Olive Press Mallorca - Issue 143 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

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THE British embassy is warning of a scam taking advantage of expats caught in the long driving liU -T U R cence debacle. It claims adverts have appeared on Facebook offering ‘a Spanish licence in exchange for cash’. The alarm was first raised from a social media pressure group which threatened to invade the embassy last month. The group is representing what is believed to be thousands of British residents who haven’t been able to legally drive in Spain since May 1. One member told the Olive Press the scammers are asking for €550 for the service. “Please don’t do any business with these guys,” he said. British ambassador Hugh Elliot revealed this week there were only two outstanding points still being hammered out between the two sides, in advance of an agreement.

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Vol. 6 Issue 143 www.theolivepress.es November 4th - November 17th 2022

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Hope for Kim

NOW

Tourist to get new hands after losing all her limbs after Spanish holiday five years ago A BRITISH woman who was told she had six hours to live while on holiday in Spain is finally set to undergo a rare double hand transplant. Kim Smith lost all of her limbs after she contracted sepsis following a common urinary tract infection while on holiday five years ago this month. The 61-year-old is near the top of a waiting list for hand transplant surgery, which will ‘make her life better again’. “I’ve just got on with my life and stayed strong and positive for so long, it’s been the only way,” she told the Olive Press. “After my transplant, I’ll be able to drive again and do more things l i f e will get better again.”

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Kim had fallen ill while she and her husband Steve, from Milton Keynes, were on holiday on the Costa Blanca in November 2017. They had plans to spend Christmas there, but one day while visiting the historic town of Sax she felt a pang of pain in her lower back.

Pain

Thinking it was a urine infection she went to nearby Elda Hospital and pointed at her back, telling doctors ‘pain here’. “In hindsight I should have said I had an infection because they just x-rayed my back and sent me away telling me I had no breaks or fractures,” she explained.

NIGHTMARE: Coma and aftermath of sepsis drama

The next day she went to see another doctor, who did a test for a urine infection and, after confirming it, prescribed her with a course of antibiotics. But that night at 4am she was in so much pain she was r u s h e d to hospital again, where doctors told her husband she ‘only had six hours to live’. She really HAPPY TIMES: Walking near Sax in Alicante before infection

thought she was ‘going to die’ and was put into an induced coma for nine weeks, three weeks of it in her local hospital in Milton Keynes. When she finally woke up surgeons told her that her hands and legs would need to be amputated as they had ‘gone black and completely died’ from sepsis. After major surgery she then spent half a year in recovery. “For six months I was just in bed, I couldn’t move,” she recalled. “I had to learn how to sit up and use my muscles again. It was awful.” She is now near the top of a waiting list for a double hand transplant at Leeds General Infirmary, the only hospital in the UK that can perform the surgery. The former hairdresser says she misses her hands most of all, and looks forward to cooking, sewing and driving again after the operation. Kim hopes by speaking out she will be an inspirational voice for others who have also been impacted by sepsis.

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“Everyone always tells me I’m so strong and positive and so I encourage those people to be the same It’s the only way to get through,” she concluded. Kim has started an online community awareness page, Kim’s Chance, where she shares her journey with thousands of followers. She has also set up a sepsis support group in her home town of Milton Keynes.

CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF

THE Policia Nacional, in association with their Italian counterparts, have busted a Naples-based gang who went to Mallorca and Ibiza during the summer to steal luxury watches from elderly tourists. Three of the four people arrested have been jailed with another six culprits identified.

Unwelcome message PRO-RUSSIAN graffiti saying ‘Save the people of Donbass’ together with the Russian forces ‘Z’ symbol has been daubed on a shutter of a Ukrainian-owned supermarket in Pere Garau.

Sewage move A NEW sewage treatment plant with double current capacity for Palma should begin operating in 2026 after the Madrid government agreed to the drafting of the €118 million project.

Longer walk THE popular Ruta de Pedra en Sec hiking route is to be extended by 70 kilometres to a total 170 kilometres to connect all of the towns in the Serra de Tramuntana.

ITALIAN JOB The Italian citizens specialised in violent robberies and travelled over in groups of three or four during the high tourist season to Palma and Ibiza. The crooks used women as ‘scouts’

to identify elderly targets and then another gang member would knock a person to the ground and steal their watch. A motorbike rider took away the loot for a fast escape and then transferred the stolen item to a car. They also used fake identities for hotel bookings and car hires

Bad neighbour A PALMA bar owner has been sanctioned over a yearslong campaign of harassment against the owners of a rival bar that saw him make false accusations against them 42 times. At one point he told them that his only purpose in life was to ‘f*** them.’ He has been ordered to pay a thousand-euro fine and compensation to his

Top shopping QUEUES formed outside Palma shops on Thursday morning to use €25 discount vouchers issued by the council's PalmaActiva scheme.

Bar owner ordered to pay compensation to rival owners after years-long campaign of harassment By Walter Finch

victims of €4,500 after the judge threw out his appeal and claim that this was ‘his word against theirs’. The judge ruled that it was

proven that the bar owner’s malicious campaign began in 2015 when the victims - a male and a female - opened a bar in front of their future tormentor on a street in the Mallorcan capital. The bar owner took an im-

Mutual consent

Robbing rapist

PALMA’S court has acquitted a man of the sadomasochistic rape of a woman in Marratxi. The rough sex happened in August 2019 with judges ruling what happened was consensual. An argument resulted in the man being violently assaulted, with the woman calling the police. The court said there were similar ‘mutually agreed’ love-making sessions of a similar nature for four months before the woman complained.

THE Palma trial of a man who robbed a Chinese bazaar four times and raped the owner on three occasions began on Wednesday, but has been adjourned until January. Prosecutors want the defendant jailed for over 50 years but judges agreed to a delay so that both parties can sort out a possible plea bargain deal. The location of the Mallorca store has not been disclosed. The break-ins and sexual assaults happened between August 2019 and January 2021. The assailant was arrested in February 2021.

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mediate dislike to having competition and started by filing repeated nuisance complaints with local police over the music volume coming from the new neighbours’ terrace from June 2015 until April 2017. Then he followed this up by constantly filming them with a camera while they worked, including coming up to them and shoving it in their faces.

Camera

He even installed a camera on his own premises that focused on the other bar, disturbing their customers. The behaviour distressed the couple, who suffered psychological damage including depressive anxiety disorder and mild post-traumatic stress disorder.

Clothes Thief THE Guardia Civil has arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with two shop robberies in Port d'Alcudia. The thief stole clothes and accessories worth €10,000 in a night raid on a store in October. His second robbery produced a more meagre return of €250 from a till register. A trawl of security camera footage identified him as the suspect in both break-ins and he was detained on Monday.

Amiss Swiss TWO Swiss men have been arrested in Palma for exploiting a woman who had to work for up to 18 hours a day for nine consecutive days. She reported them to the Policia Nacional, despite not having a work or residency permit. The woman claimed she got a job offer as a cook and the men paid for her plane ticket. She complained about her hours and her Swiss employers offered her €500 so that she could fly back to her undisclosed country. She refused and ended up in hospital after they assaulted her. A police raid found two other workers without any permits.

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LA CALA

THEY had both been interviewed - and even written columns - for the Olive Press when they opened restaurants on the Costa del Sol back in 2015. Now Ready Steady Cook presenter Steven Saunders is joining TOWIE star Elliot Wright at his popular Mijas restaurant Olivia’s La Cala. In an intriguing link up, Saunders has taken over executive duties in the kitchen and the food looks fab. It comes after the celebrity chef had closed his own La Cala joint, Little Ge-

FLOWER POW ER Musical

by Steven Sa chairs of the Little unders Geranium

United again

ranium, and moved back to England during the pandemic. Delighted to be back, he told the Olive Press: “This is home to me – I couldn’t wait to get back.” Wright meanwhile added he was the perfect fit to take his restaurant to the next level after recovering from a fire that gutted the premises. “We have come a long way since we

THE winds of change have truly blown in as dozens of anti-corrup tion parties made substantial gains in town halls across Spain. Voters made clear they are ready to ditch Spain’s traditional two-party system as new parties Podemos and Ciudadanos performed well at regional and local elections on Sunday.

