Mallorca Olive Press - Issue 119

OLIVE PRESS

The FREE

BAD COP

MALLORCA

Vol. 5 Issue 119

Magical castles

www.theolivepress.es

Glasgow conference does just half the job

Your expat

See page 8

voice in Spain

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

Bardot fights the bulls

Some of the coolest places to stay in Spain See page 14

See page 3

Unbelieva-bull

COPted out SPAIN opted out of a COP26 deal to put an end to the manufacture and sale of polluting cars by 2035.

The government of Pedro Sanchez was not among the 38 nations who signed the agreement to ban sales of both petrol and diesel cars within 14 years, although the region of Catalunya and its capital Barcelona both pledged to do so.

Spain insisted it already had its own measures in place with plans to prohibit the sale of new vehicles with combustion engines by 2040.

Meanwhile, the Balearic Government used the Glasgow conference to outline its plans for a sustainable future.

Vice-president of the Balearics, Juan Pedro Yllanes revealed that each island will be given an emissions reduction target that has to be met.

There will also be a new subsidy to encourage investment in ‘carbon sinks’ such as tree plantations.

Opinion Page 6

GET A GRIP GUIRIS!

Half of antivaxxers in Balearic Islands are foreigners

HALF of the population still unvaccinated on the Balearics are foreigners - 90,000 of them.

A recent study revealed the huge numbers of anti-vaxxers among expats on the islands as the Balearic Government urged those who remain unvaccinated to get the jab in a bid to “save Christmas”.

Some 50% of the population aged over 12 years and who remain unvaccinated are within the expat community, revealed regional health minister Patricia Gomez.

Cases have been rising across the islands in recent days, a fact which is blamed on those refusing to get the vaccine.

The incident rate across the Balearic Islands as a whole has soared to 103 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days according to the latest data published on Wednesday.

Menorca currently has the highest infection rate at 265 cases per 100,000, while Mallorca registered 122 cases per 100,000 and Ibiza 120.

The population who are fully vaccinated now accounts for 82.56% but among the 180,000 people who have yet to be jabbed at least 90,000 are foreign residents.

The regional health ministry warned that those over the age of 65 who are not protected

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are 20 times more likely to be admitted to intensive care if they contract COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated.

Health authorities on the islands are warning that if infections continue to rise, restrictions may have to be re-imposed ahead of the Christmas season and are urging those who have yet to be jabbed to do so as soon as possible.

Around a quarter of the Balearic’s 1.1 million population are thought NOT WANTED: 180,000 people remain unvaccinated to be foreigners, with Moroccans making up the largest group followed ing Navarra are now more than twice the naby Italians, German and Brits according to 2020 tional average. Community leaders in the worstdata from Spain’s National Statistics Institute. hit regions are leading a nationwide debate over As the pandemic figures start to rise, regions are whether Spain should reintroduce more restricpreparing for the worst. tions to prevent a serious COVID-19 resurgence On Tuesday the Basque Country announced new this winter. restrictions on gatherings to control its latest coronavirus wave.

This comes months after Spain stood out as a country that had largely reined in the pandemic, A COURT has ordered that a 12 year-old boy should be mainly due to its high vaccinagiven the COVID vaccination despite the anti-vax objection rate. tions of his mother.

The virus has spread unevenA judge decided that her refusal to inoculate her son ly in Spain in recent weeks, was unlawful. and the infection rates in the The mother had argued that she had done research on Basque region and neighbourthe internet and she was afraid of possible side effects.

She also added that the vaccine is ‘experimental’ and that it is not certified, and that this was the source of her fear.

The judge dismissed her online research as unscientific The child himself stated that he wanted to be vaccinatSee page 9 & 13 ed. The child’s father also wanted him to have the jab, saying: “It's not about personal prevention, it’s about community prevention.”

Vax order

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CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF Telly thieves THREE men were arrested by the Guardia Civil after stealing 181 television sets from a hotel in El Arenal.

Rock fall FIREFIGHTERS spent five hours rescuing a canyoning expert who was seriously injured after being hit by a falling rock in Fornalutx.

He remains in intensive care.

Pool party PALMA Aquarium will celebrate its 'Me Too' party on November 2021 with cheaper tickets to the aquarium and a raffle in aid of Sonrisa Medica.

Done again A THIEF has been arrested by the Palma National Police after robbing the same shop twice within days. Cops recognised him through his modus operandi having previously arrested him for stealing from a store in Pere Garau.

THE owner of olive oil company Oro Oleum has been arrested after he was found to be diluting his product with sunflower oil.

He then slapped labels on the bottles claiming that he was selling virgin and organic olive oil grown ‘entirely from groves on the Balearic Islands’.

The businessman claimed to be ‘the largest producer of organic olive oil in

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

OILY BUSINESSMAN the Balearic Islands since 2018’.

He also claimed that his brand had nine farms in Mallorca and Ibiza, although investigators have doubts that all of them were his property.

After 11 months of investigation, the

Guardia Civil’s environmental branch Seprona arrested him together with his wife and stepson The brand sold to small shops, supermarket chains and directly to numerous restaurants.

Cashless crook Cocaine smuggler who bought Mallorca yacht for £60m smuggling operation forced to hand over £300,000 cash A JAILED British man who thought a £60 million cocaine smuggling plot would make him rich has been ordered to hand over more than £300,000.

Gary Swift, 55, from Liverpool, has been handed a confiscation order totalling £328,071 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He had been jailed for 19-anda-half years at the same court in January 2020, after pleading guilty to importing class A drugs into the UK. Spain’s Policia Nacional had worked closely with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to bust the criminal conspiracy in August 2019.

FIVE thugs have escaped jail after they beat up four policemen, leaving some of the officers with broken bones and torn ligaments.

In a case that dates back to 2014, a plea deal has seen the unnamed assailants sentenced to community service and an order to pay the policemen €30,000 compensation.

Originally the prosecution had demanded jail sentences of up to seven-and-a-half years.

A court heard on Wednesday that the crime

Double strike A 42-YEAR-OLD Dominican man has been arrested for a second time in Palma for possession of a large quantity of narcotics.

The Policia Nacional, noticed a strong smell of marihjuana coming from the store room of a property.

Inside, the agents found 700grammes of marihuana, pre-prepared bags for possible sale, medicine capsules, a white crystalline substance that is to be analysed and cash.

Last month the man had been arrested for a crime against public health and fraudulent use of electricity.

Bad blood GREAT CATCH: NCA officers raid Gary Swifts’ yacht Together the forces identified the yacht SY Atrevido as carrying a large cocaine shipment.

LUCKY BOYS happened in Baix des Cos square, when police attempted to make an for domestic violence.

He responded violently, kicking and punching the officers, with the other four convicted men joining in the brutal attack.

Officers suffered injuries, that took months to recover from.

In December 2018, Kilgour had bought the vessel, paying €50,000 for it from a seller in Mallorca.

Spanish police traced the movement of the conspirators and shared intelligence with the NCA. The yacht, which had sailed from South America, was escorted into Fishguard port where NCA officers found 731 kilos of cocaine.

It had a purity of up to 83% and a potential street value of £60 million once cut.

A MAN aged 70 has been left in a serious condition after he was attacked by his 40-yearold neighbour in a land dispute.

Police attended a report of a hit and run, but on arrival at the scene they found that the information was wrong, and there had in fact been a serious assault. They found the victim seriously injured and lying in a pool of blood. Medics stabilised him and then rushed him to hospital. The Guardia Civil then arrested the alleged assailant for crimes of threats and serious injury.

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NEWS

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November 19th - December 2nd 2021

Bully for Bardot

SHE may have become an animal rights activist in later years, but French legend Brgitte Bardot once faced down a bull - or so it seems.

A collection of stills from the 1957 French-Italian film ‘The Night Heaven Fell’ shows Bardot on location in Spain.

The iconic actress filmed in Mijas, Torremolinos, Alhaurin and El Chorro and caused quite a stir in what was then a sleepy backwater.

The stills are part of an exhibition at Malaga’s La Termica centre called Myth and Cliches in Malaga which is open from 9am to 1pm until January 7.

LOCATION: Bardot in Mijas

STOP MESSING ABOUT!

Chef tells politicians to get together rather than point the finger

KING OF CHEESE SPAIN’S undisputed king of the cheesy summer pop song, Georgie Dann, had died at the age of 81.

His catchy melodies were familiar to millions of British and European tourists as they filled the beach bar airwaves for decades.

He racked up an incredible 22 summer hits that included El Barbacoa, El Chiringuito and El Bimbo.

He died in Madrid’s Hospital Puerta de Hierro.

Born in 1940 in Paris, Dann whose real name was Georges Mayer Dahan, was an accomplished musician who spent nine years at the Paris Conservatory.

But he found huge success in his adopted country Spain, where he cornered the market in the cheesy pop song.

INTERNATIONAL chef and philanthropist, Jose Andres, has told rival Spanish political leaders to come together to stop pollution in the Mar Menor.

Material girl

By Alex Trelinski

to victims of the La Palma volcano eruption.

Now Andres has taken to social media Money and sent a message Asturias-born Andres won to Prime Minister, this year’s Princess of As- Pedro Sanchez, and turias Award for Concord Partido Popular leadin recognition for his World er, Pablo Casado over Central Kitchen project that the pollution scandal hitting provides food to people hit one of Europe’s biggest laby natural disasters. He do- goons. “Why don’t they come nated all of the prize money together to find solutions to what is happening in the Mar Menor?” he asked on Twitter.

