Olive Press Costa Blanca South and Murcia Issue 99

BREXIT U-TURN HOPE

AN exciting plan to reform the EU by France and Germany could see the UK rejoin as an ‘EU lite’ member.

The logical move would see the removal of onerous restrictions on the movement of Brits in Europe. Under the change, Britain would get ‘associate membership’ of the bloc and regain frictionless access to the single market.

In exchange, the UK would need to accept certain obligations, including paying into the EU budget and allow freedom of movement.

Such a development could spell the end of the loathed visa restrictions imposed on Brits and second-home owners in Spain.

Under current post-Brexit rules, UK residents are limited to spending no more than three months out of every six in Spain and the rest of the Schengen zone.

Relationship

The rule has been exceptionally unpopular both with Brits forced to stay at home and Spaniards who have lost out on their business.

The news emerged as Labour leader Keir Starmer expressed the need to strengthen the relationship between the UK and France during a meeting with President Macron this week.

Starmer's vision of closer ties with Europe is likely to be a vote winner in next year’s general election.

The British public have firmly turned their backs on Brexit, according to polls, with a clear majority (56%) insisting it was a mistake against just 32% still in favour.

The report, commissioned by Germany and France, will be top of the agenda at the summit of the European Political Community - including the UK - in Granada next month.

Up until now both the Tories and Labour had trod extremely carefully over their Brexit positions ahead of the general election.

Despite the Liberal Democrat Party strongly supporting a reverse, they have ruled out any form of associate membership of the EU.

Friends or foes?

COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA

Far right bolthole

REVEALED: Tommy Robinson’s luxury €1.6m Costa Blanca villa where he filmed far-right podcasts is owned by billionaire boss of Jaeger, Peacocks and Austin Reed

EXCLUSIVE

By Walter Finch & Laurence Dollimore in L’Albir

AN investigation is underway into how Tommy Robinson accessed a stunning Costa Blanca villa owned by a British billionaire to film his extreme far-right podcasts, the Olive Press can reveal.

The former leader of the far right English Defence League (EDL) has been using the €5,000-a-month property of fashion tycoon Philip Day to promote a series of US and British extremists.

Videos filmed at the €1.6 million villa show Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - chatting with a string of white nationalist leaders and racists.

They include Gavin McInnes, the founder of white nationalist group ‘the Proud Boys’, which helped lead the shocking 2021 assault on America’s Capitol building.

He also hosted Laura Loomer, an avowed Islamophobe so extreme that even former president Donald Trump was forced to distance himself from her.

Other controversial figures are former Sikh EDL leader Guramit Singh Kalirai, rapper Young Spray and bare knuckle fighter Danny Christie.

The hate-filled podcasts contain many homophobic, misogynistic and anti-Islamic statements, including referring to the Prophet Mohammed as a ‘paedophile’ and ‘rapist’.

In one, Robinson supports notorious misogynist Andrew Tate, currently facing charges of human trafficking and rape in Romania.

The villa in L’Albir boasts six bed-

rooms and seven bathrooms, a swimming pool and a state-ofthe-art security system.

Tycoon

According to public data from the Spanish land registry, the property is owned by EWM INVESTCO LIMITED, linked to British tycoon Day, 56, through his ownership of The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group. The impresario - who owns a string of high street names includ-

ing Peacocks, Jaeger and Austin Reed - denies any involvement in the podcasts.

There is no suggestion the Stockport-born businessman, estimated to be worth €1.3 billion, had any knowledge of Robinson using the villa, nor that he has any links with him.

When contacted by the Olive Press, a spokesman said Day was ‘shocked’ and ‘furious’ that one of his properties was being used by Robinson.

“[The management company] will take immediate action if they find that Robinson still has any access at all,” he said.

“They’re very grateful you’ve raised this and very keen to ensure it’s dealt

with firmly and won't happen again.”

But Neil Bennett of Maitland PR later explained he had been ‘misinformed’ and Day ‘is unaware of the situation’. “[Day] has no control or say over the company, which is managed by a profes-

sional team and owns multiple properties,” he added.

But when later pressed, he finally admitted Day’s management company takes the allegations ‘very seriously’ and the team are ‘investigating the matter.’ Day, who is believed to reside between Switzerland and Dubai, is known to own a number of properties and businesses in L'Albir.

Curiously, L’Albir is the same Alicante resort where Hitler-loving neo-Nazi Kris ‘Charlie Big Potatoes’ Kearney lived before being extradited back to the UK to be imprisoned on terrorism charges last year.

Robinson, infamous for his anti-immigrant views, has also been hiding out in the area after breaking a High Court injunction in the UK for airing defamatory claims in his film Silenced The controversial documentary could land him behind bars again after he previously had stretches for assault, mortgage

fraud, travelling on false documents and contempt of court.

Several British expats said they have seen Robinson around in recent weeks and he is still believed to be staying in the area thanks to an Irish passport. It is thought that a network of sympathisers and direct online donations have been supporting his lifestyle. He posts frequent social media photos of his workouts and was even recently pictured posing for selfies with a young fan on Benidorm’s notorious party strip. He also tucked into an ice cream in L'Albir with Loomer, who was tipped to join Trump’s campaign team until background checks revealed she had branded herself a 'proud Islamophobe'.

Over 40 members of the Proud Boys have been charged for their role in the insurrection to overturn the US elections on January 6, 2021, with four receiving jail sentences so far, one as long as 18 years.

Have you met Yaxley or Kearney?

What do you think of them? Email newsdesk@theolivepress.es

MANSION: Owned by impresario Philip Day (inset) used for far-right podcasts (bottom)

EXTREME PALS: Robinson (right) and McInnes

LEADERS: Starmer and Macron

Not tonight

FOUR party-goers have accused a Fuengirola nightclub of barring them entry for being gay after one turned up in a mesh tank top.

Backfired

SPAIN’S ‘only yes means yes’ law has seen the prison sentence reduced of Angel Boza, one of the convicted gang rapists in the notorious ‘Wolf Pack’ case.

Silent vigil

A THREE minute silence has been held in Valencia following the brutal murders of two women at the hands of their partners. The shocking deaths took place within 24 hours.

Cave men

A GERMAN man has been jailed after another German man was beaten to death in the Nerja cave system where they both lived.

WHO DID THIS TO ANNE?

THE body of a young woman found dumped by a zebra crossing in Torremolinos has been identified as a 21-yearold expat.

Anne Mathea Morken, from Norway, moved to Spain only a year ago before being found strewn across the road near the entrance of an apartment building in Playamar. A popular student and keen skier, from Ringebu, near Lillehammer, she was found dead showing signs of being asphyxiated, confirmed Spanish police.

Her family, who have now been notified of her death, are demanding answers over her mysterious death.

She was discovered by a group of young people at around 1.30am on September 13 and had been dead for around 10 hours.

It means the woman, who lived in Malaga city, must have been dumped there following her death. While her name has not yet been officially revealed in Spain, it was confirmed by authorities in Norway.

The final autopsy is awaiting a toxicology report before the exact cause of death can be determined.

EXCLUSIVE

By Dilip Kuner & Laurence Dollimore

Homicide detectives believe she likely suffered a violent death, however it is not ruled out that she could have drowned due to an ‘allergic reaction to a substance.’ Her body was found in a side street off Benyamina avenue, which runs down to the beach.

The Norwegian serious crime unit, Kripos, has been assisting in the investigation, having flown in from Oslo over the last few days.

The Norwegian embassy in Madrid and the Seamen's Church, in Fuengirola, has been assisting the family. Meanwhile, the death has triggered an outpouring of mourning in her home village.

Active

Director of the local school, Havard Gangsas, told VG: “We feel very much for the family. This is a deeply tragic event, and we are all very sad.”

The local youth centre opened for a special memorial session from 6pm last night.

Norwegian ‘asphyxiated’

According to local reports, Anne was active in the Ringebu-Fåvang Ski Club in her youth and participated, among other things, in the NM relay in 2018. She studied sports at Gausdal upper secondary school, before working part time at a local delicatessen. She fell in love with Spain when spending a semester here in 2022, while training to be a personal trainer at Norwegian private school Active Education, in nearby Fuengirola. Manager Ola Furseth described the news as ‘very sad’ adding his thoughts ‘go out to the next of kin’.

Wife ‘murdered’

A BRITISH expat has allegedly been stabbed to death by her partner in Spain. The 76-year-old was killed inside the home she shared with her Norwegian partner, 82, in Alicante.

The incident took place in a development popular with British retirees near the town of Pilar de la Horadada.

Hotel robbers

TWO robbers have been caught red-handed as they plundered an Alicante beach-front hotel. The Algerians, aged 49 and 55, were arrested after police spotted them behaving suspiciously.

He added he hopes the Spanish police, with assistance from Kripos, can help clarify the cause of the death. The police are said to have obtained surveillance videos and interviewed witnesses in the area at the time. They are still awaiting the autopsy report and do not wish to comment on the cause of death for the time being. Her body was allegedly found without any identification, although her handbag was believed to have been found on the street next to her.

The duo were being monitored for other burglaries around Torrevieja, Guardamar and Orihuela when an eagle-eyed police patrol spotted them entering, while a third colleague kept watch outside.