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HOT CELEBRITY EXC www.masmovil.es/en LUSIVES THIS ISSU E NOT OLIVE PRESS – Earpiece NOT BUT 27th May

TOWIE star Elliot Wright launches a no-holds-barred column on Page 3 before we grill him on our food pages. See The Wright Stuff on Pages 54-55

TV presenter Nick Knowles and stunning wife Jessica lift the lid on their escape to Sotogrande on Page 3

2015

November 4th - November 17th 2022

Arty tapas is the special of the day in a new column from former Michelin-starred TV chef Steven Saunders. See Page 49

River of shame

All over the country the governing PP lost absolute majorities, meaning it will have to pact at least, one other with, Estepon a Town Hall fails to to form legitimate party clean gov- up a deadly ernments. river often played in Some of the big mayors by in children danger include MarbelWhat is E-Coli? la’s Angeles Munoz A DEADLY bacteria Malaga’s Francisco and found in an Esteponahas been E-Coli is a type of fecal EXCLUSIVE de la Torre. A strand of the killerriver. coliform bacteria usually By Rob Horgan E-Coli bacteria has been detected found in the intestines in See A Spring of Change, the Arroyo del Hornacinos, animals and humans. of Residents of the neighbouring on Pages 4 and 5 a stream often played Its presence in water Villas Andaluzas are now in by children. strong indication of is a ing in the Guardia Civil’s callrecent sewage or animal ronmental arm Seprona, enviwaste contamination. written complaints to the after town When the bacteria lives hall came to nothing. in animal or human intestiThey insist that the nal tracts it is harmless. overrun with rats andarea is mos- CONCERNE However when it appears quitos and the town D: Resident Sam Hall hall has at river’s bank in inadequately treated been completely ‘inactive’ de- worse. water it produces a toxin spite receiving the first report “It is which is harmful and in April. an absolute disgrace from Surrey, as well as varipoous neighbours, have and worse, a serious tentially fatal to humans. Independent analysis submithealth of the ted hazard,” said British resident a number of formal water shows that the plaints to the town hall. composes a serious health river Sam Hall, 78. risk He added: ing about and could be fatal. “It’s especially In response, a town hall “On hot it,” Hall added. days spokesman told the A report from Laboratorio worrying because we couple unbearable the smell is so that seen children playing have Mayor Jose Urbano Rafael Perez Rodriguez was able to sit out in we are unour that the quantities of stated the water where it flows near ‘aware of the problem’ and it Ironically, Esteponagarden.” into would be forms’ were so high that ‘coli- the sea. ‘sorted out’. was rewere ‘too many’ to count.there “If anyone were to be struck However, when a clean up cently honoured with a Green E-Coli can cause vomiting, down, it would be a national was finally ‘promised’ for May Flag Award for boosting environmental awareness. 18, nothing happened. scandal.” diarrhoea, liver disease and Estepona Town Hall failed to Hall and his wife Susanna, “They say one thing to keep Which ageing costa respond to Olive Press you happy and then do quesnoth- tions. show was cancelle DJ’s

A REAL DOG DAY FLASHBACK: To Elliot and Steven’s columns in 2015

rose like a Phoenix from the ashes, and now Steven is creating a new menu to keep us on an upward path,” he said. Here (above), theFreepair appear on a varifocal front page from 2015, with fellow TV lenses 59€ as the filling in presenter Nick Knowles a delicious celebrity sarnie. d after he crashed his new €60,000 Range Rover into the studio’s front door?

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OLIVE PRESS – 70mm x 40mm FRONT COVER

27th May

By Jon Clarke

IT sits in an eagle’s nest high above Tarragona’s famous Priorat wine region. An enviable escape from the world for around 30 locals, Siurana was the last Moorish stronghold in the region to fall to the marauding Catholic armies in 1153. And since then it has pretty much been cut off from the world, with poor wifi, no school or shops and hardly anywhere to eat or sleep. And that’s how the majority of the 100 or so locals want it to stay. At least according to the mayor, who decided to reject an offer to join Spain’s most prestigious list of stunning villages. According to Salvador Salvado it is ‘impossible’ to have more tourists visiting. He added there was already

Don’t wannabe… …In the official list of Spain’s Most Beautiful villages

OUT AND IN: Siurana, while (right) Setenil and (left) Guadalest a ‘problem’ with visitors and more would simply dilute the quality. It means only one village has officially joined Spain’s list of Los Pueblos Mas Bonitos de Espana this

SHEEP replaced traffic on Madrid streets with shepherds steering their flocks through the heart of the capital along ancient migration routes. The annual event sees shepherds exercise their right to use ancient drovers paths to migrate their livestock from northern Spain to more southerly winter pastures. Sheep farmers pay a nominal charge based on a 1418 agreement with Madrid city council. This year’s flock included 1,200 Merino sheep and 200 goats.

year. While 22 applied, only Puentedey, in Burgos, met the strict criteria to join the association, which was set up in 2011. There are now 105 villages in the group, all of which must be under 15,000 in population and have a perfectly preserved historic core, as well as an ‘architectural or natural

heritage’. Last year, 11 more villages joined, including Genalguacil, in Malaga, Banos de la Encina, in Jaen, Roncal in Navarra and Valverde de la Vera, in Caceres. The potential rewards for the villages are huge, with the promotion they get globally from being members and the huge growth in tourism it brings.

Rejection

Capital takeover

“We have never had such a rejection,” the president of the association, Francisco Maestre, told El Pais. “Being on the list means a significant increase in tourism and is not about harming the village.”

BRINGING SEXY BACK HIS was one of the scariest characters in Hollywood history. Ben Kingsley’s Oscar-nominated Don Logan is making a return in a mini-series based on cult gangster movie Sexy Beast. Set in London and the Costa del Sol (although originally filmed in Almeria), the Paramount series is a prequel to the 2000 hit. Contrary to fake news published in a well-known downmarket rag, it is, however, not starring Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone or Ian McShane. Their characters, Logan, Gal Dove and Teddy Bass are played by Emun Elliot, James McArdle (both below) and Stephen Moyer. They will play the characters, based in London in the early 1990s, before Gal Dove has retired to live on the Costas and is dragged back ‘for one last job’. Filming began in Liverpool in August, with streets renamed after London boroughs.

Neymar cleared PROSECUTORS have sensationally dropped corruption charges against football star Neymar over the Brazilian’s suspicious move from Santos to Barcelona in 2013. In a surprise move, a Barcelona prosecutor announced the ‘withdrawal of the charges against all the accused’. He faced a two-year jail term and a €10 million fine and, oddly, no reason has been given as to why the case collapsed.

No Sharpe exit FORMER England star Lee Sharpe has promised ‘new exciting ventures’ after shutting his Spanish sports bar. Sharpey’s, in Javea, on the Costa Blanca has closed, less than a year after opening. “It just wasn’t working for us,” the 51-year-old told the Olive Press this week. I wanted to part ways before the standards dropped beyond my control.” See Closing Time, page 6

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4 www.theolivepress.es Good stats THE jobless figure in the Balearic Islands has plunged by nearly 33% compared to last year. Latest figures show 34,900 people unemployed last month, a drop of 17,039 over October 2021. Compared to September, according to the Department of Social Security, unemployment on the islands fell by 5.30% (down 1,954). Meanwhile, the number of registered workers reached 557,781 employees, 8.37% more then the 43,091 counted in October 2021.

Paw patrol A BAVARIAN Mountain Hound called Ronin tracked down a missing Inca resident on Wednesday morning. The Guardia Civil dog was called in to find an 89-yearold man who disappeared on Tuesday. Ronin is a specialised search dog and sniffed out the man lying in bushes on Cami Vell de Costitx - a kilometre from where he was last sighted. The disorientated resident was taken to hospital.

NEWS

November 4th - November 17th 2022

BREEDING GROUNDS THE only sperm whale breeding ground in the Spanish Mediterranean has been discovered in the Balearics. For the last two years a higher than normal presence of Sperm whales has been observed in a point located north of Menorca which scientists have recently managed to confirm as a breeding ground for this species. The announcement was made during the XIII Congress of the Spanish Cetacean Society, held in Ibiza and which has brought together dozens of experts in the field. The finding has been considered as very ‘important’ given that the sperm whale is considered a highly endangered species, of which in the entire Mediterranean there are only about 2,000 specimens.

