Olive Press Costa Blanca North and Valencia Issue 132

TWO British tourists have been kicked off their sunbeds after entering a hotel pool area before it officially opened.

Video footage recorded by the Olive Press shows a security guard waving his finger and shouting ‘no, no, no!’ at the men as he frantically made hand gestures towards his watch.

The pair were then escorted away from the area at the Melia Hotel in Benidorm and told to get to the back of a queue, which had been forming at the pool area’s entrance.

We watched as holidaymakers tried to reserve beds at 8.40am, going against the policy of the hotel, which is laying down the law this year. It can get so heated, a dedicated security guard is posted each morning wearing a bright yellow. At 9am, the guard releases the rope cordon, unleashing a flock of British tourists who scurry to secure their preferred spots by the pool. It comes as hotels are bracing for the dreaded sunbed wars this year, which are starting earlier than ever.

Last week two elderly tourists were branded ‘selfish’ for laying on stacks of sunbeds, also in Benidorm.

The Olive Press visits the study centre votest the EU’s top new building

WAITING TO DIE

A BRITISH expat ‘waiting to die’ from ‘football-sized hernias’ has accused a hospital in Spain of ignoring her symptoms for years. Maria Coomber, 72, told the Olive Press staff at the hospital in Valencia had cruelly branded her a ‘hypochondriac’.

She revealed how she was repeatedly turned away by Torrevieja Hospital, despite ‘screaming in agony’ from ‘intense stabbing’ pains in her stomach.

After allegedly being ‘ignored’ by medical staff over a five-year period, she was finally diagnosed with inoperable hernias on her spine and abdomen.

The Kent-born woman explained that she has now been told they could ‘pop at any moment’ and kill her.

She can now only be given painkillers to numb her ordeal and feels ‘sad and ‘emotional’, especially for her son, who ‘will not have a place to live’ after she dies.

Incredibly, she claims one doctor accused her of being a ‘bored expat who had nothing better to do and wanted the company.’

It comes after the hospital’s level of care was said to be deteriorating

Negligence left an expat with inoperable medical condition which has given her months to live

By Yzabelle Bostyn

by the local mayor in 2022.

We later reported how a woman won €450,000 when her arm had to be amputated due to a series of errors.

Maria’s nightmare began some eight years ago, when she discovered her stomach had moved and had to be put back in the right place.

She underwent major surgery in the UK before returning to Benijofar, Spain.

She had moved to the Costa Blanca two decades ago after retiring from her role as a care home manager.

Much to her dismay, just six months later her pain returned and she discovered her stomach had once again moved.

After another surgery, this time in Torrevieja, she thought her nightmare was finally behind her. That was until she began experiencing new ‘excruciating’ pain six months later and was rushed to the hospital’s A&E. Despite initially getting what she describes as ‘very good’ care, her

pains persisted and she returned multiple times for much-needed relief.

After a few visits, emergency staff told her to ‘stop coming’ and to visit her GP instead.

The GP

SAGA: How the Olive Press has reported on the horror stories from Torrevieja hospital down the years, from (left) immeasurable delays, a woman who had an arm amputated and an expat who was ‘kidnapped’ from a ward by his own family when he suffered horrendous bedsores.

“But after a while, the hospital started to dislike me and called me a hypochondriac,” she claims.

Maria states the doctor actually told other hospital staff to ‘ignore’ her pleas for help despite ‘screaming in pain’ on various occasions. “I have never cried so much in my life. I felt so alone,” said

Maria. “I don’t know how I survived.”

Far from a ‘bored retiree’, Maria has a thriving social life, a loving son, many pets and plenty of housework to keep her busy. Nonetheless, she says staff at Torrevieja Hospital continued to dismiss her symptoms for FIVE years, leading to ‘horrible and nasty’ treatment including being ‘aggressively’ manhandled.

“I was called a ‘b**tard’ and left on the floor of an ambulance after falling off a bed,” she insisted. It was only after a nasty fall last year that doctors finally agreed to do some more urgent tests. It was then they found four hernias ‘bigger than footballs’ on the base of her spine and stomach. A result of wounds from her earlier stomach operations, the hernias had been left to grow for almost five years and are now inoperable.

“I'm dying, it’s just a matter of when,” she told the Olive Press “I just wish they had been nice to me and they had looked into it instead of calling me a hypochondriac. All it takes is a bit of kindness.”

This is the latest in a long list of scandals reported on by the Olive Press.

Just last year, a 65-year-old woman was awarded €450,000 after her arm was amputated following a ‘routine fracture dislocation operation’.

Internal bleeding was left ‘untreated’ and developed into deep vein thrombosis leading to the amputation.

hospital

after

Another expat who entered the

and told to go

14 hours at the hospital for

The hospital authorities have been approached for comment. totally disagreed however and urged her to go back to the hospital for urgent help, particularly as the stabbing pains came up to four times a week.

EAGER: Brit tourist takes a pile of towels to reserve sunbeds

MARIA: Ignored by staff at Torrevieja´s hospital for FIVE years

NEWS IN BRIEF

Chopper watch

A NEW helicopter has been bought by the Valencian government to monitor remote areas and forests for fires, with the H901 craft able to travel for a long time without refuelling.

Instant relief

JAVEA council will install toilets at two of its most popular bays - Cala de la Granadella and El Portixol, to stop people relieving themselves in areas like the sea.

Hi-tech view

A DRONE will be used for the first time this summer by lifeguards at Raco de l'Albir beach to allow them access to real-time information to improve safety for swimmers.

Smoking ban

THREE sections of Benidorm’s Poniente and Levante beaches have been designated as smoke-free along with the child play area at El Moralet urban park.

Homeward bound

A BRITISH couple who were arrested for allegedly running a UK prostitution ring will be extradited from Spain by the National Court.

They were previously convicted for an identical crime in Britain in 2009.

Neil Lock, 43, from Griñon, near Madrid, agreed to the extradition order while his wife Natalie - also 43 - initially opposed the application.

They are accused of running a website from Spain that ran apartments where 35 women were sexually exploited.

Each of the victims were given the homes to conduct their business, with the Locks taking 40% of earnings.

The women were allegedly forced to work up to 21 hours per day.

UK prosecutors revealed to the Olive Press that text messages to one woman revealed 'extremely aggressive con-

Husband

and wife ‘pimps’ to be sent to face UK

justice

By Alex Trelinski

trol' including threats to keep them in line.

British authorities said that an associate of the Lockswith the initials A.B - threatened to unpixilate her photo from the website to reveal her real name if she did not obey him.

When she said she was pregnant, A.B. 'threatened her' and insinuated that if she left the criminal operation, she would 'suffer unspecified consequences'.

"In the course of the crime, many millions of pounds

CHEERS: Natalie and Neil Lock enjoyed pool parties, hog roasts and magical entertainment as they splashed the cash

were transferred to the various accounts of the Locks, which appear to have funded

Missing couple bodies found

THE bodies of a missing German couple have been discovered by the Guardia Civil in Jijona - a month after a dog found a woman’s arm. The man and woman lived in Mallorca and arrived in the area in January. Their bodies were said to be in an advanced state of decomposition. A shotgun was discovered next to the

61-year-old man’s body with the main hypothesis that he killed his wife, 48, before taking his own life. The bodies were discovered outside a solar farm under a pine tree in a steep valley area that was difficult to access. The location was around 500 metres from the Jijona industrial estate where the couple left their rental car.

