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COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA Vol. 2 Issue 41
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Your expat
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June 3rd - June 16th 2021
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ONE WAY OUT
Expats must stay in Spain in limbo for two years while alleged residency scam is probed by police EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade
How one organised community of expats is putting El Raso on the map
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EXPATS caught up in a fraudulent residency scam run by a gestor on the Costa Blanca have been told by police that they can’t leave the country while the case is investigated. Dozens of people are facing a life in legal limbo for up to two years while police investigate the alleged fraud before it is decided if they face deportation or can legally stay. It comes after the Olive Press reported on a group of expats 952 147 834 who had been detained by police over padron certificates that appear to have been doctored by one particular gestor they hired to process their TIE applications.
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Your expat
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Vol. 2 Issue 40 www.theolivepress .es May 20th - June 2nd 2021
Tragic mystery
Bear in the frame for series of grizzly livestock killings in the Pyrenees
Girl power
The Olive Press helps TV investigation into the death of Kirsty Maxwell
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The female warriors who took on Drake’s army - and won!
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See page 10
I BEG YOUR PADRON Award Winning Rehabilitation Clinic
‘Hellish and humiliating’ as British expats arrested over ‘fraudulent’ residency applications
A GROUP of British expats have been detained by police after their padron certificates
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Tel: 952 147 834 See page 11
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EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade
proving they lived in Spain appear to have been doc- derly expats described the situation as ‘humiliating’ and tored. At least eight people have ‘hellish’, after they were held been grilled over the town for questioning under cauhall registration forms, which tion. were all handled by the same They told the Olive Press how gestor company on the Costa they were carted to Alicante police station and grilled Blanca. National Police confirmed to about falsifying documents the Olive Press that detec- submitted with their TIE tives are working alongside card applications. “We were wrongly arrested the Guardia Civil to now investigate all residencia appli- for submitting fake padrons, cations in Alicante made in even though we put the correct ones in with our paper2021. work for residencia,” said Jay Elliott, 66, of Orihuela Costa, Fraud who has lived in Spain for It comes after ‘widespread over five years. fraud’ was allegedly detected She and her friend Lily Higin over 22 Britons attempting gins, 71, had planned for a peaceful retirement in the to become resident here. This week a number of el- sun but are now living with the threat of a court case or
HUMILIATED: Lily and Jay were questioned even deportation. “I’ve never been in trouble before but here I am, being treated like a common criminal,” said Higgins. “It’s humiliating.” They added that the same gestor is being investigated for changing the date on at least 22 more British applicants. Another couple, who asked not to be named, told the Olive Press how they had been questioned when they went to collect their TIE cards. “We were taken into a room, read our rights and told to explain why our 2021 padron had been doctored to show a 2020 date - it was hell.” All those detained had used One Way Services, a gestor based in Quesada, near Torrevieja, to process their applications - including the padron. Owner Matt Smith insisted
that his is anything but the only gestor business to be dragged into the investigation “Nobody has been arrested, that is a fact,” he insisted, adding: “Other gestors are also being brought in as part of an ongoing investigation into TIE applications.” A police spokesman told the Olive Press: “All residencia
SCOOP: How the Olive Press broke the story last edition
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One Way Services, about why a doctored certificate had been submitted on their behalf. “Smith said he was only trying Grilled to help people,” she told the OlThey included 71-year-old wid- ive Press. ow Lily Higgins and friend Jay “He said he’d already admitted Elliott, who were grilled over his guilt to the police, before their town hall registration shredding my fake padron in forms, which were handled by front of my eyes” she added. One Way Services. He added that she should ‘exSeveral more have since come pect a phone call from the police forward to complain about the merely to answer a few quesBritish gestor, in Ciudad Quesa- tions’. da, which is at the centre of the However, after being taken investigation. away in a police car, held for These include Jane Long of Tor- two hours, fingerprinted and revieja who was taken to Alican- photographed, she was told by te Police Station and questioned detectives at the Policia Nacioover her part in ‘an alleged nal that she will be considered fraud’. ‘guilty, until proven innocent’. The 53-year-old said she and Mrs Long despaired: “I was told her husband Nigel had con- I couldn’t even travel back to the fronted Matt Smith, owner of UK because I’m a criminal!” T h e K e n t woman revealed that the police had informed her, ‘ano t h e r 40-plus people will also be arrested.’ 35 years experience • Interior and exterior Fellow Best quality products used B r i t , B r i a n Special effects, stencilling & feature walls etc
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STUCK: Jane Long (above) has been told by police that she can’t travel while Lily Higgins and Jay Elliott were ‘treated like criminals’ after using One Way Services
Williams, 63, told us he also had to give a statement at Alicante police station last week. It involved the property owner, who has lived in Spain for seven years, having his fingerprints taken, as well as getting photographed. “It was astonishing,” he told the Olive Press. “I’m now told the court case could take 18 months to two years, possibly more.” He continued: “I started all this on September 1, but it became apparent as time went on there was something amiss. “I feel this can go two ways: I'm found guilty and deported or after possibly two years I'm granted residencia. “I put all my faith into One Way Services and have been so let down, a very stressful time for me and countless others,” he added.
working alongside the Guardia Civil to now investigate all residencia applications in Alicante made in 2021. The lawyer later confirmed Cleared to the Olive Press that Smith When the Olive Press called had made a statement to poMatt Smith for an explanation lice clearing his clients of any he refused to answer questions. knowledge of the alleged fraud. “Speak to my lawyer,” he said “My client explained [to the before hanging up. police] that none of the clients National Police confirmed to the had produced the applications Olive Press that detectives are themselves [but] only paid my client to apply for the TIE on their behalf,” David Guijarro Mayor from ABC solicitors told See page 23 the Olive Press in response to written questions. He sought to reassure One Way cli-
Tel: 952 147 834 TM
ents that they would not be held criminally responsible. “So it is totally clear now that the criminal investigation is being focused only against my client so for sure the fiscal will not start criminal actions against his clients sadly affected,” he said. If it emerges that any other of One Way clients were to be detained over the matter, the lawyer said: “Mr Smith will proceed immediately to clarify in front of police or/and the court that these clients have no relation at all with any criminal activity.” Have you been affected? Please contact us on newsdesk@theolivepress.es Opinion Page 6
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CRIME
www.theolivepress.es
NEWS IN BRIEF Teen exploited THREE people were arrested in Elche by the Policia Nacional after forcing a 16-year-old girl into prostitution. Explicit photos were taken of the child and posted online to attract ‘clients’.
Fools errand THIEVES bungled an Almoradi gambling room robbery after forcing the front door that then jammed. They used a stolen car to ram the door but after another failure, the crooks ran off after torching the vehicle.
Fatal food A 44-year-old Mazarron man choked to death on Tuesday during a meal at his home when a piece of meat got stuck in his windpipe.
Boy racer POLICE clocked a car at over double the speed limit on the A-30 motorway in Cartagena. The 20-year-old male driver was caught doing 253 kms an hour in a 120 kms zone.
On the look out A CHAIN of opticians may have been hit by one gang after two robberies in two days followed a break-in earlier this year. The Guardia Civil and Policia Local are working with Optica Optima to work out if a single crew is responsible for the crimes on the southern Costa Blanca that have netted €100,000 worth of designer glasses and frames. The most recent break-ins were at stores in La Marina and at the El Puente shopping centre in Rojales. The first robbery was at the Optica Optima shop in Gran Alacant on February 8.
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Officer stabbed A POLICE officer was stabbed in the groin and two others were hurt by a knife-wielding bank robber. The man had entered a CaixaBank branch in Murcia city and ordered bank staff to hand over cash. He then grabbed one of the employees by the neck and threatened to kill him if he didn’t get what he came for. A customer phoned police, and when they entered the bank, the robber lunged at them with his knife. In the ensuing struggle, one policeman was stabbed in the groin, and two others sustained hand and leg injuries.
Evil rapist
A MAN who brushed off his three young children aged between five and eight - who were trying to stop him raping their nanny has been jailed for 36 years. The 40-year-old Kuwaiti businessman, who was on an extended holiday
Expat ordered children from room before vile attack in Calpe, has been found guilty of raping the carer three times. He will also have to pay €30,280 in compensation to the
Back to Belgium A CON man is heading back home to serve a 10-year jail term after hiding out in the Alicante area. The Policia Nacional arrested the 57-year-old Belgian at his Playa San Juan home and seized a high-end car, a jet-ski, and a trailer. The fugitive was convicted by a Belgian court of 10 frauds which netted him over €68,000 between August and November last year. His first con saw him pass off a fake watch as a genuine luxury branded item to make €16,300 from an unsuspecting buyer. Other tricks included the use of forged documents to initiate money transfers into his bank account.
30-year-old Moroccan victim. The attacks happened between July and September 2019. The nanny told the court that she was a ‘virtual prisoner’ at the villa with the abuse starting within days of her beginning her job. She was raped three times and was told that she would be killed if she offered any resistance. The extreme violence included her being dragged along the ground and kicked when she resisted his sexual advances. She was refused access to a doctor for treatment of her injuries. It was during the last attack
that the man’s children tried to stop their nanny being raped. Despite their pleas, he ordered them out of the room, before continuing his assault and raping the woman for a third time. Afterwards he went to ‘pacify’ his children, which gave the victim a chance to escape the villa in an attempt to find help. But instead of finding the aid she desperately needed, a neighbour, who was a friend of the businessman, instead phoned the assailant’s uncle who asked him not to inform the police because ‘they could solve the problem’. An urbanisation security guard did nothing either and it was left to two children to call their father who in turn phoned the police.
Bogus brokers AN Elche businessman lost €100,000 to two fraudsters who said they were going to invest his money in stocks and shares. Potential victims of the scam were reeled in during face-to-face meetings with promises of high returns on their ‘minimal risk’ investments. The men posed as the owner and a representative of a firm dedicated to stock market investing which was registered with the National Securities Market Commission.
Conmen
The victim brought in the police after checking a special online portfolio site created by the conmen. The website worked perfectly well initially and allowed the investor to track what was happening to his investments. But after a few months, he discovered his account had been cleared out. Multiple phone calls to the ‘brokers’ to get an explanation were not answered. The police are investigating whether the two men scammed other investors across the Costa Blanca and further afield. Two men, aged 35 and 47, have been arrested.
NEWS
www.theolivepress.es HOLLYWOOD director Wes Anderson is heading for Madrid this year as work begins on his newest project Elaborate sets have been spotted under construction in the outskirts of the Chinchon region of Madrid, 46 kilometres south of the capital. Although very few details of Anderson’s latest
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
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Chinchon cheer
masterpiece are known, the sets appear to resemble western style backdrops, complete with a train station. With a budget of €35 million, it is expected that Anderson regulars such as Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton could be involved in the
yet unnamed project. Mayor of Chinchon, Francisco Martinez has welcomed the director and his crew to his town, however remains tight-lipped on details of the new project. “We have all been sworn to secrecy, but the project is really exciting,” said Martinez.
Hungry like the wolf By Graham Keeley
THE wolf has divided society for centuries but now it will be protected in Spain after a ban on hunting comes into action from September. The Spanish government will declare the wolf a ‘wild animal under special protection’ which means hunting it is illegal. It will bring to end decades of hunting which almost drove the wolf to extinction on the Iberian peninsula. Traditionally, the wolf has been portrayed as a figure of evil in popular culture, preying on characters from Little Red Riding Hood to the Three Little Pigs. After progressive measures to preserve the animal in some northern Spanish regions, the wolf has gone from being seen as an enemy to an asset – of the tourism industry. Until now, hunting was allowed in some regions on a strictly controlled basis. Spain and Portugal are thought to be home to about 3,000 wolves, the largest lupine population in Europe, according to data from Ecologists in Action, a conservation group. THE King of Spain has received his first COVID-19 vaccination, joining more than 5 million people who have been given the jab across the country. King Felipe was given his injection in the Wizink Centre in Madrid, according to
HAPPY COUPLE: Carlos and Belen
Walking on heir
LEFT IN PEACE: Wolves will be protected from hunters come September
Ban on hunting creatures that devour livestock Yet opposition to the move persists and not just among hunters who believe the wolf must be stamped out. Wolves kill some 15,000 farm animals across the country every year, according to the
Spanish agricultural association COAG. Lobo Marley, a pressure group which campaigns to protect wolves, estimates that about 300 are killed by hunters every year.
Royal jab
King Felipe turned 53 years old in January, making him eligible to get his vaccination alongside the rest of the Spanish population his age. Meanwhile Queen Letizia, who is five years his junior, has not yet been called to receive her jab.
official palace sources. It is understood the King went to the hospital for the vaccine after marking National Armed Forces Day alongside the Queen.
Peru Carlos de Munain, a livestock veterinarian in the Basque town of Errigoiti in northern Spain, said prohibiting hunting will not solve the conflict between farmers and the wolf.
Effective
“There are many other ways to deal with wolves which will be more effective. Creating pens for the sheep at night, or places for shepherds to stay at night, or using GPS trackers to give some warning of wolf attacks might be better ways,” he said.