GOING UNDER

Popular beaches will be swallowed up and land completely lost in 25 years if sea levels continue to rise THOUSANDS of homes in Spain could be completely submerged in water by 2050, new research shows. According to Climate Central, coastal areas in Huelva, Cadiz and Valencia are at risk of being underwater. The climate change research group has published an interactive map, with areas in red representing land below 1m above sea level. These areas will be in danger due to a predicted rise in sea levels due to global warming. The Balearics appear relatively safe according to the map, but a previous re-

By Anthony Piovesan

port by the national ministry of energy transition has said significant sea swells following a rise in sea levels would put coastal regions of the islands in danger Many towns and masses of land along the Guadalquivir river enroute to Sevilla will be completely submerged. Other towns at risk in Cadiz include Barbate and Los Barrios. Cadiz centre meanwhile, will be completely cut off from mainland Spain as surrounding land goes be-

AT RISK: Red shows areas in danger of flooding

low sea level. The warning for Spain comes as the annual global climate conference (COP27) begins

Shut down

Star stabbed

THE discovery of a drunk 12-year-old girl staggering around with a drink in her hand has seen an out-of-control Magaluf bar ordered to close down for one year. The popular bar in Cami de sa Porrassa was busted by local police who found custromers in a wild, overcrowded state that saw the maximum capacity of the bar exceeded by almost half. The boozer has been hit with two fines for each of the offences, which the town hall describes as ‘very serious’, totalling €115,000. Inspectors found that there were 254 revellers on the premises, plus the eight servers, in a site with a maximum capacity of 173 people. The strong arm of the law quickly moved to shut down the party and kick everyone out, and this was the moment that they discovered the inebriated child.

FORMER Real Mallorca player Pablo Mari has been released from hospital after he was stabbed while out shopping with his wife and child. The 29-year-old, who came through the youth ranks at Mallorca and currently plays for Monza in Italy on loan from Arsenal, is expected to make a full recovery. He had surgery to a back wound and may be back playing within two months. He was attacked in a Milan shopping centre by a man suffering a psychological episode. One man died and two more were seriously injured. Mari released a message on social media saying that he and his family were ok and recovering.

in Egypt this weekend. Average sea levels have swelled more than eight inches (23cm) since 1880, with about three of those inches gained in the past 25 years, according to official data.

Engulfed

The Costa del Sol remained largely untouched according to Climate Central’s map. But the Costa Blanca wasn’t so fortunate, with many beaches engulfed. The area around the Pobles del Sud wetlands just outside Valencia was particularly impacted, with water rising and swallowing up land and nearby homes. Opinion Page 6

That’s rich MALLORCA’S Rafa Nadal is Spain’s wealthiest sports person according to Forbes magazine. The record Grand Slam tennis title winner, who lost to American Tommy Paul in the last 32 stage of the Paris Masters on Wednesday night, has an accumulated wealth of €250 million. Despite that impressive figure, Nadal has still not broken into the top 100 list of richest people in Spain, but is knocking at the door. His fortune hasn’t just come from on court prize money during his illustrious career. He’s been boosted by lucrative advertising and sponsorship contracts as well making investments and running the Rafa Nadal Academy. Formula One driver Fernando Alonso is not far behind with €225 million in the bank. Then come four footballers: Sergio Ramos (€180m), Andres Iniesta (€125m); David de Gea (€100m); and Gerard Pique (€100m).

Visitors soar TOURISM in the Balearics soared 62.5% in September compared to 2021. The islands received 1,897,256 vistors, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE) 31.6% of whom were German and 26.9% from the UK. Meanwhile, 7.8 million international tourists entered Spain in September, 66.3% more than a year earlier, but still one million below the figures for the same month in 2019, before the Covid pandemic. They spent €9.24 billion, 83% up on September 2021 and just short of the €9.7 billion spent in September 2019. Each tourist spent an average €169 a day, compared to the €151 figure from 2019.

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NEWS FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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OPINION Time to act is now IF this year’s searing hot summer wasn’t enough to alarm you about the effects of global warming, then new research surely will. Research group Climate Central has published an interactive map showing the areas of Spain that will be underwater by 2050. Thousands of homes and businesses will be completely submerged. That’s in just two-and-a-half decades. So make no mistake, we are amid a climate crisis. It’s not like we haven’t continually done our bit campaigning for the environment. The Olive Press is constantly highlighting green issues, including the spread of desertification, the proliferation of golf courses, the use of plastic bags and the widespread destruction of our coasts. It’s why we set up 17 years ago. But now it is going to take a combined effort from everyone to keep Mother Nature’s fury at bay if we continue to waste water and pump greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, like there’s no tomorrow. Our kids get it. Greta Thunberg gets it. But more than 200 countries attending the critical COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt this weekend need to act. And act now. The time has come for more action and less talking.

Eyes wide open NEVER take the advice of a bar-stool lawyer. This has long been the advice for people arriving in Spain – particularly if they’re looking to open a restaurant or bar. The pitfalls are numerous and all too many people hand back their keys having to shut the door on their Spanish business dreams. Forget the often well-meaning advice of the local lawyers… talk to those serving you on the other side of the counter. On this page we share a few words of wisdom from successful businessmen – and they are worth repeating. Come in with your eyes wide open to the problems you may face. Get reputable professional advice to guide you through the tangled thickets of red tape you are certain to encounter. Be ready for some serious hard work and, above all, make sure you have the financial backing to give your business a real go should things slow down quicker than you hoped. You may then have a chance to live your Spanish dream, after all.

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CALLING TIME As ex-England star Lee Sharpe puts his bar up for sale just 10 months after opening, the Olive Press looks at why so many expats call time early on their Spanish hospitality dreams

ATCH any UK television series about Brits starting a new life in Spain and you're bound to get a segment on expats battling to open a bar. It’s not a cakewalk at the best of times, with pitfalls galore in trying to get to grips with all the numerous and complicated regulations here. For many, including former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe who has just closed his Costa Blanca sports bar Sharpeys after only ten months, these exciting new ventures quickly go from being a Spanish dream to the bars of a prison from which to escape. While Sharpe’s wife Lucy, diplomatically told the Olive Press last week Lee ‘just didn’t have the time to run the bar’, close friends revealed that the rent of over €3,000 a month, plus other overheads, were much more to blame. The rapid closure of a new local is a sadly familiar story to expats who have lived in Spain for years, many of whom have seen a bewildering turnover in foreign establishments. In the vast majority of cases, the new batch of landlords tend to be folk with little or no experience in the hospitality trade, let alone running a business. On top of that rents are usually disproportionately high, which the green-round-theears new arrivals have no idea about (come on, you know we’ve all been there!). And while the current economic crisis and its associated spiralling costs means there are plenty of opportunities out there, you really need to do your homework. “Buyers have to do some thorough research and get everything legally watertight,” lawyer Manuel Sanchez told the Olive Press. Taking over an existing business is done through a lease known as a ‘traspaso’, which has the advantage of not having to put in for licences as if you are starting from scratch. “Find out why an owner wants to sell on the traspaso and check through all the financial records. If there’s any hesitation on those scores, then simply don't bother,” Sanchez advised. “You might not be told about any debts until you take over and get an unwanted surprise,” he warned.

