Olive Press Mallorca - Issue 142

DON’T GET SPOOKED!

IT might be a scary time for buy ers and sellers in more ways than one as Halloween approaches.

But while purchasers are being haunted by rising interest rates and spooked by the fluctuating pound, record numbers of for eigners are STILL queuing up to buy in Spain.

According to new figures, the first half of the year saw 73,000 homes sold to investors from abroad, a 53% jump on last year.

And, despite Brexit, the British are still coming top with over 8,000 home sales this year.

They, along with nearly 14,000 French and Germans, made the first half of 2022 an all-time high for foreign buyers.

LIFE IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED

Fresh eyes

Rape victim appeals for new look at crimes that may have involved German Maddie suspect in Spain

POLICE in Spain are being urged to re-open any unsolved rape or child abuse cases that could involve a foreigner over the past two decades.

It comes after dangerous paedo phile Christian Brueckner was charged with five more serious sex crimes on the Algarve be tween 2000 and 2017.

The German rapist, who has been named as an official suspect in the disappearance of British tod dler Madeleine McCann, spent long periods of time in Spain.

He criss-crossed the country on ‘dozens of occasions’, frequent ly staying in Granada, as well as Malaga, Almeria and Valencia, from 1995.

Expats and locals are joining

EXCLUSIVE

By Jon Clarke

an Irish rape victim - alleged ly attacked by Brueckner, 45, in 2004 - who believes there are ‘likely’ many more victims across the Iberian Peninsula.

Hazel Behan, 39, told the Olive Press this week: “Given what we know about Brueckner’s past, alongside the crimes he has re cently been charged with, sure ly it makes sense to revisit all unsolved similar cases in areas where he was known to spend significant lengths of time.”

Behan, who was raped as a young holiday rep on the Al garve, is due to face her alleged attacker Brueckner in a German

court in the Spring.

Waving her right to ano nymity, the mother-ofthree, from Dublin, add ed: “Victims and their families de serve answers and closure. If there is any indication that Brueck ner could be connected to a crime, then this needs the full attention of the police and warrants, at the very least, further investigation.”

CHARGES: Brueckner faces five new sex crimes, including rape of Behan (right)

In addition to Behan, prosecu tors in Germany have charged Brueckner with two further rapes, one of a teenage girl, around 15, as well as another woman in her ‘70s or 80s’.

Granada

All three rapes were filmed, af ter he had attacked and bound the victims.

He will also face two charges of assaulting young children as far apart as 2007 and 2017.

The Olive Press revealed in 2020 that Brueckner was a reg ular visitor to the Alpujarra re gion of Granada and stayed for many days at a time.

He was certainly in the Orgiva area for the Dragon music festi val in March 2007 and 2008 and he was a regular visitor ‘until at least 2011’ revealed various for mer friends.

“He was here on dozens of occa sions in many vehicles, includ ing his Jaguar, the famous VW van and even his giant winneba go,” one confirmed to the paper this week.

“He was mostly coming here to buy and sell drugs, but who knows what else he got up to,” he added.

It was allegedly during a week-long visit to the Dragon bash in 2008 that he admitted to friends he was involved in the snatching of Mad die, then 3, on the Al garve, in May 2007.

One Orgiva resi dent, Jo Chipchase, a mother-of-two, is ‘horrified’ that he could be behind crimes in her area.

Chipchase, who at tended the Dragon Festival and other parties at the time, added: “I often took my kids so it is hor

rifying to think that an interna tional sexual predator was min gling among families using the itinerant and largely traveller community to hide within.

“I was completely unaware of the dark element that was clearly lurking, but it would be a perfect way to mask his sick activities.”

The former PR executive, 50, added: “I think there should be more cross-border control of sex offenders to protect the public from crimes like this and anything unsolved, involving any potential links to Brueckner must be reopened.”

Mayor of Orgiva, Raul Orella na, told the Olive Press: “I don’t think there are any ‘ denuncias’ to corroborate crimes being committed by him during his time here.”

Charges

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, at Braunschweig Court, told the Olive Press Brueckner will face the five charges in ‘the Spring or early summer’.

Wolters, whose department has been probing him over Maddie since 2018, added: “We are also certain that he killed the British toddler.”

He would not speculate on any other crimes he might have com mitted in Spain, but confirmed his department would investi gate any credible evidence.

The Guardia Civil was not able to provide any information as we went to press. “We are look ing into it, but it will probably take some time,” said a spokes man in Madrid. “We can’t com ment at this stage.”

How John Lennon got his look in Spain, see page 6

Control gone

FROM today (Friday) Spain has abandoned all Covid control measures for travellers, meaning vaccination certificates are no longer needed for UK visitors.

Badly hurt

A WOMAN, 38, has been charged with leaving the scene of a Palma accident af ter a motorcyclist, 31, was seriously in jured when he fell from his bike trying to avoid her.

Rape charges

TWO men aged 23 and 38 have been charged with the rape of a fe male colleague after a company dinner in Palma. She had invit ed them to stay in her home as they were too drunk to drive.

Work starts

WORKS on remodeling

Palma’s Paseo Mariti mo will start within a month with a budget of €37,598,985 and a timescale of 20 months.

A BRIT teenager ran up an unex pected holiday bill after causing €2,561 worth of damage to a Maga luf hotel.

The young tourist was detained by Calvia Guardia Civil officers after confronting a hotel security guard.

The manager of the undisclosed

Terrible teen

hotel on Avenida Olivera told offi cers that the teenager was seriously drunk every day since he checked into the premises. His erratic behaviour included a visit

to the reception area which saw him smash a window. When Guardia offi cers came to arrest him, they discov ered his room in disarray and a slid ing bathroom door had been broken.

A court barred him from leaving the island until he paid €2,561 for the damage caused.

Brutal bashing

The Dutchmen accused of killing a tourist in Mallorca could soon learn their fate

ONE of the Dutch men suspect ed of brutally killing a tourist in Mallorca last year could face up to 10 years behind bars.

The Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands (OM) this week demanded the prison sen tence against one of the nine suspects involved in two brawls in July last year, one of which led to 27-year-old Carlo Huev elman’s death.

By Anthony Piovesan

The first brawl started inside nightclub De Zaak at the sea side resort of El Arenal.

Later in the night a second fight spilled out onto the street.

The trial started on October 3, with the suspects all telling the Dutch court they did not lay the blow that killed Huevelman.

Violent delivery

A MAN attacked his girlfriend hours before she gave birth to their baby at Inca Hospital.

He slapped her in the face in the delivery room after she refused to have an epidural injection to help in the delivery of their child.

A 42-year-old Italian has been ar rested by the Guardia Civil and bailed after being given a restrain

One of the suspects Kahn B, 19, told the court he arrived from another bar to help his friends who had got into an argument with Huevelman.

Another suspect Hein B, 19, also claimed to have only played a role in the first brawl and told the judge it was the ‘stupidest mistake’ of his life.

A third suspect, Daan Van S, 19, told the court he joined in on the

ing order prohibiting him from coming within 250 metres of her or communicating with her. Two doctors witnessed the assault and reported the man to the au thorities. The 32-year-old victim, also Italian, told the Guardia that she has suffered at least four violent attacks by her boyfriend with whom she had lived for around a year.

second fight and kicked Huevelman twice after he had hit the ground. He then re ceived a blow to the head and did not know what happened to Huevelam after that, the judge heard. Two other suspects told

the court they punched Hue velman and kicked him with the inside of their feet ‘as if you were playing football’, but de nied laying any fatal blows in the second fight.

Huevelman died in hospital four days later from his injuries.

The OM demanded a ten year prison sentence for 20-yearold Sanil B, and eight years for Mees T, 19, and Hein B, 18 - all three have been charged with manslaughter.

The other suspects were facing charges of public violence.

