Olive Press Gibraltar - Issue 141

OLIVE PRESS

Bringing dignity to the hidden victims of Franco

See page 6

GIBRALTAR

The

Uncovering the grim truth

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Vol. 5 Issue 141 www.theolivepress.es February 10th - February 23rd 2021

Justice at last

Twist in the tale The story that inspired a children’s true-life fairytale

‘Fraudsters’ who ‘stole €6 million’ from British expats to stand trial after Olive Press probe

See page 11

Hello, Yantar!

X

MEET Yantar, the Bronze Age man who has become the latest attraction at the Gibraltar Museum.

The head and shoulders sculpture of one of the Rock’s earliest residents was reconstructed from the DNA of a 4,000-yearold corpse found in a burial site at Bray’s Cave on the Upper Rock.

It was created in conjunction with Harvard Medical School using genetic information stored in the buried brain to find out the skin, hair and eye colour of the individual.

The Gibraltar Museum, where the 3D model of the brain was put together, shortlisted five names for the bust from the public’s suggestions.

They were Brayman, GiTHE SKY bray, Gib-son, Lithos and DOCTOR Yantar, with the winner ALL AREAS COVERED announced last night.

An amber bead buried with the Bronze Age man 4G UNLIMITED has led scientists to beINTERNET lieve that these ancient IDEAL FOR residents of the Rock arSTREAMING TV rived from the Black and Caspian Sea. ALSO IPTV, They replaced the Bronze SATELLITE TV Age Iberian population in the area and some of them tel: (0034) 952 763 840 settled in present-day Giinfo@theskydoctor.com braltar. www.theskydoctor.com

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July 4th - July 17th 2018

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FACING JUSTICE: Gibraltar-linked couple Rhys and Lisa Williams charged with money laundering, while (right) the Olive Press’ first of many front page exposes from 2018 AN alleged serial fraudster is facing money laundering charges in the UK after being exposed by the Olive Press.

Former Marbella-based couple Rhys Williams, 39, and his wife Lisa, 38, have BOTH been charged by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.

The pair are due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on March 17 charged with one count of acquiring, possessing and using criminal property and one count of fraud, a Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson confirmed.

It is three years since the Olive Press revealed the couple - who had Gibraltar links - had allegedly swindled millions of euros off numerous friends and contacts, while living on the Costa del Sol. We reported how the pair from Wales drove top-of-the-range cars, wore Rolex watches, and paid for €10,000-a-year private schooling, while allegedly taking up to €1.6m from victims in ‘a Ponzi scheme’.

Our investigation into the pair was followed up in the UK press, including the Daily Mail and Wales Daily Post, despite the Spanish authorities dragging their heels

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

probing the case.

Fortunately for the alleged victims, who collectively lost €6.28 million, the courts in the UK were taking more interest.

“It has been many years coming and all the victims are extremely happy,” victim Adrian Parsons, 54, told the Olive Press.

“We are all hoping that they will both receive custodian sentences even though it is unlikely we will recover any of the money invested.

“We can only hope that they are convicted so that their records be a warning to others who come across them in the future.”

The Olive Press revealed in 2018 that the Williams’ alleged ponzi scheme was operating out of Marbella, Dubai and India.

A series of victims accused Rhys Williams of snaring wealthy parents at his children’s €10,000-a-year private school in Marbella, with the help of his wife.

The victims insist the businessman, who was previously declared bankrupt in the UK, persuaded them to invest huge sums into a paper recycling and printing business, as well as trading platforms, all in Dubai.

See page 11 & 16 In return they would be ‘guaranteed a 2% monthly return’.

One British pensioner and ex-soldier Brian

Tel: 952 147 834 TM

Police probe launche scammed in dodgy d after expats claim €6 million investment scheme

A GROUP of British expats ACCUSED: Rhys Williams called in police after losing have has vacated villa er clothes and Rolexes. than €6 million to an alleged more EXCLUSIVE stopped coming Costa "They live the high life del Sol fraudster. out here sure this was in,” he said. “I’m declared bankrupt with all the apparent credentials and having his some The unsuspecting Brits rency companies. to scheme. Clearly they sort of Ponzi care home company investigated prove they are to €1.64 million each invested up "They hooked him in ran out of in- for fraud. into the alwith trips to ing money." successful and mak- vestors.” leged ponzi scheme operating Wimbledon Despite this, he has been For two years, Williams out and to fancyfor the tennis, Sweden Not initially convinced, able to of Marbella, Dubai and kept help set up several Parsons meals out, which was flew out India. companies, into Dubai where he was promising the money would be cluding Welsh expat Rhys Williams, nothing compared to what returned, claiming his Impact General Trading, they got shown around various is accused of snaring various 36, off him," explained son company in Dubai, facilities Impact General Paul. and others in Panama. local that apparently backed up expats, including wealthy "They need to be stopped." the Dubai, had beenTrading, based in According to the victims, parents Another claims. embargoed and liams at his children's €10,000-a-yea Wilvictim, Adrian Parsons, “He and his family have recenthad accounts frozen after r 53, from reinforced private school in Marbella. all 'illegally this with Birmingham, invested tailed ly vacated their exclusive bank statements and lotsde- dealing with Iran'. rented The victims insist the €500,000 into the villa in Marbella. of man, who was declared business- recycling company. Dubai-based official paperwork, which we now Parsons has since asked for his “We understand €500,000 bankrupt think was fake,” he continued. investment they have in the UK, persuaded "He was very convincing," for his sick father, who back to care rather rapidly left the coastnow, Parsons Initially, the investment invest huge sums into them to told the Olive Press, has been di- returned and seemed agnosed with "He and his to be genuine a paper reto Wales,” added Parterminal cancer. cycling and printing business, partner were and for sons. as per month living in a €10,000 six months he was paid the first well as trading platforms back the villa in Marbella and promised "Until last month, they 2% agreed per month. had three 'guaranteeing them a 2%in Dubai, were dressed head to toe Cancer kids at private in monthly design- “But then the money school, were still return'. suddenly "Williams promised me I would going to all the top restaurants One British pensioner, get my money back, telling me just like nothing had happened. vesey, 84, invested €1.64 Brian Lihow his mother had also million in had can- "At the same time he has left a late 2014. cer and that he wouldn't trail let us and of destruction behind him The former soldier, who down," added Parsons. many lives in tatters." in Marbella for decades, has lived But the money never This week, the UK's has yet to materi- Fraud Serious see any return. alised.

Office confirmed to the "It has destroyed him," OlAnother alleged victim, Michael ive Press that it is looking into the Paul told the Olive Press his son McVicar, claims to have lost Williams, but could not comment "He had a stroke earlierthis week. €1.5 any million, further. while up to a dozen from the stress of it, we this year other expats have apparently Following are barely lost Guardia various denuncias, the keeping our heads above between €100,000 and Civil, in Estepona, is also water paying off debts." lion each. Collectively €1 mil- investigating Williams.

Livesey, who once ran claim they are owed the group After numerous attempts a success€6.28 milto conful UK construction company, lion. tact Williams was by phone, he finally introduced to Williams The Olive Press has discovered replied by email to insist his intor at one of Gibraltar's by a directhat Williams left Llys nocence. cryptocurMeddyg LIFE OF LUXURY: Llangristiolus, in North "I totally and utterly deny Rhys had Rolex and Wales any alfancy cars almost a decade ago after being legations,” he wrote, but did not reply to any further questions.

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Livesey, 84, said he invested €1.64 million Offer in late 2014, but never saw a return.

“It has destroyed him,” his son Paul told the Olive Press back in 2018. “He had a stroke earlier this year from the stress of it, we are barely keeping our heads above water paying off debts.”

Livesey, who once ran a successful UK construction company, was introduced to Williams by a director at a Gibraltar cryptocurrency company.

“They were clever and snared him with trips to Wimbledon for tennis, Sweden and to fancy meals out, which was nothing compared to what they got off him,” explained son Paul.

Meanwhile, victim Parsons, from Birmingham, revealed he invested €500,000 into the Dubai-based recycling company.

“He was very convincing,” explained Parsons. “They were living in a €10,000 per month villa in Marbella and were dressed head to toe in designer clothes and wore Rolexes.

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Continues on Page 4

ACCUSED: Rhys Williams

has vacated villa

2

CRIME

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Millions of pounds worth of cocaine stuck to outside of cargo ship

Walking banned POPULAR walking trail the Mediterranean Steps was closed on February 8-9 because of bad weather that hit the Rock which could lead to rock falls.

Throning moment THE Union flag replaced the Gibraltar flag on Moorish Castle from February 6-7 to mark the day the Queen came to the throne in 1952.

Bullet proof ARMED police and bomb disposal teams were scrambled after rifle ammunition was found at Western Beach although they turned out to be blanks and were removed.

Migrant alarm THREE Moroccan males arrested for being in Gibraltar without a valid permit are believed to have been trying to get to Spain on a boat that capsized in the bay.

Crude crash

A MAN who left police mystified by his terrible driving was found to be trying to help drug smugglers refuel their boats.

The vehicle was first spotted driving dangerously and at speed down Europa Advance Road.

The driver was signalled to stop by the Gibraltar Defence Police but he continued until crashing into a parked vehicle.

The 27-year-old man then tried to run away but he was arrested by the RGP on suspicion of dangerous driving and resisting police.

Historic abuse case A MAN who allegedly had sex with or around children when he was a teenager has finally been brought to trial.

The 30-year-old was charged with having sex in the presence of a child and causing, encouraging or assisting a child under 13 to take part in sexual activity.

COCAINE worth £2 million has been found inside a ‘parasite device’ attached to the hull of a bulk carrier anchored outside Gibraltar port.

A team of RGP divers found the drugs attached to the underside of the cargo-ship after the vessel was boarded

by Drug Squad detectives.

The contraption was probably connected at a port the ship called at, to be dislodged on arrival at its final destination.

“Crime scene investigators found the device to contain individually wrapped packages containing cocaine weighing around 25 kilograms, with a street value of between £1.5 - £2 million,”

Hull-y moley!

Eyes and ears AN increase in the refuelling of drug smugglers in smaller boats has led to an appeal from the police.

The RGP believe the large amounts of fuel being transported illegally around Gibraltar could lead to a serious incident if they came into contact with a naked flame.

“There have recently been several reports of RHIBs being refuelled by smaller vessels operating from Gibraltar’s beaches,” said an RGP spokesperson.

