Olive Press Mallorca - Issue 114

OLIVE PRESS

The FREE

?

Who is he?

EXCLUSIVE

A PLUCKY policewoman who arrested Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner in 2017 says police tried to find a ‘blonde man’ who was with him that night.

Off-duty officer Vanessa Viera reveals in a new book how she and her colleagues searched the area trying to find the potential accomplice.

It came after she arrested dangerous sex offender Brueckner, 44, in a children’s park on the Algarve, at 2.15am during a feria.

Familiar

“He looked so familiar and I knew I had seen him before,” she revealed in the book, My Search for Madeleine, by Olive Press editor Jon Clarke.

“It was then I realised he hadn’t come alone and I’d seen him and his friend at one of the bars in the square. Other parents also remembered he had been chatting to another tall blonde man,” added Viera (left).

Her grilling of the German came after she was forced to hold off four angry dads of kids he had allegedly flashed at under a slide.

She eventually calmed them down and managed to call in colleagues.

“I asked him where his friend was and he just smiled and wouldn’t say anything. He wouldn’t tell us where he was staying either.”

She continued: “We searched all around for his friend, but it was clear he Continues on Page 2

SP18206EN - Front page Ewn adverts v2.indd 4

Now’s the time to visit Spain’s most unspoilt region

Your expat

voice in Spain

Vol. 5 Issue 114 www.theolivepress.es September 10th - September 23rd 2021

Gun in my face

See Extremadura special inside

British sailor reveals how she was confronted by armed police at home during high level fraud raids across Mallorca EXCLUSIVE

By Terenia Taras

A BRITISH yachtie has told the Olive Press how her front door was kicked down by police with assault rifles and pistols during a series of high level raids this week.

Dandelion Sharp, 21, from Somerset, recanted her horror as her Palma apartment was raided by ‘around 20 police’, who ordered her to get down.

“I was really scared and had no idea what was happening,” she revealed.

“It was about 10am and there was this loud banging on the door and suddenly the door to my room flew open and an armed officer was facing me holding an assault rifle.”

She continued: “He gestured to me to get back in my room and told me to put a mask on. Then I saw there were more officers.

“There were about 20 of them, some in uniform armed with rifles and others in plain clothes with hand guns. “ T h e y were both S p a n ish and German p o l i c e speaking in both languages. “ T h e y took pictures of my passp o r t ,

Discover hassle-free currency transfers

2 147 834

Extre-mendous

MALLORCA

Portals Nous, 07181, Mallorca.

14/02/2020 23:25

FEAR: Sharp (top) woke up to find armed police in her Santa Catalina flat along with everyone else’s in the crew house and handed it back to me.

“It was really worrying as I didn’t know what was going on and whether they intended to harm me. It was like waking up in a movie.”

Deckhand

Sharp, who started the job as a deckhand on one of the big yachts only a few weeks ago, lived in the crew apartment in Santa Catalina where the raid occurred on Wednesday morning.

The landlord of the flat, who was questioned in relation to the fraud, is British.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that before. Where I come from in England police don’t carry

weapons like that.

“We later found out it was to do with a massive fraud investigation and that the owner of the property was being investigated.”

It was part of a series of raids centering around an international fraud probe that has scammed hundreds of people out of tens of millions of euros.

So far an ex-policeman and bank manager have been arrested, alongside four others who have been charged, the Olive Press understands.

Up to 100 Guardia Civil conducted

Tel: 952 147 834

See page 16

TM

nine separate searches in offices and homes around the capital and in nearby Magaluf on Wednesday.

It is understood there were simultaneous raids in other European cities, mostly

around Germany, with most victims German.

Among those investigated is a former Policia National cop based in Palma and his wife, whose home was searched.

The raids were led by the Prosecutor’s Office in Palma in a joint operation with German police.

The precise nature of the scam has not yet been disclosed, but it is understood that the international network deceived customers with products online that did not exist.

It may also involve money laundering.

Have a news tip? Email newsdesk@theolivepress.es

2

CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF Out to lunch!

A PALMA employee sacked for taking a lunch break has been allowed back to work. The company has been ordered to reinstate him and pay lost wages, plus compensation.

Tough love Police were called after a Palma teen assaulted his father when he banned him from playing video games after 11pm.

Slashed A Frenchman, 40, has been arrested for criminal damage after slashing two rubber dinghies with a knife in Soller.

Party pooper The Guardia Civil arrested a man in Ibiza for drug trafficking in Sant Josep where he sold illicit drugs at private parties.

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

Knot the smartest

Drunken sailor

A PRISONER escaped from the third floor of Son Espases Hospital by tying bed sheets together… then got caught a few hours later.

The man didn’t get far when he was apprehended by the Guardia Civil on the Valldemossa road after it was discovered he had escaped.

He was originally arrested for allegedly attacking his partner and was being guarded by two National Police officers.

The hospital room had a reinforced door, but the prisoner managed to break the window with a blunt object and tied the bed sheets together to reach the ground.

He also misjudged the distance and was injured during the jump to the ground.

An investigation has been launched and security cameras are being reviewed to clarify how the suspect managed to escape.

A FERRY skipper who mowed down and killed a man in Ibiza faces a charge of reckless homicide for being drunk at the helm.

The 41-year-old victim was killed instantly when the Balearia ferry smashed into the eight-metre yacht just before midnight on August 17.

A Guardia Civil investigation has since found that not only was the boat travelling without its lights on but that the skipper also made an illegal manoeuvre.

A breathalyser found he was ‘heavily intoxicated’ at the time of the incident.

Time to act Holiday fraudsters take thousands off British victims in YET ANOTHER - rental scam A SURPRISE 50th birthday party in Mallorca has been ruined by holiday rental scammers.

At least two other victims have also lost money to the latest gang of fraudsters damaging the island’s reputation globally.

The British victims lost over €5,000 between them, after contacting Booking Villas Mallorca, based out of Porreres.

The first, Simone Byrne, from Shropshire, was conned out of a €1,900 deposit for a villa break meant as a surprise present for her husband Bryan’s 50th birthday.

EXCLUSIVE

By Terenia Taras

Simone found the perfect seven-bedroom villa in Son Veri Nou, near Palma, which included a guest apartment, heated swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi, spread out over 1,300m2 landscaped gardens.

She contacted the website and believed she’d booked Villa Yasminne for seven nights in August next year.

But after paying the deposit in the name of a man called Juan Manuel Pelaez Mejias, she

on up t r ffe tes l o the a i g ec Sp ishin fin &

Explora tu lado español Online Spanish lessons

Start your free 15 days trial on theolivepress.es/online-spanish-lessons/ *The special offer is valid for registrations until 15/09/21

SOPHISTICATED: Stylish scammer wesite failed to get a booking confirmation.

When she tried to contact the company she was put through to a voicemail, while all emails were ignored.

“I felt physically sick when I realised I’d been scammed,” Simone, 47, told the Olive Press this week.

“I was trying to keep it to myself and couldn’t say anything to my husband because it was meant to be a surprise and now it’s gone pear-shaped,” added the mother-of-four, who works in customer care at Aga Rangemaster.

Overtime

She added that her bank was hoping to reverse the payment, but because it is a transfer the crooks may have already withdrawn the money.

“I might have to claim against the bank in Spain because it’s obvious it’s a scam. I’m just hoping that the bank will be investigating it,” she added.

She has since reported it to Action Fraud in the UK. “I’d been working overtime and squirreling all the money away as a surprise gift. All our children were coming with their partners, as well as my parents in law,” she added.

“Now I can’t afford to make any other plans for Bryan’s 50th unless I get the money back.”

She continued: “Hopefully by raising awareness it might stop someone else from being scammed.”

It comes after we reported last month how at least 300 victims in Spain, with at least 100

From front

Maddie had completely vanished. He must have taken the car or van.”

After being handcuffed he was taken to a police van, where her colleagues discovered there was a warrant for his arrest for sex offences in Germany.

The Portuguese WPC, who had been out with her fiveyear-old daughter that night, had been following the case closely for a decade.

She had actually been stationed outside the apartment at the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, where Madeleine, 3, had been snatched in May, 2007.

She never thought for a second that the McCann family were involved.

“I saw first hand the tragedy and trauma that the poor family went through,” revealed in the book. “It was awful. I could really see their pain and suffering.”

The book has carefully tracked the German sex offender’s movements since first arriving in Portugal in 1994.

Apart from spending over a decade in Portugal, Brueckner spent many months living in Spain, in particular in the Granada province, near Orgiva.

My Search for Madeleine, by Jon Clarke, can be bought on all Amazon platforms in both digital and print formats.

cases in the Balearics alone, had been fleeced out of €600,000.

The situation has become so severe over the past few years that Spain’s National court has taken on the investigation of fake rental scams in a bid to stop the criminals.

In the Balearics, Mallorca Villas has certainly scammed many other victims.

Another victim, Ross Cowie, from Scotland, lost €3,350 after he paid the full amount for another villa rental.

He told the Olive Press he is kicking himself after agreeing to pay the full amount, plus a security rental deposit of €600.

“I very stupidly paid it all by bank transfer,” he added.

Ross, who works as a sales director in Kuwait, explained that he was sent copies of contracts with the villa owner’s bank details.

Mallorca Villas requested that two days before they were to travel they were to contact them to advise if they wanted to be picked up from Palma airport, or where to collect the keys.

Visit

“If I hadn't requested clarifications we would have only found out when we got there that it was a scam.”

The Olive Press this week visited the listed office of the company Booking Villas Mallorca Rental in Porreres, as well as a separately listed booking office, in Palma.

Both were empty apartments with no sign of any companies.

We will be passing on our informaMOCKUP: Scammers put bogus logo on tion to the police. office wall

I’m sure he did it, See page 6 - 7

Caught red handed THREE men have been arrested after police connected a severed hand discovered inside a car with the body of a man found in a river.

The corpse, which was missing a hand, was found in the River Ebro, near Sant Jaume d'Enveja in Catalunya, with police admitting they had no clues as to who was responsible for the grisly murder.

But when cops in Tarragona alerted detectives that a hand had been recovered from a truck of a car a few days later, officers were quickly able to link the two gruesome discoveries.

Bad bet AN online gambler tried to blame a hacker after losing €17,000 from gambling debts.

His bank, in Alicante, was at the point of approving the refund before suspicion grew over his claims.

It came after the man reported the fraud to cops claiming the withdrawals came from overseas betting sites that he knew nothing about.

However the bank was eventually able to ascertain that he had activated the card and officers were able to prove it was used locally via different IP addresses to gamble online.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

You’ll love this mystery

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

3

HEART-WRENCHING: Film is based on war dead

A TENDER love letter, written almost 50 years ago, has been found at a rubbish dump on the Costa del Sol. Dated April 21, 1974, from Santurce, in the Basque Country, the letter, written by a young 22-year-old man to his fiancée in Casares reveals a touching love story.

In the letter, the young soldier counts the days to see his beloved again, specifically ‘19 Sundays’, and to marry her to be ‘always together’.

“You will see how happy we are going to be,” he promises.

However, his words reveal that the course of the romance was not a bed of roses, as her parents didn’t approve.

According to the letter they branded him a ‘hippie’ and nicknamed him ‘el melenas’ (man with long hair) but he wrote that he had ‘cut his hair’ and begged the girl to convince her parents that he was a serious contender for her hand.

The letter was found on the waste-sorting conveyor belt on timeworn sepia pages.

How the love story ended is not known as no names were included in the letter to identify the pair.

Did it end in tragedy for the star-crossed lovers or happy ever after? We shall apparently never know.

