Olive Press Spain - Issue 394 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

The

OLIVE PRESS

Mijas Costa FREE

Page 4

Get on board Travel industry bounces back

Page 6

Piece of the action Our Spanish language picks on Netflix

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Vol. 16 Issue 394

www.theolivepress.es

Your expat

voice in Spain

Our picks for a Spring adventure with a difference

Page 20

See pages 4 & 10

May 18th - May 31st 2022

Shady death Couple planning to leave Spain after hunters shoot their beloved dog Sombrita AN expat couple have slammed police inactivity after their dog was shot dead by hunters. Jennifer and Victor Gebhardt, 67 and 78, are furious that the Guardia Civil are refusing to probe the slaying of their beloved Sombrita. The retired South African couple, who have lived in Almeria for over a decade, are distraught and planning to leave Spain over the incident. The three-year-old Mastein was left whimpering in pain after a hunter fired a trio of shots at them during the evening walk near their village of Guainos Bajos. Chipped and vaccinated, Sombrita (meaning shadow in Spanish) had been running around chasing rabbits and ‘having a really fun time’. “It had been a lovely long walk in the mountains and we were nearly home when I heard the first shot, then the second, then finally the third which hit her,” recalled Jennifer, a former teacher. “I was calling out making sure they knew who we were, but that didn’t stop them. It could have easily been me.” Despite being petrified and wanting to flee, Jennifer tried to identify the hunters in the dark. “I shouted at them to come out, but

EXCLUSIVE By Jorge Hinojosa

they vanished obviously knowing they had killed my dog. “It was definitely not an accident, I’m sure, because they shot with a rifle that has a night sight.” As it was too dark she was unable to find the body until the morning, when she went out with her husband, a former safari ranger in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. “We spent the whole next day trying to find her,” she recalls. But what was a sad moment turned to horror when she went to report the incident to her nearest Guardia Civil police station in Adra. “They did absolutely nothing to help… in fact they were really unsympathetic. “This despite telling them I had not slept for days and felt terrible.” She continued that the incident had made them decide to leave the country. “We love Spain, but now want to live elsewhere. We cannot live somewhere where animal rights are not protected.” The Olive Press contacted the local Guardia Civil, in Adra, but de-

MYSTERY SOLVED OVER MASS DEER DEATHS Off the beaten track

The UK licence drama deepens

AN investigation has ruled that 100 deer found in an Andalucian natural park died from a rare lung complication. Scientists from the Junta have ruled the animals found in the Sierra de Baza in April died from a severe pulmonary congestion caused by the bacteria Pasteurella. It comes after extreme weather in late March, known as the Calima, brought episodes of heavy rain and a drastic drop in temperature.

HAPPIER TIMES: With Sombrita before and (below) after the shooting spite confirming the case, insisted they could not ‘investigate further as she has not provided any names’. When pressed on how Jennifer was meant to get names of people who ran away, they refused to comment and put the phone down. It is certainly not an isolated incident. Jillian Chiperfield, president of nearby Berja’s animal association, told the Olive Press: “We have come across a lot of animals shot, especially cats killed for fun. “Last year we found a dog shot on his nose that broke his jaw and lost part of his tongue. “Another woman had her dog shot while walking in the park.” She even believes that some of the shooting is by police themselves. “I was once told by forest rangers that if your dog is not on a lead in a natural park they are entitled to shoot it,” she claimed. Ana Maria Bejar of animal rights party PACMA, added that similar incidents happen frequently in rural areas of Spain. “Hunters think the countryside is their property and they have the freedom to do whatever they

want. Some even insist that if walkers don’t want to get shot they should stay in the towns.” Opinion Page 6

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CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF Whopping crime A WOMAN has been arrested for threatening a diner who had borrowed her charger with a knife in a Burger King restaurant in Ibiza port, only stopping once a police officer drew his gun on her.

Gazumped COURTS in the Canary Islands have issued an arrest warrant for an on-therun British woman who is accused of stealing €67,000 on a fraudulent property sale in Lanzarote.

Pervert Alert COPS have arrested a 53-year-old man spotted with his trousers down and flashing at children in an Estepona playground by the Avenida de España.

Bear trip ALMOST 11 kilograms of gummy bears found laced with a hallucinogenic substance have been seized by police in Malaga, resulting in seven arrests.

A MAN wanted in connection to an alleged hit-and-run incident in which a man was killed and three others seriously injured outside a nightclub in Malaga has handed himself in. According to witnesses, it came after a heated argument between the driver and the victims outside the Ritual club. A fight broke out leading to a man being knocked unconscious with a glass bottle

May 18th - May 31st 2022

Gang rape foiled

Hit-and-run death probe and later dying. When his friends went to help, the driver, 26, returned in his car at high speed. Witnesses claim the car ran over several people, seriously injuring three people, two young men and one woman between 20 and 25 years old.

The man, 23, who had been hit and severely wounded with the glass bottle was killed. The suspect came forward after police launched an appeal for a white VW Golf with a sunroof and missing a wing mirror on the driver’s side.

CAUGHT RED-HANDED

Hero calls in cops who snare arsonist in process of torching natural park

AN eagle-eyed local called in police after spotting a man setting fire to scrubland inside one of Andalucia’s most famous beauty spots. He has been dubbed a hero after saving the Montes de Malaga natural park from a

potential ‘catastrophe’ similar to last year’s horrific Sierra Bermeja blaze. In the dramatic incident dozens of cops finally tracked down the man, who was spotted setting two fires near the road into the park at 9pm last

Sunday. While firefighters tackled the blazes, the officers scoured the area for the culprit. Several hikers pointed them to a remote spot where they had seen a man who fitted the description.

Impatient patient

Kebab attack

AN ANGRY octogenarian has been charged with battering a fellow patient, also 80, to death with a mobile phone. The pair had been sharing a hospital room in Avila when the 86-year-old aggressor attacked. He has been remanded in prison ahead of his trial. The patients did not know each before.

TWO kebab shop workers have been arrested for sexually abusing a teenager in the bathroom of their premises. It came after the girl, 16, who had been eating at the Malaga restaurant, asked where the bathroom was. The cook followed her in, and began to grope and kiss the minor. As the perpetrator tried to pull her trousers down, she elbowed him and escaped.

After 30 minutes of searching, they found the man crouched beside a pile of fallen branches and twigs with a lighter in his hand. A bottle filled with a flammable liquid was next to him. The detainee has been remanded in custody under Malaga’s court Number 7. The 5,000-hectare park is home to genets, badgers and foxes, as well as eagles and sparrowhawks. Spain is at high risk of forest fires each summer, with the vast majority of blazes started deliberately. Last year, Europe’s first ‘fifth generation’ fire raged for six days nearby in Estepona’s Sierra Bermeja destroying 10,000 hectares of woodland.

A TRIO of Moroccans have been arrested for trying to rape a woman in Malaga. A witness called in police after seeing the woman sexually assaulted in the Malagueta area late on Saturday night. When the cops arrived they were amazed to find the trio still assaulting the woman. They arrested them for robbery with violence and a sexual assault in the 4am attack. According to local media police feared it could have escalated into a gang rape.

Another wanted Brit nabbed ANOTHER of Britain’s most wanted fugitives is awaiting extradition in Madrid after being picked up in Malaga a fortnight ago. David Ungi, 30, had been on the run for six years over the murder of 18-year-old Vinny Waddington in Liverpool in 2015. According to police he had been living a ‘secretive life’ in Coin, alongside three flatmates, who have also been arrested.. When police searched his home they found three guns, 15 kilograms of cocaine and 19 kilograms of hash.

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NEWS

www.theolivepress.es BRITISH entrepreneur Richard Branson hung out - and played - with tennis legend Rafa Nadal at the star’s tennis academy on a recent visit to Mallorca. The pair also visited Virgin’s latest resort - the Son Bunyola in Mallorca, which is due to be formally opened this week and coincides with the new cruiser Virgin’s Valiant Lady docking in Gibraltar before making an inaugural call to Mallorca. Following his visit, the 71-year-old said: “Rafa was deep into preparations for the

Coals to Newcastle

A TAIWANESE dance group has just won the top prize of a Flamenco competition held in Madrid. The Genio Dance Group scooped the award in the 31st edition of Certamen de Coreografia de Danza Española y Flamenco. Lead dancer Hsueh Yu-hsien (below) said she was ‘surprised and delighted’ to beat Spaniards at their own game in the highly competitive final which featured six other teams. The group was invited to Madrid after judges viewed a YouTube video of their performance. The competition was founded in 1992 and is held annually by Producciones Maga, a company currently headed by Spanish dancer Margaret Jova.

May 18th - May 31st 2022

SERVED UP

current Masters tournaments, building up to the French Open he has dominated for so long. But he was good enough to give us a few hours to sit and chat about what is going on in the world – and of course share some of his tennis wisdom. I’m still looking to improve!” See Virgin hotel, page 16

From lead to gold New life for set of doomed BBC show Eldorado

IT was the TV deal that producers had golden hopes for, but after just a year and two series Eldorado turned to lead. The BBC soap famed for its wooden acting, dreadful sound quality and unknown thespians was cancelled. And its purpose-built set in Coin, inland from the Costa del Sol’s Fuengirola was left abandoned. In the years since the minitown has been used as a hotel, tourism attraction and most ignominiously as a paintballers ‘battleground’ before being finally left to crumble. But now the set has been taken over to be turned into a

Cheeky!

RE-BIRTH: New resort on the series set By Kimberley Mannion

plush new hotel and commercial centre. So any fans of the programme (and there weren’t too many) will be able to relive the golden days of Eldorado with a nostalgic BRITISH actor Dennis Waterman has died at hosholiday at the pital in Spain at the age of 74. new Versus His fourth wife, Pam Flint, who the actor married Resort. in 2011, was at his bedside when he passed away. Hotel bosses The popular actor was a permanent fixture in have signed a dramas in the 70s and 80s where he usudeal with the ally played a hard-man role, starring as local counbodyguard Terry McCann in Minder and cil for 8,000 copper George Carter in The Sweeney. metres of In his later years he starred in the popucommercial lar investigative series New Tricks. space, 4,000 He then announced plans to retire to La metres of garManga in Murcia to do ‘f*** all’. dens and a hotel with 170 See Never forgotten, page 6 rooms. The company will

Final curtain for Waterman

pay €90,000 per year for the privilege. The contract has been granted for 50 years. Versus Resort will hope that it lasts longer than the one year which Eldorado ran for. Focusing on the lives of expats on the fictional town of Los Barcos on the ‘Eldorado’ coast, the BBC had hoped the programme would be as much of a hit as soaps like Eastenders with the twist of the exoticism of Spain.

Disaster

The production, which cost the BBC around £10 million, is widely considered one of the BBC’s biggest disasters and has become a synonym for fiasco. The new hotel will have four stars - which some unkind critics might say is four more than the BBC soap had.

ESTUCO INTERIORS

SPAIN has broken its tragic record as a Eurovision failure and come in third after a raunchy performance by Chanel with the reggaeton hit SloMo. Chanel won 231 points from the jury and 228 from the televote, which placed Spain in third spot overall. It is the best result since 1995 when Anabel Conde came second with the song Vuelve conmigo. The 31-year-old Cuban-born entertainer wore a revealing outfit styled on a bullfighter’s traja de luz. The last time Spain won Eurovision was in 1969 with Salome’s Vivo Cantando. This year’s contest, which was held in Turin, was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, in a symbolic show of public support following the country’s invasion by Russia. Sam Ryder came second for the UK, the country’s best result since 1998.

A new Banksy? HAS Banksy snuck into the Axarquia to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine? This mural is unmistakable in his style and has appeared under a motorway bridge between Torre del Mar and

Velez-Malaga. It is inspired by the anonymous artist’s iconic Girl with Balloon series of stencils that first appeared at London’s Waterloo Bridge. Banksy has several times used variants of this design in social campaigns.