Contact

said an RGP spokesperson.

“Upon completion of police interviews and searches

High time

TWO men who were seen picking up £30,000 of hashish at Western Beach from a speedboat last April have finally been brought to justice.

Jamie Fa, of Mons Calpe Mews, and Jean Pierre Chellaram Hathiramini Ladron de Guevara, both 22-years-old, were charged with importing drugs.

The pair were challenged by the RGP on April 16 when they were seen being handed a bag of hash from a speedboat which had arrived at Western Beach.

Chellaram ran from the police, but was eventually arrested in the South District. Drugs squad officers are continuing investigations, with sevreral more people being questioned.

History, adventure and romance.

That’s just the setting.

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

By John Culatto

conducted with the assistance of HM Customs Dog Section, the vessel was allowed to proceed on its journey late yesterday evening.”

Commissioner of Police, Richard Ullger, said: “The RGP is proud to continue to be part of the global fight against drugs.

“This is a great result and will dent the efforts of organised crime groups to profit from the misery of others.

“This has been an excellent collaboration with external partners.”

“These smaller vessels carry marine fuel, usually in 25 litre plastic containers, out to sea. They allow the larger drug-carrying RHIBS to continue their criminal work without any delays.”

There have been a high number of plastic containers found around the Rock inside cars or near the coastline.

A spokesman for the RGP said: “We hope that the public will act as our eyes and ears.

“Anyone who observes a large quantity of these plastic containers is asked to contact the RGP on 20072500 or GFRS on 200 79507.

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

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

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A year of Culture

Bring hearts, minds and souls

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Busting a move INFLUENCER Demi Rose Mawby is Ibiza’s latest expat - and it looks like she’s living life to its fullest.

The stunning British model, who boasts 15million followers on Instagram, relocated to the White Isle from her hometown of Birmingham last year.

Demi has been busy sharing snaps of herself settling into life on the ‘Magic Isle’, including posing in skimpy bikinis and sunbathing in the nude.

The 25-year-old, who has ex boyfriend Tyga in common with fellow social media maven Kylie Jenner, made the leap to move to the party island after struggling with her mental health during lockdown in London.

Explaining her move she said: “I have loads of friends out here, the weather is nice, and it is a perfect backdrop for my modeling work.”

She added that the move was ‘one of the best choices’ she has ever made.

Wayne’s World THE millionaire brother of the former footballer Gary Lineker has teased that his Ibiza clubs could reopen this summer almost a year on from the COVID outbreak.

Wayne Lineker took to social media to share a picture of himself along with the caption: “I’m smiling because I’ve just received some very positive news #ibiza2021”.

Hit the jackpot THE Spanish government has agreed to pay €6.5 million a year to rent the prestigious Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection for the next 15 years.

And it has secured an option to buy the 400 works once the term is up. They have an estimated value of €1.04 billion.

This means that a 10-year-long saga about the future of the collection – which includes works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Canaletto and Gaugin – has been settled, with the works saved for Spain.

The deal was struck by the Department of Culture with Baroness Carmen Cervera - the widow of industrial tycoon Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, who died in 2002.

The new arrangement also means that Gaugin’s Mata Mau will be returned to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. It was controversially removed last June as negotiations heated up.

Seeing red Fed up residents don’t want their homes declared a cultural asset

February 10th - February 23rd 2021 DANI Dyer has finally revealed her son to the world, and it appears his name is a nod to his Spanish roots.

Reality star Dani paid tribute to her mum’s Spanish heritage and named her first born Santiago (pictured inset and with Dani), the Spanish translation of Saint James.

The Love Island 2018 winner, 24, announced that the adorable newborn had already been affectionately nicknamed ‘Santi’. Dani’s grandad, who she affectionately calls ‘Bruv’ is from Mallorca and

3

Spanish eyes mum Jo even had a Spanish-cockney themed wedding when she tied the knot with Dani’s dad Danny Dyer in 2016.

Dani used her podcast with Danny to share her baby son’s name. She told fans in a pre-recorded voice memo: “I know you’re all probably wondering what we’ve called him.

There’s been a lot of assumptions going on, some are actually really funny to be fair, but his name is Santiago.

“I know a lot of you are probably thinking ‘What?!’ but that is his name but we are going to be calling him Santi.

“I think it sounds nice on the birth certificate.”

Wolftastic

Battered

The 58-year-old who also owns nightspots in Marbella, Tenerife, Alcudia in Mallorca, Zante and Paphos, left Ibiza last September after revealing that his six European clubs were ‘battered’ because of the pandemic.

The Celebs Go Dating star has also been forced to postpone the opening of his new venue O Beach Dubai.

The playboy no doubt fancies some time relaxing in the sun after a difficult 12 months that saw his £30 million European nightclub empire in trouble.

Wayne’s former Lineker UK bar business has collapsed with a £100,000 debt.

Previously known as Linekers (UK) Ltd, the name was changed to Duane International Ltd, after his son, last year.

CAPTION RESIDENTS of a block of flats branded as the ‘most Instagrammed private building’ in Spain are up in arms over plans to declare the building a ‘cultural asset’.

Furious home owners say they already have to put up with people wandering in to take snaps of the ‘iconic building’, leading residents to erect signs telling passersby to keep out.

Now, if the plans to list the La Muralla Roja (The Red Wall) as ‘an Asset of Cultural interest (BIC) come to fruition, they will have to set opening hours for sightseers to visit.

And that, they say is not on for a building that dates back to the 1970s.

Objection

It was designed by Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill and is located in the upper part of Cala de la Manzanera (Alicante).

The Calpe Cultural and Ecological Association(ACEC), claims that the local council has not replied to a written objection sent last April over the BIC move. The BIC process started in 2015, but La

By Alex Trelinski

Muralla Roja property owners say that nobody from the authority has spoken to them since then about the move.

An ACEC statement condemned ‘the absolute lack of

interest of the council in telling the residents and agreeing with them any moves to make the building a cultural asset’.

“We have become mere spectators of a process that will have many consequences on our daily lives,” the statement continued.

Psssst...

Trade on

WOLF hunting has been banned throughout Spain making the Iberian wolf a protected species, along with the Iberian Lynx and the Cantabrian Brown Bear.

Spain’s Environment Ministry has ruled that protection for wolves in the south of the country will now be extended north of the Duero river, where controlled hunting had still been allowed.

Farmer’s unions have lashed out that the nationwide hunting ban will lead to more attacks on livestock, and that farmer’s ‘needs’ have been ‘ignored’.

Spain’s Environment Ministry has however promised to work with farmers on ways to protect cattle without harming wolves.

Spain is home to an estimated 1,500-2,000 Iberian wolves, with 90% in the northern regions of Castilla y Leon, Asturias and Galicia where it is believed that, until now, up to 400 wolves were killed annually.

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4 www.theolivepress.es Facing the music

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

Parental power

From front

successful and making money.” Not initially convinced, Parsons actually flew out to Dubai to ‘do some background’ and was shown around various facilities that apparently backed up the claims.

“He reinforced all this with detailed bank statements and lots of official paperwork, which we now think was fake,” he continued.

Initially, the investment seemed to be genuine and for the first six months he was paid back the promised 2% per month.

“But then the money suddenly stopped coming in,” said Parsons.

“I’m sure this was some sort of Ponzi scheme. Clearly they ran out of more investors.”

For two more years, Parsons claimed Williams kept promising the money would be returned.

He claimed his Dubai-based company, Impact General Trading, had been embargoed and had accounts frozen after ‘illegally dealing with Iran’.

When he pleaded for some money back to take care of his sick father, who had terminal cancer, he was promised it would come imminently, but it never materialised.

Victim

Another alleged victim, Michael McVicar, claimed to have lost €1.5 million, while up to a dozen other expats have apparently lost between €100,000 and €1 million.

The Olive Press discovered that Williams left Llys Meddyg Llangristiolus, in North Wales, after being declared bankrupt and having his care home company investigated for fraud.

I t didn’t stop him setting up companies in Dubai and Panama.

The couple have now both been charged following almost three years of investigations by North Yorkshire police.

Despite various denuncias, the Guardia Civil in Estepona has yet to file any charges.“I totally and utterly deny any allegations,” Williams told the Olive Press back in 2018.

ROLL-OUT: Vaccination campaign is in full swing A-LEVEL and college students will now have priority access to the Pfizer vaccines that arrived in Gibraltar over the weekend.

The government said that any over-60s who have still not received their first COVID-19 jab will also be in line.

People in their 50s will be getting their jabs this week too, along with shop assistants and other frontline workers.

The Department of Education will now be sorting out the appointments for students from 16 to 18-years-old in the second week of February.

An information leaflet being

Opinion Page 6

Latest restrictions GIBRALTAR’s elderly will be forced to self-isolate until February 15, the government has revealed.

Over 70s can only leave the house for essentials like shopping, visiting the doctor or exercise, as enforced by law.

Authorities on the Rock believe this will allow at-risk people to reach their highest level of immunity 21 days after their second dose of the vaccine.

Meanwhile a nightly curfew will still be in force from 10pm until 6am for the rest of the population.

Non-essential shops, gyms and beauty salons will be allowed to re-open but only on weekdays.

No more than two households will be allowed to gather, with a maximum of eight people meeting. These restrictions will be reviewed every week, with bars, cafes and restaurants staying closed until March 1.

GIBRALTAR to Birmingham and Southampton flights will be on offer from Gibraltar in time for the summer.

Eastern Airways will become the fourth airline to operate flights to the Rock, with routes to Southampton and Birmingham starting from May 24 and 28 respectively.

Passengers will be able to get tickets from £74.99 each way on Fridays and Mondays.

This will be the first ever air connection between Gibraltar and Southampton.

Flights to Birmingham will restart after they were stopped by the now bust Monarch in 2017.

Both the new routes will be flown by the Embraer 190 e-jet,

New routes

made in Brazil, which can carry about 100 passengers.

“The links with both Birmingham and Southampton will open up new catchment areas for Gibraltar,” Vijay Daryanani, Minister for Tourism and Transport said.

“Work by this Government to ensure that the tourism sector recovers and flourishes after this pandemic does not stop.

Jab fab Almost all groups receiving coronavirus vaccine this week as ministers praise rollout

By John Culatto

handed out highlights their potential to be dangerous spreaders of the virus.

