Gibraltar Olive Press - Issue 124

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Vol. 5, Issue 124 www.theolivepress.es June 10th - June 23rd 2020

Nature takes over in Page 6 pandemic

Andalucia’s best Page 12 ventas

Mixed messages over frontier opening as lockdown eases

GIBRALTARIANS will have to wait a little longer to enter Spain for the first time in nearly three months.

It comes after the Spanish Ministry of the Interior and the Policia Nacional in La Linea said the frontier would open to locals on June 8.

The rumours first started circling after a news report in the Spanish newspaper El Pais and the news was confirmed by Spanish officials.

Daniel Campos De Diego, Director of Communications of the Spanish

UK

Ministry of the Interior, said that access to Spain from Gibraltar had only been limited by the lockdown.

“None of our restrictive frontier measures at other borders during the State of Emergency applied to the border between Gibraltar and Spain,” Campos De Diego told the Olive Press.

“Therefore, there is no new measure in this respect.

“What is occurring is that people now have more freedom of movement as the province of Cadiz enters phase three.

“This also affects the transit of Gibraltarians into the Cadiz province.”

At the June 8 BASED morning week-

By John Culatto

ly press briefing, the Deputy Chief Minister was unaware of the news, having been told the day before the frontier opening would have to wait until July 1.

All of Andalucia entered Phase 3 of the release from COVID-19 lockdown on June 8, allowing greater freedom of movement.

Many Gibraltarians have houses and family in the surrounding area so they are waiting for the go-ahead to enter Spain.

However, it seems the frontier could now open at any time between June 21 or July 1.

Confusion

Despite the official confirmation there were reports from the ground on June 8 that Gibraltar pedestrians and cars were not being allowed into Spain.

THE SKY On June 9, the Policia Nacional said that nothing DOCTOR had changed and GibralALL AREAS COVERED tarians could only go over to Spain for work or if they

X

Five festivals still on this summer Page 10

Thou shalt not pass TRAVEL INSURANCE for Spanish residents

www.globelink.co.uk

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lived there officially.

“The position, as we understand it, is as stated by the Ministry of the Interior to the press and directly to us,” the Gibraltar Government told the Olive Press.

“We are seeking further clarification as to when the change will be implemented.”

Frontier fluidity was one of the issues discussed by the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo in post-Brexit talks with Spanish officials this week.

Picardo said the talks held in Malaga ‘took place in a cordial and constructive atmosphere’ with ‘very positive engagement’ to iron out previous problems.

“All key issues were discussed and there are clearly areas where some significant progress can be made,” said the Chief Minister.

“These include the issues of mobility, which has long been a point of unnecessary friction for citizens.”

The talks will continue before the end of the month ‘to resolve matters which have long dogged our relationship’, added Picardo.

Opinion Page 6

Tel: 952 147 834

See page 9/16

TM

2

CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

June 10th - June 23rd

DID YOU SEE CHRISTIAN (RIGHT) OR HIS VW WESTFALIA VAN ON THE COSTAS?

Case against prime Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner grows stronger as series of key Spain links emerge EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore & Joshua Parfitt, in Alcossebre

MADDIE McCann was reportedly seen getting into a German-owned VW van with a mystery man just weeks after her disappearance, it has been revealed.

Unearthed police files, published this week, show how a witness was convinced he saw the British toddler leave a restaurant in Alcossebre on the Costa Blanca.

The alleged sighting took place at Tunnels, at 11am on May 28, 2007, just three weeks after the three-year-old vanished.

The area in Valencia is 600 miles from where Maddie was snatched in Praia da Luz, in Portugal, and is popular with people living the camper van lifestyle, such as prime suspect

Pics by Jon Clarke

SPOTTED: At Tunnels in Alcossebre

CLOSING IN Christian Brueckner.

The 43-year-old paedophile was living in Praia de Luz when Maddie vanished and was driving a distinctive VW T3 Westfalia van (pictured).

A German expat, who has lived near the restaurant for years, remembers the day well as it was his friend who contacted the police.

Jorge, who asked to stay anonymous, told the Olive Press that it was ‘the talk of the town’ and his friend clearly saw the VW van and he ‘still swears it was Maddie’.

Following the tip off at the

BIRD’S EYE VIEW: Breuckner’s rental home overlooked McCann’s apartment in Luz

time, Leicestershire cop DC John Hughes issued an international Interpol alert with a ‘risk to life missing person’ warning demanding that both Spanish and German police investigate.

He urged police to check the location for CCTV and witnesses and asked for the German van’s details, which were allegedly BMS 1049. It is not known what checks were made. The police report, is-

sued as part of Operation Task, explained that the restaurant was in an area called ‘Cap Y Corp’ and that the witness had an ‘unimpeded’ view of the girl who walked straight past him.

German police said there were indications that he could have used either the van or a Jaguar model XJR 6 with a German number plate to commit the snatching of Maddie and appealed for help tracking where they were parked.

The Olive Press has established (see box) that he was seen back in the Algarve area a couple of weeks later in the same van,

EXPOSED: The paedo’s lair SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

by Jon Clarke & Laurence Dollimore, in Foral

HIDEAWAY: House where Breuckner stayed in Foral and (below) our story in Mail on Sunday

SCARED: Landlady Lia

The Mail on Sunday June 7 • 2020

guy, people were scared of him in the village,” owner Lia Silva revealed.

“He claimed to be a private detective and he carried a gun which was obviously really terrifying.”

She revealed how the house was rented to a German woman Nicole, who was living there with her boyfriend Roman, who allegedly beat her up.

Parethat nts kicke out adopted She explained the dwoman hadson a as teen after crim young daughter of ager her own, but she also e spre e took in troubled teenagers from Germany, who she fostered for a living.

‘They had difficulty ‘I got the feeling that he to control him’ enjoyed torturing a “She wastryingsupposedly running me’ rehabilitation programme for troubled youths, but one escaped and came back pregnant, him under alongside police thathadman who believe was SurVeiI llance Christian.”

The property has become a key part of the investigation into the movements of Brueckner around the time of Maddie’s disappearance.

The home, which is currently being rented by two Brits, has extensive grounds and a large swimming pool and barbecue area.

Nicole abandoned the property in 2009, owing Silva around €10,000 in unpaid rent.

“They left behind needles, used syringes with a spoon and bricks of hashish,” reUNKEMPT: Maddie suspect Christian

By Mark Hookham and Abul Taher in Germany

Brueckner

THE prime suspect for the abduction of Madeleine McCann was kicked out as a teenager because his adopted of home mother could no longer cope with his spiralling criminal behaviour.

Speaking for the first time, Christian Brueckner’s mother Brigitte insisted she want to know what crimes her does not depraved adopted son has committed, saying: ‘I don’t know anything about it. I don’t want to know anything about it.’

Kind-hearted Brigitte and her husband Fritz adopted Christian as a baby after he up by his birth mother. But when was given seriously injured in a car crashFritz was Brigitte was unable to cope with in 1992, caring for both her brain-damaged husband and the increasingly delinquent teenager.

Christian was sent to a children’s home for disruptive teenagers, but soon debauched life of crime and sex sank into a offending.

In 1992 he committed a burglary and a year later molested a six-year-old playground, only stopping when girl in a she began to scream.

F i v e m o n t h s l a t e r, h e approached a nine-year-old girl tions, including theft, assault, drug and dropped his trousers. ‘unkempt hands’, including It marked the beginning of an trafficking, violations of the weap- fingernails. It even detailschewed couple, very kind. But what hap- that is when he was sent to a dis- pened with their boy Christian appalling 27-year criminal career. ons law, child abuse, possession of tinctive scar on his groin. is a school for delinquent a reform teenagers Last week German police child pornography and rape.

The file – and the testimony of catastrophe,’ one neighbour said. in Wuerzburg.’

Astonishingly, he has been extra‘They took him in as a baby announced that they were investihis friends and acquaintances Another neighbour added: ‘If – brought him up as their own. and gating the 43-year-old on suspi- dited back to Germany from abroad provides a picture of an ‘He was often in trouble and he what I read is true it will destroy cion of murdering three-year-old to face justice no fewer than three and dangerous sexual itinerant his mother. Brigitte and Fritz offender did Madeleine, who disappeared from who appeared to flit between Ger- got worse and worse as he grew everything they could for him when a holiday apartment in the Portumany and Portugal at will, comhe was a boy.’ guese holiday resort of Praia mitting serious A third crimes neighbour told the Gerda wherever Luz in 2007. he settled. man newspaper Bild that the home Brueckner is also being investiBrueckner was born Christian where Brueckner was sent had a gated in connection with the disapFischer in 1976 but given up by bad reputation: ‘There were only his pearance of a five-year-old German birth mother and adopted by bad young people there.’ the girl who vanished from woods Brueckner family, who At his trial for the child sex in times: twice from Portugal northern Germany, in 2015. and Bergtheim, a village lived in offences in 1994 at Wuerzburg near the into a teenager. As the man of the District Court, Inga Gehricke – often referred to once from Italy.

Given his repeated offending, the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg.

Brueckner was as Germany’s Maddie – vanished Neighbours yesterday said the house, it was Fritz who disciplined asked by the juvenile judge what the boy. Christian during a family barbecue. Brueck- file provides a vivid physical family had difficulty controlling hand. But after needed a firm he thought about his actions. the accident he ner lived 48 miles away in a cara- description of Brueckner who has a him and the situation He replied: ‘I didn’t think anybecame could not do that any van on scrubland by an abandoned pockmarked face, pierced ears, a impossible after Herr more. thing.’ He was given a two-year Brueckner, five-inch scar on his lower back, ‘Brigitte, the mother, box factory. an who has since died, was confined did her to but she could not cope with best, sentence but fled to Portugal with Police are also examining poten- eight-inch scar on his right arm, a wheelchair after the car the boy a girlfriend in 1995 crash. birthmarks all over his body and before it was tial links to the disappearance ‘The Brueckners were a lovely and look after her husband. in ‘Christian had been in trouble and completed.

1996 of another German youngster, He worked for a sales company, René Hasse, six, who vanished fitting awnings and swimming pool from Amoreiras beach in the Porcovers, and with his then girlfriend tuguese coastal town of Aljezur – rented a remote whitewashed farm25 miles from Praia da Luz. house on a hillside near the beach And yesterday the Belgian authorwhere the McCanns would later GERMAN police considered ities said they are investigating prison for child sexual abuse and play during their week’s holiday.