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NEWS

www.theolivepress.es EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade

Flying blue

ANDALUCIA is the Spanish region with the biggest increase of the iconic ‘Blue Flag’ beach awards. This summer, a total of 122 Blue Flags will be on display across the coastline of southern Spain, compared to 115 in 2021. Malaga is the leading province in this section, with 36 beaches, followed by Almeria, with 35. The Spanish coasts are home to 621 blue flagged beaches, which is six more than last year, making it the leading nation in the world for numbers of blue flags with 15% of the global total.

A BRITISH couple have been handed a huge medical bill for hospital care, despite being fully covered by their private health insurance company. The expats have been slapped with a debt of €14,000 because of the company’s negligence. Dawn Bridge, a 50-yearold writer, originally from Cheshire, suffered a bad fall in her hometown of Mazarron, Murcia, in December 2021. Husband Adrian, an academic, immediately went to call the number on his insurance medical card, believing emergency staff would be on call to deal with it. However, after a whole NINE MINUTES of waiting - while Dawn screamed in agony - the 59-year-old still had no answer. Eventually he was persuaded to call an ambulance by a concerned neighbour and a local emergency service turned up ‘within minutes’. She was soon receiving emer-

May 18th - May 31st 2022

POLICY OF DENIAL

Expats’ €14,000 medical bill because insurance company ‘wouldn’t answer phone’ after accident gency treatment for two bad fractures at Cartagena’s public hospital Dawn to St Lucia. She also had to have a dislocated ankle put back into place. But, in reality, her problems had only just begun, as despite paying two premiums for a policy that promised ‘immediate access to care’ and ‘no copayments’ the opposite occurred. Indeed, on leaving St Lucia Hospital, some days later, they were handed the bill of €14,000 which their insurance

company REFUSED to pay. This despite them paying over €1,200 a year. The main reason given; because Dawn was treated in ‘the wrong hospital’. “Yet during that week, I received no advice on transferring her to a hospital recognised by our insurance company,” slammed Adrian, a former history lecturer at York University. “We had no help in providing additional care, no communication and no explanation why

our emergency call wasn’t answered.” And over the last half year, he claims they have received ‘not an ounce’ of concern or compassion regarding their plight. This despite Dawn still being heavily dependent on a wheelchair for mobility. A remarkable email stream, the Olive Press has seen, demanded if the couple could ‘prove the [emergency] call’, and also questioned if they had even rung the right number. “We both feel totally aban-

Dun roaming

Beach crash

KING Juan Carlos will return to his former realm this weekend for the first visit since he fled into exile in Abu Dhabi in August 2020. The scandal-hit monarch will attend a yachting regatta in Galicia. He will then travel to Madrid to meet with his son King Felipe. The ex-head of state, 84, who abdicated in favour of his son in 2014 left Spain in the wake of a series of damaging financial scandals. The return comes after a judicial investigation into his secret fortune was shelved on technical grounds, despite finding that

A LORRY has plunged down a cliff onto the beach at a notorious accident blackspot on the infamous La Cala de Mijas motorway bend. The A7 that goes through the town is notoriously dangerous, and in2019 a lorry overturned, causing an 11km traffic jam. At least three lorries have ended up on the beach in the past few years, with one driver dying.

the former king had evaded more than €50 million in tax by failing to declare offshore accounts. He is still being sued in London by former mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (above), who claims he spied on her after their five-year relationship ended.

doned, and lost within a spiral of confusion, bureaucracy and data protection,” continued Adrian. “If only they’d answered their own emergency number (and we’d gone to an appropriate hospital), my wife would have been treated, in a timely manner AND without cost.” Thankfully, the Cartagena Hospital has been gracious enough to offer the Bridges a staged payment scheme which eases the financial burden. In the meantime, they hope their experience might save others from the same pain, cost and anxiety. “It’s the principle,” insisted Adrian, “they’ve just washed their hands of us, all down to their own terrible service when we needed them most.” The Olive Press has continually tried to contact the Alicante-based company with no luck. See more comments on page 10

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

May 18th - May 31st 2022

Party pooper

ROYAL CHALLENGE Sad farewell LEN PRIOR who had his ‘illegal’ home demolished by order of the Junta despite having a building licence from the town hall, has died aged 77. He and wife Helen spent 14 years living in their garage after the bulldozers flattened their Vera (Almeria) villa in 2008. The local council was eight years later ordered to pay compensation. In 2016 a law came in to protect homeowners who bought in good faith from having their homes demolished until compensation was agreed .

South bound! TRAVELLERS can finally head to Morocco again by car for the first time since before the pandemic. The borders have reopened after being shut by Covid-19 and other diplomatic tensions over the Western Sahara that started in March 2020. It comes after relations improved following a visit by Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to Rabat last month. The ferries have now relaunched routes, while the land borders with Ceuta and Melilla have also reopened.

CROWDS gathered to watch an unusual spectacle outside Madrid’s Royal Palace on Monday as the Classic All Blacks performed a ‘haka’. Feet stomping, thigh slapping and with tongues protruding the players performed the ceremonial Maori

THOUSANDS of British expats have been left unable to drive legally in Spain after the failure to strike a bilateral deal. And they are getting angrier about it, with dozens speaking out slamming the British government for betraying them. In most cases, they are longterm expats who were either wrongly informed, let down by bureaucracy or were even defrauded. They include 62-year-old Alastair Carmichael, resident in Spain for most of his life and who is now stranded in the small town of Lloreda in Cantabria and even one of our own staff Tina Brace.

dance at 12 noon in the Plaza Oriente on Madrid’s San Isidro bank holiday. The ritual dance is traditionally performed by the New Zealand national team as a challenge to their rival team ahead of the start of a rugby match.

Getting testy

Anger mounts over driving licence ‘betrayal’ for Brits in Spain despite possible deal still in the offing According to sources Spanish authorities have not agreed a deal because the UK refused to give Spain access to its vehicle owner database so it can chase up holidaymakers with unpaid driving fines. Marbella lawyer Mark Wilkins has vowed to hold the British

government to account for its inaction: “This is a preposterous position. The government would rather protect British tourist law breakers than the legitimate interests of the legally Spanish resident British population.” Wilkins, who has directly con-

OUR READERS DRIVEN TO DESPAIR We have received dozens of complaints over the past month, many insisting they have been let down by gestors and others conned

My wife has an oncology consultation on Monday. No public transport in our area,’ insisted one. ‘I haven’t a clue how I’m going to get her there.’ Another wrote: “Many people who move here are retired, have been driving for over 40 years. It is unfair to make them take a test. If it puts people off moving to Spain then Spain is losing thousands of euros every year that would be spent from UK pensions.”

The best summed it up perfectly: “There is a massive ‘black hole’ in what has happened since Brexit. Thousands of people paid good money to legal advisors to assist only to find these Spanish ‘legal experts’ didn’t understand what their own Spanish government’s directive was. Now those who fell into that ‘black hole’ are left unable to drive, while a fresh-faced tourist who passed her test a week before her holiday is deemed safe.”

tacted transport minister Grant Schapps, told the Olive Press: “We must offer a hand of cooperation to the British Government who seem paralyzed.” The British Embassy this week told the Olive Press it is still working on an agreement to allow the exchange of driving licences without the need for a Spanish test.

Swap

Since May 1, Brits resident in Spain for at least six months and hadn’t yet swapped their licences for a Spanish one can no longer legally drive here. Ambassador Hugh Elliott explained that he sympathises with the hardships caused. He said: “If your inability to drive is putting you in a very vulnerable situation, you can always contact your nearest consulate for advice.”

THE mayor of Malaga has called for a crackdown on stag and hen parties in an attempt to stop the city becoming the ‘new Magaluf’. It follows an increase in complaints from business owners and residents in the city centre about increased noise disturbance from large groups. “The council will not allow Malaga to become an uncontrolled city,” said Mayor Francisco de la Torre. He also suggested an unconventional idea to install sound level monitors inside popular tourist accommodation, although it remains unclear how this would actually work. “Anyone who comes to the city has to abide by coexistence regulations and the council will take strong action if they do not,” he said.

NEWS FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION Barking up the wrong tree IT’S hardly a secret that Spain is not a nation of animal lovers. A slew of bullfights and the sheer numbers of dogs and horses tied up in the countryside is proof of that. But when it comes to pets, it’s high time the authorities start taking proper care. While new animal rights laws were introduced last year, it will be a while before they have any teeth. The indifference to animal cruelty by police is a case in point. When a family has their beloved three-year-old pet shot by hunters on an evening stroll, it is simply not acceptable. To then fail to show any empathy and insist they do the leg-work is taking a liberty. Spain has long lagged behind countries like the UK and Germany when it comes to animal welfare, receiving a C grade from the World Animal Protection Index. As the deputy leader of Spain’s animal rights party told the Olive Press this week, hunters simply think they own the countryside and the rest of us should stay at home. These are the same people who think blocking footpaths is acceptable. The Ramblers Society was set up in the UK in 1935 to tackle issues like this. It’s about time somebody set up a similar body here.

Surely not INSURANCE companies are frequently in the firing line for their heartless treatment of claims and continual blocking of payouts. But their blatant failing of an expat couple in Murcia proves just how low they sometimes stoop. How the health insurance firm failed to help the couple after failing to answer an emergency line is shocking in the extreme. When such a firm’s entire business is based on the concept of protecting people from financial loss they simply cannot be allowed to get away with not paying a loyal customer what the time comes for a claim. It is cases like this that surely call for a review into the industry, which seems to be getting shadier by the day.

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FROM BUST TO

ASTER is the unofficial start date for the Spanish tourism season, and with hotels averaging 85% occupancy during the holy week, the year looks set to be a bumper one. The figures for April - down just 6% on 2019 - suggest that Spain is back on everyone’s bucket list this year. Yet, you use hotels rather than run them, it’s easy to forget how apocalyptic everything looked back at Easter in 2020. The president of the Spanish Hotel Association, Manuel Vegas, told me at the time: “I’ve been through the economic crisis and the Madrid train bombing, but they were phases to be endured after which we moved on. “It’s the uncertainty that is having a negative effect. However, we have to keep going for future generations. I believe we’ll get out of this. I want to be optimistic.” Two years on, and there is optimism aplenty – even a bit of swagger. It comes after a record €3.2 billion was invested in hotels last year, despite the tricky travel restrictions, further waves of Covid, and low visitor numbers. In total, 75 new hotels are set to open over the coming three years (according to TopHotelsProjects) adding another 14,225 new rooms between now and 2025. “The reaffirmation of Spain as a preferred destination for international-level hotel investment is positive,” explains Laura Hernando, boss of the hotel sector at Colliers International. And she expects it to continue at a similar level for the next few years. Super-luxurious properties are opening across the country. The launch of Barcelo’s Canfranc Estación, a Royal Hideaway Hotel, in Aragon last year is one of them, as is the 500-room Club Med resort this month in Marbella. In contrast to predictions in 2020 that a quarter of the hotels along the Costa del Sol would shut down for good, most have survived and plenty more are set to be reborn. They include Hotel Byblos, in Mijas, where the Rolling Stones and Princess Diana stayed

Spain’s hotel sector is charging back stronger and fitter post-pandemic, discovers Sorrell Downer

MODERN: inside Med Magna Marbella’s restaurant and a typical bedroom in the 1980s, soon to reopen as a Hyatt hotel called La Zambra. Then there’s the vibrant, adults only Hard Rock Marbella, which will offer visitors 385 rooms and a good time from June, as well as the five-star METT Hotel opening west of Marbella for summer. Further west look out for the newly-opened Ikos in Estepona, as well as the Silken Maravilla Palace which launches after a two-year delay nearby. Oh and Lionel Messi recently opened his sixth hotel, the MIM, in Sotogrande. By 2025 the Costa del Sol will also include the W and Four Seasons brands in Marbella. “The coast has changed enormously for the better,” believes Javier Hernandez of the AEHCOS hotel association. “International tourists will definitely notice a change for the better – not only will their perception of resorts such as Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Marbella change, but they’ll be surprised by the new level of professionalism.” His counterpart on the Costa Blanca, Toni

Sir James Goldsmith JUST as famous for his personal life than his business dealings, Goldsmith’s antics and extramarital affairs filled many column inches of the British tabloid press. The business tycoon died at a farmhouse he owned in Benahavis in July 1997 at the age of 64, with speculation his family hastily flew him to Spain to avoid paying a larger death tax. STATUS Quo were indeed rockin’ all over the world – and for almost half a century. Rhythm guitarist Parfitt was key to the band’s success, which included a record 60 UK chart hits. A drug and alcohol-fuelled lifestyle led to a triple heart bypass in 1997, but he cleaned up his act and lived until December 2016, eventually dying of sepsis in hospital in Marbella.

