Costa Blanca Olive Press - Issue 55

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Vol. 3 Issue 55 www.theolivepress.es May 6th - May 19th 2021

Schools paedo call Olive Press exclusive investigation leads to child protection plea from United Kingdom charity

the Olive Press for highlighting the issue: “The Ben Lewis case as revealed by the Olive Press highlights this loophole and as teacher in several Madrid schools shocking as this is, it is nothing where he was arrested for abusing new and unfortunately represents at least 36 children. just the tip of the iceberg as to the We reported how Ben Lewis, 31, magnitude of this problem.” had changed his name by deed She warned: “Whilst the status poll, applied for a new British quo remains in situ this signifpassport, and dodged criminal reicant and very dangerous safecord checks despite being on the guarding loophole will continue UK’s sex offenders register. to pose a threat, not just to UK Police in Spain issued a stateNationals, but to the rest of the ment last week describing Lewis world, putting children and those - or Ben David Rose, as he is now most vulnerable at risk,” she known - as ‘a dangerous child sexwarned. ual predator’.

“There are potentially hundreds The National Police press release - if not thousands - of known sex ruled that he had used his posioffenders slipping under the raTM tion as a teacher at private schools dar in the UK to seek work abroad in Madrid to gain access to chilwhere they can continue to abuse dren whom he photographed and children,” she continued. filmed.

“This loophole is arguably the biggest safeguarding scandal the world has ever seen and there is Sick an opportunity for Spain to lead TM the way in tackling it at a global He then disseminated the sick level,” she said. material on paedophile forums on o n s .

E n d s 3 1 / 1 2 / 1 9 .

Her charity wants Spain to introthe dark web around the world. duce the need to present an origEmily Konstantas, CEO of The inal birth certificate alongside Safeguarding Alliance, applauded a passport and criminal record sserp evilo 21/6/19 13:30 checks that would allow poSee pages 21 tential employers to unearth a change of identity. j e c t t o c o n d i t i o n s .

E n d s 3 1 / 1 2 / 1 9 .

“It’s a simple way to provide TM LIVE NAYMTDLLIOUGG that extra check,” she insisted. “The severity and danger RESS Mijas Costa RS YEA 15 this loophole presents to the 21/6/19 13:30 FUN OF whole world cannot be underestimated.”

An extensive report by The Safeguarding Alliance is being used to lobby the UK parliament for a legal change d i t i o n s .

E n d s 3 1 / 1 2 / 1 9 . in the management of registered sex offenders.

It explains how the current system relies on the regis21/6/19 13:30 tered sex offender to notify the police with details of any name change, alongside any EXCLUSIVE:+ OP+ splash change of adAre you feeling depressed?

SALES & RENTALS SPECIALISTS Addiction problems? dress and passport Moriara•Calpe•Jalon•Javea•Denia•Altea informaJávea / Altea tion.

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By Fiona Govan in Madrid

T: 952 147 834

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voice in Spain

THE START: The first edition of the

Olive Press in 2006

As the Olive Press reaches its 15th birthday, we recall a few of our favourite interviews and remember a couple of our top readers, such as ex-prime minister Rajoy (above) and prime joker Paul Gascoigne...

Fiona Govan in Madrid

post DANGER: Lewis got teaching teacher 2017 he accepted a job as an English secat a leading semi-private (concertado)from ondary school that receives subsidies the state.

David by “He was going by the name Ben another then and was offered the job aftera former teacher dropped out mid-term,” the Olive colleague Natasha Fitzsimons told Press. posithe fill to desperate were “I think they as tion so maybe they weren’t as thorough they should have been.

Horrified

for 18 “We worked together at the school gomonths, took on private classes together for ing to the homes of some of the children summer extracurricular teaching and ran a said the camp at the school during 2018,”horror at Irish colleague, who is filled with the access he had to children. the day The Olive Press has discovered that his after sentencing in the UK he changed Lewis name by deed poll from Ben David just 15 to Ben David, in a process that takes minutes. a British He then applied for and received also prepassport in his new name, while he Israeli sented a doctored photocopy of his a passport stamped and verified by non-existent law firm that showed his name as Ben David Rose.

The Olive Press has seen photocopies of these, plus a teaching degree and Qualified Teaching Status (QTS) certificates presented in the name ALL AREAS COVERED of Ben David Rose as well as certificates in his original name.

4G UNLIMITED What is amazing is that by April 2019 he had applied for a teaching INTERNET job at a leading private school in the IDEAL FOR upmarket Arturo Soria district that STREAMING TV teaches the British curriculum to the ALSO IPTV, children of Madrid’s elite.

By now he also had a DBS certificate SATELLITE TV

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Award Winning Rehabilitation Clinic

...meanwhile, we spend time at the home of the world’s most famous plumber as he announces he’s becoming a Spanish citizen, after 15 years here and losing €15m to his ex-wives...

THE SKY DOCTOR

...and our team of long-term writers, recall their decade and a half living in the world’s most exciting country.

See pull-out inside.

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Vol. 15 Issue 365 March - April 2021

Getting things done

F

ROM its very first issue in 2006 the Olive Press has been campaigning for its community.

Whether fighting for the environment or digging into crooks, we have taken some big scalps.

Starting from Issue One (see top right) we highlighted the ridiculous plans to build 2000 houses, two golf courses and two hotels on UNESCO-protected land near Ronda, as well as exposed the madness of building a 350-room monstrosity on a virgin beach in Almeria’s Cabo de Gata.

Both schemes - Los Merinos, in Ron- maverick Jeremy Griffiths, and Nigel da, and the Algarrobico hotel, in Alme- Goldman, a degenerate gold-dealing ria - went into reverse after our stories dirt-bag, who had a restaurant column made the UK AND Spanish national in a local newspaper, which he used to newspapers and green groups includ- cover his tracks. ing Greenpeace and Ecologistas en Ac- We also tackled timeshare crook Toni Muldoon, who certainly deserves a cion joined our protests.

And then there were the crooks, like mention for conning thousands of peoCrimestoppers’ Most Wanted Daniel ple and eventually went to prison for Johnston, a bank robber, and Matthew setting up fake escort websites.

Sammon, a dangerous paedophile, Meanwhile, our crime reporting on who we single-handedly tracked down missing teen Amy Fitzpatrick ‘blew open to a village near Sevilla and a car park the case’, to use the words of her grandmother, while our continuing investigain Fuengirola.

And fraudsters like David ‘the dogman’ tion into missing Maddie McCann has yielded exclusive after exclusive, with its Klein, pet transport frequent links to Spain.

COME AND GET INSPIRED! on page 2

See full story

A decade and a half of campaigning has scored some big wins for the Olive Press

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Within an hour, team scrambled the Olive Press car, Sammon learning from to Fuengirola, and remainedcovered his face another builder silent when that he was currently questioned by the Olive camped He was out at the feria then bundled Press. ground.

After a day working into the BMW and taken nearby, the be Londoner duly fingerprinted to Madrid to English-plated arrived in his for extradition. and prepared cream Moncayo campervan.

Following the Parking up, he two Reid said arrest, father-ofhe was ‘relieved’ as he took his looked relaxed to see Sammon dog for a walk taken away. around the feria “As ground and the soon as I saw his face among spoke with neighbours. most wanted I felt sick,” Once identified, said Reid, from we called the Guardia Civil “I let him hang Blackpool. and Crimestoppers and so began dren, we took around my chila tense threehim in with open hour waiting arms and at first game, with Reid were none the sitting in the car wiser.

Sky News crime beside us.

“But we always reporter Martin Brunt was a bit weird, he’s thought he was Eventually, assoon there too. never talks abouta real loner and his family. and truly fell, night had well “He creeped an unmarked my family out black BMW much that so plain clothes arrived and two Incredibly, I fired him.” detectives swiftly police moved in for the evidence from did not take any cating his passportarrest, confis- cluding his his campervan incomputer and and phone.

Frisking him other at the side of the CONTINUES ON

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21/6/19 13:30

EXCLUSIVE: snare one of Expat tip leads Olive Press UK’s most wanted team paedophiles to

EAGLE-EYED readers helped Olive Press snag one of BritWORDS AND ain’s most wanted

By Rob HorganPICS Spain, just hours fugitives in and Laurence Dollimore after he had been named.

Following a tip off to the paper, al Crime Agency, who arrived suspected paedophile the scene after at the arrest.

Matthew “Well Sammon was campervan in dragged from his thanks done Olive Press and to the expat community time raid and a dramatic night- for tipping us off, this is the an unmarked whisked away in son we reapolice car. run these Working closely The dramatic campaigns.” day had started Daniel Reid, with informant when Crimestoppers firstly track we were able to annual issued its to Fuengirola, down Sammon tives in list of most wanted fugiTorremolinos Guardia Civil tothen call in the day morning. on ThursOn the run for arrest him. two years, Sam- Leading to hundreds mon - a blackbelt of press stories around in Jujitsu the world and was wanted in the UK for shar-- on national television, ing indecent images the hunt was immediately on.

His seizure came of children. But, it was to popular just 10 hours after he was named local newspaper the in Opera- that Olive Press tion Captura and expat plasterer recorded arrest is the quickest reached Reid, in the joint UK out to, trusting 40, and Spanish police us to SUCCESS: ‘do the job properly’.

Reid, Horgan, “It was a fantastic operation.

Reynolds and result,” said In a series of Facebook Brunt Steve Reynolds, from the Nation- sages, he announced that mes- as a labourer and was Sammon, 45, had worked for him living in a campervancurrently around the Mijas and Fuengirola area.

INVESTIGATIONS: Tracking 59€ down paedophile Matthew Sammon, probing missing Amy (right) and exposing animal cruelty (far right)

Fuengirola

SPACES AND

UPROAR: Beach and virgin Cala protestors in Tarifa de San Pedro (below)

The hulking shell SWATHES of rural Andalucia set for a 311-room of concrete - once danger of being are in mega resort remained an eyesore has a new planning concreted over after for years after work was halted by the regional law was brought in Bunkers are also by the courts.

Green groups government.

700-home golf being dug to stop a tas en Accion including Ecologisand Greenpeace Nerja, which course scheme, near joined with hundreds will see the develophave ment of one of of local associations to fight final stretches the Costa del Sol’s fronts opened on a series of new And protestersof pristine coast. up during the crisis.

COVID digging in to in Mijas are also SOON LEGAL?: They are up Algarrobico used to build stop the law being called LISTA in arms over the so- one, but TWO in woods overlooking the sea at El Chaparral. new hotels the lockdown law - passed during beaches in the supposedlyon virgin The first of many - that is set to dozens of previously protect- took allow ed natural planned protests place outside outlawed proj- The first park of Cabo de Gata. ects to go ahead. council offices involves la in In particular, a 30-room hotel the green light for It Cala de Mijas this week. activists are outraged could also see about a controversial famous Bahia near the globally Valdevaqueros the controversial de Los Genoveses new golf beach, while course in Nerja, of homes go project of hundreds the second is for stand of woodlandas well as a final star hotel close up on a heavily-proa two- tected in Mijas.

They are also de San Pedro to the pristine Cala Under virgin beach, near Tarifa. furious about bay the recently not Protestors fear the(pictured above). resubmitted project, backed new law will now allow the by legalization of also Rosa Quintana, TV celebrity Ana nearby the stunning El Algarro- between Bolonia and Tarifa area see a series of would bico hotel, Ecologists are hotels get built. built also worried that dis- Los Merinos the gracefully project for on a virgin courses and hundreds two-golf of housbeach, near es on UNESCO-protected Carboneras, land near Ronda could be virgin despite being revived, due to a quashed by the Sup l a n n i n g preme Court. mix up.

Fairway to hell: See page 6

GREEN CAMPAIGNS: Against golf courses (left and top) Tel: 952 147 834 in issue See page 24 one and coastal lopment (above) develast year

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AN ecological nightmare, hundreds of “This is ancient oaks parently stand ap- attempt a cynical and botched to Pulled up for dead. around the create ambience a huge golf golf course roproject, they macand line up in ee- create space,” said rie rows like tree surgeon war graves Somme. in the very Kit Hogg. “I am sure few of these Many centuries old, they have trees will survive. protected been sacrifi It is disgusting.” ced for Europe’s insatiable desire Despite ongoing holiday homes. for golf and stop the work, EU efforts to Part of investigations and – crucially costaficationthe unrelenting guarantee – no of Andalucia, of they sound Los Merinos,water, work at the death knell nature conservation near for continues unchecked. Ronda in southern Spain.

This is the true price of golf.

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19th 2007

CHRIS STEWART WRITES FOR THE OLIVE PRESS

His take on the Brits jailed for “saving the environment”

See pages 4 and 5

Vol. 10 Issue

347

CAMPAIGN

La Cala Cougar moves inland

Issue 20, October

page 22

EU steps in to investigate El Algorrobico hotel opening after Junta u-turn that “disgraces” Spain... while a pair of British pensioners watch as their house - which DID have a licence - is torn to the ground.

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Last stretches by new law, of pristine coast endangered alongside inland EXCLUSIVE beauty spots

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On behalf of all at the British Embassy and Consulates, I want to wish huge congratulations to all at the Olive Press on your 15th anniversary.

The English language press plays a vital role in keeping UK nationals in Spain informed. And we very much appreciate your help in getting key messages out to UK nationals here.

After an incredibly difficult year for so many of us, including many businesses, it is great to see the Olive Press thriving. We look forward to seeing what the next 15 years bring.

legends Ferran Adria and Gordon Ramsey.

And it was nice to chat to Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera, as well as the only newspaper to be able to pose a couple of questions to Michelle Obama on her visit to Marbella a few years ago.

Indeed, the positives far outweigh the negatives and we would prefer to be judged over 50 rather than 15 years.

As far as we are concerned we have only just begun.

www.theolivepress.es

CAGED!

And were these men involved?

El Horrible opens

www.grupo-protec.com

Here’s to the next 15!

H

When it comes to corruption we were the first English newspaper to write about the ERE scandal at the Junta de Andalucia that cost an estimated billion euros to the taxpayers, while we also tackled town hall theft on a local scale on dozens of occasions.

Animal cruelty has been a continual bugbear and we have exposed so many evil abusers, as well as the scoundrels who allowed hunters to kill innocent circus lions and tigers at a finca in Extremadura (see below).

On a more positive front, it was great to interview everyone from Princess Diana’s ex-lover James Hewett to cooking

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can reveal that The Olive PressPresident may the Russian a multimillion have bought with a euro Marbella mansion group of six businessmen.

IMPACT: Tracking down crooked Nigel Goldman (above) and covering the devastating Costa del Sol fire in 2012

A

ON ESTEPONA

only English-language The original and in Andalucía investigative newspaper

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CONMAN FOUND

EXCLUSIVE: fraudster and

By Tom Powell using reveal that convicted Jamie Micklethwaite is back in business Del Monte’ fraudster Ni- Goldman COSTA del Solis hiding out false name ‘Howard Spain last year gel Goldman country the fled in a classic English of fraud, Couling Goldman the false name his partner Suzannewares via amid accusations cottage under dozens of vicleaving behind peddling their mil‘Howard del Monte’.

‘Del Monte’ - are account called tims owed a total of €15 Goldman - aka to the busi- a joint Ebay lion. answer has also returned and selling ‘Bensons Emporium’. staff told the he refused to happy ness of buying antiques, it Village post office he regularly While he seems Olive Press that addressed to questions, Couling, her two coins, stamps and with can be revealed. month lease collects parcels ‘sends living two cats in the daughters and Monte’, and also propRenting on a six Berkshire ‘Del packages’. modest three-bedroom in the charming he and many erty. village of Kintbury, are Kintbury’s (top) with Suzanne While the pair conversation, UK bolthole and hottest topic ofseen and ‘keep HIDEOUT: Goldman’s a parking ticket. why he they are rarely themselves’. to say to you, with understand themselves to live nearby “I have nothing if a trafto meeting “I don’t hasn’t been arrested, but I look forward happier in Couling’s family find him then he called down.

BRITS are stillreports sugfic warden can in Hungerford.secretive man you again,” can,” said Spain, despite have abansurely the police In fact, the who wished to is seemingly gesting 90,000 dream. the neighbour, from Del Monte leaving the Parking ticket doned the expatOlive Press remain anonymous. village only ever seen post office.