“Young people typically do not become very unwell with “The news will no doubt be welcomed by the local business community and the tourism, retail and hospitality industries.

“This Government is delivering air services to Gibraltar in an unprecedented manner and is committed to adding further routes and more carriers in due course.”

Operations director at Southampton Airport Steve Szalay called the new connection to Gibraltar ‘tremendous news’ as Eastern Airlines continues to grow.

COVID-19, but there is evidence that they can inadvertently spread the disease to others,” said Minister for Education, John Cortes.

“Vaccinating 16-18 year olds who are at school or college will help protect young people, their teachers and their families.”

The government is urging anyone over 60 who has not done so yet to register for a jab online or by calling 20066966.

Minister for Health Samantha Sacramento said: “I am extremely pleased at how quickly and effectively the vaccine programme against COVID-19 is being rolled out.”

LA Linea has managed to halve its active COVID-19 cases after parents decided to stop sending their children to school.

Gibraltar’s neighbouring town slashed its infection rate after recording a peak of over 2,500 cases per 100,000 residents on January 21, reducing it to 1,219 some two weeks later.

After access to the town was blocked off, all non-essential businesses were shut on January 11.

Frantic petitions to the Junta de Andalucia to stop schools opening were turned down by the regional government.

Parents, organising themselves by social media, decided to take action themselves, with 95% of them refusing to send their children to classes.

Despite the right-wing Junta’s rebukes, their actions were supported by the local PSOE councillors who said they were ‘acting more responsibly than the regional government’.

Although this week the proportion of children attending school has reached 85% as cases dropped off, the stand-off continues.

School delayed SCHOOLS in Gibraltar plan to open on February 22 so that the most pupils, elderly and vulnerable can be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Health experts believe that children mixing in such numbers could lead to the need to enforce a new lockdown this winter.

Plans are already underway to fully vaccinate as many teachers and schoolchildren as possible.

Department of Education officials discussed this latest move with teachers and their NASUWT union.

The fact that 136 children have tested positive in January, without even going to school, has made the authorities want to pause a bit before going back to full capacity.

Engagement

“This has been the most difficult of decisions,” said Minister for Education John Cortes. “I really want our children back at school.

“They are missing the engagement, the contact with friends, and all their activities.

“But the health professionals tell us clearly that it would be best to wait these three more weeks, and we must listen to them.

“This decision is about the safety of the elderly and the vulnerable in our community and how we ensure they have the maximum possible level of protection by the time we reopen the schools.”

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No model witness AN expat fashion designer behind the alleged loss of €35 million of investors money has insisted regular threats of violence were behind her involvement with the company.

Jody Smart, the sole director of failed firm Continental Wealth Management (CWM), accused her former partner of being the real owner and aggressively forcing her to be the figurehead on paper.

The ex-fashion model told a court hearing how her past lover Darren Kirby frequently turned violent and aggressive when she threatened to quit.

She told a judge at Denia Court that every time she tried to leave the British-run pension compa-

Angela and Antoni

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

5

EXCLUSIVE: Violent threats kept Jody Smart linked to the disgraced firm CWM, which paid her ‘up to €8,000 a month’

EXCLUSIVE

By Alex Trelinski

ny, Kirby would get violent.

And despite failing to report Kirby to the police, because she was ‘afraid’, she has kept videos and phone messages of him threatening her.

She was giving evidence in a private prosecution by 17 of up to 1,000 British pensioners, from all across Spain including Andalucia, who put their savings into Alicante-based CWM. The business collapsed in 2017.

Some of the individual losses added up to €800,000.

The private action accuses Kirby and Smart, along with Paul Clarke, and Stephen Ward of fraud, disloyal administration, and forging victims’ signatures onto investment dealing instructions.

A judge will decide whether there is enough evidence for a full trial to go ahead.

The solicitor leading the private prosecution, Antoni Bertomeu, told the Olive Press: “The most significant aspect of the hearings was that the accused did not deny that CWM was responsible for any wrongdoing.”

“They are merely trying to save themselves by saying they knew nothing about it and had nothing to do with it,” he added.

The prosecution has resumed after oral testimony was suspended last spring due to the

I

F, like us, you’re obsessed with keeping up with the latest news and regulatory changes from HMRC, you’ll know all about Making Tax Digital (MTD) and be preparing yourself for this seismic change.

●● Making Tax Digital (MTD) regulations are designed to make calculating tax easier and more accurate through the use of digital software ●● To comply with MTD for Income Tax, landlords and the self-employed will need to use software to keep digital records of business income and expenses and submit a summary every quarter ●● MTD for Income Tax is for UK businesses and landlords, who usually submit a Self Assessment tax return. ●● It will come into effect for your next accounting period that starts on or after 6 April 2023 Of course, if you’re one of the 99% of people who would rather not think about tax, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about, whether you are affected, and what you need to do to prepare.

But fear not! Our tax nerds love an opportunity to make confusing tax regulations simpler and clearer. Once you get used to the new process, it should also make your business accounting easier, clearer, more predictable and cheaper, as you won’t need to rely on an accountant.

You also have a bit of time to prepare, with HMRC showing that they can be forgiving to those who drop the ball. It is the biggest tax change in a generation, after all, so they won’t be too hard on you!

APARI’s MTD software is already approved by HMRC so we know exactly how it all works. Here’s what you need to know...

pandemic.

Statements last year from ex-employees of CWM said that the claimants had lost their money due to risky investments.

Answering questions from the judge, Jody Smart said she became a partner in CWM, formed by Kirby, in 2012.

In the testimony, seen by the Olive Press, she also admitted he transferred up to €8,000 a month into her private bank account through to 2017.

Issues

She said her salary was ‘€5,000, €6,000 or €7,000 a month’ and it was ‘sometimes as high as €8,000’, depending on ‘what Darren wanted to pay’.

Smart said she only put her name to the firm to help out Kirby who was having ‘issues with his wife’ and wanted to stop her accessing company assets.

Smart, who owns clothes company Jody Bell SL, declared that her livelihood was fashion and insisted she had no knowledge of what went on with CWM. She added she was merely the ‘face’ of the company.

She did however, refuse to answer questions from Bertomeu, who has been leading the pri-

vate prosecution for two years, and left the Denia courthouse via a fire exit.

Case coordinator Angela Brooks, who brought the 17 claimants together, told the Olive Press: “Watching the defendants walk in and out of court was disgusting as they bobbed and weaved to get out of the way of photographers.”

One of these was Paul Clarke, who was involved in helping Kirby build up CWM. He denied forming the company and being Kirby’s business partner, claiming he merely helped in the office and trained some staff members, as well helped do some supermarket shopping and ‘getting Darren coffees’.

He added that he left in August 2010 because of Kirby’s ‘aggressive and abusive’ attitude.

Clarke went on to run other businesses, including AES In-

ON TRIAL: Jodie Smart with legal representative and (left) former boss Darren Kirby who ‘turned violent’

ternational Spain, but told the hearing that he is currently unemployed.

He also refused to take questions from Bertomeu.

Another of those grilled was advisor Stephen Ward, who ran Moraira-based Premier Pension Solutions, which ceased trading in 2017.

Ward admitted to having worked with seven of the claimants, and confirmed that his company had a business collaboration with CWM. He insisted that he was never paid ‘a single cent’ from CWM

and merely shared clients with the business.

The judge has now asked for full details of the investments.

“All the risk assessments will have to be provided which prove that the clients had their money placed into high-risk portfolios,” said Bertomeu.

“The judge has been very proactive and can see that crimes have been committed, but it will be a very long process,” he added.

Bertomeu believes that if ‘everything goes to plan’, a trial date could be set for next year.

Death of the Tax Return...

UK tax is going digital

How APARI’s software can make your life easier What is Making Tax Digital?

The new MTD regulations are designed to make taxes easier and more accurate through the use of digital software. It’s already a requirement for VAT and will be extended to all VAT registered businesses from April 2022. At some point in the future, it will apply to Corporation Tax. We focus on MTD for Income Tax, which the Government announced in July 2020 and will change the annual tax return for millions of people like you.

What is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? To comply with MTD for Income Tax, landlords, the self-employed and tradespeople will need to use software to keep digital records of business income and expenses and submit a summary every quarter.

At the end of the year, you need to submit any other income - for example from employment and finalise all of the information. If you choose good software, it will be able to do all of this for you.

You will get your total tax liability (tax owed) for the year which needs to be paid by the following January, just as you would now.

So the main changes are: a) use MTD software; b) keep digital records and c) make a submission to HMRC once a quarter.

Who does it apply to?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is for UK businesses and

landlords, who usually submit a Self Assessment tax return. It is a requirement for anyone with more than £10,000 of combined turnover from business and property income.

If you submit a Self Assessment tax return but don’t have business or property income, MTD for Income Tax doesn’t affect you.

When will Making Tax Digital for Income Tax come into effect?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax was first announced in 2015. The timetable has moved back over the last few years as the Government and HMRC try to give it the best chance of success. On 21 July 2020, the Government formally committed to a specific timetable for changing the law and turning Making Tax Digital for Income Tax into a legal requirement.

In HMRC talk, they announced: for your next accounting period that starts on or after 6 April 2023, all Income Tax Self Assessment customers with a turnover of £10,000 or more from business income or income from property will be required to complete their affairs by MTD. All landlords and most self-employed people have an accounting period that starts on 6 April.

This means you’ll have to:

●● Use software to record and submit your business and/or property income between 6 April 2023 and 5 April 2024; ●● Use software to finalise your business and/ or property income between 6 April 2024 and 31 January 2025; ●● Submit any non-business information and finalise your overall tax affairs by 31 January 2025. You can choose to do this using software or using the HMRC website.

If you use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you won’t need to submit a separate Self Assessment tax return.

How do I ensure I am compliant with MTD rules?

At APARI, we think the best first step is to start using software to keep your business records.

Ignoring the tax side of things, this will give you better information about your profit. You can get started with a FREE APARI account today.

Once you’re familiar with digital record keeping, you may be able to voluntarily sign up to use MTD. Most businesses and landlords will be eligible to join by April 2021 so they can get familiar with the changes. Don’t worry if you change your mind - you can still submit a tax return as normal.

Everyone that uses MTD will need to choose compatible software, which they connect with their HMRC account. APARI’s MTD software is already listed on HMRC’s software selection tool.

Once connected, the software will then tell you when you need to submit information, such as your quarterly return.

