Gibraltar Olive Press - Issue 123

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Vol. 5, Issue 123 www.theolivepress.es May 27th - Jun 9th, 2020

Meet Gibraltar’s new Page 5 Governor

Spaniards block roads Page 6 in protest

WHEELY FAIR: A police motorbike blocks access to the beach at Catalan Bay in continued coronavirus restrictions

Our choice

ETA terrorist behind Page 9 Killing Eve

The Costa del Sol’s Nazi shame Page 10

Brexit tensions flare as Spanish minister’s ‘sovereignty’ comments riles Picardo

UK

GIBRALTAR has slammed Spain for excluding it from talks on its future relationship with the EU. It comes after Spain’s Minister of Foreign affairs Arancha Gonzalez Laya spoke in a radio interview about ‘agreeing a new status in light of Brexit for Gibraltar between Spain and the United Kingdom’.

Gonzalez seemed to be hinting at bilateral talks between Spain and the UK, pushing GiBASED

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braltar to one side.

Understandably, politicians in Gibraltar are furious they may not be allowed to have a say over its own future.

The UK has repeatedly promised to include Gibraltar in its own delegation.

“It is certainly unacceptable to suggest that any such ‘negotiation’ could be ‘between Spain and the United Kingdom’,” said Chief Minister Picardo.

He said he is being very ‘proactive’ over the Brexit negotiations with Spain to ‘secure the prosperity of Gibraltar and the whole region around us’.

Opposition MP Keith Azopardi said that Gibraltar must be careful to make sure that decades of de-

fending the Rock’s right to self-determination is not eroded in any Brexit process.

The Chief Minister said that the mentioning of bilateralism ‘will not be a persuasive tool in the discussions to come.’

The first round of talks between the UK, Gibraltar and Spain took part in Algeciras with COVID-19 delaying the next meetings on the Rock.

Analysts fear that now the process is starting up again it is possible that Spain will use the Gibraltar smokescreen to deflect criticism over its handling of COVID-19.

Making undemocratic claims to discredit Gibraltar as anything but a colony has been a Spanish strategy since Franco made his territorial claim of the Rock at the UN. This tendency was especially prevalent during PP times but could be continued by the leftist government to recapture right-wing sentiment fanned by far right party Vox.

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NEWS IN BRIEF Racism THE RGP has arrested two people on suspicion of racist assault and harassment that caused alarm or distress on May 15.

Covidiot TEN people have been arrested for breaking the lockdown rules and leaving home without a reasonable reason over the last two weeks.

Smugglers AN increase in suspected tobacco smuggling has been reported by the RGP as more people entered and exited Gibraltar illegally via Western Beach.

Tensions THERE were numerous arrests for theft, possession of hashish and assault during the last fortnight as lockdown tensions boiled over before the release on May 22.

May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

Hot on his heels British fugitive who escaped from a UK court tracked down by cops to a rural bolthole A FLEET-FOOTED criminal who bolted from a UK court has been arrested in Spain, the Olive Press can exclusively reveal.

Louis Robinson, 25, jumped the docks of Manchester Crown Court back in 2014 just moments after the judge handed him 12 months for attempted burglary and aggravated vehicle taking.

Robinson had pinched scrap metal from a skip outside Harpurhey Shopping Centre,

EXCLUSIVE

by Joshua Parfitt in Puerto Lumbreras

before crashing a stolen vehicle, aged just 19.

The wanted man nearly escaped justice again when, in April this year, he escaped Spain’s Guardia Civil by climbing over rooftops from his home in Puerto Lumbreras, Murcia.

A spokesperson for the Guar-

Pair snared for Brit’s slaying AN expat in Murcia has been snared in connection with the shooting of a British businessman on the Costa del Sol. The man, based in Murcia, has been charged with the death of Peter Williamson, 39, from Manchester, who was killed outside his Mijas home last November.

The gunman and an accomplice picked up in the UK had been lying in wait to ambush him as he pulled up in his English plated Audi after going to the gym.

He had been shot seven times, with one bullet entering his heart. Williamson (above)had a history of drug trafficking and was allegedly linked to a smoking club in Fuengirola that was the subject of police interest for the alleged sale of hashish and marihuana. He was also being investigated for his alleged involvement in a plot to send cannabis packages via courier services.

PICKED UP: Gun-loving Robinson and wanted pic dia Civil in Murcia told the Olive Press he had acquired residency using a false name with the initials LWJ. Armed police later tracked Robinson down to another hideout in Albox, Almeria, from where agents cuffed him and sent him to Madrid for extradition on April 27.

A spokesperson for Madrid’s High Courts of Justice confirmed Robinson had ‘accepted’ extradition back to the UK and is awaiting transfer.

Robinson was described as ‘extremely violent’ and ‘armed’ by police who were acting on a European Arrest Warrant.

In 2018, UK police had sent out an appeal describing him as a ‘prolific offender with a history of robbery and burglary offences’ who ‘knew’ police were after him and actively ‘evaded’ capture.

Neighbours of Robinson’s bolthole in Llano del Espino said they had ‘no idea’ a fu-

gitive was hiding out in their tiny hamlet, 15 minutes north of Albox.

“Suddenly the Guardia Civil turned up with guns and binoculars to stake him out from the other side of the valley,” one neighbour, who asked to remain nameless, told the Olive Press.

“We had no idea a wanted criminal was living out here.”

Another neighbour said she had ‘never laid eyes on him’ and was ‘shocked’ when the Guardia Civil turned up outside her house.

A local Guardia Civil source said Robinson’s trail had been picked up during a random police road block for the coronavirus state of alarm.

He is currently awaiting an extradition hearing in Madrid.

Did you know Robinson?

Or seen him around?

Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es

Bar battle arrest A BRITISH ‘cocaine dealer’ has been arrested after a brutal pitched battle at a Costa del Sol bar.

Zathon Dale Williams - who is wanted in the UK for various other crimes - was held for his alleged role in the knife fight at Steve’s Bar, in Mijas.

Six Brits were cuffed at the British-owned watering hole, in Torrenueva, following the violence, which took place on the first day after lockdown.

Over a dozen people were involved in the fight that left one man with his ‘guts hanging out’.

Williams, 28, is wanted in the West Midlands for drug offences.

The other five Brits arrested are believed to be aged between 25 and 40 and were all released on charges.

Gangland returns

A YOUNG Brit was facing emergency surgery after being shot in the legs four times this week.

The 27-year-old was admitted to Costa del Sol hospital where he is believed to be in a stable but serious condition.

The Brit was driven to the hospital in the early hours of the morning by a friend who told doctors he had been shot in both of his lower limbs.

Hammered at the wheel THREE people have been arrested after drink-driving on the Rock’s roads last week.

Of these three, two drivers, a man and woman, both 54, were involved in a car crash on Line Wall Road.

The woman was taken to New Mole House Police Station, where a breathalyser test showed she was just under the legal limit.

The male, who was admitted to hospital, was

over the limit, but was granted police bail after doctors discharged him.

In another incident, a 25-year-old man was arrested for speeding at Peter Isola Promenade.

He was found to be driving at double the legal drinking limit and not having a driver’s licence.

He also had a small amount of cannabis resin and was bailed out for £250.

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AROUND 300 people have been dispersed by police after gathering at Little Bay on the first Friday night of lockdown freedom.

After the incident, conflicting reports surfaced about how rather than it being a big party there were only ‘scattered groups’ of around five or six at the site.

However, according to the Royal Gibraltar Police the revellers were sent home for not following social distancing rules.

An RGP spokesperson said that all the youths were ‘fully compliant’ with the instructions given by officers and that Little Bay was closed soon after.

They added: “These types of gatherings in such large numbers are completely unacceptable.”

“Apart from being in breach of current regulations, they are contrary to Public Health advice to maintain social distancing in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.”

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es THE carer of Spain-based snooker legend Willie Thorne (pictured left) has made a plea for help as the sportsman hits rock bottom in a new medical crisis.

Thorne, 66, has developed sepsis following chemotherapy treatment for a leukemia diagnosis he received in March from Torrevieja’s Hospital Universitario, on the Costa Blanca.

“Willie can’t feed himself or put a drink to his own mouth,” his carer told his GoFundMe fundraiser.

She is hoping to raise €30,000 to help Brit Willie through his medical battle – longtime friend and fellow Leicester sportsman Gary Lineker has donated €1,000 already.

But the GoFundMe also asks for lifts to and from the hospital, a translator to help Willie navigate his diagnoses, or just a

Read between the lines IT is the stunning beachside home that has left millions cooing about the beauty of Ibiza during the lockdown.

The sumptuous abode appears regularly in Netflix hit drama White Lines, about a DJ from Manchester who gets mixed up in drug-dealing on the Balearic gem.

Except the multi-million hideout is not on the White Isle at all… it’s in Mallorca.

Sitting in exclusive Cala d’Or on the south of the island, the four bedroom villa is actually named Can Pirata.

Owned by a wealthy Catalan woman, who lives between Madrid and Barcelona, it

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Help Willie! ‘warm meal’ to his rented flat in Alicante.

It comes after the former world no.7 declared himself bankrupt in 2015 after racking up £1 million in gambling debts. He also beat prostate cancer that same year.

His carer wrote: “Willie’s life is no secret.. He is on his own and he makes his money through appearances, which have, for obvious reasons, had to stop.

“He isn’t entitled to any relief over here, and won’t receive any available funds in England.

“This GoFundMe request is not just a request for money, but a request for help of any information, contacts, and whatever else under these circumstances.”

RISING STARS: Zoe (Laura Haddock) and (left) Axel (Tom Rhys)

Hedonism, drugs and corruption - but the smash hit Ibiza series White Lines is actually mostly filmed in Mallorca, the Olive Press can reveal EXCLUSIVE

by Isha Sesay in Cala d’Or

May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

STARRING ROLE: Villa home of DJ Marcus (left) is a TV hit boasts jaw-dropping views and has direct access to the sea.

Renting on Airbnb from around €1,200 a night, it also counts on expansive gardens, an outdoor pool and now, the real bragging rights factor.

Unsurprisingly, estate agent Montse Serradell from La Calma Rental Homes, who manages the property, has been inundated with requests to rent this summer.

“The interest has been huge since the White Lines crew reserved Can Pirata for 20 days in May and June for filming last year,” Serradell told the Olive Press.

The show is one of the most popular crime series of the year so far.

Penned by Alex Pina, the creator of the highly successful Money Heist, the story revolves around Zoe, as she attempts to find out what happened to her murdered

brother whose body has just been found dumped on the mainland in Almeria.

Offering a heavy dose of sun and sand in a world of hedonism, drugs and corruption, the 10-part thriller takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride leaving many pining for a holiday on the beautiful island.

Yet the vast majority was filmed in Mallorca and features the infamous Restaurante Illeta in Andratx, the Son Oliver villa in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, Tito’s nightclub, in Palma, as well as Michael Douglas' Valldemossa S'Estaca estate where a raucous orgy takes place in the first episode.

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Property mogul Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, has edged his way up the Sunday Times Rich List, thanks to the COVID crisis.

The latest edition of this annual wealth parade values the world’s richest 29-year-old at €11.57 billion.

It puts him at the 10th richest person on the 2020 list, having been 14th last year.

It comes after the Olive Press revealed that the Grosvenor Group has ploughed more than €300 million into Madrid, over the last few years, while the Duke himself owns the sprawling La Garganta hunting estate in Andalucia.

