Olive Press Mallorca Issue 162

Select celebs

FROM new love to old love to bro love, the Balearics seem to be the destination of choice for the world’s celebrities this summer.

For while Shakira has been enjoying the summer at her luxurious Ibiza villa, renowned for its privacy and grandeur, she has also been hosting visits from F1 hotshot Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton has been touring the Balearics aboard a yacht with a bevy of buddies, but he’s still found time to make discreet trips to see Shakira, either in the villa or out for dinner.

While the rumour mill has stopped short of declaring them as romantic trysts, their dalliances have certainly been raising eyebrows.

Just a short island hop away, Hollywood power couple Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have been basking in the mountainous tranquillity of their Mallorcan vacation home. The mansion boasts a heliport for swift arrivals and departures, paired with sweeping ocean vistas that extend down to a private yacht at their disposal.

Meanwhile, keeping a lower profile, Hollywood icons Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire have been spotted cruising the Balearics aboard a luxury yacht. The Wolf of Wall Street and Spiderman have been bros since starting out their acting careers in 1990 at just 12 years of age.

SUNBED WARS

Visitors to Mallorca in thick of the fight to reserve poolside spots

By Alberto Lejarraga

WHEN it comes to the sunbed wars, Mallorca is at the forefront.

While mainland Spain is awash with reports of burgeoning unrest as tourists fight and push children to get their coveted poolside spot, weary mallorquinos will know they were well ahead of the curve. Images of hundreds of people queuing at the swimming pool gates of their four-star hotels in the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca at the crack of dawn have been beamed around the world.

And when staff do open the gates, at 8 or 9am, it’s as if a starting gun has been fired and the mostly middle-aged visitors scramble their ways to the plum pool positions. And Mallorca is no stranger to such scenes, with hotels forced to close their pools overnight to stop people leaving towels on the sunbeds before going to bed.

Special measures were brought in after people were filmed reserving an entire row of poolside seats for the next day in one Camp de Mar hotel - at 7pm the evening before.

One English mother filmed tourists sneaking out as early as 5am to lay down their towels, and likened it to ‘a British hybrid version of musical chairs meets the Hunger Games’.

In response to overnight pool closures, cunning tourists - thought to be mostly Brits due to the expert nature of the queuing technique - came up with a new strategy.

“In an effort to control the sunbed mad

ness, the door from the hotel to the pool area was kept locked until 8am,” one wit

ness reported.

“So people were lining their towels up on the floor in a queue order by the door before it opened. “I must add this wasn't youngsters, but mostly elderly and middle-aged people,” he added. Meanwhile, bosses at Zafiro hotel in Can Picafort introduced a ‘40 minute’ rule for sunbeds left unat-

tended with just a towel. The move was an effort to reduce reported tensions between Brits and Germans, who it seems chose the swimming pool arena to resume their customary rivalry. Instead, the towels are replaced by a note, written in English, German, and Spanish, which informs holidaymakers that their belongings have been taken to ensure ‘all our customers can benefit from the sunbeds.’

Bouncers

And as hotels in the Costa del Sol have taken to hiring bouncers to keep a lid on deckchair disputes, hotels in the Balearics had already taken the step at the start of the season.

Sunset Beach Club in Benalmadena caught onto the trend this week when they hired poolside security.

The resort had become a focal point for the sunbed wars after global media broadcast images and video of hundreds of people sprinting for their favourite sunbeds at

9am.

“There is literally a queue of over 100 people waiting to access the pool in the morning and, at 9am, when the gate opens,” holidaymaker Katherine Green, 35, told the Olive Press.

“And some people even just jump over the fence to get the best beds,” added the Yorkshire mum, who admitted her family had been forced to join the scrum or face losing out.

“We’ve had to get down there shortly after 8am to guarantee a spot as there are just not enough pool chairs and beds.

“Incredibly as soon as the door opens people start pushing as well as running and jumping over the sunbeds to get to the best spots.”

A Scottish family staying at the resort, that caters for around 2,000 guests a week in summer, had a similar experience.

“My daughter was first in the queue but grown men started jumping over the fence, behaving as if they were the kids,” the Glaswegian grandma, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Olive Press.

RESERVED: Towels block sunbeds by the pool

JUMP!: Di Caprio takes the plunge from his yacht

Zeta-Jones relaxes

Shakira and Hamilton

White surprise

A TRUCK driver aged 54 who was transporting 10 kilos of cocaine from Valencia to Mallorca has been arrested at Palma port after a sniffer dog detected the drugs.

Gang assault

SEVEN youngsters, one of them under 18, accused of sexually assaulting a minor and committing several robberies with violence, have been arrested in Llucmajor.

Horror night

TWO men accused of kidnapping a woman and sexually assaulting her in the early morning have been arrested in Palma after she WhatsApped a plea for help and location details to a friend.

Sinking ship

A MARRIED couple has been rescued after their boat sank at Mallorca’s Cala Millor beach. No one was injured and no fuel spills have been reported.

A BRITISH man has been arrested for stabbing the man in whose arms he found his girlfriend after he came home unexpectedly.

The bloody love triangle took place at a residence in Santa Ponça in Calvia at around 3.45am, after which the suspect fled the scene while his love rival staggered with a knife stuck in his side. The victim was rushed to Son Espases

Jealous rage

Hospital by ambulance, where he remains in a serious condition and is currently receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit.

The incident unfolded when the young Brit returned home unexpectedly in the early hours and discovered his Congolese

girlfriend in a compromising position with her 32-year-old Moroccan lover. A heated argument ensued between the two men which soon became violent, culminating in the boyfriend committing attempted homicide on the lothario.

“The suspect stabbed his victim with a 20cm kitchen knife out of sheer jealousy,” Guardia Civil sources told the Olive Press.

BLIND JUSTICE

A MAGALUF nightclub has been ordered to pay €150,000 to a Scottish tourist who was blinded by a paintball gun. Dillon Connery was just 18 when his eyes were ‘obliterated and destroyed’ during a UV paint night at the Carwash Club during a lads’ holiday in 2018.

By Laurence Dollimore

The former security firm trainee, from Paisley, was flown back to Glasgow where he underwent emergency surgery, however doctors were unable to save his eyesight.

The Court of Palma has now

DATE ROBBERY

A GANG that robbed 11 houses using a dating app trap has been busted. The 10 gang members, all Spanish of which four have been arrested, used a gay dating app to obtain the addresses of the properties, located in Llucmajor, Campos, Santanyi, Arta y Marratxi. They created fake profiles through which they would seduce their victims.

The sneaky Don Juans would then ask the victim to meet at his flat, but the date would never take place. Minutes before the bogus encounter, the house owner would receive a message from his date asking if he could pick him up, as his car had broken down. And when the victim left the house to do this, the thieves would enter the property to rob it.

€150,000 compensation for Scot shot in eye with paintball

ruled that the owners of the club must pay Connery €150,000, which was half of the compensation ordered by the courts. The rest has already been covered by the venue’s insurance company, reports Diario de Mallorca.

The horror incident occurred on July 12, 2018, during the popular ‘Holy party’, which saw staff shoot balls of fluorescent paint at revellers. An investigation found there was a lack of health and safety measures in place and no warning over the damage the balls could cause.

Tragedy struck when Mr Connery was hit by a ball in the face, causing his eye-

SEX ASSAULT

A BRITISH man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman - also British - at a Magaluf hotel they were both staying at.

The victim ran for help to the reception area of the unnamed hotel in the centre of the resort.

She told staff that a stranger had approached her from behind and put his hands in her trousers and groped her.

