Olive Press Mallorca Issue 155

A 23-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested by the Guardia Civil for starting 10 fires in Porreres in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The blazes damaged 17 cars, some of which will have to be totally written off, as well as the front of the Social Services building.

He blamed his behaviour on taking a cocktail of cocaine and marijuana.

The Guardia said some of the vehicles were newly-registered models with one report suggesting that over €70,000 of damage was committed.

The pyromaniac struck quickly in six streets as he travelled around on an electric scooter.

It's believed the man - who lives in Porreres - used some kind of accelerant to set fire to the cars as well as a cigarette lighter.

Arson spree ended

CRYPTO SCAM

A FRAUDSTER has been arrested in Palma de Mallorca accused of the misappropriation of over €100 million through a crypto scam.

The Spaniard, 60, is believed to be the leader of the organisation, which has allegedly scammed at least 3,000 people around the world.

Police confirmed to the Olive Press that many of the victims are British, with others scattered around Northern Europe.

“He has a great number of enterprises across Spain and is believed to be the inventor of the scam,” a Guardia Civil spokesman told the Olive Press.

The investigation was launched after a complaint from an alleged victim in the Basque region who was fobbed off with excuses when he tried to cash in his investment.

Hooked

Cops eventually tracked down bank transfers to a company based in Palma, which then forwarded the money to countries outside the EU such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia or Israel.

Clients were hooked via adverts on a website named Pibexa.com, which has now been taken down. Guardia Civil told the Olive Press that the investigation remains open and that a number of international arrests are expected to take place.

He added there were ‘quite a lot’ of British clients, certainly over a dozen, but would not be drawn on exact numbers.

Firefighters had a busy morning dealing with the incidents while council teams repaired damage to street furniture.

The arson spree started at around 3.20am with the final blaze coming just over two hours later.

The 23-year-old man also stole items from some of the cars he set on fire.

SCORCHING SPAIN

FEARS are rising over what the summer has in store after an unseasonably early heatwave broke April records across Spain. As the month was confirmed as the hottest since 1961 when re-

New record temperatures for April as crops fail and wildfires spread

By Walter Finch

cords began, forecasters predicted a doomsday scenario of no rain, perhaps until September.

The high temperatures have also brought the country’s annual Heat Warning campaign forward by two weeks to begin on May 15, while on the Baleares it has already launched. An alarming 90-plus records were confirmed around Spain across the month for maximum temperatures. Residents in Cordoba had to endure record-breaking temperatures of 38.8C, beating Spain's highest April record of 38.6C registered in Elche back in 2011. On the Baleares, April was one of the hottest on record, with the weather station at Lluc reporting an April peak of 32.7C. The previous record for the month in Lluc was 28.1C in 2000.

Monthly records were also set in Alicante when the mercury peaked in the village of Pego at 34.4C.

In Valencia, city temperatures reached a July-like 32C in mid April, but didn’t break the 35C record set in 1945.

Sevilla meanwhile logged 37C, surpassing the 35.4C registered in 1997, while Badajoz broke its previous record of 33.2C with a temperature of 36.1C. Even Valladolid,

further north, broke its previous record by exceeding 30C for the first time in April.

Some parts of the south have experienced temperatures up to 15 degrees above average for the time of year.

Weather agency Aemet has now warned of a ‘very high’ risk of fires and called for extreme caution due to the warm and dry air from North Africa.

As many as 54,000 hectares of land have already been ravaged by fire this year.

Last year, 306,000 hectares were burned, the majority during the summer months.

Alert

Spain is undergoing a severe drought, with 27% of the country's territory classified as in a drought ‘emergency’ or ‘alert’, and water reserves are at 50% of capacity nationally.

The Spanish government has requested emergency funds from the European Union to support farmers in the country's agricultural heartlands.

This drought has already driven up prices of Spanish olive oil to record levels as farmers report catastrophic crop failures, particularly of wheat and grain.

UN figures now suggest that nearly 75% of Spain’s land is susceptible to desertification in the coming years due to climate change.

RAVAGED: So far 54,000 hectares have burnt this year in fires

See pages 6 and 12

As the Feria season begins... ...is it time to head to the mainland?

Tycoon rivalry

JEFF Bezos and Jack Ma, founders of Amazon and Aliexpress, have moored their respective superyachts at Club de Mar, with Bezo’s schooner dwarfing Ma’s motorcruiser by 39 metres.

Let off

A MAN who admitted sexually abusing his 8-year-old niece on various occasions has avoided jail as long as he undertakes a sex education course and pays his victim €6,000.

Fingered

A DRUNK Polish tourist, 35, was arrested after he bit off the tip of a security guard’s finger during a struggle at the Sahara Bay Hotel in Palma.

Feeling blue

THIS summer the Baleares will fly 27 blue flags on its beaches, three fewer than last year. Arenal and Cala Estancia, in Palma, and Cala Gran, in Santanyí have lost the coveted award.

A PAIR of tunnelling burglars have pulled off their last heist after police brought their crime spree to a close. The Spaniards are thought to be responsible for a spate of burglaries at banks, restaurants, shops and businesses.

In one supermarket in Muro, they broke through the wall, disabled alarms, and cut into a safe using an

BURROWING BANDITS

oxyacetylene torch before making off with €10,000. They are also accused of another robbery at a business in Palma port, where they cut open the safe to steal €15,000. Guardia Civil investigators found that

the duo were using a multiservice company registered in one of their names. While doing work on properties they identified targets, returning later to pull off the heists.

THUG LIFE

British hooligans who beat Mallorca taxi driver till his skull cracked facing jail

By Walter Finch

The

the pair, 21 and 22 respectively at the time of the brutal assault, to pay €11,624 compensation. Shocking footage of the attack

British shame

A MAGALUF hotel security guard was beaten up by two British tourists after refusing them entry in the early hours of Friday morning.

The men were not staying at the BH Mallorca Resort Hotel on Avenida Las Palmeras but wanted to get in around 5am to hook up with two women they met that night.

The guard stood his ground and the tourists - said to be in their mid-20s - started to beat up the employee, who ended up falling down the stairs.

He suffered a fracture to his right hand, while the Brits ran away.

The hotel where the men were staying phoned Calvia Policia Local and said there were two guests with 'significant injuries' in the reception area, who were then arrested.

in Magaluf went viral, showing the suspects repeatedly beating and kicking Gabriel Fabián Callero, 57, as he lay on the floor.

The incident occurred at around 2am on August 23 on the busy Magaluf Avenue, just metres away from Punta Balle na.

According to the prosecuting indictment, the defendants suddenly jumped on the bonnet of the moving taxi, prompting Callero to get out of his taxi to remonstrate with them.

“I stopped immediately and got out to find that no damage was done to it,” Callero told the Olive Press in an exclusive interview after the assault.

“But then two of these British guys started to laugh at me, so I asked them what was so funny?”

It was then that one of them, a marine and ‘a very strong guy’, punched him in the face which

practically knocked him unconscious.

The dad-of-four fell to the floor from the blow, injuring his shoulder, hip and face.