He and his family already own more land in Britain than Elizabeth II – 0.22% compared to the Queen’s meagre 0.03%.

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The Media Group on the move!

May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

Life’s a breach Bathers crowd the seaside despite lingering COVID-19 fears

Office wizard some g for a sorcerer to weave The Olive Press is lookin expand again into new regions. we magic in its head office as ceful and become the glue in the young

our You’ll be energetic and res Personable and bi-lingual you will have a and rapidly expanding team.sociable and naturally computer literate. good phone manner, be

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SENT PACKING: Crowds were told to leave Eastern Beach

The Olive Press also needs reliable, quick and talented graphic designers for its office in Sabinillas.

You’ll have a great eye for detail, plenty of job experience and a good record for turning up on time and working to deadlines

Sales executives We also need commercial sales agents in the following areas: Malaga, Sevilla, Almeria, Murcia, Catalunya, Canaries and Portugal. Great rates of pay for those with the right proven skills

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LAST, but definitely not least.. we also need wordsmiths too... can you turn a phrase and/or turn up on a doorstep on time?

We are looking for qualified, hard-working hacks and writers around the whole of Spain

If you think you have what it takes to help the Olive Press expand to the next level, please get in touch at accounts@ theolivepress.es at the first instance, sending your CV and a covering letter. These jobs could be part time or full time and will suit either man or woman of any age or colour

POLICE have been forced to clear Eastern Beach after it became too crowded at the weekend.

It came as the number of people heading to the shores rose dramatically after Gibraltar entered Phase 2 of the ‘Unlock the Rock’ plan.

Despite the Gibraltar Government recommending the public to remain at home as much as possible, Eastern Beach became so populated the RGP had no choice but to step in and send people packing.

As temperatures rose to 27C, more and more people hit the beach, especially families with children.

It is believed there was some confusion about what the regulations were, although that was clarified later that afternoon.

The government stated that people would be forced to leave the beaches after half an hour only ‘if the beaches become crowded and social distancing is not possible’.

With police presence at all beaches, officers on the ground will have to make the call whether to go to the 30 minute rule if they deem it necessary.

Pictures showing people placing umbrellas very close to each other, a common thing in Gibraltar, caused indignation on social media.

The coming of the infamous Levante wind put an end to the crowds, however, with the beach being virtually empty on May 24.

With the strong easterlies blowing all week long, it seems the situation will remain stable for now.

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A GIBRALTAR COVID-19 contact tracing app could be ready by mid-June.

Minister for Digital Services Albert Isola revealed that at least 60% of people will need to download the government app for the system to work.

“When you download the app, you will not even be required to register your name, so we are not keeping information on anybody,” said Isola.

“We are concerned that if

people are worried about data or privacy, that’s going to mean people will not register.”

The smartphone app is designed to find every person that came into contact with a newly discovered COVID-19 case.

“If people test positive, they will simply put a code number into their app,” said the minister.

“They can then press send,

Track your contagion and the app itself will message all the people living close to them.”

Isola also confirmed that there are plans to continue the online government transactions services currently used during the pandemic.

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Culture vulture THEATRE and art could both make a return during the next few weeks, the government has stated.

Minister for Culture John Cortes, revealed his culture portfolio was slowly being restored to its former glory too.

He reported that the virtual museum has seen social media visits increase to 130,000 since it started two months ago.

Other online programmes like the virtual tour of the Mario Finlayson Gallery and videos of past events continue to be streamed online.

A frontline workers project will now bring together 48 artists to paint free pictures for

End of the road ONE of Gibraltar’s major roads is set to close periodically in a pilot scheme by the Government to help with air quality.

Line Wall Road will be closed on Monday June 1 and all subsequent weekends next month.

The road will then open from Tuesdays to Fridays for normal drivers.

The main road will be closed from Duke of Kent House all the way to Orange Bastion, although access will be allowed for delivery vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians.

Traffic flow around Gibraltar will be monitored during the days the road is closed to find out how effectively the system will work.

Transport Minister Vijay Daryanani hopes the move will ‘lead to less cars being used’, along with other parking measures being introduced.

However, 2,800 people have signed a local petition against the closure, claiming that the proposal will only create traffic chaos elsewhere.

an exhibition once the lockdown restrictions are relaxed further.

Culture TV, a new project, will be launched in the first week of June, with short story and art competitions.

As part of the ‘Unlock the Rock’ scheme, the National Museum, John Mackintosh Hall Library, Garrison Library and exhibition galleries opened on May 26.

Theatre and dance performances will be given the green light on June 1 but they won’t have any audiences present until August.

Places of worship could be opened after June 1, while public gatherings and larger events are also being considered for the future.

NEWS

May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

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Testing times Boost in coronavirus tests on the Rock brings slight increase in cases

Man of Steel

WELCOME: Sir David Steel named as Governor A FORMER sea lord has been announced as the next Governor of Gibraltar, set to arrive on the Rock in June.

Vice Admiral Sir David Steel is confirmed to be Gibraltar’s new Governor after Lieutenant General Ed Davis’ four-year term ended in February.

Gibraltar’s governors, mostly military officers, are appointed by the UK Government to serve as heads of state, in charge of the Rock’s defence and security.

Steel retired from the Royal Navy as Second Sea Lord and Vice Admiral back in 2015 and

has held a number of MoD positions since.

The new governor will certainly need nerves of steel to face some of the coming hurdles Gibraltar will need to overcome during his stay.

At sea, the Rock is constantly being threatened by incursions from Spanish marine forces, although often the governor’s hands are tied on this matter.

“All in Gibraltar and Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar will look forward to welcoming Sir David to the Rock in June,” said Chief Minister Picardo.

THERE are now seven active COVID-19 cases on the Rock following a bump in testing, it has been revealed.

Only three of those are based locally, with four being cross-frontier workers.

In total nearly 7,000 swab tests have so far been carried out on the Rock.

Of the nearly 6,500 results received so far, there were 154 confirmed cases on going to press.

Nearly 150 people have recovered from the virus, most of them at home in self-isolation.

The testing has been carried out at St Bernard’s Hospital, aided by a new testing facility set up at the university.

It will be equipped with a new ‘five-minute test’ developed by Gibraltarian Nick Cortes in the UK. This latest lab is hoping to help randomly test 1% of the population each day, with results being processed in 24 hours.

Frontier workers with no symptoms will also be tested to ensure they do not bring the virus into Gibraltar.

Medical chiefs are now working out the best time to carry out antibody blood tests.

Around 35,000 tests were bought from UK company Abbot, enough to test the entire population.

“Potentially, my discussions with the clinical and laboratory testing teams suggest we may even be able to process up to 500 of these tests a day,” said Acting Medical Director Krish Rawal.

Latest scientific studies suggest that those who have antibodies could be immune to catching the virus again.

CLINICAL services like cancer screening have restarted at St Bernard’s Hospital.

Routine check-ups had been put on hold during the COVID-19 lockdown, but these services will now be provided with their own safety measures to ensure that social distancing is carried out effectively.

Mammography, cervical, colon cancer and aortic aneurysm screenings are now being performed.

In Stages Three and Four of the lockdown release, on

Cancer screening returns June 12 and July 3 respectively, all screening appointments will return to normal.

Surgery could still be limited for a while yet, as those recovering from such operations are thought to be most at risk from COVID-19.

O LIVE P RESS GIBRALTAR

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 Policing the police THE police have a difficult job, and the Olive Press is usually the first to back them.

But we have a duty to hold them to account.

The principle of the term ‘policing by consent’ has a long tradition in parts of the world.

This recognises that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a general consensus of support.

It follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in exercising those powers and their accountability for doing so.

Spain’s police forces would do well to consider these principles or they risk losing that consensus.

There has been widespread criticism of the, at times, draconian and unfair penalties, as recorded in the Olive Press this issue, meted out to ordinary people, who have done little wrong.

When a million fines can be handed out for breaking lockdown regulations – for ‘crimes’ like walking too slowly – something has gone seriously awry.

Pot calling kettle The protesters on the streets of many cities this week have a very valid point.

But the way their anger has been hijacked by the far right party Vox is nothing short of shameless.

Until the weekend, the so-called pot-bashing ‘casserole protests’ were an outpouring of anger at the country’s draconian clampdown that even stopped residents from leaving their homes for exercise for six weeks and led to a million fines.

While they were initially spontaneous, a police investigation found, they have been turned into a political rant at the left wing government.

Whatever your leanings the government needs to be questioned over its extreme lockdown measures, but it shouldn’t be used as a political tool by the shady far-right.

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A pot of

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an easy target on the Spanish government’s back, and the opposition is in full attack mode with its ‘casserole-bashing’

I

T’S all getting a little bit tense in Spain.

Large numbers of cars, driven (presumably) by right wing voters, clogged up a number of cities on Saturday calling for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to resign and a ‘government of national unity’ to take control.

They arrived in their thousands in Sevilla, hundreds in Malaga, Palma and Valencia, and supposedly tens of thousands in the capital Madrid.

Flying Spanish flags and honking their horns, they drove around demanding a drastic change in the way things have been run for the last few months, and demanding the PM and his coalition partner Pablo Iglesias, of Podemos, step down.

The new ‘unity’ government would be made up by three main parties: PSOE, the Partido Popular (PP) and Vox, with the PP and Vox effectively running things, even though voters in the last elections chose otherwise (albeit by a small margin).

The pandemic and the lockdown are the key reasons behind the current protests, well, apart from the fact that no one likes their party losing an election.

It all started reasonably enough – with city dwellers going out on to their terraces each evening at 8pm to applaud the stretched

HONKING: Demonstrators in their cars hospital staff, who have worked long hours in considerable danger to save many thousands of lives.

Country Spaniards and most expats (if we can divide society into two for a moment) haven’t been as cooped up and were able to spend their time outside - picking the flowers, feeding the chickens and wondering at the strange antics of the townies.

The appreciative city-folk appeared to be saying ‘Gosh, nurses and doctors are more important for our safety than pop stars, actors and footballers’. Perhaps, indeed, they always were.

After a while though, people got a bit bored of the 8pm clapping, and took to singing or playing music from their terraces. And it was only a small step before some of those who

My thoughts by Lenox Napier

had voted for the opposition parties thought they could start bashing saucepans as a political protest instead. Everyone likes a spot of noise before dinner. They weren’t really in favour of a particular plan, but to let the rest of us know that they weren’t ‘socio-comunistas’.

Saucepan bashing, with a stick or something which makes a satisfying ‘clank’, is an import from Argentina and is known both there and here as ‘una cacerolada’.

The new government, which only took office on January 13, has been faced with an emergency that no one had any experience in handling.

Rather than protecting the economy, as a conservative government might have done – they erred on the side of caution and, under the advice of epidemiologists and other medical experts, they went with the lockdown strategy.

And after a short while the old right and left wing divides in Spain started to appear again.

Some media commentators claimed that the 40 years of democracy after the Franco dictatorship have failed to dismantle the power of the negative Spain – that of the young wealthy gentlemen, the cardboard-generals and ‘the retrograde cardinals’.

And of course the bishops have their own radio, COPE, and even a TV channel, Canal 13. They also have the tacit support of a number of conservative daily newspapers: La Razon and ABC among them.

That’s a fine mess!