TWO Javea wedding guests have been arrested after setting off fireworks that caused a blaze - destroying 17 cars and damaging 17 others.

Two Spaniards - aged 45 and 53 - have been charged with criminal damage caused by serious recklessness.

The fire started in a car park close to Calle Muelle Norte with most of the vehicle owners attending a wedding at a church in Javea port. Benissa and Denia Park fire crews needed two hours to bring the blaze under control.

their lifestyle," according to British authorities. According to UK authorities, the Lanes and a business partner managed the prostituted women from Spain, with two ‘drivers’ back in Britain who 'looked after them' and supervised the payments.

A BENIDORM Policia Local patrol boat fished out a rucksack containing 20 kilos of cocaine from the water at Poniente beach.

An international arrest warrant was issued against the Lanes by Birmingham Magistrates Court last November for charges of coercive prostitution and sexual exploitation, membership of a criminal organisation, human trafficking and money laundering.

Officers doing surveillance work around the Serra Gelada natural park spotted the bag floating in the sea. They discovered 20 packets inside - all of them branded with the logo of the Adidas sportswear company. Each pack contained around a kilo of a pressed white substance, confirmed later to be cocaine.

Brazilian superstars lined up to take management positions in fourth tier of Spanish football

A LOWLY fourth-tier football club is calling on a trio of Brazilian supersubs in an effort to catapult it up the Spanish leagues.

CD Estepona, which plays in the Segunda Federacionsome 80 places below Jude Bellingham and Real Madrid - has lined up none other than Ronaldo Nazario as its new sporting director.

The original - and some maintain the best - Ronaldo recently announced his intention to sell his majority stake in Real Valladolid with the club poised for promotion to La Liga. His next move is likely to be Estepona, according to media reports, where he would

By Walter Finch

Golden princess

THE heir to the Spanish throne - Princess Leonor - has been awarded the highest honour in the Aragon region. The Princess of Asturias, 18, began her first year of military training last August at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza. Wearing her second-year cadet uniform, she was greeted at the parliament building by Aragon president, Jorge Azcon. In a brief ceremony, Leonor was awarded the Gold Medal of the Aragon parliament by the speaker, Marta Fernandez. The first Gold Medal was awarded to her father, King Felipe, in 1986, when he held the title of Prince of Asturias.

SPANISH pop-star Rosalia has been revealed as a Dior global ambassador after advertising images of her wearing a vintage purse ‘created for Princess Di’ were leaked.

spearhead the club's sporting direction. And not only would he bring a sprinkling of star-dust but also fellow Brazilian football legends Roberto Carlos and Julio Baptista. Juan Jose Hidalgo, chairman and CEO of Globalia, which owns AirEuropa, who bought CD Estepona two seasons ago, is reportedly close friends with 'El Fenomeno' from his first season at Real Madrid in the Galacticos era back in 2002. He is not scared of putting his hands in his pockets either. He reportedly paid €500,000

A RESTAURANT napkin used to secure Lionel Messi's first deal with FC Barcelona in December 2000 has been sold at auction for an incredible €881,000.

Auction house Bonhams handled the sale which had a starting bid of over €310,000.

It's not known who the bidder was, but he or she has a waxy-papered napkin with a piece of football history scrawled over. Messi (right) was

to short-circuit the football promotion pyramid system and jump directly to the Segunda Federacion by buying the league spot of defunct team Extremadura.

Despite having one of the highest paid squads in the league, Estepona could only finish sixth, although it did secure a spot in next season’s

Messi napkin

just 13 when Barcelona director Carles Rexach met with him and his father for lunch at the restaurant of Barcelona’s Pompeia Tennis Club.

Before the recent Met gala, Vogue revealed the Spanish songstress would be Dior’s latest international ambassador. Shortly after, numerous promotional images were leaked, showing the Malamente singer holding an iconic Lady Di number.

The bag was designed for the ‘People’s Princess’ to celebrate her 1995 visit to Paris.

It was created by Gianfranco Ferre after the wife of French president, Jacques Chirac, asked the fashion house to create an exclusive design for Diana. Today, it is produced in many colours and versions and is has a price tag of €3,100.

Cuisine

Rexach wrote and signed the ad hoc 'contract' in a bid to secure someone viewed at the time as a footballing prodigy.

Just wild!

THE numbers of Iberian Lynx are starting to boom, with the population nearly doubling in just three years.

There are now 2,000 of the wild cats in Spain and Portugal according to official statistics. Around 20 years ago, there were fewer than 100 specimens, with the animal on the brink of extinction. Numbers have gradually increased, with 1,111 lynxes detected in 2020, and 900 new specimens added to the Iberian population in the subsequent three years to a total of 2,021 by the end of last year.

Andalucia has the most, with 755, while in Castilla-La Mancha there are 715.

del Rey. Bringing in Ronaldo would be an incredible coup for Estepona to secure the technical services of the only player to line up for both Real Madrid and Barcelona and still be revered by both clubs’ fans. Reported to be joining Ronaldo are Julio Baptista, who will serve as coach, and Roberto Carlos, who will be Baptista's assistant.

Baptista, a former Real Madrid, Arsenal, Roma, and Malaga player, is a close friend of Ronaldo and has expressed his confidence in Roberto Carlos as his second-in-command.

Legendary left-back Carlos has so far enjoyed a brief but promising coaching career. He worked as assistant coach at the now-defunct Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala and has also held head coaching positions at Sivasspor, Akhisar Belediye, and Delhi Dynamos.

Copa

ESTEPONA BOUND: Ronaldo, Carlos and Baptista?

WHAT A DOUGH DOUGH

A SPANISH bakery has denied being homophobic after a gay employee got his April payslip with the word 'fa***t' written on it.

The Labour inspectorate is investigating Panaderia La Semilla de Oro Coin, for the insult .

Spain's deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Diaz, described the incident as 'shameful'.

Mistake

The CGT union has denounced what happened after the worker received his notification with the writing: 'Payroll for the month of April fa***t'.

Bakery owner, Lucas Rico, told Cadena Ser: “It is a mistake by the bank and I've never had a problem with this man because of his sexuality.” He added he also employs four lesbians.

Free parking

A SCHEME offering free car parking in Benidorm if visitors spend at least €20 on products is once again proving to be a success for businesses and visitors. The Benidorm Mas Cerca campaign is aimed at promoting sales in the centre and Old Town

with participating shops and businesses offering a voucher for an hour of free parking at the l'Aiguera car park. Though the parking bonus is only available at l'Aiguera, the council is looking to extend it to other car parks.

THIRSTY DAYS AHEAD

DIFFICULT:

Dry weather is creating challenges for vineyards

Drought and rabbits cause problems for wine producers threatening annual production

EXTREME drought and starving rabbits are threatening to leave bars dry of local wines.

The Denomination of Origin Vinos de Alicante (DO) wine producers organisation says it is worried about the current situation, with a very dry and hot summer predicted by forecasters.

