Mallorca Olive Press - Issue 65

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Vol. 3 Issue 65 www.theolivepress.es October 11th - October 24th 2019

REMEMBERING THE FLOODS ...And this is why:

SEE Page 4

SHE was the glamourous girlfriend of one of the true expat kings of the Costa Blanca.

Living an enviable jet-set lifestyle, driving fast cars and wearing designer dresses, Jody Smart appeared to have it all.

But this week she was forced to answer questions about her involvement in the running of a finance company that collapsed

Power grab SPAIN’S PP party has cious plans for a powerset out audagrab to take back control from Valencia and the other autonomous regions.

Leader Pablo Casado announced his commitment to strengthen the central government’s role to the national elections in the run up He insisted that such in a fortnight. prevent corruption anda move would lead to a drop in taxes.

It comes as the party attempts to see off the threat from an Party, whose leader hasinsurgent Vox autonomous parliamentsdescribed the as the ‘cancer of Spain’.

Under the plan, the PP wants to increase resources for regional delegations and paralyse government transfer of power to the any further regions.

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Issue 28

April 2019 DREAMY: Period

home restored

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in Spain

WOAH: Emerging from the rock, this stunning home in Valencia is trademark Fran Silvestre, a Spanish architect who is continuing to make his mark in the architectural world.

See Fran-tastic page VI

ROCK STEADY

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HE average property price in Spain two consecutive years for the first has grown for The national average Prices rise for time house price rose in a decade. two consecutive 3.9% to 8.4%, according from between while years, Along the Mediterranean mortgage values to various However, he added coasts and on sources. ‘at the very least, continue to grow Spanish most foreigners the the data suggests property cording to Tinsa,buy, the average price hike has islands, where Balearic Islands. that the Mortgage lendingcontinued to grow last year.’ been 4.06%, acBut the figures Spain’s leading property appraisal “Prices have been January to 19,390 to home buyers meanwhile company. rising most was up 6.1% new loans, according during the longhave mostly not yet made up for six year recession, the big drops but nothing like they did in theyears since the recovery began, Spanish Notaries. to the Association in enough with the exception boom of The of the respectedto claw back the ground lostyears, and nowhere near an average new loan made in January increase of 0.9% in the bust,” analyst Mark Stucklin, in a year. As long had a value of €135,616, of Spanish Propertyexplained residential acquisitions as mortgage lending Insight. the last continues to increase, for few years, the Spanish property marketas it has done for is set to grow.

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April 11th - April 24th 2019

FACE THE MUSIC

Judge set to take further steps after expat boss of suspect investment company fails to turn up at court

EXCLUSIVE

By Joshua Parfitt

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REuse in Spain THE beleaguered boss Govt in REduce REcycle exile of a failed wealth management company which allegedly lost expats more Confusion than €20 million has ignored a reigns summons to court.

Darren Kirby, of Alicante-based Continental Wealth (CWM), failed to turn Management Who’s up at Denia paying us?

Supremacy court on March 26.

According to Olive Press Casado insisted the move sources he Spain being administered would see was due to turn up, alongside ‘more effec- business former tively’. partners, who The case involves a trio did turn up.

The election hopeful stated of investors, that his who e Lions Threpub party would carry out Should a sweeping re- moneylost substantial amounts of have Three Lions view of how the regional when the company folded legged it pub in operate looking at ‘efficiencyauthorities 2017. and equi- Kirby allegedly HOW WE TOLD IT: ty.’ fled to Our 2017 reports llowing the collapse, Australia foSpain’s quasi-federal political finally retur- England.” system ning to Alicante of ‘autonomous states’ last year. former member of staff.

The Olive Press exclusively the constitution in 1978.was added to “Darren has been sent revealed a Prime Burofax Minis“It was a prestigious place how CWM abruptly folded which he didn’t sign for, ter Pedro Sanchez, whose but in 2017, day they so just shut the door,” one the constitution, strongly party drafted will now have to pursue himthe court losing hundreds of expats’ life she in other vings in the sa- said, asking not plan, insisting the PSOE opposed the ways,” a source said. process. to be would defend “A judge Victims had raised named.

The firm, which ‘tooth and nail’ the principal of regio- it’s under is dealing with this and Marriott Hotel, was based out of the asked to sign blankfears about being nal self-government. legal review,” in Denia, had ‘eight dealing tions and their pensions instruc- NO “We understand he is he added. to ten’ telesales staff and clients SHOW: Darren Kirby being incurrently in ttered sca- vested in high-risk around Europe, revealed a large commissions.assets which paid res. “It is a blank cheque to invest wherever, whenever.

One pensioner based on the Cos- “It ta Blanca told the Olive is very worrying as they were Press he investing lost €210,000 after clients’ money in transferring risky €470,000 despite stating investments as well as highly he had a funds low to medium risk attitude. just because they paiddubious the higher “I was asked, ‘Can you sign this He commissions.” blank form. We will fill added that losses sustained in the detai- investors by ls.’ I did that trusting they would act verable should however, be recoin my best interests,” he as the investments that said. failed to perform, or went “They should have been for me and they were justlooking out linked to life insurance bust, were their own nests. To me feathering When the Olive Presspolicies. what they were doing.” they knew hold of Kirby in Octoberfinally got denied all responsibility. 2017, he Lawyer Antonio Flores, “I have lost Lawbird is representingwhose firm my world,” he said. of victims, said signing a number See pages 26-29 ment sheets was ‘very blank invest- Are you a victim or worrying’. member? Do you knowformer staff “This negates the very more essence about of the case? Contact the financial advisory services,”said Olive Press at Flo- newsdesk@theolivepress.es Tel. (+34) 96 649 18 29 info@hispaniahomes.es www.hispaniahomes.co.uk Vol. 1 Issue 15 www.theolivepress.es November 9th - November 22nd 2017

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What do Fatboy Slim, director Paul Haggis, John Travolta, Dean Norris and Pilou Asbaek have in common? They’ve all had links to the Balearics this week

FIND OUT WHY INSIDE

Expats who lost millions rage at ‘unauthorised’ deals involving ‘worrying’ signing of blank sheets

BACKING DOWN:

Pension peril

CATALUNYA’S beleaguered leader has vowed to fight on from abroad.

It came after Carles Puigdemont handed himself in to Belgian police when a European arrest warrant was issued.

He and four other politicians are accused on charges of rebellion, sedition, misuse of public funds, disobedience and breach of trust.

EXCLUSIVE A judge in Belgium now has

By Joe Duggan up to two weeks to decide if they will extradite the group to Spain.

BRITISH expats who lost up to €20 million in a failed pension advisory firm believe their Fight signatures may have been photocopied Given the whole extradition ments. onto investment docuprocess can take up to 60 Around 300 Brits, most living days, it means he may have in Spain, are battling to retrieve to run his entire election their funds after Alicante-based campaign for the Catalan firm Continental Wealth ManEuropean Democratic Party agement (CWM) folded in Sepfrom Belgium. tember, as His party wants him to fight Olive Press first reported in the for continued leadership of Boss Darrena month ago.

Kirby left for Austhe regional parliament in tralia following the closure of the December 21 elections. the company’s main Javea ofPuigdemont denied he had fices. fled to Brussels to avoid jus- Victims, who are spread across tice but that he left because Spain, as well as in Ibiza, Malthe Spanish government was lorca, Portugal, France and preparing a ‘wave of oppres- Turkey, fear illegal practices sion and violence’ against after being asked to sign blank separatists. dealing instructions.

“I’m absolutely convinced Their pension pots were then that the state was preparing invested in high-risk assets a harsh wave of repression which promised for which we would have all commissions. to pay out large been held responsible,” he One 69-year-old pensioner said yesterday. told the “The Spanish state is com- €210,000 Olive Press he lost mitting a brutal repression… €470,000 after transferring if we don’t battle repression had a ‘low despite stating he BOSS: Kirby now in to medium aversion together, the Spanish state to risk’ attitude Australia to investment. may win this fight.”

“I was asked, In a show of support to the blank form. ‘Can you sign this he said.

We will fill in the “They should have been looking deposed president, around details.’ I Untitled-1.pdf 1 16/06/2017 15:36 but they were just 200 Catalan pro-indepen- would act did that trusting they out for me in my best interests,” feathering their own nests. To dence mayors travelled to Brussels on Tuesday to stage a rally.

me they knew what they were doing.”

He added: “I believe some of the investments were made without my knowledge. I think that is the case because I do not recall signing sheets for all the investments I had.”

An email, seen by the Olive Press, shows CWM asking a client to sign and return a blank dealing instruction.

Another British expat, 55, who is trying to recover around €200,000, said some pensioners ‘have lost everything’.

“My paper work that I sent has been altered, my risk level was changed from ‘medium’ to ‘high’ and my dealing instructions have been photocopied repeatedly for buying and selling assets I didn’t authorise,” he said.

“I still have some money left and I am still young enough to get compensation, but my fund

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rying’.

“This negates the very essence of the service they are meant to offer,” said Flores. “It is a blank cheque to invest wherever, whenever.

“If standard practice, this is has gone down by half and I very worrying. need compensation to get it “Signing blank documents back on track. would be seen “But some people as irregular in a have lost everycourt of law. The thing and don’t problem with have enough to these firms is that live on. One rethey were all intired victim only PENSION vesting in highly has €50,000 left risky investments OUTRAGE without from €480,000.” the cliAndalucia-based ents knowing.” lawyer Antonio He claimed that Flores, whose losses sustained firm Lawbird by investors are representwould hopefully ing some CWM be recoverable victims, said signing blank inas the investments that failed vestment sheets was ‘very worto perform, or went bust, were linked to life insurance policies.

Pension trustees Momentum and Trafalgar are now attempting to recoup CMW clients’ losses.

The Olive Press has so far been unable to discover if CWM was registered to provide investment advice with Spain’s official financial regulator CNMV. New quality homes since 1958

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BACKING DOWN:

Carles

Confusion reigns

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Vol. 1 Issue 13 www.theolivepress.es

They’ve been getting stoned for centuries.

Now UNESCO is interested in Mallorca walls.

SEE PAGE 6

As Spain celebrates Hispania Day, the Olive Press runs a rule over Columbus

SEE PAGE 10

SPAIN’S prime minister has accused Catalan leader Puigdemont of causing Carles ‘confusion’ after signing a declaration of independence.

Mariano Rajoy demanded he clarify if he had really declared independence following day’s nail biting address Tuesto the Catalan parliament.

If so, Rajoy insisted trigger Article 155 ofhe could Spain’s constitution to allow Madrid to take direct control of Catalunya.

“There is an urgent need to put an end to the situation Catalunya is going through that - to Continues on Page

EXCLUSIVE

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Who’s paying us?

Expats lose millions in life savings

CONFUSION reigns over through failed who should foot the bill for Mallorca investment hotels hit by the collapse of airnational and Momentum line Monarch. scheme Pensions.

Balearic hotels are “People are terribly €10million bill over facing a disEXCLUSIVE the coltressed,” lapse that saw the emergency Granada-based

By Joe Duggan Brooks told the Olive repatriation of over 110,000 “They have lost large Press. back to the UK, many amounts from HUNDREDS of British expats of their retirement savings.”

Palma. are battling to retrieve She added: “Some Administrator KPMG pensions after losing their up to people are going to of these Olive Press ‘the debt told the £20 million in a failed end up back in Britain on benefits.”

Monarch to hoteliers owed by investment scheme. pension OFF TO OZ: Boss Kirby “I have nothing but praise as an unsecured claim’will rank Spanish-based financial and (above) team against at March charity bash Tony Barnett [Trafalgar for the defunct airline. sory firm Continental adviMD] and Stewart Davies [Momen“They will have to file a Management (CWM) Wealth One Marbella-based expat tum chef executive]. the joint administratorsclaim to last month obliterating folded told the Olive Press he sunk remain anonymous.

It is believed at least “The for all 300 of have been magnificent They the money they are owed,” heartbroken Brits’ life many £59,000 through CWM, only ‘This adviser kept telling me, CWM’s 900 clients have in trysaid Many savings. realising he had is guaranteed, it can’t had ing a spokesman. lost £39,000 go their pension pots decimated, Theto recoup people’s money.” of them had Olive Press understands “It has not been determined their private UKtransferred when his pension trustees sent below a certain level’.” with victims shocked it His money, and that pensions a statement. (yet) how much money of others discover the value of to later through the company, across Spain and France, their inwhose “I couldn’t believe available to creditors.” will be boss Darren was vestments had plummeted Untitled-1.pdf it. I have put into high-risk Kirby has now1al- 16/06/2017 lost thousands 15:36 ‘profession- dramatically. legedly moved to Australia. of pounds,” al investor revealed the victim, asking only’ to been claimed. assets, it has However, a source close to the case insisted: ‘There are still many customers who are is highly possible happy with their pension legal port- may be taken by some action folio.’ parties SPECIALIZING IN: Andalucia-based tax specialist against CWM, based out of headquarters in Alicante, Angie Brooks, a leading and CRIMINAL LAW on pension liberation expert its executives. and the founder of schemes Both the office in Javea and CIVIL LAW Life, has now launchedPension the website have recently shut.

BANKING (FLOOR CLAUSE) to help get victims’ a fight The group were pictured celmoney ebrating at a charity back. ball cently as March this year.as reFAMILY LAW She is working alongside sion trustees Trafalgar pen- When the Olive Press spoke Inter- to boss Kirby he ‘definitively’ denied responsibility crash. “I have lost myover the world,” he said.

A close associate of said former CWM staffKirby’s were all ‘very upset’.

“It is still quite raw for them, and they are working to do next,” he said. out what Find out more on page XX

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Ave de Gabriel Roca 4, Palma

Opinion Page 6

Opinion Page 6

Ave de Gabriel Roca 4, Palma

Carles

SPAIN’S prime accused Catalan minister has Puigdemont of leader Carles causing ‘confusion’ after signing of independence. a declaration Mariano Rajoy clarify if he had demanded he independence really declared day’s nail bitingfollowing Tuesaddress to the Catalan parliament.

If so, Rajoy insisted he could trigger Article constitution to 155 of Spain’s allow Madrid take direct control to of Catalunya.

“There is an put an end to urgent need to the situation that Catalunya is going through - to Continues on

Page 7

EXCLUSIVE

CONFUSION should foot thereigns over who hotels hit by thebill for Mallorca line Monarch. collapse of air-

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13 www.theolivepress.es

As Spain celebrates Hispania Day, the Olive Press runs a rule over Columbus

October 12th

- October 26th

2017

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whose boss It is believed by has nowDarren Kir- 300 at allegedly of CWM’s least moved to Australia.

