Olive Press Spain - issue 405

Fresh eyes

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

POLICE in Spain are being urged to re-open any unsolved rape or child abuse cases that could involve a for eigner over the past two decades. It comes after dangerous paedophile Christian Brueckner was charged with five more serious sex crimes on the Algarve between 2000 and 2017.

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

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

Expats and locals are joining an Irish rape victim - allegedly attacked by Brueckner, 45, in 2004 - who believes there are ‘likely’ many more victims across the Iberian Peninsula.

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

Behan, who was raped as a young hol iday rep on the Algarve, is due to face

EXCLUSIVE

By Jon Clarke

her alleged attacker Brueckner in a German court in the Spring.

Waving her right to anonymity, the mother-of-three, from Dublin, added: “Victims and their families deserve answers and closure. If there is any indication that Brueckner could be connected to a crime, then this needs the full attention of the police and warrants, at the very least, further in vestigation.”

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

Granada

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

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

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

He was certainly in the Orgiva area for

the Dragon music festival in March 2007 and 2008 and he was a regular visitor ‘until at least 2011’ revealed various former friends.

“He was here on dozens of occasions in many vehicles, including his Jag uar, the famous VW van and even his giant winnebago,” one confirmed to the paper this week.

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

It was allegedly during a week-long visit to the Dragon bash in 2008 that he admitted to friends he was involved in the snatching of Maddie, then 3, on

the Algarve, in May 2007.

One Orgiva resident, Jo Chipchase, a mother-of-two, is ‘horrified’ that he could be behind crimes in her area. Chipchase, who attended the Dragon Festival and other parties at the time, added: “I often took my kids so it is

horrifying to think that an international sexual predator was mingling among families using the itinerant and largely traveller community to hide within.

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

The former PR exec utive, 50, added: “I

IT might be a scary time for buyers and sellers in more ways than one as Halloween approaches. But while purchasers are being haunted by rising interest rates and spooked by the fluctuat ing pound, record num bers of foreigners are STILL queuing up to buy in Spain.

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

Record

And, despite Brexit, the British are still com ing top with over 8,000 home sales this year. They, along with nearly 14,000 French and Ger mans, made the first half of 2022 an all-time high for foreign buyers.

Meanwhile, sales in Mar bella have seen ‘historic peaks’ and ‘even bidding wars, something seldom seen before’, revealed Chris Clover, of Panora ma.

“While 2021 saw histor ic sales, the first half of 2022 has seen unprece dented record-breaking sales, in fact an increase of 73%,” he said.

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

Continues overleaf

Suspicious bags

POLICE seized 296 ki lograms of marijuana hidden among bags of lettuce in a truck as part of an operation which brought down a Malaga gang that was smuggling drugs from Morocco.

Mystery body

AN unidentified dead body, wearing a wet suit, has been found entangled in brambles in the Guadalhorce River in Malaga, with police launching an investigation.

Freak accident

A 50-years-old paraglid er has plummeted to his death during a freak ac cident while paragliding in Cañete la Real Malaga, the second such death in the area in recent weeks.

Hostel hideout

POLICE have swooped on a hostel in Malaga and arrested a fugitive 54-year-old man from Finland wanted for a sexual crime committed seven years ago in his homeland.

BOMB THREAT

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

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

Eoin Hennessy has reported multiple incidents of extortion and threats since he opened his Irish bar with his wife on the Costa Blanca this year.

The 48-year-old expat told the Olive Press he has been forced to file three police reports and hire a lawyer to protect him self and his business, Hen nessy’s, in Javea.

The father-of-two, who moved to the upmarket resort with his family two years ago, claims

EXCLUSIVE

By Anthony Piovesan

he is being blackmailed over allegations of unpaid rent.

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

It was a month later that ‘things turned nasty’ after he claimed the expat landlords sent him an electricity bill which ‘didn’t stack up’ to the actual usage.

When he politely asked the pair - a British and Chinese

Mafia boss arrest

ONE of the main bosses from a notorious Italian mafia gang has been arrested on the Costa del Sol. Plain-clothed cops arrested the man while he was leaving his house on a bicycle in Fuengirola.

He is allegedly a part of the Calabrian Ndrangheta mafia and has been on the run from Italian authorities since 2015. He has four European arrest and extradition orders against him for drug trafficking, money laundering, cor ruption and forgery of documents.

Policia Nacional said the man was the main leader of a mafia operation that involved shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Italy.

couple - to come in and check the meter with him, he claims he was threatened and told to pay the bill or leave.

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

One seen by the Olive Press claimed to know where his family lived in Dublin, and they would be approached for the money owed. Another screamed: “Seven days Eoin. Eyes on your business, home, family in Ireland”.

An even more alarming text to his wife stated he had ‘put you all in danger’.

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

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

Police were called to investi gate, with one officer checking underneath following another threat that ‘an explosive de vice’ had been planted.

Hennessy said the ongoing or deal was taking an emotional toll on him and his wife, who have two kids, six and one.

“This is pulling us apart,” he said.

Slashed

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

The Guardia Civil this week confirmed the case was being investigated and it had now been transferred to Denia Court.

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

Maddie

From front think there should be more cross-border control of sex of fenders to protect the public from crimes like this and any thing unsolved, involving any potential links to Brueckner must be reopened.”

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

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

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

He would not speculate on any other crimes he might have committed in Spain, but con firmed his department would investigate any credible evi dence.

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

Now with TRIPLE DATA on all our plans until

Dutch reign in Malaga

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

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

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

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

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

LIV winner

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

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

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

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

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

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

MATCH ON

Neymar appears in court hours after scoring winning goal

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

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

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

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

Neymar’s court appearance

Hacked off!

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

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

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

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

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

By Simon Hunter

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

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

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

TRIAL: Neymar is accused of corruption

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

Sentence

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

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

A Spanish side also claimed the youth crown, with Barce

Home win

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

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

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

Dusty drive

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

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

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

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

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

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Sad stats

SOME 27 people lost their lives during 2021 in Mal aga province due to road accidents in urban areas, representing an increase of 37%.

Another 31 people died on inter-urban roads, making a total of 58 people killed in traffic accidents in Mal aga throughout 2021.

The previous year, 2020, closed with 51 fatalities, of which 32 were on interur ban roads and 19 in urban areas.

The 2021 figures are higher than pre-pandem ic numbers registered in 2019 which tallied 56, in cluding 17 on urban roads.

EXPATS living in Malaga say the city is becoming a ‘mini Las Vegas’ as complaints about noise levels and disor derly behaviour surge.

It’s been the topic of heated debate among city officials since tourism returned to the Andalucian port hub after the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the latest town hall meet ing, Councillor for Commerce Elisa Perez de Siles insisted the noise was because Malaga is ‘a fun and happy city’.

But hundreds of neighbours disagree, with one resident group, Huelin Stop, sending a petition to the council to ur gently step in.

The group has now shared videos of the antics online to demonstrate the situation locals were forced to put up with.

One, posted last weekend,

Pump down the volume

Outraged residents of Malaga slam noise levels and drunken behaviour as the city transforms into a ‘mini Las Vegas’

By Anthony Piovesan

showed diarrhoea half-cov ered with a crinkled white shirt in the foyer of an apartment building on Calle Granada.

Constructive, but no U-turn yet

AN angry group of expat motorists who can not legally drive in Spain have had a ‘construc tive’ meeting with the UK ambassador.

While they had originally planned a protest for last week, the four men from an ‘Invasion of the British Embassy’ group aired their griev ances over a cup of tea yesterday.

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

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

Including sunglasses

U-T URN N O !W

put on hold until this week’s meeting.

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

Filmed by American expat Hamilton Beau Bone, he told the Olive Press: “Malaga right now is like a drunken tourist town, it’s becoming a mini Las Vegas.

“It’s as bad as it’s been in the seven years I have lived here.”

The 35-year-old, from Atlanta, added the chaos first became noticeable during the summer of 2019. “It got quiet again during the pandemic but since then it’s just gone mad.”

He continued: “Most noise comes from people passing through. In the main arteries people just camp out on door steps and the noise shoots through the night. These peo ple are totally unaware there are people living here.”

The statistics back up his claim, with police responding to a massive 132 complaints about noise and drunken an tics just between October 3 to 10.

English expat Alison Hall from Stoke told the Olive Press there needed to be more police patrols. “I realise I live

in the city so I should expect noise, but it’s the shouting and screaming at 3am,” she said.

“I don’t understand why there’s no police at that time to encourage people to go home quietly, there’s plenty of police during the daytime.”

During the recent council hearing, Perez de Siles said complaints about noise at tributed to the hospitality sec tor were only at 11%.

Loudest

But a spokesman for the Res idents Association of the Old Centre said it was not a reason to ignore neighbours’ pleas for help.

“If the message is to behave, to not make noise in the street and comply with laws, then it cannot be justified by saying Malaga is a fun city,” said Ale jandro Villen.

Malaga Council said it had identified the loudest parts of the city and required busi nesses to abide by strict regu lations from 11pm onwards.

Sad discovery of Scott

MISSING Canadian, Scott Gra ham, 67, has been found dead in the Madrid area.

Madrid police described his death as 'non-suspicious' but did not say where he was found.

The Olive Press had appealed for news after his family ap proached us.

He had been touring the coun try since mid-July after visiting friends in the Netherlands.

Graham was a kidney trans plant recipient and had gone to the Canadian embassy in Madrid on July 15 for help after losing his bag during a coach journey between Vigo and San Sebastian four days earlier. He then disappeared.

GOOD SEEDS

Community-minded pensioners have turned a dying motorway-side garden into their passion project

AN ELDERLY couple have been maintaining an entire roadside public garden for more than a year… in their spare time and at their own cost!

The pair in their seven ties have replanted and de-weeded a 100m-long stretch of bed beside the N-340 motorway, in Sabi nillas.

And they have even watered the long strip on Calle Bo livia through the drought months of the last year, keeping the plants alive.

But they refused to call themselves ‘gardeners’, telling the Olive Press they were just two people ‘who take pride’ in their small seaside town.

FATAL FIRECRACKER

A DOG has died after jumping from a sev enth-floor window having been petrified by the loud explosion of a firecracker.

The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when a resident in Alcorcon decided to celebrate Real Madrid’s third goal against Barcelona by throw ing a firecracker into the street,

The ear splitting bang sent the pitbull into a spi ral of confusion and panic, which ended with the dog making the fatal leap.

By Anthony Piovesan

“We just don’t like to see things look abandoned,” ex plained Rosalia Ayala, who moved from the small in land village of El Burgo, 10 years ago.

She and her partner of 40 years, Manuel Iglesia, said it was a ‘reward’ to see a well-maintained flower bed.

“We live across the street and every time I looked across in the ten years since living here we would see filth,” she continued.

“There was always rubbish, always weeds and the coun cil didn’t water it very much so one day we went down with our own plants and that’s how we started.

“When people come we want

them to see a nice town, not an abandoned town,” Man uel chimed while scooping up handfuls of dirt. He turned over the soil as he prepared to plant new flowers, and said they would rather work in the garden than go out, or drink a coffee at a bar.

Colourful

It has become their passion project. They have even put up a handmade sign in the garden bed to stop thieves who liked their selection of plants so much.

“One time we bought some new plants and 38 went missing the next day, I know because I keep track,” insisted Rosalia. “Please ap preciate it, but don’t steal.”

Lake of cash needed

ANDALUCIA needs €5 billion to combat the region’s drought problem and its threat to the local economy.

Junta boss Juanma Moreno has revealed that infra structure works worth €1 billion were underway, but another €4 billion is needed for desalination plants, pipelines and recycling facilities.

He called on Madrid to restructure European Union funds to cover issues with drought, in addition to envi ronmental and energy efficiency projects.

Reservoirs across Andalucia are at record lows after Spain sweltered through its driest summer since 1961.

The Axarquia’s main reservoir, la Vinuela, which sup plies 160,000 people is at an alarming 9.7% of capacity.

The Junta insists the region will not run dry, saying supplies are guaranteed for a year, with water to be drawn from wells in the Chillar river, in the coming weeks.

HEARTWARMING: Rosalia and Manuel

Voted top expat paper in Spain

Chilling thought

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking good

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

Despite inflation and the energy crunch, it would seem that many people see bricks and mortar in the Span ish sunshine as a rock-solid proposition.

This is reflected in the success of our Property Maga zine, which, despite a pandemic lull, has grown into a hugely popular publication since launching in 2015.

It is chock full of informative and fun features loosely geared around homes and property, with regular guest experts bringing their own insights into the constantly changing real estate market.

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

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon

dilip@theolivepress.es

Anthony

anthony@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

Simon

simon@theolivepress.es

Alex

Hinojosa jorge@theolivepress.es

NOT ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL

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

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

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

By Jo Chipchase

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

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

ment has bowed to pressure from hunters and wants to placate voters in rural areas by exempting their dogs. The PSOE’s idea is that ex cluded animals would later come under a specific law, such as a National Game Management Strategy. As a result, the Animal Welfare Act would legislate only for ‘pets that live in a house with their owners’.

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

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

What will happen next?

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

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

What are the new rules for Spain’s pets?

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

LIFE IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED

(ButopenedinSpain’sCabodeGata!)

Alittle-known

fact: John Lennon had terrible eyesight. By to day’s standards he would have been considered legally blind without his glasses.