On the buses

NEW public bus services linking Gandia and the municipalities of the Safor region will start in the first half of next year. The Valencian government approved €19 million for the new network after

By Alex Trelinski

The Alicante DO says the next few weeks are ‘the key moments for ripening which will determine both the quality and quantity of grapes”.

Another problem are rabbits and other wildlife that are nibbling at vine shoots as

many years of criticism about substandard services.

Once a winning contractor is announced, the aim is to get the 11 routes running in time for the summer of 2025. There will also be more services connecting key points such as Gandia’s Francesc de Borja Hospital and the city’s railway station.

other options for ‘fresh food’ have disappeared as water supplies have dried up.

Producers have warned of a ‘difficult’ campaign with plants suffering from a lack of water and therefore poor-setting fruit.

The Teulada San Vicente Ferrer winery president, Joselina Valles, said: “The future of wine in the region is worrying, as we have to maintain all of our production facilities even for a very reduced crop.”

The Marina Alta is especially proud of its muscatel grape crops with customers expecting a high standard. President of the Regulatory

Council and Bodegas Xalo, Jose Juan Reus, said: “The muscatel quality is increasingly demanded and we are concerned that we will not be able to offer the same standard.”

The biggest concern is the Muscat of Alexandria grape which is grown in part of the Marina Alta region where there is no irrigation and where there has been a lack of rain, to make things even harder than last year.

Concerns from wineries under Alicante DO branding stretches to other areas such as the Vinalopo where there is more irrigation, although with higher water charges.

On patrol

VALENCIA'S beaches are being patrolled and monitored by a team of 150 people each day until September 15. The area’s 20 kilometres of beaches - seven of which have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag honour - will be staffed by police and lifeguards, as well as doctors and nurses working out of health posts. The Policia Local will patrol beaches between 7am and 10pm daily and will operate a checkpoint at Malvarosa to cover the northern beaches, and a mobile unit for the rest of the area.

A 50-year-old

being investigated for crimes against

and

The

is listed as a protected species and cannot be kept domestically without a licence.

The removed turtles are now being cared for at the El Saler Wildlife Recovery Centre.

FREE PARKING: Scheme promotes business in Benidorm

THE Guardia Civil has seized 229 illegally-kept Moorish turtles from a Picassent farm - the largest seizure of its kind in Spain.

Spaniard is

flora

fauna.

Moorish turtle

Anti-tourism march sees 10,000 take to the streets demanding change to ‘destructive’ industry

A HISTORIC anti-tourism march has alarmed holiday firms as the main summer season begins.

An incredible 10,000 people took to the streets in Mallorca this weekend to demand change to the ‘destructive’ effects of tourism.

Chanting ‘They will not force us out of Mallorca’, they goad-

Fight them on the beaches!

By Yzabelle Bostyn

ed holidaymakers with signs including ‘Guiri go home!’ and caused mayhem on a busy Saturday.

It comes after local protests also took place in Sevilla, Malaga and the Canary Islands. Tourists told the Olive Press

POINTED ATTACK

BIKE tour companies in Valencia have denounced the fact that their cycles are being targeted by anti-tourism protesters.

The firms are increasingly finding their bicycles with tyres deliberately punctured by drawing pins, along with little notes that say: “Tourist go home”.

The incidents are the latest in an increasing number of actions against tourism in the country, ranging from graffiti in popular destinations with the same message, or protests in several areas, such as the Canary Islands, demanding a change to the tourism model.

See Demand and desperation, p6

how they felt ‘intimidated’ and even ‘scared’ when the hordes of angry protesters marched through Palma, on Saturday. Under the slogan ‘Mallorca isn’t for sale’ the principal complaint is the lack of affordable housing caused by a surplus of Airbnbs, hotels and tourist lets.

Posters read: ‘Our ancestors land is for sale’ and ‘It’s not tourism-phobia, it’s Mallorca-cide’, while protestors chanted: “No, no, they will not force us out of Mallorca.”

BOWLED OUT?

A SUCCESSFUL Javea bowls club faces closure after 30 years as it can’t find a permanent home.

The Javea Green Bowls club was based at the Inn on the Green, but when it was sold to new owners last year, the connection with the venue was severed and the bowls surface carpet worth €80,000 was rolled up and stored in a warehouse.

The club has been seeking a new home ever since and currently uses Calpe Bowls Club - a 25 minute drive away.

Rebuild

One local told ive Press: “The general public has had to take a stand as our politicians just don’t want to get involved.”

For young people, the situation is particularly dire.

Locals relate how they are ‘stuck’ living with their parents due to high rent prices.

A spokesman for the organisers, a local collective called Sencelles Time Bank said ‘enough was enough’

as tourism took a grip across every part of the island.

“Foreign investors are honing in on the interior of the island because it's the only charming bit left to buy,” he said.

locals.

“People are really suffering and we don’t trust this government to change the tourism model,” added the spokesman.

It follows action in the Canary Islands last month, where some 57,000 residents gathered to protest against mass tourism.

President, Keith Hamilton, told the Olive Press: “We held meetings with Javea Council and they expressed an interest in helping us rebuild the club.”

The group is demanding immediate ‘emergency measures’ to solve the issue.

These include: declaring Mallorca a ‘stressed’ real estate zone, the approval of a vital moratorium on tourist lets and standard of living guarantees for

A German tourist boss, who owns a string of holiday rentals in Sevilla and Marbella, told the Olive Press: “I am genuinely worried about it and don’t tell anyone I meet anymore what my job is.”

“We looked first at Pinosol Park and a site near the new Petang Club was identified but last year's elections delayed matters and the new Council officers told us that siting a bowls club in a public park was unacceptable so that disappeared,” he added. Other site options came and went until a site was identified for the club in late April, which would be behind the football pitch.

Sunday 23rd June

Asking to remain anonymous, she added: “It is clearly becoming a major problem.”

Opinion Page 6

“Everything was in place until we got the news that the council had withdrawn the site because it was needed for access to the sports field,” said Keith.

Doors open: 20:00h | Concert starts: 22:00h

EMOTIONAL: But also partly xenophobic march in Palma on Saturday

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

Guiris should NOT go home!

AS Spain enters the summer months, a wave of anti-tourism protests are popping up across the country. (Fight them on the beaches, p5).

Some 10,000 locals took to the streets of Palma holding up signs reading ‘guiris go home’ and other offensive messages.

Their gripe, essentially, is that too many tourists are visiting the Balearic Islands, placing a strain on local resources and causing more traffic and other environmental problems.

They add ‘excessive’ tourism is inspiring an ‘uncontrollable’ surge in tourist flats, which make renting or buying a home increasingly impossible. And there’s no doubt they are right: the property crisis is worsening. Just look at Ibiza, where lifeguards and police have been forced to live in their cars because they cannot afford rent.

Meanwhile Malaga city has the highest number of tourist rentals per capita in Spain - and fed-up locals will also now take to the streets (on June 29) in protest.

We get it. It is entirely understandable to call for changes to the tourism model.

No one wants these picturesque areas to be overrun and their environments damaged by overcrowding. It is also incredibly frustrating for young people who cannot get on the property ladder or even afford to rent.

