Olive Press Newspaper – Issue 227

Offices at the Puente Romano Hotel & opposite the Marbella Club Hotel Tel. (+34) 952 863 750 info@panorama.es www.panorama.es

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Cloud 9 EXCLUSIVE Meet the estate agent on an unheard-of selling streak, quickly becoming the envy of real estate bosses across Andalucia

Property

the Olive Press

November 11th

- 25th 2015

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the EXCLUSIVE: Meet unestate agent on an heard-of selling streak

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BEAUTY: Sold

by Panorama

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LA ZAGALETA

PRIZE: Sold by

Panorama

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PUERTO BANUS

such as luxury Spanish properties, boom ON THE UP: Stunning up in the post-crisis are being snapped

PAD: Sold by Terra

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GOLDEN MILE

ESTEPONA ESCAPE:

Meridiana

villa (above) sold

by Panorama,

euro on track with multi-million hope for the future Property sales are back confidence and fresh is set to bounce purchases, renewed THE property sector pace over the

Let the good times roll...

faster A new chapter to back at an even breathe life into this coming years. industry feel this And many in the iconic Marbella ruin the board, from studio change is across small holiday homes apartments and sector. right up to the luxuryof the ‘comeback’, If 2015 was the year will see prices contin2016 and 2017 rental market also ue to rise with the according to a leading gaining ground, property expert. to increase around Prices are predicted claims Servihabi6.2% next year alone, tat CEO Julian Cabanillas. three times this This rise is almost is currently preyear’s increase, which 2.3% and 2.6% dicted to sit at between overall. part owned by La The real estate giant, predicted that purCaixa bank, alsocould grow by 25%. chases next year shared by property exThis positivity is Adam Neale.

What has Brigitte pert Terra Meridiana’s many tough years Bardot got to do with “The crisis brought with the crunch Spanish property? for the property markethe told the Olive really hitting in 2011,” then Press. picked up since “The market has and now we can realacross all budgets picking up again.” ly see the good times

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Sold by Terra Meridiana

In our regular real estate pullout from Page 17

Crackdown begins!

A CLAMPDOWN has been launched to stamp out the illicit practice of lawyers paying backhanders to estate agents for conveyancing deals.

A top law firm is now under investigation, with the Malaga Bar Association and Andalucian lawyers association announcing they will - at last - dish out punishment for those found guilty.

It is a timely boost for the Olive Press K.O. the Kickbacks campaign, which supports the hundreds of clean agents and legal firms which don’t break the law.

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FREE

Enclosed: 536 m² CASCADA DE CAMOJÁN 5-bedroom Andalusian style villa Plot: 1,697 m² offering the best views to the Mediterranean coast in an established Terrace: 213 m² complex on the Golden Mile with 24-hour security. Tropical garden with Price: €1,950,000 pool. Lots of potential. Ref. 8025

Vol. 10 Issue 227

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Enclosed: 554 m² HACIENDA LAS CHAPAS Stunning mansion in a soughtafter residential area with 24-hour security. Built to high specifications, Plot: 2,000 m² Terrace: 188 m² 8 bedrooms, enormous terrace with chill out area and partial sea views, Price: €2,375,000 gym, garage for 4 cars and security cameras. Ref. 8543

November 26th - December 9th 2015

LOST AT SEA? Enclosed: 169 m² RÍO REAL Just steps to the beach! Beachfront ground floor Terrace: 98 m² apartment in a gated community with mature gardens and pool.

Price: €1,050,000 Magnificent sea views. Newly renovated, originally a 3-bedroom unit, transformed into a 2-bedroom. Garage and storeroom. Ref. 8559

EXCLUSIVE

By Tom Powell

A MANHUNT is underway for the yacht-owning boyfriend of a missing mother who worked in Gibraltar.

Police are probing the possibility that Lisa Brown, 32, may have been abducted and taken out to sea, possibly en route to Ibiza or Thailand.

The mother of an eight-yearold boy was last seen at her home in Guadiaro, near Sotogrande, on November 6.

She was reported missing after failing to pick up her son Marco from school.

A search of the surrounding area, including helicopters, sniffer dogs and a diver operation in nearby Rio Guadiaro, has so far found nothing.

Now the Olive Press can reveal that her boyfriend, from Liverpool, has also vanished.

Sources claim Simon Corner, 32, could now be in Thailand, Ibiza, or even Portugal, as the mystery surrounding the case

Enclosed: 265 m² GOLDEN MILE Stunning 3-bedroom townhouse within an Terrace: 62,50 m² Andalusian village style complex, with communal pool and social club.

Price: €625,000 Patio and enormous basement. Excellent location, within a 10-minute walk to the beach and close to amenities! Ref. 8573

Police hunt yacht-owning boyfriend of missing expat mother

MISSING: Expat mum Lisa and (above) port where boyfriend stayed deepens.

It has emerged, the yacht dealer had been living on a boat - Rosa of London - in La Linea’s Alcaidesa marina, where Brown was a ‘regular visitor’.

A source at the marina office described Corner as a ‘wheeler dealer’, who had docked a number of different boats

Are the Spanish really as healthy as they think?

Mirror mirror on the wall: Pages 6-7

there over the last year.

Last seen in July, Corner, who looked ‘older than his age’, made his money buying and selling boats and had previously had a Spanish girlfriend from La Linea.

The source believed Corner had most recently taken Rosa to Sotogrande port, where its name had been changed, before he ‘went abroad’.

“He was often in and out of the port and you have to be suspicious about exactly what he was up to,” he added. He refused to deny that he had left without paying his bills.

A retired Briton meanwhile, who has a boat in the marina, told the Olive Press he often saw girlfriend Brown visiting.

“She would sunbathe on his boat. She had a lovely, soft, Scottish accent and was an affable girl,” he said.

“I stopped seeing her after he disappeared in the middle of the night some weeks ago without paying his berth fees.”

According to another marina regular, his boat apparently later broke down in the middle of the Straits and had to be towed into Ceuta.

But once more he left in the night a week after getting it fixed.

“He may have left Ceuta and then called in at Duquesa or Sotogrande port and picked Lisa up,” suggested the Brit.

“He always said he wanted to take the boat to Ibiza soon.”

Another Australian boat owner revealed that he is owed money by Corner having helped him fix his boat and get a new engine fitted.

Brown, from Dumbarton, Scotland, had recently landed a new job in Gibraltar at Bet365 before she vanished, having left betting firm Lad-

brokes in August.

The Royal Gibraltar Police have been working with the Guardia Civil in the search and confirmed they are looking for her boyfriend, a ‘British man who had been docked at Alcaidesa marina and working in Gibraltar’.

Brown’s son Marco meanwhile, is currently being looked after by his father – her ex - Tony Tomillero.

Her family members have flown over from Scotland to help the search.

Sister Helen Jordan said: “I last spoke to Lisa on November 4 but she never mentioned anything about a new boyfriend.

Everything seemed fine.”

Opinion Page 6

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ELECTION UPDATE ‘You’re so vain’ PEDRO Sanchez has lashed out at Pablo Iglesias (above) labelling the Podemos leader a narcissist.

The PSOE boss made the jibe as his adversary battles for votes ahead of the general election on December 20.

Sanchez claims the PSOE is the only party capable of beating Rajoy’s ruling PP party.

Presidents probe

THE judge probing the ongoing ERE slush fund scandal has finally opened a case against two ex-Junta presidents.

Maria Nunez will investigate the exact involvement of former leaders Manuel Chaves Making ground and Jose Antonio Grinan in CIUDADANOS sit on 20% in an El Pais the €2 billion general election poll, putting Albert Rifraud. vera’s anti-corruption party ahead of She is to investhe PSOE on 18% and Podemos on 13%. tigate whether It is rapidly gaining ground on the rulthe ex-leaders, ing PP party, which is just 7% ahead. plus 50 other The election is on December 20. senior bosses, were directly Mas mauling involved in the theft of EU CATALAN independence hopes have been grants to stimhit as leader Artur Mas failed to receive the ulate employbacking of fellow separatists. ment and help The CDC leader’s bid for re-election as the ailing comparegional parliament’s president was sunk nies between when he received the backing of just 62 of the 135 delegates.

2001 and 2010.

CRIME NEWS

November 26th - December 9th

Pipe-mare Police refuse to probe theft of water by squatters EXCLUSIVE

By Iona Napier EXPATS have slammed local police for failing to deal with a clear theft of their water by squatters.

Brits John and Claudia Stevens were told nothing could be done when they discovered that two squatted neighbouring homes were connected to their supply.

The couple in their 60s alerted police after their bills skyrocketed from around €20 per quarter to €469 in July

FED UP: Thieves hit expats’ water supply

and €251 in November.

It emerged that two households in Paraiso de la Bahia had cleverly plugged into their supply and plastered it back over.

However, Casares police allegedly refused to investigate, claiming they weren’t ‘qualified to distinguish pipes’.

“I am upset that the squatters were able to so easily move in

Hit-and-run horror A TEENAGER has died after being run over by an English expat near Los Barrios.

The Englishman - who has links to Gibraltar - drove his van into three Spanish friends, all from La Linea, following an alleged fight inside Show Paradise strip club in Guadacorte.

He then drove off until he was caught in a quickly set up police roadblock on the A7.

Paramedics arrived on the scene within minutes but could not do anything to save the life of the youngster, Juan Carlos Perez, 19.

An investigation is now underway with reports claiming the driver was under the influence of alcohol.

Meanwhile, an emotional funeral has taken place, with hundreds of Perez’s friends and family members publicly mourning the teenager Opinion Page 6 with a march through La Linea.

and do this and why the police have not arrested them,” said Mr Stevens, who has owned the holiday home for 14 years.

Despite the community installing seven padlocks to protect the valves, the squatters - who drive expensive cars - work out new ways to break into the supply.

“They know exactly what they’re doing and since the police are not interested, we will have to sort this crime out ourselves,” president Trevor Walkingshaw, 56, told the Olive Press.

Rape review CONVICTED rapist Romano van der Dussen will finally have his case reviewed.

Found guilty of three rapes in Fuengirola, Dutchman van der Dussen has spent the last 12 years in jail.

In July, convicted UK killer Mark Dixie confessed to one of the rapes and new forensic tests have also linked Dixie to another of the attacks.

Double delight TWO of Britain’s most notorious drug traffickers have been arrested on the Costa del Sol. Alleged smugglers Robert Dawes and Michael Roden were both arrested as part of Operation Captura in the same week.

Nottingham-born Dawes also wanted in connection with killings in the UK and Holland - was arrested at a Benalmadena hideout.

Just three days later, Roden, 25, was detained at an apartment near Loja, in Granada.

Some 73 out of 86 fugitives on the Operation Captura list have now been detained.

Terror prank arrests A SERIES of sick pranksters have been arrested for sparking false terrorist alerts in Malaga and Estepona.

In the first case a teenager altered a snapshot of El Pais online to spread the ‘news’ of an imminent jihadi threat to the Vialia shopping centre in Malaga.

Meanwhile a group of students raised a similar fake terror alert in Estepona in the days following the Paris attacks.

A police spokesman said those found guilty face a fine of up to €30,000.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

November 26th - December 9th

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Octo-pushing the boat out!

THE Queen of Pop braved paps and terrorists in a whistlestop cycle tour around Barcelona prior to a sell out show.

Togged up against the cold, Madonna zoomed along with her entourage.

Unlike fellow US musicians Foo Fighters and Prince, she refused to cancel her European Rebel Heart Tour following the Paris terror attacks on November 13.

Opinion Page 6

Ex-employee blackmails pop star over racy film with her Barca husband A BARCELONA ace and his popstar girlfriend are being blackmailed over a sleazy sex video.

A former employee of Gerard Pique and Colombian wife Shakira is asking for millions to stop it from being published online.

According to Spanish media the ex-employee secretly filmed the pair as ‘insurance’ in case she was ever sacked.

The former Manchester United defender has endured a

tumultuous time of late, being booed

by Spanish fans after scathing comments a b o u t LOVERS’ TIFF: Pique and Shakira in Real Madispute with former employee drid. teammate Mathieu ValbueSpanish football is already na over another sex tape. facing another major blackIf found guilty Benzema mail case, with Real Madrid could face five years in prisforward Karim Benzema on. accused of bribing France

Jungle star Lady Colin Campbell has links to Spain THE most talked about contestant of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! is closely connected to Andalucia.

Controversial royal, Lady Colin Campbell, who has become a jungle favourite, heralds from a long line in Sephardic Jews from Cordoba.

Aristocrat Campbell, 66, who married the queen’s cousin in 1974, found her ancestors, the de Pass family, had been expelled from Spain 500 years ago and emigrated to Jamaica.

She is however, a regular visitor to the region and has a large network of friends in Spain and Gibraltar.

A friend told the Olive Press: “She is often over here and loves this area

of Spain. She normally comes completely unrecognised… but that is unlikely next time!”

He added: “She also has one or two close friends living in Gibraltar.”

Campbell is a controversial character, who describes the British televisionwatching public as ‘oiks’.

She was raised as a boy named ‘George’, due to a protruding clitoris, and it was not until she was 21 that she was confirmed female and had corrective surgery.

In her 1992 biography of Lady Diana, Lady Colin controversially claimed King Juan Carlos had a fling with the queen of hearts, as well as breaking the story of Diana’s bulimia.

Everyone’s a winner, baby MOVE over John Lewis, this year’s Spanish lottery advert really pulls at the heart strings.

Beating the UK department store’s Man on the Moon ad hands down, the sentimental lottery advert follows lonely night-time security guard Justino.

Living a sad existence, Justino goes to work at the mannequin factory at 10pm every night.

And so, when one day he discovers the day-staff have won the lottery, he assumes he hasn’t won

and shrugs his shoulders and trudges to work.

However, when he arrives, he finds a mannequin holding the all-important ticket and a sign telling him he is to share in the win.

Photo by EFE

WHEELY BRAVE

Shakira and stirred

QUEEN Bees: Rania and Letizia

Fashion queens FEW royals are as stunning or fashionable as Queen Letizia... yet her latest house guest is giving her a good run for her money.

Opening up her royal palace to Queen Rania of Jordan - alongside husband King Abdullah - she has got the media analysing her every item of clothing, alongside those of Rania.

The pair have so far been snapped at the airport and at the Prado museum where the two queens both looked fabulous.

Photo by EFE

FLASHY: Allen’s waterborne mansion Octopus

ONE of the world’s richest men has turned up for a weekend away in style.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (left) rolled into Malaga port aboard his 126 metre yacht, Octopus, to attend a business meeting with Pilar Lopez, president of the Spanish arm of the technology giant.

With two helicopters, a submarine, swimming pool, music studio and basketball court, the superyacht is the 14th largest in the world.

The ship is also known for its annual celebritystudded parties hosted at Cannes film festival, where Allen and his band play for guests.

En route to Nirvana!

RICHARD Gere and his Spanish girlfriend Alejandra Silva are well on their way on the eightfold path to Nirvana.

The Buddists have been in Madrid to help highlight the plight of homeless people.

The pair were on hand to attend the premiere of Gere’s new film Time Out Of Mind, which tackles the difficult subject.

They were attending the event alongside the boss of the homeless charity, the Rais Foundation, for which Silva, from Galicia, is a patron.

In the film, Gere plays a panhandler on the streets of New York.

FACE SWAP: Queen’s model changed again

Wax on, wax off

HER figure-hugging dresses and sharp attire have made Queen Letizia a worldwide fashion icon, but her everevolving look is creating problems for a Spanish waxworks.

A model of the leggy queen is being changed for a third time at the Wax Museum of Madrid to ensure it looks up to date.

The original waxwork featured Letizia after her 2004 marriage to King Felipe IV.

But a 2009 replacement was made to take into account a nose operation which the royal household claimed was for health reasons.

Letizia’s third waxwork is due to appear by the end of 2015 and will capture the mother-of-two’s appearance at King Felipe’s 2014 coronation.