He was severely myopic, had astigmatism and dyslexia. Op tometrists today call it the Irlen Syndrome. Furthermore, Lennon was self-conscious about this fact and early in his career resisted wearing glasses during performances.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

roll to be profoundly restorative.

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOT SAFE: Even Spanish Waterdogs are at risk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

that should apply to all dogs – not just pets.

Spain’s history of animal abuse –the social mores

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

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

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

The situation for Spain’s working dogs

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

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

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

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

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

A public education campaign, like for domestic violence

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

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

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

Your award-winning global dirt digger

A focus on Olive Press reporter Anthony Piovesan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

R.I.P. John Lennon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fugitive wanted over sexual crime used Malaga hostel as hideout

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es

call us at 00 34 951273575 for more info

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

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

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

POWER PLAN

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

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

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

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

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

GREEN BUSES

MALAGA is to buy 44 new sustainable buses and is on target to achieve zero emissions by 2030.

They will be put in service between 2022 and 2024 to achieve zero emissions in 2030 as part of the city’s sustainable mobili ty project.

The total investment for incorporating the bus es into the fleet will be €22,960,000.

Scheme to cut energy use with grants and cheap loans approved

By Alex Trelinski

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

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

Free Charly, Flecha & Cris

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

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

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

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

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

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

READY FOR THE NEXT ‘COP OUT’?

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

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

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

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

● Egypt has an appalling record on human rights

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

Coca-Cola uses more than 3 million tonnes of plas tic packaging a year. Its products are found in the oceans and on the beaches of every continent. Some 99% of plastic is produced from fossil fuels.

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

What a difference a year makes

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

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

Everyone is blaming the psychopath Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing fallout.

The UK’s actions reflect what other wealthy coun tries are doing.

● The ban on fracking has been lifted

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

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

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

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

We are now beginning to hear world leaders talking about not placing the burden of achieving net zero targets on consumers and businesses.

I interpret this as: “Hang the environment – safe guard votes to keep us in office.”

ACTION: Teresa Ribera announces new measures to slash energy use

Green MattersBy Martin Tye

What’s in a name

FIGURES from the National Statistics Agency (INE) have revealed that TV and films are influencing what some Span iards call their children.

While 1,062 women in Spain have been named Leia, at least it is a real name (from He brew).

The 29 men called AnakinLeia’s father in the Star Wars franchise - are not quite so lucky.

Not only is it a made-up name but the fictional Anakin fa mously becomes super-villain Darth Vader.

Looking at other franchises, Daenerys is the name of 189 girls.

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

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

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

FESTIVAL COUNTDOWN

TOP British acts will be headlining next year’s Benicassim International Festival between July 13 and 16.

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

The hugely popular indie music event is especially popular among British fans, who descend on the Castellon town in their droves every year.

Tickets went on general sale after 5,000 tickets for local residents were sold. General tickets start at €39.99 per day with additional fees for camping, showers, transportation and refreshments.

25 YEARS ON

BILBAO’s Guggenheim Muse um has unveiled an exhibition of works to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Sections/Intersections. 25 years of the Guggenheim Mu seum Bilbao Collection, which will open on October 19, fea tures many of its best-known

ART OP

Guggenheim launches anniversary exhibition

By Dilip Kuner

pieces as well as six new works costing a total of €10 million by the artists El Anatsui, Alex Reynolds, Ellsworth Kelly, Al

ICONIC painting The Happy Donor by Rene Mag ritte is the star attraction of an exhibition at Mala ga’s Thyssen museum.

It is the image used to promote the display of 70 works loaned by the Musee d’Ixelles in Brussels to showcase the history of art in Belgium. Works by Paul Delvaux Jean Brusselmans, Rik Wouters, Isidore Verheyden and many more are on show.

Belgian Art: from Impressionism to Magritte is on display until March 5.

yson Shotz, Esther Ferrer and Jenny Holzer.

The acquisitions have been paid for by the Basque Govern ment and the Provincial Coun cil of Bizkaia.

Museum's director, Juan Ig nacio Vidarte said: “It was felt appropriate to commemorate our silver jubilee by highlight ing one of the fundamental ele ments - the collection that had been created thanks to the sup port from Basque institutions.

It is a way of highlighting the collection and giving a small nod to the inaugural exhibi tion in 1997, which showcased works from the Guggenheim collections in New York and Venice.

“This time we wanted to give it a twist, but exclusively with works from the Bilbao collec

tion to show the maturity that the collection has now reached.

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

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

Jubilee

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

No justice

JUSTIN Bieber has can celled his Justice World Tour concerts for the next four months, including the two dates scheduled for Spain.

In September Bieber, one of the best-selling music artists of all time, said he would put the tour on hold due to health problems re lated to Ramsay Hunt Syn drome, which paralyses part of his face.

Subsequently, 12 shows were cancelled, affecting all those scheduled until Octo ber 18. However, the health issues continue and promoter Doc tor Music has an nounced the post ponement has been extended, affecting 28 concert dates includ ing Madrid and Barcelo na, on Janu ary 23 and 25 respectively.

FESTIVE CHEER

THE Malaga Christmas lights will be switched on at the end of November.

Unlike other Andalucian cit ies, such as Sevilla, which will delay the inauguration date of the lights to Decem ber 5 with the aim of reduc ing power consumption and raise awareness about ener gy saving, Malaga will stick to switching on the lights on November 26, the same day as last year.

As an energy saving measure Malaga has opted to turn the Christmas lights off two hours earlier on weekdays. This will save €7,000 and four tons less CO2 will be emitted.

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

de moda, complementos y regalitos

Blast off

Space Mountain - a musical melting pot in Granada’s Lecrin Valley

FOR creative types, the annual “cos mic arts lab” private party in Space Mountain studios at Albunuelas, Lecrin, is a rare opportunity for local people to mingle with luminaries of the UK music scene and enjoy diverse audio-vi sual entertainment in an amazing venue nestled in the middle of the countryside. Timed to take place with the full moon –on the weekend of 7 October (a bit like the famous beach party in Koh Samui in Thailand) - it attracts an eclectic mixture of local revellers, sound boys showing off their cable skills, serious musicians, ec centrics, and people who have jetted in from the UK for a weekend of aural fun in the sun.

This year saw performances from visiting talent including Juno Reactor, Matt Black, The Egg, Adamski and Darren Emerson, who was pleasing the crowd on the Satur day night with a lengthy DJ session.

Darren is, per haps, best re

membered for his role in Underworld, who released the 90s hit, ‘Born Slippy’. His set was described by generous host, Youth, aka Martin Glover, as “next level genius”. Over its history, Space Mountain has played home to many famous artists.

During Youth’s il lustrious career, spanning 42 years, he has been part of, or worked with, household names including Killing Joke, Paul McCart ney, INXS, U2, The Verve, Kate Bush, Boy George, Banan arama, Take That, Dreadzone, Blue Pearl, Jah Wobble and even Stock Ait ken Waterman – to name a few.

Jaz Coleman from Killing Joke was seen strolling

THE BIG PRINT

Animal patterns are back but updated to dazzle audiences

WITHso many exciting trends emer ging this season, from grunge to glam, I’m particularly excited about the return of one of my personal fa ves – the print.

Yes, prints are one of the biggest stories this sea son. Big, bold, and bright, you simply must add them to your wardrobe to stay on trend.

With the catwalk bedazzling audiences with prints of all varieties - from intergalactic to florals to celestial - fashionistas are digging deep in their closets to drag out previously relegated items. Are animal prints back in style, I hear you cry? Yes, they are! But updated. And not all animals… think about new colours, shapes, and creatures.

around the event, having enjoyed “a few coffees in Albunuelas” with long-stand ing band member, Youth. One of the attractions of Space Mountain is the chance to see renowned DJs and artists,

Leopard print has had a lengthy chapter in fashion's history book. While we can trace its prominence back centuries, it didn't gain popularity until Christian Dior championed it during the '50s. Since then, animal print has remained part of the Zeitgeist and been spotted on everyone from Corries Bette to

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It has repeatedly switched from gaudy to classy, and back again.

With the catwalks full of animal print, from Dolce and Gabbana to Dries Van Noten, it’s sure to be a popular choice for many people this autumn. It’s timeless and sophistica ted regardless of your age or size. How to wear it? Any way you like! Go head to toe on a flatteringly cut maxi dress or, for a simpler and more understated look, keep prints for smaller details such as blouse pockets, headbands, or belts, no dding to the trend without feeling overwhelmed.

Fashion advice and styling can be found in The Armario de Freya, Calle Correo 1, Orgiva, 18418 Granada

Photo

Credit:

Franky Cero

The newly coined ‘sea skin’ print looks like mer maid scales and, along with the “new wave” print, will be the biggest trend of the season.

propertySpain’sbest maginEnglish

roperty

FEEL THE FEAR Spain’s most huanted houses

BUILDING FORTUNES...

...but where do Spain’s Santiago Calatrava and Spain-based Norman Foster rank in the world’s wealthiest architects?

See Rich by design on page 4 to find out

LIVING LIFE AT THE TOP

MALAGA offers one of the best qualities of life in Spain.

A new survey put the city as sixth out of Spain’s main 15 cities.

It is only beaten by Cordoba in Anda lucia, in the poll by the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU).

Malaga was considered one of the best places to live and work in Spain with praise for its cost of living, en

Malaga,CordobaandSevillaamongthebestplacestoliveinSpain

By Cristina Hodgson

vironmental care and climate.

The city, with a population of 577,405, also fared well for its ‘abundance of leisure facilities and the digital infrastructures available’.

In total, it scored 66 points, with Cordoba only just beating it with 68 points in Andalucia.

The only other southern city to make the top 10 was Sevilla at 10th with 63 points, while Valencia (65) came seventh and Alicante (64) ninth.

Vigo, in Galicia, came top of the list

of top places to live in the survey of 3,000 people in each of the coun try’s most populated locations.

The northern city scored 70 points despite having wet weather on a par with Britain.

Malaga is the fourth sunniest city in Europe and has reasonable air qual

ity, as well as a good airport with great international connections.

Forbes magazine also recently cited it as one of the best cities to live in Europe.

The survey questioned residents’ opinions on mobility, health and edu cation, public safety, the labour mar ket, the cost of living, environment, pollution and urban cleanliness.

MASSIVE GROWTH PLANNED BY IKEA

FLAT-PACK giant has seen anything but flat sales in Spain over the last year.

Ikea is now to create 1,500 jobs in the country after seeing record 8.2% growth in sales.

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

A record 22% of its Spanish turnover (€406m) was brought in online.

The Swedish firm will now open a total of 90 new sales points, varying between urban stores, smaller stores, design and planning centers and col lection points.

It means launching its largest recruit ment drive in the Spanish operation’s history.

The workforce is set to expand by 15% to 11,230 employees by 2024.

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

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

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

At the double

THEY have stood watch over the changing Costa del Sol coastline for 400 years. Now two ancient defensive towers in Mijas are to be given a spruce up.

The 16th century Torrenueva and Calaburras towers are being restored to the tune of €326,000. They were given protection status in the 1980s and were built just af ter the Kingdom of Granada fell.

The Torrenueva tower was built between 1513 and 1568 and was known to have had a four-pound cannon inset at the top in 1762. It needed restoration four times and in 1830 housed eight soldiers.

PILING IN FROM ABROAD

BRITISH buyers are still pushing the Germans and French into second and third place when it comes to owning a property in Spain.

Nearly 8,000 UK clients helped to put the first trimester of the year into the record books for foreign sales.

Fairway

They, along with over 7,000 German and just under 6,000 French buyers made the

first half of 2022 an all-time high for investors from abroad.

In total, 72,987 properties were pur chased by a foreign buyer from Jan uary to June, which equated to 20.3% of all buyers.

That equates to a 53% jump when compared to the same period last year, according to official notaries stats.

It is the highest figures since the Col lege of Notaries started publishing them in 2007.

The rising trend of foreign buyers that rose sharply from 2010 to 2014, but plunged in 2020 due to Covid, has returned to levels last seen in 2015/16.

Foreign demand has grown much

THE amazing boom in home sa les that set off af ter the pandemic is slowly cooling down, reveal the latest official figures.

There were 193,534 home sales in the se cond quarter, 8% more than the same time last year, according to fi gures just published by the Spanish government (MITMA).

OFF PLAN PROBLEMS

FLOOR CLAUSE ISSUES FRAUD AND TAX LITIGATION INHERITANCE

Sales in the second quarter were the highest they have been since 2007, as illustrated by the chart above.

Home sales increased by 40% in the Canaries, 17% in the Valencia re gion, 13% in the Balea rics, 9% in Andalusia, and 8% in Catalonia.

However, sales fell by

Britsarestillontopas foreignbuyershitarecord numberforSpain

higher than local demand, which grew at just 9% since last year.

In terms of growth the Dutch are the

COOLING DOWN

Spanish housing market expands 8% in Q2, but the growth rate is cooling down, writes Mark Stucklin

5% in the Spanish capi tal Madrid.

The rate of growth in sales has been cooling down in recent months, falling from +36% in January to +4% in June.

A slowdown was inevita ble after the remarkable recovery that kicked off in the wake of the pan demic, and has now de livered 18 consecutive months of growth.

With mortgage interest rates rising fast, and

50% of all sales invol ving mortgage finan cing, it is reasonable to expect sales to stop growing by the end of the year, if not before.

But, even if the post-pan demic Spanish housing boom does run out of steam this year, there is no reason to expect a crash like the end of the last boom in 2007.

