpyme, the courts found that: • All claimants were ‘retail investors’, and the recommended products did not fit their profile. • As a result of the above, and their lack of comprehension, the investors could not have made an informed decision about the product. • According to the Spanish regulator’s (CNMV) report, the whole process revealed a catalogue of bad financial practices which dismissed crucial aspects such as the profiling of clients, information about the products and lack of diversification of investment. The rulings that have now been analysed (around 35) help conclude that the investor profile is nearly always crucial for the courts to decide who wins. Other determining factors include compliance with banking and investment regulations, the quality of the information supplied, the content of the contracts, events occurring prior, during and after exchange, the real intentions of the parties as shown during the negotiation process and whether the bank was asked to provide investment advice or just to provide information (albeit correct, transparent and clear).

Top Dollar www.theolivepress.es

From Page 1

Spain’s EU bailout

“The bailout is yet another sticking plaster on the eurozone’s fractured edifice, for which there are still no longterm plans,” said Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group. Anger at the lack of stringent measures imposed on Spain comes as it emerged Prime Minister Rajoy urged his finance minister not to give in to pressure from EU leaders over the terms of the deal. In a text he wrote: “Resist, we are the 4th power of the EZ. Spain is not Uganda.” A follow-up message said: “We are powerful, and if they don’t give in, the whole thing will go down. It will cost Europe 500 billion if Spain goes bust, and then another 700 billion if Italy goes bust.” The financial markets initially responded positively to the bailout, but borrowing costs on 10-year Spanish bonds rose sharply to 6.5 per cent on Monday, while the euro slumped again against the pound. Rajoy has publicly acknowledged that the recession will continue to bite in Spain, despite the rescue fund easing the problems of a banking sector struggling with billions of euros of debt related to the failed property sector.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

Road to Riches, by Richard Alexander

S the baby-boomers reach retirement, for the first time their generation is set to experience the down side of the post-war population explosion that they have benefited from for so long. Having been contributors to state funds throughout their working lives they are now becoming beneficiaries and all of a sudden, things don’t look so rosy. While of course it is good news we are all living longer - thanks to improvements in modern medicine and generally improved lifestyles – it also means that retirement income will be needed for a longer period. As we all know, state pension benefits operate on a ‘pay-asyou-go’ basis funded by National Insurance / Social Security contributions being paid today. As the working population declines in proportion to the retired population, the money will very quickly start to run out if we are not careful. Already, the retirement age has been increased to help ease the situation but more will need to be done in due course. And with state benefits already falling below a liveable wage for

What will the baby-boomers do? As the number of people in retirement outnumbers the working population Richard Alexander considers where their pensions will come from…

many, additional occupational or private pension funds are all the more important. Sadly, in many cases these too may prove to be inadequate in the long run unless careful investment planning is built in to offset the effects of inflation over what could easily be a 30 or 40 year period. You don’t need me to remind you that with such low interest rates and long term Bond & Gilt yields, generating sensible levels of income from invested capital is already a huge challenge. We are seeing escalating protests in the public sector from people who are being asked to contribute more and wait longer for their pensions, but the demographic reality

is the same for them as well. If they don’t accept these changes, who do they think is going to meet the cost? The taxpayer of course; but many of those people are in the private sector and are already having to save more and wait longer for their own pensions – should they really be made to wait even longer because they have to pay more for the public sector as well? Ideally the cost burden should be shared fairly – whatever that may entail! Meanwhile reverting to the need to generate sustainable income over the longer term, fund managers are now saying that retirees will have to invest more smartly to secure an

income throughout their lifetime. This in itself will need to allow for capital appreciation as well, if income is to increase in future. It will also need a much wider approach to investment, with a global perspective rather than the traditional approach of investing in single asset classes such as equities, property or bonds. While growing income can be achieved from high yield bonds or equities, this may well be at the expense of capital stability. Conversely, the capital stability of bonds may well mean sacrificing income growth. So what is the answer? A blend of assets in a managed portfolio may well prove to be the better solution, with multi asset investments on a global basis most likely to be able to achieve the long term goals of both sustainable and growing income.

Richard Alexander Financial Planning Limited is an appointed representative of L J Financial Planning Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK. Contact him at Richard@ra-fp.com

Planning your funeral ahead saves time, unnecessary upset and money Planning ahead with Iberian Funeral Plans SL could save you thousands Iberian provides the caring choice for your family Because the Guaranteed Funeral Plan is provided by Iberian SL, one of Spain’s foremost providers of funeral plans, you can be sure that you will receive unrivalled service and excellent value for money.

