Olive Press Costa Blanca South and Murcia Issue 89

ALARM AS SPAIN SWELTERS

FEARS are rising over what the summer has in store for the Costa Blanca after an unseasonably early heatwave broke Spain’s April records.

As the month was confirmed as the hottest since 1961 when records began, forecasters predicted a doomsday scenario of no rain, perhaps until September.

The high temperatures have also brought the country’s annual Heat Warning campaign forward by two weeks to begin on May 15. In Catalunya, it has already launched.

An alarming 90-plus records were confirmed around Spain across the month for maximum temperatures.

Residents in Cordoba had to endure record-breaking temperatures of 38.8C, beating Spain's highest April record of 38.6C registered in Elche back in 2011.

Monthly records were also set in Alicante when the mercury peaked in the village of Pego at 34.4C.

In Valencia, city temperatures reached a July-like 32C in mid April, but didn’t break the 35C record set in 1945.

Sevilla meanwhile logged 37C, surpassing the 35.4C registered in 1997, while Badajoz broke its previous record of 33.2C with a temperature of 36.1C.

Even Valladolid, further north, broke its previous record by exceeding 30C for the first time in April.

Some parts of the south have experienced temperatures up to 15 degrees above average for the time of year.

Weather agency Aemet has now warned of a ‘very high’ risk of fires and called for extreme caution due to the warm and dry air from North Africa.

As many as 54,000 hectares of land have already been ravaged by fire this year.

Last year, 306,000 hectares were burned, the majority during the sum-

Continues on page 4

OF AGE

WHO LET HIM LOOSE?

POLICE have slammed a prosecution error that ‘allowed’ a violent British gangster to get bail over the death of a doorman killed at a popular expat restaurant. They are furious that such a ‘dangerous’ man is ‘on the streets’ after his involvement in a fight that led to the death of Jose Pisani at Olivia’s La Cala, in Mijas, last month. Incredibly, the armed thug, we can reveal as ‘Harry’, had already been bailed in February over a separate attempted murder in Marbella just six months ago.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Monumental f*** up’: Judge released alleged armed killer in doorman death when he was ALREADY on bail for attempted murder

The mafia hitman, 32, who police describe as ‘infamous on the costas’, was on bail for a mafia hit on a trio of Irishmen at isolated Turtle Lake, in Marbella, last year. Alarmingly, at both arrests the hitman, whose initials were given officially as HGJS, had drawn a gun and pointed it at armed officers. Guardia Civil sources told the Olive Press this week they believe it was a ‘mistake’ by the prosecutor’s office not to demand he be kept in jail.

“He is a very bad guy, I don’t know why he is free,” the source in Malaga said. “He shouldn’t have been bailed after the Turtle Lake shooting.”

Another senior Guardia source added: “He’s well known here and we think he should be in jail.

“From a civilian perspective it simply doesn’t make sense, but sometimes judges make these decisions for whatever reason.”

Tel: 952 147 834

See page 5

During his most recent arrest, on April 18, Harry only put the weapon down after officers fired a warning shot while shouting ‘police’ as they broke down his front

By Walter Finch & Alberto Lejarraga

door.

This time he is wanted on manslaughter charges over the death of 55-year-old Pisani at Olivia’s, owned by TOWIE TV star Elliott Wright, who also has a restaurant, Eduardos, in Villamartin.

The father-of-two was said to have been punched and fell, banging his head against the corner of a table.

CCTV footage taken by police allegedly shows the 6 foot 5 (195 cm) doorman trying to restrain a punter, of a similar size.

The man, believed to be Harry, broke free and threw the punch that resulted in Pisani’s death.

After being arrested and charged with the crime, he was granted conditional bail by a Fuengirola judge after prosecutors bizarrely did not object. The conditions were that he hand over his passport and report to the court on the first day of each month.

It is unknown why he had not apparently handed in his passportor whether he had another - after his first arrest in February for his role as part of a hit squad targeting an Irish mafia gang on September 20.

According to reports, he had been brought in with five other British men to settle a score with a Dublin drug kingpin, known as ‘Mr Flashy’. While two men managed to flee, one man, who has yet to be named, was shot in the side, but managed

to make his way to Marbella hospital, where he needed stitches.

When police arrested the six heavily-armed men, they seized a Skorpion sub-machine gun capable of firing 850 rounds per minute and four other guns. Also found were bulletproof vests, balaclavas, machetes, tasers, and a hatchet, together with GPS trackers and a mobile signal blocker.

Despite the clear serious danger to society, a court officer told the Olive Press this week that they cannot comment on cases due to data protection rules.

Alarming

But he added: “It’s the judge’s decision. Why he decided that I don’t know.”

Leading lawyer, Antonio Flores, of Lawbird, in Marbella, insisted it was ‘very alarming’ and ‘seems like a monumental f*** up’ “It definitely seems like he should have been remanded in custody,” he told the Olive Press “Now you have a very dangerous guy at large with two potential charges.”

TRAGIC: Doorman Pisani with wife Romina

UPSET: Villamartin restaurateur Elliott Wright (with wife Sadie) is ‘heartbroken’ over bouncer death

NEXT GENERATION: Learning from the masters (right)

Legion of Spanish chefs team up to teach 150 young pretenders how to weave their magic in the kitchen NOT KIDDING on page 6

COMING

DRYING UP: Drough worries

PIC CREDIT: Jon Clarke

See pages 6 and 12

As the Feria season begins... ...is it time to go South to

Jerez and Cordoba?

In the money

HOTELIERS in Alicante province may have banked €20 million in a record-breaking May Day holiday weekend, according to the HOSBEC hotel association.

Foody first

SANTA POLA hosts its first gastronomic festival this Friday and Saturday with 40 companies offering tastings in the Plaza de la Constitucion.

Gloomy future

WATER authorities have told Vega Baja farmers to expect drought restrictions for irrigating crops as of July based on longrange forecasts predicting more dry weather.

Side line

TWO brothers have been arrested and jailed for opening their Torrevieja greengrocery ‘out of hours’ to sell cocaine and contraband tobacco to customers reeled in from nearby gaming saloons.

Young criminals snared

A YOUTH gang has been rounded up by the Guardia Civil in San Javier after committing at least 50 offences and causing a mini-crimewave.

Ten people have been arrested with the two ring-leaders remanded in custody. Charges include robbery with force,

theft, causing injuries and breach of sentence. Investigations started earlier in the year after a significant rise in robberies across the Mar Menor area. The gang targeted vehicles and buildings as well as robbing elderly and vulnerable people.

A DISTRIBUTION network involving thousands of fake watches has been busted. The bogus timepieces were dispatched along the Costa Blanca to street sellers in popular tourist areas like Altea, Calpe, and Benidorm.

A couple ran the scam out of Guardamar del Segura, with dealers arriving to pay for what they wanted or the distributors could personally

Out of time

bring stocks to them.

Police visited the address and found 79 high-end counterfeit watches in one of the cars parked outside their property. An entry and search warrant was executed with 4,000 fakes discovered in the home.

JUST FRIENDS

A BRITISH man has sensationally walked free after being cleared of killing Ben Nesbitt.

Wai Ming Lam, 40 - who had already been once convicted of a similar attack on Nesbitt in the UK - was found not guilty over the Alicante attack.

Nesbitt, 22, had been found bleeding to death in a Quesada street on October 1, 2020. However, an Elche court judge ruled that Ming - who had fled

British man involved in stabbing of expat in the UK, walks free from his murder trial in Spain

the scene and was arrested on the France border - was not guilty.

This despite Ming being found guilty of being involved in a savage knife attack on Nesbitt, while he slept, near Preston, in 2017.

Ming pinned the blame in the Spanish attack on the British owner of the villa, where the attack happened.

The owner, who we are not naming for legal reasons, had earlier told the court he had heard the pair argue and later saw Ming - known as ‘Mingy’clutching a knife.

Ming, who was facing 16 years, insisted however he was a family friend of Nesbitt, who he had known since he was a 10-yearold boy.

He claimed he was staying with

SECOND BITE

CAR PARK THIEVES SNARED

By Alex Trelinski

him at his Villamartin home, as Nesbitt had been unable to return to the UK, where he faced ‘legal problems’ and ‘time in prison’.

The prosecution claimed the pair had visited a Quesada casino on the night in question, before heading home to the nearby home of a British couple. Ming confirmed the visit and said they had bought some cocaine and went to the couple's home to consume more narcotics.

Ming claimed Nesbitt had, in fact, ended up having a row with the British owner over a drug deal and it was the owner who stabbed him. This was completely denied by the homeowner who insisted Ming and Ben had 'invited themselves' there and ended up rowing between themselves. He said he had heard a scuffle and came down to find Ming

clutching a knife before running away.

The Elche judge however, was not convinced and freed Ming following the not guilty verdict. It is not known if he knew Nesbitt had previously been hospitalised following the vicious assault in 2017 in which Ming was involved.