SHUT: The ‘traspaso’ is up at €3,300 a month at Lee Sharpe’s bar, (below) Ray Curran in expenses,” By Alex Trelinski said president, & Anthony Piovesan Juan Lopez. “Making things He added that potential owners must take pay today is some good local financial advice and create much harder.” a proper long-term business plan backed up A Torrevieja by money in the bank that you’ll almost cerbar owner, tainly need to create a successful business. who wanted to There will always be nasty surprises, issues remain anonwith the council and, of course, a need to do ymous, consome marketing. firmed the drop Owner of Benidorm’s Escape Bar, Andy in demand. Mansell, echoed the need to have plenty of “I’ve been looking to retire, but there has capital in reserve. “You need back up funds been just one inquiry this year over the for when things go wrong, which is bound to traspaso and that’s despite dropping the happen with equipment failing and the cost asking price,” said the female boss. of repairs,” he told the Olive Press. “I think Brits, in particular, are now very “Get a good gestoria to check on the licence reluctant to take on a bar and are more because I had the wrong one and did not aware of the time and effort needed to qualify for what pitiful pandemic aid was ofmake a go of it.” fered,” he added. She added: “Restrictions on how many He also pointed out that the tax authorities days a non-resident can stay due to Brexit in Spain have the right to dip into your bank have also significantly reduced our trade in accounts ‘whenever they feel the need’. the off-season. It is often cheaper to close Most tellingly, he warned how vital it was for the day than open, and that's what we to put away the ‘rose-tinted’ glasses as are doing.” the stresses of running a bar could likely In Andalucia, Irish pub owner Ray Curran change your attitude to staysaid winter trade was ‘nearing in Spain. ly as important’ as summer “Before taking the plunge, You might not trade. step back, look around and He launched The Quays Irish be told about remember what you love Bar in Puerto de la Duquesa about the country and conin 2019 with his partner Lisa any existing sider whether it's worth loshaving to navigate through ing that connection,” he obdebts until you the global pandemic, and served. now the economic fallout of take over “The quality of life soon disthe war in Ukraine. appears running a hospitality “I don’t think there was a business and you end up hatsingle business owner that ing Spain for all of its red tape as well as didn’t think about the possibility of having siestas and bank holidays when nothing is to close during the pandemic,” Curran told open,” concluded Andy. the Olive Press. Either way, Olive Press research suggests “Now with inflation, electricity is up 40%, the number of foreigners looking to take from day to day you never know how much over a bar traspaso in Spain appears to be you’ll be charged for food … these are very falling as costs have soared in the wake of challenging times.” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Fortunately for Curran he understood the In Murcia, Cartagena’s Hostecar associahospitality trade having managed a bar tion paints a gloomy picture for any potential in Naas, near Dublin, before he moved to newcomers. “Profits are down by 15% over Spain in 2018 and working in a local bar the summer compared to 2019 and our for a year on his arrival. members have tried to keep price rises low “A mistake many people make is that they or else they would have to close with the rise come in July and August and the bars are packed, so they think to come back next year and buy a bar but then November hits and it's a completely different story,” he said. “You still have the same costs, the same wages to pay, the same rent. You need to research and know your location and clientele.” As Duquesa is a very residential area with lots of expats he has tried to make his business appeal to the locals, instead of just tourists. “If your bar relies solely on tourist trade, then you’ll experience the highs in summer, but you’ll hit real lows in the winter,” he insisted. It is a warning and good advice too. So to conclude, take your time to do your research, find the best location, have the cash to pay your bills for a couple of years and get ready for long hours and hard work if you are to succeed. Oh, and make sure you spend some money on marketing, preferably with your most SURVIVORS: Andy Marshall (above) and two well known Benidorm pubs popular local newspaper!

appeared into customs here - never to be seen again. Meanwhile, Brits visiting the EU from the UK are forced to queue for longer at airports, and non-residents need their passports stamped, and can only visit the bloc for 90 days, while their children can no longer study in Europe via the popular Erasmus scheme.

Selfishly

The decision by David Cameron, selfishly trying to protect his party, has led to five Prime Ministers in the last six years. The last one, Liz Truss, lasted just 44 days. This is compared to the previous five leaders holding office from 1976 to 2010. Yes, 34 years! To recap: after Cameron’s quick resignation, Theresa May came and went, after

What do the Spanish think? Hundreds of column inches in Spain have been dedicated to the soap opera of British politics, over the last fortnight, with one recurring theme: Brexit

‘UK is not Little Britain’ El Pais columnist Santiago Carbó Valverde wrote that ‘after Brexit the UK has weakened its commercial ties and not just with the EU… and the entry of foreign human capital has slowed considerably, creating bottlenecks that have got worse in certain sectors’. His UK-based colleague Angel Talavera quoted the famous ‘computer says no’ sketch from TV show Little Britain, adding: “The chaos of these recent weeks is simply the continuation of the political and economic decline the UK has been suffering since the referendum.’

‘The sick man of Europe’ Online daily El Confidencial columnist Celia Maza wrote about how the UK risked becoming ‘the sick man of Europe’ once more, describing how Truss had ‘only been in Downing Street for just over a month, but is in a totally unsustainable situation’.

‘Truss’s statements against Brexit’ El Mundo, UK correspondent Carlos Fresneda pointed to her flip-flopping on the issue of Brexit, reminding readers that she once famously said she ‘didn’t want to live in a world where my daughters have to request a visa to work in Europe’.

promising to make the UK ‘strong and stable’. Her successor, Boris Johnson made a ‘titanic success’ of both Brexit and his job, lying to Parliament, disobeying his own Covid rules, ignoring disciplinary committees and causing havoc with the Northern Ireland Protocol. Truss had to go after further tanking the economy with her infamous ‘mini-budget’ and causing a fracas about fracking. So, now we have No 5 at the helm - Rishi Sunak, Britain’s much hyped ‘first Hindu prime minister’ and the richest ever occupant of No. 10 – another first. Wealthier than King Charles, Sunak is already in hot water about reinstating Home Secretary Suella Braverman, after she resigned over sending classified documents from her personal email address. However, there are some advantages. Sunak is certainly more eloquent and statesmanlike than Truss and Johnson hardly difficult - and he seems to have a basic grasp of economics.

Resign

Locally, expats are constantly asked: ‘What on earth is going on back home?’ Council employee, Lucy Hayes Logan, told the Olive Press that every councillor at Lanjaron Town Hall asked her about the current situation in the UK this week. “Sometimes, one person will ask, but never the whole team!” she revealed. Local Spaniard, Bernard Campo Campos, however, made the most pertinent point: “At least the English accept their mistakes and resign. In Spain, even if they are caught stealing, they don’t resign, deny everything, and the law allows them to keep what they have stolen.” So, to conclude, how long before Sunak falls on this sword, leading to a general election… and, who knows, would a Labour government under Kier Starmer take a different approach to Europe and end this mess? Answers on a postcard to newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

ELISA

IMOGEN

Mismanaging mayhem leads to yet another leader in the UK. Jo Chipchase looks at the the political crisis back home from a (slightly) Spanish perspective

IONA

OREIGN nationals watching the UK’s political news could be forgiven for thinking that ‘Inglaterra’ changes its Prime Minister as frequently as some people change their sheets. The situation has aligned ‘Great’ Britain more with Mr Bean than a ‘serious international player’. It wasn’t always this way. Before Brexit, Britain was seen as an open, multicultural, and forward-looking country - an attractive place for EU citizens to live and work. More ‘Cool Britannia’ than ‘Clown Show’. After Brexit, many Brits in Spain were painfully aware that our home country was being perceived as a closed and isolationist nation. The Brexit vote in June 2016 had many of our Spanish friends asking: ‘why are you committing hara-kiri?’ And they had good reason to ask, as the Pound nosedived against the Euro, the trade deficit went stratospheric, the Garden of Kent turned into a giant lorry park and thousands of postal items dis-

LAURA

AMIE

ANATOLY

LAURENCE

MERRY-GO-ROUND: Just five PMs in six years from Theresa to Boris and Truss to Cameron with Rishi in the middle

SICK MAN OF EUROPE?

CHARLIE

N case you were wondering, another one of our journalists has made it to the Big Time! Madrileno Jorge Hinojosa (pictured above) has landed a job with the UK’s top-selling newspaper, the Sun. The UK-trained hack scooped the plum role after a six-month stint with the Olive Press in Malaga. Forced to go back to London or lose his working visa due to Brexit, he has joined the online edition as a general reporter. “Thanks for everything. It was all due to my experience at the Olive Press,” he said. He follows in the footsteps of Joe Duggan, who himself became a Sun reporter after a three-year traineeship at the Olive Press in 2018. He’s still there. And for the record, our two previous news editors are both currently working at the British nationals. Charlie Smith is carving out a career at the Express, while Laurence Dollimore is grafting with the Daily Mail in London. Meanwhile, Anatoly Kurmanaev is the New York Times correspondent in Mexico, Amie Keeley is a senior reporter at the Financial Times, Imogen Calderwood is Managing Editor at Global Citizen, and Annabel Grossman i s the Associate Editor at the Independent. Finally, two former female stars, Iona Napier and Elisa Menendez, are both cutting the mustard with ITN News in London, while Laura Balfour makes documentaries for National Geographic and Netflix among others.