Bike bandits

A BAND of electronic bike thieves have been arrested after cops caught them in the act. A man from Orihuela and two women from Torrevieja were detained after a wave of thefts in the Vega Baja region. The trio were caught as they smashed a lock on one bicycle. Police later found eight stolen electric bikes.

Scandinavian expat family and locals demand urgent answers over tragic

Photo courtesy of facebook

Black mark

HOLLYWOOD legend Natalie Portman has spoken out in support of the Spanish women’s football team.

The Oscar-winner - who part owns Los Angeles soccer team Angel City - slammed the way the controversial kiss by disgraced Luis Rubiales had sullied their amazing World Cup win.

“I wish the players could just focus on the sport,” she insisted. “Unfortunately they have had to be political inherently, as we have seen at the last two World Cups.

“The US were fighting for equal pay at the same time they were winning the World Cup (last time),” continued the Black Swan star. Rubiales finally resigned last week, and faced his first day in court over sexual assault. Meanwhile, the Spanish women’s team are still refusing to play until various demands are met over management and pay.

RETURNING PUNTER

SHE told them she’d be back… and Michelle Obama returned on a recent stopover in the capital. The former First Lady, 59, had lunch at Madrid’s Murillo Cafe Bistro, near the Prado Museum, during a two-week holiday in Spain. She was visiting the city after spending a week in Mallorca with her friend and former ambassador Jaime Costos and his partner, Michael Smith.

It was certainly a big surprise when she

Bill’s bathtub boat

By Cristina Hodgson

FOR most people the 67-metre boat would be a giant gin-palace of extraordinary luxury. But for Bill Gates the 21-knot vessel is actually just a tender to his bigger yacht, the Aqua Based in Malaga port, the

The tiny tender serving a tech billionaire and a trio of other boats currently on show

in Spain

rocked up at the Madrid eatery, which posted on social media that it was a ‘great honour’ to play host to Obama again.

In Mallorca she was spotted out eating in Flanigans, as well as enjoying sunset cocktails on the rooftop of Hotel Sant Francesc in Palma. They also had dinner at Restaurant El Camino, with Costos sharing a snapshot of the menu and two bottles of fine Spanish wine on social media.

It was Obama’s fifth holiday in Spain since 2016.

WARRIOR PRINCESS

Wayfind -

WALK THE WALK

cruising the Med.

It is certainly anything but shabby and comfortably sleeps a crew of 18 with room for 12 lucky guests.

The vessel also boasts a helipad doubling as a pickleball court, a sport that combines paddle, tennis, badminton, and table tennis. It is also being used to trans-

er, is being used to provide fuel, supplies, spare parts, maintenance staff and smaller recreational boats for Aqua, which is currently port everything from jet skis to scuba diving gear. The tech mogul’s main yacht, Aqua, measures in at 112 metres and is the world's first hydrogen-powered superyacht,

sleeping 14 guests.

It’s a busy month for Malaga port, with a trio of other mega-yachts also in situ. They include Tatoosh, owned by the family of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, and worth around €90 million. The five-deck vessel stretches over 92 metres and counts on its own cinema, helicopter pad and even a lobster tank. The megayacht Octopus meanwhile is currently the world’s eighth largest yacht, sold for a whopping €235 million to Swedish pharma billionaire Roger Samuelsson. It has its own basketball court and two submarines, plus other ancillary boats. It hosts up to 26 guests and

SOME of the longest legs in fashion, appropriately, turned up to shimmy down the longest catwalk in Europe. At 300 metres long, Pasarela Larios, in Malaga, was a real sight to behold for up to 30,000 visitors at the weekend. Over two nights hundreds of models strutted a range of new designs from designers including Livia Montecarlo, Bananamoon, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and Vertize Gala. The shows were the highlight of Malaga Fashion Week, which was returning for its 12th year.

is crewed by a giant staff of 63 people. The Zenobia, owned by Saudi billionaire Wafic Said, is also currently docked in Malaga. Worth €40 million, it boasts a variety of amenities, including a gym, a pool, a cinema, and a library.

LEONOR de Borbon has had anything but an easy ride since enrolling at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza on September 5 - despite being the future Queen of Spain.

Spain’s royal household has released photos of the 17-year-old undergoing a gruelling bootcamp along with an in-take of young cadets.

The pictures show the Princess of Asturias smeared with mud and camouflage paint, wielding a G-36 assault rifle. She is also seen treading water in full kit and even crawling under barbed wire.

Others capture the young royal relaxed and smiling alongside her comrades-inarms. Some of the skills she is learning include navigating through open terrain (left), marching long distances with a 20-kilogram equipment load and live-fire exercises with rifles and pistols. She will mark her passing out parade with a flag swearing ceremony with 600 other cadets on October 7. Then King Felipe’s eldest daughter will get ready to start her second year of military education.

GATES’ BOATS: The hydrogen-powered Aqua has its own 67m tender Wayfinder (below left)

AN investigation is being launched after a Valencian bullfight included dwarfs, a form of ‘entertainment’ that is set to be banned.

The Generalitat justice department, now run by farright Vox in partnership with the PP, claims it didn’t know about the dwarfs when it authorised the event in Casinos.

Government spokesperson

Ruth Merino admitted ‘this type of event’ never would have been authorised had the authorities known.

The probe comes after the Swiss-based Franz Weber Foundation filed a complaint claiming it constituted a violation of the rights of people with disabilities.

The dwarf bullfighters themselves have repeatedly asked to ‘just be left to work’.

The Senate has approved a law that will ban such events but it still needs to be passed by Congress.

Rice to meet you

A JAPANESE chef has ducked in to slice up the competition at the World Paella Day Cup. Kohei Hatashita came first, serving up an incredible version of the Valencian dish featuring orange duck rice with leeks. He beat 10 chefs from around the world to scoop the prestigious prize, which was launched in 2018. The aim of the competition is to recognise the many international interpretations of the dish. With eight million annual searches it is the 4th most important dish on the planet.

THANK YOU!

Olive Press appeal raises hundreds for expat mother being turfed out of her home

Hope for lost souls

A SERIES of excavations have unearthed the remains of dozens of victims of the Franco regime in a ravine of ‘horror, death, and tragedy’.

A third excavation at the Viznar site, near Granada, revealed 44 skeletal remains to go with the 49 found in other nearby mass graves.

All of them showed harrowing signs of a violent death, often from gunshot wounds to the head, and bore marks of torture prior to execution. The dig, which began in April, will now take the bones to the lab for detailed forensic analysis.

DNA samples are also being taken to try to identify the victims.

The dig came after new funds arrived to continue research into war crimes and mass burials in the area.

MURCIA has recorded its second warmest summer on record.

Between June 1 and August 31, the average temperature was 26.1C, 1.6C higher than normal. The hottest summer on record was 1961.

What a scorcher VERY UNCIVIL

A PAIR of civil servants in Murcia managed to trouser over €90,000 in overtime pay. One of the council workers received a payout of over €30,000 in one wage slip, with a further €20,000 spread out through several payments.

Incredibly, the senior pair drew up the reports used to justify their hefty payouts. The figures have caused shock at city hall, as it totals nearly 20% of the €500,000 civil service salary.

A BRITISH mother who is being ‘unfairly’ evicted from her home is ‘forever grateful’ after the expat community raised hundreds of euros to help with her legal costs.

Kate Langshaw, 44, has been branded a squatter by her Spanish landlord despite not missing a rent payment for seven years.

The single parent, her seven-year-old son Lucas and their dog Orri now face being left on the streets after being given just weeks to move out.

Squatter

Following an Olive Press appeal, €600 has so far been donated to Kate’s cause, but it is likely she will need much more.

“I want to thank everyone who has donated, it really means the world,” Kate told the Olive Press.

“I know money is tight for everyone right now so every euro donated is very much appreciated.”

Kate has found a new apartment on the Costa Blanca but still desperately needs funds to help with the deposit and moving

Prison for racist cops

A GROUP of racist Spanish cops have been sent to prison for beating, spitting on and verbally abusing a young black man in a racially motivated assault.

During the attack, the officers in Catalunya even fired a gun into the air to intimidate the victim and hurled racist insults such as ‘monkey’ and ‘human garbage’.

The attack occurred in Manresa, in 2019, when the group went to carry out a court order to identify the occupants.

Once inside, they found Wubi D.C and began to push him and spit on him, before punching and kicking him in the head while throwing rubbish bags at him. They even called him ‘Kunta’, a reference to the fictional character Kunta Kinte, who was a young 19th century slave from the 1976 novel Roots

The victim, who recorded the ordeal on his phone, managed to escape his tormentors and run away.

As he ran, one officer fired a shot into the air in an attempt to scare him. The prosecution initially demanded three years in prison, but eventually accepted just one year and a ban for six months. It means the group could be back on the streets in just two years.

They must also pay €300 fines and €80,000 in compensation to the victim.

By Laurence Dollimore

costs - as well as legal bills which could total more than €30,000.

Kate began renting her two-bed villa in Javea, in 2017, but unbeknown to her, the landlord passed over the deeds to her son in 2019.