The louts then set about beating him mercilessly until another taxi driver intervened with pepper spray to protect his colleague, whose skull was broken. The Brits claimed to a court at the time they acted in self defence. They were released on €7,000 bail and permitted to return to the UK.

The hooligans, who have not been named, are expected back in Palma for trial in the coming weeks.

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SIX Indians have been arrested after a street fight between employees from two minimarkets in Can Pastilla (Palma).

A total of 15 employees clashed in a fight using knives, sticks and an iron bar.

Members of the public believe the brawl started after one shop opened its doors for the first time earlier that day opposite an established store that sells the same products. Police arrived at the scene to find several of the workers suffering from bruises, bleeding wounds and torn clothing.

The six arrested are aged between 23 and 48. Officers seized a large knife, a cutter, two wooden sticks and an iron bar.

Store Wars Knife threat

A 53-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested for allegedly holding a woman against her will in a night time establishment in Pere Garau (Palma).

He is also accused of kicking and making death threats to the victim while restraining her. Police were tipped off and rushed to the scene where they allegedly caught the accused shirtless and holding a pair of scissors.

The woman told police that when she tried to leave the premises on her own, her companion objected. He then grabbed, kicked and threatened her with a knife.

TWO British thugs - one a marine commando - who beat a taxi driver unconscious in Mallorca last summer face two years in jail.

public prosecutor is asking for the sentence, as well as for

Daddy Cool to the YMCA

PREPARE to don a black afro and/or a handlebar moustache and relive your 70s disco heyday as legendary groovers Boney M and the Village People come to town.

The pair will be headlining the grand opening of Malaga’s new Sabatic Fest, which runs from June 2 to September 23.

Legend’s award

MERYL Streep has scooped one of Spain’s top awards.

The Hollywood legend has won the prestigious 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts.

The 73-year-old star already has three Oscars, as well as three Emmys, two Baftas and a best actress victory at the Cannes Film Festival.

A 19-member Asturias jury announced Streep as this year's winner, after considering 44 candidates from 20 countries.

Previous winners include composers Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Martin Scorsese.

The Kramer vs. Kramer star is the first of eight winners to be announced for the international Princess Asturias Foundation. Other categories to be handed out will be in the sectors of humanities, science, and public affairs.

A presentation ceremony takes place in Oviedo's Teatro Campoamor every October attended by the Royal Family. The awards were established in 1980.

Let him entertain you

HE is the biggest British star to descend on the Costa del Sol for years.

Robbie Williams will play a guaranteed sold out show at Fuengirola’s Mare Nostrum Auditori um on June 15.

The iconic artist, behind Angels and Let me En tertain You, will sing to 2,300 fans in the biggest concert since the pandemic.

Tickets priced from €89 are available at www.marenostrumfuengirola.com

Ex-King’s daddy secret

SPAIN’S former King fathered a love child four decades ago, it has been claimed.

A new book on the Emeritus King Juan Carlos (pictured) claims he had a daughter during an extra-marital relationship in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

The explosive revelation comes from journalists Jose Maria Olmo and David Fernandez in 'King Corp' which investigates the former monarch's life.

They allege he had a relationship with an older aristocrat who bore him a girl called ‘Alejandra’.

Now married with her own family, she has never claimed any succession rights from her father.

An official Royal palace spokesman refused to comment on

By Alex Trelinski

the story and suggested questions should be directed to Juan Carlos himself.

The Royal Household has long been aware of Alejandra, according to the new book.

It even claims Juan Carlos was ‘concerned’ that new King Felipe might accidentally meet her and fall in love with her.

Passionate

'She's tall, slim and pretty. She has lent her image to several clothes and jewellery brands,” claims the book.

'She is passionate about music, culture and travel and has formed her own family. Making public more information would

P-p-pickup a penguin

A PENGUIN has made an epic detour and ended up in southern Spain, miles from home. The disorientated penguin, which usually inhabits rocky islets and sea cliffs in the northern Atlantic, was found on the beach of Mazagon

Local police took the creature into custody and handed it over to vets at the Fauna clinic, who found it to be exhausted and starving. It is now being nursed

put her discretion in danger.”

When Alejandra was told who her father was, a period of contact between father and daughter took place in various meetings.

The authors claim he also tried to compensate for her lack of official recognition with 'affection and other signs of generosity'.

The book has ‘confirmed the story’ through three different sources, including a former boyfriend of Alejandra and a close friend of Juan Carlos for 60 years.

The matter became an 'open secret' but the book says that a 'pact of silence' was maintained to preserve the image of a perfect marriage between the king and Queen Sofia. Sources even claimed the king 'pulled strings' to ensure Alejandra's mother was never short of work and had a strong media presence as she frequently appeared in gossip magazines. She later dated a famous fashion designer and became his muse.

Not hamming it up!

SHE has famously got her kit off on screen on countless occasions.

But Penelope Cruz has admitted that she dreaded her first-ever movie nude scene.

The Spanish beauty, 49, was just 18 when she had to strip down for several racy moments with co-star and future husband, Javier Bardem in 1982’s Jamon Jamon While she revealed to Esquire she was thrilled to be cast in the 'very sexy' film, she was ‘anxious’ about the nude scenes. "I had a feeling the movie was going to be special, I knew the script was good… Of course, I was not looking forward to those scenes, but I did it," she said. However, she added that the crew helped to make her feel comfortable. "Everyone was really respectful, aware of the fact that I was 18." Cruz's performance in the film saw her acting career take off and her next film, Belle Epoque, won an Oscar for best foreign film.

She later reconnected with Bardem years later while on the set of Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2007. Their romance quickly blossomed and in 2010 the couple secretly got married in a small ceremony in the Bahamas. They have two kids, Luna, 9, and Leo, 12.

WE – Sandro and Pascal – are two bike lovers from Germany who made their passion a profession. Together with our experienced chief mechanic Ted we believe that biking goes beyond fashion or business. Its a way of life – our way of life!

Former monarch had a love child with a celebrity, who ‘frequently appeared’ in gossip magazines

A MARINE biologist says that the Mediterranean sea is on its way to becoming 'a marine soup of microplastics' with consequences for marine species and for humans due to contaminated fish.

"Microplastics are everywhere and, although much remains unknown about their possible effects, in the Mediterranean, which though only 1% of the ocean, they represent 7% of global waste," warned Carmen Morales from the University Institute of Marine Research (INMAR) in Cadiz.

Some 95% of all waste in the Mediterranean sea is said to be plastic.

Bather drowns

A 65-year-old German tourist drowned on Tuesday at Sa Canova beach in Arta. He had been in the sea with a woman in her mid-thirtiesalso a German national - and had got into difficulty in the strong current.

The lifeguard service had already finished for the day. Both of them were pulled out of the water by emergency services at around 6.45pm but the man suffered a heart attack. Two ambulances went to the scene but paramedics were unable to revive him. That same day, surfers saved a woman from drowning at near-by Cala Torta.