And Letizia is closing in on the waxwork museum’s record, with only Ronaldo’s model changed more often.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Maiden voyage A DRIVERLESS car, the Citroen C4 Picasso, made its first journey in a 600km trek between the two Citroen factories in Vigo and Madrid.

Ryanscare CASTELLON’S infamous ‘ghost’ airport which stood empty from 2011 now pays Ryanair €600,000 per year to fly five flights per week to and from it.

Not wanted SPAIN is on alert for Soufiane Mezroui, 23, a suspected Belgian terrorist thought to have fled to Spain following a stint fighting in Syria.

Air rage AVIATION minister Robert Goodwill announced future regulations could ban drunk passengers from flying for life and and dramatically limit onboard alcohol sales.

NEWS

November 26th - December 9th

Stamping down!

Top law firm under investigation as new ruling backs Olive Press campaign to stop kickbacks between estate agents and lawyers A MAJOR Costa del Sol law firm is being probed over kickbacks in return for conveyancing deals.

Marbella-based Martinez-Echevarria Abogados has been denounced for breaching a legal code of ethics by paying commissions to estate agents for contracts.

A new ruling by the Malaga Bar Association now means that the firm could be heavily fined and even suspended from practising.

The association has launched an investigation, after the firm was accused of taking ‘power of persuasion com-

EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan missions’ in a legal dossier - seen by the Olive Press.

Meanwhile, the firm strongly denies the allegation and is contesting the association’s credibility. It is also taking legal action against one of its directors.

Martinez-Echevarria’s attorney Antonio Torrecillas has filed a criminal complaint against the director for misappropriating €600,000 and

Israeli PM on wanted list A SPANISH judge has issued an arrest warrant for controversial Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the death of ten human rights activists.

Supreme court judge Jose de la Mata ruled he would reopen a case over the Freedom Flotilla attack, in 2010, should Netanyahu or seven other Israeli officials set foot in Spain.

The flotilla was attempting to break an Israeli blockade and reach the war-stricken Palestinian city of Gaza with humanitarian aid and construction materials.

However, the Israeli Defence Force stormed the main civilian vessel and ten of the activists on board died in the melee.

At the time, Netanyahu defended the killings on grounds of self-defence.

ACCUSED: Martinez-Echevarria in Marbella and (inset) legal letter

claims the association’s rulings are ‘void’ until the case is resolved.

It comes just months after the Olive Press launched a campaign exposing the practice of lawyers giving agents ‘backhanders’ of up to 20% for working on conveyancing deals.

Some 25 legal firms, estate agents and lobbying groups have already publicly backed the campaign, which is gathering speed.

The Olive Press understands at least two other major legal firms and up to a dozen smaller ones have allegedly been taking backhanders.

This is despite a national code of practice stating that ‘a lawyer may never pay, demand or accept, commissions, or other monies from another lawyer, or any other person for having sent a client or recommending future customers’.

Despite the law, no legal firm has yet been found guilty of paying backhanders.

However, both the Malaga Bar Association and the Andalucian lawyers association (CADECA) have now ruled that kickbacks are ‘absolutely forbidden’ by Spanish and European rules.

In a landmark joint statement, they

insist any firm offering them will ‘be penalised’.

Marbella lawyer Alex Radford from My Lawyer in Spain, believes the ruling is ‘great news for honest and independent law firms’.

“This action is long overdue as there are many firms who have been involved in this unfair practice for far too long,” he added.

Meanwhile, fellow lawyer Ramon Pelayo added: “The ruling is highly significant in that it stamps out a corruption that has distorted free competition.

“It puts an end to the unfair practices that have gravely harmed the interests of clients.”

He added: “The true relevance of this ruling will depend on measures enforced by the Bar Association in the future.

“It is great that the Olive Press has been so forward in helping to bring this bad practice into the public arena” Estate agents and law firms are now being encouraged to report any suspected malpractice to the Malaga Bar Association.

To join the Olive Press ‘K.O. the kickbacks’ campaign email newsdesk@theolivepress.es

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS

October 28th - November 11th 2015

5

OPINION Searching for answers WITH a manhunt underway, rivers being searched and the mystery getting deeper by the day, it is difficult not to imagine the worst in the case of missing mother Lisa Brown.

As possible theories about abduction circulate, the search for her rings all too familiar.

With no recent news forthcoming on the disappearance of expats Agnese Klavina and Amy Fitzpatrick, Lisa is the latest example of a dark shadow that lingers over southern Spain.

We can only hope that the investigation into the case of Lisa isn’t swept under the carpet by tourism-seeking politicians, as seems to have been the case with Agnese and Amy before that.

No going back THERE is nothing more heart-breaking than the loss of a young life.

And it will be very hard for mourners to forgive the death of 19-year-old Juan Carlos Perez who was the victim of a horrific hit-and-run incident this weekend.

The seedy backdrop of a strip club fight late at night only adds to the sense of pointlessness of this tragedy.

Rarely when we get behind the wheel after a drink or two do we consider the sheer destructive ability of the vehicles in our power.

We don’t know yet the fine details of this case, but going forward we should look out for our friends trying to drive after a drink and try to take the moral high ground in the face of a mindless brawl.

Show must go on THE Paris terrorist attacks struck deep at our sense of security. But the cancellation of high-profile European dates, including gigs in Barcelona, by artists such as Prince and Foo Fighters smacks of retreat. Live music, along with sport, is the world’s great unifier. It’s these very freedoms we enjoy and share that ISIS and their murderous ilk seek to silence. So the cancellation of these dates was a victory of sorts for the Islamist murderers. And hats off to Madonna for rolling up her sleeves and carrying on with her show. “They want to silence us. We won’t let them!” the defiant Material Girl roared to a Stockholm audience. In times of trouble, music is often the best cure. In these uncertain days, it is heartening that the world’s most famous artist has the ‘cojones’ to show ISIS we’re not scared.

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or admin@theolivepress.es or sales@theolivepress.es A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in southern Spain - 200,000 copies distributed monthly (130,000 digitally) with an estimated readership, including the website, of more than 500,000 people a month.

Iona Napier Luke Stewart Media S.L - CIF: B91664029 iona@theolivepress.es 951 273 575 Joe Duggan Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5 joe@theolivepress.es Calle Espinosa 1 Admin / Distribution / Accounts: Edificio centro comercial El Duque, planta primera, 29692 San Luis de Maria González Sabinillas, Manilva accounts@theolivepress.es Printed by Corporación de Medios Mirian Moreno de Andalucía S.A. admin@theolivepress.es Editor: Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es Newsdesk SALES TEAM: newsdesk@theolivepress.es Chris Birkett Head of Sales Tel: 665 798 618 652 512 956 Stephen Shutes 671 834 479 Tom Powell Sarah Adams 655 825 683 tom@theolivepress.es Axarquia Rob Horgan Charlie Bamber 661 452 180 rob@theolivepress.es

Smokeless zones the new habit SMOKING is no longer an Olympic sport in Spain. The days when a Ducados smog hung over offices, shops and even hospitals are long gone, and whereas 26.2% of the population were smokers in 2009, the figure stands at 23% today.

The social smoker is also an endangered species, making up just 2.4% of the population, with almost half of Spaniards never having touched a cigarette.

But it’s a habit that has taken time to stub out, especially for men, 27.6% of whom are daily smokers compared to 18.6% of women.

And it has not, yet, been phased out to the point where the young are not starting at all. Almost 20% of 15-to-24-year-olds light up daily.

Spain’s most committed tobacco addicts live in Extremadura (25.6%) while the most abstemious reside in Melilla (15.3%) and Asturias in mainland Spain (19.1%).

Mirror mirror on the wall… …the Spanish imagine they’re the healthiest of them all thanks to their Mediterranean diet.

But with over half the populace officially fat and unfit, does the looking glass lie? Iona Napier investigates

T

HE glass half full metaphor is a fitting one when talking to Spaniards about their health.

And not only because ‘salud’ (meaning health) is also their word for ‘cheers’…

Despite Spain being a country where a single measure of gin can pass the halfway mark on a tubo glass, some three in four young Spaniards are convinced they’re fighting fit.

A major survey taking the pulse of 23,000 Spanish households this autumn sheds fascinating new insight into how the nation measures its health in terms of good and bad habits, from the sports they play and what they weigh to diet and health care.

And it appears that, despite some pretty shocking statistics to the contrary, the Spanish believe they’re shining examples of well-being to the world, with almost three in four (71%) over15-year-olds in Spain stating their health is either ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

This begs the question: are we living in a society of healthobsessed Duracell bunnies or deluded optimists?

The plot – or make that the salmorejo – thickens when the same National Statistics Institute (INE) survey reports that almost 53% of Spaniards are either overweight or obese and over 54% don’t exercise .

Across diverse socio-economic groups and all regions, a rich base of results has emerged that show how Spain moves, eats, ails and heals – and apparently it’s a tad better (0.1%) than in 2009. But far from perfect.

The Mediterranean diet has been hailed for its miraculous health benefits for everything from Alzheimer’s and cancer to heart conditions and all-round well-being. But not all the figures in the survey add up.

So what precisely is the state of the nation’s health? The Olive Press ran its own stethoscope over the statistics to find out.

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RIME Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government finds itself at a serious crossroads in the fight against Islamic State.

The Paris terrorist attacks on November 13 happened just more than a month before the general election date, and the question of how to deal with this situation is spilling into Rajoy’s re-election campaign.

France and other European allies want to know exactly how Spain is going to cooperate with the government in Paris after a mutual defence clause was activated.

Rajoy had offered to send Spanish troops to Mali and Central African Republic to relieve French soldiers and their equipment so they can be sent to Syria.

But he appeared to have backed down after Socialist

PP crossroads The fight against ISIS creeps into Rajoy’s re-election campaign

leader Pedro Sánchez rejected the Popular Party government’s attempts to make any such unilateral defence decision while parliament was out of session.

The Socialists have always had problems in dealing with troops on the ground.

It was the Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero who pulled Spanish soldiers from Iraq that had been sent by his PP predecessor José María Aznar.

Iraq became a major issue for Spanish voters after the March 11, 2004 Madrid train

bombings, and now Syria has become Rajoy’s election dilemma.

No one wants war on any terms, but the pressure is on Spain to join the international coalition being proposed by François Hollande who has the wholehearted support from Britain’s David Cameron.

The Rajoy government, with good reason, fears repercussions by ISIS on Spanish soil, but it is also afraid of losing the December 20 elections.

Polls show that PP won’t win an absolute majority this time around.

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August 6th November - August 19th 2015 www.theolivepress.es 66 26th - December 9th

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MADRIDS MATTER

But Spain must keep its European obligations, and whoever captures the prime minister’s office next month will also have to remember this.

International treaties and partnerships, for the most part, override domestic partisan pledges. The art of politics is balancing what is demanded at home with a country’s commitments among its allies.

And Rajoy is certainly having a tough time trying to come up with a particular arrangement that will be acceptable to both voters and Brussels.

August 6th - August 19th 2015 www.theolivepress.es November 26th - December 9th

FEATURE

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Working it out

WHETHER pumping iron at the gym, jogging through Parque Retiro in a pair of luminous Nikes or swimming in the limpid waters off the Costa del Sol, Spaniards are fairly active.

Almost one in three takes advantage of Spain’s 300 days of sunshine to get out and get active, exercising more than twice a week in their free time.

However, the rest of the nation appears to be majoring in couch potato skills with a staggering 54.7% admitting they never exercise in their leisure hours.

And only one in 10 Spaniards get on their bike although eight in ten favour getting to places on foot. Presumably the other 10% are still in bed, contemplating a cab…

A healthy mindset

WE’VE always known Spanish men have a healthy belief in themselves. But they’re also far more optimistic about their physical health than women.

Male pride? Or a sign that Spain’s senores are paying closer attention to their wellbeing while their wives slave over their low GI, egg white revuelta breakfast?

While 71% of all Spanish believe they have ‘good or very good’ health, men hold themselves in healthier esteem than women in every single age bracket, at a ratio of 75.1% to 67% across the board.

Generation Y males are the proudest with a huge 93.1% of 15-to-24-year-olds believing they are in great health. Just 88.3% of their female peers feel the same way.

At the other end of the age spectrum, 36.8% of men over 85 fancy themselves fit compared to just 26.8% of women.

But the largest discrepancy was found in the 65-to-74-year age bracket, where almost 60% of men feel spritely, versus 45% of women. Is health in Spain a macho Iberico issue or just a state of mind, like age? Answers on a postcard.

Med diet: miracle or myth?

The healthwealth connection IN spite of austerity cuts stripping Spain back to the bone with a 20% loss of social funding, some of the healthiest regions in Spain also enjoy the most generous public health spending.

The Basque Country, Asturias and Navarra lead Spain on the funding front, with the highest social spend: €3,026, €2,931 and €2,921 per capita respectively in 2013.

Navarra inhabitants sit near the top of the pile with 74.2% happy about their health, while 73.1% of Basques are also upbeat but the Asturians prove the exception to the rule, languishing behind at just 68.5%.

And, conversely, while the Basque Country dedicates 37% more funding towards health than our own region, Andalucians are sitting pretty at 70.8%.

At the bottom of the pile is Galicia, where just 60% of inhabitants think they’re in good health.

Galicia saw its health spending drop dramatically by €569 per person between 2009 and 2013, to €2,399.

Madrid suffered too, with the third lowest public spending per person in the country, after the Canary Islands and the Balearics.

However, Madrid has the lowest obesity level in Spain and 74.8% of Madrilenos consider themselves healthy.

WHILE hailed for its oily fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, the Spanish diet still has its flaws.

Mayonnaise-rich salads, fried fish and a manana attitude to dieting have allowed the good life to swell many a waistline (see below).

And then, to add insult to injury, along came the latest World Health Organisation report connecting red meat to cancer.

Surely they couldn’t mean Spain’s nationally-treasured jamon Iberico too?

Those were precisely the thoughts of Nick Clegg’s missus, Miriam Gonzalez. The Valladolid-born wife of the ex Lib Dem leader has been doing unofficial ambassadorial work to raise Spain’s p ro f i l e in the

Fat man of Europe ALTHOUGH a large stomach used to be the sign of a life well lived, 2012 statistics accused Spain of having the highest rate of obesity in Europe.

It’s a far weightier matter when obesity becomes responsible for one in 12 deaths in Spain, as figures from 2007 revealed.

According to 2012 statistics, being of above average weight affects a massive

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52.7% of over-18s in Spain.

It’s a far bigger problem for men (60.7%) than women (44.7%) and proven to increase with age, especially in men of over 65 and women over 75.

Clinical obesity affects 16.9% of over-18s (17.1% of men and 16.7% of women).

And while the lowest obesity rates are found in Madrid (9.4%) they’ve got a larger-than-life problem over in Extremadura, where a massive 18.4% of locals are obese.

Andalucia, too, weighs in heavily with an obesity ranking of 17%, making it the second fattest region in Spain at the time of the survey.

At the other end of the scales, 2.2% of over-18s are underweight, as well as an alarming 8.7% of 15-to-17 year-olds.

The gender disparity is clear and in the younger age bracket, 13.5% of girls are underweight versus just 4% of boys - the inference being that boys are not pressured into cultivating supermodel bodies.

Among adults, women are more likely to be underweight (3.4%) than men (1%).

Longlife Spaniards

WHEN all is said and done, whether they’re fibbing about exercise or shamelessly scoffing down their 5kg of jamon serrano (per person, per year!), Spaniards have the last laugh.

They have the highest life expectancy in Europe, averaging 83, and Spanish mothers are the oldest on the continent.

Whereas life expectancy for men and women was 73.3 years in 1975, today it is 82.5 years. Spanish women live 85 years, almost the longest in the world, while men live to almost 80.

Cheers to that!

UK ever since her hubby came to prominence. And the elegant (and fit) 47-year-old has been up in arms at the suggestion that Spain’s most famous food export is unhealthy.