Follow us next month to find out what you need to do.

6

www.theolivepress.es

O LIVE P RESS

Voted top expat paper in Spain

The

GIBRALTAR

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

OPINION Gotcha!

THEY say the arc of justice is long but it bends.

Let’s hope that’s the case for Rhys and Lisa Williams, who stand accused of defrauding British expats out of more than €6 million.

Three years after our initial expose of the alleged Marbella-based Ponzi scheme, the Welsh couple are now facing money laundering charges in the UK. It’s just another example of the Olive Press exposing the bad apples in what is mostly a great expat community.

No other English paper acts on behalf of its readers to bring crooks and criminals to justice.

How many other expat papers can say they have aided in the arrest and exposure of dozens of paedophiles, fraudsters and criminals over the years? The answer to that is ZERO.

Beginning of the end?

WITH nearly half of the population now having had their first dose of the Pfizer BioNTech jab, it seems we are as the Chief Minister called it, ‘at the beginning of the end’ of COVID-19.

However, just a year after the world changed forever with the global pandemic, it somehow seems unlikely the nightmare will go away so easily.

Already, mutations of the deadly coronavirus are showing themselves to be resistant to vaccines.

For instance, Astra-Zeneca’s jab is now being modified to be able to handle the South African strain of the virus.

Some vaccines have been less effective than others, with those that use the messenger RNA method proving to be the most efficient.

As more data comes in during the wider use of the vaccines, pharmaceutical companies have had to modify their own selling points.

While everyone strives forward toward a normality that never comes, the Gibraltar Government is already facing the possibility of another lockdown in spring.

The way in which the virus spread so quickly to over 1,000 people in just three weeks is worrying enough.

People’s mental health is also being taken into consideration and the two parties in Opposition have presented a joint petition for the health authority to cover these concerns.

Gibraltarians have always relied on their freedom to move in Spain as one of the lifestyle choices that make the area so special.

The global pandemic has put this into question, even if these rights were secured by a last-minute deal with Spain.

Finally, the cost of the pandemic continues to grow and while the actions taken are totally justifiable, an economy reeling from Brexit really did not need this double whammy.

With all these details being counted up, it is easy to wonder whether the end of the end will be that of the virus or the world as we now know it.

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

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NEWS FEATURE

MAGINE if, rather than losing the Second World War and committing suicide in Berlin, Adolf Hitler had successfully invaded the British Isles and ruled them as a dictator before dying peacefully in his bed in 1975.

Then imagine if a law brought in after his death protected all those who assisted the regime, making them free from prosecution.

Next, picture a country where hundreds of thousands of former opponents lie in mass graves, which the new democratic government - in the interests of national reconciliation - feels it best to ignore. And notice that the Nazi flag, with its infamous insignia, had not been replaced as the national flag; just that the swastika was replaced with the British lion and a unicorn.

Finally, take note that Hitler’s children continue to live in lavish estates around the UK, while the dictator himself lies in a huge mausoleum in the Home Counties. A shrine, if you like, to all those (including numerous academics, businessmen and politicians) who still believe he made our country what it is today.

What may sound like a Robert Harris novel is very much the reality in Spain, 45 years after the death of Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

The guns may have fallen silent, but the civil war continues, if not in the mountains of Aragon then across the dining room table and

A NATION As Catalunya goes to the polls, the Olive Press explains how the spectre of the civil war still casts a shadow over the regions. By Barnaby Bouchard

looming over the forthcoming election in returning Spain to the perceived glory days Catalunya. of the pre-Enlightenment era. The days when This is in part to be expected; the trauma the army and Church were answerable ‘only of going through a brutal civil war in which to God and to history’. over 500,000 people were shot, tortured or While from the 1950s quality of life did exstarved to death. perience an upturn, and token But the suffocating lack of movements towards liberalclosure afforded to many afization were made to curry The politicians ter the gruesome events of economic favour with Ameriinherited 1936 to 1939, and the harsh ca, the Franco era is generally dictatorship that followed, seen as a time in which the a country has bred a tired, bitter reugliest extremes of conservasentment among many Spantism were allowed free rein. lurching iards, one that goes to the What is certain is that Spain towards chaos was held decades behind the core of how they see themselves as a people. rest of the continent economMuch is due to the nature of ically and socially thanks to the regime Franco imposed on his conquered Franco’s twisted interpretation of history and countrymen, after deposing the democrati- nationhood. cally-elected government. Remember that Germany and Italy found cloDuring nearly four de- sure at the end of their fascist regimes. cades of his Catholic Na- While Hitler and Mussolini suffered gruetionalist dictatorship, crit- some deaths, Franco passed away peacefully icism of the regime and in his bed at the ripe age of 82, in 1975, surattempts to sabotage it rounded by his family. were viciously silenced.

He died having no reason to believe Spain Even regional languag- was set to change; the government was comes, particularly Catalan prised of Falangists and religious leaders. and Basque, were sup- His Prime Minister was Carlos Arias Navarro, pressed in the aim of known as ‘the Butcher of Malaga’ for sum-

The battle for Catalunya Spain’s former Health Minister has been drafted in to stave off a new drive for independence, reports Laurence Dollimore

H

E is best known for his deadpan tilt at the camera during his stiff and serious regular bulletins on the ravages of COVID around Spain.

Part of Pedro Sanchez’s coalition government, Salvador Illa was removed from his position as Health Minister last month to help steady the ship in the Catalan elections next week.

In a bid to blunt a new drive for independence this year, the bespectacled former minister is a popular and potent weapon.

Now, remarkably, his anti-independence party is on track to win the most votes on February 14, latest polls have suggested.

The Catalunya Socialists Party (PSC) would claim 23.7% of the vote if a snap poll were held last week, a CIS survey of 2,000 voters found.

an extremely tall order in today’s fractured political landscape.

Once the MPs have been elected, they must choose a president, with each party putting forward their strongest candidate.

The speaker will put a candidate up for a vote, usually from the party with the most votes first, who will need 68 MPs to vote for them. If this fails, another vote will be held in which they will only need a simple majority. If they fail again, the process is

repeated over a two-month period until a president is chosen.

If deadlock continues, a fresh election will have to be called meaning coalitions are almost inevitable, with smaller parties able to act as kingmakers.

It means the party with the most votes is not guaranteed to form the government.

But which of the three frontrunning candidates are most likely to become president?

Pere Aragones, Esquerra Republicana (ERC), 38 The law and history graduate, who also studied at Harvard University, has taken up the helm of the ERC after its former leader was removed (Quim Torra). Aragones is left wing and staunchly pro-independence, much like his predecessor.

However he wants to prioritise

talks with Madrid. Aragones has a strong chance of getting over the 68-seat threshold with the support of fellow pro-independence parties.

Nothing is guaranteed however, particularly given recent fall outs with JxCat, the other big pro-independence party.

Uphill Close behind is the ERC, which would obtain 19.9% and thirdly JxCat, with 14.6%.

Either way, Illa would still face an uphill battle to become President of the Generalitat, as those parties would likely unite to keep him out. And even with Ciudadanos and the PP voters supporting him it may not be enough.

In total, voters in Catalunya, Spain’s second most populous region with 7.2m people, will elect 135 MPs from across four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona.

However to form a government, a party needs an absolute majority of 51%, or 68 seats out of the 135,

Laura Borras, Junts per Catalunya (JxCat), 50 Elected immediately after Spain imposed direct rule following the ‘illegal referendum’ in 2017, Borras is pushing for a ‘peaceful confrontation’ against Madrid. The former university professor is currently accused of illegally awarding a public contract to a close ally, with a court case ongoing. Despite this, she has a strong chance of becoming the

next Catalan leader, and would be the first female in the role. While JxCat is behind ERC in the latest poll, a similar forecast in 2017 didn’t ring true, with Borras’ party eventually gaining 10,000 more votes than its rivals. Borras will need the support of pro-independence parties and potentially others, depending on the final vote share.

SALVADOR ILLA, Partit Socialista de Catalunya, 54 The philosophy and business graduate has long been a darling of the Socialists since becoming mayor of the historic inland town of Roca del Valles in 1995. But after being named health minister just before COVID hit, he quickly became a household name as the face of the fight against the pandemic.

In fact his notoriety led PSC leader Miquel Iceta to put Illa forward as the presidential candidate instead of himself.

Illa has long been a critic of the pro-independence parties and is a Spanish unionist.

His election as president would be a noted shift in the Catalan leadership.

www.theolivepress.es

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

DIVIDED

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

More fake news

T WAR CRIMES: Many republicans were slaughtered and buried in mass graves after being captured marily executing 17,000 political prisoners an interest in exhuming the victims, such Meiras palace in Galicia, which was vacated during the civil war, and the dictator’s hand- as when the Zapatero government freed up in 2020, only allowing the family to take the picked successor, the new King Juan Carlos I, funding for it in 2007, it can just as easily be electro-domestics. had sworn to continue his legacy. The future cancelled, as it was, by the next administra- The year before Franco’s coffin was famously of Falangist Spain, ‘One, Great and Free’, tion. moved from its mausoleum in the Valley of seemed assured.

Meanwhile, the family of Franco inherited the Fallen to a simple family tomb in Madrid.

The politicians who led the famous ‘Tran- an estimated €600 million on the dictator’s Most importantly the 2007 Law of Historical sicion’ back to democracy (most of them, death, as well as being allowed continued Memory still stands, giving rights to those ironically, die-hard Falangists) ownership of artworks and who were persecuted or suffered repression inherited a country lurching lavish palaces. during the dictatorship. towards chaos. The highly inLooting, arson, It is only in the past few years There is financial aid for those trying to lofluential army had no reason that the government has fi- cate relatives and grants of citizenship to the repression and nally begun to reclaim these descendants of those who fled Spain in the to welcome democracy.

Meanwhile the country was taking the stance aftermath of the civil war. murder with no properties, rocked by riots, protests and that, as Franco assumed Efforts are, therefore, being taken to right strikes by supporters of the expower illegally, the estate he wrongs, in cases where it is not too late. hope for true iled political parties calling for accumulated as head of state While the masterminds of the Transicion justice free elections. was not his to pass on. The surely cannot be blamed for their reluctance A return to civil conflict was amnesty protecting criminals to make a hard break with the past, Spain looking likely and a comproduring and after the civil war is waking up to the uncomfortable fact that mise needed to be found. means that, across the country, families still reconciliation has to come from dialogue, It meant that King Juan Carlos would remain feud over what their parents and grandpar- not silence. head of state, while there would be no purge ents did to each other.