JOE

Leg up, NOT legged it!

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are: woes continue in Spain as new 1- Strike strike days are called by Ryanair and Vueling Bank holidays in Spain 2021 full list of 2-dates for every autonomous community Rich by design the world’s wealthiest 3-architects from China to Spain and the USA to UK to go back an hour on 4- Clocks in Spain Saturday night Spain’s national police detain one of 5-UK’s most wanted criminals in Marbella

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ANNABEL

November 4th - November 17th 2022

GREEN

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November 4th - November 17th 2022

REACH FOR THE SKY

Spanish company developing ‘green’ rocket fuels SPACE rockets are not viewed as the most ecologically-friendly technology, with them spewing greenhouse gases high into the upper atmosphere. But now Spanish researchers are searching for a green solution. Spain’s first advanced biofuels plant - opening in Cartagena next year - will look to make sustainable fuel for reusable space rockets being made by Elche’s PLD Space. Repsol’s €200 million project at its existing refinery site at the Escombreras Valley will have the capacity to produce 250,000 tons of biofuels annually by recycling waste like cooking oil and non-food crops. The fuel giant has now signed an agreement with PLD Space to promote the use of biofuels in their rockets. The alliance will see feasibility studies conducted to replace current rocket fuels with others produced with sustainable raw materials. New types of fuel will also be made to measure at the Repsol Technology Lab for the propellants of the rockets manufactured by PLD Space. Rockets such as SpaceX use liquid kerosene similar to

GREEN TOUR

By Alex Trelinski

that used in civil aviation, or a specific type for rockets called RP-1. The challenge is to come up with new renewable fuels which would reduce the carbon footprint by at least 90%. PLD Space co-founder Rau

Verdu, said his company wants to ‘continue investigating alternatives that allow us to reduce our carbon footprint’.

The firm is developing two reusable craft, the Miura 1 suborbital and the Miura 5 orbital.

Too little AUTHORITIES in Barcelona and Madrid have pledged to plant six million trees in a bid to slash carbon emissions. Barcelona will be among the top three cities in the world to have the most trees per square kilometre. Researchers estimate the Catalan capital has about 1.4 million trees at present, resulting in 13,739 trees per sq km. But the city would need to plant more than 155 million trees to mitigate its current carbon footprint of 26.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to the research. Madrid has a current carbon footprint of 43.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The Spanish capital would need to plant more than 260 million trees to combat its emissions.

Greenwashing is a term you will hear increasingly. But what is it?

PULL THE OTHER ONE

REENWASHING is when the management team within an organisation makes false, unsubstantiated, or completely misleading statements or claims about the sustainability of a product or a service they provide. Put simply…. lies.

There are so many examples: ● The well publicised Volkswagen fiasco where the company deliberately lied about vehicle emissions. ● HSBC bank was forced to remove billboard and poster advertising in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The posters omitted material information. Various images were used by HSBC to convey the belief to consumers that the bank was investing in

GREENPEACE has begun a tour of six Spanish municipalities with the aim of promoting renewable energies as part of a green recovery in the country. Apart from promoting renewable energy and energy saving among citizens, the campaign aims to pressure public administrations into switching to clean, cheap and safe energy sources in order to achieve 100% renewables by 2040.

●

environmentally beneficial work. The ASA stated: “Customers would not expect that HSBC, in making unqualified claims, would be simultaneously involved in the financing of businesses that made significant contributions to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.” QUITE RIGHT. Many manufacturers jump on the ‘we use recycled materials’ bandwagon. What they don’t tell you is that they have a history of coercive labour practices or humanitarian issues. Coca Cola has spent millions declaring that 25% of its bottles are made from marine plastic. The company never references the fact that it is the world’s biggest plastic polluter. Kim Kardashian’s clothing company Skims prints on its compostable underwear packing ‘I am not plastic’. The small print states the product is plastic type 4 or LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene). Here in Spain, Mercadona, after the EU’s ban on plastic cutlery, rebranded the cutlery as ‘reusable’ instead of providing alternatives. ● Tesco claims that its flexible plastic packaging is new, improved and ‘recyclable’. But to be recycled, customers have to take packaging back to larger stores – and even then, it is unlikely to be recycled. Instead, it will almost certainly be exported, incinerated or sent to landfill.

Green

BAN: Rishi Sunak reinstated a ban on fracking

TIME TO STOP HIDING BEHIND LIES It is impossible to deny. Global warming is supercharging extreme weather at an astonishing speed. It’s visible here in Spain and around the world. Humans are causing climate breakdown and accelerating the toll of extreme weather around the planet. There is widespread loss of life and livelihoods due to more frequent heatwaves, floods, wildfires and droughts caused as a direct result of the climate crisis. FRACKING GOOD JOB RISHI SUNAK The new British PM gives a glimmer of hope to us all. Last week he reinstated the ban on fracking (the process of extracting natural gas by drilling/ blasting into the Earth). His short-lived predecessor, Liz Truss , had lifted the ban on the controversial process.

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LA CULTURA

November 4th November 17th 2022

Global stage

Maiden visit ROCK legends Iron Maiden will play a gig in Murcia City next summer in what has been described as the most ‘important’ concert seen in the regional capital. It will be one of only three concerts by the band in Spain. The group, fronted by Bruce Dickinson, will perform at the Enrique Roca stadium on July 20. It will be their fourth visit to the Murcia region after making their local debut in Los Alcazares in 1996. Around 25,000 people are expected to attend with the night jointly organised by regional promoters Madness Live and Murcia City Council. Iron Maiden’s Spanish gigs will be part of ‘The Future Past Tour 2023’ and will include songs from their pandemic-released album ‘Senjutsu’ inspired by Japanese tradition and culture. The two other dates on the Spanish leg of the tour will be at Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi on July 18 and the Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao on July 22.

Expo 2027 bid by Malaga passes first hurdle

MALAGA is about to host the Davis Cup tennis final, has just secured a direct flight to New York and is now a step closer to hosting a huge world-famous international event. The port city is officially in the running to host Expo 2027, a global five-month event that brings together millions of visitors from 192 countries. The Bureau of International Expositions’ (BIE) deemed Malaga a suitable candidate to host the important event. The event attracts tens of millions of visitors.

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HUGE: Malaga could host Expo 2027 By Anthony Piovesan

London hosted the first Expo in 1851 - since then the events have grown and provide five months of activities, exhibitions, and inspiration on ways

Prehistoric discovery A STUNNING archaeological site that has uncovered remains from 128,000 years ago has been found in Estepona. Town council employees found the site which dates back to the Lower Paleolithic, the earliest part of the Old Stone Age, in Las Mesas de Saladavieja. Among the remains discovered is a set of stone tools, which were used to scrape fat and hair from animal skins, to separate meat from bones and to polish wood and bone. The discovery has been made in an area next to the town centre, and it has become the first of its kind to be excavated in the Western Costa del Sol. In addition to the prehistoric remains, archaeologists have also unearthed the remains of a Roman site, possibly a farm about 2,000 years old.

to make cities more liveable and sustainable. Malaga hosting the Expo would generate €321m and attract 3.1 million people. Spain hosted the event before, in fact it was in Andalucia also, when Sevilla played host in 1992. Malaga is the fifth final candidate, along with Minnesota in USA, Phuket in Thailand, Belgrade in Serbia and the Argentinian city of San Carlos de Bariloche. Officials from each destination submitted a proposal detailing how they planned to host the event. Malaga’s proposal, deemed ‘feasible, viable and in line with the rules’ by the BIE, was labeled ‘The Urban Era: Towards the Sustainable City’. It includes a projected host date of June 5 - September 5, 2027, outlined €859 million to house the event and earmarked land at Buenavista to build the main site.