Mayor, from HOSBEC, feels much the same way about Benidorm: “So many hotels changed hands like the Fenicia, Rosamar and Primavera Park but they are all reopening, upgraded,” he explained. In particular, the grand old Benelux is due to reopen as Hotel Mercure Benidorm on June 1, while Pierre & Vacances is stepping in to spruce up Hotel Palm Beach. “Luckily, we had five strong years before the pandemic; not one hotel has suffered. Easter saw occupancy similar to 2019, mainly British, so we are all happy. “There’s a lot of faith in the resurrection of tourism, in the industry’s resilience.” And it’s not just beach resorts that have benefitted from multi-million investments. The rapid transformation of Madrid’s hotel

Never forgotten

Following Dennis Waterman’s death near La Manga, George Mathias remembers eight other foreign celebs who ended their days in Spain

PAIN is the retirement destination of choice for many rich and famous – and a few infamous. Inev-

itably, over the years, those big names pass on (and not always from old age). Here are 8 long gone but not forgotten:

Freddie Starr FOREVER known for the British tabloid headline ‘Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster’, the stand-up comedian and actor started out as a singer in the early 1960s before finding fame on Opportunity Knocks (winning it six times) and the Royal Variety Performance. He was found dead at his home in Mijas, Costa del Sol, in May 2019, aged 76.

Rick Parfitt

Denholm Elliott WELL-KNOWN for roles in Alfie, A Private Function, A Room with a View and the Indiana Jones films, English character actor Elliott died of Aids-related tuberculosis at his Ibiza home in Santa Eularia des Riu in October 1992, aged 70.

Bing Crosby POPULAR and prolific, Crosby made over 70 films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. The American crooner collapsed and died instantly from a massive heart attack just after finishing 18 holes of golf with Spanish golf champ Manuel Piñero at La Moraleja Golf Course in Madrid in October 1977.

Willie Thorne FAMED for his break-building, the former snooker pro and BBC commentator died aged 66 at Torrevieja Hospital on Spain’s Costa Blanca in June 2020, following a battle with leukemia.

May 18th - May 31st 2022

www.theolivepress.es

BOOM

HIP: The stunning reform of Aragon’s new Canfranc hotel landscape is breathtaking. In August 2020, 70% of hotels (including all but four of the five-star properties) were closed, with doomsayers predicting many might not make it through the crisis. That Four Seasons Madrid chose to launch one month later showed enormous faith in the bounce back ability of Spanish tourism. “Completely true,” agrees PR boss Marta Centeno. “The decision was made considering the situation of the pandemic and with all safety measures in place. It was a way to bring a ray of sunshine following the strict lockdown, some positivity to the market and to Madrid.” And while business was understandably slow for two years, this year bookings are strong. “Madrid is becoming an international hotspot and we are attracting visitors that would have never considered the city in their travel plans,” she adds.

Cilla Black CHAMPIONED by The Beatles, fellow-Liverpudlian Cilla shot to the top of the UK charts with Anyone Who Had a Heart and You’re My World in 1964. Following a long, successful singing career she became a gameshow supremo, hosting TV classics Blind Date and Surprise Surprise. The iconic star died at the age of 72, after falling at her house in Estepona on the Costa del Sol in August 2015 Roy Kinnear A FAMILIAR face on British TV, Kinnear was also a film actor, with roles in The Three Musketeers and the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. While filming The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo in September 1988, he fell off a horse, broke his pelvis and suffered internal bleeding. He was taken to hospital in Madrid but died of a heart attack the following day, aged 54.

KEEPING THE WORLD INFORMED

T was a full 12 hours before the world’s media caught up with our exclusive that police had found traces of missing toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal. Revealed by an Olive Press source, we ran it having checked first with the German prosecutor leading an investigation against prime suspect Christian Brueckner. Not only the Mail, Sun and Mirror followed it up but over the next two days, international outfits including El Pais, the Telegraph and the New Zealand Herald took up the story. But more was to follow when our story, last issue, about Brueckner being probed over five sex attacks, including one on a beach just 19 days before Maddie vanished in 2007, ended up on the Sun’s front page this Sunday (right). CHASE : In a further two-page spe- MYSTAR SEX ULT cial inside (below), our ed- ASSA ORDEAL Klopp’s kings clinch cup itor Jon Clarke was joined BRUECKNER BID TO HIDE I.D. by German investigative journalist Jutta Rabe to pen a 1,500-word piece on the state of the case. As Clarke pointed out in our last issue, Brueckner is set to be charged with at least three sex crimes in the coming weeks. The German drifter, who spent a lot of time in southern Spain and Portugal, will face the music ‘by mid-June’. Two further cases and charges over Maddie - who was abductEXCLUSIVE ed while on holiday in Praia da By JON CLARKE & Luz, age 3 - will come by the end JUTTA RABE of the year. Whether it’s crime, the enviPROSECUTORS are confident Madeleine McCann ronment or prime suspect Christian Brueckner will be charged politics, the CKNER BRUE INTO E P PROB N ON this year over her disapS CLAIM BOMBSHELL Olive Press pearance and a sex attack on another little girl. has its finIt comes after we supplied German police with a dossier ger on the of some of the evidence from our own probes into the 45-year-old monster. pulse. We have exposed gaping holes in Brueckner’s claims of innocence. Its young Our investigations found the GerPROBE man worked for a firm doing jobs at the Portugal holiday apartments team of where Madeleine went missing — and knew the place “inside out”. journalists And the convicted paedophile and rapist had dental surgery on potentially incriminating buck are probteeth just months after she disappeared from the Ocean Club in ing over a Praia da Luz in 2007. That revelation is hugely importantCUTORS as he ARE has repeatedly tried to dozen big lPROSE distance himself from a nearby MOVE ‘CONFIDENT’ OF child sex attack 19 days before ON TO ATTACK stories a lLINK Madeleine vanished aged three. DAYS BEFORE GIRL 19 On April 9, 2007, a ten-year-old German girl was playing on the month. beach at Salema — just seven SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE

Sunday, May 15, 2022

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MADDIE MONSTER IN SECRET FACE OP Hunt . . youngster

18,000 establishments around Spain would have gone bust if it hadn’t been for the ERTE, Hotspot is an understatement. The capital is the government job retention and furlow a showcase for white-hot brands and design- plan. The rise of the Spanish Staycation really helped too, he adds. ers – and they just keep coming. group that really focussed on this sector The Madrid EDITION opened in March, nearSunday, One May 15, 2022 4 ............... Puerto del Sol, with interiors by John Pawson was the Califa group with three hotels around and Ian Schrager, while Philippe Starck is Vejer, Cadiz. creating the look for Brach Madrid, to open Its boss, expat James Stewart believes the next year. And let’s not forget the Ritz just pandemic was an ideal opportunity to attract reopened looking fabulous, as Olive Press domestic tourists. “As a year round average 45% of our clients editor Jon Clarke reported this Spring. Among other upcoming attractions are the come from outside Spain, but during the panThompson Madrid and JW Marriott and plen- demic 98% of our business was from national ty more visits by Hollywood star Robert de tourism,” he explains. Niro (below) who opens a Nobu Hotel here “At first, with the municipal lockdown, the only potential clients lived locally, which was pretty next year. Meanwhile, OKU Ibiza delayed its opening by useless. But both 2020 and 2021 summers a year, but thanks to ‘bold plans’ it opened were very strong – in fact we had our busiest last year and has surpassed all expectations, summer ever last year, and that’s with no international tourism at all. despite Covid. “It was the right decision,” explains brand “We got so many new clients. The Spaniards manager Claire Morrissey. “Our first year’s who previously didn’t come are now booking s u c c e s s ahead and the Brits can’t get a room. surpassed “We had losses, but on reflection, we’ve all expecta- come out of it very well.” Another expat hotelier based in inland Cadiz tions.” But how was very pleased with the Spanish clientele was it for levels, but is most worried now about finding hoteliers try- staff. ing to work “When we reopened, it was scary,” says through the Mona Arain Crites of Hotel al Lago, in Zahara de la Sierra. “Now we are fully booked, but pandemic? Jesus Me- struggling to find the staff because people nendez, of are used to being at home. Covid is still an evHotel Mys- er-evolving problem, and it’s just hard to know tery Guest, what’s coming next.” b e l i e v e s Spain’s hotel association boss Manuel Vegas 5,000 of is feeling more hopeful, but agrees. a r o u n d “The pandemic isn’t over, but it has subsided, thank God, and, using common sense, we can move forward. “Tourism has recovered at a very significant speed, thanks to the internal drive and European tourists. We are almost at 2019 figures. “But you never know what’s next and we are always dependent on external elements that cannot be manipulated, such as the fuel crisis or Ukraine. SPLENDOUR: One of Califa group’s pools and (above) De Niro at “All that said, I remain optimistic.” the Ritz

Hotspot

APRIL 2007

Suspect Brueckner had protruding teeth at time

EXCLUSIVE By TOM WELLS

SEPTEMBER 2007 He had them straightened in dental op soon after

MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner had a facechanging op four months after she vanished, a TV investigation has found. The paedo’s jaw was reset and four distinctive “rabbit” teeth straightened in a secret visit to Continued on Page Five

BOMBSHELL CLAIMS ON N

Monster will face Maddie charges this year

Sunday, May 15, 2022 ...............

PROBE P

4 ............... Sunday, May 15, 2022

lPROSECUTORS ARE ‘CONFIDENT’ OF MOVE lLINK TO ATTACK ON GIRL 19 DAYS BEFORE

APRIL 2007

Monster will face Maddie charges this year

E-fit of buck-toothed suspect lurking near McCann pad, and Brueckner then

EXCLUSIVE

SEPTEMBER 2007 Brueckner after dental reconstruction surgery months later back in Germany

JON CLARKE & JUTTA RABE

PROSECUTORS are confident Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner will be charged this year over her disappearance and a sex attack on another little girl.