Christian Brueckner so dangerous surveillance. The officers then whether Brueckner might have possession of child pornography.

In 1999 he was arrested and extrathat they put him under roundbegan openly following him. been involved in the murder of He was eligible for release in dited back to Germany where 16the-clock surveillance.

‘We stood in front of his house he year-old Carola Titze in July 1996.

August 2018, but the German served out the remainder of The convicted paedophile was his The teenager, whose mutilated authorities were desperate for him at night, walked beside him youth sentence for the child sex released from jail in 2018 as a when he was out, and talked to body was found six days after she to remain behind bars for drug offences. The following year result of a bureaucratic bungle him,’ said an investigator. he vanished while on holiday at trafficking. Under extradition law, was back in Portugal – but his life a against the wishes of German Brueckner went to the Flemish resort in De Haan, West Portugal had to give its consent became increasingly chaotic. police and prosecutors. In panic, Netherlands, where the Dutch Flanders, was allegedly seen at and it is claimed the Portuguese Neighbours described an ‘angry’ a officers were sent to follow him, police who took over surveillance disco with a German man, who was authorities car did not dealer who raced along the do so in time – but he gave them the slip. never traced. meaning Brueckner was released. lost him. From there he fled to quiet country roads. He collected Brueckner had been arrested in Italy, where he was arrested a The Mail on Sunday has seen Detectives first tried to covertly lost balls from golf courses to sell Portugal month in 2017 later and extradited to and extradited back to Brueckner’s 19-page police file, track his movements but he and stole diesel from parked trucks a Germany to serve 15 months in Germany where he was convicted shocking catalogue of 17 convicsoon realised that he was under and boats in nearby marinas. of the 2005 rape of a pensioner.

Then, one hot evening in early September 2005, just 18 months

June 7 • 2020 The Mail on Sunday

V1

Suspect’s secret lair could lead police to Maddie

17

called Silva, “it was horrible finding that in my house, but I burnt it all, I didn’t want to be incriminated by that stuff.”

Brueckner was not seen in the village after Ni‘People were afraid of him in the restaurant’ cole and Roman left.

Police turned up a couple of times looking for Roman but did not reveal to Silva why.

“He received some serious looking legal letters from Lisbon so maybe it was related to that.”

Talking to the Olive Press inside the grounds, she said she welcomed police digging up if it helps solve the Maddie case.

“I just want this case closed like everyone else, the parents need closure. If it was him who took Maddie, then I hope they hang the bastard.”

Several other witnesses in the town confirmed that Portuguese police have never visited to ask questions about the case.

From Jon Clarke and Laurence Dollimore

in FOraL, POrTUGaL

NOTORIOUS DRUNK: Brueckner

out in a bar in Hanover in 2011

PAEDOPHILE Christian Brueckner regularly visited a rundown house hidden away in the Portuguese countryside in the months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The property – pictured exclusively and never before linked to Brueckner – could now become a focal point in the investigation into whether the German kidnapped and murdered Madeleine.

An investigation by this newspaper has established that Brueckner often stayed at the villa in the village of Foral in 2007 and 2008. He reportedly parked his distinctive Volkswagen KEY CLUE: The villa in Foral, Portugal, that was visited by Brueckner Westfalia campervan, which was subsequently seized by Ger- also had a young teenage girl 14 miles from Foral. Meanwhile, living with her who was not man police, in the car park of a her daughter. The woman would Brueckner’s German police file nearby restaurant. lists one of his ‘abodes’ as ‘PortuThe villa is about 40 miles from fly kids over from Germany and gal. Messines’. The village of Sao the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, was supposedly running a reha- Bartolomeu de Messines is just the holiday resort where three- bilitation programme for trou- six miles from Foral. year-old Madeleine disappeared bled youths.’

Lia Silva, the owner of the propBrueckner’s visits to the propin May 2007. erty in Foral, said an intimidating The villa, which is understood erty could form a key part of German man would visit the to have never been searched by police attempts to piece together and visit Nicole. At one pointvilla it is his movements after Madeleine claimed police, was rented between 2002 he helped track and 2009 by a German woman vanished. He is thought to have one of the German teenagersdown who left Portugal shortly after and had run away. called Nicole who is said to have used it for a rehabilitation pro- returned to Germany, reportedly ‘Suddenly a German guy turned gramme for troubled teenagers. up, and the rumours were that he A German couple who have was a private detective of some lived in the village for more than nature,’ said Ms Silva. ‘Some peo20 years said they immediately ple were afraid of him when he recognised Brueckner when he used to go to the restaurant. was named last week as the prime ‘Eventually, the guy found the suspect in the disappearance of runaway girl … and it turns out Madeleine and his image telling friends that he had stolen she was pregnant. It was a major appeared in the media. problem. It was then that Nicole ‘I said, “That’s Christian” before a lot of cash during a burglary on was no longer allowed to receive I even read what his name was,’ the Algarve.

He first moved to the German kids from Germany, so she lost said the husband, who asked not all her income.’ of city of Dresden for a few to be named.

When Ms Silva was shown a ‘The first time I met him he was weeks and then to Augsburg in photograph of Brueckner, she hosting a party at the restaurant. Bavaria, staying in the attic of a said: ‘Yeah that looks like him, it ‘He had two dogs, one medium- home owned by landlord Alexan- could be him.’ sized, one small. The name of the der Bischoff, 64, for two or three She added that Nicole abansmall one I even remember, it weeks at a time. But according to doned the villa in 2009, allegedly was called Frau Muller and was Mr Bischoff, Brueckner was owing 10,000 euros in rent. always rummaging around often away, including on trips ‘I found syringes and used neeback to Portugal. the bins.

In 2015 he sold the VW T3 West- dles and a spoon and bricks of ‘The female tenant was German hashish in a shoebox,’ Ms and had a young daughter. She falia to the German owner of a added. ‘I was devastated Silva to find scrapyard in the town of Silves, that in my house.’

was armed with a ‘curved sabre’, beat the pensioner with a metal, flexible object. ‘I felt that he enjoyed torturing me,’ she later told police.

Two of Brueckner’s acquaintances stumbled across evidence of his horrific crime when they burgled his farmhouse the following FAMILY HOME: The house in Bergtheim year, but apparently failed to tell where he was brought up the police about their find until before the abduction of Madeleine, many years later. his offending took a horrifically – Casa Jacaranda – having reguThey stole his camcorder but depraved turn. Less than a mile larly stopped there to pet the cats were horrified to find a film from his farmhouse was the home on his way to the beach. sequence in which an older woman At about 10.30pm, as she watched was bound of a 72-year-old American widow, and masked and who had lived alone with her cats TV, the woman was grabbed from then raped. A second film whipped showed behind, dragged upstairs to her for 17 years following the death young woman tied naked to a of bedroom where she was a tied-up, wooden beam in the house. her Austrian husband.

Brueckner knew the widow’s villa gagged, blindfolded and raped. ner is understood to have Brueckcourted Brueckner, who wore a mask and string of young women during a his

12-year stay in the Algarve and had a year-long relationship with a British expat.

He disappeared from Praia da Luz shortly after Madeleine was snatched as she slept alongside her twin siblings in May 2007.

German police last week revealed Brueckner took a mobile phone call, placing him in the resort between 7.30pm and 8pm on the night she vanished.

He initially settled in Hanover and became a notorious figure in the city’s backstreet bars, often leering drunkenly at women and wearing an ill-fitting and pungent suit. ‘I remember him,’ said Diana Bieler, who worked at the Cuban-themed bar Havana, where Brueckner was photographed in

April 2011. ‘He used to come to the bar twice a week, always on his own. He always had beer and looked unfriendly.

‘He was a dirty man, and I did not talk to him. He always smelt and always looked tense.’

It was his habit of drunkenly boasting in bars that may have sealed his fate.

In 2017, he apparently suggested that he was responsible for Madeleine going missing while drinking with an associate in another German bar.

Shockingly, he then allegedly showed his fellow drinker a video of him raping a woman. The associate informed German police who passed the new information to New Scotland Yard.

OLIVE PRESS SPAIN

Anguished mother: I don’t want to know what he has done V1

ALAMY / AFP / REUTERS

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EPA / PIXEL8000 / PHIL NOBLE /

T

HIS is the house where the prime suspect in the Maddie case spent several months following the toddler’s disappearance.

The extensive property sits in the sleepy village of Foral, around 45 minutes drive from Praia da Luz, where the three-yearold vanished in 2007.

Several locals confirmed to the Olive Press they saw Brueckner, now aged 43, and his distinctive Westfalia van parked outside the property, where troubled German teenagers were supposedly nursed back to health.

The German paedophile was around for months and often worked at the village’s O Faro restaurant and did odd jobs to earn cash or in exchange for showers.

“He came and went and was a really scary

but that he could have easily have been driving any number of different vans.

It comes as Brueckner, who lived for many years around Praia da Luz, allegedly told colleagues in Germany that Maddie was dead.

Reports say he became frustrated when his work pals would not stop talking about the case while working at a kiosk between 2012 and 2014.

“The child is dead now – and that’s a good thing!” Brueckner reportedly screamed, “you can make a corpse disappear quickly… pigs also eat human flesh!”

Boasted

While he was discounted from the Portuguese investigation in 2007 and again in 2012, the net began to close when German police started probing him in 2017.

It came after Brueckner told a pal on a night out about the case and boasted how he had raped a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz, two years before Maddie was snatched.

It came after a picture of Maddie flashed onto the TV screen in a bar they were in, it being the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.

He went on to show the pal videos, allegedly of the sadistic rape, for which he has now been convicted, and possibly of Maddie.

The suspect has 17 convictions, many of them sexual offences against young children.

His first known offence was when he molested a six-yearold girl in Germany at the age of 17 in 1993. A year later he attempted to sexually assault a nine-year-old girl.

He moved to Praia da Luz with his then-girlfriend in 2005, but broke up with her soon after arriving.

He had a series of other girlfriends, including a British girl, and also found work as a waiter and carried out odd jobs.But meanwhile he was also robbing apartments and selling drugs.

Eerily, he was living in a rundown property, rented from a British owner, which overlooked the resort from a nearby hill and just a short walk to the beach.