Grass can cover the battlefields, the veterof the armed forces.

Nearly every town and village saw looting, ans can grow old, the memories can fade.

But most pertinently, there would be an arson, repression and murder, which, with But as we have seen, until Europe’s most amnesty for all those who had done the re- no hope of legal resolution, has, as its only outspoken and effervescent people forsake gime’s dirty work, including now-ageing war outlet, long decades of festering resentment. their collective denial, their civil war cannot criminals. The infamous ‘Pacto del Olvido’, or Even the national flag remains largely un- be considered over.

Pact of Forgetting, was born: an agreement changed: The fathat the past would not be discussed, and langist symbols and imposing black Eagle that the country would move on as one.

Europe’s most forthright people, effectively of St John are gone, swore themselves to silence, because the but the red and yellow truth somehow seemed untouchable. It banner, a monarchist was true that seeking vengeance on the old symbol adopted by regime in the late 1970s could have been the nationalists, concatastrophic, and Spain certainly deserves tinues to fly from all Nerva, Huelva praise for its (largely) peaceful transition government buildings. from dictatorship to democracy, something It is an affront to many that has rarely happened before. But, as any - particularly in regions psychologist will tell you, bottling up trauma is like Catalunya, which suffered badly under not a good idea.

With 2,500 mass graves scattered around Franco - that the flag the country and an estimated 140,000 vic- which is meant to tims interred, that’s a lot of trauma and grief. symbolise nationhood While some landowners and religious figures instead symbolises were killed in Republican areas the majority the limbo caused by an ability to confront were massacred by Franco’s regime.

At present, 42 victims of Francoist repression have been found Until recently, no government has dared to history. in the cemetery of this small Andalucian town, making it, acapproach this matter, despite calls by thou- Fortunately attempts cording to its socialist mayor, a candidate for ‘the biggest rural sands of families for the reburial of loved to deal with limbo mass grave in Spain’. They are more than 1,500 people behave been gathering ones. lieved to be buried across the Huelva mining basin, notorious Many still live close to the unmarked tombs of pace. for its bloody reprisals in the early days of the war. To date, there their parents or siblings, and can tell you their In 2019 the governhave been two digs at the site in Nerva, the second of which exact location. But most family members ment declared its inwas funded by the Ministry of Justice in Madrid. Andalucia’s have now passed away without receiving the tention to locate and regional government, controlled by a coalition of the right-wing rebury 25,000 peoclosure that reburial would bring.

Partido Popular and centrist Ciudadanos, has not participated.

Attempts by local governments to deal with ple in mass graves by these graves are often met with a massive 2024. pushback, largely from the right-wing PP The Franco family Pinos Genil, Granada and Vox parties, who argue that it would go meanwhile, is being against the Pacto del Olvido and inflame old stripped of its physical inheritance; intensions.

Even when the central government does take cluding the Pazo de

Two scenes of horror from the civil war

Army generals from the old regime were not replaced during the Transición to democracy, meaning the military continued to be dominated by Falangists, who subscribed to the old Castilian philosophy that the army and government were indivisible. In 2020, Francisco Beca Casanova, an air force general who retired in 2004, professed in a Whatsapp group a desire to ‘shoot 26 million Spaniards’, lauded Franco as ‘irrepetible’, and was one of 73 former senior officers who submitted an open letter to the king calling on him to dissolve the current socialist government.

DID YOU KNOW?

HE Spanish Government has ONCE AGAIN been forced to counteract fake reporting after a slew of national papers in the UK claimed foreign tourists would be ‘banned until after summer.’

No surprise, the stories all quoted English-language website www. euroweeklynews.com, which had misquoted prime minister Pedro Sanchez.

Under the headline: ‘Spain won’t welcome tourists until the end of the summer’, its writer made a massive boo boo - as it was simply not true.

As properly reported by the Olive Press, Sanchez actually told a press conference in Madrid that for Spain to ‘be in a better position’ to receive tourists ‘AS IT DID BEFORE’ the pandemic, 70% of the population would need to be vaccinated.

In other words, quite different from an all-out ban.

Nevertheless, the false story - or ‘bulo’ in Spanish - was presented as truth by British national papers, including the Mirror and Metro, who should have known better.

It led to Spain’s angry tourism minister Reyes Maroto having to counter the claims to the Telegraph the following day.

Knowing the fake story could be highly damaging to the tourism industry, she told the paper that the plan of the national Government was to actually begin welcoming tourists back this Spring.

The fake news drama comes after the same English website made up a story about a nationwide lockdown coming to Spain in September 2020.

The alarming story, which included false government sources, led to mass panic and a slew of holiday cancellations to Spain.

There was an outcry on social media and the Olive Press immediately contacted the Health Ministry at the time and demanded it addressed the issue.

Our intervention led the head of the coronavirus taskforce Fernando Simon to address the story in his daily briefing, in which he labelled the story a ‘complete lie.’

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are: for the arrival of storm Justine 1- Spain braces itself(13,246 views) LISTED: Every municipality which must close 2-borders or all non-essential businesses from tomorrow in Spain’s Andalucia (10,050 views) moved to minor roads to catch 3- Roadblocks checkpoint dodgers as 27 fined in first five hours of weekend lockdown on Spain’s Costa Blanca (9,086 views)

- LISTED: The 18 municipalities in Spain’s An4lowering dalucia which can open their borders today after COVID-19 incidence rates (7,593 views) “Since the sons are away, we’ll kill the mothers.” With this abominable refrain the Nationalists justified their actions in places such as Pinos Genil, where six men and six women were killed, according to official records, ‘as subsistutes’ for family members who were fighting for the Republic. Francesca Esperidon, the eldest victim found in the cemetery, was a 70-year-old

- LISTED: The 27 municipalities opening their 5incidence borders today in Spain’s Andalucia after COVID-19 rate drops below 500 cases per 100,000 people (7,577 views)

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

BUSINESS

What a relief THE Spanish government is considering debt relief measures to help companies weather the coronavirus pandemic storm.

Last year, aid was focussed on furlough schemes and a state-backed loan guarantee programme. This has helped push state debt up to an estimated 120% of GDP. Now there is a growing realisation that the emphasis of government help will need to change as pandemic restrictions drag on and a vaccine roll-out is stalled.

Proposals

With Spanish bankruptcy laws cumbersome and often leading to the demise rather than rescue of struggling businesses, the aim of inter-departmental negotiations is to save businesses that have a good chance of survival once the crisis is over, according to media reports.

One proposal would excuse a portion of the debt borrowed through Spain’s state-backed loan guarantee programme that was rolled out last year.

Another would use state guarantees to encourage banks to offer companies participatory loans, sources said.

CARGO ships and tankers that use Liquid Natural Gas as their main fuel will now be able to get topped up on the Rock.

Shell first made its application to have an LNG bunkering permit in 2019 and it has now been approved by the Gibraltar Government.

Big plans

It follows the agreement made with the government to supply the cleaner fuel to Gibraltar’s power station.

Shell has now completed the formalities and have been granted a port operator licence.

Minister for the Port, Vijay Daryanani, said: “I am pleased to see that Shell has been successful in its application and welcome the trust and confidence that Shell continues to THE six main Spanish banks have shed 2,176 jobs and closed 1,188 offices so far during the coronavirus pandemic - with worse to come in 2021.

This is a reduction of 1.72% of their workforce and 8.12% of their branches.

Not all the blame can be put on the doorstep of COVID, as banks have been making ‘efficiency’ savings for some time.

But branch closures accelerated in 2020 and will continue to do so this year, accord-

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

Breaking gas Liquid natural gas set to become ‘driving force of shipping’

place in Gibraltar, “The Gibraltar Port Authority now looks forward to working with Shell to further develop the range of bunkering service as the Port of Gibraltar to include LNG bunkering.

“This is in line with the aspiration to keep Gibraltar on the leading edge of developments in the bunkering industry and to re-

Banking losses

ing to plans already published by the big banks.

Banco Santander closed 2020 with 2,923 branches in Spain, 296 fewer than it had a year earlier, and 26,961 workers, 669 fewer. It has also announced a Redundancy Program (ERE) that will see 3,572 jobs go and the closure of 1,033 branches.

BUNKERING: New source of LNG available on Rock

By John Culatto

inforce our position as a bunkering hub”.

There are big plans for The company is shifting its emphasis towards an online presence.

BBVA Spain cut 953 jobs and 160 branches in 2020, to 29,330 employees and 2,482 branches. It is now planning a cost-cutting exercise in the first half of 2021, for which ‘all options’ are being studied.

A merger of CaixaBank and Bankia is expected to go ahead in the first quarter of 2021. The banks are in negotiations with trade unions over potential job losses.

LNG to become the driving force of shipping in the future as it is a cleaner fuel in ample supply.

“I am delighted that a prestigious entity such as Shell should be operating from Gibraltar Port,” said Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.

Transition

“Including LNG bunkering as one of the services on offer at our port demonstrates our forward thinking approach to developing the maritime industry.

“It is also ensuring that Gibraltar is part of the transition to cleaner fuels and reduced environmental impact”.

Cryptocrooks A RECENT huge rise in the value of cryptocurrencies has seen a parallel rise in scammers.

Spanish police have moved in on a ring of alleged fraudsters who were operating world-wide from Andorra, trying to fleece unsuspecting victims in an investment scam.

Europol partnered with Spanish and Catalan police for the operation against an ‘investment training firm’ in the Pyennean tax-haven.

The company apparently used a backstory of providing training in forex and cryptocurrency markets as cover for defrauding thousands of clients.

Six suspects aged between 20 and 34, were detained in raids on two houses. Some €70,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies were seized.

Budget openings GERMAN budget supermarket chain Lidl is continuing to expand in Spain with five new stores opening this month.

The company is spending €30 million and creating 85 new jobs. On February 25 it will open the doors of a new store in Palma de Mallorca, creating 25 jobs.