Ghosts of the civil war Spain’s top film director finally tackles the country’s most controversial subject - four decades on

HE has been Spain’s most creative - and controversial - director for the last half century.

Now Pedro Almodovar is to delve into his most sensitive subject yet.

The Madrid film director is to tackle the country’s most enduring wound; looking at the Spanish Civil War. In particular, his new film, which has just premiered at the Venice film festival, uses the tens of thousands of people who disappeared during the war - or are still buried in unmarked graves - as his subject matter.

FAVOURITE: Pedro with Penelope Cruz Parallel Mothers also appro- haunts Spain in modern priately stars his favourite times.

Spanish actresses Penelope Some five decades after the Cruz and Rossy de Palma. death of dictator General The film, which launches in Franco, unmarked graves Spain this week, explores still litter the countryside. the fate of two women giv- Hidden within them are the ing birth in the same Madrid remains of an estimated hospital on the same day.

100,000 people who were His 23rd feature film, over executed by Fascist death four decades, highlights squads during the threea political issue that still year-conflict or the ensuing dictatorship.

Over the last 15 years, volunteer teams have been exhuming graves across Spain and returning remains to relatives for proper burial.

SHAKIRA has been shaking off the stress of her ongoing tax batBut campaigners have long tle on a Costa Brava break. fought for national state The Hips Don’t Lie star was clearly enjoying her carefree vacation aid in locating and exhumwith her husband, footballer Gerard Pique and children. ing the thousands of other The 44-year-old Colombian bombshell was all-smiles despite the burial sites that the Franco £13million tax evasion claims, in which Spanish prosecutors acregime sought to erase. cuse her of six offences.

Now Almodovar, whose first The singer showered her sons, Milan, 8, and Sasha, 6, with affilm Pepe, Luci Bom, came fection as the family relaxed onboard a 45ft vessel while soaking out in 1980, has taken up up the sun. the issue.

Shakira's legal team and the Spanish Tax Agency are apparently "I wanted to give this topic at loggerheads over the tax case and have 'totally opposite views'. visibility,” explained the OsA trial is imminent with car-winner, 71.

Shakira allegedly hid“Until we've paid the debt we ing money in companies owe the 'desaparecidos', we based in tax havens. will not be able to close the chapter of our recent history.

Holidays don’t lie

KIM CLARK

Benefits Consultancy If you suffer from...

• Mobility problems • Pain / Breathlessness • Falls / Stumbles

Or you need...

• Help with washing /dressing • Supervision

You could be entitled to extra income by claiming UK sickness/disability benefits while living in Spain FOR ADVICE OR TO BOOK A CONSULTATION call 950 169 729 or 663 297 568 www.ukbenefitsinspain.com

BACK TO SCHOOL: But Hogwarts-style for Leonor

Princess of Wales PRINCESS Leonor of Spain has become the new Princess of Wales after starting boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The 15-year-old heir to the Spanish throne is enrolled at UWC Atlantic College where she will study the International Baccalaureate.

The two-year course involves fees of around €76,500 which will be paid from the royals’ annual budget and is a favourite choice among Europe’s elite.

The school in Wales has been likened to the Hogwarts school for wizards from the Harry Potter books because of its location in a 12th century castle.

To become a student at a UWC college, students must have a strong academic record and at least a basic knowledge of English.

As well as studying for the ‘bac’, students are expected to undertake a programme of experiential learning that focuses on key aspects of ‘peace, a sustainable future, and student initiative’.

It offers alternative activities such as yoga, Tai Chi and Tibetan literature, leading it to be dubbed ‘Hippie Hogwarts’.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia took their eldest daughter to Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez Barajas Airport and hugged her goodbye before she made her way to her deEN ROUTE: At airport parture gate.

Disclosure ACTOR Michael Douglas has admitted it was ‘uncomfortable’ sharing his Mallorca holiday home with his ex-wife Diandra Luker (pictured right).

The Hollywood A-lister confirmed that he was ‘much happier’ now that he had bought out his ex’s share of the property, a luxurious 250-acre S’Estaca estate on the outskirts of the village of Valdemossa.

And he revealed that wife Catherine Zeta-Jones is now redecorating the property in the Tramuntana Mountains in her own style.

The pair married in 2000 and have two children, father to Dylan, 21, and Carys, 18, “It was very uncomfortable sharing s’Estaca with Diandra.” he told local newspaper Ultima Hora. “Six months each was not a pleasant thing for anyone.

“But now the house is one hundred percent ours, Catherine’s and mine,” he said.

The race is on (again) THE search for Spain’s next drag superstar on Espana’s Drag Race continues.

The Latin spin-off of RuPaul’s Drag Race has been given a second series, after the show crowned Sevilla’s Carmen Farala as the inaugural winner.

“We can’t wait to see all the charisma, nerve and talent that the next group of Spanish queens have in store,” said a spokesman for the show.

An exact release date has not yet been announced.

Among other spin-offs of the Emmy-winning franchise are Drag Race Philippines and Drag Race Italia, plus other versions in Australia, Chile and Holland.

Season three of the UK version launches on the BBC soon.

4

www.theolivepress.es

AN extraordinary looking jellyfish has been spotted off the coast of Formentera.

The Cotylorhiza tuberculata, commonly referred to as a ‘fried egg jellyfish’ (for obvious reasons) or the Mediterranean jellyfish, was seen bobbing around the waters of Migjorn beach by a family holidaying in the Balearics over the weekend.

The species literally looks like an egg cracked into water and can reach up to 35cm in diameter and is found in shallow depths not usually exceeding 50 metres.

The UK’s Leading Online School A British education from anywhere, anytime, taught by expert teachers.

Join us for Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form.

The Olive Press - 8th/9th/10th September 1/6 Page - 83 mm w x 170 mm h (all editions except Gib)

Multi-million euro operation launched to tidy up after freak August storms TOWNS and villages around Spain are cleaning up after some of the worst summer storms in decades.

Many parts of central and eastern Spain and some towns in Andalucia suffered serious deluges of rain and even hail.

In Antequera, Malaga, the town hall has asked to declare a national emergency after hundreds of businesses were damaged after hailstones the size of golf balls thundered down on the town.

Nearby Fuente de Piedra also saw many cars, street signs and awnings damaged.

The heaviest downpours

NEWS

September 10th September 23rd 2021

EGG-TASTIC

By Isha Sesay

With their alien-like appearance, jellyfish are notorious for their ability to sting, but this specimen is relatively harmless to humans.

Despite its preference for spending most of its time motionless, it can swim actively thanks to its smooth rounded bell at the top which pulses as it moves.

The big clean up STORM: Cars washed away in Alcanar floods triggered flash floods that destroyed homes and businesses in Castellon, Tarragona and Toledo.

Many homes were left without electricity and roads and rail-links were closed due to flooding which saw cars washed into the sea.

The worst affected communities included Guadamur, in Toledo, and Alcanar, in Catalunya, where 230 litres of rain fell in three hours.

Restaurant owner Rosa María Sancho, 67, said: “We had to get upstairs to our apartment and then leave it

all in God’s hands”.

The mayor of Guadamur, María del Sagrario, said she was overcome with emotion as she saw the 200 homes that had been devastated.

“What took 15 years to develop was demolished in an hour for a village of 1,800 people. I was born and raised in this town, and I've never seen anything quite like it,” she said.

There were also serious floods in Lorca and Aguilas, in Murcia.

Madrid saw its second rainiest August day since 1920.

Mafia swoop A GIANT operation has seen 107 suspected members of an Albanian drug gang arrested in Castellon and Catalunya.

Over 400 police swooped on the gang in 42 simultaneous raids across four provinces.

The members were picked up in Castellon, Tarragona, Barcelona and Girona along with a tonne of marihuana and 25,000 cannabis plants.

Police have now shut down an incredible 51 isolated inland drug farms and seized €70,000 in cash as well as various cars.

The raids came after a year-long operation between Albanian, German and Spanish police.

An investigation was launched after a lorry carrying 140 kilos of cannabis was intercepted in Germany.

Sophisticated

The family clan, which was also made up of a few Greeks and Spanish, made up to five times the price of the marijuana on sale in Spain.

It helped to make them one of the biggest marijuana suppliers around Europe and one of Spain’s key mafia gangs.

In a sophisticated operation they bribed estate agents to rent empty warehouses at rock bottom prices and always - in remote areas.

They also bribed electricity company employees to obtain forged documents regarding power supply, while they connected to the networks illegally.

In total, they are believed to have syphoned off over €1.6 million in electricity.

Baby on board A BRITISH holidaymaker has given birth in the back of a Guardia Civil patrol car.

Officers helped deliver a healthy baby girl on the back seat of the patrol car as they rushed to Menorca’s general hospital.

The mother and her partner had been out for dinner in a restaurant when her waters broke.

“The couple raised the alarm after the woman went into labour around 8pm at a restaurant where they had been enjoying a meal.

“The officers realised her waters had broken and when the ambulance didn’t arrive they decided to take the pregnant tourist to hospital themselves.”

On arrival at the hospital, one of the officers announced that they had ‘a new passenger on board’.

Although born premature, the baby girl is ‘doing fine’ after being transferred to the neonatal unit of Son Espases hospital.

Open up!

PROTESTORS took to streets of Palma to rally against the restaurant and bar restrictions enforced in Mallorca.

Workers in the hospitality sector marched to demand that all restrictions be lifted.

"We come back to the same thing, which is that the hospitality industry is not to blame for anything. So we will continue to take to the streets to fight,” said one protester.

She said there were long queues for Caló des Moro beach without any safe distance or masks, and yet 12 people cannot queue in a restaurant.

Bounced back A THIRD of all international tourists arriving in Spain chose to spend their summer holidays in the Balearic Islands.

New data shows that for the fourth consecutive month, the Balearic Islands was the region to welcome the highest number of international travellers.

As a whole, the region received 1.86 million national and international tourists, just two thirds of the number that arrived in July, 2019.

Regional president, Francina Armengol, said this proved the Balearics had bounced back.

She said: “The Balearic Islands have had an infinitely better season than what many people predicted and has allowed the region to be a leader in the international tourism market.”

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Miracle tot A TODDLER survived plummeting to the ground from a four-storey window after his fall was broken by a washing line.

In the Palma fall, the two-yearold hit a metal bar of a clothesline on the second floor, before falling on plastic netting attached to a washing line on the courtyard below.

He walked away with several scratches and was taken for a thorough check at Son Espases hospital after being found by a neighbour.

He was quickly given the all clear.

"It was a miracle," said his mother. “Santino was in his room watching a cartoon.

He moved the bedside table, climbed on it and fell out the window.

"My son has superhuman strength, it took 15 people to hold him to check him over at the hospital," she added.

Double shock THE rise in electricity costs is also responsible for an increase of food prices.

Consumer groups claim there has been a 1.5% rise in food prices throughout the Balearic Islands.

According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) cooking oil prices are up by 22.6%, bread is up 1.5%, eggs 2.2%, and mineral water and soft drinks up to 9%. Part of the blame is soaring electricity prices with producers forced to pass on the increased cost to the consumer.

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

TIED UP AND LEFT TO DIE

British family slam controversial hospital after mother died from infected bed sores while ‘handcuffed’ in bed AN ELDERLY expat was ‘handcuffed’ to a hospital bed which led to a ‘humiliating and agonising death’, claim her family.

Kathleen Marshall, who was displaying the early signs of dementia, was admitted into Torrevieja hospital for treatment for dehydration.

But when relatives went to visit the 73-year-old British resident, who had lived in Spain for more than two decades, they were shocked to find her restrained in a bed.