Last year, the son tried to ‘bully’ Kate to pay him instead of the mum with an increase of €200 more a month, despite her having a fixed contract in place until 2026.

When this failed, he instead took her to court, claiming she was a ‘squatter’ because she had no contract with him - despite proving she had paid rent since 2017. His case failed in Denia court in May , but he took

an appeal to the courts in Alicante, and, extraordinarily, the decision was reversed in July making the latest rental contract void. Worse, he is now suing Kate for backdat -

ed rent which totals over €30,000.

To help Kate look for ‘kate langshaw’ on Go Fund Me

Torture hell for teenager

A MOTHER and son have been arrested in Alicante on charges of kidnapping, torturing and killing an 18-year-old fellow countryman.

The Algerian pair, 81 and 40, are believed to have subjected the victim to over 15 hours of torment while sending horrifying images to his family in Algeria, via social media.

Their goal was to extort a ransom of €30,000, showing him bleeding and bruised.

The couple’s plan was foiled however, after the boys’ family back home contacted the authorities in Algeria, who called the consulate and police in Alicante.

BULLISH REPONSE A JOB FOR A WET NURSE

RECENT downpours have exposed the shoddy state of Valencia General Hospital after patients had to be evacuated after getting soaked. Panic and chaos ensued when the roof of the hospital began leaking in heavy rain and patients had to be evacuated at midnight.

When the female attacker finally called an ambulance, claiming she had stumbled upon the gruesome scene, police immediately suspected her.

They quickly pieced together what had happened and arrested the alleged culprits, despite claims they were friends with the victim, who died 24 hours later at hospital.

In particular, the videos and photos sent to the family incriminated the duo. The nightmare began when the victim was accused of stealing money and documents from his killers. He was taken to a nearby address after being hit over the head with a blunt object.

A total of €100,000 was specifically designated for the Víznar ravine.

With a further €70,000 from the Junta, the intention is to resume excavations by the end of the year.

Under the guidance of archaeology professor Francisco Carrion from Granada University a further excavation is set to take place at the Barranco del Carrizal, in Orgiva.

Truck-loads of Franco’s prisoners regularly arrived there for execution and burial.

Many of the Republicans interred hailed from the surrounding villages, as well as the Granada coast. Many victims of the infamous ‘Desbanda’ from Malaga, when the city fell in 1937, are also believed to be buried there.

During the Franco era, tens of thousands of people were killed, and many of them were buried in mass graves.

In Paterna, a small town outside Valencia, an estimated 2,238 victims of repression were dumped in pits.

Greener streets

MORE than 800 primary school children from Valencia are leaving their classrooms to raise awareness for European Sustainable Mobility Week.

A total of 12 schools are taking part in the initiative, and the activities started on the 16th and will continue until the end of the month.

Children will go out into the streets accompanied by teachers to learn and reflect on behaviours related to mobility.

Befuddled medical staff attempted to solve the problem by placing absorbent pads and bins under the leaks, but to no avail.

The wards had flooded on previous rainy days, too, as the wards are made from plasterboard.

“We’re going to need a boat to get out of here,” joked two nurses.

The objective is to achieve a friendly and safe city and make children aware of the rights they have as pedestrians.

The Department of Mobility highlighted the importance of including youngsters in urban design.

SEX ASSAULT RISE

SPAIN is suffering an ‘alarming’ rise in the number of sexual assaults carried out by minors.

The number of cases has doubled between 2017 and 2022. There were 451 attacks in 2017, which rose by 116% to 974 in 2022.

The public ministry added that the causes for the phenomenon are ‘complex’, and that ‘diverse factors’ are behind it. These include a lack of proper sex education, as well as early access to violent pornography.

Brand approval

Spanish clinic stands by ‘longtime friend’ Russell Brand amid allegations of rape

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

RUSSELL Brand visited a rehab centre in Spain and told addicts to ‘admit their f****d up behaviour’ and apologise.

The under-fire comedian, 48, gave a talk at the Ibiza Calm clinic back in 2018, following the release of his book Recovery: Freedom

IT’S A TIE

A QUARTER of all British TIE card holders in Spain are registered in the province of Alicante.

And a third of the 208,000 Brits with the ID cards fall into the over 65 age bracket.

from Our Addictions.

It comes as years of alleged sexual assaults surfaced against the comedian in the UK and America.

So far multiple women have come forward to accuse the Essex-born star, who has dated a string of famous singers and models.

The Olive Press is attempting to establish

Paedo priest probe

SPANISH prosecutors have called for a thorough investigation into child sex abuse cases within the Catholic Church.

It comes after an in-depth investigation by El Pais, unearthed 1,021 alleged abusers and, so far, 2,190 victims.

In at least 75 cases, bishops or their superiors have covered up, silenced or concealed cases of abuse.

Yet, incredibly no Spanish bishop has ever been charged with the crimes. The Prosecutor General began its investigations into the abuse back in January 2022, after El Pais handed over a dossier of its findings. It eventually instructed prosecutors across the country to coordinate and collate the 68 open cases.

An internal report by the Spanish Episcopal Conference – the institution composed of all the bishops in Spain – is expected to be released in several weeks.

The ombudsman is also continuing to carry out an investigation into these cases after being commissioned to do so by lawmakers in Spain’s Congress.

if he may have committed any crimes in Spain. We understand he has been on holiday here on various occasions and he was certainly in the Balearics five years ago peddling his bizarre 12step recovery programme. Among the strange list he recommend -

ed to readers of his book was one: “Watch out for f****d up thinking and behaviour and be honest when it happens.”

A furious employee at the clinic told the Olive Press this week the current allegations facing the presenter amount to a ‘witch hunt’, refusing to comment further. At the time of his visit, a press release described Brand as a ‘long-time friend’ and said he had ‘attended a meeting and delivered an inspirational talk to clients’. It added he had shared his

‘unique blend of honesty, humour, wisdom and advice’. The actor, who divorced Katy Perry in 2012, is facing assault allegations from at least four women which allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2013. He is also accused of controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour, following a joint investigation by The Times and Channel 4. In a video posted online, Brand strongly denied the claims, insisting all of his relationships have been ‘consensual’.

The official report also raises concerns as approximately 211,000 Britons and their family members, who were previously registered as EU citizens, have yet to make the transition from an NIE to the coveted TIE.

The TIE card is the golden ticket for expats in Spain, granting them access to the majority of rights enjoyed by EU citizens.

Post-Brexit, these rights are no longer customarily permitted to the majority of Brits, who are citizens of ‘third countries’ - no different to Americans or Japanese. Only Brits who can prove they were legal residents in Spain before January 1, 2021 - and have been so continuouslyare eligible for a TIE card.

Growth spurt

SPAIN’S population swelled by an impressive half a million people over the last year in a boom driven almost entirely by foreigners. Spanish nationals accounted for a paltry 3% (13,524) of the 537,611 people surge between July 2022 and July 2023. The foreign-born population in Spain has now reached 6.34 million, making up 13% of the country’s 47.8 million inhabitants.

WITCH HUNT?: But Brand is accused of rape

Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION

FLIPPING LUCKY?

EXCLUSIVE:

Justice for Anne!

THE circumstances surrounding the death of young Norwegian expat Anne Mathea Morken are truly harrowing. The 21-year-old moved to Spain just one year ago and like many of us, instantly fell in love with the lifestyle. But somehow, this young, popular student ended up dead and dumped on the side of the road, with signs of asphyxiation.

If she was murdered, as Spanish police seem to believe, it adds to what is sure to be a record year for the number of women killed at the hands of men - the majority by their partners.

Spanish police must work fast to uncover the truth of what really happened to Anne, and most importantly, the identity of the coward/s who left her lifeless body by the side of a road.

It is vital they move quickly so we don’t get bogged down in yet another long and drawn out case, such as that of Marta Castillo, in Sevilla, or Agnese Klavina, in Marbella. Our sympathies go out to this young woman’s family and pray they get rapid answers to what happened to their tragic daughter on the Costa del Crime.

Who’s the puppet master?

TOMMY Robinson always seems to get a strong reaction, whatever he is up to, but in the case of his Spanish podcast, the Englishman is actually the sideshow.

The activities of Robinson, a chancer and grifter at best, pail among the gallery of villains who turned up to the pleasant climes of Phillip Day’s luxury Costa Blanca villa. Former Proud Boys leader Gavin McInnes led a militia group that tried to overthrow democracy in the USA.

Meanwhile, Republican primary candidate Laura Loomer dreams of a world in which Muslims are downtrodden, marginalised and discriminated against. The operation to bring all these people over to Spain, and put them in a plush villa was slick, well-organised and well-funded.

Which begs the question: Who is pulling the strings?

The Olive Press does not believe it is Phillip Day for a moment, but someone is orchestrating far-right figures to connect, organise and unite.

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Deposito

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. AWARDS Best

LEGENDARY crime boss John Gilligan, 71, avoided prison for trafficking marijuana in flip flops and gun possession after cutting a deal with Spanish prosecutors this month.

The Irish mafia don - suspected of ordering the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin - did a plea bargain earning him a lenient 22-month suspended sentence with a fine of just €14,000.

