Olive Press Newspaper - Issue 161 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

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Vol. 7 Issue 161

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Page 32

Sheikh up in the port

IT WENT DOWNHILL FROM HERE

Marbella marina plan at sea

Page 5

Song for Alhaurin

Well someone had to do it!

Page 3

Don’t let the Don’t thein bankslet cash banks cash in www.hifx.co.uk www.hifx.co.uk see page 13

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE OLIVE PRESS SENT A REPORTER (INSET TOP) TO BIKINI SKI IN THE MORNING AND A CHAMPAGNE SPRAY PARTY IN THE AFTERNOON... FIND OUT ON PAGE 28

May 16 - May 29, 2013

Crimestoppers Most Wanted makes a half century as cops snare violent criminal on the run for years ONE of Britain’s most wanted criminals has been arrested in Spain after spending four years on the run. Andrew Moran, 31, from Manchester, became the benchmark 50th British criminal to be picked up in Spain since Crimestoppers launched its Operation Captura ‘Most Wanted’ list five years ago. Moran is a particularly good scalp for the half century having escaped a police raid in Murcia six months ago when he rammed two police cars and drove off the wrong way up a motorway. He moved frequently and had even recently undergone surgery – and used fake Lithuanian and Irish passports – to avoid capture. The fugitive had been placed on the Most Wanted list after leaping from the dock and assaulting four security guards during his trial at Burnley Crown Court in February 2009. Moran was on trial for his part in an armed gang which stole £25,000 from a Royal Mail security van in

CAUGHT: Andrew Moran Lancashire in May 2005. The 31-year-old was eventually picked up while watering flowers at his luxury villa in Calpe, near Alicante. Dramatic footage released by police shows the criminal leap from his poolside sun-bed and scale a wall before officers tackle him to the ground. Police later found an arsenal of weapons at the villa including two Turn to page 6

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

CRIME NEWS

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Safe in Andalucia?

THE crime rate in Andalucia has apparently dropped despite the recession. According to new statistics the number of crimes has dropped by 5.1% on the same three month period last year. Petty crimes are down by 7.5% while more serious offences have decreased by 2.4%

Cadiz province came out on top with an 8.3% drop in offences and Malaga came second with 7.5%. Other areas which have seen less crime this year are Almeria, Jaen and Granada. Nationally, the total number of recorded crimes dropped by 2.5% with a decrease in murders from 106 to 78.

TYRANT TONI

Fraud king Muldoon was ‘aggressive’ and ‘bullying’ and ran his business with a climate of fear

A COSTA del Sol conman ruled his organisation with an iron fist, it has emerged. Ex-employees of Toni Muldoon, 66, told Ipswich Crown Court about the climate of fear in his offices in Fuengirola and Alhaurin. One computer programmer, who worked for him, Matthew Jukes told the court that he was a dominant figure, who used ‘aggressive’ and ‘bullying’ tactics to get what he wanted. He added he could sometimes be critical and rude and often lost his temper. It has emerged that at least 36 people were working in the large call centre, above the Arts Cafe, in Fuengirola. One employee Rachel Robinson insisted it would be impossible not to quickly work out that the activity was criminal. “Office banter and general knowledge would have told them that this was a scam. Anyone working there for longer than a month would know. It ashames me now,” she said. “I hated ripping people off.” Initially paid in cash, many of employees were later given a so-called ‘white eagle’ card, which was loaded with cash and could be used

‘RIGHT HAND MAN’: Bradley Rogers

former timeshare kingpin. Those accused in the case are former police detective, Taylor, 57, CoAGGRESSIVE: Muldoon Christopher lin Samuels, 61, Mark Bell, to withdraw money at cash 41, and Geraldine French, 60, and Bradley Rogers, points. While Muldoon has already 29, who was described by pleaded guilty to two charg- various employees as being es of conspiracy to defraud, Muldoon’s ‘right hand man’. five people he allegedly The gang allegedly conned employed deny any wrong- people into signing up to act as ‘non-sexual’ companions doing. New details of a €6.6 mil- with the promise of earning lion escort agency and up to €700 a day. debt elimination scam are Clients paid an upfront fee emerging from the estimat- of over €400 but never received any work. ed eight week trial. The massive court case, A string of bogus agencies which is currently inves- were set up using names tigating schemes which such as AdoraBelles, Beausnared up to 15,000 victims, tiful Adults and European has shed new light on the Escorts. The upfront fees were then transferred through a network of false companies and Resort Representative - Costa the promised ‘dates’ never del Sol took place. (Between the resorts of Marbella The group are also accused of running a ‘debt elimiand Calahonda) nation’ scam in which the Full Time, Seasonal Position targeted people who were ‘financially desperate’. The court heard how young We are looking for an enthusiastic, conscientious indiSouth African Rogers was vidual, with proven customer service experience, who Muldoon’s right hand man is confident in dealing with customers face to face and and the pair shared an ofover the telephone. The successful candidate will have fice. excellent communication skills, the ability to problem Rogers is said to have solve, have a flexible approach as well as the ability to booked adverts for the bowork on their own initiative and be able to speak a good gus escort sites in papers level of Spanish. such as the Daily Star and other UK publications. • Applicants must be resident in the country, as accom“I never really gave any modation is not provided. thought to Bradley’s role,” • Applicants must have a full, clean driving licence. explained Jukes. “He seemed like Toni’s right Please email your CV and covering letter to lucy. hand in essence.” brobyn@jamesvillas.co.uk The trial continues.

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Sweet Home Alhaurin

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

Eva back with her Will.I

British songwriter pens ode to the nerve-centre of the Guadalhorce Valley EXCLUSIVE ings to paper. Finding the town (population 23,000) a ‘liberating influence’ after a recent split with a boyfriend, she penned the threeminute ballad as a tribute. “She had arrived in Alhaurin

AS a dedicated Essex girl, you’d probably expect to see her to carrying the latest Mulberry, Balenciaga or Louis Vuitton. But TOWIE star Billi Mucklow has been spotted in Marbella accompanied by a rather less fashionable bag. The 26-year-old was pictured strolling down the beach with her sister and nephew, as well as another companion who was clutching a black plastic bin bag. The Essex-based beautician regularly holidays in Marbella, and has previously spoken about how southern Spain feels like home to her and her sister. “We love Marbs, it’s like home-from-home for us,” she said. “We spent a lot of our childhood holidaying there with our families.”

Take me to Marbella

THREE budding starlets from Benalmadena have secured a record deal with leading indie label Blanco Y Negro. The Lecheritas - Franciska, Dominique and Angelina - may only be nine years old but it’s already clear the youngsters are destined for big things. Their first song Take Me To Marbella has recently been recorded and is due to be released this month. The record has Spanish origins, but has been revamped and given a modern twist to appeal to young audiences across the globe. And with catchy lyrics, infectious dance moves and easy-tofollow routines, it looks as though this tune is the first step in the youngsters’ road to stardom.

Picture credit: Johnny Gates

Billi and her bag lady

feeling very upset and down,” explained her close friend Liz Ironside. “Her boyfriend had knocked her confidence saying she was too old to keep on performing and she’s only 41. “She arrived here at night feeling a sense of loss and meloncholy. But walking down Avenida de Libertad, enjoying the sunshine, the next day really lifted her spirits. “She realised her ex-boyfriend was holding her back...and ‘the street of liberation’ became a lyric,” added Liz, who first worked with the artist as an events organiser with the National Trust. “I think Alhaurin and its multicultural society made her feel at home...and inspired her to write the song.” The song is now to be premiered during a charity concert for local animal charity ARCH, on June 14 at Venta Miralmonte. Joanna – who has played alongside Jamie Cullum and Ronan Keating - was so moved by the plight of the animals at the rescue centre that she has offered her services for free and will be flying in from London especially for the event. Jill Newman Rogers, chairman of the charity said: “We are very lucky to have this for this event, it’s not every day that world class performers offer their services free - this is a night not to be missed.” Joanna, who also plays the Royal Albert Hall and Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club this summer, will play a second concert on June 16 at local restaurant La Nonna. It is not the first rock and pop influence in the town. Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt has a house near the town and Neneh Cherry used to take her holidays there.

Picture credit: Gary Edwards

ALABAMA, Chigago and Tipperary have all been imortallised in song. Now it is the turn of Alhaurin el Grande. Jazz singer Joanna Eden - described as ‘The UK’s answer to Diana Krall and Nora Jones’ by Time Out – was so moved by a recent stay in the Guadalhorce Valley town, she put her feel-

LIBERATED: Joanna Eden and (top) Alhaurin el Grande

Alhaurin by Joanna Eden I came to you in darkness I think you knew my heart was broken...Alhaurin In streets of liberation You welcomed me with arms wide open Though I walk alone I am not alone Why is this my home

CELEBRITY spotters take note. Desparate Housewives star Eva Longoria will be back in Marbella again this summer for the Global Gift Gala. Due to be held at the Hotel Grand Melia Don Pepe on August 4, the star studded event will also be attended by American rapper Will.I.Am and Vincente del Bosque, manager of Spain’s World Cup winning football team. Tickets for the gala, which also includes a full evening of entertainment, start at €500, rising to €1000 for VIP seating. Previous stars at the gala have included Antonio Banderas, Depak Chopra and Boris Becker.

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

News IN BRIEF

Tarifa twitchers A TEAM of 15 volunteers will monitor the migration of birds moving across the Straits between July and November in Tarifa this year.

Green nation Wind farms now generate a quarter of Spain’s energy according to the REE national grid.

Job fund The Junta will divide €12.3 million between Malaga town halls to provide temporary work for those at risk of social exclusion.

Bombs found Guardia Civil officers have discovered 188 mortar bombs from Spain’s Civil War buried in a field in Alhaurin el Grande.

Police swoop on babies for sale ring A COUPLE have been imprisoned after police uncovered a crime ring involving the smuggling of babies from Morocco into Spain for sale. The married couple were sentenced to two years prison and fined €3,240 for their involvement in the purchase of a baby from Ceuta. The Malaga based couple contacted a pregnant woman in Ceuta, who agreed to sell her baby for €3000. The mother gave birth in a private house in Ceuta and the baby was then handed over to the husband in exchange for the cash. The case only came to light when it was mentioned in conversation to a police cadet who was visiting Ceuta. He advised his colleagues and officers were then able to stake out the house and wait until just after the baby’s birth before making the arrests. The Ceuta court handed down a sentence of a year and a half and a fine of €3,240 for the husband, a six month prison term for the wife and a fine of €135 for the biological mother. Guardia Civil have managed to trace a total of 28 babies which were brought into Spain from Morocco, mostly via Melilla, and then sold. Couples would pretend to be the babies’ parents and enter Spain with false documentation before selling them on.

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Community spirit

Locals gather to help elderly British expat after mystery house-fire

A COMMUNITY has rallied together to help an expat after his house burned down. Jatar resident George Payne, 65, told the Olive Press how locals have supplied him with clothes, food and other necessities following the blaze which left him homeless. “The people of the village have been so good to me, they’ve offered me lots of things and anything I

EXCLUSIVE By Mason Jones

can’t afford they said they will help me out with it,” said Payne who has lived in the village since 2006. “People have given me clothes, brought furniture round and the town hall even supplied tiles for my kitchen,” added the expat, whose home, near Granada, was apparently deliberately set ablaze. Yesterday, one villager also

Paedophile spied on neighbours via webcam A DANGEROUS paedophile from northern Spain has been arrested after using his IT skills to infiltrate people’s homes and film thousands of intimate moments. The 34-year-old has been accused of 500 counts of child pornography after he hacked into people’s computers and filmed them via webcams in their homes. After accessing his neighbours’ wifi networks the voyeur hacked into their victims’ computers with a

Trojan virus. Police are reluctant to release too much practical detail for fear of copycat crimes, but say the case is unusual and the technology was complex. Managing several computers at once the accused eavesdropped on conversations on different social networks and selected sexual content for recording. He could even turn on some computers without his targets realising it.

brought the pensioner a CD player so he is able to listen to music as he begins work on making his home liveable again. “I have been working from seven in the morning until it goes dark,” said the retired military man, who is now living in one of the rooms of the house. The expat had left his house to go shopping when a friend notified him that a small fire had been put out in his living room by local firefighters. Payne returned to the property but after leaving again the expat was told that a second blaze had been started just two hours later. “As far as I know I have no enemies, it’s a very quiet village and this is really unusual,” said Payne. The police have refused to investigate the fire further unless he is able to identify the assailant.

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Dead in the Water?

A Sheik’s promise of a €400 million glitzy marina in Marbella has all but died, writes Giles Brown

HE control tower stands abandoned and there is no security patrolling the harbour. A mere two years after Sheik Al-Thani vowed to redevelop Marbella’s La Bajadilla fishing port – with promises of superyachts and cruise liners - the port has never looked more down-at-heel. The €400 million promises of a counterweight to Puerto Banus, with beautiful people sipping cocktails and designers shops abuzz with business, could not seem further away. Indeed, the only things flying around Marbella over the last week have been insults and

accusations as the Andalucian Ports Authority (APA) and the Junta finally threatened to revoke Sheik Al-Thani’s contract to expand the port. The Junta has accused the owner of Malaga FC of “failing to comply with the obligations of the contract” andwhile sources insisted that other investors, including a British conglomerate, were now looking at the project. Meanwhile Miguel Angel Paneque of the APA explained that they had recently been forced to take emergency measures to ensure the safe running of the port. While the Sheik was quick to tweet that he wanted his proj-

Swap shop success IT was a great way to get away from Playstations and Pokemon cards. Swans Primary School had a great uptake for its ‘book swap day’, when 100 children swapped 300 books. The initiative to promote reading was so popular that children have already been asking when the next one is!