IN just two months they have trans- The competition is open to everyone “It is a formed from blind hairless pink- the world over and invites people to problem skinned creatures to bouncing fluffy vote for their favourite names along that has bundles of black and white cuteness. with a pithy response as to why that easy soluAnd now they need names. choice was made. tions if we Madrid Zoo has opened a com- To avoid the potential embarrasslisten to petition to name their lat- ment of a Boaty McBoatface type those who est arrivals, twin Giant scandal – when a public consultation know. And Pandas who were born in Britain on what to call a research its people on September 6. ship resulted in a totally absurd name and Spain coming out top choice - people will deserve no have to choose from a shortlist alless!” ready announced.

Andres is These are You You, Jiu Jiu, an AmeriXing Mu, Bing Tang, Hua can citizen He and Yue Yuan. and owns a

Panda McPandaface

THE apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Madonna’s eldest child Lourdes Leon has proved she has inherited her mum’s star power - and flexibility - as she was announced as the new face of Bimba Y Lola.

Madonna and Carlos Leon’s daughter, 24, who also goes by the name Lola, was seen in a variety of edgy poses for the n e w f a l l c a m paign for the Spanish brand.

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chain of restaurants in the States, and sorted out a vegetable garden when President Barack Obama was in the White House.

He’s also a frequent guest on US TV shows.

Fame

One or two social media respondents suggested that he ought to use his fame to get the Spanish politicians together. The national government unveiled a €382 million regeneration package for the Mar Menor at the start of the month. For years Europe’s largest salt water lagoon has suffered environmental disasters, with thousands of tonnes of dead sea creatures having to be cleared away on several occasions.

Mane attraction TWO extremely rare white lion cubs have become the main attraction of a Spanish zoo just a few weeks after being born.

The brother and sister weighed barely a kilo at birth and have been hand reared after their two siblings died.

Their parents are Simba and Lira, the first two lions to take up residence at La Pequeña Africa animal reserve in Cadiz. Neither of the parents have white fur.

The cubs are being watched and cared for 24 hours a day with their progress described as ‘going well.’.

White lions are extremely rare, with just 700 of them in the world.

The colour of the fur is due to a recessive colour inhibitor gene and according to African beliefs ‘it is a divine animal that brings happiness if it crosses your path’.

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NEWS

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NEWS IN BRIEF Catch that pigeon CORT’S Tourism, Health and Consumer affairs department will instal an ‘eco pigeon loft' as part of a campaign to ‘ethically control the pigeon population’.

Can of worms A PALMA shopper had some unwanted visitors when she opened a jar of chopped tomatoes recently bought at a supermarket and found maggots inside.

Itchy fingers MALLORCA is currently experiencing an epidemic of the highly contagious itchy disease of scabies with 3,347 more cases this year than in the whole of 2020.

Electric bill PALMA has spent more than €1 million on Christmas. Some €983,000 has gone on lights and €90,000 on various shows to accompany the November 24, 8pm switch on.

A WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) report has praised Spain’s health service and says costs are lower than most other European countries.

The WHO-Europe study says that despite a worsening economic situation during and after the 2008 financial crisis, only a small number of households have experienced financial hardship when using health services in Spain.

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

HEALTHY REPORT

The report attributes that to the ‘protective design’ of health coverage in the country’s National Health System.

The WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, said: “Health care is a fundamental right and should never leave people out of pocket. I am pleased to see that Spain

is leading the way in our region.”

“These are positive and encouraging findings, showing that limiting the use of co-payments, and introducing practical measures such as reducing co-payments for medicines can go a long way in protecting Spanish households from financial hardship,” he added.

Deathly selfies Hundreds have died while taking snaps of themselves says Spanish study A SPANISH university says 379 people have died around the globe since 2008 while taking a selfie photo on their phone.

The survey has been conducted by the Clinical Medicine department of Elche's Miguel Hernandez University(UMH).

The aim is to study the extent of selfie-induced deaths and what can be done about the problem.

The UMH says there has been a big rise in incidents since the end of pandemic restrictions with 31 fatalities during the first seven

months of 2021.

The UMH investigation in association with IO Foundation researchers sifted through officially published international figures since January 2008.

The country with the most selfie deaths is India with 100 fatalities, followed by the USA on 39.

Joint

Spain lies in joint sixth with 15 deaths. Some 141 of those who died in the last 13 years were tourists.

The biggest cause of fa-

Pint sized hero A GIRL aged five is being hailed a hero after raising the alarm when a fire broke out in the middle of the night at her home in Santa Margalida.

The child awoke at around 4.30am to the smell of smoke and rushed to her parents room to wake them.

They in turn woke up the girl’s grandparents who lived in the flat above and all were able to escape before the building was engulfed in the blaze.

Firefighters said the fire, which broke out in the family’s second floor apartment, had spread quickly due to a huge amount of magazines that were stored there.

No-one suffered any injuries in the blaze, although a woman on the first floor was treated for an anxiety attack after being evacuated.

Baby lifeline talities was falling(216); transportation (123): and drowning(66). The breakdown reported that 17 people died when taking photos with wild animals.

The overwhelming number of selfie deaths were among young people.

Some 41% of total fatalities were aged 19 or younger, with 37% of deaths affecting selfie-takers in their 20s.

In Spain, a Ukrainian tourist fell from a height

of 30 metres in Benidorm earlier this year. Other incidents include a 24-yearold Norwegian who fell from a ninth-floor balcony in Marbella in May, a 28-year-old woman who fell from a Barcelona rooftop in November 2020, and a 14-year-old who fell from a skylight in Madrid last March.

In 2019 two British friends died when they fell 12 metres in Orihuela Costa while taking a selfie.

Brief respite ONE of Spain's richest men will not be jailed for smuggling a Picasso painting out of the country, because he’s dying.

Ex-Santander Bank vice-president, Jamie Botin, was convicted last year of taking the painting, The Head of a Young Woman, (pictured right) estimated to be worth €26 million, out of Spain.

Appeals against the conviction and sentence failed, with billionaire Botin hit with three years in prison and a €91.7 million fine.

His net worth is said to be €1.7 billion. Now a Madrid court has ruled that Botin, 85, will not be jailed following an examination carried out by a court-appointed doctor. No details were given except for the fact that he has a ‘serious incurable disease’.

Botin bought the Picasso painting in London in 1977 and had an export licence refused in 2012. He wanted it auctioned-off at Christies in London. Authorities said the work was an official asset of Spanish historical heritage and deemed it to be unexportable.

The painting was nevertheless moved to Botin’s yacht docked in Valencia with the captain given instructions to ‘get it out of Spain’.

The work was seized in July 2015 by French police during a dockside raid in Corsica. It was found hidden among a stack of other paintings and was deliberately left off the craft’s inventory.

GUILTY: Botin

FREE IVF treatment has been extended in Spain to single women, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.

Health Minister Carolina Darias said: “This is a milestone based on equity, diversity, and equality. Spain is a world benchmark in public health and in the rights of women and the LGTBI collective.”

In 2014 the previous Partido Popular government restricted free access to IVF treatment to solely heterosexual women who had a partner.

That in theory forced others to pay for treatment, but many regional governments did not enforce the change.

Eugenia Sangil, the president of Spain's federation of LGBTQ+ rights groups, welcomed the change, saying the lives of thousands of people would be transformed. "Let no one doubt that expanding reproductive rights is expanding human rights," said Sangil.

Golden ticket HOW early would you wake up for a prime parking spot?

For residents of Calle Nuredduna in the Mallorca capital Palma, getting up long before the sun rises is the only hope of securing local parking.

The queue began to form at 6am on Wednesday for those hoping to get their hands on one of the 50 parking vouchers for the Gabriel Alomar Avenue car park.

The coveted parking vouchers worth €60 monthly are given out by the Societat Municipal d'Aparcaments to residents so they can use the Avenida Gabriel Alomar car park.

This comes following the pedestrianisation of the street where 70 public parking spaces were lost.

Local Natalia Bosch joined the queue at 6.30am explaining that the discount voucher was the only hope she had of finding a parking space when she returns home from work.

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Strings attached SPAIN is the first European Union country to officially apply for a first €10 billion instalment of the Union's COVID recovery fund.

The €10 billion sum is on top of the €9 billion that it got in the summer as an initial ‘up front’ payment.

The cut for the Balearics from the initial tranche was €763.2 million.

Spain is set to get €140 billion from the EU over the next three years with the total split equally between loans and grants.

Recovery

The 2021 payment is dependent on the national government proving to the European Commission that it has put together a cohesive programme of recovery.

The structural goals include issues like gender wage equality, climate change, and technological improvements.

A document signed between Spanish and EU representatives this week means there will be quarterly meetings between both bodies to check on the progress of the recovery plan. Spain is the first EU member to put its name to such a document.

It will be the second-largest beneficiary of EU recovery fund cash after Italy.

NEWS

November 19th December 2nd 2021

5

LET THE MUSIC PLAY

MUSIC venues in Mallorca are breathing a sigh of relief after Spain announced the scrapping of post-Brexit visa requirements for UK artists on short-term tours.

This means that UK musicians and their crew will no longer need to apply for visas involving engagements of less than 90 days. The change in policy has come after months of lobbying from trade groups on both sides.

“The lifting of visa restrictions by the Spanish government is a hugely welcome move.

“It marks a big victory for all our members and reflects all the effort we have put in trying to get rid of these barri-

Visa rules scrapped for UK musicians wanting to tour Mallorca

ers,” said Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, UK Music chief executive.