HOW AN IBERIAN FUNERAL PLAN CAN HELP YOU • A practical way to help reduce the financial strain on loved ones • Prices are fixed from day one, so you’ll know exactly how much to pay • The services outlined in the plan are guaranteed to be paid in full • Acceptance to the Funeral Plan is guaranteed whatever your age or health situation • Your family will receive personalised attention, compassionate guidance and complete support • All details handled with discretion and care Peace of mind is priceless – but with Iberian it won’t cost the earth

Iberian plans start from €2995.00 with nothing else to pay Guaranteed fixed cost and Interest free instalment plans

This is not Insurance or a credit agreement Iberian Funeral Plans SL, www.iberianfuneralplans.com Phone 952 595 691 / 951 203 994 or e-mail: info@iberianfuneralplans.com Reg/CIF no: 11138305 / B3156107

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

Top Property

www.theolivepress.es

Roman real estate

HIDDEN GEM: The 12th Century cloister A BRITISH expat whose home is at the centre of a legal battle over an alleged unpaid loan has described the situation as ‘farcical’. Mark Ogley, 50, is fighting an embargo placed on the sale of his home by German bank Sparkasse, which claims to be owed money by the previous owner. But the marine industry specialist, originally from Cheshire, insists the case has nothing to do with him and that he followed the correct procedure when buying the €280,000 property, near San Pedro, in 2003. “I am stuck in limbo, it is a nonsensical situation that goes on and on and on and I can’t bring an end to it,” Ogley told the Olive Press.

AS far as garden ornaments go, it takes some beating. A 12th century cloister with Romanesque arches that borders the swimming pool of Swiss expat Kurt Englehorn on his 22-hectare estate in Girona. The spectacular piece of architecture was purchased by the homeowner’s grandfather in the 1950s, but has only just been ‘discovered’ by experts. Surprisingly, the structure - compared to the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos in Burgos has no cultural protection and does not even feature on the inventory for the property.

German occupation

British expat faced with property embargo after being caught in the middle of dispute between foreign bank and previous owner “They’ve tracked down the previous owner in Germany and asked him to appear in court in Estepona, but he is an old guy and isn’t going to travel back to Spain for that. “They are accusing me of knowing the previous owner and being in cahoots with him over the sale of the house, but they don’t have a shred of evidence to support that,” added Ogley, who shares the property with his partner and 14-year-old daughter. “It’s not like I met the guy in a bar, I went through the correct procedure with lawyers and took out a mortgage. The problem is that lawyers can only check on borrowings against property in Spain, not money owed in other countries, so there is nothing to safeguard people from getting into this situation. It is farcical.”

FARCICAL: Mark Ogley at his home near San Pedro

POPPING THE CORK A GROWING trend for using cork as a building material is playing a key role in preserving the habitat of critically endangered species, including the Iberian Lynx. Increased usage in thermal insulation, upholstery covers and wallpaper, along with a resurgence in cork wine-stoppers, means cork forests are being saved. Farmers had been forced to replace the cork oaks with more viable alternatives such as olives after screw top bottles and cheap building materials threatened the industry. But cork’s return to popularity has meant the forests, which act as a home to the lynx and birds including the Iberian imperial eagle, are now being preserved. “Cork was used quite extensively in the house-building industry until the ‘50s,

when oil-based products out competed it on price,” said Allan Creaser, director of Cork Insulation. “It is coming back into vogue because it’s natural and is the only completely carbon negative building material.”

GREEN: Cork is back in vogue

Top Property

www.theolivepress.es

British couple among 300 investors still waiting for completion of Moroccan property five years after payng huge deposit

Our African anguish A SCOTTISH couple is among 300 investors still waiting for their dream home in Morocco five years after parting with a hefty deposit. Craig Menzies, 40, and wife Elaine, 42, handed over €35,000 in 2007 for an offplan unit at Playa Vista, a large development on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. The couple was told the new complex in Cabo Negro – boasting ocean views, a secluded beach and marina – would be ready at the end of 2008, with the remaining balance of €44,800 due on completion. However in November that year they received a notice saying a ‘stop work order’ had been issued by the Moroccan government. “We understand this was due to the authorities being unhappy with the number of properties being built and pressures on water supply and other natural resources,” said Menzies, a software tester who lives in Alhaurin el Grande. “They confirmed they were holding meetings with Moroccan officials and they hoped to reach an agreement with them to