Ming was convicted of burglary and stealing £1,600 and jailed for 38 months after driving two men to the address, where Nesbitt was stabbed and nearly died.

Ben's mother has described his assailants as 'scumbags'.

Amazon driver’s scary ‘Liam Neeson’ threat

AN Amazon delivery driver deliberately drove his van into a parked police car in revenge for being penalised for illegally using his phone behind the wheel.

The driver, 26, told a colleague about his plans before ramming the parked police car (above) in Valencia.

The man was spotted swigging beer in the driver's seat as he staged his ‘revenge’ outside the Policia Local station in Benicalap.

Astonished officers saw him gulp down some more booze before getting out in an inflamed mood, clutching two beer bottles.

He then unleashed a tirade of abuse and threatened to 'throw a bomb' at the policemen, who had given him six points on his licence.

When officers tried to calm him down, he pounced on one of them and tried to take his gun. He was eventually immobilised and handcuffed and finally sedated at the station.

However, when the sedative wore off he managed to get out of the station and damaged another patrol car, before threatening two officers.

In the death threat he quoted Liam Neeson from the 'Taken' insisting: “As soon as I get out of here, I'm going to find you and I'm going to kill you”.

He added he was going to 'skin them alive' with a knife. He refused to take a breathalyser test and was taken to Valencia's La Fe hospital before making a court appearance and being remanded in custody.

A GANG of six thieves who operated together in Torrevieja car parks have been arrested. Five men and a woman - all Colombians - were rumbled by two off-duty policemen. They spotted one of the gang members break into a vehicle while the rest of the six-strong crew stayed in two cars which were kept running ready to escape after the break in. The gang was arrested before they could move to their next location. They have been accused of five robberies from cars in San Fulgencio and Torrevieja.

Booze jackpot

IT is perfectly fine to swig down three litres of beer during a working day then hop in and drive a company van, especially when the weather is hot, according to judges.

Murcia’s Supreme Court has ruled that boozing while on the job is not good enough for dismissing an employee.

It comes after an electrician was sacked in September 2021 after a detective hired by the company followed him and noted him drinking during his shifts.

The employee had been with the firm for 27 years.

The court ruled that ‘there was no proof – documentary, expert or witness – that unequivocally demonstrated that the man was under the effects of alcohol and was intoxicated or drunk.’

The Murcia judge added the evidence ‘failed’ to take the hot weather conditions into account and the impact this would have on his drinking habits.

Drinking

The private detective provided detailed logs of the man’s drinking during July 2021 including the consumption of three litres of beer in one day.

On another occasion he was seen gulping a 330ml bottle of beer before his lunch break, followed by three glasses of red wine with his meal and a shot of brandy to finish off the session.

The employee was suspended by the company for 20 days without pay describing the issue as ‘very serious’ due to the nature of his job.

They insisted this put his co-workers at risk, in addition to driving the firm’s vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

But his lawyers argued that a lunch break does not count as part of a working day and there was no evidence he presented signs of clumsiness or drunkenness ‘when walking’.

The unnamed employer will either have to reinstate him with full back pay or give him a lump sum of €47,000.

VICTIM: Ben Nesbitt

Daddy Cool to the YMCA

PREPARE to don a black afro and/or a handlebar moustache and relive your 70s disco heyday as legendary groovers Boney M and the Village People come to town.

The pair will be headlining the grand opening of Malaga’s new Sabatic Fest, which runs from June 2 to September 23.

Legend’s award

MERYL Streep has scooped one of Spain’s top awards.

The Hollywood legend has won the prestigious 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts.

The 73-year-old star already has three Oscars, as well as three Emmys, two Baftas and a best actress victory at the Cannes Film Festival.

A 19-member Asturias jury announced Streep as this year's winner, after considering 44 candidates from 20 countries.

Previous winners include composers Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Martin Scorsese.

The Kramer vs. Kramer star is the first of eight winners to be announced for the international Princess Asturias Foundation. Other categories to be handed out will be in the sectors of humanities, science, and public affairs.

A presentation ceremony takes place in Oviedo's Teatro Campoamor every October attended by the Royal Family. The awards were established in 1980.

Let him entertain you

HE is the biggest British star to descend on the Costa del Sol for years.

Robbie Williams will play a guaranteed sold out show at Fuengirola’s Mare Nostrum Auditori um on June 15.

The iconic artist, behind Angels and Let me En tertain You, will sing to 2,300 fans in the biggest concert since the pandemic.

Tickets priced from €89 are available at www.marenostrumfuengirola.com

Ex-King’s daddy secret

Former monarch

had a love child with a celebrity, who ‘frequently appeared’ in gossip magazines

SPAIN’S former King fathered a love child four decades ago, it has been claimed.

A new book on the Emeritus King Juan Carlos (pictured) claims he had a daughter during an extra-marital relationship in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

The explosive revelation comes from journalists Jose Maria Olmo and David Fernandez in 'King Corp' which investigates the former monarch's life.

They allege he had a relationship with an older aristocrat who bore him a girl called ‘Alejandra’.

Now married with her own family, she has never claimed any succession rights from her father.

An official Royal palace spokesman refused to comment on

By Alex Trelinski

the story and suggested questions should be directed to Juan Carlos himself.

The Royal Household has long been aware of Alejandra, according to the new book. It even claims Juan Carlos was ‘concerned’ that new King Felipe might accidentally meet her and fall in love with her.

Passionate

'She's tall, slim and pretty. She has lent her image to several clothes and jewellery brands,” claims the book.

'She is passionate about music, culture and travel and has formed her own family. Making public more information would

P-p-pickup a penguin

A PENGUIN has made an epic detour and ended up in southern Spain, miles from home. The disorientated penguin, which usually inhabits rocky islets and sea cliffs in the northern Atlantic, was found on the beach of Mazagon

Local police took the creature into custody and handed it over to vets at the Fauna clinic, who found it to be exhausted and starving. It is now being nursed

put her discretion in danger.”

When Alejandra was told who her father was, a period of contact between father and daughter took place in various meetings.

The authors claim he also tried to compensate for her lack of official recognition with 'affection and other signs of generosity'.

The book has ‘confirmed the story’ through three different sources, including a former boyfriend of Alejandra and a close friend of Juan Carlos for 60 years.

The matter became an 'open secret' but the book says that a 'pact of silence' was maintained to preserve the image of a perfect marriage between the king and Queen Sofia. Sources even claimed the king 'pulled strings' to ensure Alejandra's mother was never short of work and had a strong media presence as she frequently appeared in gossip magazines. She later dated a famous fashion designer and became his muse.

Not hamming it up!

SHE has famously got her kit off on screen on countless occasions.

But Penelope Cruz has admitted that she dreaded her first-ever movie nude scene.

The Spanish beauty, 49, was just 18 when she had to strip down for several racy moments with co-star and future husband, Javier Bardem in 1982’s Jamon Jamon While she revealed to Esquire she was thrilled to be cast in the 'very sexy' film, she was ‘anxious’ about the nude scenes. "I had a feeling the movie was going to be special, I knew the script was good… Of course, I was not looking forward to those scenes, but I did it," she said. However, she added that the crew helped to make her feel comfortable. "Everyone was really respectful, aware of the fact that I was 18."

Cruz's performance in the film saw her acting career take off and her next film, Belle Epoque, won an Oscar for best foreign film.

She later reconnected with Bardem years later while on the set of Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2007. Their romance quickly blossomed and in 2010 the couple secretly got married in a small ceremony in the Bahamas. They have two kids, Luna, 9, and Leo, 12.

Climate alarm

mer months.

Spain is undergoing a severe drought, with 27% of the country's territory classified as in a drought ‘emergency’ or ‘alert’, and water reserves are at 50% of capacity nationally. The Spanish government has requested emergency funds from the European Union to support farmers in the country's agricultural heartlands. This drought has already driven up prices of Spanish olive oil to record levels as farmers report catastrophic crop failures, particularly of wheat and grain. UN figures now suggest that nearly 75% of Spain’s land is susceptible to desertification in the coming years due to climate change. Olive Press warned that desertification was spreading rapidly along the costas from Almeria into Murcia, Alicante, Granada and Malaga ten years ago.

Market movement

FIVE companies have bid to convert Elche’s old Central Market building into a major gastronomic and cultural centre.

Once chosen the winning tender will have 15 months to undertake the revamp at a cost of up to €7.2 million.

The new-look building will be modelled on La Boqueria in Barcelona or the San Miguel and San Anton markets in Madrid.

WATER WAR

Government decision to reduce water to south east threatens jobs, exports and the environment

THE lifeblood of south-east Spain is under threat after a Madrid decision to turn off the tap from the dwindling River Tagus.

The Valencian, Murcia and Alicante regions have joined forces to oppose a 40% cut in the amount of water transferred from the Tagus to the local Jucar-Segura river basin.