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November 4th - November 17th 2022

Polio problem

GET JABBED: Polio is on the return

Concerns raised about the return of disease CONCERNS over a possible return of polio has prompted Spain's emergency centre (CCAES) - led by the familiar 'pandemic' figure of epidemiologist Fernando Simon - to call for improved monitoring in the country. The CCAES says there's a 'considerable probability'

By Alex Trelinski

that polio will circulate again in Spain but stressed that health risks were 'very low' due to high vaccination rates. Polio had been pretty much eradicated over the decades until a case was reported last

year in Malawi. International interest also rose when the virus was detected in wastewater in the UK. The CCAES - part of Spain's Health Ministry - believes all necessary precautions should be taken. An evaluation says: “Given

Virus warning

Feeling down

THE FIRST outbreak of West Nile fever has been detected in Andalucia. The Junta reported that two horses had been infected in Tarifa. According to the administration, the outbreak was declared on October 17. The virus is transmitted by the bite of an insect, usually Culex mosquitoes. About one in five people who are infected develop a fever and other symptoms including headache, neck stiffness, disorientation and muscle weakness. The last outbreak of the virus was in the same month last year and affected 10 horses. In 2022 there were 32 outbreaks in Andalucia. In September the first positive case of the virus in a person this year was recorded. An 89-year-old woman from Vejer de la Frontera was infected.

Consumption of antidepressants is increasing in Spain, according to data from the Ministry of Health. People under the age of 18 who take antidepressants were also twice as likely to experience suicidal behaviour, the research also showed. Spaniards consume more than 92 antidepressants every day for every 1,000 inhabitants. It places this type of medication as the fourth best-selling drug in the country. Use of the drug increased by 7.5% last November, which experts believe was caused by the pandemic.

the epidemiological situation and fewer vaccinations internationally coupled with less surveillance in Spain in the last decade, we should focus on coordinating all of the aspects that are part of the Spanish Action Plan for the Eradication of Polio.”

Warns

The plan includes keeping the vaccination schedule up to date, especially among children, as well as reinforcing surveillance and carrying out training among medical staff to be aware that polio could still be around. The CCAES warns that in recent years there been circumstances that 'make it difficult to achieve eradication' It suggests that the focus on Covid-19 has resulted in less attention being paid to detecting other diseases early on. It added that some people have also taken a negative stance against all vaccines, even when their children are involved.

OP QUICK CROSSWORD 1

14 15

19 20

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Across 7 Hardly extreme (7) 8 Aviator (5) 9 Norway, to its inhabitants (5) 10 Put in the ground (7) 11 Rounded projections along an edge (8) 14 Grind down (4) 16 Reverse command (4) 17 Wise Tsar redirects one who takes orders (8) 20 Warm air current (7) 22 Enhance (5) 24 Former Portuguese territory in South China (5) 25 Cart driver (7) Down 1 Film-festival locale (6) 2 Half a shout of approval? (4) 3 Graceful antelope (7) 4 1965 Beatles film (4) 5 Little (4-4) 6 It has a bit (6) 8 Young horse (4) 12 Formal interview (8) 13 Placed under a fairy tale mattress (3) 15 Drunken Gran set about alien (7) 16 Period during which a machine is running (6) 18 One on watch (6) 19 Rounds (4) 21 Salacious (4) 23 Has (4)

All solutions are on page 14

FOOD, DRINK & TRAVEL RESTAURANTS in Mallorca could start charging people if they don’t show up to reservations. Restaurant action group CAEB association president Alfonso Robledo said the move comes amid an increase in ‘no shows’ at eateries on the Balearic Islands. He said some restaurants will now require credit card details when reservations are made in a bid to guarantee customers show up. “On average larger restaurants in Mallorca have about 15 reservations that do not show up per day,” Robledo told the Olive Press. “It’s incredible they don’t come. We are trying to teach people to respect the bookings they make.” Robledo said the flakey behaviour started happening during the Covid-19 pan-

CREDIT: Restaurante Lienzo

Poor taste

November 4th November 17th 2022

home

Kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom decoration

elements

CHARGE: Lienzo and Mugaritz demic, and the idea was to now advise customers that their credit card details would be taken when booking, and that customers would need to cancel four hours prior to their reservation time or else they would be charged a 20% fee. The fee would be up to the discretion of the restaurant, Robledo said. “After you cancel there are labour and production costs that restaurants still need to pay such as staff wages, food,

electricity,” he said. Some restaurants around Spain are already charging customers who don’t show up to a booking. Michelin star restaurant Lienzo in Valencia charges customers if they fail to alert staff about a canceled booking 24 hours prior. Mugaritz restaurant in the country’s northern Basque region requires a 48hour notice period.

SUMPTUOUS: Ibiza’s Six Senses and (right) Mandarin Oriental Ritz

Simply the best

Hotels in Madrid and Ibiza lead the way in a global luxury travel brand ranking WHEN it comes to the world’s best luxury hotels, Spain ticks many boxes. Now, a new hot list puts an exciting launch and two long-awaited relaunches of hotels over the last year at the top of the pile. Ibiza’s new Six Senses hotel and Madrid’s recently relaunched Mandarin Oriental Ritz and Rosewood Villa Magna are in the Top Three best global luxury brands for 2022.

By Jon Clarke

All three brands score over 80% in overall rating by the respected Luxury Travel Intelligence (LTI) body. The groups, which each opened (or reopened) hotels in Spain over the last 12 months, come way above the Ritz Carlton, Oberoi and Jumeirah brands. Four Seasons, Belmond and One&Only also score

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highly. It is the second year in a row Six Senses took the number one spot, while Rosewood has jumped an impressive seven places from ninth to second. Six Senses - which only has two other hotels in Europe, one on the Douro river in Portugal and another in the French Alps - opened in the north of Ibiza last summer. The group has continually impressed LTI this year. “It delivers an authentic blend of wellness, sustainability, warm hospitality and crafted guest experiences,” it ruled.

Score

Assessed over a 12-month period each brand (which must have a minimum of 10 hotels) can get an accumulative maximum score of 4628, they score over 128 different areas. These relate to overall performance, not the performance of individual

properties. The focus is on the brand’s ‘passion, commitment, ethos and values, as well as the quality of its management and staff’.

Strike woes NEW strike days have been called by the Ryanair and Vueling unions which will affect numerous Spanish airports. Firstly, Spanish Ryanair ground staff have announced they will hold strikes up until January and secondly, Vueling cabin crew in Spain have announced they will take action every Friday, Sunday, Monday and on public holidays up until January 31 2023.

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

November 3rd 4th - November 16th 17th 2022

CREAM AT THE TOP The 20 chart-topping Spaniards milking it in the world’s Top 100 restaurant list, presented by Dilip Kuner

PANISH cuisine is up there with the best in the world and is starting to dominate the charts. Madrid has just hosted a global gathering for the 100 Best Chefs Award, and no less than 20 Spaniards across 16 restaurants got a listing, compared to just 10 in France. From Dabiz Muñoz - this year’s winner for the second year running - to two-times chart topper Joan Roca in third, every

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Mother and daughter team Fina Puigdevall and Martina Puigvert share their ranking (and two Michelin stars). Their restaurant, Les Cols, lo- NEW ENTRY cated in the masía farmhouse where Fina was born and brought up her three children, focuses on local produce from the La Garrotxa region. Martina has taken over from her mother as head chef and is keeping the family tradition going. PACO PEREZ - Enoteca, Barcelona Perez’s passion for cooking started at a very early age. At just 12-years-old he started working in the tapas bar owned by his family and was hooked by cooking. He headed to France to train under Michel Guerard, one of the fathers of Nouvelle cuisine and holder of three Michelin stars. He then returned to work at, for a long time, the world’s best restaurant, El Bulli. In 2008, Perez took over the kitchen of Enoteca at the Hotel Arts Barcelona, where he has NEW ENTRY won two Michelin stars.