After it emerges Spain’s police issued 1 MILLION sanctions during the lockdown more than three times Italy and 100 times the UK - the Olive Press looks at who’s on the right side of fine. By Joshua Parfitt

I

T will come as no surprise to anyone who lives here that Spain leads the European league table in police fines during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the country’s administrative penalties broke the ONE MILLION barrier since March 14 when the nation went into a state of alarm.

It is trailed by Italy with 310,323, and Romania, with just over 300,000 – until a Romanian court ruled the majority of lockdown fines were ‘unconstitutional’ as they had no yardstick.

Germany and Portugal had very few, while UK police have, so far, only issued just over 14,000 fines to people breaking the lockdown restrictions.

Without a doubt, this makes Spanish police the most draconian and over-zealous of all law enforcement organisations in Europe.

When you get fined €600 for walking your dog just 150m from your house in the middle of nowhere, €1000 for walking too slowly, or €800 for stopping to chat to a neighbour on the way back from the supermarket, it is understandable there has been a lot of outrage.

AN expat The application of the law has been entiin Torre del rely varied though, between utter lenienMar, in the cy to ridiculous behaviour by local police, Axarquia, was fined who are normally not meant to do much €600 for tamore than watch the parks and deliver king his dog legal letters. for a walk We have had dozens of reports of our just over readers being unfairly fined or treated 150m from his home. during the lockdown.

Apparently One Olive Press reporter meanwhile, taking your was threatened with a fine for arguing dog for a ride that he could not do his job at home watin a convertiching the TV and from the internet. ble is fine...

The same police force, the Guardia Civil, in Gaucin, in Andalucia, enforced a print media blackout, by stopping its local petrol station from picking up newspapers zz MADRID police declined to fine a couple caught having sex in a on the coast, just 20 minutes away, for car because they ‘couldn’t find intimacy’ at home. Policia Local OVER a month! located the couple in a parked car ‘in full view’ on a street in Villaverde, but the couple complained there were ‘too many Now, as Spain struggles through its dispeople’ in their house. Police let them go, after asking them to parate de-escalation from the coronavidress rus state of alarm, this is a police force that can STILL fine you at least €600 for zz A SHAME-faced man in Motril was fined €650 after he was not wearing a mask. found guilty of going to the shops unnecessarily when police To help you navigate these penalties, found a stale loaf of bread in a plastic bag on the front seat and here are a few examples of where the nothing else police reports have been fine or anything but fine.

THE FINER POINTS

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bother

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I TORN RIGHT: Protestors aiming to change government It is argued that the current outpouring of anger is nothing more than a ‘Revolution of the Rich’ led from the smartest neighbourhood of Madrid, Barrio Salamanca, where the saucepans were being most enthusiastically bashed over the weekend.

Said to be waving ‘their hammer and golf-club’ banners, the leftist eldiario.es writes: “What’s happening with the revolution of the rich has nothing to do with the ravages of the pandemic, or the devastation of the economy, or the temporary lack of freedom; what is happening is a manifestation, however freaky, of the struggle of the young gentlemen to hold on to power.”

A more cynical version comes from Meneame, which coined it as the ‘Cayetano revolution’ (this

being one of Spain’s poshest names, similar to say Quentin, in the UK).

The website said the uprising ‘consists of a group of people who live in the most expensive neighbourhood in this country and who have never come out to demonstrate until they have had their vacations in Bali or Formentera cancelled’.

It continued: “Dozens of Cayetanos are demonstrating without keeping the required social distance, endangering their lives and that of their families, and inevitably that of the health workers who will soon have to care for them.”

Let’s not forget, after all, that anyone can fall

sick from the virus (our Eton-attending Boris did after all), and the lockdown is only a partial solution to the current COVID problem.

However, it’s more comfortable in a large apartment than a small one, or, for some poor folk, stuck for months in a car or a shack.

The economist Marta Flich reminds us that ‘the virus has no ideological preference’.

I couldn’t help but spot a sad video-clip on social media of a woman rooting through a dustbin as the flag-wearing ‘militants’ passed her by ignoring her completely.

Another clip showed a fellow in the back-seat of his chauffeur-driven convertible slowly nosing through the brightly dressed crowd while howling ‘resign, resign!’... A man of few words.

A meme from the left says: “Why bang an empty saucepan when you can fill it with stew and give it to your neighbour?”

Can one protest against the government without wearing a Spanish flag as a cloak?

The point is, the Government is seen as a mixture of the wrong kind of socialists plus the Venezuelan influenced extremists of the extreme left (Podemos to you and me), plus the nationalists, which in Spanish terms are the anti-nationalists – the boyos from Catalunya and the Basque Country.

‘Traitor’

HELD UP: A bicycle courier stopped by a police patrol while working in Barcelona

zz THE Guardia Civil in Alicante created an unauthorised list of 26 foodstuffs, 16 other products and 12 services that justified someone leaving the house back in early April. The list led to the fining of a man in Elche who told police he was going to the supermarket to buy ‘Nocilla’ – a chocolate-hazlenut spread – and this was written on the police report. Spain’s Minister of the Interior later retracted this fine and prohibited agents from using a list z z AN Elche man was sent to prison in April after receiving 47 police fines during the coronavirus state of alarm. The man was said to have ‘all kinds of addictions’ and suffered from an inability to lie successfully. On one occasion he told agents he was going to a town in the opposite direction to where he was walking; on another he told agents he was ‘walking his dog’, but had accidentally left it at home z z A POLICE officer was spotted ‘punching’ a young man carrying beer on a street in Spain last April. “A beer is not a primary need, stop taking the piss,” an officer was heard shouting in a video that went viral alongside condemnation of police brutality. Reports later revealed the boy was carrying a weapon in his belt, which he tried to withdraw after police asked him to empty his pockets. z z A MAN was investigated for serious disobedience after videos online showed him dancing ‘Sevillanas’ dressed as a woman in sunglasses. The Alicante man wanted to honour Sevilla’s Feria de Abril, but police traced him via social media and hit him with a fine of €601. zz A SERIES of brazen penitents were fined after being caught enacting a Semana Santa parade in Utrera, near Sevilla

Then there’s the republicans, who don’t like the royal family and have their own flag. That’s why we wear a Spanish flag, they say, because the others, the 51%, are traitors.

All good clean fun perhaps, and worth a few column inches. The ultras are on the warpath.

Yawn.

But they are good at manipulation… and Facebook and Twitter are full of their propaganda.

As Donald Trump or Cambridge Analytica can tell you, the point is to be read. And seen. And heard. Truth is in the eye of the beholder, and fake news often works better than the real thing. So we come to Saturday’s protest. A clever idea to make it a demonstration with cars (poor people don’t own cars). Some 6,000 cars and motorcycles, bedecked with flags of course, jammed the centre of Madrid.

The leaders of Vox were conveniently on their stage, at the symbolic Plaza de Colon: Columbus Square.

“We want to bring down the traitor Pedro Sanchez and imprison him for crimes against the Spanish people,” shouted Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far right party, wearing a nifty lapel pin of half Spanish colours, half black mourning.

The leader of the larger PP is now struggling for space on the political perch. Pablo Casado is trying to woo the far-right voters back to his colours with, as one left-leaning newspaper calls it, ‘his total war against the Government’.

Whether the Government, evidently inexperienced in matters of pandemics, has done or is doing a good job is irrelevant.

They will be judged once it’s all over. Right now, they are facing two dangerous enemies: the virus and the opposition, both set on scoring maximum damage. The fact is that the conservatives are winning the war at the moment – and Spain most certainly does not need a second open conflict.

Scraping the barrel

N early April a report in a rival newspaper insisted it was ‘pressing times’ for the Olive Press and it was ‘mourning’ our demise.

In its poisonous fake news rant, the downmarket ‘scraping’ media group, criticised us for launching a donation page on our website to help pay for the 20-plus journalists and writers who produce it.

Well, we clearly haven’t vanished...and to use a famous phrase from Mark Twain ‘reports of my (our) demise have been greatly exaggerated’.

Indeed, as we start easing out of lockdown, the Olive Press is waving the flag for our brave, vibrant and innovative expatriate community.

Be they British, Scandinavian - or even German! - we are helping them to nurture their businesses back to health, by offering competitive advertising packages utilising our website with millions of visitors a month and our FIVE regional newspapers that go from strength to strength.

Yes, the lockdown has been hard for us, like every other media group around the globe… and yes, we did launch a donations page on our website.

But this has had a great response with an amazing 300plus donors generously giving significant amounts to allow our journalists to get out and about as far and wide as Salamanca and Barcelona during the lockdown.

So cheap attacks by jealous rivals are anything but helpful.

Unbelievable To put you in the picture, our media rival claims to have had 10 million hits on its website in April and fast approaching 20 million in May. It also crows that it is the ‘42nd best website in the UK’, putting it two places behind the Daily Mail and in front of the Telegraph, Mirror and Times.

And, of course, this is not the case. But do you know why?

Well, it is because, in the words of a UK media lawyer, they are a classic ‘scraping’ site that simply hoovers up stories from other newspapers and presents them as their own often just minutes after they are published by the original site.

But worse than that they fail to credit the source and also often use identical headlines, introductions and even captions.

It is called plagiarism as we can see clearly from the Times, as an example, this week.

But tragically, it is not just the paper’s stories that are stolen… it is even its very own opinions.

Take last week’s ‘Our View’ (left) which lifted entire paragraphs from the Guardian newspaper.

People’s paper But then, what would you expect from the so-called ‘people’s paper’ that doesn’t even know the year it was born.

Why, for example celebrate its 21st birthday, last month, with a big fanfare, when Wikipedia states the paper’s first issue was in April 2002, making it 18?.

And to make matters worse its boss announced his 23rd work anniversary with the paper, just last week, on Facebook.

That would be FIVE years before it even launched.

When it comes to figures, will anyone ever believe anything it ever writes or says again?

As they say, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 for a special quote

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NEWS

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Back to school

SOME students have finally been allowed back to school after a two month hiatus due to COVID-19.

It forms part of the Government’s ‘Unlock the Rock’ plan to bring education back to normal in its education roadmap.

Only year groups two, six and 10 returned to school on May 26, with some classes only attending lessons in the morning and others in the afternoon.

Year 12 students will soon be able to see their teachers before the term ends in July.

From June 16, all students already back to school will be allowed to attend classes in the morning.

This is when the Government will decide what other year groups can be brought back.

It was reported that not one teacher has tested positive for coronavirus, during the Government’s testing of frontline workers.

Minister for Education Gilbert Licudi stated how the education roadmap was a ‘fluid plan’, with the steps liable to change depending on COVID-19 circumstances.

Staggered entry and dismissal measures will be introduced to make sure that social distancing is observed by students to reduce the risk of infection.

‘Staring into the abyss’

By John Culatto

GIBRALTAR’S Chief Minister broke down in tears during a live COVID-19 press conference.

Fabian Picardo had just explained the anguish of being told that a tenth of the Gibraltar population could be wiped out.

He said that handling the COVID-19 pandemic was ‘the most difficult thing’ he had ever done.

“At one stage, some of the numbers we were looking at were 3,000 or at least hundreds dead in a period of eight to 12 weeks,” he revealed.

“This is literally to stare into the abyss as it would mean A NEED to return to normality and get the economy back on-track were the reasons for Gibraltar allowing free movement before nearly every other country - as well as its low caseload - it has been revealed. Minister for Public Health John Cortes said ‘containment’ was the best strategy going for-

May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

Fabian Picardo described his fears at being told of the death the virus could cause

Gibraltar losing 10% of our population.