He added: “It is vital for our economy and exports that musicians and crew can tour freely, grow their fanbase and share the very best of British music across Europe.”

Hundreds

This means that Mallorca’s venues and promoters will once again be able to legitimately bring over acts from the UK without having to

Extreme risk THE four municipalities in the Balearic Islands with the highest number of COVID infections per inhabitant are in Menorca.

Cases are surging across the Balearic islands with an accumulated 14 day rate of 120.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

By islands, the one with the worst rate is Menorca, with an accumulated 14-day incidence of 234.2.

The town of Mao has 459,6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which puts it firmly in the extreme risk category.

This is followed by Castell, with 343,4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and Migjorn Gran with 341,8 cases, with Sant Lluis, in fourth with 297 cases.

fork out hundreds of euros for each person. They faced bills of thousands for a group and crew to perform even one show.

The UK government faced accusations during the Brexit negotiations that it had treated cultural industries as an afterthought.

It was also accused of failing to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew.

European festival promoters have booked fewer UK acts as a result of the cost of visas.

This has dealt a huge blow to crews who are still reeling from the pandemic’s impact on the industry.

Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, said the decision was ‘really great news’.

“We’ve been working closely with the Spanish government to make touring easier – and they’ve just confirmed that musicians no longer need visas to go on short-term tours,” she said. “Twenty-one member states now offer visa and permit-free routes for touring performers. Six more to go.”

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NEWS FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION Good COP, bad COP SO if COP26 really was the ‘last best chance’ to save the planet then have we missed the boat?

While Greta Thunberg dismissed it as ‘business as usual, blah blah blah’ the general consensus among attendees was that it was ‘a step in the right direction’ It can be summed up by saying there was lots of positive chat, and agreements to chat some more about making positive steps but little in the way of action.

Spain went along with general agreements to commit to carbon neutral goals but short-term plans with concrete steps to doing so remain elusive.

In Glasgow, the Balearics Government was represented by Vice-president Juan Pedro Yllanes.

While there, he attended various meetings and revealed that each island will be given an emissions reduction target that has to be met.

There will also be a new subsidy to encourage investment in ‘carbon sinks’ such as tree plantations.

But precious few initiatives of substance were launched.

Bold steps beyond signing agreements that mostly benefit giant energy companies are needed..

Where are the solar panels on supermarket roofs? Where are the forestry management plans? Where are the steep fines for those illegally extracting water? Where are the incentives to encourage energy self-sufficiency?

We can also each do our bit by recycling our waste, picking up litter from the beach or choosing to sell the car and use public transport. We can also cut back on eating meat.

But above all we all need to apply pressure on our governments to take the threat seriously today and stop putting action off until tomorrow, when it will be too late.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

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

Fiona Govan fiona@theolivepress.es

Kirsty McKenzie kirsty@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Simon Wade simon@theolivepress.es

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THE CASE THAT GRIPS A NATION

M

ENTION the Rocio Wanninkhof case around Spain and expect plenty of raised eyebrows. Everyone has an opinion on the murder of the attractive half-Spanish, half-Dutch teenager on the Costa del Sol in 1999.

But while it is still transfixing the nation two decades on, today it has gone stratospheric, after the launch of two high-profile documentaries in recent months.

Both Netflix and HBO have released programmes on the case, in particular focusing on the involvement of the former lesbian lover of Rocio’s mother.

It makes for gripping TV, studying Dolores Vazquez’ alleged motives and alibis, as well as her potential links to the eventual convicted murderer, a British barman called Tony King.

The HBO series ‘Dolores. The truth about the Wanninkhof case’, in particular, goes deep in a six-parter, which sets up as being a study of one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in Spanish history.

But is it really? And what exactly were Dolores’ connections to Tony King and his sidekick, timeshare tout Robbie Graham, who has literally vanished into thin air?

I spent a year studying the case, before publishing a book on it in 2004 called Costa Killer.

My interest began after another teenage girl, Sonia Carabantes, was murdered during a feria in Coin, in inland Malaga, in 2003.

There were definite similarities between the killing and that of Rocio’s, in nearby Mijas, four years earlier, and for a month that summer it was hardly out of the news in Spain.

But when the DNA of a British expat, working in nearby Alhaurin, was found to have been at both crime scenes, it was like dynamite. Bang. Suddenly the story went global.

A British sex offender, a Spanish lesbian and a mysterious mafia subplot... it’s no surprise the death of Rocio Wanninkhof in 1999 is still fascinating armchair sleuths, writes Olive Press editor Jon Clarke, who wrote a book on the case

INNOCENT VICTIMS: Rocio and Sonia (right)

I had only just moved to Spain tracked him down and warned from the UK and found myself the Spanish counterparts of his working around the clock to track past, but inexplicably he was nevdown and speak to all the key er extradited home to face other players. charges.

I started with King’s acquaintanc- The Wanninkhof case had begun es in Alhaurin (among them his on October 9, 1999, in La Cala former workmates at the Bowers de Mijas, when 19-year-old RoArms as well as an ex-flatmate, a cio had been slayed on her way Danish girl) and eventually ended home. up interviewing his wife and fami- She had vanished some 500 mely back home in London. tres from her boyfriend’s house, The fact he had at around 10pm, moved to Spain her violent stabhaving changed bing leaving an She had his name by ominous series vanished 500 deed poll from of blood stains Tony Bromwich on waste ground, metres from - aka the Holloas well as drag way Strangler, in her boyfriend’s marks and nearby the UK, for half tyre tracks. house a dozen vicious It led to one of attacks on womthe biggest puben in the 1980s lic searches in - only made the case more super- Spain’s history, until her body charged. turned up, apparently sexually asIncredibly, he had easily im- saulted, on waste ground in Los mersed himself into a new life on Rodeos, between Puerto Banus the Costa del Sol, despite actually and San Pedro, on November 2. appearing on UK TV programme But it wasn’t just any bit of overCrimewatch over a separate rape grown land. Just 100 metres from case the week he left for Spain, the busy N-340 motorway, it was in 1997. beside a tennis club, which two of The British authorities had even Rocio’s uncles, Juan and Serafin Hornos, had been set to rent, potentially to run as a brothel, a source told me.

Next to her body were several rubbish bags with her personal belongings, clothes and oddly, a flyer handed out in a previous search for the body. There was also a cigarette butt, while fingerprints on one of the bags allegedly matched those of Serafin Hornos, although this is much contested.

Either way, surely it was no coincidence that a random sex attacker would have driven her body 33kms up the motorway to this specific spot, when he could have headed a few kilometres inland to the mountains in Mijas.

The police however, did not know of this connection and initially interrogated Rocio’s boyfriend Toni, before focusing their attention on the former lesbian lover of her mother Alicia Hornos. You couldn’t make it up.

Enter Maria Dolores Vazquez CONTRADICTIONS: Alicia (right) still believes Dolores (left) is guilty Mosquera. Born in Galicia but

raised in England, she managed the Sultan Hotel, in Marbella, and allegedly had a ‘short temper’ and ‘practiced martial arts’.

She became the prime suspect, largely due to the claims of Rocio’s mother, who has always insisted she had threatened her family in the weeks leading up to her death and claimed she had concrete motives to kill her daughter.

She told police (and the media) their split had been very acrimonious leading to Dolores calling her late at night and her daughter even hiding when she saw her car or heard her talking.

Rocio’s younger sister Rosa Blanca, added that Dolores was ‘a compulsive liar’ and ‘full of contradictions’. “In the last year before Rocio’s death she also became very aggressive,” she said in one interview. “All the evidence points to her,” she added.

The Guardia Civil followed suit and tapped her phone as well as sending a female agent to get close to her friends and acquaintances, building up a picture of her as being ‘cold, calculating and aggressive’.

In the end detectives had around 30 separate bits of evidence pointing at Dolores, who insisted she had not gone out that night and had been looking after her mother and her niece’s daughter.

She also insisted she had made some calls from her home, which were proven by her phone bill, although they were at 8.30pm and later after 10pm, leaving a window to have committed the crime.

And there were numerous other discrepancies, which the HBO documentary did not ignore.

These include her later adLED AWAY: Robbie Graha

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mittance that she might have, after all, gone out evening stroll. It was claimed she that evening to buy cigarettes… had been carrying a knife and and her inability to explain how a stabbed her, after firstly slapping car, a red Celica, identical to hers, or punching her in the face, givwas seen with two men inside it ing her a nosebleed. very close to the murder location Later, with the help of others, she that evening. returned to the scene at around Despite the lack of concrete ev2am to pick up the body, put it in idence, specifically the murder the car, and, after several days, weapon or DNA, public opinion, subsequently moved it to Marfuelled by the press and, in parbella. ticular, TV, was already condemnBut police could match none ing her as guilty. of the fingerprints at the crime When her cleaner, an expat Russcene to her and various fibres sian called Tatiana, came forfound on the body did not match ward to say she had stabbed a her clothing. poster of Rocio with a knife in her While she was sentenced to 15 kitchen, shouting ‘problem, probyears for the murder in 2001, lem’ the die was seemingly cast. she was let out of prison when The jury certainly agreed, with police discovered that biological six out of nine condemning her, remains under the fingernails although a retrial was later orof murdered Sonia matched the dered. cigarette butt Dolores and her found next to Rolawyer claimed They ruled ‘that cio’s body. it was a ‘biased, I have no doubt he did not act that Tony King popular jury’ with the prosecution involved in alone’ and had was merely focusing the murder, after on deconstructing the help of an his estranged her as a person wife Cecilia went accomplice without providing to the police in evidence to in2003 recalling criminate her. the night Rocio The prosecution insisted she had had died and how he had acted stabbed Rocio after an ‘unconstrangely. trollable burst of anger’ when She told me in an exclusive inshe met her out while having an terview, how he had come in late at night, had a shower, and gone out again, taking his old clothes with him.