The government ruling will

By Walter Finch

limit the long-established massive water transfer from the north that helped turn the arid semi-desert of southeastern Spain into Europe's market garden. The citrus fruit, water melons and other crops grown in the provinces of Murcia, Alicante and Almeria

TRANSFER: Vast quantities of water are piped south

cused Madrid of ‘failing to protect farmers’ this week.

Language barrier

OVER two-thirds of young people in the Valencian Community have told a survey that they cannot speak or understand any English.

Meanwhile only one in 10 say they speak it well, they told an official INE study.

Several schools and teachers say the lack of English retention is down to too few teachers in the language as well as too much emphasis on grammar and vocabulary.

They insist pupils should spend more time actually speaking the language.

TRANSFER: Red shows the pipelines

employs 100,000 people in a sector turning over €3 billion a year. However, the serious drought Spain is suffering means a massive cut in the usual annual transfer between the Tagus and Jucar-Segura river basins. The agricultural association ASAJA ac-

RIGHT TO ROAM AGAIN

A LONG-running impasse over a closed stretch of an Orihuela Costa footpath has moved closer to being solved.

The 60 metre section has finally been given authorisation to reopen from the Provincial Coastal Service (Costas).

The short route linking the Aquamarina path with La Caleta was shut in December 2021 after a court order ruled the Bellavista urbanisation could close it It meant that walkers had to make a two kilometre detour to get to the beach.

Orihuela council will now have to reach an expropriation deal with the Bellavista owners with claims that they have offered them €66,000.

However, the group are allegedly holding out for a handout of €2 million to reopen the path.

If no agreement is reached, a Court of Arbitration will be brought in to find a solution.

The Bellavista development was approved in 1990 when Orihuela council inexplicably did not insist that the entire path remain public.

Residents later built a barrier in 2013 to shut off access to the 60-metre stretch, but it was taken down two years later by the council.

A legal challenge ensued in which the council was eventually forced to shut it two years ago.

While locals celebrated the new ruling by Costas, a spokesperson for the Cabo Roig and Lomas Neighbourhood Association insisted: “It would be really unfortunate if the path remains closed this summer.”

From front page HAND S OFF OUR COSTAS

“The government is launching a new water war against the Levante region,” insisted spokesman Jose Andreu. “They should instead be calling a debate.”

An economic study by academic and industry experts found the reductions from 8.6 to 6m3/second would result in the loss of almost 5,500 jobs. It will cost a loss of €334 million annually in the Murcia region alone.

Kill

In the three provinces combined, the study found that the transfer cutbacks would kill almost 9,800 jobs and €524 million annually.

But the repercussions extend beyond the region’s local economy; it is also threatening the intensive farming that feeds much of the continent. It was an unenviable call by the government, as climate change is hitting Spain hard and there simply isn’t enough water to go round.

The Tagus, the

Bull plunge horror

Iberian peninsula's longest river, is drying up to the extent that it is possible to cross its almost dry river bed by foot in summer.

EXPLAINED: A DWINDLING SUPPLY

Just like the shrinking Nile in Egypt and the Tigris in Iraq, the right to draw wa- ters of the Tagus - which rises in Teruel before crossing Spain south of Madrid and then into Portugal - has become a politi- cal hot potato.

The central Castile-La Mancha region has long complained that its land has been ‘sacri- ficed’ for the farmers of the south-east.

But the farmers here see it dif- ferently.

“If they take it from us, it will be nothing but a desert here,” Murcia farmer Juan Francis- co Abellaneda told France24. “We need the water to survive. If they do not bring us the wa- ter, what are we going to live on?” he asked.

Since the gigantic Tagus-Segu- ra Water Transfer project was completed in stages between 1979 and 2003, Spain’s average temperature has shot up by 1.3 degrees Celsius. The flow of the Tagus has dropped by %12 over the same period and the govern- ment estimates the Tagus flow could plummet by up to %40 by 2050.

One youngster, Pilar Ruiz, backed up the study saying: “Students are made to behave like robots performing the same exercises year after year.

“Classes are boring and theory-based with little practice and no motivation to learn English in a fun way meaning we lose interest in learning the language, even though nowadays we need English for everything,“ she added.

Deadly beauties

A PAIR of deadly butterfly vipers have been added to Terra Natura’s collection.

The African snakes will have their deadly venom tested to produce anti-bite treatments.

Terra Natura has an anti-venom bank for poisonous snakes of nearly all African, Asian and American species. The species is native to the jungles of west and central Africa.

Coming down

WAITING lists for non-emergency surgeries have fallen to pre-pandemic levels in the Valencia region.

The average surgery wait in March was 77 days - 11 days lower than a year ago. The reduction is thanks to outsourcing to private hospitals plus paying surgeons more overtime.

There are still 72,596 patients waiting for a procedure - up 3,482 on February's total.

NO

A BULL had to be put down at a local fiesta after it jumped over a wall and plunged 15 metres to the ground, breaking its legs in the process. The incident, which was captured on camera by onlookers, happened in Ontinyent (Valencia) as the animal was running through the streets of the municipality. The bull can be seen running toward the wall and, unsighted, jumping over it to the shrieks and shouts of horror of the public. The fall was the equivalent of five storeys. The animal ended up laid out on the ground by the river and with its legs

TERROR: Bull jumped wall and broke his legs

broken. It was eventually moved from the scene and put down.

The incident saw the bullfighting events programmed for the evening in Ontinyent cancelled, and also called into question the preparations made by the local council.

ENTRY: Path to beach is still blocked by the urbanisation

A BRITISH family were left flabbergasted by a derisory compensation offer from their tour operator after their dream holiday turned into a bed-bug-infested nightmare.

Gary Turner, 57, and Jutta Turner, 55, suffered from being feasted on by swarms of blood suckers over the course of eight nights at a four star hotel in Puerto Pollensa.

Gary suffered an allergic reaction to the blanket of bed bug bites on the back of his head, which ended with an ambulance ride to hospital and a painful emergency shot in his bottom.

Nightmare

When confronted over the Turners’ nightmare ordeal, operator Tui only offered them 10% off one of the two rooms they had booked with their two daughters, aged 24 and 31, as compensation. They were given an alternative offer of 20% off their next holiday with Tui, but this was rejected and Gary and Jutta demanded a full refund.

SUCKERS

Holiday operator offers measly compensation to family terrorised by eight nights of bed bugs in four-star Spanish hotel

“We paid for a four-star plus rated hotel, with good reviews and never ever expected to be sleeping with bed bugs for eight nights,” Gary told the Olive Press.

“We never expected to suffer like we did, this is not what we paid for.”

The Turners arrived at the Hotel Illa D’OR on Mallorca expecting a relaxing 14-day sunshine getaway.

But when Jutta and Gary started to notice bites on their hands and head after the third night, they assumed they were just from mosquitos. Only a week into the holiday did

EXCLUSIVE

By Walter Finch

the pair turn on the bedroom light at 3am.

To their undying horror, they saw dozens of little brown bed bugs crawling all over the fabric headboard and even the bed sheets they were sleeping in. But the nightmare was only just beginning for the British - German couple. Apologetic staff at the hotel immediately brought insect spray to bear and moved the couple to another room where the bed had a wooden headboard.

The Flying Squad: cop AWOL

A SENIOR policeman has been suspended for five months after getting caught working as a pilot for Vueling.

The officer was employed from April to August 2020 while he was a Guardia Civil lieutenant stationed at Barcelona-El Prat Airport. It is believed he piloted over 30 commercial flights, mostly domestic, although he also flew to Milan and Paris. Guardia Civil officers and military person-

nel are not allowed to have a second job, unless special permission is granted. He has been suspended for five months, while an investigation looks into the case in more detail, as he didn’t have permission to get another job. “There has been a sentence so we cannot make any further comments on the case,” a Guardia spokeswoman told the Olive Press this week.

BAD REACTION: Holidaymakers were covered in bites

While Jutta’s arm turned bright red in a sea of vicious bed bug bites, the back of Gary’s head became inflamed as dozens of the little critters had chewed up his scalp.

Gary and Jutta could not sleep at night due to the itching, while exposure to the sun caused the bites to flare up. And the medication they got from the pharmacy - which the hotel paid for - left them feeling drowsy.

“It all left us feeling tired, run down and exhausted,” Jutta told the Olive Press.

“We could not enjoy our holiday at all.” Jutta said: “The only lucky thing was that our daughters were not in that room, otherwise we could have taken one of them back in a coffin if she had had the same reaction as my husband did. She is disabled and immune suppressant due to a kidney transplant.” The hotel merely offered ‘a spa

Rushing out!

A GOALKEEPER has become the first openly gay player in Spain.

Alberto Lejarraga, of Marbella Football Club, published a photo kissing his boyfriend to celebrate his club being promoted to Spain’s fourth tier. The shotstopper put the picture on Twitter as Marbella were promoted to the Segunda RFEF.

The Madrid-born player also posted a montage of other happy moments and hugs with his partner.