WASHED UP: The port plan and (inset) Sheik ect to be treated with “equality, justice and fairness” most observers believe it is now dead in the water. The stumbling block for the Sheik’s investment has been the modification of the original plans approved by the Junta. On planning grounds central Government reduced the size of the planned commercial centre by half and rejected a proposed luxury hotel in the port. As the Sheik’s representative Moayad Shatat stated this week. “If they respect the initial plans approved for the port of Marbella we’ll start tomorrow” But, assuming they won’t, the Sheik has refused to carry out any of the preparation

work for the project, or pay the agreed fees of €750,000 a year for 2012 or 2013. With the situation seemingly at an impasse, Marbella mayor Angles Muñoz asked the Junta for help in finding an investor should the Sheik pull out. Muñoz was also in the Middle East last week at a trade fair seemingly looking for possible investors. At home tourism councillor José Luis Hernandez claimed that Marbella was always discriminated against when it came to public funds. The La Bajadilla Port project, which was being heralded as a glitzy symbol of Marbella’s future, now looks in danger of turning into yet another white elephant.

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

FEATURE

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

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OPINION Half Century! THE Spanish coastline has long been a popular destination with Britons who want to get away for a more relaxed atmosphere and better weather. Unfortunately this also means the costas have become the chosen destination for many Brits who want to avoid arrest. Able to blend in as holidaymakers or expats, fugitives flee to the region in the hope that the UK authorities will forget about the crimes they committed back home. Thankfully though Crimestoppers has other ideas. Providing a portal to anonymously report and identify offenders, many of these individuals can and have been apprehended. Andrew Moran’s well publicised arrest has been a great victory for both the UK and Spanish police, along with Crimestoppers after four years of searching. As Andalucia’s only real newspaper, the Olive Press has always worked closely with the organisation in promoting appeals in the area. We even helped to track down one of the so-called Most Wanted in 2008. The Spanish arrest of Moran, the 50th since Operation Captura was launched in 2005, proves that you can run but you can’t always hide.

Pass the Port The €400 million Al-Thani Port project lies becalmed in the water just two years since Sheil Al-Thani was hailed as being the saviour of the Costa del Sol. Promises of massive investment on the football field with Malaga FC and the regeneration of the La Bajadilla fishing port into a luxury marina with a huge commercial centre and towering hotel overlooking the town have come to nought. Marbella once again fell for the promise of the big buck, claiming that the redevelopment was a symbol of the new confidence of the town. The fact that it would all but wipe out the last of the fishermen’s homes and bring architecture more suited to brash in-your-face Dubai than southern Spain was irrelevant. With his original plans rejected by Madrid, Al-Thani chose not to compromise but, like a child who, took his ball away, refusing to put money into the project and resorting to petulant Tweets. The port was supposed to be a symbol of the new Marbella era. In the same way as the Marbella Arch symbolised the Gil era, the stalled Al-Thani port project looks set to symbolise the present.

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The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía

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Tel: 951127006/951166060 (admin/editorial/sales/ advertising) or admin@theolivepress.es A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in southern Spain - 188,000 copies distributed monthly (120,000 digitally) with an estimated readership, including the website, of more than 500,000 people a month. Luke Stewart Media S.L - CIF: B91664029 Urb Cayetano Arroyo, Buzon 13, Arriate 29350 Malaga Printed by Corporación de Medios de Andalucía S.A. Editor: Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es Reporters: Annabel Grossman annabel@theolivepress.es Mason Jones mason@theolivepress.es

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POISONED BY PLANES?

e’ve all seen them. Cloudy trails streaking across the sky pumped out the back of jet planes. However, most of us would never give them a second thought - after all mist coming out the back of aeroplanes is the norm right? Well, maybe not. Although a sceptic by nature, the immense response we got to Jane Jewson’s photos in the Olive Press a couple of issues ago has made me think again. While many letters asserted that these strange patterns were nothing more than condensation trails produced by planes flying at a certain height, there was an equally strong response insisting that there is something more sinister going on. Rather than being contrails, many of our readers believe that these misty lines are in fact chemtrails - the result of planes spraying the atmosphere with a toxic combination of chemicals. And after a quick glance over the internet, I can see that this is hardly an uncommon opinion. Advocates of the Chemtrails Conspiracy Theory believe that across the world governments are secretly using jet planes to spray the atmosphere with aluminium, barium and strontium in order to deflect the sun’s rays and tackle global warming. They point to the fact that these trails seem

to spread out across the sky from horizon to horizon and then to settle, while contrails should disappear within a few minutes. However, conspiracy theories are all very well, but is there any proof - or even strong evidence - that this is going on? My first stop is US documentary What in the World are they Spraying, which several of our readers have pointed me towards. The views expressed range from the plausible (chemtrails are part of projects to tackle climate change) to the faintly ridiculous (this form of geo engineering is part of an evil government conspiracy to control the global population and create a new world order). Admittedly, some of it looks rather convincing. Soil readings showing elevated levels of aluminium and barium – sometimes up to 61 times greater than is considered ‘safe’ – and scientists talking about the benefits of geo engineering (controlling the weather) do make you think that it’s far from impossible that chemtrails exist in the US. However, I still can’t shake off the feeling this is just scaremongering – another barmy conspiracy theory with a lim-

ited ‘hippy’ following. After all, the so-called experts in the documentary include a local dentist, a former Arizona senator (screeching hysterically about how chemtrails are causing Alzheimer’s), an author and a guy with a PhD in zoology. Not quite the scientific bigwigs I was hoping for. And anyway, what does this all mean for the Costa del Sol? Luckily for me (as I’m still no closer to finding any answers), there is no short-

These trails just aren’t normal. I know what a contrail looks like and they are not like this age of people happy to share their thoughts on this phenomenon. Torrox resident Liz Casey, 54, has been researching chemtrails for the past five years and has steadily become convinced that they are more than just a wild conspiracy theory. “The internet has opened the question massively”, she tells me. “These trails just aren’t

Conspiracy or simply cloud trails? Annabel Grossman investigates the claims of a cover up to cool our shores

FLASHBACK: To our story last month normal. I know what a contrail looks like, and they don’t create these criss-cross zigzag patterns that we see daily in the Costa del Sol skies.” She adds: “You just have to look at the mass of research done on chemtrails – including soil tests and water tests - to see that there are heavy amounts of chemicals falling on the earth.” However, Phil Spiers, 44, who runs green magazine La Chispa in Andalucia, believes that the internet has actually done us more harm than good when it comes to the chemtrails v contrails debate. “There is so much stuff about chemtrails floating about on the web that no one is approaching the issue from the right angle and it’s just causing hysteria,” he says. “It’s become all too easy for people to decide on their argument and then dig out some information to back it up. A lot of the stuff on the

Wanted man snared From Page 1

guns, three large knives and ammunition. Photographs gathered by British police show Moran posing with weapons and wearing a number of disguises. In 2011, investigators tracked his co-accused, Stephen Devalda, 29, also from Salford, hiding at a hotel in Marbella. He was later jailed at Preston Crown Court for nine years and eight months. Moran has now been taken to Madrid where he is not fighting extradition to be returned to the UK.

CONCERN: It is the zig zag patterns that seem to most concern expats on the Costa del Sol

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FEATURE

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

internet is flawed, and some is just plain made up.” Spiers points out that while governments are experimenting with weather changing projects, there is no solid evidence that chemtrails exist. He points out that many of the soil samples taken as evidence come from areas where pollution is a serious problem anyway, which may account for the high levels of chemicals. “So much of this so-called evidence can be pulled apart,” he adds. “Yes, there’s a lot of pollution and there are chemicals in the soil that shouldn’t be there but this doesn’t mean they are caused by

A lot of stuff on the internet is flawed and some is just plain made up chemtrails. “By focusing on this conspiracy theory that has no solid basis, all we’re doing is drawing attention away from the issues that really matter – things like melting ice caps and climate change.” However, other theorists argue that there is in fact an abundance of scientific evidence to show chemtrails exist. Medical anthropologist Dr Graham Hutt has studied these trails for several years in many different locations around the Mediterranean and insists that they are more than simply airplane vapour. He says: “Researchers - including myself - have taken air samples and noted (with high powered microscopy), high concentrations of aluminium particles of around 12 mi-

SUSPICIOUS LINES: Series of trails above the Costa del Sol last month and (inset) Dr Hutt and Phil Speirs crons in size, often along with other toxic metals and chemicals. Other researchers have noted live virus’s in samples.” What’s more, the scientist refutes claims that these strange cloud creations are nothing more than normal vapour trails emanating from commercial flights. “This can easily be shown to be false because we observe

spraying aircraft running four abreast, and then returning to criss-cross together at 90 degrees to create these cloud formations,” he adds. “Weather experts I consulted say there is no way weather conditions can account for the phenomena.” Back in 2002, Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker released a MoD document

showing that the UK government conducted a series of secret germ warfare tests on the public between 1940 and 1979. These included releasing potentially dangerous chemicals and micro-organisms over vast areas of the population. Conspiracy theorists point to this example as a reason why we shouldn’t trust that Euro-

pean governments aren’t doing something similar now. This seems fair enough, but in my mind the evidence is inconclusive. Yes our soils contain chemicals, yes there are vapour trails in the sky and yes world governments are experimenting with geo engineering. But the question of chemtrails still hangs in the air.

So while I can’t imagine losing much sleep over chemtrails, it’s maybe not a bad idea to think twice when gazing at cloud formations in the Costa del Sol skies. Because while it’s all too easy to dismiss chemtrails as a wacky conspiracy theory, until the unexplained is explained, I for one will be keeping an open mind.

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

NEWS

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Stop order Homeowners win first battle against ‘Algarrobico of Estepona’ after courts order halt

HALTED: Santa Marta hotel today and (right) before

Expat victory A BRITISH expat who faced an embargo on her home for a debt that was not hers has succeeded in clearing her name. Kritzlynn Al-Taib (right), 62, was ordered by Canillas de Albaida town hall to pay the last six years of water bills from a restaurant she legally closed in 2006. As reported by the Olive Press in March, the town hall demanded the expat pay €600.11 in utility costs or face an embargo on her home and bank account. Al-Taib, who claimed the local mayor ‘knew that the restaurant was being run by another family for the last six years’ was determined to prove that the debt was not hers. Following the Olive Press report, which Al-Taib said mayor Jorge Martin Perez read and was ‘furious’ about, the expat has finally had her debt cleared. “I think it should be known that people can win cases like this against the town hall,” said Al-Taib, who had also threatened legal action. “Thanks for your help.”

A HOTEL development – dubbed the Algarrobico of Estepona - has received a ‘stop order’ for breaching building requirements. The Santa Marta hotel, situated within a quiet residential area in Estepona, has received a backlash from locals due to its size and proximity to the beach. Now, following a damning report by the public prosecutor, the developers have been sent a partial stop order.

Mammoth

As revealed by the Olive Press in March, the seven-storey project dwarfs the previous Hotel Santa Marta, a low-rise bungalow resort which was surrounded by several hundred trees. Some local residents, including one expat pensioner who can touch the mammoth hotel from her

By Mason Jones bedroom window, claim it has been built without the proper licences. Now Malaga’s public prosecutor (fiscal) has finally agreed and ordered Estepona Town Hall to issue a stop order on the construction. The EU is already investigating the development which residents of the Benamara urbanisation say has forced them to ‘live on a building site for the last four years’. Environmental groups insist that the project violates the 1988 Coastal Law which dictates that any area within 100 metres of the beach is public and not suitable for private development. The new hotel ends approximately 20 metres from the beach, replacing what was once a small single-storey chiringuito.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es HOLIDAYMAKERS are being warned to think twice about their medical cover before embarking for Spain. Tourists are being warned not to rely on the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which is supposed to give all EU citizens access to state medical care in all member countries. It comes after several British tourists were refused treatment unless they paid for it first. It comes after the Olive Press reported a month ago how mother Samantha Fryer was refused treatment for her son Josh, 15, after he had punctured a testicle, unless she paid €400 in advance. In the disgraceful case that shocked the coast, the public Hospital de Alta Resolucion insisted she stump up the cash before a

Health card travesty

Tourists being warned that their EHIC health card may not work in Spain this year after 120 patients were turned away doctor would even consider stitching up his wound that was haemorraging blood. She ended finding a private doctor around the corner who stiched up the wound for just €30. The problem is so rife in Spain, as well as Greece and Portugal, that the European Commission has been forced to launch an inves-

EXPOSURE to the sun is a good way to lower blood pressure, it has emerged. In good news for expats, a new report claims the sun’s rays are a good way to ward off heart attacks and strokes. Scientists at Edinburgh University think that the health benefits of sunbathing outweigh the risks from skin cancer. Researchers found that when skin is exposed to sunlight for just 20 minutes, blood vessels release an important chemical called nitric oxide. This in turn acts to lower blood pressure , reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes or blood clots, a far bigger killer than skin cancer. Dr Richard Weller, said: “Scientists have known for years people’s blood pressure is lower in summer than winter. Additionally, research shows populations of countries far from the equator, with less sunlight , have higher blood pressure”.

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

By Giles Brown tigation. Several leading insurance companies have lodged official complaints and the Association of British Insurers is investigating 120 cases of holidaymakers being turned down by Spanish doctors. Typically, British tourists

– who number 11 million coming to Spain each year are being asked if they have travel insurance not the EHIC card. With the country currently in the depths of an economic recession, there have been huge cuts to its public services, which have left state hospitals operating on extremely tight budgets.

SUNBATHING SENSATION

An EU spokeperson said: ‘We have been receiving an increasing number of complaints about the EHIC card being refused in Spain. “Many of these hospitals provide public and private healthcare and some tourists say they have been pushed to accept private treatment and use their travel insurance.” The Association of British Insurers says in most cases when an EHIC card is refused the insurer should pay up, and advises that if you are forced to pay on the spot make sure you gather as much evidence as possible to prove that it was an emergency. You should also complain to the British Embassy and report the problem to SOLVIT, which investigates breaches of EU law. These cases also underline the vital importance of taking out travel insurance before you go on holiday, even if your destination is within the EU.

News IN BRIEF

Raging Bull back DISGRACED boxer Scott Harrison has been ordered to hand himself in to a Spanish jail or face arrest. A Malaga court ruled that he must see out the rest of his sentence for beating up three men in a brothel near his Alhaurin home six years ago.