On the same day, Lidl will open a new store in Madrid and another one in Tamaraceite, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

OP QUICK Crossword Across 1 Puny one (6) 5 Breathe out (6) 8 Impaired (7) 9 Melody (4) 10 Of the highest quality (4) 12 Arable areas (6) 13 Surpass (5) 14 Cattle calls (4) 16 Spinning toys (4) 17 Flat floats (5) 18 Wishy-washy (6) 20 Twitcher's viewpoint (4) 22 Howls (4) 23 Fruits of one's labour (7) 25 Temporarily (3,3) 26 Reservation waster (24)

Down

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8

2 Inflation protection (5) 3 Dwellers (7) 4 Wilbur in "Charlotte's Web," for example (3) 5 Care provided by hospices (3,2,4) 6 Saltwood Castle is here (5) 7 Queued (5,2) 11 Custodian of 12 Across (9) 15 Wild marjoram (7) 16 Slogan-bearers, often (16) 19 Wild ox (5) 21 '70s dance hall (5) 24 Skin lump (3)

All solutions are on page 12

PROPERTY

February 10th February 23rd 2021

9 MORTGAGE THINK TANK

by mortgage broker Tancrede de Pola

Village offering free house and business to young family to fight depopulation

FOR young families one of the hardest things to do is to get on the first rung of the property ladder, But one village in Spain is not only offering the chance of a free home – but also a business to go with it.

Tabanera de Cerrato in Palencia(pictured) is looking for a family with children to move to the area as it struggles against depopulation, and to that end is offering a free house, complete with grocery store, on the ground floor to the right candidates.

And it is proving to be an al-

Home alone

luring offer for people, maybe looking for a change of lifestyle or a leg-up into the world

Hull of a price tag TALK about extravagance. An anonymous buyer in Spain just splashed out nearly €10 million on a superyacht.

The boat, named Takara, is the work of Francesco Paszkowski, an Italian purveyor of luxury gadgets.

It was originally built in 2016

Golden ticket to Spain

but was reworked in 2020 and boasts five staterooms, and all-important sun deck fitted with a bar, sun loungers and Jacuzzi.

Decked to the halls, the boat can accommodate up to 12 guests, plus seven crew. In addition to the master suite there is a VIP suite, double room and two twin rooms.

The perfect option to avoid the 90 day residency rule scheme provides residency visas to non-EU nationals buying property in Spain.

A €500,000 property investment qualifies the client for a visa, offering travel and educational opportunities for their family too. This is the cash element required, but it is important to note that this doesn’t preclude our clients from using a mortgage to fund the amount of the purchase price and costs over this limit.

At the Finance Bureau, we have been working with clients from the Middle East, Russia and the USA for several years.

In partnership with our banks we have been developing specifically tailored mortgage products for these clients in order to give best loansto-value and competitive rates.

In fact, the visa is not only available for property transactions. Other ways to qualify include depositing substantial sums in Spanish bank accounts and making other investments.

We can help UK residents explore their options to qualify for the visa, so please get in touch and we can help you make the best decision.

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

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of property ownership.

Local mayor Luz Íscar has already had more than 500 applicants from Spain and as far afield as Argentina and the Netherlands.

The village is located in the Cerrato region of Palencia and has only 142 inhabitants – and declining.

The house is in the process of being renovated in the village and the grocery store is located on the ground floor.

“We wanted to provide a business for the family and a service for the village,” the mayor said in a recent interview.

The house is being renovated through a programme run by Junta de Castilla y Leon, and the premises on the ground floor will be set up with the support of the local authorities in Palencia.

NOW that the Brexit transition period is over, making a move to Spain from the UK is not as straightforward as it once was.

For many people looking to ‘semi-retire’ in this country new restrictions now apply.

The most applicable for those who are planning to spend several months a year in a second home in Spain is the 90 day ruling.

This means that UK (or any other non-EU) citizens cannot stay in Spain for more than 90 days in any 180 day period. This ruling applies to any Shengen area country – so any time you spend in for example France or Germany is counted towards your 90 days here in Spain.

This regulation is enough to make some people think twice about buying a property here. But there is a way of circumventing this rule which gives investors unlimited access to Spain and in the longer term permanent residency.

This is by way of the so-called Golden Visa. Previously this did not apply to UK citizens as the nation was part of the EU. But with Brexit the UK is now a ‘third-party’ nation and qualifies for the Golden Visa scheme.

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10

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

Twist in the tale As the controversial toro season is set to kick off, Jack Gaioni looks at the true life pacifist bull, Civilon, which inspired a children’s fairy tale and could help to scotch the beef over bullfighting

T

HE divisive subject of bullfighting is never far from the surface in Spanish culture, especially now it’s nearly the season for it (March to September).

Is it an anachronistic and barbarous

bloodsport that should be banned or an artistic expression embedded in Spanish cultural tradition that should be preserved? Although 90% of corridas in Spain were culled by Covid last year, voices on both sides of the argument remain bolshy and deafening.

But there’s a little-known Spanish vignette about a girl, her pet bull and a bullfight that maybe – just maybe – might offer some common ground for both sides. Consider the story of Carmelita Cobaleda and her pet bull, Civilon. If you’ve read American author Munro Leaf’s 1936 book, Ferdinand the Bull, it could ring a few cowbells...

Civilon was a handsome black ranch bull born and raised amongst the cork oak pastures of 1930s Salamanca. Bred to be fearless and aggressive like all toros bravos, honing his skills in bouts with his brothers, Civilón possessed those traits in spades along with one unprecedented characteristic: he loved people, children especially; Carmelita, the breeder’s seven-year-old daughter, in particular, after she tended his wounds and gave him

OLE: Bullfighting is a divisive subject in Spain but is never far from the surface in Spanish culture

a name.

Often, after doing battle, Civilón would trot over to nuzzle her in the most docile way.

However, in the training ring, he would remember his DNA, butting, charging and gouging. But he also loved a pat and a treat, just like any household pet!

News of the gentle giant soon spread around Spain and even abroad through the pages of the international press. The

Italian magazine Estampa dedicat- form and his breeding, the animal ed several 1936 covers to Civilon charged into the ring and launched posing with children and comely himself at the Picador’s horse at señoritas. And thoufull force. He almost sands flocked to Saltoppled over nag and amanca to witness rider!

Spectators the astonishing sight But after being so leof a one-ton fighting thal, he then casually demanded bull eating from a little trotted to the side of a pardon for girl’s hand. the ring, looking to be Against this backdrop, the bull which petted. a shrewd manager of The audience of fought bravely 24,000 spectators the Barcelona bull ring contracted Carmeliloved it! They rose in ta’s beloved bovine to unison and demanded fight, banking on the bull’s populari- a rare ‘indulto’ - a pardon for a bull ty to pull a capacity crowd. which has fought bravely.

Civilon did not disappoint. True to Thus, the animal is spared and returned to its home pasture to become a stud for the rest of its life.

After a few passes from the matador that day, the main door was opened and he trotted out to freedom.

Superficially, it’s a heartwarming, innocent tale. Between the lines, there are some key takeaways that might help both sides of the bullfighting divide to find some common ground.

MONUMENT: In honour of the brave bull Civilon Let’s take a look.

Bull the other one!

●● The narrative of Civilon is said to be the true story behind the most popular children’s parable ever. Munro Leaf’s Ferdinand the Bull became a best-seller, hailed the greatest children’s classic since Winnie the Pooh. Set in Andalucia with illustrations of the countryside around Ronda, the fictional Ferdinand prefers flowers to fighting, does battle in Madrid’s bullring and lives to tell the tale. ●● Gandhi was a fan but Franco banned the book and Hitler burned it as pacifist propaganda. Published in 60 languages and never out of print, its meaning is still hotly debated by everyone from politicians and psychologists to the LGBTQ community. ●● In a rebuttal with his own children’s story, the Faithful Bull, aficionado and Republican sympathiser Ernest Hemingway wrote about ‘a bull not named Ferdinand and he cared nothing for flowers … he loved to fight’ ●● Ferdinand also stars in a 1938 Oscar-winning Disney cartoon and a 2017 Oscar-nominated computer-animated movie

DID YOU KNOW?

LA CULTURA

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

11

Talking bull

For over two decades Jairo Miguel has been one of the most controversial figures in bullfighting. You just might not have heard of him - yet.

J

Bulls: Considered one of the dead- own power. In the man’s world of liest land animals, in Spain they are matadors, breeders and trainers, bred for aggression, with little hu- perhaps Carmelita subconsciously man contact. Yet, although Civilon assumed the role of feminine nurcould fight to order, he also respond- turing agent. Would it not make ed to human kindness. This sug- bullfighting more palatable if there gests that bulls are living, breathing was more feminine input in this trasentient beings as emphasised by ditionally ‘macho’ field? the anti-bullfighting lobby as well as the noble, ferocious beasts desired Civilon’s experience in the Barceloby aficionados. na bullring took place The indulto: This parin 1936, when the don is rarely granted Spanish Civil War was Science to bulls in Spain but imminent. And unlike often in other bullfightsuggests that Ferdinand, the fictioning nations like Mexial bull whose story little girls co, France and Columwas published the bia, where audience same year, there’s a identify with figures confirm its consad twist to this tale. strong animals Our real life hero never tinued popularity. Is it not possible that, as made it back to graze Civilon’s fight shows, the sweet grass of his audiences can fully appreciate the Salamanca pastures, much less pageantry without the blood? lead the life of a superstud.

Instead, a few days after being Carmelita: Science suggests that spared the matador’s sword, he little girls tend to identify with strong was requisitioned by hungry local dynamic animals (e.g. horses, dol- Republican soldiers, butchered and phins) as a way of expressing their eaten as rations.

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LEGENDARY: Civilon enjoyed international fame

AIRO Miguel Sánchez is only 27 but already he has two decades of bullfighting under his cape. People have had their eyes on him since he learned to fight at just five years old and left a crowd in western Spain slack-jawed when he slayed his first bull three years later. Now his following is in the thousands, in no small part to social media, where he has over 10,000 fans watching his every PRODIGY: Miguel killed his first bull at the age of five step and sweep. This is the bullfighter for the Instagram generation - and he’s only just getting started.