In fact, with the couple’s help, it took 24 hours for publications to dispel ‘preposterous’ rumours to that effect.

“Around the table in the vil-

lage where my wife Miriam grew up, the report was greeted with disbelief,” wrote Clegg in an Evening Standard column.

“Jamon bad for you? Come off it!

The scientists, it was concluded, need to get out a bit more – less time in the laboratory and more time relishing the delights of Spanish cuisine,” he added.

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8

AXARQUIA

November 26th - December 9th

Expat expo

NEWS IN BRIEF

Tram on track THE Velez-Malaga tram, which was suspended in June 2012 by the PP mayor due to high running costs, is due to receive a cash boost from the Junta.

Roch and roll FRIGILIANA has been selected as one of three Spanish destinations for the new Ferrero Rocher advert, along with towns in Castellon and La Rioja.

Sign on THE Proteccion Civil is recruiting new volunteers to bolster numbers over the festive period. To apply email proteccioncivil@nerja.es.

Earth moving NERJA was struck by an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter Scale, with residents in surrounding villages reporting their lamps and small items moving.

LIVELY : Riordon’s flamenco art

Riders launch campaign to save country tracks EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan ENRAGED horse riders are fighting to save their depleting trails.

With unpaved roads quickly disappearing from the Axarquia area, equine enthusiasts are petitioning to keep tarmac off the country roads.

Dutch expat Jakobien Huisman, 45, has set up a Change.

A BRITISH artist is enjoying a brush with success with her paintings of Spanish life.

From flamenco dancers to matadors, the works of 60-year-old expat Margaret Riordan are to go on display at Sevilliano, in Nerja and Bar Choto, in Torrox, for a year.

A former secretary from Bristol, Riordon told the Olive Press that painting is a ‘relaxing and rewarding pastime’.

Save our trails! org petition after being forced to shut her horse tours company due to a lack of trails around the Periana area where she lives.

“We are asking the mayor to immediately stop all concrete

Home fighters at UN EXPAT housing association SOHA is taking its fight to the UN. The Axarquia group, with 300 members, is battling to legalise illegally-built homes bought ‘in good faith’.

A new property law was THE boyfriend of the murdered introduced in Septemdirector of Nerja Caves has been ber to protect homesentenced to 24 years in prison. owners who unwittingly Barman Francisco Martinez has been bought illegal property. found guilty of murder after stabbing And while the law proAna Marquez 131 times with a broken tects the homes from bottle at her Torrox home. being demolished it While he pleaded insanity, a psy- has not legalised them, chiatrist’s report found him to be making the likelihood depressive but with no psychotic of resale virtually imtendencies. possible.

Killer caged

work on country roads,” she told the Olive Press.

“The preservation of the landscape should be a priority for the town hall.

“We are very concerned that irreversible changes are being made.”

She added: “We have been forced to stop our horse business, because we have no unpaved roads to run tours along.

“Concreting the last remaining carriles is very shortsighted and shows no common sense.”

Petition ‘Keep lanes without concrete in the field of Periana!’ has 100 signatures so far.

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

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www.theolivepress.es 1010the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

Snake, rattle and roll WHAT can start at red or yellow but ends up green?

Well, apart from a set of traffic lights, the answer can be found wrapped around trees in Fuengirola Bioparc.

The green tree python pup can be yellow or red before developing its emerald colour to allow it to blend into vegetation.

They are common in New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia - and at Biopark in Fuengirola.

GREEN NEWS

November 26th - December 9th www.theolivepress.es

Flaming flamingos

Extraterrestrial quest

A STUNNING image of pink flamingos by a Spanish photographer is on course to win one of the world’s most prestigious photography awards.

Pedro Jarque Krebs’ photo of a flock of flamingos appearing to argue could win the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards.

The winner of the annual award will be announced at a London ceremony on April 21, 2016.

SPANISH ‘planet hunters’ are going boldly where no man has gone before in the intergalactic cosmos.

A major Spanish/ German bid - named CARMENES - to find planets outside the solar system similar to earth is being led from the Calar Alto observatory in Almeria.

The astrophysicists hope to find signs of life on planets which are not so close to their suns that their water freezes, but not so close that it evaporates.

They will study 300 stars for five years, using a 3.5 metre telescope, capable of detecting the smallest stars, known as ‘type M’.

Meanwhile, Cadiz couple Jesus Vargas and Maritzu Poyal, have scooped 25 international awards - two from NASA - for their stunning ‘astrophotography’ as southern Spain scans the skies.

THE Junta is facing a whopping €40 million fine for failing to treat the region’s sewage.

The regional authorities are to be hit with the huge EU levy as the key deadline of December 31 looms and dozens of towns still pump their raw sewage into rivers and the sea.

Three construction companies are now suing the Junta claiming that it has deliberately held back on numerous new sewage plants despite having the money to build them.

Key towns such as Nerja, Estepona and Torrox still pump millions of tonnes of sewage into the sea.

That stinks!

By Joe Duggan

In total, there are more than 300 plants that have still not been built.

Fadeco, Ceacop and Asica argue that while all homeowners pay up to €4 a month in water rates, only €59 million of the €346 million collected since 2011 has been reinvested.

Junta taken to court and facing €40 million fine for not treating sewage

“We could face a penalty of about €40 million for failing to purify water in Andalucia,” said Asica boss Ignacio Sanchez.

Francisco Fernandez, president of Ceacop, criticised the Junta for spending only €59

million on construction projects when it had agreed to finance €1.7 billion of work in 2012.

“This is only 3.3% of the total of the 300 construction projects planned,” he said.

POLITICS GIBRALTAR NEWS PROMISES have been made, speeches have been delivered and manifestos have been published... now all that’s left is for votes to be cast.

Fabian Picardo and Daniel Feetham will find out on Friday morning which one of them will lead Gibraltar for the next four years.

While many assume the result is a forgone conclusion - with Picardo all but clinking a champagne flute in Number 6 - one pre-election poll by GBC revealed that a third of voters are still undecided.

However, while the latest poll puts the GSLP/Liberal Alliance out ahead on 67%, it is worth remembering that this year’s UK election exposed how unreliable polls can be.

There are 17 seats to play for in total, meaning the GSD require a swing of four seats.

Picardo and Feetham, along with the rest of their parties, have been campaigning relentlessly for the last month.

Picardo’s left-leaning GSLP

Battle for No 6

Gibraltar goes to the polls as Feetham and Picardo wait excitedly to see who will be next Chief Minister have fought to persuade the public that investing savings into Gibraltar’s future is the right path.

The current leader insists the Rock has become far more financially stable under his stewardship.

However, Feetham and the centralist GSD argue to the contrary. They believe the government has ‘gambled’ with Gibraltar’s future, spending too much money, and kept secrets

from its subjects.

Either way, their rivalry has bubbled over at times, most recently with a daft spat over who was the most experienced lawyer in a TV debate, which even made the tabloids in the UK. But the time for debate is over.

Now is the time for Gibraltar to elect its next leaders.

There will be 14 voting booths open from 9am-10pm on Thursday, with the result expected early Friday morning.

www.theolivepress.es

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

11

12

la cultura

12

November 26th - December 9th

what’s on

P

enocillo beach, Torrox Costa & Restaurante Sevillano, Nerja, Until May 2016 Local self-taught artist Margaret Riordan has sold over 300 paintings worldwide and is holding two art exhibitions. Call 952 539 839 for info

M

arbella, November 28

Voice of an angel Amanda Rose returns for this special show, with a fourcourse dinner included at the concert in Garum. Call 952 858 858 for info

Paint by numbers THE Picasso Museum in Malaga has received a massive boost after enjoying its best visiting figures in history.

And with thousands of art lovers coming through the door, the museum’s 2016 budget has been raised to €4.3 million by the governing council.

Andalucian culture minister Rosa Aguilar promised to ‘go a step further’ to lead the museum with ‘new impetus’ in 2016.

TOILET TRADE: Urine Oxidation Painting up for auction and (right) Miguel Bose album cover designed by Warhol

War and piss

Singer flogs Warhol ‘piss paintings’ given to him by the artist as a birthday present

A SPANISH singer is set to offload two Andy Warhol paintings given to him as a birthday present by the American artist.

Miguel Bose could cash in to the tune of €500,000 when the Warhols go under the hammer at Christie’s auction house in Paris in December.

The paintings, Dollar Sign (worth €70,000 - €100,000) and Oxidation Painting (worth up to €400,000) were given to Bose in the early 1980s after he struck up a close friendship with Warhol.

Known as ‘piss paintings’, the works were created with the urine of Warhol’s students.

“I’ve always been a big fan of Andy Warhol, not only as an artist but also as a person,” Bose said. “I have enjoyed A RUBENS portrait of King Felipe IV is these paintings for 30 years on public view in Madrid for the first time and now it is time for somein 50 years. one else to enjoy them.”

The privately-owned painting of the 17th The pair met when Warhol century monarch is going on sale and can designed an album cover be seen at the Madrid Ifema Fairgrounds for Bose’s album Made in until November 29.

Spain.

The rare artwork, painted by Peter Paul Bose, the son of Italian acRubens in 1628-29, went on the missing tress Lucia Bose and bulllist for two-and-a-half centuries after the fighter Luis Miguel Dominpainter’s death in Antwerp in 1640. guin, always had a fascinaThe picture resurfaced in the early 20th tion with the arts, befriendcentury, but has not been shown in public ing both Pablo Picasso and since the 1960s.

Ernest Hemingway.

Rubens rarity

14

la cultura

November 26th - December 9th

Atrocity exhibition

Forty years after Franco, his final resting place beneath one of the Civil War’s last battlefields is still causing controversy, writes Joe Duggan

T

HE world’s tallest cross soars 150 metres above the pine forests and granite mountains of Sierra de Guadarrama, 30 miles from Madrid.

The imposing basilica at Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen) marks the final resting place of General Francisco Franco and Falangist Party founder Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera.

It’s an idyllic location stained by history and the atrocities of war.

For here, too, lie the remains of some 40,000 civilians and soldiers, many of them Republicans executed by Franco’s cruel regime, transferred to the site on his orders and buried beneath the valley floor.

In a final bitter irony, they are interred alongside their hated enemy.

And, 40 years after Franco’s death, Spain is yet to agree on what to do with this most visible symbol of his dictatorship.

Franco claimed it was intended only as a ‘national act of atonement’ honouring the civil war fallen. But many regard it as a monument to an assassin.

And it has also been compared to a Nazi concentration camp for the use of prisoners of war in its construction.

Dominance: Valle de los Caidos towers over Guadarrama

Holocaust

The site, and its monastery of 23 Benedectine monks is managed by Spain’s National Heritage, the Patrimonio Nacional. According to the monks’ registry, the bodies of at least 33,847 Nationalists and Republicans from the Civil War are buried here.

Every November 20, the anniversary of Franco and Primo de Rivera’s deaths is marked with a mass at cavernous Benedictine Abbey.

Part-Falangist rally complete with stiff-armed fascist salutes, it is a remembrance ceremony held in a Catholic church to a dictator who, according to historian Paul Preston, in his book the Spanish Holocaust, executed 120-150,000 Republicans, burying them in hundreds of unmarked graves across Spain.

“Franco was the greatest Spanish assassin and the greatest Spanish criminal of all time,” historian Ian Gibson told the Olive Press.

“The rising against the Republic was a terrible crime. Spain is behaving disgracefully.

As a Spanish citizen, I have a moral duty to speak out.

“No country should leave 120,000 people in unmarked graves. The right wing here is not facing up at all to its own holocaust.”

Despite these associations, Valle de los Caidos’ popularity with tourists endures. Figures supplied by Patrimonio Nacional show 240,837 people visited in 2014, while in 2013 it was their third most visited site in Spain. The crypt, declared a basilica by Pope

FALANGIST: Franco supporters salute leader John XXlll in 1960, is larger than St. Peter’s Basilica in in Rome.

Commissioned by Franco to equal ‘the grandeur of the monuments of old, which defy time and forgetfulness’, on 1 April 1940, the dictator detonated the first blast of dynamite as excavation began. For the next 18 years, thousands of Republican prisoners - and more right-wing volunteers - were forced to dig their conqueror’s tomb and adjacent monastery from the bowels of these hills.

Nicolas Sanchez Albornoz was one of these prisoners. In 1947, the 20-year-old Republican student was sentenced to eight years hard labour at Valle de los Caidos, before managing to escape.

“I think the first thing to do is get rid of the symbolism, which is the fact Franco and Primo de Rivera are buried there,” the 89-year-old told the Olive Press.

“You have to move their bodies to another

SEARCH FOR JUSTICE: Families protest 40 years after Franco’s death

place. Get rid of the civil war symbolism and the monastery, which is there to provide for the soul of Franco.

“I am really angry with all the governments that since 1976 that have done very little to solve that problem.”

Ahead of December’s general election, PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez has pledged to remove both bodies and to ‘urgently apply a new character to Valle de Los Caidos’.

But for Jaime Alonso, Vice-President of the Fundacion Nacional Francisco Franco, Valle de los Caidos is a unifying memorial.

Memory

Since 1976, his organisation has dedicated itself to preserving Franco’s memory. He sees no contradiction in Republicans lying buried alongside their enemy.

“Franco is the most important man in the history of Spain since the Catholic kings,” he told the Olive Press.

“Valle de los Caidos is a monument created for reconciliation, a monument that for any Catholic is a sacred place where the bodies of the fallen lie.

“After death, enemies don’t exist. Enemies are before, in life. In Spain, years later, there are adversaries, or people who think one way or another.

“The enemies are the sons, or grandsons, of the fallen that continue to look for enemies.”

Emilio Silva Barrera, journalist and co-founder of the Asociacion para Recuperacion de Memoria Historica, is one of those grandsons.

Since 2000, his organisation has helped fami-

15

15

CAUDILLO: Battles rage 40 years on

F

OR many, Valle de los Caidos is an enduring symbol of Franco’s cruelty. But one night in 1948, it was the scene of a daring escape plan that defied his regime.

Nicolas Sanchez Albornoz was a 20-year-old student in Madrid’s Republican resistance. In 1947, he and 12 others were condemned by a military court to eight years of enforced labour.

He was sent to one of three work camps at Valle de los Caidos to help build the monastery. Another camp excavated the church crypt.

“This was very dangerous because the excavation was done with dynamite,” Albornoz told the Olive Press. “Most of the deaths came there.”

Albornoz worked on the monastery with 150 other men. A brigade of Civil Guards controlled the camps.

“Three officers were stealing food that was sent to feed prisoners,” he says.”There was a lot of corruption.”

By the time Albornoz arrived at Valle de los Caidos the spirit of fellow prisoners, many of whom had endured up to 15 years in captivity, was shattered.

But emboldened by youth, Albornoz and a friend, Manuel Lamana, made a brave bid for freedom.

“We got in contact with exiled colleagues in France,” explains Albornoz.

“We told them we would do our best to escape, but they must provide us with documents to get to the border. Our Local issue 43:The Local Issue 5 11/11/13 12:28 PM Page 9 friends provided us with clean clothes.

“We organised our escape very well and met up in El Escorial. There was a car waiting with a friend of ours who had come from Paris, and two girls driving.” lies exhume the bodies of loved ones buried in One of the foreign female drivers, Barbara, was mass graves during the civil war. famous American writer Norman Mailer’s sister.

His grandfather, Emilio Silva Faba, was among An American car was picked so as not to arouse the more than 1,300 bodies they have recovsuspicion. ered. He was executed in Leon by Franco’s Previous escapees were caught when they resoldiers along with 12 other Republicans in turned to their home villages, so the group emOctober 1936. Barrera located and recovered barked on the perilous drive to the French border. his body 74 years later.

“We were stopped from time to time by the Guardia Civil and the police,” says Albornoz.

Unthinkable “But the fact you were free, in a car and surrounded by friends gave you the support to be “There are thousands of Republicans buried less frightened. at Valle de los Caidos,” he told the Olive Press.