952 147 834

treatment or ride on their boat’ as compensation, an offer that was also rejected.

Gary and Jutta requested two complimentary rooms for two weeks in October as compensation.

A spokesperson for Tui told the Olive Press: “We recognise that some services fell short of our usually high standards.

“We’d like to reassure all customers that we regularly audit all of our hotels in respect to health and safety.”

Meanwhile, Hotel Illa D’OR called the Turners’ request for a two week free holiday in October ‘unreasonable’. They said they would not ‘succumb to pressure from any guest seeking to receive free accommodation.’

“We want to emphasise that our hotel takes pest control very seriously and we have a company contracted to provide preventative and control services,” they said in an email.

“Thank you very much for always being by my side, through thick and thin! This time we had to live the beauty of this!” he wrote.

The Madrid native joins Getafe's Jakub Jankto as the second La Liga player to come out, but he is currently playing on loan in the Czech league.

Referee Jesus Tomillero, from La Línea, also came out as gay earlier this year.

*Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services.

KISS: Lejarraga and his boyfriend

Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated

No justice

NEWS that a judge bailed a British gangster described as ‘extremely dangerous’ by police after he was already on bail for a separate murder attempt boggles the mind.

This is the man allegedly responsible for killing doorman Jose Pisani at a restaurant in Mijas last month. ‘Harry’ is known to police up and down the costas as a violent armed criminal with, at least, two incredibly serious charges hanging over him.

And a judge lets him go free to roam the coast causing all the mayhem he likes.

The message this sends is simple - and depressing: While the coast is seeing an upsurge in mafia activity, the judiciary is dragging its feet. Or worse.

It just isn’t right that the ordinary, law-abiding residents of this region should run the risk of having an encounter with one of these thugs.

Any one of us might go to the wrong restaurant or bar at the wrong time. Cross paths with the wrong character and undergo a potentially life-altering trauma. As Pisani did.

Why on earth would a judge or prosecutors allow men charged with attempted murder, who point guns at police and hold military-grade arsenals in their apartments, to go free?

Or did they not realise who they were dealing with?

When Harry was arrested for the second time in just two months, did the Policia Nacional not talk to the Guardia Civil?

What’s more, did Fuengirola court check if he was already on bail or had two passports?

There are only two possible answers to these questions and it is hard to know which is worse.

The Spanish legal system needs to get a grip and put the safety of its citizens and residents ahead of departmental rivalry or general incompetence. Or next time it could be a child or a mother in the crossfire!

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

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Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

ADMIN Victoria Humenyuk

Makarova (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es

WATER’S THE WORD

Nearly 30% of Spanish territory is currently in an ‘emergency’ or ‘alert’ status due to lack of rain, prompting Spain to beg the EU for emergency funds for farmers

WITH 27% of Spain currently either in a drought ‘emergency’ or ‘alert’, record temperatures being registered for the month of April, and an ongoing row between Andalucia and Madrid over the Doñana wetlands, there is one topic on politicians’ and Spaniards lips as we enter May: water.

Spain’s Agriculture Minister Luis Planas wrote to the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, to request emergency funds to support Spain’s 890,000 struggling farm workers.

“The situation caused by this drought is on such a scale that we cannot deal with its consequences just with national funds,” said Planas.

The farming sector is being hit hard by the lack of rain and the high temperatures, and the problem is particularly acute in Andalucia.

The Guadalquivir river basin is at 25% capacity, and water allowances for irrigation have been cut by up to 90% for some farmers in Andalucia.

For now, the hot weather shows no sign of letting up. Over the last month over 90 temperature records were broken, including a high of 38.8ºC at Cordoba Airport, while average temperatures were forecast as being 10ºC to 15º above usual levels for this time of year.

Experts at Spain’s Aemet state meteoro-

By Simon Hunter

logical service confirmed that April was the hottest since current records began in 1961.

Meanwhile, last week also saw the row over the Doñana National Park deepen.

Firstly, the European Commission once again warned the Junta its plans to grant new watering rights to farmers in the area around the protected wetlands could cause even more environmental damage.

Earlier this month the PP and far-right Vox voted through legislation that could pave the way for some 800 hectares of irrigable farmland located near Doñana to be legalised.

But scientists have warned that this will put even more pressure on the park, depleting the levels of its aquifer and threatening flora and fauna.

In the run up to regional and local elections on May 28, the issue has become a point of conflict between the PP and the governing Socialist Party.

“They are still messing around with something that could cost Spaniards a lot of money in exchange for nothing,” said Environmental Transition Minister Teresa Ribera, in reference to the fines being threatened by the EC over the plans for Doñana.

Want to visit Cordoba’s Festival of Patios, but don’t know how to get there, or where to find those famous courtyards?

Let Sorrel Downer help

APRESIDENT of the Amigos de los Patios association once said, ‘the Festival of the Patios is to Cordoba what San Fermin is to Pamplona’.

Cordoba’s annual festival sees property owners and groups of neighbours open their flower-filled patios to the public for 12 days at the start of May – this year, that’s May 2-14. It’s a tradition that started a century ago, and which rightly has UNESCO Cultural Heritage status.

As far as Spain’s heritage goes, for most tourists, flowers beat bulls. The historic white-walled houses with the blue pots of red geraniums have to be the most photographed

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

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OFFICE MANAGER Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es

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NOT KIDDING AROUND

Child’s Play: How a legion of Spain’s leading Michelinstarred chefs did their bit for top children’s charity

THEY came from the four corners of Spain and its islands to give a lucky group of children a cooking masterclass.

Over 40 Michelin starred chefs - including triple-starred Elena Arzak and Valencia’s famous Begona Rodrigo,- pooled their amazing knowledge to create a dozen dishes for a charity event.

Cribbing from recipes pegged out on each table, the 150 kids, including over a dozen expats, tried their hand at shelling peanuts, making a guacamole sauce or mixing fruits for a gourmet dessert.

One British expat, Adrianna Rose Morton, 6, (right) told the Olive Press she was ‘super excited’ about being at the event in Benahavis, on the Costa del Sol.

Showing off her (half eaten) dessert with a beaming smile - minus her front two teeth - she insisted she had ‘learnt a lot’.

The main thing she had picked up from her cookery teachers,

including Alicante’s leading two-Michelin star chef Kiko Moya, of L’Escaleta, in Cocentaina, was ‘you need a lot of concentration’.

“It makes me very proud to see this amazing display of positivity,” said chef Fernando Villasclaras, of Marbella’s El Lago. “Apart from the annual Michelin gala in November, you will never see so many of the country’s leading chefs together and everyone is having so much fun.”

This was a continual theme from the chefs who were quick to praise the massive boom that Andalucia has seen in its culinary offering over the last decade.

“The big revolution in Spanish cuisine is taking place here in Andalucia,” insisted two Michelin-starred Nacho Manzana, who has seven restaurants in the Asturias region.

“I have

been cooking with chefs from the south of Spain for 25 years who are so talented, but the region kept getting overlooked.

“I guess it was always finally going to get noticed, thanks to their talents, variety of ingredients and amazing climate. It is finally happening now.”

Navarra chef David Yarnoz, of Molino de Urdaniz, agreed. “Andalucian gastronomy has just got better and better. There are so many great places to eat down here now and it’s growing by the year.”

Begona Rodrigo, of one-star La Salita, in Valencia city, in particular, singled out Ronda’s Bardal restaurant and three-Michelin star Aponiente, in Cadiz, as her favourites.

“But I love coming down to the south, particularly Cadiz, for all the fun, the guitars and the partying. Andalucia was always the region with the most soul but the difference now is it also has great places to eat.”

SERENADE: By Elena Arzak to among others Angel Leon (far left)

Pots of gold

properties in Andalucia.

You’ll have seen them on postcards and – if you haven’t visited Cordoba – you may think you know what to expect, but prepare for a wallop of sensory overload as well as slowly ambling crowds, and getting lost.

The patio heartland lies between the Alcazar and San Basilio, although some of the highlights lie around the Santa Marina district, as well as the church of San Lorenzo.

Once you are in the labyrinth of patios,

€20,000 business from one ad!

While subscriber mailouts net 83 and 75 bookings for two leading restaurants

Words and pictures by

feel free to nose about and photograph each one, but as they are privately-owned spaces and the result of years of care and imagination, do make an effort to tip.

A patio route map from the Tourist Office is a help, but there are also several companies that offer tours.

De Patios, run by young locals, has a route that takes in a manageable five patios – all of which, they promise, are among the most emblematic and awarded in town.

The pots per patio rate is certainly very high.

After buying a ticket at the first property (Calle San Basilio, 14: 16th century, perfectly preserved, 600 pots), visitors are given a map and are able to wander at their own pace.

The owners at each of the patios on the route provide a mini-tour and point visitors in the right direction for the next. Their route includes a property on Calle Duartas, famed for the variety of its flowers and aromatic plants.