Eviction over Mohamed Aziz, the Barcelona man whose eviction prompted the European Court of Justice to rule that Spain’s eviction policies were illegal, has had his eviction order nullified.

Lloyds sells up Lloyds bank has offloaded its loss making Spanish retail banking arm to Banco Sabadell in a cash and shares deal worth up to €100 million.

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

NEWS

10 POLICE and customs officers have made two record drug hauls in just one week. In the largest marijuana drug bust ever seen a joint operation between Spanish and Dutch police closed 15 indoor drug factories around the Costa del Sol. A total of 13,000 marijuana plants were seized as well as 23 properties in Holland and Spain valued at €4.4 million. Police also took an assortment of luxury cars and motorcycles, valued at €1.1 million, as well as a kilo of esctasy, €24,000 in cash, €2,300 in fake notes and a pistol. The gang, made up of mainly Dutch nationals used state-of-the-art ‘hy-

droponic’ equipment at 15 farms along the coast. The drugs were then exported to Holland, while the gang also imported ecstasy from the Netherlands to Spain. The haul came just days after officers in Algericas seized 33 tonnes of hashish in a lorry that had arrived from Tangier and was

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Up in Smoke as police make two record drug hauls in one week supposedly carrying melons. The haul was the biggest shipment ever to arrive

Flight fight RULE OF SILENCE British councillor slams ‘domino-ban’ mayor for not being ‘democratic’ A BRITISH councillor in Mojacar has slammed the ‘lack of democracy’ in her seaside town. Jessica Simpson claims PP mayor Rosa Maria Cano – who recently threatened to ban dominoes as they were too noisy - has refused to answer questions or allow motions to be filed for nearly six months. Instead she is issuing directives behind closed doors at ‘extraordinary’ or ‘urgent’ closed cabinet meetings. “She is not adhering to the democratic process,” Simpson told the Olive Press. “She is not giving constituents a platform to air their views publicly.

Silence

“Five months have passed since the opposition have been allowed to file motions or ask questions on behalf of the electorate, and by the time the next open meeting is scheduled, half a year will have passed. “That’s six months of silence enforced by her regime on the opposition and members of the public, only 30% of whom actually voted for her”. According to the constitution, and approved at an earlier council meeting, a bi- monthly session held in the council chamber, should

EXCLUSIVE

By Brian Sherwood be open to the opposition. Mojacar’s opposition parties have now clubbed together to go to the courts to have her ordered to adhere to the regional and national law. The mayor recently found herself in the national spotlight after she insisted that she would clamp down on noise in the town made from people playing dominoes.

AN expat is fighting to get a refund from an airline that went bust before even getting off the ground. Leslie Hoar is furious that he has still not been refunded for the €96 flight he paid for with Hispania airlines in December. The 65-year-old was left stranded in the run up to Christmas when the fledgling airline cancelled his flight from Granada to London Gatwick at the last minute. He is angry that the company failed to return his money despite leaving him high and dry on Christmas Eve. He has now joined a Facebook page called Affectados Hispania Airways which has been set up with hundreds of unfortunate Spanish and British travellers in a bid to get their money back. “The whole situation is either a deplorable scam, or just an incredibly poor piece of Spanish organisation,

in a single lorry, and double the largest previous amount seized. The driver of the lorry has been arrested.

Angry punters demand action after defunct airline fails to offer refunds By Rebecca Maguire possibly both” Hoar told the Olive Press. “I was told I’d get a full refund,” he continued, “But when I contacted Visa they said the airline had not officially gone bust so I couldn’t claim on my insurance. “Instead they told me to contact Hispania’s agent, Vista Travel.” However the travel company with whom he had booked insisted it was not issuing refunds because it has also lost substantial monies after the company’s collapse. Vista is now suing the airline’s CEO. Luis Araque Rodríguez and is advising complainants to contact Granada Airport and the Spanish airport ombudsman AENA with their details. A spokesman for Hispania was not available as we went to press.

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NEWS

11 NEWS

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GREEN NEWS

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GREEN NEWS

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Fighting on the beaches

Activists scale parliament over the ‘privatisation’ of Spain’s coastline

ACTIVISTS from Greenpeace have managed to scale the roof of parliament in protest of the ‘privatisation’ of Spain’s coastlines. The three activists, who were later arrested, unveiled a banner reading: ‘The PP is selling our coastline’ on top of the building in Madrid. Members of the organisa-

By Mason Jones tion held the peaceful protest while government officials were inside debating a reform bill of the 1988 Coastal Law. Approval of the new Coastal Act, which was passed only thanks to a PP majority, has received a backlash of

Sustainable Living

Selling the coast

In a new green column Phil Speirs of lachispa.net explains the changes to the coastal law ACTIVISTS at Greenpeace have accused the government of ‘selling out the coast’ expressing their message in typical style by scaling the government building and promptly getting arrested. The problem with the reform of the Ley de Costas is that it effectively loosens up the original 1988 law which created strict controls on building with 100 metres of the coast. Environmentalists fear that it now opens the door to more environmentally damaging urbanisations along previously unspoilt parts of Spain’s coasts. Key amendments reduce the ‘buffer’ zone of development from 100 to 20 metres and critics fear this could even effectively mean the legalisation of the controversial Algorrobico hotel, in Almeria. So if we ‘re all looking forward to the rest of the Spanish coast looking like Torremolinos the PP are clearly the party to back. Finally if you are one of the ever increasing number of people who thinks we ought to be living in a more ecosustainable way then this weekend you can come and join me and thousands of other visitors at the annual Natura Málaga fair in the city’s Palacio de Congresos

criticism from environmental groups. A spokesman from Greenpeace said the approval of the law ‘pardons’ thousands of buildings which were illegally built within 100 metres of the beach. The current 1988 Coastal Law dictates that any area within 100 metres of the beach is public and not suitable for private development. However, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Miguel Arias Canete, said the new Coastal Act provides more powerful tools ‘to prevent urban atrocities’ that were built PROTEST: Activists scale parliament under the 1988 law. This would include Almeria’s Algarrobico hotel, which is still set to be demolished, despite the law changes. He also stated that the Act ‘guarantees the preservation of the coast’ but gives legal certainty to all those who acquired homes ‘which were built in the protection zone before 1988’. The protest by Greenpeace later sparked a debate over the security of government buildings as the three activists were able to easily scale the main gate and climb on to the roof.

Golf project gets new breath of life NERJA town hall has been given the opportunity of getting its controversial Barranco de la Coladilla golf course off the ground. In the latest chapter in the ongoing 10-year saga, the Andalucian High Court (TSJA) is giving Nerja Town Hall the opportunity to explain why the land where the project is due to go ahead should be classified as urban, and not rustic. The proposed project, backed by multimillionaire financiar George Soros, would comprise a mixture of residential and tourist development including an 18-hole golf course, a luxury hotel and a 1,000 homes. Currently a popular destination

for climbers and other adventure sports fans, the area was originally earmarked as public forest in the Nerja Town Hall Plan of 1985, and sits above the Nerja cave complex. The land however, was subsequently reclassified as ‘urban’ in a later amendment, although this was not ratified by the Junta. Nevertheless, in 2004 the first surveys took place to determine the viability of the project and the land was subsequently sold to the company Medgroup, owned by Soros, for €15 million. Nerja Mayor José Alberto Armijo commented that a decision to allow the project to go ahead would bring ‘enormous satisfaction’ to the town.

Rainy day for Calatrava

THE owners of a Spanish winery are demanding €2 million from celebrated architect Santiago Calatrava to fix a leaky roof. Domecq, owners of Ysios winery in Alava, northern Spain, have filed the complaint against the famous designer and his builders for failing to fix persistent leaks in the structure’s undulating roof. Now the company is demanding funds to hire a new architect to rectify the problem. However, Domecq has promised to maintain Calatrava’s original outlines which gives the building its unusual pixilated look.

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

THE OLIVE PRESS IS NOW DISTRIBUTING 4,500 COPIES ON THE ROCK Here are the main places stocking the Olive Press in Gibraltar: • Café Fresco • O’Reileys • Ibex Insurance • Morrisons • Elliot Hotel • Sacarellos • ICC Shopping Centre • Cafe Solo • Café Rojo • Colourworks • Rolex • Caleta Hotel • Ibex Insurance • Eroski city (Waitrose) • Gala Casion

GIBRALTAR NEWS

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We ARE fighting tax evasion

Killer Talent

A ROYAL Navy submarine has visited Gibraltar for the first time in five years. HMS Talent will be in Gibraltar for a short stay as part of a scheduled operation. The 84 metre long submarine is of the ‘Trafalgar’ class. She is part of the Royal Navy’s ‘hunter-killer’ submarine force and is armed with 30 different weapons, including Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles. Talent also carries cameras and thermal imaging periscopes as part of her surveillance role and boasts the most advanced sonar capability of any naval vessel worldwide.

Chief minister insists the Rock is happy to help the Spanish authorities to root out tax evasion

GIBRALTAR has promised to help Spain uncover any suspected tax evasion on the Rock. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo insisted that he was prepared to give out information of any Spanish tax evaders if necessary. Defending the Rock’s reputation during a lecture on the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Utrecht in Sevilla, he stressed that Gibraltar fully complied with EU and international regulations on money laundering and tax evasion. He explained, “The fact Gibraltar is on the white list tells you it is not a tax haven.” He continued: “We have shown a readiness to help Spain to identify possible tax evasion on the Rock, but we have not had a single

By Rebecca Maguire request for data from the Spanish authorities.” Since the beginning of 2013, Gibraltar has been part of a multilateral agreement to share tax information between E.U. members. But the Spanish government does not believe the system is effective, so the fight against tax fraud is high on the agenda of the next European summit on May 22. Spanish Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro recently announced the creation of a government working group to focus specifically on Spanish tax evasion in Gibraltar. He believes the problem is costing Spain hundreds of

millions of euros every year. However, according to the Chief Minister, “The world regards Gibraltar as a fully compliant financial services jurisdiction and it is only Spain that continues to beat Gibraltar with the label of tax haven for its own nefarious purposes.” Gibraltar’s corporate tax is 10%, compared with Spain’s 30%, but Picardo cited Ireland as another EU country with similar corporation tax levels to Gibraltar. He also clarified that there are 18,000 companies domiciled on the Rock, not 30,000 as has been stated in Spain.

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GIBRALTAR NEWS

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Old Queen comes back to life THE old Queen’s Cinema is going to have a change of role and be made over into a new National Theatre. The government, which paid £3.5 million for the 1957 cinema, hopes to have it open again as a multi-use space by 2015. It is hoped international touring companies will use the space and will also become the home of Gibraltar’s Academy of Performing Arts.

SWITCHING ON ON the Rock

New Olive Press guide to the best of What’s On in Gibraltar over the next two weeks May 15 – 17 Gibunga A Llanito Musical Comedy by LOL productions at Ince’s Hall, tickets £12 from The Nature Shop. May 16 Cancer Relief Open Day at the new Cancer Relief Centre at South Barracks Road, aromatherapy, massage, bereavement counselling. 6.30pm – 7.30pm May 18 Camino de Gibraltar. A pilgrimage walk through all the catholic churches of Gibraltar, teams of 20. May 18 Fitness Bonanza. Zumba, Bokwa, Booiaka and Piloxing from 11am - 2pm at the Leisure Centre, £10 per person, all proceeds to The Guardian Angel Foundation. May 21 Gibraltar, Museum Lecture Part Two: ‘History of a Fortress’ at 7pm at John Mackintosh Hall. May 29 Celebration of Opera at St Michael’s Cave, an evening of arias, duets and famous songs organised by Gibraltar Philharmonic Society. Tickets £20 May 31 Spring Fest Acoustic Night, 8pm – midnight at Bayside Sports Complex, with Area 52 and Jetstream, tickets £5 on the door.

Natural gas power station plan put into place

A NEW gas fired power station is to be constructed in a reclaimed area in Gibraltar. Tenders have been issued to build it by the Government whose manifesto vowed to investigate alternative sources of energy and reduce noise pollution. “The low emissions from the best available technology will ensure that the location of the power station will not be a problem for residents in the area,” said Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo.

The proposal is to be debated by the development and planning commission and has already been put up to local wildlife groups and the Environmental Safety Group (ESG). The plan is the result of research undertaken since the government came to power 16 months ago. The previous government’s idea for a £150 million diesel project was rejected on environmental and economic grounds.

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GIB NEWS

IT’S NOT A FAIR COP

La Linea cops forced to use their own cars - and even the bus - to get to crime scenes POLICE in La Linea are resorting to attending crime scenes in their own cars, because of the dire lack of public funding. The local police officers are mostly patrolling the town on foot and have even attended crime scenes on the bus. It comes as it emerged that the town hall has just one police car available, while the majority of staff have not been paid for eight months.

Unacceptable

The problems came to a head last week when local police attended a fight in Princess Sofia Park after being alerted by passers-by. The affray was so out of control that the officers called for support. But back up arrived in private cars as no other vehi-

EXCLUSIVE By Rebecca Maguire cles were available. “We had to go immediately as we were concerned something fatal might happen if we walked ,” explained one officer. The PSOE-PA run town hall has been promising two new cars for six months, claims a representative for the local police trade union. Luis Santamaria, representative of the La Linea Local Police Union (SPLL) explained. “Our police are demonstrating remarkable professionalism and the risks they’re experiencing are unacceptable, as is the risk to our residents. “We’re asking the government to take urgent steps to end the problem.” He continued, “We’ve been waiting over six months

CUTS: Lack of cop cars for resources that haven’t materialised, despite announcements from mayor Gemma Araujo about several new cars that we still haven’t seen. It’s a total neglect of political duty.” Meanwhile Araujo has promised full co-operation to ombudsman, Soledad Becerril over an official investigation into the town’s dire financial situation.