“When you are in that situation you are always “It is perhaps the only monument in the EU concerned about what to do next. Only afterwhere a dictator is buried in a hacienda paid wards you begin to be frightened.” for by his victims.

Once Albornoz reached the Catalan border, he “For me, that’s very symbolic by the relationship crossed the Pyrenees on foot. From France. that those in power in Spain have with Francohe fled to Argentina where he remained in ism. For years I’ve paid for Franco’s tomb. This exile for decades, an implacable enemy to would be unthinkable in Germany, Italy or PorFranco’s dictatorship. tugal or even in Spain with victims of terrorism.”

He became a history professor and was Director This November 22, on a cold Madrid Sunday, a of Instituto Cervantes for six years. But almost 1,000 strong protest of relatives of murdered 70 years since he fled the hated camp, Albornoz Republicans stood in silence, fists raised in deremains defiant about Valle de los Caidos.

“Some believe it has to be blown up. I wouldn’t fiance and demanding justice. mind that,” he says. “Others think that it has Four decades after Franco’s death, Valle de los to be respected like the concentration camps Caidos is crumbling as damaging leaks seep of the Nazis. through its once impenetrable stone armour.

“It’s a memorial to Franco. It’s not like Arlington Architect Diego Mendez designed his towering cemetery in Washington. It’s very selective. It’s cross to withstand a hurricane. Could Spain’s for the ones who brought a civil war to Spain.” political winds of change finally tear it down?

A P.O.W. relives his great escape from the Valley of the Fallen with help from Noman Mailer’s sister

Flight from Franco

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LETTERS

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POTTED POINTERS EMERGENCIES Police 199 Medical service 190 Fire 190 EURO EXCHANGE RATES 1 euro is worth 1.06 American dollars 0.70 British pounds 1.42 Canadian dollars 7.46 Danish kroner 8.21 H Kong dollars 9.19 Norwegian kroner 1.50 Singapore dollars ANDALUCIA RESERVOIR LEVELS This week: 61.14% Same week last year: 73.15% Same week in 2005: 50.89% AIRPORTS Gibraltar 00350 22073026 Granada-Jaen 958 245 200 Jerez - 956 150 000 Malaga - 952 048 844* *For English press 9 Sevilla - 954 449 000

Total waste of time DEAR OP, I CANNOT believe that Estepona Town Hall is allowing this waste site to go ahead (Kicking up a stink, issue 226).

It is crazy that all organic waste isn’t composted by cost efficient industrial methods, instead of creating potential methane explosions in scarce and expensive landfill sites.

The proposed method is good as it produces material that can be used to raise the fertility of agricultural land and still leaves enough to use on parks and gardens.

However, the fact that the plant will be constructed so close to people’s homes is outrageous, especially as there is an existing plant just up the road in Casares.

Stephen Knight, Marbella

Handouts WE, as German taxpayers, pay for EVERYTHING: the housing and integration of one million refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea that penetrate our country only this year; the Brit discount within the EU budget; the unification of Germany; submarines for Israel; the pension of former communist leader Erich Honecker and his wife in Chile, etc. etc.

So why not the pension of some Spanish allies to the Hitler army? (Nazi pension scandal, issue 226).

The German constitution commits the German govern-

Under the weather

November 26th AN ominous black cloud hovered above Gibraltar as I hurried across the runway to attend the literary festival last weekend.

They say Gibraltar has its own microclimate, and although I am no geographer, I saw it first hand. Luckily Gibraltar is charming come rain or shine, but I must confess it was a wrench to leave the unbroken sunshine of La Linea! However there was a silver lining, because as I left the Just a Minute festival special on the Sunborn Hotel, Ocean Village was bathed in sunshine and there was not a spot a rain. What a beautiful place.

Ellie Cronin, La Linea

Each print issue of the Olive Press can be read in its entirety on www.theolivepress.es December And our site is9th updated daily with the latest news, making it one of Spain’s most the visited news websites.

olive press October 2015 online

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ment to protect the dignity of ANY human being, not only the dignity of Germans or Spanish anti-Nazi activists.

all of it has now been abandoned with the farmers trade replaced by Burger King and Ronald McDonald.

Wolfgang X, Granada

Dick Handscombe, Valencia

Five a day

As old as time

I DON’T understand why research on the Mediterranean diet keeps being done (Medicinal cure, issue 226).

Nobody ever finds anything wrong or dangerous with it… it is the best diet and everyone knows it.

Sadly a large number of innercity Spaniards driving for the American dream, duped by films, drop the amount of naturally grown foods they intake.

The valley where I live has caves where early humans lived 27,000 years ago.

It took mankind almost 30,000 years to tame the valley and use the land productively. In the last 30 years

THIS scam is practised across Spain and is not limited to Duquesa Port (Crap Trick, issue 226). Tricksters and petty thieves have long fooled victims via the supposed ‘Bird-poo’ trick.

Just go down your Lidl or Eroski, they do it all the time down there.

I have encountered stories of this kind in my Spanish travels and it is a tried and tested way of getting cash.

Whether in crime capitals such as Madrid or Barcelona or quieter places like Duquesa Port, criminals operate everywhere. It is also worth mentioning it’s not just in

Spain - this ‘crap’ happens all over the world.

James Brown, Granada

No surprise IT was no great surprise to read the Olive Press report on the ongoing scandals and corruption in Andalucia (Dirty, rotten scoundrels, issue 226).

Although not a good advert for moving to Spain and becoming part of the system, it is important for everyone to know.

Yes, the whole EU project is bent as hell, all lining their own pockets, backhanders must be rife.

However Spain’s blatant disregard for their own law and EU law takes the biscuit and the flag for corruption is waved strongest by those in the Junta.

Mike Noble, Alhaurin el Grande

Housing crisis

Economic error

THE Spanish property market needs Marbella’s urban plan annulment like a hole in the head (SOS Marbella, issue 227). Just as the the property market is showing signs of recovery, this bombshell comes along and destroys confidence again. Why can’t Marbella Town Hall, the Junta and the Supreme Court work together to find a solution?

There is no point in demolishing them, it would do more harm than good and nobody would benefit. The slightest whiff of more house demolitions will immediately kill off the recovery, throw yet more people out of work and damage Spain’s foreign reputation with investors.

Jane Garrett, Axarquia

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Fame star (11,363) SOCIALMEDIA

Different rules THE Marbella urban plan annulment makes 16,000+ homes illegal again overnight, and that’s just one town.

Best buy a nice little house in the campo, more chance of it being legal!

Although I can’t really see the bulldozers going in there like they have in the Axarquia and Almeria.

One rule for one area, one for another. Spain is dysfunctional.

Law is the law

as heavy rain continues - 4604 views

Fred Smith, Marbella

ILLEGAL homes are illegal homes, like it or not. The timing may be bad for Marbella and Spain in terms of economic trust and development but the law must be upheld and most importantly, the level of corruption which mars the nation needs to be cleaned up.

Before Spain’s property market can really boom again it is important that lessons are learned from the last economic collapse and the most important lesson to be learned involves illegal property development.

Hopefully a resolution can be reached quickly.

3-OlivePressNewspaper Appeal for missing Sotogrande expat whoolivepress works in Gibraltar (10,111) olivepressnews

4- Baron Rothschild +TheolivepressEs indicted in France over fraud case (9,716)

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5- Third space ball sparks terror after crashing into Spanish village (4,765) Download our app now and begin enjoying the best Spanish news on the go.

Becky Illing, Coin Letters should be emailed to letters@ theolivepress.es. The writer’s name and address should be provided. Opinions are not necessarily those of the Editor.

olive press The Olive Press The best Englishlanguage newspaper in Spain

TOP for news in Spain!

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

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November 26th - December 9th

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EXCLUSIVE: Meet the estate agent on an unheard-of selling streak LA ZAGALETA BEAUTY: Sold by Panorama

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ON THE UP: Stunning Spanish properties, such as this luxury Marbella villa (above) sold

by Panorama, are being snapped up in the post-crisis boom

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PUERTO BANUS PRIZE: Sold by Panorama

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GOLDEN MILE PAD: Sold by Terra Meridiana

ESTEPONA ESCAPE: Sold by Terra Meridiana

Property sales are back on track with multi-million euro purchases, renewed confidence and fresh hope for the future

Let the good times roll...

THE property sector is set to bounce back at an even faster pace over the coming years.

And many in the industry feel this change is across the board, from studio apartments and small holiday homes right up to the luxury sector.

If 2015 was the year of the ‘comeback’, 2016 and 2017 will see prices continue to rise with the rental market also gaining ground, according to a leading property expert.

Prices are predicted to increase around 6.2% next year alone, claims Servihabitat CEO Julian Cabanillas.

This rise is almost three times this year’s increase, which is currently predicted to sit at between 2.3% and 2.6% overall.

The real estate giant, part owned by La Caixa bank, also predicted that purchases next year could grow by 25%.

This positivity is shared by property expert Terra Meridiana’s Adam Neale.

“The crisis brought many tough years for the property market with the crunch really hitting in 2011,” he told the Olive Press.

“The market has picked up since then across all budgets and now we can really see the good times picking up again.”

A new chapter to breathe life into this iconic Marbella ruin

Page 22

What has Brigitte Bardot got to do with Spanish property?

Page 24

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

www.theolivepress.es

Property

On cloud nine!

Expat salesman ties up ‘unheard-of ’ nine home sales on the bounce... and he could be in for a tenth!

EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan AN Englishman is aiming to make it an unprecedented 10 out of 10.

Following in the footsteps of Premier League marksman Jamie Vardy, is Inland Andalucia’s very own sharp shooter Paul Barnett.

After bagging an unprecedented nine straight property sales in a row, Barnett will be the envy of estate agent bosses across Andalucia. And he could make it a perfect 10 with a decision imminent on yet another potential purchase

www.theolivepress.es

November 26th - December 9th

Properties making Paul so happy Client Name

Type

Town, Region

Price

1. Francisco & Antonia 2. Sean, Caroline & Thomas 3. Trudi 4. Tony & Louise 5. Victor & Cheryl 6. Murial 7. Jeff & Chrissie 8. Mark & Lorraine 9. Pillar & Jesus

Townhouse Cortijo Villa Townhouse Villa Townhouse Townhouse Villa Villa

Fuente de Perda, Malaga Iznajar, Cordoba Puente Genil, Cordoba Encinas Reales, Cordoba Lora de Estepa, Sevilla Villanueva de Algaidas, Malaga Casariche, Sevilla Marchena, Sevilla Casariche, Sevilla

€ 75,000 € 87,000 € 185,000 € 79,000 € 125,000 € 45,500 € 36,000 € 32,000 € 139,000

10.? Peter & Patricia

Townhouse

Molina, Malaga

Pending

in the inland Malaga area.

His boss Graham Govier said in his 15 years in charge of company Inland Andalucia no one agent has ever come close to Barnett’s cur-

YOUR AVERAGE JUAN

FORGET turrets and drawbridges, the average dream Spanish home is a four-bedroom affair, with a garage and set in a modest 120m2.

While a massive 64% of Spaniards in a European survey demanded a garage, just half prioritised a terrace and 47% required green spaces nearby.

Brits meanwhile are happier to live in shoeboxes, with their ideal home measuring 80m2, while the average Portuguese opted for a larger 211m2.

Europeans, in general, favour five bedrooms, the RE/MAX survey revealed.

rent streak.

“It is an unbelievable feat,” Govier told the Olive Press. “A one-inthree viewings-to-sales conversion ratio is deemed good business, so to tie up nine on the spin is truly unheard of.

“Not even in the heady days of the Costa boom did anyone come near to that.

“I think a pick up in the property market, a return of foreign buyers to Spain along with the improved online viewing system we have introduced have all contributed to his success.”

He added: “But let’s not take anything away from him. Paul is one of the good guys, a real old-fashioned salesman.

“ H e d o e s things the proper way, gets to know the buyers and doesn’t use any tricks to sign them up.

“He deserves his success and I’m sure with all the commissions coming in he will have a pretty good Christmas.”

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NEWS IN BRIEF Quarter pounder SPANISH house prices rose by 6.6% in the third quarter of 2015, with over 92,000 transactions taking place, representing the highest result of the last 10 quarters.

Renters buoyed TENANTS in Spain continue to get a good deal, with rental costs on the slide. A 1% year-on-year decline in October represents 31 straight months of decline in the rental sector.

Payment plan THE average Spanish mortgage costs €760 a month, with 75% of loan repayment terms set over 30 years, according to bank Goldman Sachs.

Holiday homes SPANIARDS have €9.2 billionworth of properties overseas, half of which are in the UK, France, Germany and Portugal.

Retail therapy REAL estate investment firm AEW Europe has launched a European retail fund aimed at investing up to €800 million in top tier cities, including Madrid.

Property

2022 the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

www.theolivepress.es

2 GREAT OPPORTunITIES TO EnjOY THE bEAuTY OF nATuRE !!!

Rio Genal Sierra de Ronda, Finca 40 hct. with 800 m Riverfront.

8hct. flat land, river border.

Ideal for horses, Hotel, Summercamp (School) etc.

Treehouses, many old trees (corc, olives, oak etc.), Yoga, Artcourses, Exec.training etc.!

Plans available, management, workcrew with long exsperiens in country Properties available!

Fair prices and estimates! 45 min. coast, two villages 15 minutes.

Price: 800.000 â‚Ź

36 hct. Finca River frontage old Farmhouse, trees - citrus, oak, pine!!

1 min. main road, 15 min Coast.

Price: 800.000 â‚Ź Contact: margaritaftaylor@hotmail.com

Property

BIG SPLASH www.theolivepress.es

November 26th - December 9th

Pioneering company to invest €121 million in Europe’s first ‘megapool’ and resort

By Iona Napier

THE company behind the world’s largest outdoor swimming pool is diving into its first European project.

The real estate giant Crystal Lagoons - behind a pool in Chile some 11 football pitches in size - is bringing its expertise to Casares.

The €121 million luxury resort will have the biggest pool in Europe, with 450 homes scattered around it.

The hectare and a half Alcazaba Hills Lagoon will create a huge area for swimmers and for other watersports.

Estimated to take eight months to build, the site is close to a development, once chalked in for a Spanish Disneyland.

Some 350 new properties are to be built alongside an existing 100 properties, which have sat unsold since 2009.

Spelling great optimism for the abandoned development, the scheme will target wealthy European tourists, principally British, German and Dutch.

COOL POOLS: Alcazaba Hills Lagoon (above) and (left) world’s biggest swimming pool in Chile

21

Hole in head

THE idea behind it was one of decadent luxury: a 22-floor, five-star hotel to revolutionise the Torremolinos tourist scene.

But six years after the €120 million Hotel Cruiser project fell through, the building’s massive footprint remains a reminder of its failure.

Only now has the town hall finally started work to fill in the ‘five star hole’ which sparked complaints.

It was not only unsightly but became dirty and was frequented by rats.

Work is predicted to last six months after which the land will be sold.

A troubled path...

“With Crystal lagoons’ revolutionary technology, we can bring the idyllic beach lifestyle anywhere in the world which could reactivate unsold and empty projects which were considered devoid of hope,” said regional director Sebastian Pillado.

The Estepona, Marbella and Mijas property landscape has seen a magnificent year with €376 million of investment scheduled in so far alone.

Casares town hall failed to comment on this matter when approached by the Olive Press.

SAN Pedro’s iconic footbridge has walked its way into controversy.

The stunning overpass has been denounced by political party Costa del Sol Si Puede over

claims of embezzlement and funding irregularities.

The Podemos breakaway group claims the former PP-run Marbella town hall put the same €309,000 payment through the books twice as a way of embezzling public funds.

The denuncia claims that demolition payments for a playground were put through twice among other irregularities.

The party is now demanding the new Marbella mayor discloses all payments in connection to the San Pedro project.