One of his neighbours, an Austrian woman, Salamanda, told

the Olive Press he was always polite to her and a good neighbour. “I even had coffees with him on a few occasions and he seemed fine,” she said.

It is the circumstances of his sudden departure from the resort around the time of Maddie’s disappearance, plus a mysterious 30-minute conversation with someone called ‘Diogo Silva’, on the night she vanished, which is so intriguing.

The fact that he sold or at least re-registered his Jaguar car the day after her death is suspicious, as is the fact that just a couple of weeks later he started living in a small village, Foral, some 45 minutes away inland.

German police issued both phone numbers used on the evening an hour before she vanished, and also gave out photos of his van and car.

Yet, Portuguese police became obsessed that it was her parents who killed her and did not even include Bruekner on a list of 600 possible suspects.

Despite his close links, now confirmed by the Olive Press in Foral, police have yet to search the property or properly probe his links there.

Sex attack

The village has now become filled with investigators and journalists trying to crack the case, following our expose, including the BBC that filmed on Monday in the strange property that housed troubled teenagers brought in from Germany.

Brueckner would go on to commit more crimes against children, including another sexual attack in June 2013.

He has now been linked to another five missing children and a series of rapes both in Portugal and Germany.

Whether he could have committed offences in Spain on his many trips across the country is now a question for Spanish police to grapple with.

According to German magazine Der Spiegel, in September 2013, he wrote in an online chatroom that he wanted to ‘capture something small and use it for days.’

Do you recognise the van or jaguar pictured? Do you remember seeing either of the vehicles throughout the 2000s? Contact newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

June 10th - June 23rd

Party prince

That’s rich ENRIQUE Iglesias and Anna Kournikova have been named as Spain's top celebrity power couple and 22nd worldwide.

Credit company Guarantor Loans released its list which combined couples’ net worths and social media followings to rank the top 40 pairings in the world.

In first place was Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham, worth a combined €2.75 billion.

The top performing couple that includes at least one Spaniard was singer Enrique Iglesias and tennis star Anna Kournikova who ranked 22nd worldwide, with assets of €133 million between them.

Cue music ONE of Spain’s most prestigious international awards has been awarded to two of cinema’s great composers.

The Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts has been given to Ennio Morricone (right) – responsible for much of the iconic music in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns including The Good the Bad and the Ugly – and John Williams (right), most famous for the Star Wars music.

Morricone has written more than 500 movie soundtracks while Williams has composed the music for some of Hollywood’s biggest hits including ET, Fiddler on the Roof, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and the Indiana Jones movies. This latest award adds to the long list of Oscar, Grammys and other prizes the two composers have to their names.

3

Kickback King

Spain’s former monarch embroiled in new scandal amid probe by country’s top court

DISGRACED former King Juan Carlos is being investigated by Spain’s Supreme Court over whether he illegally received millions of euros of kickbacks from Saudi Arabia.

The probe dates back to another inquiry launched by Spain’s anti-corruption prosecutor into a massive contract won by Spanish companies in 2011 to build a high-speed railway linking the cities of Medina and Mecca.

Swiss newspaper La Tribune de Geneve claimed that before his 2014 abdication, Juan Carlos received nearly €100 million from the late king of Saudi Arabia.

As king, Juan Carlos enjoyed

MALAGA’s favourite son Antonio Banderas has been chosen to spearhead a €22.5 million campaign to attract tourists to Andalucia this summer.

Regional Tourism Minister Juan Marin described the plan as a bid to rescue the peak season.

The famous Hollywood actor features in an advertisement that started airing this week on radio and television as well as in the printed press.

The campaign will also be heavily featured on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, aimed at attracting foreign tourists.

EARNER: King ‘took €100 million from Saudis’ immunity from prosecution.

But now the supreme court prosecutor is looking to see if he can be included in the case for any actions that took place after he abdicated in favour of

Hollywood hero

his son, when he ceased to be covered by immunity.

A statement from the prosecutor said: “This investigation focuses, precisely, on establishing or discarding the criminal relevance of deeds that happened after June 2014, when the King Emeritus was no longer protected by immunity.”

Juan Carlos had enjoyed immense popularity and respect, built up during Spain’s transition into democracy after dictator Franco died in 1975.

A series of scandals destroyed his reputation and eventually forced him to hand the throne to his son, Felipe.

One of these centred on his relationship with businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. The former king is alleged by La Tribune de Geneve to have given her nearly €57 million.

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BELGIAN Party Prince Joachim is under investigation by the Spanish authorities as more details of his jet set lockdown antics have been uncovered.

The 28-year-old prince flew to Spain from Belgium in May to visit high society Spanish girlfriend Victoria Ortiz Martinez-Sagrera.

But instead of self-isolating for two weeks, he attended two bashes in Cordoba before he and another guest tested positive for COVID-19 First he partied with 11 others at his girlfriend’s family farm, then the next day he joined 15 friends for more revelries.

Costa crime FOOTBALL star Diego Costa has been sentenced to six months in prison for tax fraud, but will avoid serving time.

The Atletico Madrid and former Chelsea striker has also been handed a €543,208 fine.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to charges relating to €1.1 million in unpaid taxes.

Brazilian-born Costa also failed to declare more than €1 million in image rights.

He will avoid jail, as Spanish law allows sentences

shorter than two years for non-violent crimes to be exchanged for a fine, in this case an extra €36,500.

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NEWS

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NEWS IN BRIEF Stay home THE RGP has told the public that beaches will have to see restrictions or even close if people do not keep to social distancing rules.

RIP for cop THE death of La Linea local policeman Victor Sanchez while chasing suspected tobacco smugglers in 2017 has been commemorated with a ceremony on June 7.

Stepping down

Police chief announces shock retirement

THE Chief of Police in Gibraltar has announced his retirement after a two-year stint in the top job.

It comes after Ian McGrail

served the RGP for 36 years and took up the position in May 2018.

Though McGrail was expected to serve a four-year term,

Death at sea THE RGP could be taken to court after two Spanish nationals were killed and two others injured in a collision outside Gibraltar’s waters.

Beach shock BEACHGOERS in La Linea have been left in a state of shock after a launch ran aground during a chase by a Guardia Civil helicopter.

NEW CHAPTER: For Ian McGrail

it isn’t clear why he decided to retire so soon.

Assistant Commissioner Richard Ullger will be stepping forward in McGrail’s place for the time being on an interim basis.

McGrail first served in frontline policing along with drug enforcement and criminal investigation in 1984.

He was Gibraltar’s youngest Chief Inspector ever after taking the helm in 2006.

In 2009 he became Head of Professional Standards and Training and became Superintendent in 2012, commanding all three divisions of the RGP. “I have worn my uniform and badge with immense pride,” said McGrail “It has been an honour and privilege to lead you men and women of such an exceptional organisation through very challenging periods.”

“Too often our work is taken for granted, but we do know that we certainly make a key difference.”

The RGP, Gibraltar Police Authority and the Government gave their best wishes to the departing Commissioner.

June 10th - June 23rd A BRITISH national, who claimed to have cycled from Alicante and is homeless, pleaded not guilty to obstructing an immigration officer while on duty at the border.

He sparked a police hunt after cycling away from immigration officers while they were questioning his intentions of entering the rock and the state of his passport.

He was later found in Ca-

On the pedal thedral Square where he was arrested, and explained to the RGP that he was only looking for food and a place to stay.

The defendant remains in custody until his next court appearance on June 16.

Strait to jail THREE youths from La Linea de la Concepcion and a fourth person from Ceuta have been arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling.

The four were spotted by the Algeciras Fisheries Inspection Unit on a semi-rigid inflatable vessel, commonly used by drug traffickers, three miles off the coast of Tarifa last week.

As soon as the suspected smugglers realised they were being followed they tried to escape the area but were finally caught an hour later.

The Fisheries Unit then proceeded to identify the crew at which point it was discovered that the pilot was from Ceuta and the other three were from La Linea.

Deportation A 15-YEAR-OLD Moroccan teen, who was previously arrested on the Rock after escaping a detention facility in La Linea, is to be sent back within a week.

The juvenile pleaded guilty to not having the proper documentation to be in the Rock and the court issued a removal and detention order.

If the deportation gets delayed, the teen could be forced to stay at Windmill Hill Prison as there is no juvenile detention centre on the Rock as of yet

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TOUCHING Gibraltar’s famous monkeys will be made an offence, the Government has announced.

The move is a response to fears that the Rock’s 300 Barbary macaques could catch COVID-19.

The Government has published a bill to amend the Animals Act in a bid to protect the animals, which can contract human diseases.

In the past the monkeys have caught Hepatitis A, while during the pandemic, primates in other parts of the world, are known to have been ‘susceptible’ to coronavirus. Hugging, playing and feeding the animals will therefore become a thing of the past – at least for the time being.

Feeding Europe’s only wild monkeys is already illegal, with those who do so facing fines of up to £4,000.

H

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Ensuring the vehicle is covered throughout its journey means it remains in pristine condition, with our trained drivers safeguarding its efficient and safe delivery to its destination.

This makes it the perfect solution for transporting prestige and classic cars as well as racing and high performance vehicles. We are also able to offer a track to track service.

SG Haulage will arrange all necessary documentation when shipping abroad and already has European permits in place to make the process stress-free.

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NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Big brother not watching

Table for Phase 2 RESTAURANTS and cafes have opened for the first time in two and a half months.

On June 1 in Phase 2 of the lockdown easing, shops also reopened from 9am to 7pm, with the same public health measures.

Restaurants and cafes will have to operate at a maximum of half full, with pre-booking being a legal requirement.

THE Rock’s own contact tracing phone app is set to be rolled out within the next couple of weeks.

The Government has been in touch with big technology companies like Apple and Google to develop the app and it will be available to the public shortly.

The point of the app is to alert people of whether they have been in contact

with anyone who has COVID-19, and this will be tracked via people’s smartphones.

Bluetooth

It is thought that the application will rely on bluetooth connectivity to communicate with other mobile phones.

The application will send an SMS or text

message to the number saying that they have been close to a person who has tested positive and will be told to self isolate.

It is hoped that over 60% of locals will use the technology to trace who COVID positive patients have been near and keep an eye on the movement of the virus.