It comes after we supplied German police with a dossier of some of the evidence from the our own probes into 45-year-old monster.

in We have exposed gaping holes Brueckner’s claims of innocence. GerOur investigations found the jobs man worked for a firm doing at the Portugal holiday apartments — where Madeleine went missing out”. and knew the place “inside And the convicted paedophile on and rapist had dental surgerybuck incriminating potentially disapteeth just months after sheClub in peared from the Ocean Praia da Luz in 2007. That revelation is hugely importried to tant as he has repeatedly nearby distance himself from a before child sex attack 19 days Madeleine vanished aged three. ten-year-old a 2007, On April 9, on the German girl was playing seven beach at Salema — just man miles away — when a naked approached her. Speaking in German, the pervert pergrabbed her arm and began himself forming a sex act on parents before the girl’s horrified direcarrived and he fled in thedo Rio tion of Brueckner’s Boca beach haunt. of They gave cops a description with a young, tanned white manon his short blond hair, a bandage — and, arm, marks on his body teeth crucially, four protruding from his upper jaw. idenThe girl, now 25, has since near tified Brueckner, who lived as Praia da Luz for seven years, police — the suspect to German rabbit”. saying he looked “like a Germany Brueckner, in jail in for raping a 72-year-old American fiercely tourist in Portugal, has perv. denied he was the beach stems But perhaps his confidence from knowing he had drastically after. changed his appearance soon For we can reveal he secretly Lisbon flew back to Germany from denin September 2007 for major surgery. tal reconstruction his His teeth were repaired and in jaw reset at a private clinic typiWuerzburg, Bavaria — an op euros. cally costing around 9,000 this The German police have now evidence and prosecutors are over confident he will be charged the Salema case — and Madeleine’s. The Sun has previously reported an FBIan e-fit drawn up by 2008 also trained artist in January showed a suspect with prominent “sticking out” teeth. the He was seen lurking neartimes McCanns’ apartment three Police on the night she vanished. down later claimed to have tracked and ruled out the suspect. ChrisGerman prosecutor Hans he tian Wolters told us last week to proshas “everything he needs” referring was He ecute Brueckner. girl but to the case of the German also to Madeleine. that We can also today disclose will he prosecutors have told us charges “definitely” face further and early “between the end of May

Brueckner knew each and every apartment at Ocean Club — FRIEND WHO WORKED AT HOLIDAY COMPLEX

We have everything we need to prosecute Brueckner — WHAT PROSECUTOR TOLD INVESTIGATORS

Scene . . . holiday complex where Madeleine vanished

Hunt goes on . . . Madeleine was three when she went missing in Portugal in 2007

serfiend worked for a technical jobs vice company that often did at the holiday complex. apart“He knew each and every inside ment. He knew the locationtold us. June”. out, he knew the locks,” he tools They also include the alleged tour “He was very good with as abduction and rape of Irish and machines and had trained rep Hazel Behan and indecent at an a car mechanic. He often mounted veranexposure to four children canopies on balconies and Algarve play park in 2017. at the Ocean Club.” have Meanwhile, other sourcesto the das But the former office administrada Luz linked Brueckner further tor, who lived near Praia Ocean Club. for 25 years, had “no suspicions had One old friend, whose identity him in about him.” He added: “He we we are protecting, first met the this lovely girlfriend Silke and Portugal in 1995. He revealed

miles away — when a naked man approached her. Speaking in German, the pervert grabbed her arm and began performing a sex act on himself before the girl’s horrified parents arrived and he fled in the direction of Brueckner’s Boca do Rio beach haunt. They gave cops a description of a young, tanned white man with short blond hair, a bandage on his arm, marks on his body — and, crucially, four protruding teeth from his upper jaw. The girl, now 25, has since identified Brueckner, who lived near Praia da Luz for seven years, as the suspect to German police — saying he looked “like a rabbit”. Brueckner, in jail in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal, has fiercely denied he was the beach perv. But perhaps his confidence stems from knowing he had drastically changed his appearance soon after. For we can reveal he secretly flew back to Germany from Lisbon in September 2007 for major dental reconstruction surgery. His teeth were repaired and his jaw reset at a private clinic in Wuerzburg, Bavaria — an op typically costing around 9,000 euros. The German police have this evidence and prosecutors are now confident he will be charged over the Salema case — and Madeleine’s. The Sun has previously reported an e-fit drawn up by an FBItrained artist in January 2008 also showed a suspect with prominent “sticking out” teeth. He was seen lurking near the McCanns’ apartment three times on the night she vanished. Police later claimed to have tracked down and ruled out the suspect. German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told us last week he has “everything he needs” to prosecute Brueckner. He was referring to the case of the German girl but also to Madeleine. We can also today disclose that prosecutors have told us he will “definitely” face further charges “between the end of May and early June”. They also include the alleged abduction and rape of Irish tour rep Hazel Behan and indecent exposure to four children at an Algarve play park in 2017. Meanwhile, other sources have linked Brueckner further to the Ocean Club. One old friend, whose identity we are protecting, first met him in Portugal in 1995. He revealed the

the enquiry is closed.” 2007 — the night moment, they pursued the evidence, twice. Mr ning of May 3, vanished — telling her Had discovered find it viewed her at length have would police are still in touch. I still done so Wolters told us last week: “She Madeleine perfectly he was “on a long journey”. had Brueckner, then 30, almost hard to believe that he has doesn’t trouble us at all.” investigaAppalling police blunders many bad things.” potentially matched the description. During our painstaking in or television British that prevented him from bars before At the time, he often stayed week, Last tions, we have established being behind Boca do Rio in his VW investigator Mark Williams-Thomas prosecutors have checked every one already from Rothley, Leics, around girlfriends. the McCanns, Westfalia camper van. said he was convinced Brueckner and case. of Brueckner’s former in Portugal 15 years ago. Instead, no action was taken had an alibi in the Madeleineclaims “None could give a clear testi- arrived days after the sickening Five disappeared soon after. Mr Wolters dismissed his agree. police captain Madeleine mony,” one source told us. lived indecent exposure, a Brueckner was not questioned within 24 hours — and we One ex, Nicole Fehlinger,over a dismissed pursuing the suspect. is a incident. Brueckner’s supposed alibi have about eitherand with him on and off forprison in Jon Clarke are working on a In his report, which we l JUTTA Rabe of into 17-year-old German holidaymaker looking documentary in a year after he got out 2006 follow- exclusively obtained, he writes: “As television and Madeleine’s disappearance. Jon’s book, My whom he claims to have been Portugal in December there is nothing more to report relationship with at the time. of carrying Search For Madeleine, is available on Amazon ing a sentence for theft. had there is no possibility We can today reveal German the and as an audio book. She told German police he exisany due diligence at police have known about her inter- actually called her during the eve- out have and tence for years

Continued from Page One a private dental clinic in Germany. He flew from Portugal, where he was living close to the scene of Madeleine’s May 2007 disappearance, to his homeland for the op that September with the global hunt for the three-year-old at its peak. Soon after, a sketch by an FBI-trained artist showed a man with protruding teeth who had been seen lurking near the McCanns’ holiday apartment in Praia da Luz. And a girl subjected to a sickening indecent exposure nearby — 19 days before Madeleine went missing — also told cops of the culprit’s “sticking out teeth”. Sources said he later renewed his German passport before flying back to Portugal after the estimated £7,500 op In another twist, a new witness revealed Brueckner knew the hols complex where Madeleine vanished “inside out” after working there as an odd-job man. The bombshell evidence was uncovered by two investigative TV film-makers now liaising closely with prosecutors. dismantle they Today Brueckner’s defence — and set out why prosecutors are convinced he is their man. The fiend, 45, is currently languishing in a German jail for another sex crime. Journalists Jon Clarke and Jutta Rabe, who has worked for German channel SAT1, today write in The Sun on Sunday he is likely to face charges for the vile exposure incident — and in relation to Madeleine’s case German “The said: They prosecutor told us he has everything he needs to prosecute Brueckner.”

Please get in touch if you have a story at newsdesk@theolivepress.es

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

dies after cliff dive on Spain’s Mallor1-caTourist takes tragic twist with girlfriend recording it on phone Calima Sahara sand: Calima 2- Carry onreturns to Spain’s Andalucia EXCLUSIVE: €10.000 a year expat school 3-forced to close doors after stinging inspection These four seaside towns are officially the 4-sunniest in Spain and they’re not on the Costa del Sol Hunt goes on . . . Madeleine was three when she went missing in Portugal in 2007

fiend worked for a technical service company that often did jobs at the holiday complex. “He knew each and every apartment. He knew the location inside out, he knew the locks,” he told us. “He was very good with tools and machines and had trained as a car mechanic. He often mounted canopies on balconies and verandas at the Ocean Club.” But the former office administrator, who lived near Praia da Luz for 25 years, had “no suspicions about him.” He added: “He had this lovely girlfriend Silke and we

are still in touch. I still find it hard to believe that he has done so many bad things.” Last week, British television investigator Mark Williams-Thomas said he was convinced Brueckner had an alibi in the Madeleine case. Mr Wolters dismissed his claims within 24 hours — and we agree. Brueckner’s supposed alibi is a 17-year-old German holidaymaker whom he claims to have been in a relationship with at the time. We can today reveal German police have known about her existence for years and have inter-

Dennis Waterman dies 5- Legendary TVatactor home in Spain

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viewed her Wolters told doesn’t troub During our tions, we h prosecutors h of Brueckne “None could mony,” one s One ex, N with him on year after he Portugal in D ing a senten She told G actually calle

GREEN

www.theolivepress.es

May 18th - May 31st 2022

Breath of air By Kimberley Mannion

MADRID’S Royal Botanic Gardens have been given a makeover with investment from Chanel. The design house restored the Botanic Gardens’ rose garden in 2021, which is home to 140 different types of roses, and this year will fund the introduction of nine new species of rose as well as pay for new courses for students. The gardens are viewed as a key ‘green lung’ for the capital, helping improve air quality and the lives of local residents.

Train

Thanks to Chanel, courses on the ‘Installation and maintenance of gardens and green areas’ and the ‘management and maintenance of trees and ornamental plants’ will train people between the ages of 18 to 24 for careers in the field. Another two courses will be funded on medicinal and aromatic plants, as well as a perfume workshop in the gardens’ Quercus school. The Royal Botanic Gardens have recently fully reopened after several of the gardens’ points of interest were restored including the gates, arbours and 30 decorative fountains.

Cultural

Work began almost a year ago after areas classified as Assets of Cultural Interest (BICs), such as the Puerta del Rey and sections of Paseo del Prado were found to be deteriorating. Funding to repair the green site came from the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda’s program for Historical Heritage Conservation and the government’s Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).

Chanel helps to restore Madrid’s ‘green lung’

The Gardens have been a feature of UNESCO’s World Heritage List since July 2021, and those involved in its management emphasise its significance to science and botany in Spain.

KITTY KILLERS

SPANISH scientists have labelled cats as killers and are opposing a new Bill that would protect feral moggies. A letter signed by Spanish scientists from several universities and institutions calls cats ‘the most damaging invasive predator for biodiversity’. Based on their research, predation by cats beats hunting and cars as a killer of small animals and birds, particularly on the Balearic and Canary Islands. The scientists have criticised a government Bill intended to grant protection to groups of feral cats, replacing slaughter, which has eradicated populations, with fertility control. The group fear this could lead to even larger groups of cats roaming Spain and having a negative effect on biodiversity.

The many excuses for inaction are putting us in trouble

PROMISES LIE IN TATTERS

‘

THE bottom line is we’re in trouble’. This was the harrowing statement by US climate envoy John Kerry. Just six months on from COP-26 in Glasgow, promises and commitments made by the world’s leaders lie in tatters. Regular readers of this column are familiar with the need to restrict global warming to less than 1.5C by the end of this century. That’s 78 years away. According to a UN report, the world is on track to warm by 3.2C this century.

footballer in the 1970s). In 1973 a waiter was delivering champagne and caviar to a hotel room. He opens the door to see George Best lying on the bed with his girlfriend (the then Miss World), surrounded by piles of cash he had won in the casino the previous night. The newspapers of the time were focusing on his drop in form on the pitch. The waiter, seeing his idol surrounded by empty champagne bottles, cash and Miss World asked... “So, Bestie, where did it all go wrong?”

BIG TROUBLE FOR PLANET EARTH The consequences of our collective inaction will result in unprecedented heatwaves, widespread water shortages, terrifying storms, death and destruction of human life and nature. When COP-26 President Alok Sharma closed the gathering in Glasgow, he claimed the conference was a ‘fragile win’ for the world. Fragile means easily breakable. The agreed target was to keep warming to a maximum of 1.5C by 2100. The United Kingdom’s Met Office researchers say that it is a 50/50 chance that the world will warm by more than 1.5C in the next five years!