And again when Sonia died, she and her new partner David Cooze, had seen Tony with suspicious scratches on his hand and a broken car light.

Police acquired his DNA from a glass and he eventually confessed to the crimes in addition to other assaults committed around Malaga and even as far away as Granada (in particular in Motril).

But King - who had been imprisoned in the UK for five vicious sex attacks by strangulation in 1986 - always insisted that Rocio was killed alongside his friend (and boss) Robbie Graham and Dolores.

He claimed Dolores was an acquaintance of Graham, a timeam, who was later released

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

7

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EVIL: But King was also a family man with ex-wife Cecilia

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S share salesman with previous convictions in the UK. He said Rocio had been seized by the trio and was to be ‘given a warning’ over her relationship with Dolores, which ended up going too far.

It might explain why a bloodstained tissue was found near the scene of her death, suggesting she had been given it to dab her nosebleed by someone who knew her well.

While a jury unanimously found King guilty of the murders in 2006, they ruled definitely that he ‘did not act alone’ and ‘must have had’ the help of accomplices.

There are questions, in particular, over Graham, who was brought in for questioning, but eventually let out to vanish and never to resurface again. He had been King’s boss at the timeshare company Lubina Sol, in Riviera, where coincidentally Rocio’s mother Alicia cleaned.

Many people told me that King was Graham’s ‘clumper’ or hired heavy and he had a very strong spell over him. The pair had met in prison in the UK, I believe, and Graham had an unhealthy relationship with women.

The pair got up to a lot of bad things together, King’s ex-wife Cecilia told me.

The HBO documentary briefly dwells on this and wonders whether all three could have been involved.

While Dolores completely denies it and she has since been exonerated by the state, her ex-lover Alicia is still convinced she was involved.

In one dramatic part of the documentary Rocio’s mother tells how Dolores had a very bad temper and even saw her throw her own mother to the floor and ‘dragged her by the hair’. To which Dolores replies: “If Alicia says I hit my mother that is totally unforgivable. I would have hit Alicia if she had touched my mother.”

Such violent dialogue, but as Alicia later points out, King was a strangler of women, not a knifeman.

Either way, for me, it definitely doesn’t quite add up. The body being taken 33 kilometres up the motorway, the bizarre links to the Hornos family, the many contradictions of Dolores.

It is one of the reasons the Rocio case and that of the Costa Killer will certainly never be forgotten.

INCE the rise of the internet, publishers have struggled with the thorny issue of how to pay for their content, which for years has been handed out free.

But now the tide has finally turned over the payment for news.

The simple truth is that quality costs. Trained journalists need to be employed. And in our case, unlike other online publications, sub-editors are needed to check the copy.

With Google and Facebook sucking up 90% of global advertising revenue, another path away from relying on ads needed to be sought.

Publishers the world over, from the New York Times, to The Telegraph and The Times decided the way forward was to charge for the ir content.

Here in Spain it is also seen as the way forward, with all the big media groups adopting paywalls, from giants like El Mundo to local publications such as Diario Sur. The Olive Press joined them a year ago. And now with more than 30,000 subscribers we are definitely on the right track.

With hundreds more signing up each month, it is gratifying to know that readers share our obsession with quality.

After all, for less than 14 cents a day - or €1.50 a week - readers can join our online revolution.

And with our current half price special offer until the end of the year readers can help us keep real journalism alive and flourishing in a world of fake news.

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BONKING tourists are being blamed for damaging one of Spain’s most important dune systems.

Maspalomas on Gran Canaria has become infamous for its ‘cruising’ scene where people hunt out strangers for illicit sex amid the dunes.

So much so that people from all over Northern Europe and the UK make a trip hoping to hook up with a like-minded stranger for nookie.

But in doing so – and creating hidden ‘nests’ in which to fulfil their fantasies – they are damaging the unique vegetation and ecology of the area.

Sex spots

Scientists at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) have surveyed the Special Nature Reserve of Las Dunas de Maspalomas and found an incredible 298 ‘sex spots’ hidden away, which are used regularly.

Of these, 242 are within a restricted use zone and another 46 in the most ecologically valuable exclusion area.

Researchers have detailed how there has been serious damage to the local flora as sex tourists enjoy their sweaty hobby.

In order to build ‘nests’, a lot of flora is uprooted, with three species endemic to Gran Canaria said to be under

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

GET A ROOM!

Sex tourists blamed for damaging one of Spain’s most ecologically valuable dune systems threat in the area.

And once the vegetation is uprooted, the underlying sand is exposed to the elements, with significant erosion taking place.

Researchers also found a large amount

of rubbish at the sex points, including condoms, sanitary towels and even sex toys. “We were surprised by the amount of waste we found”, explained report author Levi Garcia. “We didn't expect so much.”

Martin Tye explains why Self interest and endless political manoeuvring leads to failure

U

Lagoon plan A PLAN to revive the polluted Mar Menor lagoon has been unveiled by Spain's Ecological Transition minister, Teresa Ribera. The package features 34 specific measures costing €317 million.

The strategy includes cutting off and dismantling all illegal irrigation systems used by farmers to pump nitrate-laden water into the lagoon. The pollution caused by the systems has caused the death of marine life with dead fish piling up on beaches.

Action

Action will be taken in the Campo de Cartagena to review all permits given to wastewater discharges and a greater control of all farming involving livestock. Ribera's plan includes the creation of a green belt to promote a better environment and change farming to ‘sustainable production’.

The aim is to have the green belt in place by 2026.

NLESS you live in a cave, you will be aware that the COP26 (Conference of Parties) has just finished in Glasgow.

Some 197 countries assembled with the aim of bringing climate change under control.

The world is warming because of emissions from fossil fuels used by humans - coal, gas and oil.

Extreme weather events have been scientifically proven to be the result of climate change. Heatwaves, floods, forest fires, coastal erosion to name a few.

Although some significant steps were made amongst the endless political manoeuvring, THEY FAILED. Collectively they agreed to put out half of the fire.

The Paris Agreement of 2015 that the same countries signed up to set a target of limiting temperature increase to 1.5C. Pledges made in Glasgow will see this head to 2.4C. A huge gap. Climate Action Tracker predicts 2.7C by 2100.

The UK’s Met Office warned that a billion people could be affected by fatal heat and humidity if the global temperature rises by more than 2C above pre-industrial levels.

WHY HAVE THEY FAILED? Quite simple...

We live in a SELF PRESERVATION SOCIETY. ‘I’ll protect my own backyard, you can suffer in yours.’ The quality of most governments’ plans to limit climate change is very low.

The balloon of optimism that rose pre COP26 is now riddled with holes.

It was never going to be easy. Sacrifice isn’t.

One senior insider said that trying to get the correct outcome is like trying to herd 200 cats.

Let me share with you some of the statements and quotations that emanated from COP26 , along with my interpretations: “A spirit of compromise” Those with, don’t want to go without.

“The dialogue is very far from the concrete call for loss and damage”

WHAT A COP OUT

Wealthy nations once again come up short.

The least developed nations, as reported by SKY: “They were very disappointed, but also willing to move forward with the new plan” Better something than nothing. Wealthy nations intend staying that way. Shame on all of them.

Indian environment minister Bhupender Yadav said: “Developing countries are entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels” Really?!? There is nothing responsible about using fossil fuels.

“There is surprise that fossil fuels are mentioned in the agreement” Really?!? How can you avoid talking about and dealing with this elephant in the room?

Simple. Nations with extensive reserves of fossil fuels like Russia and Saudi Arabia want to keep exploiting them regardless of the impact on our environment.

“Moment of Truth” You can say that again! We all know that is true.The problem is getting immediate corrective action.

“We must come together” Great quote from Alok Sharma (who did a good job as host). Clearly insufficient nations did come together.

“Some countries are still wanting to have a discussion and resolve issues” Some countries haven’t got what they wanted and haven’t made sufficient commitment.

“Australia has been accused of hiding” True, it has. It is one of a few countries that does not agree to return to the negotiating table next year with

Green Matters

By Martin Tye

HARD WORK: Alok Sharma organised the event stronger commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Selfish Aussies!! Led by the seemingly ambivalent and irresponsible prime minister, Scott Morison who didn’t want to be there. He’s not alone. Brazil, Russia and Saudi Arabia are equally guilty.

“Commitments should take into account different national circumstances” This is a bit like the Monopoly ‘Get out of Jail’ card.

So, if it doesn’t suit there is no real commitment.

We’ll carry on pushing down the road necessary actions that need doing now.

The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Gutterres, did get it right…

“Our fragile planet is hanging on by a thread.

We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe” I find it painful that the diplomatic efforts have once again failed to properly confront the scale of this crisis. The world remains off target.

On a lighter note , one quotation from Saturday was bang on…

“COP26 will finish today” It had to. A bunch of private jets were waiting to take off.

Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy.

Call +34 638145664 or Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es

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LA CULTURA Euro better believe it

9

November 19th December 2nd 2021

Across 1 Shows up (5) 4 Emotional stresses (7) 8 Chilean President ousted in a 1973 coup (7) 9 American friend (5) 10 Speck (4) 11 Casablanca citizen (8) 13 One of them might be 4 Down (5,6) 16 Cradle to grave (8) 17 Disorderly stack (4) 19 Kismet (5) 20 Like traditional Catholic Masses (2,5) 21 “Now you listen to me ...” (3,4) 22 It may become toast (5)

Benidorm will host Spain’s Eurovision song selection competition motion of Spanish music’.