It will, however, get more difficult to sell property in Spain against a bac

kdrop of recession, rising inte rest rates, and high inflation. As always, some seg ments will do bet ter than others.

fastest market this year, followed by Norway and Ireland.

The Danes meanwhile spent the most, while the Americans and Nor wegians come a close second and third.

Popular

The Valencian Community was by far the most popular region, with over 20,000 sales, followed by Andalucia with 15,000 sales and Catalunya with just over 10,000 sales.

THOSE PESKY ROMANS

THE discovery of a Roman bathhouse has put a temporary stop to the con struction of a new synagogue in Malaga.

The space reserved for a Sephardic cul tural centre and Jewish place of worship has been held up while archaeologists study the new findings.

The Jewish community has already been waiting two decades for the centre to be built next to the famous El Pimpi restau rant.

It sits in the ancient Jewish quarter of the city that is full of history dating back to the Phoenicians.

The new delay comes after archaeolo gists found an old heating system for a Roman sauna in 2020 dating back to the first or second century AD.

EASING OFF: Home sales according to notaries

STILL TOP: Brits lead Germans and French

SHE has had over a year of hearing her name dragged through the mud. So it was no surprise that Hol lywood actress Amber Heard would look for somewhere closer to the stars.

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

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

AS if his family didn’t have enough problems.

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

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

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

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

The number of burials are unknown, but the town hall believes that it is a Muslim graveyard because so far around 100 graves have been found facing towards

INJURY TIME

Mecca.

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

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

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

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

HIDING OUT

JohnnyDeppexAmberHeard,goes incognitoas‘CalamityJane’renting Mallorca mansion

island.

Going under a pseudonym, Maratha Jane Cannary, an 18th century explorer better known as Calamity Jane, she has rented a luxury man sion, which was recently on the market for €2.8m.

Living with her daughter Oonagh, one, and her part ner, the film photogra pher Bianca

By Simon Hunter

Butti, locals in the village of just 1,270 inhabitants didn’t at first have any clue who she was.

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

“She always says good morn ing,” he added. For now she has rented the former home of disgraced

20,000 finally get sewage works

IT’S a stink that’s been hanging around for over two decades.

But now, a series of vital sewage works are finally getting built around the Ser rania de Ronda.

Over €25m is being set aside to con struct the projects in Arriate, Benaojan, Montejaque, Jimera de Libar and Cortes de la Frontera.

In total the five separate works will col lect sewage from over 19,000 homes,

some 20 years after a European law was passed insisting on it.

The works on the €6.2m collector in Ar riate began last month, while the others will begin over the next few months.

Once finished next summer, sewage from 5,000 residents of Arriate will stop flowing into the river Guadalcobacin.

Just over €13m was set aside in Spain’s 2023 national budgets, while the further €12m will come in 2024.

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

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

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

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

In the poor house

AN alarming 80% of Spain’s poorest towns are in Andalucia. New data shows that 24 of the 30 most poverty stricken places are in the south, at least based on average salaries.

El Palmar de Troya in Sevilla is the poorest with an average per capita income of just €6,785 per year, according to new fig ures released by the National Institute of Statistics.

Next comes Iznalloz, in Grana da, with an average income of €7,036; Albunol (Granada) with €7,061; Huesa (Jaen) at €7,080 and Pruna (Sevilla) with €7,219.

Wealthy

Meanwhile, the highest in comes were found in Madrid and Barcelona.

The five wealthiest places are Pozuelo de Alarcon, in Madrid, with an average income of €26,009, Matadepera in Barce lona (€22,806) and Boadilla de Monte in Madrid (€22,224).

Around 85% of the municipali ties of Andalucia are in the bot tom 25% poorest in Spain.

Meanwhile 89% of Basque Country towns are in the top 25%, while in Catalunya 49% make the top quarter.

Design for life

OVER 150 international brands are set to show off their wares at the Marbel la Design & Art fair next month.

Dozens of interior design firms will make it one of Spain’s top event’s for any one interested in property makeovers.

The show takes place from November 3 to 13 at the Adolfo Suarez Exhibition centre.

politician Maria Antonia Mu nar, who was sentenced to 14 years in jail for corruption.

RELOCATING: Amber in Palma

BATTLE: For Pique in Picasso’s square

AT LAST: Diggers at Arriate site

RICH BY DESIGN

They are the superstars of the architectural world, their colossal vision matched only by colossal rewards. Quite a few have Spanish links, discovers Dilip Kuner

ARCHITECTURE is an in fluential career. The most imaginative architects have a keen understanding of the power of their desig ns.

From single homes to the gran dest of public buildings, architec ture has a lasting impact on the way we live, the way we view ourselves and our environments.

The visionary designs can alter people’s moods.

Of course, bad architecture can affect people’s moods negati vely and the worst municipal ar chitecture can drag entire towns down, and produce living spaces that frame a gloomy introspective view of the world.

But inspired designs can lift the spirits, and for those architects that have the talent to change our vision of life for the better, the rewards can be great. They are showered with honours, have the respect of their peers, and the very best are extremely wealthy. Here we take a look at those who have made the big bucks with a countdown of the 10 richest ar chitects in the world.

Sir David Adjaye

Estimated worth: €10 Million

BORN in Tanzania to a Ghanaian diplomat and living in London since the age of nine, Sir David Adjaye has made a career out of designing iconic public buildings. The 56-year-old was knighted by the Queen in 2017, and awarded the 2021 Royal Gold Medal for his services to ar chitecture.

Perhaps his best known work was as lead designer for the $540 million National Museum of African American History and Culture (right), in Washington. Its 2016 ope ning was named ‘the cultural event of the year’ by The New York Times

Maya Lin €12 Million

NOT just an architect but also a highly regarded sculptor, Maya Lin, is renow ned for her vision and for pushing boundaries. The 63-year-old Ameri can draws on memories of her rural upbringing, and blends traditional Chi nese architecture into the landscape. Exemplifying this approach is the Vietnamese Veterans Memorial (below) in Was hington, perhaps her most famous work.

Kara Mann €14 million

NOT one, not two, but three: That’s the number of national

tecture firms founded by Kara Mann (in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles) – and she is still just 39. The American is viewed by her peers as highly talented, with a hint of the maverick about her. It is a com bination that has made her the darling of the art, fashion, finance, music, and entertainment worlds.

She is inspired by European architecture, and while she eschews the more ‘modern’ designs of many of her contemporaries it hasn’t stopped her making her fortune.

Her firm was chosen by Gwenyth Paltrow to develop a fa cility for Goop in Chicago. One of her best known works is the Chicago Lake House (pictured here).

SPECIAL: Maya Lin’s Novartis building in Boston

Following 20 years of successfully selling properties in the Axarquia and Costa Tropical regions, Sharon Underwood at Essential Properties, is delighted to announce that her real estate is joining forces with Fine & Country to incorporate an independent property division specialising in luxurious properties.

With a head office based in Park Lane, London, and over 340 offices in 21 countries worldwide, Fine & Country not only offers an established luxury brand but also exceptional marketing capabilities. The Park Lane head office employs an extensive team of journalists to run the PR and boasts a social media department dedicated to increasing their impressive following.

Fine & Country’s name and reputation continue to grow as does its number of international awards. Many clients, due to prior experience and superb service, are now choosing Fine & Country as their exclusive agent for selling and buying properties.

Fine & Country has already opened offices throughout Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Ibiza and Mallorca.

“When clients are searching for their dream home, they are often non-specific in their target area. Axarquia and the Costa Tropical, located on the East side of Malaga, are relatively undiscovered in comparison to the West side of the Costa del Sol. Being part of such a large and established company is a huge benefit to us, ensuring that our beautiful and unspoiled area is offered worldwide to all potential clients. Both the market and clients’ expectations have changed and prestigious properties require a completely different marketing approach from the mainstream.

Fine & Country allow us to provide an unprecedented standard of marketing that we feel is unrivalled in our area.” said Sharon

“Our area boasts fantastic villas, authentic country cortijos, elegant coastal apartments, and breathtaking scenery.”

“This is an excellent opportunity for us and I am confident that with the marketing power of Fine & Country, we can meet the ever-changing demands of the market and take us, as a team into the future.”

Villa plus Independent Guest Apartment. 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms. Swimming Pool. Fantastic Sea Views. Perfectly located between the beach and Baviera golf course. Only 35 minutes to Malaga airport.

Swimming Pool.

35kms from Malaga airport.

sensational

over Lake Vinuela and the National park. 3 Bedrooms. 3 Bathrooms. Swimming pool. Only 20 minutes from the beach in Torre del Mar and Baviera golf course. 50 minutes from Malaga airport.

villa plus two independent apartments. Beautifully renovated throughout. 6 Bedrooms. 4 Bathrooms. Gymnasium. Heated swimming pool. Double garage. Sea Views. Easy walking distance to the beach and 1km from Baviera golf course.

Gardens and

Terraces.

RICH BY DESIGN

From

Kongjian Yu €15 Million

FARMER’S son Kongjian Yu has had a revolutionary impact on Chinese ar chitecture, with his ideas used in urban planning across 200 cities, mainly in China.

7His ‘Sponge City’ theory and practices have been globally recognised as revo lutionary nature-based solutions for cli mate adaptation. The 59-year-old uses waterways and parks to mitigate the negative impact of urban development. Most of his projects are commissioned by the government, and include the Qinhuangdao Red Ribbon (pictured), Haikou Fengxiang Park, and Quzhou Luming Park.

EVERYONE’S A VIP

BORN in Denmark, Bjarke Ingels’ career could be described as a slow burner. But having put in the hard yards early on, he is now – at the age of 48 – one of the most influential architects in the world.

He worked on housing projects for VM Houses and Mountain Dwellings before setting up Bjarke Ingels Group – known, appropriately, as BIG. Iconic Copenhagen project 8 House (below) was one develo pment that put him firmly on the map.

He is currently designing a futuristic Joint Research Centre in Sevilla.

Bjarke Ingels €17 million

6In 2009, The Architectural Review said In gels ‘has abandoned 20th-century Dani sh modernism to explore the more fertile world of bigness and baroque eccentri city,’ adding: ‘BIG’s world is also an optimistic vision of the future where art, architecture, urbanism and nature magica lly find a new kind of balance’.

Q - Can you update me on the Real es tate market at this present time?

The Real estate market on the Costa del Sol is very good with so many national ities buying into the lifestyle of over 320 sunshine days per year with the laid back lifestyle and only a short flight from all Eu ropean destinations the Costa del Sol is the California of Europe.

Q - How are the prices?

We spoke to Warner Laurie the Director of W L Costa properties based in Benalmádena, with 20 years of experience of buying and selling property on the Costa del Sol in buying or selling their properties on the Costa del Sol. I also have gone against the trend and opened my smart new office in Benalmadena Costa, as I think it is good for people to see that my door is always open and they can come and speak to me personally.

I specialise in the Benalmadena area where we have seen a big increase in the last couple of years, this is due to high de mand and the short supply of properties coming on the market. With demand ex ceeding supply, property prices are being driven up.

When I go to a listing consultation I have all the relevant sales information of the last properties sold and valuations in the area so that we can price the property competitively to the market and achieve a quick sale.

Q - Why choose W & L Costa properties as your Real estate?

I pride myself on the service that I give to all my customers. I have tried to grow my business through a lot of referrals and tes timonials from clients that I have helped

Q - Do you specialise in all types of property

I cover all types. This year I have sold many properties from a €1.2 million villa to an €85,000 studio. I have also helped my clients out with Rentals Commercials and Plots of land to build their dream home.

Q - You say you provide everyone with a VIP SERVICE can you explain?

I get lots of inquiries every day from cli ents all over the world. I treat everyone the same. They get my undivided attention and can contact me anytime - as long as I am awake I will answer the queries. I try to build relationships with my clients so that when they do come to buy or sell their property they come back to me for advice.

428 928

Costa Properties

Renzo Piano €25 Million

HAVING a construction wor ker for a father gave Renzo Piano an interest in all-thingsbuilding from a young age.

The 85-year-old Italian’s interest blossomed into an exceptional career as an ar chitect and made him a €25 million fortune – a far cry from his humble roots.

His list of credits is stellar, including collaborating and designing Hermes Maison in Tokyo (right), The Pompidou Centre in Paris (with Richard Rogers), and the Morgan Library in New York.

BENALMADENA AREA

WHILE those already featured in the list are not exactly paupers, it is those in the top four spots who are really in the big league – and three of them can’t be separated.

Spanish painter, architect and sculp tor Santiago Calatrava, 84, is par ticularly known in architecture for bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and for his railway stations, stadiums, and museums. His work is notable for sculptural forms that of ten resemble living organisms.

Among the most famous are the World Trade Center Transpor tation Hub in New York, Twisting Torso Tower in Sweden,

Santiago Calatrava €100 million

Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Tenerife Auditorium (below).

But his masterpiece is arguably the City of Arts and Sciences (above) in Valencia, a stunning achievement and testimony to his unique talent.

Moshe Safdie €100 Million

=2

THE Israeli-Canadian-Ame rican Moshe Safdie hit the big time internationally with the stunning Habitat 67 in Montreal (above). This was an adaptation of his thesis, and the first pro ject of his company Safdie Architects.

He saw it as a way of re-ima gining urban living and it certainly caught the imagina

=2tion of the world’s architects. The 84-year-old has had nonstop success ever since, with nota ble structures, including the Crys tal Bridges Museum of American Art (below); The National Gallery of Canada; and Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Museum in Jeru salem.