The Airbnb and Booking.com craze must be addressed immediately, with limits put in place nationwide.

Too many homes are being turned into holiday lets, creating festering resentment between locals and innocent tourists who simply want to enjoy their holidays.

But this is a question of policy and law, which must be enacted by the ruling government.

Telling ‘guiris’ to ‘go home’ is unlikely to achieve that, and comes as a disgusting slap in the face to the thousands of European expats who have every right to live and work here.

The majority of us - from young workers to wealthy business owners - all pay their taxes and have the utmost respect for Spain.

Aside from creating tens of thousands of jobs and bringing billions to the economy, we mostly support the locals’ point of view on excessive tourism! It’s time for the government to act, before this gets nasty.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

Yzabelle Bostyn yzabelle@theolivepress.es

(+34) 951 154 841 admin@theolivepress.es

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Ben Pawlowski ben@theolivepress.es

Santaella

accounts@ theolivepress.es

theolivepress.es

DEMAND AND

After various Olive Press staff fall victim to scams and lawbreakers, Yzabelle Bostyn looks at the ‘perfect storm’ in Spain’s rental market

By Yzabelle Bostyn

EXACTLY a year ago, the Spanish government introduced its much heralded Ley de Vivienda

The new Homes Law aimed to tackle a myriad of problems in the rental market, in particular to increase the amount of affordable homes for the young and vulnerable.

The main measures included a 3% cap on rent rises, additional rent caps in ‘stressed’ areas, and the right to renew contracts for up to five years.

However, despite their good intentions, many of the proposed changes have simply been

ignored around the country.

NEW research has shed light on the espionage activities of thousands of Nazi collaborators and informers who lived double lives in Spain during World War II.

In the Dictionary of Spies, Catalan historian Xavier Juncosa has painstakingly examined over 25,000 documents to produce a 400page insight into the shadowy lives of over 1,000 Nazi agents, informers, Francoists, Fascists and French collaborationists who spied on behalf of Adolf Hitler.

With the 17 autonomous regions allowed to adapt or dilute the law as they saw fit, it has led to chaos and outright opposition.

The Junta de Andalucia, for example, even took its anger to the Constitutional Court, which has since declared parts of the law ‘unconstitutional’.

The pushback around the country has left the rental market under even higher pressure than before, with rents 30% above targets set by regulatory bodies, and social housing on its knees.

According to leading property portal Fotocasa, tenants spent 43% of their salary on rents last year, a five year high (see Rental nightmare, page 18).

It’s no surprise that a ‘new class divide’ has developed between renters and landlords, according to a study by the Critical Urban Study Group.

The anger is all too palpable looking at the recent protests against tourism and AirB-

nB style holiday rentals in cities around the country, including Malaga, Barcelona and Palma over the weekend.

country, There even as know Derogatory

So where did it all go wrong?

In an attempt to protect tenants, the Ley de Vivienda simply went too far. The law lacked subtlety and gave too

Extracts from the new book have been serialised by La Vanguardia, Catalunya’s leading daily newspaper, bringing to light the vast network of agents who spied in Spain, France, Italy and Germany throughout the Second

By Ben Pawlowski

World War.

In particular, the compilation of ‘mini-biographies’ reveals how Nazi spies used businesses and modest apartments as fronts for top-secret espionage activities.

There has been an angry backlash that has even led to some local protest groups (such as the one in Girona) that are demanding to know where foreigners have lived or bought. Derogatory stickers have gone up criticising tourists and key locks for AirBnBs have been vandalised.

Web of spies

The thousands of Nazi collaborators in Spain who used businesses as fronts for top secret espionage

Number 240 Carrer Consell de Cent (pictured far left), located in the L’Eixample neighbourhood of Barcelona, was officially recorded as being rented by Albertina Cottrell Ullmer, a retired Danish widow in her 80s - but the situation is not what it seems. In reality, the flat was a front - Ullmer lived with Maria Betty Mayerhofer, a Munich-born woman in her 50s who was wife to Ludwig highlights that this flat served as the base of operations for the network of Nazi informers in Barcelona - the flat’s interior was littered with all manner of espionage paraphernalia, including encryption devices and top-secret codes.

Kopp, a Nazi intelligence officer and right-hand-man to Paul Taboschat, the head of the Nazi espionage service in Spain’s second largest city. Juncosa’s research

Elsewhere, a glass and porcelain gift shop on Passeig de Gracia (left), owned by Frenchman Hugo Vincon, was used as a de-facto mailbox for the network of agents who slipped around the city.

Often, a man would enter the shop, heading to the backroom and leaving an envelope which would later be picked up by a lady. The business also acted as a discreet meeting point for Nazi collaborators, although this was soon discovered by the French intelligence services.

On Carrer de Valencia, a jeweller’s store served a dual purpose as a liaison point for Nazi informers who discussed operations in

IOlive Press visits this year’s EU Mies

p 8

TALIAN fashion gurus Dolce & Gabbana are pushing ahead with their appropriately named project, Marbella Design Hills.

The stunning Golden Mile project has already reportedly seen advancesales of over €250 million. Images of what the finished development will look like have finally been released.

It is the brand’s first project of its kind in Europe and will count on properties that have between 280 and 900 square metres of space.

Each property has up to five bedrooms, and exclusive furnishings created by the brand. Surrounded by gardens as well as infinity pools, resi-

first peek at amazing Dolce & Gabbana homes in Marbella

dents will also enjoy padel tennis courts, a gym area, and a covered astroturf five-a-side football pitch, as well as their own spa.

Work has already begun and is expected to be completed by 2026. The pilot home, meanwhile, should be ready by 2025.

“We want homeowners to be certain that their purchase does not end with the delivery of their future home,” said Carlos Rodriguez, the boss of Sierra Blanca Estates, which has partnered exclusively with the fashion brand.

“This is much more. We're talking about experiential access to an iconic fashion brand in a way that no other outsider could ever have achieved before.”

In come the big spenders!

SPAIN’S capital is now among the world’s top hotspots for the super-rich. Madrid has emerged as the fourth

most popular destination for high networth individuals to purchase a home, according to leading French agency

Barnes International.

The agency, which has 1,300 staff worldwide, also puts Barcelona and Malaga in its top 50 locations but well below Madrid.

According to the company’s Global Property Handbook, which breaks down where the rich are seeking to invest, Dubai came top last year.

The country knocked Paris off the num-

ber-one spot, with the French capital now in fifth place, while Miami and New York come in second and third.

Barcelona scrapes into the top 20 at 19th, while Malaga comes in at 47.

The report draws on a number of factors, including climate, safety and infrastructure.

It predicts that Madrid will stay in the top five for the coming years, given a spike in interest among Europeans to invest there

Thousands of Latin Americans, who already live and rent in the city, are also looking to buy.

The report also points to the ‘excellent investment opportunities’ in Barcelona and Malaga, as well as their ‘Mediterranean lifestyle’.

It claims the Spanish coastline holds a lot of allure for clients from the US and, in particular, those from California.

Joining the club

SHE’S been moseying down to Marbella every summer for years. So it seems appropriate that Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria should finally move into the resort.