SCAM

POLICE have busted a massive Mallorca-based ‘love scam’ in what has been claimed as one of the largest-ever operations against cybercrime in the Eu ropean Union.

An investigation has discov ered victims in nine European countries besides Spain and over €1 million was swindled. Some 25 cases of fraud have been confirmed and inqui ries are still continuing. The probe started after an Alican te woman was conned out of €835,000 over a number of years by a bogus US marine who claimed to work for the State Department.

The gang leader - a 27-yearold Nigerian man - has been arrested in the Palma area and 14 of his associates- of various nationalities- who acted as ‘mules’ were also detained on the island.

Bank transfers were laun dered by the Mallorca mules into various accounts and then converted into bitcoin.

2for1 glasses from

ARREST: Police lead away an alleged scammer

Dutch reign in Malaga

NETHERLANDS have beaten En gland to be crowned the champions of this year’s Dream11 European Cricket Championships in Malaga. After five-weeks of cricket at the Carta ma Oval the Dutch defeated the reigning champions England under the lights on October 14.

The Dutch were right on top from the start as England were 63/7, until Sam

Pearce made his way to the crease and got his country up to 99, setting exactly 100 for victory.

Strong batting from Boris Gorlee and Ryan Klein left just six required, and Shi rase Rasool punished a full delivery into the legside to finish the game in style.

Spain failed to capitalise on two chances to make it into the all-important final. But the home nation has a lot to be proud

LIV winner

SPANISH golfer Adrian Otae gui has become the first player from the upstart LIV Golf series to win a DP World Tour event.

Valderrama in Sotogrande hosted the Andalucian Mas ters as part of what used to be known as the European Tour.

Otaegui, aged 29, had initial ly been suspended from the DP World Tour and fined £100,000 (€114,000) when he joined the Greg Norman found ed alternative LIV Golf Series.

He appealed to an independent arbiter who stayed the suspen sion, allowing Ortaegui to com pete at Valderrama.

He seized his chance to shoot a tournament record 19-un der 265 total that was six bet ter than runner-up Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren.

of, boasting a win against last year’s champions England and bringing new eyes to the sport.

MATCH ON

Neymar appears in court hours after scoring winning goal

FRESH from scoring the only goal in Paris Saint-Ger man’s match against Mar seille, Brazilian superstar Neymar has headed to a Spanish court.

He arrived in Barcelona on Monday for the first day of his corruption trial, related to his 2013 transfer from Brazilian club Santos to the Catalan capital.

Also present in the Pro vincial Court of Barcelona were other defendants, in cluding his parents and the former presidents of Bar celona Football Club, San dro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu.

They are all accused of ir regularities in the trans fer process that took place nearly a decade ago.

Neymar’s court appearance

Hacked off!

HE may have had a safe pair of hands when he was Spain’s goalkeeper, but former Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas seems to have dropped the ball with a recent tweet.

He posted and then deleted a message say ing: “I hope I’ll be respected: I’m gay.”

And then former Spain teammate Carles Puyol (pictured with Casillas) chipped in with the reply: “It’s time to tell them about us, Iker,” followed by a heart and a kiss emoji.

But then Casillas backtracked, saying his ac count had been hacked, and asked for for giveness from his followers and the LGBT community, leading to a backlash.

The original message is thought to have been a response to speculation that the 41-year-

By Simon Hunter

was a short one after his lawyer requested he be al lowed to leave given that he had been playing just a few hours before.

The judge raised a laugh in the courtroom, when he stated that ‘it is notable that Mr Da Silva was scoring a goal while I was in bed’.

The public prosecutor is de manding a two-year prison sentence for Neymar, while the private prosecution brought by Brazilian inves tor DIS wants five years. DIS, which owned 40% of the player’s sporting rights when he was at Santos, claims that the true cost of the transfer was kept from the company and as a result

TRIAL: Neymar is accused of corruption

it received a lower share. Neymar is not the only high-profile foreign football player to have fallen foul of the law in Spain in recent years. In 2016, then-Barcelona player Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio, were sentenced to 21 months’ jail time for three tax offences.

Sentence

SPANISH teams have dominated the Ballon d’Or with players scooping both top awards in the presti gious competition.

Real Madrid and France’s Karim Benzema was named best men’s footbal ler while Barcelo na and Spain’s Alexia Pute llas took the trophy for best woman.

A Spanish side also claimed the youth crown, with Barce

Home win

lona’s Gavi deemed the best footballer under 21 in 2022.

Robert Lewandowsk of Poland and Barcelona was voted fourth in the main category, but won the best striker of the year award.

Thibaut Courtois for Real Madrid and Belgium was named the finest goalkeeper for the 202122 season.

Dusty drive

A CONVOY of elderly Peugeot 205s and Citroen C15s has been passing through Spain on its way to Morocco for a 3000km rally. Dubbed the Dust Race, it makes entrants en dure the scorching sun, freezing nights in the desert, sand storms and fatigue in what is supposed to be a ‘fun’ event.

old is in a relationship with a woman called Alejandra Onieva.

The incident drew condemnation from sports authorities and rights activists. Puyol also apologised on Twitter for a ‘clumsy joke’.

The Argentine avoided serving any prison time after paying a more than €250,000 fine. Meanwhile, former Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo was given a twoyear suspended sentence in 2018 and slapped with a €16.8 million fine for evad ing some €15 million in tax between 2011 and 2014.

Restricted to 205s and C15s, the course covers the Iberi an Peninsula, then heads for the hard tracks of Morocco, into desert dunes and finally finishes in Marrakech.

AN unnamed Balearic company has been ordered to pay €82,000 compensa tion to a woman who had her bottom touched by a manager twice.

The Balearics Tribunal Superior court decided that the woman’s labour rights had been violated even though she had a very close relationship with her boss for months with con stant text messages and conversations in which, according to the ruling, ‘they shared jokes and moments of fun and they showed affection, sexual and erotic comments and demonstrated a reciprocal interest in each other’.

Violated

However, the boss over stepped the boundaries, according to the ruling, when he twice touched the employee’s buttocks. The second incident happened after she had already re proached him for his be haviour and expressly told him: “You can’t touch my bottom again.”

The affected worker filed a lawsuit to request the termination of her em ployment contract with the company and compensa tion for violation of funda mental rights.

WARM tropical nights are expected to last into next week in Mallorca, extending the island’s extreme warm season which is being dubbed the ‘Indian summer’. Autumn started four weeks ago, but the Balearic islands continue to notch up temperatures as high as 30 degrees during the day and 23 degrees at night.

Maximum temperatures this weekend will range around 30 degrees, much high er than the average of 22-23 degrees for mid-October.

State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) deputy spokesman Miquel Gili said the warm weather would not change until at

Heat continues

least another week.

He said temperatures were being pushed up by a front off Portugal that is push ing African air over the Mediterranean, resulting in higher than usual tempera tures.

There would be plenty of high cloud cover in the next week, but it will not rain, Gili added.

A high of 27 degrees was forecast for Pal ma on Friday, and 29 degrees on Satur day until at least Wednesday.

TROPICAL: Warm night will remain for now

BOMB THREAT

New pub owners targeted with death threats over ‘unpaid’ rent at front line bar

THE owner of a new beachside bar claims to have received bomb threats over demands he vacate the prop erty.

Eoin Hennessy has report ed multiple incidents of ex tortion and threats since he opened his Irish bar with his wife on the Costa Blanca this year.

The 48-year-old expat told the Olive Press he has been forced to file three police reports and hire a lawyer to protect himself and his busi ness, Hennessy’s, in Javea.

EXCLUSIVE

By Anthony Piovesan

The father-of-two, who moved to the upmarket resort with his family two years ago, claims he is being blackmailed over allegations of unpaid rent.

This is despite ‘proof’ he paid a €3,000 deposit and a month’s rent to the cou ple who subleased him the property before opening in May.