ONE of Spain’s richest and most aristocratic couples tied the knot in Madrid. The wedding of Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y Solis and Belen Corsini marked the union of two of Spain’s wealthiest families. Carlos is the youngest grandson and one of the heirs to the late Duchess of Alba, who was known as Spain’s richest woman. Meanwhile Belen is the great-granddaughter of Carlos Corsini Senespleda, the engineer and founder of construction and public works company Corsan, which was sold for €325million in 2004. Their spectacular wedding took place in private at Liria Palace. THE last known survivor of the International Brigades who fought against General Franco and the fascists in the Spanish Civil War has died, aged 101. Jose Almudever Mateu was a dual Spanish-French national born in July 1919 to Spanish parents in Marseilles. Jose lived in Valencia, when aged 17, he joined the republican force, liening about his age to enlist. After being wounded, his deception was discovered, and he returned to Marseilles to sign up for the International Brigades using his French nationality.
End of an era
4 www.theolivepress.es Blue mystery POLLUTION in waters around the Vega Baja towns of Rojales and Guardamar del Segura halted irrigation. Water company CHS (Segura Hydrographic Confederation) was denounced because of the intense blue water found in its irrigation systems. The pollution was discovered in a dyke that takes the water directly from the Segura. No traces of the discharge were found in the river, leaving authorities to suspect that the blue waters were discharged directly into the ditch itself, revealed the Water Judge and Mayor of Rojales, Antonio Perez.
Cleaner landmark A TORREVIEJA landmark is getting a major makeover to repair damage caused by coastal erosion. The Hombre de Mar (Man of the Sea) statue was designed by Catalan sculptor, Josep Ricart i Maimar, and officially unveiled in May 1975. It graces the Paseo Juan Aparicio and is viewed as a key Torrevieja symbol as it celebrates the city’s strong ties to the fishing industry. Deep cleansing work will be done using pressurised water in addition to filling in several cracks with concrete.
NEWS
THE UK ambassador to Madrid has said that it is unlikely that parts of mainland Spain will be allowed on the UK’s travel green list and not others, even if the local infection levels meet required thresholds. Hugh Elliott made the comment during a visit to Benidorm yesterday (June 2) for talks with mayor, Toni Perez, and representatives from tourist groups and hotel associations. Elliott ruled out any ‘preferential’ treatment for the Costa Blanca and the Valencian Community despite the area having some of the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in mainland Europe. “Doing it by cities or regions is not logically feasible,” said Elliott. “We will need a bit more patience.” He praised all of the ‘effort and work’ that
A NEW corporate logo for Torrevieja council has cost €33,000. Mayor Eduardo Dolon said the design took ‘several months’ to produce and ‘represents the heart of Torrevieja with a modern contemporary feel coupled with the city’s entrepreneurial spirit’.
Safer summer
Green list hitch has been done to counter the coronavirus on the Costa Blanca but offered little immediate joy to the area’s tourist industry. Spain’s average infection figures are at 120 cases per 100,000, but the rate comes in at around 40 across the Valencian region and below 30 for the Costa Blanca. The country is on an ‘amber’ travel list which means people returning to the UK have to go into home quarantine and take a series of expensive PCR tests to prove they are COVID-19 free. Last week, the Valencian president, Ximo Puig, met Hugh Elliott for talks in Madrid and put the case for the region to be considered for an exemption based on its low
VISIT: Elliott and Perez infection rates in the same way the Balearic or Canary Islands might. The list of quarantine-free countries will be reviewed today (June 3) with amendments coming into effect a week later.
About time! Long-term expats win right to votes for life in UK elections BRITISH citizens who have moved abroad will be given 'votes for life' as the UK Government scraps the arbitrary 15-year limit on their voting rights. The new measures which will make it easier for expats to participate in British democracy were announced in the Queen’s Speech in March and have now been confirmed by the Cabinet Office.
WINNER: Shindler has won the day
By Fiona Govan
The news follows a long campaign led by Harry Shindler, MBE, who has been championing the fight for his right to vote in British elections. Shindler, who has lived in Italy for 40 years and will turn 100 in July, has been campaigning for the move for 25 years.
Over 5 million UK nationals in Spain and around the world have been denied their right to vote, some for years, if not decades. These changes will come into effect in time for TORREVIEJA Hospital and the local health department the next schedserving 180,000 people will return to public management uled General on October 15. The regional Superior Court has rejected a bid from the curElection in 2024. rent private manager, Ribera Salud, to suspend the change. Hugh Elliott, the The Valencian government last year gave Ribera Salud a British Ambasone-year notice that its contract, held since 2006, would sador in Madrid not be renewed. said: “In an inRibera currently manages Torrevieja Hospital and medical creasingly concentres in Torrevieja, Guardamar del Segura, Rojales, Pinected world, lar de la Horadada, Orihuela Costa, San Fulgencio, Benijomost British far, Formentera del Segura, San Miguel de Salinas and Los citizens living in Montesinos. Spain retain deep Staff at Torrevieja Hospital have staged demonstrations ties to the United over concerns about how the new service will work and Kingdom. Many whether there will be job losses after the managerial change. still have family Claims have been made that waiting times for hospital opthere, worked erations will increase, with Torrevieja currently having the there for many shortest waiting lists in the Valencian Community. years, and some Ribera Salud had also pledged big investments including €6 have even fought million for a second health centre for the Orihuela Costa. for our country.
Public takeover Cash to burn
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
“They deserve to have their voices heard in Parliament, no matter where they live, and I am delighted that UK Nationals living in Spain will now be able to participate in our democracy.”
Rules
In addition, new rules will mean overseas electors can stay registered for longer, including with an absent voting arrangement in place, requiring them to renew their registration details once every three years, rather than annually.
YOUNG people will help keep Costa Blanca beaches safe again in a repeat of last year’s Safe Summer programme. A thousand unemployed people aged between 18 and 30 were contracted by the Valencian government in 2020 to offer COVID safety advice across all of the region's beaches. The programme was regarded as a great success and is returning this summer. One change from last year will be that each of the Valencia region’s 71 coastal municipalities will directly hire the beach assistants through to September 30 via the €4.5 million scheme. The assistants will also have additional duties like providing tourist information and assisting lifeguards to monitor safety in the sea. Valencian president, Ximo Puig, said: “The scheme’s return will once again help in all aspects of beach safety and reinforce the area as a safe tourist destination.” Everybody that’s hired will go through an intensive crash course before starting work later this month or July.
Helper’s tragedy A MAN died in front of his wife and daughter after trying to help a swimmer at La Manga. The 46-year-old heard shouting from the waters at Pedrucho beach at around 1.30 pm. He and other beachgoers went into the sea, but he suffered a heart attack and lost consciousness. The swimmer who had got into difficulty was saved. The unnamed victim had been on holiday with his family. Paramedics were unable to revive him and discovered little or no water in his lungs, which suggested that the heart attack rather than drowning caused his death.
It’s no yolk
SOMETHING strange has been cooked up to celebrate Spain. It's a giant concrete egg to honour the country created by Belgian artist and sculptor, Enca Caen. He moved to Orcheta on the Costa Blanca last year and decided to pay tribute to his adopted country with the unusual sculpture. He claims that it is the biggest concrete egg in the world. Caen said: “There have been chocolate eggs that have reached 18 metres with many people working on them but from what I can find, this is a concrete record.” Some 25 kilos of cement were used to craft the structure with Enca helped by his wife Chantal. It's 5.40 metres tall and it weighs a hefty six tons. Caen is now working on putting a crown on top. “The egg symbolises the unity of Spain, the identity of the Valencian Community, and the history of Orcheta,” he said. It's not his first concrete egg either, as two years ago he created a 3.4 metre tall egg for the village of La Romana.
NEWS
www.theolivepress.es AN expat is facing prison for failing to demolish his home after he fell foul of a town hall’s ‘laissez faire’ planning rules. Gurney Davey, aged 67, only found out about the six-month sentence when a court document was delivered to a neighbour’s house. “I went straight to Tolox town hall with it. They told me I shouldn’t have received it yet,” he told the Olive Press.
Legalise
“They said they were going to be sending the notification to me once they had stamped it.” The news came as a massive bolt from the blue for Davey, whose wife has just died of cancer, which he believes worsened from the stress of the case. He had never been told about the court case that followed on from a Guardia Civil denuncia for an ‘illegal build’. Davey’s two-bed home - built in 2004 - should never have been built according to the Malaga court. In 2016, and then again in 2017, Davey was ordered to knock down his house, but, in common with a neighbour, he waited for more details.
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Not again
British expat faces demolition of his 17 year home - and a spell in prison EXCLUSIVE By Dilip Kuner
While his Spanish neighbour, Irene Millan, 29, did eventually hear from the court again, she was given six months to ‘legalise’ her property - an option Davey was never given. However, his neighbour’s apparent good luck turned into a poisoned chalice. Having spent €20,000 with the town hall to legalise the dwelling, the court finally refused to accept the new paperwork provided by the council. Instead, demolition was ordered - which went ahead last week. To add insult to injury Irene’s
54-year-old father, Manuel Millan, whose name was on the deeds, was also sentenced to six months jail and handed a fine of €6 a day for a year. Now Davey is terrified he is set to lose his home at any moment. It comes just two months since his wife Diana died from bowel cancer, at the age of 71, in April. “We thought we had done everything right at the time. We got legal advice and went through a lawyer in order to get permission to build the home. “Diana fought breast cancer for six years before bowel cancer I from legal firm Manzanares, told them that planning permission would be applied for as an almacen - or ‘warehouse’.
Tongue-twister THE Costa Blanca’s airport has become a bit of a mouthful after a poet’s name was added. What was once Alicante airport, then later Alicante-Elche, now has the tongue-twisting name El Aeropuerto de Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez. The renaming was decided on the 110th anniversary of Orihuela-born Hernandez’s birth and has now been officially implemented.
Hernandez had his first book published when he was aged 23. He became a Communist Party member and opposed the fascist General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. He was sentenced to death over his stance but Franco commuted the punishment to a 30-year jail term to stop him becoming a martyr. Hernandez died of tuberculosis in an Alicante prison in March 1942.
DEMOLITION: Expat Gurney Davey is being forced to knock down his own house and faces six months jail This way it would come under the remit of Tolox town hall, which would give permission and later they could ‘legalise’ the property. The language of one legal letter, seen by the Olive Press, suggests this would be a mere formality. But the property never got legalised. In fact, the Tolox mayor of the time, Juan Vera, has since been jailed and fined for his part in a scheme to allow up to 350 properties to be built on land classified as ‘rural’. In most cases he had used the very same ‘lax’ procedure of applying to build an ‘almacen’ to try to keep the prying eyes of the Junta authorities away.
“We thought that was the way things worked in Spain,” said Davey, a retired builder. “We went to see a lawyer and got advice. It turns out that was not the smart thing to do. “Why would we deliberately try to build illegally? It makes no sense that we would sell up everything and risk it all.” Now Davey’s first thoughts are to avoid serving the jail sentence. He said: “My lawyer is trying to get the sentence suspended.” In the meantime he has been forced to ask the town hall for permission to knock his own property down. “I will do it myself. I will borrow a JCB from someone and flatten my home.”
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Free at last THE Valencian curfew will finally end on Monday. Despite a slight rise in new COVID-19 cases, Valencian president, Ximo Puig, confirmed on Tuesday that the restriction will expire at 11.59pm on June 7. The region and the Balearic Islands have been the only parts of Spain to keep a curfew going since the State of Alarm ended on May 9. Puig said: “The decision to end the curfew has been influenced by the fact that the Valencian Community has had 11 consecutive weeks of COVID infections being below the 50 cases per 100,000 people threshold.”
Limited
Numbers though have gone up in the last fortnight from just below 30 cases to 34.7, due to increased mobility. The Valencian government’s COVID committee will meet today(June 3) to discuss what changes, if any, they will make to non-curfew measures. They have powers over all business opening hours, including hospitality, in addition to how many people can meet in a group. Ximo Puig has also suggested that a limited reopening of nightlife businesses that were forced to close last August might be discussed today. Nightlife operators have been allowed to trade on the same licences as bars and restaurants, which means they have to close at 12.30am under current rules.
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www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain
A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.