The reasons for government inaction are many. Vladimir Putin’s insane invasion of Ukraine has led to disruption in global fossil fuel supplies. This is good news long term for the world, as it has accelerated plans to deploy more renewable energy - wind , solar etc, much faster than originally planned. But it is bad news in the short term as we return to increased use of coal and gas to fuel our energy-hungry way of life. It’s sad to see some countries placing higher importance on securing alternatives to Russian oil and gas supplies than reducing carbon emissions.

Let me lighten the mood for a moment. ‘WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?’ A famous and humorous quotation popularised by an incident involving George Best (the most famous

Sadly the reasons for our climate’s destruction are not funny.

NOT ENOUGH FINANCIAL SUPPORT In 2021, developed countries committed to $100 billion of annual aid to help fight carbon emissions. Apart from my own view that this is nowhere near enough (too little, too late), the UK government recently stated that this will not be achieved in 2022 but it was confident the target would be hit by 2023. Talk about kicking the problem down the road… Developing countries, without necessary investment, continue to harm the world’s environment.

Green

WARNING: John Kerry says we are in trouble India is a prime example. Desperate to grow its economy, demand continues to surge. Coal India, the world’s largest coal miner, has increased production by more than 15% and it’s still not enough to supply local demand. Power outages are regular. Earlier than expected, searing heatwaves in April (global warming….no surprise) pushed up demand for electricity to record levels. How is the electricity produced? COAL. What does burning coal do? DESTROYS THE ENVIRONMENT. (India’s coal is high in ash - 35% more, which makes it highly polluting.) Some100,000 Indians die every year through coal emissions according to Greenpeace. GOVERNMENTS FINANCIAL PRIORITIES HAVE CHANGED Sad but true. As the world faces the absurd actions of the lunatic Putin, finances have had to be diverted to funding an unnecessary war effort. This avoidable, futile and needless war results in killing not only human life, but also the environment.

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

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LETTERS

May 18th - May 31st 2022

MAJOR PROBLEMS

The disruption caused by Brits no longer being able to drive legally with their UK licences is causing more and more problems, though Olive Press readers’ sympathy is not evenly spread…

s, Dear Olive Pres

d I applied for MY husband an but did not reresidency in 2020 ents until March ceive our docum later and did not s th 2021 six mon until May 2021. receive our TIE d a meeting with Our abogada ha Alzira in Decemour town hall in were assured all ber 2020 and weuld be sorted in the licences wo t of course they March 2021, bu s Spain taken weren’t. Why ha20 other Eurothis stance whenhave come to an pean countries Spanish citizens agreement and driving in the have no problem UK? s and like many We are in our 70live near shops. others do not help and do not Please someone litical gain. abandon us for po y, Brenda Beesle d lie pp su s es dr ad Name and

I FIND it difficult to believe the British government’s explanation for the delay to rule changes that allow a straightforward swap of licences. The delay is caused by the UK’s refusal to allow access to the DVLA database. This is bizarre since the UK has access to Spanish driving licence holders’ details. How do I know? When I was in the UK in winter, I was given two parking fines for my Spanish campervan left on my relatives door mat addressed to me and referencing my Spanish licence details.

Ignorance is not bliss THE driving licence saga is nothing but sheer ignorance. I have no sympathy for anyone who has lived in Spain for more than 2 years and has not replaced their UK licence. I have been living in Spain for 18 years and when I had decided to remain here after two years I exchanged my UK licence for a Spanish one which expired on the date my UK licence ran out, it was a piece of cake. David Young, name and address supplied

Letter of the law I HAVE no sympathy for those who cannot follow simple instructions. Do not blame the consul or the embassy, they gave out information which was correct. When in Rome etc etc. This is Spain - abide by the Law and enjoy! Roy Davies, via Facebook

OLIVE PRESS

The FREE GERMAN police investigating the ance of Madeleine McCann have disappearannounced they have found new evidence in the There are suggestions this may be case. a discovery of fibres from Winnie the Pooh pyjamas in a vehicle driven by the prime suspect Christian Brueckner, the very pyjamas Maddie was wearing on that fateful night 15 years ago. A Portuguese investigator has revealed that it is one of many different clues that finger directly at the convicted sex point the offender. Journalist Sandra Felgueiras announced the discovery on prime time Portuguese television. “I am certain Brueckner did Portuguese police know he workedit and the accomplice,” she told the Olive Press. with an Her SABADO investigation on the CMTV nel managed to establish that the main chanis a ‘trace of the English girl found evidence by German police inside the motorhome he drove in 2007’.

COSTA BLANCA

Vol. 3 Issue 80

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Come and get inspired!

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Jávea · Altea

May 5th - May 18th 2022

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MADDIE MCCANN 15TH ANNIVERSAR Y SPECIAL

Maddie alibi trashed

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters refused to confirm or deny this week that a DNA link had By Jon Clarke been discovered in the VW van. However, he may have also been large Winnebago - the first of two driving a could not confirm it ‘because the suspect - that he ac- not has quired around the time. And he was yet been informed’. also driv- The ing a dark Jaguar. infamous yellow and white van of the original appeal put out in a was part It’s not clear at this stage exactly what traces German bombshell were found in which vehicle. police appeal in June 2020. Neither Wolters or Felgueiras would be drawn further on it, today. Missing But, he explained to Felgueiras - who investigating the case since May 2007has been It was photographed parked alongside Barran- that he co beach, near Praia da Luz, where three-year-

SUSPECT: Brueckner with the VW camper old Maddie went missing while on holiday on May 3, exactly 15 years ago. The van, which Brueckner had borrowed from a German mechanic friend, had been ‘a potential dummy run’ along the taken on Costa del Sol to Almeria from Portugal just weeks before Maddie went missing. “It was him. He is guilty,” Felgueiras said. “The key point is that Wolters doesn’t deny it.”

TESTING TIMES By George Mathias

who simply forgot to swap their licence in time. “Many people who I have spoken to received false assurances by legal representatives that their interest to swap their UK licence for a Spanish one had been registered on their behalf before the December 2020 deadline.” But in reality it appears the registrations were never made. Parmenter, who is in oﬃce in San Fulgencio, added: “Now they are suﬀering the consequences. These people have been badly let down.” He echoed the advice that has been consistently given by the British embassy that if anyone needs to drive in Spain, they should immediately start the process to book their theory and practical test and not wait for a breakthrough in negotiations. Alastair Carmichael, (pictured left) who has lived in Spain for over 40 years, is now stranded

PROBLEM: Cllr Parmenter says people have been let down in the small town of Lloreda in Cantabria as he didn’t renew his licence. “I am absolutely screwed,” he said. “I have lived here for 40 years and don’t consider myself an expat.” Carmichael, 62 and originally from Sussex, runs the Carmichael Alonso Libros bookshop.

on a UK licence but a resident, morning I was fined €200. It was this my understanding that I could still drive on my UK licence until October 31 but apparently not,” he said on Facebook. Some reactions on social media were less than sympathetic. Rebecca Grimes on Facebook said: Foul “I am 6km from the nearest shop “To be fair we did have about two years warning to change for a Spanish and 30km from my bank. I don’t derstand why an agreement can’tun- licence as a resident.” be The UK has an agreement struck, it’s not rocket science!” with all other EU member states on driving Elsewhere, Brit Stephan Bramley ported what is surely one of the fire- licenses allowing Brits to swap their fines handed out for falling foul of rst UK licence for that of the country they the reside in. law change: “For those still driving Spaniards living in the UK are also permitted to swap their Spanish driving licence for a UK one. Tory MP Ian DunPLUMBING & AIR CONDITIONING cain-Smith SPECIALISTS publicly

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criticised the news: “It’s a case of ‘mañana, mañana’ it’s time [the Spanish government] pull their ﬁnger out and do what they agreed,” he said. Negotiations between the UK and Spanish government are still ongoing, but it is impossible to predict when, if ever, a deal will be struck. The average cost of passing a Spanish test, according to autobild.es, ranges from €600 - €2000, varying wildly depending on the region and on driving experience. Were you ‘falsely’ registered with the authorities by a gestor and have now missed your chance to swap your UK licence for a Spanish one? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es

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Editor’s note: We thank all our readers for their letters this week. We are keen to emphasise that while there are instances of people who just simply couldn’t be bothered to renew, there are countless examples of those who faced the barrier of Spanish bureaucracy, received poor legal advice or simply moved to Spain after the transition period. It is in those people’s interest that we continue to push for an agreement to allow thousands of Brits to drive in Spain just as Spaniards can currently do in the UK.

GETTING my licence sorted via the DGT in Girona was a breeze. They took my UK licence and gave me a cover note, sent me to an office where I had a brief medical, eye and hearing test and looked at my medical prescription. I gave the office €60 and went back to the DGT with the results, gave them some more money and a day later I queued up to receive my Spanish licence. Michael Gare, name and address supplied

OP QUICK CROSSWORD 1

Your

Time up for UK driving licence as grace period ends and ﬁnes holders already handed out THOUSANDS of Brits across Spain are now unable to drive after an tension period that allowed Britsexuse their British driving licence to in Spain ended on Saturday. It means that British residents who have been living in Spain for more than six months are forbidden from driving with a UK licence. The news is expected to impact tens of thousands of Brits living in Spain and also applies to anyone holding a Gibraltarian licence. Darren Parmenter, a councillor on the Costa Blanca, told the Olive Press: “I understand people’s frustration. Everyone was expecting the deadline to be extended again.” Parmenter revealed he has had a lot of calls from concerned constituents, and it is far from just those

Diane Shenton, Almeria

Cruise control

OP SUDOKU

Snail’s pace

Missing the point

Across 1 Change phases for circles and squares, for example (6) 5 What the ladies of the harem of the court of King Caractacus do (4,2) 8 Extirpated (8) 9 Immense (4) 10 Journey (4) 11 Withdraws (5,3) 12 Bounder (3) 13 Film format (1,1,1) 14 “Can’t Help Lovin’ --Man” (Kern/Hammerstein song) (3) 15 One or the other (6,2) 18 Royal house of Riyadh (4) 19 Right to keep possession until a debt is paid (4) 20 Looks up (8) 21 Words for numbers? (6) 22 Set sail (6) Down 2 Excessive restlessness (13) 3 Shored (7) 4 Suddenly took notice (3,2) 5 Went canoeing (7) 6 Goalie’s achievements (5) 7 Mixed suet, but critic runs amok in the kitchen (7,6) 13 Oversees productions (7) 14 Unsettle (7) 16 --- Matisse (5) 17 Continuous stretch of building (5)

All solutions are on page 14

LA CULTURA

Nice touch

THE Museum of Malaga is hosting the exhibition Hoy toca el Padro, which features tactile reproductions of six paintings from different pictorial genres. The aim of this initiative is to bring the world of culture closer to those who are visually impaired. The paintings that form part of this project are The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest by El Greco, Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan by Diego Velázquez, The Parasol by Francisco de Goya, Still Life with Flowers, Artichokes, Cherries and Glassware by Juan van der Hamen and Noli me tangere by Correggio. All the tactile reproductions of these works are made using the Dürer Studies Didou Technique, which consists of printing two-dimensional images with six different levels of relief a n d t e x tures, end on June 3.

May 18th - May 31st 2022

MOVE OVER PICASSO

Warhol pic of Marilyn Monroe pricier than Picasso’s most expensive work

PABLO Picasso has lost his place as creator of the 20th Century’s most expensive work of art. Andy Warhol’s iconic picture of Marilyn Monroe has been sold at auction for $195 million (€184.7 million) in New York.

