Olive Press Costa Blanca South and Murcia Issue 84

A flying weekend trip to the scariest Game of Thrones sites in Southern Spain

See page 12

LIVE RESS

COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA

LIFELINE

IT has taken over two decades, but now hundreds of expat-owned homes could finally be legalised in inland Valencia. A tentative agreement has been struck to allow nearly 300 irregular properties in the Jalon Valley to become legal.

Lliber town hall has confirmed that it will grant so-called ‘MIT

Let the battles begin!

As the bullfighting season gets underway, we ask is it time to put it out to pasture?

See Times up? on page 6

By Simon Hunter

licences’ to regularise the homes in countryside near the village. It would mean the owners - who

spent between €250,000 and €1.5m on their homes - could finally move on with their lives and not live under a sword of Damocles that had been threatening demolition since the

1990s.

“The meeting was the best one I’ve been to with the mayor present in 22 years,” Adrian Hobbs, the president of association Abusos Urbanisticos Lliber No (AULN), told the Olive Press , this week.

“I hope to finally have a legal home…But you’re not seeing me dancing around with happiness just yet, because I've been here before,” he added.

Solving

The new potential breakthrough comes after the regional government passed the LOTUP law in 2019, setting up the Valencian Agency for Territorial Protection (AVPT), which offered the new MIT (Territorial Impact Minimisation) licences. These are aimed at solving the problem of houses built on rural land without initial licences leaving homeowners in a legal limbo ever since. The problem came about because for decades local Spanish were effectively allowed to build small properties on their land without a “Nothing would happen unless it waswasn’t outlandish,” explained former

architect John Kirby, who has lived in Spain for 28 years.

“The issues started in the last few

decades when these properties were sold to foreigners,” added Kirby, who has been employed by the regional government to liaise with homeowners and town halls.

The main issue is that while buyers thought their homes were legal they didn’t have official occupation licences. This meant they could not be legally occupied or even maintained, nor could the owners get utilities or services, or sign on the padron (municipal roll) and therefore vote in local elections. Kirby estimates there are 194,000 illegal properties in the Valencia region alone.

“Yet from all those thousands of properties, fewer than 2,000 need to be knocked down,” he told the Olive Press this week. “If the town halls play ball, the other 192,000 can be legalised.” In Lliber, where there are 292 such houses, the issue ended up in the courts in 2009, with members of the PP – including the current mayor – implicated.

Criminal

This criminal case is still going on, with insiders telling the Olive Press they believe the council has been dragging its heels over the MIT licences while it waits for a ruling.

The mayor of Lliber, Jose Juan Reus, denied this, insisting all the residents have to do is request a licence, adding the ‘process will be quick’.

“No one has a greater interest to see the situation resolved than I do,” he told the Olive Press this week.

After decades of fighting hundreds of homeowners could finally see their properties legalised

Off the scale

ALMORADI police nabbed a drunk-driver who was nearly six-times the alcohol limit. The man had unsurprisingly caused an accident where fortunately there were no injuries.

Risk reduced

ROJALES council is spending €435,000 on flood prevention work by upgrading drainage around Plaza de Los Suizos and improving the La Bernarda water pumping station.

Health boost

NEW health centres are to be built in Algorfa and Jacarilla to replace current buildings. The facilities costing over €2 million between them are promising improved medical services.

More trains

THREE extra weekday train services between Murcia and Cartagena are set to start before the summer and will run for a minimum of three years, taking daily services up to ten.

COPS have busted a criminal ring that was forging residency cards for immigrants to work and then taking a percentage of their salary. The gang, operating across Murcia and Malaga, initially took between €500 and €600 for the fake document, and then ordered the migrants, mostly Nigerians, to pay €200 a month from their income.

Migrant work scam

The organisation allegedly made €1,800 a year from each ‘customer’, as well as providing accommodation in so-called ‘pisos patera’, cramped flats packed with residents, who arrived by boat. According to National Police, six arrests were made, four in Malaga

and two in Murcia, on charges of document forgery, racketeering and crimes against the rights of foreign citizens. More than 50 fake documents were seized, along with nine mobile phones and a series of computer storage devices.

GOTCHA

ONE of the UK’s Most Wanted criminals has been arrested trying to enter Morocco from Spain.

Nana Oppong, 42, was snared by Moroccan cops after a warning went out on Interpol.

Oppong had been wanted by Essex police over the drive-by shooting of 50-year-old grandfather Robert Powell in 2020. He was arrested using false documents by officers from the DGSN –Morocco’s General Directorate for National Security.

Most Wanted snared trying to cross the Straits

By Anthony Piovesan

Oppong, who had been living in Spain for at least a year, remains in custody as extradition proceedings are underway.

He was one of 13 criminals sought in a Crimestoppers Most Wanted appeal last year and would have

been included on another recent appeal a fortnight ago. The final seven, still believed to be hiding in Spain, include heavily-tattooed and often armed Jack Mayle, 31, wanted on suspicion of drugs smuggling. Mayle, from London, had a tattooed

Daughter’s deceit

A 45-year-old woman has been arrested after trying to extort money from her Alicante mother by pretending she had been kidnapped. The criminal plot involved demanding €3,000 for her freedom or else she would be killed. The mother contacted a charity assisting victims of human trafficking saying that her daughter was being held against her will in Bibao. The charity passed on the details to police who set up a sting operation. The daughter and two kidnappers were arrested when they tried to collect €800 cash - having been talked down from an initial demand of €3,000.

Explosive crime

THREE people have been arrested for arson and fraud over a fire at Alicante's Babylonia nightclub.

neck, a diamond tattoo under his left eye and 'Croydon' inked on his left forearm.

Others wanted for cocaine smuggling include Welshmen, Asim Naveed, 31, who is 6ft 2in tall, and Calvin Parris, 33, who has gold teeth.

John James Jones, 32, of Lancashire, is wanted for wounding with intent. He stayed at a hotel in Madrid the night after the stabbings, but left in a hurry the next morning.

Callum Michael Allan, 24, of South Shields, is wanted for 12 alleged offences, while Mark Francis Roberts, 29, of Liverpool, is wanted for alleged grievous bodily harm.

Finally Alex Male, 30, of Westonsuper-Mare, is alleged to be a regional distributor of drugs across the south west of England. Email newsdesk@theolivepress.es if you have seen any of them.

Two of the accused - the club owner and a hairdresser - have also been charged with attempted murder after setting off a gas leak while a man they employed as an arsonist was about to start the fire in the Calle Jovellanos premises. He was blown into the air when the gas ignited as he poured petrol around the club.Police say the club was in debt and one of the two club owners made several changes to their insurance policy in a short period of time, including an upgrade on the day before the fire.

Unconditional love

A WOMAN was conned out of €57,000 in an online love scam - but she made him work hard for the cash by exchanging 350 messages a day for 14 months.

The fraudster from Guardamar chatted with his victim via a dating app and his bogus backstory included a claim that he was part of a wealthy Elche family who ran a construction business.

Carnival capers

FORGET Christmas and the three kings. They should by now be a fading memory in the face of Spain’s most hedonistic landmark on the calendar: Carnival.

Cadiz’s famous Carnival, the biggest and most prestigious in Spain - and one of the biggest in the world - is now in full swing and runs until February 26. For those wanting a more ‘Brazilian’ experience head to Tenerife . Spain’s second biggest Carnival is in Sitges, near Barcelona, while there are plenty of local events around Spain.

BRITISH BEEF

UK architectural legend Norman Foster courts controversy designing bullfighting poster

Beast of a movie

DIVERSE: Foster (right)

with wife Elena has designed the Gherkin and Sevilla poster

HE’S known for his revolutionary designs, including the Reichstag dome, the Hearst tower and the Gherkin in London. But despite being the world’s richest living architect, Norman Foster somehow found time to knock up a local bullfighting poster for Sevilla. Now,

HE miraculously escaped death when his siblings were buried alive.

Now, Bobi, a pure-bred mastiff, has been declared the oldest dog that ever lived. According to the Guinness World Records (GWR) he will be 31 in May.

His Portuguese owner, Leonel Costa, explained that his parents had decided they couldn’t afford more animals, so when a new litter was born they had dug a hole and dumped the unfortunate pups in it.

But they somehow missed Bobi, a Rafeiro do Alentejo

By Walter Finch

the British architect - behind a string of local buildings, including Madrid’s Torre Bankia and Barcelona’s Nou Camp redesign - has designed Sevilla bullring’s annual festival poster.

The architect will certainly lose credibility in the eyes of animal rights activists after he was commissioned by the Real Maestranza to promote its controversial season of ‘corridas’. His reputation is bound to take a wobble, like his infamous Millenium bridge, in London, that had to be shut and fixed at a cost of millions after it wobbled on opening. But the Pritzker-prize winner, who has a home in Madrid, is

Great escape

mastiff, who grew up in Leiria, between Lisbon and Porto.

By ‘tradition’ once a pup had opened its eyes burying was no longer an option. So when Leonel - then just eight - and his brother found Bobi hiding, they kept quiet until his eyes opened and he gained a reprieve.

The previous ‘oldest dog ever’ was an Australian cattle dog named Bluey who was born in 1910 and lived for 29 years and 5 months.

MAKING WAVES WITH STYLE

The ultimate combination of practicality and design, this versatile brand was built for enjoyment. The idea was simple. Apply cutting edge technology to maximise comfort and performance, and bring on the style. The result? An attention-grabbing day boat that’s versatile enough from which you can swim, surf, ski or simply sunbathe.

unlikely to worry, being married to Spaniard Elena Ochoa, 64, for nearly three decades. Foster, 87, based the artwork on the striking red and yellow of the celebrated festival and on the minimalist architecture of the historic Plaza de la Maestranza.

Wild

It depicts a bull's head sat above the symbolic hide of a wild bull with the contours of the arena framing the imagery. Foster explained he took inspiration from ‘the symbolic’ features of the bullring, including the bullfighter's cape, the colours of the festival and a bull’s head adorning one of its doors.

See Time’s up?, page 6

THE movie As Bestas (The Beasts) was the big winner at the 37th Goya Awards, which took place in Sevilla.