The community has had some concerns

Beach warning

KEEP APART: Catalan Bay is among the beaches open, but social distancing is a must, says Picardo BEACHGOERS this summer will have to take extra care to practice social dis-

tancing and prevent overcrowding, the Chief Minister has said

SOME 98,000 people crossed into Gibraltar in May, up from 68,000 in April, figures have revealed.

But according to the Deputy Chief Minister, it’s a huge drop from the roughly one million recorded in both April and May of last year.

“The continuing impact of the pandemic is clear at all of our entry points,” said Joseph Garcia.

“In the first five months of this year, compared to the first five months of last year, the number of persons crossing the border is down by 51%.”

Meanwhile the number of vehicles travel-

Fabian Picardo revealed Gibraltar’s bathing season is set to officially start on

Cross to bear ling across the border in 2020 is down by 63% year-on-year.

Flights have continued during the pandemic, run by British Airways, but the number of arrivals and departures is down by 60% A total of 1,925 passengers flew to the UK from Gibraltar in May, and 1,074 arrived at the Rock from London Heathrow Airport.

COVID-19 has been disastrous for the cruising industry, with the number of arrivals from cruise ships down by 88%.

June 16 in Phase 4 of ‘Unlock the Rock’.

As the weather gets warmer and restrictions have lifted, more people have been flocking to the beach.

Until then, the Government has said that people can go to the beaches provided that they use common sense and act responsibly.

“It is only when beaches are overcrowded in a manner that threatens social distancing rules and legislation on public gatherings, that access to the beaches will be restricted,” a Gibraltar Government statement said.

June 10th - June 23rd

Gibraltar’s COVID-19 app to be unveiled before July

over the privacy of any contact tracing application, but Minister for Telecommunications Albert Isola has said that the public ‘can remain calm.’

He told Parliament on Friday that the contact tracing application will ‘not use, collect or share any personal data’ as it relies on a decentralised system.

“It is completely data free to avoid people being concerned that they are being tracked or traced, when that is absolutely not the intention,” said Isola.

The decentralised system he refers to means that the application on people’s phones will store anonymous information, and no server or database will store any of this data.

When a person gets tested positive, the GHA will provide the person with a code to put into the application, which will let their phone alert other people when there is a chance they could be infected.

5

New Normal SPECIAL coronavirus facilities have started closing in Gibraltar, with some having not been used at all. This is true for John Ward, which was the GHA’s COVID-19 ward for patients, reverting back to a rehabilitation room.

It is also true for the Nightingale facility at EuropaPoint, which has been partly decommissioned after its 300 beds were not needed for any patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms.

Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Garcia said that they would still keep 190 beds readily available, and a ‘further 110 beds can be added within a week’ if the need arises.

The garrison gym served as a homeless shelter since March, providing people a place to stay while civil contingency regulations were in place keeping the public in their homes.

Volunteers

Elderly Residential Services have themselves set out a plan to be able to take in visitors and family members of residents, who have not been able to see their loved ones for over 12 weeks.

The volunteering service set up to help people in the community in the face of the pandemic has itself ended, seeing over 1,100 volunteers undertaking some 1,600 requests and answering approximately 5,000 phone calls.

Gibraltar previously had military aid to help the government with projects like the Nightingale facility, though it is not required for now.

Cat-astrophe prevented OVER 40 cats have been rescued from the squalid home of a senile woman in the Bellavista neighbourhood in La Linea.

They had been held captive by the owner of the house who suffered from Diogenes and Noah syndromes, according to La Linea council.

These types of conditions make people hoard both rubbish and animals, leaving their homes in a very poor state.

Upon being notified by neighbours, the council, along with the feline charity ‘El Gato Andaluz’ (The Andalusian Cat), moved in to free the 44 cats.

They were treated by the charity for parasites with a number of them having been born recently and others in advanced stages of pregnancy.

La Linea public health department went on to clean out and disinfect the home on Thursday.

The 44 felines have all now been taken to the shelter run by El Gato Andaluz.

Anyone who wants to help out the charity with food, cash donations or even adoption, can email the charity at lalineagatuna@hotmail.es.

www.theolivepress.es

O LIVE P RESS

Voted top expat paper in Spain

GIBRALTAR

The

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

OPINION Deal with this scum AS Spain tries to recover from the coronavirus crisis it definitely cannot afford to get a bad name for tourists.

Millions of foreigners are eagerly scouring holiday websites looking to rent a villa or apartment as they try to brighten what has been a very miserable year.

So to find themselves scammed by a lowlife keyboard warrior over a villa rental in Marbella or Mallorca will be the final insult.

Sadly, the world is full of dodgy people looking to make a fast buck at the expense of honest, hard-working holidaymakers, as the Olive Press has pointed out for the last three summers.

But not everyone is willing to lie down and accept losing thousands of pounds, as we report on the front page this issue.

Hats off to Lucia Myers who turned detective to ensure someone was held to account for a fake website advert that stole money and inevitably wrecked dozens, if not hundreds, of holidays in Spain.

A jail sentence resulted for one con man – suspended as long as the cash was paid back.

But now, by the simple method of declaring bankruptcy, scammer Alvaro Lopez Uribe seems to have got away scot free.

Legal experts say it is highly unlikely a court will activate his jail sentence.

If Spain is to recover from the coronavirus crisis then such conmen need to be brought to account. And sent to jail for a stiff sentence.

Justice must be done, otherwise people will – like the Myers family – simply go elsewhere.

Time to open THE news that the frontier will be opening soon will be a welcome relief for many Gibraltarians. While there may be some who will never leave the Rock, some of them on principle, many locals have a familiar connection to the south of Spain.

This could be with a second home, to visit relatives, shop or just to breathe fresh air outside the built-up constraints of Gibraltar. And there are some wonderful places to visit within a couple of hours of our border.

Although there was a false dawn when the Spanish authorities announced this would occur this week, it seems the bureaucratic machinery is getting into gear to make it happen in the near future. We keep our fingers crossed for we would also like to see the many Spaniards, expats and tourists coming back to visit us shortly too.

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FEATURE

June 10th - June 23rd 2020

A life in the ti Rodents on the rampage, cockroaches and flies on the uptick, a bacteria dubbed ‘the other coronavirus’ wiping out olive trees … COVID-19 is bringing pestilence to our doorstep and turning the natural world upside down. And that’s not half of what we can expect in 2020 - prophetically, the Chinese Year of the Rat, as Cristina Hodgson (right) reports

W

HOEVER thought there would come a time when we’d see peacocks strutting in the streets of Madrid or wild boar trotting through downtown Barcelona.

As people around the globe change their daily behaviour to slow the spread of COVID-19, the absence of people is having a ripple effect throughout the ecosystems of the RATS: It’s their year world.

DEADLY:

Experts anticipated Red palm that many pests would weevil flourish as a direct result of decreased human activity, especially in and around urban areas.

Rats in particular have come out of hiding as lockdown eliminates litter on the ground and rubbish in bins. Some have even taken to the streets in broad daylight and invaded homes in a frantic search for food.

According to Favio Ulloa, of Prestige Pest Services, New Jersey ‘There could be about two million rats running around in New York City.’ Coronavirus may have put

paid to Chinese New Year celebrations this January but their Year of the Rat is living up to its name.

In Spain and the UK it’s not only rats that are running rampant.

Both countries have seen an uptick in cockroaches and flies. Add in the seasonal invasion of mozzies and other pests as the summer months approach, and unwanted visitors are out in force.

Pest control is already in action on the frontline of public health and agricultural sectors worldwide; and now their work could prove even more essential

Lowering the Tone Mud slinging in the Cortes is putting Spanish politics to shame, writes seasoned commentator Lenox Napier

T

HE current crop of insults traded in the Spanish Parliament reached a new low last month when PP spokesperson Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo (right) branded Pablo Iglesias (below) ‘the son of a terrorist’.

You may not like his hairstyle or the colour of his politics but does the leader of Unidas Podemos deserve such an insult … or, indeed, does his father?

The Speaker, for one, didn’t think so. He ordered ‘La Marquesa’ as she is known, to withdraw the slander. She refused. Then ex-president Jose María Aznar added his centimo-worth, telling reporters that she was right to make the point.

Not all of the PP sees mud slinging as a valid tactic with another conservative leader, Galician President Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, saying that such attacks against a political opponent ‘are a grave error’.

But, as one political observer from the University of Barcelona puts it, ‘Politics is not like football, with goals scored against the other side in the Cortes’.

Nor should we, the citizens, be behaving like fans as ‘our team’ scores an insult on the other side, shouting simplistic slogans and waving our party-colours like football scarves. Nevertheless it’s a game of two halves and even the media has joined in with enthusiasm.

The ‘story’ that Pablo’s father Javier was a notorious political hit-man who once murdered a policeman is a ‘bulo’ - an invention - first put out by a Vox MEP called Hermann Tertsch who was subsequently ordered to pay €15,000 to Javier for his calumnies (plus a further €12,000 for slandering Pablo’s uncle into the bargain) back in 2016.

My thoughts by Lenox Napier

Javier was publicly accused of ‘terrorism’ in 2016 by the leading MEP for Vox, an ex-journalist called Herman Tertsch. He wrote that Javier was part of the ‘FRAP In fact Iglesias Senior was spending two communist terror group’ who murdered a months in prison for sharing political policeman. In fact, Javier was banged up leaflets (commie propaganda if you like) and on rations of bread and water when at the time of the shooting in 1973. Pabthe crime was committed. Now, reluclo’s mother didn’t mince her words later, tantly, he must sue La Marquesa. ‘I hate Tweeting that Álvarez de Toledo was ‘a having to go through with this, precisely fork-tongued tin-pot marquise’. because, when politicians are sued for Spain is once again in a period of politislander, it’s the taxpayer who has to foot cal extremes and although nothing written the bill, because politicians are exempt’, here will necessarily change the views of he says. readers, background is always a useful Coincidentally, Pablo’s grandfather Manthing. uel was a socialist politician who was So let’s take a closer look at the wispy comimprisoned and sentenced to death, latmunist politician with the ponytail, second er commuted to 30 years (finally he only vice-president of Spain and – keeping it served four) following the close to home – married to Spanish Civil War. He died Irene Montero, the 32 year1988. His great-unold Minister for Equality.