Nappy

They found her also wearing a nappy, despite the fact that she was ‘able to use’ the toilet and wash herself.

Son George, who lives in San Miguel de Salinas, has failed to get an explanation over what he insists was “humiliating treatment”. He claims

NEWS IN BRIEF Foodie prize A Menorca film called A food and love story has won an international culinary award.

Land ahoy THREE people have been seriously injured after their yacht crashed off the coast of Ibiza.

EXCLUSIVE

By Simon Wade

the pain of the infected sores, he asked nursing staff to confirm what painkillers had been administered.

He was given the reply: “Oh, do you think she needs some?”

A hastily-arranged morphine treatment left Kathleen incredibly nauseous, but allegedly staff hadn’t noticed that constant vomiting had dislodged her feeding pipe.

Consequently, fluids were fed directly into her lungs, and she developed respiratory problems as a result.

After two agonising weeks, Kathleen was sent home, but it soon transpired she had septicaemia from what had developed into ‘Stage 4 bedsores’.

5

Plane crash TRAGIC: Kathleen was tied to a bed at Torrevieja hospital

A return to the same hospital saw her die within a week, less than a month after being first admitted for a simple rehydration treatment.

“Mum is definitely in a better place now, but her passing should have been a dignified affair with her family by her side, not alone and in agony up until her final breath,” continued George.

Neglect

His mother’s death certificate mentioned three reasons for her passing: respiratory problems, dementia and

the ulcer.

The family is convinced that Kathleen suffered ‘criminal neglect’ and believe others may have suffered in a similar way.

He is now seeking other local families, expat or Spanish, that have suffered at the hands of the hospital.

He hopes that by joining with others and speaking up about certain practices it will raise awareness and pressure authorities to make improvements in care.

Opinion Page 6

TWO men, aged 62 and 73, died on impact when their light aircraft crashed into an olive grove near the village of Niebla in Huelva southwestern Spain.

Home drama POLICE talked an Alicante woman out of leaping off a balcony after stabbing her son, 21, with a knife.

His injuries were only minor and his mother was arrested and taken to hospital.

6

NEWS FEATURE

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 CRITICAL CONDITION “BARBARIC lazy nursing” is just one comment about Torrevieja Hospital made by an Olive Press reader online this week.

The tragic passing of his mum, Kathy Marshall, in August came in the same month that Rachael Firth, 33, was sent home to die after a 14 hour wait in A&E. Dozens of similar stories have now surfaced from grieving families that have unnecessarily lost loved ones after apparently similar treatment.

It is telling that a trio of health unions - CESM, SATSE and CSIF - have all described Torrevieja Health Department as being at “saturation point”.

In a joint statement, they slammed the A&E department, insisting that on one recent occasion there were 24 patients still awaiting admission, of which ‘many have been in observation for more than 40 hours.’

“There is only one administrative assistant to attend to patients arriving at the door, creating a backlog,” it continued.

The Ministry of Health has pledged to ‘guarantee normality’ with a new manager now due to arrive next month, when the current private management contract ends.

Dr. Maria Santos starts on October 15, moving from the position of medical director of Orihuela’s Vega Baja Hospital.

In the meantime, support is growing so fast on a social media page, Untold Stories & Bad Experiences of Torrevieja Hospital that it’s also been translated into Spanish and German.

The Olive Press is firmly behind any campaign to highlight injustices inflicted on any nationalities and will continue to put pressure on the relevant authorities for answers.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Fiona Govan fiona@theolivepress.es

Kirsty McKenzie kirsty@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Isha Sesay isha@theolivepress.es

Katherine Brook katherine@theolivepress.es

Simon Wade simon@theolivepress.es

Glenn Wickman glenn@theolivepress.es

Graham Keeley graham@theolivepress.es

Cristina Hodgson cristina@theolivepress.es

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

ADMIN Sandra Aviles Diaz (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es

DISTRIBUTION ENQUIRIES (+34) 951 273 575 distribution@ theolivepress.es

NEWSDESK: 0034 951 273 575 For all sales and advertising enquiries please contact 951 27 35 75 HEAD OFFICE

Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5, Calle Espinosa 1, Edificio cc El Duque, planta primera, 29692, Sabinillas, Manilva Deposito Legal PM 610-2017

AWARDS

2016 - 2020 Best expat paper in Spain and the second best in the world. The Expat Survey Consumer Awards.

2012 - 2020

Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

I’M SURE

In a soul-searching new book, Olive Press editor Jon Clarke takes a deep dive into the seedy world of ‘van lifer’ Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the snatch of Madeleine McCann

‘

I’M SURE he snatched Maddie. He was a pervert and a very strange man,’ insisted Michael ‘Micha’ Tatschl in June 2020. ‘I know he did it.’

Talking about his ‘best friend’ Christian Brueckner, with whom he’d lived in Portugal and spent eight months in prison, he went on: ‘He was always on the dark web. I don’t know exactly what he did, but I think it involved drugs and pornography. He was also always bragging about money and making money, particularly from burglaries. He was an excellent thief. He even talked about selling kids, maybe to Morocco ... and I think he probably sold Maddie to someone. Maybe a sex ring.’

I nearly dropped my caña, as did the two other witnesses to the phone conversation, as we sat in a leafy finca garden, in the heart of southern Spain’s Alpujarras region.

We were talking about the German drifter, who had just been made the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

In what was easily the strangest interview of my long journalism career, I was talking to Tatschl in Austria, while sitting in the back garden of the home he had shared with his British ex-girlfriend Emma for a number of years near Orgiva.

The area has long been a haven for new age travellers, also known as ‘van lifers’ and a character like Tatschl, with his pierced nipples and skull and crossbones tattoo, would happily fit into this footloose, transient community.

So too would Brueckner, who I discovered had been a frequent visitor, staying nearby often for weeks at a time.

Much to the shock of the three of us sitting there, according to Tatschl, he had turned up in late May or early June 2007, with what he described as ‘one of the most expensive camper-vans money could buy.’

If true, the timing was incredible. For his visit was just three or four weeks after Maddie had vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal, some 585km to the west.

During that month in 2007, the whole world had been following the heart-wrenching story … how Kate and Gerry McCann’s 3-yearold daughter had apparently been snatched from her holiday apartment by an intruder, while the parents ate dinner at a restaurant nearby.

By the time Brueckner had parked up his huge Tiffin Allegro Bay RV on an area of waste ground near Tablones, the story had easily garnered 100 front pages and was fast becoming one of the biggest missing person mysteries in history.

Yet here was this dangerous German paedophile – with, as we now know, a prison record as long as his arm – brazenly driving into the backwaters of Granada province in a 30-foot long motorhome.

‘We all wondered where he’d got this expensive new van,’ continued Tatschl.

‘We assumed a big drug deal or something like that. Now I definitely suspect it was Maddie.’

I have spent the last year investigating the new German suspect for a book (see right), which has taken me across the border into Portugal half a dozen times, as well as around Spain and to Germany.

I’ve analysed Tatschl’s claims at length, which are damning and include a series of rape videos that Brueckner made of a teenager and a pensioner.

I’ve studied the further rape of a 72-year-old and interviewed the Portuguese WPC who arrested Brueckner in 2017 after he exposed himself to four toddlers in a play park.

I’ve analysed the German police evidence that places Brueckner outside Maddie’s apartment on the night she went missing, grilled the chief prosecutor for three hours and met nearly a dozen of Brueckner’s former friends and flatmates.

I met his mother and his mentor and visited half a dozen of his former homes, including the derelict box factory, where police found up to 20,000 videos and photos, much of it child pornography, that had been buried under the body of a dead dog.

This is my journey into the heart of darkness of paedophilia and its policing, and my conclusions on the case and its wider implications are deeply disturbing.

Sadist

Now a married father-of-one, living near Graz in Austria, Tatschl has twice been interviewed at length by German police over his connections to Brueckner.

Another former friend of Brueckner, Helge Busching, had put his name forward in 2017, while a third did the same as long back as 2013, after a German TV appeal.

But few people knew Brueckner better than Tatschl, who shared a home with him in Praia da Luz, before spending eight months in prison with him after they were caught stealing fuel from lorries on the Algarve.

In a bombshell confession during their trial in December 2006 Brueckner told the judge that he had committed various burglaries and sex crimes, (yes plural) as a teenager.

For some reason the specifics were not probed. Certainly not properly logged. And that was not the first time his dangerous nature had come up in the two decades he spent in Portugal.

Shouldn’t police have taken a closer look at the sex offender when a young Irish woman was brutally raped in Lagos in 2004?

Or when a 72-yearold American was viciously assaulted in Praia da Luz in 2005, for which he was found guilty a staggering 12 years later?

He lived, after all, just 900m away and was known to be an aggressive local wife-beater.

These were particularly sadistic rapes because in both attacks the assailant had rigged up a video to film the crime.

Both women recalled their assailCONVINCED: Brueckner’s pal Michael ‘Micha’ Tatschl ant’s eyes and his believes he snatched Maddie English spoken with

a German accent.

And then there was the 10-year-old German girl molested on a nearby beach just weeks before Maddie went missing. On that occasion I established that the police didn’t even bother to go out to investigate despite having a perfect description of the scruffy blond man who ran away naked.

Keystone cops

Ultimately then, I took a look at the force employed to catch one of the most wanted and most dangerous criminals in European history.

Firstly shining a light on the leader of the initial investigation, Goncalo Amaral, who was removed after criticising British detectives and claiming they were only following leads the McCanns asked them to pursue.

Few know that Amaral – who later wrote a lucrative book claiming the McCanns killed their daughter – was charged (and later convicted) over the case of another missing girl Joana, 8, exactly ONE day before Maddie went missing.

Meanwhile, his former Policia Judiciaria (PJ) deputy, Paulo Pereira, who also wrote a book on the

HE DID IT

7 PIC: Jon Clarke

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

www.theolivepress.es

TRAUMATIC: McCanns at first press conference in 2007

Just Another Early Morning Job

I

FIRST investigated the Madeleine McCann case on Day One in May 2007, when I was up and out of my house near Ronda before 7am and on the road to the Algarve.

A missing child story in Portugal wasn’t too out of the ordinary.

What was different though, was the family involved. The professional, middle-class doctors Kate and Gerry McCann were not your typical Brits abroad-type victims – the least likely of tourists to want to get involved with the press, particularly on holiday.

But they were clearly in desperate need for help.

Conjuring up a legion of journalists to help in their hunt for their missing daughter seemed the best way forward.

The story had first appeared on Sky News at around 7.45am in the UK,and I figured it would be over by the time I got there: she would be found, like the vast majority of other kids that wander off during their holidays, either dead or alive, in a swimming pool or a ditch somewhere.

It wasn’t hard to locate the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz and I was the first British journalist on the scene.

After establishing the name of the missing toddler as ‘Maddie’, I walked up the short flight of stairs to the apartment, number 5A, – completely unimpeded by police – to speak to the parents, as any decent journalist is programmed to do on arrival at a job like this.

PICTURES BY: Jon Clarke and Police

Pleasantries

VICINITY: Brueckner (above) lived for 7 years overlooking the Ocean Club (circled) in Praia da Luz, driving two vehicles (left)

I walked inside the open front door and bumped straight into the McCanns, who were heading off to the police station in nearby Lagos to make an official missing persons statement.

They looked fraught and stressed, but were somehow still functioning, despite presumably not sleeping a wink. I smiled and said ‘hello’, introducing myself as a local hack, just arrived from Malaga.

I promised I’d help as best I could to find their daughter.