900 clients have One had their Costa-del-Sol- pension based expat pots decimated, with Olive Press told the shocked victims he sunk to later to end £59,000 through cover the value of dis- ain on up back in BritCWM, only realising benefits.” their he investments had plum- “I have nothing had lost £39,000 when meted dramatically. but praise for Tony his pension Barnett trustees However, a source [Trafalgar sent a statement. close to the MD] and “I couldn’t case in- Stewart Davies sisted: ‘There [Momentum have lost believe it. I many are customers still tive]. Theychef execuof are pounds,” thousands revealed the have been happy with who magnificent victim, asking their pension portfolio.’ ing to recoup in trymain anonymous.to re- A ndalucia people’s “The adviser - b a s e d money.” tax specialist ing me, ‘This kept tell- Brooks, Angie The Olive Press una leading derstands it teed, it can’t is guaran- pert go below a is highly on pension ex- possible certain level’.” liblegal action eration schemes His money, and may be taken others acrossand that of the founder of Pension parties againstby some CWM, France, was Spain and aLife, has now launched fight to help put into high-risk ‘professional get victims’ money investor only’ back. assets, it She is working has been claimed. alongside pension trustees Trafalgar International and Momentum Pen- based out of headquarsions. ters in Alicante, “People are and its terribly executives. distressed,” Both the office based Brooks Granada- and in Javea told the the website Olive Press. have “They have recently shut. lost large amounts of When the Olive Press their retirement sav- spoke to boss Kirby he ings.” ‘definitively’ She added: responsibility denied these people “Some of crash. over the are going “I lost my world,” hehave said.

A close associate of Kirby’s told the Olive Press former CWM staff were all ‘very upset’.

“It is still for them, andquite raw they are working out what to do Ave de Gabriel Roca next,” he said.

4, Palma

ing many heartbroken private 1 UK 16/06/2017 pensions Brits’ life savings. through15:36 the company,

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in 2017, losing up to €20m of investors money.

While her former partner Darren Kirby failed to turn up to the hearing at Denia Court, she and a fellow director did agree to discuss their involvement in the

16/06/2017

15:36

CLUE: He’s a local lad...Find out on Page 3

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BACKING DOWN: Carles

Confusion reigns

SPAIN’S prime minister has accused Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont of causing ‘confusion’ after signing a declaration of independence.

Mariano Rajoy demanded he clarify if he had really declared independence following Tuesday’s nail biting address to the Catalan parliament.

If so, Rajoy insisted he could trigger Article 155 of Spain’s constitution to allow Madrid to take direct control of Catalunya.

“There is an urgent need to put an end to the situation that Catalunya is going through - to Continues on Page 7

Who’s paying us?

EXCLUSIVE

CONFUSION reigns over who should foot the bill for Mallorca hotels hit by the collapse of airline Monarch.

Balearic hotels are facing a €10million bill over the collapse that saw the emergency

They’ve been getting stoned for centuries.

Now UNESCO is interested in Mallorca walls.

SEE PAGE 6

expat paper in Spain FREE

As Spain celebrates Hispania Day, the Olive Press runs a rule over Columbus SEE PAGE 10

Expats lose millions in life savings through failed investment scheme EXCLUSIVE

By Joe Duggan

Brits’ life savings.

through the company,

whose boss Darren Kirby has now allegedly moved to Australia.

One Costa-del-Solbased expat told the Olive Press he sunk £59,000 through CWM, only realising he had lost £39,000 when his pension trustees sent a statement.

“I couldn’t believe it. I have lost thousands of pounds,” revealed the victim, asking to remain anonymous.

“The adviser kept telling me, ‘This is guaranteed, it can’t go below a certain level’.”

His money, and that of others across Spain and France, was put into high-risk ‘professional investor only’ assets, it has been claimed.

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PENSION OUTRAGE

repatriation of over 110,000 back to the UK, many from HUNDREDS of BritPalma.

Administrator KPMG told the ish expats are battling Olive Press ‘the debt owed by to retrieve their penMonarch to hoteliers will rank sions after losing up to as an unsecured claim’ against £20 million in a failed pension investment OFF TO OZ: Boss Kirby the defunct airline. and (above) team at “They will have to file a claim to scheme. the joint administrators for all Spanish-based finan- March charity bash the money they are owed,” said cial advisory firm Continental Wealth Mana spokesman.

“It has not been determined agement (CWM) folded Many of them had (yet) how much money will be last month obliterat- transferred their private UK Untitled-1.pdf pensions available to creditors.”

1 16/06/2017 ing many 15:36 heartbroken

SPECIALIZING IN: CRIMINAL LAW CIVIL LAW BANKING (FLOOR CLAUSE) FAMILY LAW

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SEE PAGE 20

It is believed at least 300 of CWM’s 900 clients have had their pension pots decimated, with victims shocked to later dis- to end up back in Britcover the value of their ain on benefits.” investments had plum- “I have nothing but praise for Tony Barnett meted dramatically.

However, a source [Trafalgar MD] and close to the case in- Stewart Davies [Mosisted: ‘There are still mentum chef execumany customers who tive]. They have been are happy with their magnificent in trying to recoup people’s pension portfolio.’

A n d a l u c i a - b a s e d money.” tax specialist Angie The Olive Press unBrooks, a leading ex- derstands it is highly pert on pension lib- possible legal action eration schemes and may be taken by some the founder of Pension parties against CWM, Life, has now launched a fight to help get victims’ money back.

She is working alongside pension trustees Trafalgar International and Momentum Pen- based out of headquarters in Alicante, and its sions.

“People are terribly executives. distressed,” Granada- Both the office in Javea based Brooks told the and the website have Olive Press. “They have recently shut. lost large amounts of When the Olive Press their retirement sav- spoke to boss Kirby he ‘definitively’ ings.” denied She added: “Some of responsibility over the these people are going crash. “I have lost my world,” he said.

A close associate of Kirby’s told the Olive Press former CWM staff were all ‘very upset’.

“It is still quite raw for them, and they are working out what to do next,” he said.

NOTORIOUS: Disgraced businesswoman Jody Smart

Opinion Page 6

shambolic actions of Continental Wealth Management (CWM).

As the Olive Press has exclusively revealed over a string of hardhitting stories, an estimated 300 expat investors lost millions to the suspect company.

They included many pensioners, some now dead, across the Balearic Islands and all around Spain.

In the latest hearing, Smart, 43, and Alan Gorringe gave declarations in one case linked to three British victims who lost ‘substantial investments’ due to the Alicante-based firm.

Solicitors are understood to be deliberating over what legal grounds exist for charges over a series of poor investments and suspicious house transactions in Spain. Each had been asked to provide a ‘declaracion de investigado’ as evidence in the proceedings. Jody, 43, who owns the Jody Bell fashion label, insisted

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Victims’ hope in long-running fraud case but CWM boss skips hearing

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PENSION OUTRAGE

Expats lose millions in life savings through failed investment scheme

Balearic hotels €10million bill are facing a EXCLUSIVE lapse that saw over the colthe emergency

By Joe Duggan repatriation back to the of over 110,000 UK, many from Palma.

HUNDREDS of BritAdministrator ish expats Olive Press ‘theKPMG told the to retrieve are battling debt owed by Monarch to hoteliers sions after their penwill rank as an unsecured £20 millionlosing up to the defunct airline.claim’ against in a failed pension “They will have investment OFF TO OZ: to file a claim to scheme.

Boss Kirby the joint administrators and (above) for all Spanish-based the money they team at finan- March charity a spokesman. are owed,” said cial advisory firm bash tinental Wealth Con“It has not been Mandetermined agement (yet) how much (CWM) folded Many of them money will be last had available to creditors.” transferred month obliterattheir Untitled-1.pdf

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that while she was a director she had no involvement in the actual company’s running.

She added that she had broken off a relationship with the actual boss Kirby, in 2017, who then allegedly moved to Australia to avoid justice.

It comes as a separate case involving 17 claimants has been filed against CWM, which had a high profile and gave various charitable donations.

The firm, based out of the Marriott Hotel, in Denia, has been accused of alleged fraudulent pension investment schemes that saw hundreds of expats lose tens of thousands of euros.

According to lawyer Antonio Flores, who is representing a number of clients, the firm was investing clients money in ‘highly risky investments as well as dubious funds’.

One pensioner told the Olive Press he had lost €210,000 after transferring €470,000 despite saying he had only a ‘low to medium’ attitude to risk.

The case continues.

Opinion, Page 6

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CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF Bleach baby A CRAWLING ninemonth-old baby has died after drinking from a bucket of bleach water at a house in Gandia.

Bonnie and collide TWO people have been arrested for refusing to stop at a routine police check before their car collided with several other vehicles in Palma.

Gang sent down A GANG of thieves have been arrested for a total of 39 years and seven months after they committed 21 robberies from properties in 2016 and 2017.

Driven to murder A FATHER has been arrested for attempting to murder his daughter by running her over, because he ‘did not approve of her current boyfriend.’

October11th - October 24th 2019

BONK ROBBERY Hookers fined after robbing client of €2,480 in drunken night out

A PAIR of prostitutes were given prison sentences after being found guilty of stealing thousands from a drunk client – and recording the whole ordeal on camera.

The man, 50, was robbed during a night out in Arenal last August after paying €300 for drinks and sexual services.

However, not happy with this haul the pair then persuaded the man to give them his credit cards and pin codes.

The inebriated tourist was nearly naked wearing women’s stockings at the time and was be-

By Gillian Keller

ing recorded.

The woman and a man who work at the establishment then took the credit cards and ran them through the brothel’s machine to a total of €2,480.

They were all eventually declined.

The two prostitutes and a male employee pleaded guilty to scamming a client and running fraudulent charges.

The male was also found guilty for filming the man in a drunk and compromised position and for revealing pri-

Flying high arrest POLICE have made the largest haul of ecstacy tablets for years.

In total, 22,300 pills, weighing 13 kilos, were seized in the bust at Palma Airport.

They were being carried by a 52-year-old man, who looked suspicious in the baggage area.

COSTLY: The two prostitutes pleaded guilty vate banking details.

The trio, who faced four years in prison each, were ordered to return

Legal lunatic grounds plane over bomb joke A BOOZY solicitor caused a five hour delay on a flight to the UK, after telling a passenger he had a bomb.

The plane from Ibiza was evacuated and bomb experts were called in to search the Jet 2 Boeing 737.

It came after solicitor Himat Sidhu, 36, made the joke to a fellow passenger.

The solicitor from Tyneside was arrested and held for two nights before being released.

The flight to Newcastle eventually departed at 5pm, instead of 12:40pm, after officers confirmed it was a false alarm.

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A LOCAL man has been accused of more than 30 robberies of farms across Mallorca. The 34-year-old was arrested over the break in of dozens of farmhouses, barns and sheds – stealing tools, tractors and even cars. Officers believe the man broke into the buildings usually around dawn, forcing doors or windows open to get in.

The man, currently awaiting trial, then sold the items at various recycling and second-hand establishments.

EE

and to

A THIEF has been pulled from a chimney following a botched burglary attempt.

Granada firefighters rescued the alleged thief, believed to be a minor, from the chimney in the Albaicin district.

Police said: “It’s not Christmas and it’s not Father Christmas, but he has entered through the chimney of a house to rob it.”

Farming theft

! w no lan † go ’s p r a th te on bs m Lo rst e iv r fi G ou Y

in Spain

Chimney swoop

MENORCA’S largest marijuana bust has seen three people arrested and a massive 68 kilograms of the drug seized.

The leader of a drug gang, a dealer and the man in charge of protecting and hiding the crop have been arrested during ‘Operation Deperados’ in Menorca.

A ‘cannabis club’ was reported to officials for distributing the drug without proper controls.

Agents raided the club after a long investigation, seizing 68 kilos and around €4,000 – making this the largest marijuana bust in the island’s history.

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the €2,480 to the client, but avoided jail with suspended sentences of one year each.

Biggest bust in history

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NEWS

October11th - October 24th 2019

3

Judy’s final hurrah Rafa priest reveals the ‘real’ Nadal

By Gillian Keller

THE priest who will marry tennis ace Rafael Nadal has revealed the ‘real Rafa’ ahead of the upcoming wedding of the year.

Bartomeu Catala (below) is a Mallorcan priest and also the founder of Projecte Home, a local charity helping drug addicts.

Catala is set to marry the 33-year-old and his long-time sweetheart Xisca Perello, 31, later this month in Pollensa’s Sa Fortalesa.

“I have married many people,” said Catala, “each wedding I have done has been special, and this one will be the same.”

Fortress Nadal’s grandfather and namesake was an orchestra conductor for Catala who performed numerous concerts to benefit Projecte Home.

“Nadal is surrounded by people who love him – he is a person who loves and is loved,” Catala said. He added that the fortress in Pollensa that the couple has chosen as their venue is a perfect choice as they want a ‘simple, personal and intimate ceremony’. The giant estate of Sa Fortalesa was once a military fortress protecting the north of the island - it is now owned by English businessman Lord James Lupton. In 2008 it was put up for sale at €120 million making it the most expensive property in Spain.

It has also appeared in TV and film projects including the BBC hit The Night Manager, and multiple Netflix series.

EXCLUSIVE: As Hollywood’s Judy gets plaudits worldwide, the Olive Press unearths a remarkable littleknown trip the star made to Torremolinos months before her death HOTLY-TIPPED for Oscar glory, Judy tells the story of the final months of Judy Garland famous for playing Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Packing out cinemas around the globe, actress Renee Zellweger is said to have played ‘the performance of a lifetime’.

But, oddly, the film doesn’t reveal the sad story of her honeymoon in Torremolinos following her marriage to fifth husband Mickey Deans, a nightclub manager 12 years her junior.

This is despite many believing he was responsible for her death from an overdose 50 years ago in June 1969, just three months later.

The Olive Press has unearthed a series of photos of the actress on her April honeymoon in the resort, which was in the Sixties THE place

Reign down

SPAIN’S king and queen have visited Murcia and Alicante after the devastating flood of last month.

Felipe and Letizia met with residents, as well as members of the emergency services who risked their lives during the rescue efforts.

Residents, many of whom are rebuilding their lives following the flooding, shook hands and took photos of the royal couple. Around 3,500 people were evacuated due to the ‘cold drop’ flooding which wreaked havoc last month.

HONEYMOON: But Judy was pensive during trip

RENDITION: Zellweger plays ‘performance of life’ romantic break.

A gruelling comeback tour was taking its toll, with audiences not knowing if they were going to get a virtuoso performance or a shambling chaotic one from the erratic star.

The singer/actress’s battle with drugs, alcohol and eating disorders were well known, of course, and audiences swung between giving her standing ovations and throwing bread rolls.