SAY

IN BENALMADENA AREA

Continues

Frank Gehry €100 Million

AT 93-years-old, American Frank Gehry can be viewed as the ‘grandfather’ of all current architects, or maybe a big brother to the octogenarians who share the limelight with him in the top five.

His seven decades of work, mostly in Europe and the United States, have helped redefine cityscapes with his unique designs.

A number of his buildings, including his private re sidence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions.

His projects include the Experience Music Project in Seattle, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Marques de Riscal winery in La Rioja, Spain.

He is also the man behind the Guggenheim Mu seum (right) in Bilbao, widely regarded as one of Spain’s most important modern buildings.

RICH BY DESIGN CONTINUED

From Page 7

Guaranteed five-star service

Estate Agents Marbella is making dream homes a reality along one of Spain’s sunshine paradises

ESTATE Agents Marbella has been actively selling luxury properties along Spain’s Costa del Sol for more than two decades with the biggest success, and continues to see strong results.

Founder and Managing Director Christian Podger said that buyers and renters from all over the world continued to flock to Spain’s Sunshine Coast as prices contin ue to rise.

He told us that buyers and investors were actively searching for properties particu larly in Marbella, Benahavis and Estepo na as these areas continue to surge in popularity and tourism booms.

Estate Agents Marbella is increasing with sales despite rising inflation and said it even remained busy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He advised that their most popular sell ing areas were in Benahavis and Estepona as there are no legal issues in these areas and the respective town halls were in his opinion more solvent and well-managed.

They offer an excellent and

completely free property listings service with promotion and display in their office window and on their state-of-the-art web site, as well as completely free advertis ing on Prime Location and Zoopla.

If you are considering selling your proper ty, listing it with Estate Agents Marbella is your first safe and professional step in the right direction.

Luxury

Estate Agents Marbella offer one of the best luxury property portfolios in the Mar bella area and its multilingual team is committed to finding you the best proper ty in the best location at the correct price.

As Christian says: “We have been in busi ness for over 20 years with the same name above the door having been trust ed and relied upon by thousands of loy al and happy clients, most of whom have become great friends.”

“The hallmark of Estate Agents Marbella is person al service, availability and reliability - and above all, trust and confidentiality.”

Lord Norman Foster €240 Million

HE may have his equals (though very few) when it comes to architecture, but in terms of cash, Britain’s Lord Norman Foster (he was made Baron Foster of Thames Bank in July) is in a league of his own.

He founded his firm Foster + Partners in 1967 with a remit to create elegant mo dern buildings from steel and glass.

The 87-year-old’s most notable projects include the Citibank Headquarters loca ted in Hangzhou, China, and, of course, the Gherkin in London. These are just two of hundreds of projects world-wide that he has been involved in over the decades. He has multiple awards, is still setting trends, and remains in high demand. His work is highly regarded in Spain, and includes the Cepsa tower (right) in Madrid, the Palacio de Congresos of Valencia, Faustino’s Portia de Burgos winery (above), the Collserola commu nications tower and the Bilbao metro.

1The Norman Foster Foundation in Spain - based in Madrid where his Ga lician-born wife Elena Ochoa lives - is active in nurturing com munity architecture that makes an impact on peo ple’s everyday lives.

full property

at www.estateagentsmarbella.com

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property features 5 bedrooms,

bathrooms, spacious lounge and dining areas with

access

the infinity pool area, state of the art Danespan

with large central island, separate utility room, guest toilet, porcelain flooring throughout with underfloor heating, air

hot and cold, large 110m2 solarium.

a spacious lounge and dining area, new bathroom and fully fitted kitchen. It has been totally renovated to the highest standard and has room for a private pool and secure off street parking for two plus cars.

with the

the

wonderful corner ground floor apartment with underfloor heating, spacious lounge and dining area, fully fitted kitchen, large laundry room, marble flooring throughout, air conditioning hot & cold, three spacious terraces.

PROPERTY

reached historic sales peaks in the high-end market in 2021 and this trend has continued unabated into 2022, increasing by the month.

MARBELLA

We have even seen bidding wars for some properties, something seldom seen before in Marbella, and unusual in any luxury, second home real estate market.

The Covid pandemic and lockdowns have brought about a new urgency to where and how people want to live on a global basis.

But the historic level of activity in Mar bella since the end of the lockdown is especially significant, and one of many signs it has finally achieved worldwide recognition as the highest quality resort in Europe.

Ever since Marbella rose to fame in the mid fifties as the southern California of Europe and a favourite destination of the jet set, Marbella has increased in popularity.

Thanks to the mildest winters in Eu rope, the avoidance of high rise and high density construction (which ruined many of Spain’s other coastlines), not to mention its quality schools, restau rants and sporting facilities, including 52 local golf courses, the Marbella area has gone up and up as a luxury real estate destination. It is now an international symbol of quality develop ment and quality lifestyle.

MARBELLA’S ‘LOW SEASON’ HAS CEASED TO EXIST

Since 1995 when Marbella achieved a low season population of around 100,000 registered population and another 50,000 unregistered, ‘floating’ population – enough to keep the hotels, restaurants, social events and other ac tivities alive – Marbella has enjoyed a true 12-month ‘open for business’ sea son, unlike any other resort in the Med. While it still had the high, shoulder and low seasons, in 2021/22 the low season never came, and autumn and

END OF THE LOW SEASON

Marbella has finally become an all year round resort, writes Chris Clover, of Panorama

spring simply merged into one. Never has there been more winter ac tivity in Marbella, with so many quality tourists visiting the area, including those non-residents who come to spend time in their own homes.

Hotels, agents, lawyers, notaries, ar chitects and builders are reporting the highest level of activity they have ever witnessed, continuing into 2022.

Since the end of the lockdown, and de spite later global political issues, occu pancy and room rates in the best hotels in Marbella soared to the highest levels ever.

There have been more than 2,000 new companies created since 2019, some 1,650 opening licences awarded and Marbella now has the lowest unemploy ment figures in Andalucia.

RECORD-BREAKING SALES

While 2021 saw historic sales, the first half of 2022 has seen unprecedented record-breaking sales. In fact in the first semester of 2022 there has been an in credible increase of 73% of sales over the same period of 2021. See graph.

BILLIONS OF EUROS INVESTED

In 2012 the three towns of the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Marbella-Estepona-Bena havis, began to recover from the 2008 crisis with a surge of purchases due to a serious pent-up demand.

The demand is back and in 2021 there

has been an increase of 30.15% of sales over the pre-pandemic year of 2019 and even in the pandemic year of 2020 sales were surprisingly strong. The demand is not just the normal end-users but all types of investors, from the individual to major interna tional funds building entire gated com munities. Consequently, the Marbella area has seen thousands of new homes being built with investments of billions of euros.

EXPLOSION OF SALES OVER €4M

The market for properties over €4mil lion has exploded. In 2018 there were at least 65 properties sold above this price, with over 120 from mid-2020 to mid-2021. However, in the last year this figure increased to at least 150 proper ties and many are over €10m.

PRICES ARE RISING

The high inflation we are seeing has led to a drastic increase in construction costs (around 23,5% in 2021) and when coupled with a higher demand, prices have inevitably risen, and will continue to rise. Idealista estimates average pric es in Marbella from May 2021 to May 2022 to have risen by 15.8%, with an average asking price of €3,658/m2 (compared with €2,604/m2 for Malaga province).

WHO IS BUYING?

Buyers of high-end luxury properties (over €1million) are 85% to 90% for eign, which is precisely what has given the Marbella market so much strength compared to the national market.

In Malaga province (and more or less the same in Marbella), the top three foreign nationalities in 2021 were: Brit ish 16%, Swedish 14% and Belgian 9%. They are followed by the French, Dutch and Germans, in that order.

The Swedish market has been increas ing healthily, while there is a new strong Polish market as well as buyers from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, many looking to purchase as a means to obtain the ‘Golden Visa’.

Since mid-2021 there has also been a marked increase of US citizens and de spite Brexit, against all odds, the British still remain by far the largest segment

been for decades. Rightmove reports an increase of 36% for enquiries for properties in Spain in April 2022 compared to 2021.

WHAT THEY WANT

Trend-wise we are seeing a higher de mand for more sustainable, eco-friendly homes and the desire for architecture that connects owners more closely with nature. Beautifully furnished and im maculately decorated homes, ready to move into, are in great demand. Finally, today’s typical buyers are also younger and trendier, many with a background in web technology, or with startups.

WAR IN UKRAINE: HAS IT AFFECTED THE MARKET?

Russian buyers around 2% of the total in 2021 are struggling to buy now with

the obvious restrictions. But making up for this is a surge of enquiries and sales from countries bordering Russia or Ukraine, especially Poland, Lithuania and Romania.

The conclusion? Despite the tremen dous turmoil, Marbella is viewed as a safe haven in uncertain times, not just due to its unique qualities but also to its physical location: at the very southern tip of Europe, in a peaceful and secure area.

As an international community with over 30% of its 150,000 registered popula tion plus over 75,000 ‘floating’ unregis tered ones from other countries Marbel la has proven itself to be one of the few outstanding successes of multicultural ism over many decades. In my opinion, and that of the leading agencies, the de mand for Marbella properties has in fact increased since the Russia-Ukraine war, and this is proven by the sales statistics so far in 2022.

RENTALS MARKET IS BOOMING

There is a real shortage of quality long-term rental properties available.

According to Tecnitasa, Marbella has the third highest long-term rental prices in Spain, while the portal Idealista notes a sharp increase, up by 21% in May 2022 compared to the previous year.

The price of a luxury two-bedroom apartment has gone up from €2,000 five years ago to up to €3,500 per month today, while a decent four-bedroom villa can cost around €10,000 per month, when it cost about €6,000 a year ago.

There are various reasons, with some owners preferring to rent short-term be cause of the good rental return in summer, and because it also allows them to use their second home when available. High-season rental income per week is more or less equivalent to long-term rental per month, sometimes higher.

Additionally, the Spanish Urban Rental Law (LAU), despite some improve ments, is still slow and ineffective in the eviction of the non-paying tenants.

Many owners now demand upfront payment for the totality of the term or sig nificant bank guarantees, placing these properties out of the reach of many. Demand for long-term rentals is still very strong. Families from all over Europe and beyond are making life-changing decisions to move here and need to rent before buying. They can now work remotely while sending their children to any of the excellent international schools.

Having a First Occupation Licence/Licence of First Occupancy

Lawbird is a firm of English speaking lawyers who specialise in property law, corporate law, litigation and immigration law.

Whether you plan to buy a house, start a company or relocate to Spain, we offer a no-nonsense service to assist you.

Lawbird Legal Services Slp C.Ricardo Soriano, 19 29601 Marbella (Spain) TEL: +34 952 861 890 FAX: +34 952 861 695 gary.newsham@lawbird.com www.lawbird.com

Why

1EXPERIENCE

Panorama is Marbella’s longest established real estate agency, bringing buyers and sellers together in harmony for over 52 years.

PRACTICES AND ETHICS ARE REGULATED

The only residential agency on the Costa del Sol to be regulated by RICS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, with respect to our procedures and ethical conduct which gives extraordinary protection to our clients.

3INDUSTRY RECOGNITION

Panorama has won Best Real Estate Agency in Spain at the International Property Awards in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

PROFESSIONALISM AND TRANSPARENCY

We have an unrivalled reputation for professionalism, transparency and expert local and product knowledge.

A FULL-SERVICE AGENCY

Offering sales, rentals, plots, development land, commercial properties, professional consulting services and Client Services.

WE HAVE TIME FOR YOU

We are more than 30 highly qualified and experienced professionals.

BUYERS & SELLERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD Together we speak 13 different languages.

STRATEGIC & CENTRAL LOCATIONS

PARTNERSHIPS THAT GUARANTEE PROPERTY EXPOSURE

We operate a second agency - Puente Romano Real Estate, in collaboration with the owners of Puente Romano.

This gives extraordinary exposure to the properties of our seller clients to the guests at the Puente Romano and Nobu hotels.

Our offices are located along Marbella’s Golden Mile, in the Puente Romano Beach Resort and opposite the Marbella Club Hotel. Tel. (+34) 952 863 750 www.panorama.es

Offices at Puente Romano and opposite the Marbella Club hotel

PARADISE IN THE HILLS

PRIVATE HOME SALE

WITH

12 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms you’ve got the space to accommodate a football team... even in the sauna, or hamman, all at once.

Add in a cinema, full-size snooker room and a rooftop swimming pool (oh and another heated inside) and it’s very much the sort of place a su perstar footballer or a global dictator might end up luxuriating in.

So it’s no surprise that Cristiano Ron aldo and Hugh Grant have stayed nearby and the Mayor of Moscow and his wife - the richest woman in Rus sia - plus the late arms dealer Adnan Khasshogi have close connections to the estate.

Welcome to La Zagaleta Country Club, where this opulent mansion has re cently come on the market.

One of just 270 properties inside Spain’s most expensive private urban isation, the villa represents the best of classic Mediterranean style, deco rated with taste and luxury in mind at all times.

On the roof there is a jacuzzi, an ‘end less pool’ and an impressive barbecue area, all reached by a lift that serves each floor.

On the market for €9,995,000, you naturally get a fully-kitted office and spacious library, not to mention TWO sizable walk-in wardrobes and hisand-her dressing rooms for the main suite.