The film, which follows a middle-aged French couple who encounter shocking violence after moving to a village in Galicia to be close to nature, won nine of the 17 categories for which it had been nominated.

These included Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor for Denis Menochet (inset).

Then came Cinco Lobitos (Lullaby), a story about motherhood, which won three awards: Best Actress for Laia Costa (above), Best Supporting Actress for Susi Sanchez, and Best New Director for Alauda Ruiz de Azua.

Jankto’s declaration

SPAIN has finally got an officially gay player. Getafe’s Jakub Jankto has become the first current La Liga player to say publicly that he's gay.

The 27-year-old Czech international is back in his native country playing on loan for Sparta Prague.

Jankto took to social media saying that ‘I want to live my life in freedom, without fear, without prejudice, without violence, but with love’.

He added: “I'm gay and I don't want to hide anymore.”

He is the highest-ranked European player to 'come out' with 45 international caps to his name.

Third world waiting

A PATIENT lobby group has described as ‘third world’ reports of people waiting over 20 days to get a GP appointment at Torrevieja health department medical centres. The Excellent Health Platform, which opposed local health services returning to public management in October 2021, used La Loma in Torrevieja as a specific example. Torrevieja health department denies the long delay claim, adding there are no health centres in the area where people have to wait more than 20 days for an appointment.

They countered by saying average GP appointment waits are just under five days in the area, including La Loma, and below two days in Rojales, San Fulgencio, Benijofar, and Mil Palmeras.

YEAR OF THE CAT

TWO pairs of endangered Iberian lynxes will start prowling remote high areas of Murcia from early March as the animal is reintroduced to the region this year. The ultimate goal is initially to settle five breeding females as part of a €1 million project jointly funded by the Murcia government and the European Union.

The first two males and females will get a 'soft release' in an enclosed area in the hills above Lorca on March 3 in order to get used to the local surroundings. Just 94 Iberian lynxes were counted as living in the wild in Spain back in 2002, but over two decades later, that number is well over a thousand.

Grim discovery

EXCLUSIVE

By Anthony Piovesan & Alex Trelinski

A BODY suspected to be that of Irish tourist Ken Moore, who has been missing for almost five months, has been found in a field in Alicante. Workers from a gardening company in the Aqua Amar-

COSTLY COCK-UP

A PAIR of company numbskulls who ordered 31 new trains for the Asturias to Cantabria rail line have been sacked after the rolling stock was too big to fit its tunnels. Cantabria president, Miguel Angel Revilla, described events as an ‘outrageous cock-up’.

Rail operator Renfe said its rolling

ga area of Alicante stumbled across the body in an advanced state of decomposition in a field.

Policia Nacional officers were called in and discovered Moore's passport in his cloth-

stock manager had been dismissed while track infrastructure company, Adif, also fired its technology inspector. Transport Minister, Raquel Sanchez, insisted the trains - costing €258 million - were still in the design phase, which will cut the extra expenditure to revamp the design.

ing.

Forensic officers are now testing DNA to confirm the 53-year-old’s identity, in addition to an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Moore’s sister Tanya Foley had this week still received no confirmation the body belonged to her brother, but said she did not have high hopes.

“It is Ken, I feel it in my heart,” she told the Olive Press this week.

This newspaper broke the story after the construction worker from Cork was due to fly back home on October 7, but never returned.

The next day he had told his sister that he wanted to remain in Spain for a few extra days.

His last sighting was 70 kilometres south of Alicante in Villamartin on October 31, with a formal report of his disappearance filed with Alicante police on November 28. There were no signs of any violence on the body which was

DIGITAL MOVE

IT has become easier to navigate the bureaucracy of getting the all-important padron document, which provides official proof of an address in Spain, but only if you live in Torrevieja. The Vega Baja town hall has now streamlined the service where applicants can now apply online. Usually, obtaining a padron involves a trip to the respective town hall, and a second visit to pick up the signed document. Now users can go to torrevieja. es and can request or obtain padron certificates directly within minutes.

The document can be requested by electronic ID, digital certificate, PIN or permanent code.

Quesada

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Pinoso

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found not far from a hotel he had previously stayed at in Alicante.

“It has to be him,” Foley said. “His passport was on him and his belongings, it all makes sense.

Relieved

“I don’t know how he was there all this time and nobody came across him.

“He didn’t deserve this. We are devastated for Ken but hugely relieved that he has been found.”

Long wait over

WORK could start as soon as April on constructing a huge urbanisation of 7,490 properties on the largest piece of urban developable land in Alicante Province.

The land at La Hoya in Torrevieja covers an area of nearly two million square metres.

Despite building approval being granted by the Valencian government in 2009, nothing happened because of the recession, a series of legal challenges plus an environmental impact study concerning the adjoining natural park.

Torrevieja council has now put forward amended construction plans to be submitted to public consultation from the three developers for the €53 million project.

A FIRE incinerated nine motorhomes at a Mazarron seaside campsite and trailer park.

Nobody was seriously injured in the blaze which saw flames shooting three metres in the air and destroying nine homes.

The Balnuevo site is popular with both domestic and foreign visitors during the winter with the motorhome section said to be at capacity. A security guard raised the alarm in the early hours after spotting flames coming out of a motorhome.

Emergency services said the fire started due to a faulty light bulb in the dwelling. Six families were rehoused in on-site bungalows and caravans with three people treated for anxiety attacks.

Campsite blaze Hotel hitch

HOTEL workers in Murcia are set for strikes during the busy Easter and Spring Fiesta periods in a row over salaries.

The UGT and CCOO unions described the offer of a 0.7% rise on top of the government's improved minimum monthly wage of €1,080 as 'shameful'.

Union talks with the two regional hospitality associations, Hostecar and HoyTu broke down on Friday.

The unions said they even offered a cut in sick pay to try to break the deadlock.

Protests and strikes are now planned over what they said was a pay offer that was 'unsuitable for the economic reality of Murcia'.

Teresa Fuentes of the CCOO said "Murcia employers have run out of arguments in blocking a wage rise for 37,000 workers who cannot make ends meet with what they earn.”

After five months a body has turned up in the bizarre case of a missing Irish tourist

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.

Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION

Buck up!

THE legalisation of ‘illegal’ homes built on Valencian Community land was a positive move, but it fails to address the real problem.

Why were those homes granted building rights to begin with?

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners, many of them expats, have been duped into buying homes they thought were legal, because the council said so, and they were granted the permission.

Only to then be hit with court orders issued by the regional government which claimed their homes had so-called building irregularities.

But what is even more puzzling is that despite the Territorial Impact Minimisation Licenses (MIT) now available, many local town halls seem to be dragging their heels in helping property owners take advantage and finally legalise their homes. With an estimated 194,000 rural properties affected, surely local politicians should buck up and pull their collective finger out!

Shame or glory

THE bullfighting season is getting into full swing again. And with it comes the annual debate of its rights and wrongs.

To the critics, it’s a shameful blood sport, bringing pain and suffering to innocent animals, while to its aficionados, it’s a glorious cultural symbol, a bridge to our past and almost unique to the world.

Whichever side of the debate you fall on (and we know most of you are anti’s), there is little doubt the world of the corrida is very much part of the fabric of Spain’s identity.

Some of the country’s most impressive architecture is embodied in the magnificent bull rings, most dating back hundreds of years.

Through the centuries dashing matadors - and often their female admirers - have featured in the art and literature of Spanish culture.

Even the posters for bullfighters are iconic works of art, with even British architect Lord Norman Foster now designing them.

But the question is: Does the corrida belong in the past or does it have a future?

While we don’t demand its end, we don’t expect it to last.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Anthony Piovesan anthony@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

ADMIN Sandra Aviles Diaz (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es

TIME’S UP?

IT’S been a bad few years for bullfighting, that most Spanish of spectacles. Arenas closed for long periods due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several small plazas de toros ceased activity for good, and Spain’s younger generation grew ever more vocal on the subject of animal rights. As the bullfighting season gets under way, is it fair to say that the future looks uncertain for the sport?

In the Spanish government’s last survey of cultural practices, published in 2019, just 8% of the population had attended an encierro (or running of the bulls) or a bullfight within the previous year.

But though interest in small local events seems to be dwindling, an opportunity to see the great stars of bullfighting live in the ring still generates plenty of excitement. Tickets to see famed matador Jose Tomas (below right) in Alicante recently sold out in half an hour, with resale tickets reaching prices of over €1,000.

Some involved in the sport agree that bullfighting has to change from its current form in order to survive the decades to come. The potential for it to adapt and develop is limited by the fact bullfighting is the focus of a major culture war issue in Spain, polarising both sides and

leaving little room for discussion.

For many, the debate is about how they see themselves: traditional Spanish or modern European.

Far right party Vox has used bullfighting as a political tool, making the protection of cultural activity part of its political message. Meanwhile the government has shown reluctance in pushing for prohibition, while at the same time not actively promoting it.

Notably, bullfighting was not initially included among the options when €400 culture passes were given

vouchers can be used for corridas after all, following an appeal by the Fundacion del Toro de Lidia.

It has also become a political football for separatist regions: Catalunya banned bullfighting, but the Spanish Constitutional Court declared the move illegal.

Taliban

Showing the distance between the two sides, in an open letter, the President of the Fighting Bulls Association, Victorino Martin, compared the Mayor of Gijon, Ana Gonzalez, to the Taliban due to her position on toros

The political element of the debate at times overshadows the issue of animal rights. Some of those who defend the fact that bulls are killed in fights, point out that Spain’s meat industry kills vast volumes of animals daily for a population with the highest meat consumption in Europe. The sticky issue is cruelty. If bullfighting is to survive the 21st century, the obvious route would be to reduce the pain inflicted on the animals, but hardline supporters of the mise in order to keep their passion alive.

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It’s brutal and bloody – and that’s just the political debate. Can, and should, bullfighting change to survive, asks Kimberley Mannion

Mallorca tried

TALIBAN: Accusation thrown by Victorino Martin at Mayor Ana Gonzalez

SPECTACLE: Star names like Jose Tomas (pictured right) still pull in the crowds

to ban corridas in which bulls would suffer, but the Spanish Constitutional Court, rejected the motion, ruling: “Such a degree of divergence from the traditional use makes it impossible to recognise the core characteristics of the bullfight that the State has protected”.