Hotel employees called the Calvia Policia Local who arrived and detained the British man before handing him over to the Guardia Civil.

balls to explode. An ambulance took him to the nearby Son Espases hospital where the seriousness of his injuries were ‘immediately apparent’. His mother Ashleigh Connery took the first flight available to the party island. Speaking in 2018, she said the surgeon told her he could not believe how powerfully her son had been hit. She told STV: "His friends went to the bar and Dylan was by himself for five minutes. His eyes have been shattered. "The surgeon was very upset and had never seen anything like this before. The translator said his eyes had been obliterated and destroyed."

Hero cop

A POLICEMAN on a flight from Mallorca to Sevilla has arrested a man who was harassing and threatening passengers. The arrested man is said to have started bothering a row of young women sitting in front of him. He then threatened to stab another passenger who had stood up for the women. At this point the police officer identified himself and told the aggressor to sit down. Instead he threw a punch at the officer, who managed to subdue the disruptive passenger, who was detained by waiting police in Sevilla.

What’s the beef?

IT is dubbed the oldest treaty in Europe, signed in 1375 and its terms have been met nearly every year since. The people of the Baretous valley in France have paid a tribute of three cows to their neighbors in Spain’s Roncal valley every July.

The Tratado de las Tres Vacas (Treaty of the Three Cows) was signed to settle a dispute over grazing rights, although it is thought the ‘arrangement’ may date back 1,200 years.

In 2011 it was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by the government of the Navarre region. It is thought the tribute has only been missed twice - in 1794 during the War of the Convention and in 1944 because of World War II. The cows are handed over during a ceremony at the Piedra de San Martin stone marker involving the mayors of towns in the two valleys who wear traditional garb.

WOLVES DEMISE

Predator declared extinct in Andalucia but may soon return to Valencia

AS experts predict that wolves may soon return to Valencia, the animal has been officially declared extinct in Andalucia.

The Junta de Andalucia’s environment department has been carrying out a wolf census for 20 years and, despite it being a protected species, they’ve admitted ‘there has been no sign of its presence since 2010’.

Until 13 years ago, it was believed that there were up to eight wolfpacks in Andalucia consisting of as many as 56 wolves principally in the Sierra Morena.

Luis Suarez from the WWF in Spain said: “This confirms the negative trend for the few existing wolf packs in southern Spain, which are threatened through being physically and genetically isolated from wolves in the rest of Spain, by loss of habitat, poaching and illegal hunting.”

By Alex Trelinski

But leading biologists believe that the combination of dwindling human population figures in rural areas and the increasing abandonment of agricultural land will encourage the arrival of the predator to Valencia in the coming years. Castellon Province is predicted to be the main entry point, as several specimens have already been located in the Los Monegros area in neighbouring Aragon after travelling down from the Pyrenees. Another possible gateway is the Rincon de Ademuz in Valencia Province.

Opinions on the legendary animal vary greatly. The Spanish government’s decision to ban hunting the Iberian Wolf was met with an outcry on behalf of farmers and hunters, who see the Canis

EXTINCT: Wolves have disappeared from Andalucia

lupus as a dangerous predator that severely threatens their livelihood.

Just a few hundred wolves remained in Spain by the 1970’s due to a policy of eradication through poisoning, but since that was outlawed numbers have crept up.

In the most recent 2021 national census there were

ALVES INDICTED

up to 2,500 wolves in 297 packs - 90% of which were in the north-west, mainly in Castilla y Leon, Galicia and Asturias.

HE has only been in business three years but Spanish designer Arturo Obegero has scored a major publicity coup.

Beyoncé took to the stage for the Boston leg of her ‘ Renaissance World Tour’ wearing an ensemble designed by the emerging fashion talent that embraces the current ‘sheer trend’.

The Grammy-winning star wore a black corset bodysuit-style dress complete with opera-glove style arms, fishnet stockings and an embroidered lace train.

The dress was designed in collaboration with Atelier Sara Couture in Paris, who worked 318 hours on the outfit, including hand stitching all the lace from Sophie Hallette.

Naughty return

SPAIN’S former king Juan Carlos I has announced he will ‘soon’ be back in Spain for more stays in Galicia.

and Brazil

has been formally indicted by a judge in a sexual assault case. The judge said that she had found evidence of wrongdoing by the 40-year-old player and if convicted he faces jail time of between four and 15 years.

Alves has denied sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub last December and says they had consensual sex.

The footballer was arrested in January and has been in prison since then amidst claims that he poses a flight risk. His lawyer, Cristobal Martell said that Alves would not appeal the judge's decision because he wants the legal process to be concluded as soon as possible.

Juan Carlos, who went into self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates in August 2020 after a number of scandals involving his finances emerged, made his third return visit to Spain last month. The father of Felipe VI participated in two sailing regattas in Galicia’s Sanxenxo with his boat El Bribon (The Naughty one), winning one of them.

The former monarch has told the Spanish press that he intends to pay ‘many more’ visits in the near future.

THE former Barcelona

footballer Dani Alves

FISH ATTACK Beach tragedy Strange behaviour

A BRITISH tourist drowned last Friday at Cala Jondal in the Sant Josep area of Ibiza. The 33-year-old man was spotted floating in the water at around 3.15pm and lifeguards pulled him out of the water and transferred him to a nearby boat. They performed CPR manoeuvres to try to revive him before emergency teams arrived, but he was pronounced dead after 40 minutes.

The Balearics is ranked sixth worst region in Spain for fatal drownings, with a total of 15 people losing their lives between January and July.

In Spain, a total of 265 people have drowned to death this year, according to the latest figures published in the Drownings National Report.

Of these, a total of 16 have occurred during the first 10 days of August.

“Society thinks everyone knows how to swim, but this is far from true,” Isabel Garcia, President of the Spanish Federation of Lifesaving, said.

She added: “And many people have been rescued, which means that the number of drowning deaths could have been so much higher.”

CLIMATE change causing seas to warm up may be behind increasing cases of fish biting swimmers in Mallorca. Several bathers have suffered bite marks caused by sea creatures over the summer, especially in the Migjorn area of the island. Some swimmers have even been left with small bleeding wounds.

Ron Farage, Assistant Curator at Palma Aquarium, said that the biters were younger members of the Sparidae family of fish, commonly called sea breams and porgies, most of which possess grinding molar-like teeth. He added that warmer water led them to become hungrier and less timid but he reassured bathers the fish are not poisonous and are essentially harmeless.

Curtains pulled

A BRITISH tradesman fears it will be years before he can walk again after his legs were crushed by a drink driver in Spain, causing one to be amputated below the knee.

Gary Doggett, 55, was working in Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca with his son and another employee when a Spanish driver ploughed into him from behind, pinning him against the back of his van.

Gary was rushed to hospi-

Expat drink drive victim forced to close business after leg amputated

tal where he endured eight hours of surgery, however neither he nor his family members were warned that his right leg was being amputated.

The father-of-two has been forced to close his glass curtains business, telling the Olive Press today that he believes it will be up to two years before he will be

‘back on my feet’.

He said: ‘It’s terrible really, my job is very physical and I was always busy doing something, like

AFTERMATH: car that crushed Gary

By Laurence Dollimore

pottering in the garden or walking the dogs, he’s really f····ed me up, is one way of putting it.’

The much-loved businessman, originally from Brecon, in Wales, said it was a shock to his wife to see him with one leg, after she had simply been told he had ‘made it out of surgery alive’.

He added: ‘I woke up and saw one leg was missing, but to be honest I just thought ‘at least it’s only one of them’.’

The life-changing injuries have left Gary, who moved to Spain 16 years ago, with no option but to close his glass curtain business, leaving him and his own son out of work.

His daughter Chloe has started a GoFundMe page to help out with rehabili-

tation costs, which has received more than €30,000 so far.

She said: “My one year old twins are learning to walk, and it breaks my heart that my strong, amazing dad has to one day learn to walk all over again.