Record

This was not only a record price for an American artist’s work but also beat the $179.5 million (€170 million at today’s exchange rate) paid for Picasso’s Women of Algiers (1955) in 2015. This had made it the most expensive piece of 20th-century art – until Marilyn was put under the hammer. Despite the whopping amount paid, it did not

By Dilip Kuner

quite meet the €200 million estimate Christies had put on it. The enormous price tag is good news for several charities. Cash from the sale of the silk-screen painting will fund several projects to help children. Titled Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964), it is one of four made by Warhol featuring Marilyn and was completed two years after

her death. Picasso’s Women of Algiers focused on his second wife Jacqueline Roque and was created as an homage to his friend and rival, Henri Matisse. The work was part of a series that Picasso began in 1954, shortly after the Nationalist uprising in Algeria against French rule. It had previously fetched ‘just’ €31.9 million (€30.25 million) when auctioned in 1997.

Queening it up

A ONE million euro mural inspired by Puerto Banus and designed by British luxury designer Debbie Wingham has been unveiled in the marina for the summer of 2022. The maritime-themed mural adds to her portfolio, which includes a €50m wedding cake, €17m Muslim abaya mantal, and an €11.9m Christmas tree, and has earned her the reputation of being the ‘queen of the most expensive’. Wingham claims that Puerto Banus’s rich history and her appreciation of nautical life came together to inspire the project. The work will remain in place all summer to be admired by tourists attracted to Marbella’s sense of luxury and prestige, with an estimated 2 million visitors expected during the mural’s period of display. SPAIN is home to three of Europe’s most highly rated free art galleries, a new survey has found. The findings, published by online learning centre The Knowledge Academy, ranked the Museo de Malaga as the 4th best in the world. The gallery has works from Francisco de Goya, Pablo Picasso, and Luis de Morales all on show for free as part of the museum’s 2,000 strong collection of fine art. The Cathedral de Santa Maria in Murcia was 12th best on the list. The 13th century building is comprised of three portals awash with sculptures.

Playing to the gallery The central one is a homage to the Virgin Mary, the left one dedicated to San Gil and the right one to the Final Judgement and Saint James. The Museum of Cadiz came in at number 27, with work by Francisco de Zurbaran, Bartolome Esteban Murillo and Peter Paul Rubens. Top of the list was London’s the Wallace Collection, which features fine art from the 15th to 19th centuries.

952 147 834

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25/1/22 16:49

LA CULTURA

May 18th - May 31st 2022

WE BINGE RIGHT IN

Narcos 1

11 Spanish language shows on Netflix that make reading subtitles worth the pain

SET in Latin America, Narcos is the smash hit dramatisation of the rise of the Colombian cocaine trade in the late 80s. The first two seasons focus on evil but charismatic drug lord Pablo Escobar and the efforts of the CIA agents and Colombian law enforcement agencies to find him. No spoilers, but after three brilliant seasons, Narcos leaves Escobar behind and moves on to semi-fictionalised story of the drug trade in Mexico for a further three seasons. It is edge of seat stuff with a great theme tune.

Jaguar

PANISH crime drama Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) has proved a big hit with English speaking audiences around the world. Telling the story of the biggest heist in Spain’s history, when billions were stolen from the Bank of Spain, audiences were so gripped they were happy to follow the action by reading the subtitles. Watching Spanish TV is a great way for anyone trying to learn the language to pick up new words and phrases – but it doesn’t have to feel like you’re back in school. Here is our Top 11 of shows that are great in their own right. All are in Spanish with English subtitles and available on Netflix.

NOT wildlife, but a good watch for anyone interested in Spain’s history, Jaguar is set in Francoist Spain and delves into the country’s murky past as a haven for Nazis fleeing Germany. The plot follows a Spanish survivor of Mauthausen concentration camp who had been forced as a child to work as a maid in the household of a Nazi responsible for killing her father. We fast forward to the 1960s to find her teamed up a group of Nazi hunters and seeking revenge.

Valeria NOW for romance: Valeria centres on a writer who, feeling something is missing in her work and personal life, turns to three female friends who guide her through the problematic areas of love, friendship and jealousy, and give her hope for the future. The hugely successful first season of this rom-com premiered in 2020, followed by a second in 2021. Fans will be happy to know a third series is currently in the works.

Ingobernable SET in Mexico, Ingobernable focuses on a fictional First Lady as her husband attempts to govern the country. As the title suggests, plenty of murder and domestic abuse at the top of Mexico’s political system makes his job tricky. Even advanced Spanish speakers might find the subtitles useful for this one as it is full of fruity Mexican slang. Interestingly, some of Kate del Castillo’s performance as First Lady was filmed in the US because she was wanted at the time by Mexican authorities for having met with drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman while he was on the run.

Elite

4 5

A teen-thriller anyone can watch, Elite is set in Spain. Three working class teenagers win scholarships for a top private school, and class clashes with their new peers ensue. Addictive and pretty low-brow, this series is a guilty pleasure. During the course of the five seasons, you’ll also have a great opportunity to spot locations and pick up lots of new Spanish youth slang.

LA CULTURA

May 18th - May 31st 2022

Brigada Costa del Sol

La Casa de las Flores

BACK to Mexico again, though this time for something lighter. A comedy-drama, it follows a dysfunctional upper-class family who owns a florist shop and a struggling cabaret club – both called House of Flowers. It has been dubbed the ‘millennial telenovela’ and deals with themes of homophobia, transphobia and race. Three seasons of the show are available, and Netflix premiered the follow-up feature-length film in 2021.

A police detective series set in the 1970s, Brigada Costa del Sol centres around a group of detectives chosen to set up a special drug-fighting unit on a limited budget. Based in Torremolinos and around the Costa del Sol, it should provide a bit of nostalgia for older British expats. The antics seem crazy but the plot is based on the true story of one of Spain’s first anti-narcotic squads.

Las Chicas del Cable

A Spanish period drama about four young women starting a job in a spanking modern telecommunications company in Madrid in the 1920s. The five seasons of Cable Girls follow their blossoming friendships, and the new level of independence working gives them in the old-fashioned and male-dominated Spain of the time.

Sky Rojo One to get on soon with the third and final season scheduled for release in 2022 is Sky Rojo. The series centres on three women working at a brothel united by a fatal turn of events on a wild run from their pimp and his henchmen. The gripping series comes from the same creators as Money Heist.

Paquita Salas 9

DESCRIBED as an ‘escapist watch’, White Lines is set in the rave scene of Ibiza, with some scenes shot in Manchester. The dramatic plot follows the murder of Manchester-born DJ Axel Collins whose body is found, two decades later, on the property of the wealthiest family in Ibiza. From the creators of Money Heist, Heist, a gripping storyline and authentic club scenes will keep British viewers especially hooked. The characters are mostly expats and the show’s dialogue switches between Spanish and English – so you don’t have to concentrate quite so hard.

Paquita Salas is a bit of a has-been in her industry. As one of Spain’s biggest talent agents in the 90s, she has now lost most of her big stars. The light-hearted comedy series follows Paquita as she tries to rebuild her life and career whilst stuck in her old-fashioned ways.

White Lines 11

BUSINESS

SPAIN’S government has said it might reduce speed limits in order to save energy as Russian oil and gas exports are cut. Teresa Ribera, the minister of Ecological Transition has also said it will urge people to drive less, turn down heating and use public transport if the situation has not improved by winter. In an interview with RTVE, Rivera insisted that there was a high probability of a reduction in the maximum speed for cars, in line with a recommendation from the International Agency of Energy. In 2011 the maximum speed on motorways was cut from 120kph to 110kph for four months in response to fuel shortages during the Arab Spring.

King-size factory THE King of Spain was on hand to oversee the opening of a new hydrogen plant by Spanish utility company Iberdrola. The new plant will generate up to 3,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. The facilities at the site also include a state-of-the-art solar farm and will cost over €150 million. It is the largest facility of its kind in Europe.

A NEW initiative to convince media giants to create film and TV productions in Spain has been launched by Queen Letizia. She chaired a meeting between representatives of Spain’s film and TV sector and around 40 companies and producers from the US in an attempt to schmooze and promote Spain as the ideal place to make content. The meeting follows a wider aim by the government to boost Spain’s media sector, which has been given a €2 billion cash injection to try and increase audiovisual productions by 30% by 2025. In addition, members of the American Society of Cinematographers visited the Canary Islands, and Sevilla, which has previously been used as a set for Game of Thrones and Star Wars. During the meeting industry professionals pitched Spain as

May 18th - May 31st 2022

ACTION! FEEL THE FORCE: Sevilla was a film set for Attack of the Clones

By George Mathias

the ideal filming location, owing to its weather and low tax incentives.

Alongside the Queen, Reyes Maroto, the minister for industry, trade and tourism and the United States Ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reyno-

OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword Across: 1 Shapes, 5 Pass by, 8 Uprooted, 9 Vast, 10 Trip, 11 Pulls out, 12 Cad, 13 D V D, 14 Dat, 15 Either or, 18 Saud, 19 Lien, 20 Consults, 21 Lyrics, 22 Embark. Down: 2 Hyperactivity, 3 Propped, 4 Sat up, 5 Paddled, 6 Saves, 7 Biscuit cutter, 13 Directs, 14 Disturb, 16 Henri, 17 Range.

VOLATILE TIMES T

GBP/EUR exchange rates plunges after bleak BoE predictions, writes FX specialist Peter Loveday

HE pound to euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate tumbled through the first half of May as the UK’s economic outlook darkened, causing markets to pare back Bank of England (BoE) rate hike expectations. GBP/EUR plunged three cents from over €1.19 to €1.16, before rebounding to around €1.17.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING? During the first week of May, the BoE’s interest rate decision triggered a sharp sell-off in the pound, causing GBP/EUR to tumble to a five-month low. Although the bank raised rates by 25 bps, with three policymakers voting for a steeper rise, it also said it expects inflation to peak at over 10% in autumn and warned that there is a risk of recession. In response, traders pared back their bets for further rate rises. It now seems as though the BoE is close to pausing its rate hike cycle. In the wake of hawkish rhetoric from some European Central Bank (ECB) officials, this helped the euro rise. Investors now expect the gap between ECB and BoE policy to narrow through the second part of 2022. The pound euro pair then wavered. Energy fears weighed on EUR after Ukraine cut some Russian gas supplies to Europe due to ‘interference’, while the UK’s cost-of-living crisis kept Sterling subdued. Brexit tensions flared up as the UK threatened to scrap the Northern Ireland protocol, causing the pound euro pair to briefly slip to a seven-month low. However, GBP/EUR quickly rebounded, despite a contraction in UK GDP in March. With Finland and Sweden formally requesting to join Nato, Russia warned of retaliation. This reminder that the Russia-Ukraine war could quickly escalate weighed heavily on the euro. What do you need to look out for? A number of high-impact data releases are due out over the coming fortnight. In particular, the UK CPI on Wednesday could have a big effect on the pound. Economists expect UK inflation to jump from 7% to 8.9%.

Bogus brokers

Queen Letizia launches bid to make Spain a cinema superpower

SUDOKU

14 Cuts ahead

so were also in full woo mode. The royal is known to have a keen interest in film and is often spotted at film premieres and festivals. Following the events she had separate meetings with the World Red Cross as well as a visit to the town of Pinofranqueado with husband King Felipe. Spanish TV and film have exploded in popularity in recent years, with series’ such as Money Heist among the most widely streamed in the world.

A GANG of 21 swindlers offering big returns on stock market investments has been arrested. They made €6 million out of a bogus brokerage which was advertised via the internet. Police said they had got over 130 complaints about the gang. Investigations started 18 months ago when a victim reported that he had been scammed out of nearly €700,000. Investors were reeled in via a brokerage website offering the chance to get quick returns on the stock market. The fraudsters even offered real-time information to clients suggesting that the value of their investments had plunged dramatically to cover up what they were really up to. Most of the cash was converted to cryptocurrency and then distributed among the gang members. Arrests were made in Madrid, Barcelona, Guadalajara and Toledo.