Ignoring the advice of doctors, Mickey Deans felt a few days relaxing in the sun would

By Karen Livermore

to go.

The remarkable set shows her looking pensive despite the splendid sunshine, chic bars and restaurants which attracted Hollywood’s biggest stars including Ava Gardener, Liz Taylor and Antony Quinn.

They were meant to stay for a long weekend at the Hotel Melia, however, it ended up being longer and, as it turns out, it was far from an idyllic

do her more good than being taken to a clinic.

But it didn’t go to plan, as, according to biographer Scott Schecter, she arrived in Torremolinos in a bad way and went straight to bed.

Then, when she finally got up later that evening she slipped in the bathroom, bruising herself. And the next morning she fell asleep on the bathroom floor with Deans having to break down the door to get her out. A doctor was called to the hotel, continued Schecter, who then changed her medication and suggested she should be admitted to hospital.

However, this was overruled by her husband, who insisted she would be better staying in the hotel.

A few days later, she made an

Diana back to life PRINCESS Diana returned from the other side during a trip to Malaga at the weekend.

Her lookalike Emma Corrin (right) was recreating her 1983 spring tour of Australia, as part of the fourth series of Netflix hit The Crown.

Dressed in a polkadot pink dress with a garland of flowers around her neck, the actress, 23, appeared alongside Josh O’Connor, 29, who plays Prince Charles.

Olivia Coleman also features in the show as the Queen.

The third series, which features scenes from Sotogrande, meanwhile, launches November 17.

apparent recovery and the couple were spotted at infamous Torremolinos nightclub Tiffany, where Judy signed autographs and seemed in good spirits.

Indeed, she told fans she was determined to get well and enjoy her holiday. Cancelling their planned return they spent a few extra days driving along the coast in a classic Fiat.

While Deans later told friends it was ‘therapeutic’ for her, on the last evening, Judy came crashing down, apparently talking to herself and behaving irrationally.

Yet again, rather than take her to hospital, Deans booked a flight and took her back to London.

Mismanaged

Just three months later Mickey found her dead in the bathroom of their London home.

She was just 47 years old.

Despite having earned millions during her career, years of mismanagement of her financial affairs meant her estate was just US$40,000 (€35,000 in today’s money).

Generous bequests in her will couldn’t be fulfilled as her estate had been in debt for years.

Her daughter Liza Minelli famously worked to pay off her mother’s debts with the help of family friend Frank Sinatra.

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NEWS

October11th - October 24th 2019

REMEMBERING THE 13 TRAGIC DEATHS OF MALLORCA’S 2018 FLOODS

Ticking timebomb Flooding is set to worsen in Mallorca and cause more deaths over the next few years

A FLOODING timeb o m b could create the perfect storm and far worse flooding than was seen in Mallorca last year.

Heavier downpours will be heavier and likely cause more destruction over the next few years.

This is the warning by the president of the State Meteo-

rological Agency (Aemet) to mark the anniversary of the worst floods the island has ever seen.

Meteorologist Miguel Angel Lopez predicted a worsening situation in a speech to mark the deaths of 13 people in Arta, Manacor and Sant Llorenc last October.

He insisted deadlier episodes of flooding will become more normal for the Balearics due

Deluge stemmed MIGRATION from Africa has fallen by 39% this year after the EU and Spain granted €170m to Morroco to bolster its security measures.

Spain’s acting prime minister Pedro Sanchez won €140m from Brussels, to which his government added €30m, in a bid to clamp down on migration via the Western Mediterannean route.

Spain became the largest destination for migrants after Italy closed its ports last year, with an alarming 65,000 entering the country without papers last year.

Spain’s pledge to cut illegal immigration by half before the end of this year may not be far away, with the funding as part of that effort.

The efforts appear to be bearing fruit, as the numbers of migrants reaching Spain fell to 18,018 people arriving without papers between January to August.

The combined funding particularly helped the Moroccan Royal Navy to return migrants to their point of departure, with over 8,000 returned in this way.

to climate change.

He said: “The Mediterranean is overheating and too many months of this generate too much water vapour rising into the atmosphere.

“This is a timebomb, as these heavy weather episodes will become more frequent, more intense and more extensive.

“We must prepare all the countries of the Mediterranean for this threat and do it now,” he added.

It comes a year since the October 9 floods left mass destruction across large parts of the island.

As the Olive Press reported over three pages, last year, 13 people died, including a British couple, a Dutchman and two boys, 5 and 9.

The island was declared a disaster zone after roads were

cut off, hundreds of homes were flooded and dozens of cars were swept away.

An incredible 250 litres per metre squared fell in some parts of the island over just a few hours causing rivers to burst their banks and trees to be uprooted.

In the worst flooding since the 1800s, people were left clinging to the roofs of their houses, in scenes described as ‘apocalyptic’.

Yesterday at the Arta town hall, there was a minute’s silence to commemorate the lives of those lost the year before.

FLOODS: How the Olive Press reported on the disaster last year

Lest we forget It was one of the most shocking natural disasters in Spanish history.

When the heavens opened on the evening of October 9, 2018, nobody could have imagined the destruction that would have been wreaked in just five hours.

The next morning, as Mallorca finally came up to breathe the sheer scale of the destruction soon became apparent.

And tragically 13 people had been killed.

They were: NAMES Joana Lliteras Planas, 40s Arthur Robinson, 5 (ABOVE) Anthony Green, 77 Delia Green, 75 Petra Kircher, 63 Mike Kircher, 61 Bernat Estelrich Santandreu, 81 Joana Ballester Femenias, 89 Rafael Gili Sastre, 71 Juan Grande Sillero, 62 Biel Mesquida Rooms, 56

Delaying tactics BORIS Johnson will ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline if a deal isn’t agreed by October 19, court documents show.

The documents, submitted to a Scottish court, indicate that the British prime minister will comply with the so-called Benn Act which requires the government to request an extension to the October 31 deadline.

The papers, however, contradict statements given in parliament by Johnson last week.

Clock’s Ticking Page 7

Andreas Korlin, 57 Tine Noig Orotella, 80

Counting the cost

THE 150,000 customers who were left stranded is just a drop in the ocean.

Now the British Government is about to start refunding more than 360,000 ATOL-protected holidays, following the collapse of Thomas Cook.

The total, which will run into hundreds of millions, covers trips that would have been taken by 800,000 holidaymakers.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is overseeing the huge process, aims to see refunds made within 60 days of a claim form being received.

“ATOL-protected customers who were abroad can also claim for the cost of replacing the protected parts of their trip, or out of pocket expenses as a result of delayed flights,” explained a spokesman this week.

A special website set up to handle the claims crashed within hours of being launched this week.

However, the CAA claimed that more than 24,000 direct

STRANDED: Thomas Cook holidaymakers in Spain debit payments are already being processed.

The UK Government has now launched an inquiry into the crash of the 178-year-old travel giant.

In Spain, meanwhile, a 13-point royal decree will provide a ‘comprehensive response’ to the range of problems that affected impacted tourism following the collapse.

Among the €300m set aside, will be a reduction in airport

taxes for passengers to the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as aid for hotels and workers.

A total of 3,400 direct staff lost their jobs, while 700,000 tourists who had booked holidays this winter will now not visit Spain.

Around 600 hotels owed money will also be given the option of deferring taxes and delaying payments.

Thomas Cook has debts of

Flying into trouble Electric dreams A BRITISH Airways flight has left passengers furious after it diverted its destination from Malaga to Barcelona and offered no assistance to its stranded customers.

The Airbus A320 left Gatwick at 4pm before it detoured to Barcelona, some 500 miles away. Passengers were left raging at BA’s lack of information and help after they were left roaming around the Catalan airport.

A WOMAN was stopped by police after riding on a motorway with an electric scooter.

Police fined the woman after pulling her over on the AP-9 in Galicia.

In March, a video went viral of

€200 million with around 1,000 Spanish firms in total.

For employees left without jobs the Government has pledged some financial relief, as well as policies to accelerate their move to other roles.

An online refund form is available for holidaymakers at: thomascook.caa. co.uk/refunds/ Is the package holiday ‘screwed’?

Page 6

a lady with headphones riding a scooter on a Valencian motorway.

Electric scooters are soon to be banned from pavements under rules that have been drawn up by the government department responsible for road traffic.

The new regulations will forbid scooters and bicycles from both riding and parking on pavements.

www.theolivepress.es

October11th - October 24th 2019

Phantom getaway March on PALMA town hall bosses have pledged to rename 17 fascist streets that celebrate the Franco regime.

Avenida Joan March is among the streets that will be rebranded.

The road was named in the 1960s after Joan March, a banker and Spain’s richest man, who was one of Franco’s main financiers during the Civil War. Councillor Llorenc Carrio said the rebranding exercise aimed to ‘clean Palma of the traces of Francoism which still remain.’

Brits fork out five-figure sum for flash Airbnb pad to discover it does not exist A BRITISH couple who splashed €11,000 on an Airbnb penthouse were horrified to discover that it didn’t exist when they arrived.

Ian and Denise Feltham, from London, were promised a hot tub, Turkish bath and a dog-friendly room at the VIP penthouse in Ibiza.

However, they were forced to travel 40 miles and pay €200 a night extra for the nearest dog-friendly accommodation after they discovered the five star pad in the Las Boas complex did not

SCAMMED: Brit tourists Ian and Denise Feltham exist. tourists turning up all the Property developer Ian, 75, time and that it's a very big said that when they turned problem,” he added. up at the complex, a recep- The couple immediately contionist told them that their tacted Airbnb but, to their penthouse was a scam. great shock, were told that “A gentleman who lived in they could only get a refund the building said they get if they had turned up at the property and were not allowed a room.

Airbnb only backtracked and pulled the listing from the website after the company was contacted by The Times newspaper.

A spokesman for Airbnb said: “Our handling of this issue fell below our usual high standards and we have reached out to the guest to apologise and refund them in full.

“We have suspended the listing while we investigate and are continuing to work with the guest to make things right.”

Floating with Flack CAROLINE Flack has been spotted taking a boat ride with her tennis player boyfriend in Ibiza.

The Love Island host, 39, was photographed with beau Lewis Burton, 27, as they relaxed with friends onboard the vessel.

The couple, who have been dating since the summer, wore matching panama hats while they enjoyed the Spanish sun.

Move over Mercadona Alcampo is the cheapest supermarket in Spain for your weekly shop

SUPERMARKET chain Alcampo has overtaken Mercadona as the cheapest store to do a weekly shop in Spain.

The Organisation of Consumers (OCU) found that Alcampo is the cheapest grocery store in 31 Spanish cities.

By contrast, three Sanchez Romero branded stores in Madrid are the most expensive, cementing the brand’s position as Spain’s equivalent to Waitrose.

Malaga’s cheapest supermarket is the Carrefour-owned Supeco store, followed by Coviran. In Marbella the Alcampo in La Canada is the cheapest followed by Maxi Dia in San Pedro.

No entry FIVE people were arrested after attempting to cross into the UK from Palma’s Son Sant Joan Airport using false passports.

Palma has become one of the main points of entry for illegal immigration, with the police detaining 87 people with fake documents in recent months.

Last weekend, five individuals of Iranian and Syrian nationality were arrested. Most people trying to cross illegally come from Afghanistan, China, Georgia and Iran.

They pay thousands to gain entry to Mallorca, before being provided with falsified documentation to enter the UK. Many believe that the prospect of Brexit has played a role in the rise in illegal immgriantion to the UK.

STRIDING FORWARDS A CHARITY walk at the historic Finca Galatzo has raised more than €7,500 for ASDICA, a local association supporting children and young adults with disabilities.

Around 300 children and adults took part in the annual event organised by the International Rotary Club.

Participants hiked through the grounds of the sprawling estate, then enjoyed live music and a BBQ in Es Capdella.

5

NEWS IN BRIEF Clean streets

MORE than 1,300 graffiti tags have been removed from the streets of Palma in August and September alone.

Emaya have scrubbed buildings, stairwells, roadsides and statues clean of graffiti.

Car values

THE average price of a used car in the Balearics is €13,964 according to new data from autos.net, the leading auto website in Spain. The national average is €15,456 for a used car.

Housing drop

HOUSE sales in the Balearics has dropped 18 percent in August compared to last year.

Only 1,040 homes were sold this August, a large drop from August 2018, yet the Balearics still ranks third in housing sales per capita.

Big business

IN August, only 146 new businesses were registered in the Balearics, a drop of 34 percent from last year.

August also saw 64 companies dissolved, an increase of more than ten percent compared to this time last year.

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Those living in Palma, Barcelona and Madrid have to fork out the most for their groceries.

Food prices have risen by a modest 0.3% this year, but onions cost a shocking 44% more than they did last year.

The study compared the prices of 244 products from supermarkets in 65 Spanish cities.

Pollution control GIANT sensors monitoring pollution and air quality have been placed around five Balearic ports and marinas.

The Balearic Port Authority (APB) has installed 25 air quality stations in Palma, Alcudia, Mahón, Ibiza and Formentera’s La Savina.

It comes as the government aims to study the environmental impact of the

ports and their traffic.

The APB is working with the University of the Balearics to study the effects, including pollution, noise levels and airborne particles.

The data obtained by the five sensors is being published every hour on their website (www.portsdebalears.com), alongside a score of either excellent, good, normal or poor.

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www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION Lest we forget THIS week marks the first anniversary since flash foods swept through Mallorca on October 9 2018, killing 13 people. Torrential rain on the east of the island caused the banks to burst and muddy water to engulf streets and houses.

The worst affected town was Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, while three died in coastal town of S’illot.

Cars and lorries were swept away as people ran for their lives, some succumbing to the devastation.

The local authorities, including search-and-rescue dogs, did their best part in the effort to help retrieve trapped residents and holidaymakers.

Pictures soon circulated showing the horror - some vehicles fully submerged below water in places.

A taxi driver and his customers, a British couple, were among the dead.There was the mother who saved her eight-year-old daughter’s life, but was sadly unable to save her five-year-old son.

It’s an event that the locals will never forget. Commemoration services have been taking place all over the island, as the locals hold in their thoughts those lost in the tragedy that unfolded.

Justice at last, but not for some JODY Smart enjoyed a jetset lifestyle most people can only dream of. She appeared on reality show How the Other Half Live drinking champagne and showing off her shelves upon shelves of designer shoes. She was a director of a successful wealth management company. She seemed to have it all.

But her life of luxury was seemingly built on other people’s loss. Hundreds of expats, many of them retired, lost their life savings overnight, through irresponsible investments that her company made.

Many will now be relieved that she is finally facing justice. But for others it’s too late. They died before they could see Jody face the courts.