An exclusive but “Everyone in the more than house to go to the Press conGoldman, whathair was disheveled, survey found that of our readWhen the Olivehis country- His did not have the mous- knows he’she goes under.” three quarters since makhe he ever name his fronted him in refused tache some have claimed who deleted is ers are happier part of his Goldman, side retreat, Goldman recently, door, instead now sporting as ing the move.

Facebook accountinvestigated to come to thehis head out of is disguise.

Coul- currently being see No briefly poking to return millions For the full story, The previous morning, dream on leaving the for failing his fihis bedroom window. end to Spanish ing was seen load up their of euros to investors in page 4. house at 9am to Zafira with nancial companies.

Olive silver Vauxhall off, possibly Various victims told the are practically boxes and head Press that theylosing their life after to a car boot sale.

Building explained that destituteto his schemes, that One neighbour Costa Del Sols Leading into the savings since 1996.

Page 4 the day they moved warden arContinues on and Window Specialist, house, a traffic the couple rived and issued

Cartel behind Putin’s mystery costa home

X

Vol. 8 Issue 186

The man from Del Monte

EXPOSED: COSTA

girls A PAIR of young Max Clifdophile PR guru on the ford sexually assaulted led to his Costa del Sol have conviction. visiClifford - a long-time and involved tor to the coast local events in charities and guilty of - has been found sexual assault, eight counts of mostly on minors.groomed on At least two were being lured in the coast, afterof stardom. with promises here with his He is pictured Kenny Lynch showbiz chum at a bash in Marbella.

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CERTIFICA: la Base de Datos del Registro Que, en el día de la fecha, consultada a: NO CONSTA información penal relativa

Central de Delincuentes Sexuales,

D./Dª BEN DAVID ROSE con Pasaporte

nº 22807454

n 26 de febrero, relativa a la organizació Marco 2009/315/JAI del Consejo de Conforme a lo dispuesto en la Decisión entre los Estados miembros, n de los registros de antecedentes penales y al contenido del intercambio de informació caso, las condenas impuestas por otros el presente certificado incluye, en su hayan sido notificadas, sin tratándose de ciudadanos españoles, condenas tales que en términos en los mismos Estados miembros de la Unión Europea, de condena y los tipos delictivos n entre los tipos delictivos del Estado que exista necesariamente una equiparació nacionales. expedición. su de del titular interesado/a en la fecha El presente certificado refleja la situación Zaragoza a 29 de agosto de 2017

DANGER: Lewis got teaching post, with help of ‘fake’ papers

“The case of Ben Lewis/Rose highlights why Spain should be aware of this very serious safeguarding loophole and should pioneer an international movement to protect its children from those abusers who slip under the radar using the name change loophole,” Konstantas added.

Pagina 1 de 1 Ref: 00003143792/2017

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Documento firmado electrónicamente

“As a result, the effectiveness of important legislation, the Sex Offenders Register, the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, the DBS are undermined and effectively rendered redundant,” it states.

Opinion Page 6

ot tekcit yaw enO 4 egaP !liaj

after a EXCLUSIVE: Private school warning moved to Spain, convicted British paedophile and found dodged criminal record checks work as an English teacher

NAMES: two different passports

Undermined

Gerente Territorial en ZARAGOZA

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2021 ess.es March 24th - April 6th Vol. 15 Issue 365 www.theolivepr

idenlanguage academy after creating a new tity, using forged documents. reFormer colleagues of the sex offender to dodge vealed that he created a new namerun sumcriminal record checks in order to to mer camps and teach private classes young children. after He had changed his name to Ben David and being convicted in June 2016 of taking in children of possessing indecent images England.

As well as being placed on the sex offender list and being handed a two-year suspended sentence, he was barred from leaving the country or working with children.

Yet within weeks he had moved to Spain and found work in Zaragoza as a livein au pair to a family with three young children.

The following year he relocated to Madrid and began teaching children at a well-known language academy after getting a criminal record check from Zaragoza police to show he had no convictions in Spain over the previous 12 months.

Then in December

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Lessons needed Spain INTERNATIONAL schools around a British have been put on high alert after most man began teaching at one of Madrid’s conexclusive colleges months after being victed in the UK. Lewis, Questions have been raised after Ben be31, was able to work at the school despite ing on the UK’s sex offenders register. Lewis, The Olive Press has discovered that sex ofwho is now awaiting trial for child V, Madrid fences at Centro Penitenciario and a managed to hoodwink TWO schools

MINISTERIO DE JUSTICIA

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ly the onus lies solely with the offender and although it is an offence to fail to notify, one could argue this is not a deterrent as the offender already has the propensity to commit very serious crimes,” states the report, seen by the Olive Press.

Through extensive research and case law The Safeguarding Alliance has identified that offenders are not notifying as required and are continuing to abuse children by changing their names and obfuscating their identities as seen through the case of Ben Lewis/Rose absconding overseas to continue to abuse.

ZYs-CcBb Verificación SD:Lzou-Jz3F-a a.gob.es Código Seguro de xyz0123456789-$: to en https://sede.mjustici VWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw Puede verificar este documen ación: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTU Código Seguro de Verific Juego de caracteres del

THE UK’s leading child protection group is calling on authorities to tighten the recruitment process of English teachers abroad.

The plea by The Safeguarding Alliance aims to protect the country against a British legal loophole that has allowed potentially hundreds of British paedophiles to find work abroad including in Spain.

The campaign follows an investigation by the Olive Press that revealed how easy it was for a convicted UK sex offender to change his identity and find work as a

PAGE 2

Bracing for Brexit

FREE

Vol. 11 Issue 257

THERESA May has vowed Britain won’t half out’ Brexitaccept a ‘half in, speech that is in a landmark likely to have long-lasting effects on Gibraltar and all expats in Spain.

The Prime Minister issued 12-point plan to take Britaina out of the EU, ing Street looking with Downto scrap EU single market and current customs union access.

In the biggest month tenure,speech of her sixclear, what I amshe said: “To be proposing cannot mean membership of the single market.”

She added Britain would no longer give ‘huge EU, however she sums’ to the Parliament will conceded that vote on the deal. have the final Maintaining the common travel area between the United Kingdom and EXCLUSIVE Ireland is also the Republic of

By Gabrielle a priority during Pickard-Whitehead the Brexit negotiations. and Laurence

www.theolivepress.es

January 18th

- January 31st

2017

They’re all in our new Property magazine out this week

Property olive press

Removing the floor

Little slice of home

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SLAUGHTER Expat’s rescue animals mercilessly killed over ‘hunting row’

However, the tar with Spainborder of Gibral- A BRITISH was not menexpat rushed to the tioned. after finding five has called in police vets he died 30 later. of her dogs executed minutes a late-night massacre. in An X-ray showed The Guardia in 2004, found Control shot through the he also had a bullet ing the horrificCivil are now investigatin their pens onthe five rescue dogs shot Meanwhile, roof of his mouth.

“We want to attack that one of the Reyes (ThreeJanuary 6, the night of was migration fromcontrol our im- of Illona Mitchell’s horses also left one also attacked, Mitchell’s 12 horses Kings). with its eye Her beloved seven-year-old so savagely May. “We also the EU,” said gouged out. eye may have to be removed. that its of the friendliest Dizzy, ‘one Vets importance of recognise the The detectives from the have been struggling environment the brightest section Seprona meet’ and a puppydogs you will ever four-year-old, and the best to treat the told Mitchell, called Maisie shot dead at the recognise the coming here. We it was one of the worst attacks 48, that were he has become named Rocco, because too nervous and Meanwhile Cocogates of their pens. have made.” contribution they seen and were visibly shocked they had Deeply traumatised skittish.

They have put shot in their beds, and Domingo, were thankfully by the May is believed on extra patrolsby it. with Mitchell was not seen attack - that ing they had permit system to favour a work- an eye on the estate at weekendsto keep by her daughcowered in their believ- ter Ella, 11 - Mitchell before being killed and at kennels so angry continued: “I trigger Article as she looks to night. in cold blood. that someone am “I am sickened Coco, two, had would do someIt comes as the50 by March. thing as disgusting as to why range betweenbeen shot at point-blank animals.” as this to innocent published data House of Lords would carry out such a cruel someone the eyes, while and bar- week. year-old Domingo three- Mitchell, der closure withshowing a bor- baric attack on innocent, was shot through from side of his face. put 40% of jobs Spain would animals,” she told the Olivedefenceless The mother-of-one, the tack is linked Chester, believes the atPress this her at risk in Gito her recent above, who bought They later found braltar. ban hunters from decision to estate in mountains Jack, a six-year-old near Granada German Shepherd, having The 32 page-report, estate that sits her huge 173-hectare in under a nearby convulsions the based on Gibraltar Sierra de Baza. stunning scenery in tree, but despite government evibeing dence, estimates Continues on Rock’s 26,000 10,500 of the Page 4 the border daily.workers crossed Opinion Page Est 1984 6 “A frontier which necessary fluidity lacked the fore put directly would thereAntiques, Jewellers of 40% of the at risk the jobs For all your Gibraltar workforce,” said a spokesman. & Pawnbrokers insurance needs!

May’s speech A huge variety was cheered of over Leave campaigners, by 1 carat diamond pushing for a ‘hard’ who are Brexit. jewellery.

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The deed poLl loophole IN the United Kingdom a person does not need to follow an official process to start using a new name, but they require a ‘deed poll’ to apply for or to change official documents such as a new passport.

This can be done simply and easily online for little or no cost in a process that takes no longer than 15 minutes to process and can even be completed from a prison cell.

Under section 84 of the Sexual Offences Act of 2003, an offender must report a name change within three working days to the police,

and failure to so is a criminal offence which could result in a term not exceeding five years imprisonment.

However, evidence demonstrates that not every registered sex offender will act with honesty and report a change of name as required.

The Safeguarding Alliance discovered through Freedom of Information requests to 16 of the UK’s 46 police forces that 913 people with sex offence convictions had gone missing after changing their names without informing the police.

2

CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF Party animals ELEVEN teenagers have been arrested for staging an illegal booze-fuelled party at an Alicante City holiday home. They caused over €2,000 of damage to the rental property and have been sanctioned for breaking health safety rules..

Walk death A 65-year-old man died from a heart attack when he was out for a walk in the Benissa area at Font de Bernia last Thursday (April 29). Police said he was a non-Spaniard with a pre-existing heart condition.

No consent AN Alicante man was jailed for six years after raping a woman that he met at a bar. The 28-year-old victim was repeatedly slapped and forced to wear a dog collar and lead during the systematic abuse which the defendant claimed was consensual.

Beauty salon pervs A COUPLE made over 500 hidden camera recordings of naked female clients being treated at their Alicante Province beauty salon.

Some of the customers at their Elda premises, including underage girls, were also sexually abused.

Police discovered material dating back to 2012 after American cops tipped them off about somebody in Spain distributing child pornography via the internet.

Officers say the clandestine videos were recorded by a hidden camera in a ceiling ventilation grill and a small spy-camera pen next to the treatment bed. Recordings lasted up to five hours.

The police were able to identify 83 female victims, including teenagers, who had booked hair-removal sessions.

In some cases, massages went much further than required with the excuse that it was all part of the treatment regime.

Some of the footage of children being touched inappropriately was then distributed via the internet. The Elda couple have been charged with sexual abuse; the production and distribution of child pornography and infringing privacy.

May 6th - May 19th 2021

Body Found A woman whose body was found dumped in countryside outside Burriana (Castellon) has fueled local fears of a serial killer due to similarities with three other murders in region in the last six months.

The body of Johana Andrea A.G, a 41 year old Columbian with a long-term partner and a daughter, was found on the Cami Vell de la Mar, an isolated path surrounded by olive groves on April 22.

Police are investigating similarities with the abduction and murder of two other women earlier this year and a third woman who was killed last November, all in the Elche area of neighbouring Valencia region.

Fourth murdered woman fuels fears of serial killer

TRAGIC: Olga Pardo (left) and Florina Gogo Florina Gogos, 19, was found dead on January 30 in a ditch between Silla and Albufera, while the body of 43-year-old

Luck runs out A BELGIAN fugitive wanted over an €18 million sports betting scam has been arrested in Alfaz del Pi. The 64-year-old man had a European Arrest Warrant issued against him last May. He had been using bogus identification papers to go round unnoticed in Spain.

The man had been due to stand trial in Liege on fraud and money laundering charges. His offences go back to between 2008 and 2012 when he and his sister are alleged to have scammed thousands of people of cash that was supposed to be used to lay bets, but which they pocketed themselves.

Olga Pardo was discovered on April 6 in a canal outside nearby Massarrojos.

Last November, Alicia Valera, a 45-year-old civil servant was found dead in a shallow water channel 200 metres from her home in La Hoya.

The similarities in the cases are striking given that all four women had been strangled and their bodies thrown into ditches. Reports suggest that there were no signs of sexual violence in any of the cases.

However, Guardia Civil are yet to publicly link the case insisting that all lines of investigation are open.

They are calling on residents not to jump to any conclusions that a serial killer is on the loose until the case is solved.

Sent down (under) THREE British men have been remanded in custody after a parcel of drugs destined for Australia was intercepted at Alicante-Elche airport.

X-ray scanners detected 855 grams of cocaine in the illegal shipment. The Brits were arrested after Guardia Civil officers visited two homes in Altea and Callosa d’en Sarria.

The trio, aged in their early thirties, were all denied bail after an Altea court appearance. The house raids uncovered nearly three kilos of cocaine and 34 kilos of marijuana.

Illegal

Specialist drugs equipment was seized along with camouflage materials to try to stop scanners picking up what was inside the illegal parcels.

The men’s shipment was discovered during an operation which saw a separate arrest of another parcel sender. A 43-year-old Alicante woman was collared after a UK-bound marijuana shipment was detected at Alicante-Elche airport.

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NEWS I’ll be back

www.theolivepress.es WHETHER it was jealousy, disgruntled staff or unfair competition, Elliott Wright has promised that the arsonists who razed his Costa del Sol restaurant will ‘only make it better’ in the long run.

“I’m devastated, but it’s not going to stop me from my plans to have the best restaurant on the coast,” he told the Olive Press this week.

“It’s going to be absolutely stunning, a million miles better than anywhere else.

“We are working on the de-

May 6th - May 19th 2021

EXCLUSIVE

By Jon Clarke

DESTROYED: Olivia’s signs over the next few days.

It will be beautiful. The upstairs part in particular is

going to be completely different.”

The entrepreneurial Playa

Gin and bear it

PROTESTORS have vowed to carry on the fight after a controversial golf macroproject for an untouched stretch of coast cleared a major hurdle.

More than 200 people, including many expats, had gathered at Nerja town hall to oppose the scheme, put forward by the powerful Larios gin family in nearby Maro.

They had hoped to stop Nerja

O

in Marbella TV star - who also owns Eduardos in Villamartin, which was originally opend by his late father - had only just recruited a brand new team - including a chef and manager and vowed to fight for a Michelin star when arsonists torched his restaurant in the middle of

PROTEST: 200 gathered

Battle to protect unspoiled coast goes on as Larios family clear major hurdle, writes James Warren mayor Jose Alberto Armijo and his Maro counterpart Encarnacion Moreno, join councillors and unions to let the proposal move to the next stage at a critical planning meeting inside the town hall.

While they voted to allow the

NCE upon a time, when the world was young and the Costa del Sol was only just waking from its slumber, I halted on a hilltop somewhere east of Malaga and surveyed the coast, writes David Baird.

Bordering an empty, sandy beach, fields of sugar cane stretched to the horizon. Maybe here, I thought, I could buy a piece of land to build my dream house.

"Señor," I said, accosting a passing countryman. "Who owns this land?"

He gaped at me, amazed at my ignorance.

"Lario, hombre, Lario!" He said. "All this belongs to Lario."

The name meant nothing to me. But I soon learned that ‘Lario’ was, in fact, the Larios family, one of the richest in Spain.

The family owns a great mansion in the centre of Madrid, estates in Albacete — and vast stretches of the Málaga and Granada coast. A statue of the second Marquis de Larios stands in the centre of Málaga near Calle Larios, the most expensive retail street in Andalucia.