OPINION Legal limbo AS if it wasn’t hard enough for Brits to navigate their way through Spain’s bureaucratic requirements – and during a global pandemic to boot – we are hearing of more and more hurdles placed in their way. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Brits living in Spain have yet to get their residency papers in order. Some of these people just didn’t heed the multiple warnings issued by Spanish and British Embassy authorities – and reported repeatedly by the Olive Press - to register in plenty of time before the Brexit deadline hit. Many of those who left it until the last minute were thwarted by the lockdown as they found themselves banned from travelling between the UK and Spain when the pandemic hit. Others were unable to secure appointments at the relevant offices because they were closed under COVID-19 restrictions or because the backlog of applications made appointments impossible to get. So it is understandable that there are those who sought the help of experts to ease the process, often paying gestors over the odds to get the job done. Which is why it is particularly galling for them to now find themselves in a legal limbo, because unbeknownst to them, allegedly fraudulent applications were lodged on their behalf. The Olive Press has spoken to at least a dozen people who now face months of uncertainty while they wait for the slow cogs of Spain’s judicial system to turn and determine their fate. In the meantime, they are unable to travel abroad, unable to make plans for the future, unsure whether they will or will not be granted residency in Spain. These people need answers. Rest assured, the team at the Olive Press will be working hard to get them. Publisher / Editor
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o t e m o c l We NEWS FEATURE
How the Costa del Sol’s glitziest resort became a global HQ of organised crime, writes Fiona Govan
M
ARBELLA has been fingered as the ‘global capital of organised crime’. At least 113 gangs of 59 different nationalities have sent the crime rate in the celebrity holiday hangout spiralling out of control, according to a
DEADLY: Gangster executed
Mob-ella damning report. And the most dangerous of them all are the British. “The Costa del Sol is a kind of hub, a sort of coworking centre where almost all organised criminal groups in the world have a presence,” a senior member of Spain’s Policia Nacional told national newspaper El Pais in an in-depth report. Describing Marbella as a ‘UN of gangsters in a globalised world,’ the police chief said the Ritzy resort has become synonymous not only with tourism but also with crime. A network of gangs bring in drugs from South America and Africa via the Strait of Gibraltar, for distribution across Europe, he explained. A collaboration of powerful mafia structures and
crime rings involved in house burglaries or armed robberies, each provides different elements in the complex supply chain: such as distribution, protection and money laundering. But, he added, alliances are quick to change and break down, leading to inevitable rivalries, turf wars and revenge violence. “Whoever thinks that criminal organisations are like before, pyramidal and with all the sections covered, is wrong,” a public prosecutor told the newspaper. “They are not cartels, they provide services: we have reached the Uberisation of organised crime.” Each group has an area of expertise, he continued: from the French who bring in hashish from Morocco to the Irish clans controlling cocaine and weapons imports. An enduring feud between two rival Irish cartels – Kinahan and Hutch – is already thought to have led to 20 executions. There are also rival gangs from Serbia and other Balkan countries, as well
Expat in Spain or immigrant: Is there a difference? The term ‘expat’ is loaded. It’s time we moved on, argues Carrie Frais
I
N a quick Google search asking the question: ‘What is the difference between an expat and an immigrant?’ Google tells us that ‘..it usually comes down to socio-economic factors, so skilled professionals working in another country are described as expatriates, whereas a manual labourer who has moved to another country to earn more money might be labelled an immigrant'. The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that an immigrant is ‘a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country'. The original expatriate, around the 19thCentury, tended to be a middle-class, usually white, who moved abroad on a corporate assignment and (generally) chose not to integrate into their local community. If a better economic opportunity came up they would probably move again. Two centuries on, we have moved way beyond that, however. Today’s expats are from diverse backgrounds, from all over the world with different skin colours, and the vast majority of them have a desire to integrate and live in their adopted country for extended periods of time, or indeed permanently. If we adhered to the OED definition then
this demographic should in fact be ter- cioeconomic realities - but maybe that med immigrants, right? should not matter? But it is not just a question of definition. It There are other terms to describe those is also about connotation. who have chosen to move to another The term ‘expat’ carries with it a myriad country through choice, such as ‘memof preconceptions about class, educa- bers of the international community’, tion, privilege and entitlement - just as ‘global citizens’ and ‘global nomads’. the terms immigrant, migrant and to a Some neologisms of the term ‘expat’ certain extent ‘foreign worker’ have a di- have also been put forward such as ‘disfferent set of assumptions. patriate’: an expat who distances themselves from their nation of When used as a noun, the origin; a ‘flexpatriate’: soword ‘expatriation’ can also meone who often travels mean the act of someone renouncing allegiance to The term ‘expat’ internationally; ‘inpatriate’: an employee sent from their native country, which is carries with a foreign subsidiary to not the case for most peoit a myriad of ple. work in the country where Some people also believe preconceptions a company has a presence that being labelled an exand ‘rex-pat’: a repeat exabout class pat sets them apart from pat, someone who chooses their adopted cultures when to return to a foreign country after completing a work in fact they are trying to do assignment. exactly the opposite. The majority of those who today are la- As our travel behaviours change, our belled ‘expats’ have chosen to live away working habits become more fluid and from their country of their birth as a li- the world becomes more globalised, it festyle choice, rather than due to political is becoming increasingly clear that the oppression or economic necessity. term ‘expat’ has probably run its course, So, calling everyone an ‘immigrant’ a sentiment echoed by many living away would not differentiate between so- from their native home.
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WHAT’S IN A NAME?: Are Spaniards in the UK ‘immigrants’ but Brits in Spain ‘expats’?
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
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7
Insta-success
T
SEXY BEAST: Gang life in Marbella is even worse than the movie version
as dangerous groups from the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden and members of the Italian mafia, such as Do you call yourself an expat? Carrie Frais posed the question on the MumAbroad forum do see what other felt about the word. Here’s what they had to say: “I hate it. For me it says people who had the financial privilege to start a life in another country but who bear no interest in integrating with culture. I have never called myself an expat. Also because I moved when I was 22 with just a suitcase. Immigrant also has negative connotations. Non-native is what I'd naturally use.” Lucy Brown “I don't use the word expat ....I was one when I lived and worked in Malawi because our company sent us there on a contract. Now in Spain, we live and work here (was not sent here or moved here because of a job), we made this our choice of home and country of residence. This makes us immigrants until such time we become / naturalise as Spanish citizens.” Natalie du Plooy-Simoes “Can’t stand it. For me it definitely has connotations of privilege and wealth. And of cliquey groups of people that don’t mix with locals. I don’t use any term to describe myself in that way - it very rarely comes up that I have to define myself like that. I occasionally get asked where I’m from and I just say I’m Scottish living in Italy.” Nicola Mckay “I think I’d like to be called an immigrant. It would to help change the negative and incorrect connotation around the word. I migrated here and built a home here. My daughter is born here. I may pick up my bags and move on, but that’s more of a world citizen mindset and coming from a multicultural family, (so home is where we are at a given moment).” Magda Metwally Carrie Frais is the Barcelona-based writer behind MumAbroad.com and author of #LivingTheDream Expat Life Stripped Bare, which is now available on Amazon. Find out more on www. carriefrais.co.uk/books/
the Naples-based Camorra, continually by a Swedish gang. He refused to tesmuscling in. tify. However, according to one police source Ditto the Irishman who was shot in the quoted by El Pais, by far the most dan- face in Nueva Andalucia a few weeks gerous gangs operating on the Costa ago. Del Sol are British. “He refused to collaborate with the in“The gangs of Liverpool and Manches- vestigation,” said Marcos Frias, Organter have a special fame and are known ised Crime coordinator for the National for their violence and the nightly brawls Police. in and around Marbella,” read the re- “There are quite a lot of beatings and port. kidnappings, which occur in the urbanAdd hitmen for hire into the mix, along isations in the tourist zones, but they with armies of foot soldiers sent by don’t make the press because there is gang bosses to do the dirty work, and no denuncia and the police are hardly the place is ripe for violence. involved,” he added. According to the latest of“The year has only really ficial figures the situation just started and we are had been improving but Marbella police having incidents of guns has significantly worsened and shootings.” receives an since 2018, with 113 orAlarmingly, the violence is ganised groups of half as continuing despite a masaverage of 150 many different nationalsive clampdown on drug ities concentrated along trafficking by the Guardia crime reports the Costa del Sol alone, Civil in the area. daily according to data from the This year alone, there have Intelligence Center against been 536 police raids on Terrorism and Organised gangs between Huelva Crime (CITCO). and Malaga, primarily concentrated in ‘The diversity of criminal groups in such the Campo de Gibraltar. a small space is a unique phenome- Orchestrated by the crack OCON-SUR non,’ CITCO stated. regiment, they have seized 187 vehicles Police consistently claim they don’t and 98 boats alone since January, as have the resources to fight such crime. well as 55 tons of drugs and 19 million The Marbella national police station re- euros of laundered property. ceives an average of 150 crime reports Just last week, over 200 police arrested daily and 32,000 cases a year. 106 members of six different gangs in The figures for a relatively small town of the area. just 140,000 people equate to those of Since July 2018, an eye-watering 5,536 cities double or triple the size. gangsters have been rounded up beAlso soaring is the number of mur- tween Cadiz, Huelva and Malaga. ders and attacks due to ‘the settling Yet despite assurances from Guardia of scores’, although cases have fallen Civil boss Maria Gamez that they are recently during the pandemic. They go ‘attacking the very heart of these organlargely unreported due to ‘a weak press’ isations’, gang rivalry has not stopped in the area or because many of the vic- in nearby Marbella. tims don’t want to talk to the police. “Now the violence is rampant,” says Recently a Polish man was admitted to Antonio Rodríguez Puerta, head of the hospital with bullets in both legs, shot UDYCO Costa del Sol (Drugs and Organized Crime Unit of the National Police). “In times gone by, the criminal groups negotiated. They talked. A stash was lost and an agreement was reached. “Now we see that, if something like this happens, in most cases they go directly to ordering a hit.” RAID: Police search a luxury villa
HE Olive Press isn’t just Spain’s best English news website, we also have a thriving social media presence. And we want you to be a part of it. We have close to 28,000 likes on our main Facebook page and this week reached a landmark 2,000 followers on our Instagram account. At a time when so many people access news through social media platforms, recognising ‘fake news’ has become a growing struggle, which is why it’s more important than ever to make sure you follow trustworthy news sources. Our team of journalists at the Olive Press are dedicated to providing up to date, properly sourced, independent news that you can trust and rely on to inform you about the issues you need to know about in Spain. So by hitting ‘like’ and ‘follow’ on the Olive Press Facebook page, you will get our latest news stories as soon as they are published directly into your newsfeed. This means not only that you can share the most up to date trustworthy news from Spain easily with your friends but also join the conversation that we like to encourage amongst all our readers. We also want to celebrate Spain, and inspire our readers to share their experiences and explore it. For those who live in Spain, visit Spain often or just love Spain, our daily Instagram posts provide snapshots of the country, from bucolic scenes of Iberian pigs rooting for acorns in the dehesa, to dreamy sunsets over beautiful beaches or great shots of Spain’s iconic monuments. Plus we offer a glimpse into our readers’ experiences of Spain by inviting you to share photos taken on your travels around the country or to share those things you love about your corner of Spain. So join our growing Facebook and Instagram community. We hope to see you there! www.facebook.com/OlivePressNewspaper www.instagram.com/olivepressnews
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GREEN
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Coming clean SPAIN is to splash €1.55 billion on clean hydrogen production in a bid to become European leader in the new technology. It has earmarked EU cash to support a dash for hydrogen, seeing it as seed money for private investment. A government spokesman said: “Firm support for this technology will stimulate investors to mobilise up to €8.9 billion between now and 2030.” The government’s ambition is to have 4 GW of electrolysers in 10 years to produce green hydrogen. Producing the gas is an energy-intensive process, which at the moment usually uses natural gas. This defeats the point of using
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Spain making dash for hydrogen in bid to be European leader
By Dilip Kuner
hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels in the battle against climate change. But clean hydrogen is made by electrolysis of water using renewable sources of electricity such as wind turbines and solar panels. The only by-product when it is burned is more water. The Spanish government disclosure of its push towards hydrogen followed hot on the heels of an announcement by American company Cummins and Iberdrola of an initial investment of €50 million to build an electrolyser plant in Guadalajara in Castilla y Leon.
“Spain offers a strong and dynamic local environment for hydrogen production, and we are excited to invest here and significantly increase our manufacturing capacity in Europe,” said Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO
of Cummins. “Our partnership with Iberdrola will connect us with a major clean energy company and strategically positions us to be a European leader in green hydrogen production.”
THE Valencian regional government is hoping to relaunch its green agenda now that the COVID situation is stabilised. Valencia was one of the first areas in Spain to declare a state of climate emergency in September 2019, with the aim of making environmental concerns the chief reference point for all government policy introduced during the current executive’s term of office. However, the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic put all other considerations on hold – until now, with no major outbreaks reported and the vaccination campaign in full swing. Regional president Ximo Puig announced in the Va-
Going green
lencian Parliament last week that the Generalitat is now focussed on recovering the ecological road map approved two years ago, describing it as ‘our main duty this decade’. The new law calls for a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030 and the use of 100% green energy sources in 2050 – an even more ambitious plan than the one approved for Spain as a whole.
One reason why a third of Spain’s population is breathing in polluted air
T
HE WMO (World Meteorological Organisation) has just published its latest report on our climate. Before we get to it’s damning conclusions, let me explain a bit more about the WMO. The World Meteorological Organisation is the United Nations’ authoritative voice on weather, climate and water - a more educated nucleus of the world’s finest scientific minds you won’t find. Forget the much publicised irrational and idiotic Trump rhetoric about there being no global warming crisis. THERE IS. Boris Johnson said the same about COVID, it turns out. It does exist. He got it. But Trump’s motives are simply impure, bowing to the lobbying pressure of the damaging fossil fuel industries.
ACTION: against climate change needed now
Green Matters
By Martin Tye
(TOOOOO) HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
This report clearly states climate data predicts THE LIKELIHOOD OF REACHING 1.5 DEGREES IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. Wow! And these odds are increasing with time. “THERE IS A 90% CHANCE OF AT LEAST ONE YEAR BETWEEN NOW AND 2025 BECOMING THE WARMEST ON RECORD,” the report continues. So what does this mean? Simply put: • • • • • •
Increasing heat, drought and insect oubreaks Increased wildfires Declining water supplies Reduced agricultural yields Health impacts in cities due to heat Flooding and erosion in coastal areas.