Let’s hope that Jody’s day of reckoning provides some amends for their relatives and friends.

But most importantly, let’s hope that her appearance in court is a warning to others who might be tempted to follow in her dubious footsteps: you will be found out.

Publisher / Editor

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Charlie Smith Joshua Parfitt charlie@theolivepress.es joshua@theolivepress.es Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es

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FEATURE

Is the package holiday ‘screwed’? (so claims Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary)

T

October11th - October 24th 2019

TEARFUL: Staff at Thomas Cook headquarters leaving with office possessions in tears

Bad management, Brexit uncertainty - both played a part in the catastrophic downfall of 178-year-old travel firm Thomas Cook ... but what does the future hold for holidaymakers, asks Karen Livermore

his week leading players in the Spanish travel industry gathered, grim faced, to present an emergency plan to Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto in the wake of the Thomas Cook crash.

The head of the Spanish hotel federation, Juan Molas, had already issued a dire warning via the Olive Press that at least 500 hotels face immediate closure due to the collapse of the package holiday giant.

He went on to add that unpaid bills to Spanish businesses would be far in excess of the original €200 million estimate.

At least 100 of these doomed hotels were exclusively dependent on Thomas Cook, while the rest counted on the firm for between 30% and 70% of their clients.

Then there’s the human cost, with a mind-boggling 21,000 people worldwide expected to lose their jobs following the crash. In the END OF AN ERA: Thomas Cook passengers head home, while (right) an old poster UK 9,000 staff are affected and a total Cook collapse will not lead to the packof 3,4000 staff lost their jobs, with many nightmare. thousands more indirect causalties. In “The whole tour operator model is finished, age holidays demise. Instead, they would Spain, the hardest-hit Canary Islands job it’s over,” he said. “Nobody under the age be booked online rather than through of 40 buys a tour holiday or goes to a travel high street outlets. Tui and Jet 2 were alloses are thought to be around 13,500. ready looking to step in and fill the void, But it’s not just holidaymakers, employ- agency anymore, they do it themselves.’ ees and business owners who are paying. He went on to predict that Norwegian Air he added.

As well as being a logistical nightmare, would be the next to go under (the airline “What happened to Thomas Cook was the repatriation of stranded travellers - has refuted this). However, given that about bad management, not a lack of around 150,000 whose relaxing break three other airlines have gone out of busi- customers wanting to book holidays,” he came to an abrupt end - has cost the Brit- ness or stopped flying since the start of told the Olive Press.

September - Aigle Azur, XL Airways (both “Package deals take the hassle out of the ish taxpayer a whopping £100 million.

Dubbed Operation Matterhorn, since France) and Adria Airways(Slovenia) - it equation, and many travellers want that assurance. Holidaymakers September 23 more than 130 aircraft seems the travel business will still book.” have been used to take people back to is facing its biggest challenge.

Fears that other compathe UK. What happened nies could grasp the opporIn a testament to the efficiency of the The package model was largest peacetime repatriation in British once an attractive proposito Thomas Cook tunity to raise prices, given such a big player has gone, history, an incredibe 94% of clients were tion for holiday makers and was about bad appear unfounded. flown back on the original date of their hoteliers alike.

Meanwhile in a good news cancelled Thomas Cook flight - albeit not For the customer, everymanagement thing was laid on. Get off boost for its customers, to their chosen airport, in some cases. budget airline Easyjet has Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive at the the plane, get a coach to simply your hotel, announced it is scrapping UK Civil Aviation Authority eat, drink, the £16 booking fee for said “We have been workand flights and holidays and ing round the clock to bring Nobody under the enjoy then get whisked back isn’t planning on out of the ordinary inmore than 150,000 people age of 40 buys a home. No thinking, no plan- creases on fares and holidays. back to the UK. At the same time, we are focussed on retour holiday or ning. For hoteliers it guar- The company is feeling optimistic about anteed multi-year bookings the future as it gears up to launch new funding the 360,000 ATOLgoes to a travel without the cost of running look easyJet holidays. The airline has had protected future bookings their own sales operations. a tour operation since 2015, but has until as quickly as possible.” agent But now there is the worry now not contracted its own hotels.

The repercussions on the that the company might Chief Executive Johan Lundgren told industry are colossal, and collapse while you’re out of travel industry journal: “We want to get it the billion dollar question is, does the collapse of one of the world’s the country, leaving you with no holiday right. We are in the process of signing a number of hotels and progress is good.” oldest travel agencies mean that pack- and a possibly hefty bill.

If it can happen to the biggest, it can hap- The company expects to launch at the age holidays are dead and buried?

The ever-outspoken Ryanair boss Mi- pen to anyone. And if enough hoteliers end of this year and told Olive Press: “We chael O’Leary enraged the travel indus- are put out of business, others must be look forward to sharing more about our try once again this week by claiming in a asking themselves whether they want to plans with you very soon.”

Even the controversial Michael O’Leary news conference that the package holi- embrace such a risk.

According to a leading hotelier on the has been doing his bit, cutting fares to as day model is ‘screwed’.

The budget airline boss was announcing Costa del Sol, the situation isn’t quite little as £5.99 - mind you, that was just a four-day flash sale, Millions In The Air, so clean cut. Wanting to remain anony- for four days! to celebrate carrying 150 million passen- mous, he criticised Michael O’Leary for Longer term, it seems established lowgers in just 12 months, but could not re- his ‘rash words that do not help anyone cost carriers like O’Leary’s are going to sist having his say over the Thomas Cook in the industry’ and believes the Thomas be the winners in the travel game.

FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es

CLOCK’S TICKING

7

7 Olive Press online

October11th - October 24th 2019 that’s the

Spain’s best English news website

Driving, residency, passports...this Olive Press guide tells you what you need to know to prepare for Brexit

A

S Brexit looms, the British Consulate have gone into overdrive holding meetings throughout Spain and its islands to try and make sure expats know exactly

Healthcare

A key worry for many British people residing in Spain, healthcare has been used as a bargaining chip by the British and Spanish governments.

Most recently UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock scared everyone by saying that Brits access to healthcare in Spain could end within six months under a ‘nodeal’ Brexit.

And the fear for expats is real.

“Some of our members are already looking at private healthcare,” said Sue Wilson, chair of Bremain in Spain: “I know people who are buying it so of they are protected in the future, despite already being covered by Spanish healthcare.”

How to prepare The most important thing is to register as a resident. If there isn’t a Brexit deal then Brits in Spain can continue to access healthcare in the same way they do now until at least 31 December 31 2020.

This is due to a reciprocal agreement between Spain and the UK, which has not yet been ratified by the British Government. But even if the agreement is not approved, the Spanish Government has said that British nationals will still get the same access to healthcare they do now thanks to theRoyal Decree-Law 5/2019, of March 1.

EHICs (European Health Insurance Cards) and S1 forms will be both be valid during this period.

Driving license You will need to exchange your British license for a Spanish one ahead of Brexit if you plan to carry on living in Spain.

Using your Spanish license, if you have one, will still be allowed in the UK for short trips and for those taking their test, they can still exchange it for a UK one.

How to prepare After being a resident in Spain for two years you must renew or exchange any old UK license that doesn’t have a 10-year validity period.

Also, if you are in Spain and your UK license is lost, stolen or expires then you will have to apply to the DVLA in Spanish for a ‘certificate of entitlement’.From the day the UK leaves the EU, the Spanish Government has said you will have nine months in which to change your license.

If you still have a UK license, for visits to Spain of up to nine months after the UK leaves the EU you will not need an International Driving Permit (IDP). However for those visiting Spain on longer trips after Brexit you will need a 1949 IDP, which can be accessed from the UK Post Office.

what they could be facing in the months to come - despite still not knowing if we are leaving or if there is a deal or no deal.

From formal events requiring a ticket, like last

Passports One of the hottest Brexit topics since the 2016 referendum. Remember the crazy scramble for Irish passports?

Elena Remigi, founder and director of the In Limbo Project, which looks at the human cost of Brexit, described it as a ‘huge issue for Brits abroad’.

“Lack of freedom of movement is going to create serious problems for Brits abroad and at home,” she told the Olive Press.

How to prepare Check you have enough time on your passport if you are planning on travelling in the near future.

Adults and children will need six months on their passport in order to travel to most European countries not including Ireland.

If you don’t have enough time left on your passport you will need to renew it, and bear in mind that the process can take at least three weeks.

If the UK secures a deal with the EU nothing will change until the end of 2020.

However without a deal any remaining months on your passport will not be carried over to a new one.

So make sure that on your day of travel, your passport has at least six months remaining on it, otherwise you may not be able to enter some Schengen Area countries like Spain.

Eye on brexit

week’s event at the Barcelona Princess Hotel to informal pop ups in shopping centres and from bars, reaching out to local community groups where consulate staff are appearing as guest speakers, and hosting Facebook live Q and A’s, consulate staff are being inundated by questions from worried Brits.

Unsurprisingly healthcare - as reported in last week’s Olive Press - remains the biggest worry for the majority of expats.

Sue Wilson, Chair of Bremain in Spain - the biggest forum for British migrants living in Spain - told the Olive Press that above all people need to ‘get the essentials in order’.

“Most important for Brits living in Spain,” she said, “are the standard things like getting the residencia and driving license.”

With a general election on the cards as EU leaders continue to rebuff Boris Johnson’s negotiations, being able to vote in the UK is crucial if you want to have your say.

“Get your UK proxy vote,” Sue urges, “we know what the Spanish postal service is like.”

There are upcoming consulate events around Spain available at the Government website, while La Linea is holding a Brexit protest on October 19 at 12:30pm.

If you haven’t yet got to a consulate meeting, here is a survival guide to get yoou through Brexit.

Residency Residencia may go by several different names, including the ‘green card’, ‘residency card’, etc. etc.

This must be applied for if you intend to stay in Spain for more than three months and is a must-have before Brexit.

In case the UK leaves the EU without a deal, it is definitely worth registering as a resident. Although even if a deal is not reached over the UK’s withdrawal, Brits will still be ‘considered legally resident’ in Spain for 21 months, regardless of whether they have residency, according to the UK Government.

How to prepare To get this important document you will need a completed EX18 form, which you can get from the same place as the EX15.

The process is similar but not the same as getting your NIE and you will still need to make an appointment at your local office.

You will also need to bring along your passport and copy, proof of address, proof of health insurance, tax form Modelo 790, proof of income and a certificate of empadronamiento.

Users

808.1K ON TOP: Olive Press website traffic for last four weeks

THE PAPER WITH THE REAL NUMBERS WE were recently encouraged to get our website ranking certified by Alexa.com.

While we have been publishing our estimated position on the respected site, owned by Amazon, for years, it was suggested an official rank would help encourage advertisers to enlist.

And the findings were stunning, to say the least.

After a month of analysing our vital statistics and looking under the bonnet, as it were, Alexa ranked www.theolivepress.es at a staggeringly high 11,392th position globally. That is out of billions of websites studied!

Most exciting of all though, was finding ourselves in the Top 500 sites in the UK and the Top 1000 sites in Spain.

This means 470th position in the UK and 683rd position in Spain, while we came 630th in Ireland and 84th in Gibraltar.

Our rivals, Sur in English and Euro Weekly News came in at a lowly 178,286 and 30,349 in comparison.

MILLIONS OF VISITORS A MONTH This is all to do with sheer visitor numbers and pages viewed and we had 1.9 MILLION of those last month alone (see Google Analytics graph top), with 1.5 MILLION visits.

Using the research of another respected site Similar Web we discovered that the Euro Weekly News is getting around 400,000 visitors a month (around a quarter of ours) and the Sur in English a fraction of that. Google Analytics cannot lie and, before undertaking any advertising campaign, any savvy business will always ask for the last few months official visitor figures.

WE CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS Quite simply our 1.4 MILLION visitors a month online, coupled with the 250,000 readers of our printed papers each month can guarantee your business gets the best exposure possible among the expat - as well as - key tourist market coming to Spain. Let your advert stand out to around 50.000 visitors a day online and in 100.000 printed papers a month. We promise a keen and competitive price and that your business will be seen by millions of potential clients each month in an increasingly competitive and tricky market. Send us an email today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 to help your business grow.

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

1

- British tourists ‘kicked out’ of popular hotel at 1.30am on Spain’s Costa del Sol after it allegedly goes into administration (45,296)

2

- SCORCHER: Temperatures of up to 35C in Spain’s Andalucia and on Costa del Sol this weekend as Malaga to be hottest city in the country TONIGHT (24,897)

3 4

- Up to a BILLION ‘aggressive’ tiger mosquitoes ‘set to swarm Spain’s Costa Blanca’ after devastating gota fria floods create perfect breeding environment (21,970)

5 ANXIOUS: British expats protested against the spectre of Brexit in Malaga a fortnight ago

- Woman in Spain who put boyfriend’s head in a box and gave it to friend claiming it was sex toys, ‘baked head to remove smell’ (23,018)

- Temperatures to rise today on Spain’s Costa del Sol as HEATWAVE will set upon Andalucia (21,236)

8

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

October11th - October 24th 2019

Living in Limbo

Island plunge A BRITISH man has fallen 20 feet off a balcony in Ibiza, suffering severe brain trauma and remains in a coma.

George Stephenson, 22, plunged off a balcony at the Hotel Playasol Mare Nostrum.

The young man from Essex was knocked unconscious, but luckily a witness nearby was a nurse who administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

He broke bones in his foot and ankle, arms and wrists, breastbone and jaw, and he suffered serious brain trauma with multiple skull fractures.

The holidaymaker’s family are currently raising funds as it is unclear how long he will be in the hospital, and how much it will all cost.

British family whose home was devastated by floods are STILL waiting for assessors to survey the damage EXCLUSIVE

By Simon Wade

A BRITISH couple who lost ‘everything’ in the Vega Baja villa during last month’s horrific floods are STILL in limbo as insurance assessors are yet to evaluate their claim.

Ruined furniture, clothes and toys are still piled high on the Harighi family’s patio a month since the deluge devastated their Vega Baja home.

These and other treasured mementos are all that remains of the house they spent 10 years slowly renovating.

Tragically two pet cats, presumed drowned, have not made it home.

“This is a never-ending nightmare and our lives are completely in limbo,” Hannah Harighi, 43, told the Olive Press.

“Our dream of a place in the sun for us and the kids has been shattered.”

DEVESTATION: The Haighi’s and their flooded home Her husband Harry, 46, has now joined her on mercy leave from his job as a printer in the UK to help try and get his family’s life back on track.

His wife, a marketing consultant, ‘cannot work’ as she is still forced to take care of their two children Darius, 11, and Suri, 6, whose school is still closed.