“But I know with his unbelievable inner strength and determination, he will one day walk me down the aisle on my wedding day.”

A FRENCH tourist performed oral sex on a complete stranger without his knowledge as he laid asleep on a sunbed following a drunken night out in Magaluf.

The holidaymaker, 37, approached the tourist, 21, also French and allegedly pulled down his compatriot’s trousers and began performing unsolicited oral sex.

He was only caught because a group of nearby Danish men began recording the moment on a mobile phone, assuming that the two men knew each other. However when the attacker saw the group he fled the scene in a panic, raising suspicions.

The Danes woke the victim and showed him the video, which he immediately took to the Guardia Civil, who managed to identify and track down the suspect.

Education deal

A NEW agreement between Spain and the UK allowing students to access universities and other higher education institutions in both countries has come into force.

Following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, the accord enables students with UK qualifications (including A-levels and equivalent) to access universities in Spain without the requirement of additional entrance exams. Entry exams will only be required for certain competitive courses, as was the case prior to Brexit.

Students from the Spanish education system are able to continue to access UK universities and other higher education institutions with additional legal certainty.

FOOTY FRAUD

ART RETURNED

FOUR paintings valued at €31,000, which were among seven stolen from a gallery in Palma, have been recovered in Belgium. The pieces included work by Glasgow artist José Cheetham. Other artists who had their work taken include Marc Badia, Dimitros Trade and Fabio Finamore. Spanish investigators were able to track down the thieves and then Belgian authorities were involved to find them and the company they acted through in Brussels. The recovered paintings are on their way back to their owner but three are still missing.

SPANISH football has been hit by another match-fixing scandal that has seen a number of arrests allegedly including a club president.

Police swooped on 17 individuals, with 11 detained in the Melilla and six more in the province of Granada. Multiple wagers raised red flags, leading to suspicions over the involvement of a local team in betting fraud.

The team in question has been unofficially reported as Huracan Melilla, an underperforming club in the fourth tier of Spanish football.

HORROR: Gary woke up to find his leg amputated

Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION

Sunbed wars make beast of man

THIS summer, when you reserve a sunbed and then walk away, it seems that you scrape away the thin veneer of civilisation which separates us from the savages we once were.

In fact, just the prospect of being deprived of a plum spot by the pool on a beach - err pool - holiday is enough to reduce some of us to a more primitive state.

It is shocking that if grown adults are willing to shove children and fight one another just to get hold of a sunbed, how will we act when real deprivation strikes?

After a punishing couple of years suffering under Covid restrictions, it might be natural that we all wish for that perfect sunshine getaway, poolside sipping pina coladas.

And we might have less tolerance for anything that could interfere with it than in past periods of unadulterated good times.

But people are losing their heads and really making beasts of themselves when they engage in this everyman-for-himself behaviour.

As much as we all need to get a grip when confronted with behaviour from strangers that we find unacceptable, the authorities do too.

On a basic level, hotels need to clearly establish norms of conduct, so that there is no misunderstanding or culture clash in these situations - everyone should know what is unacceptable.

But higher authorities need to take note too.

With temperatures in Spain forecast to continue to gradually bake the country drier and drier each summer, we are facing the prospect of shortages of commodities far more precious than sunbeds.

And in that light, the conduct we are seeing this summer is a stark indicator of what we can expect when household water is rationed and farmers are unable to water their crops.

In times of scarcity and deprivation, as people we need to rise to our better nature and lift everyone up - not sink down to barbarity and drag everyone else down.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Alberto Lejarraga alberto@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

ADMIN Victoria Humenyuk Makarova (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es

DIGITAL DYSTOPIA

How will Artificial Intelligence affect our lives in Spain?

By Jo Chipchase

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is being hailed by some people as the next industrial revolution. Others say it’s a danger to humanity and will soon get out of control.

American commentator, Joe Rogan, is currently voicing concern over a fake AI-generated podcast featuring an interview between him and the CEO of a company called OpenAI, Sam Altman.

On a similar theme, Berlin-based photographer, Boris Eldagsen, recently fooled the Sony World Photography Awards with an AI-generated photo. He won first prize in the creative category but did not accept the award, saying he has shown how even top professionals are unprepared for AI.

If you are new to AI, you won’t be for long. Some large investors are developing it, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and IBM. If you use social media, Meta is developing AI elements for Facebook and Instagram, and Snapchat is launching an AI feature for paying users.

If you use streaming services, you’re already seen the hand of AI when it suggests films or other content you might enjoy.

So, with 2023 being the year of AI, how could its growing use affect our lives in Spain?

HERE NOW: CHAT BOTS AND IMAGE GENERATORS

Many people are signing up for the new chatbot AI apps, such as Chat GPT from OpenAI. A chatbot is an AI app where you give it prompts, or asks it questions, and it draws on a large data set to answer with the content you want (this process usually needs some refining).

The idea is that the bots can instantly ‘research’ and explain any topic in detail, and it only takes a few minutes.

The current chatbots can write articles, essays, devise book plots, and generate computer code. You can easily save yourself several hours’ work.

With image AI, the popular apps - such as DALL-E and Midjourney - use written prompts from the user to produce images. They will render anything you can describe (such as ‘Pedro Sanchez riding a Spanish bull’). And, unlike human designers using Photoshop, they do it in seconds. Seeing this speed and efficiency of these existing apps, some people fear that AI will eventually overtake or dominate humans, plunging us into a plot worthy of Netflix’s popular series, ‘Black Mirror’.

DEMOCRATIC DANGERS

The recently held general election might be the last campaign period unaffected by AI. The main worry is: how will voters distinguishing real content from AI-generated propaganda? Some voters already find it difficult to identify fake news on the ‘old’ social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. As for YouTube, “I saw a video, so it must be true” has been a long-standing problem.

Now, there are AI voiceover apps, AI face generators, and you could ‘skin’ video content with someone else’s face – such as a politician.

Using a simple prompt on Midjourney, the reporter created a convincing image of “Boris Johnson DJ-ing at a rave in a dry, dusty riverbed in southern Spain”. OK, we know this would never happen but would your 80-year-old granny be so sure?

For the experienced user, generating AI deepfakes is easy. These are videos or audio recordings that show someone saying or doing something that isn’t real. Think of the old ‘mashup’ videos, where snippets of a politician’s voice were blended to make a funny song (such as Nigel Farage saying he loves Europe), only more sophisticated.

EMPLOYMENT – LOSSES AND GAINS

In the next few years, AI is likely to automate many jobs, particularly those involving repetitive tasks that rely on data sets – such as coding, paralegal research, analysis, etc. Warehousing is another affected field, with Amazon already deploying robots called Proteus.

AI will impact art and design, as it is cheap-

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Cristina Hodgson cristina@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

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

CHATPROBE

Concerns rise over the ChatGPT app that is threatening Spain’s privacy laws

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

NEWSDESK: 0034 951 273 575

For all sales and advertising enquiries please contact 951 27 35 75

HEAD OFFICE

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

Deposito Legal MA: 1097-2020

AWARDS

2016 - 2020

Best expat paper in Spain

2020

Google News Initiative gives the Olive Press a substantial grant.

2012 - 2023

Best English language publication in Andalucia

SPAIN’S data-protection agency is investigating the ChatGPT artificial intelligence application fearing it breaches the country’s privacy laws.

There are suspicions that the platform that can write essays to realistically converse with humans, could be illegally harvesting the data it gleans from conversations with us ers and which is the basis of training the application’s algorithms.

ChatGTP, which was created by a company called OpenAI, may also be storing payment information of subscribers, have weaknesses against possible hacks and lack an effective age filter.

A working group at the AEPD will also be created so that infor mation about the app can be ex changed between the different agencies that form the European Data Protection Board. Italy briefly blocked Chat GPT over data protection concerns until Open AI added privacy controls to comply with Italian regulations.