The gang leader moved to Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca following a failed assassination plot against him in 2014. He had just served a 17-year stretch over a long drug smuggling operation that netted him €35 million. But, while one might have expected the grandfather to settle down quietly and live the easy life on the costas, things turned out rather differently.

In an extract from a book, The Gilligan Tapes, exclusively serialised in the Olive Press, he recalls to author Jason O’Toole how his move to Alicante was plagued by Spanish bureaucracy after being caught with a suitcase stashed with tens of thousands of euros.

WOLF AT I

T is the reviled monster of European folklore that gobbles up girls in red hoods and blows down the houses of little piggies. But the reality is that wolves, which seldom attack humans, have long been hunted and even faced near-extinction in Spain in

Numbers had dwindled to the mere hundreds by 1980 thanks to a deliberate eradication policy through poisoning, until protections were put in place.

Now the fate of the wolf is once again in the balance after the winds blowing in from Brussels have indicated that their protected is coming under review.

la von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, recently declared resurgent wolf populations ‘a real danger for livestock and potentially also for humans’. The news will come as music to the ears of Spanish farmers and hunting federations, which have faced a total ban on killing wolves since 2021. Hunting them was permitted with quotas north of the River Duero until the prohibition south of the river was extended to the entire country. Despite fierce opposition from those who view wolves as a nuisance or even a pest, the conservationists

won out thanks to fears that the population had still not recovered sufficiently. Today the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation blames ravenous wolf packs for the loss

By Jason O’Toole

John Gilligan miraculously managed to maintain a relatively low profile between 2014 and 2018 – no mean feat for a criminal once considered public enemy number one.

He escaped lightly, with only the occasional screaming tabloid headline about him being down on his luck and hiding in England.

The only other time Gilligan’s name popped up during this five-year time frame was when it was alleged that he had threatened an English solicitor during a heated discussion over money.

But, apart from these two episodes, things were relatively quiet for him on the Costa

of 10,000 heads of livestock a year, with over half coming in Castilla y Leon.

Farmers have reported finding entire flocks of sheep massacred in overnight blood baths, leaving them traumatised and with a substantial fi nancial loss to bear.

Yet, in the 2021 census, Spain was found to be home to a population of just 2,500 Ibe rian wolves spread across 297 packs, 90% of which roamed north of the Duero, including in Galicia and Asturias.

Combined with the population in Portu gal, the Iberian wolf represents the largest population in Europe.

However, it also represents the most deadly, according to Professor Krzysztof Schmidt from the Mammal Research Institute in Poland. In the post-war years, some nine cases of a wolf killing a human have been recorded across Europe, and they all occurred in Spain. Most of the victims were unattended children, picked off by wolves in scenes reminiscent of a Grimm fairy tale.

Yet those attacks occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, during a different time when Spain was a more rural and agrarian society. This period marked the prelude to the wolf population reaching its most precarious state, before bouncing back slowly after protections

At home with a mafia kingpin, whose new life planned for Spain was - like most expatsanything but plain sailing, not helped by €21,000 cash seizure at the airport

Blanca, where Gilligan had relocated. Away from the eagle eyes of

GUIN AND YANG: Pulling pints in Torrevieja’s Judge’s Chambers and (above) his arrest

the Gardai and the Irish media, Gilligan had grand notions about getting back into his old business: smuggling hash.

It was clearly one of the reasons why he picked the drug-infested city of Torrevieja, but Gilligan also went over there because his daughter Tracey had resided in that city for many years. She offered to put him up while he got back on his feet.

At the time, Tracey still owned a bar called (appropriately) The Judge’s Chambers. Most bar receipts would simply thank you for your business, but the one at her bar couldn’t resist a quip with ‘The Jury’s still out’ printed on the bill.

According to Gilligan, it all went south for him when he put together enough

friend Sharon, 61.

The then 66-year-old was suddenly catapulted back into the limelight when arrested with a suitcase full of money at Belfast International Airport in October 2019.

Where did it all go wrong this time?

During a series of interviews at his home in Torrevieja, Gilligan told me: “I was coming back to Spain. I had €8,000 to bring back with me. But a man owed me money for over three years.

I spoke to him the day before I

“‘Would you have the money what you owe me?’ I asked.

“‘I will have. I’m borrowing money off a sister of mine. She’s coming into a good few quid,’ he said. ‘Can you bring it over

“I asked for the money because I was going to rent a place for 12 months [in Spain]. “I was staying at my daughter’s and I promised her I’d only stay a few weeks.

“I’d been talking to an estate agent and he said, ‘You can’t get a place because of who you are.

“You’re high profile and you have no bank account in Spain and you have no NIE [Foreign Identity Number]. You will need 12 months

HOWL AT THE TRUTH

Facts about wolves

up front in advance.’

“I said okay. He showed me three properties. I picked one. I said to myself, ‘When I go back with the €8,000 I’ll give it to him. Then when I get some more money I’ll give it to him and see if I can talk him into letting me have the property.’

“I got up the morning I was leaving. I got some breakfast and showered and cleaned up. “My niece came and said, ‘Uncle John, a man’s after knocking at the door. And he said, there’s your €14,000.’

“So, I now had €22,000. I went to the North because there was no flight in Dublin. The flights in Northern Ireland were really cheap.

“I had the money in my suitcase. I didn’t get stopped by the customs, but when I was boarding the flight the woman [at the desk] said to me, ‘You’re not on this flight.’

“‘There’s me boarding pass,’ I said. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I think you’ll be taken off it.’

“And then she called the customs man and said, ‘Is this the man that you want to see?’

“And he said, ‘John Gilligan?’ I said yeah. ‘You got any money?’ I could’ve taken a chance, but I didn’t want to tell any lies.

“‘I have about €1,000 in me pocket, but I have €21,000 in the suitcase.’ ‘Where’s your suitcase?’ he said. ‘It’s on board. It’s for rent. I’ve the papers with it in me suitcase for the rental.’ “‘Come with us,’ he said.

“He was after saying to one customs officer, ‘Go down and get his case, right.’

BUSY SUMMER!

THE Olive Press has once again proven itself as THE paper to read for expats living in Spain.

A slew of our exclusive stories have featured in the national newspapers back home this summer, including the Telegraph, Daily Mail and the Sun.

Unlike our rivals, we have reporters on the ground undertaking investigations and chasing the big stories of the day.

Our coverage of the drama surrounding ousted football boss Luis Rubiales, for example, garnered two consecutive days' leads in the Telegraph, one on page 3, as well as a trio in the Sun.

It came as our reporter camped out in Motril for four days to cover all the latest angles, that included tracking down the Costa Tropical villa (above), where Rubiales allegedly held orgies paid for by the Spanish FA.

But it’s the heartfelt - and much needed - stories from the expat community that best provide unrivalled content to our readers.

Take the heartwarming story of paralysed Aaron Salter (left), who celebrated having a ‘miracle’ baby via IVF treatment with his beautiful Spanish partner Estrella.

It was picked up by both the Sun and Mirror

And then there was the unbelievable and ongoing story of single mother Kate Langshaw who has been mercilessly evicted by her landlord - who branded her a squatter despite having paid seven years of rent.

Now the Sun has followed up the story her ongoing battle just got that bit stronger.

were put in place in the 1970s.

Even so, the Iberian wolf was recently declared extinct in Andalucia, as zero sightings have been reported in a decade.

In 2021 the Spanish government announced its wolf recovery plan to try and get wolf numbers up 18% to 350 packs.

This plan will now run head first into the EC’s plans to potentially introduce ‘flexibility’ into their protection status. Thus goes the tumultuous existence of the wolf in Spain.

1. Their effect on humans: Wolves usually pose no threat to humans. They are cautious animals and will avoid humans unless provoked. They neither see us as a threat nor as prey.

2. Subspecies of wolf: There are around 30 subspecies of wolves around the world. Grey and black wolves are the most common. The subspecies that live in Spain include the Iberian wolf and the Eurasian wolf.

3. What do they eat:

Wolves are pack hunters and predominantly feed on herbivores. Due to being pack hunters, they are able to successfully kill and consume much larger animals such as moose, deer, and wild boar. In Spain the packs are smaller meaning they typically hunt smaller animals, such as deer, ibex, rabbits and, even, fish. They are even known to eat apples, pears, figs and berries. Similarly to dogs, wolves will also eat grass, but mainly to induce sickness.

4. Depredation of livestock:

The hunting of livestock is a severe problem for farmers. Domesticated animals are easy targets as they are used to being cared for by humans and cannot defend themselves well. In 2021 over 1,500 wolf attacks took place in Castilla y Leon alone.

5. What diseases they spread:

Diseases are easily transmitted between wolves and humans. Gastrointestinal parasites have been found in 57-100% of the native iberian wolf. Research shows that leishmania has also been found in 46% of wolves in Spain. It causes anaemia, fever and an enlargement of the spleen and liver.

6. Extinction of wolves

The number of species of wolf has declined dramatically, with the Sicilian wolf and Japanese wolf becoming extinct in recent years, along with 14 others. The iberian wolf has an estimated 2,500 individuals in the peninsular.

“I only walked three minutes across the floor. So, by the time we got across the room the case was coming through the door – so they already had it. So, I was delighted I told the truth.