Travel from Estepona to Motril and you come across various ancient sugar mills that once treated the cane from the family estates.

proposal to progress, as yet no decision has been taken on whether the land will be reclassified for development.

Local farmers, who fear losing their land, set up a stall to display the vast array of fruit and vegetables grown on the Maro

allotments that will be lost under the development scheme.

“We cannot let this project continue,” said Rafael Yus, of Ecologistas en Acción in front of the gathered crowd.

“The project has been born from lies and will destroy an un-

It’s bound to happen Then, when Larios could no longer compete with cheaper sugar from the West Indies, Egypt and Pakistan, along came the tourism boom and the value of Larios’ land multiplied. Tourists proved much more profitable than sugar cane and Larios has since sown innumerable apartment blocks along the empty beach I once viewed.

Far removed from this tourist cacophony was the village of Maro, just east of Nerja.

There the Larios family still has a mansion, the Virgen de las Maravillas, visited every August for many years by the Marquesa de Larios. Virtually all the land she could see belonged to her family.

The ‘colonos’ (or tenant farmers) paid peppercorn rents for small plots of land and shacks and worked for Larios at cane-cutting and sugar-making.

Though these local farmers had been there forever, few had paperwork proving their rights. Feudalism was a way of life in Maro.

And had been for centuries.

No problem...until, back in the 1990s, Larios decided to take over the land so that a

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the night two weeks ago.

The popular celebrity hot spot in La Cala de Mijas was badly damaged in the fire, which began around 5am on April 26.

A police investigation is still probing the blaze, which Wright, 41, believes was started by a competitor.

“The Guardia Civil told me that is their theory although they can’t say too much,” he revealed this week.

golf course and hundreds of luxury villas could be built. That provoked a revolt. Angry colonos marched in protest and staged a days-long sit-in inside the famous Nerja cave.

Eventually some sort of settlement was reached. Some colonos received compensation for handing over their land, some legalised their arrangement with Larios, some families were torn apart by squabbles between relations.

Eventually the project will happen, of course, after all the legal barriers, the red tape etc. have been negotiated.

That piece of land is too valuable to leave untouched and Nerja folk are not going to say no to anything that attracts more visitors and ultimately more cash.

They’ll argue the vast majority of the town is on their side…insisting of around 20,000 locals how many turned up to voice objections? A few hundred is not enough. The next protest will need to be much bigger.

touched and beautiful stretch of land surrounding Maro.”

His group has been joined by Greenpeace in opposing the scheme that will see over 45 hectares of protected land levelled to make way for a luxury hotel, golf course and urbanisation of over 500 villas.

“The entire project does not abide by European regulations, and we doubt the legitimacy of the agreement,” ex-mayor Rosa Arrabal, of the PSOE told the Olive Press.

Holes

“We are still going to try to stop the final approval of the plan. While they have a majority we are going to ask again for it to be tabled to demand that the legal requirements are met.

“I’m hopeful. If we all unite, there are holes in the agreement that they are trying to pass, and these things have to be addressed,” said Arrabal.

“We must search for a more sustainable solution,” added Andres Jimenez, from the UPNer party.

“We only have to look at other golf projects along the coast to know that they are not a viable tourist model, despite the numbers that Larios SL promises.”

Jon Stein, local activist and resident of Maro, said: “The decision today is disappointing, but the fight goes on.”

3

“They have CCTV of them and they are investigating.

“It’s either jealousy, a member of staff I sacked, or competition. I’ve got no enemies and think it’s competition.

“Quite a few new restaurants have opened up off the back of my success. Eradicating me then you have 600 people a night going to eat elsewhere. That is a lot of people and a lot of money. The Guardia Civil told me that.”

He added: “I just can’t believe the timing just a week after I buried my dad. How could they do that?’

His main problem now is timing to try and get the place up and running before the summer season.

The insurance company handling the claim are ‘taking longer’ than hoped and he is juggling a lot of things’.

“I’m pulling my hair out and having to juggle a lot of things,” he told the Olive Press.

“I was hoping they were going to pay out in two weeks but the insurance is saying 40 days now.

“We are also trying to source things from all over the world during this pandemic - trying to get 300 to 400 square metres of tiles quickly is proving difficult.”

He meanwhile thanked all the goodwill from expats on the coast and from friends and family back home.

Rebuild

In particular he thanked his former TOWIE colleague James ‘Arg’ Argent who vowed to come over and help him rebuild.

“If Arg wants to come out and help he’s more than welcome,” he revealed.”But I’ve seen him labouring before and he’s more of a hindrance than a help. He spends all his time talking to the builders and getting in the way. It would be better for him to come at the end for the relaunch.”

It came after Arg appeared on TV show Loose Women in the UK to say he was ‘rooting for him’.

He said: “If anyone can turn this around and build Olivia’s back to where it was, it’s Elliott and we’re all rooting for him.”

4

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF Fired out A 53-year old man who sold firearms at Benidorm’s El Cisne flea market has been given a two-year jail term.

The antique gun specialist was caught out after a British fugitive was arrested and found with some items that he bought from the stall.

Honest duo TWO Javea cleaning workers spotted a wallet containing €900 lying next to a waste recycling bin and gave it to the local police. There was no ID but the workers, Angel and Silvio, said it would have been the takings of a nearby hotel, which was later confirmed to be the case.

Locked out ALICANTE police arrested a 22-year-old woman who squatted in a home belonging to somebody she thought was dead.

The 81-year-old owner had been in hospital and could not get back in because the front door lock had been changed.

POLICE in Germany are said to be significantly closer to charging paedophile Christian Brueckner with more sex crimes in the month that missing Maddie McCann turns 18.

Detectives told the Sunday Times they are ‘within three months’ of formally accusing him of the rape of an Irish expat in Portugal in 2004.

Cops in Germany believe he was behind the vicious sex attack on Hazel Bevan, then 20, in 2004.

Maddie move

Theysay he climbed in and filmed the assault at her apartment in Praia da Rocha, just 25 minutes from where toddler Maddie was snatched in May 2007.

The assault was similar in planning and execution to the one on a 71-yearold American in 2005, for which he is currently in prison for seven years.

May 6th - May 19th 2021 That attack - which he also filmed took place in the same resort Praia da Luz that Maddie went missing on May 3, 2007.

Brueckner, 44, who lived on and off in Portugal and Spain, when not in prison in Germany, spent large amounts of time on the dark web, former friends and colleagues told the Olive Press.

He was officially identified as a suspect in the case of Maddie in June last year.

Let us stay!

BRITS living in homes in Spain between three and six months have launched a campaign asking the Spanish government to reconsider the post-Brexit rules.

Since the UK left the European Union, thousands of Brits have been forced to choose between either Spain or the UK, or else be limited to only spending 90 days there in a rolling six-month period, in the entire 26-country Schengen zone.

Diane Lavender, 70, who has owned a second home in Andalucia for 15 years, said the rules are ‘shambolic’ and ‘unfair’.

Originally from Wales, Diane and her husband typically spend up to six

Expats launch campaign to change Brexit rules

By Kirsty McKenzie

months of the year in Estepona spread across various visits but said she now feels that their freedom to move between their two homes has ‘been completely taken away’.

She added: “It’s bad for everyone. We want to be able to live in our homes without limitations and the Spanish bars and shops rely on Brits to spend their money here in the winter months. It is in everyone’s interest if we can come to a better agreement.

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“It’s heartbreaking to see Spain so quiet and so many businesses being forced to close.

Andrew Hesselden, who voted Remain, launched the campaign group ‘180 days in Spain’ to help people who have a home in Spain but also want to keep one foot in the UK, agrees.

Andrew told the Olive Press: "I think the UK gov probably intended for this to be resolved via many bilateral agreements in the years to come, but in the rush to ‘Get Brexit Done’, it left most of Brexit Undone."

Going nowhere SPAIN’S government has extended a ban on all non-essential travel to Spain from outside the EU and Schengen area for another month.

Confirmation of the extension due to the continued coronavirus pandemic was published on Friday in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

The extension continues the recommendations by the EU that have been in place since June 30 last year.

Banned

The 40-year-old, who has a home in Mallorca, created the group which now boasts nearly 2000 members across Spain to find a solution for part-year residents.

In addition, the notice confirms a ban on all travellers from those places where dangerous new variants of Covid-19 have been detected. These include India, Brazil, South Africa, Botswana, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Peru and Colombia.

Under this rule only Spanish citizens or those with residency in Spain are allowed to enter and must quarantine for ten days on arrival.

Because of Brexit, citizens from the United Kingdom are now considered third country nationals and must follow the same rules as other non-EU member states.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

We want to home A BRITISH family who moved to Spain 10 years ago but have been left penniless after losing their jobs in the coronavirus crisis are raising money to return home to the UK. Waitress Lindsey, 41 and chef Peter Chadwick, 56, lost their jobs at a restaurant when it closed during the pandemic last year and said they had been living on hand-outs from food banks.

Eviction

The family who live in Benidorm, now face eviction from their flat after falling behind on rent and have launched a crowd-funding appeal via Go Fund Me to try to raise the money they needed to fly home and tide them over until they could get settled.

Mother-of-three Lindsey, originally from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said they had been forced to make the decision to return to the UK because they couldn’t get the help they needed in Spain.

A BRITISH couple were turned away from a flight after airline staff refused to take the one hour time difference between Spain and the UK into account.

Mark and Zoe Ryder were due to fly back to Alicante from Manchester after they

Continuing curfew Court bid to defy national government THE Valencian Community’s curfew will not disappear when the second national State of Alarm ends at 11.59 pm this Sunday.

Valencian president, Ximo Puig, said that he wants the restriction to continue but he may need the backing of Va-

By Alex Trelinski

lencia’s Supreme Court.

The national State of Alarm gave blanket legal approval to Spain’s 17 regions for border closures and curfews without local court challenges. The

lifting of the national emergency provisions means that each region will need its highest court to support tough restrictions.

The national government though is to rush through a quick change to procedures which would allow the regions a quick appeal to the Supreme Court in Madrid if measures are overturned by regional judges.

Open borders

XIMO PUIG: Might delay curfew

Out of time attended the funeral of a close friend, but were denied permission to board the plane.

Ryanair staff said their test results were outside the 72 hour validity period for when they

would land in Spain.

The Ryders, who live on the Costa Blanca, argued that the company had not taken into account the time difference between the two countries, which would have meant their PCR test was still valid.

Ximo Puig said: “I don’t think it is the time yet to get rid of the curfew as it has helped keep infections down.” He nevertheless hinted that the current 10pm start could be pushed back by one or two hours, so long as the low infection rate is maintained.

The regional border closure, first imposed on October 30, will however end this Sunday night. Armed with the latest infection rates, the Valencian government will wait until this Saturday before announcing what restrictions will remain in place from Monday.

May 6th - May 19th 2021 WELL-KNOWN and muchloved local Moraira ‘celebrity’ Peggy Bloomfield celebrated her 101st birthday party in style.

London-born Peggy moved to the Costa Blanca in 2005 to live with her daughter Val and son-in-law Roger.

Very busy within the local community, she is an ac-

5

101 not out!

tive member of the U3A and other local ladies’ groups.

Her 100th birthday party was cancelled due to strict lockdown last year, but this time many of her friends joined her for a ‘socially distanced’ cava-and-cake morning celebration at the Bon Appetit cafe in Moraira.

This was followed by a lunchtime visit to her at home by the new mayor, Raul Llobell, and local councillor Sarah Richardson, who gave her best wishes on behalf of all the citizens of Teulada-Moraira.

‘Ate own mum’ A MAN is on trial for killing his mother, chopping her into pieces and eating her remains.

The self-confessed cannibal also admitted feeding pieces of her to his pet dog.

Alberto Sanchez Gomez is accused of strangling his 66-year-old mother before chopping her into pieces and cooking her.

When he was arrested in 2019 at his mother’s home in Madrid, police said they found body parts scattered around the apartment - some kept in tupperware boxes.

At the time of her death, his mother, Maria Gomez, had a restraining order against her son after repeated incidents of domestic violence.

Police were called by a concerned friend who hadn’t seen the pensioner for several days and who worried that some harm may have come to her.

On entering the apartment they came across a gruesome scene; the corpse had reportedly been cut up using a carpenter’s saw and kitchen knives.

6

NEWS FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION Lead the way!

In a stark warning the UK’s leading victim protection group Safeguarding Alliance have insisted there are thousands of convicted child sex offenders who have slipped under the radar in the UK using legal means to change their name and avoid criminal record checks leaving them free to abuse again.

Unfortunately, Spain is proving an attractive destination for these abusers, not just for those qualities we all enjoy; the good climate, great food and improved quality of life but because the recent drive towards bilingual education demands a constant supply of native English teachers not only in schools but for summer camps, au-pairs and private classes.

Now we learn that it isn’t enough for schools or education boards to carry out the basic checks required, because a serious failing on the side of the British legal authorities has created a loophole that is ripe for exploitation.

Spain isn’t to blame for that lack of joined up thinking on the side of the UK authorities but with one simple step it can instantly make it harder for British paedophiles to slip through the net and find work here.

Demanding an original birth certificate alongside a passport and criminal record check will immediately identify someone who has changed their identity, and prove a vital step towards protecting our children from known sex offenders.

Spain has already modernised its approach to tackling sex abuse with the introduction last month of Rhodes Law, named after British pianist James Rhodes, which extended the statute of limitations against abusers and makes it easier for victims to report crimes and testify against abusers.

Now it has an opportunity to take steps before such crimes are committed and fix a UK failing by making it more difficult for known British abusers to gain employment in schools.

Spain, this is your chance to lead the way.

Publisher / Editor

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

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Charity begins in the homeland Migrant who wants Africans to stay at home wins top award in Spain

By Graham Keeley in Barcelona

D

UMPED in the Sahara Desert by traffickers, forced to scavenge for food and drink his own urine to survive, Ousman Umar believed like scores of other African migrants before and since that he was going to die.

But against all the odds, after a harrowing five year trek across the continent, he made it from Ghana to Spain where he became a successful entrepreneur with a masters degree from one of the country’s top business schools.

He could have been the poster child for the

RECOGNISED: Ousman Umar

African dream of a better life in Europe. But Ousman didn’t want his fellow Africans to go through the same ordeal. So he set up a charity to help them make better lives at home instead of following in his own tortured footsteps.

Looking south

D

ominique de Pradt (pictured right) could not contain his malice towards Spain. As a diplomat for Napoleon (1808 Peninsula War) he found negotiating with the Spanish frustrating to the point of an impossibility, writes Jack Gaioni.

He famously said: “Africa begins at the Pyrenees. It is an error of geography to assign Spain to Europe. Everything is African - its blood, manners, the way of making war, doing business and living life!”

He argued that the two entities have ‘mixed too long and confused the race and customs’.

Clearly, Dominique did not mean this as a compliment. Now Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, expounded on this sentiment but from a completely different perspective.

Sanchez has launched what he called ‘the decade of Spain in Africa’. He met with the president of Ghana, the foreign ministers of Senegal and Kenya, and with the President of the African Development Bank, Sanchez announced an ambitious strategy to build closer economic and institutional ties between Spain and Africa. Calling the initiative the ‘Africa Focus 2023 Plan’, the formal event represents more aggressive support of economic partnerships, environmental issues, educational exchanges and energy development. Sanchez emphasized the fact Spain was receptive to the idea of working with the governments of Africa to stem the tide of perilous migration flows.

He said that a ‘lack of opportunities’ was driving people away and that Spanish investments in Africa might help them stay.

Priority Sanchez is serious. Less than 10 days after the March conference, he boarded a plane for Angola and later Senegal – two priority countries in Spain’s efforts of stepping up collaboration with African nations. Sanchez views Angola as offering a great opportunity as that country seeks to diversify its economy from its status as an oil dependent nation.

While in Luanda, Sanchez signed ‘agreements of understanding’ designed to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, engineering, energy, exports, insurance and banking. The Prime Minister then visited Elecnor - a Spanish energy substation which has a 30 years presence in Angola.

His final visit was to the Dom Bosco Selesian School. Run by Spanish clergy, the school is active in promoting literacy, vocational training and care for high-risk youth.

