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Vol. 12 Issue 292
Party parrot, missing again!
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Mayday!
Olive Press grills mayor of Spain’s last communist town
Page 6 A
ll about
Issue 292
Marbella
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May 23rd - June 5th 2018
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May 23rd - June 5th 2018
Photos by Jon Clarke
OUR STAR IS RISINGagain
but some Marbella may be an international brandeditor things never change. Olive Press newsglitz to unearth Laurence Dollimore digs beneath thedecades the character he has known for two
T
HINK Marbella and a glamorous jet-set lifestyle springs to mind. The classiest hotels, the liveliest
nightclubs and the most fashionanyable and well-heeled clientele found where in Andalucia and maybe Spain.(you But peel back the ‘Marbs mask’ TV know, all the Arab billionaires, reality stars and ex-Premiership footballers) and and you’ll find its hidden character
history. it. Before we go any further, I’ll admit a I was lucky enough to grow up with Guaholiday home here, up in the leafy dalmina hills. and This pretty much meant sun, sea sand on tap, along with many a late night staggering along the infamous second
row of Puerto Banus sometimes known as ‘hurricane alley’. In other words, during my misspent youth sprawled out on award-winning beaches by day and crawling out of head-spinning Marbars by night, I never got to know bella’s deeper persona. Over a decade later, no longer a callow and shallow teenager, I am doubly lucky at to have been given a second chance living here (albeit having to work hard), thanks to ‘the boss’ at the Olive Press. And while the temptations in this tourist honeypot remain, I am finally appreciating the culture, the history and so much else that has changed for the better. Continues on Page 18
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Page 17
Fit for Queeny Find out what a British expat once cooked for her Majesty
Page 49
Ex-RAF expat, who taught Prince Harry, reveals how his pensioner neighbour ‘nearly died’ in squatter assault
A SQUATTER has been released on bail after allegedly trying to kill a British expat pensioner with an axe. The unnamed Moroccan assailant was picked up in a midnight raid after allegedly hacking at Michael Devitt, 75, during an argument with two other squatters. Witnesses told the Olive Press how the former lorry driver’s
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A PARROT - who is something of a night owl - has gone missing yet again after an Olive Press appeal found him propping up the bar at Marbella’s exclusive Olivia Valere club in 2016. Soly, a stunning Hyacinth Macaw - valued at €14,000 - has escaped the home of his expat owner Richard Breuer. Breuer, 42, is now offering a reward for anyone who can find him alive. It comes after he disappeared two years
ago only to be found outside Olivia Valere discoteca by one of the staff. Nightclub owner Olivia took the partying parrot to her aviary in her Guadalmina Baja home, where Richard later collected him. If you have seen Soly, email newsdesk@theolivepress.es or phone Richard directly on 671255918 .
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HOSPITALISED: Victim Michael Devitt after treatment and (right) X-ray of shattered arm EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore
arm was ‘left dangling’ after the savage attack in the village of Aguadulce, near Sevilla. “The guy came out of nowhere,” neighbour Alan McGarva, 70, told the Olive Press, “he just raised the axe in the air and aimed for his head, there was blood everywhere, it was horrific.” By incredible fortune, Devitt blocked the blow with his arm, causing it to break from the impact. The attacker, who was later arrested at a nearby squatted home, has been charged and will stand trial next year. “He will only face a maximum of six years for grievous bodily harm,” explains Scot McGarva,
SCENE: Of horror attack a former RAF air traffic controller, who trained Prince Harry how to navigate. “It’s ridiculous, it was surely attempted murder?” The attack has shocked the British community in the Sierra Sur area of Sevilla province, where many Olive Press readers live. They are now demanding action on the issues of squatters, who have illegally lived
in homes on various private urbanisations for nearly five years. “It’s just not fair,” McGarva added, “We’ve had five years of hell and they’re destroying homes and bringing down the price of everyone else’s. “Our street has been plagued for years and no attempt has been made to rid the village of them by police or the authorities.” He claimed that numerous families were living in at least six homes in his urbanisation, all of which have been destroyed and boarded up. “The local Spanish are frightened to do anything against these people and it is just a matter of time before someone gets killed.” According to McGarva, the
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incident erupted during an argument over a parking space when two female squatters asked him to move his car from outside his home so they could park their van. “They started screaming at me, it was nuts,” he explained. The former prison guard - who also worked for the RAF for years - agreed to move his car while neighbour Devitt tried to calm the situation. But as the argument continued, McGarva’s wife Averil, 72, noticed a man running up the street with something in his hand. “He just came running at Michael and tried to axe him in the head,” she recalls. Police and an ambulance arrived within 20 minutes but the axeman had already fled the scene. He is known locally for causing trouble, having moved into an abandoned home last year. At least 10 homes on the street are empty following the financial crash of 2007. PSOE Aguadulce mayor Estrella Montaño blasted the attack but insisted only three homes were illegally occupied in the town.
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