They seemed grateful and smiled ... well grimaced to be fair – saying ‘thank you’ and mumbling a few other pleasantries, before telling me their daughter’s name and the rough time she had disappeared.

I don’t remember much but I do remember them describing it as ‘a nightmare’ and saying they were ‘sure’ she had been snatched. I scribbled it down in my notepad.

From the very first moment I arrived in Praia da Luz that May morning, my overbearing drive was to solve the mystery and find young Maddie.

The rules of journalism revolve around the five ws: When, Where, Why, Who and hoW. Stick to these and you can’t go wrong.

I haven’t yet solved the mystery, but my 130,000 word, 46-chapter book comes close, I believe, to offering any amateur detective or interested reader the opportunity of understanding the case and all its many complex and compelling idiosyncrasies.

Searching the Border

W case, recently went to prison for seven years for his involvement in a robbery and kidnapping gang near Lisbon.

Finally, I will look, for the first time, at two other retired police officers – both English expats – lurking like a bad smell in the background.

One, a senior career detective who has spent years supporting the Portuguese police and trolling the McCanns for being guilty of the crime. And the second, a former London detective, who also defended the Portuguese investigation, while sensationally living NEXT DOOR to Brueckner for a number of years.

Vipers

My book explores in depth the nondescript village of Foral, where Brueckner lived twice and where the case completely blew up, after the German appeal in June 2020.

I believe it offers a number of keys to the entire case. For it was here, some

35 minutes north east of Praia da Luz that I found a veritable nest of vipers; a place that was totally uninvestigated and where so many strange people resided and so many odd things happened.

I suspect a child sex trafficking ring was centred here and I believe Brueckner was involved.

It was in Foral that the gun-toting crook was linked to an underage teenager who got pregnant and in the nearby town of Messines where he was caught (and yet again, inexplicably, not tried) for exposing himself to children.

Some readers might get the feeling that someone is protecting Herr Brueckner.

After all, he was wandering around Europe at will, hanging around children and teens, and managing to offend repeatedly with surprisingly little consequence.

And when we add in Portugal’s truly shocking Casa Pia case – involving government ministers, doctors and judges – you will start to understand why I think Brueckner was being given a helping hand.

HILE the Portuguese police turned their focus on the McCanns, I started looking into numerous leads in Spain.

By the end of 2016, police had to sift through over 8,600 reported sightings of Maddie in over 100 countries.

Between 2007 and 2013, The Olive Press looked at more than a dozen links to the case around Spain.

The McCanns have always believed there is a ‘very real possibility’ Maddie was taken across the border.

This is, after all, one long straight coastline that simply continues into Spain. There are no great mountainous bound-

SPAIN PORTUGAL

Praia da Luz, where Madeleine McCann disappeared

The Portugal Spain border is 1,214km in length (the longest uninterrupted border in the European Union) and is mostly unmanned.

aries and it has been a mostly fluid border, hardly manned since the 1980s.

There are numerous crossing points between Portugal and Spain stretching from the southern tip at Vila Real de Santo Antonio to the northern Atlantic border at Seixas, near Galicia.

Known as The Stripe (A Raia in Portuguese, La Raia in Spanish), it is, at 1,214km in length, the longest uninterrupted border in the European Union.

Border checks are rare, and, apart from the recent ones due to Covid, when the border was actually shut for a number of months, it was only manned during the 2004 UEFA Euros, the 2010 NATO summit in Lisbon and Pope Francis’ visit to Fatima in 2017.

Over the years we have investigated leads that include a known Swiss peadophile living in Benimantell in Alicante, who killed himself after snatching and killing a toddler remarkably similar in appearance to Madeleine in July 2007.

Then there was a convicted British sex offender who wrote a letter from his death bed claiming he knew Maddie had been snatched to order for sale to a wealthy childless couple.

And most sinister of all was a nightclub bouncer turned whistleblower who had compiled a dossier on a massive paedophile network linked to the Casa Pia orphanage in Portugal and well connected to the Portuguese judiciary and police (see front page top).

8

GREEN

www.theolivepress.es

SNAKE ISLAND

Rare lizard under threat from a huge growth of snakes A HUGE rise in Ibiza’s snake population is threatening the island’s iconic green lizards, and tourists are being blamed.

The snakes now populate around half of the island of Ibiza and are not dangerous to humans. However, that doesn’t apply to green lizards, which are easily spotted and prove a tasty snack for a snake.

A major concern is that holidaymakers in the last two decades have fuelled the problem by opting for imported food over locally grown produce.

That has meant added pressure on lizards seeking out reduced vegetation to feed on as well as dealing with a new enemy.

Snakes arrived in olive tree imports in the early 2000s and a study suggests they will cover the whole island by 2028.

Experts say that the ‘horseshoe’ snake breed poses the greatest threat to the lizard. One Ibiza council is offering free snake traps and even paying residents to destroy the slithery creatures A British expat formed-group, Ibiza Preservation, is trying to reverse the snake boom by promoting more eco-tourism to re-

Mar Menor buffer A GREEN 'buffer zone' of 390 hectares has been suggested in a bid to reduce pollution in the Mar Menor lagoon in the Murcia region.

The proposed area, put forward by Spain’s Ecological Transition Minister, Teresa Ribera, would be free of farming and building development.

She said: “Urban and agricultural growth is not possible in the Mar Menor. On the contrary, we must reduce it.”

Ribera's 'green-belt' would occupy an area that's equivalent to 557 football pitches.

The aim is to create a 'buffer' against any polluting chemicals running into the lagoon.

By Alex Trelinski

store lizard habitats.

It’s also encouraging tourists to enjoy locally-sourced foods as opposed to imports.

Kate Benyon-Tinker from Ibiza Preservation said: “The lizards evolved to eat vegetation in the area because of a lack of other foodstuffs.”

“That means they pollinate plants which is important to the

eco-system.”

Welcoming the move to encourage snake traps, Benyon-Tinker commented: “We are supporting the campaign to

save the lizard and spreading the word about encouraging people to get their own traps.”

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

Shining star

HE’S one of the most sparkling celebrities on the red carpet.

Now Leonardo DiCaprio (left) has become a true shining star as he invests in a an eco diamond project in Spain.

The Hollywood legend, 46, has joined the Diamond Foundry company, which uses plasma reactors and renewable energy to artificially create diamonds.

Based in Trujillo, Extremadura, it will produce the stones in just two months.

DiCaprio took a keen interest in the industry while filming Blood Diamond in 2006.

This prompted his involvement in the organisation which aims to produce diamonds with little environmental impact The industry is to blame for numerous atrocities and wars in Africa.

Martin Tye explains why the devastating effects of nitrous oxide is a serious issue

LAUGHING GAS - IT'S NOT FUNNY !!

Green

Matters

By Martin Tye

O

F course, there is a funny side to laughing gas. I’ve swallowed the contents of a helium balloon before to make my voice sound comical.

However, N2O when it comes to the environment is a very different story.

In the world’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions , the source of our food is coming under the spotlight.

Not without reason.

Agriculture accounts for up to 27%

of human caused climate warming emissions.

These emissions are not from carbon dioxide, the usual culprit.

They come from another gas altogether – nitrous oxide (N20) commonly referred to as laughing gas.

This should not be a forgotten greenhouse gas.

Molecule for molecule, N20 is around 300 times as potent as carbon dioxide at heating the atmosphere.

And, just like CO2, it is long lived, spending over 100 years in the sky before disintegrating.

It also depletes the ozone layer.

Despite its important contribution to climate change, N20 emissions have largely been ignored in climate policies.

Heavy use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is the principal offender.

Before modern intensive farming came, farmers used comDESTRUCTION: Dead fish wash up at the Mar Menor post and manure to

encourage crop growth.

Nowadays, industry has created methods to produce massive amounts of ammonia based fertiliser.

Crop yields have been boosted, but at a huge cost to the environment. Because farmers apply such huge quantities, the plant roots can’t absorb all the fertiliser nutrients.

N20 greenhouse gas is then released.

In addition some of it runs off the fields and pollutes waterways.

A current example being the Mar Menor in Murcia. Very much in the news again lately because of 1000’s of fish being killed. Politicians bicker while the environment suffers.

Scientists are looking at ways to mitigate this problem.

The solution cannot come quickly enough.

The clock is ticking.

If policymakers turn their attention to tackling nitrous oxide, there are benefits for all. The same measures that lower N20 levels also reduce air and water pollution as well as biodiversity losses.

These tangible benefits can be seen immediately.

TIME TO CLEAN UP OUR ACT.

Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. +34 638145664 ( Spain Phone ) Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es

SAVE MONEY ON YOUR ELECTRICITY BILL

100% Certified Green Energy

Switch with Mariposa Energía Cheaper tariffs 100% green energy

GUARANTEED SAVINGS

Excellent customer service Contact our friendly team for a FREE no obligation quote today! +34 951 120 830 | INFO@MARIPOSAENERGIA.ES | WWW.MARIPOSAENERGIA.ES

LA CULTURA

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

Let there be light

Up in smoke

BEFORE AND AFTER: Fallas fire

VALENCIA’S world famous Fallas festival wrapped up with fireworks and the burning of giant colourful sculptures in an event that was delayed by 18 months because of the pandemic.

The five-day festival is traditionally held in March but was cancelled in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

A RARE example of a Roman candelabra has gone on display.

Unearthed at El Monostil, in Elda, art teacher Eva Mendiola spent four months restoring it.

Three times bigger than most other examples, it can be seen at the archaeological museum in Elda.

Made between 30 and 34 AD in the final years of Emperor Tiberius, it was likely used in a prominent public building or in the home of a PRICELESS: Candelabra wealthy Roman citizen.

The large chandelier has 32 spots for candles and room for oil to be poured in to keep them alight.

It was made by Lucius Eros who engraved his name on the molds used for his work.

Several kilns used by Eros were discovered in El Monostil excavations that started in 1989, with further finds in 2009 and 2010.

FULL GLORY Feminist mural restored after being defaced by far-right vandals A MURAL honouring famous women in Madrid has been restored, five months after being defaced by far-right vandals on International Women’s Day. The mural was destroyed with black stains that made

DAMAGE: VOX poster are placed on mural

it impossible to see the faces of the 15 women represented.

The words 'terrorists' and 'communists' could also be read on the graffiti.

The artist Frida Kahlo, singer Nina Simone, activist Rosa Parks and Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a sniper who fought against the Nazis, were among them.

The mural created by Unlogic Crew in 2018, had been originally opposed by the PP, Ciudadanos and Vox insisting it sent too much of a political message.

Vox proposed to repaint it with the image of paralympic athletes. Thanks to Ciudadanos changing their stance and a series of protests from locals, the mural won the support to remain.

Support for the feminist mural has led to some 50 replicas of it being erected all over Spain.

No food fight MALLORCA’S grape harvest festival has been cancelled for a second year because of Covid.

Now it will be more a case of crying into your wine, not throwing it at each other, after event organisers called it off at the last minute.

Most of the fiestas in Spain have been cancelled due to Covid restrictions, but authorities in Binissalem had hoped that with the excellent vaccination progress and lifting of restrictions in Mallorca, the Festa des Vermar could take place between September 24-26.

But on Wednesday the town hall took the decision to cancel it “as a precaution”.

The town, located in the centre of the island between Lloseta and Inca, is famous for its wine and has held its annual festival since the

9

18th century.

Grape-treading and grape-throwing are popular parts of this fun fiesta during which hundreds of revellers throw grapes at each other until everyone is soaked in purple grape juice.