MALLORCA’s famous Beach Rugby tournament has come and gone again for another year, leaving behind a trail of battered bodies and broken shot glasses. Over 100 teams and clubs, varying in size from eight to 60 players, brought their brand of chaos to Magaluf for the three days of rugby and boozy rampages. The Hampstead Ladies took home the woman’s shield, while the men’s shield is now held by Burst Bawbags.

Thirty-five-year-old Aussie Ben Hibbard, a London-based engineer, won the Men’s Plate with the Pinky Panthers. “I was invited to come along six years ago, as a few of the lads I used to play with were talking about retiring.

“The idea of a beach rugby tournament sounded just delightful after a London winter.”

Illegal occupier

A BRITISH family received a nasty introduction to Spanish squatter’s rights when they arrived at their Ibiza holiday home to find the locks changed and another family living there.

Marc Robinson, a prosecutor who served as the head of the UK extradition service in Spain from 2011 to 2019, flew in to the island with his family for a short break at their San Antonio de Portmany property.

But once they arrived at the

British family arrive at holiday home to find it taken over by squatters

By Walter Finch

residence, Robinson's wife and daughters found the lights were on and someone else was home. A man, who claimed to be there with just his wife and two children, refused to let

Robinson and his family enter the property. Guardia Civil officers were unable to evict them without a court order, as they are not permitted to make a family homeless. Yet a police report suggests that the property is occupied by a total of six men, one woman and two young children, indicating that it is not just one family living there.

“We know there are more people in the house, and the police should be able to check

it easily,” wife Sophie told The Objective “We don't understand how such a legal loophole can exist regarding squatting in Spain."

Now, a month on, the Robinsons find themselves astonished with the paucity of legal options open to them to evict the unwelcome squatters. “We don't understand how it's possible that there's a legal vacuum where it comes to squatters in Spain,” she added.

Summer job

MERCADONA has announced the hiring of almost 200 employees for the summer season (May to the end of September) in the Baleares. The Valencian supermarket chain has advertised 100 positions in Mallorca, 50 in Ibiza and 40 in Menorca across 49 shops. Salaries start from €1,507 and no previous experience is needed, as training will be provided.

Bull plunge horror

A BULL had to be put down at a local fiesta after it jumped over a wall and plunged 15 metres to the ground, breaking its legs in the process. The incident, which was captured on camera by onlookers, happened in Ontinyent (Valencia) as the animal was running

through the streets of the municipality. The bull can be seen running toward the wall and, unsighted, jumping over it to the shrieks and shouts of horror of the public.

The fall was the equivalent of five storeys. The animal ended up laid out on the ground by the river and with its

BARS and restaurants will be able to stay open for longer in the Lonja area of Palma.

The Balearic Islands Superior Court annulled a 2019 ruling by Palma City Council that forced hospitality businesses to shut by 11pm. Palma Council said it would apply the ruling, which means trading can run until midnight plus half-an-hour later at weekends and bank holidays.

Municipal spokesman, Alberto Jarabo, said once the council's legal department receives official written notification from the court, then the opening hours will be altered.

“The government team has always wanted a balance between being a tourist city and providing peace for the residents,” he stated.

Longer Lonja LIST OF SHAME

SPAIN'S dirtiest cities have been named in a national survey that quizzed 6,863 residents in 69 locationsand Palma is on the list of shame.

The city was ranked second dirtiest city in Spain, with only Alicante worse in the Spanish trading standards (OCU) questionnaire, with dog excrement and rubbish being the biggest bugbear.

Worst

In general, coastal and southern cities scored the worst rankings in the four-yearly survey. But the consumer group insisted that two thirds got at best 'mediocre results'. San Sebastian, Las Palmas, Barcelona, and Madrid are all in the bottom 10, while Oviedo, Bilbao and Vigo got the highest marks.

TERROR: Bull jumped wall and broke his legs

legs broken.

It was eventually moved from the scene and put down.

The incident saw the bullfighting events programmed for the evening in Ontinyent cancelled, and also called into question the preparations made by the local council.

WINNERS: from the Pinky Panthers

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION

Squat out of hell

THE number of properties lying empty in Spain has resulted in a surge in the number of squatters as thousands of homes lie empty across the country.

It is a problem that has its roots in the Great property Crash of the late 2000s when banks were left with huge numbers of vacant properties.

But now squatters have started to set their eyes on second homes rather than bank repossessions.

With rents rocketing, the temptation to hunt out free accommodation is strong - and many unfortunate home owners find their holiday properties quietly taken over by ‘okupas’.

To tackle this problem, more needs to be done to erase the scourge of illegal property occupation - because at the moment authorities seem to do diddly-squat.

In 2018, the Spanish government brought in a law that can reduce eviction time to 20 days, but in practice, this rarely happens.

Instead, owners find it near impossible to force out the intruders, with tens of thousands of properties taken over across the country - a problem that gets worse year-on-year.

Squatters are covered by certain rights of possession in law when properties are not lived in and owners must complain to police within 48 hours of discovering the okupas.

However, if they leave it until later owners may be forced to start long legal battles to remove them.

Unlike the squatters, owners are left in an uncomfortable position. Either face violence and threats, or squander thousands on legal bills to squish the squatters rights.

WATER’S THE WORD

Nearly 30% of Spanish territory is currently in an ‘emergency’ or ‘alert’ status due to lack of rain, prompting Spain to beg the EU for emergency funds for farmers

WITH 27% of Spain currently either in a drought ‘emergency’ or ‘alert’, record temperatures being registered for the month of April, and an ongoing row between Andalucia and Madrid over the Doñana wetlands, there is one topic on politicians’ and Spaniards lips as we enter May: water.

Spain’s Agriculture Minister Luis Planas wrote to the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, to request emergency funds to support Spain’s 890,000 struggling farm workers.

“The situation caused by this drought is on such a scale that we cannot deal with its consequences just with national funds,” said Planas.

The farming sector is being hit hard by the lack of rain and the high temperatures, and the problem is particularly acute in Andalucia.

The Guadalquivir river basin is at 25% capacity, and water allowances for irrigation have been cut by up to 90% for some farmers in Andalucia.

By Simon Hunter

logical service confirmed that April was the hottest since current records began in 1961.

Meanwhile, last week also saw the row over the Doñana National Park deepen.

Firstly, the European Commission once again warned the Junta its plans to grant new watering rights to farmers in the area around the protected wetlands could cause even more environmental damage.

Earlier this month the PP and far-right Vox voted through legislation that could pave the way for some 800 hectares of irrigable farmland located near Doñana to be legalised. But scientists have warned that this will put even more pressure on the park, depleting the levels of its aquifer and threatening flora and fauna.

In the run up to regional and local elections on May 28, the issue has become a point of conflict between the PP and the governing Socialist Party.

Want to visit Cordoba’s Festival of Patios, but don’t know how to get there, or where to find those famous courtyards?

Let Sorrel Downer help

APRESIDENT of the Amigos de los Patios association once said, ‘the Festival of the Patios is to Cordoba what San Fermin is to Pamplona’.