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AXARQUIA NEWS

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Axq IN BRIEF Water worries 500 children in Rincon de la Victoria attended a conference to learn about how to use water responsibly with talks from town planners and environmentalists.

Great outdoors A 20-bed refuge is to be opened in the Sierra Almijara natural park in the hope of boosting ‘rural tourism’ according to Environment Minister Nieves Atencio.

Arty visit The Castle of La Herradura will host a year long art exhibition called ´30 years on the Costa Tropical´with several other events planned for the venue later this year.

Go underground alone! VISITORS to the Axarquia can now enjoy an exclusive out-ofhours tour of Nerja’s world-famous caves. One of Andalucia’s top tourist attractions, the caverns stretch for nearly five kilometres and include prehistoric cave paintings and the world’s largest stalagmite. The new private tours will take place out of normal opening hours until June in two sessions at 2pm and 6.30pm.

Petrol heads Over 250 Harley Davidson enthusiasts attended a rally which brought bikers from across Andalucia to Almunecar.

End of the line THE defunct tram line between Velez-Malaga and Torre del Mar could be permanently axed following an agreement to lease the trams to the Australian city of Sydney. It comes after the Junta announced earlier this year that an in-depth study was to be made to decide if the line was financially viable to bring back. The €40 million service was axed in June last year after six years in operation because transport bosses ruled maintenance costs were too

CASE CLOSED ON NERJA SHOOT-OUT FOUR people have been arrested following a shooting in Nerja last year. The incident, in which three of the arrested were injured, is believed to be the result of a botched hashish deal. After the shooting on March 26, Guardia Civil officers opened an investigation before arresting two Moroccan nationals in Torrox and Almeria for their part in the drug deal. Another man, believed to be an associate of the gunman, was later arrested along with the assailant himself at a house in El Ejido, Almeria. From the property officers seized a vehicle believed to have been used on the day of the shooting. Guardia Civil, who have now closed investigations into the incident, say they are confident that both the gunman and the three injured men were involved in the dealing of hashish.

high. The trams, which left the town hall in €2.5 million of debt, will now be leased to Sydney for an initial period of two years. Transport councillor for Velez, Francisco Natera, said the decision was ‘responsible’ following a lack of financial support from the Junta. However, the junta has repeatedly stated that local transportation is the responsibility of the town hall. The tram line, which opened at the end of 2006, ran from the town centre to Torre del Mar beach. The tram cost €1 million a year to run and after its closure the town mayor said the money would be invested in the bus service instead.

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LETTERS

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

POTTED POINTERS ANDALUCIA RESERVOIR LEVELS This week: 93.54% full Same week last year: 74.76% Same week in 2003: 64.01% 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 1.32 American Dollars 0.85 British Pounds 1,32 Canadian Dollars 7,45 Danish Kroner 10,21 H Kong Dollars 7,54 Norwegian Kroner 1,62 Singapore Dollars

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The taxman is not so naive Dear Olive Press WHY are so many people on the dole while cafes are still doing well? Greek taxi drivers went on strike and protested when they were requested to hand out receipts! All these phenomena have one common reason: Tax evasion. Nowadays, many people try all kind of tricks to avoid paying taxes and all little tax evasions together make a big one. Spain is a country in a deep crisis. Yet nobody seems to care about this small loss of tax. Taxes on real estate and road tax, VAT on purchases and income tax to be paid by employees or on saving accounts are more or less the only taxes which cannot be avoided. Come on, this needs to be tightened up.

er the owner of the privately rented apartment she used., it is probable they were not paying the tax. However, had they been completely legal, I wonder how the writer would have reacted to finding IVA added to her bill? As for restaurants not paying IVA, a friend of mine some years ago had a café just off Oxford St in London. He was required to charge VAT on food consumed on the premises but not for takeaways. Most of his sales showed as being takeaways. The taxman spent a week sitting in the café recording all his sales, after which my friend was presented with the Inland Revenue tax claim for several past years and a fine. Ms Philips, don’t be concerned the taxman is not that naive, even in Spain!

Christian Hörig, Estepona.

Elaine Gonzales, Fuengirola.

Tax concern

Shroom issues

Dear OP

Dear OP,

In your last issue a Ms Philips was concerned that some people may not be paying their taxes in Spain. And yes, on the matter of wheth-

Thank you for the interesting info on mushrooms in the sun. I am no expert; but the photo which accompanied

COMPUTER HACKERS SCAM Dear OP I have just had an attempted scam made upon me by computer hackers. They purport to operate on behalf of Microsoft and will show how slow your computer operates. Despite the ‘chat’ they give, they are actually sending the graph shown to you. It does not emanate from your machine. They also issue dire warnings about your computer ‘crashing’, once you have seen their graph. They operate as a pair, the first chatter-upper and the second technician is standard scam practice. The site they use www.ammyy.com exists, but if you go on it subsequently, it issues a warning about these people. These people will switch off any virus or malware system you have installed. They will then hide files in your computer. You will have to pay them money to remove the things. Yours sincerely Tony May, Alora

the info looked suspiciously like an extremely dangerous species - the one the Vikings went berserk with. It is so potent a drug that in Japan, it was sold in teahouses to the rich. The poor stood outside the back of the tea-house with bowls to try to catch the urine of the rich to get a

high on the second use. Are you quite sure that this is the photo you want? It would be terrible to induce a death. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but better safe than sorry. Mette Kyster, Marbella

CROSSMOT 8

Support Dear OP, After the very sudden death of my husband, the Rev Canon Alan Maude, I would like to say ‘thank you’ to the many people who have sent cards, flowers and messages of support. These have been a great strength to me. Everyone has been so kind but I would specially like to thank the police and the paramedics for the kindness shown to me, and to Maria Read who was such a great help. Thank you also to our two churches in San Pedro and Sotogrande for all the love, and the prayer support. God bless you. Marjorie Maude, Marbella

Van scam

Across 1 Scrape (6) * 4 Bailó (6) * 9 Example (7) * 10 Después De (5) * 11 Gulf (5) * 12 Admirado (7) * 13 Needs (11) * 18 Publishes (7) * 20 Votaron (5) * 22 Blame (5) * 23 Sperm (7) * 24 Gods (6) * 25 Cool (6). Down 1 Risk (6) * 2 Acero (5) * 3 Aprobar (7) * 5 Alarma (5) * 6 Fourteen (7) * 7 Golden (6) * 8 Animals (3, 8) * 14 Slender (7) * 15 Steamed (2, 5) * 16 Espacio (6) * 17 Devised (6) * 19 Imagen (5) * 21 Strips (5). L = 198

Dear sir, While searching the internet for any mention of a company called one way van hire SL, which we used this year on Feb 9 2013 to be exact, we found the van to be unroadworthy. We have also been unable to get our deposit of €350 back off them. I was wondering if you have to details of the others who have had the same problems and contacted you. Would you please pass on our details so they may contact us, if there are several people together we may have a better chance of recovering our monies or take the company or Jeremy Griffiths to court. Regards Tony Morgan

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.

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la cultura

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Real working class hero

23 SEVEN 23 GREAT PAGES OF CULTURE

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EXCLUSIVE: The Olive Press pays tribute to an International Brigade member to mark 74 years since the end of the Spanish Civil War

BORN in 1901 into a poor the Welshman with more EXCLUSIVE family of coal miners in accuracy. By Mason Jones South Wales, Tom Howell “Tom was no orator, no proJones was the youngest son pagandist...to the superfiof nine children. cial observer he was always calm and of no Jones, who like his father worked in the pits deep emotions,” he said of the Aberdare Tower Colliery, was known “But actually he was acutely sensitive to all to many in the town as an unassuming and problems of social and economic imporquiet man. tance and was particularly moved by any HEROES: Jones (circled) with other brigaders and (top) letter A close friend, however, perhaps described sense of social injustice.” Indeed, Jones proved just how much he a letter written after his untimely passcared about justice when he packed his ing 73 years ago. We carried his body into the valley below bags to fight a new ideal that was rap- The faded document, written by fellow idly marching its way across the conti- brigade member Edwin Greening, was and laid it to rest under an almond tree nent. sent back home to his brother Mark in “I REGRET having to write this, but Tom Howell was killed a few days ago,” Jones would go on to join 35,000 other Aberdare. men and women from around the globe Now his great niece Judith Langdon, wrote his colleague Edwin Greening in the poignant note. In the detailed letter to his family, that has never been published before, the to aid the Republican fight against the from Aberdare, has dug out the letter friend continued: “We were together in an advanced position with the boys fascist march of General Franco across and some fading photographs of her great uncle during his time in Spain. on some mountains called Sierra de Pandols, which overlook the town of Spain. The working class miner - who had The poignant letter from Greening beGandesa. “Then suddenly the enemy sent over some trench mortars; one of the shells actually taught himself German in gins: “I regret having to write this, but made a direct hit on a machine gun post, nearly killing three men, a Span- the Welsh valleys in order to read the Tom Howell was killed a few days ago.” iard and two Englishmen. I shouted to Tommy ‘All right there Tom?’ and he teachings of Karl Marx - would soon It goes on to explain the circumstances be fighting in the valleys of Gandesa, surrounding his death and cataloguing shouted back, ‘O.K. Edwin’. his bravery. “Then this trench mortar landed near us. I called out again and receiving no northern Spain. answer, crawled to Tom’s post, where I found him very badly wounded about Most of the 2,500 British volunteers With last month marking 74 years since had no experience of war and, like the end of the Spanish Civil War, Euthe neck, chest and head. “I ran for the first aid man and we were there in two minutes, but Tom was, Jones, came largely from working class rope should once again thank the men and women who left their homes to from the moment he was hit, beyond human aid and all we could do was backgrounds. raise him up a little and in two or three minutes, with his head resting on Although Brigade members came from fight facism in Spain. my knee, Tom passed away without regaining consciousness,” he continued. a vast mixture of religions and classes, And, as his great niece Langdon told the “We carried his corpse to the little valley below, where he was to rest forever. not to mention political backgrounds, Olive Press, this week: “It is great to fiAnd there on that great mountain range, in a little grove of almond trees, we they all shared one common ideal; that nally commemorate him. He really was fascism had to be stopped. working class hero. I am astonished at laid Tom Howell to rest. “I said a few words of farewell but Tom is not alone there, all around him lie The Olive Press came across the story the bravery and dedication of all those of Tom Howell Jones after discovering who went to fight fascism.” the graves of many Spanish and English boys.”

what’s on

alaga, May 17 to

May 19, Cervantes theatre, Puccini’s opera La Boheme will be shown with music from the Santa Maria de la Victoria choir and the Malaga Opera Choir.

evilla, Contemporary

Art Centre (CAAC), May 17 – May 18, Territorios Sevilla, One of Andalucia’s largest music festivals featuring artists such as Fatboy Slim, 2ManyDJs and Ska Cubano. Day entry €17, price for two days €27

evilla, Contemporary

Art Centre (CAAC), now until June 30, Al Wei Wei: Resistance and Tradition, work by international artist and activist Al Wei Wei including his most famous piece, Sunflower Seeds. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 9pm, Sunday 11am-3pm entrance fee €1.80. Free entry 7pm-9pm

a Linea, June 1,

Palacio de Congresos, Carnaval Festival, a musical showcase featuring ensembles such as Los Recotaos and Los Validos. Tickets are €15 and are available from several outlets in La Linea and Algeciras. For more information see: www. juanjocarnaval.bitacoras. com

alaga, May 19, St

George’s Anglican Church, The annual Spring Fayre in the grounds of the English Cemetry, baked goods, vintage clothing and second hand goods.

la cultura Gaucin’s now celebrated ‘open studio’ weekends promise to be even better this year

At home with the artists

By Annabel Grossman

LOCAL: Some of the artwork to be shown in Gaucin

RESIDENT artists from Gaucin are once again throwing open their studio doors to share their work with visitors to the pueblo blanco. This year the ‘open studio’ sessions will run over the course of two long weekends from May 24 - 26 and May 31 - June 2. Now in its ninth year, the event provides a unique opportunity for art lovers to get a glimpse of the wide variety of work produced in this pretty mountain village. There will be 16 artists showcasing their pieces over the two weekends, and visitors will be invited to view a wide variety of styles and mediums, from glasswork and ceramics to abstract paintings and free-standing sculptures. Local artist Anna McGrane, who has lived in Gaucin for 12 years, explained that opening up the studios isn’t just about selling pieces of art, but it is also a chance to allow local artists to share their talents with the public. “There’s a huge range of art from a really interesting group of talented people, many of whom are well known even outside of Gaucin,” she added. “It promises to be a really stimulating and exciting event.” For more information visit www.artgaucin.com

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la cultura

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THRILLED: Beach House owner Guy McCrow is happy with a food snap

From splice to slice

NORMALLY concentrating on wedding photos, last week local snapper Jeremy Standley could be found turning his talents to a new type of photography. The Benalmadena-based photographer was given the task of representing over a dozen dishes at popular Elviria restaurant The Beach House. During the course of a morning, the team of chefs led by Jeff Mynott - trooped in and out with everything from a burger and chips (main picture) to wraps, desserts and sushi. He even got a photo of a cup of coffee, the local asparagus and a box of fresh fish which had just arrived (inset top).