UNHAPPY: Craig and Elaine Menzies are still waiting recommence construction,” he said. But with still no sign of any movement almost five years after signing up, Menzies contacted the Olive Press. Then, in May this year, Playa Vista announced it had some ‘good news’, and that a start date had been confirmed for July 30. But Menzies, from West Lothian, remains sceptical: “This is not the first time we have had notices like this. “We also received notification almost a month ago that we would receive individual packs outlining the details relating to our specific circumstance but so far it has failed to materialise.”

Scam

The Olive Press has since received similar testimonies from several investors in Spain, France and the UK, including 52-year-old Karen Cleary from Hampshire who has failed to get her €48,000 deposit back. “I am of the opinion that this is a complete scam and that they should be arrested for keeping our money for so long,” she told the Olive Press. “It’s all lies.” Meanwhile other investors accused Playa Vista of avoiding returning deposits to investors by ‘hiding behind an open clause in the contract’ and moving the completion date forward. When contacted by the Olive Press, Playa Vista said there would be options for clients who wished for their deposits to be returned and admitted it could be more ‘efficient and effective’ in its communications.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

n Buen

www.theolivepress.es

............................

Self-drive technology hits top gear

WORLD FIRST: Selfdrive vehicles on a road near Barcelona

A convoy of vehicles without human drivers has successfully completed a trial on a public road in Spain READING magazines, catching up on emails or enjoying a leisurely lunch could soon become possible while at the wheel, following a successful test of self-drive

vehicles in Spain. A convoy of three cars and a lorry followed a truck driven by a human along a 124mile stretch of motorway in normal traffic, a world first

Belting up please CHANGES in traffic law will see parents fined if they don’t strap their children in properly before taking the wheel. Under new legislation, drivers with unbelted offspring will be fined €200 and lose three points off their licence. Under 14s will not be allowed to use public transport without wearing a seatbelt. The changes come after a recent study found that, of the 79 children who died on Spain’s roads in 2010, 18 per cent had been using their seatbelt incorrectly and 46 per cent had not been wearing one at all.

according to car manufacturer Volvo. The vehicles travelled at 53mph with a gap of just six metres between them, using a wireless network of cameras, radar and laser sensors to ‘mimic’ the leader. The test - carried out on a public road near Barcelona - is part of an EU research project to improve traffic safety and reduce environmental impact.

Surprised

“It is quite funny to see the passing vehicles. They were quite surprised seeing me not driving the car but reading a magazine,” project manager Linda Wahlstrom said. “People think that autonomous driving is science fiction, but the fact is that the technology is already here. “From the purely conceptual viewpoint, it works fine and the road train will be around in one form or another in the future,” she added.

C ...................................... 36 GIBRALTAR NEWS

amino

www.theolivepress.es

The Olive Press’s monthly transport column

Police called in after expat accuses car dealer of fraud, claiming staff increased the price and made him sign a blank loan agreement

IDEA: Get-on-side

A good sign BRITONS who dread having to drive on the ‘wrong side’ of the road while travelling between the UK and Spain are being offered an innovative way of remembering. Stephen Ferrada, a car designer based in Germany, has developed a reversible sign that attaches to the dashboard and uses the reflection in the window to remind motorists which side they should be on. The Briton has used his experience working for firms including Porsche and Mercedes to develop his brand, Get-on-Side, which is available in several languages. “One third of the world drive on the left and the rest on the right, but nothing exists to help drivers safely adapt to opposite-side driving,” he said. “I use it to help me reacclimatise when travelling between the UK and mainland Europe and it is great for the many expats and holidaymakers travelling to and from Spain.”