Destroyed

But despite their obvious financial constraints, not even promised municipal emergency funding up to €4,500 has materialised to help them. They blame this on their local town hall in San Fulgencio which ‘doesn’t fully understand the forms’. While the family, including dog Skip, have been able to stay with friends nearby, the situation is so bad they are considering a move back to the

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UK. “Everything we worked for, to provide a beautiful and happy home for our family, has been snatched from us,” continued Harry, who has now set up an interim GoFundMe page, called ‘Family lost everything in Spanish floods’, to help.

“It will probably take months for the government insurance to come to fruition, and in the meantime we must pay the mortgage and utilities on an uninhabitable property.

“We must also begin the soul destroying task of itemising all of our belongings for the insurance. We’d spent 10 years renovating the place, it was beautiful, and now it’s all gone.”

Hannah revealed they had to ‘run for their lives’ as the home was destroyed in a single weekend following the catastrophic

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flood in September.

They made it to the local community centre on higher ground just before the villa was ‘destroyed’, when the Segura river burst its banks.

“We’ve had floods before, but rainwater just covered our garden – but we still kept an eye on the storms, just in case,” Hannah told the Olive Press. “When we got up at 9.30am, we had to run to get the children because floodwater had already got in.

“By 10.30am, we were ankle deep in muddy sludge, and we decided it was time to go.

“It was like a scene from a disaster movie - it was apocalyptic chaos.”

The couple are still missing two cats, presumed drowned, who were birthday presents for the children just a week before the storms.

14 Nemesis of “Titanic” (7) 15 Reptile (6) 17 Revolve (6) 18 Noggin (4) 21 Recedes (4)

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www.theolivepress.es

Full green ahead THE registration of electric vehicles in Spain has accelerated into top gear this year, according to the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (ANFAC).

Data shows that the country’s drivers are turning to greener methods of transport in a big way.

September saw an increase of 45.6% in electric vehicle sales compared to the same month last year.

In total, the Spanish market saw the purchase of 9,152 units

this year, which translates to a 90.15% increase on 2018.

Arturo Perez de Lucia, general director of the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Electric Vehicles, said: "European legislation is a challenge for the automotive industry, but it also acts as an incentive to invest in electric cars for the future.

“Further investments in the manufacturing of such vehicles will accelerate the market growth of electric vehicles in the coming years.”

GREEN

October 11th - October 24th 2019

A Big pat on the back

MELIA Hotels International has been named the most sustainable hotel company in the world.

Spain’s leading hotel group owns 24 hotels in Mallorca, including Magaluf’s Katmandu Park and Resort and the convention centre and hotel

Mallorca hotel giant named as greenest in the world

in the Bay of Palma.

The award comes from the SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment which has evaluated more than 4,700

businesses.

Gabriel Escarrer, Vice President and CEO of Melia said: “Without a shadow of a doubt, this news is the greatest pos-

Making waves

STUDENTS from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) have won a national design award with a buoy that filters microplastics from the ocean, modelled on a sunfish.

The buoy, dubbed YUNA, was one of 27 nationwide winners of the James Dyson Award and could be among a select few chosen to compete in the international sector of the competition.

The 20 Engineering and Product Development students at UPV, who set up Yu Design in 2017, pocketed €2,200 in prize winnings.

Their prototype features a

series of sieves that strain microplastics from the oceans according to their size.

Active carbon filters deal with tiny microplastics particles not picked up by the sieves before all waste is collected and reused.

“YUNA requires little energy to fulfil its function,” said Alice Ville, a UPV student, and member of the Yu Design team.

On October 17, Spain’s best designs will be selected to advance to the international stage of the James Dyson Award, where finalists can pocket €33,500. The ultimate winner will be made known on November 14.

Heritage meeting PROTECTED: Palma’s historic old town UNESCO experts have met in Mallorca to decide which areas of the world should be granted ‘World Heritage Status.’

The 25 professionals gather once a year to discuss the management of existing World Heritage Sites and accept countries’ nomi-

nations for new sites.

During the 2018 edition in Canada, the Mallorcan member of the committee, Bartomeu Deya, successfully won the bid for the Balearic island to host the conference.

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sible acknowledgement for our management model.

“We have made sustainability an intrinsic part of the business, it is one of our most important goals.”

The award confirms the company’s excellent performance, commitment to social and economic development and its important role in combating climate change in the hotel industry.

“We are a family company with strong values and are very focused on building a relationship of trust with our stakeholders and society in general,” said Escarrer. ”I’m so proud of the entire Melia team for having been able to come together and create a company-wide culture of commitment to major global challenges, responding with a long-term vision, responsibility and respect for the environment, driven by an awareness that travel and tourism are powerful drivers of global social and economic development.”

Criteria for the rankings include a company’s climate strategies, social reporting, tax policies and promotion of human rights.

Do you have a what’s on?

Send your informa newsdesk@theolive tion to press.es

Playwright prize A SPANISH playwright who made a name for himself directing classics by Shakespeare and Arthur Miller has won a prestigious Spanish theatre award.

Andres Lima was awarded the 2019 National Theatre Award and a cash prize of €30,000 for his ‘pursuit of new theatrical forms and aesthetics’.

Works he has directed include Shakespeare’s Titus Adronicus (2009), Arthur Miller’s The Witches of Salem and Marat/ Sade (1964).

Lima, who is also an actor, directed his first play in 1997.

He is the founder of Madridbased theatre company Compania Animalario, which has staged hundreds of plays throughout Spain.

LA CULTURA Castling call

October 11th - October 24th 2019

Expat duo create website chronicling history of Spanish castles used for blockbuster hits

SPAIN’S history is inextricably entwined with castles.

The very national language, castellano, comes from the historical region of Castile, or ‘the land of castles’, due to fortifications built during the Christian Reconquest from the Moors.

And now Spain’s estimated 2,500 castles have been honoured with a new website by a British-Dutch duo detailing the relationship between Hollywood and Spain’s built heritage.

11

what’s on Wine and culture ART and wine are paired at the Sa Pobla at the Art I Copes festival, with venues boasting both art exhibits and wine tastings throughout the city, from October 11 to 13.

Lindy hop ICON: San Servando, the first silverscreen Spanish castle “Spain gets a whole load of tourism, but very few will travel to the castle in Artajona, Navarre, where Audrey Hepburn and Sean Connery starred in Robin and Marian in 1976,” Robert Yareham, a history teacher and author based in

The Devil’s Horn

Valencia, told the Olive Press.

“A lot of these areas are what expats would call ‘the real Spain’, so the idea is to push tourism out to these areas.”

Closer to home on the Costa Blanca, few would know that Denia castle has appeared in

MALLORCA’S own expat ing mysteries.Nicholas has with Princess Diana before writer Anna Nicholas has already published six books moving to Soller 19 years ago. published her debut nov- as a travel series set in Mal- The expat also once organel, set on the island. lorca, which won her the hon- ised an expedition to carry a Crime thriller, The Devil’s our of being the first Brit to be grand piano up the Amazon Horn, is the first book awarded the Siurell de Plata with Colonel John Blashfordof a new series about a by the Balearic government Snell – an event that later young woman who lives for promoting culture. became the subject of a in the mountains and Nicholas was a freelance jour- BBC2 documentary, A Grand has a keen eye for solv- nalist who worked on events Adventure.

The Soller Bay hotel in the port is hosting a book launch reception for Nicholas on October 11 from 7pm until 9pm. RSVP to info@burrobooks.com to join the book launch, enjoying cava and canapes and a welcome from British Consul General Lloyd Millen.

no less than eight feature films, including Java: East of Krakatoa (1969), The Three Musketeers (1973) and Honeymoon Academy (1990).

Yareham wrote a book about Spanish castles in the movie industry, Movies made in Spain: 800 English Language Movies Made in Spain, but said that ‘books don’t really sell these days’ and hence the idea to create a webpage.

The site, spanishcastlemovemagic.com, created in collaboration with Dutch entrepreneur Cas Eggermont, has information on 80 castles across Spain.

“We’re now looking into creating drone images for future film producers and filmmakers to take a look at the wealth of castles, and hopefully get them interested in shooting here,” Yareham said.

SWING music takes centre stage at the Mallorca Lindy Festival in Inca, with professional dancers, international bands and dancing for all levels until October 13.

Harvest season THE town of Consell hosts its annual Autumn Fair with parades, parties, live music and more from October 18 to 20.

Palmathon THE Palma Marathon takes runners along some of the most beautiful areas of the city.

The event, commencing October 12, includes a Sunday marathon.

IV 12

LA CULTURA

W

And in comes some STEEL

HEN Jon Clarke strode into our lives I immediately knew that nothing would be the same again.

His initial communiqué arrived in the form of an email stating matter-of–factly that he had picked up a copy of The Olive Press at Granada Airport and, upon reading it, had been overcome by the feeling that we were in desperate need of his help.

He was, he said, a Fleet Street journalist who now lived in Ronda, several hours’ drive to the west of the Alpujarras.

He also informed us that he Physically tall, Jon was wearwould make his way over to ing a crumpled cotton jackus as a matter of urgency to et, blue jeans and scuffed discuss how he could help us. shoes.

It was a warm March day “These bloody roads,” he as we waited for him in the spat, adding: “It’s beautiful shade of an olive tree in the round here, but there’s no car park a few days later. A way my wife would let me live car approached along the val- here, it’s far too remote.” ley and even though it was far It wasn’t long though before off, I had an intuitive feeling he paid us another visit and we sat with him in the town’s that it was Jon. pizzeria, which Marcus began had a splendid to fidget and garden filled grind at the BEAUTY with orange coins in his trees. trouser pockSAVAGED He sat down ets with his

BY BEAST – and - just as he clenched fists had done when like he always VILLAGE IN we first met him did when he - pulled out the SHOCK was nervous. latest copy of Several minThe Olive Press utes passed before the battered Subaru from his leather case, slapswung into the campsite car ping it on the table between park and eased into the only us. available slot, which was I couldn’t fail to notice that – marked ‘Private: No Parking’. once again – it was covered in more red ink and scribbles.

In the second part of a new book serialisation, an overture from a Fleet Street hack takes the Olive Press onto new, BOLDER levels

AUTHOR: Jason Heppenstall who founded the Olive Press “The newspaper is great,” he started out.

“But,” he continued. There was always going to be a but, “you chaps are still not bold enough with your headlines!”

I squinted at the paper to see what he meant.

“Exactly,” he exclaimed.

“Look, I know a thing or two about what makes a hit and what makes a miss. Tiny headlines and weak captions look like failure to me.

“You see this caption?”

It was a story about a local girl who had been injured by a wild boar during a fiesta.

There was a stock photo of a boar and a caption: “The girl sustained injuries in the attack.”

“That’s weak,” said Jon, pointing at the much-abused newspaper.

“The headline should be ‘BEAUTY SAVAGED BY BEAST – VILLAGE IN SHOCK’ and it would be in bold caps in 90 Times Roman.

“And if they hadn’t caught it, I’d have a close-up of some snarling teeth and ‘WANTED: HELL BEAST ON THE LOOSE’.”

“Hmm,” I said, taking a sip of wine.

We went through the whole newspaper in this way. By the time we’d finished, Jon had

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Do you have a what’s on?

October 11th - October 24th 2019

13

Send your informa newsdesk@theolive tion to press.es

Battling a Blair Babe It was a battle between the time-worn rural ways and a puffed up, British MP - of course the Olive Press jumped into action!

EXCLUSIVE STORY: And MP Moran story made global headlines

I NEW BROOM: While Jon Clarke was happy to join the growing Olive Press team his wife Gabriella didn’t fancy the Alpujarras roads demolished The Olive Press, making it seem like the most inept attempt at a newspaper in the history of mankind.

“But don’t mind me,” he finished, “the story’s still great… and it’s up to you whether you use me or not.”

NOW YOU SEE IT NOW YOU DONT: Jon introduced punchier headlines and better captions, while (right) got the team organised to get pics of MP Moran and her house

opened the door and Jake, one of our distributors, burst through it and made for the sofa where he sat panting and groaning like a wounded animal.

I stared at him, not really knowing what to say. He was covered in dirt and looked like he’d been dragged down a barranco backwards.

“What the hell happened?” I asked.

I hoped he hadn’t had some kind of accident while delivering newspapers; insurance was one luxury we couldn’t afford.

He continued breathing heavily for a moment and then, eyes aflame, he let loose.

“That cow!” he said. “She’s out to get me. She thinks she can just walk all over people and get away with it. She’s destroying my life! Everything I’ve worked for is ruined!”

“Whoa,” I said, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

“Who are you talking about?”

Jake began pacing around the office, rigid with anger.

“Five years I spent building that house. Five years! I put everything I had into it. I worked on it day and night and put all my money into it. All my money!” he said practically in tears.

“But what’s happened to your house? Who’s done this?”

Jake fixed me with his red-rimmed eyes, and his voice had dropped almost to a growl.

“Margaret Moran.

Have you heard of her? The bane of my life.”

I confessed that I’d never heard of her.

‘Why should I’, I asked?

“She’s a politician.

A Labour MP. My MP back in England, as it happens. I moved here to Spain to

escape her kind of scum but she’s following me.

“She’s got it in for me, she’s trying to destroy me.”

With that he sank down on the sofa again and began to sob. After a moment he looked up, the dust on his face now muddied by the tracks of his tears.

“She’s cut me off from my house. Stuck a note on my motorbike telling me I can’t access my own land even though it’s a public right of way.”

“So?” I said. “Can’t you just ignore it? And anyway, what’s a Labour MP doing down here in deepest, darkest Andalucia?”

Jake took a shuddering deep breath and composed himself.

“She’s got heavies down there. A paid mob. That path is a public right of way, has been for centuries. It’s not just me, there are several of us cut off now. She says she doesn’t want anyone walking near her property so she’s building a wall or something to keep us out.”

A dispute between neighbours was what it seemed like. I sympathised with Jake; after all, I knew both him and his wife reasonably well.

They had two children, with another on the way, and we’d been giving him free adverts in the paper for his minidigger service in return for some distribution work.

A thought occurred to me.

“How do you know it was her that wrote the note?

Maybe it was just one of the campesinos, God knows enough of them have got it in for foreigners.”

“Oh yeah?” he said “and where would a peasant get hold of some House of Commons headed notepaper (above right) and learn to write in English?”

This sounded too incredible to be true.

“What, so she’s writing messages ordering you off your own property in a foreign country on House of Commons notepaper?”

“Yep,” replied Jake, dejectedly. nity of being in the area to ‘research’ Another thought occurred to me. “Have some restaurants for a new book he you got the note?” was writing on fine dining in Andalucia.