Set on four levels, with each designed to maximise the light, in the evening you sit out on the rooftop terrace and watch the last slither of sun drop be hind the Serrania de Ronda moun tains or gaze past Gibraltar to the snow-capped Atlas mountains of Mo rocco.

The ground floor features a double sweeping staircase and opens out to a very large living room with a fireplace, connected to a generous dining room and lounge.

The first floor is divided between an ensemble of the three splendid bed rooms; a master bedroom and two other bedrooms with bathrooms at each side.

There are two lower ground floorsboth enjoying daylight. The first fea tures the cinema, billiard room, air conditioned wine cellar and an indoor pool, gym, spa, with a sauna and ham man. Next to it is a service suite with two small bedrooms and sitting room.

The other has a guest wing of a kitch en/bar with three large ensuite bed rooms, all of them giving onto a Jap anese-style garden with a large swim ming pool.

Just 15 minutes from Marbella, half an hour from the emblematic moun tain town of Ronda and 10 minutes to the toll motorway, you couldn’t hope for better connections.

And with the La Zagaleta urbanisation boasting 24-hour round the clock se curity in Spain, it’s perfect for some one who needs privacy or security.

The development started life as the private hunting estate of former bil lionaire arms dealer Khashoggi and has accommodated hundreds of captains of industry, footballers and celebrities over its history. The latest series of the hit Netflix series The Crown, due out next month, will recall the visits Princess Diana made to the area in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Olive Press revealed how produc ers appropriately hired a villa in the estate when they filmed there last year. The estate covers 900 hectares of protected wood groves and green valleys and has its own private golf course and equestrian centre.

Contact Johnobrien42@gmail.com for more details

PRESIDENTIAL: Stunning 12-bed house has all the trappings of luxury

The Crown filmed nearby while Ronaldo and Hugh Grant are known to zoom in nearby… so you’ll need deep pockets to buy this stunning villa

AUTHENTIC: Full size snooker table was used for the 1992 World Championship final

Have a look at our website and find your perfect home. Either second hand or under construction we are going to guide you all the way through your purchase experience.

Fuengirola centre, bright apartment within very quiet position close to all kind of services and beach, very charming and sunny with 2 bedooms, bathroom, fully fitted modern kitchen, bright bathroom, spacious lounge and sunny terrace with pleasant townviews, completely renovated, air conditioning, community garden and parking. Makes a very cosy home! No lift.

Ref: L006 – 179.000 €

Las Lagunas, Mijas área, a unique penthouse in good location near shops, schools and all kind of amenities, makes an ideal Family home to enjoy large solárium and lounge, 18 m2 terrace with sun all day. Comprising of 82 m2 living área with 2 single bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully fitted kitchen, utility room and 82 m2 solarium. Good condition ready to move in with underground garage space. Must be seen!

Ref: 148 – 215.000 €

Fuengirola Los Boliches, very cosy and bright apartment with all services within the door step, very spacious with 2 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully fitted kitchen, utility room, entrance hall, lounge and south west facing terrace with sun all day and very pleasant views over park and green áreas, community pool. Very good rental income all year round or ready to move in!

Ref: L017 – 235.000 €

Magnificent detached villa in very peaceful position. Built by the present owners with quality materials, offering 4 berooms, 2½ bathrooms, open plan Scandinavian kitchen, utility room, spacious lounge leading to large sunny terrace, storage room, bbq area, swimming pool and more. Plenty of room for fruit trees or orchard. Private parking for 2 cars. Air conditioning, underfloor heating, etc. Ideal home for nature and lovers. Good value!

Ref: 130 – 570.000 €

Torreblanca Fuengirola, near train station and only a few minutes walk to the beach, this apartment offers 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully fitted modern kitchen, lounge and large terrace overlooking the mountains, air conditining hotcold, community salted water pool and garden, private underground garage space. Must be seen! Makes an ideal home!

Ref: L021 – 230.000 €

Fuengirola sea front, very bright and sunny apartment with lateral sea views and views over the castle, ideal location to live all year round or rental income. Very cosy with 2 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully fitted kitchen, lounge and spacious sunny terrace. Underground garage space and storage room. Must be seen to be appreciated!

Ref: L011 – 375.000 €

Fuengirola centre within the very prestigious complex Puebla Lucia, this bright apartment offers lots of space, comprissing of 1 double bedroom, large bathroom, fully fitted modern kitchen, spacious lounge -diner and sunny terrace. Excellent condition with high rental income all year round. Community gardens, swimming pools and parking. Great investment and perfect home!

Ref: T108 – 220.000 €

Fuengirola centre, fantastic apartment in unbeatable position with all services at the door step, comprissing of 2 bedrooms, bathroom, guest toilet, fully fitted kitchen office, spacious lounge and sunny terrace. Very quiet and central área, residential building ideal for home, private underground garage, excellent condition, must be seen!

Ref: 108 – 285.000 €

FUENGIROLA CENTRE

LAS LAGUNAS, MIJAS AREA

FUENGIROLA, LOS BOLICHES

MIJAS ROAD, DOÑA PILAR

FUENGIROLA, TORREBLANCA

FUENGIROLA SEA FRONT

FUENGIROLA CENTRE

FUENGIROLA CENTRE

PROPERTY DETAILS

Total

Terraced

The sharp increases in the rising costs of inflation is affecting lifes tyles and housing needs as one also considers energy efficiency in their homes.

In Gibraltar, we have seen an in creasing demand from homeowners seeking larger living areas, open plan and bright layouts, and in par ticular outdoor spaces, where one can enjoy freedom within the seclu sion of their homes.

The homes themselves are becoming a habitat to cater for all living requi rements all year round and technolo gy now embraces the function, ability and comfort of the ideal home as we move into a modern age of technolo gy and building sustainability. The North Gorge development, con

DEVELOPMENTS TO COME:

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North Gorge - Luxury Eco Friendly Villas within the surrounds of a Natural Sanctuary

• The Quarters

• Calpe Lodge

• Caleta Hotel & Luxury Sea Side Apartment Project

• Queens Plaza - Com mercial and Residential Development

HIGHER STANDARDS

Property development update in Gibraltar with BFA Estate Agents

and

roof terrace.

of the development. The aim is to

truction and photo-voltaic technolo gy for the efficient use of sun power for lighting and heating, the proper ties are designed for luxury living within a beautifully natural enclave, sensitive to the environment, waste, water and energy efficiency.

PROPERTY DETAILS

Interior size: 204m² Balcony/Roof Terrace: 78m²

into new schools, sporting comple xes, roads, public transport, servi ces, and clean energy infrastructure, all within a vibrant economy with a strong growth in Gross Domestic Product against a low unemploy ment rate.

Garden/Outdoor Terrace: 18m²

Investment

NORTH GORGE DEVELOPMENT

inward property investment within the private sector.

Gibraltar continues to re-urbanize brownfield sites as well as reclaim new land to provide for the deve lopment of the peninsula, which is experiencing a growing demand for both local housing needs and other

The fiscal framework on the Rock provides a secure platform for in vestment and optimum returns on capital.

Tel: 00(350) 200 71131

LAST 8 REMAINING VILLAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION – RESERVE YOURS NOW!

Email: info@bfagib.com www.bfagib.com

Continuous economic growth over the last decade has also initiated significant public-sector investment

This direct investment in public urban renewal has fuelled and motivated private sector investment into proper ty development, which is increasingly being delivered to higher standards through competitive tendering.

Mark Francis MRICS - Director BFA

Within the enclave of the natural backdrop of the historic North Gorge of Gibraltar, this development of 48 detached and terraced houses is underway as scheduled following the successful off plan sale of Phase I. The North Gorge development has been shortlisted for a Gibraltar Sustainability Award. Few remaining properties for sale in phase II with prices ranging between £1.450 to £1.895 million.

But 3D print homes coming

THE

Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalunya is de veloping the technology to 3D print houses.

But at the moment the final product seems to be more mud hut that des res.

Several postgraduates have combined the ultra-modern technol ogy of 3D printing with the age-old material of clay to come up with a prototype home called TOVA.

Clay is one of the oldest building materials that archaeologists have uncovered. Whether it uses the sun as its hardener or it’s fired in kilns to make bricks, it’s one of the most sustainable ma terials available.

The students combined clay with polymers to be able to use the 3D printer for constructing a house.

Its design is described as ‘functional’, with an insulated ceiling giv ing better temperature control.

The window allows natural light to brighten the space while the walls have ventilation holes for fresh air.

There is also just about enough room to use a foldaway bed.

MAXIMISE YOUR INCOME

Novasol has the experience and expertise to help holiday-let landlords stay ahead of the game vacation let.”

THISyear has seen the number of holiday lettings throughout the EU beat pre-pan demic levels, according to Eurostat.

During the first half of 2022, guests spent around 199 million nights in short-term rental accommodation compared to the first half of 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pan demic, when platforms reported around 193 million guest nights.

In Spain, Andalucia – which includes the Costa del Sol – saw nearly 3,500,000 nights booked in the first quarter alone, which makes the re gion the most popular in the country for apart ment and villa lets.

But while this is good news for those wanting to put their properties up for holiday lets, the future is slightly clouded by high inflation and an uncertain economic outlook.

This is why homeowners looking for a return on their property investment need to partner with the right agency to help them maximise their rental potential.

Novasol is one of Europe’s largest and most successful holiday rental agencies, with more than 50,000 holiday rentals on its books across 26 European countries – including at the heart of the Costa del Sol.

This means that the exceptional team at No vasol has the know-how, tools and dedication required to help property owners successfully market their holiday let properties.

Director of Property Recruitment for Andalucia, Manuel Matencio explained: “We are very con scious that what holidaymakers want is a high quality, hassle-free vacation.

“When we talk to landlords we can use our experience and expertise to help them set up their properties to the highest standard to at tract quality short-term tenants.”

He adds: Our customers know this, so we are often their first stop when searching for their

This means that those who partner with Nova sol benefit from more bookings through Nova sol, therefore maximising their rental income.

To ensure this, Novasol has a substantial mar keting budget and world-wide reach through its website and network of offices in many coun tries, guaranteeing high visibility for partners’ holiday properties – therefore boosting income for business clients.

Let your holiday home with NOVASOL

And Novasol also offers a ‘security package’ to homeowners that means owners can have peace of mind.

Easy, reliable and profitable letting

Damages

This can mean up-front payments and guaran teed payment in the case of late cancellations, as well as insurance for small damages.

help you increase your rental income

The company prides itself on the quality, ser vice, and reliability provided by its highly expe rienced team. And the services they offer while renting your home take the strain out of what can be a fraught world of holiday rentals, from bookings through to payments.

payment with late cancellation

in advance when you let with

Novasol offers partners the safety net of doing business with an experienced and highly re garded agency which can help you determine what your property is worth and how much profit you can expect to make.

Even though Novasol is one of the biggest European holiday rental companies, it still op erates by giving each property the personal touch and attention it deserves. And their cus tomer service team is just a phone call away.

us for more information: www.novasol.com/home-owner

Don’t hesitate to call Novasol and receive an inspection on your property. Novasol doesn’t advertise just any properties, they advertise YOUR property

YOUR FIRST AND ONLY STOP

Protec: The diversified construction business with a family touch

PROPERTY

THE

Protec Group, established in 1996, started out a humble family business selling windows and doors. Under the stewardship of founder Andre Jensen, and partner Silvia Jensen-Lindemann, Protec has flour ished into a nationwide construction and distribution com pany. While business has boomed, the family val ues on which the company was founded re main as strong today as they were 25 years ago.

Protec has since become renowned for its distribution of cut ting edge construction products which can’t be found any where else in Spain.

The company has three large warehouses to its name, of fering clients premium options such as thermal insulation, anti-theft protection, and energy saving.

The importance of good window insulation is an often over looked part of the house, but with Protec, insulation and environmental concerns are front and centre and with their help you could cut 60% of energy lost through windows. Other areas where Protec excels is in new builds and the re furbishment of houses.

Taking care of every detail from start to finish, Protec gives you peace of mind and guides you through the often intimi dating bureaucracy.

A truly international company, Protec prides itself on being able to speak to its clients in their mother tongue, whether that be Spanish, English, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Ar abic or Russian.

With their meticulous planning and extensive knowledge of the industry, there is no pulling the wool over their eyes by rogue traders or unlicensed builders.

That is why they are the gold-standard of suppliers on the Costas, and their roster of happy clients expands by the day. However small or large your needs are, from a simple door replacement to a full scale conversion of your home into a green abode, Protec are the people you want.

Get in touch with them by phone, email or via their website www.grupo-protec.com Tel. (+34) 952 587 573 info@grupo-protec.com

WE DARE TO

By Amber Edirisinghe

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

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

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

THE FACES OF BELMEZ Jaen

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

SINCE

TEATRO ESLAVA Madrid

MANY

will know this building in Madrid as a popular nightclub and concert venue. However, in 1922, after an argument over a woman (exacerbated by fierce literary rivalry), playwright Luis Antón del Olmet was shot dead in the old theatre by writer Alfonso Vi dal. The spirit of Olmet is said to wander the building to this day, though he’d have to do something pretty dramatic to get himself noticed.