Cordoba’s annual festival sees property owners and groups of neighbours open their flower-filled patios to the public for 12 days at the start of May – this year, that’s May 2-14.

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Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5, Calle Espinosa 1, Edificio cc El Duque, planta primera, 29692, Sabinillas, Manilva

For now, the hot weather shows no sign of letting up. Over the last month over 90 temperature records were broken, including a high of 38.8ºC at Cordoba Airport, while average temperatures were forecast as being 10ºC to 15º above usual levels for this time of year.

Experts at Spain’s Aemet state meteoro-

NOT KIDDING AROUND

Child’s Play: How a legion of Spain’s leading Michelinstarred chefs did their bit for top children’s charity

THEY came from the four corners of Spain and its islands to give a lucky group of children a cooking masterclass.

Over 40 Michelin starred chefs - including triple-starred Elena Arzak and Valencia’s famous Begona Rodrigo,- pooled their amazing knowledge to create a dozen dishes for a charity event.

Cribbing from recipes pegged out on each table, the 150 kids, including over a dozen expats, tried their hand at shelling peanuts, making a guacamole sauce or mixing fruits for a gourmet dessert.

“They are still messing around with something that could cost Spaniards a lot of money in exchange for nothing,” said Environmental Transition Minister Teresa Ribera, in reference to the fines being threatened by the EC over the plans for Doñana. Deposito Legal MA: 1097-2020

One British expat, Adrianna Rose Morton, 6, (right) told the Olive Press she was ‘super excited’ about being at the event in Benahavis, on the Costa del Sol.

Showing off her (half eaten) dessert with a beaming smile - minus her front two teeth - she insisted she had ‘learnt a lot’.

The main thing she had picked up from her cookery teachers,

including Alicante’s leading two-Michelin star chef Kiko Moya, of L’Escaleta, in Cocentaina, was ‘you need a lot of concentration’.

“It makes me very proud to see this amazing display of positivity,” said chef Fernando Villasclaras, of Marbella’s El Lago. “Apart from the annual Michelin gala in November, you will never see so many of the country’s leading chefs together and everyone is having so much fun.”

This was a continual theme from the chefs who were quick to praise the massive boom that Andalucia has seen in its culinary offering over the last decade.

“The big revolution in Spanish cuisine is taking place here in Andalucia,” insisted two Michelin-starred Nacho Manzana, who has seven restaurants in the Asturias region.

“I have

It’s a tradition that started a century ago, and which rightly has UNESCO Cultural Heritage status.

As far as Spain’s heritage goes, for most tourists, flowers beat bulls. The historic white-walled houses with the blue pots of red geraniums have to be the most photographed

been cooking with chefs from the south of Spain for 25 years who are so talented, but the region kept getting overlooked.

“I guess it was always finally going to get noticed, thanks to their talents, variety of ingredients and amazing climate. It is finally happening now.”

Navarra chef David Yarnoz, of Molino de Urdaniz, agreed. “Andalucian gastronomy has just got better and better. There are so many great places to eat down here now and it’s growing by the year.”

Begona Rodrigo, of one-star La Salita, in Valencia city, in particular, singled out Ronda’s Bardal restaurant and three-Michelin star Aponiente, in Cadiz, as her favourites.

“But I love coming down to the south, particularly Cadiz, for all the fun, the guitars and the partying. Andalucia was always the region with the most soul but the difference now is it also has great places to eat.”

SERENADE: By Elena Arzak to among others Angel Leon (far left)

€20,000 business from one ad!

While subscriber mailouts net 83 and 75 bookings for two leading restaurants

Pots of gold

properties in Andalucia. You’ll have seen them on postcards and – if you haven’t visited Cordoba – you may think you know what to expect, but prepare for a wallop of sensory overload as well as slowly ambling crowds, and getting lost.

The patio heartland lies between the Alcazar and San Basilio, although some of the highlights lie around the Santa Marina district, as well as the church of San Lorenzo.

Once you are in the labyrinth of patios,

feel free to nose about and photograph each one, but as they are privately-owned spaces and the result of years of care and imagination, do make an effort to tip.

A patio route map from the Tourist Office is a help, but there are also several companies that offer tours.

De Patios, run by young locals, has a route that takes in a manageable five patios – all of which, they promise, are among the most emblematic and awarded in town.

The pots per patio rate is certainly very high.

After buying a ticket at the first property (Calle San Basilio, 14: 16th century, perfectly preserved, 600 pots), visitors are given a map and are able to wander at their own pace.

The owners at each of the patios on the route provide a mini-tour and point visitors in the right direction for the next. Their route includes a property on Calle Duartas, famed for the variety of its flowers and aromatic plants.

There’s more here than geraniums. Actually, aside from the floral displays, the architecture itself is part of the attraction, and both are taken into consideration when the two prizes for best of the best patio is awarded.

Make sure to include the 14th century Viana Palace in the Santa Marina barrio, which is beautiful inside and out. It has 12 spectacular patios, full of tumbling plumbago and wisteria, as well as a huge garden full of the scent of orange blossom, flowers and herbs. The palace belonged to a succession of aristocrats, but it was the Marquess of Viana who got the idea to create a palace-museum in the early 20th century, and his daughterin-law, Sophia of Lancaster, who is credited

COURTED: by patios at Palacio Viana (also below)

with making it shipshape.

A trek through the numerous rooms provides a little shade and the chance to gawp in awe at the collections they amassed of baroque paintings, tapestries, firearms and dinner sets.

Visit the Cordoba Tourism website for companies offering tours, and general information, including (pertinently) parking. If you can, let the train take the strain – It takes 50 minutes to get to Cordoba from Malaga; 40 minutes from Sevilla; and only one hour and 40 minutes from Madrid.

POTTED POINTERS

● Many of the patios re- main open all year – and the Viana Palace is open to visitors year round.

● The ‘Battle of the Flow- ers’ opens the fun on April 30, when dozens of women in flamenco dresses shower the crowds in petals as they pass by in wagons.

● The Trueque Cuatro Visitors’ Centre for the Courtyards Festival (if open) is a good source of information on the lifestyle centred round a domestic courtyard and an interesting building in itself.

so far for €20,000 to €22,000,” John told him. “I’ll be honest I really didn’t think print worked any more, but now I stand corrected.”

And he’s not the only one.

Martin Tye at solar panel company Mariposa Energia, revealed: “I’ve had so many bookings via the Olive Press, I don’t bother with other publications anymore.”

Meanwhile, when we ran a couple of articles on a stunning rural hotel, near Estepona, called DDG Retreat, the place found its phone run off the hook. “We actually got more bookings from the Olive Press than an article in The Times, so well done,” marketing boss Daria told us.

But, best of all, were two recent mail out campaigns for a pair of leading restaurants on the Costa del Sol.

The first, Nomad, which just opened, received no less than 83 bookings across two carefully targeted emails to our online subscribers.

The second, Bono Beach, combined two print ads with one subscriber mailout and has had 75 bookings so far. It’s fair to say, they’re happy with the result.