Heartless attack A SCULPTURE paying tribute to victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denia has been vandalised.

The heart-shaped artwork

by Modesto Mari was damaged with graffiti scrawled on it.

The ‘Corozones’ artwork symbolised two embracing silhouettes forming a single human body.

LETTERS

10

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

Hospital woes

Response to the story of Expat mum being 4 sent home from A & E at Torrevieja Hospital to die in agony (see story right)

IN BLACK AND WHITE Dear Olive Press,

w that VaI just wanted to let you kno h of a new birt the ting bra cele is ia lenc zebra. n frolickI spotted the stripey newbor Bioparc. at s foal ng you er ing with oth Bom to It is the second foal of mother be born within 12 months.

Barbara Jones, Benidorm

Badly hurt

On March 22 my wife had a bad fall in our garden, I called an ambulance which took her to the above hospital. On examining her and taking an X-ray the lady doctor told her ‘no bones are broken, you can go home and here’s a prescription for paracetamol’.

I had to ask for a wheelchair to get her to our car as she could not walk.

On arriving home I had to get help from

E S TA R S B TH

Y

LE

The key word for this month is balance as we reach the tipping point, Autumn Equinox, the moment of equal hours of day and night, which has a rich history of celebration both in the Neolithic and pre-agricultural ages.

The time of Harvest Festival, when we gratefully gathered in and stored supplies for the coming winter months.

It is no coincidence that the planets start to enter the sign of balance – Libra this month. So what does that mean for you?

T I C I A PA R

M

ER

ARIES

Though you are thoroughly independent and love to ‘go it alone’, you’re really keen to partner up this September, whether for work or pleasure. You may be surprised just how much you enjoy being attached.

TAURUS

The bull likes to make his way across the field, quietly munching and going his own way. However, this September your equilibrium may be troubled by a challenging someone who insists you revise your perspective.

GEMINI

Balancing duty and fun is your challenge this September. You like being the one to provide the laughs and you’ll have great fun playing with the youngsters, but that can mean a lot of tidying up afterwards.

VIRGO Virgos are naturally financially shrewd and like to meticulously balance the books. So this Autumn Equinox is the perfect moment to consider all the incomings and outgoings which balance every aspect of your life.

A 20-YEAR-OLD man has been hospitalised for multiple injuries after jumping from an eight metre high second floor in S'Arenal for reasons still unknown.

WORKERS in OAP homes who refuse to be vaccinated have been strongly criticised by the councillor for social affairs, Fina Santiago, for putting at risk vulnerable people.

A WOMAN who was seriously hurt after being run over on a Menorca indus-

Peter, (surname and email withheld)

Lydia Bailey, British expat living on the Costa Blanca

LEO

AQUARIUS

SCORPIO

PISCES

You’ll find yourself enjoying more stimulating conversations than you’ve had for many months. But don’t hog the limelight too much because this September there’s just as much to gain by truly listening.

September may be a month of quiet contemplation for you as you tune in to the changing light . A great time to reflect over the year so far and to prepare, like a squirrel, for the winter months to come.

A YOUNG British woman died hours after being dismissed by doctors and told to go home after waiting 14 hours at a hospital for treatment.

Rachael Firth, who worked as a live-in carer, sought help at Torrevieja’s A&E on August 14, after suffering days of pain.

She was seen by her GP for pain in her legs earlier that week, and was advised to go to the emergency department if the condition worsened.

In regular messages to her mum, she said hospital staff justified making her wait all day because emergencies took

DENSELY populated parts of the Mediterranean coast could be devastated by a massive six-metre tsunami.

According to a recent study thousands of homes could be destroyed and countless lives put at risk with little to no warning should a major quake hit the Averroes fault in the Alboran Sea, which lies between Spain and Morocco.

The danger has long been known, but the new report by the Institut de Ciencies del Mar (ICM-CSIC) insists the devastation caused could be even worse than previously thought.

EXCLUSIVE

By Simon Wade

Travel on hold

Detection

Researchers using a mathematical model warned the giant wave could be 19.68 feet in size (6m) and take between 21 and 35 minutes to reach the southern shores of Spain.

They concluded that current tsunami detection systems would not be sufficient, meaning the authorities would not have the time to clear low-lying areas in time.

Ferran Estrada, a geologist from the team said: “These giant waves can pose a threat to coastal populations and damage land-based infrastructure.

“They can cause huge economic and environmental crisises.

“It is essential to improve warning measures to mitigate the impact of a possible tsunami.”

He said the Averroes fault has, at its northwest end, a vertical drop of up to 5.4 metres that could generate a magnitude 7 earthquake.

A tsunami flooded the Andalucian cities of Huelva and Cadiz, which were described as ‘miraculously surviving’, despite several deaths, after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

Bob Gordon, Moraira, Costa Blanca

1/3 Page - 256 mm w x 105 mm h ---

(all editions except Gib)

Across 8 Not for money (3,4) 9 Elevate (5) 10 So soon? (7) 12 "Oleanna" playwright (5) 16 Parliamentary output (4) 19 Kind of entertainment channel (5,2) 20 Gentlemen's preferences, maybe (7) 21 Partial darkness (4) 24 Vesicles (5) 27 A girl's best marriage prospect (2,5) 29 Middle Eastern heights (5) 30 In name only (7)

Down

Always sensitive to mood, you feel the changing season quite deeply in you psyche this September. It is a good month for you to go within, to meditate and to connect profoundly with your personal spiritual support.

LIBRA

For a private appointment with Leticia for an in depth reading of your own Astrological Chart email: leticiaparmer@yahoo.com. Also check out Leticia's insightful book WHY ON EARTH which is available from Amazon

DEVASTATION: Official map shows the danger

Wave warning

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

You are a natural humanitarian and team player and all of this is enhanced now as sports and games which include people from every culture and tradition, are the great interests for you this September.

You are a pacifist, preferring harmony and peace to discord – but this September you will fight vehemently against any perceived imbalance or unfairness. Resist the temptation to take things too personally though.

THE Balearic Islands have enough COVID vaccines to approach herd immunity within two weeks.

They have 211,048 units in stock, with 73.54% of the population of the islands already fully vaccinated.

IB-Salut health authority has specified that only 53,390 people are missing one dose of the vaccine, while 357,096 are still unvaccinated.

DISGRACE!

The Olive Press -25, 26 and 27 Aug ---

This is a month of outreach, of socialising, friendship and gatherings. You will happily organise or join a group of like-minded folk with similar or charitable interests. The more the merrier is your September motto.

This September you have an authoritative air about you. Combine your natural business acumen with your love of history and tradition by aligning your goals with the energy and meaning of this Autumn Equinox.

August 27th - September 9th 2021

Have you herd

I will not be travelling to the UK for some months until this uncertainty ceases. The cost and effort of all these The UKtests ’s Lea “I am very sad that this happened g it unviable. I am lucky, justdin makes but I have been here for twelve Online ISch haveool no family in the UK, just friends years and have had excellent care I would like to visit. I am a resident of Spain but still have a house in the UK. from the Spanish health care sysI have an Easyjet ticket booked back tem. My husband had three opin 2020 which, without cost, I have erations, one very major surgery changed 5 times. Now rebooked for and had brilliant treatment,” November. Well done Easyjet.

SAGITTARIUS

You are the intuitive nest-builders of the zodiac. This month you’re more engrossed than usual in setting up your home exactly as you want it. Perhaps you are tuning in to nature’s prompting to prepare for winter?

Young death

AN unvaccinated 19-yearold woman who had no underlying medical conditions has died from COVID-19 in Mallorca.

The woman is the youngest person to die from the virus in the Balearic Islands.

Medical staff at Son Espaces were surprised at the ‘aggressiveness’ with which COVID-19 attacked the young woman.

TRAGIC: Rachel Firth stayed on the ward though, in the desperate hope that someone would eventually attend to her leg. priority.

After seven hours of waiting in Exhausted, she was eventually agony with her leg swollen to sent home at 3am, after 14 agotwice its size, the 33-year-old nising hours in the hospital.

Later that morning, her mothA Nine-year-old French eventually saw a female doctor. boy has been hospitalHowever, she felt her condition er - who has 35 years nursing that could have saved her life. ised in serious condition was not taken seriously, and in- experience - realised something Jane has sought legal advice, in Andratx after trying to sisted the doctor dismissed her was gravely wrong and rushed with a view to preventing such a jump from one balcony to after seeing medical notes that to the nearest pharmacy for tragedy happening to someone another and falling four else. mentioned previous treatments medication and advice.

But by the time she returned, “The metres. for mental illness. way my daughter was In a message to her mother, Rachael had slipped into un- treated in her final hours is Jane, a nurse herself, seen by consciousness and was com- nothing short of disgusting you the Olive Press, she said: “The pletely unresponsive.

Jane performed CPR while that wouldn’t treat an animal way,” she sobbed. “Money doctor was really neighbours called nasty, said she’s lance but Rachaelfor an ambu- isn’t the issue, what difference died on the would it make anyway? read my notes and floor of her own lounge with “I just want justice I’m mental in the paramedics also unable to re- and I want answers for Rachael head.” to the quesvive her.

NAUTICAL tourism has grown tions we have about her awful She said the doc48% since 2019 despite the pandemic, with the Balearic Islands treatment - this shouldn’t haptor had told nursbeing the most popular destination. pen to anyone.” es that once she Holidays for those who enjoy had her X-ray to A Spanish neighbour confirmed Rachael was cremated at Torboating centres on Menorca, Ibiza and Mallorca, as well as Barcelona revieja crematorium last week ‘get her to a taxi to Jane that the ambulance staff and the Costa Blanca.

British and German travellers and get her home’. told him that ‘an embolism was with dozens of friends, family have the Balearics at the top of their bucket list for boating breaks.

In a later mes- certainly to blame’, after assess- and colleagues in attendance.

The profile of the nautical tourist Kind neighbours had helped sage she wrote: ing her symptoms. is a 45 to 55 year old man who - in addition to sailing - is “The other two Rachael’s own son, Reece, 13, towards the expensive funeral looking for gastronomic and sporting activities. nurses were well had thankfully been staying costs at short notice.

The most popular boats for these shocked”. with friends that night so did trips are inflatable boats, sailing boats and catamarans.

If Olive Press readers Referring to the not witness his mother’s death.

Boat bookings increased by 94% doctor, she added: The family is now looking for would like to help the fampared to the same period in 2019.in June and July 2021 com“She hates me.” answers as to why medics failed ily, there is also a gofundThe part-time to take Rachael’s illness seri- me page to help. charity volunteer ously and to provide treatment Opinion Page 6 trial estate had to be taken to Canal Salat health centre in a private vehicle because no ambulances were available.

CAPRICORN

CANCER

Vac to school

THE Balearic Islands will start the academic year on September 10 with one of the highest vaccinated secondary school students rates of in Spain.

The region currently boasts the highest of citizens aged between 12 and 19 who number have had both jabs.

More than 44% of the age group have vaccinated, almost triple the national been fully average of 15%.

Spain has only approved vaccination against COVID-19 for those aged over 12 so Balearics began their drive to jab thisfar and the age group at the end of July.

the lady next door to help me get herJust into selfish our house.

She was in so much pain that the following morning I called a private ambulance Mercy run to take her to the IMED clinic in TorrevieBritish expat mum, 33, sent home to die in agony after being refused treatment after 14 hour wait at A&E ja for a second opinion.

On arrival they saw what state she was in and transferred her to a hospital in Elche Balcony fall which carried out tests and found she had a fractured pelvis.