ChatGPT gathers masses of human-created data from the internet and then uses it to make computer predictions

to answer questions and requests that are inputted by users.

Since it was made available to the public, users have been trying it out for writing anything from computer code and blog posts, to translating texts and even writing songs. 75-year-old British scientist and former Vice President of Engineering at Google Geoffrey Hinton played a key role in the development of the techniques ChatGPT uses.

But now Hinton is warning the world of the dangers related to AI after leaving the company.

“I used to think AI attempted to imitate the human brain without being able to match its capacities. However, I have changed my mind in the last few months as I now believe we can develop something much more efficient than the human brain,” he said.

Hinton added: “This can lead to the elimination of a number of jobs, which will increase the gap between rich and poor. There will also be leaders like Putin that would want to create robot soldiers for war”. “We need to learn how to control AI before it becomes too intelligent,” he concluded.

Olive Press online

Thinking of you

ALOOK at our top-ranking web stories over the past two weeks is revealing.

Page hits statistics are a crude but reasonably accurate way of seeing what our readers are interested in.

Then why don’t we simply slavishly follow the online stats when laying out the newspaper?

The answer is that we do use them as a guide, but they do not give the complete picture.

For an interesting read – and a newspaper that people look forward to picking up as soon as it’s out – there has to be a little of something for everyone.

And this is where good old-fashioned journalism comes in.

It is a judgment call and our team of experienced reporters and writers is well placed to make that call.

We all work hard and strive to put together the complete package.

er to use Image AI to visualise an idea than pay a human worker.

However, for now, AI is more likely to enhance than replace jobs, as humans need to oversee the processes and check the accuracy of the content - whether it’s code for an e-commerce system or a travel guide about Andalucia. Errors are widely reported.

AI will also create new jobs. These might include data scientists, AI hardware engineers, AI programmers, and people employed to input prompts to make content.

EDUCATION ENHANCEMENTS?

AI could be used to create ‘personalised learning experiences’ for students. This is, presumably, instead of a teacher lecturing from the front of the class. It is intended to be more engaging.

However, the use of AI in education could cause a ‘digital divide’ – according to how computer technology is provided. Some people (of all ages) already struggle to use existing mobile phone apps or can’t afford the gadgets.

A teen told the Olive Press that some ‘instituto’ students already use Chat GPT and other essay chatbots for their homework, as well as AI apps to solve maths equations. Even the teacher used an AI app on a complex maths challenge, he said.

However, savvy teachers can install their own apps to detect if homework is AI-generated. This is easy to spot, as the apps look for the the GPT-3 (or more recent GPT-4) protocol, and flag this up in submitted homework. Schools tend to hate plagiarism, so don’t abandon your traditional research methods just yet.

CHAT

GPT – THE NEW OFFICE COPYWRITER?

While Chat GPT is being hailed as an all-singing, all-dancing writing tool, the tone of its output is easily spotted. If a newspaper used it instead of humans, every article would sound the same - without the personality or charm of individual writers.

The reporter asked Chat GPT to summarise several seaside towns on the Costa Tropical. The results contained serious errors, muddling up the important historical events and landmarks. Someone without local knowledge might miss these mistakes. Furthermore, Chat GPT’s knowledge cut-off point is September 2021, which means that some content is naturally outdated. Despite the shortcomings, many companies already use Chat GPT to write their website content, product descriptions, blogs, and more. Although the chat-

bot is handy for ‘boring’ content, it isn’t a replacement for seasoned copywriters with a lively style - just yet.

PHOTOGRAPHY ADVANCES – OR REPLACEMENT?

AI is creeping into every area of photography – from apps that enhance your cameraphone snaps to professional-level programs that creates images from scratch, like Midjourney and DALL-E.

While colourful, fantastical images are modish these days, and the AI ‘engines’ are constantly learning and improving their accuracy, they currently don’t render text correctly. So, you can’t enter “passengers boarding Ryanair plane” and have a correct logo returned.

AND… ARE THE RESULTS A BIT SOULLESS? SOME CRITICS THINK SO.

Professional photographer, Graham Knipe, of Granada, says: “Cameras have been slowly taking over the image creation process for years. I embrace technology, but not to the point where it completely removes any artistic interpretation – all images will end up looking the same.”

“However, I don’t think that AI will completely take over photography, just as digital never completely replaced film.”

The most obvious problem with AI image generation is that many people will think the

end-result is real, leading to unanticipated situations.

WHERE’S IT ALL HEADING?

The interest in Chat GPT has been phenomenal. Since launching in November 2022, it has attracted 100 million users. This is much faster than the growth of the ‘old style’ social networks.

The rapid spread of, and investment in, AI raises ethical, privacy, and security concerns.

BUT ARE PEOPLE MAKING TOO MUCH FUSS?

Remember when we were terrified of the ‘Millennium Bug’, thinking that computer systems would roll over to 0000 and destroy the world?

There was also a time when people didn’t want music to turn digital. We were eventually happy to carry around CDs, rather than bulky vinyl records, with the formats becoming smaller and more portable over the years. Pendrives, Bluetooth… life has become more convenient with progress.

Overall, the impact of AI on Spain – and the rest of the world - will depend on how it is developed and deployed. While it brings some risks, it can also make many daily tasks quicker and easier.

We might end up working more closely with machines that help us with our personalised daily tasks, and speeding up dull chores is never a bad thing.

The main AI apps in our daily lives

● Virtual assistants

● Chatbots

● Social media algorithms

Of course, news comes top of the agenda and we certainly print more than our fair share of hardnosed news reports.

This is where website stats can help - for example, the story announcing this week’s heatwave with temperatures of 47C and the Spanish Government moving against low-cost airlines for charging travellers for hand luggage proved a big hit.

But when it comes down to it, it would be an extremely dull paper if that’s all we put in.

This is why we always leave plenty of space for interesting in-depth features and articles. These not only allow our reporters and writers to stretch their wings but more importantly, they provide you with a fascinating and informative read.

But it comes at a price. While the paper is free, the Olive Press still has to pay for the staff to keep producing a quality newspaper and popular website. While the paper can survive thanks to our advertising clients who recognise a good read when they see one, the website needs to be funded too.

This is why we ask readers to pay a modest subscription for full access. For less than a fiver a month they can get access to the best investigative news site in English to be found in Spain.

Help us to provide the best news service targeted at expats in Spain and sign up now!

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

1- WATCH: Mallorca locals struggle to get their heads around disgusting video of Dutch tourist

● Personalised recommendations online

● Language translation, such as Google Translate

● Healthcare applications

● Smart home devices

● Navigation and ride-sharing apps, including Google Maps

● Fraud detection by banks, etc.

HOW DOES CHAT GPT WORK?

The chat AI apps are machine learning Natural Lan- guage Processing models known as Large Language Models (LLMs). They digest massive quantities of text data and infer relationships between words.

HOW DOES IMAGE AI WORK?

Image AI text-to-image generators use a machine learning technique called artificial neural networks. These receive input in the form of words and pro- cesses them to form images.

2- WATCH: Moment man opens fire with automatic gun in Marbella

3- Seagull control campaign starts in Spain´s Malaga

4- Family ties forging the way for Costa Blanca business built on traditional values

5-Spanish insults that will make you sound like a native

AUTO GENERATED: All pictures were made with AI

It is cheaper to use Image AI to visualise an idea than pay a human worker

Dear Jennifer:

READ THE SMALL PRINT

Make sure you have the right home cover to meet your needs

IREGULARLY have extolled the virtues of Liberty’s fully comprehensive house policy. When asking the right questions, you will discover that many house insurance policies are inadequate.

You do need to read the small print on your house policy, including checking that you have the correct policy with Liberty Seguros.