Pablo, with his in cle (also slandered by Pablo Iglesias is well-versed rebel hairstyle Tertsch) was an air-force in his subject. He took Law captain executed by the and Political Science at and politics, is Nationalists in 1939 and university and has a PhD, in an unmarked grave. among several other dishated by the PP lies Pablo, with his rebel hairtinctions. He later became a style and far-left politics, voters lecturer in political science is basically anathema to a at Madrid’s Complutense swathe of Spanish voters.

University. He formed PoHe is regularly accused demos in late 2013 and the next year of being in the pay of Nicolas Maduro became an MEP for the party. He speaks from Venezuela (who for some improbItalian and English. able reason wants to bring his ‘BolivariThere’s no doubt that his ideas stem from an revolution’ to Spain). Much is also his background (‘Pablo Iglesias’ was also made of his new home in a swanky part the name of the historic founder of both of Madrid. While it was bought with two the PSOE in 1879 and the UGT general mortgages, many people think he should workers union nine years later). be living up to his ideology in a draughty His father Javier, loft somewhere in a working class disnow a retired work trict. Meanwhile, the Anticapitalistas (the inspector who Junta de Andalucía’s Teresa Rodríguez, also studied Law the mayor of Cádiz José María González, at Complutense, known as ‘Kichi’ and others… who recentwas an anti-Franco ly resigned from Unidas Podemos) have activist in his day claimed indignantly that Pablo Iglesias ‘… (there were lots of has now evolved towards more moderate them, as might be positions’. Something of a sin for a lefty. supposed). His son The right, when not chipping away at the Pablo says of him national government, claims that ‘the cor‘For the Dictatorrosivity in politics is due to Podemos’. The ship, he was conright-wing ABC newspaper recently ran sidered a criminal, not one but two articles with the peculiar and so he still is by COMRADES: Podemos leader Iglesias with his assertion that Pablo Iglesias is plotting a the spokesperson pamphleting padre (left) who was labelled a terrocoup d’état. for the Partido Poprist by the Spanish far right We hope he takes his father’s advice first. ular, 50 years later’.

7

www.theolivepress.es

ime of plague FATAL: The bite of an asp viper

Olive Press online ‘Spain’s best English news website’

Leading the way

W as unwelcome critters flourish during the coronavirus outbreak.

A town in the province of Malaga has recently spent over €5,000 on batches of Torymus sinensis wasps in order to protect its chestnut productions.

They are the natural predators of the Chinese chestnut wasp which has been wreaking havoc on chestnut production in the Malaga town of Farajan.

They are not a new threat - the area has suffered from this winged plague for the last five years resulting in the almost total destruction of the chestnut crops behind Marbella’s La Concha mountain.

However treatment during the pandemic is crucial.

“Animals are always quick to adapt and, as a result, we expect that many pest species will flourish because of these necessary global measures,” according to PelGar International, leading British manufacturer of insecticides around the world.

Meanwhile, failure to act in time is having a detrimental effect on the fight against Xylella in Italy where the dangerous bacteria affecting olive trees has been nicknamed ‘the other coronavirus’.

Xylella, neglected in Italy as the country battled to control COVID-19, has resulted in 600 new cases, 100 of them in olive trees with no containment measures.

“The coronavirus pandemic cannot be an excuse for not dealing with emergencies like Xylella, an epidemic that is threatening the extinction of olive groves throughout the Mediterranean,” says Carmela Riccardi, president of the Association of the Comité Libero Anti-Xylella.

In Spain meanwhile, the first outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa was detected at the end of 2016 in Mallorca.

Subsequently, numerous other outbreaks have been recorded in the Balearics while in June 2017 it was detected for the first time on the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in almond plantations in the Alicante town of Guadalest.

More recently, in 2018, its presence was reported in olive groves of Villarejo, Madrid.

The disease could cost billions of euros over the next 50 years in Spain, Italy and Greece, the three countries most susceptible to the bacterium because of prevailing climatic conditions. Together, they account for almost 95% of PREDATORY: European olive Asian wasp oil production.

As a result, severe restrictions are being placed on imports of olive trees and lavender bushes, where Xylella also thrives, in an effort to halt the deadly infection.

Another big threat is posed by the lethal red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), first detected in Spain in 1993 in the Granada coastal towns of Motril and Almuñecar. This invasive species hitched a ride on palms imported from Egypt causing astronomical damage to

Creepy crawlies and more...

Rodents, cockroaches and bedbugs are the most widespread pests in Spain. Other destructive animals and harmful creepy crawlies found in Spain include: Processionary pine caterpillars (Thaumetopoea Pityocampa): Don’t be deceived by their cute and furry look, avoid touching! They are extremely dangerous to children and dogs. That said, the species is protected in Spain and can be found all over the national territory.

Spiders: There are over 1,700 species of arachnid in Spain, but only four are in any way harmful to humans. The ones to watch out for are the Mediterranean tarantula, the Mediterranean funnel web, the black widow and the brown recluse spider.

Scorpions: Buthus Occitanus, the common yellow scorpion, has a painful sting and when food is lacking, the females are known to eat the males.

You might also come across the European black scorpion but it’s sting is less painful than a bee’s.

Snakes: There are 13 different types of slitherer in Spain, five of them fatal to humans. Beware of the asp viper, Lataste’s viper (aka snub-nosed viper), Seoane’s viper, false smooth snake and the den adder or common viper Fortunately, of the estimated 50 snakebite deaths a year in Europe, only three to six occur in Spain.

Wild boar which have become so numerous that they now venture into towns, even camping out in Barcelona and Madrid. Fencing off the countryside to try to keep them at bay is complicated and the more time the boars spend in urban areas, the more fearless they become and encroach increasingly on non-rural zones.

DID YOU KNOW?

palm trees as it spread along the coast, running up ‘billions of euros’ in bills for treatments to curb its rampage.

Huge economic damage, border restrictions on imports ... sound familiar?

Controlling coronavirus and harmful pests on a global scale have many similarities.

A key question on deciding the best course of action in both cases is whether to focus on eliminating the harmful species entirely or controlling its spread to prevent the next outbreak.

According to Adam Lampert, an assistant professor with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at ASU, three factors determine whether the species should be controlled or eradicated: the annual cost of maintaining the controlled population, the natural growth rate of the harmful species, and its response to the treatment.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Covid coin, lockdown could be endangering wildlife.

The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), together with CREAF, an ecological and forestry institute attached to Barcelona’s Autonomous University, warn that the reduced presence of people in open spaces is creating ‘a false perception that cities are suitable places to live’.

Lockdown is effectively an ecological trap for many animals.

The coronavirus outbreak has coincided with the breeding season of many species. Birds are nesting in areas that were previously avoided due to human activity and noise pollution. When traffic returns to normal levels, the chances are offspring will suffer.

But environmental organisations such as the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO Birdlife) and the World Wildlife Fund stress that the reduced human presence in urban areas will not last long enough to alter the behaviour of fauna.

In the meantime, animals are reclaiming what used to be their natural habitat.

Peacocks have invaded the streets of Madrid, a giant eight-metre shark was videoed prowling the waters off Granada, and dolphins DANGER: Pine caterpillars can kill in Mallorca are swimming in water once polluted with sewage.

The pandemic is turning nature upside down but who knows, it just might be our opportunity to create a new and better world.

HEN it comes to English language newspapers in Spain there is one, literally only one, that invests in quality journalism – the Olive Press.

We are proud to be the only investigative expat publication in the country and know that we rely on the quality of our staff to bring you the latest news.

This is why whenever trained and experienced journalists are available, we reach out a hand to pull them on board.

The newest member of the team is highly experienced former BBC journalist Alex Trelinski (right). After 30 years with the BBC as a journalist, presenter and sports reporter, he moved to the Costa Blanca and carried on reporting for local papers.

Having had a bad experience with one particular local rag, he now joins other journalists with extensive national media experience on our team.

These include: Dilip Kuner (below), who has years of writing and editing expertise, including the UK’s Sunday Mirror.

The irrepressible Giles Brown is a former Mirror man, while our very own Mistress of Sizzle, Belinda Beckett, worked on the Daily Express before making Spain her home.

And it’s fair to say that the UK national press recognises the talent nurtured by the Olive Press under owner and editor Jon Clarke – who himself still contributes articles to the Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail on a regular basis.

Bylines familiar to our readers include Tom Powell, now on The Standard in London, Iona Napier (below) who walked into a job with ITN after her stint in Spain and Joe Duggan who is now a reporter at The Sun. The reason? We give our staff the chance to shine. No other English language newspaper in Spain would even consider dedicating two journalists to sniffing out information over several days on one story, as we have, this week alone.

Our Digital Editor Laurence Dollimore has been in Portugal to cover the Madeleine McCann case for five days, while our Alicante man Joshua Parfitt has been digging for more information about the chief suspect on the Costa Blanca for two days.

The Olive Press values journalism – which means we value our staff and they value us.

The results speak for themselves, we hope.

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are: woman arrested after lying that €140 had 1- British been illegally withdrawn from her bank account (21,901) British expat on Spain's Costa del 2-SolEXCLUSIVE: has card details hacked losing nearly €500, but bank refuses to refund amount (20,363) Police in UK and Spain reopen case 3- ofEXCLUSIVE: Costa del Sol bar owner who vanished 27 years ago (18,001) Two arrested in Benidorm after robbing foreign 4-cars at ‘40 golf courses’ across Spain’s Costa Blanca (17,958) From June 8 you can travel throu5- BREAKING: ghout whole of Spain's Andalucia, Government announces (14,853)

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NEWS

8

June 10th - June 23th 2020

Not another one

The best dining terrace on the Costa del Sol is open again !!! from Friday 29th May

Chief Minister reveals details of ‘second wave’ plans

By Diexter Thomas

A RETURN to lockdown would only be considered if there was a very

large surge of cases in Gibraltar, the Chief Minister has stated.

This would require five consecutive days of positive infections with 10 to 20 cases per day and many of those in hospital, said Fabian Picardo.

It came as the Major Incident which was declared in March ended.

It means the Civil Contingencies command structure has been dissolved.

Social gatherings of more than 12 are still banned and groups under that number need to observe social distancing.

Sports

tel: 952 89 50 35 info@restaurantesarmiento.com Crta. de Casares Km 12’5 Mon & Wed: 13:00-16:00 Thur, Fri, Sat: 13:00-16:00 & 19:30-22:30 Sun: 13:00-16:00 Tue: Closed

www.restaurantesarmiento.com authenticity, spontaneity and enjoyment when being around a table

Looking for the perfect escape once the lockdown finally ends? A weekend of fresh air, mountain scenery and walks will revive your senses

THOUSANDS of African children could get a better life after a Gibraltar-based charity has won a €50,000 grant from the UEFA Foundation.