SEEING DOUBLE: Part of bridge payment was allegedly paid twice

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Property

Taking their sweet time TIME CAPSULE: The ancient sugar refinery lies in ruins

IT’S sad to see a present go on the scrap heap.

But that is effectively what has happened to the handsome Trapiche del Prado property and adjoining sugar refinery, gifted to Marbella to become a public senior citizens’ home.

The stunning 19th century industrial building in San Pedro de Alcantara that was donat-

Old Marbella sugar refinery gift to be saved ed by Marbella resident Mateo Alvarez in 1992 has stood empty and in ruins ever since.

And although council plans to bring the building work to fruition were repeatedly scrapped, all is not lost.

Marbella Town Hall culture

Skyline changer

BRITISH property developer Taylor Wimpey has announced an exciting €4.2 million complex in Marbella.

The 24-home project in the Marques del Duero part of San Pedro de Alcantara is one of many new projects set to transform the Marbella landscape.

Town planning councillor Isabel Perez claims recent investment in new Marbella property totals an impressive €46.7 million.

councillor Gema Midon claims she wants to stop the deterioration process.

“Rebuilding el Trapiche requires a huge amount of money and lots of time,” said Midon.

“But we are looking at a long-term project and our first priority is to slow down the decay and reinforce the structure,” she added.

After analysing the state of the haunting property, it was stated that although plans are not yet fixed, a first phase of improvements will take place in 2016.

El Trapiche may become a ‘cultural space’, museum or possibly an exhibition hall.

I

Property

N 2001, a Glaswegian surveyor packed his bags and followed the love of his life to Spain.

Some 14 years later Campbell Ferguson runs a top network of chartered surveyors, is tackling ecological infringements and is the first port of call for UK courts settling property disputes in Spain.

(And in case you were wondering, his sweetheart Louise is now his wife.)

Now, with 47 years of chartered surveying experience under his belt, he is ready to take on an additional venture... as an Olive Press columnist!

Campbell got his first taste and love of Spain in 1989 when he became MD of a development company in Madrid.

www.theolivepress.es

November 26th - December 9th

Man of property Chartered surveyor, environmentalist and new Olive Press columnist Campbell Ferguson reveals how he came to run one of the only chartered surveyor companies on the Costa del Sol

who owns the house, but it can be a daunting experience. Where a ‘walk-by’ valuation was instructed, I’ve parked round the corner and taken photos of all the houses in the area as I’d been told that the man had been ‘put away for a very long time’.

But as well as having a sharp business mind, Campbell, with his university Land Economics training, also has his eye on ecological matters, including a campaign to veto a compost factory in a residential area of Estepona.

With four lawyers on the case, denuncias submitted and hundreds of local residents signing a change. org petition, Campbell is confident plans for the site will be stopped.

“It’s a good idea, but in completely the wrong place,” he says.

Aberration

Understand

After a three-year stint in the capital, he headed back to Scotland, thinking his Spanish dream was over.

However, a decade later he was back on the plane and has never looked back.

After working as an estate agent on the Costa del Sol for two years, Campbell set up chartered surveyor firm Survey Spain in 2003.

“The two years as an agent were invaluable,” he says. “It helped me know the land and people plus understand the market and law in Andalucia”.

He adds: “As independent chartered surveyors providing confidential, pre-acquisition building surveys, we are 100% focussed on assisting the buyer without conflict of interest and are regulated by the internationally recognised RICS.” With 11 Royal Institute of Char-

23

TOP OF HIS FIELD: Campbell’s company Survey Spain is among Spain’s best surveyors

tered Surveyors-qualified surveyors working in mainland Spain and its islands, Gibraltar and the Algarve in Portugal, Survey Spain has established itself as one of Iberia’s top networks.

Campbell, a RICS Registered Valuer and trained Expert Witness, explains that the company is regularly called upon to help out in UK court matters.

“Usually we are called in to deter-

mine the value of overseas property in divorce, inheritance and tax cases,” he explains. “However, we are also called in during criminal cases, when a criminal’s assets are seized. We are never told

“What Estepona Town Hall and the Junta are planning is an aberration.

“The town hall gets €30,000 for granting the concession but ruins the environment for all the urbanisations as close as 220 metre around it with smells and polluted water. They also haven’t thought of the lost development value of the residential and hotel zoned land around it in both Estepona and Benahavis.

“Located there it will lose both town halls millions of euros in the long run.”

Campbell’s first column of, ‘All Property Matters’, will appear in the next issue of the Olive Press.

For more information visit www.surveyspain.com or call 952 923 520

Property

W

ITH the traditional pantile roof tiles to timeless cobbled courtyards, at least one local architect has dedicated his life to protecting the Andalucian vernacular.

From classic white-washed houses to old style cortijos, Donald Gray has long worked to preserve local architectural disciplines.

One of the region’s longest-serving expats Gray has, fittingly, now been recognised for his remarkable catalogue of sensitive designs.

Everything that the typical Costa del Sol monstrosities are not, his buildings have recently earned him an award, the Rafael Manzano Martos prize, that is given for honouring traditional Andalucian architectural styles.

And it is no surprise. For Australian Gray, 80, counts among his fans both actress Brigitte Bardot and world-respected writer Gerald Brenan, for whom he once designed a home.

His devotion to Andalucian architecture was sparked when he embarked on a love affair with Spain 57 years ago.

“I arrived in Spain about a year before Castro rode into La Havana,” he reveals.

It was 1958 and he initially settled in Valladolid, where he got a job as an English teacher.

But he soon got the travel bug to adventure further afield.

“I was young and spent a lot of time travelling around,” he tells the Olive Press. “I was teaching English wherever I went, including in Madrid and later in Torremolinos and Malaga.

“I did that for a year or two then went back to England. After that I went to Copenhagen to teach English then settled in Almunecar.”

Intriguingly, the one-time English teacher didn’t learn his craft for designing buildings at college, at all. Instead, he learned directly by studying traditional styles and drawing lessons from the craftsmen who kept these styles alive.

“I put as many years into studying as I would have at university. The type of architecture I’m interested in they don’t teach at university,” Gray continues. “Modern art is gimmickry, and gimmickry doesn’t make good art.”

His first forays in design came when he settled in Almunecar.

“There was something about the style of the old buildings there that I fell in love with… it was a beautiful town to walk around and the

Defender

Donald Gray has devoted his life to traditional Andalucia architecture, with Brigitte Bardot and Gerald Brenan big fans. Joe Duggan met the man

architecture really got to me.”

Gray’s CV now includes buildings all around the region.

As well as the town hall of Pitres, in Granada, he designed the urbanisations of Pueblo Lopez, in Fuengirola and the celebrated La Virginia urbanisation, in Marbella.

All of his designs are gleaming white jewels and unmistakably Andalucian.

Gray’s loyalty to local heritage, and his enduring interest in the beauty of domestic dwellings, are certainly a counterpoint to famous modern architect Frank Gehry’s otherworldly inventions, including the Guggenheim, in Bilbao.

His 12-bedroom La Tartana hotel, in La Herradura, won admiring glances from a famous guest.

“Brigitte Bardot stayed there. She said it was the most agreeable hotel she had stayed in,” says Gray.

Gray’s early years in Spain also drew him into contact with Brenan, the British writer and Hispanophile, whose books including South from Granada, transmit the very essence of Andalucia.

“I met him very early on when he was living in Churriana,” says Gray. “It turned out he wanted to leave his house in Churriana where he lived from before the Civil War. He wanted to forget about it all so I ended up designing

PRESTIGIOUS: Gray (left), Brenan (ce a house for him in nearby Alhaurin El Grande.

“I first met him not long after I moved to the Alpujarras region, where he lived for a long time.

“I cannot sing the praises of the professional team at Homefinders more… thanks to Dave and co I now have one of the best restaurants on the coast, not to mention a great place to live.”

Elliott Wright, Olivia’s, La Cala de Mijas

25

r of Andalucia www.theolivepress.es

November 26th - December 9th

entre) and Bardot (right) while (above) examples of Gray’s designs I used to see a lot of him. He was extremely interesting, an elegant conversationalist.”

Gray still lives in Las Alpujarras, in a tiny vil-

lage called Atalbeitar embedded in the Andalucian hills where he says he feels more Spanish than Australian or British.

In a long career that has taken him around the whole region, he in particular loved Marbella and Torremolinos.“I love Andalucian architecture because it is so pleasing,” he says.

“It’s lovely to walk down a street designed in the old Andalucian style. Marbella used to be like that. Torremolinos used to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

But his heart was broken when he saw the beloved unspoilt coastline of Andalucia slowly get eaten up by development.

As the collar of concrete expanded ever wider, his style of architecture got increasingly lost.

“You can see on the Costa del Sol there are massive amounts of architecture and most of it is very depressing,” he says.

“It used to be extremely beautiful - one of the most beautiful places in the world. Now it’s one of the ugliest. It doesn’t say much for modern architecture.”

However, he did not give up hope…. and landed a job as artistic director of a restoration school in Lebrija between 1986 and 1989.

The school taught young people to restore local monuments and churches and produced some of Andalucia’s finest artisan craftsmen.

“I thought that would be a way of teaching people what was being lost with the old Spanish crafts, things that had been completely destroyed. Ceramics, ironworks, carpentry,” says Gray.

Remarkably Gray is still working today, in particular on a house in Las Alpujarras.

“I will continue to design and renovate houses as long as I can. People no longer want to build urbanisations so I am doing what I know best and protecting what little is left.”

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Property

www.theolivepress.es

November 26th - December 9th

A diamond in the rough

Hacienda Casares is a fabulous new development, offering wide open space, incredible views and unbeatable finance opportunities just minutes from fairytale Casares A DIAMOND in the rough languishes in the rolling hills around Casares.

Hacienda Casares is set in a dream location, next to a golf course, high on a hill and surrounded by fabulous walks.

The beautiful apartments have just become available with unbelievable rates of finance (up to 95%).

Properties start at €93,300 and all have private underground parking, communal gardens and a pool and lifts.

The only way of viewing the apartments is through Hamilton Homes, as the company represents the owner, a bank – which explains their incredible prices, even for three-bed properties which are rare.

With views over Dona Julia Golf Course, out to the Med and the African coastline, the impressive natural backdrop is priceless.

The 18-hole, golf course is well-kept, well-designed (by wellknown Malaga architect Antonio Garcia Garrido) and well-reviewed.

The apartments are repossessions and the bank is pouring funds into repairing and fixing the outside area.

It is a rags to riches story whereby the development was badly hit by the financial crisis and the developer went bust with very few apartments sold.

But the improvements are already taking place and with some flats literally on the golf course, the location is second to none.

With heaps of potential, the continual improvements are transforming it into one the coast’s best value destination.

It is following in the footsteps of Duquesa Village urbanisation, where Hamilton Homes started selling on behalf of the banks five years ago, which is now very sought after.

From being a ghost town back then with 150 units available, they are now all sold and this is predicted for Hacienda Casares in the coming years.

It is 3.6km from the coast, 15 minutes from whitewashed Casares, 10 minutes from La Duquesa and Sabinillas and just 15 minutes from charming Estepona.

At just 50 minutes from Malaga airport and half an hour from

ROOMS WITH A VIEW: Available from just €93,300 in Casares

On the up!

IT has been an amazing year at this end of the coast.

While 2015 has seen Spain creep out of the economic crisis, Brits are very much back and enjoying the excellent exchange rates, not to mention unparalleled deals up for grabs.

We have seen a massive 60% increase in the number of purchases in the Manilva area on last year, with a much higher conversion rate in leads to sales.

Enquiries remain stable, but we have noticed clients are more confident and readier to invest.

Further afield, investment funds from across the pond in America have seen the potential and are also buying in Spain without hesitation.

With excellent properties being released onto the market and some once-in-a-lifetime fi-

It’s been a record year for Hamilton Homes, with big successes in Duquesa Village and an exciting project in Casares. Here, Shani and Andrew Hamilton make their property predictions for 2016 while looking at how Spain crept out of the crisis nance options being offered by banks, it is the perfect moment to make that move.

The market is picking up and quality is on the up, but valuefor-money properties are changing hands extremely quickly… so keep your eye on the ball!

Some developments have even increased their prices.

Give Andrew and Shani a call to go through all the best local options.

Call 952 890 444 or email hc@hamiltonhomes.com

Three golden rules for buying 1. Patience is a virtue Many of the best buys on the market are from the banks.

But thanks to new money laundering laws and a paperwork heavy, bureaucratic system, patience is certainly needed.

There are delays, even for cash buyers, as they have to prove where their money comes from. Take comfort in the new crackdown on legality, as in the long-run it makes your purchase safer.

2. You can never be too prepared So you’ve decided to buy in Spain. It’s exciting! But to get ahead, do as much of the groundwork that you can, even before you find your ideal property. For example, touch base with a lawyer, get an NIE number, open a Spanish bank account, set up a Power of Attorney if necessary and collate paperwork for a mortgage. All these things can take time and you don’t want to miss losing your dream home while you are waiting for an NIE number (NB: this is one of the many areas where we can guide you.)

3. Knowledge is key Know what you can afford. Find out your budget, work out how much you can afford to spend on community fees and be savvy to cheap properties which have high monthly costs. It is essential to identify the type of property you want, the most important features and your priorities – a stunning view or a corner shop, for example?

2016 pointers...

OPPORTUNITIES abound and 2016 will see even more confidence and even more sales.

The key tell-tale signs are the numerous investors setting up companies to trade, hoping to buy and sell within five years.

And new properties just keep coming, with the best value releases available to those who have their paperwork and finances in order.

And it’s not just bargains, with luxury properties more in demand than ever.

Most promisingly, Spain is back in pole position as one of the top quality of life destinations, not just as an investment opportunity.

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Property

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Property

November 26th - December 9th

Developing Andalucia

EXPERIENCED ENGLISH SOLICITORS & SPANISH ABOGADOS Looking to buy a Spanish property?

Contact us for your free guide to buying Spanish property safely & securely.

We provide a wide range of legal services including: Conveyancing

Litigation

Inheritances

Road traffic accidents

Spanish wills that comply with EU regulation 650

Personal injury & medical negligence

English wills

Company law

Family & divorce

Email: enquiries@mylawyerinspain.com Telephone: (+34) 951 203 094 from the UK 0845 508 2395 www.mylawyerinspain.com Offices: Marbella, Torrox, Murcia, Almería, Alicante & Valencia.

THE Costa del Sol has seen an explosion of growth over recent decades and, in order to be savvy with the market, it’s essential to speak to people who know their stuff.

The small but very well-established Scandinavian team at Andalucia Development in Marbella has a wealth of experience in the Spanish and international real estate markets.

Ulf Hessedahl and his Andalucia Development ‘one stop shop’ have been involved in property for more than 30 years Since the company was set up

by Kjell Hessedahl, Ulf’s father, back in 1981, it has been perfectly poised to be part of the immense growth of Marbella and the surrounding areas.

Prim and proper

LOCAL expertise and a fresh, approachable attitude are what make Primrose Real Estate one of the Costa del Sol’s go-to estate agents.

Lynn Van Wilderode, founder and brains behind Primrose Real Estate, has lived and worked on the Costa del Sol for 13 years.

The Duquesa-based company specialises in everything from bijou apartments to luxurious villas, and Lynn’s working background in law and real estate has helped her establish a reputable business.

“The market has seen a long overdue recovery after the dark times, with the weak euro benefiting many, especially the British and Scandinavians who are the majority buying in this part of Spain,” says Lynn.

“I’m very customer-service orientated. After-care is very important.

You have to listen to your clients’ needs.”

Belgian Lynn’s fluency in Flemish, Spanish and English mean expats and locals alike feel confident with the service they receive.

Buyers can browse through Primrose Real Estate’s range of properties extending from Estepona to Sotogrande.

And with the company expanding in the New Year, 2016 is looking sunny on the Costa del Sol. To get in touch, email info@primrose-realestate.com or call +34 661 193 789

The multilingual team is a ‘onestop-shop’ for your needs and can take care of all the details and bureaucratic hoops that are involved when buying or selling a house.