One of the very important issues when discussing house insurance is the amount of contents cover, always remembering that with Spanish Home insurance the kitchen is included in the contents, not the buildings.

Also there is a wonderful extra you can add to your policy and that is accidental damage, which is unique to Liberty Seguros and covers many breakages and claims within the home.

Therefore can I please ask you all to double check the coverage of your home policies, whether you are with Jennifer Cunningham Insurance and Liberty, or another company, to understand the cover you actually have. Finding out you have the incorrect and insufficient coverage when you want to make a claim is far too late.

My consultants are currently working on assessing the home policies, and if they feel you would benefit with increased, additional coverage, they will contact you at renewal.

In the meantime, if you have any concerns or questions, please contact one of my offices and we will be able to give you the advice you require and answer any questions.

Just remember that your property is likely to be your most valuable asset, and needs the right protection.

We also have optional guarantees available, which include dangerous dog liability, public liability for mobility vehicles, cover for electric vehicle chargers, and illegal occupation and unpaid rent if you are a landlord renting your property.

If you have expensive garden furniture, we can increase the cover for these. We can also offer increased cover for valuable objects and jewellery in event of theft with violence. We can tailor your house policy to suit your own individual needs.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR A QUOTATION, PLEASE CALL ONE OF MY OFFICES, EMAIL INFO@ JENNIFERCUNNINGHAM.NET OR VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.JENNIFERCUNNINGHAM.NET

Atrue oasis

ATRANQUIL oasis of modern luxury in Alaró Hills, nestled among the serene hills of Alaró, this extraordinary property stands as a testament to the harmonious fusion of modern luxury and natural beauty.

The architectural masterpiece, spanning 600 square metres, offers an unparalleled living experience that captures the essence of elegance and functionality.

Perched on a plot of approximately 910 square metres, with an additional 7,000 square metres of mountainous landscape behind it, this residence boasts a unique and exquisite design with breathtaking views.

The picturesque Alaró village is a short step away, offering convenience and accessibility without compromising the tranquility that the location provides.

The residence is bathed in natural light, thanks to its generous windows that frame panoramic vistas, seamlessly blending the indoor spaces with the stunning outdoors. The heart of the home, the kitchen, is a masterpiece of culinary artistry and modern living, with a central island that serves as both a functional workspace and a social hub. Five lavish bedrooms, all en-suite, provide private retreats that connect residents with the natural surroundings. The property extends its grandeur outdoors with covered terraces designed for relaxation, alfresco dining (it has

Price hikes

PETROL prices are at their highest in 2023 after the latest increases at the start of the month. The new hikes came as millions of Spaniards drove to the costas for

their annual holiday.

The prices of petrol and diesel have grown by 3.7% and 4.5% respectively, since last month.

Filling the tank is now €5 more expensive than it was five months ago.

With the current prices, filling up a 55-litre tank with petrol costs €90.75 on average and €82.61 for diesel.

Fresh jobs boost

Unemployment fell to 11.6% of the active population in the second quarter, the lowest level seen since 2008

SPAIN posted record employment figures in the second quarter of 2023, exceeding the 21-million mark for people in work for the first time ever. Meanwhile, unemployment fell to 11.6% of the active

By Simon Hunter

population, which is the lowest level seen since 2008. That’s according to the Active Population Survey, published by the country’s National Sta-

GLOVOS OFF

THE Spanish government is exploring legal action against delivery service Glovo if it continues to refuse to obey the law and give its ‘riders’ work contracts. The company allegedly treats these staff as what are known in Spain as ‘false freelancers’, thus saving money by paying them as independent contractors.

The Socialist Party-led administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez introduced what was dubbed the ‘rider law’ in 2021, in a bid to get these delivery drivers on proper work contracts.

Not just a home; a lifestyle that harmonises luxury and nature.

an outdoor kitchen), and the saltwater swimming pool offers a rejuvenating escape under the Mediterranean sun. Home automation allows effortless control, while features like air conditioning, underfloor heating, and multiple guest toilets ensure year-round comfort and convenience.

The construction reflects an unwavering commitment to quality, using the finest materials to ensure enduring excellence in design. It’s not just a home; it’s a lifestyle that harmonizes luxury, nature, and convenience.

The Agency Mallorca proudly presents this prestigious property, ready for those seeking a unique blend of sophistication and tranquility. This property invites you to indulge in the allure of Alaró’s scenic beauty.

For more information on this and many more properties in The Agency’s portfolio, please visit www.theagencyre.com or telephone on +34 871 610 678

tistics Institute (INE).

The figures show that the 21-million barrier of employed workers was broken thanks to 603,900 people joining the labour market in April, May and June.

Unemployment, meanwhile, fell from 13.26% in the first quarter to 11.6%, shedding 365,300 people for a total in the second quarter of 2.76 million unemployed.

The jobless rate is currently at its lowest since the third quarter of 2008, while the economically active population in Spain currently stands at a record high of 23.8 mil-

QUICK CROSSWORD

lion from a total population of around 47 million.

The numbers build on similarly strong figures for the first quarter of the year.

From January to June 2023, a total of 592,800 jobs were created – that’s double the figure for the same period a year before.

The INE figures also show that the number of workers on indefinite contracts has also hit a record high. Of the 505,500 new employees registered between April and June, 410,100 were on permanent contracts and 95,400 on temporary contracts.

Across

1 Frown (5)

4 Grey (5)

10 “Raising ---” (1987 Nicolas Cage film) (7)

11 Hibernian (5)

12 Outer covering (4)

13 Final course sounds dry (7)

15 Stalwart in the lead, or out of sorts (11)

19 Implore urgently (7)

21 Emperor of Rome, 5468 AD (4)

23 Throw out (5)

24 Angers (7)

25 Inheritors (5)

26 Rounds up (5) Down

2 Dry red Italian table wine (7)

3 Horse-stopping command (4)

5 Gymnastic pommel horse exercise (8)

6 Banish (5)

7 Bears out cavalryman’s sidearm (5)

8 Obsolete form of marine propulsion (6,5)

9 Snap (5)

14 Forebear (8)

16 Appeared (7)

17 Grew less (5)

18 Pinch in the fundament (5)

20 Filch (5)

22 It’s made of wood in the woods (4)

All solutions are on page 14

Dine and watch

WITH the summer season in full swing Mallorca has an open air cinema for the warm nights.

Showing films until August 30, Fronton Sineu partnered with Rosa Blanca offers an outdoor cinema with a gastronomic experience with ‘Cinema Pla’.

The films will be screened in their original language (paired with cuisine from the country of the film) at 16 Carrer Frontó in Sineu.

Films include Volver, which will be paired with a Mediterranean dish, and Shoplifters, which will be paired with Japanese cuisine.

Several films will be in English or have English subtitles.

All information and reservations are at www.eventbrite.es

Big spenders BAGGAGE COST

Budget airlines face fines over excess charging

By Alex Trelinski

LOW-COST airlines could face massive fines for charging passengers extra for hand-luggage carried in the cabin.

Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs (Consumo) has opened proceedings against several airlines, although their names have not been made public.

Consumer Affairs minister

Alberto Garzon launched an investigation earlier this year, saying the budget operators being probed had a market share of above 30%.

Penalties might involve substantial fines handed out to offending airlines. Consumo has also extended its remit beyond hand luggage to look at extra costs that airlines apply to services that used to be bundled in a ticket price, like seat reservations.

It is concerned that low fares are advertised but the reality does not match up with the final price paid by travellers

once extras are added.

Consumo has also denounced the airlines for other irregularities, such as not

Brits up front

SPAIN welcomed 8.3 million foreign tourists in June - 10.9% more than in the same month last year according to the National Institute of Statistics.