Help Me Learn Africa, which funds projects in Ghana and Kenya, was nominated by the Gibraltar FA. “I am in complete shock,” said Louise Barea, who founded the organisation seven years ago.

“I really didn’t expect to receive such recognition but it just proves that in life the more you give, the more you receive.

“This award will have a huge impact on the lives of thousands of children living below the poverty line and I am excited to show the world all what we can do with it.”

Help me Learn Africa funds building programmes, schools and medical facilities in areas of sub-Saharan Africa.

It has been supported by generous Gibraltarians via dance parties and exhibitions over the last few years.

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Buses are now running on all their routes again, with the passengers required to wear masks while using them.

Sports like netball, basketball and hockey are back on with some children going back to school.

Antibody blood tests will be tried on frontline health workers, and then be extended to the rest of the community in the future.

Finally, the Chief Minister said that talks were ongoing to allow Gibraltar residents to be excluded from quarantine on trips to the UK.

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Across 7 Romance language (7) 8 Continuous dull pain (4) 9 Ooze (4) 10 Wrist band (8) 11 Corridor (7) 14 Cinder (5) 15 Expel (5) 17 Exacted retribution (7) 21 Rousing (8) 22 Silent (4) 23 Retained (4) 24 Imitate (7) Down 1 Picture theatre (6) 2 Door fastener (4) 3 Knapsack (6) 4 Relative by marriage (2-3) 5 Rep (8) 6 Steal (6) 12 Safety (8) 13 Period of history (3) 16 Protruded (6) 18 Vitalityl (6) 19 Respect (6) 20 Duck with soft down (5) 22 Fosse (4)

All solutions are on page 14

LA CULTURA

Summer shutdown THEY scrapped Semana Santa, now they have called off feria season.

The Junta has ordered that all town carnivals should be cancelled until at least September amid COVID-19 fears.

Health chiefs have warned that 37 ferias and festivals planned for June, July and August must be postponed.

The move is a devastating blow to the region’s already-crippled economy, which could shrink by up to 16.2% this year.

The call to curtail this summer’s events came after spokesman Elias Bendodo said it was ‘completely impossible’ to maintain strict health protocols at these huge summer gatherings.

Bendodo also urged ‘common sense’ in the fight against coronavirus, while emphasising that the ferias are the responsibility of the town halls.

He said: “Other moments will come, but now it is time to secure the end (of the pandemic) and not to take any wrong steps.

“We have based our recommendation on scientific reports.”

Backstage capers THE Gibraltar-based daughter of a famous 80s British sit-com actress has written her first children’s book.

Lowri Madoc used her experiences growing up behind the scenes in the theatre to write her children’s novel, ‘Hetty Backstage’.

Lowri is the daughter of Ruth Madoc, best known for playing Gladys Pugh in 80’s comedy series Hi-de-Hi. Her dad was Phil Madoc, who starred in the BBC serial The Life and Times of David Lloyd George but also took part in Dad’s Army and Shakespearean theatre.

“I remember being picked up on a Friday and taken off to wherever they were working,” Lowri Madoc told the Olive Press.

“I would just be in amongst it, often sat with the wardrobe lady or the technical team.

“It was an awesome exposure to some real characters in that environment.

“I ended up going into drama when I left school and my book reflects that experience.”

The main character of the book is 11-year-old Hetty, who is set to feature in six novels in total.

Culture kids

CULTURE is back on the menu with some exciting activities for young children in one of the Rock’s cultural meccas.

Artistic and creative workshops are being held at the recently reopened John Mackintosh Hall (JMH) at the end of Main Street.

Organisers said the activities ‘aim to be educational, fun and interactive’.

They are designed for primary schoolchildren of Years 3, 4 and 5 and are held every Tuesdays and Thursdays, between 10am and 12pm.

History, adventure and romance.

That’s just the setting.

STORY TIME: At Gibraltar’s John Mackintosh Hall

9

June 10th - June 23rd

The daughter of an acting couple who lives in Gibraltar has release her first novel SEALS: Nerja’s cave art

Not so Neanderthal

The novel has around 80 pages with two sketches per chapter.

“In a way I really enjoyed the lockdown time because I was able to finish it off,” Madoc revealed.

“Making the next one will be slightly more fun now that I managed to complete the first one,” “It is now on Kindle and Amazon with copies to also be distributed around Gibraltar.”

The author has now been in Gibraltar for 20 years and has three children.

This makes the task of writing books all the harder but she hopes her second book to be out before Christmas.

A TEAM of researchers has decided that what was thought to be the only example of Neanderthal cave painting in the world may be the work of modern humans after all.

It comes after ancient cave paintings found in Nerja’s famous caves in 2012 were hailed as being possibly the only Neanderthal art ever discovered.

The abstract pictures are thought to depict seals that the cavemen would have hunted.

The team analysed charcoal remains found beside six of the paintings with radiocarbon dating suggesting they were between 43,500 and 42,300 years old.

Further studies using uranium and thorium deposits gave a similar date.

It would have made the unique pictures more ancient than the 30,000-year-old Chauvet cave in France.

Join us for a celebration of history, art, heritage and pageantry in a unique part of the world.

With a UNESCO world heritage site offering 120,000 years of human history and only short drive from the Costa del Sol, enjoy the warmth of the British Gibraltarians and splash out VAT-free in Sterling.

Gibraltar. Sun, sea and history served with a very British twist.

PROUD

BRITISH

For further information call: Gibraltar Tourist Board +350 200 74950 Or to download a brochure go to: www.visitgibraltar.gi

www.visitgibraltar.gi

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A year of Culture

Bring hearts, minds and souls

10

June 10th - June 23rd

LA CULTURA

Music to our T HE Spanish summer you had hoped for is more than likely not going ahead as planned.

Especially if you are a music fan, artist or promoter.

Amid the pandemic, the bastions of Spain’s festival season have been scratched from the summer calendar, including Primavera Sound, Sonar, Bilbao BBK Live, Benicassim and Madrid’s Mad Cool.

Alongside the big players, thousands of smaller gigs and other events have also been affected, while some regions like Andalucia have called for a ban on all festivals and ferias until September.

Gangland grit

M

€11.90 The Bookshop San Pedro, www.thebookshop.es

es online or postponing until 2021.

There are still a few plucky event organisers sitting tight in the hope that they can go ahead with events this summer.

According to Spain’s four-phase plan, openair festivals can operate with audiences of 400 people in Phase 2 and 800 people in Phase 3.

Revellers must be seated however, and ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, meaning sweaty mosh pits are a complete no-no.

The following five festivals are still considering running the gauntlet in Andalucia this summer:

Granada International Festival of Music and Dance, June 25 - July 26

Be whisked away on the Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry

aurice Hearne and Charlie Redmond are a pair of aging Irish gangsters who have worked together for years smuggling drugs, amongst other things, and leading lives of crime. Maurice has received word that his estranged daughter Dilly whom he has not seen for three years will be on a boat either leaving to or coming from Tangier, so the duo spends the night hanging around the ferry terminal at Algeciras port hoping to find her. As the hours go by their stories unfold. Decades of criminal exploits, violence, addiction, love, loss, and betrayal. An engaging, entertaining, and darkly comic novel superbly told.

“The estimated losses of live music from March to September are €662 million and more than €115 million from music recorded in 2020,” said President of the Spanish Music Federation, ESmusica, Joaquin Martinez.

“But if we talk about the impact on the Spanish economy, the figures are much higher and they reach €7.66 billion this year.”

Before the pandemic Spain was holding almost 1,000 festivals a year and the music industry supported around 300,000 jobs.

Yet, despite the current backdrop of economic uncertainty, some festival organisers are not content with streaming performanc-

69 Festival de Granada / pág. 1

The 69th edition of the festival will be held ‘against all odds’, according to organisers.

Photography, ballet and music from some of the world’s best classical solo artists and orchestras are set to light up Granada in a few weeks time.

The festival programme includes an ‘extraordinary charity concert in memoriam of the victims of the COCID-19 pandemic’ planned for June 25. Ticket prices vary.

Starlite Marbella, July 10 - August 28 Il Divo, Nile Rodgers, Bonnie Tyler and Ozuna are among the artists still set to play this legendary Marbella festival.

Organisers have said they are working with ‘energy and enthusiasm’ to ensure one of the Costa del Sol’s biggest festivals can still go ahead. Ticket prices vary.

ears

11

June 10th - June 23rd

Hundreds of summer music festivals have fallen victim to COVID-19, but these five events prove that the show must go on, writes Charlie Smith

Canela Party in Torremolinos, August 5 - 8 London punk four-piece, Ghum are set to be joined by fellow rockers Idles, from Bristol, as Canela Party at Torremolinos Bullring is yet to be cancelled.

There is no word from organisers yet, but this Costa del Sol indie fest should also see a mixture of Spanish and foreign talent descend on the coast, including US veterans Deerhoof.

Tickets start at €34.

Caviar Urban Music Fuengirola, July 29 Headlined by Latin pop superstar Bad Bunny with support from Omar Montes, this oneday event is still set to go ahead.

The reggaeton fusion festival is to be held at Fuengirola’s Marenostrum Castle Park overlooking the Mediterranean. Tickets start at €34.

Oh, See! Malaga, September 11 - 12 Barcelona electro-indie group Dorian and Norwegian band Kakkmaddafakka, known for their crazy on-stage antics are among the highlights.

The festival at Malaga’s Municipal Auditorium Cortijo de Torres, has not yet been called off.

Its September date means it has not been ordered by the Junta de Andalucia to be cancelled, as have events set for June, July and August. Tickets start at €20.

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12

June 10th - June 23rd

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Far from the madding crowds

H

op in your car, drive a few hours and you will arrive in the enchanted land of the alchemist right in the heart of Andalucia at magical Suryalila Retreat Centre. Suryalila is a warm and welcoming home away from home, far from the madding crowds, surrounded by fields of sunflowers and sweeping vistas of mountains and lakes.