There’s more here than geraniums. Actually, aside from the floral displays, the architecture itself is part of the attraction, and both are taken into consideration when the two prizes for best of the best patio is awarded.

Make sure to include the 14th century Viana Palace in the Santa Marina barrio, which is beautiful inside and out. It has 12 spectacular patios, full of tumbling plumbago and wisteria, as well as a huge garden full of the scent of orange blossom, flowers and herbs. The palace belonged to a succession of aristocrats, but it was the Marquess of Viana who got the idea to create a palace-museum in the early 20th century, and his daughterin-law, Sophia of Lancaster, who is credited

COURTED: by patios at Palacio Viana (also below)

with making it shipshape. A trek through the numerous rooms provides a little shade and the chance to gawp in awe at the collections they amassed of baroque paintings, tapestries, firearms and dinner sets.

Visit the Cordoba Tourism website for companies offering tours, and general information, including (pertinently) parking. If you can, let the train take the strain – It takes 50 minutes to get to Cordoba from Malaga; 40 minutes from Sevilla; and only one hour and 40 minutes from Madrid.

POTTED POINTERS

● Many of the patios re- main open all year – and the Viana Palace is open to visitors year round.

● The ‘Battle of the Flow- ers’ opens the fun on April 30, when dozens of women in flamenco dresses shower the crowds in petals as they pass by in wagons.

● The Trueque Cuatro Visitors’ Centre for the Courtyards Festival (if open) is a good source of information on the lifestyle centred round a domestic courtyard and an interesting building in itself.

so far for €20,000 to €22,000,” John told him. “I’ll be honest I really didn’t think print worked any more, but now I stand corrected.”

And he’s not the only one.

Martin Tye at solar panel company Mariposa Energia, revealed: “I’ve had so many bookings via the Olive Press, I don’t bother with other publications anymore.”

Meanwhile, when we ran a couple of articles on a stunning rural hotel, called DDG Retreat, the place found its phone run off the hook. “We actually got more bookings from the Olive Press than an article in The Times, so well done,” marketing boss Daria told us.

But, best of all, were two recent mail out campaigns for a pair of leading restaurants on the Costa del Sol.

The first, Nomad, which just opened, received no less than 83 bookings across two carefully targeted emails to our online subscribers.

The second, Bono Beach, combined two print ads with one subscriber mailout and has had 75 bookings so far. It’s fair to say, they’re happy with the result.

Alongside stories and reviews, both in print and online at www.theolivepress.es, we offer Instagram posts, YouTube videos, Facebook stories and even TikTok videos. It’s called 360-degree marketing and it means we can offer something for everybody.

Don’t let your business lose out.

Get in touch at sales@theolivepress.es

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

1- Barack Obama jets into Barcelona for Bruce Springsteen concert

2- Royal Marine Commandos go AWOL in Gibraltar’s Ocean Village after brawl as police struggle to arrest them

3- Decade-long impasse over closed seaside footpath could end soon in Costa Blanca

4-

‘OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN’: Towie star Elliott Wright shuts Mijas restaurant after death of doorman in customer fight

5- May 1 and May 2 public holidays in Spain explained

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VALENCIA STARS: Begona Rodrigo and Kiko Moya

Jon Clarke

Thousands damn Spain’s dirtiest cities, including Sevilla, Alicante and Palma

SPAIN’S dirtiest cities have been named in a national survey that quizzed 6,863 residents in 69 locations.

Palma, Alicante, and Sevilla got the lowest rankings in the Spanish trading standards (OCU) questionnaire with dog excrement and rubbish being the biggest bugbear.

Alicante remains second-bottom, as in the previous survey in 2019 when Jaen was ranked the worst.

In general, coastal and southern cities scored the worst rankings in the four-yearly survey.

But the consumer group insisted that two thirds got at best ‘mediocre results’.

San Sebastian, Las Palmas,

Healthy eating

ORGANIC farming in Valencia is taking off, with it growing four times faster than other parts of Spain. In the past five years output from the sector has surged 81.2% in the Valencian Community, while the average for the country was a 20.7% growth.

According to the Ministry for Agriculture, the number of organic farms in the region grew 46.1% in the same time period compared to 25.9% for Spain as a whole.

The value of the sector was in 2020 €626 million out of a national total of €3.2 billion.

Only Andalucia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Catalunya are ahead in production, with Valencia fast catching up.

By Alex Trelinski

Barcelona, and Madrid are all in the bottom 10, while Oviedo, Bilbao and Vigo got the highest marks.

Barcelona suffered the worst drop in standards (11 points) since the last survey, with a 10 point drop for Sevilla.

The biggest positive rise was for Guadalajara, with a massive 25 points, followed by Lugo with 18 points.

The survey ‘confirms the lack of progress’ in most large municipalities, insisted OCU.

Issues of concern were dog dirt on pavements, rubbish

CLEAN UP: Actions called for in Alicante

outside containers, and excess graffiti.

“The number of fines for not picking up dog excrement is anecdotal and in most cities it

RECENT and rapid heating of the world’s oceans has alarmed scientists because it will add to global warming.

Last month the global sea surface hit a new record high temperature.

Sea temperatures have never warmed this much so quickly.

And the clever guys aren’t completely sure as to why. Their concern is that, combined with other weather events, the world’s temperature could reach an alarming high by the end of 2024.

Weather forecasters also expect that a strong El Niño weather event (a weather system that causes the ocean to heat) will also set in during the next few months.

is considered a minor infraction,” added OCU.

“It is vital that councils pay attention to the complaints of their citizens,” it concluded.

SHUT ‘DOLPHIN’ PRISON!

A TEENAGE animal-rights activist has handed Congress a petition with 150,000 signatures to free dolphins from captivity in Spain.

Olivia Mandle, 16, is campaigning alongside a group of scientists called World Animal Protection to close Spain’s dolphinariums.

The country has 10 such installations, accounting for a third of all those in Europe.

“I want to end Spain being the biggest dolphin prison in the world,” Olivia insisted.

She wants the installations to be converted into ‘marine sanctuaries’ and there to be ‘an end to shows and forced breeding’. “We want to stop the suffering of these highly intelligent creatures,” added fellow protester Sandra Campinas.

Why you should be just as worried as the experts

SCIENTISTS ARE WORRIED

Warmer oceans:

● Kill off marine life and coral reefs

● Lead to more extreme weather – hurricanes and cyclones pick up more intensity and are longer lasting

● Raise sea levels

A warmer sea is also less efficient at absorbing planet warming greenhouse gases. Over the last 15 years the Earth has collected as much heat as it did in the previous 50 years. Most of this extra energy goes into the sea. Although the oceans are more capable of absorbing extra heat than land, this really is a cause for concern.

A VICIOUS CIRCLE

It really is quite simple to explain.

Warmer waters have less ability to absorb CO2. When the oceans take up less CO2, more CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere, further warming the air and oceans.

Temperatures may come down again after the El Niño subsides…..but it’s a BIG IF.

BEFORE:

Ice in 1980 (top) and in 2012

GREENLAND AND ANTARCTICA ARE MELTING

Satellite imagery has proved beyond doubt that the Earth’s ice sheets are melting.

Seven of the worst melting years have been in the last 10 years.

All this has a profound effect on coastal communities.

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again….. every picture tells a story.

Effective governmental action remains painfully absent.

Green Matters By Martin Tye

DWARFED OUT

Little

FILM FEAST

A HUNDRED short films

from 17 countries have been chosen for screening at this June's Alicante International Film Festival. Judges had to sift through over 2,000 submissions across various categories including Spanish fiction and an 'Alicante Cinema' section which will feature 28 works made by local filmmakers.

Festival director, Vicente Seva, said: “For yet another year, the jury has had a difficult time selecting what was going to be shown due to the high quality and variety of the material.”

The movies will be screened between June 4 and June 9 at two venues - the Kinepolis and Casa Mediterraneo, with June 10 being the day that winners are declared with a prize fund of €3,500. Besides Spain, the participating countries in the 20th festival include France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ireland.

‘HUMILIATING’ comedy bullfights and erotic shows at hen and stag dos featuring dwarves could soon be banned in Spain

Legislation has just been approved by the Senate based on a European Union directive that prohibits entertainment shows that involve the humiliation of people with a disability.

The new law has been promoted by the Social Rights Ministry, and will still have to be sent back to the lower house of parliament, the

By Simon Hunter

Congress of Deputies, for final approval.

“These kinds of shows provoke laughter and the mockery of people with dwarfism, and they teach children how to laugh at us,” Marta Castillo, the president of the CERMI committee for disabled persons in Andalucia, told El Pais “We are not clowns,” she added. “Clowns put on and take off their costumes, but we are

MANY VISITS

HUMANS have been visiting the Nerja Caves in Andalucia for 41,000 years, a new study by the University of Cordoba has revealed. The team used ‘smoke archaeology’ which dates charcoal and remains of fossilised soot on stalagmites in the cave. Its results pushed the earliest known use of the caverns by humans back by 10,000 years and documented 73 different phases of visits/occupation over 35,000 years.