Visitors from the United Kingdom accounted for almost two million tourists - 23.8% of the total.

The Balearic Islands were the most popular destination followed by Catalunya and Andalucia, with most arrivals staying between four to seven nights independent of any package holiday.

Spending in June stood at €10.6 billion - 17.5% above

allowing cash payment at the airport for additional services, contrary to regulations. The penalties for infringe-

ments vary between €10,001 and €100,000 in the case of serious ones, and between €100,001 and €1 million in

June last year, and 10% higher than the €9,600 million in June 2019, before the pandemic struck. Expenditure has been setting monthly all-time record highs since last November, despite average stays being shorter compared to 2019.

The post-pandemic recovery is almost complete with Spain receiving a total of 37.5 million international tourists in the first six months of the year, which is just 1.6% down on the same period in 2019.

In the first half of the year, tourists spent a total of €46 billion - 28.3% more than last year, and 14.3% above levels four years ago.

The average expenditure per tourist is €1,275, with an annual increase of 5.9%, while daily expenditure grew by 7.9%, to €188.

the case of very serious ones.

The ministry investigation comes after an initial complaint made by consumer association Facua in October 2021 over hand luggage charges by Spanish budget carrier Vueling.

The group has previously filed complaints against Ryanair, easyJet, and Volotea.

MORE and more American tourists are choosing Spain for their vacation destination, with the number of visitors from the United States arriving rising by 17.4% so far this year.

According to Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), from January to July, a total of 1.8 million people from the US made a visit to Spain, compared to 1.1 million in the same months a year previously.

“The US market has an important value for our tourist sector,” said the Industry, Trade and Tourism minister, Hector Gomez.

The UK, France and Germany, in that order, remain the biggest markets for tourism to Spain, but the US is catching up and is currently in sixth position.

In June alone, 546,093 US visitors arrived, which is the best figure seen since 2015 when the current INE data series began. Most American visitors choose Catalunya as their destination, accounting for 41% of the total, followed by the Madrid region, with 27%.

Another piece of good news for the Spanish tourism sector is the amount of money that US visitors spend.

A report from Turespaña states that in 2022, the 2.78 million American visitors to Spain spent €5.3 billion, which was 6% of the total.

This places them as the fourth biggest spenders among other nationalities, despite being the sixth biggest in terms of volume of visitors.

PRETTY AS A PICTURE

TIMELESS:

The views of the Javea headlands have been mesmerising visitors since Joaquin Sorolla painted here at the end of the 19th century

THE majestic umbrella pines perfectly frame what must be one of the prettiest stretches of coastline in Europe.

The countless vistas of the cobalt blue sea and its coves, playing off perfectly against the honey-coloured sandstone headlands, have helped to make Javea famous.

Best viewed from any of the 15 viewpoints - collectively known as the Ruta de los Miradores - the coastline has somehow managed to survive the worst excesses of the construction boom. While there are a few obvious exceptions, the majority of the rutted coastline and the nearby hills are blissfully still intact

and perfect for a hike.

While some visitors attempt the Mirador challenge, taking in all viewpoints over 29 kilometres, my early morning stroll to one of them, Cap Negre, followed by a hike downhill to empty Playa Ambolo was by far the best start of the day this year so far.

I’ve known the coastline around Javea for decades and, in fact, many years before I even visited, thanks to the keen eye of Madrid’s astute 19th century painter Joaquin Sorolla.

It was at his former home in the capital,

now a museum, that I used to marvel at the colour and light of this marvellous region and its impressive geology.

Sorolla was a massive fan of Javea (also known as Xabia in Valenciano) and would spend many of his summer holidays here, painting children on the beach or setting up his easel in the nearby headlands. To head to his museum in Madrid when I lived in the capital in the 1990s, was the best way to escape the frenetic pace of the city and quickly find yourself transported to the seaside around Javea.

Javea’s rugged beauty holds enough hidden jewels to share all around, writes Jon Clarke

WATER FUN: Surfing at Arenal Beach,

Fending off pirates

Forget long, white sandy beaches, like in nearby Benidorm or Almeria, say, Javea is all about its natural protected coves.

Once a remote beach, Conde Nast Traveler named Cala Barraca as one of the Mediterranean’s ‘most Instagrammed spots’, while award-winning Playa Granadella becomes something of a roadblock in summer. Make sure you head here out of season and enjoy the resort, that half a century ago was only connected to the rest of Spain by dirt tracks. In summer the town of 29,000 souls (around half of them foreign) swells to over 100,000 people, which is no surprise thanks to its frenetic nightlife, bustling gourmet scene and, of course,

fabulous weather.

Javea also has everything you might need for a holiday (or to relocate) from golf courses to bowling clubs and from a VO cinema to a sailing club.

“One of its best things is its Llebeig athletics and swimming club,” explains British expat Stella French, who moved to Javea with her husband Ed eight years ago.

“It’s like one big family and they organise daily runs, swims and cycles and swimming in the clear water here, with rays swimming around you takes some beating.

quick to commend the town’s excellent mix of Germans, French and British, plus many other nationalities. Javea certainly has a very different mix of expatriates that you might find on other parts of the coast or down on the Costa del Sol.

Javea has a very different mix of expats than you find along the coast

“While the Javea triathlon in September is amazing, if you can somehow manage to get in.”

She has been coming to the town for 23 years, while Ed first came on holiday in 1982.

“There was no running water back then and you got your drinking water, or ‘agua dulce’ from specific water deposits scattered around the town,” recalls the former Royal Navy avionics engineer, 77. “You needed to take buckets with you.”

While it hasn’t always changed for the better (‘we struggled to get a table at any restaurants at the weekend, even in March’), the pair were

Many are drawn to its atmospheric old town, which unlike many others, has been almost completely untouched and looks the same as it did a century ago. Wandering its ancient narrow streets you can still feel the protection they provided from unpredictable attacks by Barbary pirates, while its 14th-century Iglesia-Fortaleza de San Bartolome was always completely siege-ready. Make sure to take a look around its cool municipal market full of morning-fresh sepia squid and crimson-red prawns, while marvelling at its local honey-coloured Tosca stone. This is where the locals take their morning coffees with a ‘ coca ’ – a traditional sourdough flatbread topped with either chopped tomatoes and salted tuna or typically, a single anchovy.

Modern

Head off in all directions and up the main drag and you will find some funky local shops, not to mention plenty of good places to eat.

But Javea however is basically divided into three separate parts: the old town, its nearby port area and ‘el Arenal’, the modern beach area at the other end of the bay.

This is where the tourists head and where, predictably you find most of the nightlife.

However it does have a great natural sandy beach, which offers easy access to warm, shallow waters and sometimes when the waves are up, some excellent surf.

Near here, look out for David Ferrer’s tennis club, while one of the town’s famous Michelin-starred restaurants, Tula, sits pride of place, near the Parador hotel. The other, BonAmb, is a short five minute drive away.

If you are finding it all a bit hectic in the Arenal area and not a fan of the more rocky coastline between here and the port, you can take a 20-minute hike towards the San Antonio headland to Cala Tango.

This is a fabulous spot for kids with its 17 metre-high jumping platform and amazing crystal clear blue waters.

Meanwhile, a 10-minute walk south of Arenal will take you to Cala Blanca, a lovely round cove, excellent for an

evening dip. From then on you are heading into the dramatic Cabo de la Nao headland with its many hidden coves, many of which are a real battle to reach on foot. The ones you can reach more easily are the aforementioned Playa Granadella and Playa Ambolo, while there are plenty of others, such as the lit-

tle-known Cala en Calo that’s a genuine swimming secret. And finally, for those who like something pretty, but would rather drive there, head to Playa Barraca, also known as Portitxol, where you can find a local chiringuito, that hits the spot

FORTIFIED: Javea’s Iglesia-Fortaleza de San Bartolome, while (below left) Stella and Ed French first visited Javea in the 1980s

(sometimes).