Driven to despair A BRITISH expat has denounced a car dealer over allegations of fraud. Rodney Quinn, 59, a former Royal Marine, claims staff at the Sertesa concession in Malaga increased the final price and duped him into signing a blank loan agreement after buying a secondhand Land Rover Freelander last December. Quinn, who lives in Velez Malaga, claims he agreed a final sale price of €35,000 with a down payment of €10,000 and a loan of six per cent over five years. But when he questioned why he had to sign a blank loan agreement, he claims he was assured it was normal practice in Spain. “Six weeks later I received a copy of the financial agreement but the figures were not the same as we had agreed,” Quinn told the Olive Press. “The final price was €46,640, plus the registration number was not on it and the car was down as a new car.” Quinn later returned to the showroom to demand an explanation but claims the staff insulted him “They just said

DRUG DRIVER

A DRIVER has been arrested after police spotted him snorting cocaine while travelling along a motorway. The man, who has not been named, was being followed by officers after they saw him driving erratically along a busy stretch of road between Alicante and Madrid. The driver tested positive for both cocaine and cannabis after being observed snorting a line passed to him by a passenger.

Recession takes its toll A SPANISH toll road operator has reported a nine per cent drop in traffic as drivers look for ways to save money during the economic crisis. Abertis, one of Europe’s biggest road toll firms, announced the figures for the first quarter of 2012 just days after having its credit rating cut. Rating agency Standard & Poor’s predicted a further nine per cent drop in revenue by the end of

DROP: Nine per cent the year, stating that average daily traffic fell by 24 per cent between 2007 and 2011.

ANGRY: Rodney Quinn with Land Rover ‘stupid English, you signed it’ and were very rude. “The salesman even argued he had done me a favour as they are not allowed to give a payment plan for secondhand cars and couldn’t see why I was annoyed. “But I am living off a war pension, I cannot afford to pay more than what we agreed on, and I am the victim of fraud.” He continued: “Land Rover finance even admitted at one point they were wrong but said that I would have to pay to fix all the paperwork. “I am now being harassed by the staff. I am getting eight calls a day from them saying I am behaving badly and that I need to pay. “I just want my money back now. I will return the car.”

Fake

When the Olive Press called Sertesa a spokesman claimed the allegations were false. “It is a lie that we asked him to sign a blank document; he signed it in front of me. This contract has everything it should. “He still needs to pay for the car, and the matter is now being dealt with by our lawyer.” Meanwhile a spokesman for Land Rover said it has nothing to do with the matter. Quinn confirmed that this week he had been to see the head of Malaga’s anti-corruption department. “They are going to prosecute for falsification of documents,” he said.

the olive press - June 14 - 27, 2012

In the swing of it

www.theolivepress.es

THE OLIVE PRESSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; MONTHLY GOLF SECTION

From football to fairway

WINNERS: Nicolas Cole, Johnny Lyons, David Mond and Charlie Walton FOOTBALLERS David Bentley, Stephen Carr and Michael Brown were among the celebrities taking part in La Salaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Summer Golf Classic last week. The amateur golf competition - held at Marbella Golf Club Resort - saw teams of four competing for the Sala Group Golf

Classics trophy. Players enjoyed a prize giving ceremony before heading off to Sala Beach to celebrate at a white & gold-themed party. The winning quartet were: Nicolas Cole, Johnny Lyons, David Mond and Charlie Walton

off handicap 20 followed closely by Herbert Raven with 44 points off handicap 15. Michele O’Sullivan triumphed for the ladies with 33 points off handicap 22 with Joy Champion coming home second with 32

prepared the hampers and well done to everybody!

WINNERS CUP he Winner’s Cup was held early November. To qualify, you had to have won either a monthly Stableford, a monthly Medal or an Honours Board event in the last 12 months. With nearly 60 players trying their best, Herbert Raven (our current Vice Captain) came home for the men with 38 points off handicap 15 and Ali Easter for the ladies with 33 points off handicap 12. Well done Herbert and Ali!

In the swing of it www.theolivepress.es

he Santa Maria Annual Charity Golf Event was held on the 9th December. The day involved an AM AM golf competition played off the white tees (best 2 scores count per hole), closest to the pin prizes, longest drive prizes, lunch, a raffle, a grand auction and a prize giving ceremony. A full field of 21 four-man teams made an early shotgun start before being wined and dined in the main clubhouse. The overall team winners were “The Caddymasters” with a fantastic score of 101 points (David Mosely, Mark Webber, Fernando Ortega and Pepe Gago). In second place were team “Siesta Time” with 86 points (Chris Day, Mike Smith, Tim Swift and Villen Mehilenin). Just beaten into third place were team “Mixed Bag” with 85 points

points off handicap 23. Thanks to Glenis Harley who