“No, no, I didn’t think,” he said. “I’ve When he had sufficiently recovered he been there all night playing cat and looked around the empty office. mouse with her goons. There’s a bunch “Where are the others?” he asked. of us. The rest are down there now, “They’re not avoiding me are they? we’ve got her place surrounded and What about Marcus?” he asked. she’s too afraid to come out. We’ll do I explained how the flu had laid our editor whatever’s necessary,” he added, a low and he gave me a hard look. touch menacingly.

“A good journalist should be able to work Jake left, but not before I’d made him even though he’s sick. What’s his numpromise to get the note and keep hold ber?” of it. After he’d gone I found myself I explained that Marcus didn’t possess walking around the office, a phone and that he’d trying to get a grip on the have to call Molly if he situation. wanted to get in touch There’s a I wondered what I was gowith him. standoff going I added that it likely ing to do. A sitting Labour MP from Luton South – a good idea as on up near the wasn’t here in the Alpujarras! I sat it was already late afterdown at my computer and noon, and being at work hill where I Googled ‘Margaret Moran’. was probably the last live A picture of her came up thing Marcus wanted to on the screen revealing a think about. short, middle-aged woman “Nonsense,” said Jon. with dark brown hair.

“I need to speak to him, get him down She was mentioned in several newshere and working on that story about paper articles which all referred to her the dodgy mayor in Armillo. It’s imporclose links with Tony tant.”

Blair and his New Labour “Jon,” I said, “something has come ideology, meaning she up and I think it might be important. was a ‘Blair babe’.

There’s a standoff going on up near the Glancing at the stories, hill where I live that I think we should it seemed she had been follow up on it.” the subject of a recent “How so?” tabloid exposé over her I explained what had happened, how astronomical office staJake had turned up in a mess and who tionery expenses. Oh had done it. boy, I thought.

Jon went completely still as I told him Right then, as if on cue, what was occurring.

Jon Clarke rang the doorIt was as if he was stunned. “You mean bell. I let him in and he to tell me Margaret Moran, the Blair flopped down on the Babe, is here?” he stuttered. sofa, shedding his jour“Yes,” I replied. “Just up the road near nalistic appendages (laptop, camera, the writer Chris Stewart’s house.” file bursting with papers).

“Who else knows about this? Have you He looked exhausted and was red in told anyone?” he barked. the face. After he had caught his breath “No, just you,” I said. Jon started at me he explained he had used the opportuas if in disbelief. “We’ve got to get onto this immediately, there isn’t a moment to lose.”

More adventures next issue from : The Olive Press: News from the Land of Misfits (available on Amazon)

FIND OUT NEXT ISSUE ABOUT THE OLIVE PRESS’ FIRST BIG EXCLUSIVE FOLLOWED UP IN THE UK PRESS

14

October 11th - October 24th 2019

Do you have a what’s on?

LA CULTURA

Send your informa newsdesk@theolive tion to press.es

The End Of The F***ing World will be shown at the festival

Film festival fun

F

ILM fans are rejoicing as the Evolution! Mallorca International Film Festival (MIFF) is back for its eighth year.

Gaining more momentum

each year, the event features an awards ceremony and some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Movie Maker Magazine has put the festival in its ‘50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee’ for the last two years, and the festival sends some of Mallorca’s winners to festivals in LA, California.

MIFF kicks off at Palma’s Teatre Principal on October 23, with an opening gala and a

viewing of Richard Wong’s new feature film, Come As You Are. On October 24, Rialto Living is hosting a filmmaker brunch at its Palma homestore.

From October 24 to October 28, feature films, shorts, documentaries, student-made films and films for children will be shown throughout Mallorca.

There is also a special section of the festival dedicated to films created in the Balearics,

or by local writers, directors and producers.

The festival also boasts many Q & As with several filmmakers and directors, and hosts networking events for various sectors of the industry.

Palma’s Cineciutat hosts most of the screenings and events, with others at the Gerhardt Braun Gallery, Es Baluard, Port Adriano and Rialto Living.

Actors looking to raise their game can sign up for an acting and auditioning master-class with Giles Foreman, celebrity acting coach to the stars, including Michael Fassbender.

Another big name dropping the festival is Murray Ferguson, producer to acclaimed series including Misfits, Lovesick, and The End Of The F***ing World.

The British producer is one of the speakers at the film festival, along with Ben Donald, founder of Cosmopolitan Pictures, currently producing and working with the BBC on The Mallorca Files.

Famous faces at the festival

Hollywood royalty and British cult heroes team up for Mallorca’s film event of the year

Evolution in Adriano Port Adriano is again hosting its retro-style drive-in cinema nights on October 25 and 26.

Tickets cost just €10 per car for each film.

Pack some treats or buy some from the snack shack and turn on the car radio to listen to the film.

Friday night sees an 8pm showing of the children’s hit Frozen, followed by a 10pm showing of Kill Bill vol I. The port will show the 1974 film Easy Rider on Saturday at 7:30 pm, followed by classic rom com When Harry met Sally at 10 pm. over the years have included Pilou Asbaek of Game of Thrones, Casino Royal bad guy Mads Mikkelsen, Hollywood legend Danny DeVito and Oscar winner Melissa Leo.

A flock of movie stars, such as Danny DeVito (top), will gather together for the eighth Mallorca International Film Festival

Arranging a funeral abroad can be complicated – here’s how to make it simple

I

t’s probably the last thing most of us want to think about, but planning ahead for your funeral is something all British expats in Mallorca should do.

How to make funeral arrangements simple

Arranging a funeral is a stressful experience, but when you’re having to navigate a foreign funeral system, it can make a tough time even more difficult. When the time comes, will your loved ones know what to do and how to arrange a funeral in Mallorca?

Avalon is the fastest growing provider of funeral plans in Europe, providing specialist expat plans in Spain, the Canaries, Portugal and Cyprus. They’ve helped more than 70,000 customers across Europe and the UK for over 25 years.

The Spanish funeral system has some key How the Spanish differences that catch system differs many expats unaware.

Funerals take Traditionally, Spanish place 24-48 hours funerals happen as after death quickly as 24 to 48 Funeral Directors hours after the person may ask for passes away. Funerals payment upfront for British expats can Language barrier take longer to organise, especially if friends and family want to fly out to say their goodbyes. But beware – this delay could cost your loved ones hundreds of Euros in extra mortuary expenses, which are most often charged by the day.

In addition, it’s common practice for Funeral Directors in Mallorca to request either part or full payment upfront. That means your next of kin might have to pay up hundreds or thousands of Euros before the funeral can take place.

Then there’s the language barrier to deal with, along with the unfamiliar processes and paperwork that could make arranging a funeral even more complicated and stressful.

Like so many things in life, planning ahead is the best way to avoid surprises. Whether you live in Mallorca the whole year round, or have a summer home here, a prepaid funeral plan lets you make everything simpler for your loved ones when the time comes.

An Avalon funeral plan lets you pay for your funeral in advance, either in a lump sum or affordable monthly payments, so that your loved ones don’t have to deal with complicated funeral arrangements or unexpected costs.

Avalon plans are specially designed for British expats in Mallorca.

If you split your time between the UK and Mallorca, an Avalon funeral plan is valid in both countries so you can choose to have a funeral either in Mallorca, or back in the UK. Our local, specialist advisors are on hand to talk through our range of plans and your options so you can relax, knowing everything will be taken care of. It’s a simple way to make everything a little easier for your next of kin at a difficult time.

“Having unfortunately lost both my mother and stepfather in the space of four short months, I can honestly we can say we are so relieved they both had pre-arranged funeral plans with Avalon.

On both occasions, the service we received was exemplary – they made what was such a stressful time in Spain so much easier. For peace of mind, especially for expatriates and their families, I would highly recommend Avalon’s services.”

Michael, July 2019

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That’s why it’s so helpful to plan ahead to make things a little easier for your next of kin.

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BUSINESS

16

October 11th - October 24th 2019

Trade war with president Trump

SPAIN’S acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he will defend his country from the ‘unacceptable’ tariffs proposed by US President Donald Trump.

It comes after the American leader tabled taxes of 25% on swathes of European agrifood products, including Spanish wine, olive oil and cheese.

The US threatened to impose taxes on 150 different products in total, as well as 10% taxes on aircraft it buys from Spain.

“We are an administration that wants to maintain the best possible transatlantic relations but my responsibility as prime minister is to defend the agricultural sector in the face of any attempt to railroad us with tariffs,” San-

What Spain doesn’t want you to see Spain is one of the countries most guilty of attempting to censor what its population views online SPAIN has made it into the top 20 countries which censor online data the most.

In 2009, Google started recording the amount of content removal requests it received from governments and courts across the globe.

Several other major media companies then followed suit, such as Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft.

Pro-consumer site Comparitech then used the data to analyse which countries were the most concerned with online data.

India dominated the top spot with 77,620 requests, Russia was second with 77,162, the United Kingdom came in tenth with 6,402.

Spain, meanwhile, came in 12th place, with 1,592 removal requests since 2009.

Data also showed the main reason behind removals was ‘national security.’

chez said.

The heavier taxation of EU goods came after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled that some subsidies EU countries had paid to Airbus were illegal, giving the US the right to impose tariffs worth billions of euros.

It is estimated by Spain that the tariffs, which also target its liqueurs and cordials, olives and pork products, will affect around €1 billion of annual exports. In 2018, wine and olive oil alone were the Spanish products most exported to the US, with the total put at just over €700 million.

The list of proposed taxes is only provisional and will be ratified on October 14 by Trump and the European Commission.

Route for the stars A new flight route will see an improved connection between America and Mallorca

Twits

AIRPORT bosses have announced a new route to America from Mallorca in a bid to boost the island’s tourism industry.

The route from Palma to New York is part of the Mallorca Connectivity Plan for 2020 - 2022 and it is being mapped out by the tourism chiefs alongside airport bosses Aena.

TWITTER paid the Spanish treasury less tax than it pays its average worker last year. The social media giant paid €113,131 in tax to the Spanish government, while the average salary its 19 workers in Spain earn is €131,578, in-

cluding social security contributions. Twitter, like other big tech companies, minimises the amount of tax it has to pay by basing its European headquarters in the Irish capital of Dublin, where tax rates are low. Twitter Spain’s net profit shot up by 13.9% last year to €221,038.

In reality the turnover of its Spanish subsidiary is far higher.

An increase in tourists and passengers from the US and Canada is part of the driving force behind the new flights.

There are more talks also underway for direct flights to Toronto, Istanbul and Doha.

These flights would bridge the gap between North America and the Balearics, while Istanbul and Doha routes will better connect Palma to Asia.

The new long haul flights plan intends to bring more tourists to the Balearics in the low season, ensuring that flights are still regular.

The focus now turns to the negotiations with the 56 airlines that are reportedly interested.

Other shorter flights are also being planned for the next three years, including winter flights to Norway and Denmark, and regular flights to Tel Aviv, Budapest, Marrakech and St. Petersburg.

17

October 11th - October 24th 2019

It's not just the UK that’s suffering economic turbulence thanks to Brexit THE manufacturing sector in Spain has shrunk at its quickest pace since 2013, according to a survey of industry executives.

September has seen the country’s factory dramatically decline, with the IHS Markit Spain Manufacturing PMI falling to 47.7.

It was at 48.8 in August, making that a fourth month it has consecutively declined, the worst drop in over six years, since in January 2013 when it reached similar territory.

Paul Smith, economics director at IHS Markit, believes that Brexit is the rea-

GROWTH SPUTTER son for the fall: “Political and economic uncertainties across Europe and around the world are clearly weighing on the country’s manufacturing economy.

“There also seems little hope of a fast turnaround — confidence about the future has slumped to its lowest

Sky’s the limit BENIDORM could handle a 15% increase in the number of its hotels - equivalent to seven Wembley football pitches - a top developer has said.

The potential development in the Ensanche Levante sector, formerly known as the Armanello Plan, could mean even more vertical development in a resort already renowned for its skyscrapers.

The Urban Interest Group (AIU) has said another 15-20 new hotel complexes spanning 60,000 square metres are feasible.

Its research into the need for hotel accommodation over the next 20 years found that hotel numbers could rise from the current 131 to 151.

Town Hall bosses have already earmarked this sector for residential-hotel use.

level in over six-and-a-half years as domestic and international political problems such as Brexit show little sign of being resolved.”

Despite hopes that Spain would receive 20% of its GDP through manufacturing, multiple reports this year are indicating that it is in retreat.

Now as the Brexit deadline looms, the precariousness of the situation is seemingly not only impacting on the UK, but also other nations in the EU which rely on the country for trade.

There is a clear concern, too, in the La Linea and Gibraltar region, where possible restriction of freedom of movement may impact on the livelihoods of residents in the area, particularly those who need to cross the border to work, adding further to the economic downfall.

17

AGONY Property ANT

September 25th - October 8, 2019

YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

What’s app your honour?

Antonio Flores explains the legal ins and outs of using WhatsApp messages as evidence in court SINCE the advent of popular instant messenger services, it is becoming increasingly frequent to hear - in a legal conversation typically - that someone has irrefutable evidence in the form of ‘WhatsApps’ to build a solid court case.

And often, this someone will grab his phone with two fingers and proclaim, in a pseudoceremonial manner: “IT’S ALL HERE!” Life is full of surprises as we know, and the law is no exception.

The typical street lawyer would have probably overheard the same nonsense and, just by conversational repetition - as with the infamous 11-month rental contract imagined it had made it all the way into the Spanish Civil Code.

The reality is more complex. For WhatsApps to be admissible evidence in a court of law the bearer of those messages will have to go through a verification process that’s challenging to say the least.

For the avoidance of doubt, a screenshot will not be acceptable unless the sender confirms he/she sent it (wishful thinking most of the time).

So, what’s law/case law saying in these situations? The following bullet points offer some interesting information: According to WhatsApp Inc., […] the contents of any delivered messages are not kept or retained by WhatsApp - the only records of the content of any delivered messages reside directly on the sender’s and recipient’s mobile devices (and may be deleted at the user’s option). This rules out a business records affidavit from the service

provider.

The Spanish Supreme Court, aware of this limitation, established some guidelines in respect to the admissibility of a WhatsApp conversation in a court of law and, with the only exception a full acknowledgement by both parties of that ‘chat’, ruled that ‘the possibility of manipulating digital files through which this exchange of ideas materialises is part of the reality of things… it’s perfectly possible to create a communication in which a single user writes to himself’.

Case law has therefore established that for these types of messages to be admissible, the claimant will need to submit a technical expert report ‘confirming the true origin of that communication, the identity of the parties and, finally, the’ integrity of its content’.