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LUNACY: As far as the eye can see skiiers and snowboarders without clothes

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s downhill from h

NICE AND EASY: But it is a bit more tricky for snowboarders skiing without protection

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COOLING OFF: Annabel (inset top) cools off at Ocean Club, surrounded by party-goers spraying Veuve Cliquot champagne

here

DRESSED UP: Skiers prepare to hit the slopes

The Olive Press sent reporter Annabel Grossman (far left in green goggles) to try out one of the most bizarre (and hardy) days out that Andalucia can offer... bikini skiing in the morning and a Puerto Banus champagne spray party in the afternoon

ver since I first set foot on the slopes a couple of decades ago, I’ve always been keen to bundle myself up in as much cosy ski gear as possible. So when the Olive Press sent me up to the Sierra Nevadas with little more than a bikini and a pair of ski socks it’s fair to say I was more than a little apprehensive. But never one to turn down a ski trip, there I was at 5.30am skimpy swimsuit in hand heading up to the mountains. We’ve all heard the old adage of ski in the morning, sunbathe in the afternoon, and the Sierra Nevada is one of the only places in the world where this is do-able. But this weekend I was challenged to take the whole concept one step further. I was going to attempt to ski in the morning and then make it down to Marbella in time to live it up at the Ocean Club’s famous champagne spray party. But the catch was, I was to spend the whole day wearing just a bikini. Fair enough - it is the start of May, the sun is shining in the mountains, and a bikini is the standard attire for the Ocean Club. But swimsuits in the snow? Really? Standing at the bottom of the ski lift I’m not feeling terribly confident. I’ve been assured that plenty of people will be in their swim gear for the final weekend of the season but all I can see are skiers all snug and warm in their jackets and salopettes giving me rather strange looks. However, once up on the hill everything changes. The atmosphere is riotous, with skiers charging around not only in bikinis, but swim shorts, armbands and rubber rings and there’s even a surf board thrown in for good measure. And - although it’s a little chilly on the chair lift - with no wind and plenty of sunshine I’m almost glad to be rid of cumbersome ski gear for once. In fact, it takes only seconds for fears of painful wipeouts and potential frostbite to evaporate and I’m off tearing down some of Europe’s highest and most beautiful mountains.

I’ve always believed skiing is the best natural high possible, but in a bikini it’s just that little bit better – the feel of sun and mountain air on your skin is incredible, the adrenaline is pumping and there’s great potential for an even tan. Admittedly, there are a couple of bloodied knees coming off the slopes and I can see that swimwear may not be the most practical attire for a sport where hitting the deck is cold, hard and painful (snowboarders take note!). But it doesn’t take long for me to decide springtime skiing is definitely better minus the skiwear. I’m pretty shattered after a few hours on the slopes (and more than a little sunburned) so at 3pm it’s back in the car for the two hour drive to Marbella. I’m not too worried at this point. After all, the hard part’s over and all I have to do now is sip champagne by the pool at one of Spain’s most fashionable clubs. No problem. However, as I stride through the door past a couple of 6ft models in heels and full make up and am met by a bunch of ripped lads spraying Veuve Clicquot and pumping their fists, I’m beginning to think this might not be so easy. I’m suddenly very aware of my ragged hair, odd-looking goggle marks and smudged make up – hardly the standard look for Marbella’s hottest opening party. But this isn’t the time to let the side down, so mojito in hand I head towards the ‘beds’ which surround the pool. As anyone who’s been at a champagne spray party will know, it’s something you won’t forget in a while. If you can handle the eye-watering prices, TOWIE wannabes and the rather staggering waste of champagne, then you’re sure to have a great time. And despite my achy muscles and stinging sunburn, I find that I’m actually getting into the spirit of it all. However, when the girls start falling off their designer wedges and the stag parties begin to disband, I decide it’s time to call it a day and finally retreat to the comfort of a T-shirt. So it seems that sun, snow and spray can indeed be done in a day. Is it practical? Hardly. Will it catch on? Probably not. Affordable? Not at all. But would I recommend it? Absolutely.

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la cultura

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the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

Best of both worlds WITH an art education that spans both Russia and America it is fair to say that Melissa Hefferlin had the best of both worlds. Now based in Olvera, a new exhibition at Hotel Mo-

lino del Santo, in Benaojan, clearly shows her love for her adopted region. Called the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Stillness and the Motion of Andaluciaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, her subjects range from local flamenco dancers to still lifes and l a n d scapes. Influenced by the strong sunlight and the d e e p shadows typical of southern Spain, t h e flowing moveTRUE ANDALUZ: Typical Hefferlin paintings ment of

ARTIST: Melissa Hefferlin the dancers and the bright colors of their dresses bring the paintings alive. The 45-year-old motherof-one, who lives with her husband from Ingushetia in Olvera, was the only American to study at the Academy of Fine Art in St Petersburg. The exhibition runs until the end of July

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la cultura

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

Roman lesson

A YOUNGSTER is given a lesson on how the Romans warded off evil spirits when they lived on the Costa del Sol 2000 years ago. Among an impressive display of items portrayed on the mosaic floor of the Roman villa recently renovated in Marbella, was a Medusaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head at the front entrance. Other items include kitchen implements, foodstuffs and even a pair of flip flops. Tourists are finally able to appreciate Marbellaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic past again after the villa at Rio Real reopened after a five year overhaul, which has seen it covered to protect it against the elements.

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Top Dollar the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

The Olive Press fortnightly business section taking a look at the Spanish economy and offering tips on how to save AND make money

IT’LL COSTA LOT

Tourists hammered with an average charge of €7 for taking out cash in Spain HOLIDAYMAKERS are facing a huge pounding at Spain’s cash machines this summer. According to Norwich & Peterborough building society tourists in Spain get charged £6.81 to withdraw £143, the average amount taken out per transaction. Ranking the top 10 holiday destinations across the world, Germany came in as the cheapest with the average withdrawal of £101, costing just £4.83.

Statistics have emerged that the average withdrawel overseas is costing around £6 (€7.10). There are two reasons behind the high figures - first there is a card transaction charge, which is usually around 2% of the amount withdrawn. In addition there is a further cash conversion charge of usually 2.75% or 2.99%. Comparing how much it costs holidaymakers to withdraw £250, NatWest , First Direct and

Boost for motor industry PRIME Minister Mariano Rajoy has pledged to invest €1 billion in Spain’s car industry over the coming months. Despite ongoing economic woes and soaring unemployment, already a total of €5 billion has been invested in the Spanish car industry in just over a year. He made the announcement at a lunch for car company executives ahead of the Barcelona International Motor Show. Rajoy added that 12% of the country’s workforce is employed directly or indirectly in the auto sector and that

HSBC customers were charged the most at almost £12. Ewan Edwards, N&P’s head of current accounts, said consumers who regularly travelled abroad should consider overseas ATM and debit card usage charges when choosing their current account provider. “Spain was the country where our customers made most withdrawals last year and they would have faced paying up to £6.81 for the average withdrawal there had they not used a fee-free card,” he said. “Choosing a debit card that provides free use abroad will take away the concern about what extra fees they could be hit with during their trip.” Country

Spain France Australia Thailand USA Portugal NZ Italy Greece Germany Average

Average amount withdrawn

Max amount charged on cash cards abroad

£143.37 £126.99 £106.96 £162.77 £122.13 £117.36 £99.43 £129.67 £149.85 £101.64 £126.02

£6.81 £6.03 £5.08 £7.73 £5.80 £5.57 £4.72 £6.16 £7.12 £4.83 £5.99

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Terrific for tots! A BRITISH couple have become the first expats to open a non-Spanish business inside Malaga airport. Tots Store - a service providing baby and toddler equipment for rent and sale - is the brainchild of Sarah and Richard Ashman. Parents can get their hands on everything from car seats and baby milk to children’s bikes and English-brand nappies. “Our car seats are half the price of the rent-a-car firms,” explains Sarah, 39. The couple, who have lived in Riviera for 11 years, have landed a ‘testing contract’ and hope to see the business go from strength to strength. “It’s still early days but we’ve got lots of clients and we are already turning over a profit,” adds Sarah. The company prides itself on affordable prices and helping parents find essential products not readily available in Spain. “A lot of companies sell and rent baby equipment but they don’t go the whole distance,” Sarah adds. “At Tots Store we supply all those things that make a mum’s life so much easier on holiday.”

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Expat dentist becomes new president of prestigious Marbella networking group

THERE is something extremely business-like about the Marbella Business Group (MBG). Apart from the fact that their meetings start at 8am sharp once a week, you can face being ejected for missing just three get-togethers in a six month period. Aside from that, they offer a prize each week for the best presentation and members must try to give at least two referrals to fellow members per week. Now the MBG, which comprises over 25 members from every imaginable trade and business, has a new boss. Dr Nina King from the Oasis dental clinic has become the new president after being a member for a year. The group, comprising of

New boss for business group nearly a dozen nationalities, was set up by eight local businessmen and women fed up with the existing networking group they were in. “It has grown in an incredibly short amount of time,” explained Dr King, who estimates the group has brought her countless new clients. “It is organised and disciplined and we really try to help each others businesses grow in a very tricky time for Spain.”

FIRST DUTY: Nina (right) sorts out prize

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Road to Riches, by Richard Alexander

HE forerunner to a personal pension was often called a ‘retirement annuity’ or ‘deferred annuity contract’ and they were both structured in a very different way to the pension we know today. The retirement age range was a lot more restrictive and sometimes, benefits were provided at a specific date with no flexibility at all. On reaching retirement, the level of future income would be calculated by reference to annuity tables and then a lump sum of typically up to three times the annual pension was agreed. The annuity options would include the ability to take a ‘level’ pension or build in an ‘escalation factor’, with further options to include a widows’ or widowers’ pension. Once purchased, the annuity income was then guaranteed and would be payable for life. I recall that in the early 1990s a man retiring at age 60 could achieve an annuity rate in the region of 15% and for those who locked in they have had an exceptional re-

Have a close look at the small print in your pension... you ‘might be pleasantly surprised’, writes Richard Alexander turn when compared to the current conditions, where the annuity rate is nearer 6%. When such high levels of return were possible, to lock in to those rates was right for many people, but today, you could be taking a huge gamble. Why? Simply because annuity rates are at historically low levels and on average, we are living much longer. You would be making a decision which has to last the rest of your life, and things might

Annuities – Guarantee or Gamble

not work out how you expect them to. As an example, a man with a £100,000 pension fund could achieve a single life pension of £6,000 per year but if he is married and his wife is a couple of years younger than himself, he may need to include a widows’ pension for her of 50%. This could have the immediate effect of reducing their joint starting pension by perhaps a third.

This might all look like sensible planning given that she is likely to live eight or nine years after he has died but what if she dies first? You cannot then add another dependent and therefore, the money spent to provide the widows’ pension in this example has been wasted. The annuity market has become a more sophisticated place and there are many varieties of annuities available, both for pension funds and

for direct purchase. Some offer the types of return described above while others will have variable rates and might include an investment element or a profits factor which could provide increasing income over time. It is fair to say that annuities are still the right solution in some circumstances where those guarantees are needed. But for others, the gamble may just be too great. And one final thought;

wouldn’t it be great to be able to secure annuity rates that were available all those years ago – well some people can do exactly that. Many of the old style pensions are still in existence today and some include guaranteed annuity rates that are much better than currently available on the open market; so dig out your policy paperwork and have a read through the small print, you might just be pleasantly surprised!

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

Top Dollar Peace of mind on health 37

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BUPA explains why it is important to think about a health plan if you are living in Spain

EXPATS in Spain are a diverse group. Some have moved here recently, others have been here for so long they consider it home. Some pick and choose when they are around, others are permanent residents. For UK retirees looking for a new experience overseas, Spain is enduringly popular. In fact, according to the Office for National Statistics, the country regularly appears in the top five best-loved destinations for British retirees planning a life abroad. The Eurozone crisis does not appear to have dampened this trend – as retirees heading to Spain are not entering the job market, they are less affected by the economic slowdown. But whether it is work or retirement that brings an expat to Spain, there is one thing that is consistent: everyone wants peace of mind on health for them and their family. Experiencing a sudden change to your health – particularly if you have been diagnosed with a serious illness – is often a distressing time. It affects everything: the lifestyle you are able to lead, your relationships and your emotional well being. Finding yourself in a country that is not ‘home’ where you might not be familiar with the

healthcare system can add to the worry. But this need not be the case. Many expats choose International Private Medical Insurance for greater peace of mind on their health. In case something does go wrong, it gives the extra reassurance that any treatment received is consistent, reliable, and of the highest standard. It also gives access to specialist centres of excellence abroad, should they be needed. Bupa International’s Worldwide Health Options Plan is a flexible product, with a range of add-on options to create a plan that is just right for you. For example, modular options include cover for prescribed medicines, cancer screening and even cover for pre-existing conditions. Being with Bupa International means you will have the very best healthcare on hand for you and your family, whenever and wherever you should need it. To find out more about how Bupa International can support you and your loved ones on your new adventure together, call +44 (0) 1273 322337 from 8am-6pm Monday to Friday and 9am-1pm on Saturday, or visit us online at www.bupa-intl.com.

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Europe shrinks again while UK expands T HE rate movement in our beloved sterling/euro pairing has been limited to a 1% range for the last couple of weeks, despite the European Central Bank cutting interest rates last week to a record low of 0.5% and also signalling it would be prepared to cut rates further if necessary. The ECB was given little choice but to cut interest rates at a time when governments across the continent are having to cut spending and reduce budget deficits. Although the rate cut was expected, it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a done deal so the euro did weaken a little on the announcement. Many now expect that the ECB will keep its powder dry for the foreseeable future at least, although the same was thought

after the last rate cut until data from Germany showed signs of weakness, warranting a further cut. In the UK, the service sector data which accounts for three quarters of the UK economy, surprised everyone last week following the PMIs for construction and manufacturing that were also better than expected. This continues to support a no change policy from the Bank of England as regards monetary policy. If the economy manages to maintain some slight growth then Sterling should remain well supported against the Euro where most economies are contracting quite heavily.

Keith is head of European Sales at HiFX. To contact HiFX and find out how the team can help you with your international transactions, call in at the office in Centro Plaza, call 951 203 986 or email olivepress@hifx.co.uk

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Back to the Ruhr

History is repeating itself as Spaniards flock to Germany to escape recession A RECORD number of Spanish people moved to Germany last year, faced with soaring unemployment and a deepening economic crisis at home. According to figures from the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the number of Spaniards arriving in Germany in 2012 increased by 45% to 29,910.