Nurturing solid relationships with clients, lawyers, building and property management companies and many more over the years, their connections make the whole process of buying or selling a house as smooth as possible.

Their goal: to make their customers feel as comfortable as possible throughout what can be a stressful process.

They also secure all of the practical after-sale aspects so you don’t have to worry about a thing.

With an approachable, welcoming workforce for whom nothing is too much trouble, the team at Andalucia Development would love to see you. Drop in if you find yourself in the area!

You can find them in Centro Plaza, Local 63, Nueva Andalucia, Marbella. Call them on 952 816 250 or email info@ andadev.com

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Property

www.theolivepress.es

Inland bargains

November 26th - December 9th

With properties being snapped up across the Andalucia countryside, now is the time to buy. Here are three hot properties still available at bargain prices

Jaen/ Alcaudete €18.000

Beds: 2 Baths: 1 Views: Countr Built: 113 m² yside Plot: 108 m² Location: Outs kirts

T

HIS large townhouse is near the centre of town and benefits from off road parking in front of the garage. When you enter the property it has traditional Andalucian tiles which lead through to the lounge. The property has loads of potential and will make a stunning property once its upgraded. Loads of natural daylight to this property. This property will sell very quickly so make a booking to view now.

Beds: 3 Baths: 1 untryside Views: Co m² Built: 157 m² Plot: 3444Rural Location:

Sevilla/Moron de la Frontera WAS €99.000 NOW €70.000

A

N attractive country villa just outside the large town of Morón de la Frontera, Seville. Entrance to the property is via double gates and a pretty tree lined driveway.

The villa has a generously proportioned open plan fully fitted kitchen, an integral lounge/ diner with feature wood burning log burner.

3 double bedrooms and a good sized family bathroom with cabin shower.

The property also benefits from double glazing throughout. There is also an outside toilet/ shower room and storerooms.

At the front of the property there´s a large covered terrace, perfect for alfresco dining which overlooks the mature gardens, which have an abundance of fruit trees, olive trees and grape vines. There is ample room for a swimming pool.

Jaen/ Castillo de Locubin €29.000

N

EW floors, raised floor walls and a new roof are just a few recent developments on this property. Add to this the electrics and water have been upgraded. It is a real blank canvas to reform this property. It is situated on the outskirts of Alcaudete close to the historical castle. On entering the property there is a large lounge with staircase to the right. Ahead is access to the garden which is divided to a storage area and a nice size garden with fruit trees. On the first floor there is a good sized landing which could be converted into a bathroom.

The master bedroom is to the front and another bedroom to the right.

Beds: 4 Baths: 1 Views: Countr Built: 159 m² yside Plot: 93 m² Location: Outs kirts

www.theolivepress.es Property

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th www.theolivepress.es November 26th - December 9th2015

3131

Hitting the floor, at last

European Commission calls for homeowners to be repaid controversial mortgage clause costs in full

MILLIONS of Spanish homeowners could receive payouts after the European Commission told banks to repay customers’ hit by so-called floor clauses in their mortgage

Getting the clause out!

M

ORTGAGE holders are celebrating in their droves… and about time too.

With around 10% of Spanish mortgage holders affected by a hidden interest fee known as clausulas suelos, it is welcome relief to see the European Commision ordering banks to reimburse customers in full.

Estimated to be responsible for a whopping 90% of Spanish housing evictions, the minimum-rate interest clause has been costing mortgage holders an average of €3,000 a year for far too long.

But that - at last - looks to be coming to an end and good riddance too.

Not only have the clauses now been taken out of most - if not all - mortgages, but those who have forked out thousands of euros of their hard earned cash should

The end of hidden minimum interest fees gives thousands of Spanish mortgage holders cause to applause

now see a big payback.

The logistics of the payback are yet to be ironed out, nor have the banks come out and responded to the order… therefore it could be a while yet before reimbursements start coming through.

To give a little background, the clausulas suelos saga reared its head in the mid 2000s, with thousands of customers complaining that they were being tricked into paying thousands of euros on top of their mortgage repayments.

It soon emerged that, unbeknown to many mortgage buyers, banks had hidden the clausulas suelos minimum interest fee in the small print.

By May 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the fee had not been outlined correctly in mortgage con-

To contact Tancrede for all your mortgaging needs call: 666 709 743 or for insurance queries call: 951 203 540 Email: tdp@thefinanacebureau.com The Finance Bureau Centro Commercial Guadalmina, 2nOffice No. 7 Guadalmina, 29670

Road to Riches, by Richard Alexander

A

S we all know, financial markets remain very volatile and, with so much political and economic upheaval, that’s not going to change any time soon. Should we be worried?

In fact, a certain amount of volatility is a good thing because it creates opportunities for fund managers to exploit. After all, a totally flat market would not create the right environment to make and take profits, which funds need to do if they are going to provide reasonable returns.

The concern is that investment values will fall during negative periods and, of course, this is true. But if you are investing for the longer term, then the timing of the ups and downs of markets is not crucial - except, perhaps, at outset when you make your initial investment.

From then onwards, it makes no difference whether you get good performance immediately, or later, and whether you see negative returns before positive returns.

For example, for a €1,000 investment over six years which enjoys three years of positive performance and three years of negative growth, it does not matter what order the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ years fall in, the result will be the same.

Try it for yourself and see!

The above example saw growth years of +10%, +17% and +5%, with loss years of -5%, -2% & -8%. The end result is a fund value of €1,157.45.

This is fine if you are simply aiming to accumulate capital. It is a very different story if you are taking income from the fund.

Using the same example but adding an annual income withdrawal of €50, if all of the good years come at the beginning, the value after six

deals. These minimum-rate interest clauses charged mortgage holders higher rates, even when Spain’s benchmark Euribor hit historic lows of 1.3%.

Riding the market It’s a roller allquestion coaster oftiming... years would be €872. If the negative years come first though, the end result would be a fund value of €780. As you can see, timing really does matter!

So how can you use this information to your advantage when planning your finances?

The answer has to be in the overall strategy which you should discuss with your financial adviser.

Your finances should be structured to vary the sources that pay you income, in order to avoid taking funds from market-linked investments when values are down. This is only possible if you have spread your investments and have other money you can draw on which is not market sensitive, such as funds on deposit.

This will only work for you if you understand the level of income you can sensibly achieve from your capital over the longer term, have a strategy in place and the determination to employ it when decisions need to be made.

This should be at the heart of your financial planning if you are relying on your capital to provide income. Timing really can make a very big difference.

Richard Alexander Financial Planning Limited is an appointed representative of L J Financial Planning Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Contact him at Richard@ra-fp.com

Around 10% of mortgage holders are affected by the ‘clausulas suelos’.

Adicae, the association of Spanish bank users, estimates the clauses have cost the average client €3,000 a year and have been partly responsible for 90% of Spanish evictions over the last few years.

The EC opinion is not binding, but the ruling is requesting payment be made for the by mortgage broker full duration of the loan.

Tancrede de Pola

MORTGAGE THINK TANK

tracts. Banks were ordered to remove clausulas suelos from all contracts where they were not outlined clearly and to repay any fees paid from that date on.

In October this year, Caixabank finally removed all its minimum-rate clauses, effectively losing the bank a staggering €220 million each year.

But the European Commision has now ruled that those sanctions do not go far enough. They have ordered banks to dip into their coffers once more and reimburse mortgage borrowers in full from the date they started repaying.

All in all, it will cost the banks a fair amount but will go some way to restoring confidence in the mortgage system.

Now, roll on getting rid of the insurance clauses... But that’s for another column.

Refusing

Incredibly, many banks are still refusing to remove the clauses despite Spain’s own High Court ruling in May 2013 that the clauses should be repaid from that date.

Lenders BBVA, Abanca and Cajamar have removed them, while Caixabank also eliminated most of its clauses at a cost of about €220 million a year to the bank.

Banks, including Sabadell and Unicaja, have still to remove the unfair clauses.

Top Dollar Let’s do business

33

www.theolivepress.es

33

Getting started may be a slog, but doing business in Spain is on the up

DOING business in Spain is getting easier… just about.

Moving up the World Bank’s annual report

by one place, Spain ranks 33rd in terms of how easy it is to do business.

Out of 189 countries analysed as part of the Doing Business report, Singapore, New Zealand and Denmark came up top, with the UK in sixth place.

THOUSANDS of expats are now receiving a perfect view of Eastenders At the other end and Coronation Street by connecting their TVs to 4G. of the scale, South Telitec, one of the largest communication company´s in Spain outside Sudan, Libya and the main providers, help more than 25,000 homeowners get connectEritrea were detered to the internet and their favourite UKTV programmes. mined as the hardest With 4G offering a connection speed of up to 70 MB a minute, the benefits places to do business. of switching to the serBut creating a comvice are huge for IPTV pany is still more users. difficult in Spain “If you have 4G you than in 81 other nanot only have great tions, while securing speeds but can also building permits is be fully portable, with so complicated that a simple plug in & I’VE just spent a month thoroughly testing it pushes the country play unit,” explained out Telitec.

Cheryl Summers. down to 101st place While initially the company’s 4G box didn’t Telitec cover all of Spain in that category. impress, doing little more than my previous

4G or not 4G Testing Telitec

and the Iles, with various services and can advise on the best options for your requirements at great prices.

Their multilingual services and support team offer expert advice on the latest internet technology as well as mobile services and TV. Telitec IPTV box offers over 60 channels and a catch-up service, you will never miss your favourite programme again.

Movistar package, once I reinstalled it at the top of the house… hey presto, it worked like a dream.

Testing it nearly a dozen times via nifty phone app Speedtest, I never got less than an 18-megabyte download speed and once or twice got around 40m.

The average upload was around 9m and the ‘ping’ was normally in the late ‘50s’ or early ‘60s’.

Even better, the usage is unlimited and the company was always very happy to help.

Coupled with the company’s TV package, I rarely needed to go out and all IPTV channels worked well without the usual stopping and starting.Terrific Telitec indeed.

Jon Clarke

United!

Different

Entrepreneurs need an average 14 days to set up, having to go through seven different procedures, and invest more in startup costs than in many other countries.

In terms of ease of paying taxes, Spain now ranks 60th, up 19 places since last year.

FOOTBALL has been uniting people across the globe from the days when a pig’s bladder was first kicked across a field in Scotland.

Almost 500 years later and Malaga football club is joining forces with the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain (BCCS) to attract the Andalucian expat community to the turnstiles.

A large contingent of British fans known as the Guiri Army - already attend La Rosaleda stadium on a regular basis but this new collaboration aims to improve foreign investment in the club.

Jangles all the way A NEW learning centre focusing on individual childrens’ needs is drawing on nearly 20 years Costa del Sol teaching experience.

Pauline Wilson’s bilingual Jay Jangles Children’s Centre opened in October in La Cala Hills, with its number of enrolled children growing rapidly.

The centre helps youngsters aged 1-6 years old by implementing the Early Years British curriculum.

Jay Jangles is committed to establishing the intellectual, emotional, and

physical foundation for your child to become a self-directed learner, flexible thinker and creative problem solver.

Pauline said: “The difference between us and other nurseries is our staff ratio. We use the British guidelines, therefore have a lower number of children to staff. Each child has a key worker to ensure their individual needs are always met.”

Pauline spent 17 years working in British international schools. Jay Jangles prepares children for school by producing specially tailored reports on each child’s progress, something Pauline says wasn’t provided at other schools.

“Before, I had five or six-year-old kids coming to school and we didn’t know what stage they were at,” said Pauline.

“Here, we try to make the transformation to big school as easy as possible for the child, the parent and the school.”

Call 602 570 836 or email jayjangleschildrenscentre@hotmail.com for information

33 www.theolivepress.es

November 26th - December 9th

34

Top Dollar 34

First class ticket boost TRAIN users are on track for a big boost after Renfe announced it is spending millions on 30 new trains.

The Spanish rail company revealed it is splashing between 2,061 billion and 2,642 billion on its new fleet.

Spanish power provider Acciona tops world list of 100 most eco-friendly utilities

The 400-seat trains, which will have a minimum speed of 320 kmh, come into service between 2018 and 2025.

Work starts on the first batch of 15 trains in May 2016 with Renfe ordering the remaining 15 when required.

Green light

A SPANISH company has been named the greenest utility firm in the world by industry experts Energy Intelligence.

Acciona, an independent power producer

with completely renewable energy capacity, topped the list of the world’s top 100 Green Utilities.

The rankings are based on companies’ renewable energy portfolios and greenhouse gas emisADVERTORIAL sions.

The 100 utilities in the list have a combined 3,100GW of installed capacity, equivalent to around 55% of the EXPATS have reason to rejoice, with the news that Masmovil world’s total power generais launching a new and cheaper international plan. tion.

With coverage in the entire country the phone company has Acciona obtained 234 out of introduced ‘Plan Zero International’ from only €14.90. a possible 300 points in the The package includes 200 minutes for both national and ranking for CO2 emissions international calls plus 1GB of data and 100 national SMS per MWh. messages.

The company beat energy Alternatively, for 400 minutes giants such as Iberdrola speak time and 4GB of data and 100 SMS you pay only and EDF to the number one €25.90. spot.

For more information visit www.

It’s the first time Acciona masmovil.es. has appeared in the annual Energy Intelligence report.

Future plan

ASBESTOS CLAIMS ON THE RISE ASBESTOS CLAIMS ON THE RISE ADVERTORIAL

ASBESTOS CLAIMS ON THE RISE

asbestos whilst in Gibraltar, we are still able to bring Unfortunately, more and more British citizens have a claim forward for your exposure in the British retired to Spain and Gibraltar only to be diagnosed courts to ensure that you receive compensation for with an asbestos related chest condition which was asbestos whilst in Gibraltar, wesuffer are still and more British citizens have the significant care that is required if you anable to bring caused byUnfortunately, the asbestos tomore which they were exposed a claim forward for your exposure in the British retired to Spain and Gibraltar only to be diagnosed asbestos disease” Dean Cruickshanks, asbestos many years earlier whilst more working in the UK.British In the citizens NFORTUNATELY, and more aware of the dangersthat of you exposure.” courts to ensure receive compensation for with an asbestos related chest condition which was solicitor at Wolferstans. majorityhave of cases, theytowere unaware that they had retired Spain and Gibraltar only toexposed be the significant care that is required if you suffer an caused by the asbestos to which they were asbestos whilst in Gibraltar, we are still able to bring even been exposed to asbestos.

However, as its use Unfortunately, more andwith morean British citizensrelated have chest condidiagnosed asbestos “Despite theor UK, orCruickshanks, evenyoubeing youfor now live inleaving Gibraltar Spain and haveexposed asbestos disease” Dean asbestosto asmany earlier working in the UK. forward InIfthe a claim your exposure in the British retired to Spain and years Gibraltar only1980’s towhilst be diagnosed between the 1950’s and the was widespread, tion which was caused by the asbestos to which bestos while in Gibraltar, we are still able to bring a claim been diagnosed with an asbestos related condition solicitor at Wolferstans. courts to ensure that you receive compensation for with asbestosthat related condition which was of chest cases, they were unaware that had itthey isan possible anyone working in a dockyard, on athey in weremajority exposed many years earlier while the working forward for yourif exposure in pleural the British courts to ensure such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, significant care that is required you suffer an caused by theeven asbestos toexposed which theytowere exposedHowever, been asbestos. as its use building site or as a plumber or engineer could have the UK. Ifyou you now inasbestos Gibraltar or Spain and you have care that receive compensation for are the significant asbestos disease” Dean Cruickshanks, many years earlier whilst working in and the UK. the thickening, fibrosis orlive lung cancer, then you still between the 1950’s theIn1980’s was widespread, been exposed thewere deadly mineral. been diagnosed with an asbestos related condition solicitor atable Wolferstans. that is required if you suffer an asbestos disease” Dean majority of cases, to they unaware that they had it is possible that anyone working in a dockyard, ontoa claim compensation in the UK. It is In the of cases, they were that they even beenmajority exposed to asbestos.