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

THORAX HOSPITAL Terrassa, Catalunya

SPECIALISING in patients with respiratory conditions, this former sanatorium in Terrassa was credited with having the highest suicide rate in Spain. Apparently, the suicides were triggered by a psychosis that patients developed during the course of their slow decline and, throughout the 1950s in particular, patients would throw themselves to their deaths from the ninth floor windows with alar ming regularity. They are said to haunt the gardens below, while the empty corridors are haunted by victims of the infamous ‘nurse of death’, a middle-aged woman who had a thing for injecting her patients with lethal doses.

THE GHOST OF CATALINA Casa Lercaro, Tenerife

THE16th century house of the Lercaro family stands on Calle de San Agustin in La Orotara, on the Canary Island of Tenerife. The story goes that Antonio Lercaro had a daughter called Catalina who, on being forced to marry an ol der man, committed suicide by jumping into a well behind the house. Having taken her own life, she was denied a church burial, and was buried in one of the rooms of the house, from where she has haunted the property ever since.

Haunting homes

From

THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN CHIMNEYS Madrid

LOCATED

by Plaza del Rey in the heart of the capital, the Casa de las Siete Chimeneas belonged to Captain Zapata and his wife Elena in the 16th century. After Zapata died while off with the Armada in Flanders, Elena was discove red dead in her bedroom. The cause of death was never deter mined because her body vanished without a trace, however, the servants believed it was murder. Rumours circulated that Elena had been having a secret affair with King Felipe II and that he had killed her. In the end, her father was accused of Elena’s death and hung from the rafters of the house. Since then, many claim to have seen a woman dressed in white on the roof, pointing towards the Alcazar, home of the King. Despite this damning indictment, no-one did anything about it and, after a while, the ghost gave up. But Elena’s story was revived in more re cent times when, during work on the building, the corpse of a woman was discovered, bu ried with a handful of gold coins dating from that era.

WHETHER

you are looking to sell, buy, rent or let a house, villa or apartment, Property on the Med has you covered.

The company offers a full range of the ser vices needed including sales and holiday rentals. It also offers management services that can be chosen from different packs in order to suit whatever the client requires.

For those choosing a management service, the company can take care of constant up keep of your property, or just a simple check before new guests arrive - clients simply choose the package they require.

The services offered are based on personal request and the team’s working method is tailored to each individual property.

Cleaning and Laundry Assistance, a Child Accessory Pack, Fire Safety Package, and Security packages can all be asked for.

Based in Estepona, Property on the Med operates along the coast from Marbella to Sotogrande.

For those wanting to sell, the team is high

SIT

CHILDREN

with tuberculosis were treated at this sanitorium in Alicante. It is claimed that it was a place of cruelty where nuns would inflict punishments on the children – those who wet the bed, for example, were forced to wrap the sheets around their heads, and were paraded around the dining hall at breakfast time. Years after its closure in 2002, researcher Pedro Amoros reported seeing a white lady appear in the mirror, which led many more to go and investigate – and yes, they saw her too, along with creepy shadows. They say that if you see the white lady in the mirror and she laughs, you’ll be alright. But if she is crying, something bad is coming your way.

Property on the Med does the work so you don’t have to

THE MYSTERY OF OCHATE Burgos

PARANORMAL

activity has engulfed not just one house, but the entire village of Ochate near Burgos for years. The village has been abandoned since the middle of the 19th century when epidemics wiped out the population. There have been reports of a young girl shouting ‘kanpora’ (‘out’ in Basque) and of a woman’s voice in an empty room. It’s even got some aliens: a UFO was spot ted there in 1981. Allegedly.

ly knowledgeable and experienced and can guide you with the utmost professionalism into helping you sell in a timely manner.

If you are looking to buy, Property on the Med has a wide range of properties listed and the team can help you select the ideal spot to buy your dream home.

As for holiday rentals, you have quality prop erties to choose from in popular locations including Casares, Estepona, Manilva, and Marbella.

The business also works in collaboration with Asssa insurance, which provides health insurance for expats and residents through out Spain.

So if you are looking for your perfect home in the sun while having all your medical insur ance ready to use if needed, Property on the Med should be your first stop.

But don’t just take it from us, see for your self at www.propertyonthemed.com and find your perfect home or holiday rental. They can take care of everything, so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy.

686 723 656 or +44 7490

SANATORIUM OF SANTO ANGEL DE LA GUARDA MADRID

BUILT in 1941, this Madrid sanato rium was dedica ted to the treat ment of illnesses like tuberculosis, leprosy, polio, fibrosis and lung cancer. It later became a mental health facility and was finally closed in 1995. Daring indivi duals who have explo red its halls in search of patient records and hospital parapherna lia have reported see ing strange figures in the corridors, hearing voices and slamming doors, and – perhaps worst of all – have had their electrical devices suddenly powering off.

AGUAS DE BUSSOT Alicante

CORTIJO JURADO Malaga

THISspooky mansion, located in the Campanillas district on the edge of Malaga, was once the home of the Here dia family. At least 30 women disappeared between 1890 and 1920, and all were found dead on the river banks near the house, covered in marks of torture suggestive of satanic rites. There were said to be tunnels running from the river to the house, and suspicion fell on the family. To this very day, people often claim to hear haunting moans and to have seen shadowy figures in the windows.

OLD BUILDING OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL OF GRANADA Granada

THISbuilding was formerly a department store, and during a renovation of it in the 1970s, builders discovered hu man bones, including those of children, hidden behind the walls.

Employees reported strange happenings such as escalators star ting by themselves, lights going off and on, and objects moving around.

By 1985, when the provincial council took over, nothing had changed: typewriters clacked and drawers opened, things would disappear, ghostly figures were sighted, and screams could be heard throughout the corridors.

A formal investigation was carried out the following year, with all the evidence corroborating what was known of the history. The employees refused to continue working there, and the building was closed in 1993.

HOLY COW!

Works begin on ancient 9th century mosque hidden inside farmhouse

WORKS have finally begun to protect an extraordinary secret mosque hidden inside an an cient cortijo near Antequera. It comes after a team of ar chaeologists and architects spent the summer analysing the scale and history of the ninth century religious site. Some €30,000 has been ini tially set aside to protect the remarkable building, Cortijo de las Mezquitas, in Campillos. More expansive excavation works will begin next year with an eye to eventually opening the site to the public.

Campillos council housed a research team, led by Polish archaeologist Dr Angelo Cas trorao over the summer, and previously shored up the main entrance and installed a peri meter fence.

The mosque had been con verted into a farm in the 16th century, after the Moors were finally expelled from Andalu cia.

It had been originally built in around 880 by the Emir of Cordoba, who later moved further east to build Medina Azahara.

Eventually bought by a local family, the Alcaldes, who far med it for olives and wheat for centuries.

It was not until 2006 that an yone realised that it had once been a mosque, mostly thanks to the appearance of a classic Arabic arch.

Thanks to Spanish historian Carlos Gozalbes, the Junta was called in and in 2008 it was finally declared a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC).

HELPING HAND

Municipalities subsidise the installation of PV systems with IBI discounts

MANY municipalities in Spain subsidise the installation of photovoltaic systems. Those who meet the relevant condi tions can save up to 50% on property tax (IBI), in some cases over several years. Solar power is currently on everyone’s lips. For this reason, numerous munici palities are now offering grants or sub sidies for solar installations. In the prov ince of Málaga, there are already several local authorities that reward the installa tion of solar panels on residential build ings with a deduction on property tax.

Torremolinos, Vélez-Málaga and Alhaurín de la Torre grant a 50% reduction in IBI, for the first year, on a solar system for personal use.

The city of Malaga, on the other hand, is not quite so generous: 15% for a maxi mum of three years. Antequera offers 40% and Ronda 30% for the same pe riod. Marbella offers a 25% discount on the IBI for a total of five years.

You can easily find out what deductions the various municipalities actually grant, on council tax, at the relevant municipal office or town hall.

Local subsidies on IBI, depending on the amount, accelerate the amortisation of a photovoltaic system.

However, the subsidies are also tied to certain conditions regarding the sys tem’s output, depending on the size of the house.

Smart Photovoltaic will help you to imple ment your system in such a way that your respective municipality council-tax-re bate conditions are met.

SMART PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS

The company Smart Photovoltaic Sys tems from Alhaurín de la Torre is one of the leading providers of high-quality PV systems on the Costa del Sol and beyond. The owner and founder of the company is Frank Weiss. He has been in the solar business for 15 years. After about 1,300 installations in residential properties, in dustrial premises and solar parks; Weiss is your trusted contact for photovoltaics. His company offers systems with and

without storage solutions, depending on the customer’s requirements. All work is carried out by his professional team; the solar modules come with a 25-year guarantee.

We will be happy to provide you with a non-binding cost estimate for a suitable photovoltaic system for your home or your business. Frank Weiss and his team look forward to hearing from you.

CLUES: Classic arch entrance is one surviving remnant at Cortijo de las Mezquitas

MOORISH ARCHES: at Medina Azahara

LOOP HOLE

Savvy squatters will find a way round proposed new law, writes Mark Stucklin

Spanish Socialist par ty seems to have come around to the idea of fast-tracking the eviction of squatters, but their proposal lea ves a loophole that savvy squat ters will know how to exploit.

Earlier this year the opposition PP party on the right proposed le gislation to fast-track the eviction of squatters that got no support from the governing Socialist par ty, who run the Spanish govern ment in coalition with the hardleft Podemos party.

Indeed, the Spanish press reports that previous efforts by the PP to propose legislation to fast-track the eviction of squatters was scoffed at by the then Socialist spokesman Antonio Magdalena as intended to ‘generate fake so cial alarm’ and damage the ima ge of Spain.

But, with a General Election loo ming next year, the Socialist par liamentary group in the Spanish Congress has tabled an amend ment to a draft bill (on the or ganisation of the justice system) intended to give magistrates the

power to evict squatters in Spain ‘within a maximum of 48 hours,’ and that also envisages changes to the criminal prosecution sys tem to facilitate the prosecution of some types of squatting.

The proposal would allow ma gistrates to order the eviction of squatters within 48 hours ‘wi thout the need to present gua rantees, if the occupiers of the property cannot produce in that time frame the legal title that legitimises their presence in the property’.

But there’s a snag.

Magistrates would have to in form the public prosecutor and social services if the squatters in clude anyone at risk of ‘social ex clusion’ or ‘vulnerable minors’, which could hold up evictions for months if not years.

Most squatters, in particular squatter mafia gangs who extort money from owners by holding their home to ransom, would know how to exploit this loophole to full advantage.

This initiative sets the Socialists at odds with their coalition partners

from the hard-left Podemos par ty who are against any measure that makes it easy to evict anyo ne, whatever the cir cumstances. “They shouldn’t assume the agenda of the Right, because if they do, the Right wins,” says Podemos law-maker Rafa Mayoral, criti cising the Socialists in comments to the press. This comes at a delicate time for the governing leftist coalition

as they try to agree a new hou sing-law that Podemos wants to use to introduce rent controls all over Spain, make evictions almost im possible, and turn all the properties of the Sareb ‘bad bank’ into social housing. The law is supposed to be passed before the end of the year but the Socialists and Podemos can’t seem to agree on a draft to put before parliament.

Socialist support for the idea of fast-tracking squatter evictions is good news as it signals that a political majority are now in fa vour of the idea in principle. However, in practice, nothing is going to change for the fore seeable future.

Extorting homeowners by hol ding properties to ransom will continue to be a profitable cri minal enterprise with little risk of punishment in Spain, especially in squatter-friendly Catalunya, where close to half of all squa tting takes place.

The Socialists and Podemos can’t seem to agree on a draft

PROBLEM: Squatting is becoming an ever bigger issue in Spain

LOCATION SWAP

Second home marketplace Pacaso is expanding with new properties in the UK and southern Spain, writes Jon Clarke

WHETHER

you are a fed-up over worked Londoner looking to escape the weather or a homesick expat pin ing for home, Pacaso has an option.

The American real estate company has dozens of homes available for co-ownership from Mar bella to London and Miami to Malibu.

Paying from as little as €429,450 you can have a share of a Spanish home that ensures you get six to seven stays a year in paradise. Or up the spend to €940,000 and you can have an eighth share of an amazing townhouse in Chelsea.

These are just some of the properties on the market from Pacaso, which include ski chalets in the Rocky Mountains, mansions in Palm Springs and villas in Tuscany.

With location always the main draw, the compa ny has carefully selected homes for sale in the

most exclusive, upmarket spots.

“We offer turn-key homes in top second home destination communities across the U.S., Mexico and Europe,” says Pacaso CEO Austin Allison. Moreover, they are carefully divided so each owner has their own private space, while there is a scheduling system that adapts to each own er’s preferences over time. Each is guaranteed access during high-season, at least twice, and can book multiple special dates per year. They can book from just two days before or up to two years in advance, via the Pacaso app.

“Unlike a timeshare, Pacaso is true property ownership,” adds Allison.” And you can pur chase anywhere from one eighth to one half of a home, essentially enabling you to right-size your ownership based on your individual life style and needs.”

Founded by real estate tech entrepreneurs, the company started by covering the key holiday areas of the US, including Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs and Florida and now has a second home available in London.

The property in Chelsea comes after the suc cess of another amazing home in Mayfair, which is now fully owned. The four-bedroom property is on a quiet side street in the heart of London’s SW3, a short stroll to shops, dining, pubs and galleries on the King’s Road.

Behind the charming period façade, the fivefloor house has been completely rebuilt to provide a spacious, light-filled, contemporary

space arranged over five floors.