Or, as Joaquin Sorolla used to do on his regular painting days at the beach, you could simply bring a splendid slap up picnic, along with a giant parasol.

A CENTURY OF BEACH LIFE

Artist Joaquin Sorolla hoped that his first UK exhibition featuring Javea would make him rich through May, June and July weren’t just any old paintings of Javea.

THE year of 1908 marked the first time Londoners set eyes on Javea. In an age where aeroplanes were still learning how to fly, and photographs still in development, the meeting inevitably came through the paintbrush. But the exhibition at Grafton Galleries

The posters put Javea’s name next to that of Joaquin Sorolla, calling him ‘the world’s greatest living painter’ following international success.

Sorolla, born in Valencia in 1863, fell in love with the Costa Blanca fishing town of Javea during a visit in 1896.

“Javea is sublime, immense, the best I know to paint. It surpasses everything,” he wrote in one of more than 2,000 letters kept by his wife, Clotilde.

Sorolla’s obsession with the play of light and water in Javea saw the town make up a large part of the 278 paintings he took to London in search of fortune.

Among these paintings include Cabo de San Antonio, Javea that captured the site of Javea’s iconic headland back in 1896.

There was also Cordelores de Javea, Nadadores de Javea, El puerto de Javea, A child in Javea and countless others referencing the seafaring, sea-loving and golden-coloured moments Sorolla encountered.

One of Sorolla’s most famous paintings known to have sold was Encajonando pasas from 1900, showing hundreds of women in Javea packaging raisins for an international trade of which Britain was one of Denia port’s largest customers.

While London may have fallen in love with Javea and Sorolla at the exhibition, the opposite never happened.

Sorolla was disappointed with his reception in London. He complained about the cold air, he complained about being lonely, and he feared

the ‘polite’ up per-class English were too cerebral to appreciate his masterpieces of light and fresh air.

Worst of all, Sorolla sold few paintings in London in 1908.

“I feel old, I can’t live alone, I’m emptier than you, for you at least have the children,” he wrote to Clotilde.

“Today is a disgusting day, I’ve only just had my lunch with electric light and it’s already 2pm – I hate big cities, viva Javea.”

England lat-

er proved to be Sorolla’s lucky ticket, however, as it was there he met American philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington.

Sorolla soon received an invite to exhibit at The Hispanic Society of America in New York, where he sold 195 paintings. The society later commis-

GOLDEN FIND

al Gallery to put on a British exhibition of Sorolla ( Sorolla: Master of Light ). Except that, this time, Sorolla’s painting of Javea had already become priceless. sioned Sorolla to paint a huge mural called Vision of Spain , that captured the Spanish nation in a series of works taking six years (1913-1919) to complete.

By the time Sorolla was done, he had earned enough money to buy a house in central Madrid that today houses his works as the Museo Sorolla. When he died in 1923 Sorolla was already established as one of Spain’s all time greats. It took another 100 years – until 2019 –for London’s Nation-

A PAIR of snorkelers found 53 gold coins off La Cala Barraca, just beneath Portitxol Island, two years ago.

Local archaeologists reportedly ‘cried’ as one of Europe’s largest finds of Roman-era gold put their little bay in the history books (Portixtol comes from the Latin meaning ‘little port’).

Matt Damon is a regular holidaymaker to Javea thanks to his Argentine wife, Luciana Barroso, whose brother lives in the area. Meanwhile various Hollywood films, like the Cold Light of Day, starring Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, have been shot around Javea.

DID YOU KNOW?

JOYOUS: Sorolla’s celebrated beach bathing scenes in Javea are globally celebrated today

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE: Sorolla’s painting of children enjoying the beach and (below) the artist at work on Javea beach

SPEAKING IN WHISPERS

Trying to get a handle on Madrid is an impossible task

WHEN I think of Madrid I think of whispers. It has always been a place of intrigue and conspiracies, of hermandes, closed societies, and tertulias, private gatherings. It is perhaps as a result of this secret history, and history of secrecy, that I have never quite been able to put my finger on the city (despite having written a guidebook to it.) Paris is a romantic idea, New York a bustling reality, London is the last vestige of an empire, Rome the ruin of one. Madrid is... I don’t know.

However, I keep going back because that is where the power in this country lies, and always has.

I have two great friends - in both senses of the phrasewho live there. They both come from illustrious backgrounds, their families affected the course of Spanish history.

Estanislao Perez, ‘Tanis’, does not often use his second surname, what in English we would call his mother’s maiden name (I wonder what banks here use to verify people’s identity...) It diverts attention, being García Lorca. His maternal grandfather Francisco was brother of Spain’s most famous poet, Federico García Lorca, whose ‘Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías’ every Spanish school child knows, with its haunting refrain of ‘at five o’ clock in the afternoon’.

joined the executive of the Partido Socialista Obrero Español, the PSOE, and in 1920 he was part of a delegation to Soviet Russia.

While there he famously interviewed Lenin, ending with the question ‘what about freedom?’

The Brief’

Federico has been a bone of contention between Left and Right ever since his death at the hands of Nationalists in Granada at the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

However, even before that he followed the Spanish trend of

To which the most famous Vlad - more so than both Putin and the Impaler - gave a chilling three word answer, ‘freedom for what?’

De los Ríos became a minister of the Republic and went into exile after the Civil War along with Francisco, an escape which Federico tragically missed

However, I am not visiting the softly spoken, highly intelligent architect from that bloodline of the Left, but instead the man they call the Godfather of the Partido Popular, the PP, on the Right.

Adolfo Suárez Illana does use his second surname, but this is to distinguish himself from his famous father, Adolfo Suárez, who was the first democratically elected Prime Minister following the death of Franco.

More than that, he was co-founder, along with his friend King Juan Carlos, of Spanish democracy itself.

I realise the former King’s star has somewhat waned, and his legacy has been apparently tarnished. However, nothing can remove the fact that he risked the same fate as the famous poet by leading this country into democracy. The story that sticks in my mind is that one of the people to whom the young Prince Juan Carlos turned for ad-

vice on the future when Franco began to ail was the exiled head of the communist party, Santiago Carrillo. The prince had the renegade politician smuggled into Spain and the palace, at great risk to both of them, to ask what he should do when he took power. Carrillo’s answer was blunt. “I don’t know the answer to that but I do know that you will go down in history as Juan Carlos ‘The Brief’.”

At the end of last year, Suárez Illana stepped down from his role as congressman for Madrid, and secretary of the bureau in parliament. He has not revealed yet what he is going to do and that is, in part, what I hope to find out.

Next time I will ask Tanis the same question.

Despite their polar opposite histories, there are remarkable similarities between the two men. Both are fiercely intelligent and loyal, but also have a great sense of humour and the rare ability to be invariably good company. They also listen to the other side, as I, sitting in the middle and frequently on the fence in matters political, have often tested late into the night. It is a shame there are no more like this in politics today. Or perhaps there are, behind closed doors, in smoke filled rooms, speaking in whispers.

‘I do know that you will go down in history as Juan Carlos

GOOD COMPANY: Adolfo Suárez Illana with Xander and (right) Adolfo with his father Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez González and (far right) with King Juan Carlos I

GREATS: Brothers Federico García Lorca and Francisco García Lorca

COVID-19 cases in Mallorca have rocketed by 124.8% at the start of August compared to a month earlier, but a leading expert says the situation is 'not alarming'.

A new Omricon variant known as BA.5 is responsible for the increase in infections..