It was a month later that ‘things turned nasty’ after he

Constructive, but no U-turn yet

AN angry group of expat motorists who can not legally drive in Spain have had a ‘construc tive’ meeting with the UK ambassador. While they had originally planned a protest for last week, the four men from an ‘Invasion of the British Embassy’ group aired their griev ances over a cup of tea yesterday.

“We felt we were listened to,” organiser Pascal Siegmund told The Olive Press. “We covered who is affected, the financial impacts, health and wellbeing impacts, challenges with the driving test, police and cost. We questioned the timing and legality of the ban.”

“The ambassador reiterated he believes they are approaching the end of the negotiations,” added Siegmund, who set up the group to highlight the plight of those caught up in the driving licence debacle.

The group agreed that all protests would be

put on hold until this week’s meeting.

Accompanying Pascal were Malaga-based Roger Jenkins, from Wales, Irishman Theo Laverty, who lives in Madrid, and Jokin Mena, who came from San Sebastian.

claimed the expat landlords sent him an electricity bill which ‘didn’t stack up’ to the actual usage.

When he politely asked the pair - a British and Chinese couple - to come in and check the meter with him, he claims he was threatened and told to pay the bill or leave.

The mechanical engineer from Dublin said he then started to receive strange text messages demanding the money.

One seen by the Olive Press claimed to know where his family lived in Dublin, and they would be approached for the money owed. Anoth er screamed: “Seven days Eoin. Eyes on your business, home, family in Ireland”. An even more alarming text to his wife stated he had ‘put you all in danger’.

According to a police report a man named ‘Boris’ en tered the bar and threatened Hennessy claiming he was a ‘dead man’ and ‘people from Marbella’ would come and evict him.

Most recently on September 20 four tyres of his Range Rover were slashed, while parked outside.

Police were called to in vestigate, with one officer checking underneath follow ing another threat that ‘an explosive device’ had been planted.

Hennessy said the ongoing ordeal was taking an emo tional toll on him and his wife, who have two kids, six and one. “This is pulling us apart,” he said.

Slashed

“Ever since the tyre slash ing I’ve had to check under the car for devices and each night I drive home a differ ent way in case I’m being followed.”

The Guardia Civil this week confirmed the case was be ing investigated and it had now been transferred to De nia Court.

Legal firm Harvey Lawyers is representing the family and told the Olive Press they are awaiting a court date.

MORE than 30% of people liv ing on the Balearic Islands can not afford to live there, accord ing to new research.

An Economic and Social Coun cil (CES) report suggested 31% of people on the islands could not afford to pay unexpected expenses because their savings were so low.

CES president Rafael Ballester said the deterioration of family savings especially affected the lower and intermediate social groups in Mallorca and the Balearics.

According to the research, 16% of people had delays in mak ing housing payments such as rent and mortgages, while 14% could not afford to keep their home at a suitable temperature. despite the return of tourism to the island after the pandemic, income per household on the popular holiday island still fell from €18,787 per year in 2020 to €16,867 in 2021.

PRICEY TOUCH Falling behind Armed and ready

A NEW Guardia Civil unit of air marshals has been pre sented in Palma.

The UNESEVE unit is de signed to be on alert for ter rorism and hijackings and will travel armed and in plain clothes on national and inter national flights.

The unit has already had a try out - during the NATO sum mit that was held in Madrid this summer, its agents were present on 20 flights.

The number of officers that will make up the unit has not been disclosed, but it will not operate on all flights, but rather those that present some kind of danger based on prior risk analysis.

The officers will not be charged with intervening in other disturbances on the plane, such as drunk or dis orderly passengers. Instead they will only spring into ac tion when there is a serious danger to the lives of the crew or passengers on board.

The unit was presented to co incide with a meeting of the International Committee of Flight Safety Officers, which was held in Palma this week.

U-T

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Voted top expat paper in Spain

Chilling thought

THE fear that sex offender Christian Brueckner spent years roaming through Spain on his frequent trips be tween Germany and Portugal is a chilling one.

An official suspect in the tragic Maddie case and with five new sex charges he doesn’t appear capable of controlling his sick urges just because he is travelling.

We have no idea if the convicted paedophile is guilty of any further offences in Spain. But, what is vital is an investigation of any unresolved sex crimes here that might involve him.

It should not be beyond police capabilities to track his movements over the years and check if there are any links to him in heinous local crimes.

After all, the Olive Press managed to connect him to numerous visits to Malaga and Granada, as well as to Almeria and Valencia.

As brave rape victim Hazel Behan has urged, all vic tims and their families deserve for some closure. It is time Spanish police got on the case. It means ex tra work, but if we can do it, they can too.

Looking good

DESPITE all the economic doom and gloom one sector of the Spanish economy is forging ahead - property. Or in this case, the boom in foreign buyers investing in Spanish homes on the costas.

Despite inflation and the energy crunch, it would seem that many people see bricks and mortar in the Span ish sunshine as a rock-solid proposition. This is reflected in the success of our Property Maga zine, which, despite a pandemic lull, has grown into a hugely popular publication since launching in 2015. It is chock full of informative and fun features loosely geared around homes and property, with regular guest experts bringing their own insights into the constantly changing real estate market.

Always keeping it colourful and upbeat, it is a great way for our blue-chip clients to reach an international, eclectic and wealthy audience very likely to invest in their futures, just like they are.

NOT ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL

NEWanimal welfare legislation has grabbed the headlines for classing pets as sentient beings - but now the governing PSOE wants to introduce a massive loophole.

The new law considers pets to have feelings and be more like children than objects, in the legal sense and has been passed by Con gress.

Under the concept of mistreating a sentient being, owners who have been convicted of an imal abuse could potentially have the custody of their children denied. The emphasis is sup posed to be on the wellbeing of the animal. But now the PSOE wants to amend the incom

By Jo Chipchase

ing laws to exclude ‘non-pets’ – potentially the most abused category of animals. The ‘non-pets’ category would include dogs used for hunting, sports activities, falconry, and herding, as well as rescue dogs. The inten tion is to provide these animals with ‘specific legislation’, in line with European standards.

Patxi López, parliamentary spokesman for the socialists, said this move is to prevent ‘wrong and ill-intentioned interpretations’ of the new laws. Critics, however, say that the govern

ment has bowed to pressure from hunters and wants to placate voters in rural areas by exempting their dogs.

The PSOE’s idea is that ex cluded animals would later come under a specific law, such as a National Game Management Strategy. As a result, the Animal Welfare Act would legislate only for ‘pets that live in a house with their owners’.

Campaign groups, including PACMA, have been protesting about the exemption, with 21 demonstrations so far taking place throughout Spain.

PSOE confirms Orwell’s cynical view on the rights of our four-legged friends as seen from Animal Farm

What will happen next?

The parliamentary processes for the new animal rights laws are grinding onwards. The consultation process initially lasts two weeks, although it can be extended. Lat er, the amendments proposed by Spain’s political parties will be debated. Podemos and some other parties dislike the pro posed amendments about hunting dogs and think these should be withdrawn.

Finally, the entire text of the incoming law is voted in Congress and passed to the Senate. If there are no changes, it is ap proved, otherwise, voting happens again in the lower house. The General Director ate for Animal Rights is hopeful that the process will be completed during 2022. Meanwhile, the penal code is being revised to increase the penalties for animal abuse, from a maximum of 18 months in prison to 36. This might fall short of some people’s expectations in a country where 200,000 animals are abandoned annually.

What are the new rules for Spain’s pets?

In the case of domestic pets, the new rules have been receiving a mixed reaction. In coming laws will insist that owners apply for pet DNI cards, rather like our TIEs. To ensure that they know their ‘ patas ’ from their ‘ pulgas ’, new owners will be obliged

LIFE IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED

(ButopenedinSpain’sCabodeGata!)

fact: John Lennon had terrible eyesight. By to day’s standards he would have been considered legally blind without his glasses. He was severely myopic, had astigmatism and dyslexia. Op tometrists today call it the Irlen Syndrome. Furthermore, Lennon was self-conscious about this fact and early in his career resisted wearing glasses during performances.