If events in which the animals, spectacle and pageantry cannot be enjoyed without cruelty to animals and bulls being killed, the bullfighting industry is likely to struggle for survival.

Big toros supporters who do not want to see the tradition modernised say it’s the business model of the industry that should evolve, rather than the practice itself.

As bullfighting relies heavily on public money and contributions, one option would be to move to a more commercialised system supported by the box office sales.

the total anti-bullfighting narrative now commonplace among young people. Zumbiehl did suggest making changes to traditional fights, but not to minimise animal cruelty.

Rather, he would make it more exciting for the audience by speeding up the event, eliminating break times, ‘making it less predictable’.

For those who want to protect the tradition, better organisation is needed. Groups coordinate and present a unified message to defend bullfighting.

However, it will take a lot of campaigning to change the minds of a younger generation which is largely opposed.

Charges

Without making changes to traditional bullfighting so that animals are not killed and the fights are less bloody, it is hard to imagine crowds of thousands continuing to fill bullrings for much longer.

Send your views to newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

PROTEST: Demonstrators (above) want matadors to hang up their capes

INSIDE TRACK

WE know what you need to know. Since the Olive Press was founded in 2006 we have striven to give you not just the latest local news, but to keep you informed on the most important developments that might affect your daily life in Spain. Whether that be about TIE cards, nomad visas or pan - demic rules, we have consistently been the first and, certainly, most trusted source of reliable information in English.

And one online story at the weekend clearly demonstrates that.

Our article on the new tourist visa tax (if you missed it online you can read it in Food, drink and travel) has had a massive 338,000 page views in just three days.

The news that non-EU citizens will be charged €7 to enter Europe was obviously hugely important to our readers and the millions of tourists who visit Spain each year.

And this is not a one off.

Our team of experts provide authoritative information on every key legal, business and cultural development related to life in Spain every week, indeed every day.

Our website has dozens of stories every day that matter to you. We already have over 30,000 subscribers, thousands of them paying a small, but excellent value fee to keep our dozens of journalists, writers and specialists.

Can you afford not to be one of them? Do you really want to rely on unsourced and unchecked stories from untrained writers who work for socalled ‘news’ websites that simply steal stories and run council press releases word for word? News, investigations, authoritative analysis, culture features (such as the debate on bullfighting on these pages), explainers, warnings, reviews, interviews, well researched travel features, and even opinions. Strong ones.

Whatever you are interested in about your life in Spain, we have it covered.

Visit www.theolivepress.es today and sign up for as little as 15 cents a day!

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:

1- Spain wakes up to threat the EU’s new ETIAS tourist tax poses to its British tourism

2- Sharp and shoddy practices land dozens of foreign villa buyers millions out of pocket as Costa del Sol developer collapses

3- New study: Increased diabetes risk for people previously hit with Covid-19

4- A little Gaudi glory: Discover the house that was the first designed by the Catalan architect

5- Three youngsters in Spain found guilty of the biggest fraud ever against amazon in Europe

BLOODLESS: Is this the future of bullfighting?

GREEN BOOST

Mercadona spending millions on rooftop solar

THE Mercadona supermarket chain is to spend €60 million on installing solar roof panels at its stores in Spain this year.

Renewable energy currently powers up 114 of the firm’s shops along with nine logistics blocks and an online warehouse site, plus newly opened offices in Albalat dels Sorells in Valencia province.

The company aims to have 350 stores solar-equipped by the end of 2023 with a target to complete the programme in all of its 850 outlets and logistics centres within three years.

Solar energy allows each store to save 20% of its annual power consumption and cuts 30 tons of CO2 emissions per annum.

Overall power usage saved at the end of this year would be the annual equivalent of conventionally powering-up 124 supermarkets - with that equivalent rising to 300 shops by 2027.

Mercadona invested €14 million last year in panel instal-

PAID TO PEDAL

PLANS are being discussed to give commuters who cycle to work a financial incentive.

Several European countries already reward cyclists for their commutes to work, with the Netherlands paying out 21 cents per kilometre cycled. In France people who give up four wheels for two can ‘earn’ up to €800 a year. The government is looking at introducing a similar scheme in Spain.

By Alex Trelinski

lations which reduced CO2 emissions by 3,000 tons. This move can be seen as a boost to advocates of rooftop and brown field solar installations.

Critics of plans for mega solar farms covering thousands of hectares of virgin countryside in Valencia and Andalucia have called for them to be toned down in favour of alternative installations.

In a blow to campaigners, a proposal for a 100-hectare solar plant to be developed in Ronda, Cañete La Real and Cuevas del Becerro has been given the tick of approval by the Junta de Andalucia. At first the project was rejected, but Cobra, which is

behind the plans, revised the proposal so that overhead power lines be buried instead to ‘reduce the visual impact of the plant’. It would be located in Majadas de San Antonio and have a power output of 500 wattpeak (wp).

Lagoon’s loss

SPAIN'S government says that €54 million of European money allocated in 2019 to fight pollution in the Mar Menor lagoon was switched elsewhere.

The admission came in a statement from the Ministry for Ecological Transition after Murcia's president, Fernando Lopez Miras, said the money had been 'lost' and 'diverted'.

Instead of spending the money elsewhere in the Mar Menor when plans for a ‘zero discharge’ collector were abandoned, the money was used to improving drinking water supplies in Sevilla.

When politics take over, inaction follows

TAX IS GOOD FOR YOU!

NOBODY likes paying tax, including yours truly.

That said, tax is vital when it comes to winning the fight for climate change.

With a few notable exceptions (Biden’s massive investment in the USA) the reason most countries are failing to hit the targets they agreed to is very simple… lack of money

Herein lies the problem.

Governments are under pressure to cut taxes...

the cost of living is rising quicker than wages, energy costs are through the roof due in part to Russia’s unwarranted invasion of Ukraine, and families and businesses are feeling the pinch. Leading UK economist, Lord Nicholas Stern, has said that higher taxes will be needed if the UK is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

He rightly states that both public and private investment in new technologies is needed. Let’s look at both.

Private investment should not be the issue. There is a good long term return on investment. The major petroleum companies and energy providers have all posted record breaking and obscene profits. They should be forced to invest heavily in new renewable projects. Public investment is the major challenge. Politics take over, inaction follows. Governments need to subsidise investment in new technologies and that money is typically financed by tax revenue or borrowing. Hence the need for us to pay more tax.

The Spanish and UK governments have not taken the opportunity to hit the exceptional profits of banks, energy providers, petrol companies etc with windfall taxes.

So, it will come down to you and I. Brace yourself...it will come.

By Martin

PAY UP: Higher taxes needed to reach net-zero

As developed countries scramble for what has come to be known as ‘energy security’, environmental concerns have dropped down the priority list of policymakers’ minds. Governments are doing exactly what the majority of people do. The emphasis is on inflation, the economy and public services.

A recent survey by pollsters Ipsos confirmed just that. People surveyed all professed to be concerned about the environment but were much less enthusiastic about funding change. Is there a credible option?

Green Matters

Tye

TOUGH TIMES: Warning from Lord Stern

Pic Credit: FLICKR Brookings Institution

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LIFE ON THE LAGOON

THE first museum solely dedicated to the Mar Menor lagoon will showcase the area's fishing industry in a disused air force building in Los Alcazares.

One of the buildings on the former seaplane base in the town, which acted as a mess hall in the early 20th century, will be converted into the new centre. Los Alcazares council will pay for the improvements including eliminating damp and repainting

the building plus installing a new fence and security cameras as the rest of the area is still owned by the military. The building is over 100 years

old, with Los Alcazares mayor Mario Perez Cervera hopeful that other structures on the site will be

ceded by the air force for 'educational, cultural and environmental functions'.

“The old mess hall will be the first interpretation centre for the Mar Menor allowing tourists to get to know the area better,” said Perez Cervera.

displayed as well

Francisco

The new Museum's collection will feature the collection of Francisco Javier Olmos who spent his life researching and compiling the history of Mar Menor fishing traditions. Old fishing gear and tools used for decades in the lagoon will be

Javier Olmos said:

"This Mar Menor centre will be start of creating a workshop of pieces which visitors can see and ask questions about.”

“There will be riverside carpentry tools, from mallets to irons, as well as fishing pots and lines, in addition to other equipment used by fishermen, which will all be restored to their former glory,” he added.

Old airforce base building to become first museum dedicated to the Mar Menor, writes Alex Trelinski

MUSEUM: will be housed in the old mess hall (above), while (right) how the seaplane base looked in its heyday

Los Alcazares

HOME FROM HOME

A maritime gem on the Mar Menor that’s both ancient and modern

THE resort of Los Alcazares lies in Murcia on the Costa Calida, in the heart of the Mar Menor region. It takes its name from the ancient palaces that were built along the shore during the Middle Ages, and extended into the sea.

With about 175,000 inhabitants, expanding to 250,000 in high season, Los Alcazares offers a home from home for Brits, combining modern culture with traditional Spanish lifestyle. The resort has a wealth of visitor attractions, monuments, natural spaces, celebrations, and fiestas. Numerous events take place throughout the year, some re-enacting the Mar Menor’s rich history of pirates and

fishing.

One of the most popular destinations in the region, Los Alcazares attracts Spanish holidaymakers as well as foreign tourists, and is the ideal place to enjoy the seaside all year round.

LOCATION AND AMENITIES

THE Mar Menor is a salt water lagoon separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a 22km strip of land called La Manga. Los Alcazares sits on the shore, directly north of Cartagena, and is just off the A-P motorway. The nearest airports are Alicante and Murcia, both just a 30-minute drive away. The resort has a wide range of tour-

ist amenities including ice cream parlours, cafes and restaurants, and a nightclub, many of which are located on the ‘main drag’. There are plenty of commercial centres conveniently close, while for local supermarket shopping there’s Mercadona, Dia and Lidl. For chilling out afterwards, you have Blue Flag beaches,

By Jo Chipchase

the nautical area, and the lagoon. Additional amenities for residents include dentists, doctors, a hospital, international school, private school, and a beauty parlour. There is a public barbeque area, a children’s park, and even a dog park. The area has various motorhome parks where ‘van lifers’ are living their dream. This part of Murcia has a temperate climate, with over 320 sunny days per year; long hot, balmy summers and mild winters; and warm spring and autumn seasons. Whether you enjoy action adventure, golf and watersports, or simply relaxing on a beach, the weather won’t let you down.