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#87 #87

MARTIN BERASATEGUI Restaurante Martin Berasategui, Loidi Kalea

#42 

#54

one of these culinary maestros has their own unique take on gastronomy. Like true artists, their edible masterpieces are never conventional and always have the power to enthrall. And the best thing about it; there are many new entries and they are spread right across the country from Cadiz to Valencia and Marbella to Cordoba.Here’s the full rundown of Spain’s best and how they match up to last year’s charts.

#96

MARTINA PUIGVERT & FINA PUIGDEVALL Les Cols, Olot, Catalunya

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11 PLACES

#56

DANI GARCIA Tragabuches, Marbella

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RETURN

JAVIER & SERGIO TORRES Cocina Hermanos Torres, Barcelona

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#41

NEW ENTRY

#38

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51 PLACES

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PACO RONCERO Paco Roncero Restaurant, Madrid

#36

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Paco Roncero is the head chef of his same name restaurant in central Madrid (previously Casino), where he has 9 PLACES two Michelin stars. He is also credited with developing ‘molecular cuisine’ and has the most expensive restaurant in the world, Sublimotion in Ibiza. It is known for its unique dining experience and extreme cost with an average price, per head, of slightly over €1,900.

#33

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24 PLACES

QUIQUE DACOSTA Quique Dacosta, Denia, Valencia

Dacosta is one of the leaders in modern avant-garde cuisine, a keen supporter of the Slow Food Movement, and uses only products sourced locally. While he has his own three Michelin star joint in Denia, he also has two stars in nearby El Poblet and has a star as director and culinary creator of the amazing Deessa restaurant at Madrid’s Mandarin Oriental Ritz. It received its first Michelin star just seven months after its opening.

Twin brothers Javier and Sergio Torres started in the world of cuisine when they were 14 years old. After having separate careers and working in renowned restaurants all over the world, they united again in 2002 to start new projects together. Their restaurant, Cocina Hermanos Torres, has two Michelin stars.

VICTOR ARGUINZONIZ Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Bizkaia

#19

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This restaurant has an urban and industrial look and a relaxed feel that reflects the personality of the chef. The name is an acronym of his core philosophy: ‘Days to Smell, Taste, Amaze, Grow & Enjoy’. Guerrero brings disparate cultures, ingredients and flavours together from Spain, Mexico and Japan to such effect that he has two Michelin stars.

Morales opened Noor with the aim of putting Andalucian gastronomy on the map. In just over three years he had done just that by gaining two Michelin stars. His capacity for innovation and his personality have allowed him to bring the aromas and flavours of the moorish Al-Andalus cuisine to a modern audience. He has recreated ancient recipes and techniques in a contemporary and avant-garde way.

Garcia began his career with Martin Berasategui, with whom he says he shares ‘his DNA as a chef’. He won his first Michelin star at the age of 25 at Tragabuches in Ronda. He left and eventually earned three stars at his own name restaurant in Marbella, but handed them back just weeks after winning the final star. He has since opened nearly a dozen other restaurants, many of them Bibos, around Spain and abroad and even made money creating his own unique McDonald’s hamburger. However, he has now returned to his roots by opening a Tragabuches in his native Marbella, focused on local Andalucian cuisine.

One of the grandfather’s of modern Spanish cooking, Martin Berasate- 14 PLACES gui oversees his Basque Country restaurant and is one of the most decorated chefs in the country, with eight Michelin Stars to his name. His restaurant offers edgy a la carte and tasting menus and has an impressive wine cellar to match. He won’t be happy with his drop in the charts.

DIEGO GUERRERO DSTage, Madrid

PACO MORALES Noor, Cordoba

PIC CREDIT: noorrestaurant.es

Arguinzoniz’s groundbreaking Basque Country restaurant uses local firewood to NEW ENTRY create a unique grill cooking process using local, natural products. Overseen by Victor Arguinzoniz who even char-grills his desserts, his signature chorizo tartare and tomahawk steak don’t come cheap at €242 as part of the set menu. But many a foodie still make a pilgrimage here from around the world.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

November 4th - November 17th 2022

EPICENTRE: Heat map chart to the world’s best cuisine

1 4 3

3 14

GRAPHIC: Keith Franks - Olive Press

1 16 16

STYLISH: Cellar de Can Roca at no. 3 and (above) a dish at Azurmendi ENEKO ATXA - Azurmendi, Bilbao

#18

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Atxa is a leading player in Modern Basque Cuisine. Azurmendi takes you on a culinary journey from the rooftop vegetable garden to an indoor greenhouse. An eco-friendly es- 13 PLACES tablishment, Azurmendi uses environmentally-friendly materials and recycles its own waste. For this, Eneko won The Sustainable Restaurant Award in 2014. Far from a conventional restaurant, his truffled egg is cooked inside out and edible cotton can be tasted in the indoor greenhouse. Azurmendi boasts three Michelin stars. ANGEL LEON - Aponiente, El Puerto de Santa María Known across Spain as ‘el Chef del Mar’, Angel Leon is noted for his experimental seafood. In 2017, Aponiente earned its third Michelin star (the first and second were won in 2010 and 2014), making it Andalucia’s first-ever three-Michelin-starred restaurant. He is currently engaged with a project explore the culinary uses of sea35 PLACES to grass.

#13

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#1 SAME

ORIOL CASTRO, MATEU CASANAS & EDUARD XATRUCH Disfrutar, Barcelona

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#5 

ANDONI LUIS ADURIZ - Mugaritz, Renteria Andoni Luis Aduriz has stayed near the top again for his revolutionary restaurant in the Basque region. Always thinking ahead and constantly questioning the logic of global cuisine, this self-confessed kitchen rebel takes an unapologetic approach to cooking. A genuine maverick, the UK’s Restaurant Magazine has had him in its Top 10 for the last decade. Oddly, in the Best Chefs list he has fluctuated up and down from 30th to 70th between 2017 to 2020, before making No3 last year.

Slightly confusingly, the ‘chef’ in seventh spot is actually three people from Disfru1 PLACE tar restaurant. The history and legacy of the Mediterranean is a running theme at this trendy city restaurant, set up by three trainees originally from Ferran Adria’s legendary El Bulli, just up the coast. Influenced by fishing village fare, the menu transports your mind from old to new and metropolis to farm terrace. Their aim? To amaze, stimulate and create through gastronomy.

2 PLACES

JOAN ROCA - El Celler de Can Roca, Girona Joan has yet again taken the plaudits, but his restaurant is a family affair. There’s Joan, the architect of taste; Jordi, the sweet anarchist; and Josep, the magic ingredient: three brothers, inspired heavily by their mother’s cooking, their repertoire stirred by childhood memories and created with love and generosity for their customers. Opened in 1986, it has three Michelin stars. The food is simple but creative, old yet new - lamb with bread and tomato, St George’s mushrooms with avocado and cava made at the restaurant.

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1 PLACE

MY FOOD’S LIKE A GUNSHOT TO THE HEAD! Still #1 for the second year running, the Olive Press interviewed Muñoz in 2013 DABIZ MUÑOZ - Diver XO, Madrid

Chef Dabiz Muñoz has built a reputation as a pioneering and creative adventurer. Still only in his 30s, he continual-

ly surprises with his unique approach to cooking, describing his food to the Olive Press as being ‘like a gunshot to

NO PORKERS: A young Dabiz was open and honest in an Olive Press interview in 2013, (above right) his restaurant today

the head’. DiverXO specialises in fusion cuisine combining different culinary traditions to produce an experimental menu that’s as unconventional as it is sophisticated. Born in Madrid, he is internationally recognised for his cooking and fabulous restaurants. He currently has three Michelin stars. In the week he scooped his third coveted star in 2013, he told the Olive Press: “This is an honour for all Spanish chefs and for Spanish cuisine in general.” Highly complimentary of the British food scene, he credited London for helping to shape his career, having worked at restaurants in the capital including Nobu and Hakkassan for six years. “I am mad about London and have a lot of friends there.