You step into a classic open plan living area

then drop down to a kitchen-dining area, featuring a bespoke Roundhouse kitchen, with separate pantry and wine fridge. Slid ing doors open onto a secluded rear patio. Below this is a day light basement with home office, family room, and an en suite bedroom. Meanwhile in Mar bella there are two homes currently on offer.

Amazing Villa Vida, priced at €628,193, is a breathtaking

property drawing inspiration from contempo rary Californian living.

The five-bedroom, six bathroom property sits in Nueva Andalucia and counts on stunning wide views towards La Concha mountain and various golf courses.

On three floors, it has a main bedroom with bathroom including free-standing bathtub, up stairs, along with an exclusive sundeck, and two further bedrooms.

Downstairs is an open-plan great room, com prising kitchen, dining and lounging areas, all opening onto a spacious outdoor living area and pool. The kitchen is sleekly finished to the highest specifications, including a stun ning all-marble central work/breakfast island.

HOW PACASO CO-OWNERSHIP WORKS

"After 12 months of ownership, you are eligible to sell at any time at the price you choose,” explains CEO Austin Allison “Resale is fast and streamlined with our established marketplace of interested buyers.

“In many cases, homes are sold without the need for listing. If we don't have an active buyer waiting, your ownership will be marketed broadly on Pacaso and third-party real estate sites.

“As with any home sale, any equity gained is yours. On aver age Pacaso shares resell in fewer than 12 days, with a 12% gain on an annual basis."

Underneath, there’s a large family room and, tucked away at the back, two more bedrooms with a bath, perfect for children or guests.

Outside there is a roof terrace set up for al fres co dining, along with a hot tub; another terrace on the bedroom level with an enticing infinity pool area below.

Further down are two tiers of immaculate pri vate gardens, cascading elegantly down the hillside, all with excellent views.

The second villa is all about location, so sitting between two of Marbella’s best golf clubs Aloha and Las Brisas definitely takes some beating. Set in leafy hills, just five minutes from the coast, with both sea and mountain views, Villa Aire is most certainly a breath of fresh air.

The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom costs just €788,688 and comes with a pool, gymnasi um, sauna, and games room. It has a shady garden with a swimming pool with a children’s shallow area. Up on the roof is the perfect place for catching the rays all day round with views that go on for miles. Inside, it counts on an un derground cinema and games room, with pool table, while guests have their own wine cellar.

For more information contact europe@ pacaso.com or 936 073 712

DREAM ESCAPE: Villa Vida

SPACIOUS: Villa Aire

PRESTIGIOUS: Chelsea townhouse has four bedrooms

FIRED UP

It has survived 500 years; now fundraising is underway to save one of Granada’s oldest ceramics workshops, writes Jo Chipchase

ZARA isn’t the first place you’d think of for pottery handcrafted in an old tradi tion dating back to the days of Al-Andalus.

However, a collection of 2,200 pieces for the kitchen and bath room, made in the Fajalauza work shop in Granada, is attracting con siderable attention.

The collection is part of Zara Home’s Made by Artisans line: “Pieces that are the result of col laboration between centuries-old know-how and innovation, scru pulously respecting Granada's historical technique,” they say, adding that Fajalauza is one of the very few traditional factories es tablished at the end of the middle ages that is still operational today. But while the ceramics are highly prized, the building is on the brink of collapse.

Granada’s Albaicin barrio , famous for its cave houses and flamenco , is also home to many potters.

Its long association with ceramics dates back to Moorish times, and by the 16th century some 40 work shops were clustered in the upper Albaicin.

One of these, passed down through generations of the Morales family, is where Fajalauza ceramics are produced.

Despite the site being named a World Heritage Site 25 years ago, and an Asset of Cultural Interest when it celebrated its 500th birth day, the building has been left to deteriorate and is now in a peril ous state.

The Fajalauza Foundation, ded icated to preserving the cultural heritage of ceramics, took over the management in 2017, and has

now launched a fundraising campaign to save this his toric gem and turn it into an education centre.

Urgent emergency repairs are need ed to stop parts of the building from derelic tion.

At least €40,000 is needed to sal vage the roof, and €135,000 to repair and convert the workshop area where three multipurpose classrooms are planned.

A further €25,000 will be needed for disabled ac

TIMELESS: The pottery at Fajalauzadates back to Moorish times

cess and facilities.

If this historic building can be saved, it will provide everything required for the tra ditional produc tion of ceramics, including a His pano-Arabic kiln (which can use gorse as fuel).

The plan is to host masterclass es and artist res idencies, and to provide a cultural space.

A proposal has been made for it to become the Granada Museum of Ceramics.

Although the Fajalauza workshop sadly lost its mas

ter craftsman, Cecilio Morales recent ly, work continues much as it did five centuries ago.

The plates, bowls and vases, with their distinctive cobalt blue and green de sign set on a milky white background, are intended for everyday use, and re main hugely popular.

They are a frequently-spotted house hold object throughout towns in Grana da and much further afield.

With its decision to stock a limited collection online, Zara has shown that even a global retail giant dealing in mass production is capable of rec ognising the unique value of artisan craftsmanship and tradition.

However, its is shocking that in a town of such cultural wealth as Granada, in the Albaicin, and with World Heritage

Site status, the progressive deterio ration of this industrial heritage has gone unnoticed by governing adminis trations.-

You can donate via fajalauza.org

THREATENED: the historic pottery needs funds to survive

ITwas famously blown up by the French on their retreat from Ronda during the bloody Peninsula War.

Now the ancient castle that once lor ded over the historic old town is to serve a new purpose.

The castillo, which has served as a mo nastery and school, is to be converted into a luxury hotel with no doubt many French as its guests.

In an ambitious move, the Catalonia ho tel chain is to spend €10million conver ting the former church-run school into its third hotel in the town.

Creating 70 jobs, it will be a four-star hotel with access directly to the casco historico.

Next to the stunning Plaza Duquesa de Parcent, the 100-bedroom hotel will be within touching distance of Ronda’s main church, the Iglesia de Santa Maria la Ma yor and the town hall.

A deal has been struck between the buil ding's owners, the Fundacion Moctezuma and the chain, giving it an initial 50-year lease.

The building has not been used for over 20 years and is currently a public car park.

Construction is expected to begin early next year, with the hotel opening in three years.

The mayor of Ronda, Mari Paz Fernandez described the agreement as a ‘historic one’ for the town in terms of its urban significance and for tourism.

The Catalonia chain already has two other hotels in the town, the celebrated Reina Victoria, built by British builders in the 1890s when a railway line arrived in Ronda from the coast two centuries ago.

Its other, the Hotel Catalonia Ronda, is a four star hotel that opened opposite the bull ring five years ago.

The invasion of Napoleon from Fran ce and the subsequent Peninsular War caused much suffering in Ronda, which saw its population shrink from 15,600 to 5,000 in three years.

BACK TO LIFE

Ronda’s historic castle is to be reborn as a luxury hotel

TWO leading Costa del Sol hotels are getting a major facelift.

San Cristobal hotel in Marbe lla is to be converted from a three to four-star hotel by ad ding a rooftop pool and gym. It closed this week for a com prehensive upgrade that also includes adding 10 rooms to take its total to 110 rooms. The hotel has been in the local

Double whammy

Parra family since the 1960s. Meanwhile iconic five star Los Monteros, in Marbella, closes next month to undertake a multi-million euro upgrade.

The 173 room hotel, also built in the 1960s, was bought by private Swiss investors for €47million earlier this year.

NORTH GORGE DEVELOPMENT

LAST 8 REMAINING VILLAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION – RESERVE YOURS NOW!

Within the enclave of the natural backdrop of the historic North Gorge of Gibraltar, this development of 48 detached and terraced houses is underway as scheduled following the successful off plan sale of Phase I. The North Gorge development has been shortlisted for a Gibraltar Sustainability Award. Few remaining properties for sale in phase II with prices ranging between £1.450 to £1.895 million.

THE BUCKTHORN – GIBRALTAR £1,875,000 - £1,895,000 (OFF PLAN PRICE)

Bedrooms: 5 | Bathrooms: 5

Semi-detached 4 storey villa with integral garage, garden, balconies, car port and solarium terrace with jacuzzi. Passenger lift serving all levels including roof.

PROPERTY DETAILS

Interior size: 232m² | Total area: 319m²

Balcony/Roof Terrace: 61m² | Garden/Outdoor Terrace: 26m²

THE BAY – GIBRALTAR £1,450,000 (OFF PLAN PRICE)

Bedrooms: 3 | Bathrooms: 3

Terraced Villas also with integral garage, rear garden, balconies, car port and solarium roof terrace. Passenger lift serving all levels including roof.

PROPERTY DETAILS

Interior size: 160m² | Total area: 254m² Balcony/Roof Terrace: 54m² | Garden/Outdoor Terrace: 40m²

17b The Balcony

Casemates

THE FIG – GIBRALTAR £1,595,000 (OFF PLAN PRICE)

Bedrooms: 4 | Bathrooms: 4

Terraced villas also with integral garage, balconies, car port and solarium roof terrace. Passenger lift serving all levels including roof.

PROPERTY DETAILS

Interior size: 180m² | Total area: 280m² Balcony/Roof Terrace: 69m² | Garden/Outdoor Terrace: 31m²

THE FERN – GIBRALTAR £1,795,000 (OFF PLAN PRICE)

Bedrooms: 4 | Bathrooms: 4

Terraced Villa also with integral garage, balconies, car port and solarium roof terrace.

PROPERTY DETAILS

Interior size: 204m² | Total area: 301m² Balcony/Roof Terrace: 78m² | Garden/Outdoor Terrace: 18m²

Tel: 00(350)

Email: info@bfagib.com

modern luxury villa, probably one of the best in this complex due to its central location and views. Located in a gated community of only 40 villas, offers 24h security, a clubhouse with a gym, an indoor heated pool and a restaurant. The parking area and main entrance of this home are on the top of the building, where you have a hall and access to the lift and stairs. Coming down one level we find a large floor that consists of a high-quality open plan kitchen, next to a dining area that opens to the living room, where we see a cosy fire place and access to the panoramic terrace that enjoys fantastic views of the sea and the mountains surrounding Benahavís, on this same level there is a guest toilet.

at close quarters, giving a “people watching” opportunity that is uncom Ash, a mechanic from Lanjaron, told the Olive Press: “I had a great time, but I didn’t manage to talk to any famous DJs during my visit on the

This year, the big names were joined by emerging talent from La Alpujarra, including new band, Los Cosmics, who im pressed the Satur day night revellers with a rousing live show, DJ W3 who hails from Lan jaron; and DJ Phil Vega of Dub Valle HiFi, who attracted a crowd of “happy, smiling people” on the Friday night with his reggae selection.

The event also featured talks about the music business and – to help guests chill out - a poolside

gong bath from Orgiva resident, Danny “Tonguedong”, who manufactures his own artisan drums made from recycled butane gas bottles.

While the daytime scene at Space Moun tain might be relaxed, the night-time vibe – as witnessed by the Olive Press – fea tured true musical diversity, with every thing from the genuinely “cosmic” (and weird) through to banging techno trance, which filled the outdoor tent with enthu siastic fans who danced until the early hours.

To make the most of Space Mountain, we recommend that you take a camping ve hicle or a tent where you can grab some rest. At very least, a warm blanket!

An impressive site

Built in a prime location with 360-degree panora mas, Space Mountain re

cording studios sits just above the Lecrin town of Albunelas and commands impres sive views towards Durcal and La Alpujar ra. A stroll through its warren-like corri dors reveals a wall displaying silver discs from The Orb, ‘UF Orb’ and gold discs for Yazz, ‘The Only Way is Up’. It also features state-of-the-art recording equipment. During the event, the house is thrown open to the diverse range of guests. Three crystal-clear sound systems provide en tertainment round the clock. Most visitors are impressed by the festi val.

After all, it makes a welcome change from town fiestas with ‘charanga’ music aimed at old people, or free techno parties held in dusty fields.

“We had a great time,” said Nikki Mitchell from Orgiva.

“We jammed with The Egg”, said DJ W3. “What a shin dig, next level blast off!” said Shaun Bolton from Competa.

FASHION with Freya

ON THE UP: Los Cosmics take the crowd by storm

atelier vintage

Up-cycled furniture in the heart of Capileira, where old is new again! New colours, new textures, new life, new look!

Whatever way you decide to wear your prints this season, the most important thing is to have fun with them and feel great!

Up and coming band, Los Cosmics, was delighted to play at Youth’s studio, in front of the receptive Sat urday night crowd. Los Cos mics is a four-strong band hailing from the cultural melting pot of Orgiva, just down the road from Lec rin. The lead singer is Liam Sensless. How does he describe his band’s musical style? “Tumbling down the An

dalucian hills, post-trip... punk demonic blues and apocalyptic spoken word.” In plain English? It’s a cross be tween psychedelia and punk.

Visit our workshop (by appointment only) Plaza Calvario 12, Capileira capileiracasasconencanto@gmail.com @capileira_casas_con_encanto

Photo Credit: Franky Cero

Photo Credit: Martin Glover

Photo Credit: Claire James

NY HERE WE COME

Costa del Sol recovers direct flight route to New York

THE Costa del Sol will once again have a direct flight con nection to New York.

UNITED Airlines will start flying direct between New York and Malaga as the city deemed the gateway to Spain’s Costa del Sol surges in popularity.