In short, increasing death rates and misery. I think this is more than a much needed wake up call. Action is needed to slash greenhouse gas emissions, achieve carbon neutrality and embrace a greener , renewable and sustainable future. Last year, 2020, the global average temperature was 1.2C above the pre-industrial baseline. Around the world we saw this evidenced in rising sea levels, melting sea ice, extreme weather and as a consequence a
detrimental effect on socio-economic development. The Paris Agreement seeks to keep global temperature rise THIS CENTURY well below 2C above pre-industrial levels. There are 79 years of this century left - we are doing dismally. The G-7 Leaders Summit is being held in the UK from June 11. Climate Change is high on the agenda. Let’s hope we don’t get more regurgitated political waffle and have positive measurable actions instead. Finally, readers of this column know I often turn to music to help convey my message. Neil Young (pictured below) released in
2014 an album called Storytone. I love the track Who’s Gonna Stand Up. It’s a powerful, orchestral climate change song which hits right where it hurts.
Protect the wild, tomorrow’s child Protect the land from the greed of man Take out the dams, stand up to oil Protect the plants and renew the soil End fossil fuel, draw the line Before we build one more pipeline End fracking now, let’s save the water And build a life for our sons and daughters Damn the dams, save the rivers Starve the takers and feed the givers Let’s build the green and save the world We’re the people known as EARTH Who’s gonna stand up and save the Earth? Who’s gonna say that she’s had enough? Who’s gonna take on the big machine? Who’s gonna stand up and save the Earth? THIS ALL STARTS WITH YOU AND ME I simply couldn’t put it better. No one is immune to the effects of Global Warming. So who IS gonna stand up and save the World? Are you?
Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. +34 638145664 ( Spain Phone ) Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es
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Go home Benny!
LETTERS
10
Dear Olive Press,
but I'm beginning I NORMALLY like your paper, n I've just read whe y ciall espe ly, late der won to ions in Spain. Benny Davis’s article on vaccinat, before insulting ners man e som n lear He should the Spanish! l for more than 40 I have been a Spanish Nationa two vaccines bemy get not years. I certainly did many. fore my British friends, who areon May 18, my husWhile I had my second vaccine vaccine about a band, who is British, had his last nation there. He rimi disc no so ly, ious prev month is 80. the Spanish NaEveryone I know cannot praise . ugh eno ice tional Health serv nised with hardly The vaccinations are so well orgaa wonderful job. g doin any waiting. The staff are s not like the way I suggest if Benny Davis doe back to his country goes he in Spa in run are gs thin of origin! ron, some people In reference to I beg your Padem for years and syst nish Spa the have cheated s. The Spanish and were under the radar for year more tax because pay to had official residents have en they want to of these cheats, now all of a sudd be residents! a hard time, I say Well if these people are having ! ning whi stop Just . luck h toug
Not so crazy The 90/180 day visitors’ rule is turning into one of the hottest Brexit topics... No exceptions
like Benny are Editor’s note: Columnists ne and certainnot meant to please everyo per se… but we ly don’t represent the paper letters page. do welcome all views on our
The
ANDALUCÍA
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June 2nd - June 15th 2021 Vol. 15 Issue 370 www.theolivepress.es
See page 14
AN expat is facing prison for failing to demolish his home after he fell foul of a town hall’s ‘laissez faire’ planning rules. Gurney Davey, aged 67, only found out about the six-month sentence when a court document was delivered to a neighbour’s house. “I went straight to Tolox town hall with it. They told me I shouldn’t have received it yet,” he told the Olive Press. “They said they were going to be sending the notification to me once they had stamped it.” The news came as a massive bolt from the blue for Davey, whose wife has just died of cancer, which he believes worsened from the stress of the case. He had never been told about the court case that followed on from a Guardia Civil denuncia for an ‘illegal build’. Davey’s two-bed home - built in 2004 - should never have been built according to the Malaga court.
f o r
n e w
c u s t o m e r s
See more on page 6
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MAKING A SPLASH
Work
DEMOLITION: Expat Gurney
Davey is being forced to knock
down his own house and faces
cancer, at the age of 71, in April. “We thought we had done everything right at the time. We gota legal advice and went through lawyer in order to get permission to build the home. “Diana fought breast cancer forI six years before bowel cancer the am sure stress brought it on.” couple, The originally from Suffolk in the spent ALL AREAS COVERED UK, €150,000 building their 4G UNLIMITED property. “It came as a INTERNET package - a IDEAL FOR plot with a new STREAMING TV home on it.” Davey admits ALSO IPTV, he and his wife SATELLITE TV were perhaps naive to follow tel: (0034) 952 763 840 the advice of info@theskydoctor.com their lawyer. lawyer, www.theskydoctor.com The
X
lan, whose name was on the deeds, was also sentenced to six months jail and handed a fine of €6 a day for a year. Now Davey is terrified he is set to lose his home at any moment. It comes just two months since his wife Diana died from bowel
X
Development firm Harbour Development Limited has announced that it will begin work again now that the worst of the pandemic is over. It came as the firm confirmed it had been granted a €42 million government loan, in addition to the €230 million in private
SKY + + THE DOCTOR
six months jail
from legal firm Manzanares, told them that planning permission would be applied for as an almacen - or ‘warehouse’. This way it would come under the remit of Tolox town hall, which would give permission and later they could ‘legalise’ the property. The language of one legal letter, seen by the Olive Press, suggests this would be a mere formality. But the property never got legalised. In fact, the Tolox mayor of the time, Juan Vera, has since beena jailed and fined for his part in scheme to allow up to 350 properties to be built on land classified as ‘rural’. In most cases he had used the very same ‘lax’ procedure of applying to build an ‘almacen’ to try to keep the prying eyes of the Junta authorities away. “We thought that was the way things worked in Spain,” said Davey, a retired builder. “We went to see a lawyer and got advice. It turns out that was not
SKY + THE DOCTOR +
the smart thing to do. “Why would we deliberately try to build illegally? It makes no sense that we would sell up everything in the UK and risk it all.” Now Davey’s first thoughts are to avoid serving the jail sentence. He said: “My lawyer is trying to get the sentence suspended.”
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LINES DRAWN: Pedro Sanchez (top) and Fabian Picardo on opposing sides over the €300 million reclamation development
funds that it is expected to cost. The development sits on 130,000 square metres of reclaimed land using soil and construction waste on the eastern edge of the Rock. Over 1,500 apartments and homes, plus numerous commercial units, are set to be
built (see photo above). There are also potential plans for a hotel. Gibraltar’s decision to restart the project, halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, has angered the Spanish government however. It believes the waters surrounding the Rock belong to Spain, insisting the 300-year-old Treaty of Utrecht only applied to the land. Pedro Sanchez’s government, however, has condemned the plans, and has vowed to use ‘any legal
means necessary’ to prevent the development going ahead. Spain’s Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya even controversially insisted this week that the treaty only applies to certain areas of Gibraltar. Both the Gibraltar and British government firmly disagree and are set to continue the reclamation project this month. The aim of the project is to help rectify the Rock’s critical shortage of housing, an issue that is predicted to
OLIVE PRESS
See page 10
Welcome back THERE is a distinct sense of excitement in the air as British tourists finally started making their way back into Gibraltar. The first direct flights from the UK have been touching down bringing hundreds of excited tourists desperate for some sun. It is great news for the Rock with the tourists set to bring a huge multi-million pound cash boost. Experts predict a bumper summer with sun-starved Brits leading the charge. “With flights and hotels quickly filling up, we think that it will be a bumper year for our leisure industry,” Tourism Minister Vijay Daryanani told the Olive Press.
ALSO IPTV, SATELLITE TV
tel: (0034) 952 763 840 info@theskydoctor.com www.theskydoctor.com
Tel: 952 147 834
See page 5 - 16
952 147 834
TM
Vibe
“There is an exciting vibe and the Government calls on the community to make it a joint effort in welcoming visitors and showing them the traditional warm Gibraltarian welcome.” The first flight in was British Airways’ BA492 from London Heathrow that left at 7.10am. It touched down at 11.05 local time on Monday. The airline tweeted shortly after it took off to say it was the airline’s ‘first flight to a green list destination’. British Airways Chairman Sean Doyle later described it as a ‘special day for many people’.
TRIO: Ex-wife Linda and two victims, Lisa Brinkworth (far right) and Carre Otis
CORDOBA SPECIAL
Your expat
voice in Spain
May 21st - June 3rd 2021
Voted Spain’s most popular historic city
See page 12
THE Olive Press has tracked down a beleaguered modelEXCLUSIVE ling agency boss alleged By Jon Clarke in Ibiza to have raped over a dozen teenagers on his books. we have helped to expose French fashion mogul his ald Marie has been livingGer- luxury lifestyle for a hard-hitthe ting TV documentary highlife around Ibiza, for Austaking tralia’s Channel long lunches and shopping, Nine. The 60 Minutes when not luxuriating at his ry, which aired documentamulti-million euro villa on end, heard from at the weekthe island. many alleged We watched the mogul dining former victims, including ex-Hollywood star Carre with friends and new Otis, Russian model Irina wife, journalist Lisa Brinkworth Bond- and British arenko, while the courts model Paula in Thomas. Paris continue to investigate “He basically said if you years of shocking claims. want The ex-Elite agen- to be paid you're going to have to have sex with cy boss is accused Thomas, me,” 52, told the show, LUXURY: Expensive of grooming Beauty and meals out for Marie the Creep. and sexually and wife Irina senting 14 former models assaulting a there are ‘12 more’ she and Elite string of womis also speaking to. en in attacks The former Elite chief is akin to those ing probed by a French be- The 71-year-old is expected court to be shortly of Ameri- over the claims of at least charged 13 the offences that stretch with cans Jef- former models, who claim back frey Ep- he either raped or sexually over 30 years. He even managed to continue stein and abused them. Harvey French prosecutors con- in his role as a fashion boss W e i n - firmed last year that Marie despite a BBC documentary into his abuses in 1999. was accused of raping stein. three A former colleague W h i l e models aged between 17 of Marie’s told the documentary h he is e and 20 in the 1980s and helping Paris detectives s t r e n - 1990s. Many more investigate the historic uously have since joined the allegations of abuse. denies prosecution. Whistle-blower Omar t h e Such crimes are punHarfouch claims Elite EXCLUSIVE: Huge c l a i m s , ishable by up to 15 hillside villa overlooks bosses had a scoreboard years in prison Ibiza coast they called 'the podi- backed up with footage from but the statute um of pussy' which a former undercover BBC There were three cars in of limitations handed points for investigation by journalist the drive and a team of staff is normally 20 having sex, gaining Donal Macintyre in the 1990s. maintained the well-clipped years so most more points for In the documentary in 1999 gardens. alleged offences virgins and young the Irishman went undercov- We watched him go out to are proscribed. eat on three occasions er as a photographer girls. In the case of on the along“My first impres- side aspiring journalist Lisa dot of 1pm, always getting the sex with a mision was he was a Brinkworth, who posed as a best tables by the beach. nor, this statute He looked healthy and sexual predator,” model. can be raised to happy and was constantly laughing said the business30 years which and one waiter at €75-a-head man, who claims may see him in Admits restaurant Es Xarcu described Gerald court. threat- Brinkworth now admits today him as ‘always upbeat, a real ened his life for that A lawyer, Anneshe was sexually assault- crack’. going public. Claire Le Jeune, haned by He gave chapter but the French fashion boss, He continued: “He is one of dling their case in ‘wrongly’ failed to report and verse on how to the Paris told the docuit our best clients and it doesn’t matter how busy we police at the time. the grooming pro- The mentary she is repreOlive Press spent a week will always get a tableare he cess worked, all locating right down by the beach.” his homes and nesses on the island, busi- Marie, who has two which daughters include various property Portals Nous, de- of his own, was eventually velopment companies. confronted by the film crew at 07181, He has an incredible villa a beachside restaurant in Ibithe exclusive Es Cubells in za Town, where he See page 13 & 16 Mallorca. denied the corner, hidden in the wooded allegations. hills and with breathtaking In an angry confrontation, he views along the coast and waved a film crew away and across to Formentera island. belittled their clothes, while he continued eating.
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worsen. “Projects like this encourage and facilitate these relocations and ensure that new companies wishing to move to Gibraltar can get accommodation for their workers,” said Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. “It also offers more houses to local residents, a demand that has proven to be insatiable given the popularity of the most recent private developments,” he added.
Vol. 4 Issue 106 www.theolivepres
Fashion mogul, once married supermodel Linda Evangelistato , lives the high life in Ibiza, while courts probe multiple claims of teenagers rape
Gibraltar - Issue 148
Flatten
In the meantime he has been forced to ask the town hall for permission to knock his own property down. “I will do it myself. I will borrow a JCB from someone and flattenI my home of the past 17 years. will not let the town hall do it and charge me more money.” He added: “I’ve no idea where to live afterwards. But the land isa still mine - maybe I can live in tent.” Tolox Ayuntamiento refused to comment, citing data protection laws.