They kept her in hospital overnight and sent her home by ambulance the following day, she spent six weeks in a wheel-Ahoy there Embolism chair and has now fully recovered.

OP SUDOKU

IN

SEPTEMBER HOROSCOPES by Leticia Parmer

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF

1 Spread out lazily (6) 2 Take a loan (6) 3 Prolonged unconsciousness (4) 4 £25 (4) 5 Metric mass unit (4) 6 Thin layer (4) 7 Euro fraction (4) 11 Crack a cryptogram (6) 13 Modify (5) 14 Roof overhang (5) 15 Vituperative person (6) 17 Forced to turn and face attackers (2,3) 18 Talent-spotter (5) 22 Imploring (6) 23 Small boiler? (6) 24 Minor but essential workers (4) 25 River sediment (4) 26 Opposite/hypotenuse (4) 27 "I had not thought death had undone so --- " (Dante Alighieri, "Divine Comedy") (4) 28 City of Seven Hills (4)

All solutions are on page 14

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL Let the Games begin THE emblematic cities of Caceres and Trujillo are to be the sets for the much anticipated prequel to Game of Thrones.

The main square of medieval Trujillo (above) will become a street market for the series which begins filming on October 19.

It is good news for the economy with the hotels already full in Caceres and Trujillo from then.

The production team, which last filmed in Spain in 2016, has been in the city for several weeks.

Throughout September the team will be preparing a number of different locations.

Sites across Extremadura were chosen as locations in previous seasons of the hit drama.

Game of Thrones concluded the broadcasting of its eighth and final season in May 2019.

The 10-episode prequel will be titled House of the Dragon and the story will be set 300 years before the original series.

Extre-mendous, page 12

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

ETHICAL HOTELS

Zahara de la Sierra is officially the most tranquil destination in Europe

A TINY hilltop village in inland Andalucia has been named the ‘most tranquil’ destination in Europe.

Visitors to sleepy Zahara de la Sierra, between Ronda and Sevilla, know the joys of the stunning views across the Grazalema mountain range and the turquoise waters of the lake below.

The hidden gem of a pueblo blanco, topped by a 13th Moorish castle, appears on the list of Spain’s Most Beautiful Small Towns.

But now the Cadiz village has won the accolade of being the most tranquil destination in Europe, in a survey

A NEW booking app created

by Spain’s chambermaids will allow tourists to choose their hotel based on how well they treat their workers.

Ethical travellers who want more from their hotel than a great view, decent pool and fine dining, will now be able to sleep well knowing the staff aren’t being exploited.

The app is being set up by a campaigning group known as Las Kellys - from the Spanish words ‘las que limpian (the women who clean).

PRETTY CALM

By Amber Edirisinghe

by the OVO network, which analyses the things travellers want to unwind.

Expat American Stefan Crites - a Zahara local for the past 16 years - said he would certainly ‘rate it as the most beautiful of the pueblos blancos’.

Spirit of adventure THE second largest sailboat in the world docked in Ibiza on its maiden voyage.

The Sea Cloud Spirit is the new flagship sailboat of the luxury German firm Sea Cloud Cruises, measuring an impressive 138 metres long with 4,160 square metres of sail.

It can accommodate up to 140 passengers with 90 crew members onboard and is worth €90 million.

Built in Vigo, the sailboat is a modern re-imagination of the Sea Cloud, the cruise line’s 90-year-old flagship vessel.

It set sail from Civitavecchia in Rome to the Balearic Islands, first visiting Menorca, Palma and Ibiza.

CAPTION

Friends.

Reset.

Comfort.

Sunset.

Exploitation

“While Zahara is very tranquil there is a lot going on,” the boss of Al Lago restaurant and hotel told the Olive Press.

“There always seems to be something going on but somehow it retains its quiet village charm”.

Across the mountains in the very next valley, the emblematic town of Ronda has been recognised as the second ‘most tranquil destination’ in Spain.

While the town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria comes in third for Spain.

For those seeking a seaview to find tranquility, the pretty seaside fishing village of Llanes in Asturias, ranks top of all coastal towns in Spain.

The organisation failed to persuade platforms such as Booking.com and TripAdvisor to include working conditions as a part of their hotel ratings so decided to create their own.

A crowdfunding campaign to fund the project has so far raised more than €60,000 to develop the website and mobile app.

"Our idea is to send a clear message to hoteliers and businessmen. Either they stop exploiting us, or their business is over," said a spokesperson.

Hotels will be rated on whether they meet national standards on pay and conditions, comply with health and safety regulations, have an equal pay policy, employ vulnerable people and employ the chambermaids inhouse.

Much more than four stars.

At Ocean Drive Port Portals we have our own star rating. Because, we like the stars of the Majorcan sky, the stars that form the lights of the harbour or the star service provided by each member of our team.

A hotel that maximises the destination to it's full potential, thanks to it's excellent location. It offers great local experiences at any moment. With art, design, relaxation and comfort. A hotel full of life.

11

Music.

Good life.

12

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Extre-mendous When it comes to tourism, Extremadura is off the beaten track.

Fiona Govan explores a region ignored by many and discovers the rewards are great

L

ONG overshadowed by the more obvious landmark-laden cities elsewhere in Spain and unable to compete with the draw of Mediterranean beaches, Extremadura with its bucolic charm, medieval heritage and Roman ruins, is ripe for discovery. Here the Olive Press runs a rule over a few of its best bits.

I

Caceres where art and food combine

F there was one reason alone to go to Caceres, it is to dine at the fabled restaurant Atrio, but a new modern art museum raises the stakes of a long-overlooked gem of a destination.

Tucked within a jumble of narrow cobbled streets in

Foie from the norm Ethical foie gras farmed in Extremadura by geese seasonally feasting on an acorn rich diet

F

OR many this buttery, rich delicacy is one of the most desired luxury food items in the culinary world, for others its method of manufacture represents the ultimate in cruelty.

Traditionally, foie gras is produced by a technique perfected in France known as ‘gavage’ in which geese are force fed by sticking a tube down their throat and stuffing it with more grain than the bird would naturally eat in a lifetime.

However at a remote farm in Extremadura foie gras is produced ethically by allowing geese to gorge naturally on olives and acorns which swell their livers with large fatty deposits, doubling their body weight in preparation for flying south for the winter.

This ethical foie gras is produced on a farm outside Badajoz by Eduardo Sousa who describes the method as ‘seasonal feasting’ instead of the

traditional force-feeding.

Sousa insists that geese by nature have the capacity to create and store fat in their livers, but this natural connection has been broken over the years after Greeks and Romans began to force feed geese with figs to fatten them up.

Instead of force-feeding their geese, Sousa allows them to feast on the wild foods they find around them in nature.

Sousa said: “Windfall fruit, wild seeds and grasses and, most importantly, acorns – the same acorns, rich in cholesterol-reducing oleic acid, that form the diet of Extremadura’s famous Ibérico pig, “Our product’s superbly delicate flavour and characteristic golden colour, which derives mainly from wild yellow lupin seeds, is a direct consequence of the birds’ varied natural diet and their high quality of life, allowing them to fly and graze at will.”

The 200-year-old farm now produces around 2,000 jars of foie gras from 1,000 geese annually.

“A whole year is required to produce a small, uniformly coloured, regular and fine-textured foie gras,” said Sousa.

He explained that wild geese still fly over the family farm, which is situated beneath the birds’ migration path.

“Our free-range geese are partly domesticated, but are visited annually by their wild cousins, thus renewing the gene pool and maintaining the feeFREE RANGE: A wild goose chase for acorns ding instincts of the established flock.”

T

the honey-coloured medieval heart of the city is a doorway to another world.

For it is here in the kitchen at Atrio under the masterful alchemy of chef Toño Perez, that Spain’s ubiquitous jamon iberico is elevated to heavenly dimensions.

A tasting menu served within the hallowed dining room of this two-michelin starred establishment involved plate after plate of deliciously crafted and ingeniously presented morsels from fresh local ingredients.

But the undeniable star is the Iberian pig, the black hoofed porkers which spend their days rooting around the vast pastures of Extremadura feasting on acorns and fattening up for the pot.

Many of the 23 dishes served within the menu degustacion include a porcine flavour, from the elegant tapioca butterfly crisp paired with salmon mousse starter to a delicacy made of layers of scallops and trotters topped with caviar and the lomo doblao – an confit of lard made from Ibérico pork loin and ending with the mysterious chocolate jamon dessert.

The famed wine list has won accolades as the best (and

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

MODERN ART: Katharina Grosse’s ‘Faux Rocks

longest) in Spain so complete the dining experience with a descent to the wine cellar, where rare vintages are displayed like the Crown Jewels.

When you come blinking out into the harsh daylight of a hot summer day in Cacares, it’s just a short walk through the quiet streets beneath the ramparts of ancient walls and the palacetes adorned by the family shields of long dead conquistadores, to the newest attraction within the Unesco World Heritage city.

Designed by Tuñon Architects, the same team behind Atrio, the new Contemporary Art Museum housing the Helga de Alvear collection, was inaugurated in Febru-

PIGGING OUT: Pork with every course and cheese and ham butterfly lattice (inset)

ary with a visit by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.

The buildings, both the interior of the restaurant and the vast new exhibition space, share a similar aesthetic wooden slats through which shafts of horizontal light peep in – and an interesting juxtaposition to the Medieval monuments outside their walls.

Currently on display is an exhibition of 200 pieces that form part of the vast 3,000 works donated by German art collector Helga De Alvear (one of the founders of ArcoMadrid) to the region of Extremadura.

The artwork couldn’t be further removed from the dusty tapestries and ornate gilt on display in the neighbouring Palacios and churches.

Here you will find a chamber barely containing the oversized boulders daubed with bold psychedelic smudges that is Katharina Grosse’s ‘Faux Rocks’ 2006.

An entrance way is filled with

Where Romans roamed

HE city of Merida boasts the best-preserved Roman ruins outside Italy, and without the crowds.

Founded in 25BC, Augusta Emerita as the city was then known,

What have the Romans ever done for us? Well, Merida... served as the capital of Rome’s westernmost province, Lusitania.

Today a modern city stands where Romans once dwelled, FOUNDER: Emperor Augusta and one of his temples

architecturally unremarkable except for the very notable fact that Roman ruins are everywhere.

A bridge spans the Guadiana river, its 60 pristine arches making it the longest Roman bridge still standing on the peninsula.

A short walk from the river banks, just steps away from a bustling commercial centre is a Roman theatre, which each summer plays host to an international festival of classical drama.

One stifling July night as the sun went down and the temperature dipped below 35ºC, I was among the several thousand spectators to settle down to watch the Shakespearean tragedy of Anthony and Cleopatra.

Just like in ancient times, men

and women in Roman garb played out political intrigues and epic battles before an enraptured audience.

Thankfully there is no such revival of the sports that once took place in the equally well preserved amphitheatre alongside. It was here that the crowds came to watch gladiatorial combats that pitted man against man and beast against beast. To the death.

The theatre itself is bereft of the pantheon of statues that would have once adorned it, but many of them can be seen in the impressive National Archaeology Museum housed next door.

The artefacts on display tell the story of a city where the past is very much alive. A delicately

STILL STANDING: Ancient Roman bridge

sculpted bust of Augustus was only recently discovered during renovations of a local pharmacy, while the demolition of a local jamon factory unearthed a cache of Roman treasures.

Fine mosaic floors are regularly revealed beneath the founda-

tions of newer houses.

Turn a corner from a busy shopping street and you are met with the soaring columns of a Temple to Diana, where folk still meet and gossip seeking respite from the sun in the shade of its gigantic pediment.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

13

SO MUCH MORE...