BEACHES AND HARBOUR

FAMED for its fishing and maritime activities, Los Alcazares has a seafront that stretches for seven kilometres, and seven different beaches: Las Salinas, Los Narejos, Las Palmeras, Del Espejo, Manzanares, Carrion, and La Concha (some of which have disabled access). There’s a marina development, a nautical club, and a 5.5km coastal walk. The open market by Manzanares beach is one of the best places to buy fruit, vegetables and homewares.

The popular nautical club, located at the end of La Concha beach, has

a large boardwalk area, mooring for many yachts and smaller craft, a restaurant, and sunbathing area. Open to the public, it’s an ideal place to enjoy a ‘sundowner’, reasonably priced food, and marina views.

At Las Salinas, there’s a port with a marina development. This sits directly on the La Manga outcrop, with access to the Med. It comprises two L-shaped breakwaters: one that rises from the beach, and another providing four docks with a 20-metre entrance for boats to pass through.

You’ll find restaurants, yacht hire, jet-ski hire, a diving and sailing school, kayak school, and a sling school here, as well as a crane, dry dock, and parking. With an average annual tempera -

ture of 18C, visitors can enjoy the sea all year round. The waters contain a high concentration of salt and iodine, giving them medicinal properties. They were first used in spa treatments in 1904.

FAMOUS LANDMARKS

LOS ALCAZARES has many landmarks – historical and modern – that are included on local ‘culture walks’, allowing you to learn about the area and keep fit at the same time.

RAME TOWER

The Rame Tower is one of Las Alcazares’ most emblematic symbols. Lying on the border of Cartagena and Murcia, it was built at the end of the 16th

Alhambra Villas 25 years turning dreams into reality

With our Spanish lawyer, also a registered bonded API estate agent. We offer added confidence and guarantees to buyers.

WE ARE URGENTLY LOOKING FOR ALL TYPES OF PROPERTIES ON THE COSTA CALIDA, ESPECIALLY PROPERTIES WITH COMMUNAL POOLS OR PRIVATE POOLS. WE ARE OFFERING FREE VALUATION.

MAR MENOR: has a rich history of pirates and fishing

EMBLEMATIC: the Rame Tower is just one of the famous landmarks

century at the behest of Don Diego Bienvengud Rosuque, captain and alderman of Cartagena. It was designed to defend his domain from Barbary pirates.

It may sit on the remains of an Arab tower dating back to the 13th century. The Rame Tower was one of a network of watchtowers built to monitor attacks along the coast.

SPA LA ENCARNACION

Built in 1904 and open to this day, Spa La Encarnacion was the first hotel in Mar Menor and is possibly the oldest hotel still in operation in Murcia. It took advantage of the local waters to offer therapeutic thermal treatments. Guests would come to take heated seawater baths in the marble bathtubs. The building has preserved its original appearance, and has an extensive interior patio, and the thermal baths and marble tubs.

RAFTS OF LOS DIEGOS

Dating from the second century BC, the Rafts of Los Diegos might be part of a hydraulic complex associated with a Roman villa. It was probably used in artisan-industrial work, such as water storage for agriculture, esparto grass treatment, clay settling or salting. Its walls are made of lime mortar, locked with small and medium-sized stones, the remains of mollusks, and small ceramic fragments.

AERODROME

The 1915 aerodrome was Spain’s first seaplane base. The inaugural military seaplane flight took place in December 1915, and, from then until the end of the Spanish Civil War, the aerodrome was a major base for Spanish military aeronautics. In 1921, an Air Combat and Bombardment School was established. It became one of Spain’s leading military air schools where fighter and bomber pilots, and aerial observers were trained by skilled aviators. The aerodrome had a 1,000 x 600m airfield, along with hangars, workshops, a radiotelegraph station, railway branch, and seaplane docking ramps.

SCULPTURES

Among the more modern visitor attrac tions, there is a sculpture on the sea front of the famous comic actor Jose Sazatornil (Saza) by Armando Lopez Gullon. Saza once won the Award for Best Support ing Actor and spent many summers in Los Alcazares. Monument to the Fisher men , created in 1998 by Manuel Nicolas Al mansa, is a tribute to the seafarers of Los Alcazares. The sculpture depicts a fisherman with a sorrowful look on his face dragging an empty net after a hard

A GUIDING HAND

Alhambra Villas has the experience and local knowledge to take the stress out of buying

ALHAMBRA VILLAS has been established in Los Alcazares since 1999 so can offer almost 25 years of real estate expertise in the Costa Calida area. Their experienced and friendly staff will help and guide you with the purchase of your new permanent or holiday home and will make the whole process informative, pleasurable and as stress-free as possible.

Once you have moved into your perfect property, they will also be on hand to offer their local expertise to help you settle into your new life.

Alhambra Villas also share their office with an experienced Spanish lawyer, who is a registered and bonded API estate agent. This means that all the legalities regarding your property will be checked to give purchasers additional confidence and guarantees.

When you have settled into your new home you may wish to explore the beautiful surrounding countryside and beaches.

Alhambra Villas can also help with that by offering an affordable car hire service through Easy Wheels Rent a Car. The process is simple and for one inclusive price, your car will be fully insured and either delivered to you or waiting for you at Murcia Airport.

To offer clients as wide a range of homes as possible Alhambra Villas is always looking to increase their property portfolio. Please ask for a free valuation.

For more information, call or WhatsApp

Alhambra Villas on +34 711 075 474, email alhambravillas22@gmail.com, visit www.alhambravillas.com or pop into the office at Avenida Rio Nalon, 8, 30710 Los Alcazares, Mercia

day’s work. Behind him, mounted on seahorses, are two mermaids, symbolising the Mar Menor and Mediterranean Sea.

PROPERTY

DEVELOPMENTS in the Los Alcazares area offer modern accommodation options along wide boulevards, while the traditional Spanish homes are more typically found in the older streets. The town is divided into three parts: Los Narejos, with traditional housing where permanent residents generally live; the town centre with apartments that are mainly rented by holidaymakers; and the old town, which is traditional and Spanish. According to recent data, in Los Narejos and the old town, it’s possible to buy an apartment for €45,000, while a villa on a decent plot might cost €190,000. A town centre apartment will set you back around €110,000 and a villa around €360,000.

Semana Santa), the town becomes a time machine, returning to the 16th and 17th centuries when Berber pirates marauded the coastline. The history of Barbary pirates is celebrated with the re-enactment of Barbary Raids. This is an area with many fiestas. As well as the Barbary Raids, there’s San Juan on June 23; the fiesta of Lomas del Rame in July; festivals of the sea in July and August; Punta Calera fiesta on August 2; Day of the Virgin on August 15; International Week of the Garden and Sea in August; Surfari Mar Menor in October; the local autonomous community fiestas; Cauldron Day on October 12 (large cooking pots appear); Halloween on October 31; the town’s patron saint fiesta on December 6; and Christmas celebrations which include a special night-time race. You won’t be bored, but you might need a rest!

Continues on page 5

TAKE A HIKE

Discover the area’s multiple attractions on either of these two main walking routesLos Alcazares or Los Narejos

landmarks

MINERS’ TRAIN OF LOS ALCÁZARES – Finish off with another children’s attraction: the El Habanero tourist train

LOS DIEGOS ROMAN BATHS – An example of Roman enterprise, dating to the second century BC

LA HITA BEACH – Check out the nearby small wetlands and old salt mines, and discover local nature

Walking route 1

MILL OF UNCLE MANUEL LAMBERTOS –A century-old windmill that was used to irrigate alfalfa crops

MILITARY QUARTERSA 1915 aerodrome, this was Spain’s first seaplane base and trained fighter pilots

FEAR NOT!

IF you’re afraid of dentists, Mayz Dental Care in Los Alcázares understands exactly where you’re coming from!

This new dental practice opened on January 23 and specialises in helping nervous and anxious patients. The team understands that a visit to the dentist can be a fearful experience, so their priority is to give you slightly longer appointments; this allows plenty of time for frequent rests during treatments and for your dentist to explain everything in simple terms.

MONUMENT TO JOSÉ SAZATORNIL – the statue to commemorate comic actor, ‘Saza’, is on the seafront

HOTEL BALNEARIO LA ENCARNACIÓN – built in 1904, this spa hotel, the first in Mar Menor, retains many original features

Mayz dental care takes the fear out of dental visits

tative dentistry, helping to reduce future complex and expensive dental procedures.

The UK-trained Hygienist/Therapist has had specialist training to acclimatise phobic patients to dental treatments and one of the dentists has a Masters Degree in dealing with medically compromised, special needs and phobic patients.

FISHERMAN MONUMENT – Depicts a local fisherman returning empty-handed, with two mermaids behind

Walking route 2

DENTAL TREATMENTS

Based in Calle Irene, Los Narejos, the Mayz dental care team works together to promote preven-

Specialising in nervous and anxious patients

The fully-computerised dental practice and latest high-tech dental equipment includes digital X-rays, state-of-the-art sterilisation techniques and intramural cameras, makes for a smooth and easy visit for each patient. Their appointment system will also issue reminders and fol-

low-ups. Practice owner, Elkie Barks, is a fully-qualified Dental Hygienist and Dental Therapist, specialising in oral cancer detection, managing sensitive teeth, managing adult dental phobic patient, whitening techniques and much more.

Welcome to Mayz Dental Care, a brand-new, English, and Spanish speaking dental practice located in Los Alcázares, Murcia

“Since

Initial consultation

Recall check-ups

Emergency treatments

CARE: The team at Mayz helps patients anxious about dental care

moving and working here, I have come across lots of people who have not been to a dentist for many years, usually due to fear and lan guage barriers, so my mission is to provide a dental service to the local community that people aren’t afraid to visit,” she explained. Besides dentistry work, Elkie enjoys yoga, playing golf, walking her dogs and learning Spanish.