BAN: Such spectacles may soon be outlawed

who we are 24 hours a day.”

In September 2022, an event featuring bullfighting clowns with dwarfism that was due

Talent rewarded

VIOLINIST María Dueñas

(above) has won the 2023 Princess of Girona Arts and Letters Award.

to take place the following month in Madrid’s Las Ventas ring was cancelled due to low ticket sales.

Back in 2021, however, when the Social Rights Ministry’s plans first came to light, there was an angry reaction from the bullfighters themselves.

Respect

“It shows a complete lack of respect and freedom,” Daniel Calderon, a bullfighter and the manager of the Diversiones en el Ruedo troupe said at the time.

“We are skilled professionals who work hard and we entertain like other performers,” he added.

The talented musician from Granada was presented with the prize from the Princess of Girona Foundation at a ceremony in Cordoba attended by Queen Letizia.

Winner

She received €20,000 as well as a copy of a work by Juan Zamora, winner of the 2017 award.

The award was established in 2009 and is open to young Spanish nationals between the ages of 16 and 35 working in artistic disciplines.

Born in Granada, 20-yearold Dueñas has been studying with professor Boris Kuschnir at the Music and Arts University of Vienna since 2016.

Shows featuring

People have been slammed as making a ‘mockery of people with dwarfism’

Picasso and Sorolla are both being celebrated this year but not to everyone’s delight

THANKYOU for your quiz about Picasso (Olive Press all editions).

He was such an influential artist that he actually made a fortune during his lifetime - unlike so many of his fellow masters.

Another to do so was Valencian painter Sorolla, whose work I have long admired, and which has also influenced many artists through the years. While attention is focussed on the 50th anni-

Royal cheer!

Dear Olive Press,

WHILE on holiday, it was very uplifting to see the crowds of Dutch expats and visitors celebrating King Willhelm’s birthday in Torremolinos. The atmosphere was one of great joy and exuberance, which I captured in this photo. The occasion was a surprise for many people on the Carihuela seafront and a very enjoyable one. It was good to see such a positive attitude towards thor royal family. We could do with something like this in England. Bravo the Dutch!!

Richard Duebel (by

email)

versary of Picasso’s death, it should not be forgotten that Sorolla too has an anniversary. It has been 100 years since he passed away. I read in the Olive Press (Sorolla setback) that plans to borrow 30 of his works from Cuba for an exhibition have come to nothing, but surely there must be some sort of event to mark the centenary?

Dennis Capper, Quesada

Editor’s note: There are indeed many exhibitions to celebrate Sorolla and his works. Visit www.centenariosorolla.es/ for a list of several taking place in Spain and abroad. There are also many exhibitions to mark Picasso’s death. It is a very special year for art lovers who can view so many great works. Maybe book a week off and do a tour of some of these events. To get a taste of the best of two very different styles, head to Madrid, where both masters are being showcased.

Standing for election

I HAD to giggle when I read about former gay porn star Antonio Moreno running for mayor (Unusual candidate, Press all editions. Should he be elected I am sure he will be a fine upstanding mayor.

Picasso no gent

THE exhibitions and events to mark the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death are well underway. I feel it is not too soon after his death to point out that he was a flawed genius, for want of a better term! The way he treated the (many) women in his life was not the mark of a gentleman. In many ways, his treatment of them was just as ugly as his paintings!

Jennifer Steele, Torremolinos

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

90 day woes

AS a homeowner in Spain for 17 years and recently retired I find it all very confusing around the 90 day stay rule and registration as a resident, wishing to just come and go as planned before Brexit. What a mess that has caused and makes my plans much harder. Do you think they will sort out an easy solution in the near future or is becoming a resident the only solution?

John Davies, UK

Editor’s note: Since Brexit the simple fact is that if you want to stay longer than 90 days in Spain then you need to get residency. There are whispers that the EU may relax this regulation, but nothing concrete has been proposed.

Summer boost

FERRY company Balearia has announced extra summer services from Denia to Ibiza and Palma in the Balearic islands.

The Bahama Mama ferry will be used during the peak season to respond to the ‘high demand over the summer season and will enhance weekend services between the mainland and islands.

From mid-June, Balearia will offer four additional connections a week with Ibiza and two with Palma.

From Friday to Monday a service will sail from Denia to Ibiza in a 3-and-a-half hour trip departing at 7.30am and returning at 8.30pm, while on Fridays and Sundays the ferry will complete the route to Palma, departing from Ibiza at 11.30am and returning at 4.30 pm.

The Bahama Mama will complement the daily services of the fast ferry Eleanor Roosevelt on the triangular route with Ibiza and Mallorca and the connections of the fast ferry Ramon Llull travelling between Ibiza and Formentera.

ROCKING UP!

Midnight munchies for mega trio of Springsteen, Spielberg and Obama

DINERS at a restaurant in Barcelona did a double take when a rock star, a film star and an ex-President walked in together for dinner.

Even the staff at Amar, at the Palace Hotel, were stunned when Bruce Springsteen, Steven Spielberg and Barack Obama rocked up at midnight. The three global megastars arrived with their respective spouses having made a reservation in a false name, via a friend, earlier that day.

Rocking up for the first night of a European tour for Springsteen, they were apparently famished and ‘tried everything’.

By Walter Finch

The Andalucian chef, Rafa Zafra, had received a call about an ‘important reservation for friends’ from famous Spanish chef Jose Andres. Andres, who is a close friend of the Obamas and cooked at the White House, asked him to be discreet.

“Jose told me it was a very important table, but we should please not say anything and, of course, I began to investigate and saw that Obama was coming and Bruce had a concert,” he revealed.

TRAVEL FREE

FREE four-month season tickets for travelling between May 1 and August 31 have been made available.

The passes are for a specific route only and users will be able travel between two chosen stations up to four times a day.

Deposits of €10 and €20 will be asked to purchase Cercanias and mid-distance train tickets.

These will be refunded to passengers that take a minimum of 16 trips during the four months.

FLAMBEE TERROR

A CONSUMER group has called for inspections on all restaurants of an Italian chain, after a fire left two dead.

Facua insisted all Burro Canaglia’s should be urgently checked around Malaga, Cuenca, Huelva, Santander, Alicante and Sevilla, where it has branches. It comes after a blaze broke out in its Madrid venue killing a 25-year-old waiter and a 43-year-old customer and injuring 12.

He added: “Just before leaving Obama entered the kitchen and told us it had been one of their best meals and if they could take a photo with the team.”

Amar, which specialises in fish and seafood, served up plenty of classics for them including oysters, although prepared in ‘eight different ways’j and shellfish.

The ‘very normal table’ also tried brioche toast with butter and caviar, Rosas prawns, and wagyu meat. For dessert? The chef’s macerated fruit cheesecake. Described as ‘a dinner with true friends’, they drank ‘a little’ and went to bed shortly after 2am. Barack and Michelle Obama were in town to see Springsteen’s new European tour kick off at the Olympic stadium on Friday. The political pair were spotted visiting various Barcelona sites, including the Moco Museum and the Sagrada Familia.

Artificial plants held in place by a wire mesh caught alight and fell onto the tables and floor, blocking the entrance. It has emerged that a waiterthe man who died - accidently set fire to the decorations as he tried to flambee a dessert with a catering blowtorch.

Grim future

THE company responsible for controversial plans to build the world’s first octopus farm has launched a staunch defence after a public outcry.

Ignacio Gonzalez, the CEO of Nueva Pescanova, which is proposing to set the farm up in the Canary Islands, claimed that the method is the ‘future of the oceans.’

Documents suggest the proposals would employ intensive farming of octopuses, a species that has never been farmed on such a large scale before.

JEREZ de la Frontera is at the heart of the sherry triangle, the cradle of flamenco, and home to dancing horses. It’s also a city which knows how to party. And there is no better way of finding out than at one of Spain’s most flamboyant ferias – the Feria del Caballo –which takes place from May 6 to 13… and, unlike nearby Sevilla, everyone’s invited.

A glittering society event (albeit with some bawdy carousing in the early hours), Jerez’s feria started out in the traditional way as a horse fair in a field in the middle ages. Even then, ‘trading’ involved late night partying, and the occupants of surrounding houses risked being fined the equivalent of a euro if they failed to keep a lantern burning so the goings-on were illuminated.

Now, when someone important flicks the switch on May 8 at 10pm, Parque Gonzalez Hontoria, the vast fairground in the south of the city which, for most of the year, is a 52-hectare dark (square) roundabout, will be lit up (fuses allowing) by over 1.3 million points of light,

ALL THE fun

strung in loops over elaborate arches like necklaces of dazzling jewels.