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With the BoE likely to resist aggressive rate hikes in the face of an economic recession, this high reading could hurt Sterling. The latest flash PMIs for the eurozone and the UK are also potentially market-moving releases, as investors will use these business-activity snapshots to gauge the health of the relative economies. Aside from economic data, fears around the UK’s cost-of-living crisis may continue creating headwinds for the pound, as could any big Brexit developments. For the euro, news around the Ukraine crisis may drive some movement. Any negative developments, such as an escalation of violence, would likely weigh on the single currency. PROTECTING AGAINST VOLATILITY This kind of volatility can cause some nasty surprises if you need to transfer money overseas. On a £200,000 transfer, that three-cent gap between €1.19 and €1.16 translates to a €6000 difference. And the larger the sum, the higher the discrepancy. Fortunately, there are ways that you can protect against volatility. Specialist currency brokers, such as Currencies Direct, offer different tools to help you navigate the ups and downs of the currency market. For instance, you can use a forward contract to secure an exchange rate for up to a year. This way, you won’t lose out if the market moves against you. Services like rate alerts and daily updates make it easy to keep track of what’s going on in the forex world so that you can make informed decisions. And with Currencies Direct you’ll have a dedicated account manager there to provide guidance and support whenever you need them. At Currencies Direct we’re here to talk currency whenever you need us, so get in touch if you want to know more about the latest news or how it could impact your currency transfers. Since 1996 we’ve helped more than 325,000 customers with their currency transfers, just pop into your local Currencies Direct branch or give us a call to find out more.

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PROPERTY

SALES of hotels in Spain have reached their highest number in 10 years. Over the first three months of 2022, €995 million was spent on hotels in the Spanish property market, according to new figures from Cbre Data. The sum is more than triple that of the same period last year as well as being the highest figure in a decade. Data shows that 37 hotels and 5,042 rooms were purchased during this period, compared to 11 hotels and 643 rooms over the same period of 2021.

Booming sales Rents up Of the hotels bought this year, 19 were four star establishments and six were five star. The areas where most investments were made were the Baleares at 24% of the total, followed by Madrid at 22%, with the Canarias and Barcelona tying in third at 15%. Director of hotels at Cbre Data, Jorge Ruiz, said: “Two years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hotel sector is taking off again thanks to the return of tourism and the consequent increase in demand.”

PROPERTY OF THE WEEK EX

V SI

May 18th - May 31st 2022

VIRGIN HOTEL

Sir Richard Branson to open new resort in Mallorca BRITISH entrepreneur Richard Branson is to restore a 15th century finca into a luxury hotel resort in Mallorca. His Son Bunyola Estate is being redeveloped into a 28

CH382

69.000€

THE average rental price in Spain increased by 1.2% in April. This rise puts the average price of rent per metre square per month in Spain at €10.90. Rent increases were even higher in the two largest cities in Spain, with renters in Madrid seeing prices go up by 1.5% and in Barcelona by 2%. Malaga also increased higher than the national average, by 1.3%. Barcelona remains the most expensive place to rent in Spain at an average price of €16.50 per metre square per month, followed by Madrid and San Sebastian.

By Fiona Govan

room hotel nestled in the most beautiful valley in the Serra de Tramuntana region, a Unesco World Heritage site on the island’s north-western coast. The hotel, which is due to be ready to welcome guests in summer 2023, converts an historic building into one of the most exclusive hotels in Spain boasting ‘incredible views of the surrounding countryside’. “One of the most wonderful things about Virgin Limited Edition properties is being able to protect beautiful

Alameda, Malaga

Not so glamp

This furnished, quality 3 bedroom chalet has plenty of on street parking as this is a relatively quiet street. Inside, a central hallway leads to 3 bright bedrooms. This floor then opens to a spacious kitchen diner with a newly installed kitchen and plenty of storage.

WHAT has been dubbed the Costa del Sol’s first luxury campsite is in the works. Just a few metres from the beach and opposite Fuengirola’s castle, the location is excellent except for the four lane A-7 highway running past and the BP petrol station next door. Despite the road noise and petrol fumes, the campsite has been granted the label ‘luxury’ by the Junta. The project to revamp the old Mijas-Fuengirola campsite, has a price tag of €1.1 million for the work covering the 40,000 square metre plot. The redevelopment is expected to take 18 months. Construction is already underway with the demolition of the old site to make way

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LUXURY: An artist’s impression of the finished hotel pieces of land, empower local fully considered and you can communities, and breathe see how traditional and lonew life into historic places,” cal materials are central to Branson said after a recent the hotel’s design. There's a visit to the resort. clever combination of new “Everything is being so care- design with beautiful historic elements such as wood, stone arches, wrought ironwork and traditional rendering,” explained Sir Richard, who has been a regular visitor to the island over the past three decades.

Medieval

for the brand new facilities. The new luxury campsite will offer guests three types of accommodation: bungalows, a free space to set up tents, and an area for motorhomes.

The 28 rooms and suites will include two ‘showcase’ Tower Suites – one of which was originally a medieval defence tower built in the 15th century. It also pledges to be an eco-resort with hot water heated using energy collected from the air conditioning and refrigeration systems and using a biomass boiler powered by recycled wood chippings.

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COLUMNISTS

AY is one of my favourite months in Spain. After the recent rains, the campo around the casita has erupted into riotous full bloom. Naturalists such as Sir David Attenborough would no doubt point out that all this blooming plus the bird song and rustlings in the undergrowth by the local fauna is merely the natural world’s equivalent of the backstage VIP area of a Marvin Gaye concert circa 1972. In other worlds, ‘Let’s Get it On’, pollinate, cross fertilize and anything else of a ‘below the belt buckle’ nature. Everything in the campo apart from myself, obviously. Rural rumpy-pumpy apart, one of the side effects from all of this pollen floating about can leave you with streaming eyes and a bad case of the snuffles that make you look like an extra from the Medellin reboot of Narcos. Along with the riot of colour is the noise. Mating calls echo across the lake (no, not mine), while the

BAD IDEA: Use the right car

May 18th May 31st 2022

The sounds of summer

www.glasscurtains.direct

Noisy nature and cacophony of humans mark the season

cicadas seem to have realised summer is on the way. Sitting on the terrace during a late night phone conversation last week, the other caller asked what type of amps they were using, as they had, in Spinal Tap parlance, turned it up to 11. Not to be outdone the frogs have been laying down an impressive croaking bass line at the same time. The real indicator that summer is on the way, however, is the arrival of ‘domingueros’. Contemplating my first Sunday café solo last week, my revere was shattered by the sounds of Reggaeton from the near bank. This was accompanied by the constant shrill cry of ‘Mami…mami…MAMI!!’ that is the default setting of every Spanish child. Muttering Lovecraftian oaths under my breath, I shuffled to the back of the casita to discover that I was fresh out of light anti-tank weapons, so settled on a stern look across the lake before heading out. I still fail to understand what drives people to come to an area

of peace and tranquillity, far from the madness of the coast, and then blast out the latest diabolical drivel by Daddy Yankee. Having said that, I took a sliver of twisted satisfaction as I heard them scrabbling and skidding up the track at the end the day, this time accompanied by cries of ‘Papi…PAPI!!!’ as they almost plummeted off the edge. It’s a long drop down.

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Mirthful

Crawling up the track in low gear in the 4x4 on Monday morning, I found at least four parts of plastic from underneath their low-slung SEATS. If you were wondering what another sound of summer is at the lake, it’s my manic mirthful Monday cackling as I bung car parts into the back of the Landcruiser…

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Carretera Mijas-Fuengirola Km: 3.5, Mijas Costa, 29650, Malaga

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Roman golf YOU’VE survived Valderrama and hacked around Wentworth…but have you tested yourself at Romano Hills? A stunning new 18-hole challenge awaits talented golfers in the hills, near Casares Costa. The challenging course counts on a myriad of obstacles and traps, while the main water feature looms from the first hole. The main difference; it’s all in miniature! The brainchild of long term expat Paul Hickling, The Roman Oasis mini golf challenge is the perfect day or evening out with a difference. Built next to the former restaurant that opened in 1983 counting famous celebrity chef Keith Floyd as a regular visitor, it has been created in the heart of woodland beside a river. Great discounts for kids, it is partly-floodlit and is mostly in shade. Best of all the 19th hole is a popular bar with great tapas at just three euros each. From June 3, there is a special Argentinian BBQ every friday night, with an unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks package from 8pm to 11pm. Live music is provided by popular local singer and guitarist, Stevie Nelson. Come and visit this extraordinary place, its entertaining host and his pair of parrots. Open every day except Wednesdays with last round in June at 8pm.

Visit www.romanoasis.com

May 18th - May 31st 2022

CHOO CHOO CHOOSE LUXURY Renfe offers the chance to see Spain’s history in style on new luxury trains

RENFE is offering four new luxury train routes transporting passengers across historic locations of Spain in the height of style. The experience of using Renfe trains to get from A to B as quickly as possible is a world away from the rail company’s new luxury travel experiences. The new Al Andalus train will transport passengers through

By Kimberley Mannion

the historic heartlands of Andalucia, visiting the cities of Ronda, Jerez, Cadiz, Granada, Baeza, Ubeda, Cordoba and Sevilla. But the week-long service doesn’t come cheap. The luxury train trip will cost passengers an eye-watering €3,895 per

person, and an extra €1,000 to upgrade to a deluxe suite. The passengers receive a high class experience on board in terms of accomodation and cuisine, guided tours FRENCH train operator Ouigo wants its ‘low cost’ AVE to connect at each stop, Madrid and Andalucia with five daily return trains, which would and the train stop in Cordoba. stopping in The announcement was made to coincide with the first year annistations on versary of its operations in Spain, during which it has transported the route each more than two million people on the line linking Madrid and Barnight to encelona, with stops in Zaragoza and Tarragona, in a total of 3,674 sure a good journeys. night's sleep In the coming months, the company will start operations between for the price. Madrid and Valencia, with three daily return journeys. This route will A start date for the Madrid to Andalucia service is yet to be set and operate over there is still no definite timetable, although, according to Ouigo the months ‘the company is working to make it happen as soon as possible’. of May, June, September

French connection

THE ROMAN

and October. During July and August, Al Andalus will also run a four day tour leaving from Sevilla and travelling through Merida and Lisbon before arrival in Porto.

Pilgrimage

Renfe is also rolling out similar new routes called the Transcantabrico, which travels northern Spain’s Cantabrian coast, the Expreso de la Robla between Leon and Bilbao which offers travellers the chance to walk parts of the famous pilgrimage Camino de Santiago. The final luxury route is the Costa Verde Express, going between Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela.

Bounce into the weekend IT is the perfect way to have a peek around one of the coast’s top private schools. And also raise some money for Ukraine at the same time. The Charity Fair, at Laude International, in San Pedro, this Friday from 3pm to 7pm, will feature live performances, an art exhibition and food and drink stalls. There will also be face painting, gift stalls and a bouncy castle for anyone coming with kids. “There will be plenty of activities for families to enjoy together,” explained a spokesman. “Come along to support a good cause.”

Tourism leaders MALAGA has led Andalucian tourism in the first quarter of 2022. The province welcomed 1.2 million tourists in the first quarter of the year, a figure that, with a year-on-year growth of 327%, quadrupled the numbers seen in the same period of 2021, which was badly affected by pandemic restrictions. Malaga province has accounted for 26% of the tourists to Andalucia so far this year.