Alittle-known

His personal doctor once said: “Without his glasses, the world was blurred and distorted for John. He could see the end of his guitar and frets but not much beyond.”

Another little- known fact: Rolling Stone Magazine once stated that Lennon’s lyrics, his hair and his ‘granny glasses’ were probably the most enduring and iconic trademarks of the late Beatle, John Lennon. What follows is the Spanish backstory of those very granny glasses that were such an enduring part of his public image.

In 1967 John Lennon had a small, non-musical role in the John Les ter movie How I Won the War. Much of the filming of the movie was

done in the Carboneras area of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park.

His role was very minor and, during the shooting, Lennon had a lot of downtime which offered him a welcome respite from his arduous music tours.

Lennon and wife Cynthia joined actor Michael Crawford and wife Gabrielle Lewis in renting the San ta Isabel Villa.

On the set, John enjoyed observing the production of the movie as just another cast member. He could in teract as a normal person for the first time in a long time.

Lennon would later note that he found the rural setting and time-off from the hectic world of rock and

roll to be profoundly restorative.

To prepare for his role, Lennon got a standard haircut which con trasted sharply with his mop-top image. He was also given a pair of ‘standard metal British National Health Service glasses’ - issued free by the NHS.

The round, small lens, metal framed glasses were the farthest thing from being fashionable but, for reasons known only to Lennon, he felt comfortable in Spain, and was not worried about how he looked in these round granny glasses.

They opened his eyes (pun intended) to some of the beauty of the Cabo de Gata area which surrounded him. The Santa Isabel Villa, with its wrought iron gates and lush vegetation, reminded Lennon of the Strawberry Field - a Salvation Army garden near Lennon’s child hood home in Liverpool.

Lennon, perhaps with the newly found vision aided by his NHS sup plied glasses, was inspired to write his classic song Strawberry Fields Forever during his stay in Cabo de Gata.

John Lennon would have been 82 this month and to mark World Sight Day, Jack Gaioni investigates a little known fact about his famous spectacles and their link to Almeria

VISIT: Ringo Starr with lennon in Almeria, and with Cynthia

NOT SAFE: Even Spanish Waterdogs are at risk

to complete online training courses – al though this could be unfortunate for any one who isn’t tech-savvy (the infamous digital divide).

Under the proposed rules animals won’t be able to be sold in pet shops and it won’t be legal to adopt a pet that isn’t micro chipped – for example, to take one that is found wan dering the streets. The cor rect procedure will be to call the authorities to transport the animal to an approved shelter.

This is causing debate –partly because of a prevail ing belief amongst animal lovers that some ‘approved’ shelters euthanise pets that aren’t found homes.

Another rule restricts the reproduction of pets to registered breeders. Owners who aren’t on the kennel register were previ ously limited to a maximum of five pets, al

though this law wasn’t applied before, and won’t be applied retrospectively. It’s clearly going to be difficult to monitor pet owner ship, especially if families register them under multiple names.

Other rules stipulate that pets must be well cared for and treated ‘like a member of the family’. It will be illegal to leave dogs alone for more than 24 hours, leave them in cars, confine them, restrict their movement, mutilate them for aesthetic reasons (such as cropping ears and tails), fail to de-parasite them or remove their faeces, use them for begging, or subject them to excessive work.

You cannot dump them, re lease them permanently into the ‘natural environment’, eat them (!), or put down healthy animals because you no longer want to be their owner. The ‘adequate care’ rule, however, is arguably something

that should apply to all dogs – not just pets.

Spain’s history of animal abuse –the social mores

According to animal rights activists, the problem with Spain’s historic animal abuse problem is down to social mores and this doesn’t have an over night solution.

Linda Raine, of Valle Verde animal rescue in Alumnecar, says there has always been adequate legislation to protect animals but that Spain doesn’t have the right mentali ty behind enforcement.

The Olive Press has heard anecdotal re ports of Seprona’s reluctance to prose cute negligent owners, even repeat offenders.

The situation for Spain’s working dogs

Dogs used for sports, hunting or as ‘breed ers’ are frequently culled by their handlers when their so-called ‘useful life’ is over: these animals are most at risk.

Tanya Grenfell Williams, who has rescued three greyhounds ( galgos ), says: “The hunt ing lobby is very powerful, and the rescue centres have battled for many years with the government and hunters to stop the atrocities, such as digging out dogs’ chips when they are no longer wanted.

“I think the proposal to use EU laws for this sector is to avoid each autonomous com munity passing a watered-down version of the Spanish law. Although I disagree with a distinction between domestic animals and sporting animals, the Galgueros would not comply with the new law and adhering to some EU laws is better than nothing.”

Elizabeth, who ran a dog rescue shelter in Mallorca, adds: “At the end of the hunting season, we routinely found five Podencos hanging from a tree together, dead.”

Luz María Puga Blanco, president of the NoMayapa rescue centre, says: “The law says that pet dogs will be part of the fam ily but hunting dogs are not. What is the difference between one and the other? Ev eryone feels the same; this is the worst of the new law. And the hunters’ dogs are the most abused.

A public education campaign, like for domestic violence

With Seprona realistically unable to moni tor Spain’s vast swathes of ‘campo’, where dog abuse can be hidden from view, own ers need to change for the better. For example, they could sterilise their bitches rather than dumping unwanted puppies into the nearest bin.

Public castration programmes are import ant – such as the one NoMayapa carries out in La Alpujarra, giving owners an afford able option to avoid unwanted litters.

Luz says: “Regarding the new law, we be lieve it’s good that sterilisation is manda tory, but we do not trust this since the chip has been in place for years. This is also mandatory and many people don’t chip their animals.”

Your award-winning global dirt digger

A focus on Olive Press reporter Anthony Piovesan

ANTHONY Piovesan joins the Olive Press all the way from Australia. He moved to Madrid for three months earlier this year to enjoy a sabbatical after the pandemic kept his home country’s border shut for two long years.

But he quickly fell in love with Spain and didn’t want to leave.

What Anthony loves the most, and why he decided to stay here permanently, was the locals.

Journalism is all about people and the stories they can tell you, and Anthony was constantly amazed at the stories the Spanish would tell.

An award-winning jour nalist in Australia for six years before arriving in Spain, he started reporting at a local newspaper in the outback of the region of Victoria.

He then moved back to his home city of Melbourne where he won a Press Club Quill award at the state media awards for a series of stories that ex posed corruption at his local council (see left).

Moving on to be come a political correspondent for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, he proudly held the authorities to ac count during the pandemic, ‘a his toric time when the world need ed truths more than ever be fore’ he insists.

“It’s a privilege to join the Olive Press and con tinue the newspaper’s great work bringing all of the amazing stories from around the country to an English-speaking audience,” Anthony said.

During this time, Rolling Stone Magazine covertly obtained a pho to of Lennon sporting a pair of granny glasses and featured the new image on its November 9, 1967, front cover. Publisher Jann S. Wenner would later describe that cover as: “Incredibly fortu itous and symbolic - prophetic of the future.”

It would be hard to find a photo without at least some form of vari ation of those smaller, round glasses for the rest of Lennon’s days. This past week, October 9 to be exact, would have been John Len non’s 82nd birthday. Next December 8 will mark the 42nd anni versary of his tragic demise.

Undeniably, his presence is still with us: his spirit, his cultural sig nificance and his musical vision. But it is interesting to note that his lyrics from Strawberry Fields Forever (think: “Life is easier with your eyes closed”) was born of his time in Spain - replete with his new NHS issued granny glasses!