MALLORCA
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Be wise
John Price (by email)
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S u b j e c t
YOUR correspondents Lucy and Lex Ongley should go to Sabadell Bank. They have an account where you pay in your UK pension and there are no charges at all. Be aware that the pension is sent via a US bank which I believe is Citibank. There your money will reach your account a day later. If there is a US bank holiday then add another day. So sent on Friday into Sabadell first thing Monday morning. If there is a holiday, then Tuesday morning. Hope this helps
Morris Bishop (By email)
Tel: 952 147 834
14/02/2020 23:25
o n l y .
Bank solution
I HAVE been in touch with the EU concerning the 90 day visitor’s time limit problem and realised that in my opinion, there is in fact NO problem. The important message from their response is that as far as I can see there is no requirement to leave the Schengen States between 90 day periods of stay. I think that it has to be proved before being categorical, but hopefully it will give good hope to thousands.
Check Checkout outour ourmost mostrecent recentissues issuesonline onlineatatwww.theolivepress.es www.theolivepress.es See page 5 & 15
v a l i d
Good eating A hidden gem that unfussily serves up some of the tastiest food in Andalucia
GIBRALTAR is remaining defiant as it pushes on with a huge €300 million reclamation development. Work is due to continue on the Victoria Keys development, despite the risk of diplomatic tension with Spain.
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Voted Spain’s most popular historic city
Girl power The female warriors who took on Drake’s army - and won!
By James Warren
Andalucia - Issue 370
952 147 834
May 19th- June 1st 2021
Tragic mystery The Olive Press helps TV investigation into the death of Kirsty Maxwell
Mega €300 million reclamation project presses ahead despite Spanish opposition
Legalise
In 2016, and then again in 2017, Davey was ordered to knock down his house, but, in common with a neighbour, he waited for more details. While his Spanish neighbour, Irene Millan, 29, did eventually hear from the court again, she was given six months to ‘legalise’ her property - an option Davey was never given. However, his neighbour’s apparent good luck turned into a poisoned chalice. Having spent €20,000 with the town hall to legalise the dwelling, the court finally refused to accept the new paperwork provided by the council. Instead, demolition was ordered which went ahead last week. To add insult to injury Irene’s 54-year-old father, Manuel Mil-
www.theolivepress.es
Prime suspect Bear in the frame for series of grizzly livestock killings in the Pyrenees See more on page 3
of his 17 British expat faces demolition - in year home - and a spell in prisoncase repeat of controversial Priors
EXCLUSIVE By Dilip Kuner
Vol. 5 Issue 148
Find out about Spain’s 10 capital cities
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Lucy and Lex Ongley asked how to get their UK pension paid in Spain without fees and our readers have rallied round with some suggestions...
I WOULD suggest Lucy and Lex use a transfer company named Wise (formerly TransferWise). They have extremely low fees, give you mid-market rates and the transfer is in your Spanish account within seconds. Spanish banks do not charge to receive this transfer, as it is sent from a centre in the EU (Belgium). If you transfer Pounds from your UK account to their bank account, then do the transfer, the cost is very minimal. Also, in answer to Come off it, I would remind the sender that if it hadn't been for Brexit many more thousands of COVID sufferers would have died in the UK, if they had to follow the tardiness of authorising and ordering of vaccinations by the EU leadership, purely on political grounds and getting 27 governments to agree on anything. The UK has been a world leader in its vaccination programme.
Martin Coles, Estepona
CORDOBA SPECIAL
GIBRALTAR
90 DAYS ONLY!
I REFER to a letter published in your excellent newspaper entitled Simply Crazy. The contributor writes: “Since Brexit and the introduction of the 90/180 stay rule we will no longer be able to stay for the winter.” Not only has the 90/180 rule been in existence for many years, our Spanish hosts have not introduced or changed any rules regarding length of stay. Any changes to the contributor’s circumstances have been brought about solely by the actions of the UK Government and their implementation of Brexit. The 90 day non visa visitor rule is the common practice for most countries, with the UK being the odd man out in allowing 180 days. Making a special exception for British citizens to stay longer in Spain would be a snub to other countries' citizens who have, and continue to follow this common length of stay rule, and expecting other countries to change their rules to suit the British is entitlement in the extreme.
) Cristina Stefanczyk (Javea
OLIVE PRESS
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
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LA CULTURA
Laugh track
TO paraphrase the old adage: first comes love, then comes carriage. At least that was the thinking behind Alfonso Sanchez latest romantic comedy Sí, quiero (Corredor)- a new short film created to help push for the creation of the Mediterranean Corridor, a high speed train that would connect the Mediterranean coast from Algeciras to the French border. Starring Alvaro Cervantes, Nuria Herrero, Macarena Gomez and Carlos Santos, the movie tells the story of a couple travelling on the Euromed train from Barcelona to Alicante, where their wedding is to be held.
Nuptials
The journey brings together the pair’s very different families who have travelled from Valencia and Catalunya to attend the nuptials and hilarity quickly ensues as the two clans clash over everything, from delayed trains to Spanish stereotypes. Currently the corridor to Murcia is expected to be completed by 2023 but the links to Algeciras could face delays of a further six years. To watch the film, viewers are asked to go to quierocorredor.com where they will be asked to sign a petition for the completion of the infrastructure in order to gain access to the movie.
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Favoured son Many thought he was Italian, but Spain wants to claim Columbus as a national
?
RESEARCHERS have announced a bid to settle the dispute over which country should claim Christopher Columbus as their own. It was widely believed that he was the son of a weaver born in the Italian port of Genoa in 1451, but over the centuries he has been claimed as a native son of Greece, Catalunya, Portugal, Corsica, France, Scotland and even Poland.
?
Language
A recent academic study focused on his language and grammar, concluding that Columbus was in fact a Catalan speaking man from the Kingdom of Aragon, an inland region of north-eastern Spain at the foot of the Pyrenees. Others claimed the true origins of the man who discovered the Americas were hidden because he was Jewish or secretly working as a double agent for the Portuguese royal family. “Our aim is to provide objective data that can ... close a series of existing theories,” explained Jose Antonio Lorente, lead scientist of the DNA study at the University of Granada. The research will examine
PUZZLE:Was he a jew born in Mallorca or Aragon? By Fiona Govan
DNA extracted from tiny bone fragments from what are believed to be the remains of Columbus, his son Fernando and his brother Diego. The samples were first collected back in 2004-2005 but the team waited 16 years for technological advances to ensure the research would be successful. “Our team agreed on an ethical approach ... wait for a technological development that has now happened,” said Lorente. The DNA will be analysed in-
dependently by laboratories in Europe and the Americas, and should be published in October. To announce the study, Granada University hosted a meeting looking at alternative theories about Columbus’ birthplace, that include Valencia, Espinosa de Henares, Galicia and Mallorca, as well as Portugal’s Alentejo region. “I hope we will come to the conclusion that demonstrates that Columbus was a Spanish nobleman and not a Genoese sailor,” said Alfonso Sanz, an amateur history researcher and author.
THE pandemic has dashed hopes for completing Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished iconic Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona in time for the centenary of his death. Work at the UNESCO World Heritage Site was due to end in 2026 but tourist revenues, which are paying for the construction, have collapsed. Building was halted for nine months during the COVID pandemic and income from visitors will take some time to build up again for the completion project to return to 2019 levels. When Gaudi died in 1926, only a quarter of the structure had been finished. Before the coronavirus struck, there were genuine hopes that the basilica would be finished to mark 100 years since he died. Additional spires are set to be erected but all of the work is privately funded, hence the delay fuelled by a lack of tourists. It’s now unclear when the project will actually be completed. The Sagrada Familia trustees
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Sagrada setback
director-general, Xavier Martinez, said: “I would be lying if I set a precise finish date. It could be 2030, 2035, or 2040.” A 138 metre-high tower dedicated to the Virgin Mary is still scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
Arted up MADRID’s Reina Sofia museum is nearing the end of a massive revamp that will see 2,000 new pieces put on display. And the collection - 60% of which has not been put on show before - will include exhibits from all across the world rather than concentrating on Spain. The first phase of the revamp has just been opened to the public and focuses on the USA. Called Nos ven: del modernismo al desarrollismo (They see us: from modernity to developmentalism) - it displays pieces that examine American culture since the Second World War. The reordering started 10 years ago and changes have been made since then, although this project was finally pushed through during the pandemic.
Take care!
New penalty system coming into effect for UK Income Tax by Emilia Carvell
F
ROM 2023, landlords, or self employed taxpayers in the UK, with annual income over £10,000 will be subject to filing their tax position through the Making Tax Digital initiative. Through Making Tax Digital, taxpayers will not only submit one annual tax return, but also quarterly submissions of income and expenditure, to give a real time snapshot of their tax position throughout the year. And with a change of process, also comes a change in the penalty system, With HMRC implementing a new points based penalty system to better align with the new tax system. Speaking in a recent seminar, HMRC spoke of creating a new system, aimed at being more supportive of those with genuine reasons behind mistakes or late filing, whilst still penalising those who are consistently late. GO DIGITAL: Apari makes complying with HM Revenue’s new systems, simple and clear
So how has the penalty system changed? Well some could argue that it is more complicated! Currently the system goes by length of time since late submission, with the amount due increasing over the time period. The new system accrues points per late submission - and points accrued mean penalties! When a taxpayer misses a submission deadline then they will incur a point - these points build up to penalty thresholds, with each submission obligation (i.e quarterly, annually) having a different threshold. Once this point threshold is reached, then a fixed penalty amount of £200 will be issued for every missed submission. The Penalty thresholds are as follows: Submission Frequency
Penalty Threshold
Annual
2 Points
Quarterly
4 Points
If the penalty threshold isn’t passed, then the points will be cleared after two years. If the points threshold is passed, then all the points gained will be wiped only AFTER they have met a period of compliance as set by HMRC (Annual submissions 24 months, Quarterly submissions 12 months) AND submitted all the submissions due from the previous two years. For Late Payment, penalties are issued by length of time passed from the due date - however HMRC have said that they will take a ‘lighter’ approach for the first
year of implementation, and a way of easing taxpayers into the system. The basic structure surrounding penalties for late payment is: Number of days late
Penalty
0-15
No Penalty
16-29
2% of outstanding amount
30
4% of outstanding amount
31+ (2nd penalty only)
4% per day on outstanding amount
But don’t worry - This will not come into effect until 2023, and HMRC will be releasing more information in the lead up to the new system going live - to be the first to find out what’s new, join the APARI Community! For all the latest information and advice visit www.apari-digital.com
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LA CULTURA
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Spain has been ruled from 10 different capital cities and some of these ‘iron thrones’ will surprise you, writes Cristina Hodgson
M
ADRID wasn’t always the capital of Spain. The hot seat of power has shifted between 10 cities down the centuries, changing with the Iberian peninsula’s various Roman, Visigoth, Moorish and Catholic rulers and the geographical location of their kingdoms. From mighty metropolises to more miniscule dots on the map, the Olive Press pays homage to the kingdom’s glorious forgotten capitals.
Sev i lla
Spain’s fourth largest city was the capital of Spain for two years during the Napoleonic wars. It was a period when Spain was bristling with Napoleon’s troops and some of the heaviest fighting took place around the city.
Founded by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC and the oldest inhabited city in Europe, the mantle of power passed to Cadiz for three years when the Cortes moved from Sevilla. It was during its brief reign as capital of Spain that the Spanish Constitution of 1812, ‘La Pepa’, was proclaimed in this Atlantic coastal city. It was a golden era for Cadiz when it monopolised trade as a central port of call on sea routes. Today valued for its golden beaches as well as its famous sherry, its wealthy colonial past is still evident in its noble architecture, elegant squares and magical gardens.
On December 16, 1808 Count Floridablanca, president of the Supreme Central and Governing Junta of Spain transferred the Cortes to Sevilla, with the Real Alcazar becoming its new headquarters.
1808-10
Capital status ended in January 1810 when the city surrendered to Napoleon’s troops. However since June 30, 1982, Sevilla has been the elected political capital of Andalucia.
Cangas de Onis 718-924
A
lthough it has little to show for it, this municipality at the gateway to the Picos de Europa National Park in Asturias was the ‘first capital of the Kingdom of Spain’. It’s where the Visigoth noble Pelayo set up the Asturian monarchy in the 8th century after the Battle of Covadonga, considered the first strike against the Moors in the Christian reconquest. Modern-day Cangas de Onis is more famous for its mountain scenery and has only one major monument standing, the socalled Roman Bridge actually built in the 1300s. But although there isn’t much to it except for two or three major streets, it once formed the nucleus of the Spain we know and love today.
CADI Z 1810-1813
T
his Andalucian city has been a big player since Roman times when it became the capital of the province of Hispania Ulterior. But its true splendour came a few centuries later at the height of the Muslim conquest when it became the capital of Moorish Spain under exiled Syrian prince Abd Al-Rahman I. The Great Mosque, his masterpiece, is one of the world’s most prized Islamic buildings, an authentic architectural treasure declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. By the time Abd Al-Rahman III became ruler in 929, Cordoba was Europe’s largest and most advanced city where Christians, Jews and Muslims co-ex-
766-
Cordoba 1236
Madrid
A isted in relative harmony. Following the Christian conquest it became part of the Crown of Castile.