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FOOD, DRINK & TRAVEL

FLOWER POWER

May 18th May 31st 2022

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Cordoba’s famous patio festival is given the once over by Fiona Govan, who visited the city that goes potty for plants in May

T’S a botanical binge to inspire the most reluctant gardners. For a fortnight in May, all Cordoba opens its private courtyards to the hoi polloi who traipse through the cobbled alleys and duck through doorways to be amazed by the green-fingered skills of those who live here. As the child of flora-obsessed parents I recall many trips around the formal gardens of National Trust properties most often in the rain and endured only for the promise of ice-cream or a cream tea in a chintz-filled cafe. Now with a patio of my own in Madrid sprouting several sad yuccas, a few hardy spider plants and one pitiful geranium, it was time to seek inspiration from a city that packs more flower power than San Francisco during the merry month of May. The famous Feria de los Patios, when residents open their floral inner sanctums to the public and compete for the prize of prettiest walled garden space, is hugely popular. Usually mobbed, I was surprised to find an affordable, last-minute Airbnb. Mine was ensconced in a quaint alley a cobblestone’s throw from Plaza de la Corredera, a colonnaded square filled with terrazas frequented by Cordoba’s student population. The route map provided on the website takes visitors on a perfumed promenade to dozens of private patios throughout the old quarter and it’s an olfactory overload even if you only visit half of them. I interspersed courtyard visits

with stops at tapas bars and bodegas and sightseeing around the Mezquita and Juderia - a joy to do in this beautifully compact walking city. Thankfully the queues for patios were shorter and faster this year, despite social distancing measures which, fortuitously, gave everyone a few brief moments alone to enjoy the space without crowds of selfie-takers and couples romantically posing beneath bougainvillea. From as far as back as the Roman occupation of Cordoba, houses have been built around inner gardens enclosed within thick walls to provide a haven of shade during the summer months when the mercury often tops 40ºC. These internal spaces were refined to include fountains and water features under Moorish rule, when the Umayyad caliphate built the mosque – since converted into a cathedral - that remains a highlight of every city tour. Nowadays these spaces have been elevated to works of art, where each wall in every garden has been designed with the festival in mind, each pot of geraniums carefully placed to maximise contrasts and provide sensational bursts of colour. So good are they that the patios have been

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£1,064 PER WEEK! afforded UNESCO-protected status. Some gardens belong to single properties and others are collections of courtyards with different dwellings looking out on them. One of my favourites was No. 6, Calle Marroquíes where low bungalows are home to artisan workshops within a labyrinth of interlocking corridors and patios bedecked with tumbling greenery and blooms. It’s easy to tell the serious gardeners (the ones snapping close-ups of leaves to identify plants that might thrive on their own windowsills) from the nosey parkers (me). I had more fun peeking through doors and windows, enjoying the access to private spaces sealed off behind closed doors for all but this fortnight in May. My guide was Cordoba local Chapi Pineda, a celebrated flamenco guitarist with a deep love of his home city and an insider knowledge that he is proud to share: including where to taste the best tortilla in town (Bar Santos) and how to find a table with unrivalled views of the cathedral (upstairs on the terrace of the Pairi Daeza restaurant). Somewhere in the maze of narrow white-washed lanes between the synagogue and the Mezquita he also revealed a real local treasure: Bodega Guzman, its dark tiled interior exuding the musty aroma of fermenting wine, where a glass of local fino can be enjoyed for a staggeringly good value €1.10. In the evening we dined at Taberna San Miguel - Casa el Pisto, a typical Andalus

restaurant where we sat in a tiled courtyard covered in feria memorabilia. Beneath a portrait of the greatest matador of all time, Cordoba-born Manolete - painted by Chapi’s own father, the artist Rafael Pineda - we devoured local delicacies including the simple but divine cogollos al ajillo - who knew lettuce could taste this good? Cordoba in May is exquisite, even for those who don’t think flowers are that interesting. In fact, I dare you to visit and not come away with a few souvenir pots and a head full of ideas for improving your own urban garden. I certainly did.

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DAYS OUT 8 weird tourist attractions across Spain: food fights to Smurf towns

TOURIST recommendations for Spain can get very predictable. If you ever grow tired of lying on the beach, exploring castles, or eating wonderful food, rest assured there is no end of weird stuff to see and do. Here is our pick:

Lucena’s chair, Cordoba FURNITURE maker Grupo Huertas, for reasons best known to themselves, built the world’s biggest chair in April 2005. Standing 26 metres tall, it incorporates enough wood to make 9,200 regular-sized models. Unfortunately, while they still claim to have the biggest, according to the Guinness Book of Records, they have been usurped and there is now a 30-metre chair in Austria. Still, something to see on a rainy day if you are in Lucena.

May 18th - May 31st 2022

Lovers of Teruel, Aragon A SPANISH Romeo and Juliet from the middle ages, Juan de Marcilla (known as Diego) and Isabel a Segura were lovers. Diego fell on hard times, and Isabel’s father forbade them to marry but agreed that if Diego could make his fortune within five years he would win his bride. Diego did this, but returned to find Isabel being married to another suitor. Heartbroken, he died at her feet, and Isabel died at his funeral. The deaths affected the people of Teruel so much that the bodies were exhumed in 1560 and the caskets put on display. The Amantes de Teruel now lie side by side in marble tombs near lots of art inspired by their story.

Skate church, Asturias TO save the disused church of Santa Barbara in Llanera from total ruin, Red Bull sponsored a complete makeover and, with the help of a local association, ingeniously converted it into an inside skate park. Graffiti artist Okuda San Miguel was responsible for the multicoloured murals. It’s unusual but it works.

La Tomatina, Valencia BELIEVED to be the world’s largest food fight, La Tomatina sees thousands of people converge on the town of Buñol for the specific purpose of throwing more than 145 tonnes of tomatoes at each other. The festivities take place on the last Wednesday of August each year, and kick off with a person shimmying up a two-storey-high greased wooden pole to fetch a leg of ham. Legend has it, the tradition began in 1945 when boys knocked into a parade of people dressed as giants causing one to topple into a vegetable stand.

Pot museum, Castilla y Leon YES, the Museo del Orinal is exactly that: a collection of piss pots. The museum in Ciudad Rodrigo is dedicated to the history of the chamber pot. The fact that most exhibits come from the private collection of one town resident, Jose Maria del Arco, makes it even stranger. Niche.

Blue town, Malaga THE village of Berchules in the Sierra Nevada mountains suffers from regular power outages. On New Year’s Eve in 1994, an outage ruined the celebrations, so residents picked a date when power cuts were unlikely to occur and settled on the first weekend in August. Since then, the 800 villagers have celebrated new year in the peak of summer, joined by thousands of people happy to partake in the Spanish traditions of eating 12 grapes at midnight and welcoming the three kings . . . again.

May 18th - May 31st 2022

IT’S one of the smallest villages in the Genal Valley near Ronda, but Juzcar stands out – for being blue. Back in 2011, Sony Pictures painted every single building, including the cemetery and Town Hall, as a publicity stunt to promote the premiere of The Smurfs 3D. The villagers liked the colour, and, seeing an opportunity to bring in some income from tourism, they kept it and became ‘Smurf town’. Even now, Juzcar receives over 250 tourists a day, though following a 2017 dispute over royalties, it’s now officially known as the ‘blue town’.

Summer New Year’s Eve, Granada

PAINFUL and nail-biting – and that’s just to watch, the human tower or castell is made up of people balancing on top of each other in a gravity-defying display. Valls, 40 km from Barcelona, is the epicentre, but the tradition is practised throughout these regions at major festivals, mainly between April and October.

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May 18th May 31st 2022

MISSING SOCKS AND INSURANCE

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Spain to bring in menstrual leave rule for those suffering ‘severe period pain’ SPAIN will offer so-called ‘menstrual leave’ to women suffering from severe period pain, the government has announced. Women afflicted by menstrual cramps will be entitled to three days off work per month in a plan set to be approved this week. The legislation will be the first of its kind in Europe. In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, such leave already exists for women suffering from dysmenorrhea - the medical term for severe period pain. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health estimates that around two thirds of women experience severe pain result-

By George Mathias

ing from menstruation. Angela Rodriguez, Secretary of State for Equality and against Gender Violence, said: “It is important to clarify what a painful period is, we are not talking about a slight discomfort, but about serious symptoms such as diarrhoea, severe headaches,

HELP AT HAND A SUICIDE prevention line offering free, anonymous and confidential help to those in the depths of despair has been launched. The dedicated line, 024, is manned by the Spanish Red Cross. It is part of a €100 million plan by Spain’s government to provide improved mental health services. Recent data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) revealed that suicide is one of the 10 main causes of death in Spain. Last April, a group of experts in the Senate called on the Spanish government to take action against suicide with a reported 11 people killing themselves each day in Spain, while a further 220 attempt suicide.

fever.” In addition, an outlawing of VAT tax on sanitary products will come into force and pads and tampons will be made available free for ‘marginalised women’. “One in four women cannot TheOlivePress-256x170-CAR-4.i ndd choose the feminine hygiene products she wants to buy for financial reasons. That is why we propose that they can be dispensed free of charge,” Rodriguez said.

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Finally, the bill increases funding for hormonal contraceptives and is making the morning after pill more accessible as part of a new sexual health campaign. The news was not universally welcomed however, with Cristina Antoñanzas, deputy secretary of the UGT union, arguing that the change could result in a ‘further stigmatisation of women’.

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Sausage dog party

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SOME 100 sausage dogs and gathered for a day of socialising in a Valencia park. A WhatsApp group for owners planned the gathering, with plans for a future event involving food trucks and music.

False claim A Cartagena man, 24, who turned up at a police station with his mum and claimed he had been sexually abused in an alley and suffered memory loss as an excuse for missing an exam, has been charged with reporting a fake crime.

Jaws HOLIDAY makers have been panicked by the sight of two sharks swimming just metres from beaches on Mallorca and Ibiza.

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voice in Spain May 18th - May 31st 2022

Quacked off

CHEAP DAY OUT

Sunderland football fan flies to London via Menorca to save cash A SUNDERLAND football fan has decided to fly to London via Menorca as it’s cheaper than getting public transport to the capital. James Jelly, 33, bought the connecting flight tickets for £51, far cheaper than the £161.99 cost of a direct flight from Newcastle. The flight to Menorca on its own was a snip at £12.50.

By George Mathias

Jelly (pictured far left with friends) said: “There’s some out there that have been ridiculously priced. I looked up flights from Newcastle to Heathrow and it was £161.99 return and I thought ‘I’m not paying that’.” But while a cheap flight to

Spain has been his saviour, it is a different story for Scottish fans. As Glasgow Rangers take on Frankfurt in Sevilla tonight, a number of people

Nou-gat to be joking IT might seem a long way away, but Spain’s favourite Christmas treat is in danger after Spring storms. The coldest April since records began has devastated the Costa Blanca almond harvest, threatening nougat production. Farming organisations have already reported a drop in profits, which puts direct pressure on the nougat production ahead of the

festive season. Those factors, combined with frosts in March, have destroyed some 70% of almond crops, according to farmers. As well as an immediate shortage of the popular nut, nougat prices will increase as producers will have to import almonds from other markets if they are to keep the nation supplied with its favourite Christmas treat.

have expressed their dismay at local price gouging. Campbell Ferguson told the Olive Press: “A friend of my son has paid £2,000 for a ticket. He’s talking of paying €800 for a taxi from Malaga to Sevilla.” With up to 100,000 Scots set to descend, direct flights to Sevilla from anywhere in the UK on Tuesday or Wednesday had all been booked. Meanwhile, authorities in Sevilla have confirmed that fans without a ticket to the game can watch it at the nearby 57,000 capacity Estadio La Cartuja - the same stadium Celtic played against Porto in the Uefa Cup final in 2003.

A MAN impersonating Donald Duck suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries after getting run over by a children's train ride at a Valencia area fair. The Disney character decided to cheer on children travelling on the 'Tren de la Bruja' on the Alaquas fairground. He waddled gleefully alongside the moving wagons but then he waded in front of the small locomotive that was pulling the carriages, and was run over. The man suffered a broken arm, a head wound and various chest injuries. The train carriages carrying the children did not overturn.

The kid is alright A BABY mountain goat just over a week old has been rescued by a local police officer and two park rangers after it took refuge on the roof of a dog kennel in the Sierras de Tejeda (Malaga) national park. The kid, only a week old and emaciated, and dehydrated, had been cornered by a mastiff.