Dental hygienist

White fillings

Root canal treatments

Extractions/oral surgery

If you’d like to know more about the Mayz Dental Care practice or to make an appointment, you can contact them by email:

you.

Veneers

Crowns

Bridges

Dentures and repairs

RAME TOWERBuilt in the 16th century, this is one of Los Alcázares’ main

PARK ALJIBE COLORAO – One for the younger members of the family, a colourful playpark

CHURCH OF OUR LADY ASUNCIÓN LOS ALCÁZARES – Catholic church that holds mass in English on Saturdays

From page 3

Time to dine out

WHERE TO STAY AND EAT

Los Alcazares offers a range of accommodation, including pensions, aparthotels, and hostels. Some popular options are Hotel Costa Narejos, 525 Hotel, Hotel Cristina, Hotel Spa Torre Pacheco, and Hotel Traina.

As it’s a diverse resort catering for different nationalities, eateries include English, Scottish, Italian, Spanish, Bulgarian, Indian, Asian, Irish, American, Mexican, fusion, fish and chips, roof terrace restaurants, sports bars… whatever takes your fancy.

The area is strong on seafood, tuna, salted fish, stews… and also sausages. For seafood lovers, Restaurante El Patio is a must-visit, with its fresh catch of the day and extensive wine list. Restaurante La Tropical serves traditional Spanish dishes, while Restaurante La Encarnación offers Mediterranean cuisine in a historic building with a beautiful terrace.

For vegetarians and vegans, there are several options such as Restaurante Vegetariano la Bohemia.

Other popular options are Spinosa seafront bar, La Playa with its coffee and mince pies, Chato, Galin’s, Zarcos cocktail bar, and Pearl’s Plaice. You’ll also find traditional British pubs, such as the Tipsy Thistle and The Crown, which serve beer from the UK. There’s even a Burger King.

THINGS TO DO

● Take a cruise: There are passenger routes to the Mar Menor Islands, Isla Grosa and Perdiguera Is- land. Boats for the last two destinations specify they are ‘with bathroom’, so watch out for the boats that are ‘without’.

● Enjoy a stroll around the old town, which is more traditional in contrast to the modern develop- ments.

● Walk the ‘10,000 paces’ path along the seafront. You’ll see how far you are along the route as you take in all the beaches.

● Play golf: Roda Golf Course is the nearest to Los Alcazares, but there are several other clubs with- in a short distance, including La Manga, Torre Pacheco, Las Ramblas, Campoamor, Villamartin and Mosa Trajectum.

● Visit the salt lake: a 30-minute drive will take you to the Parc Natural de Las Lagunas de La Mata y Torrevieja (the Natural Park of the Lakes of La Mata and Torrevieja).

COVERING THE COSTAS

Space Real Estate expands operations onto the Costa Blanca

THE team at Space Real Estate led by Managing Director Jeremy M Webster continues to grow with a new office for the Costa Blanca to add to their offices on the Costa del sol (Marbella & Fuengirola) and Costa Cálida (Los Belones).

Covering the Costa Blanca is a natural progression for Space, a company that has been marketing Spanish homes overseas since 1988.

“Over the past few years we have been seeing more and more demand for the area and specifically the high level of service that we provide as a company, so it is only natural that we service that demand,” explains Jeremy.

Space has experts in every area and can provide all the help needed

Julian Abbasciano is the Director of Space Real Estate - Costa Blanca and brings with him a wealth of experience in real estate client service.

From his new office in Plaza 525, Los Alcazares, he has built a team that will provide the highest level of client service. Julian explains that what makes Space dif-

ferent is the level of professionalism that the team brings to the real estate experience. Being a team of over 30 professionals, Space has experts in every area and can provide both buyers and vendors with all the help and assistance that they need. For vendors, Space can provide a level of local and global marketing exposure that is unmatched in the area. Together with secure accompanied visits, regular feedback and updates are all combined to make sure vendors get the best price for their property.

For buyers Space bring to the Costa Blanca an experience totally different to what already exists in the area. Our property searches are based around information, area and property and ensure that our clients not only find what is right for them, but are also fully informed and able to make a decision with confidence.

For more information visit Space Real Estate at their Plaza 525 office or contact Julian directly on +34 968 971 778 or email on julian@realestate-space.com

Thecaringtouch

The businesswoman who founded a hospice charity that covers the costas

LIKE many of those who end up living in Spain, it was after enjoying a holiday with friends on the Mediterranean coast that Jennifer took the decision to relocate from North London to sunnier climes for a quieter life.

But the move gave Jennifer a new lease of life and with it the realisation that she wasn’t quite ready to retire. Instead she started up what has become one of the most successful expat businesses in Spain.

With one of the highest densities of foreign residents in Spain, Murcia and the Costa Blanca were crying out for someone to design special insurance packages for the expat market and the business thrived.

What began with one small office in Javea has now grown to seven branches including one in Los Alcazares. Initially the La Marina branch of Jennifer Cunningham Insurance opened in 2007 followed by another in Benijofar before she expanded further south along the coast to ensure all the major expat communities were covered, including Los Alcazares.

At the same time as she set up business, Jennifer set about doing something that really mattered to her on a personal level.

She created a hospice charity that offers invaluable support to the terminally ill and their families among the expat community.

The charity is very close to her heart as she set it up following the death of her son Paul from cancer when he was only 33-years-old after witnessing the care he was given during his last days in a Sue Ryder hospice in Bedfordshire.

“They had taken such exceptional care of my son but on my return to Spain I looked around to see what would happen if someone was in the same circumstance here in Spain and discovered that there really wasn’t anything similar. People were simply being sent home to die to be cared for by their family, but what if that wasn’t pos sible?”

The realisation led her to set up the Paul Cunningham Nurses Charity, which is run thanks to volunteers and funded by dona tions.

“The community spirit has been key to making the charity a success,” explains Jennifer.

“We have found that local residents are very generous, offering lots of great

stuff that we can sell to raise funds for our hospice work.”

Not only that, but over the years dozens of local businesses and community clubs have offered venues and hosted fundraising events from live music performances, lunches, raffles and dances.

Although fundraising efforts were paused during Covid, the charity managed to keep afloat and activities have once again returned to pre-pandemic levels.

These efforts enable the charity to provide free hospice care for people in their own home - those who are discharged from hospital once there is nothing more doctors can do for them.

“We supply the equipment needed for them to be cared for at home, such as a hospital bed, wheelchair and pressure mattress, as well as nurses to provide palliative care and give support to any family they may have,” explains Jennifer.

Over the last year alone, the charity and its team of 20 volunteers has helped more than 100 people by providing care at the end of life.

“The nurses are absolutely incredible. How they do it day and day after day I don’t know,” she added.

“I admire them so much.”

PICTURE CREDITS: Ayunt de Los Alcazares

MUCH MISSED: Jennifer’s son Paul inspired her charity from her La Marina base

The charity provides free hospice care for people in their own home

STROKES OF GENIUS

Los Alcazares is a tiny coastal town, but is home to Spain’s largest urbanair museum

OVER the past nine years Los Alcazares has been transforming dull sections of walls and concrete all over the coastal town into beautiful works of art.

It started as a fun project in 2014 to turn the already-idyllic holiday spot into an even more fascinating place to live and visit, and it’s become a serious business.

Five local artists first decorated 18 walls nine years ago, with the city council quickly impressed and encouraging even more. Today, it’s considered the largest open air museum in Spain, with about 160 murals dotted all over Los Alcazares.

In 2016, a festival to celebrate the art was given the name ‘painted village’, and has since turned into a three-day street party with live music and selection of international painters from all over Europe, Africa and America.

The murals depict anything from wildlife +and human expressions to landscapes, each one in the unique style of the respective artist.

The movement has inspired neighbouring towns and cities to do the same with Murcia city revealing a giant 400m sq mural of Spain’s new golden boy of tennis, Carlos Alcaraz.

The 19-year-old is from Murcia and became the world’s youngest men’s number one player in 2022.

PICTURE CREDITS: Ayunt de Los Alcazares

Art & Nature Cult religion

TRAVEL magazine National Geographic has included art-lovers paradise Genalguacil as one of the most ‘curious’ in Spain.

The town, perched above the Genal River Valley on the northern slopes of Sierra Bermeja in Malaga, is a small town, with just 500 inhabitants, yet teeming in artistic wealth.

It is considered an outdoor museum and is home to dozens of works by contemporary artists from all corners of the planet.

The town’s commitment to contemporary art, fused with its Arab heritage, cobblestone streets, secluded squares and colourful balconies adorned

COUGH UP!

Netflix users will no longer be able to share their passwords with friends and family

THE days of sharing your Netflix account with friends and family outside your own household are over in Spain. The streaming giant has just launched new restrictions that will mean that members will be much more strictly controlled when it comes to using

“Today, over 100 million households are sharing ac-

By Simon Hunter

counts – impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films,” explained the company’s product innovation director, Chengyi Long. “So over the last year, we’ve been exploring different approaches to address this issue in Latin America, and we’re now ready to roll

VALENCIA is putting together the finishing touches to preparations for the annual Fallas celebrations which start on WednesSpecial street lighting is being erected around the city centre ahead of the festival which will run until March 19 - the day which celebrates Valencia’s patron saint, San Jose. originated from an old carpenter’s tradition which saw old pieces of wood burnt on March 19 to celebrate the start of Spring. The wood was used to prop up house and workshop lights during the winter.

them out more broadly in the coming months.’

The result is a new system that means people who want to see shows like Marilyn, starring Ana de Armas, will have to pay up in Spain, Canada, New Zea-

Fallas countdown

The traditional pre-Fallas curtain-raiser takes place this Sunday with a firework display at Serrano Towers.

The daily Mascleta show starts on March 1 at 2pm in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

A Masclet gives off a far-bigger bang than traditional firecrackers and they literally vibrate underneath the feet of spectators.