The Extremadura athlete is one of “You can’t live in the past Spain’s sparkiest stars in any sport, but you can’t forget it. I moving to Mexico at 11 to practice want to push beyond the professionally after being twice fined stereotype of a bullfighter. in his hometown near Caceres for fighting underage. He’s been gored It’s time to renew.” twice, on both occasions when he was 14. The first time he broke two ribs, the second time his lung was punctured by a bulls horn, brushing his aorta and nearly penetrating his heart. Another inch in the adorn shimmering wrong direction and he would have been dead. Un- jackets and billowfazed, he made a full recovery and, aged just six- ing shirts, he trains teen, killed six bulls in a single afternoon. in sunglasses and His father, Antonio Sánchez, was also a professional sweats. bullfighter. “He didn’t want me to be a torero.” Jairo “ U n f o r t u n a t e l y Miguel says. “He didn’t like the risk involved and I the world of bullunderstand that. fighting is still very “I get frightened too, still. Everytime I go in the old-fashioned. It is square I am afraid. Not just for my life, but also of good we have old failure. I want to achieve my dream and become the values that cannot best in the world. be lost, we have a code that our ancestors created “I want to succeed, to stand out and leave my name but it does need a bit of updating. on this profession. Yes, it is true you have to endure “We are in a century where we have everything at the injuries, the mishaps, but to me it is worth it.” our fingertips but this new generation cannot underWhile his parents believed their young son’s aspira- stand us because of the negative connotations bulltions were just a phase, Jairo Miguel always knew fighting has. I’ve always thought that I can’t change bullfighting was a ‘way of life, a true passion’. As a the world, but I can change mine. toddler his mum couldn’t get him to sit still in front of “What we do is not bad, but it must be renewed to cartoons but he would be utterly absorbed by tele- the present times to be more accessible to young vised bullfights for hours on end. “It wasn’t a game people and new cultures. to me,” he said. “It was what I was always meant to “Let the next generation have the power of choice for do.” Less clear, perhaps, was his path to become a them to see if they like it or not.” social media star.

“I cannot change bullfighting, but I am in the process Now he wants to harness his online presence to rev- of sharing. Although I am young in age, I want to be olutionise the way people perceive Spain’s most tra- able to renew that part. I would like when all this ditional - and controversial - past time. He dreams happens, not to lose the essence of what my proof being recognised beyond the plaza de toros and fession is and that people appreciate what it is to be be seen as a major player in the world of fashion a bullfighter. It is art, it is athleticism - and it should and sport, joking that while old fashioned fighters not be lost”.

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12

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

A land of bears and bagpipes

Author David Baird explores the hidden charms and traditional trades of Asturias, one of Spain’s least known regions

W

NORTHERN: Asturias is on the Atlantic coast of Spain modern touch — live electric wires. One of the best spots to view bears, especially in spring and autumn, is the Ibias river valley between Cangas del Narcea and Degaña.

To reach it, you journey up the Narcea valley and through a long tunnel beneath the 1100-metre-high Puerto del Rañadoiro.

From here take a trip to the last of the ‘cunqueiros’ (makers of wooden bowls).

The road spirals up over another pass, the Alto del Campillo, to reach the remote hamlet of Tablado. Only 10 of the 52 houses are occupied.

Firmly in place, however, are the García family, employing ageold methods to carve utensils from ash, birch and chestnut.

Vitorino and his 20-year-old son Victor turn out such items as cachos del vino (wine bowls), barbeiras (for shaving) and cibreiras (for keeping food warm). Little has changed here; they continue using the traditional tools and a foot-operated lathe.

But wait a moment — these days you can find them on the Internet. In the past the women of the four villages of this valley saw their menfolk for only three months of the year.

During the other months the ‘cunqueiros’ were selling their wares across Spain.

They trekked across the peninsula carrying their possessions on mules, setting up portable

lathes to produce wooden products to order. They had their own dialect and jargon making their conversation unintelligible to other Spaniards.

The last of these itinerant workers died in 1985. Other crafts survive too near Cangas.

Although the hamlet of Llamas del Mouro, high on a hillside, appears to slumber, the Rodríguez Suárez family, Manuel, daughter Veronica and his brother Marcelino, are usually busy in their workshop. The last of a long line of ‘alfareros’ (once Asturias had more than 150), they turn out a variety of utensils, bowls, wine jars and stew pots.

They are much in demand, both for their quality and their distinctive black colour. The secret is in the cooking. The pieces are packed into a wood-fired oven, where they are baked for around 15 hours at up to 800 degrees.

Smoke is trapped inside the oven, penetrating the clay and turning it black and extra resistant. Just down the hillside, at Pambley, more artisans are at work.

Raul Martínez and his father chisel skilfully away, producing a variety of wooden products.

Probably their biggest sellers are the ‘madreñas’, clogs carved from birch wood. “We make about 800 pairs a year and 90% are for actual use rather than ornament,” says Raul.

But my most recent journey to Asturias, one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions, took me to the less-visited southwest corner.

The only town of any size, Cangas del Narcea, squeezed into a valley at the junction of the Narcea and Luiña rivers, is strategically placed to explore the 600-square-kilometre nature park of Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña e Ibias.

Coal-mining brought a brief surge of prosperity to Cangas, but that HISTORY AND NATURE: Asturias is a land of verdant industry is declining.

These days the area empha- hillsides, vast forests and many ancient traditions sises its ecological resources, its hearty wine and the survival yed a big part in saving the bear still come across people speaking Asturian, formerly known as of ancient crafts. But first let’s and other endangered species.

It rescues wounded animals, Bable. check out those bears.

Optional in schools, it has its Only 30 years ago it seemed runs environmental education programmes and own Academy of the Asturian that the days of organises vo- Language. Difficulty of access the brown bear lunteer workers, has helped preserve the languawere numbered.

Quench your planting such ge and local traditions — and also The 100 or so survivors in thirst with cider trees as elder, Spain’s largest oak forest. walnut and cheThis lies within the Muniellos Spain were a target for poachers, and hear another rry in bear habi- Biosphere Reserve. Only 20 trophy-hunters language known tats. Today more visitors a day are allowed to enthan an estima- ter the reserve, dense with ash, and farmers deted 200 bears birch, maple and willows. A path termined to proas Bable roam the Canta- winds by tumbling waters and up tect their lambs. brian mountains. to a series of lagoons, passing In other parts of Unlike the grizzly, ancient oak and chestnut trees, Europe, the bear had long disappeared. Even after the brown bear is not aggressive. some with massive trunks. This Although it can weigh up to is the habitat of wolves, deer, being declared a protected species in 1973, it was under threat 200 kilos, it usually beats a re- ibex, wild boar and more than in Spain. However, tougher con- treat on sighting humans. The 100 bird species, including the trols, heavy fines and a growing only time it can turn nasty is if comparatively rare capercaillie, emphasis on ecological values a mother thinks her cubs are or wood grouse (about 400 are have changed the situation. Na- threatened. Local guide Chema reckoned to survive). As bee-keeture conservation organisation Diaz, who specialises in nature ping is permitted within the natuFapas, founded in 1982, has pla- tourism, notes: “Attitudes have re park, you often come across changed dramatically. Until the groups of hives.

1970s there was a lot of Older ones are carved from poaching. Miners would chestnut tree trunks. go hunting in their free They need special protection time. Now there is as bears will smash open hives much more awareness to satisfy their hunger for honey. of the value of our natuThus, hives are usually shielral resources.” Chema ded by high stone walls, plus — a PROTECTION: Bee hives needed shielding from bears guides visitors through parts of the Fuentes del Narcea park, a sparsely populated area with nearby peaks that soar to 2,000 metres.

Quick Crossword It is common for snowfalls to cut villages Across: 1 Shrimp, 5 Exhale, 8 Damaged, 9 Tune, 10 Best, off from the outside 12 Fields, 13 Excel, 14 Lows, 16 Tops, 17 Rafts, 18 Feeble, world. “One old fellow 20 Hide, 22 Bays, 23 Rewards, 25 For now, 26 No-show. who lived to 107 recalled that he had only left Down: 2 Hedge, 3 Inmates, 4 Pig, 5 End of life, 6 Hythe, 7 his village twice in his Lined up, 11 Scarecrow, 15 Oregano, 16 T-shirts, 19 Bison, whole life,” said Chema.

21 Disco, 24 Wen. POACHING: Trophy-hunting led to the near-extinction of bears In these valleys you may

OP Puzzle solutions

SUDOKU

hen temperatures soar in August and visitors by the thousand crowd the beaches of the Mediterranean, it’s good to remember that there is another — very different — Spain. This Spain is a land of remote valleys and vast forests, of secluded bays and mist-shrouded peaks, of fast-flowing trout streams and ancient crafts.

A land that is green. This is Asturias.

Head directly north and you find it, fringing the Bay of Biscay.

But first you have to scale some mighty mountains — in fact, the Visigoths were so impressed by that barrier that more than a thousand years ago they declared the region was ‘walled in by the hand of God’. Don’t look for flamenco, toros and paella here, all those stereotypes employed to sell Spain to the tourist.

Instead you can hear the skirl of bagpipes, quench your thirst with cider and hear another language, known as Bable. If you are a hiker, a fisherman, a bird-watcher or any sort of nature-lover, this is the place for you.

It’s a land where wolves still prowl — and also the brown bear.

Indeed, you may be lucky enough to sight bears within hiking distance of the city of Oviedo. Climbers head for the spectacular, saw-tooth summits of the Picos de Europa and surfers love the numerous beaches.

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

February 10th - February 23rd 2021

Pizza the action

Spain record lowest number of tourists in five decades

On the right track CUSTOMERS raced to get cut price tickets for Spain’s bullet train rail service following its launch.

By midday last Monday, customers had snapped up 33,390 tickets for the new AVLO service between Madrid and Barcelona, with tickets going for as little as €5 for journeys of over 600km.

The high speed train will see customers race full steam ahead, travelling 390 miles in under three hours.

The trains, which travel at 330 km per hour, mean that travellers can leave Madrid and arrive in Barcelona three hours later. The fastest trains take two and a half hours.

The AVLO service,which is operated by state rail operator Renfe, will operate four daily return journeys per day from June 23.

The promotional low cost tickets were sold to mark the 80th anniversary of Spanish state operator Renfe.

THE number of tourists visiting Spain last year was the lowest in five decades, new figures have revealed.

Spain’s tourism sector plummeted by nearly 80% compared to 2020.

The country, which usually sees 75 million visitors a year, suffered from a drop in tourism triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Visitor numbers tumbled to just 19million in 2020 - the

No go

lowest figures since 1969, according to the national statistics office INE. Despite the promise of

COVID-19 vaccinations, December was one of Spain’s worst months for tourism on record.

What a beaut THE Andalucian city of Cordoba has been voted the most beautiful in Spain in a recent online survey.