“We were building niches in the cemetery, not because we wanted to scare people, but to deal with that number of dead bodies.”

Rather than wash his hands of the imminent danger, however, he got straight to work.

He stopped bars and restaurants operating before limiting freedom of movement, one of the hardest things he TEARS FOR FEARS: Emotion overcame Fabian Picardo has ever done.

“Many generations of struggle around it, as we wish,” he said.

“It was the first time in the led to us having complete con- “And yet, overnight, we extin- British history of Gibraltar, trol over the geography of Gi- guished that for ourselves. that the civilian government braltar and the freedom to roam has restricted the movement of the civilian population in and around Gibraltar.” ward as the Rock became He described the way the panone of the first places to demic was handled as a ‘rollallow free movement on ercoaster of emotions’ from May 22. “If we were lookfear to elation, after which his ing for herd immunity we eyes filled with tears. would have said, ‘out you community.

“People He recomposed himself go, everybody catch it’,” need to get their lives enough to call social media said Cortes. “We are hopback and we need to get ‘a place for the most horrening that with the antibody the economy back on dous gossip and the most tests, we will be able to track, but never at the opinionated to give the worst determine what kind of risk of a single Gibralof themselves’. immunity we have in the tarian life.”

Back on track

Charging pollution GIBRATAR’s transport minister is looking to introduce a pollution tax on vehicles which are run on fossil fuels, he has said.

Vijay Daryanani said that Gibraltar cannot lose the momentum in improving air quality on the Rock, and that these measures would help create a ‘green Gibraltar’.

It comes as the COVID-19 lockdown has dropped carbon emission and air pollutant levels dramatically with fewer cars on the Rock’s roads.

With that, the minister told the Olive Press that they are considering the banning of ‘delivery vehicles that run on fossil fuels on Main Street.’

To discourage vehicle use, Midtown Car Park will introduce a parking fee of £1.80 per hour after being free to all cars during the daytime before.

A new park & ride bus service from the frontier and extra buses for school children are set to be announced within the next few weeks. Road tax will not be implemented as part of the Government’s transport strategy, as previously thought by the public.

Instead, Daryanani said that they are looking to introduce a ‘pollution tax’, and that the money received from the charge will go towards greener transport projects in the future. It is unclear the amount of money the tax will charge drivers when it gets introduced.

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Across 6 Austrian Alpine resident (8) 8 Immediately following (4) 9 Spoken (4) 10 Memento (8) 11 Paving substance (7) 14 In this place (4) 15 Leaf of a book (4) 16 Camera stands (7) 20 Type of effigy museum (8) 21 Intentions (4) 22 Breezy (4) 23 Applying a protective layer (8) Down 1 Table-top game (4) 2 Ship (6) 3 Muzzle (5) 4 Submerged half-way up the legs (4-4) 5 Stir to action (6) 7 Fenced areas (5) 12 Main roads (8) 13 Exclamation of contempt (3) 15 Tranquil (6) 17 Rural (6) 18 Fiend (5) 19 Stage items (5) 21 Skills (4)

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Bones, a testimony to pain THE medieval inhabitants of Muslim Granada suffered from terrible teeth, bad backs and painful joints, scientists have concluded after the remarkable discovery of 40 ancient tombs.

Archaeologists uncovered the graves in a suburb of the city, which was the last stronghold of the Nasrid dynasty whose greatest monument is the Alhambra Palace.

Nine specialists from the University of Granada and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), analysed the skeletons of 40 males and females ranging from newborns to 60-year-olds.

LA CULTURA

Making a killing Smash BBC TV drama is based on one of Spain’s most evil female terrorists

By Laurence Dollimore

Hard labour

They had been uncovered during excavations in the city’s ancient San Lazaro neighbourhood.

They found that the inhabitants of Middle Ages Granada were relatively small - on average 163.28cm (5ft 3”) for men and 157.95cm (5ft 1”) for women.

The experts concluded that the people analysed had led lives of hard physical labour, shown by evidence of inflammatory diseases to their joints and bones.

Many were afflicted with painful arthritis in their spines, fingers and feet. Poor dental hygiene meant they also suffered cavities, loss of teeth and tartar build-up.

However, infectious diseases were practically non-existent, at least in the bodies most recently discovered.

This surprised the analysts as they knew that the Black Death, or plague, wiped out a third of Granada’s population between 1348 and 1349, when it was still under Nasrid rule.

It had been assumed infections were widespread.

It was the last of the Muslim dynasties in Spain, founded

by Muhammad ibn al-Ahmar in Granada, and it endured for two-and-a-half centuries from 1238 to 1492.

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May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

Song and dance THE Granada International Festival of Music and Dance will launch on June 25, despite the crisis, it has been announced.

The 69th edition of the festival will be held ‘against all the odds’, the first such event to take place in Spain and in Europe.

It is going ahead, assuming Granada has entered Phase 3.

It will open in Granada Cathedral with the city’s orchestra and choir, under the direction of Andrea Marcon, performing Mozart’s Requiem to raise money for the Food Bank of Granada. On July 9, the Festival’s Medal will be awarded to the Spanish healthcare system. All shows are only permitted to have audience numbers at 50% capacity and cannot exceed 800 people.

ROLE MODEL: Comer’s character is based on killer Idoia Lopez Riano (left)

A RUTHLESS Spanish terrorist has been revealed as the subject matter behind one of the UK’s biggest TV hits of the last few years.

Former ETA killer Idoia Lopez Riano - aka La Tigresa - was the inspiration behind Villanelle, the psychopath viewers just can’t get enough of.

Played by Jodie Comer in the hit BBC series Killing Eve, she’s the cold-hearted killer for hire with an eye for fashion - and herself.

Incredibly vain, but equally brutal and lacking in any empathy, the Russian mercenary embarks on a cat-and-mouse game-cum-love affair with an MI6 officer played by Sandra Oh. But in the real world, the assassin who inspired the multi-lingual Villanelle is the former terrorist who was found guilty of killing 23 soldiers and policemen - and rumoured to be behind many more.

Luke Jennings, who wrote the novels behind the series, revealed that Comer’s character was actually based on Riaño, the infamous Basque separatist hitwoman, who was behind some of the worst bombings Spain has ever witnessed.

Jennings revealed how he first came up with Villanelle while reading about Riaño, who was behind the death of 12 young policemen from one car bomb in Madrid alone in 1986.

She was allegedly so evil she would seduce off duty Guardia Civil officers in bars in Bilbao and San Sebastian to later extract key sensitive information during pillow talk.

“She was clearly a psychopath and completely, completely without empathy,” Jennings said.

The vanity of Villanelle, which sees her often staring longingly at herself in mirrors and shop windows, also rings true of Riaño, who once became too distracted by her own reflection while en route to kill a policeman.

“At the key moment, Idoia, who was supposed to be doing the killings, didn’t actually see him because she was so entranced with the window of a fashionable store and her own reflection in it,” said Jennings.

Indeed her vanity was even noted by her killer compatriots, including fellow terrorist Juan Manuel Soares Gamboa, who once said she cared more about her appearance than murder.

In the TV series, Villanelle opts for female lovers who usually wind up dead or extremely damaged.

Riaño, who began her killing streak at just 20 years old, hid out in Algeria for seven years before being finally snared in France in the 1990s.

She is now 55 and is free after being released from jail in 2017 following a 23-year sentence.

Having lived for some years in Andorra, where her sister lives, she is now living in Barcelona, where she works for an NGO.

Raffle-winner bags Picasso for peanuts

AN Italian woman has won a Picasso painting worth €1 million in a raffle.

The painting, titled Nature Morte was painted in 1921 in Paris and is an oil-oncanvas depiction of a newspaper alongside a glass of absinthe.

Claudia Borgogno from Ventimiglia, north-western Italy received the raffle ticket as a Christmas present from her son.

Borgogno summed up her amazement: “I have never won anything before.”

Her son Lorenzo Naso referred to it as the

best decision he’s ever made in his life.

Neither Naso nor his mother had watched the raffle, in fact they didn’t even know when the draw was taking place.

“When I arrived and I told her she had won she was like: ‘Please don’t joke’,” he said.

The 51,140 tickets were sold for €100 each, with the proceeds going to provide water for villagers in Madagascar and Cameroon.

The draw was originally scheduled for March, but that was delayed due to the

coronavirus pandemic.

Although organisers valued the painting at €1 million, the art collector who provided it, David Nahmad, claims it’s worth at least two or three times that.

Nahmad will be paid €900,000 for the work. The painting was the smallest of 300 works by Picasso that he owns, the largest private collection of works by the Spanish artist. The date and style of Nature Morte are reflective of the ‘crystal’ period in the artist’s career.

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LA CULTURA

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The Fourth Reich In the third part of a special series on the nazis in Spain, Jon Clarke investigates the comfortable existence one of his former henchmen enjoyed on the Costa del Sol

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N a verdant Elviria urbanisation the smell of jasmine and honeysuckle hang heavy in the air and an anonymous two-bedroom bungalow sits below a towering cork oak tree.

A visitor could be forgiven for assuming that Las Cumbres was just another unremarkable costa suburb, but here, until the late 1990s, one of Hitler’s most loyal Nazi generals was able to live out a long and comfortable life.

Major general Otto Remer – who played a key role in quashing a major assassination plot against the Fuhrer in 1940 – was able to spend his final years in the modest €300,000 house surrounded by Nazi memorabilia and his ‘glorious’ memories.

Refusing to repent right up to his death in August 1997, he regularly received correspondence and visits from fellow Nazis around Spain, as well as his monthly subscription to the fascist magazine Halt.

Ultimately, the Nazi lived an enviable life on the sunshine coast, despite being a key member of Hitler’s Third Reich, which was responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people around Europe during the Second World War. The Olive Press has managed to

LA CULTURA

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April 29th - May 12th 2020

Nazi SPECIAL DISPATCH: A secret for U-boat base, macabre facilities bank facial reconstruction surgery, transactions traced to the highest echelons of the Third Reich. Conor McGlone (right) asks how Fuerteventura’s mysterious past sheds light on Spain’s troubled history

Jandia ISOLATED: Windswept Winter peninsula where Villa Nazis allegedly hid fleeing

The shadow of fascism

date val base. Local documents the peninsula from the house as being built in 1946, vowed to uncover crossed or cry pite- rines), Fumero coast to coast. but Vidal claims the "bunker" exterior, gulls wheel and the truth. nosed about the small base of the building was built beblustery weather. rooster calls. own life is As we stifling cores of roosting doves There is one conspicuous ex- ously. A stocky man barred our Gustav Winter's museum located in a in mystery. We know back room, I was struck by the fore the war. erupted from the de- ception. Few visitors make it A gruff, to Vidal, the 1.4-mea 'donation' as shrouded in 1928 he built the power thought that the According concrete crepit courtyard as we up a second dusty track, to Vil- way, demanding at a lopsided piece that CICER on neighbouring uncomfortable out without any tre-thick reinforced plant laid entered. I'm not easily la Winter, a grandiose turreted he gestured the vaulted ceiling, and with 'museo' scrawled island Las Palmas de Gran Ca- exhibits, in the or context, could be walls, looks susimpossibly at of wood spooked but something a imposing tower - that bag building, nestled mountains. In on it. This man, I later discov- naria, which has been described explanation treated as pure memorabilia, air felt very wrong. A punch like a lighthouse - are of the Fumero. base piciously German the Pedro of a was ered, corner, (see below). used building had as "a masterpiece and gloves hung in one all clues that the villa was grandfather his time Neo-nazi shrine the 1930s, when the setting Fumero's U-boats. the and engineering". During There were old Nazi uniforms couple of chained-up rottweilers war- to provision German Gran Canaria, Winter helped to build Villa Winter Budgies was constructed, were in the opposite. next to would have been even more re- his four uncles were hired by working on right) became fas- and news clippings, huge of the house was built rest The time radio sets and photographs languished in a birdcage,"History mote, accessible only by donkey Winter's family as guards of the (pictured top the war, in Vidal's opinThere were test after "an ideal place to hide cinated by the Jandía peninsula. an inscription that read: us." or camel. the end of the 70s. Legend has it that In 1939, Win- of dead soldiers.