R.I.P. John Lennon

For example, we are aware of a harrowing case where two dogs owned by a woman with mental health issues were starved to death on a roof ter race, and all the neigh bours were aware of the situation. The police were informed but did not intervene.

There is also a wellknown case of a horse owner starving several animals without being denounced.

Some critics of the new legislation say that only law-abid ing owners will follow the new rules. Those who always mistreat ed their animals will continue in the same manner.

Perhaps a parallel can be drawn with Spain’s history of domestic violence, and how this problem has been tackled at government level with a zero-tolerance campaign, run ning across every town and village. Without such a campaign, how can we expect the prevailing attitude towards animal abuse, dating back centuries, to change?

One local expat is optimistic. Freya Ruth Rogers of Orgiva says: “The campo men don’t like to be embarrassed, not even over animal abuse. So, if younger generations change their attitude, there is hope.”

Says an anonymous reader: “Thanks to the ‘violencia de genero’ campaign, ‘ machista ’ men, who would previously have thought nothing of hitting their wife or girlfriend, now give it some consideration. Not only could they go to prison for three years over a domestic violence conviction, but it’s considered socially unacceptable amongst their male peers. We need this to be the case with animals.”

Without public education alongside bet ter enforcement, it seems that some of Spain’s dogs will literally be sold – or thrown – down the river.

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

Hispanic day gets underway as Spain celebrates Christopher Columbus first voyage to America

- British tourist dies after fatal 20 metre cliff leap on Spain’s Ibiza

German Madeleine McCann suspect accused of a string of rapes and two child offence charges this week

- Irish rape victim reveals delight at finally seeing Maddie’s suspect Christian Brueckner in court after 18 long years

Fugitive wanted over sexual crime used Malaga hostel as hideout

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es

call us at 00 34 951273575 for more info

ON SET: Lennon takes a break during filming of How I Won the War

HAPPY: This greyhound and podenco (right) are well cared for, but many suffer a grim fate

The problem with the animal abuse problem is down to social mores

POWER PLAN

SPAIN’S new energy con tingency plan has been approved by the Council of Ministers with 73 mea sures to reduce energy consumption.

Ecological Transition min ister, Teresa Ribera said the government will try to cut natural gas consumption by as much as 13.5% in the full period between August and March under the strategy.

The plan promotes self-generated energy and the government will pro vide aid and tax breaks on renewable energy as well as subsidised loans for small businesses investing in en ergy efficiency.

One of the measures calls for a review of all outdoor lighting but does not estab lish any limit on Christmas lights put up by individual municipalities.

There’s also good news for condominium residents - numbering some 1.6 million households - who share a community boiler.

Slashing emissions

THE Balearic govern ment has increased its 2030 target for reduction in greenhouse gas emis sions from 40% to 55%.

It also announced this week that it wants to in crease the use of renew able energy from 40% to 35%.

Minister for Energy Transition Juan Pedro Yllanes said he wanted the Balearic Islands to be one of the first terri tories in Europe to de carbonise.

“We are breaking re cords in terms of re newable energy gener ation, but we must be more efficient and re duce consumption.”

Scheme to cut energy use with grants and cheap loans approved

By Alex Trelinski

Previous rules meant peo ple in condominium prop erties were not eligible for the regulated TUR gas rate that’s cheaper than free market tariffs. Teresa Ri bera, said a price cut had

been approved, but did not specify how the dis counts would be offered. “It is time to find a solu tion for community boilers, which consume more than 50,000 kilowatt hours per year and, therefore, are outside the regulated rate,” she added.

Free Charly, Flecha & Cris

THREE loggerhead sea turtles rescued by sailors have been released in Huelva.

Some 50 schoolchildren and members of the Rumbo Fijo as sociation participated as the sea creatures were released at Punta Umbria.

The event was part of the ‘SOS Caretta’ project, which prop motes sea turtle rescue by the fishing sector in the Gulf of Ca diz and Strait of Gibraltar.

So far the association has overseen the rescue and release of 33 sea turtles.

The latest release ‘Charly’ and ‘Flecha’, weighed 20 and 35 kilos respectively, were freed. They have both been taken to port by boats of the Cofradía Santo Cristo del Mar.

The third turtle release was ‘Cris’, a small specimen weighing 2.7 kilos, which had been found on Cortadura Beach (Cadiz).

READY FOR THE NEXT ‘COP OUT’?

that time

year again when heads

their representatives attend the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) to discuss, debate and agree on tangible actions to reduce the impact of climate change.

government

This year’s conference is to be held in Sharm elSheikh, Egypt.

Replace Sharm with Sham and it will more accu rately reflect the hollow promises and commitments that are about to be announced.

The whole feeling that surrounds this year’s event just feels wrong.

● Egypt has an appalling record on human rights

● The event sponsor is Coca-Cola….. which, to gether with Pepsi, has been branded the largest plastic polluter on the planet!

Coca-Cola uses more than 3 million tonnes of plas tic packaging a year. Its products are found in the oceans and on the beaches of every continent.

Some 99% of plastic is produced from fossil fuels.

The organisation Earth Uprising said: “This action by the COP27 presidency goes against the purpose of the conference.” I agree.

What a difference a year makes

The whole landscape has changed.

Last year, the conference was held in Glasgow. The UK government banned fossil fuel companies from sponsoring the event.

When the conference concluded there was an air of optimism. I felt that maybe, just maybe, countries would follow through on their promises. Not so now.

Everyone is blaming the psychopath Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing fallout. The UK’s actions reflect what other wealthy coun tries are doing.

● The ban on fracking has been lifted

● Up to 100 new licenses look set to be awarded to companies to ramp up exploration of new oil and gas reserves in the North Sea

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg says the new exploration will boost energy security and support skilled jobs. Bla Bla Bla…..earlier this year the gov ernment’s own advisers stated in a report that the best way to ease consumers’ pain from high energy prices was to stop using fossil fuels rather than drill for more.

Greenpeace called it right, saying: ”The govern ment’s energy policy benefits fossil fuel companies, and no one else.”

The embattled, ambivalent new UK prime minister Liz Truss hasn’t announced whether she will attend. She has, however, banned King Charles from going. The last thing she needs at COP27 is a monarch who actually cares passionately for the environ ment.

We are now beginning to hear world leaders talking about not placing the burden of achieving net zero targets on consumers and businesses. I interpret this as: “Hang the environment – safe guard votes to keep us in office.”

ACTION: Teresa Ribera announces new measures to slash energy use

Green MattersBy Martin Tye

FESTIVAL COUNTDOWN

TOP British acts will be headlining next year’s Benicassim International Festival between July 13 and 16. Spain’s answer to Glastonbury will be bringing in festival stalwarts Franz Ferdinand, along with Bas tille, Clean Bandit, and the Kaiser Chiefs as some of the top attractions. They’ve been named in the initial list of 20 acts playing the three-day fes tival next summer.

The hugely popular indie music event is especially popular among British fans, who descend on the Castellon town in their droves every year. Tickets went on general sale after 5,000 tickets for local residents were sold. General tickets start at €39.99 per day with additional fees for camping, showers, transportation and refreshments.

25 YEARS ON

BILBAO’s Guggenheim Mu seum has unveiled an exhibi tion of works to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Sections/Intersections. 25 years of the Guggenheim Mu seum Bilbao Collection, which will open on October 19, fea tures many of its best-known pieces as well as six new works costing a total of €10 million by the artists El Anatsui, Alex Reynolds, Ellsworth Kelly, Al

Guggenheim launches anniversary exhibition

By Dilip Kuner

yson Shotz, Esther Ferrer and Jenny Holzer.

The acquisitions have been paid for by the Basque Gov ernment and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia.

Museum's director, Juan Ignacio Vidarte said: “It

FIGURES from the National Statistics Agen cy (INE) have revealed that TV and films are influencing what some Spaniards call their children.