The food scene is so vibrant, way above Paris. There are so many influences from Asia, the Americas, everywhere.” Posing with his trademark porcelain pig (left), he concluded: “The philosophy for the restaurant is like my philosophy on life. I call it total cooking. You need an open mind. It is almost pornographic, completely nat-

ural and laid out bare. It’s like a rollercoaster ride and I want the taste to be like a gunshot to the head.” Editor Jon Clarke reviewed DiverXo the following year, describing it as the ‘best meal’ he had eaten in Spain. That stands today. “The simple explosion of flavours, the pure joy of what has been produced, the enthusiasm

of the staff… we laughed through the entire meal,” he recalls this week. “I ended my review saying, his creativity and influence on Spanish cuisine would ‘keep Spain a head and shoulders above the French for the next decade’. And that has certainly come to pass. The way things are going it may be two or three decades.”

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BUSINESS

Powering up Big rise in profits for Iberdrola energy giant

ENERGY provider Iberdrola has reported a 29% rise in profits over the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period last year. This is down to its US and Brazilian operations as well as an increased investment in renewable energy. Profit figures in Spain tumbled by 14%, with Iberdrola putting it down to the summer droughts. Its overall bank balance is extremely healthy with a net €3.1 billion profit this year up to September. The company has projected an annual profit of up to €4.2 billion.

Taxes

Governments like the one in Spain, as well as a EU-wide initiative, have moved to impose windfall taxes on energy companies they believe are benefiting from higher prices as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Iberdrola has been vocal in objecting to state intervention, claiming it fixes prices far in advance of wholesale market increases and that changing regulations might put off longer-term invest-

By Alex Trelinski

ment in cleaner energy. The firm’s investments were 14.2% up on the same period last year, with 90% allocated to renewables and smart grids to accelerate electrification and energy indepen-

RADE in the pound euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate remained highly erratic through the second half of October amid UK political drama. Over the last two weeks, GBP/EUR has traded in a range between €1.16 and €1.13.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING? The GBP/EUR exchange rate fluctuated wildly over the past couple of weeks, amid considerable UK political uncertainty. After initially spiking to a six-week high after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt scrapped almost all of his predecessor’s mini-budget, GBP/EUR almost immediately relinquished these gains amid questions over the future of Liz Truss’s premiership. Truss’ resignation just 45 days into the job, quickly put an end to this speculation. The pound initially firmed on the announcement, before the prospect of another Conservative leadership election erased these gains. Sterling then picked up again in the last week of October after Rishi Sunak was crowned the new Prime Minister. Sunak is seen as being more fiscally prudent than his predecessor, with GBP investors hopeful he will retsore some credibility to the UK government. The euro also traded in a wide range in recent weeks. While the single currency faced some headwinds amid concerns over the apparent escalation of the war in Ukraine, it also benefitted from some notable weakness in the US dollar. The euro then firmed toward the end of October ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) latest interest rate decision. While EUR investors welcomed the bank’s second consecutive 75bps rate hike, the dovish tone of its accompanying statement undermined the single currency.

dence from fossil fuels. Iberdrola’s Executive Chairman, Jose Ignacio Sanchez Galan, said: “Accelerating investments in electrification will allow us to be less dependent on the volatility of oil and gas and generate more growth and more jobs, as this set of results shows.”

Happy airports SPAIN'S airport operator Aena expects October passenger numbers to return to 2019 levels - the first month back to the pre-pandemic level. It says the rise in travellers will continue, with carriers offering 5.3% more seats for the winter season, compared to a year ago. Aena is now hoping the final 2022 total will be higher than earlier predictions and will exceed a forecast of 85% of 2019 passenger numbers. Even though 60% more passengers went through its airports between July and September compared to 2021, Aena’s overall revenues rose by just 33%, with the operator’s third-quarter of 2022 net profit of €335 million 11% lower than had been expected.

OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword

Across: 7 Average, 8 Flier, 9 Norge, 10 Planted, 11 Scallops, 14 File, 16 Undo, 17 Waitress, 20 Thermal, 22 Adorn, 24 Macao, 25 Wagoner Down: 1 Cannes, 2 Hear, 3 Gazelle, 4 Help, 5 Pint-size, 6 Bridle, 8 Foal, 12 Audience, 13 Pea, 15 Strange, 16 Uptime, 18 Sentry, 19 Ammo, 21 Lewd, 23 Owns

POUND ON THE UP GBP/EUR exchange rate rocked by UK political chaos but bounces back after Sunak confirmed as PM

November 4th November 17th 2022

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR? The immediate focus for GBP investors will be the Bank of England’s (BoE) latest interest rate decision on November 3. There is considerable speculation over the size of the BoE’s upcoming rate hike following the recent UK fiscal uncertainty. Could an oversized hike stoke concerns over the impact on the UK economy and weaken the pound? Meanwhile, the euro is likely to remain highly sensitive to developments in Ukraine. Any signs that the conflict is continuing to escalate could drag on the single currency.

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 €1.16 and €1.13 translates to a €6,000 difference. And the larger the sum, the higher the discrepancy. 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 exchange 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 upNovember 4th November 17th 2022s 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.

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The

OLIVE PRESS

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Animal crossing

FINAL WORDS

AT least one accident per day on Alicante Province roads is caused by an animal running onto a highway, with 373 incidents logged last year.

Jewel aid AN emerald that was recovered from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which sank 400 years ago, will be auctioned in New York for an estimated €70,000, with cash raised going to support the Ukrainian resistance.

Fruit rustler POLICE have arrested a man who took 250 kilos of premium pomegranates from an Elche farm. The 50-year-old man attacked the crop owner before he fled in his van.

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Vol. 6 Issue 143 www.theolivepress.es November 4th - November 17th 2022

Canoe believe it! British man capsized in English Channel was trying to paddle to Spain, claims rescuer A BRITISH man thought he had arms of steel to navigate the English channel and kayak to Spain. But it turns out he has a gut of steel instead after the Blackpool resident capsized and claimed to have survived for 12 days eating just seaweed and raw mussels, and drinking rainwater. Daniel Lewis was found in the middle of the English Channel clinging to a buoy after his inflatable kayak capsized.

By Anthony Piovesan

Dutch fisherman Tunis Van Luut rescued the 28-year-old, who told him that he had been trying to paddle to Spain and had been out at sea since October 15. Van Lutt revealed that Lewis was unable to stand when they pulled him onboard the French fishing vessel De Madelaine.

A STAG party whose rowdy behaviour caused a high-speed AVE train to be late after they refused to get off when ordered, have been told to pay €7,676 compensation to delayed passengers. A Madrid court has told the 11 people to cough up nearly €700 each after train operator Renfe paid €7,676 in compensation to 216 passengers as its ‘punctuality’ code had been broken.

RESCUE: Daniel Lewis was hauled out of the sea The skipper said: “He needed your clothes, just your swimwater and he was drinking a lot, ming shorts - there was nothing and I asked him who are you else. His condition was so bad and how is it possible that you I could see his eyes were very are here on this buoy without deep in his head and he had a lot of blue veins on his head and arms. “He told me he wanted to go to Spain, but I said that is stupid because of the distance.” The ambitious paddler is now The party was ordered to leave the Madrid to recovering in hospital. Malaga service at Cordoba, but they refused Coastguards in France said it and carried on drinking, singing and shouting. did not appear Lewis was expePolice were called to remove the drunken mob rienced or ready to attempt to from the train, resulting in a 15-minute delay. cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Expensive do

A PARROT caught up in a shop blaze was saved from becoming an ‘ex-parrot’ after firemen gave him oxygen. Gandia and Oliva firefighters on the Costa Blanca had been called out to extinguish the fire in an electric scooter shop, with smoke and fumes belching from the premises. A check of the empty premises uncovered a parrot suffering from smoke inhalation and high temperatures. Quick as a flash, they revived him with a whiff of oxygen before he - in words Monty Python may have said - ‘went to meet his maker’.

Booze control

A MAN accused of stealing 45 bottles of wine with a value of €1.6 million has also been charged with stealing a bottle of whiskey worth €5,000. Constantin Dumitru, allegedly pulled off the wine theft from the Atrio hotel and restaurant in Caceres, Extremadura. Now Dumitru is accused of stealing a bottle of Balvenie, valued at €5,250 in a separate incident.

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