Sanchez continued his diplomacy with a visit to the West African coastal nation of Senegal. There, meeting with President Macky Sali, they signed a ‘memorandum of understanding’ to help mitigate migration flows. Calling the issue a ‘circular migration’, the leaders discussed ways to discourage the illegal (and sometimes deadly!) migration into Spain.

Simultaneously they addressed ways of improving the organisation of the 71,000 Senegalese who live and work in Spain’s seasonal agricultural industry. Spain and Senegal hope the partnership would create 65,000 jobs in Senegal as well as promote entrepreneurship and vocational training.

Sanchez concluded his charm offensive in Angola and Senegal by expressing his hopes that Spain continues as ‘Europe’s southern gateway to Afric’. Given the potential of Africa as the next big market, combined with that continent’s huge energy prospects, we wish Sanchez all the diplomatic luck in the world.

Regarding the sentiment that ‘Africa begins at the Pyrenees’? Dominique de Pradt may have been partially riPYRENEES: Is this where Africa starts? ght but for the wrong reasons…

Now that work has won him a prestigious Princess of Girona Award ‘for social projects with innovative and tangible achievement’.

"I still cannot believe I won this award,” says Ousman, who set up NASCO Feeding Minds with his brother Banasco Seidu Nuhu to buy computers, support educational projects and give children in Ghana a choice in their own future.

“We are an NGO that is only funded by private donations and only functions thanks to our volunteers.

“This recognition gives me the strength to keep working every day on this project and to continue helping with education so that no one should ever have to go through what I had to go through. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

The Princess of Girona Foundation praised the charity’s work in ‘building a transformative project which combines education, technology, and alliances and contributes solutions to the migration problem.

Corruption

For a time Ousman worked with rescue charity Proactiva Open Arms but now believes saving migrants from flimsy boats in the sea is not the answer. In his book, Journey to the Land of the Whites, published in Spain, he writes of the beatings and corruption he witnessed during his tortuous trek to Europe.

He wishes he had never made the journey but carved out a life in Ghana instead.

His remarkable story only came to light when the Canaries became the focus of Europe's migration crisis, where more than 23,000 migrants have poured in since January last year.

The son of a witch doctor from a remote village, his mother died during childbirth, leading the elders to condemn him to death for being a 'bad spirit'. Only the intervention of his father saved him.

Fleeing his homeland at 13, he trekked through Niger to the Libyan border with a group of around 40 migrants. Traffickers left them at the edge of the Sahara, where many died trying to cross the desert without food or water, eating what they could find and drinking their own urine.

Flimsy boat

After about a month they reached a village in southern Libya where he collapsed and was taken in by locals. Later he found work as a welder but life in that country, too, was tough for a black man. Determined to move on, he saved $2,000 to travel through Algeria to Morocco and Mauritania where he took a flimsy boat to the Canaries.

At 18, he made it to Barcelona, the City of Dreams, where he spent two more years living rough, finally finding help from a generous Spanish family. They supported him while he studied for an MBA in business administration at Esade, ranked one of the top schools in Spain, and everything else is history.

But he has never forgotten his homeland and regular visits to Ghana through his charity work have only strengthened that bond.

May 6th - May 19th 2021

www.theolivepress.es

7

Big dig at Franco’s legacy Excavations into the lives of the prisoners who built the Valley of the Fallen give Europe’s last monument to facism a more PC spin

Olive Press We reach readers others can’t

T

HE Olive Press has been in a continuous state of growth for the past five years - and there’s no secret to our success.

We are the only English-language paper dedicated solely to news about Spain. We also hire NCTJ trained journalists who write their own exclusives 38 and know how to source andMENS deliver A OR DENSA? Accused of faking COVID - live on air the most relevant and intriguing A stories for expats.

This ethos has to our mind made us the most relevant English language newspaper to expats in Spain.

And it seems that we are not alone in thinking this - a whole host of official government organisations have chosen the Olive Press’s six editions to publicise serious issues, which make us the newspaper of record for the expat communities in Spain.

The AGE UK government OF PRINT!no less has used our pagTHE to reach Brits in Spain with a campaign of Ies informational adverts aimed at expats.

These have been a crucial part of the government’s mission to help Brits deal with Brexit.

Now the Diputacion de Malaga has followed suit to OPurge people to register on Puzzle solutions the padron.

This is vitally important, not just so local councils can access improved government funding, but also so British expats can abide by Brexit rules and be protected by the UK Spanish agreement.

And who is it the Norwegian police turned to when they wanted to put out a call for information? None other than the Olive Press of course. They knew that our newspapers - and website too - have roots deep in the local expat communities of many different nationalities in Spain. The best chance they had of reaching the people they needed was through us.

The Government of Gibraltar too has turned to the Olive Press to try to attract, as has the University of Gibraltar in search of new students.

And they are not alone - the Junta de Andalucia and local councils such as Benahavis have also recognised the advertising power of the Olive Press in the past few months.

All these major governmental organisations have recognised that the Olive Press reaches readers that others can’t - call us to see how we can help you reach new customers too.

COLUMNISTS

March 24th - April 6th 2021

Getting a grip

IT was the last caller that did it. I was into the final three minutes of ‘Viewpoint’, the live radio show that I host every Tuesday that discusses the ‘issues of the day’. In the past four years those have tended to be Brexit, Boris, Trump and of course, coronavirus.

Being the man in the middle of Viewpoint is always a white-knuckle ride, because you have no idea of just what the caller will say. As it is a live show, I‘ve developed a sixth sense that starts to tingle if I think they are about to swear or come out with something slanderous, and I am always poised to bring the fader, which controls the volume, down sharply.

The caller now waiting on line one had a bit of a reputation for rubbishing the existence of coronavirus, but I had less than 200 seconds before the end of from Giles’s casita the show so I thought ‘What’s SOOTHING: View of the valley and lake ers and hiked up the track shocked laughter as I pulled from the Casita. Exercise is the harm?’ nally shook it off. On the posHe got to the point right away itive side, I managed to catch the fader down, before I could one of the few options that I “You never had coronavirus” he up on a huge stack of reading, be accused of being one of the am allowed these days, and said, “You just had a bad flu for and the cat loved having me liberal elite, lackey of the MSM I was debating the futility of of the three days”. as I tended or fully paid up memberI have it all when I looked back. The Especially around. tested I aware, Illuminati. (Although If you were not Casita and the to feed her when I woke at 5am positive for COVID-19 at the every morning, a practice she heard that the lake looked was and January, snazrobes are beginning of stunning, and has continued since my recovI still live in a unable to return to the radio, ery by singing me the song of zy). suddenly it which I love, for three weeks. her people at some ungodly The weird thing me rebeautiful place made however, was, Although I was fortunate not to hour, demanding breakfast. alise: end up in hospital as several I was so dumbfounded by the that this comand I now also I still live in of my friends did, it still pole- accusation that I had faked ment sent me a beautipeculiar health my I most have back into what axed me in the ful place, my illness that I burst out in call ‘Mabellaise”, way, and I was glad when I fiI have my back fed where I get health back up with my adand I am lucky and opted town to lots of friends who helped everything about it. It normally when I was ill. As the saying happens around this time of goes – This Too Shall Pass. year, and the pandemic has not Nevertheless, I am not putexactly helped. ting that caller on air for a In an effort to clear my mud- while… dled head, I pulled on my train-

RE you a digital doer or a real-life print reader? The OlOLD HACK IN ive Press alternates weekly THE SUN publication of my columns Benny Davis between actual print and ether-controlled messages beamed from Ramblings of an 80-something expat outer space. But if you are one of the 75% of over 65’s who do not are safe access so called digital platforms, you to stretch managed have who those However, in my hands. of accessing digital intheir little grey cells to master the art Mensa achievers who do formation are more likely to be high instead of me. crosswords with a pen, and say, moi, I find reading a real Personally, I am of the Densa brigade.sun, very relaxing, and newspaper, especially while lying in theas an umbrella over the it has the added advantage of acting in. Laptops tend to be face when getting some extra ZZZZ’s on the nose. balance to difficult and uncomfortable

Worship

the God of ethernet culDevotees who worship at the altar of news items quickly ture will also tell you that you can compare or fake news. But before by surfing the net, to establish real that fake news happens you don your wetsuit, may I point outthe rare occasion the unfar less frequently in print, and if on action far more quickly thinkable happens, lawsuits leap into caution on the part of extreme encouraging web, than on the newspaper editors and owners. is available in information instant that understand I Bing, etc. seconds through sites such as Google, doesn’t Call me old fashioned, but that method coming give me the same satisfaction as finally hours, up trumps with answers after spending files and even days, of searching through old reference libraries. article At the moment, I am writing an havabout a serial killer who wrought am oc back in the Victorian era and running barefooted through my enormous collection of information, amassed over countless years as a writer. If I cannot find the answers, I will have to revert to my fail-safe solution, ‘Gertrude,’ grandmother of Amazon’s virtual assistant ‘Alexa.’

Although she answers in a shaky voice with the occasional additional sound me effect of flatulence, she never lets down and fits into my lifestyle far more comfortably than the pre-mentioned Miss Smoothy-Pants.

Terenia Taras

OSLO CONCILIATION BOARD

S

PAIN’S most controversial monument is on the brink of an image makeover with the families of the prisoners who built General Francisco Franco’s monstrous mausoleum moving centre stage.

The Valley of the Fallen, a huge basilica carved out of the living rock on a hillside north of Madrid, was Franco’s final resting place until two years ago when the dictator’s body was unceremoniously exhumed.

Constructed by 20,000 political prisoners and conscripts between 1940 and 1959, the families of these slave labourers had to settle on the premises in order to survive the post-war period and a shanty town sprung up.

From this month, according to archaeologist Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal, the area of the Cuelgamuros Valley 57 kilometres from Madrid where the families’ shacks once stood is to be excavated in a bid to reconstruct their lives.

“After I paid my first visit to the Valley of the Fallen in 2007, I realised that putting the focus on the shacks instead of the monument itself would be a way of changing the Francoist narrative,” Gonzalez-Ruibal tells the Olive Press, explaining that as the prisoners’ families would often come from afar to visit, they started to camp close by.

Shacks

Even those visiting from Madrid began to make a home in the Valley of the Fallen as the trip back and forth from the capital during the 1940s and 1950s was hard to do on public transport in one day.

“They started building huts, which turned into shacks measuring around 4m2,” says the archaeologist who works for the Spanish National Research Council and will head up a team of 10 on the dig. “They used rubble for the walls and branches for the roofs and probably knew how to build well enough to stop the rain coming in, as they would have been used to building shepherds’ huts. But they would have been freezing in winter.”

The curious shanty town that emerged over the years was obliquely accepted by the authorities. The presence of the prisoners’ families provided psychological support, meaning they worked better, were more disciplined and less likely to escape.

According to Gonzalez-Ruibal, the prisoners eventually received a food allowance for their families that could be spent at the canteen, while their children would likely have joined the local one-teacher school set up for the ’free’ labourers’ families.

Enduring this tough, no-frills existence, without electricity or running water and little light within the shacks, was not done solely out of choice.

“You have to take into account that this was Spain in the 1940s and 1950s when many women depended entirely on men to survive,” he says. “But there would also have been a desire to be together.”

Lying a stone’s throw from the four settlements or poblados that accommodated the prisoners’ barracks and labourer’s cottages, this community of women and children has often been used by far-right revisionists to depict the Valley of the Fallen as something akin to a holi-

to the ConciliaThe Defendant is ordered to reply stating whethtion Board in writing by 04.05.2021 and accepts er or not the Defendant acknowledges has not been dethe Complainant’s claim. If a replystated time limit, livered prior to the expiry of the on the basis judgment by default can be pronounced of the facts of of the Complainant’s representation the case. address, service will As the Defendant has no known the Courts Act Secbe executed with authority in to reply will be tion 181. The complaint and order when it has been deemed to have been legally servedweeks. posted at the legal venue for four case can be collectThe documents pertaining to the offices at Pilestreed from the Conciliation Board’s documents can be det 19, 0033 Oslo, Norway. Theby the Defendant if sent to a new address supplied the Defendant so requests.

By Heather Galloway in El Escorial

A Sierra Nevada ll about

February

LONG TIME IN COMING: But residents of Mallorca can hopefully soon hit the slopes

2021

Slide away www.theolivepress.es

Vol. 14

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CA MALLOR

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off to finally slopeheaven, You can skiing Andalucia’s Smith writes Charlie is There ILENCE. single peep not a upwards to as I climb the valley through maker. of the meet mymy head out and the I poke window fresh alcable car Nevada’s Sierra hits my lungs. pine airhear it – a sweeping white Then I down the crisp crunch as a snowboarder piste, past below. and whizzes tears through, Another third, all weaving at then a mountainside down the speed. more terriblistering Spanish I’m definitely the three carriage the fied than guys sharing the with me. left behind We have and restaurants the main cosy bars only ski in Pradollano, Andalucia’s town of resort. out at Borreguiles, meWe step some 2,700 which sits sea level. for tres above the basecampruns, This is the Sierra’s the many of range from facil’ ‘muy which black, lagreen-coloured those in pistes to dificil’. belled ‘muy overleaf

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www.theolivepress.es

February 26th

Continues

See page 11

- March 11th 2021

Model patient

PICTU EXCL RE USIVE

has had expat centenarian year.

A POPULAR jab in her 101st Costa her first COVID based on the Pfizer of the Peggy Bloomfield, her first dose Centre this Blanca, got Medical vaccine at Teulada according to week. raring to go, And she’s now Shirley Young. to get her neighbour Thrilled to bits she told the “She is amazing!

I’m feeling great!” the jab and “Lockdown permitting her Olive Press. the Mayor to visit for two hoping to get Her second jab is in be celebratnext birthday.” and Peggy will weeks’ time birthday in April. nurse ing her 101st (far right) shows of Our photograph the first doseshe right Juanjo administering to Peggy, while a visit the vaccine as she received was all smiles champagne and cake when she with balloons, Press reporters her from Olive last year.

Peggy receives100th birthday hit the big 100 ALL ROUND: recent to get the following her expat in Spain older, con- CELEBRATIONS (inset right) Is she the oldest COVID jab you know anyone COVID jab? If tact us at newsdesk@theolivepress.es

soon Island could be back in business ban to as UK travelin May be lifted

are only permitted moment Brits abroad. At the work purposes. South Affrom to travel for essential to enter Spain until 6pm on No one is allowed

By Kirsty McKenzie UK via air or sea up for an avarica, Brazil or the restrictions. could be gearing in May. take them March 2 under the current MALLORCA in December to its shores and family or numlanche of tourists agents have seen the this to reconnect friendsholiday to remember,” he The ban was first introduced more-transmisfirst detected a UK. Airlines and travel holidays abroad soar out on a long-awaited when scientists the to to its web- sible variant of the virus in its roadmap ber of Brits booking added. originally supposed UK announced Cook said traffic week after the restrictions were the Prime Minishas now been Travel firm Thomas to leave the site doubled in the day after confirmed there Tighton January 19 but the banrestrictions curof lockdown. finally be able end with Ryanair multiple times, 2.

UK tourists should from May 17, the govern- ter’s statement, while in bookings.

Hancock extended a ‘large surge’ place until March country for holidays on Monday. the had been Health Secretary Matt of rently in ment announcedBoris Johnson revealed 6 However, that the effectiveness travOpinion Page plan for gradu- urged caution, warning Prime Minister whether international of his four-step all somove as part in England, with21. vaccines will dictate June ally lifting restrictions can go ahead. to protect against these new finally lifted by bookings el have cial contact rules easyJet, said than four He said: “We that is a Airlines, including variants, and season were more the same period big challenge.” for the summer compared with that times higher Hancock addedmuch last week. ‘we can be about more relaxed travel’ Confidence destina- international well of the most popular giant if vaccines workSouth Palma was one to the budget holiday against the Brazil month. tions, according August its busiest by chief ex- Africa and easyJet, with was described a ‘much-needed strains.the vaccine The announcement “If Lundgren, as against ecutive, Johan doesn’t work boost in confidence’. seen a pent-up demand then that will more bookings shows them, “We have consistently be much, much this surge in for travel and has been what UK consumers difficult,” he said.govthat this signal for,” he said. and It comes as the have been waiting were up by 630% ernment confirmed at the Holiday bookings while off, it was looking passflights by 337%. may be a little en- idea of vaccine travel “While the summer around the clock to to allow up our flights ports we will be working ready to ramp sure we will be

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Quick Crossword

9 Date, 10 Stalk, Across: 1 Fuse, 4 Pipeline, 8 Etchings, Ma’am, 16 High-ups, 18 11 Broncos, 13 Hers, 14 Yam, 15 23 Test.