The looking syringes ion as had brought house at is the cage that imprisons escape allied arrests". with tubes and nasty In the 90s the stillness Disturbing rumours arrived on Fuerteventuraon a as well as serious-looking batter- and several windowless There was an unnatural scent of us here. Legend Winter's sold the ter to have presence of filled with cash have ies, alleged by Fumero to the air and a strong house to a large a suitcase rooms, for example, could there has it that the mission to purchase the people. sedentary humanity but- it had base was conHigh-ranking hotel and con- special peninsula for the Nazis. powered submarines. engi- been used to conceal Darwin Vidal, a German was no turning back now here. who has been tirelessly struction compa- strategic structed by the Winter denied this until neer who has been working with Vidal, SS officers national archives been no small feat getting bring German engineer ny and his rela- While years to combing the in 1971, historians While the Canary Islandscheap Gustav Winter, underwent facial tives - unaware of his death there were German Fumero for the last four told me in Germany, said there is ample that the rumours, Winter collaboratto mind neatly packagedis much financed by the the sale - ceased agree in the Canaries ar- investigate indicates’ that the evidence that regime, bringing winter sunshine, there surgery to alter to receive the submarinesduring regime. the Nazi the war. This is ‘everything sun- Nazi used as a na- ed with was chipelago house they SecWinter more to Fuerteventura than salary the small declaring Spain you will During burn and cervezas. This risked ond World War, it their appearance had formerly re- despite Franco at the outbreak of May base - 26th 2020 know if like us you have to look af- to be neutralWorld War. He was, May 13th - 26thceived off- is said, the 13th the Second 2020 the 40-minute hair-raising acted as a secret house. indebted to HitU-boats, utilizing ter the in 2012 after all, heavilyhim brutally win road drive on Fuerteventura's Jandía launchpad for Returning from Tenerife rugged southern tip, the with a subterranean network of vol- and finding the place in a state ler for helping war. his rel- the Spanish civil After the war, it bepeninsula, to be rewarded Second World War, of utter disrepair, with volcanic canic caves. epic views of a ridge of a giant's came one of the last refuges of atives barely surviving in the During the was the Jandía peninsula of the mountains trailing like the Third Reich, where high-rank- squalid conditions, a heart-brofrom the rest stepping stones to the sea. lie ing SS officers fled to undergo fa- ken Fumero decided to stay to blocked off local inhabitants appearisland. The At the foot of the mountains cial surgery to alter their lives in look after them. Remembering were only allowed back in the miles of windswept beaches, his grandfather had 1950s, when the Franco regime ance, on the way to new stories and the sand white with perfect about the "upside-down finally removed a fence which in South America. goats and don- told him barely a speck of civilization light Now, wandering the ramshackle ships" (as he called the submasight, a tapestry of cloud,in the keys roam about LA CULTURA quickly and blue, changing OW could

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IN GOLD BLOOD

April 29th - May 12th 2020

SPECIAL DISPATCH: A secret Nazi U-boat base, macabre facilities for facial reconstruction surgery, bank transactions traced to the highest echelons of the Third Reich. Conor McGlone (right) asks how Fuerteventura’s mysterious past sheds light on Spain’s troubled history

ISOLATED: Windswept Jandia peninsula where Villa Winter allegedly hid fleeing Nazis

The shadow of fascism

S

cores of roosting doves blustery weather. exterior, erupted from the de- There is one conspicuous ex- ously. A gulls wheel and cry pite- rines), Fumero vowed to uncover crossed the peninsula from val base. Local documents date the truth. coast to coast. crepit courtyard as we ception. Few visitors make it A gruff, rooster calls. the house as being built in 1946, stocky man barred our Gustav Winter's own life is As we nosed entered. I'm not easily up a second dusty track, to Vilabout the small but Vidal claims the "bunker" or spooked but something in the la Winter, a grandiose turreted way, demanding a 'donation' as shrouded in mystery. We know museum located in a stifling base of the building was built beair felt very wrong. A punch bag building, nestled impossibly at he gestured at a lopsided piece that in 1928 he built the power back room, I was struck by the fore the war. and gloves hung in one corner, a the base of the mountains. In of wood with 'museo' scrawled plant CICER on neighbouring uncomfortable thought that the According to Vidal, the 1.4-mecouple of chained-up rottweilers the 1930s, when the building on it. This man, I later discov- island Las Palmas de Gran Ca- exhibits, laid out without any tre-thick reinforced concrete naria, which has been described explanation or context, could were in the opposite. Budgies was constructed, the setting ered, was Pedro Fumero. grandfather had as "a masterpiece of German treated as pure memorabilia,be walls, the vaulted ceiling, and languished in a birdcage, next to would have been even more re- Fumero's a imposing tower - that looks susan inscription that read: "History mote, accessible only by donkey helped to build Villa Winter and engineering". During his time Neo-nazi shrine (see below). piciously like a lighthouse - are his four uncles were hired by working on Gran Canaria, Winter is the cage that imprisons us."

There were old Nazi uniforms all clues that the villa was used or camel.

There was an unnatural stillness Disturbing rumours had brought Winter's family as guards of the (pictured top right) became fas- and news clippings, huge war- to provision German U-boats. house at the end of the 70s. cinated by the Jandía peninsula. to the air and a strong scent of us here. Legend time radio sets In the 90s the Legend has it that In 1939, Win- of dead soldiers.and photographs The rest of the house was built sedentary humanity but there has it that the Winter's sold the ter arrived on Fuerteventura with tubes and nasty There were test after the war, in Vidal's opinwas no turning back now - it had base was conlooking syringes ion as "an ideal place to hide house to a large a suitcase filled with cash on a as well as serious-looking High-ranking been no small feat getting here. batter- and escape allied arrests". The structed by the hotel and con- special mission to purchase the ies, alleged by While the Canary Islands bring German engineer Fumero to have presence of several windowless SS officers struction compa- strategic peninsula for the Nazis. powered submarines. to mind neatly packaged cheap Gustav rooms, for example, could have Winter, winter sunshine, there is much financed by the underwent facial ny and his rela- While Winter denied this until Darwin Vidal, a German engi- been used to conceal people. tives - unaware of his death in 1971, historians neer who has been more to Fuerteventura than sun- Nazi working with Vidal, who has been tirelessly regime. surgery to alter the sale - ceased agree that there were German Fumero burn and cervezas. This you will During the Secfor the last four years to combing the national archives know if like us you have risked ond World War, it their appearance to receive the submarines in the Canaries ar- investigate the rumours, told me in Germany, said there is ample small salary they chipelago during the war. This is ‘everything indicates’ the 40-minute hair-raising off- is said, the base that the evidence that Winter collaborathad formerly re- despite Franco declaring Spain Winter house was road drive on Fuerteventura's acted as a secret used as a na- ed with the Nazi regime, bringing ceived to look af- to be neutral at the outbreak of rugged southern tip, the Jandía launchpad for U-boats, utilizing the Second World War. He was, peninsula, to be rewarded with a subterranean network of vol- ter the house. epic views of a ridge of volcanic canic caves. After the war, it be- Returning from Tenerife in 2012 after all, heavily indebted to Hitmountains trailing like a giant's came one of the last refuges of and finding the place in a state ler for helping him brutally win of utter disrepair, with his rel- the Spanish civil war. stepping stones to the sea. the Third Reich, where high-rankAt the foot of the mountains lie ing SS officers fled to undergo fa- atives barely surviving in the During the Second World War, miles of windswept beaches, cial surgery to alter their appear- squalid conditions, a heart-bro- the Jandía peninsula was with perfect white sand and ance, on the way to new lives in ken Fumero decided to stay to blocked off from the rest of the look after them. Remembering island. The local inhabitants barely a speck of civilization in South America. sight, a tapestry of cloud, light Now, wandering goats and don- the stories his grandfather had were only allowed back in the and blue, changing quickly in the keys roam about the ramshackle told him about the "upside-down 1950s, when the Franco regime ships" (as he called the subma- finally removed a fence which

Hot on the heels of our expose on a Nazi U-boat base in the Canaries, Jon Clarke tracks the Nazi Gold Trail to Madrid and Gibraltar shedding new light on a shady chapter in history that has never been resolved MYSTERIOUS: Villa Winter and its cornocopia of Nazi memorabilia while (top) museum boss Fumero

H

a stockpile of looted Nazi gold movement of looted gold for larger than some decades. “Each of them were country’s bullion re- making offers. The British wanted the serves disappear without should not gold, insisting it trace? fall into the hands of the Americans, while The macabre mystery the been the subject of tirelesshas Germans wanted their gold in- protected by Franco, vestigations, books, conspiraofficially to be used for post war cy theories and even reconcivil suit brought a failed struction in Germany. the Vatican Bank in against “But we think it went to OpJanuary eration Odessa 2000. But the true story, to help Nazis Spain’s part in it - possiblyand escape to South America.” braltar’s too - has never Gi- The piles of gold in question fully – conservatively come out. estimated to have a value of at least The story began on a cold $138 and million – had been shivery morning in February amassed in a series of safe 1945 with a covert meeting deposit in boxes at the Institute Madrid. over the The clandestine assembly previous few years.

While many of the gold took place in the plush ingots floor office of the Instituto top had been looted from the de bank accounts of la Moneda, attended by Jews across rector and the heads its di- Eastern Europe and Germany the German and Britishof both through the 1930s and early secret 1940s, much services. of it had come from a much more of Nazi memoraThe topic: to decide, sinister alleged- source.

Villa Winter and its cornocopia STASHED: The hoard ly, how to divide up the MYSTERIOUS: was hidden boss Fumero Gib, believes mous stockpile of Nazi enor- “A lot of it was tooth gold exDr Shimon Samuels bilia while (top)inmuseum gold (inset) tracted from people who had Spain nor, most pertinently, – much of it looted from living in Spain in the 1990s – – that had found its wayJews been exterminated in the con- should the British have had string of meetings held scattered around the with country Spain towards the end into centration camps,” explains anything to do with it. There both German and but mostly in Andalucia. of the Dr Samuels, was English They Second World War. the Director for pankyclearly a lot of hanky agents in Madrid. handed this list in person going on.”