She is set to move into a luxury villa after upping sticks and

InsideEvaLongoria’sluxuryvilla in Marbella

By Ben Pawlowski

abandoning her Hollywood lifestyle.

LA-based Longoria, 49, and

her husband, Mexican businessman Jose Baston, 56, are moving in with their five-yearold son, Santiago.

The couple revealed they are moving to avoid their child from getting ‘sucked into the Hollywood cycle’.

The lavish pad, which they bought last year, counts on six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a swimming pool, a cinema, sauna and gym.

“I have been looking for a place in Marbella for the past five years,” she told Hello magazine. “I visited a few places but nothing was quite what I wanted.

“Finally, in early 2023, this house came on the market. It needed refurbishing, but it had just the size and location I was after”.

Longoria is well-acquainted with the area, having hosted the glamorous galas of the Global Gift Foundation of which she is an honorary president, for years.

“I don’t have a schedule. My days are full of activitiespadel tennis, the beach, lunch, drinks, socialising…in fact, they’re full to the brim, but with things I really enjoy”.

In terms of essentials, Eva said she ‘wanted a garden for my son to play in, and a swim-

ming pool because he is always swimming’, ‘lots of bedrooms’ and ‘of course, a big kitchen’. She added that she also loves her ‘amazing’ dressing room which is home to ‘loads of space’.

The popular and award-winning actress is best known for appearing on our screens in Desperate Housewives as Gabrielle Solis, a wealthy Latina living on exclusive Wisteria Lane.

She also has Spanish citizenship and, in 2022, was given the honorary title ‘Dame’ due to her family roots which trace back to Oviedo.

IT’S rare to come across a building that feels so completely right.

In terms of functionality and form, the Study House, at Braunschweig’s Technical University, ticked so many boxes for me.

Set alongside the city’s river, it emerges suddenly from a copse of trees, which almost mask its ingenious intentions.

Fundamentally a large glass box, as you look closer you realise its two floors are being brilliantly utilised.

The architects and their commissioners couldn’t have dreamed of seeing their building being better used…on both levels and from every available space.

By Jon Clarke in Braunschweig

throw their books, notepads and water bottles onto desks, knowing a journalist was making a visit.

Inhabiting every available space of this wonderful building, some on their own, some in groups, they were clearly finding it of use.

A few chatted quietly, while most were deep in thought getting on with their studies, with a quiet hubbub in the background.

Those that needed total silence climbed out onto the dozen or so balconies, or at desks on the ground level, outside.

It was as if they had paid the 100 or more students to set up their laptops and

The overall feeling was one of peace and sustainability, particularly with nature enveloping the building at every opportunity.

I spoke to a few of the students and discovered them extremely happy with the pavilion, which has also won prizes locally in Germany.

Expansionapproved

BENIDORM council has green-lit one its biggest-ever urban plans which will see up to 20 hotels and over 2,300 homes built along with three shopping centres.

One girl, just 18, told me she was not even attending the university and had her final school exams coming up in the next few

The development will cover over 570,000 m2 in the last significant pocket of undeveloped land in the city under the Ensanche Levante urban plan.

“This is the most important urban sector in the municipality in terms of surface area that was included in the 1990 General Plan,” said Benidorm mayor, Toni Perez. It is now down to developers to produce plans for the area which has suffered years of degradation in a long wait for a plan to become reality.

Staircases inside and out create drama and interesting lines. “It’s a bit like nesting,” explained Dusing weeks.

“It is a really inspiring space to work and hopefully I’ll do well enough to get in to study here in September,” she explained. Now that’s an accolade.

The German design double act of Dusing and Hacke, who trained in London, were inspired by toy sets from Meccano (Marklin in Germany).

SHOWING OFF: Video Eva posted on social media

RICH ENOUGH?: Central Madrid is not cheap!

GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ LIBRARY

OLIVE PRESS VISITS EU MIES WINNER

Photos by: Jon Clarke

GO AHEAD: Given by Mayor Perez

SBy Dilip Kuner

TUDYING and reading are the winning themes in this year’s prestigious architecture awards.

The two main prizes in the EU Mies award (formerly the Mies van der Rohe award) went to a university study facility in Germany and a city library in Spain.

The Study Pavilion at the Technical University of Braunschweig is ‘joyous’ as the Olive Press discovered on a visit this month (see overleaf).

Featuring slender steel beams, wooden ribbed decks and glass facades, it emphasises sustainability and reusability.

The clever use of materials allows for different configurations, which can be changed for various student activities and events.

Designed by Gustav Düsing, 30 and Max Hacke, 28, the judges praised how it ‘promotes social exchange and interdisciplinary knowledge between students and teachers alike’.

The building was

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STUDIOUS WINNERS

University campus and Barcelona library are winning designs at Europe’s top architect awards

chosen from a list of 40 finalists around Europe with the judges also liking the rigour and precision of the project, which came in under its budget of €5.2 million. Awarding the €60,000 prize they added the building had ‘a clear architectural idea, scrutinised it and pushed it to the limit’.

The Emerging Architecture Prize (also part of the EU Mies award, the EU’s biennial prize for contemporary architecture)

meanwhile, was handed to the Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona.

Designed by Elena Orte and Guillermo Sevillano of SUMA Arquitectura, the library was planned as a cultural hub for the community. Its design features a full-height atrium and a series of stacked, perforated spaces, symbolising the form of books. The library’s structure integrates

laminated and cross-laminated timber with steel, and the interior spaces are organised around a central triangular courtyard.

This design not only provides a welcoming environment for library users but also pays homage to the architectural traditions of Barcelona’s Eixample district. Judges said that both projects reflect the principles of the ‘New European Bauhaus’, emphasising the integration of

It says it on the tin!

Everything is bolted or screwed together, rather than welded or glued and the frame is made of 10cm wide hollow steel sections which contain all the wiring, lighting and sockets, as well as rainwater guttering.

The first floor is designed to be a ‘series of islands’ connected by bridges, creating separate study zones, some open plan overlooking the action below, while others are withdrawn and more intimate.

The desks around the edge feel almost suspended in the trees and are inspirational in the extreme.

The staircases inside and out create drama and interesting lines. “It’s a bit like nesting,” explained Dusing. “Students can come in and find their spot.”

There is no front or back, but nine equal entrances around the 1,000 square metre structure, making it feel like an open hub, accessible from all directions, even from the footpath along the nearby river, from where I entered.

“It should feel like an extension of the living room,” explains Hacke, clearly delighted. “They come here to eat and play cards, as well as work.”

The judges ruled the Study House was ‘more than a building’, a ‘versatile system, merging technological inventions with flexible and reusable principles’. I wouldn’t change a thing if this is how the end users feel about it. A real joy!

It is also more than welcoming to members of the public, too, as long as they are quiet, while some students have adapted the structure in certain ways, with one stringing up a hammock.

JOYOUS: Every available space is being used, while one youngster (above) isn’t even studying at the university yet!

green transition concepts into everyday living spaces.

The award ceremony took place at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, which was designed by Geman arichitecture legend Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona. Originally dismantled after the exposition, it was rebuilt according to the original plans in 1986 and inspired the creation of the biennial awards ceremony two years later.