For those of a less-nervous disposition, one of the Fallas highlights will be the huge ‘ninot’ statues that were burnt in carpenters bonfires, with many of them being caricatures of celebrities and politicians.

There when you need us

The funeral plan provider that rolls with the punches to deliver the best value in Spain

IT was down a leafy corridor between the colonial-style balustrades of a commercial centre that the Olive Press found Compare Funeral's offices.

Just a stone’s throw from billionaire's row in Sotogrande.

We were treated to a hearty welcome by directors and brothers-by-marriage Ben and Jack and a dainty one by Head of Sales Andalucia Ruth - a rose between two thorns, as Jack quipped.

Having brought their best practices and signature Direct Cremation plan over from the UK in 2020, Ben and Jack immediately set about simplifying matters for people whose loved one has passed away in Spain.

With funerals usually happening within 48 hours in Spain and so much daunting paperwork to be completed, guiding grieving customers through these procedures was a primary motivation for the trio.

Ben, who has lived his entire life in Spain, learned how difficult and traumatic the process can be first hand when his father passed away without a funeral plan and the final bill ended up costing €15,000.

Although for Ruth, it was when one funeral director declared that he was ‘too knack-

ered’ to do a hymn as he had already done seven funerals that morning, and the mourners were shuffled out.

“These poor people paid for a service that they never got,” she declared.

But despite having provided almost one thousand funeral plans over the past three years without even a single complaint, the team occasionally finds their business harassed by teams of coordinated social media trolls.

One Facebook post from Ruth triggered a torrent of unmerited abuse that, while not harming the business, hurt emotionally.

“It was horrendous,” she said. “It was my post, and it all kicks off. What have I done?”

For a registered Spanish company that holds its clients’ funds in a trust signed off by a third party, it was galling to have their name dragged through the online mud by anonymous trolls.

But it’s made up for when the team receives stirling support from even just a handful of their happy and grateful customers.

“Put your knives away and trust me,” wrote one who knew the value of Compare Fu-

land and Portugal if they are outside the primary account’s household.

Users will now be obliged to set a primary location. Anyone in that household will be able to use the account. Other users can transfer their profile to a new account, meaning they won’t lose their viewing history, watch list or personalised recommendations.

Option

Users will still be able to access their account when they are travelling, as well as having the option to add extra members for people they don’t live with. This option will cost €5.99 a month per profile in Spain. This will, however, only be available for those with a standard plan (one extra member) or premium plan (two extra members).

A SANCTUARY dedicated to the ancient god Mithras has been uncovered by archaeologists excavating at the Villa del Mitra in Cabra, near Cordoba.

Archaeologists uncovered a rectangular sanctuary measuring 7.2 by 2.5 metres, which, according to the archaeologists, is standard for the cult religion.

It has a narrow entrance that descends several steps leading into the sanctuary that has two flanking stone benches. The archaeological team suggest these would have been used by worshipers to perform rituals and hold feasts in honour of Mithras.

The walls have fragments of Roman bricks, with some niches, which would have likely held sculptures.

Furthermore, a dark burnt layer covers the floor, which upon a closer examination has revealed fragmented remains of pigs, birds, and rabbits, indicative of the kind of cooking done during the ritual banquets.

neral’s work.

“You will never receive a better and more respectful service for you and your beloved departed,”.

“And customers having your back like that,” says Jack, “is one of the joys of the job.”

For more information or to discuss personalised funeral plans, contact Compare Funerals on +34 911 436 813 (WhatsApp +34 697 889 684) or send an email to info@comparefuneral.org or visit in person to our office located at 24 Avenida Paniagua, Galerias Paniagua de local 30-31, San Roque, Cadiz 11310.

‘You will never receive a better and more respectful service’

STAR ATTRACTION: Ana de Armas in Marilyn

It’s a bust

THE state of the economy in the wake of the Ukraine war and the post-pandemic period contributed to the highest number of Spanish companies folding in 2022 for 27 years.

The National Institute of Statistics (INE) says that 26,207 firms closed their doors last year - 10.1% more than in 2021, and the highest figure since 1995. Most of the dissolutions were voluntary, with 2,997 businesses disappearing via mergers and 2,494 for other reasons. The largest number of closures were in Madrid (8,842), Andalucia (3,988) and Valencia (2,177), while at the other end of the scale, Navarra saw just 91 dissolutions.

AI plate reader

AN Elche company has created an artificial intelligence device that can convert smartphones into car licence plate readers, which could be used by police to detect stolen vehicles.

The new unit is the brainchild of Manuel Anton - the founder of start-up company Cetera IA, which specialises in artificial intelligence with a focus on artificial vision.

Anton says the device called inCaptur uses the same principles as fixed point cameras but is much more flexible.

Booming banks

Profits soar and shareholders cash in at Spain’s ‘Big Six’

SPAIN'S biggest banksSantander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, Unicaja Banco and Bankinterclocked up record profits in 2022 according to a survey from the Noevantas consultancy. They made an accumulated total of €7.5 billion - a whopping 38.5% year-onyear increase.

Neovantas said the profit rise came from an increase in net interest income, with 12.2% more in

By Alex Trelinski

the year-on-year rate, due to interest rate increases. Fees also increased by 6.1%, while operating expenses were reduced by 10.2% due to structural adjustments like branch closures that the banks continued to make in 2022.

The profit rise will mean a dividend bonanza for shareholders over the

CYBERCRIME is now account ing for 20% of reported of fences in Spain according to Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska. He said there were over 375,000 cybercrimes last year - up by 72% on 2019 and a 352% increase on the 2015 total. A media awareness campaign has been

Wage increase

THE Spanish government has decided to increase the minimum wage by 8% for 2023.

The raise will mean about 2.5 million low/salary workers will receive €1,080 gross per month in 14 payments installations.

Labour minister Yolanda Diaz said the increase ‘is not just another piece of information’ but ‘makes it possible to change people’s lives’. The increase will be applied retroactively from January 1.

PROTEST: BBVA employees demonstrated against layoffs; two years later the bank has posted massive profits

coming months. BBVA will distribute a dividend equivalent to €0.50 per share, which represents a pay-out of 47%, while Sabadell announced

Online criminals

launched with the first phase featuring a TV advert warning about the need to take security measures when going online.

The second phase will focus on posting interviews and warnings from experts on social media platforms.

a new increase in the payout from 31.8% to 50%.

Neovantas believes the banks face an uncertain 2023 due to temporary windfall taxes such as the tax on banks and mortgage relief measures.

Jobs

It expects delinquency to rise and reach levels above 5%, since the last available figure of 3.68% recorded in November 2022. The news comes two years after a total of 19,000 bank employees lost their jobs, almost all through state-approved ERE layoffs, meant for companies struggling financially.

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

Pricey dinners

FOOD inflation in Spain stayed at over 15% in January despite an IVA tax cut on some basic products.

The National Institute of Statistics(INE) reported an inflation rate of 15.4% for food and non-alcoholic drinks, compared to 15.7% in December.

Overall the inflation rate for January was 5.9% - higher than initially forecast by the INE and 0.2% up on the previous month.

As expected, the rise was largely down to the end of the 20 cents per litre fuel subsidy. Diesel went up by 13.8% and gasoline by 1.3%, while electricity prices fell by 17.5%.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Flying high

TWO of the Valencia region’s airports recorded record January passenger numbers in a positive sign of how tourism is recovering after the Covid pandemic.

Alicante-Elche airport welcomed 795,148 passengers - up by 68.1% on 2021 and crucially a 1.3% increase on the record-breaking 2019 total.

The biggest number of foreign arrivals were from the United Kingdom on 245,279, with the Netherlands a distant second on 69,503.

Valencia’s total of 585,771 was an even larger 7.9% improvement on 2019 and a 73.4% increase on a year earlier.

Italian arrivals lead the list with 94,177, followed by the United Kingdom on 48,348, and France on 43,947.

Spain had 71.6 million international tourists last year - 14.3% less than in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Tourism bosses have confidently predicted a busy 2023 with a survey of 2,000 businesses published last month by Exceltur predicting that revenue will be up 4.7% on 2019 figures.

Brit Tax

Spain wakes up to threat the EU’s new ETIAS tourist tax poses to its British tourism

ALARM bells have started to ring in Spain over a new EU tourist tax that is set to hit the nation’s number one customer - the Brits. The tax, known as the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), will see all nonEU tourists handing over €7 to enter the Schengen zone.

Juan Molas, the president of Spain’s Tourism Board, has expressed concern that it will hit the country's

By Walter Finch

competitiveness as a tourist destination when it is due to come into effect in November.

“We will contact the EU to learn more about this tax and how it will directly impact British tourism, which, with 18 million visitors, was our main source of travellers to Spain in 2019,” he said.

Much of the ETIAS tax

Cruise wave

Icy charge

AN Alicante cafeteria customer has published a photo of her bill, which included an unexpected charge.

Posting under her social media name of Viking heroine, 'Sigrid of Thule', the customer and a friend had a couple of coffees and some toast at the unnamed establishment.

What took them by surprise on the €4.10 bill was a 10 cents charge for an ice cube requested by one of the coffee drinkers.

is shrouded in mystery, with many details, such as how it will be applied and where the money raised will go, unknown. Its claimed purpose is to

MSC CRUISES, the third largest cruise company in the world by number of passengers, expects to bring more than 100,000 cruise passengers to each of the ports of Malaga Alicante and Valencia this summer.

The company ramping up its presence in Spain, with with MSC Cruises ships forecast to make more than 500 turnarounds or transit calls in Spain at Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, Cadiz and Tarragona, which translates into a total of more than two million tourists.

provide the EU with greater control over who is entering its borders and is designed to track or halt criminals and undesirables.

Visa

The tax is likened to the ETSA tourist visa that the United States issues to foreign travellers, and will likely function in the same way. Brits who are unaware of the new requirement will be able to complete the ETSA form at the airport and most people will receive confirmation in minutes. But for those whose checks are more complex, there could be waits of up to 96 hours.

Many people online supported Sigrid's indignation, though others pointed out many hospitality businesses charge for ice but include the cost within the price of drinks to hide the charge.