Braid, 20 Fuzz, 21 This is it, 22 Deployed,

4 Pant, 5 Pastrami, 6 Down: 2 Up to the minute, 3 Exhales, 15 Marxist, 17 Hazel, Led in, 7 Nationalities, 12 Sympathy, 19 Kind.

SUDOKU

against the The Complainant has filed a complaint Board with a deDefendant with Oslo Conciliation with the addimand for payment of NOK 69751,18 and legal costs. tion of interest at the legal rate

Telling it like it is

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As Complainant: Modhi Finance , Tempo Defendant: Per Einar Tinmsnndvik Banus 45, ES-29600 Marbella

trip Kindle and love nothing more than a T’S great that any newspaper is still to Waterstones (when in the UK) to select being printed in our age of the internet try a new book, preferably hard backed. and it’s something we should always A lot of things have changed since I startto support and maintain. ed my career as a journalist in my early internet Before the birth of the internet, Sunday of twenties. Back then there was no mornings for many people consistedbuy so we used books for factual research, to used when reading the papers. I always I a dictionary or thesaurus, as andwith us a News of the World, not only because required, and we carried pagers worked for the paper, but also, like many instead of mobile phones. in the age people, to catch up on the latest scandal tab- Writing this I feel like I was born because or expose, which the biggest selling of the dinosaur loid in Britain was famous since the internet became for. a global network in the OLIVE poshas PRESS Alongside the News of the technology 1990s, Screws (as it was known) I’d sessed everything. More buy the Sunday Telegraph and more people commufor international news and a nicate solely online, how more high-brow read. teenagers actually SKY HIGH many There’s still something nice use their phone as a teleES newspaper a HOP about reading phone? More people shop with a morning coffee, which online, especially since the was often a prelude to your pandemic, and nearly evworking day or whilst travelery business has migrated ling on the train or tube. But to an online presence. then I’m still one of the die-147 834 So after 20 years in the hards who refused to own952a

100th Edition

being dealt with Extract from complaint currently

by Oslo Conciliation Board – Dept. 3 Case No. F2020-012277

to media industry I’m prouder than everthe go full circle and be able to write forvast Olive Press. The newspaper serves communities in Spain and the islands may providing real news, which again left become something from the past if and solely in the hands of unscrupulous self-serving organisations or individuals. the Newspapers should always remain the beacon of truth and shine a light intoI am deepest, darkest corners of the web. proud as a journalist to do my job because I feel it’s crucial to have an independent who and objective group of professionals the share the same goal, which is to hold powers that be to account. still Love him, or loathe him, Piers Morgan I’m champions old school journalism and glad he doesn’t let politicians off lightly because they should be held accountable - although it must be said he has managed to get himself into a little hot water now over Meghan! person’s The media always had the little to rely interest at heart, despite the needsurvive. on advertising to Which is why businesses should support their local, regional and national press, because without the integrity and guardians of the truth being able to continue commercially we may have nothing left but controlled, fake news.

YOU CAN FOLLOW ME @tereniataras

Gastronomy Gastronomía

DIG: Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal, archaeologist and (right) Silvia Navarro beside a memorial to the fallen day camp, Gonzalez-Ruibal explains.

“It is true that many of the prisoners considered their time in the Valley of the Fallen as a good period in their lives,” he says. “But these were people who had lived through a civil war and spent time in concentration camps where they were on the verge of dying from hunger.

It would have been like going from hell to purgatory.”

It has taken Spain a long time to dismantle Europe’s last monument to fascism, which was at one time receiving 500,000 visitors a year, and Franco still casts a shadow. “The Valley of the Fallen and the general integration of Francoism into Spanish society has contributed to the fact that extreme right-wing views are now presented to the public as a reasonable option,” says Gonzalez-Ruibal.

As if to illustrate his point, far-right Vox politician Alejandro Velez has just stood up in Extremad-

J

osE Antonio Marco (pictured), a forward-thinking Republican and mason shot for his beliefs at the age of 30, is among those whose bodies are to be exhumed this month.

His execution took place against the cemetery wall in Calatayud, Aragon, in 1936.

Afterwards he was buried in an unmarked mass grave nearby before being stealthily trucked to the Valley of the Fallen in April 1959.

“On social media, someone said he was probably a thief and a murderer,” his great-niece, Silvia Navarro, 50, tells the Olive Press.

“But he was a pacifist; a good man,” insists the president of the Association of Families for the Exhumation of Republicans Buried in the Valley of the Fallen. “He intro duced the eight-hour day to his factory and healthcare for his workers.”

What was left of his corpse more than 23 years later would have been ‘dug up carelessly as if it were a field of potatoes’ , says Gonzalez-Ruibal. Franco urgently need ed

ura’s regional parliament to ask for a new statue of Franco to be erected on a roundabout in Badajoz!

But at least it looks as though his monstrous mausoleum is to be stripped of its original purpose, as the dig extends to the exhumation of Falangist leader Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera and the remains of Franco’s victims.

The 150-metre cross topping the basilica which Franco claimed to have built as a ‘national act of atonement’ crowns a graveyard of 33,838 corpses, 12,410 of which were carted there from 1959 until as late as 1983, many without the permission of the families.

Packed into wooden boxes according to their region of origin, they were stored within the hollow walls of the Basilica where Franco lay across from Primo de Rivera until his controversial exhumation in 2019. “Imagine an archive, but instead of books, its boxes of human remains,” says Gonzalez-Ruibal.

Back from the grave

Republican corpses to fulfil his revis ed vision for his magnum opus as a plac e of reconciliation between the two sides of the Spanish Civil War. The long and bitter battle to get Marco and other Republicans out of the Valley started in 2009, taking 60 families through the entire Spanish judicial system and right up to the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg. Of these 60, the Lapeña family was the first to win the right to have the remains of brothers Manuel and Antonio Lapeña returned to them.

Five years later, they are still waiting… as are the rest of the fami lies who finally achieved a breakthro ugh three months ago.

“It’s a basic human right, no? To hono your dead?” says Navarro, who expla ur ins that there are still six of the victims’ child ren living – now in their late 80s and 90s and losing their memories.

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Martin Tye asks are you aware that Spain is the Dirty Man of Europe?

Green Matters

By Martin Tye

IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD

M

ANY of you will remember this 1964 farce starring Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracey.

A farce is a comedy in which everything is absurd.

Absurdism is even more extreme than a farce.

In a farce, everything goes off the rails, but in absurdism, there aren’t any rails to begin with.

A living example of this has to be the leaf blower, a device on the list of the top ten most ridiculous inventions of the last century.

Brought to market as a hand held version in 1978, this mostly petrol powered contraption, in the hands of the ‘DIY MACHOMAN’ sets the scene to play out this tragic

farce.

‘I blow my rubbish and dirt (not just leaves) off my property onto yours. You then return the favour and blow them back!!!”

It doesn’t get more absurd than this does it?

These devices plague us all – in urbanisations, on the street, in public places.

Nowhere is spared these noisy, polluting, and futile machines.

Let me expand: ●● Leaf blowers blast air at 185 mph. They kick up allergens, dust, animal faeces, and other detrimental particulates. ●● They are noisy, obtrusive, and can cause hearing loss (sound emissions are 115 decibels). ●● The overall ecosystem is negatively affected. ●● They create 300 times the amount of pollutants as a street cleaning truck No one picks up the relocated debris they create.

The original concept of blowing leaves in autumn is completely flawed.

Leave the leaves in situ if possible. They are one ofvaluable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates who need winter cover.

Or, use as free mulch. Leaves are a great addition to compost.

Whatever happened to the garden rake, the brush, and the pan?

Maybe, to add to this farce we should form a movement to throw a cream pie in the face of all those who use them?

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Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es

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May 6th - May 19th 2021

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Skybrator!

By Fiona Govan

A PIONEERING turbine design promises to reinvent how we harness wind power without the need for giant windmills and blades that harm wildlife.

The bladeless curve-topped cylinder can generate energy from vibrations alone and is the brainchild of Madrid based start-up Vortex Bladeless.

“We have developed a new wind energy technology specially designed for on-site generation in residential areas, being able to work ongrid, off- grid, or along with regular solar panels or other

‘Phallic’ wind turbine could be future of green energy

generators,” explained David Yañez, the inventor behind the project.

Sustainable crossing SPAIN now has what is claimed to be the world’s first sustainable ‘fast ferry’.

The service connects Palma de Mallorca to Denia with a stopover in Ibiza.

Costing €90 million, Balearia’s Eleanor Roosevelt is the first ferry of its type in the world, operating with innovative natural gas engines, says the company.

Taking just under three years to construct, the ferry is also longer than any other fast ferry in the world and has a capacity for 1,200 passengers and 450 cars.

Balearia’s president, Adolfo Utor, explained that ‘sustainability and technology are the differentiating aspects’ of the vessel.

Scientific analysis has shown that the ferry will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 85% which is equivalent to the consumption of 8,900 cars each year or some 27,000 trees.

The ferry pays tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest serving First Lady in US history and a gender equality activist and advocate for civil rights, who was also the first president of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

BARCELONA mayor Ada Colau has s1et out the city’s vision for a green future by creating 503 superblocks to cut pollution and prevent hundreds of premature deaths.

The blocks are groups of streets where traffic is reduced to close to zero,

Going green with the space given over to pedestrians and play areas.

The plan could save hundreds of lives every year and cut air pollution by a quarter if it fully implements the radical superblocks scheme,

Described as an ‘environmentally friendly aerogenerator without blades designed for on-site wind energy generation’ it won the moniker Skybrator on Reddit because of its phallic appearance.

The device could be effective from as small as three metres high which could be used on an off grid home to power a fridge, some lights and charge mobile phones harnessing wind power on a small scale in the same way as a home solar panel.

Size matters

“Power grows exponentially with the size of the device,” explained Jorge Piñero, another member of the Vortex team.

The design has won the approval of Norway’s state energy company, Equinor, which named Vortex on a list of the 10 most exciting startups in the energy sector.

The new designs could provide an alternative way of harnessing green energy in place of traditional wind farms with their giant blades that are known to decimate bird and bat species. according to a report by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.

“Citizens want us to move ahead with this transformation from the demonstrations and the surveys which we have conducted,” Colau told journalists.

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BUSINESS

Jobs slashed

CAIXABANK has announced it will cut nearly 20% of its workforce across Spain as part of a nation-wide shake following their merger with Bankia.

The Spanish lender is to cut 5,742 jobs and close 1,534 of their 7000 branches across the country.

The Madrid branch is set to be hit hardest by the restructuring plan, with union bosses expecting some 1,500 job losses.

Valencia is also set to lose around 500 workers while the closure of the Murcia branches mean some 400 people will be with our work.

In total, 18% of the workforce is set to be cut as central services drops 1,611 employees and some 250 jobs across the regional headquarters are cut.

Government spokesperson María Jesús Montero defended the shock move and claimed that had it not been for the merger ‘we would be talking about a higher volume of workers’.

The new megabank, which the state has a 16% share in, pledged to maintain a physical presence in locations where there is only one group office, especially in rural areas.

José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, the new non-executive chairman of CaixaBank, said: “It is painful to be restructuring and reducing staff.”

He added that the company would strive to save as many jobs as possible and said most job losses will be via their voluntary redundancy policy.

May 6th - May 19th 2021

Pepco pops up SPAIN’S first Pepco store opened in Alicante’s Gran Via Shopping Centre last week.

The Polish-based Pepco Group own the UK’s Poundland brand as well as the Pepco and Dealz names across Europe.

They plan to open 400 branded shops in Spain over the next four years to challenge the likes of Primark in selling budget fashion and home accessories. The group is concentrating on the Valencian Community and Murcia region for their first openings, with their Spanish headquarters based in Valencia City.

Launch

They plan to launch 10 shops

by September in locations that include Castellon de la Plana, Elche, Lorca and Xativa.

Andy Bond, Pepco Group chief executive, said: “We completed extensive research on the Spanish market, which we already know well from the rollout of our Dealz brand there, and see it as a key part of our ambitious plans to become Europe’s pre-eminent discount variety retailer. We are confident that the combination of western European store format and product quality at market-leading low prices will prove highly appealing to our new customers across Spain.”

Traveling by motorhome in the COVID era: an opportunity to travel in safety and freedom

M

OTORHOMES are currently the safest and ‘freest’ option to enjoy your free time and feel at home while traveling.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, travelling by motorhome is one of the best alternatives, being the perfect choice to move around safely and with total freedom, all while feeling at home.

It is the ideal option to travel comfortably at a leisurely pace, especially if you have children.

It allows you to adapt the trip with total freedom as your mood suits and to forget about schedules.

Being in total control, it permits people to visit both the most popular destinations and the most hidden secret corners. And it is a great way to get to know local customs and make new friends.

One of the main advantages of travelling by motorhome is comfort. You only have to choose a good place to spend the night and enjoy all the built-in facilities that rival any hotel.

These include fully rotating driver and co-driver seats, 150-litre refrigerators, independent showers, state-of-the-art toilet, washbasin, kitchen with oven, TV aerial even satellite - drinking water and waste water tanks, GPS, several beds -island, double or bunk beds- heating, air conditioning and hot water, motorcycle racks and bicycle racks, among other details.

Alright for some

Tills keep ringing at Mercadona

SUPERMARKET chain Mercadona has had a good pandemic.

It closed 2020 with a record net turnover of €24.68 BILLION. This was an increase of 5.5% over the €26.932 billion of 2019, with the vast majority of the cash coming from its Spanish operation. The company’s 20 Portuguese stores contributed €186 million.

Record

Despite the record turnover, company boss Juan Roig described the year as ‘hard and complicated’ and pointed out that the company had actually lost market share – half a point to 26.4%.

Mercadona also saw a significant increase in costs as it brought in anti-COVID measures.

This did not stop the retailer from recording a significant rise in profits which grew 16.75% year-on-year to a new high of €727 million.

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(4,2) 10 Hoofing it (2,4) 11 Flags (5) 12 Chess champion --Karpov (7) 14 Least prepossessing (7) 16 Sales pitch (5) 19 Small things (6) 20 Roman ode-smith (6) 21 Clammy (4) 22 As do the days in Spring (8)

Safety at the wheel Safety at the wheel is fundamental to any trip, but even more so when travelling in this type of transport.

It is essential to choose a vehicle that meets a series of conditions, among which safety stands out. This is why it is so important to be advised by qualified professionals such as Caravanas Cruz, who offer the best alternatives according to the needs of each person.

Caravanas Cruz has been offering its services as a distributor of caravans and motorhomes for more than 40 years and is one of the leading companies in Spain for services and facilities in the world of caravanning.

As it has one of the largest accessory stores in the country, an online sales service and a large specialised workshop with the capacity to work on more than 10 vehicles, caravanners are in safe hands.

Its sales department has professionals who guide the purchase process according to the needs and tastes of each family. And if you want to try before you buy, the company offers a motorhome rental service so you can dip your toes into the water of caravanning.

Its facilities are expansive, with 14,000 sqm of exhibition space and more than 100 vehicles, both new and second-hand, from top brands such as Benimar, Adria, Autostar, Hymer or Hobby, among others.

Caravanas Cruz follows the anticovid protocol of the Spanish Association of Industry and Commerce of Caravaning. Among its measures, it has implemented a new appointment service, which can be reached by calling 965 457 819.

Cruz Caravans Address: Carretera de Dolores, km 1. 03290 Elche (Alicante) Telephone: 965 457 819

SUPERMARKET SWEEP: Mercadona profits soared And the workforce shared in ness, which it started in 2018, the good news, with €409 mil- with the opening of its new lion handed out in bonuses – €12 million distribution hub in 20% more than in 2019.