While 1,062 women in Spain have been named Leia, at least it is a real name (from Hebrew). The 29 men called Anakin - Leia’s father in the Star Wars franchise - are not quite so lucky. Not only is it a made-up name but the fictional Anakin famous ly becomes super-villain Darth Vader. Looking at oth

was felt appropriate to com memorate our silver jubilee by highlighting one of the fundamental elements - the collection that had been cre ated thanks to the support from Basque institutions. It is a way of highlighting the collection and giving a small nod to the inaugural exhi bition in 1997, which show

What’s in a name

er franchises, Daenerys is the name of 189 girls.

Sticking with Game of Thrones, Arya is a clear winner with 1,168 females given the moniker, although it is traditionally a male name in parts of India, Iran, Indonesia and Bali.

And the Lord of the Rings has also been immortalised in children’s names, with 177 women named after Arwen, although they could conceivably be the children of expats as it is a name with a long and proud Welsh history.

Not so in the case of the 58 Galadriel’s in Spain - this name was invented by Tolkein.

cased works from the Gug genheim collections in New York and Venice.

“This time we wanted to give it a twist, but exclusively with works from the Bilbao col lection to show the maturity that the collection has now reached.

The exhibition features piec es from Frank Gehry’s archi tecture, as well as pieces that highlight key moments in the history of the museum.

The sculpture Tulips by Jeff Koons has been moved in side to occupy a key place in the ‘Pop Art’ room alongside Andy Warhol work One hun dred and fifty multicoloured Marilyns.

Jubilee

It also includes the museums latest acquisition Growing Sea by Nigerian artist El Anat sui. This is the first sculpture by an African artist acquired by the museum and is made entirely from recycled mate rials from spirits bottle caps.

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BEST FISH AND CHIPS IN MALLORCA TRIPADVISOR

IMPRESSIVE: There will be six new works costing a total €10 million on show

SOUR FIGURES

HARVEST numbers for ma jor varieties of lemons and or anges will spiral down across the Balearic Islands over the coming months after extreme weather conditions destroyed orchards.

A lot of the harvests came from the Alicante province, which was smashed with tor rential rain in the past month, on the back of an extremely hot summer.

The Verna lemon variety has been the worst hit with just 50,000 tons harvested- a 50% fall on last year.

Harvest numbers for the Fino variety of lemon are 15% down on 2022 figures. Orang es have suffered as well with the ‘Lane Late’ and ‘Powell’ varieties falling by 30% over 12 months.

Cheers to that

A SPANISH bar has been voted the Best in the World, the first time one from outside New York or London has earned the No. 1 spot on the list.

Paradiso in Barcelona scooped the accolade at The World's 50 Best Bars awards staged in the Cata

EGG production in the Balearics experienced a 28% drop in produc tion in 2021 compared to 2020, ac cording to new data.

The report published by the Min istry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food found overall the egg sec tor in Spain reached a turnover of €1,035 million in 2021, down 1.9%.

Total Spanish production stood

Spanish bar is the Best in the World

By Alex Trelinski

lan capital.

Over 650 cocktail bar ex perts cast their votes with another Barcelona barTwo Schmucks - coming in

Cracking up

at 1,128 million doses, which was 2.2% lower than in 2020. But compared to 2019, production grew by 3.8% and turnover by 6.2%.

Spain is one of the main producers in Europe, ranking third behind only France and Germany.

Mandatory Spanish driving license

seventh place. The awards were staged in Barcelona’s Cupula de las Arenas and cemented the city’s increasing reputation for providing outstanding drinking experiences.

It was the first time that the annual gathering of the international cocktail trade had moved outside to London.

“Passion! That’s what got us here,” said Giacomo Gi annotti, co-owner of Par adiso. “We are so proud. It’s the best recognition we could ever have – for us, for our team and for our clients.”

Accessed by opening a

false fridge door in a pas trami shop in Barcelona’s El Born district, Paradi so offers its version of an American speakeasy, com bining inventive drinks with the lively personality of its staff.

Innovation

“Each day for seven years we have tried to be the best version of ourselves,” says Margarita Sader, Giannot ti’s partner and co-owner of Paradiso. “We started with three people in our team, and now we are 40. We are so proud of them and we just want to be the most cre ative and innovative bar that we can.”

The great escape

SPAIN is hoping to capital ise on cold winters and ener gy bills elsewhere in Europe, including the UK, by pro moting its warmer weather as winter approaches.

Southern Spain and the Ca nary Islands are hopeful of taking advantage of ‘thermal tourism’, a new trend for fly ing to cheaper, warmer cli mates to escape the winter and the cost of living crisis in the UK.

Cheaper

The president of the Spanish federation of tourist departments Miguel Ángel Sotillos said: “From what we’re seeing, people are realising that it’s cheaper to come here than to put the heating on at home.”

Several travel agents are of fering deals of three or four weeks or more to popular Spanish destinations.

Packages for three-week half-board stays in Costa del Sol hotels are averaging between €900 and €950 per person.

NEWregulations governing the manda tory issue of Spanish drivers license for British citizens is an issue that’s causing concern for some of our En glish expatriate customers.

Our Legal Assistance service will keep you fully updated on all the latest news and pro vide details on driving schools closest to your home, where you can prepare for the exam in English, consult the registration fees and raise any questions you may have. In this article we’ll explain the regulations and procedures that you’ll have to follow, and the possible sanctions for non-compliance. If you need more information or you’d like to speak to our Legal Assistance team, please call 919 180 022 and we’ll be happy to assist and advise you.

AUTOMATIC LICENSE EXPIRY AFTER APRIL 30, 2022

As of December 31, 2020, the UK ceased to belong to the European Union, and regulations that allowed driving in Spain, with a British driving license, ceased to be applicable. UK issued driving licenses were only autho rized to drive in Spain until April 3O, 2022, and

are now not valid. All existing agreements on highway regulations that protect the Member States of the European Union have ceased to be valid and applicable. However, those British drivers who do not have their main residence in Spain and travel for periods of less than six months (tourist type), may continue to drive in Spain, during that period, with their original permit.

ENGLISH FOR SPANISH LICENCE SWAP

Residents with a British driving licence, had until December 31, 2020 to swap and redeem theirs for a Spanish licence. Consequently, they must now obtain a new Spanish driving licence from scratch, submitting to the require ments and tests established in Spain for ob taining said.

New regulations for English expat residents in Spain governing the mandatory issue of a Spanish driving license

CHIN CHIN: Paradiso is the first bar outside of London or New York to be crown ‘World’s best bar’

NEARLY half of Spanish civil servants use anti depressants, anti-anxiety drugs or sleeping pills on an almost daily basis. This is according to the CSIF trade union, which blames overwork, low wages and ‘lack of profes sional recognition’.

The most common profile of civil servants with a prescription drugs problem are women aged between 45 and 54 working in the health and ed ucation sectors, claims the union.

The CSIF is now calling for psychological care to be provided to public employees.

Gift of life Hospital carries out pioneering intestine transplant on one-year-old girl

A SPANISH hospital has suc cessfully performed an intes tine transplant on a toddler in a world first.

The recipient was a oneyear-old girl who had been diagnosed with intestinal failure aged just one month. This is the first time a socalled asystole transplant of the intestine has been per formed.

This means that after doc tors confirm the absence of a heartbeat and breathing functions, the donor’s organs are artificially preserved through a system known as Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO).

An intestine is very difficult to preserve after death, given its unique characteristics.

The operation was carried out at the La Paz hospital in Madrid after three years of research.

Spain is a world leader in or gan transplants, with more than 102 carried out per

By Simon Hunter

million inhabitants in 2021, according to Health Ministry data cited by Reuters. Only the United States exceeds that figure.

As well as the intestine, the young patient, named Emma, also received a new liver, stomach, spleen and pancreas.