Last July, a bar in Jaen province made the headlines after it was revealed it charged 20 cents every time a waiter came to serve a customer on the outdoor terrace.

Parking help

VISITORS to Benidorm will no longer have to scratch their heads wondering where they can park their cars for free thanks to a new link via the municipal website. Online users will get a city map featuring parking places along with a downloadable file for each of them including a Google Maps link to a parking area.

Fun AMES and

With winter upon us, Jon Clarke takes a tour of inland Andalucia where much of hit series Game of Thrones was set

LOOKING out across the rolling plains of the Cordoba Campina, my teenage son felt just like Olenna Tyrell surveying her kingdom. His perch on a balcony near the top of a tower at Almodovar del Rio castle (left)-- had become part of one of the seminal scenes of Game of Thrones’ series seven.

This vertigo-swirling spot at mythical Highgarden castle is where the ancient queen of the Reach empire looks out (below) to see the giant army of the Lannisters amassing far below.

Within hours her redoubt is stormed and Olenna is forced to imbibe poison in a moment now etched in celluloid history. One of many parts of this imposing Moorish castle that can be visited today (with over a dozen stills from the hit HBO series conveniently posted up), in the words of my son this is ‘how castles should be restored’.

A formidable spot over a bend in Andalucia’s Guadalquivir river, half way along the ancient Roman road between Sevilla and Cordoba, the 8th century fortress had indeed been carefully renovated to the tune of millions by the former Count of Torralva back in the early 20th century. Some 800 workmen spent 36 years turning it into a home, with dozens of bedrooms, alongside obligatory banquet halls and ballrooms, as well as keeping its most interesting features, includ-

ing a huge courtyard and dungeon.

Impressive in both scale and location, little-visited Almodovar castle is a great way to spend a couple of hours either side of a splendid lunch at La Taberna Cuatro Caminos, a short five-minute stroll downhill.

Part of a long-weekend history tour, geared around Game of Thrones , but equally appealing to my wife, who appreciated the scenery and architecture of the fascinating Campina region, the real joy however, is the lack of tourists.

For this extensive area of rich farmland between the two key Andalucian cities has three or four towns of incredible touristic interest all well worth a visit.

I’ve long extolled the delights of the little-known gems of Ecija and Carmona (allegedly Spain’s oldest settlement) for anyone who’s done Sevilla and Cordoba, or equally Granada, Malaga and Ronda to death.

But how about Osuna or Medina Azahara? All gems of the former Roman and later Moorish dynas-

DAWN: Sun rises over former Roman colony of Osuna

ties that ruled the region for well over 10 centuries.

Our tour began around 10 miles north of Sevilla at the ancient city of Italica , where two scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed.

Zombie

This Roman town that has been slowly unravelling itself to archaeologists for the last century, is replete with a number of villas and a spectacular colosseum, where a zombie, known as ‘ the Whitewalker’ is put to death in the programme.

An enormous site crisscrossed with ancient paved streets and dotted with monuments, the tragedy is how much of the former city was carted away in the 18th century to build the main road north into Extremadura and even a dam on the River Guadalquivir. It’s still an impressive place to visit (the birthplace of emperors Trajan and Emperor Hadrian) and a real surprise for first time visitors, with many a Spanish bride and groom getting their official wedding pictures here.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

GIANT JOB:

Founded in 206BC, it was built on a classic Roman grid plan with public buildings and a forum at the centre and was linked to a busy port on the nearby Guadalquivir. Thanks to Hadrian who built a number of temples and made it an official ‘ colonia ’ it thrived for hundreds of years until the 3rd century, when the river silted up, encouraging the growth of nearby Sevilla.

It’s still an impressive site and thankfully the vast majority of tourists visiting nearby Sevilla do not venture out, meaning you will often have the place to yourselves.

From here we struck out east towards Osuna, where we stayed for the night, thanks to its healthy choice of former palaces to bed down in.

A strategic place which once stood on the edge of the former Kingdom of Granada and the hilly Cordilleras Beticas where the Moors clung on for two centuries until 1492, it was first inhabited by the Tartessians 3000 years ago.

Becoming a Roman colony called Genetiva Iulia , when Julius Caesar visited, it later became known as Oxuna in Moorish times until it was taken by the Catholic kings in 1239 after a

bloody battle.

Changing the name to Osuna, it was during the 15th and 16th centuries that it really flourished when Count of Urena encouraged the construction of 13 churches, a convent, hospital and even university (still open with a splendid Mudejar ceiling).

It was clearly a wealthy place, with one street, in particular, decreed by UNESCO to house the most impressive collection of palaces in Spain.

Calle San Pedro (but equally a handful of parallel and perpendicular streets) is full of veritable gems from the Baroque to the Renaissance periods and, including, at least one hotel, Palacio Marques de la Gomera, which must be visited for its charming courtyard and chapel.

We stayed at its sister hotel at the top of the town, the Hospederia del Monasterio, and got up early and had a fascinating walk up to the so-called Canteras area, a plateau full of ancient burial sites (below) and caves, from where much of the golden sandstone was hewn to build the town’s wonderful churches and palaces.

The views across the Campina stretched forever, while the atmospheric photos of the town catching

the early-morning sunshine were worth the stroll alone. We got back and woke up the teenager to head for breakfast

and then the highlight, the bullring, where the HBO cast and crew had spent 17 days filming a major gladiator-style dragon scene from season five.

The night before we’d stumbled across the very restaurant, Casa Curro, where actress Emilia Clarke had celebrated her birthday, with appropriately, dozens of photos from the night on the wall (above right).

The staff proudly showed off a signed visitor book, while I tried to recall what I’d eaten here some 10 years earlier. Nothing exciting, in truth, but probably (still) about the best of what’s on offer in Osuna. Rocking up around midday, what we hadn’t realised was the bullring was shut, it being a bank holiday close to Christmas, so all we could do was walk around it from the outside and peer through the odd gap. (NB. It’s only open from Friday afternoon to Sunday).

Splendid

The laddie took it surprisingly well however, maybe thanks to spoiling him with a giant plate of pancakes for breakfast, and the Almodovar castle more than made up for it later that afternoon. By nightfall we were back on the Costa Del Sol, but not before a splendid late lunch at a new grill restaurant Asador La Perdida, in Alcala de Guadaira, just south of Sevilla. A splendid stop just off the motorway, I took note that this is the perfect stop off for anyone en route to Sevilla vis Ronda.

ORNATE: Italica is crisscrossed with paved streets and full of mosaics, plus an impressive colosseum

WHERE TO EAT AND STAY

Hotel Hospederia de Monasterio (www.hospederi adelmonasterio.com), in Osuna, sits in a commanding position at the top of the town, with a wonderful court yard with its own splash pool and sunbeds. While the rooms are charming, it’s a little too sleepy in winter, there is no-one on reception and you have to head out to get your breakfast.

Restaurante Casa Curro in Osuna is where the cast and crew of Game of Thrones frequently ate and cele brated the birthday party of Emilia Clarke. It claims to have the biggest selection of tapas in the town and you can eat in both the dining room or bar, where the walls are covered with the many celebrities and bullfighters who have visited over the years. La Taberna Cuatro Caminos (www.latabernadecuatrocaminos.com) in Alm- odovar del Rio is a true dining secret serving up perhaps the best Rabo de Toro in Spain (oxtail originated in Cordoba). A professional place run by Juan Sanchez Doblare (below) since the 1970s, his wife Antonia is the cook. Also famed for its croquettes, make sure to order a snifter of the bone dry Montilla Moriles fino on offer.

Asador La Perdida, in Alcala de Gua- daira (www.asadorlaperdida. com) is a charming country home set in its own grounds, easy to park and with a very distinct style. Just five minutes off the AP-4 motorway, you sit outside in the gardens or patio, or inside in one of three stylish dining rooms. A grill-style joint, the steaks are fabulous, although there are loads of salads and specials of the day.

800 workmen took 36 years restoring Almodovar Castle

UNESCO GEMS: In Osuna’s Calle San Pedro, while (right) its nearby quarry

Doing just Fine!

EXPAT Chris Hara is shooting for the stars alongside his wife Jacqueline and Spainborn son Cristian.

Chris and Jacqueline, who moved to the Costa Blanca in 2004, have built up a million-euro turnover business with the Fine & Country real estate brand since opening an office focusing on luxury and lifestyle properties.

Never willing to rest on their laurels, they identified an opportunity to take their business to the next level and have now taken on the ‘master licence’ for the international brand.

Opportunity

Chris explained: “Our son Cristian, who studied Business and Economics at Valencia University, was looking for an opportunity to work within our business after recently receiving a degree equivalent studying for the Certificado Agente Professional Inmobiliario, (Professional Real Estate Certificate).

“He received his certificate the same time we were offered the opportunity to take on the licence, so as a family, we saw this as an opportunity to cement the future of our business, as well as allowing us to ensure Fine & Country can develop further in relatively untapped Spanish markets.”

GOOD-BYE VISA

Expat property investors could lose right to visa for property investment

SPAIN’S ‘Golden Visa’ scheme is in danger of being abolished under a new bill submitted to Congress.

The Residence by Investment scheme, introduced in 2013, allows foreigners to obtain a Spanish residence permit by buying real estate worth at least €500,000 in the country.

Left-wing political party

Mas País said this type of investment drives up housing prices, making it difficult for locals to purchase their own homes.

At the same time, it claims, the government does not

By Walter Finch

carry out checks on the provenance of the funds, opening the door for crooks and fraudsters.

The bill submitted to Congress would limit the Golden Visa to foreigners who launch a business project with job creation or innovation that contribute to the growth of Spain’s economy. Simply purchasing property would not be enough, with Mas Pais arguing that this does not create jobs or bring any other economic

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 1 Amused, 5 Both, 7 Akela, 9 Hermit, 10 Rips, 11 Algae, 12 Wept, 13 Doze, 14 Orange, 16 Stem, 17 Scar, 19 Cradle, 20 Frau, 23 Neat, 24 Nahum, 26 Taxi, 27 Obtain, 28 Taper, 29 Thus, 30 Ensign

Down: 2 Mae West, 3 Symptom, 4 Data, 5 Bared, 6

Topaz, 8 Engaged, 15 Airship, 17 Senates, 18 Amazing, 21 Reach, 22 Units, 25 More

Dear Jennifer:

FOR THE BETTER!