Immigration

That was the greatest number of Spanish entrants to Germany since Destatis first compiled the statistical series in 1996. This comes after it emerged that six million Spaniards were out of work in the first

By Annabel Grossman quarter of 2013, with the jobless rate hitting a record 27.2%. There has been similar growth of Spaniards moving to the UK and is reminiscent of the great exodus of Spanish workers to northern Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, thousands of Spaniards went to work in the mines or factories in Germany, Belgium or Switzerland. Overall immigration to Germany reached a 17-year high in 2012, with waves of Poles, Romanians, Bulgarians and Hungarians also

heading to the EU economic powerhouse. The most immigrants came from Poland, with 68,100 new arrivals, while 45,700 came from Romania, and 51,500 arrived from Hungary and Bulgaria.

Employment

But the greatest increases came from peripheral eurozone countries such as Italy, Portugal and Greece. Some 4,000 more immigrants arrived from Portugal in 2012, while 10,000 more came from Greece and 14,000 from Italy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Until recently, Germany was an emigration country, but now people are flocking to Germany in search of work, as their home countries are mired in recession,â&#x20AC;? said Wolfgang Nagl, a labour market expert at the Ifo institute.

POPULATION FALLS AS FOREIGNERS FLEE THE CRISIS THE population of Spain has shrunk for the first time on record. It comes after a record number of people emigrated for work, as well as numerous immigrants leaving to find work elsewhere. Figures from the National Statistics Institute show the number of residents dropped by almost 206,000 to 47.1 million last year - a decline largely accounted for by foreigners. The biggest fall in registered immigrants was among South Americans, especially Ecuadoreans and Colombians. At the same time the population of native Spaniards only grew by 10,000 in 2012, a smaller increase than in recent years.

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Advertorial

Join us for tea Have a cup of tea with Wincham and find out more about your Spanish Inheritance tax liabilities

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PANISH Inheritance tax can be a very misleading subject due to the varying advice and ‘solutions’ offered in Spain. Wincham have been assisting clients since 1994 to successfully and legally protect their loved ones from the huge burden that is ‘Spanish IHT’. Many property owners in Spain are sitting on a ticking Inheritance Tax (IHT/ ISD) time bomb unaware that when they purchase their dream property they are unknowingly creating a potential financial burden for their beneficiaries. The surviving partner, or beneficiaries, may have a tax bill which exceeds the value of the entire Spanish asset being inherited plus the cost of obtaining probate in more than one country. Our solution to the IHT/ISD problem in Spain is for the owner/s to invest the property into a UK Private Limited company which they would own as shareholder/s remain in complete control of their asset. There is no 7-10% Property Transfer tax payable on this transaction. There are also many taxation benefits when investing a property into your own UK Limited Company; in addition the ownership of the company can be structured to suit beneficiaries needs in a way that is simply not possible under Spanish law. Due to the success of our April roadshow we will be located again at three different venues during May offering personal one-to-one appointments with Mark Bailey and David Rogers, giving you the opportunity to discuss your individual circumstances and take away your free personalised Spanish Inheritance Tax illustration. Appointments are available between 10am to 5pm at:

• Beatriz Palace Hotel, Fuengirola Friday May 17 • The Kempinski Hotel, Estepona Saturday May18 • The H10 Andalucia Plaza Hotel, Marbella Sunday May 19 To find out more about the implications of Spanish IHT, what the liabilities of your beneficiaries are likely to

be and the legal steps you can take to avoid it please contact Wincham on 0034 965 830 991 / +44 (0)1260 299 700 or alternatively visit www.winchamiht.com

Wincham International is also able to assist you with legal, accountancy, Will Writing and Probate issues in both the UK and Spain.

Law Eviction demo NOT illegal 51

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A SPANISH court has ruled that protesters who demonstrated outside the home of a government minister did not break the law. Judge Marcelino Sexmero insisted the protest outside the home of deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria was not an attack on the privacy and security of her family. He said the protest by 300 people in April was protected by laws of freedom of assembly and expression. The protest by Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) later saw Santamaria’s husband, José Iván Rosa Vallejo file a com-

Protest outside deputy PM house within the law

plaint against the organisers. He claimed the couple’s 16-month son had been intimidated by the 20-minute protest. However, the judge in Madrid concluded that the group had a right to demonstration so long as it was done ‘peacefully and without weapons’. He acknowledged that the family may have been disturbed by the protest, but said that groups had the right to subject public officials to non-violent criticism.

AGONY ANT

YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED

Don’t give it away!

Antonio Flores on a worrying move to give inheritances back to the state to avoid paying debts

Ask Ant

Q. When can a Community of Owners take action against me for non-payment of fees? A. If the statutes state that payment will be made within a specific period, for example within the first seven days of the month, it will be the day after the period expires. If nothing is stated in the statutes, whenever the next receipt for payment is issued (monthly, every three months, etc.). Q. I have returned from a trip and found, in shock, that there are people living in my apartment? What can I do? A. You should immediately report the intruders to the Police, as they have in principle committed a crime. Unfortunately, police forces don’t have the authority to evict the squatters without a court order, unless they are caught while breaking into the dwelling. The good thing is that squatters don’t have any rights in Spain and therefore, will be ultimately forced to leave.

PANISH national paper ABC has exposed a worrying trend: Since 2007 110% more heirs to Spanish inheritance have renounced their portion of the estate because there is more debt than equity to inherit. According to the Notarial Council General, too many people are taking inheritance, without actually knowing whether indeed the liabilities exceed the assets. But Spanish Notaries remind us that the Spanish Civil Code has a solution for this. They remind us that one can inherit subject to, what is called, ‘benefit of inventory’. This is when the estate is put into administration, while the exact stake of the estate is uncovered. This procedure entails that debts that are bequeathed will be covered by assets within the estate, not making the inheritor personally liable to claims by potential creditors.

Beneficiaries

For example, beneficiaries of a will written by victims of banks implicated in equity release, are advised to choose this route to avoid becoming personally responsible for the mortgage loan that was sold fraudulently to their parents. This method of inheriting also allows inheritors, on behalf of the estate, to take legal action against creditors (banks for instance in the case of equity release) without becoming personally liable for it.

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Property

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the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

Wonderful world of variety

A slice of grandeur Located in the historic quarter of Sanlucar de Barrameda this beautiful 7-bed townhouse has been brilliantly decorated and counts its own classic Andalucian patio. Price at a very enticing €895,000 . See www.andalucia-country-houses.com

The Olive Press’s fast growing property portal www.allaboutandaluciaproperty.com has an amazing range of places on offer... here are a few of the best chestnuts ANDALUCIA has some of the world’s most unique properties to offer. Everything from cave houses to coastal apartments and palaces to penthouses. With such a diverse range of properties there is literally something for everyone and likewise in terms of budget. Best of all, not all of us have to be rich to enjoy the wonderful lifestyle and offerings! Have a visit to the Olive Press’s fast-growing property site and you will be amazed at the range of properties available. The site www.allaboutandaluciaproperty.com is full of weird and wonderful bargains from all around the region. Many come from reputable and respected agents who will lend you their expertise, while others are for sale from individuals. Here are a few properties that are a little different from the norm. It goes without saying that if you would like to view then simply contact the agent concerned at the foot of each featured property.

Sweet Dreams

Sweet dreams are certainly made of this...it might not look like much but this little house in the heart of Olvera is unbelievably owned by pop singer Annie Lennox. Going for just €38,000, it needs a bit of renovation, but there is something distinctly unique about it that is for sure. www. olveraproperties.com

Triple the value This five bedroom home, with heated pool, triple garage and lovely views near Alora is valued at €362,000 but on the market for a quick sale at just €120,000. visit http://www.1casa.com/Townhouse_for_sale_ Alora_282892

Need a bridging loan?

AIN AG E D E PP SAL RO ICK 00 D 0 ICE QU 0, PR FOR € 13

The ultimate eco-retreat this little cottage tucked away 9klm down a track on the base of a valley running beside the River Genal near Gaucin can only be reached by a rope bridge. It is ready to be renovated and costs just €75,000. On the market through www.andalucia-country-houses.com

Property

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A-List Address Marbella street, where Baroness Thyssen has a home, has become Spain’s second most expensive real estate... and 13th in the world A RESIDENTIAL street in Marbella ranks as one of the most expensive in Europe. The road Santa Margarita, which sits off the Golden

Mile between Marbella and Puerto Banus, now ranks as Spain’s second most pricey real estate. The average property in the street

Hot to Squat Squatting is increasing at a massive rate, according to reports

HE economic crisis has led to a sharp increase in the number of people squatting in empty properties. While previously associated with drug users and anarchists, modern squatters are less likely to move in with their children and more likely to paint and renovate the properties. The increase in squatting has come due to the lack of affordable social housing throughout Spain. It also comes as evictions are estimated to be taking place approximately every 15 minutes at present Led by the Stop Desahucios (Stop Evictions) movement, dozens of empty apartment blocks have been squatted over the last year in Andalucia. In Malaga alone the group highlights three apartment blocks and urbanisations that have been taken over by squatters. Some 17 families have been living in the newly constructed la Trinidad building, owned

by Bankinter, since February. Meanwhile nine single mothers and their children recently moved into a newly-built building on calle Huerto de Monjas in the capital. In Torremolinos 10 families have moved into an urbanisation close to the avenida Benyaminam which has stood empty for two years. In a sign of the changing times, when Bankinter representatives visited the 40 people currently living in la Trinidad last week, they held a constructive and positive meeting. After taking the details of the squatters and inspecting the building for any signs of vandalism, they informed the inhabitants that a judge has ruled they will be able to remain until the case is heard on July 15. The group Stop Desahucios has been offering legal advice to several groups of squatters, and in several cases brokered agreements beteween the squatters and landowners.

STREET VALUE: Baroness Thyssen - which runs below the exclusive Marbella Club hotel and where art tycoon Baroness Thyssen and German aristocrat Hohenlohe have homes - sells for €20,000 per square metre of property built. According to the research by German real estate giant Engel & Volkers, this price is only beaten by Carrer Castanyetes in Port Andratx in Mallorca. In the study, which compares the most expensive addresses in 36 countries, Marbella sits in 13th place. The most expensive address is the Bay of Romazzino overlooking Port Cervo in Sardinia ( at an eye watering €300,000 per m2) followed Avenue d’Ostende overlooking the famous marina in Monaco (€100,000 per m2). London comes in at third place with a street in Knightsbridge costing € 93,000 per m2. David Scheffler, General Director for Engel & Völkers, in Spain commented: “Since last year, we have seen increased demand by big buyers for top end property especially for seafront villas, penthouses with spectacular views and private estates. “Exclusive homes in the most sought after locations listed remain in limited supply and therefore are extremely resilient to any price adjustment; on the contrary, they appear to achieve record prices.”

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FEATURE

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Equatorial Guinea: Yesterday and Today There have been some surprising changes in the fast-growing African republic, writes Francisco Valle in this special focus EQUATORIAL Guinea is one of the least known African countries for Americans and Europeans... yet it is one of the most developed countries on the continent. The country is very small in territory and population, with just 650,000 residents. Indeed, compare this to neighboring Nigeria (152 million) and Cameroon (19 million) and the country looks decidedly like an African Luxembourg. Furthermore, it is anything but a poor country. In fact Equatorial Guinea ranks 63rd by GDP in the world, with USD 20,200 per capita, according to 2012 figures. The country acquired fame in 2005 which was a record-breaking year by GDP thanks to a dramatic boost in oil extraction. Since that time, the country has been drawing great attention from the global community and representatives of international financial, political and human rights organisations. Residents in many European countries that actually fall behind Equatorial Guinea by GDP figures, employment rates and other indicators, treat the evolving economy without respect. In March 2013, Madrid tightened regulations on getting citizenship for migrants who should not only live in the country for over six years, but also pass some exams and swear allegiance to the King. Why isn’t the Spanish government afraid of accepting citizens of that specific country? The facts are that the country has substantially no emigration desires. According to Encyclopedia of the Nations, net migration from Equatorial Guinea amounts to nothing – residents move in scarce quantities and to Spain only. The country has a good future, which is clear for almost everyone, including opponents to the regime of the current President Teodoro Obiang. In 2004, Equatorial Guinea was the third largest oil producer in Africa south of the Sahara. Its extraction went up to 360,000 barrels a day and the government co-operates with neighbours, including Nigeria, adopting practices of economic development and methods of oil extraction and processing.

HAPPY: Children play in a park

The Head of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan accented at the recent visit last month: “It’s true that Nigeria has been operating in the oil and gas business for the past 40 to 50 years, whereas Equatorial Guinea started recently.” Members of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund held consultations with the country’s top executives in January 2013. The results reflect the present economic situation in Equatorial Guinea. As the final report states: “For the past five years, a quick growth in government investments facilitated the enhancement of transport and power supply infrastructure according to the 2008-2020 National Development Plan that is financed from hydrocarbon revenues. As a result, construction incentives are estimated to have raised average growth rates in non-oil and gas sectors by about 15%. However, some of the topical issues are shrinking the poverty rate and creation of a stable productive activity of the private sector...” And furthermore if you are investigating poverty, you will come to some rather unexpected conclusions. Many people wishing to learn about life in Equatorial Guinea are influenced by the opinions of human rights organisations. These include Freedom House, which claims: “...according to Global Witness, 60% of the population live on less than $1 a day. The vast majority of residents in Equatorial Guinea hardly have access to clean drinking water...” But this information looks out of date or intentionally incorrect. The Prices in Equatorial Guinea report published on the Numbeo website reads that a Combo Meal at a local McDonalds in Malabo costs $6.56; a 0.5-liter bottle of a domestic beer costs $3.03, 1 litre of milk – $2.14, a 500-gram loaf of wheat bread – $3.39, a kilogram of oranges – $3.85, a kilogram of potatoes – $ 3.85, etc. However, a litre of gas costs $0.82, and taxi rates are rather low – $0.1 per kilometer at standard conditions. Clothes at many Malabo shops for the middle class are sold at prices comparable with prices in Spain, the US and other countries. A pair of Levis 501 jeans costs $80, a Zara or H&M dress – $80, and a pair of Nike trainers – $57.84. Renting a one-bedroom apartment in the downtown Malabo costs $692.44 a month on the real estate market, and renting a three-bedroom apartment – $1,020. An average salary in the country is about US 1000 dollars a month, according to Numbeo. This is considered not too much, as migrant workers who come to the country, for example, American engineers, earn €1215,000 monthly.