The defendant will in turn need to provide a counter report challenging it after which, based on this and all other evidence, judgement may be passed.

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com

the Keys to success

THE suspension of the Woodford Equity Income Fund and its continued suspension have caused the biggest controversy in UK fund management for a decade, and with hundreds of thousands of retail investors unable to access their investments, there are some important lessons that can be learned for the future.

Whether it’s reviewing your current investment portfolio or using this checklist next time you’re planning to invest in a new fund, the Woodford situation highlights the main areas investors need to check before investing.

Diversification of Risk is key You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket, diversify, diversify! Check that you have a good spread across different funds, sectors, countries etc. etc. and review your investments each year and rebalance if needed, so that you don’t end up too concentrated in one area. If you are invested in a portfolio the Portfolio manager should do this for you.

Diversification is just common sense, as a reasonable spread of assets can potentially

Following the Woodford saga, here are the main things to check before investing BY Christina Brady

limit exposure to market downturns, fund suspensions, volatility etc.

Make sure you understand what you are investing in This is especially true if you are self-investing - the guiding principle of the Warren Buffett school of investment. Buy blue-chips and brand names you know. Anything else, avoid.

Know the difference between best buy tables and actual advice.

This could perhaps be the biggest lesson learned from the Woodford saga. Mr Woodford was a firm favourite of fund ‘best buy’ lists. Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the most influential financial intermediaries, has received major criticism since the fund’s suspension for this reason.

Understand liquidity This is how quickly you can buy/sell an asset and as investors have found, investing in unquoted smaller companies via an openended fund can create a liquidity mismatch.

Just because a fund says it offers daily dealing, doesn’t mean it always will.

There is the argument that a crackdown is needed on open-ended funds investing in il-

liquid assets. However, it does allow customers to invest in a diversity of fund options.

www.theblacktowergroup.com

Following a ‘Star’ No one fund manager has the secret to outperforming the market in all conditions and therefore you should expect everyone at some point to have a bad performance. If someone has a good long-term track record, don’t just assume it will continue. Don’t have the herd mentality and just follow everyone else and a best buy list.

Don’t be greedy We would all love our investments to grow year on year, but that is not how it is in the real world, markets go down as well as up. If an investment offers you consistently good or above average returns no matter what the market conditions are, it will end in tears and you will lose money (usually all your money invested) in the long run.

Beware: scammers and fraudsters love greed and people’s desire for unrealistic returns on an investment is music to their ears. It’s the way they make money. You lose, They win.

If it seems too good to be true IT IS! If you are unsure if your current investments are diversified enough, or are being offered an investment with terms that seem too good to be true, or you are new to investing, getting advice from a financial advice company that has weathered more than one or two

BAN: Neil Woodford’s fund Woodford Equity Income Fund suspended financial downturns is essential for your financial well-being and peace of mind.

Blacktower Financial Management has been established for over 32 years and has worked with its clients through the good and the bad times, offering sound financial advice.

This article is based on the opinion of the financial adviser and author, and does not reflect the views of Blacktower. The above information was correct at the time of preparation and does not constitute investment advice and you should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity.

Blacktower Financial Management Ltd is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and is registered with both the DGS and CNMV. Blacktower Financial Management (Int) Ltd is licensed in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and is registered with both the DGS and CNMV in Spain

18

October 11th - October 24th 2019

HEALTH

Quicker doses

IF you’re in quick need of some Ibuprofen, you’ll probably pick it up sooner living in Navarra than the Canary Islands.

The rural region of Navarra has the most pharmacies per head in Spain, with 1063 per person, a study by Consultancy firm IQVIA has found.

At the other end of the scale, the Canary Islands has the lowest number of pharmacies

With salt Faecal fountain causing three million A WATER play area that was closed after 71 people became ill was contaminated with faeces, an investigation has found.

The play area in Sant Andreu, Barcelona was forced to close after just 20 days because of several reports of gastroenteritis amongst children who had played there.

An investigation by the Public Health Agency of Barcelona (ASPB) found that the faeces probably came from somebody using the play area.

The study found that 97% of people who were admitted to hospital suffered from diarrhea, whilst a further 72% suffered abdominal pains.

The play fountains attracted 10,000 visitors in the three weeks they were active.

deaths a year, warnings are vital for packaging

SALT sold in supermarkets should carry graphic health warnings, such as those on tobacco packets, medical experts warn.

The move is vital with as many as 85% of Spanish children eating too much salt, according to research.

Scientists from The World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Hypertension League (WHL) believe that

Nurse attacked per head, with each pharmacy serving on average 2792 people.

It is closely followed by the Basque Country, where each pharmacy serves 2,634 people.

Andalucia has 2131 people per pharmacy, just above the national average of 2,115 people per pharmacy.

Some 24 new pharmacies opened in Spain in 2018.

A NURSE and doctor were forced to lock themselves in a consultation room after being threatened by a patient who had to wait fifteen minutes extra for an appointment.

The nursing union, Satse, said that the duo had gone through ‘real terror’ during the incident at the Alcala

del Rio Health Centre in Sevilla.

The delay came about because the two health workers had to attend to an emergency.

Reyes Zabala, the head of Satse Sevilla, said: "Nurses are here to take care of people and it is not fair that we are subjected to these assaults.”

The incident temporarily forced the closure of the health centre, leaving the 12,000 residents of Alcala without emergency care.

Table it many countries, including Spain, are not aware of the dangers.

While most countries have sodium information on the labels of processed food, these are often ‘difficult for people to interpret and do not warn of any health risk.’

Excess salt consumption is estimated to have caused more than three million deaths a year, from strokes and heart disease.

The WHO has now set countries a goal of reducing sodium intake by 30% by 2025.

Dr. Norm Campbell, of the

WHL, said: “Governments and the food industry have been working together to reduce salt in processed foods.

“However, urgent measures must now be taken to sensitize consumers to these dangers.”

He continued: “Although many countries have begun to consider a variety of public health measures to encourage people to eat less salt, we do not know of any that have required salt containers to have

HEALTH RISK: Experts demand cigarette-style warnings on salt warning labels.”

Jacqui Webster of the WHO added: "Eating too much salt increases people's blood pressure, which is one of the main contributors to premature death.”

Research published in the European Journal of Nutrition found that 85% of Spanish children eat too much salt.

The majority of this is from processed and fast food, with only 20 to 25% coming from table salt.

Safe to vape?

In an insightful new column Jeremy Kenton explores the dangers of vaping

S

tylish stainless steel or polished piano black holders, vaping products, often with coloured lights illuminating the vapour cloud, are recreating the elegant look of the cigarette holder of the 1930s.

As if the horrors of the effects of smoking with lung cancer, damaged circulation, heart and lung disease are not enough, a new outbreak of smoking related problems appears.

As millions of people turn to vaping as a safer alternative to smoking, the discovery of 500 fresh cases of a mysterious lung disease has cast doubt on its safety.

Vaping is not smoking; it does not involve the process of burning a substance like tobacco.

Vaping is using an electronic device to create a vapour mixture from a liquid, which is

known as an e-juice or e-liquid. This vapor is inhaled into the lungs and the residual vapour is expelled by the person vaping.

Already various issues have been seen with Harvard researchers seeing a link between popcorn lung and vaping last year.

Popcorn

Popcorn lung is the common name for a disease called bronchiolitis obliterans, an incurable condition that causes damage to the smallest parts of your lungs, called the bronchioles and alveoli.

Popcorn lung occurs when scar tissue builds up within these tiny passageways, making it hard to breathe and expel air.

It is caused by the chemical fumes of diacetyl which was first seen in workers in popcorn factories.

Oil accumulation in the small passage ways in the lungs is another issue attributable to vaping which is seen by many scientists as a possible cause of breathing difficulties in vapers.

The true cause of the current outbreaks is still unknown but there is no doubt that better controls about the quality and safety standards of vaping liquids is required. Only last week the Indian Government banned the use of vaping products, joining many far east and South American countries who have taken on board the warnings issued by the World Health Organisation in 2008.

•

HEALTH

19

October 11th - October 24th 2019

Future proof your eyes HEALTH and wellbeing is high on the agenda for many of us, but while diet and exercise may take top priority, do you ever stop to take notice of your eyes?

Evidence suggests our eye health isn’t something we pay close enough attention to as a quarter say they don’t have a check every two years.

That is why as part of Blindness Awareness Month this October, Specsavers Opticas is urging the nation to take action today so they can protect their vision for tomorrow.

Having your eyes tested does not just check for changes in vision but can help prevent sight loss through early detection of conditions and even spot other health concerns such as brain tumours or problems with your circulation.

Dr Nigel Best, Specsavers clinical spokesperson, said: “Vision is our most precious sense and the one people fear losing the most.

“It deserves care and regular attention. There have been significant advancement in opticians’ ability to diagnose disease and everyone should take advantage of the latest innovations at high street opticians.

“Regular eye tests combined with some simple wellbeing habits can help reduce the risk of developing certain conditions and make it more likely that any problems are detected early.”

Here Dr Best shares some everyday habits we can adopt to help future proof our eye health: • Stay active to reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration and cataracts • Don’t hold back the tears – a good cry can lubricate our eyes, wash away foreign matter and help reduce the risk of eye infections • Eat plenty of fish which is high in omega 3 fatty acids to help with eye lubrication • Get enough sleep to avoid twitching eye muscles

Specsavers Opticas recognises Blindness Awareness Month by getting experts’ advice on eye protection

Arranging a funeral abroad can be

complicated

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• Enjoy Avocados as they are rich in zinc and vitamin B which help stave off cataracts, and have a high amount of lutein which research suggests can help to prevent age-related macular degeneration • Drink plenty of water to avoid symptoms of dry eye • Don’t leave your eye makeup on when you go to sleep as it will increase your chances of getting bacterial and oil build up around your eyes or even inflammation • Wash your hands before handling your contact lenses and ensure you care for your contact lenses properly to reduce the risk of getting bacteria in the eye • Your eyes can reveal a lot about your health so it’s really important to have regular eye tests – once every two years, or more often, if recommended by your optometrist.

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Plan happy, choose

To find out more or book your next appointment head to your nearest Specsavers Opticas store or visit www.specsavers.es

2 for 1 glasses from €

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Including free sun and UV tint in one pair

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Cannot be used with other offers. Second pair from 59€-229€ ranges, to the same price range or below and to the same prescription. One pair with free sun and UV tint – usually 30€. 59€-229€ ranges: standard 1.5 single-vision lenses included in both pairs. For 1.5 Standard varifocal or bifocal lenses you pay for the lenses in your first pair. 199€ Fineform and Rimless ranges: standard 1.6 single-vision lenses included in both pairs. For 1.6 Standard varifocal or bifocal lenses you pay for the lenses in your first pair. All lenses are scratch-resistant. Extra Options available at an additional charge on both pairs. Excludes safety eyewear. ©2019 Specsavers Opticas.

OlivePressMallorca_11-10-19_170x256

20

October 11th - October 24th, 2019

Skyhigh Mallorcan house prices stagnate in 2019 as prices in neighbouring Ibiza surge HOUSE prices in Mallorca have stood still while prices in neighbouring Ibiza have skyrocketed.

While the cost per square metre in Palma in 2019 sits at €2,682, in Ibiza Town it is now €3,709, making it the most expensive city to buy a house in Spain.

The White Isle’s third largest town, Santa Eularia des Riu, is the third most expensive city to buy a house in Spain.

During the 2000s property bubble, house prices in Ibiza Town were relatively modest.

The Balearic town was the 45th most expensive city to buy a house in early 2008.

After the bubble burst later that year, Ibiza began to witness a surge in house prices.

The value of property in Ibiza has risen 56.5% in the past five years.

House prices in Mallorca have also increased substantially.

Last year, Mallorca saw an 11.4% surge in house prices.

Only in Madrid did house prices rise more, by 17.8%.

Of the top five most expensive Spanish cities to buy, house prices are only higher than their pre-crash levels in Ibiza Town and Santa Eularia des Riu. Apartments in Ibiza Town are 27% more expensive than they were before the 2008 crisis, while those in Santa Eularia des Riu set buyers back 19% more.

Home ownership remains out of reach for many people living in the Balearic Islands.

Residents of the islands must allocate 10.8 years of their annual salary to get on the property ladder, compared to 6.4 years on average in the rest of Spain.

PROPERTY

Keys Isl nd to the

Brexit is paralysing Mallorca’s property market, but high-end buyers are still steaming ahead, writes Amanda Butler

By Amanda Butler

Island strife

T

HE run up to Brexit Fright Night continues with Boris Johnson throwing out the bait from his (fishing) rod of the possibility of a new deal that the EU must consider, with the official EU stance being that a deal based on the new proposals was ‘overwhelmingly unlikely.’

So is he or isn’t he a fantasist – scary scenarios ensue with 20 days to go, and none of us are any the wiser.

Oh my are the Brits going down in history as the laughing stock of Europe.

It is frightening to remember there’s only one more Olive Press article to write between this and October 31!

It’s not quite ‘business as usual’ in Mallorca and the Balearics, as many real estate agents continue at a slightly different pace than in previous years.

Of course the situation is not the same for everyone, and there are plenty of agents super busy at present, albeit not

BREXIT: Amanda Butler believes the UK will be the laughing stock of Europe rushed off their feet with many British clients.

As part of my bespoke services, not only do I represent clients acting exclusively as a buyer’s agent, but I also extend my services to owners wanting an exclusive seller’s agent service.

I have recently taken on a wonderful classical style Mallorcan mansion house in Old Bendinat, 7 bedrooms, lovely flat plot of 1800 sqm with stunning sea views.

I consider Old Bendinat as one of the most desirable locations

House prices stall MADRID and the Balearic Islands have witnessed the steepest increase in the price of secondhand housing in the past year.

The price of houses per square metre rose by 2.45% in Madrid and 0.91% in the Balearic Islands, as the prices of secondhand houses fell across much of Spain. The Balearics are already the most expen-

sive Spanish region to buy a secondhand home, with the price per square metre on average, €3,101.

Nationwide, the average price per square metre of a house dropped by 1.15% in the last quarter.

House prices in Catalunya, the third most expensive region, dropped the most, by 2.14%.

in Mallorca to live. It is very exclusive, has lovely sea views, is walking distance to the sea and has plenty of shops and services.

It is only 5 minutes to Puerto Portals, as well as only being 10 minutes from Palma and 15 minutes to the airport (THE perfect location in my mind).

Anyway, it’s been an interesting exercise, contacting various agents on behalf of the owner - and is quite an interesting alternative perspective from an agent-turned-owner’s represen-

tative’s viewpoint.