This was taken to mean a longterm deal was in place but no details were given at the time.

It’s also been revealed that the Valencian government is paying almost €1 million towards the event’s costs.

LOOMING LOVELY

AN ancient piece of fabric found inside a small cave hidden in the Sierra Morena hills, near Cordoba in southern Spain, is the oldest evidence of textiles in the Iberian Peninsula.

Dating back 5,400 years, the textiles were discovered in the Cerro de la Calera cave alongside human remains. Experts believe the cloth was left as ‘grave goods’ along with fragments of wood and cork, and some pottery vessels.

After almost five years of study, scientists have confirmed the age of the fabric.

Researchers said: “Although small and fragmentary, the textile finds from Peñacalera add important new information to our understanding of the development of textile technologies in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe during the Late Neolithic period and Copper Age.”

RTVE’s Eva Mora has confirmed that a four-year contract was in place, beginning with the inaugural Benidorm Fest’ in the last week of January 2022.

The actual dates for the threeday festival are yet to be announced. It will be staged at the Palau Municipal d’Esports I’Illa de Benidorm which has a capacity for 4,000 attendees.

The venue is the home of the city’s handball team.

Down 1 Cold and damp (6) 2 Armed intervention (8,5) 3 Transgressions (4) 4 Ultimate performance indicator (3,6,4) 5 Smokies’ Scottish home (8) 6 Surgery (7,6) 7 Saw (6) 12 Tyro (8) 14 Ask elf about chips (6) 15 Went into business (6) 18 Smooth-talking (4)

Winner

The winner of the Benidorm Fest will represent Spain at May’s Eurovision Song Contest in Turin. The new selection format will be similar to that of Italy’s San Remo festival that produced this year’s rock band winners, Maneskin.

Song entry submissions stopped being accepted by RTVE last week. A team of music professionals are now set to pick a short list and RTVE will look to match up the appropriate artists with the chosen entries.

OP SUDOKU

EXPAT favourite city Benidorm will host Spain’s search for a winning Eurovision Song Contest entry for at least four years.

As previously reported by the Olive Press, broadcaster RTVE signed an agreement in July with Valencian president, Ximo Puig, and Benidorm mayor, Toni Perez, for an ‘annual meeting point for the pro-

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

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LA CULTURA THE MAN WHO MOVED November 19th - December 2nd 2021

right and responsibility to take from other cultures to enrich their own ‘superior’ one, led to a feeding frenzy on Spanish items. the Atlantic throughout the early And at the heart of this frenzy EFORE the Great DeBy Shannon chaffers 1900s. stood art dealer Arthur Byne. pression and the onset Spain played a particularly prom- Though less well-known than of World War II brought as John D Rockefeller and William inent role in this trend, as Amer- some of his clients, the Amerithem down to Earth, Randolph Hearst (pictured inset icans romanticised Spanish can’s self-described life mission America’s wealthiest individright), held a distinct fascination culture as particularly authentic, to bring old works of art from uals showed no signs of rein all things European, especially premised on the stereotype that Spain to America earned him straint while spending their artifacts from its medieval era.

Spain was stuck in a pre-indus- both plaudits and scorn among riches.

As a result of this fascination, nu- trial era, untouched by modern the Spanish society he immersed The treasures of Europe were merous pieces of artwork, manor technology. This perception, himself in. So what is the story beoften the target of this exorhouses, libraries, and even mon- coupled with the fact that many hind the man who proved integral bitant spending, as many in asteries made their way across Americans believed they had the in fueling this movement of SpanFRENZY: Arthur Byne America’s wealthy class, such ish artifacts across the Atlantic?

Born in 1884 in Philadelphia, Byne studied a r c h i te c ture at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, he became a curator at the Hispanic Society of America, O longer part of the EU, UK, you will find that your cover a New York the UK is now a ‘third is not valid. As such, you should based insticountry’ and operates consider taking out new life insutution dedoutside of the EU’s eco- rance with a Spanish insurer. icated to nomic structures. Following Bre- Aware of this fact and striving to showcasxit, the UK’s relationship with the make life a little easier for all UK ing SpanEU has changed and expat resi- citizens who find themselves in ish culture.

Byne’s new dents should realise that this new this situation, Liberty Seguros has role saw situation could have an effect on designed its life insurance cover him move their life insurance policies. to meet their new needs. to Spain The European Insurance and With policies available in Engliin 1910.

Occupational Pensions Authority sh, excellent premiums and adWhile his ditional discounts, (EIOPA) advises initial purlife insurance from all expat living pose was Liberty Seguros in the European to phoUnion to pay The advantages can be taken out tograph from as little as 10 close attention of having life and index euros per month. to the small print Spain’s cover with The advantages burial expenses and inheritance tax brokers and agents never retain any in their policies – m e d i eva l particularly those Liberty Seguros of having life co- payments – and, upon death, bene- paper documents with information structures ver with Liberty ficiaries receive 100% of the contrac- pertaining to your health themselves. with official resiare many dence in Spain Seguros really are ted capital as standard, regardless of Privacy is respected and guaranteed, now and whom extensive, leaving the cause of death. and certificates are issued digitally by have taken out policy holders safe What’s more, life cover with Liberty an external party. life insurance policies with an in the knowledge that nothing Seguros now boasts a wide range of With this new, more modern and authorised insurer in the UK or will prevent them and their loved additional new extra options too. For more professional online sign-up Gibraltar. ones from being protected. example, you can take out extended service, taking out a life policy with EIOPA recommends asking your For example, the upper age limit cover for repatriation to any country; Liberty Seguros is completely secure.

UK or Gibraltar insurer if your with regard to death cover has and, if you have children under the The application process is verified policy is still valid and to seek ad- now been extended to 70 years age of 18, beneficiaries can recei- by means of a digital signature with vice on the Spanish rules which of age, and the upper age limit ve double the insured capital in the a PIN sent to the customer by SMS could have an effect on your for renewals is now 80 years of event of death of both spouses in the mobile text message. The whole propolicy. More than likely, if your age. Liberty Seguros also offers same accident. Furthermore, this is cess is quick and easy, with a smaller permanent residence is not in the a capital advancement to cover without having to take out an additio- and more simplified health screening nal policy either. questionnaire. Plus, once again, it’s There is also new cover for serious all in English. diseases for women (such as malig- In addition to all the advantages, all nant tumours in the breast, uterus, online applications for life policies etc.), as well as cover for other serious currently come with a 10% off plus diseases for both genders (such as an extra discount for those already myocardial infarction, by-pass, coro- an existing LIBERTY SEGUROS cusnary artery surgery, kidney failure… tomer. amongst others.)

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Wealthy Americans who bought up Spanish treasure

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for the society, he began making a name for himself as an authority on Spanish art and architecture. The Spanish government recognised his expertise, granting him the title of Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Alfonso XII in 1927.

Yet Byne was always interested in bringing the works he found back to America, drawing the ire of Spanish historians and journalists. As he aligned himself with those wealthy Americans who sought Spanish works, Byne sold them statues, ironwork, parts of castles and cathedrals, and even a royal carpet.

Perhaps his most notorious act involved orchestrating the purchase, dismantling, and removal of Spain’s St Bernard de Clairvaux and Santa Maria de Ovila monasteries at the behest of his client William Randolph Hearst, a media mogul with a costly affinity for medieval European structures.

Not only were the buildings themselves expensive, so too was the process of bringing them to America.

In 1926, Hearst purchased the St. Bernard de Clairvaux in the Segovia province of central Spain for $35,000.

To ship it across the Atlantic, Byne first had to build 40 miles of road and 20 miles of railroad. These were used to take the monastery, whose pieces were divided into over 10,000 crates,

LA CULTURA MONASTERIES

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

11

DISMANTLED: Santa Maria de Ovila and (left) how it looks now

through the countryside and to a Span- Removing the Santa Maria de ish port, where they were then shipped Ovila from Trillo in central Spain to New York City. (purchased for The removal of the about $100,000) monastery prompted five years latThe removal local outcry as villagers er proved even prompted tried on multiple occamore complicatsions to stop workers In response local outcry as ed. from taking what they to Byne’s previviewed as a precious villagers tried ous activities, the part of their communigovernment had ty. Yet Byne was able to stop workers enacted strict to take advantage of historical preserSpain’s cash-strapped vation laws that government, who ignored the protests, made the removal of certain allowing him to finish the job.

Spanish artifacts, including

monasteries, illegal.

The rules were weakly enforced, however, as Byne was able to convince the government, still struggling economically, that removing the monastery would bring in new jobs. The process indeed required man power, as getting the monastery to a port this time required not only construction of a railroad, but also the development of a pulley-cable system to allow a raft carrying the stones to cross the Tagus River. The parts were then shipped to San Francisco, arriv-

SHIPPED IN: The packaged monastery arrives a dockyard

ing there in 1931.

Some, including Hearst and Byne, argued that actions like removing these monasteries would help preserve European cultural monuments at a time where many had been neglected or damaged by conflict. But Hearst’s purchasing decisions might more accurately be described as cultural theft for personal gain, given he intended to incorporate the monasteries into his mansions.