“‘Am I getting on the plane?’

“And he said no. A couple of customs officers said: ‘We think you’ll be getting your money back. Our boss has just gone to make another phone call to the Criminal Assets Bureau.

“It’s them guys that’s picking on you. It’s them guys who want you locked up and the money taken off you. But you didn’t hear that from us.’

What happened next?

“They brought me to a police station and then brought me to court and got me held in custody. The maximum sentence for that was six months in prison. You got 50 per cent remission off. It should be only three months inside.

But I was in prison for five-and-a- half months. I applied for bail 10 or 15 times.”

The Gilligan Tapes – by Jason O’Toole is out now from Merrion Press, available from online booksellers and as a Kindle ebook.

Even the Spanish press have been hot on our tails, with Diario Sur following up our incredible story of an 80-year-old expat (right) who was run over at least four times by his neighbour. The story was also run in the Sun, Daily Mail and Mirror back home.

And there’s a reason expats trust us with their stories, thanks to our team of NCTJtrained journalists who have had years of experience working in Fleet Street before making the move to Spain.

If you have a story you think needs telling, don’t hesitate to contact us at tips@theolivepress.es

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

1- OPINION: Luis Rubiales comes from a long tradition of Andalucian entitlement and impunity

2- EXC: British single mother, 44, is branded a 'squatter' by her Spanish landlord and faces eviction despite paying rent for SEVEN years

3-

Watch: Man arrested in Madrid after sexually assaulting a female reporter live on Spanish TV

4- Is Spain due a mammoth earthquake? What the Morocco disaster means for neighbouring Andalucia

5- Bill Gates' mega yacht docks in Spain’s Malaga Port

UP CLOSE: Journalist Jason O’Toole (left) grilled Gilligan

RAVENOUS: Wolves kill 10,000 farm animals a year in Spain

‘There’s me boarding pass,’ I said. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I think you’ll be taken off it.’

BEE-LIEVE IT!

Inspired by an article in the Olive Press, a British production company travelled to Andalucia to make a film highlighting the importance of bees

“MOST people are vaguely aware that we need to save the bees, but they don’t know precisely why,” film producer Michael Jackson, 43, told the Olive Press.

The Brit, who heads up Berkshire-based production company Ambanja, was browsing the news earlier in the year when a story by this newspaper came before his eyes.

“I saw the Olive Press news story and the thing that drew me in was the headline that 47 million bees are to be released in Malaga. And so I did a bit more research.”

His investigations led the Reading native to Paola Vecino, who leads the Smart Green Bee project in Spain that is working to re-populate the country with as many Iberian honeybees as there are people.

“Or, in other words, 900 beehives,” Vecino said. “Our lives depend on the bees.” With this discovery, Jackson decided to make a short film on the subject as a passion project.

Connection

Vecino was one of the first to recognise the connection between Spain’s biodiversity crisis and its overproduction of single-crop plants that don’t produce pollen for the bees to consume.

“And, once you lose the bees, everything else seems to fall away,” Jackson explained. “From there, it’s a tipping point.”

“Without the bees, flowers die out, which kills off the insects that birds and lizards feed on, and it works all the way up the food chain until you get to us.”

Bee specialist Vecino chose to focus on the Iberian honey bee because, as a native species, it has evolved to be able to pollinate the flowers that grow naturally in Spain.

Nitrate disgrace

A TOTAL of 456 tonnes of nitrates entered the Mar Menor lagoon during 2022, as well as 18.5 tonnes of phosphates.

By Walter Finch

With a small crew of filmmakers, Jackson joined Vecino and her team on an odyssey across Andalucia to film the process of nurturing the many hives of Iberian honeybees.

“We started out in Colmenar, which is known for its beekeeping and in fact its name comes from the Spanish word for ‘bee hive’,” the producer said. “And then we drove over to Cutar and Comares, and stopped in Torrox, then we

ILIKE to think of myself as a positive person. My glass is always half full, never half empty.

Yet when it comes to looking at the facts about climate change, forgive me for reverting to sounding like The Prophet of Doom.

This summer has been a taster for things to come as climate change worsens. Extreme weather conditions in different countries around the world serve to remind us all of how mankind is creating catastrophe after catastrophe.

The United Nations and leading scientific bodies continue to urge governments to stick to the promises they have made and to urgently tackle climate change. Actions speak louder than words. The sound of inadequate and meaningful action remains deafening.

Crew followed the bee team

Jackson hopes that his film can help spread the word on the importance of Spain’s

Look at the facts:

bees.

“Sometimes I think we don’t quite realise how important they are and how fragile our ecosystems really are.”

That’s according to the latest report from the Mar Menor Technical Office, produced in conjunction with the central Environmental Transition Ministry. The coastal saltwater lagoon, which is in Murcia region, has been suffering near ecological collapse for years now, due to intensive farming in surrounding areas that causes high levels of pollutants in the water.

FIRES: Devastated Greece

● The Northern Hemisphere has been battered by extreme weather – heat, torrential rain, wildfires, typhoons, hurricanes…

● In the UK June was the hottest recorded

● In July we saw the hottest day ever recorded on Earth

● In the Mediterranean, two long and blistering heat waves struck the region

● In Athens, the Acropolis was forced to close for fear of people dying from the heat

● In Tunisia and Algeria temperatures soared to more than 48C

● In July the horrific wildfires that swept through parts of Greece emitted over one million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide)

● El Niño, which started in June, is, according to scientists, going to make 2023 the hottest year ever on record

● At the end of July, terrible winds and torrential rain hit the Philippines and China. Typhoon Doksuri displaced more than one million people

● Hawaii was devastated in August and nearly 400 people lost their lives

● Canada has had its worst fire season ever. An area bigger than England has been razed to the

ground. The World Attribution Group has confirmed that climate change led to the hot, dry and windy conditions that drove the wildfires in Quebec. Over 15,000 homes had to be evacuated

● California, normally a US state that is accustomed to wildfires, instead saw its first tropical storm since 1939.

All this is here and now…….not something that might happen in the future.

Jeremiah, the prophet of doom, took pleasure in predicting pain and destruction.

I take no pleasure in reporting what is actually happening on planet Earth.

drove across the beautiful agricul tural landscape to Alhaurín el Grande via Malaga.

Green Matters By Martin Tye

FLOODS: in the Philippines

FILM:

Romp in the Hay

ONE of the world’s most prestigious celebrations of literature came to the Spanish heartland last week with the arrival of the Hay Festival.

The town of Segovia was abuzz with the British staple of the literary calendar kicking off its three-day book bonanza with a series of talks, workshops and exhibitions. The gathering drew authors from diverse backgrounds, including Anglo-Saxon, Latin American, Spanish, and other literary traditions, to talk about their works and literature in general.

The former Roman aqueduct town hosted a kaleidoscope of well-known figures including Andrea Marcolongo, Marta Robles and Félix Valdivieso.

PHILANDERING PICASSO

Womanising artist defended by grandson in BBC TV series

LEGENDARY Spanish painter Pablo Piccaso’s penchant for women will be featured in a new BBC TV documentary series, Picasso: The Beauty and the Beast Malaga-born Picasso, who died in 1973, was regarded as painting some of the finest masterpieces of the 20th century but many branded him as a notorious womaniser. He once said that ‘there are

SEVILLA UNIVERSITY experts say modern technology has enabled them to find evidence of a giant Roman circus at the site of the ancient city of Italica in Santiponce.

Work using geo-radar and electrical topography allowed scientists to pinpoint the location after pre-

By Alex Trelinski

only two kinds of womengoddesses and doormats’. Decades later those comments are regarded as sexist and misogynistic and the documentary describes his personal life as ‘full of contradictions’.

But his grandson has defended Picasso saying that wom-

Circus discovery

sites turned out to be wrong.

The giant stadium would have occupied over eight hectares - equating to eight football fields - east of Italica, with an 80,000 spectator capacity.

Researchers found part of the building floor which they suggest would have had a maximum length of 532 metres and a width of between 140 metres and 155 metres from where chariot races would start.

The events would then take place around a circular track in the stadium.

The circus foundation stand was made

GODDESSES AND DOORMATS:

How Picasso described women

en that got close to him knew beforehand what he was like. Olivier Widmaier Picasso says that his grandmother, Marie-Therese Walter, al-

out of a 30 metre wide concrete slab with a depth of six meters.

Detection techniques used a device that injected electrical currents into the ground which measured the resistance generated by the underlying structures, which allowed digital mapping of buildings detected in the subsoil. With the results obtained so far, the next step will be a formal archaeological excavation of the site.

The existence of a circus in Italica would complete a trio of major buildings discovered in the old city along with the Augustan theatre and the Adrianeo amphitheatre.

Kinky collection

THE enigmatic world of renowned German photographer Helmut Newton is set to take centre stage in an upcoming exhibition to be held in Galicia. Titled ‘Fact & Fiction’, it promises to delve deep into the life and work of the late photographer, celebrated for his daring and provocative fashion imagery, as well as his sensually charged portraits that earned him the moniker, ‘The King of Kink.’