It’s a temporary town for the week, with 175 casetas (a superior alternative to hospitality tents), each hosted by a religious association or a winery, a business, or a social group –all of whom go all out with the decor, adding potted palms, terraces, window boxes, elaborate facades, and painted wooden chairs. Most casetas (unlike Sevilla, as said) are open to the public, and most will be serving food at some point. If not a guest of the aristocracy at a private catered feast, your choices are mainly limited to fried fish, calamares and papas aliñas on paper plates, but there’s also fabulous jamon and you can’t go wrong with that – unless you’re a vegetarian. Each caseta has a bar where you can buy drinks, specifically Jerez sherry and rebujitos (sherry and lemonade), the feria classic down in these parts. And all are guaranteed to have music playing loudly and, at what seems random times, live flamenco. Catching a performance here, among an audience of well-fuelled, passionate aficionados, is an unforgettable experience.

This year’s event is dedicated to flamenco fashion (a thriving creative industry) and the magnificent Lola Flores who was born in Jerez 100 years ago. The singer, dancer and star of the silver screen was what amounts to a national treasure and you will, for sure, be hearing multiple renditions of her greatest hit, Ay Pena, Penita, Pena

By Sorrel Downer

Jinetes y Caballos (held Monday-Saturday, 1pm-7.30pm) when hundreds of horses, riders, and carriage drivers circle the fairground, nodding to people before dusk and the lights go on.

However much you enjoy the singing, don’t feel the need to join in

The week starts fairly sedately (there are discounts for pensioners on the Monday), and builds to a grand finale with the biggest shows on Friday and Saturday. Choose which day to visit according to your tolerance for noise, passion and queues, but time it to coincide with the last hours of

Note: the opening hours are 1pm to dawn, Andalucia style. There is a lot of horse action, much of it competitive and taking place in the Equisur area. Try to catch the displays of doma vaquera, a unique form of dressage rooted in cattle herding and wrangling out in the sierras, and involving fancy footwork on the part of the horse. At the far end from the main entrance, there are fairground rides – a blindingly hot expanse of roaring generators and over excited children buying plastic things. Not for nothing is it called the Calle del Infierno (Street of Hell). It’s not only the horses that parade around impeccable and proud to mur murs of admiration: the attendees do too: People come beautifully dressed – the women with flowers in their hair and stitched into full length dresses of vibrant hue and trailing flounces, and men in the traditional short jacketed suits in grey and blue with boater style hats. You can expect to see some impressive bandalero style sideburns, too. It would be tempting to dress like that – but just don’t.

Etiquette

The Feria de Jerez is officially designated as being of international tourism interest, and hundreds of tourists visit each year and are warmly received, but there is an unspo-

ken code of etiquette.

If you are a foreigner, unless going with friends from Jerez who absolutely demand you must, it’s not advisable to attempt wearing a full flamenco traje (outfit). Firstly, it’s hard to carry off; and secondly, flamenco dress is by no means a costume, but an extension of deep-rooted, local culture.

In Jerez – unlike at many ferias – you are welcome to squeeze into the casetas, and buy drinks and food at the bar. But don’t head to the best table – the casetas are there to enable the hosts to offer hospitality to their own family, friends and clients. However much you enjoy the singing, don’t feel the need to join in, although the occasional, well-timed ole! may go down well.

To discover what makes Jerez tick, visit it during the annual feria for a celebration of sherry, flamenco and fancy purebred Andalucian horses, plus some nice and tacky fairground rides, under a million lights

OF THE fair

PLAIN SAILING

Boat insurance you can trust from Liberty Seguros

YOUR boat has been locked away in storage, and with the sunny weather fast approaching you are itching to get her wet for the first time this season!

You get her de-winterized, antifouled and everything gets checked over thoroughly before you experience the exhilarating feeling of taking her out to your favorite spots. Even though you have taken care of all the physical aspects to make sure your rides will be pleasurable and trouble free, it is easy to forget to take care of any unforeseen and above all unhappy events that might occur whilst taking your prized possession for a spin.

Nevertheless, regardless of whether you own a dinghy, jet ski or a luxury super yacht, taking care of the body work and mechanics is only one aspect that goes towards assuring your safety. Sailing is a sport of variables and the unforeseen can unfortunately happen; however, having the right cover in place with an insurance company that you can trust will go towards preparing you for any eventuality.

This is where LIBERTY SEGUROS - the preferred expat insurer in Spain - can help.

The policy protects both when moored and when out on the seas

LIBERTY SEGUROS has designed a policy with the expat in mind that extends far beyond mandatory liability cover. With added benefits that include voluntary public liability, theft, damage to the vessel itself (as well as auxiliary craft, wreckage removal, special fixtures and personal belongings, amongst others), damage caused by third parties and damage due to pollution risks and coastal regattas, its marine insurance provides comprehensive protection both when moored and out on the seas.

What’s more, should the unimaginable actually happen, its marine policy will cover loss of life, permanent disability and injury to occupants for accidents that take place both on the boat as well as accidents that occur whilst boarding or disembarking. This policy can also be tailored to individual needs to cover solicitor’s fees, medical bills, loss of wages and other aspects that are important to you. LIBERTY SEGUROS can also insure your vessel under the traditional Institute Yacht Clauses (IYC).

Big switch-off Shorter hours

NETFLIX has lost a whopping one million users in Spain since it decided to put an end to account sharing last February.

The figures come from the first quarter of 2023.

The streaming platform asked all its subscribers to confirm their permanent address, ending access to those entering the account from a different location.

Two thirds of the lost users were using a shared password, according to a study carried out by the company. Customers wanting to keep sharing their accounts need to pay an extra €5.49 a month per ‘guest’.

The new strategy has come after Netflix acknowledged that there were over 100 million households in the world sharing an account.

Real term suffering

Spain amongst worst hit in cost of living crisis

SPANISH workers suffered the most of any large Eurozone country as their real wages got hit by high inflation in 2022.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Taxing Wages, worked out the effect of inflation on purchasing power and calculated that wages in real terms fell by 5.3% in Spain last year. Although gross salaries grew by 2.9% (almost €800) to €28,360 gross on average per year, skyrocketing inflation (which closed the year at 8.6%)

By Alex Trelinski

reduced the purchasing power of people in Spain far higher than their European neighbours.

On average, the gross salary of the 38 countries that make up the OECD suffered a loss of 3.4%, two points less than in Spain.

Purchasing

Moreover, the purchasing power of Spaniards fell 10 times more than in France (-0.5%), three times more than in Italy (-2.2%) and

FRENCH CONNECTION

SPAIN is investigating 35 electricity companies over allegedly selling cheap power at hiked prices to French buyers.

The probe has been launched by Spain’s competition watchdog, the CNMC. The body is looking into potential breaches of rules protecting the integrity and transparency of European wholesale energy markets, known as

REMIT. The El Pais newspaper says that the retailers are suspected of taking advantage of subsidised natural gas for power plants to resell electricity to France at higher prices. They are said to have taken advantage of the ‘Iberian Exemption’ where Spain and Portugal got ‘capped’ electricity prices.

CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE?

THE terms residency and domicile are often interchanged despite having two completely different legal meanings. Your domicile can be your residence however your residence is not necessarily your domicile.

You may move abroad without changing your domicile.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Spanish succession tax is based on your tax residency whereas UK inheritance tax is based on your UK domicile of origin. This is acquired at birth and is usually the same as the domicile of your father at the date of your birth, unless your parents were unmarried, in which case you take your domicile from your mother.

Whilst you can claim and acquire a domicile of choice by settling say in Spain with the intention of living there permanently, making it stick to avoid being liable to UK inheritance tax is notoriously difficult. The burden of proof falls on you (or more likely your heirs) to prove that you had successfully acquired a new domicile of choice.

You may avoid UK IHT after five years of non-UK residency. However, it’s not straightforward. HMRC will consider your ties including business interests, social connections, family, property ownership and your intentions to eventually return to your country of birth, to determine whether you are UK domiciled or not.

When it comes to UK IHT it is always advisable to plan for the worst so that a negative posthumous determination by HMRC does not reduce the inheritance of your children.

To complicate matters, Spain has forced heirship rules where the inheritance is divided with two thirds going to the surviving spouse and children, and the final third being distributed freely.

The EU Succession Directive enables expats to distribute assets based on their nationality rather than the country they live.

This means a British expat in Spain can avoid forced heirship rules and distribute assets as they wish.

The differences don’t end there. Whereas in the UK inheritance tax is paid by the estate in Spain the beneficiaries must settle any succession taxes before inheriting any assets.

The double taxation treaty between the UK and Spain does not extend to IHT, which means that potentially you could be exposed to inheritance tax in both jurisdictions.

The good news is there are tax planning opportunities to restructure your financial affairs to avoid forced heirship rules and mitigate both Spanish succession and UK IHT.

You need a safe pair of hands to ensure your legacy is protected.

We are in the Murcia/Costa Blanca area from 15th until 19th May 2023 and available for meetings throughout the area from Torrevieja to Murcia.