Beyond Extremadura’s headline cities of Cacares and Merida, there is much to discover and a place to visit in all seasons. Here’s a look at just four more reasons to inspire you to explore.

Birding in Monfragüe

T

HE national park of Monfragüe is a jewel in Spain, a mecca for nature lovers and birdwatchers who come from all across Spain and beyond to seek out rare species.

The cliffs of Monfragüe are home to Europe’s largest population of Black vultures and resident Griffon vultures and visiting Egyptian

vultures.

Rare Black storks come here to build their nests in the craggy cliffs above the turquoise waters and there is a resident population of Imperial Eagles and Eagle Owls.

In the pastures surrounding the park, birders come from all over Europe to tick off a sighting of the Great Bustard.

Trujillo - Home of the conquistadores

A

SHEEPS EYE VIEW: Bucolic views of Extremadura town Jerez de los Caballeros the gaudiness of a crashed chandelier in Ai Weiwei's Descending Light, while under a stairwell a collection of old television screens flicker.

The new museum and unrivalled collection that includes work by 500 artists including the likes of Joseph Beuys, Dan Flavin, Joseph Albers, Paul Klee, Nan Goldin, and Jenny Holzer, is tipped to transform Caceres into a European art destination in its own right.

For those with deep pockets, Atrio offers rooms above the

restaurant hung with original artwork by Warhol and Tapies or there is the Parador just around the corner, a larger establishment that retains the charms of the converted palacete.

But for those who want to combine a weekend visit of art and food with a relaxing rural escape, then head a few miles out of the city to the Hotel Hospes Palacio de Arenales & Spa. Boasting an indoor spa and vast outdoor infinity pool, the highlight of this tasteful-

ly converted former summer residence of a noble Cacereño family is best enjoyed at sunset.

The chiringuito style bar beside the pool is the perfect place to enjoy a sundowner while watching the dozens of storks come home to roost in nests built on lofty stands erected in a pasture alongside the hotel gardens.

The clattering of their beaks as they settle down for the night is an Extremeño lullaby that will linger in the memory and have you longing to return.

PERFECT medieval city perched on a hill, Trujillo prospered with the conquistadores who returned to their birthplace and lavished riches from the new world on elaborate palaces dotted around a grand square.

At its centre you’ll find an impressive statue of one the most famous conquistadors of all – Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru. In fact rumour has it, the statue was designed by a New York sculptor to depict Hernan Cortes to be presented to the people of Mexico, where the gift was not surprisingly declined. So it was refashioned as Pizarro and now stands proudly in his hometown.

Almond blossom or autumnal colours?

S

PRING is the time to pay a visit to the Jerte valley, an area of 70 square kilometres that is planted with over 1.5million cherry trees. In fact, Valle del Jerte is the largest uninterrupted area in Europe covered with cherry trees and the best time to catch the blossom in its full glory is for a few short weeks, usually beginning from the middle towards the end of March. Locals will tell you that autumn is in fact the best time to visit.

TAXING STUFF

F

OR those who live in Spain but rent out property back in the UK, the most important part of the Tax Return is the SA105 - otherwise known as the property income pages.

The structure of the UK Self Assessment Tax Return is based on the main introductory pages - known as the SA100, then any necessary supplementary pages, guided by the boxes ticked in the SA100 - for example the SA103 (for self employment) and the SA105, for UK property income.

However unlike self employment, where you will need to treat each employment separately, all property income is treated as one business - so you don’t need to fill in separate SA105 pages for each property.

Do I need to fill in the UK property pages (SA105)? ● You should fill in the SA105 if you receive total rental income of over £1000 from any of the following sources: ● UK land or property ● Letting furnished rooms in your own home ● Furnished holiday lets in the uk or european economic area. ● Premiums from leasing land ● Inducements to take an interest in letting a property (a reverse premium)

Can I claim the property income allowance instead?

The property allowance is a tax exemption of up to £1,000 a year for individuals with income from land or property - even if you own the property jointly.

If your annual gross property income is £1,000 or less, you will not need to notify HMRC, however if it is more than this, then you will need to submit a self assessment tax return including the SA105 pages.

You cannot use this allowance on income from letting a room in your own home under the Rent a Room Scheme.

Few tourists THE final reason to visit Extremadura is to discover it before everyone else does!

With so few tourists and only truly discerning ones making the effort, you’ll be welcomed by locals who do their utmost to ensure you’ll love their land as much as they do.

Great food, wonderful nature, fascinating history. What more could you want?

Many Olive Press readers who submit a UK tax return, do so because they are landlords of UK properties, writes Emilia Carvell

However even if you qualify for the property income allowance you may choose not to claim, for a number of reasons: ● If your allowable expenses are higher than your turnover, you may want to claim tax relief on the loss against any future property income. ● If you are a non-resident landlord and want to claim back tax from the non-resident landlord scheme.

If you choose not to claim for the above reasons then you will need to complete an SA100 & SA105.

What information do I need to fill in my SA105?

The first thing you will need is your name and Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). You should have also filled in this information at the beginning of your tax return.

You will then need to fill in some basic information about your UK properties - such as number of properties rented out, whether they are jointly owned, and if you are claiming Rent a Room Relief for any properties.

Then you will need to fill in details of any furnished holiday lets, including income, expenses and details of any reliefs or losses.

You will need to fill in a separate SA105 for any FHL’s in the EEA. (NB - if you receive income from overseas property, or FHL outside of the EEA, then you will need to fill in the “foreign income” pages of the tax return) Following on from this you will need to complete details of any UK property income (not including FHL’s,Real Estate Investment Trust or Property Authorised Investment Funds dividends/distributions), along with any tax you have already paid on that income (for example if you are an overseas landlord and have had tax automatically deducted by a lettings agent).

After including income information, you can include details of any allowable tax deductible expenses - remember to keep all information about any expenses, as the more expenses you have will reduce your taxable income!

Finally you will be able to calculate your taxable profit or loss.

Here you will include any adjustments or reliefs claimed.

Now this can all seem very daunting - and to be honest there are a lot of boxes on the SA105. But that’s where APARI comes in!

If you use APARI, you can upload and allocate transactions easily, and then the software will pull all of this information through to your self assessment tax return. We even have a handy scan and store feature, so that users can attach relevant invoices to their transactions.

Sign up to APARI today, and start Making Tax Doable!

For all the latest information and advise visit www.apari-digital.com

COLUMNISTS

Tinder moments

I

HAVE so many friends currently on dating sites with some hilarious results. One close male friend was on Tinder and met a woman who had a super attractive picture of her face. They were going out for drinks and as she entered the room he realized she was four foot nothing. He wasn't phased by it but he is nearly six feet tall. As she sat on the barstool her first comment was "I like taller men than you". You couldn't make it up.

Another acquaintance went on every single dating site and created a spreadsheet to track how at least thirty men were faring. She eventually found her man and they are now happily married - she certainly put the work in.

Most of my friends have had good luck on dating sites but one particular friend has become a Tinder specialist and she is still looking for love after a few years.

You need to spot the red flags right away.

Lisa Burgess

Basic instinct The first glaring flag is someone who barely fills out their profile or when they first contact you they use raunchy pick-up lines. Avoid anyone who rambles on about their ex or says they love you within days of meeting online.

Beware of an online match who asks you for money or is controlling, mysterious or demanding. Celebrities don't have it easy either - Sharon Stone went on a dating site once and the site removed her thinking it was a fake profile!

Whatever you do make sure you eventually meet in a public place so you can make a quick exit when needed. Many people are too scared to go online but what have you got to lose? It has been fantastic for so many people I know and there is no stigma attached to it anymore. Bite the bullet and put yourself out there because you never know what could happen.

September 10th - September 23rd 2021

Take the blinkers off ‘Help yourself and the horses - and walk!’

Terenia Taras Telling it like it is

W

HEN I’m in Palma I so. They often develop respira- live in the Dickensian era. And if always feel sorry for tory problems due to exhaust you want some romance and to the horses pulling the fumes and they can suffer pain- see some culture I recommend old-fashioned carriag- ful leg problems from walking using your own legs and taking a es for the lazy tourists to take on hard surfaces for long peri- wander around the endless tiny ods of time. streets of the Old Town in Palma in the city. What In light of this where you can stop off to enjoy a might seem like latest incident, romantic meal at in the many of quite a romantic Horses just the animal-rights the picturesque squares or side idea is in realty don’t belong on party, Progreso streets and help the much-need- LEAVE THEM: A Palma horse animal cruelty. en Verde, is again ed hospitality industry, which like learn a little about what you’re Last week there looking at. was an accident the streets next calling for an end that horse, is on the floor! to horse-drawn One of the best ways to see any So next time you’re in Mallorca, between a bus to buses and carriages and for new place is to use the hop on, or any other place which flogs and a horse and crazy drivers electric carriages hop off buses. Whenever I travel these poor horses in the name carriage in Alto replace them, to a new city I find these buses of tourism, please just take a cudia when the which sounds like the best, and cheapest, way to look and see for yourself the bus clipped the back of the carriage and the a great idea. Not only could these see as much of it as possible. state they’re in and whether it’s terrified horse fell to the ground. poor horses see out their days as They are relatively inexpensive really fair on them to be dragging I don’t know the outcome for they should in the countryside, and you have the option to anyone’s lazy ass around town. that poor horse, but they just but electric is the way forward for spend as long, or as little time don’t belong on the streets next all modes of transport, especial- at any of the places of interest, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME to buses and the crazy drivers. ly the outdated horse-drawn car- plus you get an audio guide @tereniataras I panic when I have to drive riage. Come on people, we don’t included so you actually get to alongside some of the drivers here, as it’s literally a free for all on the roads, so I feel so sorry for the horses. In Palma there is always a queue of horses which OL D HA CK IN look knackered and about as TH E SU N enthusiastic as a man taking his final walk from his cell on death Benny Davis row! These horses are forced to HAVE danced with the Grim Reaper cle death and Ramblings of an 80-so work in extreme temperatures, many times during my life and have al- also a headmething expat dodge traffic, and pound the ways remained one step ahead. He is on car crash; pavement all day long whether still waiting for the last waltz. two years eating 1950's they are fit enough, or not, to do

THE MOST PROFESSIONAL DISTRIBUTION NETWORK ON THE COSTAS ENSURES AN EFFICIENT AND GREEN SERVICE FOR THE OLIVE PRESS

STAND BY ME!

T

he Olive Press has always invested heavily in ensuring that our copies are readily available for our growing legion of readers.

We work hard to achieve our target of zero returns, ensuring we do not waste money or paper, which is an ever important factor for our environmentally-conscious readers.

Since 2019 we have employed the services of Self Select Media, the UK market leader in charge of distributing hundreds of free papers and magazines, including the Evening Standard, Metro and Time Out! OWNER: The team that now has a company in southern Spain has analLeece ysed the region and strategically placed our stands within the main supermarkets and major expat hangouts around the costas. This highly targeted process ensures that you can conveniently pick up your favourite read easily every two weeks. To keep in line with our green philosophy it also allows us to closely monitor our distribution and how it ebbs and flows depending on tourism and trends.

We receive detailed photo reports of each of the drops, timed as they happen, and the number of copies left over.

As Steward Leece, the boss of Self Select explains: “We have 125 years of publishing and distribution experience and know Spain well having had a home here for three decades.

“It is a pleasure to work with the Olive Press, one of the market leaders in Spain, to ensure that the company maintains and expands its reach around the country.”