The event, which launches on November 16, will be a grand celebration of Newton's iconic works, featuring masterpieces like his famed ‘Big Nudes’ series.

ways recalled the excitement of being with him – even though he had abandoned her just after the birth of their daughter, Maya. “She still described him as wonderfully terrible,” Olivier said “In a way, she was talking about him as if they were still together.”

Picasso was already married to a former ballerina when he first spotted Walter outside a Paris gallery in 1927 and they became lovers despite a 28-year age gap.

Inevitably, Picasso moved to somebody else, but grandson Olivier said: “My grandfather had love stories with each woman and no one was forced to do anything.”

Visitors can also expect to see his striking portraits of 20th century luminaries such as Margaret Thatcher, David Bowie, and Yves Saint Laurent.

2 Wide-awake (5)

3

4

5 Press ten maladjusted old instruments (8)

6 Fundamental principle (5)

7 Send to school (7)

12 Fashion industry (3,5)

14 Entrails (7)

16 Jumped in fright (7)

18 Came to a close (5)

20 Shipwrecked Shakespearean heroine (5)

21 Scottish bog (4)18 Ships’ companies (5)

19 Got into bed (5)

PIC CREDIT: HELMUT NEWTON FOUNDATION

A CHANGE OF SEASONS

DAYS of quiet and brightness.

And a rich yellow light that floods the valley.

Now more than ever is the moment for forest walks and meditative gazings at distant views – always keeping an eye on the fading light. I eat the year’s very last fresh tomato out of a bowl and genuinely feel a long chapter has come to a close. October: my birthday month. Even more conducive than other months, then, to ruminative contemplation of past and future and the moment that sits, delicately poised, between both: the present.

A dark misty morning, dripping with the rainfall I missed during the night, and there’s a good autumn sogginess in the air. Everything I sowed before the rains has come up, the rye in brave little shoots powering skyward, the fine green stubble like an adolescent’s first growth of beard.

The leaves are still green on the oaks. It’s as though, after the long heats and drought when some of them shed their foliage in a foreshadowing of autumn, they’ve decided they’ll cling on to their remaining leaves a little longer. Can trees feel relief? Sometimes when I’m watering I hear, or imagine I hear, tiny creaks, subsonic squeaks of enjoyment, as the plant relaxes and unfurls.

The temperature crept downwards. There were days of constant rain, sultry and grey and dripping. A change in the light, as the days shortened, and sometimes a luscious, peachy gold in the evening sun, which came in slanting over the brow of the hill. Heavy dews in the early dawn, and that rank late-summer smell of organic matter wetted and dried out

October is a month of change for Spain, when the heat of the summer subsides into Autumn vegetables, fruits and seed husks, writes Paul Richardson in an excerpt from his book Hidden Valley

and wetted again by the morning’s moisture.

A new set of tasks hove into view –like the rescue of things needing to be kept dry that would be spoiled by a rainstorm. Into the kitchen came bagfuls of seed pods in all their variety of shapes and sizes. Some, like parsley, were so fine they were a dusty powder. Others were spiky burrs (chard and spinach) or curious flat flying saucers (parsnips).

Melons and courgettes were left to dry into a yellowish husk and broken into for the seeds, which were still attached to tough skeins of dry flesh. All of this, pods and stalks, was piled up on the kitchen table.

I found that, this way, anyone sitting at the table would almost unthinkingly set to work, albeit with a glass of wine beside them.

It was a guarantee of continuance, and also a source of comfort, to have the seeds neatly stored in their jars labelled with the variety and year.

It was all very well to buy commercial seed in packets but our home-produced seeds had an inbuilt advantage, apart from costing nothing: as year followed year the varieties we planted became better and better adapted to the terroir, preserving this improved adaptability in their DNA.

Cannellini and peanut butter

seeing the rows of big jars on the top shelf of the produce rack, packed with pulses in their variegated textures and colours.

Chickpeas made fabulous protein-rich stews and hummus, while the blackeyed peas were best cooked and cold in a hearty salad with tomatoes, onion, green pepper, all in tiny pieces and seasoned with a good strong vinaigrette.

and bury themselves in the soil to form the familiar peanut pod, and enjoyed pulling up the whole plant, roots and all, to find

for what was the point, when it never failed to give us more quinces than we had any real use for? For months the fruits were green and hard and had no discernible scent, but after the rains they swelled up and the tree would be hung with gorgeous yellow orbs covered with a soft white fluff and giving off a penetrating fragrance.

Cauldrons of quince paste and quince jelly plopped and bubbled, filling the whole house with the warm smell of caramel. I took to slipping a quince into the roasting pan along with a joint of pork. They were good in a crumble, and I tried baking them like apples with a core of brown sugar, cinnamon

Cancer battlers

as a creamy accompaniment to roast lamb.

The other big October crop was pea nuts, and these became one of my foremost specialities. I was fascinat ed by the plant’s bizarre lifecycle, the neat yellow flowers that droop down

We had read somewhere that pome granate juice was full of natural anti oxidants and reputed to stave off pros

On an untended farmstead nearby we found an ancient pomegranate tree growing beside a well, and took cut tings for a new plantation of a dozen trees on its own small terrace down by

the stream. For a year or two the plants grew strongly, in October of the third year they were already small trees and I was surprised by the first great shiny baubles turning from green to red like traffic lights, and by the end of year three the pomegranates piled up on the kitchen table demanding to be dealt with – a clear case of ‘be careful what you wish for’.

Below the deep cracks in their thick skins, glittering rubies could be glimpsed.

For a week each year our evening routine was removing the jewel-like seeds, correctly known as arils, and crushing them in an old Soviet-era

So much pro duce goes into jars, while (inset) pomegranates

Chickpeas, white cannellini beans and black-eyed peas all did well on this sandy, acidic soil, and it was around now, as the plants withered and the dry pods rattled, that we began the work of threshing. It was a matter of pushing the dead plants into jute sacks and trampling them to release the pulses from their pods. Few things gave me a keener sense of fulfilment than

the mass of pods fully formed and caked with dark earth like tiny potatoes. More work ensued, the plants being tied into stooks and hung from the rafters in an up per room where heating pipes kept the atmo sphere bone dry. The pay-off was our homemade peanut butter, which was in another league from the shopbought kind.

The fruits of the season in their autumnal tones of deep red, deep yellow, deep or ange: always that depth of long-rip ened colour.

We tended to ignore the quince tree, giving it neither manure nor attention,

WEATHER CHANGES YOUR WORLD

Proust says somewhere that a change of weather can change your whole world. True. Everything feels different. The forest breathes, the odours fresh, nose-wrinkling. I dodged the rain yesterday afternoon – it was a mere half-hour break between successive storms – to head down the track to where the stream comes down through high walls. I could hear it long before I saw it: a roar of falling water. Still brown-tinted from all the

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The water surging over the stepping stones. I watched and listened for a good while, wondering at this sound and fury.

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A source of comfort, to have the seeds neatly stored in their jars

BE PREPARED

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When you purchase one of these funeral plans, you are making the whole process far easier and less stressful for your loved ones.

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Reckless riders

E-SCOOTERS are a menace. The riders don’t comply with the rules of the road, don’t wear helmets and go too fast. Many still ride on the pavements, especially in Pilar de la Horadada in Alicante. One almost hit us this week. They think it’s funny, too. We need a better police presence. Now rental e-scooters are appearing everywhere on roads, too.

Thelma Dance

Who’s to blame?

JUST for context: an average of 3.1 people are killed every day by cars on Spain's roads. Scooters are less dangerous, but there isn't really a safe place to ride them, and plenty of them are being ridden recklessly. Ban the reckless riders, not the scooters in the same way we do with cars.

Oliver Neilson

Happy customer

One OP fan enjoyed our serialisation of travel writer Paul Richardson’s new book, Hidden Valley, and his creative if macabre description of the August heat

I ABSOLUTELY love the Olive Press! There is so much more to actually read, it’s interesting and it far outweighs the other freebie newspapers. I loved the article on high temperatures throughout August, really identified with it and found it both funny and scary too. The sun nosing round the windows, looking for a way in, sitting in darkened rooms and the melted brain effect!

I’ve been here over 20 years but have struggled with the heat myself this year. When speaking to some people recently, I was moaning about the heat, they looked at me blankly and uttered something like ‘that is why we came here’. I am sure that they are fairly new to

SINS OF THE FATHER!

MY god, talk about the sins of the father! Give Rubiales a break! Children and women are beaten in Spain every day. Spain has a history of violence and murder of spouses etc. Meanwhile, this guy kissed someone in a very emotional moment! Big deal. All the glory of the match lost due to everyone jumping on the bandwagon. What hypocrites!

Lynda Martin

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Spain and still in their honeymoon period, in which this country can do no wrong, including with the weather. It was a well written, absorbing article. Congratulations!

Marie Ryan, Oliva

Mosquito heaven

SORDID AND SEEDY

I READ with great frustration the situation regarding the tiger mosquito and how we can deter these pests by not allowing any standing water. It’s absolutely laughable that the disgraceful state of the water gullies along all our service roads are choked with weeds and tumbleweed.

They never get removed and when it rains the water is held for weeks.

And of course any flood water from torrential rain can’t flow away.