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GOING THROUGH HELL

THE burning to death of a rapist by a Costa Blanca mother is the subject of a new documentary series called Hell on Earth - The Veronica Case.

Streaming on HBO Max, the three-part series tells the story of Maria del Carmen Garcia from Benejuzar who set fire to the man who mocked her in the street, after he had served jail time for raping her teenage daughter.

The incident became big national news and the documentary features interviews with Maria, and her daughter, Veronica Rodriguez Garcia.

In 1998, 13-year-old Veronica was raped at knifepoint by neighbour Antonio Cosme.

Cosme was found guilty and given a nine-year prison term in the year 2000.

After five years behind bars, he was released.

Cosme then taunted Maria in the street, asking how her daughter was, prompting Maria to go to a nearby petrol station.

She bought a bottle of petrol and poured it over him, setting him alight in a bar - he died 10 days later.

Maria was jailed for five-anda-half years for the killing.

Bacon brought home

Stolen €5m painting recovered nine years after Madrid heist

THE fourth of five paintings by Irish-born painter Francis Bacon stolen in a mass heist from a Madrid apartment in 2015 has been recovered. Authorities said the 1989 painting Study for Portrait of Jose Capelo is valued at €5 million. They were part of a collection owned by Jose Capelo - a close

By Alex Trelinski

friend of Bacon - who reported the robbery to police. The latest recovery followed the arrest in February of two people suspected of having received two of the five works by Bacon. The five paintings stolen

MASTER:

Bacon was a regular at the Prado Museum

were said then to be worth a total of €30 million.

The Policia Nacional said 16 people, including the alleged thieves, have been arrested since investigations

began.

Roman roots

ground.

te’s Playa de San Juan from July 16 to September 1 and then Sevilla’s Charco de la Pava from September 28 to November 10. The tour rounds off at the Escenario Puerta del Angel in Madrid from December 4 to January 6.

A police spokesman said they are continuing the search for the missing fifth Bacon painting and are focusing investigations on Spaniards with connections with criminal gangs from Eastern Europe. Francis Bacon often visited Madrid, where he spent time studying old master paintings at the Prado Museum.

He became famous for his raw, unsettling imagery which focused on the human form.

His subjects included crucifixions, portraits of popes, self-portraits, and portraits of close friends, like Jose Capelo, with abstracted figures sometimes isolated in geometrical structures Bacon died in Madrid in 1992, aged 82.

THIS is what a Roman settlement in Andalucia would have looked like, according to AI. Using excavated ruins of homes, spas and other buildings, experts and computer technology were able to imagine how the Roman city of Arucci Turobriga would have appeared. Located near Aroche in inland Huelva, the city dates back to the time of Augustus, at the end of the first century (15-10BC). Experts using AI images re-imagined forums, public squares, a necropolis and more, as well as countless pieces of pottery found by archaeologists.

IBIZA will come to the Costa del Sol this summer as a famous electronic music festival touches down in Marbella. Elrow Town Summer Edition will take over San Pedro Alcantara’s feria ground on August 24. The electronic music festival promises over six stages of techno and house beats with more than 50 DJs and 300 acts.

ELECTRIC DREAMS

Car buyers shun EVs and hang on to old bangers instead

By Alex Trelinski

CAR ages in Spain are rising with motorists keeping what they’ve got and shunning electric car purchases.

That's the conclusion of the Ancera car dealers association in its annual report produced in collaboration with marketing consultants AutoInfor. The average age of cars on the road reached 13.6 years in 2024, up from 13.3 years the previous year. The report stresses the limited number of electric vehicles which it estimated at only 0.63% of all cars, though that is predicted to rise to 4% by 2029. This figure conflicts with government estimates of EVs making up 4.4% of the carpool, with hybrids adding another 4.5%.

BATTERY POWERED: But EVs are being shunned

Despite an increase in registrations towards the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, Ancera says new car purchases have fallen by 0.3% so far this year.again a conflict, with the government saying sales rose 3.3% in the first quarter of the year. The report suggests that 45% of vehicles on Spanish roads are more than 15 years old and are likely to emit more pollutants than newer models Ancera general-secretary, Carlos Martin, said: “The latest report shows that

OVER half of people in Spain would not pay to take their vehicle into a city centre Low Emission Zone (ZBE), according to a survey. Cities with populations of 50,000 and more have to introduce such zones under the Sustainable Mobility Law which is going through Congress right now.

A study conducted by mobility app Freenow looked at the likely response to such zones from the public.

more than 60% of the fleet is more than 11 years old and 99% of the vehicles in circulation have combustion engines. “Although almost 94% of the fleet continues to be petrol and diesel, the volume of hybrids and, to a lesser extent, electric vehicles is expected to increase in the coming years," Martin predicted. Ancera has called on promoting policies and measures to coax motorists to switch to a less-polluting car and a greater use of sustainable technology.

Toll resistance

A HUGE fireball has been spotted flying above Spain and parts of Portugal after entering the Earth’s atmosphere at more than 160,000km/hr. The Calar Alto Observatory in Gergal, Almeria, confirmed the passing of the

Ball of fire

‘meteor’ in the early hours of May 19. The scientific outpost said the ‘very large fireball’ crossed the skies of both Spain and Portugal at around 12.46am.

The alien object was also detected by several other observatories, including in Toledo, Huelva, Sierra Nevada in Granada, Sevilla and Tarragona.

Experts later confirmed the huge piece of rock had likely broken off from a comet.

Living in the most eco-friendly way has its challenges but solution are at hand too explains Christin

UPCYCLING BID

DURING Milan Design Week, I saw a showcase of innovative furniture boasting new designs, textures, and materials.

Many brands presented sustainable options that are better for the environment. However, is buying new furniture truly the most eco-friendly solution?

While these environmentally conscious materials are a positive step for new purchases, it’s actually more sustainable to use existing furniture for as long as possible.

Every new piece requires resources, not just in materials including wood and fabric, but also indirect resources like water and energy used in production.

Second-hand use and upcycling are two great ways to conserve resources.

You can even refresh old furniture with a coat of paint or even by exchanging it at a second hand market.

Resource conservation isn’t limited to furniture. Using reusable tableware is another key aspect of sustainable living. Dishwashers make it easy to clean and reuse dishes, even for large gatherings. For picnics, pack reusable plates and cups.

When I was a child, we had sturdy, reusable plastic plates and cups.

Today, many brands offer stylish and packable reusable tableware that folds easily. Another challenge of sustainable living is cooling our homes.

Each council creating a ZBE will also have the ability to charge tolls on private vehicles.

The survey found that 51% of drivers are not willing to pay a charge to use their own car, with the percentage rising to 55% among those under 35 years of age. Instead, 72% of people would change the way they move around a city, mainly by using public transport.

Currently, cooling systems, mainly refrigerators and air conditioners, are responsible for 10% of global heating emissions.

This is largely due to the use of fluorocarbons (HFCs), which have a greenhouse effect 23,000 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2)!

So, what can we do to improve this situation? Scientists are working hard to develop more efficient cooling systems, but this takes time. Fortunately, we can make a significant impact through our behaviour:

COOLING TEMPERATURE: How cool does your room really need to be? A large temperature difference between inside and outside can be uncomfortable and cause temperature shock.