The latest figures published by IB-Salut showed there were 852 active coronavirus infections and as of Thursday, 43 people were being treated for Covid in Mallorca hospitals. The majority of patients - 26 - are in Son Espases Hospital, with nine in Manacor, five in Inca, and three at Son Llatzer. Elsewhere in the Balearics, two patients are in hospital with Covid on Menorca but none on Ibiza.

The head of Son Espases Microbiology department, Dr. Antonio Oliver, says that increased cases are being reported after patients go to local medical centres to report respiratory problems and are given a Covid antigen test.

WARNING for dogs and cats in Spain!! Get the right healthcare cover

The ONLY ENGLISH VET CLINICA VETERINARIA BENDINAT tel: 971 404 459 www.vet-bendinat.com

THE EUROPEAN DENTAL PRACTICE

Established 1989

EMERGENCIES: 636 308 789

Tel: 971 681 439

www.theeuropeandentalpractice.com

Dr.Mónica Bonet – University of Barcelona

Dr. Yasmina Adebibe – B.D.S London

Susan Taylor-Vickers – BSc, EDH Mercadona Centre, Son Caliu, Palma Nova

DRINK UP

Take in fluids to avoid urinary stones

URINARY tract stones are one of the most frequent issues treated by urologists in Spain with hot temperatures forcing reported cases up by 30% over the summer months.

Simple changes in daily diets can reduce the risk of a stone being formed according to Dr. Bartolome Lloret, a urologist at Alicante's Vithas Medimar Hospital.

“Environmental heat is one of the most recognised causes of stone formation which is more frequent in hot climates and in Spain at this time of the year.”

By Alex Trelinski

“High temperatures in the workplace cause big water losses due to high perspiration while vigorous physical exercise, especially in summer, can cause periodic dehydration and increased concentration of crystals in the urine which form stones,” he added. Cases of urinary tract stones are also more frequent in patients who have a parent who has had kidney stones. Dietary factors that promote

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 1 Scowl, 4 Ashen, 10 Arizona, 11 Irish, 12 Rind, 13 Dessert, 15 Lionhearted, 19 Beseech, 21 Nero, 23 Evict, 24 Enrages, 25 Heirs, 26 Herds.

Down: 2 Chianti, 3 Whoa, 5 Scissors, 6 Exile, 7 Sabre, 8 Paddle wheel, 9 Photo, 14 Ancestor, 16 Emerged, 17 Ebbed, 18 Goose, 20 Swipe, 22 Tree.

PHOTO OP

Specsavers Ópticas’ Summer Photography

Competition offers prizes of a €100 Amazon voucher and a pair of designer sunglasses for the best photo

On Monday the 3rd of July, Specsavers Ópticas launched a Summer Photography Competition to find an image which captures the essence of Spain. In doing so, they hope to shine a spotlight on all the wonderful aspects of Spain and find out what images encapsulate its very best elements. They are asking local residents on the Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol and Mallorca, to send in beautiful photographs to be in with a chance of winning a €100 Amazon voucher and a pair of designer sunglasses.

Martin Blake from Specsavers Ópticas in Santa Ponça comments, “Spain is such a stunning and diverse country, with in -

credible natural beauty, a vibrant culture of arts, music and dance and of course incredible food. This summer we are asking keen photographers living close to our stores to show us, through an image, what makes Spain so special to them.

We are very excited to see these fantastic images and celebrate the talented photographers on the Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol and Mallorca, where our nine stores are located. The person who takes the best picture and

best explains why this is the essence of Spain to them, will be rewarded with a €100 Amazon voucher and a pair of designer sunglasses worth up to 159€.”

the development of kidney stones and others that exert a protective effect have been identified so diet should be considered as an integral part of treating stone sufferers.

Dr Lloret said: “There are a number of dietary factors that encourage stones to be formed like a

high consumption of animal protein. a low intake of fluids, a high intake of sodium and eating of oxalate- a substance present in some foods of plant origin.” Oxalate foods include walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, spinach, and chocolate. The specialist recommends everybody especially at this time of the year to drink more than three litres of water per day backed up by eating healthier foods like cereals, fruit, and vegetables. He also suggests reducing the consumption of butter, sausages, preserves, soups, dehydrated creams, cheeses and ham, as well as avoiding adding extra salt to meals.

The competition is open until the 1st of September and photographs can be submitted on social media by tagging @SpecsaversOpticas on Facebook and @specsaversspain on Instagram, sending photos via Messenger or via email to spain. marketing@specsavers.com

A jury formed of three Specsavers Ópticas store directors will judge the entries and shortlist the top five entries. These will then be posted on social media and the image with the most likes and comments will be declared the overall winner.

Competition is open to residents of the provinces of Alicante and Malaga and the island of Mallorca and you must be aged 18 and

above. The competition closes on Friday 1st September 2023. Terms and conditions apply, which can be found at www.specsavers.es/sorteo

Playground justice

A QUEUE for a child’s swing turned violent in Valladolid when two fathers started trading blows - with a baseball bat. It is unknown if the children managed to get their turn on the swing.

Unlucky rescue

AN elderly woman nearly croaked her last when vapours from the huge stash of drugs she was storing in her home began to overwhelm her. Thankfully - or not - passing police heard her cries for help and saved her.

No cigar

A BRIT who ran out on his €1,500 hotel bill almost got away scott free, until police intercepted him boarding a ferry in Santander.

O P LIVE RESS

SEX CRIME

IF you are going to gossip about a neighbour's noisy sex life, do it quietly. And definitely don’t do it live on national television.

A woman in Salamanca who did just that has been hit with a €10,000 fine for besmirching her passionate neighbour’s honour.

The facts date back to 2017, when the defendant appeared in a television report complaining about how she couldn’t sleep due to the noise made by her neighbour during sex.

The woman, identified by her initials LMI, referred to the ‘ardour’ of her fellow resident.

FOR THE FANS

Gossip ordered to pay €10,000 after discussing neighbour’s ‘ardour’ live on TV

By Simon Hunter

She also explained how the woman had been reported to the authorities and fined for excess decibels and ‘noises from her bed’. LMI added that the neighbour had even caused cracks in her ceiling and that her radiator vibrated due to the young woman’s activities. Asked if she might be a prostitute, the defendant said that

she did not know but that she had ‘seen a number of different people’ go up to the apartment. The comments were broadcast on a TV show called La Mañana on state broadcaster RTVE, prompting the neighbour, identified as JVG, to file a lawsuit both against the defendant and the TV channel itself.

A lower court first threw out the case on the basis that JVG had not been identified in the

A FOOTBALLER has quit professional football to star on sex site Onlyfans Miguel Angel Guerrero, goalkeeper of Velez CF, has left the fourth tier of Spanish football for what he believes is a much more profitable career. The 29-year-old became well-known

broadcast, and that LMI was protected by freedom of expression. But an appeal at the Provincial Court was upheld, slapping LMI with a €10,000 fine. The Supreme Court has now also upheld the sentence, meaning the compensation will have to be paid.

after taking part in La Isla de las Tentaciones, the Spanish version of Love Island, earlier this year. The former goalie explained that he made the decision to start an Onlyfans account after receiving several erotic messages during his time on the reality show.

The ex keeper may no longer be

A MAMMOTH iceberg weighing over 15,000 kilos is set to make its grand appearance in Malaga at the start of September. The iceberg is being hauled all the way from Greenland in a refrigerated container and will be placed on swanky shopping street Calle Larios. It will be left there until it melts naturally, serving as a ‘poignant’ visual reminder of the pressing issue of climate change. The Arctic Challenge 2023 team, led by Manuel Calvo has just returned from Greenland and managed to get an export licence for the iceberg ‘for scientific research’.

making saves but he will surely start saving more money, as the platform users can pay between €5 and €50 a month for a subscription. “If you want to show non-sexual content you will not make money as Onlyfans is porn. I have a big gay public and I am open to do things that they would enjoy,” he added.