1561-present day (with breaks)
lthough Philip II took the Spanish court to Madrid in 1561, it was a generation later under his son Philip lll that it became the official capital of both Spain and Portugal. Chosen primarily for its geographical location in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula, its new status transformed the history of what was previously just one more city in the kingdom. From this moment the accelerated growth of this city began, although for the next three centuries the Cortes parliament moved around somewhat, with the seat of power passing to different cities including Valladolid, Cadiz, Sevilla, Valencia and Burgos. In 1939, the capital of Spain returned to Madrid on a permanent basis.
LA CULTURA BURGOS
T
1939
he government of Franco’s rebel Republic moved three times between 1936 and 1939, from Valencia, to Barcelona and finally to Burgos. The city held the title of capital between April 1 and October 18, 1939, coinciding with
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
13
S
urrounded by orange orchards and sandy beaches, Valencia’s moment in the political sun came between November 1936 and October 1937, when the capital of the Republican government was transferred there amidst fears of losing Madrid. On March 30, 1939, after the fall of Catalunya and most other Republican territory, Valencia surrendered to Franco’s forces. It remains the third largest city in Spain.
the end of the Spanish Civil War. After the conflict, the dictator decided to restore capital status to Madrid, a position it has held ever since. Today, the medieval town of Burgos is celebrated for its magnificent cathedral. It also remains an important stop on the Ruta de Santiago (Way of Saint James) pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostela.
VALENCIA 1936-7
T
his swashbuckling city has been the capital of Spain at two very important moments in its history. The first was in the 6th century,
when King Liuvigild moved the court to Toledo, locating political power at the epicentre of the Iberian peninsula for the first time in its history. The second, in the 16th century,
saw Charles I of Spain and V of Germany establish Toledo as the capital of his considerable empire. And so it remained until 1561, when the honour went to Madrid.
Toledo 576-725, 1516-1561
With a history stretching back a thousand years, the city has always been a point of refer-
when the Duke of Lerma, Philip III’s favourite advisor, succeeded in transferring the Court of Madrid to this Castilian city. Although short and sweet, this unexpected royal interval brought the city its moment of maximum splendour. Nowadays Valladolid is known as a major industrial and commercial centre, but it has an impressive architectural legacy laid out in a number of excellent museums. One is dedicated to the life of the great explorer Christo1601pher Columbus 1606 who died in Valladolid in 1506.
ence, especially in the Middle Ages. But the key turning point for Valladolid came in 1601,
Vallad ol i d
W
Barcelona 507-576, 1937-39
hen the Roman Empire collapsed, its Spanish territories fell into the hands of the Germanic Visigoths who made Barcino, as it was then known, capital of their kingdom. Extensive archaeological excavations from this important period can be found in the basement of Barcelona’s Museu d’Història de la Ciutat, giving a glimpse into its glorious past. The city remained a provincial capital after King Liuvigild moved the Visigoth court to Toledo in 576. During the Spanish Civil War Barcelona enjoyed a second brief fling as capital of the Republic of Spain from November 1937 until January 1939.
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LA CULTURA
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Digging for Franco’s victims Expat experts join in the hunt for those missing after Spain’s civil war
A
TEAM of British archaeologists have started to exhume and identify victims executed by the Franco regime after the Spanish Civil War. Several bodies with gunshot wounds to the head, personal effects and parts of clothing have already been recovered by the experts from Cranfield University. They are looking for 26 people thought to have been buried in the cemetery at Almagro (Castilla-La Mancha) between 1939 and 1940. The team is working with colleagues from the University Complutense of Madrid (UCM) and social anthropologists from Mapas de Memoria (Memory Maps). SECLUDED: Some of the graves are hidden away from the main cemetery Families of victims have been found DIGGERS: Archaeologists from Cranfield in the UK and UCM in Madrid (aboin the hope of identifying relatives ve) have been unearthing the remains of Civil War victims (below) By Dilip Kuner through DNA analysis and returning the human remains for proper burial. The Olive Press has previously re- “Recovery of the bodies is carried ported on a number of excavations out layer by layer and is only the start searching for the remains of Franco’s of the process to identify and bring victims. Since 2000, dignity to the deceased over 7,000 victims and help to provide cloThey are have been recovered. sure and peace to their Dr Nicholas Marfamilies.” looking for 26 quez-Grant, from CranJose Barrios, whose field Forensic Institute people buried in great uncle - also (CFI), who is leading named Jose Barrios the excavation, said: the cemetery at - was executed and “This excavation is parAlmagro buried at the site, said: ticularly complex due “When the excavation now, we are coming to find you.” to the number of vicstarted I did not feel The excavation period will last until tims and subsequent much but when they found the first the beginning of June and will be burials in the cemetery during the body, I saw the skull and the feet of followed by a longer investigation postwar period. an individual, I thought: we are here involving anthropological analysis in the laboratory and DNA analysis until the end of 2021 to identify human remains recovered. A total of 11 pits have been identified for the excavation, and several pits have more than one person in them. Once remains are recovered, they are taken to the forensic anthropology laboratory at UCM to identify and If you thought there were no secrets left to surprise find out the cause of death. Genetic analysis with samples from you in Catalunya’s capital, 1,000 rediscovered air raid family members and bone samples shelters say you’re wrong, writes Graham Keeley then follows and where checks are positive, family members are idenECRET air raid shelters that kept Barcelona beneath the courtyards of apartment blocks and tified. Remains will then be passed residents safe from fascist bombs during the below town squares is a relic from the dark days of to the families for burial or returned Spanish Civil War have been mapped and Barcelona’s own Blitz. to the cemetery to be buried again if SAFE: People took shelter deep underground catalogued for a new way of looking at the From 1936 to 1939 the city was systematically that isn’t possible.
Going underground
S
city. An interactive website in English, Spanish and Catalan launched by the town hall pinpoints their precise location in modern day Barcelona. Described as ‘an underground city (built) to flee the horror of fascist bombing’, the immense network created in the basements of factories and houses,
bombed not only by Franco but also by the air forces of Hitler and Mussolini who supported the Nationalist uprising against Spain’s Republican government. Over the past 20 years, specialists and locals have slowly pieced the jigsaw back together and although few remain intact, and even fewer are open to the public, over 1,000 can be visited virtually online. Together with photographs from the time, the website reconstructs what life was like for the citizens of Barcelona who lived in daily fear of aerial bombardment. After Barcelona fell to the forces of Franco, Britain faced a similar threat from the air during the Blitz and the Battle of Britain. “I do not at all underrate the severity of the ordeal which lies before us but I believe our countrymen will show themselves capable of standing up to it, like the brave men of Barcelona,” said Winston Churchill in 1940. HARDSHIP: Air raids killed and injured many people The online project also recounts
how the community worked together to build the shelters. “Ten months of experience in Catalonia means we should unify all the efforts of the public and private bodies in the altruistic cause of saving lives from the fascist shrapnel,” wrote Lluis Companys, the Catalan regional president, in 1937. After the conflict was over, the victorious General Franco built over 700 more shelters in the city, and sent 12,000 men to build a line of bunkers in the Pyrenees, fearing that having defeated Hitler, the Allied Forces might try to attack Spain. While Spain did not take part in the Second World War, Franco was sympathetic to the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan. “Barcelona’s air raid shelters were built by the citizens or the administration with the object of protecting against the brutal bombardment during the civil war,” said Jordi Rabassa, the city councillor for Historical Memory. “(They) are part of our heritage and collective memory and have become symbols of popular self-organisation, resistance and struggle.” The council has invited people to contribute towards the project if they have information about shelters which have been built-over or lost.
Science
Dr Maria Benito Sanchez, director of the scientific team for the project from the School of Legal Medicine at UCM, said: “As forensic anthropology professionals we have the responsibility of putting our science to the service of the relatives who have been searching for their loved ones for a long time now. Since I started working on mass graves, there have been many rewards which I take with me, and all are for the relatives – they are the engine for this work.” The wider Memory Maps project, which is funded by the Ciudad Real Provincial Council, has located 53 mass graves and named 3,457 people killed in the province of Ciudad Real by the Franco regime over the last ten years. So far the Almagro excavation is the largest mass grave opened in the province, although there are known to be others with hundreds of people buried in them.
BUSINESS
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Hey big spender
Streaming Success
WANT to earn up to €205,000 a year? Then sign up with the big tech firms. The likes of Google, Netflix, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft are doing whatever it takes to attract the best qualified workers even if it means rewarding them with annual gross salaries of between €131,000 and €205,000. It is a sign of the booming tech sector in Spain. With more than 33,000 IT businesses, Spain is one of the major European IT markets. Recently, investments in startups grew by 45%. Barcelona and Madrid are now the fifth and sixth largest startup hubs in Europe when it comes to the IT sector. Furthermore, Spain has the fourth highest number of jobs in the tech sector in the EU, and 31% of new vacancies in Spain are for digital jobs. There are 300,000 developers, but that’s not enough. The number of unfilled IT positions stands at 10,000 and is growing - as are salaries. Paying high wages is worth it for the tech giants - especially Facebook which turns over €4.67 million per year from each employee in Spain.
HALF of Spain’s homes connected to the internet are now watching pay-video streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or HBO. That’s according to a survey conducted by Spain’s independent competition regulator, the CNMC. Its latest ‘Household Panel’ study showed usage of streaming services was 49.6% at the end of 2020, which is an annual increase of nearly 23%. The figures suggest that the uptake in premium providers that started during last year’s State of Alarm lockdown has had long-term benefits for the streamers.
Stock rising
Tiny club first in Spain to be listed on stock exchange
A TINY football club is to become the first in Spain to float on the stock exchange. The news came after Sant Joan-based CF Intercity secured promotion to the Segunda Division, regional section. The Alicante province club - whose ground has a capacity of just 2,000 - decided in principle in 2018 to go for a listing and sharehold-
Spain’s viewing habits over the years has been somewhat conservative despite it having some of the world’s largest numbers for watching TV per person. The country strongly resisted paying for subscription satellite TV services in what was the lowest take up in Western Europe. Streaming appears to be a different matter coupled with major improvements to internet access, reliability, and speed over the last five years. The CNMC study said that over the last three months of 2020, more than half of people in Spain accessed online content weekly.
Bad influence SPANISH YouTube ‘influencers’ have been fleeing to Andorra in a bid to avoid taxes - but the authorities have them in their sights. Andorra applies a maximum tax rate of 10%, well below the 47% rate in Spain for those with an annual income of more than €300,000 - which some of these influencers comfortably surpass.
Flight
WINNERS: Rising through the leagues
ers have now confirmed the move. Trading in Intercity CF
Free cash ARAGON has passed a law to give every one registered in the region a minimum income of €522 a month. All political parties in the Aragon Cortes (parliament) backed the payments, which will be available to anyone who is either registered in the region whether Spanish or foreign - or who has submitted an asylum and refugee application and has a low income. The payment covers all immigrants including those who have not yet ‘regularised’ their right to be in Spain. All they need in order to register is a passport. An extra allowance is also available for those with families, as well as help with housing expenses.
shares will start by the end of June on BME Growth, which is Spain's stock exchange sub-market dedicated to small and medium sized companies. Intercity will have an initial market capitalisation of up to €4.5 million. Club president, Salvador Marti, along with two other club co-founders own around 50% of the enterprise. Marti said: “We realised that most semi-professional clubs are funded by a patron injecting money which ensures their survival. “We thought the club could instead take advantage of the financial markets to monetise its shareholding rather than relying on a single in-
vestor. And why not in such a soccer-loving country?” The listing is part of an extraordinary climb for a club that was born out of a restructuring of the Sant Joan d’Alacant football club in 2017.
Club
Backed by big money investors like ex-Atletico Madrid star, Juanfran, the team have climbed from the bottom rungs of the Valencian football league structure. On paper they are four promotions away from making it to the top flight to join Spain's big boys like new champions Atletico, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.
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The flight of the influencers was highlighted at the beginning of the year with the announcement that the famous YouTuber Ruben Doblas, known as El Rubius, was finally moving there. Doblas said that Spain’s tax man had him ‘in the crosshairs’, and that he was being treated as a criminal when he was the ‘only influencer’ left staying in Spain and paying its taxes. But not everyone agrees with the alleged injustice ‘suffered’ by the famous YouTuber. Another influencer from Bilbao, Ibai Llanos, understands that those who earn a lot of money should pay more. Now Hacienda (Inland Revenue) has decided to act against people it suspects of tax evasion by setting up ‘residence’ in Andorra while still earning most of their income in Spain. The tax authority has created a ‘big data tool’ that will make the tracking of ‘delocalised’ taxpayers more effective. It will track internet activity to try to detect ‘false residencies’. It will examine more than 70 sources of information and has already come up with ‘several thousand’ people suspected of false residency in INFLUENCER: Ruben tax havens. Doblas has fled to Andorra
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June 3rd - June 16th 2021 AUTHORITIES in Spain are pushing for the family of General Franco to return an 18th-century mansion to the people, arguing that the family’s purchase of the home nearly six decades ago was fraudulent. The government of Galicia is insisting that the northwestern region reclaims La Casa Cornide as part of efforts to remove the last vestiges of the far-right authoritarian regime. The palace, built in an unusual late Baroque style and once home to 18th-century naturalist Jose Andres Cornide, was bought by the dictator’s wife Carmen Polo in 1962. However, the government in Galicia has started legal proceedings to prove that the purchase of the house was not legal.