It’s rather strange to say that someone lives on two dollars a day in the country, taking into account the prices and a rather high rate of consumption there. In spite of real life indicators, Equatorial Guinea finds it difficult to get rid of a general image of being a backward territory, where its population has no rights most live below the poverty line. Tens of thousands of labour migrants come to Equatorial Guinea every year looking for a better life. It’s about as hard to get there as moving to Luxembourg for non-EU residents. Many immigrants who come to the country start by trying to acquire a residence permit or a work visa. And it’s not easy unless oil companies or embassies assist. The main objective driven by numerous labour migrants is to find a good job and raise enough money to transfer it to their families. Experts underline how saving money is a challenging task, considering the high prices across the country. A hitherto weak banking system and problems with transferring money abroad create difficulties for labour migrants who come from all African regions, yet it does not stop them. Migrants cannot solve internal national problems. They can just help the country change its face. To all appearances, the government of Equatorial Guinea realises the country needs changes. Development of small business and middle class consolidation, as well as reforms related to human rights are two essential topics at present. Key steps are being taken such as the setting up of the headquarters of the Department for Economic and Business Information in March, which will help small and medium businesses. Daniel Miyang, Head of the facility, said that their programmes would include staff training, advisory services and new courses for the young. Despite the government being criticised by human rights organisations, the country experiences positive shifts in this field that can’t help but be noticed. In March, family courts were established to combat gender violence and juvenile delinquency, and for settling family conflicts. The government is putting in place a programme on building rehabilitation centres for violence victims and develops educational programmes devoted to violence against women. As of today, the government of Equatorial Guinea ratified mostly all international and regional conventions focused on the prevention and elimination of violence against women. It also adopted the National Action Plan for Gender Equality. In spite of some challenges in human rights, Equatorial Guinea is developing and is apparently committed to seriously change, adopting practices of the world’s developed countries in human related spheres. This brings hope for transforming the country into a stepping stone for developing new improved living standards on the African continent and poverty alleviation not by means of humanitarian assistance from developed countries, but thanks to the country’s own resources and domestic reforms aimed at economic recovery.

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GOLF In the swing of it

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Sponsorship appeal AN EXPAT golfer competing in this year’s PGA EuroPro Tour is calling out for sponsors. Dan Aldridge, 24, from Gibraltar, has been appearing on television screens across the world as he takes on other young golf professionals in the prestigious tournament. However, Aldridge, who won last year’s Gecko Winter Pro Tour in Cadiz, requires funding in order to play bi-weekly in the UK competition.

With the PGA EuroPro Tour taking up almost two hours of airtime on Sky Sports each week, Aldrige hopes local businesses will see the opportunity to advertise their product on his clothing and bag. Previous players to have entered the tournament before moving on to the world ranks include: Lee Slattery, Nicolas Colsaerts and Charl Schwartzel.

STAUNTON’S VIP DAY

Big earner RECESSION-HIT Andalucia may be struggling with record unemployment figures, but the region continues to bring in masses of avid golfers. Malaga province alone generated an incredible €400 million last year – more than any other region in Spain – through the golf industry, according to a survey by the Costa del Sol tourism board. The industry attracted 300,000 golfers to the province with an additional figure close to €900 million generated through indirect tourism related to the sport in Andalucia. The region boasts more than 100 registered golf courses, with Malaga and Cadiz provinces having the highest concentration of greens.

FORMER Liverpool and Aston Villa stars will be heading to Marbella for a charity golf day this month. Ex-footballer and manager Stephen Staunton will be hosting his Celebrity Golf Classic and Gala Dinner on May 26 to raise funds for Children with Cancer UK. The gala dinner will take place at

Villa Tiberio while the golf will be held at Marbella Club Golf Resort at 10.30am. Players such as Niall Quinn and Ken McNaught will be joining participants on the green. For more information call 0044 121 358 6292 or emailzoe.martin1@btinternet.com

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n Buen

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amino

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Alonso snaps during pre-race rage

Drowsy drivers

Study reveals dozing at the wheel for just a few seconds could be fatal ONE in ten motorists admit to nodding off while driving in the past year, a recent survey has found. Although it is often a ‘micro-sleep’ lasting several seconds, experts claim it is enough to cause a fatality. The statistics reveal that dozing for just a few seconds may have caused up to 170,000 accidents in the UK last year. A motorist who nods off for just 1.7 seconds travelling at 50 miles per hour would cover the length of two doubledecker buses while asleep, the study has also found. Almost 50% of the sleepy drivers surveyed blamed monotonous roads for their drowsiness, while just a quarter put it down to lack of sleep. A third of motorists admitted to swerving off the road while dozing and one in five said they had ‘hardly been able to keep their eyes open while driving’. Another study conducted last month suggested tired drivers are four times more likely to have an accident.

S P A N I S H Formula One hero Fernando Alonso has come under fire for allegedly smashing a photographers camera. Jordi Martin claims the Ferrari driver ‘manhandled’ him after he tried to take a picture of the star and his model girlfriend outside a hotel in Barcelona. Alonso, who FORZA FERNANDO: Alonso slaps the snapper was staying in the city ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, which he won, is then alleged to have smashed Martin’s €6,000 equipment on the ground. Martin, who has reported the driver to the police, says the FOR those who dislike the afassault was witnessed by several fans gathered outside the ter-effects of a nicotine loving hotel. driver, one Costa-based rental “Let’s see if through this comfirm is working on a solution. plaint he learns to have more The company has announced respect for the press,” said that it will be the first to inthe photographer. clude smoke-free cars in its “He is an example to millions huge fleet of vehicles. of children, he knows perfectThe decision comes after a ly well that he was not procustomer survey revealed that voked,” he added.

Healthy Hollis

95% of clients preferred to rent a car which had not been used by a smoker. “We have therefore decided that we will strive only to have smokefree cars in the fleet,” said Managing director Hugo Hans. “This is obviously not something you can get from one day to the next, but the goal is that the entire fleet of approximatively 1,000 cars will be 100% smoke from 2014,” he added. Although the company has stated it will not fine customers who smoke in the vehicles, each car will be fitted with an anti-smoking sticker and people will be asked to co-operate with the new rule.

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OP Lifestyle

Our seniors expert Juliet Hambro on how and where to find things to make you laugh out loud

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ife can be full of stress and trying circumstances. The financial news is bad, the political news is bad and the local newspapers (although not all) are invariably filled with crime and accident reports. So hey, you guys, let’s start a revolution. Let’s decide to be happy! Studies have reported over and over again about the benefits of laughter and having a positive outlook on life. Children laugh often and with

very little provocation. Us oldies should choose to do the same. There are many benefits of laughing and lots of good reasons to choose a positive outlook. Here are a few good reasons to laugh.

. Laughter is a natural stress reducer. Studies show that when people laugh, their whole body relaxes. In fact laughter relieves physical tension for up to 45 minutes. It

also improves the function of the heart, boosts the immune system by increasing the number of infection-fighting antibodies, and triggers the production of endorphins which are mood improvement chemicals within. And laughter involves a tightening of abdominal muscles—good for a flatter tummy.

. Laughter is catching. You’ve been around Eeyores and then you’ve been

Go Ahead and Laugh: It’s Good for You

around Tiggers. Granny fact Jokes Both can be chalFind websites or books lenging, but I’ll Senior citizens are probably more filled with jokes. Believe bet you’d choose likely than most Americans to it or not, there are many. to be around a consider the U.S. health system as Maybe you’d enjoy happy person the best in the world for living a long learning some jokes to much more than healthy life. tell your friends at your a gloomy one. They are, however wrong, Laughter makes Americans die sooner and experience next get-together. the people around smile. When we higher rates of disease and injury Game Nights smile, we encour- than people in other high-income Choose light-hearted age others to do countries and this disadvantage extends to age 75 games that don’t require so. It’s a circutoo much strategy and lar kind of thing. focus. Play word games, Laughter allevithe most time with and evaluacting-out games and board ates worry and can distract those in pain. Smiles and ate their impact on you. Are games that are less about laughter are free, yet they can their lives filled with troubles winning and more about the and angst? Do they drag you interactions between the do so much for others. down with them and lead you players. .Laughter draws peo- to focus only on the difficult ple closer together. things in life? Maybe it’s time Children Laughing I can’t think of a more Quote of the Week with friends smile-inducing sound increases both hapthan the carefree piness and intimacy. laughter of children. If I had known how wonderful it You are sharing exHang around them and would be to have grandchildren, I’d watch the ways they inperiences that draw have had them first. -Lois Wyse you closer. You are teract. Listen to them trusting others with talk and the interesting your feelings and ways they express their choosing to have fun togeththoughts. Kids will make you er. You’ll find that you want to to find some new friends who laugh. enjoy life and make the most get together more often with friends who help you relax of its pleasures. Playcations and have fun. Take the stress out of your Life’s Circumstances next holiday by simplifying So, all that established, what Yes, it’s true there are many and reducing the cost. Just is out there to make you sad parts of life. But how hang out in your own neighabout taking a look at the laugh? endearing parts and laughing borhoods or cities and find cheap and free things to do. TV and Movies Explore the out of Quote of the Week 2 Be intentional about doors, go for hikes or choosing some screen picnics. Gather with To a small child, the perfect entertainment that is friends around the granddad is unafraid of big dogs funny. There are lots of barbecue or hot tub or and fierce storms but absolutely choices out there that fire pit. Sing songs, tell terrified of the word “boo.” are historical or scienstories, keep it simple -Robert Brault tific or filled with action but be sure to laugh and adventure and a lot. those have their place, about them even if it’s pointbut once in a while choose When you think about it, something that is just plain ing the finger at yourself. How choosing laughter makes about the time you put the silly and makes you laugh. coffee pot in the refrigerator? sense. Life is short and preThat’s funny. Give yourself cious. We can choose to enjoy Friends permission to laugh at the each day or just trudge ahead Good friends are hard to find. silly things people say and do. with a load of stress on our shoulders. Get out there and You might want to take an make yourselves laugh! inventory of those you spend

www.askgranny.com is a unique website and resource for grandparents and senior citizens worldwide created by Granny Juliet and provides useful information on a number of topics.

49 www.theolivepress.es

In a brand new column that will be taking an off-beat look at life around Andalucia, Belinda Beckett (aka Mistress Sizzle) takes a wonder around the much maligned port town of Algeciras EVER since I first landed in Spain, my career has been ‘going south’ – and I don’t just mean geographically. Because after alluring Alican-

Hemingway’s Algeciras; Orwell paid no Homage to Algeciras (as he did to Catalonia); Gerald Brenan never got this far South from Granada; and, although the poet Lorca FOUR POTTED POINTS once stayed here, it didn’t oad known as Mr Henderson’s inspire him to Railway begins its scenic trajecwax lyrical. tory to Ronda from Algeciras. Poor old Algeciras, eternally 4. Famous writer Laurie Lee optimised for could not be wrong. He loved the the keyword ‘scruffy little town smelling of ‘industrial port fruit skins and rotten fish’ with its city’. ‘markets full of melons and butIn fact, at first terflies’ and ‘sly yachts running I was afraid of gold to Tangier…’ (As I Walked venturing into Out One Midsummer Morning). this:

te and magnificent Málaga, also-ran Algeciras seems a bit of a comedown for a writer specialising in ‘sizzle’ . You never read about

1. Paco de Lucía, the great flamenco guitarist, is proud to say he was born in Algeciras. 2. The global glitterati (Ava Gardner, Orson Wells, Cole Porter, Rock Hudson) signed the visitors book at the Reina Cristina Hotel, one of the finest hotels in Europe in its day. ish-built railr

• ‘centre for drug smuggling’ (Lonely Planet) • with its ‘ugly concrete bunker-type architecture’ (Frommer’s Guide) • ‘spewing out smoke and pollution in the direction of the Rock’ (Rough Guides) But I needed new leggings and it has a Zara (so not too Third World, then) so I strapped on my money belt and set forth. And guess what? I didn’t get mugged, I wasn’t offered drugs and the wind must have been blowing the pollution in a different direction on the sun-filled afternoon I sat in Plaza Alta, contemplat-

ing the ceramic toad fountain over a café con leche. It’s fashionable to knock Algeciras but I’m no fashionista (except where Zara leggings are concerned). She may be the quintessen-

What do we want? Tinto de Verano MAYBE it’s a sign of my new found maturity but now I’m firmly established in my 40s, I decided that I needed a new challenge. Hence I found myself signing up for a ‘golf taster session’ with coach David Owens at Magna Golf. Now I must admit for many years I have sided with Winston Churchill who once described golf as being ‘a good walk spoiled’, hating the sport and most things about it. But then I figured, to quote another master of the understatement, Oscar Wilde “A man should try everything once in his life apart from incest and folk dancing.” And, of course, if you want to criticise something you really need to try it first. So there I was at the driving range figuring it would all be a bit of a cake-

Algeciras... the true Queen of the South

SIZZLING ALGECIRAS IN

3. The quirky Brit-

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

More Balls than most!

walk. Surely it would be all about basic hand-to-eye coordination and I’d be hitting it half way to Morocco. However, I can assure you it is anything but easy and after 30 minutes on the driving range I had not hit the

ball further than my golf bag. In fact, I was mentally and physically shattered trying to remember all the points that the long-suffering David had shown me. But no matter. On the way

home I found myself stopping the car to look into the windows of golf shops admiring the range of natty threads. Looks like golf could be my next addiction. Heaven knows I’ve been through all the others!