To help you ease gracefully and pleasurably out of lockdown, Suryalila is opening its doors to local tourism with an excellent selection of last minute five day alternative and healthy rural holiday packages with accommodation choices to suit all budgets. If you in are in need of a break and would like to avoid crowded areas, beach restrictions and boost your immune system at the same time, look no further! Throughout the summer and autumn months Suryalila is offering hiking, nature, horse riding and adventure holidays as well as a couple of more gentle healing yoga retreats and on another note, wine tasting and yoga holidays.

The varied excursions happen in the cooler mountain mornings, to avoid the heat of the summer. Afternoons can be spent lazing by the pool, indulging in a luxurious massage or partaking in a relaxing yoga class.

Located in a sprawling beautifully restored olive farm that is tastefully decorated with an exotic eastern flare, Suryalila exudes a special magic from the moment you drive down the impressive flag lined driveway. Suryalila has been voted one of the Best Retreat Centre’s in the World by Yoga Journal, but even if you have no desire to attend one of Suryalila’s dai-

ly world-class Yoga classes, there is plenty to enjoy here.

The Centre is renowned for its outstanding international chefs, providing you with three wonderful organic vegetarian feasts every day. There is a delightful salt water pool and various types of massage offered. In-house Amrita Cafe serves coffee, wine, beer, and fresh juices and smoothies.

There are plenty of enchanting hang-out spaces to curl up in with a good book borrowed from their library, as well as an impressive meditation garden with breath-taking views. If you like to shop, the centre’s Shakti boutique carries yoga clothes and a good selection of exotic gifts. The cortijo also hosts a fascinating permaculture project and is building a food forest on it’s land. The grounds themselves are spell-binding with a unique blending of fruit trees, succulents, alpacas and donkeys.

Make sure you ask for a fascinating tour of the grounds.

Whether you are traveling alone, with a friend or partner or with your family, it’s an equally welcoming and charming environment. You have the choice of joining one of Suryalila’s special summer holidays or retreats or to book as an independent hotel guest and simply enjoy the tranquil surroundings and delightful facilities. There are lots of optional dates throughout the summer for national tourism.

The main language spoken at Suryalila is English but they can also cater for Spanish and German tourists, offering Yoga classes in all three languages.

For more information and to book your getaway, visit www.suryalila.com, email info@suryalila.com or call 856 023 631

Back to basics!

O

N New Year’s Day my partner and I were headed back from a Christmas break in Toledo with the needle on the fuel gauge hovering scarily close to empty.

The gasolineras were on holiday too and it took several abortive stops and some complicated directions from a man walking his dog before we found an independent owner who lived above

Andalucia’s singular wayside eateries have come to the succour of many a weary traveller and their home-cooked vittles are simply delicious, writes Geoff Garvey

his petrol pumps. He opened up especially for us. The Spanish are like that.

That problem solved, we badly needed a top up of sustenance ourselves as our own tanks were running on empty. Same story – every restaurant we passed was closed for the fiesta … until we crossed the border from Castilla-La Mancha into Andalucia.

Heading along the N502, it was after 3pm when we pulled into the anonymous country AUTHENTIC: Venta Alfarnate is centuries old

town of Alcaracejos in Cordoba province and spotted the drab exterior of Venta-Bar Tic Tac, proclaiming its name to the world on dusty green awnings. Its appearance certainly lived up to its name – tacky; the sort of place you wouldn’t normally give a second glance. But hunger forced us to reassess our culinary expectations. And it was open.

Beyond the glass doors we could see people eating tapas at the bar. Now close to desperate we decided to bite the bullet (probably literally) and fill up with whatever miserable tapas were served.

Inside, the bar was functional but clean with tiled walls, tacky Christmas décor and lots of mirrors. I eyed a customer jabbing a fork into a slice of tortilla at the bar, and asked for the menu.

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

13

June 10th - June 23rd

Venta vittles

Garvey’s Top Ten venta dishes (and where to try them):

ROADSIDE DELIGHT: Venta Pinto in Vejer de la Frontera

“You want to eat tapas or a full meal?” asked the barman.

“A full meal, if we can,” we both chorused.

“Comedor,” he said pointing towards an inauspicious looking door at the rear of the bar. If he’d said ‘open sesame’ the scene that greeted us on the other side of it couldn’t have surprised us more: a cavernous dining room, white linen cloths, gleaming cutlery and at least 40 tables, all occupied. The place was buzzing!

But like magic, they found us a table for two.

A waiter arrived with a broad smile, a bowl of olives and menus. As he poured us two copas of manzanilla sherry we related our experience of finding everything closed in Castilla-La Mancha.

“Oh, they’re strange people over there. This is Andalucía!

We are always open!” he replied, almost singing the words like an anthem.

He wasn’t wrong. Ventas are virtually unknown outside of Andalucia, but these humble wayside dining haunts are ubiquitous here. Originating from bygone days when much of the region’s seasonal work was done by itinerant labourers, they specialise in hearty home-cooked fare at working class prices and they’re open when everywhere else is shut.

Our waiter reappeared like a sorcerer with a bottle of house red wine, a large bottle of mineral

water and a basket of oven-fresh bread. Everyone was eating menú del día. It was all there was. But what a menu! There was none of your predictable soup-or-salad followed by tired old filete de lomo or revuelto.

The choice was quite mind boggling.

There was salchichón and chorizo ibérico, salmorejo, tortilla de jamón, sopa castellana, ensalada de pulpo and salteado de verduras – and that was just for starters. Mains included cerdo ibérico a la brasa, merluza, fritura de pescado, liebre (hare) con arroz, hearty rabo de toro, to give just a taster of what was on offer.

The desserts range was equally extravagant with three varieties of flan: pan de Calatrava from Murcia, tarta de Santiago, a Galician speciality, pudín and all kinds of fresh fruit, pineapple too. The entire feast, including drinks, came to an astonishing €9 each! How they manage to turn in a profit with those margins is a topic for a university thesis...

Indeed, ventas already have a special place in Spanish history. They crop up in the pages of Cervantes’ Don Quijote and have long been places where weary travellers could seek shelter from the slings and arrows of bad weather and tedious journeys.

A true venta is on a highway, not tucked away down some city street. It often sells local produce, like pots of honey and

Garvey’s Top 10

my pick of AndaluNow comes the controversial bit as. cia’s best vent along the way, I’m sure I’ve missed a few good ones the west of use and it’s geographically biased beca of these you’ll one Andalucía is where I live. But at any no eye-watering be royally served and there’ll be bill. the get when you favourites pleaIf you feel that I’ve missed one of your ion. The adsect t men se add the details in the com ion which may be dress relates to the nearest conurbat y. awa quite a few kilometres Venta Esteban, Jerez nia, Cádiz Venta La Duquesa, Medina Sido laga Má te, rna Alfa te, Venta Alfarna Venta Pinto, Vejer, Cádiz laga Venta Valdivia, Algatocín, Má lá de los Alca iz, Gal Venta Puerto de iz Gazules, Cád ejos, Córdoba 7. Venta Bar Tic Tac, Alcarac Granada Fe, 8. Venta Marinetto, Santa ería Alm r, 9. Venta del Pobre , Nija laga Ma el, 10. Venta El Tun

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pates, and its pedigree is generally denoted by the quality of the hocks of jamon iberico hanging from the ceiling.

Of course, there are ventas and ventas. Nineteenth century traveller Richard Ford turned up at one venta in Granada province, optimistically called La Grande, and soon wished he hadn’t. After describing La Grande’s ‘colossal inconveniences’ he decided to bed down for the night, but found another collection of hungry guests lying in wait for him.

He wrote: ‘However devoid of creature comforts this grand hotel, there is a grand supply of creeping creatures and the traveller runs the risk of bidding adieu to sleep and passing the night exclaiming “Ay! de Mi!” as the pulgas (fleas) begin to bite.’

In other venta adventures, Ford would often ask the ventero (owner) what he had by way of vittles. ‘Hay de todo’ (Everything you want) would invariably be the reply. Then, as each of the dishes Ford suggested were dismissed with a shrug, it eventually dawned on the Englishman that there was nothing he wanted at all unless he had brought with him. Many travellers did just that, using venta kitchens to cook meals from the ingredients they had purchased along the way.

That’s not the case today. Andalucía’s ventas today are generally very good, a number of them outstandingly so. Indeed, some have upped their game beyond the simple fare served to famished travellers to become restaurants in all but name.

Many, such as the Venta Alfarnate in the upper reaches of Axarquía, northwest of Málaga, have been serving travellers for centuries. Set in an isolated spot in the midst of brooding hills, it’s not hard to see how it became a hotspot for brigands and highwaymen.

Claiming, with some justification, to be the oldest inn in Andalucía, Venta Alfarnate was frequented by some of the region’s most fearsome 19th century bandoleros, including the most terrifying of them all: El Tempranillo.

This notorious latter-day Robin Hood who was said to ‘charm’ the gold rings and bracelets off his female victims, arrived unannounced one hot day in the 1820s in a less-than-charming

What’s your favourite venta?

Send your Top 10 to newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

mood. Finding there were no spoons for him to eat with, he forced the other unfortunate diners to eat their wooden ones at gunpoint, cracking their teeth in the process.

Indeed, the venta once had a jail cell for holding outlaws en route with their captors to justice in Málaga. The well-preserved cell has been turned into a dining alcove which must make it one of the most offbeat places to eat anywhere in these parts. Particularly so when a life-size effigy of another notorious bandolero, the Madrileno Luis Candelas, is giving you the evil eye from a stool in the corner...

1. Liebre con Arroz. Hare cooked in rice. (Bar Tic Tac, Córdoba) 2. Pollo Ajillo. Chicken fried with heaps of garlic - finger lickin’ good! (Venta El Tunel) 3. Ajo Blanco. The classic cold Malagueno soup made with breadcru mbs, garlic and ground almonds. (Venta Alfarnate) 4. Rabo de Toro. Succulent oxta il stew. (Venta La Duquesa) 5. Jabali al Horno. Oven-roaste d wild boar. (Venta Puerto de Galis) 6. Alcachofas a la plancha. Pan -fried artichokes, an Andaluz delicacy. (Venta Esteban) 7. Gambas Pil-Pil. Shrimps in sizzling spicy oil. (Venta Marinetto) 8.

Sardinas en Vinagre. Ten times better than the traditional boquerones!

(Venta Pinto) 9. Salmorejo.