Alongside stories and reviews, both in print and online at www.theolivepress.es, we offer Instagram posts, YouTube videos, Facebook stories and even TikTok videos. It’s called 360-degree marketing and it means we can offer something for everybody.

Don’t let your business lose out.

Get in touch at sales@theolivepress.es

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

1- Barack Obama jets into Barcelona for Bruce Springsteen concert

2- Royal Marine Commandos go AWOL in Gibraltar’s Ocean Village after brawl as police struggle to arrest them

3- Decade-long impasse over closed seaside footpath could end soon in Costa Blanca

4-

‘OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN’: Towie star Elliott Wright shuts Mijas restaurant after death of doorman in customer fight

5- May 1 and May 2 public holidays in Spain explained

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 for more info

VALENCIA STARS: Begona

Rodrigo and Kiko Moya

In the spotlight

Picasso and Sorolla are both being celebrated this year but not to everyone’s delight

Art-felt

THANKYOU for your quiz about Picasso (Olive Press all editions).

He was such an influential artist that he actually made a fortune during his lifetime - unlike so many of his fellow masters.

Another to do so was Valencian painter Sorolla, whose work I have long admired, and which has also influenced many artists through the years. While attention is focussed on the 50th anni-

Royal cheer!

Dear Olive Press, WHILE on holiday, it was very uplifting to see the crowds of Dutch expats and visitors celebrating King Willhelm’s birthday in Torremolinos. The atmosphere was one of great joy and exuberance, which I captured in this photo. The occasion was a surprise for many people on the Carihuela seafront and a very enjoyable one. It was good to see such a positive attitude towards thor royal family. We could do with something like this in England.

Bravo the Dutch!!

Richard Duebel (by email)

versary of Picasso’s death, it should not be forgotten that Sorolla too has an anniversary. It has been 100 years since he passed away. I read in the Olive Press (Sorolla setback) that plans to borrow 30 of his works from Cuba for an exhibition have come to nothing, but surely there must be some sort of event to mark the centenary?

Dennis Capper, Quesada

Editor’s note: There are indeed many exhibitions to celebrate Sorolla and his works. Visit www.centenariosorolla.es/ for a list of several taking place in Spain and abroad. There are also many exhibitions to mark Picasso’s death. It is a very special year for art lovers who can view so many great works. Maybe book a week off and do a tour of some of these events. To get a taste of the best of two very different styles, head to Madrid, where both masters are being showcased.

Standing for election

I HAD to giggle when I read about former gay porn star Antonio Moreno running for mayor (Unusual candidate, Press all editions. Should he be elected I am sure he will be a fine upstanding mayor.

Picasso no gent

THE exhibitions and events to mark the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death are well underway. I feel it is not too soon after his death to point out that he was a flawed genius, for want of a better term! The way he treated the (many) women in his life was not the mark of a gentleman. In many ways, his treatment of them was just as ugly as his paintings!

Jennifer Steele, Torremolinos

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

90 day woes

AS a homeowner in Spain for 17 years and recently retired I find it all very confusing around the 90 day stay rule and registration as a resident, wishing to just come and go as planned before Brexit. What a mess that has caused and makes my plans much harder. Do you think they will sort out an easy solution in the near future or is becoming a resident the only solution?

John Davies, UK

Editor’s note: Since Brexit the simple fact is that if you want to stay longer than 90 days in Spain then you need to get residency. There are whispers that the EU may relax this regulation, but nothing concrete has been proposed.

on page

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Big switch-off Shorter hours

NETFLIX has lost a whopping one million users in Spain since it decided to put an end to account sharing last February.

The figures come from the first quarter of 2023.

The streaming platform asked all its subscribers to confirm their permanent address, ending access to those entering the account from a different location.

Two thirds of the lost users were using a shared password, according to a study carried out by the company. Customers wanting to keep sharing their accounts need to pay an extra €5.49 a month per ‘guest’.

The new strategy has come after Netflix acknowledged that there were over 100 million households in the world sharing an account.

Real term suffering

Spain amongst worst hit in cost of living crisis

SPANISH workers suffered the most of any large Eurozone country as their real wages got hit by high inflation in 2022.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Taxing Wages, worked out the effect of inflation on purchasing power and calculated that wages in real terms fell by 5.3% in Spain last year.

Although gross salaries grew by 2.9% (almost €800) to €28,360 gross on average per year, skyrocketing inflation (which closed the year at 8.6%)

By Alex Trelinski

reduced the purchasing power of people in Spain far higher than their European neighbours.

On average, the gross salary of the 38 countries that make up the OECD suffered a loss of 3.4%, two points less than in Spain.

Purchasing

Moreover, the purchasing power of Spaniards fell 10 times more than in France (-0.5%), three times more than in Italy (-2.2%) and

FRENCH CONNECTION

SPAIN is investigating 35 electricity companies over allegedly selling cheap power at hiked prices to French buyers.

The probe has been launched by Spain’s competition watchdog, the CNMC. The body is looking into potential breaches of rules protecting the integrity and transparency of European wholesale energy markets, known as

REMIT.

The El Pais newspaper says that the retailers are suspected of taking advantage of subsidised natural gas for power plants to resell electricity to France at higher prices.

They are said to have taken advantage of the ‘Iberian Exemption’ where Spain and Portugal got ‘capped’ electricity prices.

1.4 points more than in Germany (-3.9%) - a country that had an inflation rate similar to Spain’s in 2022 but where a significant rise in wages cushioned the blow.

The only European countries whose real wages fell more than in Spain were the Netherlands, Greece, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania, mainly due to their double-digit inflation rates at the end of last year. People in Spain paid an average of 39.5% of their income in taxes and social security contributions in 2022. This is five points above

the average for the 38 countries that make up the OECD.

Pay

People in Spain pay almost 10 points less in income taxes than neighbouring countries such as Belgium, Germany or France, and even less than Italy or Portugal. However, Social Security contributions paid by employers in Spain account for 23% of the salary- well above the average of the 38 countries that make up the OECD which stands at 13.4%.

Inflation worry

A SURVEY for El Pais and SER radio puts inflation as the biggest concern for people living in Spain. The study conducted in April showed that 94.8% of people questioned believed that inflation worried them ‘a great deal’ or ‘a lot’.

The annual inflation rate rebounded to 4.1% last month- 0.8% higher than in March, according to the National Institute of Statistics.

Food inflation is far higher, with concerns that the current drought will make some foods even more expensive. After inflation, other major economic concerns in the survey were the cost of housing(85.5%) and unemployment(85%).

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 7 Immediately, 8 Reverent, 9 Eyed, 10 Aswan, 11 Daytime, 14 Address, 16 Spasm, 19 Chef, 21 Cemetery, 22 Tonsillitis.

Down: 1 Diseased, 2 Amoeba, 3 Edged, 4 Last man, 5 Newest, 6 Hype, 12 Mistrust, 13 Psychic, 15 Refund, 17 Potato, 18 Smell, 20 Hats.

CAR rental company Wiber rent a car has introduced a 32-hour working week.