Malaga was among five oth er European cities the major American carrier will fly to as it expands its transatlantic summer flying schedule.

There will be three weekly flights to the American capital

By Anthony Piovesan

from May 31 next year until the end of September, 2023. The new schedule recovers the flight route to New York after Delta Air Lines canceled its direct flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy In ternational Airport (JFK) and Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP).

At the time Delta Air Lines deemed the route was not a business destination to

Mind the Ga-uge

which the carrier could sell its high-yielding seats.

Senior vice-president of glob al network planning and al liances Patrick Quayle said United Airlines expected ‘an other busy summer’ for inter national travel.

Booming

All flights will depart from the airline’s east-coast hub at New York-area’s Newark Lib erty International airport. It comes amid a booming holiday season for the region where tourists spent more money than before the pan demic in Andalucia, accord ing to the Spanish National Institute of Statistics.

Uncertainty reigns

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

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

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PROTECTING AGAINST VOLATILITY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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A suburban train network will once again include a stop at El Caminito del Rey in its itinerary. From the first quarter of 2023 trains that run onthe C-2 Málaga-Álora line will stop at the El Chor ro-Caminito del Rey train station. The recovery of the train to El Caminito del Rey, a spectacular walkway that has become one of the jewels of Andalucia, is an action that has been in cluded in the General State Budget. A budget that has allocated €225.8 million for investments in Malaga.

Is it time to review your strategic financial planning?

Regular reviews are instrumental to successful wealth management. Tax and succession regulations change regularly – are your arrangements up to date? Is your investment portfolio and pension planning suitable for today and the future?

At Blevins Franks we specialise in strategic financial planning from a holistic perspective. We start by discussing your situation and concerns, then analyse your residency, domicile, cross-border taxation, financial structuring, pensions, and estate planning wishes before outlining our personalised recommendations.

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Blevins Franks Wealth Management Limited (BFWML) is authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority, registered number C 92917. Authorised to conduct investment services under the Investment Services Act and authorised to carry out insurance intermediary activities under the Insurance Distribution Act. Where advice is provided outside of Malta via the Insurance Distribution Directive or the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, the applicable regulatory system differs in some respects from that of Malta. BFWML also provides taxation advice; its tax advisers are fully qualified tax specialists. Blevins Franks Trustees Limited is authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority for the administration of trusts, retirement schemes and companies. This promotion has been approved and issued by BFWML.

The great escape Sail with a mission

ELIDA V, a top-modern per formance megayacht that ‘sails for Jesus’ has docked at Mala ga port.

Named after a Swedish all-Christian organisation, working under the motto ‘Sail ing for Jesus’, it has the goal of spreading the message about Jesus Christ and in recent years has become known as the ‘sailing singing church’.

To celebrate Spain’s National Day the megay acht of gospel singers became Malaga port’s musical stage for the day.

Owned by the Elida Christian Foundation, the ship takes on board be tween 1,000 and 1,500 teen agers per year, most of them with musical training.

Cheers to that

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

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

Spanish bar is the Best in the World

By Alex Trelinski

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

BACK ON TRACK

ANDALUCIAN airports have seen a total of 21 million passengers ar rive up until the end of September. The figure is 87.8% of the numbers seen in the same period of 2019, the last year before the global pan demic hit, and an increase of 256%

compared to the same period in 2021.

According to airports operator Aena, a total of 14.1 million pas sengers used Malaga in this period, equivalent to 90.4% of those seen up to the end of September 2019.

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

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

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

Accessed by opening a

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

Innovation

“Each day for seven years we have tried to be the best version of ourselves,” says Margarita Sader, Giannot ti’s partner and co-owner of Paradiso.

“We started with three people in our team, and now we are 40. We are so proud of them and we just want to be the most cre ative and innovative bar that we can.”

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

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

Cheaper

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

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

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

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

JUST CHAMPIÑON!

Spain’s mushroom hunting craze: Dilip Kuner tells you how to do it safely

AS the sun sets on summer, mushroom hunters across Spain take up the challenge of tracking down their favou rite wild and wonderful edible fun gi, found in far flung forested areas

across the country.

Mushrooms are an essential in gredient in any traditional Spanish kitchen.

They are often at the centre of a meal, and sometimes they are the only ingredient!

There’s no doubt about it, they go tan talisingly well cooked in butter, virgin olive oil, parsley and gar lic, alongside fresh ly baked bread and perhaps even a glass of wine.

But it’s not all about the taste, the hunt is just as important and much more fun! This is why from late-Sep tember to mid-De cember every year thousands of basket wielding Spanish res

idents head off into the forests with their friends and families.

Whilst Catalunya and the Basque country may be the most famed for the edible fungi, and where it is most popular, hunting spots can be

Spain and the Czech Republic are the only two European countries where the possession and cultivation of magic mus hrooms is fully legal.

DID YOU KNOW?

THE RIGHT CHOICE

Personalised products and great offers to meet customers’ real needs!

WHEN it comes to choosing an insur ance policy, price will (of course) be a significant factor, but you really need to consider what you’re going to get for your money.

Are you paying for what you actually need? Will you have the backing of a reputable company that really understands your requirements –and can they offer the right advice on the right product(s) for you?

The insurance market is now more competi tive than ever before, so it’s not surprising that consumers are increasingly looking for more competitive packages that can be tailored to their own circumstances. LIBERTY SEGUROS understands this, which is why it continues to innovate its range to be able to offer products that can be personalised to suit customers’ real needs.

Furthermore, it regularly offers fantastic deals to not only to new customers but also existing customers to reward their continual loyalty. For example, from now up until 24th November 2022, with LIBERTY SEGUROS existing clients will receive €60 Cashback on each new policy that they take out. New clients can make great

savings too, with €30 Cashback on their first Life, Home or Car policies and €60 Cashback on subsequent new policies thereafter*. Best of all though, their competitive products now come with more benefits and advantages than ever before!

As an example, all your car’s extras are cov ered as standard, for free, if they have been fitted by the vehicle’s manufacturer.

When it comes to Home policies, for example, you can get compensation for additional wa ter costs due to a broken pipe up to the value of €1,000; and up to €600 per claim/year to help with the unblocking of pipes.

With regard to Life policies, you have the option of taking out Level Term Life Insurance with no premium increase for 10 years, guaranteeing the same death benefit and the same level of payments for the full length of the term.

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

For the location of your nearest broker/agent, simply visit

Conditions

or call 91 342 25 49

minimum premiums will be applied

found nationwide. It’s a serious business and some mushroom hunters are known for jealously guarding the locations of their fa vourite picking spots. The last thing they want is competition, and unfortunately some parties pillage

areas entirely for commercial gain.

Some locations are said to be so secret that they are passed down through the genera tions. The se cret locations are shrouded in mystery and shared only with the closest fam ily and friends.

Thousands of people enjoy the foraging season every year, and researching all the different types of mush rooms can be a full-time job in itself. Fans of the niche are

so dedicated that an entire mini industry of mushroom identifying mobile apps have popped up in re cent years.

Did you know that there are around 2,000 species of mushroom in Spain of which 175 are edible, and 25 are toxic.

Sadly, there are some dangers and every year there are on average 400 serious cases of mushroom poisoning in Spain, and whilst rare, there are always some deaths.

A 61-year-old died in Huelva recent ly after mistaking two poisonous mushrooms for Amanita Pondero sas, which are edible and common ly found in the area.

A few days after eating them he be came unwell, was admitted to hos pital and died.

The Amanita Phalloides (Death Cap) or the Pantera Boletus are among the most dangerous spe cies. The fungus caus es severe liver failure which requires an ur gent liver transplant within 10 days to avoid death.

Symptoms include severe vomiting and diarrhea, and can ap pear up to 24 hours after consuming a tox ic mushroom. Anyone experiencing this should urgently go to the nearest hospital and give as many details about the mush room(s) you consumed as possible.

ery year there are some deaths in Spain due to the consumption of this type of mushroom … those who die or get sick the most are those who believe they are experts and are so confident”. Guerra explained that poisonous Amanita mush rooms can often hide among edible types and can be missed and eaten accidentally.

There is another danger associat ed with mushroom hunting, and that’s the environment! Firefighters in Castellon, for example, last year rescued or treated 20 people who became lost whilst mushroom hunting.

Venture out early to avoid nightfall and check weather conditions

Chief search and rescue officer Javier Botet urges caution during the mushroom hunting season. He asks pickers to carry a phone with a full bat tery, ensure they have coverage and know how to send a location.

Dr. Gonzalo Guerra Flecha, founder and hepatologist of the Digestive Diseases Medical-Surgical Cen ter (CMED) told Heraldo that: "Ev

QUEEN OF THE WOODS

A domestic delicacy, the exquisite mushrooms ‘amanita caesarea’ variety were named as such because the Roman emperors favoured them. Also known as ‘the king’s egg’ or ‘the death cap’, it is one of gastronomy’s favourites. In search of a prime mushroom concoction? Try ‘revueltos’, an easy, quick fix combining free range eggs, mushrooms and ham.

Botet advises groups to venture out early to avoid nightfall, to check the weather conditions, wear suitable footwear for mountain and forest walking, and always go in groups. He advised people to never sepa

SCAVENGE: In Northern Spain

FUN: but be sure you know what you are doing!

rate from their group, but if people decide to head off alone, they should tell oth ers where they are going to go and what time they plan to return. Just remember that the vast

majority of people enjoy mushroom hunting every year without incident. If you take precautions, do your research and go with an ex perienced mushroom hunter, you can too.

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

THE round, seedy pome granate - whose Spanish name is shared with po pular city, Granada - is believed to have been in troduced by Spain to the Americas.

Orange – An iconic Spa nish fruit, the mighty oran ge can fight even the hars hest autumn cold.

Chirimoya – Spain is the world’s leading producer of the weird and wonder ful custard apple – think a marriage of pineapple, mango, and strawberry milkshake.

Kiwi – Rich in vitamin C, this fruit is grown in nor thern Spain from Galicia to the Basque country.

Chestnuts – open fires in the street serving up smoky chestnuts in paper cones are the ultimate sof tener to winter in Spain.

Artichoke – Spain produ ces the world’s most arti chokes after Italy – whe ther grilled with garlic or stuffed with cheese, they are irresistible.

Mushrooms aren’t the only thing in season in Spain in November

Lifesaving pill

Elderly patients would live longer if they took a cheap threein-one daily pill instead of multiple different tablets, a study presented in Barcelona suggests.

The pill - containing aspirin, a statin and a drug to lower blood pressure - reduced deaths from heart disease in atrisk patients by one third compared with conventional care.

Doctors told a European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona recently that in a trial, older patients were more likely to adhere to life-saving medication if they had to take only one tablet each day.

The study involved 2,500 patients from seven European countries - they had an average age of 76 and had all previ ously suffered a heart attack.

A MAJOR mass gathering on the Costa del Sol has been linked to the rapid spread of monkeypox in Spain and other countries, ac cording to new research.

A study from GeoSentinel Net work - the data branch for the International Society of Travel Medicine - involved 226 monkey pox cases from 15 countries, 35% of them from Spain.

Of 219 patients whose data was available, 216 reported sexual or close intimate contact in the 21 days before they started to notice

TRANSMISSION ALERT

symptoms.

The study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and adds to previous medical research showed the monkeypox outbreak was pri marily fuelled by sexual contact.

Of 161 patients whose data was available, 37 met their sexual partners at large public gath erings, including Torremolinos Pride, which took place between May 30 and June 4 this year.

Respondents also reported meet ing sexual partners at the Maspal omas Festival on Gran Canaria Island between June 9-19, before symptom onset.

Sexual contact

There have been 7,219 cases of monkeypox in Spain since Janu ary 1 this year - two people have died.

Gift of life

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

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

The recipient was a one-yearold girl who had been diag nosed with intestinal failure aged just one month. This is the first time a socalled asystole transplant of the intestine has been per formed. This means that after doc tors confirm the absence of a heartbeat and breathing functions, the donor’s or gans are artificially preserved through a system known as Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO).

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

The operation was carried out at the La Paz hospital in

Stubbed out

BARCELONA has issued zero fines for smoking on beaches, despite a ban being in place since July. The City Hall imposed the ban with potential ly fixed penalty fines of €30 payable for anyone breaking the rules.

Despite the lack of punishment, Councillor for Environmental Transition Eloi Badia has hailed the initiative a success. He reported that anyone told not to smoke on the beaches has responded respectfully, and has either put out their cigarette or moved off the sand.

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

Madrid after three years of research.

Spain is a world leader in or gan transplants, with more than 102 carried out per million inhabitants in 2021, according to Health Ministry data cited by Reuters. Only the United States exceeds that figure.

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

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

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

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

By Simon Hunter

WORLD’S FIRST: Asystole transplant patient Emma

PIC CREDIT: EFE

N E W N A M E B U T

S T I L L T H E

S A M E

REcycle

Four-legged help

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

Wrong turn

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

Trump chum

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

RESS

Turn to the dark side

Man dressed as Darth Vader asks girlfriend to marry him

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

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

By Simon Hunter

fiancée.

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

Dedicated cheat

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

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

Yolanda posted: “The criminal procedural law in BIC pens. What art!” “Cheat sheets aren’t what they used to be,”

VIRAL: Darth Vader proposal was a huge hit

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

scene was provided by a full band, which played, among other tunes, the Imperial March from the Star Wars saga.

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

Short arm of the law

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

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

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

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