He continues: “The basis of our service is that Every copy is taken by personal choice. We offer publishers and advertisers a controlled fully quantifiable media distribution route to market.

Via a network of displays placed within high footfall retail outlets, and targeted miscellaneous distribution points across the North and South Costa Blanca region, and now Valencia.”

For up-to-date information on your nearest distribution point, then please visit www.theolivepress.es or read our digital versions online. For more information on our fantastic ditribution partner, please visit www.selfselectmedia.es

One step ahead I My first brush with the scythe-man was when as an 11-year-old boy scout, I got in trouble during a swimming lesson right in the centre of the deep end of the pool.

Fortunately, the scoutmaster was a Catholic priest and immediately recognising a potential lost soul, without any hesitation he attempted to walk over the water to save me - he plunged to the bottom on his first step. It may have helped if he had removed his heavy crucifix first!

Still water-related, I attempted to water surf using a child's foam board in a desolate bay during a visit to South Africa during the apartheid era. Unknown to me, there was a violent underflow that sucked me down to the bottom, then dragged me way out to sea within minutes. Fortunately, I was eventually rescued by a lone swimmer who dumped my unconscious and blue-faced body on the beach where an angry Afrikaner stood over me, demanding the return of his toy board.

Like many of my age, I survived the London Blitz, but n o t without a few dodges with un-

army food; and many many years working with fatherless newspaper editors, who could reduce a cub reporter to a whimpering puppy dog, complete with a pool of liquid on the floor at a single stare.

Peace

Then came semi-retirement in carefree sunny Spain. Peace at last – that was until a couple of years ago when my tired old body started to complain.

A couple of serious operations nearly killed off my weird sense of humour, which without, I wouldn't exist. At the moment, I am being fed through a tube in the stomach, which I suppose is a fair punishment for talking rubbish through my backside all these years and getting paid for it.

Joking apart, my purpose of laying all my present problems on you, is to express my eternal gratitude for the incredible care and help given by the Spanish Health Service. All deserve top praise from cleaners to nurses, and doctors to specialists. I only wish that for once I could gather sufficient of my rubbish, illiterate words together to vent my true feelings. So, I will simply say: Grac i a s eres el mejor.

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 8 Pro bono, 9 Raise, 10 Already?, 12 Mamet, 16 Laws, 19 Cable TV, 20 Blondes, 21 Dusk, 24 Cysts, 27 Mr Right, 29 Golan, 30 Nominal.

Down: 1 Sprawl, 2 Borrow, 3 Coma, 4 Pony, 5 Gram, 6 Film, 7 Cent, 11 Decode, 13 Amend, 14 Eaves, 15 Abuser, 17 At bay, 18 Scout, 22 Urging, 23 Kettle, 24 Cogs, 25 Silt, 26 Sine, 27 Many, 28 Rome.

SUDOKU

14

PROPERTY Architectual eden

AWARD WINNING: Exquisite Can Ferrereta

September 10th September 23rd 2021 THE HOTEL Can Ferrereta de Santanyi has been listed as the best boutique hotel for its "exquisite style and excellent service" by National Geographic Magazine.

It describes Can Ferrereta as, ‘A magical retreat in one of Mallorca’s least-discovered areas’.

Can Ferrereta resort is located in the southeast of Mallorca just a short distance from the best beaches on the island.

The iconic 17th century residence has been restored into an ‘Eden of contemporary art, design and architecture.’

The hotel is made up of three build-

15

ings all of which have been meticulously restored preserving the heritage of Mallorcan architecture. It consists of 32 rooms and suites, has two restaurants, a pool, gym and a luxury spa complete with hammam.

Island boom 30% increase of foreign buyers on Mallorca, as Brit and German sales go through the roof THE Balearic Islands have proved the most popular place to buy property this year in Spain with the Brits and Germans making up the majority of foreign buyers.

There has been a huge 29.8% rise in foreign buyers on the islands, followed by the Canary Islands at 23.9% and the Valencian Community at 19.5%.

Despite Brexit and Covid, foreign buyers purchased 13,600 properties in the Balearics between April and June this year.

British buyers are still purchasing more homes in Spain than any other foreigners, followed

by Germans and Moroccans.

Brits account for a sizable 9.5% of the overall purchases.

While Brits make up the largest share, they are followed

by Germans (9%) Moroccans (8.3%), French (7.0%) and Romanians (6.1%).

During the second quarter of 2021, a total of 137,204 house purchases were entered in property registers across Spain, which represents an increase of 6.2% over the previous quarter.

In terms of property prices, Madrid records the highest average per square meter with prices at 2,820m2, the Basque Country comes a close second (€ 2,781m2), followed by the

Property flop Murcia’s Mar Menor was once one of the most desirable destinations for property purchases by foreigners in Spain, but continued environmental disasters have seen the price of housing plummet.

Estate agents in the area report that some house prices have dropped as much as 30%.

This is especially true in the beachfront areas of Los Urrutias and Los Nietos, which have seen property values crash by 60 to 70%.

Manolo Navarro, who runs a real estate agency in Los Nietos said houses can now be snapped up for little as €25,000.

By Terenia Taras

Balearic Islands (€ 2,731m2) and Catalunya (€ 2,268m2) .

Only two regions of Spain have an average price per square metre below €1,000, which are Extremadura (€ 717m2), and Castilla La Mancha (€ 813m2).

Mallorca boasts some of the most expensive properties for sale in Spain.

Property website Idealista advertises a whopping €24.9 million six-bedroom in Andratx

FLYING HIGH: €24.9 million Mallorca property with its own helipad with its own helipad, indoor and outdoor pools, gym, sauna and an al fresco kitchen.

But the most expensive house

to buy, according to Idealista, is near Marbella in the exclusive La Zagaleta area for a cool €29m euros.

STILL LOVE IT HERE British demand for Spain appears indestructible

The Property Insider

by Adam Neale

W

HEN the 2016 referendum produced that famous shock result in favour of Brexit, the fear was that the longstanding love of British buyers for Spanish property would become a thing of the past.

In the years leading up to the final divorce at the start of 2021, this proved not to be the case, though it did mute demand. What is the landscape like now that Brexit is a firm reality?

British demand for Spanish proper- time brought on by the Covid panty was riding high when the Brexit demic. referendum hit it in 2016. After a It seemed fate was determined to decline in the immediate aftermath sever the long-held relationship of the financial crisis, buyers from between Brits and Spain’s sunthe UK had resumed ny coastal destinatheir prominent potions, but as we pass sition among foreign the halfway mark in Spanish property transactions 2021 and analyse in Spain’s coastal the figures for Q1 homes sales areas, but now unand H1 of the year, to Brit buyers certainty set in once quite a different picagain. ture is emerging. rebounded at Sales dropped noIn reality, sales of ticeably in the fol- the end of 2020 Spanish homes to lowing year, but one British buyers alsoon acclimatises to ready began to renew situations, and by 2018 en- bound at the end of 2020, but quiries were back up. that was put down to a late surge Then the world was plunged into before the final Brexit deadline another bout of darkness, this on the 31st of December.

This would be an entirely feasible explanation, were it not for the fact that sales to Brits have continued to build over 2021.

While there was an initial Brexit impact in the years following the referendum, the element of fear and uncertainty seems to have disappeared now that it’s a fait accompli.

As for Covid, the enforced lack of movement and economic activity over much of 2020 has resulted in pent-up demand now being released, and this is something being seen across the board.

Sales are up 71% on this time last year, and with almost 65,000 properties sold in June, the market has returned to figures last seen during the boom of the

2000s.

This is not just a recovery from 2020 either, as current transactions are 41% higher than 2019 and 13% higher than 2018.

The fact is, the Spanish property market is performing better than it has in almost 15 years While we don’t know how long it will continue to do so at this level, it seems clear enough that any talk about the effect of Brexit on British demand for properties in Spain, can now be retired for good.

UK buyers are here to stay, as they have been throughout the ups and downs of more than half a century – it’s a relationship cemented over many generations that seems to be as strong as it ever was.

Terra Meridiana, 77 Calle Caridad, Estepona • 29680 • Tel: +34 951 318480. Office Mob: +34 678 452109 Email: info@terrameridiana.com. Website: www.terrameridiana.com

OLIVE PRESS

The

REuse REduce REcycle

FREE

We use recycled paper

FINAL WORDS

Bite size?

A 35 metre-long nougat turron - a Spanish speciality for the sweettoothed especially at Christmas - is set to be the largest ever made in Jijona when it takes pride of place at this month’s Alicante Gastronomica fair.

Your expat

voice in Spain

Vol. 5 Issue 114 www.theolivepress.es September 10th - September 23rd 2021

ORIGINAL SIN

This is not a Drill Valencia’s Bioparc celebrated the birth of a new member of its Drill family, a highly endangered species of primate which number less than 4,000 in the wild.

Seeing double

MALLORCA

Bishop chucks in his cassock to marry erotic writer A SPANISH bishop has resigned so he can marry an erotic novelist.

Xavier Novell announced his decision to leave the church just 11 years after he became the youngest bishop in Spain at the age of 41.

The 52-year-old sent shockwaves through the community when he suddenly resigned as the diocese of Solsona for ‘personal reasons’.

Boogie nights REVELLERS in Andalucia have been given an extra hour of fun.

Late-night opening hours for restaurants and bars have been extended to 2am, while nightclubs can stay open until 3.30am.

By Kirsty McKenzie

It has now been revealed that he took the personal decision due to his relationship with erotic writer Silvia Caballol.

“I have fallen in love with a woman and I want to do things properly," Novell revealed.

“It is a magnificent vocation

Short fuse

A MAN attacked an electricity office in Galicia after receiving a high bill.

The irate 54-year-old smashed windows at the Naturgy office in Vigo over a huge rise in his normal bill.

He told the police that his anger had been building up for a day and he could 'no longer contain himself'.

The government has introduced temporary reductions on IVA to reduce the impact of hikes.

SEEN THE LIGHT: Bishop and his lover Silvia but I see that the Lord has ger family." wanted me to renounce that Novell will now also ask for beautiful thing to have a big- the Pope's permission for a dispensation from the vow of celibacy and obedience that all Catholic bishops take when they enter the priesthood.

MARBELLA firefighters If the Pope gives Novell his have rescued an Eurasian blessing, he is set to marry eagle-owl after one of its talthe 38-year-old writer from ons got tangled in netting at Barcelona. a local golf course.

She has penned at least two Firefighters used a specialnovels, Amnesia Trilogy and ised vehicle to get close to The Hell of Gabriel's Lust, the owl, which got trapped at which is described as ‘an erotic San Pedro Alcantara. novel with Satanic overtones’.

Terwit woo hoo!

THEY normally take years to produce just one baby.

Now a remarkable panda mother has given birth to twins in Madrid.

In the first panda births in Madrid Zoo for five years, Huz Zui Ba had her fifth and sixth babies.

As soon as she gave birth to her first cub, she put it on her lap and started to give it a good lick.

The father is Bing Zing, who last year topped the charts in the ‘Giant Panda Global Awards’ for being the ‘most favourite panda’.

The health of the cubs, born with pink skin, is being monitored by vets, joined by two experts from China’s Chengdu Panda Breeding Base.

The international captive breeding programme has seen it now declassified from an endangered species to the ‘vulnerable’ category.

RARE: Pinkies

952 147 834 * O f f e r

v a l i d

TheOlivePress-256x170-CAR0621.indd 1

f o r

n e w

c u s t o m e r s

o n l y .

S u b j e c t

t o

c o n d i t i o n s .

E n d s

3 1 / 1 2 / 2 1 .

21/6/21 9:55