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Wolferstans have successfully acted for clients chest, then it is essential that you contact a between 20ago. and 50exposure years for the symptoms to years intake the UK, even though the occurred many have worked in the dockyard in Gibraltar and have been worked with asbestos and is suffering from If you, a friend, or someone within your family, has in Gibraltar. specialist firm of solicitors such as Wolferstans become years ago. apparent. Usually these involve coughing, exposed to asbestos and who are unaware that they are worked with asbestos and is suffering from breathlessness, fatigue, a persistent cough or a tight Once someone has been exposed to asbestos it can without delay. breathlessness and fatigue. breathlessness, aa persistent or a tight Once has been to asbestos canthe still someone able to claim forexposed damages theitUK, even though to fatigue, chest, then it cough isoressential that within you contact If you, friend, someone your afamily, has take between 20 and 50inyears for symptoms chest, then it is essential that you contact a and take 20 and 50 years forclients the symptoms Wolferstans have been helping people for as over 200 thebetween exposure occurred many years “Unfortunately many of our putago. theirto involve specialist firm of solicitors Wolferstans worked with asbestos is such suffering from breathlessbecome apparent.

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ASBESTOS CLAIMS ON THE RISE

U

rather than their exposure to asbestos as they are not

on all asbestos and industrial related matters.

www.wolferstans.com Wolferstans your legal asbestos experts, www.wolferstans.com Wolferstans your legal asbestos experts, here for you when you need us. www.wolferstans.com here Wolferstans for you when you need us.asbestos experts, your legal here for you when you need us.

Top Dollar

www.theolivepress.es

35

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015 November 12th - 25th 2015

35 35

Top Dollar

36 2015 36 the Olive Press November 11th - 25th36

THERE really is something for everyone at this year’s Over 50s Show.

From coin experts to jewellers, and beauticians to golf instructors, a whole host of stalls are to be enjoyed by one and all.

And with the event fast approaching, organiser John Lowe cannot wait.

“This is our ninth show and it really is the going to be the best one so far,” Lowe told the Olive Press. “This year we are trying to push the antiques side of the event.

Action “We have a real triple threat of experts on board, with Antique Roadshow’s Eric Knowles back as well as coin, medal and stamp specialist Mike Kelly and the guys from Anthony’s Diamonds.

For those looking for more action there will also be a golf corner, offering up free lessons by Casares Golf Club’s Rob Green. Meanwhile Paul Agius will be giving bridge lessons and Jive Spain will be

S

ALTYDOG Investor is just coming up to its fifth anniversary, and what a tumultuous half decade on the world stock markets it has turned out to be.

Financial problems have continued to plague most countries throughout this time, and to date there has not been any certain evidence of a recovery within the banking industry.

The European Union is far from a settled and directed community. China has risen as an economic power, and is now facing the problems of establishing a stable and balanced economy.

www.theolivepress.es www.theolivepress.es

Life begins at 50

offering a taster in modern dance.

With hog roast available all day, there will also be a whole host of health and beauty stalls on offer.

The Over 50s Show takes place at the Palacio de Congresos, Estepona, on Saturday November 28 and Sunday November 29. For further information contact info@slp.ie

AGONY ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Home of contention Divorce and separation: what happens to the family home?

T JIVE ALIVE: Dance fans

Celebrating five turbulent years The world needs the optimist and the pessimist but our glass is still half full – cheers!

Stressful

Oil fracking in the USA has created a price battle with the established oil producing nations, resulting in prices more than halving, to the benefit of users but not suppliers. Russia has been flexing its military might to impress and keep in line previous satellite Soviet countries. This has resulted in the western world imposing trade sanctions which, coupled with the falling oil prices, are wrecking the Russian economy.

This is the stressful environment the Saltydog Tugboat portfolio has been operating in, during its five years of existence. Some days it has seemed that the markets would fall faster than you could do up your shoe-laces, only to see them recover over

the following few days.

Our original intention with the Tugboat portfolio was to try to achieve a relatively safe rolling return after costs of 10% p.a. It was to be a demonstration for ourselves and our subscribers that it was not necessary to have your money stagnating

November 26th - December 9th

in cash ISAs and bank coffers, earning you nothing. This we have proved beyond any doubt, as the Tugboat portfolio has avoided all the major market drops during this five year period, while enjoying a steady rolling return of 9% p.a. Unfortunately not the 10% we were

looking to achieve, so that is a disappointment. Still, we must not take the world too seriously (as we all know, none of us will get out alive)!

When looking at your investments it’s important to believe that, with care and attention, tomorrow can be better than today. The world needs both the optimist and the pessimist. The optimist invented the airplane and the pessimist the parachute.

They act as a counterbalance to each other, forcing us to examine whether our glass is half empty or half full.

At Saltydog it is always half full and we fully intend to claw ourselves back to that target of a 10% p.a. rolling return.

To find out more about Saltydog Investor, or better still to take the 2 month free trial, please go to their website www.saltydoginvestor.com.

HE title is short but the consequences of divorce are often complex, far-reaching and can last decades.

When a couple, married or otherwise, decides to end the joint use of the family home following separation or divorce, the family home - whether jointly or privately owned by one partner - becomes the asset that is the subject of the greatest disputes.

These concerns arise, for many and obvious reasons, both personal and financial.

In Spain, courts have certain guidelines that they tend to stick to when deciding about who is to retain possession.

These include: ownership situation, existing judicial precedent, social inertia, mutual or unilateral decision (very often, one partner leaves willingly) and, most importantly, children.

The following guidelines can help us understand what we can expect when in this situation: - Where children are involved, 95% of the time the use of the family home goes to the mother because she is granted custody in 95% of cases.

- Where children are not involved, the judge can decide that possession, for a prudent period of time (some courts establish this to be 6 to 12 months), goes to the non-owning spouse/ partner if he/she is in more demand of protection (lack of income, financial situation, or illness).

- Where children are not involved, the property is not owned jointly and both parties are in a similar financial situation, the owning partner will have the right to enjoy possession. Where it is jointly owned, courts expect partners to agree on its use, failing which, the property is sold at public auction and the proceeds, if any, divided.

If the property is not sold at auction, a common occurrence particularly where a large mortgage is registered, the court can allocate the use of the property by alternate periods of time and, very exceptionally, it could even be partitioned with a wall if the home lends itself to it.

- Situations of domestic violence are extremely complex cause the male partner generally spends time in police cells, gets prosecuted and normally, regardless of the actual outcome of the proceedings, is given a restraining order which automatically means that he is now out of the family home.

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.es

Bankers coin it in SPAIN has 1,506 bankers taking home a bonus worth 200% of their salary, a new report reveals.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) study of EU countries’ bank employees places Spain in fourth place.

United Kingdom has the most with 6,461 with Germany second on 3,399 and France third on 2,397.

An EU cap limits bankers’ bonuses to 100% of fixed salary, or 200% with shareholders approval.

C lassifieds

37 www.theolivepress.es

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

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49 cents per word. Minimum charge www.theolivepress.es based on 10 words per issue and a minimum of 2 issues. IVA not includthe olive press - December 11- December 2014 ed All ads include the first 2 24 words in November 26th - December 9th bold. For all text in bold add 25%

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BUILDING

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

kitchens

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12 weeks of Christmas Not even the Queen gets a three-month birthday build-up

I firewood

pet store

T’S an extraordinary fact that while Christmas always falls on the same day it gets earlier every year - even in Spain. Although that’s no fault of the Spanish who don’t get their decorations up and their belens out until December.

Every year from around mid-September, down here on the Costa, the first expat restaurateurs present flourishing festive menus, urging booking without delay.

But in weather hot enough to wilt an ensalada tropical, who feels up to considering mulled wine, stuffed turkey, bacon-wrapped chipolatas and plum pudding (with home-made custard or brandy butter)?

Blame it on the summer visitors who come back to Spain in December and like to make their reservations early. (It’s nice to see they enjoy the ‘traditional’ local cuisine.)

Blame it on the TV. I like whiskers on kittens as well as the next man but if I hear the Aldi Christmas commercial just one more time I fear I’ll be within a whisker of turning into a serial kitten abuser.

Or blame it on the consumer society. Gibraltarians have been enjoying the twinkle of Christmas lights in Main Street since November 8, London even beat them to it on the first of this month, while festive produce has hit the shops so early that M&S mince pies are past their sell-by date way before the 25th!

Today, Jamie Oliver is showing you how to turn your Halloween pumpkin into the starter for your festive 10-course dinner before the candle has gone out.

They’ll have to change the wording of The 12 Days of Christmas to: ‘On the Twelfth Week of Christmas my true love gave to me … the priority order form for a free range turkey (buy in September to assure December delivery)’.

Not even HRH Queen Elizabeth gets that kind of birthday build-up. Although in publishing, too, you’re always ahead of the game. I wrote this article in October!

The average European travels 190 miles on five

EARLY DOORS: Christmas fever Christmas shopping trips, suffers three hangovers and gains 4lb in weight over Christmas, according to research by Visa, pretty scary on the medical front considering that December 25 is only one day …

That day will cost the average Brit a cool £796 per person this year. You could get a whole week of winter sunshine in Benidorm for that …

It certainly makes my flight tickets to New Zealand seem a lot more reasonable, despite the hassle to get them (I won’t go into the detail but savvy travel agents are an endangered species and flight comparison sites tell lies).

I’m having two Christmases this year – one in Spain and one in the Antipodes. Although as New Zealand’s in the Commonwealth, Santa gets there early too.

I’ve already put an All Black on my wish list but, failing that, I’d like to order a Grow Your Own Boyfriend, an adult ‘toy’ featured in the last issue of Olive Press.

I like the one I’ve got but a back-up might come in handy, especially as the packaging claims: ‘Mr Right Grows Six Times his Size in Water’.

No hard feelings Dave but I’m told November sea temperatures are still pretty icy in New Zealand!

With friends all over the world, the Paris attacks felt closer to home than ever

I butchers

GOT home late that fateful Friday night from a housewarming in the campo where I was introduced to one of my best friends’ new man, who was born in Paris.

I host a Saturday morning breakfast show so left the party early to drive back to the casita and was heading off to bed with a midnight cuppa when I thought I would check what was going on in the world of Facebook.

That was when I started seeing the posts about the Paris attacks.

I flicked on my radio (I don’t have a television at home) and listened to the horrific events unfold for the next couple of hours.

One of the great things about living in an international community like Marbella is the fact that we have friends all over the world.

My thoughts went straight to my French friends, as well as a pal who was on holiday in Paris and had only sent me a photo of the Eiffel Tower the day before.

I WhatsApped her to check

that she was OK, but there was no reply. I went to bed around 3am, worried.

Up at 6am to head to the studio for the show, I received a message from her. She had taken shelter in the basement of a bar with other customers and was stuck, with all transport links shut down. But at least she was safe.

Other friends started checking into Facebook that morning, letting us know that they were safe.

As the full horror of the attacks were revealed, I kept an eye on social media.

Of course, there were the usual ‘close the borders’, ‘kill ‘em all’ and ‘let God sort ‘em out’ comments that always appear after

these atrocities. But there was a huge public display of solidarity with the people of Paris.

Residents threw open their doors that terrible night to shelter those stranded and get people off the boulevards that had become killing grounds.

No one asked what the religion was of the people they were letting in, or what part of the planet they came from.

It was just a natural, gut instinct to help fellow human beings in distress.

Marbella, with its wonderful mixture of cultures and creeds, religions and races, is living proof that we can all co-exist.

So we pray for those we lost, offer comfort for their friends and families and say in solidarity, ‘Je suis Paris’.

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

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FOOD & DRINK www.theolivepress.es

with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

Chestnut charm THEY made Nat King Cole burst into song and they’re one of the most evocative Christmas images on the Costa del Sol. Chestnuts have been eaten in Spain for centuries and were known as ‘the bread of the poor’ in areas where they were dried and made into flour.

Growing around Leon, the Basque Country, Galicia and Astorias they are the centre of traditional ‘magosto’ parties around fires in northern Spanish towns.

They are also grown in the Genal Valley and with a low calorific and fat content, they make a healthy Christmas snack.

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015 41 The only English newspaper in Spain with a dedicated food and drink section every issue

Route to nowhere Annual tapas route suffers after sponsor saga sparks boycott

AS far as tapas routes go, Benalmadena’s is more of a halfhearted stroll than a marathon this year.

Just eight bars signed up to the event, making it the town’s worst ever turn-out.

The new PSOE council changed the conditions this year, insisting bars paid €233 for a batch of Malaga Virgen wine from the event sponsor, and then use it in their recipes.

But the plan backfired when the usual bars complained about the charge and refused to take part in the route, which was traditionally organised to boost business in the low seaWE knew men are from Mars and son. women are from Venus, but who knew The PP oppothat gender affects our tastebuds? sition encourWomen have an emotional reaction aged the counto food as soon as they lock eyes on it cil to return to whereas men have to taste it in order to the old way, engage cerebrally, Madrid neuroscienbut they retist Miguel Valdeolmillos has discovered. plied by statMen reacted most strongly to chocolate and steak tartar, ahead of toring the spontilla or casserole, while women had the strongest response to tradisor had helped tional dishes such as jamon, followed by chocolate. advertise the Images of chocolate stimulated the brain more than pictures relating event and make to sex, travel or sport in 69% of men and 62% of women. it affordable.

Taste test

REBEL: Anthony WT

Spain’s the way!

EXCLUSIVE

SPANISH cookbooks are the flavour of the month for celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson.

Appearing at the Gibraltar Literary Festival, the TV star revealed his current number one recipe book is that of Juan Mari Arzak, owner and chef of the eponymous Basque Country restaurant.

“I find British cookbooks very dull,” he admitted to the audience at Elliott O’Callaghan hotel, having prepared a festival lunch earlier in the day.

“But there are some Spanish cookbooks I’m really loving right now, Arzak being the best.”

“I have about 2,000 sitting on my shelves in total, and form each one I get about two dishes.”

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

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www.theolivepress.es FOOD & DRINK with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

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Stuff the turkey and predictable Christmas pud! How about a hot prawn cocktail to wow your guests this year - and that’s just for starters! OP sales chief and part time chef Chris Birkett shares his recipes for an alternative menu in the Christmas run-up

Xmas lunch with punch INGREDIENTS (Serves 4) - 500g Raw king prawns Peeled - 2 Romaine lettuces, separate leaves - 2 tbsp olive oil - Spring onions, washed and chopped - 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

- Fresh basil - 2 tbsp tomato puree - Cherry tomatoes - 1 tsp sweet paprika - Brandy or Sherry - Chilli flakes add to taste - Double cream - Salt & pepper

METHOD - Heat oil in a large frying pan on a medium setting and add paprika, chilli flakes and crushed garlic.

- Cook for one minute and add chopped Spring onions, cook until softened.

- Stir in tomato puree add alcohol and small amount of water to create a sauce.

- Drop in King prawns and cook until pink, add salt and pepper to taste then take off heat to rest.

- On a side plate put three lettuce leaves with four/ five cherry tomatoes halved inside.

- Place a generous amount of prawns and sauce over

each leaf and sprinkle basil leaves for decoration. Serve with warm crusty bread and enjoy!

ARE you brave enough to turn your back on the traditional trappings of Christmas?

By that I mean kicking the turkey into touch, along with the cranberry sauce, the Brussels sprouts (who likes them anyway?) and, of course, the peas. After all, no one said it was the season of peas and goodwill …

In fact, turkey isn’t always the star of Christmas dinner on the cosmopolitan Costa del Sol, where the Scandinavians often prefer duck while the Spanish favour seafood.

So in the first of a three-part series I’ll be bringing you my favourite recipes for a three-course festive feast with a difference, featuring fresh local ingredients - all tried and tested in my own kitchen and officially approved by friends and relations, por supuesto!