Franco’s home They say that two mayors of A Coruña secured municipal ownership only to auction it to Franco’s wife days later for a fraction of the price. They also claim that the sale to the wife of the head of state was illegal. Experts have said in a consultation report that ‘the architects of the sale were well aware of this prohibition’. Spanish authorities want the home to be brought under national heritage protection laws so that the public may visit the property. It would also prevent the family from selling the palace or disposing of its con-
DISPUTED: ownership of the house tents without permission. Last year the family put the 11 bedroom, 13 bathroom house on sale but did not share any photographs of the interior of the property. Luis Felipe Utrera Molina, a lawyer for the family, said they could ‘put up for sale any property that is theirs’.
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Top of the list
Interest in Spanish properties from UK buyers starting to boom SPAIN remains top of the list when it comes to Brits looking to buy a home in the sun – and it looks like there
Landlord boom EU enquiries for Buy-ToLet mortgages up 34%
S
KIPTON INTERNATIONAL has enjoyed a rise in enquiries for its UK Buy-To-Let mortgages over the last year. The Guernsey-based bank saw a 34% increase in enquiries from residents of the EU in the period January to May 2021 compared to figures from August to December 2020. In contrast, there was a 16% increase during the same period for the rest of the world. Skipton International’s mortgage offering is available to British Expats and Foreign Nationals purchasing Buy-To-Let property in the UK. The largest percentage increase came from the EU, with Hong Kong and the
DEMAND: Roger Hughes has seen growth
UAE also proving popular jurisdictions for UK Buy-To-Let enquiries. The increase came against the backdrop of Brexit and a reduced number of UK-based lenders supporting EU residents. Skipton’s enhanced mortgage proposition, the UK Stamp Duty holiday and the sharp demands within the UK rental market are also contributing factors. Roger Hughes, Business Development Manager of Skipton International, said: “We have some of the most attractive UK Buy-To-Let mortgages on the market for Expats and Foreign Nationals. “This year the demand has continued to grow and we will be exploring ways to make our mortgage proposition even more attractive, allowing more overseas residents to access the UK property market for long term investment purposes.” To see how much you may be able to borrow you can visit Skipton’s online UK Buy-To-Let mortgage calculator at: www.skiptoninternational.com/mortgage-calculator/uk
For more information about the services Skipton International can provide, visit www.skiptoninternational.com
could be a surge in sales on the horizon. A new report shows that interest in buying a European property is set to boom, even while there is still some uncertainty in the possibility of traveling abroad. Kyero.com, indicates that almost 40% of prospective buyers are now actively viewing or planning viewings abroad. The research, which involved more than 2,500 overseas buyers, found that Spain remains by far the most popular destination for British overseas home buyers, with 90% of all those polled looking to buy in the country.
And half of them aim to take the property plunge within the next three months to a year, and a further fifth (19%) stated that they wish to move ‘as soon as possible’. Moving abroad is a lifelong dream for many people with 28% of respondents saying they have wanted to move abroad for more than five years. In terms of budgets, the most common (45%) budget is €100,000 – €250,000, although a significant 35% are looking to spend less than €100,000. Some 13% have a budget in mind of between €250,000 – €500,000 and 3% have up to €1million to spend.
Brits get connected BRITISH buyers of Spanish properties say reliable internet services as well as good views and nearby shops are their top three priorities in sealing a deal. The findings come in the What Buyers Want survey compiled by the Savills Aguirre Newman real estate agency. The study showed that British buyers at 57% are still very much the dominant foreign market for Spanish property purchases.
Easy
The figures on a wish-list for a property showed that having a good view came top of the list at 94%. Easy access to shops and services came in second at 90% with high-speed internet access not far behind at 87%. Closeness to a beach came fourth with 77%. The rise in demand for a good internet connection has reflected lifestyle changes in the wake of the pandemic. The survey suggests 74% of respondents expect to work from their Spanish home on at least one day per week, compared to the pre-pandemic figure of 50%.
THE Valencian Housing department is set to publish a report into the availability of land to build affordable housing. According to the study, there is enough land in the 542 towns and cities in Alicante, Valencia and Castellon to build 47,900 new council houses, or VPPs in Spanish. Researchers discovered a total of 444,115 square metres of publicly owned land currently standing empty that could be used to build VPPs. If all the estimated 47,900 properties were built, the total number of council homes on offer would effectively double current demand. However, half of that available land surface is not classed as urban, and as such would require specific development plans to be carried out before building. But analysts also suggest that just the remaining half that is immediately ready for construction would be enough to provide affordable council housing to everyone presently on the waiting list.
Live long and prosper IF you want a long retirement, head to Spain. The country has the second longest retirement period according to a recent study conducted by comparethemarket.com which analysed 36 countries by comparing effective retirement age against life expectancy.
Relax
Top of the list was France, where people have an average 24.8 years in which to relax and enjoy life postwork, helped by a retirement age of 63.3 years. But people taking early retirement push this figure down to an average 60.8 years. In Spain the average age at which people collect their pensions is 61.7 years, giving them 24.15 years in which to sit back in their twilight years. Third on the list is Greece (24.1 years) and fourth Luxembourg (26.65). The UK does not make the top 10.
FOOD, DRINK & TRAVEL
Taste of the sea
A TEAM of scientists have designed a new type of gluten-free bread enriched with seaweed, which is said to have a longer shelf life than other brands. According to technological investigation institute Ainia, gluten-free bakery products often suffer from nutritional deficiencies, unappetising texture and colour, short use-by dates, less choice for consumers, higher cost, and manufacturing difficulties. But investigators in Valencia have unveiled a new recipe set to solve these problems and improve the product in the process. The feat has been achieved by adding a type of edible seaweed named Alaria esculenta, also known as dabberlocks, badderlocks or winged kelp. Ainia highlight the many properties of the algae, including a high content of minerals, vitamins, protein, fibre and non-digestible carbohydrates. OYSTER farms in Santoña can reopen after they were initially shut because of toxins. The Regional Ministry of Fisheries, Food and Environment has suspended a temporary ban on the harvesting and marketing of oysters in the Cantabrian town. The ban was lifted after
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
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High flying MALAGA, Alicante and Palma de Mallorca are among the most popular holiday destinations for Brits this summer. Research from easyJet revealed that Brits were desperate to visit Spain as well as Faro, Lisbon, Madeira, Porto, Malta and Gibraltar. The average Brit has not been overseas for 630 days, according to data uncovered in the study. That could be set to change soon, following Spain’s announcement that it would be the first EU country to welcome vaccinated Brits back to its shores. Data from the airline also showed that Brits had saved around £4,889 during lockdown and 61% said they will be making their holiday ‘extra special’ this year to make up for the lack of travel, while 68% said they are planning to make up
What the shell water analysis confirmed that the levels of toxins in the molluscs had returned to normal after the oysters were affected by algae blooms known as red tide. The blooms usually appear on the coasts of Cantabria during the spring months.
LEGENDS BAR
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BLUES
Spain’s most popular destinations
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for lost time by exploring new places. The nationwide study found that two-thirds (67%) of the UK said being in lockdown has made them crave new holiday Once it has receded, shellfish products are safe again and the Regional Ministry continues its surveillance work, which allows it to be detected quickly. While the oyster farming ban has been lifted it remains in force for the other bivalve molluscs including clams and mussels.
experiences, with a third (35%) of those surveyed said they have already booked a summer holiday abroad. Johan Lundgren, easyJet chief executive, said: “We know how much people value travel and can see the pent up demand every time restrictions are lifted. “This research shows just how much of a priority travel is after such a long period where it has been out of bounds. Brits cannot wait to get away on a sun filled holiday and have been saving hard to make their holiday a trip to remember. “We look forward to welcoming customers on board for a well-deserved getaway and remain hopeful that the Government will add many more European countries onto the Green list and allow safe travel this summer.”
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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL Graham Keeley and his family of six kids try out a pedal and paddle holiday through Spain’s Deliverance country
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Healthy homage to C
T
HIS was a holiday that way, gliding downhill through separated the men from valleys and over rivers most of the boys. the way, so we could admire Unfortunately, my fear the scenery. of the dark meant I ranked as The hardy souls huffing and one of the boys as I cycled - puffing uphill the other way very slowly - through a series were to be admired. of pitch black railway tunnels The beauty of the Via Verde that kept on coming. is that you don’t have to take With over 30 along this partic- your own bikes - the rentular Via Verde, no sooner do al companies provide them. you see the light They also bus at the end of you to the start one and you’re of the route, We admired into another. which finishes The kids, looking the hardy souls back where you on at Dad with a left your car. huffing and mixture of pity We set off from and embarrassXerta, a tiny puffing uphill ment, took it all village in the in their stride. the other way Parque Natural We were on the Del Ports. All of Via Verde in the us except one hills north of of our party the Ebro river delta, two hours dubbed Superman - who had drive south of Barcelona. cycled to Xerta all the way from The route takes you deep into Barcelona, 160 km away! the countryside, tracing the We piled into two coaches route of the disused track from having chosen our bikes - a Horta de Sant Joan to Xerta. little like bone crunchers, but The journey is about 30 kilo- they did the job - which were metres which you can do one stowed in a trailer behind, and of two ways - uphill or down. set off for our starting point. Thankfully, we chose the easy The village of Horta de Sant
Joan is famous because Pablo Picasso spent some time there in his youth between 1897 and 1898. He later returned to develop his Cubism
style of art. You can see why, because the square design of the houses resemble many of Picasso’s paintings and drawings from
Castles in the air THEY are majestic testaments to Spain’s past, capturing multiple layers of history between the crevices of their wind-battered battlements and time-worn turrets. Often Roman and frequently Phoenecian in origin, what we see today was mostly built in Medieval times to guard the frontiers between Moorish and Christian Spain, many of them drawn through what is modern Andalucia today. Hence, the region’s castle count
Castillo Bil Bil, Benalmadena This one’s a cheat as the delightful terracotta-pink Arabian Nights-style castle on the seafront is merely neo-Moorish. Although, as Benalmadena is one of the towns in Spain to have hung onto its Arabic name, it chimes with the local heritage. Originally built in 1927 for a wealthy French family, it was taken over by the town council in 1980 and turned into a cultural space for exhibitions, concerts and conferences. Ornamental gardens with Moorish-inspired fountains and nocturnal lighting afford it a singular romantic beauty. No wonder it’s the most popular public building in Malaga for civil weddings.
Over 90 legendary fortresses loom over the landscapes of Malaga province, conjuring up days of old when knights were bold. Cristina Hodgson raises the drawbridge on her own High Five runs into the hundreds and Malaga has its fair share. Sadly, many fortresses were destroyed or abandoned after the Reconquest and despite best efforts to restore the most iconic examples, all the money in the Spanish treasury wouldn’t be enough to put every one of
Malaga Alcazaba and Gibralfaro Castle
just before the First World War. If you are an art lover, take time to visit the Picasso Centre. Gliding downhill past green
Spain’s 2,500 castles back together again. Today their stone battlements and flying buttresses are mere filigrees of their former glory. Yet despite the ravages of time, their striking silhouettes leave a lasting impression that can still inspire dreams …
valleys and rivers was a beautiful way to see a part of Catalunya which most people rarely glimpse. To get the most out of the
D
ominating the hilltop and remarkable for its size, its robust honey-coloured walls once guarded one of the most important frontier castles in the Kingdom of Granada. Inside the gates there’s little but gardens and ruins to evidence its status
P
residing magisterially over Malaga city and port, the alcazaba below the castle is one of the best-preserved citadel in Spain and one of Malaga’s most visited monuments. Set on a hillside protected by the Montes de Malaga mountain range which has natural park status, the castle was built in 929AD by Abd-al-Rahman III, Caliph of Cordoba, on a former Phoenician defence post and lighthouse. From here the rulers could keep watch on the local population scrabbling a living at its feet as well as enemies trying to invade by land and sea. A tour takes you to the ruins of a neighbouring theatre built by the Romans who also knew a dramatic location when they saw one.
You may be forgiven for wondering why you have never seen it. But if you can take your eyes off the designer merchandise in the cute whitewashed boutiques of Marbella Old Town you can spot the telltale crenellations of castle walls. Sadly they are all that remains of the most important vestige of Muslim civilisation in Marbella. The castle was originally built in the 9th or 10th century during
Castillo de Marbella
the reign of Abderraman III, first of the Caliphs of Al-Andalus.The walls were reinforced with 11 rectangular towers of different sizes to protect the city from attack. In the 19th century, the castle ceased to be used for military purposes and became inextricably entwined with the town growing up around it.
FOOD, DRINK & TRAVEL
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
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experience, give yourself the whole day. This way you can stop off for a dip in the river or a picnic (there is only one tiny cafe en route). Although we
today but the views through the horseshoe shaped windows of the Torre Blanca tower are as spectacular as ever. Noted for its unusually wide keep with its angular floor plan, its insidious dungeon also leaves an impression - a hell
spotted snakes in one of the rock pools, which put us off taking the plunge. Dimly-lit tunnels are a feature of the route but bikes are
hole six metres deep by three metres in diameter, covered by a metal grill and completely exposed to the elements. In 1582 a bell tower was added above the keep to house what was then one of the largest bells in Christendom.