Madrid, joining its already exMercadona ended the year isting Barcelona and Valencia with 1,641 supermarkets, after centres. opening 70, 10 of them in Por- Online sales totaled €176 miltugal, and closing 65 stores. lion, double the figure of 2019, The company also continued although still a tiny fraction of to invest in its online busi- turnover.

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LA CULTURA

Do you have a what’s on?

May 6th - May 19th 2021

Send your informa tion to newsdesk@theolivepr ess.es

Crap shop

A Gambling Man

by David Baldacci

A caganer is not just for Christmas

By Graham Keeley

year round at the world’s first caganers shop in Barcelona.

Some 530 defecating figures will be on display for sale, to show off their remarkable history and to demonstrate how they are made.

“To open a shop is the culmination of nearly 30 years of our career and as a recognition to our parents,” said Marc and Sergi Alos, respectively the sculptor and sales director of Caganer.com, the family-run company which has produced the figures for

SPAIN’S famous Pamplona bull runs have been scrapped for a second successive year due to the COVID pandemic.

The bull runs form the cornerstone of San Fermin festival in July, which draws tourists from around the world. The festival gained international fame from Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel ‘The Sun Also Rises’. Prior to 2020, the last time it was cancelled was during the Civil War between 1936 and 1939.

As well as the morning bull runs and afternoon bullfights, the festival features round-the-clock singing, dancing and drinking by revellers dressed in white clothes and red neck scarves. There are

BOOK REVIEW

THEY are as much a part of Christmas in Catalunya as the pessebre, or nativity scene.

Now these curious figures - known as caganers - which depict everyone from Boris Johnson, Leo Messi, Joe Biden and even Queen Elizabeth II baring their bottoms to squat down and do their business, will be celebrated the

BROTHERS: Marc and Sergi Alos the past 29 years.

“We realised that it was necessary to have an establishment like this because until now you could only find the caganers in little stands or

No bull

also religious events in honour of San Fermin.

Last year’s cancellation was also a big financial blow to Pamplona’s bars, restaurants and hotels.

Pamplona mayor, Enrique Maya said that staging the event would be ‘very risky due to the low number of vaccinated people and the Navarra region’s high COVID infection rate. Money that was going to be spent on the festival will be diverted to other summer attractions. In February, Navarra’s president, Maria Chivete, said that the event would be called off again, only for Maya to hold out longer before coming to terms with a second-successive cancellation.

at fair at Christmas or in our factory.”

They added: “It will be an oasis for the caganer where all year round there will be figures that we have created.

“The caganer is not just something for Christmas. Little by little, we are converting it into a typical souvenir that a tourist can take as a memory of Catalonia,” added the Alos brothers.

The new shop is in Calle Banys Nous in Barcelona’s Barrio Gotico, an area which is normally full of tourists.

The roots of the caganer tradition are vague but believed to date from around the late 17th century or early 18th century when the fashion at the time in Catalonia was for realism in art, sculpture and literature.

Mooo’ve Away

ANIMAL rights party PACMA (El Partido Animalista Contra el Maltrato Animal) has demanded that the Junta cancel the Cordoba bullfighting festival, scheduled for the middle of May with an expected attendance of 2,600 spectators per bullfight.

In a statement, the coordinator of PACMA in Cordoba, Javier Luna, said that it is ‘inadmissible’ and ‘utterly irresponsible’ that the Junta has authorised the Cordoba bullfighting show after the ‘regrettable events that took place in the bullfight on Columbus Day’, where ‘the security measures of COVID-19 were not complied with’.

“Cordoba, the only city in Spain to have achieved four World Heritage status, does not deserve to have its image tarnished like this, with irresponsible behaviour. Neither does it deserve to have its image associated with animal abuse and bloody animal shows,” he said.

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LA CULTURA

Tales of the surreal

T

EXCLUSIVE: A meeting with the maestro Salvador Dali was simply unforgettable, recalls David Baird

HEY’RE making a new film about one of the 20th cen- whelmed by his extrovert host. tury’s most famous artists, the outrageous Surrealist Dalí was in euphoric mood, leaning back in a cane chair as Salvador Dalí. Like anything associated with Dalí, it celestial music filled the patio. Then, abruptly, the maestro has bizarre aspects. Example: some scenes are being was off, bounding away in his rope-soled sandals. He gestured filmed in Wales, where the painter never set foot. at a phallic-shaped swimming pool, bordered oddly enough by Titled Dalí Land, it stars veteran actor Ben Kingsley (he was adverts for Pirelli tyres. brilliant as Gandhi, so he must be right for the part, right?). “Dalí is going to cover the bottom with sea-urchins,” he inIt relates how a young gallery assistant, played by Ezra Miller, formed us. “Yes, the stinging things, all over the bottom.” helps the ageing Dalí prepare for a big New York show. The Before I could ask why, he was off again and holding up a giartist’s wife, Gala, who was Russian, is portrayed by a German, gantic stuffed serpent.

Barbara Sukowa.

“Brigitte Bardot gave Dalí this. You like it?”

Meanwhile, the Teatro-Museo Dalí in Figueras, up near the Somehow questions did not seem too important any more.

French border, attracts more than a million visitors a year, How do you pin down an illusion, an eruption of fireworks, a making it one of the most visited in the world. Dalí is buried in bout of hysteria? Dalí claimed to have had his first hallucinaa crypt beneath the museum’s stage. And one of his creations, tion at the age of three and it was easy to believe.

Portrait de Paul Eluard (pictured below) recently He was on the move again, elegant in black-andsold for $22 million, the highest figure ever paid white striped blazer and white trousers, keepfor a Surrealist work. ing up a commentary in a bewildering Dali was Have you got the picture? mix of English, Spanish, Catalan and Years after his death, in 1989, the legend of Sal- convinced I had French. vador Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech lives on. EsHe showed us the spherical Egg Room come all the pecially in my mind. Because I can never forget and pranced on, wagging his cane at the time when I met the man himself. a painting showing a naked woman’s way from China It was way back in the 1970s. I had spent the night back. “You have had the privilege of to see him in my camper van on a beach at Port Lligat on the seeing my wife in the nude. She has a Catalan coast. Just after dawn a Civil Guard patrol perfect back as you can see.” turned up and checked my credentials. When I Dalí and Gala began their relationship asked if they knew where the painter lived, they pointed out a while she was still married to his friend, the Surrealwhitewashed jumble of fishermen’s cottages close by. ist poet Paul Eluard. She left Eluard for Dali and the As a journalist, I had no option: I had to knock on the door. In pair married in 1934. Because of this affair Dali was the entrance hall a massive stuffed bear loomed menacingly. for years shunned by his father and their entire home Next thing I was ushered into the Dalí presence. Dalí looked town in Catalonia. Gala exerted an almost hypnotic his age. He gazed at me wearily, his moustache drooping. No power over Dalí. She persuaded him to buy her a caspyrotechnics, just a tired old man, slumped in his chair. I pre- tle in the village of Púbol, which the painter could not sented my card. enter without her permission. It has now become the “Come back in an hour,” said Dalí.

Gala-Dalí Castle House Museum.

When I returned, Dalí was sitting on a sunlit patio. And he was Later in the day Gala herself showed up, briefly. She a man transformed! Rejuvenated, effervescent. Even the fa- was elegance itself, but also cold and haughty. She mous moustache had acquired new life. eyed myself and my wife with distaste, asking: “Who “Ah!” he exclaimed. “The man from Shanghai!” are these people?”

I realised later that the card was the clincher. It was one I had Dalí claimed that Gala recognised his hysterical used while working in Hong Kong. Dalí was convinced I had laugh for what it was, an indication of inner torment come all the way from China to see him. And soon a butler was and terror. She certainly knew how to convert his art pressing pink champagne on my wife, myself and three other into a money machine. Her mercenary ways became visitors. One of these was Dr. Schiller, a former minister in the notorious, as well as her taste for young lovers, to German government. A mild-mannered fellow, he seemed over- which Dalí turned a blind eye. The urge to cash in led to a huge scandal when it was learned that Dalí had signed hundreds of blank sheets of paper to which fake lithographs were later added.

One yarn claims that John Lennon’s partner, Yoko Ono, bought what she thought was a strand of his moustache for $10,000, unaware it was a dry blade of grass from his garden.

As we toured the bizarre Dalí hideaway, Dr. Schiller asked the painter to autograph a book of his works. No problem. He quickly penned a sketch on the flyleaf.

“Fantastic!” said Dr. Schiller.

I could only echo his words, recalling that at 1970s market prices that swift doodle would be worth at least $2,000. And today it could be sold for...who knows how much? For 60 seconds’ work.

In his studio we viewed his latest creations.

One was a clever arrangement of two patterns which merged when examined from a certain angle. All done with mirrors.

“It’s wonderful, stereoscopic,” said Dalí.

Asked its title, he paused – but only for a moment – then announced grandly: “Mineral Molecules in the Moment of Becoming One Angel!”

Of course. Why hadn’t we thought of that?

Later, intruders from the real world turned up, two executives from Playboy just arrived from New York. We met in Dalí’s library, presided over by stuffed swans and an eagle. They clutched a dozen or so colour photos, taken according to the maestro’s directions and due to appear in a special issue of the magazine.

“You know the more I think about this project

the more excited I get,” declared the man from Playboy.

I saw what he meant when I saw the pictures. Five spectacular models had somehow got entwined, in the nude, with the Bardot serpent and a huge egg in Dalí’s garden.

While chatting with the Playboy reps, Dalí suddenly leaped on to a table and adopted an imperious pose. His eyes rolled wildly while his moustache and eyebrows performed a crazy accompaniment.“A photograph! A photograph!” he commanded.

May 6th - May 19th 2021

STRANGE: Dali at home with bear, striking a pose on the table, grooming his moustache and with Playboy photographer Pompeo Posar setting up a shot using his original sketch (bottom).

He was not to be denied. Clearly Dalí had never given up on his early ambition, announced at the age of seven, to be Napoleon.

Surrealism has been described as an attempt to rebel against the orderly power of reason, to escape from the life sentence of daily routine. I was going to ask Dalí’s view about this. But the

next time I turned to speak to him he had morphed into somebody in a Chinese mandarin’s mask and a crown.

Sheer exhibitionism, right? Or a crazy joke? Or Dalí’s way of retreating from the insane world we imagine is the real one?

13

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL Welcome Bargain back meal THE·Spanish government has announced it will be ready to welcome back British and International holidaymakers this June with a ‘COVID passport’ According to the Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdes, the digital certificate, which is being set up by the European Union (EU) and which ‘will be fundamental in providing certainty to travellers’, will be operational at the start of this summer.

Virus

Valdes explained that it will be accepted as proof a person had a COVID-19 jab, received a negative test result or recovered from the virus.

With a digital vaccination certificate in place, to be pilot tested in May at all of Spain’s 46 airports, the country expects to kick start the recovery of the tourism trade in June.

Additionally, Valdes said that Spain was pushing for the UK’s digital vaccine passport to be ‘mutually recognised’ and said he welcomed Boris Johnson’s plans to restart international travel from May 17.

May 6th - May 19th 2021

Free Testing Call

Tuck in to a Michelin-starred menu for just €25 SPAIN is home to one of the cheapest places in the world to enjoy a Michelin-starred meal.

For a bargain basement price of just €25 diners can tuck into a three course set menu at Silbario in Vigo (Galicia).

For that price you get an aperitif of Puchero de verdinas y setas silvestres (stew of green vegetables and wild mushrooms) then a choice of start-

ers like warm pea and mussel soup or roasted white asparagus with egg and ham.

This is followed by Galician veal shank, chanterelles and Robuchon’s style puree or pan-seared palometa and roasted spring onion.

To finish off there is a choice of Leche frita, with lemon cream and cinnamon ice cream or crema montada de tetilla with peach and fried sesame seeds.

The restaurant also offers more ambitious menus costing up to €80 - still a bit of a bargain in the rarefied world of Michelin-class dining, with

On the rocks THE home of the founder of the Bacardi drinks empire is to close, another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Casa Bacardi in Sitges was the original home of Facundo Bacardi Masso, who left the Catalan city in 1830 to set up the drinks company in Cuba.

The website for Casa Bacar-

di, which closed on March 28, states that the property will remain shut ‘until further notice’.

Since its opening almost ten years ago, Casa Bacardi has been a popular local attraction, but reduced capacity due to COVID-19 makes it untenable to continue as a museum.

15

chef Alberto Gonzalez (pictured) also serving up media raciones for as little as €14.

For the cheapest Michelin restaurant in the world you will have to head up to Northern France.

The Hostellerie la Montagne in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises has a set menu at €20, according to Top Dollar website.

On the other side of the coin, there are Michelin-starred restaurants in 34 countries, and in five of those nations, you cannot find meals for less than $100 (€84).

Other ‘cheap’ restaurants are Edvard’s (Vienna, Austria) and Borkonyha (Budapest, Hungary) also offering a menu under €25.

TWO regional presidents want the European Union to pay for free PCR tests to boost foreign tourism. Valencian president, Ximo Puig, and his Balearic Islands counterpart, Francina Armengol made the call at a meeting in Valencia City.

Ximo Puig said: “For people who are yet to be vaccinated and need to show that they are COVID-free, then a PCR test should be free and paid for by EU funds. ”He added the subsidy was crucial due to the strong likelihood that many potential travellers, especially ‘younger people’ would be put off by the price of a PCR test that averages €120 per person.

“If vaccines are free, then PCR tests should be as well, “Puig said.

Francina Armengol said: “Free testing will reactivate the economy of two regions that are very dependant on mobility and tourism.”

16

I

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

May 6th - May 19th 2021

T was as spontaneous a trip as you could make.

I had never seen the Alhambra despite all my years in Spain and last September, after recovering from a bout of fairly mild COVID, I decided it was now or never.

And, for once in a lifetime, there would be no queues and no tourists.

I booked a hotel that looked absolutely beautiful online, an entrance for the Alhambra and a train ticket for the next day, and off I went.

In the time of COVID, this last-minute plan felt like I was achieving something unbelievable.

On the train ride down I received a text message from the hotel saying, ‘Hello Deirdre, we will not be able to be there when you arrive, so we will leave you your keys on the reception desk. Here is the code to enter the front doors of the hotel.’ My train

W

Trip of a lifetime was arriving at 6pm, so this was hardly off-hours, but why not?

The hotel was on the main tourist drag in front of the river with the Alhambra towering above, glowing in late afternoon sunshine. I found the door, entered the code and - beep beep beep - I was in.

It was a gorgeous hotel in the old Granada style with exposed wooden beams, a courtyard flowing with vines and plants and wonderfully furnished. And sure enough, no one was there. I mean, not a single person!

There was just my name on a card and a key, a map of Granada and another note explaining I had been upgraded to their nicest room, complete with a smiley face.

I found my room, on the top floor with views over the Granada rooftops. It had a magnificent tiled bathroom with a decadent bath and

ITH restrictions easing across the UK, people everywhere are desperately waiting to hear when international travel can officially resume.

With May 17 earmarked as the date that foreign trips could restart, lockdown-weary Brits are now thinking more and more about jetting away for some time in the sun.

While foreign holidays are currently banned by the UK Government, ministers are expected to unveil the new traffic light system on May 7.

Countries will be placed on green, amber, or red lists to determine if you need to quarantine or undergo further tests when you're back in the UK. Anyone travelling to countries awarded green list status will not have to isolate when they return.

These rules will only affect people travelling from England to places abroad since devolved administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have the power to set their own timings for the easing of restrictions.

While it is still unknown whether Spain will be given the green light, there are certain regions which are likely to be the first ones to welcome foreign visitors thanks to their low COVID-19 infection rates and push for travel corridors and vaccine passport schemes.

With travellers desperate to understand what current conditions are in Spain, we thought we would help break it all down.

We answer all your most- asked

FIVE STAR TREATMENT: Deirdre enjoyed rooftop views of the Alhambra fro

two huge beds made up with crisp sheets and fluffy blankets. The five star treatment

questions below.

Who is allowed into Spain at the moment?

Since late October 2020, Spain has been placed under a nationwide State of Emergency with further mobility restrictions and curfews which remain in force.