The company has offices in Spain’s main tourist spots, including Mallorca, Valencia, Alicante, Ibiza and Costa del Sol.

The decrease in the number of hours will not lead to a wage reduction, as workers will maintain their previous salaries.

Spain currently has a 40hour working week, but this may be subject to change.

Spanish Minister of Labour Yolanda Diaz has spoken earlier about the benefits of shorter working weeks earlier this year. “People should work to live and not live to work,” she said.

GOOD NEWS!

THE number of unemployed in the Baleares fell by 10,904 in April, according to the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. These numbers represent a 26% fall compared to the same period last year.

The region closed April with 31,011 jobless, 8.06% fewer than in March.

And Social Security gained 34,009 employees last month, a 6.56% increase compared to April 2022 and a rise of almost 12% over the previous month.

Workers

This made the total number of workers registered on the Baleares Social Security system 552,291. These figures are the best in Spain, where nearly 240,000 employees joined Social Security.

Across the country, the number of unemployed fell by 73,890 people, leaving the number of jobless at 2.78 million, the lowest number since 2008 just before the financial crisis hit.

This latest boost to the economy is related to the Easter holidays and the arrival of the high season, as most jobs were created in the hospitality industry.

Historic sight

MALLORCA’S most spectacular building, Palma Cathedral, has reopened its rooftop area for visitors to enjoy spectacular views and appreciate the designs of a structure that was completed in 1601 after construction started 300 years earlier. Access will be available until October 31 and people will be able to spend 30 minutes on the rooftop after climbing the 137 steps.

Visitors will be able to fully appreciate changes made during a restoration project that for a time was helmed in the early 20th century by Barcelona Sagrada Familia designer Antoni Gaudi. These include a series of arches constructed and opened over a century ago. Other special sights include a close up look at the set of nine bells on the tower, including the Aloy bell weighing 4,000 kilos, which are sounded at masses. Tickets cost €20 for tourists and €7 for residents which also includes entry to the cathedral itself.

DWARFED OUT

‘HUMILIATING’ comedy bullfights and erotic shows at hen and stag dos featuring dwarves could soon be banned in Spain

Legislation has just been approved by the Senate based on a European Union directive that prohibits entertainment shows that involve the humiliation of people with a disability.

The new law has been promoted by the Social Rights Ministry, and will still have to be sent back to the lower house of parliament, the

By Simon Hunter

Congress of Deputies, for final approval.

“These kinds of shows provoke laughter and the mockery of people with dwarfism, and they teach children how to laugh at us,” Marta Castillo, the president of the CERMI committee for disabled persons in Andalucia, told El Pais “We are not clowns,” she added. “Clowns put on and take off their costumes, but we are

MANY VISITS

HUMANS have been visiting the Nerja Caves in Andalucia for 41,000 years, a new study by the University of Cordoba has revealed. The team used ‘smoke archaeology’ which dates charcoal and remains of fossilised soot on stalagmites in the cave. Its results pushed the earliest known use of the caverns by humans back by 10,000 years and documented 73 different phases of visits/occupation over 35,000 years.

BAN: Such spectacles may soon be outlawed

who we are 24 hours a day.”

In September 2022, an event featuring bullfighting clowns with dwarfism that was due

Talent rewarded

VIOLINIST María Dueñas

(above) has won the 2023 Princess of Girona Arts and Letters Award.

to take place the following month in Madrid’s Las Ventas ring was cancelled due to low ticket sales.

Back in 2021, however, when the Social Rights Ministry’s plans first came to light, there was an angry reaction from the bullfighters themselves.

Respect

“It shows a complete lack of respect and freedom,” Daniel Calderon, a bullfighter and the manager of the Diversiones en el Ruedo troupe said at the time.

“We are skilled professionals who work hard and we entertain like other performers,” he added.

The talented musician from Granada was presented with the prize from the Princess of Girona Foundation at a ceremony in Cordoba attended by Queen Letizia.

Winner

She received €20,000 as well as a copy of a work by Juan Zamora, winner of the 2017 award.

The award was established in 2009 and is open to young Spanish nationals between the ages of 16 and 35 working in artistic disciplines. Born in Granada, 20-yearold Dueñas has been studying with professor Boris Kuschnir at the Music and Arts University of Vienna since 2016.

Shows featuring Little People have been slammed as making a ‘mockery of people with dwarfism’

JEREZ de la Frontera is at the heart of the sherry triangle, the cradle of flamenco, and home to dancing horses. It’s also a city which knows how to party. And there is no better way of finding out than at one of Spain’s most flamboyant ferias – the Feria del Caballo –which takes place from May 6 to 13… and, unlike nearby Sevilla, everyone’s invited.

A glittering society event (albeit with some bawdy carousing in the early hours), Jerez’s feria started out in the traditional way as a horse fair in a field in the middle ages. Even then, ‘trading’ involved late night partying, and the occupants of surrounding houses risked being fined the equivalent of a euro if they failed to keep a lantern burning so the goings-on were illuminated.

Now, when someone important flicks the switch on May 8 at 10pm, Parque Gonzalez Hontoria, the vast fairground in the south of the city which, for most of the year, is a 52-hectare dark (square) roundabout, will be lit up (fuses allowing) by over 1.3 million points of light,

ALL THE fun

strung in loops over elaborate arches like necklaces of dazzling jewels.

It’s a temporary town for the week, with 175 casetas (a superior alternative to hospitality tents), each hosted by a religious association or a winery, a business, or a social group –all of whom go all out with the decor, adding potted palms, terraces, window boxes, elaborate facades, and painted wooden chairs. Most casetas (unlike Sevilla, as said) are open to the public, and most will be serving food at some point. If not a guest of the aristocracy at a private catered feast, your choices are mainly limited to fried fish, calamares and papas aliñas on paper plates, but there’s also fabulous jamon and you can’t go wrong with that – unless you’re a vegetarian. Each caseta has a bar where you can buy drinks, specifically Jerez sherry and rebujitos (sherry and lemonade), the feria classic down in these parts. And all are guaranteed to have music playing loudly and, at what seems random times, live flamenco. Catching a performance here, among an audience of well-fuelled, passionate aficionados, is an unforgettable experience.

This year’s event is dedicated to flamenco fashion (a thriving creative industry) and the magnificent Lola Flores who was born in Jerez 100 years ago. The singer, dancer and star of the silver screen was what amounts to a national treasure and you will, for sure, be hearing multiple renditions of her greatest hit, Ay Pena, Penita, Pena

By Sorrel Downer

Jinetes y Caballos (held Monday-Saturday, 1pm-7.30pm) when hundreds of horses, riders, and carriage drivers circle the fairground, nodding to people before dusk and the lights go on.

Note: the opening hours are 1pm to dawn, Andalucia style. There is a lot of horse action, much of it competitive and taking place in the Equisur area. Try to catch the displays of doma vaquera, a unique form of dressage rooted in cattle herding and wrangling out in the sierras, and involving fancy footwork on the part of the horse. At the far end from the main entrance, there are fairground rides – a blindingly hot expanse of roaring generators and over excited children buying plastic things. Not for nothing is it called the Calle del Infierno (Street of Hell).