The classic cold soup from Córdoba province made with breadcrumbs, olive oil and tomatoes. (Venta del Pobre) 10. Carne Mechada Tasty cuts of larded pork (cerdo ibérico). (Puerto de Galis)

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HEALTH

14

June 10th - June 23rd

Weighing in Lisa Burgess offers her experience on weight-watching and how chemo can affect things

M

Y weight has always gone up and down much like Elizabeth Taylor except she was much more beautiful and had more husbands than me.

In my late teens, I weighed in at a hefty 15 stone. I was planning my first big fat American wedding in Los Angeles and was desperate to lose weight.

I watched a motivational programme on the Oprah Winfrey Show which changed my life.

It gave advice on starting your weight loss slowly by simply walking every day.

I kept at it and headed down the aisle at a more decent 11 stone.

I forged ahead with Jane Fonda videos, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and a sensible nutritious diet until I had whittled myself down to 8 stone. It lost me my first marriage. Instead of being invisible on Doritos aisle 4, I had metamorphosed into a decent

looking broad on eye candy aisle 5.

I tell you all of this because I believe weight was a factor in my contracting cancer. When I lost my dear mum in 2014 my weight ballooned out of control.

I had to hit the weight control restart button again in 2018 and repeat.

Some people on chemo actually put on weight due to progressive anti-sickness drugs but I was determined to lose what my oncologist strictly advised. With the beautiful weather in Mijas, the breathtaking boardwalk and a communal pool at my disposal it wasn’t that difficult. I was very careful with what I ate, keeping portion sizes small but frequent and sticking to a diet of fish, vegetables, fruit and nuts.

This brings me to what I learnt just recently as I embark yet again on a weight loss regime with one more stone to lose

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Down: 1 Cinema, 2 Hasp, 3 Kitbag, 4 In-law, 5 Salesman, 6 Thieve, 12 Security, 13 Era, 16 Jutted, 18 Vigour, 19 Esteem, 20 Eider, 22 Moat.

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SUDOKU

Quick Crossword

SKINNY DAYS: Lisa and TV stylist Cathy O’Connor

Lisa Burgess before my operations ahead.

Don’t buy any junk food AT ALL because you will eat it and you know it is there. It is a very simple tip but I have never tried it properly, always having a hidden cache of crisps, my weakness, in the house.

I don’t weigh myself daily, it’s far healthier mentally to weigh in weekly or fortnightly. As my ‘Bridget Jones’ knickers slacken, I am on the way to my goal, albeit at a snail’s pace. It really is mind over matter.

For those who totally despair, I really understand and I would recommend small steps towards weight loss. Take the stairs instead of a lift, park away from where you are going to lengthen your walk and force yourself to stick at it every day so it becomes your routine. Find different physical activities you enjoy such as golf, pilates, swimming (when we are allowed) and just keep walking. Keep an eye on those portion sizes and replace your dinner plate with a side plate or small bowl, visually your plate looks full.

Vary your routine so you don’t become bored, find different walks, try a new sport. I had to adapt after my mastectomy and swap tennis for padel as my right arm is usually in freeze mode having had 25 lymph nodes and 15 tumours removed, I am lucky I am a left-handed player.

We all need to make our physical and mental health a top priority and I recall famous American musician, Steve Adler, who said: “you can have all the riches and success in the world, but if you don’t have your health, you have nothing”.

BUSINESS

Not beaten yet Rock firms fighting to stay alive with help from Government

BUSINESSES are likely to continue relying on the BEAT COVID government aid to keep afloat, with over £6million provided to inactive employees so far.

This is especially true for restaurants and shops on Gibraltar’s main street that heavily rely on tourists that come through to Gibraltar by car, air, cruise liners, coach or on foot.

Phase 3 of the Government’s ‘Unlock the Rock’ on June 1 saw many restaurants and cafes being allowed to take in local customers,

but only at a 50% capacity.

Minister for Tourism and Business Vijay Daryanani said that the Rock’s visitors before the lockdown in March were ‘typically aged over 55’.

This is an age range which ‘remains the most at risk from COVID-19’, he said.

Bars and nightclubs will follow suit on June 16 with their own strict conditions as Gibraltar finalises the four-phase lockdown release.

Daryanani said that Gibraltar ‘must expect

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June 10th - June 23rd

The Property Insider

by Adam Neale

The summer of COVID-19

If you’re hoping to get away on holiday this summer, the best advice I can offer is book ahead, make sure you can cancel and be ready to adapt

A

FTER months of staying at home, most of us are dreaming of getting away, as long as we can stay safe.

While the first wave of the Coronavirus pandemic seems to have passed its peak in much of Western Europe, uncertainty still remains about restrictions on travel and leisure activities for the rest of the year and beyond. As a result, lots of people have put off booking holidays until now, but that looks set to change very quickly.

Spain has declared the country will reopen to tourists from July 1, welcome news for visitors and all those whose livelihoods depend on tourism. The sector accounts for around 12% of Spain’s GDP and employs millions directly and indirectly, especially in ing and HomeAway, have begun to see a places like the Costa del Sol. The last few huge upturn in traffic after weeks of flatmonths have been particularly hard for lo- lined demand. Most of the big online opercal businesses and people, many of which ators have made alterations to cancellation and refund policies since the pandemic need summer income to surbegan, trying to balance the vive year-round. interests of those who rely Although France and Portuon their sites to book their Choose gal are going to reopen their vacations with those of the borders to tourists on June carefully, don’t owners who provide the prop22, anyone entering Spain My advice is choose will still be subject to a 14trust deals that erties. carefully, don’t trust deals day quarantine period until sound too good and be sound too good that the end of the month. Howev100% sure of who you are er, as from June 15, approxito be true dealing with to prevent fraud. mately 11,000 German tourSo, if you’re planning to visit ists will be permitted to travel the Costa del Sol in the next to the Balearic Islands to test few months, I’d recommend out the safety measures already in place at you reserve your travel and accommodaairports, hotels and other destinations.

The UK has recently introduced its own tion as soon as possible, but be sure you quarantine regime for people entering (and can modify or cancel and get a refund, if re-entering) the country from abroad. This necessary. That means reading the small requires all those arriving to do two weeks print in contractual terms and conditions of self-isolation at a declared address, before making payment and, where possubject to possible check-ups from health sible, preferring to use reputable and reliauthorities to ensure they are where they able providers and intermediaries. Taking are supposed to be backed up by fines if out comprehensive insurance to cover any they’re not. The controversial measure was eventualities that could occur while you’re expected to put off many Brits from ven- away is also a worthwhile investment. turing overseas this summer, but recent Whatever you decide to do and wherever spikes in airline bookings suggest other- you choose to go this summer, whether it be to stay at home or enjoy a holiday abroad, wise.

At the same time, popular holiday accom- don’t forget to wash your hands, observe modation platforms, such as Airbnb, Book- social distancing rules and keep safe!

Terra Meridiana, 77 Calle Caridad, Estepona • 29680 • Tel: +34 951 318480. Office Mob: +34 678 452109 • Email: info@terrameridiana.com • Website: www.terrameridiana.com

TURBULENCE ON THE STOCK MARKET BRINGS OPPORTUNITIES TheOlivePress-256x170-CAR-4.indd 1 2/8/18 17:01 *Fully comprehensive offer valid for new customers only. Guarantee subject to cover, repair at approved garage, and courtesy vehicle availability. Subject to conditions. Offer ends 30/11/18.

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Embassy grilling

FINAL WORDS

ECUADORIAN embassy bosses have opened a disciplinary process against one of their attachés after police found him at a Madrid barbeque with 46 people.

Arab aid THE United Arab Emirates has sent 18 tonnes of medical aid including PPE and alcohol gels to Marbella.

Bikini bust BIKINI-clad PP Councillor Paula Moreno has left an Andalucian town hall red-faced after attending a Zoom meeting from a beach with her kids.

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SCARE: Locals rocked by beast sighting

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Vol. 5, Issue 124 www.theolivepress.es June 10th - June 23rd 2020

Turtley worth it A SEA turtle entangled in a Spanish fishing net has been returned to the sea by police.

The creature was rescued thanks to the quick thinking of a sailor, who sounded the alarm off the coast, near Aguilas, in Murcia.

Moving Guardia Civil footage shows the turtle

Rescued turtles escape back to the wild after two lucky escapes fighting to survive after becoming snared by the net.

Luckily agents from the Special Group for Underwater Activities (GEAS) swiftly arrived and were

COVID charge A TWITTER storm has erupted after a bar in Tenerife started charging a ‘COVID tax’.

One disgruntled customer posted a picture of a re-

PAY UP: Extra charge

ceipt showing a ‘servicio COVID’ levy of €1.

Some have backed the business, pointing out that gloves, alcohol gels and masks all cost money.

But most responses have been less understanding, with consumers’ rights organisation FACUA branding it illegal and urging people to make official complaints about the practice.

able to carefully aid the turtle’s escape.

The incident occurred just days prior to Oceanografic in Valencia releasing its 500th turtle, which was rescued after swallowing plastic.

The release coincided with World Oceans Day, at El Saler de Valencia, this week.

The turtle was rescued by a fishing boat in the Cullera area, after ingesting significant amounts of plastic including a long string of a helium balloon 50 centimetres long.

It also had a piece of fish lodged in its dorsal and a serious fracture in the shell, possibly caused by a collision with a boat.

After seven months of vet-

FREE: Turtle released

erinary care in which it underwent various treatments, it was released by rescuers from ARCA del Mar. They said the incident 'crudely exemplifies' the human impact sea turtles face in the Mediterranean.

The Guardia Civil’s animal protection arm SEPRONA investigated over 4,000 crimes against the environment in 2019.

What a croc

A CROC hunt has been launched after a 1.5 metre long crocodile was spotted roaming around Valladolid.

Terrified locals reported multiple sightings of the beast on a stretch of the River Duoro between the towns of Simancas and Tordesillas.

Drones have been dispatched to look for the giant reptile, which experts said is likely a Nile crocodile.

The species, which can weigh up to half a tonne, is native to Africa, and the croc in Spain is thought to be an escaped pet or was released by his owner.

As a precaution, fishermen and kayakers have been excluded from a five kilometre radius of the first reported sighting of the animal.

The discovery of ‘two nests’ has bolstered the alleged sightings, while fish have been spotted with distinctive bite marks, typical of a large reptile.

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11/5/20 9:46