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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

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. 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. 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.

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 official palace sources. It is understood the King went to the hospital for the vaccine after marking National Armed Forces Day alongside the Queen. 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.

LEFT IN PEACE: Wolves will be protected from hunters come September Ban on hunting creatures that devour livestock

Royal jab

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.

HAPPY COUPLE: Carlos and Belen

Walking on heir

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

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.

Cash to burn

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’. 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

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

WINNER: Shindler has won the day

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.

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 “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.”

Public takeover

TORREVIEJA Hospital and the local health department serving 180,000 people will return to public management on October 15. The regional Superior Court has rejected a bid from the current private manager, Ribera Salud, to suspend the change. The Valencian government last year gave Ribera Salud a one-year notice that its contract, held since 2006, would not be renewed. Ribera currently manages Torrevieja Hospital and medical centres in Torrevieja, Guardamar del Segura, Rojales, Pilar de la Horadada, Orihuela Costa, San Fulgencio, Benijofar, Formentera del Segura, San Miguel de Salinas and Los Montesinos. Staff at Torrevieja Hospital have staged demonstrations over concerns about how the new service will work and whether there will be job losses after the managerial change. Claims have been made that waiting times for hospital operations will increase, with Torrevieja currently having the shortest waiting lists in the Valencian Community. Ribera Salud had also pledged big investments including €6 million for a second health centre for the Orihuela Costa.

right to vote, some for years, if not decades. These changes will come into effect in time for the next scheduled General Election in 2024. Hugh Elliott, the British Ambassador in Madrid said: “In an increasingly connected world, most British citizens living in Spain retain deep ties to the United Kingdom. Many still have family there, worked there for many years, and some have even fought for our country.

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.

Safer summer

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.