International Relations to “There were two British Taking place in February at the The fascinating then Spanish President agents Simon Wiesenthal Jose and four German agents,” chain of March, most interesting and Centre in events Maria Aznar, who insisted of all first came to claims Dr Shimon Samuels, Jerusalem. was the entry in the diary there was little when Samuels and his light for “This was looted who has investigated colthat could be April 19. the should not have gold and it league Dr Ephraim Zuroff, been here in the done.

“It noted simply world’s most famous Gold had been that The ingot trail the gold zi-hunter, spent time in NaSpain drew more suchad been put on alongside Spanish investigaput on a train cess and the a train to Tarifa tor Jose Maria Irujo. team of investo Tarifa and and from there The group had been trying tigators it was transascertain how and where to quite from there to literally struck ferred to a buildbillions of dollars in Nazi the gold when they ing in Gibraltar.” had ended up after the gold Gibraltar war in stumbled upon An intriguing September 1945. the ageing widand Most importantly they highly wanted ow of the former director damning to know who among the for the Allied authorities,note the Instituto de la Moneda. of hierachy might have Nazi the team from the Simon bene“It was a stroke of luck fited from it. They spent that thal Centre wasted noWiesenshe was still alive to number of months compilinga time in tell us heading south to investigate the story,” says Dr Samuels. a list of ten key people further. who “And, even better, she were allegedly still reBut after weeks of pressing, called how all of her the Gibraltar authorities best sheets, blansisted they were unable inkets and tablecloths to find any sign of the gold. had disappeared “Of course we pushed around that time but we met a complete them and how she now brick wall. The trail went realised that they cold. It was absolutely scandalous.” had almost cerThe Gold Trail that emanated tainly been used to from Germany in the cover and carry the spread out in a number1940s mountains of gold of directions. ingots.”

It included everything On top of that, the silverware and watchesfrom widow had even to wedding rings and gold kept a copy of her stained with human teeth late husband’s diblood.

The Nazis had seized ary, including the most of it as they ejected Jews entries for 1945, from their homes around which included a Europe and Germany. Eastern Remarkably efficient, the Jews’ belongings were minutely chronicled, explained investigator Ronald Zweig.

“The crucial period was around April 1944, when the Jews were handing over their property; it was put into individual bags and closed in front of them,” he explained.

“The address was recorded, TRACKED: Gold was set by armoured train and they were from Germany given receipts,

TRIO: Our first two features on the nazis in the last two issues

track down his home – rumoured to have been paid for by Spanish neo-Nazis – and even the nurse who cared for him in his final years as he became old and infirm.

Jean Goulder, from Burnley, revealed how he refused to acknowledge his part in the world’s worst human rights atrocity.

TRACKED: Our uncovering of the Nazis’ Spanish exploits (left), while (top) Remer’s Costa del Sol pile and (right) its gardener Santi Esteban Gomez A holocaust denier he failed to repent and even, according to a separate source, mocked Jews whenever they appeared on television.

“He kept a glass cabinet full of items from the war and photo albums with pictures of his time in the army,” explains Goulder.

“All in all he was very proud of his past.”

Remer had fled to the Costa del Sol to escape charges in Germany of inciting racial hatred with his continual questioning of the holocaust right into the 1980s.

He had become a writer and published articles on the war and the holocaust after being released as a prisoner of war in the mid

1940s.

An infamous holocaust denier and a firm believer in Hitler’s politics, he had been commanded by the Fuhrer himself to quash the July 20 plot against him in 1940.

The quelling of the plot led to him being promoted to Hitler’s senior ranks, which is where he stayed for the duration of the war.

In the early 1990s he was forced to flee from Germany to southern Spain where he had a number of good contacts. that I worked with him, but eventualLas Cumbres gardener Santi Este- ly the interest died down,” continues ban Gomez remembers the publicity Goulder. that followed his arrival as a fleeing “He had to keep quiet after that as holocaust denier. he knew they were “There were police kept after him in his own outside his house for a country.”

Guarded by good while, maybe a In fact, Remer was month or so,” he re- Franco’s troops protected by Spanish calls. despite his home to protect the law, “We thought they were country’s wish to exkeeping him from going tradite him to GermaNazi ‘holiday anywhere but actually ny and face charges. camp they were protecting Under Spanish law him from people who he had committed no may have wanted to crime as he was conharm him.” sidered to be exercising his right to His nurse also witnessed the pub- freedom of speech. licity surrounding the arrival of the Remer, of course, was just one famous Nazi. among many Nazis who fled Germa“There was a lot of press waiting ny in the years after the war to avoid outside his house the first day or two repercussions for their actions.

IDYLL: Elviria in Marbella hid one of Hitler’s inner circle for years

LA CULTURA

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May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

DEFIANT: Remer as a young general had stopped a plot against Hitler and (right) his memorial service bedecked with fascist motifs Many (under Operation Trampoline) used Spain as a local jumping off point for South America, where right-wing leaders greeted them with open arms.

However, a lot also benefited from Franco’s protection and stayed to make a life for themselves without intrusion from the outside world.

José María Irujo, author of The Black List, estimates that whole colonies of them lived here undisturbed for decades. “Many lived out their lives here and died peacefully,” he says.

“We are talking about hundreds of people and the Spanish government never did anything.”

Efraim Zuroff, from human rights organisation the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, adds that Spain has ‘a horrendous record on Nazi war criminals’.

The Olive Press has discovered countless examples of small communities of Germans that existed on the Costa del Sol from the 1940s.

Last month, we told the story about the nazis who lived on in Fuerteventura, in the Canaries, after the war, many with lots of the so-called ‘nazi gold’ to keep them bankrolled for decades.

On the Costa de la Luz, in Cadiz, meanwhile numerous Nazis were said to have been given plots of land by Franco’s government to quietly l i v e o u t t h e i r days.

In particular, in and around the exclusive

FUHRER FACT Hitler and General Franco only met once when the former visited Spain in 1940. While Franco was in awe of the Nazi leader, Hitler declared that speaking to Franco was worse than a trip to the dentist. When he declined to join the war Hitler told Mussolini the Spanish leader was ‘a coward’.

urbanisation of Atlanterra, a number of Nazis were said to have set up home (curiously also where Kenneth Noye, Britain’s former public enemy number one, also still has a home).

One long time expat, who asked not to be named, explains how the son of a former SS officer told him how his family were often joined by other Nazis, near Barbate, where they used to head for rest and relaxation.

He said the enclave was guarded by Franco’s troops both during and after the war to protect the Nazi ‘holiday camp’.

Nearer to the Costa del Sol, inland at a place called Barranco Blanco, between Coin and Alhaurin, another infamous camp was apparently set up by Franco himself.

Said to have chosen the area of natural beauty as a retreat for his close friends, the well-fortified base was the home of a number of Germans.

“There was quite a big German community living there next to a lake, known for its trout fishing,” said Amanda Jane Reynolds, who lived in the area for 30 years.

“My parents often used to go there for lunch in a German-run restaurant and you had to go past armed guards to get in.”

These days while Barranco Blanco has remnants of the towers that were once guarded by Franco’s civil guards, l o c a l s refuse to talk about the area’s chequered history.

Nearer to the home of Remer, another community of Germans literally disappeared overnight when Franco died in November 1975.

According to local gardener Santi Esteban the group that lived at Camping Marbella Playa fled to South America, fearing persecution with Franco’s protection gone.

“They lived in small chalet-style homes, which literally emptied overnight,” he said.

“Nazis, who had enjoyed immunity under Franco, foresaw the media storm that would approach and fled before their pasts caught up with

HIDING IN THE COSTA SHADOWS: (From left) Fredrik Jensen, Leon Degrelle and Albert Speer

by Hitler. them.”

Nazi hunters did indeed descend on Jensen – who was one of very few the costas to try and bring Hitler’s foreigners to receive the highest footmen to justice. However often decoration granted by Hitler – had they were too late as their targets fled the US after being deported there to face trial for war crimes in had fled or died.

In 2005 one of the 1994. most wanted Nazi war Surprise, surprise he criminals of all alleged- Injecting poison ended up being disly escaped Spanish pocovered living in Marand petrol into bella in 1999. lice and could still be living at large in South Jensen served in a the hearts of America. number of SS units Aribert Heim, who was Jews and timing and fought on the front known as Dr Death at during the war before their deaths Mauthausen concenspending time in an tration camp for his American military hossadistic experiments pital and eventually on inmates, counted Spain as one of being jailed for ten years for fighting his hideouts. for the Nazis.

He allegedly evaded capture by When he was released from jail, he Spanish police after being helped moved to Sweden where he made out of the country by fellow Nazis. his fortune.

His children claimed the war crimi- Interpol classed Jensen as a war nal – tried in absentia in Germany criminal and in 1994 he was deportfor crimes such as injecting poison ed to the US for war crimes, but from and petrol into the hearts of Jews there he disappeared. and timing their deaths – had died In fact Jensen and his wife Karin in Cairo in 1992. had moved to the urbanisation of But increasing numbers of sightings Las Belbederes populated by retired in Spain and sizeable bank transfers Scandinavians and enjoyed the sunfrom his family to the Catalan town shine and easy life. of Palafrugell caused an internation- Another unrepentant Nazi was Belal search to focus on the Costa Bra- gian Leon Degrelle. He had been va and southern Spain until the trail sentenced to death for collaborawent suddenly cold in 2005. tion after the war, but managed to It is alleged he may have been escape to Spain in a plane provided helped to escape by Fredrik Jensen, by Albert Speer, which he crash landa Norwegian Nazi who served in the ed in San Sebastian before heading SS and was awarded the Gold Cross south.

He made a life for himself in Malaga, where he continued to host meetings with Nazis and European right-wing extremists and lived very comfortably, running a construction firm which benefited from state projects.

He often attended formal functions dressed in his German SS uniform and, in a 1977 interview claimed he would be a Hitler fan until the day he died.

While Interpol listed him as wanted, he evaded a kidnap attempt by Belgian authorities, then ruled out any further chances of extradition by becoming a naturalised Spanish citizen in 1954.

How many such Nazis remain here is unknown, but Nazi hunters have long been appalled by the lack of cooperation from Spain in seeking out those who need to be brought to justice.

Dr Shimon Samuels of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre presented a list of Nazis granted refuge in Spain. “But none of them have been prosecuted and several died with impunity in Spain,” he says.

With neither time nor the authorities on their side, it looks likely that the Nazi hunters will have to stand by helpless, as the last few remaining Nazis live out their days in the shadows of the costas.

This article was first published in 2009

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

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May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

Open for business MIJAS’S popular street markets have reopened.

A series of safety measures have been brought in, including perimeter fencing and barriers to try to keep customers distanced as well as minimum

Anything but easy

EASYJET has announced that it will resume some of its flights on June 15, ahead of a bigger resumption on July 1.

The low-cost airline is only starting routes where it believes ‘there is sufficient customer demand to support profitable flying.’

That includes only one Spanish airport, Barcelona, and 10 UK airports, among them London Gatwick, Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast International.

Meanwhile, Easyjet’s lowcost rival, Jet2 will resume all flights and holidays on July 1, pushing back the original date of June 17. A Jet2 employee told the Olive Press that workers will have to go back to work a week or two earlier in order to get things running.

spacing between stalls.

Each market pitch will be disinfected before and after the day’s trading and vendors will have to wear gloves and masks, and use disinfecting gels.

One for daredevils

SPECTACULAR: Caminito’s cliffside walkway THE reopening of the death-defying Caminito del Rey has been delayed until June 12. Tickets are now on sale with availability until the end of July. Open from Friday to Sunday there will be 550 visitors allowed per day.

