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Tightening up SPAIN has changed the requirements for travellers arriving from the UK and will now demand a negative COVID-19 test or proof of double vaccination. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the measures on Monday just before an influx of British tourists was expected to the Balearic Islands as the destination moved onto the green travel list. “What we are going to do is apply to British tourists who go to the Balearic Islands the same requirements we make of other European citizens,” Sanchez told Cadena SER radio on Monday morning. "They will need a full dose of vaccine or a negative PCR,” he added. Spain's Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzales Laya later confirmed the decree would come into force today (Friday).
Proof
The British government had announced that from Wednesday (June 30) the Balearic Islands - Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Ibiza - would be moved onto the green list meaning no quarantine is required on return. However, the rest of Spain, including the Canary Islands, remain on the amber list. Spain lifted all restrictions on travellers arriving from the UK to its territory on May 24 lifting the ban on non-essential travel and allowing entry without proof of a negative COVID-19 test. The tightening of rules for British tourists comes amid growing concern over the spread of the ‘Delta variant’ of the coronavirus which now accounts for 90% of new infections in the UK and is predicted to be the predominant strain within Spain by mid-July. For the latest on travelling to Spain check the rules from the Spanish government at https://travelsafe.spain. info/es/ All arrivals in Spain will need to fill out a health declaration and passenger locator form before travelling which can be found at https://www. spth.gob.es/ Seeing red, page 4
Vol. 4 Issue 109
The expat that took on Tyson
Your expat
voice in Spain
Get the tale of the tape on page 3
July 2nd - July 15th 2021
Plonkers! British Dad discovers teenage guests used his prized wine (worth €3,000) to make tinto de verano at daughter’s party EXCLUSIVE By Fiona Govan in Madrid
Pete Jones is one hell of an understanding father. When he woke up to discover that his daughter and her friends had imbibed his most treasured bottle of wine during a party, he didn’t hit the roof. Rather, he blamed himself for leaving the bottle of Petrus, 1999 vintage, in plain view with a bunch of teenagers in the house. “I am just gutted that after saving it for 17 years, I didn’t even get to taste it,” he told The Olive Press, shaking his head. “And the tragic thing is, neither did they, well not properly. By all accounts it was used to make a tinto de verano”. He refers to the typically Spanish summer drink of red wine mixed with casera or lemon Fanta and poured over ice as a refreshing tipple. Usually the cheapest red wine is used, often from a carton.
Party
The British father, 56, who has lived in Madrid for more than 20 years, had gone out for the evening to allow his youngest daughter Lara, 19, to host a party for her friends at home near the Fuente del Berro park. “They are all a sensible bunch and were at school together so this was a reunion because m a n y w e r e back in the city a f t e r the end of their first year at university,” said the Welsh restaurateur behind The Dough Portals Nous, Thrower in Car07181, diff. Mallorca. During the even i n g ,
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HAPPY FAMILY: Despite the loss of his treasured wine dad Pete and daughters Lara (left) and Sele are putting on brave faces Lara texted her father to insist he come home earlier than planned as ‘all her friends wanted to see me’, Jones said. “I got home and the party was in full swing, I had a drink with them, did some embarrassing dancing in the kitchen, then headed up to bed to leave them to it.” He also, stupidly, left the bottle from Bordeaux estate Château Pétrus in the fridge. The famous wine maker only produces about 30,000 bottles of wine a year, and its product is consistently ranked among the most expensive in the world. The 1999 vintage can be currently sourced from vintner for a price tag between €2,500 - €3,000 “I don’t know why it was there really,” he admitted. “It used to be hidden away in the cellar, but I got it out recently to show a friend, showing off that I was waiting for the right occasion to open it. And I hadn’t got round to putting it back.” The story of how he came to have the bottle is a good one. “It was Christmas Eve in 2004 and I suddenly realised that I hadn’t got potatoes so dashed out to this very expensive gourmet vegetable shop that was still open nearby,” Jones recalled.
Special
“There was a long queue and when I got to the front on a whim I asked the chap behind the till to add a bottle of wine from the top shelf behind his head. I couldn’t see the price tag but thought it would be something special to drink at Christmas.” “The man looked pleased as punch over the purchase and then added it up and I gave him my card.
It was only when I looked at the receipt that I realised the potatoes cost €1,20 something and the wine was over a grand. But everyone was waiting in line behind me and I felt too embarrassed to say anything,” he confessed. “My wife, Silv, was furious of course but I explained it away by insisting it was a vintage from the year of our eldest daughter’s birth and so we could keep it to drink with her on a special occasion,” he said. But after 17 years, no occasion had yet seemed quite special enough. This meant he also had to break the news to Sele, who is now 21, that her birthday vintage had been opened without her. “She was very understanding and did her best to mollify her little sister, who has been distraught about it.” Jones discovered the bottle was Continues on Page 4