What makes Jennifer Cunningham Insurances so different?

AGOOD question and I can offer you a number of answers.

I started my company nearly 30 years ago, working from home and developing the business slowly over a number of years. Once established, I employed staff and rented a large office in Javea port, where I am still to this day. How life has changed for me, and for the better.

I realised when I moved to Spain, that there was very little help available and what was available was normally in Spanish.

There was no private health insurance, no funeral plans and no insurance dedicated to the Expat, and little customer service. I started the business selling health insurance for a British company, along with funeral plans. Having lost my husband in Spain, I realised how difficult it was to arrange a funeral and the costs were enormous.

Being very disciplined myself (probably due to my time in the Air Force), I have a strong work ethic. I used to work from home during the day, and I would go out early evenings making home visits until I was busy enough to take someone on to help me. From those early days when I worked tirelessly, I built my company and now have 7 offices. I demand from my excellent and loyal staff that they treat all my clients with respect, courtesy and honesty and offer them the best service that is possible.

I pride myself that the after sales service is the best, a service very rare in Spain. I have a Claims Administrator and a dedicated Renewal department, who will make sure that as your circumstances change, your policies can change with you and you are fully aware of your coverage.

So these are just some of the reasons why we are so special. We are more than just a voice on the phone, offering good, old fashioned service. Not always the cheapest, but the best, working with Liberty Seguros and ASSSA healthcare, who both provide special Expat policies and are the best in the market.

Boom confirmed

HOME property sales in Spain reached 650,000 in 2022 - the biggest total since 2007 when nearly 780,000 residences were sold.

The National Institute of Statistics (INE) figures showed a 14.7% rise in sales on the previous year despite a 10.2% annual fall in December caused by rising interest rates and increasing financing costs.

With the exception of 2020, which was an untypical year due to the pandemic, house sales have exceeded 500,000 annually in Spain since 2018. Used homes accounted for 532,459 sales in the 2022 total.

benefits and drives up inflation.

Leader of Mas País, Iñigo Errejon said: “The Spanish government does not check where this money

comes from, nor how it was earned or what the rest of the relatives who come get up to. It is basically a class shortcut.”

“There are parts of Spain that are being colonised by people who do not want anything to be regulated.”

Portugal

Last week Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced the ending of his country’s Golden Visa scheme in order to ‘fight real estate speculation.’

The European Commission has also expressed its opposition to Golden Visa and Golden Passport schemes in the EU.

Property Magnet

SPAIN just failed to make it on the podium in a ranking of property investment in Europe for 2023, coming in fourth place - but up three from last year.

The UK came in first place, followed by Germany and then France in a survey by real estate firm Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. Madrid and Barcelona also ranked highly for most attractive European cities for investment, coming in fifth and sixth place respectively.

ON an InTuition language course, you choose 15 to 30 hours of one-to-one tuition with a private host tutor each week.

From the age of 14, you can sign up to enjoy the carefully tailored courses, which ensure that outside lesson time, you become a welcome member of the host family: sharing your meals and going on cultural and social excursions, accompanied each time by your hosts. Evenings and weekends are spent socialising and putting into practice the Spanish you have learnt in the day –helping you to rapidly develop fluency, confidence, and accuracy in an entirely natural context.

Programmes are fully inclusive: as well as one-to-one tuition and full-board accommodation, we also include all

study materials and resources, detailed before and after assessments and comprehensive academic support.

The UK-based team is on hand 24/7 to provide everything you need before, during and after your immersion. InTuition’s 30 years of experience and expertise in the field is always at your disposal.

“With more than 1000 qualified and experienced host tutors in our global network, we guarantee to have an ideal match for you, whatever language

you would like to learn, wherever you would like to study,” explains Commercial Director Jamie Gantley.

“In fact we offer 14 languages

across 17 countries and it’s a wellworn trusted network with lots of happy customers.”

The company also has online courses in any language, via Zoom or Skype. Contact us to begin your journey to language fluency in 2023.

No surprise

SAVOURY snacks have been given an unsurprising thumbs-down for harming health in a study conducted by Spain's OCU consumer group. It analysed 202 snack products and classified 80% of them as unhealthy or very unhealthy, including those promoted as containing less fat. Though tempting for everybody of all ages, stuff like nachos, crisps, and cones are all highly processed with ingredients that can cause health issues if eaten frequently.

CHILD’S BEST FRIEND

Dog therapy a big hit at Spanish hospital

A FRIENDLY pooch can give a huge boost to children with mental health issues, a new study has found. Some 23 youngsters aged under 13 from the Day Hospital at the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona took part in sessions over two years as-

Diabetes risk

PEOPLE who have been infected with Covid-19 could be at increased risk of diabetes, according to a new study. Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles analysed the medical records of 23,709 adult patients who had at least one documented Covid-19 infection between 2020-2022.

When the researchers distinguished between those who had been vaccinated against those who weren’t, they found that the vaccinated had almost no increased risk of diabetes after Covid-19, but the un-

By Alex Trelinski

sisted by professionals from the Centre for Assisted Therapies with Dogs (CTAC). The children were either autistic, had behavioural disorders, or suffered from

vaccinated had a nearly 80% higher chance of a new diabetes diagnosis.

Researchers said the difference was not statistically significant and more data is needed.

excess anxiety. Mental health nurse Elias Guillen said: “We discovered that 75% of emotional incidents with the children were on days where there was no dog therapy.”

Sessions were carried out weekly with 45 minutes allocated to each patient.

“On the days that the dogs visited, there was a different atmosphere, which allowed us to assess the children far more easily,” added Guillen. The hospital’s head of youth psychiatry, Dr Astrid Morer, said: “It is incredible how the children face situations like an examination with a dog, which they would not have done without forming an affectionate bond with the animal.”

The CTAC selects the dogs that are put through their paces to see if they would

PAIN RELIEF

SPAIN has become the first European country to allow women to take medical leave for being on their period.

be suitable for therapeutic tasks.

All kinds of breeds ranging from large to small were used in the Barcelona study, which was supported by ‘La Caixa’ Foundation and animal food manufacturer Purina.

The Spanish government has now passed the ‘period pain’ law, allowing women to stay at home for a few hours during the working day or take medical leave if pain prevents them from working. The law, which passed by 185 votes in favour to 154 against, recognises menstrual health as part of the country’s right to gender equality in health. “The rule is going to stop being a taboo,” Minister for Equality Irene Montero said. Menstrual leave is currently offered only in a small number of countries around the world, including Japan, Indonesia, Zambia, South Korea and Taiwan.

Fun and games

A SEX shop in Sevilla celebrated Valentine’s week by holding a series of treasure hunts in city parks, with the prizes of erotic sex toys hidden away.

Nick(er)ed

A MAN who used underwear as a mask during three knifepoint robberies has been arrested in Manises (Valencia) after police recognised him from descriptions.

Bees knees

THE Smart Green Bees project is attempting to repopulate Spain with 47 million Iberian Bees, with the first hives placed on a farm in Los Montes de Malaga natural park.

O P LIVE RESS The

COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA

DERBY PILGRIMS

Spanish cousins go on 3,000 km pilgrimage to DERBY to watch team they fell in love with on FIFA

A football-mad Spanish family went on a bonkers 3,000km pilgrimage to watch Derby County play after falling in love with them in a video game.

Fernando Batallon and his six cousins set out on the journey from Lugo in northern Spain to finally see their beloved football team in the flesh.

The love affair had begun after they randomly chose the League One club while playing FIFA together because they liked the ram on the club’s

By Walter Finch

badge.

“It all started on FIFA Career Mode,” law firm worker Fernando, 25, told Derby County podcast ‘Steve Bloomer’s Washing’. “We wanted to play as a new team, but didn’t know which one to pick.

“So, we decided to choose the team with the badge that we liked the most. And that, of

A MAN who tried to smuggle 15 Moroccan migrants OUT of the UK to Spain because they ‘didn’t like Britain’ has been jailed.

The Moroccan man, who was a taxi driver in London, was stopped by French police in Dunkirk where he was caught trying to smuggle the group through France.

The migrants had told the smuggler they ‘didn’t like Britain’ and wanted to settle in

course, was the charming Ram crest of Derby County.”

The Spanish fans had been following the team since 2019 and were thrilled when they finally

GETTING OUT

Spain instead, according to police. The man was convicted and jailed for one year for people smuggling and aiding illegal stays. More than 30,000 migrants arrived in Spain illegally last year, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

got to see their heroes, who had previously just been graphics on a TV screen, in action. And they were in luck as the Rams, notorious for posting the worst ever points total for a season in the Premier League (although Rams fans will point out they twice won the league in the 1970s and reached the European Cup semi finals), romped to a 5-0 victory over Morecambe. Fernando and his cousins were welcomed with open arms by the friendly fans of Derby and even got to take a picture next to the Pride Park pitch.

IT probably wasn’t the wisest way to present a lesson on Africa.

A teacher at a Spanish school blacked up, put on an exaggerated accent and posed next to a toy monkey for the class.

“Hello friends, my name is Bimba and I come from Africa,” the teacher from Catholic school Trinidad Sansueña in Cordoba says at the start of a video recording posted online.

“In Africa people don’t have white faces, they have faces like mine,” the teacher continues. “Africa also has a lot of animals,’ she adds, picking up the monkey, which she calls Monolo.

The recording has since been denounced by an independent and ‘anti-racist’ digital media outlet called Afrofeminas.

Bad nudes

JUDGES have told a Vera (Almeria) holiday complex that it can not have a mandatory nudity policy in its pool and gardens. The Supreme Court heard that security guards had been hired to make sure no one wore clothes while enjoying the facilities at the Natura World apartments, which face on to one of Europe’s biggest and most popular naturist beaches.

‘Bimba’ goes beyond a joke

MEMORY: The Derby pilgrims at Pride Park