OP Puzzle solutions Across: 6 Tyrolean, 8 Next, 9 Oral, 10 Souvenir, 11 Asphalt, 14 Here, 15 Page, 16 Tripods, 20 Waxworks, 21 Aims, 22 Airy, 23 Painting.

Down: 1 Pool, 2 Vessel, 3 Snout, 4 Knee-deep, 5 Excite, 7 Yards, 12 Highways, 13 Tut, 15 Placid, 17 Rustic, 18 Demon, 19 Props, 21 Arts.

SUDOKU

Quick Crossword

Can’t have your cake THE Mediterannean diet may be the pinnacle of a balanced diet, but neither olive oil nor fresh vegetables feature in the top 10 products bought by Spaniards during the lockdown.

Cakes and confectionery instead hold the top spot for supermarket purchases during Spain’s state of alarm, according to a report.

These are followed by spices, cheese and frozen fish.

The report by consumer statistics site Nielsen found the top purchases during the beginning of the state of alarm, on March 14, included basics such as toilet paper, rice, pasta and beans.

Then as a panicked public realised the supermarkets would not sell out, sales of beer, wine and confectionary began to skyrocket.

It comes as the Official College of Dietitians and Nutritionists of the Valencian Community is fearing an increase in obesity following the coronavirus lockdown. The increase in the purchases of chocolate, cakes and alcoholic beverages, together with a decrease in physical ac-

x

But Spanish avoid Med diet staples in favour of comfort foods during the lockdown

By Joshua Parfitt

tivity, could leave a lasting impact on the health of Spaniards.

“Now that we are getting back to work, we are starting to see what’s ahead of us,” said Rafael Birlanga, the president of the college.

“Some 80% of nutritionists who have participated in a study of ours believe there has been a worsening in health and that levels of overweight and obesity have increased during this period of quarantine.”

You are a healthy lot!

The 10 products with the highest sales include, in order: 1. Cakes and confectionary 2. Spices and flavourings 3. Grated cheese 4. Frozen fish 5. Dried fruit 6. Sanitary/ hygiene products 7. Sauces and condiments 8. Coffee 9. Beer 10. Tinned and preserved fish

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Aubergines with attitude Life may be too short to stuff a mushroom but the plump purple berenjena makes it so worthwhile

F I

OR the last two months they have been holed up in Granada following a coronavirus travel nightmare (Into the frying pan, Issue 340, March 16). But now British couple Yianni Papoutsis, 44 and Sophie O’Hara,

26, have turned lockdown into a culinary showdown.

To continue their new series of quarantine recipes for the Olive Press, the pair give us a wonderful way to fill a delicious local aubergine.

have a childhood memory of my Greek aunt pulling steaming trays full of Papoutsakia (little shoes) out of the oven first thing in the morning, before the heat of the day made cooking unbearable. I used to sneak a couple, scalding hot, there and then although these yummy stuffed aubergines were made to be enjoyed cold over the next couple of days.

Even though they grow wild in India and Africa and have been cultivated in China since the fifth century, Euro-

peans missed out on aubergines until they were introduced by the Moors in the Middle Ages.

Different culinary cultures stuff their aubergines differently - meaty, veggie, vegan. Berenjenas rellenas in Spain are stuffed with mince and topped with béchamel, as they are in Greece. I'll admit to leaning towards the Greek flavours but anything from Bolognese to minced meat with onions in gravy works, depending on what you fancy.

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May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

Castaway cooking

Serves 2

Ingredients: ●● 1 aubergine ●● 2 tbsp olive oil ●● 1 bay leaf ●● 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon ●● 1/4 tsp ground cloves ●● 1 tsp oregano ●● 1 tsp thyme ●● 250g minced pork, beef or lamb ●● 1 small onion, finely chopped ●● 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped ●● 50ml red or white wine ●● 200g tinned tomatoes The béchamel: ●● 25g butter ●● 25g all purpose flour ●● 220ml milk ●● 50g melty cheese (Tierno, gruyere, Emmental, cheddar etc.) ●● 1 egg yolk ●● 1/4 tsp nutmeg ●● Salt and pepper to taste ●● 1 handful of parsley

By Yianni and Sophie

Method: Step 1: cut it in half lengthways.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Remove the green stem of the aubergine and not to pierce the skin With a sharp knife score a criss-cross pattern over the flesh, being careful (but don’t worry if you do).

Step 2: roast flesh side down for Rub the flesh with olive oil and season heavily with salt and pepper; from the oven and cool.

Remove . wrinkled is skin the and soft is flesh the until 20-40 minutes Step 3: then add the onions, While the aubergine is baking, fry the mince in hot oil until it starts to brown, wine, scraping any yummy garlic, herbs & spices; cook until the garlic begins to brown. Add the the alcohol has boiled off. brown bits off the bottom of the pan and simmer for five minutes until Step 4: ally until most of the Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered stirring occasion soggy. be will es aubergin your or ‘wet’ too not is it sure Make liquid has evaporated.

Step 5: then slowly add the flour, Make the béchamel: melt the butter in a small saucepan on a low heat, to turn the heat up stirring continuously until it forms a paste. Be patient and don’t be tempted too high, it will take about five minutes to cook the flour.

Step 6: will slowly come together Add the milk in stages, incorporating it all before adding any more. It sauce. creamy into a smooth, Step 7: Add your cheese and stir until it has completely melted, then stir in the egg yolk and nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

Step 8: Assemble the shoes! Mash the aubergine flesh with a fork until you’ve hollowed out a container for the meat. Fill the aubergines with the meat, then spoon the béchamel over the top.

Step 9: Cook in the oven at 200C for 20 minutes or until the bechamel has turned golden brown. Garnish with parsley and serve hot with red wine or cold with white wine, and a couple of slices of crusty bread.

Stay tuned for more and check out their blog @nice.olation

on Instagram.

...AND WE’RE BACK! Vejer de la Frontera

Opens Friday 5th June Lunch every day Dinner Friday & Saturday

Opens Friday 5th June Friday Saturday & Sunday lunch & dinner 12h to sunset Wednesday closed

Opens Friday 5th June Friday & Saturday 12-23h Sunday 12-17h Mon to Thur closed

Opens Friday 5th June Open every day 12-20h

Hotel opens Friday 5th June

Opens Friday 26th June

Opens Friday 19th June 12-20h every day

Hotel opens Friday 19th June

For reservations and more information about our COVID-19 measures see our website califavejer.com

HEALTH

14

May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

KO-ing the corona kilos How one leading doctor tied a virtual knot in her overeating habits with a Gastric Mind Band, writes Dilip Kuner WHILE many of us have been piling on the lockdown pounds, one woman has been waging war on weight with an incredible mind therapy that gives the corona-kilos a slim chance of victory.

British doctor Elisabeth Adams has been steadily shedding surplus fat since flying to Spain

to complete the non-surgical Gastric Mind Band (GMB) treatment in December.

Not the easiest time to lose weight, the 54-year-old gynaecologist returned to her Somerset home with fresh resolve and was delighted to see her waistline shrinking throughout the festive period.

When lockdown hit, confining her to the house with husband David and teenage children Jamie, 17, and daughter Alex, 13, her efforts could so easily have been derailed.

“Two teens certainly get through the food and they have been demanding chocolate

Snakes alive!

Lisa Burgess

Lisa Burgess confronts her inner serpent during lockdown and puts it right back in its cage...

M

ENTAL health is often neglected in these dire times so to keep the brain firing on all cylinders I do frequent Zoom quizzes in Dulwich with my British, Irish and French friends.

Friday night was girls versus boys and the subject was history. When asked what battle English Henry V won against the French, I was at the ready with the Battle of Agincourt but got stuck on what film was written and directed by Luc Besson in 1994? I knew it, it was on the tip of my tongue but my opponents got it: Leon (Lion).

Talking about ferocious beasts, my Facebook Memories threw up a picture of me with a large snake and 3 Irish models from 5 years ago, when I worked on Ireland AM's morning show. It was a moment in time where I had to face my ‘ophidiophobia’ and get on with it, much like my carcinophobia (fear of cancer). Actually, the snake was charming!

As I was browsing my happy

SLIPPERY CHARACTER: Some of Lisa’s old TV friends memories there was a sudden thud from my washing machine. Let's put this in context: the fridge, cooker and washing machine have all had to be replaced recently due to their antiquity, much like myself and The Hundred Years War ensued when my fella Joffrey, a chef in case you don’t know, did not appreciate that my TWO dressing gowns were being held captive in the load, hiss spit.

I commenced immediate social distancing from the kitchen and to say we were in a spin is an understatement but it was eventually resolved

by Chef with a little help from Alexa.

Prior to the laundry skirmish, we agreed Joff would trim my hair but I cast a beady eye on him hacking vigorously away at the onions and decided Mona Lisa should remain Co-

rona Lisa.

We were looking forward to our first night out in Phase 1, courtesy of friends at a luxury villa in La Cala, for another fierce quiz clash themed on the animal kingdom.

During my research, I found that spitting cobras can blind an adult male lion in seconds.

I pondered on the subject of toxicity and emotional well-being, especially the tumultuous internal mind battle one faces under lockdown.

The words of William Shakespeare's Henry V gave me some much-needed counsel: ‘men of few words are the best men’. It made me realise that my own human behaviour needs adapting so I intend to hold my asp tongue and be more subdued lioness at the quiz, the better to direct my focus on winning the lion’s share of the points!

biscuits with menaces, so the temptation is always there,” Elisabeth, from Taunton, told the Olive Press.

Obesity is a high risk factor for a serious reaction to Covid-19 but the GMB programme kept her on the BIG BATTLE: Elisabeth has lost straight and narrow.

“I was sceptical about GMB eight kilos in just six months beforehand and my husband, GMB in Fuengirola, in Spain, on tional approach,” she continwho is also a gynaecologist, Google. I was pretty sceptical ues. “Now, I already knew a lot was even more so,” she conbut also intrigued.” of the things they were telling tinues.

So she booked a flight to com- me because it’s part of my job, “However, it was amazing how plete the three-day programme but they reinforced the knowlwell it worked and it has continat the Elite Clinic, run by well edge I already had. ued to work.” established expats Martin and “Hypnotherapy was a small part She explained that her deMarion Shirran. of the whole process, but the imcision to try the programme “I was impressed straight mersive three-day programme (which incorpoaway,” she con- was so much more… it was very rates both cognitinues.

“Mari- impressive.” tive behavioural I was advising on and Martin Since she started her therapy, therapy and are very caring. six months ago, Elisabeth, who clinical hypnosis) patients to lose Working as a works with the Nuffield group, came about due health profes- has managed to lose eight kilos weight and to the amount sional, I know to bring her BMI down to 28. of her obese pagetting larger how difficult it “I still have a way to go but I am tients she sees can be to give very pleased with how things are myself on a weekly bapeople the time progressing, especially with the sis. and attention added hazard of being locked Many of them are they need. indoors with the biscuit tin.” too overweight to even have the “My first session was due to Her tips for people struggling most simple of procedures, and take two or three hours but I with their weight during the conshe has long recommended emerged after eight. tinued lockdown here in Andalutaking the normal gastric band “Their philosophy is to really cia, and most of Spain – and at surgery, which is far more invadelve deep down into the pa- any other time for that matter? sive. tient’s psychology. A lot of eat- “If you are stressed, bored or “Patients understandably find ing problems start at the sub- tired it is a very easy release to it worrying. But the danger conscious level and need to be eat to compensate. is if they don’t deal with their properly dug into.