As a young leftie student firebrand back in the 80s, I was always game on for a bit of industrial action. Miners’ strikes, CND, Poll Tax, you name it... if it involved waving a banner, a bit of chanting and the chance of copping off with a liberated female protester in the TGWU bar afterwards, I was your classic activist, comrades. So I treated myself to a bout of nostalgia the other week when students across Spain staged a one day strike against education reforms. And I also took the opportunity to reflect on the differences between being a student in Spain and a student in Stoke. While we spent our days freezing on a damp picket line, the majority of strikers last week headed for a day on the beach “What do we want?” “Tinto de Verano!””When do we want it?” “Now!!”

tial Cinderella city whose ball-going days were Once Upon A Time. But she must have been beautiful once (a phrase I can personally relate to). How could the first city ever built by the Moors in Spain not have been beautiful, once? Would the heads of 13 world powers have been quite so content to spend three months here, squabbling over Morocco at the 1906 Algeciras Conference, if the city had nothing to recommend it? (I didn’t read that in the guide books…).

Concrete

Now she’s just another old lady in need of a facelift, still impeccably connected – to Morocco and Ceuta by ferry, to Gibraltar by road and to the rest of Europe by train – but no more than a onenight stand. People generally only come here to depart for somewhere else. Poor old Algeciras, dismissed by all and sundry as a transport hub! This is not Gaudí’s Barcelona or Villanueva’s Madrid. It’s Eduardo Torroja’s Algeciras a Madrid structural engineer famous for developing the ‘concrete shell’. There’s a lot of concrete in Algeciras and some of it is shabby. But there’s nothing too shabby about Torroja’s Market Hall roof, the largest in the world until the Houston Astro Dome stole the title. (I didn’t read that in the guide books, either). But poor old Algeciras and I are stuck with each other like star-crossed lovers whose fates are intertwined: a writer specialising in sizzle and a city alleged to have none. So I’m writing a guide of my own to the Sizzle in Algeciras. If that isn’t an oxymoron it could be a best seller!

46 50 the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013 50

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FOOD & DRINK 52 www.theolivepress.es COLUMNS with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

Golden produce Andalucian producers come tops in annual olive oil awards ceremony

ANDALUCIAN olive producers have swept the board at an annual awards ceremony.

The family-run El Labrador mill in Fuente de Piedra took the top award for extra virgin

olive oil, beating more than 100 producers from around the world to the number one

Ernest would be happy

ONE of the coast’s best established restaurants has had a complete food overhaul. Hemingways in Duquesa Port has gone for a brand new creative fusion tapas menu... with a twist. There is really a bit of everything on the menu from classic Brazilianstyle Moqueca de peixe, a prawn and fish hot pot with ginger, chili and coconut, to Burgos Morcilla (or black pudding) rolled in pistachios served with an apple compote. “With our huge front line terrace overlooking the idyllic marina, it’s the perfect spot to relax and while some time away,” explains boss Ashley Barrie.

RONDA; A WINE ENTHUSIAST´S PARADISE In his second wine and food column Pancho Campo takes a ride up to the charming mountain town of Ronda

spot. The event Expoliva feria, in Jaen, which celebrates the best extra virgin olive varieties in the world, also awarded local firm Nuestra Senora de la Paz from Estepa for its oil in the ‘green fruit’ section. Other companies winning included Almeria’s Albarinales mill in Tabernas, as well as Almazara de la Muela, in Priego de Cordoba. Further success came for Almeria in the ‘Best Food Made with Olive Oil’ Category, as La Gergalena in El Alquian clinched the top spot with its ratatouille made with Nijar Gold. Spain accounts for 45% of all the world’s olive oil production.

Pancho’s Punch

IF you live anywhere in Andalucia, it’s planted his first vines 25 years ago. The Tyrolean has been a true pioneer a sin if have not yet visited Ronda. The city´s rich historical heritage – planting a wide variety of grapes, just 45 minutes from the Costa del some from German origin but also some other international varieties. Sol - is second to none. There is so much to see, but particu- Another Descalzos Viejos is a winery larly the famous bullring – Spain’s built in a very old Gothic church with oldest – and the amazing Tajo gorge Arabic influences, while Cortijo Los Aguilares is a winner of several gold and bridge. But I like visiting Ronda for its wines. medals for its Pinot Noir. Over the last decade it has become El Chantre it is also a must visit one of the key draws for tourists to because of its breathtaking views, beauty of the construction and excelthe area. There has been tremendous growth lent quality of wine. in the sector and of the nearly 30 bodegas a good few are making excellent wine. It is not as if the area does not have pedigree. I am a huge fan of Casa Santi one of the leadThe Romans named the ing wine shops in the Costa del Sol. It is located region Acinipo, which in the heart of Marbella and has a very wide semeans land of vines’ and lection of Spanish wines from almost every sinthey planted many vines gle appellation, as well as an interesting variety in the hills around the of international bottles, including some great town. It was German-born names from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Italy. Federico Schatz, who Santi, whose family has been in the wine retailstarted the modern wine- ing business for decades, runs the shop, which growing era, when he offers more than 3`,500 references of wines and spirits. If you are a simple wine aficionado, a connoisseur or a restaurant, Santi is the place to go. Also, you can have your products delivered to your house in 24 to 48 hours. Visit www.vinoscasasanti.com for more info.

MY HOME OF WINE

TRAILBLAZER: Federico Schatz

NICE AT KNUTS

I was looking for something fresh and exciting and Knuts Gastrobar definitely did the job. While small, this San Pedro eaterie was modern and friendly. It has a small but interesting cellar at the entrance and the menu displayed on a chalkboard behind the bar. We decided to go for the ‘tasting menu’ composed of eight small dishes. The presentation was superb and the portions were the perfect size. In particular I loved the Japanese salad, the grilled foie-gras with raspberries and the boquerones with lime foam. We paid €109 for two, including a bottle of wine, which I thought was very good value. Knuts Gastrobar, C/ Lagasca 2, San Pedro Alcántara

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FOOD & DRINK 46 with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

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Super Seven IT didn’t take long for Spain to get back to the top of the World’s Best Restaurant list. The position lost when El Bulli shut two years ago is now safely back in Spanish hands with the news that El Celler de Can Roca snared the number one slot. But the restaurant run by a trio of brothers in Girona is actually one of a staggering seven Spanish eateries in the World’s Top 100 Res-

Arzak Restaurante

Annabel Grossman inspects the seven Spanish restaurants that have wowed the world’s critics in the latest Top 100 poll

taurant list, compiled by Restaurant magazine with San Pellegrino every year. From avant-garde Basque restaurants to ‘Techno-emotional’ Spanish joints, Spain showed that the country is strides ahead in the food stakes. Here, we offer you a mouthwatering rundown of these Super Seven to take a closer look and see just what it is that makes them so special.

El Celler de Can Roca Name: El Celler de Can Roca Position: 1 (2 last year) Where: Girona Opened: 1986 Chef: Joan Roca (head chef) Jordi Roca (pastry chef) Style: Modern Spanish Speciality: Charcoal-grilled king prawn, kingprawn sand, ink rocks, fried legs, head juice and king prawn essence

Run by the three Roca brothers, El Celler de Can Roca is famed for its creative yet traditional take on typical Catalan gastronomy. With three Michelin stars, the eatery has slowly worked its way up the list, but has maintained the low-key family feel that has given the restaurant is uniqueness.

Name: Arzak Position: 8 (8) Where: San Sebastian Opened: 1897 Chef: Juan Mari Arzak and Elena Arzak Espina Style: Cutting-edge Basque Speciality: Lobster in a crisp potato shell with a ‘cobaiba sauce and red pepper sphere’ Family-run Arzak prides itself on using only the finest local produce to create iconic Basque dishes fused with flavours from further afield. The father and daughter team are known for reworking ideas using modern techniques to ensure a totally unique dining experience.

Quique Dacosta

Martin Berasategui Name: Martin Berasategui Position: 64 (-) Where: Lasarte-Oria Opened: 1993 Chef: Martin Berasategui Style: Traditional Basque Speciality: Roast pigeon and onion with Iberian pig’s snout, ginger juice and capers More than 35 years of experience has made Martin Berasategui one of the greatest names in Basque cuisine. A regular on Spanish television and media, his dishes are firmly rooted in the Basque style with a focus on straightforward natural flavours.

Name: Quique Dacosta Position: 26 (40) Where: Costa Blanca Opened: 1981 Chef: Quique Dacosta Style: Modern Spanish Speciality: Scarlet shrimp salad with thyme crystal and roasted tomatoes

Avant-garde chef Quique Dacosta isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of top-end dining, creating high-impact minimalist dishes that often contain only two or three ingredients. A visit to the ecologically-minded restaurant is designed to be unforgettable, with a constantly evolving menu based on creativity and innovation.

Name: Tickets Position: 77 (-) Where: Barcelona Opened: 2011 Chef: Ferran Adria and brother Albert Style: Spanish tapas Speciality: Seafood tapas - oysters five ways, slices of peer-less tuna belly, delicate fish skin

Restaurante Tickets

Ferran Adria’s Barcelona tapas bar has a relaxed, light-hearted vibe, with surprisingly affordable dishes. Families are welcome and children are sure to enjoy quirky tapas, such as candy-floss clouds studded with fruit and El Bulli essences, served up on a small bush.

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Restaurante Mugaritz

Name: Mugaritz Position: 4 (3) Where: San Sebastian Opened: 1998 Chef: Andoni Luis Aduriz Style: ‘Techno-emotional’ Spanish Speciality: Chocolate cake, cold almond cream and cocoa bubbles

Aduriz’s almost obsessive attention to detail ensures that guests receive a culinary experience rather than just a meal when dining out at Mugaritz. The multiple course tasting menu includes small, intricate dishes designed for ‘both taste and impact’.

Name: Asador Etxebarri Position: 44 (31) Where: Atxondo-Bizkaia Opened: 1989 Chef: Victor Arguinzoniz Style: Rustic Spanish food cooked over a woodfired grill Speciality: Smoked baby eels (served in season from November to March)

Asador Etxebari

Simple Spanish food created using primitive cooking techniques mean a visit to Asador Etxebarri is never a disappointment. Adventurous chef Victor Arguinzoniz teases diners with a series of small delicate dishes before treating them to a hunk of delicious smoky beef on the bone.

the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

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the olive press - May 16 - May 29, 2013

Covering Andalucia in 2013 with 188,000 papers www.theolivepress.es (120,000 digital) and around 150,000 visits to the website each month… The Olive Press just keeps growing!

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Malaga to Manchester, May 29, 2013 www.theolivepress.es Mourinho to Telephone: 951 16 60 60 May 16 Children of former Real Madrid star call in lawyers after their Mortlake

Injury time thriller SPANISH football legend Alfredo Di Stefano has announced plans to marry a woman 50 years his junior. The 86-year-old’s decision to marry Costa Rican personal assistant Gina Gonzalez, 36, has led to his children launching legal

By Annabel Grossman

action to stop the wedding. But Di Stefano, who played for Real Madrid and is considered one of the all time football greats, said he wants the union to go ahead as soon as possible and hopes to wed this month. The Argentine footballer helped guide Real Madrid to five successive European Cups from 1956 to 1960, and was named European player of the year in 1957 and 1959. He met Gonzalez when she helped him prepare his autobiography in 2007, and she now works as his secre-

tary, manager and representative. Di Stefano suffered a heart attack in 2005 shortly after the death of his wife Sara - to whom he had been married for 55 years - and he is now confined to a wheelchair. His children - Silvana, Alfredo, Helena, Sofia and Ignacio – are hoping to stop the marriage and have lodged a petition with a Madrid judge arguing the need for ‘precautionary measures’ to protect their father’s estate. “In the face of the evident

Gazpacho – it chills your blood! MOST people with high blood pressure are warned to avoid salty foods at all costs, but there is one dish that could be the exception to the rule. Scientists from the University of Barcelona have found that, although it has high levels of salt, eating gazpacho can actually lower blood pressure. The experts believe that the rich mix of healthy ingredients in the traditional Spanish cold soup - including tomato, cucumber, garlic and olive oil - can reduce the risk of hypertension in consumers by up to 27%. Professor Rosa Lamuela, coordinator of the study, said the finding was ‘an unexpected one’ due to the high level of salt content in the traditional gazpacho recipe. “Gazpacho highly contains carotenes, vitamin C and polyphenols,” added researcher Alexander Medina-Remon. “The final balance of the bioactive elements of gazpacho and its salt content makes it cardio-healthy; in other words, at the end, the positive effect of all the ingredients that contribute to the reduction of arterial pressure prevails over salt’s effect.”

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Horsing around FINAL WORDS

MALAGA gaffer Manuel Pellegrini is strongly tipped to be heading to the cooler climes of Britain if Manchester City have their way. Britain’s richest club is looking to hire the 59-yearold Chilean, to replace Roberto Mancini following a disappointing season at the Etihad. Pellegrini may chose to stay in Spain, however, as rumours are emerging that Barcelona are also keen to sign up the man who took Malaga to the Champions League for the first time in history. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho looks set to make a return to his beloved Premier League after publicly bashing certain members of his squad at Real Madrid. Rumours which have long circulated about a return to England for the ‘Special One’ who said his ‘passion is in England’. Chelsea fans have already been calling for the coach to return to Stamford Bridge this summer following a seven year absence.

86-year-old dad announces plans to marry lover, 36

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deterioration of his physical and cognitive faculties, awaiting a medical diagnosis on his state of health, his children have taken the decision to ask the competent court to issue a declaration of incapacity,” read a statement. However, Di Stefano is adamant that nothing will prevent the union going ahead. “I don’t care what my children think. I’m in love and I’m getting married to Gina,” he said in an interview with El Mundo. “I may be 86 but I have a young heart.”

TWO streets in Medina Sidonia were closed during rushhour when three escaped horses spent 45 minutes running around.

Big plans Plans have been made to create a five-star hotel, two golf courses, a botanical garden and an aerodrome in La Almoraima, Castellar.

Ledley off the Leash!

SPURS legend Ledley King has been spotted relaxing at top Puerto Banus eaterie La Sala. The 32-year-old former England player was in town following a testimonial dinner in London attended by team mates and even London mayor Boris Johnson and Vanessa Feltz!

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