Discharged

She has already been dis charged from hospital and is in ‘perfect’ health at home with her parents, according to a statement from the Ma drid regional government.

La Paz hospital is one of the leading centres in Europe for paediatric transplants.

Of the 3,149 transplants carried out there, 1,754 were for child patients, ac cording to the Madrid re gional government.

Become a live-in carer in the

Stubbed out

BARCELONA has issued zero fines for smoking on beaches, despite a ban be ing in place since July.

The City Hall imposed the ban with potentially fixed penalty fines of €30 pay able for anyone breaking the rules.

Despite the lack of punish ment, Councillor for Envi ronmental Transition Eloi Badia has hailed the initia tive a success. He report ed that anyone told not to smoke on the beaches has responded respectful ly, and has either put out their cigarette or moved off the sand.

He added that just 1% of Barcelona beach-goers smoked while on the sand.

journey as a

WORLD’S FIRST: Asystole transplant patient Emma

PIC CREDIT: EFE

Sending

Uncertainty

GBP/EUR exchange rate remains volatile amid uncertain UK fiscal outlook

THEpound euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate continued to trade with a high levels of volatility at the start of October amid an increasingly uncertain fiscal outlook in the UK. Over the last two weeks, GBP/EUR has traded in a range between €1.15 and €1.12.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING?

Following the six cent swings we witnessed at the end of Sep tember. Trade in the pound euro exchange rates has been rel atively subdued in comparison, despite the pairing trading in a range of around three cents.

A U-turn from Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng regarding his plans to cut the 45p tax rate for the UK’s highest earners, brought some initial relief to Sterling.

While the reversal still left plenty of concerns over the parts of his mini-budget GBP investors were hopeful the Chancellor may be open to rethink other parts of his fiscal plan.

However, the pound almost immediately relinquished these gains following a warning that the UK’s credit rating could be downgraded after Fitch joined S&P in cutting its outlook for the UK’s credit rating from ‘stable’ to negative’.

Subsequent movement in the pound has remained erratic as the Bank of England stepped up its emergency bond purchas es, but warned that its temporary bond buying programme would end on 14 October as initially planned. While rumours regarding further U-turns from Kwarteng also bolstered Ster ling.

Meanwhile the euro has fluctuated over the past couple of weeks amid fears an escalation of the war in Ukraine will place even more pressure on the Eurozone economy.

The single currency has also been undermined by some un derwhelming Eurozone data as well as concerns over Europe’s energy security.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR?

UK fiscal and political uncertainty are likely to see the pound continue to trade with notable volatility over the next couple of weeks.

FORGING AHEAD

MORE jobs could be created at Mallorca’s IKEA store as sales at the flat-pack giant surge.

And it’s the same story all across the country with the company now creating 1,500 jobs in Spain after seeing 8.2% growth in sales.

The record turnover of €1.82 billion between September 2021 and August 2022 has been driven largely by online sales.

Some 22% of its Spanish turn over (€406m) was brought in

Massive growth planned by Ikea with 1,500 jobs to be created

By Dilip Kuner

online.

The Swedish firm will now open a total of 90 new sales points, varying between ur ban stores, smaller stores, design and planning centres and collection points.

It means launching its larg est recruitment drive in the

Winter wings

WINTER flights to Palma Son Sant Joan Airport will increase by 6% over pre-pandemic levels in a bid to attract more tourists to the Balearic Is lands in the upcoming cooler months.

Winter schedules for airlines start in the final week of October and extend until the final week of March.

The current programming at Mallorca’s main airport showed a 6.1% increase in flights for the 2022-2023 season - That figure was compared with the 2019-2020 season.

Spanish operation’s history. The workforce is set to ex pand by 15% to 11,230 em ployees by 2024.

The CEO of Ikea in Spain, Nurettin Acar, explained the growth as ‘the result of the work of a committed team’ and Ikea being an ‘agent of change’.

“The outbreak of the Ukrainian war, interruptions in the logistics chain and sup ply difficulties have brought great challenges,” he said.

“I am really proud to see how we have managed to learn and become even stronger in this situation,” he added.

Parent company Ingka group earlier this year said it would invest more than €3 billion in new and existing stores world-wide. Its main focus is on making its physical loca tions double as e-commerce distribution points.

The plan will cover all 32 of Ingka’s markets, includ ing the U.S., France, Fin land, Canada, Germany and Spain.

A key focus for GBP investors will be the publication of Kwarteng’s medium-term fiscal plan at the end of the month.

If this fails to assuage concerns over the government’s tax cut and borrowing plans, Sterling could fall sharply.

A negative response could also raise questions over the future of Liz Truss’s premiership, potentially placing even more pres sure on the pound.

If the Russia-Ukraine war continues to escalate, then the euro may face an uphill battle. A renewed Russian offensive, fur ther sanctions, or signs that the conflict is spreading beyond Ukraine’s borders could all spell trouble for the single currency.

As we approach the end of October, the focus is likely to switch to the European Central Bank (ECB) as it prepares to deliver its latest interest rate decision.

If the ECB delivers another 75bps rate hike, whilst also signal ling plans to continue raising rates through to at least the end of the year, the euro is likely to strengthen.

PROTECTING AGAINST VOLATILITY

This kind of volatility can cause some nasty surprises if you need to transfer money overseas. On a £200,000 transfer, that two-cent gap between €1.15 and €1.12 translates to a €6,000 difference. And the larger the sum, the higher the dis crepancy.

Fortunately, there are ways that you can protect against volatility. Specialist currency brokers, such as Currencies Direct, offer different tools to help you navigate the ups and downs of the currency market.

For instance, you can use a forward contract to secure an ex change rate for up to a year. This way, you won’t lose out if the market moves against you.

Services like rate alerts and daily updates make it easy to keep track of what’s going on in the forex world so that you can make informed decisions. And with Currencies Direct you’ll have a dedicated account manager there to provide guidance and support whenever you need them.

At Currencies Direct we’re here to talk currency whenever you need us, so get in touch if you want to know more about the latest news or how it could impact your currency transfers.

Since 1996 we’ve helped more than 325,000 customers with their currency transfers, just pop into your local Currencies Direct branch or give us a call to find out more.

Ryanair has scheduled the most flights, followed by Vueling, Air Europa and Air Nostrum.

BATTLE: For Pique in Picasso’s square

AS if his family didn’t have enough problems.

Barcelona star Gerard Pique has received a stop order on his new hotel project in Malaga.

Coming just months after his split from pop star Shakira, who is facing a giant tax probe, the Spain defender has had his Cine Andalucia project halted.

It comes after human remains from Spain’s Islamic period were found at the central Malaga city site.

Construction has been stopped while a full archeological survey of an apparent cemetery is undertaken.

The number of burials are un known, but the town hall believes that it is a Muslim graveyard be cause so far around 100 graves

Injury time

have been found facing towards Mecca.

The company Kerald Holding, owned by Pique and his family, bought the site near Plaza de la Merced - where Pablo Picasso was born - for €20 million in July 2020.

Plans to build a luxury five-star hotel have already had to be downgraded to four stars due to permit issues.

Once the 176-room hotel is finished at an estimated cost of €50 million, it will be managed by the Melia group.

The project has taken many years to get off the ground and only received a licence in 2018.

HIDING OUT

SHE has had over a year of hearing her name dragged through the mud.

So it was no surprise that Hollywood actress Amber Heard would look for some where closer to the stars.

Fresh from her costly €10 million London lawsuit with her ex Johnny Depp, she has moved to

By Simon Hunter

Mallorca.

The 36-year-old Aquaman star has moved to the tiny village of Costitx, just five miles from where the Olive Press prints its newspaper on the island.

Going under a pseud onym, Maratha Jane Cannary, an 18th cen tury explorer better known as Calamity Jane, she has rent ed a luxury mansion, which was recently on the market for €2.8m.