COLDS AND ACHES: Don’t cool a room while keeping windows open! This forces the air conditioner to work double-time, using more of those harmful fluorocarbons.

DO YOU NEED COOLING EVERYWHERE?: Smartly designed homes may not require cooling in all areas. Cellars built into the ground often have a natural cooling effect due to the earth’s temperature. Windy areas can also be used for natural ventilation.

THE POWER OF PLANTS: Did you know that

GREENING:

The ugly old Feldstrasse flak tower in Hamburg has been transformed

plants can cool a building by up to 15 degrees naturally? Planting a large tree with a wide canopy in your yard provides shade and beauty. Even balconies can be used for this purpose. In Germany, architects are experimenting with green, plant covered roofs and walls to achieve a similar cooling effect.

So why not have a go yourself? You will be surprised how much you can cool down your terrace with the strategic use of plants!

By P OO LVILLAS

DÉNIA

Hagemeier

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 5 Omission, 8 Rule, 9 Troublemakers, 10 Logic, 12 Eyelid, 14 Err, 15 Staged, 16 Scams, 18 Documentaries, 21 Joni, 22 Necklace.

Down: 1 Assuming, 2 Mills, 3 Trek, 4 Altruism, 6 Mar, 7 Number, 11 Orthodox, 13 Encircle, 14 Edge-on, 17 Stick, 19 Unit, 20 Etc.

November 29th - LOOKING FOR MORE TRAVEL STORIES?

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Arabian nights

ERNEST Hemingway once said that if you were to visit just one Spanish city, it should be Granada.

For over half a century, the Granada Festival of Music and Dance has added to the appeal, hosting some of the world’s finest musicians and dancers.

Celebrated by the BBC as one of the most prestigious classical music festivals in Europe, it returns for its 73rd iteration this year, from June 7 to July 14. A total of 116 performances will take place over 33 days,

Gypsy ballads, Flamenco nights and world-class orchestration at the 73rd Granada Festival of Music & Dance

with Franz Schubert’s more intimate compositions providing the common thread run-

Introducing an exclusive partnership between Olive Press and AnyTech365 AI-Powered IT Security

Why Choose AnyTech365?

Comprehensive Cybersecurity

Round the clock support

Introducing an exclusive partnership Olive Press and AnyTech365 AI-Powered IT Security

By Michael Molyneux

Their services include cybersecurity, device maintenance and performance optimization, and malware removal, enhanced by AI for faster and accurate solutions.

Olive Press is excited to announce a partnership with AnyTech365, the leading IT security and support company on the Costa del Sol. This collaboration offers Olive Press readers enhanced tech support and cybersecurity solutions. Subscribers will receive exclusive discounts on AnyTech365 services, ensuring their digital safety and worry-free use of any Internet-connected device, personal, or within the household or their small business.

Personalized User Experience

Introducing an exclusive partnership between Olive Press and AnyTech365 AI-Powered IT Security

THE Olive Press is excited to announce a partnership with AnyTech365, the leading IT security and support company in southern Spain.

This collaboration offers readers enhanced tech support and cybersecurity solutions at special discounted rates.

excited to announce a partnership with the leading IT security and support company del Sol. This collaboration offers Olive Press enhanced tech support and cybersecurity solutions. will receive exclusive discounts on AnyTech365 ensuring their digital safety and worry-free use Internet-connected device, personal, or within the their small business.

Subscribers will receive exclusive discounts on AnyTech365 services, ensuring their digital safety and worry-free use of any Internet-connected device, both personal and within the household or their small business.

Over the next year the team at the Málaga-based firm will be producing a monthly advice column on the healthiest ways to protect your technology - and how to avoid online fraud, viruses and scams.

AnyTech365 adapt its product and technical support solutions to individual needs, offering a safe online experience to any user.

will be appearing in sold-out venues across the city; from state-of-the-art auditoriums and renovat- ed monas-

teries, to world-renowned concert halls, even a breathtaking 14th century open-air theatre. This year, for the first time, attendees will enjoy the symphonic vivacity of one of Europe’s greatest orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic, directed by Lorenzo Viotti. Also taking to the stage: the Spanish National Ballet; British classical pianist Paul Lewis, widely regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation; and Trio Arbos, winners of the 2013 National Award for Spanish Music, who will be performing compositions by both Schubert and Jose Maria Sanchez Verdu, this year’s festival’s artist-in-residence. The origins of the festival can be traced back centuries, beyond the jasmine-scented courtyards of legendary Spanish pianist Manual de Falla, and the theatrical duende of vivacity

Introducing an exclusive partnership between Olive Press and AnyTech365 AI-Powered IT Security

Founded in 2014 by Janus R. Nielsen, a seasoned IT entrepreneur, AnyTech365 leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to offer unparalleled service quality and efficiency in tech support and cybersecurity, keeping your digital life secure and hassle-free.

tournament, including the ATP 250 tournament in 2021, the biggest sporting event in the region. Meanwhile, it has excellent online reputation scores with tens of thousands of end user reviews on both Trustpilot (4.8/5) and Google Reviews (4.9/5).

The company is currently in the process of becoming publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), with the transaction expected to complete in Q3 of 2024.

2014 by Janus R. Nielsen, a seasoned IT AnyTech365 leverages the power of artificial (AI) to offer unparalleled service quality and tech support and cybersecurity, keeping your secure and hassle-free.

FINANCIAL TIMES ACCOLADE

Founded in 2014 by Dane, Janus R. Nielsen, a seasoned IT entrepreneur, AnyTech365 leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to offer unparalleled service quality and efficiency in tech support and cybersecurity.

and their solutions have been widely recognized multiple awards on local, national, and international “The Fastest growing technology company in 27th fastest growing company in Europe across (Source: Financial Times FT1000), the Andalucía Award in New Technologies, and others. meaningful local impact, AnyTech365 has title-sponsor of the Andalucía Open tennis including the ATP 250 tournament in 2021, the sporting event in the region. It has excellent online scores with tens of thousands of end user reviews (4.8/5) and Google Reviews (4.9/5).

The company - one of the largest expat-run companies in Spain - aims to make your digital life secure and hassle-free.

The company and its solutions have been widely recognized and won multiple awards on local, national, and international level.

The Financial Times dubbed it the ‘Fastest growing technology company in Spain and the 27th fastest growing company in Europe across all sectors”. It also scooped the Andalucía Excellence Award in New Technologies. Making a meaningful local impact, AnyTech365 was the proud sponsor of the Andalucía Open tennis

So, Why Choose AnyTech365?

Olive Press is excited to announce a partnership with AnyTech365, the leading IT security and support company on the Costa del Sol. This collaboration offers Olive Press readers enhanced tech support and cybersecurity solutions. Subscribers will receive exclusive discounts on AnyTech365 services, ensuring their digital safety and worry-free use of any Internet-connected device, personal, or within the household or their small business.