Lynn Reeves

Across: 1 Bath, 4 Visible, 8 Demister, 9 Sour, 10 Stops, 11 Newsman, 13 Kiln, 15 Act, 16 Seed, 17 Insects, 19 Calve, 22 Grid, 23 Abortion, 24 Saddens, 25 Dram.

Down: 2 Alert, 3 Hairpin, 4 Veto, 5 Serpents, 6 Basis, 7 Educate, 12 Rag trade, 14 Innards, 16 Started, 18 Ended, 20 Viola, 21 Moss.

I got the car I was looking for at the right price!

definitely use the company again. James was a pleasure to deal with, professional and reliable.’’

LIQUID CULTURE

PEDRO XIMENEZ wines, produced from a grape grown in the Andalucian municipality of Montilla, are in line to be named an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

The mayor of the town, Rafael Llamas, has announced that he is applying for the recognition as the production process makes Pedro Ximenez unique.

The intensely sweet, dark dessert sherries could be given the designation in about three years. It will, however, be the regional government of Andalucia that will have to file the actual application, being the only authority with the power to do so.

The process of making Pedro Ximenez wines involves drying grapes under an intensely hot sun, which concentrates the sweetness of the fruit. The result is a thick black liquid tasting of raisins and molasses, which is fortified and then aged in barrels in a process known as solera.

ASS-TRONOMICAL EVENT

AFTER being recovered in 2022, a curious tradition is back again this year to entertain the locals of towns in the Valencian community. Originating in Benidorm in 2014, ‘La caga del burro’ returned last Sunday with a prize of €1,000. The tradition consists of dividing a

Taking off

piece of land into multiple numbered plots - mirroring a game board. Attendees can then place bets on which numbered plot the donkey will deposit its excrement.

It can take hours for the donkey to defecate, so many visitors will leave to grab a bite to eat and return.

Tasty congress

THE Basque Country is rightly known for its exquisite cuisine, and this October foodies from all over the world will have yet another excuse to make a visit there. The San Sebastian Gastronomika culinary event will be celebrating its 25th anniversary, and will be held in the Kursaal Congress Centre from October 9 to 11.

Booming tourism

SPAIN’s tourism sector has just closed a record summer season, with an average occupation rate of 93%.

In some destinations, the rate was as high as 100%.

According to data from travel website ebooking.com, much of this success is due to Spaniards opting to visit domestic destinations this summer rather than travel abroad.

AT just over 1,500 metres above sea level, it could be the highest-rated restaurant with rooms in Spain.

‘Certainly in Catalunya,’ insists chef, Oliver, a lively father-of-three, who trained at a cookery school in Barcelona before making a life choice to run the stunning Can Borrell retreat in the Pyre-

Star Spanish chef Ferran Adria to be honoured at 25th edition of Gastronimika culinary congress

By Simon Hunter

The anniversary will not just reflect on the past accomplishments of the event but also the role it has played

The figures also come despite a serious hike in prices, with accommodation costs up 15% across the country, with last minute deals as much as 30% higher than a year ago.

According to ebooking.com, the price rise is down to increased demand and the high inflation that has been suffered in Spain since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Among the most popular destinations for domestic tourists are Andalucia, Catalunya and Valencia.

nees with his wife Laura.

It was her parents’ hotel, a retreat for hikers and skiers just a 40-minute drive from the nearest ski station, and counting on roaring open fires and views to die for.

Two decades on and they’ve had three boys, all junior national skiing champions, who help out in the kitchen and sala at the busiest times of year. It’s all part of the charm - these strong, stocky specimens floating about with verve, particularly in midsummer.

This is surely the best time to visit - when the rest of Spain is roasting, and Can Borrell delivers no more than 27 or 28 degrees, dropping to 16 at night.

It’s normally warm enough to dine on the charming terrace, with its agricultural vernacular to the fore - and you can sleep with the windows open as it’s mostly mozzie free.

It’s also a popular weekend retreat for sophisticates from Barcelona, who come to hike in the nearby hills. There are a myriad of paths from the door, a couple that take you to swimmable glacial lakes in just over an hour, plus the third highest peak in the Pyrenees, Puigpedros - now that’s a challenge!

There are nine functional rooms - and one amazing suite - that adhere to the rustic architecture of this centuries-old farmhouse (or Can, in Catalan) - but you can expect cen- tral heating in winter.

The main dining room and entrance area will sweep you back a century, and

‘in shaping the narrative of global cuisine’, according to the organisers. As part of the celebrations, three illustrious figures from the culinary world will be honoured for their contributions.

Star Spanish chef Ferran Adria, best known for his El Bulli restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava, will be given the Homage Award.

The Gueridon de Oro, meanwhile, will be bestowed on British wine critic, journalist and wine writer Jancis Robinson, and the Pau Alborna y Torras Journalism Award will hon-

HONOUR: Star chef Ferran Adria

our Rafael Garcia Santos, who has writing a number of books and has also been a pioneer of gastronomy congresses in Spain. Also in attendance will be other stars of the world of food including US-based Spanish chef Jose Andres, and Rasmus Munk and Rene Redzepi from Denmark.

HIGH LIFE

Jon Clarke reviews the charming mountain retreat, the highest restaurant with rooms in Catalunya

romance is guaranteed, if that’s your thing. My wife and I ended up staying here for three days two decades ago, arriving from the Costa Brava after a two-day bout of gastroenteritis. It was the perfect tonic and we bimbled around the hamlet of 60 souls, until we’d improved enough to attempt Puigpedros. Why on earth we’ve only just made it back now is anyone’s guess, but I guess like Laura and Oliver, kids got in the way. And the best thing of all is that while the food was good back then, today it is so much more assured.

ALICANTE airport has achieved a significant milestone in its history by recording its highest-ever August passenger numbers of 1,702,139..

This figure surpasses the previous record set in August 2019, which stood at 1,692,011 passengers and is 12.6% higher than the same month of 2022. Breaking down international traffic, the countries with the highest passenger numbers in August 2023 were led by the United Kingdom, with 581,304 travellers, followed by Germany (108,500), the Netherlands (100,861), Belgium (84,530), and France (82,710).

Sports eats

SPORT icons Rafael Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo will open their new restaurant in Valencia tomorrow (Friday).

Part of the Tatel family, it is part of the global expansion of the Mabel Hospitality Group, with other restaurants located in Ibiza and Madrid. It will make nods to local cuisine with dishes like the classic Valencian Paella.

CHARMING: Can Borrell in the Pyrenees ON THE

Think mountain tucker, but with real verve and plenty of extra touches, thanks to the proximity of France just over the hill.

Take the foie gras starter which has a touch of black truffle. It’s a great kick off, despite its obvious negative connotation today.

The goat’s cheese and spinach in puff pastry may be more palatable to many, while the ‘brik of duck’ melted in the mouth.

Mains were, naturally, meaty with the standout dish being a fantastic solomillo from a local free range breed of cattle that hugs the nearby contours.

The tarte tatin comes with tremendous vanilla ice cream. There were other options to eat (albeit at least a 10 minute drive downhill) but as a mark of how good this is: we stayed put four nights in a row! It’s fair to say, we’d truly acclimatised to the High Life!

www.can-borrell.com

VIEWS: of the valley to die for and (inset) dining room

NEW QUEEN OF THE SOUTH

Global warming is turning Galicia’s Rias Baixas coastline into the next big holiday destination in Spain, writes Elsa Ibanez

SPAIN’S classical summer destinations are shifting. Climate change is taking care of that.

While the south will remain Spain’s veritable queen in winter, the northwest corner of the country is set to become one of the most attractive summer holiday destinations in Europe over the next few years.

Locals and holidaymakers in Galicia agree and the stats seem to bear it out: It’s raining less and the average temperatures are up a little.

Such has been the enthusiasm for Galicia in the last few summers that not only are Spanish nationals opting to spend their holidays there, but more and more international tourists are getting in on the know. It’s a big region with various stretches of coastline and plenty of big breaking waves.

For the best trip you’ll need to narrow down the area you visit as the roads are windy and the distances (like much of Spain) are surprisingly big.

A more than manageable area for a week or two’s trip is the Rias Baixas, the five southernmost estuaries of Galicia that carve into the peninsula from the Atlantic, just north of Portugal.

These estuaries are also protected by a group of islands (including Cíes, Ons and Sálvora) and away from the open sea, the waters are a haven of peace, alongside Caribbean-white sandy beaches and rolling unspoilt green hills.

We started our adventure in Vilanova de Arousa, where many of Spain’s most infamous narcos were plying their trade during the 70s and 80s.

The town itself has little to see, but the house museum of the famous Spanish writer Valle Inclan is a highlight and definitely worth a look in. The main reason to visit is to take the narrow walkway from the middle of its fishing port which leads directly to one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe.

Playa del Terron is a true gem and being heavily protected there is only one chiringuito: Namare Beach Club, which is a must for lunch or

supper.