“Think of doing something else. weight problem, the other “Martin and Marion are pas- And get out of the habit of eating more important issues resionate about getting to the too much. Stop when you feel main,” she adds. root cause. That was very ob- you have had enough – even So she started looking around vious. if it means leaving food on the for an alternative – and not “They also take a very educa- plate.” only for her patients.

Incredibly, despite all the options available in the UK, she found her solution on the Costa del Sol. And she elected to be the test case.

Martin and Marion Shirran’s GMB treatment has At five foot seven inches tall garnered world-wide recognition, acres of newspaand weighing 91 kilos, by her per and magazine coverage and appearances on own admittance she was ‘clintelevision shows across the world. ically obese’, with a BMI of They flew to New York to appear on Good Morn31.5. ing America TV show, which has the biggest En“I was very conscious that glish-speaking audience on the planet, as well as while I was advising patients to being featured on Britain’s ITV Daybreak and This lose weight, I was getting larger Morning. Since founding Elite Clinic in Fuengirola myself,” she reveals. in 2004, they have helped hundreds of patients to “Then up popped resolve all kinds of problems, from smoking and drinking addictions to insomnia, phobias and depression. Visit www.gmband.com or phone 34 951 311 591

Global enterprise

Stubbed out

THE sale of menthol cigarettes has been banned throughout Spain.

The ban is part of EU rules that were passed in 2016 and shops found selling them will face fines of up to €10,000.

The ruling was passed as,

Spain bans sale of ‘gateway smoking’ menthol cigarettes while menthol cigarettes are seen as less harmful, they are actually just as bad for your health, if not worse.

THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the coronavirus may never go away.

Even if a vaccine is found, controlling the virus will be a ‘massive effort’.

“It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away,” said Dr Mike Ryan.

There are currently more than 100 potential vaccines in development, but he highlighted how measles is still not eliminated completely, de-

Menthol also has a dilating effect on the pulmonary alveoli, which causes a faster absorption of nicotine from tobacco by the consumer.

This in turn has a powerful addictive spite already having vaccines. effect, which However it is still possible to conindirectly introl the virus, but there is no guarcreases the anteed way of easing restrictions addictive powithout triggering a second wave of tential of the infections. product as a It comes as the UN warned that the whole. pandemic was causing widespread “These fladistress and mental health, particvours inularly in countries where there’s crease the a lack of investment in mental attractivehealthcare. ness of the

Here to stay

product and there is a false perception that they are healthier or less harmful than other cigarettes,” said a spokesman for Spain’s health ministry.

“Some consumers choose this alternative instead of quitting permanently, which has a negative impact on your health.”

Campaigners have welcomed the new law on the so-called ‘gateway smoking’ products, as they encourage young people to pick up the habit.

The EU regulations also state that health warnings must now cover 65% of the packaging and it also bans promoting tobacco products, e-cigarettes and ‘herbal products’ for smoking.

BUSINESS

Feel the fear and do it anyway Jonathan Holdaway recalls the crash of 87 and why you SHOULD be planning your finances during the current crisis

W

RITTEN by Susan Jeffers, this is the title of one of the first ‘motivational’ books I received as a Christmas present in 1987, just over two months after ‘Black Monday’ on October 19.

This was the first stock market crash I had experienced in my career, and was sudden, severe and largely unexpected. It came straight after the weekend of the great storm of 1987, and wiped off around 23% of the value of the FTSE 100 in two days.

I remember going out to help save my father’s boat that weekend, as it was moored a little offshore and in danger of being set adrift and wrecked. At that time I was unaware that the markets were about to suffer a similar fate.

At that time everyone thought it was the end of the world and yet, looking back at a chart of the FTSE 100 now, it is hardly discernible as a little blip on an otherwise relentless rise upwards.

There is a standard warning which is often quoted about investments: ‘the value can go down as well as up’ and this would be one that appeals to the pessimists amongst us.

However, as an optimist and with my experience of many stock market crashes over the last 30 years or so, I prefer ‘what comes down must go up again’.

In fact, I would go as far as to say why wouldn’t you want to buy something at a 20 to 30% discount?

Now is also a great time to do some proper financial lifetime cashflow planning a key component of my wealth planning proposition.

My clients can literally see what their financial future may look like and discover their own ‘number’. This is the amount of money they will need, factoring in future expected life events in order to achieve everything they want to in their life. Bringing money to life.

It allows them to incorporate any proposed changes and examine the impact before going ahead with them.

‘What if’ scenarios can also be included, to test the resilience of their plan, so that the effects of a future crisis, and another stock market crash can be assessed in the plan.

It’s a highly successful, innovative way of connecting people to their money, allowing them to stay on track, no matter what the world throws at them.

Ensure that your money doesn’t run out before you do – let me provide you with a plan and help keep you on track until you achieve your goals, and answer some of the questions previously posed by my clients.

Can I afford to retire at 60, or at least move to a three-day week?

Can we afford to give our kids £25k as a deposit for a house?

If I retired at 60, how long could we maintain our lifestyle and when would the money run out?

What growth rate do I need in my portfolio to meet my future plans?

No lifetime cashflow plan can predict your future but as General Eisenhower once said, ‘Plans are a waste of time. But planning is essential’.

Contact me for a no obligation investment product and/or portfolio review and at my expense on +34 654 898 303/+44 77230 27864 or email me at jonathan.holdaway@chasebuchanan.com I’ll even buy the coffee.

Visit BinckBank.com/opportunity

Making a Splash

IT’S that time of year when the weather is starting to get warmer and despite the coronavirus lockdown people want to take a dip.

But after the long winter lay-off, would-be bathers may find their pools are not quite in top condition.

The good news is that Splash Pools has re-opened its premises on the Mijas road, on urbanisation Doña Pilar, just by the Valpairaso restaurant.

In fact, the family-run business run by Sammi and Paul Clueit since 1999, has maintained its operations throughout all but three weeks of the lockdown. These include general

maintenance as well as leak detection and major renovations.

But now they have been able to open the doors to their retail premises to people who need help and advice as well as to pick up any chemicals and spare parts that they need.

Sammi said: “We are always happy to help, but it is a good idea to phone first to see if we can advise over the line or to make sure we have in stock whatever you need.” She added that if you need a particular part, then to take it along to ensure an exact replacement.

You can call them on 952 591 053

We will not fly

Spain swaps foreign holidays for domestic breaks as tourist spending set to take corona hit

HALF of Spaniards have said they will not go on holiday this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A new survey has also revealed that four out of 10 ‘will not fly’ until a vaccine for the killer virus is developed.

Domestic spots like the Costa del Sol, where 65% of holiday homes are Spanish-owned, are therefore the most popular option.

Of the 50% of respondents who intend to take a vacation, 41% will do so in Spain, according to the EY-Parthenon study of 2,106 people.

An additional 8% who were due to holiday abroad, will now also take a break domes-

ISLAND BREAK: Mallorca this year?

tically, while 9% still plan to travel outside Spain in 2020. Meanwhile the research is damning for tourist spending, with 42% of those polled saying they will shell out ‘less, much less or nothing’.

However, 16% claimed they would be willing to increase their holiday budget and 38% said it would remain unchanged.

ANDALUCIA’S regional government has pledged €1.6 bilOn the other hand, 70% lion towards upgrading hotels with a new ‘Grand Luxury’ said they would be open to classification taking the lion’s share. spending ‘a bit more’ if they The Junta’s Governing Council aims to “restore competitivewere allowed more wiggle ness to a sector that had been waiting 16 years for this deroom over cancellations cree,” according to vice president of the Board, Juan Marin. and booking modifications.

The money has been promised over the course of five years, The study also found that with €1.1 billion earmarked to partly finance new hotels in 70% of people would spend the Grand Luxury sector. the same in cafes, bars and Another €500 million has been promised to help existing restaurants, with the other three, four and five star establishments 30% likely to splash ‘less, that want to improve their category between 2020 and 2021. much less or no cash at all’.

Cash for luxury

TURBULENCE ON THE STOCK MARKET BRINGS OPPORTUNITIES Talk to us today

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May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

Spain: (+34) 951 56 56 56 UK: (+44) 203 901 2756 Email: info@binckbank.com www.binckbank.com

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Cooking for trouble…

FINAL WORDS

AROUND 200 chefs – including several Michelin-starred – have marched on Congress in Madrid in their whites to demand more help from the government during the coronavirus crisis.

Biting problem IBIZA residents are suffering from a plague of mosquitoes that have bred in stagnant hotel and second-home swimming pools left unattended during the lockdown.

Stuck fast TWO hikers in Cartagena had to be rescued by sea after they decided to try to reach a beach, but got stuck on a steep slope at the foot of Monte Roldan.

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May 27th - Jun 9th 2020

A star is born

Speaking the lingo SPAIN can look forward to a rapid return of British tourists, according to internet search figures.

And once they get here, many more will be able to speak Spanish.

The country has been the most searched holiday destination online during the coronavirus

Lockdown Brits have been honing their Spanish skills for their next trip to the costas, study reveals lockdown in the UK. A survey by Holiday Extras named Spain as the number one place people wanted to

visit when travel restrictions are lifted.

The same study also found that 81% of respondents were

Sky’s the limit GETTING creative is one sure way of enticing punters back to your business.

One local hotel went sky high to prove that its restaurant terrace and its gardens were meeting social distancing regulations.

The Kempinski Hotel, in Estepona, sent up a drone and got this unusual aerial shot showing its facilities in perfect shape to open.

Part of its ‘White Gloves Service’ health and safety protocol the security of guests and staff is paramount, although no exact date has been set for its opening.

Yelmo Cinemas meanwhile, send out a photo of two Star Wars stormtroopers to promote the fact that its establishments are opening in Phase 2 of the lock- STYLISH: Kempinski Hotel’s down exit strategy. May the force be with them. stunning aerial shot

looking forward to an overseas trip once free to do so.

And with the news that Spain’s quarantine restrictions to be lifted on July 1 they are soon be able to fulfil their vacation dreams.

But frustrated holidaymakers have not just been dreaming of a trip to sun-kissed Mediterranean shores during lockdown.

Many have been preparing for their much anticipated journeys by learning Spanish during their long hours at home.

Online learning platform Tutorful has noticed an 81% spike in the number of language lessons taken during April.

Mark Hughes, CEO at Tutorful, explained: “We recorded a huge jump in our online language lessons, with Spanish taking the top spot.

“There were four times as many Spanish classes taking place on our platform in April than in March.”

A SPANISH politician has become an internet hit – or rather the ostrich that photobombed him during a press conference has.

Miguel Angel Revilla, the President of Cantabria, was totally oblivious to the special guest that ended up stealing the show.

A video showed the inquisitive bird standing behind the politician and looking over his shoulder.

The bird looked at everything that was happening in absolute amazement.

Homer

The incident occurred when Revilla held a press conference to speak about the reopening of a zoo.

However, he did not notice the bird and continued speaking.

It was only later that the politician noticed the inquisitive bird. Proving he has a sense of humour, Revilla posted on social media an image of the incident together with one of Homer Simpson in an uncannily similar situation.

TM

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11/5/20 9:45