Yet even this self-indulgent ambition did not come to fruition. With the advent of the Great Depression, Hearst and many others had to rein in their spending. This meant Hearst gave up his vision of reconstructing the monasteries, and they instead ended up sitting in their respective docks for years.

reminder of what the country lost during a time when cultural treasures were uprooted at the

command of the wealthy, even those who lived across the Atlantic Ocean.

OVER 250,000 PROPERTIES FROM 2,000+ AGENTS

Rebuilt

It took 26 years for the St Bernard de Clairvaux monastery to see the light of day again, when it was rebuilt in Miami in the hopes it would become a tourist attraction.

On the opposite coast, the Santa Maria de Ovila monastery remained on the San Francisco pier until 2013, when it was partly reconstructed by the New Clairvaux Abbey in California. Meanwhile, the monasteries’ original homes hold only the remains deemed unfit for Hearst’s purposes, serving as a reminder of what was lost.

And for many Spaniards, Byne, who died in a car accident in 1935, might also serve as a

OP Puzzle solutions Across: 1 Comes, 4 Traumas, 8 Allende, 9 Buddy, 10 Mote, 11 Moroccan, 13 Grand totals, 16 Lifetime, 17 Heap, 19 Karma, 20 In Latin, 21 See here, 22 Bread.

Down: 1 Clammy, 2 Military force, 3 Sins, 4 The bottom line, 5 Arbroath, 6 Medical centre, 7 Saying, 12 Initiate, 14 Flakes, 15 Opened, 18 Glib.

SUDOKU

Quick Crossword

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ST EDITIONS THIS MONTH WE NE O TW S’ ES PR IVE OL E TH R NS FO DOUBLE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIO

WE MADE IT! The

Olive Press’ Valencia and Costa Blanca south editions - our fifth and sixth - reached landmark anniversaries OLIVE in November despite the COVID crisis ESS

Demands for €80m flood aid

tember. nt in Madrid He told the governme vital to prethis week that it is also which was serve the Mar Menor, Gota Fria. badly hit by the so-called led to the The week of heavy rain and the dedeaths of millions of fish homes. struction of dozens of needed to He insisted future floods Continues on Page

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/ MURCIA

voice in Spain

r 20th, November 7th - Novembe

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demanded A VEGA Baja mayor has the devastated €80m in flood aid for Murcia region.

Mario Perez Los Alcazares leader flood retenCervera insisted a majorimplemented tion project should be sort of serithe urgently to prevent in Sepous flooding that happened

PR

livepress.es Vol. 1 Issue 1 www.theo

Duty of care claims after missing British great-grandfather was allowed to leave police station at 3am in clearly disoriented state EXCLUSIVE

By Joshua Parfitt

Blanca POLICE on the Costa after they have been slammed disorienallowed a confused and ndfather tated British great-gra station to walk out of a police alone. into the dead of night r Philip The family of pensione ng anPearce, 68, are demandi police over swers from Benidormon Septemwhy he was released ber 10, at 3am. life after he They now fear for hisan alarming has been missing for two months. from the And in a shocking email by the British Consulate, seenthere are Olive Press this week, of duty suggestions of a breach of care. reveals the The official email told police pensioner had clearly r where he he ‘did not remembe he was was staying’ nor where from in England.

l cases’ comment on individua such as Philip’s. spokesman A Policia Nacional had been claimed ‘helicopters’ Philip on (above), while scrambled to search for drink a enjoying Pearce Airport various Benidorm hillsides. tion.

DISAPPEARED: Philippicture of the pensioner in Alicante the back of to answer The massive surge - off and a fear However, he failed (above right) the last the exact details ree. the recent Catalan crisis party seiz, questions about ching for ther-of-th or “It’s absolutely gut-wren where Owner of Alicante Transfers release from the station of Islam - could see theParliament. he has of his and ground ing 15% of the seats inwill seriously us as a family, not knowing ed.

David McQueen, said whether sniffer dogs to five’ hours every searches had been deployed or The expected gains Ciudadanos, he is and why he disappear badly. I spent ‘four abandoned build- would be soon. damage centre-right half its seats, just want him home so “I scouring day ities which could lose over and left wing miss him so much.” be suffering ings and traveller commun Get to Philip?

Blanca. known while the ruling PSOE seen was Costa the you Philip to sufof demen- around sent my dog out with a Have Podemos are also expected at newsdesk@ from the early signs smiling’ “I even every in touch fer. tia, but was ‘happy and with a GoPro camera to search in but theolivepress.es to ‘defend’ Vox, which has pledged corner, when he left for Alicante ts, is predictbush and in every partner.

Spain from immigran the country’s nothing,” McQueen friend and travelling holiday we’ve found ed to finish third in in as many He was having a good Levante said. fourth general election 130 taxi until he left his Playa 9 “I’ve gotwho start er years.

Septemb on led Vox, hotel at 5.30pm The latest polling suggests he lost drivers will increase to buy cigarettes beforetaken to at 4am and finish

by Santiago Abascal, 350-seat parat 2am, but none of his bearings and was its 24 seats in Spain’s the hotels and espolice. liament to 46.

Wallet on, Lee told the Ol- tablishments have also stated Two months The consulate email neither his ive Press a request for ‘a ground seen a sign of PhilFailed gone Philip was carrying and sniffer dogs’ has are ip.” search Ciuwhen Rivera’s wallet Albert his family has the Meanwhile family passport nor The to unanswered, while from 57 to taken by a stranger dadanos will be reduced for answers. was he to searching spent weeks putset is left Vox sta14. In the 40dB poll alongside the closure on wheth- ting up posters and Benidorm’s Policia Nacional just after “We just need gain 14% of the vote, alive or not,” handing out flyers tion in the Old Town 21.2% and Find out what’s con- er my dad is still PP in second place withcoming first midnight, as CCTV footage of his missing father Lee said.

91 seats and the PSOE eating Benidorm from claiming to have firms. clear is how “But apartsome drones to look, around with 27.3% and 121 votes. victory However, what is not contact details. out with predicted Paul Hollywood sent leave PSOE’s to The to be doing A spokeswoman for with two less and why he was allowedlater. the police don’t seem would see the party last election, on Page 3 hours three Consulstation all.” at the British April’s the not an- anything seats than in for its the Olive scores of British res“The police are simply prompting another headache ,” son Lee It comes as spent weeks search- ate told as he tries to it ‘does not swering our questions leader Pedro Sanchez Olive Press idents have grandfa- Press Pearce, 41, told the ing for signs of the form a government. last night.

Opinion page 6

to the right A DANGEROUS lurch grant could see Spain’s anti-immi the kingmakVox party becoming general elecers in this weekend’s

You total doughnut!

L

AUNCHING businesses in the heart of an economic crisis is not generally recommended.

Opening two? Well. We’ve done our best.

Despite two of the hardest years in recent economic history, our pair of newest editions have reached landmark anniversaries.

While Olive Press Valencia reaches its first birthday, Olive Press Costa Blanca South hits a second happy milestone.

And it’s happy days all round as the two newspapers - our fifth and sixth editions - start to stabilise as the global economy finally begins to grow again.

Able to come up for air after an extremely tough start, both papers are beginning to make inroads in their respective local communities.

But they were always going to

O P

be well received, being tasked with keeping expats up to speed on all LIVE Your the alarming twists and turns of expat R ESS voic e in the coronavirus crisis, plus a lot, Spain lot more.

LOCKDOWN LOCK-IN Our most important remit was EXCLUSIVE to cut through all the fake news COUNTDOWN TO BREXIT - largely thanks to click bait - as Don’t forget COVID-19 took a hold last year.

And we were praised for it, both from politicians around Spain and from the likes of Google, which actually handed us an award for our reporting.

Back to Blanca While most businesses battened down the hatches and many temporarily shut, we realised as a newspaper we had to keep going.

Tightening our belts as best we Palace con could, we continued to distribute to all the supermarkets, shops and petrol stations that remained open, even during the THE WORD ON THE STR total lockdown of last Spring.

EETS Supporting businesses as best Oh la Lifting the Val we could - particularly British landing Brexit! ones already struggling from Tel: 952 147 834 the spectre of Brexit - we actu95grow 2 147by 83taking 4 ally managed to on new journalists, among them former Telegraph correspondent Fiona Govan in Madrid.

Thanks to our paywall we found a whole March last year the wheels fell off. new audience (thousands of you, in fact) But we held it together and as things prepared to pay for our incisive, quali- eased last autumn, we saw another opty content that amounts to well over 20 portunity to open in the wonderful city stories a day online. of Valencia and its nearby area.

And we haven’t looked back.

The capital of the region has proved to Exclusive be not just extremely welcoming to our When we launched in November 2019 sixth edition, but we have found some on the Costa Blanca south with a great solid local clients, such as Swan and exclusive on a missing British pensioner Partners, Costa de Valencia, Sensat, in Benidorm on the cover, things looked Palacio de la Bellota and Casa Patacoincredibly rosy. na.

As well as sending a journalist to Ma- With the guidance of our local agents drid to witness Franco being interred Daniela Dimitrova and Charles Bamber, from his Valley of the Fallen mauso- we continue to grow again as we apleum, in that same issue we exposed proach 2022 and next year should be a the millions of euros being raked in by strong year for Olive Press all round. disgraced financial advisor Continental Last, but not least, thanks should also Wealth Management, while many of its finally go to our long-term faithful cliinvestors faced financial ruin. ents, who have supported us through Our team of reporters based in Valen- the toughest times in our nearly 16 cia, Alex Trelinski, Simon Wade and Josh years of existence.