However much you enjoy the singing, don’t feel the need to join in

The week starts fairly sedately (there are discounts for pensioners on the Monday), and builds to a grand finale with the biggest shows on Friday and Saturday. Choose which day to visit according to your tolerance for noise, passion and queues, but time it to coincide with the last hours of

It’s not only the horses that parade around impeccable and proud to mur murs of admiration: the attendees do too: People come beautifully dressed – the women with flowers in their hair and stitched into full length dresses of vibrant hue and trailing flounces, and men in the traditional short jacketed suits in grey and blue with boater style hats. You can expect to see some impressive bandalero style sideburns, too. It would be tempting to dress like that – but just don’t.

Etiquette

The Feria de Jerez is officially designated as being of international tourism interest, and hundreds of tourists visit each year and are warmly received, but there is an unspo-

ken code of etiquette.

If you are a foreigner, unless going with friends from Jerez who absolutely demand you must, it’s not advisable to attempt wearing a full flamenco traje (outfit). Firstly, it’s hard to carry off; and secondly, flamenco dress is by no means a costume, but an extension of deep-rooted, local culture.

In Jerez – unlike at many ferias – you are welcome to squeeze into the casetas, and buy drinks and food at the bar. But don’t head to the best table – the casetas are there to enable the hosts to offer hospitality to their own family, friends and clients. However much you enjoy the singing, don’t feel the need to join in, although the occasional, well-timed ole! may go down well.

To discover what makes Jerez tick, visit it during the annual feria for a celebration of sherry, flamenco and fancy purebred Andalucian horses, plus some nice and tacky fairground rides, under a million lights

OF THE fair

Boat insurance you can trust from Liberty Seguros

YOUR boat has been locked away in storage, and with the sunny weather fast approaching you are itching to get her wet for the first time this season!

You get her de-winterized, antifouled and everything gets checked over thoroughly before you experience the exhilarating feeling of taking her out to your favorite spots. Even though you have taken care of all the physical aspects to make sure your rides will be pleasurable and trouble free, it is easy to forget to take care of any unforeseen and above all unhappy events that might occur whilst taking your prized possession for a spin.

Nevertheless, regardless of whether you own a dinghy, jet ski or a luxury super yacht, taking care of the body work and mechanics is only one aspect that goes towards assuring your safety. Sailing is a sport of variables and the unforeseen can unfortunately happen; however, having the right cover in place with an insurance company that you can trust will go towards preparing you for any eventuality.

This is where LIBERTY SEGUROS - the preferred expat insurer in Spain - can help.

The policy protects both when moored and when out on the seas

LIBERTY SEGUROS has designed a policy with the expat in mind that extends far beyond mandatory liability cover. With added benefits that include voluntary public liability, theft, damage to the vessel itself (as well as auxiliary craft, wreckage removal, special fixtures and personal belongings, amongst others), damage caused by third parties and damage due to pollution risks and coastal regattas, its marine insurance provides comprehensive protection both when moored and out on the seas.

What’s more, should the unimaginable actually happen, its marine policy will cover loss of life, permanent disability and injury to occupants for accidents that take place both on the boat as well as accidents that occur whilst boarding or disembarking.

This policy can also be tailored to individual needs to cover solicitor’s fees, medical bills, loss of wages and other aspects that are important to you. LIBERTY SEGUROS can also insure your vessel under the traditional Institute Yacht Clauses (IYC).

And

Summer boost

FERRY company Balearia has announced extra summer services from Denia to Ibiza and Palma in the Balearic islands.

The Bahama Mama ferry will be used during the peak season to respond to the ‘high demand over the summer season and will enhance weekend services between the mainland and islands.

From mid-June, Balearia will offer four additional connections a week with Ibiza and two with Palma.

From Friday to Monday a service will sail from Denia to Ibiza in a 3-and-a-half hour trip departing at 7.30am and returning at 8.30pm, while on Fridays and Sundays the ferry will complete the route to Palma, departing from Ibiza at 11.30am and returning at 4.30 pm.

The Bahama Mama will complement the daily services of the fast ferry Eleanor Roosevelt on the triangular route with Ibiza and Mallorca and the connections of the fast ferry Ramon Llull travelling between Ibiza and Formentera.

ROCKING UP!

Midnight munchies for mega trio of Springsteen, Spielberg and Obama

DINERS at a restaurant in Barcelona did a double take when a rock star, a film star and an ex-President walked in together for dinner.

Even the staff at Amar, at the Palace Hotel, were stunned when Bruce Springsteen, Steven Spielberg and Barack Obama rocked up at midnight. The three global megastars arrived with their respective spouses having made a reservation in a false name, via a friend, earlier that day.

Rocking up for the first night of a European tour for Springsteen, they were apparently famished and ‘tried everything’.

By Walter Finch

The Andalucian chef, Rafa Zafra, had received a call about an ‘important reservation for friends’ from famous Spanish chef Jose Andres. Andres, who is a close friend of the Obamas and cooked at the White House, asked him to be discreet.

“Jose told me it was a very important table, but we should please not say anything and, of course, I began to investigate and saw that Obama was coming and Bruce had a concert,” he revealed.

TRAVEL FREE

FREE four-month season tickets for travelling between May 1 and August 31 have been made available.

The passes are for a specific route only and users will be able travel between two chosen stations up to four times a day.

Deposits of €10 and €20 will be asked to purchase Cercanias and mid-distance train tickets.

These will be refunded to passengers that take a minimum of 16 trips during the four months.

FLAMBEE TERROR

A CONSUMER group has called for inspections on all restaurants of an Italian chain, after a fire left two dead.

Facua insisted all Burro Canaglia’s should be urgently checked around Malaga, Cuenca, Huelva, Santander, Alicante and Sevilla, where it has branches.

It comes after a blaze broke out in its Madrid venue killing a 25-year-old waiter and a 43-year-old customer and injuring 12.

He added: “Just before leaving Obama entered the kitchen and told us it had been one of their best meals and if they could take a photo with the team.”

Amar, which specialises in fish and seafood, served up plenty of classics for them including oysters, although prepared in ‘eight different ways’j and shellfish.

The ‘very normal table’ also tried brioche toast with butter and caviar, Rosas prawns, and wagyu meat. For dessert? The chef’s macerated fruit cheesecake.

Described as ‘a dinner with true friends’, they drank ‘a little’ and went to bed shortly after 2am. Barack and Michelle Obama were in town to see Springsteen’s new European tour kick off at the Olympic stadium on Friday. The political pair were spotted visiting various Barcelona sites, including the Moco Museum and the Sagrada Familia.

Artificial plants held in place by a wire mesh caught alight and fell onto the tables and floor, blocking the entrance. It has emerged that a waiterthe man who died - accidently set fire to the decorations as he tried to flambee a dessert with a catering blowtorch.

Grim future

THE company responsible for controversial plans to build the world’s first octopus farm has launched a staunch defence after a public outcry.