Around 80% of customers are reflecting how quiet the market is, with not much interest, while 20% are super swift in reacting to the latest details and are now awaiting viewing dates.

I’m not really sure what the recipe for success is, but according to the 20%, business is still steaming ahead, and in the 8 million-for-a-house region, things are still going strong.

This will give comfort to many looking to sell at this moment in time.

Airbnb ban

BEGUR, the town known as the jewel of the Costa Brava, is clamping down on Airbnb-style rentals.

The local council has decided to stop issuing new licenses for holiday rentals for a year.

Begur, which has a year round population of 4,000, has long been a second home mecca for wealthy Barcelona residents. However, its infrastructure is now creaking

under the pressure of the 35,000 extra visitors each year. Backers of the license ban say that holiday rentals reduce the housing stock available to locals and drive up prices. The town follows Barcelona and Palma in restricting holiday rentals.

MD let us guide you home

Buying or Selling a property come to visit us in our brand new office, Plaza Portals nous. 3. or visit www.themallorcadeal.com

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL They just keep coming

21

What’s on for foodies!

October 11th - October 24th, 2019

Spice of life

MALLORCA’S hottest product, the little red pepper, has a day all of its own in Felanitx.

The beautiful village near Manacor celebrates the spice nightshade at the Red Pepper Fair on October 20.

The town will put on a flavourful market, parades, cooking demonstrations and plenty of music.

The traditional giants’ parade kicks off at 10:30am, followed by a music festival at 12:30pm.

Streets ahead CELEBRATE autumn with some of Mallorca’s best food stalls at the popular Street Food Festival in Port Adriano.

From October 11 to 13, the chic port in Calvia hosts its 13th edition of the food festival.

Participants include Anita Cakes with its decadent desserts, La Roulotte’s mouthwatering pulled pork, and Wanderlust, which serves both flaky fish and chips and spicy spring rolls.

The free-entry festival is open 11am to midnight.

M

Spain is still THE place to go - after all, 78 million tourists can’t be wrong!

SPAIN pocketed over €40 million from the travel and tourism industry during the first seven months of 2019, an increase of 3.6% on the same period the previous year.

It means that the Spanish tourism sector is on course for the tenth consecutive year of growth, since the 2008 global recession.

Income from tourism increased by €1.39 million, meaning that Spain earnt a massive €40,134,000 from tourism between January and July.

But challenges to the sector lie ahead.

The collapse of travel giant

Thomas Cook is expected to cause the immediate closure of 500 hotels, according to the Spanish Confederation of Hotels.

That said, some 29.6 million foreign tourists are expected to set foot on Spanish shores in the third quarter of 2019, an increase of almost 2% on the previous year.

Meanwhile, 48 million international tourists last year arrived in Spain during the first seven months of the year, a 2% increase on the same period last year.

Even better for Spain, the amount of money these tourists are spending is in-

Thirsty work Here’s a quick quiz...which drink is best for hydration?

Hint: It isn’t water!

ALGAIDA is hosting a special food festival with restaurants across the town offering special menus from €18 to €22 until October 20.

F creasing. Total tourist expenditure reached €52.36 million euros between January and July 2019.

IF you’re feeling thirsty, you should swap a glass of water for a glass of milk scientists reckon.

A study by the University of St. Andrews has found that water, despite its reputation, is not the most hydrating drink.

Researchers discovered that drinks with a little sugar, fat or protein help keep the

Tourists in July were on average spending €150 a day, 4.9% more than they were at the same time last year. body hydrated for longer.

Milk contains sugar, proteins and some fat which help slow the emptying of fluid from the stomach, which in turn keeps the body hydrated for a longer period.

It also contains salt, which acts as a sponge, allowing the body to retain more water.

S

ausage fest

SOBRASSADA is celebrated in Campos on October 24 with an entire fair showcasing the Mallorcan sausage.

Reset.

Music.

Horizon.

Sunset.

ish fair

MAHI Mahi gets its own festival in Cala Ratjada - the main port for the unusual fish - where chefs will serve it up in several delicious ways until October 13.

Friends.

At OD Port Portals we have our own star rating. In fact, we have all the stars of the Mallorca sky and we will enjoy them all together every summer night at OD Sky Bar, on our spacious terrace and at our restaurant On Top. A hotel full of local experiences, music, art, gastronomy, yoga, pre-parties, flea markets, brunches, concerts, Pilates, tardeo, sea, sun and all the stars. A hotel full of life.

enu meals

Memories.

SPORT SPORT Birthday result A YOUNG British Malaga CF fan whose dad splurged on a Shinji Okazaki shirt for his sixth birthday was disappointed when the Japanese player left the La Liga club before he had a chance to wear it.

However, he received something even better – birthday greetings Tweeted by the star striker himself.

Joseph Wilson’s father, Simon Wilson, ordered the sports shirt online for his son’s big day but Okazaki had already moved on to SD Huesca when it arrived.

Malaga CF cited financial reasons for the exit of the Premier League-winning player.

Simon posted on social media: “Joseph’s birthday today!

Unfortunately, I ordered this before the contract debacle He still loves it though and will wear it to the game this evening.”

Indeed the boy and his father took the top to Leicester’s game and uploaded it to social media.

Then, brilliantly, Okazaki saw the post and Tweeted Joseph personally to send him birthday wishes.

If you have a sports story, newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call 0034 951 273 575

Dina takes it all UK triumphs as Spain stalls at controversial World Athletics Championships in Doha

DINA Asher-Smith has made history for Britain, winning the 200m Gold at the World Athletics Championships and becoming the first Briton to scoop three medals at a major global athletics event.

The 23-year-old sprinter picked up three out of Britain’s five medals at the event in Qatar and broke a national record in the 200m, finishing in 21.88 seconds.

She also earned a silver medal in the 100m sprint and was part of Britain’s silver medal winning 4x100m relay team.

“Normally I am so chatty and

HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT: Asher-Smith bags gold, while (right) Spain’s Ortega leaps to victory full of energy, but I am lost for words,” said the 23-year-old after storming to victory in the 200m race.

The World Championships in the Qatari capital of Doha has been less kind to Spain, whose Orlando Ortega was initially robbed of the nation’s only

medal in the 110m hurdles, after Jamaican sprinter Omar McLeod fell into his lane.

Ortega was in third place when McLeod clipped a hurdle and flung his arm towards the Spaniard, forcing Ortega to dodge him.

Spain appealed the obstruction

Muguruza withdraws FORMER world tennis number number one Garbine Muguruza will end her 2019 season early and ‘go back to the drawing board.’

The two-time Grand Slam winner has tumbled 27 places to world number 28 since her peak as world number one in 2017.

The 25-year-old Spaniard has endured a terrible season, losing

COLUMNISTS

It’s Only Rock n Roll

After a 30-year hiatus Giles Brown gets his band back together for a birthday party in Marbella

LAST year I wrote about my friend Fish’s visit from Washington and the jam session that we had.

During the 80s we had a band that consisted of various Marbella Rock n Roll types that went through several incarnations.

The first line up - ‘Medicine Show’ - consisted of myself, Fish and the fabulously named and sadly now departed to the Great Gig in the Sky, Brenton Macbeth Blackwood.

I left to London to continue what is laughingly referred to as my career, and the band then became ‘The Good, the Bad and the Nice’, when the supremely talented Nader and Adam joined.

Adam left to NYC, becoming a regular on the live music circuit there, Nader to Brussels for a while - continuing to record superb music and returning to

23

October 11th - October 24th, 2019

build his dream musician’s villa in the hills overlooking Marbella.

Fish moved to Colombia, where he gigged at the Hard Rock Cafe, Bogota in all probability to an audience of Shakira and Scarface lookalikes.

In the meantime, I struggled to fret a B chord.

While he was over last time, we all got together for an afternoon jam session, where things went so well that we decided that we should do it again.

Be careful what you wish for.

This month Fish celebrated a ‘landmark birthday’, and, as Paola, his ridiculously gorgeous Colombian wife, had rented a nine-bedroom villa, it seemed the perfect opportunity to get the band back together, man.

Two run-throughs in the week leading up to the party and we were ready to perform. As celebrations go, Fish’s birthday was

one of the best.

Great friends, fabulous food and enough free flowing booze to stop a heavy cavalry charge.

We had all clubbed together to buy the man himself a handmade Spanish guitar, a gift that actually had him shocked.

And as a, ahem, ‘specialist’ who has been to some of the world’s most (double ahem) ‘interesting’ places - a mobile phone call in Kabul springs to mind, where I thought there was crackling on the line but was blithely informed it was small arms fire - the present had him lost for words. The gig itself was huge fun - I managed not to hit too many bum notes and we even renamed the band.

After 30 years, three of us no longer have our hair, so we renamed ourselves…

The Good, The BALD and The Nice!

OP Puzzle solutions

Across: 7 Perhaps, 8 Niece, 9 Nasal, 10 Content, 11 Raindrop, 13 Stop, 15 Loss, 16 Sorcerer, 19 Zambezi, 20 Blest, 22 Reign, 23 Acrobat.

Down: 1 Opener, 2 Ores, 3 Ballads, 4 Psychological, 5 Deserter, 6 Beat-up, 8 Nine, 12 Insomnia, 14 Iceberg, 15 Lizard, 17 Rotate, 18 Bean, 21 Ebbs.

SUDOKU

Quick Crossword

seven of her last eight matches since the French Open in June.

She has also split with coach Sam Sumyk, who helped her win Wimbledon in 2017 and climb to the top of the tennis leaderboard.

Asked last month about her struggles, she said: “I am simply in different circumstances, challenges, but I feel super motivated.”

and at first the jury denied the appeal, arguing such incidents weren’t ‘unusual’ at hurdle events.

The International Association of Athletics Federations later backtracked and awarded Ortega a bronze medal.

The 2019 World Championships has been marred by controversy since it began, with French Decathlon medalist Kevin Mayer branding it ‘a disaster’.

“There is no one in the stands and you can’t get used to the heat,” he said.

The IAFF, which organises the event, has been accused of treating athletes as guinea pigs, forcing marathon runners and race walkers to compete in 31C heat.

Solheim time MARBELLA City Council has gone gung-ho in its pursuit of hosting the 2023 Solheim Cup. The council has been galvanised by the success of Marbella’s own Suzzan Pettersen at the 2019 event where she helped her European team beat the USA to the trophy.

Marbella councillor María García stressed that golf on the Costa del Sol is one of the most important tourist attractions in the province, and that the competition would put Malaga ‘at the epicenter’ of women's golf and be ‘a great showcase'.

Ham fisted PRIME Minister Sanchez has outraged farmers after confusing the delicacy Jamon Iberico with the cheaper Jamon Serrano.

FREE

FINAL WORDS

Parakeet palava MADRID Council has ordered thousands of parakeets to be ‘humanely slaughtered’ using ‘egg sterilisation’ and nest removal after populations exploded.

ITV win BRITISH broadcaster ITV has won a nine-year court case after its 90s show Alphabetical was ‘ripped off’ by Telecinco’s Pasapalabra, which has since been axed.

OLIVE PRESS MALLORCA

The

NEWS IN BRIEF

expat

voice in Spain

A PRISON inmate has escaped from the City of Justice court in Valencia by using nothing more than his shoelace.

Pablo Antonio, 48, was serving a four-month jail sentence for breaking a judicial measure relating to sexual violence, when he appeared in a separate trial for drug trafficking.

After returning to a court cell he made his lace into a bow and pushed it through the bars to undo the latch on the outside of the door. A manhunt is now underway after CCTV captured him walking out of the court’s front doors unnoticed.

Tasting his medicine

FEMINISTS appearing in court for parading a huge plastic vagina through Sevilla during Semana Santa have denied they intended to ‘insult Christians’.

BUSH BASHER TV star Tyger Drew-Honey confronts beach pervert

EXCLUSIVE

By Joshua Parfitt

BRITISH TV star Tyger Drew-Honey has filmed a confrontation with a man who ‘flashed’ at him on a Costa Blanca beach.

The Outnumbered star, 23, was relaxing in Denia when he spotted the pervert ‘licking his lips’ and playing with himself in nearby bushes.

Drew-Honey tells the camera: ‘I’ve just been flashed

HONEYS: Tyger and dad by this guy on the beach’.

The man, believed to be ‘in his 60s’, asks Drew-Honey to stop filming before he retaliates: “Yeah mate, well

A VALENCIAN doctor specialising in facial surgery has been charged with a crime against public health after being caught with half a kilo of cocaine in his backpack.

Police arrested renowned maxillofacial surgeon Dr Luis Senís as he was leaving the house of a suspected cocaine dealer in the Saïda district of Valencia city.

He was granted €50,000 bail while the courts continue their prosecution.

Maxillofacial surgeons are, ironically, specialists in reconstructing the features of cocaine addicts, who can suffer devastating midfacial deterioration as a result of snorting the stimulant.

According to police reports, the cocaine was of high purity, and compressed into a so-called brick.

952 147 834 * O f f e r

v a l i d

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f o r

Happy hamsters

Vol. 3 Issue 65 www.theolivepress.es October 11th - October 24th 2019

Shoeshank redemption

Sinning sisters

Your

n e w

c u s t o m e r s

you need to stop walking around on the beach flashing young men.”

Drew-Honey had been walking near where his expat father Lindsey Honey was playing drums for his band the Soggy Bottoms.

“I was just about to go for a dip when this man started circling me,” he told the Olive Press.

“It seemed like flasher behaviour and then I turned around and caught him licking his lips at me.

“I hurled abuse at him as he whipped his private parts away and then it occurred to me that I should shame him, so I filmed him.”

Drew-Honey said he is planning to go to the police, but will have to do it on his return as he is currently touring the UK in a play called Posh, by Laura Wade.

FOUR tiny hamsters found dumped in a cage next to rubbish bins in Benitachell have been given a new lease of life.

The white-coated creatures were spotted in a pink plastic cage unceremoniously ditched on the side of the road in Lirios, on the Cumbre del Sol. Jacqueline Mellis took the quartet home to give them TLC, clean their cages and find new owners.

“How cruel some people are,” Jacqueline told the Olive Press.

After making a plea through the Javea Connect Facebook group, by Tuesday one kind person had already come forwards to rehome the hamsters. Another kind-hearted Facebook user also donated three cages to the cause.

“I was blown away by all the comments I received regarding the four little hamsters I found at the bins,” Jacqueline said.

“It’s so lovely that many people care for animals as much as I do.

“The little loves are now in a nice home in nice cages.

“I’m over the moon there was a happy ending.”

The hamsters were adopted

by Rebecca Brown, who lives in Benitachell with her family.

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