The study was carried out on the popular travel and culture website Lonely Planet's social media platforms.

The site gathered the results of 52,000 responses who were asked to choose between the cities of Alcala de Henares, Avila, Baeza, Caceres, Cordoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, Merida, Salamanca, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Santiago from Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona, Toledo and Ubeda.

All of the chosen cities currently hold certification as a World Heritage Site.

Thanks to its stunning architecture and picturesque infrastructure, Cordoba took the top spot, with the site calling it "a stunning and historically rich city that transports the visitor between medieval Spain and modern

International travel to the country fell 85% lower than it was in December 2019 after authorities imposed new travel restrictions to curb the spread of the new variant in COVID-19 infections.

Spending was also down, with tourists visiting in December bringing in just €19.7 billion euros to Spain’s economy - 78.5% less than the year previous.

Decimated

Andalucian culture."

The world's leading travel website will publish a feature on Cordoba next month, showing the city's charms to an audience of millions across the globe.

This recent victory boosts Cordoba's presence as one of the most sought after tourist destinations in Southern Spain.

Last month, the city was welcomed into the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (WTO).

13

Spain’s economy continues to be one of the hardest hit as travel restrictions decimate the once lucrative travel industry.

France overtook Britain as Spain's most important source of tourists last year, accounting for 3.9 million arrivals, a 65 percent decline over 2019.

Around 14 percent of Spanish hotel jobs, or 190,000 posts, were cut in 2020, according to Spanish union CCOO.

SPAIN’S largest pizza chain, Telepizza, has launched a fully vegan menu complete with plantb a s e d meat and dairyf r e e cheese toppings.

Branded as Las Veguis, the new menu features vegan cheese made by Violife, along with NoPollo vegan chicken and NoPicada vegan ground meat made by Dutch brand The Vegetarian Butcher. Prices will be the same as for its other more traditional animal-based options.

Vegan fast food arrived at the big fast-food outlets in 2019, as Taco Bell added vegan beef made with a mixture of oats, beans, and peas. Papa John's last year launched two vegan pizzas as demand for the option increased from customers.

Telepizza's Nacho Martin said: “We have had vegetarian items on our menus for years, but to create something that is 100% suitable for vegans, we worked with companies who have considerable experience of what is needed”.

14

S

PAIN is an art aficionado’s paradise with three of the most famous museums in the world clustered in its capital alone. Madrid is known as the Golden Triangle of Art for its monumental Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums.

But for a real brush with genius

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

there’s nothing like a prowl round the homes of the artists themselves. An intriguing alternative to the typical grand establishments, these casa museos reveal a more personal side to the maestros who once lived there, providing a privileged glimpse into their psyches through the objects that were part

of their everyday lives.

Spain is generously appointed with these intimate treasure houses which can be found everywhere from the major cities to the tiniest pueblos. Art connoisseur or merely nosy, here are six house museums in Spain you should definitely take a peek at.

Salvador Dali House Museum (Portlligat): The residence of Dali (Figueras 1904-1989) from 1930 until the death of his wife and muse Gala in 1982.

Dali was drawn to the landscape, the light and the isolation of Portlligart, a small village on the Girona coast, and set up home in a fisherman’s shack.

Over time he purchased other neighbouring cottages, creating a labyrinthine house.

Unsurprisingly, his taste in home decor is as surreal as his paintings, with countless stuffed animals. The polar bear decked out in gaudy necklaces standing in welcome at the entrance maintains Dali’s special blend of eccentricity and flamboyance.

Not to be outdone, his wife has her own place.

The Gala Dali Castle House-Museum at Pubol occupies an 11th century castle redecorated by Dali as her monument and mausoleum.

Don’t miss the Gala Bath and Dali’s signature elephants-on-stilts sculptures rampaging through the garden.

1.

At Home Explore six artists’ house-museums in Spain for a Through the Keyhole experience with knobs on, writes Cristina Hodgson

2.

Fundació Pilar y Joan Miró (Palma de Mallorca): A modern museum built around the studio and finca of Joan Miro (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma, 1983).

Miro found inspiration in Mallorca at the age of 63 where the painter-sculptor-ceramicist had his dream workshop designed by his friend, the Spanish starchitect Josep Lluís Sert.

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Miro bought the house in Cala Major in 1956 where he lived until his death, after which the premises was enlarged to hold a permanent exhibition of his works.

His graffiti can still be seen on the walls and his studio has been left untouched since his death, with work in progress, open tins of paint and black smudges all over the floor.

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February 10th - February 23rd 2021

15

me with the Maestros G

oya’s Birthplace (Fuendetodos, Zaragoza): Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Fuendetodos 1746 – France, 1828) came into the world

here.

A humble farmhouse dating from the early 18th century, it has been lovingly restored with furnishings and household objects typical of the era.

The Civil War left it partially destroyed but in 1982 it was declared a Historical Monument and opened to the public as a museum. The adjacent Museum of Etchings houses a permanent collection of Goya’s graphic work from the series known as Los Desastres, Los Caprichos, Los Disparates and La Tauromaquia.

3.

4. E

l Greco Museum (Toledo): The home of celebrated Mannerist painter El Greco (Greece 1541 – Toledo, 1614) His house no longer exists today but its precise historic replica has been created 200 metres from the original site.

Located in Toledo’s old Jewish Quarter, it showcases many of El Greco’s later paintings - works which puzzled his contemporaries but have gained newfound appreciation in the 20th century for their dramatic expressionism.

The 16th century clone home also showcases furniture and local pottery from the period as well as works by some of El Greco’s disciples, such as Luis Tristan.

5.

S

orolla Museum (Madrid): Renowned Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla Bastida (Valencia, 1863 - Cercedilla, 1923) lived here with his family from 1911 till his death in 1923.

His house was converted into a museum after his death, and is one of the best preserved of any artist in Europe, retaining its

6.

Picasso Museo Casa Natal (Malaga): The birthplace of Pablo Picasso (Malaga 1881 – France, 1973) who lived here from 1881-4.

This small house collection covers al-

original look and housing the largest collection of his works.

Aside from his portraits and landscapes the house is filled with keepsakes Sorolla gathered during his life: sculptures, jewellery, antique photographs, letters and a curious and extensive collection of ceramics ornamenting every corner of the museum.

most 80 years of the artist’s work as well as touching family photos and memorabilia, including Picasso’s christening robe. The family rented the first floor of the house in Malaga’s beautiful Plaza de Merced for three years before moving a few doors up the street where they remained until 1891. As well as a monument to the life and work of Picasso it’s also the headquarters for the Picasso Foundation.

The foundations of the house also contain important archaeological evidence of Malaga’s Phoenician, Roman and Moorish roots dating back to 7BC.

Picasso’s full name is 23 words long! It’s Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruiz y Picasso. A real mouthful for the priest at his christening!

His long name comes from a list of saints and relatives.

Picasso’s first words were ‘piz piz,’ shortened for lapiz, Spanish for pencil. Without doubt, a natural born artist.

DID YOU KNOW?

We use recycled paper

Switching sides A DRAFT law will allow people in Spain to change their ‘official’ gender simply by signing a declaration, with no surgery, medical treatment or psychological tests needed.

FINAL WORDS

Bad rap LEFT-WING rapper Pablo Hasel has been jailed by the Supreme Court for nine months for allegedly ‘glorifying terrorism, inciting violence and insulting the Spanish crown’ in tweets and songs, prompting the government to pledge a law change.

The

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Vol. 5 Issue 141 www.theolivepress.es February 10th - February 23rd 2021

Latin flops

SO much for Latin lovers - it seems that when it comes to the kink factor, Spain can’t get it up.

While Spaniards are known for their passionate nature - and the sultry good looks of stars like Enrique Iglesias (pictured) have proved a worlñd-wide hit -, in the bedroom they’re positively prudish according to a new study.

God’s will A PRIEST who escaped a fine on a technicality when his own congregation called police to complain he was not wearing a mask during mass at the Virgen del Camino church in Callosa de Segura (Alicante) has gone down with COVID.

Spaniards fail to perform while Brits revealed to be the secondsauciest citizens

By Kirsty McKenzie

While neighbouring Portugal came out on top of the global study rating each country’s ‘Sex Index’, Spain failed to even break into the top 10 sauciest spots.

Researchers who looked at internet searches for sex-related

terms, including sex toys, lingerie, dating apps and positions, found people in Portugal were most likely to Google kinks including BDSM and threesomes.

Even more surprising was the news that the UK also topped the charts in the ranking of the

A SPANISH couple with COVID-19 have got married in a Madrid hospital in a moving ceremony organised by the nurses. Rosario, 62, and Fernando, 70, caught the virus from Rosario’s son and were admitted to La Paz hospital on January 23.

They were subsequently transferred to the Isabel Zendal hospital, where they received treat-

In sickness... ment in separate rooms.

Fernando had never expressed an interest in marriage in the 13 years they had been together, but lying in his bed on oxygen made him realise that it might be now or never. He popped the question over WhatsApp, much to Rosario’s delight.

world’s sexiest countries.

In fact, the UK has the second-sauciest citizens in the world, according to the very specific data.

The website in question, Pour Moi, has revealed the kinkiest positions and toys searched across Britain - and lets just say the Brits are big fans, ahem, of putting in research before they slip between the sheets.

Folks in the UK’s most Googled sex positions are reverse cowgirl, doggy style and missionary, plus the old ménage à trois is a popular kink. And while we’d argue folk in Spain are among some of the sexiest in the world - we have a way to go to beat Ireland, Australia and Sweden who all made the top ten.

HE may be Argentinean and she Brazilian, but this unlikely ‘couple’ have caused a storm in the Spanish press and on social media.

Natalia Garibotto is best known in South America for her saucy Instagram posts, many of them featuring her wearing - well not a lot.

So when she claimed that none other than Pope Francis was an admirer many Roman Catholics took a double take.

The 27-year-old glamour model claimed that the 84-year-old pontiff had ‘liked’ her image on an Instagram post.

Blessing This, it turned out, was not the sort of thing that Spain’s stricter Roman Catholics appreciated, so a spokesman for the Holy See had to sweep into action and pointed the finger of blame at Instagram.

He pooh-poohed the claim and told journalists that while the Pope sometimes gives the go ahead for social media posts set up by a professional team, this was certainly not the case here. The spokesman instead referred queries to Instagram, saying that the social media giant should come up with an explanation.

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