Alcazaba of Antequera
This ‘working’ concert hall castle at the mouth of the Fuengirola River is in excellent nick thanks to multiple refurbishments down the centuries. The Moors built a fortress here
Castillo Sohail, Fuengirola
in the 10th century, and then the Christians did it up to become one of the most economically efficient military outposts in the land. And in 1730 it was remodelled again as a squadron base tasked with stemming smuggling between Spain and the newly British Gibraltar.
equipped with extra lights for this. Even so, for the faint-hearted among us - i.e. me - it was a case of creeping along very slowly through the murky twilight. Of course, the kids were fearless, zooming through while yelling their heads off. If you’ve got the time, I recommend staying the night somewhere at the end of the route like Tortosa rather than facing the drive home as you will be pretty pedalled out. Having recovered the next day, we set off on another adventure: kayaking down the Ebro. One of the biggest rivers in Spain, and the site of a decisive battle in the Spanish Civil War, today it is a magnet for tourists looking for a wild river experience. The kayaking company guides you to the finishing point at Benifallet where you leave your car, and transports you back to the starting point in Miravet village. With six young children in tow, we booked a guide to join us on the water in case we needed some help, even though we had some experienced kayakers in our midst. Two hours afloat was the limit for us but some people go for much longer.
Pleasure
Once on the water, it was a pure pleasure to glide along and view the wider countryside from such an unusual angle. Vultures circled above a tiny village we passed, and fish popped up to the surface to say hello. We were the only people on the river that day but in the height of summer over 100 kayaks are rented daily. The real beauty of the Ebro is there’s just enough of a current so that paddling is not hard work but no scary rapids to navigate like the ones in the film Deliverance. No murderous hillbillies either! And a
very happy ending on our return to dry land in Benifallet, spoiled for choice for restaurants, where we enjoyed a long and hearty lunch.
Traditional home cooked meals • Tapas • Sunday lunch • Menu del dia Over 50 brands of GIN with premium tonics 7 draft beers & world sourced bottled beers Extensive range of quality spirits Delux cocktail station providing elite cocktails
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Fantastic fun in a stunning setting with coaching from world class professionals. Really there’s no need to fly when the perfect family escape is so much closer than you think. Did you know Europes most popular watersports complex was just a drive away?
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HEALTH
20 Taking a toll
THE COVID pandemic has increased mental health problems among vulnerable children, with financial strain on parents a major factor, a study by Cardiff University has found. Researchers interviewed 142 five to 10-year-olds who had been identified by schools as ‘at risk’ of mental health problems, and compared the information to pre-pandemic data. There was a strong link between financial stress and mental health problems in parents, which was in turn associated with worsening mental health issues among children, the researchers discovered. The study showed children living below the poverty line face more anxiety, stress and even abuse because of the temporary shutdown of different public services, such as free meals and daycare, which are often a safe haven for vulnerable children.
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Soothing the nerves
Staying healthy SPANISH scientists claim that the Mediterranean diet acts as a shield against COVID-19. This is according to a Spanish study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition. It claims that protection against infection increases significantly when people stick to a diet heavy on vegetables, fruit, lean meat, nuts and olive oil. Experts monitored 9,677 middle-aged people for the study. They found a clear association between a mediterranean diet and a reduction in the risk of infection of up to 64%.
‘Breakthrough’ in treating anxiety and depression A SPANISH biologist has discovered a new protein that helps regulate anxiety and could open a new chapter in mental health treatment. Javier Gilabert Juan, winner of the Valencian Young Scientific Talent award in 2016 and currently Anatomy and Neuroscience professor at Madrid University, has been working on the protein known as OTX2 for the past three years. Gilabert and his team first discovered that OTX2 was
By Glenn Wickman
involved in the development of abilities such as sight and hearing during childhood. Their investigation then led them to check whether it could have an effect on depression, anxiety and learning difficulties as adults. Experiments with mice revealed that those injected with OTX2 had a less anxious behaviour than ‘normal’ mice. The next step, says Javier Gi-
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EXCITED: Javier Gilabert is hoping for a breakthrough
labert, is to move onto more complex mammals to check exactly how the protein works to modify behaviour. Previous studies showed that OTX2 was easier to regulate when the brain was still being formed but it has now also been found to work for adults. The team aims to study the effect of the protein in cases of stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia. If successful, the trials could open a new chapter in mental health medication, as the protein could boost the effect of existing drugs and help create new ones.
Stub it out
MORE than 283,000 people have signed a petition calling for a smoking ban on all of Spain’s beaches. Environment minister, Teresa Ribera, received the petition organised by the No Fumadores group. They want beach visitors to be protected from the effects of passive smoking. They are also worried about the environmental problems caused by cigarette and cigar butts being discarded at the seaside. Some 475 beaches have already banned smoking with more joining the list this year. No Fumadores president, Raquel Fernandez, said: “The thousands of people that have signed the petition sends out the message that we just can-
not wait any longer. “A new law would stop children and people with respiratory diseases from inhaling smoke,” she added. “It would also send out the strongest possible signal to youngsters that it’s wrong to smoke on beaches which are public spaces.” A 2018 survey by the European Environment Agency showed that cigarette butts were the biggest source of pollution on beaches on the continent. Besides the mess, the butts can kill marine life if swallowed. Many municipalities have staged annual campaigns handing out ash trays and containers to collect fag ends to reduce the levels of beach debris.
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COLUMNISTS
Watch your back Street robbery shows how care needs to be taken
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
Quarantine! So, what’s new? V
ISITORS from the UK will have to quarantine for OLD HA CK IN TH E SU N 10 days when returning from their Benny Davis Spanish holidays. So, Ramblings of an 80-somethin g expat what’s the problem? It RECENTLY moved to the crime - people are desperate used to take me at least centre of Fuengirola. I with this pandemic. I have have really enjoyed the heard of so many stories two weeks to recover only narrow, rough long walks along the of squatters moving whole from my alcohol-fue- roads leading down to paseo, visiting the cas- families into homes in areas lled, Dan Air, Iberian small village-type hotle, discovering new little around Mijas. breaks during my youn- liday resorts that offestreets, and the hustle and They move the women and ger, hey-ho, days. red everything a young bustle of this friendly place. children in first so it is imI have vague single EngliThat all changed on Sunday possible to get them out memories of shman could night. I was coming home sometimes for over a year. The first two struggling wish for on word that was said. So, port cardboard cups of from dinner and the taxi Thankfully my thief was not dropped me 20 paces from so clever and couldn’t get t h r o u g h his once-a- as I mentioned, the first weak, brown-coloured weeks back my door. I had my keys at his hands on anything with Luton Airtwo weeks back home liquid posing as ‘Café year holiday. home were the ready and all of a sud- all the security I have on my port, loaded Boozy days in London were always Americano,’ plus – forden I heard a shout from phone and cards. He tried down with always a bit of on sun-dren- just a bit of a blur, ac- get the good old sausabehind me. I turned around twice to take out money donkeys, flached bea- companied by the in- ge sarnie and `BLT´– a and my bag was stolen in without success. a blur menco dolls, ches, boozy evitable sore head and choice of either a veggie what seemed like a milliseccassinettes nights at isolation of the brain and egg white sandwich ond. I was more concerned Vigilant and bottles frantic fies- But, worth every penny with Shirataki rice? Or about getting into my home of sangria, whilst despe- tas and sealing life-long of my hard-earned, 12 maybe, sausage, egg, I hope you are all extra vigthan chasing them. My phone, credit cards, ilant in these times. I think rately trying to balance friendships with local months piggy bank sa- free-range mayo, and medical card, and driving it is more the shock of how a large Sombrero hat on Spanish folk, whilst not vings of £50. About the cheese on croissant? I licence were stolen. What much worse it could have my somewhat non-exis- understanding a bloody price of a couple of air- give up! an absolute nightmare. I been rather than anything tent, numb bonce. reported it all to the Policia else but watch your back And all this in the days Nacional who were very and make sure it is impossiwhen we were only amiable. I have managed to ble to access your money or allowed to take £50 on sort everything out now but your phone. foreign holidays. Amathese days your phone has I still love it here so I am everything in it. I am lucky not going to let one nasty zing, but life in Spain to be able to sort technical individual change my life was vastly different, Was nice comment a - but do be extra careful, problems quite quickly. and much cheaper. complete set up? There seems to be a rise in especially now. Mucho pesetas to the pound, no motorways, NLIKE serious columnists involved with argumentative and debatable subjects, my humble, humorous offerings do not entice readers’ to make their alternative views known through the magic of the ‘Letters’ section. ‘Belligerent of Benidorm’, ‘Anxious of Almeria’ or even ‘Psychotic of Palma’, totally by-pass the ‘Old Hack’ while setting their beady sights on important subjects that affect their everyday lives, such as speed limits, NIE’s, dog poo and tattooed string-vested, noisy CLOSE SHAVE: Benny at the sharp end visitors invading Benidorm on Age Concern coach trips. ant. ‘Obviously paid the letter writer Hopefully, my readers manage to raise from his offshore illicit bank account. a smile, before settling back to study How many letters did you write before the nitty-gritty news of the day and may- getting this one published?’ said anothbe end up exercising their brains with er sad person. One even wrote, the crossword puzzle. ‘She knew a person that ‘Old Hack’ forgotten until, used to live next door if still on this mortal coil, to a Mrs Clodhopper in It was an the next edition of the OlBlackpool, who eventuive Press. ally moved to Spain and accolade So, it was a real boost to met an ex-vacuum cleaner Our Twitter feed gives users direct Sponsored posts on our website with humbly my ego to see the ‘Old salesman at a nude Bingo to all our stories and every digital access to your site and with an average of links newspa25,000 Hack’ mentioned in a presession.’ page views per day per published received by vious issue of the Letters ‘This person told her that section. the woman he suspected yours truly Tricia Gabbitas of Malaga as the letter writer, was in wrote that my scribblings fact not the so-called, ‘Trimade her and her husband, ‘Laugh cia’, but a fee-based social media influout loud’. An accolade humbly received encer living in Dubai’. by yours truly, especially during these I, of course, hotly deny any of these actroubled, depressing times. cusations and only hope that the lovely But, yes, there is always a but, it didn’t Tricia of Malaga is not offended. Incitake long for my social media enemies dentally, Tricia, if you are reading this, to sharpen their fake news long knives. please say hello to Auntie Doris, and ‘A complete set-up’, wrote one combat- tell her I will write soon.
Lisa Burgess
I
The letter
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Vol. 2 Issue 41
Nou-gat to be joking
FINAL WORDS
NUTTY Spanish sweet, Turron, could be given its own United Nations World Day, as Alicante Provincial Council looks to make November 7 World Turron Day.
Bus-ted TWO robbers attempted to dodge police by using buses as their getaway transport across Costa Blanca. However, they were soon arrested - along with the stolen hotel bag - on an Alicante bus.
Boar off THERE was traffic jam chaos in Barcelona, as a mother boar and her cubs ran wild along one of the main streets. The humbug-like animals held up traffic for over two hours, during rush hour.
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A GIANT Poodle has become the first pet in Spain to be infected with the British ‘Kent’ COVID-19 variant. Experts at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) have been studying coronavirus infections in pets for a number of months. They have confirmed that a 14-year-old giant poodle tested positive in PCR tests for the ‘Kent’ variant which first came to light last December. AN unscrupulous businessman has been thrown in the slammer after he sold 800,000 kilos of horse meat as beef. The 60-year-old from Castellon has been sentenced to four years in prison and
expat
voice in Spain
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
In a hole By Kirsty McKenzie
Feeling ruff
Your
FOLLOWING an argument with his parents, aged 14, hotheaded Andres Canto took a pickaxe into the garden and started digging to work off his frustrations. Six years later, the hole is now a den with a bedroom, wifi and sound system. Andres, from La Romana in Alicante says he can’t remember what the fight was about - but is delighted his bizarre act of petulance became an obsession, even enlisting a friend with a pneumatic drill to blast the 10 foot deep cave. The excavation was done by
What a mare! ordered to pay €470,000 in compensation by the Supreme Court. The conman supplied meat to a company in Torrent (Valencia)
Row leads to Hobbit style ‘home’
hand using buckets, but as Andres went deeper and deeper he developed a homemade pulley system. between the years 2011 and 2013. Although the contract was for beef, the supplier began surreptitiously introducing horse meat into the batches he sent the firm in order to increase his profit margin.
The layout of his retreat was often determined by the obstacles that got in the way of the project and authorities even paid him a visit to make sure the build was legal. Like his parents, they found no issue with Andres’s unique project, which he estimates has cost him a grand total of €50. The aspiring actor said the labour of love was inspired by his passion for building huts and tree houses as a child.
Good thrashing A POLICE car was given the ‘Basil Fawlty’ treatment when an angry man attacked it with a branch. In a scene that was almost a carbon copy from the famous UK TV comedy of the seventies, a 64-year-old man appeared outside the Alcantarilla police station in the Murcia region. Police officers saw him clutching a one-metre-long tree branch. He then started to give a police car ‘a damn good thrashing’, to use the line uttered by John Cleese.
Agog
They watched agog as the Portuguese national did substantial damage to the car’s bodywork. He also smashed the front and rear windows of the vehicle. The irate attacker was eventually calmed down and hauled in front of a judge. It’s unclear why he decided to vent his anger on the police car.