The sunsets, in particular, will blow you away, while the posey Ibiza/Marbella scene and attitudes (not to mention prices and luxury brands) are thankfully absent. Even better, everything is authentic and unfussy (and that’s the people as well as the food). Vilanova de Arosa has another treasure - The Island of Arousa, which is only accessible across a bridge and leading to a small village with a port and a few small, unpretentious chiringuitos that dot its wonderful beaches. I recommend Camaxiñas Beach and its beach bar, Carpe Diem. The island is perfect for long walks and bicycle rides and one place to head for is the beach bar, O Faro, on the western side with its extraordinary views over the bay and beach, Area da Secada.

The typical dishes you will find everywhere are two types of scallops - zamburiñas y volanderias. The zamburiñas are finer and gain in texture and flavour. They have only one ‘ear’ in comparison with volandeiras. So don’t be fooled when asking for zamburiñas!

only the locals who know the best ones.

The deep-rooted seafaring tradition of the Rias Baixas means that the gastronomy is based on traditionally home-cooked fresh fish, oysters, mussels, cockles and incredible xoubas (sardine pie).

Handmade with soft wheat flour and no additives, since 2017

For foodies, you’ll also love the furanchos, private homes that, a few years ago, obtained permission from the local government to sell each year’s wine vintages.

Over time, these furanchos have become unofficial, off-theradar restaurants and it’s really

The excellent award-winning Galician bread is always present. Nothing like the frozen, sticky baguettes found in much of Spain, it is usually darker with a crunchy crust and variable hardness. Handmade with soft wheat flour and no additives, since 2017, it has had its own unique DO protection status and is considered the best bread in Spain. Next up is the Rias Baixas capital of Pontevedra, one of the most underrated cities in Galicia. Its historic center looks like something out of a fairy tale and takes you back in time in its old town. Pontevedra is best visited on foot. It is full of beautiful historical houses, pazos (palaces) and long covered arcades wherever you go.

It is an experience to stroll through the evocative streets full of bars and small stores that keep leading to new, more beautiful squares, full of granite buildings, showing off the region’s celtic roots.

Another place not to be missed is Cambados - a town that offers a very particular mix not easily matched anywhere else in the world.

In equal parts it’s a small, monumen -

tal town, a coastal village, and the starting point of the probably best white wine route in the world, where the famous Albarino grape emerged at the end of the 1990s. Its cobbled streets and stone houses, particularly its central square, Plaza de Ferfiñan, are considered one of the most beautiful in Galicia. Its seafaring spirit resides in the emblematic neighborhood of San Tomé. This neighborhood has managed to preserve all its essence

and fishing traditions and from here you will spot hundreds of floating platforms (bateas) for the cultivation of mussels and scallops. In addition, and to add a twist, Cambados is known as the capital of Albarino wine.

It is the starting point of the official Albarino Wine Route and is home to 22 wineries belonging to the Denomination of Origin DO Rias Baixas. The perfect place to raise your glass and toast!

UNSPOILT: The Isla de Arousa is accessed by a bridge

LITTLE VISITED:

Charming Pontevedra and (left) a classic granary or horreo

A WARNING has been issued by the European Union over a shipment of olives exported from Morocco to Spain with high levels of an unauthorised pesticide.

A border check was carried out on the olives that discovered the pesticide chlorpyrifos, and the risk level was set at serious by the European authorities.

RISKS

According to the Pesticide Action Network, which works to ‘end reliance on hazardous pesticides’, chlorpyrifos is known for its damaging effects on the human nervous system. Its risks are particularly high for children, as it can affect their neurological development.

By Simon Hunter

A 60-YEAR-OLD cancer sufferer has asked to be sent to jail despite having done nothing wrong because, he says, he is afraid of ‘being alone’ given his state of health. In prison, he claims, he would have companions who could ‘attend to him and assist him’. As well as having cancer, Justo Marquez from Granada also suffers heart problems, depression and anxiety, according. His poor state of health has seen him referred to mental health services on a number of

A YOUNGSTER from Cartagena has taken to TikTok to warn against the incorrect use of contact lenses. In her video, she explains how she ‘nearly lost an eye’.

Using the nickname @hardkkkkk, she explains in the video how she has been using contacts since the age of 13, but problems only started recently. “Sleeping with them in,” she ex-

Lonely cancer patient asks to be sent to be prison because he is tired of being alone

occasions, but he has been repeatedly told to visit his GP. As a result he says that he feels he has been left ‘destitute’ by the social and health services.

“I can’t find any help anywhere and going into jail is an idea that I had,” he said. “But I don’t want to commit any crime.” He added that he was ‘desperate’ to find a solution to his problem and to no longer be ‘alone 24 hours a day’. He actually turned up at the Al-

Bad contact

plained to another user, when asked what caused the issues.

“When I worked split shifts I would take a siesta with the lenses in and then go back to work.”

She also reported not changing the cleaning fluid regularly for the lenses or even substituting it with water.

haurin de la Torre prison near Malaga to request he be let in. He was carrying a sign that read: “I want to go to jail.” He has made clear that he will continue to protest at the doors of the prison until his situation is resolved. Marquez, a father of five, also managed to speak to the prison warden, who said that he

LONELY: Justo Marquez

would not be able to enter the penitentiary on a voluntary basis. He previously spent two years in jail when he was a younger man on drugs-related charges, but claims that he has been clean for more than three decades.

ALARM has been raised over a popular French deodorant sold in Spain as a number of users have reported the appearance of cysts in their armpits.

The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) has ordered the removal of Nuud deodorants from all shops after the detection of ‘cysts in the armpits of different users of the product’.

French authorities have reported that the cysts could be the result of clogged skin pores caused by various

ANDALUCIA is seeing a surge in tiger mosquitos carrying the West Nile Virus (WNV), experts have warned.

Olive warning West Nile fears PLEASE JAIL ME

Tests carried out by the Junta between September 4 and 8 revealed the circulation of the disease among mosquito populations in Vejer de la Frontera, Jerez de la Frontera and Tarifa.

The study set up some 27 traps in the provinces of Sevilla, Cadiz, Huelva and Cordoba, 23 of which did not detect the disease.

The report insisted that people take appropriate measures to avoid bites - including nets and repellant spray - particularly when tiger mosquitos are most activejust before dawn and immediately after sunset.

Cyst alarm

fatty ingredients in the deodorant. The ANSM has further revealed that a number of people have also suffered from infections that had to be treated with antibiotics. But in Spain, the deodorant can still be bought, yet consumers are advised not to do so. In addition, the health institution is asking those buyers that spot a cyst after using the deodorant to ‘see a doctor immediately.’

Five-finger discount

SPANISH supermarkets have followed the UK’s suit in giving formerly affordable items such as Spain’s much-cherished olive oil security tags to deter rampant shoplifters.

Bear stunner

A BROWN bear stunned locals in Castilla y Leon by getting its head stuck in a plastic drum. Experts had the perilous job of removing it before it starved to death.

Cultural crime

TOURISTS to Barcelona have been complaining that the much-admired gothic cathedral has been plastered with a giant flashing advert selling mobile phones.

O P LIVE RESS The

COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA

SAND WEDGE

Women golfers tee off bringing €300m gift for sandy southern Spain

A STAGGERING 82,000 tickets have already been sold for this month’s Solheim Cup, appearing for the first time in Spain.

The world’s top women’s golf tournament is set to sprinkle a healthy €300m on the Costa del Sol when it takes place this weekend.

Held at Finca Cortesin, in Casares, from September 22 to 24 it will see the best players

from Europe and the United States do battle.

Billed as the women’s version of the Ryder Cup, teams consist of 12 players each, with a total of 28 matches to be played. There are eight foursomes and eight four-ball games on the first two days, and then 12 singles games on the last day.

“It’s going to be an unforgettable show and its impact has already been noted at all levels,”

A WATER company employee could have hit the jackpot after unearthing a 2,500 year-old gold necklace on the job.

Sergio Marciandi found the Iron Age artefact concealed among rocks in Cavandi, Asturias.

Now he has been praised by the regional government for immediately calling in archaeologists rather than attempting to pocket the valuable jewellery.

said Andalucia tourist chief Arturo Bernal.

The US team holds the world

Honest worker

It means scientists can now undertake a full study of the site to put the find into context. Since the find, the authorities have already discovered a second ancient necklace, with a specialist team being assembled to examine the site further.

Follow the leader

AN ultralight aircraft is guiding endangered Alpine birds on a 2000-km journey to their new home in Andalucia. The Northern Bald Ibises, from Austria, had disappeared from Europe centuries ago, with the only surviving populations in Morocco and Syria.

The Eremita project however, has worked hard to establish new populations in Europe, with Austria, Germany and Switzerland being the main beneficiaries.

ranking advantage, with an average score of 24.42 compared to Europe's 42.58.

The home side, however, has an overwhelming advantage with more experience and momentum, winning four of the last six cups.

“I can't remember another time, another year, where so many Americans and Europeans were winning leading up to the Solheim Cup," US assistant captain Angela Stanford said.

“I can't remember a time where it just felt like all year long it was back and forth.”

The project is now hoping to re-establish their migration route to Andalucia after a successful scheme led to the establishment of wild colonies in Tuscany in Italy. The young birds follow the ultralight for two or three migrations before they have learned their own way.

WE’RE BACK: Ibis

PIC CREDIT: fincacortesin.com

CREDIT: Waldrappteam Naturschutz & Forschung