If you feel you would benefit from a second opinion please email enquiries@fwm.gi or call us on tel: +44 207 998 0570

Our financial advisers are fully licensed, qualified and regulated to provide financial advice in Spain and across the EU.

1.4 points more than in Germany (-3.9%) - a country that had an inflation rate similar to Spain’s in 2022 but where a significant rise in wages cushioned the blow.

The only European countries whose real wages fell more than in Spain were the Netherlands, Greece, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania, mainly due to their double-digit inflation rates at the end of last year. People in Spain paid an average of 39.5% of their income in taxes and social security contributions in 2022. This is five points above

the average for the 38 countries that make up the OECD.

Pay

People in Spain pay almost 10 points less in income taxes than neighbouring countries such as Belgium, Germany or France, and even less than Italy or Portugal. However, Social Security contributions paid by employers in Spain account for 23% of the salary- well above the average of the 38 countries that make up the OECD which stands at 13.4%.

Germans arrive

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM has announced a new ‘IT Value Centre’ at its existing Valencia technology centre.

The facility will be the third such centre operated by the company in Spain after Reus in Catalunya and Granada in Andalucia.

The centre will be operated by its subsidiary T-Systems Iberia to provide digital services for both private companies and public administrations.

Deutsche Telekom came to Valencia a decade ago and employed around 100 people, but that has risen to 400 with the creation of the IT centre. T-Systems say they hope to create 500 jobs in Spain this year.

OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword

Across: 7 Immediately, 8 Reverent, 9 Eyed, 10 Aswan, 11 Daytime, 14 Address, 16 Spasm, 19 Chef, 21 Cemetery, 22 Tonsillitis.

Down: 1 Diseased, 2 Amoeba, 3 Edged, 4 Last man, 5 Newest, 6 Hype, 12 Mistrust, 13 Psychic, 15 Refund, 17 Potato, 18 Smell, 20 Hats.

CAR rental company Wiber rent a car has introduced a 32-hour working week.

The company has offices in Spain’s main tourist spots, including Mallorca, Valencia, Alicante, Ibiza and Costa del Sol.

The decrease in the number of hours will not lead to a wage reduction, as workers will maintain their previous salaries.

Spain currently has a 40hour working week, but this may be subject to change.

Spanish Minister of Labour Yolanda Diaz has spoken earlier about the benefits of shorter working weeks earlier this year. “People should work to live and not live to work,” she said.

DRIVER CRISIS

A VALENCIAN road haulage federation says the region is short of 2,000 drivers which is causing serious problems with deliveries.

FVET president, Carlos Prades, has claimed the shortage is ‘paralysing operations’.

“This sector has faced, in recent years, the pandemic and the energy crisis and it seems that, now, in a period of economic uncertainty, another more serious crisis looms which is a lack of drivers,” said Prades.

Problem

In the last two years, the problem has gone from affecting a third of regional transport companies to 52% according to FVET data.

A report from the International Road Federation says that young people are being put off from joining the profession because of the high cost of training around €3,500.

“According to the Valencian Institute of Statistics, there are 51,600 people between 16 and 25 years who are unemployed in the Valencian Community, for whom transport can offer an answer,” suggested Prades.

He added that compared to other Spanish regions, the Valencian Community ‘has not taken any measures to promote the entry of young people to the profession’.

Vaping concern

MORE teenagers in the Valencian Community are vaping as opposed to smoking tobacco according to a study from the AECC cancer charity in the region.

The AECC says that the use of electronic cigarettes has exceeded that of tobacco by 5%.

Some 46.3% of Valencian students between 14 and 18 years old have consumed electronic cigarettes (EC) compared to 41.7% who have tried tobacco in 2022.

Teenage vaping has grown by over a quarter since 2014 and is seen as dangerous since there is no perception of the risk associated with electronic cigarettes, vapes or hookahs.

MURCIA, Valencia and Andalucia have been identified as the autonomous communities with the worst public health services. Spain’s Federation of Associations for the Defence of Public Health Care (FADSP) has published a ranking based on a number of parameters such as health expendi -

OVER nine million people in Spain - some 26% of the adult population - suffer from some form of chronic pain.

The biggest issue is lower back pain (58%) according to a survey carried out by Cadiz University and the Grunenthal Foundation.

Some 7,058 people between 18 and 85 were interviewed for the study, which clarified some of the unwelcome consequences of pain.

Some 42% of sufferers have used health services in the last month with 87% going to their medical centre. Those suffering such

COVID SPIKE

THE number of Covid-19 cases has spiked since Easter. It more than doubled to 2,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 800 previously.

Experts fear that the sharp rise in infections could be due to a new variant, and that protection measures may have to be introduced again.

The compulsory use of masks indoors was scrapped in Spain in April 2022, but they remained in use on public transport until February of this year.

BOTTOM OF THE LIST

ture per capita and waiting times. The maximum number of points a region can get is 142 and the minimum is 33. Andalucia hit rock bottom with 65 points, followed by Murcia (71)

and the Valencian Community (73). They are over 30 points behind Navarra and the Basque Country, which are first and second in the table with 108 and 106 respectively.

PAIN IN SPAIN

Over a quarter of Spain suffers from chronic pain

By Alex Trelinski

chronic pain are defined as having it for more than four days a week and persisting for longer than three months.

Chronic pain presents a financial cost with 28.6% of patients needing to take time off work over the last year from it.

Alarmingly, 22% of chronic pain sufferers said they got depression as a result of their condition and an additional 27.6% people said they were prone to anxiety.

People aged between 55

and 77 had the highest incidents of pain with women (59%) more prevalent than men.

“The study has given us a better awareness of what is going on and what pain represents at a social, economic, and health level,” said Cadiz University’s Inmaculuda Failde. She added there needed to be more pain units added to the existing 417 at public hospitals.

“There also has to be more cooperation between all health departments as relieving chronic pain should be a national priority,” she concluded.

At 28, happiest in Spain!

THE happiest people in Spain are statistically men under 29 with money to burn. However two-thirds (67.3%) of Spaniards aged 16 or over are happy ‘always or almost always’.

Men were slightly happier than women at 68.4% versus 66.2%.

No surprise, 70.7% of high earners felt happy, while only 61.3% of low earners did.

O P LIVE RESS The

In the dock

A NISSAN has met a watery end after its owner forgot to put on the handbrake at Cartagena's Navantia docks, from where it slid into the sea.

Cancer cheat

SPANISH sports journalist Guillermo Valades has gone into hiding at his mother’s house after pocketing hundreds of thousands of euros from colleagues by falsely claiming he had cancer.

Up in smoke

SPAIN is looking for companies to incinerate seized illegal drugs with the Interior Ministry offering to pay €990 a ton to companies that can pass security tests.

Bear Hunt

Parasite statue ridicules out of touch ex-king’s plans of returning to Spain

A STATUE of former King Juan Carlos I holding a hunting rifle has been erected without permission in Madrid.

The 170-cm sculpture had the monarch pointing his gun at an emblematic bear monument, in Puerta del Sol, which is the symbol of

Don’t toy with me!

By Alberto Lejarraga

Madrid.

The statue by Chilean artist Nicolas Miranda was aimed at pouring scorn on the exKing’s plans to move back to Spain from his current home in Abu Dhabi.

BEAR TODAY: But King’s statue was soon removed

Naked truth

CLIMATE activists stripped naked and dived into a fountain at Madrid’s Royal Palace.

The pair from Futuro Vegetal swam in the fountain and climbed on two stone lions covered in red paint. The group claims the monarchy has ‘actively taken part in the plundering of the resources of the Iberian Peninsula’ for centuries.

Called Parasitic Strategies to Survive in a Cruel World it is a parody of the Emeritus king’s disastrous faux pas when he posed with a dead elephant he had killed in Africa. The incident is a painful reminder of Juan Carlos’s 2012 hunting trip to Botswana, where he fractured his hip. It was to lead to his downfall, firstly with the

media exposing a long term affair and then a controversial hidden fortune. The sculpture was eventually transferred to a cultural centre, where it is being displayed in an exhibition.

Display

The display was timed to coincide with the former king returning to Spain for the second time since fleeing to Abu Dhabi. He has been in Galicia where he planned to attend a sailing regatta and where he is reportedly looking to buy a home.

AN election candidate for this year’s local elections has caused controversy when he swapped the classic baby-kissing photo with one of him holding a vibrator. PP hopeful for Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Carlos Tarife, posed in local sex shop Besos Prohibidos with the owners. While they held up his campaign leaflets, he opted to brandish one of the shop’s rather large sex toys. Unsurprisingly, the candidate for the normally conservative right wing party spent the rest of the week fending off criticism. He received further anger, when he described critics of the photo as being ‘backward’.

Easiest arrest

POLICE have arrested a serial burglar who dropped his ID card while robbing a property in the Javea area. The man had left the card in one of two properties he had broken into that night.