Only citizens and legal residents of the European Union, Schengen states, Andorra, Monaco, The Vatican (Holy See) and San Marino, and those who can demonstrate through documentary evidence an essential need to enter Spain, will be granted entry under current travel restrictions.

When will hotels be allowed to open in Spain to holidaymakers?

Currently hotels and B&Bs are allowed to be open in Spain and anyone can make a booking, regardless of nationality. That means it’s good news for forward thinking Brits hoping to bag a deal but make sure to speak with them about the accommodation refund policy in case your flights are cancelled or you are prohibited from travelling.

When will foreign destination travel be allowed from the UK to Spain?

This is the big question. The government has yet to confirm when non-essential travel can resume, and at the moment foreign holidays are still banned.

The lockdown roadmap states that the earliest that flights can restart is May 17.

for €33 per night! In normal times this room would easily cost quadruple that price.

Someone had unlocked the rooftop access for me as well and I climbed up the

Travel queries

Are hotels open in Spain and what are the current coronavirus rules on travel, and other questions answered

By Kirsty McKenzie

Details are set to be announced soon of a new traffic light system - rating destinations as green, amber or red which will mean what sort of quarantine or restrictions will be required to visit those countries.

However, Spain has not yet announced when it will welcome Brits.

Currently only those with EU passports or Spanish residency are permitted to enter the country.

The good news is however that the country is 'desperate to welcome' UK visitors this summer.

Spain's tourism minister Fernando Valdes said: 'I think we will be ready here in Spain. We also think that the vaccination scheme in the UK is going pretty well, so hopefully we'll be seeing this summer the restart of holidays.'

He added that certificates enabling holidaymakers to prove they have been vaccinated or recently tested are 'going to help us'.

What does the traffic light system mean for English travellers?

It is understood that the green, amber, red list won't be unvei-

led until May 7, but insiders have predicted that popular European destinations such as Iceland, Gibraltar, Malta and Portugal could be placed on the green list.

At the moment it is thought due to the number of cases throughout Spain, the country is likely to be classified as an amber destination.

The traffic light plan will be as follows: Green destinations: passengers will not need to quarantine when they return to England, but must take a pre-departure test, and a PCR test in return.

Amber destinations: travellers will have to quarantine for 10 days, as well as taking a pre-departure test and two PCR tests.

Red destinations: passengers will have to pay for a 10-day hotel quarantine stay on return, as well as a pre-departure test and two PCR tests.

How long can people with apartments in Spain stay for?

If you are planning on visiting Spain for longer than a simple summer holiday watch out. Since Brexit, Brits are only allowed to stay in the EU for 90 days out of a 180-day period. Rule-breakers may face fines, deportation and difficulties coming back.

winding stairs to a deck with a 360º view of the city, crowned by the spectacular Alhambra Palace.

I enjoyed two days in solitary exploration of the silent city, strolling through the Alhambra’s eerily deserted courtyards like a Queen of Spain.

It was a bit lonely of course, having my sunset terrace wine by myself, but be careful what you wish for. One night in a local bar, two welldressed young men from Sevilla regaled me with a raucous rendition of drunken flamenco until the owner yelled at them to shut up.

“They don’t like how those of us from Sevilla sing flamenco here in Granada,” one of them slurred, before they both staggered off into the night.

The most bizarrely creepy part of the whole trip is that in two days and nights, I never once saw another guest at the hotel, nor any member of staff. No cleaning carts, no jaunty receptionist, no noise at all. Effectively, I had a five floor boutique hotel to myself.

On the other hand, the lights weren’t really on at night, when I had to feel my way along the corridor wall using the red emergency exit sign lights to locate my door.

Flashes of Jack Nicholson in The Shining sprang to mind.

In any normal September, this hotel would be rammed and the ghostly streets outside would be rowdy with revellers into the small hours of the morning.

But spookily, returning from the Alhambra, I found someone had actually slipped in and made my bed, which felt even more disconcerting. Where was this person?

Late the second night, just as I turned off the lights, I heard the lift whirring. I got

May 6th - May 19th 2021

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A hotel with no guests, a ghost chambermaid and the Alhambra all to herself ...Madrid-based American Deirdre Carney’s minibreak to Granada during autumn’s lockdown lull took ‘travelling solo’ to a surreal new level

Mix it up at Jimmys. Whatever you want - Meat, Fish or Vegan. Delicious breakfasts and International tapas including the tastiest vegan selection on the Sol.

om her own private terrace at a bargain price, as she took the chance of a lifetime

up, rechecked my lock and retreated back into bed, staring at my door handle with every sense on alert.

But I heard nothing more.

Next morning I left my key on the reception desk and let myself out. On the train

E

arlier in the year, the UK Treasury published a number of reviews and proposals relating to tax policy, dubbed Tax Day”, aimed at creating a more modern and open tax system in the UK. One such review likely to concern landlords and property owners, was around the tax and allowances of Furnished Holiday Lets (FHLs). These policy changes are a reaction to the increasing number of homeowners using sites like Airbnb to make additional income on their homes.

Owners of FHLs receive a number of tax reliefs and allowances, providing that they meet the criteria set by the government. For example, properties that qualify as a FHL are subject to business rates instead of council tax. Business rates are cheaper, as they are deemed to be commercial premises, and the majority of FHLs are also viable for small business rates relief. This means that you could end up paying no rates at all.

While this is great for FHL owners, it does, unfortunately, mean that many homeowners try to claim their property as a FHL, even if they don’t meet the criteria to benefit from the relief.

Up until now, FHL owners have not been required to prove that they meet these requirements. However, with the number of homeowners claiming FHL tax benefits increasing, HMRC will be asking owners to prove that their property qualifies as a FHL. To qualify as a FHL, your property must be: ●● Based in the UK or in the European Economic Area (EEA) – including Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. All FHL properties in the UK will be treated as one business and all FHL properties in the EEA will be treated as another. ●● Furnished – your property must include sufficient furniture for normal occupation, such as beds, sofas and white goods. ●● Commercially let, i.e. you must intend to make a profit from the rental. Letting a property out of season to cover costs still counts as a commercial let, even if you did not make a profit.

As well as the property conditions, there are also 3 key occupancy conditions that must all be met in order to qualify as a FHL. 1. Availability - Your property must be available as a FHL for at least 210 days in a year. You cannot count any days that you live in the property.

home I reflected that my ghostly, guestless hotel experience had made almost as much of an impression

on me as the incredible Alhambra itself.

We are living through strange times…

All welcome and pet friendly too.

So plant your feet at Jimmys. See you soon.

Tax bombshell 2. Letting - You must let out the property as a FHL for at least 105 days in the year. You cannot count any days that friends or relatives stay in the property for free or for a reduced rate.

3. You also cannot count any lets of more than 31 continuous days. The exception to this would be if something unforeseen happens, such as the holidaymaker either falling ill or having an accident that delays their departure, or they have to extend their holiday due to a delayed flight.

evidence to prove that this is the case.

It seems likely that, with the introduction of MTD, you will be required to upload evidence to a digital platform in the near future.

Pattern of occupation

As well as paying business tax rates rather than council tax, FHL owners benefit from being able to:

There is a bit more wiggle room on the 31 day limit.

If the total FHL bookings exceeding 31 continuous days is less than 155 days during the year, your property still qualifies as a FHL. If you don’t end up letting your property for at least 105 days, you have two options (known as elections) that can help you reach the occupancy threshold: ●● Averaging election – if you have more than one property and, between them, they average out to over 105 days of commercial let. You get a bit of time to make your averaging election one year from the 31st of January following the tax year. It sounds complicated but, essentially, you can make an averaging election for your 2017/18 tax year up until January 31, 2020. ●● Period of grace election – if you intended to let out your property as a FHL but did not reach 105 days occupancy, HMRC will accept proof that there had been a pattern of FHL activity by looking at previous years, for example.

Broadly speaking, if your property is furnished, vacant and advertised as a holiday let for seven months of the year and you let it out for at least three months, it should qualify as a FHL and be eligible for certain tax reductions and allowances.

While it’s currently unclear how HMRC will be checking that eligibility requirements have been met, it is important to check whether your property qualifies as a FHL and to collect any and all

Tax changes for Furnished Holiday Lets (FHLs) - what you need to know

What are the tax benefits of FHLs?

●● Claim capital allowances on your property, meaning you can furnish it and deduct the cost from your pre-tax profits. ●● Classify income generated from a FHL property as -relevant earnings- for pension purposes. ●● Split FHL profits equally between yourself and your spouse flexibly for tax purposes – unlike with long-term rental properties where profits are divided based on the official ownership split. ●● Claim certain Capital Gains Tax reliefs when you sell the property, e.g. Business Asset Rollover Relief.

What UK FHL owners, living in Spain should do now Firstly be aware of the country that you are a resident in - the UK and Spain have a double taxation agreement, meaning that you shouldn’t pay both UK and Spanish tax on UK property income - however if you are a Spanish resident, you will need to declare your global income to the Spanish authorities.

Register for self assessment as a non resident Landlord with HMRC - this means that your tax will not be stopped at source by your letting agent,

and you will be entitled to the £12570 tax free allowance on any UK rental income. You will also be able to claim expenses such as management fees as a tax deductible allowance If you are thinking of buying a property or using a property as a FHL, you should make a clear distinction between your residential or commercial lettings and begin gathering evidence as you go.

As well as gathering evidence that your property qualifies as a FHL, you should keep good records relating to your FHL property and the income received. By using a platform like APARI that is tailored to the needs of landlords, you can keep upto-date digital records of your income, expenses and relevant documents preparing you for both the coming evidence requirements as well as MTD. For all the latest information and advice visit

www.apari-digital.com

18

MOTORS

May 6th - May 19th 2021

Lightning fast

ELECTRIC supercar’, the Lotus Evija has been named as ‘The One to Watch’ in Top Gear’s second ever Electric Awards.

The all-electric hypercar was recently tested by Top Gear magazine editor Jack Rix on the test track at Lo-

tus HQ in Hethel, Norfolk.

Rix called the Evija not just a ‘signpost for the future of the company’ – but labeled it ‘a flagbearer for really fast electric vehicles as a whole’.

The Evija, which will go into production later this year, is the world’s most powerful car. It has an output of more than 2,000 PS from its all-electric, all-wheel drive powertrain. It can accelerate from 124mph to 186mph

(200 km/h to 300 km/h) in just three seconds, half the time it takes a Bugatti Chiron to do the same.

Rix was driving an Evija prototype restricted to 1,600 PS. “It’s light on its feet, playful with the instant mash of acceleration even a naturally aspirated engine could only fantasise about.”

Electrifying news Cash handouts of up to €9,000 to buy an electric vehicle

BUYERS of electric vehicles (EVs) in Spain can claim subsidies of up to €9,000.

The Spanish government has approved an €800 million fund up until the end of 2023, which is available now, revealed the Energy Ministry.

Fleets Private buyers will be able to claim up to €7,000, with companies buying fleets to use as taxis eligible for more. Vans can attract subsidies of up to €9,000.

These incentives follow a government pledge to promote battery production in Spain and push the manufacture of electric vehicles in the country.

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ELECTRIC scooter owners may have their machines seized by authorities for riding while drunk.

Barcelona City Council is studying what legal means there could be to requisition scooters if their owners are convicted of serious or repeated offences.

At present if car drivers are stopped by police and a breath test shows they are substantially over the drink-driving limit, then their vehicles can be seized by police.

However, if riders of electric scooters are stopped for the same reason, they may face fines but will not lose their machines under current regulations.

Authorities want to make punishments the same for all road users, according to La Vanguardia newspaper. Cities around Spain have been considering legislation to control electric scooters and will be watching Barcelona with interest.

e c i v er S

ry for EVs. Reyes Maroto, Spain’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, said that the government plans to access EU funds for a public-private consortium.

“The project will allow the development of … the necessary infrastructure, installations, and mechanisms to autonomously and competitively manufacture a connected electric vehicle,” Maroto said.

Plan Volkswagen has previously announced its intention to build six EV battery plants across Europe, with three earmarked for the Spain/ Portugal/southern France area.

Previously Korean electronics giant LG had announced it was considering a proposal to convert Nissan’s doomed car assembly plant in Barcelona – slated for closure in December 2021 – into a battery factory.

The Spanish government has offered direct aid of €600 million towards the €1.6 billion cost of the proposed takeover.

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20

PROPERTY Building boom

Top spot

POPULAR British property programme, A Place In The Sun, has polled thousands of UK holiday home buyers to reveal the most popular areas for Brits to buy abroad.

Almost 7,000 house-hunters were questioned during the various lockdowns suffered in the last year.

Series producers at Channel 4, said: “We've all been spending a lot more time indoors over the last year, and it's got many of us dreaming about being somewhere warmer and sunnier.”

The pandemic has meant that of those buyers, some 30% are more motivated than ever to buy abroad.

Restrictions

Once travel restrictions allow, almost two-thirds of those surveyed stated a preference for Spain.

Some 61% said that that's where they plan to buy, followed by 12% for France and 6% for Portugal.

The top destinations in Spain were the Costa Blanca, the Costa del Sol, Almeria and Murcia.

Real Estate company TripInvest.com listed the reasons why Brits love Spain.

These include transport links, climate, beautiful Blue Flag beaches, affordable properties and a rich cultural heritage.

New developments approaching figures last seen in 2014 THE recovery of the construction sector is gathering pace.

Sales of new build homes touched 2014 highs in February with more than 10,000 transactions.

More and more buyers are targeting brand new property, which often offers better energy efficiency compared to second-hand properties.

This surge in interest in the sector has been reflected by developers, with the 10 biggest in

Spain having about 32,500 new homes available, according to a study by consulting firm Activum.

The 32,477 homes currently being marketed are in 375 developments, with Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga the busiest provinces with 74, 60 and 45 developments respectively.

Sevilla, Valencia and Vizcaya also saw heightened activity.

The Activum report said that another 29 developments will

...But not here PROPERTY construction in Alicante Province fell by 43% over the first three months of 2021 compared to the same period last year. The decrease was caused by the pandemic but there are some major variations in the region. Alicante City saw 245 new homes built between January and March which was more than the first quarter of 2020. Torrevieja came second with 113 properties, followed by San Juan on 95 and Finestrat with 93.

May 6th - May 19th 2021 SPANISH house sales in February reached their highest point since the start of the COVID pandemic.

Figures from the National Statistics Institute(INE) show that 43,185 transactions were carried out that month.

Though it was a 4.3% fall on the previous February, that was the last month of 'normal' trading before pandemic restrictions took

By Elena Gogmen Rueda

start to be marketed by the top 10 developers in the coming months. In the ranking of developers, Vía Celere accounts for most new projects with 15 new developments slated for Barcelona, Cordoba, Madrid, Malaga, Sevilla and Valencia.

It is followed by Amenabar, with 10 future developments; Metrovacesa, with nine; and Aedas Homes, with eight more projects.

Malaga is the city with the most new developments planned for the near future, with 14, while Guipuzcoa is the second with eight.

These figures only include those planned by the big 10 companies - smaller developers are responsible for many more.

A FAST and effective vaccine rollout will see a 5% boost in property sales across Spain, according to experts.

If the country’s vaccination plans are successful, the property market could help release a pent-up demand of €30billion of savings from small investors and families.

The positive prediction was made by the Official College and Association of Real Estate Agencies and Agents of Madrid at an event held last month.

Jose Melendez Pineda, director of the Statistical Processes Center of the Spanish Association of Registrars, said that the rise of vaccinations could result in an improvement in the market from September onwards.

He added that by the end of the year Spain could see a growth in home purchases by a maximum of 5%.

On the up

effect.

Another promising sign in the INE statistics is that the rise in house sales between January and February was the biggest increase between those two months for five years.

The January 2021 figures showed a yearly decline of 15.4% as opposed to just 4.3% the following month.

High rise Last year 420,000 home purchase and sale transactions were made across the country.

Another expert from the same event noted that the number of MVI applications had risen to a 6,000 valuation reports per month.

Sales The Real Estate Valuation Methodology (MVI) of the Spanish Association of Registrars is used by real estate professionals to obtain information on the sales carried out, deeded and registered, in recent years and updated quarterly.