Parfitt, made a sterling effort finding ex- In particular Jennifer Cunningham Insurclusive after exclusive until suddenly in ance, Mariposa Energy, Linea Directa and many more that there isn’t enough space to mention here.

Here’s to next November.

The

of fish died HORRIFIC: Millions

VALE NCIA / COST A AZAH AR FREE Vol. 1 Issue 1 www.theolivepr

ess.es November 26th - December 9th 2020

The new rules allowing you to drive in Spain until next summer Page 6

UNABLE to have his regular Friday on a cornucopi night down the boozer during lock- lectibles… and a of Emerald Isle coldown, expat Conor Wilde it even has Guinness hit on a on draught. novel idea for this one - to build his “After being cooped own pub! in solitary in March I up like a man The Irish expat, 46, got came up with over and converted his his mates a plan,” the Valencia-based real esinto what he claims is garden shed tate consultant told the Olive Press.

FORGET THE DRAUGH Spain’s small- “I had an old T: Conor est watering hole. shed in the garden. I and pals at makeshi got the lads over – Tuejar, ft local Measuring 2.4m by 2.5m, El Galit counts lego & Champ – and we set about

turning it into Spain’s smallest pub. And if I say so myself, we’ve done a grand job.”

Called El Irlandes, after ite Martin Scorsese film,his favourit happily fits his closest pals in Friday night Blarney. for the usual Wilde, from Skerries, near has run the Found Valencia Dublin, agency for two decades.

Valencia is open!

VALENCIA remains open for visitors, with COVID restriction s more relaxed than most other regions, insists tourist chiefs.

The city has been praised by businessmen and tourists alike for its

By Eugene Costello

‘sensible’ approach, which has kept the economy running as best as possible.

“Life goes on and we must move forward,” insisted Antonio director of the Turismo Bernabé, Foundation, to the Olive Valencia Press, this week.

“We have struck a good balance be-

How Amy’s guitar-maker lencia won over the worldfrom VaPage 15

tween keeping life normal and keeping it safe.”

While tourism is down year, the tourist boss 80% on last says all activities, including cinemas and museums, are open.

Best of all, unlike much locals and tourists must of Spain, between midnight and only stay in 6am.

“It’s a great time to discover the city as there are no queues,” adds Bernabe.

“We take the pandemic seriously, but we also believe in the right to have a full life.”

Currently few places in the Comunidad face tough restriction s due to high infection rates.

The city meanwhile, an activity card calledhas developed Valencia On, an app anyone can download , not just aimed at tourists.

Blueprint

A bunch of crooks tried to sell my hotel for a song Page 16

BEST FOOT FORWARD

: The Olive Press Valencia

Is Baqueira really Spain’s top skiing resort?

Page 20

See pages 24 & 11

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LAUNCH: The OP teams for the first editions

team getting the message

A TRADE deal between is on the verge of being the EU and Britain EU looked set to cave in finalised, after the An MEP broke ranks to on fishing rights. likely the French would say that it looked have to compromise with Boris Johnson’s demands over UK waters.

Christophe Hansen said the EU would have to meet the UK’s an agreement. "There demands to clinch will be compromises to be made on fisheries. that is somewhere we're The status quo, not going to land,” he told an event.

French fishermen are understood to have backed the compromise despite losing out on access to certain fishing It came after the EU’s chiefgrounds. negotiator Michel Barnier demanded the need to com-

out around the city this

week

By Dilip Kunar

promise in order to get France had previouslyan agreement. back down on any fishingbeen refusing to near-parity to the UK’s deal, demanding It comes as the governorcoastal waters. of the Bank of England warned that a no-deal Brexit would be more economically damaging than COVID to the UK. Andrew Bailey said failure signed would create a massiveto get a deal trade blockage and damage cross-border goodwill between Brussels and the UK for years.

Meanwhile, Ireland leader Micheal Martin said on Monday he was hopeful that a Brexit deal would be completed this week.

Run by Visit Valencia it offers a huge range of discounts for museums, events, restaurants, transport and even hotels. You can find valenciaon.com, and it it at www. is completely free.

Roland Wareham, 55, director from Andaluciaa company , was impressed by how well handling the pandemic the city was .

On a business trip from his native Mijas this week, he struck by how normal said: “I was life seemed.

In Ruzafa, all the bars and restaurants were open, and the crowded with familiesterraces were enjoying the al fresco and friends lifestyle.

“In Andalucia, meanwhil restaurants must close e, bars and my town is like a ghost by 6pm, and town at night.

“Valencia should serve as a blueprint for the rest of Spain.”

Opinion, page 6

Taoiseach Martin said ‘by the end of this week we could see the outlines of a deal’.

He said it would come will, both in the United down to ‘political clear the political will is Kingdom and I’m there from the European Union’.

EU ambassadors were told end that a trade deal with over the weekverge of being finalised. Britain is on the They were told the majority of the 11 main negotiation issues have ‘joint legal texts with fewer and fewer outstandin g points’.

The European commissio sula von der Leyen, struckn president, Ursaying: “After difficult weeksa positive note, with very, very slow progress now we have days better progress, more seen in the last movement on important files. This is good.”

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

I AM NOT A DALEK Robot waiter serving customers at Michelin starred restaurant

HOPEFUL: Reyes Maroto

Picking up SPAIN'S Tourism Minister, Reyes Maroto, has predicted that foreign visitor numbers could return to pre-pandemic levels next year.

Maroto made her forecast on the back of a surge in tourism during September. Figures from the National Statistics Office showed almost 4.7 million international visitors to Spain- four times the admittedly low number recorded for September 2020.

The total was still well below the 8.8 million total of September 2019.

Germans made up the largest group of foreign travellers, followed by Britons and French visitors..

Maroto said: “These figures confirm a reactivation of international tourism is underway and that in 2022 we could recover pre-pandemic levels.”

She claimed that Spain’s natural tourist attractions and its high level of vaccination were helping to fuel the recovery in numbers. She had previously predicted that 2021 visitor totals would be around half of 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

AN award-winning restaurant is using a locally-made robot to serve customers.

Michelin star chef, Maria Jose San Roman, has brought in a BellaBot robot to her La Terraza del Gourmet establishment in Alicante.

BellaBot, whose head and ears have a cat-like appearance, has been created by Elche company Bumerania Robotics.

The robot is capable of bringing out food, crockery and other items to diners’ tables, both inside and outdoors.

It allows waiters more time

By Alex Trelinski

to interact with customers and takes them away from more routine time-consuming tasks.

THE BIG CHEESE

A SPANISH cheesery has walked away with the top prize at the 2021 World Cheese Awards.

Quesos y Besos from Guarroman in Jaen Province wowed judges with its goat cheese to beat off 4,000 contenders for the title of ‘best cheese in the world’. The judges described it as a ‘gastronomic jewel’.

Quesos y Besos is an artisan cheese factory that employs just six people and only started up in 2017. Olavidia is the name of the winning cheese, made with goat milk from Malaga, and produced by cheese-makers Silvia Pelaez and Paco Romero.

It is a cheese that ‘contains a mysterious black line, less than a millimetre, that crosses from side to side’ according to the judges. The line is ash from burnt olive pits produced in Jaen Province, which is said to give the cheese a distinct flavour.

Ryanair rapped A MALLORCA court has ordered Ryanair to pay €387 to a man barred from a flight because he would not pay a cabin luggage fee.

The unnamed traveller wanted to take additional luggage into the flight cabin because it had medical equipment in it to treat his long-term illness.

The Ryanair check-in desk said it would charge £20 because his ticket had no cabin luggage allowance included within it, except for a small carry-on bag. The passenger refused to pay and was excluded from the flight.

Ryanair's argument was that a pre-booked priority rate would have allowed him to take two bags into the cabin.

They added that he should have been aware of all options when he made a reservation.

No reason

Attention

Maria Jose San Roman said: “This innovation allows our waiters to give diners more attention as well as incorporating new technology into what we do.”

BellaBot has multiple tray-carrying capacity and has a detection system to

13

avoid obstacles as it wheels around the restaurant and its terrace.

It has a special suspension system to ensure that customer orders stay stable when delivered. The robot also interacts with diners by voice or by displaying emotions via a facial video display.

The Palma judge ruled that Ryanair acted incorrectly and that there was no reason for barring a passenger unless there were health and security reasons.

The court dismissed the carrier’s right to ‘exercise a situation of superiority over the passenger’. The judge quoted European regulations which imply that an airline has an obligation to transport hand luggage which is classified as an 'indispensable' passenger object.

There has been no comment from Ryanair over the compensation award.

Spanish courts have previously ruled against Ryanair over hand and cabin luggage charges. Nearly all carriers have stricter carry-on rules these days as they seek to claw back lost income caused by the pandemic.

Revolution

Bumerania Robotics CEO, Isidro Fernandez, said: “Robotics and artificial intelligence are part of a revolution that doesn’t replace people but something that is complementary to improve efficiency.”

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

MAGICAL CASTLE STAYS SPAIN’s hotel castles are among the finest in the world. Many are beautifully preserved, so why not stay the night? What could

be more magical than bedding down like medieval nobility, and waking up to breathtaking views of the coast or countryside

This 13th century town-fortress can be found in Castellar de la Frontera, and it’s one of the few inhabited medi-

eval fortifications today.

It’s located on a mountain in the beautiful Los Alcornocales natural park and is perfect for

nature lovers. On a clear day, from the hotel you can see the Rock of Gibraltar and the coast of Africa.