Living with her daughter Oonagh, one, and her part ner, the film photog rapher Bianca Butti, locals in the village of

just 1,270 inhabitants didn’t at first have any clue who she was.

“She’s just like everyone else, she buys fruit and vegeta bles, she speaks Spanish with a Mexican accent and she’s very polite,” a local shop keeper named Miguel told El Mundo.

“She always says good morn ing,” he added. For now she has rented the former home of disgraced politician Maria Antonia Munar, who was sentenced to 14 years in jail for corrup tion.

The 479 square metre villa has an infinity pool and won derful views of the surround ing countryside (see left).

Celebrity watchers had known she had moved to Spain when in January she posted on Instagram a photo of herself in a typical Spanish alley, with the caption: ‘hola Madrid’.

Ten days later she posted a pic of a square in Palma and she has posted many other Spanish pictures to her five million followers since then.

In March she posted a lovely photo (above) in Palma port with the caption: ‘It’s a-boat time I posted something’.

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Johnny Depp ex Amber Heard, goes incognito as ‘Calamity Jane’ renting Mallorca mansion

RELOCATING: Amber in Palma

THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN CHIMNEYS Madrid

LOCATED

by Plaza del Rey in the heart of the ca pital, the Casa de las Siete Chimeneas belonged to Captain Zapata and his wife Elena in the 16th century. After Zapata died while off with the Ar mada in Flanders, Elena was discovered dead in her bedroom. The cause of death was never determined because her body vanished without a trace, however, the servants believed it was murder. Rumours circula ted that Elena had been having a secret affair with King Felipe II and that he had killed her. In the end, her fa ther was accused of Elena’s death and hung from the rafters of the house.

Since then, many claim to have seen a woman dres sed in white on the roof, pointing towards the Alcazar, home of the King. Despite this damning indictment, noone did anything about it and, after a while, the ghost gave up. But Elena’s story was revived in more recent times when, during work on the building, the corpse of a woman was discovered, buried with a handful of gold coins dating from that era.

WE DARE TO

THE FACES OF BELMEZ Jaen

By Amber Edirisinghe

FROM piercing wails to ghostly faces in the mi rror, if you are on the hunt for paranormal activity this Halloween, you will find more than enough in Spain.

Right across the country –probably in a town near you – eerie buildings with violent and grisly pasts stand aban doned (or are they?) waiting and watching.

Here’s our definitive list of Spain’s most haunted.

THE RIGHT CHOICE

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LIBERTY SEGUROS really does have you cov ered and always has your real needs in mind, so it’s not surprising that it is still the expat’s preferred insurer in Spain.

SINCE

1971, marks have been appearing and disappearing on the walls and floors of a house on Calle Real in the vi llage of Belmez in Jaen. From some angles they look like human faces, hence the name and the constant flow of parapsychologists and sceptics. Some people believe the phenomenon could be linked to the presence of a 13th century ceme tery believed to be lying deep under the kitchen.

CHILDREN

with tuberculosis were treated at this sanitorium in Alicante. It is claimed that it was a place of cruelty where nuns would inflict punishments on the children – those who wet the bed, for example, were forced to wrap the sheets around their heads, and were paraded around the dining hall at breakfast time.

Years after its closure in 2002, researcher Pedro Amoros reported seeing a white lady appear in the mirror, which led many more to go and investigate – and yes, they saw her too, along with creepy shadows. They say that if you see the white lady in the mirror and she laughs, you’ll be alright. But if she is crying, something bad is coming your way.

AGUAS DE BUSSOT - Alicante

It’s that time of year again when we dress like monsters, eat sweets, and think about bodies beneath the floorboards. Happy Halloween!

SCARE

CORTIJO JURADO Malaga

THIS spooky man sion, located in the Campanillas district on the edge of Ma laga, was once the home of the Heredia family. At least 30 women disa ppeared between 1890 and 1920, and all were found dead on the river banks near the house, covered in marks of tor ture suggestive of satanic rites. There were said to be tunnels running from the river to the house, and suspicion fell on the fami ly. To this very day, people often claim to hear haun ting moans and to have seen shadowy figures in the windows.

SANATORIUM OF SANTO ANGEL DE LA GUARDA MADRID

BUILT

in 1941, this Madrid sa natorium was dedicated to the treatment of illnesses like tuberculosis, leprosy, polio, fibrosis and lung cancer. It later be came a mental health facility and was finally closed in 1995. Daring individuals who have explored its halls in search of patient records and hospital paraphernalia have reported seeing strange figures in the corridors, hearing voices and slamming doors, and – perhaps worst of all – have had their electri cal devices suddenly powering off.

SPECIALISING

in patients with res piratory conditions, this former sanatorium in Terrassa was cre dited with having the highest sui cide rate in Spain. Apparently, the sui cides were triggered by a psychosis that patients developed during the course of their slow decline and, throughout the 1950s in particular, patients would throw themselves to their deaths from

THORAX HOSPITAL Terrassa,

the ninth floor windows with alarming regularity. They are said to haunt the gardens below, while the empty corri dors are haunted by victims of the infa mous ‘nurse of death’, a middle-aged woman who had a thing for injecting her patients with lethal doses.

REcycle

Four-legged help

SOME 18 ‘firefighting’ donkeys have started for est fire prevention work for next year’s summer by chomping their way through vegetation in hard to access areas.

Wrong turn

A wheelchair-user has been filmed getting stuck in a stream of Marbella traffic with cars swerv ing round him before a pedestrian pushes him sto safety

Trump chum

FORMER US presi dent Donald Trump supported Vox, as the far-right Spanish par ty celebrated its year ly festival. “I wanna begin by thanking Santiago Abascal for the incredible job that he does,” Trump said.

RESS

Turn to the dark side

Man dressed as Darth Vader asks girlfriend to marry him

A MURCIA man channeled the Force to pluck up the courage to ask his girlfriend to marry him in the most bi zarre way.

In a video posted on so cial media the unnamed man emerged from a cof fin garbed in a Darth Vad er costume and singing an Elvis song to his would-be

By Simon Hunter

fiancée.

The offbeat footage, which quickly went viral, included a moment when the man, who had been carried into the scene in the coffin by four other men, held up a chalkboard on which was

Dedicated cheat

A LAW professor at the University of Mal aga has revealed a bizarre way that one of her students tried to cheat in his exams.

Yolanda de Lucchi posted photographs on social media of 11 pens confiscated during an exam several years ago where the can didate had painstakingly etched answers along the barrels in tiny writing.

Yolanda posted: “The criminal procedural law in BIC pens. What art!”

“Cheat sheets aren’t what they used to be,”

VIRAL: Darth Vader proposal was a huge hit

written: “I hope she says no”. The soundtrack to the whole

she added. The neat lettering pays testament to the en graving skill of the cheat - but it may well have been easier to simply learn the an swers to start with.

scene was provided by a full band, which played, among other tunes, the Imperial March from the Star Wars saga. While it was unclear wheth er the woman – who was visibly emotional when presented with the ring –actually said yes, the pair were then seen in the vid eo happily dancing on the back of a flatbed truck to the accompaniment of Abba’s Dancing Queen, played by the band. News of the dress code for the wedding is yet to emerge.

OUT

A BABOON surprised residents of Murcia City's Agridulce ur banisation after they spotted it dodging traffic to cross a road. With the Terra Natura theme park in the area, suspicions pointed to it coming from there, but it had actually escaped from a veterinary farm belonging to the University of Murcia. The primate ended up on the roof of a warehouse. It was anaesthetised with a tranquiliser rifle and returned to the farm unharmed.

Short arm of the law

A LACK of height will no lon ger be an obstacle to budding recruits for Spain’s National Police force.

In a bid to attract more women to the force, the Spanish Cabi net has done away with the 1.65 metre mini mum height for male ap plicants and 1.60 metres for women. The height standards re main for spe cial units.