“MVI is a tool to help the appraiser define the market according to the location, age and surface area of the property, but it is not an appraisal tool,” said José Meléndez.

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COLUMNISTS

Swallows fly home Brits starting to sell up and head elsewhere

T

HE term ‘swallow’ iis used frequently to describe Brits who travel to Spain each year for the warmer weather often for months at a time.

Since UK citizens are only allowed to stay in Spain for a total of 90 days out of 180 days many Brits have decided to sell their holiday homes and look elsewhere.

Many of my acquaintances have decided to sell up. The first is a couple who have been here for many decades but feel safer going home, taking up Spanish residency for them has tax implications.

Another two friends have had a flat in Marbella for several years and could flit back and forth between here and the UK on a whim. Since they cannot do that now they want to sell and find somewhere that welcomes them all year round.

I overheard a conversation between two Brits the other day in a cafe. They were laughing and joking about Spain

Lisa Burgess post-Brexit. They both agreed that the best option was to stay under the radar without a TIE and that the Spanish government will change the laws, they were not bothered at all by the situation.

According to the Guardian, Spain has warned British tourists and second homeowners about the restrictions but they have dismissed reports that offenders would be rounded up and deported if they overstay. We must remember that the UK voted for Brexit, not Spain.

My friend, Kay Chickie Shaw who has a second home in La Cala de Mijas is unhappy about the situation but she has adjusted by choosing to rent out her place when she cannot be here. I asked her what she thought about people selling up and she commented ‘it will be Spain's economy which suffers and it is very sad’.

Maybe the laws will change but only time will tell. I would not count on it in the near future.

Saying goodbye to a Marbella legend

M

ARBELLA lost another of its ‘old style’ celebrities with the death of Toni Dalli.

While the Italian born singer might have exuded ‘showbiz glamour’, he worked incredibly hard to make it to the top, including stints in the Yorkshire coal mines and steel mills before being discovered singing in working men’s clubs. From then on, it was a meteoric rise in the 50s and 60s, performing in Las Vegas, Carnegie Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, as well as the Ed Sullivan show and even having his own show on national TV in the US at a time when you really did go live into every living room in the country.

In a world where celebrity is

IN LOVE: Toni and wife Valerie

May 6th - May 19th 2021

Ciao Toni

STARRY EYED: Toni Dalli with Tommy Steele and Sergio Franchi and (above) in later Marbella days

perhaps a term that is too easily earned, where the weird, wonderful and frequently obviously wounded are paraded for entertainment in Reality TV shows, Toni, as well as other entertainers such as Bruce Forsyth, Ronnie Corbett and Jimmy Tarbuck – a close friend - were the real deal, having paid their dues on the entertainment circuit.

Relocating to Spain, Toni enjoyed success in his second career, as he opened a beautiful beachfront restaurant on Marbella’s Golden Mile.

It quickly became a ‘must do’ destination and you were more likely to bump into any visiting celebrity at ‘Toni Dalli’s’. Even though he was now a successful restaurateur, there was always an excuse for a little showbiz, which could be anything from a waiter balancing a brandy

glass on his bald head to Toni him becoming a founding giving an impromptu concert. member of the Ferrari OwnAnd if it was your birthday, ers Club of Andalucía. then Toni could not resist giv- Away from the internationing a rendition – in several al success and the showbiz languages. friendships, Toni was a genThe restaurant tradition was uinely popular person, a fact continued by sons Simon, reflected in the hundreds Marco and Nicholas who set of tributes and messages up the hugely that the family popular Dalli’s received from Pasta Factory both the SpanThere was in Puerto Banus ish and internathat quickly betional commualways an came another nities – includexcuse for a celebrity favouing Marbella rite; Sean Conmayor Ángeles little bit of nery had a pasMuñoz– as well showbiz ta dish named as The Variety after him and Club of Great the walls were Britain. adorned with motor racing ‘Another of the old guard has memorabilia signed by visit- left us’, a friend remarked ing F1 drivers including Da- when I told him the news. mon Hill and Martin Brundle. Marbella is a poorer place for Toni’s passion for motorsport, his passing. and of course Ferrari, led to Arrivederci e grazie, Toni.

I

T seems that exercising at home has become an essential part of survival during this awful pandemic. Unfortunately, all available programmes are aimed at the younger market, nothing for we wrinklies who probably need more urgent attention to our failing limbs and minds than the nubile Gods and Goddesses seen prancing around on your TV screens. So, here is my four-point plan, designed specifically for the 80-something, entitled `Tick-Tock around the clock.' Not a reflection of the current trendy, `TikTok´ Dance WorkOut Programmes, but because at our age, time is ticking away and every day, hour or minute over three score years and twenty is a bonus. So, take a deep breath, get yourself comfy, and here we go.

1. Eyebrow Press-Ups: Loosen up those corona worry lines indented on your forehead by relaxing in your favourite chair, head back, and commence moving your eyebrows up and down for 10 minutes. If they become too heavy, trim them gently back with nail scissors. Careful not to poke your eye out in the process.

Tick-Tock Time 2. Field of Dreams: An early morning exercise. Ladies OLD HAC K IN lie flat on your back on THE SUN the floor, legs apart and Benny Davis cast your mind back to Ramblings of an 80-something expat what this meant to you in your younger days. After one hour reminiscing, attempt to stand up.

Note: Please ensure you have your mobile phone or panic button close at hand to call for help if still there at sunset. Gentlemen, same exercise, but lie on your stomach.

3. Finger strengtheners: Hold your hand out, palm up. Close your fist, the raise your index and middle fingers upwards to form a `V´ Hold this ´V´ while raising your lower arm up and down for several minutes. This exercise is also ideal for indicating your thoughts to family asking for open membership to the bank of grandma and grandad. One finger is also acceptable.

OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword Across: 7 Rhapsody, 8 Rick, 9 Open up!, 10 On foot, 11 Tires, 12 Anatoly, 14 Ugliest, 16 Spiel, 19 Trivia, 20 Horace, 21 Dank, 22 Lengthen.

Down: 1 Whipping cream, 2 Sponge, 3 Loopy, 4 Tycoons, 5 Profit, 6 School teacher, 13 Usually, 15 Invoke, 17 Purity, 18 Shone.

SUDOKU

22

HEALTH Health attraction MURCIA is so confident of its COVID-safe status, that it’s offering free healthcare to tourists when the season restarts.

Ministers are also intensifying meetings with tourism companies throughout Europe in preparation for the region’s new normal when holiday-makers return.

They are keen to show that the Costa Calida destination is one of the safest places in Europe in which to travel.

Virtual

The Tourism Institute of the Region of Murcia (ITREM) has already organised seven virtual meetings to galvanise wholesale travel agencies, operators and digital platforms ahead of the imminent announcement that tourists can return.

Discussions will involve workshops with travel organisations in Norway, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal and Belgium.

A BARCELONA ‘test’ concert did not lead to increased COVID cases among the 5,000 attendees.

Rock band Love of Lesbian performed at the March 27 show at the city’s 17,000 capacity Palau Sant Jordi Arena.

CONSUM supermarkets are putting a special coating on trolley and shopping basket handles to virtually eliminate COVID-19 risks for customers.

The Valencian-based cooperative says that 47,000 units will get the protection over the next few months along with brandnew handles.

May 6th - May 19th 2021

Travel ban SPAIN’S government has extended a ban on all non-essential travel to Spain from outside the EU and Schengen area for another month.

Confirmation of the extension due to the continued coronavirus pandemic was published on Friday in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

The extension continues the recommendations by the EU that have been in place since June 30 last year.

In addition, the notice confirms a ban on all travellers from those places where dangerous new variants of COVID-19 have been detected. These include India, Brazil, South Africa, Botswana, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Peru and Colombia.

Under this rule only Spanish citizens or those with residency in Spain are allowed to enter and must quarantine for 10 days on arrival.

Because of Brexit, citizens from the United Kingdom are now considered third country nationals and must follow the same rules as other non-EU member states.

This means that only those arriving from the UK who

Minimal Risk The crowd all tested negative for COVID-19 earlier in the day. While a mask had to be worn during the show, there was no social distancing.

Just six p e o p l e tested positive for the coronavirus within two weeks of the concert.

Getting a handle

Some 90% of baskets and trolleys will have been changed across 670 stores by July.

Umbrella Zero is a nanotechnological coating with anti-viral properties. Tests

Spain extends coronavirus ban on non-essential travel for those outside EU - including Brits until May 31

By Fiona Govan

are residents in Spain or have a reason to travel that falls under the exceptions of the ban, such as for work or study, will be allowed to enter.

Travellers are advised to check the latest travel advice for Spain on the UK Gov

All of those cases were mild or asymptotic with no secondary infections.

Scientists went further and said that four of the cases probably had nothing to do with the concert. The rate of infection among attendees was half the rate of people of the same age in Barcelona.

Infectious disease specialist, Josep Maria Llibre, said: “There is absolutely no sign that transmission took place during the event.” The Barcelona findings mirror those seen following events in Germany and the Netherlands.

website before making any plans.

The extension of the travel ban on Brits by Spain comes as the UK is preparing to loosen restrictions to allow foreign travel.

The British government is currently saying it will lift the ban on foreign holidays for people in England from May 17 as part of the next easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Curbs

Although there are moves by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on coronavirus to ‘maintain curbs on international leisure travel’ beyond that date.

Britain is likely to introduce a traffic light system that will distinguish between low risk countries and high risk countries with no quarantine requirements imposed on those returning from ‘green light’ countries.

Spain has said it will be ready to welcome international travellers under a vaccine passport type scheme from June, if a deal can be made with the EU and is involved in discussions with the British authorities to make a bilateral agreement.

have shown it to be 99.99% effective and it only needs to be applied once to the handles to give permanent protection.

All of the test results have been independently verified by the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid. Consum is spending €816,500 on the handle changes and adding the protective layer.

Work in the UK. Live in Spain.

Live-in Carer £83 - £105 per day.

We are a highly awarded care provider looking for experienced carers for nationwide opportunities. So, if you are a carer with at least six months’ experience and want to keep your Spanish lifestyle while working in the UK, please get in touch.

For more information call Jayne on +34 634345685 or email Jayne.Nuttall-Blake@thegoodcaregroup.com

FACEMASKS may no longer be necessary in the Valencia region in September.

Healthcare experts revealed that, if the vaccination programme continues as planned and based on evidence from other parts of the world such as the USA, the much-desired herd immunity could be reached just after summer.

Each virus has its own

THERE are now more people with both doses of the COVID vaccine than patients with reported infections since the pandemic began in the Valencia region.

For the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, and just four months after the launch of the vaccination campaign, the number of full inoculations is higher than the official infection count.

There are now more than 394,280 valencianos and valencianas fully immunised against the coronavirus, compared to the 389,850 to have tested positive since the beginning of 2020.

According to figures published by the regional Health department, an es-

23

COVID success

timated 30,000 more jabs were administered in April than in the previous three months.

However, not all three provinces hit the mark equally.

While Valencia and Castellon do now have officially more people vaccinated than infected, the situation is not quite the same in Alicante There there are 146,190 and 141,880 fully inoculated residents.

The regional breakthrough was reported four months after 81-year-old Batiste Martibeacae the first valenciano to get a jab.

Pill thrill AN oral drug to treat coronavirus at the first sign of illness could soon be available , said Pfizer’s CEO. Albert Bourla told CNBC on Tuesday that clinical trials go well the drug could be distributed across the U.S. later this year.

The company, which developed the first authorised COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. with German drugmaker BioNTech, began oral drug trials in March.

The drug is being developed simultaneously in the laboratories of the pharmaceutical giant in the United States and Belgium, and uses a mechanism similar to those currently used to treat HIV. Various company officials have said the drug, known as PF-07321332, would be given as a treatment, and not as a prevention, against the coronavirus. It would be a tablet that people would take in the early stages of infection to prevent them from developing more serious symptoms.

Pfizer’s chief scientific officer and president of research Mikael Dolsten said: “We designed PF07321332 as a potential oral therapy that could be prescribed at the first sign of infection.”

Health experts say the drug, taken by mouth, could be a game changer because people newly infected with the virus could use it outside of hospitals. Researchers hope the medication will keep the disease from progressing and prevent hospital trips.

“We expect to see continued outbreaks of Covid-19 for the foreseeable future,” added Charlotte Allerton, Pfizer’s chief drug designer. “And therefore, as with all viral pandemics, it is important that we have a complete tool kit to address it.”

Masks off benchmarks to be considered under control, and in the case of the coronavirus, that limit is set at 70% of the immunised population.

Once that magic figure has been reached, restrictions can be dropped and things could get back to normal.

And the main – and possibly most desired – change will be the elimination of the obliga-

tory facemask.

Current figures show that 23% of residents in the Valencian Community have at least one dose of the jab and 8% have both, including the single-dose Janssen vaccine.

This leaves nearly 2.4 million valencianos and valencianas to be inoculated in order to reach 70%, which estimates predict could happen in 18 weeks’ time from now – just after the end of August.

We use recycled paper

FINAL WORDS

Sex education THE VOX Party has slammed a sex education class in Mallorca after finding out that children used plasticine to learn about the reproductive organs. The right-wing party took to Twitter to blast the lesson as ‘pornography’.

Swipe right AIs can easily manipulate matters of the heart, say researchers in Spain who were able to trick daters into picking the wrong match with a fake algorithm.

Lap of luxury A SUPERYACHT owned by the Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg arrived in Malaga after sailing from Gibraltar. The 77-metre yacht named Tango will be in the port until Friday when it sets sail to Italy.

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Dick move A MAN defending his girlfriend’s honour ended up needing three stitches after he was bitten on the penis.

The 24-year-old victim was attacked when he told off a passerby who had ‘complimented’ his companion.

The couple had been walking through the La Puñala district of Elche (Alicante) when they were accosted by a 28-year-old man who was worse for wear.

The boyfriend told him off for his comments to his girlfriend, only to become the target for an assault in which the assailant sank his teeth into the victim’s manhood.

My precious!

Expat’s prized ring returned after it was buried under 350,000 tonnes of rubbish

By Cristina Hodgson

IT makes the task of finding a needle in a haystack sound simple. When Helen Miles (pictured) accidentally threw her prized ring in the bin, it ended up as part of a 350,000 tonne

Freak death

A 59-year-old cyclist died after swallowing a bee when out riding with friends. The man was travelling in the Polinya del Xuquer area of Valencia

FOUND: From trash to treasure

when the bee flew into his mouth.

The cyclist was stung in his throat and lost consciousness. Paramedics were unable to resuscitate him. It’s believed that he suffered a fatal allergic reaction to the sting.

A COURT is to rule over the custody of a pet dog.

When the owners of a white Maltese called Bimba separated they agreed to an ‘out of court’ joint custody arrangement for their daughter.

Bimba would go along with the girl to stay with her father on his access days and everything seemed to work well at first.

But the relationship between the grown-ups deteriorated with the man being refused access to Bimba in February.

Custody

mound of rubbish.

Helen was left devastated when she realised what had happened to the three-colour gold ring she had bought 30 years previously with her first pay packet.

That was in 2018, and her initial thoughts were she had lost the jewellery for ever.

But hope rekindled for the woman from Casares (Malaga) when the massive Costa del Sol Environmental Complex opened a lost property office the following year.

Barely thinking she had a chance that such a tiny item could be found amongst the vast amounts of rubbish that

the waste treatment plant deals with, she nonetheless decided to give it a go.

She went online to fill in a form and upload photos of the ring back in March 2019.

Now, two years later she has struck gold - and had ‘her precious’ returned. The sparkler now sits once more on Helen’s little finger.

“It is a ring that I bought 30 years ago with my first pay packet and it has a lot of sentimental value for me,” she said.

“It’s just incredible that such a small piece could have been located amongst the waste from the entire Costa del Sol.”

He was told that the dog actually belonged to his ex-partner’s other daughter and that he could never take her again.

The man has now gone to court to get access to the family pet.

He says that he paid for all of the dog’s expenses when he lived with his ex-partner.

Bimba, though, is officially registered in the woman’s name on its microchip.

The man says that is a technicality as she was the one that took the dog to the vet for the procedure.

His lawyer claims that his client is suffering ‘serious non-financial damage such is his love for Bimba’.