Ignacio Gonzalez, the CEO of Nueva Pescanova, which is proposing to set the farm up in the Canary Islands, claimed that the method is the ‘future of the oceans.’ Documents suggest the proposals would employ intensive farming of octopuses, a species that has never been farmed on such a large scale before.

THE happiest people in Spain are statistically men under 29 with money to burn. However two-thirds (67.3%) of Spaniards aged 16 or over are happy ‘always or almost always’.

Men were slightly happier than women at 68.4% versus 66.2%.

No surprise, 70.7% of high earners felt happy, while only 61.3% of low

OVER nine million people in Spain - some 26% of the adult population - suffer from some form of chronic pain.

The biggest issue is lower back pain (58%) according to a survey carried out by Cadiz University and the Grunenthal Foundation.

Some 7,058 people between 18 and 85 were interviewed for the study, which clarified some of the unwelcome consequences of pain.

Some 42% of sufferers have used health services in the last month with 87% going to their medical centre. Those suffering such chronic pain are defined as having it for more than four

At 28, happiest in Spain!

earners did. The number of people who felt happy ‘always or almost always’ increased as income levels rose, with 70.7% of those with high incomes feeling happy, compared to 61.3% of those with low incomes.

Young people were found to be happier with old people, with 62.5% of those over 65 feeling happy, despite having the most free time. Interestingly, the economic situation and lack of free time did not seem to affect the level of happiness.

PAIN IN SPAIN

Over a quarter of Spain suffers from chronic pain

By Alex Trelinski

days a week and persisting for longer than three months.

COVID SPIKE

THE number of Covid-19 cases has spiked since Easter. It more than doubled to 2,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 800 previously.

Experts fear that the sharp rise in infections could be due to a new variant, and that protection measures may have to be introduced again.

The compulsory use of masks indoors was scrapped in Spain in April 2022, but they remained in use on public transport until February of this year.

Chronic pain presents a financial cost with 28.6% of patients needing to take time off work over the last year from it. Alarmingly, 22% of chronic pain sufferers said they got depression as a result of their condition and an additional 27.6% people said they were prone to anxiety.

People aged between 55 and 77 had the highest incidents of pain with women (59%) more prevalent than men.

“The study has given us a better awareness of what is going on and what pain

represents at a social, economic, and health level,” said Cadiz University’s Inmaculuda Failde.

Public

She added there needed to be more pain units added to the existing 417 at public hospitals. “There also has to be more cooperation between all health departments as relieving chronic pain should be a national priority,” she concluded.

In the dock

A NISSAN has met a watery end after its owner forgot to put on the handbrake at Cartagena's Navantia docks, from where it slid into the sea.

Cancer cheat

SPANISH sports journalist Guillermo Valades has gone into hiding at his mother’s house after pocketing hundreds of thousands of euros from colleagues by falsely claiming he had cancer.

Up in smoke

SPAIN is looking for companies to incinerate seized illegal drugs with the Interior Ministry offering to pay €990 a ton to companies that can pass security tests.

O P LIVE RESS The

Bear Hunt

Parasite statue ridicules out of touch ex-king’s plans of returning to Spain

A STATUE of former King Juan Carlos I holding a hunting rifle has been erected without permission in Madrid.

The 170-cm sculpture had the monarch pointing his gun at an emblematic bear monument, in Puerta del Sol, which is the symbol of

Don’t toy with me!

By Alberto Lejarraga

Madrid.

The statue by Chilean artist Nicolas Miranda was aimed at pouring scorn on the exKing’s plans to move back to Spain from his current home in Abu Dhabi.

BEAR TODAY: But King’s statue was soon removed

Naked truth

CLIMATE activists stripped naked and dived into a fountain at Madrid’s Royal Palace.

The pair from Futuro Vegetal swam in the fountain and climbed on two stone lions covered in red paint. The group claims the monarchy has ‘actively taken part in the plundering of the resources of the Iberian Peninsula’ for centuries.

Called Parasitic Strategies to Survive in a Cruel World it is a parody of the Emeritus king’s disastrous faux pas when he posed with a dead elephant he had killed in Africa. The incident is a painful reminder of Juan Carlos’s 2012 hunting trip to Botswana, where he fractured his hip. It was to lead to his downfall, firstly with the

media exposing a long term affair and then a controversial hidden fortune. The sculpture was eventually transferred to a cultural centre, where it is being displayed in an exhibition.

Display

The display was timed to coincide with the former king returning to Spain for the second time since fleeing to Abu Dhabi. He has been in Galicia where he planned to attend a sailing regatta and where he is reportedly looking to buy a home.

AN election candidate for this year’s local elections has caused controversy when he swapped the classic baby-kissing photo with one of him holding a vibrator. PP hopeful for Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Carlos Tarife, posed in local sex shop Besos Prohibidos with the owners. While they held up his campaign leaflets, he opted to brandish one of the shop’s rather large sex toys. Unsurprisingly, the candidate for the normally conservative right wing party spent the rest of the week fending off criticism. He received further anger, when he described critics of the photo as being ‘backward’.

Easiest arrest

POLICE have arrested a serial burglar who dropped his ID card while robbing a property in the Javea area. The man had left the card in one of two properties he had broken into that night.

MALLORCA FOR FAMILIES

MALLORCA is attracting a growing number of people every year due to its continuously improving infrastructure, modern architecture, international schools, diverse culinary options and new business opportunities.

This is an audience from all over the world who want to live and work from an idyllic location with great weather and a relaxed lifestyle. One of the most

The new promenade and good schools are just two reasons to buy a luxury villa near Palma

exciting current developments here is the renovation of the front line Paseo Maritimo in Palma, which will be a larger promenade for pedestrians running along the seafront. The renovation will provide a more environmentally-friendly and convenient space for walkers, featuring more foliage, lots of trees and more space for restaurant terraces.

It will also reduce the number of cars in the area, making it more accessible for pedestrians. This modernization of Palma will inevitably attract more tourists and boost the local economy, which is also leading to a better infrastructure around its

harbour areas and an increase in super yachts. Mallorca also has plenty of excellent international schools, which is another draw for fam-

ilies looking to relocate. Most of the top schools are growing and expanding the learning experience and have a proven track record of accessing the top universities worldwide. The varied culinary scene is also a highlight, with new restaurants popping up all the time, serving cuisine from all over the world. This wide diversity, combined with the island’s natural beauty, makes it a great place to call home. This modern villa in Anchorage Hill in

Bendinat (left), is a prime example of an ideal family home. Offering sea views, a large swimming pool, spacious bedrooms and an open living area. Situated in the perfect location, close to all the amenities and supermarkets, and only ten minutes away from Palma or the motorway to reach the busy airport.

If you’re looking for a family villa closer to Palma, there are some new luxury designer villas in Bonanova (above) with sea views, ideally located a short walking distance to one of the renowned international schools, Queens College.

Mallorca is a thriving destination for anyone looking to enjoy the Mediterranean lifestyle. Families looking to relocate will find the island has everything they need, with excellent schools, great food, and a range of properties to suit all budgets. Contact us for more information.