The company and their solutions have been widely recognized and won multiple awards on local, national, and international level such as “The Fastest growing technology company in Spain and the 27th fastest growing company in Europe across all sectors” (Source: Financial Times FT1000), the Andalucía Excellence Award in New Technologies, and others. Making a meaningful local impact, AnyTech365 has been a proud title-sponsor of the Andalucía Open tennis tournament, including the ATP 250 tournament in 2021, the biggest sporting event in the region. It has excellent online reputation scores with tens of thousands of end user reviews on Trustpilot (4.8/5) and Google Reviews (4.9/5).

Founded in 2014 by Janus R. Nielsen, a seasoned IT entrepreneur, AnyTech365 leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to offer unparalleled service quality and efficiency in tech support and cybersecurity, keeping your digital life secure and hassle-free.

COMPREHENSIVE CYBERSECURITY

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The company and their solutions have been widely recognized and won multiple awards on local, national, and international level such as “The Fastest growing technology company in Spain and the 27th fastest growing company in Europe across all sectors” (Source: Financial Times FT1000), the Andalucía Excellence Award in New Technologies, and others.

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AnyTech365 INTELLIGUARD

others. Making a meaningful local impact, AnyTech365 has been a proud title-sponsor of the Andalucía Open tennis tournament, including the ATP 250 tournament in 2021, the biggest sporting event in the region. It has excellent online reputation scores with tens of thousands of end user reviews on Trustpilot (4.8/5) and Google Reviews (4.9/5).

Making a meaningful local impact, AnyTech365 has been a proud title-sponsor of the Andalucía Open tennis tournament, including the ATP 250 tournament in 2021, the biggest sporting event in the region. It has excellent online reputation scores with tens of thousands of end user reviews on Trustpilot (4.8/5) and Google Reviews (4.9/5).

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AnyTech365 AI powered unique software can pinpoint the root cause of a problem providing real-time protection and immediate response

The company is currently in the process of becoming publicly

Best of all, AnyTech365’s round-the-clock support is available every day of the year, night or day, with services offered in more than 15 languages.

The company is currently in the process of becoming publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), with the transaction expected to complete in Q3 of 2024.

(NYSE), with the transaction expected to complete in

currently in the process of becoming publicly New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), with the expected to complete in Q3 of 2024.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

re-

gion’s

Moorish ancestry, whose roots still spread out across the city in the form of architectural, artistic and musical wonders.

This Arabian Nights fantasy, and the festival’s other worldclass venues, threaten to steal the show. As, last year, did a surprise performance by an on-form Bob Dylan at the Generalife Theatre. This year’s roster of visiting orchestras and performers also features an incredible line-up.

The soloists include legendary pianists such as Martha Argerich, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Sir András Schiff; the duo of Alexei Volodin and Edith Peña; and young talents such as Seong-Jin Cho, Alexandre Kantorow and Juan Floristán, all of them winners of international prizes.

Orchestras will take over the Carlos V Palace; Spanish and modern dance as well as ballet performances will be held in the Generalife gardens; and the smaller classical recitals will take place in the Alhambra’s Arrayanes Patio.

Candlelit

Concerts are also being held in churches and halls throughout Granada, and flamenco shows in the Albaicín and Sacromonte – outside the city walls, where the gypsies were historically forced to live – will liven up the nights following the festival’s scheduled performances.

During the festival there will also be an extensive programme of workshops and dance-troupe street-performances, many of which are free to attend.

Candlelit nights in the gardens and courtyards of Andalucia – where the scent of jasmine, orange blossom, cigars and perfume mingle in the evening air – are rendered all the more sublime by the spectacular backdrop of the Sierra Nevada (snow-capped until early-summer) and the immortal Alhambra, half citadel half palace, that adorns its foothills.

Less boisterous than its Andalucian neighbours Sevilla and Cadiz to the west, what Granada lacks in vociferousness, it more than makes up for in artistic virtuosity. As the city’s most famous poet Federico Garcia Lorca once said: Granada will always be ‘more lyrical than dramatic’.

The Granada Music and Dance Festival was born in the Alhambra, to reinforce the link

between the ‘imaginary city, and the real city’, between the popular and the traditional aspects of Andalucian life, and to give recognition and momentum to the great heritage of European musical culture.

For festival tickets and information, please visit www.granadafestival.org

Michael Molyneux is a freelance photojournalist from the UK, based in Granada. Follow his work on instagram.com/molyneux_photography

Millennial saint

A BRIT born to Spanish parents in Manchester could become the first British saint of the 21st century after his diocese sent the pope a request for canonisation following his death from cancer.

Swift to anger

TAYLOR Swift created some Bad Blood with locals in Madrid after 100 mammoth trailers for her concert caused a series of roads to be cut off, disrupting people’s morning and afternoon work commutes.

Cruz win

THE Sun caused a few raised eyebrows in Spain after it ranked the country’s 10 best beers and announced the cheap Cruzcampo from Andalucia as the best.

BOARD PATROL

THE unusual sight of surfing dogs greeted Cantabria beach-goers this month when pooches of all shapes and sizes showed off their prowess in Bay of Biscay waters.

La Concha beach at Suances hosted the 3rd European DingoNatura Dog Surf Championships over two days. The pooches didn't go solo but had their adult partners to guide them through the

Pooches take to the waves in unique surfing championship

By Alex Trelinski

waves as dozens of spectators looked on.

The overall winners were Koa and Juan Manuel Santiago (below).

The Cantabrian Surfing Fed-

eration divided the furry competitors into different categories based on their size and experience, ensuring a fair and exciting competition. Dogs were judged on various criteria, including their ability to balance on the surfboard, their confidence on

dogs is spreading. “It is a celebration of the special bond between dogs and their owners. Many participants highlighted how training for the event had strengthened their relationship with their pets.” Spectators enjoyed a festive atmosphere with various activities, including pet-friendly stalls, educational workshops on dog training and surfing, and interactive games. the water, and the style of their surfing maneuvers. This year's championship saw a record number of participants, with over 50 dogs taking part, ranging from seasoned surfing dogs to enthusiastic newcomers. Organiser, Michael Calvo, said: “It is great to see more people taking part in this beautiful sport. Little by little, surfing with

TWO Galician farmers admitted making 10,000 litres of bogus hand gel out of brandy on their chicken farm, which was sold to hospitals and pharmacies in the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Prosecutors wanted the men from A Coruña jailed for nine years, but they took a plea deal where they each were

Beaky blinder

AN American expat made a friend during her afternoon coffee after a parrot took up residence on her head.

Michele Jordan and her husband were enjoying an afternoon coffee in Estepona when a parrot flew up to their table. The ‘friendly’ bird ‘stayed quite a while’ with the couple, even hopping on Michele’s head. Even when the pair set off on a walk around town, the small grey parrot continued to follow them.

She posted the incident on social media, in hopes of finding the owner.

Luckily, the owner, a local Spanish lady, swooped in and claimed the bird.

According to the owner’s Facebook page, she had reported the parrot missing over a week earlier.

She said: “I’m begging whoever finds him to return him to me, it would be very noble.”

Bootleg hand gel

fined €17,520 and given twoyear suspended sentences. They started making the fake gel in April 2020 with the important alcohol component being brandy. The con was exposed after pharmacies complained about labels without an expiration date, barcode, lot number or even the name of a manufacturer.