If that sounds appealing, first peel your prawns. King prawns of course, in deference to the magi (we can’t forget Christmas entirely). They star in a seasonal starter that’s hot, spicy and not your average prawn cocktail … but I guarantee you won’t have to fish for compliments!

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

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the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

FOOD & DRINK www.theolivepress.es with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com

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A

FEW years ago I was invited to be in the audience of the TV show Hell’s Kitchen as an expert chef and taster, to judge and enjoy the food and to support my friend, the celebrity chef Gary Rhodes. He was competing against Jean Christophe Novelli whom I also knew well … he was linked to having an ‘over-friendly’ relationship with my ex-wife!

JC barely looked my way, pretending not to recognise me, although I had worked with him for many years. In the team of ‘actor chefs’ was Anthea Turner (another good friend of mine. She always had a hard time from the public but that was because she handled things badly, not because she is a bad person. In fact she is lovely.)

Anthea called out to me and I ducked under the kitchen unit to see her but was promptly ushered out by BBC guerrillas. ‘Sorry, no public in here’, they said. I was hardly ‘public’. I was Anthea’s friend, and a Master chef trying to help her and the teams out! And clearly Anthea was stressed.

‘Give me your chocolate pot recipe’, she whispered. Not knowing what she wanted it for but seeing her panic, I wrote it out on a paper napkin, slid it over to her and went to sit at my allocated table with

FLOWER POWER

by Steven Saunders of the Little Geranium

Hell’s Kitchen

A treat for popstar Chico and Anthea Turner... but not Aled Jones! some of the other guests.

The presenter came over to our table and said, ‘Hello, what time is it?’ ‘Chico time’, the audience responded on cue and I immediately remembered one of the table guests from the X Factor.

‘Didn’t you knock Madonna off the number one spot in the charts?’ I asked.

‘Sure bro’, he replied, ‘but how could she compete?’ Lol! Chico is a very intelligent man with a passion for religion, peace and love, almost

Steven’s little pot au chocolat

·

Ingredients (makes approx 8-10 small pots)

·

4 bars of dark (black) chocolate 125-150g bars 750ml of thick cream 4 egg yolks 4 heaped dessertspoons of white sugar 4 dessertspoons of Amaretto or Tia Maria

·

Method · ·

Heat the cream but do not boil it.

Break the chocolate into small bite size pieces and melt all of it either on a low heat in the microwave or over a small pan of boiling water.

· · · · ·

hippy in his ways, though of Moroccan origin. He said, ‘My wife ( Danni) is a real fan of yours, she watches every show and has the hots for you!’

‘Really?’ I said. ‘How can she have the hots for me when you have a perfect male physique?’ ‘Yes man but you cook with love and passion and I can’t do that …I am jealous bro.’

So that night Chico and I became bosom buddies. Most people didn’t get why but this guy is genuine and he can laugh at himself, which many of us find difficult.

‘Did you give Anthea your telephone number?’ he wondered. When I told him it was a recipe Danni (a real foodie) wanted a copy, so I started to write it out all over again on the back of a Hell’s Kitchen menu. The guy on the next table wanted it too. He was Aled Jones, the Welsh boy treble whose Christmas song, Walking in the Air, was a smash hit in the 1980s. ‘Shut up Aled and stick to singing carols’, quipped Chico.

Every time I hear that song at Christmas, it brings back the memories. And seeing as that little pot of chocolate was such a hit with Hell’s Kitchen, here it is for you to enjoy at home. I’ve even added a festive twist to give it some X-mas Factor!

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until smooth and creamy.

Now gently pour in the melted chocolate carefully and whisk as you do it.

Now gradually pour in the heated cream carefully and whisk all the time as you add it.

Whisk it all together, it should be light and airy and about the colour of milk chocolate by now.

Finally stir in the Amaretto or Tia Maria.

Pour the mix into small pots or espresso cups and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

For Christmas I buy cooked chestnuts and caramelize with a little sugar in a small pan over heat watching and stirring all the time until glazed and sticky but not burnt!

Top the pots with the chestnuts and finish with a little Ama retto on top of each pot and serve.

Steven Saunders FMCGB - www.thelittlegeranium.com - michele@thelittlegeranium.com +34 952 49 36 02

amino E C ................................. www.theolivepress.es

n Buen

the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

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November 26th - December 9th

Deal or no deal Multi-million euro lawsuit to take on 250 car dealerships and 30 manufacturers

The big payback VOLKSWAGEN will pay back millions of euros to the Spanish government following the emissions scandal.

The German car manufacturer will reimburse subsidies up to €50 million, invested by the government in the ‘PIVE’ scheme set up to reduce CO2 emissions.

It is estimated that 800,000 VW cars worldwide have faulty CO2 emissions, 50,000 of which are in Spain.

Despite the scandal, VW are still pushing ahead with a €4.2 billion investment in two car factories in the north of Spain.

Soaring sales CAR sales are at record highs in Spain.

Registrations rose 5.2% in October to over 80,000, marking the best October in six years.

It represents 26 straight months of rising sales, a Spanish record for the sector.

MORE than 250 dealerships and 30 car manufacturers are facing a multi-million euro lawsuit over price fixing.

OCU, Spain’s biggest consumer association, is taking legal action on behalf of 70,000 motorists whose claims were deemed actionable out of a whopping 160,000 who initially sought to join the suit.

Six separate probes discovered dealers who sold vehicles between 2006 and 2013 had been restricting competition by exchanging data such as maximum discounts and used-vehicle prices.

As a result, consumers were paying on average €750 to €1,500 more for their vehicles, OCU says.

Companies accused include Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen.

FORWARD TO THE FUTURE: CityCar The Spanish Commission on Competition and Markets earlier this year fined the dealers and manufacturers €224 million for breaching fair-trade agreements.

Prosecuting lawyer Rosa Guirado has described this IT was billed as the car of the future, the answer to oil supcase as ‘even more damnplies and the kickstarter Spain’s economy needed. ing’ than the Volkswagen In 2012, the Hiriko project promised to create green jobs emissions fraud.

Same old bright future

at a time when the manufacturing sector was nose-diving.

In total more than 75 million was invested by Spain’s government and the EU into the CityCar - an electric, foldable car with four wheel drive.

Fast-forward three years and the plans have gone down the drain as a corruption scandal swarms in.

Production has been pulled as Jesus Echave, the Spanish chairman of the Hiriko, along with six other board members, are investigated for misuse of public funds and falsifying documents.

Tip-top tow

MOTOR MADNESS: Lift-off

IT must go down as one of the world’s most bizarre vehicle recoveries.

Driving a Ford Focus, a Spanish man ‘towed’ a broken-down van -- on top of his car.

A video of the event went viral on YouTube with more than 600,000 views after it was filmed in Segovia.

One of the views was apparently by the police, who tracked down the driver and fined him for reckless driving.

www.transmatic.es

MOTOMOUTHS: Rossi and Marquez

Beyond the chequered flag THE fallout that marred the final race of the MotoGP season continues to spread.

No love has been lost between Valentino Rossi and young pretender Marc Marquez over the past month.

The Italian, who narrowly missed out on the world title by five points, continues to accuse Marquez of deliberately allowing Spanish compatriot Jorge Lorenzo victory CAR-SHARING service in the final race in Valencia.

Uber is making plans to reIn response Marquez labelled launch in Spain.

Rossi ‘unsporting’ and ‘ludiThe US-based app was crous’. banned in the country in Meanwhile, angry Spanish December 2014 after a taxi fans continue to unite against driver’s union sued for unRossi, launching a petition fair competition. to remove ‘the Doctor’s’ star In its new format Uber will from the Jerez Walk of Fame. only work with valid profesOver 3,000 outraged fans sional VTC licensed drivers. signed up after Rossi knocked Uber has also been banned Marquez from his bike in the in Germany and France. penultimate race in Malaysia.

All Uber again

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GOLF In the swing of it

At the double SPAIN’S most esteemed golf clubs are celebrating after cleaning up at the World Golf Awards held in Portugal.

Taking the top gong for Spain’s best golf hotel, La Manga in Murcia bagged the prestigious award for the second year running.

Meanwhile, on the back of being named Spain’s Leading Villa Resort at the World Travel Awards, Las Colinas Golf & Country Club in Alicante was voted the best golf course in the country for its layout and conditioning.

For the second year running, Portugal was crowned the world’s best golf destination.

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King of the course

La Cala greenkeeper nominated as Spain’s finest golf course groundsman

EXCLUSIVE By Iona Napier

RUNNER-UP: Linares

Maria moves A SPANISH national player has signed for the women’s golf team at the University of California, Berkeley.

Maria Herraez joins the Golden Bears after four years in Spain side.

Herraez said. “It has been my dream since I first visited the United States when I was 11 years old.

“Cal is the number one public university in the world, and I wanted a good balance between my academics and golf.”

Brace yourself WEARABLE technology could help you improve your game.

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Safe way

LAWN mowers at the ready and sprinklers on hand, because Spain’s best greenkeeper has been crowned.

The prestigious competition judged La Zaudin greenkeeper in Sevilla, Guillermo de Prado, top of the pile.

The coveted prize was just out of reach for other Spanish greenkeeper Rafael Linares, who has managed the grounds of the luxury complex La Cala Resort for two years.

The Cordoban, who manages a team of 30, made it to the final five, nominated by his colleagues for having ‘considerably improved standards for clients and players alike’.

“It’s a shame not to win but it was an honour to be nominated and I think it helped that I’m an avid golfer as I can see the grounds from a player’s’ perspective,” Linares, 42, told the Olive Press.

“Spending all day out in nature doing a structured, planned job is why I love it,” he continued.

Other contestants to lose out included Madrid’s La Herreria’s Rostyslav Rudenko and Alicante’s Levante golf course’s Alejandro Reyes.

A grand gala dinner on November 19 announced the winner.

sport

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November 26th - December 9th

SPANISH footballer Cesc Fabregas has left his manof-the-match ball outside the French embassy in Madrid.

The Chelsea midfielder – who was named man of the match in Spain’s 2-0 victory over England in Alicante – attended the embassy to pay his respects to those killed in the Paris terrorist attacks.

France’s international friendly with Germany at the Stade de France was one of the sites targeted in Friday’s attack which killed at least 131 people.

Three suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the ground as security officials prevented them from entering.

Glory tie LA Linea-based football team Real Balompedica Linense have the chance to make history this month.

The minnows host Basque Country giants Athletic Bilbao in the fourth round of the Copa del Rey on December 3.

Bilbao, currently eighth in La Liga, have a 2,000km round trip on their hands, having drawn the furthest possible away team.

Drug cheat Top athlete stripped of world title in doping scandal

A WORLD champion Spanish middle distance runner has been stripped of her 2009 title and handed a three-year doping ban.

Drug cheat Marta Domin-

By Joe Duggan

guez, 40, was accused of abnormalities in her blood passport in 2013.

Strongest boy in the world IT’S official: Leon de Roeck is the strongest boy in the world (at his weight and age, at least).

Smashing not one, not two, but SIX world records, the 15-year-old Gibraltarian muscleman who trains in Marbella cleaned up at the WPC Weightlifting World Championships in Portugal.

Weighing in at 103.6kg, de Roeck started things off with a 235kg lift in the deadlift event before bench pressing an unprecedented 155kg at the event in Maia.

But he wasn’t done there and further records tumbled, with him claiming four more world records before the tournament was up.

“I am over the moon that I am not just breaking records but smashing them,” he told the Olive Press.

She was cleared in 2014 by the Spanish athletics federation, where she had been vice-president.

But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has overturned that ruling on appeal and removed Dominguez’s steeplechase title.

The appeal was lodged by the World AntiD o p i n g A g e n c y (WADA) and gove r n i n g body the IAAF. All Dominguez’s results between August 2009 and July 2013 have been declared void, including her Berlin 2009 gold and 2010 European 3,000m steeplechase silver medal.

She had previously been acquitted in 2011 during the Operation Galgo investigation into Spanish doping.

Photo by EFE

Touching tribute

Raul of applause ONE of Spain’s greatest ever goalscorers has hung up his boots.

After 388 career goals and 22 major honours, former Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez has called time on his playing career.

Sevilla showdown

LOSER: Dominguez

COSTA Gaels head to Sevilla to play Eire Og Seville and Gibraltar Gaels when the Andalucian Gaelic football league resumes on November 28.

The games are a chance for Costa Gaels to claw back the gap between them and table-toppers Gibraltar after a win and a defeat in the last round at Marbella Rugby Club.

The matches are the final round before Christmas.

Happy holidays SPANIARDS enjoy the most paid days off in the world, taking 30 days on average. Meanwhile the UK takes 25 days and at the other end of the scale South Korea enjoys just 15.

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FINAL WORDS

Goat SOS DRONES are helping save Iberian goats suffering from scabies in Spain’s Sierra de las Nieves, by tracking and analysing their movements.

Catalan cat call POKING fun at Catalunya’s independence dreams film Eight Catalan Surnames is the sequel to the riproaring comedy success of 2014’s Eight Basque Surnames.

Dog days TWO abandoned greyhound puppies have melted the internet’s heart after one guided and protected his blind sister, refusing to leave her side until they were rescued in Madrid.

Covering Andalucia in 2015 with over 200,000 papers (130,000 digital) and around 500,000 visits to the website each month… The Olive Press just keeps growing!

November 25th - December 9th 2015

Wafer war

By Joe Duggan

That’s why they call it the blues AN appeal has been launched for a puppy who had its face painted blue and dumped in the countryside. The fourmonth-old Podenco (above) was ‘thin and scared’ when rescued by the Jimena Animal Welfare Society, which is now hoping to find him a home.

Play on A PLAY set in the ‘worst health and fitness club in the country’ has left punters walking out beaming. ITS Theatre company’s Waiting for Gateaux at Atalaya Park Hotel, was written by Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood.

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A TOWN hall is being threatened with legal action for allowing an anti-Catholic exhibition to take place.

The Christian Lawyers Association (CLA) is also suing Pamplona artist Abel Azcona after he stole 240 holy communion wafers and spelt out the word ‘paedophilia’.

The group claims the exhibit is ‘an offence against religious sentiments and desecration’.

Azcona, 27, displayed photographs of his theft from Madrid and Pamplona churches and created the Spanish translation ‘pederestia’ on the floor of the exhibition at Serapio Esparza Gallery.

The CLA is warning it will sue the council if it doesn’t remove the exhibition, while Azcona could face a prison

Legal row after artist spells the word ‘paedophilia’ with holy wafers

Reverse psychology IT was almost lights out for an Alhaurin driver when his wife reversed over him while he inspected their car’s tail lights prior to an ITV inspection.The 45-year-old was lucky to escape with minor injuries after his spouse put the automatic car into reverse by accident. The only serious injury was to the would-be mechanic’s ego.

Bordering on ironic!

A BRITISH woman behind a 500,000 signature petition to close UK borders spends most of her time living in Spain.

Expat Tina Reeves has been heavily criticised after conducting a TV interview from her home in Jaen, where she has been living on and off for 26 years.

HOST HORROR: Artist’s ‘desecration’ sentence and hefty fine.

“If they don’t do it, we’ll expand the lawsuit to include charges of complicity,” said a spokesman.

More than 75,000 people have signed a Change.org petition

PETITION: Reeves’ rant

demanding the council remove the exhibit, despite clear freedom of expression issues.

Hundreds of priests have been investigated for paedophile offences in Spain over the last few years.

Hypocrisy

The mother-of-two’s petition to force a closure of British borders has gained a lot of support following the ISIS attacks in Paris.

Yet, the 62-year-old copywriter is ironically married to a Spanish farmer, Pepe Garcia, who might not then be able to visit her country of birth.

“I don’t think there is hypocrisy,” she said. “I worked in Spain many years ago, before it joined the EU, and I didn’t need open borders to allow me in.”