Castellar Castle (Cadiz) Parador de Cardona (Barcelona)

T

his breathtaking hotel sits within Castle Cardona, which was built in the 9th century. It sits on a hill and overlooks the river valley of the Cardener and the town of Cardona. The fortress offers guests unrivalled landscapes. The Dukes of Cardona, who resided in the castle, were influential within the Crown of Aragon in the 14th century, they were second in power and prestige to the Royal family. The Cardona leaders were known as ‘kings without crowns’ for their vast territories from Catalonia and Valencia to Aragon itself. This castle has a lot of stories to reveal to visitors. The site is currently owned by surviving members of the Aragon dynasty.

Hotel Castillo El Collado (Basque Country)

Parador de Olite (Navarra)

T

he Castle of Olite has been declared a national monument for its stunning beauty. The site resembles a palace more than a castle, and it’s the most significant example of Gothic non-ecclesiastical architecture in Navarre, and one of the most outstanding examples in the world. Within these ancient stone walls, you will find yourself immersed in an oasis of peace and tranquility. You can also stroll through the narrow side streets of Olite and wonder at the coats of arms and the Roman walls. You may even wish to visit Oliva Monastery, where you can see Cistercian monks, dressed in their white tunics, and praying.

Hotel Castillo de Santa Catalina (Malaga)

This charming and charming hotel can be found within this stunning 20th century castle.

It is located in one of the most upscale places in the town of Laguardia in Alava.

Posada Real Castillo de Buen Amor (Salamanca) The 15th-century castle is set in the wondrous Castillian countryside, and is only 27 km away from the historical city of Salamanca. Each of the rooms look out onto either

the central courtyard, or to the meadows which surround it.

The castle has been home to local lords for centuries, and it has been protected as a historical site since 1931.

Arteaga Castle (Basque Country) Parador De Hondarribia (Hondarribia)

D

ating from the 10th century, Parador De Hondarribia served as the residence of Carlos V, the founding emperor of Spain. It offers stunning views of the Bi-

dasoa Estuary. After exploring the castle itself, guests can head into Hondarribia, one of the most charming towns in the region. Hondarribia is the last stop before France.

Built in 1932, this stunning example of architectural elegance has been declared an asset of cultural interest by the Spanish state, and for good reason. It is a property of more ​​ than 3,500 square metres and is located on the Costa del Sol. It has extensive public gardens, spaces and terraces. Guests also enjoy spectacular views of Malaga Bay. It is located in the exclusive El Limonar area of Malaga, and is only 800 meters from La Caleta Beach.

The beautiful Arteaga castle can be found in the heart of Urdaibai biosphere natural reserve and it was originally built in the 13th century. French architects Couverchef and Ancelet rebuilt the Castle again by order of French emperor and empress Napoleon III and Eugenia de Montijo. It is a fine example of neo-gothic style.

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HEALTH

Top of the taps

LIVE in San Sebastian? Lucky … you have the best tap water in all of Spain.

Data sourced by the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) shows the water in the Basque city is of the best quality, with low mineralisation and close to zero contaminants.

Burgos and Las Palmas also ranked highly while Palma de Mallorca, Huelva, Barcelona and Ciudad Real were considered the worst in the study that investigated taste and economic efficiency.

The findings revealed good tap water could rival bottle water, but that the quality of tap water depends on many factors.

OCU was looking for purity of the water, including a low presence of lime and copper.

OCU carried out research on the water across 60 municipalities, saying 19 were ‘excellent’ while for 36 the water is just ’good’.

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

Heartstopping

Jab unhappy

How football match days affect emergency room admissions IF you want to stay out of A&E you’d better hope your football team has won.

A study of one Spanish city has found that when the local club wins there are fewer emergency admissions to hospital for heart problems

than normal. And when the team loses there are more serious cases rushed to hospital than on a matchless day.

The study, carried out by the Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar (Cadiz),

MAGIC PILL A NEW Pfizer pill reduces the risk of death from COVID-19 by almost 90%.

The US-based company published its preliminary results for the experimental antiviral pill after a drug trial involving a total of 775 adults.

The research found that those taking the pill had an 89% reduction in their combined rate of hospitalisation or death after a month, compared with patients taking a placebo.

Fewer than 1% of patients taking the drug needed to be admitted to hospital and none died.

In the comparison group, 7% were admitted to hospital and there were seven deaths The company is working to rapidly produce at least 21 million packages of the drug in the first half of next year, with plans for a total of 50 million packages in 2022, according to The Washington Post .

Spanish and EU health authorities still need to approve the drug for use in the country.

15

studied admissions to A&E on Cadiz CF match days.

It looked at visits to the emergency room for heart problems in comparison to the club’s football calendar during 2018, 2019 and 2020.

More than 10,000 people went to the emergency department, of whom more than 2,000 were admitted for heart attacks or angina.

There was an incredible 90% increase in emergency room visits for heart problems when Cadiz lost at home.

Drop

A STAGGERING number of coronavirus vaccines has been discarded by the Community of Madrid since the vaccination campaign began in Spain.

Council chiefs have admitted that 117,977 vaccines against COVID-19 were thrown away over the past 12 months.

The jabs were either tossed out because they were ‘broken’ or had expired, officials said.

Madrid got rid of 47,450 Janssen vaccines which had passed their expiry date and a further 41,270 jabs from AstraZeneca.

Some 17,070 Moderna and 744 Pfizer vaccines were also disposed of. Discarded vaccines represent 1.08% of all the doses that the Ministry of Health has delivered to Madrid.

It comes after a study by research group Airfinity said that, world wide, 100 million stockpiled COVID vaccines will expire by the end of the year.

Helping Hands Caring since 1989

There is also a significant drop in visits when the club wins away.

When studied by gender, men and women show a marked difference. While men in general are at higher risk of heart problems on matchdays, women have a lower incidence of cardio complications on match days - win, draw or lose.

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The Olive Press - all editions - HP 170x256 - PROMO - November 17/18/19

We use recycled paper

Got the hump

FINAL WORDS

​​POLICE have tracked down eight camels and a llama that went on the run from the Quiros circus in Madrid, with the circus blaming animal activists for setting them free.

Pig swill A CADIZ court has dismissed a case where an individual tried to get his brother in law fined €500 for calling him a ‘pig’, saying that it wasn’t serious enough.

Rocked A MAN has been arrested after he tried to sell online a fragment of meteorite that had gone missing from the Natural Science Museum in the 1960s for an out of this world €50,000.

OLIVE PRESS

The

REuse REduce REcycle

MALLORCA

FREE

Vol. 5 Issue 119

www.theolivepress.es

Your expat

voice in Spain

The extra mile

November 19th - December 2nd 2021

ROTTEN APPLE

Expat plagued by calls intended for fruit and veg shop A BRITISH expat has found himself in a pickle after phone calls to a greengrocer started to get rerouted to his home phone.

Charlie Bamber in Torre del Mar has been getting up to 15 calls a month from people trying to place orders at organic fruit and veg shop Bioshop El Cambio in Malaga - and it is sending him bananas.

By Dilip Kuner

Despite his best efforts to stay as cool as a cucumber, he has found himself turning red as a beetroot with rage as the calls have kept on coming for the past four months.

Talking to the Olive Press, he said: “Some of the people calling have been put through to me several times

A CATHOLIC bishop who fell in love with an erotic novel writer has joined a Barcelona-based pig semen exporter.

Xavier Novell resigned in September as Bishop of Solsona in Catalunya. He became Spain’s youngest bishop when he was appointed in 2010. Novell, 52, admitted he had embarked on a relationship with writer Silvia Caballol, 38.

He was quoted as saying that he ‘wanted to do the right thing’.

The ex-bishop and exorcist has now got a job

Friends.

and they are very apologetic and embarrassed.”

He added: “I have emailed three times asking them to do something about their phone system.”

But the shop owners don’t seem to give a fig about the sales director’s predicament. “They just say ‘nothing can be done’.

“To be honest, I feel a bit of a lemon.”

He adds that he could real-

FROM DEMONS TO SEMEN

with Semen Cardona which exports pig semen to several countries for ‘high-grade swine artificial insemination’. It’s not known what Novell’s role in the firm is. A Semen Cardona spokeswoman said that she ‘cannot disclose information about workers due to data protection laws.

A SPANISH amateur athlete has smashed an incredible world record by pushing his mother in a wheelchair for 26 miles in under three hours.

Dedicated Eric Domingo Roldan pushed himself and his mother Silvia - to the max, in order to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis.

His spectacular effort at the Barcelona Marathon broke the Guinness marathon record for pushing a wheelchair.

Record

ANGRY: Charlie Bamber

ly upset the apple cart if he wanted to.

“I could be telling this shop’s customers anything I like - that they’ve shut down, been taken over by gangsters or that it is far too expensive and their rivals are half the price,” he said.

“Maybe I should be looking around for another grocer and come to some sort of agreement to nick El Cambio’s trade. Now that could be a plum deal!”

Silvia and Eric roared across the finish line, clocking a world record time of two hours 53 minutes and 28 seconds.

Eric averaged 4:07 per km or 6:37 per mile at the 42nd edition of the Zurich Maraton de Barcelona.

It’s not the first time he raced with his mother, as the pair tried to beat the world record last year at the Sevilla Marathon.

His mother Silvia has lived with multiple sclerosis for the last 17 years, and she even survived a serious case of COVID-19 in August.

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Sunset.

A hotel that maximises the destination to it's full potential, thanks to it's excellent location. It offers great local experiences at any moment. With art, design, relaxation and comfort. A hotel full of life.

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